LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 10/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.may10.16.htm
News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006
Bible Quotations For Today
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to
proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke
04/14-21:"Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee,
and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to
teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth,
where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as
was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was
given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good
news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the
year of the Lord’s favour.’ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the
attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing.’"
I am laying in Zion a stone that
will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes
in him will not be put to shame.
Letter to the Romans 09/26-33:"‘And in the very place where it was said to them,
"You are not my people", there they shall be called children of the living
God.’And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, ‘Though the number of the children
of Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved;
for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth quickly and decisively.’And
as Isaiah predicted, ‘If the Lord of hosts had not left survivors to us, we
would have fared like Sodom and been made like Gomorrah.’What then are we to
say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is,
righteousness through faith; but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness
that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why not?
Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were
based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling-stone, as it is written,
‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that
will make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’"
Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
Jesus, ascended into heaven, is now in the lordship of God, present in every space and time, close to each one of us
Jésus, monté au Ciel, est dans la Seigneurie de Dieu, présent en
tout lieu et en tout temps, proche de chacun de nous
يسوع، الذي صعد إلى السماء، هو في سيادة الله، حاضر في كل مكان
وزمان، وقريب من كل واحد منَّا
Why change in Lebanon is impossible/Hussain
Abdul-Hussain/Now Lebanon/May 09/16
Scores of Dead Iranian Soldiers Spur Conflicting Stances in Iran/Adil Alsalmi/Asharq
Al Awsat/May 09/16
Welcome Realism and Goodbye Comfort Zones/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/May
09/16
Why the battle for Aleppo is critical for confronting Iran/Raghida Dergham/Al
Arabiya/May 09/16
Attacking Sisi, in whose interest/Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/May 09/16
Turkey: the end of alliance which was never meant to last/Mahir Zeynalov/Al
Arabiya/May 09/16
Graceful government and separation of powers/Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/May
09/16
A road map to implement Vision 2030/Samar Fatany/Al Arabiya/May 09/16
Analysis: Current round of Gaza hostilities likely over, but powder keg could
blow any minute/Yossi Melman/Jerusalem Post/May 09/16
Iran's Plans to Control a Palestinian State/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone
Institute/May 09/16
Syrian Regime And Its Mouthpieces: Aleppo Campaign Will Continue Until Final
Victory; U.S. And Its Regional Proxies Responsible For Aleppo Crisis/MEMRI/May
09/16
Syrian Opposition, Arab Writers: The U.S. Has A Hand In Aleppo Situation; The
Syrians Are Being Slaughtered While The Arab World Does Nothing/MEMRI/May 09/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 10/16
Interior Ministry Says Not to Blame
for Delay in Releasing Municipal Vote Results after Protest
Report: Glaser in Beirut, U.S. Anti-Hizbullah Law Focus of Visit
Al-Rahi Discusses Presidency, Syrian Refugees with Hollande
Initial Results of Municipal Polls Emerge, Civic Hopes Dashed
Hariri Says Parties Represented in Beirutis List Voted for Other Lists
Salam: Parity Strengthens Beirut and the Country
4 Donor Countries to Grant Lebanon $550M This Year
Itani Announces Beirutis List Victory in the Capital
Qassem Says Hizbullah Victorious in Baalbek and Britel Municipal Elections
Hariri-backed list wins Beirut municipality vote
Activists stage sit in outside Interior Ministry
Sami Gemayel: Today's election gives hope of power rotation
Why change in Lebanon is impossible
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
May 10/16
ISIS to Israel: “We’re coming very
soon”
Briton pleads with Iran to release arrested wife and daughter
Khamenei acknowledges lethal domestic schisms, fears popular uprising, calls for
further repression
Brigadier General Shahin Gobadi comments on Iran regime’s announcement that it
has test-fired ballistic missile with 2000 km range
Iran sugar cane factory workers protest dismissals
U.S. leads 25 strikes against ISIS: U.S. military
US, Russia work to hold fragile Syria ceasefire together
Syrian prisoners in tentative deal to end mutiny
Russia and U.S. to 'Redouble' Efforts for Syrian Political Settlement
Belgium Begins Trial of Terror Cell Linked to Paris, Brussels Attacks
Yemen leader slams civilian evictions in south
UAE court sentences militant to life in prison
At least 50 injured as blaze engulfs hotel in downtown Cairo
Top diplomats to hold talks this month on Libya: Rome
Iran test-fires missile, latest after nuclear deal
Erdogan: Turkey left to fight ISIS alone
Links From
Jihad Watch Site for
May 10/16
“Islamophobia” shock horror: Muslim girl mistakenly identified as “Isis” in high
school yearbook.
German refugee centers: Muslims threaten Christian refugees for not taking part
in Islamic prayers.
Whistleblower fired from CENTCOM after speaking out against how data was cooked
to downplay ISIS threat.
Iran threatens to block U.S. passage in Persian Gulf: “We have no other enemy in
the region except for America”.
slamic Social Justice Warriors: A Riddle Wrapped in an Enigma.
Video: Robert Spencer on the peaceful verses of the Qur’an.
Iranian ayatollah decries peaceful Islam as “American Islam”.
Six jihadis with ties to bin Laden and al-Qaeda win court battle, can stay in UK.
Robert Spencer in FrontPage: Muslim Elected Mayor of London.
Raymond Ibrahim: How the Media Exploit — and Omit — Pictures to Islam’s Benefit
(WARNING: Graphic).
Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 10/16
Interior Ministry Says Not to Blame
for Delay in Releasing Municipal Vote Results after Protest
Naharnet/May 09/16/The
Interior Ministry announced Monday evening that it is not responsible for the
delay in releasing the official results of Sunday's municipal polls as activists
and supporters of the Beirut Madinati list staged a sit-in outside the ministry
in Sanayeh to protest the lag. “The final and official results of yesterday's
municipal elections in Beirut, Bekaa and Baalbek-Hermel are being released,
gradually, on the ministry's official website www.interior.gov.lb,” the ministry
said in a statement, shortly after the Sanayeh protest. “The ministry's role in
the electoral process ends upon handing over the ballot boxes to the relevant
registration committees that are headed by judges,” the ministry noted. It
reminded the public opinion that “in 2010, the registration committees in Beirut
only finished their work on Monday afternoon and the results were published in
newspapers printed on Tuesday.”“The Interior Ministry did not neglect its duty
of providing the registration committees with logistical support throughout the
day in order to facilitate the release of the results,” the ministry added.Only
the results of the Rashaya and Western Bekaa districts were available on the
ministry's website on Monday evening.
Report: Glaser in Beirut, U.S. Anti-Hizbullah Law Focus of Visit
Naharnet/May
09/16/Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser is
expected to visit Beirut with a detailed file on the application of the U.S. law
that targets the sources of funding of Hizbullah officials and institutions, al
Joumhouria daily reported on Monday. Banking, financial and political figures
await the arrival of Glaser who is expected to land in Beirut in the few coming
days.“The U.S. official will hold meetings with several Lebanese officials
including Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Bank Governor Riad Salameh and the
Head of the Association of Banks Joseph Tarabay,” the daily said.
“Glaser is set to inform them of the content of the U.S. decree, and look at the
steps taken by Lebanon so far particularly the circular issued by Salameh on the
safety of the banks and the actions initiated by the Association of Banks in
commitment to the U.S. law,” it added. U.S. President Barack Obama signed the
Hizbullah International Financing Prevention Act on Dec. 18. In April, the U.S.
treasury department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, issued
regulations aimed at implementing the Hizbullah financing prevention act.The
U.S. regulations say Washington will target those "knowingly facilitating a
significant transaction or transactions for" Hizbullah and those "knowingly
facilitating a significant transaction or transactions of a person identified on
the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked persons."OFAC's list
includes names of officials, businessmen and institutions that the U.S. says are
linked to Hizbullah. The list includes Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasarallah
and top military commander Mustafa Badreddine as well as some businessmen. The
list also includes the group's al-Manar TV and Al-Nour Radio. Salameh had said
in an interview in April that the Central Bank will issue two circulars that
urge Lebanese banks to implement the law and inform it about the closure and
opening of accounts. Salameh said the accounts of persons mentioned in the
blacklist will be immediately closed. But he stressed that Lebanon will continue
to enjoy its banking secrecy. Lebanon adopted the banking secrecy law in 1956 in
a bid to attract Lebanese and foreign deposits.
Al-Rahi Discusses Presidency,
Syrian Refugees with Hollande
Naharnet/May 09/16/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi helds talks Monday in
Paris with French President Francois Hollande and talks tackled the issues of
Lebanon's presidential void and the Syrian refugee crisis. The two men discussed
“the topics that they had addressed during their latest meeting in Beirut,
topped by the two-year presidential vacuum,” Lebanon's National News Agency
said. They tackled “the severe economic and social crisis and the repercussions
of wars and conflicts on Lebanon politically and economically,” NNA added.
Al-Rahi and Hollande also discussed “the burden of displacement on the refugees
themselves and on the Lebanese and France's role in helping Lebanon in this
regard.”The patriarch called on the French president during the two-hour meeting
to “double the efforts at the educational and social levels in Lebanon, in
addition to helping in the political and security issues,” the agency added.
Initial Results of Municipal
Polls Emerge, Civic Hopes Dashed
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 09/16/A grassroots campaign that aimed to take
on Lebanon's paralyzed political system appeared to be heading for failure on
Monday as entrenched parties declared victory in municipal elections in Beirut.
Authorities are expected to announce later today the official results for the
elections held on Sunday in the capital and in two provinces in the Bekaa
region. They were the first elections of any kind in Lebanon since the last
municipal polls in 2010, in a country with a deeply divided political scene that
has not had a president for the past two years nor voted for a parliament since
2009. In Beirut, hopes had been high that a new list of independents -- Beirut
Madinati, Arabic for "Beirut is my city" -- could take on an established
political class accused of incompetence and corruption. But former premier Saad
Hariri said in a statement issued on Monday that an alliance he and other
traditional politicians back in the capital -- the Beiruti List -- had won all
24 seats on its council. "The head of the Beiruti List for the municipal
elections, Jamal Itani... announced that, according to initial results from its
electoral apparatus, the list won the battle completely in its favor," he said.
A candidate from civil society initiative Beirut Madinati said that even if the
list did not win any seats, it had at least shaken up the political
establishment. Beirut Madinati's program to attract frustrated voters had
included plans to improve public transport in the traffic-clogged capital,
introduce more green spaces, make housing affordable and implement a lasting
waste management solution. Lebanese civil society gained momentum after angry
protests last summer over an enduring political crisis that saw trash pile up on
streets. But Hilal Khashan, head of the political science department at the
American University in Beirut, said civil society is still weak in Lebanon. "It
comes up against the country's sectarian political system. It's disconnected
from the political process," he said. He added that Beirut Madinati -- whose
list included teachers and artists such as famed actress and filmmaker Nadine
Labaki -- was a cultural elite that had not yet managed to reach the general
public. "The civil society movement started to develop last summer but it
definitely can't create political awareness in two or three months," he said.
"But what happened is just a beginning and Beirut Madinati was able to make its
mark on the political map."
Traditional lists
Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014, when the mandate of Michel
Suleiman expired, because the country's Christians, Sunni and Shiite Muslims and
Druze cannot agree on a candidate. The country's political scene is sharply
divided, with the government split roughly between a bloc led by Hizbullah --
backed by Tehran and Damascus -- and another headed by Hariri -- supported by
Riyadh and Washington. The rival blocs however banded together in the capital to
support the same list against Beirut Madinati. Turnout was low in the capital on
Sunday with only 20 percent of registered voters casting votes, Interior
Minister Nouhad Mashnouk said. But it was much higher in the Bekaa region,
dominated by Hizbullah, at around 50 percent. The Hizbullah-backed lists in
Bekaa won in most municipalities, initial results showed. In the district of
Baalbek, the Development and Loyalty list backed by the party has registered a
clear triumph. The results indicated a success for the list in the eastern town
and the border town of Brital. Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said in
a press conference on Monday: “Bekaa has succeeded in breaking the obstruction
that has plagued the state and was able to successfully complete the electoral
process. “I hereby announce the success of our lists in Baalbek and Brital,” he
said. In the Christian-majority town of Zahle, a list of candidates from
Christian parties won all seats on the council. The list is headed by the town's
former municipal chief Bassel al-Hujeiri. The lists that competed in Arsal were
three: A list headed by the town's mayor Ali al-Hujeiri, another headed by
Bassel al-Hujeiri, while the third was supported by the al-Mustaqbal movement.
In the eastern town of Zahle, Lebanese Forces bloc MP Jospeh Maalouf said that
the list backed by his party, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Kataeb have
won the whole 21 seats in the election.
Hariri Says Parties
Represented in Beirutis List Voted for Other Lists
Naharnet/May 09/16/Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri on Monday
accused some parties who nominated some candidates on the Mustaqbal-led Beirutis
List of “voting for other lists” in the capital's municipal elections that were
held Sunday. “I congratulate Beirut's people. Beirut said its word in politics
and the Beirutis chose their political orientation and project,” said Hariri at
a press conference at the Center House that was attended by the members of the
victorious Beirutis List. “I thank Beirut and the Beirutis and I congratulate
the Lebanese on the success of the honorable democratic test. I congratulate all
the lists that won the elections and also the lists that participated in the
polls in Beirut and the Bekaa,” the ex-PM added. “I salute Beirut's people and
anyone who took part in the elections. I salute every young man and woman who
were part of the electoral campaign and I especially salute the army, the
security forces, the interior minister and the ministry's departments who
oversaw clean elections,” Hariri said. Addressing the rival Beirut Madinati
list, which was formed by a grassroots civic campaign, Hariri added: “You are
part of Beirut's social, civil, cultural and youth fabric and you performed a
thanked democratic action and preserved the nature of our political system.”“I
believe that you share our dreams and ambitions. You might have addressed harsh
words against us during the campaigning, but this is the nature of electoral
campaigns and this is your right,” the ex-PM said. “You are similar to us and
you are not at all similar to those who relied on your votes to break equal
Christian-Muslim representation” in the 24-member municipal council, Hariri went
on to say.
He stressed that “yesterday, Beirut underlined that equal representation is an
irreversible choice and that no one can shake it or tamper with it.”Hariri also
revealed that “some parties nominated candidates on the Beirutis List and voted
for another list.”“This could have undermined equal Christian-Muslim
representation and it is something that is not honorable in political action or
electoral coalitions,” the former premier said. Hariri also pledged that he will
cooperate with Beirut's MPs and the new municipal council in order to ensure
fairness for all of Beirut's neighborhoods, to improve sanitation and services,
and to create public and green spaces and playgrounds for Beirut's residents.
Spearheaded by al-Mustaqbal movement, the Beirutis List comprised candidates
nominated by several political parties that are represented in the government
and parliament, such as the AMAL Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement, the
Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb Party and the Tashnag Party. Earlier in the day, the
head of the Beirutis List, Jamal Itani announced that, according to initial
results from its electoral apparatus, the list won all the seats of the
municipal council. Later on Monday, media reports said the rival Beirut Madinati
list was leading in the vote count in the capital's majority Christian areas.
Authorities are expected to announce later today the official results for the
elections held on Sunday in the capital and in two provinces in the Bekaa
region. They were the first elections of any kind in Lebanon since the last
municipal polls in 2010, in a country with a deeply divided political scene that
has not had a president for the past two years nor voted for a parliament since
2009. In Beirut, hopes had been high that a new list of independents -- Beirut
Madinati, Arabic for "Beirut is my city" -- could take on an established
political class accused of incompetence and corruption. A candidate from civil
society initiative Beirut Madinati said that even if the list did not win any
seats, it had at least shaken up the political establishment. "We're not taking
part in the polls to make any political gain but to give serious competition" to
traditional parties, Rana Khoury told AFP. "The mere fact that we made those in
power... feel that they had been given a cold shower means that we achieved
something positive," she said. "We made them feel they don't represent or serve
citizens as they should." Beirut Madinati's program to attract frustrated voters
had included plans to improve public transport in the traffic-clogged capital,
introduce more green spaces, make housing affordable and implement a lasting
waste management solution. Turnout was low in the capital on Sunday with only 20
percent of registered voters casting votes, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq
said.
Salam: Parity Strengthens Beirut and the Country
Naharnet/May 09/16/Prime Minister Tammam Salam emphasized on Monday the need for
parity and partnership in the municipal elections because it fortifies Beirut
and the country as a whole, As Safir daily reported on Monday. “There is a need
to provide equal sharing and participation in the voting process in the
municipal elections, because it provides the requirements for permanent national
balance and strengthens Beirut and the nation as a whole,” he told the daily in
an interview. On the low turnout in Beirut during Sunday's municipal elections,
Salam said: “It may be related to the overall political atmospheres in the
country, particularly that the people were not certain that the elections will
take place and therefore did not prepare themselves,” he added. On Sunday,
Lebanese voters headed to the polls for the first time in six years to take part
in the municipal elections including in Beirut. It is the first election of any
kind in Lebanon since the last municipal polls in 2010, in a country with a
deeply divided political scene that has not had a president for the past two
years nor voted for a parliament since 2009. By the time polls closed at 1600
GMT turnout in the capital was weak, Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq had
said.He told reporters that turnout in Beirut was estimated at around 20 percent
while it was much higher in the Bekaa region, dominated by Hizbullah, at around
50 percent.
4 Donor Countries to Grant
Lebanon $550M This Year
Naharnet/May 09/16/Four donor countries pledged Monday to provide Lebanon with
$550 million in 2016 to help it cope with the refugee crisis. “Following the
Supporting Syria and the Region Conference held in London on 4th February, we –
the co-host donors – met the Prime Minister (Tammam Salam) and (Social Affairs)
Minister (Rashid) Derbas to reiterate our strong support for Lebanon’s economic
stabilization and social development as set out in the Lebanese Government’s
Statement of Intent,” UK Ambassador Hugo Shorter said in a statement on behalf
of co-host donors. “We can today announce that, collectively, Germany, Kuwait,
Norway and the United Kingdom, will provide over $550m this year for Lebanon.
This funding is now being programmed in coordination with Lebanese institutions,
the United Nations and the World Bank,” said Shorter. “More broadly, the U.N.
has confirmed that of pledges made at the London Conference, over $1billion has
already been allocated for Lebanon for the coming year,” he added. The Grand
Serail meeting was also attended by German Ambassador Martin Huth, Kuwaiti
Charges d’Affaires Mohammed al-Waqyan, Norwegian Charge d’Affaires Ane Jorem,
Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and U.N. Development Program Resident
Representative Philippe Lazzarani, and representatives from the EU, World Bank
and the U.S. This funding will be channeled to the priorities requested by the
Lebanese government in its Statement of Intent and in the joint Government and
U.N. Lebanon Crisis Response Plan, Shorter said. The priorities include
“investing in national and municipal infrastructure to create short and longer
term employment for all” and “investing in the education system so that public
schools are safer for children and are able to deliver higher quality education
for all, ensuring there is no lost generation,” the UK envoy added. He noted
that, in addition, Lebanon has a “once in a generation opportunity to attract
large, very favorable loans to pay for national level infrastructure that will
boost the economy, create jobs and improve the lives of the entire
population.”“These investments are also essential to position Lebanon as the hub
for the eventual reconstruction of Syria, when the Syrian refugees return,”
Shorter pointed out.
Itani Announces Beirutis List
Victory in the Capital
Naharnet/May 09/16/Head of the Beirutis municipal electoral list Jamal Itani
announced early on Monday that his list has won the capital's municipal
elections, the media office of al-Mustaqbal movement chief Saad Hariri said in a
statement. The announcement came at 2:00 am from the Center House. The list's
candidates are headed by engineer Itani and is backed by the Mustaqbal. The
final and official results will be announced by the Interior Ministry later on
Monday.
Qassem Says Hizbullah
Victorious in Baalbek and Britel Municipal Elections
Naharnet/May 09/16/Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem announced on Monday
the triumph of two lists backed by his party in the municipal elections in the
eastern Bekaa town of Baalbek and the border town of Britel. “The Development
and Loyalty list has completely won the municipal elections in Baalbek and
Britel, not to mention some minimal breaches in six municipalities” said Qassem
in a press conference. “Bekaa has succeeded in breaking the obstruction that has
plagued the state and was able to successfully complete the electoral process,”
he added. “It is worthy mentioning that the success in the elections was not
accompanied by gunfire,” he pointed out. Two listings competed in Baalbek for
the municipal elections, one of them formed by Hizbullah and the Amal movement
dubbed as Development and Loyalty list. The second was named Baalbek Madinati
and was headed by Ghaleb Yaghi and backed by families and al-Mustaqbal movement.
Hariri-backed list wins Beirut municipality vote
Agencies Monday, 9 May 2016/A list backed by mainstream Lebanese parties has won
Beirut municipality elections, its leader said early on Monday, seeing off a
challenge by an independent movement that had sought to galvanize voters angry
with political paralysis. Local media reported a decisive victory for the
“Beirutis” list, headed by Jamal Itani, after his announcement based on initial
results. Final results were to be announced later on Monday. The municipal
elections held Sunday in only two areas of the country - the capital, Beirut,
and the eastern Bekaa Valley region - were the first vote in Lebanon since 2010
and a key test of grassroots support in the two regions. Parliamentary elections
that were due to be held in 2013 have been postponed twice due to political
instability exacerbated by the Syrian conflict. Elections are due to be held
across the country for the next two weeks. That importance of the vote was
underscored by the fact that the government has postponed Lebanon’s
parliamentary elections, citing security concerns linked to the conflict in
neighboring Syria. Also, Lebanon’s parliament has failed to elect a president
since May 2014 because of lack of quorum amid political disagreements. Perhaps
reflecting wide urban disillusionment with the political limbo, the turnout was
low in Beirut - only 20 percent, just slightly higher than the 18 percent who
voted in 2010. However, the Lebanese capital is known for usually low turnout,
with many of its eligible voters living outside both Beirut and Lebanon, and
some residents expressing disinterest in politics. Many in Beirut also did not
expect the elections to be held, thinking the vote would be delayed like other
elections. The list that won Beirut was backed by established groups including
the Future Movement of Sunni Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri, a former prime
minister. There are 24 seats on the municipality. It saw off the challenge by
the recently formed “Beirut Madinati” movement that emerged from a wave of
public anger last summer over the government’s failure to solve a waste disposal
crisis that resulted in rubbish piling up around the city. Beirut Madinati
campaigners said the momentum created by their campaign was in itself a victory.
The movement has sought to challenge the long-established political parties that
have long dominated the Lebanese state. “We are the winners, this atmosphere you
see, these young people who are all about hope, life, hope in the Beirut that we
dream of, this is what we have won,” film director Nadine Labaki, a Beirut
Madinati candidate, told New TV on Sunday night.
Hezbollah wins in the east
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and its allies won a vast majority
of seats in areas where they ran in local elections in eastern Lebanon, the
group's deputy leader said Monday, a day after the vote took place.
Hezbollah’s deputy chief sheikh Naim Kassem said Monday that the group and its
allies ran in 80 municipalities out of 143 in the Bekaa Valley and won almost
all the seats. That included all municipal seats in the historic city of Baalbek
and the major town of Brital along the Syria border, where Hezbollah competed
against a list backed by prominent families. “It was a complete victory,” Kassem
said of the Baalbek and Brital vote. He added that Hezbollah’s opponents secured
some seats in six towns in the area. Turnout was higher in the Hezbollah-popular
east, with the figure reaching 48 percent in Baalbek.In the coming weeks,
municipal elections will also be held in other parts of Lebanon. With Reuters,
AP
Activists stage sit in outside
Interior Ministry
Mon 09 May 2016/NNA - Several activists held a sit-in outside the Interior
Ministry in protest against the delay in the announcement of official and final
results of the municipal elections, NNA field reporter said on Monday.
Sami Gemayel: Today's
election gives hope of power rotation
Sun 08 May 2016 /NNA - Kataeb MP Nadim Gemayel wished on Sunday that
presidential elections would be held first, then followed by parliamentary
elections in 2017, adding that today's election gave us hope for the return of
power rotation in Lebanon. His words came in an interview with National News
Agency Director, Laure Sleiman, on Radio Lebanon. "Today's election proved to us
that after six years, we witnessed a democratic electoral process, but we should
also note that there was lack in participation and this is due to people's
disappointment, people who are convinced that democracy and election will change
nothing, and this makes parties reconsider their role," he added. Regarding
politics' interventions in municipal work, the MP explained that in the capital,
these two were connected. "It is impossible to carry out projects in Beirut
without returning to the government policy," he said, stressing that when it
comes to mukhtars, it is their services that count. Finally, questioned about
the violations detected by the Lebanese Association for the Democracy of
Elections (LADE), Gemayel pointed out that the law prohibits any political
statement made during the polls.
Why change in Lebanon is
impossible
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Now Lebanon/May 09/16
The victory of established political parties in the Beirut municipal elections
confirms that many Lebanese are still governed by tribal political loyalties.
The sweeping victory of Mr. Saad Hariri’s Sunni ticket in Beirut’s municipal
elections, yesterday, was little surprise. Still, change hopefuls were
disappointed as they pondered this question: How could the majority of the
Lebanese — given a chance to change their miserable state of affairs at the
ballot box — reelect the same old oligarchy that has run Lebanon into the
ground? The answer is complicated.
In theory, while Lebanon looks like a modern state, it is in fact a congregation
of tribes, known as sects, that have been running their affairs the same way
over the past few millennia. This pre-Enlightenment tribal code makes the
Lebanese system irresponsive to change the way change happens in
post-Enlightenment countries, like in North America and Western Europe.
In pre-Enlightenment, individuals are subjects whose livelihood depends on their
leaders. The industrial revolution in Europe, however, made capital seek labor
and value merit. When European individuals became economically independent of
their feudal lords, they demanded rights and became citizens who took ownership
of their state. Thus, Europe’s leaders were transformed from lords to civil
servants.
The Arab world has yet to experience such a transformation. In fact, the Arab
world (and Iran) became even more medieval with the advent of oil. History has
rarely witnessed wealth generated out of thin air. The oil wealth was handed to
the de facto rulers whose only knowledge of public administration is the tribal
code. Thus, oil has helped further entrench pre-Enlightenment tribalism across
the region, including in Lebanon. As long as this oil-funded configuration
holds, change can only come in the form of tribal reshuffle, but never in the
form of transformation into modern society and state.
In practice, America tried to construct a post-WWII empire on the cheap. Where
old empires stationed vast armies to protect trade routes and markets around the
world, American leaders reasoned that if the newly created sovereign states can
be molded in the shape of industrial countries, peace will prevail and trade
will flourish. The newly created states — especially Arab countries — believed
the American scheme, until one day they woke up and discovered that the joke was
on them. Their states were figments of imagination glued together by brutal
gangs, like Baathists in Iraq and Syria.
Growing up in Lebanon, I belong to a generation that blamed imperialism for all
the ills of the Arabs. Imperialism usurped Palestine, installed Saddam Hussein
in Iraq to paralyze the strongest Arab country, and — with the help of protégé
Gulf countries — obstructed Egypt’s Gamal Abdul-Nasser, and even poisoned him.
Then in 2003, America suddenly reversed course and toppled Saddam. I cheered for
that and bet on Iraq’s “one million engineers” to build a new democratic Iraq,
only to discover that Iraq had no engineers, but only looters, charlatans and
mobs.
Then Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005. For the first time in 38 years, the
Palestinians were somehow in control of their own territory, no matter how
small. What did the Palestinians do? Hamas began executing Fatah supporters,
bringing to the fore an inter-Palestinian feud that makes their conflict with
Israel look like a school fight.
And in April 2005, the Lebanese trounced 29 years of Assad’s occupation of their
country. Change was in the air. Yet in May, the anti-Syrian forces under Hariri
and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt entered into an electoral alliance with the very
same pro-Syrian forces that they had revolted against.
In fact, Hariri’s 2005 politics turned out to be his style. Hariri often
agitates supporters against his opponents. After each time one of Hariri’s
supporters was killed for fighting the good fight, Hariri caved and changed
course. In yesterday’s election, Hariri helped half a dozen of his March 8
opponents beat 24 March 14 activists.
The problem with Hariri is that many mistook his tribal politics for change.
Turns out Mr. Hariri prefers to be a Sunni leader rather than a Lebanese one, or
else, how can non-Sunnis or non-Beirutis follow him if the man declares himself
as the leader of Sunnis and Beirut.
Economy shapes society and society shapes the state. Lebanon’s current
socio-economic configuration cannot sustain change, or a modern state. Many of
us, supporters of Beirut Madinati, knew what to expect. Many others felt
surprised and disappointed.
Yet most of the Beirut Madinati supporters have nowhere else to go. They have to
keep fighting for change, even if they realize that it will never come. They
will have to keep running for election, no matter how rigged the system is.
After all, a tribal Lebanon with elections is by far better than a tribal one
without them.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is the Washington Bureau Chief of Alrai newspaper. He
tweets @hahussain
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 10/16
ISIS to Israel:
“We’re coming very soon”
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report May 8, 2016/The last 48 hours (May 7-8) have seen a
major escalation of the ISIS threats against Israel, debkafile’s intelligence
and counterterrorism sources report. In a coordinated maneuver by all of the
ISIS commands in the Middle East, the terrorist organization simultaneously
released at least 10 videos that it said showed ISIS forces on their way to
attack targets in Israel. All of the videos refer to the Palestinian issue,
Jerusalem and the timing of the attacks. In each one, the narrator claims the
terror organization did not forget the Palestinians, and will not neglect them
any more; describes Jerusalem as “a bridge to Islam”; and threatens an impending
attack, saying “We’re coming, and coming very soon” accompanied by images of
fighters from the ISIS affiliate in the Sinai are shown.It was not the first
time for the ISIS propaganda machine to threaten hostilities against Israel, but
it was the first time for the threat to be issued simultaneously from every
province or city where ISIS is located in the Middle East. The videos included
ones from Raqqa, the ISIS capital in Syria; Mosul, the terrorist organization’s
capital in Iraq; the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt; Derna in eastern Libya; and
central Libya, where according to debkafile’s counterterrorism sources ISIS
controls a huge 300-kilometer area including the Mediterranean coast on the Gulf
of Sidra. Our sources report that every video contains the following sentences:
“We know that the Egyptian army is being helped by Israeli intelligence and the
Israeli Air Force in its war against us”; “We also know that Israel set up
intelligence networks within the population of the Bedouin tribes in the Sinai”;
and “From now on we will take action against Egyptian and Israeli targets as
one.”debkafile’s intelligence sources report that these comments are intended to
counter efforts by the Egyptian military to establish anti-ISIS militias among
the Bedouin tribes. This came after American counterterrorism experts advised
the Egyptian military to operate the same way that the US operates among the
Sunni tribes in western Iraq’s Anbar province, where US military instructors are
setting up local militias to prevent ISIS fighters from entering or passing
through areas under the tribes’ control. Our sources report that three Bedouin
anti-ISIS militias have been established in the Sinai so far: the “Sons of
Sinai”, “Unit 103”; and the “Death Squad”. Meanwhile, the ISIS affiliate in the
Sinai carried out one of its boldest terrorist attacks on Sunday, May 8, killing
eight Egyptian policemen including an officer, in the Cairo suburb of Helwan.
Four masked terrorists with automatic weapons jumped out of a commercial vehicle
that had blocked a minibus transporting the policemen, fired hundreds of bullets
at the minibus, killing everyone inside, and then fled the scene. Western
counterterrorism experts monitoring ISIS-Sinai estimate that it not only has the
ability to carry out terrorist attacks in major Egyptian cities, but also
against Israel.
Briton pleads with Iran to release
arrested wife and daughter
The Guardian.May 09/16/A British-Iranian woman is being held in solitary
confinement in Iran, away from her two-year-old daughter, after they attempted
to return to the UK from a family visit. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a
37-year-old project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the news
agency’s charitable arm, was arrested in early April in Tehran by members of
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard at Imam Khomeini airport, where she and her
daughter, Gabriella, were about to board a flight back to the
UK.Zaghari-Ratcliffe has since been separated from Gabriella, who is solely
British and does not have Iranian nationality. The child has been placed in the
care of Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family in Iran and her passport confiscated. Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband, Richard Ratcliffe, who has been advised not to
travel to Iran, says he has neither seen his daughter since she went holiday,
nor spoken to his wife since her arrest. “It is now nearly two months since I
saw or held my little girl. I cannot get her back: her passport is confiscated,
I have no visa, and I have been advised not to try and go to Iran,” Ratcliffe
said. It is unclear why the guards arrested Zaghari-Ratcliffe, but the Iranian
authorities have deep suspicion of dual-nationals and in recent years have held
a number of them on security charges. Zaghari-Ratcliffe has since been held in
solitary confinement in an unknown location in the southern province of Kerman.
She has not been allowed access to a lawyer but has informed her family in Iran
that she has been under pressure to confess to unspecified crimes. The family
has been told that her arrest is connected to a matter of national security. Her
plight is complicated by the fact that Iran does not recognise dual nationality,
which means she is not granted consular access to British officials.
Ratcliffe said Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s role at Thomson Reuters Foundation – which
runs media training programmes and some legal services – was to manage grants,
and was unconnected with the news agency’s coverage of Iran. Reuters has not had
a bureau in Iran since 2012 when all staff in the country had their press
accreditation suspended due to a mistake in a story about women’s martial arts
training.“It is hard to understand how a young mother and her small child on
holiday could be considered an issue of national security. She has been over to
visit her family regularly since making Britain her home,” her husband said in a
statement. He has not been able to speak to his wife since the arrest. “The
cruelty of the situation seems both outrageous and arbitrary – that a young mum
and baby can be treated as some national security threat is absurd, far outside
any reality our family was familiar with,” he said. “But it is also very real.
In its isolation and pressures on her, it is a cruelty that is clearly
deliberate and designed. And I have been powerless to stop it. After 36 days we
have gone public, against the advice of the [Foreign Office], in the hope that
with others and with public pressure that might change.”
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We have been providing support to the family
of a British-Iranian national since we were first informed of her arrest, and
will continue to do so.” The Foreign Office said it would not comment on a case
involving a minor.
Ratcliffe described his wife as “a kind, caring and sociable person, who would
do anything for her family”. He said: “It will be torturing her to be stuck in
solitary confinement, away from her baby and all her family, thinking about all
the worry that they are going through and whether she will be able to see them
again. I have not been able to reach her at all, or speak to her to remind her
that she has done nothing wrong. “I am pleading to the British authorities, now
that delegations are traveling between the two countries to improve trade and
understanding that all efforts are made to bring my wife and daughter home as
quickly as possible, and to get Nazanin out of solitary confinement
immediately.” Kamran Foroughi, son of detainee Kamal Foroughi, protests outside
the Iranian embassy in London. Kamran Foroughi, son of detainee Kamal Foroughi,
protests outside the Iranian embassy in London. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born in
Tehran in 1978 and moved to the UK in 2007, where she met Ratcliffe while
studying. They married in Winchester in 2009, and five years later Gabriella was
born in London. Other Britons held in Iran include Kamal Foroughi. Last week
marked five years since the British-Iranian businessman was imprisoned. There
are concerns about the state of his health and his family have repeatedly urged
the Iranian authorities to give him access to proper medical care. “We can’t
believe that my 76-year-old dad has spent five long years in Evin Prison,”
Foroughi’s son, Kamran, said. “We don’t understand why he hasn’t been released,
or why he was arrested in the first place. “For the Iranian authorities we have
a simple message: please let Grandpa Kamal go and let him come home. He hasn’t
seen his wife, daughter, son and two granddaughters for five years, and we’re
all suffering too much.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/09/nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-iran-arrest-daughter-solitary-confinement?CMP=fb_gu
Khamenei acknowledges lethal
domestic schisms, fears popular uprising, calls for further repression
Monday, 09 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/ On Sunday, May 8,
the Iranian regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei in a meeting with the
oppressive security forces acknowledged the unprecedented internal schism within
his regime, displayed his fright of social discontent and popular uprisings, and
called for further repressive measures. He described “security” as a “high
priority” issue and demanded thorough and serious supervision by officials of
the security forces on the “sound mind, act and morals of the staff” and
stressed on “providing social and moral security” (state TV – May 8, 2016).
Referring to the unprecedented power struggle at the top of the velayat-e faqih
regime, Khamenei noted that the “creation of two currents, two sects, and two
poles is among the lethal blows that the enemy is pursuing.” He talked about an
expansion of the “presence of the security forces throughout the country and the
establishment of security in all residential regions and environments that
people live, including the suburbs of the cities, farfetched areas, and small
towns.”In reaction to the wave of domestic and international abhorrence for the
deployment of 7000 spies and repressive forces dubbed “intangible police” to
suppress women and youths, he said: “In subjects relating to moral security,
after precise, well-founded, logical and correct planning then we should not pay
attention to the opposition of some people or the climate created by the media.”
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/May 9, 2016
Political solution in Syria
must include protection for civilians in Aleppo - UK lawmakers
Monday, 09 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/British lawmakers
have welcomed the extension of a ceasefire around the Syrian city of Aleppo and
urged negotiators in Geneva to "make every effort to extend this cessation of
hostility and adopt robust measures to ensure that the ceasefire is
respected.""The indiscriminate bombing of civilians, including women and
children, hospitals and medical facilities in Aleppo by the Assad regime and its
backers that prompted the international diplomatic push for a temporary
ceasefire is a cowardly act and tantamount to a war crime," said a statement on
Sunday by the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom. "A verifiable
and permanent end to the Assad regime's bombing of innocent civilians in
beleaguered cities must precede the international push to secure a political
transition. Assad and his backers, the Iranian regime and Hezbollah, should and
must not be allowed to use the talks to change the position on the ground by
targeting defenceless civilians and the Syrian opposition," the statement added.
"The ongoing diplomatic process should no longer be blind to the continuing
violence, since failure to do so will only exacerbate the refugee crisis in
Europe and enhance the expansion and recruitment of Daesh in the region.""In
this regard, the international community must strongly condemn the destructive
role played by the Iranian regime in Syria, which has stepped up its military
presence in the country to compensate for the heavy losses of its Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC), which is fighting alongside Assad's forces. Particularly
alarming are the efforts by Tehran and its proxy Hezbollah to mobilise for a
ground assault to retake ruined city of Aleppo, which is the centre of
anti-Assad revolution and home to several hundred thousand civilians.""Tehran is
now so desperate to save the Assad regime that its Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei,
recently appointed Abolfalz Tabatabai-Ashkezari as his new personal
representative in Syria. Moreover, the IRGC's 'civilian arm' Basij has launched
a propaganda campaign in Iran in recent months, with state media broadcasting a
propaganda video aimed at recruiting child soldiers and encouraging young
children to take part in the war in Syria to defend Assad's regime.""These
developments clearly show that Iranian leaders have no interest in a peaceful
solution to the Syrian crisis, in which 400,000 people have been killed and
millions have been displaced, with no end in sight. They also reveal once again
that Tehran cannot be part of any solution, but is rather an integral part of
fomenting the crisis."The lawmakers from the United Kingdom urged the
international community to "exert pressure on the Iranian regime to end its
financial, logistic and military support for the Assad regime or face
consequences for the escalation of the violence, by imposing punitive measures
on responsible Iranian officials and entities."
Brigadier General Shahin
Gobadi comments on Iran regime’s announcement that it has test-fired ballistic
missile with 2000 km range
Monday, 09 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI - The Iranian
regime announced on Monday that it has test-fired a "high precision ballistic
missile with a range of 2000 kilometers" - a violation of United Nations
resolution 2231 that prohibits Iran's regime from firing any missile capable of
carrying a nuclear warhead. “Two weeks ago, we test-fired a missile with a range
of 2000 kilometers and a margin of error of eight meters,” Deputy Chief of Staff
of the Iranian regime's Armed Forces Brigadier General Ali Abdollahi said on
Monday. His remarks were carried by the Tasnim news agency, affiliated to the
regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. He further
claimed that the headquarters of the chief of staff of the regime's Armed Forces
has "allocated 10 percent of defense budget to research projects aimed at
strengthening defense power." Commenting on the IRGC’s announcement on Monday,
Shahin Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of
Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said: “Regionally, the Iranian regime has received
serious blows in Syria in recent days and is more isolated than ever before as
was evidenced in the recent resolution of the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation. Domestically, the factional feuding has exacerbated to
unprecedented levels. Thus it is facing a significant demoralization among its
forces and is resorting to this kind of hollow show of force to cover up its
precarious situation and to boost the morale of its forces.”“The repeated
announcements of ballistic missile tests by the mullahs’ regime in violation of
UN Security Council resolution 2231 should send a wake-up call to the
international community. Silence and inaction by the international community on
the Iranian regime’s banned missile tests have a destructive effect and
encourage the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism to defy the will of
the international community, violate its international obligations and produce
lethal weapons with which to threaten the region and the world. These tests
warrant a firm response at the UN Security Council with the re-imposition of
sanctions targeting the clerical regime in Iran,” he added. The IRGC conducted
several ballistic missile tests in March. At least one of the missiles was
emblazoned with the phrase "Israel must be wiped out" in Hebrew - setting off an
international outcry. The Iranian regime's supreme leader on March 30 said
missiles were key to his regime's future, offering support to the IRGC that have
drawn criticism from the West for testing ballistic missiles. "Those who say the
future is in negotiations, not in missiles, are either ignorant or traitors,"
the regime's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters
of state, was quoted as saying by his website. "If the Islamic Republic seeks
negotiations but has no defensive power, it would have to back down against
threats from any weak country."
Iran sugar cane factory
workers protest dismissals
Monday, 09 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/ NCRI – Workers of
Iran’s famous sugar cane plantation held a protest over the weekend after
hundreds of their colleagues were laid off from work. The workers of the "Haft
Tapeh" sugar cane factory held the protest in the morning on Saturday, May 7,
blocking off the road leading to the factory, which is situated in the
south-western province of Khuzestan. The rally was in protest to the dismissal
of 300 workers from the factory. Workers at the factory have held numerous
protests demanding fair pay or their overdue wages in recent months. The
plantation has witnessed numerous other protests in recent years. The Iranian
Resistance has repeatedly called on international unions and labor organizations
and the International Labor Organization (ILO) to condemn the anti-labor
policies of the clerical regime and suppression of workers in Iran. “In Iran
under the mullahs' rule, all basic rights of workers, such as the right to work,
independent trade unions and syndicates, job security, and insurance are
strongly violated and every day a large number of workers are arrested and sent
to prison due to demanding these basic rights,” the Labor Committee of the
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on May 1,
2016.
U.S. leads 25 strikes against
ISIS: U.S. military
Reuters | Washington Monday, 9 May 2016/The United States and its allies
conducted 25 strikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, according to the
coalition leading the daily operations against the militant group. In a
statement released on Monday, the Combined Joint Task Force said 16 strikes near
nine Iraqi cities were concentrated near Falluja and Mosul, where they hit six
units of ISIS fighters as well as two dozen rockets and a dozen rocket rails,
among other weapons. The strikes also hit a bunker, weapons caches and four
tactical units near other cities, including Al Baghdadi, Albu Hayat, Bayji,
Habbaniyah, Hit, Kisik and Sultan Abdallah, the task force said. In Syria, nine
strikes near Al Shadaddi, Manbij, Mar’a and Palmyra hit six units of militant
fighters as well as six ISIS fighting positions, four vehicles , an improvised
explosive device, and other targets, according to the statement.
US, Russia work to hold
fragile Syria ceasefire together
By Agencies Monday, 9 May
2016/The United States and Russia worked Monday to hold together a revived truce
in Syria, calling on both Syria’s government and opposition groups to restrain
themselves even as a five-day cease-fire in the northern city of Aleppo was set
to expire. The chief architects of the fragile truce, Washington and Moscow used
a joint statement to show they’re still committed to resuming peace talks to end
Syria’s civil war, despite unmitigated differences over a role for Syrian
President Bashar Assad in a future government. Russia, Assad’s close ally, said
it would work with the Syrian government to minimize flights over civilian areas
where opposition groups and rights activists have claimed that Syria’s military
has violated the cease-fire. The display of unity came as leaders of nations
supporting the Western-backed opposition coalition gathered in Paris to meet
with the coalition’s head, Riad Hijab, in a bid to keep the cease-fire alive and
relaunch faltering peace talks. US Secretary of State John Kerry was attending
the meeting alongside representatives of Britain, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia,
the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey and the European Union. Kerry
planned to brief the leaders on US-Russia efforts and the status of the truce,
formally described as a “cessation of hostilities.”In their statement, the US
and Russia also said they are also committed to developing a “shared
understanding” of where the Islamic State and the al Qaida-linked Nusra Front
hold territory.
The groups are excluded from the cease-fire, meaning continuing Syrian and
Russian strikes against them don’t technically breach the agreement. Yet in many
places those groups are fighting alongside Western-backed rebels, leading to
accusations of violations that allowed the cease-fire to slowly unravel.
The US and Russia have been working to put the truce back together, and in
particular to extend it to areas where heavy fighting has broken out, including
Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. A five-day ceasefire there expired just after
midnight, but the US and Russia said they were working to “improve and sustain”
the broader truce. Yet in a reminder of the ongoing violence, there were reports
of multiple air raids on a rebel-held area and shelling of government-controlled
parts of Aleppo on Monday, two opposition monitoring groups said. Those came a
day after opposition fighters shelled the government-held neighborhood of Midan,
killing a child, according to state media and activists. While in Paris, Kerry
also met with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, a US ally eager to help
Syria’s opposition by bolstering their military capability. The State Department
said Kerry and al-Jubeir “stressed the importance of all sides fully respecting
the cessation of hostilities” and also consulted on the US-led fight against the
ISIS group.
Clashes in Damascus
Syrian government forces and their allies shelled rebel-held areas in Damascus’s
eastern outskirts on Monday and clashed with insurgents in the area, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said. Mortar fire wounded nearly 20 people, some
very seriously, around the town of Arbin in the Eastern Ghouta area, and
shelling close to nearby Douma killed at least one person, the British-based
monitoring group reported. The latest clashes were a significant escalation in
fighting in Eastern Ghouta, where the army had last week declared a temporary
but now-defunct cessation of hostilities, Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman
said. Some rebel groups have in recent weeks been fighting among themselves in
the area.
Kerry arrives in Paris
US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Paris for talks on the conflict
in Syria and will be meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.
Representatives of Britain, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Jordan,
Turkey and the EU have also been invited in Paris Monday for a meeting in the
presence of the Riad Hijab, head of the Western-backed Syrian opposition
coalition, in an effort to relaunch the Syrian peace process. On Tuesday Kerry
is due to meet with German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Paris
before heading to Britain.
Aleppo clashes
Syrian government forces and their allies also clashed with insurgents near
Aleppo on Monday and warplanes launched more raids around a strategic town
Islamist rebels seized last week, a monitoring group said. The capture of Khan
Touman was a rare setback for government forces in Aleppo province in recent
months, and for allied Iranian troops who suffered heavy losses in the fighting.
Warplanes continued to strike around the town on Monday, and had carried out
more than 90 raids in the area since Sunday morning, the Observatory said. Al
Manar television, run by Damascus’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah, said troops had
destroyed a tank belonging to insurgents and killed some its occupants. Khan
Touman lies just southwest of Aleppo city, which is one of the biggest strategic
prizes in a war now in its sixth year, and has been divided into government and
rebel-held zones through much of the conflict.
Russia’s military intervention last September has helped President Bashar
al-Assad reverse some rebel gains in the west of the country, including in
Aleppo province. The Observatory said warplanes struck rebel-held areas of the
city early on Monday, and rebels fired shells into government-held neighborhoods,
despite a Russian-announced extension of a truce encompassing the city of
Aleppo. Ayrault said Syrian government forces and their allies had bombarded
hospitals and refugee camps. “It is not Daesh (ISIS) that is being attacked in
Aleppo, it is the moderate opposition,” he said. Ayrault said Monday’s meeting
would call on Russia to put pressure on Assad to stop the attacks, adding that
humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in need. “Talks must resume,
negotiations are the only solution,” he said on radio RTL, ahead of a meeting of
ministers from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates,
Turkey and Britain. Also attending was Riad Hijab, chief coordinator of the main
Syrian opposition negotiating group. The surge in bloodshed in Aleppo, Syria’s
largest city before the civil war, wrecked a February "cessation of hostilities"
agreement sponsored by Washington and Moscow. The deal excluded Islamic State
and al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, the Nusra Front. Peace talks in Geneva between
government delegates and opposition figures, including representatives from
rebel groups, broke up last month without significant progress. (With Reuters,
AP)
Syrian prisoners in tentative
deal to end mutiny
Reuters, Amman Monday, 9 May 2016/A tentative deal has been reached to end a
strike in a Syrian prison by nearly 800 mostly political detainees that would
eventually lead to the pardon and release of those held without charges, rights
groups and activists in touch with inmates said on Monday. They said the deal
brokered late on Sunday would end a mutiny in the Hama prison in central Syria
that started last week when political detainees revolted after five inmates were
to be taken to the notorious Sadnaya prison for the execution of death sentences
passed by an extra-judicial military tribunal. “The regime has agreed to most of
our demands to release those political detainees held without charges,” said a
rights activist in touch with two inmates who requested anonymity. The prisoners
seized the prison 210 km from Damascus, and took hostages from guards. That
prompted a siege in which the authorities tried to storm the civilian prison on
Friday using tear gas bombs and rubber bullets in an attempt to end the
rebellion. Leading Syrian rights activist Mazen Darwish, a former detainee in
the prison and in touch with the prisoners, said a verbal agreement had been
reached, but did not give details. Another rights activist in touch with inmates
said the deal was brokered after tribal figures intervened with the authorities
who gave assurances to inmates held without charge they would be released if
they ended their revolt. The Syrian interior ministry has denied the reports
about Hama central prison but has not elaborated on the issue since Monday. The
UK Observatory for Human Rights had confirmed a deal was in the works to release
26 detainees. The authorities previously released 46 detainees under Red
Crescent mediation until negotiations broke down. The deal comes after
conditions worsened and inmates made appeals to the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) after prison officials cut electricity and water amid food
shortages and serious medical conditions among some of the inmates. Inmates have
demanded the release of political detainees held without charges. Many feared a
wave of executions that could follow if they were to be transferred to the
Sadnaya military prison, north of Damascus. The prison itself was the scene of
protests in 2008 by Islamist detainees that led to several being fired at and
killed.
Russia and U.S. to 'Redouble'
Efforts for Syrian Political Settlement
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 09/16/Russia and the United States on Monday
agreed to step up efforts to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict
and extend a truce across the whole of the country. "The Russian Federation and
United States are determined to redouble efforts to reach a political settlement
of the Syrian conflict," according to a joint U.S.-Russian statement published
by the Russian foreign ministry. The two sides, co-chairs of the International
Syria Support Group (ISSG), noted "progress" in curbing fighting, but stressed
the "difficulties faced... in several areas of the country, especially in the
recent period, as well as remaining problems in ensuring humanitarian access to
the besieged areas. "As a result, we have decided to reconfirm our commitment to
the (ceasefire) in Syria and to intensify efforts to ensure its nationwide
implementation." They added: "We also intend to enhance efforts to promote
humanitarian assistance to all people in need." To this end Russia "will work
with the Syrian authorities to minimize aviation operations over areas that are
predominantly inhabited by civilians or parties" to the ceasefire, it said.
Washington meanwhile said it was "committed to intensifying its support and
assistance to regional allies to help them prevent the flow of fighters, weapons
or financial support to terrorist organizations across their borders."A
temporary ceasefire between Syrian regime forces and rebel groups came into
force last week in Syria's second city Aleppo, after an earlier cessation of
hostilities from February 27 had collapsed. The temporary truce, initially for
two days and then prolonged until Tuesday at 00:01 am (21:01 GMT Monday), was
decided after fighting which killed nearly 300 people since April 22 in Aleppo,
where some areas are held by rebels and some by government forces. The United
Nations has sought in vain for months to find a diplomatic solution to the
conflict, which has left over 270,000 people dead since March 2011 and forced
millions to flee.
Belgium Begins Trial of
Terror Cell Linked to Paris, Brussels Attacks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 09/16/Belgium on Monday began the trial of
seven alleged jihadists accused of links to the terror cell behind the Paris and
Brussels attacks. The men were arrested after a deadly raid in the Belgian town
of Verviers in January 2015 which exposed an alleged plan to kill police
officers. A further nine people who are still at large are being tried in their
absence by the court in Brussels. Police believe Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the
suspected ringleader of November's Paris attacks, was giving orders to the
Verviers cell by phone from Greece. Abaaoud, who was killed in a shootout in
Paris days after the attacks, also had close links to the cell behind the March
22 Brussels airport and metro attacks. French President Francois Hollande has
said the same terror cell was behind the Paris massacre, in which gunmen and
suicide bombers killed 130 people, and the Brussels attacks in which 32 people
died. Both attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. "The
theory in which Verviers is at the heart of the Paris attacks" is among those
being probed by French legal authorities, a source close to the investigation
told the French newspaper Le Monde. The main suspect at the trial of the
Verviers cell is Marouane El Bali, who is accused of attempted murder for firing
at police during the gunfight, during which two suspected jihadists were killed.
He denies the charges.
"He was a small player and was absolutely not aware of any planned attacks," his
lawyer Sebastien Courtoy told Belga news agency. Belgian police said at the time
the cell was planning to kill and kidnap police officers under orders from
Islamic State. Killed in the raid were Sofiane Amghar and Khalid Ben Larbi who
went to Syria to join Islamic State in April 2014. The two then slipped back
into Belgium to the Verviers hideout which is about 120 kilometres (75 miles)
east of Brussels. The raid on Verviers also occurred just two weeks after a set
of jihadist attacks in Paris against the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper and a
Jewish supermarket that left 17 people dead.
Yemen leader slams civilian
evictions in south
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 9 May 2016/Yemen’s president has
criticized the “unacceptable” expulsion of hundreds of civilians from the
southern cities of Aden and Taiz. The civilians were expelled by southern forces
who claimed that they originated from the north of the country, which is
controlled by Iran-backed Houthi militias battling the
internationally-recognized government. “The individual acts of expelling
citizens of Taiz and other cities [Aden] is unacceptable,” President Abdrabbu
Mansour Hadi said late Sunday, quoted by the state-owned news outlet Saba Net.
Hadi, who hails from the south, heads up government forces and a coalition of
allies who are taking part in peace talks in Kuwait. The statement came after
what Yemeni officials said armed groups have been raiding shops, restaurants and
homes, arresting more than 2,000 northerners they say pose a threat to
“security.”
Officials said they suspect the evictions are the work of secessionists who want
southern Yemen to break away from the north. The two regions had been two
separate countries before unification in 1990. The officials spoke on condition
of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Hadi’s
Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher said acts by “dozens do not necessitate in any
case expelling hundreds” of northerners from the city, describing the move as
“harsh collective punishment against a group of citizens”.Bin Dagher called for
improvements in security for Aden, and appealed against the “punishment” of
other people. The prime minister said Aden’s governor and its security chief
needed to “control the actions of all services that operate under their
command.” These acts were “unconstitutional and illegal” as well as against
“basic human rights.”
Bin Dagher also appealed for those who have been expelled to “return to
practicing their normal lives” and ordered authorities in the city to protect
them, sabanew.net reported. Since pushing the Houthi militias out of Aden in
July 2015, Yemen’s government has merged southern militiamen, many of them
separatists, who fought alongside loyalists into the ranks of the armed forces
and security services. The southern part of the country, formerly known then as
People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, was independent before the unification of
Yemen in 1990. In 1994, a short-lived secession bid was stamped out by Sanaa
troops and since then the citizens of the south have complained of
discrimination. Many northerners who have moved to Aden and other cities of the
south are accused by southerners of having benefitted from the previous regime
of Saleh to seize land and property in the south. Last month, thousands of
supporters of the separatist Southern Movement demonstrated in Aden for
secession of the south.
Peace talks
With continuing hostilities in the war-torn country, political turmoil continues
as the UN special envoy to Yemen on Monday urged the country’s warring parties
to make concessions to save peace talks aimed at ending a devastating 13-month
war. The appeal by Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed came after face-to-face talks broke
off with the government delegation complaining of a lack of progress and the
Iran-backed Houthi militias protesting about air raids by the Arab coalition. On
Monday, Al Arabiya News Channel reported heavy shelling on Hadi-allied Popular
Resistance and national army positions, as well as targeting civilians. After
holding several separate meetings with each delegation, the UN envoy called on
the two sides to “make concessions in order to strike a comprehensive peaceful
solution” to end Yemen’s deadly conflict. All direct peace talks scheduled for
Sunday were called off, but the UN envoy said new talks are scheduled for Monday
and appealed for cooperation. The two delegations also met with Kuwait’s foreign
minister and ambassadors of the 18 mostly Western countries backing the talks in
a bid to bring the Yemeni foes back to the negotiating table. Yemen’s foreign
minister said the talks which began on April 21 made no headway. “For the sake
of peace, we have accepted all proposals submitted to us in order to progress,”
said Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi, who heads the government delegation. “But after
three weeks, we have nothing in our hands because the other party backed down on
its commitments,” Mikhlafi wrote on Twitter. The militias and their allies have
demanded the formation of a consensus transitional government before forging
ahead with other issues that require them to surrender arms and withdraw from
territories they occupied in 2014.
Relief supplies
Meanwhile, on the same day, the airport of the coastal city of Mukalla which was
recaptured by government and Emirati soldiers in April after a year-long
occupation by al-Qaeda, reopened officials said. The first flight in on Sunday
was a plane carrying relief supplies from the UAE, the officials said. The UAE
said the consignment was carrying 20 tonnes of medicines and medical accessories
from the UAE Red Crescent. The southeastern town’s Riyan airport halted regular
services a year ago after al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), seen as one
of the most powerful branches of the global militant group, took over the town
and made it the centre of a rich mini-state along the Arabian Sea coastline.
Exploiting the chaos of a civil war between government loyalists and Houthi
rebels, AQAP earned an estimated $2 million a day in revenue from port taxes and
fuel smuggling in Mukalla, a city of about 500,000. Around 2,000 Yemeni and
Emirati troops advanced into Mukalla in the last week of April, taking control
of its maritime port and airport and meeting little resistance. Al Qaeda said it
withdrew to save the city from destruction. Saudi Arabia and Gulf Arab allies
such as the UAE intervened in Yemen in March last year, fighting in support of
Yemen’s government after it was forced into exile by the Iran-allied Houthi
group. The war has killed more than 6,200 people, displaced more than 2.5
million people and caused a humanitarian catastrophe. (With AFP, AP and Reuters)
UAE court sentences militant
to life in prison
Reuters, Dubai Monday, 9 May 2016/The husband of a woman who was executed for
killing a US kindergarten teacher in the United Arab Emirates was himself jailed
for life on Monday for plotting militant attacks, a government-linked daily said
on Monday. Ala’a Badr Abdullah al-Hashemi, 31, fatally stabbed the teacher in
the toilet of an Abu Dhabi shopping mall in December 2014. She was executed - by
firing squad, UAE media said - last July after a trial in which she was also
convicted of planting a bomb outside the home of an American-Egyptian doctor.
Her husband - identified by Emirati media by his initials M.A.H. - was charged
in December with planning attacks on tourist buses and an American military
base. M.A.H., 34 at the time of his arrest, was accused of seeking to join
Islamic State and giving money to a member of al-Qaeda. The Federal Supreme
Court heard that he also plotted to bomb the Yas Marina Formula 1 race track and
an IKEA furniture store, according to the English-language daily The National.
The accused denied all charges and said he has been held in solitary confinement
for six months and refused family visits, English language daily The National
said. The UAE has joined air strikes in Syria against ISIS, an ultra-hardline
militant group that has carried out and claimed various attacks in the Middle
East and Europe. From our archive: UAE sentences 4 locals to death in ISIS
cell’s trial
Iran test-fires missile,
latest after nuclear deal
Reuters, Dubai Monday, 9 May 2016/Iran successfully tested a precision-guided
medium-range ballistic missile two weeks ago, a military official said on
Monday, as Tehran continues to bolster what it insists is a purely defensive
arsenal. The Islamic Republic has worked to improve the range and accuracy of
its missiles over the past year, which it says will make them a more potent
deterrent with conventional warheads against its enemy Israel. "We tested a
missile with a range of 2,000 kms (1,240 miles) and eight meters error margin
two weeks ago. An eight-meter error margin means ... full accuracy," the Tasnim
news agency quoted Brigadier General Ali Abdollahi as saying. The United States
and some European powers have said other recent tests violate a United Nations
resolution that prohibits Iran from firing any missile capable of carrying a
nuclear warhead. Iran says the missiles are not designed to carry nuclear
warheads, which it does not possess. Washington has imposed new sanctions on
Tehran over recent tests, even after it lifted nuclear-related sanctions in
January as Tehran implemented the nuclear deal it reached with world powers last
year. Iran's top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in March that missile
development was key to the Islamic Republic's future, in order to maintain its
defensive power and resist threats from its enemies.
At least 50 injured as blaze
engulfs hotel in downtown Cairo
AFP, Cairo Monday, 9 May 2016/At least 50 people including firefighters suffered
minor injuries on Monday when a fire spread quickly through a commercial area in
downtown Cairo, Egyptian officials said. The fire erupted overnight in a small
hotel in the Al-Mosky neighborhood, not far from the Al-Azhar mosque, and moved
rapidly to four nearby buildings, police told AFP. The buildings included
warehouses containing plastic materials which helped the fire to spread. "At
least 50 people were lightly injured, including firefighters, with most
suffering from smoke inhalation and bruises but not burns," Ahmad Ansary, the
head of the Egyptian ambulance authority, told AFP. The cause of the blaze was
not immediately known. Firefighters were continuing to battle the blaze in the
early morning but it seemed to be under control, according to live footage on
Egyptian television.
Top diplomats to hold talks
this month on Libya: Rome
AFP | Tunis Monday, 9 May 2016/Top diplomats will hold talks in Vienna this
month aimed at supporting efforts to end the chaos in Libya, Italian Foreign
Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Monday. On a visit to Tunisia, Gentiloni said he
had invited Tunis to join foreign ministers from “the most important countries
in the region as well as the main international actors” for talks on Libya due
in the Austrian capital later in May. “A common effort is needed to help the
process of bringing stability to Libya,” Gentiloni told reporters, adding the
invitation had been extended in his name and on behalf of US Secretary of State
John Kerry. A member of the Italian delegation said the meeting would take place
on May 16. The Tunisian foreign ministry confirmed the date, adding it had not
yet accepted the invitation. Foreign powers and Libya’s neighbours are
supporting efforts by a new unity government to assert its authority in the
country, which has been roiled by turmoil since the 2011 overthrow of Moamer
Kadhafi. Rival forces are vying for control of Libya, with Western nations
particularly worried by the rise of a powerful local branch of the jihadist
Islamic State group.
Erdogan: Turkey left to fight
ISIS alone
AFP, Istanbul Monday, 9 May 2016/Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on
Sunday accused the international coalition battling ISIS in Syria of leaving his
country to fight the extremists alone on its own soil. “They have left us alone
in our struggle against this organization which is shedding our blood both
through suicide bombings and by attacks on Kilis,” he said, referring to a
Turkish border town regularly targeted by rockets fired from Syria. “In Syria
none of those who say they are fighting Daesh (ISIS) have suffered the kind of
losses that we have, nor paid such a heavy price as us,” added Erdogan, speaking
at a film contest in Istanbul. Turkey is on maximum alert after a series of
attacks attributed to ISIS in recent months, with Ankara and Istanbul among the
places targeted. Last summer Turkish forces began carrying out air strikes
against the group across the border. The border town of Kilis has come under
frequent attack from rockets fired across the border from Syria that have killed
at least 21 people, prompting the army to respond with howitzer fire. Ankara
also allows US jets to use its air base in southern Turkey for air strikes on
the extremist group. Turkish forces on Saturday launched a salvo of artillery
strikes on northern Syria that killed 55 ISIS members, Turkish news agencies
reported. Turkey, a member of NATO and the US-led coalition against ISIS, has
recently appeared to increase its bombardment of ISIS targets in Syria.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 10/16
Scores of Dead Iranian Soldiers Spur
Conflicting Stances in Iran
Adil Alsalmi/Asharq Al
Awsat/May 09/16
London- For the second day in a row, Iranian surging reactions continued after
an Iranian official confirmation that over 34 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC) members were killed in the Syrian village of Khan Touman located south of
Aleppo. Other Iranian sources estimate that losses exceed all those that
officials have announced. Sources also circulated battlefield information on
clashes in south Aleppo, saying the IRGC and Syrian regime forces are making
preparations for a comeback campaign in Khan Touman, after they had lost the
village to al-Nusra Front. Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs
in Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian previously
criticized the Khan Touman operation, considering it a violation to the
implemented ceasefire. The Tehran administration, on the other hand, made no
comments regarding the incessant pounding Aleppo was subjected to over the past
days. Abdollahian called on the international community to condemn the Khan
Touman operation, in hopes of preserving political solutions. The IRGC had
published a statement urging Iranian people to remain calm and wait for reports,
soon to be published on the Khan Touman operation.
Discretion on operation details was to keep them out of opponents’ reach, the
IRGC further explained. Broadcasting the statement took place while Ali Akbar
Velayati, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s advisor, was delivering
confidential notes sent by Khamenei to the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar
Assad, in Damascus.Iranian media outlets, contradictory to previous claims,
confirmed a score of Iranian captives being taken in Syria. “Entekhab,” a reform
inclined Iranian website, was the sole outlet confirming the death of 80 Iranian
and Afghani soldiers. Meanwhile, other media networks, relying on the IRGC
statement, acknowledged only 34 Iranian soldiers either being dead or injured.
Quds Force commander Soleimani and the secretary of the Supreme National
Security Council of Iran, Ali Shamkhani, were expected to give a speech on
Iran’s defense strategy against current regional developments.
However, Soleimani made no public appearance in Tehran on Sunday, in light of
rumors of his presence in Aleppo to run the Khan Touman battles. ISNA, Iranian
Students News Agency, mentioned that Shamkhani did in fact give his speech;
however, behind closed doors. Iranian authorities kept the details to the speech
confidential and refrained from making any comments on whether Soleimani was in
Iran or not. Shamkhani, on the death of Iranian soldiers in Aleppo, said that
“what had happened in Khan Touman confirmed Iranian fears.” He reiterated
previous official stances on the ceasefire giving the Syrian opposition the
chance to rearrange their forces in the field. When meeting with new
parliamentary members, Shamkhani defended the notion on sending more Iranian
military forces to Syria. His argument was pivoted on alleged regional security
threats directed against Iran and how they should be confronted using all means,
ISNA reported. Iranian sources, two days ago, cited Soleimani heading for
Aleppo, after a mass loss striking Iranian soldiers in Khan Touman on Thursday
and Friday. Same sources clarified that Soleimani is expected to oversee
battlefield progress from operation rooms which bring together Russian forces,
Syrian regime forces and Quds Force members. Tactics are being devoted as to
eventually break through to Khan Touman.
Welcome Realism and Goodbye
Comfort Zones!
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/May 09/16
Few Americans and Europeans, I reckon, have heard of Wa’el Al-Halqi; and not
many Arabs have either. For those interested, Dr Al-Halqi is the Syrian regime’s
Prime Minister, who announced to the media a couple of weeks ago that ‘the
countdown for the liberation of Aleppo’ had started.
In a cult, family-based and security agencies-run regime the prime minister’s
political and military influence is all but non-existent. Thus, what Al-Halqi
‘uncovered’ with regards to occupying Aleppo comes according to the popular
Middle Eastern maxim ‘know their secrets from their little ones’. However, why
was the ‘revelation’ left to Al-Halqi rather than those who truly run Syria is a
serious matter! Be it as it may, what is happening in Aleppo – Syria’s second
largest and the world’s second oldest city – is looking increasingly like a
significant part of the strategic conspiracy targeting Syria and the Arab world
as a whole; otherwise, why was Aleppo intentionally excluded from the
Russo-American agreement on a ceasefire that would only accelerate the
implementation of the political part of the said conspiracy. Noteworthy here is
that the ceasefire agreed by Moscow and Washington included greater Damascus and
Latakia province, which are two areas whose guaranteed ‘security’ is crucial to
the Assad regime’s survival.
In international calculations Aleppo’s fate is totally different, for various
considerations relative to all major players in the Syrian arena, the two most
important being:
1- It is Syria’s closest metropolis to
Turkey, where more than 4 million people inhabited the city and its environs.
Sunni Arab, Turkmen and Kurds make up the vast majority of that region. Thus, in
order to ‘create’ the much-trumpeted ‘Useful Syria’ and separate Turkey from the
Sunni Arab geographic depth – as Iran and Russia desire – a high percentage of
Sunni Arabs and Turkmen needs to uprooted and driven away. 2- Complementing, the
above, geographically and demographically, a Kurdish strip that geographically
separates Turkey from northern Syria, would insure in the future a Mediterranean
seaport for the so far landlocked ‘Greater Kurdistan’ if and when Washington
decides to continue Barack Obama’s policy of investing in the Kurds, hand in
hand, with making Iran America’s strategic ‘partner’ in the Middle East.
These two considerations, i.e. changing Aleppo’s identity and redrawing the map
of northern Syria, seem to be the reason why the regime has launched its
onslaught on the city and its inhabitants aided and abetted by Russia and Iran,
with an American political cover. Such a situation is fraught with huge
challenges that are neither expected to weaken nor disappear, not only to the
Syrian people but also to all Arabs from the Atlantic to the Arabian Gulf.
Indeed, these challenges today spread from Morocco, where figures close to the
White House have re-visited the issue of the country’s Western Sahara,
intentionally embarrassing, provoking and blackmailing one of America’s oldest
African allies; to the Gulf Region and Yemen where Iran is interfering and
fomenting sectarian tensions, while virtually ‘occupying’ most of the ‘Fertile
Crescent’ (Iraq, Syria and Lebanon) with international blessings. Hence, more
than ever, realistic approaches are needed towards the global political,
economic and security realities.
One early landmark along this route has been the ‘2030 Vision’ announced in
Saudi Arabia. It, perhaps, constitutes the most important and comprehensive
futuristic plans that prepare for all possible positive and negative
eventualities, underpinned on realism away from the costly ‘comfort zone’
mentality that plagued many Arab countries during the last half century.
Logically countries do not choose their natural resources or their neighbors,
but can and must decide the economic, developmental, political and security
priorities in the light of their perceptions of what they have and what they
owe, who is the friend and who is the enemy, and which neighbor can be
neutralized, befriended or warned against.
A lot has been said during the last few years in attempting to interpret the
Obama administration’s policies towards the Arabs and the middle East, notably,
Washington’s opening up to Iran. Then came its positions towards the Syrian
Uprising, the Sunni-Shi’i friction fuelled and exploited by Iran since 1979, and
‘co-existence’ with Russia’s ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean. Among the
interpretations provided the dwindling importance of the Middle Eastern oil as a
result of the discoveries of alternative sources of energy, the increasing
economic and security importance of East Asia led by China, and the changing
mood of the American public which has grown skeptical of military adventurism
abroad.
All these interpretations are true, so the question must be how to deal with
them wisely? For a start, a wise approach should include; a- openness and
frankness, and b- self reliance. This is exactly what took place recently when
President Obama attended the GCC summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh, which has
been playing pivotal roles in tackling the two hot issues of Yemen and Syria.
Obviously the positive ‘tone’ of the official statement about Obama’s meeting
with the GCC leader was expected, however, both the GCC and American sides
realize fully that any kind of ‘friendship; or ‘alliance’ requires ‘maintenance’
from time to time. What has emerged from Washington during the last two years,
culminating in what we know today as the ‘Obama Doctrine’, was neither
accidental nor ephemeral, but rather a reflection of President Obama’s deep
intellectual convictions that has contributed to a comprehensive ‘value system’
transcending polite diplomatic talk. On the other hand, it would be naïve for
Washington to imagine that the Arabs, including those in the GCC and their
leaders, are unable to read and comprehend the changing realities. In fact, the
Arabs, especially the Gulf Arabs living just across the Gulf waters from Iran,
possess very strong political memories and instincts, bettered only by decorum
and patience. Thus, until next November when a new American president is
elected, there is no alternative to realism and self-reliance; and as far as
‘comfort zones’ are concerned, they now do more harm than good.
Why the battle for Aleppo is
critical for confronting Iran
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/May 09/16
Aleppo is at the crossroads which may very well determine Syria’s future. The
battle for Aleppo has become fateful for both the regime and the opposition and
has become a key geopolitical and military consideration for regional and
international players. Regardless of whether the key players, led by Russia and
the US, agree on a ceasefire, the axis comprising Russia, Iran, Damascus, and
Hezbollah is determined to settle the battle militarily in its favor through the
gateway of Aleppo. Moscow might show some flexibility in order to keep its seat
at the table with the Obama administration. Moscow may want to obtain either
further strategic concessions in return for not embarrassing Washington in Syria
or to dampen any US-Turkish-Gulf Arab bid for providing serious military
assistance to the moderate Syrian opposition. Moscow and Iran are working out
ways and waiting for the right time to dismantle Syrian opposition in full
accord with the Obama administration and its Secretary of State John Kerry.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is seeking to impose fait accompli on
many levels of the Syrian tragedy, beginning with the conditions to include
Aleppo in the geography of the ceasefire and not ending with the nature of
transition in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin is preoccupied with the
strategic fronts, and their “meaningful” interlinkages, with his eye constantly
trained on the US where the “non-foe” Barack Obama will be replaced soon by
either the “non-friend” Hillary Clinton or the “neither-foe-nor-friend” Donald
Trump.
During this regional and international reconfiguration, the escalation in Aleppo
and the lack of progress in Yemeni negotiations in Kuwait is perhaps not a
coincidence, not to mention the eruption of the terrifying chaos in Iraq that
has prompted Washington to reaffirm its support for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
The protests staged by supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq were soon contained
after he reportedly visited Iran and the slogans chanted by “infiltrators”
against Iran were shunned before they stormed the Green Zone and the parliament
building. Perhaps Sadr’s message was: “Remember me”. The sequence of events
forced Washington to reiterate its support for Abadi while Tehran warned against
any tampering with the formula it helped cement for ruling Iraq, especially
since it is preoccupied with the bid of shaping a similar formula for power in
Damascus.
Indeed, these two Arab capitals are essential to Iran’s regional ambitions,
which Washington does not oppose. Washington effectively sanctions Iranian
policy in Iraq and Syria, through its deafening silence. This continued to be
the case following Tehran’s declaration that an Iranian army battalion is
fighting alongside the regime in Damascus and over Iran’s militia being
commanded by the US-designated Qassim Soleimani. Washington has made the war on
ISIS its top priority there, and has endorsed the bid by the regime and its
allies to reduce the Syrian question to one of the war on terror
In Iraq, at the level of responses to Sadr’s revolution, the Gulf countries’
appear to be in line with US reactions in support of Abadi against chaos and the
storming of parliament. But things are completely different in Syria, where Iran
is fully confident of its victory, not only in the battle of Aleppo, but in the
battle for Syria, in an explicit partnership with Russia and an implicit one
with the US. To be sure, Washington has made the war on ISIS its top priority
there, and has endorsed the bid by the regime and its allies to reduce the
Syrian question to one of the war on terror. Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia
has an opportunity to take a firm decision regarding the fateful battle for
Aleppo. Some believe it is too late to properly rehabilitate the moderate
opposition militarily to overturn the military balance of power on the ground.
Others insist that arming the opposition with anti-aircraft missiles to shoot
down regime planes – rather than Russian planes which fly on higher altitudes
than the range of the missiles – would change the equation on the ground and
prevent the pro-Assad alliance from securing their achievements.
Opposition demise?
The proponents of this view insist on not waiting for American blessing or veto,
and cite Chinese missiles stored in warehouses ready for export as soon as the
political decision is made. They say that any reluctance will lead to the total
demise of the Syrian opposition, militarily, morally, and politically, if Aleppo
falls into the regime’s hands. They suggest that any defeat for the opposition
in Aleppo will lead to a Saudi defeat in Yemen. These voices include Saudi and
Gulf voices that believe Syria, not Yemen, will decide the fate of Saudi-Iranian
relations.
Others in the Gulf region and Saudi Arabia are pinning their hopes on Washington
intervening to stop Moscow and Tehran’s march in Syria through Aleppo. They
believe Washington is willing to arm the moderate Syrian opposition as soon as
Russia’s policy is exposed in that it is seeking for the regime to capture the
last major city outside its control, namely Aleppo. Indeed, it is in Aleppo that
the opposition could be defeated leading to its surrender. These voices believe
Washington would not allow it, because it does not want to lose influence over
Gulf or Turkish decisions that will radically impact US-Russian relations.
Russia is saying to the US that it does not consider Bashar al-Assad to be an
ally but that it only supports him to fight terrorism. Russia is wagering on
this being the priority for the Obama administration while hinting that the
relationship between Moscow and Damascus is not one of alliance like the
relationship between Washington and Ankara. The purpose of this insinuation is
that Moscow understands the limits of its influence on and commitment with, and
Washington’s influence on and commitment with, Damascus and Ankara respectively.
It is trying to give reassurances that its escalation with Turkey has limits
that the US can control thanks to the alliance it has with Ankara via NATO.
Moscow is trying to escalate in accordance with rules based on non-direct
involvement with Turkey to avoid a crisis with NATO, and is demanding Washington
to control its ally in Ankara in return for Russia putting pressure on its
“non-ally” in Damascus. From the Russian point view, it is logical to ask for
the closure of Turkish-Syrian borders as part of the accord on de-escalation in
Aleppo.
The other demand for Russia is to separate the opposition groups – such as Jaish
al-Islam and Ahrah al-Sham – that describe themselves as moderate compared to
the al-Nusra Front, which has been designated by the UN Security Council as
terror groups. Sergei Lavrov called for forces that say they are moderate to
withdraw from Nusra Front-dominated areas and break away completely with
terrorists. He called for the closure of Turkish-Syrian borders, which he
claimed was one of the most prominent channels of support for terrorism.
With this, Lavrov was asking Washington two things: First, to settle the battle
out of Aleppo against “terrorism,” which would entail the suicide of the
moderate opposition that would not be able to fight any battles after Aleppo.
And second, to weaken the moderate rebels to the point of forcing their fighters
to join the Syrian army not based on their own demands, but forcibly. This is
what Moscow wants under the name of rebuilding state institutions.
Moscow’s plans
Moscow does not intend to reveal the details of its commitments with Bashar
al-Assad or its plans to revive the Syrian regime with amendments that do not
include Assad remaining in power. But it is clear from its positions that Moscow
has buried the principles of the Geneva Communique based on establishing a
transitional governing body with full executive powers. Most probably, the UN
will not fight Moscow on this as long as Washington is not willing to do so.
Washington will not get itself implicated in Syria regardless of John Kerry’s
threats of a so-called Plan B. That will remain on the shelf as long as Lavrov
and Kerry are in accord. But perhaps ending the battle in Aleppo will be
postponed until anger over attacks on hospitals and the refugee waves into
Europe this causes settles down. Perhaps European capitals have communicated to
Moscow that its escalation against Turkey does not suit their interests, and
perhaps there will be de-escalation in light of US-Russian sponsorship of
accords in Syria, which will not include Aleppo. But these decisions of war and
of military settlement are on hold. Aleppo is at a crossroads for Syria’s future
and the road to it is full of tragedies. This is likely to remain the case for a
while.
Attacking Sisi, in whose
interest?
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/May 09/16
We can observe lately the return of Arab Spring sentiment, not only in Egypt’s
media but also outside the country. Examples in Egypt include Earth Week
protests, and the Press Syndicate’s reaction to security forces’ raid on its
headquarters and the arrest of two journalists. This triggered expressions of
solidarity with the journalists from talk-show stars, and even from those not
affiliated with the Jan. 25 revolution. However, activists who instigated the
revolution are reappearing and trying to provoke. They are clearly keen on an
uprising against Egyptian power, and to undermine and replace the political
system. It is strange that the groups that are inciting, such as the Nasserites
and socialists, complained bitterly about the Muslim Brotherhood and other
religious groups hijacking the Jan. 25 revolution. Sisi and his government are
not mistake-free, but we should ask those with ulterior motives: “Do you have a
better alternative for Egypt?”
Regret
They are now claiming Brotherhood infiltration in the events surrounding the
syndicate. In case those revolutionaries succeed in toppling President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi, this will benefit the Brotherhood and they will regret it badly.
There is constant incitement against Egypt’s current political system and
misrepresentation of Sisi’s policies, not only by the country’s media and the
Brotherhood, but also by social-media activists in Saudi Arabia and other Arab
countries. Sisi and his government are not mistake-free, but we should ask those
with ulterior motives: “Do you have a better alternative for Egypt?”
Turkey: the end of alliance
which was never meant to last
Mahir Zeynalov/Al Arabiya/May 09/16
When we met with then-Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in our newspaper’s office
in Istanbul six years ago, he was a rising star. With his charm offensive,
Turkey promised to set an example to other Arab nations in the neighborhood with
its vast soft power. During our encounter that year Davutoglu reveled in the
prospect that he may one day become a prime minister. “I was a scholar. I always
said politics is not for me. But I had no idea that I would become a foreign
minister,” Davutoglu then said. “And hence I am not making any predictions if I
am going to be a prime minister in 2014.” He knew his political life was
uncertain. Davutoglu assumed the nation’s top job in 2014, replacing the
country’s sharp-tongued leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had recently become the
country’s first popularly elected president, a supposedly ceremonial office. But
I always felt Davutoglu, himself an ambitious politician, could not survive in a
political landscape dominated by Erdogan; for Davutoglu was being asked to be a
maestro of an orchestra, whose songs are composed only by Erdogan. The
cohabitation of Erdogan and Davutoglu was hardly an alliance made in the heaven.
A long-simmering feud within the ruling party AKP brewed over the past month.
The rupture between the two politicians was crystallized on Thursday as
Davutoglu said he will step down on May 22. It was the end of the Davutoglu’s
era. Davutoglu’s ephemeral premiership was hardly a success. Back when he was
the foreign minister, he transformed his academic thought into an instrument of
foreign policy. He will be remembered most for his utter failure in the Syrian
crisis. Davutoglu’s announcement of resignation has reportedly come only days
after a blog post, allegedly written by one of Erdogan’s close confidantes’,
that blasted the prime minister for trying in numerous occasions to overthrow
Erdogan. The blog post quickly went viral on the social media, signaling that
the end for Davutoglu is near.
As foreign minister Davutoglu transformed his academic thought into an
instrument of foreign policy. However, he will be remembered most for his utter
failure in the Syrian crisis. No doubt that Davutoglu was serving as the prime
minister for conformity to Erdogan’s immutable strictures. I believe the
president always wanted a docile prime minister, and he had to eventually cast
him aside as a villain when Davutoglu showed signs of independent
decision-making. What, I believe, is a forced departure of Davutoglu, who was
elected with 49 percent of the vote only six months ago, also spelled an end to
Turkey’s long tradition of parliamentary democracy. It was the latest chapter in
Erdogan’s incremental plan for more power grab.
Looming danger
Davutoglu sensed a looming danger in the offing a few months ago. He rushed to
cling a historic migrant deal with the EU, pushing the 28-member bloc to lift
visa requirements for Turks in return. Davutoglu considered the visa-free travel
as the only chance of his political survival. According to two senior officials,
Davutoglu told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that his political survival was
at stake if the EU did not honor its pledge of the visa deal, Financial Times
reported. The Erdogan camp, however, considered it as a conspiracy against him.
He publicly belittled the visa deal. Davutoglu then tried to get an appointment
with US President Barack Obama, perhaps calculating that a one-on-one meeting
with the US president could earn him more time. Washington later said Obama-Davutoglu
meeting was postponed at the request of Ankara. Could it be possible that
Erdogan camp sabotaged the meeting? I don’t know for sure, but I feel it
wouldn’t be unlikely. As Davutoglu spoke on Thursday, he hailed his short-lived
tenure as an exceptional success, underscored his popularity among the public
and made sure it was not his choice to leave the office. His remarks stood in
contrast with Erdogan’s previous statement that it was Davutoglu’s own decision
to step down. Since the prime minister has fired off some vitriolic remarks,
political commentators have been scratching their heads in an attempt to
understand underlying messages hidden in the speech of disgruntled Davutoglu.
There was no doubt that hard feelings left from his forced departure. The ruling
party, long byline for a consolidated political structure, is bursting at the
seams. The word is that several politicians are now aligned with Davutoglu to
challenge the authority of Erdogan with a new political establishment.
Davutoglu’s remarks seemed pregnant to a wider and quite nasty internal
reckoning. It wouldn’t be unusual, in my opinion, for pro-Erdogan media to
embark on a sinister campaign to vilify his political opponents. It is a
recurring fact that Erdogan’s rivals, particularly ones hailed from within, are
unable to survive in the face of massive smear campaign machine which is also
known as the loyalist media. Davutoglu’s premature rebellion may draw Erdogan’s
unyielding wrath and end the disgraced politician’s political career for good.
The ouster of the prime minister is described as a “Palace Coup” by many critics
in Turkey. The Turkish “palace intrigue” in fact involves an actual palace, a
1,150-room sumptuous presidential complex Erdogan built two years ago. Justice
Minister Bekir Bozdag, Energy Minister Berat Albayrak (also Erdogan’s
son-in-law), Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus and Transportation Minister
Binali Yildirim are the strongest candidates for Davutoglu’s post. But the
ruling party congress on May 22 will only serve as a façade for Erdogan’s
hand-picked successor.
Graceful government and
separation of powers
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/May 09/16
Saudi King Salman recently issued 50 royal decrees, and renamed and merged a
number of ministries. His aim of forming graceful government that is more
efficient at decision-making, and restructuring councils, ministries and
committees is not easy. However, what attracted my attention to the decisions
made on Saturday is that the royal court no longer has consultants who work in
the executive authority. This confirms separation of powers. This separation
between he who grants power and the executive authority, represented in the
General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, is an important step. Linking
commissions to members of the Council of Ministers, or the political, security
or economic and development councils, activates these commissions’ work and
restores their connection to the decision-maker, allowing them to be part of the
general plan for the country.
The royal court no longer has consultants who work in the executive authority.
This confirms separation of powers
Vision 2030
It is a radical and significant change that harmonizes with the Saudi Vision
2030. Reform anywhere in the world begins with a vision, restructuring,
following up on plans, filling gaps and rectifying mistakes. Saudi Arabia is
reforming to keep up with the current era, exploiting resources, and thinking
about a better tomorrow that befits its citizens.
A road map to implement
Vision 2030
Samar Fatany/Al Arabiya/May 09/16
The national transformation plan continues to be the subject of discussion among
all segments of society. There are those who are ardent supporters, others are
skeptics, and there are also doubters. The supporters believe that it is a
brilliant plan that will save the country from a pending economic crisis. The
skeptics believe that the plan is too ambitious and that it will be very
difficult to realize its goals. As for the doubters, they believe that we do not
have the manpower or the know-how to implement such a gigantic project.
Meanwhile, economists outline basic requirements needed to implement Vision
2030. They assert that good governance and social justice are critical for a
smooth transformation process. The government must pledge a national commitment
to provide the basic rights for all citizens before policymakers draw the
mechanism for the transformation plan. They should begin by strengthening the
rule of law and applying justice for all to guarantee national support for the
change. An efficient and strong judiciary is a fundamental requirement for the
protection of human rights and for sustainable social progress and stability.
Legal analysts have always maintained the need to modernize the legal system in
order to achieve meaningful social and economic reforms. The judiciary system
should incorporate flexible laws that are necessary for change. Our legal system
lacks transparency, predictability and due process to attract foreign
investment. Businesses have suffered and projects have been delayed or aborted
because of legal restrictions. The hardliners who continue to exercise legal
control over our economic liberties are the impediments to economic prosperity.
An efficient and strong judiciary is a fundamental requirement for the
protection of human rights and for sustainable social progress and stability.
Religious strife is also a major threat to the transformation plan. It will not
be easy to bring about change with the prevalence of the ultra-conservative
opinions entrenched in the minds of some who call for a boycott of entertainment
networks and label advocates of modernity as enemies of the faith. Social
scientists urge a strong government stand against the obstructionists who have
delayed the reform movement and divided our society into progressives and
extremists.
Future for the youth
Saudi youth expect policymakers to chart a plan that will ensure a better future
for all, where no one should be above the law. Every citizen is entitled to lead
a life of decency and dignity. Saudi youth today who represent 70 percent of the
population are more aware of their rights and want to be on a par with other
countries that enjoy freedom, equality and social justice. They hold the
government responsible for providing opportunities to help them achieve their
full potential. The plan should include serious steps to improve healthcare and
public well-being, as well as provide equal opportunities and decent work for
all. These are the requirements for a healthy and productive society. There
should be programs to promote a moderate and inclusive society and an effective
mechanism to provide upward mobility for women and allow their participation in
nation building. Many capable and qualified women remain marginalized. According
to the 2014 McKinsey “Women Matter” survey, women in Saudi Arabia hold less than
one percent of executive-committee and board positions which is among the lowest
in the world.
The progress of our nation depends on the success of the youth and the
empowerment of women who will be the future leaders of this country. Quality
education, on-the-job training and business opportunities are basic requirements
to help them succeed and become contributing citizens. What we need is a clear
road map to sustainable development that will ensure a successful and
irreversible transformation plan. The agenda for the next 15 years should be a
charter to support new Saudi citizens of the twenty-first century who can lead
the nation to a better future.
Government officials, the Shoura Council, civil society, local authorities, the
business and the private sector, the scientific and academic community and all
stakeholders must show more commitment to implementing the transformation plan.
Analysis:
Current round of Gaza hostilities likely over, but powder keg could blow any
minute
Yossi Melman/Jerusalem Post/May 09/16
A tense quiet fell on the Israel-Gaza border on Saturday. The Palestinians did
not fire any mortar shells and the IDF did not respond with tank fire, canons or
air strikes, as had happened over the last week. One of the reasons for
Saturday's quiet were the messages that each side sent to the other publicly and
through third parties, such as Egypt, in which they said that they have no
interest in increasing tensions, and certainly no intention to go to war.
Hamas's prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, expressly stated this in his
weekly sermon on Friday. An additional reason for the quiet is the fact that the
IDF finished its work on the recently uncovered Gaza tunnel in the 100 meters
adjacent to the border fence inside the Gaza Strip and left the area. According
to the understandings reached between Israel and Hamas through Egyptian
mediation after summer 2014's Operation Protective Edge, the IDF is allowed to
operate in this area in certain instances, in which suspicions arise that the
other side intends to act against Israel. The recent escalation came amid
increased activity by the IDF, which operated heavy engineering equipment and
new technological means to locate tunnels. This activity led to the uncovering
of two attack tunnels leading into Israel from southern Gaza within the last
month. One tunnel was dug prior to Operation Protective Edge, but was fortified
afterward. Hamas quietly witnessed its uncovering. However, when the IDF
announced the discovery of the second tunnel last week, Hamas responded with
mortar fire. The organization wanted to signal to Israel that it would not
accept IDF activity to uncover tunnels within the thin strip of land near the
border fence within Gaza. Thus, Hamas attempted to set new red lines between the
sides.
Hamas's fire was measured, as were the IDF's reprisals. However, the defense
establishment believes that Hamas understood that the IDF will not be deterred
from actions to uncover tunnels in the narrow strip adjacent to the border fence
within Gaza if it has cause to do so.
The defense establishment has emphasized this fact. If, through intel or new
technological advancements, there are signs of additional tunnels, the IDF will
not hesitate to once again enter the same area. The IDF understands that Hamas
must not be allowed to dictate new rules which spell out the formula: "We will
dig into Israeli territory, but you can't act to thwart or uncover our
efforts."Therefore, it seems that this round of hostilities is over. However,
the central problem has not been solved. Hamas understands that it is losing a
strategic asset, its tunnels, after its other strategic asset, the rocket fire
into Israel's homefront that it displayed during Operation Protective Edge,
failed to achieve its goals and did not fulfill the organization's expectations
that it would lead to mass casualties. Hamas will continue to dig tunnels, but
it is a weakened organization. The group without a political "sponsor" will
continue to be isolated. This is all happening on the background of an economic
crisis for 1.8 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who are living in a state
of poverty. Eventually, sooner or later, the powder keg of this economic crisis
will blow up in Israel's face. The cabinet will soon discuss the establishment
of a port in order to eliminate what Hamas defines as a "blockade." At least
four ministers support the idea - Israel Katz, Naftali Bennett, Yoav Galant and
Avi Gabbay - and there are likely more. The IDF chief of staff, the head of
Military Intelligence, the head of the the Civil Administration and the head of
the Shin Bet are prepared to accept the idea, as long as there is a strict
inspection regime in order to ensure that weapons and materials that can be used
to increase Hamas's military strength are not smuggled into the Strip through
the port.
However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon
are ignoring this opinion, just as they are ignoring the the security echelon's
recommendations to initiate a diplomatic process with the Palestinians.
Iran's Plans to
Control a Palestinian State
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/May 9, 2016
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8007/iran-palestinian-state
The Iran nuclear deal, marking its first anniversary, does not appear to have
had a calming effect on the Middle East.
Iran funnels money to Hamas and Islamic Jihad because they share its desire to
eliminate Israel and replace it with an Islamic empire. The Iranian leaders want
to see Hamas killing Jews every day, with no break. Ironically, Hamas has become
too "moderate" for the Iranian leadership because it is not doing enough to
drive Jews out of the region.
More Palestinian terror group leaders may soon perform the "pilgrimage" to their
masters in Tehran. If this keeps up, the Iranians themselves will puppeteer any
Palestinian state that is created in the region.
The Iran nuclear deal, marking its first anniversary, does not appear to have
had a calming effect on the Middle East. The Iranians seem to be deepening their
intervention in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general and in internal
Palestinian affairs in particular.
This intervention is an extension of Iran's ongoing efforts to expand its
influence in Arab and Islamic countries, including Iraq, Yemen, Syria and
Lebanon and some Gulf states. The nuclear deal between Tehran and the world
powers has not stopped the Iranians from proceeding with their global plan to
export their "Islamic Revolution." On the contrary, the general sense among
Arabs and Muslims is that in the wake of the nuclear deal, Iran has accelerated
its efforts to spread its influence.
Iran's direct and indirect presence in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon has
garnered some international attention, yet its actions in the Palestinian arena
are still ignored by the world.
That Iran provides financial and military aid to Palestinian groups such as
Hamas and Islamic Jihad has never been a secret. In fact, both the Iranians and
the Palestinian radical groups have been boasting about their relations.
Iran funnels money to these groups because they share its desire to eliminate
Israel and replace it with an Islamic empire. Like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the
Houthis in Yemen, Hamas and Islamic Jihad agreed to play the role of Tehran's
proxies and enablers in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Iran used to funnel money to Hamas and Islamic Jihad because they share its
desire to eliminate Israel and replace it with an Islamic empire. Relations
between Iran and Hamas foundered a few years back, when Hamas leaders refused to
support the Iranian-backed Syrian dictator, Bashar Assad. Pictured above: Hamas
leader Khaled Mashaal (left) confers with Iranian "Supreme Leader" Ali Khamenei,
in 2010. (Image source: Office of the Supreme Leader)
But puppets must remain puppets. Iran gets nasty when its dummies do not play
according to its rules. This is precisely what happened with Hamas and Islamic
Jihad.
Relations between Iran and Hamas foundered a few years back over the crisis in
Syria. Defying their masters in Tehran, Hamas leaders refused to declare support
for the Iranian-backed Syrian dictator, Bashar Assad. Things between Iran and
Hamas have been pretty bad ever since.
First, the Assad government closed down Hamas offices in Damascus. Second, Assad
expelled the Hamas leadership from Syria. Third, Iran suspended financial and
military aid to Hamas, further aggravating the financial crisis that the
Gaza-based Islamist movement had already been facing.
Islamic Jihad got it next. Iranian mullahs woke up one morning to realize that
Islamic Jihad leaders have been a bit unfaithful. Some of the Islamic Jihad
leaders were caught flirting with Iran's Sunni rivals in Saudi Arabia and other
Gulf countries. Even worse, the Iranians discovered that Islamic Jihad was still
working closely with their erstwhile allies in the Gaza Strip, Hamas.
Iran had had high hopes for Islamic Jihad replacing Hamas as Tehran's darling,
and major proxy in the Palestinian arena. But here were Islamic Jihad leaders
and activists working with their cohorts in Hamas, in apparent disregard of Papa
Iran.
The mullahs did not lose much time. Outraged by Islamic Jihad's apparent
disloyalty, Iran launched its own terror group inside the Gaza Strip: Al-Sabireen
(The Patient Ones). This group, which currently consists of several hundred
disgruntled ex-Hamas and ex-Islamic Jihad members, was meant to replace Islamic
Jihad the same way Islamic Jihad was supposed to replace Hamas in the Gaza Strip
-- in accordance with Iran's scheme.
Lo and behold: it is hard to get things right with Iran. Al-Sabireen has also
failed to please its masters in Tehran and is not "delivering." Palestinian
sources in the Gaza Strip say that Iran has realized that the investment in Al-Sabireen
has not been worthwhile because the group has not been able to do anything
"dramatic" in the past two years. By "dramatic," the sources mean that Al-Sabireen
has neither emerged as a serious challenger to Islamic Jihad or Hamas, and has
not succeeded in killing enough Israelis.
So Iran has gone running back to its former bedfellow, Islamic Jihad.
For now, Iran is not prepared fully to bring Hamas back under its wings. Hamas,
for the Iranians, is a "treacherous" movement, thanks to its periodic temporary
ceasefires with Israel. The Iranian leaders want to see Hamas killing Jews every
day, with no break. Ironically, Hamas has become too "moderate" for the Iranian
leadership because it is not doing enough to drive Jews out of the region.
That leaves Iran with the Islamic Jihad.
In a surprise move, the Iranians this week hosted Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan
Shalah and senior officials from his organization, in a renewed bid to revive
Islamic Jihad's role as the major puppet of Tehran in the Gaza Strip. Islamic
Jihad officials said that the visit has resulted in the resumption of Iranian
financial aid to their cash-strapped organization. As a result of the rift
between Islamic Jihad and Iran, the Iranians are said to have cut off nearly 90%
of their financial aid to the Palestinian terror organization.
Some Palestinians, such as political analyst Hamadeh Fara'neh, see the
rapprochement between Iran and Islamic Jihad as a response to the warming of
relations between Hamas and Turkey. The Iranians, he argues, are unhappy with
recent reports that suggested that Turkey was acting as a mediator between Hamas
and Israel.
Other Palestinians believe that Iran's real goal is to unite Islamic Jihad and
Al-Sabireen so that they would become a real and realistic alternative to Hamas
in the Gaza Strip.
Whatever Iran's intentions may be, one thing is clear: The Iranians are taking
advantage of the nuclear deal to move forward with their efforts to increase
their influence over some Arab and Islamic countries. Iran is also showing that
it remains very keen on playing a role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict --
one that emboldens radical groups that are bent on the destruction of Israel and
that share the same values as the Islamic State terror group.
Iran's latest courtship of Islamic Jihad is yet another attempt by the mullahs
to deepen their infiltration of the Palestinian arena by supporting and arming
any terror group that strives to smash Israel. For now, it seems that Hamas's
scheme is working, largely thanks to the apathy of the international community,
where many believe that Iran has been declawed by the nuclear deal.
But more Palestinian terror group leaders may soon perform the "pilgrimage" to
their masters in Tehran. If this keeps up, the Iranians themselves will
puppeteer any Palestinian state that is created in the region. Their ultimate
task, after all, is to use this state as a launching pad to destroy Israel. And
the Iranians are prepared to fund and arm any Palestinian group that is willing
to help achieve this goal.
**Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone
website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without
the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Syrian Regime And Its Mouthpieces:
Aleppo Campaign Will Continue Until Final Victory; U.S. And Its Regional Proxies
Responsible For Aleppo Crisis
MEMRI/May 09/16/Special Dispatch No.6422
The Syrian regime regards the battle in Aleppo as a major campaign to defeat
what it terms "terrorist organizations" and to thwart the Turkish efforts to
establish a buffer zone in northern Syria. The regime prepared at length for
this campaign. On April 6, 2016 the Syrian army announced that it had launched a
major offensive in the Aleppo region "in accordance with its promise to respond
firmly to violations of the ceasefire" by the terror organizations.[1] On April
10, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Al-Halqi announced that the army and the Russian
air force were preparing a joint operation to liberate Aleppo.[2] Although
Russia denied this, the preparations on the ground continued, and also involved
Iran, which reported in early April that it had dispatched Division 65 troops to
the Aleppo area.[3] It was also reported that six Iranian combat jets had
reached Syria in order to take part in the fight against the Syrian opposition
in Aleppo.[4] On April 28, 2016 the Syrian army and the Russian Air Force
launched a massive attack on Aleppo that killed hundreds.
In addition to accusing the terrorist organizations of violating the cessation
of hostilities agreement that came into effect on February 21, 2016, the Syrian
regime blames the escalation in the Aleppo area on Saudi Arabia and Turkey,
which, it says, "sponsor" and "direct" the terrorism. Many writers in the
official Syrian press also leveled harsh criticism at the U.S., saying that it
is behind the Saudi and Turkish actions. One writer in the government daily Al-Thawra
even called the U.S. "the head of the serpent" and advised attacking American
targets and interests in order to deter it from supporting the terrorists.
Despite the temporary ceasefire that was reached in Aleppo following
understandings between the U.S. and Russia, and came into effect on May 5, the
Syrian regime continues to maintain its position that a military victory is the
only way to restore security and stability to the city.
This report will review the regime's position on the situation in Aleppo.[5]
President Assad: The War In Aleppo Will Continue Until Terror Is Defeated
On April 28, 2016, the Syrian daily Al-Watan, which is close to the regime,
published an article titled "It Is Time to Launch a Campaign for Liberating All
of Aleppo," which indicated that the recent escalation of hostilities in the
city had been initiated by the regime. The article stated that Syria's political
and military leadership had given the ceasefire and the political process a
chance, but now it was time to commence military action to complete the takeover
of the city. "Everyone can see that the Syrian regime has concentrated forces
and is preparing, along with its allies, for a decisive battle," said the
article, and added: "Last Thursday [April 21], the army sent a message to the
terrorists and their supporters in the north of Aleppo and in the Handarat
refugee camp that it was capable of completing the cordon of the city and its
eastern neighborhoods, but that it preferred to give the political process a
chance... provided [that everyone understood] that it would resume its
activities if the militants and those negotiating in their name did not show
flexibility." The article explained that the campaign's objectives were to put
an end to the aspirations of Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and to "serve as a
meaningful springboard towards eliminating terror." It stated further that "this
is a war that the Syrian army is waging on behalf of the entire world against
Jabhat Al-Nusra, ISIS and [other] takfiri forces of darkness." The article
speculated that the battle would not last long and would completely change the
situation in Syria and the region."[6]
The Syrian regime and its mouthpieces adhered to the position that a military
campaign was the only way to deal with the "terrorists" even after the temporary
ceasefire in Aleppo that Russia and the U.S. agreed upon on May 5, came into
force. In a letter of congratulations that Syrian President Assad sent to
Russian President Vladimir Putin on the anniversary of the Allied victory over
Germany in World War II, he wrote: "Today the city of Aleppo, like all the
cities of Syria, embraces the heroic city of Stalingrad and promise it that,
despite the cruelty of the enemies and the brutality of the attack, and despite
the numerous victims and great pain, our cities and villages, our people and our
proud army, will not accept anything less than the defeat of this attack and a
final victory over it, due to the positive effect this will have on Syria as a
whole, on the region and on the world."[7]
The claim that the campaign for Aleppo is unavoidable and will continue until
terror is fully defeated was also made in many articles in the Syrian government
press and in papers close to the regime. These also attacked the American
efforts to reach a ceasefire in Aleppo, on the grounds that it would include
Jabhat Al-Nusra, which the Security Council has designated a terrorist
organization. Dr. Bassem Abu 'Abdallah, a political science lecturer at the
university of Damascus, wrote in a similar vein in the daily Al-Watan: "In my
opinion, there is no avoiding a decisive campaign in Aleppo, because the events
[the attempts to secure a ceasefire] are only a distraction... The campaign is
difficult, but the only option is to win it, for this will be a victory of
civilization over barbarity, of virtue over hypocrisy and false prophecy, and of
sovereignty over subordination..."[8]
'Imad Salem, who writes for the government daily Al-Ba'th, wrote: "The campaign
in Aleppo with take place and there is no avoiding it, even if this compromises
the cessation of hostilities [agreement]. Its outcomes will determine the
contours of the world's new geopolitical map..."[9]
Al-Thawra editor 'Ali Qassem wrote: "...We are not against a lull [in the
fighting]; we even believe that it constitutes a spark of hope that could
alleviate the suffering of the Syrians. At the same time, it will be difficult,
or even impossible, to convince us that violating [international law] will serve
[the objective of] a lull, and that ignoring the presence of Jabhat Al-Nusra and
the alliances that [other] terrorist organizations are forming with it [is the
way to] maintain this lull... A lull with Jabhat Al-Nusra, its proxies and its
allies is a violation of international law and of international resolutions, and
a wanton act that, in our opinion, the world should not disregard, even for the
sake of preserving the cessation of hostilities agreement or preventing the lull
from collapsing. [The lull] has no future and no hope of lasting if terrorism
and its organizations continue to exist..."[10]
Syrian Foreign Ministry: Saudi Arabia, Turkey Are Orchestrating The Activity Of
The Terror Organizations
As expected, the Syrian regime pointed the finger at Saudi Arabia and Turkey,
which head the camp that opposes it and support the Syrian opposition, claiming
that they directed the terror organizations to escalate their attacks in Aleppo
in light of the numerous defeats they had sustained on other battlefronts, as
well as in the negotiations. In a May 3, 2016 letter to the UN Security Council,
the Syrian foreign ministry stated: "While local and international [elements]
are engaged in efforts to consolidate the agreement for the cessation of
hostilities and for a lull in Aleppo, the terror organizations, under the
direction of those who operate them in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have launched a
comprehensive offensive along several routes into the city..." Syrian
Information Minister 'Omran Al-Zou'bi said, in a similar vein: "Every time the
terrorist organizations and those who operate them fail in their attempts to
achieve a military victory in some area, they try to create an explosion in some
other area... We hold the governments of the Turkish and Saudi regimes
responsible, from a legal, political, moral and criminal point of view, for
every drop of blood spilled in Aleppo in the recent days... and for everything
that is happening in Syria." Al-Zou'bi stated further: "The truth about the
information and the photos that they [Turkey and Saudi Arabia] are falsifying in
order to cover up their terror and crimes in Aleppo has been exposed and it
emphasizes their impotence and frustration."[11]
Basma Hamed, a columnist for the pro-regime Syrian daily Al-Watan, wrote: "The
Qatari-Saudi-Turkish triangle is trying to prevent any harm to its future role,
and that is why it is acting to prevent the Damascus axis from scoring a new
victory [in Aleppo]... and to thwart the advance of the Syrian army and its plan
to purge Aleppo as a preliminary step before advancing on Idlib, Deir Al-Zor and
Al-Raqqa with the help of the Russian air force..." She added: "The Aleppo arena
has become a complicated arena of local and international struggle. All the
warring parties have concentrated their forces [there] in an attempt to take
over the city. [Our] rivals understand the implication of the events and is
preparing for a confrontation. This, because a victory in Aleppo, coming after
the victory in Tadmor, means that the Saudi-Qatari terrorist arm will be
amputated, the Syria-Turkey border will be closed to the extremists, and the
illusory Ottoman [dream] to build a buffer zone in northern Syria will be
shattered..."[12]
Syrian Columnists: The U.S. Is 'The head Of The Serpent; It Should Be Attacked
In Order To Deter It
Though the Syrian regime blames Saudi Arabia and Turkey for the escalation of
hostilities in Syria, it places the main responsibility for this on the U.S.,
saying that it allows and even instructs them to do this. 'Ali Nasrallah, a
columnist for the government Syria daily Al-Thawra, called to "deliver blows" to
the U.S. and its interests, because it is the source of terror. He wrote: "There
is no doubt that the escalation occurred against the backdrop of the latest
round of talks [between the regime and opposition delegations] in Geneva, and
was accompanied by inflammatory statements by various elements, including
[former] Turkish [Prime Minister] Davutoglu. Naturally, the statements of the
other hostile elements are not uncoordinated, because Washington issues
instructions to all its proxies, without exception. It is noteworthy that the
American administration continues its hypocrisy and lies... Turkey, Qatar and
Saudi Arabia are central factors in the aggression, and they do not [even] hide
[the fact that] they manufacture, fund and arm the terrorism ... But the U.S.
thwarts even the calls to supervise the transfer of funds and weapons and the
calls to close the [Turkey-Syria] border... So the struggle is mainly against
the U.S. not against its minor proxies, for the U.S. is the exclusive sponsor of
terror... Attacking the manufacturers [of terror] is effective and attacking the
mercenaries is necessary. [But] the correct course of action is to address the
operator and planner, the serpent's head , in order to deter it by delivering
the right kind of blows to it and to its interests in order to make it
withdraw..."[13]
Syrian Columnists: The U.S. Supports Terrorism; Cannot Take part In Resolving
Syria Crisis
Ahmad 'Orabi Ba'aj, a columnist for the government Syria daily Al-Thawra, wrote:
"It is true that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are the most aggressive
countries that are negatively intervening in Syria, but this aggression would
not have continued had the U.S. not done everything in its power to prevent
[achieving] a political solution to the crisis in Syria... [These] countries
would never have dreamt of doing what they are doing without unreserved American
support, and without the American-Zionist coordination, division of labor and
approval of the terror that is being perpetrated in the region..."[14]
Al-Ba'th columnist 'Ali Salem called for excluding the U.S. from the efforts to
resolve the Syria crisis: "What is happening in Aleppo today cannot be separated
from what is happening in the rest of Syria and around the negotiations table in
Geneva. [Everything] is part of a precisely-formulated Western plan. The latest
[move in this plan] was the immense effort that the American administration
invested in preserving what remains of the terrorist [organizations] and
ignoring the takfiri organizations' daily violations of the [cessation of
hostilities] agreement and their withdrawal of their delegation from the Geneva
talks... after all this, [U.S. Secretary of State John] Kerry, who has never
spoken the truth, makes declarations and blames the Syrian state for all the
attacks, in a way that corresponds to America's history of hypocrisy and
aggression... From now on, the party who has killed, destroyed, expelled
[people] and fanned the flames of the crisis [i.e., the U.S.] should not be
relied upon to resolve the Syrian [crisis], even if he presents himself as a
savior – for behind the good manners and smooth words there hides a cowboy who
understands only the language of force and [aims] to achieve his goals, no
matter how many people die, and even if this is done by means of cooperating
with the takfiri organizations..."[15]
Ba'ath Party Member: The International Community, Which Was Horrified By The
Terror In Paris, Is Indifferent To The Terror In Aleppo; The U.S. And U.N. Are
Plotting Against Syria
Shahnaz Fakoush, a member of the national leadership of Syria's ruling Ba'th
party, criticized the international community that was shocked by the terror
attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo but did not lift a finger on
behalf of terror victims in Syria. She wrote in Al-Thawra: "After the flames of
terror struck the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in France, it took less than 24 hours
for the world's leaders, and even the robed kings [i.e. the Gulf states], to
convene and for condemnations and anti-terror resolutions to start forming in
the UN corridors. This happened while terror had been striking Syria for five
years but the world remained blind and mute [to this]. Despite this, we [still]
hoped for the best and that the West would start getting serious about the
anti-terror struggle... But it seems that [the outrage following the Charlie
Hebdo attack] was a disease that vanished once the temperature dropped. They
called it a massacre, while it was [merely a limited] incident, and forgot the
acts of massacre that the terrorists had been committing in Syria for five
years…
"[Staffan] de Mistura, you and your ceasefire and your cessation of hostilities
[agreement] and the Geneva talks and the files that you carry with you – get
away from us, we do not need you. De Mistura is not innocent of the Syrians'
blood... After 10 sweltering days [of battle] we hear him talk about the need
for a ceasefire in Aleppo. The U.S., de Mistura, the West and even the U.N. are
all plotting against Syria and Aleppo... Does a terror attack like Charlie Hebdo
have to occur in Aleppo for the world to be shocked?..."[16]
Endnotes:
[1] Champress.net April 6, 2016.
[2] Syria-news.com April 10, 2016.
[3] Tasnim (Iran), April 4, 2016.
[4] Mizanonline.ir, April 27, 2016.
[5] For responses by the Syrian opposition and by Arab writers to the situation
in Aleppo, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6420, Syrian Opposition, Arab Writers:
The U.S. Has A hand In Aleppo Situation; The Syrians Are Being Slaughtered While
The Arab World Does Nothing, May 9, 2016.
[6] Al-Watan (Syria), April 28, 2016.
[7] SANA (Syria), May 5, 2016.
[8] Al-Watan (Syria), May 5, 2016.
[9] Al-Ba'th (Syria), May 6, 2016.
[10] Al-Thawra (May 5, 2016).
[11] SANA (Syria), May 3, 2016.
[12] Al-Watan (Syria), May 2, 2016.
[13] Al-Thawra (Syria), May 2, 2016.
[14] Al-Thawra (Syria), May 4, 2016.
[15] Al-Ba'th (Syria), May 6, 2016.
[16] Al-Thawra (Syria), May 5, 2016
Syrian Opposition, Arab
Writers: The U.S. Has A Hand In Aleppo Situation; The Syrians Are Being
Slaughtered While The Arab World Does Nothing
MEMRI/May 09/16/Special Dispatch No.6421
The massive attack on Aleppo by the Syrian regime with the help of the Russian
air force, which began immediately following the end of the recent round of
talks in Geneva, brokered by UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, between the
delegations of the Syrian opposition and regime, sparked many responses from the
Syrian opposition and the countries that support it. Alongside the expected
condemnation of the Assad regime and its allies, Russia and Iran,[1] there was
also harsh criticism against the U.S., and especially against President Obama.
The writers stated that Obama declares his support for the Syrian people, but in
practice does nothing and even prevents aid from reaching the Syrian opposition,
as part of an American-Russian plot to prop up the Assad regime. Most of the
accusations were based on an April 28, 2016 report in the London-based daily Al-Sharq
Al-Awsat, according to which the U.S. has "vetoed" the arming of the Syrian
opposition and has prevented Arab and other regional states, especially "a large
country in the Gulf" (i.e., Saudi Arabia), from arming the opposition with
quality weapons and from sending it reinforcements.[2] Criticism was also
directed at the Arab and Muslim world for standing idly by and capitulating to
the American dictates.
The following are excerpts from some of these responses:
Criticism Of The Obama Administration
Syrian Journalist: Obama Is A Racist Liar, His Nobel Peace Prize Should Be Taken
Away From Him
Syrian journalist Hanadi Al-Khatib called to revoke Obama's Nobel peace prize
because, throughout the five years of the Syrian crisis, he has not lifted a
finger to help the Syrian people and has even cooperated with the Assad regime
and with Russia and Iran. She wrote: "American president Barack Obama won the
Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, less than nine months after his inauguration as
president. Today, after he has spent eight years in the White House, it seems
totally incredible that the Nobel Peace Prize is still in the hands of this
American president, who [sat back] watching the sea of Syrian blood, and whose
policy was a major factor in [creating] it...
"Obama, who is preparing to leave the White House after governing the world's
largest superpower for eight years, has begun issuing a series of confessions
and apologies for his political mistakes... These apologies are not a product of
his conscience that has suddenly awakened, for if this were the case, he would
be apologizing day and night to the Syrians whose death he viewed live on TV in
the White House for over five years. Had the conscience of the Nobel Peace Prize
laureate awakened, he would have admitted that he was complicit in every drop of
blood spilled in Syria by Bashar Al-Assad, Iran and Russia...
"The US is governed today by a racist president, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate
who lies to the world using the word 'democracy'. This is a president who
quickly washes his hands of the Syrians' blood, refuses to establish a safe
zone, [sits by and] watches as ISIS – which he claims to be fighting –
flourishes and grows for four years, expels the refugees, and boasts to the
Syrians that he may possibly take in a few thousand refugees, [and this] while
his ambassadors around the world expel the Syrians unless they can demonstrate
that they have thousands of dollars in their bank account...
"Mr. Obama, what have you done for world peace that justifies your Nobel Prize?
They say you did something for the American people. In the Syrian refugee camps
in Turkey, Mother Fatima, in her tent, did much more for 50 Syrian children than
you ever did for them, and this without the help of the American treasury. Have
you and the Nobel [Prize committee] ever heard of her?... The Nobel Prize should
go to the children of Syria, and to the people of Turkey and Greece, who
provided them with what the entire world did not provide. Obama [is a] liar. Oh
deceitful world, take Obama's Nobel Prize away from him."[3]
Syrian High Negotiations Committee: There Is A Russian-American Plot Against The
Syrian People
The Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said in a May 1, 2016
statement: "There is a Russian-American plot that helps the Syrian regime and
enables Iran's militias and mercenaries... to attack the Syrian people."[4]
Syrian journalist 'Amer Huweidi wrote in a similar vein: "...Some believe we
should thank the U.S. for its (false) positions or role in support of the
Syrians, but in reality we, and everyone else, should know that the U.S. had a
hand in the events in Aleppo and in triggering them... This is not an American
surrender to Russia, but rather an understanding between them. The U.S. claims
that it is a friend of the Syrian people and supports the Syrian revolution, but
all its actions serve the regime." As an example, Huweidi cited the U.S.'s
objections to establishing a safe zone in Northern Syria; its refusal to arm the
opposition with quality weapons and anti-aircraft guns; the agreement for
cessation of hostilities that left out Jabhat Al-Nusra and ISIS and merely
serves the regime; the talks about a ceasefire in the regime strongholds of
Latakia and Damascus but not in Aleppo and Idlib, and more.[5]
According to Syrian writer Dr. 'Imad Buzu, the talks in Geneva between the
opposition and regime under U.S. and Russian sponsorship were merely a cover,
while on the ground the U.S. was putting extreme pressure on the opposition by
withholding arms from it and closing the Jordanian and Turkish borders, in order
to weaken its hand in future talks. At the same time the regime and its allies
enjoyed a free hand to operate. According to him this was "a plot... and
therefore any crime committed during this period constitutes a war crime... and
a crime against humanity. Partners to this crime include anyone responsible for
these talks, including President Putin, Foreign Minister [Sergey] Lavrov,
Russian envoy [Mikhail] Bogdanov, President Obama, Secretary of State Kerry, as
well as UN Special Envoy [Staffan] de Mistura and his advisors... If these talks
were merely a charade, then a greater crime than this cannot be imagined,
especially in light of the hundreds of dead..." He wondered "what is the legal
status of those who could stop this massacre [in Aleppo] and did not do so –
such as the current American administration, that not only failed to make a true
effort to rescue the Syrian people but did everything to prevent any country or
element from providing true and effective aid to the Syrian people, while
ignoring the tens of thousands of foreign militia [fighters] that entered Syria
to help the Assad gang commit its crimes..."[6]
Hisham 'Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Ziyani, a columnist for the Bahraini daily Akhbar Al-Khaleej,
wrote that the attack on Aleppo was the continuation of the Western-Iranian plot
to exterminate the Sunnis: "From day to day it becomes clearer that the Russian
withdrawal from Syria was nothing but an illusion that the Russians sold to the
Arabs and the West. This [fake] withdrawal, which was demanded by [various]
countries including the U.S., indicates that there is a Western-Russian
agreement to support the fascist and blood-soaked Syrian regime, as part of a
Crusader-Safavid [i.e., Western-Iranian] pact to exterminate the Syrian
people...
The "world's silence" allows Assad to target Aleppo with Russian and Iranian
support (Al-Sharq, Saudi Arabia, May 2, 2016)
"The U.S. plotted with Russia to hand Syria to Iran and exterminate the Sunnis.
The U.S. is the chief supporter of the events [in Syria]. It is the one that
ordered and agreed... to continue the ongoing bloody [acts] of murder, without
the UN Security Council or the EU acting. This was all agreed upon [in advance].
"The Crusader-Safavid war in the region is as clear as the noonday sun – [it
involves an] American green light, Russian implementation, [action by the]
Safavid-Iranian and Iraqi militias, as well as the militias of the Party of
Satan [i.e. Hizbullah], silence on the part of the Security Council silence and
inaction by the EU..."[7]
In an article titled "Obama the Butcher of Aleppo," posted on the Syrian
opposition website orient-news.net, Syrian journalist Ghassan Yassin wrote: "It
is clear to everyone that it is the Russian planes that are bombarding Aleppo,
together with the remnants of the Assad regime's air force [that uses] chemical
[weapons]. However, could Russia have committed its crime without clear and
explicit American consent?!
"After the Vienna understandings,[8] the coordination between the Russians and
Americans became more evident, and it [even] emerged that their approaches and
objectives were perfectly aligned...
"The U.S. wants to punish the opposition for its rejection a year ago of the
American plan for training and arming opposition fighters [who would fight only]
ISIS and refrain from fighting what remained of the forces of the Assad regime …
Russia, as the loyal ally of Assad, willingly carries out this punishment, which
matches its perception that anyone fighting Assad is a terrorist who must be
defeated.
"By means of the Russian airstrikes, the U.S. also wants to pressure the
[opposition's] High Negotiations Committee to return to the negotiations table
in Geneva and to accept the Russian-American proposal to form a national unity
government that includes Bashar Al-Assad – [a proposal] that completely
contravenes the Geneva I and II declarations that clearly mandate the forming of
a transitional governing body with full authority...
"In their declarations [the American officials] demand and emphasize the
political solution, but [in practice] they implement the military solution
against the opposition and the [Syrian] citizens, in order to force them to
accept their concept of a solution, namely that we must accept Assad's
[continued presence] and free ourselves to fight ISIS..."[9]
Criticism Of The Arab And Muslim World
Alongside the condemnations of the U.S., criticism was also directed at the Arab
and Muslim world, including at the Arab League, for failing to help Aleppo. The
HNC said in its statement that the Arab League was "absent from the Syrian
arena."[10] HNC delegation head Asa'ad Al-Zou'bi, said: "We do not absolve
anyone of responsibility for the events in Syria, including the Arab League,
since it [should be] the first to address the Syrian issue, provide us with
weapons and equipment, and confront the Russian-American-Iranian plot..."[11] He
said further: "We do not trust the Arab League, which has disregarded Iran's
interference [in Syria]."[12]
Syrian journalist Khalil Al-Miqdad wrote: "The [Arab and Muslim] nation has been
standing by for five years while the people of Syria were butchered... Some [of
its members] even paid for Putin's and Assad's bombs and missiles that are
killing the Muslims in Syria and did everything they could to buy the loyalty of
the armed factions, divide the Syrians, and spread hostility among them, for the
sake of Assad and his regime, instead of uniting [the Syrians]...
"Iran gathered foreigners from all over the world and sent its forces [to Syria]
in broad daylight, allowing [them] to take Syrian land and [spill] Syrian blood,
and Russia did the same. Would they have done this had they not been certain
that the Muslim and Islamic position was feeble and could not oppose them or
even support the Syrians?..."[13]
The world sits watching the attack on Aleppo that was prepared by Israel,
planned by Russia and executed by Iran (Al-Sharq, Saudi Arabia, May 4, 2016)
Syrian journalist Iyad 'Issa directed his accusations at Saudi Arabia and
Turkey, saying that they had capitulated to American dictates and had prevented
the arming of the Syrian opposition. He wrote that Iran, which supports Assad,
possesses the courage that its opponents lack. While it dared to directly
intervene militarily in Syria, "Ankara and Riyadh hesitated to do so and avoided
arming the rebels with quality weapons, bowing to Putin's threats and Obama's
instructions. This, despite Putin's inability to enter into a true war of
attrition in Syria and the fact that Obama's presidential authority to
effectively penalize them had expired. Moscow and Tehran are undoubtedly
empowered by the hesitance of the Turkish-Saudi alliance, which missed its
opportunity to topple Assad by military means due to the delusions of a
political solution..."[14]
In addition to criticizing the Arab states, some writers also called on them,
especially on Saudi Arabia and the Islamic alliance it has formed to combat
terrorism, to act in Syria. 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, the former editor of Al-Sharq
Al-Awsat, wrote: "The massive devastation [in Aleppo] should motivate the
countries that, throughout the dark years of the war, stood by [watching] the
extermination of the Syrian people and the ethnic cleansing. It is unthinkable
that the Gulf states should remain silent and accept this unprecedented
escalation. The Syrian people has no one left [to help it]..."[15]
Bahraini columnist Hisham 'Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Ziyani: "It is very sad that the
international community, as well as Arab and Islamic countries, remain apathetic
in the face of the Crusader and Safavid [i.e., Iranian] war to exterminate
Syrian Sunnis... When the aerial war against the Syrian rebels started, they
should have been given anti-aircraft guns so that the revolution could win, but
everyone avoided this after the U.S. threatened to stop arms deals with Arab and
Muslim countries if they delivered U.S.-made anti-aircraft guns to the rebels.
"Qatar's demand to convene an urgent Arab League summit is good, but what can
the Arab League do when the [opposing] positions of the foreign ministers of
Iraq, Lebanon, and Algeria are known [in advance], as is [the position] of a
particular Gulf state [i.e., Oman]... What is funny and sad [at the same time]
is the emergence of a Crusader-Safavid war in the region. [This war] will be
deterred by nothing except an Islamic coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which we
hope will take a [decisive] position on the events in Syria and Iraq."[16]
Writer Dr. Khaled Mamdouh Al-'Azi wrote on a Syrian opposition website: "...The
Arab and Islamic world has not heard of [a single] Arab or Muslim state that
summoned the Russian ambassador in order to convey its opposition to his
country's actions in Syria and to the massacre that is happening in Aleppo with
Russia's direct participation and support... It is time that the Arab force
established in Saudi Arabia, which was named "Northern Thunder," fulfills its
role of intimidating foreigners in order to defend Arab and Sunni peoples that
have become live targets for Iran, Russia, the U.S. and Israel."[17]
Endnotes:
[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6413, Saudi Columnist Following Pulverizing
Of Aleppo: Assad Is The No. 1 Terrorist; Is Putin Any Different From
Al-Baghdadi? Is Khamenei More Humane Than Al-Zawahiri?, May 5, 2016.
[2] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), April 28, 2016.
[3] Orient-news.net, May 1, 2016.
[4] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), May 1, 2016.
[5] All4syria.info, May 2, 2016.
[6] Orient-news.net, May 2, 2016.
[7] Akhbar Al-Khaleej (Bahrain), May 1, 2016.
[8] The reference is to the understandings reached during the International
Syria Support Group (ISSG) deliberations in Vienna on October 30, 2015 and
November 14, 2015, which called for the establishment of a transitional
governing body within six months from the start of peace agreement talks between
the Syrian parties, the drafting of a new constitution and elections within 18
months.
[9] Orient-news.net, April 30, 2016.
[10] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), May 1, 2016.
[11] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), May 1, 2016.
[12] Champress.net, May 1, 2016.
[13] Orient-news.net, May 3, 2016.
[14] Orient-news.net, May 1, 2016.
[15] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), April 30, 2016.
[16] Akhbar Al-Khaleej (Bahrain), May 1, 2016.
[17] All4syria.info, May 3, 2016.