LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

June 24/16

 Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.june24.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 16/01-04/:"The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, ‘When it is evening, you say, "It will be fair weather, for the sky is red." And in the morning, "It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening." You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.’ Then he left them and went away."

I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus, as he promised

Acts of the Apostles 13/13-25:"Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem; but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, ‘Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.’So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak: ‘You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. After he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance for about four hundred and fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, "I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes."Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus, as he promised; before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his work, he said, "What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet."

Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
Please accompany me with your prayers during my apostolic journey to Armenia.
Je vous demande d’accompagner par la prière mon voyage apostolique en Arménie.
أسألكم أن ترافقوا زيارتي الرسولية إلى أرمينيا بالصلاة.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 23-24/16

The various roles of Hezbollah/Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/June 23/16
Iran fails again in Bahrain/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/June 23/16
Logic of ‘remain’ must triumph over the emotion of ‘leave’ in British referendum/Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/June 23/16
Syria’s Haitham al-Maleh: Stop settling for ‘lesser evils’ in the Middle East/Wednesday, 22 June 2016/
Will retaliatory measures on Tel Aviv attackers' hometown curb violence/Ahmad Melhem/Al-Monitor/June 23/16
Hamas and Egypt Make Amends/By Oren Kessler and Grant Rumley/Fireign Affairs/June 23/16
Why Orthodox patriarchs are meeting after centuries/The Economist/Jun 23 2016/
Why Is the U.S. Embracing Iran - AGAIN/Peter Huessy/Gatestone Institute/June 23/16
President Mahmoud Abbas: The Palestinian "Untouchable"/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/June 23/16
 

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on  June 23-24/16

The various roles of Hezbollah
MPs Fail Anew to Elect President as LF Urges Voting for Aoun or Passing New Electoral Law
Mashnouq: Interior Ministry Prepares for Parliamentary Polls
Army Destroys Militant Car in Arsal-Ras Baalbek Outskirts
Egypt Jet Hijacker Says was Shot Fighting Israeli Troops in Lebanon
Hizbullah Bloc Urges Electoral Law 'Fully Based on Proportional Representation'
Portolano chairs last tripartite meeting as UNIFIL Commander
Beirut governor declares park open to public every day
Hariri during BIEL Iftar: We're fighting for Lebanon unity, moderation
ISIS, Nusra Arsal fight leaves many dead, injured
EDL Workers Kick-off Two-Day Strike
Man Stabbed in Personal Dispute in Koura

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on  June 23-24/16
Gunman Killed by Police after Storming German Cinema
Kurdish-Arab Forces Enter IS Syria Bastion of Manbij
Call to halt execution of 2 prisoners in western Iran
Reuters TV coverage of Paris protest to denounce trip by Iran regime’s FM
Iranians in Paris denounce trip by Zarif
Iranians in Holland protest trip by Zarif to The Hague
Anti-money laundering body seen keeping Iran regime on blacklist - Reuters
Islamic State Militants Push Back in Syria, Iraq and Libya
Saudi Suspect Found Dead after Gunfight in Shiite Town
Yemen Govt. Demands Rebel Withdrawal before Any Transition
First of Two French-Made Warships Arrives in Egypt
HRW Calls on Egypt to Free Members of Satirical Street Group
Syrian Armenians Find Refuge in Ancestral Homeland

Links From Jihad Watch Site for June 22-23/16
GOP Congressman to House Democrats during sit-in: ‘Radical Islam killed these people’
UK Muslim stabs girlfriend: mother disapproved of his relationship with non-Muslim
AG Lynch to Muslim community: You ‘are under our protection’
New Zealand: Muslim enters US consulate, asks if it’s bomb proof, screams “ISIS is here!”
Cathy Young: Islam is and is not the problem
Gay ex-Muslim: “Toxic Islamic ideology” behind Orlando jihad massacre
Allah said, fight the infidels. And thanks to Allah, I just killed a policeman and I killed his wife.”
Reading the Qur’an during Ramadan 19: Juz Wa Qala Alladhina
Robert Spencer in FrontPage: Muslim Migrant Sex Assault Comes to Idaho
Queen Elizabeth for Brexit: “EU courts ‘denigrate’ Britain by protecting terrorists”
Switzerland: Basel schools drop pork from lunches to avoid offending Muslims
California: Two Muslims convicted of trying to aid the Islamic State
Egypt: Muslim mob loots, torches Christian homes over rumors of church construction
Majority of Americans now favor Trump’s temporary ban on Muslim immigration

Latest Lebanese Related News published on  June 23-24/16

The various roles of Hezbollah
Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/June 23/16
Hezbollah has not expressed an official stance regarding the explosion that rocked Blom Bank in Beirut more than a week ago. However, it expressed a stance regarding the situation in Bahrain. Hezbollah did not feel embarrassed by the media and mobilization campaign that preceded the explosion and targeted banks due to their implementation of US sanctions against it. Hezbollah considers everything that is happening a conspiracy against it. The party and its media outlets kept a distance from reactions to the explosion. It seems a settlement that allows financial leniency when dealing with institutions and individuals linked to Hezbollah has been reached. There are blatant attempts by some circles linked to it to depict it as a victim that is always targeted by attempts to distort its reputation. However, the truth is it no longer cares much about its image. Our memories are full of security incidents that Hezbollah and its affiliates have used to subjugate Lebanese politics
Seizing control
The open war that Hezbollah and its media announced against banks in general, including the one that was targeted by the explosion, is ongoing. The explosion caused a security incident that Hezbollah took advantage of by seizing more control. When the government tried to control the illegal telecommunications network in 2008, the party rejected the move and the unrest of May 8 ensued. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt submitted to Hezbollah after its members displayed their power on the street, and a government approved by it was thus formed. Three years ago, before the presidential vacuum, missiles fell near the presidential palace after then-President Michel Sleiman openly criticized Hezbollah’s violations of Lebanese borders and its fighting alongside the Syrian regime. Now it has been two years without a president due to the party’s obstructions. Our memories are full of security incidents that Hezbollah and its affiliates have used to subjugate Lebanese politics. Since its establishment, the party has refused to hand its arms to the state due to Iranian and Syrian support, and local and Arab failure to address Hezbollah’s destructive military capabilities. It has thus expanded under the excuse of “resistance,” and turned Lebanon into a base for regional demands, leaving the country with two options: war or isolation.
This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Jun. 20, 2016.

MPs Fail Anew to Elect President as LF Urges Voting for Aoun or Passing New Electoral Law
Naharnet/June 23/16/The parliamentary blocs failed again on Thursday to elect a new president for the republic due to a recurring lack of quorum, as the Lebanese Forces called for electing Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun as president or passing a new electoral law for the parliamentary polls as a way out of the country's political crisis. Speaker Nabih Berri has scheduled a new electoral session for Wednesday, July 13. “All parties agree that the financial and economic risks are increasing as time passes and that we can longer wait,” LF deputy chief MP George Adwan said after a meeting in parliament with al-Mustaqbal bloc chief MP Fouad Saniora and MP Ali Bazzi of Berri's bloc. “As Lebanese, we must find the solutions ourselves,” Adwan added. “To reach a solution, we must either launch a dialogue between al-Mustaqbal movement and General Michel Aoun or seriously mull Speaker Nabih Berri's initiative on the speedy approval of a new electoral law before the election of a new president,” he suggested. MP Ahmed Fatfat meanwhile categorically rejected calls for forging a so-called Doha Accord-like settlement, stressing that the solution lies in the parliament's election of a new president. Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel for his part warned that “Lebanon has become an undemocratic country.” Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, the FPM and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum. More than 40 electoral sessions have been adjourned due to lack of quorum since 2014. Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri launched late an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. Hariri's move was followed by LF chief Samir Geagea's endorsement of his long-time Christian foe Aoun for the presidency after a rapprochement deal was reached between their two parties.

Mashnouq: Interior Ministry Prepares for Parliamentary Polls
Naharnet /June 23/16/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq assured that Lebanon's parliamentary elections will be held on time and that the ministry has started the preparations needed for that purpose, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday. The parliamentary elections are scheduled for June 2017, amid disbelief that the long-awaited polls will be staged on time. The parliament extended its own term twice, the first time in 2013 and a second time in 2014. The extension was prompted by the political powers' failure to agree on a new electoral law. The joint parliamentary committees tasked with drafting a new electoral law have met several times in a bid to find a system that meets the approval of all parties. But the outcome of the latest meeting held on Wednesday was not promising. It ended without reaching an agreement and the interlocutors scheduled another session on July 13. The 2009 parliamentary elections were held based on the 1960 which is based on 26 districts and the winner-takes-all system.The parliament is currently mulling a law based on proportional representation and a hybrid one that mixes the two systems.

Army Destroys Militant Car in Arsal-Ras Baalbek Outskirts
Naharnet /June 23/16/The Lebanese army destroyed Thursday a car carrying extremist militants in an area between the outskirts of the northern border towns of Arsal and Ras Baalbek, state-run National News Agency reported. “A car carrying armed terrorists moved between the outskirts of Arsal and Ras Baalbek, which prompted the army to shell it,” NNA said. “The car and those who were in it went up in flames” as a result of the bombing, the agency added. Militants from the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group are entrenched in rugged mountains along the Lebanese-Syrian border and the Lebanese army regularly shells their positions while Hizbullah and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border. The two groups overran the town of Arsal in 2014 and engaged in deadly battles with the Lebanese army for several days.
The retreating militants abducted around 35 troops and policemen of whom four have been executed and nine remain in captivity.

Egypt Jet Hijacker Says was Shot Fighting Israeli Troops in Lebanon
Associated Press/Naharnet /June 23/16/An Egyptian hijacker who is fighting his extradition from Cyprus claimed Thursday that he had been wounded in an attack on the Israeli army in Lebanon. In a surprising twist to lengthy extradition proceedings, Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa, 58, told a Cypriot court that he hijacked the domestic EgyptAir flight in March intending to seek asylum in Italy in order to "point the finger" at the Egyptian military regime. He also accused Egypt's military-backed government of torturing and killing an Italian doctoral student, claiming he saw Giulio Regeni being interrogated in a Cairo prison.
Mostafa said he committed the March 29 hijacking to "expose (Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's) fascist regime to the world." The six-hour ordeal ended peacefully on the tarmac of Cyprus' Larnaca airport where the plane was diverted after all 72 passengers and crew were released and Mostafa was arrested. "I never wanted to take hostages or frighten anyone," Mostafa said. "It was a desperate move for freedom in Egypt that initiated my actions." He also blasted Cypriot authorities for calling him "unstable" as well as for suggesting that he committed the hijacking simply to seek out his Cypriot ex-wife whom he said he "had no reason to or plan to see."Cyprus police said Mostafa told them after his arrest that he acted because the Egyptian government hadn't allowed him to see his ex-wife and three children on Cyprus in 24 years. Mostafa said this "purposeful misinformation" indicated that the governments of Cyprus and Egypt where in cahoots to "hide my true motives, to discredit me and to cloud the matter.""I desperately wanted to attract the free western people's attention... so everyone here in the West can see and understand what is going in in Egypt where death or oppression are the fate of anyone who demands freedom, justice, democracy," he said. Mostafa said he "knows very well" his extradition would result in torture or death. "In any case, when I land in Egypt, I shall be a 'dead man walking'," he said. Mostafa repeatedly denounced the Egyptian government for mounting a coup against the "freely and democratically elected" Islamist President Mohammed Morsi but denied being a supporter of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. Although calling himself a "pacifist" and a "liberal," Mostafa outlined at length his alleged membership and actions with the Marxist-Leninist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine as well as with factions opposed to Egypt's peace accord with Israel and the man who signed the agreement, assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. He said he worked for the Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia and Greece while using many aliases and forged passports from numerous nations. Mostafa said he was shot in the foot during attacks against Israeli positions in Lebanon after Israel's 1982 invasion of the country. He also said he had received training on a large-caliber anti-aircraft machinegun in the former Soviet Union and received the rank of lieutenant. Mostafa claimed to have been arrested, detained and tortured in Egypt on numerous occasions during the rule of ousted President Hosni Mubarak. He said he was compelled to use forged identification papers and passports even within Egypt because authorities considered him "a suspicious person and a threat to national security."

Hizbullah Bloc Urges Electoral Law 'Fully Based on Proportional Representation'
/Naharnet /June 23/16/Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc on Thursday reiterated the party's call for approving an electoral law based on the proportional representation system in order to ensure “fair representation.”“An electoral law that would best comply with the stipulations and content of the Document of National Accord (Taef Accord) and the articles of the Lebanese Constitution would be one ensuring proper, fair and effective representation through a system that is fully based on proportional representation,” the Loyalty to Resistance bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting. “Accordingly, the Loyalty to Resistance bloc reaffirms its call for endorsing full proportional representation in a single electorate or in a few expanded electorates so that the Lebanese can have a representative, modern, effective and fair electoral law that can preserve coexistence,” the bloc added.
Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law based on proportional representation but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement, have rejected the proposal and argued that the party's controversial arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition in regions where the Iran-backed party is influential. Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems. The country has not voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own mandate. The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law. The national dialogue parties announced Wednesday that they will tackle the electoral law in three consecutive sessions that will be held on August 2, 3 and 4.

Portolano chairs last tripartite meeting as UNIFIL Commander
Thu 23 Jun 2016/NNA - UNIFIL Commander, General Luciano Portolano, chaired on Thursday the last tripartite meeting in Naqoura in his capacity of the international peacekeepers' chief, upon the end of his mission in Lebanon. A statement by the UNIFIL indicated that the meeting featured high on an array of affairs relevant to the implementation of UN Security Council's resolution 1701, as well as the situation along the Blue Line, and the land and air violations. In his word, Portolano uttered relief over the commitment of both the Lebanese and Israeli sides to the provisions of the international resolution, highlighting UNIFIL's contribution to preserve the cessation of hostilities.

Beirut governor declares park open to public every day
Thu 23 Jun 2016/NNA - Beirut governor Ziad Shbib announced during an interview on Thursday that the capital's park would be open to public every day, and that he would not accept constructions on the site. He also said that the Egyptian field hospital was for all citizens and that he would not accept the failure of this project. As to the controversial closure of Ramlet al-Bayda beach, Shbib vowed not to allow that to take place

Hariri during BIEL Iftar: We're fighting for Lebanon unity, moderation
Thu 23 Jun 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, told the annual Iftar banquet hosted by Beirut families at BIEL that the battle he was leading in the name of his father was to ensure the unity and moderation of Lebanon. "We have achieved the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and many other things. And there are still a lot to do," he indicated."I have promised to make reforms within Future Movement and you will see in the coming months that half of our movement will be youth," he vowed.

ISIS, Nusra Arsal fight leaves many dead, injured
Thu 23 Jun 2016/NNA - Fierce battles took place tonight between terrorist ISIS and al-Nusra Front in Arsal outskirts, leaving a number of dead and injured from both sides, National News Agency correspondent reported on Thursday. Among the dead, ISIS commanders Abu Sahib, Abu Abdel Rahman Askari, and Abu Abdo Assali were identified. From al-Nusra, "al-Muntaser Companion" leader, and two other commanders were killed.

EDL Workers Kick-off Two-Day Strike
Naharnet/June 23/16/Electricite du Liban workers kicked off a two-day “cautionary” sit-in outside the company's headquarters in a bid to pressure the service providers to meet a list of demands, the Voice of Lebanon Radio said on Thursday. The National News Agency said that at least 50 workers have gathered outside the company' HQ in Corniche al-Nahr demanding their full time employment. The EDL employees and workers syndicate said: “Our demonstration will carry on tomorrow until all pending demands with the administration are met.”The workers had issued a statement earlier where they warned that they will hold a “cautionary demonstration” for two days, starting Thursday, ahead of a meeting scheduled on June 28 for the board of directors of EDL. The workers want the service providers to introduce changes that would allow them to benefit from the health care system and permits promotion. The demonstration will impact the power supply in a country already plagued with power shortening.

Man Stabbed in Personal Dispute in Koura
Naharnet/June 23/16/A man sustained stab wounds to his abdomen by a relative of his after a personal dispute erupted between them in the town of Kfar-Hazir in Koura, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday. A dispute erupted between G.A. and his cousin A.A. while they were working at a construction site in Kfar-Hazir, NNA said. A.A. stabbed his cousin and fled away. The victim was admitted to the hospital for treatment. The security apparatuses opened an investigation into the incident, and kicked off efforts to track down the culprit.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on  June 23-24/16

Gunman Killed by Police after Storming German Cinema
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /June 23/16/A masked and armed man barricaded himself in a German multiplex cinema with dozens of people inside Thursday before being killed by police, officials said. No hostages were injured at the complex in the western town of Viernheim, 75 kilometers (50 miles) south of Frankfurt, Hesse state interior minister Peter Beuth said. "The assailant moved through the cinema complex, according to the information we have now, and appeared confused," he said. "There were hostages inside and there was a struggle (with police) until in the end he was dead." Beuth added: "We have no information that anyone (among the cinema-goers) was injured." A police spokeswoman in the nearby city of Darmstadt confirmed that "all the hostages were unhurt and led out of the building". Initial reports had referred to dozens of wounded people and several shots fired, and police dispatched heavily armed special units to the site equipped with helmets and bulletproof vests."There was an acute threat situation," Viernheim police said in a statement. Later accounts said that several people had been hurt by tear gas during the police raid but this was also denied.
'No link to terrorism'
Authorities said they had no information on the man's identity or motive. Media reports said they saw the gunman enter the building with "an ammunition belt" draped over his shoulder. "I saw that something was happening. I called the police and told them to come mmediately," the cinema manager told Bild daily without giving her name. "We received a call at 2:45 pm (1245 GMT) saying that a man had stormed" the cinema, Beuth said. "Four gunshots were reported."At 6:15 pm (1615 GMT), police began withdrawing from the scene, an AFP photographer saw. Security sources quoted by DPA news agency said there was "no link to terrorism", after deadly attacks in cities including Paris, Brussels and Istanbul have left European authorities on edge. The Darmstadt police spokeswoman said they were investigating what type of weapon the assailant used, adding that it was possible it fired blanks. Mass shootings are relatively rare in Germany where gun ownership is prevalent but firearm sales and storage are subject to strict regulation. In the worse case in recent years, 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer went on a rampage with his father's gun at his former school in 2009, killing 15 people before turning the weapon on himself.
 

Kurdish-Arab Forces Enter IS Syria Bastion of Manbij
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /June 23/16/U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters advanced Thursday into the Islamic State jihadist group's bastion of Manbij in northern Syria, sparking fierce street fighting as they push to take the city. Backed by air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition bombing IS in Syria and Iraq, fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance entered Manbij from the south, a monitoring group said. The advance marked a major breakthrough in the battle for Manbij, once a key link on the supply route between the Turkish border and IS' de facto Syrian capital of Raqa. The loss of the city would deal another blow to IS following a string of recent battlefield defeats, including the taking by Iraqi forces earlier this month of the center of the Iraqi city of Fallujah. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said SDF forces were able to break through IS defenses in Manbij a few hours after taking control of a village on the city's southwestern outskirts. "Fierce street fighting between buildings" erupted as they entered the city, said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman, whose group relies on a broad network of sources inside Syria to monitor the country's conflict. An SDF commander at the front told AFP that IS fighters were using car bombs and other explosives to try to slow the assault. "Our forces, in coordination with the coalition, are determined to advance inside the city and eliminate all Daesh fighters," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
More than 230 air strikes
Abdel Rahman said tens of thousands of civilians were trapped inside the city, though some 8,000 had been able to flee since the start of the SDF offensive on Manbij on May 31. There were fears the jihadists would use civilians as human shields inside the city, which had a population of about 120,000 before the start of Syria's civil war in 2011. The SDF managed to encircle the city on June 10 but its advance slowed as IS fought back, including with almost daily suicide bombings. At least 63 SDF fighters and 458 jihadists have been killed since the start of the offensive, according to the Observatory. The jihadists have held Manbij since 2014, the year IS seized control of large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq and declared its "caliphate." The U.S.-led coalition of Western and Arab states launched air raids against IS in both countries the same year and in recent months has stepped up support for ground forces like the SDF. A statement from U.S. Central Command said the coalition had carried out 73 strikes in the Manbij area last week and a total of 233 since the assault began. Formed in October 2015, the 25,000-strong SDF is dominated by the powerful Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) but includes an Arab contingent that has been steadily growing to around 5,000 fighters. As well as air support, coalition countries have provided ground advisers to the SDF, including some 200 U.S. special forces.
Six dead in Aleppo shelling
The Manbij assault has coincided with another offensive launched by Syrian regime forces against IS in its stronghold province of Raqa. Backed by Russian warplanes, government forces re-entered the province this month as part of an offensive to retake Tabqa, another key town on the IS supply route to the Turkish border. But after advancing to within seven kilometers (four miles) of Tabqa airbase, they were driven back late Monday in a jihadist counter-attack that killed 40 loyalists.Three Russian soldiers supporting regime troops in the area were seriously wounded on Tuesday when their vehicle hit a landmine, the Observatory said. They were recovered by Russian forces. Syria's conflict began five years ago with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations. It has killed more than 280,000 people and displaced millions. IS emerged from the chaos of the war, committing widespread atrocities in areas under its control, as well as organizing and inspiring jihadist attacks across the Middle East and in Western cities. Washington has backed rebel forces in Syria and Moscow is supporting President Bashar Assad's regime, but the rise of IS has seen efforts focus on defeating the jihadists. Russia and the United States launched a major effort last year to bring about peace talks between Assad and rebel forces, but the negotiations faltered and a partial truce announced in February has all but collapsed. Clashes have been especially intense in and around Syria's second city of Aleppo, where the Observatory said six people including a child died Thursday in rebel shelling of pro-regime neighborhoods.
SourceAgence France Presse

Call to halt execution of 2 prisoners in western Iran
Thursday, 23 June 2016 /
3 prisoners in Mashhad sentenced to hand amputation
National Council of Resistance of Iran/On Wednesday, June 22, coinciding with a visit by the Iranian regime’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to France and the Netherlands, and simultaneous with the global conference against the death penalty with the participation of more than 90 countries in Oslo, officials of the mullahs’ regime in Iran have sent two prisoners by the names of Farzad Bizhani and Farhad Souri in Sanandaj Prison (western Iran) to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions. On this very day the criminal public prosecutor in the city of Mashhad (northeastern Iran) requested hand amputation verdicts for three prisoners accused of robbery (state Tabnak website – June 22). Continuous executions, torture and floggings even during the holy month of Ramadan, considered amongst Muslims in Iran and all Islamic countries as a month of tolerance, kindness and benevolence, brings an end to the myth of moderation within the religious, fascist regime ruling Iran that cannot even temporary halt these crimes for a few days to merely save face. The Iranian Resistance calls for measures to save the lives of the two prisoners on the brink of execution and to prevent a verdict and implementation of hand amputation for the three inmates in Mashhad Prison. The Iranian Resistance also calls on all international humanitarian organizations to condemn these inhumane crimes. Furthermore, the international community is urged to condition its economic and political relations with this inhumane regime, being the source of all the devastations, pains and sufferings of the people of Iran and the entire region, on an improvement of human rights in Iran.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/June 22, 2016

Reuters TV coverage of Paris protest to denounce trip by Iran regime’s FM
Thursday, 23 June 2016/NCRI – Reuters Television has broadcast its coverage of a rally held on Wednesday to denounce the trip to France by the Iranian regime’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. Reuters TV interviewed Shahin Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) who said: “The Iranians are here to make clear that Javad Zarif represents no one but a ruthless theocracy which is the number one executioner in Iran and which is the main sponsor of international terrorism, a regime which has been supporting Bashar Assad" in his carnage against the Syrian people.The supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) protested against the widespread and arbitrary executions in Iran and the mullahs’ continued interference in Syria.There were mock displays of executions and imprisonment. The Iranians chanted that Zarif is a representative of a terrorist regime that systematically violates human rights. They paraded and trampled over photographs of the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.
Representatives of Franco-Iranian associations and human rights organizations participated in the rally in Paris’ Place de Panthéon while Zarif was in the French capital.
French speakers at the rally included Governor Yves Bonnet, former director of the French internal security service DST; Pierre Bercis, honorary President of the French human rights group Nouveaux droits de l’Homme (New Human Rights); and Emmanuel Poilane, chairman of France Libertés-Fondation Danielle Mitterrand. Despite the world powers’ nuclear deal with the Iranian regime, Rohani's government continues to torture and hang prisoners. Iran remains the number one state executioner per capita. The mullahs’ regime is also the main backer for Bashar al-Assad’s regime which is massacring the people of Syria on a daily basis. Zarif is the representative and instrument of the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in his extremist agenda. Participants in the gathering joined the 270 Members of the European Parliament who called last week on EU countries including France to condition the continuation of relations with Iran’s regime to a halt to executions. The protesters also urged the international community to put an end to interference by the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards in Syria. They also declared their support for the “Free Iran” grand gathering scheduled to take place in Paris on July 9.

Iranians in Paris denounce trip by Zarif
Thursday, 23 June 2016/NCRI - Iranians living in Paris held a protest on Wednesday to denounce the trip to France by the Iranian regime’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. The supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) protested against the widespread and arbitrary executions in Iran and the mullahs’ continued interference in Syria. There were mock displays of executions and imprisonment. The Iranians chanted that Zarif is a representative of a terrorist regime that systematically violates human rights. They paraded and trampled over photographs of the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. Representatives of Franco-Iranian associations and human rights organizations participated in the rally in Paris’ Place de Panthéon while Zarif was in the French capital.French speakers at the rally included Governor Yves Bonnet, former director of the French internal security service DST; Pierre Bercis, honorary President of the French human rights group Nouveaux droits de l’Homme (New Human Rights); and Emmanuel Poilane, chairman of France Libertés-Fondation Danielle Mitterrand.A number of international media organizations were present and gave coverage to the rally. Despite the world powers’ nuclear deal with the Iranian regime, Rohani's government continues to torture and hang prisoners. Iran remains the number one state executioner per capita. The mullahs’ regime is also the main backer for Bashar al-Assad’s regime which is massacring the people of Syria on a daily basis. Zarif is the representative and instrument of the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in his extremist agenda.Participants in the gathering joined the 270 Members of the European Parliament who called last week on EU countries including France to condition the continuation of relations with Iran’s regime to a halt to executions. The protesters also urged the international community to put an end to interference by the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards in Syria.
They also declared their support for the “Free Iran” grand gathering scheduled to take place in Paris on July 9.

Iranians in Holland protest trip by Zarif to The Hague
Thursday, 23 June 2016/NCRI - Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) living in the Netherlands rallied on Thursday in The Hague in protest to a trip by the Iranian regime’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. The protesters urged the Dutch government to condition its relationship with the mullahs’ regime on a halt to executions in Iran. They also denounced the regime’s meddling in Syria and sponsorship of international terrorism. There were mock displays of executions and imprisonment. There were also chants describing Zarif as a representative of a terrorist regime that systematically violates human rights. The Dutch website DutchNews.nl gave coverage to the rally on Thursday. Despite the world powers’ nuclear deal with the Iranian regime, Hassan Rohani's government continues to torture and hang prisoners. Iran remains the number one state executioner per capita. The mullahs’ regime is also the main backer for Bashar al-Assad’s regime which is massacring the people of Syria on a daily basis. Zarif is the representative and instrument of the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in his extremist agenda.Participants in the gathering joined the 270 Members of the European Parliament who called last week on EU countries including France to condition the continuation of relations with Iran’s regime to a halt to executions. The protesters also urged the international community to put an end to interference by the Iranian regime’s Revolutionary Guards in Syria. They also declared their support for the “Free Iran” grand gathering scheduled to take place in Paris on July 9.

Anti-money laundering body seen keeping Iran regime on blacklist - Reuters
Thursday, 23 June 2016/An international group that monitors money laundering worldwide is expected to decide this week to keep Iran's regime on its blacklist of high-risk countries despite aggressive lobbying by Tehran to come off the list to help it access the global financial system, Western officials said. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), established in 1989 to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, compiles the list, which it regularly updates. Its 37 member states are meeting in South Korea. "No changes to Iran's status on the blacklist are imminent, though I think perhaps we can expect some words of encouragement and recognition of Iran's attempts to make progress," one Western official familiar with FATF discussions, who asked not to be named, told the Reuters news agency. Two other Western officials concurred this week with the opinion that Iran's regime would not be taken off the blacklist at this time. As a result of last year's nuclear deal between the major world powers and the Iranian regime, many international sanctions against Tehran were lifted. The United States, however, still has sanctions in place that prohibit trade with Iran's regime in dollars and Iranian access to New York's financial system. Financial Action Task Force spokeswoman Alexandra Wijmenga-Daniel responded to a request for comment by saying the group would publish an update on high-risk and non-cooperative jurisdictions after the session later this week.
Paris-based FATF said earlier this year that it remained "particularly and exceptionally concerned" about what it called Tehran's "failure to address the risk of terrorist financing and the serious threat this poses to the integrity of the international financial system."

Islamic State Militants Push Back in Syria, Iraq and Libya
Associated Press/Naharnet/June 23/16/Even as internationally backed forces chip away at Islamic State-held territory in Syria, Iraq and Libya, the militants have demonstrated a stubborn resilience this week in the face of recent losses. The IS forces dealt an embarrassing setback to the Syrian army near the militants' self-styled capital of Raqqa with a swift counteroffensive that rolled back incremental gains by troops loyal to President Bashar Assad. Pockets of extremist fighters north and west of Fallujah continued to hold off elite Iraqi special forces Wednesday, preventing them from making significant advances one month after the government launched its campaign to retake the city west of Baghdad.
And in the battle for the Libyan city of Sirte, pro-government forces besieging the IS stronghold were stunned by renewed clashes there, with 36 people killed, a hospital spokesman said. Just two weeks ago, the Islamic State had suffered setbacks in all three countries in the region where the Sunni militant group captured large tracts of territory in Iraq and Syria two years ago. Seesaw battles raged in Syria's Raqqa province, with IS fighters retaking areas from government forces Tuesday. Two days earlier, the Syrian troops briefly seized an IS-held oilfield in Thawra and threatened to retake the Tabqa air base, which would have opened a direct line for troops to the city of Raqqa. The government began its highly publicized campaign to retake Raqqa on June 2. On Sunday, the troops advanced to within 6 miles (10 kilometers) of the Tabqa base, which is about 28 miles (45 kilometers) from Raqqa and holds strategic and symbolic value for the government. It was the last position held by government forces in Raqqa province before the militants overran it in August 2014, killing scores of detained Syrian soldiers in a massacre documented on IS video. The commander of an elite, pro-government militia known as the Desert Hawks explained the government's rapid withdrawal from large parts of Raqqa province. "It is vital to understand that (IS) adopted new tactics to fight the Desert Hawks in this area," said retired Gen. Mohamad Jaber. Writing on his Facebook page Tuesday, he said the militants were sending explosives-packed vehicles at the pro-government line, and he predicted the battle for Tabqa would be "harsh and mighty."Activists gave conflicting casualty counts for civilians killed in airstrikes on the city of Raqqa, with death tolls ranging from 18 to 32. Differing casualty figures are common in reporting from Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year.The activists said the Syrian air force, backed by warplanes from its ally, Russia, had pummeled the Islamic State extremists after government losses earlier this week.
The U.S.-led coalition also has been bombing Raqqa. Col. Christopher Garver, the Baghdad-based spokesman for the coalition, told The Associated Press that four airstrikes were carried out Tuesday near Raqqa. They targeted an IS tactical unit, a finance center, a headquarters and an oil facility, Garver said. He had no reports on casualties. The activist group known as Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently said at least one of the airstrikes targeted a neighborhood popular among "foreign fighters" — militants who have traveled to Syria to fight with the IS group. In northern Syria, U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces encircled IS militants in the town of Manbij, a vital position that connects the Turkish border to Raqqa. As the Iraqi military offensive to retake Fallujah entered its second month Wednesday, clashes continued to try to dislodge IS militants from besieged neighborhoods. Iraqi special forces pushed into the center of the city last week and retook a government compound and the central hospital. Officials said they are still working to secure the territory. At the central hospital, Corp. Ahmad Ahmad warned that only parts of the first floor were fully cleared of homemade bombs because teams specializing in defusing the explosives are in short supply and have been mostly deployed to help troops on the front lines. Ahmad said his forces had not preformed house-to-house searches in surrounding buildings, including the Khalifa Mosque along Fallujah's main highway. "Right now, we are focusing on clearing the roads," he said, adding that the painstaking process of searching buildings would require more troops and risk greater casualties. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Friday that Fallujah had "returned to the embrace of the nation," and that remaining IS pockets would be "cleaned out within hours." Clashes have persisted, however, with militants holed up in dense residential neighborhoods along the city's northern edge. On Tuesday, the U.S.-led coalition said only a third of Fallujah has been "cleared," and other parts remain contested. Iraqi commanders say 80 percent of the city is under their control. Fallujah is one of the last IS stronghold in Iraq. At the height of its power, the group held nearly a third of the country, but a string of territorial losses has left only pockets of territory in Iraq's north and west under IS control. The second- largest city of Mosul is the group's last remaining urban holdout. In Libya's coastal city of Sirte, fierce fighting with IS militants killed 36 militiamen aligned with the U.N.-brokered government. The militias, mainly from the western town of Misrata, have been battling since May to try to take full control of Sirte, the last bastion of the Islamic State group in the North African country. After a rapid advance into the city, the militias were slowed by a series of IS suicide bombings. Along with the 36 militiamen killed, mostly in direct gun battles, about 140 were wounded, said Misrata hospital spokesman Abdel-Aziz Essa.IS fighters reportedly have hunkered down at their headquarters in the sprawling Ouagadougou convention center built by the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Sirte was Gadhafi's birthplace and the place where he fled during the 2011 civil war, when Libyan rebels backed by NATO warplanes forced him out of the capital of Tripoli.

Saudi Suspect Found Dead after Gunfight in Shiite Town
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 23/16/A man wanted by Saudi authorities has been found dead after a police raid and exchange of gunfire in a Shiite town, the interior ministry said Thursday. The dead man, Abdul-Rahim al-Faraj, and his brother Majid al-Faraj were wanted for allegedly shooting at security forces, some of whom were killed, the ministry said. They were also sought for attacking citizens and public property, and for armed robbery. Police came under fire on Wednesday night while searching the suspects' home in the Eastern Province town of Awamiya, a ministry statement said. Officers returned fire during the incident which coincided with iftar, when Muslims break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan. No police or bystanders were hurt during the gunfight, but a local clinic later notified security officers that it was in possession of the body of a man who died from a gunshot. Authorities were able to identify the corpse as that of Abdul-Rahim al-Faraj. Police seized firearms and ammunition from the suspects' home and were continuing to hunt for Faraj's brother Majid. Eastern Province is home to most of Saudi Arabia's Shiites, who have long complained of marginalisation in the Sunni-dominated kingdom. Awamiya, a town of about 30,000, has been the scene of repeated incidents since 2011, when a wave of protests began among Shiites demanding reform. The latest shooting comes with tensions high in neighbouring Sunni-ruled Bahrain, where there has been an escalating crackdown on the Shiite majority, just over the causeway from Eastern Province. A resident in the Shiite-dominated district of Qatif, which includes Awamiya, said armoured vehicles have been deployed at checkpoints.

Yemen Govt. Demands Rebel Withdrawal before Any Transition
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 23/16/The Yemeni government said Thursday that Shiite rebels must withdraw from all territory they have seized since 2014 and hand back control of state institutions ahead of any political settlement. The statement from the government delegation to peace talks in Kuwait is a new blow to proposals put forward by U.N. mediators in an effort to close the gap between the warring parties. On Wednesday, the rebel delegation said it would not sign up to any deal on military and security issues until there was agreement on a consensus president and a national unity government to oversee the transition. The peace roadmap put forward by U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed proposed the formation of a unity government in tandem with the withdrawal and disarmament of the rebels, although he acknowledged major differences between the two sides on their sequencing. The government delegation said "nothing has been agreed" in two months of negotiations in Kuwait. "There can be no talk of any political arrangements before the (rebel) militias completely withdraw and hand over their weapons, and state institutions and agencies are restored to the legitimate government," it said. "Any political partnership in the future must be between political parties and groups that have no militias." Despite a 15-month-old Saudi-led military intervention in support of the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, the rebels and their allies remain in control of swathes of territory they have overran since 2014, including the capital Sanaa. More than 6,400 people have been killed since the intervention began, the majority of them civilians, and there has been growing international pressure for an end to the conflict. But as the talks in Kuwait have dragged on, there have been a growing number of breaches of a U.N.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect on April 11.

First of Two French-Made Warships Arrives in Egypt
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 23/16/The first of two French-made warships sold to Egypt after France canceled their sale to Russia arrived off the coast of Alexandria on Thursday, local media reported. Two local television channels broadcast live footage of the Mistral assault ship as it approached the main port on the northern coast of Egypt. An audience of senior officers and civilian officials watched from red carpets lining the docks. The ship, named "Gamal Abdel Nasser", after Egypt's charismatic post-independence president, left the shipyard of Saint-Nazaire on France's Atlantic coast on June 12.Its sister ship, which will be named after Nasser's successor Anwar al-Sadat, is expected to arrive in September. The two ships were originally intended for sale to Russia but France canceled the 1.2 billion euro ($1.4 billion) deal over Russia's actions in Ukraine. Egypt bought the two Mistrals, which Russia had named "Vladivostok" and "Sevastopol", at a reduced price of around 950 million euros ($1.1 billion), with financial help from Saudi Arabia. The delivery is part of a 5.2 billion euro ($5.6 billion) deal Cairo signed with Paris in February 2015 to purchase 24 Rafale multi-role combat jets, a frigate and missiles. At 199-meters long, the Mistral is a versatile vessel that can carry out amphibious assaults, act as a hospital ship, command a fleet or act as a helicopter carrier. It has capacity for 16 helicopters, four landing craft, 13 tanks and up to 700 troops. Egypt also received three Rafale fighters from France in January, the military said, six months after Paris delivered the first three of a consignment of 24 of the warplanes.

HRW Calls on Egypt to Free Members of Satirical Street Group
Associated PressNaharnet/June 23/16/Human Rights Watch is calling on Egypt's government to release from detention four members of a satirical street group who posted video clips on social media that mocked President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi and called on him to step down. Five of the group's six members were detained in May, but one was later released on bail. The sixth member has gone into hiding. They are accused of using social media networks to undermine Egypt's stability, spreading false news and inciting protests. "This kind of blanket repression leaves young people with few outlets to express themselves or joke about their daily hardships," Nadim Houry of the New York-based rights advocacy group said in a statement on Thursday. El-Sisi's government has eroded many of the freedoms won by Egypt's 2011 popular uprising.

Syrian Armenians Find Refuge in Ancestral Homeland
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 23/16/When a bomb destroyed his workshop in war-ravaged Syria, silversmith Levon Keoshkerian followed other Armenians heading with a heavy heart for their ancestral home in the Caucasus. He now lives with his elderly mother in Yerevan, where he goes every morning to the outdoor flea market to sell the silver ornaments he rescued as he fled the divided city of Aleppo. "All my life I worked to preserve and develop the ancient craft of Armenian silversmiths," said Keoshkerian, 47, who came to the Armenian capital in 2015. "Now I have returned to the blessed land where the tradition was born." His silver plates, chalices and jugs were crafted in Syria, but they are decorated with traditional Armenian motifs: birds, grapes and pomegranates. Keoshkerian and his elderly mother are among some 18,000 members of the Syrian Armenian community who have resettled here since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011. "For a long time we didn't want to abandon our house and flee. We kept hoping that life would go back to normal," Keoshkerian said. "But after a bomb fell right on my workshop, we understood that we could not wait any longer." The craftsman drove his mother through Turkey and Georgia to Armenia, braving a difficult journey after Islamist fighters in Aleppo forbade him from selling silverware embellished with pictures of animals. "Our trip to Armenia was no safer than living under constant bombing in Aleppo," Keoshkerian recalls, citing shelling on roads, militia attacks on buses and harassment by Turkish border guards. "But finally, my mother and I found safety here in Armenia, where we must start a new life from scratch."
- 'We need help' -When war broke out in Syria, it was home to a small community of 60,000 to 100,000 Armenian Christians, many of whom lived in Aleppo. Syrian Armenians were "long-established and law-abiding Syrian citizens -- wealthy merchants, craftsmen, doctors," said Firdus Zakaryan, head of an Armenian diaspora ministry commission overseeing the recent arrivals' integration. "They preserved the Armenian language and traditions, which helped them adapt to a new life in Armenia," he said. The Armenians are a small part of the tide of people fleeing Syria's war in one of the worst refugee crises in modern history. Almost half of the country's population of nearly 25 million have been displaced, and four million people fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Europe. Home to three million people, the ex-Soviet republic of Armenia has become home to the world's third-highest refugee population per capita, according to the UN refugee agency.But Syrian Armenians fleeing war today mourn the fact that their ancestors were themselves survivors of the Ottoman Turkish massacres during World War I -- meaning their community has suffered displacement twice in just a century. Armenian authorities have taken measures to make it easier for Syrians of Armenian descent to seek shelter here, including a visa waiver, but the impoverished country is struggling to cope. "The government has simplified the naturalisation process, covered their health insurance costs, allocated educational funds and even subsidised housing until at least one family member finds a job," Zakaryan said. "But our small country can't shoulder the burden alone, we need international financial assistance."- 'Just like our ancestors' -The UN refugee agency is helping Armenia establish a microcredit scheme to help refugees set up businesses. "We run courses to familiarise Syrian refugees with Armenian laws and tax regulations and provide those who plan to set up a small business with working tools and equipment," UNHCR coordinator Anahit Hayrapetian said.
In a sign the community is eager to integrate, many Syrian Armenians have opened car service stations, bakeries and tailors' shops in Yerevan and other cities, Hayrapetian said.
"Dozens of new Syrian restaurants and cafes have transformed Yerevan's culinary scene," she added. Salbi Jabakhchuryan and her son Kaits who came from Aleppo in 2012 run one of Yerevan's most popular restaurants, located right in front of the seat of government.
While their mastery of Armenian cuisine has been key to their success, they have had to tone down some of their recipes to adapt to local tastes. "In our two restaurants in Aleppo, we used to cook hot and spicy dishes, but Armenians prefer milder food," said Kaits, 28, pulling a freshly baked lahmajoon -- a thin, crusty bread topped with ground meat -- out of the oven. "So, we adjusted," he shrugged. "In Syria we lived a hundred times better than here, we were respected, but here it is safe and nobody will hurt you just because you are Armenian," his mother said. "When we left Aleppo, we shut the doors of our house, but we kept the keys -- just as our ancestors had when they fled Turkey during the Armenian genocide in 1915."

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on  June 23-24/16

Iran fails again in Bahrain
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/June 23/16
Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani threatens the Gulf with fire. The recent measures taken by Bahrain are sovereign, and Iran has no right to judge them. The West does not fully comprehend Bahrain’s circumstances, and does not know the extent of the threat that Shiite cleric Issa Qassem represents. The country’s measures were pre-emptive, to avoid the establishment of a Bahraini Hezbollah that resembles the Lebanese Shiite party. Bahrain revoked Qassem’s citizenship based on certain givens. He has been working for four decades on inciting strife and attempting to take over governance. He also has a group of secret individuals to communicate with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. A source recently told Ash-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper how Qassem had received large amounts of money, was assigned tasks by different references - mainly Khamenei - and was allowed to act freely with the money he received.
Iran masters the language of blood and fire, while Gulf countries adopt the logic of the state and abide by the law as a reference
Ideology
Qassem’s ideology was developed in the Iraqi city of Najaf. He then joined Al-Dawa Party, the Shiite version of the Muslim Brotherhood. He wanted to establish a religious state and turn Bahrain upside down so it becomes a branch of Iran. The problem is that the Western vision of Arab events is always lacking, and the human rights angle that is adopted in media rhetoric aims to twist the arms of regimes and societies. Bahrain is taking sovereign measures, just like Saudi Arabia did when it carried out executions earlier this year. Iran masters the language of blood and fire, while Gulf countries adopt the logic of the state and abide by the law as a reference. Soleimani’s statements following Bahrain’s measures prove Iran’s terrorist role in the region and the world.
This article was first published in Okaz on June 23, 2016.

Logic of ‘remain’ must triumph over the emotion of ‘leave’ in British referendum
Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/June 23/16
One the most divisive and ill-judged campaigns in modern political history will be fought to a standstill today. Will Britain vote to remain or quit the European Union (EU), the world's largest trading block, to stay in or divorce, to end a tempestuous marriage that has lasted since 1973? The polls are barely worth consulting – the margins appear minuscule.
This is not some petty internal British matter but one with European and indeed international ramifications. Britain is the second largest economy in Europe, and the second largest in population. Other EU states might seek a referendum if the UK did vote to leave creating huge uncertainties as to the future of the EU in its current form. A continent largely free of warfare since 1945 could be split apart with far right parties challenging for power fueled by ultra-nationalist sentiment and anti-immigrant hysteria. The repercussions of this most vitriolic of democratic exercises will continue for years. Such are the stakes that the supporters of the losing side may undergo some form of near-death experience. It has been a myth-fueled, stale debate laced with poison and 'paranoid populism', aided according to surveys with a woeful public understanding of the impact of the European Union in Britain.
The poetry of emotion may triumph over the prose of logic. Intellectually the leave campaign is bankrupt particularly on the economy and exactly what would happen to the country on day one outside the EU. Brexit campaigners can barely find an economist to back them and British businesses overwhelmingly support remain. The only international leaders backing Brexit are Vladimir Putin. Donald Trump and Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Britain risks falling off into irrelevance outside the EU, no longer a useful bridge to Europe for the US or a broker between competing French and German ambitions. Military and security experts nearly all line up to say Britain is safer in. It is no wonder that the Vote Leave leader, Michael Gove claims that “the people of this country have had enough of experts” as he can barely find one that backs him. A leave vote would be a Bob Beamon leap into the unknown. It would be the world’s messiest-ever divorce, according to former Foreign Secretary, William Hague.
Britain risks falling off into irrelevance outside the EU, no longer a useful bridge to Europe for the US or a broker between competing French and German ambitions
The “leave” camp is saddled with irrational and incoherent arguments but with an incredibly strong emotional pull. Meaningless slogans such as “Take back control” and “We want our country back” seem to have an effect. It has framed the discourse- ‘Brexit’ not ‘Bremain’ after all. As Republicans have found in the US, it is tough to fight an irrational campaign (Donald Trump’s) rationally. How do you counter a barrage of lies, distortion and misrepresentation by populist speakers? The “remain” campaign has, largely in desperation, overcooked the arguments too – accused of stoking fears like its opponents.
Countries as markets
Yet the leaders of the “remain” campaign did fail to paint the positive picture. Most countries would love to be in this single market of 500 million people, to break down barriers, to build a shared continental dream or peace and democratic rule. History shows that countries with an international focus and global embrace prosper as indeed Britain did in the 18th and 19th Centuries. “Remain” leaders failed to tackle the toxic immigration head on. All sides portrayed immigration as negative and unwanted not the reality of how immigration has enriched and enhanced Britain. Racist imagery was a vote winner rather than a path to political oblivion. Many will pray that the vote will end this crisis. Sadly, it is not going to.
The referendum encapsulates multifarious unresolved crises – it a political crisis, a leadership crisis, a constitutional crisis, an economic crisis and a logistical wrapped up into one. A political crisis will continue because whatever the result the British relationship with Europe will still be undecided. In a “remain” scenario, the free movement of people will scar the debate for years. Quit the EU, somehow politicians will have to devise a divorce with some form of visiting rights where one party of 27 possibly vengeful states is massively more powerful than the other. Only a victory for “remain” will extend Prime Minister David Cameron’s stay in Downing Street. The Conservative party, never united on Europe, is now no more than a loose confederation of two to three warring factions. Cameron has the slender majority of 16 but with at least 50 hardliners who cannot bear him. Lose and Cameron will go. But his successor will face a similar dilemma and would in effect lead a minority government. A general election is not impossible. A constitutional crisis will center on the future of the UK, with a possible referendum for Scotland to leave the UK and join the EU. This remains a very English debate and crisis. The EU should take note whatever the result. Yes or No, Leave or Stay, the EU is not popular among its members, lacks democratic accountability and leaves too little room for national identities. Anti-EU far right parties have gained ground across Europe. Some fear that Brussels might be emboldened by a British vote to remain but the much castigated commission bureaucrats should take careful note, whatever the outcome. The only way to end this interminable debate is root and branch reform of this European project, a debate Britain can lead.

Syria’s Haitham al-Maleh: Stop settling for ‘lesser evils’ in the Middle East
Wednesday, 22 June 2016/
Haitham al-Maleh, chairman of the legal committee of Syria's democratic opposition coalition, has written an op-ed on the solution to the Syrian crisis. His op-ed was published on Wednesday by The Hill. The following is the full text of the article:
The Hill
June 22, 2016
Stop settling for 'lesser evils' in the Middle East
By Haitham al-Maleh
On June 11, I participated in a major gathering between officials of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, and fellow officials from the Syrian resistance. The two groups mutually affirmed their common cause in the struggle against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his devoted patrons in Tehran. Both dictatorships are dependent on each other for their continued hold on power in their own countries and in the region. But conversely, the victory of the resistance in one country or the other will contribute to the liberation of both, and the promotion of greater stability throughout the Middle East.
In the meeting, my colleague Dr. Nasr al-Hariri, the former Secretary General of Syria’s National Coalition, spoke very straightforwardly about the interconnectedness of these two conflicts. He stated that the Iranian regime is clearly fearful of the consequences of its defeat in Syria. There is little doubt that the mullahs recognize that the loss of political and military influence beyond their borders will provide an opening for the Iranian people and NCRI to challenge a weakened regime and facilitate its overthrow.
The prospect for the overthrow of Iran’s fundamentalist Islamic theocracy gives even greater meaning to our own struggle in Syria. The end of that regime would be an avowedly positive thing not just for the Iranian people and not just for the Syrian people who are suffering under Iran’s destructive influence, but also for the whole of the world.
Iran, after all, is well-recognized as the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism. That title has been reaffirmed over and over again during the course of the five-year Syrian carnage by Assad and the civil war in Yemen. In my country it prevented the overthrow of a government that has systematically repressed its own people, even to the point of deploying chemical weapons against them.
It appears to be generally understood among military analysts that if not for Iranian and later Russian involvement in Syria, the Assad regime would have been forced out of power long ago. Early and effective confrontation of Iran’s regional influence might have saved many of the more than a quarter million of my fellow Syrian countrymen and women who have died in the prolonged conflict.
Perhaps more important to the world beyond our borders is the fact that keeping Iranian forces and Iran-backed militants in their own territory would have gone a long way toward preventing the rise of the Islamic State in our country.
Indeed, some Western policymakers seem to have been approaching the crisis as the choice of whatever they perceive as the lesser of two evils in the competition between the Iranian-backed Shiite extremists and the Sunni ISIS extremists. And with the Islamic State dominating global headlines for so long, to some in the West Shiite Iran was widely regarded as the less harmful ally of convenience. This goes a long way toward explaining NCRI President Maryam Rajavi’s assessment of the situation when she said that global powers were either standing on the side of the murderous Assad or remaining passive in the face of persistent death and destruction.
But I believe our allies in the NCRI have had the same response to that situation as we have in the Syrian opposition. We have remained hopeful that the US, the European Union, and other leading world powers would not be able to go on for very long before realizing that the choice of the lesser of two evils is no choice at all.
Now it looks as though the day is approaching when Western policy will change for the better, and will truly begin to reflect the earnest need to confront both the Shiite and the Sunni sides of the extremist takeover of our country. Less than a week after our meeting with the NCRI, 51 US diplomats used internal cables of the State Department to express strong dissent with the White House’s policy on Syria and to urge airstrikes and other direct action against the Assad regime.
If our June 11 meeting had any impact on foreign observers, it will probably pale in comparison to what emerges after the NCRI hosts Syrian opposition officials again, this time at a major international gathering of “Free Iran” in Paris, on July 9. In it, leading figures from both opposition movements will speak to tens of thousands of supporters and to the global media about the interconnectedness of the Syrian and Iranian struggles for liberation, and their potential to influence the future of the Middle East as a whole.
But more than that, the event will also be attended by dozens of experts and policymakers from the US and Europe, who can be expected to not only express solidarity with our resistance movement but also to further press their own governments to end their passivity and do something to support our cause. Change in Syria and Iran is within reach, but the West should pay heed to cries for freedom in the both countries by the Iranians and Syrians and say goodbye to tyrants that rule in Tehran and Damascus. Is this too much to ask from the world community?
***Haitham al-Maleh is Chairman of the legal committee of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces
Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/foreign-policy/284309-stop-settling-for-lesser-evils-in-the-middle-east
*National Council of Resistance of Iran

Will retaliatory measures on Tel Aviv attackers' hometown curb violence?
Ahmad Melhem/Al-Monitor/June 23/16
RAMALLAH, West Bank — There are 120,000 Palestinians living in the city of Yatta, which makes up 25% of the Hebron area, south of the West Bank. The second-largest city in Hebron governorate in terms of area and population, Yatta has been living under siege since the day after the June 8 Tel Aviv attack, which was perpetrated by two Palestinian cousins from Yatta, Mohammed and Khaled Makhamra. To isolate the city, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) closed its entrances using cement blocks and sand and stone berms, carrying out raids and searches in many of the city’s houses.
On the afternoon of June 15, the IDF tightened its hold on Yatta, closing the city’s entrances, blocking its dirt back roads and the ones linking it with the surrounding areas. The move came a few hours after the IDF had temporarily opened two roads leading to Yatta, only to block them again, forcing Palestinians to take little-used paths to Hebron or Ramallah for their daily activities and jobs.
Israel’s mini-Cabinet for security and political affairs concluded its emergency meeting on June 9 by ordering a near-complete siege on the city of Yatta and revoking the work permits of the perpetrators’ family members. The mayor of the Yatta municipality, Moussa Makhamra, told Al-Monitor, “Israel has used all sorts of collective punishment in the city since June 9. The army closed 12 entrances with sand berms and cement blocks, turning Yatta into a large prison in which 120,000 people are detained.” He is not related to the attackers but belongs to the Makhamra tribe, the largest in Yatta.
“The siege deprived all the towns and villages surrounding Yatta from many services such as health care, supplies and trade, which Yatta usually provides. By isolating the city, Israel suspended all daily activities,” he added.
Makhamra explained, “The city’s economy has been nearly paralyzed, with the export of marble, food and agricultural products halted, not to mention the difficulty of movement, whether for individuals or merchandise. An environmental problem has also arisen as a result of the garbage piling up in the streets for four days and our inability to remove it and transport it to a landfill outside of the city. On June 13, the Israeli army allowed only a part of the waste to be removed within a short period of time, following an agreement between the Israeli Civil Administration and the Palestinian District Civil Liaison Office.”
In parallel with the ongoing siege, the IDF has been conducting daily raid and inspection operations targeting many homes. As a result, 13 youths were arrested on June 9, many houses were vandalized and thousands of residents were stripped of their permits to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque. The work permits of 236 members of the Makhamra family were revoked, and Israel’s national water company reduced the city’s share of water to less than half its normal supply, according to Makhamra.
Makhamra said, “Using sand berms and cement blocks, Israel has been imposing a tight siege, with 12 entrances closed so far. Whenever Israelis find a new path Palestinians use, they close it immediately with bulldozers. These measures have been inflicting daily economic losses of 1 million shekels [$260,000] in all sectors.”
The house of prisoner Murad Idis was demolished on June 11, and demolition notices have been delivered to three other houses.
Since the outbreak of the current popular uprising in October 2015, Israel has been pursuing a policy of collective punishment for any Palestinian village or city with a resident who has attacked the occupation forces, closing them off and suspending the residents’ work permits. Israel twice laid siege to Qabatiya in Jenin governorate, first on Feb. 4 and then Feb. 22, after three youths from the city were involved in a shooting in Jerusalem.
Legal experts consider Israel’s collective punishment policy a crime and a violation of international law. International law professor at Birzeit University Hanna Isa told Al-Monitor, “What Yatta is going through can be described as collective punishment, which is prohibited by international law, notably Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 on the protection of civilian persons in times of war.”
Isa added, “All conventions related to international humanitarian law prohibit collective punishment against civilians, regardless of the incident that takes place within the city or outside it. By adopting such policy, Israel is committing several crimes, including the crime of aggression against civilians and humanity. This is a case of groundless punishment and a war crime by violating the laws and customs of war as stipulated by the Hague Conventions of 1899-1907.”
Despite the calls of Israeli ministers, such as Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz, who called for a longer siege on Yatta, the siege is not expected to last long. According to Israeli security assessments, collective punishment will only increase the frustration of Palestinians, thus leading to more attacks. Israeli security and military leaders advised Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman June 12 not to deny Palestinian workers entry into Israel and not to impose a siege on large Palestinian areas, as the tactic has failed to end the uprising.

Hamas and Egypt Make Amends?
By Oren Kessler and Grant Rumley/Fireign Affairs/June 23/16
A steady stream of reports in recent weeks has suggested that Egypt is burying the hatchet with Hamas. The Washington Post saw an “unlikely alliance” between the two, Al-Monitor floated the prospect of “reconciliation,” and Haaretz suggested that Cairo is offering the group “another chance.” In short, the reports suggest the two sides are setting aside decades of animosity to confront the shared threat posed by Sinai Province, the affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS) in the Sinai Peninsula. If it sounds like a stretch, it’s because it is.
The first notions of a budding Egypt–Hamas rapprochement appeared in March, when Cairo welcomed a rare delegation of Hamas political figures from the Gaza Strip, which the group controls. Egypt also reportedly began tamping down on anti-Hamas rhetoric in official media. The following month, Hamas deployed forces to Gaza’s border with Egypt in a bid to show Cairo that it is serious about stopping smuggling of arms to Sinai Peninsula fighters.
Egypt and Hamas have a long and acrimonious history, and contrary to reports of an imminent rapprochement, their relationship remains icy. Hamas has fostered a black-market tunnel economy in Gaza for nearly a decade, ever since Egypt and Israel blockaded the Strip after Hamas seized power there in 2007. That smuggling network, in turn, has simultaneously enriched and armed Sinai Province, whose insurgency has killed hundreds of Egyptian servicemen since the 2011 ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Since the military’s 2013 ouster of Mubarak’s Islamist successor, Mohamed Morsi, the military has waged a fierce campaign against the tunnels, destroying as many as 2,000 and creating a half-mile long “buffer zone” between Israel and Egypt. In this case, “buffer zone” is a euphemism for razing thousands of homes to make life difficult for would-be smugglers. In talks to end Israel’s 2014 war with Hamas, it was Cairo that took the strongest position against allowing Hamas to build a seaport to Gaza or easing the blockade on the Strip.
Supporters of Egypt's army and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi celebrate the anniversary of Sinai Liberation Day in Cairo, Egypt, April 25, 2016.
Moreover, Hamas is an acknowledged offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian army’s decades-long nemesis, which it removed from power along with Morsi before jailing tens of thousands of its members. Egyptian officials have described the Brotherhood as the “mother” of all other extremist groups, and tend to view ISIS, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood as three heads of the same terrorist beast. Cairo labels Hamas’ military wing a terrorist organization, and has accused it, in league with the Muslim Brotherhood, of the June 2015 assassination of its top prosecutor, Hisham Barakat.
One of the deepest veins of Egypt-Hamas tension is the latter’s relationship with Sinai Province. It is true that Hamas and ISIS have significant ideological differences. ISIS has declared Hamas an apostate group and has denounced its Brotherhood parent group for engaging in the political process rather than joining the global jihad. For its part, Hamas has slammed ISIS for distorting Islam, as when the group beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians last year on a Libyan beach.
Squeezed by Egypt on one side and Israel on the other, Hamas has striven to persuade Cairo that it means no harm. Still, the two groups have previously shown themselves willing to set aside ideology for the sake of their own financial and strategic gain. Hamas might well view ISIS as a threat to its rule in Gaza (Hamas forces regularly clamp down on Salafi preachers in the enclave), but it has no qualms about supporting ISIS’ efforts against the Egyptian military in Sinai. Indeed, if there is any rapprochement occurring across the Egypt-Gaza frontier, it is between Hamas and Sinai Province.
Both Egyptian and Israeli officials have cited intelligence that the two groups are growing close.
Arms smuggling has diminished in recent months—a result of Egypt’s relentless campaign against Hamas’ tunnels—but otherwise, the relationship between Hamas and Sinai Province is business as usual. Hamas has provided medical care to dozens of Sinai Province fighters in Gaza over the last ten months, and a number of former Hamas activists have found their way into the peninsula to join the ISIS affiliate. All of this proceeds under the watchful eye of Hamas’ military wing.
A Palestinian militant of Hamas' armed wing takes part in a news conference with other representatives of various Palestinian armed factions to condemn the decision of an Egyptian court that banned Hamas' armed wing, in Gaza City, February 5, 2015.
Hamas’ political leaders have refused to weigh in on the extent to which they support Sinai Province, thus allowing the military wing to handle the relationship (including by transferring anti-tank missiles) with almost full autonomy. Still, Hamas is playing with fire: the more it treats wounded ISIS fighters or hosts high-level ISIS commanders, the more support for the jihadist group is likely to rise within Hamas’ ranks. It will also face increased pressure from Egypt, which has responded to Hamas’ growing collusion with ISIS by clamping down on transit points between Gaza and Sinai. For example, Cairo has kept Rafah Crossing—Gaza’s one official entrance point to Egypt—largely closed this year, opening it for just six days over the past three months.
Squeezed by Egypt on one side and Israel on the other, Hamas has striven to persuade Cairo that it means no harm. Last month, Hamas officials claimed that the group had saved Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi from a plot hatched by the rival Palestinian movement Fatah (a bizarre claim given Egypt’s closeness to the latter). More recently, Hamas has doubled down on its insistence that its struggle is limited to fighting Israel, and has “nothing to do with Egypt.”
Beyond the talking points, however, old enmities die hard. Egypt and Hamas continue to have fundamentally divergent interests, ones that don’t lend themselves to quick fixes. With mutual animosity running this deep, rumors of any reconciliation between Egypt and Hamas are just that.

Why Orthodox patriarchs are meeting after centuries
The Economist/Jun 23 2016/
THERE are some religious statements about the world which made history and affected the way people millions of people thought. One was in Pacem in Terris, a denunciation of war issued in 1963 by a dying Pope John XXIII; an earlier landmark in Catholic teaching was De Rerum Novarum which in 1891 accepted the right of workers to form unions. In comparison, the leaders of the world’s 200m Orthodox Christians have rarely, in recent times, managed to speak together and address a clear message to humanity. It is partly in the hope of doing so that bishops of that church will be deliberating in Crete between now and June 26th. What has taken them so long and what do they hope to achieve?
The Holy and Great Council now in progress reflects 50 years of religious diplomacy aimed at bringing together, at least briefly, the independent churches which form global Orthodox Christianity. It has been hard work because many of these churches are institutionally weak and beholden to geopolitics; some barely survived communism and others form tiny minorities in Muslim lands. Some liken the gathering to the last of the great doctrinal councils in 787; others compare it to more recent gatherings like one in Jerusalem in 1672. The status of past and present councils is one of many issues on which the Orthodox have arguments which baffle outsiders. In any case, it's an important gig. For the organizer, Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, who is first “amongst equals” in Orthodoxy, there were last-minute setbacks: four of the 14 churches that were expected to attend, including the Patriarchate of Moscow, Orthodoxy’s largest, ducked out. But the Istanbul-based Patriarch has insisted that the Council must proceed and that its statements will carry weight.
One document approved by the Council this week (and endorsed earlier by the four churches which didn't attend) looks at the world through an Orthodox Christian lens, using spiritual arguments to denounce inequality, the arms build-up and the ecological crisis as moral diseases. Through statements like this, the Council will enable the Orthodox church to express a “robust theology of global engagement,” says Elizabeth Prodromou, an American professor who is on the team advising Patriarch Bartholomew at the Council. Contrary to the church’s image as exotic and otherworldly, the bishops in Crete will acknowledge their “responsibility for the transformation of the world in the image of the divine kingdom,” or in other words for bringing about practical change.
On a note which some may find startling from a church known for its strict rules and unchanging ceremonies, the Council documents will also emphasise freedom as a precondition for real peace and reconciliation, and the impossibility of imposing beliefs by force. That sentiment comes naturally to Patriarch Bartholomew who apart from his global responsibilities presides, precariously, over a tiny local flock in Muslim Turkey. The only authority he can wield is the moral kind, and he does have that: his sayings on the environment enjoy respect around the globe, and they have deeply influenced Pope Francis. The absence of Moscow and the resurgence of inter-Orthodox squabbles have disappointed him, but the fact that bishops have gathered from places like Albania, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Egypt, as well as Britain, France and the United States, is still a compliment to his diplomatic skills. Bartholomew carries no big stick, and he lives with the reality that people, including his fellow Orthodox leaders, are free to heed him or walk away.

Why Is the U.S. Embracing Iran - AGAIN?
Peter Huessy/Gatestone Institute/June 23/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8319/us-embracing-iran
"You will see we are not in any particular animosity with the Americans," Ayatollah Khomeini said, and promised to President Jimmy Carter that Iran would be a "tolerant democracy."
Although the State Department has in its just released annual report on world-wide terror designated Iran as the world's premier state sponsor of terrorism, the Obama administration has assisted Iranian militias in Iraq with air support, provided intelligence to Hezbollah's allies on Israeli air strikes, and has steadfastly refused to use any military force against any elements of the Assad regime.
America is apparently bent on repeating -- yet again -- the historic wrong turn it took in 1979 by once again embracing the radical Islamic regime in Iran. Why would the U.S. administration think doing the same thing again will have a different outcome?
Senior leaders from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are in Washington, meeting with top U.S. diplomatic and defense officials, and are deeply concerned America has significantly worsened the situation in the Middle East by creating a "strategic partnership" with Iran.
Thirty-seven years ago, U.S. President Jimmy Carter paved the way for Iran's Islamic theocratic dictatorship to come to power, according to newly declassified secret documents, reports the BBC Persian News Service. The documents show that Carter pledged to "hold back" the Iranian military from attempting a coup, which would have prevented the return of the exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from France.
The documents also reveal that the Carter administration believed -- erroneously -- that bringing Ayatollah Khomeini into power in Iran, and in the process abandoning the Shah, would preserve American interests, keep the Soviets out of the region, protect U.S. allies, and ensure the flow of oil to the world's industrial nations.
In one of his many messages to President Carter, Khomeini played into that belief. "You will see we are not in any particular animosity with the Americans," Khomeini said, and promised that Iran would be a "tolerant democracy."
Unfortunately, the mullahs did not stop their terrorist ways; and the U.S. government, through successive administrations, did not stop them, either.
The Reagan administration, for example, deployed "peacekeepers" to Lebanon under Congressionally-mandated rules of engagement that, tragically, only facilitated the Iranian- and Syrian-directed bombings of the U.S. Marine barracks and embassy in Beirut.
Then, the Clinton administration refused to lift an arms embargo and provide weapons to Muslims in the former Yugoslavia, ensuring that Iranian weapons and influence would fill the void.
The result of decades of the U.S. policy in Iran is that since Islamic terrorists took power in Tehran in 1979, Iran has murdered thousands of Americans[1] -- in addition to those killed in the bombings in Lebanon, the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, the African embassies, and the World Trade Center in New York.
U.S. court decisions have so far held Iran responsible for more than $50 billion in damages owed to American citizens for these terror attacks, which directed by the mullahs and their terrorist proxies.
America's military has also suffered. Thousands of American and allied soldiers have been killed and maimed by Iranian Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan.[2]
It could be argued that the United States has at times had to make deals with unsavory countries. It was allied with the Soviet Union, for instance, in the fight to destroy Nazism in World War II. So, the thinking might go, a genuine agreement to eliminate Iran's nuclear weapons program might require some compromise and thus a type of "partnership".
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during talks in Vienna, Austria, July 14, 2014. (Image source: U.S. State Department)
The Obama administration has, in fact, sought to justify its embrace of Iran by citing the assumed benefits from a nuclear agreement with Iran.[3] But the current "nuclear deal" with Iran is not a real agreement. The Iranians never signed it.
Members of Iran's parliament reviewed it and made it clear that they would only adhere to those parts of the agreement they liked, insisting in a public statement, released after the review, that the U.S. had no reciprocal flexibility.
While the Obama administration tried to portray the agreement as one which would "dismantle" much of the Iranian nuclear infrastructure, the facts were that Iran was able to keep an "industrial sized nuclear program". Elliot Abrams describes the Iranian strategy on its nuclear program as trading "permanent American concessions for Iranian gestures of temporary restraint".
Even worse, under the "deal" Iran would ultimately be able to become a full-fledged, legitimate nuclear power in roughly ten years. Additionally, despite promises and signed UN resolutions to the contrary, Iran's ballistic missile program continues, giving Tehran the largest missile inventory in the Middle East.
Thus, the current US "tilt" toward Iran has not been a carefully calibrated outreach to a dangerous adversary. It has been instead a firm embrace of a dictatorship that has not only killed thousands of Americans, but continues to undermine U.S. and allied interests in the Gulf and elsewhere.
Moreover, although the State Department has in its just released annual report on world-wide terror designated Iran as the world's premier state sponsor of terrorism, the Obama administration has assisted Iranian militias in Iraq with air support, provided intelligence to Hezbollah's allies on Israeli air strikes, and has steadfastly refused to use military force against any elements of the Assad regime. In 2014, President Obama wrote to Supreme Leader Khamenei that any US military action in Syria would "target neither the Syrian dictator nor his forces".
Destroying ISIS or stopping terrorism against America and its allies cannot be achieved by embracing Shia terrorists directed by Tehran.
The Sunni nations of the Gulf, North Africa and the Mediterranean might be willing to provide leadership and manpower in a coalition to oppose Iran's doctrine of Shia conquest. However, although the U.S. administration has repeatedly talked about such a coalition, America's actions have continually embraced and helped Iran. As Michael Doran has explained, the result of the American administration's embrace of Iran "has been the development of an extremist safe haven that... stretches from the outskirts of Baghdad all the way to Damascus."
The U.S. could enter into talks with the Saudis, Egyptians, other Arab states and other countries in the region to help them build a coalition to oppose Iran's plans to achieve hegemonic status in the Middle East.
Is reform in the region even possible? Or is the U.S. now solidly locked into an embrace with an increasingly hostile and violent Iran?
Reform in the Middle East does not come easily, but the "Arab Spring" illustrates that positive change can take place. Unfortunately, the Obama administration, as President Carter mistakenly did in 1979, has embraced the mullahs, who immediately sidelined any reformers who might have been democratically inclined. In Egypt, the U.S. then actively helped bring the extremist Muslim Brotherhood to power, until twenty-two million Egyptians themselves apparently decided they had tasted enough of such repression and revolted; and in Afghanistan, the U.S. pathetically kept looking for the "moderate wing" of the Taliban.[4]
America is apparently bent on repeating -- yet again -- the historic wrong turn it took in 1979, by once again embracing the radical Islamic regime in Iran. Why would the U.S. administration think doing the same thing again will have a different outcome?
Dr. Peter Huessy is President of GeoStrategic Analysis, a defense consulting firm he founded in 1981, and was the senior defense consultant at the National Defense University Foundation for more than 20 years. He is now the National Security Fellow at the AFPC, and Senior Defense Consultant at the Air Force Association.
[1] For the details about Iran's involvement in 9-11 see http://www.iran911case.com. For Iran complicity in conducting other terror attacks against the United States in Beirut, Khobar Towers, and the African embassies, see Clare Lopez speaking at the Center for Security Policy. Also in documents recently translated from the "Abbottobad" material seized in the raid on Osama Bin Laden's Pakistani hideout, Joseph Braude host of the New York radio show "Risalat," reveals that according to Bin Laden, "Our main artery for funds, personnel and communication" is Iran.
[2] Testimony of Lt General Michael Flynn, (Retired), former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, 10 June 2015, the Joint Foreign Affairs and HASC Subcommittee, House of Representatives.
[3] See for example, these assessments of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA): "Our Iranian Allies", "The Iran Deal Wasn't About Nukes At All", and "The Iran Deal, One Year In: Economic, Nuclear, and Regional Implications."
[4] This aspect of the "Arab Spring" and the Administration's response is detailed by Walid Phares in The Lost Spring, 2014, Palgrave Macmillan.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute

President Mahmoud Abbas: The Palestinian "Untouchable"
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/June 23/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8320/mahmoud-abbas-untouchable
For many years, Palestinians hoped that one day they would enjoy public freedoms under the leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA), like the freedoms their neighbors in Israel have. But more than two decades after the establishment of the PA, democracy and freedom of speech are still far from being introduced to Palestinian society.
A PA court sentenced Anas Saad Awwad to a year in prison for posting on Facebook a photoshopped picture of Abbas wearing a Real Madrid shirt.
"Come and invest in the Palestinian areas, but if you don't bribe their corrupt officials, the Palestinian Authority will arrest you. This is a desperate political arrest by an undemocratic Palestinian Authority president who has no credibility amongst his people. " — Khaled al-Sabawi, son of Palestinian-Canadian investor Mohamed al-Sabawi, who was jailed for recommending the removal of Mahmoud Abbas from power.
It is not easy for an Arab journalist to criticize his or her leaders. If there is one thing Arab dictators cannot tolerate, it is criticism, especially when it comes from an Arab journalist, columnist or political opponent.
For many years, Palestinians were hoping that one day they would enjoy freedom of expression under the leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA). But more than two decades after the establishment of the PA, Palestinians have learned that democracy and freedom of speech are still far from being introduced to their society.
Since then, Palestinians have also learned that their leaders are "untouchable" and above criticism. Both Mahmoud Abbas and his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, have even taught Palestinians that "insulting" their president is a crime and an act of treason.
Both Mahmoud Abbas (right) and his predecessor, Yasser Arafat (left) have taught Palestinians that "insulting" their president is a crime and an act of treason. Pictured above: A Fatah propaganda poster featuring Abbas and Arafat. The Arabic text reads "Bearer of the trust" on top.
During the past two decades, several Palestinians who dared to criticize Abbas or Arafat have been punished in different ways.
The latest victim of this campaign against critics is Jihad al-Khazen, a prominent Lebanese journalist and columnist who recently wrote on article about the need for the "failed and corrupt" Palestinian Authority leadership to retire.
Al-Khazen, a veteran journalist with the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat, is now under attack by the PA. The goal: deterrence of free speech.
In the Looking Glass land of the Palestinian Authority, criticism of Abbas is classed as "insult to the president" and has landed critics behind bars -- or worse.
In 2013, a Palestinian journalist working for the al-Quds TV channel in Bethlehem, Mamdouh Hamamreh, was sentenced to one year in prison for posting a picture on Facebook that was deemed insulting to President Abbas. Abbas was depicted in the image as a fictional character who collaborated with French colonial forces in Syria. Abbas later pardoned the journalist.
That same year, a Palestinian Authority court sentenced Anas Saad Awwad, from the West Bank village of Awarta, to a year in prison for posting on Facebook a photoshopped picture of Abbas wearing a Real Madrid shirt.
Also in 2013, PA security forces detained a Palestinian-Canadian investor, Mohamed al-Sabawi, 68, on charges of insulting Abbas. Al-Sabawi was president of the Board of Directors of Ahlia Insurance Group, which employs hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank. He was detained for two weeks after he publicly called for the removal of Abbas from power.
The businessman's son, Khaled, who is from Ontario, Canada, said that the detention of his father showed that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's plan to bring $4 billion in private investment to the Palestinian territories was "nonsense." He added:
"Come and invest in the Palestinian areas, but if you don't bribe their corrupt officials, the Palestinian Authority will arrest you. This is a desperate political arrest by an undemocratic Palestinian Authority president who has no credibility amongst his people. I think my father hurt President Abbas's feelings."
In the past few years, Palestinian officials who have also dared to criticize Abbas, or were accused of insulting him, paid a heavy price. The list of officials who were punished for raising their voices against their president includes Mohamed Dahlan, Yasser Abed Rabbo and Salam Fayyad.
Mohamed Dahlan, an elected Fatah member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and a former PA security commander in the Gaza Strip, was expelled from Fatah in 2011 at the request of Abbas. Dahlan was also forced to flee the West Bank after Abbas sent his security forces to raid the Dahlan's Ramallah residence and arrest some of his supporters. Dahlan has since found refuge in the United Arab Emirates.
Until recently, Yasser Abed Rabbo served as Secretary-General of the PLO and was considered one of Abbas's closest aides. Last year, however, Abbas removed him from his job after he reportedly criticized the president in closed meetings.
Salam Fayyad, the former Palestinian Authority prime minister, was also punished for allegedly criticizing Abbas. Last year, the PA froze Fayyad's bank account and accused him of money laundering. The decision came after Fayyad received a large sum from the United Arab Emirates for a non-governmental organization that he, Fayyad, heads. Under pressure from the international community and some Arab countries, Abbas was later forced to rescind the decision.
Now Jihad al-Khazen has joined the list of critics who are being targeted by Abbas and the Palestinian Authority. Al-Khazen's crime is that he wrote an article lambasting Abbas and the veteran leadership of the PA.
The controversial article was published earlier this month in the Al-Hayat daily.
The article quotes an unnamed senior Gulf official saying that the time has come for Abbas and the entire Palestinian Authority leadership to retire. "We don't trust them," the Gulf official is quoted as saying, referring to the PA leadership. Although the Gulf official is not mentioned by name, Abbas and his aides in Ramallah say they believe the man is Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi (the emirate that hosts and funds Abbas's arch-enemy, Mohammed Dahlan).
Commenting on Abbas's decision to freeze the bank account of Fayyad, the senior Gulf official is quoted in the article as having said:
"Do you really believe that the United Arab Emirates would choose to launder money though the Palestinian territories? The Palestinian prosecutor-general later admitted that Abu Mazen [Abbas] had ordered him to fabricate the charge. The United Arab Emirates is now demanding a public apology from Abbas. We have suspended all aid to the Palestinian Authority."
Al-Khazen said that the Gulf official also spoke with him about Abbas and his wife and children. "But I have decided not to publish these things," he added. Al-Khazen said he spent nearly two hours talking to the Gulf official whom he quotes in the article.
The response from the Palestinian Authority was swift. In Ramallah, calling for the retirement of the president and the PA leadership in an influential Arab newspaper is a deadly serious matter. The 77-year-old al-Khazen can consider himself fortunate that he does not live in the fair city of Ramallah with the PA leadership.
The first attack on al-Khazen was framed in the traditional Palestinian theory of a Zionist conspiracy. Published by the official Palestinian Authority news agency Wafa, which is controlled by Abbas loyalists, the article referred to the al-Khazen's charges as "vulgarities," and attempted to establish a link between Israeli "incitement" against the PA and the article in Al-Hayat.
Next we read of the beleaguered defensive posture. Abbas's agency notes that the article aired at a time when the Palestinian Authority is "facing the Zionist project on all fronts." Finally, we get to the heart of the matter: dictatorial censorship. As in, where is it?
"Does a respected and responsible newspaper have the right to allow such filthy words to appear on its pages?" the Wafa agency asks. "And does Jihad al-Khazen or anyone else have the right to say whatever they want without any control? And do they have the right to insult people or Arab leaders without being held accountable?"
Abbas's ruling Fatah faction has also been recruited to defend its leader's reputation. Again, the faction resorted to the famous tactic of linking any legitimate criticism of Abbas to Israel. In a statement, Fatah accused the columnist of "serving the state of occupation [Israel] and those who are working towards undermining President Abbas, Fatah, the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian people." The statement added: "This is a service for the [Israeli] government of Binyamin Netanyahu, which is interested in stepping up its organized campaign against President Abbas."
In the eyes -- and words -- of Abbas and his cronies, anyone who opens his mouth in criticism of the Palestinian president -- from a Gulf leader to a respected Arab columnist -- is a mouthpiece for the Zionist project.
Deterrence is the name of this game. And prison is probably the best place some would-be whistleblowers can hope for. This is not what Palestinians were hoping for when the Oslo Accords were signed with Israel, paving the way for the creation of the Palestinian Authority. Many Palestinians were hoping back then that, under the PA, they would enjoy public freedoms like the ones their neighbors in Israel have. Sadly, most Palestinians are no longer living under the illusion that their current leaders would ever bring them democracy and freedom of speech.
The case of al-Khazen, who is facing a campaign of intimidation and insults, serves as a reminder to Palestinians that their leaders are infallible and untouchable, and that the liberty they had hoped for is still far, far away.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.