LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 25/15

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletins05/english.august25.15.htm

Bible Quotation For Today/I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Luke 15/08-10:""What woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost." Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’"

Bible Quotation For Today/Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love
First Letter of John 04/07-21:"Let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also."

LCCC Latest analysis, editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 24-25/15
Lebanon is still suffering without Hariri/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Now Lebanon/August 24/15
A Bashir Gemayel Presidency/Walid Phares/August 24/15
Resistance Brigades Invade downtown Beirut, Reveal True Face of “You Stink”Movement/Camal Richa page/August 24/15
The Heroes Working to Rescue ISIS's Core Victims/by Phyllis Chesler/The New York Post/August 24/15
Kurdish oil is another Netanyahu-Obama head-to-head front/DEBKAfile/ August 24/15
Iran Deal Will Trigger Major War in Middle East/Nima Gholam Ali Pour/August 24/15
Security Council: Syria 'largest humanitarian crisis in the world'/Almonitor/Week in Review/August 24/15
Will Jordan agree to set up a 'safe zone' on Syrian border?/Author Osama Al Sharif /August 24/15
Bombings, terror threats don't keep Copts away from Egyptian churches/George Mikhail/Al-Monitor/August 24/15
The Iran strike that never was/Nahum Barnea/Ynetnews/August 24/15
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirms visit to 'sister country' Iran/Roi Kais/Ynetnews/August 24/15

LCCC Bulletin titles for the Lebanese Related News published on August 24-25/15
YouStink calls for new rally Saturday
Lebanon is still suffering without Hariri
A Bashir Gemayel Presidency
Resistance Brigades Invade downtown Beirut, Reveal True Face of “You Stink”Movement
YouStink calls for new rally Saturday
Lebanon is still suffering without Hariri
A Bashir Gemayel Preside
The Zbele' uprising"
Resistance Brigades Invade downtown Beirut, Reveal True Face of “You Stink”Movement
Diplomats Urge Salam not to Resign over Garbage Crisis
Gulf Countries Issue Travel Warnings to Lebanon
G.K. Amal Warns Media against 'Spreading Lies' on Involvement in Protest Violence
Hale 'Deeply Troubled' by Weekend's Violence: Lebanese Deserve Basic Services, Working Parliament
Hizbullah and Mustaqbal Stress Keenness on 'Freedom of Expression, Dialogue'
Nouhad Mashnouq Says Peaceful Protesters Have Right to Rally, Qahwaji Vows No Leniency with 'Infiltrators
U.N. Urges Political Accountability towards Lebanese, Backs Salam's Efforts to Promote Consensus
UK Voices Concern over Beirut Violence, Backs Salam
Berri Urges Reevaluation or Annulment of Waste Management Bids over 'High Prices'
You Stink' Activists Call for Saturday Demo, Reject Results of Waste Management Tender
1 Dead, 3 Hurt as Fierce Clashes Renew in Ain el-Hilweh
Mohammad Mashnouq Announces Names of Waste Management Firms for Whole of Lebanon
Sami Gemayel Hints at Resignation from Cabinet if 'Obstruction Persists' during Tuesday's Session

LCCC Bulletin Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 24-25/15
Bomb Kills 3 Egyptian Policemen, Wounds 33
S. Korea's Park Hardens Line with North, Demands Apology
Rare Mass 'Terror' Trial Opens in the UAE
Gaza Strike Shuts First Day of School for more than 200,000
Iraq's Sadr Urges Supporters to Rally against Corruption
Rebel Rockets Kill 14 Civilians in Yemen City
Saudi Policeman Wounded in Drive-by Shooting
Almost 80,000 Sign UK Petition for Netanyahu Arrest
Bahrain Sunni Activist Pleads not Guilty as Trial Opens
Weapons: ICRC sounds alarm on arms trade

Links From Jihad Watch Web site For Today
Muslim “Breaking of the Crosses” in Syracuse, NY as Catholic Church converted to mosque
Islamic State desecrates saint’s bones after bulldozing 1,600-year-old church
Islamic State blows up temple in Syria’s Palmyra
The invasion of Europe and America
French investigators seek motive as jihad gunman denies terrorism
Muslim professor tells inquest that Australian jihad murderer rarely went to mosque
UK: Muslim teen charged with disseminating a jihad terrorist publication and preparing jihad terror acts
France train attack shows impossibility of tracking all Islamic jihadis
Out today: Robert Spencer’s new book, The Complete Infidel’s Guide to ISIS
Train Jihadi ‘Dumbfounded’ to Be Accused of Terrorism

YouStink calls for new rally Saturday
Now Lebanon/August 24/15
BEIRUT - The Tol3et Ree7atkom ("You Stink") activist group has called for a new demonstration Saturday after chaos ensuing from Sunday’s rally forced the grassroots campaign to postpone a protest originally scheduled for Monday.
“We call for a protest at 6:00 p.m. at a site that will be announced at a later date,” a spokesperson for the group announced in a press conference held in the Legal Agenda’s office in Beirut’s Adlieh.
The organization stressed that its main cause was the just resolution of Lebanon’s garbage crisis, and was not seeking to tack on issues to its agenda, despite the myriad of slogans adopted by the thousands of demonstrators who joined the group’s recent rallies.
You Stink further insisted the upcoming rally would seek to annul tenders granted for waste management in Lebanon, which were announced earlier in the day and will be discussed by the cabinet in its session scheduled for Tuesday.
You Stink also expressed its rejection of the legitimacy of Lebanon’s parliament—which has extended its term twice—and said the legislature could not be trusted to elect Lebanon’s new president, a post that has been vacant since Michel Suleiman stepped down in May 2014.
The organization added that Lebanon’s government lost its legitimacy after “chasing people through the streets of Beirut,” in reference to the tear gassing of a peaceful crowd of demonstrators Saturday evening in Downton Beirut.
Even as You Stink prepares for its upcoming demonstration, a number of activists Monday planned to hold a candle-lit march from Adlieh to Downtown Beirut in support for Mohammad Kassir, a protester who suffered severe head wounds during the violence that erupted in the large rally the night before.
Others still had gathered in Downtown Beirut’s Riad al-Solh Square earlier Monday to denounce the security forces’ erection of a concrete barrier separating the iconic site from the premier’s official Grand Serail seat of power.
Thousands of Lebanese poured into Downtown Beirut on Sunday for the second day running after a demonstration Saturday evening was suppressed by the security forces with rubber bullets, tear gas canisters, water cannons, and even live bullets.
The demonstrations began as a response to a weeks-long garbage crisis but escalated this weekend into calls for the resignation of the cabinet, the holding of parliamentary elections, and the prosecution of members of the army, Internal Security Forces, and Parliamentary Guards who attacked protestors Saturday.
Attendance of the protest on Sunday hit its peak shortly after 6:00 p.m. in festive style, with demonstrators singing the national anthem and repeatedly chanting the now-ubiquitous phrase “the people want the fall of the regime” made famous by the 2011 Arab Spring revolts.
However, a little over an hour later a number of young men near Riad al-Solh Square began to move the barbed wire barricades erected to keep demonstrators from approaching the Grand Serail, which serves as the government’s seat of power.
Security services quickly responded by dousing protesters with water cannons, after which chaos descended on the area as a number of protesters began to throw water bottles and whatever other objects they could get their hands on at the ISF forces.
As the night settled over Beirut, the You Stink activist group called on its protesters to move to nearby Martyrs Square, away from the scenes of violence, while angry young men—whose allegiance remains unknown—continued to take on the security forces.
Activists at the scene claimed that the men were members of Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement, a charge strenuously denied by the party in a statement that accused media outlets of “spreading lies.”
Amid the worsening chaos, You Stink at around 9:00 p.m. called on its protesters to leave. By this time security forces were hurling large numbers of tear gas canisters at the remaining demonstrators, who had begun to set fire to the construction site for The Landmark Hotel behind Riad al-Solh Square.
One protester suffered a wound to the head from an unknown source during the fracas, leaving him bloodied and unconscious on the ground. He was rushed to the American University of Beirut Medical Center in reportedly critical condition.
Hundreds of protesters were then pushed back from the edge of Beirut’s downtown quarter shortly after 10:00 p.m. as security forces advanced amid heavy tear gas fire.
However, a small group of rioters returned to the site of the demonstration and vandalized the upscale quarter of Lebanon’s capital.
Fires were set near the Mohammad al-Amin Grand Mosque, with rioters even setting alight a police vehicle, while traffic signs and lights were ripped out of the ground.
At midnight the Lebanese army deployed in force in the area, chasing the rioters out to the nearby Bashoura neighborhood of Beirut, ending hours of chaos that had engulfed the Lebanese capital.
The Red Cross reported that 43 people had been injured in the melee, while the ISF said 30 of its officers had been hurt.

Lebanon is still suffering without Hariri
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Now Lebanon
Published: 24/08/2015
A decade after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, Lebanon is still reeling. The ruling establishment is incapable of running the country as electricity cuts become more frequent, water shortages more acute and garbage piles up across the country.
With the end of the Civil War in 1990, Hafez Assad arranged Lebanon's governance in a way that gave him a free hand in all matters of security and foreign policy. The late Syrian president gave the Lebanese political establishment under Hariri — then still a new face and a political novice — the role of running domestic issues such as reconstruction, budgeting and services.
But the line between security and reconstruction was not always as clear, with Syrian contractors such as Yarob, the son of former Syrian intel chief and Lebanon's viceroy Ghazi Kenaan and Jamal, the son of former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam, often snatching whichever lucrative contracts they wanted.
The line between security and reconstruction was further blurred with the election of former Army Commander Emile Lahoud as president. Lahoud's two sons, Emile Jr and Ralph, became known for their moneymaking ‘entrepreneurship’ during their father's tenure. Assad's security officers, such as Kenaan's successor Rustom Ghazali, started demanding bigger cuts. Under Bashar Assad, Lebanon was transformed from a marriage between Syrian security and Lebanese oligarchs into Assad's kleptocracy.
During the Hafez years (1990 – 1998) Hariri presented a new brand of political craftsmanship. He radiated with positive energy, which he used to dig Lebanon out from under the rubble. Hariri had a plan for making Lebanon a regional hub for business, tourism and services.
Hariri wanted to build the Middle East's biggest airport, the brightest downtown, the highest bridge over the mountainous pass of Dahr al-Baidar, a world-standard public sports complex, the highest-ranking private universities and hospitals, and many other superlative institutions. He wanted Lebanon to enter into partnership with the EU, host Olympic games, and entertain many other grandiose activities.
But Lebanon's actual ruler, the Assad regime, did no want Hariri to grow big with his achievements. They often sent him messages. When the American University of Beirut announced the appointment of the first resident president since the mid-1980s, someone threw dynamite over the university's fence. Some other disagreement saw two rockets strike Hariri's Future TV building.
Coupled with these explosive messages, Assad's Lebanese cronies built a narrative that completely vilified Hariri. In fact, even a decade after his death and the participation of Michel Aoun as a ‘partner’ in government, pro-Syrian pundits still blame Hariri for the nation's $72 billion debt. The brilliance of Hariri was that, despite the attacks against him, he remained steady and was never caught badmouthing his rivals. Hariri behaved as if he owned Lebanon. He reasoned that if he engaged his opponents, the bickering would hurt the country's reputation and international trust in it.
Another one of Hariri's skills was his ability to run a tight ship among his cohorts and keep his house and finances in order. He instilled awe in his fans and foes and used his power to shield Lebanon. Even when he was out of office between 1998 and 2000, the world still trusted Lebanon because it was the place that Hariri called home.
After his assassination and the withdrawal of Assad's army in 2005, Lebanon lost its balance. Hezbollah repeatedly offered Hariri's successors to re-synch security, under its control, with reconstruction under Hariri supervision. The Hariri’s turned down Hezbollah's offer based not only on past experience but also on the fact that Assad had already brought Christian leader Michel Aoun back from exile to replace Rafiq.
But Aoun never measured up to Hariri. Aoun is twitchy, nagging and radiates negative energy. It might have been something if Aoun had ever promised Lebanon some good days, but instead he has spent the last decade in Lebanon rewriting Hariri's story, mostly incorrectly. For its part, Hezbollah has used Aoun to channel Shiite hatred against Hariri, often to deflect Shiite anger away from Hezbollah's own crises and endless wars.
Unlike what Aoun claims, it is not true that Hariri renovated Muslim areas only. Casino du Liban, in the heart of Christian Lebanon, was renovated on Hariri's watch and became the lucrative cow that his rivals — Lahoud, Franjieh and Jamil Sayyed — abused. When former Finance Minister Fouad Siniora wanted to tax slot machines, the anti-Hariri concert sprang into action.
Hariri's positive vibes overrode corruption, nepotism and plans to turn Lebanon into a ‘resistance’ state. He gave most Lebanese hope that things would always improve, like they did starting with his rise in 1993. Since his assassination, Lebanon has been on a downhill slide.
Hezbollah has the upper hand in Lebanon. Since 2005, its ally Aoun controls a considerable portion of parliament and cabinet and punctures the rest of the government. Both Hezbollah and Aoun have failed miserably in governing the country post-Hariri. Whining, nagging and blaming the man on whose legacy Lebanon barely survives today show both Hezbollah and Aoun as failing governors and as politicians who are too small to measure up to the late, larger-than-life Rafiq Hariri.
***Hussain Abdul-Hussain is the Washington Bureau Chief of Kuwaiti newspaper Alrai. He tweets @hahussain

A Bashir Gemayel Presidency...
Walid Phares/August 24/15
Very few in Lebanon and internationally knew or know what would have been the policies and strategies of a Bashir Gemayel Presidency after he was elected and before he was assassinated by Syrian orders. Most of the celebrations we see are symbolic, emotional, and limited to some of his public speeches. But his advisors at that time, some of them have passed away, his international contacts, knew that what was ahead of such a Presidency was way more daring than the mere resistance to the Syrian occupation. A Bashir Gemayel Presidency would have never been on the defensive and lost parts of Lebanon to Syrian and Hezbollah advances. It would have restructured Lebanon's constitutional platform, reaching equality but not a la Taef. Syria would have been out by the end of 1983, and the militias disarmed by 1984. A federal system would have been negotiated, not imposed, for several years. Lebanon's émigrés would have received their rights to vote by 1990. There wouldn't have been a Security Treaty with Assad in 1991 because there wouldn't have been a Syrian invasion in October 1990. Beirut would have received a partnership with the European Union in the 1990s and a training cooperation with NATO after 9/11. A Peace process, in parallel, could have been achieved along with Jordan and the PLO. Five generations of Lebanese would have lived in peace and possibly in prosperity. There would have been a vigorous democratic opposition and social issues would have advanced.
How do we know that? Well those who have been part of the seminars in preparation for that new republic for several years surely know that. The problem is that after his assassination, the succeeding political establishment didn't follow the path agreed on by the Bashir Gemayel team, and the other problem is that those who were part of the planning never spoke about it, changed direction, passed away, or are silent.

The Zbele' uprising"
Walid Phares DC
The masses have exploded and are demonstrating in Beirut. They want the zbele (trash) out of their streets. After the trash is removed, they will go back to their clean homes and tell the tales of how they cleaned the outside as well. Will there be a massive political change? Some dream of large political platforms that would satisfy old visions of a remade Lebanon, each vision based on a particular philosophy, some on the right and some on the left. But the "Zbele uprising" is not yet going beyond the trash removal. Just as the Cedars Revolution removed a cabinet, then stopped, before its politicians brought back a different version of a worse Lebanon, the "Zbele uprising" is under risk of a repeat. Energy at the basis of the uprising is deep, but leadership at the top is absent. For now, the hope of a silent majority is to remove that hideous trash from the neighborhoods. Will a Lech Valesa emerge from the protesters ranks and push beyond? Or will the political establishment reshape itself like a Lego game and tell the people to go home, as they did in March 2005. "You've done well, now let us manage"...?

Resistance Brigades Invade downtown Beirut, Reveal True Face of “You Stink”Movement
Camal Richa page/August 24/15
Abbas Zahri, one of the organizers of the “You stink” movement in a meeting with Jawad Hassan Nasrallah the day before yesterday. Does this mean that Hezbollah supports this demonstration? Will FPM and Hezbollah succeed in achieving what they want through infiltrating the civil society’s righteous demonstration regarding the garbage issue? Yesterday, the civil society called for a demonstration to express their anger towards the government’s foot-dragging in resolving the garbage crisis. But the demonstration lost control in Downtown Beirut after it was infiltrated by “unknown people” who caused clashes yesterday and today between the demonstrators and security forces.
Ever since the issue of garbage started in Lebanon, the Civil society demanded the government to find solutions because of the environmental and public health danger this issue causes. The protesters yesterday were divided into two categories:
The Civil society, who are disgusted and frustrated with all the officials and politicians after they failed to address the most basic and most serious crises. Infiltrators and investors from March 8, headed by the Resistance brigades said to come from Kandaq al-Ghamiq area, who raised slogans against the basic citizenship rights. Most of these infiltrators were masked luring the security forces into a clash while trying to get through the security barriers through throwing stones, in order to storm into the Government building or the parliament by force. These infiltrators wanted to benefit from the civil society’s demonstration in order to achieve their political goals, and stop the Government from convening next Thursday after the Prime Minister Tammam Salam decided to agree on taking decisions when the quota reaches 2/3 of the Ministers’ signatures, or even the quota of 50+1, depending on the nature of the decision that needs to be taken. The PM’s decision would cause major political losses to FPM since Gen. Aoun does not want the decree to promote the Army Officers to pass. This decree, after the PM’s decision, would need the signature of 18 Ministers, and would be published in the Official Newspaper. This means that the Government would surpass Aoun’s disruption of the Government and would be able to perform its duties.
The intentions of these infiltrators became clear when they set up tents in Riadh al Solh Square, announcing an open-ended sit-in until the cabinet solves the waste crisis, which will not be discussed until next Thursday. The truth about “You Stink” Movement: Abbas Zahri who is known for his close ties with Hezbollah has been thrown out of UAE for publicly supporting Hezbollah
These infiltrators can be identified on TV since they are hooded and firing Molotov and throwing stones on the security forces, injuring more than 35 of them, some of whom are at risk of death.
It can also be identified through the demands they raised, which differ from the reason for which this demonstration was held. They started demanding a constitution amendment, early parliamentary elections, and the resignation of the Parliament and the Cabinet. Their cover was blown when they demanded what Gen. Aoun could not achieve with his constant demands to hold early Parliamentary elections before electing a Lebanese President.
In a related context, series of questions arise regarding the Civil Socitie’s demonstration:
Isn’t the Presidential vacuum a true threat which deserves raised voices and protests? The Presidential election is considered the natural approach to resolve all the Lebanese crises.
Doesn’t Hezbollah’s participation in the Syrian war a true threat on the Lebanese entity?
Aren’t the Resistance Brigades, Saraya al Qalaa, or any other armed brigades which pop out according to the area’s needs considered a danger on Lebanon?
Isn’t the crisis of power outages considered as corruption?
Aren’t the thousand of generators in the villages and streets which emit toxic smoke considered an environmental threat?
Isn’t the lack of water delivery to the citizens’ homes who are forced to buy water in a country full of rivers considered corrupt?
Isn’t the robbery of the customs and airport revenues considered corruption and impoverishment of the state treasury?
Isn’t the new traffic law which could not reduce accidents or speeding or death considered corruption?
Isn’t the daily unexplained traffic considered as corruption and a waste of the state and citizen’s money alike?
Doesn’t blocking roads for no reason mean corruption and havoc?
There are friends in the civil society which we appreciate and respect, but my friends, those of you who say that the solution to the waste crisis is the government’s responsibility and not that of the civil society is wrong and a continuation of the crisis.
Is creating a landfill in any Lebanese region the responsibility its people and municipalities?
The creation of landfills is the State’s responsibility, and the local authorities must take the initiative to monitor the companies that use these landfills and make sure they abide by the health and environmental requirements.
The solution to the waste crisis begins with the integration of civil society with the government to correct any corrupt path, and not with breaking into government offices for purposes that have nothing to do with their movement.

Diplomats Urge Salam not to Resign over Garbage Crisis
Naharnet/August 24/15/Top diplomats have contacted Prime Minister Tammam Salam to stop him from announcing his resignation over the country's waste management crisis which spiraled out of control over the weekend. Ministerial sources told An Nahar daily published Monday that Salam has received phone calls from the ambassadors of major powers, Arab countries and the European Union in an attempt to convince him not to resign. Salam hinted on Sunday he might step down following violent protests over the weekend against government corruption and the ongoing trash crisis. He said in a news conference that if this Thursday's cabinet session is not productive, "then there is no need for the council of ministers." The diplomats urged the premier to remain steadfast and confront the latest developments over fears that Lebanon would fall in total chaos, said the sources. According to An Nahar, U.S. officials have also contacted Iran to preserve stability in Lebanon. Arab diplomats have also held phone conversations with Lebanese leaders to preserve the cabinet, said al-Joumhouria newspaper. The diplomats warned that any party resigning from the government would be held responsible for the repercussions of its move. Political disputes have kept the country without a president since May 2014. Parliament has extended its own term and has not convened since November because lawmakers differ on whether they can continue working before voting for a president. That deadlock led to the trash crisis, which erupted following the closure of the Naameh landfill south of Beirut last month.

Gulf Countries Issue Travel Warnings to Lebanon
Naharnet/August 24/15/Two Gulf countries have issued travel warnings to Lebanon after peaceful demonstrations against the country's trash crisis turned violent on Sunday. Bahrain's foreign ministry renewed its call on its citizens on Monday to avoid travel to Lebanon “out of its keenness on their security and safety.” The ministry said in its statement that the travel warning came “in view of the unstable security situation” in Lebanon. It urged “all Bahraini citizens to leave Lebanon immediately.” On Sunday night, the Kuwaiti Embassy called on its nationals to remain vigilant for their safety at all times. “Under the current critical circumstances, the Kuwaiti nationals in Lebanon are advised to cancel any unnecessary plans and leave,” it said in a statement. “The Kuwaitis who plan to travel to Lebanon have to wait for further notice,” it said. The embassy also hoped that stability and security will be restored in Lebanon as soon as possible. Scores of demonstrators and policemen were injured in downtown Beirut for a second night on Sunday when thugs began fighting with security forces, trying to tear down a barbed wire fence separating the crowds from the Grand Serail. At first, the protest began peacefully, with thousands angered over Lebanon's political deadlock protesting.  The demonstrators take root in the garbage piling up on the streets after the capital's main landfill in Naameh was closed a month ago.

G.K. Amal Warns Media against 'Spreading Lies' on Involvement in Protest Violence
Naharnet/August 24/15/Speaker Nabih Berri's Amal Movement denied on Monday accusations that its members stirred riots during the latest anti-trash demonstration held in downtown Beirut. “Some media outlets have been claiming that Amal is involved in an attempt to stir strife and have accused the movement's members of seeking to stir riots to shove it in the latest events,” Amal's press office said in a statement. Such accusations are “not true,” it said. The statement accused the media outlets of lacking “professionalism and objectivity.”
The press office urged the media to inquire about any issue linked to the movement and warned them against “spreading lies.”The statement added that Amal had the right to pursue them legally. On Sunday, the “You Stink” online group and other protest organizers pulled their supporters out of downtown Beirut's Riad al-Solh Square and moved to the Martyrs' Square after men they described as political thugs began fighting with police. The thugs, which some media reports said belonged to Amal, tried to tear down a barbed wire fence separating the crowds from the Grand Serail and threw molotov cocktails on security forces. The violence sparked battles, which left scores injured. One of the protesters, who was seriously injured in the head, died early Monday.

Hale 'Deeply Troubled' by Weekend's Violence: Lebanese Deserve Basic Services, Working Parliament
Naharnet/August 24/15/U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale stressed on Monday the right of free speech and assembly in the wake of the weekend's violent demonstrations, adding “the American and Lebanese constitutions support the right to peaceful protest.”He said after holding talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam: “Lebanon’s citizens deserve to have basic services they can count upon, just as they deserve a parliament that overcomes its divisions and elects a president.” The ambassador made his remarks during a visit paid by U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Andrew Exum to the premier. “This weekend, Lebanon’s vibrant civil society voiced its frustration over the political paralysis that has held Lebanon captive for too long,” continued Hale. “Right to peaceful protest is integral to both our nations’ values and histories,” he remarked. “As the premier said in his remarks yesterday, it is a right that must be protected. If that right is found to be violated, there needs to be accountability as Salam has called for,” he said. “I am deeply troubled by the images and reports of injuries. We support a thorough investigation, and accountability, and restraint,” stressed the ambassador. “I reiterated America’s strong support for the prime minister’s efforts to advance political consensus so the cabinet can work on many urgent issues. All sides of the Lebanese political spectrum have a responsibility to their constituencies to act in the national interest,” he stated. “America has and will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Lebanon as it faces these challenges,” Hale added. Violence erupted on Sunday during a protest of the “You Stink” campaign that was demonstrating against Lebanon's waste disposal crisis and prolonged political deadlock. It had held two demonstrations over the weekend. Sunday's protest took a violent turn, which the campaign blamed on “political thugs,” who started fighting the police deployed at the scene of the protest at Riad al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut. The campaign pulled its supporters off the streets once the unrest erupted. The thugs tried to tear down a barbed wire fence separating the crowds from the Grand Serail and threw molotov cocktails on security forces. The violence sparked battles, which left scores injured. Workers were seen sweeping glass and other objects that were set on fire from the streets Monday. The Internal Security Forces stated Monday that 32 rioters have been arrested.

Hizbullah and Mustaqbal Stress Keenness on 'Freedom of Expression, Dialogue'
Naharnet/August 24/15/Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement stressed Monday during their 17th dialogue session their “keenness on freedom of expression and peaceful protest under the law and applicable regulations,” a day after more than 100 people were injured during protests in central Beirut. “The conferees discussed the domestic developments, the social issues, and the events of the past few days,” the two parties said in a terse statement after the Ain el-Tineh talks. They voiced their “support for state institutions” as they “protect domestic stability, preserve security and defend public facilities and private property.”The conferees also emphasized “the priority of dialogue and understanding among all parties to resolve the crises” and “the need for the state to shoulder its responsibilities regarding the issues that are of concern to citizens.”Lebanese activists vowed earlier on Monday to press ahead with protests over a trash crisis that has become an outlet for deep-rooted, broad-based frustration over political stagnation, corruption, and crumbling infrastructure. Prime Minister Tammam Salam has meanwhile called an "extraordinary" meeting of the fragmented cabinet for Tuesday morning to discuss the "catastrophic" issue of waste disposal. Thousands of people massed in central Beirut at the weekend to demand not only an end to the rubbish problem, but also a political overhaul and even the government's resignation. On both Saturday and Sunday, protests that began peacefully descended into violence, with security forces using tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets against demonstrators.

Nouhad Mashnouq Says Peaceful Protesters Have Right to Rally, Qahwaji Vows No Leniency with 'Infiltrators'
Naharnet/August 24/15/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq stressed on Monday that the security forces demonstrated their “high responsibility” towards the “You Stink” protesters over the weekend, reported Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3). He said: “The civilian campaign has the right to demonstrate, but a group affiliated with political parties had a different agenda.”He made his remarks after holding talks at the Grand Serail with Prime Minister Tammam Salam in the wake of the weekend's “You Stink” campaign's protests against the current political deadlock, which turned violent on Sunday. “We informed Salam of the details of the developments and he hailed the security forces on their performance,” added the minister. “We will not allow anyone to enter the Grand Serail or the parliament building,” he declared.He said that the security forces fired shots into the air on Sunday to fend off the protesters as they attempted to head to the government building, revealing that 99 security forces members and 61 civilians were injured. Later on Monday, Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji vowed that “the army will not be lenient with security violators or those who infiltrate the ranks of demonstrators to veer peaceful rallies off their course and legitimate demands.”Qahwaji voiced his remarks during an inspection visit to the headquarters of the army's Third Intervention Regiment in Beirut. He called on officers and soldiers to maintain “high preparedness to preserve the stability of the city of Beirut, protect constitutional institutions, and prevent any attacks on the lives of citizens and their properties.” Qahwaji, however, stressed the need to “protect peaceful demos and the right of everyone to express their stances and opinions under the ceiling of law and order.”The “You Stink” campaign, which began receiving the backing of Lebanese from across Lebanon, first launched its campaign against the government after the closure of the Naameh landfill caused trash to pile up on the streets. It had held two demonstrations over the weekend. Sunday's protest took a violent turn, which the campaign blamed on “political thugs,” who started fighting the police deployed at the scene of the protest at Riad al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut. The campaign pulled its supporters off the streets once the unrest erupted. The so-called thugs tried to tear down a barbed wire fence separating the crowds from the Grand Serail and threw rocks and molotov cocktails at security forces. The violence sparked running battles, which left scores injured. Workers were seen sweeping glass and other objects that were set on fire from the streets Monday. The Internal Security Forces stated Monday that 32 rioters have been arrested.

U.N. Urges Political Accountability towards Lebanese, Backs Salam's Efforts to Promote Consensus
Naharnet/August 24/15/U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag expressed on Monday strong support for Prime Minister Tammam Salam's efforts to promote consensus but stressed the need for political accountability of the country's leaders towards their citizens. Kaag noted in a statement “recent citizens’ protests and rightful, public demands for basic services and the effective functioning of government.” She underscored “the importance of protecting the rights of citizens to peacefully express their wishes and demands. But expressed “serious concern” over “violence and destruction of public property by some elements” following Sunday's demonstration in downtown Beirut. “Lebanon’s leaders must act in the national interest, especially at this critical time,” she said. Lebanon cannot afford further stagnation or continued domestic political crisis, harming the economy, undermining the level of basic services and ultimately eroding the country's stability and security. The diplomat underlined the importance of effective and urgent decision-making by the government and reaffirmed that the U.N. and the international community remain strongly supportive of Lebanon’s stability. She also said that the world body backs “all efforts to ensure strong, effective state institutions to meet the needs of the Lebanese people.”

UK Voices Concern over Beirut Violence, Backs Salam
Naharnet/August 24/15/British Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood said Monday that he was “deeply concerned” by the scenes of “violence and destruction” during the weekend demonstrations in Beirut that left scores of people injured. “As Prime Minister Salam has said the right to peaceful protest must be protected. There should be a full investigation, accountability and all parties must exercise restraint,” Ellwood said in a statement. He added that London supports Salam in his efforts to “promote political consensus to enable cabinet to work effectively.”“Lebanon’s citizens deserve to have basic services they can count on and functioning state institutions. I call on all political parties in Lebanon to act in the national interest, rise above partisan differences and resolve the current political crisis,” he went on to say. Lebanese activists vowed Monday to press ahead with protests over a trash crisis that has become an outlet for deep-rooted, broad-based frustration over political stagnation, corruption, and crumbling infrastructure. At a news conference in Beirut, organizers of the "You Stink" campaign called for a new protest on Saturday against Lebanon's "corrupt political class."Salam later called an "extraordinary" meeting of the fragmented cabinet for Tuesday morning to discuss the "catastrophic" issue of waste disposal.
Thousands of people massed in central Beirut at the weekend to demand not only an end to the rubbish problem, but also a political overhaul and even the government's resignation. On both Saturday and Sunday, protests that began peacefully descended into violence, with security forces using tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets against demonstrators. On Monday, "You Stink" organizer Marwan Maalouf said the campaign was now fighting for three causes: a resolution to the trash crisis, freedom of expression and police accountability.
Lebanon

Berri Urges Reevaluation or Annulment of Waste Management Bids over 'High Prices'
Naharnet/August 24/15/Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday demanded the “reevaluation” or “total annulment” of the winning waste management bids, citing the “high prices” that were proposed. “The bids must be reevaluated due to the high prices and the major burden on the treasury or else they should be totally annulled,” said Berri in remarks carried by state-run National News Agency. Meanwhile, Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq clarified that the prices he declared earlier in the day were higher than those charged by Sukleen, the firm currently in charge of waste management in Beirut and its suburbs, due to the fact that they involve “the establishment of treatment plants and the setting up of landfills.”“The Sukleen firm was operating existent plants,” he noted. “These prices also involve the sweeping service, which Sukleen was not performing outside Beirut,” the minister added. Earlier in the day, Mashnouq unveiled the names of the companies that won bids for waste management in Lebanon. He announced in a press conference that it is now up to the cabinet to study the bids and announce the names of the winning proposals. The Lavajet company will replace Sukleen in Beirut, he said. Mashnouq hoped that his announcement will act as a “happy ending” to the garbage disposal crisis Lebanon has been witnessing since the closure of the Naameh landfill on July 17. Since the closure of the Naameh landfill, arbitrary garbage dumps began to emerge after various municipalities refused to allow the disposal of waste from Beirut and Mount Lebanon in their areas. The cabinet is expected to hold an extraordinary session on Tuesday morning to tackle the waste management crisis. The unprecedented crisis has sparked protests across Lebanon. More than 100 people were injured after demonstrations in downtown Beirut turned violent on Saturday and Sunday.

You Stink' Activists Call for Saturday Demo, Reject Results of Waste Management Tender
Naharnet/August 24/15/The online group calling itself "You Stink” on Monday called for a Saturday demonstration to demand the annulment of the waste management tender whose results were announced earlier in the day by the environment minister.The movement “salutes all Lebanese who flocked to the Riad al-Solh Square over the past days to respond to the authorities' aggression,” it said in a statement recited by the activist Marwan Maalouf during a press conference. “Their unity taught a major lesson to the government, which escalated its violence in a bid to distort the image of the popular movement, and rushed to finalize the suspicious deal and declare the names of the firms that won the tenders,” the group added. It warned that the government is “trying to give the impression that the problem is a sectarian conflict.” “The tenders that occurred are aimed at stealing public funds and all the ministers, firms and municipalities that took part in them are partners in this theft operation,” You Stink added. The campaign also called for the prosecution of the officials and security personnel who used excessive force against demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday, urging the release of all detained protesters. Stressing that the controversial Naameh landfill must not be reopened, You Stink said Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq must be held accountable over his “failure” in handling the garbage crisis. The campaign concluded its statement by calling on citizens to demonstrate on Saturday at 6:00 pm at a location that will be announced later. Earlier in the day, You Stink announced the postponement of a demonstration that had been scheduled for Monday afternoon. However, citizens and activists continued to flock to the Riad al-Solh Square and a sit-in was swelling in numbers with the early evening hours. On Sunday, You Stink and other protest organizers pulled their supporters out of Riad al-Solh Square and moved to the Martyrs' Square after men they described as political thugs began fighting with police. The “thugs” tried to tear down a barbed wire fence separating the crowds from the Grand Serail and threw rocks and molotov cocktails at security forces. The violence sparked battles, which left scores injured. One of the protesters, who was seriously injured in the head, was on Monday in critical condition despite undergoing a surgical operation. The You Stink campaign, which began receiving the backing of Lebanese from across Lebanon, first launched its campaign against the government after the closure of the Naameh landfill caused trash to pile up on the streets. The announcement of the winning waste management tenders is not expected to resolve the garbage crisis anytime soon. The winning firms need at least six months to start operating. According to As Safir daily published Monday, Speaker Nabih Berri has urged Prime Minister Tammam Salam to mull ways to reopen the Naameh landfill in coordination with Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat pending a solution to the crisis. But it was not clear if residents living nearby, who say daily life is unbearable and allege gases produced by the site cause health problems, would accept such a decision.

1 Dead, 3 Hurt as Fierce Clashes Renew in Ain el-Hilweh
Naharnet/August 24/15/Violent gunbattles erupted Monday evening in the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon between members of the secular Fatah Movement and Islamist militants, in a renewal of the violence that had first erupted on Saturday.
State-run National News Agency said Fatah member Fadi K. was killed and at least three people were wounded in fighting involving the use of rocket-propelled grenades, machineguns and flares. According to Future TV, mortar shells were also fired during the clashes.
“The sounds of RPG blasts are echoing across the city of Sidon,” NNA said. LBCI television quoted Palestinian sources as saying that the battle started after “fundamentalist (Islamist) militants tried to advance towards some Fatah positions.” “What's happening is a response aimed at halting their advance,” the sources added.NNA said some gunshots reached some Sidon neighborhoods that are close to the camp. “Some families are fleeing en masse while others are urging the relevant parties to evacuate them after they were trapped in the camp,” the agency added. The violence had first erupted on Saturday when Fatah movement official Ashraf al-Armoushi escaped an assassination attempt. The clashes that ensued left two people dead. Ain el-Hilweh has been the location for the settling of scores between several factions, and a breeding ground for extremist groups because of the poverty there. Most Palestinians live in squalid conditions in the country's 12 official camps. The Lebanese army does not enter the camps, under a tacit deal agreed after the 1975-1990 civil war. Palestinian factions are responsible for security.

Mohammad Mashnouq Announces Names of Waste Management Firms for Whole of Lebanon
Naharnet/August 24/15/Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq unveiled on Monday the names of the companies that won bids regarding waste management in Lebanon. He announced in a press conference that it is now up to the cabinet to study the bids and announce the names of the winning proposals. The Lavajet company will tackle waste disposal in Beirut and Badco in the North. The South for Construction company will handle waste in the Aley, Baabda and the Chouf regions, while the Jihad al-Arab company will handle trash in the Bekaa, and Ward will handle trash in the South. Sayfco and Endevco company won the tender for the waste management in al-Metn, Keserouan, and Jbeil.Mashnouq hoped that his announcement will act as a “happy ending” to the garbage disposal crisis Lebanon has been witnessing since the closure of the Naameh landfill on July 17. “We are all responsible for the issue of landfills. It is shameful for a country of our size to fail to find a decent landfill,” he added. He explained that new landfills will abide by international health standards. “Four or five landfills are better than hundreds of arbitrary dumps,” he stressed, while expressing a hope that in the future, the waste could be used to generate electricity. Since the closure of the Naameh landfill, arbitrary garbage dumps began to emerge after various municipalities refused to allow the disposal of waste from Beirut and Mount Lebanon in their areas. “Differences should be made between garbage dumps and landfills that abide by health standards,” stressed Mashnouq. Cabinet is expected to hold an extraordinary session on Tuesday morning to tackle the waste management crisis.

Sami Gemayel Hints at Resignation from Cabinet if 'Obstruction Persists' during Tuesday's Session
Naharnet/August 24/15/Head of the Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel stressed on Monday that the cabinet will be facing a “test,” during its extraordinary session on Tuesday, if "the obstruction by some of its members continues."He declared in a statement after the party's weekly politburo meeting: “We see no point in remaining in cabinet if the obstruction continues in tomorrow's meeting.”The cabinet is scheduled to convene to tackle waste management tenders that were announced earlier on Monday to address the country's protracted garbage disposal crisis. “I have relayed the Kataeb Party's position to Prime Minister Tammam Salam and former President Michel Suleiman, whom I met earlier on Monday,” continued Gemayel. “We will facilitate decisions at cabinet because it is not acceptable for some sides to keep on paralyzing the country,” he added. “The people cannot be forced to pay the price of such tactics,” he stated. “We cannot act as false witnesses to practices that are crippling the cabinet,” the lawmaker said. Addressing the civil society demonstrations that were held over the weekend over the waste disposal crisis, Gemayel said: “The rallies gave us hope that there is a drive for change in Lebanon.” “We consider ourselves part of those people who are raising their voice against the current situation in Lebanon,” he stressed.
He voiced his support for the civil society campaign, urging it to continue its peaceful demonstrations and be wary of attempts to veer it off its course. He remarked however that the resignation of the cabinet will not achieve the civil society's demands for a system change in Lebanon. “Such a change starts with the election of a president, the consequent resignation of the current cabinet, eventual adoption of a new parliamentary electoral law, and the staging of the polls,” explained Gemayel. “What is the point of the resignation of the cabinet if the same electoral law will ensure the election of the same political class?” he wondered. “Accountability can be achieved through a new law” and the election of new political figures, the MP noted. “Change can only be achieved through state institutions,” he stressed.
Cabinet will convene on Tuesday morning to address the trash disposal tenders. Violence erupted on Sunday during a protest of the “You Stink” campaign that was demonstrating against Lebanon's waste disposal crisis and prolonged political deadlock.
It had held two demonstrations over the weekend. Sunday's protest took a violent turn, which the campaign blamed on “political thugs,” who started fighting the police deployed at the scene of the protest at Riad al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut. The campaign pulled its supporters off the streets once the unrest erupted. The thugs tried to tear down a barbed wire fence separating the crowds from the Grand Serail and threw molotov cocktails on security forces. The violence sparked battles, which left scores injured.The Internal Security Forces stated Monday that 32 rioters have been arrested.

Bomb Kills 3 Egyptian Policemen, Wounds 33
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 24/15/A bomb struck a bus carrying Egyptian policemen Monday, killing three and wounding 33, officials said, in the latest attack against security forces who are being targeted by jihadists.The attack occurred in the Nile Delta province of Baheira, 260 kilometers (160 miles) north of Cairo, while the policemen were traveling on a civilian bus to work."Three policemen were killed, including one who succumbed to his wounds in hospital," health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar told AFP, updating an earlier toll. "Thirty-three policemen were also wounded. One of them remains in a critical condition." Jihadists have killed scores of policemen and soldiers since an Islamist insurgency swelled in the wake of the 2013 overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president who took office following the ouster of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. The insurgency has been spearheaded by Egypt's affiliate of the Islamic State group which has launched regular attacks against security forces. While mostly centered on the Sinai Peninsula, IS has in recent months carried out more attacks in the capital, including against foreign targets. On Thursday, a car bomb claimed by IS tore through a Cairo police building injuring 29 people, including six policemen. The group also claimed a car bomb attack targeting the Italian consulate in downtown Cairo on July 11 which killed a passerby. The consulate bombing was followed by the abduction of Croatian engineer Tomislav Salopek, who IS later claimed to have beheaded. Jihadists say their attacks are in retaliation for a police crackdown targeting Morsi supporters that has left hundreds dead and thousands jailed. With his security forces battling to contain the insurgency, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last week ratified an anti-terrorism law boosting police and judicial powers. It also imposes hefty fines for "false" media reports on militant attacks.

S. Korea's Park Hardens Line with North, Demands Apology
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 24/15/South Korea's president hardened her line with North Korea on Monday, demanding an unequivocal apology for recent provocations as the two rivals struggled to negotiate their way out of a dangerous military standoff.
As grueling talks between top negotiators from both sides entered a third day in the border truce village of Panmunjom, Park Geun-Hye insisted on North Korea making a sincere gesture of contrition for mine blasts this month that maimed two South Korean soldiers.
North Korea "should make a clear apology... and ensure that there will be no further provocations," Park said in televised comments to a meeting of senior aides. Otherwise, she added, Seoul would continue the border propaganda broadcasts that have infuriated Pyongyang and prompted threats of concerted military strikes by the North Korean army. The current standoff has already triggered a rare exchange of artillery fire across the border, with both sides ramping up the military rhetoric and flexing their weaponry. In the remarks to her aides, Park stressed that there would be "no retreat" in the face of North Korean threats.
No rewards
Park has maintained a strong line on North Korea since she came to office, and will push back hard against any compromise that might be seen as rewarding Pyongyang's provocations. The talks that began Saturday in Panmunjom between top aides to both countries' leaders have so far failed to thrash out a mutually acceptable way to de-escalate the situation, despite two all-night sessions. The North has denied any role in the recent mine blasts and analysts say it will never accede to the apology demand. "And President Park knows that of course," said Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. "Both sides are really just trying to ramp up pressure on the other, looking for an upper hand in what are clearly very tough negotiations," Yang said. Pyongyang also appeared to seeking greater leverage, with the South's defence ministry saying the North had doubled the number of its artillery units at the boder, and put two-thirds of its 70-strong submarine fleet to sea. "The North is adopting a two-faced stance with the talks going on," said a ministry spokesman who described the scale of the submarine deployment movement as "unprecedented".
Regional concerns
The crisis is being eyed with mounting concern by neighboring countries and beyond, with China and Japan calling for restraint and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging both sides to "redouble" their efforts to reach a compromise.Meanwhile, the United States, which has nearly 30,000 U.S. troops permanently stationed in South Korea, has pledged its commitment to the defense of its key Asian ally. Seoul and Washington are reviewing the possible deployment of "strategic U.S. military assets" on the peninsula, the South Korean defense ministry said, without elaborating. Technically, the two Koreas have been at war for the past 65 years, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a ceasefire that was never ratified by a formal peace treaty. The talks in Panmunjom, where the Korean War ceasefire was signed, are being led by South Korean National Security Adviser Kim Kwan-Jin and his North Korean counterpart Hwang Pyong-So -- a close confidant of leader Kim Jong-Un. The marathon sessions reflected the size of the task facing the negotiators as they seek to bridge apparently irreconcilable positions. "Any resolution of issues now on the table will require a bold decision from their leaders," said Yang Moo-Jin, who nevertheless expressed a degree of optimism. "The fact that they are still talking shows a genuine determination to get something out of this -- the only question is what," he said. One option would be an agreement to open a regular high-level dialogue, but that would still leave open the issue of the propaganda broadcasts, which Seoul has vowed to continue.

Rare Mass 'Terror' Trial Opens in the UAE
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 24/15/A rare mass trial of 41 radical Islamists accused of seeking to overthrow the government and links with "terrorists" opened on Monday in the United Arab Emirates, official media reported. WAM news agency said the hearing at the state security court in Abu Dhabi was devoted to procedural measures, including the appointment of lawyers. The judge then adjourned the trial to September 28. Earlier this month, the prosecutor general accused the defendants, who include both Emiratis and foreigners, of plotting attacks aimed at trying to "seize power and establish a caliphate." He also accused them of creating a group "with a terrorist, takfiri (Sunni Muslim extremist) ideology."Takfiris regard Muslims who do not follow their extreme interpretation of Islam as apostates who can be killed. The Islamic State group, which has set up a "caliphate" on territory it has captured in Syria and Iraq, follows the takfiri ideology, as does al-Qaida. It was not immediately clear if the 41 suspects were accused of links to either group.
However, the prosecutor has said they were in touch with "foreign terrorist organizations... to help them achieve their goal."The defendants could face the death penalty if found guilty. They are also accused of setting up cells to train members in handling weapons and explosives in preparation for attacks in the UAE. Authorities reported their arrest on August 2 and prosecutors immediately leveled the accusations against them and said they would face trial. Such mass trials on terrorism charges are rare in the UAE which has largely been spared the Islamic militancy that has hit other Arab states. The UAE is part of a U.S.-led coalition that has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria since September last year. The wealthy Gulf state has upped security measures in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. In July, it adopted tougher anti-terror legislation and introduced the death penalty for crimes linked to religious hatred and "takfiri groups."These measures were taken a week after an Emirati woman convicted of the jihadist-inspired murder of a U.S. schoolteacher was put to death by firing squad in a rare execution approved by President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

Gaza Strike Shuts First Day of School for more than 200,000
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 24/15/A strike by teachers and personnel in Gaza kept more than 200,000 children from returning to school for the new term Monday, as the U.N. agency that employs them struggles financially. Several thousand teachers, assistants and administrative personnel protested in front of the headquarters of UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees. The union for UNRWA staff in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory hit hard by three wars in six years, an Israeli blockade and economic crisis, called for the protest with some employees at risk of losing jobs because of a lack of financing. Out of a population of 1.8 million in Gaza, some 1.26 million are refugees, according to U.N. figures. UNRWA oversees education for most children -- some 225,000 in 245 schools. Dozens of schools were damaged and affected by last summer's war between Palestinian militants and Israel. UNRWA, mainly financed by state members of the United Nations, has struggled with money shortages for years. The agency had raised the possibility of delaying the start of the new school term and laying off some staff for a year due to a lack of contributions from international donors. New financial support allowed UNRWA to freeze those plans, but its employees are demanding that they be dropped entirely.
In the West Bank, the other Palestinian territory, children returned to school amid tributes to the 18-month-old boy killed last month along with his father when their home was firebombed by suspected Jewish extremists. The school in Duma, the Palestinian village in the West Bank where the incident occurred, was renamed after the toddler, Ali Saad Dawabsha. The school year in the village was symbolically reopened by prime minister Rami Hamdallah. The boy's mother, Riham, taught at a school in a neighboring village. She remains in hospital with severe burns along with her other son, who is four."The students are asking for any news about their teacher," Ahlam al-Masri, the principal of her school, told AFP. "This morning we all prayed for her recovery and for the souls of her son and her husband."

Iraq's Sadr Urges Supporters to Rally against Corruption
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 24/15/Powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Monday urged his followers to hold anti-corruption protests in Baghdad this week, the first major political figure to issue such a call. Sadr's spokesman Salah al-Obeidi read a statement calling for the Iraqi people, and specifically Sadr supporters, to rally in the capital on Friday, at the request of Sadr in "support of the reform process." Thousands of people have for weeks taken to the streets of Baghdad and Shiite cities in the south on Fridays to protest rampant corruption and abysmal services that plague Iraq. They have railed against the poor quality of services, especially power outages that leave just a few hours of government-supplied electricity per day during the scorching summer heat.
Their demands were given a boost when top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on August 7 for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to take "drastic measures" against corruption. Sistani, who is revered by millions, said that "minor steps" announced by Abadi had fallen short. Abadi rolled out a reform program two days later. Parliament signed off on Abadi's proposals as well as additional reforms, and the prime minister has begun issuing orders for changes, including cutting 11 cabinet posts and slashing the number of guards for officials. But even with popular support and backing from Sistani, the fact that parties across the political spectrum benefit from graft is a major obstacle to the nascent reform effort.

Rebel Rockets Kill 14 Civilians in Yemen City
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 24/15/Iran-backed rebels in Yemen fired rockets into a residential district of Taez, killing 14 civilians, mostly women and children, officials said Monday, as battles raged for control of the key city.The bodies of those killed, including seven women and four children, were taken overnight to the morgue at a public hospital in Taez, said the medical officials.Several other civilians were wounded and hospitalized. The Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies had fired Katyusha rockets on Sunday targeting the district in central Taez, according to medics and residents.Viewed as the key to controlling the capital Sanaa, Taez has been the scene of deadly fighting between the rebels and loyalists of Yemen's exiled government. Battles in the city, southwest of Sanaa, have intensified in recent weeks as loyalists pressed an offensive in which they have so far recaptured five southern provinces.Pro-government forces claim to control "75 percent" of the city, including the presidential palace and the residence of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh -- whose supporters are fighting among Huthi ranks. But this could not be confirmed from independent sources. On Friday, dozens of people, mostly civilians, were killed in fighting and air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Taez, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Huthis have seized control of large parts of the country including Sanaa, forcing President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to the southern port city of Aden and then Saudi Arabia. In March, Saudi Arabia launched a coalition that has been carrying out an air war against them. The kingdom, as well as the United Arab Emirates, have also backed pro-government forces with arms and troops. Riyadh accuses Tehran of arming the Huthis, a charge it denies.

Saudi Policeman Wounded in Drive-by Shooting
A Saudi policeman was wounded when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a patrol in the Red Sea city of Jeddah before escaping in their vehicle, state media said Monday. The shooting occurred on Sunday night, and the wounded patrol commander was in stable condition, the official SPA news agency reported, citing a police statement. Investigations were underway to track down the assailants, it added. Attacks on security forces in Saudi Arabia have multiplied in recent months with most of them blamed on or claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. The deadliest was on August 6 when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed vest in a mosque within the grounds of a police headquarters in the southern city of Abha, killing 15 people. That attack was claimed by IS affiliate "Al-Hijaz Province".
IS, which controls swathes of Syria and Iraq, has expanded across the region, claiming responsibility for attacks on two Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia in May and a third in Kuwait in June. It has also been blamed for several shootings targeting foreigners in the kingdom.
A Saudi policeman was shot dead on July 3 during a raid in which three people were arrested and IS flags were found. But incidents similar to Sunday's could also be linked to criminal activity, including trade in illicit drugs.

Almost 80,000 Sign UK Petition for Netanyahu Arrest
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 24/15/Almost 80,000 people had by Monday signed a petition urging the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes when he visits London next month. The petition was launched earlier this month by British citizen Damian Moran and is posted on the government's website. "Under international law he (Netanyahu) should be arrested for war crimes upon arrival in the UK for the massacre of over 2,000 civilians in 2014," Moran said, referring to the 51-day offensive by Israeli forces in Gaza last year.If the number of signatories reaches 100,000, the petition can be considered for debate in Britain's parliament. But Moran told media he doubted it would reach the chamber given the close relationship between Israel and Britain. The British government was obliged to respond after the document received 10,000 signatories, saying that "visiting heads of foreign governments, such as prime minister Netanyahu, have immunity from legal process, and cannot be arrested or detained". "We recognize that the conflict in Gaza last year took a terrible toll," it added. "As the prime minister (David Cameron) said, we were all deeply saddened by the violence and the UK has been at the forefront of international reconstruction efforts. "However the prime minister was clear on the UK's recognition of Israel's right to take proportionate action to defend itself, within the boundaries of international humanitarian law."Britain is pushing for a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and "will reinforce this message to Mr. Netanyahu during his visit" in September, according to the response. Any British citizen can launch a petition on the government's website, asking for a specific action from the government or parliament's lower House of Commons. Only British citizens are meant to sign the petitions, but need only enter a name, email address and valid postcode. Israel launched military action in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on July 8 last year, leading to the deaths of more than 2,000 Palestinians and 66 Israeli soldiers. Pro-Palestinian British lawyers unsuccessfully tried to arrest former Israeli justice minister Tzipi Livni following the 2008-2009 Gaza war. Israel's embassy in London called the latest petition a "meaningless publicity stunt".

Bahrain Sunni Activist Pleads not Guilty as Trial Opens
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 24/15/A prominent Sunni opposition leader in Bahrain pleaded not guilty Monday at the opening of his new trial for "promoting political change through forceful means", judicial sources in Manama said. Addressing the Higher Criminal Court, Ibrahim Sharif said the charges against him were based on "assumptions" and not facts. Sharif, who headed the secular Waed party, was freed on June 19 after spending four years in jail over his involvement in 2011 Shiite-led anti-government protests.
But he was re-arrested three weeks later for "violating the law".The activist is accused of promoting "violent disorder" in a "direct attempt to undermine stability in the kingdom and overthrow the regime", in addition to other charges.The next hearing will take place on October 12.Sharif played a prominent role in the month-long protests in 2011 and was later among a group of 20 activists tried for plotting to overthrow the Sunni rulers of Shiite-majority Bahrain. Opposition sources say the activist was taken back to prison after he criticized the government during a ceremony for a victim of the unrest that has rocked the kingdom. Also on Monday, the main Shiite opposition bloc, Al-Wefaq, slammed accusations by authorities that its member, former lawmaker Sheikh Isa Hasan, is "financing terrorism."
Bahraini authorities said in a statement on the official BNA news agency that the ex-MP was arrested on August 18 after returning from Iran -- which the kingdom accuses of fueling unrest on its soil. He was being held "on charges related to financing terrorism among terrorist fugitives and others who are associated in terrorist acts," the interior ministry said. His name was linked to several "terrorist cases," including a blast that killed two policemen last month, it said, adding that he will be referred to public prosecution.
Al-Wefaq insisted that "Isa is innocent of these accusations," saying the bloc's "leaders and members adhere to its nonviolent methodology."The opposition in Bahrain, which is home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, is pressing for a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.At least 89 people have been killed in clashes with security forces since 2011, while hundreds have been arrested and put on trial, rights groups say.

Weapons: ICRC sounds alarm on arms trade
Geneva/Cancun, Mexico - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has voiced concern that many countries are still involved in illegal arms transfers despite having committed themselves to an international treaty to regulate the flow of such weapons. The organisation says that hundreds of thousands of civilians are being killed, injured or forcibly displaced in conflicts fuelled by such transfers.
“I am concerned about the gap … between the duty to ensure respect for international humanitarian law in arms transfers and the actual transfer practices of too many States,” said the ICRC’s president Peter Maurer in a video address to be delivered to States which are parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), meeting in Mexico.
The ICRC is directly confronted with this gap in many countries, “where we witness the appalling consequences for civilians of the widespread availability and misuse of weapons,” said Mr Maurer.
This is the first such conference to discuss the treaty which came into force in December 2014. The assembled governments are to decide on mechanisms for implementing the agreement.
”If States are to join the Treaty but continue to transfer arms to belligerents with a record of war crimes or serious violations of human rights, this would severely undermine the ATT’s humanitarian purpose and its credibility,” the ICRC president said.
The ICRC has expressed deep concern about the threats to medical and humanitarian assistance posed by such weapons in conflict- or violence-affected areas such as the Central African Republic, Syria, Iraq and South Sudan.
Mr Maurer called for a high level of transparency and robust national control systems to curb the availability of conventional weapons and stop their diversion to illicit markets. The treaty, which has been signed by 59 states and ratified by 72 states, covers everything from small arms and ammunition to battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships.

The Heroes Working to Rescue ISIS's Core Victims
by Phyllis Chesler/The New York Post/August 24, 2015
http://www.meforum.org/5451/heroes-rescue-isis-victims
Honor roll for defense of ISIS victims: Canadian Jewish businessman Steve Maman (left), Syriac Orthodox nun Hatune Dogan, and Swedish activist Hans Erling Jensen. "I've been raped 30 times and it's not even lunchtime," cried one young Yazidi woman in a dangerous and desperate call. Chillingly, she begged the man on the line, someone embedded with the Kurdish Peshmerga fighting ISIS: "If you know where we are, please bomb us. There is no life after this. I am going to kill myself anyway." That request was made a year ago. So far, no brothel has been bombed, no slave auction interrupted. President Obama's much favored "international community" — the United Nations, the European Union, the politically correct Western intelligentsia, the NGOs, the human-rights organizations — hasn't rescued this woman or any of the other mainly Christian and Yazidi sex slaves who remain in the clutches of the barbarians. But some individual heroes are doing so. With Oscar Schindler, Sir Nicholas Winton and Chiune Sugihara — who saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust — as role models, Canadian Jewish businessman Steve Maman has, so far, overseen the rescue of more than 120 kidnapped Christian and Yazidi girls in Iraq. Maman founded the Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq organization a year ago, after jihadists laid siege to Mosul and Sinjar. Sister Hatune Dogan and Hans Erling Jensen of the Hatune Foundation have been rescuing Christian and Yazidi girls and women from Iraq and bringing them to Europe, mainly to Germany, for medical and psychological treatment. Yazidi fighters head to battle ISIS on the summit of Mount Sinjar, Iraq, in December 2014. Last month, Sister Hatune went to the Sinjar Shingal mountains. Thirteen Yazidi fighters "covered" her as she went to "the front lines." She reports that "right now, there are 30,000 Yazidi fighters trying to stop the expansion of ISIS in this area. They live in 2,000 tents, in open camps in the mountains. They get neither support from the West or from the Kurds." She personally interviewed a young Yazidi girl who had been held captive by ISIS for two months. She was 14. "She was raped five to 10 times every day. She couldn't express what she had been through. 'I was dead — killed — hundreds of times,' she says. She knew of many girls that had jumped from a high rock to kill themselves because they could not live on with the shame."
This young girl is now safe.
The Hatune Foundation has freed 317 Christian and Yazidi girls from ISIS captivity since January 2014.
Last month, I met with Jensen in Europe to talk about the work he and Sister Hatune are doing. She described her monthly visits to the rescued girls this way: "I give them my shoulder to cry on. There is little more relief we can offer until we get them to Europe."
Since January 2014, the Hatune Foundation has freed "317 Christian and Yazidi girls from the hands of ISIS." In addition, with the help of "partners," the foundation has been involved in "280 additional releases."Right now, "200 women and girls are under professional care in Germany" where they can safely recover. Most of these girls are without family. Many have seen their loved ones brutally murdered. The task is huge. Jensen met Sister Hatune and became director of the Hatune Foundation last year. They agreed to mount a web platform as a way of campaigning for the rescue of Christians and Yazidis. Sister Hatune got special permission from the Archbishop of the Syrian Orthodox Church to work outside the church. Jensen tells me: "They have all been raped, sold as slaves countless times . . . Our long-term goal is to offer them security and comfort in life. We have bought three houses close to the foundation's headquarters [in Germany] and we intend to design them for these girls when they have finished treatment."The Foundation is located in Germany because there is a large, active Yazidi community there — and, Jensen says, because Germany is "into Christianity much more so than many other European countries." The Yazidi women are not waiting for Western feminists or Western military men to come their aid. A Yazidi singer, Xate Shingali, with the permission of Kurdish President Masoud Barzani, just formed an all-female brigade to fight ISIS. They have been equipped with AK-47s and wear military fatigues. Shingali says: "While we have had only basic training, we are ready to fight ISIS anytime."She adds, "ISIS will never go to heaven. We will kill them." Phyllis Chesler, a Shillman-Ginsburg fellow at the Middle East Forum, is an emerita professor of psychology and women's studies and the author of sixteen books.

Kurdish oil is another Netanyahu-Obama head-to-head front
DEBKAfile Special Report August 24, 2015
That Israel and other nations were buying oil from the Kurdish republic of Iraq had been published before and was no secret. The Financial Times broke its “discovery” Sunday, Aug. 23, just by chance? on the day that Britain and Iran reopened their respective embassies in Tehran and London after a four-year breach resulting from a mob attack on the Tehran embassy.
Even before sanctions were lifted and Tehran had demonstrated its compliance with the nuclear deal signed with the world powers in Vienna on July 14, European ministers were knocking on the door in a quest for financial relations. The Islamic Republic was deemed rehabilitated by the nuclear accord; and the UK saw no reason to lag behind the others. And so Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond was personally in attendance at the ceremonial reopening Sunday of the Tehran embassy.
The FT’s report’s timing fitting in perfectly with the British government’s plans to quickly develop profitable ties with the Islamic Republic in the following arenas:
1. The oil industries in Iran and Iraq. London seeks as large a slice as possible of the $150 billion worth of oil and gas contracts on offer by Tehran.
2. The Islamic Republic was also meant to infer from the FT report that British intelligence resources and its powerful media were available as tools for beating Israel out on the world’s energy markets.
3. Britain’s foreign policy is grounded in accentuating its common interests with Washington. The Obama administration may pose as a champion of Masoud Barzani, President of the autonomous Kurdish Republic of northern Iraq. His peshmerga army has after all distinguished itself in its dogged fight against the Islamic State. But in practice, things are different: the US administration, to meet the wishes of Tehran and Baghdad, consistently withholds from the Kurds the heavy weapons they need to rout ISIS.
The pejorative depiction of Israel’s purchase of Kurdish oil was meant to gain London points – not just with Iran and Iraq, but also with the Obama White House.
In serving this purpose, The Financial Times found no editorial need to fill in the pertinent Middle East background of the trade.
Exactly a year ago, debkafile discovered and reported that Kurdish oil was being delivered to Israel. Several media discovered an American warship that was described at the time as stalking the United Kalvyrta tanker which carried a million barrels of Kurdish oil. The warship planned to prevent the oil being unloaded at any port, since Washington viewed the cargo as the legal property of the Iraqi government – not the KRG which had put it up for sale. Had the oil reached its purchasers, it would have been nearly impossible to cut off Kurdistan’s export trade to clients outside Iraq.
This American step was part and parcel of the US negotiating tactics for a nuclear accord, then at one of their critical moments. The Obama administration was anxious to show Tehran how closely the US would play ball with Iran and Shiite-dominated Iraq on the vital issue of oil, once the nuclear accord was in the bag.
But the episode did not pan out as expected.
This is what happened: “The partially full Kamari tanker carrying Kurdish crude oil disappeared from satellite tracking north of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Two days later, the empty vessel reappeared near Israel.”
No one in the trade doubted for a moment that the vanishing oil had been unloaded at an Israeli port.
In reporting this at the time, a debkafile map traced the freight’s route from the Turkish port of Ceyhan, the terminus of the oil pipeline from the Kurdish-controlled oilfields of Kirkuk, to the Israeli port of Ashkelon.
That was the missing background of the Financial Times story, which led up to its conclusion that Kurdish oil accounts for 77 percent of Israel’s consumption, totalling around a quarter of a million bpd. Between May and August this year, the Haifa refineries are said to have handled 19 million barrels of oil sourced to Kurdistan.
Since all matters relating to energy are made in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office, it stands to reason that the decision to buy oil from the KRG came from the top.
Netanyahu’s readiness to go head to head with the Obama administration on this issue hat two motives:
First, Kurdish oil was cheap. Irbil denies undercutting the market, but debkafile’s sources report that it was willing to do so in the case of Israel.
Second, the Netanyahu government and the Obama administration don’t see to eye to eye not just on nuclear Iran, but on Middle East policy in general - and the autonomous Kurdish republic of Iraq, in particular. The prime minister intended for Barzani to use this oil revenue to buy the arms he needs to fight ISIS to the finish.
At the time of this decision, crude had soared past $100 on the world market, and Islamic State forces were advancing on the Kurdish capital of Irbil. Washington may have countenanced Mosul’s fall to jihadist forces, but Israel was determined to prevent the fall of friendly Irbil. This week, as Netanyahu marked the first 100 days of his fourth term as prime minister, his critics described him as weak and lacking in accomplishments. The Kurdish enterprise was one of several cases in which he quietly took a strong initiative.

Iran Deal Will Trigger Major War in Middle East
Nima Gholam Ali PourظAugust 24, 2015
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6373/iran-deal-war
*The Islamic Republic of Iran, since its founding in 1979, has had an ideology that seeks to "export the Islamic revolution" -- if necessary, by force.
*Despite what President Obama likes to say, it is not true that the agreement "permanently prohibits Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon" or "cuts off all of Iran's pathways to a bomb." This agreement means the U.S. has accepted that after 15 years, or sooner, Iran may build as many bombs as it likes.
*Iran is not a country busy trying to preserve its own sovereignty. Iran, instead, undermines other countries' sovereignty.
*Iran's regime is extremely pragmatic: it sees that its survival is not, threatened no matter what it does. It sees -- as does everyone else – that transgressions are, in fact, rewarded.
*Why does the U.S. wish to allow a regime that wants to destroy America's closest Middle East ally to acquire more advanced conventional -- and later, nuclear -- weapons? Why would anyone allow a country that gives missiles to terrorists to get hold of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)?
*If this agreement were about peace, why does Iran need more weapons? If Iran wants peace, why don't they scrap their missile program and stop supporting terrorist organizations? If Iran wants peace, why does it want missiles that can reach other continents?
*Hitler duped Chamberlain and presented himself as a man of peace. No one has duped President Obama. The mullahs openly say "Death to America." Does Obama not know at whom the Iranians will point their nuclear-tipped ICBMs?
*In the worst-case scenario, walking away from the deal still leaves the world in a position of deterrence that offers it better choices -- before Iran becomes nuclear, not after.
If someone had asked you a year ago what would be the most efficient way to cause a major war in the Middle East, you might well have said: Giving the mullahs in Iran the opportunity to get advanced conventional weapons, ICBMs, nuclear weapons and tens of billion of dollars to fund terrorist organizations and destabilize other countries in the region. You might have argued that a regime that does not hesitate to attack targets in Washington or Berlin might not be the most prudent one to shower with gigantic quantities of money and the deadliest weapons.
If one knows anything about the regime in Iran, it is difficult to understand how U.S. President Barack Obama's agreement with Iran could create anything other than chaos and war in the Middle East.
The content of the Iran nuclear agreement creates the perfect conditions for a major war in the Middle East -- one that could spread and start a major regional conflict.
Despite what President Obama likes to say, it is not true that the agreement "permanently prohibits Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon" or "cuts off all of Iran's pathways to a bomb". The agreement means that the U.S. has accepted that after 15 years, or sooner, Iran may build as many bombs as it likes.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, since its founding in 1979, has had an ideology that seeks to "export the Islamic revolution." The phrase is not just a catchword for the mullahs. They have done it in practice, if necessary by force. After coming to power in 1979, the leader of the revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, called on the Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq to revolt and establish an Islamic republic. The mullahs' effort to export the Islamic revolution to Iraq was one of the causes of the Iran-Iraq War, which lasted eight years and resulted in possibly a million deaths. Despite intense resistance from Arab countries, Khomeini's Islamic revolution has been successfully exported to Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
Iran is not a country busy trying to preserve its own sovereignty. Iran, instead, undermines other countries' sovereignty. In the case of Israel's, the regime in Iran is threatening the nation's entire existence. Even more astonishing is that the president of the United States gets peevish -- and threatens American Jews -- when Israel's prime minister reminds the public of that.
The regime in Iran has carried out terror attacks against Americans in Lebanon[1] and in European cities. A German court has stated that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, organized terrorist attacks in Germany. Several times, Iranian agents have been arrested in Europe when they were attempting to organize terror attacks.
Iran was behind the World Trade center attacks.
As late as 2011, Iran planned to assassinate the Saudi ambassador and attack the Israeli and Saudi embassies in Washington.
Iranian forces, both directly and through Hezbollah proxies, have been responsible for over 1,000 American military fatalities over the last decade and a half. Iran has continuously backed the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, providing it with money, training, and weapons.
Iran's regime is, contrary to rumors, extremely pragmatic: it sees that no matter what it does, its survival is not threatened even slightly. Iran's regime sees -- as does everyone else – that even the worst transgressions are, on the contrary, rewarded.
The regime is simply following Khomeini's original ideology to "export the revolution" and to fight against Western influence, which he called "Westoxification."
Iran's regime has always done what it says it will do. Experience shows that when the mullahs in Iran say "Death to America," they mean it with actual and real consequences. When the mullahs first shouted "Death to America," a slogan that started in 1978-1979 in response to American support for the Shah, they followed that up by having the Iranian-backed Hezbollah kill 241 American soldiers in Beirut on October 23, 1983. Iran then continued to ensure that Americans died in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Iraq- and Afghanistan wars.
In the same vein, when the Iranian regime shouts "Death to Israel," it sends weapons and resources to Hamas and Hezbollah, while organizing a conference for the world's anti-Semites who deny that the Holocaust happened.
This is the Iranian regime with which the current U.S. administration would like seal a deal, under which Iran will, after 10-15 years -- or sooner -- be legitimately able to enrich sufficient quantities of uranium to produce many nuclear weapons.
For each of the 36 years the Iranian regime has been in power, despite strong resistance from Arab countries, Turkey, Israel and the United States, its influence and ambitions have increased. There is no reason to think that with an infusion of $150 billion, the regime in Tehran will not be even more aggressive and proceed to build its nuclear bomb.
The regime in Iran has demonstrated no plans to become less militant, create a democracy, or even to release the American hostages it continues to hold on trumped-up charges in unspeakable Iranian prisons.
Part of the regime's triumph even seems to consist in humiliating the United States as exhaustively as it can.
The P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US; plus Germany) have agreed that Iran can buy conventional weapons after five years, and ICBMs after eight years. But why would any civilized nation allow a country that arms terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas to buy advanced conventional weapons? They will simply be passed on to Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran does not even deny that it supports Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iran already has missiles that can reach Israel and parts of Europe. Iran already has supplied missiles, such as the Fajr 5, to Hezbollah. Why would anyone allow a country that gives missiles to terrorists to get hold of ICBMs that can be fired from one continent to another?
It is also Iran's official government policy that Israel should be destroyed. Why does the U.S. wish to allow a regime that wants to destroy America's closest ally in the Middle East to get more advanced conventional -- and later, nuclear -- weapons?
If you listen to the mullahs in Tehran, Americans and Israelis are the targets. Therefore, these conventional weapons will be directed against the Americans and Israelis, wherever they are.
That the mullahs, thanks to this deal, will get $150 billion is not rational. When a country or organization supports terrorism, you freeze its assets. Iran continues openly to support terrorism; this deal gives Iran access to $150 billion dollars to support more terrorism.
Under the agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) can inspect only Iran's declared nuclear facilities -- and that only with a 24-day delay, in addition to having to disclose to the Iranians what evidence has caused the site to be inspected.
The IAEA, however, even at its best, has never found anything. Iran's secret nuclear program was discovered by an Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), in 2002. There is nothing that says Iran will not have more secret nuclear programs unavailable to the IAEA.
The entire agreement is based on these mullahs showing goodwill towards the West, which they no doubt see as a threat that could lure their people away from the righteous course of Islamism. President Obama's approach seems to be based on the hope that one of the most fanatical regimes in the world will suddenly become honest and peaceful -- that the same regime that shouts "Death to America" will actually present all its military installations and secrets to its archenemy, the United States, through the good offices of the IAEA.
Let us not ask President Obama to care about all those wrongly imprisoned, tortured and hanged in Iran every year. Let us not ask President Obama to care about Iranians who would like the same democracy and the freedom they begged him for in 2009. President Obama needs only to maintain peace and stability in the Middle East. But allowing these mullahs to get advanced conventional weapons in five years, ICBMs in eight years, and nuclear weapons in 15 years -- or sooner -- is to create the conditions for a larger regional conflict that, in this era of globalization, will surely spread to the West.
If this agreement were about peace, why do the Iranians need more weapons? If Iran wants peace, why don't they scrap their missile program and stop supporting terrorist organizations that want to destroy Israel? If Iran wants peace, why does it want weapons that can reach other continents? Which country is threatening Iran's sovereignty today that makes Iran want more advanced weapons?
If anyone has ICBMs and says "Death to America", what do you think he will do with those ICBMs?
There are those who compare the Iran deal to the Munich Agreement of 1938. The Iran deal is much worse. Hitler duped Chamberlain and presented himself as a man of peace. No one has duped President Obama. The mullahs openly say "Death to America" and "Death to Israel," and have backed up their words with actions.
It was the Iranians who helpfully exposed inconsistencies in the nuclear deal, which the U.S. government had presumably hoped to hide from Americans, such as two side-deals Iran has with the IAEA.[2]
Why would an American president do this? Does he not know at whom the Iranians will point their ICBMs?
This deal, combined with the expansionist policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran, can only lead directly to the biggest war of the 21st-century -- Obama's War, even if he is not in office any more. The mullahs will not start loving Israel. The Saudis, Turks, Egyptians and Emiratis are not just going to sit and watch Iran get nuclear weapons. No Arab country wants to be the next Syria, Lebanon, Yemen or Iraq, and Israelis have no desire to be, as threatened, wiped off the map.
The alternative is to walk away from the deal. Instead of a major war becoming the only scenario, the worst-case scenario would become a limited bombing campaign now to prevent the Iranian regime from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Even if the results lasted, as critics charge, "only" two or three years, at least Iran -- and global onlookers -- would understand that there are real consequences for rogue behavior; and that there could always be further rounds later, if needed.
At the very least, massive damage to select nuclear facilities would not be seen as a reward. In the worst-case scenario, walking away from the deal still leaves the world in a position of deterrence that offers it better choices before Iran becomes nuclear, not after.
Even no deal with Iran leads to a more peaceful and stable Middle East than President Obama's bad deal.
**Nima Gholam Ali Pour is active in the pro-democracy organization CENTIA, and is a member of the board of education in the Swedish city of Malmö.
[1] In 1983, a U.S. Marines barracks was attacked by terrorists from Hezbollah, who were backed, supported, and directed by Iran.
[2] A Persian-language statement that described the original agreement with Obama had a number of inconsistencies with the English version, some of which go completely against the agreement itself.

Security Council: Syria 'largest humanitarian crisis in the world'
Almonitor/Week in Review/Monday, August 24, 2015
The UN Security Council announced on Aug. 17 that Syria “has become the largest humanitarian emergency crisis in the world today, threatening peace and security in the region.”
It is a mark of despair that many will hardly consider this news, and that the scope of the Syrian tragedy — “at least 250,000 have been killed, including well over 10,000 children, and 12 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including over 4 million who have sought refuge in neighboring countries, and more than 12.2 million people in Syria require urgent humanitarian assistance,” according to the latest UN tally, has become so familiar that it no longer shocks, which is itself shocking.
We could of course note, in a review of the news of the week, the brutal killing by the Islamic State of two scholars of antiquities in Palmyra, the efforts to contain an outbreak of typhoid in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, and the Syrian government’s bombing of a rebel-held town that reportedly killed 100 civilians and which the United Nations’ top official for humanitarian affairs, Stephen O’Brien, termed “appalling.”
It is also worth mentioning that the Security Council this week endorsed UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura’s plan to establish Syrian “thematic working groups” dealing with “safety and protection for all; political and legal issues; military, security and counterterrorism issues; and continuity of public services and reconstruction and development.”
It is perhaps no coincidence that the council’s endorsement of de Mistura’s effort came on the same day that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was in Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. Zarif said at a press conference after their meeting that Iran and Russia hold a “common position” in seeking a political solution to the Syrian crisis that does not prejudge the fate of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Lavrov termed “unacceptable” any conditions on the composition of a transitional government in Syria, which he and Zarif agreed can only be determined through meetings between representatives of the Syrian government and opposition groups.
Iran and Russia have been the most active parties seeking to bridge the gap between the Syrian government and opposition groups. Zarif’s stop in Moscow followed a tour of regional capitals to press Tehran’s own diplomacy on Syria, as discussed in this column last week. Zarif had been instrumental in Iran’s brokering a temporary humanitarian cease-fire between the Syrian government and Ahrar al-Sham and other factions around Idlib and Damascus.
Vitaly Naumkin, who has participated in Moscow-mediated meetings between Syrian government and opposition representatives, explains the increasing pivotal Russian role in regional diplomacy, including and especially regarding Syria: “Moscow believes a transitional governing body should be decided by consensus during inclusive negotiations among Syrians themselves. At the same time, Russian experts would like to see greater clarity in the strategy of the Syrian opposition in relation to the transition process. This applies, for example, to the issue of the future character of the Syrian state, which is a point of contention with leaders of the Kurdish groups. Compromise formulas like 'democratic decentralization' or 'pluralistic decentralization' look quite convincing, but they also elicit circumspection from the supporters of a centralized unitary state as well as all Arab nationalists. Still, it is clear to them that serious guarantees for the rights of all minorities in Syria are an essential element of any settlement. One provision in the platform of the National Coalition and a number of other opposition groups that raises questions among Russian experts is the issue of so-called 'transitional justice.' In this regard, it is feared that this principle could become an excuse to exact revenge against those whom the opposition wants to convince to share, or completely relinquish power. According to many analysts, the examples of South Africa, Cambodia and other countries — those which have experienced post-conflict transition while using the tool of amnesty and refusing to take revenge — look quite appealing.”
Arash Karami writes this week that Iranian media, while reporting on the effusively positive statements made by Zarif and Lavrov in Moscow about Russia-Iran relations, are asking about the status of the Russian missiles purchased by Iran.
Zarif reassures Nasrallah of support for ‘resistance’
Jean Aziz reports from Beirut on Zarif’s visit to Beirut and meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Aug. 11, which, as Aziz describes, follows a familiar pattern: The “visit receives little media coverage, takes place at night and is always made public by a statement issued by Hezbollah accompanied by images published by its media offices alone.”
Aziz, who spoke with a member of Zarif’s diplomatic delegation, writes that “the meeting with Nasrallah was aimed at confirming Iran's ongoing support for the role of the resistance, exemplified by Hezbollah in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the meeting with the delegation representing Palestinian organizations was aimed at confirming that Iran’s policies toward the Arab world and the Middle East will continue to support the Palestinian cause. Also, the meeting with [Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Samir] Mokbel was intended to emphasize Tehran’s lasting intention to support the Lebanese army and provide it with the weapons and ammunition it requires.”
Egypt’s arbitrary detentions
Ayah Aman this week reports on the arbitrary detentions of young adults in Egypt, one of many actions by the Egyptian government that have concerned human rights activists. The hashtag #Al-Ikhtifa_al-Qasri_Garima (#Forced_Disappearance_Is_A_Crime) has been filling social media pages, and blogs are documenting forced disappearances and arrests of young adults as part of security campaigns that started in May in Cairo and in other governorates. Over three months have passed without knowing the detention place or details about the victims.
Mohamed Said writes from Cairo on how relations between the Egyptian government and the Muslim Brotherhood continue to deteriorate, despite an offer by Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah to mediate, which was rejected by Egypt’s Foreign Ministry on the grounds that the Brotherhood is a terrorist organization.
Egypt’s Ministry of Religious Endowments took the seemingly extraordinary step of banning prayers said for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in order to separate religion and politics, Walaa Hussein writes from Cairo. The directive came in response to a controversial statement made by Sheikh Mohammed Jibril on July 13: “Dear God, punish those who killed worshippers, those who shed our blood and orphaned our children. Dear God, punish corrupt journalists, pharaoh’s wizards. Dear God, punish corrupt politicians, punish those who oppressed us, those who assaulted our homes. Dear God, punish those who dominated by tyranny, punish the sultan’s sheikhs.” The government accused Jibril of sympathy to the Muslim Brotherhood and subsequently banned him from preaching at mosques across Egypt.
US, Turkish "Bay of Pigs" in Syria
David Ignatius writes in The Washington Post on Aug. 20 about the ill-fated Division 30, whose 54 members were trained by US special forces in Turkey, and which suffered a defeat by Jabhat al-Nusra forces soon after entering the battlefield last month. Ignatius reports that “Division 30’s difficulties illustrate US problems working with Turkey. The rebel group was composed mainly of Syrians from the Turkmen ethnic group, recruited from an area north of Aleppo. The United States had preferred a plan to insert Kurdish and other Sunni fighters closer to Raqqa, the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital. But the Turks vetoed that plan.”
Al-Monitor’s Fehim Tastekin broke the story of the divergent perspectives of US and Turkish authorities regarding the train-and-equip mission, including Turkey’s insistence on leading with Turkmen whose main preoccupation was toppling Assad, not defeating Islamic State. Tastekin wrote then that the envisioned forces to be trained would “be mostly Turkmens from the Damascus and Aleppo areas. The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) will select trainees based on certain criteria, including that the candidates are 'reliable' and see Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad as an "essential target."
Perhaps the most worrying revelation in Ignatius’ article is the report by a member of Division 30 that the group had “coordinated” with Jabhat al-Nusra before deploying to Syria, defying, it seems, the firewalls in the US vetting process. No surprise that Jabhat al-Nusra showed its lack of interest in working with US-trained forces and sabotaged Division 30 days after its arrival in Syria. This column has warned since December 2013 of efforts to “mainstream” radical Islamist groups, including Jabhat al-Nusra. In May of this year we wrote that “the evolution of these groups, now including the Army of Conquest, which is backed by Turkey and other US partners, would eventually end up as a means to mainstream forces like Jabhat al-Nusra. And this is exactly what is happening.”

Will Jordan agree to set up a 'safe zone' on Syrian border?
Author Osama Al Sharif Posted August 21, 2015
Al-Monitor/Jordan is weighing the risks and benefits of setting up a safe zone along its borders with Syria and is watching Turkey’s attempts to create a buffer or safe corridor in the north of the war-torn country, according to a source close to the Jordanian government who recently met with a senior government official. The source, who requested anonymity, told Al-Monitor that officials in Amman expressed interest in establishing a “safe zone and not a buffer zone with a depth of 60 kilometers [37 miles] into southern Syria,” but for this to happen, Jordan would need an international mandate. The source said that legal, logistical and political problems have put such plans on hold, and it is unlikely that a decision will be made unilaterally over this anytime soon.
Summary
Jordan is considering the option of establishing a safe zone along its border with Syria, amid lack of US support for Turkey’s attempts to do the same on its southern border.
The United States denies that it agreed with Turkey to set up a “safe zone” inside northern Syria as part of their campaign against Islamic State (IS) militants. This has added to Jordan’s reluctance. Feridun Sinirlioglu, undersecretary of Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told CNN Turk Aug. 11 that the two countries had agreed to create an area free of IS militants that would be 98 kilometers (61 miles) long and 45 kilometers (28 miles) wide, to be patrolled by members of the opposition Free Syrian Army. It was not clear if this would be a buffer or safe zone. “The control and protection of this region cleared of [IS] will be conducted by Syrian opposition forces and the necessary air defense and support for this … will be provided by the United States and Turkey,” Sinirlioglu said. According to Reuters Turkey, he hopes the zone will be a haven for more than 1.7 million Syrians who have fled across the border into its territory.
Until Aug. 16, there was no official comment on Jordan’s interest to establish a safe zone along borders with Syria. But on that day, Brig. Gen. Saber al-Mahayreh, head of Jordan’s Border Guard, told journalists touring the northern front that while the armed forces are keeping IS militants at bay, at least 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the borders, it would be a good thing if a safe zone was set up. But he added, “Such a zone needs the approval of the UN Security Council because it requires an infrastructure and security arrangements.”
Political columnist Omar Kullab told Al-Monitor that there are two views regarding the setting up of a safe zone. He said the first is backed by the military establishment — especially after the recent increase in incidents where projectiles have fallen on Jordanian border towns from the Syrian side. A mortar shell fell in a market in the border city of Ramtha June 25, killing one and injuring four. And on Aug. 13, six Jordanians were injured when a shell fell on a house in the same city.
The other view, according to Kullab, is that the political and security establishments are worried about Jordan getting further entangled in the Syrian scene. “Domestically, the safe zone will prompt Jordanians to call for the expulsion of Syrian refugees,” he said. “And externally, the safe zone requires huge logistical investments and may lead to Jordanian soldiers clashing with Syrian opposition or regime forces.” Kullab believes the political-security view will prevail in the end, especially in light of the lack of American support for this idea.
Proponents of the safe zone idea believe it will allow for the repatriation of more than 600,000 Syrian refugees, 80,000 of which are in the Zaatari refugee camp in northeastern Jordan. The rest are scattered in towns and cities across the Hashemite Kingdom. The Amman government continues to complain that the flow of international donations to help provide services to the refugees is decreasing, and such strains have compounded the economic difficulties of the Kingdom.
Head of Al Quds Strategic Studies Center and political analyst Oraib al-Rantawi believes that Jordan will not follow Turkey’s path in creating a safe zone along its northern borders. “Such a step will threaten the stability of Jordan’s north where population centers on both sides of the border are close,” he said. He added, “Without an international mandate, Amman will not risk venturing into southern Syria, especially as King Abdullah dismissed reports [on July 30] that Jordan was considering expanding beyond its borders.”
Jordan is part of a Military Operations Command that is based in Amman and is believed to provide logistical and military aid to members of the so-called moderate Syrian opposition in southern Syria. According to Al Quds newspaper’s correspondent in Amman, Bassam Badarin, Jordan has played a role in “foiling a recent campaign called Southern Storm to take over the Syrian strategic town of Daraa, because it was not sure if the Free Syrian Army will not be replaced by more radical groups like Jabhat al-Nusra or Islamic State fighters.” Badarin told Al-Monitor that Jordan is also keen not to antagonize the Syrian regime further. Damascus has repeatedly accused Jordan of supporting insurgents in southern Syria, something that Amman repeatedly denied.
Political columnist Fahd al-Khitan said that Jordan will not need to establish a safe zone in the near future. He told Al-Monitor that “unlike Turkey, which has been in collusion with extremist groups, Jordan was able from the beginning to build bridges with the moderate opposition in Daraa.” This, he said, helped “secure Jordan’s national interests and reduce the number of Syrian refugees.” Al Khitan added that Jordan “will not risk taking a unilateral action in Syria that may put it in the eye of the storm.”
The cost of maintaining military readiness in the northern areas is high, but despite occasional skirmishes with would-be infiltrators, the borders are secure. For now, Jordan is eyeing Turkish attempts to create a safe zone along its borders with Syria, but Amman is not yet ready to make a similar move.

Bombings, terror threats don't keep Copts away from Egyptian churches
George Mikhail/Al-Monitor/August 24/15
CAIRO — Christians and Muslims in Egypt flocked to churches and monasteries bearing the name of the Virgin Mary to take part in the festivities of the Assumption, which started on Aug. 6 and lasted 14 days. The Virgin Mary Church in Mostorod in Cairo has a special place in the Coptic history as one of the sites visited by the holy family when they came to the land of Egypt and an archaeological shrine of the Virgin Mary.
In the province of Assiut, on Aug. 8, Copts crowded the monastery of the Virgin Mary in Daranka, where the holy family also visited.
As churches across Egypt's governorates hold prayers and chant hymns for 14 days, Copts fast in commemoration of the Assumption.
Despite the wave of terrorist attacks that have plagued Egypt during the past few months, such as the Italian consulate bombing on July 11 and the assassination of Attorney General Hisham Barakat on June 29, Virgin Mary attractions saw a large turnout. Visitors seemed unconcerned about the possibility of violence that could target large gatherings or churches during these festivities, as happened in the Virgin Mary Church in al-Warraq on Oct. 20, 2013, when an attack left four dead, including a child.
The Virgin Mary celebrations coincided with the second anniversary of the raid by security forces on Aug. 14, 2013, of protests in al-Nahda Square and Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in support of isolated President Mohammed Morsi. Unidentified groups also burned several churches.
In front of the Virgin Mary well in Mostorod, where Jesus Christ once bathed, Amjad Samir waited with his young sons for their turn to drink and then headed to the church hall to take part in the Assumption prayers.
Samir told Al-Monitor that not a year goes by without him visiting the archaeological Church of the Virgin Mary in Mostorod with his children despite terror concerns. He said that the Virgin Mary will protect those who love her.
Samir said he has become accustomed to buying candy outside the church and walking with his children. The holiday, to him, “is not only limited to prayers but includes different activities in the vicinity of the church such as games, candy selling and pictures of saints and the Virgin.”
Samir explained that terror is not the only issue that concerns visitors, as high temperatures add to their burden. The hot weather that swept Egyptian provinces in August has resulted in the deaths of more than 80 people.
He said that visitors complain about overcrowding amid high temperatures in the vicinity of the church and the poor ventilation inside, and many opt for night visits.
The festivities appeal to non-Christians as well. In front of an image of the Virgin Mary, Samira Mohammed prayed fervently, whole holding another image of the Virgin Mary in her hand. Mohammed emphasized to Al-Monitor that she always waits eagerly for the Virgin ceremony. A Muslim, she knows the Virgin Mary is mentioned in the Quran and the only woman to whom an entire Surah is dedicated.
Mohammed pointed out that many Muslims take part in the Virgin Mary festivities in several provinces, and that she “rejects the fatwa whereby sheikhs and Muslim clerics forbade greeting Copts on their holidays or sharing such holidays with them.”
Mohammed said that she will not hesitate to visit the Virgin Mary, no matter what happens, even in the event of terrorist operations against festivities, because she loves the Virgin Mary and is keen to visit her church in Mostorod.
For his part, Father Abdel Massih Basit, pastor of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Mostorod, confirmed to Al-Monitor, “The terrorist operations did not affect the church festivities. On the contrary, the number of visitors was higher than any other year. Egyptians insist on pursuing their lives normally regardless of the intensification of terrorist incidents.”
Basit said he had expected the number of visitors to drop because of the hot weather, but he was wrong.
Asked about the security measures in the area around the church, Basit said that he is in constant contact with the security services and that there are always leaders from the Ministry of Interior in the church. “There is a security checkpoint in front of the church, and on Friday [Aug. 14], the celebrations were surrounded by major security measures, given the concurrence of the second anniversary of the raid on the two protests that were held in al-Nahda Square and Rabaa al-Adawiya Square,” he explained.
Basit said that the church relies on its own personnel to keep order inside the church and to inspect visitors at the electronic entrance gates.
He added that those most concerned with the safety of visitors during the Virgin Mary holiday are the area's Muslim residents, who financially benefit from the high turnout that brings business to local stores. Therefore, these people help security forces with the protection of the church. Security forces are deployed 24 hours a day during the festivities that last two weeks, said Basit.
Former assistant to the interior minister and security expert Gen. Ashraf Amin told Al-Monitor that the success of the state in securing the new Suez Canal inauguration ceremony on Aug. 6 encouraged Egyptians to go to the celebrations of the Virgin Mary. Amin pointed out that the Ministry of Interior always develops security plans to secure celebrations, fearing the targeting of places of worship.
He explained that the security forces tighten security measures by deploying secret police forces to protect citizens from any terrorist operations.

The Iran strike that never was
Nahum Barnea/Ynetnews/Published: 08.24.15/ Israel Opinion
Op-ed: Ehud Barak's interview outtakes shown on Channel 2 News tell a skewed version of what happened when the government decided to avoid striking Iran's nuclear sites.
Meir Dagan, Yuval Diskin, Gabi Ashkenazi, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, Amir Eshel, Aviv Kochavi, Tamir Pardo, Dan Meridor, Benny Begin, Yuval Steinitz, Moshe Ya’alon - these are the real Israeli patriots when it comes to attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, attacks that did not happen.
Plans of attack were discussed three times: In 2010, 2011, and 2013. Allegedly, the top three members of government urged the approval of these plans with all the vigor they could muster. I say "allegedly" because the members in question are Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, and Avigdor Lieberman, three men for whom "allegedly" is practically a middle name.
The discussions focused on two questions, one obvious and one crucial. The obvious question was what Barak calls “operational readiness” – can the IDF significantly damage the nuclear sites and bring its pilots back home safely. The crucial question was what is it good for, what will the results of the strike be if it’s successful, what will be the impact on the Iranian nuclear program, what will happen to the Middle East.
The interview outtakes of Ehud Barak speaking to Ilan Kfir and Danny Dor, two journalists who have written a new biography of him, which were recently aired on Channel 2 News, focus on the less crucial first question.
Those who hear the outtakes might come to three conclusions: First, that there was some patent, a magic wand, a brilliant operation with which a single blow could have been landed and with it destroy an existential threat to Israel. Second, that there were three brave ministers, determined spirits with the will to take action, but a group of cowardly politicians prevented them from doing so. And third, that among these three was an internal division: Barak was trying his hardest to get the operation greenlit, Lieberman didn’t do very much, and Netanyahu failed as a leader.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
The main point raised against an attack on Iran was that it would do more harm than good: The moment Israel attacked, Iran would have been free to push its nuclear program forward at full force while claiming self defense. In two years, at the most, it would have manufactured its first bomb. Had we attacked in 2010, Iran would have been nuclear in 2013; had we attacked in 2013, it would have been nuclear today, without binding agreements or international oversight.
The Israeli strike could have borne fruit only if it had dragged the United States into war. Israel attacks, Iran retaliates harshly against the Israeli populace, the US is forced to stand with its ally and commit its full military power. The participants in the discussions that took place had to suspect that this was Netanyahu and Barak’s real goal, that this was the gamble. Otherwise, the Israeli attack had no purpose.
The Israeli tail wanted to wag the American dog and start a regional war, one whose end was unknown. If Churchill could recruit Roosevelt into the fight against Hitler, Netanyahu will force Obama into fighting Khamenei. But Obama isn’t Roosevelt, Netanyahu isn’t Churchill, and Khamenei isn’t Hitler. It’s all talk.
The heads of the defense establishment who participated in the discussions didn’t want to be seen as cowards. Therefore, they supported spending billions on purchases and training meant to bring the IDF to full operational preparedness. A large part of this investment went down the drain. We can take comfort in the fact that knowledge of the preparations for a possible Israeli attack contributed somewhat to the severity of the sanctions imposed on Iran.
Barak is a dangerous kind of person to drive behind. The kind who might signal left, turn the steering wheel in that direction, and still turn right in the end, or the other way around. It’s doubtful whether we’ll ever know if he really wanted military action, or if he hoped that Netanyahu would back out in the last moment and save him from being responsible for a catastrophe.
The prime minister holds a crucial role in this kind of decision. Ben-Gurion passed every important decision he supported through government votes during the 1948 Independence War, including the decisions on the Altalena Affair and the dissolution of the Palmach. On one decision, a majority of ,inisters voted “no”: Conquering Mount Hebron. They saw that the prime minister was ambivalent. Ben-Gurion would go on to accuse his government of creating an "endless tragedy," but the ministers knew the truth.
When all the defense chiefs oppose a military operation, the prime minister knows that if it fails, he won’t have anyone to share the blame. Everything will land in his lap. Menachem Begin took that risk when he chose to strike Iraq’s nuclear reactor. He gambled and won.
It’s easier to overcome opposition by ministers. When Netanyahu can’t convince Steinitz, there’s no escaping this conclusion: Either Steinitz is, deep down, very conniving – Che Guevara Steinitz – or Netanyahu, influenced by his own motivations, didn’t really try.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirms visit to 'sister country' Iran
Roi Kais/Ynetnews/Published: 08.24.15/ Israel News
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed on Sunday that he will soon visit "sister country" Iran, even though Tehran has denied such a visit would take place.
Speaking to Polish reporters in Ramallah, Abbas said that "the details of the visit haven't been coordinated with Iranian officials yet."
The PA president referred to Iran as "a neighboring, sister country," saying "Our relations with it were not good, but we have an embassy in Tehran, and therefore it recognizes us."
The embassy in Tehran used to serve as Israel's embassy, until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, following which it was handed to the Palestinians.
PLO Executive Committee member Ahmad Majdalani told Palestinian news agency Ma'an that the possible visit was raised in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during a meeting in Tehran.
"Our relationship with Iran is an urgent necessity concerning international and regional developments," Majdalani told Ma'an.
"They talked about the bilateral relations and the desire to have proper relations between the states, particularly after the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers," Abbas said. "What's important to us is that there is peace and stability and that the Middle East is demilitarized from nuclear weapons."
According to Ma'an, the two sides have reportedly discussed the formation of a joint committee for consultations on political issues, commerce and education exchanges.
Last week, Tehran denied reports on Abbas' October visit, with the Iran Parliament Speaker's Adviser for International Affairs, Hussein Sheikholeslam, telling a Hamas-affiliated website that the Palestinian Authority has "requested the visit more than once but we haven't accepted it yet; they have recently repeated their demand once again but we have not provided them with a positive response."
Sheikholeslam told the Al-Risala website that Tehran "diligently supports the resistance and its fighters," led by Hamas.
If it goes ahead, it would not be Abbas' first visit to Iran. In 2012, when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad served as the president of the Islamic Republic, he met with Abbas in Tehran as part of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit. Ahead of the summit, Iran tried to cause a rift among the Palestinians by inviting Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh as a representative of the Palestinian people as well, but Haniyeh eventually did not attend the summit.
In his meeting with Polish journalists, Abbas also addressed the freeze in talks with Israel, saying "we want peace with Israel. Our hand is extended in peace."
He repeated previous Palestinian condition to returning to the negotiating table, saying that if Israel stopped construction in West Bank settlements, he was willing to immediately start talks.
On Sunday, Abbas resigned from the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) top leadership body, but did not resign as Palestinian president.
Abbas told journalists Sunday he and up to 10 others are submitting resignations from the PLO Executive Committee, in an effort to elect a new committee at a rare meeting of the Palestinians' parliament-in-exile next month.
The upcoming shakeup is seen as one of Abbas' recent efforts to sideline critics and potential rivals.
The PLO has atrophied since the 1990s, as power shifted to the Palestinian self-rule government headed by Abbas. Yet changes in the PLO leadership could help determine Abbas' eventual successor.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.