LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 11/15

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletins05/english.december11.15.htm 

Bible Quotations For Today

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11/16-19: "‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another, "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn." For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon"; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!" Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’"

Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’
Letter to the Romans 09/30-33: "What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling-stone, as it is written, ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’"

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 10-11/15
Why Has the Church Abandoned the Christians of the Middle East/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/December 10/15
EU Makes Up Bogus Laws to Target -- Guess Who/Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/December 10/15
The Gulf’s climate challenge/Manuel Almeida/Al Arabiya/December 10/15
ISIS’s propaganda success, and how to fight it/Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/December 10/15
Can master manipulator Trump win Republican nomination/Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/December 10/15
Egyptian Coptic pope in Jerusalem: Religious or political statement/By Sonia Farid/Al Arabiya/December 10/15
EU, Iran relationship heats up/Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi/Al-Monitor/December 10/15
Corruption on earth' brings death penalty in Iran/Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/December 10/15
What's the one thing that Arabs, Turks and Iranians can all agree on/Barbara Slavin/Al-Monitor/December 10/15
Ankara's Mosul miscalculation/Fehim Taştekin/Al-Monitor/December 10/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on December 10-11/15
Berri Receives Official Invitation to Visit Saudi Arabia
Mustaqbal Sources: Hizbullah, Geagea Knew of Franjieh Nomination before Paris Talks
Jones Holds Talks with Geagea a Day after Meeting al-Rahi
Marriage Dispute Erupts into Armed Attack on Taanayel Gas Station
Several IS Gunmen Killed in Hizbullah Shelling near al-Qaa
Al-Rahi Heads to Egypt, Urges Factions to 'Benefit from Serious' Political Initiative
Relatives of Lebanese Held in Syrian Jails Suspend ESCWA Sit-in
Report: Intense Talks at Maarab as LF Seeks to Preserve Christian, March 14 Camp's Interests
Father Busted Trying to Smuggle Drugs to Jailed Son
Bassil on Aoun, Franjieh Meeting: Latest Presidential Developments are Victory for our Camp
Freed Syrian Priest Describes Kidnap Hell
Assyrian town asks for arms after ISIS advance

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 10-11/15
Syria Opposition Forms Negotiating Body as Ahrar al-Sham Quits Riyadh Talks
Gulf leaders decry ‘racist’ rhetoric against Muslims
Syrian opposition calls for goodwill measures
Swiss Police Searching Geneva for Suspects over Paris Attacks
3 Israelis injured in W.Bank car ramming attack
Egypt to try 9 policemen for death in custody
Syrian fighters arrive in Idlib after Homs ceasefire deal
Iran’s health minister: Swine flu kills 42 across country
Gunmen kill policeman in Cairo
Coalition retakes Yemeni islands from militias
Israel successfully tests ballistic missile interceptor
Iran president decries U.S. ‘terrorism’ after Trump remarks
Turkey urges citizens to leave Iraq, excluding Iraqi Kurdistan
Germany sends first troops, Tornados to back anti-ISIS battle
Russia, U.S., U.N. set to hold trilateral Syria talks in Geneva
U.N. seeks $166 mln in Libya humanitarian aid
Over 350,000 petition to ban Trump from UK
Improvised bomb explodes outside Yemen ministry office in Aden
U.S. ‘ready to deploy’ to retake Ramadi from ISIS

Links From Jihad Watch Site for December 10-11/15
UK: Muslim former Home Office adviser says police tactics “radicalizing” Muslims.
Raymond Ibrahim: CAIR Blames America for San Bernardino Massacre.
Robert Spencer, PJM: ‘NY Daily News’: San Bernardino Victim Just as Bigoted as His Murderer.
Video: Knife-brandishing Muslim threatens Donald Trump: “I will circumcise you!”

Berri Receives Official Invitation to Visit Saudi Arabia
Naharnet/December 10/15/Speaker Nabih Berri received on Thursday an official invitation to travel to Saudi Arabia. He received the invitation after holding talks at his Ain el-Tineh residence with Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh Asiri.The invitation comes at a time of intense consultations among Lebanese officials to resolve the vacuum in the presidency that started in May 2014. Recent efforts saw the emergence of Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh as a presidential candidate.This move received the blessing of Asiri on December 3 after he had held talks with Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel.
The ambassador said however that the kingdom does not interfere in Lebanon's internal affairs, but “supports any candidate who enjoys the backing of the Lebanese people, especially the Christians.”

Mustaqbal Sources: Hizbullah, Geagea Knew of Franjieh Nomination before Paris Talks
Naharnet/December 10/15/Hizbullah and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea had been aware that al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri would discuss a possible presidential settlement with Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh prior to the famous Paris meeting between the two leaders, a report said on Thursday.“Hizbullah had prior knowledge of Franjieh's nomination and the remarks of its secretary-general about a 'package settlement' came in this context,” LBCI TV quoted Mustaqbal sources as saying. “Samir Geagea was also informed by ex-PM Hariri more than three months ago,” the sources added. Commenting on Wednesday's meeting between Franjieh and Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun, the sources noted that “through the meeting it set up between Aoun and Franjieh, Hizbullah was clear that it does not want to end the presidential vacuum and that it does not currently have an interest in an Iranian-Saudi settlement.” Hizbullah has not made public statements about Franjieh's nomination but media reports said party officials have visited Aoun in recent days to reassure him that it will keep supporting his presidential nomination as long as he holds on to it.Geagea for his part has voiced veiled dismay over the Hariri-Franjieh meeting while LF officials have noted that the party cannot endorse any presidential hopeful before knowing the details of their presidential platform. The move to nominate Franjieh has also drawn reservations from Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement and the Kataeb Party.

Jones Holds Talks with Geagea a Day after Meeting al-Rahi
Naharnet/December 10/15/U.S. Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Richard Jones held talks Thursday with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab, a day after he met in Bkirki with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. A terse statement issued by Geagea's press office said the two men tackled “the political developments in Lebanon and the region.” After talks with al-Rahi on Wednesday, the U.S. envoy had announced that “it is time to elect a president” in Lebanon, urging an end to “obstacles.”“The election of a president will ... have a favorable impact on Lebanon's security and economy,” Jones said. “If (the) reasonable compromise put forward (was) not accepted, we look to opposing parties to present their own suggestion,” the envoy added, according to tweets posted by the U.S. embassy. Jones' meetings come amid a flurry of political talks in the country that followed a Paris meeting between al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh. The talks sparked intense speculation that a deal was in the making for the election of Franjieh as president.But the Hariri-Franjieh initiative started facing major hurdles after objections and reservations were voiced by the country's main Christian parties – Geagea's Lebanese Forces, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Kataeb Party.

Marriage Dispute Erupts into Armed Attack on Taanayel Gas Station
Naharnet/December 10/15/A marriage-related dispute escalated into an armed assault on Thursday in the Bekaa town of Taanayel, state-run National News Agency reported. “A. S. kidnapped his cousin with the aim of marrying her, which prompted her family to open fire at a gas station owned by the man's father in the town of Taanayel,” NNA said. The shooting resulted in the wounding of a Syrian man who works at the station, the agency added. “He was rushed to a hospital in the region as security forces immediately arrived on the scene and launched an investigation,” NNA said.

Several IS Gunmen Killed in Hizbullah Shelling near al-Qaa
Naharnet/December 10/15/Several members of the Islamic State group were killed on Thursday in shelling as they attempted to infiltrate Lebanon, reported al-Manar television.It said that Hizbullah fighters shelled the movements of the gunmen as they tried to infiltrate the outskirts of al-Qaa, leaving several dead.
On Wednesday, Hizbullah killed an al-Qaida commander and eight of his men in an attack on their convoy along the Lebanese-Syrian border. Al-Manar television said the convoy of al-Qaida affiliate al-Nusra Front fighters had been traveling on the outskirts of the restive Lebanese border town of Arsal when Hizbullah struck. The clashes come just days after al-Nusra freed 16 Lebanese soldiers and police it captured more than a year ago from the northeastern border town of Arsal.The swap deal partially ended a long-running hostage crisis, but nine other servicemen taken prisoner at the same time are still held by the IS. Arsal lies along Lebanon's border with Syria and it hosts many Syrian refugees as well as rebel fighters in the surrounding countryside.

Al-Rahi Heads to Egypt, Urges Factions to 'Benefit from Serious' Political Initiative
Naharnet/December 10/15/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi traveled to Egypt on Thursday, while urging political factions to take advantage of the recently launched initiative aimed at ending the country's deadlock. He said ahead of his departure: “The initiative is serious and the factions should benefit from it.” “A president cannot rule the country if he does not enjoy the support of all sides,” he added however. Moreover, he revealed that he may call a meeting for the main Maronite leader next week. These leaders are Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, Change and Reform bloc head MP Michel Aoun, Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, and former Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel. The latest developments to resolve the presidential deadlock saw the emergence of Franjieh as a candidate despite the disapproval of the Kataeb, Change and Reform bloc, and LF. On Wednesday, al-Rahi received telephone call from French President Francois Hollande to tackle the latest efforts to resolve the presidential deadlock in the country, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Thursday. It said that the French presidents stressed to the patriarch the need to elect a president. The Maronite patriarchate has meanwhile stressed that it will not support the election of a president “who does not enjoy the approval of the main Maronite factions.”Church sources told al-Joumhouria: “A session to elect a president will not be held in the absence of Christian lawmakers, because the country cannot tolerate the election of a head of state who does not enjoy the backing of the Christian parties.”“Al-Rahi is focusing his efforts and contacts with the main Christian parties in an attempt to resolve the presidential crisis,” they added. “These parties should propose solutions to the deadlock,” they stressed. “Al-Rahi will not suggest any name, but he will help in reaching a settlement,” they explained. The political settlement linked to Franjieh's election as president hinges on any breakthrough among the Christian ranks, remarked the sources. The Marada leader's nomination is being proposed along with a settlement that would revitalize the political scene in Lebanon.

Relatives of Lebanese Held in Syrian Jails Suspend ESCWA Sit-in
Naharnet/December 10/15/The relatives of Lebanese people held in Syrian jails announced on Thursday the suspension of the sit-in that they have been staging in downtown Beirut for years.They declared that during a press conference at the ESCWA square that the sit-in will be lifted, but the tent they were staying in will remain “as a symbol of their cause”. “We are nearing a new phase where we will no longer be victim to the exhaustion linked to remaining in the tent,” they explained for the shift in their approach. “We can follow up on our cause through different means,” they added “We have a national cause and the political class has used all sorts of excuses to avoid this issue,” they added. “We have the right to find out the fate of our sons,” they demanded. “We will continue with out pressure on officials and we will not stop until we achieve our rights,” they vowed. “There has never been an official authority dedicated to handle our cause,” they lamented. “Today however, we have the legal ground and we will therefore escalate our efforts,” they said. MP Ghassan Mokhaiber, who was present at the conference, stated: “The tent is a symbol of the heroics of the relatives of the Lebanese prisoners.” “It is necessary to adopt the draft-law linked to these prisoners,” he declared. For over 20 years, more than 600 families -- Lebanese and Palestinian, Muslim and Christian -- have demanded authorities reveal the fate of thousands of political prisoners believed to have disappeared at the hands of Syrian troops who entered Lebanon shortly after the outbreak of the 1975-1990 civil war. Successive Lebanese governments have made apparent attempts to address the issue, even including it in cabinet programs. Rights groups say thousands of men, women and children disappeared at the hands of Hafez Assad, Bashar's predecessor and late father, during the civil war, a spiraling bloodbath which tore Lebanon apart on confessional lines. Syria withdrew from its smaller neighbor in 2005 under massive international pressure over the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri. The Assad dynasty has long denied holding any prisoners of conscience, but on four different occasions between 1976 and 2000 has released Lebanese who had been held in Syrian prisons. While Syria declared it no longer had any Lebanese detainees after the prisoner release in 2000, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem made a statement to the contrary during a fence-mending trip to Lebanon in 2008. "Those who have waited more than 30 years since the start of the (Lebanese) civil war can wait another few weeks," Muallem said at the time.

Report: Intense Talks at Maarab as LF Seeks to Preserve Christian, March 14 Camp's Interests
Naharnet/December 10/15/The latest developments linked to the presidential elections have been the focus of a series of talks between various officials at Maarab, the residence of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Thursday. An LF source told the daily: “The party places the interests of Christians as a priority, along with those of the March 14 alliance and Lebanese people in general.” “This is demonstrated through all of the sacrifices that the LF has made in parliamentary and ministerial posts for the sake of Lebanon and its independence and sovereignty,” it noted. “A president will not be elected without our approval and the approval of other Christian factions,” it stressed. Meanwhile, LF MP Georges Adwan told An Nahar daily that the LF is “closely monitoring the developments in Lebanon with all concerned sides.”“We always seek a settlement over a project that would save Lebanon and which abides by the constitution and law,” he continued. “This plan should believe in stability and keep our country away from regional axes and meddling in the affairs of others,” he explained. The latest developments to resolve the presidential deadlock saw the emergence of Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh as a candidate despite the disapproval of the Christian blocs of the LF, Kataeb, and Change and Reform. Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun is a presidential candidate as is Geagea. Media reports have spoken of a rift between Geagea and his ally MP Saad Hariri, both of whom are in the March 14 alliance, seeing as the lawmaker has been spearheading efforts to nominate Franjieh as president.

Father Busted Trying to Smuggle Drugs to Jailed Son
Naharnet/December 10/15/The Internal Security Forces on Thursday foiled a man's attempt to smuggle a quantity of drugs to his jailed son. “Guards at the al-Qobbeh prison in Tripoli managed today to seize 20 grams of hashish and 180 Benzhexol and Rivotril narcotic pills that were hidden in a sweets box,” the ISF said in a statement. The box “was brought by 58-year-old Syrian national A. J. to his jailed son,” it added. The father was arrested as “a probe got underway under the supervision of the relevant judicial authorities,” the ISF said. Last year, security forces at the al-Qobbeh discovered drugs hidden inside the handle of a mop which was being smuggled into the facility. It was the latest unusual attempt by smugglers to breach prison security. Past attempts at al-Qobbeh included hiding the banned substances in pistachio shells, potatoes, shoes, and a jacket. Earlier in 2014, security guards at the Zahle prison foiled separate attempts to smuggle drugs in a toothpaste tube, meat pastries, meat sandwiches and apricots.

Bassil on Aoun, Franjieh Meeting: Latest Presidential Developments are Victory for our Camp
Naharnet/December 10/15/Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil hailed the meeting that was held between Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun and Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, saying that it was “honest,” reported the daily An Nahar on Thursday. He told the daily that the latest developments in the presidential elections deadlock “are a victory for our camp.”“We will not allow any defeat in this issue, but this is a victory that should be bolstered,” he remarked. His comments came in light of a meeting between Aoun and Franjieh on Wednesday that tackled the efforts to nominate the latter as president. Aoun himself is a presidential candidate. Media reports have spoken of tension between the two sides in the wake of Franjieh's potential nomination, which was initially sparked after a meeting between him and Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri a few weeks ago. Sources close to the Change and Reform bloc told An Nahar that Wednesday's meeting was positive as Aoun and Franjieh highlighted their alliance. The Marada Movement also asserted that he will continue to back Aoun's candidacy as long as it still stands.Aoun meanwhile sought to fortify his alliance with Franjieh to avert any possible rift with him, added the sources. Other political sources however revealed to the daily that Franjieh was “surprised” with a request from Aoun for him to continue on supporting his candidacy. The MP had also reportedly advised Franjieh “against falling for the political maneuver, especially since the Free Patriotic Movement and Hizbullah do not support the Marada chief's nomination.”Aoun informed Franjieh that he does not intend to withdraw from the presidential race as long as he still has a chance to reach the country's top post, added An Nahar. For his part, Franjieh stressed to Aoun that his nomination is not a political maneuver, adding that he is serious about running for president.

Freed Syrian Priest Describes Kidnap Hell
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 10/15/A Syrian priest held for 84 days by the Islamic State group described Thursday how he believed his last hours had come, and called on the West to do more to help those trapped in the war-torn country. Jacques Mourad of the Syriac Catholic Church, who was abducted by unknown gunmen in May, said the "hardest thing" was hearing his captors pledge to kill him if he did not covert to Islam. The 48-year-old, who was kidnapped along with another Syrian from the Mar Moussa monastery north of Damascus by masked gunmen, described to journalists in Rome the moment of his abduction. A man dressed in black, "similar to the ones you see in the IS videos who decapitate their prisoners", turned up at the door. "I thought, 'the end has arrived'," he said. They were locked up in a small bathroom, blindfolded and with their hands tied. But the man told Mourad "you are under my protection" -- he thinks thanks to the reputation of the Mar Moussa monastery, where both Christians and Muslims are welcomed and helped.
The experience was "a very intense time on a spiritual level," he said.
In early August, Mourad was transferred from his prison to join another 250 or so Christians captured by IS when the group overran his parish of al-Qaryatain. He said IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said it could go several ways: the jihadists could "kill the men and take the women and children; enslave them all; ask for ransom; or give 'the gift of life'" to the captured Christians, letting them return to their violence-hit homes. They were freed after signing a document on September 1, which said they agreed to live under IS authority. Al-Qaryatain had been reduced to a wasteground, with no water, electricity or food. Mourad celebrated mass in a basement "almost daily, to avoid the bombing."On October 10, he and his flock decided to leave the city because "life under IS is impossible for Christians," but eight members of the group died as the community -- which included elderly people, children and disabled people -- fled for freedom. Mourad will meet Pope Francis next week, having completed a pilgrimage to the holy site of Lourdes in France to thank the Virgin Mary for having survived. After that, he plans to return to Syria. Not, however, before reminding Islamic extremists that "their religion is one of mercy" and calling on the West to fulfill its "responsibilities to Syrians fleeing the bombings and massacres, who die at sea in their attempt to escape."

Assyrian town asks for arms after ISIS advance
Now Lebanon/December 10/15/BEIRUT – ISIS has dealt a blow to regime forces by recapturing the town of Maheen outside Syria’s mountainous Qalamoun region, raising fears once again in a nearby government-controlled Assyrian Christian town. On Friday morning, Sadad residents asked to be provided with “heavy weapons” shortly after reports emerged that ISIS had stormed into Maheen, which lies 13 kilometers to the southeast. “We ask all concerned, honorable and caring people to think seriously about supporting the town with heavy weaponry that will allow us to stand up to any attack,” a pro-regime Facebook page based in the town said. “The matter is very urgent,” the Sadad New Net stressed. The local news page explained that light weapons were of no use in “open, desert areas against vehicle born bomb attacks,” in reference to ISIS’s preferred tactic of using car bombings against fixed positions in the initial stages of offensives.
GPF
ISIS previously advanced on Sadad in early November, however the group’s offensive was stymied after Russia airlifted members of the Assyrian Gozarto Protection Force (GPF) militia from the northeastern Hasakeh province to reinforce defensive positions in the town. After deploying in the Assyrian town, the GPF insisted on November 9 that it would remain in Sadad “until its safe” and called on residents to return. Two weeks later after the Syrian regime retook nearby Maheen from ISIS, the GPF announced its fighters were returning to Qamishli as Sadad was “fully secured.” Around the same time Russia transported the GPF fighters into Sadad, a televised Russian Defense Ministry briefing indicated that Moscow might also have deployed an artillery brigade in the area. On November 17, Russian TV showed a map that listed the Russian army’s 120th artillery brigade as being deployed outside Maheen.
ISIS storms back into Maheen
An image published Thursday by the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news purports to show the arms depots the group claimed to have seized. Despite confidence among regime ranks following its reversal of ISIS’s early November offensive, the extremist group struck back and again changed the tide of the see-saw battles the southeast Homs region has seen. “ISIS has managed to advance and recapture the town of Maheen and the village of Hiwarayn in southeastern Homs countryside,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported early Friday afternoon. “Clashes are still ongoing between regime forces and pro-regime militants on [one side] and ISIS [on the other] in the area around [the two settlements] amid fierce bombing on areas in both,” the monitoring NGO added. Earlier Friday, ISIS issued a statement announcing that its fighters had seized a number of positions, including the Jabal al-Kabir and Jabal al-Saghir mountains, which overlook the town, “in a surprise attack.” “The soldiers of the caliphate were able to reestablish control over all of the positions, kill a number of Nusairis [a pejorative term for Alawites] and plunder an amount of ammunition and light weapons, leaving the Nusairis in the town of Maheen under fire by the soldiers of the caliphate,” the extremist group boasted.
Pro-regime Masdar News also reported that ISIS had retaken Maheen following a “massive counter-offensive.”
Regime forces backed by Russian airstrikes wrested Maheen—a majority Sunni-populated town—from ISIS control on November 23 following two-days of fierce battles. The extremist group had originally seized Maheen on November 1 in a renewed offensive in the region near the vital M-5 highway linking Homs to the Syrian capital. ISIS advanced into the region in early August after routing pro-regime forces in nearby Qaryatayn, a mixed-Christian Muslim oasis town situated on the edge of the Syrian semi-desert, where ISIS maintains a strong presence.

Syria Opposition Forms Negotiating Body as Ahrar al-Sham Quits Riyadh Talks
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 10/15/ One of Syria's main rebel groups, Ahrar al-Sham, on Thursday pulled out of opposition talks aimed at forging a united front ahead of potential discussions with President Bashar Assad's regime. It said it took the decision because of "the fundamental role... given to personalities linked to the regime" at the conference in Riyadh. It named the Syria-based National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, which is generally tolerated by the regime and participated in talks organized by Moscow on the conflict in 2014 and 2015. Allied with the Qaida-affiliated Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham said it "rejects the outcomes" of the meeting which "did not affirm the identity of our Muslim people" in Syria. The Riyadh conference which opened Wednesday and its outcomes were not "truly" representative of the Syrian "revolutionary factions," the group said.
Ahrar al-Sham had agreed to attend the Riyadh talks despite the "lack of representation of jihadist factions at a level matching their... role" on the ground in Syria. But the Islamist group had warned it "will not accept the results of this conference" unless they include "cleansing Syrian territories of the Russian-Iranian occupation and sectarian militia supporting them." Russia has been conducting air strikes in support of Assad for more than two months, while Iran has provided military assistance. Shiite militia from neighboring Iraq and Lebanon are also fighting alongside Assad's troops. Ahrar al-Sham had insisted the priority should be overthrowing the regime, preserving Syria's unity and rejecting sectarianism. A source in the National Coalition, the main opposition group which is based in Istanbul, said Thursday that the delegates had agreed on a set of basic principles, including ensuring Syria is a "pluralist and civil state" and guaranteeing the country's territorial integrity. The source, whose information was confirmed by a second opposition figure, said delegates also agreed on "the preservation of state structures, the restructuring of military and security bodies, and the rejection of terrorism and the presence of foreign combatants."
The dismantling of Assad's military and security services is among the key demands of Ahrar al-Sham. Opposition figures also agreed to create a body of 23 to 31 members to supervise a negotiating team, another source said. The opposition groups met for a second day in the Saudi capital on Thursday.
Some 100 delegates began meeting on Wednesday under tight security at a luxury hotel in Riyadh, the first time a broad range of both political and armed factions from the Syrian opposition have sat at the same table. The talks follow a major diplomatic push to resolve Syria's nearly five-year civil war, with top diplomats from 17 countries -- including backers and opponents of Assad -- agreeing in Vienna last month on a transition plan. It would see a transition government set up within six months and elections held within 18 months, and calls for negotiations between the opposition and Assad's regime by January 1.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the meeting had made progress, boosting the chances that peace talks could take place. "It's not locked in yet, but the meeting in Saudi Arabia appears to be very constructive at this point, and we need to wait for the results of that conference," Kerry told reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. climate summit in Paris. "But I think everybody is moving in the direction that they want to rapidly try to get to a political process and get it underway under U.N. auspices," he added. The Riyadh talks aim to form a unified bloc for the potential talks and opposition sources said some progress had been made on the first day. Few details were emerging from the talks but there were no signs of agreement yet on one of the most contentious issues, the fate of Assad. Western- and Arab-backed rebel groups insist the Syrian leader must step down immediately but internal opposition groups disagree, as do Assad's key backers Tehran and Moscow. Some delegates have nonetheless expressed hope the end result of the talks will be positive, with questions on Assad's future potentially put off until later. National Coalition chief Khaled Khoja said Wednesday he expected the meeting to agree on "forming a negotiating team and on the principles of negotiations" with Assad's regime.Not all of Syria's armed factions are attending the talks, with jihadists such as the Islamic State group and the al-Qaida affiliated al-Nusra Front excluded.
Assad must leave: Saudi
Kurdish fighters have also been excluded and at parallel talks in Syria this week a Kurdish-Arab coalition fighting IS in northern Syria announced the creation of a political wing called the Syrian Democratic Council (SDF). But groups that include hardline Islamists, such as the Saudi-backed Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) which sent to two delegates, are taking part. Riyadh has been among those calling most strongly for Assad's departure and on Thursday Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir insisted he must leave. "Bashar Assad has two choices: leave through negotiations, which would be fastest and easiest, or he will be removed by force, because the Syrian people refuse for this man to be allowed to stay in power," Jubeir said. Jubeir's comments came as leaders from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council held their annual summit in Riyadh. In a declaration after the talks, the Gulf monarchs said they "support a political settlement... that guarantees the territorial integrity and independence of Syria."The United States will hold further discussions on Syria with Russia and the United Nations in Geneva on Friday. The next meeting between top diplomats in the Vienna process is expected to take place later this month in New York.
Since erupting in mid-2011, the conflict in Syria has left more than 250,000 dead and forced millions from their homes.

Gulf leaders decry ‘racist’ rhetoric against Muslims
Reuters, Riyadh Thursday, 10 December 2015/Gulf Arab leaders condemned “hostile, racist” remarks against Muslims and Syrian refugees in a statement issued on Thursday, days after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called for a ban on the entry of Muslims into the United States.
“The supreme council expressed its deep concern at the increase of hostile, racist and inhumane rhetoric against refugees in general and Muslims in particular,” the Gulf Cooperation Council said, referring to a GCC heads of state meeting in Riyadh. Gulf Arab states also called for an international reconstruction conference for Yemen after any peace deal to end the country’s civil war. The call came in a statement by Gulf Cooperation Council leaders at the conclusion of their summit meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh, which was read out by GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. "The council (GCC) members called for an international conference for Yemen reconstruction after the parties reach the aspired political solution," Zayani said in the statement broadcast on Saudi state television. He said such a programme would be done in accordance with a "practical programme to rehabilitate the Yemeni economy and to ease its merger into the Gulf economies". Yemeni warring parties are due to gather in Switzerland next week for U.N.-sponsored peace talks to end a civil war that had killed nearly 6,000 people. The two-day summit in Riyadh brought together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz said it was imperative for the GCC states to stand united and work together to fortify themselves against foreign threats at a time when the region is passing through tough times. King Salman reiterated the keenness of the coalition states to achieve security and stability of Yemen under the leadership of its Yemeni President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi’s government. “We, the GCC states, will support a peaceful solution so as to enable Yemen overcome the crisis and restore its march toward development,” he said. At the conclusion of the summit, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa announced that Manama would host next year's GCC summit. (With the Saudi Gazette)

Syrian opposition calls for goodwill measures
Reuters, Dubai Thursday, 10 December 2015/Syrian opposition groups on Thursday called on the United Nations to press the government of President Bashar al-Assad to take confidence building measures ahead of proposed peace talks, Saudi state news agency SPA said. "These include suspending death sentences against Syrians convicted on charges of opposition the regime, releasing prisoners and detainees, lifting sieges on besieged areas and allowing humanitarian convoys to reach the needy," SPA said, quoting a statement issued at the end of the two-day meeting in Riyadh. The group also called for an all-inclusive, democratic Syria and said Assad should leave power at the start of a transitional period. The participants at the Riyadh meeting backed a "democratic mechanism through a pluralistic regime that represents all sectors of the Syrian people," the statement said. This would include women and would not discriminate on religious, sectarian or ethic grounds, it added. The participants also committed to preserving Syria's state institutions and restructuring the army and security services.

Swiss Police Searching Geneva for Suspects over Paris Attacks
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 10/15/Police in Geneva raised the terror alert level and were searching Geneva on Thursday for several suspected jihadists believed to have links to the Islamic State group, security sources said.  A statement from the Canton of Geneva's security department said it had received information on Wednesday from Swiss federal authorities concerning "suspicious individuals likely to be in Geneva or the Geneva area."Police were "actively looking" for these individuals "in the context of the investigation following the Paris attacks", the statement said, while reinforcements were deployed at key locations including United Nations buildings. "We went from a vague threat to a specific threat," Geneva security spokesman Emmanuelle Lo Verso told Swiss Radio, adding that the search for the suspects was at "a very active phase."A security source at the United Nations complex in Geneva told AFP that the search was for four people with possible ties to the Islamic State group which claimed the attacks that killed 130 people in Paris last month. The individuals were not believed to have any direct link to the Paris atrocities. The U.N. source said the Palais des Nations -- the U.N.'s European headquarters -- was evacuated on Wednesday night as security personnel conducted an office-to-office searches. Security guards posted at the U.N. gates were also carrying sub-machine guns on Thursday, a departure from normal practice. The statement from Geneva's government said police "have increased their level of vigilance," while the ATS new agency reported that security reinforcements were being deployed at key buildings around the city, including the headquarters of major international organizations and the airport. According to ATS, the heightened alert level has not led to the cancellation of a major festival due to be held in Geneva's historic old city over the weekend. Geneva is just over 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Paris and the Swiss city is almost entirely enclosed by France, with border crossings often unmanned. Last month, French police searched the homes of two imams from Geneva's main mosque, which is just meters from the U.N. complex. The imams reportedly live in the French border town of Ferney-Voltaire.Swiss media reports said leaders at the mosque had been preaching extremist ideology, but there was no indication from police that the two imams were implicated in any wrongdoing.

3 Israelis injured in W.Bank car ramming attack
The Associated Press/AFP, Occupied Jerusalem Thursday, 10 December 2015/Israeli emergency medical services say three Israelis have been injured after a Palestinian driver rammed into them near the West Bank settlement of Beit Arieh. Emergency services spokesman Yonatan Yagodovsky said on Thursday that one Israeli was badly injured in the attack. It's the latest incident in nearly three months of Palestinian shootings, stabbings and attacks using cars. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri says Israeli forces are searching for the attacker, who escaped into the nearby Palestinian village of Luban. The village is close to the border between Israel and the West Bank. Since October 1, almost daily attacks and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers have killed 113 on the Palestinian side, 17 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean. On Wednesday, four Israelis were wounded in two attacks in the occupied West Bank, including a soldier and a civilian stabbed in Hebron by a Palestinian who was later shot dead. In the other incident, assailants shot at a car near the West Bank town of Tulkarem, wounding two Israelis.

Egypt to try 9 policemen for death in custody
AFP, Cairo Thursday, 10 December 2015/Egypt on Thursday ordered nine policemen to stand trial for the beating to death of a man in custody, prosecutors said, after authorities vowed a crackdown on police abuses. The nine, including three lieutenants and a captain, were arrested last week as part of a probe into the death of the 47-year-old at a police station in the southern city of Luxor in November. Their arrests came amid at least two investigations into deaths in police custody, and after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last week warned that police officers found guilty of "committing mistakes" would be punished.
"The prosecutor general ordered the nine policemen to face a criminal trial," an official at Luxor prosecutor's office told AFP. He said the start date had yet to be fixed. The policemen are accused of either participating in the beating, approving it or not preventing it, a judicial official said. If found guilty, they face a prison term of up to 15 years. The man had been arrested on November 26 at a cafe in Luxor and taken to the police station where he died an hour later.A forensic report revealed that he had been beaten on his neck and back, the official MENA news agency reported last week. Another police officer has been detained in a separate case of a veterinarian who died in police custody last month in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya. Rights groups regularly accuse Egyptian police and members of the secret police of abusing and torturing detainees. Police abuses under former president Hosni Mubarak were a key factor for the 2011 uprising that led to his ouster. One of the triggers of the revolt was the killing of a young man, Khaled Saeed, who was arrested in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and tortured to death by policemen. Saeed's death galvanized protests against Mubarak after pictures emerged online of the 28-year-old's mangled face. Egypt was under military rule for 17 months after Mubarak's overthrow and the police kept a low profile. Islamist Mohamed Mursi then became Egypt's first freely elected leader but was overthrown by then-army chief Sisi in 2013, who has launched a brutal crackdown on Mursi's supporters.

Syrian fighters arrive in Idlib after Homs ceasefire deal
Reuters, Beirut Thursday, 10 December 2015/Buses carrying Syrian rebel fighters and their families safely reached the northwestern city of Idlib on Thursday after withdrawing from Homs under a local ceasefire agreement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The United Nations presided over the implementation of the deal, which the mayor of Homs said involved 300 fighters and 400 members of their families leaving Waer, the last rebel-held area of the city that was a center of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier in the conflict. The Observatory said about 750 people had left, including fighters from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front and fighters linked with ISIS. ISIS does not have a major presence in western Syria. Four buses arrived in Idlib overnight out of a total of around 15 that left Homs, and the rest arrived during the day on Thursday, Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said. The Britain-based Observatory tracks the conflict through a network of contacts on the ground. Lebanon-based al Mayadeen TV, which has good contacts in Syria, reported the “operation was completed” on Thursday. Some diplomats say local ceasefires may be the most effective way of gradually bringing peace to Syria, where more than 250,000 people have been killed during nearly five years of conflict. However, one such ceasefire concluded in Homs in 2014 was widely seen as a forced surrender. In late September, Iran and Turkey, which back opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, helped to broker local ceasefires in two villages near Idlib and a town on the Lebanese border. A diplomat who tracks Syria said there could be more local ceasefires. The United States has said they could happen more frequently, after world powers called for a nationwide truce to halt Syria’s civil war.

Iran’s health minister: Swine flu kills 42 across country
Tehran, Iran, AP Thursday, 10 December 2015/Iran’s health minister says an outbreak of swine flu has killed at least 42 people in the country over the past month. Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi says 33 of the deaths from the H1N1 virus occurred in southeastern Kerman province. He says 600 people who contracted the virus there have been hospitalized, but that the outbreak is now under control. He says other fatalities occurred in southeastern and southwestern Iran and one person died in Karaj, 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of the capital, Tehran. Last year, swine flu claimed at least 89 lives in Iran. The 2009 H1N1 outbreak started a global pandemic that killed as many as half a million people. The strain has been lethal mostly to those with complicating circumstances and is now considered a seasonal flu.

Gunmen kill policeman in Cairo
The Associated Press | Cairo Thursday, 10 December 2015/Gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed an Egyptian policeman and wounded a second who were guarding banks in a busy commercial district of the capital Cairo on Saturday, Egypt’s state news agency said. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack which took place at daybreak in the usually busy Sphinx Square, across the Nile from downtown Cairo. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, an extremist outfit allied with the Islamic State group, has claimed responsibility for a string of similar attacks against police and soldiers, mainly in the restive northern Sinai province. Authorities are on high alert during the holiday season, with reinforcements deployed in the capital and around hotels and churches. Militant attacks have been on the rise since the military ousted Islamist President Mohammed Mursi last year following mass protests against his yearlong rule. Last year the government declared Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group. The Brotherhood has condemned the militant attacks and insists it is committed to peaceful protests demanding Mursi’s reinstatement. Mursi and many of the group’s top leaders were arrested following his overthrow and are now being tried on a wide array of charges, some of which are punishable by death. On Saturday, Mohammed el-Beltagy, a leading Brotherhood member, was sentenced to six years in prison for insulting a panel of judges. Presiding judge Shaaban el-Shami accused el-Beltagy of insulting him during the proceedings for a case in which he and 130 other defendants are accused of staging prison breaks during the January 2011 uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. El-Beltagy had protested el-Shami’s registration of evidence from within a glass cage used to hold defendants. When the judge ordered him out of the room for causing chaos, el-Beltagy said: “This is not justice.” The judge took his remarks as an insult, and found el-Beltagy in contempt of court for the second time since the trial began. El-Beltagy was also fined $2,800.

Coalition retakes Yemeni islands from militias
Reuters, Dubai Thursday, 10 December 2015/Arab coalition forces have captured a Yemeni Red Sea archipelago used by Iran-allied Houthi militias for storing and smuggling weapons into Yemen, the Saudi-led alliance and local fishermen said on Thursday. The Saudi-led coalition has been trying to dislodge the Houthis and forces loyal to their ally, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, from areas captured since September last year and to restore President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi to power. The Houthis control most of the former north Yemen from Taiz in the south to Saada in the north, giving them control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The coalition said its forces “cleansed Greater Hanish”, the biggest island in the archipelago in the Red Sea’s main shipping lanes, Saudi state television said. The islands, it said, were controlled by Yemeni militias loyal to Saleh and used by the Houthis to store weapons and smuggle them into Hodeida, Yemen’s main Red Sea port. The archipelago was the subject of a territorial dispute between Yemen and Eritrea, which seized the archipelago in the 1990s, until a London-based international arbitration court granted Yemen sovereignty in 1998.

Israel successfully tests ballistic missile interceptor
Jerusalem, AFP Thursday, 10 December 2015/Israel and the United States on Thursday successfully tested a ballistic missile interceptor as the Jewish state seeks to upgrade its defenses in the face of regional threats, officials said. The trial from an Israeli test range involved the Arrow 3 interceptor, designed to shoot down missiles above the atmosphere, with Israel concerned over the potential for attacks from enemies including Iran. A similar test a year ago failed, but Thursday’s trial intercepted a ballistic missile target above the Mediterranean. “This successful test is a major milestone in the development of the Arrow Weapon System and provides confidence in future Israeli capabilities to defeat the developing threats,” Israel’s defense ministry said. “Additional Arrow-3 interceptor tests are planned in the future to demonstrate capability prior to becoming operational.” The Arrow project was first launched in 1988 as part of the then Star Wars program under late U.S. president Ronald Reagan that was abandoned in 1993. Arrow 3, developed jointly between the United States and Israel, is intended to serve as Israel’s uppermost missile interception system. Lower-altitude interception systems are either already deployed or close to being operational. Partly financed by the United States, the Arrow system was developed and produced by Israeli Aerospace Industries in partnership with Boeing. Israel strongly opposed a nuclear deal struck in July between Iran and major powers, arguing it would not block its regional rival’s path to atomic weapons. It also argues that the lifting of sanctions under the deal will allow Iran to further back and arm proxy militants in the region. The United States said earlier this month it was conducting a “serious review” into reports that Iran carried out a new round of ballistic missile testing in violation of U.N. resolutions.

Iran president decries U.S. ‘terrorism’ after Trump remarks
AFP, Tehran Thursday, 10 December 2015/Iranian President Hassan Rowhani has accused the United States of having “created terrorism” as he reacted to presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the country. During a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Rowhani said “Islam is the religion of goodness and peace”. “Unfortunately certain people around the world claim that Muslims should be barred from entry in order to fight terrorism,” he said. “These are particularly bizarre remarks because they (the United States) themselves created terrorism... with their money and their men, and plant the seeds of terrorism in the region.”On Monday, Republican frontrunner Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the United States, saying the ban should remain in place “until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.”“We have no choice,” Trump said, speaking days after the massacre in California of 14 people by a Muslim couple believed to have been radicalized by extremists.

Turkey urges citizens to leave Iraq, excluding Iraqi Kurdistan
AFP, Ankara Thursday, 10 December 2015/Turkey on Wednesday called on its citizens to leave all areas of Iraq, excluding Iraqi Kurdistan, due to increased security risks, the foreign ministry said. “The scope of our travel warning to Iraq has expanded to include all provinces except for Dohuk, Arbil and Sulaymaniyah,” all of which are in the northern region of Iraqi Kurdistan, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website. The foreign ministry warned against non-essential travel to several provinces in Iraq including Basra, Najaf, Anbar and Kirkuk and said: “We strongly advise those whose stay is not essential to leave those provinces as soon as possible.”Ankara cited increasing threats targeting Turkish companies recently, as well as declarations encouraging violence, abduction and attacks. The foreign ministry also called on citizens living in the Iraqi Kurdish region to stay away from areas where operations are taking place against the ISIS group and to obey warnings and guidance from the Iraqi Kurdish administration. The warning comes amid growing strains between Ankara and the central Baghdad government over the deployment by Turkey of up to 300 soldiers to train local Iraqi forces to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS militants.

Germany sends first troops, Tornados to back anti-ISIS battle
Berlin, AFP Thursday, 10 December 2015/The first batch of German troops and aircraft took off Thursday for Turkey as part of a deployment in the battle against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group in Syria. Forty soldiers and two Tornado reconnaissance jets left from the Jagel military airbase in northern Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein state. An A310 MRT aerial refueling jet left separately from Cologne-Wahn base for the Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey. German lawmakers last Friday authorized the deployment of up to 1,200 personnel and the aircraft to join international military operations against the ISIS, in support of France after the Nov. 13 Paris attacks. Underlining the significance of the deployment, Schleswig-Holstein's state premier Torsten Albig said at the send-off ceremony that “the future of Europe depends on this friendship” between France and Germany. Berlin had swiftly answered France’s call for help in the fight against militants, even though post-war Germany has been traditionally reluctant to send troops into military missions abroad. The six Tornados are fitted with surveillance technology that can take photos and infrared images, even at night and in bad weather, and transmit them in real time to ground stations. Berlin also said it would send a frigate to help guard the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean. Germany does not plan bombing runs, unlike France, the United States and Britain.

Russia, U.S., U.N. set to hold trilateral Syria talks in Geneva
AFP, Moscow Thursday, 10 December 2015/Russia, the United States and the United Nations will hold talks on Syria in Geneva on Friday as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict are ratcheted up, Moscow and Washington announced. “We will be having consultations in the trilateral format -- Russia, the United States and the UN,” Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told the RIA Novosti state news agency on Wednesday. He added that U.N. peace envoy Staffan de Mistura was also set to take part in the talks aimed at ending a brutal war that has killed more than 250,000 people and forced millions from their homes since March 2011. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson would represent the U.S. at the meeting to discuss moving forward on a political transition in Syria and “trying to get at the framework and the architecture for a ceasefire”.
Gatilov said Russia would be calling for the “intensification of joint efforts” in the “fight against terrorism”. The talks mark the latest step in the so-called Vienna process that began in late October when 17 countries, including the UN and EU representatives, met to discuss a political solution to end the fighting between President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition. The next meeting between top diplomats in the Vienna process is expected to take place this month in New York. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a call with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry on Wednesday, said they needed to draw up a list of “terrorist groups that we must not talk to and that we must fight together”, his ministry said. Kerry said he would visit Moscow next week. Moscow has sought, so far without success, to persuade nations in the U.S.-led coalition that opposes Assad to work with its own forces flying a bombing campaign in Syria and with Damascus in a broader coalition against ISIS.

U.N. seeks $166 mln in Libya humanitarian aid
AFP, Tunisia Thursday, 10 December 2015/The United Nations called on the international community Wednesday to provide $165.6 million in aid to Libya, where nearly half the population has been affected by violence and needs protection. “We call on the world to extend its hand to suffering people in Libya,” Ali al-Zaatari, the world body’s humanitarian coordinator for the North African country, told a news conference in the Tunisian capital.“We need $165.6 million in 2016. If we don’t get that amount, which is modest in comparison with what is spent on armaments, for example, then we can expect the humanitarian crisis to worsen.” Zaatari also called for a humanitarian ceasefire and for opening up corridors so that aid can reach those in need. Syed Jaffar Hussain, the World Health Organization’s representative in Libya, said the money was needed for basics, such as drinking water, sewers, vaccinations and other medicines, as well as maternity wards. In October, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said armed conflict and political instability had impacted more than three million Libyans. In a country of 6.3 million, “2.44 million people are in need of protection and some form of humanitarian assistance”. The needy included people forced to flee their homes and those living in conflict-hit areas, as well as refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants, OCHA said.Hussain said 1.3 million Libyans, mostly women and children, are suffering from malnutrition.

Over 350,000 petition to ban Trump from UK
Reuters, London Thursday, 10 December 2015/More than a quarter of a million Britons have signed an online petition to ban Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump from the country following his proposal to stop Muslims from entering the United States. Trump, who owns two golf courses in Scotland which he visited earlier this year, called for a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S. “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”. His comments followed last week’s deadly shooting spree by two Muslims in California. The number of signatories to the petition was growing fast but Britain’s finance minister George Osborne said on Wednesday that Trump should not be banned from the country. In the past, people have been banned from entering Britain for fostering hatred that might provoke inter-community violence. The petition says: “If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the ‘unacceptable behavior’ criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as the powerful.” It was launched by Suzanne Kelly, a Scottish-based campaigner and longtime critic of Trump’s latest golf course in Aberdeenshire. Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University said on Twitter on Wednesday it was revoking an honorary degree awarded to Trump in 2010 because he had “made a number of statements that are wholly incompatible with the ethos and values of the university”. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also stripped Trump of his role as a business ambassador for Scotland, a spokeswoman for her Edinburgh-based government said in a statement.
“Simply wrong”
The British government responds to all petitions that gain more than 10,000 signatures, and topics are considered for parliamentary debate if they reach 100,000. Prime Minister David Cameron said through his spokeswoman on Tuesday that Trump’s comments were “divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong”. But finance minister Osborne went further on Wednesday when he stood in for the absent Cameron at the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in parliament. “Frankly, Donald Trump’s comments fly in the face of the founding principles of the United States,” he said, adding that they should be confronted through robust democratic argument. “That is the best way to deal with Donald Trump and his views rather than trying to ban presidential candidates.”In seeking to defend his proposal, Trump said the U.S. needed to be vigilant because parts of London and Paris were now so radicalized they could no longer be policed by officers, who feared for their lives. London’s Metropolitan Police took the rare step of criticizing Trump. “We would not normally dignify such comments with a response, however on this occasion we think it’s important to state to Londoners that Mr Trump could not be more wrong,” the police force said in a statement. The capital’s Mayor Boris Johnson dismissed Trump’s comments as nonsense, adding: “The only reason I wouldn’t go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump.”

Improvised bomb explodes outside Yemen ministry office in Aden
By Staff writer Al Arabiya News Thursday, 10 December 2015/A homemade bomb that exploded outside a foreign ministry office in Yemen’s Aden late Wednesday caused no casualties, security sources told Al Arabiya News Channel. The building is located in the Almansoura district of Aden and was opened last month in a move that aims to resume the ministry's activities.

U.S. ‘ready to deploy’ to retake Ramadi from ISIS
AFP | Washington Thursday, 10 December 2015/The United States is prepared to deploy attack helicopters in support of an Iraqi offensive to retake the ISIS-held city of Ramadi, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Wednesday. Carter told a U.S. Senate hearing that the Iraqi army was beginning to move on the city in Iraq’s Anbar province, which fell to ISIS in May after the extremist group swept out of its strongholds in Syria to capture parts of Iraq. “The United States is prepared to assist the Iraqi army with additional unique capabilities to help them finish the job including attack helicopters and accompanying advisers if circumstances dictate and if requested by Prime Minister (Haider al-) Abadi,” he said. A U.S. defense official told AFP the secretary was referring to U.S. Apache helicopters already in Iraq serving in a force protection role. Carter did not elaborate, but the use of the attack helicopters in combat would mark a further expansion of the U.S. military’s re-engagement in Iraq after withdrawing from the country in 2011. There are currently 3,500 U.S. troops in Iraq in a training, advisory and assistance role, who Carter said have been helping the Iraqi army prepare for the battle to retake Ramadi. Iraqi army and counter-terrorism units are “now beginning to enter Ramadi neighborhoods from multiple directions,” and have retaken an operations center across the Euphrates from the city center, he said. “This is an important step, but there is still tough fighting ahead. ISIL has counter-attacked several times, but thus far the ISF has shown resilience,” he said. Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carter outlined the US military’s stepped up campaign against Islamic State in the wake of attacks November 13 in Paris and last week in California. He called for broader international participation in the fight against ISIS, which analysts fear appears to be turning its sights on the West from its bases in Iraq and Syria. “The international community - including our allies and partners - has to step up before another attack like Paris,” Carter said. Turkey needs to do more to control its borders with Syria, and Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have been distracted by the conflict in Yemen after taking part in the US-led air campaign early on, he said. He said he has asked U.S. allies and partners to help out with special operations forces, strike and reconnaissance aircraft and weapons and munitions, he said. He credited France, Britain, Italy, and Germany with intensifying their role in the campaign and said the Netherlands also was considering doing more. “Meanwhile, Russia, which has publicly committed to defeating ISIL, has instead largely attacked opposition forces. It’s time for Russia to focus on the right side of this fight.”

Why Has the Church Abandoned the Christians of the Middle East?
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/December 10/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7025/church-abandoned-christians
Why is the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the symbolic head of 85 million Christians worldwide, expressing shock at yet another terrorist attack perpetrated by the Islamic State?
Had he paid more than just fleeting attention to his fellow Christians in Iraq and Syria, he would know that the Islamic State has been slaughtering Christians in the Middle East since 2006. How much more time did he need?
Without referring by name to the Islamic State, and speaking as if some invisible force of nature were at play here, Pope Francis I deplored "thousands of people, including many Christians, driven from their homes in a brutal manner; children dying of thirst and hunger in their flight; women kidnapped; people massacred; violence of every kind."
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was interviewed recently about the Paris attacks and asked about his reaction. "Like everyone else – first shock and horror and then a profound sadness..." he replied. "Saturday morning, I was out and as I was walking I was praying and saying: 'God, why -- why is this happening?'"
Welby is the principal head of the Anglican Church and the symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, which stands at around 85 million members worldwide and is the third largest communion in the world -- after the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. This is a man with an extremely high public profile, and millions of Christians looking to him for spiritual guidance.
But why is a man who is the symbolic head of 85 million Christians worldwide expressing shock at yet another terrorist attack perpetrated by the Islamic State? Had the Archbishop of Canterbury paid more than just fleeting attention to his fellow Christians in Iraq and Syria, he would know that the Islamic State has been slaughtering Christians in the Middle East since 2006. Between 2004 and 2006, before the Islamic State evolved out of Al Qaeda in Iraq, it hardly showed less zeal to root out Christianity even then.
The Archbishop had eleven years to get used to the idea of people being made homeless, exiled, tortured, raped, enslaved, beheaded and murdered for not being Muslims. How much more time did he need?
The Archbishop of Canterbury had more wisdom to offer in the interview. "The perversion of faith is one of the most desperate aspects of our world today," he said, explaining that Islamic State terrorists have distorted their faith to the extent that they believe they are glorifying their God. But it is unclear how he is as qualified an expert in Islam as Islamic State "Caliph " Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who possesses a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Baghdad.
Christians, Yazidis and persecuted Muslims in the Middle East can probably point to aspects of the world more desperate than "the perversion of faith," but then again, the Archbishop does not seem too preoccupied with the situation on the ground.
Fortunately, others are. In a piece for The Atlantic, "What ISIS Really Wants," Graeme Wood spent time researching the Islamic State and its ideology in depth. He spoke to members of the Islamic State and Islamic State recruiters; his conclusions were the following:
"The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam.
"Virtually every major decision and law promulgated by the Islamic State adheres to what it calls, in its press and pronouncements, and on its billboards, license plates, stationery, and coins, "the Prophetic methodology," which means following the prophecy and example of Muhammad, in punctilious detail. Muslims can reject the Islamic State; nearly all do. But pretending that it isn't actually a religious, millenarian group, with theology that must be understood to be combatted, has already led the United States to underestimate it and back foolish schemes to counter it."
Members of the Islamic State are shown on the Libyan coast, preparing to behead a group of Ethiopian Christians. (From a video released in April 2015)
The West nevertheless continues to pretend that the Islamic State has nothing to do with Islam, and the Archbishop of Canterbury is apparently no different. It is noteworthy, however, that the Archbishop has no misgivings when it comes to Christians. "I cannot say that Christians who resort to violence are not Christians.," he said to the Muslim Council of Wales two months ago. "At Srebrenica the perpetrators claimed Christian faith. I cannot deny their purported Christianity, but must acknowledge that event as yet another in the long history of Christian violence, and I must repudiate that what they did was in any way following the life and teaching of Jesus."
During a debate in the House of Lords earlier this year, he also had no qualms in stating that "the church's sporadic record of compelling obedience to its teachings through violence and coercion is a cause for humility and shame."
If the Archbishop of Canterbury cannot deny the Christianity of Christian perpetrators who claim the Christian faith, how can he -- not a Muslim scholar -- deny the Islamic nature of Muslim perpetrators who claim the Muslim faith?
Just as mind-boggling is the refusal of Pope Francis I to speak the name of the perpetrators. In August 2014, when the Islamic State conquered the northern Iraqi city of Sinjar and began brutally to round up and murder Yazidis, and up to 100,000 Christians fled for their lives, Pope Francis could not make himself utter the name of the Islamic State. In his traditional Sunday blessing, he said the news from Iraq had left him "in dismay and disbelief." As if every atrocity had happened for the first time! Christian Iraqis had at that point been persecuted by Al Qaeda in Iraq and the Islamic State for a full decade. Without referring by name to the Islamic State, and speaking as if some invisible force of nature were at play, the pope deplored "thousands of people, including many Christians, driven from their homes in a brutal manner; children dying of thirst and hunger in their flight; women kidnapped; people massacred; violence of every kind."
A year later, in July 2015, he called the onslaught on Christians in the Middle East "a form of genocide," but still without mentioning who exactly was committing it.
It is tragic that the Church has done so little to help its flock in the Middle East. Where, during the past decade, have the Archbishop of Canterbury and his colleagues from the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church been? Where now is their vocal and public outrage at the near extinction of this ancient Christian culture? Where are their forceful appeals to political leaders and military decision-makers to intervene on behalf of their suffering brethren?
The Pope, however, did find time last May to write a 180-page encyclical about climate change, and he has spoken passionately about the bizarre concept of the "rights of the environment." In front of the UN and a joint session of the U.S. Congress, he again spoke of the persecution of Christians, as if it were a metaphysical event:
"He expressed deep concern for the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, where they and other religious groups, have been 'forced to witness the destruction of their places of worship, their cultural and religious heritage' and been forced to flee or face death or enslavement."
Christians in the Middle East are suffering and dying, and the world hardly pays attention. The post-Christian West evidently has no moment of charity for the plight of people with whom it might feel at least a slight solidarity. But in 2016, Europe will be receiving another three million migrants, according to the European Union. So far, most of those who have arrived are Muslims, and there is little reason to expect that those who will arrive next year will be persecuted Christians. Most of the refugees come from refugee camps near Syria; Christians stay away from the refugee camps because they experience persecution in them too. It is no different with the Syrian refugees coming to the US.
The Christians in the Middle East are thus still left fending for themselves.
**Judith Bergman is a writer, columnist, lawyer and political analyst.

EU Makes Up Bogus Laws to Target -- Guess Who?
Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/December 10/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7024/eu-laws-target-israel
Israel's occupation of the West Bank is fully legal under the terms of UN Resolution 242 (1967), which was carefully drafted to guarantee Israel's rights to remain there until such time as there is a "Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."
When the EU states that its aim is "to ensure the respect of Union positions and commitments in conformity with international law on the non-recognition by the Union of Israel's sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967," it refuses to recognize the validity of UN Resolution 242, and it gives no proper explanation of what is meant by "sovereignty."
As only Israeli armed forces will be required to withdraw in the event that such boundaries are created, the presence of Israeli settlements there will remain legal under the terms of the original League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, which stipulates that there should be close Jewish settlement in all areas. Those Mandate provisions were incorporated in the UN Resolution 181, which established a Jewish and an Arab state.
The European Union has never demanded that China, Morocco, Russia, Pakistan or India -- all with territories under dispute -- label goods in ways like those demanded of Israel.
"The EU does not have a general set of rules for dealing with occupied territories, settlements or territorial administrations whose legality is not recognized by the EU. Rather, the EU has special restrictions aimed at Israel." -- Law Professors Eugene Kontorovich (Northwestern University) and Avi Bell (University of San Diego).
On December 7, 2015, Germany, of all countries, announced its support for the EU labelling of products produced on disputed land sometimes referred to as Israeli "settlements." Apart from the fact that Palestinians openly consider the entire country of Israel -- "from the River to the Sea" -- one big settlement, one can only marvel at what is now being imposed by the EU and, this week, by Germany.
Faced with the greatest crisis in its 22-year history -- an influx of millions of migrants from the Middle East, Africa, and Afghanistan -- the European Union spent much of November on its long-debated policy of the labelling of products from the disputed territories of the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. On November 11, it demanded that exports (mainly fruit and vegetables) from these areas no longer be labelled "produced in Israel."
The four-page "Interpretative Notice on indication of origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967", issued by the EU's executive body, the 28-member European Commission, makes assumptions about Israel and the territories that have already been challenged by Israeli officials. It begins with the following paragraph:
(1) The European Union, in line with international law, does not recognise Israel's sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967, namely the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and does not consider them to be part of Israel's territory, irrespective of their legal status under domestic Israeli law. The Union has made it clear that it will not recognise any changes to pre-1967 borders, other than those agreed by the parties to the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP)
If this is the basis for a discriminatory measure, it has little or no legal basis. The claim that their interpretation of Israeli rights in the territories mentioned is "in line with international law" raises the simple question: "which international law?"
Israel's occupation of the West Bank is fully legal under the terms of UN Resolution 242 (1967), which was carefully drafted to guarantee Israel's rights to remain there until such time as there is a "Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."
As no secure and recognized boundaries have been established, despite numerous attempts by the government of Israel to bring them about, Israel's presence there remains entirely legal. And as only Israeli armed forces will be required to withdraw in the event that such boundaries are created, the presence of Israeli settlements there will remain legal under the terms of the original League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, which stipulates that there should be close Jewish settlement in all areas. Those Mandate provisions were incorporated into UN Resolution 181, which called for the establishment of a Jewish and an Arab state.
Similarly, the statement that the EU "will not recognise any changes to pre-1967 borders" is legally invalid as well as obnoxious. No such pre-1967 borders ever existed. The armistice lines, established in 1949 on the termination of the 1948-1949 war between Israel and its several Arab enemies, are not borders. And as the 1967 war was fought by Israel as a war of defence, its alleged "occupation" (which then included the Gaza Strip) of territories previously occupied by two of the belligerent states (Egypt in Gaza, and Jordan in the West Bank) is fully legal under the international laws of armed combat, principally under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
When the EU's Interpretative Notice goes on to state that its aim "is also to ensure the respect of Union positions and commitments in conformity with international law on the non-recognition by the Union of Israel's sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967," it clearly does not recognize the validity of a major international agreement, UN Resolution 242, and it gives no proper explanation of what is meant by "sovereignty."
The many debates over the occupation, international law, sovereignty status and so forth need to be addressed in their own right. Suffice to say here that the EU's blanket declaration of its enforcement of international law is seriously open to question. And, it must be added, its inclusion of Gaza in the occupied territories takes no account of the fact that Israel withdrew completely from Gaza in 2005 and that no goods exported from Gaza have been labelled "produced in Israel" for over a decade.
The Israeli response to the EU decision was swift. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commented:
"The EU decision is hypocritical and constitutes a double standard; it singles out Israel and not the 200 other conflicts around the world. The EU has decided to label only Israel, and we are not prepared to accept the fact that Europe is labeling the side that is being attacked by terrorism. The Israeli economy is strong and will withstand this; those who will be hurt will be those Palestinians who work in Israeli factories. The EU should be ashamed."
Netanyahu was backed by the leader of Israel's main opposition party, the Zionist Union, Isaac Herzog. He said that he "strongly opposes this harmful and unnecessary measure." Herzog called the ruling "a prize that Europe is bestowing for terror," and adding that it "serves only one purpose -- continuing the hate and regional conflict. Marking these products is an act of violence by extremists who want to further inflame the situation and the EU is falling into their trap."
Israel's Ministry for Foreign Affairs expressed further support for the determination that the new legislation is discriminatory. It pointed out the discriminatory nature of the decision: "It is puzzling and even irritating that the EU chooses to apply a double standard concerning Israel, while ignoring that there are over 200 other territorial disputes worldwide, including those occurring within the EU or on its doorstep. The claim that this is a technical matter is cynical and baseless."
Netanyahu and the Israeli Foreign Ministry are right. There are countless territorial disputes round the world. Ones that stand out are those in which a state illegally occupies or incorporates the territory of another people. After the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950, the country was incorporated into the People's Republic of China as an "Autonomous Region." When Spain and Mauritania withdrew from the Western Sahara in 1976 and 1979 respectively, Morocco annexed the area. It still occupies two-thirds of this vast (100,000 square miles) territory, despite the absence of any UN resolution recognizing its sovereignty there. Kashmir is controlled by no fewer than three countries -- India, Pakistan and China -- each of which holds a different part of the former princely state. This division has led to two wars between India and Pakistan, and remains hotly contested, without a formal international recognition of territorial rights. In 2014, Russia dispatched armed forces, started a war, and annexed Crimea, a territory that had been formally recognized as part of Ukraine. The UN General Assembly subsequently issued a resolution that called on the international community not to recognize any change to the status of Crimea.
All of the above disputes involve territorial claims that are essentially illegal, yet the European Union has never demanded that China, Morocco, Russia, Pakistan or India label goods in ways like those demanded of Israel. There are no labels saying "Product of Tibet (produced by Han Chinese occupiers)", "Crimean produce under Russian occupation," or "Western Sahara phosphates (extracted by Moroccan settlers)."
It gets worse. The European Union was a joint signatory (with the US, the UK, China, France, Russia and Germany) to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the notorious deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran that permits it to build nuclear weapons, despite its decades-long repeated violations of its commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. In anticipation of the lifting of the sanctions against Iran, European diplomats and businessmen have been packing their bags and heading to Tehran to set up commercial deals that will allow the export of European products to Iran and the import of Iranian goods to Europe: a "Pistachio Deal." They are being encouraged to do so by European governments, such as the UK through its Trade and Investments wing. But Iran is the world's biggest terrorism-supporting state, and Tehran is still deeply engaged with fighting in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, while supporting Hamas in Gaza and manoeuvring to increase its influence in the West Bank.
This seemingly innocuous move, taken for purportedly "technical reasons," clearly reveals the racist, anti-Semitic underpinnings still alive and well in members of the European Union. It singles out Israel for treatment not meted out to other, larger countries, even where their occupation and annexation has led, and still leads to, conflict, crime, terrorism, and even repeated threats of genocide. Such a singling-out reflects the many other ways in which countries, world bodies (such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, or the UN Human Rights Council) isolate Israel and hold it to arbitrary, fabricated standards not applied to any other country in the world.
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement, of which this European labelling is a part, takes the issue of marking products even farther. It does not just involve itself only with capriciously directing commerce; it also tries to muscle academic, cultural, and scientific spheres. The EU directive on labelling is already being cheered as a justification of BDS policy. Ramallah-based Mahmoud Nawajaa, general coordinator for the Palestinian BDS National Committee has said labelling was a "sign that European governments are reacting to public opinion, civil society campaigning and Israeli intransigence and are becoming more willing to take some basic action against Israeli violations of international law." He did not, of course specify which laws were Israel was presumably violating.
Israel is not alone in rejecting the EU directive. On November 9, a bipartisan group of 36 U.S. Senators, led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), sent a letter to the EU's foreign policy czar, Federica Mogherini, to protest the EU's decision. They emphasized the potential of the directive to encourage and expand the boycott movement:
"As allies, elected representatives of the American people, and strong supporters of Israel, we urge you not to implement this labeling policy, which appears intended to discourage Europeans from purchasing these products and promote a de facto boycott of Israel, a key ally and the only true democracy in the Middle East... We are also deeply concerned that enacting this policy would lead to the broader boycott of Israel."
Similarly, a spokesman for Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party declared that the decision to label settlement products was not a step to protect customers, but would instead create a "stigma" against Israel. He added that the ruling was a "mistake."
It is not just American senators who find the EU measure offensive. Several academic lawyers specializing in international law have addressed its contents, and have found them inaccurate, contradictory and lacking in justice. One such lawyer, Jonathan Turner of "UK Lawyers for Israel," wrote in a personal communication on November 11:
Note that the Notice claims at the same time that: It is important that products from the West Bank and "East Jerusalem" cannot be labelled "product of Israel" because (1) the EU (channeling the authority to speak on behalf of "international law") does not recognize these areas as part of Israel and (2) consumers might be confused and think that the areas are part of Israel.
It is okay for products from the West Bank, "East Jerusalem" and Gaza to be labelled "product of Palestine" because (1) even though the EU doesn't recognize a state of Palestine, that doesn't make a difference and (2) magically consumers will not be confused.
In October 2015, just weeks before the EU directive was issued, two international law professors wrote a 35-page summary of the legal issues involved in the process. Eugene Kontorovich, professor of international law at Northwestern University, and Avi Bell, Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law and at Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Law, published a paper titled "Challenging the EU's Illegal Restrictions on Israeli Products in the World Trade Organization". Among the points they make is that the EU labelling process is illegal according international law:
The EU's proposed measures restrict Israeli trade in violation of international trade law found in numerous multilateral treaties, including articles 2.1 and 2.2 of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade; Articles IX, X and XIII of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs and Article 2.3 and 5.6 of the Agreement on the Applications Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, among others.
The discriminatory nature of the legislation is made clear in a precise manner:
Any justifications the EU could adduce for its policies are undermined by their admittedly discriminatory application. The EU does not have a general set of rules for dealing with occupied territories, settlements or territorial administrations whose legality is not recognized by the EU. Rather, the EU has special restrictions aimed at Israel. This violates the fundamental rules of the GATT/WTO system, under which even otherwise valid trade restrictions are void if not applied uniformly to WTO members. Thus Israel's successful assertion of its rights in no way involves having the WTO accept its position on the status of the territories.
Finally, they add a caveat addressing the technical point that the territories are not part of Israel:
EU arguments that these territories are not part of Israel are irrelevant in this context. The scope of the WTO agreements explicitly extend beyond a country's sovereign territory, and include territories under its "international responsibility." The drafting history and subsequent application of the GATT make clear that this involves territories under military occupation
In a much shorter but comprehensive piece written just after the EU announcement of its new policy, Avi Bell addresses some of the central issues. Like Jonathan Turner, he sees both contradiction and discrimination in the ruling:
The Notice says that when products from the Golan Heights, "East" Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza are sold in Europe, they must not be labeled as "products of Israel" because the EU believes that these areas are not sovereign parts of Israel under international law and, therefore, consumers would be misled if they were labeled "products of Israel." However, the Notice states that it would be lawful to label products from the West Bank and Gaza as "products of Palestine" (and maybe from "East" Jerusalem as well, though the Notice is ambiguous on this point) even though the EU does not recognize the sovereignty of a state of Palestine. This is because presumably European consumers only care that product labels reflect EU views of sovereignty under international law when this works to the disadvantage of Israel.
He also draws attention to a British legal precedent that contradicts the EU position:
The Notice claims that it is doing nothing more than providing guidance in response to "a demand for clarity from consumers, economic operators and national authorities." Yet, the Notice not only fails to cite any evidence of this alleged demand, it ignores a British Supreme Court decision that states quite explicitly that there is no such demand -- in the 2014 case of Richardson and another v. Director of Public Prosecutions, the Court ruled that "there was no basis for saying that the average consumer would be misled ... simply because [a product was] described as being [made in] Israel when actually it was [made in the West Bank]."
It is worth quoting further from this well-argued document. One of Bell's strongest points is made when he demolishes the EU's rights to establish international borders and its ability to legislate history:
The Notice presents its position on the borders between Israel and a future state of Palestine as those of "international law" as if the EU had the authority under international law to establish Israeli-Palestinian borders. In fact, not only does the EU lack this authority under international law, the EU is signed as a witness on Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements that state that the borders are to be established only by agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Similarly, the Notice claims that the EU "will not recognise any changes to pre-1967 borders, other than those agreed by the parties to the Middle East Peace Process" even though there were no pre-1967 Israeli-Palestinian borders. In fact, by trying to establish the pre-1967 Israel-Jordan and Israel-Egypt armistice lines as the new Israeli-Palestinian borders, the EU is trying to force changes to the pre-1967 borders contrary to the agreement of the parties to the peace process. Ironically, the EU is trying to rewrite history as well, since there is no country in the EU that viewed the armistice lines as borders pre-1967.
In the face of so many emphatic legal red lights, it is clear is that the directive would not have been issued at all if there had not been a strong pre-existing EU bias against Israel, its government and its people. Sadly, Europe has clearly returned to its oldest racist hatred. The past decade and more has seen a marked recrudescence of not only the old anti-Semitism in European states, but also the new anti-Semitism -- one motivated by a hatred of the Jewish state of Israel. The duplicitous attempt at a distinction between the hatred of individual Jews and the hatred of the Jewish state is demonstrated in the many instances above of unequal application of the law. There are means available for Israel to fight this bigoted "Jim Crow" ruling.[1]
In the 1930s, Jewish shops, businesses and goods were labelled with Jewish stars and the word "Jude." Everyone thought that this style of crude anti-Semitism had vanished from our towns and cities. Yet today, sadly, the same racism has returned at the highest level of European government.
Denis MacEoin is a former editor of the Middle East Quarterly, a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Gatestone Institute, and the author of numerous books and articles on the Middle East and Islam.
[1] Kontorovich and Bell's analysis provide important guidelines for how to tackle the problem through legal means:
Israel must begin the process of preparing to assert its international trade rights in the WTO's dispute resolution system, a quasi-judicial forum with authority to overturn measures that violate these rules.
This would then be followed by formal consultations with EU trade officials, a required "out-of court" step before invoking the WTO dispute resolution process.
The process should be monitored at the ministerial level or by a special interministerial committee. It is important to note that even the beginning of formal consultations does not commit Israel to bringing a dispute to a panel, and even then the matter can be narrowed or settled at any time. The substantial majority of WTO disputes never result in a ruling, but are settled diplomatically. However, bringing a dispute provides for diplomatic leverage that would otherwise be absent.
It is extremely likely that the EU would respond to Israeli moves towards the WTO with a vocal and forceful reaffirmation of its position. This is commonplace in WTO disputes. Israel must be prepared to not be intimidated by such protests. The likely consequence of a failed WTO approach will be no worse than a failed diplomatic one, and the chances of success are much higher.
If other steps fail, Israel should vigorously pursue a challenge to the measures through the WTO's dispute resolution system. The WTO has the power to rule the EU measures illegal. Moreover, it can authorize various forms of retaliation and self-help by Israel.
© 2015 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

The Gulf’s climate challenge
Manuel Almeida/Al Arabiya/December 10/15
Contrary to previous international conferences on climate change, the weeks that preceded the U.N. Climate Change Conference currently being held in Paris were not marked by high-profile attempts to cast doubt on the threat of climate change, or the extent of human responsibility in the process.
The growing and alarming evidence has already ruined the climate change sceptics’ case. With schools in Beijing closed this week due to the highest-possible warning level for air pollution, the international media has picked up scary numbers from a scientific study published earlier this year. According to the authors of the study, all researchers at the University of California in Berkeley, more than 4000 people die in China every day due to the effects of pollution.
Extreme weather conditions such as very high temperatures, droughts and floods carry various problems and threats for all the countries in the Gulf.
Also the Middle East and the Gulf in particular has been the subject of alarming studies on the future effects of climate change. A study published in October in an American science magazine concluded that, in just a couple of decades, temperatures in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or the Iranian coast could make human survival very difficult in the absence of mitigating measures. Weather officials in the UAE did however cast doubt over the claim.
A threat to the region
The findings and conclusions of these and other studies have often been unhelpfully inflated by the media. For example, general reporting on this study about unbearable temperatures in the Gulf claimed various cities in the region could very soon become uninhabitable, whereas it generally failed to explain the report’s conclusion that those extreme conditions would still be rare.
However, as much as the media tends to exaggeration, the last few summers saw heat waves in Iraq, Iran and Kuwait push temperatures over 53 degrees Celsius, while feels-like temperatures were far higher.
Extreme weather conditions such as very high temperatures, droughts and floods carry various problems and threats for all the countries in the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. These include rising sea levels and salinization of the soil, crop failures and increasing food insecurity, as well as severe water shortages. This could generate mass migrations and either increase the likelihood of armed conflict or worsen existing ones.
Experts rightly note poor populations will inevitably suffer the most. Yemen, the region’s poorest country, with a huge deficit of energy sources and almost no resources to counter the extreme dependency of food imports and a severe water scarcity problem, is particularly vulnerable.
In this context, the Paris climate summit, or COP21, which aims to produce a legally binding agreement among all participants that can replace the Kyoto Protocol as the key global strategy to combat climate change, is of great relevance for the countries of the region. Participants hope to reach an agreement to set a goal to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, although a large group of countries is pushing for a 1.5 degree target.
The GCC’s economic challenge
Yet what all participating states decide during the Paris conference can also bear particular relevance the economic future of the Gulf states, leading oil and gas producers and exporters.
Although coal-fired power plants are the biggest source of man-made CO2 emissions, oil and gas come next. Thus, any decisions under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce emissions could result in a reduction of the global demand for oil and gas.
Each of the GCC states submitted their plans, which focus either on reduction of emissions or enhancement of the mitigation potential, or in some cases both. They propose to achieve that mostly via improvement of energy efficiency in various sectors (industry, construction and transportation), investment in renewable and nuclear energy and development of large networks for carbon capture, usage and storage.
Saudi Arabia, for example, plans to build the world’s largest carbon capture and use plant. Ali Al-Naimi, Saudi Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister, explained in Paris how the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center would play a key role in creating awareness among the population about the need for much greater energy efficiency. Qatar’s plan also places a lot of emphasis on building awareness and investment in education to build an environmentally aware society. Among other measures, Dubai has joined the C40, a group of 82 megacities joined together to fight climate change.
Although the GCC states represent a tiny proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions, per capita they are among the world’s highest emitters, largely due to commodities for export that involve high levels of greenhouse gas emissions during the production process.
The prospect of low oil prices had already pushed the GCC states to make serious steps toward economic diversification and sustainable development. With low oil prices now a reality for over a year, plus the constant discovery of new gas fields all over the world, that shift is more pressing than ever. The GCC governments seem to have rightly interpreted the Paris climate summit as a key and unmissable opportunity to push forward that agenda.

ISIS’s propaganda success, and how to fight it
Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/December 10/15
ISIS is the first terrorist organization to have successfully gained power through the use of modern media. Its media system is working in two key dimensions. First of all, it targets the audience inside the ISIS ranks. Propaganda is used to maintain morale and to manipulate ISIS fighters. Secondly it targets the “outside” audience. The propaganda is performed on both systemic level – through the so-called Al Hayat Media Center, the ISIS media arm – and on the network level, through social media, messengers, Skype and the direct work on the ground of so-called “ISIS emissaries”, or recruiters.
The Al Hayat Media Center produces videos shared via social media and mobile messengers, as well as publishing journals in several languages, with most issues weighing in at 60 to 70 pages. The words of the Quran, and the true sense of Islam, should be the main weapon in this war on ISIS propaganda.
That’s 60 to 70 glossy pages of total evil, blood and terror – with the name of Allah and quotations from the Quran repeated on the each page, even though ISIS has nothing in common either with Allah or the Quran. The group just use both for the sake of its own devilish and bloody interests. The core of the propaganda is the idea of “us and them”. We are righteous Muslims, ISIS declare. “They” are kafirs – infidels – and crusaders. But ISIS is also putting Muslim communities under pressure, through threats and oppression. The group knows that even the calmest Muslims cannot bear sustained oppression and humiliation for a long time, and finally they will become radicalized. So why is ISIS propaganda proving so successful? The reasons are simple.
1. Visual communication
The first reason is the high quality work produced by ISIS ideologists, with specialist design and promotion. The visual quality of their journals is very high. Across the world, societies value images over text, and so ISIS has chosen the right form of propaganda. By spreading images through the modern media, ISIS reaches millions of people.
2. Preying on ignorance
The second reason is the historically ill-conceived system of integration of Muslim immigrants in Western societies, and the lack of a coherent promotion of the true image of moderate Islam to the broader public. ISIS is successfully using religious texts, playing on the weak religious literacy of some Muslims, and an absolute ignorance of many non-Muslims about Islam.
3. West’s Mideast policy
The third reason is the Western countries’ policy in the Middle East leading to the chaos in the region. The dangerous play on the discords and the regional contradictions, and the imposition of Western models of behavior and politics inapplicable to the region, lead to the growth of anti-Western sentiments and tensions inside the societies. This is successfully used by the ISIS ideologists. ISIS constantly reminds people of what it sees as historical injustice, or a constant humiliation by the West – the ‘kafirs’, the ‘crusaders’ – on Muslim civilization. ISIS uses the actions of the international coalition and Russian ideologists to promote the idea that the West and Russia are waging a war against the Muslim world.
4. Social environment
The fourth reason for the propaganda success is the state of the social environment. The modern world is gradually losing its reference points for values. This is witnessed in the mutation of the institution of family, social isolation, and the paradox of wealthy societies, in which some are led to seek thrilling experiences. The social inequality and lack of justice also play to the hand of ISIS. And to the lonely, ISIS promotes the idea of a society where everyone is a brother or sister. They promise justice and equality. But they also propose a ‘thrilling’ experience – to those who are seeking it: to kill not only in PC games, but in real life.
How to fight the war
The moment to counter the propaganda battle is already lost. And while there is no guarantee we will win the wider war, there is still a chance to fight an idea with another. And the words of the Quran, and the true sense of Islam, should be the main weapon in this war on ISIS propaganda.

Can master manipulator Trump win Republican nomination?
Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/December 10/15
When Mark Twain wrote in 1887 that “all you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure,” little did he know that it would come to define the new rising stardom of the Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.
Trump’s ignorance, hypocritical record and contrived outrage – whether the subject is a disabled reporter or a Starbucks cup or millions of Latinos and Muslims – have become the key to his success as a Republican candidate. This success, if sustained and backed by an organizational ground game in the states that start voting on February 1st, can conceivably carry Trump to the nomination and unleash the nightmare scenario for the Republican Party.
Trump: Master manipulator
Trump’s latest outburst, calling to ban all Muslims from entering the United States “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on” is a perfect example of his political expediency, and manufactured Islamophobia to manipulate the Republican base and attract media coverage.
Trump’s prejudiced tone will only escalate against Muslims. His bet is to dominate the media coverage ahead, and eventually attempt to force himself as a fait accompli on the Republican establishment.
For starters, the biggest joke in Trump’s candidacy is his Republican record. The real estate mogul jumped ships at least four times between the Democrats and Republicans in the last three decades, and his voting record and donations raise doubts about his newly found conservatism. He reportedly veered towards an anti-gun, pro-abortion stance – before running on a pro-gun and anti-abortion platform. His votes and money trail suggest affinity to Democrats in New York – including his new rival Hillary Clinton, whom he invited to his wedding.
Trumpism is less about a political ideology and more about a Machiavellian approach to win by any means and at any price. Hence, while Trump would not waste a chance to speak against Muslims or any community in order to win votes, his own business is booming in Muslim countries and is winning him deals. From Turkey, to Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia the candidate is negotiating building gigantic hotels, golf courses and fashion design stores – with the same Muslims whom he claims are a risk to U.S. national security.
Trump’s attacks spare no one – including individuals such as the Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, an African-American activist, the face and the hair of his running mates – and on a larger scale a whole ethnicity or religious minority. The key is to pick the media’s and the base flavor of the day; if it’s anti-immigration, Trump would attack Hispanics, and if it’s ISIS, the target would shift to the Syrian refugees and/or the Muslim community.
Can Trump win?
Trump winning the Republican nomination in 2016 would the equivalent of Republican voters shooting holes in their own boat and sinking their chances at winning the general elections, potentially against Hillary Clinton. However, this outcome is not unexpected given Trump’s lead in the early swing states, the mood of the Republican base, and his edge in utilizing social media and television coverage.
Despite the Republican establishment condemnations and rejection of Trump’s remarks against Muslims, the candidate’s backing is showing signs of resilience with more than a third of his supporters saying “it makes them more likely to vote for him” according to a poll by Purple Strategies. This detachment between the Republican leadership and its voters is at the heart of Trump’s surge, and could win him the nomination next spring. While the disenchantment of the Republican base did not start with Trump, and has its roots in failure of the party’s majority to deliver since 1996, the candidate draws most of his support from this sentiment.
Trump is seen by his backers as an outsider and a successful businessman who is challenging the traditional establishment, and is not tied to Washington’s stagnated political environment and lobby groups. His political incompetence and confused statements on foreign policy are overshadowed with his personality appeal, and the desire for dramatic change from the party’s own base. These attributes give Trump today an average of +13.8% in the polls, and an edge in all the early states (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida) seven weeks ahead of the vote.
While the Trump bubble might very well burst and cost him the elections – as was the case with Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani before – it has so far sustained itself longer than previous favorites. The absence of a charismatic outsider in the Republican running field also plays to Trump’s advantage. Former governor Jeb Bush has failed so far to connect with the average voter, while Senator Marco Rubio is a Washington figure whose rise is similar to U.S. President Barack Obama.
In the coming weeks, Trump’s prejudiced tone will only escalate against Muslims and any minority or issue viewed suspiciously by the Republican base. His bet is to dominate the media coverage and living-room conversation ahead of the voting day, and eventually attempt to force himself as a fait accompli on the Republican establishment.

Egyptian Coptic pope in Jerusalem: Religious or political statement?
By Sonia Farid/Al Arabiya/December 10/15
Egyptian Coptic Pope Tawadros II last month visited Jerusalem to attend the funeral prayer for Metropolitan Archbishop Abraham of Jerusalem and the Near East, who headed the Coptic diocese in the occupied city.
It was the first time the head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church has visited the city since Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967.
While described by the Coptic Orthodox Church as an “exceptional situation” that would not change the church’s stance on Jerusalem and the Palestinian cause, the visit still raised eyebrows.
The debate that ensued was not only because the Pope went to Jerusalem via Tel Aviv, but also owing to the fact that the 1979 papal ban on pilgrimage to occupied Palestinian territories, issued by the late Pope Shenouda III, is still in effect.
This left Egyptians wondering whether the religious purpose could overshadow the political significance of such an unusual visit.
Normalization with Israel?
Nasserist Egyptian journalist Abdullah al-Sinnawi argued that the visit has weakened the resistance front against normalization with Israel, and set a precedent for a practice that most Egyptians reject.
“Because of this visit, travel agencies have started organizing trips to Jerusalem,” he said in an interview with al-Ghad al-Arabi channel, adding that such trips would deal a fatal blow to the legacy of Pope Shenouda III.
“The late pope defied the president and paid the price,” he added, in reference to Pope Shenouda’s rejection of late President Anwar Sadat’s request to accompany him to Jerusalem or to send Coptic delegations there as part of the Camp David agreement, for which the pope was placed under house arrest in a monastery in northern Egypt.
Sinnawi warned that Pope Tawadros’ visit could be taken against the church. “Extremist groups can take advantage of this visit to accuse the Coptic Church of supporting normalization and this, if escalated, could trigger a sectarian strife.”
Critical response
Indeed, the ultra-orthodox al-Nour Party slammed the visit as a form of normalization with Israel. “The Coptic Church is part of the Egyptian nation and what its pope does affects the entire country,” said party chairman Yunis Makhioun in a statement he issued in response to the visit. “The pope is the first to visit Jerusalem in the modern era, thus violating the ban.”
Makhioun underlined the attention given by Israeli media to the visit as an indication of the negative impact it is already having in relation to Egypt’s stance on the Palestinian cause.
Coptic writer Kamal Zakher predicts that Israel will take advantage of the visit. “This will happen regardless of whether it was an official or a humanitarian visit,” he said in an interview with Sky News Arabia.
Former MP Gamal Asaad said that the Coptic Church had previously made a political stand against normalization with Israel and the pope’s visit has undermined this statement. “The visit indicates that the church is changing its stance on the Palestinian cause, especially [given] that the pope travelled via Tel Aviv rather than Jordan, and the church is no longer penalizing Copts for going to Jerusalem as it did at the time of Pope Shenouda III,” he said, adding that the pope could have sent a delegation from the church instead of going personally.
“The pope had also pledged earlier not to step into Jerusalem unless he is accompanied by al-Azhar Grand Imam following an invitation by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to break the siege on the Palestinian people.”
An ordinary visit?
Coptic activist and head of the Minorities Department at Egyptian Commission of Rights and Freedoms Mina Thabet said that the religious value of Archbishop Abraham and his relationship to Pope Tawadros II makes the visit ordinary.
“This does not indicate a change in the church’s stance on the Palestinian cause and which represents the majority of Egyptian Christians. In fact, this visit supports the Palestinian cause and several Palestinian officials actually keep inviting Arabs to visit Jerusalem,” he said in an interview with Russia Today Arabic. “Plus, the church should not make political decisions such as the travel ban.”
Mohamed al-Sayed Ismail, head of the Islamic Awakening Scholars’ Council, agreed that the visit was to “the prisoners and not the prison wardens,” as he put it, and argued that the travel ban would only speed up the Judaization of Jerusalem. “The visit breaks the siege on the Palestinian people and gives them moral support,” he said in a statement the council issued following the visit.
For Egyptian analyst of Middle East affairs Ramy Aziz the ban on Jerusalem pilgrimages is more a formality than a reality. “Many Copts openly flouted the ban,’” he wrote in the Jerusalem Post. “For example, Copts didn’t refrain from visiting the Holy Land during Easter… the church is well aware of this fact.” Aziz argues that this ban, which he finds unfair to Copts, is actually the root of the controversy over the pope’s visit. “The church must review its stance and not confuse politics with religion, because a man’s visit to his place of worship doesn’t harm the community or his nation, even if others see it as scandalous.”
Fadi Youssef, founder of the Coalition for Coptic Egyptians, said that the visit was purely ceremonial and not a pilgrimage. “The pope was only leading the funeral prayer and did not make any other activities in the Holy Land,” he told the Egyptian daily independent al-Watan.
**Nader Sobhi, founder of the Christian Youths Movement for Orthodox Copts, noted that the visit is at the heart of church traditions. “This is what happened with the funerals of other archbishops where the pope goes to lead the prayer where they died,” he said in an interview with al-Watan.
In this sense, Youssef said, a distinction should be made between the pilgrimage ban and this particular visit. “It will then be obvious that the visit does not in any way violate the papal decree issued by Pope Shenouda III.”

EU, Iran relationship heats up
Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi/Al-Monitor/December 10/15
Since the July 14 signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), European institutions have been actively seeking ways to boost the union’s ties with Tehran.In 2003, when international concerns over the nature of the Iranian nuclear program emerged following leaks about two previously undisclosed nascent nuclear facilities — the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and the heavy water reactor at Arak — the EU decided to halt its “comprehensive dialogue” with Tehran. The E3 (France, Germany and the UK) soon took on a mediating role between Iran and the international community in an attempt to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, remaining involved in the negotiating process for more than 12 years. During this time frame — and particularly after Iran’s nuclear dossier was referred to the UN Security Council in early 2006 — the nuclear issue was only matter on which cooperation and communication between Iran and Europe continued. Issues such as human rights, terrorism, trade and proliferation, which were previously discussed by the two sides, dropped out of the bilateral conversation. Now, as a result of the JCPOA, the EU has shown an inclination to reverse this path.
The union promptly welcomed the comprehensive agreement reached in July, and, following the approval of the UN Security Council, the EU Council officially endorsed the JCPOA. Shortly after, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini went on her first official visit to Tehran, accompanied by Deputy Secretary-General for the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmid. In a press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Mogherini stressed that the nuclear agreement was “going to open — as it is implemented — a new chapter in the relations between Iran and the European Union.” Indeed, in an op-ed published in The Guardian, Mogherini said she was charged by the EU’s 28 foreign ministers to explore “ways in which the EU could actively promote a more cooperative regional framework” with Tehran. She also pointed out the key role of the JCPOA in enabling the expansion of topics discussed bilaterally with Iran — a development made possible because of Europe’s “long tradition of cultural and economic relationship with Iran.”
In November, European Parliament President Martin Schulz also traveled to Tehran at the invitation of the country’s parliament. In what constituted the first visit of a head of the EU parliament to Iran, Schulz highlighted, similarly to Mogherini, the “key stage” of EU-Iran relations and the need to widen the range of topics discussed, including regional stability, terrorism, human rights, energy cooperation and economic relations.
In addition to organizing these high-level visits to Tehran, the EU has in the past few months taken other practical steps to enhance ties with Iran on issues other than the nuclear dossier. The establishment of an Iran Task Force at the EEAS, reporting directly to Schmid, constitutes the most important step in this direction. The Iran Task Force, set up in September, is composed of seven members and led by Hugo Sobral, a Portuguese diplomat and former diplomatic adviser to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. It has “the objective of coordinating the different strands of action of all Iran-related issues” and ensuring coordination with commission services as well as other institutions, third countries and civil society.
The Iran Task Force has three main duties. First, it will facilitate the implementation of the JCPOA. To this end, meetings will take place at the expert level to assist Mogherini in her role as coordinator of the joint commission overseeing the implementation of the deal. Second, it is to develop bilateral relations with Tehran. Since September, the union has, for instance, explored options for establishing a permanent diplomatic presence in Tehran, one of the few capitals in which the union does not yet have an embassy. The third and final goal is to explore ways to build a more cooperative regional framework. Some of the possible areas of cooperation with Iran identified by EEAS officials are trade, drug trafficking, environmental issues, human rights, terrorism, aviation safety and instability in the Middle East. As part of the third goal, three meetings have taken place between Mogherini and Zarif in the past four months, during which time issues such as “the need to bring the war in Syria, which has caused so much suffering, to an end” have taken center stage. The parties have also discussed the institutionalization of a dialogue at the deputy level between Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi and Schmid. The first such meeting took place at Palais Coburg in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Dec. 6, while dialogue at the ministerial level will reprise once again in 2016.
It is evident that the announcement of the JCPOA played a crucial role in enabling the EU to exit its nuclear-exclusive engagement with Tehran and to take practical steps oriented toward the establishment of a bilateral dialogue on a wider range of issues of mutual concern. Though its establishment shows good premise, it remains to be seen whether the Iran Task Force will become a central actor in enhancing the union’s action on Iran-related matters. Besides increasing the chances of successful implementation of the JCPOA over the agreement’s extensive time span, the intensification of official contacts between Iran and the EU, in terms of both quality and quantity, is likely to further strengthen mutual confidence and establish a framework to address more contentious issues in the long run.

Corruption on earth' brings death penalty in Iran
Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/December 10/15
Conservative Iranian parliamentarian Ahmad Tavakoli talked about the problems of corruption in the country at a Dec. 9 speech at Yasuj University
Tavakoli is skeptical about the optimistic comments made by the Hassan Rouhani administration regarding the state of the economy once international sanctions are removed. “Various factors shape the economy that result in the stagnation or the success of the economy,” he said, adding that corruption was “ruining the allocation of resources and distorting the direction of the economy.”Tavakoli said one of the types of corruption in the country was the “commerce of influence.” While he did not explain the term “commerce of influence” during his speech, as an example he talked about how in some instances children of Iranian officials are informed in advance of neighborhoods that will be developed or privatized. These children of officials, who in Iran are called “agha-zadehs,” or princelings, would purchase the land early at a discount and later sell the land at a premium. Tavakoli added that these privatization efforts that happened in the past, presumably referring to the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration, “caused nothing but economic problems.”Tavakoli said that cronyism, nepotism and the commerce of influence are like tolls on a healthy economy. He also said that corruption can be found in Iran’s judiciary, police force and parliament. “Corruption is systematic,” he said, adding, “It doesn’t mean that the entire system is corrupt.” He also said there are recent efforts by the judiciary to confront corruption.
On the conviction of Ahmadinejad’s vice president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, for corruption, Tavakoli said that the higher the position the individual holds, the more severe his punishment should be. In the Fars transcript of the speech, Tavakoli did not mention other names of individuals or officials charged or accused of corruption. However, there have been a number of high-profile corruption cases in Iran. In June, there were conflicting reports about the arrest of the former police chief of Iran, Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, who was abruptly replaced in March by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ahmadi Moghaddam denied that he, his son and his son-in-law were arrested. Before the allegations of his arrest, Iran’s police department had been accused of selling Iranian oil, which had been sanctioned, and not returning the funds from the sale of the oil. This allegedly happened under Ahmadi Moghaddam’s tenure as police chief. Another high-profile case of corruption is that of Babak Zanjani, who has been accused of withholding $2 billion from oil sales in private accounts. During a Dec. 9 court session, one of the defendants in the corruption case, who was introduced only with the initials H.F.H., broke down in tears when he was told by the judge that he was accused of “corruption on Earth,” which carries the death penalty, and working against the government. The defendant said that he was a war veteran who was injured numerous times and that an accusation of deliberately taking action against the government “was one of the most painful accusations.”Zanjani has long maintained that he was tasked under the previous administration to sell Iran’s oil while the country was sanctioned and that he has been unable to return the money sitting in foreign banks due to sanctions.

What's the one thing that Arabs, Turks and Iranians can all agree on?
Barbara Slavin/Al-Monitor/December 10/15
A new survey of eight Middle East countries finds consensus on two issues — that the group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS) is a major threat and that the United States' role in countering extremist violence in the region is “extremely negative.”Conducted in September before recent terrorist attacks in France and the United States, the face-to-face surveys with 7,400 adults in six Arab states plus Turkey and Iran also found wide support among Arabs for the creation of a joint Arab force to try to resolve conflicts in Syria, Iraq and potentially to serve as peacekeepers in a Palestinian state.
The survey, by Zogby Research Services, also found considerable agreement about the causes for Islamic extremism, with majorities blaming “corrupt, repressive and unrepresentative governments” and “religious figures and groups promoting extremist ideas and/or incorrect religious interpretations.”
Despite the prevalent view that US policy toward groups such as IS has been counterproductive, “anger at the United States” ranked lower as a perceived driver of extremism.
Jim Zogby, president of the Arab-American Institute and managing director of Zogby Research Services, told Al-Monitor in an interview that more than 50% of those polled still cited anti-US anger as a factor in the rise of jihadist groups. He added that the weight of this driver had diminished in relative terms because of the “less heavy” US military footprint in the region under the Barack Obama administration.
In past surveys, Zogby noted, 90% had faulted US policies as a cause for extremism.
“A softer US footprint pays off,” Zogby later told a Washington audience assembled by the Middle East Institute. “It’s still a problem but not the main cause.”Meanwhile, support for a joint Arab force was robust and seemed to reflect a desire in the region for an indigenous substitute for US boots on Arab ground.
The survey found that citizens of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were the most enthusiastic, with 98% saying that the UAE should contribute financial support and a third saying that Emirati soldiers should take part in the force. About 75% of Saudis backed financial contributions and 40% said Saudi manpower should also be contributed. Similar figures were recorded for Egypt. The findings are instructive at a time when the Obama administration has emphasized the need for Sunni Arabs to provide ground forces to complement the US-led air campaign against IS in Syria and Iraq.
A Saudi-led coalition is already fighting in Yemen and the UAE has suffered major losses among the 1,500 troops it has contributed to the ground war against Houthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia has only about 86 members of its special forces in Yemen, according to retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones, a former national security adviser to Obama. Jones, speaking Dec. 8 at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, suggested creating a NATO-like force for willing Arab states, with US assistance. Nawaf Obaid, a Saudi citizen and visiting fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, told the Atlantic Council that Yemen was a trial run for other pan-Arab interventions. He said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be visiting Saudi Arabia later this month to discuss forming a Sunni force to patrol the northern border of Syria. “We’re in the process of moving beyond relying on the US for security,” Obaid said, noting the large quantities of weapons Saudi Arabia has purchased from the US along with training of Saudis over many decades. Sunni Arab reluctance to intervene in Syria, Obaid said, reflected less a lack of ability or will to “put skin in the game” than disagreement with Washington about the priority of removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad versus defeating IS.
The Zogby survey, in polling on Iraq, contradicted the impression sometimes put forward by Iraqi Kurds that a large majority favor separation from Baghdad. Indeed, only 20% of Kurds favored partition and a majority of all ethnic and sectarian groups said the solution to Iraq’s problems is a more inclusive and representative government.
Another theme highlighted by the findings, as in past polls, was Sunni distrust of Iran and opposition to its intervention in support of Assad. Large majorities in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Turkey said that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iran-backed Lebanese force, Hezbollah, were major causes of the Syrian conflict. The exception was Lebanon, where Shiite Muslims are a plurality. Only 35% of Lebanese agreed that Iran was playing a major role in Syria, with an even smaller percentage — 20% — of Shiite Lebanese faulting Tehran for the Syria war.
In a possible pan-Islamic convergence, however, the survey showed that Iranians are not that enthusiastic either about their government’s heavy involvement in regional conflicts. Only 48% said the government should give “greater support to our allies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.”
The top priorities among Iranians were “improving the economy and creating employment” (81%) and “advancing democracy and protecting personal and civil rights” (75%). Sixty percent said improving relations with Arab countries should be a priority and a similar percentage advocated improving ties with the United States and the West in the aftermath of a recent nuclear accord. Asked how they envisioned their country’s role in the region, only 19% said that Iran “should be the dominant player” — an interesting finding in light of Arab concerns. More than 40% said Iran should not be involved militarily in the region at all and should focus instead on “developing peaceful relations based on equality with other countries” in the neighborhood.

Ankara's Mosul miscalculation
Fehim Taştekin/Al-Monitor/December 10/15
After the tension that followed Turkey shooting down a Russian jet, Turkey is now caught up in a controversy with its other critical neighbor, Iraq. When the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) sent soldiers accompanied by tanks to the camp at Bashiqa, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mosul, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi issued an ultimatum for Turkish troops to leave within 48 hours. He said Iraq will consider all options, including turning to the Security Council, should Turkey fail to withdraw. Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said that about 1,000 soldiers had been sent without informing Baghdad, too many for a training mission.Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu responded with a letter to Abadi saying Turkey will suspend sending troops to Bashiqa until the Iraqi government’s concerns are addressed. But the letter did not yield results. Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said that the time was running out and repeated the warning that Iraq would turn to the UN if Turkey doesn’t withdraw its troops. Then the TSK announced that it had halted the dispatch of a new 350-strong unit waiting at the border, but 600 troops at Bashiqa now will not be withdrawn. The crisis was brought about by a lack of coordination. The Iraqi government requires that all military assistance against the Islamic State go through Baghdad in coordination with the Ministry of Defense. The United States, which has defense and cooperation agreements with Iraq, is extremely careful to respect the Iraqi conditions.
There are several reasons Turkey tends to commit careless mistakes in Iraq. A governmental vacuum in northern Iraq since 1991 has allowed Turkey to boost its influence in the region. The TSK's soldiers gained operational experience while deployed against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The Turkish military presence in various locations, including Sulaimaniyah and Erbil, was politically linked to Turkey’s wish to protect Turkmens in the region. After the legal establishment of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Turkey’s military presence continued. Turkey claims it is at Bashiqa with the approval of Baghdad to train Hashd al Watani set up by former Mosul Governor Atheel Nujaifi and the peshmerga forces, but a deployment of 1,000 soldiers and 25 tanks gives the impression that the training camp has been turned into an operational base.
What could Turkey be hoping to achieve by reinforcements it wanted to send?
Following the downing of its plane, Russia has been targeting Turkey’s Syria plans, mainly by restricting the TSK’s operational capacity in the area between Aleppo and Turkey currently controlled by the opposition. In response, Ankara wants to have a presence in Mosul so as not to be totally sidelined in the Middle East game. Turkey’s focus on Mosul aims to deter the PKK forces deployed in the area alongside the peshmerga to liberate the Yazidi town of Sinjar from the Islamic State (IS). In Ankara, there are increasing sentiments in the ruling party to restore the National Pact borders. The neo-Ottomans of the party want to be among forces liberating Mosul and thus restore their lost influence in the region. Ankara also wants to guarantee the future of oil agreements made with the Kurdish administration. Ankara is also making a strategic choice. Turkey opposes the entry into Mosul of the Hashd al-Shaabi forces, which are on Baghdad's payroll and support Sunni-dominated Hashd al Watani, but backs its narrative with careless and baseless claims. For example, Ankara says, “Hashd al-Shaabi is fully Shiite and guided by Iran.” Those who say this are forgetting that the Turkmens Turkey is supposed to be protecting have fought alongside Hashd al-Shaabi. True, Hashd al-Shaabi was set up by a fatwa from Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, but it became a legal force attached to the Prime Ministry. Hashd al Shabi which is currently the most effective field element against ISIS in Iraq includes Sunni units. Those who mutter "Shiites must not enter Mosul" forget that 65% of the population of Iraq is Shiite. Iran’s influence is also exaggerated. Turkmens who spoke to Al-Monitor were critical of Turkey and Nujaifi because of his hostility to the central government that tolerated IS. Turkey has been working with the wrong people in Mosul since 2003, they said, and Mosul cannot be liberated with Nujaifi and the militia he is leading.
They also said Turkmens in the ranks of Hashd al-Shaabi have acquired experience in fighting IS for a year and a half, and ignoring this resource will only serve IS.
KRG President Massoud Barzani’s administration, although not delighted with the Turkish military presence, is keeping quiet for the sake of commercial relations with Turkey. The KRG has no one else to turn to if its relations sour with Baghdad. At this juncture, Arab opinions are important. Among Iraqi political circles, Turkey’s policies are held responsible for the fall of Mosul and empowerment of IS. Their popular slogan can be best summarized as, “Mosul will be liberated by all Iraqis. No other power, including Turkey, has the right to express reservations about Hashd al-Shaabi.”Two Iraqi sources explained to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity why they can’t depend on Nujaifi, saying, “Iraqi government ordered those trained at Bashiqa to participate in the Bayci operations. Nujaifi, though he didn’t have more than 2,000 fighters, wanted additional funds from the government, claiming he has 8,000-9,000 fighters. The payment was then stopped.”
Many people ask whether the latest Turkish move has anything to do with joining an operation to liberate Mosul.
According to Aydin Selcen, Turkey’s former consul general at Erbil, “You can’t say that 600 soldiers with the new reinforcements will have a bearing on the military picture on the ground. It will be more fitting to see this as a political and public relations move.”Selcen told Al-Monitor, “This shows that the Bashiqa base is being transformed from temporary to permanent. This carries a political message to all parties, like Baghdad, Tehran, Moscow, Washington, Erbil and Kandil. But it doesn’t mean a display of force to liberate Mosul from IS and that Turkey will join such an operation in the near term.”
Selcen added, “After IS captured Mosul — or better to say took it over — the first thing it did was to erase the Iraq-Syria border to consolidate two war fronts. Reviewing what has been done in Bashiqa, it is obvious that training was given on the request of ex-governor Nujaifi with the consent of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government that controls the region and with the knowledge of the US.”Selcen warned that Ankara had taken a risky step military and politically, asking, “Is it worth it? Did we really calculate the consequences of what we are doing in these circumstances?” Selcen concluded by summarizing what he saw as Ankara’s misguided calculations about Mosul: “Once we used to warn Massoud Barzani to get his act together and not to dream of ruling Kirkuk. Today Kirkuk oil is flowing to Turkey’s Ceyhan in the pipeline of the KRG. Now we are telling [Democratic Union Party] leader Salih Muslim not to lose his head. What if global forces tomorrow tell Ankara, ‘Don’t lose your head. Nobody will allow you to take over Aleppo and Mosul.’ Who is saying that Arabs of Mosul and Aleppo are waiting for Turks with open arms? How quickly we forgot the suicide attack against our Baghdad embassy on Oct. 14, 2003, and our special forces team that was brutally murdered in Mosul on Dec. 17, 2004.”
Turkey’s military presence in Iraq has suddenly become a source of dispute because of tensions with Baghdad. This can only complicate the Mosul issue, while increasing the possibility of hostilities against Turkish forces there.