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Bible Quotation For Today/See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Matthew 10/16-22: ""See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."

Bible Quotation For Today/Obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
Book of Revelation 03/01-06: "‘To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your works; you have a name for being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is at the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Yet you have still a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 28-29/15
Congress pursues 'death by 1,000 cuts' strategy against Iran deal/Julian Pecquet/Al Monitor/September 28/15
What Israel should do about Iran/amir Libel/Kamran Bokhari/Al Monitor/September 28/15
US can defer on Assad until IS is defeated/Al Monitor/September 28/15
What Israel should do about Iran/Amir Libel/Kamran Bokhari/Al Monitor/September 28/15
US can defer on Assad until IS is defeated/Al Monitor/September 28/15
Migration Crisis: "Islam Will Conquer Europe Without Firing a Shot"/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/September 28/15
Lies about Islamic Taqiyya (Dissimulation)/Dr. Carson Right: Washington Post and Academics Wrong/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/September 28/15
Obama is not going to save Syria/Andrew Bowen/Al Arabiya/September 28/15
Did the Russians just ‘invade’ Syria?/Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/September 28/15
Divergent views on the Middle East at the U.N. General Assembly/Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/September 28/15
Khalaf Al-Habtoor, The Influential Emirati Business Leader And Commentator: Side Deal With Iran/MEMRI/September 28/15
Russia opposes “lawless”pro-Assad militias: report/Now Lebanon/September 28/15
The Islamic State’s Frantic Response To The Wave Of Refugees Fleeing Syria/R. Green/MEMRI/September 28/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on September 28-29/15
Elias Bejjani/Tweets For Today/September 28/15
Elect the Conservatives, To Keep Canada A Free & Safe Country/Elias Bejjani/28.09.15
Honoured To Be Canadian/Elias Bejjani/September 28/15
Lebanese journalist fined for contempt of court in Hariri murder case
Hollande Announces October Visit to Lebanon, Expresses Sympathy over its Refugee Burden
Lebanon garbage showdown looms
STL Contempt Judge Sentences Karma Khayat to €10,000 Fine
Shehayyeb Meets Aoun: We Want to Eliminate Trash Dumps in Favor of Sanitary Landfills
Kataeb Says Lebanese Failure to Elect President Will Draw Foreign Role
Salam: I Support the Civil Movements' Demands
Lebanese Army Refers Kasha to the Judiciary for Terrorist Ties
Report: Security Appointments Will Top Agenda of Next Cabinet Session

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 28-29/15
Rowhani: Assad’s govt ‘cannot be weakened’
Obama hits out at ‘child-killing’ Assad, ISIS at U.N.
Saudi arrests ISIS-related terror cell in two cities
Turkey’s Davutoglu sees no transition period for Syria’s Assad
Sources: Iranian diplomat may have entered Saudi under unknown identity
Qatar plans to invest $35 billion in US over 5 years
Obama 'prepared to work' with Russia, Iran on Syria
Iran's Rouhani to join repatriation ceremony for hajj dead

Elias Bejjani/Tweets For Today/September 28/15
The Conservatives In Canada are strongly heading for a majority government. The two other confused parties are trailing far far behind. No wonder why, Well Canadians have a good taste and know very well to whom they must vote.
Mr. Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Liberal Party leader is totally ignores the ABC of terrorism. He is not fit or qualified to be our PM. He needs to go back to school and educate himself on terrorism and on many other issues needed for governing
Lebanon's FM, Jobran Bassil does not represent the free people of Lebanon. He is a mere Iranian trumpet and mouthpiece. All his allegations uttered in the USA about a Muslim Christian crisis in Lebanon are mere fabrications
Iran via its terrorist Hezbollah occupies fully Lebanon & oppresses, intimidates and threatens 24/24 all those who oppose its occupation.
Non of Lebanon's every day problems could be solved as long as Hezbollah, the Iranian army remains occupying Lebanon and terrorizing it people.

Lebanese journalist fined for contempt of court in Hariri murder case
By Reuters | The Hague/Monday, 28 September 2015/A judge in The Hague on Monday fined a Lebanese journalist 10,000 euros ($11,000) for contempt of court in the case against the alleged killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Karma al-Khayat was convicted 10 days ago of failing to obey a court order to remove from the internet video interviews that risked exposing witnesses in the case against the five suspects in the 2005 bomb blast that killed Hariri and 21 others. She was acquitted of the more serious charge of exposing the witnesses, but prosecutors had nonetheless asked for a one-year jail term for the journalist, who has described her conviction as an attack on the freedom of the press.

Hollande Announces October Visit to Lebanon, Expresses Sympathy over its Refugee Burden
Naharnet /September 28/15/French President Francois Hollande highlighted the “difficult” responsibilities Lebanon has to endure over the huge number of refugees it is harboring, reported the daily An Nahar on Monday.He expressed his understanding over the burden it is supporting, revealing that he “will travel to Beirut in October.” He did not specify the date of his trip. The French president made his remarks to the daily from New York where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly. Furthermore, Hollande stressed the importance of the election of a new president in Lebanon. He had discussed on Sunday the presidential vacuum with Prime Minister Tammam Salam, who is also in New York. A source close to the French president told An Nahar: “European officials will exert new efforts in cooperation with Iran and Saudi Arabia in order to resolve this crisis.”It remarked however that all officials Salam is discussing the presidential deadlock with are linking the fate of this file to the developments in Syria. The country has been without a head of state since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.

Lebanon garbage showdown looms
Now Lebanon/September 28/15/BEIRUT – Lebanese civil society activists have introduced a plan for resolving the country’s worsening garbage crisis as Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb continues his efforts to begin implementation of the cabinet’s own plan. Heavily reliant on recycling and decentralization, the activists’ plan claims it will eliminate the need to re-open the Naameh landfill for seven days and the establishment of another sanitary landfill in the Bekaa, two main points of the government’s proposal. Environmental activist Paul Abi Rached introduced the plan in a press conference Monday afternoon that was joined by organizers from the civil society groups behind the recent wave of grassroots protests in Lebanon that have railed not only against the cabinet’s mishandling of the trash crisis, but also systemic corruption and sectarianism. Rached, who is the president of the T.E.R.R.E. Liban environmental education NGO, said the plan calls for banning the use of compactors—hydraulic equipment that reduce the size of trash—so as to allow for easier composting and the recycling of up to 35% of waste material. It also calls for treating waste with anaerobic fermentation to destroy bacteria developing in the festering garbage piles strewn haphazardly across the country following the closure of the Naameh landfill. The plan, which was made available in a PowerPoint presentation by the #YouStink movement, emphasizes the need to sort trash at the source and to empower and finance municipalities to start handling waste management. A showdown now looms as civil society organizations have geared up for further protests regarding the garbage plan while the government ostensibly moves forward with the implementation of its own plan. The activists’ plan comes after Chehayeb, who is the point-man for the cabinet’s garbage plan, voiced hope Monday that his proposal would go into effect later in the week and asked his critics not reject his efforts for the “sake of rejection.” The agriculture minister met with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Monday morning, after which he reiterated the need to establish two sanitary landfills, even after he admitted two weeks ago that the original site for a Masnaa landfill was nixed due to fears of water table contamination. The day before, civil society activists held a sit-in outside the Naameh landfill to protest against the proposed re-opening of the site, which was closed on July 17, years after its originally slated closing date of 2004. Nearby municipalities have backed Chehayeb’s plan, which was approved by the cabinet on September 9 after weeks of growing protests.

STL Contempt Judge Sentences Karma Khayat to €10,000 Fine
Naharnet /September 28/15/Special Tribunal for Lebanon Contempt Judge Nicola Lettieri on Monday sentenced al-Jadeed TV deputy chief editor Karma Khayat to a fine of 10,000 euros on charges of “interfering with the administration of justice” by failing to remove online content on alleged witnesses.
After hearing the arguments of the Amicus Curiae Prosecutor, or Friend of the Court, and the Defense lawyer, Lettieri said he sentenced Khayat to “a fine of €10,000 to be paid in full by 30 October, 2015.”The Judge stated that written reasons for his decision were to follow in due course. On September 18, the judge found Khayat guilty and Al-Jadeed S.A.L. not guilty with respect to the charges under Count 2, meaning for failing to remove the information on the alleged witnesses from al-Jadeed TV’s website and YouTube channel despite an order by the STL Pre-Trial Judge to do so. Lettieri found both Khayat and Al-Jadeed S.A.L. “not guilty with respect to the charges under Count 1 of the order in lieu of indictment.”The first count includes diffusing information that undermines public confidence in “the court's ability to protect the confidentiality of information about, or provided by, witnesses or potential witnesses.”Naharnet has learned that the Friend of the Court, who is similar to a prosecutor in contempt cases related to the STL, is on the verge of making a decision to appeal three out of four verdicts issued by Lettieri against al-Jadeed S.A.L. and Khayat. According to informed sources, the Friend of the Court's appeal of the fourth verdict considering Khayat guilty in one of two charges of contempt was hinging on Monday's ruling. If the verdict came "light," then the Friend of the Court would appeal the four verdicts in an attempt to get the Appeals Chamber to condemn the three cases that Lettieri cleared al-Jadeed and Khayat of, and to give a stronger sentence in the fourth case in which the judge found Khayat guilty with the obstruction of justice, the sources said. On the other hand, both parties continue with making media and legal campaigns in an attempt to prove slander on the court's part and a violation of freedom of speech in Lebanon. Therefore, those closely informed about the contempt case against Khayat believe that she will appeal the verdict that was issued on Monday. Set up in 2007, the court is the only international ad hoc tribunal with the jurisdiction to try an act of terror. It is specifically trying suspects charged with the murder of former premier Rafik Hariri, killed with 22 others in a massive suicide car bombing on the Beirut waterfront on February 14, 2005. Al-Jadeed -- which had been critical of Hariri -- broadcast five programs in August 2012 on the alleged witnesses due to testify at the highly-sensitive trial. The prosecutor had later said "11 witnesses were approached," raising concerns about protecting the identities of those giving evidence. Five suspected members of Hizbullah have been indicted by the court. The party has slammed the court as an American-Israeli scheme and vowed that the suspects will never be found. Their trial in absentia opened in January 2014, but despite international warrants for their arrest, the five are yet to appear in court. While al-Jadeed had concealed the witnesses' faces and names were not mentioned, "nobody was fooled" about their identities, prosecutors told the judge during the trial. Speaking from Lebanon, Khayat gave a scathing reaction on September 18. "The verdict of innocence in the contempt charge means that you (the STL) wasted our time and disrupted our workflow for two years, and in the end, we were right." Referring to an email ordering the broadcasts to be removed which Khayat said she had not opened, she said "a single email cannot be considered enough evidence against me."The court "took this decision (to convict me) just to save face. (At) this stage it isn't over yet."Khayat is the first-ever accused to appear willingly before the STL, a hybrid tribunal that uses both international and Lebanese law in its judgments. At the trial's opening in April, Khayat told the court her television station aimed to ensure that money to fund the tribunal was not being squandered. Her lawyer Karim Khan said prosecutors were "shooting the messenger" because al-Jadeed was not responsible for any leaks of the witnesses' identities. The charges are punishable by a maximum seven-year prison sentence, and/or a fine of up to 100,000 euros.

Shehayyeb Meets Aoun: We Want to Eliminate Trash Dumps in Favor of Sanitary Landfills
Naharnet /September 28/15/Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb hoped on Monday that his plan for resolving the garbage disposal crisis will be implemented this week, seeing as the people “can no longer tolerate the accumulating trash.”He said after holding talks with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun: “We are seeking to eliminate garbage dumps in favor of establishing two sanitary landfills.”“We will look into solutions that adhere to scientific and environmental standards,” he stressed, while adding that he will consider any new proposals if they are better than his own. “If some sides are rejecting my plan for the sake of rejection, then I say that the people can no longer stand the trash,” said the minister in response to his critics. “The price of prolonging the crisis has become too high as our capabilities would not be able to handle it,” he warned earlier to As Safir newspaper. Shehayyeb added that there are concerns that the delay in adopting the plan will lead to the accumulation of more waste that could exceed the capacity of the Naameh landfill. According to the minister's proposal, around 50,000 to 70,000 tons of waste will be disposed at the landfill during a seven-day period after which it will be closed in preparation for a project to produce electricity, for nearby areas, from the trash.Turning to his critics, Shehayyeb hoped that they would approach it from a “realistic point of view, because we have very limited options and little time to find a practical and immediate alternative to the plan.”The minister's proposal calls for the reopening of the Naameh landfill whose closure on July 17 sparked the country's garbage crisis. Earlier in September, the municipal union of towns in the vicinity of the Naameh landfill announced its approval of Shehayyeb's proposal to reopen the facility for seven days to dump the trash that has been accumulating in Beirut and Mount Lebanon since the dumpsite's closure. The union, however, insisted that other landfills cited in the minister's plan must be also activated at the same time. On Sunday, the residents of the town of Ain Drafil expressed the readiness of their region to support Shehayyeb's to tackle the garbage disposal crisis despite the opposition of some locals and civil society activists. Later on Monday, the civil society movement held a press conference to present its own proposal to end the garbage disposal crisis, rejecting Shehayyeb's plan. It explained that its plan can be implemented “as soon as tomorrow, while the minister's needs time.”It emphasized the importance of sorting trash from the source, demanding that regulations be imposed to raise awareness on this issue. It also called for ceasing the use of garbage compression trucks “that render the waste ineligible for export.” The movement reiterated its demands for the resignation of Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq and that the waste collection company Sukleen be prevented from resuming its duties “due to its corruption.”Furthermore, it rejected attempts by the government to blame it for the prolongation of the trash crisis, demanding that the case be kept away from political dealings.

Kataeb Says Lebanese Failure to Elect President Will Draw Foreign Role
Naharnet /September 28/15/The Kataeb Party warned Monday that continued failure to elect a new president would allow foreign countries to interfere once again in the key constitutional juncture. “The party warns that failure to facilitate the election of a president through inter-Lebanese consultations, especially around the (national) dialogue table, will open the door once again to foreign powers to have the final say,” said the party in a statement issued after the weekly meeting of its political bureau. It called on all parties to “renounce their selfishness and foreign commitments and allow the election of a president who is not part of the current political alignments.”It said the new president should be capable of “uniting the Lebanese, preserving Lebanon's independence and sovereignty, and improving its institutions.”Turning to the issue of the paralyzed government, Kataeb said the parties “that are impeding cabinet sessions are to blame for the state's failure to address people's concerns, especially that the economic situation is on the verge of collapse.”Commenting on Prime Minister Tammam Salam's visit to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, the party said it supports the premier's efforts that are aimed at “pushing the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards Lebanon,” noting that the country “is reeling from the refugee crisis' economic and social burden.”Speaker Nabih Berri has called for dialogue among the main political parties to discuss a stalemate that has frozen government institutions for months. Parliament has extended its own mandate twice since the last elections in 2009. Political rivalries have also paralyzed the cabinet, formed in early 2014 on a caretaker basis, and the parliament has been so divided that it has failed more than 20 times to elect a president since Michel Suleiman's term expired in May 2014.
Berri has said his call for dialogue is an attempt to jump-start the work of these institutions.

Salam: I Support the Civil Movements' Demands
Naharnet /September 28/15/Prime Minister Tammam Salam disclosed on Monday that he supports the demands of the civil society, slamming accusations that the demonstrations are orchestrated from abroad. “The demands of the civil society are righteous, I am probably somewhere in support of their demands and I'm not with the political forces in this matter,” Salam told the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily. “I have never made any negative or angry positions on their mobilizations because I believe that their demands are legal,” he added. Moreover, the Premier called on the leaders of the civil society to open up for dialogue with him and with the government to reach consensual solutions, stressing at the same time that the anger which drives the civil demonstrations is “just.” On accusations claiming that the protests are orchestrated by forces from abroad, Salam said: “These are accusations used by feeble ones,” warning that some parties are trying to exploit the demos in their favor. A waste management crisis that started in July when the Naameh landfill was closed triggered a series of demonstrations that fanned all over the country. What started as demands to find an alternative for the landfill that receives wastes of Mount Lebanon and Beirut, spiraled to include anger over the government's dysfunction and paralysis to tackle the country's pressing demands, including water, electricity and others.

Lebanese Army Refers Kasha to the Judiciary for Terrorist Ties
Naharnet /September 28/15/The army intelligence referred detainee Ahmed Ghazi Kasha to the related judiciary on charges of having connections with terrorists and is involved in attacks against the army, possessing narcotics and many other crimes. Kasha has links to two terrorist detainees, Ahmed Salim Miqati and Ibrahim Barakat, and for taking part in attacks against the army. Several arrest warrants have been issued against him including opening fire and possessing narcotics, the army said in a communique. Kasha had admitted to having had transported wanted individuals, weapons and explosives from the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood of the northern city of Tripoli to Asoun in favor of Miaqti who had plans to establish a security zone in al-Dinniyeh. He has also admitted to having had carried out attacks at army positions on October 25 and 26 in 2014 in the markets of Tripoli. He said the attacks came in parallel with the detention of Miqati and the attacks at army positions carried out by Khaled Hoblos in Bhanine and Bab al-Tabbaneh. Militant Miqati was arrested in 2014 during an army raid in the town of Asoun in the northern district of Dinniyeh, and 12 members of his terrorist cell, had plans to execute violent attacks on the 27th of Oct. against Ashura gatherings in several Shiite Lebanese areas. The cell led by Miqati, had further plans to assassinate Lebanese political figures including Speaker Nabih Berri and al-Mustaqbal MP Ahmed Fatfat, in a bid to trigger a Shiite-Sunni strife, reports had said. In a separate arrest, the army also arrested Imad Riad Saleh in Baalbek's al-Sharawneh on counterfeiting charges after he failed to obey an army order to stop at a checkpoint. The army opened fire and injured him

Report: Security Appointments Will Top Agenda of Next Cabinet Session
Naharnet /September 28/15/The Mustaqbal Movement has agreed to a proposal by the Free Patriotic Movement for the implementation of the national defense law, which covers security appointments, reported al-Akhbar newspaper on Monday. This will therefore allow the contentious issue of security appointments to top the agenda of cabinet's next session. The meeting will be scheduled upon Prime Minister Tammam Salam's return to Beirut from New York where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly. Ministerial sources told the daily that the Mustaqbal Movement “succeeded in reaching a settlement with its rivals over the security appointments as part of a package deal that would revitalize cabinet and parliament's work.” Ministers representing Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun have been boycotting cabinet sessions over their insistence to agree on a working mechanism for the government in the absence of a president and the promotion of army officers. Their boycott has paralyzed the cabinet, adding to the country's woes, which started with the vacuum at Baabda Palace following the end of President Michel Suleiman's six-year tenure in May 2014. Parliament has also been paralyzed. The last time it met was when MPs extended their own term in November. Change and Reform totally rejects the extension of the terms of top military and security officials, calling for the appointment of new figures instead. It is also backing the promotion of army officers to keep Commando Regiment chief Chamel Roukoz in the military and make him eligible to become army commander because differences among rival parties are hindering new appointments in the absence of a president. Roukoz is Aoun's son-in-law.

Rowhani: Assad’s govt ‘cannot be weakened’
By AFP, Reuters | United Nations/Monday, 28 September 2015/Iran's President Hassan Rowhani said on Sunday fighting radical militants like ISIS in Syria is the top priority and if they are to be defeated then President Bashar al-Assad's government "can't be weakened.""This does not mean that the Syrian government does not need reform ... Of course it does," Rowhani told an audience of U.S. think-tanks and journalists on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, but he added that the removal of his ally Assad would turn Syria into an extremist safe haven. Discussions of political reform in Syria should come after the threat of extremism in Syria has been removed. Separately, Iran's state news agency IRNA said Rowhani will cut short his visit to New York and return to Tehran for the funeral of Iranians killed in the hajj tragedy in Saudi Arabia, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.
"Some of his meetings and scheduled programs will be canceled and he is returning (to Tehran) on Monday afternoon," IRNA quoted a senior official from Rowhani's office as saying. Earlier, Rowhani said in an interview that he was ready to discuss a “plan of action” for Syria’s post-war future after ISIS is defeated. Iran, which along with Russia is allied with Assad in the war, has until now been kept out of U.N. diplomatic efforts to piece together a political solution for Syria. “That is not a problem for us from right now, to start holding discussions and dialogues so as to determine and reach the conclusion of the next plan of action after the terrorists are driven out that territory,” Rowhani said in an interview to NPR radio. “But we must all act in unison and have a formula that is required to drive out the terrorists, immediately.”Rowhani is expected to address the crisis in Syria in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, after President Barack Obama and Russian leader Vladimir Putin take the podium. The Iranian leader said his country was ready to discuss “the upcoming options” and added that the Syrian government should be included to “reach a plan of action.”Tehran has been providing financial and military support to the Damascus regime as well as military advisers on the ground in Syria, where more than 240,000 people have died and four million people have been driven from their homes. Western powers are seeking to enlist Iran in a new strategy to address the crisis after Russia beefed up its military presence in Syria in a bid to gain the upper hand on the future political transition. The West has softened its demands for Assad to leave power, signaling that the president could stay on in an interim role as part of a two-stage transition. Rowhani added that the Syrian people must “have the last word and most important word” on the future of the county, in reference to elections that could cap an interim transition. Seperately, President Francois Hollande told his Iranian counterpart in a meeting on Sunday, that Iran can be a facilitator in a political solution in Syria but President Bashar al-Assad cannot be part of it, according to a French official. "Iran is a player (in the region), but also a facilitator," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. "(Hollande) said that the question of Assad could not be offered as an answer." Hollande also offered his condolences to Rowhani following the hajj tragedy, but cautioned that the incident should not add to tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the official added.

Obama hits out at ‘child-killing’ Assad, ISIS at U.N.
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News/Monday, 28 September 2015/U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday called for a “managed transition” in Syria apart from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom he accused of killing children and creating the turbulence that unleashed the ongoing four-year bloody conflict.
Obama took the podium at the U.N. General Assembly to denounce those who support leaders like Assad, accusing him of slaughtering children. The barb, a direct attack on Russia and Iran for their ongoing military backing for Syria’s beleaguered regime, came shortly before Moscow’s President Vladimir Putin was to speak. Obama said some states prefer stability over the international order mandated by the U.N. Charter, and try to impose it by force. “We’re told that such retrenchment is required to beat back disorder, that it’s the only way to stamp out terrorism or prevent foreign meddling,” he said. “In accordance with this logic, we should support tyrants like Bashar al-Assad who drops barrel bombs to massacre innocent children, because the alternative is surely worse.”Russia and Iran have argued that world powers should support Assad’s regime, at least until Syrian forces manage to defeat ISIS jihadist group. Obama said he was nevertheless “prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict.” Syria, ISIS ‘not one nation’s affair’“When a dictator slaughters tens of thousands of its people, it is not one nations’ affair, but it brings magnitude of suffering of all, likewise when a terrorist group beheads captives, it is not one single nations problem but it is an assault on all humanity,” Obama said.He added: “I said before and I will repeat there is no room to an apocalyptic cult like ISIS.” He vowed that there will be no safe haven for “cults” like ISIS. Unlike some Western leaders who green-lighted Assad as part of the political transition in the war-torn country, Obama thought otherwise. He also said the U.S. is prepared to work with any nation, including Iran and Russia, to resolve the Syria crisis.
Obama backs U.N. values
Obama, meanwhile, lashed out at powers who want to take the world to the “old ways,” rejecting the use of “coercion” and force by bigger countries against smaller ones during his U.N. address on Monday, in an indirect reference to Russia supporting the Syrian regime. “I lead the strongest military in the world ever known,” Obama said, adding that he could act “unilaterally,” “by force when necessary” but “I stand before you... I believe we the nations of the world cannot turn to the old ways of coercion.” While Obama said it is worth reflecting over what the U.N. has achieved, the U.S. president said the U.N. charter - which buttressed universal human rights in 1945 - should be protected.He also criticized powers, who are centered around “zero-sum games” want to “predate” by going back to such achievement. He said “we live in an integrated world,” and success of nations depends on their people. (With AFP)

Saudi arrests ISIS-related terror cell in two cities
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News/Monday, 28 September 2015/The Saudi Interior Ministry announced Monday it has intercepted an ISIS cell during four simultaneous operations in the Saudi capital Riyadh and the eastern city of Dammam, Al Arabiya News Channel reported on Monday. During the operations, two ISIS members were killed and three others were arrested. The ministry confirmed that the cell was linked to the suicide bomber behind the Abha mosque attack that took place in August. A suicide bomber killed 15 people at a mosque inside a special forces headquarters in the southern city.
It also said that Saudi forces have arrested Faysal Hamed al-Ghamdi, a wanted ISIS member in Riyadh who had threatened to kill his father. The ministry said Aqeel Ameesh al-Mutairy, who was killed during heavy clashes with police in Riyadh, was one of the most 85 wanted by the Saudi authorities.
Aqeel Ameesh al-Mutairy (pictured) was killed during heavy clashes with Saudi police in Riyadh. (Photo: Al Arabiya) Over the last few months, ISIS carried out several attacks on mosques in the kingdom which killed dozens of people. ISIS controls swathes of neighboring Iraq and Syria, and has claimed widespread abuses including the beheading of foreign hostages. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbors last year joined a U.S.-led military coalition bombing ISIS in Syria, raising concerns about possible retaliation in the kingdom.

Turkey’s Davutoglu sees no transition period for Syria’s Assad
By Reuters | Ankara/Monday, 28 September 2015/Turkey remains opposed to any political transition in Syria involving President Bashar al-Assad, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted as saying on Monday in an apparent clarification of its policy. Turkey has been Assad’s most outspoken critic since Syria descended into bloodshed in 2011, blaming him for violence that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions more, and insisting he had to be removed. But last week, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan floated the idea that Assad could be part of a transitional period. He later said his comments did not represent a policy change. Davutoglu, in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said on Sunday that Turkey would accept whatever political solution Syrians choose, but it could not include Assad, Hurriyet Daily News reported. “We have the conviction that with al-Assad in charge during the transition period, that transition period would no longer be transitory. We believe that this situation would turn into a permanent status quo. Our conviction on this matter hasn’t changed,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. Ankara has long maintained that removing Assad is critical to solving the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Turkey is home to the world’s largest refugee population with more than 2 million. In comments reported by local media that appeared to signal a policy shift, Erdogan said last week: “Either a transition process without al-Assad, or with al-Assad, is possible.” But he also echoed Ankara’s long-standing view, saying: “Nobody can foresee Syria’s future with al-Assad. It’s not possible to accept a person responsible for killing 300,000 to 350,000 people, a dictator.” Speaking on Sunday, UK Prime Minister David Cameron told Sky News that Assad could be part of a transitional government but not Syria’s long-term political future.

Sources: Iranian diplomat may have entered Saudi under unknown identity
By Staff Writer | Al Arabiya News/Monday, 28 September 2015/Saudi sources told Al Arabiya News that official records show that the name of the former Iranian ambassador to Beirut Ghazanfar Abadi does not appear among this year’s pilgrims. If his presence during the pilgrimage is confirmed, that would mean that he has entered the country by “unknown manners,” possibly registering with a different name and description. He is feared to have died in the stampede during hajj last week that killed hundreds. Ghazanfar Abadi, who worked as the country’s ambassador in Beirut until last year, has been declared missing and is believed to have been at the pilgrimage to Makkah, Iran’s state TV said. An Iranian state TV broadcast on Saturday said that two state TV reporters and a prominent political analyst were also missing after the stampede, which killed at least 769, according to the latest figures from Saudi health minister Khalid al-Falih, and injured hundreds more.

Qatar plans to invest $35 billion in US over 5 years
AFP/September 28, 2015 /Qatar plans to invest $35 billion over the next five years in the United States, as the energy-rich Gulf state diversifies its global stakes, its sovereign wealth fund said Monday. The Qatar Investment Authority revealed its US investment plans in a statement announcing the opening of an office in New York. The office "will enable QIA to develop and expand its global investment portfolio, with the State of Qatar having committed to investing $35 billion in the United States of America over the next five years," it said. QIA said it also "remains committed to its investments in Europe, Asia and the Middle East," while the New York office "facilitates access to significant investment opportunities".Qatar's portfolio -- valued at between $256 billion and $334 billion - includes significant stakes in British supermarket chain Sainsbury's and the London Stock Exchange, as well as owning Harrods department store and the Shard skyscraper in the capital.

Obama 'prepared to work' with Russia, Iran on Syria
AFP/September 28/15/President Barack Obama declared Monday that the United States does not want a new Cold War over the Ukraine conflict and is prepared to work with Russia and Iran on the Syrian crisis. "The United States is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict," Obama said of Syria, addressing the United Nations General Assembly. Russia's President Vladimir Putin was due to address the assembly later and has urged world powers to back Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in his battle against the Islamic State group. Obama argued it would be wrong to support a "tyrant" like Assad, but that Washington was ready to work with anyone ready to take on the jihadist threat, even Moscow and traditional US foe Tehran. And he insisted that the sanctions Western powers imposed on Moscow in the wake of Russia's intervention in Ukraine were meant to protect Kiev's sovereignty not trigger conflict with Moscow. "We cannot stand by when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a nation is flagrantly violated," he said. "If that happens without consequence in Ukraine, it could happen to any nation gathered here today. "That's the basis of the sanctions that the United States and our partners impose on Russia. It is not a desire to return to a Cold War," he said.

Iran's Rouhani to join repatriation ceremony for hajj dead
AFP/September 28/15/President Hassan Rouhani will fly home early from New York to attend a repatriation ceremony in Tehran on Tuesday for Iranian pilgrims killed in the stampede at the hajj, his office said. Rouhani is to head home straight after his address to the UN General Assembly later on Monday, the Iranian mission at the United Nations said. A total of 169 Iranians are now known to have died in Thursday's stampede in Mina, outside Mecca, and the bodies of 130 of them will be flown home on Tuesday, state media reported. Iran has been deeply critical of Saudi Arabia over the tragedy. It accuses its regional rival of serious safety lapses and of failing to provide the proper cooperation in the search for the missing or the repatriation of the dead and injured. Iran's hajj organising committee said that 298 Iranian pilgrims remained unaccounted for on Monday, while 46 were receiving treatment in either Iran or Saudi Arabia. A total of 769 pilgrims were killed in the worst tragedy to hit the hajj in a quarter-century. The nationalities of many of them have yet to be confirmed but Iranians make up the single largest national group among those that have.
A special section has been set aside in Tehran's largest cemetery for the graves of the "Mina martyrs," city council spokesman Reza Taqipour told state television.

Obama calls for Assad's removal
Ynetnews Reuters/Published: 09.28.15/US President Barack Obama took the podium at the UN General Assemby on Monday to denounce those who support leaders like Syria's Bashar Al-Assad, accusing him of slaughtering children. The United States is willing to work with Iran and Russia to try to end the Syrian conflict, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday but insisted there could not be a return to the status quo under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Obama described Assad as a tyrant and as the chief culprit behind the four-year civil war in which at least 200,000 people have died and millions have been driven from their homes internally or abroad as refugees. "The United States is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict," Obama said at the annual gathering of world leaders. "But we must recognize that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the pre-war status quo." In voicing a willingness to deal with Iran and Russia, both staunch backers of Assad, Obama was openly acknowledging their influence in Syria and swallowing a somewhat bitter pill for the United States. Tehran has armed the Syrian government and, through its backing of Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, has helped Assad fight rebels seeking to end his family's four-decade rule. Russia has recently engaged in a military build-up in Syria, where it has a naval base that serves as its foothold in the Middle East.
Obama is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later on Monday on the sidelines of the gathering, for talks that could provide some hint on how it might be possible to end a conflict that has defied years of diplomatic efforts

Congress pursues 'death by 1,000 cuts' strategy against Iran deal
Julian Pecquet/Al Monitor/September 28/15
Republicans are launching a multipronged offensive to undermine the nuclear agreement with Iran after failing to vote it down.The House of Representatives is expected to take up legislation this week that would prohibit sanctions relief until Tehran pays court-ordered damages to the families of terror attacks, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced Sept. 25. The bill from Rep. Pat Meehan, R-Pa., would first require President Barack Obama to certify that Iran has paid $43.5 billion in damages — a clear violation of the terms of the July 14 agreement. The vote is the latest evidence that the Republicans will preserve their pro-Israel, anti-Iran deal strategy despite a pending change of leadership that has raised concerns in Israel. The surprise Sept. 25 announcement that House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, would be stepping down at the end of October reverberated across the Israeli press, which highlighted his close ties to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Boehner's decision to invite Netanyahu to address Congress about the dangers of the nuclear deal. Boehner's announced departure comes some 15 months after the surprise defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., who had been in line to become the first Jewish House speaker before being undone by the same Tea Party forces that drove Boehner out. The pro-Israel forces remain strong within the Republican Party, where House Republican Israel Caucus Co-Chairman Peter Roskam, R-Ill., is believed to be eyeing the No. 3 House majority whip spot after the chairs get reshuffled. Instead, Iran hawks appear more worried that the intraparty fighting could pave the way for Democrats to take back Congress and keep the presidency. Cybersecurity will dominate the congressional debate this coming week, in the wake of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit and promises by both sides to play nicer. While China and Russia are the main concerns, Iran has also been cited as a cyberwarfare adversary. The House Armed Services Committee will hold hearings on the issue Sept. 29 and 30. The Senate Armed Services Committee holds its hearing on the cyberwar issue Sept. 29, while the House Foreign Affairs panel follows suit Sept. 30. On Sept. 29, the House Foreign Affairs terrorism panel holds a hearing on "US Counterterrorism Efforts in Syria: A Winning Strategy?" And the Eurasia subcommittee holds a hearing Sept. 30 on "the threat of Islamist extremism in Russia."In the Senate, the Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing Sept. 29 on the US role in tackling the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. Witnesses include International Rescue Committee chief David Miliband, Great Britain's former foreign secretary and brother of Ed Miliband, the former leader of the Labour Party; the routing of the party in the May 2015 parliamentary elections led to Ed Miliband's replacement by socialist member of parliament Jeremy Corbyn. On Oct. 1, the committee votes on Obama's choice for ambassador to Tunisia, former special envoy for Syria Daniel Rubinstein. The vote comes as the House Foreign Affairs panel on the Middle East passed a resolution last week urging the country to reform its security services if it hopes to be recognized as a full-fledged democracy. The Senate Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, holds a hearing Oct. 1 on the Obama administration's plans to accept many more refugees next year — including up to 10,000 Syrians. Finally, the Senate Banking panel marks up crude oil export legislation Oct. 1.

What Israel should do about Iran
Amir Libel/Kamran Bokhari/Al MonitorPosted September 27, 2015
There are two major reasons why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should pull back from his hard-line opposition to the Iranian nuclear deal. First, Iran is on a path toward international rehabilitation, whereby the United States and its European allies will increasingly be working with Tehran on regional security in the Middle East. Second, geosectarianism is reshaping the regional strategic environment to where the bulk of the threat to Israeli security will be from Sunni as opposed to Shiite actors.
Ever since the signing of the July 14 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a large number of serious voices from within Israel’s security establishment have come out criticizing the Netanyahu administration’s opposition to the deal. Many of these critics hold the view that the threat is not from a nuclear Iran, but rather an Iran that is on the path toward international rehabilitation. Intuitively, an Iranian regime unencumbered by sanctions indeed has far more room to pursue its anti-Israel policies. However, it is important to take stock of the constraints upon the Islamic Republic in light of the nuclear deal.
It is unlikely that a Tehran that has made the strategic decision to end its international isolation will engage in activities that could reverse its current course. More important, Iran needs to focus on rebuilding its economy. And on the foreign policy front, it is facing serious crises throughout its sphere of influence, which will preoccupy Iranian strategic planners and thus limit its ability to alter the balance of power currently in favor of Israel. It is interesting to note that those very forces (Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra and the many other Salafist-jihadist militias that have their epicenter in Syria) that threaten Iranian interests are a bigger threat to Israeli national security. While Tehran is working to limit the extent to which these entities undermine the fabric of its regional sphere of influence, Israel faces a far greater challenge from these forces, which pose a direct threat to its national security. Furthermore, Tel Aviv has very few tools to deal with them. Jacky Hugi has argued in these pages that it is in Israel’s interest that the Syrian regime survives, because its collapse will destabilize Israel’s northern frontier.
In recent years, Israel has had to deal with threats from Lebanon’s Hezbollah as well as Palestinian Hamas and other smaller groups. The key thing here is that these two nonstate actors have been sponsored by various states, in particular Syria, whose influence ensured that Hezbollah and Hamas operated within certain boundaries. However, we are now in an age where the Arab world is experiencing the weakening and collapse of states coupled with the rise of jihadi nonstate actors of various stripes. While the situations in Egypt and Jordan are currently not as bad as that in Syria, the growing inability of Cairo and Amman to control their territories is a bigger threat to Israel than an Iran on the path toward rehabilitation. The geosectarian struggle between the Iran-led Shiite camp and the Saudi-led Sunni Arab camp is exacerbating the chaos brought about by state meltdown and growing transnational jihadism.
The nuclear deal is a way for the United States to establish a balance of power between these two sides, which is all the more complicated by the fact that Washington is relying on Turkey to play a lead role in bringing order to the growing regional chaos. For Israel, though, the stakes are much higher given that it does not have the advantage that the United States has of being an extraregional player. Thus, the Israelis need a much more sophisticated approach than their current one, which is heavily focused on opposing the nuclear deal, especially now that the Obama administration succeeded in preventing Republicans in Congress from striking it down — without having to resort to a presidential veto.
Therefore, it is only logical that at a time when Washington is restructuring its regional policy to include Iran as a de facto partner, and the major threat to Israel comes from radical Sunni nonstate actors (which Sunni state actors seem incapable of controlling), Israel should try to establish a back-door, covert and direct communication channel with Iran. While a rapprochement of sorts between Israel and Iran is unlikely in the foreseeable future, both sides still have much to benefit from institutionalizing concrete coordination mechanisms. Israel would have better prospects to sort out escalations with Hezbollah and Hamas before they develop into bigger crises, thereby ensuring the maintenance of stability. Instead of negotiating with these groups through ad hoc third parties, Israel could benefit from having a backchannel with their patron. Creating a mechanism for dealing with the threat from the Iran-led camp will allow Israel the bandwidth to focus on devising a strategy for dealing with the much more critical threat from Salafist-jihadi entities, who by undermining Sunni Arab states are weakening the structures that Israel has relied on for its security. Such Israeli-Iranian communication would also complement American efforts to manage a region with Tehran as a major participant in regional diplomacy. After much bad blood between the Obama and Netanyahu administrations, such a course of action could be a major step in reharmonizing US-Israeli relations.
Pulling back from the almost singular focus of opposing the nuclear deal could thus aid Israel on two fronts. It would first and foremost help realign Israel’s relations with its main great power patron, the United States. It would also be a way for Tel Aviv to more effectively manage the twin emerging threats to its national security: an ascendant Iran and the jihadist nonstate actors gaining ground on its doorstep. The choice to achieve these objectives is Netanyahu’s to make.

US can defer on Assad until IS is defeated
Al Monitor/September 28/15
Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin’s expanded military assistance to the government of Syria could provide an opening to expand the US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State (IS).
Vitaly Naumkin writes that Putin’s bid can be understood in the context of Russia’s consistent support for the government of Syria, and of a piece with a new multilateral effort to combat terrorism that has been endorsed by Iran, and could at some point include China.
Putin’s moves have put the United States on defense over its Syria policy. On Sept. 16, Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of US Central Command, testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee that only “four or five” US-trained Syrians were in the fight against IS, far short of the projected 5,400 fighters, as part of program costing $500 million. On Sept. 25, a CENTCOM spokesman said that US-trained “New Syrian Forces” provided trucks and ammunition to al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra in return for safe passage.
As the US-backed train-and-equip program has proven to be both failure and fiasco, and the US reports of the actions of coalition bombings remind some of the “body counts” during the Vietnam War, Washington has also been stymied until now by its insistence, since August 2011, that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should “step aside.”
While Assad may have lost ground, he is not on the way out, backed to the teeth by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. The Obama administration’s aspirational Assad strategy began in the heady days of what was once called the Arab Spring and has probably complicated US diplomacy to negotiate and lead a political transition in Syria, opening up the space for Russia and Iran to seize the initiative, which they have done. As Julian Pecquet reported last week, members of both US political parties are starting to question US policy toward Assad.
Russia’s power play this month forced US Secretary of State John Kerry to seemingly backtrack when he said on Sept. 20 that the Syrian president’s role in a political transition would be “defined through negotiation. Nobody knows what the answer to that is. I can’t tell you standing here today. But most people have accepted that to get somewhere it’s not going to happen on day one or week one; there’s got to be some period of time. I don’t know what it is, but it has to be negotiated.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seemed to follow suit Sept. 24, a day after meeting with Putin in Moscow, when he said, “We can have a process without Assad, or something like going with Assad during a transition period,” as Semih Idiz reports this week. Erdogan also referred to a “triple initiative” among the United States, Turkey and Russia and Syria, which could also include Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Iran’s role in Syria is just as vital to negotiating a political transition to end the war. Both Ali Hashem and Hassan Ahmadian write that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed to between world powers and Iran has its critics in Tehran, and that cooperation on regional issues will likely depend on its implementation. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on CBS' 60 Minutes on Sept. 20 that with regard to the United States and Iran, “common goals, or common interests may exist. But what is important is that in the nuclear agreement we see how the two sides behave in action. Enacting this deal in a good way will create a new environment.”
On Syria, Rouhani said, “How can we fight the terrorists without the government staying? Of course, after we have fought terrorism and a secure environment is created, then it is time to talk about the constitution, or the future regime to talk and discuss opposition groups and supporters sit at the table, but during a situation of bloodshed and during an occupation of the country, what options exist?”
Barbara Slavin reports that Rouhani told journalists in New York on Sept. 25 that Iran has “'common objectives’ with Russia in Syria in fighting terrorist groups. However, he denied that Iran and Russia have anything ‘resembling a military coalition’ despite a recent buildup of Russian military personnel and weapons in Syria.”
Kerry raised Syria in his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sept. 26 in New York. UN and Iranian mediation have been instrumental in finally reaching a solution to the Syrian government’s siege of rebel-held Zabadani, which has been covered by Al-Monitor’s Syria Pulse.
So when US President Barack Obama meets Putin this week on the sides of the UN General Assembly meetings in New York, he should focus on the common ground in the US and Russian positions, not the differences. It was Obama who was way out front in May 2014 on the need for a new global counterterrorism strategy, which this column endorsed as a means to test Iran’s intentions in Syria.
The same could be said for Russian intentions. The United States has the lead against IS, and should welcome Russian help to end the so-called caliphate’s reign of terror in Syria and Iraq. Kerry explained the shared interests of the United States and Russia in Syria on Sept. 22: “We agree that we both want a Syria that is whole and peaceful and stable and secular and where its sovereignty is respected. We both want to see [IS] destroyed and defeated and gone, as well as any other violent extremist entity. We both have concerns about the need to end the flow of foreign fighters and the attraction of those foreign fighters, which draws people to this battle which is dangerous for everybody.”
Kerry’s statement is a good start for Obama’s talking points with Putin. The United States has done an admirable job assembling an international coalition against IS, but there is no sign of imminent victory. The United States should welcome and coordinate Russia’s efforts against the common enemy. This is overdue. And it does not mean “giving in” on Assad, but rather playing it smart, getting Russian and Iranian support for a negotiated political transition on the front end, and dealing with the Syrian president on the back end. The United States can’t hide its weak hand in trying to negotiate around Assad, and should enlist Russia, as well as Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, to help bring this terrible and tragic war to an end, as soon as possible.
Iraqi Kurdistan’s "silent resistance"
Denise Natali writes this week that “political divisions are being encouraged in the hyper-fragmented Iraqi state and fight against IS as local groups seek to gain power, resources and recognition.”
“The result,” Natali adds, “has been an inadvertent enhancing of Barzani’s power through coalition military support, stronger reactions by those seeking political reform and deepening distrust between groups. … These trends have strengthened the role of political hard-liners who are unwilling to compromise.”
Natali concludes, “At the moment, a formal split between regions or a mass mobilization is unlikely, given the war against IS, deep party patronage networks and no clear alternative offered by opposition groups. Yet as the financial crisis deepens, corruption continues, political legitimacy is ignored and calls for decentralization go unheeded, the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] may have an administrative breakup, even in de facto form. At worst, these issues will continue to fester through open and silent resistance that may further stifle the stability and economic development of the Kurdistan Region.”

Migration Crisis: "Islam Will Conquer Europe Without Firing a Shot"
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute./September 28, 2015
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6542/migration-crisis-islam-will-conquer-
The failed foreign policies of the EU and the US under President Obama, have brought the Arabs to the brink of chaos, and destroyed regimes which, even though they were not democratic utopias, at least provided governance and public order. These failed policies have abandoned the Arabs to the atrocities of the Sunni Islamists and to the murderous proxies of the Iranian Islamic Revolution -- and are ultimately the cause of the tsunami of refugees beating at the gates of Europe.
Now the EU and Obama want to bring the catastrophe of Gaza to the West Bank.
The American FDA is more careful with experiments on animals than the White House is with experiments on the people of the Middle East.
Every time the Palestinians have taken steps against the Israelis, we have hurt no one but ourselves, and are left with -- nothing.
The Arabs living in Israel and the Palestinian Authority territories know, although it is a bitter pill to swallow, that we have been favored by fortune, because under the State of Israel we live in security.
In the face of ongoing mass murder in the Middle East, what arcane consideration, apart from Federica Mogherini being a racist, could possibly bring the EU to deal with something as marginal to global issues as boycotting Israeli face-cream and cookies?
With the anniversary of Al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, internal Palestinian discourse revolves around radical Islam and America's actions. It relates to the slaughter, rape and millions of refugees who have fallen victim to Al-Qaeda, humanitarian calamity of and the Islamist terrorist organizations to which it gave birth, such as ISIS. Today an apocalyptic proportions is unfolding in territories that used to be Arab states but are now the battle grounds for feuding Arab tribes, whose only objective is to destroy one another.
In their heart of hearts, the Arabs living in Israel and the Palestinian Authority territories know, although it is a bitter pill to swallow, that we have been favored by fortune because under the State of Israel we live in security. This reality is brought home to us by the feeble international response and the strange behavior of U.S. President Barack Obama and the leaders of the Western world who have abandoned the Arabs to the atrocities of the Sunni Islamists (and their supporters in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar), and to the murderous proxies of the Iranian Islamic Revolution (mainly in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon).
In view of what is happening in neighboring countries, it is clear to us what will happen if Israel is in danger of destruction: no Western state will come to its aid and no Arab state will come to our aid. Our fate will be the same as that of our brothers beyond Israel's borders. It is hard not to identify and sympathize with Israel's efforts to fight terrorism and with its objections to the nuclear agreement with Iran.
Despite the chaos and worse than chaos in the Middle East, the EU's foreign minister, Federica Mogherini, recently announced that the EU had decided to mark products made in the Israeli settlements. That is mind-boggling, so say the least. In the face of the ongoing mass murders in the Middle East, what arcane consideration, apart from Mogherini being a racist, could possibly bring the EU, now, to deal with something as blatantly marginal to global issues as the provenance of face cream and cookies?
In the final analysis, if the Europeans harm Israel's ability to market goods manufactured in the West Bank, the first victims will be the Palestinian workers in the Israeli settlement factories. Every time the Palestinians have taken steps against the Israelis, we have hurt no one but ourselves. The last time we boycotted Israeli products we wound up buying them on the black market at double and triple the price. When we refused to work on construction sites, the Israelis switched to modular, prefabricated units, and the Palestinian construction workers who went on strike are unemployed to this day. When we refused to work in Israeli agriculture, they brought in workers from Thailand, who took our jobs and left us with -- nothing.
The Western pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to establish a Palestinian state as soon as possible, when viewed through the prism of the mass murders and uncertainty in the Middle East, is incomprehensible. The initiative, and the obsession, to promote such a dangerous project at a time when everyone understands that the conditions on both sides are not yet ripe is dangerous; and the motives involved, whatever they really are, are suspicious. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not new, it has been waged in an atmosphere of terrorism and violence and hostility and complete lack of trust for a hundred years. So why exert pressure now?
Everyone, at least everyone living in the Middle East, knows full well that the conflict will not end with a "peace for our time" agreement forced on the two sides and accompanied by a handful of empty, meaningless documents; the dynamics are too dangerous. For both us and the Israelis it is a matter of life and death, not semantics; and it will probably take another hundred years before enough trust can be built on both sides to find a just solution.
The irony is staggering. At a time when the Arab states that were artificially created after the First World War crumble to dust, the EU is pressing for the creation of another artificial Arab state, this one called "Palestine," to be carved out of territories once belonging to Jordan and Egypt. If "Palestine" is granted the status of statehood, it will force not only Israel but the rest of the world to grant it complete control over its borders, airports and a seaport. That will expose the new weak "state" to a rapid and certain takeover by Hamas, ISIS and various other terrorist organizations. Given the current situation in the West Bank, the elected government of "Palestine" will be controlled by Hamas. It will overthrow the Palestinian Authority, the way it did in the Gaza Strip, take over the West Bank, use its airports and seaport to import missiles, various other weapons and Islamist terrorists, and help Islamist terrorism in general, and ISIS in particular, to operate from its territory. The Islamists will proceed to attack Israel and Jordan the way ISIS is currently attacking Egypt in the Sinai Peninsula. Worse, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad will enter the new "Palestine" and strengthen its relations with Iran, just as it has in the Gaza Strip and Syria, and with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Evidently the Israeli withdrawal in 2005, which led directly to Hamas's bloodbath and takeover of the Gaza Strip, the expulsion of the Palestinian Authority and the entrenchment of Islamist terrorism, was not enough for Europe. Now the EU and U.S. President Barack Obama want to bring the catastrophe of the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. The American Food and Drug Administration is more careful with experiments on animals than the White House is with experiments on the people living in the Middle East.
In view of the events in the Arab countries, it is clear to the Palestinians that American and European actions in the Middle East are the direct result of stupidity and complete ignorance of the Middle Eastern mindset, if not outright racism and malevolence. What is inescapable is that under Obama, both America and Europe brought the Arabs to the brink of chaos and beyond, destroyed regimes which, even though they were not democratic utopias like the United States, at least provided governance and public order. That is ultimately the cause of the tsunami of refugees beating at the gates of Europe, all of it caused by the United States and its failed foreign policy.
All the signs indicate that the Middle East disaster is hardly far from over. It is actually just beginning. it will get worse because of the tens of billions that will now pour into the Ayatollahs' coffers from the insane agreement with Iran. Much of this money will go directly not only to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force, Iran's arm of international terrorism, but to the various proxy terrorist organizations Iran supports, thus hastening the total destruction of the Middle East and eventually large swaths of Africa.
The wave of refugees will increase, and the price will be paid by the Europeans, already faced with legions of refugees and no plan for dealing with them. Eventually Gaddafi's prophecy will come true: Islam will conquer Europe without firing a shot.
**Bassam Tawil is a scholar based in the Middle East.

Lies about Islamic Taqiyya (Dissimulation)
Dr. Carson Right: Washington Post and Academics Wrong
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/September 28, 2015
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6587/carson-taqiyya-dissimulation
Tell that to Ka'b ibn Ashraf, whose head was cut off. for The prophet of Islam allowed his followers to lie to the Jew to slaughter him.
Muslims deceived non-Muslims not because they were being persecuted for being Muslim — according to the Washington Post's definition of taqiyya — but in order to make Islam supreme.
Dr. Ben Carson got it right when he said that taqiyya "allows, and even encourages, you to lie to achieve your goals." The prophet makes that clear.
Dr. Ben Carson's recent assertion that the Islamic doctrine of taqiyya encourages Muslims "to lie to achieve your goals" has prompted the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler to quote a number of academics to show that the presidential candidate got it wrong:
The word "taqiyya" derives from the Arabic words for "piety" and "fear of God" and indicates when a person is in a state of caution, said Khaled Abou El Fadl, a professor of law at the University of California at Los Angeles and a leading authority on Islam.
"Yes, it is permissible to hide the fact you are Muslim" if a person is under threat, "as long as it does not involve hurting another person," Abou El Fadl said.
The other academics whom Kessler quotes — including Omid Safi, director of the Duke University Islamic Studies Center, and Noah Feldman of Harvard Law School — make the same argument: yes, taqiyya is in the Koran but it only permits deception in the case of self-preservation, nothing more.
Not exactly.
Although the word taqiyya is related to the Arabic word "piety" and its root meaning is "protect" or "guard against" — and the Koran verses that advocate it (3:28 and 16:106) do so in the context of self-preservation from persecution — that is not the whole story.
Dr. Ben Carson asserted that the Islamic doctrine of taqiyya encourages Muslims "to lie to achieve your goals." (Image source: Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore)
Unfortunately, none of the academics quoted by Kessler acknowledges that the Koran is not the only textual source to inform Muslim action. They ignore the Hadith, the collected words and deeds of Muhammad. Koran 33:2, for instance, commands Muslims to follow Muhammad's example, and his example — also known as the prophet's Sunna — is derived from the many volumes of Hadith.
The importance of Muhammad's example is seen in that the Sunnis, approximately 90% of the world's Muslim population, are named after his Sunna. As one Muslim cleric puts it, "Much of Islam will remain mere abstract concepts without Hadith [whence the Sunna is derived]. We would never know how to pray, fast, pay zakah, or make pilgrimage without the illustration found in Hadith..."
It is therefore either careless or disingenuous for Kessler and his "experts" to ignore Muhammad's example as recorded in the Hadith in their discussion of taqiyya.
As usual, for the complete truth, one must turn to scholarly books written in Arabic. According to Dr. Sami Mukaram, an Islamic studies professor specializing in taqiyya, and author of the only academic book exclusively devoted to it, "Taqiyya in order to deceive the enemy is permissible."[1]
This sounds quite close enough to Carson's assertion that taqiyya allows Muslims "to lie to achieve your goals." As proof, Mukaram documents two anecdotes from Muhammad's Sunna — his example to Muslims — that make clear that the prophet allowed his followers to lie and deceive non-Muslims above and beyond the issue of self-preservation:
The Assassination of Ka'b ibn Ashraf
An elderly Jewish leader, Ka'b ibn Ashraf, mocked Muhammad, prompting the prophet to exclaim, "Who will kill this man who has hurt Allah and his messenger?" A young Muslim named Ibn Maslama volunteered on condition that to get close enough to Ka'b to murder him, he needed to be allowed to lie to the Jew. Allah's messenger agreed. Ibn Maslama traveled to Ka'b and began to complain about Muhammad until his disaffection from Islam became so convincing that Ka'b eventually dropped his guard and befriended him.
After behaving as his friend for some time, Ibn Maslama eventually appeared with another Muslim pretending to have apostatized, slaughtered Ka'b' and brought his head to Muhammad to the usual triumphant cries of "Allahu Akbar!"
The Disbanding of the Confederates
In another account, after Muhammad and his followers had attacked, plundered, and massacred a number of non-Muslim Arabs and Jews, the Jews and Arabs assembled, poised to annihilate the Muslims, to try to neutralize the Muslims once and for all (at the Battle of the Trench, 627). But then Naim bin Mas'ud, one of the leaders of these "confederates," as they became known in history, secretly went to Muhammad and converted to Islam. The prophet asked him to return to his tribesmen and allies — without revealing that he had joined the Muslim camp to try to get the Jews and Arabs to abandon the siege. "For," Muhammad assured him, "war is deceit."
Mas'ud returned, pretending to be loyal to the Arabs and Jews, and began giving them bad advice. He also subtly instigated quarrels between the various tribes until, no longer trusting each other, they disbanded. Mas'ud became a hero in Islamic tradition. He is often seen as being responsible for helping an embryonic Islam grow at a time when its existence was threatened. One English language Muslim site even recommends his actions as illustrative of how Muslims can subvert non-Muslims. In the two examples above, Muslims deceived non-Muslims not because they were being persecuted for being Muslim — according to the Washington Post's definition of taqiyya — but in order to make Islam supreme. (The Arabs and Jews met Muhammad at the Battle of the Trench because Muhammad and his followers first attacked them at the Battle of Badr and massacred hundreds of them on other occasions.)
Despite these stories being part of the Sunna to which Sunnis adhere, UCLA's Abou El Fadl — the primary expert quoted by the Washington Post in an effort to show that Islam does not promote deceit — claims that "there is no concept that would encourage a Muslim to lie to pursue a goal. That is a complete invention." Tell that to Ka'b ibn Ashraf, whose head was cut off for believing Muslim taqiyya. The prophet of Islam allowed his followers to lie to the Jew to slaughter him.
Dr. Ben Carson got it right when he said that taqiyya "allows, and even encourages, you to lie to achieve your goals." The prophet makes that clear.
Raymond Ibrahim, author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians, is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and Judith Friedman Rosen writing fellow at the Middle East Forum.
[1] (At-Taqiyya fi'l-Islam, or "Dissimulation in Islam," p. 32)

Obama is not going to save Syria
Andrew Bowen/Al Arabiya/September 28/15
President Putin’s guarantee of Assad’s survival has led many to call for a change of Obama’s Syria policy. Frankly, a policy re-think is needed. The deepening Russian intervention in the Middle East, Iran’s assertiveness in the region, the growing refugee crisis, the deteriorating stability of Syria’s neighbors, and ISIS’ cancerous spread are all crises that require pro-active American leadership to preserve and to advance U.S. national interests and to support Washington’s allies. However, President Obama is unlikely to use his UNGA speech as a stage to chart a new course, but instead, to defend his current course, which he will hope to maintain until he leaves office in 2017.
An attitude instead of a strategy
Shunning a consistent strategy or set of policies, President Obama has displayed a disinterested attitude towards the civil war. Obama has viewed Syria as another potential misadventure in the Middle East where the U.S. could be drawn into a conflict with few interests at stake and where Washington’s ability to make an effective difference is questionable. American public opinion, even on Assad’s use of chemical weapons, has been broadly divided and has never fully supported a deepened role for the U.S. in the conflict. These poll numbers have only re-enforced Obama’s own disinterest in deepening his involvement. The Iran talks also created disincentives to potentially confront Iran in Syria at a time when a nuclear deal was being negotiated. Signs indicate that Washington is receptive as well to Tehran and Moscow’s terms for a civil war settlement. President Putin’s escalation is the latest example. The White House showed no inclination to respond to the Russian President’s push beyond a few stern words of public criticism. Instead of a strategic pushback, Kerry responded with a public concession that Washington would more seriously consider Russia’s proposals on Assad’s future. The already shaky rhetorical position, “Assad must go,” became even less credible then. Putin’s moves come as well on the heels of the already rising criticism regarding both the “train and equip program” and the Syria refugee policy.
Intellectual shortcomings
The merits for and against Obama’s Syria policies can fill pages of books for years to come, but these policies’ most salient problem has been their intellectual shortcomings and the absence of any imagination to anticipate and to respond to the civil war’s impact. From the early days assessment that civil war wouldn’t last long and it could be contained in its borders to underestimating the rise of ISIS to not having a pro-active policy to address the refugee crisis, President Obama’s own disinterested perspective cultivated an environment where these questionable assessments were nurtured and the proclivity as well to pursue status quo policies with all their shortcomings. However, as past episodes have highlighted, events in Syria may push Washington to the point where the administration has to deepen its role when the conditions are the least ideal. So far, President Obama has managed to keep this role limited. Most prominently, the President stepped back from enforcing his “red line” when a deal was reached on chemical weapons disarmament. Despite questions about its effectiveness, the campaign against ISIS in Syria has been largely done by air and the “train and equip” program, despite its cost and the embarrassing few trained, was predicated on a more conservative U.S. role. Equally, so the administration has always cautiously pursued arming the Syrian opposition.
Kerry’s lone diplomatic push
The U.S.’s diplomacy to end the civil war, pushed more so by his Secretary of State John Kerry, has also been half-hearted and sublimated as a third or fourth foreign policy priority. The White House has never wanted to expend the resources necessary to change the calculus of President Assad and his patrons, and instead, has preferred to see what a low resourced policy could achieve as the President pursued other foreign policy and domestic policy initiatives. Even now with clear U.S. national interests at stake and the consequences of the civil war likely to hit the region for years to come, the further collapse of the Syrian state and the instability around its borders will only re-enforce the Obama’s own perspective that there are no good options for the U.S. to take at present.
Waiting out the clock
President Obama then is unlikely to use his last fifteen months in office to alter course. Obama will focus on addressing effects of the civil war but not the cause. In other words, the White House is frankly more focused on triage than treating the patient who’s on life support. The only real optimism is that a diplomatic settlement could be reached, but for the time being, by allowing Russia and Iran such a free hand in Syria, the U.S. will not be the one shaping the settlement. Signs indicate that Washington is receptive as well to Tehran and Moscow’s terms for a civil war settlement. Some optimism exists that better relations between Tehran and Washington will make a settlement easier, but such thinking is purely speculative since Tehran hasn’t taken any real substantive steps to bridge its differences with the GCC. The U.S. is also importantly not in a favorable position to push regional allies to support a settlement in light of Obama’s own disinterested approach to the conflict. Without a diplomatic settlement, Syria’s civil war will unlikely be addressed until 2017 when a new American President enters office. However, by that point, the damage the civil war has wrought on the region is likely to be to such a degree that the U.S. and its allies’ interests and positions in the region are less secure and less stable.

Did the Russians just ‘invade’ Syria?
Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/September 28/15
“No,” Assad-loyalists would rush to say when asked if the current Russian military build-up in Syria can be considered an “invasion” or indeed, a new foreign “occupation,” of Arab lands. To them, Assad is a “legitimate” leader and as such, he has the right to request outside intervention on behalf of the people who “elected” him (of course, there is no use arguing with such devotees about the validity of these so-called elections, which at best can be described as an colossal exercise in vanity). Among the latest advocators of Russia's military presence in Syria was none other than the “Master of Resistance” himself: Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah. For those who aren’t familiar with him, Nasrallah is an Iranian-backed, pro-Assad Lebanese militia leader who - for decades - used anti-hegemonic rhetoric to legitimize himself and portray moderate Arab states as “traitors” and agents of the “West” (whom he describes as being against Islam). Not only did Nasrallah welcome Russia’s intervention, but he sought to portray it positively by saying that it will help rid the world of the evils of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), after the U.S.-led coalition failed to do so.
Of course, given that his statements came as part of an interview which he gave to the Hezbollah-owned al-Manar TV channel, Nasrallah’s views were not really challenged. One valid question would have been what the Hezbollah leader (supposedly an arch-enemy of Israel) thinks of a recent statement by PM Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he said “Russia will coordinate Syria military actions with Israel” For instance, one valid question would have been what the Hezbollah leader (supposedly an arch-enemy of Israel) thinks of a recent statement by PM Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he said “Russia will coordinate Syria military actions with Israel.” (Last night, Israel also bombed a number of Assad military positions in the Golan Heights). Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during their meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, September 21, 2015. (Reuters) Another unasked question to Nasrallah would have been whether he believes the Russians would leave Syria after defeating ISIS? And if not, would Hezbollah declare war against Moscow and seek to “liberate Syria” from the Russian invasion?
Why would Russia leave?
However, regardless of how Russian intervention is perceived by Moscow’s allies and foes (by default, one party’s “occupying force” would be another party’s “liberators”); there is no dispute that there will be very little that can be done to challenge whatever Russia decides to do next in the Middle East. (Essential reading: Putin has checkmated Obama in Syria – by veteran Washington-based analyst Hisham Melhem) To put these recent developments into context, we should remember that none of this would have been possible had the U.S. and the international community intervened directly when the crisis first erupted in Syria in 2011. Russian President Vladimir Putin tested his American counterpart one more time in Crimea, but the U.S. Commander-in-Chief blinked yet again and Crimea has since been absorbed by Russia. Then, President Barack Obama’s infamous “Red Line fiasco” of 2013 gave a clear indicator (to the Syrian regime, but importantly to the Russians) that the White House isn’t prepared to commit militarily to end what has now evolved to become the biggest human catastrophe of modern times. Russian President Vladimir Putin tested his American counterpart one more time in Crimea, but the U.S. Commander-in-Chief blinked yet again and Crimea has since been absorbed by Russia – despite Ukraine’s desperate pleas to the U.S. and its other Western allies. As such, one should simply accept the new reality in Syria, however, this leaves a number of questions unanswered: Will Russia decide to hold on to Assad in the end? Or will Assad be sacrificed in favor of a fairer resolution to this conflict which has left more than 300,000 killed and millions of refugees displaced? Will Moscow necessarily tow the Iranian line? Is there really a Russian-Chinese-Iranian-Syrian regime axis being formed? (Recent unconfirmed reports suggest a Chinese aircraft carrier and military advisors were on the way to assist Assad in the battle against ISIS).One thing is for sure: Russia (which is unlikely to let go of its only military base on warm waters in the Syrian port of Tartous) is most probably here to stay, and with a diminishing American presence, we should now expect – and accept – that Moscow (for better or for worse) will have a much bigger say in regional affairs.

Divergent views on the Middle East at the U.N. General Assembly
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/September 28/15
The 70th anniversary of the United Nations will not end with a serious resolution of the crises of the Middle East, which will dominate bilateral and multilateral talks between leaders, led by the crises of Syria and Yemen. Attitudes are diverging increasingly between local, regional, and international players, and hopes for breakthroughs in Gulf-Iranian or U.S.-Russian meetings – and European initiatives – are fading. Understandings may be reached regarding the issues of terrorism and migration caused by the Syrian crisis, for example. However, the differences regarding the nature and conditions of a political solution will continue to hit the Assad Obstacle, in light of the Russian insistence on the Syrian president as a key component of the fight against ISIS and of any political solution in Syria. All this means that the next stage will be more complicated in the Arab region, not only in Yemen, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, but possibly elsewhere in their vicinity too.Russia has made a strategic decision and has adopted a roadmap and mechanisms for implementing it. Some European powers, such as France and Britain, are starting to feel infuriated by the Russian military build-up in Syria, but they do not have plans or strategies except to continue to reject the rehabilitation of Assad on a full and permanent basis, while accepting his provisional rehabilitation without a specific timeframe for his departure for now.
Moscow has made it clear that it wants to rehabilitate Assad, but the answer from Washington been that it will not be involved in this plan
The United States is taking half steps, and is deliberately circumventing anything that could negatively affect its priorities in engaging with Iran. This is tying its hands in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, where Iranian roles are increasingly rigid and where the Russian-Iranian alliance is leaving an adverse mark on all issues.Western members of the Security Council – the United States, Britain, and France – are unhappy with Russia, which has embarrassed them by escalating its military role in Syria, both covertly and overly, while seeking to rehabilitate Bashar al-Assad through the Security Council. In the beginning, the reactions were lukewarm. But Russia’s insistence on its military and political plans has forced the Western powers to step up the level of their objections and come up with counter proposals, especially that many of these countries are directly affected by the Syrian crisis and the migrant crisis it has engendered.
Currently, European diplomats at the Security Council are saying that Russia, through its military intervention in Syria, has closed down the door on diplomacy and political solutions in Syria. A promising diplomatic window had been opened following the meetings between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Doha and ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), together with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir went to Moscow afterwards, followed by a high-level visit by senior Emirati and Saudi officials, in conjunction with a visit by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, to Moscow.
Those movements came in the wake of the nuclear deal between Iran and the five major powers plus Germany. Everyone was optimistic about a positive détente between the Gulf countries and Russia, in conjunction with the Gulf welcoming of the nuclear deal. There was also hope regarding a breakthrough in Gulf-Iranian and Saudi-Iranian relations. But all this optimism disappeared after the overt Russian military escalation and covert Iranian escalation in Syria. So what happened? Some believe the imminent collapse of the regime in Syria forced Russia to intervene to avert total defeat. Others believe that Moscow has decided to strengthen Assad to become a strong card in its hands during negotiations.Some also believe that Russia has escalated militarily to ensure the survival of the regime in Damascus, and politically by clinging to Assad, in preparation to drop him at the right time, when it would be ready to trade Assad’s departure for the survival of the regime.
Assad’s fate at the forefront
Regardless of what the Russian diplomacy has in mind, it is clear now that the issue of Assad’s fate has returned to the forefront. European diplomacy – especially French and British diplomacy – is focusing on the timing of “when” Assad will step down, as they see him as part of the problem, and reject the Russian logic that states he is part of the solution.European and American diplomacies agree with the Russian view that Bashar al-Assad may be a temporary necessity to defeat ISIS and its ilk, but they insist on refusing to consider him a key part of the strategy to defeat ISIS because Assad, in their view, is one of the main causes of the existence of ISIS.The European diplomacy is reiterating that Assad has lost legitimacy, that Russian support for Assad contradicts with the Geneva Communique, and that there is a need for a new “creative” approach that would include regional players – the Gulf and Iran.
The European diplomacy says that the Russians have obstructed diplomatic progress, and work is ongoing to restore the diplomatic track. There are debates taking place in major capitals, including Washington and London, regarding a new approach to the transitional process in Syria, which would begin with Assad and end without him.
This week, French President Francois Hollande called on all those who can contribute to a political solution in Syria to sit at a round table in a new conference to reactivate the peace process, which started in Geneva (1 and 2).
Iranian absence
Meanwhile, Turkey has decided to propose to the European Union summit a request for a “safe zone” in northern Syria to remedy the migrant crisis. Europe, already panicked by the major influx of refugees to its borders, is ready to look into this idea. The Bulgarian Foreign Minister said the idea is being studied with the Turkish president, to aid and allow people to remain close to their home country. Politically, there are discussions in various capitals regarding transition in Syria that would preserve the structure of the regime but not Assad. There are proposals regarding the numbers and names of regime pillars who would be kept in place to guarantee the continuation of the regime. The key actor absent from these discussions so far has been Iran. Tehran wants to be officially part of the talks over Syria’s future. Yet if it becomes involved in an official capacity, it will most likely cling on to the regime and its leader, because Tehran rejected from the outset the logic of the Geneva process, which called for establishing a transitional governing body with full executive powers, neutralizing Bashar al-Assad’s role.
For its part, Riyadh has made it clear to Moscow and other capitals that it objects to Assad remaining in power and to Iranian involvement in shaping the future of Syria, as long as Iran is involved in the civil war there. With all these facts in mind, it is difficult to be optimistic regarding a shift in the Syrian issue, one that would take the country away from its current humanitarian disaster and status as an arena for a global war on terror – exactly as it was intended by the regime in Damascus and the powers that wanted to fight terror away from their cities in Russia, Europe, and the United States. European proposals backed reluctantly by the United States do not amount to a comprehensive strategy that can counter the Russian proposals. Arab proposals are incoherent, and there are no signs of a breakthrough in the Saudi-Iranian relationship, bar a surprise. So far, all reports about Saudi-Iranian meetings on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly are in the realm of speculation. In truth, most sources say there is a lack of appetite for a Gulf-Iranian meeting, because there are no bases for an agreement at present, from Syria and Yemen, to Iraq and Lebanon. This will not prevent casual-but-important meetings that usually take place at U.N. summits. Yet the long-awaited serious meeting seems improbable.Terrorism and migration will dominate all discussions. President Obama will host a summit on terrorism. President Putin will emphasize fighting ISIS as his priority, but Russia could fail in its bid to get an official U.N. Security Council position backing its strategy, during the exceptional Security Council ministerial meeting it called for resolving the crises of the Middle East. Moscow has made it clear that it wants to rehabilitate Assad, but the answer from Washington been that it will not be involved in this plan.

Khalaf Al-Habtoor, The Influential Emirati Business Leader And Commentator: Side Deal With Iran, Which Allows It To Inspect Itself, Belies Obama's Claim That Iran Agreement Is Safe; Europe's Haste To Embrace Iran Is Unseemly
MEMRI/September 28, 2015 Special Dispatch No.6169
In two articles he published in the UAE English-language daily The National, prominent businessman and writer Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor harshly criticized the nuclear arrangements recently reached with Iran. In an August 23, 2015 article, he leveled criticism at the side deal between the IAEA and Iran. He stated that this deal proves that an organization "known for its professionalism and stringent monitoring" has been politicized by the agreement's signers, who he said are either seeking to cut lucrative trade deals with Iran or, in the case of President Obama, are aiming to cement their legacy.
Al-Habtoor wrote that the self-monitoring arrangement agreed to by the IAEA belies Obama's assertion that the deal between Iran and the P5+1 would enjoy "unprecedented verification," and undermines the main selling point in Obama's promotion of the agreement – i.e. that it prevents an Iranian nuclear weapon for 10 years.
Noting that he cannot understand why Iran, with its unbroken record of hostility to the West, is being treated so deferentially in comparison with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Al-Habtoor added that this disparity fuels suspicions that the agreement, and its farcical verification procedures, are part of a broader strategy of deliberately empowering Iran "to fit a geopolitical end-game."
In an August 27, 2015 article, Al-Habtoor slammed European countries, as well as the U.S., for the sudden change in their attitude towards Iran. He noted that European countries, which until very recently was treated Tehran as a bitter enemy, are now rushing headlong to reopen their embassies there and to invite Iranian leaders to visit their capitals – and this despite the fact that Iran has given no indication that it means to change its ways, such as the suppression of minorities and its support of terrorism. He assessed that this sudden warming of relations is driven by nothing more than greed, for "all [these countries] see now are flashing neon dollar signs." Mentioning again the clause in the nuclear agreement that trusts Iran to inspect its own nuclear facilities, he expresses a concern that the Obama administration may have other secret arrangements with Iran, as part of a "Grand Bargain" being struck between this country and the West. He also warned that the Western leaders now pandering to Iran will live to rue the day, because it is only a matter of time before Iran starts targeting their interests. The Arab world, he concluded, and especially the Gulf states, must defend themselves against the danger by "erecting an impenetrable wall in terms of military, surveillance and intelligence capabilities."
The following are excerpts from A-Habtoor's two articles, in the original English. [1]
"Iran Deal Goes From Risky To Farcical"
At First, "I Shrugged Off The News" Of The Secret Agreement "As A Figment Of Someone's Heated Imagination"
In his August 25 article, Al-Habtoor wrote: "When I first learned from the news that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had signed a secret agreement permitting Iran to self-monitor at least one of its major nuclear sites, I shrugged off the news as a figment of someone's heated imagination.
"It is inconceivable that the world's nuclear watchdog, known for its professionalism and stringent monitoring, would sign off on something so bizarre – or so I initially believed.
"Iraq, whose nuclear activities, both civilian and military, were dismantled following the Gulf War, certainly did not get off that lightly. Even after years of intrusive inspections, the IAEA under the directorship of Mohammed ElBaradei declined to present Iraq's deserved clean bill of health to the UN Security Council prior to the US-led invasion.
"Yet the Islamic Republic of Iran, that has been spinning thousands of centrifuges to enrich uranium beyond accepted civilian levels and has refused to come clean on its past activities in this sphere, is trusted to inspect itself.
"The IAEA cannot be accused of lacking innovation. Perhaps we will soon see drivers suspected of being under the influence allowed to test their own substance levels. Moreover, given that the ayatollahs, whose mantra is 'Death to America,' are suddenly considered trustworthy, years of negotiations could have been avoided. A simple affidavit signed by the Supreme Leader would have sufficed just as well. Something does not smell right here."
"The Obama Administration's Claim That The U.S. Was Not A Party To This Agreement" Is "Just As Fishy"
"Just as fishy is the Obama administration's claim that the U.S. was not a party to this agreement specific to the Parchin Military Complex – known as Separate Arrangement II – when it was approved by all P5+1 countries.
"A White House spokesman has confirmed the administration is 'comfortable' with the terms of the confidential side agreement between Iran and the IAEA. Are we to suppose that the IAEA took this dangerous, lackadaisical approach off its own bat?
"According to a leaked draft of this 'Separate Arrangement' divulged by the Associated Press, Iran is bound to provide the IAEA with photographs and videos of the various locations within Parchin, together with environmental samples. The question remains, how can those photos, videos and samples be verified as relating to the Parchin complex – and even if they are legit, who is to know whether or not they have been cherry-picked?
"President Obama's assurances that Iran's activities would be subject to 'unprecedented verification' sound ever more hollow. The IAEA has been barred from this site, suspected of carrying out explosives tests related to nuclear weapons, since 2005 and now it has assented to being locked-out for the duration, which is out of character."
Like Other UN Bodies, The IAEA Too Is Now Politicized
"This surrender on the part of the IAEA leads me to believe that like so many other UN bodies, the IAEA is politicized; in this case, it has shaped its usual rock-solid strategies to suit political goals. However it is spun, this does not amount to 'the most robust inspection regime' ever, as touted by the Obama administration.
"The AP news report has been slammed by the IAEA as 'misleading.' However, the agency's Director General Yukiya Amano has not disclaimed the draft's published content. He insisted that the arrangements are in conformity with long-established IAEA practices, while emphasizing that he has 'a legal obligation not to make them public.' One is left wondering why the public, not to mention U.S. lawmakers, are being left in the dark."
"My Suspicions That Iran Is Being Deliberately Empowered To Fit A Geopolitical End-Game Are Heightened"
"I have been against this unsatisfactory arrangement with Iran since day one, primarily because of its narrow remit. An acceptable deal would have been conditional upon Tehran ceasing its troublemaking and its attempts to topple governments throughout the region.
"My view broadly reflects the opinions of many of Iran's neighbors, who are rightly fearful that the lifting of sanctions will see Iran's coffers overflowing into the hands of its armed proxies.
"President Obama has repeatedly countered our concerns on the grounds that curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions for 10 years is better than no deal. I did not find his arguments credible then, but now that the existence of secret side agreements have come to the fore, my suspicions that Iran is being deliberately empowered to fit a geopolitical end-game are heightened.
"I would love to know why a country that has been hostile to Western powers and their allies since its inception in 1979 is being so rewarded. Or is this animosity with the West just a farce to fool us?"
"Obama Has Been... Bribing America's Middle East Allies, Appealing To The American People, And Playing The Heavy With Congress To Seal His Deal, To The Point Of Being Unseemly – At Stake Is His Legacy"
"European capitals are eyeing up lucrative trade deals and planning to reopen their embassies in Tehran. Iranian-Russian trade is set to expand exponentially... Iran's oil industry is gearing up to expand production of crude to pre-sanctions levels, which could see already depressed oil prices spiraling to new lows.
"Obama's hard-sell campaign is not working, despite his frequent appearances on U.S. news networks to plug the deal for all he is worth, and his furious lobbying of Congress. He has even resorted to pleading with the American people to press their Congressional representatives to vote 'yes,' but is making little headway. A recently released CNN/ORC poll indicates that 56 per cent of Americans want Congress to reject the deal.
"Just about every Republican presidential hopeful – with the exception of Jeb Bush who is on the fence – vows to undo the deal and re-impose sanctions; most of their Democratic rivals are trying to distance themselves from the topic.
"Congress has 60 days to put the issue under a spotlight and is set to vote early next month on a 'Resolution of Disapproval.' If the vote fails to go in the President's favor, in theory Congress could prevent him from lifting sanctions against Iran. Obama has threatened to use his veto, risking putting the White House and Congress on a war footing. It will take a two-thirds majority in Congress to override that veto.
"President Obama has been browbeating and bribing America's Middle East allies, appealing to the American people and playing the heavy with Congress to seal his deal, to the point of being unseemly. At stake is his legacy. It is my hope that America's lawmakers will vote in sufficient numbers to ensure that we in this part of the world are not doomed to pay the price."[2]
"Europe's Unseemly Haste To Embrace Tehran"
"The Mullahs Have Gone From Zero To Hero In The Blink Of An Eye"
In his August 31 article, Al-Habtoor wrote: "The ink hardly dried on the Iran nuclear deal before European countries were racing to seal trade deals and reopen embassies. The mullahs have gone from zero to hero in the blink of an eye. Forgotten are Tehran's links to terrorists, attempts to overthrow Middle Eastern governments and mass gatherings organized to hurl insults and threats at the West.
"Cast aside are concerns about Iran's suppression of minorities, its dismal human rights record or its practice of stoning women. I believe Iran has made no substantial statements to the effect it is willing to change. On the contrary, its message throughout has been one of defiance. It has not been required to denounce terrorism let alone its participation in terrorist acts.
"Iran's crimes are suddenly of no consequence to Europe's democracies; I believe they have purposefully put their blinkers on and are literally queuing with their hands out to beat down Tehran's golden doors. All they see now are flashing neon dollar signs. The Islamic Republic, soon to be flush with an $80 billion plus bonanza, is destined to become Europe's latest cash cow.
"I was extremely disappointed and saddened at Britain's rush to reopen its Tehran embassy that has been closed for four years subsequent to coming under mob attack in November, 2011. I have always had great respect and admiration for the UK that I consider my second home, based on my homeland's historic ties and the principled stances taken by great leaders like Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, who kept the 'Great' in Britain, politically, militarily, industrially and economically.
"I cannot imagine that those prime ministers, whose names remain engraved on world history to this day, groveling before a country that five minutes ago was their enemy, just to get their clutches on a fistful of dollars."
"Iran's Crimes Are Suddenly Of No Consequence To Europe's Democracies; They Have Purposefully Put Their Blinkers On"
"The UK's Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, was the first to beat a track to Tehran since 2003. Naturally, he arrived with a trade delegation and took the opportunity to stress the 'huge appetite' shown by British business to invest in Iran as well as the readiness of British banks to finance deals.
"As the Iranian network Press TV has reported, Iran has recently hosted 'a delegation of government ministers from Italy,' who has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to fund industrial, construction and infrastructure projects worth over 3 billion euros. This comes on the heels of a visit by Germany's Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Sigmar Gabriel, with a team of manufacturers, as well as visits from Austrian, Serbian, Swiss and Azerbaijani government officials. Spain is also champing at the bit to board the gravy train.
"Moreover, President Hassan Rohani has been invited to visit Rome 'in the coming weeks'. Rohani's red carpet travel schedule is getting fuller by the day. Following a visit to Tehran by France's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Laurent Fabius, accompanied by business leaders, he has been invited to visit the Elysees Palace in November. Russia and China, which have always been cosy with Tehran, are waiting in the wings with lucrative energy and weapons contracts at the ready.
"No doubt President Barack Obama is rubbing his hands together awaiting his turn to get in on the action, delayed by pesky lawmakers who refused to take his word that his deal is the best thing that has happened since the invention of the wheel.
"Iran and its Lebanese proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, have not changed. Nevertheless, America inexplicably saw it fit to remove those entities from its terror threat list even as it is fighting to preserve Syria's Killer-in-Chief and supporting a Houthi takeover of Yemen.
"At least one senior Iranian official has gleefully announced his country's continued support for 'resistance' groups, which translated means their armed minions and spies targeting Arabian Gulf States. Who can blame Iran's Arab neighbors for being rattled when a massive cache of weapons were recently discovered in Kuwait in the hands of a Hezbollah cell poised to create mayhem and bloodshed!..."
"A 'Grand Bargain' Between The West And Iran Is Unfolding Before Our Eyes"
"I am starting to wonder whether there is more to the nuclear deal, which permits Iran to carry out self-inspections of its suspect Parchin Military Complex, than meets the eye - especially when there are other secret agreements between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency which the nuclear watchdog is legally bound not to disclose, even to the U.S. and the other P5+1 countries. Believe that if you will!
"In this case, one can only speculate about the existence of other secret arrangements between Iran and the Obama administration that has displayed unprecedented determination to ensure the deal passes muster with Congress and has gone to extreme lengths to persuade America's longstanding Middle East allies to come on board, including invitations to the leaders of Gulf States to weekend talks at Camp David. Likewise, President Obama is trying, unsuccessfully, to bribe the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into silence with a massive 'military compensation package.'
"The Shah of Iran may have sat on the Peacock Throne, but it is my bet that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei is strutting around like a peacock these days, his feathers plumped up by European sycophants and endless praise from U.S. officials. He is getting everything for nothing. Iran's nuclear infrastructure remains intact, uranium enrichment will be ongoing. Opening up some of the country's nuclear facilities, barring military sites, to intrusive inspections for 10 years is just a mere inconvenience paling by comparison with the glittering rewards.
"I warned again and again of the potential of a 'Grand Bargain' being struck between the West and Iran many years ago and now it is unfolding before our eyes. I recall President Obama saying the nuclear deal could possibly lead to normalization of relations with Iran way into the future provided it sticks to its commitments. What is happening now makes a mockery of those cautious words.
"Here is another prediction. Those Western leaders prostrating themselves before the Iranian leadership will live to rue the day. Enriched and emboldened, I believe it is only a matter of time before Tehran strikes at their countries interests because its ideology and hatred for all things western are immutable.
"The Arab World, in particular Iran's closest neighbors, the Arabian Gulf states, must not only be alert to the coming danger, but should take a leaf out of Donald Trump's book by erecting an impenetrable wall in terms of military, surveillance and intelligence capabilities, to keep Iran, its mercenaries and proxies far from our shores. If we are not careful, the West's lust to bolster their failing economies will leave us hung out to dry." [3]
Endnotes:
[1] Subheads added by MEMRI.
[2] The National (UAE), August 23, 2015. The article was also published on English.alarabiya.net on August 25, 2015.
[3] The National (UAE), August 27, 2015. The article was also published on English.alarabiya.net on August 31, 2015.

Russia opposes “lawless”pro-Assad militias: report
Now Lebanon/September 28/15
As-Safir said that the actions of NDF militias have weakened the authority of the Syrian government.
BEIRUT – Amid its growing military buildup in Syria, Russia has proposed the axing of the pro-Assad National Defense Force militias which have come under scrutiny for their lawless actions, according to a pro-Damascus newspaper. Lebanese daily As-Safir reported Monday that the “Russians believe the NDF experiment has failed to stand up to the armed groups and that it has weakened the authority of the Syrian state and the Syrian army.”Citing “corroborative information,” the paper went on to say that Moscow wants to “strengthen the Syrian state’s role through a proposal to reduce the role of the NDF and popular committees, and form a fourth legion of the Syrian Army.”According to As-Safir, the new fourth legion would bring NDF units under its command “and re-habilitate 75,000 fighters.”“It would raise the army’s capability to renew its forces and reduce disorder in the chain of command.”
Originally formed in late 2012, the NDF acts as an auxiliary force for the Syrian army, assisting the regular regime forces in their battles against rebels.
However, NDF units throughout regime controlled areas have come under increasing criticism from local residents, who accuse the militia forces of acting like criminal gangs under the cover of government protection. Pro-government militias in Tartous have clashed intermittently with regime security forces while facing accusations of being behind kidnappings and car thefts in a wanton crime spree. Meanwhile, an NDF militia reportedly fought regime troops in Homs in mid-April, while reports emerged in late September that a militia force fought local security in the center of Hama. Regime media slams pro-government militias A September 22 segment on Syria’s semi-official Sama TV broached the controversial topic, with the host Nizar Alfarra blasting the “the phenomenon of lawlessness… caused by a collection of people who, unfortunately, are exploiting the state’s name.”
He further said that NDF militias in the Alawite-populated region stretching from the coastal city of Tartous to the rural villages west of Hama, have found that “robbing, stealing, pilfering and all [other] sinful actions can yield more money” than “defending the homeland, which may not produce a material return.”
“There is a genuine complaint about gangs [that] rob and steal, [and] have become completely uncontrollable in that area.”“Who has an interest in giving Syrian citizens the feeling that their state’s… security apparatuses are weak… and leave criminals whose names and activities are known… to do as they please?” Alfarra asked. The program’s guest, Syria Home News editor-in-chief Haytham Mohammad called for concrete regime action against the rogue militias. “We have paid a big price but we will pay a higher and higher price if this phenomenon does not end and if these [criminals] are not arrested and brought to justice.”
Tartous lawlessness
In the latest incident to raise the ire of residents of pro-Assad areas, a local NDF unit in the Tartous town of Dreikish attacked police officers on September 21, leaving two dead. Residents of Dreikish blasted the local NDF militia and called for the regime to strike it with an “iron fist.” “There is a large group of murderous criminals who have banded together in a militia under the leadership of the criminal Ahmad Houry,” read a post late Monday on the pro-regime Al-Dreikish Facebook page. “They gathered all the degenerates… and because the state did not do its duty and bury them they ran rampant and set themselves up as a de-facto state,” the bitter post added. A subsequent post on the page accused Houry’s militia of operating “in cooperation with the governor of Tartous, and those above him too.”The Dreikish incident comes on the heels of a long series of incidents of local pro-regime militias taking the law into their own hands amid lawlessness in the Tartous region. On June 22, members of a local National Defense Force militia opened fire on residents of the Tartous town of Safita, which is populated by a nearly equal mix of Greek Orthodox and Alawites approximately 20 kilometers southeast of Tartous.
A pro-regime Facebook page covering news in the town roundly condemned the incident and called for a government crackdown. “We call on the competent authorities to put an end to this chaos which is increasing day after day,” a post on the pro-regime Safita News Network read.

The Islamic State’s Frantic Response To The Wave Of Refugees Fleeing Syria
By: R. Green*MEMRI
Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project
September 28, 2015Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.1187
The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI‘s Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Introduction
In response to the refugee crisis involving the migration to Europe of hundreds of thousands of people from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, the Islamic State (ISIS) has launched a large-scale media campaign urging Muslims not to seek refuge in the West but rather to come to the territories under its control. As part of the campaign, ISIS has released 13 videos and has published numerous articles and pamphlets; additionally, its activists have flooded social media with this message, including with a Twitter campaign under the hashtag “Refugees – to where?”[1]
The massive scale of the media output on this issue shows that ISIS sees the Syrian wave of migration to Europe as an acute challenge. ISIS leaders see this challenge is twofold: It undermines ISIS propaganda that promotes ISIS as a burgeoning state to which Muslims are flocking, and it constitutes an actual demographic problem.
ISIS’s migration campaign has revolved largely around a negative message, namely condemnation of those who choose to flee to the West and an assertion that migration to Europe and the West will only bring the refugees further misfortune. Moreover, ISIS and its supporters stress all Muslims’ obligation to perform hijra (migration) to the Islamic State, and the view that Muslims who live elsewhere are neglecting their religious duties.
The messages in the campaign revolve around comparisons. ISIS propagandists juxtapose the negative aspects of migrating to the West with the positive aspects of life in the Islamic State and migrating to it. Thus, they present the Islamic State as an Islamic utopia, as opposed to Europe, presented as a land of moral depravity. The ISIS territories are presented as lands where Muslims live in peace, security, and prosperity, in contrast to the dangers and perils that await refugees in Europe. Life in the Islamic State, they say, may perhaps be dangerous, but it promises glory and honor through waging jihad, most prominently for the people of Syria – but life in the West will be a life of humiliation and abuse for those who choose to leave battle-torn countries of the Middle East, for they will be targets of Europeans’ conspiracies and European attempts at converting them to Christianity.
Writers quote passages from the Koran and Hadith, and from renowned scholars to emphasize the obligation to live in an Islamic land. They frequently quote ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who has called upon Muslims to migrate to the lands under his rule.
A tweeted quote by ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi warning Muslims against living among non-Muslims, posted as part of the migration campaign
Several propaganda techniques are noticeable in the campaign: The videos open with scenes of the plight of refugees attempting to reach Europe, including the images of the drowned toddler Aylan Kurdi, refugees being beaten by police, and so on. The videos feature many fighters who came to Syria from the West providing an inside view of the negative aspects of life in Europe. The videos also include many “man on the street” interviews with supposedly ordinary people speaking out against migration to Europe and in favor of living in ISIS territories.
The following report will review the campaign’s main messages:
Dar Al-Islam vs. Dar Al-Kufr
The most poignant message in ISIS’s set of arguments against migration to Europe is that the territories under ISIS control are considered dar al-Islam (“the abode of Islam”), whereas the West is considered dar al-kufr (“the abode of unbelief”). ISIS territories are presented as lands of the Islamic caliphate. They stress that it is incumbent upon those able to perform hijra to migrate to lands under ISIS control, especially in the core areas in Syria and Iraq.
In a video produced by ISIS’s Salah Al-Din province, an ISIS cleric states: “Those who have left and those who are leaving today [i.e. the migrants to the West] do not know their religion… since it is every Muslim’s duty to emigrate from dar al-kufr to diyar al-Islam [the lands of Islam].” The cleric notes that the only place that implements the shari’a is the Islamic State, and that it is therefore every Muslim’s duty to join it. He adds that even if most Muslims do not live within the borders of the Islamic State, it is still defined as dar al-Islam, and therefore they must leave dar al-kufr and the “lands of idolatry” and immigrate to it.[2]
An ISIS fighter appearing in another video speaks about Muslims’ duty to live in the Islamic State’s territories in Syria and Iraq: “In our times, Allah has bestowed His grace upon the nation of Prophet Muhammad by establishing the Islamic State in Al-Sham and in Iraq, and elsewhere upon the earth. Any Muslim for whom Allah has established dar al-Islam in his country should live in it, and any Muslim living in an infidel country should emigrate to dar al-Islam, as was ordained by Allah and the Prophet Muhammad… If you consider emigrating from the land of Islam to the land of Infidels, leaving your brothers, the mujahideen, behind, to defend the honor of your women and the women of your brothers, and leaving behind your sisters, who are being raped day and night in Damascus, Homs, and elsewhere – you should know that you are committing a grave sin.”[3]
Migration Must Only Be To The Islamic State
Seeing that ISIS sees its territories as the only “land of Islam,” the ISIS campaign stresses that the only form of migration that is permitted is to the Islamic State. A writer who goes by the name of Gharib Al-Surouriyya admonished migrants to Europe: “The basic principle is that the Muslim must migrate, fleeing for his religion, to the lands of Islam. How can one abandon migration to the land in which shari’a law is applied and Allah’s laws are manifest, and migrate to the lands of unbelief… If Allah, exalted be He, does not excuse those who abandon migration from the lands of unbelief to the lands of Islam, what can be said of those who spend their money and energy and risk their lives and families by migrating to the lands of unbelief, as we see today… Oh monotheist Muslim, if you choose to abandon migration to the land of Islam – the Islamic State which made the laws of shari’a master over any human law, and which made the word of Allah supreme – the least you can do is refrain from migrating to the lands of unbelief. Remaining in your land and fighting on the front lines would be better for your religion and for your worldly life than fleeing.”[4]
Tweeted photo of a Japanese convert to Islam who joined ISIS in Syria, presented as an honorable example of a foreigner who travelled the route that is the opposite of the route of the refugees.
Glory Under ISIS vs. Humiliation In The West
A recurrent theme in the ISIS campaign is the juxtaposition of its territories as a land of glory and honor in light of the jihad being waged there with the West, which is a land of dishonor and humiliation for Muslims who migrate to it.
A writer who goes by Umm Abdallah Al-Jazrawiyya beseeched the refugees: “Return to your lands, for that is where there are slaves for whom Allah is their Lord. He supports them and strengthens them; with his support, they liberate your lands and establish Allah’s law in them. Return to your religion, your jihad, and your glory and retrieve your honor.”[5]
ISIS fighters in a video produced by Raqqa province in Syria expressed similar sentiments. An interviewer asked: “Will the refugees find glory in those countries where they seek refuge?” One fighter, of French origin, responded: “By Allah, in truth I was in France, in Paris, and I saw them, those refugees, sleeping in the streets and in the parks, and the infidels would bring them food and drink every now and then. Whereas here, in the land of the Islamic State, there is the diwan al-zakkat [the bureau of alms] which enables [the needy] to live in glory.” Another fighter replied: “Definitely not. There is glory only in Islam. Definitely, glory is here, in jihad for the sake of Allah. Glory is in the Islamic State, not elsewhere.” A third fighter said: “Those people [who migrated to the West] will be humiliated, Allah willing.”[6]
French ISIS fighter speaking in video produced by Raqqah province
Gharib Al-Ikhwan admonished those who flee their land due to the danger of war and death, saying: “Some may bring up the pretext of the danger of life in their country due to the war. They should know that protecting the religion is prioritized over protecting the soul. That is why Allah made jihad obligatory, although it entails the loss of the soul… It is but a few years until [the caliphate] will become a lighthouse sought by people from everywhere. So, oh you refugees: ‘Will ye exchange the better for the worse?’ [Koran 2:61]… or do you want for your children unbelief in Europe or death like that of Aylan Kurdi on its shores?”[7]Yamani Wa-Aftakhir Bi-Islami, an ISIS supporter, urged people to join ISIS in its expected victory: “Their argument [for fleeing Syria and Iraq] is the war and death in their countries, as though death is present only in Iraq and Syria and not in the depths of the sea and in the lands of unbelief. There is no escape from death; it will reach you even if you are in fortified towers. Victory for the religion of Islam is coming, undoubtedly. Glory and power are coming everywhere with us or without us, so let us have the honor of being bearers of this religions and trailblazers on this path to glory. We are all on one of Islam’s frontier outposts; do not let it [Islam's victory] pass you by. The first brick of the victory for this religion [was laid] with the return of the Islamic caliphate in the land of Syria and Iraq and its spread to the lands of the Muslims, and with the effort to liberate them from the tyrants, the tails of the Crusaders…”[8]
Image accompanying an anti-migration article juxtaposes the humiliation of refugees in Europe with the alleged glory of ISIS, as illustrated by a little boy aiming a pistol.
An ISIS fighter, apparently himself from France, appealed to those considering fleeing Syria for Europe: “Those who emigrate to the lands of unbelief, especially France – we tell you: You will face problems in terms of wearing the niqab and the hijab. You will face difficulties throughout your lives. You will not have honor in these countries, but only humiliation… You have no honor. Honor is only found in jihad and in the land of the caliphate.”[9]
A writer calling himself Abu Abdallah Muhammad Ayoub Al-Qurashi summed up this argument by stating: “Perseverance against hardship in the land of the caliphate is better than a carefree life in a land in which the Lord of Glory is cursed and in which a child is attributed to him [i.e. a Christian land], in which His shari’a is prevented and depravities and abominations are abundant.”[10]
Tweet by the French Islamist design team LVD. “To give up and flee towards the European mirage or fight the secular bloody dictatorships of the Arab regimes?” Images, left to right: “Flee towards the European paradise”; “Flee towards Allah’s paradise”
The Islamic Utopia Vs. The Impure West
Another prominent feature of ISIS propaganda is touting the contrast between its territories, presented as a utopia where Islamic laws and values dominate, and European countries, ruled by ungodly laws and whose values are incompatible with those of Muslims.
One ISIS supporter tweeted in this vein: “Oh Muslims, the taghout[11] does not for one day want your good. Do not seek refuge with your enemy! Congratulations to the subjects of the commander of the faithful [the caliph, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi]: [they enjoy] safety and faith, happiness and prosperity in the shadow of a glorious Islamic caliphate… How can your heart agree to you living in a land where one of your neighbors might be a polytheist or loyal to the tawaghit or to the rawafid [Shiites]? Will you travel by sea seeking a land where pig is eaten, wine is consumed, and corruption and immorality are spoken of openly?”[12]
In a video, an ISIS cleric from Mosul asked: “Will those who left be secure? Will they be secure in their religion? Will they have sufficient religion and faith that will enable them to defend their religion and faith in the land of unbelief? Will they be able to carry out Allah’s commands as they are fulfilled today in the state of the caliphate? Will they be able to pray the five prayers in the mosques? Will they be able to grow their beards, as the Islamic State ordered men to grow them in compliance with the command of the Prophet? Moreover, will they be able to protect their women? This is a country of prostitution, Allah protect us from it, this a land of immorality and wine, a land of fornication, a land of depravity, may Allah protect us from it. Oh Muslim, how can you protect your honor [i.e. your wife] in this land?”[13]
Dangers And Conspiracies
As part of the intense effort to dissuade Syrians and others from migrating to Europe, ISIS videos also emphasized the physical dangers involved in the journey itself and the dangers to the migrants’ religious beliefs posed by life in Europe. They presented Europe’s welcoming of Muslim migrants as a conspiracy against ISIS and against Muslims in general.
The main speaker in the video titled “The Camp of Desertion,” which was released by ISIS in Al-Khair province (Deir Al-Zour), addressed Christianization of refugees in Europe: “Don’t you see the Christianization campaigns which are spreading around the world, especially in the land of Kufr, whose tyrants have tried and used all means to combat Allah’s religion? They became lands where Muslims are being Christianized and forced out of their religion.”[14]
Tweet under “Refugees – to where” hashtag: “The Hungarian borders.”
One ISIS fighter, featured in a video produced by Al-Janoub province, which corresponds to southern Iraq, stated: “What is the interest of the infidels, oh reasonable person, when they opened their lands accepting and welcoming you? What is the interest of these infidels when they compete over welcoming and sheltering you in these lands, in which there is no sound of Islam heard nor a scent of it smelled?”
Hailing the migrants who now live in the Islamic State “proud, with their heads lifted,” he asked those fleeing to Europe: “Where do you stand with regards to them, as you leave your lands and your families to seek refuge with the infidels? All they want from you is to disbelieve in the religion of Muhammad.”[15]
ISIS fighter speaking in video produced by Al-Janoub province
An article titled “the immigration of Muslims to the Land of Kufr (the great Fitna),” by one Abu Rida Al-Sunni, listed what the author saw as the real reasons that Western countries have agreed to accept Muslim refugees – among them “exploiting the plight of the refugees and their condition to influence them to change their religion and convert to Christianity, which actually started with the pope’s approval and his request that religious establishments host some of these refugees.”[16]
An ISIS supporter warned fellow Muslims: “On the way, you will face death and humiliation. For what? To reach the land of infidels? Will you respect their infidel laws? They will look at you like a dog or even worse. You won’t be able to raise your daughter according to shari’a there. Do you know that when your daughter reaches the age of majority you are not able to control her? These are their laws, oh you who are unaware.”[17]
The ISIS member featured in a video produced by Yemen’s Hadramawt province warned migrants to Europe about falling into the hands of human traffickers: “Look at the situation of those who migrated and left the lands of Islam! How they are [in danger of] drowning in the depths of the seas, then thrown on the beaches of the lands of unbelief, a lifeless, motionless body, while others fall into the hands of criminal gangs, prostitution networks, and more, who will turn their families into prostitutes in the lands of the West. Those of them who reach the lands of unbelief will live miserably, wretchedly, and humiliated under the law of the infidels, who will look upon them as wretched and lowly.”[18]
A writer calling himself Fajr Al-’Anzi wrote in an article titled “Migration to Germany – Dream or Nightmare?”: “Every day the newspapers expound to us reports of attacks on foreign refugees or arson [attacks] on their shelters. Moreover, to date, Germany has provided no plan to integrate Syrian refugees into the job market, and thus has abandoned them to the German extremists. They see Islam as threatening Europe demographically, and [think that] by getting special housing and jobs, the refugees pose a danger to the entire European entity.”[19]
An Ominous Fate Awaits Migrants To The West
Pro-ISIS writers and speakers warn migrants to the West that they will be punished by God and bring about their own downfall, since God will abandon them and will choose others to carry His message and earn a place in Paradise.
ISIS supporter Minbar Al-Khilafa began an article by informing migrants to the West of the ominous fate that awaits them: “Praise Allah who said [in Koran 4:97] ‘When angels take the souls of those who die in sin against their souls, they say: ‘In what (plight) were ye?’ They reply: ‘Weak and oppressed were we in the earth.’ They say: ‘Was not the earth of Allah spacious enough for you to move yourselves away (from evil)?’ Such men will find their abode in Hell, What an evil refuge!’ This verse is explicit about the obligation of migration from the lands where Muslims are oppressed and unable to fulfill their religion to the lands of Islam where the Muslim glorifies his religion, and about the punishment for those who do not do this despite being able to. [Their punishment] is eternal hellfire. Why? Since they preferred the life of this world to their religion. Therefore, godly punishment comes upon them. And peace upon the Prophet… who said [in a hadith]: ‘I disavow any Muslim who lives among the polytheists.’”[20]
Tweet juxtaposing an image of ISIS fighters, illustrating the honor of jihad, with one of miserable refugees. Caption: “They left the lands of glory and sought shelter in the lands of humility and vileness. By Allah, this is the principle of replacement [istibdal – see explanation below].”
A writer who goes by Abu Al-Ahnaf Al-Shibani explains the concept of replacement (istibdal) in this context: “This principle is crystallized in the fall of governments and leaderships and their replacement by others, and in the decline of nations and groups whose position is taken by others. If we see a government or a leadership or a group replaced by another, the meaning of this is that the phenomenon has been brought about due to this principle [of replacement]. This is what we see clearly today in the replacement of peoples in Iraq and Syria. Today we see the Muslim youth, who were graced by Allah with the establishment of the caliphate in their midst, taking themselves and traveling to the lands of the infidels which are ruled by the laws of the jungle on baseless and weak pretenses.”[21] Among these pretenses Al-Shibani lists fear of death and search for livelihood. He also accused the youth that has fled to Europe for evading their duty to wage jihad.
Peace, Security And Prosperity Under ISIS
To convince refugees to remain in ISIS territories or to travel to them rather than to flee to the West, ISIS propaganda stresses that those who live under its control enjoy a secure and peaceful life as well as material comfort. It should be mentioned that the theme of normal, plentiful life is a regular feature of ISIS publications.
In the video titled “The Camp of Desertion,” ISIS members and local residents interviewed spoke positively about their lives in the caliphate. One of them, who claimed that he had lived in Europe in the past, said: “We now [live] under the blessing of Islam. By Allah’s name, we eat, drink, enjoy ourselves, have air conditioning, cars, Internet and cellphones, thanks to Allah. We have the worldly pleasures which they [the refugees] left to acquire.”[22]
ISIS photos showing the festive ‘Eid Al-Adha atmosphere in Al-Bab, an ISIS-controlled town near Aleppo. The photos were posted under the “Refugees – to where?” hashtag
Gharib Al-Surouriyya wrote: “We have not heard, praise Allah, of any person who died in the Islamic State from hunger, thirst, or oppression, nor have we seen one of its subjects throughout its vast territories migrate to the lands of unbelief, except in rare cases. Those who stay in them are safe with regards to their life, family,and honor, in contrast to those Muslims who abandoned their home and migrated to the lands of unbelief. We have seen how some have died, some have drowned, and those who escaped death are not safe with regard to their religion, nor are they safe from the Christians’ abuse, trading in their weakness and exploiting their circumstances.”[23]
Another writer, “Minbar Al-Khilafa,” noted that Muslims should migrate to the Islamic State, not Europe, and asked: “If you are seeking a peaceful life, why don’t you immigrate to the Islamic State where you will find security, dignity, and stability?” He added “if you are in doubt, the Islamic State media is truthful with its visual materials, which show stability in the Islamic State despite the war which is being waged against it.”[24]
* R. Green is a Research Fellow at MEMRI.
Endnotes:
[1] Twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A6%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89_%D8%A3%D9%8A%D9%86?src=hash
[2] See MEMRI JTTM report ISIS Fighters To Refugees: Do Not Migrate To France Or Germany, ‘Migrate Immediately To The Islamic State’, September 17, 2015.
[3] See MEMRI JTTM report ISIS In Al-Khair Province Criticizes Refugees Fleeing To Europe, Urges Them To Return To Land Of Caliphate, September 17, 2015; view the clip here.
[4] Twitter.com/battar_isi33309, September 17, 2015.
[5] Twitter.com/saarya_ash, September 18, 2015; Justpaste.it/nsiv.
[6] “To those who are thinking of migration,” Shamikh1.info, September 18, 2015; Archive.org, September 18, 2015.
[7] Gareeb-alikhwan.blogspot.si, September 17, 2015.
[8] Yemney-9adimoun.blogspot.com, September 20, 2015.
[9] See MEMRI JTTM report ISIS Fighters To Refugees: Do Not Migrate To France Or Germany, ‘Migrate Immediately To The Islamic State’, September 17, 2015.
[10] Twitter.com/alwafaa3333, September 17, 2015.
[11] Taghout is a concept used by Salafis to denote any entity that is worshipped instead of or aside God. In this parlance it is commonly used for non-Islamic rulers and governments.
[12] Twitter.com/u_16_u, September 18, 2015.
[13] See MEMRI JTTM report ISIS Fighters To Refugees: Do Not Migrate To France Or Germany, ‘Migrate Immediately To The Islamic State’, September 17, 2015.
[14] Twitter.com/u_16_u, September 17, 2015.
[15] See MEMRI JTTM report ISIS Al-Janoub Province Criticizes Muslim Refugees Who Left Islamic State For ‘Crusader’ Countries, September 17, 2015.
[16] Twitter.com/alwafaa3333, September 17, 2015.
[17] Twitter.com/xYYvj, September 17, 2015.
[18] Shumoukh Al-Islam, September 16, 2015.
[19] Twitter.com/saarya_ash, September 18, 2015.
[20] Twitter.com/battar_isi3290, September 16, 2015.
[21] Twitter.com/battar_isi3290, September 18, 2015.
[22] See MEMRI JTTM report ISIS In Al-Khair Province Criticizes Refugees Fleeing To Europe, Urges Them To Return To Land Of Caliphate, September 17, 2015.
[23] Twitter.com/battar_isi33309, September 17, 2015.
[24] Twitter.com/battar_isi33309, September 16, 2015.

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