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Bible Quotation For Today/I tell you; unless you repent, you will all perish
Luke 13/01-05: "At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’"

Bible Quotation For Today/Paul Saves all the Prisoners on the Ship
Acts of the Apostles 27/27.33/37.39-44: "When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, ‘Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and remaining without food, having eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive; for none of you will lose a hair from your heads.’After he had said this, he took bread; and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. Then all of them were encouraged and took food for themselves. (We were in all two hundred and seventy-six persons in the ship.) In the morning they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned to run the ship ashore, if they could. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time they loosened the ropes that tied the steering-oars; then hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. But striking a reef, they ran the ship aground; the bow stuck and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves. The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none might swim away and escape; but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest to follow, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land."

LCCC Latest analysis, editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 10-11/15
Pope Francis creates global prayer day for ‘care of creation/Agencies/August 10/15
Iranian Senior Officials: In 2011 We Received Letter From U.S. Administration Recognizing Iran’s Right To Enrich Uranium/MEMRI/August 10/15
Firms linked to Revolutionary Guards to win sanctions relief under Iran deal/REUTERS/J.Post/August 10/15
2 Druze indicted for 'lynching' wounded Syrian en route to Israeli hospital/Hassan Shaalan/Ynetnews/August 10/15
Firms linked to Revolutionary Guards to win sanctions relief under Iran deal/REUTERS/J.Post/August 10/15
The Secret Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/August 10/15
Britain: The "Struggle of Our Generation/Samuel Westrop/Gatestone Institute/August 10/15
Turkey's 'Compassionate' State/Burak Bekdil/Hürriyet Daily News/August 10/15
Reassessing the still-born U.S. rebel program in Syria/Sharif Nashashibi/Al Arabiya/August 10/15
Does Egypt lack ideas or resources/Mohammed Nosseir/Al Arabiya/August 10/15
Bashar al-Assad, Ahmed Kattan and one hopeless case/Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya/August 10/15
ISIS-infested Iraq has time to worry about porn sites/Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/August 10/15

LCCC Bulletin titles for the Lebanese Related News published on August 10-11/15
Sidon: Phoenicia's "Los Angeles.."/WAlid Phares
Salam Hinges on Cabinet Support to Confront Planned Demos
Hezbollah Supports Gebran Bassil as FPM Chief – FPM Represents 7.5% of Christians/Camal Richa
Berri Says Aoun Lost Opportunity on Appointments, Criticizes Irresponsible Behaviour
Army Arrests Member of Osama Mansour's Terror Group who Confesses to Recruiting Teens for Attacks
Mustaqbal Rejects 'Madness' to 'Destroy' the Army
Six Suspected Syrian Militants Arrested in Arsal
Warrant Issued against Suspect in Army Major's Killing
At Least One Rocket Lands in Northern Bekaa Town of Btedei
Ibrahim Sticks to Initiative on Raising Retirement Age of Top Officers
MP, Sami Gemayel Slams Govt., Says 'Regional Axes' Candidates Can't Reach Baabda Palace

LCCC Bulletin Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 10-11/15
At Least 33 Dead, Dozens Hurt as 3 Blasts Rock Iraq's Diyala
Militants Kill Six Turkey Forces, Attack U.S. Consulate
US consulate in Turkey targeted as wave of attacks kills 8
REUTERS/08/10/2015
Syria Rebels Fire 1,000 Missiles at Shiite Towns, 8 Dead
Assad Cousin Arrested after Killing of Colonel Sparks Outrage
2 Druze indicted for 'lynching' wounded Syrian en route to Israeli hospital
Holy Land Catholic Body Urges Action against Jewish Extremists
HRW Urges Saudis to Free Pro-Reform Writer

Pope Francis creates global prayer day for ‘care of creation’
By Reuters/Vatican City/Monday, 10 August 2015
Pope Francis, riding a wave of mostly positive reaction to his encyclical on ecology, on Monday set up a Catholic "World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation" to draw attention to the plight of the planet. The day, to be marked by the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics each year on Sept. 1, is Francis's latest move to try to highlight global environmental concerns ahead of a pivotal U.N. summit on climate change in Paris in December. "As Christians we wish to contribute to resolving the ecological crisis which humanity is presently experiencing," Francis said in a letter to two Vatican cardinals whose departments are involved in issues of justice, peace and Christian unity. Sept. 1 is also when Orthodox Christians mark their day for the protection of the environment, giving the gesture added symbolism in relations between the Eastern and Western branches of Christianity. Francis said the day, to be marked with events in every Catholic diocese around the world, would offer Catholics "a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation".
Francis said it would also be a chance to "thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live".
In June, the pope issued an encyclical on climate change, the first ever dedicated to the environment. The call to his church's members could spur the world's Catholics to lobby policymakers on ecology issues and climate change. He has said he wants the encyclical and other Church initiatives to influence the U.N. Paris summit in December, the purpose of which is to reach a global agreement to combat climate change after past failures. Last month, at a Vatican-hosted conference of mayors and governors from major world cities, Francis urged the United Nations to take a "very strong stand" on climate change at the summit.

Sidon: Phoenicia's "Los Angeles.."
WAlid Phares/Face Book/August 10/15/Sidon, the city Port south of Beirut can be compared to the Los Angeles of Ancient Phoenicia: Sophisticated port, long stretched coasts and beaches, shops, art, schools, theaters, comedians, pleasance and military fleets, beautiful houses, and commercial institutions. Sidon was conquered by all invaders from Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs and others. Ironically Phoenician Sidon's sophisticated port installations built the fleet of each one of these conquerors. Persians reached Greece and Arabs reached Constantinople with Sidonese-built ships. Worse, Sidon ships were part of Alexander's blockade of Tyr. Well, business. On the other hand many Sidon captains and sailors were leaders in Mediterranean and African exploration. Some legend allege that a Sidon built ship landed near Fortaleza in Brazil. Much more on this great city of East Mediterranean Antiquity and other Phoenician sites later.

Salam Hinges on Cabinet Support to Confront Planned Demos
Naharnet/August 10/15/Sources close to Prime Minister Tammam Salam have expressed confidence that there is consensus to confront Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's call for street demonstrations against the military extensions. “Each day has its own events,” the sources said. “Salam is not alone responsible for confrontation.” “All the government's factions are obligated to unite,” they said, adding “there is consensus on confrontation.” Aoun called on Saturday on his supporters to get ready to stage demonstrations after Defense Minister Samir Moqbel issued decrees to extend the terms of the military commander, the chief of staff and the head of the Higher Defense Council. Aoun rejects the extensions because he wants to bring his son-in-law Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz, who is the Commando Regiment chief, as army chief. The prime minister is not changing his plans over Aoun's warnings, the sources stated in remarks to several newspapers. He will travel to Jordan on Wednesday to head Lebanon's delegation to the yearly meetings of the Higher Lebanese-Jordanian Council and is scheduled to meet with King Abdullah II. Salam is expected to return to Beirut on Wednesday night to chair the cabinet session the next day. The sources also denied that the prime minister has made a pledge to Hizbullah not to take any decision during the session to provoke Aoun's representatives in the cabinet. “The prime minister has never and will never provoke anyone,” they said. “He takes patriotic decisions.”The sources added that Salam is working on consensus on condition that it does not paralyze the work of the government and the people's interests.They stressed that the PM will reject any formula that leads to paralysis.

Hezbollah Supports Gebran Bassil as FPM Chief – FPM Represents 7.5% of Christians
Camal Richa/August 10/15/After the competition narrowed down between Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and MP Alain Aoun, preparations for the Free Patriotic Movement Chief elections are ongoing. However, it is still unclear until now if there will be a third candidate, or if the competition will remain between these two.Some opinion polls among FPM voters have indicated that MP Alain Aoun has 60% of the votes while Minister Bassil has 40%. This has necessitated an urgent intervention by Hezbollah and a personal interference by current FPM Chief Michel Aoun in order to tip the elections in Bassil’s favor. Sources indicate that Hezbollah prefers Bassil as the head of FPM for several reasons, especially since Bassil has been kept up to date with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Party and FPM, as well as his distinctive relations with the leaders of Hezbollah. It should be noted that Bassil’s engineering office had taken part in the reconstruction of Dahyeh with Jihad al Binaa Company which belongs to HA. Sources add that Bassil is appointed by General Michel Aoun to be the sole person to follow-up with Hizbollah, especially after Brigadier General Fayez Karam was exposed and accused to being an Israeli spy. Sources state that all areas which are mixed with Hezbollah and FPM started experiencing a mobility to support Bassil at the expense of MP Alain Aoun. In a related context sources in Lebanese Polling and Statistics firms pointed out that the number of FPM members reached 50,000 in 2005, but this amount dramatically dropped to 15,000 after applicants withdrew their applications on one hand, and committees in charge of applications refused some applicants on the other hand. Sources indicate that this number (15,000 FPM Members) does not give MP Michel Aoun the right to speak on behalf of 70% of the Christians especially if we consider that the average Christian family in Lebanon rarely exceeds 5 members. This means that FPM supporters, at best, are about 75,000 Christians. This means that FPM has 7.5% of Christians, and this number neither gives Gen. Aoun the right to appoint the Army General, nor the right to claim the presidency as an exclusive right for him. Sources add that FPM Christian allies cannot be classified as members of FPM. Marada MP’s take their orders from MP Suleiman Franjieh, and other MPs like Emil Rahme, Fady Aawar, Talal Arslan, Abbas Hachem and others are not FPM. This number of members, sources conclude, reflects the truth of the FPM situation which has been amplified by Gen. Aoun.

Berri Says Aoun Lost Opportunity on Appointments, Criticizes Irresponsible Behaviors
Naharnet/August 10/15/Speaker Nabih Berri has said that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun lost the opportunity of bringing his son-in-law as army chief by rejecting the names proposed by Defense Minister Samir Moqbel. Berri, whose remarks were published in local dailies on Monday, told his visitors that an opportunity, which will not come again, has been lost. He said Aoun “waged the wrong battle and his representatives (in the cabinet) did not take the advantage of Moqbel's proposal of a series of candidates for the army leadership,” including the FPM leader's son-in-law Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz, who is the Commando Regiment chief. Berri told his visitors that he would have backed Roukoz's appointment along with Hizbullah, the FPM's allies and possibly Kataeb ministers.
But it is now difficult to meet Aoun's demand to appoint Roukoz as army leader following Moqbel's decision to extend the terms of the military commander, the chief of staff and the head of the Higher Defense Council, said Berri. The speaker denied that he has launched an initiative to resolve the dispute on the appointment of high-ranking military and security officials. But he said Aoun has the right to call for demonstrations to express the FPM's stances on condition that he does not paralyze the life of the people. The FPM leader called Saturday on his supporters to get ready to stage demonstrations against the military extensions. Berri also lamented that Lebanon will not be the first to benefit from the repercussions of the nuclear deal signed between Iran and major powers last month. “We are wasting time with repulsive and irresponsible behaviors,” he said. Meanwhile, in an interview published in the Egyptian daily al-Ahram, Berri said that the election of a new president requires Saudi-Iranian assistance. Lebanon has been without a head of state since President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended in May last year.

Army Arrests Member of Osama Mansour's Terror Group who Confesses to Recruiting Teens for Attacks
Naharnet/August 10/15/The Lebanese army intelligence announced on Monday the arrest of a member of Osama Masnour's terrorist group. An army statement said that Abdul Rahman Tareq al-Kilani was detained upon his return to Lebanon from abroad. During investigations, he admitted to belonging to Mansour's group and participating in attacks against army positions in the northern city of Tripoli. He also confessed that while he was abroad, he was tasked by fugitives Bilal Bader and Shadi al-Mawlawi, to recruit teenagers to carry out terrorist attacks against the military and Internal Security Forces. Kilani had succeeded in recruiting three Lebanese, who were also arrested. They admitted that they were in the process of planning an attack. The target of the assault was not disclosed.
The detainees have since been referred to the military judiciary and their accomplices are being pursued, added the military communique. Mansour was shot dead by security forces in Tripoli in April, while al-Mawlawi remains a fugitive. They have led armed groups that engaged in deadly gunbattles with the army in Tripoli and its surrounding areas in October.
'
Mustaqbal Rejects 'Madness' to 'Destroy' the Army
Naharnet/August 10/15/The head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, MP Fouad Saniora, has rejected an initiative launched by General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim to raise the retirement age of the army and security officers for three years. “I knew that there is madness but I didn't think for a second that we would reach a stage of beyond madness,” Saniora told As Safir newspaper published on Monday. “Honestly, the army is being destroyed. I can't find better words to put it,” he said. “Aside of the financial part, the proposal has destructive effects on the structure of the military institution,” said Saniora. The lawmaker also rejected statements that Ibrahim's proposal would “straighten things up” after a decision by Defense Minister Samir Moqbel to extend the terms of several top military officials angered Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun. “Aoun has been given one hundred ladders but he has refused to use any of them and decided to stay on the tree,” said Saniora. But FPM officials told As Safir that the approval of Ibrahim's initiative does not hinge on Saniora's stance. The officials, who were not identified, hinted that Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat can guarantee the required majority in the parliament to amend the defense law to raise the retirement age of the top military brass. Aoun is not stuck on a tree so he does not need a ladder to go down, the sources said. “We have never and we will never search for the ladders of humiliating settlements,” they told As Safir. The controversy on the appointment of high-ranking military and security officials erupted when Aoun insisted on bringing his son-in-law Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz, who is the Commando Regiment chief, as army chief.

Six Suspected Syrian Militants Arrested in Arsal
Naharnet/August 10/15/Six suspected Syrian militants were arrested Monday at an army checkpoint in the northeastern border town of Arsal, state-run National News Agency reported. “Lebanese army intelligence agents arrested at the Ain al-Shaab checkpoint in Arsal six Syrians suspected of belonging to militant groups,” NNA said. It noted that the detained men include two Syrian army defectors. On July 29, ten Syrian defectors were arrested in the northern Bekaa town of al-Labweh, which neighbors Arsal. Arsal lies 12 kilometers from the border with Syria and has been used as a conduit for weapons and rebels to enter Syria, while also serving as a refuge for people fleeing the conflict.Jihadists from the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front groups stormed the town in August 2014 and engaged in deadly battles with the army following the arrest of a top militant. They withdrew from Arsal at the end of the fighting, but kidnapped a number of troops and policemen. A few have since been released, four were executed, while the rest remain held.

Warrant Issued against Suspect in Army Major's Killing
Naharnet/August 10/15/First Military Examining Magistrate Judge Riyad Abou Ghida issued on Monday an arrest warrant against Elie Daou in the murder of Army Major Rabih Kahil. The state-run National News Agency said Abou Ghida issued the warrant after questioning Daou in the killing of Kahil last month.The interrogation took place in the presence of Daou's attorney Riyad Matar, who said he would appeal the judge's decision within 24 hours. Matar stressed that his client is not involved in the murder of Kahil. Last week, State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged Daou and a fugitive in the murder of the army officer after opening fire at him in the area of Bdadoun following a dispute. The other suspect to be charged in the case is Hisham Daou, who allegedly opened fire at Kahil, hitting him in the leg four times.Elie Daou is charged with interfering in the accident.

At Least One Rocket Lands in Northern Bekaa Town of Btedei
Naharnet/August 10/15/Conflicting media reports emerged Monday evening after at least one projectile hit the northern Bekaa town of Btedei. State-run National News Agency said two rockets landed Monday evening in Btedei, without elaborating on the source of the projectiles. It said the rockets hit near the house of Sobhi and Nadimeh Fakhri, who were killed in November 2014 at the hands of fugitives from the powerful Jaafar clan who were fleeing army troops. The rockets created two 80-centimeter craters in the ground, NNA added. “A military expert has headed to the region to unveil the circumstances of the incident and determine the source of the rockets,” NNA said. Meanwhile, LBCI television said a projectile that exploded in Btedei was “a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fired from Iaat” upon the arrival of the body of a Hizbullah fighter killed in Syria. Later on Monday, Btedei municipal chief Samir Fakhri confirmed that a rocket had struck the town's plain, noting that the location from which it was fired was still unknown. “There is no damage and investigations are still underway to determine the source of the rocket,” he added. Earlier media reports had said that the rocket was fired from the Eastern Mountain Range on the Lebanese-Syrian border, where several Syria-based militant groups are based.

Ibrahim Sticks to Initiative on Raising Retirement Age of Top Officers
Naharnet/August 10/15/General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has revealed that an initiative to raise the retirement age of senior army officers for three years aimed at ending a growing political crisis has not stopped. Ibrahim told As Safir daily published on Monday that his contacts with all the Lebanese factions are ongoing. The head of General Security also stressed that his initiative is well-studied, denying that it would put financial pressure on the treasury by keeping top officers in their posts. “No one has the right to express his viewpoint on something which he does not know,” said Ibrahim about the critics of his plan. But An Nahar newspaper said that Ibrahim's proposal would not see light. Ain el-Tineh sources told the daily that Speaker Nabih Berri does not mind to discuss the amendment of the defense law to raise the retirement age of the top military brass. But a decree to open an extraordinary parliamentary session still requires the signatures of the two ministers representing the Free Patriotic Movement and the other Christian ministers, said the sources. The sources also told al-Akhbar newspaper that Ibrahim will not be able to move forward with his initiative and that al-Mustaqbal movement will not accept it, a stance that was made clear by the head of al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora in remarks to As Safir on Monday. But Free Patriotic movement sources said that Berri needs the initiative to meet his objective of opening an extraordinary legislative session. Ibrahim made his initiative to resolve the controversy on the appointment of high-ranking military and security officials. The FPM of Michel Aoun has rejected the extension of the terms of the top military and security brass because the lawmaker wants his son-in-law Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz, who is the Commando Regiment chief, to become army chief. On Saturday, Aoun urged his supporters to get ready for street protests, few days after the cabinet failed to agree on the appointments, prompting Defense Minister Samir Moqbel to extend the terms of the army commander, the chief of staff and the secretary-general of the Higher Defense Council.

MP, Sami Gemayel Slams Govt., Says 'Regional Axes' Candidates Can't Reach Baabda Palace
Naharnet/August 10/15/Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel blasted the government on Monday as “unproductive,” while stressing that presidential hopefuls “belonging to regional axes” cannot make it to the presidential palace in Baabda in the current circumstances. “This government was supposed to be a national unity government aimed at securing the election of a new president, and it was supposed to serve for no longer than two or three months,” said Gemayel after the weekly meeting of Kataeb's political bureau. “Citizens can no longer bear all the crises … This government has become unproductive, and it should have kept its sessions open-ended until it finds a solution for the garbage crisis,” he added. Slamming the political parties of which Prime Minister Tammam Salam's government consists, Gemayel lamented that they only care about “their interests.”“We have offered all the possible solutions and can no longer take the negligence in the cabinet … From now on, we consider ourselves to be unbound by cabinet solidarity,” he added. “The decision to leave garbage on the streets was probably deliberate,” the lawmaker charged. As an exit, Gemayel proposed electing a new president in order to form a new government and hold parliamentary elections “so that people can hold the officials accountable.”
Turning to the protracting presidential vacuum, Gemayel put the blame on the "40 MPs who are boycotting the electoral sessions."“The 'either me or no one else' approach can no longer work. Any candidate belonging to a regional axis cannot be elected president,” he stressed. “Kataeb calls for turning the page and starting a new one because there is an emergency situation in the country,” the Kataeb chief added. In response to a reporter's question, Gemayel underlined that “there is no alternative to electing a centrist president,” describing his father, former Lebanese president and Kataeb chief Amin Gemayel, as a “consensual” candidate.

At Least 33 Dead, Dozens Hurt as 3 Blasts Rock Iraq's Diyala
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/15/Three explosions, two of them suicide bombings, killed at least 33 people near Baquba, the capital of Iraq's restive eastern province of Diyala on Monday, police and medics said. The blasts targeted mostly Shiite areas and came less than a month after a massive suicide attack left at least 120 dead in Khan Bani Saad, which is also in Diyala. The deadliest of Monday's bombings was in an area called Huwaydir. Security sources and medics at the main hospital in Baquba said at least 20 people were killed there and 45 wounded. "A suicide bomber driving a booby-trapped vehicle blew himself up in the middle of the central market area in Huwaydir," a police lieutenant-colonel said. Another suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden vehicle past a checkpoint before blowing himself up in Kanaan district, killing at least 10 and wounding the same number, a police captain said. An improvised explosive device also went off in a neighborhood between Baquba and Huwaydir, killing three and wounding four, the same source said.
It was not immediately clear how many of the victims were civilians. Following the July 17 bombing in Khan Bani Saad, the provincial authorities had tightened security across the province, especially in Baquba which lies about 70 kilometers (45 miles) north of Baghdad. The Khan Bani Saad blast came on the eve of the feast marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and shocked the nation. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's triple bombing, which bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State group.
Baghdad announced in January that Iraqi forces had "liberated" Diyala, a religiously and ethnically mixed province which was partly overrun by IS after the jihadists launched a brutally effective offensive last June.The jihadists no longer have fixed positions in the province, but have reverted to their old tactics of planting car bombs and carrying out suicide operations or hit-and-run attacks.

Militants Kill Six Turkey Forces, Attack U.S. Consulate
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/15/Turkey was on Monday hit by a slew of deadly attacks, with six members of the security forces killed and the U.S. consulate in Istanbul hit by a gun attack. The authorities blamed the violence on Kurdish and Marxist radicals, as Ankara presses a two-pronged "anti-terror" offensive against Islamic State (IS) jihadists and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants following a wave of attacks in the country. The attacks raised new concerns about security throughout Turkey in an escalating cycle of violence that has left a 2013 ceasefire agreed by the PKK in tatters. Four Turkish police officers were killed in a roadside bomb attack, blamed on Kurdish militants, in the southeastern Silopi district of Sirnak province bordering Iraq and Syria, the official Anatolia news agency said. A Turkish soldier was killed in a separate incident when Kurdish militants attacked a military helicopter with rocket launchers in Sirnak's Beytussebap district, the army said. In Istanbul, a suspected suicide bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives at a police station in the Sultanbeyli district just after midnight, wounding ten people, three of them police, the governor's office said in a statement. Clashes with police continued throughout the night. Beyazit Ceken, head of the police bomb disposal department, was wounded in the clashes and died of his injuries in hospital, the governor's office said. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later joined mourners at his funeral in Istanbul broadcast live on television. Two militants were killed in the clashes as well as the suicide bomber, the governor's office added. Meanwhile, two armed women early Monday launched a gun attack against the well-fortified US consulate on the outskirts of Istanbul. One of the two attackers was later arrested after being wounded in clashes with police. The outlawed Marxist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DHKP-C) said one of its militants -- named as Hatice Asik -- had carried out the attack. The DHKP-C has carried out a string of attacks in Turkey in the past, claiming a 2013 suicide attack on the US embassy in Ankara. The authorities have targeted suspected DHKP-C, IS and PKK members in a succession of "anti-terror" raids in the last two weeks. A consulate spokesperson confirmed that there had been a "security incident" near the mission and the building remained closed to the public until further notice. A Turkish official in Ankara told AFP that the US consulate attack was linked to the DHKP-C and the Istanbul police station bombing by the PKK. But the Istanbul police attack was also claimed by a smaller leftist group, the People's Defence Units (HSB), on its Twitter feed. An EU foreign affairs spokesperson condemned Monday's "terrorist attacks", adding that the "recent escalation of violence in the country is of serious concern and must not continue." The state-run Anatolia news agency said over the weekend that so far 390 "terrorists" have been killed in the air campaign in Turkey and northern Iraq with 400 wounded. The PKK's insurgency for greater rights and powers for Turkey's Kurdish minority began more than 30 years ago and has left tens of thousands dead. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the United States but Ankara's Western allies have urged it to show restraint in the onslaught. Senior PKK figure Cemil Bayik told the BBC in an interview Monday that Turkey was trying to protect IS by fighting the PKK, who are bitterly opposed to the jihadists. "They are doing it to limit the PKK's fight against IS. Turkey is protecting IS," he said. According to an AFP toll, 28 members of the security forces have been killed in violence linked to the PKK since the current crisis began. The government has also vowed to begin strikes against IS jihadists in Syria alongside US forces who have now started arriving to use the well-located Incirlik air base in southern Turkey. Washington has long been pushing its historic ally Turkey to step up the fight against IS, which Ankara had been reluctant to do. But Turkish officials have vowed that a wider fight against IS will start in the coming days.

US consulate in Turkey targeted as wave of attacks kills 8
REUTERS/08/10/2015
ISTANBUL/DIYABAKIR - The US consulate in Istanbul came under gunfire on Monday and at least eight people were killed in a wave of separate attacks on Turkish security forces, weeks after Ankara launched a crackdown on Islamic State, Kurdish and far-left militants. The NATO member has been in a heightened state of alert since starting its "synchronized war of terror" last month, which has included air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Syria and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq. It has also rounded up hundreds of suspected militants at home. Police armed with automatic rifles cordoned off streets around the US consulate in the Sariyer district on the European side of Istanbul, following the gun attack there. Local media reports said two attackers, a man and a woman, fled after police fired back. There were no immediate reports of civilian injuries. Broadcaster NTV said police later detained the female suspect, who was wounded in the gunfire."We are working with Turkish authorities to investigate the incident. The Consulate General remains closed to the public until further notice," a consulate official said. On the other side of Istanbul, a vehicle laden with explosives was used in an attack on a police station, injuring three police officers and seven civilians, police said.
Broadcaster CNN Turk said two gunmen and an officer from the police bomb squad, who was sent to investigate, were later killed in a firefight. Shooting continued into Monday morning in the Sultanbeyli district on the Asian side of the Bosphorus waterway, which divides Istanbul, as police carried out raids. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either of the attacks, but US diplomatic missions and police stations have been targeted by far-left groups in Turkey in the past.
The far-leftist Revolutionary People's Liberation Army-Front (DHKP-C), whose members are among those detained in recent weeks, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at the U.S. embassy in Ankara in 2013 which killed a Turkish security guard.
VIOLENCE IN SOUTHEAST
Violence between the security forces and suspected militants also intensified in the mainly Kurdish southeast. Four police officers were killed when their armored vehicle was hit by a roadside blast in the town of Silopi in the province of Sirnak, security sources said.
A soldier was also killed when Kurdish militants opened fire on a military helicopter in a separate attack in Sirnak, the military said in a statement. Security sources said at least seven other soldiers were wounded in the attack, which came as the helicopter took off.
The military launched an air campaign against PKK camps in northern Iraq on July 24 after a resurgence of militant attacks. State-run Anadolu news agency said on Sunday that more than 260 militants had been killed, including senior PKK figures, and more than 400 wounded by Aug. 1. The violence has left a peace process with the PKK, begun by President Tayyip Erdogan in 2012, in tatters. Erdogan said last month the process had become impossible, although neither side has so far declared the negotiations definitively over.
The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Ankara, the United States and European Union, launched its insurgency in 1984 to press for greater Kurdish rights. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Syria Rebels Fire 1,000 Missiles at Shiite Towns, 8 Dead
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/15/Syrian rebels fired around 1,000 rockets, mortar rounds and home-made projectiles at two besieged Shiite towns in Idlib province, killing eight civilians, a monitoring group said on Monday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the civilians including a child were killed in Fuaa in the heavy fire which also targeted the town of Kafraya. At least 12 rebels were also killed in fighting against regime forces outside Fuaa, said the Britain-based monitoring group, which compiles its information from multiple sources on the ground. Fuaa and Kafraya are among the last regime-held outposts in the northwestern province of Idlib, most of which has been captured by an alliance that includes al-Qaida affiliate Al-Nusra Front. The alliance, known as the Army of Conquest, began an attack against the villages on July 15, saying it was retaliation for a regime offensive on Zabadani, the last rebel-held bastion along Syria's border with Lebanon. It said the attack would "give you a taste in the north of what our people are tasting in Zabadani."Al-Nusra and many of its hardline allies consider Shiite Muslims to be heretics. Elsewhere, the Observatory and Syrian state media reported deaths in rebel fire targeting the government-controlled part of Aleppo city in northern Syria. The Observatory said four people were killed, among them two children, and 20 were wounded in the rebel shelling. State media put the toll at three dead in the city, which has been divided between government control in the west and rebel control in the east since shortly after fighting erupted there in mid-2012. More than 240,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-government demonstrations in March 2011.

Assad Cousin Arrested after Killing of Colonel Sparks Outrage
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/15/Syrian authorities have arrested Suleiman Assad, a cousin of the president accused of killing a military officer in a road rage incident, official news agency SANA said Monday. "Suleiman Hilal Assad has been arrested and transferred to the appropriate authorities," SANA reported, without adding details. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, citing local sources, said he was detained on the road between Latakia and Qardaha, President Bashar Assad's ancestral village. Suleiman Assad, a first cousin once removed of the president, is accused of shooting dead air force Colonel Hassan al-Sheikh in an apparent road rage incident on Thursday evening. The incident took place in the coastal province of Latakia that is a regime stronghold and heartland of the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs. Both Sheikh and his alleged killer are Alawites, and the incident caused tensions in Latakia's provincial capital, where more than 1,000 people Saturday protested the murder demanding justice. Earlier Monday, Syrian daily al-Watan quoted Sheikh's relatives as saying the president had pledged the crime would not go unpunished. Sheikh's wife Mayssa Ghanem told the paper, which is close to the government, that she had "received a promise from President Assad to punish the perpetrator, whoever he is." The pledge was passed to her by "official delegations that came to Latakia to express their sympathies," she said. "I have confidence in the word of the president, who is personally taking charge. We will get our rights."Suleiman Assad killed Sheikh after the colonel reportedly overtook him at a crossroads in Latakia. The alleged killer's father, Hilal Assad, a first cousin of the president, headed the defense forces in the Mediterranean city before his death in March 2014 clashes with rebels in nearby Kasab.
Sheikh's brother Nasser, who was with the colonel at the time of his death, told al-Watan he witnessed the victim being "killed in cold blood because he did not give way in a traffic jam." He hoped "the blood of my brother will save us from these criminal actions that kill people on the streets," in an apparent reference to the growing pro-regime militias in war-strewn Syria that are heavily-armed and often act with impunity. Latakia governor Ibrahim Khodr al-Salem, who paid condolences to the family on behalf of the presidency, assured them that "your rights will not be set aside so long as President Assad is here," al-Watan reported.

2 Druze indicted for 'lynching' wounded Syrian en route to Israeli hospital
Hassan Shaalan/Ynetnews /Published: 08.10.15/Israel News
Golan Heights man (22) and woman (48) charged with murdering a man they suspected was associated with Islamic rebel group that massacred Druze communities in Syria.
Two residents of a Druze town in the Golan Heights were indicted on Monday on charges of murdering wounded Syrian men while they were being taken to an Israeli hospital. According to the indictment, dozens of residents of Majdal Shams ambushed an Israel Defense Forces ambulance carrying two lightly wounded Syrian nationals last June. While driving through the town, the ambulance was stopped by a number of ATVs, and soon surrounded by an angry mob. The medical staff locked themselves inside the ambulance, and the accompanying military police told the rioters that the patients are soldiers. Rejecting the claim, the mob manhandled the ambulance and smashed one of its windows. Also according to the indictment, the driver escaped the mob and drove to the nearby village of Neve Ativ, where it was seized again and the two Syrian patients were attacked. One of them was killed and two IDF soldiers were wounded. The victims, who were allegedly affiliated with the Islamist rebel organization Nusra Front, were attacked in revenge for attacks perpetrated by the organization against Druze communities in Syria. The lynching was partially filmed by one of the perpetrators. They are seen to be shouting, stomping the wounded men and beating them with a stick. The defendants were identified as 22-year-old Amal Abu Saleh and 48-year-old Bashira Mahmoud. "We have found clear evidence against the defendants," said Superintendent Eli Fuchs of Israel Police's Northern District. "We have pictures showing the female defendant hurling stones at the victims and the male defendant beating one of them with a stick." "The defendants have not justified their act," he added. "However, the female defendant said that her relatives had been killed in Syria by ISIS and Nusra Front. She said: 'If your family had been raped and murdered, how would you have reacted?'"According to Superintendent Fuchs, the victims weren't affiliated with any rebel group. "The wounded Syrian was repatriated after giving evidence. He didn't recall much from the incident."Mahmoud's lawyer told Ynet that his client was not involved in the attack. "We will show clear-cut evidence that she had nothing to do with the murder," he said.

Holy Land Catholic Body Urges Action against Jewish Extremists
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/15/The body in charge of Roman Catholic properties in the Holy Land has called for legal action against a Jewish extremist group and its leader after he condoned burning churches. "The danger and threats to the Church and to Christians in Israel are imminent," the Custodian of the Holy Land wrote in a plea to Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein seen by AFP on Monday. The letter called on Israel to take immediate action to outlaw the extremist Lehava organization and prosecute its leader Benzi Gopstein. The letter followed attacks, allegedly by Jewish extremists, on Palestinians and Christian sites in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. An 18-month-old Palestinian child and his father died after alleged Jewish extremists firebombed their home at the end of last month. On June 18, an arson attack occurred at a shrine on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel where Jesus is believed to have performed the miracle of loaves and fishes. Israeli prosecutors have charged three Israeli extremists in that case. "To our utter dismay, recent years have witnessed an alarming and frightening increase in violent attacks against Christians, Christianity and Christian institutions in Israel," the letter said, denouncing an "atmosphere of de facto impunity."It called for a halt to "the ferocious campaign of religious incitement and racist violence against the Church and its institutions in Israel."During a debate with Talmudic students, Gopstein last week defended the idea of burning churches, invoking a medieval commandment to destroy idols, according to a recording aired in the media. Lehava is a far-right group which claims to fight for Jewish identity, in particular by opposing marriages between Jews and gentiles. A Roman Catholic official said on Sunday that an assembly of churches in the region had filed a complaint with police over the reported comments.

HRW Urges Saudis to Free Pro-Reform Writer
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/15/Human Rights Watch on Monday urged the Saudi Arabian authorities to free a writer and commentator arrested after he called on television for political reforms in the absolute Gulf monarchy. Zuhair Kutbi, 62, was detained on July 15 after an interview in June in which he called for reforms including "transforming the country into a constitutional monarchy and combating religious and political repression," the New York-based HRW said. "Authorities apparently questioned him about his television appearance, which had attracted considerable attention on social media," said the watchdog, adding that his writings had previously earned him six similar arrests. "If there is no evidence of criminal behavior, the Saudi authorities should immediately release Kutbi and compensate him for the ordeal they have put him through," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at HRW. Another Saudi writer, blogger Raef Badawi, is serving a 10-year sentence for "insulting Islam" and was ordered to be flogged 1,000 times, a sentence that sparked worldwide outrage. His lawyer and rights activist Waleed Abulkhair was also sentenced to 10 years in jail with five years suspended after being convicted of charges including "inciting public opinion". "Saudi authorities apparently have little better to do than to harass and jail people for nothing other than peacefully expressing their opinions," said Stork. "It's time for King Salman to put an end to this escalating repression and release all peaceful activists and writers."

Iranian Senior Officials Disclose Confidential Details From Nuclear Negotiations: Already In 2011 We Received Letter From U.S. Administration Recognizing Iran’s Right To Enrich Uranium
The Middle East Media Research Institute/MEMRI
Special Dispatch | 6131 | August 10, 2015
Iranian officials recently began to reveal details from the nuclear negotiations with the U.S. since their early stages. Their statements indicate that the U.S. initiated secret negotiations with Iran not after President Hassan Rohani, of the pragmatic camp, was elected in 2013, but rather in 2011-2012, in the era of radical president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[1] The disclosures also indicate that, already at that time, Iran received from the U.S. administration a letter recognizing its right to enrich uranium on its own soil. Hossein Sheikh Al-Islam, an advisor to the Majlis speaker, specified that the letter had come from John Kerry, then a senator and head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Iranian vice president and top negotiator Ali Akbar Salehi said that Kerry, while still a senator, had been appointed by President Obama to handle the nuclear contacts with Iran.
The following are initial details from these disclosures; a full translation is pending.
Khamenei: Bilateral Talks Began In 2011, Were Based On U.S. Recognition Of Nuclear Iran
In a speech he delivered on June 23, 2015, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that the American administration had initiated the nuclear talks with Iran during Ahmadinejad’s term in office, based on a U.S. recognition of a nuclear Iran: “The issue of negotiating with the Americans is related to the term of the previous [Ahmadinejad] government, and to the dispatching of a mediator to Tehran to request talks. At the time, a respected regional figure came to me as a mediator [referring to Omani Sultan Qaboos] and explicitly said that U.S. President [Obama] had asked him to come to Tehran and present an American request for negotiations. The Americans told this mediator: ‘We want to solve the nuclear issue and lift sanctions within six months, while recognizing Iran as a nuclear power.’ I told that mediator that I did not trust the Americans and their words, but after he insisted, I agreed to reexamine this topic, and negotiations began.”[2]
Hossein Sheikh Al-Islam: Kerry Sent Iran A Letter Via Oman Recognizing Iran’s Enrichment Rights
In an interview with the Tasnim news agency on July 7, 2015, Hossein Sheikh Al-Islam, an advisor to Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, said that John Kerry had relayed a letter to Tehran recognizing Iran’s enrichment rights: “We came to the [secret] negotiations [with the U.S.] after Kerry wrote a letter and sent it to us via Oman, stating that America officially recognizes Iran’s rights regarding the [nuclear fuel] enrichment cycle. Then there were two meetings in Oman between the [Iranian and U.S.] deputy foreign ministers, and after those, Sultan Qaboos was dispatched by Obama to Khamenei with Kerry’s letter. Khamenei told him: ‘I don’t trust them.’ Sultan Qaboos said: ‘Trust them one more time.’ On this basis the negotiations began, and not on the basis of sanctions, as they [the Americans] claim in their propaganda.”[3]
Salehi: Obama Appointed Senator Kerry To Handle The Nuclear Dossier Vis-à-vis Iran; Later He Was Appointed Secretary Of State
Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi and head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, who was restored to the nuclear negotiation team this year, served as Iran’s foreign minister in 2010-2013. In interviews he has given on Iranian media since April 2014, he too claimed that the Americans initiated the secret talks with Iran in 2011-2012, and stressed his role in jumpstarting the process from the Iranian side. In a comprehensive interview with the daily Iran on August 4, 2015, he elaborated on the secret contacts initiated by the Americans. The following are excerpts from the interview:
Interviewer: “Why was Oman chosen as a mediator [in the contacts with the U.S.]?”
Salehi: “We have very good relations with Oman. When [Supreme Leader] Khamenei recently mentioned ‘a respected regional figure,’ he was obviously referring to the Omani leader. Oman is also respected by the West, and it had mediated between America and Iran on several previous occasions, for instance in the affair of the American mountain climbers who were arrested in Iran [in 2009]… When [Iranian deputy Foreign Minister] Qashqavi was there [in Oman], an Omani official gave him a letter in which he announced that the Americans were willing to hold negotiations with Iran and that they were very interested in solving the challenging [crisis] between Tehran and Washington. We [Iranians] were willing to help facilitate the process, and it looked like a good opportunity had come up. The 2012 U.S. elections had not yet started back then, but Obama had already launched his reelection campaign. The Omani message came just as [Obama and Romney] were starting their race in the U.S. elections, but there was still time before the elections [themselves]. At that stage I did not take the letter seriously.”
Interviewer: “Why didn’t you take it seriously? Because it was delivered by a mid-level Omani official?”
Salehi: “Yes. This fact concerned us, because the letter was hand-written and back then I was not familiar with that official. After a while, Mr. Souri, who was the CEO of an Iranian shipping [company], visited Oman to promote various shipping interests and talk with Omani officials.”
Interviewer: “This was how long after the delivery of the letter?”
Salehi: “He came to me about a month or two after the first letter was delivered, and said to me: ‘Mr. Salehi, I visited Oman to promote shipping interests, and an Omani official conveyed to me that the Americans were willing to enter secret bilateral negotiations on the nuclear dossier.’ It was clear that they wanted to launch negotiations…”
“The Omani official whose message Souri was relaying was one Isma’il, who had just been appointed an advisor to the Omani leader and who still holds a position in the Omani foreign ministry. He had good relations with the Americans, and Omani officials trusted him [too]. I said to Souri: ‘We are not at all certain to what extent the Americans are serious, but I’ll give you a note. Go tell them that these are our demands. Deliver [the note] during your next visit to Oman.’ On a piece of paper I wrote down four clearly-stated points, one of which was [the demand for] official recognition of the right to enrich uranium. I thought that, if the Americans were sincere in their proposal, they had to accept these four demands of ours. Mr. Souri delivered this short letter to the mediator, stressing that this was the list of Iran’s demands, [and that], if the Americans wanted to resolve the issue, they were welcome to do so [on our terms], otherwise addressing the White House proposals to Iran would be pointless and unjustified.
“All the demands presented in this letter were related to the nuclear challenge. [They were] issues we had always come up against, like the closing of the nuclear dossier, official recognition of [the right to] enrichment, and resolving the issue of Iran’s past activities under the PMD [possible military dimensions] heading. After receiving the letter, the Americans said, ‘We are definitely and sincerely willing, and we can resolve the issues that Iran mentioned.’”
Interviewer: “With whom did the Americans hold contacts?”
Salehi: “They were in contact with Omani officials, including the relevant figure in the Omani administration. He was a friend of U.S. Secretary of State [John Kerry]. Back then Kerry was not yet secretary of state, he acted as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In any case, we received from the Americans a positive response and message. We came to the conclusion that we could prepare [to take] further steps on this issue. That’s why I asked the Omanis to relay to Iran an official letter that I could present to the officials in Iran. I assessed we had a good opportunity and that we could take advantage of it… They did so, and I presented the official letter that was received to the regime officials and went to the [Supreme] Leader to detail to him the process that had been conducted…
Interviewer: “What was the American position in the first meetings that took place between Iran and the P5+1 during Rohani’s presidency?”
Salehi: “After Rohani’s government began working [in August 2013] this was during Obama’s second term in office a new [round of] negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 was launched. By this time, Kerry was no longer a senator but had been appointed secretary of state. [But even] before this, when he was still senator, he had already been appointed by Obama to handle the nuclear dossier [vis-à-vis Iran] and later [in December 2012] he was appointed secretary of state. Before this, the Omani mediator, who was in close touch with Kerry, told us that Kerry would soon be appointed secretary of state. In the period of the secret negotiations with the Americans in Oman, there was a more convenient atmosphere for obtaining concessions from the Americans. After the advent of the Rohani government and the American administration [i.e., after the start of Obama's second term in office], and with Kerry as secretary of state, the Americans expressed a more forceful position. They no longer displayed the same eagerness to advance the negotiations. Their position became more rigid and the threshold of their demands higher. But the situation on the Iranian side changed too, since a very professional team was placed in charge of the negotiations with the P5+1…”[4]
‘Nuclear Iran’ Website: Three Rounds Of Talks With The U.S. Took Place Before Iran’s 2013 Elections
The “Nuclear Iran” website, which is affiliated with Iran’s former nuclear negotiation team and which supports the ideological camp, reported on April 20, 2014 that “Two additional conditions, out of the four conditions [set out by Khamenei], were that foreign minister [Salehi] himself not take part in the talks, and that the negotiations yield tangible results at an early [stage]. The policy for these negotiations was set out by a committee of three figures, [all of them] senior government officials, though Ahmadinejad himself did not have much of a role in it. The main strategy in these negotiations was [handing] America an ultimatum and exposing its insincerity and untrustworthiness. Before the 2013 presidential elections, three rounds of talks took place in Oman, and at these talks the Americans officially recognized Iran’s [right] to enrich [uranium]…”[5]
[1] This is in contrast to what was implied by U.S. President Obama on July 14, 2015, when he announced the nuclear deal with Iran in a speech that began with the words “After two years of negotiations…” Whitehouse.gov, July 14, 2015.
[2] Leader.ir, June 23, 2015. Ahmad Khorshidi, a relative of Ahmadinejad’s, told the website Entekhab in 2014 that negotiations between Tehran and Washington did not start during President Rohani’s term. He said that during the Ahmadinejad period, there were three rounds of talks between the sides, which were also attended by then-foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi. Entekhab.ir, June 11, 2014.
[3] Tasnim (Iran), July 7, 2015.
[4] Iran (Iran), August 4, 2015.
[5] Irannuc.ir, April 20, 2014.

Firms linked to Revolutionary Guards to win sanctions relief under Iran deal
REUTERS/J.Post/08/10/2015/
BEIRUT/WASHINGTON - Dozens of companies tied to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, a military force commanding a powerful industrial empire with huge political influence, will win sanctions relief under a nuclear deal agreed with world powers. The development is likely to anger critics of the accord, not least in the United States and Israel, but may be welcomed by Iranians eager for Iran to reopen to the outside world. The IRGC will act for Western firms in many ways as a gatekeeper to some of the most lucrative areas of Iran's economy.Such is the clout of companies with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which sees itself as the defender of Iran's Islamic revolutionary ideals and bulwark against US influence, that their release from financial curbs could by itself help ease return of swathes of the economy to the mainstream of world trade.
The process is complex and will unfold in stages, with some firms obliged to wait eight years for sanctions relief and others who can expect no concession even then from Washington, a reflection of concerns over activities beyond Iran's borders. Among the latter is the IRGC's construction arm Khatam al Anbia, controlling at least 812 affiliated companies worth billions of dollars and deemed by Washington "proliferators of weapons of mass destruction." The European Union will delist the company for sanctions in eight years, while the United States will maintain its measures against the firm. Foreign businessmen must gauge at that time to what extent they can trade with such partners without themselves inviting US measures.
In all, about 90 current and former IRGC officials, entities such as the IRGC itself, and firms that conducted transactions for the Guards will be taken off nuclear sanctions lists by either the United States, EU or United Nations, according to a Reuters tally based on annexes to the text of the nuclear deal. A handful will see EU sanctions removed once the nuclear deal is enacted on "Implementation Day" expected within the next year. Others such as Bank Saderat Iran (BSI), accused by Washington of transferring money to groups it deems "terrorist," such as Hezbollah and Hamas, will have EU sanctions lifted in eight years; but US measures will remain in place. Any IRGC companies delisted at the implementation stage would be able to "move money through global banks, access the SWIFT financial system, obtain and extend credit," among other activities, said Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. They could also get the backing of European export financing.
Most IRGC entities such as the elite Quds force, which carries out overseas operations, and Guards' airforce and missile command will not be de-listed by the EU until the second phase in some eight years. But all will remain then under US sanction for "terrorism support activities" or as "proliferators of weapons of mass destruction."These groups include names likely to cause controversy, at least in the West. Among them, Quds commander Qasem Soleimani. He has had a high-profile role in advising Shi'ite militia leaders in Iraq as well as the forces of President Bashar Assad in Syria. Also on the list for EU sanctions relief in around eight years is Ahmad Vahidi, a former head of the Guards wanted by Interpol for his alleged role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. Vahidi denies involvement.
Of those who will see nuclear sanctions eventually removed, the EU will delist Soleimani for nuclear sanctions but maintain measures for issues related to Syria and terrorism. Iran denies any involvement in terrorism. The benefits that will accrue to the Guards, its recent annual turnover from all business activities estimated at around $10-12 billion by one Western diplomat, have been the focus of much of the outrage in US Congress over the deal. Western critics say the deal does not in any case go far enough to ensure Iran will never be able to develop a nuclear weapon - an ambition Iran denies. Republicans in Congress, and some Democrats, are pursuing a motion to scrap the deal.
BUSINESS INTERESTS
Dozens of smaller companies linked to the Guards, some of which are directly involved in the purchase or manufacture of military materiel, are also scheduled for sanctions relief. Among those is the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Company, which builds military aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles, and Marine Industries, responsible for marine military acquisitions for both the IRGC and Iran's navy, according to the US Treasury. The EU will lift sanctions in about eight years while the United States will retain them. Under sanctions, the Guards were still able to thrive by controlling the smuggling of banned goods across the Gulf and from neighboring countries, experts say. So widespread are IRGC business interests that providing significant sanctions relief in Iran may be hard without relaxing restrictions on some key companies to some degree.
"Without delisting certain parties on implementation day --some of the banks or oil-related companies, for example --sanctions relief would have been hard," said Zachary Goldman, a former adviser at the US Treasury and now at New York University's Center on Law and Security.Now, the Guards will be able to lever their dominance in Iran's economy to serve as a conduit for the new business flowing into Iran, and will likely demand joint ventures, shared profits, and other benefits from companies seeking to access Iran's lucrative markets, Dubowitz said. "Any company that wants to do business in a key strategic sector of Iran's economy will have to do business with the Revolutionary Guards," he said.
The Obama administration has sought to play down benefits potentially accruing to the Guards from the deal, which eases sanctions in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear program. James Clapper, the US director of national intelligence, said Iran would likely spend most of its sanctions relief on domestic priorities and that groups like the Guards never lost funding even during the worst of the country's economic crisis. "They've been funded anyway even with the sanctions regime," Clapper said at an Aspen Institute security forum in July. "So I'm sure they'll get some money but I don't think it'll be a huge windfall for them." Foreign firms will have to act with caution in opening ties with Iranian companies even as EU sanctions unravel. EU and US policies diverge at points, leaving some room for uncertainty.
In testimony to Congress in July and August, senior Treasury officials said their department would continue to enforce sanctions targeting the Guards. "A foreign bank that conducts or facilitates a significant financial transaction with Iran's Mahan Air, the IRGC-controlled construction firm Khatam al-Anbiya, or Bank Saderat will risk losing its access to the US financial system, and this is not affected by the nuclear deal," said Adam Szubin, the Treasury's acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in written testimony to the Senate Banking Committee in August. The Iranian Mahan Air airline is accused by Washington of shipping arms for the IRGC and providing transport for the Lebanese Hezbollah militia which it considers a terrorist group.
Szubin acknowledged that some companies sanctioned in the past for dealings with the IRGC will see sanctions relief. "There are companies who have done arms' length transactions with the IRGC over time that we've designated for conducting business for the IRGC, we have companies like that that are due to receive relief at various phases under the deal." But the Obama administration's statements have done little to alleviate the concerns of members of Congress who argue that the Guards will benefit greatly from the lifting of sanctions.
"They're going to be the number one beneficiary of the sanctions lifting," said Bob Corker, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, at a hearing about the deal last month.

The Secret Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/August 10, 2015
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6314/ethnic-cleansing-palestinians
According to the researcher, many Palestinians captured by Shiite militias in Iraq have been brutally tortured and forced to "confess" to their alleged involvement in terrorism. Since 2003, the number of Palestinians there has dropped from 25,000 to 6,000.
Most interesting is the complete indifference displayed by international human rights organizations, the media and the Palestinian Authority (PA) toward the mistreatment of Palestinians in Arab countries. International journalists do not care about the Palestinians in the Arab world because this is not a story that can be blamed on Israel.
The UN and other international bodies have obviously not heard of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Arab world. They too are so obsessed with Israel that they prefer not to hear about the suffering of Palestinians under Arab regimes.PA leaders say they want to press "war crimes" charges against Israel with the International Criminal Court. However, when it comes to ethnic cleansing and torture of Palestinians in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, they choose to look the other way. An Arab killing or torturing an Arab is not an item worth publishing in a major newspaper in the West. But when a Palestinian complains against the Israeli authorities or Jewish settlers, many Western journalists rush to cover this "major" development. Not only do the Arab countries despise the Palestinians, they also want them to be the problem of Israel alone. Since 1948, Arab governments have refused to allow Palestinians permanently to settle in their countries and become equal citizens. Now these Arab countries are also killing and torturing them and subjecting them to ethnic cleansing, all while world leaders continue to bury their heads in the sand and point an accusing finger at Israel.
It is no secret that most of the Arab countries have long been mistreating their Palestinian brethren by subjecting them to a series of Apartheid-like discriminatory laws and regulations that often deny them basic rights. In countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Syria, Palestinians are treated as second and third class citizens, a fact that has forced many of them to seek better lives in the U.S., Canada, Australia and various European countries. As a result, many Palestinians today feel unwelcome in their countries of origin and other Arab countries. The condition of Palestinians in Arab countries began to deteriorate after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. The Palestinians were the first to "congratulate" Saddam Hussein on his invasion of Kuwait, a country that used to provide the PLO with tens of millions of dollars in financial aid every year. But many fled Kuwait to be away from the anarchy and lawlessness that prevailed after the Iraqi invasion. When Kuwait was liberated the following year by a U.S.-led coalition, some 200,000 Palestinians were expelled from the oil-rich emirate in retaliation for having supported Saddam Hussein's invasion of it. An additional 150,000 Palestinians had fled Kuwait before the U.S.-led coalition war. They had suspected a new incursion might be in the offing, and were worried about what would be awaiting them once Kuwait was liberated.
Most of the Palestinians who left Kuwait voluntarily, or who were expelled, settled in Jordan. The Palestinians in Iraq are now also paying a heavy price. Since 2003, the number of Palestinians there has dropped from 25,000 to 6,000. Palestinian activists say the Iraqis are waging a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the country's Palestinian population. The activists say that since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, Shiite militias in Iraq have been systematically attacking and intimidating the Palestinian population over the past decade, prompting many to flee. The Shiites, they say, are opposed to the presence of non-Iraqi Sunnis, including the Palestinians, in their country -- especially in the capital, Baghdad.
In addition, they say, many Sunnis in Iraq who had opposed Saddam Hussein have also been waging war on the Palestinians, in retaliation for their support for him. Thamer Meshainesh, head of the League for Palestinians in Iraq, was quoted a few days ago as saying that Palestinians were facing "unprecedented violations" and "increasing assaults." He warned that Palestinians in Iraq were being targeted by various militias as part of a systematic policy to expel them from the country. Abu al-Walid, a Palestinian researcher who has been following the plight of the Palestinians in Iraq for several years, pointed out that 19,000 out of the 25,000 Palestinians in Iraq have already fled the country. He also noted that Palestinians were being targeted on a daily basis on the pretext of involvement in terrorism.
According to the researcher, many Palestinians captured by Shiite militias in Iraq have been brutally tortured and forced to "confess" to their alleged involvement in terrorism. Meshainesh and Abu al-Walid accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) of failing to help the Palestinian in Iraq. They said that the only effort made by the PA in this regard has been limited to "empty rhetoric."The Palestinians in Iraq are paying the price for meddling in the internal affairs of the country. This is what also happened to Palestinians in Syria, Lebanon and Libya. Palestinians often find themselves involved, both directly and indirectly, in the rivalries that take place inside Arab countries. And when the fire reaches them, they start screaming for help, as is the case today in Iraq.
Part of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, near Damascus, Syria, after being damaged by fighting. (Image source: RT video screenshot)
But what is most interesting is the complete indifference displayed by international human rights organizations, the media and the Palestinian Authority toward the mistreatment of Palestinians in Arab countries.The PA, whose leaders are busy inciting against Israel on a daily basis, does not have time to care about its people in the Arab world. PA leaders say they want to press "war crimes" charges against Israel with the International Criminal Court because of last year's war with Hamas and continued construction in West Bank settlements.
However, when it comes to ethnic cleansing and torture of Palestinians in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority leadership chooses to look the other way.
Similarly, the international media seems to have forgotten that there are tens of thousands of Palestinians living in various Arab countries. The only Palestinians that Western journalists know and care about are those living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
International journalists do not care about the Palestinians in the Arab world because this is not a story that can be blamed on Israel. An Arab killing or torturing an Arab is not an item worth publishing in a major newspaper in the U.S., Canada or Britain. But when a Palestinian in the West Bank complains against the Israeli authorities or Jewish settlers, many Western journalists waste no time rushing to the scene to cover this "major" development. The ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Iraq is not a strange phenomenon in the Arab world. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have also fled Syria during the past few years. Most have gone to Lebanon and Jordan, where authorities are doing their utmost to ensure that the Palestinian refugees know that they are unwelcome. Palestinian activists estimate that in a few years from now, there will be no Palestinians in Iraq or Syria.The UN and other international bodies have obviously not heard of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Arab world. They too are so obsessed with Israel that they prefer not to hear about the suffering of Palestinians under Arab regimes.Not only do the Arab countries despise the Palestinians, they also want them to be the problem of Israel alone. That is why, since 1948, Arab governments have refused to allow Palestinians permanently to settle in their countries and become equal citizens. Now these Arab countries are not only denying Palestinians their basic rights, they are also killing and torturing them, and subjecting them to ethnic cleansing. And this is all happening while world leaders and governments continue to bury their heads in the sand and point an accusing finger at Israel.

Britain: The "Struggle of Our Generation"
Samuel Westrop/Gatestone Institute/August 10, 2015
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6265/britain-struggle-islam-extermism
"We've got to show that if you say 'yes I condemn terror -- but the Kuffar are inferior', or 'violence in London isn't justified, but suicide bombs in Israel are a different matter' -- then you too are part of the problem. Unwittingly or not, and in a lot of cases it's not unwittingly, you are providing succour to those who want to commit, or get others to commit to, violence." — Prime Minister David Cameron.In a series of religious rulings published on its website, the Islamic Network charity advocated the murder of apostates; encouraged Muslims to hate non-Muslims; stated that when non-Muslims die, "the whole of humanity are relieved;" and described Western civilisation as "evil."The Charity Commission's solution, however, was to give the charity's trustees booklets titled, "How to manage risks in your charity," and warn them not to do it again.On July 20, Prime Minister David Cameron outlined his government's plans to counteract Islamic extremism, which he described as the "struggle of our generation."In a speech before Ninestiles School, in the city of Birmingham, Cameron articulated a view of the Islamist threat that, just a couple of years ago, few else in British politics would have dared to support. In a report for BBC Radio 4, the journalist John Ware described Cameron's speech, and the government's proposed counter-extremism measures, as "something no British government has ever done in my lifetime: the launch of a formal strategy to recognize, challenge and root out ideology."
Cameron's speech was wide-ranging. It addressed the causes, methods and consequences of Islamist extremism.
We must recognize, Cameron reasoned, that Islamist terror is the product of Islamist ideology. It is definitely not, he argued, "because of historic injustices and recent wars, or because of poverty and hardship. This argument, what I call the grievance justification, must be challenged. ... others might say: it's because terrorists are driven to their actions by poverty. But that ignores the fact that many of these terrorists have had the full advantages of prosperous families or a Western university education.""Extreme doctrine" is to blame -- a doctrine that is "hostile to basic liberal values ... Ideas which actively promote discrimination, sectarianism and segregation. ... which privilege one identity to the detriment of the rights and freedoms of others." This is a doctrine "based on conspiracy: that Jews exercise malevolent power; or that Western powers, in concert with Israel, are deliberately humiliating Muslims, because they aim to destroy Islam."
People are drawn to such extremist ideas, Cameron argued, because:
"[Y]ou don't have to believe in barbaric violence to be drawn to the ideology. No-one becomes a terrorist from a standing start. It starts with a process of radicalisation. When you look in detail at the backgrounds of those convicted of terrorist offences, it is clear that many of them were first influenced by what some would call non-violent extremists. "It may begin with hearing about the so-called Jewish conspiracy and then develop into hostility to the West and fundamental liberal values, before finally becoming a cultish attachment to death. Put another way, the extremist world view is the gateway, and violence is the ultimate destination." To counteract the extremist threat, Cameron concludes, the government will "tackle both parts of the creed -- the non-violent and violent. This means confronting groups and organisations that may not advocate violence -- but which do promote other parts of the extremist narrative."
Further, no longer will extremist groups be able to burnish their moderate credentials by pointing to ISIS as the Islamic bogeyman: "We've got to show that if you say 'yes I condemn terror -- but the Kuffar are inferior', or 'violence in London isn't justified, but suicide bombs in Israel are a different matter' – then you too are part of the problem. Unwittingly or not, and in a lot of cases it's not unwittingly, you are providing succour to those who want to commit, or get others to commit to, violence.
For example, I find it remarkable that some groups say 'We don't support ISIL' as if that alone proves their anti-extremist credentials. And let's be clear Al-Qaeda don't support ISIL. So we can't let the bar sink to that level. Condemning a mass-murdering, child-raping organisation cannot be enough to prove you're challenging the extremists." Rather radically for a Western leader, Cameron also asserted that, "simply denying any connection between the religion of Islam and the extremists doesn't work... it is an exercise in futility to deny that. And more than that, it can be dangerous. To deny it has anything to do with Islam means you disempower the critical reforming voices; the voices that are challenging the fusing of religion and politics..."
Cameron's speech was groundbreaking. No previous Prime Minister in past decades would have dared to make such statements. This is not to say, however, that it is without fault. Cameron is not just talk. An "Extremism Analysis Unit" has been set up within the Home Office, which will serve to tackle Islamist extremism, including "non-violent" groups. According to the journalist John Ware, the new body is currently preparing lists of extremist preachers and groups.
More importantly, a variety of new legislation is being brought before Parliament. However, some of the proposed laws, critics argue, are draconian. "Banning Orders" will outlaw designated "extremist groups." "Extremism Disruption Orders," meanwhile, will restrict designated "extremists" from appearing on television, or publishing without the authorities' approval. And "Closure Orders" will allow the government to close any institution deemed guilty of promoting extremism. Cameron has correctly and radically diagnosed the problem of Islamic extremism. His solutions, however, do not appear promising. A more useful next step would be for the government to tackle its own relationships with extremist groups. Britain's registered charities offer a particularly vivid example of Islamist extremism going unchallenged. In 2014, I wrote about the Islamic Network, a group that describes itself as "a da'wah [proselytizing] organisation which aims to promote awareness and understanding of the religion of Islam."
In a series of religious rulings published on its website, the Islamic Network charity advocated the murder of apostates; encouraged Muslims to hate non-Muslims; stated that when non-Muslims die, "the whole of humanity are relieved;" and described Western civilisation as "evil." Further, the Islamic Network directed a great deal of hatred towards the Jews. Its website claimed: "The Jews strive their utmost to corrupt the beliefs, morals and manners of the Muslims. The Jews scheme and crave after possessing the Muslim lands, as well as the lands of others."
In spite of these views, the Islamic Network is a registered charity, which means it is entitled to subsidy from the taxpayer. As a result of revealing the material published on the Islamic Network's website, as well as several complaints submitted to the Charity Commission, the government opened an inquiry into the charity. After a year of deliberation, the Charity Commission published its report, which concluded that the Islamic Network had indeed published extremist material. The Charity Commission's solution, however, was to give the charity's trustees booklets titled, "How to manage risks in your charity," and warn them not to do it again. Britain may finally have a government that understands the problem of Islamist extremism, but if government bodies fail to challenge extremist charities such as the Islamic Network, then what use is this enlightenment?
The Islamic Network is but one of many dozens of examples. Why is the British organization Interpal, for example, still allowed to be a registered charity? Interpal is a designated terrorist organization under United States law. Its trustees regularly meet with senior leaders of the terror group Hamas. In 2013, for instance, Interpal trustee Essam Yusuf took part in a ceremony with the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at which they expressed praise for Hamas' military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, and glorified "martyrdom."
Or what of Islamic Relief, one of Britain's largest charities? Established by the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Relief's directors have included Ahmed Al-Rawi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader who, in 2004, supported jihad against British and American troops in Iraq; and Essam El-Haddad, who is accused by an Egyptian court of divulging Egyptian state secrets to Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, and using Islamic Relief to finance global terrorism. Despite Islamic Relief's links to Islamist extremism, the charity continues to receive millions of pounds from the British government.David Cameron's speech on July 20 should be applauded. If another political party had won the recent general election, no such speech would have been made. But before the Prime Minister turns his hand to censorship, perhaps the government should address extremist groups closer to home.

Turkey's 'Compassionate' State
Burak Bekdil/Hürriyet Daily News/August 10/15
Slightly edited version of article originally published under the title, "How Much Does a Bullet Cost to Turkish Army?"
Turkey's Respect to Mehmetçik Memorial depicts an Ottoman soldier carrying a wounded Australian adversary to safety during the fighting at Gallipoli in World War I. "If a state is mighty but not compassionate, that state will become a tyrant [state]," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu remarked on May 20. The prime minister was absolutely right. As we go through days when bullets fly in the air and kill our young ones daily, I recalled an unknown bullet story that hopefully will reach the ears of the prime minister when he speaks of our "compassionate" state. Barış Gözen was born in 1988. He was conscripted to serve in the Turkish army guarding northern Cyprus in Kyrenia. On Feb. 18, 2009, his unit returned to its barracks. It was just another ordinary lazy day to pass time. As the unit entered the barracks, its commander neglected to order one simple essential safety rule: unload the bullets in your rifles. Barış was sitting on a corner chatting with a friend and holding onto his rifle when it fired. The bullet pierced through his right shoulder and exited his neck, irrecoverably damaging his spinal cord. At 21, Gözen was not able to walk or use his arms and hands, not even able to sign an official document necessary for the legal proceedings. He could not, and still cannot, move any part of his body below the neck. Medical reports said that Barış was "100 percent disabled" and in need of "lifetime medical support." Barış is doomed to his sickbed forever, totally paralyzed. Too tragic for a 21-year-old and those who love him.
At this point our "compassionate" state comes into the picture. The military prosecution prepared an indictment into the incident, signed by a judge/major who I shall name with his initials, "I.K.". Did he charge Barış's commanders for negligence of duty? No.
The military prosecution accused Barış of "making himself unfit to do his military service."The prosecution said that Barış's unintentional firing of his rifle (and making himself totally paralyzed for the rest of his life) could earn him a prison sentence for "making himself unfit to do his military service." But the merciful prosecution said it found no evidence for an intentional self-shooting. Thank you, dear, compassionate prosecution! Barış will be grateful to you forever for staying in his "free" bed instead of a prison bed. But the compassionate prosecution asked for a sentence for Barış for "disobeying orders." The judge/major really wanted Barış to be in a prison bed instead of a home bed. But now fasten your seatbelts and read what the prosecution also asked for: That the state treasury's loss of 1.85 Turkish Liras (66 cents) for the bullet Barış unintentionally fired and shot himself had to be collected from him. The compassionate state!
Miraculously, the military court acquitted Barış on charges of "making himself unfit for military service and disobeying orders" but it also referred the case to his military unit for the collection of the 1.85 lira loss – the cost of one bullet. Perhaps we all should send 1.85 lira each to the mighty Turkish military and the compassionate Turkish state. The invoice should read: "This payment was made to compensate for the single bullet that paralyzed Private Barış Gözen." But your columnist bets that no military or civilian official would feel embarrassed. On the contrary, they might even feel happy to have generated surprise funding to buy more bullets.
In the past six years Barış has been doomed to his bed, while his legal struggle to win compensation for the negligence that caused his tragedy continues on. An expert report found that he should be paid by the state a mere 129,000 liras (about $46,500) for the proven negligence that doomed him to his sick bed forever. That is in contrast with an earlier expert report that called for compensation of 1.026 million liras ($369,000).
Barış will never recover from his bed. But his legal adventures against a "compassionate" state will possibly continue on. So far, so good. Barış should learn to be grateful. He could have been having his legal adventures against a compassionate state from his prison hospital bed, instead of the bed in which he is doomed to die.
**Burak Bekdil, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is a columnist for the Turkey's Hürriyet Daily News.

Reassessing the still-born U.S. rebel program in Syria
Sharif Nashashibi/Al Arabiya/Monday, 10 August 2015
The U.S. program to train and equip vetted Syria rebels to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was launched in May amid little fanfare and low expectations, even from American officials. Since then, the prospects of the program making any difference whatsoever have only dimmed further. Among the myriad problems it faces, recent events have clearly shown that it is the victim of Washington’s own decision, when launching the coalition air campaign a year ago, to target Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front as well as ISIS. This despite the two jihadist groups being at war with each other, and despite Al-Nusra being a key ground player among Syrian rebels in the fight against ISIS.
Al-Nusra attacks
In the last fortnight and in a series of incidents, Al-Nusra has kidnapped and killed rebels involved in the U.S. program, days after an Al-Qaeda leader, Muhsin al-Fadhli, was reportedly killed by a coalition airstrike in Syria. Washington needs an urgent reassessment not just of the program, but of its entire policy toward the Syrian conflict, and the wider war against ISIS. It was not difficult to foresee such an outcome. Al-Nusra’s leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, warned in May that although his organization “doesn’t have any plans or directives to target the West... our options are open when it comes to targeting the Americans if they will continue their attacks against us in Syria. Everyone has the right to defend themselves.”In its attacks against U.S.-backed rebels, Al-Nusra described them as “the arms” of the American government in Syria. The numbers of those killed and captured are disputed, but they are enough to have forced the U.S.-backed rebels to leave their headquarters, declare their refusal to fight Al-Nusra, and express their opposition to airstrikes against it.
Those killed and kidnapped represent a significant proportion of the program’s total recruits, who numbered a paltry several dozen even before Al-Nusra's attacks (in recent months, it also defeated two Western-backed rebel groups, forcing them to disband). If Al-Nusra continues its campaign against the U.S. program, ISIS may end up not having to fight the latter’s recruits at all, and the program itself may collapse. Recruits have reportedly already been leaving due to various frustrations, and the refusal to fight Al-Nusra may represent a crippling division between recruits and their American backers.
Coalition airstrikes
As such, while much has been made of Washington’s recent decision to provide air cover for the recruits against any force that fights them (including the regime and its allies), such support is likely to be inconsequential. A year of airstrikes against Al-Nusra and ISIS has done nothing to degrade their capabilities. The former is still one of the most formidable rebel groups, and U.S. intelligence agencies (including the CIA) acknowledged this month that the latter is no weaker than it was when the coalition air campaign began, despite billions of dollars spent and more than 10,000 jihadists allegedly killed. In some areas in Syria and Iraq, ISIS is still advancing. With the pitiful pace of recruitment, Al-Nusra’s attacks, the program’s primary foe ISIS being far stronger, and the hostility of the regime and its allies, there may not even be a rebel force to protect from the air.
Obstacles and enemies
The program is also viewed with suspicion and antagonism by other rebel groups, including those that are not Islamist. They are wary of American intentions, antagonistic over arms supplies and funding (some have brandished American weapons after capturing them from U.S.-backed rebels), and angry that the force is designed only to take on ISIS rather than the regime. As such, they view the U.S. program as diversionary and divisive, and hence of potential benefit to the regime at a time when rebel coordination has contributed to a string of battlefield successes against Damascus. The program has so far proven still-born, and with the array of internal and external obstacles and enemies it faces, as well as poor American decision-making, it is difficult to see any developments on the horizon that could resuscitate it. Rather than simply continuing to invest resources and manpower into this failed project, Washington needs an urgent reassessment not just of the program, but of its entire policy toward the Syrian conflict, and the wider war against ISIS.

Does Egypt lack ideas or resources?
Mohammed Nosseir/Al Arabiya/Monday, 10 August 2015
Over the past few decades, consecutive Egyptian rulers have continuously told their citizens that the country’s needs far surpass its resources, accusing the increasing population of consuming most of Egypt’s resources. In their attempts to narrow the gap between resources and needs, Egyptian rulers tend to rely on regional and international loans and grants (most of the West and the Arab Gulf states are regular donors). However, does the government manage its resources efficiently, providing us with the maximum possible outcomes? Whereas ideas are always evolving and progressing, the Egyptian government is renowned for its sluggish bureaucracy, and proud of its obsolete notions that do not comply with today’s technological world or with the expectations of citizens.
By default, and regardless of the ruler’s ideology, our government is driven by a handful of bureaucrats who lack the basic faculty of thought, are notorious for their low levels of productivity, and are not held accountable for their shortcomings. Egyptian government bureaucracy regularly rejects citizens’ ideas because its outdated mindset and limited exposure are incapable of accommodating original, innovative ideas. Known to lack the fundamentals of good governance, Egypt has continuously failed to come up with new ideas that can better address the root causes behind our challenges and enhance our poorly-managed resources. Our recent uprisings have ended in the swapping of a few top executives for new ones who continue to be picked from the same outdated, traditional pool, coupled with a zealous preservation of the same archaic government mindset. Accelerating project implementation while continuing to follow the obsolete course of increasing project spending, without first evaluating feasibility and misleading citizens with false propaganda, can only result in the rapid failure of any new project.
Failed governance
Egyptian intellectuals affiliated with the ruling regime have been blaming the government for its poor performance while praising the ruler for his vision, completely disregarding the fact that the ruler (and no one else) appoints the government. To illustrate this point, one of the current ruler’s affiliates has said that while the president is riding a rocket, his cabinet members are riding bicycles. Why has our president not appointed ministers capable of riding the same rocket as he? The sad truth is that he is on board a fantasy rocket, while his cabinet members are cycling through the alleys of actual government bureaucracy. Prior to embarking on new projects, we need to decide whether there is room to maximize the revenues obtained from our existing resources, such as the Nile River, our beachfronts, tourist resorts, seaports, roads and many more. A quick comparison between privately-managed Nile River boat restaurants and state-managed ones (quality of food, services and profitability) shows the huge advantage that private boat restaurants have over state-owned ones. The argument is not about expanding or shrinking the role of the private sector (actually, due to their incremental managerial problems and huge losses, most of the remaining public-sector firms are of no interest to investors). We need to work on dismantling the government’s single-minded thinking mechanism, and replacing it with a mechanism capable of adopting citizens’ ideas and embracing their willingness to bear responsibility for their ideas. It is essential that we corroborate ideas prior to implementing them, rather than run from one failed government project to another, using meaningless justifications to defend our failures. We must demand that the entire government step down from the task of producing ideas and initiating and managing projects. We must strive to have this mission delegated entirely to the Egyptian people, leaving the task of project regulation and monitoring to the government. We are underestimating the potential of our people (with their diversified experiences and their willingness to shoulder responsibility) for the benefit of power-hungry bureaucrats. The financial contributions of non-Egyptian donors are highly appreciated, but they should be accompanied by ideas on how best to spend the donated money. Focusing only on using external aid to reduce our financial resource deficiencies will turn us into a dull, thoughtless society.

Bashar al-Assad, Ahmed Kattan and one hopeless case
Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya/Monday, 10 August 2015
What distinguished Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Egypt, Ahmed Kattan, during his meeting with the editors-in-chief of Egyptian newspapers last Tuesday, and was lost amid press coverage and headlines that focused mainly on his statements regarding this or that author? He categorically denied any Saudi visit to a Syrian official, and gave assurances that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “won’t be part of any future solution.”
This timely statement is very important, especially in Cairo, after Egyptian media claimed that the kingdom had changed its politics regarding the Syrian crisis, and was ready to accept a temporary role for Assad and to stop assisting the opposition in order to confront the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Islamists. Journalist Mustafa Bakri, who is familiar with the Egyptian government, and other Egyptian journalists did the same. They defamed the Saudi role in Syria, but Kattan has resolved the matter: Assad will have nothing to do with any Saudi project to save Syria. The kingdom prefers a peaceful solution and the resumption of the Geneva process, and considers the Syrian army an ideological weapon that is killing its people, contrary to the Egyptian army, which deserves recognition for operating freely and protecting its people.
Leaks and conspiracies
This Saudi position was disrupted last week due to leaks that Russian intelligence planned a meeting between Saudi and Syrian officials for the first time since the estrangement between the two countries at the end of 2011.
It is impossible for the two wings of the Arab nation, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as Turkey to accept a settlement with Assad. Based on this information, analysts fabricated scenarios in which the kingdom would abandon the Syrian people in their fight for freedom. Others even said Riyadh was concluding a deal with Iran under Russian mediation and American approval based on a “Syria-for-Yemen” equation. However, Kattan, who played a commendable role, has denied that in an important statement.
Before his denial, all those hypotheses promoted by Hezbollah and Iran’s media, and unfortunately Egypt’s also, were enhanced by talk of a Russian initiative leading to an alliance between major regional powers: the Gulf states, Turkey and Egypt. Assad would join them, as if nothing had happened, in order to fight ISIS. Iran and the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces would be part of that impossible alliance too. However, on the same night of that alleged meeting, Qatari newspaper Al-Arab reported that “the Gulf states headed by Saudi Arabia rejected the initiative of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to form a regional alliance and get the Gulf states and Turkey together with the Assad regime in order to fight extremist groups and most importantly ISIS.”
Standing by Syria
It is a logical refutation of an illogical idea that should not have been promoted in the first place. If implemented, Riyadh would not only have abandoned its moral stand with the Syrian people, but also neglected its national security by giving up Syria for the benefit of Iran.
Any regime getting out of Syria after such a concession would not only be an ally of Iran, but a subordinate. This would cause a serious security breach not only in Saudi Arabia but also in Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. Those who agree to giving Assad even a transitory role in Syria are unrealistic. He went from being a head of state to a mere sectarian militia leader no different than Al-Nusra leader Abu Mohamed al-Julani, or self-proclaimed Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria. Nonetheless, Assad has an air force and relations with a few states. His rotten regime is a hopeless case. No one can blow life into it again. It is impossible for the two wings of the Arab nation, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as Turkey to accept a settlement with Assad. As the Saudi ambassador said in Cairo: “Assad is now a thing of the past.” Well done.

ISIS-infested Iraq has time to worry about porn sites
Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/Monday, 10 August 2015
Iraqis, beware of pornography websites as they are the biggest threat to you - at least this is what we should conclude from the current campaign to ban porn sites. In a nutshell: “Never mind the angry protests, or political parties’ violations of freedoms, or the rise of religious parties, or government’s increased failures; only worry about porn sites.”This rhetoric is present in a country where innocent people are victims of explosions, murder and slaughter; where the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has celebrated its second year in control of Iraqi areas; and where Iran proves its status as a political and military authority. All this is happening amid political bickering that divides the Iraqi people and destroys whatever is left of a state that is woefully corrupt. The momentum of the campaign against porn sites was increased by the involvement of top Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani, who issued a fatwa (religious edict) prohibiting such sites. The fatwa mobilized MPs to gain approval and collect signatures to legislate a law that bans these sites. Such religious and political enthusiasm has never been available for other problems that affect Iraqi lives and livelihoods, such as violence and corruption. He who shows up today warning of the threat of pornography amid all this violence does not mean to protect Iraqis as much as tighten his grip on them
Since 2003, Iraqi markets have been selling videos of murder, torture and horror under former President Saddam Hussein, Al-Qaeda and now ISIS. He who shows up today warning of the threat of pornography amid all this violence does not mean to protect Iraqis as much as tighten his grip on them. Yes, there are millions in the Arab and Muslim worlds who surf porn sites. According to Google, the 10 countries that watch the most porn include countries in the Middle East. Google also shows what words and footage are searched for when viewing these sites.
Links with violence
“Pain” is the fourth word in the search engine from Iraq when surfing such sites. These details reveal changes in society, and imply that violence has found its way into collective sexual awareness. This indicates the progress of violence, and shows it as an imminent threat as sex can become ordinary when void of violence. For sex to be linked to violence means that what threatens Iraqis is violence, not porn sites. Arab and Muslim countries declare strict, conservative social values and punish whoever violates them. However, facts and numbers show that reality is completely different, as we evade the fact that some Muslim countries are among those that watch the most porn, at a time when the region is suffering from war and violence.Is there a link between the spreading of violence and preoccupation with porn sites? Sigmund Freud says most people’s sexuality includes aggression. The relation between violence, authority and sex is something worth looking into in our countries, which are still governed by this triad.

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