LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 17/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.march17.16.htm
News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
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Bible
Quotations For Today
Jesus Fasts in the Wilderness for Forty Days
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 04/01-13: "Jesus, full of
the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the
wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at
all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said
to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of
bread.’Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, "One does not live by bread alone." ’
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the
world. And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this
authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.
If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is
written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him." ’Then the devil took
him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him,
‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,
"He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you", and "On their hands
they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone."
’Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
’When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune
time."
We command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not
according to the tradition that they received from us
Second Letter to the Thessalonians 03/06-18:"We command you, beloved, in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in
idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you
yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with
you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and
labour we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was
not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to
imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone
unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in
idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and
exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own
living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. Take note
of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with
them, so that they may be ashamed. Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them
as believers. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in
all ways. The Lord be with all of you.
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter
of mine; it is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all
of you.
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on March 17/16
Congressional Legislation On Designated Terrorist
Organization Hizbullah Aimed At Removing Online Presence Of Its TV Network Al-Manar,
Which Is Active On U.S. Social Media; Deadline Was Yesterday
By: Steven Stalinsky/MEMRI/MEMRI/March 16/16
Outcome of Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria/Roger Bejjani/Face Book/March 16/16
Arabs must reject sectarianism/Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al Arabiya/March 16/16
Egypt and Israel: Peace but not peaceful/Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/March 16/16
Nurturing the date palm tree, a symbol of civilization and resilience/José
Graziano da Silva/Al Arabiya/March 16/16
Here’s why Geneva talks can succeed/Camelia Entekhabi-Fard/Al Arabiya/March
16/16
Why Putin is ahead in Syria’s game of chess/Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/March 16/16
Russia's Withdrawal Is Another Facade/Anna Borshchevskaya/The Washington
Institute/March 16/16
Using International Financial Aid to Improve Baghdad-KRG Relations/Michael
Knights/The Washington Institute/March 16/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on March 17/16
Congressional Legislation On Designated Terrorist Organization Hizbullah Aimed
At Removing Online Presence Of Its TV Network Al-Manar, Which Is Active On U.S.
Social Media; Deadline Was Yesterday
Outcome of Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria
Rivlin to Tell Putin: Syria Solution Must Not Strengthen Hizbullah
Israel Sees both Risks and Hizbullah-linked Benefits from Syrian Chaos
Hizbullah Denies Pulling out of Syria
Hizbullah, Mustaqbal Agree on Need to 'Activate Institutions, Boost Stability'
Gemayel Says Won't Vote for Franjieh or Aoun over Fears of 'Confrontation with
Region'
Iran: Hizbullah Played Key Role in Eradicating Terror in Syria, Protecting
Lebanon
Berri Says Putin Showed Judo Skills in Syria
Harb on Illegal Networks: Violating Country's Sovereignty Unacceptable
Hariri to Damascus Allies: Stop Killing Syrians, Withdraw from Syria
Rifi Resumes Duties as Justice Minister, Albeit from Home
Palestinians in North Deny Presence of 'Cell Plotting to Assassinate Rifi,
Fatfat'
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 17/16
IS Flag Found with Algerian Suspect
Killed in Brussels Raid
Rivlin also stressed the quality of Israeli-Russian relations.
UN: Pursuing war criminals in Syria should not wait for end of war
Assad advisor: Russia forces can return to Syria
Syrian opposition demands detail from government at peace talks
Arab League welcomes Russian troop withdrawal from Syria
De Mistura Says Syrian Sides Submit 'Documents' on Political Deal
Another Group of Russian Planes Leaves Syria, Returns Home
Kerry to Meet Putin over Syria Next Week
Russian Syria Pullout 'Positive' for Geneva Talks, Says Arab League
Russia to keep S-400 in Syria until Saudi warplanes leave Turkey
Syrian Kurds ‘to declare’ federal system in N. Syria
Lavrov says agrees to try to resume flights with Egypt in shortest time
US criticizes Israel for 'land seizure'
Clashes spread to new areas of southeast Turkey after bombing
Turkish scholars arrested over ‘terror propaganda’ charges
Turkey faces uphill battle to stop migrant smuggling
Hamas Calls for Egypt to Loosen Gaza Blockade
Qatar Poet Serving 15-Year Jail Term Pardoned
Iran fire festival celebrations kill three, injure 259
Iraq cabinet warns Sadr protest camp 'illegal'
Links From
Jihad Watch Site for March 17/16
Canada: Muslim says “Allah told” him to stab soldiers; top cop
worries about “Islamophobia”
Muslim screaming “Allah” stabs two Canadian soldiers
Raymond Ibrahim: How U.S. Foreign Policy Made 2015 “Worst Year in Modern History
for Christian Persecution”
France battling jihadis in police force, military
UK: Muslim care home staff stopped residents from having bacon sandwiches
Police foil “imminent” jihad mass murder attack in Paris
Nigeria: Islamic State murders 22 in jihad suicide bombings at mosque
Convicted jihadi Babar Ahmad pulling the wool over Leftist media’s eyes
Belgium: Islamic State flag and jihad manual found by gunman’s body
Hugh Fitzgerald: Jonathan Power, and “Why Islam Is Not Violent” Yet Again
Pakistan: Major Muslim orgs say law protecting women from abuse is un-Islamic
Nigeria: Senate rejects gender equality bill, Muslim senators say it violates
Sharia
Islamic State publishes “kill list” with names and addresses of Minnesota cops
Belgium: Muslims fire on police during raid on Paris jihad suspects
Banner at churches, synagogues: “Say no to anti-Muslim bigotry”
California: Muslim gets 8 years for lying about links to the Islamic State
Israel: Muslim cleric gets 11 months jail for inciting violence against Jews
Latest survey finds 25% of French teenagers are Muslims
Congressional
Legislation On Designated Terrorist Organization Hizbullah Aimed At Removing
Online Presence Of Its TV Network Al-Manar, Which Is Active On U.S. Social
Media; Deadline Was Yesterday
By: Steven Stalinsky/MEMRI/MEMRI/March 16/16
Click on this link
to read the MEMRI Report: http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/9077.htm
Outcome of
Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria
Roger Bejjani/Face Book/March 16/16
Objectively and incontestably!
1. Extend artificially Assad’s regime survival; which led to the emergence of
extreme Jihadist groups, inexistent until end of 2013.
2. Dramatic increase of Syrian refugees in Lebanon due to the attack by
Hezbollah of the Syrian Eastern Sunni enclaves/towns. A Million Sunni refugees
crossed the border with Lebanon seeking refuge fleeing Hezbollah and Assad's
Army.
3. An estimate of 1,400 dead and 2000 seriously wounded Hezbollah young brain
washed Lebanese fighters.
4. Lebanese Shia have become the prime enemies of 1.2 Billion Sunni.
5. Lebanon’s economy is at risk due to Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria,
Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen….
6. Impossibility of finding employment for all Lebanese Shia in the major jobs’
market: Gulf countries.
7. Daesh has never fought a battle against Hezbollah. This extremist group is
contained at over 350K from Syria’s borders with Lebanon in its stronghold
Rekka. The 150 Daesh fighters (spin-off from Nosra) in Kalamoun do not represent
a serious threat to Lebanon’s security. The National Army will wipe them out if
they adventure in entering Lebanon.
8. Withdrawing from Syria becomes extremely difficult for Hassan Nasrallah. It
is inevitable though and he will together with his group lose face.
9. Once those frustrated Hezbollah fighters are back home, they will represent
an imminent dangerous threat to internal stability. They will be tempted to
offset their defeat in Syria with a victory over the Lebanese. They will fail as
well.
In summary, Nasrallah’s blind devotion to Khamanei has only brought misery to
Lebanese Shia and non Shia and to the Syrian people.
Rivlin
to Tell Putin: Syria Solution Must Not Strengthen Hizbullah
Associated Press/Naharnet/March 16/16/Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will tell
his Russian counterpart on Wednesday that any future agreement in Syria must not
end up strengthening Hizbullah and and its main backer Iran, a senior Israeli
official said. The unidentified official said the main goal of Rivlin’s meeting
with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow will be to discuss the
international negotiations taking place in Geneva on an agreement to end the
fighting in Syria and find a political solution for the war-torn country. “What
we want is that Iran and Hizbullah not emerge strengthened from this process,”
he said. “The president will stress these points and begin a conversation on how
to ensure that this doesn’t happen.” Moscow “understands that it won’t be good
if Hizbullah remains in Syria and consolidates its position there,” the official
was quoted as saying by Israeli daily Haaretz. “Given the situation we’re in, we
have to coordinate with Russia,” Rivlin told reporters on the plane en route to
Moscow. “Everybody understands that the Islamic State (extremist group) is a
danger to the entire world, but for us, fundamentalist Iranian Shiite Islam is
no less of a danger,” Haaretz quoted him as saying. The newspaper said that
Rivlin will be the first foreign leader to meet with Putin since the Russian
president announced on Monday that he would withdraw Russia's forces from Syria.
Having dramatically turned the tide of war in President Bashar Assad's favor
with five months of intense bombardment of his foes, Putin is pressuring the
Syrian leader to engage them in more meaningful dialogue at the newly reconvened
U.N.-brokered peace talks in Geneva. With an announcement that appeared to take
even senior Russian commanders by surprise, Putin ordered most of the estimated
3,000 to 6,000 personnel to begin withdrawing from Syria on Tuesday, a step that
raised hopes for progress at the talks.
Israel Sees both Risks and Hizbullah-linked Benefits from Syrian Chaos
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/March 16/16/In a hospital in northern Israel,
wounded Syrian rebel Malek is waiting until he is well enough to pick up his gun
again to battle President Bashar al-Assad's regime. "I will return to Syria and
fight until Assad is gone," the 22-year-old told Agence France Presse in a
treatment room guarded by Israeli soldiers. Five years into Syria's civil war,
Israel has seen benefits despite the chaos unfolding next door, and the
treatment of wounded fighters is one sign of its quiet and limited involvement.
It has sought to avoid being dragged directly into the conflict, but at the same
time defend what it sees as its interests. That has meant allegedly carrying out
air strikes to stop arms deliveries to Hizbullah and coordinating with Russia
despite Moscow's support for Assad's regime, which Israel opposes. Israel
insists its policy of treating war wounded who seek help is driven by
humanitarian concerns. But analysts point out that rebels, including those
linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, are also fighting,
and weakening, Hizbullah fighters backing Assad. Israel and Syria have formally
been at war for decades though the demarcation line between them had been quiet
for more than 30 years. When the civil war began in 2011, Israel decided to
minimize any active intervention, said Haim Tomer, a former senior officer of
Israeli intelligence service Mossad. But as Syria splintered, new threats and
potential opportunities arose for Israel -- sometimes leading to more direct
involvement.Israel has allegedly carried out a series of air strikes on
Hizbullah within Syria, though it does not publicly confirm or deny them. More
than 2,000 Syrians have been treated in Israeli hospitals since 2013, according
to the Israeli army. Malek, who says he fights in a brigade in the Free Syrian
Army in southern Syria, has received one operation for a stomach wound paid for
by Israel and was waiting for another on his leg. He said rebel commanders knew
about the treatment and there was acceptance of it. Another fighter, on his
second trip to Israel, said that when he was wounded in a car bomb he chose
Israel over Jordan for treatment because of its better healthcare. The Ziv
Hospital estimates each Syrian on average costs the Israeli government roughly
$15,000. The Israeli army refuses to confirm or deny rumours of IS and al-Qaida
fighters among the injured, saying it treats people without asking their
affiliation. The war means that Assad's forces no longer have the capacity to
seriously threaten Israel. And Hizbullah appears too preoccupied fighting
alongside Assad to attack Israel."The threat from the state of Syria to Israel
disappeared, and this is part of the good news," said Itamar Yaar, a former
deputy head of Israel's National Security Council. "We don't see this will
change in the coming months or few years," he added, stressing Israel is happy
to see Hizbullah battle it out with Islamists in clashes in which it has lost
hundreds of fighters.But the fractious nature of the war also creates potential
threats, including what Israel sees as the growing influence of its arch-foe
Iran in Syria. In the province of Quneitra, within sight of the Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights and where Malek was fighting, much of the territory is held by al-Nusra
Front, the Syrian affiliate of al-Qaida.Further south are the Yarmouk Martyrs
Brigade, which have been linked to IS. Despite rhetoric against Israel, neither
al-Nusra nor IS has attacked Israeli territory. But authorities have erected a
50-kilometer fence along the border to keep fighting at bay, and increased
coordination with the Jordanian army. Russia's entry into the war last September
in support of Assad added another layer of complexity.Yaar said that while
Russia and Israel have solid relations, Moscow's involvement made Israel's
activities inside Syria harder because it forced the Jewish state to coordinate.
Israeli intelligence officials are now watching to what extent Russia follows
through on its announced withdrawal of forces.
"I don't think Israel will react very differently until we see changes on the
ground," Yaar said.
Hizbullah Denies Pulling out
of Syria
Naharnet/March 16/16/Hizbullah has denied reports about the withdrawal of its
fighters from Syria following the decision of President Vladimir Putin for
Russian personnel to begin pulling out from the war-torn country. "False
messages have been disseminated about the partial withdrawal of Hizbullah
fighters” from Syria, a Hizbullah official told RIA Novosti Russian state news
agency. Al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front also claimed that it is preparing to
launch a new offensive in Syria within the next 48 hours. But the Hizbullah
official warned the media “not to fall in the trap of such lies and rumors.”
Sources close to Hizbullah also denied in remarks to pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat
that Hizbullah is planning to withdraw from Syria where it is backing President
Bashar Assad against the rebels seeking to topple him. Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told the newspaper that Hizbullah has
lately carried out replacements within the ranks of its fighters. He ruled out
any possible pullout of the party from the neighboring country in the near
future. There were high hopes this week that Russia's withdrawal would give a
push to peace talks being held in Geneva to try to end Syria's brutal five-year
conflict. Putin ordered on Monday the "main part" of Russia's forces out of
Syria, but pledged to keep some air and naval bases there. The Syrian war has
killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions.
Hizbullah, Mustaqbal Agree on
Need to 'Activate Institutions, Boost Stability'
Naharnet/March 16/16/Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement agreed Wednesday on the
need to activate state institutions and preserve stability in the country. “The
conferees agreed to activate the work of institutions, follow up on the measures
that can boost domestic stability, and support the efforts of the military and
security institutions as they seek to protect the country and its citizens,” the
two parties said in a joint statement issued after their 26th dialogue session
in Ain al-Tineh. Dialogue between the two parties was about to get suspended in
recent weeks amid a war of words between them that is linked to the
Saudi-Iranian tensions in the region and unprecedented Saudi measures against
Lebanon and Hizbullah. Speaker Nabih Berri has reportedly exerted major efforts
to convince the two parties to maintain their bilateral talks. The two parties
have several times reiterated that their dialogue is mainly aimed at defusing
sectarian tensions in the country.
Gemayel Says Won't Vote for
Franjieh or Aoun over Fears of 'Confrontation with Region'
Naharnet/March 16/16/Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel stressed Wednesday that
his party's parliamentary bloc will not vote for Marada Movement chief MP
Suleiman Franjieh or Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun in the
presidency elections. “What would we do if Aoun becomes president? We do not
have the right to send the citizens to the unknown, seeing as we have a problem
with his political principles and his vision of Lebanon as part of an axis,”
said Gemayel during an interview on Future TV. “Why should we surrender and why
should we give the presidency to Hizbullah? Why would we have over the State to
March 8 after all the perseverance we showed for years?” Gemayel asked. “We will
not vote for Suleiman Franjieh and we were clear with him and with Aoun. We do
not have a personal problem with them but we fear for the country's interest,”
he added. “What would we win if we push the Sunni community to extremism and the
country to a confrontation with the (Arab) region?” Gemayel asked, citing the
latest Saudi measures against Lebanon that the kingdom attributed to “hostile”
stances by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil – the FPM chief and Aoun's son-in-law.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in
May 2014 and the FPM, Hizbullah and some of their allies have been boycotting
the electoral sessions. Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri launched
late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his
suggestion was rejected by the country's main Christian parties as well as
Hizbullah. The Hizbullah-led March 8 camp, as well as March 14's Lebanese
Forces, have argued that Aoun is more eligible than Franjieh to become president
given the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the
Christian community.
Iran: Hizbullah Played Key Role in Eradicating Terror in Syria, Protecting
Lebanon
Naharnet/March 16/16/A top Iranian security official on Wednesday hailed
Hizbullah for its military role in Syria, saying the Tehran-backed party's
intervention in the neighboring country has helped preserve Lebanon's security.
“Hizbullah has played a key role in eradicating the terrorist groups in Syria
and protecting Lebanon's security,” said Ali Shamkhani, the head of the Supreme
National Security Council of Iran. Condemning the labeling of Hizbullah as
terrorist by the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council, Shamkhani said
“the Zionist entity and its agents are disgruntled by Hizbullah's massive
popularity in the Islamic world and the Arab countries.” On March 11, the
council of Arab foreign ministers declared Hizbullah a "terrorist" group, after
Gulf monarchies adopted the same stance amid Iranian-Saudi tensions in the
region. Lebanon, Iraq and Algeria expressed reservations over the resolution.
The move came a month after Riyadh cut ties with Tehran following demonstrations
in which its embassy and a consulate were torched, in the wake of the Saudi
execution of a prominent Shiite dissident cleric. The Arab resolution denounced
"Iranian interference" in the "internal affairs" of Arab countries. In January,
GCC member Bahrain said it had dismantled a "terror" cell allegedly linked to
Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Hizbullah. Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf nations
also accuse Iran of supporting Shiite rebels in Yemen, as well as attempting to
destabilize their own regimes. They also denounce its alliance with the Syrian
regime and Hizbullah while they support rebels who have been fighting since 2011
to topple the Damascus government and President Bashar Assad. In February, Saudi
Arabia halted a $3 billion program for military supplies to Lebanon in protest
against Hizbullah. Announcing the funding cut, a Saudi official said at the time
that the kingdom noticed "hostile Lebanese positions resulting from the
stranglehold of Hizbullah on the state."The United States, Canada and Australia
have listed Hizbullah as a "terrorist" group while the European Union has only
blacklisted its military wing.
Berri Says Putin Showed Judo
Skills in Syria
Naharnet/March 16/16/Speaker Nabih Berri has described Russian President
Vladimir Putin as a “skilled judo player,” saying he had changed the equation in
the fighting in Syria and created a positive shock after his announcement this
week that his forces will withdraw from Syria. As Safir daily on Wednesday
quoted Berri as telling his visitors that Putin changed the equation in the
battles in Syria's war with five months of intense bombardment of President
Bashar Assad's foes. Putin dramatically turned the tide of war in Assad's favor
during the past months and on Monday he ordered most of the estimated 3,000 to
6,000 personnel to begin withdrawing from Syria. Such an announcement is a step
that raised hopes for progress at newly reconvened U.N.-brokered peace talks in
Geneva. Putin said Moscow's intervention had fulfilled its objectives by
allowing Assad's military to "radically" turn the tide of war. He added that the
move should help serve as a stimulus for Syria's political talks, a sign that he
is pressuring the Syrian leader to engage his foes in more meaningful dialogue.
“Putin can now say that he has done his share to facilitate the political
settlement and that the Syrian opposition, and regional and international powers
that are backing it should do the same,” Berri told his visitors. Putin is known
to be an avid sportsman and likes to show off his athleticism. He has a black
belt in judo.
Harb on Illegal Networks:
Violating Country's Sovereignty Unacceptable
Naharnet/March 16/16/Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb stated on Wednesday
that violations against the country's sovereignty and its national security are
unacceptable, assuring that perpetrators behind the illegal internet networks
will be punished. “We will not accept violations against our national
sovereignty and security, nor will we accept infringing on the privacy rights of
the Lebanese. These crimes will not go unpunished,” Harb stated in a press
conference. “The networks belong to suspicious sides and we consider it a crime
against our sovereignty,” he pointed out, in reference to the possibility that
the networks can be breached by Lebanon's long-time foe Israel or any party that
wants to spy on the country. “We are in front of an extensive system with wide
expertise. Some of the perpetrators have already been implicated in the Barouk
scandal,” he added. Last week and during a meeting of the parliamentary media
committee it was unveiled that a “mafia” is taking advantage of internet
services by installing internet stations that are not subject to the state
control. The owners of these stations are buying international internet
bandwidth with nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which they are selling back
to Lebanese subscribers at reduced prices. Harb added: “Some sensitive state
departments were victims of illegal internet providers,” he said pointing out
that they inadvertently subscribed to the services at a nominal cost and
sometimes for free. He stressed that the file was referred to the related
judicial and security authorities. The Minister stressed that the equipment were
confiscated, he said: “Our technical teams were able to uncover unlicensed
technical equipment in different locations on several mountainous
terrains.”Later during the day, Head of the parliamentary media committee MP
Hassan Fadlallah said after a weekly meeting of lawmakers with Speaker Nabih
Berri: “The parliament will address the illegal internet network. We are faced
with a system that works in parallel to that of the state and it is open to
Israeli spying." It has been reported that wireless internet towers and
technical equipment were placed lawlessly in some mountainous terrains including
Tannourine, al-Dinnieh, Sannine and al-Zaarour. Smuggled internet services
initiate risks namely the possibility of security breach as it lacks the basic
control standards exposing Lebanon's security to third parties including Israel.
Adding to the above is the fact that smuggling online services outside legal
frameworks is a waste for the state's treasury amounting to over $2 million
losses on a monthly basis. In 2009, a telecommunications station in the Barouk
area of the Shouf was uncovered, triggering heated debate on the involvement of
Israel in spying operations.
Hariri to Damascus Allies:
Stop Killing Syrians, Withdraw from Syria
Naharnet/March 16/16/Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri on Tuesday
called on Hizbullah and other groups fighting alongside the Syrian regime to
“stop killing the Syrian people” and return to their countries. “March 15 is a
glorious day in the history of the Syrian people and a symbol of rebellion
against oppression, tyranny and terrorism,” said Hariri from Paris in a series
of tweets marking the fifth anniversary of the Syrian anti-regime uprising. He
also paid tribute to “the Syrian brothers who are facing with bare hands the
most vicious machines of killing, displacement and destruction.”“History will
not be merciful towards a regime that committed the most terrible crimes against
its people and opened the doors of Syria for the remnants of terror and
aberration,” Hariri said. “All Syrians would say today: take your hands off
Syria. Stop killing the Syrian people. Withdraw from Syria and return to your
countries,” the former premier added. His remarks come on the same day that
Russia, a key ally of Damascus, started a surprise withdrawal of its forces and
warplanes from war-torn Syria after its intervention in September last year
helped the regime achieve major military gains. In recent years, the regime has
received instrumental military support on the ground from Iranian military
advisers and elite forces in addition to militants from Hizbullah and several
Iraqi, Pakistani and Afghan Shiite groups. Hizbullah has deployed at least 6,000
militants to Syria since the start of the conflict and around 1,000 Hizbullah
members have been reportedly killed there.The party argues that its
intervention, which is controversial in Lebanon, was necessary to protect the
country from extremist groups and to prevent the fall of Syria into the hands of
hostile forces.
Rifi Resumes Duties as
Justice Minister, Albeit from Home
Naharnet/March 16/16/Resigned minister Ashraf Rifi has resumed his duties as
justice minister by signing the ministry's mail and following up on its files,
although without being present at the ministry building, media reports said on
Tuesday. “As of Monday, Minister Ashraf Rifi returned to his duties as justice
minister, though from afar. His team is working at the ministry while he is
signing mail and following up on files from his office in Ashrafieh,” LBCI
television reported. It quoted sources close to Rifi as saying that he is “still
an incumbent minister who enjoys full jurisdiction and has a duty to perform his
missions.”“Rifi cannot accept to paralyze a vital public institution such as the
judiciary and he cannot dodge his responsibilities,” the sources added, noting
that the minister's return to his tasks “does not mean that he has decided to
retract his resignation, which remains unofficial pending a decision from the
relevant authority.”
LBCI pointed out that the role of acting justice minister Alice Shabtini stopped
“the moment Rifi resumed his duties.”Al-Jadeed television said Shabtini has
signed several decrees and documents in her capacity as acting justice minister.
“Rifi has submitted his resignation to the prime minister in written form, but
the acceptance of his resignation requires a decree signed by the president in
addition to the PM's approval,” LBCI noted, quoting legal experts. “As long as
there is no president and as long as Prime Minister Tammam Salam has not issued
a decree accepting the resignation,” Rifi remains the justice minister, the TV
network added. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 and Salam's
government has since been acting in caretaker capacity. Rifi announced his
resignation in a February 21 press conference, accusing Hizbullah of “dominating
the government's decision.”His resignation statement also cited alleged
Hizbullah interference in the case of ex-minister Michel Samaha, who is facing
charges of having planned "terrorist" acts in collaboration with the Syrian
regime. Rifi accused Hizbullah of blocking his efforts to transfer the case
against Samaha, a former close confidante of Damascus, to Lebanon's highest
court, the Judicial Council. Samaha was freed on bail in January under a
controversial Military Court ruling that sent shockwaves across Lebanon. The
ex-minister was arrested in August 2012 and charged with attempting to carry out
"terrorist acts" over allegations that he and Syrian security services chief Ali
Mamluk transported explosives and planned attacks and assassinations of
political and religious figures in Lebanon. Samaha was sentenced in May 2015 to
four-and-half years in prison, but in June Lebanon's Cassation Court nullified
the verdict and ordered a retrial.
Palestinians in North Deny
Presence of 'Cell Plotting to Assassinate Rifi, Fatfat'
Naharnet/March 16/16/Palestinian factions and popular committees in north
Lebanon denied Tuesday reports about the presence of an alleged assassination
squad at the al-Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp. In a statement, the groups
denied “media reports about the presence of a cell at the al-Beddawi camp that
is plotting to assassinate resigned justice minister Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and
MP Ahmed Fatfat” of the al-Mustaqbal bloc. “Our camps in general and the al-Beddawi
camp in particular enjoy stable security situations due to the efforts that are
being exerted by the (Palestinian) resistance factions and the high coordination
with all Lebanese security agencies,” the statement said. “We will remain
neutral in Lebanon and we will not side with a party against another. We support
Lebanon’s stability and security and we will not allow anyone to use our camps
as a launchpad for any security violation,” the factions and committees vowed.
They also expressed readiness to “cooperate in assessing and probing any
information about the presence of any individual posing a security threat to
Lebanon's stability.”On Sunday, Rifi announced that he has received information
about an alleged “Syrian-Iranian” plot to assassinate him and Fatfat. “The
reports are true and I come from a security background. I served for 40 years in
the Internal Security Forces and led the agency as its director general for
eight years. Normally, I have ties with all the friendly Arab and foreign
security agencies and communication is still ongoing,” Rifi told Orient News TV.
The resigned minister revealed that he received a phone call in recent days from
a certain figure after which he held a meeting with the caller's representative.
“He asked me to be cautious seeing as there is information that four individuals
at a Palestinian camp in northern Lebanon have been tasked with assassinating
either Ashraf Rifi or Ahmed Fatfat with a bomb-laden car or motorbike,” said
Rifi. “They would appear to be members of the terrorist Daesh (Islamic State)
group but in reality it would be a Syrian-Iranian intelligence scheme,” the
resigned minister noted.
IS Flag Found with Algerian
Suspect Killed in Brussels Raid
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/March 16/16/Police found an Islamic State flag
next to the body of an Algerian killed during a major anti-terror raid in
Brussels, prosecutors said Wednesday, as investigators raced to track down two
suspected extremists who escaped. The man had been identified as Mohamed Belkaid,
35, an Algerian national who was illegally in Belgium, the federal prosecutor
said a day after the chaotic shootout. Two suspects were still at large after
the gunbattle, which erupted as Belgian and French police searched a property in
connection with the November Paris massacre claimed by IS in which 130 people
died. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said the investigation was ongoing
and that the national security council would meet later to discuss the country's
terror alert level after the incident. Prosecutors said at least two suspects
fired on police as the door was opened during a search of the property in the
quiet Forest district, wounding three officers including a French policewoman. A
series of gunbattles then erupted, wounding a fourth officer in the head, and a
man was "neutralized by a sniper of the special forces when he tried to open
fire from the window of the flat", spokesman Thierry Werts said. "Next to his
body was a Kalashnikov, a book on Salafism and an Islamic State flag," Werts
told a packed press conference. Belkaid was unknown to Belgian authorities
except for a case of theft in 2014, they said. Werts said that "two persons who
were probably in the flat and whose identity is not known fled the scene and are
being tracked down". Searches throughout the southern district of Brussels found
"no results", he said. Belgian media reported that the two missing suspects were
brothers with links to terrorism but there was no immediate confirmation. "The
investigation continues and the danger remains," premier Michel told broadcaster
RTL. Michel said operations had continued throughout the night. He did not rule
out that the terror alert in Brussels could be raised to the highest level.
Children were left trapped in nearby schools by the shootout, and Michel thanked
residents for their "composure" as bursts of gunfire erupted in the streets and
dozens of heavily-armed police with balaclavas and sub-machineguns patrolled. By
early Wednesday calm had largely returned to the area and most locals had been
allowed to return to their home. Access to the scene of the shootout was also
reopened with the windows in the building blown out and taped up with plastic.
The mayor of Forest, Marc-Jean Ghyssels, told RTBF radio that all schools and
nurseries in his jurisdiction were open on Wednesday and that life was back to
normal. "There wasn't a direct threat to the public, it's a search that turned
badly," he said. Belgium has been at the center of the investigation into the
Paris attacks almost from day one. Key Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam is believed
to have fled to Brussels after the attacks and to have holed up in a flat for at
least three weeks. He remains on the run. The ringleader of the attacks, Islamic
State member Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was also from Brussels. He was killed in a raid
in Paris shortly after the November carnage. Two weeks after the Paris attacks,
Brussels was put on five days of lockdown with authorities warning of an
imminent threat of violence as the manhunt for Abdeslam continued. Soldiers are
still on guard at key areas including train stations and EU institutions.
Rivlin also stressed the quality of Israeli-Russian
relations.
Jerusalem Post/March 16/16/"The Russian-Israeli relationship has a long history.
We cooperate in many different area and we both have experience in dealing with
terror and fundamentalism," Rivlin said. "As a Jew, I want to say, we will never
forget the Russian nation and the Red Army's victory over the Nazis. Many
Holocaust survivors in the world will never forget that the first soldier they
meet at liberation was a Red Army Soldier," Rivlin said. Russia’s military
intervention in Syria last year on behalf of its embattled Alawite president,
Bashar Assad, originally concerned Jerusalem, which routinely conducts covert
raids into Syrian territory in order to disrupt shipments of Iranian arms and
missiles to Lebanese Hezbollah. But in October, Russia and Israel agreed on
methods of communicating that would allow Israel’s defense operations to
continue. Russia’s deputy ambassador to Israel, Alexey Drobinin, said the two
governments have an “ongoing dialogue” on both the military and diplomatic
levels, specifically regarding Syria operations. Those channels of communication
will remain open, he said. Rivlin was expected to seek an understanding of how
Moscow envisions the future of Syria in his meeting with Putin. “There is a need
for coordination with Russia regarding the current situation,” Rivlin told
reporters en route to Russia on Tuesday. “Everyone understands that Islamic
State is a danger to the entire world, but the Shi’ite fundamentalist Islam of
Iran is for us no less a threat,” One senior Israeli official said Israel does
not understand what was behind Putin’s surprise announcement. According to the
official, the central goal of Rivlin’s talks with Putin will be to discuss the
day after Syria’s civil war ends and the efforts in Geneva to negotiate a
political solution to the ongoing crisis.
UN: Pursuing
war criminals in Syria should not wait for end of war
Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters Tuesday, 15 March 2016/United Nations human rights
investigators on Syria said on Tuesday that preparing prosecutions against war
criminals should not be delayed until the end of the conflict, now entering its
sixth year. The UN Commission of Inquiry, which has documented atrocities
committed by all sides in the war, has compiled a confidential list of suspects
and begun providing judicial assistance to authorities investigating foreign
fighters.President Vladimir Putin announced on Monday that “the main part” of
Russia’s armed forces in Syria would start to withdraw, telling his diplomats to
step up the push for peace as U.N.-mediated talks resumed in Geneva between the
Syrian government and opposition. “Now for the first time, there is hope of an
end in sight,” Paulo Pinheiro told the U.N. Human Rights Council as UN Special
Envoy Staffan de Mistura carried out his mediation efforts in the same building.
“The adoption of measures that lay the ground for accountability need not and
should not wait for a final peace agreement to be reached,” Pinheiro told the
forum, flanked by co-commissioners Carla del Ponte and Vitit Muntarbhorn.
Serious violations continue, with thousands detained and tortured, many dying in
custody, he said. ISIS - which is not part of the cessation of hostilities -
continues to use suicide bombs and has more than 3,000 Yazidi women as sexual
slaves, he added. Pinheiro urged the government and opposition to agree to
confidence-building measures including unconditional and immediate release of
all prisoners arbitrarily detained and to set up a mechanism to trace those
missing. Syrian Ambassador Hussam Aala said that rebel groups were targeting
residential areas in Damascus and Aleppo with shelling and rockets, depriving
civilians of water, and using medical facilities as command centres. “The Syrian
government continues to send relief to all areas in need without
discrimination...We have been responsible in abiding by the cessation of
hostilities in order to preserve Syrian blood,” he told the forum.
Assad
advisor: Russia forces can return to Syria
Reuters, Beirut Wednesday, 16 March 2016/A top advisor to Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad said on Tuesday Russian forces could return to Syria after
withdrawing, and the United States now needed to pressure Turkey and Saudi
Arabia to halt supplies to rebels. "If the Russian friends withdraw part of
their forces, this does not mean they cannot return," Bouthaina Shaaban said on
Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen TV. In a surprise announcement on Monday, Russian
President Vladimir Putin said most Russian forces would be withdrawn from Syria.
Russia began to help Damascus in September, dramatically altering the
battlefield in a conflict now entering its sixth year. Russia said last month
Assad was out of step with its diplomacy, prompting speculation Putin is pushing
him to be more flexible in peace talks in Geneva, where his government has ruled
out discussion of the presidency or a negotiated transfer of power. But Shaaban
denied Putin was pressuring Damascus, stressing the independence and military
capability of Syrian forces. "Connecting the Russian move and any exertion of
pressure on Damascus has no basis in truth," she said. "Russia is an ally and
friend that talks to us respectfully and in consultation."
"The (Syrian) army is able not only to preserve the gains it has made, but also
to confront new areas in order to liberate the largest possible number of
villages," Shaaban said. Shaaban also said that following the withdrawal of
Russian forces, the next step was for the international community to cut
supplies to rebel factions fighting the Syrian government. "The ball is now in
the United States' court and the next step will be American pressure on Turkey
and Saudi Arabia to stop funding terrorists and stop the flow of weapons," she
said. "It is very possible to close the borders and keep out mercenaries,"
Shaaban said.
Syrian opposition demands
detail from government at peace talks
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Tom Miles Reuters, Geneva Wednesday, 16 March
2016/Syrian opposition negotiators demanded on Tuesday that Syria's government
detail its thoughts on a political transition and said there had been no
progress on freeing detainees, who, it said, were being executed at a rate of 50
a day. The opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) used their first meeting
in a round of peace talks in Geneva to give U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura a
set of general principles to guide the transition, a process to be overseen by
Russia and the United States in line with a U.N. resolution. "We intend to go
into detail. We intend to go fast. We would like to see this process make
progress very quickly," HNC member, Basma Kodmani, told reporters after the
meeting. She said the delegation had raised concerns about the humanitarian
situation, particularly in the towns of Daraya, where "after four years there
still is no aid at all that has gone in", and Al Waer in Homs governorate. The
opposition also wants the government to set out how it will begin releasing
prisoners, she said. The U.N. says it has lost count of how many have been
killed in the five-year-old war and last estimated the total at 250,000. But de
Mistura said the minute's silence with which he began his meeting with the
opposition should have been 300,000 minutes to remember the dead. De Mistura
also said he had added a Russian academic, Vitaly Naumkin, to his team of
advisers which is dominated by western Europeans, and he was looking to take on
a U.S. expert. He met Syrian government negotiators on Monday, who gave him
their contribution to a plan to end the conflict that has displaced more than
half the pre-war population. Kodmani said the opposition, which insists Syria's
President Bashar al-Assad have no future role in Syria, was eager to hear more
about what was in the government's document. "We would like to hear what the
regime has to offer, because this is the whole point for us," she said. "I
believe he (de Mistura) has a strategy to bring the points that are common to
both sides, to focus on those and build some common ground. Now for that to
happen we need the regime to make those propositions in a clear and stated way.
We are being very clear and will be even clearer."De Mistura said he would
collect all input from all sides and "metabolise" them and see where there was
"overlapping, contradictions or even common thinking". He said he would compare
the documents from the two delegations. "We will analyse them, see whether we
can make out of that a U.N. paper, for instance, or whether we can actually add
to it," he said. "The secret is to take the points on one side, the other side,
a third side, and come up with our own common sense and techniques in order to
try to merge (them).
Arab League welcomes Russian
troop withdrawal from Syria
Reuters, Cairo Wednesday, 16 March 2016/The Arab League welcomed Russia's
decision to withdraw its troops from Syria, saying on Wednesday the move would
help U.N.-mediated talks to end the country's war. President Vladimir Putin
unexpectedly announced on Monday that most Russian forces would leave Syria,
more than five months after they started air strikes to bolster President Bashar
al-Assad. A steady stream of warplanes has flown home since then. Russia has
insisted its forces targeted ISIS and other militants, but the West has accused
Moscow of also hitting civilians and other opposition forces that negotiators
hope will agree to a future settlement. "The Russian announcement... represents
a positive and important step towards fostering efforts ... for the success of
the Geneva negotiations taking place under the auspices of the United Nations
and for stabilizing the truce," Arab League secretary-general Nabil al-Araby
said in a statement. The Syrian government and the Western-backed opposition are
holding U.N.-mediated peace talks in Geneva as part of a diplomatic push
launched with U.S.-Russian support to end the five-year-old conflict.
De Mistura Says
Syrian Sides Submit 'Documents' on Political Deal
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/March 16/Syria's opposing sides have submitted
documents to the United Nations outlining broad principles for a political
solution to the country's five-year civil war, the U.N. envoy said Tuesday. As
peace talks aimed at ending the conflict wrapped up their second day in Geneva,
U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura told reporters he would try to "analyze" the
positions offered by the regime and opposition in a bid to find any possible
common ground. De Mistura made the comment after meeting with the opposition
High Negotiations Committee (HNC). "We... exchanged some papers but also ideas
on how to get deeper at the next meeting on the issue of transitional
processes," de Mistura said. The U.N. envoy has described political transition
in Syria as "the mother of all issues" facing the talks. He gave no
details concerning the documents submitted by representatives of Syrian
President Bashar Assad, whom de Mistura met with on Monday. But, the regime's
lead negotiator, Bashar al-Jaafari, has previously confirmed that Damascus has
outlined its general ideas for a political solution to the war, which has killed
more than 270,000 people and displaced millions. In its meeting with de Mistura,
the HNC also called for urgent action to address the plight of those allegedly
detained by the regime. HNC spokeswoman Basma Kodmani said the issue of
detainees "is not up to negotiation," calling for Damascus to immediately
release anyone illegally held. De Mistura acknowledged that a humanitarian
taskforce which has been working to distribute aid since a February 27 ceasefire
came into affect had so far made no progress on the issue of detainees. "On the
detainees aspect we have been having extremely, impossibly nothing in terms of
outcomes," he said, pledging to push for further action in the coming days. The
talks are set to continue on Wednesday, with de Mistura holding his second
meeting with the government side. He has said regime ally-Russia's partial
withdrawal of troops from Syria could be a "positive" development for the talks,
with some observers suggesting it could pressure Damascus to negotiate an end to
the fighting.
Another Group of Russian
Planes Leaves Syria, Returns Home
Associated Press/Naharnet/March 16/16/Russia's defense ministry says another
group of its aircraft has left the Russian air base in Syria and is returning
home. Wednesday's announcement comes two days after President Vladimir Putin
ordered Russian military to withdraw most of its fighting forces from Syria,
signaling an end to Russia's five-and-a-half month air campaign. The pullout
from the Hemeimeen base coincides with the resumption of U.N.-brokered peace
talks in Geneva between the Syrian government and the representatives of the
moderate, Western-Backed opposition. On the ground, a cease-fire has been in
effect since late February. Extremist factions — such as the Islamic State group
or the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front — are not part of the truce. Russia didn't
indicate when the next group of planes will leave or how many will be pulled
out.
Kerry to Meet Putin over
Syria Next Week
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/March 16/U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said
Tuesday he will meet with President Vladimir Putin in Russia next week on the
crisis in Syria, after Moscow announced the partial withdrawal of its forces. "I
will be traveling next week to Moscow to meet with President Putin and Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov in order to discuss how we can effectively move the
political process forward and try to take advantage of this moment," Kerry said.
In Moscow, Lavrov's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed to the Russian news
agency Interfax that the foreign ministry was making plans for a possible visit
by Kerry to Moscow. Kerry did not give a date for the planned visit, but his
spokesman John Kirby later told reporters that it would be after Tuesday next
week, when the U.S. envoy returns from a trip to Cuba with President Barack
Obama. Earlier, the White House said "earliest indications" suggest Russia has
begun an announced withdrawal of its forces from Syria, where they have been
supporting Bashar Assad's forces against opposition rebels. Kerry said that
this, along with the opening of indirect U.N.-mediated peace talks in Geneva,
opened a window of possibility to find a negotiated solution to the
five-year-old conflict. "As we mark the fifth anniversary of the start of this
horrific war, we may face the best opportunity that we've had in years to end
it," he said, ahead of a meeting with Georgia's Foreign Minister Mikheil
Janelidze. "The cessation of hostilities has obviously not been perfect. I don't
know one that ever has been. And we have raised and we will continue to raise
our serious concerns about violations when they occur. "But with the cessation
of hostilities largely holding, Russia's announcement yesterday that it will
remove half of its forces immediately and more perhaps from Syria and with the
political negotiations reconvening this week in Geneva, we have reached a very
important phase in this process."
Russian Syria Pullout
'Positive' for Geneva Talks, Says Arab League
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/March 16/Russia's withdrawal of forces from Syria
is a "positive step" that will help the ongoing Geneva peace talks, Arab League
chief Nabil al-Arabi said on Wednesday. Russian warplanes began leaving Syria on
Tuesday after Moscow's surprise decision to withdraw most of its forces from the
war-torn country."The Russian announcement represents an important positive step
in the efforts of the international group for Syria in making the Geneva talks a
success," Arabi said in a statement. Offering his support to U.N. Syria envoy
Staffan de Mistura's efforts in holding the Geneva talks, Arabi urged the
various Syrian groups to be "wise and flexible" during negotiations.He said they
should "prioritize the supreme interests of the Syrian people to reach a final
agreement on the transitional period... that can help achieve the aspirations of
the Syrian people". The talks are aimed at a deal that will create a
transitional government, a new constitution and general elections within 18
months. De Mistura has acknowledged there are huge gaps between the various
sides but said he hopes that developments on the ground, including the Russian
withdrawal, could assist a breakthrough. The talks are expected to end on March
24, with a new round possibly beginning in early to mid-April. More than 270,000
people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it erupted in 2011, while
millions more have been displaced.
Russia to keep S-400 in Syria
until Saudi warplanes leave Turkey
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 16/16/The highly-advanced S-400 air defense
missiles will also eventually be evacuated from Syria, said high-ranking
officials in Moscow on Wednesday, March 17, according to an exclusive debkafile
report. But their presence for now is crucial in view of the continuing Saudi
buildup of warplanes in Turkey, close to the Syrian border. Our military sources
disclose that the initial Saudi deployment of four warplanes to the Turkish air
base of Incirlik earlier this month, has been expanded to sixteen, while Saudi
officials declare that Riyadh and Ankara are preparing to intervene jointly in
the Syrian conflict. According to our sources, Turkish armored and
infantry troops have already crossed the border and set up positions in the
northern Syrian province of Idlib, just a few hundred meters inside the border.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov referred Sunday, March 14, to evidence of
“a creeping expansion by Turkey in the sovereign nation of Syria.” This was
taken as a warning that Moscow would not tolerate any further Turkish
encroachments in Syria, any more than it would accept Saudi air force intrusions
of Syrian air space. The Russians infer from Turkish military movements that
Ankara aims to establish enclaves inside Syria as no-fly or security zones,
which Moscow has consistently opposed. The presence of the top-grade S-400
anti-air missiles in Syria is meant to obstruct this plan and discourage Turkish
and Saudi aerial flights over Syria. At the same time, the presence of the S-400
missiles close by is a worry for the Israeli Air force. The batteries, currently
positioned at the Latakia base, would cover a broad stretch of air space over
northern and central Israel if they were moved further south. A word of
reassurance on this score was understood to have come from Russian military
sources Wednesday. They said that the S-400 would be removed eventually, leaving
behind only the Pantsir-S1 anti-air missile systems, which have never posed a
challenge to the Israeli air force in the last decade. debkafile’s military
sources also confirm that Putin has so far kept his promise to Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu to withhold advanced S-400 and S-300 air defense missiles
from Iran, by executing a series of delays. On Feb. 17, Iranian military
officials announced a ceremony the next day at the Caspian port of Astrakhan for
the handover of the first batch of S-300s. The ceremony never took place.
This week, Russian arms industry sources announced that the missiles would be
not be delivered to Iran before August or September – another delay, which is
unlikely to be the last.
Syrian Kurds ‘to declare’
federal system in N. Syria
Reuters, Beirut Wednesday, 16 March 2016/Kurdish-controlled areas of northern
Syria are expected to declare a federal system on Wednesday, a Syrian Kurdish
official said. The announcement would mean “widening the framework of
self-administration which the Kurds and others have formed,” said Idris Nassan,
an official in the foreign affairs directorate of Kobani, one of three
autonomous areas set up by Kurdish groups two years ago, speaking to Reuters.
The areas would be named the Federation of northern Syria, he said, and
represent all ethnic groups living there.
Lavrov says agrees to try to
resume flights with Egypt in shortest time
Reuters, Moscow Wednesday, 16 March 2016/Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
said on Wednesday at talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry that
they had agreed to make efforts on resuming direct flights between Russia and
Egypt in the shortest possible period of time. Lavrov added at a news conference
that flights would be resumed if the highest level of security was provided.
US criticizes Israel for
'land seizure'
Reuters/Ynetnews/Published: 03.16.16/State Department spokesman John Kirby says
'we strongly oppose any steps that accelerate settlement expansion, which raises
serious questions about Israel's long-term intentions. The U.S. State Department
Tuesday criticized Israel for appropriating large tracts of land in the West
Bank near the Dead Sea and the city of Jericho, as reported by Israeli Army
Radio. The State Department said that ongoing expropriations and settlement
expansions were "fundamentally undermining the prospects for a two-state
solution.""We strongly oppose any steps that accelerate settlement expansion,
which raises serious questions about Israel's long-term intentions," State
Department spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing. Israel's Peace Now
movement, which tracks and opposes Israeli settlement in territory captured in a
1967 war, said the reported seizure of 579 acres (234 hectares) represented the
largest land confiscation in the West Bank in recent years. The group said plans
for expanding nearby Jewish settlements and building tourism and other
commercial facilities in the area were already on Israel's drawing board.
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, in a statement, called on the
international community to press Israel to stop land confiscations. Most
countries view Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem
as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Asked about Army Radio's report of the land
confiscation, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon's office said in an email to
Reuters: "We are not relating to the issue."Photos of a de facto Israeli
confiscation notice - a Hebrew map and accompanying documents titled "A
declaration of government property" - were tweeted, however, by the Palestine
Liberation Organization on Tuesday. Dated March 10, it listed 2,342 dunams, or
579 acres, and carried the signature of an official identified on the map as
Israel's "supervisor of government property and abandoned property in Judea and
Samaria", Hebrew terms for the West Bank. Israel says it intends to keep large
settlement blocs in any future peace agreement with the Palestinians.
Palestinians, who seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, say
they fear Israeli settlement expansion will deny them a viable country.
Clashes spread
to new areas of southeast Turkey after bombing
Reuters, Diyarbakir Tuesday, 15 March 2016/Four people were killed in clashes
between security forces and Kurdish militants on Tuesday, security sources said,
as fighting widened in southeast Turkey following a suicide bombing that killed
37 people in the capital Ankara. Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters blocked
roads and halted vehicles in the Kaynartepe neighborhood of the city of
Diyarbakir and clashed with security forces sporadically through the night as a
police helicopter flew overhead, witnesses said. No one has claimed
responsibility for Sunday’s car bomb that tore through a crowded transport hub
in Ankara, but security officials have said it involved two militants, one of
them female, from the outlawed PKK.Violence has surged in mainly Kurdish
southeast Turkey since a 2-1/2 year PKK ceasefire collapsed in July. The
militants have focused their strikes on security forces in southeastern towns,
some of which have been under curfew. One police officer and three militants
were killed in the fighting in the Baglar district of the southeastern city of
Diyarbakir, the security sources said. A curfew was imposed in Baglar’s
Kaynartepe neighborhood from 3 a.m. (0100 GMT) after moves by militants to set
up barricades, dig ditches and plant explosives, authorities said. The curfew
was later widened to encompass more city streets as clashes continued in the
morning. Gunfire and explosions rang out across the city and police in armored
vehicles parked on street corners called for people to stay inside. Conflict in
Diyarbakir, the southeast’s largest city, has until now has been focused in the
Sur district, parts of which have been devastated by the fighting. Also on
Tuesday, Turkish police shut Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge, a key transport link
spanning Asia and Europe, to traffic and were searching a suspicious vehicle,
broadcasters CNN Turk and NTV reported. Live footage of the bridge showed a
series of white vehicles parked behind another lone white sedan near the
European exit. Bomb disposal experts were near the vehicle, CNN Turk reported.
Turkish scholars arrested
over ‘terror propaganda’ charges
By AP Ankara, Turkey Wednesday, 16 March 2016/Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency
says a court in Istanbul has charged three academics with making terrorist
propaganda and ordered them arrested pending the outcome of a trial. Their
arrests late on Tuesday came a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
Turkey should “redefine” terrorism and terrorists so that legal action can be
expanded against anyone supporting terrorism - including legislators, academics
and journalists.The three Istanbul-based academics were among a group of more
than 1,000 scholars who in January signed a declaration denouncing military
operations against Kurdish rebels. The declaration angered Erdogan and led to
legal proceedings against some. The three were detained for questioning earlier
on Tuesday for holding a news conference last week during which they stood by
the declaration.
Turkey faces uphill battle to stop migrant smuggling
The Associated Press, Istanbul Wednesday, 16 March 2016
Business begins in earnest at sundown at “smugglers square” in Istanbul’s
Aksaray neighborhood. Families trickle in, clutching their belongings and
lifejackets in plastic bags while smugglers weave their way around the park,
cutting deals and finalizing the logistics of the journey to Greece on their
cellphones.
Ali, a Syrian refugee who got into the business of smuggling fellow migrants to
supplement his income as a waiter, says anyone who wants to be smuggled out of
Turkey must pass through Askaray first. “Go into any store or café in Aksaray
and say you want to go to Europe - you will get a million offers,” he said. Like
other smugglers interviewed by The Associated Press, he asked to be identified
only by his first name because what he is doing is illegal. The European Union
and Turkey hope to reach a comprehensive deal this week to tackle illegal
migration and the refugee crisis spurred by conflicts in Syria and beyond. Under
the “one-for-one” deal, which hopes to blunt the appeal of smuggling, one Syrian
refugee in Turkey would be resettled legally in an EU country for each illegal
Syrian migrant turned back to Turkey. But critics fear the deal could set the
stage for blanket deportations from the EU and the scene in Aksaray - where
buses loaded with would-be migrants take off in the cover of night - illustrates
the uphill battle faced by law enforcement officials in a country awash with
refugees and smugglers. Last year, an estimated 850,000 people, mostly Syrians
but also Afghans, Iraqis and others, used Turkey as a launching point for
dangerous journeys to Greece, often on overloaded rafts. Hundreds died along the
way to their first stop en route to the rest of Europe. Over the past few
months, to show it’s getting serious, Turkey has all but shut its borders to new
arrivals from its conflict-torn neighbor and cracked down on trafficking by
increasing sea patrols, prosecuting smugglers and stopping people before they
can leave for Greece. In return for its efforts, Turkey stands to gain $3.3
billion in EU funding to help it improve the situation of the 2.7 million Syrian
refugees already within its borders; a much-anticipated easing of EU visa
restrictions for Turkish citizens; and expedited talks about the country joining
the 28-nation EU. Turkish officials at all levels say they are doing the best
they can. But three smugglers interviewed by The Associated Press insist it is
impossible to shut down their business, pointing to a sharp rise in demand this
winter compared to last. These men, whom Syrian refugees have used in recent
trips, asked to be identified only by their first names because what they are
doing is illegal.
Meanwhile, people waiting for unmarked buses arranged by smugglers in Istanbul
or boats in the port cities of Izmir and Canakkale often declare they would
rather drown in the Aegean Sea than die in Syria, now in its sixth year of war,
or stay in Turkey, where it is hard to make ends meet.
“I am not happy to go to Europe,” says Abu Dildar, a bespectacled Syrian Kurd
who says he tried and failed to make a living ironing clothes in Turkey despite
receiving aid from two agencies. “But I am going so that my children have a
future, an education. If they remain illiterate, they will blame no one but me.”
For the smugglers, the risks are high but so are the rewards. Every journey
requires a minimum $6,000 investment for a rubber boat, which will be abandoned
once the migrants reach Greece. The average fare is $1,000 for departures from
prime locations only a few miles from the Greek islands. Assuming at least 30
people per boat, that translates into a minimum profit of $24,000 per journey,
divided among a handful of people.
Hussam, a smuggler in the coastal city of Izmir who says he raked in more than
$50,000 last summer and $7,000 so far this winter, says there are more patrols
along the coast now, but people still go out once the patrols are out of sight.
Although six of his smuggling buddies have been detained in the past month, he’s
confident that business will pick up again in the summer. He interprets
increased patrols at sea as a bid to prevent further dramatic drowning accidents
rather than an effort to stamp out illegal migration. Law enforcement officials
in Turkey defend their efforts. “We are trying our best,” says Bahadir Yesiltepe,
head of the anti-smuggling unit in Izmir, a coastal city of nearly 3 million
people. In 2015, Izmir’s police caught 11,844 migrants, including 10,566
Syrians, while 345 smugglers were sentenced. Between January and February this
year, they caught 5,803 migrants, an alarming number given there are fewer
departures in winter. These figures exclude those caught by the gendarmerie or
the coast guard. “As long as the situation continues in Syria, and with weather
conditions improving, we anticipate that the intensity we saw last summer will
continue,” Yesiltepe says. Turkish officials say smugglers are switching
strategies in response to the crackdown, exploring new departure points such as
the resort town of Kas, sending out “decoy” boats that get intercepted by the
coast guard while others dart across, and using different forms of transport
such as rickety fishing boats and even jet skis. “They just keep coming and
coming and coming,” a law enforcement official involved in such operations told
the AP, requesting anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss smuggling.
He acknowledged that a few “bad apples” in law enforcement are turning a blind
eye or profiting from the business but said the main challenges are the sheer
scale of the smuggling, the shifting tactics and the inaccessibility of the
kingpins. Catching small-time smugglers or intercepting boats or buses is
relatively easy, he says. He thinks the best way to dismantle the more complex
operations is to target the small businesses, or “safes,” that have sprung up in
the main trafficking nodes. Syrians rarely pay the smuggler directly, preferring
to deposit their money at a “safe” house in exchange for a code they will share
with the smuggler once they have crossed to the other side. Most migrants don’t
bother to call in this odd honor system, but the smuggler is entitled to the
money if five days pass with no news. One such venture in Izmir advertises
itself as a “limited liability company” specializing in money transfers and
tourism. But there are no computers or glossy brochures at the third-floor
office of the Boss of Homs. The young men in leather jackets who mill there
insist it is a regular business, but one migrant described it as “the best and
safest place to put your money in Izmir.”“It’s a very complicated system that
they have developed,” says Elif Ozmenek Carmikli, an analyst at the Ankara-based
International Strategic Research Organization. Ziad, a Syrian smuggler operating
out of Aksaray, sums up the challenge for law enforcement. “If one person is
caught,” he says, “they can’t dismantle the network, because everyone knows just
one person in the chain.”
Hamas Calls for Egypt to
Loosen Gaza Blockade
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/March 16/16/Hamas called for Egypt to loosen
restrictions on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, a delegate said, after officials from
the Islamist group traveled to Cairo seeking to mend strained relations. Senior
official Khalil al-Haya said Hamas had begged Egypt to allow more traffic
through the Rafa border crossing with the Gaza Strip, the enclave's only transit
point not controlled by Israel. Egypt has largely kept its border with Gaza
closed since 2013 and has destroyed hundreds of Palestinian tunnels used to
smuggle commercial goods, cash, people and, allegedly, weapons. The Hamas
interior ministry said 2015 was "the worst year for Rafah in recent years," when
the border crossing was open for just 21 days in total. Relations have soured
between Islamist Hamas and Cairo since the 2013 overthrow of Egyptian president
Mohamed Morsi, a member of the now-blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood movement.
Former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who deposed Morsi, has since launched a
blistering crackdown on Islamist groups that has left hundreds of people dead
and thousands jailed. Tensions piqued this month when Egypt accused Hamas of
being involved in the assassination of the country's top prosecutor, who was
killed by a car bomb last year. Hamas has denied the claim, and Haya said his
movement "condemned political killings and condemned the assassination of
Attorney General Hisham Barakat". He insisted that Hamas refused "to interfere
in Egyptian affairs".
Qatar Poet Serving 15-Year Jail Term
Pardoned
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/March 16/16/A Qatari poet, Rashid al-Ajami, has
been pardoned and released after serving more than three years of a 15-year
prison sentence for insulting the emir, a family member said Wednesday. "Yes
it's true and we have nothing to say but 'Thank God,'" the family member of
Ajami, jailed for insulting the emir and trying to overthrow the regime, told
AFP, asking not to be named. It was the first such confirmation of his release
inside Qatar where officials have refused to comment, despite his pardon by the
emir being widely reported outside the tiny Gulf emirate. A friend of Ajami's
also told AFP that he was now free and had returned to his family home. His
release apparently came after the intervention of a senior member of his family.
The poet, also known as Ibn Al-Deeb, had been serving his sentence since being
imprisoned for life in November 2012. This was reduced on appeal several months
later to 15 years. He was convicted after reciting a poem in August 2010 while
with a group of friends in Cairo, where he was a student at the time. Ajami was
apparently challenged to read a poem that was indirectly critical of then Qatari
ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. He was recorded and the video was then
uploaded on to YouTube. Ajami was subsequently arrested by Qatari authorities in
November 2011, although his lawyers argued there was no evidence to support the
charges. Ajami's case, which garnered international condemnation over limits to
free speech in Qatar, had again threatened to embarrass the 2022 World Cup
football host, with demonstrations planned outside Qatari embassies in London
and Washington. Rumors of his release began circulating in Qatar on social media
on Tuesday night. It is not known if his pardon by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad
Al-Thani came attached with conditions. Outside Qatar, however, Ajami's release
was welcomed by Amnesty International, which called it "long overdue". "It is
absurd that he had to spend more than four years behind bars, when his poetry
was simply the peaceful expression of his conscientiously held beliefs," said
Amnesty's James Lynch. "We hope that the authorities will take the opportunity
of this release to review Qatar’s criminal justice system and ensure that such
flagrant violations of the right to freedom of expression are not repeated."
Iran fire festival celebrations
kill three, injure 259
AFP, Tehran Wednesday, 16 March 2016/Iran’s annual fire festival ahead of the
Persian New Year claimed three lives and left 259 injured, officials said
Wednesday, as warnings against dangerous celebrations were ignored. Each year
Iranians celebrate Chaharshanbeh-Soori, an ancient Zoroastrian tradition on the
eve of the last Wednesday of the Iranian calendar, by jumping over bonfires. But
fireworks and improvised explosives are also used to mark the event, often
causing casualties. Among the three who died on Tuesday night was a 45-year-old
man who suffered a heart attack brought about by an explosion, said Amin
Saberinia, head of Iran’s Emergency Medical Service. The other two were a
24-year-old man and a teenager, Saberinia told the official IRNA news agency.
Some of the injuries were serious, including of a 14-year-old boy who lost both
hands and was in a coma, Saberinia said. The youngest victim was a
three-year-old girl who lost fingers. Most of the injured -- 234 out of 259 --
were men. Many Iranian actors, artists and celebrities this year urged people to
stick to the traditional fire-jumping and refrain from using fireworks ahead of
Nowruz (New Year), which starts on March 20. Some did heed the advice and
Saberinia said the number of injuries were about 50 percent lower than last
year, when three people were also killed. The death toll has been falling in
recent years, with nine killed in 2014 and 19 in 2013. Many Iranians have taken
to staying indoors for fear of being hurt on Chaharshanbeh-Soori, when blasts
and whistling explosives ring out across Tehran.
Iraq cabinet warns
Sadr protest camp 'illegal'
AFP, Baghdad Wednesday, 16 March 2016/The Iraqi cabinet has decided not to
authorize a protest camp by followers of cleric Moqtada Sadr which had been due
to begin Friday in front of the fortified "Green Zone". Tens of thousands of
Sadr supporters have been preparing for a days-long sit-in in central Baghdad
aimed at pressuring the government to implement deeper political reform.
"Staging a sit-in is not permitted by law, especially in the current security
circumstances, notably the threat by terrorist groups and the potential for this
gathering to be targeted," a cabinet statement said Wednesday. "The security
forces are busy with the fight against Daesh (ISIS) and it is not possible to
guarantee the protection of this gathering at all times," it said. The cabinet
stressed that it "supports the demonstrations demanding government reforms" and
has protected one-day protests by the Sadr movement in recent weeks. The
Najaf-based Sadr had urged his supporters on March 12 to prepare tents for a
protest camp supposed to begin on Friday and last until the expiry 10 days later
of an ultimatum he gave the government. A month ago, the Shiite cleric gave
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi 45 days to present the names of technocrats for a
new government. Sadrists have held a series of massive rallies in central
Baghdad, with thousands turning out last week for the latest protest to press
their demands. The presence a week earlier of armed Sadr supporters outside the
Green Zone -- where Abadi's office, parliament and the US embassy are located --
sparked intense security concerns. In the protest that he attended in Baghdad
three week ago, Sadr threatened that his supporters could storm the Green Zone
if their demands were not met.
Arabs must reject sectarianism
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al Arabiya/March 16/16
The Sykes-Picot Agreement, conceived in a backroom of Britain’s House of Commons
and drafted on the back of an envelope, rearranged the borders of the Middle
East separating tribal and family members. Arab countries were shared between
France and the UK as though they were slices of cake.
That cannot be described as one of history’s finest moments. Arabs who sided
with Britain to rid the region of the Ottoman rulers on the promise of an
independent homeland were ultimately betrayed. Tragically, there is a further
split occurring today, one that is of our own doing, pitting Shiites and Sunnis
against one another that plays right into the hands of our enemies.Arabs are
sleepwalking into a trap laid by a foreign power seeking to divide and rule; one
that is artfully manipulating its Arab co-religionists to subjugate and oppress
their Sunni compatriots.
It is a poison that been injected into Lebanon, Syria and Iraq by the Islamic
Republic of Iran through the machinations of implanted proxies in its pay so as
to further its ambitions of regional domination. I would ask the peoples of
those countries who are old enough to remember to think back to the 1970s, an
era of proud Arab nationalism when no one was asked whether they were Sunni,
Shiite, Christian or Druze. Remember when Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites celebrated
each other’s holidays, were partners in business and even inter-marriage was not
uncommon?
I am still haunted by my beautiful memories of Lebanon in its glorious,
glamorous heyday before its free spirit was choked by Hezbollah. Those were the
days when Syrian Allawites were Arab in every sense of the word. Syria and Egypt
formed a political union in 1958 – known as the United Arab Republic – that
endured until 1961 and Syria partnered with Egypt in Arab-Israeli Wars of 1967
and 1973. Iran was not in the picture. I wanted to visit Iraq during Saddam
Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 to appeal to him directly to withdraw but
was deterred by concerned friends and family fearing I might never return. But
Patrick Cockburn writing in the Independent gives a firsthand account of its
vibrancy. “Oil revenues were soaring and administration was effective. New
roads, bridges, hotels, schools and hospitals were being built across the city,”
He is nostalgic about sitting near the banks of the Tigris eating fish from the
river, visiting second-hand bookshops and an auction house selling carpets and
artworks. He bemoans that the Baghdad he knew is dying. Its “special magic, the
fact that gave the city its peculiar allure, was its complex ethnic and
religious mix of Shia, Sunni and Kurds.”
Armed militias
The sectarian divisions that have evolved into armed conflicts and produced
armed militias are politically manufactured. Those who would tear us Arabs apart
to suit their own agendas are using fiery religious rhetoric for their own ends.
We, the citizens of the United Arab Emirates – and all GCC states – have never
differentiated between Sunni and Shiite nationals. We are all Muslims guided by
the same beloved book containing God’s message as revealed to the Prophet. We
have always lived together in peace. We respect each other, love one other. We
celebrate together and mourn together. As much as Iran tries to foment division,
it has failed because we are Emiratis. We built our country together and we are
all proud of its achievements. Together we are strong, divided we risk
witnessing Iraq being split into three feeble entities, Lebanon becoming an
Iranian enclave and, now there is talk of federalizing Syria into postage stamp
sized mini-autonomous states
Remembering makes me sad and, yes, angry. We have been manipulated by
imperialist powers. Iraq was destroyed by George W. Bush on a trumped-up
pretext. And now Shiites are being lured into the Iranian camp. I would appeal
to Arab Shiite communities not to fall for this Persian trickery. Together we
are strong, divided we risk witnessing Iraq being split into three feeble
entities, Lebanon becoming an Iranian enclave and, now there is talk of
federalizing Syria into goodness knows how many postage stamp sized mini
autonomous states. Open your eyes wide. See what is happening. Wake up!
The brutality of Iranian-funded and armed militias, Hezbollah in Lebanon and
Iraq, the Lebanese militia Amal and the Hashd Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization
Forces) in Iraq, are scarring the reputation of our Shiite brethren. Those
groups that have turned their guns against Sunnis forcing them to flee their
homes have strayed from Islam which stresses unity among Muslims:
“Hold fast together to the cable of Allah and be not divided. Remember the
blessing that Allah bestowed upon you; you were once enemies then He brought
your hearts together so that through His blessing you became brothers. You stood
on the brink of a pit of fire and He delivered you from it. Thus doth Allah make
His signs clear to you that you may be guided to the right way” Surat Ali-Imran,
verse 103. Daesh (ISIS) and its affiliates are just as evil. They sicken me. But
they are a symptom of the invasion of Iraq to the detriment of Sunnis, an
invasion that set Iraq under the Iranian umbrella. Over 100 ISIS commanders were
officers in Saddam’s army, according to the Daily Mail. They were thrown out of
their jobs to make way for Shiites. Many were detained in America’s Camp Bucca,
the birthplace of Daesh. They, too, must be eradicated. I call upon all Arab
Shiites to reject being used as tools to further Iranian plots. Our Arab world
needs you. We want you with us. Do not allow Hezbollah, Amal and the Hashd Al-Shaabi
- that represent just a small minority – kidnap your name and reputation. We are
not enemies. It is a fake enmity concocted in Qom. Breaching the growing chasm
between us is in our hands. Regaining trust will take unity of purpose and will
not happen overnight, but if we do not clasp hands soon, I am concerned for our
children and grandchildren destined to live in fear. May Allah preserve us and
make us one again!
Egypt and Israel: Peace but
not peaceful
Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/March 16/16
One doubts whether Tawfik Okasha, an Egyptian lawmaker, could have expected that
an invitation to Israeli Ambassador Haim Koren, for dinner at his home would
stir up such political commotion among his country’s media and parliament. Let
alone, he could hardly have predicted that a photo of this minor event, posted
by the Israeli embassy on Facebook, would lead to having a shoe hurled at him by
another legislator, and a dismissal from the Egyptian parliament. Mr. Okasha is
no stranger to controversy, in both his TV career and as parliamentarian,
nevertheless, those who scolded Mr. Okasha, barely had any details regarding the
nature of the conversation between the Israeli envoy and the Egyptian
politician. This incident could have been dismissed as a storm in the Egyptian
domestic political teacup, had it not exemplified the relations between Israel
and Egypt since they signed a peace agreement in 1979.
President Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem in 1977 and the ensuing peace
agreement with Israel, could and should have also been the beginning of the end
of the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, from the outset it lacked a number of key
ingredients that are still absent, preventing this peace agreement, landmark as
it was, from translating into fully-fledged relations between the two
neighbouring countries, or a regional turning point.
Without belittling the momentous achievement of bringing an end to the state of
war between these two major regional powers, their relations since then are
based on a commonality of strategic interests, without bringing together the
people of both countries to overcome decades of enmity.
The most obvious element missing from the Camp David accords was a genuine
effort to also address the Palestinian issue. This has been a source of much
anger in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world ever since. Palestinians and
their plight were an ‘inconvenience’ for President Sadat and Israeli Prime
Minister Menachem Begin in the process of negotiating peace between their two
countries. They feared that by adding the Palestinian issue they would never be
able to resolve their differences. By paying no more than lip service to the
right of Palestinians for self-determination in the Camp David accords, Israel
and Egypt have sown the seeds of a cold and incomplete peace.Furthermore, they
failed to adequately address the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. This
approach might have paid a short-term dividend, but it has contributed to many
years of strife between the Israelis and Palestinians. It has also made it
harder to bring many ordinary Egyptians and the rest of the Arab world on board
of the peace journey.
The cold peace
Admittedly, this was not the only reason for the cold peace between Israel and
Egypt. There were also elements in Egypt among the political and intellectual
elite, the media and the Islamist movement, that never came to terms with a
separate peace with the Jewish state. A significant number of them feared
Egyptian isolation in the Arab world and for its loss of a leadership role
within the region. Others simply could not accept Israel as an integral part of
the Middle East, and sadly aside from legitimate criticism of Israeli policies,
also appeared in some quarters of the media espousing anti-Semitic expressions.
Yet, Israeli behavior since peace was reached with Egypt, put severe strains on
diplomatic relations between the two countries for a very long time. The
oppressive occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, and the two wars in Lebanon,
for instance, constantly threatened the ability of Egypt to maintain peace with
Israel, and made it almost impossible for Egyptian-Israeli relations to go
beyond a rather cold peace. Despite all of the above-mentioned pitfalls, the
peace agreement has held and strategic cooperation became even closer,
especially following the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood from power by the
military in July of 2013. Strategic cooperation between Egypt and Israel since
General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi became president has reached new heights. Both
governments in Cairo and Jerusalem share a common uncompromising approach to
everything they perceive as militant Islam. The need to contain emerging
Jihadist structures in the Sinai Peninsula, and restore law and order there
became an imperative for both governments, as it poses a danger to both.
The oppressive occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, and the two wars in
Lebanon, constantly threatened Egypt's ability to maintain peace with Israel,
and impossible for the relations to go beyond a rather cold peace
There is a real fear that ISIS-type organisations are taking hold in the lawless
environment of the Sinai, which if uncontained might spiral out of control.
Moreover, both Israeli and Egyptian governments see the Hamas movement as a
sworn enemy.
For Israel, it is in the context of the conflict with the Palestinians,
especially Gaza, and for Egypt it is related to the antagonism towards the
Muslim Brotherhood and the chaotic situation in the Sinai. Consequently, both
countries have tightened the blockade on Gaza, preventing the smuggling of
weapons and depriving the Hamas from revenue. Tragically and unacceptably this
is also deepening the misery of the Gazan people’s daily life.For the
foreseeable future, as Egypt and Israel’s neighboring countries are enduring
deep turmoil and militant Islam poses a threat, both countries prioritise mutual
collaboration to ward off these threats adversely affecting their countries.
Regrettably, as ever, they are doing so using solely military means, and not
dealing with the root causes of the rise of this phenomenon. In the meantime
they also neglect the opening of a comprehensive dialog between the societies,
which will put more substance into their relations beyond the military one.
Until then the peace is left to survive on very thin ice.
Nurturing the date palm tree,
a symbol of civilization and resilience
José Graziano da Silva/Al Arabiya/March 16/16
The international community’s adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development
Agenda means that, together, we have chosen a path towards a world free of
hunger and extreme poverty and where we will take better care of our planet.
Here in Abu Dhabi, we are reminded once more of the intrinsic relationship
between sustainable agriculture practices and the resilience of human beings.
FAO, for its part, is proud to partner with the Khalifa International Date Palm
and Agricultural Innovation Award, a major initiative that has helped for many
years to showcase the importance of the date palm tree.
The United Arab Emirates, like many other Arab countries, owes a lot of its
development to a single tree, the date palm, whose origins can be traced back to
the Neolithic era and is believed to have been cultivated since 4000 BCE. These
unique plants can withstand high temperatures and harsh climatic conditions –
the trunk stocks nutrients that allow the tree to resist drought. Indeed, the
date palm is amazing tree. All its parts – fruit, trunk, leaves – can be used
and have an economic value. The tree provides food, fuel as well as material to
make ropes for basketry and also to build houses. In particular, dates, the
trees’ fruit, have unique nutritional properties. They provides instant energy
and are rich in vitamin A, D, B1 as well as in fiber, magnesium and potassium.
The UAE, like many other Arab countries, owes a lot of its development to a
single tree, the date palm, whose origins can be traced back to the Neolithic
era and is believed to have been cultivated since 4000 BCE
Like other staple foods, such as wheat, rice and potato, dates have shaped
culture and history. Easy to transport, dates are the perfect food for people
living in the desert. Arab merchants first brought date palms to Spain during
the rise of the Arab civilization in the Iberian Peninsula. Spanish missionaries
later introduced date palms to the Americas, from Cuba to Mexico to California.
In the words of the founder of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan
Al Nahyan. “Give me agriculture, I will give you civilization”. We owe a lot to
the date palm and we need to nurture it. To do so we must start by raising
greater awareness of its multiple benefits, but also regarding the ecologically
delicate role which the oasis system plays in conserving biological diversity.
FAO’s accomplishments
FAO has worked closely together to support the recognition of Al Ain and Liwa
Oases as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) sites. These
oases have joined a growing number of ecosystems formally recognized by FAO for
their importance as repositories of genetic resources, biodiversity and cultural
heritage. FAO’s interest in date palm trees includes implementing more than 30
projects in over 25 countries in Asia and Africa over the past 30 years. These
interventions – varying from programs to training activities, technical
consultancies and projects – aim at rehabilitating date palm production sectors
affected by disasters and other shocks. In particular they seek to address the
alarming expansion of the Red Palm Weevil, the most destructive pest of date
palms first detected in the Gulf region during the mid-eighties and which has
significantly expanded westwards over the last three decades to cover almost all
of the countries of the Near East and North Africa Region. In addition to pest
management, FAO is working with the UAE in creating the first ever land cover
database integrated with date palm enumeration and estimation of water use of
cropped lands. FAO is also interested in – and has the expertise to assist with
– further developing the date industry in the UAE aiming at identifying best
practices that can be adopted by other countries in the region and regions of
the world. To the people of the region, date palms represent more than simply
food; they are an integral part of your history and cultural identity. It is
these values that we need to cultivate by nurturing the date palm tree.
Here’s why Geneva talks can
succeed
Camelia Entekhabi-Fard/Al Arabiya/March 16/16
The opening day of Syria peace talks in Geneva ended with a major surprise. It
was announced that Russia is withdrawing its forces from Syria, beginning March
15, the following day of the talks. President Vladimir Putin said his country’s
military intervention had largely achieved its objectives, which essentially
meant he has helped Bashar al-Assad gain an upper hand in his talks with the
opposition. Putin’s announcement was largely welcomed in Geneva and was seen as
a sign of significant progress being made at the talks. The UN envoy to Syria,
Mr. Steffan de Mistura, held a meeting with the opposition after holding talks
with the Syrian government representatives. The buzz had spread far and wide.
“If there is seriousness in implementing the withdrawal, it will give the
[peace] talks a positive push,” Salim al-Muslat, spokesman for the opposition
umbrella group, the High Negotiations Committee, said. The onus was now on the
members of the opposition to evaluate the consequences of Russian withdrawal and
what they could bring to the table to discuss with Mr. De Mistura.There has been
a sense of certainty in Geneva – especially among diplomats – that the ground
had been prepared for this round of talks, days in advance. Secretary of State
John Kerry’s visit to Saudi Arabia and his meeting with Russian foreign minister
Sergey Lavrov raised the level of expectations even prior to the talks. Besides
the attitude of the Syrian regime and the opposition, there were other factors
lurking in the background in Geneva. Mediators were working overtime to achieve
the goals. It was obvious that if all sides agreed, issues such as election
dates and the future of Assad could have come up for discussion.
Stakeholders’ call
Russia has made a statement by withdrawing its forces and it is now up to the
two sides, and their supporters, to make compromises in order to achieve peace.
The fragile security in Turkey, following explosions in Istanbul and Ankara,
have raised alarm and is indeed a matter of concern in the neighborhood. It is
obvious that Turkey has changed its position to safeguard its national security
and to end the refugee crisis in the country. On Monday Mr. De Mistura said that
mediators are exerting pressure to maximize the opportunities for peace. On the
other hand, Assad’s office said in a statement that it agreed with the Russian
move to withdraw from Syria. I reckon the Syrian opposition, and may be even the
Iranians, welcome Putin’s decision. A post-Assad era also means outlining the
political and economic realities – that Iran cannot economically or politically
expense any more resources into propping up the Syrian regime
Concerns have been so frequently expressed over Russia’s expanded presence in
Syria that it probably even makes Iranian nervous even though they don’t talk
about it. The economic cost of Iran’s actions in Syria has taken its toll and
has pressed the Tehran regime hard.
The number of Iranians killed in Syria and the public anger against the
country’s involvement has left some political leaders concerned. Key players
also realize that after five years of conflict a political solution is the only
way forward. Military action alone cannot address all the issues at hand.
A post-Assad era also means outlining the political and economic realities –
that Iran cannot economically or politically expense any more resources into
propping up the Syrian regime. This is more so if the investment doesn’t yield
adequate returns. Assad is not really supporting Iranian military objectives and
is also not providing meaningful concessions that might justify Iran’s continued
involvement in Syria. All these reasons plus the global outcry to end this
shameful war, give us the sense that the Geneva 3 talks may succeed.
Why Putin is ahead in Syria’s
game of chess
Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/March 16/16
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announcement of partial withdrawal from Syria
on the eve of the 5th anniversary of the uprising, serves Moscow two advantages.
One in dictating the terms of intervention on the Syrian regime and refusing
getting stuck in a quagmire by following Assad’s military roadmap; and the
second is in emerging as a key interlocutor with regional countries and the
opposition in the political process. For Putin, his intervention in the conflict
last September was shaped around the political process to bolster the regime’s
position in the talks and slow its bleeding in the Northern of the country.
Having achieved that at a heavy humanitarian cost for the Syrians, it is not in
Moscow’s interest to be permanently entangled in a war that Assad and Iran would
like to continue to Turkey’s and Jordan’s borders by pursuing an long outdrawn
mission to regain full control of the country. Undertaking Assad’s full task
would be a costly quagmire for Russia, who has already established ties with the
Syrian rebels, and along with the United States, would rather invest in a
political roadmap while protecting the current landscape giving advantage to the
Assad regime.
Russia to Assad: We are not Iran
In announcing the “withdrawal of the main part of our military force from the
Syrian Arab Republic,” Putin’s message appears to be directed at both, his ally
the Assad regime, and his old rival Washington, the Syrian opposition and key
regional players. Putin’s message to Assad is while Moscow has invested in
strengthening the regime’s position in the North, it does not share its vision
of a military solution, especially one that is driven by Iranian proxies and
would take years and threaten confrontation with Turkey, Jordan and Israel.
Russia is not Iran in Syria, and won’t get bogged down directly or through proxy
militias to save the Assad family or routes to Hezbollah. Its strategic military
interests, while they are invested in the current security structure, will be
better met through engaging in a political process over Syria that gives edge to
the regime's interests.
Russia is not Iran in Syria, and won’t get bogged down directly or through proxy
militias to save the Assad family or routes to Hezbollah. Putin’s hint in his
remarks that “The effectiveness of our military created the conditions for the
start of the peace process” asserts such direction. For Russia, its alliance
with pro-Iranian militias on the ground in Syria helped in the short term to
stabilize the regime after a brutal summer, block a safe zone on the Turkish
border and make gains in Northern Syria. In the long term, however, Russia’s
goals are bound to clash with Iran. While Tehran is expanding its role in Syrian
territory through Hezbollah and Iraqi militias as well a massive trained
pro-regime militia, Russia’s roadmap relies heavily on saving what is left of
the security and military infrastructure of the Syrian state.
Syria is Russia’s last bastion on the Mediterranean from the Cold War, and the
specter of the country breaking up or Moscow losing its intel and military
benefits is a red line for Putin. From the naval base in Tartous (its last
outside the Soviet Union) and the new airbase in Latakia, Russia is looking to
solidify its presence in Syria rather than surrendering it to militias or having
it become another Afghanistan. Moscow’s arms contracts with Syrian regime amount
to $700 million a year, and its military, political, and cultural influence is
deeply rooted in the Syrian society.
Putin as an interlocutor?
By having shown that his military role can change the balance in Syria, Putin
has Assad more dependent on him to maintain the upper hand, while Moscow will
employ this advantage in the negotiations. Putin’s partial withdrawal signals to
Assad that absent of political concessions, a full withdrawal by Russia could
mean the regime losing the air advantage, relying heavily on pro-Iranian
militias, and possibly rolling back the gains made in the North against moderate
rebels. At a time when Washington has dithered the Syrian rebel insurgency and
backed down on its position asking Assad to “step aside” before any transition,
Putin’s terms of settlement in Syria are largely in alignment with the Obama
administration. The US has abandoned any talk about regime change in Syria and
its primary objective is working towards a political solution, fighting ISIS and
containing the flow of refugees. Moscow for its part is worried about more than
1,700 fighters from Russia that have joined ISIS. Putin’s diplomatic moves
indicate that he’s eying the role of becoming the key interlocutor for any
political settlement in Syria. In that, he is relying on his improved ties with
Arab countries, having visited Egypt, hosted the Leaders of Jordan, Bahrain and
Qatar in the last two months, and prior to that convened a summit with Saudi
deputy crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince
of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces. For Arab
states, Russia is not Iran, and that alone can help in finding common ground on
a political transition in Syria that these states would like to see it undercut
Iran’s influence while accommodating the moderate opposition and fighting ISIS.
A senior Arab official points out that Russia did not block the Yemen resolution
that gave international cover for a war that the GCC has largely framed against
Iran. Moscow has also taken into account Israel’s interests in Syria, not
interjecting Israeli operations, one aimed at Hezbollah leader Samir Kuntar last
December. By changing the rules of the game and the political conversation,
Putin is once again mastering the chess board in Syria. Russia’s ultimate
success is contingent on how much pressure is Moscow willing to apply on a
regime whose sole path since 2011 has been to bomb and kill its way into
maintaining power.
Russia's Withdrawal Is Another
Facade
Anna Borshchevskaya/The Washington Institute/March 16/16
In addition to Moscow's purposeful ambiguity about the true scope of its
withdrawal from Syria, the announcement's timing reflects Putin's intention to
force favorable terms in the latest peace talks.
As the Syrian peace talks resumed in Geneva this week, President Vladimir Putin
announced a partial withdrawal of the "main part" of Russian armed forces as of
March 15, according to the state-owned TASS news agency. Noting that the Defense
Ministry had "on the whole" achieved its goals in Syria, Putin explicitly
connected the withdrawal with the Geneva talks: "I hope that today's decision
will be a good signal for all conflicting sides. I hope that this significantly
raises the confidence of all participants in the [peace] process." He added that
Russia's Foreign Ministry would "intensify" its involvement in that process.
It is unclear exactly which forces will withdraw from Syria, particularly since
Putin specified that Russia's Tartus naval facility and Hmeimim Air Base will
continue to operate as usual. The air base was established after Russia's
military campaign began last September, so it will certainly require Moscow to
keep more forces in Syria than it had before the intervention, even if it does
make good on its pledge to withdraw some units.
As for the notion that Moscow has achieved its goals in Syria, Putin has
previously stated that the purpose of the intervention was to defeat the Islamic
State (IS). But the group is obviously not defeated, and Moscow's varying
statements about the IS threat do not offer much clarity. On March 14, Defense
Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Russia had destroyed over 2,000 "bandits" in
Syria who had originated from Russia, including seventeen field commanders. Last
year, however, the Kremlin justified the intervention in part with claims that
5,000-7,000 fighters from Russia had joined IS -- and those claims themselves
diverged drastically from earlier reports citing much lower figures. Besides the
fuzzy numbers, Moscow's decision to deploy troops to Syria may have increased
the IS threat to Russia rather than decreased it; only time will tell, but the
group has already targeted Russian civilians in apparent retaliation for the
intervention (e.g., last October's downing of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt
was attributed to an IS cell).
More tellingly, the vast majority of Russia's airstrikes in Syria have been
against rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad's regime, not against the Islamic State.
Rescuing Assad from the rebellion and securing Russia's interests -- as Putin
defines them -- has been the real goal in Syria, and on that matter he can
certainly claim success. The intervention has strengthened the regime's position
in the peace talks in Geneva, with Assad reportedly stating that Russian
assistance helped him achieve "victories against terrorism" and stabilize the
security situation. Both Assad and Putin define "terrorist" as any armed person
who opposes the regime. Assad also noted that Russia will scale back its
presence but keep some forces in place.
In broader terms, Putin's seems to be laying the groundwork for casting himself
as a "great world leader" -- a peacemaker who successfully carried out a limited
campaign with "minimum casualties," then withdrew in order to lead international
peace efforts. In doing so, he will undoubtedly seek to pressure both the United
States and the Syrian opposition to stick with the Geneva process and more
important, to make concessions that would benefit Putin above all else. The
Russian language has a concept that best describes this situation: "pokazukha,"
a facade or window dressing, something Putin knows all too well how to
construct.
**Anna Borshchevskaya is the Ira Weiner Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Using International Financial Aid to Improve Baghdad-KRG Relations
Michael Knights/The Washington Institute/March 16/16
Planned financial aid packages can help prevent economic meltdown in Iraqi
Kurdistan and reduce tensions between Baghdad and Erbil.
The Kurdistan Regional Government is making a concerted effort to attract
financial aid from the United States and other international players, and the
logic for providing such aid is strong. The KRG is the vital launchpad for
liberating Mosul, and the Kurds are a pro-Western ally of enduring strategic
value. Slowly but surely, they are implementing economic reforms and upping
their involvement in the war against the Islamic State.
Yet while the United States and its coalition partners are (rightly) beginning
to send emergency financial assistance to the near-bankrupt KRG, such cash
infusions -- likely totaling less than half a billion dollars in 2016 -- will
only postpone Kurdistan's economic collapse by perhaps a year. Washington's aim
should not be to keep the KRG afloat until Mosul is liberated; it should be to
provide a much larger infusion of financial assistance that continues to help
the Kurds well afterward. The International Monetary Fund and other financial
institutions are the key to this approach. Involving them in the assistance
effort could not only save Kurdistan, but also foster sustainable political and
economic relations between the KRG and the Iraqi federal government.
KURDISTAN'S ECONOMIC FUTURE
The KRG currently employs 1.4 million of the territory's 2 million working-age
people, at a cost of $793 million per month; Erbil plans to reduce this figure
to $361 million within six months through payroll cuts. Other monthly
expenditures include government subsidies on fuels and electricity (around $375
million but declining), wartime costs (around $197 million), and oil export
costs (around $70 million). In addition, a mammoth 1.8 million displaced people
and refugees (compared to a native population of 5 million) have strained the
economy to a degree that is difficult to quantify. Even if economic reforms take
hold and war costs are slowly reduced, the KRG will likely still have monthly
expenses of around $800-850 million.
In the latter half of 2015, KRG oil sales averaged $629 million per month
according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. Depressed oil prices and
pipeline disruption will probably keep income at these low levels or even lower
(e.g., last month's oil revenue was only $303 million due to pipeline problems).
The KRG is already $25 billion in debt and will continue to rack up around $200
million more per month if current oil prices hold. With many civil servants four
months behind in salary payments, the potential for strikes, unrest, and
accelerated migration is growing. Unless oil prices unexpectedly rally from
their present rate of $40 per barrel to at least $60 per barrel, the KRG will
continue to fall behind on salaries and debt obligations to domestic creditors
and international oil traders.
The current plan to send the KRG tens of millions of dollars in aid will provide
some economic relief and keep certain tranches of Peshmerga fighters
operational. Yet it may not buy enough time to enact reforms, restore the KRG's
credit-worthiness, restart investment in infrastructure, and head off
instability.
HOW COULD INTERNATIONAL AID CHANGE THINGS?
Unlike federal Iraq, which holds reserves of $50 billion, the KRG has no
reserves and is a sub-sovereign entity, meaning it cannot directly receive large
financial aid packages from most international institutions. Yet the package
that the IMF will likely offer to Baghdad soon -- perhaps $6-10 billion to be
disbursed in 2016-2018 -- has been designed to help all of Iraq's eighteen
provinces, including the three provinces that compose the KRG. Similarly, recent
World Bank investments in Iraq have had a Kurdistan component, such as the $255
million road improvement plan that is funding federal projects and some smaller
KRG projects.
The IMF Staff-Monitored Program currently in place (as a forerunner to a fully
funded Stand-By Arrangement) is charged with overseeing Iraq's execution of
budget commitments and ensuring that the state makes agreed savings without
building up further arrears to domestic and international creditors. This
includes monitoring whether the KRG is paid its share of revenue -- which
Baghdad would likely interpret to mean 17 percent of net actual revenues per
month after the deduction of hefty sovereign expenses (i.e., for defense,
parliament, and other federal institutions). Yet in order to claim its share of
the federal budget and international aid packages, the KRG would need to resume
the transfer of 550,000 barrels of oil per day to the federal oil marketer, as
agreed in the budget. The IMF would then want to see that Iraq was making
mutually agreed budget cuts, not simply hitting its targets by cutting one
portion of the country -- the KRG -- out of the spending plan.
At current oil prices and Iraqi export levels, the KRG could expect to receive
perhaps $350 million per month for providing 550,000 bpd, plus another $150-270
million per month from aid packages given to Baghdad by the IMF, other
institutions, and states such as Germany and Japan. The Kurds might also be
granted some latitude to export any excess oil beyond the committed 550,000 bpd.
The net result could turn out to be better for the KRG than full reliance on
independent exports for the next two or three years. Better yet, the arrangement
would be underwritten by an international monitoring regime -- the first deal of
this kind for the Kurds since the UN gave them a 17 percent share of
oil-for-food proceeds in the 1990s.
In all likelihood, the main challenge in striking this kind of deal will be
gaining Baghdad's assent. For years, the central government sought to keep the
KRG from exporting oil independently, but since 2014 it has come to realize that
carrying Kurdistan's 1.4 million state employees is a net drain on the federal
budget. Baghdad is now crowing over the KRG's economic distress, which is worse
than Baghdad's own situation only because the state has been liquidating its
reserves at a rate that would fully deplete them within the next year or so if
continued. Letting the Kurds back into revenue sharing and giving them a slice
of international aid packages is not Baghdad's preference, and the KRG is going
through a painful domestic political crisis that will make it difficult for
Kurdish leaders to make public concessions to Baghdad. What is needed is an
effective mediator.
IMPLICATIONS FOR U.S. POLICY
The United States should seize this opportunity to bring Baghdad and the KRG
back together, helping them reach temporary agreement on a common economic
policy for oil sales, international aid, and customs issues. With determined
U.S. and international mediation, both sides might recognize the midterm
benefits of reintegrating their economies, if only temporarily. This could in
turn encourage broader long-term cooperation.
The benefits to the KRG are obvious. International mediation could help
Kurdistan get its fair share of federal revenues, reserves, and
multi-billion-dollar aid packages, while IMF conditionality and monitoring could
help KRG officials reform the economy and restore shattered public trust in its
revenue and spending figures. In addition, a more benign relationship with
Baghdad could eventually net other benefits for Erbil, such as airspace control
and backing for sub-sovereign loans.
The benefits to Baghdad are more subtle, but quite compelling. Renewing the
effort to resolve its disputes with the KRG could intensify international
backing for prompt delivery of IMF and other aid packages. The divisive Kirkuk
issue would be put on the back burner once negotiations and international
monitoring forced the two parties to stop fighting over the oil-rich area. These
and other developments might also encourage the Kurds to request that Turkey
withdraw its controversial military base at Bashiqa, a KRG-held area near Mosul.
For his part, Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi could lock in Kurdish
cooperation for his reform plans. And in the longer term, Baghdad would be
assured that Washington will always consult with it on U.S.-Kurdish affairs.
The benefits to the United States are no less compelling: keeping the Mosul
offensive on track, lessening tension between two key allies, increasing U.S.
leverage in Baghdad and Erbil, and rescuing the Kurds from economic meltdown. As
with Mosul Dam, a little extra effort now would be a lot less costly than
cleaning up after a disaster.
**Michael Knights is a Lafer Fellow with The Washington Institute.