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Bible Quotation for today/For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
John 03/11-21: "‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’"

Bible Quotation for today/Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble.
second Letter of Peter 01/01-11: "Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature. For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 14-15/15
Assad is staying/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Now Lebanon/September 14/15
Russia not backing down on Assad/Al-Monitor/September 14/15
Rebels cut Damascus-Homs highway/Now Lebanon/September 14/15
Muslim Immigration and How to Handle It/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Iinstitute/September 14/15
Turkey's "Free" Press/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/September 14/1
Will Iran reach truce with the Islamic State/Barbara Slavin/Al-Monitor/September 14/15
Putin’s latest land-grab is in Syria/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/September 14/15
ICRC challenges in Yemen/Robert Mardini/Al Arabiya/September 14/15
Russia aims to restore its Mideast prestige after U.S. ‘creative chaos’/Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/September 14/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on September 14-15/15
Destruction of Israel revealed in Quran, Hadith: Lebanese Shiite scholar Ali_Al-Kourani” Iran’s state-run Ahlul Bayt
Cameron in Lebanon amid Europe refugee crisis
British PM Vows More Assistance as he Inspects Syrian Refugees, Meets Salam
Shehayyeb: Let Us Give the Waste Plan a Chance
Top Officials Throw their Support Behind Shehayyeb's Waste Plan
Lebanon to Call for Redistribution of Refugees
Qassem Tells Pro-Suleiman Minister Appointments Key to Agreeing on Govt. Mechanism
Gang Specialized in Robbing Restaurants, Supermarkets Arrested
Wanted Lebanese drug lord Noah Zaaiter spotted in Qalamoun
Zoaiter Distances his Ministry from Possible Floods Caused by Waste
Lebanese Muslim cleric says the destruction of Israel is revealed in the Qur’an and Hadith

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 14-15/15
Hollande Says Air Strikes against IS in Syria 'Necessary'
EU Backs Military Action against Med People Smugglers
U.S. Condemns 'All Acts of Violence' at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Compound
Clashes Rock Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Compound for Second Day
U.S. Official Says Russia Sent Tanks, Artillery to Syria
Professor dead in US campus shooting
After Iran Deal, Obama Struggles to Gain Israel's Trust
Taliban Storm Afghan Prison, Free Hundreds of Inmates
Egypt Tycoon 'in Talks to Buy Two Islands for Refugees'
Pope says no religion immune from fundamentalism,
Top Iranian space scientist among those killed in Mecca crane collapse
Hungary: Muslim cleric says “homosexuals are the filthiest of Allah’s creatures”

Destruction of Israel revealed in Quran, Hadith: Lebanese Shiite scholar Ali_Al-Kourani” Iran’s state-run Ahlul Bayt
News Agency, September 14, 2015:A renowned Lebanese Shi’a scholar has stated that the ultimate destruction of the Zionist regime was revealed in the Quran and Hadith. Hujjat al-Islam Ali al-Kourani, a Lebanese scholar and researcher in the field of Mahdism, referred to the recent remarks made by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, wherein he stated that Israel “will not exist in 25 years’ time,” and said that since Muslims in Arab countries agree that the Zionist regime is their enemy, thus they must fight and so work toward destroying this regime.
His Eminence explained that the destruction of the Zionist regime will occur in two phases, and in regard to the first phase, he quoted verse 17:5 from the Holy Quran, explaining that Israel will be eventually punished for their actions.
He also mentioned an authentic hadith from Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq which states that “They are those who will be resurrected by God before the rise of [Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi] to fight Israel” and said: “Our youths’ resistance against the Zionist regime and the Islamic Resistance [Hezbollah] are proof for this.”
“Imam al-Mahdi and his companions will enter al-Aqsa Mosque and later they will re-enter it, just as they entered it the first time,” he explained.
Hujjat al-Islam al-Kourani stressed that the predication made by Ayatollah Khamenei that Israel will be destroyed is based on Quranic verses and authentic narrations and stressed that this will be achieved in the near future.“God willing, we will see this day,” he added. The Lebanese scholar referred to the causes and signs of the destruction of Israel, saying: “As the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said in his speech, people throughout the Muslim world are awake and alert… the power of the forces of the Islamic Resistance against the Zionist regime has changed.” He stressed that the strength of the Islamic Resistance is such that they are able to attack the Zionist regime at any time and place that they want.
Hujjat al-Islam al-Kourani said that when the Zionist regime was first established, it attacked several Islamic countries and Muslims were extremely afraid and unable to defend themselves. But now the balance of power has changed in the world and Muslims hold much power and authority.
He invited the worldwide Islamic community and religious centres to prepare the ground for the rapid destruction of the Zionist regime and said that the Zionist regime is the mirror-image of Wahhabism and added that he is very hopeful of its destruction in the very near future.The researcher in the field of Mahdism called on the Islamic Resistance to preserve their unity and advance their strength and to prepare themselves for a wide-ranging battle against Israel, saying that the Resistance has power and advanced weapons, but they still must strive to equip and increase their military power.Referring to the expulsion of several Israeli ambassadors from Latin American countries and the opening of embassies in some Arabic countries such as Qatar and Jordan, he said the people of Latin America have true freedom and liberty but the so-called Arab countries have lost their roots.
“The Prophet Muhammad said that anyone that has a relationship with the [Zionist] Jews will become deviated,” he said. Hujjat al-Islam al-Kourani explained that the ultimate destruction of the Zionist regime will occur in Lebanon, and added that he will speak about this subject on his weekly television program on the al-Wilayah satellite network.

Cameron in Lebanon amid Europe refugee crisis
Now Lebanon/September 14/15/BEIRUT – British Premier David Cameron visited Lebanon Monday to see firsthand the situation of Syrian refugees as the EU struggles to cope with a mass wave of migrants escaping the war in Syria. Cameron arrived in Beirut in the morning for a short visit that included a trip to a refugee site in the Bekaa’s Terbol and a meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Tammam Salam, before leaving the country at midday. The British PM said he wanted “to come here to see for myself and to hear for myself stories of refugees and what they need.” He also announced that he had appointed a Home Minister official tasked with coordinating London’s plan to accept 20,000 Syrian refugees into the country.Cameron flew into the Bekaa’s Terbol to meet with refugees after taking a helicopter flight from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport to the Riyak military airbase in the impoverished region.
“I’m at a refugee camp in Lebanon, hearing some heartbreaking stories,” the British PM wrote on Twitter in a post accompanied with a picture of him meeting with a refugee family. Cameron also toured public schools in Lebanon’s coast north of Beirut that provide education for Syrian refugees, meeting with local education officials “to hear about the effect the presence of displaced [Syrians] has had on the standard of education,” Lebanon’s state National News Agency reported. “Cameron confirmed that [the UK] will continue to help Lebanon give shelter to displaced [Syrians] for as long as the crisis continues.”
In a press conference in Beirut, Cameron voiced his country’s support for Lebanon, saying his trip “has been an opportunity to say a very big ‘thank you’ to the Lebanese people for all they are doing to shoulder the burden of refugees fleeing Syria.” He also touted Britain’s £100 million package to help Syrian refugees, which will see £29 million go to Lebanon in a bid to stem the flow of refugees into Europe. Cameron met briefly with Salam, who thanked the British premier for “the efforts of his country to support the army and the Lebanese security forces to bolster their capabilities in the battle against terrorism.”
His visit to Lebanon comes ahead an EU emergency meeting to discuss the resettlement of 160,000 refugees between member states, however a number of eastern European countries refuse mandatory quotas.

British PM Vows More Assistance as he Inspects Syrian Refugees, Meets Salam
Naharnet/September 14/15/British Prime Minister David Cameron inspected on Monday Syrian refugees in the eastern town of Terbol and later met with PM Tammam Salam to throw his support behind the Lebanese government. Cameron said at a joint press conference with Salam at the Grand Serail that the UK will continue to assist Lebanon against the Islamic State extremist group and to provide aid over the refugee crisis. He said the UK wants to see a strong Lebanon and the election of a new president. Salam thanked Cameron's government for assisting the Lebanese army and for helping Lebanon's education sector and said he told the visiting PM about the heavy burden of Syrian refugees on Lebanon particularly that not all pledged international assistance has reached the country. During his visit to the refugee encampment, Cameron said his trip is aimed at seeing and hearing "stories of refugees and what they need." "Britain is already the second largest donor to refugee camps to this whole crisis, really helping in a way that many other countries aren't with serious amounts of money," he said. "We will go on doing that including increasing the amount of money we are giving to educate Syrian children here in Lebanon and elsewhere. I think that's absolutely vital."The Prime Minister also met with Army Commander General Gen. Jean Qahwaji at the Rayaq military air base. Cameron's several hour visit to Beirut comes against the backdrop of the rise in the number of refugees escaping to Europe to start a new life.
He said earlier this month that Britain will take in up to 20,000 refugees over the next five years. Britain on Monday announced it had appointed a minister to deal specifically with the 20,000 refugees. London has accepted 216 Syrian refugees over the past year and granted asylum to almost 5,000 Syrians since the conflict broke out in 2011 -- far fewer than other European countries like France, Germany and Sweden. Lebanon hosts around 1.5 million Syrian refugees — equivalent to more than a quarter of the country's entire population. But there are no formal camps here, so unofficial encampments have cropped up in fields or abandoned construction sites. While somewhat better-off refugees find other accommodations, the poorest end up in the encampments, relying on diminishing U.N. cash and food vouchers to survive. French President Francois Hollande is also expected to visit Beirut next month to tour a Syrian refugee encampment and meet with Lebanese officials. More than 250,000 people have reached Greece so far this year in a dramatic rise from last year, the vast majority arriving by boat to islands from the nearby Turkish coast. It's the first step in their journey across the continent to Western Europe as they flee war, persecution and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Cameron's office meanwhile released details of how an additional package of 100 million pounds ($153 million, 137 million euros) for Syrian refugees, which he announced last week, will be spent. Forty million pounds of it will be allocated to the United Nations and other non-governmental organisations working with refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. "For thousands of refugees this money means a meal for their families, the security of a home with basic sanitation and clean water," Cameron said. "Without our investment in international development, the numbers of people seeking to embark on a perilous journey to Europe would be far greater."

Shehayyeb: Let Us Give the Waste Plan a Chance
Naharnet/September 14/15/Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb stressed on Monday that only partnership would guarantee the success of the committee tasked with resolving the two-month long waste crisis. “Let's give it a chance before it's too late,” he told reporters in a press conference following the meeting of the Parliamentary Environment Committee. “If it was not for the street mobility, the (waste management) plan would not have seen the light,” he said assuring that “the file cannot be delayed anymore because the consequences are not predictable.” The Minister highlighted the people's fears that the temporary plan he set to solve the crisis could turn into a permanent one. “It is an issue of trust. People fear that the temporary plans could become permanent, and their fears are righteous. “They fear that political interferences could meddle here,” he stressed, but added that we cannot accept refusal for refusal sake. Shehayyeb's plan to solve the two-month trash crisis calls for reopening the Naameh landfill, which was closed in mid-July, for seven days to dump the garbage that accumulated in random sites in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. It also envisions converting two existing dumps, in the northern Akkar area of Srar and the eastern border area of al-Masnaa, into sanitary landfills capable of receiving trash for more than a year.“The selected dumpsters will be turned into hygienic landfills,” assured Shehayyeb. After he announced his plan last week, the civil society and local residents of Akkar, Naameh, Majdal Anjar, and Burj Hammoud protested against the step.“If we fail to solve this file, then there is no need to look into any other issue in the country,” stated the Minister.

Top Officials Throw their Support Behind Shehayyeb's Waste Plan
Naharnet/September 14/15/Top Lebanese officials have renewed their support for a waste management plan proposed by Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb, saying it was the last resort for Lebanon’s snowballing garbage crisis. Speaker Nabih Berri told his visitors that the plan, which was approved by the government last week, “should be implemented by all means.” The problem is not about the waste, there is also a “political dump,” which is smelling badly, Berri said about the efforts exerted by some politicians to hinder the plan's implementation. The plan calls for reopening the Naameh landfill, which was closed in mid-July, for seven days to dump the garbage that accumulated in random sites in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. It also envisions converting two existing dumps, in the northern Akkar area of Srar and the eastern border area of al-Masnaa, into sanitary landfills capable of receiving trash for more than a year. Like Berri, Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat threw his support behind Shehayyeb's proposal. He told As Safir daily that the plan is the only “practical solution” to the waste crisis. Jumblat also criticized civil society activists, who have held protests against the plan, saying they should have a leadership that “knows when and how to pick up the right time for the practical solutions … or else they would be paralyzing” it.He warned that their “random protests began to be counterproductive,” saying this will bury us in more waste.”The PSP chief stressed that the creation of landfills in several areas is compulsory in the transitional stage.“We should all assume our responsibilities … from Sidon to Masnaa to Naameh and Akkar,” he said. Jumblat also criticized some politicians for inciting the activists against Shehayyeb's plan. “The government will start implementing it in the way it sees appropriate if obstruction continues,” the lawmaker warned. The agriculture minister also made remarks to As Safir, saying “we don't have any choice but to implement” the plan. He said he is ready to hear the objections made by civil society and the representatives of the areas rejecting the waste. “If their objections stem from environmental and technical concerns, then I am ready to interact with them,” said Shehayyeb. “I would either convince them or they would convince me,” he added.

Lebanon to Call for Redistribution of Refugees
Naharnet/September 14/15/Lebanon is expected to participate on Tuesday in a conference of states hosting Syrian refugees in Brussels, the head of the delegation, MP Michel Moussa, said.Moussa told An Nahar newspaper published on Monday that he will call in his speech for providing Lebanon with promised assistance to confront the refugee crisis and to redistribute the displaced Syrians on countries capable of hosting them. Lebanon can no longer carry this burden, he said. The unending misery of the approximately 4 million Syrian refugees scattered around Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and other Arab nations is one significant factor in the rise. With the Syrian civil war in its fifth year, they have little hope of returning home, and for many the situation in exile is worsening. Because of lack of funding, for example, the World Food Program has had to strike hundreds of thousands of refugees off its rolls for monthly vouchers to buy food, and for some others the payment has been reduced to $13 a month. The desperation of the refugees have led them to Europe to start a new life there. The European Commission has approved a controversial plan to distribute 160,000 refugees around the continent. Despite an outpouring of public sympathy for the plight of the refugees, many of whom are from Syria, several eastern European countries have already warned they will oppose any binding quotas on absorbing asylum seekers.

Qassem Tells Pro-Suleiman Minister Appointments Key to Agreeing on Govt. Mechanism
Naharnet/September 14/15/Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem held talks Monday at his office with Sports and Youth Minister Abdul Mutalleb Hennawi, who is close to former President Michel Suleiman. “The normal course for resolving the dispute over the cabinet's work mechanism would be addressing the root of the problem, which is the military appointments,” said Qassem during the meeting. “Political solutions are not possible in the region in the current period and waiting for them would lead to further damage. Officials must have the courage and responsibility to find solutions instead of wasting time and neglecting people's affairs,” Hizbullah number two added. Last week, An Nahar daily reported that the approval of a proposal made by Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb to resolve the country's waste crisis was facing a condition set by several parties on the promotion of army officers. The newspaper said that Shehayyeb's proposal requires a cabinet session. But the Free Patriotic Movement, Hizbullah and the Tashnag Party have conditioned the activation of the government's work to the approval of the promotion of around 12 officers from brigadier-general to the rank of major-general. Such a move leaves Commando Regiment chief Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz in the military for another year. Roukoz is the son-in-law of FPM leader MP Michel Aoun, who wants him to become military commander. Prime Minister Tammam Salam has been procrastinating on calling for a cabinet session over lack of consensus among the rival parties on several controversial issues, including the waste management plan and the cabinet's decision-taking mechanism in the absence of a president.

Gang Specialized in Robbing Restaurants, Supermarkets Arrested
Naharnet/September 14/15/The Internal Security Forces announced Monday the arrest of a gang that robbed dozens of restaurants and supermarkets over the past five months. “Following intensive investigations and surveillance, a patrol from the Mount Lebanon investigations department chased several suspects at dawn today on the highway between Dbaye and Nahr el-Mot,” an ISF statement said. An exchange of gunfire ensued, which resulted in the injury of two policemen and one of the suspects and the arrest of three other suspects – two Lebanese and a Palestinian, the statement added. It said the gang had targeted areas such as Dbaye, Bsalim, Jounieh and Amchit, identifying some of the robbed businesses as Black Rock, Couqley, Ichiban, Tabliyit Massaad, Babel, al-Baba Sweets, Ghosn Supermarket, al-Yamama Supermarket, Starford, McDonald's Amchit, Doueihi Sweets Jounieh, Central Park, Sushiholic, Peninsula and Baz Supermarket. The ISF said the gang had also robbed the Chez Paul restaurant in Gemmayze overnight Sunday. In addition to cash, “the gang was keen on stealing the DVR devices which store the CCTV footage, although its members were masked all the time,” the ISF noted. On Thursday, state-run National News Agency said masked gunmen robbed a McDonald's branch in Amchit of 22 million Lebanese pounds and a DVR device.

Wanted Lebanese drug lord Noah Zaaiter spotted in Qalamoun
Now Lebanon/September 14/15/Recent images have surfaced online of Lebanon’s notorious drug lord Noah Zaaiter, leader of one of the most powerful drug families in Lebanon, visiting Hezbollah bases in Qalamoun, Syria.
The images show Zaaiter— a fugitive wanted for various crimes, including charges of dealing drugs, possessing unlicensed weapons, opening fire at security forces, and many other crimes— inspecting weapons, driving a tank, and meeting with Hezbollah fighters.
Zaaiter looks pretty rad in his western cowboy hat, posing for pictures carrying a machine gun and sitting on top of a tank, as any tourist would…However, what is most interesting about these images is the Hebrew text on the heavy machine gun (image above). Now, why would Hezbollah have a machine gun with Hebrew text written all over it?!?!

Zoaiter Distances his Ministry from Possible Floods Caused by Waste
Naharnet/September 14/15/Public Works Minister Ghazi Zoaiter on Monday shoved off the responsibility of possible floods caused by waste dumped on the side of the streets on municipalities. During a press conference he held at his office, Zoaiter said the trash dumped on the side of the roads and on the banks of rivers will cause a problem at the start of the rain season. He urged municipalities to take action and stop the dumping of waste on the side of roads or highways. Zoaiter said municipalities should choose land plots to dump the garbage there. “It is everyone's responsibility to remove trash from the streets,” he added.Zoaiter stressed that around 24 engineers are overseeing the work to clean sewer systems in several areas. In October of every year, heavy rain causes floods and traps commuters in their vehicles over the authorities' failure to clear sewers after a long dry season. This year, the threat of floods has increased over the waste crisis that erupted mid-July when the Naameh landfill, which lies south of Beirut, was closed.Garbage has been piling up on the streets in Beirut and Mount Lebanon since then, and the government is yet to implement a plan to resolve the crisis.

Hollande Says Air Strikes against IS in Syria 'Necessary'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/15/French President Francois Hollande, whose country is carrying out surveillance flights over Syria, said Monday it would be "necessary" to carry out air strikes against Islamic State militants there. "We announced surveillance flights that would allow us to prepare air strikes if they were necessary, and they will be necessary in Syria," he told journalists after talks with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. France has been part of a U.S.-led coalition bombing IS positions in Iraq for the past year, but Hollande changed strategy last week to expand action to Syria as political pressure mounts over the jihadist threat faced by France. Hollande said last week he had ordered surveillance flights because he wanted to find out "what is being prepared against us and what is being done against the Syrian population." Hollande's move to carry out air strikes in Syria also comes as Europe is buckling under the pressure of a flood of refugees from the war-torn country. France has so far confirmed it has carried out two surveillance flights over Syrian territory. The United States, Canada, Turkey and Gulf states have already been involved in strikes on IS militants in Syria. Australia also announced last week it would join the Syrian operation. Britain killed two jihadists in a drone attack in Syria last week.

EU Backs Military Action against Med People Smugglers
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/15/EU member states approved on Monday plans for military action against people smugglers in the Mediterranean, seizing and if necessary destroying boats to break up the networks operating out of Libya. "This important transition will enable the EU naval operation against human smugglers and traffickers in the Mediterranean to conduct boarding, search, seizure and diversion (of vessels)," the EU's council of ministers said in a statement. The European Union launched a first, intelligence gathering phase of its EU NavFor Med operation in July and with that objective met, ministers agreed it was time to move on to the next step, the statement added. The decision comes as EU interior ministers meet in Brussels to try and agree quotas for the redistribution of the massive flood of migrants fleeing war and upheaval across the Middle East and North Africa. Many member states were reluctant to step up action against the traffickers for fear of getting embroiled in Libya, where rival factions have been fighting it out for control since the ouster of longtime strongman Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.EU leaders agreed however that there had to be a much tougher response, including the use of force, after more than 700 migrants drowned off southern Italy in April. The second phase of the operation approved Monday still restricts EU NavFor Med to action in international waters. A third phase involves military action against people smugglers inside Libyan territorial waters, aiming to destroy their boats and networks before they set sail. This step is more controversial given the increased risks and requires at a minimum a U.N. Security Council resolution and preferably Libyan government agreement. EU efforts to help establish a national unity government in Libya which could grant such approval have so far failed but special U.N. envoy Bernardino Leon reported at the weekend that progress was being made. Russia, current president of the U.N. Security Council, has said a resolution could be adopted this month but it would only apply to action on the high seas.
More than 350,000 people have risked their lives crossing the Mediterranean this year, according to the International Organization for Migration, with nearly 3,000 losing their lives. EU NavFor Med currently comprises four ships -- one Italian, one British and two German -- and sources said it will likely need several more vessels for the enlarged mission which is expected to begin next month. The EU, which has no central armed force of its own, has taken part in a whole series of peacekeeping and civilian emergency missions, among them anti-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa, and military training in Somalia and Mali.

U.S. Condemns 'All Acts of Violence' at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Compound
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/15/The United States on Monday condemned "all acts of violence" at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa compound where Muslims and Israeli police clashed for a second straight day. "The United States is deeply concerned by the recent violence and escalating tensions surrounding the Haram al-Sharif Temple Mount. We strongly condemn all acts of violence," State Department spokesman John Kirby said, calling on all sides to exercise restraint. Muslims have barricaded themselves inside al-Aqsa amid protests over access to the site, venerated by Jews as the Temple Mount. Israeli security forces entered the compound early on Monday to prevent Muslim youths from clashing with visiting youths. Booms could be heard outside the gates to the hillside complex, and police said masked youths threw stones at them as they entered Islam's third holiest site."It is absolutely critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric and preserve unchanged the historic status quo on the Haram al-Sharif Temple Mount, in word and in practice," Kirby said.

Clashes Rock Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Compound for Second Day
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/15/Muslims and Israeli police clashed at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound for a second straight day Monday as Jews celebrated their new year and protesters vowed to protect Islam's third-holiest site. As they had the day before, Israeli security forces entered the compound early on Monday to prevent Muslim youths from harassing visiting Jews, police said. Clashes then broke out on the hilltop complex, with booms heard from outside its gates. Muslims have barricaded themselves inside Al-Aqsa amid protests over access to the site, venerated by Jews as the Temple Mount. "As the police entered the compound, masked youths fled inside the mosque and threw stones at the force," a police statement said. Police said that five protesters were arrested in the compound and visits went ahead as planned. Another four were arrested in skirmishes between security forces and protesters in the surrounding alleys of Jerusalem's Old City. Police fired stun grenades while hitting and kicking demonstrators and journalists, including from Agence France Presse, as they sought to push back crowds. Muslim protesters fear Israel will seek to change rules governing the site, with far-right Jewish groups pushing for more access to the compound and even efforts by fringe organisations to erect a new temple. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the status quo will be preserved at the sensitive site, but suspicions remain among Palestinians, a sign of the deep mistrust between the two sides.
'The ultimate plan'
Non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound, but Jews must not pray or display national symbols for fear of triggering tensions with Muslim worshippers."We are worried about Al-Aqsa because Israel wants to empty it and then all Jerusalem of the Muslims," Sanaa Rajabi, among dozens of women protesting outside the gates of the Al-Aqsa compound, told AFP. "This is the first step to divide Al-Aqsa. They do it step-by-step so that Muslims and Arabs remain silent, but this is the ultimate plan."An AFP journalist outside the gate saw a Jewish visitor leaving the compound scuffle with Muslims outside. Non-Muslim visits to the site increase during Jewish holidays, with some 650 visitors on Sunday, according to police. Another 500 visited on Monday during the 7:30 am to 11:00 am visiting hours, police said. The Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah, began on Sunday evening and ends on Tuesday evening.
Far-right Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel was among Jewish activists who visited on Sunday, Israeli media reported. In comments quoted by The Jerusalem Post newspaper in 2013, Ariel said the complex "must be open for prayer at every hour to every Jew." Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon last week outlawed two Muslim groups that confront Jewish visitors to the compound, further fuelling tensions. His office said the Murabitat and Murabitun groups were "a main factor in creating the tension and violence" at the compound.
Emergency cabinet meeting
In clashes on Sunday, Muslim witnesses said police entered the mosque and caused damage. Police said only that they closed its doors to lock in rioters throwing stones, fireworks and other objects.Israeli security forces have used the same tactic in the past to restore calm and which has seen them briefly enter the mosque. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas condemned Sunday's raid, saying sites such as Al-Aqsa constituted a "red line" and adding that "we will not allow attacks against our holy places".Netanyahu however said "it is our responsibility and our power to act against rioters to allow freedom of worship at this holy place." He said Israel would act "to maintain the status quo and order" at the compound. Israel seized east Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, in the Six Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. Amid the heightened tensions in Jerusalem, police said Monday that stone-throwing may have caused a car crash that killed an Israeli motorist near a Palestinian neighbourhood of Jerusalem.Netanyahu has also called an "emergency meeting" of members of his cabinet to discuss ways to curb stone-throwing and petrol bombs following a number of recent incidents.The meeting will be held on Tuesday night following the end of the Jewish new year holiday, an Israeli government official said.

U.S. Official Says Russia Sent Tanks, Artillery to Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/15/Russia has sent artillery units and seven tanks to a Syrian air base as part of Moscow's continued military buildup in the war-ravaged nation, a U.S. official said Monday. The increase of Russian hardware in Syria has caused concerns in the West about the implications of Moscow militarily helping its old ally, President Bashar Assad. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the U.S. official told AFP the seven T-90 tanks arrived in recent days but had not been sent outside the airbase near Latakia, on Syria's Mediterranean coast. And the artillery, which arrived last week, appears to have been sent there to protect the facility. There was no indication Russia had sent fighter jets or helicopter gunships to Syria. "It appears, and all the indications are pointing, that (the artillery is) for airfield defense," the official said. Another U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia has installed enough modular housing units to house about 1,500 people. It is not easy to gauge how many Russian troops are already on the ground, but the official said the number is in the "hundreds."Russian help for Assad could seriously complicate the U.S.-led coalition's air strikes against Islamic State jihadists in Syria, with defense officials worried about the possibility of accidents if coalition and Russian planes operate in the same airspace. Two Russian transport planes, purportedly carrying humanitarian aid, landed in Syria on Saturday, Russian state media said, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week said Moscow was sending military equipment along with aid "in accordance with current contracts." At a news briefing, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said Russia apparently was establishing a forward air operations base in Latakia. "It's been a continued steady flow (of equipment) for the last week and a half or so," he said. AFP reported last week that dozens of Russian naval infantry had arrived in Syria, along with two tank-landing ships and about a dozen Russian armored personnel carriers. Russia is a staunch ally of the regime in Damascus and maintains a naval facility in Tartus province. "We would welcome Russian contributions to the overall global effort against (the IS group) but things that continue to support the Assad regime, particularly military things, are unhelpful and risk adding greater instability to an already unstable situation," Davis said. More than 240,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011. The government has lost large swathes of territory to rebels and jihadists such as the Islamic State group.

Professor dead in US campus shooting
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/15/A university in the southern U.S. state of Mississippi was on lockdown Monday after a professor was shot dead on campus. Delta State University sent out an alert urging students to "stay inside and away from windows" after an "active shooter" was spotted on campus. "Please take immediate lock down action," the university wrote on Twitter shortly after 11:30 am (1530 GMT). It later confirmed one fatality in the incident and urged students to continue to hide. Local media identified the victim as Ethan Schmidt, a professor of American history. Schools in the area were also on lockdown as police searched for the shooter, WLBT News reported. Delta State is a public university which has more than 4,000 students. It is located in the small town of Cleveland about 120 miles (200 kilometers) north of Jackson, Mississippi.

After Iran Deal, Obama Struggles to Gain Israel's Trust
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/15/Seeking to sell his nuclear deal with Iran to a skeptical Israeli public, President Barack Obama has repeatedly declared his deep affection for the Jewish state. But the feelings do not appear to be mutual. Wide swaths of the Israeli public, particularly supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have little trust in the American leader, considering him naive and even hostile. One recent poll showed less than a tenth considered him "pro-Israel." Such misgivings bode poorly for Obama as he tries to repair ties with Israel in the final year of his presidency, and they would certainly complicate any renewed effort at brokering peace between Israel and its neighbors — once a major Obama ambition.The tense personal relationship between Netanyahu and Obama are certainly a factor in the poor state of affairs, and Netanyahu has made a number of missteps that have contributed to the tensions. On a trip to the White House in 2011, the Israeli leader appeared to lecture Obama on the pitfalls of Mideast peacemaking. Netanyahu has close ties to the billionaire Republican donor Sheldon Adelson, and during the 2012 presidential race, Netanyahu appeared to favor Obama's challenger, Mitt Romney. Netanyahu's U.S.-born ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, is a former Republican activist, and earlier this year, Netanyahu angered the White House by delivering a speech to Congress against the emerging Iran deal at the invitation of Republican leaders. Netanyahu has continued to lobby American lawmakers to oppose the Iran deal since it was finalized in July. But Obama also bears responsibility for a number of policy decisions that have jolted Israelis' faith in him."The average Israeli probably thinks that he is a nice guy, but he is naive," said Alexander Yakobson, a historian at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In Israeli eyes, "he doesn't get the Middle East, doesn't understand how the Mideast functions, and he doesn't therefore understand what dangers Israel has to face," he added.
Yakobson said the president's missteps went back to his earliest days in office, when he chose to deliver a landmark speech in Cairo seeking to repair American relations with the Arab world. "That was never going to make him popular in Israel," he said. Yakobson, who himself agrees with Obama's opposition to Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, said the president had nonetheless mishandled disagreements with Netanyahu over the issue and peace efforts with the Palestinians that collapsed last year. Many Israelis, he said, believe the Palestinians also deserve some of the blame. But the biggest issue has been the U.S.-led nuclear agreement with Iran. Politicians across the spectrum have come out against the deal, agreeing with Netanyahu's assessment that it does not have sufficient safeguards to prevent Iran from gaining the ability to make a nuclear bomb and that it will boost Iran's influence across the region. Iran is a key backer of Israel's toughest enemies, and Netanyahu has warned that the ending of sanctions against Iran will result in more money and arms flowing to groups like Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Recent opinion polls reflect these sentiments. In one survey published Sunday in the Maariv daily, 77 percent of respondents said the deal endangers Israel, compared to 15 percent who said it didn't. The poll interviewed 500 people and had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points. An April survey of Jewish Israelis, carried out just after a preliminary nuclear deal with Iran was reached, had an equally harsh view of Obama. Just 9 percent of respondents described the White House as "pro-Israeli," while 60 percent called it "pro-Palestinian." More than 60 percent described Obama as the worst president for Israel in the past 30 years, far outdistancing runner-up Jimmy Carter at 16 percent.
That survey, conducted by the Panels Politics agency with the Jewish Journal, questioned 503 Jewish Israelis and had a margin of error of 4.6 percentage points.In a survey of 40 countries, the Pew Research Center found the sharpest decline in Obama's image over the past year occurred in Israel, where confidence slipped from 71 percent to 49 percent. At times, the anger toward Obama in Israel is palpable. On the streets and in online news forums, Israelis often refer to Obama by his middle name "Hussein," a reference to his Muslim heritage on his father's side. Last year, after an anonymous White House official used a pejorative term to describe Netanyahu as cowardly, Cabinet Minister Naftali Bennett warned that Obama was "throwing Israel under the bus." For his part, Obama has acknowledged feeling hurt. In an address to American Jewish leaders last month, Obama underscored his deep commitment to Israel's security and likened the debate over the Iran deal to a dispute within the family. "I would suggest that, in terms of the tone of this debate, everybody keep in mind that we're all pro-Israel," he said. "And we have to make sure that we don't impugn people's motives."
Obama has said that with the Iran deal complete, he would like to begin working with Israel on ways to increase its security and allay fears about the deal. The Haaretz daily on Sunday said talks on providing Israel with additional U.S. weaponry have already quietly begun. Netanyahu's office declined comment.But even if the two countries do manage to reach a new security deal, it seems unlikely that Obama will be able to repair the relationship with Netanyahu or restart Mideast peace efforts. The differences just run too deep. The White House has said it is trying to set up a meeting between Obama and Netanyahu for November, which would be their first meeting since the Iran deal was finalized. Yoram Ettinger, a former Israeli consul-general in Houston, said the issues here have little to do with personalities or alleged hostilities on the part of Obama. "It's an issue of a gap between two very different world views," he said. He said that in Israeli eyes, Obama is unrealistic, sending a message of weakness through his handling of the so-called Arab Spring over the past five years and by trusting an Iranian government with such a long record of defying the international community and supporting violent groups across the region."Are you rooted in reality or are you rooted in wishful thinking," he said.

Taliban Storm Afghan Prison, Free Hundreds of Inmates
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/15/Taliban insurgents in military uniform stormed an Afghan prison Monday, freeing hundreds of inmates after detonating a car bomb and killing four policemen in the country's largest jailbreak in years. The brazen raid in the eastern city of Ghazni comes as the Taliban ramp up attacks on government and foreign targets despite being embroiled in a bitter leadership transition. It was the Taliban's third mass prison break since 2008 and a major blow to Afghan forces facing their first fighting season without full NATO support.
"Around 2:30 am six Taliban insurgents wearing military uniforms attacked Ghazni prison. First they detonated a car bomb in front of the gate, fired an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) and then raided the prison," deputy provincial governor Mohammad Ali Ahmadi told AFP.
The interior ministry said 355 of the prison's 436 inmates escaped. Most were Taliban and other militants. It added that four Afghan police officers were killed and seven wounded in the raid, which left bullet-riddled bodies near the entrance of the prison. Ahmadi said the raid came hours after inmates protested at government moves to shift up to 20 Taliban prisoners to Kabul -- a possible indication that the jailbreak was coordinated. He added that daggers and knives carved out of furniture pieces were found on some of the inmates. The Taliban, who launched a countrywide summer offensive in late April, claimed responsibility for the raid. "This successful operation was carried out at 2:00 am and continued for several hours. The jail was under Taliban control," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement. "In this operation, 400 of our innocent countrymen were freed... and were taken to mujahideen-controlled areas," it added. The Taliban are known to exaggerate and distort their public statements.
Uptick in attacks
In the last major Afghan jailbreak in 2011 nearly 500 Taliban inmates escaped from a prison in the southern province of Kandahar. The Taliban at the time said they sprang the inmates through a one-kilometer tunnel that took five months to dig. The government described that incident as a security "disaster". And in 2008 about 1,000 prisoners including hundreds of Taliban rebels escaped when suicide bombers blew open the gates of Kandahar city's main prison. Taliban insurgents are stepping up their summer offensive despite a simmering leadership succession dispute after the confirmation of the death of longtime chief Mullah Omar. Mullah Akhtar Mansour, a trusted deputy of Omar, was named as the insurgents' new chief in late July but the power transition has been acrimonious.
Afghan security forces, stretched on multiple fronts, are struggling to rein in the Taliban as NATO forces pull back from the frontlines.NATO ended its combat mission last December and pulled out the bulk of its troops although a 13,000-strong residual force remains for training and counter-terrorism operations. In other bloodshed this month unidentified attackers on September 5 shot dead 13 minority Shiite Hazaras after dragging them out of their vehicles in the northern province of Balkh. The men were taken from two vehicles in a rare fatal attack targeting ethnic minorities.
Afghanistan's president the same day implored international donors for their continued support, saying the "wounded country" faced a host of security and economic challenges. Donors have pledged billions of dollars over the past decade to reconstruct the war-torn nation. But much of that money has been lost to corruption which permeates nearly every public institution, hobbling development and sapping already overstretched state coffers.

Egypt Tycoon 'in Talks to Buy Two Islands for Refugees'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/15/Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, who offered to buy a Mediterranean island to help hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing war, said Monday he was in talks to buy two private Greek islands.The businessman announced earlier this month he was looking to buy an island which would "host the migrants and provide jobs for them building their new country."More than 2,300 people have died at sea trying to reach Europe since January, many of them Syrians fleeing their country's four-and-a-half year conflict. A statement from Sawiris' company on Monday said he had "identified two privately owned Greek islands that constitute a good opportunity for the project. "We have corresponded with the owners and expressed our interest to go into negotiation with them," it said. The tycoon said he had been approached by the U.N.'s refugee agency UNHCR to cooperate on the project, which he estimates would require $100 million (90 million euros) to get off the ground. Sawiris is the chief executive of Orascom TMT, which operates mobile telephone networks in a number of Middle Eastern and African countries plus Korea, as well as underwater communications networks.He also owns an Egyptian television channel.

Pope says no religion immune from fundamentalism,
ANSA, September 14, 2015 Vatican City, September 14 – Pope Francis warned Monday that no religion could consider itself safe from fundamentalist elements. “No religion is immune from its own fundamentalism, every confession has a group of fundamentalists, whose job is to destroy in the name of an idea, not reality,” Francis told Buenos Aires FM Mileniium 106.7, an Argentine protestant radio station. “Fundamentalists distance God from the company of His people, they transform him into an ideology. In the name of this ideology, they kill, destroy and defame”.

Top Iranian space scientist among those killed in Mecca crane collapse
By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS/15/09/15/Top Iranian space scientist and university professor Ahmad Hatami was killed in the crane collapse in Mecca's Grand Mosque on Friday which killed 107, Iran's Fars News Agency reported on Monday. An Iranian minister confirmed that Doctor Ahmad Hatami, who was a renowned member of the Iran Space Research Center, was killed along with 8 other Iranians who made the deadly pilgrimage to Mecca. According to reports, eight Iranians were killed and 32 more were injured after intense storm winds caused a crane above the Grand Mosque to collapse. On Sunday, Hedayatollah Mir-Moradzehi, a member of the Iranian parliament who is Sunni, said that following the deadly crane accident, Saudi Arabia should no longer be in charge of the Haj ceremony at the Muslim holy site. "This incident is the result of the Saudi regime's imprudence and carelessness and they should have increased the safety factor for the construction projects around Kaaba," Mir-Moradzehi told Fars. Mir-Moradzehi told the Iranian news agency that if Islamic countries within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) take the responsibility of handling the Haj ceremony, much better results will be yielded. The lawmaker emphasized that Kaaba, the building at the center of the mosque, doesn’t merely belong to Saudi Arabia and it is for all the Muslims and therefore all of them should cooperate in running and administering the Haj ceremony. Another Iranian lawmaker joined Mir-Moradzehi in his criticism of the Saudi government. "The Saudi regime showed that it doesn't have enough capability to secure the safety of the pilgrims and manage the Haj ceremony," member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Javad Jahangirzadeh told Fars.

Hungary: Muslim cleric says “homosexuals are the filthiest of Allah’s creatures”
Jihad Watch/September 13, 2015 /Woe to you — from the gay community — if you dare to point out Sharia persecution of gays. When Pamela Geller and I ran ads highlighting the mistreatment of gays in Islamic law, the San Francisco City Council issued a resolution condemning not that mistreatment, but our ads. Gay advocates such as Theresa Sparks and Chris Stedman attacked us for daring to call attention to the institutionalized mistreatment of gays under Islamic law. Their gay advocacy doesn’t extend to standing up to Sharia oppression of gays, even though that oppression is far more virulent and violent than anything from “right-wing extremists” in the U.S. And you can’t blame them: given the Leftist/jihadist alliance, it’s clear that if they spoke out against Sharia mistreatment of gays, they would no longer be invited to the best parties, and might even be branded as “right-wing.” Their moral cowardice and duplicity, however, are obvious.
“Vice-President Of Hungarian Muslim Community: Homosexuals Are The Filthiest Creatures,”
MEMRI, July 10, 2015:During a Friday sermon on July 10, 2015, Imam Ahmed Miklós Kovács, Vice President of the Hungarian Muslim Community, stated that homosexuals are “the filthiest of Allah’s creatures,” and that Muslims “must never accept this disease.”He instructed followers not to paint their Facebook image with rainbow colors.
Following are excerpts:
Ahmed Miklós Kovács: These homosexuals are the filthiest of Allah’s creatures. A Muslim must never accept this disease, this terrible depraved thing. He must never color his profile picture on Facebook in the colors of the rainbow, and must never applaud [homosexuals] and express solidarity with them.
My dear brothers, as you know, wickedness has become widespread in these times. Sinning has become widespread, and moral values have become rare worldwide. Things that were considered beautiful in the past have become ugly in the eyes of some people, and things that were considered ugly have become beautiful in the eyes of some. One of these things is homosexuality, may Allah protect us from it. These days [homosexuals] are celebrating their disease. Effeminate homosexuals are the filthiest of Allah’s creatures. They are sick, and a Muslim must never accept this ugly thing. [Homosexuals] are destroying sound moral values and societies. This filthy thing is not accepted by this country’s society, and is forbidden in Islam and all the monotheistic religions.

Assad is staying
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Now Lebanon/September 14/15
To stem the flood of Syrian refugees into their countries, Europeans have found a solution: keep Syrian President Bashar Assad in power so that he can lock up Syrians, again, in the big prison that Syria was before 2011. And if Assad has to kill hundreds of thousands more Syrians, that would be a lesser price for Europeans to pay than the world blaming them for images of frightened, bruised and dead Syrian refugees. In Washington, word has it that National Security Advisor Susan Rice formed a committee of Syria experts, weeks ago, and tasked them with presenting her schemes of “living with Assad.”
With a surge in the number of Syrian refugees sailing through the Mediterranean, the EU promised to welcome 160,000, which will bring the total number to 540,000 — a small number considering that Lebanon houses over 1 million.
Even though the aging continent should be thrilled to take young Syrian migrants who can make its economy more competitive and pay for its retirees, Europe fears that if these Muslim refugees fail to assimilate, their native traditions will overwhelm Europe and alter its Christian character. The Right in the US and Europe has exploited fears from foreign immigrants to increase its popularity, which has made it harder for leaders to argue for letting refugees resettle in the West.
To avoid humanitarian criticism while keeping Syrian refugees at bay, European governments reasoned it would be best to restore Assad. Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurtz was the first to speak out, saying that while Assad has committed crimes, he is a criminal whom Europe can work with because he is fighting on Europe's side. Britain's Philip Hammond followed, even though pundits had expected Germany's Frank Steinmeier, a longtime advocate of an Assad victory, to go second. France is not far behind, and Copenhagen published ads in Lebanese newspapers scaring Syrian refugees off from moving to Denmark. Europe's turn over Assad's fate comes on the heels of a long Russian campaign aimed at keeping Assad in power. Russia has lobbied Arab countries — Egypt, Jordan and the UAE — in favor of Assad. It even convinced the Saudis to receive Assad security tsar Ali Mamlouk in Jeddah, though the meeting turned out to be fruitless. Moscow has also propped up Assad’s militarily by renewing his hardware, resupplying his caches and deploying a thousand military advisors to help rebuild his forces and allow him to reconquer territory he has lost since 2011.
Iran, for its part, has also thrown its lot behind Assad. Even though Tehran has made Assad dependent on its proxy Shiite Lebanese and Iraqi militias — a tactic at odds with Moscow's plan to prop Assad up and preserve his independence — the Russian and Iranian efforts have helped Assad survive.
The joint European, Russian, Arab and American effort to restore Assad might prove irresistible for the three last countries opposing his stay — namely Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.
The resistance of Syria's opposition and its regional sponsors might be further jeopardized by President Obama, who says that Americans should be humble and learn that they cannot shape Middle Eastern events while at the same time instructing Jordan to cut supply lines to southern rebels should they press northward toward Damascus. Since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, Assad has been the luckiest of the Arab dictators who has had to deal with the Arab Spring. Despite years of supporting terrorist networks that killed US soldiers in Iraq, Assad still managed to sell the world the narrative that his brutality against his own people was part of the war on terror. Under pressure from Gulf allies, Obama reluctantly went against Assad but never allowed his collapse, arguing that the alternative would be terrorists taking over.
Having weathered the storm that once isolated Assad at the UN and the Arab League, Russia, Egypt and the UAE then started reversing Assad's isolation and losses. With the outbreak of the refugee crisis, Europeans reasoned that the only way to stop Syrians from escaping Assad's barrel bombs was not to force Assad's departure but to let him win so that the hell he rains down on Syrians would stop. Even though Assad regaining control of Syria is improbable, even if the world lines up behind him, efforts to rehabilitate him will do little to stop the flood of Syrian refugees to Europe. An example is Iraq, where a few weeks after Prime Minister Abadi announced reforms, thousands of Iraqis still walked through Turkey to Europe. The old Middle East is crumbling and its population migrating. Reinstating a dictator here or there will not end a problem that requires more resources, attention and a structural fix.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is the Washington Bureau Chief of Alrai newspaper. He tweets @hahussain

Russia not backing down on Assad
Al-Monitor/September 14/15
Russia ramps up in Syria
US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sept. 5 that a Russian military buildup in Syria “could further escalate the conflict” and even risk confrontation with US-led coalition forces.
Moscow’s ramping up in its support for the Syrian government is the latest iteration of a remarkably consistent approach to Syria since the beginnings of the uprisings and civil war in 2011. For Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, or more accurately the Syrian government, is essential to defeat terrorist groups that directly threaten Russia.
As Lakhdar Brahimi, the former joint United Nations-League of Arab States special representative for Syria, told Al-Monitor last year, “I think the Russian analysis was right at the beginning, but everybody thought that it was an opinion and not an analysis. The Russians were saying that Syria is not Egypt and it is not Tunisia, and the president of Syria is not going to fall in a matter of two or three weeks. People thought that this was not an analysis, it was an expression of position: 'We are going to support this regime.’ … Maybe, maybe if people listened to them, and went to them, and said, listen you clearly know the situation in Syria better than anybody else. Let’s sit down and see how we can help Syria solve its problems. Perhaps things would have been different. But that did not happen.”
US and international diplomacy on Syria is otherwise “stuck,” as Laura Rozen reports, tripped up by the US, Saudi, and Turkish precondition for Assad’s departure in any political transition. With the United States on the diplomatic sidelines, Moscow’s engagement with the Syrian government and opposition groups has complemented the efforts of UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura. Moscow and Tehran are not backing down on Assad, especially as a precondition and in the absence of any coherent political plan that would assure the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) and avoid the collapse of the Syrian state.
Vitaly Naumkin explains the Russian rationale for increasing its support for the Syrian government: “It is well-known that Russia has been calling for the formation of a broad coalition with the participation of global and regional powers to wage war against this evil, which Russia regards as a direct threat to its national security. Suffice it to say that from one single area in the Volga region, which is famed for its tolerance, no fewer than 200 people have already left to fight on the side of IS. This is to say nothing of the North Caucasus. The task of forming such a broad coalition is still far from being fulfilled. … The moderate Syrian opposition forces, which are leading the fight on two fronts, are much weaker than the terrorists and are losing ground. According to Russian experts, the opposition controls about 5% of Syria’s territory, while almost half of the country is in the hands of IS. Under these circumstances, assistance to Damascus is viewed exclusively in the context of its struggle with the jihadists.”
Naumkin, who has participated in the Moscow-brokered talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups, points out that the Russian public remains opposed to direct military intervention in Syria, and that Moscow and Tehran are not necessarily coordinating their approaches to Syria, at least not yet: “One shouldn’t link Moscow’s plans to continue providing assistance to Damascus to Tehran’s plans. Iran is pursuing its independent policy toward the Syrian crisis, guided by its own national interests. Russia is doing the same, while also taking into account its developing relations with the Arab Gulf states. But could it be that the scale of the fight against IS in Syria will expand without the creation of a broad coalition of regional and global players, and even the necessary coordination — a fact that can only hinder success in this struggle?”
US leaders rally to pope’s call to offer "concrete hope"
The Barack Obama administration has taken the charge from Pope Francis’ appeal to offer sanctuary and hope to refugees by announcing that the United States will increase the number of Syrian refugees it will accept from 1,293 so far this year to 10,000 next fiscal year, while increasing the overall number of refugees to 70,000, as Julian Pecquet reports.
Francis’ appeal Sept. 6 to European Catholics to welcome the refugees as “neighbors” represents perhaps the most meaningful moral challenge to date of the 21st century, as well as a historic gesture of interfaith relations at a time of crisis in the Islamic Middle East.
Pecquet reports that many US politicians, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, have endorsed the pope’s call to do more for the nearly 400,000 refugees, more than half of them from Syria.
There are of course those in the United States and Europe who prefer to see the refugees as a threat because of their religion, rather than an opportunity to express compassion.
This column reported last week that the globalization of the Syrian refugee crisis is a shared burden that should be embraced by all countries, including the regional parties to the Syrian conflict, whose leaders have an obligation to provide “inspiration, hope and goodwill,” rather than arms and intrigue.
Netanyahu offers "just words" on refugees
Akiva Eldar and Ben Caspit report that the refugee crisis has touched a political nerve in Israel, sparked in part by remarks by Knesset member Isaac Herzog, head of the Israeli opposition, that “Jews cannot be apathetic when hundreds of thousands of refugees are searching for safe haven.”
Eldar writes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes up short in dealing with the refugee flows from African and Arab countries. He explains Israel’s special obligation with regard to Syrian refugees in particular: “Few recall that Israel’s connection to Syrian refugees is closer than that of any other country. During the 1967 Six-Day War, 115,000-120,000 Syrians left their homes in more than 200 villages across the Golan Heights. According to Syrian birth rate statistics, the number of Golan Heights' refugees and their descendants has reached about 500,000 today. Most of the villages were completely destroyed and were replaced by Israeli settlements, although according to UN resolutions, even now the Golan Heights is considered Syrian territory. One can assume that thousands from among some 4 million Syrians who have found refuge in Turkey and Jordan or those who are wandering around Europe are Golan Heights refugees or their descendants. If little Israel is too small to take in several thousand families from among the 1967 refugees who have now lost their homes for a second time, why not let them settle in the West Bank, as suggested by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas? Netanyahu has promised in any case that a Palestinian-Arab state will be established there, and he has to be taken at his word. After all, it’s just words.”
Caspit writes, “In his defense, Netanyahu says that Israel is trying to help its neighbors and the surrounding region at large on the humanitarian level. A military hospital has been set up in the Golan Heights to treat hundreds of wounded Syrians, who arrive there in droves from those areas where the Syrian army is fighting the rebels. Israel does not check the identities of the wounded, and some of them are even transferred to hospitals within Israel for further treatment. They are returned to Syria only after they have recuperated. Similarly, Israel is trying to help the African states that have volunteered to absorb migrant workers who entered the country illegally. Israel is prepared to donate its means, experience and input, in a limited sense at least, but it is firmly opposed to absorbing refugees.”Nonetheless, Israel considers the refugee crisis as mostly connected to the broader security challenges it faces in the Middle East, and priority is given to building a fence. Caspit concludes: “The good news is that the bloody wars being waged across the Middle East prove Israel’s claim that it is not the cause of the regional instability. The bad news is that life has become a lot less certain, state frameworks are disintegrating, enemies are becoming a lot less predictable and a lot more violent, and no one can tell what tomorrow might bring. Given this situation, all that is left for Israel to do is to raise its fences and hope for the best.”

Rebels cut Damascus-Homs highway
Now Lebanon/September 14/15
BEIRUT – The Army of Islam has cut the key M5 highway leading from Damascus toward Homs in the northeastern outskirts of the Syrian capital in an operation the rebel group said involved thousands of fighters.Pro-Syrian regime outlets reported that heavy fighting near the regime-controlled Dahiyet al-Assad suburb of Damascus has forced the closure of the motorway, which provides a key lifeline into the capital from the coast via Homs. Al-Khabar TV said Monday that “military operations in the area around Dahiyet al-Assad north of the capital are ongoing for the third day running.” “The Damascus-Homs international highway remains closed on both sides from the town of Harasta,” the pro-regime outlet added. A Facebook news page supportive of the Bashar al-Assad government also reported Monday morning that “the Damascus International Highway has been cut in Harasta due to the fierce clashes currently underway between the men of the Syrian Arab Army and Eastern Ghouta's terrorists in the area around Dahiyet al-Assad.”Despite the prevalence of reports of the highway’s cutting—including on a number of opposition news outlets—Syria’s official state media has yet to make any mention of it. The Army of Islam, in turn, touted its offensive in northern Damascus with a bombastic statement Saturday in which the group claimed thousands of its fighters were taking part in an operation to seize government positions “in the mountainous military area which besieges Damascus Ghouta.”
“The Army of Islam has launched the ‘Allah is Predominant’ battle in the mountain chain [overlooking] Eastern Ghouta after one and a half years of scouting, digging tunnels and training thousands of mujahideen to fight in barren areas,” the group announced.
Dahiyet al-Assad fighting
The Army of Islam’s ‘Allah is Predominant’ offensive has focused on both the Dahiyet al-Assad suburb as well as the town of Adra further to the east along the strategic M5 motorway. Shelling against Dahiyet al-Assad began on Friday, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting that dozens of mortars have struck the regime-controlled area over the weekend. On Monday, the monitoring NGO said that “fierce clashes are ongoing between regime forces and pro-regime militants on one side and Islamist factions on the other in the area around Dahiyet al-Assad near the town of Harasta.”
“This has been accompanied by heavy shelling by regime forces on the combat zones and around 30 shells have struck areas in Dahiyet al-Assad, causing material damage.”Pro-government Facebook pages based in the suburb have also admitted that fighting has raged nearby amid a worsening security situation.
The “Dahiyet al-Assad News Network” Facebook group said on Sunday morning that “National Defense Forces are eliminating a number of individuals from terrorist groups infiltrating the outskirts” of the area. On the same day, the page reported that “schools are [closed] until further notice to preserve the safety of the students.” A day earlier, the page claimed that “Dahiyet is totally safe and Dahiyet has men to defend it.”“We have said time and time again: There is no call for concern, God’s men are keeping watch.”Meanwhile, a Facebook page called “Dahiyet al-Assad in Harasta: The Municipal Council” wrote on Saturday that NDF militiamen in the suburb were working to protect homes of locals after “undisciplined elements” had looted a number of residences. Al-Jazeera reported that the regime had ordered a number of Dahiyet al-Assad residents near the M5 highway to leave their homes on Friday, after which looting broke out, raising the ire of locals. None of the Facebook groups active in Dahiyet al-Assad have posted any news since Sunday; however, one pro-regime outlet published a report giving the impression that daily life was continuing as usual. “Today, Rif Dimashq Governor Hussein Makhlouf inspected the condition of [public] services in Harasta’s Dahiyet al-Assad,” Syrian Days reported on Sunday evening. According to the report, Makhlouf “heard… the requests and difficulties suffered by some citizens” during a meeting with members of the local council and residents of the town. “Makhlouf carried out an inspection tour of the backup mechanical bakery and was briefed on the progress of production with regard to quality.”“He was also briefed on… the availability of water and its delivery according to the applied program,” the report added.

Muslim Immigration and How to Handle It
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Iinstitute/September 14/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6489/muslim-immigration
*The political history of Muslim states has often been restricted to two options. They have either been ruled by nationalist ("secular") oppressive regimes, or Islamist oppressive regimes. Unfortunately, many people in Middle East have so much affinity for political Islam that they do not realize that political Islam is the root cause of their problems. That attitude is the main reason they cannot get rid of their backward and violent regimes, or make cultural or scientific progress.
*Sadly, the founder of Islam did not leave behind a humanitarian message to respect people of other faiths and to be on an equal footing with them. What the the Islamic State (ISIS) and other barbaric Islamist groups have been doing to people is horrific beyond words; but it is meticulously based on Islamic scriptures. So it is not the West causing these human tragedies; it is Islam and Muslims.
*Members of a culture that murders intellectuals who try to present ideas to improve their societies do not have the moral right to blame its backwardness and bloodthirsty culture on the West.
*Muslims should not try to turn Europe, which is being so generous to them, into more Muslim lands. We already have far too much barbarity, misogyny and persecution in the Muslim world. Muslims could do our people an enormous service if instead they tried harder to turn the Muslim lands into Europe-like places.
*The Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders has suggested that people who have a passport from an Islamic country, in addition to a Dutch passport, should sign an anti-Sharia declaration. It should state that they do not want to introduce Sharia (Islamic law) into the Netherlands, and that they repudiate all the violent passages in the Koran. New refugee-candidates might also sign such a declaration. If they support Islamic rule, then Europe is probably not the best place for them.
*These stipulations are not "discrimination against Muslims," any more than requiring guests to your home to behave politely is discrimination against friends. This is merely the same way that rulers in the Middle East -- the Saudis, and Emiratis, for example -- regard foreigners and visitors. The proposal is a rational and legitimate way to protect
*European civilization and the lives and liberties of all of its citizens. Europe needs to protect itself and its liberties unapologetically. Why should Europe be expected to commit suicide and turn into yet another Muslim land where lives and liberties have no value? The ancestors of Europeans paid an extremely high price over many years to give their descendants what they have today. European governments need to protect the security of their citizens as well as their cultural identity and freedoms.
*The West should support Kurdistan in its struggle for independence. Such support would be one of the most important steps not only to liberate a progressive and heroic nation but also to help reduce the refugee tragedy in the region. The heartbreaking photos of Muslim refugees trying to reach Europe have intensified a controversial and urgent issue: The issue of Muslim immigration and how the world should handle it. "There are 20 million refugees waiting at the doorstep of Europe," said Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations. Many claim that Europe, facing the crisis produced by the huge influx of Muslim migrants and refugees fleeing mainly Syria and Iraq, should open its doors. But given the realities in Europe and the Muslim world, this suggestion may well be harmful to both the West and to the Muslim world.
One of the most common arguments is that Europe is not doing enough for the Muslim refugees and is actually responsible for the turmoil in Syria as well as the rest of the Muslim world. The current wars in the Middle East, however, are not the fault of the West. Obviously, the Obama administration and European governments must do more to stop the bloodbath in the Muslim world, but to say that the wars in the region are the product of Western intervention or some other Western "plots" just shows how clueless and ignorant the people who make such claims are about the history of Islam. Islamic scriptures call on Muslims to wage war on other religions to bring them under submission to Islam. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, said that he was "ordered by Allah to fight men until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger."In Mecca, Muhammad advocated "la iqra fiddin" -- "[there should be] no compulsion in religion." But when his gift of Islam was not readily accepted, he began to dismiss peaceful co-existence, his message became increasingly intolerant and he resorted to militancy.
When Muhammad moved to Medina, after a more benign life in Mecca, Islam was turned into a military force that apparently intended to rule all aspects of society, including practices such as sex slavery, child marriages, forced conversions, wife beating and commands to kill "the unbelievers." Especially in the later parts of the Quran, Mohammad fully encourages violence against non-Muslims, and their eternal damnation. Sadly, the founder of Islam did not leave behind a humanitarian message to respect people of other faiths and to be on equal footing with them. By the time Muhammad lived in Medina, his new religion openly advocated dominating others through subjugation, rape, murder and forced conversion. People who followed his teachings first became violent toward peaceful communities and then toward other people around. When Muhammad failed to leave a clear successor, the omission quickly turned out to provoke violence. For the first few years after his death, members of his own family went to war with each other. In a battle between Aisha, one of Muhammad's several wives, and Ali, his adopted son, thousands of Muslims were killed fighting to the death. So anyone who knows about the history of Islam should not be shocked by the current Muslim-on-Muslim violence.
The actual target of Muslim armies, however, has usually been non-Muslims, and people across North Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia have been exposed to Islamic violence for the last 1,400 years. Regrettably, the violent, repressive and intolerant practices of Islam --against non-Muslims, women and even different sects of Islam -- still runs wild in the Muslim world, and the deep schism continues to this day as the Sunni-Shia conflict. The latest extension of this tradition of violence has mainly occurred in Syria and Iraq. What the Islamic State (ISIS) and other barbaric Islamist groups have been doing to people is horrific beyond words; but it is meticulously based on Islamic scriptures. It is not the West causing these human tragedies; it is Islam and Muslims.
Unfortunately, many people in Middle East have so much affinity for political Islam that they do not realize that political Islam is the root cause of their problems. This oversight is probably the main reason they cannot get rid of their backward and violent regimes, or make cultural or scientific progress.
Islamic law is a theocratic system in which nothing but Islamic teachings is to be followed. And clearly, classical Islam has clearly had a longer-lasting, more powerful effect on the region than any other religion. A short while ago, the most prominent leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, admitted that the "killing of apostates is essential for Islam to survive," or Islam would not have lasted. In 2006, for instance, Rafiq Tagi, a Azerbaijani writer and journalist, was arrested after publishing an article entitled "Europe and Us," in which he argued that Europe's humanist and universal values would benefit Azerbaijan more than Islamic values.
Ten days after the article was published, an Iranian cleric issued a fatwa calling for his death. In 2007 he was sentenced to three years in prison. Released on a presidential pardon in December 2007, he was stabbed six times in downtown Baku by an unknown assailant, and died in a hospital four days later.
Members of a culture that murders intellectuals who try to present ideas to improve their societies do not have the moral right to blame their backwardness and bloodthirsty culture on the West -- but they continually do. They blame, for instance, the recent crisis in the region on "the U.S. invasion of Iraq."
The U.S. has intervened in Latin American countries, as in the coups d'état in Brazil in 1964, and in Chile in 1973, but how many people from those countries blew up American targets in retaliation? None. Because, unlike Islam, their religion does not call for jihad, global caliphate, world domination and death to apostates. The U.S. also intervened in Vietnam, but once the U.S. left, the Vietnamese did not begin a civil war. Neither did the Koreans.
Religions obviously have major influences on societies; the religions of, say, Christianity and Buddhism are (usually) more peaceful and humanitarian than Islam. In terms of promoting violence, Islam is by far the most violent and discriminatory. We are talking about different galaxies here. Unlike Latin America or Asia, there has been unending religious violence and murders in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other Muslim countries. Those places, however, were already violent and repressive even before the U.S. intervention. The people or administrations of those countries could have cooperated with the U.S. governments to promote liberal democracies and common interests; instead they became suffocated in a cycle of violence and unending violations of human rights -- as they have done for centuries. Muslim regimes or groups do not need any kind of foreign intervention to resort to violence and human rights abuses. Their history and culture seem to give them enough incentive to commit those crimes daily.
The political history of Muslim states -- including Turkey -- has often been restricted to two options: They have been ruled by either nationalist ("secular") oppressive regimes, or Islamist oppressive regimes. The third option, appearing now, is an extremist genocidal group called the Islamic State (ISIS).
In truth, neither the former "secular" nor the Islamist regimes of Muslims were much different from ISIS. The "secular" Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, for instance, gassed the Kurds of Halabja in 1988, murdering or wounding thousands of people. We have been seeing similar scenes of slaughter in Syria from President Bashar al-Assad's "secular" regime. And the "secular" governments of Turkey have murdered tens of thousands of Kurds, and persecuted Christians, Alevis and Jews. What makes ISIS different from other Islamist or secular Muslim governments of the Middle East is that, while other regimes try to hide their crimes, ISIS films the crimes it commits and publishes them on the internet.
As these wars in the Middle East escalate, people in the region try to flee elsewhere. Meanwhile, the rich Arab nations -- including Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain -- do nothing to help their Muslim brethren. These states are wealthy, as well as geographically and culturally close to the stricken war zones, but they have not offered any financial help, resettlement places, or to take in any refugees.Dr. Abbas Kadhim wrote on Twitter: "We know that Iran is pro-Assad, but why hasn't any "kind-hearted" anti-Assad Arab state (e.g. Saudi) taken any Syrian refugees?"
"Shouldn't countries that spent billions on arming militants (including terrorists) in the name of "liberating" Syrians take refugees in?""The only Syrian refugees that got attention in the Gulf states are the vulnerable underage girls they bought in the name of marriage."
The BBC, as well, reported that, "There is a widespread perception that many Gulf states have unwritten restrictions in place that make it hard for Syrians to be granted a visa in practice." Oh, really? Wouldn't it be interesting to know what these "unwritten restrictions" are.
These wealthy states are also not exactly innocent when it comes to the killings and persecution in Syria. They have invested in the Syrian conflicts, and provided financial help for Islamist terrorist groups fighting against the Assad regime. Given the cultural, linguistic and religious background of the refugees, however, it would seem that many of them could live with their fellow Muslims in those Arab states. Saudi Arabia reportedly has 100,000 air conditioned tents set up that stand empty most of the year, which could house three million people.
Saudi Arabia reportedly has 100,000 air conditioned tents set up that stand empty most of the year, which could house three million people. (Image source: Akram Abahre)
Even though big media corporations in the West tend to abstain from covering the problems caused by Muslim immigrants and refugees in the West, it has been unfortunate that some Muslim immigrants rape women in Europe; try to establish parallel sharia systems in their own neighborhoods; demand justice in their own sharia courts; take advantage of the social welfare system instead of seeking work, and occasionally even murder the very people who opened the doors of their countries to them and offered them a privileged life that they could have never had in their own home countries in the Muslim world.
When an illegal alien, for instance, stabbed two Swedes to death last month, the prominent Swedish journalist, Ingrid Carlqvist, wrote:
"Questions flooded the social media. Who are these people that are let into Sweden? How many of them are not innocent victims of war, but in fact war criminals and other criminals, hiding among the refugees? And should we pay billions in taxes to support and shelter citizens of other countries, while some of them try to kill us?"The same questions are valid for the new refugees at the borders of European countries: How many of them are not innocent victims of war, but in fact war criminals and other criminals, hiding among the refugees? European governments need to protect the security of their citizens as well as their cultural identity and freedoms. The Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders has suggested that people who have a passport from an Islamic country, in addition to a Dutch passport, should sign an anti-sharia declaration. It should state that they do not want to introduce sharia (Islamic law) into the Netherlands, and that they repudiate all the violent passages in the Koran. "If they do not do that," said Wilders, "then as far as I'm concerned there is no place for them in the Netherlands... We can't have hundreds of thousands of people in the Netherlands who want to introduce the Sharia. You have to accept Dutch democracy and renounce the Sharia. I want them to come out and publicly declare that."
New refugee-candidates might also sign such a declaration. If they support Islamic rule, then Europe is probably not the best place for them. And if they commit crimes -- such as rape, murder or attempting to establish Sharia rule -- they should be instantly deported. These stipulations are not "discrimination against Muslims," any more than requiring guests to your home to behave politely is discrimination against friends. This is merely the same way that rulers in the Middle East -- the Saudis, and Emiratis, for example -- regard foreigners and visitors. The proposal is a rational and legitimate way to protect European civilization and the lives and liberties of all of its citizens. Why should Europe be expected to commit suicide and turn into yet another Muslim land where lives and liberties have no value? How many more "Charlie Hebdos" is Europe supposed to experience to prove that its suicidal "multicultural tolerance" is suicidal over and over again?Europe needs to protect itself and its liberties unapologetically. The ancestors of Europeans paid an extremely high price over many years to give their descendants what they have today.
Moreover, Muslims should not try to turn Europe, which is being so generous to them, into more Muslim lands. We already have far too much barbarity, misogyny and persecution in the Muslim world. Muslims could do our people an enormous service if instead they tried harder to turn the Muslim lands into Europe-like place -- as Kurds have been trying to do. Today, Kurds are the only Muslim nation that is seriously fighting political Islam -- with their lives. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq has been trying to protect religious minorities. Thousands of Christian families have fled violence and threats in other parts of Iraq and found refuge in the Kurdistan Region. In the KRG there are a large number of Christians of different denominations, as well as tens of thousands of Yazidis.[1] If there were an independent Kurdistan, the Kurds would be able to make the region even better. Kurds in four parts of Kurdistan -- through their struggle against ISIS and other Islamist groups -- have proven that their resistance would bring liberty not only to Kurds, but also to other persecuted minorities in the region. But as the Kurds have been mostly left alone in their fight against Islamist tyranny, many, in both Syrian and Iraqi Kurdistan, are trying to flee elsewhere, as refugees. If Kurds had a safe and independent state of their own, they would not have to search for other places to run when attacked by genocidal groups or regimes.
The West should support Kurdistan in its struggle for independence. Such support would be one of the most important steps not only to liberate a progressive and heroic nation, but also to help reduce the refugee tragedy in the region. The main offenders for the current refugee crises in the world are the Muslim regimes and masses that have done little to save their lands from Islamic violence and tyranny. No matter where Muslims go, it is Muslims themselves that will have to struggle and change their societies for the better. As history indicates, such a venture will require much hard work, re-thinking and self-criticism. If the Azerbaijani journalist Rafiq Tagi had been allowed to live, he might have provided wonderful insights as to what Muslims could do to stop the persecution in the Muslim world, to promote science, and to help create better lives for all Muslims in the region.
**Uzay Bulut, born and raised a Muslim, is a Turkish journalist based in Ankara.
[1] In December 2014, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani called on Iraqi Christian victims of ISIS "not to leave Iraq": "The enemies of humanity, peace and coexistence do not want you to stay in this country," he said. "My dear brothers and sisters, please do not think of leaving this country. Your hope must be high. Staying in Iraq will break the goals of the terrorists." For further reading about religion in Kurdistan, see the book "Kurdistan Land of God," by Francois-Xavier Lovat.

Turkey's "Free" Press
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/September 14/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6478/turkey-free-press
*Turkey is increasingly becoming less safe for journalists as Erdogan's systematic campaign to intimidate goes at full speed.
*In February 2015, Turkey ranked 149th on Reporters Without Borders (RSF) list of 180 countries. Venezuela, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates and Algeria performed better than Turkey, where, according to RSF, arrests and intimidation of journalists are rampant.
*In a fierce speech in front of the newspaper's building, AKP member of parliament, Abdurrahim Boynukalin vowed that the Dogan media company (which owns Hurriyet) will "get the hell out of Turkey" when Erdogan will have additional executive powers "whatever the electoral outcome on Nov. 1 will be."
In 2001, a group of Turkish Islamists broke off with their more hardline comrades and launched a "pro-reform, pro-Western, pro-European Union" (yet Islamist) party –the Justice and Development (AKP), promising to advocate universal values on human rights and democracy. In 2002, they rose to power and have since been ruling Turkey – despite a road accident they are now trying to fix after they lost their parliamentary majority in June 7 elections for the first time since 2002. New early elections are scheduled for Nov. 1.
The AKP's election manifesto in 2002 firmly stated that: "Our party views law not as a means to frighten or punish but as a means to provide justice." Impressive. The AKP promised "a state of law and a justice system in compliance with the universal norms." What else? From the election manifesto: "State officials will be prevented from neglecting their responsibilities [by] referring to justice the work they ought to be doing."
In 2002, when the AKP promised universal freedoms to Turkey, the world's largest press advocacy group, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), ranked Turkey 99th on its world press freedom index (out of 134 countries surveyed.) Nearly 13 years later, in February 2015, Turkey ranked 149th on RSF's list of 180 countries. Venezuela, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates and Algeria performed better than Turkey, where, according to RSF, arrests and intimidation of journalists are rampant. The group said: "Turkey's 'underlying situation' score -- covering such areas as cyber-censorship, lawsuits, dismissals of critical journalists and gag orders -- actually worsened, showing that freedom of information continues to decline."
AKP's leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was elected president on Aug. 10, 2014. In the following 226 days a total of 236 people (more than one person per day), including minors and high school students, were investigated on charges of insulting the president. Turkey is increasingly becoming less safe for journalists as Erdogan's systematic campaign to intimidate goes at full speed.
Prosecutors recently launched a probe against Ertugrul Ozkok, one of Turkey's most prominent columnists (writing for Hurriyet daily). Ozkok is accused of holding Erdogan responsible for the death of a Syrian refugee child whose body washed ashore a Turkish holiday resort. Ozkok defended himself in a subsequent column: "I have not lost my sense so as to insult the country's elected President Erdogan by calling him a 'murderer.' Erdogan's name is not used in any line of my column." In Turkey you can be prosecuted for insulting the president whose name you never mention in your column.
One day after Ozkok faced investigation, a prosecutor launched a probe into another journalist, Ekrem Dumanli, over accusations of insulting Erdogan during his remarks on a TV program. During the TV broadcast Dumanli mentioned "those who staged a military coup on Sept. 12, 1980, and referenced their violent and cruel implications over the people with different ideologies who faced ill-treatment and torture in prisons designed especially for political prisoners." The journalist said that no form of oppression is acceptable and that the public did its part to get rid of the threat even in times of military coups. Like Ozkok, Dumanli did not mention Erdogan's name during the broadcast.
Prosecutors also have filed a case against Yavuz Baydar, columnist for Today's Zaman and Bugun daily, for insulting Erdogan in two of his recent columns published on Aug. 14 and 17.
"I really have a hard time in understanding how they found an insult in these two columns which referred to the president as 'esteemed or honorable' but which is [also] used to mean 'mister' and which included a critical quote," Baydar said. "Being critical, questioning and warning is our professional responsibility. We shall continue to criticize. Just like many other colleagues who are investigated [on the same charge], there is no intention to insult in these columns but the right to criticize was used. I am saddened. I am concerned for our country and the media." Last year, Baydar received the European Press Prize for his efforts "to build trust in journalism."
And on Sept. 6 a Dutch journalist based in Turkey's southeastern Diyarbakir province, an overwhelmingly Kurdish city, was detained by the police for the second time. Frederike Geerdink was detained at around 2 a.m., as she was following the election campaign of a pro-Kurdish party. "I am in custody in Yuksekova (town)," Geerdink tweeted. Geerdink was first detained in Diyarbakir in January on charges of "terrorist propaganda" but acquitted on those charges in April.
Dutch newspaper journalist Fréderike Geerdink (left) was detained this month by Turkish police. In March, she was indicted by a Turkish prosecutor for "terrorist propaganda," because of her writing on Kurdish affairs. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (right) insists that Turkey is a state of law and a defender of freedom of expression.
Ironically, the Islamists often speak honestly when they are angry and not calculating the best ways to cheat. On Sept. 6, Hurriyet's newspaper's office in Istanbul was pelted with stones by hundreds of club-wielding Erdogan fans. Video footage shows an AKP member of parliament, Abdurrahim Boynukalin, leading the mob. In a fierce speech in front of the newspaper's building, Boynukalin vowed that the Dogan media company [which owns Hurriyet] will "get the hell out of Turkey" when Erdogan will have additional executive powers "whatever the electoral outcome on Nov. 1 will be."
The AKP's 2002 election manifesto was not altogether wrong. Just one word was missing in it when it read: "Our party views law not as a means to frighten or punish but as a means to provide justice." It meant to say: "... to provide Islamist justice."
**Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Will Iran reach truce with the Islamic State?
Barbara Slavin/Al-Monitor/September 14/15
Now that the Iran nuclear deal appears to have survived congressional efforts to derail it, a key question is what impact it will have on Iran’s regional policies. Contrary to the impression many in Washington seem to have that Iran will inevitably double down on intervention in regional conflicts, some members of the Iranian policy elite are advocating retrenchment to focus on repairing Iran’s sanctions-battered economy, according to Nasser Hadian, a Tehran University professor of political science who is close to the government of President Hassan Rouhani. In a new paper to be presented Sept. 14 at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, Hadian wrote that a “pro-minimal engagement” camp is arguing that Iran should reduce its intervention in neighboring states to “a bare minimum."
Hadian does not identify who is in this camp, telling Al-Monitor that those having these views have not yet chosen to make them public. But he said that they include “key figures … among conservatives, radicals, reformers, the military, research institutions, and secular and religious people.”
“Adherents to this view assert that Iran is already overstretched as a result of its commitments in Afghanistan, Lebanon and elsewhere, and that the war against the group that calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham [ISIS, or IS] is not Iran’s to fight,” Hadian wrote in the report, which was shared with Al-Monitor in advance. “By taking such a prominent role in fighting IS, they argue, Iran has essentially made itself a target for the group’s attacks.” One possibility this camp believes, Hadian said, is that "a minimalist approach might make it possible for Iran to come to some kind of mutual understanding or truce with IS."While a “pro-stabilization” camp that advocates continued robust intervention is still dominant in Tehran, Hadian said, there are indicators that the minimalist approach is gaining ground, including Iranian reluctance to push the Iraqi government to retake the Sunni stronghold of Mosul. In Syria, the policy would limit Iranian support to defending Damascus and Alawite strongholds on the Mediterranean coast. Iran might also encourage the Houthis in Yemen to reach a peace deal with Saudi-backed forces.
Members of the pro-stabilization camp include Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and other top officials, Hadian told Al-Monitor, including himself in this group.
Iran, whose influence in Iraq increased exponentially after the United States overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003, intervened decisively last year to stop IS from seizing even more Iraqi territory. More recently, however, Iran appears to be reducing its profile. In part at the insistence of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iranian (and former US) protege Nouri al-Maliki has been sidelined. Once seemingly ubiquitous on the battlefield, Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, or external arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, is no longer being photographed.
Other top Iranian officials have sought to assuage concerns about regional overreach in the aftermath of the nuclear deal. Ali Larijani, the speaker of the Iranian parliament and a key member of the policy elite, told Al-Monitor in an interview Sept. 1 that those who argue Iran will get a windfall from sanctions relief and use it to fuel regional conflicts are seeking “pretexts or excuses” for their opposition to the nuclear agreement. Iran’s priority now is economic development, he said.
A less-interventionist Iranian stance might make it easier for President Barack Obama's administration to sell the Iran deal to supporters of Israel and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Bilal Saab, a Middle East expert at the Atlantic Council, told Al-Monitor that what Iranians regard as “stabilizing, their neighbors think the opposite.”How Iran behaves regionally depends on its threat perceptions as well as its resources. In his paper, Hadian wrote that Iran continues to see the United States and Israel — although interestingly enough, not Saudi Arabia — as primary threats. According to Hadian, Iran’s backing for groups such as Hezbollah is part of a strategy of deterring an Israeli attack on Iran. Thus, a less menacing Israel could facilitate a less aggressive Hezbollah. While Hadian says that Iran does not regard Saudi Arabia as a threat, it has intervened in Yemen, which is a major priority for the Saudis. Iranian officials assert that Houthi rebels acted on their own in seizing the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, but have been quite aggressive in their comments about Saudi Arabia.
In the aftermath of the nuclear deal, a number of key US officials and presidential candidates have spoken of a need to compensate Israel and the Arab states for perceived Iranian gains from the accord. Such efforts could increase Iran’s perception of a threat particularly from the Jewish state.
Ilan Goldenberg, a former Pentagon official who directs the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, warned recently that the United States — while increasing intelligence sharing and signing a new 10-year military cooperation agreement with Israel — should not transfer to it a 30,000-pound bomb known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP. The bomb — which is still under development in the United States — could do significant damage to underground Iranian facilities such as the one at Fordow, but Israel lacks the airplanes to deliver it and the START II Treaty could bar the United States from providing them. Goldenberg argues that “such a move would be seen as highly provocative not just by Iran, but by our P5+1 partners, who would question why the United States is dramatically increasing Israel’s capability to strike Iran unilaterally.”
In an interview, Goldenberg told Al-Monitor that the Obama administration needs to carry out “a careful balancing act. It is important to push back on Iranian actions we find unacceptable, but also important that we leave open channels for potential cooperation on issues of common interest. If we push back too aggressively, we will foreclose opportunities for engagement.”
Iranian officials have made conflicting statements about their willingness to work with the United States against common threats. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to rule this out recently but in the past has said that the nuclear deal would be a “test” of US intentions.
Those in Tehran who advocate continued robust intervention in countries such as Iraq and Syria believe that Iran is the pivotal player against the extremist group and is fulfilling a role that no other country can. As Hadian puts it, “The United States has the capability and capacity, but not the political will” to oppose IS. Hadian makes several recommendations to improve the regional climate in the aftermath of the nuclear deal and increase the chances that it will lead to less instability. He suggests that his own government dispense with the “Death to America” slogan and that the United States also refrain from hostile rhetoric toward Iran. He proposes that the two sides conclude an agreement to avoid inadvertent clashes in the Persian Gulf and, where possible, discuss ways of cooperating against common enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq. Hadian also calls for Iran, the United States, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to “engage in serious discussions to identify elements of a realistic plan for containing and resolving the conflict in Syria.”Although Saudi Arabia has so far rebuffed overtures for dialogue from the government of Rouhani, Hadian says Iran and Saudi Arabia “should make a determined effort to improve their relationship” because “unnecessary enmity and competition have and will cost them tremendously.”

Putin’s latest land-grab is in Syria
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/September 14/15/
The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had been getting weaker over the summer, and we were on the cusp of a profound reorganization of the balance of power in the Levant. The regime had suffered serious losses, both in terms of battles and key strategic holdings, both to ISIS in the east and central Syria, and to Western-backed rebel groups in the south and the north-west. Analysts had pointed out that the regime’s strategy shifted from trying to keep hold of all territory, towards retreating and consolidating in its key Alawite heartlands, on the Western strip of the country which includes Damascus, Homs and Hama.I have written before that this set the scene for Russian involvement on the ground in Syria. And sure enough, the evidence now suggests that Russian personnel is embedded in most levels of the Syrian war effort. And the evidence also shows that Russia is coordinating with Iran in its Syria policy: Major General Qasem Soleimani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ ‘Quds Force’, the supreme commander of Iran’s war against ISIS, reportedly flew to Moscow to speak with the Russians just weeks after Iran signed the nuclear deal with the Western powers.
If Russia is seen to engage directly to aid the Assad government, it is highly unlikely that Syrian rebel forces could be persuaded to come back to the negotiating table.
What chance of negotiation?
Russian President Vladimir Putin had been keen to portray himself as a mediator in the conflict, certainly between the Assad regime on the one side and the Western-backed rebels on the other. But if Russia is seen to engage directly to aid the Assad government like this, it is highly unlikely that Syrian rebel forces could be persuaded to come back to the negotiating table – not unless the Russian intervention leads to a dramatic reversal of the situation on the field. The die is now cast, however. The evidence of Russian involvement is even clearer than the evidence for their involvement in east Ukraine. And Putin has also been a lot less circumspect about the role he is now playing, and intends to play in the future, in the conflict. Of course, this is a hugely risky enterprise for Putin. Even Russians remember that a protracted, seemingly endless conflict against radical Islamism in Afghanistan eventually contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and also Islamist insurrections in Chechnya later in the 90s. Even if history will not repeat itself, surely there will be at least some on the home front who are now questioning Putin’s judgement. So Putin is taking a personal risk here as well.
Putin’s land grab
But he must be thinking that the risk is worth taking. And the main reason to think so is the calculation that now Russia will have locked the West out of the conflict in Syria – at least as far as fighting the Assad regime goes. Does the U.S., or indeed do any of their European allies, really want to take the risk of direct military engagement with Russian troops in Syria? Does anyone have the stomach to risk that kind of escalation in this new cold war we are witnessing? Putin has made another land grab, and has put the Western allies in a position where they cannot themselves respond without risking escalating the conflict.
No doubt, Russia will be keen to underplay the extent of its involvement. And it will claim that it is on the ground simply to help combat terrorism. But one way or the other, Putin has made another land grab, and has put the Western allies in a position where they cannot themselves respond without risking escalating the conflict to levels they are not committed to undertake. Just as he has done in Crimea, and in East Ukraine. What the fallout from this will be is yet unclear. But some contours are already shaping up. The Assad regime will be sustained, in some form. Russia will seek to put it in the strongest possible position before any negotiations for a settlement will even be considered. The West is left scrambling for a strategy, trying to balance the unholy mess of “allies” it has in the region, between the rebels it is arming and funding, the Kurds, the Turks, and the neighbouring Sunni states of Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It is not clear what their negotiation position will eventually be, but whatever hope there was that the indigenous militants they are training might one day take over the Syrian government has been decisively dashed. And Iran looks set to happily walk into the power-vacuum and consolidate for an eventual onslaught against ISIS. But the region remains a tinderbox, and one can never know when a stray shot will cause the current alignment of alliances to unravel and blow the whole region up once more.

ICRC challenges in Yemen
Robert Mardini/Al Arabiya/September 14/15/
We at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been working across the front lines in Yemen to help hundreds of thousands of people in need, despite worsening security conditions, in what has become one of the world’s most acute humanitarian emergencies. But when I visited Sana’a last week, it was not to take part in an aid distribution or to visit prisoners. I was there to bid farewell to Abdulkarim Ghazi and Mohammed Al-Hakami, two ICRC staff members who were murdered last week, and to mourn their loss, along with the 250 colleagues who worked with them. When allowed to, the ICRC can help reduce the suffering of civilians. But in Yemen it has become increasingly difficult for us to enter areas affected by the conflict and assist the people. Turmoil Today, the country is in turmoil. Our partners at the Yemen Red Crescent Society (YRCS) have seen, since May, four of their volunteers killed while trying to assist civilians. In Aden, a string of serious incidents involving our staff was followed by an attack on our office by a group of armed men. This triggered the evacuation of the office in late August and the suspension of most of our activities there.
For humanitarians, few things are more distressing than knowing that people desperately need help but not being able to do more.
Last week our two colleagues were shot dead at a checkpoint near Houth, in the northern part of Amran province. Although we have been one of the very few organizations to remain operational in Yemen over the past five months, these disturbing developments have forced us to temporarily suspend our operations across the country. More than a month after the attack on our office in Aden and more than a week after the killing of our two staff members, we are still waiting for the security guarantees – from the parties involved in the fighting – which would allow us to continue operating safely and effectively.
For humanitarians, few things are more distressing than knowing that people desperately need help but not being able to do more – not because you lack the will or capacity to act but because you are prevented from providing aid safely.
Safe access
We are not a ‘zero-casualty’ organization and we are ready to accept risks. What we are not ready to accept however, is being deliberately targeted or attacked. The ICRC can only work when government forces and armed groups fully accept our humanitarian role. If they cannot guarantee us safe access or do not unequivocally condemn acts of violence against humanitarian workers, then we will not be able to reach those people who are in dire need. All parties to the conflict in Yemen, government or other, must urgently take concrete measures to ensure the safety of ICRC workers and the people we assist while respecting our duty to bring help to those in greatest need. We are not a ‘zero-casualty’ organization and we are ready to accept risks. What we are not ready to accept however, is being deliberately targeted or attacked. The ICRC in Yemen faces challenges beyond security and access. As the conflict intensifies, our independence and impartiality is routinely challenged. These pressures are not new for our organization with its 150 years of experience in conflict zones. But parties who threaten the security and lives of our staff also, unfortunately, prevent Yemenis from accessing the aid and support that they so desperately need at this time.
Death toll rising
Historically, the ICRC and the YRCS have worked across Yemen - a challenging terrain at the best of times - thanks to the understanding and support of different sides, tribes and, most importantly, the Yemeni people. We are independent: we do not take sides. We are impartial: we seek to assist and protect all people affected by the conflict, regardless of their origin, religion, tribe or political affiliation. The death toll is rising while the fighting goes on unabated. This principled approach has made a tangible difference to the lives of millions of Yemenis, particularly since the beginning of this last devastating conflict. Our teams have carried out dozens of relief operations on the front lines. But the death toll is rising while the fighting goes on unabated. More people are hungry, outbreaks of deadly diseases are a possibility, millions lack access to basic services and the embargo on essential goods continues. We need to step up our assistance work, including deliveries of water, food and medicine, particularly in areas where bombardment or chaos prevents people from accessing even the most basic commodities. If the fighting intensifies yet again, the needs and suffering will continue to grow. The killing of our colleagues, the attack on our offices and the lack of security for our operations jeopardize not only our own, but all humanitarian relief efforts in the country. We paid an unacceptable price last week. Yet my colleagues in Yemen want to continue their life-saving work, in particular in areas that are off-limits to other humanitarian agencies.
Yemenis are struggling for survival, and their needs are growing by the day. It is imperative that humanitarian workers are allowed to relieve the plight of ordinary Yemenis without threats and without fearing that they may have to pay the ultimate price.

Russia aims to restore its Mideast prestige after U.S. ‘creative chaos’
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/September 14/15
Russian diplomacy aims to settle conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, and has a roadmap for specific measures to contain terrorism in the region, for which it is seeking international blessing and a mandate from the U.N. Security Council to lead on these issues. The time of rivalry between Moscow and Washington, over who leads in the Middle East, is over. At one point, the two countries came together to jointly sponsor the Middle East peace process, and later established the Quartet, which also included the U.N. and the EU in addition to the United States and Russia. The Quartet, however, proved to be little more than an empty façade.
United States steps back…
Today, in light of the clear U.S. withdrawal from the daily management of the Middle East’s crises and Washington’s reduced interest in playing any leading role on these issues, Moscow has found an opportunity to take charge and fill the vacuum, with a view to restore Russia’s leading position in the entire Middle East. The approach chosen by the Russian leadership is interesting, particularly since the objectives of Russia’s policies have been called into question.There is a view that holds that U.S. diplomacy is indifferent to any Russian gains in the Middle East, which the United States has arguably decided to forsake, with the exception of what its alliance with Israel requires. This view holds that the United States has decided to do so following the discovery of large reserves of oil in its territories, and its decision to pivot east towards China and its neighbors. The other view believes the United States has provisionally stepped back from its leadership position to relieve itself of blame and responsibility, and at the same time implicate Russia in crises, bloody conflicts, and the quagmires of civil, religious, and sectarian wars.Some of Russia’s battles intend to restore its prestige after having been excluded and insulted – as Moscow believes – in the wake of the Arab Spring.
And Russia steps forward
Regardless of which view is correct, Russia seems determined to fight several battles across the Middle East. Some of the battles intend to restore Russia’s prestige and vindicate Moscow against having been excluded and insulted – as Moscow believes – in the wake of the Arab Spring. Others are to implement its vision for the Middle East and its influence and interests there.In a concept note entitled “Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Settlement of Conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa and Countering the Terrorist Threat in the Region,” Russia has told U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon it intends to convene a session for the Security Council at the level of ministers on Sept. 30. According to the Russian document, submitted by Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the aim of the ministerial session to be chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is to adopt a presidential Security Council statement that stresses the urgent need to take action to resolve and prevent conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, and identify possible additional steps to address terrorist threats in the region.
The Russian approach is essentially based on linking conflicts in the Middle East to terrorism.
The issues mentioned by the Russian document begin with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The Russian document points out that failure to reach a solution to the conflict boosts radicalization in the Arab street, and creates favorable conditions for the spread of terrorist ideas. The roots of the current tragedy in Iraq, according to the Russian paper, go back to the US invasion in 2003. Those events “have brought the country to a split-nation situation with parts of its territory becoming strongholds of international terrorism, and have given rise to an extremely dangerous trend of inter-religious confrontation.” What is urgently needed, according to the document, are “consistent collective efforts by the international community supported by the Iraqi government in combating ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other groups associated with them to eliminate the challenge of terrorism.”
Syria, Libya and Yemen
The conflict in Syria, according to the Russian vision, is in turn a conflict against terrorism, because the bloody conflict has created fertile ground for the “caliphate” to establish itself in parts of the country. What is needed, according to the Russian approach, is a political solution based on the Geneva communique, as well as through the joining of efforts of Syrian parties and regional and international community “to achieve the objective of addressing the large-scale terrorist threat on the basis of rejection of double standards and respect for the principle of sovereignty of states.”
Libya continues to suffer from the repercussions of what happened in 2011, always according to the Russian document, in reference to the NATO intervention in the country that deposed the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. The problem in Libya today, argues the paper, is linked to terrorism, and the solution requires establishing a national consensus government with adequate international support to enable the army and security structures to repel the escalating terrorist threat.Meanwhile, again according to the Russian paper, there has been a serious deterioration of the situation in Yemen, requiring an urgent cease-fire and a political process under the UN auspices, as well as prompt steps to improve the humanitarian situation stemming from the need to address the terrorist threat in that country.
Russia won’t go it alone
Moscow does not propose to bear alone the burden of fighting terrorism in the Middle East. Nor does Moscow present itself as the sole sponsor for solutions to conflicts. Yet Moscow did not propose to bear alone the burden of fighting terrorism in the Middle East. Nor does Moscow present itself as the sole sponsor for solutions to conflicts. It is saying there is a need for “a comprehensive analysis of the nature of conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, to set directions for a collective work on the basis of the UN Charter.” Russia, as stated in the Russian paper, believes that the Security Council must play the key role in coordinating collective approaches, and should determine ways to address the full range of security-related challenges in the Middle East and North Africa. The paper spoke about modern realities that call for a comprehensive approach to preventing conflicts, including measures to eliminate the root causes of conflicts. It also called for a common understanding of the causes of grave security crises in the region and the political factors aggravating the crisis. As per the Russian vision, interference into domestic affairs of sovereign states, use of force without the authorization by the U.N. Security Council, transfers of arms to non-state actors adherent to radical ideology, aggravate the situation in the region and raise the level of terrorist risks.
Everything in Moscow’s eyes should therefore be focused on fighting terrorism by non-state actors but not terrorism of any other kind. Governments are exempt from this charge of terrorism in the name of sovereignty, and must remain above accountability for the same reason, according to Russia. Russia thus believes that the collective efforts of the international community must focus first on supporting legitimate governments in their war with terrorism on their territories, without any double standards. According to Moscow’s vision and the new dialogue it is calling through the Security Council, the talks must analyze conflicts in the Middle East and their evolution in the wake of the Arab Spring. This moment marks the rise of Islamist movements, with Western support, as Moscow believes.
Security Council
Not long ago, Russia obstructed the Security Council, preventing it from tackling the Syrian crisis. From the outset, Russia clung to Bashar al-Assad, using the veto four times with its strategic ally China. The other countries of the BRICS group, namely India, Brazil, and South Africa, adopted the same policy.
Practically speaking, Moscow aborted the Geneva process mainly because it called for establishing a transitional governing body with executive powers, including security powers. Today, Russia wants to activate the role of the Security Council, but on the basis it has chosen. Practically, Moscow wants to lead with Security Council authorization, after the United States stepped down from leading, and appears now willing to tacitly support Russia in the lead. Moscow does not conceal its support for the Assad regime. In fact, it protests using the term the “regime” instead of the “government” of President Bashar al-Assad. Russia does not conceal that it has supplied Syria with weapons and military equipment, and today, in response to reports saying Russian forces have deployed to Syria, it says it has not made that decision “yet.”Russia has not changed its position. What is new is that it is trying to combine two tasks: Preserving the regime in Damascus, including keeping Assad in power for the time being, and the military support this requires; and sponsoring a new political approach based on partnership with Syrian and regional actors in the war on terrorism, first and foremost. Those who have changed their stance are the Western powers, particularly Security Council members such as the United States, Britain, and France, although some still say they want Assad to step down. What is new on their front is that they seem willing to accept the creative arrangements that combine the commitment of Moscow, Iran, and China to Assad, and the Western position which says – gently – that it wants Assad to step down at the right time.
Washington’s ‘creative chaos’
Washington adopted “creative chaos” to bring about change in the Middle East and North Africa. And Russia is now taking advantage of the West’s interest in creative understanding and arrangements. Europe is working on “creative” solutions to the threats to it and its security – as it believes – resulting from the influx of thousands of refugees. Europe has forgotten its role in Libya, when it rushed to invade, leaving hundreds of thousands of casualties and opening the country to terrorism, while refusing to lift the arms embargo on the legitimate government to repel the terrorist threat.
Europe and the United States did not seriously challenge the obstructionism of Russia and China on Syria, and their decision to refrain from engaging contributed to the human tragedy there. Washington decided that Syria is not a priority and focused on reaching an agreement with Iran instead, refusing to use the tools it has to influence the regime and Tehran's support for it. Moscow believes that Washington approves its leadership position. Now, thousands of displaced persons and refugees are crossing the borders to Europe, which has been forced to receive them, while the United States refuses to do the same, fearing terrorism. That terrorism, which will be a joint priority for the United States and Russia, is their way of reducing the conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. The difference is that Russia has a project and roadmap outlying its goals in the region, while Washington’s project is to be absent and to refrain from engaging. Whether it is furtherance or implication, Moscow believes that Washington approves its leadership position. Russia is prepared to exploit every opportunity to restore its prestige, in the aftermath of what it sees as the insult of the Arab Spring by design from Washington.

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