LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

July 16/16

 Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.july16.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practise what they teach
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 23/01-12:"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practise what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honour at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted."

I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.
Acts of the Apostles 20/17-24//28/.32.35/:"From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him. When they came to him, he said to them: ‘You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house,as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus. And now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace. Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified. In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." ’
 

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 15-16/16

Nice Attacker Emulated Methods Previously Advocated By ISIS, AQAP, And Other Jihadis, Who Called To Use Vehicles As Weapons To Run Over And 'Mow'/PeopleMEMRI/July 15, 2016
Iran Deal Cannot Whitewash Regime’s Deplorable Human Rights Record
Mark Dubowitz/the Foundation for Defense of Democracies/July 15/16
The Iran Deal’s Fatal Flaws After One Year: Emboldened Iran and Diminished American Deterrence/Mark Dubowitz, Annie Fixler/Foundation For Fefense Of Democracies/15July/16
Can’t Have It Both Ways in Iran/Reuel Marc Gerecht/Foreign Affair/15th July/16
Why Boeing shouldn’t do business with Iran/Jonathan Schanzer, Amir Toumaj/MarketWatch//Foundation For Fefense Of Democracies/15th Jul/16
Pakistan: Friend or Foe in the Fight Against Terrorism/Bill Roggio/The Long War Journal/July 15/16
Turkey: The Brotherhood’s last station/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/July 15/16
Highlights from the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit/Ziad Haider/Al Arabiya/July 15/16
With May in charge, core British positions on Middle East unlikely to shift/Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/July 15/16
Will things change in Syria after Kerry’s Moscow visit/Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/July 15/16
After Chilcot, the Brexit Inquiry/Trisha de Borchgrave/Al Arabiya/July 15/16
 

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on July 15-16/16

French foreign minister meets Hezbollah lawmakers in Beirut
STL: Al-Akhbar, Ibrahim al-Amin Guilty of Contempt
Foreign Ministry Slams 'Cowardly' France Attack as Salam Consoles Hollande
French Foreign Ministry Says No Lebanese Victims in Nice Attack
Hizbullah Urges End to 'Political Support' for Terror, Slams Nice Attack
British-Australian Held over Lebanon Abduction to Post Bail
U.S. Ambassador-Designate Elizabeth Richard Arrives in Lebanon
Moody's Maintains Negative Outlook on Lebanon's Banking System
Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq: World Bank Approves $55 Million Loan To Fight Pollution in Litani
Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq Warns Police to Stop Syria Refugee Abuse
U.N.: More Than 700 Iraqi Men and Boys Missing from Fallujah
Pharoun calls on festivals tomorrow to play French and Lebanese national anthems in solidarity with France
Berri meets Iranian delegation, KSA Ambassador, cables condolences to Hollande
Byblos International Festivals kick off
TMC: One killed in road accident in Jiyeh
 

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 15-16/16
Canada very concerned with situation in Turkey
Attempted military coup in Turkey: Reports
Canada appalled by terrorist attack in Nice, France
Hollande: State of emergency in France to be extended for three months
World leaders react with horror to France truck attack
France’s Bastille Day terror: 84 killed so far
Who was Bastille Day truck attacker Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel?
Many Muslims reportedly killed in Nice truck attack
White House: No evidence of Saudi role in 9/11
Kerry, Putin: no talk of cooperation in Syria
US considers more robust presence for Yemen Qaeda
Funeral being held for slain UK lawmaker Jo Cox
Philippines won't sacrifice sea feud victory in China talks
Sadr supporters defy govt, protest Baghdad
Governor of Aden survives car bomb attack
India-controlled Kashmir under curfew, phones blocked to pre-empt protest

Links From Jihad Watch Site for July 15-16/16

Latest Lebanese Related News published on July 15-16/16

French foreign minister meets Hezbollah lawmakers in Beirut
Middle East Monitor/July 15, 2016/French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault met with a political delegation from Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement in Beirut on Tuesday, local media reported.During a two-day visit to Lebanon the French foreign ministry met with MPs Ali Fayyad and Ammar Al-Musawi, who is in charge of Hezbollah’s international relations.The two sides discussed the presidential vacuum in Lebanon as well as the Syrian refugee crisis.Hezbollah said it sis keen for the presidential post to be filled soon and that it supports General Michel Aoun because he represents the Christian majority. The party called on France to use its influence to persuade Saudi Arabia and the Future Movement to accept Aoun’s candidacy. France had earlier proposed to end the presidential vacuum by accepting Aoun as president in exchange for the return of Saad Hariri as prime minister. However, Hariri rejected the proposal, demanding that Hezbollah endorses the proposal.

STL: Al-Akhbar, Ibrahim al-Amin Guilty of Contempt
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 15/16/A special U.N. court set up to try the killers of former prime minister Rafik Hariri on Friday convicted al-Akhbar newspaper and its editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin of contempt on charges of publishing information about confidential witnesses in the case. "I find both the accused guilty," said Special Tribunal for Lebanon judge Nicola Lettieri. A new hearing will be held Monday to discuss sentencing, he said. Al-Amin and the pro-Hizbullah al-Akhbar newspaper each faced a contempt of court charge after they ran two articles in January 2013 with the names and photographs of 32 witnesses in its Arabic print and online editions. The articles were entitled "STL Leaks: The Prosecution's Surprise Witnesses" and "The STL Witness List: Why We Published". Several witnesses afterwards feared for their safety after the information was published, Judge Lettieri said at the hearing held at the court's fortress-like headquarters just outside The Hague. The witnesses were worried that the information would be widely circulated in print and online, not only as STL witnesses, but also as witnesses "whose testimonies would be used to incriminate Hizbullah," the judge said.
"The tribunal puts in balance the freedom of the press and the need to ensure the integrity of the tribunal's work," said Lettieri. "But freedom of press cannot be used as an impenetrable shield," he added. Hariri and 22 others, including a suspected suicide bomber, died in a massive car bomb blast on the Beirut waterfront on February 14, 2005. Five suspected members of Hizbullah were originally indicted by the court and their trial in absentia opened in January 2014 last year. However, the court earlier this month quashed the case against one of the accused, Hizbullah military commander Mustafa Badreddine, who is believed to have died in May in the Syrian conflict. The other accused are being tried in absentia. Earlier this year the STL on appeal acquitted senior al-Jadeed TV journalist Karma Khayyat in a similar case involving the alleged publication of witness names in the highly-sensitive trial. Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has dismissed the tribunal as a U.S.-Israeli plot, and vowed that none of the suspects will ever be caught.

Foreign Ministry Slams 'Cowardly' France Attack as Salam Consoles Hollande
Naharnet/July 15/16/Lebanon's Foreign Ministry expressed empathy with France Friday in the face of what it called the "cowardly" deadly attack that struck in the city of Nice overnight. The ministry said the assault targeted "the lung" of Mediterranean tourism. It also blamed the attack on the "terrorism beast" which struck France on its national day, a "symbolic day for the sacrifices of the French people throughout its history to build the culture of freedom, equality and brotherhood."The ministry also called for joint international efforts to stem terrorism. Prime Minister Tammam Salam meanwhile sent a letter of condolences to French President Francois Hollande, stressing “the solidarity of the Lebanese with France in this difficult moment.” Expressing “profound sorrow over this despicable crime,” Salam said the fact that the attack coincided with France's national day makes it “an attack on freedom, seeing as July 14 is a special day in France's history.”“Lebanon, which was shocked by this barbaric crime, stands united by France during these tough circumstances,” the PM added. At least 84 people were killed and 50 others critically wounded when a gunman drove a 19-ton truck into a crowd of revelers celebrating Bastille Day overnight. Hollande has declared the incident a "terrorist" attack. The place of the attack was a top tourist destination: the palm-lined Promenade des Anglais along the Mediterranean coast in the city which is the number two destination in France behind Paris. The attack was the third major strike against France in less than 18 months. It comes eight months after Islamic State gunmen and suicide bombers attacked bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the national stadium in Paris, killing 130 people. In January last year 17 were killed in another attack at various sites including the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris.

French Foreign Ministry Says No Lebanese Victims in Nice Attack
Naharnet/July 15/16/The French Foreign Ministry said on Friday that there were no Lebanese nationals among the victims of the Nice attack, the National News Agency reported. “The search operations and the verification of the identity of the victims continue. Until this moment no Lebanese individuals were injured in the aggression,” NNA quoted the French Ministry. A gunman smashed a truck into a crowd of revelers celebrating Bastille Day in the French Riviera city of Nice, killing at least 84 people in what President Francois Hollande on Friday called a "terrorist" attack. More than 50 children were among those hospitalized. Hollande declared three days of mourning after the assault, as the shell shocked country found itself again mourning its dead after attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine in January 2015 and the November 2015 massacre in Paris.

Hizbullah Urges End to 'Political Support' for Terror, Slams Nice Attack
Naharnet/July 15/16/Hizbullah on Friday condemned what it described as “the terrorist crime that targeted innocent civilians in the French city of Nice overnight and resulted in dozens of casualties.”“This crime is a new chapter of the chapters of the terrorism that is spreading in the world and that is not differentiating between adults and children or whites and blacks,” Hizbullah said in a statement. “It is not targeted against a certain religion or sect but rather against the entire humanity,” it added. “The terrorist operations that some Western countries are witnessing are a reflection of the terrorism that we are suffering in our region,” Hizbullah noted. It accordingly called on the international community to “shoulder its responsibilities as to the eradication of the roots of terrorism and the elimination of all channels of support, funding and political justification for the acts of these terrorists.” “They are using religious banners to kill and terrorize innocents and implement the agendas of some Western and Arab forces,” the party added. At least 84 people were killed and 50 others critically wounded when a gunman drove a 19-ton truck into a crowd of revelers celebrating Bastille Day overnight in Nice. French President Francois Hollande has declared the incident a "terrorist" attack. The attack was the third major strike against France in less than 18 months. It comes eight months after Islamic State gunmen and suicide bombers attacked bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the national stadium in Paris, killing 130 people.
In January last year 17 were killed in another attack at various sites including the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris.

British-Australian Held over Lebanon Abduction to Post Bail
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 15/16/Lebanon lawyer of a dual British-Australian national indicted in a botched attempt to kidnap two Australian-Lebanese children at the center of a custody battle has said that his client will post bail and be released. Joe Karam said Friday that judges approved a bail of $20,000 for Adam Whittington, along with the equivalent sum for his British colleague a day earlier. It's unclear when they'll be released. Whittington, who heads a British-based child recovery agency, allegedly masterminded the plot to kidnap the children from their Lebanese father, Ali al-Amin, in Beirut in April. Whittington, his colleague and the children's Australian mother, Sally Faulkner, were charged with forceful kidnapping, which is punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment. Faulkner and an Australian TV crew posted bail in April and have since returned to Australia.

U.S. Ambassador-Designate Elizabeth Richard Arrives in Lebanon
Naharnet/July 15/16/Ambassador-designate Elizabeth H. Richard arrived in Lebanon on July 11 following confirmation of her appointment by the U.S. Senate on May 17, 2016, the U.S. embassy said in a statement on Friday. I had the great honor to meet with Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil today (Friday), upon my arrival as the new U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon. I could not be more thrilled and honored to serve as President Obama’s representative to Lebanon,” said Richard after her meeting with Bassil. “As I begin my time in Lebanon, I look forward to strengthening our countries’ long-standing partnership, exploring all Lebanon has to offer, and becoming acquainted with its best asset – the Lebanese people,” she added. “The American-Lebanese relationship is built on a solid foundation of shared values. It has grown even stronger in recent years, and America has stood side-by-side with Lebanon as it has faced an array of challenges,” remarked Richard. She concluded as saying: “I look forward to building on the work of my predecessors and continuing our support for Lebanon’s security, stability, and prosperity.”

Moody's Maintains Negative Outlook on Lebanon's Banking System
moodys.com/Naharnet/July 15/16/Moody's International rating agency has maintained its negative outlook on Lebanon's banking system, reflecting the rating agency's expectation of a continued weak operating environment that will slow credit expansion and raise asset quality pressures for banks, as well as their high and growing exposure to sovereign debt. The outlook expresses Moody's expectation of how bank creditworthiness will evolve in Lebanon over the next 12-18 months. "We consider high and increasing exposure to Lebanese sovereign debt to be the main credit risk for Lebanese banks over the outlook horizon," says Alexios Philippides, an Assistant Vice President at Moody's. "Lebanese banks will also continue to face significant headwinds from a challenging operating environment." Lebanese banks' rising sovereign debt holdings link their creditworthiness to that of the government (B2 negative), which Moody's estimates will run an average fiscal deficit of 8% of GDP in 2016 and 2017, and which relies primarily on local banks to cover its funding gap and roll over existing debt. "As of March 2016, banks' aggregate sovereign -related exposures -- incorporating both Lebanese sovereign debt and exposures to Banque du Liban -- were an estimated LBP129 trillion ($86 billion), or 46% of total assets," explains Philippides. "This constitutes the largest component of the banking sector's combined balance sheet and equals over 5x their Tier 1 capital." Furthermore, the rating agency forecasts real GDP growth of 1.7% in 2016 (2015: 1.3%), well below the 2007-10 average (9%), while political instability and regional conflict will continue to weigh on private investment, consumer confidence, trade and the construction sector. In turn, this will raise asset quality pressures for banks, with Moody's estimating loan-loss provisions to remain high at 1-1.5% of gross loans for the year and nonperforming loans (NPLs) to increase above 5% of gross loans, up from 4% at year-end 2015. "Asset-quality pressure for banks in Lebanon will likely rise across all economic sectors in Lebanon especially in the banks' construction and real estate sectors -- which accounted for 24% of system loans at the end of December 2015 -- and in retail credit," explains Philippides. Despite these pressures, Moody's notes that capital levels will remain broadly stable -- supported by Basel III implementation, profit retention and limited asset growth -- although will remain vulnerable to downside risk. The rating agency expects equity-to-total assets to remain stable at 9% for 2016, a modest level considering the difficult operating environment and banks' aforementioned very high sovereign exposures. In addition, Moody's expects profitability to remain stable, though muted, posting net income to tangible assets of between 0.9% and 1.1% in 2016 (2014-15: 1.0%) supported by their overseas operations and broadly stable interest spreads. Furthermore, solid liquidity buffers and depositor-based funding will continue to support system stability in Lebanon, according to Moody's. Deposits will continue to grow, but at a slower rate reflecting subdued domestic economic growth and lower inflows from Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Lebanese banks have low reliance on market funding, as deposits fund more than 80% of system assets.

Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq: World Bank Approves $55 Million Loan To Fight Pollution in Litani
Naharnet/July 15/16/Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq announced that the World Bank has approved a $55 million loan to fight pollution in the Qaraoun Lake in Western Bekaa Valley and the Litani River in south Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported on Friday. Mashnouq added that the loan will also cover the completion of the sewage networks in Zahle and the surrounding villages, Anjar and al-Marj, NNA added. Mashnouq's comments came after media reports said that the river is being contaminated with sand because of the spread of stone crushers that were established near the river bed. Contamination in the Qaraoun Lake are reportedly attributed to speculations that someone might have thrown dynamite into the lake for easy fishing. Qaraoun is an artificial lake and reservoir located in the southern region of the Bekaa Valley. The cabinet decided on Thursday to form a ministerial committee in cooperation with the security forces to follow up on the issue of the pollution.

Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq Warns Police to Stop Syria Refugee Abuse
Naharnet/July 15/16/Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq warned on Friday the law enforcement agents against abusing Syrian refugees after pictures showing some being mistreated by municipal police were posted online. Mashnouq said in a letter to heads of municipalities that officers would face "disciplinary measures" if they abuse their power when dealing with citizens and Syrian refugees. "Lately, there has been a rise in the abuses committed by members of the police in several municipalities concerning Syrian refugees," Mashnouq wrote. He ordered the heads of municipalities to give "strict instructions" to police officers "to respect rules and regulations". Human rights activists have said that policemen in the Amchit municipality carried out nighttime raids in several homes, detaining Syrian refugees. The activists posted pictures online showing refugees kneeling or lined up facing a wall, their hands crossed behind their backs, as municipal policemen checked their identity documents. The images have sparked outrage and prompted the authorities to arrest five municipal policement from Amchit, who were later released after being interrogated. Lebanon hosts more than one million Syrian refugees, roughly a quarter of the Mediterranean country's population. Their presence has been a burden on Lebanon's economy and a source of tension, with rights groups saying the refugees face many restrictions. At the end of June, troops raided a makeshift refugee camp near a predominantly Christian village on the border with Syria after suicide attacks.
More than 280,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's civil war erupted with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.

U.N.: More Than 700 Iraqi Men and Boys Missing from Fallujah
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 15/16/A total of 738 men and boys remain missing after they were detained by militias backing the Iraqi government offensive to retake Fallujah from Islamic State jihadists, a U.N. envoy said Friday. Jan Kubis told the Security Council that the UN mission in Iraq had received credible reports of torture, killings and disappearances by the militias and Iraqi security forces during the Fallujah offensive. Iraqi forces seized control of Fallujah, a longtime jihadist bastion, in late June, a month after a vast operation was launched. UN officials have determined that 95 men remain unaccounted for after they were detained by the Shia militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) on May 25 in the Al Sejar area of northeast Fallujah, Kubis said. An additional 643 men and boys remain missing after they were picked up by PMF-affiliated forces on June 5 while leaving Saqlawiyah, north of Fallujah, he added. Kubis said Iraqi authorities must take swift action to identify the whereabouts of these missing men and boys and ensure those responsible for rights violations face justice. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi last month announced the creation of a committee to investigate the allegations of rights violations and serious crimes in Fallujah. The envoy stressed that "these lessons from Fallujah" must be taken into account as preparations gather steam to retake Mosul, Iraq's second city which has been under IS control since June 2014. The United Nations estimates that the humanitarian effort from the campaign to retake Mosul will cost up to $1 billion and "will be the largest and most sensitive humanitarian crisis in the world in 2016," said Kubis. The Fallujah operation displaced 640,000 people in the Anbar governorate alone, on top of the 3.4 million Iraqis who have been driven from their homes since the rise of IS in 2014, according to the United Nations.

Pharoun calls on festivals tomorrow to play French and Lebanese national anthems in solidarity with France
Fri 15 Jul 2016 /NNA - Tourism Minister, Michel Pharoun, gave his instructions to the organizing committees of the Lebanese festivals that will be taking place on Friday and Saturday in the Lebanese regions, to play both the Lebanese and French national anthems, in solidarity with the victims of the blind terror attack that hit the Mediterranean touristic city, Nice, and as an expression of deep sadness on the fall of the victims.

Berri meets Iranian delegation, KSA Ambassador, cables condolences to Hollande
Fri 15 Jul 2016/NNA - House Speaker, Nabih Berri, received on Thursday in Ain el Tineh Iranian Islamic Shura Council Head, Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, accompanied by Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammad Fathali, with talks reportedly touching on the current situation in Lebanon and the region. He also met with Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Awad Asiri, over the general situation in Lebanon and the region. Berri cabled condolences to French President, François Hollande, in the wake of the truck attack in Nice that left behind many innocent victims. He offered his condolences for the victims of the attack, condemning this act of terror. Also, Speaker Berri sent condolence telegram to Head of the French Senate, Gerard Larcher, and President of the National Assembly of France, Claude Bartolone.

Byblos International Festivals kick off
Fri 15 Jul 2016/NNA - Byblos International Festivals kicked off at 9:00 pm on Friday, in presence of Ministers Michel Pharaon and Raymond Araiji, in addition to a panel of social and municipal dignitaries.Lebanese singer Carole Samaha opened the festivities.

TMC: One killed in road accident in Jiyeh
Fri 15 Jul 2016/NNA - One was killed after a vehicle hit him at Jiyeh highway, the Traffic Management Center indicated on Friday.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 14-15/16

Canada very concerned with situation in Turkey
July 15, 2016 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today released the following statement regarding the situation in Turkey:
“Canada calls on all parties in Turkey to respect the country’s democratic institutions, remain calm and safeguard the security of civilians. Any factions attempting to use force to undermine Turkish democracy should stand down immediately and refrain from any acts of violence.
“Canada supports a democratic Turkey.
“Global Affairs Canada is closely monitoring the situation in Turkey.
“The Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa and Canadian offices in Ankara and Istanbul stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadian citizens as required.
“Global Affairs Canada advises against all travel to Turkey. Canadians in Turkey should remain indoors, avoid large gatherings and follow the instructions of local authorities. Do not attempt to reach the Canadian embassy or consulate in person.”
Canadian citizens in Turkey requiring emergency consular assistance should contact the Embassy of Canada in Ankara at 90 (312) 409-2700, or the Consulate General in Istanbul at 90 (212) 385-9700, or call the Global Affairs Canada’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre collect at +1 613 996 8885. An email can also be sent to sos@international.gc.ca. You may also call the Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa toll-free at 00800-14-220-0149 (the toll-free number is inaccessible for mobile phone users in Turkey).
Friends and relatives in Canada of Canadian citizens known to be in Turkey should contact Global Affairs Canada’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre by calling +1 613 996 8885 or +1 800 387 3124, or by sending an email to sos@international.gc.ca.

Attempted military coup in Turkey: Reports
By Staff Writer Al Arabiya English Friday, 15 July 2016/President Tayyip Erdogan has called on the Turkish people to 'take to the streets' following an apparent coup attempt by some members of the Turkish military on Friday. Speaking to CNN Turk on a video phone call Erdogan called on the nation to gather in the squares in response to the “attempted uprising”. He said it was an act encouraged by “parallel structure”. The Turkish army announced the ceasation of the constitution and the imposing of martial law. At approximately 1am Turkish army helicopters opened fire on the intelligence headquarters in Ankara and guards returned fire, Al Arabiya reported. Tanks opened fire around the Turkish parliament building, Reuters reported. Elsewhere in Istanbul there were reports of gun fire coming from the airport. Live footage from the scene showed what appeared to be citizens running for cover as shots were fired. In an interview with CNN Turk Erdogan told a reporter on the station from the screen of a smartphone that he believed the uprising would be resolved ‘within a short time’. He added that he did not believe that the ‘coup plotters’ would be successful and that he would be returning to Ankara. His remarks followed an earlier statement by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim that a group within Turkey’s military had attempted to overthrow the government and security forces had been called in to do what was necessary. If successful, the overthrow of President Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey since 2003, would amount to one of the biggest shifts in power in the Middle East in years. Turkey’s military said on Friday it had seized power, but the prime minister said the attempted coup would be put down. Yildirim said the elected government remained in office.. “Some people illegally undertook an illegal action outside of the chain of command,” Yildirim said in comments broadcast by private channel NTV. “The government elected by the people remains in charge. This government will only go when the people say so.”And Yildirim said those responsible for what he described as an attempted coup by a faction within the military on Friday would "pay the highest price".
Turkish state broadcaster TRT was taken off the air on Friday, after an announcer read a statement from the military saying it had taken over the government in a coup. But CNN Turk later reported that some hostages had been taken at the Turkish military headquarters in Ankara. In a statement the Turkish military said all existing foreign relations would continue. Meanwhile Reuters cited a pilot who said all flights from Istanbul’s Ataturk airport had been cancelled after the events in Turkey. As the events developed countries around issued advisories to their citizens in Turkey to stay indoors. "A message was sent saying that serious events were taking place in Ankara and Istanbul," said a French diplomatic source. "French citizens have been asked to stay inside." Similar statements were made but other countries. Turkey, a NATO member with the second biggest military in the Western alliance, is one of the most important allies of the United States in the fight against ISIS. It is a principal backer of opponents of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in that country’s civil war, and host to 2 million Syrian refugees. The country has been at war with Kurdish separatists, and has suffered numerous bombing and shooting attacks this year, including an attack two weeks ago by Islamists at Istanbul’s main airport that killed more than 40 people. Dogan News Agency footage showed cars and buses being diverted. CNN Turkey showed two military vehicles and a group of soldiers lined up at the entrance of one of the bridges in Turkey’s biggest city.
A Turkish official who did not want to be named said soldiers had been deployed in other cities in Turkey, but did not specify which ones. Dogan News Agency reported the national police directorate summoned all police to duty in Ankara. After serving as prime minister from 2003, Erdogan was elected president in 2014 with plans to alter the constitution to give the previously ceremonial presidency far greater executive powers. His AK Party, with roots in Islamism, has long had a strained relationship with the military and nationalists in a state that was founded on secularist principles after World War One, and which has a history of military coups. (Developing story with Reuters, AFP and AP)

Canada appalled by terrorist attack in Nice, France
July 14, 2016 – Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today released the following statement regarding reports that a truck struck a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France.
“We condemn this horrific terrorist attack, and we offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed and a speedy recovery to those injured. Canadians are deeply saddened by this tragedy and we stand in solidarity with the people of France on their national day.
“The Consulate of Canada in Nice is in communication with local authorities and the Emergency Watch and Response Centre is active and assisting Canadians.
“Canadian citizens in France requiring emergency consular assistance should contact the Embassy of Canada to France or call Global Affairs Canada's 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre collect at +1 613 996-8885 or +1 800 387-3124. An email can also be sent to sos@international.gc.ca.
“Friends and relatives in Canada of Canadian citizens known to be in the area can contact Global Affairs Canada's 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre by calling 613-996-8885 or 1-800-387-3124, or by sending an email to sos@international.gc.ca.”

Hollande: State of emergency in France to be extended for three months
Al Arabiya News English Friday, 15 July 2016/French President Francois Hollande said Thursday's lethal attack on the southern city of Nice was clearly a terrorist assault. Just hours after announcing in the traditional Bastille Day interview that the state of emergency, in place since November attacks that killed 130 in Paris, was to be removed, Hollande said it must be extended for three months. That decision will need parliamentary approval. He also said other measures will be put in place to counter the threat. Speaking after an emergency meeting in the early hours of Friday morning, Hollande said at least 77 people were killed in an attack in which the assailant drove a big truck at high speed into dense crowds who were watching a fireworks display on the country's national Bastille Day holiday. "There's no denying the terrorist nature of this attack of yet again the most extreme form of violence," the French leader said in a national television address. Moment truck driver ploughs into Bastille Day crowd. Hollande added he had called on reservists to boost the ranks of police and gendarmes after the attack. France's "operational reservists" include French citizens with or without military experience as well as former soldiers. Hollande said they would in particular be used to boost "border controls". He also vowed to strengthen his country's role in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. "Nothing will make us yield in our will to fight terrorism. We will further strengthen our actions in Iraq and in Syria. We will continue striking those who attack us on our own soil," he said, in reference to ISIS group.Hollande added he will call a defense council meeting Friday that brings together defense, interior and other key ministers, before heading to Nice.With agencies

World leaders react with horror to France truck attack
AFP, Paris Friday, 15 July 2016/Politicians from around the world have reacted with horror after a truck smashed into a crowd in the French resort of Nice, killing at least 80 as they watched a Bastille Day fireworks display.
Following are the main reactions:
Saudi King Salman with French President François Hollande. (File photo: AP)
Saudi Arabia's King Salman released a statement directed to French President François Hollande: Saudi Arabia stands alongside France in combatting terrorism in all its forms.
An official source has expressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's strong condemnation of the heinous terrorist running-over act in the French city of Nice, according to Saudi Press Agency.
The source confirmed in a statement 's standing by and solidarity with the friendly Republic of France and its cooperation with it in confronting acts of terrorism in all their forms and manifestations.
The seven sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates condemned the “heinous terrorist crime” that struck Nice.
In a statement Friday on the state-run WAM news agency, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan pledged to stand with the people of France after the assault.
Sheikh Abdullah also stressed the attack “makes it imperative for everyone to work together decisively and without hesitation to counter terrorism in all its forms.”
The UAE is part of the US-led coalition targeting ISIS and hosts American and Western military personnel involved in the fight. While its neighbors have been struck by extremis attacks, the UAE’s capital of Abu Dhabi and its commercial hub of Dubai have escaped the violence.
The ruler of oil-rich Kuwait has condemned the attack in Nice, France, saying it “runs counter to all religious teachings and humanitarian values.”
The state-run Kuwait News Agency said the ruling emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, sent a cable of condolence to French President Francois Hollande over the assault.
Sheikh Sabah said Kuwait “supports all measures France might take to protect its security against the terrorist acts.” The Kuwaiti Embassy in Paris also urged its citizens in France to be careful while checking to make sure none of its citizens were wounded.
Tiny Kuwait faced ISIS suicide attack last year during Ramadan at a Shiite mosque which killed at least 27 people and wounded 227.
Barack Obama
US President Barack Obama condemned what he said appeared to be a “horrific terrorist attack”.
“We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack,” he said in a statement.
“On this Bastille Day, we are reminded of the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who had been in Paris earlier in the day for a Bastille Day parade, said: “The United States will continue to stand firmly with the French people during this time of tragedy. We will provide whatever support is needed.”
Mevlut Cavusoglu:
"We strongly condemn and damn the terrible terror attack that occurred in the French city of Nice. We deeply share the pain of the French people. Turkey is in full solidarity with France in the fight against terrorism. We will continue our struggle against these baseless (people) with determination. First and foremost, terrorism is the rape of humanity and universal values."
Justin Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter: “Canadians are shocked by tonight’s attack in Nice. Our sympathy is with the victims, and our solidarity with the French people.”
A spokesman for new British Prime Minister Theresa May called the attack “a terrible incident”, adding “we are shocked and concerned”.
Boris Johnson, whose first engagement as Britain’s new foreign secretary was at the French ambassador’s Bastille Day party in London, said on Twitter: “Shocked and saddened by the appalling events in Nice, and the terrible loss of life.”
European Council
European Council President Donald Tusk called it “a sad day for France, for Europe”. He said it was “tragic” that “the subjects of the attack were people celebrating liberty, equality and fraternity.”
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang offered his “condolences” to the victims and said China opposed all forms of terrorism.
United Nations
The United Nations Security Council called the attack “barbaric and cowardly”.
Narenda Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned what he called a mindless attack.
“I am appalled by the horrific attack in Nice. I strongly condemn such mindless acts of violence. My thoughts are with the families of deceased.
I hope the injured recover soon. India shares the pain and stands firmly with our French sisters and brothers in this hour of immense sadness,” Modi said.

France’s Bastille Day terror: 84 killed so far
Al Arabiya English with Agencies Friday, 15 July 2016
French authorities were trying to determine on Friday whether a Tunisian who killed at least 84 people by ploughing a truck into Bastille Day crowds had acted alone or with accomplices, but said the attack bore the hallmarks of Islamist militants. Thursday night's attack in the Riviera city of Nice plunged France again into grief and fear just eight months after gunmen killed 130 people in Paris. The truck zigzagged along the city's seafront Promenade des Anglais as a fireworks display marking the French national day ended on Thursday night. It careered into families and friends listening to an orchestra or strolling above the Mediterranean beach towards the century-old Hotel Negresco. French President Francois Hollande said about 50 people were still fighting for the lives following the attack that killed at least 84 people in Nice on Thursday. "About 50 people are in an absolute urgency between life and death," Hollande said after visiting victims at a hospital in the French Riviera city. He added that there were a lot of foreigners and children among the dead and warned that the fight against extremist groups would be long because they would continue to try to strike at Western values. The Paris prosecutor later confirmed that there were 84 killed, including 10 children and adolescents. And 202 people were injured, of which 52 are critical, and 25 on life support. The driver, 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, was shot dead by officers at the scene, was known to police for petty crimes but was not on a watch list of suspected militants. He had one criminal conviction for road rage, sentenced to probation three months ago for throwing a wooden pallet at another driver.The investigation "will try to determine whether he benefited from accomplices," Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said. "It will also try to find out whether Mohamed Laouaiej Bouhlel had ties to Islamist terrorist organizations."
"Although yesterday's attack has not been claimed, this sort of thing fits in perfectly with calls for murder from such terrorist organizations," he added. His ex-wife was held for questioning on Friday, a police source said, as investigators seek to establish the motives of the suspect.Tunisian security sources told Reuters the suspect had last visited his hometown of Msaken four years ago. He had three children and was not known by the Tunisian authorities to hold radical or Islamist views. The truck careered for hundreds of metres along the famed Promenade des Anglais seafront, slamming into spectators, among them children, who were watching the fireworks, listening to an orchestra or strolling above the beach towards the grand, century-old Hotel Negresco. France has declared three days of national mourning from Saturday, with French PM Manuel Valls saying flags will be flown at half-mast from starting on Friday. A law extending increased powers for the police will be put before parliament next week, he added.Warning: Images and footage in video below contains graphic content. Viewer discretion advised.
Moment truck driver ploughs into ‪‎Bastille Day‬ crowd in ‪Nice Attack
Dried blood, smashed strollers
Dawn broke on Friday with pavements smeared with dried blood. Smashed children's strollers, an uneaten baguette and other debris were strewn about the promenade. Small areas were screened off and what appeared to be bodies covered in blankets were visible through the gaps. The truck was still where it had come to rest, its windscreen riddled with bullets. "I saw this enormous white truck go past at top speed," said Suzy Wargniez, a local woman aged 65 who had watched from a cafe on the promenade. "It was shooting, shooting." At Nice's Pasteur hospital, medical staff were treating large numbers of injuries. Waiting for friends who were being operated on was 20-year-old Fanny. "The truck pushed me to the side. When I opened my eyes I saw faces I didn't know and started asking for help," she told Reuters. "Some of my friends were not so lucky. They are having operations as we speak."
"It's a scene of horror," a local member of parliament, Eric Ciotti, told France Info radio, saying the truck had "mown down several hundred people.""People went down like ninepins," Jacques, who runs Le Queenie restaurant on the seafront, told France Info. "I saw people go down," bystander Franck Sidoli, who was visibly shocked, told Reuters at the scene. "Then the truck stopped, we were just five metres away. A woman was there, she lost her son. Her son was on the ground, bleeding." Since the ISIS attacks last year, major public events in France have been guarded by troops and armed police, but it appeared to have taken some minutes to halt the progress of the deadly truck as it tore along pavements and a pedestrian zone. Police told residents of the city, located 30 km (20 miles) from the Italian border, to stay indoors as they conducted further operations, though there was no sign of any other attack.
During his speech, Hollande addressed a sleepless nation on television at 3:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) saying that France's state of emergency would be extended for another three months as a result of the attack. This still image from a BFM TV telecast shows French President Francois Hollande speaking about the attack in Nice on July 14, 2016 in Elysee, Paris. (AFP) The state of emergency has been in place since November's attacks in Paris, and was due to be lifted on July 26. Nice, a city of some 350,000 that has a history as a flamboyant resort but is also a gritty metropolis, has seen some of its Muslim residents travel to Syria to fight, a path taken by previous ISIS attackers in Europe.
(with Reuters, AFP and the Associated Press)

Who was Bastille Day truck attacker Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel?
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 15 July 2016
The driver of the truck that smashed into a crowd watching fireworks in the French Riviera city of Nice, killing at least 84, has been identified by French media and local Tunisian authorities as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. Bouhlel’s identity papers were reportedly found inside the truck he to smash into Bastille Day revelers and reports say he came from the Tunisian town of Msaken which he last visited four years ago, Tunisian security sources said on Friday. The 31-year-old was not known by the Tunisian authorities to hold radical or Islamist views, sources said. Msaken is about 10 km (six miles) outside the coastal city of Sousse. A local source in the governorate of Sousse said that Bouhlel migrated to France in 2005 and returned to his home town only once in 2012 and spent there 10 days in Annour neighborhood in Msaken. Bouhlel was married to a French-Tunisian named Hajer and has three children, according to the source. He reportedly was barred from entering his family home after a domestic violence charge. According to several sources, he was already known to police for minor criminal offences.He also worked as a delivery truck driver, according to the Nice-Matin news report. Police are awaiting DNA confirmation that it was indeed Bouhlel’s body at the driver’s seat. There is still much cofusion and conflicting reports whether he had held French citizenship but police sources said he was a French through marraige.
Tunisian nationals among the victims
Tunisia’s consulate in Nice said two of the 84 victims of Thursday’s attack have been identified as Tunisian nationals Bilal Labawi and Mohammad Toukabri, and that officials were working to check for other Tunisian nationals among the casualties, state news agency TAP reported. The Tunisian government issued a statement condemning the attack “in the strongest possible terms”. “Tunisia stands by France in its fight against terrorism and supports any measure taken by the French government to protect its territory and the security. For many French-Tunisians in France, Friday’s carnage is another reminder of the hardships and fear they currently face. “My immediate feeling was fear. My sister and my nieces from 10 years to 1 year were there during the fireworks. Even if I know that my country was under threat and because of my trips and my activism I am expecting the worse, thinking of my nieces being there was a nightmare,” Samia Hathroubi, a French Tunisian human rights activist, told Al Arabiya English.
Another Tunisian in the French city of Marseille told Al Arabiya English that recent attacks in Paris and Brussels have become “somewhat of a habit” for the French-Tunisian community. “It’s really sad that we wake up to bad news every day. It’s sad for anyone who is Tunisian or with Arab nationality to hear this news and to be thinking ‘Oh, I hope that the attacker is not Tunisian or Arab,” Myriam Ben Ghazi, a Tunisian Freelance journalist living in Marseille, told Al Arabiya English. Nearly 40,000 Tunisians are currently living in Nice – among a wider community of 120,000 in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. Of the majority Tunisians
Lone wolf or ISIS attacker?
So far, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has not taken responsibility for the attack in Nice although they have previously done so with the attacks in Paris last year and in Brussels earlier this year. Analysts and experts say it is too early to determine whether Bouhlel was working alone or part of a wider network. “We will be in a better position to comment once more is known from the investigations. We should be asking how a truck could enter the same area as a Bastille Day crowd in a French city while the country is on high alert for a terrorist attack,” Dr. Rodger Shanahan, Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy told Al Arabiya English. Many eye witnesses told Al Arabiya English that police and emergency personnel were slow in action to reach the scene of the crime, with one saying up to 30 minutes had passed before signs of authorities showed. Despite that, Shanahan said it was not much about police “being more aggressive” in terms of their security policies, but that it laid within how intelligence is gathered and disseminated between agencies and countries.
“Even then if a solo attacker has no electronic trail then it is virtually impossible to stop them,” he said.

Many Muslims reportedly killed in Nice truck attack
Al Arabiya English Friday, 15 July 2016
Many Arabs and Muslims were also targeted in truck attack in the French city of Nice on Thursday evening, according to an Iranian journalist who was present on the ground. Maryam Violette said she saw bodies on the ground with either the Muslim head covering hijab or some clothing of Arabic nature. Many on social media are taking her statements as evidence that that driver, a French citizen of Tunisian ancestry, was indiscriminate as he ploughed through the Bastille Day crowd near the French Riviera. “There were so many Muslim people who were victims because I could see they had scarves over their head and some were speaking Arabic, one family lost a mother and in Arabic, they were saying she’s a martyr,” Violette, who works for the ZananTV, told the Guardian.
Arabs feeling ‘immense fear’
Few Arab sources Al Arabiya English spoke to in Nice over the phone described the absence of police and emergency personnel during the first 30 minutes of the attack. Syrian graduate student Zehni Khairullah told Al Arabiya English of the immense fear Arab tourists and students felt who were near the attack. “What I experienced in Nice last night will never leave my memory. People running around and screaming while I was a kilometer away from the location of the attack,” Khairullah said. “Walking back to the residence was not an as easy. Every car, motorcycle or person we saw, we stopped, counted to 10 in fear that this person might shoot us,” he recounted. Khairullah, who was with a fellow Syrian and seven other Jordanian students, was attending a European Innovation Academy workshop on web development for the past week. “We are being advised to stay indoors in the residence and not move out in the streets. Many are nervous and scared and waiting for more information,” he said. Warning: Images and footage in video below contains graphic content. Viewer discretion advised. Watch: Arab mother screams ‘Where’s my daughter’ in France truck attack. 'Waiting for more information' Many Arabs, especially from the Arab Gulf countries, vacation in the French Riviera areas during the summer months. Reporting from Nice, Al Arabiya reporter Nada al-Tuwaijri said that she, along with several Arab tourists, were 10 minutes away from the scene when the attack took place.
“Ten minutes away after this happened, right after the fireworks took place in celebration of the 14th of July, we didn't feel an immediate impact,” our reporter said. “People couldn't find any policemen or someone to inform them whether to evacuate the restaurants or not.”As of Friday morning, restaurants and shops remained closed to the public in Nice especially near the promenade, although Al Arabiya's reporter on the ground couldn't confirm whether this was a direct result of the Bastille Day holiday or the attack. “As of noon, we haven't heard confirmed reports whether any Gulf Arab nationals were killed or injured in the attack as news coming out has been slow. People are told to expect more news as the day continues.” al-Tuwaijri reported.

White House: No evidence of Saudi role in 9/11
Reuters, Washington Friday, 15 July 2016/US intelligence officials have finished reviewing 28 classified pages of the official report on the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and they show no evidence of Saudi complicity, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Friday. "It will confirm what we have been saying for quite some time," Earnest told reporter during a daily White House briefing. The 28 pages that will be sent to the U.S. Congress on Friday contain no new evidence that Saudi Arabia played a role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Earnest said.

Kerry, Putin: no talk of cooperation in Syria
AFP, Moscow Friday, 15 July 2016/President Vladimir Putin and US Secretary of State John Kerry did not discuss direct military cooperation in Syria during talks aimed at reviving the stalled peace process in the war-torn country, the Kremlin said Friday.
“The topic of direct military cooperation in the fight against terrorism did not figure” in the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters after a leaked document revealed Washington was set to offer Moscow closer military cooperation against militants in Syria. “An exchange of information is occurring but, unfortunately we have not begun real cooperation to significantly improve the effectiveness of efforts in the fight against terrorism.” According to a leaked document seen by the Washington Post, Kerry’s key proposal is to offer Russia closer US military cooperation against the Al Nusra Front. In exchange, Moscow would be required to pressure its ally Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad to ground his own jets and end attacks on civilians and the moderate opposition. On the second and final day of his visit to Moscow on Friday, Kerry is meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss ways to resolve the bloody five-year-long conflict. Kerry’s spokesman said that he would “explore initiatives in more detail” with Lavrov following a Thursday meeting with Putin, which Kerry said had been “serious and frank”. This diplomatic push comes as ferocious bloodshed in Syria persists following a series of failed ceasefires, and Russia and the United States appear increasingly at odds over the way forward amid heightened diplomatic tensions. Meanwhile, there has been no sign from Damascus that Assad feels under any pressure to agree to talks on a new government, the next stage in the process if a ceasefire is restored. Speaking to NBC News in Damascus, in an interview broadcast Thursday, Assad insisted Putin and Lavrov had never raised the issue of his departure or a political transition. “Russia’s position regarding Assad’s fate is well-known and has not undergone any kind of change,” Peskov said Friday.

US considers more robust presence for Yemen Qaeda
Reuters, Baghdad Friday, 15 July 2016/The US military is weighing an increase in its presence in Yemen to better challenge al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, building on momentum against the group after a successful offensive by Gulf allies, a top US general told Reuters.US Army General Joseph Votel, who oversees American troops in the region, said in an interview that a variety of locations could be suitable for American forces but did not disclose potential sites or suggest a recommendation was imminent. “We want to be able to work within a very secure environment to focus on the very (particular) mission we have there - which is principally focused on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP),” he said, speaking in Baghdad. “We will try to posture the force where we can best do that.”Despite significant US strikes, including one that killed AQAP’s leader last year, US counter-terrorism efforts have been undermined by Yemen's civil war, pitting government forces against Iran-allied Houthi rebels. US officials have declined to say how many Americans are on the ground in Yemen but say it’s only a very small number. Votel acknowledged the benefits of gaining greater visibility in Yemen and said a key goal would be working with US partners there. “If we can continue to better understand what al Qaeda’s doing, regain the situational awareness that we lost when we all had to depart Yemen here some time ago, that's what I’m interested in doing,” Votel said.

Funeral being held for slain UK lawmaker Jo Cox
The Associated Press, London Friday, 15 July 2016/Crowds of people have lined the streets of several towns in northern England to pay tribute to slain British lawmaker Jo Cox as her funeral cortege goes by. A private funeral is being held for the Labour Party legislator who was shot and stabbed to death outside a library in Birstall, 200 miles (320 kilometers), north of London on June 16. Many threw flowers in the path of her funeral cortege on Friday. The funeral service will be private at the family's request.Suspect Thomas Mair's murder trial begins in November. Commentators have blamed the killing of Cox - who had backed Britain to remain in the EU - in part on the angry mood whipped up by the rhetoric of some in the "leave" camp.

Philippines won't sacrifice sea feud victory in China talks
The Associated Press, Manila Friday, 15 July 2016/The Philippines will fight for its landmark arbitration victory to be upheld when it talks about resolving its South China Sea disputes with China, which has refused to recognize the ruling, the government lawyer said Friday. The Philippine position disclosed by Solicitor General Jose Calida runs against that of China, which opposes use of the tribunal ruling as basis for any negotiations. New President Rodrigo Duterte has sought talks with China to resolve the territorial row and revive relations, saying Chinese officials have promised to finance railway projects he has envisioned for the country. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a briefing that China welcomes Duterte's willingness to start talks. "The door to settling the issue through dialogue and negotiation has never been closed," Lu said. However, he reiterated Beijing's stance that the tribunal ruling should not be the basis for any action between the sides. Under a 1982 UN treaty governing the world's oceans, the Philippines had sought arbitration in 2013 on several issues related to territorial rifts with China. In its ruling Tuesday, the tribunal found China's far-reaching claims to the South China Sea had no legal basis and that Beijing had violated Philippine maritime rights by constructing artificial islands and disrupting Filipino fishing and oil exploration. Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, brought the case against China and bolstered security relations with treaty ally the United States to deter assertive Chinese actions, considerably straining ties. Duterte, however, has been more reconciliatory to Beijing and has not celebrated the huge victory. He has ordered government lawyers to study the ruling and has not disclosed his plan to secure Chinese compliance. After being sworn in on June 30, Duterte told members of his Cabinet before the ruling was delivered that it should have a "soft landing" when it comes. "We don't taunt or flaunt it," he said.Calida, however, praised the Philippine victory as a "historic win" in a forum on the ruling and said the Duterte administration would work to have the widely praised decision upheld when it holds proposed talks with China.
"The award is a historic win not only for the Philippines but for the international community because it renews the humanity's faith in a rules-based global order," Calida said in a speech. "The award is a crowning glory of international law."
Calida later told reporters that "the baseline for any negotiation should be the decision," adding "we will not concede any awards given to us."While prodding China to "respect" the decision, Calida said the government would deal with Beijing diplomatically to foster better relations. "The Philippines will not sacrifice what we have obtained from this decision but we will also pursue diplomatic means hopefully to convince China that we can co-exist peacefully," he said. "We will be patient, of course, and hopefully China will also show the same grace that we have shown when we did not, as wanted by some sectors of society, gloat about this victory," he said. Despite the ruling protecting Filipino fishing rights in the Scarborough Shoal, Chinese coast guard ships blocked Filipino fishermen Thursday from approaching the disputed area that is traditional fishing grounds for Filipinos. Asked if the Duterte government would help the Filipinos regain access to the Chinese-guarded shoal, Calida said the government would, diplomatically. The tribunal has no enforcement arm but Calida said its ruling could be used to foster adherence to the rule of law. "While there is no so-called world sheriff to enforce it, the award can function as a focal point that enables the state and non-state actors to bring countries in line with international law," Calida said.

Sadr supporters defy govt, protest Baghdad
Reuters, Baghdad Friday, 15 July 2016
Thousands of supporters of powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr filled a central Baghdad square on Friday, disregarding government pleas to scrap protests it said would distract from the war against ISIS. The demonstration ended a respite from street actions which in April and May saw protesters storm Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone government district twice, hampering parliament for weeks and causing several deaths. Sadr’s followers have returned with familiar demands to fight corruption and overhaul a governing system based on ethnic, sectarian and party quotas. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has failed to implement a cabinet reshuffle he promised months ago as part of reforms. The protests have at times boosted Abadi in his bid to replace ministers chosen on the basis of political affiliation with independent technocrats, but he has said more recently they risk undermining the military’s push to kick ISIS out of its northern Mosul stronghold. Activity in much of Baghdad crawled to a halt overnight as security forces deployed ahead of the demonstration, following a military parade in central Baghdad marking a national holiday. Sadr visited Tahrir Square briefly on Wednesday wearing military fatigues instead of his usual clerical robe and turban, raising fears of a possible confrontation. Abadi then toured several security checkpoints late on Thursday in an apparent attempt to bolster his image amid a rising wave of public outcry with residents blaming the government for failing to provide security. Sadr supporters pledged to carry on with the protest but promised it would be peaceful. There were no reports of serious violence several hours into the demonstration, after which people began to withdraw. Sadr, who rose to prominence when his Mahdi Army battled US troops after the 2003 invasion, briefly ascended the stage in Tahrir (Liberation) Square to address his supporters, many of whom had travelled from outlying provinces. A spokesman then issued a list of demands, including sacking the prime minister, president and parliament speaker; prosecuting corrupt officials; ending the quota system; reforming the judiciary and the election commission; and televising parliament sessions. As the statement ended, protesters waving Iraqi flags chanted: “Yes, yes for Iraq! Yes, yes for reform!”

Governor of Aden survives car bomb attack
Reuters, Aden Friday, 15 July 2016/The governor of the southern Yemeni city of Aden survived a car bomb attack targeting his convoy on Friday, security officials and eyewitnesses said. A parked car detonated as Aidaroos al-Zubairi and vehicles carrying his bodyguards and retinue drove in the Inma area. The attack caused no casualties and there was no immediate claim of responsibility. A civil war has raged for over a year in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula nation, and security chaos has gripped the port city – temporary seat of Yemen’s embattled government. Zubairi was appointed governor of Aden after his predecessor was killed in a car bombing on Dec. 6 claimed by ISIS militants, the latest attack by the new Yemen branch of the militant group against government targets. Assassins have tried several times before to kill him in car bomb blasts. Watch: Yemen's Aden and Lahaj Governors survive a suicide attack

India-controlled Kashmir under curfew, phones blocked to pre-empt protest
Reuters, Srinagar Friday, 15 July 2016/Indian-controlled Kashmir imposed a curfew on Friday and blocked mobile phone services to stop people from gathering in the streets and stage violent protests over the killing of a young separatist commander by security forces. At least 34 people have been killed and 3,100 wounded, most of them in police firing, in the worst outbreak of violence in six years in the disputed territory. Security forces were deployed in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir state, to enforce the curfew as well as Anantnag district in the south where Burhan Wani, idolized by some Kashmir youth, was killed in a security operation. Only people involved in medical emergencies would be allowed to travel, the state government said in a statement to head off protests after Friday prayers. On Thursday, a mob set fire to a house in Anantnag in which Wani and his associates were killed after a gun battle with government forces, a government spokesman said. An orchard was also attacked on suspicion that some people in the area had given Indian forces information about Wani’s whereabouts.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 14-15/16

Nice Attacker Emulated Methods Previously Advocated By ISIS, AQAP, And Other Jihadis, Who Called To Use Vehicles As Weapons To Run Over And 'Mow' People
MEMRI/July 15, 2016
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
The deadly truck attack in Nice, France on July 14, 2016 during Bastille Day celebrations has claimed the lives of at least 84 people, making it the second deadliest attack on France after the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris, which killed 130. The attacker, who was identified as French Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, drove a white truck across approximately 2 kilometers of the Promenade des Anglais, plowing through crowds, until finally being stopped by police. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had a handgun, but other weapons found in his truck were reportedly fake.
This simple method of attack, which did not employ the usual weapons used in previous terrorist attacks, such as explosives and firearms, has resulted in great carnage, causing dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries, many of them critical. The attack has yet to be claimed by any terrorist group, and the attacker had reportedly no known terrorist connections, indicated a possible lone-wolf operation.
This specific method of attack has been previously recommended by a number of jihadi groups, including the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Unfortunately, the Nice attack has illustrated the effectiveness of such an attack.
Following is a review of previous calls by jihadis to use vehicles as weapons:
ISIS Spokesman In 2014: 'If You Cannot [Detonate] A Bomb Or [Fire] A Bullet, Arrange To Meet Alone With A French Or An American Infidel And Bash His Skull In With A Rock, Slaughter Him With A Knife, Run Him Over With Your Car, Throw Him Off A Cliff, Strangle Him, Or Inject Him With Poison'
In a September 2014 message, ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-'Adnani called on ISIS supporters worldwide to kill Westerners, especially French and American, in response to the Western campaign against the Islamic State.
After quoting some Koranic verses permitting to kill infidels, he said: "O monotheists wherever you are, cause [the West] to let go of the Islamic State, to the best of your ability. The best thing to do would be to kill any French or American infidel or any of their allies... If you cannot [detonate] a bomb or [fire] a bullet, arrange to meet alone with a French or an American infidel and bash his skull in with a rock, slaughter him with a knife, run him over with your car, throw him off a cliff, strangle him, or inject him with poison. Don't stand by, helpless and abject... If you are incapable of this, burn down his house, his car, his business or his field. And if you are incapable even of this – then spit in his face. And if you refuse [to do] this while your brothers are being bombed and killed and their lives and property are under attack everywhere, then examine your faith. This is a serious matter you face, for the Islamic faith is predicated upon the principle of al-wala wal-bara [loyalty to Muslims and hostility towards infidels]." [1]
ISIS Campaign Encouraging Palestinians To Carry Out Lone Wolf Attacks Recommended The Use Of Vehicles As A Weapon
In October 2015, ISIS and its supporters launched a campaign in supporter of the wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks that were underway at the time. The campaign included messages by ISIS fighters encouraging Palestinians to run over Jews with their cars, as well as similar calls directed by ISIS supporters.[2]
In a video from Ninawa Province, Iraq, one ISIS fighter said: "Remember that our war with the Jews is a war between belief and unbelief, so continue your battle and use all permissible means of fighting them – stab them, run them over with cars. Don't forget the IEDs that your brothers in Iraq, Syria, and Khorasan [Afghanistan] have used to target the infidels."
In another video from Fallujah Province, a Palestinian ISIS fighter named Abu Hanifa Al-Maqdisi called on Muslims in Palestine to "throw an arrow or rock [at the Jews], run them over with a car, stab them with a knife, burn them with fire or boiling oil."
The campaign included similar suggestions by ISIS supporters, like the poster below, which recommends running people over with a car (third item from the bottom):
Following November 2015 Paris Attacks, French ISIS Fighter To Muslims In France: 'Kill Them, Spit In Their Faces, And Run Over Them With Your Cars'
Following the November 13, 2015, Paris attacks, ISIS released several videos celebrating the attacks and urging Muslims in France to carry out more attacks. In one video, a French ISIS fighters called upon French Muslims to join the Caliphate while urging Muslim in France to terrorize the enemies of Allah, including by running them over with their cars.
Second Issue Of AQAP 'Inspire' Magazine Recommends Using A Pickup Truck To 'Mow Down the Enemies of Allah'
The second issue of AQAP's English-language magazine Inspire, which was released on October 11, 2010, offered American Muslims various ways to carry out terrorist attacks, including the use of a pickup truck. An article titled "The Ultimate Mowing Machine" suggested using "a pickup truck as a mowing machine, not to mow grass but mow down the enemies of Allah."
Following are excerpts from the article:
"The idea is to use a pickup truck as a mowing machine, not to mow grass but mow down the enemies of Allah. You would need a 4WD pickup truck. The stronger the better. You would then need to weld on steel blades on the front end of the truck. These could be a set of butcher blades or thick sheets of steel. They do not need to be extra sharp because with the speed of the truck at the time of impact, even a blunter edge would slice through bone very easily. You may raise the level of the blades as high as the headlights. That would make the blades strike your targets at the torso level or higher.
"Pick your location and timing carefully. Go for the most crow[d]ed locations. Narrower spots are also better because it gives less chance for the people to run away. Avoid locations where other vehicles may intercept you.
"To achieve maximum carnage, you need to pick up as much speed as you can while still retaining good control of your vehicle in order to maximize your inertia and be able to strike as many people as possible in your first run. Keep in mind that as soon as people realize what you are up to, they would scatter and run in every direction looking for cover. They would look for areas where the vehicle cannot reach them. Therefore, it is important to study your path of operation before hand. The ideal location is a place where there are a maximum number of pedestrians and the least number of vehicles. In fact if you can get through to 'pedestrian only' locations that exist in some downtown (city center) areas, that would be fabulous. There are some places that are closed down for vehicles at certain times due to the swarms of people. If you have access to firearms, carry them with you so that you may use them to finish off your work if your vehicle gets grounded during the attack.
"After such an attack, we believe it would be very difficult to get away safely and without being recognized. Hence, it should be considered a martyrdom operation. It's a one-way road. You keep on fighting until you achieve martyrdom. You start out your day in this world, and by the end of it, you are with Allah. This idea could be implemented in countries like Israel, the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Denmark, Holland and other countries where the government and public sentiment is in support of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the American invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq or countries that had a prominent role in the defamation of Muhammed... "
"In such countries we may strike at the public at large. As long as they target our noncombatants, we will target theirs. This is one of many ways to implement this idea.
"You may modify it and add or subtract to it according to what is suitable for your particular conditions. If Allah guides your heart to such a great operation please leave behind a note. Tell the world why you did it." [3]
Endnotes:
[1] See MEMRI JTTM report, Responding To U.S.-Led Campaign, IS Spokesman Calls To Kill Westerners, Including Civilians, By Any Means Possible, September 22, 2014.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM report, ISIS Campaign: Encouraging Palestinians To Carry Out Lone Wolf Attacks, October 20, 2015.
[3] See MEMRI JTTM report, AQAP 'Inspire' Magazine's 'Open Source Jihad' Section: 'Use a Pickup Truck... [to] Mow Down the Enemies of Allah'; 'A Random [Lunch Hour Shooting] at a Crowded [Washington DC] Restaurant... Might End Up Knocking Out a Few Government Employees... Targeting Such Employees Is Paramount', October 12, 2010.
 

Iran Deal Cannot Whitewash Regime’s Deplorable Human Rights Record

Mark Dubowitz/the Foundation for Defense of Democracies/July 15/16
As we mark the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) this week, the Iranian regime continues to repress its people. Far from a new era of freedom, there has been no meaningful change in the regime’s deplorable human rights record, according to Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
When President Rouhani was elected in June 2013, there was a widespread, but incorrect, assumption that he would shepherd in an era of greater freedoms in Iran. Instead, even in the wake of the nuclear deal, the human rights situation hasdeteriorated even further. The Islamic Republic continues to commit serious human rights abuses, including limiting freedom of expression and the press; engaging in arbitrary detention and torture; and discriminating against women, ethnic, and religious minorities, and other vulnerable populations. The regime reigns over its citizens using repression and violence to rule through fear.
The regime is suppressing internal dissent, and the IRGC has arrested hundreds of activists, journalists, and regular citizens in what human rights experts call the “largest crackdown since the violent state suppression” in 2009. Last year saw arecord number of executions — 966 individuals, the highest number of executions since 1989. Even worse, Amnesty International reports that Iran is “one of the world’s last executioners of juvenile offenders.” At least 73 juvenile offenders have been executed in Iran since 2005, and, as of January 2016, 161 juvenile offenders were sitting on death row. Amnesty International warns the numbers are likely much higher as information about the use of the death penalty in Iran is often shrouded in secrecy.
Women and girls are especially vulnerable to sexual violence, including marital rape in a country with an increasing number of forced marriages, according to the United Nations. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom warned that Iran engages in “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom” and the number of individuals imprisoned for their religious beliefs has increased since 2015.
Moreover, Iran’s human rights abuses are not contained within the country’s borders. A report by Syrian and Lebanese researchers found that there is sufficient evidence to charge the Iranian leadership with complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria. Iran’s support for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s murderous campaign against his people reached new levels in the last year, including the provision of IRGC ground forces, weaponry, intelligence, telecommunications, and financial support.
Iran has enabled Assad to remain in power, bombing civilians with impunity, leading to more than 470,000 deaths. Other civilians have fled to neighboring states and Europe, causing millions of displaced refugees, an ensuing humanitarian crisis, and a surge in terrorist groups operating in Syria and abroad. The Syria crisis, in turn, led to the rise of ISIS as brutalized Sunnis turned to protection from the jihadists, which is threatening multiple countries, including the United States and Europe. Make no mistake: the Islamic Republic’s sectarian bloodshed is fueling the Islamic State.
Despite this evidence, Tehran wants the nuclear agreement to wipe clean its record of systemic human rights abuses. It hopes that businesses seeking to enter the Iranian market will ignore this repression. The recently announced Boeing and Airbus aircraft deals, which could total $50 billion, run the risk of putting these Western companies at the service of the Revolutionary Guards and their deadly airlifts to support Assad and Lebanese Hezbollah.
The world must hold Iran accountable. The United States should be leading the moral charge. Sadly, since the JCPOA, the Obama administration has designated no individuals or entities for human rights abuses, and has issued only three designations (one individual and two entities) since Hassan Rouhani took power in the summer of 2013. Meanwhile Iran continues to hold hostage U.S., Canadian, and British dual nationals Bagher and Siamak Namazi, Homa Hoodfar, and Nazanin Ratcliffe.
Over time, the nuclear deal will politically and financially insulate the Iranian regime and weaken international leverage to change the regime’s behavior. Iran will try to use the new environment created by the agreement to convince the international community to ignore the regime’s deplorable human rights record in pursuit of limited nuclear goals and massive profits.
President Obama has fewer than 200 days left in office to signal to Iran’s leaders that they cannot repress their people with impunity. New human rights designations by his administration would be a good start.
**Mark Dubowitz is executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he focuses on Iran and directs its Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

The Iran Deal’s Fatal Flaws After One Year: Emboldened Iran and Diminished American Deterrence
Mark Dubowitz, Annie Fixler/Foundation For Fefense Of Democracies/15th July 2016 -
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/dubowitz-fixler-fatal-flaws-after-one-year/
As we mark the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it is worth recalling why this deal is fatally flawed. The JCPOA provides Iran with a patient pathway to nuclear weapons capability by placing limited, temporary, and reversible constraints on Iran’s nuclear activities. These nuclear “sunset provisions,” which begin to expire in eight years and mostly disappear over a period of ten to fifteen years, leave Iran as a threshold nuclear power with an industrial-size, uranium enrichment and plutonium program; near-zero nuclear breakout capacity; an advanced centrifuge-powered clandestine sneakout capability; advanced ballistic missile and ICBM programs; access to advanced heavy weaponry; greater regional hegemony; and a more powerful economy that could be immune to Western sanctions. Even as Iran temporarily scaled back some of its nuclear activities under the JCPOA, the regime’s illicit effort to obtain proliferation-related technology continues while its other non-nuclear malign activities are expanding.
The deal (as well as the interim agreement in place during the negotiations) provided Iran with substantial economic relief that helped the regime avoid a severe economic crisis and return to a modest recovery path. The lifting of restrictions on Iran’s use of frozen overseas assets of about $100 billion gave Tehran badly needed hard currency to settle its outstanding debts, begin to repair its economy, build up its diminished foreign exchange reserves, and ease a budgetary crisis, which in turn freed up funds for the financing of terrorism.
The nuclear deal also did nothing to address the full range of Iran’s illicit activities, including ballistic missile development, support for terrorism, regional destabilization, and human rights abuses. Indeed, the weakening of missile language in the key UN Security Council Resolution and the lifting of a conventional arms embargo after five years, and the missile embargo after eight years, undermine international efforts to combat Iran’s illicit activities.
During last summer’s congressional review period, Obama administration officials pledged that the United States would continue to enforce non-nuclear sanctions and oppose all of Iran’s dangerous activities. However, many of us raised concerns that Iran would view any imposition of sanctions as a violation of the deal and grounds to “snap back” its nuclear program, and that those threats would in effect prevent Washington from imposing new non-nuclear sanctions. This is what we called Iran’s “nuclear snapback.”
In fear of the nuclear snapback, the Obama administration has missed numerous opportunities since the conclusion of the JPCOA to push back against Iran’s malign activities, including support for terrorism, human rights abuses, and other destabilizing activities in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and other countries across the Middle East. Iran also has tested nuclear-capable ballistic missiles seven times since July 2015 in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Yet, the administration has only issued a handful of new designations, including an ineffectual targeting of Iran’s missile procurement networks. Tehran can easily reconstitute these networks, and the designations do not impose the kind of economic costs needed to change Tehran’s strategic calculus.
In the past weeks, reports revealed Iran’s ongoing attempts to illegally procure nuclear and ballistic missile technology and raw materials. This activity violated UN Security Council Resolution 1929 (in place prior to January 2016), it violates UN Security Council Resolution 2231, and it violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the JCPOA. In its annual report released at the end of June, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency found that Iran engaged in a “quantitatively high level” of attempts to acquire nuclear and missile technology and equipment. German states also released their own intelligence reports, and multiple reports noted that Iran attempted to procure goods and technology relevant to “atomic, biological, and chemical weapons” and “nuclear and missile delivery programs.” In its coverage of these reports, The Wall Street Journal spoke with two German intelligence officers who stated that Iran’s illegal procurement efforts continued in 2016 – well after Implementation Day (January 16, 2016). If these 2016 activities included nuclear goods and technologies, Iran would be in violation of its JCPOA obligations; for missile-related technologies, Tehran would be in violation of UNSCR 2231.
The Obama administration and its European allies have not imposed meaningful sanctions or punished Iran for its illicit activities. In fact, nuclear experts at the Institute for Science and International Security found that over the past two years, “The Obama administration has inhibited federal investigations and prosecutions of alleged Iranian illegal procurement efforts.”
The Obama administration also has failed to enforce human rights sanctions against Iran. Since the JCPOA was concluded last summer, the administration has designated no individuals or entities for human rights abuses, and has issued only three designations since Hassan Rouhani took power in the summer of 2013. Meanwhile, Iran continues to hold hostage U.S., Canadian, and British dual nationals Bagher and Siamak Namazi, Homa Hoodfar, and Nazanin Ratcliffe as well as Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen and U.S. permanent resident as well as many other individuals. This is unacceptable and inexcusable. They must be released unconditionally and immediately.
As international businesses re-enter the Iranian market, the regime continues to oppress its citizens and deny their basic human rights. The regime seems to hope that the promise of profits will blind the international community to Iran’s vast system of domestic repression.
Those of us who were critical of the deal also raised concerns that Iran would view the JCPOA not as the end of the negotiations, but as the beginning, and demand ever-greater sanctions relief, as we have indeed seen. We have witnessed the Iranian government’s full-court press to persuade the United States to green-light Iran’s access to U.S. dollar transactions. This significant and unilateral concession to Iran would go beyond the sanctions relief promised by the nuclear agreement, and seemed to be under active consideration by the State Department before congressional pressure stopped it (for now). Iran has pressured the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to remove it from its financial “blacklist.” While FATF recently refused to do so, it did suspend mandatory counter-measures against Iran for one year and opened up the possibility for future changes in the not-too-distant future. Iran is also seeking membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and enjoys the backing of some European countries. WTO membership for Iran could severely curtail Washington’s future ability to use financial and economic sanctions.
Statements by administration officials such as Secretary of State John Kerry that it is America’s responsibility to ensure that Iran “get[s] the benefits that they are supposed to get” are very problematic. The administration is allowing Iran to hold the U.S. responsible for delivering financial and economic outcomes, and for providing ever-greater sanctions relief in order to persuade Iran to keep to the JCPOA. This is not good policy. Instead, Congress should ensure that the onus is placed on Iran. If Tehran wants more sanctions relief and wants to encourage multinational companies to enter the Iranian market, it must change its dangerous behavior.
The JCPOA lifts sanctions on Iran’s nuclear activities, but it does not preclude the United States from using non-nuclear sanctions – despite statements from Iran that it will view any imposition of sanctions as a violation of the deal and grounds to “snapback” its nuclear program. Congress should reject that Iranian position – which amounts to a form of nuclear blackmail – and hold the administration accountable for its commitments to “oppose Iran’s destabilizing policies with every national security tool available.” Sanctions need to be imposed to target Iran’s support for terrorism, ballistic missile program, support for the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and designated Shiite militias in Iraq, and human rights abuses. These steps are not a violation of the JCPOA, but rather an affirmation of the stated U.S. policy. Specifically, we recommend that Congress consider taking the following steps:
1. Protect the integrity of the U.S. dollar from Iranian illicit finance.
2. Reauthorize the Iran Sanctions Act, an important foundation of the sanctions architecture.
3. Counter the narrative that Iran is a responsible financial actor.
4. Strengthen sanctions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by designating it for terrorism and expanding non-proliferation sanctions and designations.
5. Require updated reporting on IRGC penetration in sectors of the Iranian economy, along with reporting and sanctions on the sectors involved in Iran’s ballistic missile development.
6. Require the U.S. Treasury to designate companies with IRGC or Ministry of Defense beneficial ownership.
7. Require the U.S. Treasury to create an IRGC Watch List.
8. Require reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding any transactions with IRGC Watch List companies or in sectors connected to Iran’s ballistic missile program.
9. Insist on robust investigation into illicit procurement and outstanding concerns about the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program.
10. Expand human rights sanctions by imposing sanctions on Iranian state organs responsible for institutionalized human rights abuses and by linking sanctions concessions to improvements in human rights conditions.
11. Target corruption and kleptocracy for reasons related to terrorism and human rights issues.
12. Require reporting on U.S. citizens and other dual-nationals held hostage in Iran.
13. Require reporting on and expand sanctions against Iran’s support for the Assad regime and IRGC activities in Syria.
14. Require presidential certification that commercial planes are only being used for civil aviation end-use before authorizing the sale of any aircraft to Iran.
15. Prohibit any U.S. financial institution, including the Export-Import Bank, from financing any trade with Tehran while Iran remains a state sponsor of terrorism.
16. Require reporting on the use of foreign airports and seaports by sanctioned Iranian entities.
America needs a comprehensive strategy deploying all of the coercive tools of statecraft to push back against the full range of Iran’s malign activities. If Washington does not confront these activities now and at every turn, in ten to fifteen years, we may face a situation in which the president has insufficient leverage to respond to an expanding Iranian military-nuclear program, regional aggression, and global terrorism. The U.S. may have only military force left to respond to Iran’s nuclear and other dangerous activities – at which time, the Iranian regime will be stronger, and the consequen

Can’t Have It Both Ways in Iran
Reuel Marc Gerecht/Foreign Affair/15th July 2016
Top Intel Official: Al Qaeda Worked on WMD in Iran
Thomas Joscelyn/Co-written by Stephen F. Hayes/The Weekly Standard//15th July 2016
Al Qaeda operatives based in Iran worked on chemical and biological weapons, according to a letter written to Osama bin Laden that is described in a new book by a top former U.S. intelligence official.
The letter was captured by a U.S. military sensitive site exploitation team during the raid on bin Laden's Abbottabad headquarters in May 2011. It is described in Field of Fight, out Tuesday from Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and Michael Ledeen of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
"One letter to bin Laden reveals that al Qaeda was working on chemical and biological weapons in Iran," Flynn writes.
Flynn's claim, if true, significantly advances what we know about al Qaeda's activity in Iran. The book was cleared by the intelligence community's classification review process. And U.S. intelligence sources familiar with the bin Laden documents tell us the disclosure on al Qaeda's WMD work is accurate.
Flynn notes that only a small subset of bin Laden's files have been released to the public. The "Defense Intelligence Agency's numerous summaries and analyses of the files remain classified," too, Flynn writes. "But even the public peek gives us considerable insight into the capabilities of this very dangerous global organization."
It's not just al Qaeda.
"There's a lot of information on Iran in the files and computer discs captured at the Pakistan hideout of Osama bin Laden," Flynn writes in the introduction. The authors note that the relationship between Iran and al Qaeda "has always been strained" and "[s]ometimes bin Laden himself would erupt angrily at the Iranians." Previously released documents and other evidence show that al Qaeda kidnapped an Iranian diplomat in order to force a hostage exchange and bin Laden was very concerned about the Iranians' ability to track his family members.
And yet the book makes clear that Flynn believes there is much more to the al Qaeda-Iran relationship than the public has been told. And that's not an accident. Obama administration "censors have been busy," Flynn writes, blocking the release of the bin Laden documents to the public and, in some cases, to analysts inside the U.S. intelligence community. "Some of it—a tiny fraction—has been declassified and released, but the bulk of it is still under official seal. Those of us who have read bin Laden's material know how important it is…"
Not surprisingly, Obama administration officials bristle at Flynn's characterization of their lack of transparency and lack of urgency on jihadists and their state sponsors. "Mike Flynn, in true Kremlin form, has been peddling these baseless conspiracy theories for years. Anyone who thinks Iran was or is in bed with al Qaeda doesn't know much about either," an Obama administration official told THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
It's an odd line of attack, given the fact that the Obama administration has repeatedly accused Iran of directly aiding al Qaeda. The Treasury and State Departments publicly accused the Iranian regime of allowing al Qaeda to operate inside Iran in: July 2011, December 2011, February 2012,July 2012, October 2012, May 2013, January 2014, February 2014, April 2014, and August 2014. In addition, in congressional testimony in February 2012, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper described the relationship as a "marriage of convenience."
Asked about the administration's own repeated statements pointing to the Iranian regime's deal with al Qaeda, the administration official who dismissed Flynn's claim as a "baseless conspiracy" theory declined to comment further.
The Flynn/Ledeen claim about al Qaeda's WMD work in Iran comes with an interesting wrinkle. The authors preface their disclosure of al Qaeda's work on "chemical and biological weapons in Iran" by suggesting that the revelation was included in documents already public.
But the only document released to date that seems to touch on the subject is a March 28, 2007, letter to an al Qaeda operative known as "Hafiz Sultan." The letter, which discussed the possibility of Iran-based al Qaeda operatives using chlorine gas on Kurdish leaders and includes a likely reference to Atiyah 'Abd-al-Rahman, was released by the administration via the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point in May 2012. President Obama's Treasury Department has claimed that Rahman was appointed by Osama bin Laden "to serve as al Qaeda's emissary in Iran, a position which allowed him to travel in and out of Iran with the permission of Iranian officials." It is not, however, addressed to bin Laden and it does not include a reference to biological weapons.
And while the U.S. Treasury and State Department have repeatedly sanctioned al Qaeda's operatives inside Iran and offered rewards for information on their activities, as noted, statements from Treasury and the State Department do not mention al Qaeda's "chemical and biological weapons" work inside Iran.
The takeaway: It does not appear that the al Qaeda document referenced by Flynn has been released by the U.S. government.
Flynn and others who have seen the documents say there are more explosive revelations in the bin Laden files kept from the public. Those already released give us a hint. One document, released in 2015, is a letter presumably written by Osama bin Laden to the "Honorable brother Karim." The recipient of the October 18, 2007, missive, "Karim," was likely an al Qaeda veteran known Abu Ayyub al Masri, who led al Qaeda in the Iraq (AQI) at the time. Bin Laden chastised the AQI leader for threatening to attack Iran. The al Qaeda master offered a number of reasons why this didn't make sense. "You did not consult with us on that serious issue that affects the general welfare of all of us," bin Laden wrote. "We expected you would consult with us for these important matters, for as you are aware, Iran is our main artery for funds, personnel, and communication, as well as the matter of hostages."That language from bin Laden sounds a lot like the language the Obama administration used in July 2011, when a statement from the U.S. Treasury noted that the network in Iran "serves as the core pipeline through which Al Qaeda moves money, facilitators and operatives from across the Middle East to South Asia."
**David Cohen, who was then a top Treasury official and is now the number two official at the CIA, told us back then: "There is an agreement between the Iranian government and al Qaeda to allow this network to operate. There's no dispute in the intelligence community on this."
Why, then, is the Obama administration attempting to dismiss the cooperative relationship between Iran and al Qaeda as a "baseless conspiracy?" Good question.
And it's one that releasing the rest of the documents could help answer.
**Note: Flynn's co-author Michael Ledeen is a colleague of Thomas Joscelyn at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Why Boeing shouldn’t do business with Iran
Jonathan Schanzer, Amir Toumaj/MarketWatch//Foundation For Fefense Of Democracies/15th July 2016
A little more than a year ago, it would have been unthinkable for major U.S. corporations to do business with the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Yet, here we are. With the signing of last year’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal, businesses are lining up to work with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Aircraft juggernaut Boeing is now poised to sell planes to the Islamic Republic. More are sure to follow.
American companies should know better. The financial risks of dealing with Iran are well established. Iran ranks 130 out of 168 on the corruption index at transparency.org. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the regime’s terror-sponsoring Praetorian Guard, controls roughly 35% of the formal economy and wields significant influence over the black market, too.
Iran’s theocratic dictator since 1989, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, holds assets valued at $95 billion. He also controls foundations that reportedly accounted for 7.1% of Iran’s gross domestic product in 2006, probably more today. Meanwhile, the U.S. designation of Iran as a terror sponsor has not changed. Nor has its designation of Iran as “a jurisdiction of primary money-laundering concern” pursuant to the Patriot Act.
But even these red flags fail to convey the tangible risks of working in Iran.
For example, the Iranian regime has been known to use force and intimidation to settle business disputes. In May 2004, the IRGC tanks and armed forces rolled onto the tarmac of newly opened Imam Khomeini International Airport, kicking Austrian-Turkish consortium Tepe-Akfen-Vie off the tarmac. The Armed Forces General Staff issued a public statement justifying the move, citing the closure was due to “security concerns” and “the presence of foreign firms operating” at the airport.
In 2006, the IRGC confiscated an oil rig owned by Romanian Grug Servicii Petrolier off of Kish Island in Persian Gulf. The Navy opened fired on Romanian workers with military helicopters and boats before seizing the oil rig and holding the crew hostage.
Iran also has a history of shaking down foreign companies. In 2013 French oil giant Total S.A. paid at least $60 million in bribes in the 1990s to gain access to oil and gas fields. It was then forced to pay another $398 million in fines for doing so.
Halliburton Products and Services, which was involved in oil-drilling projects valued at $310 million with Iranian Oriental Oil Kish Co., became mired in scandal in 2005 after being implicated in paying bribes.
Norwegian Statoil firm also faced for bribery charges allegedly committed in 2002. The company was forced to pay a $3.5 million fine to Norwegian authorities for violating bribery laws.
Even investing in the Tehran Stock Exchange poses dangers.
The TSE lacks the transparency of a modern exchange, and securities laws are opaque. Accurate and real-time data for Iranian stocks is nonexistent. Authorities regularly intervene in the market and rigidly monitor trading, creating artificial conditions. Shares cannot gain or drop more than 5% per trading session. Trading is “politically-motivated process and not based on an economic rationale,” according to a seasoned trader.
Sturgeon Capital, a London-based hedge fund, recently identified only about 50 companies, or some 10% of those traded on the Tehran Stock Exchange, that were not exposed to previously or presently sanctioned entities after the nuclear deal. Picking clean stocks is a due-diligence nightmare, as the ownership of many companies are obfuscated, with extremist elements often embedded in the most lucrative firms.
Some investors may see Iran as an emerging-market opportunity, especially after seeing gains of some 31% in the three months following the removal of sanctions in January 2016. Yet, it’s worth remembering how investors like Bill Browder had his fortunes pilfered by corrupt Russian oligarchs when he endeavored to ensure greater transparency among the companies whose shares he owned. The opportunity for entrepreneurs to become “activist investors” in Iranian companies are similarly scant.
Alarmingly, the Iranian regime has recently stepped up its arrests of dual nationals doing business in Iran. For example, the IRGC’s intelligence organization arrested Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi in October 2015, and he has since been held in the notorious Evin prison under dubious espionage charges. The IRGC also arrested Lebanese-American citizen Nazar Zaka, the secretary general of the Arab Information and Communications Technology Organization (IJMA3), when be traveled to Tehran in 2015 to attend a conference on entrepreneurship and employment.
If businesses like Boeing still aren’t deterred, Congress is now taking steps to ensure they will be. The House of Representatives on July 8 passed one measure that prohibits the Treasury from using funds to authorize a license necessary to allow aircraft to be sold to Iran, and another that ensures Iran will not receive loans from U.S. financial institutions to purchase aircraft.
But Congress shouldn’t have to step in. The dangers of doing business in Iran should be readily apparent. Buyer (and seller) beware.
**Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is vice president for research at the nonpartisan, Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Amir Toumaj is a research associate. Follow them on Twitter @JSchanzer and @AmirToumaj

Pakistan: Friend or Foe in the Fight Against Terrorism?
Bill Roggio/The Long War Journal/July 15/16
Chairman Poe and Chairman Salmon, Ranking Members Keating and Sherman, and other members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to speak about Pakistan and its support for terrorist groups that threaten the security of the United States and its allies.
This Committee rightly asks the question of whether Pakistan is a friend or foe in the fight against terrorism. While Pakistani officials and forces have assisted the U.S. in hunting senior al Qaeda figures at times, Pakistan’s overall strategy is pro-jihadist and therefore puts it in the foe category. Pakistan does battle some terrorist groups within its borders, but it only does so because these groups pose a direct threat to the state.
Pakistan myopically supports a host of terrorist groups in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India to further its goals in the region. Pakistan backs these groups despite the fact that they are allied with and aid the very terrorist groups that fight the Pakistani state. In addition, many of the jihadist groups sponsored by Pakistan are allied with al Qaeda.
Today I will highlight six major groups directly supported or tolerated by Pakistan’s establishment: the Afghan Taliban and its subgroup, the Haqqani Network; the Mullah Nazir Group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Harakat-ul-Mujahideen, and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Each of these groups is used by Pakistan as an instrument of its foreign policy. These six groups are by no means the only terrorist organizations supported by Pakistan, they are merely the most prominent.
Pakistan uses these six groups and others as a counterweight against what its policy makers perceive to be Pakistan’s greatest threat: India. However, the jihadist ideology has also spread throughout Pakistan as a result of policies adopted by the country’s military elite. Therefore, we should not underestimate the degree to which these groups are supported for ideological reasons.
Pakistan, a country of 182 million people, does not possess the manpower to counter India, a nation of 1.25 billion. Pakistan and India have been in a virtual state of war since Partition in 1947. The two countries have fought four active wars in 1947, 1965, 1971, and 1999. Each of these wars was initiated by Pakistan, and ended in defeats. Pakistani strategists have determined that to counter India, it must use unconventional means, including supporting jihadist groups.
Strategic Depth
To compensate for its inability to achieve victory on conventional battlefields against India, Pakistan implemented its own version of “strategic depth” in Afghanistan. Pakistan has supported groups in Afghanistan in order to deny India influence in its backyard, as well as to allow the nation to serve as a fallback in case of an Indian invasion.
Pakistan capitalized on the chaos in Afghanistan post-Soviet withdrawal and hunted for a group that would serve its purposes. With the rise of Mullah Omar’s Taliban faction in the early 1990s, Pakistan military and intelligence officers assigned to implement strategic depth saw the perfect partner: a powerful jihadist political movement that was gaining popularity throughout the country and was capable of sustaining military advances. Pakistan provided military and financial support to Omar’s faction, which successfully established the Islamic Emirate of the Taliban in 1996 and controlled upwards of 90 percent of the country until the US invasion in 2001.
In addition to securing a friendly government in Afghanistan, Pakistan used the country as both a training and a recruiting ground for a host of jihadist groups that fight in India-occupied Kashmir.
Good vs Bad Taliban
In order to justify its policy of support to jihadist groups, Pakistani elites have attempted to distinguish between what are referred to as “good Taliban” and “bad Taliban.” Simply stated, the so-called “good Taliban” are groups that advance Pakistan’s foreign policy goals and do not threaten the state or wage war within its borders. “Good Taliban” and other groups deemed acceptable by the Pakistani establishment include the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani Network, the Mullah Nazir Group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Harakat-ul-Mujahideen, and Jaish-e-Mohammed. These groups conduct numerous heinous acts of terrorism in the region, and are directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of American soldiers and civilians, and yet are supported by the Pakistani state.
“Bad Taliban” are any jihadist faction that challenges the primacy of the Pakistani state. These groups include the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, the Turkistan Islamic Party, and the weakened Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The Pakistani military has pursued these groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with some success. However, when targeting these groups, the military has avoided pursuing groups such as the Haqqani Network, which provided shelter and support for the “bad Taliban.”
Pakistani officials have denied that it pursues a policy of strategic depth and differentiates between “good and bad Taliban”, or alternatively, have claimed it will no longer differentiate between the two. However, these claims are false. This is demonstrated in Pakistan’s continuing support for the aforementioned groups and others, as well as an unwillingness to round up leaders and key operatives of these groups.
The Afghan Taliban
Pakistan’s support for the Afghan Taliban is well documented. It helped establish the group in the 1990s and continues to support it to this day. Hamid Gul, the former head of the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), Pakistan’s military intelligence agency that developed and implemented the policy of strategic depth, is known as “the father of the Taliban” for his role in directing support to the Taliban. (Gul is also known as the “Godfather of terrorism” for his support of global jihadist groups.) The term “father of the Taliban” isn’t reserved only for Gul; Maulana Sami ul Haq, the director of the radical Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa, also hold this title. His madrassa feeds thousands of new recruits to the Taliban on a regular basis.
Afghanistan’s insurgency continues to be fueled by Pakistan’s military and intelligence services to this day. The Taliban’s Quetta Shura, or supreme decision making council, has been based in the Pakistani city of the same name as well as elsewhere. The Taliban’s four regional military commands all are named after Pakistani cities (Quetta, Peshawar, Miramshah, Gerdi Jangal).
The Taliban’s top leadership has been based inside Pakistan, with the knowledge and approval of the military and ISI. The Taliban’s first two emirs died while in Pakistan. Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s founder and first emir, died in a Pakistani hospital near Quetta in April 2013. His successor, Mullah Mansour, was killed by the US in a drone strike in Baluchistan two months ago. They and other senior, middle and lower level leaders have operated inside Pakistan without consequence.
Pakistan’s border areas with Afghanistan serve as the life blood of the Taliban.
While all of Pakistan is jihadist friendly, the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan are flush with Taliban recruiting centers, training camps, safe houses, and financial hubs. Taliban commanders freely admit that the ISI arms them and provides safe haven and training camps inside Pakistan.
Meanwhile, radical madrassas throughout the country indoctrinate Pakistani youth into the jihadist worldview and send them off to fight for the Taliban and other allied groups.
The Haqqani Network
The Haqqani Network (HQN) is listed by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization for its support of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. It is an integral part of the Taliban. Its founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, is a member of the Quetta Shura, while his son is one of the two deputy emirs to Mullah Haibatullah, the new leader of the Taliban. Thirteen senior HQN are listed by the US as specially designated global terrorists; most, including Sirajuddin, have been directly linked to al Qaeda. Several top al Qaeda leaders were killed in US counterterrorism operations while being sheltered by HQN.
Deadly HQN attacks inside Afghanistan have been directly traced back to Pakistan. In one instance in 2011, HQN handlers, including Badruddin Haqqani, directed an assault on a hotel in Kabul from Pakistan, according to Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security. A similar attack took place in Jalalabad that same year.
In Pakistan, the HQN is based in North Waziristan and has a presence in other Pakistani tribal agencies, such as Kurram, The Haqqanis run the notorious Manba Ulom madrassa in Miramshah, North Waziristan.
Despite the HQN’s overt links to al Qaeda, the group remains a darling of Pakistan’s military and ISI. When the Pakistani military conducts operations in the FATA, it deliberately avoids the HQN. While Pakistani leaders insist the Haqqanis are not excluded from operations, not a single senior, mid-level, or junior leader has been killed or captured during Pakistani operations in the FATA from 2008 to date.
The Mullah Nazir Group
The Mullah Nazir Group is a Pakistani Taliban faction that operates in South Waziristan. The US government listed it as a specially designated global terrorist entity in 2013 and said it “has run training camps, dispatched suicide bombers, provided safe haven for al Qaeda fighters, and conducted cross-border operations in Afghanistan against the United States and its allies.” Its current leader, Bahawal Khan, and his deputy, sub-commander Malang, are also listed by the US as specially designated global terrorists.
Its former leader, Mullah Nazir, who was killed in a US drone strike, identified himself as a leader of al Qaeda and said he shared the group’s views on global jihad. Multiple al Qaeda leaders have been killed while sheltering with the Mullah Nazir Group. The Pakistani military provided the Mullah Nazir Group with direct support when it clashed with rival members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Despite the Mullah Nazir Group’s direct ties to al Qaeda, Pakistan has viewed it as an ally in the tribal areas. Like the Haqqani Network, the Mullah Nazir Group was left untouched when the Pakistani military launched operations that targeted the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan.
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is perhaps the most blatant example of Pakistan’s support for jihadists groups. Listed by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, it was founded by its leader, Hafiz Saeed, along with Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam, the godfather of international jihad. Bin Laden helped LeT establish training camps in Afghanistan’s provinces of Kunar and Paktia, where it continues to operates to this day. LeT shares al Qaeda’s goal of establishing an Islamic state in South Asia and beyond.
LeT operates openly inside Pakistan and has offices throughout the country. Markaz-e-Taiba, its headquarters in Muridke near Lahore, is a sprawling complex that is used to indoctrinate future jihadists before they are sent off for military training. The provincial government of Punjab has financed Markaz-e-Taiba in the past.
This terrorist infrastructure was used to conduct egregious terrorist attacks in India and Afghanistan. The most prominent attack took place in Mumbai, India, when a suicide assault team fanned out across the city and targeted multiple locations, including a theater, a train station, hotels and a Jewish center and killed 164 people. The attack lasted for three days. Indian intelligence traced phone calls back to handlers in Pakistan as the assault was ongoing. The handlers directed its fighters to execute non-Muslims, often brutally, and laughed when their instructions were carried out. After the attack, Interpol issued arrest warrants for two serving senior Pakistani army officers and a retired major.
Despite LeT’s overt ties to al Qaeda and its campaign of terror in India and Afghanistan, the Pakistani government refuses to crack down on this group. Its complexes in Muridke and throughout the country remain open, and its leaders operate unfettered. Hafiz Saeed is feted by Pakistani officials, who refuse to hold him and other LeT leaders accountable for their actions. Not a single member of LeT who has been implicated in the Mumbai attack has been prosecuted.
Harakat-ul-Mujahideen
Harakat-ul-Mujahideen is yet another Pakistan-based jihadist group that has been listed by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Its emir, Fazle-ur-Rahman Khalil, is also named by the US as a specially designated global terrorist.
In an update to the US designation of HuM in 2014, the US noted that it “operates in Pakistan, and engages in terrorist activity in Kashmir, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan” and “also operates terrorist training camps in eastern Afghanistan.” These camps are thought to be in existence to this day.
Khalil, like LeT’s Saeed, is a made man inside Pakistan. In 2011, it was reported that he lived openly near the capital of Islamabad. Khalil is one of the jihadists Osama bin Laden consulted before issuing his infamous fatwa declaring war against the US in 1998. Khalil also signed the fatwa. Osama bin Laden’s courier was reportedly tied to HuM, which may have played a role in the al Qaeda master’s support network inside Pakistan. HuM has also acted like a feeder organization for al Qaeda’s newest regional branch, Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), which was officially established in September 2014. Asim Umar, the emir of AQIS, is a former member of HuM.
Khalil has “dispatched fighters to India, Afghanistan, Somalia, Chechnya and Bosnia, was a confidante of bin Laden and hung out with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,” the Associated Press reported in 2011. “Pakistani authorities are clearly aware of Khalil’s whereabouts,” AP continued. But they leave him alone, just as they tolerate other Kashmiri militant groups nurtured by the military and its intelligence agency to use against India.”
And like LeT, Pakistan has done nothing to crack down on HuM and its activities in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
Jaish-e-Mohammed
The US government has listed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) as a Foreign Terrorist organization and its leader, Massod Azhar, as a specially designated global terrorist for their ties to al Qaeda and other jihadist groups.
Like LeT and HuM, JeM is supported by Pakistan’s military and ISI because it is hostile to India and wages jihad in Afghanistan. In its 2010 designation of Azhar, the US Treasury Department said that “JeM recruitment posters in Pakistan contained a call from Azhar for volunteers to join the fight in Afghanistan against Western forces.”

JeM was implicated along with the Lashkar-e-Taiba as being behind the Dec. 13, 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament building in New Delhi. Sheikh Ahmed Saeed Omar, a close associate of Azhar, was behind the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Pearl was later beheaded.
Most recently, Indian officials implicated JeM in the January 2016 assault on an Pathankot Air Force Base in India. Like other attacks, Indian intelligence intercepted phone call of Pakistan-based handlers directing the assault team as they attacked the base.
Despite JeM’s terrorist activities, Pakistan has not taken action against the group. India has made repeated requests for extradition of Azhar, only to be ignored.
A failure to act
Pakistan’s intransigence towards jihadist groups has not escaped the attention of the US government. In its Country Reports on Terrorism 2015, the State Department issued a scathing rebuke of Pakistan’s failure to police jihadist groups in the region.
“Pakistan did not take substantial action against the Afghan Taliban or HQN, or substantially limit their ability to threaten US interests in Afghanistan,” the report noted.
“Pakistan has also not taken sufficient action against other externally-focused groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), which continued to operate, train, organize, and fundraise in Pakistan,” State continued. Additionally, State noted that groups continue to fundraise without consequence and Hafiz Saeed “was able to make frequent public appearances in support of the organization’s objectives,” without Pakistan raising a finger to stop him.
State did not explain why Pakistan refuses to crack down on terrorist groups in its midst, but it is clear that the military and government considers jihadist organizations as a strategic asset and some see the jihadists as their ideological brethren.
Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of The Long War Journal. Follow him on Twitter @billroggio
 

Turkey: The Brotherhood’s last station
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/July 15/16
During the Muslim Brotherhood’s 90-year existence, it was never as influential and dangerous as it was after the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
However, it is losing ground, and we are witnessing its last strongholds falling. Turkey has started to get rid of the Brotherhood in order to reconcile with Egypt’s government, whose overthrow is one of the group’s aims.
With Ankara ending its support, the Brotherhood’s project will practically come to an end. It may have to wait another 90 years to attempt reaching power again, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
In a rare historic moment, the Brotherhood rose to power in the most populous Arab country in June 2012. Its rule lasted a year, but it did not know how to deal with the delicate, unstable situation in Egypt and the region.
With Ankara ending its support, the Brotherhood’s project will practically come to an end
Catalogue of errors
Instead of cooperating with parties that participated in the revolution, and reassuring influential powers such as the army and the region’s governments, the Brotherhood created enmity with friends, thus losing the only chance in its long history of unsuccessful attempts.
It has been finished as a political project since former President Mohamed Mursi and other Brotherhood leaders were arrested, and a transitional government was declared.
The group did not understand the harsh lesson. It deluded itself that foreign intervention would return it to power. It gambled on regional conflicts and relied on the statements of foreign powers, without learning from history and the status quo.
Favoring violence and terrorism in the Sinai failed to shake the government. The Brotherhood’s provocative media campaigns failed to mobilize enough people.
US sanctions on the government did not last long as aid was reinstated and trade resumed. After Qatar finally distanced itself from the Brotherhood, Turkey is now proceeding with divorce. The Brotherhood considers itself the landlord without considering the circumstances of host countries. It was not content with the great support it got in Turkey to establish TV stations and websites, and organize conferences and other activities.
It invaded the local media of sympathetic countries. This reflects its ideological reputation, which has led to the frightening image that it seeks to dominate education and communication in countries that tolerated its presence, such as the Gulf states.
Some may say it is too soon to declare the Brotherhood’s death, but there are enough official and unofficial statements underlining Turkey’s constraints on its leaders and activities. A deal between Ankara and Cairo will most probably end the Brotherhood’s political and media presence, and likely lead to deportations from Turkey, as happened in Qatar. The group would have then lost its last key station.
It will only be able to resort to Europe, where it will wither away. The most appropriate shelter for it is Iran, given that they have been allies since the 1979 revolution there, and its branch in Gaza, Hamas, is still on good terms with Tehran. However, resorting to Iran would end the Brotherhood for good.
This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on July 15, 2016.

Highlights from the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit
Ziad Haider/Al Arabiya/July 15/16
Last month, the United States hosted the seventh Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) at Stanford University in Silicon Valley. Over the course of three days, I had the privilege to witness firsthand how 700 entrepreneurs and 300 investors from 170 countries forged connections and found inspiration during GES 2016.I take great pride in the work of the office that I lead at the US Department of State, the Office of Commercial and Business Affairs within the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, in helping ensure the success of GES 2016 as part of a team effort across the US Government and with external partners. In the wake of GES 2016, it is worth reflecting on how GES began in the first place and what made GES 2016 so special. Seven years ago, only 19 weeks into his presidency, in a landmark speech in Cairo, President Obama said that the world needed to “create a new corps of business volunteers to partner with counterparts … to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and … around the world.”
To implement this vision, President Obama committed to holding Global Entrepreneurship Summits each year across the globe. Since 2010, an estimated 17,000 entrepreneurs, investors, foundations and entrepreneurship ecosystem stakeholders have participated in Global Entrepreneurship Summits in Washington, Istanbul, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Marrakesh, and Nairobi. For the final GES of the Obama Administration, it was thus appropriate to return to the United States and, specifically, to host GES in Silicon Valley — the world’s leading center for innovation.
President Obama headlined the event and eloquently described how entrepreneurs “represent the upside of an interconnected world and all the optimism and the hope and the opportunity that that interconnected world represents.” The President’s most compelling statement, however, was his spending more than an hour on stage with a panel of three young entrepreneurs — asking about their aspirations and challenges. Many of the entrepreneurs and foreign officials remarked how they were struck by the informality of the interaction – something they had never seen their own heads of state do — and the personable manner in which the President elevated not just the entrepreneurs but also the very idea of entrepreneurship.
President Obama joins panel with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and global entrepreneurs. (Photo Courtesy: Global Entrepreneurship Summit)

With May in charge, core British positions on Middle East unlikely to shift
Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/July 15/16
The 13th British Prime Minister of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign will be her second female premier, Theresa May. The challenges in front of her are daunting; weaker souls might perish. She faces a divided party, a divided nation and a divided continent. How she handles all three will define her time in office. How her foreign policy will develop will also be a reflection of the above. Uniting her party will take time. She will attempt to drag the party to sign up to a common vision of the relationship with the European Union as the basis of the divorce talks when Article 50 is triggered. She is clear that Brexit means Brexit but beyond that, the Conservative Party let alone the country has no shared vision at all. Will Britain push to be a part of the single market, adopt a Norwegian model or have some advanced association agreement? She will need to win over the country preferably for her without going to a general election too early but she has the thinnest of majorities in Parliament of just 16. She will have to handle Scotland which may seek to push again for its independence in order to stay in the EU. Circumstances will likely define May more as a pragmatist than ideologue. Those who know May consider her to be an extraordinarily tough negotiator. She will need to be in negotiations with the EU. As one state against 26, Britain will need negotiators who master their brief. Theresa May will need to win over the country preferably for her without going to a general election too early but she has the thinnest of majorities in Parliament of just 16
‘Showman Boris’
This will probably not be the new Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, arch showman, the colour and flair to May’s more managerial leadership. Harshly, perhaps some compared it to the Roman Emperor Caligula making his horse a senator. Johnson’s Foreign Secretary role is denuded of dealing with Brexit but also international trade, the two signature international issues. Despite the understandable ridicule and shock, maybe it is a cannier choice than some believe. Johnson was the de facto leader of the leave campaign, a liability, gaffe-prone but still someone with a fan base. The Prime Minister may encourage his overseas visits as a rival being out of the way. In some quarters, he could be an ideal Ambassador for the UK. So perhaps it is David Davis, the main in charge of the remarkably titled new Ministry for Exiting the European Union, who should be watched more closely.
The EU will dominate the agenda and govern Britain’s global relations going forward. How close a relationship Britain develops with the union will impact its other relationships. Many who pushed to leave (May was a reluctant remain campaigner) painted a picture of a glorious new open trading relations with the world. This may not be a total pipe dream but is still a far off reality. To bring this about simultaneous efforts will be required to build these up not least in Asia. The government is already taking on additional negotiators, and no surprise, many of them are non-British. Trade, immigration and security are the priorities. Trade simply to offset any losses in markets by leaving the EU. Control of immigration was the defining issue of the referendum campaign and many expect results.
Signals of how Theresa May sees the world and what her Middle East approach will be are very few. This is because as has become the political norm for a new leader in whatever party to lack in foreign affairs expertise. David Cameron had little experience nor did Tony Blair or Gordon Brown.
Boris Johnson has though annoyed the Turks (despite being part Turkish) over his insulting poem about Erdogan, and Palestinians over his colorful opposition to those who back Boycott Divestment and Sanctions against Israel.
Internationalist approach? The betting is that May and Johnson will reject a narrow nationalist approach for an internationalist one, not least because of the economy. The referendum highlighted this inward looking part of Britain that dismisses concerns of the outside world, that rails against Britain honouring its commitment to 0.7 percent of GDP to international aid, that objects to overseas military adventurism on the grounds that funds should be spent in Britain. May was the longest serving Home Secretary in modern times with a tough approach on the issue of immigration and anti-terrorism legislation. Her relations with British Muslim communities will be challenging not least after the cack-handed Prevent strategy she trumpeted that saw toddlers being spied upon for signs of extremism. The trade-first approach means human rights will longer take a back seat but be put in the trunk. May has called for Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights even if later she changed her position. Regarding war, May voted for war in 2003 against Iraq as well as Libya in 2011, Syria in 2013, and against ISIS in 2014 and 2015. She is unlikely pull out of the anti-ISIS coalition.
May is unlikely to countenance major foreign policy initiatives beyond Brexit although this might frustrate Johnson. It will business as usual but not beyond. Traditional allies starting with the United States, NATO partners and the Gulf will be reassured. May will be desperate to build a strong relationship with an incoming President Clinton if she wins, but how interested Clinton will be in Britain? Core British positions on the Middle East are unlikely to shift. Do not expect more London conferences on Syria or Britain to lead on fresh moves on Israel-Palestine. Yet we live in an unpredictable world and unforeseen events will no doubt rock May’s Premiership not just Boris Johnson’s unique brand of diplomacy.

Will things change in Syria after Kerry’s Moscow visit?
Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/July 15/16
US Secretary of State John Kerry has come to Moscow to discuss closer coordination on Syr-ia. The idea is to form a Joint Implementation Group to enable extended coordination between the Russian and US militaries, primarily against Jabhat An-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The aim is to agree over military targets and exchange intelligence about the positioning of ground forces. Cooperation was proposed by Moscow long ago, but while synchronization rather than de-pendence was its aim, any target Russia wants to hit has to get American approval. There are exceptions regarding emergency cases, but this complicates matters as both countries could take advantage of these exceptions often and without limitations. Russia’s list of terrorist groups fighting in Syria is much longer, and includes Ahrar al-Sham and Jeish al-Islam, which have infiltrated rebel ranks. Russia has at times hit areas where US data has shown an absence of Jabhat an-Nusra and a concentration of US-trained rebels. This has caused American mistrust of Russia and doubts about the point of intelligence-sharing. To resolve the Syrian conflict, an absolute, well-managed ceasefire should be imposed over the whole country
Washington’s current proposal is mostly aimed at preventing such cases, but it is controversial. Besides Russian mistrust of US intentions, it is becoming clear that the plan was not properly discussed or coordinated between the White House, Pentagon and CIA before presenting it to Moscow. It was rushed because President Barack Obama’s term is ending soon, and it is a last chance for his administration to achieve a significant breakthrough.
Uncertainty
None of the sides in the Syrian conflict know what will happen next. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has practically accused the UN special envoy on Syria of hesitating to start a new round of talks, but the sides are not ready for any talks, with all eyes on the fighting in Aleppo. Moreover, trust in the negotiation process is already dramatically undermined. Neither Mos-cow nor Washington are sure what to do next. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his country is inclined to closely cooperate with Washington, but both sides’ idea of cooperation differs. Kerry’s visit will hardly change any-thing over Syria, and will barely reduce contradictions between the sides. To resolve the Syrian conflict, an absolute, well-managed ceasefire should be imposed over the whole country. This would put all the power in the hands of negotiators, who would be able to discuss tough issues with cool heads. Otherwise Syria will remain a playground of great powers, and its people will be the dying losers in this game. In his remarks, Secretary Kerry stressed the “close connection between what entrepreneurs and investors do” and what he and the President do “in terms of our foreign initiatives and efforts.”
He challenged the entrepreneurs at GES 2016 to harness and apply their energy and creativity to tackle three key policy challenges facing the world: extremism, climate change, and corruption. US Secretary of State John Kerry delivers openings remarks at GES 2016. (Photo Courtesy: Global Entrepreneurship Summit)
The CEOs of Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Airbnb, and Uber, among many others, shared a firsthand account of their journeys as entrepreneurs. Google CEO Sundar Pichai reminisced about tinkering with his parents’ rotary phone as a twelve year old in Chennai, India. AOL Founder Steve Case shared his “5Ps” for succeeding as an entrepreneur: purpose, place, partnership, policy, and perseverance. Yet the real stars of the event were the 700 entrepreneurs themselves — half of whom were women — doing incredible work all over the world. One of my personal highlights was meeting with a group of young women from Africa and South Asia who had received training through “WECREATE Centers” that my office helps support around the world. Many of them have gone on to do incredible things such as founding “SheKab” — Pakistan’s first shared taxi service for women.
Another highlight was joining a group of entrepreneurs in a policy hack competition sponsored by Dell to develop technology solutions to help refugees access language training and employment. But GES was more than just about inspiration and ideas. It was also about connecting ideas with capital to make them a reality. That is why 300 investors, foundations, and venture capital firms were invited to GES 2016. Meeting with WECREATE women entrepreneurs. Center: Joining “Team 3” in Dell policy hack. Right: Moderating Global Launch Lounge announcement. (Photo Courtesy: Global Entrepreneurship Summit)
Over the course of the three days, many of them announced millions of dollars in commitments to support entrepreneurs throughout the world. Many of these announcements were made at our Global Launch Lounge, which I had the opportunity to host.In one of the largest announcements, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System announced that it would open an $11 billion fund to invest in entrepreneurs with strong potential for success that might be otherwise overlooked. In separate announcements, the Endeavor organization, Capria Ventures, and the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundations committed a total of $265 million to support entrepreneurship throughout the world. Following a pitch competition that same day, Obvious Ventures awarded a $50,000 prize to Stephanie Spiers for her Solstice Initiative, which aims to provide Americans with access to cheap solar energy.
As any entrepreneur will tell you, the hallmark of a successful venture is when it becomes self-sustaining. Fortunately, GES has become just that and will carry on into the next Administration. During his visit to Washington last month, Prime Minister Modi and President Obama announced that India will host the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit. To facilitate the Government of India’s planning, we invited an official delegation to attend and observe GES 2016.
My colleagues and I had the opportunity to meet with them on the sidelines of GES to discuss how we can best partner to ensure GES 2017’s success. During the closing ceremony, as part of a formal passing of the baton, our Assistant Secretary for State for Economic and Business Affairs, Charles Rivkin, introduced the delegation who, in turn, extended a warm invitation to all the entrepreneurs gathered to participate in GES 2017 in India.To institutionalize his administration’s commitment to entrepreneurship, President Obama also issued an Executive Order on Global Entrepreneurship to coincide with GES 2016 that directs the US government to continue its support for GES, led by the Department of State. The Executive Order further directs the Department of Commerce to be the lead administrator of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship Program that enables business leaders to advance policies that encourage entrepreneurship in the United States and around the globe. In summary, GES 2016, in my view, represented the best of US diplomacy: leading by example, bringing people together from around the world, and helping accelerate positive change. Over the past seven years, we have worked with partners around the world to painstakingly build the preeminent platform for entrepreneurs to connect with each other and with capital. I can’t wait to see what ideas take flight and what India has in store for us in 2017.

After Chilcot, the Brexit Inquiry
Trisha de Borchgrave/Al Arabiya/July 15/16
Today’s “Trumpy” world of populist hostility towards elites can be attributed in large part to the impacts of globalization on the lives of ordinary citizens. The speed of change has opened up an unsustainably large gap between rich and poor and heightened areas of existing economic decline.
When a Welsh village is up for sale for the price of a one-bedroom flat in Belgravia, central London, resentment will gnaw into notions of self-worth and identity, creating nostalgia for something that, arguably, never was, or, in other cases, can never be again.
Add to this Britain’s 20-year diet of myths that the EU was out to strip the country of its uniqueness and it is little surprise that, given the chance to slam its front door to such effrontery, it double-locked it for good measure. Complicit in this was a steady drip feed of distorted press coverage – from claims that the EU decided on the curvature of bananas to the banning of a barmaid’s cleavage, a barrister’s wig, the pealing of church bells, brandy butter and double decker buses.
The safeguards against nationalist tendencies built into the EU’s technocratic decision-making have been misconstrued as a bunch of “faceless politicians” running “our” country. Moreover, the BBC’s obsessive quest to appear impartial in its referendum coverage meant that it ended up propagating a jetsam of mistruths about the impacts of Brexit.
So it was a slam-dunk for the Brexit campaign when it came up with the motto: “taking back control” from what was perceived to be a nefarious, anonymous elite: “I don’t like people telling us what to do miles away”, muttered an English northerner, among many.
The EU was grouped with London and its greedy bankers, the latter immune from the effects of a financial crisis believed to be of their own doing, and from the Conservative government’s austerity measures. When ex-wannabe prime minister Michael Gove, in last minute campaigning, compared the advice of experts from the IMF, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and the Bank of England to Nazi propagandists in the 1930’s, he sought to compound these misplaced populist notions of the people knowing better.
The EU was grouped with London and its greedy bankers, the latter immune from the effects of a financial crisis believed to be of their own doing, and from the Conservative government’s austerity measures
Blair’s cherry-picking
But the just published Chilcot Inquiry into Britain’s decision to enter the Iraq war of 2003 offers a stark warning about the dangers of ignoring experts. Chilcot reveals how Tony Blair cherry-picked arguments to justify his pre-existing instincts, while the government underestimated the consequences of the decision and overestimated the influence Britain would continue to exert on the Bush administration.
The flawed intelligence that led to the invasion of Iraq parallels the flawed information that was dished out to the British electorate during the EU referendum campaign, from the entire length of the Boris bus that claimed EU membership cost £350m per week to the fiction that Turkey, on the verge of EU membership, would send its citizens pouring into Britain’s borders. And the absence of planning for post-war Iraq was echoed in the scurrying heels of fleeing Brexiteer front-liners, who plainly lacked their own strategy for Britain’s future after the referendum result.
Those from struggling manufacturing or industrial towns who voted for Brexit are now still left with what was the negligence of their own governments: bad schools, bad infrastructure and insufficient digital investment, and, with few economic prospects, they resent the presence of too many immigrants, even in communities with virtually none.
The wealthy who also voted “out” still have options; while those they continue to fly over in business class comfort do not. And the many older voters who cast their votes to try to regain a disappearing way of life have excluded the younger generation from living and working without barriers in a connected continent. This was an essential freedom when their life choices will not include a generous pensions package and the ready help of a once welfare-rich state.
Sustaining a prosperous, stable economy in today’s globalized world is hard. By rejecting close integration with its largest and neighboring trading bloc and relying instead on bi-lateral agreements with countries outside the EU, Britain will be seeking out dance partners like China, Brazil and India. These are all unreliably fragile, as they transition from emerging economy to middle-income status.
Lacking resilient political frameworks and geographical or political affinity, nor indeed a shared history, these countries will not help Britain regain its ranking as fifth largest economy in the world, down to sixth as of two weeks ago, nor easily rekindle a sense of opportunity for its disadvantaged citizens.