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Bible Quotation for today/After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again
Luke 18/31-34: "Jesus took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again. ’in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said."

Bible Quotation for today/Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you
Letter of James 05/01-06: "Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 09-10/15
Our today Tweets addressing 14th of March Dialogue act of treason/Elias Bejjani/September 09/15
Hezbollah vs. #YouStink/Hanin Ghaddar/Now Lebanon/September 09/15
Save The Lebanese State/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Now Lebanon/September 09/15
Lebanon’s protests and obsession with media/Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/September 09/15
Can we live next to an Iranian Syria/Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya/September 09/15
Weep, Arab world/Khaled Almaeena/Al Arabiya/September 09/15
Mahmoud Abbas: Should I stay or should I go now/Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/September 09/15
Obama reinforces Iran win/Yitzhak Benhorin/ Associated Press/Ynetnews/September 09/15
Netanyahu to EU: Stop pressuring us into agreements that endanger our existence/TOVAH LAZAROFF/J.Post/September 09/15
Europe’s Migration Crisis,“Not Giving Us Like in Germany”/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/September 09/15
Laundering Iran’s Nukes/A.J. Caschetta/Gatestone Institute/September 9, 2015
Saudi Journalist Calls On Arab Countries To Enact Comprehensive Domestic To Strengthen Themselves Against Iran/MEMRI/September 09/15
How the Islamic State has helped the Middle East/Kayhan Barzegar/Al-Monitor/September 09/15
Former Iran deal negotiator slams concessions in nuclear deal/Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/September 09/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on September 09-10/15
Middle East American NGOs at the US Congress rally against the "Iran Deal"
Lebanon leaders meet in shadow of #YouStink protest
Berri Vows to Exert All Efforts to Resolve Baabda Crisis
Suffocation Cases Rise to 2,000 as Dust Storm Continues for Day 3
Fresh Protests as Rival Parties Hold Fruitless National Dialogue Session
Soldier Wounded, Gunman Dead in Gunfight as Army Arrests Syrian Terrorist
Kerry Reaffirms Strong Support for Salam's Efforts to Advance Consensus
Lebanese Army Arrests Suspect after Saadnayel Gunbattle
Hezbollah vs. #YouStink
Save The Lebanese State
Officials who attended the dialogue session
Lebanon’s protests and obsession with media

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published onSeptember 09-10/15
Khamenei: Israel won’t survive next 25 years, Times of Israel,
Khamenei: No talks with U.S. beyond nuke deal
Canadian teen terror suspect said country needed to be overthrown
Abadi’s reforms: 123 senior Iraqi officials sacked
Al-Qaeda calls ISIS illegitimate but suggests cooperation
Nusra Front in Syria take last army base in Idlib
Turkish police raid Gulen-affiliated Koza Ipek firms again
U.S. officials: Russia sent forces to Syria
Russia said to get Iran’s clearance for Syria-bound flights
Saudi-led strikes destroy Houthi site in Marib
ISIS attacks kill 13 Iraqi troops; Syrian oil field retaken
Israel reopens embassy in Cairo four years after diplomats evacuated
Walid Phares to 'Sada el Balad' TV: "Qatar must cut its support and ties to the Jihadists and radical Islamists..."
"Egypt after the revolution is leading in the war with the Jihadists, it needs significant international support"

Our today Tweets addressing 14th of March Dialogue act of treason
Elias Bejjani/09/09/15
Definitely the out come of Berry's Mullahs' dialogue is another big failure for those cowardice 14th of March politicians who are taking part in it.
The 14th of March politicians participating in Berry's Dialogue do not respect the sacrifices of Martyrs who Hezbollah assassinated.
14th of March politicians participating in Berry's Dialogue do not respect themselves & the Martyrs who Hezbollah assassinated. Shame, shame on all of them.

Middle East American NGOs at the US Congress rally against the "Iran Deal"
Thawrat Al Arz/September 09/15/A delegation of Middle East American NGOs is participating in a massive rally led by leaders in Congress, in front of the Capitol, to express their opposition to the "Iran Deal." The leaders of NGOs from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Iran, have underlined that "they oppose the deal because it is a direct threat against US national security, but also because the Iranian regime is militarily occupying and brutalizing population in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen." The NGOs leaders said they are calling on all members of Congress, on behalf of millions of Americans from Middle East descent, to oppose the deal and adopt for a new, more effective US policy for a regime change in Iran, led by the Iranian people and backed by the peoples ofthe Middle East." They warned that "sending 150 billion dollars to Tehran's regime will fuel more wars, more disasters and send more refugees waves across the continents."

Lebanon leaders meet in shadow of #YouStink protest
The cabinet scrambled to address the garbage crisis.
Now Lebanon/September 09/15
BEIRUT - Thousands of Lebanese rallied Wednesday in the center of Beirut to protest the worsening garbage crisis, while the cabinet scrambled to address the issue in a crunch session that stretched well into the night. Despite the deadly sandstorm that swept into Lebanon earlier in the week, demonstrators from across Lebanon gathered in Downtown Beirut’s Martyrs Square at 6 p.m. to protest the government’s muddled handling of the trash crisis. However, Wednesday’s rally fell far short in numbers compared to an August 29 mass rally in the iconic square in the center of Lebanon’s capital. As the protest wound down in the night, Lebanon’s government continued its extraordinary session to discuss Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb’s proposal to address the waste crisis, which according to reports would receive the backing of a majority of ministers.After boycotting the last cabinet meeting, Hezbollah and FPM sent one minister each to the session, which started at 5:30 p.m. following earlier political drama and a day of demonstrations. Protesters had steadily gathering in the heavily guarded Downtown over the course of Wednesday, pelting politicians’ with eggs both as they came and left the ill-fated national dialogue session that began at noon. All the heads of the country’s parliamentary blocs—except for the Lebanese Forces—attended the national dialogue session chaired by Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss the election of a new president and breaking Lebanon’s political deadlock. However, the four-hour long session ended acrimoniously, with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun engaging in a heated exchange of words with independent March 14 Christian politician Boutros Harb, forcing Berri to adjourn the session until next week. Aoun’s Christian party in recent weeks has been at the center of the political crisis gripping the country, which has seen the government unable to make any substantial decisions as rival parties bicker over the working mechanism of the cabinet. The FPM insists that the government not approve decrees without its consent, and has further called for the right to set items on the cabinet’s agenda, which constitutionally is the exclusive prerogative of the prime minister or president of the republic.

Berri Vows to Exert All Efforts to Resolve Baabda Crisis
Naharnet/September 09/15/Speaker Nabih Berri has vowed to exert all efforts to resolve the presidential deadlock at the national dialogue table on Wednesday before moving to any other item on the agenda.“I will exert all efforts to reach a result" on the Baabda Palace crisis, local dailies quoted Berri as saying. But the speaker warned in remarks to his visitors that he will move to other times on the agenda if the rival leaders failed to reach an agreement on the deadlock. The vacuum at Baabda Palace since May 2014 has caused the parliament's paralysis and disputes among cabinet members. The growing crises compelled Berri to invite Prime Minister Tammam Salam and 15 other heads of parliamentary blocs for a dialogue. Each official will also be accompanied by an assistant. Salam's sources hoped in remarks to al-Joumhouria daily that the dialogue would pave way for a serious discussion to “Lebanonize” the country's problems. Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora hoped that the all-party talks would succeed. He stressed that his priority was to resolve the presidential crisis. “When we elect a president, then all other issues would be resolved,” he told As Safir daily. The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, MP Mohammed Raad, hoped that the remaining parties would attend the dialogue with the same “spirit of seriousness and responsibility as Hizbullah.” Sources close to Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh also told As Safir that the success of the dialogue hinges on the intentions of the conferees. Another dialogue participant, Lebanese Democratic Party chief lawmaker Talal Arslan said he would ask for turning the dialogue into a conference that would resolve all crises confronting Lebanon “because this regime has collapsed.” Change and Reform MP Ibrahim Kanaan told As Safir that the priority of the bloc, which will be represented by its leader lawmaker Michel Aoun, is to have a fair electoral law that would lead to the election of a new president. Sejaan Qazzi, the minister of the Kataeb, which will be represented by the party leader MP Sami Gemayel, said any agreement on the agenda's items other than the presidency doesn't have a value. “According to the Constitution, we should first strike a deal on the presidential crisis,” he told the daily. Tashnag Party leader MP Hagop Pakradounian also said that his priority was the election of a new head of state.

Suffocation Cases Rise to 2,000 as Dust Storm Continues for Day 3
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 09/15The health ministry said that the individuals suffering from suffocation as the result of the sandstorm that has hit Lebanon rose to 2,000 on Wednesday. The ministry added that no additional deaths were reported other than the three reported the day before. On Tuesday, three individuals died and almost 750 people were rushed to hospitals as the unseasonal sandstorm hit Lebanon, covering the country, including Beirut, with a blanket of yellow dust. The storm reached Beirut on Tuesday, a day after it engulfed the eastern Bekaa Valley. The ministry also said that it has gone on alert, urging those suffering from respiratory and heart problems to stay indoors. It said children, the elderly and pregnant women should stay home. Red Cross official George Kettaneh also advised those having asthma problems not to leave their homes. Education Minister Elias Bou Saab and Health Minister Wael Abou Faour ordered the closure of private schools and nurseries on Wednesday as a precaution. Prime Minister Tammam Salam also issued a decree ordering the closure of all state institutions and administrations. Reports have said that the storm is expected to subside on Thursday.

Fresh Protests as Rival Parties Hold Fruitless National Dialogue Session
Associated Press/Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 09/15/Lebanese protesters angry over a lack of basic services and festering garbage returned to the streets of Beirut on Wednesday and threw eggs at the convoys of officials arriving in parliament to attend a national dialogue that Speaker Nabih Berri chaired. The protesters shouted "thieves!" and threw the eggs as the convoys of politicians drove by. Sparked by waste piling up in the capital and Mount Lebanon, a collection of protest movements demonstrated ahead of and during the dialogue and staged a mass rally at Martyrs Square in the afternoon. Berri adjourned the session after around four hours, with TV networks describing the meeting as fruitless. "They did not even bother to meet tomorrow or the day after, they postponed it for a week and came out without any decision," said Assaad Thebian, an organizer with the main group behind the protests, which calls itself "You Stink." "They showed that they are indifferent and should not be in leadership positions," he told The Associated Press. A terse official statement recited by the parliament's secretary-general said “the conferees explained their viewpoints on the current issues while focusing on the agenda's first item, which is the presidential vote and the steps needed to achieve it.” “The next session has been set for Wednesday, September 16,” it added.
Meanwhile, MTV said the last 30 minutes of the session witnessed a heated debate that prompted Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun to “raise his voice in anger.”According to LBCI television, Aoun clashed with head of al-Mustaqbal bloc ex-PM Fouad Saniora over the issue of “electing a strong president.” Telecom Minister Butros Harb joined the exchange of tirades later, LBCI said. Future TV meanwhile said that “Aoun raised the issue of amending the Constitution to elect a president by a popular vote, drawing responses from Berri, Saniora and Harb.” LBCI said the waste management file was also discussed during the session and that all parties were asked to facilitate the work of the cabinet during the emergency meeting that Prime Minister Tammam Salam scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. During the session, Salam hoped that the dialogue would lead to a better future for the country and urged all parties to contribute to its success. He also told reporters at the parliament that he had called for an emergency cabinet session on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the waste crisis. Berri had called for the dialogue conference among the main parties to discuss the stalemate that has frozen government institutions for months.
The conferees are supposed to discuss ways to end the vacuum at Baabda Palace, the resumption of the work of parliament and the cabinet, a new electoral draft-law, legislation allowing Lebanese expats to obtain the nationality, administrative decentralization and ways to support the army and the Internal Security Forces. Berri said talks on the presidential deadlock are a priority. “The mere occurrence of this dialogue reflects success, as we are all confirming our commitment to dialogue as the only way to overcome our crises, and our adherence to our country's unity and the coexistence formula,” Berri told the conferees at the beginning of the meeting. “This meeting was necessary in order to rescue our country from the current state of paralysis, so that we don't later find our country in the dustbins of history,” added Berri.
He also warned that “the negativity emanating from the partisan and personal interests has started to pose a threat to Lebanon's existence.”Authorities had beefed up security measures in downtown Beirut, erecting large metal barricades preventing access to the parliament where political figures held their meeting. In the evening, thousands of protesters rallied at Martyrs Square in a central demonstration called for by all the main activist campaigns. "Their dialogue is a conspiracy against us. They convened because they are afraid of us," said an official statement recited at the demo. "We are not here to say 'No'. We came here to say 'Yes' to the State and 'No' to their state of corruption and distribution of shares," the campaigns added in their statement.
Recalling recent perceived achievements, the activists reminded: "We are the ones who forced the closure of the Naameh landfill, the annulment of the (waste management) tenders and the fall of the 'wall of shame.'""We gathered to stress our unity … Their dialogue is focused on the distribution of shares," the activists added.
"Enough with humiliation, corruption and sectarianism. We tell the corrupt political class that we have risen to restore our independence and build a democratic state that addresses people's concerns," they said.The campaigns vowed to "demand accountability for all wrongdoers, because public right is not a farm."Reiterating their demands, the activists added: "We call for finding an immediate, eco-friendly solution for the removal of garbage and releasing the funds of municipalities. We reject landfills, incinerators or dumping at sea and we support sorting at the source."They called anew for the resignation of Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq and demanded the prosecution of Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq over recent police brutality against protesters. The activists also called for "the release of all detainees" held in connection with the recent protests. "We call for parliamentary elections as soon as possible and we will continue the journey with every citizen who has hope in Lebanon," they added, calling on "all students and syndicates to unite and hammer nails into the coffin of the sectarian regime." The protest movement of civil society groups began in mid-July as piles of garbage built up in Beirut and Mount Lebanon after the closure of Lebanon's largest landfill in Naameh. But it has since grown to represent broader frustrations that cut across sectarian and partisan lines, including electricity and water shortages, and endemic corruption among the political elite. Demonstrations in the capital grew from several dozen protesters to thousands, peaking when tens of thousands descended on Martyrs' Square on August 29. Groups like "You Stink" and "We Want Accountability" are among a handful of civil society campaigns born out of the movement that have called for additional protests.

Soldier Wounded, Gunman Dead in Gunfight as Army Arrests Syrian Terrorist
Naharnet/September 09/15/A soldier was seriously injured and a wanted man was killed in an exchange of fire in the area of al-Zaaytrieh in the North Metn town of Fanar, the Lebanese army announced on Wednesday. The soldier was wounded when an army patrol came under fire by wanted armed men riding a Kia on Tuesday night, said a communique issued by the military command. The troops responded to the sources of fire, injuring one of the gunmen. But Ali Saad Zoaiter, who was taken to hospital, later succumbed to his wounds.
The soldiers seized guns, ammunition and drugs from the car but the gunmen managed to escape, said the communique. The army is currently pursuing the suspects to arrest them and refer them to the judiciary, it added. In a separate communique, the army said it has arrested Syrian Hassan Mohammed Daqqou in the area of Drouss in the eastern district of Baalbek for having ties with terrorist organizations. A military patrol seized drugs from his house. The communique added that troops have also apprehended 55 people for entering the country illegally.

Kerry Reaffirms Strong Support for Salam's Efforts to Advance Consensus
Naharnet/September 09/15/U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has called Prime Minister Tammam Salam to discuss plans for the meeting of the International Support Group for Lebanon that is scheduled to be held in New York later this month. The U.S. State Department said in a press release late Tuesday that Kerry “reaffirmed America's strong and continuing support” for Salam's “efforts to advance political consensus despite the challenging circumstances facing the country.” “He also stressed America’s continued commitment to Lebanon’s stability, security, and independence,” it said. The press release added that Kerry and Salam “discussed the need for Parliament to convene and elect a President as soon as possible, in accordance with Lebanon’s constitution and National Pact.”Baabda Palace has been vacant since President Michel Suleiman's six-year tenure ended in May 2014. The vacuum has caused the parliament's paralysis and disputes among cabinet members. Kerry's phone conversation with Salam came on the eve of a national dialogue session that Speaker Nabih Berri will chair to discuss the country's controversial issues, including the presidential deadlock.

Lebanese Army Arrests Suspect after Saadnayel Gunbattle
Naharnet/September 09/15/The Lebanese army said Wednesday that it has arrested a man involved in a gunbattle between the residents of the eastern town of Saadnayel. “A dispute among Saadnayel residents on Tuesday night turned into a gunfight with light arms and into rioting,” the army said in a communique. A military unit intervened and contained the battles, it said, adding that it arrested Abdullah al-Kurdi after raiding several locations.
The army vowed to continue to pursue all the suspects to arrest them and refer them to the judiciary. The military said there were no casualties in the gunfight. But according to the state-run National News Agency, four people were injured. It said the clashes erupted when young men assaulted the preacher of Imam Ali Bin Abi Taleb Mosque, Sheikh Bilal al-Hushaimi, to stop him from leading prayers at the mosque. The attack led to the gunbattles between the sheikh's supporters and men from a political movement, said NNA, without identified the party they belong to.

Hezbollah vs. #YouStink
Hanin Ghaddar/Now Lebanon/September 09/15
Published: 9/09/2015 05:20 PM
When social demands move to the political sphere
So far, the #YouStink — or the garbage uprising — in Lebanon has focused its goals on four simple demands: that Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk step down, that an eco-friendly waste management plan be established, that those responsible for the heavy-handed suppression of the peaceful protest in August be held accountable, and that parliamentary elections according to a new electoral law be held. In terms of demands, all this sounds straightforward and unchallenging to the Lebanese political scene or status quo. To many observers, this campaign seems more hurtful to March 14 than March 8 because it primarily targets the environment and interior ministers — both of whom are close to March 14 —while ignoring the issues of Hezbollah’s arms and its interference in the war in Syria.
The movement decided to focus on the garbage crisis and corruption, so it’s true that Hezbollah is not being directly targeted. But the vibrancy and determination with which the street has criticized everyone in the government and parliament has started to bother the Party of God, and Hezbollah will eventually hit the movement for a number of reasons.
Hezbollah, #YouStink too
First, Hezbollah does not want to disrupt the status quo. The presidential vacuum, the inefficiency of the government and the incompetence of the current parliament make a perfect framework for the party to continue their war in Syria unimpeded. The ineffectiveness of the state empowers Hezbollah and boosts its control over institutions and all decision-making. Changing this would mean that Hezbollah will have to deal with a different and more challenging situation — something they’d rather not address before their role in Syria comes to a happy conclusion. Second, this movement aspires to the concept of citizenship and a citizen’s right to services and free speech. Hezbollah fears the Lebanese citizen because it would mean that Shiites would also become citizens and not followers of its Iranian agenda, and certainly not fodder for its war against the ‘Sunni takfiri.’ Citizenship means that the state and its institutions are encouraged to be stronger. A citizen will demand sovereignty and independence of the state. A citizen will eventually disrupt the sectarian system that all political leaders trade on, including Hezbollah. A citizen will question them all and hold everyone accountable. A citizen will demand transparency. Hezbollah doesn’t want that. Hezbollah isn’t just part of the sectarian system; it is the most powerful part of that system.
Third, Hezbollah is also corrupt — from espionage rings within its ranks, trafficking counterfeit medication, and manufacture and sale of amphetamines to the infamous billion-dollar scheme by Salah Ezzedine, whose victims were mostly Hezbollah members. These are just examples of the corruption within Hezbollah’s ranks, not to mention the corruption of its allies. Fourth, Hezbollah subjugates free speech. Countless Lebanese journalists, writers and artists have been threatened by Hezbollah for expressing their opinions. Works have been censored and people have been murdered in broad daylight with no one held accountable — all because freedom of speech is dangerous for the Party of God.
Hezbollah is the authority
Hezbollah is an armed militia that controls Lebanon and its state institutions. Any change that does not go through it will not be tolerated. The corrupt establishment is a perfect hideout, where it can blame others for the country’s ailments while its killing machine rampages in Syria. That’s why Hezbollah has started to condemn the movement and why it will eventually try to stop it altogether. It started with a scuffle in Martyrs’ Square last week, when a group of Hezbollah members attacked — on air — a talk show on which Hassan Nasrallah’s photo was included within a collection of pictures of politicians meant to be held accountable. They forced the host to take down the photo and threatened the TV channel and the movement. The next day they unleashed their ally Michel Aoun against the movement, while their media attacked the organizers of the movement personally in an attempt to undermine their credibility. Of course, none of this actually worked and it kind of backlashed. Many of the party’s supporters joined the protests after that simply because they’re fed up with the garbage, electricity cuts, water shortages and the lack of other basic services. The Sayyed is not going to provide all this.But Hezbollah did not start the campaign against the movement because of a photo. The problem is beyond the protest — it’s about disrupting the status quo and challenging authority. They would have us remain fearful of everyone: Israel, the takfiris, the Sunnis, the world, and forget about our daily lives and standards of living.That’s how Hezbollah wants us to live. The party wants us to put our citizenship permanently on hold — it’s never the right time for them. When we start acting like citizens, we become a challenge to Hezbollah, which is the decisive authority in Lebanon. Challenging Lebanese authority is — ultimately — challenging Hezbollah.
**Hanin Ghaddar is the managing editor of NOW and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council. She tweets @haningdr.

Save The Lebanese State
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/ 8/09/2015/Now Lebanon
From Iraq and the Arab Spring we have learned that overhauling a state by breaking and replacing it is dangerously destabilizing. Arab states, like Lebanon, are outdated and corrupt. Their absence, however, takes away the last shred of order. Change in Arab countries should be incremental rather than abrupt, even if rulers make slow progress look impossible.
Rallies for immediate change are appealing. Protesters feel noble when shouting against an unfair system run by immoral leaders. Adrenalin from rallies makes activists push hard for change, but without planning for the day after.
Some activists do huddle aside, brainstorm and offer a course of action in anticipation of change. But their solutions are often disconnected from reality.
When Egyptians were writing a constitution, during the short tenure of President Mohamed Morsi, their draft had articles that dealt with everything from style of dress to the number of wives. Egypt’s new founding fathers clearly had no understanding of the philosophy behind the state or its functions. In the interim, as Egyptians struggled to run their state, and the army took the country back to its pre-revolution autocracy.
Egypt’s military solution now appeals to many Lebanese, who started arguing for it, unaware that it was once common currency in Lebanon. In the mid-1980s, then General Fouad Aoun wrote a book, The Army Is the Solution, which was printed and circulated by the Lebanese Army under its commander, Michel Aoun. The book proposed that the army run over the country’s territories, dissolve its militias, collect arms and impose civil order. The army would then takes over the state, dissolve it and rebuild it. Finally, it would hold parliamentary elections and hand the state back to civilians, perhaps with Aoun as elected president.
Michel Aoun was committed to this solution. In 1988, he obstructed elections, forced a presidential vacuum and made retiring President Amine Gemayel appoint him chief of the military cabinet. West Beirut defied Aoun and extended the term of Salim Hoss, who had already been an interim prime minister. Aoun then launched the ‘war of liberation,’ which started and ended in a stalemate. After two years of populism and with international and regional changes, the US let Syria overrun Aoun and rule all of Lebanon.
Unlike Egypt, where the army is independent and controls the state, the Lebanese Army is a reflection of the country’s divisions and corruption. The army under Aoun could not defeat the oligarchy, and there is no reason to believe it can do so now.
Almost a quarter of a century after Aoun’s failed experiment, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt — the oligarch with the least resources — saw an opportunity to capitalize on the March 14 movement, the goal of which was the empowerment of the state by ending Bashar Assad’s occupation and the disarming of Hezbollah. Jumblatt allied with the resourceful, yet reeling, successors of Rafiq Hariri, and together they rehabilitated the two Christian oligarchs — exiled Michel Aoun and imprisoned Samir Geagea. But Assad and Hezbollah had gotten to Aoun first and played on his eternal presidential ambitions, thus snatching him to their side.
Even with Aoun gone, Jumblatt and March 14 pressed forward. But they lost. The movement could not shed its tribal culture. March 14 Christians tried to undermine Jumblatt’s control of Christian seats in his districts. Hariri’s position remained unpredictable because of his dependence on regional powers. When Jumblatt remained defiant, Hezbollah hit him where it hurt the most by going after his small but compact and mighty Druze community during the May 8 conflict in 2008.
Perhaps fearing an outcome like his father Kamal, who went against the oligarchy and regional politics and was killed for it, Walid Jumblatt gave up his attempt to prop up the Lebanese state, which is always in the interest of smaller groups and individuals. Jumblatt thus went from being a national and inspiring leader in 2005 to a Druze chieftain in 2009.
Today, the You Stink movement has a chance to pick up from where March 14 left off, albeit with less experience and resources.
Going after what has remained of the Lebanese state, the interim cabinet and its weak police force, is the wrong way. If You Stink wants to fight the corrupt ruling establishment, it should empower the state and lend it popular muscle to implement reform. Destroying the state works best for non-state actors such as militias, thugs and sectarian charlatans. You Stink should also put itself in the shoes of the government: an oligarch shut down the central dump. The government’s choices were either to leave garbage on the streets or collect it and hide it in forests and riverbeds. Instead of pounding the government, You Stink should have rallied to keep the dump open while the state drafted and implemented a plan. You Stink should stop beating up the government and start empowering it and steering it in a way to take on the corrupt oligarchs, whose power bases are mostly outside the state. Like previous attempts, You Stink will probably hit the oligarchy’s wall and fall apart. But meanwhile, it is good to tell these young people that while they go through their rite of political passage, they should save the Lebanese state because that is the last thing they, or anybody else, want to see gone.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is the Washington Bureau Chief of Kuwaiti newspaper Alrai. He tweets @hahussain

Officials who attended the dialogue session
The Daily Star/Sep. 09, 2015
BEIRUT: Sixteen of the 17 invited Lebanese officials will attend Wednesday’s dialogue session hosted by Speaker Nabih Berri in Parliament. Each one will have a companion, making the total number of attendees 32. Participating in the talks will be: Prime Minister Tammam Salam
Development and Liberation bloc: Speaker Nabih Berri
Future bloc: Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora
Kataeb Party: MP Sami Gemayel
Hezbollah: MP Mohammad Raad
Change and Reform bloc: MP Michel Aoun
Democratic Gathering bloc: MP Walid Jumblatt
Mountain Unity bloc: MP Talal Arslan
Free United Lebanon bloc: MP Sleiman Frangieh
The bloc of Ashrafieh: Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon
MP Michel Murr’s bloc: MP Michel Murr
Tashnag Party bloc: MP Hagop Pakradounian
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party bloc: MP Asaad Hardan
Independent MPs: MP and Telecoms Minister Boutros Harb, former Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Deputy-Speaker Farid Makari. The Lebanese Forces are boycotting the talks.

Lebanon’s protests and obsession with media
Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/September 09/15
“If reporters leave, God knows what they would do to us.” That was a common expression during live coverage of Lebanese youths protesting against the country’s political system under the slogan “You Stink.” One could sense real fear, which was sometimes exaggerated, of a confrontation between protestors and security forces if media outlets were not present to cover it. Lebanese activists seemed worried about experiencing the same thing as protesters in Arab Spring countries, particularly after witnessing several Lebanese security forces’ heavy-handedness against them. In just a few days, Lebanon’s activists exhausted most means of mobilization and communication that protesters in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Yemen resorted to. They even tried to add to them. It became clear that their biggest worry was the absence of media coverage. This is understandable when looking at what happened in other countries in the past four years. In Syria, for example, the regime prevented media coverage of protests from day one, and banned Western and Arab press. It then cracked down on protests, and tortured and killed citizens, reassured that there was no press coverage. Syrians thus used their smart phones to inform the world of what was happening to them. In Lebanon, protest organizers have since day one been aware of the importance of media coverage In Egypt, activists and opposition figures struggle to break the official media siege that they thought ended after the revolution, only to realize four years later that it has further tightened and that, in the best-case scenario, it has ingratiated itself with the authorities. The same applies to Libya and Yemen.
Media influence
In Lebanon, protest organizers have since day one been aware of the importance of media coverage, whether in its traditional or modern form. The movement has also benefitted from relative freedom in the country. Perhaps the strongest aspect of the movement is the bold slogans rejecting all Lebanese leaders via banners, graffiti and chants. There were, however, attempts to prevent including certain politicians, such as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in protest slogans. One of the important slogans is “Everyone means everyone,” indicating the desire for a new political category outside the March 8 and March 14 coalitions. However, awareness of the importance of media coverage requires further consideration. The media gave the movement a platform, but some outlets resorted to exaggeration. Divisions dominate the Lebanese media, and all political parties suspect the movement’s motives. Media coverage has thus been divided between support for and suspicion of the protests. As such, depending too much on the media is a double-edged sword.

“Khamenei: Israel won’t survive next 25 years”, Times of Israel,
September 9, 2015 /Agencies
Taking to Twitter, Iranian leader says Zionists won’t find serenity until destruction, calls US ‘Great Satan’ and rejects any talks with Washington beyond nuke deal Israel will not survive the next 25 years, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday, making a series of threatening remarks published online.In a quote posted to Twitter by Khamenei’s official account, Khamenei addresses Israel, saying, “You will not see next 25 years,” and adds that the Jewish state will be hounded until it is destroyed.
The quote comes against a backdrop of a photograph apparently showing the Iranian leader walking on an Israeli flag painted on a sidewalk. “After negotiations, in Zionist regime they said they had no more concern about Iran for next 25 years; I’d say: Firstly, you will not see next 25 years; God willing, there will be nothing as Zionist regime by next 25 years. Secondly, until then, struggling, heroic and jihadi morale will leave no moment of serenity for Zionists,” the quote from Iran’s top leader reads in broken English.
The quote was apparently taken from a speech given earlier in the day. The remarks came as US lawmakers began to debate supporting a recent nuclear agreement between Tehran and six world powers. Critics of the deal have pointed to fiery anti-US and anti-Zionist rhetoric as proof that the regime should not be trusted. The White House and other deal boosters argue that the pact, meant to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, is based on verification, not trust. Khamenei’s statements also reaffirmed his view that the US is a “Great Satan” and that there would be no detente with Washington beyond the nuclear talks. “We approved talks with the United States about [the] nuclear issue specifically. We have not allowed talks with the US in other fields and we [do] not negotiate with them,” Khamenei said in statements published on his website. Khamenei is quoted as saying any other talks would be “a tool for penetration and imposing their demands.”On Twitter, Khamenei said talks with the US were a “means of infiltration and imposition of their wills.”
Quoting the founder of the Islamic Republic and his predecessor as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei tweeted: “@IRKhomeini stated “US is the Great Satan,” some insist on depicting this Great Satan as an angel.”
The Twitter handle @IRKhomeini is an Iranian government account dedicated to Khomeini’s statements.
Some have pointed to the nuclear deal as an opening for Iran to repair long-frayed ties with the West….

Khamenei: No talks with U.S. beyond nuke deal
By Reuters | Dubai/Wednesday, 9 September 2015/Iran’s Supreme Leader has said Tehran will not negotiate with the United States on any issue after the landmark nuclear deal with world powers in July, according to his official website on Wednesday. The comments appeared to contradict more moderate president Hassan Rowhani, who said on Tuesday the Islamic Republic was ready to hold talks with the United States on ways to resolve Syria's civil war.
“We negotiated with the U.S. on the nuclear issue for specific reasons. (The Americans) behaved well in the talks, but we didn’t and we won’t allow negotiation with the Americans on other issues,” Ayatollah Khamenei was quoted as saying. “The Americans are not hiding their animosity towards Iran... Americans in the Congress are plotting and passing bills against us... Negotiations are a tool for them to influence Iran and to impose their will,” Ayatollah Khamenei said to hundreds of visitors to his offices. Following the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, several high diplomatic delegations from Europe have visited Iran, in a possible sign of a thaw after a decade of isolation brought on by international sanctions. But long-time rivals Tehran and Washington have yet to normalize relations or open a dialogue on their contending policies in the war-torn region. President Barack Obama on Tuesday secured 42 votes in the U.S. Senate to secure the nuclear deal of which Republicans and pro-Israel lobbies disapprove. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a vociferous opponent of the Iran deal, calling it a threat to his country’s existence. “God willing there will be nothing left of the zionist regime in 25 years,” Khamenei said. “Meanwhile, the heroic jihadi Islamic spirit will not leave the zionists in peace for a second.”

Canadian teen terror suspect said country needed to be overthrown
By Reuters | Montreal/Wednesday, 9 September 2015/A 16-year-old Montreal teen, the youngest person charged with terrorism offenses in Canada, expressed disdain for his country which he said was run by infidels and needed to be overthrown, in a police videotape played in court on Wednesday. The teen, the son of Algerian immigrants who cannot be named because he is a minor, has pleaded guilty to committing a robbery in 2014 when he was 15 years old. He is now on trial for alleged terrorism offenses after pleading not guilty to trying to use the stolen money to join a terrorist group in Syria. On Wednesday, the small teen wearing black glasses, a gray T-shirt and a black jacket sat silently in the Montreal courtroom, occasionally closing his eyes as the video from his robbery arrest was played for the court. During the 2014 interrogation at a Montreal police station, the teen often reacted defiantly, dismissing both his own father and police officer Brahim Soussi, also a Muslim, as apostates.He told Soussi during the interrogation that it was OK to rob a non-believer and the money he stole was equivalent to “war booty.” But the teen, who said he learned about Islam online, also admitted to having never read the Koran in its entirety. Soussi repeatedly challenged the teen’s knowledge of Islam. The teenager often refused to talk to Soussi. “I don’t feel like having a conversation with an apostate,” he said. “I understand Islam better than you.” The defense is contesting the legality of the statement the youth gave to investigators, with his father testifying Wednesday that police would not allow him to join his son at the station. The father said police refused his request because the teen said he did not want his parents or a lawyer. The father, who immigrated to Canada in 2003, admitted in court to denouncing his own son to police. Montreal newspaper La Presse reported in December that the father called authorities after discovering a backpack stuffed with cash hidden in the yard behind the family’s home. Montreal police said they arrested the boy in October after he robbed a convenience store with an “edged weapon,” then fled the scene. No one was hurt during the robbery.

Abadi’s reforms: 123 senior Iraqi officials sacked
By Reuters | Baghdad/Wednesday, 9 September 2015/Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Wednesday he had dismissed 123 deputy ministers and general managers as part of a reform push aimed at reducing corruption and mismanagement which has made the country nearly impossible to govern. Backed by street protests demanding better services and a call for bold action by Iraq’s most senior Shiite cleric, Abadi has rolled out the largest shakeup of the country’s governing system since the U.S. occupation. He has set out to transform a system based on sectarian and ethnic quotas, which often hands high office to unqualified candidates and encourages graft. Abadi did not mention which ministries would be affected by Wednesday’s decision, but said in a statement that the senior officials would be sent into retirement or have their administrative status “adjusted”. He said the subordinates of those dismissed would take over their responsibilities until ministries’ structures are reviewed and replacements are appointed. In earlier reforms launched last month, Abadi eliminated Iraq’s three vice president and three deputy prime minister positions, sacked a third of his cabinet, and cut politicians’ security details and other perks. But critics complain the changes have not yet improved ordinary people’s lives and warn some of the measures are unconstitutional.

Al-Qaeda calls ISIS illegitimate but suggests cooperation
By Omar Fahmy | Reuters, Cairo/Wednesday, 9 September 2015/Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri dismissed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as illegitimate but said his followers would join them in fighting the Western-led coalition in Iraq and Syria if possible. In an audiotape on the internet, Zawahri said: “We don’t recognize this caliphate.”It was not clear when the recording was made but references to events suggest it was made at least eight months ago. ISIS has declared a caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria under its control and sought to expand its power in the Middle East, becoming a greater security threat than al-Qaeda in the strategic oil-producing region. Despite rivalries between the two Islamist organizations, former Egyptian doctor Zawahri suggested there was still room for cooperation when it came to combating the West. “Despite the big mistakes (of ISIS), if I were in Iraq or Syria I would cooperate with them in killing the crusaders and secularists and Shiites even though I don’t recognize the legitimacy of their state, because the matter is bigger than that,” he said. Zawahri did not elaborate, but his comments raised the possibility he could seek cooperation with a movement that has in many ways eclipsed al-Qaeda, its predecessor in Iraq. “Zawahri says that ISIS is absolutely not a caliphate and Baghdadi doesn’t deserve to be caliph,” said al Qaeda expert Will McCants of the Brookings Institution. “However, it is an emirate and if he were in Iraq and Syria, he would fight alongside it. That seems like a bit of an olive branch.” Any cooperation would complicate efforts to stabilize the Middle East, where militant groups have gained influence and escalated attacks since the Arab uprisings of 2011 toppled autocrats who had contained them. While al-Qaeda has specialized in high profile bombings, ISIS seems bent on seizing and holding territory in its quest to create a self-sustaining caliphate. Aside from strongholds in Iraq and Syria, it gained a presence in Libya and its followers are staging an insurgency that has killed hundreds of soldiers and police in Egypt, the most populous Arab country. ISIS’ affiliate in Egypt released photographs on Wednesday of its military commanders teaching masked militants in military fatigues how to fire rockets at tanks and planes.

Nusra Front in Syria take last army base in Idlib
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya News/Wednesday, 9 September 2015/Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate has seized control of the last military base held by the regime in the northwestern province of Idlib after a two-year siege, leaving the entire province free of government forces, a monitoring group said on Wednesday. Syrian state television announced “the retreat of the army [from Abu Zuhour air base]... which had protected the airport during a two-year-siege.”The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said insurgents, including members of the Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, captured the base under the cover of a sandstorm and forced government forces out of their last post in Idlib province, which borders Turkey. The local Coordination Committees posted a photo on its Facebook page it said showed Nusra Front fighters standing in front of warplanes inside the base. Al-Nusra Front and allied Islamist groups had captured nearly all of the Abu Duhur military airport after the siege, the Observatory said. Rebel forces had seized the entrance to the airport and several positions on its outskirts in late August in an advance that began with suicide bombers on motorbikes. The so-called “Army of Conquest”, a collection of Islamist and militant forces, captured the Idlib provincial capital in March and has since driven Syria's military from most of the province. The capture of Abu Zuhour is the latest in a series of setbacks for government forces in Idlib province. Insurgents now control nearly all the province, except for the predominantly Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya, which pro-government militiamen hold. Idlib is the second of Syria’s 14 provinces to be free of Syrian government forces. Raqqa in the north is held by the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group. Syria’s conflict has killed more than 250,000 people since March 2011.
(With AFP and AP)

Turkish police raid Gulen-affiliated Koza Ipek firms again
Reuters, Istanbul/Wednesday, 9 September 2015/Turkey’s Koza Ipek Holding, linked to a U.S.-based cleric accused of plotting against President Tayyip Erdogan, was raided again on Wednesday by police seeking financial documents, a company official and documents said. A Turkish court issued the second search warrant this month, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters. It showed that the Ankara-based company’s units - Koza Altin and Koza Anadolu Metal - are being investigated on suspicion of “terror financing,” “terror. Propaganda” and other crimes related to Chairman Hamdi Akin Ipek’s alleged support for Fethullah Gulen, the Islamic preacher who was once an ally of Erdogan. Erdogan has accused Gulen, now in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, of operating a “parallel structure” of supporters in the judiciary, police, media and other institutions that has operated against him. Gulen denies the charge. Police are seeking balance sheets from Koza Altin, a gold firm, and miner Koza Anadolu Metal, according to the warrant. Erdogan’s simmering dispute with Gulen rocked Turkey in December 2013 when Erdogan was prime minister. Police leaked details of a corruption probe into Erdogan’s family and cabinet ministers. Since then, he has labeled Gulen’s following a “terrorist” organization and has re-assigned thousands of members of the judiciary and police and sought to dismantle schools the movement runs. “Since all of the information and documents were taken during the execution of the (first) search warrant, the search and seizure carried out today are without aim and legal basis,” Koza Ipek said in a statement. Police had initially raided Koza Ipek’s offices on Sept. 1 to investigate alleged improprieties. Istanbul-based Kaynak Holding, another company linked to Gulen’s Hizmet (Service) movement, was raided this week. “It is an effort to undermine the company’s image and force a publicly traded company into loss. For more than a week, it has been unable to operate,” Erhan Basyurt, editor in chief of Bugun newspaper, which belongs to Koza Ipek, told Reuters. Shares in group companies, which plunged after the initial raids, shrugged off the latest police searches. Gold company Koza Altin’s shares were up 1 percent and miner Koza Anadolu Metal was unchanged.

U.S. officials: Russia sent forces to Syria
By Reuters and AFP, Washington/Beirut/Wednesday, 9 September 2015/Russia has sent two tank landing ships and additional aircraft to Syria in the past day or so and has deployed a small number of naval infantry forces, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, in the latest signs of a military buildup that has put Washington on edge. The two U.S. officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the intent of Russia's military moves in Syria remained unclear. One of the officials said initial indications suggested the focus was on preparing an airfield near the port city of Latakia, a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Another U.S. official told AFP that Russia is pressing ahead with its military buildup in Syria and has sent armored personnel carriers, tank landing ships and a small contingent of troops into the war-ravaged nation in recent days. Russia’s activity is focused on Bassel al-Assad International Airport, south of Latakia on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, and at the Russian naval facility in Tartus. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that over the past day or so, another Antonov-124 Condor military carrier had flown into the airport, bringing the total number of transport flights to at least four in recent days. Additionally, two tank landing ships have arrived at Tartus and about a dozen Russian armored personnel carriers are at the Bassel al-Assad airport, named after the older brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The official said “scores” of Russian naval infantry had arrived in Syria, but their role was probably to protect incoming military hardware rather than carry out any sort of boots-on-the-ground deployment. “We’ve seen scores there,” the official said. “There certainly are some troops there.”
Lebanese sources
Meanwhile, Lebanese sources familiar with political and military developments in Syria said on Wednesday that Russian forces have taken part in military operations in Syria, three one of them saying the Russian participation so far was in “small numbers.”“They have started in small numbers, but the bigger force did not yet take part,” one of the sources said. “There are numbers of Russians taking part in Syria but they did not yet join the fight against terrorism strongly.”Another source said: “They are taking part in military operations. It is more than an advisory role.”The three sources, who spoke on condition they not be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, did not give further details on the nature of the combat role in support of the Syrian military.
Syrian officials have denied any combat role by Russians in Syria. Moscow said on Wednesday that Russian military experts were present in Syria to assist with Russian arms deliveries to Syria, which Moscow says are aimed at combating terrorism. Russia has declined to comment on the exact scale and scope of its military presence in Syria. U.S. officials have suggested in recent days that Moscow is scaling up a presence, possibly with the intent of assisting its ally, President Assad. Asked about the comments from the Lebanese sources, a Syrian military official reiterated his government's denial and said the Russian role was purely advisory. “Does an advisor take part? No, they don’t,” the official said. The Syrian information minister said this week that no Russian combat forces were fighting alongside the Syrian army.

Russia said to get Iran’s clearance for Syria-bound flights
By The Associated Press, Moscow/Thursday, 10 September 2015/Iran has granted permission for Russian planes to fly over its territory en route to Syria, Russian news agencies said Wednesday, a bypass needed after Bulgaria refused overflights amid signs of a Russian military buildup in Syria that has concerned the U.S. and NATO. The news agencies quoted Maxim Suslov, spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Tehran, as saying it has received Iranian permission for Syria-bound flights. After Bulgaria rejected Moscow’s overflight request for Sept. 1-24, a path via Iran and Iraq appeared to be the only one left, as Russia apparently sought to avoid flying over Turkey, which in 2012 grounded a Syria-bound plane carrying radar parts from Moscow.
There was no immediate confirmation from Iran. The controversy over the Russian flights comes amid signs of increased Russian military presence in Syria. Moscow, which has backed Syrian President Bashar Assad throughout the nation’s 4½-year civil war, said its military experts are in the country to train its military to use Russian weapons.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the West of creating “strange hysteria” over Russian activities in Syria, saying that Moscow has been openly supplying weapons and sending military specialists there for a long time.
“Russia has never made a secret of its military-technical cooperation with Syria,” she said, adding she could “confirm and repeat once again that Russian military specialists are in Syria to help them master the weapons being supplied.”President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have sought to cast arms supplies to Assad’s regime as part of international efforts to combat ISIS and other militant organizations in Syria. Putin hasn’t ruled out a bigger role. Asked Friday if Russia could deploy its troops to Syria to help fight IS, he said “we are looking at various options.”
By playing with the idea of joining the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS, Putin may hope to reset ties with the West, which have been shattered by the Ukrainian crisis, and also protect Moscow’s influence in Syria, where it has a navy base. But the U.S. and its allies have seen Assad as the cause of the Syrian crisis, and Washington has warned Moscow against beefing up its presence. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday for a second time in five days. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Kerry “reiterated our concern about these reports of Russia military buildup,” adding if they are true, it could lead “lead to greater violence and even more instability” in Syria. Indicating a continuing rift, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Lavrov on the call emphasized Syrian government troops’ role in confronting extremist groups and the need to take consolidated action. On Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said the alliance is concerned about reports about Russia’s increased military presence in Syria. He didn’t offer details.
A U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the issue, said the U.S. has seen the Russians fly a variety of military assets into the airfield south of the Syrian city of Latakia, including troops capable of protecting Russian forces there and modular housing units. He said it indicated that the Russians are preparing for some sort of air operations. The official said he was unaware of any evidence that Russian forces have conducted any offensive military operations in Syria.
Another U.S. official briefed on the latest intelligence declined to confirm or deny whether Russian troops have participated in military operations in Syria. However, he said, U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Russia’s deployment of military personnel and weapons to Syria reflect growing concern about Assad’s ability to weather opposition gains - and it suggests that Moscow may be willing to intervene directly on Assad’s behalf. Russia’s military involvement raises a number of concerns, the U.S. official said, especially because it does not appear to be coordinated with the other countries operating in the area. It is not clear what Russia intends to actually do, he said. One Lebanese politician said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue that some Russian forces already have taken part in some small-scale operations in Syria, possibly paving way for broader military action against IS, including airstrikes, in the future. He provided no details, and other Lebanese politicians contested the claim, saying the Russians haven’t joined the fray yet. Another Lebanese politician familiar with the issue, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t in a position to publicly discuss the subject, said there are Russian experts and, possibly, pilots, in Syria, but no full-fledged fighting force yet.
“There are experts and there are also crews for advanced equipment,” he said. “They have no fighting forces on the ground.”“Russia is a partner in the war,” the politician added. “Russia from the beginning told several officials, including Lebanese, that defending Damascus is like defending Moscow. It will do what is needed.”Hisham Jaber, a retired Lebanese army general familiar with the Syrian military, also said Russian military experts have been in Syria for a long time. “Every time Syria gets new weapons, Russian experts come to train them (Syrians) on these weapons,” Jaber said. “Because of current situation in Syria, these experts need protection and special forces are in Syria to protect advanced weapons and to protect the Russian experts who train Syrians. There are plans to build a military air base in the coastal town of Jable.”
Jaber said the Syrian coast is a “red line for the regime and the Russians,” and it’s threatened now after the fall of the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour earlier this year into the hands of al-Qaida fighters and their allies. Over the past weeks, militants have shelled the coastal city of Latakia. Jisr al-Shughour is only 50 kilometers (30 miles) away. “The Russians will not allow the fall of the Syrian coast because of the naval base and the planned air base,” Jaber said. “Until this moment, there are no Russian forces fighting on the ground,” he added. “There are experts everywhere, who sometimes give advice in operations rooms to Syrian forces.” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov criticized Washington for refusing to cooperate with the Syrian government in the fight against the IS.
“The basis for action of the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition is flawed, because it should at the very least involve cooperation with the countries on whose turf this battle is being fought,” he said, according to Russian news agencies. “When our American colleagues manage to understand that there are global problems that can’t be solved without Russia, we will be able to cooperate.”

Saudi-led strikes destroy Houthi site in Marib
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Channel/Wednesday, 9 September 2015/Saudi-led airstrikes destroyed a “large” military site held by the Iran-backed Houthi militias in the central Yemeni province of Marib, sources told Al Arabiya News Channel on Wednesday. However, the sources did not give further details of the site, which they said was located in Marib’s western al-Jafina area. Arab troops were deployed in Marib on Tuesday, signaling the Saudi-led coalition’s resolve to crush the Houthis and their allied forces belonging to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Marib is sandwiched between the Houthi hometown, Saada, and the capital, Sanaa, which the militias seized last year. A soldier gestures as he sits atop a military vehicle accompanying Gulf Arab soldiers while they arrive at Yemen’s northern province of Marib. (Reuters). Heavy clashes also took palce between the Yemeni national army, and the Houthi militias and Saleh’s forces in the western battlefronts in Marib, specifically in al-Jafina, leaving dozens of the militias killed. The airstrikes also targeted other military sites and homes belonging to the Houthi leadership in the capital Sanaa, and struck Jabal al-Nahdain area as well as reserve forces’ command and police and air defense colleges there. Citing independent Yemeni security officials and witnesses, the Associated Press said the airstrikes killed 12 Houthi members in Marib on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Yemeni army loyal belonging to the internationally recognized leader Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi announced that there are 10,000 fighters who are ready to participate in battles to liberate Marib, paving the way to Saada and finally Sanaa. Marib is not only strategically located but it also produces oil and gas, and generates electrical power to supply large parts of the country. Yemen’s government fled to Riyadh in late March as Houthi forces, who say they are fighting a revolution against them, closed in on their last redoubt in Aden, triggering the foreign intervention and fighting which has killed over 4,500 people. The Arab alliance states see their campaign as a fight against creeping Iranian influence in their backyard. Loyalist Yemeni forces and Gulf soldiers took back Aden and most of Yemen’s south in July, but battle lines have barely moved since as the allied forces face stiff resistance in the Houthis’ northern strongholds. (With the Associated Press and Reuters)

ISIS attacks kill 13 Iraqi troops; Syrian oil field retaken
By AP | Baghdad/Wednesday, 9 September 2015/Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) suicide bombings and clashes between the extremist group and Iraqi troops killed 13 soldiers in Iraq's western Anbar province on Wednesday, while in Syria, government forces retook an oil field recently captured by the militant group. Iraqi military and security officials said attacks in Anbar involved at least two suicide bombers that targeted a military outpost in the volatile province, which fell to the ISIS group during the Islamic State's blitz last year. The outpost housed a joint contingent of Iraqi soldiers, policemen and allied Sunni militiamen, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Another 13 troops were wounded in the attacks, the latest to hit beleaguered Iraqi forces trying to claw back territory from the ISIS in the region. Meanwhile, in Syria, government troops regained control of a major oil field in central Homs province, driving out ISIS militants just days after the extremists captured the field, according to Gov. Talal al-Barazzi. Al-Barazzi said the army established control Wednesday of the Jazal oil field, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) northwest of the ISIS-controlled city of Palmyra, following intense battles. Activists say the oil field is not operational. ISIS captured the field late Sunday, after months of fighting. Al-Barazzi said the militants took advantage of bad weather amid a sandstorm in the region to make their advance. ISIS controls most of Syria's oil fields, predominantly in the country's east, along the border with Iraq. The group captured a third of both Iraq and Syria last summer and declared a self-styled caliphate on the territory it controls.

Israel reopens embassy in Cairo four years after diplomats evacuated
By Reuters | Jerusalem/Wednesday, 9 September 2015/Israel reopened its embassy in Egypt on Wednesday, four years after it was stormed by dozens of protesters in violence that led to the evacuation of the Israeli ambassador. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that its director-general, Dore Gold, had travelled to Cairo to “rededicate” the embassy. Israeli ambassador Yitzhak Levanon and other staff were airlifted from Egypt after demonstrators stormed the city centre embassy in September 2012 in a protest over the shooting of five Egyptian security guards by Israeli soldiers pursuing militants who had ambushed and killed eight Israelis along the border. Israel’s current ambassador to Cairo, Haim Koren, attended Wednesday’s ceremony, along with an Egyptian diplomat and the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, the Israeli statement said. Israeli diplomats have been working mainly from the ambassadorial residence in a Cairo suburb. Ties between Israel and Egypt have tightened since the Egyptian army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in 2013 following mass protests against his rule. The two countries, which signed a peace treaty in 1979, cooperate on security matters in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula where Islamist militants have attacked Egyptian troops and launched rockets into Israel. Israel is also involved in talks over the sale of natural gas from its offshore Leviathan field to Egypt but a deal has not yet been signed.

Walid Phares to 'Sada el Balad' TV: "Qatar must cut its support and ties to the Jihadists and radical Islamists..."
"Egypt after the revolution is leading in the war with the Jihadists, it needs significant international support"
In an interview with 'Sada el Balad' TV, Dr Walid Phares said: "Egypt after the revolution of June 2013 is leading in the war with the Jihadists in North Africa, it needs significant US and international support"Phares, the author of 'The Lost Spring' said "the Egyptian popular revolution against the Muslim Brotherhood regime saved the Middle East from a titanic menace in the region stretching from Morocco to Gaza, as Iran's threat stretches from Beirut to Tehran." Phares said "Egypt is fighting the Jihadists on multiple fronts, in Sinai, along the Nile valley and in Libya. It needs serious backing by the US and the international community."Answering a question about why the US doesn't put the Ikhwan on its terror list, Phares said "it is unlikely that the Administration would move in that direction but there are several legislations prepared by members of Congress in that regard. Many members of Congress visited Egypt before and during the revolution, and after, and have reported to their colleagues about the realities on the ground in Egypt." Asked about the Qatari role in backing the Brotherhood and Jihadi terror groups, Phares said "we heard testimonies in Congress about such a role. Washington needs to put pressures on Qatar to cut off with the Jihadists and the radical Islamists."

Russia and Iran seek control of Syria and Iraq
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/September 09/15
Two years ago, Russian military arrangements were activated to prevent the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria in the form of specialists, consultants and uninterrupted arms shipments. Russian interference back then coincided with an unprecedented semi-Iranian invasion of Syria. Iranian generals and forces from its Revolutionary Guards carried out most of the combat missions along with the Lebanese Hezbollah, and Afghani and Iraqi groups. Russians were on the back lines, and Iranian forces on the front line. U.S. reports highlight new, large-scale Russian activity, with potentially huge airlifts, as well as shipments of large housing units for around 3,000 Russian soldiers. Moscow wants to convince the world that it is not invading Syria, and that current events are merely a continuation of the defense agreement with the Assad regime. However, the scale of the activity is a lot larger now. Russia may see in the current situation a precious opportunity to launch a full-scale war to wipe out the moderate national Syrian resistance. Iranian and Russian forces will then be able to take full control, given that Assad is just a fig leaf. Moscow wants to achieve what it failed to do with negotiations. Moscow wants to convince the world that it is not invading Syria, and that current events are merely a continuation of the defense agreement. Given that the U.S.-led coalition is fighting terrorist organizations only, Russia and Iran now want to liquidate the national opposition and take over Syria, which is very important to rule Iraq. We are about to enter a new, dangerous chapter in the Syrian war.
Repercussions
Washington’s attempts to embarrass Moscow and make it reveal information about its interference will not stop Russia and Iran from using the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to take over Syria. The interference of Russia in Syria as a fighting force will provoke the Arab and Muslim worlds, and bring back memories of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Its interference will push thousands of youths to join terrorist and extremist organizations to defend Syrians. Then countries such as the United States will not have any pretext to convince the world to fight extremism. It will not be possible to reassure Middle Eastern countries about the Iranian-Russian alliance, which wants total control of Iraq and Syria.So as not to ruin the nuclear negotiations, Washington did not confront or criticize Iran for sending, for the first time, forces beyond its borders to fight in these two countries. If conflict in Syria remained between Syrian parties, matters would have been resolved long ago, either with Assad accepting a political solution according to the Geneva I conference, or with the fall of the regime and the establishment of a political system that includes all Syrian components. Russian interference will prolong and widen the conflict.

Can we live next to an Iranian Syria?
Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya/September 09/15
Like any war, the one in Syria will eventually be over, but it could lead to a permanently bad outcome. Today’s generation does not remember Israel being described as a dagger in the heart of the Arab nation. In the 1960s, Arab caricaturists drew the map of the world with blood trickling from where Palestine is located. Israel’s dagger continues to make us bleed. A sectarian, Iranian Syria would be the second dagger, one that will remain for centuries, waging one war after another with us. It might not benefit from Russian support alone. Even Israel is ready to protect it - it is a Jewish state, so will feel less hostile next to sectarian and ethnic statelets: Shiite-Alawite, Kurdish and Druze, among others. These entities cannot be compared to Sunni Arab countries, which together represent the whole Arab body. However, this body is weak because of disputes and totalitarianism. A caricaturist might draw this body with many daggers stabbing it. Arabs did not notice what happened on Aug. 2 in Istanbul, even though Turkish intelligence provided all the details. In a hotel, three Syrians from Ahrar al-Sham, a rising force in the Syrian revolution, met with three Iranians and a Hezbollah representative, who remained silent throughout the meeting. The Iranians led the negotiations as if “Syria was theirs,” one of the Syrians said. This meeting affects Arabs’ national security. Iranians are negotiating to shape the future of Syria as if it was their own country, angering and hurting the Syrian negotiators. What happened that day in Istanbul revealed the reality of the situation in Syria and its future prospects. It is a mere sectarian project. Iranians were bargaining with Ahrar al-Sham over the displacement of Shiite Syrians to areas under their control, in exchange for the withdrawal of Syrian fighters from the village of Zabadani, which they wish to control. In short, Iran is redrawing the map of Arab Syria.
Hezbollah
In order for Arab nationalists to realize the coming danger, they must see things from a sectarian point of view because Iran’s regional motives and alliances are purely sectarian. This battle determines the fate of Hezbollah, which is firmly established in Lebanon and is disabling politics there. No elections will take place in Lebanon before Hezbollah and Iran resolve their battle in Syria, which will merely constitute a supply line for the party. Iranians are negotiating to shape the future of Syria as if it was their own country. If Damascus falls completely to the Syrian people, there would not be a pro-Hezbollah government. This was evident from the first day of the peaceful revolution, which called for elections, democracy and pluralism. Neither arms nor sectarian slogans were raised. However, Hezbollah took the side of the regime until it made democratic, free Lebanon an enemy of the revolution. If the revolution succeeds, arms supplies to Hezbollah will stop, and it will retreat to being a party that draws its strength from polls and its Shiite base, heeding the demands of its people and providing them with better services and more jobs. Hezbollah will then give up its dream of a great Islamic republic.

Weep, Arab world!
Khaled Almaeena/Al Arabiya/September 09/15
The pictures in most newspapers in Europe and America are those of dead bodies washed up on Europe's shores. These are desperate Arabs mostly Syrians fleeing the war. It is a tragedy and crisis at Europe’s doorstep but the real tragedy is the Arab world. The heartbreaking image of the innocent toddler washed up on a Turkish beach after the boat he was in with his fleeing family capsized reveals the senseless brutality that is going on in Syria, Iraq and other parts of the Arab world. It is a picture that should shake the Arab world and especially the Syrian regime whose relentless assault has led to this humanitarian disaster. The murderous takfiris and jihadis who have created this turmoil have also paralyzed the Arab world, depriving it of its peace and security. The UN says that more than 2,500 people have died while attempting to reach Europe. Land travel is also fraught with danger crossing dangerous deserts. Attacked by merciless bandits and exposed to the elements, these desperate people are risking their most precious possession – their lives.
How long will the Arab world continue to suffer and when will the warring factions decide to call it quits? Some who reach the land mass of Europe are met with indifference, contempt and hostility. Hungary blocked thousands who were trying to transit the country to go to Germany, but the most criminal act was in the Czech Republic where authorities wrote numbers in indelible ink on the skin of refugees whom they had pulled off trains. The Czech Republic already known for its hostility to the aspirations of the people of Palestine (it was among the nine who voted against Palestine) continued its policy. The right-wing elements there showed no mercy. However, the two most welcoming countries in Europe have been Germany and Sweden. Berlin is preparing for some 800,000 asylum applications this year and Sweden, with just two percent of the EU’s population, last year accounted for 13 percent of all applications and 18 percent of all successful ones. There have been emergency meetings at the highest level among European states to study the influx of an almost unsustainable number of asylum seekers. A BBC correspondent asked me why Arab and Gulf states are not taking the refugees. I replied that Jordan and Lebanon have already taken about four million. The Turks also have accepted tens of thousands. As for the Gulf it is geographically difficult for them to cross this tract of land.
Rising to the occasion
However, this does not absolve the Arabs from blame. Dictatorship and iron fist policies have led to this tragic situation. We watch as this tragedy of epic proportions unfolds daily in front of us. We criticize European nations for tightening their borders. We accuse them of not rising to the occasion and resolving a crisis or solving the humanitarian problem that is of our own doing. Decision makers in the Arab world have failed their people and they have proved their incompetence and their inability to come up with appropriate solutions to their problems. They continue to lack wisdom and are obsessed with power and control. How long will the Arab world continue to suffer and when will the warring factions decide to call it quits? How many more children’s bodies will be washed ashore? How many more lives will be lost and how many refugee camps will the world have to produce? For how long will the forces of evil continue to threaten innocent Arab families? Are there no voices of wisdom left in the Arab world? Weep, Arab world!

Mahmoud Abbas: Should I stay or should I go now?
Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/September 09/15
There is nothing unusual about a politician entering the ninth decade of his life, and announcing his desire to retire or at least reduce his workload. However, when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced his intention to quit his role as head of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it was received with a mixture of understanding, concern and much scepticism. For quite some time there has been an air of inevitability that, after more than a decade at the helm and celebrating recently his 80th birthday, the Palestinian political system might find itself looking for a new leader. The main concern is that when Abbas vacates his positon of leadership in the PLO and also in the Palestinian Authority (PA), it might lead to a period of extreme instability among the Palestinians and with Israel. Nevertheless, there is also an element of doubt as to whether this veteran politician, who has so effectively used the threat of resignation on several occasions to galvanize his power, is pulling one more trick out of his sleeve, knowing that many would wish for him to stick around due to fear of the unknown in a post-Abbas era. As a consequence of suspecting that he is trying to consolidate his power rather than resign, the PLO’s leadership decided to indefinitely postpone the meeting of the Palestine National Council (PNC), the PLO’s legislative body, where elections for a new executive committee were supposed to take place. The convening of the PNC in Ramallah by itself raised many challenges. The PNC represents Palestinians living not only in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but also in the diaspora. Had the gathering taken place in Ramallah, many of the 740 PNC members would have not been able to attend for various reasons, including restrictions on movement and entry imposed by Israel. This might have meant an inbuilt majority for those who support Abbas, and would have either encouraged him to stay and even increase his power, or would have elected a successor of his choice.
End of an era
Regardless of the postponement of the PNC meeting, Abbas’s intended resignation drew attention to the fact that his leadership is gradually drawing to a close. This will be the end of the era of those who founded the PLO, and subsequently oversaw the transition of the organization from a mainly military resistance movement to an internationally recognized political force. For Abbas, it has been a long personal journey from being a 13-year-old refugee from Safed due to the 1948 war, to Yasser Arafat’s successor as leader of the PLO and the PA after his death in 2004. Succeeding Arafat, the great symbol of Palestinian nationalist revival, has always been one of Abbas’ greatest challenges. The latter has actually utilized his image as a grey technocrat to his advantage, an image that is diametrically opposite to that of his predecessor. At the time of Arafat’s death the second Palestinian uprising was still raging, resulting in bloodshed and one of the most oppressive periods of the Israeli occupation. Moreover, PA corruption repelled many Palestinians, and the dream of self-determination seemed as remote as ever. After decades of Fatah’s nearly complete monopoly over Palestinian politics, the rival Hamas movement was making great strides in becoming an electable alternative. Abbas’s steady leadership helped stabilize the Palestinian ship. As one of the founders of the PLO, holding senior positions and influencing the most crucial decisions in the very topsy-turvy history of the Palestinian liberation movement, he brought with him enormous experience intertwined with mild-mannered prudence.
Appointing Salem Fayyad as prime minister forged a successful partnership in combating corruption and making the Palestinian government more efficient under difficult circumstances.
Difficulties
Abbas’s first two years in office were probably his most difficult. The Israeli government under Ariel Sharon treated him with complete disregard. It was dismissive of him as a political partner for peace, and unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip without first negotiating it with the PA. Abbas’s intended resignation drew attention to the fact that his leadership is gradually drawing to a close. This will be the end of the era of those who founded the PLO. It was an Israeli folly, considering that Abbas played a significant role in the PLO’s recognition of Israel in the 1980s, the Oslo peace process, and his continuous brave stand against indiscriminate violence in resisting the occupation. The manner in which Israel withdrew from Gaza handed a great moral and political victory to his main political rival Hamas, which won the 2005 parliamentary election. This led to one of Abbas’s greatest failures, the division of Gaza and the West Bank. This in turn weakened the Palestinian cause for self-determination immensely, and to this day casts a long shadow over Palestinian politics.
He also failed to fully embrace the opportunity for peace when it came during Ehud Olmert’s premiership, though it might not have been entirely his fault. The window of opportunity was very narrow, and circumstances in Israel were not favorable at the time.
Still, in the last few years Abbas successfully managed to shift the struggle against the Israeli occupation and ever-expanding settlements to the diplomatic arenas of the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, parliaments around world, and international public opinion. His recently declared intention to scale down his political leadership might reflect fatigue, or even a genuine will to pass the torch to the next generation. Palestinians and Israelis may find very quickly that they miss his leadership. However, whenever he leaves office, it is very unlikely that he will fulfil his great dream of presiding over an independent Palestinian state – a tragedy for him and his people, even if he bears relatively little responsibility for it.

Obama reinforces Iran win
Yitzhak Benhorin/ Associated Press/Ynetnews / 09.08.15/ Israel News
If the 41 senators now openly supporting the nuclear deal stick to their guns, those opposing it in Congress will not be able to pass a resolution of disapproval.
WASHINGTON – Democrats clinched the crucial US Senate votes Tuesday to block passage of a disapproval resolution against the Iran nuclear accord, an outcome that would be a major victory for President Barack Obama against united Republican opposition.
The declarations of support by three Democrats, bringing the total to 41, should block those who oppose or might oppose the deal – 54 Republicans and three Democrats – from passing a resolution of disapproval that would require the president to use his veto power.
Early on Tuesday, Sen. Joe Manchin announced his opposition to the deal, a surprise "no" vote from a moderate Democrat who had sounded like he favored the pact. But that setback for supporters was erased within the hour as three Democrats seen as potential "no" votes on the deal all announced they would support it. Those senators were Richard Blumenthal, Ron Wyden and Gary Peters. But amid fast-paced developments as lawmakers returned to Washington from their five-week summer recess, supporters of the deal stopped short of declaring victory. That was because it remained uncertain whether all 41 Democratic and independent senators now on record in favor of the deal would also support delaying tactics to block a final vote on the disapproval resolution.
Still, the complicated machinery of Congress was turning in favor of the president on his top foreign policy priority, despite Republican control of both the House and the Senate. Already supporters of the deal have the votes in hand to uphold Obama's veto of a disapproval resolution, should that become necessary. Blocking the disapproval resolution with a delay, while ideal from the White House view because it would spare Obama from having to use a veto, would not change the ultimate outcome.
The agreement struck by Iran, the US and five world powers in July will provide Iran hundreds of billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions in exchange for a decade of constraints on the country's nuclear program.
The deal sets Iran back so that it is at least a year away from being able to produce enough nuclear material for a weapon, before the restrictions ease after a decade. Iran is currently assessed to be only 2 to 3 months away from being able to enrich enough uranium for a bomb, if it decides to do so. "This agreement will stand," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said in a speech Tuesday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "America will uphold its commitment and we will seize this opportunity to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon." "The fundamental question for me is what this agreement means for the prospects of Iran getting a nuclear bomb," Wyden said. "This agreement with the duplicitous and untrustworthy Iranian regime falls short of what I had envisioned, however, I have decided the alternatives are even more dangerous." Republicans strongly oppose the pact, saying it makes dangerous concessions to Iran, and hope to push through a resolution of disapproval this week.Leaders of Israel have been strongly lobbying against the deal they say could empower Iran, but had succeeded in winning over only three Senate Democrats, albeit all of them prominent figures – Chuck Schumer k, Robert Menendez and Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Manchin added his name to that list Tuesday. But the majority of Democrats have swung behind the president, and predictions that the issue would dominate discussion during Congress' August recess never came to pass as political headlines were largely overtaken by Donald Trump's presidential candidacy. The two topics will converge on Wednesday, though, when Trump joins Republican Sen. Ted Cruz for a rally to oppose the deal – the same day Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic presidential front runner, delivers a speech supporting it.
Perhaps the most difficult political decision regarding the deal was that made by Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. One the one hand, she is somewhat obligated to back the president, but represents a mostly Jewish county in Miami that mostly opposes the agreement. She ultimately came out in favor of the deal.

Netanyahu to EU: Stop pressuring us into agreements that endanger our existence
TOVAH LAZAROFF/J.Post/09/09/2015
The European Union must stop pressuring Israel to enter dangerous agreements that threaten the future of the Jewish state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Jerusalem on Monday night. Europe “seeks to unilaterally press Israel into agreements that will endanger our very existence and therefore your very defense,” Netanyahu publicly told visiting European Council President Donald Tusk prior to holding a private discussion with him. Netanyahu said he was glad to see Tusk both as a representative of the EU and as a personal friend.
“I've known you for many years. You've been a great friend of Israel, of the Jewish people, and may I say of me personally,” Netanyahu told Tusk.
“We welcome Europe," said Netanyahu, before quipping in an off-the-cuff remark, “Does Europe welcome Israel?”
Netanyahu told Tusk he hoped that together they could find a way to improve relations between Israel and Europe.
Israel, which has strong economic and cultural ties with several European countries, is often at odds with them on diplomatic issues such as Iran’s nuclear program and the stalemate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. In addition, Israel has been concerned by EU plans to publish legal guidelines that would help its member states affix consumer labels to products produced in West Bank settlements. The guidelines are non-binding, however Israel fears that they could be used to further encourage people boycott the Jewish state. “I find it perplexing that some in Europe are still possessed by the anti-Israeli obsession,” Netanyahu lamented. Hundreds of thousands of people are being displaced and slaughtered in the Middle East, said Netanyahu. “But some in Europe believe the only thing they have to do is to press, boycott and vilify the Middle East's only true democracy, Israel,” Netanyahu stated. “I find this inexplicable but I find it also to the detriment of Europe,” he added.
Tusk assured Netanyahu that he need not fear a European boycott.
“I think that we have to avoid words like boycott because for sure this is not the intention of Europe. And I am absolutely sure that no country in Europe wants to boycott Israel,” Tusk said. Netanyahu responded, “I am glad to hear it.”Both Israel and Europe face the common danger posed by extremist groups such as ISIS as well as by Iran’s nuclear and military weapons program., Netanyahu said.
“Iran is building ICBMs for Europe, not for us. We're on the same continent. They can reach us already. They're building inter-continental missiles for Europe and for the United States,” Netanyahu said. Tusk spoke in favor of the deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program that was hammered out between Tehran and the six world powers; the US, Russia, China, Germany, France and Great Britain. Israel believes the deal leaves Iran with the capacity to develop an atomic bomb as well as emboldens its support of worldwide terrorism which continues to threaten the Jewish state. But Tusk said Europe believed the deal could lead to a breakthrough in relations between Iran and the international community.
“The real break in the long term perspective through will not be sustainable if Iran does not change its attitude toward Israel, the security of Israel must remain one of our European priorities. It is also my wish that the voice of Israel in the debate of the nuclear agreement with Iran is both heard and respected in Europe,” said Tusk. Netanyahu told Tusk that Israel and Europe should be working together to help improve life for people in Africa and to halt the dangerous extremism that is sweeping the Middle East.“I want to discuss with you, as I've discussed with other European leaders and will discuss with them, how Europe and Israel can cooperate to assure the progress of modernity for all the peoples of the Middle East, for peace with all our neighbors,” Netanyahu said. Tusk said that one way to address the challenges in the Middle East is to revive the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians that has been frozen since April 2014.He spoke just days after EU foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini announced that the Quartet planned to meet with Arab states on September 30, on the sides lines opening of the UN General Assembly in New York. “The EU sees no alternative to a negotiated two-state solution,” Tusk said. He ended by speaking of the close ties between Israel and Europe.
“Israel matters greatly to the EU. It is Israel’s friend and partner in good times and in bad times,” Tusk said.

Europe’s Migration Crisis,“Not Giving Us Like in Germany”
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/September 9, 2015
One migrant was asked why he doesn’t want to stay in Hungary. He replied: “[Hungary is] not giving us like in Germany… a house, money…”
“It’s not 150,000 migrants coming that some want to divide according to quotas, it’s not 500,000, a figure that I heard in Brussels, it’s millions, then tens of millions, because the supply of immigrants is endless.” — Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary.
Only 20 of the 12,000 people who crossed the border during the weekend of September 5-6 applied for asylum in Austria. The rest have already moved on to the more generous Germany.
In Germany, the number of asylum seekers entering the country in a single month surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time ever. Germany expects to receive a total of 800,000 refugees and migrants this year, a four-fold increase over 2014.
Germany and Sweden are the final destinations of choice for most migrants, lured by the generous benefits they can claim, and the governments’ message that refugees are welcome in unlimited numbers. The open-door immigration policies could draw millions of Muslims into Europe from the Middle East and North Africa.
Hundreds of Muslim refugees are converting to Christianity, apparently in an effort to improve their chances of having their asylum applications approved. Under Islam, Muslims who convert to Christianity are guilty of apostasy, a crime punishable by death. The “converts” apparently believe that German officials will allow them to stay if they can be persuaded that they will be killed if they are sent back to their countries of origin.
In Bulgaria, a search of five Albanian men trying to cross the border revealed that they were carrying Islamic State propaganda, including videos of decapitations.
Half a million migrants and refugees are known to have entered the European Union during the first eight months of 2015; that number may increase to more than one million before the year is through. This figure does not include individuals who got into the EU undetected.
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6473/europe-migration-crisis-welfare
A total of 364,183 migrants entered the European Union by sea between January and August, compared to 280,000 for the whole of 2014, according to updated statistics published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on September 3, 2015.
Of the total maritime arrivals, 245,274 arrived in Greece, 116,649 in Italy, and 2,166 arrived in Spain. The top countries of origin are: Syria, followed by Afghanistan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Albania, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Iraq.
In addition, 132,240 migrants are known to have arrived in the European Union during the first seven months of 2015 by land, crossing from Turkey into Greece and Bulgaria, according to Frontex, the EU’s border management agency. The top three countries of origin are: Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Germany and Sweden are the final destinations of choice for most migrants, lured by the generous benefits they can claim and the governments’ message that refugees are welcome in unlimited numbers.
If sustained indefinitely, the open-door immigration policies could draw potentially millions of Muslims into Europe from the Middle East and North Africa.
Every European country is being affected by the migration crisis in one way or another. What follows is a brief survey of developments in selected countries.
In Austria, Chancellor Werner Faymann said he would end an emergency measure that allowed more than 10,000 migrants and refugees in Hungary to enter the country unhindered. “We have always said this is an emergency situation in which we must act quickly and humanely,” he said. “We have helped more than 12,000 people in an acute situation. Now we have to move step-by-step away from emergency measures towards normality.”
Only 20 of the 12,000 people who crossed the border during the weekend of September 5-6 applied for asylum in Austria. The rest have already moved on to the more generous Germany. In addition to receiving free clothing, food, housing and healthcare, migrants in Germany also get a monthly cash payment of €143 ($160), compared to only €40 ($45) per month in Austria.
Meanwhile, six people — five Bulgarians and an Afghan with Hungarian residency — have been arrested in connection with the deaths of 71 migrants whose decomposing bodies were found in the back of an abandoned truck on August 27. Police believe the truck, which was left on the side of an Austrian highway, entered into Austria from Hungary. The truck owner is a Bulgarian citizen of Lebanese origin.
In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron on September 7 announced plans to accept 20,000 Syrian refugees during the next five years. Just days earlier, he said the UK had already taken in enough refugees. Cameron’s position is said to have changed after British newspapers published photographs of the body of a Syrian child washed up on a Turkish beach.
Since then, a petition calling on the government to accept more refugees has garnered more than 400,000 signatures, well above the 100,000 threshold needed to allow for a debate in Parliament.
The petition states: “There is a global refugee crisis. The UK is not offering proportional asylum in comparison with European counterparts. We can’t allow refugees who have risked their lives to escape horrendous conflict and violence to be left living in dire, unsafe and inhumane conditions in Europe. We must help.”
Thousands of economic migrants have attempted to enter the UK illegally through the Channel Tunnel, a 50 kilometer (31 mile) rail tunnel between France to Britain.
In Bulgaria, five jihadists posing as refugees were arrested on August 28 while trying to cross the border at Gyueshevo, one of three checkpoints along the Bulgarian-Macedonian border. Police became suspicious after the five men, Albanians aged between 20 and 24, attempted to bribe the border guards with 175 euros ($195) each. A subsequent search found that the men were carrying Islamic State propaganda, including videos of decapitations.
In the Czech Republic, authorities assigned migrants with numbers, which they wrote on the migrants’ arms and hands with a felt-tip pen. The government said many migrants had no documents and did not speak English, and that this method was the best way to track them. The move was widely criticized because of its connotations with the Jewish Holocaust, when the Nazis tattooed numbers on everyone they sent to concentration camps.
In Denmark, Andreas Kamm, the secretary general of the Danish Refugee Council (Dansk Flygtningehjælp), warned that the current refugee crisis could lead to total collapse of European society. In an interview with the newspaper Jyllands-Posten, Kamm said he believes that Europe is facing “a total Armageddon scenario.” He added:
“We are experiencing a historical imbalance between the very high numbers of refugees and migrants and the global capacity to provide them with protection and assistance. We are running the risk that conflicts between the migrants and local populations will go awry and escalate. The answer cannot be that Europe imports surplus populations. We cannot be required to destroy our own society.”
Danish Finance Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen said: “I’m most indignant over the Arab countries who are rolling in money and who only take very few refugees. Countries like Saudi Arabia. It’s completely scandalous.”
The Danish government has placed ads in Lebanese newspapers aimed at deterring potential migrants. “Denmark has decided to tighten the regulations concerning refugees in a number of areas,” say the ads, which warn that Denmark recently passed legislation, cutting benefits by up to 50% for newly arrived refugees.
On September 6, Danish police stopped 150 refugees who began marching towards the border with Sweden, known for its more generous asylum policies. The group was among 300 refugees who arrived in Rødby, a busy ferry crossing between southern Denmark and Germany. Scuffles broke out with police when some ran off to avoid having their fingerprints taken, in fear they would be registered as seeking refuge in Denmark and unable to go on to Sweden.
On September 8, Danish police sent back a group of economic migrants who had arrived from Germany. “These are people who do not want to seek asylum and are therefore here illegally. They have been deported and barred from re-entering the country for two years,” police in southern Denmark said in a statement. “This first group was a score of people. More will follow after their cases are processed,” the statement said, adding that they were sent back by bus.
In Finland, Prime Minister Juha Sipila offered to do his part to alleviate Europe’s migration crisis by announcing that Muslim refugees could stay at his unused summer cottage in Kempele, a small town just 184 kilometers (114 miles) south of the Arctic Circle. Average temperatures in Kempele are below the freezing point six months out of the year and the town does not (yet) have a mosque. “I hope this becomes some kind of people’s movement that will inspire many others to shoulder part of the burden in this refugee housing crisis,” Sipila said on state television.
Sipila made his offer one day after his government doubled its estimate for the number of asylum seekers in Finland in 2015 to 30,000. Just two weeks earlier, his government had lifted the estimate to 15,000, which was 10,000 higher than previous estimates. The figures compare to 3,600 asylum seekers in 2014.
During the first five months of 2015, the majority of asylum seekers in Finland — which is stuck in a three-year recession — were economic migrants, not refugees fleeing war zones. According to the Finnish Immigration Service, the top ten countries origin countries for migrants to Finland were: Iraq, Somalia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Russia, Albania, Nigeria, Syria, Morocco and Algeria.
Meanwhile, some 200 Finns in Salo, home of the once-dominant Nokia cell phone maker, protested against the opening of a reception center for refugees in the town. Demonstrators in the central square shouted slogans such as, “Close the borders” and “Islam will destroy us.” One protestor said: “Finns need to be helped first. Everything has been taken from the unemployed, the poor and the sick. But the coffers are empty. If these centers open, our taxes will go up.”
In France, President François Hollande agreed to take in 24,000 migrants during the next two years. A September 5 poll published by Le Parisien showed that 55% of French voters are opposed to an easing of rules for migrants asking for refugee status, including Syrians fleeing civil war.
The vice president of the anti-immigration National Front party, Florian Philippot, accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of encouraging migration to Europe so that German industry would be supplied with “slaves.”
“Germany needs cheap slaves to supply its industry,” Philippot said during a speech at a gathering of the National Front in Marseille. “Her proposals to impose migrant quotes are only logical: to serve the cynical interests of German capitalism. The only objective is to bridge the demographic deficit as cheaply as possible.”
In Germany, the number of asylum seekers entering the country in a single month surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time ever. A record 104,460 asylum seekers arrived in August 2015, bringing the cumulative total for the first eight months of 2015 to 413,535. Germany expects to receive a total of 800,000 refugees and migrants this year, a four-fold increase over 2014.
German officials say that 20,000 migrants and refugees arrived in the country during the weekend of September 5-6. Another wave is expected to arrive within the next few days.
The German government will spend €6 billion ($6.7 billion) to cope with the influx of refugees. State and local governments will receive €3 billion for housing the refugees, and the central government will allocate another €3 billion for benefits for the new arrivals.
Hundreds of Muslim refugees are converting to Christianity, apparently in an effort to improve their chances of having their asylum applications approved. Under Islam, Muslims who convert to Christianity are guilty of apostasy, a crime punishable by death. The “converts” apparently believe that German immigration officials will allow them to stay in Germany if they can be persuaded that they will be killed if they are sent back to their countries of origin.
Muslim migrants have clashed among themselves upon arrival in Germany. On August 19, at least 20 Syrian migrants staying at an overcrowded refugee shelter in the eastern German town of Suhl tried to lynch an Afghan migrant after he tore pages from a Koran and threw them in a toilet.
More than 100 police officers were called in to restore order, but when they arrived they were attacked with stones and concrete blocks. Seventeen people were injured in the melee, including 11 refugees and 6 police officers. The Afghan is now under police protection. The president of the German state of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow, said that Muslims of different nationalities should be housed separately to avoid similar violence in the future.
In Greece, troops were deployed to the Aegean island of Lesbos, following clashes between migrants and police. More than 15,000 migrants and refugees have arrived on the island, an entry point into the European Union. Migrants are upset over delays in the registration process that has left them stranded on the island, unable to continue their journey to other countries in northern Europe. Scuffles have also broken out between Syrians, who are granted priority in the vetting process, and Afghans, who are forced to wait much longer.
In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán proposed sending in the military to seal the country’s southern border with Serbia. He said:
“We’ll bring the border under control step-by-step. We’ll send in the police, then, if we get approval from parliament, we’ll deploy the military. It’s not 150,000 migrants coming that some want to divide according to quotas, it’s not 500,000, a figure that I heard in Brussels, it’s millions, then tens of millions, because the supply of immigrants is endless.”
A spokesman for Hungary’s center-right government, Zoltán Kovács, said the EU’s response to the migration crisis has been a total failure. He said:
“It [the EU] does not differentiate between those who are in real need of help. Genuine refugees are pushed together with economic migrants. We are not facing a refugee crisis, we are facing a migration crisis. People are coming here from a hundred countries around the world. It is completely unacceptable that illegal means of movement are now institutionalized.”
Hundreds of migrants, eager to leave Hungary for the promised land of Germany, were filmed confronting police and refusing food and water. One migrant was asked why he doesn’t want to stay in Hungary. He replied: “[Hungary is] not giving us like in Germany… a house, money…”
In Iceland, population 330,000, more than 12,000 families offered to open their homes to migrants in a bid to raise the government’s cap of just 50 asylum seekers per year. They responded to a call by Bryndís Björgvinsdóttir, an activist who set up a Facebook page calling on the government to allow ordinary Icelanders to help.
Referring to the refugees, Björgvinsdóttir wrote:
“They are our future spouses, best friends, the next soul mate, a drummer for our children’s band, the next colleague, Miss Iceland in 2022, the carpenter who finally finishes the bathroom, the cook in the cafeteria, a fireman and television host. People of whom we’ll never be able to say in the future: ‘Your life is worth less than my life.’”
In Italy, an 18-year-old asylum-seeker from the Ivory Coast named Mamadou Kamara was accused of murdering an elderly couple in Sicily. Kamara, who was rescued in the Mediterranean Sea on June 8 and brought with other migrants to the port of Catania in Sicily, allegedly broke into a home in the nearby village of Palagonia and slit the throat of Vincenzo Solano, 68, during a robbery that turned violent. His Spanish-born wife, Mercedes Ibañez, 70, fell to her death from a second-floor balcony. Police say Kamara stole a laptop computer, a video camera and a mobile telephone from the couple’s home.
Center-right politician Giorgia Meloni said: “The instigator of the murder of these two innocents is the Italian state, which is responsible for having kept open a migrant facility… which we said should be closed down.”
In Macedonia, police scuffled with thousands of migrants trying to cross into the country from Greece. Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki said:
“In the last several days there has been a dramatic increase of inflow of migrants and we have reached numbers of 3,000 to 3,500 per day which obviously is not something a country of two million people and our resources can handle on a daily basis. We had to reinforce the control of illegal entry of Macedonian territory.”
Hundreds of Muslim migrants shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“Allah is Greater”) rejected Red Cross meals distributed by Macedonian troops because the food is not halal, or legally permissible according to Islamic Sharia law.
In the Netherlands, the government announced new rules that would cut off food and shelter for migrants who fail to qualify as refugees. Failed asylum seekers would be limited to “a few weeks” shelter after being turned down. If they do not agree to return home, they would be deported.
The UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination criticized the Dutch policy. It said that the basic needs of migrants should be provided unconditionally. Prime Minister Mark Rutte responded by saying that it would be “crazy” to offer permanent shelter to people who refused to leave. “We are talking about the group that can go back,” he said, “whose governments would take them back, but they do not want to go back.”
In Norway, dozens of migrants are arriving via the Arctic Circle. Up to 20 migrants a month are trekking to the far north of Russia and then crossing into the tiny Norwegian town of Kirkenes, which lies around 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) north of Damascus.
According to border agreements, it is illegal either to cross the border on foot or to give a lift to someone without papers — a problem Syrian refugees have sidestepped by using bicycles.
“There is no reason to believe that this will stop,” Hans Møllebakken, chief of police in Kirkenes, told Norway’s VG newspaper. “The fact is, if you have money, you can get from Damascus to Storskog in under 48 hours: This is the fast track to Schengen.”
In Slovakia, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Ivan Netik, said that his country will only accept Christians when it takes in Syrian refugees under an EU relocation scheme. Speaking to the BBC, Netik said:
“We want to really help Europe with this migration wave but we are only a transit country and the people don’t want to stay in Slovakia. We could take 800 Muslims but we don’t have any mosques in Slovakia so how can Muslims be integrated if they are not going to like it here?”
In Spain, the newspaper El País reported that most asylum seekers see Spain as nothing more than a “stop on the road” to Germany. Many move north after their six months of free financial assistance runs out. “Many of those who reach Spain leave as soon as they can for countries with more generous aid,” the paper reported. “They know there are no jobs here, and that the existing structure cannot cover everyone’s needs.”
The central government in Madrid has placed limits on the amount of aid available, but more than 50 provincial and municipal governments in Spain are now providing migrants with housing and free health care.
Police on September 7 fired rubber bullets at migrants in a detention center in Valencia after more than 50 of them tried to escape. On August 16, at least 35 migrants escaped from a holding facility in Algeciras. On August 15, eight migrants escaped from a detention center in Murcia.
In Sweden, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven on September 6 addressed a pro-refugee rally in Stockholm in which he urged Swedes and other Europeans to do more for migrants. He said: “We need to decide right now what kind of Europe we are going to be. My Europe takes in refugees. My Europe doesn’t build walls.”
An Schibsted/Inizios opinion poll produced for the newspaper Aftonbladet found that 66% of Swedes were prepared to help refugees, but 48% said they have little or no confidence in the government’s approach to the crisis.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis on September 6 called on all Catholic parishes and monasteries in Europe each to house one refugee family. He said the Vatican’s two parishes would lead by example. According to one calculation, “There are about 122,000 Catholic parishes in Europe, according to a study conducted by Georgetown University and published in June. If each of them housed one refugee family consisting of three to four people, about 360,000 to 500,000 refugees could be accommodated in the coming months.”
Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.

Laundering Iran’s Nukes
A.J. Caschetta/Gatestone Institute/September 9, 2015
What remains unknown is why President Obama and most of his party want a nuclear Iran.
The goals of the diplomatic process have changed tremendously from the beginning, when President Obama regularly claimed that an Iranian nuclear weapon is “unacceptable,” and that only his unique brand of personal diplomacy could prevent it. Rather than “prevent” or “block” Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb, as the president and Secretary of State Kerry falsely claim, the deal assures Iran of legally acquiring one.
By weaponizing its nuclear program, Iran has violated every agreement it has signed. Iran’s illegal nuclear weapons program is being cleansed and validated at the behest of the Obama administration. These terms make the JCPOA deal unknowable. Signing it is not an act of diplomacy; it is surrender.
There is only one flaw in the JCPOA laundering scheme. In a true money-laundering scheme that involves an outlaw and a legitimate party, the money launderer receives a fee for the service provided; in this trade, the U.S. gets nothing from the JCPOA. The U.S. does not even get back one of the Americans held hostage by Iran.
Let’s come clean. Let’s finally recognize the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for what it is — a laundering project designed to legitimize Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Like a money-laundering scheme by which illegally-earned or stolen money is cleansed or laundered through a legitimate business, Iran’s illegal nuclear weapons program is being cleansed and validated before the world’s eyes at the behest of the Obama administration.
The goals of the diplomatic process have changed tremendously from the beginning when President Obama regularly claimed that an Iranian nuclear weapon is “unacceptable” and that only his unique brand of personal diplomacy could prevent it.
But now, even the most generous (or naive) reading of the deal acknowledges that, at best, it delays an Iranian nuclear weapon by 10 to 15 years, after which the Islamic Republic of Iran emerges with a full-blown legal nuclear weapons program. Rather than “prevent” or “block” Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb, as the president and Secretary of State John Kerry falsely claim, the deal assures Iran of legally acquiring one. It is like telling a jewel thief caught red-handed that if he stops stealing jewels for 15 years, all charges against him will be dropped and he can keep his ill-gotten booty.
Although much of the public debate has centered on the details of the restrictions that will be dropped in 2030, many people believe that Iran will cheat on the deal. And since the ultimate arbiter of Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA will be the United Nations, it is fair to assume that its record of failure will continue. This seems very probable, as it is Iran that will present much of the evidence to “prove” that it is in compliance.
Regrettably, since the beginning of the century, when Mohammad ElBaradei was the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has made significant advances in its covert, illicit nuclear program.
As Iran played cat-and-mouse games with the inspections, ElBaradei studiously avoided confronting the regime and soft-pedaled its violations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. For this work, ElBaradei was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.
Some critics of the deal cite Ronald Reagan’s advice to “trust but verify.” However, the verification process involves a 24-day waiting period between requesting an inspection and gaining access to an Iranian nuclear site.
Some commentators are placated by the claims of Secretary of Energy and Obama diplomat Ernest Moniz that 24 days is insufficient to hide the kinds of work that Iran has agreed to halt. But after first learning that only IAEA inspectors will be allowed to inspect sites, it was revealed that none of them will be Americans, and we have now learned that only Iranian inspectors will be allowed at crucial military sites such as the Parchin complex. That looks like too much trust and too little verification.
Another objection often cited is that no one, including John Kerry and Ernest Moniz, even knows what the JCPOA is. The exact contents of the JCPOA deal remains a mystery, much like the fictitious fatwa banning nuclear weapons that was allegedly issued by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and is frequently cited by Obama — yet has been seen by no one. Parts of the JCPOA are hidden, not only from the public, but even from American diplomats, as Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, admits. Ernest Moniz dismisses our willful ignorance of the JCPOA’s terms as standard operating procedure, and John Kerry says we must respect the process that allows the IAEA and Iran to have secret side deals undisclosed to any of the P5+1 signatories. But these terms make the JCPOA deal unknowable. Signing it is not an act of diplomacy; it is surrender.
Iran acquired nuclear technology in 1957 through the U.S. Atoms for Peace program. Recipients of the Eisenhower Administration’s nuclear largesse were required to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is regularly updated with various safeguards and protocols.
By weaponizing its nuclear program, Iran has violated every agreement it has signed.
The JCPOA is rewarding these violations. It also signals to all countries, good and bad, that now is the time to break treaties with the U.S., when the likelihood of a serious response is low or absent altogether. Surely Iran’s leaders have noticed the U.S. response to Russia’s violations of the Budapest Memorandum, its invasion of Ukraine and the Crimea and its moves in the Arctic Circle. Surely, they have also noticed the U.S. response to China’s construction of islands that are military bases throughout the South China Sea.
So while it is unlikely that Iran will suffer any consequences for cheating (assuming the U.S. even learns of any offenses), there is almost no reason to cheat. The terms of the JCPOA are so one-sided that soon Iran will emerge with all the nuclear weapons it wants, as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles to deliver them to the “Great Satan”. And then it will be too late.
There is only one flaw in the JCPOA laundering scheme. In a true money-laundering scheme that involves an outlaw and a legitimate party, the money launderer receives a fee for the service provided; in this trade, the U.S. earns nothing from the JCPOA. The U.S. does not even get back one of the Americans held hostage by Iran. Iran will not admit to any culpability for murdering Americans around the globe, much less pay reparations for them.
There has not even been a perfunctory, empty promise to cease funding terrorist groups and threatening genocide against Israel and America.
It is hard not to conclude that the JCPOA was designed from the beginning to ensure that Iran would get a legitimate nuclear weapons program, confirmed with the imprimatur of the United States and the United Nations. What remains unknown is why the president and most of his party want a nuclear Iran.
****A.J. Caschetta is a senior lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Shillman-Ginsburg writing fellow at the Middle East Forum. He can be reached at ajcgsl@rit.edu.

Saudi Journalist Calls On Arab Countries To Enact Comprehensive Domestic To Strengthen Themselves Against Iran
MEMRI/September 09/15
In an article in the official Saudi daily Al-Watan, Saudi journalist Sa'ud Al-Balawi argued that, following the recent nuclear agreement with Iran, the U.S. is expected to become an ally of Iran and even to hand over regional control to it and give it carte blanche to operate there. According to Al-Balawi, it is already proven that Arab countries cannot rely on their historic alliance with the U.S., and therefore the only thing that can protect them and guarantee their stability are their peoples. For this reason, he said, he is calling on Arab countries to strengthen themselves at home by enacting widespread reforms, including in education, culture, and freedoms.
Following are excerpts from his article:[1]
Sa'ud Al-Balawi (image: twitter.com/suodalblwi1)
"After lengthy negotiations, the Western countries and Iran reached an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, the main points of which are inspection and oversight of Iranian nuclear facilities and cutbacks on [the number of] uranium enrichment centrifuges, in return for the release of Iranian assets and the lifting of the economic sanctions on it. All this [is to take place] according to a gradual timetable that will continue for 10 years. Under this agreement, Iran will go back to producing oil at maximum capacity; its assets will be unfrozen; its investment options around the world will open up; and it will be able to return to the international community.
"It could be said that this agreement is the U.S. President Barack Obama's sole achievement, and that he devoted all of his efforts to achieving — it even though the agreement implicitly recognizes Iran as a nuclear power and this is making the U.S.'s historical allies lose sleep, especially Saudi Arabia. Iran has a role, aspirations, plans, and moves in the Middle East, in accordance with the principle of exporting [its] 'Revolution' — and this coincides with the U.S.'s desire for a future gradual abandonment of the Middle East while undertaking to ensure Israel's security. This could enable Iran to become a regional power with freedom of action...
"It is clear from this agreement that the phase of [U.S.-Iran] hostility has ended, and that a new phase of rapprochement and focus on developing joint interests over the next 10 years, at the very least, has begun. It is expected that Iran and the U.S. will become allies, as they were in the days of the Shah, and that this will result in a shift in the world's power balances and alliances, according to this game of changing roles. This will lead to even greater changes in the next decade; at that time, the Middle East will face an existential test. This is because the U.S. has been prepared, since the dawn of the third millennium, after the September 11 disaster, to hand the entire region over to Iran, so that [Iran] will go back to policing the region as it once did, in light of the new[ly drawn] maps and [newly formed] configurations that resulted from the so-called 'creative chaos.'
"This is why there have been calls [to Arab countries], especially those historically linked to the U.S., to seek out new alliances according to [their] new interests — because it is no secret that the U.S. readily abandons allies under its 'squeezed lemon' policy, a pure pragmatic principle that is based solely on interests. The U.S. already abandoned its most important ally in the region, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, after he had occupied his seat for half a century... On the other hand, there is no proof that Russia has abandoned its allies — on the contrary, it stands beside them with all its might, for example, 'Abd Al-Nasser in Egypt and Assad in Syria...
"While it may be that in the past, Arab countries had insufficient time to devote attention to their peoples, today these peoples are the only guarantee that these countries have. For this reason, they need comprehensive and swift reforms in several areas, chiefly education and culture, public freedoms, civil society institutions, infrastructure, public services, and the fight against corruption. [These reforms must also include] passing and implementing laws despite all attempts by individuals or groups to violate them, as well as limiting the spread of religious extremism — particularly at a time when Arab countries are conducting battles on several fronts, mainly against terrorism, which threatens to destroy everyone..."

How the Islamic State has helped the Middle East
Kayhan Barzegar/Al-Monitor/September 09/15
The expansion of the Islamic State (IS) has caused serious concerns about the possibility of states in the Middle East collapsing. Yet a careful reading of the situation reveals that IS is in fact gradually strengthening the state's role as the pivotal actor in regional politics. This is significant in three aspects.
First, powerhouses such as Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are gradually acknowledging the necessity of regional cooperation. Of crucial importance, their approach is mainly based on keeping current states and state institutions intact. This is particularly the case in crisis-hit Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
To halt the spread of IS, which seeks to establish a pan-Islamic caliphate that doesn’t recognize current national borders as well as international norms and institutions, regional powers have been forced to adopt proactive policies to prevent the complete collapse of weaker states. The priority of Iranian, Saudi and Turkish policy toward Iraq and Syria is, thus, to avoid the collapse of the respective Iraqi and Syrian states. Needless to say, this objective is pursued with different aims and principles.
It is clear that for regional powers intent on preventing the spread of insecurity into their own territories — and who seek to preserve regional security for distinct political and economic reasons — there is no choice except to strengthen the institution of the state in the neighborhood.
Make no mistake; IS activities in Syria have so far been at the expense of both the Syrian regime and moderate opposition groups. It is no secret that the latter are jointly in favor of keeping the Syrian state intact. The status quo is not benefiting the interests of any of the regional nor extra-regional actors involved in the Syrian crisis. Similarly, the expansion of IS in Iraq, which has pushed the country to the brink of collapse, is not benefiting any of the relevant parties.
Second, in the domestic arena, there has been a change in the public view of the place of the state in establishing order and stability. IS is a new kind of common threat that has brought with it extreme violence, increased sectarian divisions as well as attacks on human values and historical heritage. This has increased the sense of insecurity among people in the region. Indeed, the situation is boosting popular support for current states and state institutions as the only option to battle these kinds of threats.
In fact, as a result of the Arab Spring, a shift from traditional minimal government to maximal government is gradually taking place. As part of this, we are witnessing the gradual establishment of inclusive governments that allow all political forces to address the current political crises and to bring stability, all of which is necessary to battle IS. The current situation in Iraq is a prime example of this.
Third, at the international level, and especially in the West, there is a gradual understanding that cooperating with regional countries and strengthening existing state institutions is the only way to battle IS. IS has managed to adjust its operations to different geopolitical, historical and socio-economic contexts of countries and regions. It operates differently in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt, Malaysia, France, etc. Therefore, it seems that the West is reaching the conclusion that a less costly way to battle IS is to enhance existing state institutions — whether traditional or modern — and encourage regional cooperation. As a function of this, the West further perceives cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia on regional crises as an urgent necessity and precondition to seriously battle IS.
At the same time, the international community is increasingly realizing the complexities of the post-conflict situations and state-building processes in the region. This includes the necessity of enhancing existing state institutions, such as police, armies and other security forces. The experiences of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and even Egypt show how the gradual weakening of these institutional forces creates power vacuums that provide the grounds and necessary political space for the expansion of terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda or IS. Similarly, the heavy presence of extra-regional actors in regional equations is giving these extremist groups the opportunity to justify their activities, mainly in the name of a war against outsiders and their local partners, thereby assisting with the recruitment of new forces.
As the issue of how to deal with IS is becoming ever more complicated, the international community is realizing that the optimal policy at present is to initiate cooperation with the major regional states as new political and security partners. For instance, the improvement in relations between Iran and Europe is first based on the acceptance of the value of their partnership in mutually addressing regional problems, including IS.
In sum, the threat of IS is in effect strengthening the states in the region. To defeat IS, three things must be considered. First, regional/extra-regional cooperation is necessary to create a common understanding of how to preserve stability, thereby battling IS. Second, inclusive governments must be established to attract all political forces to battle this common threat. And third, as a result of increased public expectations, more independent policies by regional states must be pursued in their relation with great powers.

Former Iran deal negotiator slams concessions in nuclear deal
Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/September 09/15
Saeed Jalili, former Iranian nuclear negotiator and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2007 to 2013, defended Iran’s nuclear progress under his tenure at a special parliamentary committee to review the final nuclear deal. Jalili’s testimony at the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) committee made headlines on social media and news agencies; however, Iranian newspapers offered a counter to his mixed track record. Jalili’s speech was shared with the media through Seyed Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, spokesman for the special committee
Jalili began his speech by listing his team’s achievements, which he included as increasing “the number of centrifuges, launching the Fordow [nuclear facility], 76% progress at the Arak heavy water reactor, converting the Tehran reactor to production, 450 kilos [992 pounds] enriched at 20%, and completing and using the Bushehr [nuclear power] plant.” At the same time, Jalili believes that under his administration, the West “lost hope in sanctions, the resistance economy took shape, the enemy’s [plans] in the 2009 protests [were foiled] and the stability of Iran’s regional position” took hold.
Jalili said that in the JCPOA between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, “approximately 100 absolute rights” of Iran were conceded to the opposing side. A number of points that Jalili found “unacceptable” were “Iran being an exceptional [nuclear case], replacing ‘permission’ with ‘right’ under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and accepting unconventional measures.” According to Jalili, the Iranian negotiators “even retreated from the Geneva agreement.”
Hassan Beheshtipour wrote in Iran newspaper, which operates under the administration, that “the former head nuclear negotiator of the country these days is defending the achievements of his tenure in the JCPOA committee, an era which as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council he knew well the specifics of the critical condition of the country, such as the condition of the currency market, goods, and the labor market.”
The article continued, “The economic situation of Iran was in a critical state and had it continued, essentially would have resulted in the locking of the economic foundations of the country, and consequently led to a crisis in other aspects of society. The supreme leader, taking into consideration the overall condition, changed the tracks of the negotiations, and by introducing ‘heroic flexibility’ put a new strategy for the nuclear negotiators.”
Beheshtipour wrote, “Jalili, who is an informed individual, knows that if the JCPOA is not implemented, there is not a better solution, and if there is a better solution, Jalili and his friends must present it.”
Saman Saberian wrote in Ghanoon newspaper, “Saeed Jalili, who according to American negotiator Robert Einhorn, instead of solving the nuclear crisis would talk about the history of Islam and Iran during the nuclear negotiations, with an invitation from hard-line MPs to the JCPOA special committee has put under question [President Hassan] Rouhani’s administration, [Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad] Zarif and the nuclear team, which all the experts speak of their skill, and continues to attack the achievements of the negotiations.”
Saberian said that the committee hearings, instead of bringing new information to light, was used as a platform by Jalili to present new accusations.

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006 Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
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