LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 09/15

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletins05/english.october09.15.htm

Bible Quotation For Today/Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21/34-38: "‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple."

Bible Quotation For Today/ Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Book of Revelation 12/01-12: "A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth. Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne; and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, roclaiming, ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah, for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death. Rejoice then, you heavens and those who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!’

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 08-09/15
Apocalypse soon/Micheal Young/Now Lebanon/October08/15
Silencing art/Now Lebanon/October 08/15
Goals of Russia’s recent military action go beyond Syria/Ali Hashem/Al-Monitor.October 08/15
Sisi calls on Arab countries to expand peace with Israel/Rami Galal/Al-Monitor.October 08/15
Saudi religious scholars enraged over Moscow's recent Syria strikes/Madawi Al-Rasheed/Al-Monitor.October 08/15
Who are the real targets of Russia’s Syria strikes/Mohammed al-Khatieb//Al-Monitor/October 08/15
Here's the Real War within Islam/Tarek Fatah/The Toronto Sun/October 08/15
Pope Francis, not a politician, deserves the Nobel Peace Prize/Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/October 08/15
Is de-escalation of Saudi-Iranian tensions possible/Manuel Almeida/Al Arabiya/October 08/15
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the region’s new equation/Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi/Al Arabiya/October 08/15
Turkey’s culture of impunity/Mahir Zeynalov/Al Arabiya/October 08/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on October 08-09/15
Lebanon/Arrests, Injuries as Police Fire Tear Gas, Water Cannons at Martyrs Square Protesters
Lebanon protesters rally again in Beirut
Beirut protest turns violent, officials stall talks
Akkar residents obstruct work on controversial landfill
General Security Arrests Syrian al-Nusra Front Suspect
Hale Inaugurates Tactical Training Facilities at ISF Academy
Reports: Maroun al-Qobayati Replaces Roukoz as Commando Regiment Chief
FPM Mobilizes for Baabda Demonstration as Aoun Holds onto Partnership
Fears of Security Chaos after Military Promotions Reach Standstill
Judge Summons MPs over Electricity File as Parliament General Secretariat Rejects Call
Judicial Official Says Asir's Health not Worrisome
Baalbek Residents Protest Spread of Chaos, Demand End to Illegal Arms
Silencing art
Apocalypse soon?

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 08-09/15
ISIS kills three Assyrian Christian captives
Archbishop of Syria’s Aleppo welcomes Russia strikes
Russia: missiles hit Syria, did not crash in Iran
Clashes between Russia-backed Syria army, rebels
Palestinian shot dead in clashes with Israeli forces
Kurds Say IS Used Mustard Gas in Iraq Attack
U.S. Says Russia Will Soon Suffer 'Casualties' after Syria Intervention
Palestinian Stabbings Defy Israeli Bid to Contain Unrest
EU Seeks to Speed up Deportations to Tackle Migrant Crisis
HRW Urges West to Act over Jailed Bahrain Opponents
Popularity of 'Putin the Shiite' Sky High in Iraq

Links From Jihad Watch Web site For Today’
Video: Raymond Ibrahim talks Islam and Christianity at North American Lutheran Church
Raymond Ibrahim: Russia Declares ‘Holy War’ on Islamic State
US officials question Toyota over how Islamic State obtained SUVs, pick-up trucks spotted in videos

Lebanon/Arrests, Injuries as Police Fire Tear Gas, Water Cannons at Martyrs Square Protesters
Naharnet/October 08/15/Several protesters were arrested and many others were injured Thursday as security forces fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse civil society demonstrators who tried to enter into central Beirut's al-Nejmeh Square where the parliament is located. The Red Cross announced transferring 35 people to hospitals after they suffered suffocation injuries due to tear gas inhalation. Protest movement lawyer Mazen Hoteit said At least 25 protesters were arrested. TV networks identified two of them as Pierre Hashash and Waref Suleiman. Meanwhile, the Internal Security Forces said several of its members were injured after protesters “hurled rocks and solid objects” at them. It later said one of its officers was critically injured in the confrontations. Protest organizers meanwhile stressed that demonstrators will not leave the street before the release of all detainees, as the You Stink campaign demanded "an emergency cabinet session to resolve the garbage crisis" and held Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq responsible for the "security escalation." Demonstrators had started gathering at Martyrs Square at 6:00 pm for a central march aimed at reaching the adjacent al-Nejmeh Square.“Protesters have decided to try entering al-Nejmeh Square from all entrances,” said protest organizer Asaad Zebian after scuffles erupted with security forces. A statement recited by another protest organizer at the demo demanded “the sacking of the environment minister.”“Remove the garbage that has been accumulating outside our homes,” the statement added, referring to the unprecedented garbage crisis that erupted after the July 17 closure of the Naameh landfill. “They continued their procrastination until the arrival of rain,” the statement said. “Release the funds of municipalities, scrap Sukleen's contracts and start activating the waste sorting plants,” the protest movement demanded.
It also voiced its support for residents who live near the suggested sites for the establishment of new garbage landfills and expressed its solidarity with the Campaign for the Closure of the Naameh landfill. The protest movement also demanded “immediate parliamentary elections that guarantee the proper representation of the Lebanese people without any discrimination.” A plan devised by Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb and a team of experts calls for reopening the Naameh landfill, which was closed in mid-July, for seven days to dump the garbage that accumulated in random sites in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. It also envisions converting two existing dumps, in the northern Akkar area of Srar and the eastern border area of al-Masnaa, into “sanitary landfills” capable of receiving trash for more than a year. After he announced his plan earlier this month, the civil society and local residents of Akkar, Naameh, Majdal Anjar, and Bourj Hammoud protested against the step, citing perceived environmental and health hazards. Experts have urged the government to devise a comprehensive waste management solution that would include more recycling and composting to reduce the amount of trash going into landfills.
Environmentalists fear the crisis could soon degenerate to the point where garbage as well as sewage will simply overflow into the sea from riverbeds as winter rains return. The health ministry has warned that garbage scattered by seasonal winds could also block Lebanon's drainage system.
The trash crisis has sparked angry protests that initially focused on waste management but grew to encompass frustrations with water and electricity shortages and Lebanon's chronically divided political class. Campaigns like "You Stink" brought thousands of people into the streets in unprecedented non-partisan and non-sectarian demonstrations against the entire political class.

Lebanon protesters rally again in Beirut
Now Lebanon/October 08/15
BEIRUT – Peaceful demonstrations yet again turned chaotic in Downtown Beirut Thursday evening as security forces fired tear gas canisters and water cannons after protesters partially dismantled a security barrier set up near the An-Nahar building to prevent passage to Nejmeh Square. Though the atmosphere at the start of the 6pm demonstration was largely peaceful and jovial, with riot police grinning as activists wrestled with barbed wire coils along the barrier, within two hours security forces were firing tear gas and water jets indiscriminately into the crowd, striking demonstrators, Red Cross aid workers, and journalists - including NOW's correspondent - alike. Activists say at least four demonstrators have been arrested, and NOW saw a number of injured protesters, including the leading #YouStink movement figure Imad Bazzi, being rushed away in ambulances. At least 1,000 protesters had gathered at the invitation of #YouStink and allied civil activist groups in the capital's Martyrs Square, the site of numerous protests since the mid-summer, as the beleaguered government continues to struggle to address the worsening waste crisis amid the political crisis gripping the country. On September 16, dozens of activists were beaten and arrested outside the An-Nahar building during a rally set to coincide with a national dialogue session, the last #YouStink protest to descend into violence.Since then, #YouStink and other civil activist groups have held a number of marches and other street actions to keep pressure on Lebanon’s political leaders, who they accuse of corruption and failed governance.
#YouStink has demanded Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk’s resign the security forces heavy handed treatment of protests while also calling on Environment Minister Nohad Machnouk to step down for the government’s mishandling of the waste crisis in the country. Political crisis deepens
Thursday’s protest was set to coincide with a national dialogue session scheduled to be held in the Parliament in Downtown Beirut’s Nejmeh Square, however the meeting was cancelled due to growing political differences. The leaders of Lebanon’s political parties—except the Lebanese Forces—had gathered for crunch dialogue sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, but were unable to reach an agreement on electing a new president or finding a mechanism to get Lebanon’s paralyzed cabinet to meet effectively again. Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun—who Nasrallah supports as a presidential candidate—has been at the center of the political deadlock, refusing to take part in most cabinet sessions until top ranking army officers—including his own son-in-law General Chamel Roukoz—are promoted. Negotiations to reach a deal over the promotions have so far reached a dead end, while Aoun’s Christian party plans to hold a mass rally outside the Presidential Palace in Baabda on October 11. Reports have emerged that a deal to promote Roukoz—whose mandatory retirement is only a week away—have collapsed, raising fears that the political situation in the country will worsen. In comments published Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that “there is no [possibility] for a solution in the country because everyone is waiting on the regional situation to finalize their decisions, despite the fact that they could make a decision and refrain from relying on the outside [world].”
The cabinet last met on September 9 to agree on a waste management plan after trash built up on the streets of Beirut and surrounding areas of Mount Lebanon following the closure of the Naameh landfill on July 17. Protesters last held a mass-rally in Downtown Beirut on September 25, while Lebanon’s government has yet to enact its own trash plan/

Beirut protest turns violent, officials stall talks
By Reuters | Beirut/Thursday, 8 October 2015/Lebanese security forces fired tear gas and water canon to break up an anti-government protest in Beirut on Thursday, and the country’s fractious leaders postponed talks aimed at resolving a political crisis that is feeding public discontent. Anger at Lebanon’s government has fuelled repeated protests in recent months. Discontent with widely perceived corruption and incompetence came to a head in July when the government failed to agree a solution to a trash disposal crisis and piles of garbage were left to fester in the streets.Protesters threw projectiles including rocks at a line of riot police blocking the way to the Lebanese parliament in Beirut’s commercial district. Live TV footage showed at least one injured riot policeman on the ground. Some three dozen people were taken to hospital suffering from suffocation as a result of tear gas, medics said. Six policemen were also wounded, a security official said. The Lebanese government grouping rival factions has struggled to take even basic decisions since it was formed last year. Lebanon has also been without a president for more than a year in the absence of a deal on who should take the post. The crisis is linked to wider regional turmoil, including the war in neighbouring Syria which has driven well over one million refugees into Lebanon. Lebanon’s opposing political blocs are backed by rival states Saudi Arabia and Iran, which also back the warring sides in Syria. Lebanon’s parliament speaker cancelled the last day of this week’s session aimed at discussing ways out of the political crisis after politicians made no progress on issues including high-level security appointments, the National News Agency said. The three-day “national dialogue” called by Nabih Berri started on Tuesday and was aimed at finding solutions to the stalemate. The talks were set to run into Thursday but Berri postponed the next session until Oct. 26. Saudi Arabia backs the Sunni-led Future Movement of former prime minister Saad al-Hariri. Iran backs the Shi’ite party Hezbollah, a powerful armed group, and its allies. The anti-government rallies has been organised independently of the main sectarian parties in a direct challenge to the political system they control.

Akkar residents obstruct work on controversial landfill
Now Lebanon/October 08/15/BEIRUT – Residents of Lebanon’s northern Akkar province have obstructed efforts to establish a sanitary landfill that is key part of the government’s plan to address the country’s worsening waste crisis. “Young men from around Srar obstructed bulldozers currently working on the construction of a landfill near the Akkar village and stopped work from progressing,” Lebanon’s state National News Agency reported on Thursday. The latest protest measure comes as activists continue their sit-in at the Abboudiyeh intersection near Srar a bid to prevent garbage trucks from reaching the site, which is currently an open garbage dump. “The tent of the sit-in against the construction of the Srar landfiil is still standing at the Abboudiyeh intersection,” the NNA reported at midday. The activists set the tent up on Tuesday, the same day that the head of Akkar municipalities gave their formal approval for the establishment of the sanitary landfill in a meeting with Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk. "If the state commits to it, no one would object to setting up the landfill," the local officials said in a statement. Despite the support from Akkar officials, a number of the province’s residents have gathered around the “Akkar is not a dump” grassroots group to protest against setting up a landfill in north Lebanon. The group’s latest protest came on Sunday in the province’s largest town of Halba, which was attended by MP Khaled Daher. The firebrand MP vowed in the protest that "not a single garbage truck would be allowed into Akkar.”Lebanon’s cabinet on September 9 approved Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb’s waste management plan, which calls for the temporary one-week reopening of the Naameh landfill, the creation of two new sanitary landfills in the Bekaa and Akkar, as well as “restoring” the role of local municipalities in handling garbage. In the ensuing month, Chehayeb and other cabinet officials have held meetings with municipal officials in order to gain support for an Akkar landfill and the reopening of the Naameh one, while plans for establishing a facility in Bekaa have been held back by concerns over environmental safety.
The Naameh landfill was originally established in 1998 as a temporary facility, however it stayed operation until July 17, when it was finally shut down following months of local anger.Following its closure, the Lebanese state was caught unprepared to handle the trash issue as garbage piled up on the streets of the capital and Mount Lebanon, sparking the formation of the grassroots #YouStink movement

General Security Arrests Syrian al-Nusra Front Suspect
Naharnet/October 08/15/The General Security Department announced on Thursday the arrest of a Syrian man suspected of belonging to the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front. A communique issued by the general-directorate said: “Syrian Aa.B. was apprehended for belonging to al-Nusra Front and participating along with others in purchasing weapons and ammunition.” The suspect has “transported the arms to the outskirts of (the northeastern border town of) Arsal and inside Syrian territories,” it said. He was referred to the judiciary after he was questioned by General Security officers, the communique added. Later on Thursday, the army arrested Hussein Mohammed al-Hujeiri in Wadi Hmeid-Arsal on suspicion of his affiliation to terrorist groups. Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) added that Army Intelligence arrested during Arsal raids defected Syrian Major Mohammed Kabbar and Mohammed Hassan Ezzeddine for belonging to terrorist groups. The threat of al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group rose in August last year when they overran Arsal and engaged in bloody battles with the Lebanese army. The jihadists took with them hostages from the military and police and later executed four of them.

Hale Inaugurates Tactical Training Facilities at ISF Academy
Naharnet/October 08/15/U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale celebrated on Thursday the inauguration of a new tactical village and administrative and forensics building at the Internal Security Forces Academy in Aramoun, while reiterating his country's ongoing commitment to Lebanon.
He said during the ceremony: “These are difficult times for Lebanon. The spillover of terrorism and extremism from Syria, the presence of huge numbers of refugees in Lebanon.”“These problems and others are serious challenges for Lebanon and for your partners, but America’s commitment to the Lebanese people remains as strong as ever,” he stressed. “The facilities we are inaugurating today reflect America’s enduring commitment to Lebanon, and our enduring commitment to regional security,” continued Hale.
Since 2008, the United States has provided over $150 million dollars to train and equip the ISF through the State Department’s Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. The tactical training village and this forensics building represent a $10.2 million investment by the American people in Lebanon’s security and its security services. “We will continue to do our part to support your core institutions, like the ISF, so they can uphold order and security, protect the rights of individuals, help defend Lebanon against extremist threats, and preserve our shared values and ways of life,” said the ambassador. “It is our hope that this facility will help shape a new generation of Lebanese law enforcement professionals who will set high standards of performance,” Hale remarked. These facilities represent an investment of $10.2 million by the U.S. government in Lebanon’s security services. After unveiling the inaugural plaque alongside ISF Director Major General Basbous, the ambassador toured the new facilities constructed with the support of the U.S. government. He also observed training exercises in the tactical village, which were being run as part of the national leader protection course conducted with American support. The tactical training village gives the ISF its first local capacity to conduct practical exercises in a variety of mock urban settings and helps poise the ISF Academy as regional hub for international police tactical training.

Reports: Maroun al-Qobayati Replaces Roukoz as Commando Regiment Chief
Naharnet/October 08/15/Colonel Maroun al-Qobayati has been appointed as commander of the army's Commando Regiment to replace Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz, media reports said on Thursday. “The army commander has signed a decree naming Col. Maroun al-Qobayati as chief of the Commando Regiment to succeed Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz,” al-Jadeed television reported. Earlier, LBCI TV and the Akhbar al-Yawm news agency also said that Qobayati has been appointed as a successor to Roukoz, quoting “military sources.”Qobayati is currently the regiment's deputy chief and the commander of its first brigade, according to Akhbar al-Yawm. “He took part in the Abra battles and was wounded in the Nahr al-Bared clashes,” the agency said. Hopes have dimmed on the possibility of the rival political parties reaching a settlement on the promotion of several officers ahead of Roukoz's retirement on October 15. Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun had been hoping that the promotion of Roukoz, his son-in-law, would keep him in the military and make him eligible to lead the institution. The thorny issue of military appointments and promotions is one of the main points of contention paralyzing the cabinet's work. Sources close to Aoun have blamed the ministerial bloc loyal to ex-President Michel Suleiman for the deadlock on military promotions. Political rivals had held backstage talks on the promotions in recent days.

FPM Mobilizes for Baabda Demonstration as Aoun Holds onto Partnership
Naharnet/October 08/15/The Free Patriotic Movement began mobilizing its supporters for a mass demonstration that it has called for on Sunday after the collapse of a deal on the promotion of military officers. FPM chief Jebran Bassil had called for a mass rally outside the presidential palace in Baabda on October 11. Change and Reform MP Simon Abi Ramia said in remarks published on Thursday that the bloc's leader lawmaker Michel Aoun will not be marginalized. “We have paid a very high price but we will not allow this political and military isolation to be repeated,” he said. MP Ibrahim Kanaan expressed a similar viewpoint, saying the FPM will not be subdued by attempts to isolate it. A deal on the promotion of several officers, including Aoun's son-in-law Chamel Roukoz, has collapsed, prompting the Change and Reform leader to consider that his foes “don't want to admit that he represents a large faction of Lebanese.” FPM sources told An Nahar daily that the other camp does not want to achieve real partnership. “They don't have the will to rectify the problems in the political system and the constitutional institutions,” they said. But despite the failure to reach a settlement on the promotions, the sources said that Aoun “wants to achieve real partnership whether on the presidential crisis, the electoral law or the appointments in leadership posts.”The sources stressed that the postponement of Thursday's national dialogue session to October 26 is not as a result of Aoun's stances. Aoun was represented by Kanaan in the sessions that were held on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Fears of Security Chaos after Military Promotions Reach Standstill
Naharnet/October 08/15/High-ranking al-Mustaqbal Movement officials have expressed fear that the country's growing political crisis would lead to security problems. The officials, who were not identified, told al-Akhbar daily on Thursday that their fears stem from the failure to reach a settlement on the so-called military promotions. Health Minister Wael Abou Faour has been tasked by Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat to resolve the matter in coordination with Speaker Nabih Berri. Despite Abou Faour's announcement that there was still hope on the promotion of several officers ahead of the retirement of Commando Regiment chief Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz on October 15, sources close to Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun expressed pessimism on a possible deal. Aoun had been hoping that the promotion of Roukoz, his son-in-law, would keep him in the military and make him eligible to lead the institution. The sources warned that the country would fall into more paralysis as a result of the insistence of the March 14 alliance to confront Aoun. “What we understand is that we can't force (the other camp) to hold parliamentary elections. On the other hand, it should understand that it can't impose on us holding presidential polls,” they said. “The country is heading towards more paralysis,” the sources added. Lebanon's constitutional institutions became paralyzed after the expiry of President Michel Suleiman's term in May last year. Parliament has been unable to meet and the cabinet is facing a deadlock over differences on many controversial issues, including its decision-making mechanism and the promotion of high-ranking officers. Aoun's sources blamed Suleiman for the deadlock on the promotions. Meanwhile, Suleiman has reportedly expressed his frustration at the failure of Berri to brief him on the results of the national dialogue that he is chairing. His visitors told al-Akhbar that Suleiman considers himself not involved in any issue that would facilitate a matter that Berri is working on.

Judge Summons MPs over Electricity File as Parliament General Secretariat Rejects Call
Naharnet/October 08/15/Financial General Prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim summoned on Thursday Mustaqbal MP Jamal al-Jarrah and Change and Reform bloc MP Ziad Aswad to listen to their testimony following the scuffle that erupted at a parliament committee meeting on Monday. The summons was made after a report was filed by the “We Want Accountability” civil society campaign linked to the accusations of fraud and corruption made at the Public Works Committee regarding the electricity file. The parliament's general secretariat however urged the MPs not to adhere to the summons, revealed LBCI television. The general secretariat “reminded” the judge of the “rules on parliamentary immunity as stipulated in the bylaws of of the parliament.” A scuffle erupted on Monday between Mustaqbal Movement and Change and Reform MPs during a meeting of the parliamentary Public Works Committee while it was discussing the contentious electricity file. Video footage from the session showed Mustaqbal MPs voicing their reservations over issues that were discussed at the committee. Accusations were traded between the rival parties, which led to a verbal dispute. The quarrel then escalated into a scuffle between Jarrah and Aswad.

Judicial Official Says Asir's Health not Worrisome
Naharnet/October 08/15/A judicial official has said there are no worries about the health of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir who is detained at al-Reyhanieh prison in Yarze. “The condition of Ahmed al-Asir is not at all worrying. He is receiving the proper care,” the unidentified official told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published on Thursday. The prison's doctor is visiting him daily, he said. “There is no need to transfer him to hospital.”“But the judiciary will not hesitate to approve any request made by the doctor” to take him to hospital, the official added. Al-Asir's mother said on Wednesday that his health was rapidly deteriorating in prison. She urged the authorities to transfer him to Roumieh prison, saying al-Reyhanieh “is unsuitable for his health situation.”Al-Asir was arrested in August at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport while trying to travel to Nigeria via Cairo with a fake Palestinian passport. Al-Asir, a firebrand anti-Hizbullah cleric, had been on the run since June 2013 after his armed supporters clashed with the Lebanese army in the southern port city of Sidon. The fighting killed 18 Lebanese soldiers.

Baalbek Residents Protest Spread of Chaos, Demand End to Illegal Arms
Naharnet/October 08/15/Baalbek's sub-security council will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss ways to cope with the security chaos that has aggravated recently in the city in light of calls on the army to maintain security and control the proliferation of illegal arms, As Safir daily said. The meeting is expected to take place at noon and to be headed by Baalbek Mayor Bachir Khodr. On Wednesday the markets in Baalbek closed down protesting the proliferation of illegitimate weapons and the night clashes that left their shops damaged. The traders urged the city's officials to take action and restore order. Personal disputes that aggravate into shooting between families are common in Baalbek. On Tuesday, clashes erupted when gunmen opened fire at the Yaghi family house in the Baalbek neighborhood of Ras al-Ayn. The family was receiving condolences for their son who was killed over the weekend in a dispute with the Tleis family against the backdrop of a theft incident, reports said. Another armed incident erupted between the Jaafar and al-Masri families where gunfire and shelling left several shops damaged.

Silencing art
Now Lebanon/October 08/15
BEIRUT – One of Lebanon’s top film festivals has failed to receive permission to screen two movies, one on LGBT love and another on the independence movement in Western Sahara. “The Beirut International Film Festival is sad to announce that it will not be able to screen two films originally planned on the festival’s program, namely WASP by Lebanese-Swiss director Philippe Audi-Dor, and Life is Waiting by Brazilian director Lara Lee,” the organizers said in a statement Wednesday. Audi-Dor voiced his disappointment over the decision, telling NOW he “would have loved to see the audience’s reaction to the film and discuss its topic with them.”Having an opportunity to show WASP in Beirut would have been fantastic.”The director said that he understood the film’s “subject might hurt certain people,” adding that he was anticipating the potential that “some scenes of the film to maybe be censored because of the film’s delicate subject.”“Lebanon has always been a place of multiculturalism, debate and a striving art scene. I just hope this beautiful country will continue evolving towards tolerance rather than turn to radicalism,” he added.
“Disguised censorship”
The film festival—which is holding its 15th edition from October 7 to 15—explained that while the films were not formally banned, both had “so far failed to secure screening licenses.”For his part, Audi-Dor said that that the Beirut International Film Festival “was in contact with the censorship bureau months ago” regarding his film WASP. Although only Lebanon’s interior minister has the authority to ban movies, authorities in the country have prevented the screening of a number of movies in past years by using the bureaucratic loophole of delaying screening licenses. The director of the Samir Kassir Eyes (SKEyes) Center for Media and Cultural Freedom told NOW that “the delay is in fact disguised censorship by General Security.”“The delay in granting the license on time for the festival prevents the public from watching them while General Security maintains plausible deniability,” Ayman Mhanna said in a written statement.
“This year, again, the movies that did not receive the license tackle sexual or political issues. It is hard to believe it is a coincidence.”Last November, the screening of The Silent Majority, a documentary on Iran’s Green Movement, was blocked due to the film’s failure to receive the proper license in time.
Lebanese authorities prevented the screening of Green Days, another Iranian film covering the Green Movement, in 2011. The Beirut International Film Festival’s “Forbidden Films Festival” was slated to air the film that summer, but General Security withdrew the organizer’s permit to screen the movie, which included footage of the Iranian protests. “This is becoming sadly recurrent. Every year, two or three Beirut International Film Festival movies do not get the screening license on time,” Mhanna said.

Apocalypse soon?
Micheal Young/Now Lebanon/October08/15
In this case bend to Aoun’s and Hezbollah’s blackmail
There you have it. Lebanon is again on the edge of the abyss, politicians warning of apocalypse if there is no agreement over reviving the government and facilitating the making of decisions.
But the real problem, beyond day-to-day politics, is that the motor of the Lebanese political system, whose lubricant was always consensus, has broken down. Today, everything has become a source of polarization and brinksmanship, so that the different political groups, each pursuing their own agenda, have a vested interest in going to the absolute limits of their action.
One can speculate about the cause of this. No doubt a major factor in the past decade has been the behavior of Hezbollah, which has the military power to impose its will, and no commitment to the survival of the Lebanese political system, toward which it was always fundamentally hostile. On top of that, in 2005 when the Syrians were forced to withdraw from Lebanon, the party found itself without a powerful protector and decided, for itself and its Iranian patron, that it had to embark on a permanent coup to shape the bend its way.
Hezbollah had the tactical acumen to ally itself with Michel Aoun, realizing that the general was obsessively committed to becoming president. It has exploited his craving in two ways: by encouraging Aoun to block the political system when necessary, suggesting to him that his maximalism would pay dividends; and, through that, building up its relationship with a substantial share of the Christian community, in that way reinforcing itself with regard to the Sunnis, Hezbollah’s principal worry.
Since May of last year Hezbollah has used this method to ensure that the country has no president. It has encouraged Aoun to boycott parliamentary sessions to elect a president, while time and again party officials, above all Hassan Nasrallah, have hindered progress by saying Aoun remains their candidate. In other words, it’s either Aoun or continued deadlock.
Complicating matters have been regional developments. The nuclear deal with Iran and the Russian intervention in Syria have given new vitality to Hezbollah, whose main aim today is to see to it that the political system in Lebanon reflects the balance of power in the region. If America is looking to normalize with Iran and Bashar Assad has a better chance of surviving politically, then the party wants to ensure that Lebanon has a president who is acceptable to Hezbollah, Iran and the Assad regime. That is where we are at the moment.
Against them all stands a Sunni community in disarray. Its leader has been in voluntary exile since 2011, while its regional sponsors, above all Saudi Arabia, have largely left the Sunnis to their own devices. This has been a red cape to the Hezbollah bull, the party seeing a large opening to impose its writ.
In this broad framework, the compromise solution to revitalize the government, namely the promotion of Chamel Roukoz (as well as other officers) is a useful stopgap measure. The idea is that Roukoz’s elevation would allow a package deal, one of the consequences of which would be agreement over a mechanism pushing Aoun to end his obstruction of the government.
Some have already declared the compromise dead, but the speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt are soldiering on, so to speak. There is a short cut-off point, with Roukoz scheduled to retire on 15 October. So unless a decision is reached by then, Lebanon may enter a political void in which none of the state institutions are functioning.
Certainly, this fear is part of the game of brinksmanship. But in Lebanon these days brinksmanship usually leads beyond the brink, and this time the dangers are worrisome.
Economically, Lebanon did not grow in the past year, with senior financial officials saying GDP growth was zero. This is alarming as the economic backbone of the country is the banking system, built on vast foreign currency reserves. For now reserves are high, but unless they expand by a certain percentage each year, banks become vulnerable. And with no growth and no government, the risk is real that Lebanon may enter a financial dark zone.
Promoting Roukoz poses problems for the military hierarchy. It is also opposed by the defense minister and the Consultative Gathering founded by former President Michel Suleiman. They may even be right if we apply a strictly institutional approach.
However, their argument ignores what may happen to the country if no agreement is reached. They might argue that it is not up to them to bend to Aoun’s and Hezbollah’s blackmail. Perhaps, but they joined a government in 2014 that many at the time knew would fill the long vacuum both were expected to create by not electing a president. In other words they covered then for what was Hezbollah’s and Aoun’s impending blackmail.
Nor has their stance on isolating the military from politics always been respected. In 2008 a majority voted Suleiman into office, though one member of the Consultative Gathering, Boutros Harb, abstained, considering it unconstitutional.
Harb would answer that Suleiman’s election and Roukoz’s appointment are different issues. The first is a political and constitutional matter, while the second involves the internal rules of the army. Perhaps, but the nuance is lost on most Lebanese. Suleiman’s promotion as army commander was itself controversial in the military, pushed as it was by Syria, so the sharp line between what is political and what is strictly military has been violated before with the politicians’ approval.
Lebanon is in extraordinary circumstances today. This may not be a good argument for purists, but a collapse of the political system is the worst alternative of all. If Roukoz is the key to a deal, use him. Otherwise the door to a solution may remain permanently closed and we will regret this opportunity lost.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of The Daily Star newspaper. He tweets @BeirutCalling

ISIS kills three Assyrian Christian captives
By Reuters | Beirut/Thursday, 8 October 2015/ISIS militants have killed three Assyrian Christian captives who were among nearly 200 Christians abducted earlier this year in northeastern Syria, two human rights monitoring groups said on Thursday. The three men were killed late last month but the news emerged this week when a video showing their deaths was released, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The Assyrian Human Rights Network said the three men were among 187 Assyrians being held by Islamic State. Both organizations said they were killed two weeks ago on Eid al-Adha, an Islamic holiday. ISIS abducted the Assyrians in February during battles with the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in northeastern Syria.

Archbishop of Syria’s Aleppo welcomes Russia strikes
By AFP | Geneva/Friday, 9 October 2015/The Melkite Greek Catholic archbishop of Aleppo welcomed Russia’s massive military escalation in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad, describing it in an interview Thursday with Swiss television as a source of “hope” for the country’s Christians. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, said Jean-Clement Jeanbart, “serves the Christians’ cause”, he told Television Suisse Romande, adding that he nonetheless knew that Moscow was ultimately protecting its own interests by launching strikes in Syria. Jeanbart also spoke of a “renewal of confidence” among Christians in Syria -- who like other religious minorities have suffered horrific persecution chiefly at the hands of the Islamic State group, which has seized large swathes of the war-torn country. Putin “is solving a problem”, added the archbishop, referring to a Russian campaign of air strikes in defence of Assad’s regime that began on September 30. Jeanbart in 2012 called for Assad to be given a chance, less than a year into a peaceful uprising seeking democratic reform that was met with a fierce government crackdown.

Russia: missiles hit Syria, did not crash in Iran
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya News /Thursday, 8 October 2015/Missiles launched from a Russian ship in the Caspian Sea reached their targets in Syria and did not crash in Iran, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday. The Defence Ministry’s comment came after U.S. officials said four Russian cruise missiles had crashed in Iran. U.S. officials said the missiles had been fired at Syria from a Russian ship in the Caspian Sea on Wednesday. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also told AFP that the missiles landed in Iran on Wednesday. The official was confirming a story first reported by CNN. Moscow launched its bombing campaign in Syria last week, firing missiles from fighter jets and warships in the Caspian Sea, at targets it says belong to ISIS and other "terrorist" groups. “Any professional knows that during these operations we always fix the target before and after impact. All our cruise missiles hit their target,” ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
Lavrov, Kerry talk
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the situation in Syria in a phone call on Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The two discussed coordination in the fight against ISIS and the necessity to avoid incidents in Syrian airspace where both Russia and the United States are flying independent bombing campaigns, the ministry said.

Clashes between Russia-backed Syria army, rebels
By Agencies/Thursday, 8 October 2015/The Syrian army, backed by Russian air strikes, fought heavy battles with insurgents for control of a hilltop close to President Bashar al-Assad's coastal heartland, a monitor and rebels said on Thursday. The fighting was centered around Jub al Ahmar, a highland area in Latakia province which if captured would allow the army to more effectively pound rebel positions from the Ghab Plain that it overlooks, said Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “Fighting has been intensifying in the vicinity of the strategic Jub al Ahmar heights with some progress by the army but no decisive gains so far,” Abdulrahman told Reuters. The army announced on Thursday it had extended a major offensive to the Plain area whose capture from rebel groups, including al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front would help secure Assad’s coastal heartlands and could provide a platform to drive the rebels back from other areas. The rebels thrust into the area in late July after seizing much of the northwestern province of Idlib. Rebel sources also said the army aided by Russian jets shelled the insurgent held town of Salma, which located northeast of Latakia and is a major frontline between rebels and government forces. “This area is shelled daily but we have not seen this intensity before with heavy mortars and artillery and Russian bombing of our positions,” said Abu Ibrahim al Hifnawi, a rebel from Ahrar al Sham insurgent group. 27 targets hit in Homs, Hama, Raqqa Meanwhile, Russia’s air force hit 27 “terrorist” targets in Syria overnight, the defence ministry said, as Moscow ramped up its campaign in the war-torn country. “Russian warplanes conducted 22 sorties overnight. The crews of Sukhoi Su-34, Sukhoi Su-24M and Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft struck 27 terrorist targets on Syrian territory,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
Eight strongholds destroyed
The ministry said it had destroyed eight ISIS strongholds near populated areas in the Homs province, and hit 11 training camps affiliated with the jihadist group in the Hama and Raqqa provinces. “As a result of the strikes, the infrastructure used for the training of terrorists has been destroyed,” the statement said. The Russian military also claimed it had struck underground hideouts used by militants near the villages of Salma and Arafit, located in the coastal Latakia province. Moscow launched its bombing campaign in Syria last week, firing missiles from fighter jets and warships in the Caspian Sea, at targets it says belong to IS and other "terrorist" groups. The Syrian army says it has launched a "vast offensive" with Russian air cover, lending weight to fears from the US and its allies that Moscow's intervention aims mainly to bolster its long-standing ally President Bashar al-Assad.
First major coordinated assault
Wednesday’s operation in Hama appeared to be the first major assault coordinated between Syrian troops and militia on the ground, and Russian warplanes and naval ships. The Ghab Plain, also in Hama, lies next to a mountain range that forms the heartland of Assad’s Alawite sect. Recapturing it from the alliance of rebel groups, including al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front which thrust into the area in late July, would help secure Assad’s coastal heartlands and could provide a platform to drive the rebels back from other areas.
A fighter from the Ajnad al-Sham insurgent group who uses the name Abu al-Baraa al-Hamawi told Reuters that Russian jets had been bombing since dawn. It was not the first time the Russians had bombed the area, but this was their most ferocious attack, he said, speaking via an Internet messaging service. “There is an attempt by the regime to advance but the situation is under our control,” he said. “God willing we will repeat the massacre of the north Hama countryside as happened yesterday,” Hamawi added, referring to the strikes on the tanks. “We have faced more violent attacks than this in the past.”Russian air strikes started last week and have mostly focused in areas of western Syria where Assad has sought to shore up his control after losing swathes of the rest of the country to insurgents including ISIS. Russia says it is fighting ISIS in Syria. But while the group has been the target of some of its air strikes, it has no foothold in the areas of western Syria targeted in the attacks on Wednesday and Thursday. Neighboring Turkey has been angered by violations of its air space by Russian warplanes and NATO said it was prepared to send troops to Turkey to defend its ally. “NATO is ready and able to defend all allies, including Turkey against any threats,” NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters as he arrived for a meeting in Brussels of the alliance’s defence ministers which is likely to be dominated by the war in Syria. “NATO has already responded by increasing our capacity, our ability, our preparedness to deploy forces including to the south, including in Turkey,” he said, adding that Russia’s air and cruise missile strikes were “reasons for concern.”Russia’s involvement had only served to make the conflict more dangerous, British defence minister Michael Fallon said, and he urged Russia to use its influence to stop the Assad government from bombing civilians. Reacting to the Russian air space violations, Turkey meanwhile told Russia there were other places it could obtain natural gas and other countries that could build its first nuclear plant. “We can’t accept the current situation. Russia’s explanations on the air space violations are not convincing,” President Tayyip Erdogan told Turkish newspapers.(With Reuters, AFP)

Palestinian shot dead in clashes with Israeli forces
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya News/Thursday, 8 October 2015/Israeli security forces shot dead a Palestinian during clashes in east Jerusalem Thursday on their way to the home of a man accused of an earlier stabbing attack, medics said. The Palestinian was shot in the chest and fatally wounded at the Shuafat refugee camp in annexed east Jerusalem, according to the Red Crescent and hospital sources. The incident followed days of unrest, including rioting in east Jerusalem and the West Bank as well as a spate of stabbing attacks targeting Israelis. Over the last week, four Israelis and seven Palestinians have been killed in the violence. Four of the Palestinians were killed after they allegedly attacked Israelis. Three others were killed during clashes with Israeli security forces, including a 13-year-old near Bethlehem. The unrest and violence have sparked fears of a broader Palestinian uprising and warnings of a third intifada. The suspect from Shuafat, Subhi Abu Khalifah, 19, was accused of stabbing a 25-year-old Jewish man in Jerusalem, leaving him in serious condition.
Unorganized ‘wave of terror’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday Israel was facing a “wave of terror” that was mostly unorganized, pledging action against those inciting violence, but warning there was no “magic solution.”“We are in the midst of a wave of terror of knives, firebombs, stones and live fire,” Netanyahu told reporters after days riots in east Jerusalem and the West Bank and a spate of stabbing attacks targeting Israelis. “These actions are mostly not organized, but they are all the result of wild and untruthful incitement from Hamas, from the Palestinian Authority, from several neighboring counties and, no less, from the Islamic Movement in Israel.” The unrest has sparked fears that a third Palestinian uprising, or intifada, could erupt.
Israeli Arab lawmakers vow to defy Aqsa ban
Meanwhile, Arab Israeli lawmakers have vowed to defy Netanyahu’s decision to bar parliament members from entering a sensitive Jerusalem holy site, pledging to visit it on Friday. Netanyahu has issued the order against lawmakers and ministers in a bid to ease tensions after weeks of unrest. Arab lawmakers’ planned visit on Friday, when many Muslims attend weekly prayers there, will test enforcement of the ban. “Neither Netanyahu nor the right will be able to stop us from entering our Al-Aqsa mosque,” Israeli Arab MP Ahmed Tibi said on Thursday, calling the ban “senseless and illegal.”
Thirteen of Israel’s 120 MPs are Arabs.
The Al-Aqsa compound has seen repeated clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian youths in recent weeks. Provocative visits by Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel as well as by Israeli Arab lawmakers have added to the volatility. The Al-Aqsa compound is the third-holiest site in Islam and the most sacred for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. Muslims fear Israel will seek to change rules governing the site, which allow Jews to visit but not pray to avoid provoking tensions. Netanyahu has said repeatedly he is committed to the status quo. An increase in visits by Jews during a series of Jewish holidays in recent weeks has added to tensions. The site is located in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognized by the international community.(With AFP)

Kurds Say IS Used Mustard Gas in Iraq Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 08/15/Blood tests show the Islamic State used mustard agent in an attack on Kurdish peshmerga forces in August, the autonomous Iraqi region's government said Thursday."The results of the tests on blood samples from 35 Kurdish fighters reveal traces of mustard gas," the peshmerga ministry said. "During the attack on Gweyr and Makhmur, Daesh (IS) launched around 50 mortar rounds," a statement said, referring to two frontline towns southwest of the regional capital of Arbil. The ministry said 37 of them released white dust and black liquid when they exploded. Thirty-five peshmerga fighters were exposed and some taken abroad for treatment. The Kurdish authorities did not say how seriously the affected peshmerga were wounded in the August 11 attack. The ministry urged all countries battling the jihadist group to provide the peshmerga with anti-chemical gear. At the time of the attack, the Wall Street Journal cited US officials as saying they believed IS had used mustard agent. At that point, the peshmerga only spoken of the possible use of chlorine and minimized the incident.

U.S. Says Russia Will Soon Suffer 'Casualties' after Syria Intervention
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 08/15/U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday Russia will soon begin to suffer casualties after dramatically expanding its military support for long-time ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad. "This will have consequences for Russia itself which is rightly fearful of attacks ... in coming days, the Russians will begin to suffer from casualties," Carter said at a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels dominated by the Syrian crisis.

Palestinian Stabbings Defy Israeli Bid to Contain Unrest
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 08/15/Three new stabbings wounded Israelis on Thursday and an assailant was shot dead as a spate of such attacks spread fear and defied attempts by authorities to contain Palestinian unrest. The stabbings -- raising to at least eight the number of attacks since Saturday -- have deeply unnerved Israelis and authorities have struggled to prevent them, with the suspects often young Palestinians believed to be acting on their own. Violence has also spread in annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, sparking fears of a broader uprising, even a third intifada. The first attack on Thursday saw a Palestinian stab a 25-year-old Jewish man in Jerusalem, leaving him in serious condition. The 19-year-old attacker was arrested. Later in the day, an Israeli soldier and three passers-by were stabbed and lightly wounded in Tel Aviv and the attacker was killed. The suspect stabbed the victims with a screwdriver before another soldier in the area shot him dead, according to police, who identified the attacker as Thaer Abu Ghazaleh, an east Jerusalem teenager. In the third attack, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli near the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba in the West Bank, the military said. The victim was seriously wounded and the attacker fled. The spate of stabbing attacks began on October 3 when a Palestinian killed two Israelis in Jerusalem's Old City, prompting an Israeli security crackdown. Violent demonstrations in east Jerusalem and the West Bank have seen youths throwing stones and firebombs face off against Israeli security forces firing rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades. Fresh clashes broke out at the Bet El checkpoint outside the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday. Over the past week, four Israelis have been killed along with six Palestinians, four of them after alleged attacks on Israelis.
According to the Red Crescent, 86 Palestinians have been wounded by live fire and 344 by rubber bullets in clashes since October 2. Authorities have wrestled with how to respond, with far-right politicians calling for forceful action and security officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas seeking to avoid an escalation. Security measures were further tightened on Thursday, with at least one metal detector set up in Jerusalem's Old City at a main entrance and police stationed on rooftops. "Israeli civilians are at the forefront of a war against terrorism and must also be on maximum alert," Netanyahu said Wednesday after visiting a Jerusalem police headquarters. Some Israeli mayors, including the mayor of Jerusalem, went as far as to encourage residents who own guns to carry them around with them. Abbas spoke again on Thursday of wanting "peaceful, popular resistance" and not violence, but many Palestinian youths are frustrated with his leadership as well as Israel's right-wing government. Netanyahu postponed a visit to Germany that had been scheduled for Thursday to tackle the violence. Israeli and Palestinian officials reportedly met for security talks in the West Bank on Tuesday evening, and there have been international calls for calm. Three of the stabbings have struck in the heart of Israel and sparked deep concern in the Jewish state, including Thursday's attack in Tel Aviv. On Wednesday in the central town of Kiryat Gat, police shot dead a Palestinian man after he allegedly wounded a soldier with a knife and seized his gun, authorities said. In Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, also on Wednesday, a Jewish man was wounded in a knife attack outside a shopping center, police said. The assailant was overpowered by passers-by and arrested. In a bid to calm tensions, Netanyahu has barred members of parliament and ministers from visiting the Old City's Al-Aqsa mosques compound, which has seen repeated clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian youths in recent weeks. Provocative visits by Israel's Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel as well as by Israeli Arab lawmakers have added to the volatility. But the Arab lawmakers have vowed to defy the order and plan to make a joint visit to the compound, which is the third-holiest site in Islam and the most sacred for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. Muslims fear Israel will seek to change the longstanding rules governing the site, which allow Jews to visit but not pray to avoid provoking tensions. Netanyahu has said repeatedly he is committed to the status quo. An increase in visits by Jews during a series of Jewish holidays in recent weeks has added to tensions.

EU Seeks to Speed up Deportations to Tackle Migrant Crisis
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 08/15/EU ministers pushed Thursday to speed up the deportation of failed asylum seekers in a bid to curb Europe's migration crisis, ahead of key talks with officials from the Balkans and nations bordering Syria. In a sign of a tougher approach to the worst migration crisis since World War II, European interior ministers want a dedicated program to send back "economic" migrants who are largely from African nations. The European Union's focus in recent months has been more on genuine refugees fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan as it grapples with a wave of more than 600,000 illegal entrants to the bloc. "We need to crack down on people abusing our asylum system," British Home Secretary Theresa May said as she arrived at the talks in Luxembourg. The meeting comes a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande both called for an overhaul of the EU's asylum system, as they made a rare joint speech to the European Parliament. Merkel said the current Dublin regulations -- which put the burden on Mediterranean states like Greece and Italy by saying asylum applications must be handled by the first state in which a migrant lands -- were "obsolete."
'More returns'
However Austrian Chancellor Werner Fayman said planned EU "hotspots" on Europe's outer borders to better deal with the influx of thousands of migrants are far from ready, after he visited one such site in Greece. "In terms of timing and organisation, nothing has been thought through," Werner Faymann told Austrian public radio in an interview. "A lot more has to happen... There are gaps everywhere." On Thursday, the ministers from the 28 EU nations are debating draft proposals to increase the ability of member states to speed up both voluntary and forced returns of failed asylum seekers in cooperation with their countries of origin. "The EU and its member states must do more in terms of return," according to a copy of the draft conclusions obtained by AFP. "Increased return rates should act as a deterrent to irregular migration." Europe has seen more than 600,000 illegal arrivals this year as people flee conflict in Syria and other countries, while more than 3,000 people have died while making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean. Luxembourg minister Jean Asselborn -- whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU -- said the issue of returning failed asylum seekers to their countries of origin was "important". Only around 40 percent of people ordered to leave after their asylum applications failed actually left or were deported from Europe. He said the issue would be addressed at a summit of EU and African leaders in Valetta in November "so that we can concretise returns." The interior ministers will later Thursday join EU foreign ministers as well as their counterparts from the neighboring Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo, together with ministers from Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, which host the greatest number of Syrian and Iraqi refugees. The aim is to tackle the flow of migrants who leave Turkey and land in Greece then make their way through the Balkans to Hungary, Austria and Germany.
'Incentives and pressure'
May defended Britain's policy of taking genuine refugees direct from camps in countries bordering Syria, instead of participating in an EU-wide scheme to relocate people from Greece and Italy. Last month EU ministers overrode opposition from Eastern European nations to approve a plan to redistribute 160,000 refugees. A first batch of Eritreans, believed to be around 20 people, is due to be relocated to Sweden from Italy on Friday. Economic powerhouse Germany has taken the lead in admitting refugees but is so overwhelmed by the numbers -- predicted at up to one million asylum applications this year -- that it is also stressing the need to return economic migrants. "We can only take and support people who are in need of protection," German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters as his government expects to take in one million migrants this year alone. He also sought to use European development funds as leverage to ensure countries of origin take back economic migrants. The draft proposals say: "A fine balance of incentives and pressure should be used to enhance the cooperation of third countries on readmission and return."

HRW Urges West to Act over Jailed Bahrain Opponents
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 08/15/Bahrain should immediately release two "unjustly imprisoned" regime opponents, Human Rights Watch said Thursday, urging the kingdom's allies London and Washington to intervene on their behalf. Ibrahim Sharif, a Sunni activist who spent four years in jail over his involvement in 2011 anti-government protests, has been on trial since August for "promoting political change through forceful means".His re-arrest in July followed a speech he made at a ceremony for a victim of the unrest that has shaken Sunni-ruled Bahrain, which has a Shiite majority.
The head of the Al-Wefaq Shiite opposition bloc, Ali Salman, was sentenced in June to four years in prison after he was convicted of inciting disobedience and hatred. An appeals court is reviewing that conviction while the prosecution is demanding the annulment of his acquittal in the charge of plotting to overthrow the regime and a tougher sentence. The United States and Britain "are fully aware of the gross unfairness of Salman's trial and the content of Sharif's peaceful speeches, and this should give them good reason to call publicly for an end to their prosecutions and their immediate release," HRW deputy Middle East director Joe Stork said. Both regime opponents will face new hearings in their trials next week. "Salman and Sharif have consistently supported peaceful political reform and should be at a negotiating table with Bahrain's government, not languishing behind bars," said Stork.
"Countries that say they support Bahrain's reform process should make this point publicly," he said. Tiny but strategic Bahrain, which is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, has been rocked by unrest since a 2011 Shiite-led uprising demanding a constitutional monarchy and a more representative government.
Despite a sweeping crackdown, protesters continue to clash frequently with security forces in Shiite villages outside Manama. At least 89 people have been killed in such clashes since 2011, while hundreds have been arrested and put on trial, human rights groups say.

Popularity of 'Putin the Shiite' Sky High in Iraq
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 08/15/Russian President Vladimir Putin's bullish entry into the Syrian conflict has worked wonders for his popularity in neighboring Iraq, where some await "Hajji Putin" like a savior. Sitting at his easel in his central Baghdad workshop, painter Mohammed Karim Nihaya touches up a portrait of Putin he copied from the Internet. "I have been waiting for Russia to get involved in the fight against Daesh," he says, referring to the Islamic State group that last year declared a "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria. "They get results. The United States and its allies on the other hand have been bombing for a year and achieved nothing," the bespectacled artist says. The U.S.-led coalition has had some successes in helping Iraqi forces reconquer territory lost to IS in 2014 but overall the campaign has also suffered setbacks. Russian warplanes began bombing targets in Syria on September 30 and on Wednesday Moscow ramped up its air war, unleashing cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea. Some of them crossed Iraqi airspace and many here, especially among the Shiite majority, would welcome a bit of Russia's firepower on home soil as a much-awaited game-changer. Only a fraction of Russian air strikes in Syria may have been destined for IS but Mohammed, a young jobless man outside the painter's shop, does not let statistics cloud his enthusiasm. "We don't want the international coalition, we want only Russia and we will slaughter a sheep to welcome them," he says. Some Iraqis see Moscow -- which has staunchly backed Damascus and Tehran in recent years -- as a more natural ally than the United States, that occupied the country for eight years. Putin's patented leadership brand of bare-chested antics and cold determination is a also hit in Iraq, where the cult of the strong leader is alive and well 12 years after Saddam Hussein's ouster. On social media, many have already made him an honorary citizen, with one widely circulated joke even detecting phonetic evidence of Iraqi antecedents in the Russian president's name. It goes like this: Putin's father was an Iraqi grocer from the Shiite south, near Nasiriyah, who introduced figs ("tin" in Arabic) to local markets and thus became known as "Abu Tin". After World War II, he moved to the Soviet Union, married "a blonde Russian girl" and named their son Abdulamir. That proved a bit of a mouthful for locals who Russianized it into Vladimir. The apocryphal nature of the story appears lost on some Facebook users, who have embraced "Putin the Shiite" and even replaced their profile pictures with a portrait of the Russian strongman. "We should give Putin Iraqi and Syrian citizenship because he loves us more than our own politicians," says Mohammed al-Bahadli, a student walking on a street in the Shiite shrine city of Najaf. "Muslims bomb us because we are Rafidha," says Saad Abdullah, who owns a convenience store in Najaf, employing a term which means "rejectionists" and is used by IS to refer to Shiites. "Meanwhile Putin, who is an Orthodox man, is defending us... Maybe he really is a Shiite and we didn't know about it," he says before flashing a huge smile. Taxi driver Ali al-Rammahi says Putin is the only reason he hasn't already joined the thousands of Iraqis fleeing the country to knock on Europe's doors. "I thank Putin because he convinced me to stay in Iraq... Hajji Putin is better than Hussein Obama," he says, using the title given to Muslims who have performed the pilgrimage to Mecca. "Putinmania" has also gripped some of Iraq's politicians, creating some confusion over Baghdad's stance on a Russian intervention. Hakim al-Zamili, the head of parliament's defense committee and a leader in a Shiite militia that once fought U.S. forces, has suggested Baghdad has decided to request Russian air strikes. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is supported by the West, has been more equivocal but has not ruled out enlisting Russia's help. Moscow recently increased its footprint in Iraq by joining a coordination cell set up in Baghdad to pool intelligence on IS fighters with non-coalition members Syria and Iran.

Goals of Russia’s recent military action go beyond Syria
Ali Hashem/Al-Monitor.October 08/15
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” an Iranian official source said when asked about Russia’s intervention in Syria. “The Russians were certain that if they did not move now, the next war they would fight would be inside their borders; this is about Russia’s national security before being about Syria. Therefore, a decision to start this pre-emptive war was taken by the Kremlin.”
For decades, Syria has been one of Russia’s main allies in the Middle East. The collapse of the Soviet Union didn’t change anything in this regard. Moscow continued to support Damascus with whatever necessary to keep the old empire’s last balcony on the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
In 2011, amid the eruption of the revolution in Syria, the Russians started feeling the heat. It was almost obvious to them that the fall of the regime in Damascus would lead to serious changes in Russia’s status in the Middle East; thus this wasn’t an option to even think about, and everything possible should be done to maintain the regime and keep it breathing, should this be using the veto in the UN Security Council, sending arms and ammunitions, or as we are witnessing today, intervening militarily and fighting to keep the status quo. Russia is not the only ally of the Syrian government; Iran also has been supporting President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia and Iran have not previously been allies. They share common interests, common allies and common rivals; however, this doesn’t necessarily mean they act as allies. In Syria, their common interest has been — and still is — keeping their common ally, the regime, alive. Even within the Syrian regime, there are different views among the ranks on how to deal with both countries; there are officials who are seen as “Iranians” and others as “Russians.” This is prompted by fears among one wing that the Islamic Republic’s agenda in Syria involves Islamization of society, while the other wing that prefers the Iranians sees them as very reliable since they were the first to roll their sleeves up in the fight for the regime’s existence. Yet, this is only a matter of preferences, and nothing more.
“Russia and Iran are working closely on unifying efforts to combat terrorism in Syria,” said an Iranian military source in an interview with Al-Monitor, “yet each side will still work their own way to achieve goals. The cooperation will mainly involve intelligence, where we are going to provide them with details whenever available. The Syrian army and its allies are going to make use of the Russian airstrikes in some areas to advance. Many goals were set in advance.”
The Iranian military source said, “For almost four years, the Syrian army has been fighting with help of friends, mainly Hezbollah. This army did all what it could and succeeded — the Syrian government is functioning. The financiers of terrorism didn’t give up. They’re still supporting their gangs with money and arms. The Syrian army for sure needs the help of all its friends; Russia upgraded its support and is now launching airstrikes, and this is one level of support.”
On Sept. 26, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah welcomed the Russian role in Syria in an interview with Al-Manar TV. He said, “We welcome any power that contributes in eliminating the threats on Syria and the region, and Russia is playing a positive role that will have a positive outcome, God willing.” According to Al-Manar’s website, Nasrallah added, "All Iran wants is that Syria stay in the resistance axis. However, it does not interfere in the internal affairs of the country."
Keeping Syria in the resistance axis has long been the strategic pretext for Iran and Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian war. Now there is a country that is not part of the axis — but still a friend — that has decided to take part in the war, and it’s not clear whether other friendly countries might decide to get involved, too — including China. Here a dilemma presents itself. Iran and Hezbollah are always suspicious of Israel, and also wary of any power that enjoys positive relations with Israel. This prevents Iran and Hezbollah from playing open cards with Russia, even when they are fighting for the same goal.
Hezbollah’s posts and strategic weaponry have been hit on several occasions by Israeli warplanes. “This isn’t an issue to play with,” said a Lebanese political source. “Hezbollah specifically will keep its plans, movements and positions in the dark; from now on, they are going to be neighbors with the Russians and others. Good walls make good neighbors.”
The Russian intervention is important, needed and vital — this is what Syria, Iran and Hezbollah agree on. “It won’t be determinant, this is what a long list of aerial campaigns reveals,” said the Lebanese political source, referring to “the US experience in Syria, the Israeli wars in the last 10 years in Lebanon and Gaza and the Saudi war on Ansar Allah [Houthis] in Yemen. These are all good examples of how it is possible to achieve some goals from the sky, but not to win a war.”
The source added, “The Russians are here to win the war, this is what everyone knows. Russia’s war isn’t only in Syria; it’s a war for a serious international role. If they succeed here, then they are going to have decision-making power in Syria and other issues in the Middle East. And this means that their influence will be stronger than any change in the country’s leadership.”

Sisi calls on Arab countries to expand peace with Israel
Rami Galal/Al-Monitor.October 08/15
CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently called for expanding the 40-year-old peace process between Egypt and Israel to include more Arab countries. In a Sept. 26 interview with the Associated Press, Sisi said peace between Egypt and Israel was achieved despite great doubt. He added that solving the Palestinian crisis would change the face of the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw Sisi’s call as an opportunity and welcomed it on the same day. Netanyahu called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to return to the negotiating table to resume the peace process and move forward.
Abbas surprised almost everyone when he announced in his Sept. 30 speech to the United Nations that the PA "cannot continue to be bound" by the Oslo Accords, a set of peace agreements signed by Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1993 and 1995 in Washington, D.C., and Taba, Egypt, respectively. Abbas said the statement came in response to Israel's failure to fulfill its commitments toward ending the Israeli occupation.
Sisi’s call has sparked controversy between two opposing viewpoints.
The first viewpoint sees this as a call for normalization despite repeated infringements by Israel of Al-Aqsa Mosque and its legislation of racist laws directly targeting the resistance, including the act of throwing stones. The Israeli government on Sept. 21 had passed a draft bill prepared by the Israeli police command, and agreed to by Israeli Attorney General Judea Feinstein, allowing police to open live fire against anyone throwing stones and Molotov cocktails in occupied Jerusalem.
The other viewpoint says Sisi’s call will stimulate the stagnant peace process.
Samir Ghattas, an expert in Palestinian affairs and director of the Middle East Studies Forum think tank, told Al-Monitor, “President Sisi’s recent statement is based on the fundamental principle of the establishment of the state of Palestine based on the borders of June 1967 and with East Jerusalem as its capital. Sisi made such a statement in his speech at the UN General Assembly meeting on Sept. 28; therefore, the two statements cannot be separated. Arab countries that Sisi called upon to join his initiative [won't] do so if it does not include this principle, which will render his initiative useless.”
The initiative is based on the agreement reached by Arab leaders at the March 2002 Arab summit in Beirut, which called for a comprehensive peace between Arabs and Israel after establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and allowing refugees to return to their homes as soon as possible, in accordance with UN Resolution 194 of 1948.
However, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has set contrary Israeli conditions, saying in 2002 that a withdrawal to the 1967 borders would lead to “Israel’s destruction.”
Later, Abbas developed the idea of retrieving the occupied lands and including all Islamic countries in a comprehensive peace. He then submitted his suggestion to the Islamic Conference in 2003, where it was approved by the Islamic countries, including Iran.
Ghattas sees three political motives behind Sisi’s initiative: support the Palestinian position by unifying Arab ranks, bring back the Palestinian issue to the global table after its lengthy neglect and reintroduce Egypt to the world as the Middle Eastern country most capable of mediating a comprehensive and just peace.
According to Ghattas, Abbas' speech to the UN was previously agreed upon in Egypt, since Abbas had visited Egypt on Sept. 9 before going on his European tour and then on to the UN headquarters in New York. Ghattas believes it was also agreed that Abbas would announce Palestinian withdrawal from the Oslo Accords, which Israel turned into ink on paper. At this point, Egypt suggested — and Sisi subsequently called for — a collective peace agreement that would present an ultimatum to Israel: Accept peace with all Arab countries or have no peace with any of them.
Ghattas believes Sisi was not trying to normalize relations with Israel. “Sisi is trying to make a cold peace with Israel and the latter is well aware of that, but would take this cold peace over a hot war anytime,” he said.
Hassan Nafaa, head of the department of economics and political science at Cairo University, said Sisi was not aware of the full extent of his statement, since the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel is a bilateral agreement reached after strenuous efforts and cannot include new external parties. Rather, any such agreement with Israel must be reached through new negotiations and a new treaty.
Nafaa added that the idea of a comprehensive peace with Israel isn't feasible since all of the countries bordering Israel, including Syria, entered negotiations with Israel. But when negotiations focused on establishing a Palestinian state under the June 1967 borders, Israel evaded any treaty in this context.
“Calling upon the Arab states to enter into a peace treaty will give priority to Israel, which soon will shy away from its obligations to return the occupied territories. This has happened with the Oslo Accords and UN Resolution 194 on the right of return of refugees, which was a condition — that Israel has yet to meet — for its admission at the UN,” Nafaa said. Said al-Lawandi, an expert in international relations at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor, “Israel sees the Islamic sanctities as an obstacle preventing it from ending the Palestinian cause; therefore, it races time to Judaize Jerusalem, and all it has left is to demolish Al-Aqsa Mosque.”He explained that Sisi is calling for all Arabs to support the Palestinian cause and protect Al-Aqsa Mosque, since Palestinians are not solely responsible for the mosque.
Lawandi added, “Sisi wanted to solve the Palestinian cause in light of difficult security situations experienced by several Arab countries such as Syria, Libya, Iraq and Yemen. War will not be an option in dealing with Israel in order to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque, and this is why Sisi [proposed] the peace option.”

Saudi religious scholars enraged over Moscow's recent Syria strikes
Madawi Al-Rasheed/Al-Monitor.October 08/15
Russia’s recent military strikes in Syria have inflamed the anger and imagination of Saudi religious scholars.
A consortium of 55 prominent Salafi scholars recently signed a letter titled “Petition of Saudi Ulama With Regard to Russian Aggression on Syria” and posted it on hard-line Salafi scholar Nasir al-Omar’s Web page, al-Moslim. This is not the first time Saudi scholars have addressed the wider regional turmoil and called for solidarity in support of rebels they deem virtuous, Islamic and worthy of transnational Muslim encouragement. Saudi ulama are notorious for inflaming the imaginations of the young when it comes to hot spots they believe are in need of jihad, from Afghanistan in the 1980s to Iraq in 2003 and now in Syria. However, despite their image as dogmatic Wahhabi scholars, they have proven themselves to be as pragmatic as any political entrepreneur.
There is no doubt that in the mind of the 55 signatories of the petition, both the United States and Russia are equally infidel nations and governments. The United States, in the scholars' opinion, has denied Syrian rebels free no-fly zones and refused to bomb the Syrian regime. Yet, when NATO bombed Libya to depose Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, the majority of the Saudi ulama were cheerful. Their objective was to see an Islamist government replace Gadhafi, even if it involved inviting NATO to bomb a Muslim nation. Their logic centers on a simple formula. Both Gadhafi and NATO were infidel powers, and if NATO could depose the Libyan dictator, thus paving the way for the righteous Muslim government, there was no problem from their theological perspective. In fact, they can justify their positions by twisting a couple of religious texts and calling upon God to bring war between two unjust and infidel parties so that a Muslim nation emerges triumphant. In other words, let the infidels — a category that also includes many Arabs — fight it out among themselves so that a window of opportunity presents itself to the pious Sunni nation.
Had the United States taken it upon itself to bomb Assad rather than the Islamic State, Saudi ulama would have been less critical of the United States. They would have rejoiced over Americans, pejoratively called people of the cross, destroying the Syrian regime, as neither is to be trusted. But the United States missed an opportunity to endear itself, albeit momentarily, to a whole section of Saudi religious scholars. Today their wrath is directed against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, as both are believed to be launching a crusade akin to action taken by the United States during the war in Iraq in 2003.
In the petition, the religious scholars fell short of calling for a jihad against Russians that involves all able Muslim men. The petition is addressed to “our people in al-Sham” (Syria) and the leaders of jihad there. They call upon jihadi leaders to dismiss their minor disputes and unite to face Russia’s aggression in support of the dictator.
It is extremely interesting that the Saudi scholars, some of whom had been notoriously critical voices of the Saudi regime, refrained in this petition from openly calling upon young Saudis to join the Syrian jihad. They called upon jihadis already in Syria who have skills and can contribute to liberation to stay there. Able men, according to the petition, should join the jihad. It is public knowledge that those jihadis have come from all over the world, with Saudis contributing a substantial number. The vague statement with regard to who should join is meant to avoid serious repression in Saudi Arabia itself. Saudi authorities will not tolerate open calls for jihad among their own people, as that would no doubt be received with great suspicion by the international community.
Had Saudi scholars openly called upon young Saudis to travel to Syria and seek martyrdom in support of the rebels, they would have been seriously reprimanded for the embarrassment that the Saudi regime would have faced domestically and globally. The official Saudi position is to financially help others in Syria to depose Assad, but to restrain its own young people from joining the jihad. Yet this official position seems shaky, given how many Saudis have actually made the journey from their own country to Syria under their government’s nose. Without speculating about their motivation or backers, it is enough to mention that they have gone because they can.
What is most troubling, however, in this recent Saudi petition, is its overtly sectarian tone. The conflict in Syria is described as Sunni Muslims’ eternal war against Nusayris (Alawites), Rafidah (Shiites) and Safavids (Iranians), thus reiterating pejorative labels so common among the clerics and their supporters. The petition clearly states that Sunnis must stand united against an alliance between crusaders and Shiites. Syria is supposed to be the site of an eternal sectarian war, with the jihadis there defending not only the Syrian people but also the global Sunni community. By seeing the Syrian conflict through the sole lens of sectarianism, Saudi clerics indirectly aspire toward one outcome: the total elimination, or rather annihilation, of those eternal enemies of Islam with whom there is no compromise, negotiation or truce, at least not in the foreseeable future.
The final message of the petition calls upon the neighboring Sunni states, namely Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, to adopt practical measures in support of their brothers in Syria. The Syrian people cannot be left alone to fight the enemy of all Muslims. With this message, the Saudi scholars send an urgent appeal to their leadership not to accept any solution in Syria that would allow Bashar al-Assad to stay in power.
Neither this petition nor future ones will change the outcome of the Syrian conflict. It is basically a desperate attempt by Saudi Salafi scholars to register their presence, having become so divided and fragmented as to lose their credibility. Their position on the role of foreign interventions in the Arab world oscillates between rejection, acceptance and silence. Any infidel power that guarantees their interest and backs their projects is bound to be welcomed. Despite their dogmatic approach to many social issues — for example, their rejection of lifting the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia — they can be quite pragmatic politically. Saudi official and dissident religious scholars search for survival in the shifting sands of an Arab region saturated with extreme and radical opinions that shape and divert political struggles. They are experienced in turning any conflict into an eternal war that will only stop with the total annihilation or subjugation of their enemies.

Who are the real targets of Russia’s Syria strikes?
Mohammed al-Khatieb//Al-Monitor/October 08/15
ALEPPO, Syria — Russian troops launched military operations in Syria a few hours after the Federation Council gave approval to President Vladimir Putin Sept. 30 to use the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation outside Russian territory. Although Moscow claims these operations are to provide the Syrian regime with air support against the Islamic State (IS), their primary targets in fact have been Syrian opposition forces, in particular the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Russia's actions thus far appear to confirm Western concerns about whether Russian forces were dispatched to fight IS or the armed opposition.
On Sept. 30, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed through its spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, that Russian warplanes had carried out some 20 strikes against eight IS targets, but failed to provide details of the target locations. On the ground, however, it was evident that the Russians had hit regions controlled by the opposition in Talbiseh and Rastan in the Homs countryside and al-Lataminah in the Hama countryside, and other areas.
Majid Shaaban, a media activist living in Talbiseh, stressed to Al-Monitor via Skype that Russian aircraft had bombed the town Sept. 30, killing 18 civilians. He stated, “Reconnaissance aircraft flew first, and soon after that, two fighter aircraft simultaneously bombed the town from a high altitude, launching several missiles at once. … Fighter aircraft had never launched such a strike. Their sound and the extent of destruction they created were unusual and different from the strikes of the regime.” The United States charged that the Sept. 30 strikes had not targeted IS. On the same day, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian asserted that while Russian troops had hit Syria, "curiously, they didn't hit [IS].”
Any observer of the Syrian situation knows that with the exception of the towns of Kefraya and al-Foua, which are held by the regime, Idlib province is under the control of opposition forces. They expelled IS from the province in January 2014. Regardless, the Russian Defense Ministry insisted on Oct. 1 that its aircraft had bombed sites affiliated with IS in Idlib. Meanwhile, online video shows that the Russian strikes had targeted the Suqour al-Jabel Brigade, affiliated with the FSA. This was also confirmed by an Oct. 1 statement issued by the Suqour al-Jabel Brigade clarifying that the Russian attacks had targeted its headquarters near the village of Has in Jabal al-Zawiya in the Idlib countryside.
Russian aircraft also hit other factions of the FSA, including the Asefat al-Hazm Squad and the 1st Coastal Squad in the Latakia countryside. Moreover, on Sept. 30, the Homs Liberation Movement announced the death of one of its leaders, 1st Lt. Iyad al-Dik, from a Russian strike in the northern countryside of Homs. In addition, Aladdin Saleh, media spokesperson for Tajammu al-Ezza, an FSA affiliate, told Al-Monitor, “The Russian aircraft bombed the headquarters of the al-Ezza Gathering Sept. 30 near al-Lataminah in Hama. The Russian strike caused extensive material damage and led to numerous casualties from among our fighters.”
Moscow is apparently trying to use IS to gain international support for its intervention in Syria while actually targeting IS’ main enemies, that is, the opposition forces, including the FSA, described as “moderates” and backed by the United States. Why is Moscow targeting the opposition instead of IS?
The Russian forces were sent to Syria to support Bashar al-Assad's regime, and that requires fighting the opposition forces, which are supported by several countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United States, among others. Meanwhile, the US-led international coalition continues to assume the mission of fighting IS, the Assad regime's other enemy.
For the moment, the Syrian regime appears to prefer to fight the opposition forces growing in strength rather than IS. Moreover, the regime has proven itself willing to provide support to IS when the extremist group has faced attack by opposition forces. This was the case in the northern countryside of Aleppo in June 2015, when the regime provided IS air support by bombing rebel-held villages and sparing those under the control of IS. The battle ended with IS gaining control of the town of Soran and five other villages.
The Assad regime is extremely concerned by the opposition's progress in Idlib, which has put them at the doorstep of the regime’s stronghold on the Syrian coast. In addition, the opposition, represented by Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam), launched an attack on the outskirts of Damascus Sept. 9 and took control of the strategic Tel Kurdi area and the Homs-Damascus highway. The Kremlin asserted on Oct. 1 that the Russian strikes are to help regime forces at their weak points. Most of the strikes so far have been concentrated in the countryside of Homs, Hama, Latakia and Idlib, near the Syrian coast where Russian military bases are located. Despite its claims of confronting IS, Moscow is securing the Syrian coast from attack by opposition forces, which are almost there.

Here's the Real War within Islam
Tarek Fatah/The Toronto Sun/October 08/15
http://www.meforum.org/5551/real-war-within-islam
"There is a war going on and the war is within Islam."
In one short sentence, 29-year-old Karim Jivraj, the Conservative candidate in the federal riding of Rosedale-University in downtown Toronto, summed up the crisis that dominates political discourse today, including in Canada and the U.S.
Jivraj was speaking Sunday at an all-party debate hosted by the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW). There he found himself under attack by Liberal, NDP and Green candidates from other ridings, as well as the audience of young professional Muslim women, many in hijab, many of whom gave him the hostile treatment of silent glares and rolling eyes.
If we are seeing a war within Islam, the CCMW debate — or "panel discussion" as they called it — was an illustration of it at the local level.
On the one hand, here was Jivraj, an exuberant young Muslim man who is a son of refugees from Uganda. He was beaming with confidence, extolling the virtues of the West and Canada, urging his fellow Muslims to rid themselves of self-inflicted victimhood, to take advantage of the opportunities of living here and to soar to any heights they wished.
Karim Jivraj, a Conservative Party candidate for parliament, says there is a war between Muslims who "believe in pluralism and tolerance" and those who don't.
Jivraj's positive attitude was in contrast to the gloom and doom scenario of racism and "Islamophobia" painted by the other political candidates.
The irony that they, as Muslim immigrants or children of Muslim immigrants, are running for the Canadian Parliament, two of them — the Liberal and NDPer — with a good chance of winning, was lost on them.
Canada is not the only country where Muslims are a minority and where conservative Islamists don leftist garb to rub in victimhood among the young. This is the norm in the U.S., Britain, Europe and it is most pronounced in India.
But on the positive side, Jivraj is not alone in his optimistic outlook. Zameer Uddin Shah, vice-chancellor of India's most prominent seat of Muslim education, Aligarh Muslim University, said Monday: "There is no discrimination on religious grounds. ... The (Muslim) community just rues about discrimination which is non-existent."
Wherever Muslims are a minority, Islamists don leftist garb to rub in victimhood among the young.
During the Toronto debate, Jivraj slammed those who see the "barbaric practices hotline" proposed by the Conservative government as an example of anti-Muslim bigotry.
"There are honour killings taking place not in Mosul or Baghdad, but in cities like Kingston and Mississauga," he reminded them.
Predictably, some women in the crowd scoffed at him, as did the other candidates.
But Jivraj was correct when he said, "It's a war between those (Muslims) who believe in pluralism and tolerance," and those who don't, including the minority who kill in the name of Islam.
But I'd argue there is a third group.
Muslim nationalists see Muslims as a "team" and themselves as cheerleaders.
They are what I refer to as Muslim nationalists, who see Muslims as a "team" and themselves as that team's cheerleader or fan base.
This group includes another son of immigrants from Africa, Mayor Nahed Nenshi of Calgary .
Nenshi recently told a symposium in Stratford, Ont., where he defended the right of women to wear the niqab at citizenship ceremonies: "That label of terrorist is thrown around with disturbing regularity ... It's targeted language that nearly always describes an act of violence by someone who shares my faith."
I asked Jivraj to react to his fellow Muslim's support of the niqab.
"It's very unhelpful," he said. "The niqab has no place in Islam."
The reality that appears to evade Mayor Nenshi is that most terrorists today are Muslims and most of their victims are Muslims as well.
**Tarek Fatah, a founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress and columnist at the Toronto Sun, is a Robert J. and Abby B. Levine Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Pope Francis, not a politician, deserves the Nobel Peace Prize
Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/October 08/15
“A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.” Pope Francis, March 17, 2013
In a world where politicians are inciting discord and wreaking havoc, it is the message and actions of Pope Francis that stand out as a testimony for humility, fearlessness, progress, diplomacy and understanding. His embrace for peace is worthy of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the winner of which is due to be announced on Friday. The Pope is not a politically driven persona, neither is he a selective advocate for diplomacy in one country, and for war in another. He transcends the national interest and has shown courage in defying the old narrow calculus of the Catholic Church, bridging differences, promoting interfaith and fighting for the poor.
Why Pope Francis
Pope Francis faces a strong field of contenders - from leaders, to journalists and activists - to win the Peace Prize. The list includes, among others, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel for showing leadership and stamina in the refugee crisis, Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege for helping gang-raped women in Congo, and the Eritrean priest Mussie Zerai or “The African Shepherd” for saving refugees on the Mediterranean. The possibility has also been raised that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry or Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif could be in line for the prize, for their parts in last summer’s nuclear deal. Pope Francis is the one nominee with the longest record of fighting for peace and justice, and with plenty of global popularity.
Pope Francis, however, is the one nominee with the longest record of fighting for peace and justice, and with plenty of global recognition and popularity. His work in the 1990s helping the poor in Argentina earned him the name of “Bishop of the slums”, and his roots as a teacher and son of immigrants gives him the ability to project empathy with those who are economically vulnerable.
Since becoming Pope in 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio overhauled the image of the Catholic Church, becoming a consensus builder, and a messenger of peace and interfaith dialogue. Unlike his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI – who quoted a 14th Century Christian emperor in talking about Islam, saying “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman” – Pope Francis brings humility and acceptance while addressing other religions. Last summer Francis told a crowd: “Jesus Christ, Jehovah, Allah. These are all names employed to describe an entity that is distinctly the same across the world. For centuries, blood has been needlessly shed because of the desire to segregate our faiths.” His visits to Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Ground Zero in New York, and his work prior to that in Argentina, emphasized his dedication to promoting coexistence.
The Pope has not shied away from venturing into political conflicts to promote his message of acceptance and peace. He was the main interlocutor in restoring relations between Cuba and the United States, ending decades of animosity last December. Most recently and according to Politico, the White House has sought the Pope’s help in mediating with Iran to release the three American prisoners being held there.
More than anything, Pope Francis has shown the courage and resolve to break, albeit rhetorically and not in doctrine, with the conservative history of the Catholic Church. He became the first Pope to meet gay activists in Paraguay last July, and with a gay couple in the United States last month.
His message “if someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” shows fearlessness in defying the rooted traditions in the Church. The Pope has also shown ability to confront the Church’s problems rather than attempt to sweep them under the rug, meeting twice so far with victims of sexual abuse carried out by Catholic Church priests and bishops. This trend goes further in climate change, with Pope Francis calling for a “revolution” to confront global warming and promote sustainable development.
Not a Politician
The most distinct aspect of Pope Francis’ resume, and which stands out from other high ranking nominees, is that he is not a politician, and has no electoral ambition or partisan agendas. We know now that awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to U.S. President Barack Obama in 2009 as an attempt to lobby him for peace has proven ineffective. The United States is still involved in two wars and ironically, as many have tweeted in the last two days, President Obama has become the first Nobel Laureate to bomb another Nobel Laureate in the tragic strike that mistakenly hit Doctors Without Borders in Afghanistan.
While Kerry and Zarif deserve the credit for reaching a diplomatic breakthrough on the nuclear issue, those two men are daily involved in war decisions on behalf of their countries in Syria and Iraq. Moreover, the nuclear agreement has yet to withstand the test of time. The 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and former Israeli Prime ministers Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin “for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East” and achieve the Oslo Accords, looks void today, as the agreement itself failed to bring peace. And neither Arafat nor Peres pursued a path for peace after.
Merkel is the only high ranking contender next to the Pope who has a strong case for the Laureate title. Germany’s leader fought numerous political odds across Europe in opening the border to take in record number of Middle Eastern refugees (800,000). But Merkel’s economic record in addressing the Greek crisis earlier this summer, and her future own political ambitions, make Pope Francis the more favored nominee.
While it’s true that no pope has ever won the prize, Francis is not an ordinary religious figure, and a person of many firsts. He is the first Jesuit pope, the first from Latin America, and the first to defy the Catholic establishment and speak up for human rights and social change. On Friday in Stockholm, Jorge Mario Bergoglio deserves to be the first Papal Laureate.

Is de-escalation of Saudi-Iranian tensions possible?
Manuel Almeida/Al Arabiya/October 08/15
The accusations, threats and general tone in many of the reactions from officials and public figures in the region to the awful stampede in Mecca on Sept. 24 were politics at its worse. Dismay and calls for accountability were inevitable following one of the worst accidents in the history of the hajj, with over 700 people killed, but the moment deserved far more soberness. The way that Saudi-Iranian tensions were brought to the fore over the incident gave the dangerous idea there are no reasonable limits to political and strategic rivalry. Writing after the tragedy, Abdulrahman al-Rashed, one of the most prominent and internationally respected Saudi journalists, said his country and Iran have presently reached “the highest level of tension” since the Iran-Iraq war ended in Aug. 1988.
Not irremediable
The calls for serious diplomatic engagement between the Saudi and Iranian leaderships, as a key step to improving relations and a path to address regional turmoil, have become frequent. Observers see bilateral tensions as a result primarily of the sectarian outlook of the two leaderships. This reading ignores a few important facts. First, with Iraq (the other big power in the Gulf) close to disintegration, an intensification of the strategic competition between Saudis and Iranians was to an extent inevitable. It also ignores how before the likes of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in Iran, Saudis and Iranians kept a working relationship despite the rivalry on a few fronts. The latest news from Yemen regarding a written commitment from the Houthis to the seven-point peace plan brokered by the United Nations during talks in Muscat has to be treated with caution.Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad’s predecessor, understood well the importance of dialogue with Riyadh, to the annoyance of hard-line factions in Tehran. Framing this rivalry as a tit-for-tat sectarian battle equally overlooks the existence of a clear hegemonic project by Iranian hardliners and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). They pay little respect to the already weakened rules of state sovereignty in the region. This radical ideology and view of the region is no longer shared by all political factions with influence in Tehran. The way Major-General Qassem Suleimani, one of the biggest champions of Iran’s aggressive and intrusive military adventures in neighboring states, has been brought under closer oversight could be a sign of that. However, the powerful hardliners need an external enemy, and with the current hands-off U.S. approach to Middle Eastern crises, plus the Iran nuclear deal, they are short of enemies. Saudi Arabia becomes an obvious target. As Rashed put it, “for those acquainted with the situation, it’s not difficult to understand the reasons of Saudi concerns over Iran.”
Where to begin?
If any progress is to be achieved in getting Saudis and Iranians to talk meaningfully on how to reduce tensions and address some of the region’s crises, pragmatism is needed. It should be assumed that bilateral relations will not improve substantially in the near future, not with some many important differences to be bridged. A minimalist goal of basic confidence-building is already plenty to aim for. Where could this constructive engagement begin? Addressing a specific issue such as the war in Syria and its devastating impact would be the obvious place to start. However, not only is the conflict extremely complex, the Russian military intervention in aid of the Syrian regime has provided Iran with new room to keep sidelining a compromise that could potentially accommodate much of the Syrian opposition. Contrary to what a few pundits have argued, for Iran to share with Russia its influence over the Syrian regime is an affordable price to pay for keeping its foothold in Damascus. If, tragically, the Syrian crisis gives the impression of getting worse before it gets better, could Yemen be a place to start? Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has been vocal about Tehran’s willingness to support a political solution in Yemen.
Concessions are needed for confidence-building, and Yemen is where the Iranian government could compromise if it is serious about its intentions and has enough political power at home to push for such a compromise. For the Saudis, the prospect of a Hezbollah-like militia controlling much of north Yemen and the government in Sanaa is a red line, and Tehran knows it. For Iran, neither support for the Houthis or Yemen as a whole constitute a key priority. At most, it keeps Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states, which back the Syrian opposition, busy with a tough and expensive problem to solve.
The latest news from Yemen regarding a written commitment from the Houthis to the seven-point peace plan brokered by the United Nations during talks in Muscat has to be treated with caution. It is not the first time the Houthis indicate their willingness to comply with the terms of a political solution while their actions on the ground tell otherwise. This time, however, it comes in the context of important gains by pro-government forces and the coalition. The soft talk of Iranian officials on Yemen has also contrasted with the ongoing attempts to deliver advanced weaponry to the rebels.
Throughout the current conflict, most observers have underestimated the influence Iran and its revolutionary ideology have played in the rise of the Houthis. Given the negative Iranian role, Tehran should not expect much from Riyadh in return for any positive contribution to a political solution in Yemen.
However, dropping support for the Houthis’ unrealistic and destructive plans could send a signal and mark the beginning of a less negative phase in Saudi-Iranian relations, while contributing to Yemen’s stabilization.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the region’s new equation
Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi/Al Arabiya/October 08/15
The Arab world now stands in need of a compass to point it on its way. The problems of the Arab regional system, plus the negativity of the Arab League, have left a vacuum which regional parties are trying to fill as they expand in the region and interfere in the internal affairs of Arab countries.
With some Arab countries, having become fields for other countries’ political and militant activities, regional security has gone into a predictable decline. All eyes, it seems, are fixed on the important and influential Saudi-Emirati axis.
I believe the two allies’ strategic cooperation has saved the region from danger. Many agree that the strategic relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are evident in two ways: The two countries’ relations with each other as well as their influence in the region.
I believe the two allies’ strategic cooperation has saved the region from danger. This was seen clearly at the time of the June 30 revolution in Egypt when they supported the choice of the masses who came out to protest. Their joint cooperation has also been highly evident in Yemen where the two armies went to the rescue of the Yemeni people. They opposed the expansionist dreams of some powers in the region, sacrificing their martyrs unhesitatingly in an effort to bring legitimacy and stability back to Yemen.
A shared foundation
The two countries have more than political positions or interests in common. Theirs is rather a relationship built on cultural awareness and a shared foundation. On the most basic level, it is worth noting that many Saudis live and work in the UAE and feel completely at home there. Many believe that the two countries can play an important role in protecting the Arab system which has been harshly jolted by the so-called Arab Spring and other changes in the region. The strategic partnership between the two countries represents a model that has succeeded in creating a cohesive regional bloc, and has also successfully challenged attempts to undermine it. In Europe, the French-German experience stands as the model for a relationship that led to European unity and the stability of Western Europe during the Cold War.
The BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China — and to a certain extent, South Africa, have positive relations and share economic interests. They are a huge force according to current global economic standards. Other major world blocs show how partnerships can become institutional bodies linking interests and unifying political positions.
A common strategy
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have a shared vision in political ideology and strategies, with neither having any expansionist dreams. Currently and historically, the two countries have played a major mediating role in bringing Arab countries closer to each other by striving for an end to conflicts and tensions. This political reality based on wise and moderate policies is a good foundation for the alliance, particularly in that the region’s political leaders have a roadmap for bringing stability to the region and focusing on development and prosperity instead of wars. This correct vision makes it important to have a relationship with a high street-credibility and considerable political and economic influence which both countries. Looking at the development of the Saudi-led coalition in Operation Decisive Storm, one can clearly see how the two countries’ strategic relations formed the core of the alliance. The Saudi-UAE alliance was able to establish a presence on the international political stage. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the UAE foreign minister, stressed the strength of the relationship at the U.N. which is the most important international podium. He stood there and said: “The UAE stands firmly with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in opposition to any Iranian attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Arab states.”In support of that, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have taken the initiative to protect the Arabs from opportunistic plans which would jeopardize the region’s stability. The Gulf remains one of the richest areas in the world but it lives amid flames which make coordination and cooperation a vital necessity. The strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the UAE can and should lead this union. The Gulf can only be protected by its sons and the blood of its martyrs has shown that to the world.

Turkey’s culture of impunity
Mahir Zeynalov/Al Arabiya/October 08/15
In traditional societies, political and economic security come with loyalties in various forms. Turkey is no exception. What is unfortunate in Turkey’s case is that it has been struggling to join the EU and reform its bureaucracy and economic structure in line with Western standards. Despite significant progress initially, that dream has long gone. In the United States, for instance, many believe that the path to success is through hard work because there is equal access to opportunity for almost everyone. In Turkey, however, loyalty to one group or another is considered a sure path to success. Displaying political allegiance is rewarded. This mentality has the potential to disrupt media, bureaucracy, judiciary and even civil society groups. Fear of breaking laws is replaced with fear of losing lucrative goodies. High-level government officials and local authorities are acting with impunity. They understand well that political loyalty is more important than complying with the law. Before anti-government protests that rocked Turkey for a month two years ago, the government at least tried to remain within the law, even if its actions were considered illegitimate. This is not the case anymore. High-level government officials and local authorities are acting with impunity. They understand well that political loyalty is more important than complying with the law. This harmful atmosphere has created a large segment of disadvantaged people, who are disillusioned with the rule of law in the country. This deepens societal divisions and reinforces identity politics.
Military
On Saturday, for example, a horrific video surfaced on social media that enraged the entire society. It showed the body of an alleged militant linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) being dragged in a street. A member of the Turkish special forces is heard swearing at him, a reflection of deep-seated hatred against Kurdish separatists that is still prevalent in some segments of Turkish nationalists. The government and pro-government media have significantly escalated their sometimes-racist rhetoric against Kurds since the June 7 parliamentary elections. Pro-government newspaper Sabah even ran a story that characterized the incident as a “routine practice” to check if the body is strapped with explosives. The rise of the PKK in the 1990s was largely due to inhumane treatment of Kurds in the southeast. Twenty years ago, Turkish special forces burned down villages, tortured dissidents and killed suspects in cold blood. It seems the authorities failed to ensure that troops and special forces take extra care in using their power while fighting the PKK. Every army has rogue officers, but a responsible army punishes wrongdoers. The idea that special forces drag the body of a militant in Kurdish-populated residential areas, openly swear at him, film the incident and share it online indicates how certain they are that their actions will go unpunished.
Media
Just hours before the incident, another special-forces member was caught on camera threatening a journalist at gunpoint. This is an everyday ordeal for Turkish journalists. It is naive to expect law-enforcement officers to respect journalists when President Recep Tayyep Erdogan is openly threatening journalists in public rallies and promising to jail more of them. I doubt that a police officer could dare put a gun to a journalist’s head if the authorities made sure journalists were free to do their job. The environment is enabling such rogue officers to abuse their power. There was even more cause for concern when four thugs beat up prominent journalist Ahmet Hakan outside his house last week. This is a chilling signal to every critical voice in Turkey that they may face a similar fate. Suspects who attacked the journalist confessed that the intelligence and “reis” - a Turkish euphemism for Erdogan - were involved in the incident. In what type of democracy are mercenaries sent to beat up a journalist?
Judiciary
Nothing could depict this culture of impunity more than a judge posting unbelievably partisan and obscene messages on Twitter. Many were shocked to see the judge using a real profile photo, name and bio. In his posts, he feels confident trolling journalists and activists on Twitter, posting partisan tweets and swearing at anyone who criticizes the government. In what type of democracy can a judge act in such a blatantly partisan way? Perhaps he thinks that being a government apologist will save him. The judiciary is slowly becoming partisan. Because standing by the government is a shortcut to promotion, judges and prosecutors do whatever it takes to earn the government’s favor. For example, a prosecutor prepared a 1,453-page indictment last week, claiming that those who carried out twin corruption investigations targeting Erdogan’s inner circle attempted “to stage a coup.” Jurists mocked the prosecutor, saying the document was almost completely fabricated. In what type of a democracy can a prosecutor prepare such a farcical indictment? Perhaps he thinks it is a way to climb up the ladder. The rule of law is a significant ingredient of any functioning democracy. It does not only ensure the proper punishment of violators, but also helps eradicate a mentality that believes breaking the law is permissible as long as there is a reward.