LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 01/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.july01.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
The harvest is
plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to
send out labourers into his harvest
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 09/36-38/:"When he saw
the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is
plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to
send out labourers into his harvest.’"
There is no distinction
between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who
call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved
Letter to the Romans 10/12-21/:'For there is no distinction between Jew and
Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For,
‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ But how are they to
call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one
of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to
proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is
written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ But not all
have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our
message?’So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the
word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for ‘Their
voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’
Again I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, ‘I will make you
jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you
angry.’ Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, ‘I have been found by those who did
not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.’But of Israel
he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary
people.’"
Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
Today the Lord repeats to all pastors: follow me despite the difficulties,
follow me by proclaiming the Gospel to all.
Le Seigneur aujourd’hui répète à tous les Pasteurs : Suis-moi malgré les
difficultés ; suis-moi dans la prédication de l’Évangile.
يكرر الرب اليوم لكل راعٍ: اتبعني بالرغم من الصعوبات: اتبعني في إعلان الإنجيل
للجميع
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on June 30-July 01/16
Hezbollah Admits: The LAF Is More than Enough/Ahmad El-Assaad/June
30/16
The bear giving life to a mouse/Roger Bejjani/Face Book/June 30/16
The New York Times Still Falls for Ben Rhodes' Iran
Lies/Clifford Smith/PJ Media/June 30/16
Turkey's Growing Influence over Islam in Austria/Soeren Kern/Gatestone
Institute/June 30/16
Extremism: Between magic and ideology/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/June 30/16
Saudi Arabia, France and Gulf cooperation/Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al Arabiya/June
30/16
Intervention: Syria’s most unresolved issue/Dr. Halla Diyab/Al Arabiya/June
30/16
Israel: A country at a crossroad/Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/June 30/16
We must all admit, it’s the occupation/Daoud Kuttab/Al Arabiya/June 30/16
U.S. Legitimizes Iranian Presence And Activity In Iraq/ Y. Carmon and A. Savyon/MEMRI/June
30/16
Anti-Houthi Yemeni And Arab Media Report: Houthis Apologized To Americans For
'Death To America And Israel' Slogan/MEMRI/ June 30/16
Erdogan’s climb-down/Turkey’s moves could mean an important shift in
Syria/Michael Young/Now Lebanon/June 30/16
Turkey's Istanbul Attack Vengeance Will Be Like 'Rain From Hell'/Soner Cagaptay/he
Washington Institute/CNN/June 30/16
Obama Doesn't Understand Jihadist Doctrine/Mark Durie/The Washington
Examiner/June 30/16
How Merkel and Middle Eastern Migration Ensured Britain's EU Exit/Michel
Gurfinkiel/PJ Media/June30/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
June 30-July 01/16
Lebanese army says it foils planned attacks by ISIS
Hezbollah Admits: The LAF Is More than Enough
The bear giving life to a mouse.
Suicide Vest Seized in Arsal Outskirts as Man Held for Smuggling Grenades
Army Foils Terror Plots Planned by the Islamic State
Hariri and Geagea Denounce Qaa Bombings, Reject Self-Security
Quds Day Rally Canceled, Nasrallah to Make Televised Address
Australian TV Crew to be Freed in Toddlers Kidnap Case, Mother Faces Jail Term
Baalbek Gunmen Intercept ISF Vehicle, Free Prisoner
Cabinet Tackles Security Situation away from Thorny Files
Man Opens Fire on Resistance Brigades Official in Central Bekaa
Report: Security Situation Growing More Difficult
French MP Benoît Hamon to NNA: If France wants to play role in Middle East,
Beirut inevitable entrance for it
Mashnouq, Shorter sign MOU in support of ISF: Clear message of UK support to
efforts by security forces
Berri in interview to Shiraa Magazine: Dialogue and consensus Lebanese interest
Hout: To ensure political cover for army, police
Hussein Mousawi visits Qaa to offer condolences to families of martyrs
Bassil: Terrorism has become cross border
Pharaon: to reach political agreement on security
Basbous, De Freij hold talks
General Security raids terrorist hotbed in Wadi Ata, seizes explosive belt
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
June 30-July 01/16
ISIS may be on the decline — but
beware al Qaeda
ISIS claims responsibility for shooting dead Egypt priest
UN envoy to Syria: ‘I found a solution for Assad knot’
Turkish forces kill two suspected ISIS members at Syria border
Istanbul bombers were ‘Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz’
Turkey: All criteria met for visa-free travel to Europe
Erdogan: Turkey will overcome terror groups
Putin says Turkey has said sorry for downing jet
Iraq says 260 is vehicles destroyed in Fallujah flight
Pakistan launches crackdown against sectarian militants in southwest
Taliban suicide bombers kill 27, wound 40
Palestinian kills teen in settlement, then shot dead
Egypt marks overthrow of Islamist president with new holiday
US sailors detained by Iran spoke ‘too much’ under interrogation
UN hands road map to Yemen’s warring sides
A president Trump would ‘complicate’ US-Europe ties: Hollande
Senate panel grants more visas for Afghans who supported US
CIA paid Romania ‘millions of dollars’ to host secret prisons
Sisi: ‘Nothing to hide’ on islands transfer to Saudi
Obama confident Europe will come up with prudent post-Brexit plan
EU Opens New Chapter in Turkey Accession Talks
Iraq Says IS Ripped Apart by Airstrikes as It Fled Fallujah
Links From Jihad Watch Site for
June 30-July 01/16
CIA Director: Brexit is bigger crisis for the EU than the Islamic State
Homesick for “Islamophobic” US, “Clock Boy” returns to Texas
Ramadan in Israel: Muslim murders 13-year-old Israeli girl in her bed, is
celebrated as hero by “Palestinians”
DHS top dog Jeh Johnson refuses to answer Senate on scrubbing terror docs of all
mention of jihad and Islam
Wikipedia removes Orlando jihad massacre from ‘Islamist Terror Attack’ list
Robert Spencer in FrontPage: Hillary’s ‘Serious Lack of Competence’ Cost Lives
at Benghazi
Foreign Policy: “It’s Time for the Elites to Rise Up Against the Ignorant
Masses”
Obama administration to deny public records requests on Mateen’s jihad attack at
the Pulse
Robert Spencer in PJ Media: Obama-Appointed Prosecutor Chills Free Speech in
Idaho Migrant Sex Assault
Reading the Qur’an during Ramadan 26: Juz Ha Mim
Southern Poverty Law Center president points to “radical right
terrorism”, diminishes Islamic jihad
June 30-July 01/16
Lebanese army says it foils planned
attacks by ISIS
Reuters, Beirut Thursday,
30 June 2016/Lebanon’s army said on Thursday it had foiled planned terrorist
attacks by ISIS on a tourist site and a crowded area, days after suicide bombers
killed five people in a Christian village. Five people involved in the two
thwarted attacks, including the mastermind, were arrested on Thursday, an army
statement quoted by the National News Agency said. “Those arrested confessed to
having carried out terroris tacts against the army previously. Investigations
are continuing,” the army said. It gave no further details. Lebanese security
services have been on heightened alert for in recent weeks. ISIS had urged its
followers to launch attacks on “non-believers” during the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan, which began in early June. The government warned this week of a
heightened terrorist threat after eight suicide bombers targeted a Christian
village on the border with Syria on Monday, killing five people. Prime Minister
Tammam Salam said he feared “a new wave of terrorist operations”. Lebanon has
been repeatedly jolted by attacks linked to the war in neighboring Syria, where
powerful Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah is fighting in support of President
Bashar al-Assad. A bombing attack in a mostly Shi’ite area of Beirut, claimed by
ISIS, killed more than 40 people in November. The army said it had arrested more
than 400 Syrians in a series of raids in recent days, on suspicion of illegal
entry into Lebanon or illegal movement inside the country. Interior Minister
Nohad Machnouk said on Tuesday most of Monday’s attackers came from Syria.
Hezbollah Admits: The LAF Is More
than Enough
Ahmad El-Assaad/June 30/16
What happened a few days ago in Qaa affected the entire country. Everyone felt
the sadness and shock.
In the village of Qaa, terrorism once again made a gruesome appearance, through
Daesh: A pack of suicide bombers, and an operation, the first of its kind, on a
Christian region in Lebanon.
Once again, Hezbollah is trying to make profit from the blood of the victims of
terrorism, to prove its point and justify its participation in the Syrian war.
Hezbollah wants to use the tragedy inQaato promote the idea that terrorist
organizations are not targeting the Hezb alone, nor singling out the Shiite
community, but they are targeting the entire Lebanese people, of all sects and
factions; so by fighting in Syria, Hezbollah is actually defending all the
Lebanese people. This, of course, is not true, because what Hezbollah has done
is drag the Shiites and all the Lebanese people in the Syrian war, and bring the
vindictive actions of Daesh, and the likes, upon us.
We will abstain from going into a useless debate, about whether Qaa itself was
the target, or whether it just happened to be a passageway for the terrorists.
But one thing is for sure: Daesh targets Muslims before Christians, and its
victims are Sunnis, Shiites and Christians.
Therefore, we cannot label the attacks on Qaa as aimed at the Christian presence
per se, nor can Hezbollah capitalize on that to get Christian approval in its
absurd battle.
It is true that Daesh’s terrorism hits everywhere, and kills everyone. But
Hezbollah’s implication in the Syrian conflict put Lebanon in the bullseye.
What grabbed my attention the most in what was said after visits were made to
Qaa, was by a Hezbollah Minister, in comment of the inhabitants of Qaacarrying
weapons in the aftermath of the attacks. He said, “The Lebanese Armed Forces are
present on the border and in Qaa, and they are doing the job right”.
To Hezbollah, we say: it is true that the LAF are doing their job right, both on
the borders and in the interior. If you were saying this to the people of Qaa,
why don’t you say it to yourselves? Why don’t you abide by it?
Yes, the LAF is more than enough, and there is no need whatsoever for
Hezbollah’s weapons, or for the wars it wages.
The bear giving life to a mouse.
Roger Bejjani/Face Book/June 30/16
Putin with his decision of intervening militarily is Syria under the false cover
of fighting ISIS, has succeeded in killing thousands of civilians and has
boosted the moral of Assad forces. Temporarily. Not anymore.The draw back for
Putin and Russia, is the eloquent display of the inefficiency and
technologically backward of its armed forces. They are even unable to challenge
Turkish F16s and proved totally inefficient against ISIS as a game changer.
Whereas all steady progress against ISIS in Syria and in Iraq were due
exclusively to the guidance and close supervision of US special forces and of
course US Air Force. Certainly not to Russians or even less to Iranians.Thinking
of how ridiculous some Lebanese sounded when they were cheering Putin as if he
was St Georges combatting the Dragon!!
The elephant or shall we say the bear giving life to a mouse.
Suicide Vest Seized in Arsal
Outskirts as Man Held for Smuggling Grenades
Naharnet/June 30/16/Security forces on Thursday seized an explosive vest and a
quantity of arms during a raid in the outskirts of the northeastern border town
of Arsal. “Based on the confessions of a detained terrorist, and as part of its
security duties, the General Directorate of General Security carried out a
preemptive raid on a terrorist den in the Wadi Ata area in Arsal's outskirts,
assisted by the Lebanese Army,” a General Security statement said. “A suicide
vest, weapons and various military equipment were seized,” it added. “Efforts
are still underway to arrest the rest of the terrorist cell's members,” General
Security said. Media reports said the detained militant is a Lebanese national
from the Fliti family, which hails from Arsal. Separately, the army arrested
Lebanese national H. H. Ezzeddine after he drove his pickup truck past a
military checkpoint in Arsal, state-run National News Agency reported. “Five
hand grenades and two binoculars were found in the truck,” it added. The
developments come three days after eight suicide bombers targeted the nearby
border town of al-Qaa where the killed five people and wounded 28
others.Militants from the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State
group are entrenched in rugged mountains along the Lebanese-Syrian border and
the Lebanese army regularly shells their positions while Hizbullah and the
Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border.
The two groups overran the town of Arsal in 2014 and engaged in deadly battles
with the Lebanese army for several days. The retreating militants abducted
around 35 troops and policemen of whom four have been executed and nine remain
in captivity.
Army Foils Terror Plots Planned by the Islamic State
Naharnet/June 30/16/The army intelligence said on Thursday that it had foiled
two Islamic State group plots that aimed to carry out attacks on a tourist
facility and a densely populated area in Lebanon, the Army Command Orientation
Directorate said in a statement on Thursday. “The army was able to thwart a
highly dangerous scheme planned by the terrorist Islamic State group,” the
statement said. “It arrested five IS members involved, including the mastermind
behind the plot,” added the statement. “The detainees confessed to having
carried out terrorist acts attacks against the army previously.”“The plan aimed
to target a large tourist facility and a densely populated area in
Lebanon.”Investigations have been kicked off under the supervision of the
related judicial authorities. A military official told Agence France-Presse that
the famed Casino du Liban was among the targets. It was not clear when the
arrests took place, but the military official said the attacks were to have been
carried out "10 days ago."They would have targeted "the Casino du Liban as well
as a crowded area, like a shopping center, the southern suburbs of Beirut or
indeed the neighborhoods of Hamra or Ashrafieh," the official said. He said
"suicide bombers and armed men" were to have carried out the attacks, and added
that investigations would follow on other possible cells and potential targets.
Earlier in the day, Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) had quoted unnamed sources as
saying that the two targets that were eventually mentioned in the army statement
were the Casino du Liban and the City Center mall in Hazmieh.
Hariri and Geagea Denounce
Qaa Bombings, Reject Self-Security
Naharnet/June 30/16/Al-Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri met with Lebanese
Forces leader Samir Geagea late on Wednesday where talks denounced the attacks
that targeted the eastern town of al-Qaa and rejected the principle of
“autonomous security”, Hariri's media office said on Thursday. Hariri received
Geagea, accompanied by LF media officer Melhem Riachi, over a Suhoor banquet in
the Central House in the presence of Hariri's adviser Ghattas Khoury. The
gatherers denounced Monday's suicide attacks that targeted al-Qaa and stressed
the necessity to stand strong behind the army and security forces in their fight
against terrorism. They also rejected the principle of self-security and
affirmed that the role of the town families must be limited to assist and
support the army. The controversial file of the presidential elections was
tackled during the three-hour meeting and discussions stressed the necessity to
end the vacuum and emphasized that the two sides are ready to go to the
parliament and elect a president to secure quorum. They agreed to pave way for
further discussions with political forces. Hariri and Geagea affirmed backing
for the electoral law that was submitted by both sides including the Progressive
Socialist Party, but agreed to hold consultations with other parties in order to
agree on a new law.Mustaqbal and LF agreed to reactivate coordination in various
issues including the student and syndicate elections. Relations between the
March 14 officials, Hariri and Geaega, have been shaken after Hariri endorsed
March 8 figure Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh for the presidential
post. The step drew the ire of Geagea who withdrew his own candidacy for the
post and nominated Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun.
Quds Day Rally Canceled,
Nasrallah to Make Televised Address
Naharnet/June 30/16/Hizbullah has decided to call off a Dahieh mass rally
scheduled for Friday over security concerns, the party said in a statement on
Thursday. “In light of the security situations, it has been decided to cancel
the Quds Day mass rally that was supposed to be held tomorrow, Friday at the
Sayyed al-Shohada Complex in Rweiss,” Hizbullah said. “Hizbullah Secretary
General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will instead deliver a televised speech at 5:30
pm,” it added. This is the second major event that the party calls off this week
over security reasons. On Tuesday, Hizbullah canceled religious ceremonies
marking the Laylat al-Qadr holy night of Ramadan that were supposed to be held
at Shiite shrines and mosques in the northern Bekaa region, a day after eight
suicide bombers attacked the nearby Christian border town of al-Qaa where they
killed five people and wounded 28 others. The country has been on high alert
since the unprecedented bombings and the army confirmed earlier on Thursday that
it had recently arrested an Islamic State group cell that was plotting to attack
“an important touristic facility and a crowded area." Media outlets are also
buzzing with news about possible terrorist attacks in the country, especially
during the holy month of Ramadan, and Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq
announced Wednesday that seven terrorist cells had been busted in the past two
months.
Australian TV Crew to be
Freed in Toddlers Kidnap Case, Mother Faces Jail Term
Naharnet/June 30/16/Australian reporter Tara Brown and her crew involved in
snatching two children on a street in southern Beirut have been charged with a
small misdemeanor and will be freed after paying a minimal fine, but the
children’s Australian mother Sally Faulkner and the abductors face up to seven
years in jail, media reports have said. Beirut prosecuting judge Rami Abdullah
laid formal charges against Faulkner, saying the mother of five-year-old Lahala
and three-year-old Noah was critical to the botched kidnapping. Faulkner,
child-recovery specialist Adam Whittington and three operatives will now face
kidnapping charges. Judge Abdullah discounted suggestions that the 60 Minutes
program team formed a criminal alliance with the child-abduction team — which
could have resulted in jail terms of up to 20 years — saying the media crew was
acting on instructions from the Nine TV bosses. “It is over for them,’’ Judge
Abdullah said. “I was fair with them, much too fair, more than fair with their
job. They go to difficult places and they were asked to be part of this by their
bosses,” Abdullah said. Brown, sacked producer Stephen Rice, sound recordist
David Bailment and cameraman Ben Williamson will have to pay a fine of less than
$1,000. The 60 Minutes crew was charged with a misdemeanor for not reporting a
crime. The toddlers had been handed over to their father, Ali al-Amin, after
they were freed by the Internal Security Forces on April 13. The mother had said
that their father took them for a holiday in Lebanon and then allegedly refused
to return them to Australia. "The woman made an agreement with the 60 Minutes
program from Channel Nine to come help her recover her children from Lebanon," a
security source told AFP at the time. The source said the children had been
snatched while with their grandmother and there was a plan for them to be
removed from Lebanon by boat. A grainy video of the incident released by
Lebanon's al-Jadeed television showed the children walking with an older figure,
reportedly their grandmother. Several figures jump out of a nearby car and carry
the children into the vehicle, which then speeds off.
Baalbek Gunmen Intercept ISF
Vehicle, Free Prisoner
Naharnet/June 30/16/Gunmen from the powerful Jaafar clan intercepted an Internal
Security Forces prisoner transport vehicle in the eastern city of Baalbek on
Thursday and facilitated the escape of an inmate who was being taken to a
judicial session, state-run National News Agency reported. It identified the
prisoner as Rabih Asem Awada. Al-Jadeed television said the incident happened in
the Baalbek neighborhood of al-Sharawneh.
Cabinet Tackles Security
Situation away from Thorny Files
Naharnet/June 30/16/An ordinary cabinet session chaired by Prime Minister Tammam
Salam convened at the Grand Serail on Thursday and focused on the security
issues mainly after the Qaa bombings, without touching on any of the
controversial files. “Salam has assured that the Security Forces maintain
readiness levels and capability to confront terrorism,” Information Minister
Ramzi Jreij said after the meeting. Referring to the bombing attacks, the latest
in the eastern town of al-Qaa, Jreij said: “Salam has warned against linking the
bombings to the Syrian displacement.”The eastern town of al-Qaa was subject to a
series of suicide bombings early this week. Four suicide bombers targeted the
town in a pre-dawn attack on Monday, killing five people and wounding 15 others,
as another four bombers attacked the town in the evening and wounded 13 people.
Touching on the presidential vacuum, the Prime Minister stressed the necessity
to elect a head of state as soon as possible, said Jreij. Lebanon has been
without a president since the term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May
2014.
Man Opens Fire on Resistance
Brigades Official in Central Bekaa
Naharnet/June 30/16/An unknown assailant opened gunfire at the vehicle of the
Resistance Brigades official in the central Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon
without hurting him, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday.
The shooter opened fire at the black BMW when the official, Rami Mohammed
Hamoura, parked his car near his place of residence in Bar Elias. The vehicle
was hit with two bullets, said NNA. The assailant managed to escape, it added.
Hamoura has filed a complaint at the Chtoura police station.
Report: Security Situation
Growing More Difficult
Naharnet/June 30/16/The security situation in Lebanon will become more difficult
in light of an intensified campaign to eradicate terrorism in the region, As
Safir daily reported on Thursday. The situation is to become harder in light of
reports alleging that the terror groups are using new tactics of bringing
candidates for the attacks they carry out from outside Lebanon, a related source
told the daily on condition of anonymity. The source added that the danger lies
in that most of the sleeper cells inside Lebanon are under close monitoring and
the security apparatuses have data that help them identify or arrest them. If
the terror groups started bringing their members from outside Lebanon, the
security forces will no more be able to obtain the required information. The
source added that seven of the eight suicide attackers in the eastern town of
al-Qaa were unknown Syrian nationals, and that their pictures were shown to
detainees who only recognized them as participants in training centers for brief
periods without being able to identify their names. Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq
had stated on Wednesday that detainees in the custody of the security forces
have identified seven out of the eight bombers, noting that the detainees were
shown pictures of the attackers' faces. “According to the detainees'
confessions, the seven criminals came from Syria, specifically from Raqa, not
from the encampments” of the Syrian refugees in al-Qaa's outskirts, the minister
said. Fears of bombings spiked lately after a series of suicide attacks rattled
the eastern town of al-Qaa on Monday evening, injuring eight people, only hours
after four suicide bombers killed five people and wounded 15 others in the town
before dawn. In the evening violence, three suicide bombers riding motorcycles
blew themselves up in the center of the predominantly Christian town, media
reports said. One struck in front of a church and the two others in front of the
municipality building. In the pre-dawn attack, five people were killed and
fifteen others were wounded when four suicide bombers targeted the town. The
suicide explosions struck at 10 minute intervals.
French MP Benoît Hamon to NNA:
If France wants to play role in Middle East, Beirut inevitable entrance for it
Thu 30 Jun 2016/NNA - French MP Benoît Hamon said on Thursday that there was a
great opportunity for France to enhance its partnership with Lebanon, whether at
cultural, political or other levels and "if France wants to play a role in the
Middle East, Beirut is an inevitable entrance for it." MP Hamon's fresh words
came during press conference held in the French parliament. Hamon responded to
NNA correspondent, Georges Sassine's questions by saying that France cannot take
decisions on behalf of Lebanese on the presidential elections. He called the
French government to exert further efforts to help Lebanon on the economic and
security levels. "The country is on the brink of the abyss, but we do not know
where the edge is, and this is what distinguishes Lebanon," remarked the French
MP. "No country can bear what Lebanon endures; it is facing a presidential
vacuum, a locked up government, an efficient parliament, a refugee crisis, a
zero growth rate and external threats," he said.
Mashnouq, Shorter sign MOU in
support of ISF: Clear message of UK support to efforts by security forces
Thu 30 Jun 2016/NNA - The British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo shorter and the
Minister of Interior Nohad Al-Machnouk signed a Memorandum of Understanding
today at Aramoun Training Facility that anchors future co-operation with the
Internal Security Forces worth £13million from the Conflict, Security and
Stability Fund over the next three years.The MOU was signed in the presence of
Major General Ibrahim Basbous, senior ISF officers, British police attaché Rob
Shepherd, and representatives from the British policing force. In a press
release by the British Embassy in Beirut, it said: "This MOU confirms the UK’s
support as agreed when the Minister of Interior visited London earlier this
year. We are proudly supporting his plan to establish a credible police force
for all of Lebanon, and will work with General Basbous in every way we can to
help the ISF meet the security challenges Lebanon faces every day. In
particular, we will continue to work on establishing a community-led police
force across the whole of Beirut and beyond; working with the ISF’s Academy to
improve the professionalism of new recruits and train experienced officers in
the skills needed to engage with communities and respond to their needs; and
with the new Strategic Planning Team, the Mobile Forces, and the Inspectorate
General, we will help improve long term planning, accountability, and respect
for Human Rights."
After the signature, Ambassador Shorter said: "This is yet another shining
example of our support to Lebanon and our long term relationship with the
Ministry of Interior and the Internal Security Forces. We recognize the
challenges that face the men and women of the police on a daily basis and we are
determined to support them as they confront mounting security threats and the
scourge of terrorism. I applaud the ministry’s determination to build a modern
police force based on state of the art training, human rights and community
focused policing. The United Kingdom has been providing assistance to the
Ministry of Interior for almost a decade. And achievements have been many: the
establishment of the Strategic Planning Team and office, Community Policing
Training, the Ras Beirut Policing Pilot, the Code of Conduct, the new VTC
facility for Crisis Management, ISF Human Rights Department, to name a few.
I have assured Minister Al-Machnouk, as I did yesterday PM Salam, that the UK
remains committed to Lebanon’s stability, security and prosperity. The UK’s vote
to leave the EU will not affect our relations or commitments to Lebanon and our
partners. We stand by Lebanon’s side in confronting the scourge of terrorism,
defending its borders, promoting jobs and livelihoods, expanding access to
education and managing the impact of the Syrian crisis."For his part, Minister
Machnouk said: "On this occasion, I would like to thank the British Government
represented by Ambassador Hugo Shorter for signing the Memorandum of
Understanding that projects the practical implementation of the British
government’s decision in supporting the Lebanese State represented by the
Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces for £13m last March
following my official visit to London. This initiative is a clear and honest
message by which the British Government reiterates its support to the
exceptional efforts carried by the Lebanese security forces especially the
Internal Security Forces in countering terrorism and reinforcing security and
stability in Lebanon. The Memorandum of Understanding is a clear example of the
priorities that I have put in place and have been working on implementing since
I assumed my position at the ministry, based on reinforcing and developing the
training capacities of the ministry’s security forces."
Berri in interview to Shiraa
Magazine: Dialogue and consensus Lebanese interest
Thu 30 Jun 2016/NNA - Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, underlined the
paramount importance of dialogue and consensus in foiling any strife attempt,
saying that "dialogue is a stringent Lebanese need and interest." "There is no
alternative to consensual democracy," Speaker Berri said in an interview to
"Ash-Shiraa" Magazine to be published tomorrow, whereby he dwelt on an array of
local and regional issues. Berri regarded the currently undertaken
Hezbollah-Future Movement dialogue as an affirming platform to lessen the
ceilings of tensions and an open session to agree on major national headlines.
The Speaker also deemed the election of the president of the republic as a
crucial and vital priority; yet, he added, it should be accompanied by the
endorsement of a new election's law, holding parliamentary elections and the
formation of a national unity government. "1960 election law inflicts political
'nakba' in Lebanon," remarked Berri, pointing out that "we need a unified
national front to wage the future political battle of Lebanon."Berri also
disclosed that his relation with head of "Democratic Gathering" MP Walid
Jumblatt as "strategic and constant," and considered former Prime Minister Saad
Hariri as a "national need." Berri expressed readiness to carry out any role
that would contribute to bridging the gap in relations between Arabs and Iran,
bringing to attention that he asked of Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi
to exert utmost efforts to help building confidence in Gulf relations, notably
Saudi Arabia, with Iran. He also indicated that "Sykes-Picot has finished,"
pointing out that what is currently taking place is in fact targeting the
central state, in the aim of producing Federalists and confederalists on the
basis of religions, sects and ethnic groups. On the other hand, Berri expressed
his belief that neither the United States nor Russia wants in fact a cease fire
in Syria.
Hout: To ensure political
cover for army, police
Thu 30 Jun 2016/NNA - MP Imad Hout said on Thursday that a political cover
should be ensured to the army and the police. Hout's words came from Dar Al
Fatwa as he met with Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian.
The pair tackled the situation in Lebanon and the region, notably after Qaa
attacks. out said that they underlined the importance of national unity and of
electing a President. He added that they rejected autonomous security or actions
that might weaken the Lebanese state.
Hussein Mousawi visits Qaa to
offer condolences to families of martyrs
Thu 30 Jun 2016/NNA - Deputy Hussein Mousawi visited on Thursday Qaa village to
extend his condolences to the families of the martyrs. "Terrorists are targeting
all the Lebanese without exception," he confirmed.
Bassil: Terrorism has become
cross border
Thu 30 Jun 2016/NNA - Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Gebran Bassil, met on
Thursday with his Danish counterpart Kristin Jensen, in the presence of
Ambassador of Denmark to Lebanon, Svend Waever and the accompanying delegation.
Discussions focused on the situation in Lebanon and the region as well as the
rapid spread of terrorism. "We have agreed that terrorism has become a
cross-border and delicate balance of our system in the demographic, economic and
political risk," the minister said in a press conference with his counterpart.
Bassil said that he has focused during the meeting on the Israeli daily
violations against Lebanon's sovereignty. The minister thanked Denmark for the
help whether at the south within the UNIFIL, the Trust Fund or through local
projects. Discussions highlighted the risk of Syrian refugees into Lebanon, "we
renewed our call to find a political solution in Syria," Bassil asserted. "A
lasting political solution to the crisis is to return the displaced back to
their home, confirming that their naturalization is not an option," he
concluded.
Pharaon: to reach political
agreement on security
Thu 30 Jun 2016/NNA - Tourism Minister, Michel Pharaon hoped in a statement on
Thursday "to reach a political agreement on security to safeguard the
country."He expressed full confidence in the security apparatuses, calling on
the media outlets to be accurate in the transfer of information. "The recent
bombings in Qaa and at Turkey's Ataturk Airport require raising the level of
caution," the minister asserted. The minister held series of contacts with
security leaders and officials in the tourism sector, hoping "to coordinate to
take necessary measures."
Basbous, De Freij hold talks
Thu 30 Jun 2016/NNA - ISF General Director, Major General Ibrahim Basbous met on
Thursday before noon at his office with Minister of State for Administrative
Development Affairs, MP Nabil de Freij. Discussions tackled the general
situation in the country.
General Security raids
terrorist hotbed in Wadi Ata, seizes explosive belt
Thu 30 Jun 2016/NNA - The Directorate General of General Security raided on
Thursday with the army a terrorist hotbed in Arsal's Wadi Ata according to the
confessions of detained terrorists and as part of its security activity. It
discovered an explosive belt, weapons, and war ammunitions. The Directorate
seized the objects and is following up the issue to arrest the remaining members
of the terrorist cell.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on June 30-July
01/16
ISIS may be on the decline —
but beware al Qaeda
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross/New York Post/June 30/16/After the latest terror attacks
in Orlando and Istanbul, it's clearer than ever that our strategy against ISIS
is lacking. The Post asked a panel of terrorism experts what needs to be done to
win the war against ISIS on the military, diplomatic and ideological fronts.
Here are their answers: Recent attacks inspired or executed by ISIS show how
dangerous a militant organization in decline can be. But make no mistake: The
group is in a state of decline. ISIS, which is so proficient at making enemies
that it has been fighting a war on at least five fronts for the past two years,
has been losing ground in Iraq and Syria. The group is also on the verge of
losing the Libyan city of Sirte, which is the capital of its Africa-based
network. But jihadism neither begins nor ends with ISIS, which itself is a
bloodier offshoot of al Qaeda, whose 2001 attacks on New York City and
Washington, DC, kicked off the current conflict in which the United States has
been embroiled. And al Qaeda has masterfully used ISIS as a foil since the
latter’s advance from Syria into Iraq in June 2014. Since the onset of the 2011
Arab uprisings, al Qaeda has experienced sustained and alarming — but somewhat
below-the-radar — growth. The group has accomplished this through a strategy of
localization, portraying itself as an organic part of the population’s struggles
in places like Syria, Yemen and Libya. ISIS’s emergence has provided al Qaeda
the opportunity to fly even further below the radar of counterterrorists and
counterinsurgents, as governmental resources have disproportionately focused on
the flashier and more overt ISIS. Further, al Qaeda has been able to “rebrand,”
portraying itself as a more restrained alternative to ISIS’s over-the-top
barbarity. It can still carry out bloody and tragic attacks in places like
Paris, Brussels and Istanbul, but ISIS’s network is losing steam. Al Qaeda’s is
not. It has survived the ISIS challenge, and has a militant network that is on
the rise. We should hasten ISIS’s collapse and discredit the group. But the main
thing we need to do now is look beyond ISIS.
Al-Qaeda, our original jihadist foe, may be the strongest it has ever been.
**Daveed Gartenstein-Ross is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies and the chief executive officer of Valens Global.
ISIS claims responsibility for
shooting dead Egypt priest
AFP, Cairo Thursday, 30
June 2016
The Egyptian branch of ISIS claimed responsibility for a shooting attack that
killed a Coptic priest in the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday. The jihadist group
said a “squad” of its gunmen killed the 46-year-old priest for “combating
Islam,” in a statement posted on social media accounts. Police and the Coptic
Church had said the priest was gunned down in the North Sinai capital of
El-Arish while standing next to his car. Raphael Moussa was killed instantly
when a man shot him in the head while he was standing next to his car in North
Sinai capital El-Arish, said Boulos Halim, a church spokesman. Moussa had
earlier left a church where he attended a mass, Halim said. Security officials
said more than one gunman had been involved in the shooting and had followed the
priest and opened fire when he emerged from his car. A branch of ISIS in the
frontier peninsula has waged an insurgency that has killed hundreds of policemen
and soldiers. Moussa was not the first priest killed in Arish. Another, Mina
Aboud, was shot dead on July 6, 2013, three days after the Egyptian military
toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, unleashing clashes and a crackdown on
his supporters. Pro-Islamists attacked and torched dozens of churches and
Christian properties a month later, after police killed hundreds of Morsi
supporters in Cairo clashes. They accused the Coptic minority of supporting the
overthrow of Morsi, whom the army deposed after millions of Egyptians rallied to
demand his resignation. Leading Muslim clerics, as well as the opposition and
the Coptic Orthodox Church, supported his overthrow after a year of divisive
rule.While no one has claimed responsibility yet for the attack, jihadists in
Sinai have targeted Christians before, as well as Muslims they accuse of working
with the government. They have also attacked tourists. ISIS claimed
responsibility for last October’s bombing of a Russian airliner carrying
holidaymakers from a south Sinai resort, killing all 224 people on board. “The
whole situation in El-Arish and North Sinai is under threat,” said Halim. “Many
people (Christians) have left.”Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s
population of 90 million, have faced persecution and discrimination that spiked
during the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by a popular uprising
in 2011.
Dozens have been killed in recent years in sectarian attacks and clashes
throughout Egypt.
UN envoy to Syria: ‘I found a
solution for Assad knot’
Talal al-Haj, Al Arabiya English Thursday, 30 June 2016/The UN’s special envoy
to Syria told al-Hadath, the sister channel of Al Arabiya News, that he had
found a “solution for [Syrian President Bashar] Assad knot,” without elaborating
on his newly found answer over the Syrian leader’s iron hold on power. “Assad
knot” is a term used by mediators who are trying to find a solution between the
Syrian regime, which is insisting that Assad must stay, versus the country’s
opposition which stipulates that the leader must go for any real political
solution to take place. In an exclusive interview conducted near the UN
headquarters on Wednesday in New York, Staffan de Mistura said a looming August
deadline for peace talks and upcoming US presidential elections means that a
political solution must be found urgently. He highlighted the UN’s plight to
finally drop aid to besieged areas across Syria, as well as the hope that
cessation of hostilities will be reinforced and maintained across the region and
respected by all warring factions. De Mistura expressed his regret at the
suffering of the Syrian people, while also claiming the five-year war as being
the cruelest one. While the NGOs and struggling citizens are losing hope day by
day, the UN Syrian envoy insists that a bridge is in sight, one that would allow
both sides to come together and a political transition can be met.
Here are some of the main points Mistura discussed in the interview:
* “You know who is the last casualty of the Syrian war? Brexit. When you look at
it the consequences of this conflict which have been going on for five years is
affecting everyone, even producing a sense of concern in European countries to
the point of reaching that type of consequence, so the hope is based on the fact
that I know there is a sense of urgency, a sense of urgency in finding a
political solution.”
* “This is crunch time, July time, August, September will be the last General
Assembly of the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the last General Assembly of
President Obama, there will be a moment when perhaps in the G20 President Obama
and President Putin will meet.”
* “I do intend to have the intra Syrian talks in July - but I want them well
prepared. Only then I announce them.”
* “The Special Envoy of the UN is a mediator, the mediator is supposed to be
creative enough to find where are the differences between the two sides and see
whether there can be a bridge in order to help both sides to climb down the tree
and come up with some area where negotiation can take place.”
* “I want to believe and I think I have reasons to believe that both Russia and
the US - who are crucial because they are the co-chairs - have both an urgent
vested interest in avoiding this conflict starts again and becomes open ended.”
* “Now in the besieged areas we had 18 locations which were besieged and just
today - there is actually being an announcement that even those last two have
been reached. Is that enough? No. But is that very different from a year ago.”
* “Ideally, the cessation of hostilities should have been holding much longer
but in those two months many lives were saved and we were able to prove it can
be done. The most dangerous thing in this conflict is when people say -it cannot
be done; it is impossible- It was done, and it needs to be repeated.”
* “The ceasefire is failing but it has not totally failed. I feel that with
sufficient moral pressure on both sides there is a possibility of recalling it.”
* “Civilians should not be dying any more in this conflict. They should not be
victims of barrel bombs. They should not be victims of also the canisters which
have been thrown on the other side. I say that we together and the public
opinion should be, like we have been doing, putting more pressure on both Russia
and the US to actually come up again with the same deal they were able to do on
26 February. It is not impossible.”
Turkish forces kill two
suspected ISIS members at Syria border
AFP, Ankara Thursday, 30 June 2016/Turkish security forces have killed two
suspected members of the ISIS group on the Syrian border, one of whom was
believed to be planning a suicide attack in Turkey, news agencies reported
Thursday. The two men were shot dead on Saturday, days ahead of the triple
suicide bombings at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport on Tuesday that left 42 people
dead, the Anadolu and Dogan agencies said. One of the suspects, named as
Mohammad Arab, was planning an attack either in the Turkish capital Ankara or in
the southern city of Adana, Dogan added. Ankara was the scene of Turkey’s worst
ever attack last October when 103 people were killed in suicide bombings blamed
on ISIS. Special forces also rounded up several ISIS suspects in Istanbul early
on Thursday, Dogan said. No details were given about their identity. The
government has said ISIS militants were likely behind the carnage at Istanbul
airport, one of the busiest hubs in Europe. Turkey has cracked down on ISIS
after a string of deadly attacks blamed on the militants, who have seized
swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, right up to the Turkish border.
Istanbul bombers were
‘Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Thursday, 30 June 2016/Three suspected ISIS
suicide bombers who killed 43 people in a gun and bomb attack at Istanbul
airport this week were from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, a Turkish
government official said on Thursday. The attack on Europe’s third-busiest
airport was the deadliest in a series of suicide bombings in Turkey this year.
The three bombers opened fire to create panic outside, before two of them got
inside the terminal building and blew themselves up. The third detonated his
explosives at the entrance. A further 239 people were wounded. The official gave
no further details beyond confirming the attackers’ nationalities and declined
to be named because details of the investigation have not yet been released.
Investigators had been struggling to identify the bombers from their limited
remains, officials said earlier. “A medical team is working around the clock to
conclude the identification process,” one of the officials said. The
pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper said the Russian bomber was from Dagestan,
which borders Chechnya, where Moscow has led two wars against separatists and
religious militants since the Soviet Union collapsed in The Kyrgyz security
service declined to comment, while the Uzbek security service could not
immediately be reached. Turkish police detained 13 people, three of them
foreigners, in raids across Istanbul in connection with Tuesday night’s attack.
Counter-terrorism teams led by police special forces launched simultaneous raids
at 16 locations in the city, two officials told Reuters. Turkish authorities
have said they believe ISIS was behind the airport attack. Yeni Safak said the
organiser of the attack was suspected to be a man called Akhmed Chatayev, of
Chechen origin. Chatayev is identified on a United Nations sanctions list as a
leader in ISIS responsible for training Russian-speaking militants, and as
wanted by Russian authorities. The Hurriyet newspaper named one of the attackers
as Osman Vadinov, also Chechen, and said he had come from Raqqa, the heart of
ISIS-controlled territory in Syria. Turkish officials did not confirm to Reuters
that either Chatayev or Vadinov were part of the investigation. Nine suspected
militants, thought to have been in contact with ISIS members in Syria, were
meanwhile detained in the dawn raids in four districts of Izmir, the news agency
said. It said they were accused of financing, recruiting and providing
logistical support to the extremist group. Turkey is part of a US-led military
coalition against ISIS and home to around 3 million refugees from the five-year
civil war in neighboring Syria.
Turkey: All criteria met for
visa-free travel to Europe
Reuters, Ankara Thursday, 30 June 2016/Turkey has met the required criteria to
secure visa-free travel for its citizens to Europe, but the European Union says
it has not yet met stipulations on personal data and terrorism, Turkey’s EU
minister said on Thursday. Omer Celik, flanked by Turkish Foreign Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu, made the comments to reporters in Brussels ahead of talks to
“open” Chapter 33 of its European Union accession process, which covers budget
policy. Cavusoglu told CNN Turk that it was important for Turkey to retain
momentum in EU talks. Turkey won visa-free travel for its citizens to Europe in
return for agreeing to curb the flow of migrants to the bloc. However, sticking
points have remained over Turkey’s anti-terror laws, which some in Europe see as
too broad. The opening of Chapter 33 marks a modest step forward in Ankara’s
accession process to Europe.
Erdogan: Turkey will overcome
terror groups
The Associated Press, Istanbul Thursday, 30 June 2016/Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan says his country will overcome terror groups, including Kurdish
rebels and ISIS, which have intensified their attacks. Speaking at a Ramadan
fast-breaking dinner Wednesday, Erdogan said the terror organizations were
trying to impede Turkey’s ambitions, including becoming one of the world’s 10
strongest economies and building the world’s largest airport. He was addressing
his staff a day after suspected ISIS militants attacked Istanbul’s busiest
airport with gunfire and bombs, killing 42 people and wounding scores of others.
Erdogan said: “Neither the PKK, the DHKP-C, nor Daesh ... will succeed in
deterring Turkey from its goals.” He was referring in turn to the Kurdish
rebels, an outlawed leftist militant group and ISIS. The Turkish leader also
said the airport attackers were “not Muslims” and “have prepared their place in
hell.” Erdogan thanked world leaders including US President Barack Obama and
Russian President Vladimir Putin, for calling to offer their condolences.Watch:
Saudi victims in Istanbul attack: 6 killed, 5 missing
Putin says Turkey has said
sorry for downing jet
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Thursday, 30 June 2016/In politics, as in life,
sorry seems to be the hardest word. According to Russian President Vladimir
Putin, Turkey on Thursday has apologized for the shooting down of a Russian war
plane last year. But officials in Ankara say they had expressed regret but
stopped short of apologizing. The news is part of a fresh saga of tensions and
reconciliation between the two countries, which fell out after Turkey downed a
Russian warplane in November. The tensions caused Moscow slap an embargo on
Turkish food products and ban charter flights and the sale of package tours to
the country, long popular with Russian tourists seeking warmer weather. Putin
and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayip Erdogan on Wednesday held their first
phone call since Ankara downed one of Moscow's jets in Syria last year, both
sides said, and will later meet in person. Extending an apparent olive branch of
peace, Putin said after the phone call with Erdogan that he would lift travel
restrictions to Turkey. The Turkish president said in a statement after the call
that the two leaders would “remain in contact and “meet in person” to
“reinvigorate bilateral relations and fight terrorism together.” Turkey this
week has been left reeling after 42 people were killed and 239 injured at
Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, the country’s main hub. ISIS is suspected to have
carried out the attack. The three suicide bombers who carried out an attack on
the airport were of Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz nationality, a Turkish official
said on Thursday.
Russia expects full compensation
Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, as
saying on Thursday that Moscow expects compensation from Ankara for the shooting
down of the Russian jet before a full restoration of Russian-Turkish relations.
“Vladimir Vladimirovich has made clear our terms which will allow to restore our
relations: apologies, punishment for those guilty and compensation,” Karlov told
Interfax referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The first has happened,
we are now waiting for the second and third.”(With Reuters)
Iraq says 260 is vehicles
destroyed in Fallujah flight
AFP, Baghdad Thursday, 30 June 2016/Air strikes on ISIS group fighters fleeing
after their defeat in Fallujah have destroyed more than 260 vehicles and killed
at least 150 militants, Iraqi officers said. The strikes began late on Tuesday
as hundreds of vehicles carrying weapons and ammunition attempted to leave the
militants’ last positions to the west of the city, the Joint Operations Command
said. “Our heroes in the military aviation destroyed more than 200 vehicles,”
JOC spokesman Yahya Rasool said. He said commandos had also seized large
quantities of weapons and ammunition. Rasool said at least 150 ISIS militants
were killed in the strikes, although it was not clear how the dead were counted
and identified. He was referring to a first series of strikes on a massive
convoy of several hundred vehicles heading south of Fallujah toward the desert,
apparently to areas IS still controls near the border with Syria. At least
another 60 ISIS vehicles were destroyed later by air strikes conducted by Iraqi
and US-led coalition aircraft on a convoy heading northwest of Fallujah, Anbar
Operations Command chief Ismail Mahalawi. He could not provide an estimate for
the number of IS fighters killed in the strikes. Iraqi forces have retaken full
control of Fallujah, an emblematic jihadist bastion just 50 kilometres (30
miles) west of Baghdad, after a vast operation that was launched in May.
Pakistan launches crackdown
against sectarian militants in southwest
Gul Yousafzai, Reuters, Quetta, Pakistan Thursday, 30 June 2016/Pakistani forces
killed three militants at the start of a crackdown on sectarian militant group
in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, officials said on Thursday,
following a spate of attacks targeting security forces. The extremist Sunni
Muslim group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), whose roots are in Punjab province,
claimed responsibility for gunning down four policemen on Tuesday and four
soldiers of the paramilitary Frontier Corps in the city of Quetta on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps said the government had decided
to launch an armed operation against LeJ at a late night meeting on Wednesday.
“Three terrorists belonging to LeJ have been killed in an armed clash with
Frontier Corps and intelligence personnel,” said Khan Wasey, the spokesman for
the paramilitary force. He said the killings took place during a search
operation in the early hours of Thursday. Last year, police killed the leader of
the LeJ, Malik Ishaq, signalling a shift in the Pakistani government's strategy
for dealing with the group. Baluchistan chief minister Sananullah Zehri
condemned the killing of the policemen and soldiers and said "strict actions
would be launched against terrorists and their supporters." Baluchistan is
Pakistan’s poorest and least developed province and has suffered a long-running
separatist violence. Ethnic Baluch activists and human rights groups accuse the
military of carrying out a campaign of kidnapping, torture and extrajudicial
killing against suspected separatists, and a security measures have severely
limited freedom of movement in the province. Pakistan and China are developing
multi-billion-dollar energy and infrastructure projects in the sparsely
populated region as part of a plan to create a corridor stretching from the
Arabian Sea to China's Xinjiang region.
Taliban suicide bombers kill
27, wound 40
Reuters, Kabul Thursday, 30 June 2016/Two Taliban suicide bombers killed at
least 27 police and wounded around 40 in an attack on Thursday on buses carrying
recently graduated cadets on the western outskirts of Kabul. A police official
said that, according to preliminary information, three buses were attacked as
they approached the Afghan capital from neighboring Wardak province. “Initial
information we have is that two suicide bombers were involved and there are many
casualties,” he said, declining to be identified by name. An Interior Ministry
official said at least 27 people were killed and 40 wounded.
The incident comes 10 days after an attack on a bus carrying Nepali security
guards working for the Canadian embassy in Kabul that killed 14 people. In
April, at least 64 people were killed by a Taliban attack on a security services
facility in Kabul in the deadliest bombing of its kind in Afghanistan since
2011.
Palestinian kills teen in settlement, then shot dead
Reuters, Jerusalem Thursday, 30 June 2016/A Palestinian fatally stabbed a
13-year-old girl inside her home in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West
Bank on Thursday, before guards shot him dead, the military and hospital
officials said. A member of the response team that killed the assailant was also
wounded in the incident, said an official from the Kiryat Arba settlement, near
the city of Hebron. Over the past eight months, Palestinians have killed 33
Israelis and two visiting US citizens in a wave of street attacks, mostly
stabbings. Israeli forces have shot dead at least 198 Palestinians, 134 of whom
Israel has said were assailants. Others were killed in clashes and protests. An
Israeli military spokesman said the girl was attacked in her bedroom. Hospital
officials in Jerusalem said she died of her wounds, giving her age as 13.
Israeli media reports identified the suspected attacker as a 17-year-old
Palestinian from a village near Kiryat Arba. Malachi Levinger, chairman of
Kiryat Arba’s government council, said on Army Radio that a Palestinian climbed
a security fence and entered a family home where he attacked the girl.
“Two members of a response team exchanged fire with him. One of them was wounded
and the terrorist was killed,” Levinger said. Palestinian leaders say assailants
have acted out of desperation over peace talks frozen since 2014 and Israeli
settlement building in occupied territory that Palestinians seek for a state.
Tensions over Jewish access to a contested Jerusalem holy site, revered by
Muslims as Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and Jews as Temple Mount, have also
fueled the violence. Israel says incitement in the Palestinian media and
personal problems at home have been important factors that have spurred
assailants, often teenagers, to launch attacks.
Egypt marks overthrow of
Islamist president with new holiday
AP, Cairo Thursday, 30 June 2016/Egypt is celebrating the army’s 2013 overthrow
of an Islamist president with a new national holiday. On Thursday warplanes flew
over the capital, Cairo, where supporters of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi plan
to hold rallies later in the day and in the evening, after the breaking of the
Ramadan fast. The holiday, which the government refers to as the "June 30
Revolution" and which it announced earlier this week, will be also marked with
musical performances and free entry to museums. In the ancient city of Luxor,
balloons carrying Egyptian flags flew over pharaonic temples and authorities
plan a parade along the River Nile. Sisi, then Egypt’s defense minister, led the
ouster of his freely elected but divisive predecessor, Mohammed Morsi of the
Muslim Brotherhood, following mass demonstrations against his presidency.
US sailors detained by
Iran spoke ‘too much’ under interrogation
Reuters, Washington Thursday, 30 June 2016/American sailors who were detained by
Iran in January gave away too much information to their captors and were seized
in the Gulf following a series of missteps by the crew and their superiors, the
US Navy said in a report on Thursday. The report said some of the 10 crew
members, detained at gunpoint Jan. 12 by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC), had revealed sensitive information, such as phone and laptop
passwords, to the Iranians. At the time of their capture, an international
incident that rattled nerves days before the implementation of a nuclear accord
between Iran and world powers, the sailors were in transit in two vessels from
Kuwait to Bahrain. Iran used the detentions for propaganda purposes that kept
the incident in the headlines for weeks afterward. The US Navy report blamed the
incident on poor planning, leaders who did not properly consider risks, and
complacency amid a lack of oversight and low morale. The report cited the
instance of one crew member revealing details to the Iranian interrogators such
as the top speed of his vessel and that it conducted “presence” missions. “It is
clear that some, if not all, crew members provided at least some information to
interrogators beyond name, rank, service number and date of birth,” the report
said. Indeed, some crew members told the Iranians the capabilities of their
vessels, and passwords to their personal phones and laptops, the report said.
Problems
Problems had plagued the mission from the beginning. The commander of the crews’
task force ordered the 250-nautical-mile transit, the longest the crews had
attempted, on short notice, and “severely underestimated” the transit’s
risks.“He lacked a questioning attitude, failed to promote a culture of safety,
and disregarded appropriate backup from his staff and subordinate commands,” the
report said. The report redacted names, but the Navy last week identified the
commander of the boats’ task force as Captain Kyle Moses and said he had been
relieved of his command. The boats’ captains and crew did not review or stick to
their planned course from the moment they left port, the report said, and
inadvertently went through Saudi Arabian territorial waters before entering
Iranian waters off the coast of Iran’s Farsi Island in the Gulf. At one point,
the crew members did not realize they were near Farsi Island because they did
not zoom into their navigation system’s map. “Had any crew member zoomed into
the purple dot, they would have discovered the purple dot was Farsi Island,” the
report said.
Taken at gunpoint
Near the island, one of the boats suffered a faulty engine, and the two crafts
were approached by two IRGC boats, which pointed their weapons. They were soon
after joined by two other IRGC boats. The boat captains did not direct their
gunners to put on protective gear or to man the weapons on the boat. Under the
standard rules of engagement, U.S. military personnel are obligated to defend
their units. However, in the hopes of de-escalating the situation, the captains
directed their gunners to step away from their weapons. “I didn’t want to start
a war with Iran,” one of the boat captains told investigators. “My thought at
the end of the day was that no one had to die for a misunderstanding.” The
Iranians forced the sailors to remove their body armor, kneel, and place their
hands behind their heads, and took video and pictures of the crew doing so. At
Farsi Island, they interrogated and detained the sailors overnight before
releasing them the next day.
Filmed acting happy
The sailors also acquiesced to Iranian demands that they eat and act happy while
being filmed in order to be released, and one captain read an apology prepared
by the Iranians. Unbeknownst to them, the US government had already negotiated
their unconditional release. In addition to Moses, in May, the U.S. Navy fired
Eric Rasch, commander of the squadron that included the sailors. The report said
administrative action had been taken with regard to two personnel, and
recommended action be taken regarding six others.
The report also faulted the IRGC for violating international norms. The Iranians
replaced an American flag on board with an IRGC one, ransacked the vessels, and
damaged equipment, the report said. The militaries of the United States and Iran
keep a close eye on each other in Gulf waters, with the US naval presence there
meant to reassure Gulf allies of its commitment to their security. For Iran,
which sees itself as resisting US interests throughout the Middle East, the
detention was a public relations coup. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
awarded medals to IRGC commanders, and Iranian media broadcast videos of the
detainees. “This event was an act of God, it happened at a good time, and you
acted admirably,” Khamenei told the Iranian sailors in January.
UN hands road map to Yemen’s warring sides
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Thursday, 30 June 2016/UN envoy to Yemen said
on Thursday that he offered Yemen’s warring sides a “road map” that includes a
unity government and details a comprehensive political dialogue to end conflict
in the southern Arabian Peninsula country. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed also the
next two weeks will be “dedicated” to support consultation with the warring
sides and their leaderships. The diplomat made his statement following what he
described as a two-week break in peace talks the day before. He said the
delegations would return to Kuwait on July 15 to “embark on a new phase” in the
talks. The UN-backed talks between Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels, who have
seized control of large parts of the country, and President Abedrabbu Mansour
Hadi’s government began in Kuwait on April 21. Ould Cheikh Ahmed said Kuwait
talks have tackled most of the contentious issues, indicating that “there is a
big improvement” in delivering humanitarian aid to Yemen. The envoy has urged
both sides to make concessions to end the conflict, which has cost more than
6,400 lives since March 2015 and displaced 2.8 million people. He also said the
warring sides have agreed to transfer the pacification committee to Dhahran
city, south of Saudi Arabia. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday met the
two delegations in Kuwait and urged them to accept the roadmap. Despite a
Saudi-led military intervention launched last year in support of Hadi’s
government, the militias and their allies remain in control of many key areas
territory, including the capital Sanaa. (With AFP)
A president Trump would
‘complicate’ US-Europe ties: Hollande
AFP, Paris Thursday, 30 June 2016/If US Republican candidate Donald Trump is
elected president it would be a dangerous result and “complicate” relations
between Europe and the United States, French President Francois Hollande has
warned. “Those who say that Donald Trump could not possibly become the next
president of the United States are the same ones who thought that Brexit would
never be voted in,” Hollande said, referring to last week’s British referendum
which backed withdrawal from the European Union. Trump was running on the kind
of slogans peddled by the extreme right in France and elsewhere in Europe; fear
of the wave of migration, stigmatization of Islam, questioning representative
democracy, denouncing elites, the French leader said in an interview to be
published Thursday in the French financial daily Les Echos. When asked whether a
Trump presidency would be a dangerous thing he answered “yes”. Trump’s presence
in the White House “would complicate relations between Europe and the United
States,” Hollande added. A new opinion poll in the US showed that the race for
the White House is too close to call. Respondents to the latest Quinnipiac
University national poll put Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton ahead of Trump
by just 42 percent to 40 percent, a narrowing from Clinton’s four-point margin
in the organization’s June 1 survey. Trump, the New York celebrity tycoon, has
caused alarm in Europe with his abrasive style and pledges to deport millions of
undocumented immigrants and build a wall on the border with Mexico. His proposal
to ban Muslims from entering the United States drew the ire of Britain’s Prime
Minister David Cameron, who called the idea “stupid, divisive and wrong”. Trump
has criticized the continent’s leaders as “weak” and accused them of taking
inadequate measures to combat terrorism following the Islamist attacks on
Brussels in March. Last month French Prime Minister Manuel Valls accused the
presumptive US Republican presidential nominee Trump of being a “bad man”.
Senate panel grants more
visas for Afghans who supported US
The Associated Press, Washington Thursday, 30 June 2016/A Senate panel decided
Wednesday to provide an additional 4,000 visas to allow Afghans who sided with
the American-led coalition and are at risk of being killed or injured by the
Taliban to resettle in the United States. The Appropriations Committee voted
unanimously, 30 to 0, to approve a foreign operations spending bill that
includes a provision granting the extra visas and extending the so-called
special immigrant visa program for another year. The Afghan civilians worked for
the coalition as interpreters, firefighters and construction laborers. But the
militants considered them traitors. The top American commander in Afghanistan,
Army Gen. John Nicholson, urged Congress to extend the special immigrant visa
program so they and their families could escape what he called “grave
consequences.”Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., pushed for the program to be
continued, telling her colleagues that many Americans who served in Afghanistan
are alive today because of the support they received from Afghans willing to put
themselves in danger. “If Congress fails to extend this program, this could be a
death sentence for many Afghans who have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our
military and diplomats,” Shaheen said.Shaheen and Sen. John McCain of Arizona,
the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, had sought
earlier this month to extend and expand the visa program by adding an amendment
to the annual defense policy bill. But a procedural dispute prevented most
amendments from being debated and included in the legislation. Senate backers of
the visa program still face objections from skeptical lawmakers in the GOP-led
House. In the House’s version of the defense bill, lawmakers refused to provide
the 4,000 additional visas. They did extend the program for a year, but
restricted eligibility for visas only to Afghans whose jobs took them outside
the confines of a military base or secured facility. Congress has added 7,000
visas to the program over the last two years alone to meet the demand and the
Obama administration requested 4,000 more for the fiscal year that begins Oct.
1. Since December 2014, the State Department has issued more than 3,000 special
immigrant visas to Afghans who worked for the coalition. Thousands more visas
are being processed through a pipeline that can take 270 days from start to
finish. Shaheen said the supply of visas could expire by end of the year unless
more were approved. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the additional
4,000 visas would cost $446 million over the next 10 years. Afghans who resettle
in the US become lawful permanent residents and are entitled to federally
supported benefits such as Medicaid, subsidies for health care and food stamps.
The cost has worried fiscal conservatives, who said it is not clear more visas
are needed when so many haven’t been used. The program’s critics also said
allowing so many Afghans to exit the country will drain Afghanistan of much
needed talent. Shaheen, a member of the Armed Services Committee, called
objections over the cost a “red herring.” The expenses are offset by cost-saving
measures found elsewhere in the Defense Department budget, she said.
CIA paid Romania ‘millions of
dollars’ to host secret prisons
The Associated Press, Bucharest Thursday, 30 June 2016/The CIA paid Romania
“millions of dollars” to host secret prisons, a rights lawyer said Wednesday as
the European Court of Human Rights heard accusations that Romania allowed the
agency to torture terrorism suspects in a secret renditions program under
President George W. Bush. Amrit Singh told the court on the opening day of the
case that CIA prisons were in Romania from 2003-2005 with the government’s
“acquiescence and connivance,” something authorities have denied. Romanian
government representative Catrinel Brumar countered that it takes more than
“hints and speculation to establish the state’s responsibilities.” She said an
investigation was ongoing. The court said it would rule in a few months on
whether Romania knowingly allowed CIA secret prisons where torture occurred, and
whether it failed to prevent the torture of Singh's client. The alleged presence
of CIA secret prisons remains a sensitive subject in Romania, a strong US ally
which at the time was seeking support from Washington to join NATO, something it
did in 2004. Singh told The Associated Press by telephone that Romania was
"obfuscating and in denial" in its arguments. Singh said her client, Saudi
Arabian national Abd al-Rahim Al Nashiri, was shackled, sleep-deprived,
subjected to loud noise and bright lights, slapped and given forced rectal
feeding at a Bucharest CIA prison in 2004. He is currently in US custody at
Guantanamo Bay. She noted that his alleged mistreatment had not yielded useful
information. The US Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture was
completed in 2014. It detailed the torture of prisoners and how government
oversight was prevented. The report did not directly mention Romania. Amnesty
International called Wednesday’s hearing a “milestone in accountability.”
Sisi: ‘Nothing to hide’ on islands transfer to Saudi
The Associated Press, Cairo Thursday, 30 June 2016/Egypt’s President
Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has defended the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi
Arabia, which sparked the largest protests of his presidency and was declared
unconstitutional last week. He said on Wednesday that “the state will present
all documents and evidence,” adding “we have to nothing to hide.” The transfer,
announced during an April visit by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abduaziz,
alongside billions of dollars in Saudi aid, ignited street protests, with
critics accusing the government of selling off sovereign territory. Last week a
court struck down the transfer in a rare public rebuke of el-Sisi’s government.
The government is appealing the ruling. It says the islands of Tiran and Sanafir
were always Saudi, but were placed under Egyptian protection in 1950. Sisi had
previously refused to discuss the matter. In April this year, Saudi Arabia and
Egypt signed agreements to specify maritime borders, allowing both countries to
benefit from maritime zones that were previously untapped. The agreement was
signed during Saudi Arabia’s King Salman visit to Egypt during which several
investment projects were announced. The technical drawing of the border include
the Tiran and Sanafir islands as part of Saudi Arabia’s territory, the statement
said. In 1950, Saudi Arabia’s founder King Abdulaziz Al Saud had requested Egypt
to protect those islands which has been the case since then. Drawing up the
maritime border for both countries had been in progress for over six years.
“This enables both countries to benefit from the exclusive economic zone for
each, with whatever resources and treasures they contain,” a statement said.
Watch: Warm welcome for King Salman in Egypt
Obama confident Europe will
come up with prudent post-Brexit plan
Reuters, Washington Thursday, 30 June 2016/US President Barack Obama said on
Wednesday he is confident Europeans will come up with a prudent plan to move
forward after Britain's vote last week to leave the European Union. “Despite
some of the initial reactions, I am confident that the process can be managed in
a prudent, orderly way. I expect that our friends on both sides of the Channel
will develop a workable plan for how to move forward,” Obama said in a speech to
the Canadian Parliament.
‘rhetoric is xenophobic, not populist’
Obama is tired of hearing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
described as a populist. The Democratic leader, who has made no secret of his
dislike for the wealthy businessman’s rhetoric, closed a news conference in
Canada on Wednesday with a long riff on what makes a leader qualified for the
“populist” mantra. Trump did not meet the criteria, Obama said, without
mentioning the Republican by name. “Somebody ... who has never shown any regard
for workers, has never fought on behalf of social justice issues or making sure
that poor kids are getting a decent shot at life or have health care,” does not
meet the definition, Obama said.“They don’t suddenly become a populist because
they say something controversial in order to win votes. That’s not the measure
of populism. That’s nativism, or xenophobia. Or worse. Or it’s just cynicism,”
he said. Trump won enough grassroots support among Republicans to make him the
party’s presumptive presidential nominee with a pledge to ban Muslims
temporarily from entering the United States and to build a wall on the US border
with Mexico, and a series of other inflammatory remarks.Obama has sharply
criticized Trump for such rhetoric. He plans to campaign with former Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, next
week. The president’s latest criticism of Trump could foreshadow Obama’s
strategy to help Clinton on the campaign trail. He made a point of saying US
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Clinton’s opponent in the race for the
Democratic presidential nomination, genuinely deserved the title of populist.
EU Opens New Chapter in Turkey
Accession Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 30/16/The European Union agreed Thursday to
open a new negotiating chapter with Turkey on its long-stalled bid for
membership of the bloc, an EU source said. The decision was part of an EU
agreement in March to speed up accession talks in return for Turkey helping to
control the massive inflow of migrants, mostly fleeing Syria, which overwhelmed
the bloc last year. The EU source gave no further details, with a formal
statement expected shortly after a meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu and top bloc officials in Brussels. Muslim-majority Turkey
formally launched its membership bid in 2005 and since then the EU has opened 15
chapters out of the 35 required to join the bloc. So far, however, only one
chapter has been completed, with disagreements over Turkey's human rights record
a cause for concern in many EU states and blocking progress.
The new chapter, number 33, covers finance and budget affairs. Under the March
agreement, the EU also agreed to boost aid to Turkey to cope with millions of
refugees on its territory and to speed up visa liberalisation.
Iraq Says IS Ripped Apart by
Airstrikes as It Fled Fallujah
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 30/16/Iraqi commanders said Thursday that
Islamic State group fighters fleeing their once emblematic bastion of Fallujah
had taken a heavy toll from strikes by both Iraqi and US-led coalition aircraft.
They said at least 260 vehicles were destroyed and 150 militants killed in
strikes that began late Tuesday as routed jihadists attempted to leave their
last positions west of the city in huge convoys. "Our heroes in the military
aviation destroyed more than 200 vehicles," Yahya Rasool, the spokesman of the
Joint Operations Command coordinating the fight against IS, said.
The ministry of defense released aerial footage showing dozens of vehicles being
taken out.
Rasool said commandos had also seized large quantities of weapons and
ammunition.
He said at least 150 IS militants were killed in the strikes, although it was
not clear how the dead were counted and identified. Rasool was referring to a
first series of strikes on a massive convoy of several hundred vehicles heading
south of Fallujah toward the desert, apparently to areas IS still controls near
the border with Syria. At least another 60 IS vehicles were destroyed later by
air strikes conducted by Iraqi and US-led coalition aircraft on a convoy heading
northwest of Fallujah, Anbar Operations Command chief Ismail Mahalawi told AFP.
He could not provide an estimate for the number of IS fighters killed in those
strikes. "This is a desperate attempt on the part of the terrorists to flee to
their areas in al-Qaim near the Syrian border and Tharthar," Mahalawi said.
Tharthar is a lake north of the Euphrates surrounded by desert through which IS
fighter still have lines to reach Mosul, the country's second city and their
last remaining major Iraqi hub. Iraqi forces have retaken full control of
Fallujah, a longtime jihadist bastion just 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of
Baghdad, after a vast operation that was launched in May. After tough battles to
breach IS defenses in south Fallujah, elite Iraqi forces conquered the rest of
the city with relative ease. They took full control of the city on Sunday after
IS fighters abandoned the Jolan neighborhood without firing a shot in anger and
retreated to rural areas to the west.The account of the air strikes provided by
the JOC suggests IS fighters had no other choice but to attempt a suicidal
convoy, which they knew would leave them exposed to air strikes. According to
Rasool and other military sources, the first strikes broke up a massive initial
convoy that stretched several kilometers (miles).
Foreign fighters
Some left their vehicles and hid in a spot which was subsequently struck by
Iraqi aircraft, resulting in a very high death toll, he said. Fragments of the
convoy were able to move on and some more vehicles were destroyed in subsequent
strikes. "We achieved a great victory by killing dozens of militants and the
leaders of this organization who tried to flee after their defeat," Rasool said.
The JOC said that the majority of the strikes were carried out by Iraqi aircraft
and that US-led coalition warplanes joined the operation later. Speaking from
the scene in a video released by the defense ministry, the head of Iraq's army
aviation said many of the militants killed were foreigners. "Most of them were
foreign fighters who refused to surrender to our forces" during the Fallujah
operation, Lieutenant General Hamed al-Maliki said. "They left corpses in the
desert and took some of the wounded with them," he said. It was not immediately
clear whether some IS militants were able to survive the aerial onslaught and
reach their strongholds near Syria. The strikes appear to spell the end of fixed
IS positions in eastern Anbar province, further shrinking the "caliphate" the
group proclaimed over large parts of Iraq and Syria two years ago. After losing
the provincial capital Ramadi, as well as the towns of Hit and Rutba, defeat in
Fallujah means the jihadist footprint in their traditional stronghold of Anbar
is limited to areas near the Syrian border. Iraqi forces are now training their
sights of Mosul and pressing simultaneous operations from the south and the east
of Qayyarah, a town in the Tigris valley they want to use as a launchpad for a
fully-fledged offensive on IS' de facto Iraqi capital.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on
June 30-July 01/16
The New York Times Still
Falls for Ben Rhodes' Iran Lies
Clifford Smith/PJ Media/June 30/16
Originally published under the title "Even After Ben Rhodes Came Clean, New York
Times Still Reports His Iran Lies as Truth."
The New York Times really wants to continue believing that White House aide Ben
Rhodes told the truth about Iran.
"I want to believe," the slogan from The X-Files, seems to also be the operating
principle for the New York Times regarding its coverage of Iran. The Times
continues to report on events in Iran as a series of meaningful confrontations
between "moderates" and "hard-liners" that will shape Iran's behavior toward the
U.S. -- even after the Times was directly told that the White House had lied
about it.
Central to the Obama administration's case for the Iran nuclear deal was the
narrative that the election of Hassan Rouhani and other Iranian "moderates" made
the deal possible. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications
Ben Rhodes admitted, in a New York Times article no less, that such a story was
"the center of the arc" of a narrative that was "largely manufactured" for the
purpose of selling the deal.
On some level, the narrative worked: it fooled much of the public, the press,
and well over 100 members of Congress. The New York Times certainly swallowed
this narrative, hook, line, and sinker, and the Times hardly stands alone -- but
the paper has indeed been the most prominent, slavishly devoted dupe.
Candidates for the Iran's presidency and parliament are pre-approved by the
unelected Guardian Council. The notion of an Iranian "moderate" controlling the
regime was always spurious on its face. Elections don't significantly affect
major policy decisions in Iran. People who stand for "election" for president
and Parliament must first be approved by an unelected body beholden to the
Supreme Leader. Iran is functionally a theocratic dictatorship. And Rouhani is
simply not a moderate, as Rhodes essentially admitted. Instead, he is a master
deceiver.
He feigns his concern for human rights, but according to UN Special Rapporteur
on Human Rights Ahmed Shaheed and former opposition leaders, human rights have
actually gotten worse under Rouhani. Shaheed believes that this has escaped
widespread attention because of the focus on the nuclear deal.
These kinds of distractions are not new tactics for Rouhani. In his previous
role as a nuclear negotiator, his goal was to split Iran's adversaries while
buying time for their nuclear program to develop. He remains a tool of the worst
actors in Iran.
However, and in spite of the implausibility of the narrative, not to mention
Rhodes having explained his cynical manipulation to the Times itself, the Times
continues to insist on the centrality of this fictional "moderates/hard-liners"
dynamic in understanding Iran's behavior.
Literally the day after the Times published Rhodes' explanation of his
falsehoods, the Times opened up its editorial page to excoriate not Iran, but
the United States. The notion of an Iranian 'moderate' controlling the regime
was always spurious on its face.Because international finance is still skittish,
the Times was concerned the U.S. might infuriate the "hard-liners" because some
Iranian sanctions were not lifted as part of the deal. I'm not sure what is
worse: the fact that the Times continued to play up the moderate/hard-liner
narrative, or that it blamed the U.S. for not doing enough to placate the
hard-liners.
Another story, published six days after the Rhodes mea culpa, played up the
moderate/hardliner narrative while ironically proving it false.
It seems that a woman, Minoo Khaleghi, was elected to Parliament -- but was
ruled ineligible because she broke Iranian law by being photographed without her
hijab, something she denies. The Times later reported on the "hardliners" more
general crackdown on women who don't wear headscarves.
Assuming Ms. Khaleghi is a real moderate, her ineligibility proves again that
hardliners hold all the power.
Such self-contradictory reporting has continued unabated with the re-election of
Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani. According to the Times, Larijani's landslide
victory was a "mild surprise" since "reformists" had done so well in February
elections.
It never occurred to the Times that Iranian officials' actions might not match
up with the "reformist" label. Even when "moderates" win in Iran, they either
aren't actually moderates or are not allowed to hold power. The idea that a
moderate/hardliner conflict affects how the Iranian regime behaves toward the
U.S. is false. But even now, even after Rhodes' mea culpa, essentially no
Iran-related story by the Times fails to follow this false narrative.
Of course, there are plenty of moderate voices and genuine would-be reformers in
Iran. The Iranian people's spontaneous organization during the "green
revolution" and the ongoing saga of the frequently imprisoned but irrepressible
filmmaker Jafar Panahi are just two examples that demonstrate moderate,
reformist sentiments exist outside of government. But the idea that a
moderate/hardliner conflict affects how the current Iranian regime behaves
toward the U.S. is false.
Further, the Times knows it is false based on its own reporting. However, it
just keeps reporting it as fact, and even Agent Mulder didn't want to believe
that badly.
**Clifford Smith is director of the Middle East Forum's Washington Project.
Turkey's Growing Influence
over Islam in Austria
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/June 30/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8352/austria-islam-turkey
The Berlin-based expert on Turkey, Ralph Ghadban, warns that the Islam being
preached in Turkish-controlled mosques in Europe is a "Sharia Islam with strong
Turkish-nationalist overtones" that calls for a "strict separation from Western
individualistic values."
In February 2016, the University of Vienna published study which found that
Islamic kindergartens in the capital are dominated by "intellectual Salafists
and political Islamists" who are contributing to the "theologically-motivated
isolation" of Muslim pupils. The report calls into question claims by the IGGiÖ
that anti-Western textbooks have been removed from Austrian schools.
Muslim students now outnumber Roman Catholic students at middle and secondary
schools in Vienna, according to official statistics, which show that Muslim
students are also on the verge of overtaking Catholics in Viennese elementary
schools. The data confirms a massive demographic and religious shift in Austria,
traditionally a Roman Catholic country.
The selection of an ethnic Turk to lead the Islamic Religious Community in
Austria (Islamischen Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich, IGGiÖ), the primary
representative of Muslims in the country, is being challenged by Muslim groups
opposed to Turkey's growing influence over the practice of Islam in Austria.
Ibrahim Olgun, a 28-year-old Austrian-born Islamic theologian with ties to the
Turkish state, was quietly named on June 19 to replace 62-yer-old Fuat Sanac,
who stepped down after serving as IGGiÖ president for five years.
Sanac, also a Turk, was reviled by Turkish authorities for helping the Austrian
government draft a new Islam Law (Islamgesetz) that aims to promote an "Islam
with an Austrian character." The law, which was promulgated in February 2015,
seeks to reduce outside meddling by prohibiting foreign funding for mosques,
imams and Muslim organizations in Austria. It also stresses that Austrian law
must take precedence over Islamic Sharia law for Muslims living in the country.
Observers worry that Olgun — a member of the Turkey-financed Turkish-Islamic
Union for Cultural and Social Cooperation in Austria (ATIB), an influential
group that has vowed to challenge the Islam Law at Austria's Constitutional
Court — will use his new position both to undermine the Islam Law and to
increase further Turkey's influence over Muslims in Austria.
At least eight Austrian Muslim groups (representing Albanian, Arab, Bosnian and
Sufi Muslims) are challenging Olgun, who was selected by the IGGiÖ's Shura
Council (Schurarat), a rules committee (Shura is an Arabic word for
consultation) whose five members all happen to be ethnic Turks.
IGGiÖ statutes require a person to be at least 35 years old to head the group,
but the Shura Council secretly annulled that stipulation last December,
according to Hassan Mousa, head of the Arab Religious Community in Austria (Arabischen
Kultusgemeinde in Österreich). He said that Olgun's selection was "undemocratic"
and "illegal" and added that his ties to ATIB would shift IGGiÖ's balance of
power further in Turkey's direction.
ATIB, an umbrella group that operates more than 60 mosques in Austria, is
directly managed by the religious affairs attaché at the Turkish embassy in
Vienna, and the imams of these mosques are Turkish civil servants. ATIB and its
German counterpart, the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), are
financed by the Turkish government's Directorate for Religious Affairs, known in
Turkish as Diyanet.
According to the Berlin-based expert on Turkey, Ralph Ghadban, the primary
mission of ATIB and DITIB is to "install the Turkish government's official
version of Islam" in Austria and Germany. He says the two groups are the
"extended arms" of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who uses them to
promote Turkish nationalism as an antidote to integration among the Turkish
diaspora.
Ghadban warns that the Islam being preached in Turkish-controlled mosques in
Europe is a "Sharia Islam with strong Turkish-nationalist overtones" that calls
for a "strict separation from Western individualistic values." He also says that
DITIB has been strengthening its ties to Milli Görüs (Turkish for "National
Vision"), an influential Islamist movement strongly opposed to Muslim
integration into European society.
Olgun, who studied Islamic theology at the University of Ankara, has vowed to
represent all Muslims in Turkey:
"I myself have experienced what it is like to grow up in Austria and to question
my own identity. What is religion and what is tradition? It is worthwhile to
reflect on it and then do theological research. Today I feel at home as a Muslim
in Austria, but I also do not forget my roots. Therefore I will build bridges."
Olgun insists that he will not be Erdogan's puppet and will not allow himself to
be influenced by ATIB. Until recently, however, Olgun was ATIB's point man for
"interreligious dialogue," a key method of spreading Islam in the West by
portraying it as a religion of peace and tolerance.
In Austria, ATIB directly competes with the Vienna-based, Saudi-funded King
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural
Dialogue, which, according to critics, is a permanent "propaganda center" in
central Europe from which to spread the conservative Wahhabi sect of Islam.
Olgun also was an "inspector for Islamic religious instruction" (Fachinspektor
für islamischen Religionsunterricht) for the IGGiÖ in Vienna, where he worked to
ensure that Muslim children are being taught a version of Islam that presumably
complies with standards established by the Turkish government.
The selection of 28-year-old Ibrahim Olgun (left) as the new leader of the
Islamic Religious Community in Austria has been criticized by other local Muslim
leaders as "undemocratic" and "illegal." They believe Olgun will work to
increase Turkey's influence over Muslims in Austria. At right, the Saudi-funded
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and
Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna, which critics say spreads fundamentalist
Wahhabi Islam.
The IGGiÖ, which represents more than 250 Muslim associations across Austria,
supplies state-funded Islamic religious education at Austrian public and private
schools.
In 2014, the IGGiÖ introduced new taxpayer-funded textbooks for the formal
teaching of Islam in all public elementary schools across the country. According
to the IGGiÖ, the new textbooks — called "Islam Hour" (Islamstunde) — are based
on "secure and recognized sources of Islam" aimed at "embedding Islam into the
lives of students."
Unlike previous versions of the books, which were criticized for being "overly
martial in tone" and for not being "sufficiently oriented toward European
values," the new books have been developed based a "completely new didactic
model for competency-based education."
In February 2016, however, the University of Vienna published study which found
that Islamic kindergartens in the capital are dominated by "intellectual
Salafists and political Islamists" who are contributing to the
"theologically-motivated isolation" of Muslim pupils. The report calls into
question claims by the IGGiÖ that anti-Western textbooks have been removed from
Austrian schools: "In many of their publications the Muslim Brotherhood and
Milli Görüs reject the Western way of life as an inferior worldview."
Olgun rejects the criticism levelled against him: "They say that I am too young,
that I am the extended arm of the Turkish state. That is not true. I was born in
Austria. I grew up here and am an Austrian citizen. I am not a Turkish civil
servant."
Olgun's supporters say it is time for a "generational change" at the IGGiÖ
because Austria's Muslim community is young and growing fast. The Muslim
population in Austria now exceeds 500,000 (or roughly 6% of the total
population), up from an estimated 150,000 (or 2%) in 1990. The Muslim population
is expected to reach 800,000 (or 9.5%) by 2030, according to recent estimates.
Muslim students now outnumber Roman Catholic students at middle and secondary
schools in Vienna, according to official statistics, which show that Muslim
students are also on the verge of overtaking Catholics in Viennese elementary
schools. The data confirms a massive demographic and religious shift in Austria,
traditionally a Roman Catholic country.
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is
also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios
Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.
His first book, Global Fire, will be out in 2016.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Extremism: Between magic and
ideology
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/June 30/16
The repercussions of the Saudi twins’ murder of their parents have not ended.
People are still discussing it in councils and gatherings. The crime was so
horrific that some have suggested magic was one of the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria’s (ISIS) tricks. Such justifications, however, are very shallow. Magic has
nothing to do with extremist ideology. There are ideas planted and spread
everywhere. ISIS has tricks such as resorting to electronic games, where it
sends messages – particularly to youths – and holds conversations with them to
gather information and know about their household secrets.
Extremism is not magic, where the cure lies in removing a spell. Extremism is
based on wrong thinking, and is due to weak education and supervision, and lack
of discussion. Children spend around six hours, from 11pm until dawn, in their
bedrooms by themselves. During this time, they can communicate with people
worldwide. Extremism is not magic, where the cure lies in removing a spell.
Extremism is based on wrong thinking, and is due to weak education and
supervision, and lack of discussion
Solutions
The solution first lies in proper education at home, as an absent mind is a sign
that the child’s head has been filled with wrong ideas. Then comes individual
responsibility and ending limits between parents and children. Parents must let
their children talk about everything they see and watch, about the messages they
receive and the discussions they engage in. Saudi cleric Sheikh Adel al-Kalbani
responded to these comments about magic, and said resorting to the latter to
justify ISIS crimes is a means to escape from confronting the truth. May God
protect homes and people’s minds.
This article was first published in Okaz on June 30, 2016.
Saudi Arabia, France and Gulf
cooperation
Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al Arabiya/June 30/16
Following Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s landmark US visit he
headed to France, with which Saudi Arabia has had historic relations that are
exceptional when compared to those with other European countries. France was one
of the first countries to acknowledge the governance of founder King Abdulaziz
bin Abdulrahman in 1926. It sent a consul to handle its affairs there in 1929,
and the Al-Jazirah Pact crystallized between the two countries in 1931. After
Saudi unity was achieved, France was one of the first countries to establish
diplomatic ties with the kingdom, via forming the first diplomatic mission in
Jeddah in 1936. Bilateral ties have remained strong, and over international and
regional affairs both countries have had mutual understandings, almost to the
point of complete harmony, from the era of Charles de Gaulle to the present day.
Strong bilateral ties have enabled powers of moderation and an insistence on
basic solutions regarding Palestine. France took it upon itself to curb the
Syrian regime and its practices in Lebanon. Paris and Riyadh contributed to
establishing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to try the murderers of former
Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. France also supports the popular revolution against
the Syrian regime, and supports the moderate opposition. Bilateral ties have
remained strong, and over international and regional affairs both countries have
had mutual understandings, almost to the point of complete harmony. Paris cares
for and understands Arab and Muslim causes the most out of European countries,
and encourages moderate political and ideological powers in the region. France
also supports Arab think tanks to help spread knowledge. Thinker Edgar Morin
says the current Arab and Muslim reality resembles the dark ages that Europe,
particularly France, experienced due to civil wars between 1562 and 1598, and
wars between Protestants and Catholics. The French civil war destroyed
everything, but rare historical moments made the country politically mature and
secular. Philosophical enlightenment followed, allowing literature and arts to
flourish. However, all this came after decades of war and bloodshed.
Prince’s visit
The Saudi prince’s visit to France aims to discuss development plans. President
Francois Hollande has voiced support for Saudi Vision 2030, and the two have
discussed Iran’s regional meddling, which is clearly seen in Yemen and Bahrain.
This in addition to the massacres that Tehran and its proxies are committing in
Syria and Iraq against civilians. Iran is also obstructing the election of a
Lebanese president, and gives Hezbollah weapons to use against the Lebanese
people. Party leader Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged Tehran’s support a few days
ago. The prince will co-chair the third meeting of the Saudi-French Joint
Committee to discuss issues such as economic cooperation. Bilateral commercial
trade has increased in the past decade, and last year France was reportedly the
kingdom’s eighth most important trading partner. According to the General
Authority for Statistics, bilateral trade amounted to 36.6 billion riyals ($9.7
billion) in 2015. Total trade between them from 2006-2015 reached 373.6 billion
riyals ($99.6 billion).France supports Saudi-led alliances, such as the Arab
alliance in Yemen, and the military and Islamic alliance against terrorism.
Paris and Riyadh are both fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
via the international coalition. France always supports Saudi operations against
al-Qaeda and ISIS. The French are aware of ISIS’s threats - they remember the
Bataclan massacre in Nov. 2015, and do not want a repeat. France benefits from
Saudi expertise in the war on terror, as do other countries such as Britain.
Prince Mohammed’s visit bolsters bilateral cooperation, activates economic work
and organizes political work. It is through this visit that French-Saudi
relations will be at their best. Everyone knows that the two countries largely
agree on regional and global affairs. France is an exceptional and historical
ally - the details of the prince’s visit are proof of that.
This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on June 28, 2016
Intervention: Syria’s most
unresolved issue
Dr. Halla Diyab/Al Arabiya/June 30/16
The Middle East is littered with remnants of failed Western military
interventions that at first were based on sound reason and logic, from
Afghanistan and Iraq to Libya and Syria. With Russian military forces and US
back-pocket arms deals to rebels, the Syrian conflict is constantly being
reshaped by the changing face of modern Western intervention. Contrary to its
claims, the United States is not entirely excluding a military solution to the
crisis. The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), a rebel coalition in eastern Syria,
is heavily backed by Washington. Meanwhile, France does not shy away from the
fact that it has deployed boots on the ground to assist in the SDF offensive,
mainly in Manbij in Aleppo. So intervention in Syria is happening, but it is
indirect and unconventional, with Western powers allying with local factions.
Despite the enmity between these alliances, they share a common desire to
annihilate extremist militants, mainly al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Giving the SDF a democracy-orientated name legitimizes
the indirect US military intervention, but by no means serves democratic reform
in Syria. Rather, Washington is fostering the idea that democracy will only be
achieved by military power. Instead of the West taking a step back and promoting
a solution that is sustainable and not based on what seems ideal in the moment,
it is pouring yet more arms into a highly militarized conflict
Militarization
Instead of the West taking a step back and promoting a solution that is
sustainable and not based on what seems ideal in the moment, it is pouring yet
more arms into a highly militarized conflict. The most bizarre facet of this
intervention is how Western powers are competing for local allies with financial
and military offers. With Russia trying to recruit US-supported rebel groups to
fight al-Nusra and ISIS, Syrians’ desire for political reform and democracy is
compromised. With rebel leaders weighing up the best offers, the question of
their loyalty arises. One day, so-called “democratic” fighters may claim to
stand with the United States, and tomorrow they could declare their support for
Russia. As a result, arms are easily passed to the rebels, whose nationalistic
and “democratic” relativism is not fully defined or known. Western intervention
is distorting the history of the Syrian people’s popular struggle, diverting
attention and diminishing it into a proxy war. The current Western intervention
will not produce a free democratic state, but rather small divided territories
ruled by the most ruthless and powerful. There is no magic wand to end the
conflict, but the West will be forced to live with its miscalculation for
decades to come.
Israel: A country at a
crossroad
Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/June 30/16
For the last sixteen years the Interdisciplinary Centre Herzliya (IDC), one of
the leading academic institutions in Israel, convenes what is probably the most
important political-strategic conference in the country. The Herzliya
Conference, named after the city which hosts this prestigious institution,
became a place of pilgrimage for vigorous and rigorous debates on the most
fundamental issues affecting Israeli security and prosperity. It is an
opportunity for politicians, generals, academics and social activists to reflect
on the past and set an agenda for the years ahead. A notable absentee was Prime
Minister Netanyahu, who despite being scheduled to deliver the closing speech
opted for a no show. By skipping this year’s conference he spared himself
hearing some home truths about his lack of leadership and the disastrous
direction in which he takes the country. Some of the boldest criticism was
delivered by those who served in his government not that long ago. As always,
public debates in Israel are vibrant and painfully frank. They also bring to the
surface not only areas of consensus, but likewise areas of deep divisions that
polarise the political system and the society. Divisions are not confined to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is the most obvious issue that splits
political opinion, or to relations with the surrounding Arab world, or even
Iran. They are as much about domestic priorities in education, the economy,
welfare, and role of law for instance. With very few exceptions there is general
agreement that the country’s military and economic strength ensures that Israel
does not face any existential threat right now or in the foreseeable future. It
is the short-sightedness of this government that sees peace and ending the
occupation as a price to pay for gaining acceptance in the region, instead of a
win-win situation
Nevertheless, an absence of an existential threat does not equate to a lack of
looming security challenges. Israeli strategists see in front of them an
increasingly more complex region, in which state rivalries and conventional
battlefields are almost confined to the past. It is the perils of uncertainty
and unpredictability, which are disconcerting to any political and military
leadership, and Israel is no exception to this rule. Military doctrines find it
very difficult to thwart, for instance, terrorism carried out by individuals or
by small groups with no organisation behind them, but who are instead motivated
by fanatical ideology and hatred.
There is also a growing understanding that in my mind is well overdue, that the
term Arab-Israeli conflict is irrelevant anymore. Most of the Arab world appears
to have no interest in conflict with the Jewish state. Peace agreements with
Egypt and Jordan have survived considerable tests, and the turmoil in large
parts of the region has presented not only threats, but also new opportunities
for closer cooperation with those who are seen as pragmatic or stability seeking
states, whether in the Gulf or in North Africa.
The Arab Peace Initiative
This resulted in a newfound enthusiasm, some tactical some strategic, with the
Arab Peace Initiative (API) – conceived in Riyadh and delivered by the Arab
League in Beirut more than fourteen years ago. Whereas, the Netanyahu government
and the prime minister himself pay no more than lip service to this initiative,
others in Israel gradually internalise that this initiative provides Israel with
the best opportunity to end the conflict with the Palestinians and be accepted
in the region. Netanyahu and his delusional political camp hope that
rapprochement between Israel and those in the Arab world, who see Israel as an
asset in fighting radicalism or containing Iran, could be satisfied by
statements of support for the API alone. Those who are more grounded in Middle
Eastern realities, and I had heard quite a few of them over this past week,
recognise that there is a need for progress on the Palestinian track to create a
more conducive environment for improving relations with Israel. It is the
short-sightedness of this government that sees peace and ending the occupation
as a price to pay for gaining acceptance in the region, instead of a win-win
situation. Not surprisingly the most critical views, in a packed and fascinating
gathering, came from two figures, who served in Netanyahu’s government as
Defence Ministers and intimately know how he operates. Both Ehud Barak and Moshe
Ya’alon, former generals who also led the Israeli military, accused the current
prime minister of endangering the product of the Zionist movement – the state of
Israel.
It would be difficult to argue with their very sober and sombre verdict that
Netanyahu is ruling by dividing the society, very effectively utilising fear and
cronyism as his main tools for staying in power. Moreover, due to his obsession
with power, he left himself hostage in the hands of the most fanatical in the
Israeli political system, and wanders from one political crisis to another with
no strategy or direction.
Beyond these gentlemen’s own personal ambitions, there was a real concern in
their voices that the current government is destroying the very foundations of
Israeli democracy through anti-democratic legislation and attacks on the High
Court of Justice. Furthermore, corruption, growing inequalities, incitement and
discrimination of the ‘other’, is crushing the Israeli society, and evidence is
definitely on their side. Moreover, without peace with the Palestinians based on
a two state solution, Israel is heading, as Barak warned, towards becoming
either an apartheid state or a bi-national one, but not one that is Jewish and
democratic. Not for the first time, I left Israel with mixed feelings regarding
the direction the country is taking and concerned about its future. I have heard
diverse and lucid expressions about the need for peace and the sacrifices that
come with it, the need for engagement with the region and the need for urgent
domestic reforms. However, there is a sense of resignation that the same public
that expresses support of all of this, still elects those who do exactly the
opposite to power. I cannot help but think that one must rely on the discipline
of psychology to explain this phenomenon instead of political science. No one
understands this better than the incumbent prime minister.
We must all admit, it’s the
occupation
Daoud Kuttab/Al Arabiya/June 30/16
Every psychologists or substance advisor will tell you that you can’t deal with
disease or an addiction or any other problem without first recognizing that
there is a problem. The same applies to the decades old Middle East conflict.
The conflict has long passed the stage of being focused entirely about Israel’s
existence; the world recognizes Israel on the June 1967 border. The PLO in 1993
recognized Israel and exchanged letters of recognition, even President Bill
Clinton was witness to the 1998 vote in the Palestinian National Council meeting
in Gaza that amended the PLO charter that removed all clauses to the contrary of
the PLO-Israel memorandum of Understanding, also known as the Oslo Accords.
Professor Cornell West is absolutely right as he pleaded with the Democratic
Party’s platform committee to be honest and truthful and call things by their
names. Professor West and his colleagues lost the vote in the Hillary majority
committee 5-8 and had to abstain in the vote for the entire platform due to the
failure of fellow members willing to call the situation for which Palestinian
are suffering under as occupation. Sure the term foreign military occupation is
abhorrent to Zionist Israelis who built their ideology on the fact that
Palestine was a land without a people for a people without a land. Secular
Zionists are now saying that the entire mandatory Palestine was given to them by
the God of the Jews. Ironically while President Abbas and before him Arafat are
devout Muslims they didn’t make the religious claims that Hamas and others make
that Palestine is an Islamic Endowment (waqf) that should not be compromised on.
International law doesn’t even deal with the Israeli legalistic term of
“disputed” territory nor is there any international legal reference to the
rights of people under this invented Israeli term. The fact that it is a
military occupation is hardly difficult to see. The rulers of the West Bank and
the enforcers of the siege on Gaza is the coordinator of activities in the
Israeli army. Even Israel, which unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem and has
border patrols throughout the old city and the outlying areas of the city 24/7,
doesn’t claim that the West Bank is part of the state of Israel. Palestinians,
who as West said accurately, feel daily the boots of the occupiers are not
citizens of Israel and the International Criminal Court has ruled that their
lands across the 1967 Green line are indeed “occupied territories.”
International law doesn’t even deal with the Israeli legalistic term of
“disputed” territory nor is there any international legal reference to the
rights of people under this invented Israeli term. The only international
reference that has been validated by international humanitarian law and the UN
system is the Geneva Conventions created after World War II to specifically
address the cases of long term occupations.
Security Council
In fact the United Nations Security Council speaking of these territories
forcible taken in the June 1967 war declared in the preamble of resolution 242
the “inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war.” All international
resolutions since have refer to “the Occupied Palestinian
territories.”Palestinians and the world have reluctantly come around to accept
the post Holocaust needs of European Jews and have come to terms with the
existence of Israel. Now is the time to understand that there is another people,
the Palestinians, who are also in need of a homeland on their land. Admitting
the existence of occupation is naturally the first step in curing this
decades-long conflict. The next move, as Cornell West and James Zogby correctly
pointed in the Democratic platform discussions is the need to put a stop to the
discriminatory and illegal colonial settlement enterprise. If the entire world
including most Israelis and Palestinians accept that the two states for two
peoples is the best possible compromise, then the idea that the prevailing
military power confiscating lands and transferring its population to these
occupied territories make no sense. Settlement colonies built in the West Bank
(including east Jerusalem) for Jews in the occupied territories are illegal
according to international law as they violate the IV Geneva convention which
explicitly forbids the transfer of people from the occupying country to the
occupied areas. Not only do we need to speak truth to power and fight off one
issue political donors like Haim Saban, but Palestinians and Israelis must also
admit that they are unable to solve the conflict on their own and that they need
help. Palestinians have accepted the French Initiative and have for 16 years
been promoting the Arab Peace Plan which would normalize relations between
Israel with the Arab and Islamic world. Israel has rejected these peace offers
and has vowed in the name of its prime minister to forever live with the sword
and “will control all territory for the foreseeable future.” The efforts by the
most successful American Jewish nominee, Bernie Sanders, and his delegates to
put some common sense in the foreign policy planks of the Democratic Party’s
platform provides a rare breath of fresh air in a US campaign that has been
marred with hate, racism and xenophobia by the presumptive Republican nominee.
If the Democratic leader Hillary Clinton wants to seriously tackle the conflict
in the Middle East, she needs to focus on an honest appraisal and recognition of
the problem at hand. Re-applying a slogan made famous by her husband, all people
genuinely interested in peace in the Middle East must admit a simple truth.
“It’s the occupation s----.”
U.S. Legitimizes Iranian Presence
And Activity In Iraq
By: Y. Carmon and A. Savyon/MEMRI/June 30/16
June 30, 2016 MEMRI Daily Brief No.94
In June 28, 2016 remarks at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, U.S. Secretary
of State John Kerry was asked whether Iran's influence in Iraq was "more helpful
or more harmful." He replied: "Look, we have challenges with Iran as everybody
knows, and we're working on those challenges. But I can tell you that Iran in
Iraq has been, in certain ways, helpful, and they clearly are focused on
ISIL-Daesh, and so we have a common interest, actually."[1]
This statement grants U.S. legitimacy to Iran's military presence and activity
on Iraqi soil, based on the claim that Iran and the U.S. have shared interests
in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) and that "Iran is a helpful"
element. Additionally, Kerry claims that Iran's focus in Iraq is the war against
ISIS.
According to this statement, Kerry is disregarding the activity by Iran and the
Shi'ite militias that it operates in Iraq against the local Sunni population, as
well as reports of ethnic cleansing and targeting of non-Shi'ite civilians in
the country.[2]
Likewise, in granting this legitimacy, he has set no conditions or restrictions,
thereby giving a U.S. seal of approval to the Iranian regime's historic ambition
to bring Iraq under its control and divide it into Shi'ite and Sunni
sections.[3]
It should be noted that for the past two years, Iran has been operating
militarily in Iraq by means of Shi'ite militias that it established under the
command of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force commander Qassem
Suleimani, and also, recently, with direct involvement of Iranian troops. A
comprehensive report on this subject is forthcoming.
The Facebook page "Iran Military," which affiliated with the IRGC, posted an
image of armed Iranian and Iraqi soldiers together in Iraq.
Armed Iranian and Iraqi soldiers in Iraq (Facebook.com/Iran.Military, June 27,
2016)
This legitimization by the U.S. administration also provides insight into its
affinity for supporting the Shi'ite Iran against the Sunni world, which was also
manifested in the far-reaching concessions made to Iran in the JCPOA. This
affinity is part of President Obama's political-ideological view, which he has
expressed in media interviews discussing the need to create Shi'ite-Sunni
equilibrium in the region.[4] To this end, Obama even urged the Saudis to accept
Iran's upgraded geopolitical status and a downgrade in the geopolitical status
of the Sunni world. It should be mentioned that Shi'ite Muslims are only about
10% of the global Muslim population, and therefore the U.S. plan to strengthen
Shi'ites at the expense of Sunnis is vehemently opposed in leading Sunni
countries.
It should also be mentioned that this U.S. support for an Iranian presence in
Iraq is interpreted as, and in actuality constitutes, support for the entire
resistance axis of Iran-Syria-Hizbullah-Yemen-Iraq, and not just for Iran –
thus, further increasing the Sunni world's opposition to the U.S.'s policy in
the region.
*Y. Carmon is President of MEMRI; A. Savyon is Director of the MEMRI Iran Media
Project.
Endnotes:
[1] State.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/06/259165.htm, June 28, 2016.
[2] Foreign Policy, February 19 and March 28, 2015.
[3] It should be mentioned that Iran is also fighting the Kurds in Northern
Iraq. According to reports in the past two weeks in Iranian and Arab press, IRGC
forces bombed Kurdish troops on the Iran-Iraq border. Tasnim (Iran), June 28,
2016; Orient-news.net, June 28, 2016.
[4] See MEMRI Daily Brief No. 51, Obama's Strategy Of Equilibrium, August 5,
2016.
Anti-Houthi Yemeni And Arab
Media Report: Houthis Apologized To Americans For 'Death To America And Israel'
Slogan
MEMRI/ June 30/16
June 30, 2016 Special Dispatch No.6498
On June 27, 2016, a Western delegation headed by U.S. Under Secretary of State
Thomas Shannon, U.S. ambassador to Kuwait Douglas Silliman and British Special
Envoy to Yemen Alan Duncan met with the Houthi delegation to the Yemen peace
talks in Kuwait, headed by Houthi spokesman Muhammad 'Abd Al-Salam. Following
the meeting, Yemeni and Arab media outlets that oppose the Houthis in Yemen
published numerous reports claiming that the Houthi representatives had
apologized to the Americans for the Houthis' use of the slogan "death to
America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews and victory for Islam," claiming
that they merely used it to recruit support in Yemen.
According to the reports, the Houthis asked the Western delegation to dissuade
the Arab coalition from attacking and capturing Sana'a, the Houthi capital, and
promised to give up their weapons and to make substantial changes on the ground
as a gesture to the U.S. The reports claimed further that the Houthis had
promised not to harm American interests, and some reports stated that this
revealed the Houthis' grim situation in Yemen.
The London-based Qatari daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi claimed that this meeting exposed
the ties between the Houthis and the Americans. It added that this was not the
first meeting between the sides and that many Houthi officials have visited
Washington in the recent years, more than any other Yemeni representatives.
Houthi fighters bearing a banner with the slogan "Death to America, death to
Israel, a curse upon the Jews and victory for Islam" (Image:Arabi21.com, June
29, 2016)
Yemeni Journalist: The Houthis Told The Americans They Were Ready To Change
Their Slogan To 'Long Live America', Asked U.S. To Dissuade Arab Coalition From
Attacking Sana'a
A few hours after the meeting in Kuwait between the Western and Houthi
delegations, Yemeni journalist Sam Al-Ghubari, who opposes the Houthis, posted
on his Facebook page details from the meeting that he claimed to have learned
from the U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, who had attended it. Al-Ghubari stated that
these details reflected the Houthi's grim situation in Yemen. He quoted the U.S.
ambassador as saying that "[Houthi delegation member] Hamza Al-Houthi vehemently
apologized for the slogan 'death to America,' explaining that it was for local
consumption [only] and that [the Houthis] were prepared to surrender all their
weapons as [a sign of their] commitment to their new friends [the Americans]. [Houthi
delegation member and former Hadramaut governor] Nasser Baqzaqouz, [who also
attended the meeting,] occasionally intervened [in the conversation] to stress
that [the Houthis] would not pose a threat to the U.S., saying 'who are we to
threaten you?'"
According to the report, Houthi spokesman Muhammad 'Abd Al-Salam opened the
meeting by saying that the Houthis were protecting American interests better
than the Americans themselves, and apologized repeatedly for the Houthis'
anti-American discourse. He emphasized that the U.S. was the only country in the
world capable of stopping the moves of the Arab coalition and of persuading it
to forgo liberating Sana'a and restoring the country to president Hadi.
The American ambassador, for his part, pointed out to the Houthis that they had
not made any concessions in the peace talks, and had not even expressed a
commitment to UNSC 2216 (demanding to end Yemen violence). Muhammad 'Abd
Al-Salam replied that they had mouthed opposition to the resolution only because
they feared for their military bases, and that all they wanted now was to reach
an agreement and protect their supporters against retaliation after they
withdrew their forces. He said: "We are prepared to make genuine concessions and
work with the [Yemeni] government and with president Hadi as an unarmed civilian
force, provided that our security is guaranteed..." He added that the war had
taught them a great deal and had cost them much more than they had anticipated,
and that they had completely changed..."
The American diplomats emphasized, according to the report, that Saudi Arabia
was their historic strategic ally and the U.S. would not permit the Houthis to
harm its security and would not allow the situation in Yemen to remain as it
was. Rather, the Houthis had to work to end what they had begun. Muhammad 'Abd
Al Salam responded that the Houthis were prepared "to heed the Americans if they
persuaded the Arab coalition not to enter Sana'a and not to restore the country
[to Hadi] by force. Moreover, they were prepared to change their slogan to 'long
live America.'" The report claimed that the American ambassador and the other
diplomats had responded to this with laughter, but the ambassador stressed that
the Houthis had to make practical concessions on the ground. Muhammad 'Abd
Al-Salaam and Hamza Al-Houthi asked for an extension to consult with the Houthi
leadership in Sad'a."
Al-Ghubari stated further that the meeting was very cordial and that, upon
emerging from it, Houthi delegation member 'Hamid 'Assim "pranced like a child"
and congratulated 'Abd Al-Salam for cleverly hoodwinking the Americans, but 'Abd
Al-Salam ignored him."[1]
A few hours after the publication of this report, the anti-Houthi news network
Sada Aden reported, citing a diplomatic source in Kuwait, that Hamza Al-Houthi
had told the American delegation: "We are your tool in the war on terror. You
must support us as you supported the [Nouri] Al-Maliki government in Iraq. Our
goal is one and we are confident that the U.S. will not forgo [our help]."[2]
'Al-Quds Al-Arabi': The Meeting Exposed The Close Secret Ties Between The
Houthis And The U.S.
On June 29, 2016, the London-based Qatari daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, which also
opposes the Houthis, likewise reported on the meeting and on the Houthis'
apology for using the slogan "Death to America, death to Israel." Citing sources
"close to the meeting in Kuwait," the daily claimed that Hamza Al-Houthi had
promised the Americans that, as "a gesture of friendship towards the U.S." the
armed Houthi forces would withdraw from the Yemeni cities and surrender their
weapons (though without specifying to whom). The daily speculated that the
"amicable" meeting revealed the existence of secret understandings between the
Houthis and the U.S., and that this was why the American State Department
opposed designating the Houthis a terrorist organization. The daily also claimed
that this was not the first meeting between the parties. In the last two years,
it said, many senior Houthi officials have visited Washington, coming there much
more frequently than any other senior Yemeni officials. Moreover, there were
also meeting in Muscat and other capitals, attesting to "the real [character of
the] relations between the Houthis and the Americans, to the point that that
some view the Houthis as Iran's tool for promoting Washington's objectives to
spark regional political instability".
As proof of ties between the Houthis and the U.S. the daily cited a senior
Yemeni official as saying that, a few weeks before the Houthi invasion of Sana'a
he had visited the home of the deputy U.S. ambassador in Sana'a. At her home he
saw a banner bearing the Houthi slogan 'Death to America, death to Israel'. When
he asked her about it she had smiled and said, "this hostility [between the
Houthis and the U.S.] is a big joke."[3]
The London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat likewise reported on the meeting
between the Houthis and the Western delegation in Kuwait, stating that the
Houthis had emphasized they had never harmed American interests and would not do
so in the future.[4]
Endnotes:
[1] Facebook.com/samgh4u, June 28, 2016.
[2] Sadaaden.me, June 28, 2016.
[3] Al-Quds Al-Arabi, June 29, 2016.
[4] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), June 29, 2016.
Erdogan’s climb-down/Turkey’s
moves could mean an important shift in Syria
Michael Young/Now Lebanon/June 30/16
The attack against Istanbul’s airport earlier this week overshadowed a
significant move by the Turkish government that highlighted the failure of its
Syria policy: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized to Russia for the death
of a Russian pilot whose aircraft was shot down last November by Turkey.
This came as Turkey also mended ties with Israel, another step back from
Erdogan’s pro-Arab posturing several years ago. This may lead to lucrative gas
deals, allowing Israel to send gas to Europe via a pipeline to Turkey, once it
is built. In other words the reconciliation is hardly a timorous, temporary
step.
However, it was Erdogan’s efforts to patch up his relationship with Russia,
Bashar al-Assad’s main backer, and to refer to the country as a “friend and
strategic partner,” that represented a climb-down of major proportions. It
effectively underlined that the regional coalition against Assad has
disintegrated.
That’s not to say that Turkey has abandoned those fighting the Syrian regime,
but rather that other priorities have now taken over in a country that has been
almost entirely focused on Syria in recent years. The Turks now must turn to
other pressing issues, above all the Kurdish question, but also the difficult
economic situation that the rift with Russia exacerbated, and that the reopening
of contacts with Israel may help allay.
Nor is Erdogan alone. The second pillar of the anti-Assad coalition, Saudi
Arabia, has similarly drifted away from Syria. Prince Mohammad bin Salman is
seeking to reorient the Saudi economy away from dependency on oil, and has cut
spending across the board. Consequently, Riyadh’s attention to Syria has
dwindled, a trend only reinforced by the stalemate in Yemen.
To many Arab countries the situation in Syria has reached a point where the
prevailing interest is bringing the conflict to an end, not scoring strategic
points. This mood was already visible when Egypt and Jordan soured on the
conflict, shifting their attitudes toward the anti-Assad opposition. By the
start of this year the Arab coalition against Assad existed only in name.
Assad and his backers can take pleasure in the fact that their destructive
policies during the past five years have virtually ensured that the Syrian
regime will remain in place. All those who aligned against him, whether inside
the region or outside, have more or less given up the fight, even if the result
is chaos.
That hardly means that the war in Syria is over, but it has reached a state of
pointlessness. Assad’s future is no longer on the table, as the breakdown in the
Geneva negotiations has made clear. The ISIS challenge has spawned new dynamics,
leading the United States to back Kurdish forces in Syria whose successes
threaten Turkey. Russian intervention, though utterly barbaric in places, has
not harmed its diplomatic relations with a majority of Assad’s foes. In other
words, all developments have served to reinforce the Syrian president’s
position.
Assad’s only problem is that he doesn’t have the manpower to regain the
territory that his regime lost. Everywhere his army is struggling, and the
willingness of his Iranian-backed Shiite allies to go all the way on his behalf
is not guaranteed. For instance, despite Hassan Nasrallah’s statements last week
to the contrary, unconfirmed reports indicate that Hezbollah has told the Syrian
regime that it refuses to spearhead the recapture of Aleppo, fearing it would
lose too many men in the battle.
The silver lining in this story of bloody deadlock is that it may facilitate a
solution in Syria. However, that is not likely soon since Assad’s enemies, even
if they have been weakened, are not about to give up on their demands that he
leave office. There are tens of thousands of armed men, probably more, in Syria
who will not suddenly cease fighting the regime and go home. No one can win the
war, but no side will admit it cannot.
But with Erdogan’s apology to Russia wider spaces have been created for
diplomacy. The Saudis, trapped in Yemen, have an incentive to participate in a
new round of talks over Syria. The challenge is to persuade them to do so with
Iran in attendance, and to find a way to de-escalate the toxic Saudi-Iranian
rivalry.
It’s improbable that Geneva will be formally abandoned as a framework for
discussion, which is why such talks should be conducted quietly to work out an
amended arrangement. Assad may be poison, but to many countries Geneva could be
turning into an obstacle to an agreement. A more ambiguous framework, where
Assad’s fate is left vague, may be preferable.
As Syria’s most powerful neighbor, Turkey was always the linchpin of the
anti-Assad coalition. Erdogan has effectively retreated on Syria, and the
Istanbul airport attack will have only persuaded him he is right in doing so.
The war in Syria will continue, but with Turkey possibly neutralized, the
template of the war for the past five years has been decisively changed.
***Michael Young is a writer and editor in Beirut. He tweets @BeirutCalling.
Turkey's Istanbul Attack
Vengeance Will Be Like 'Rain From Hell'
Soner Cagaptay/he Washington Institute/CNN/June 30/16
ISIS may be trying to sow domestic suspicion by not claiming responsibility for
the airport attack, but the incident could still spur Turkey into full-scale war
against the group.
The suicide bombing at Turkey's Ataturk Airport is a symbolic attack at the
heart of Istanbul. If ISIS is indeed behind this attack, as the U.S. and Turkey
say, this would be a declaration of war. Turkey's vengeance will come down like
rain from hell. Thus far, Turkey has avoided engaging ISIS in full war, instead
prioritizing its battle against Syria's Assad regime as well as blocking
advances by the Syrian Kurds. For Turkey, fighting ISIS as a first order battle
could now be unavoidable.
SYMBOLIC TARGET
In the past, ISIS has carried out attacks in Turkey, but this attack eclipses
those in scale. Previously ISIS has targeted tourists; this time they're going
for the heart of Turkey, and in a brazen attack that has claimed many more lives
than previous ISIS attacks.
Istanbul's Ataturk Airport is the main entry point for the majority of the more
than 30 million people who visit Turkey every year. It's also the hub of Turkish
Airlines, the country's only known international brand and the gateway to doing
business in Istanbul. This attack is going to hurt Turkey's tourism economy and
the business community by seriously challenging the idea that Turkey is a safe
place to visit and do business.
WHY IS ISIS TARGETING TURKEY?
If ISIS is the anomaly in Islam, Turkey is the norm in Islam. Turkey has a
secular constitution. It's a democratic society where you have gender equality
between men and women. It's a member of NATO and is in accession talks with the
European Union. It's a friend of the West and the United States and only
yesterday agreed to restore diplomatic ties with Israel.
The question was not if, but when ISIS would carry out an attack like this. For
a while now, Turkey-backed rebels have been attacking the Islamic State inside
Syria, together with U.S.-backed Kurds, so the attack could also be seen as
retaliation by ISIS.
BUILD UP TO WAR
For a very long time, the relationship between ISIS and Turkey looked like a
Cold War, with both sides avoiding fighting each other. For instance, when ISIS
surrounded the Turkish exclave in Syria in 2014, it did not run that over. And
similarly, Turkey avoided joining the U.S. to fight ISIS.
Then, the relationship evolved into what looked like limited warfare as Turkey
came on board in 2015 to help the U.S. combat ISIS. At that time, ISIS carried
out a number of small attacks in Istanbul's old city, killing mostly foreigners.
If ISIS is indeed behind the attack today, this would represent a significant
escalation towards Turkey.
TURKISH RETALIATION
Turkey will continue to crack down on ISIS, as well as increase cooperation with
the U.S. and Western intelligence agencies against the group. ISIS, though, will
continue to play its nefarious game of creating an environment of fog and
suspicion through attacks, this time in Turkey. The group, which did not take
responsibility for past attacks in Turkey, will likely also not assume
responsibility for the Istanbul airport attack.
This is because ISIS wants to create an environment of suspicion in Turkish
politics. Al Qaeda in Iraq, the mothership jihadi organization from which ISIS
was spawned, carried out a number of suicide attacks in Iraq after 2005, and yet
the group claimed responsibility for none of these attacks. This led to an
environment of suspicion in which the Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq blamed each
other for the attacks, starting retribution-style attacks. Subsequently, Iraq
descended into civil war.
By not taking responsibility for its attacks in Turkey, ISIS wants to do the
same, triggering societal fault lines, this time between supporters and
opponents of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leftists and rightists,
Turks and Kurds, seculars and conservatives. Turks of all political persuasions
and backgrounds ought to learn from Iraq and unite in the face of the ISIS
threat. At the same time, the Turkish government needs to use its full force to
combat the ISIS threat to prevent Turkey's potential catastrophic descent into
chaos as a result of ISIS attacks.
**Soner Cagaptay is the Beyer Family Fellow and director of the Turkish Research
Program at The Washington Institute.
Obama Doesn't Understand
Jihadist Doctrine
Mark Durie/The Washington Examiner/June 30/16
In his June 14 address to the nation, President Obama attributed Omar Mateen's
attack on patrons of Orlando, Fla.'s, Pulse nightclub to "homegrown extremism,"
saying "we currently do not have any information to indicate that a foreign
terrorist group directed the attack."
While Obama acknowledged that the Islamic State has called for attacks around
the world against "innocent civilians," he suggested these calls were
incidental, emphasizing that Mateen was a "lone actor" and "an angry, disturbed,
unstable young man" susceptible to being radicalized "over the Internet."
It is a terrible thing to misunderstand one's enemy so deeply. The doctrine of
jihad invoked by terrorist groups is an institution with a long history,
grounded in legal precedent going back to the time of Muhammad.
Militants who invoke the doctrine of jihad follow principles influenced by
Islamic law. The point to be grasped is that the doctrinal basis of jihad
generates conditions that can incite "bottom-up" terrorism, which does not need
to be directed by jihadi organizations.
The doctrinal basis of jihad generates conditions that can incite bottom-up
terrorism.
When the Ottoman Caliphate entered World War I in 1914, it issued an official
fatwa calling upon Muslims everywhere to rise up and fight the "infidels." In
1915, a more detailed ruling was issued, entitled "A Universal Proclamation to
All the People of Islam."
This second fatwa gave advice on the methods of jihad, distinguishing three
modes of warfare: "jihad by bands," which we would today call guerrilla warfare;
"jihad by campaigns," which refers to warfare using armies; and "individual
jihad."
The fatwa cited approvingly as an example of individual jihad the 1910
assassination of Boutros Ghaly, a Christian prime minister of Egypt (and
grandfather of former U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghaly), at the
hands of Ibrahim Nassif al-Wardani, a Muslim graduate in pharmacology who had
been educated in Lausanne, Paris, and London.
A mass-produced leaflet with the Ottoman fatwa.
This Ottoman fatwa cited precedents from the life of Muhammad for each of the
three modes of warfare. To support individual jihad, it referenced three
instances when companions of Muhammad conducted assassinations of non-Muslims.
Two of these involved attacks on Jews that were personally instigated by
Muhammad.
When the Islamic State issued a call for Muslims around the world to rise up and
kill their neighbors, it was invoking the individual mode of jihad. This mode
relies upon the teaching that when Muslim lands are attacked or occupied by
infidel armies, jihad becomes farḍ al-'ayn, an "individual obligation," which a
Muslim can act upon without needing to come under anyone else's command.
This principle of individual obligation has been much emphasized by jihadi
clerics. Abdullah Azzam wrote in his influential tract Join the Caravan, "There
is agreement ... that when the enemy enters an Islamic land or a land that was
once part of the Islamic lands, it is obligatory ... to go forth to face the
enemy."
It was undoubtedly in response to this dogma that Omar Mateen went forth to kill
Americans. In line with this, Mateen reported to his victims that his attack was
in retaliation for Americans bombing Afghanistan. By this understanding, it was
America's military action against a Muslim country — the country of origin of
Mateen's family — that justified an act of individual jihad.
Preventing future "lone wolf" attacks requires the disruption of the Islamic
doctrine that underpins these acts and legitimizes them in the eyes of many
Muslims. Teachers and preachers in Islamic institutions across America must
openly reject the dogma of farḍ al-'ayn in relation to U.S. military action.
They need to teach their congregants that this doctrine does not apply, that
anyone who uses it to attempt to legitimize his or her personal jihad is acting
against God's laws and that no martyr's paradise awaits them.
At the same time, U.S. homeland security agencies need to closely watch and
monitor any Muslim teacher who promotes this doctrine, which, once it is taken
on board and applied against a nation, will lead to acts of jihadi terrorism as
surely as night follows day.
During his June 14 speech, Obama defended his refusal to use the phrase "radical
Islam" in connection with terrorism, asking, "What exactly would using this
label accomplish?"
The answer is simple. It will be difficult to elicit the cooperation of Muslim
religious leaders in discrediting the Islamic doctrine at the heart of America's
homegrown terrorism epidemic when President Obama himself is reluctant to
acknowledge that doctrine matters — they can simply point to him and decline.
*Mark Durie is the pastor of an Anglican church, a Shillman-Ginsburg Fellow at
the Middle East Forum, and Founder of the Institute for Spiritual Awareness.
How Merkel and Middle Eastern
Migration Ensured Britain's EU Exit
Michel Gurfinkiel/PJ Media/June30/16
Originally published under the title "The Road to Brexit: How Merkel Thwarted
Cameron's Smart Gamble."
Polls show mass migration was the number one concern of voters in the Brexit
referendum.
There were many signposts on the road to Brexit. As early as 2001, the Swiss
rejected access to the EU by an overwhelming 72.5%. Four years later, in 2005,
both the French and the Dutch rejected a European constitutional treaty project
in separate referendums. Polls indicated that similar referendums would have
turned the same way in other places.
In recent years, anti-EU defiance increased. Radical anti-EU parties and more
moderate Eurosceptic parties won higher and higher returns in most countries,
either in national or European ballots. In some countries -- Hungary, Poland,
Greece -- they simply won the election and took over the cabinet. In others --
Austria -- they almost won.
Brexit is thus not so much a revolution in European affairs as the culmination
of a long and steady process.
United Europe had been popular among Europeans, and every European nation was
willing to join it -- as long as it delivered prosperity, democracy, stability.
Global security.
This was true of the six founding nations in the 1950s and 1960s, of Britain,
Ireland, Scandinavia and the former Mediterranean dictatorships in the 1970s,
and of the former Communist countries of Eastern Europe in the 1990s.
Things changed by the mid-1990s, however, when what had been known hitherto as
the European Community was changed into the much tighter European Union. It soon
became apparent, whatever the political class would say, that the more
centralized the Union became, the less it could actually deliver.
Instead of the ever-increasing prosperity they had taken for granted for a
half-century, many Europeans had to face zero growth, bankruptcy, and long-term
austerity programs. Instead of more democracy -- free expression, the rule of
elected and responsible governments -- they were getting more political
correctness and more bureaucracy.
Instead of more global security, a new pervading sense of powerlessness in front
of Russian imperialism and jihadist terror. Instead of more stability, more
social disruption -- especially in such essential areas as family and national
identity.
The EU leadership was aware that things had gone sour and that disaffection was
accumulating, but it was not mentally equipped to draw the proper consequences
and find solutions.
David Cameron, the conservative Eurosceptic PM of Britain, was an exception in
this regard: he had a plan, and a rather brilliant one at that. He was convinced
he could have it both ways by organizing a British referendum on Europe -- thus
allowing the anti-EU tide to rise very high – but to win it, even by a thin
edge. He would then have appeared as the savior of Europe, and be in a position
to ask for a global reshaping and loosening of the European treaties.
Maybe such a calculation was sound enough in 2013, when Cameron promised to hold
a referendum on the British EU membership. There was, however, a dramatic
acceleration in the European and British anti-EU public opinion over the past
three years. So much so that while Cameron may have been banking on 52% to 48%
returns against Brexit, he got just the opposite.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel brought some 800,000 migrants almost overnight
into her own 80-million-person country.
Several developments contributed to the pro-Brexit shift. The EU political
leadership's failure to address the global Middle Eastern and North African
issues -- from the rise of ISIS to the return of Russia, and from the
involvement of European Muslims in jihadist massacres in Europe to the migrant
crisis -- and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's role in those issues were
probably decisive.
Above all, Merkel's sudden and unilateral embrace one year ago of the Middle
Eastern and North African migrants and refugees changed everything. She called
for the immediate admission of hundreds of thousands, even millions, to the EU
on a proportional per country basis. Indeed, she brought some 800,000 migrants
almost overnight into her own 80-million-person country. This move brought a
wide range of intractable difficulties, including with sexual ethics and women's
rights issues.
Most other European countries acquiesced to Merkel's call -- but in fact
downsized their own admission quotas to much smaller numbers. Hungary, Slovenia,
and Poland flatly rejected Merkel's guidelines.
Many Brits concluded that Eurofederalism led to reckless decisions concerning
mass immigration.
Merkel's then made a no-less-sudden and unilateral rapprochement with Turkey
once it was clear that more migrants were planning to settle in the EU. She
traded a promise by Ankara to tighten its borders with European countries
against a promise to resume decades-old talks for Turkey's access to the Union.
In the meantime, she proposed letting all Turkish citizens into the EU as
visitors -- even without a visa. There are exactly as many Turks today as
Germans: 80 million.
The British -- who in spite of an outwardly tolerant view of multiculturalism,
have more restrictive immigration laws than most other EU nations, and who never
endorsed the Schengen accords about free movement in the EU -- were deeply
puzzled. Many of those who had wavered until then between Euroscepticism and
Eurofederalism concluded that Eurofederalism was leading to reckless,
ill-conceived, and unstoppable decisions in such essential fields as mass
immigration.
The mess had to be checked, or at least Britain should be kept out of it. Brexit
might have looked in the past a bit quixotic, and the European option might have
been seen as safer. Thanks to Merkel, the proposition was now reversed.
*Michel Gurfinkiel, a Shillman-Ginsburg Fellow at the Middle East Forum, is the
founder and president of the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Institute, a conservative
think tank in France.