LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
February 09/17
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
Saint Maron’s Day: Maronites all over the world celebrates today
the founder of their Christian Catholic Christian faith Saint Maron’s Annul Remembrance Holy Day. We the Maronites are
ought in this event to take our great Saint as a role model in our life who lived a very simple modest and holy life praying and
preaching the Bible.
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Bible Quotations For Today
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls
into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it
bears much fruit
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 12/23-30/:"Jesus
answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very
truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who
love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep
it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there
will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour. ‘Now my
soul is troubled. And what should I say "Father, save me from this
hour"? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from
heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’The crowd standing there heard it and said
that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’Jesus
answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine."
All who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But
wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and
being deceived
Second Letter to Timothy 03/10-17/:"You have observed my teaching, my
conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my
persecutions, and my suffering the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What
persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. Indeed, all
who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked
people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being
deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly
believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have
known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so
that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good
work.
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 08-09/17
Will the Lebanese President Be Assad's New Friend in Town/Fadi al-Dahouk is a Syrian
journalist./Washington Institute/February 08/17
What Is the Muslim Brotherhood/ Thomas Quiggin/Gatestone
Institute/February 08/17
Do Not Reward Bad Behaviour/Trump Must Bury Anti-Semitic UN Resolution/ Jagdish N. Singh/Gatestone
Institute/February 08/17
Germany's Muslim Demographic Future/ Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/February 08/17
Back to the ‘Axis of Evil’ on Iran/By Barbara Slavin/US
Opinion and Commentary/Posted February 7th, 2017
Trump and the Iranian Elections: How His Rhetoric Could Affect the Outcome/By Ariane M. Tabatabai/Foreign
Policy/February 07/17
Fanaticism is a barrel of gunpowder/Mohammed Al Shaikh/Al
Arabiya/February 08/17
American threats and the Iranian complexities/Hamad
al-Kaabi/Al Arabiya/February
08/17
Is Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal for defense purposes/Mosa Zahed/Al Arabiya/February
08/17
The intellectual beauty queen/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/February
08/17
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
February 08-09/17
Saudi Minister Says Kingdom Keen on 'Distinctive' Ties with Lebanon
Aoun tasks Justice Ministry to press charges over
Istanbul New Year's attack
Mashnouq: President, PM Say New Electoral Law before
End of February
Sami Gemayel Meets Saudi Minister, Says Keen on
Lebanese-Saudi Ties
Cabinet Dedicates Next Session to Budget, PM Says Saudi-Lebanese Panel to be
Formed
Hamadeh: Assad Transformed Syria Entirely Into a Jail
and Slaughterhouse
Khalil: Budget Will be Approved without New Taxes
EU Envoys Urge 'Consensual' Electoral Law, Say 'Technical' Delay Must be Brief
UNIFIL and Lebanese Army Conduct Live Firing Exercise
Border Security Meeting Tackles Reopening of Lebanon-Syria Crossings
ISF apprehends father who physically abused two teenage daughters
Army Chief of Staff inspects Beirut military units
Four men try to kidnap Syrian from Klayaa farm
Kahwaji, USEK delegation discuss cooperation
agreement
Bou Assi tackles
developmental affairs with Maten municipalities union
EU Ambassadors meet with the Minister of Interior and Municipalities to discuss
the forthcoming parliamentary elections
Sarraf receives Canadian Ambassador, German senior
Chweifat road reopens to traffic after short closure
Report: Contentious Supervisory Committee Raised at Cabinet Despite Aoun's Decline
Will the Lebanese President Be Assad's New Friend in Town?
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 07-08/17
At Least 8 Hurt as 'Electric Malfunction' Causes Blast at Paris MetroIsrael Says Rockets Fired from Egypt at Resort Town
British MPs Approve Bill to Start Brexit
U.N. Preparing Invitations to Syria Peace Talks
Death Toll in Strikes on Syria ex-Qaida Hits 46
Why the pope has taken control of the Knights of Malta
Israeli military responds to tank fire from Syria
White House Weighs Designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) a Terrorist
Group
Iranian Resistance Condemns Atrocities in Syrian Prison
Iran: Factional Feuding in 2017 Presidential Election
Letter to AP by Senator Torricelli, on Distorted Story About MEK
NCRI Women's Committee Calls for Urgent Action to Free Activist Mother, Shahnaz Akmali
Iran: Internal Disputes Over 'Disqualification of Rouhani'
in 2017 Presidential Bid
Syria Says Amnesty Report on Mass Hangings 'Completely False'
Turkey Says to Target IS-Held Raqa, Claims Progress
in Al-Bab Battle
Six Red Cross staff killed, two missing in Afghanistan
This is not a Christian gesture’: Pope Francis denounces walls while praising
immigrants
Latest Lebanese Related News
published on February 08-09/17
Saudi Minister Says Kingdom
Keen on 'Distinctive' Ties with Lebanon
Naharnet/February 08/17/Saudi Minister for Gulf
Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan
stressed that Saudi Arabia is keen on Lebanon's unity and seeks “distinctive”
political relations between the two countries, al-Joumhouria
daily reported on Wednesday. “
Aoun tasks Justice Ministry to press charges over
Wed 08 Feb 2017 /NNA - President Michel Aoun on
Wednesday tasked Minister of Justice, Salim Jreissati, with communicating with the families of Istanbul
New Year's nightclub attack, with the purpose of pressing charges against
perpetrators in preservation of the victims' rights. Contacts will be held with
the Turkish competent authorities in that respect.
Mashnouq: President, PM Say New Electoral Law before End of
February
Naharnet/February 08/17/President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad
Hariri told ministers during Wednesday's Cabinet session that “the new
electoral law will be finalized before the end of February,” Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said. “There
is no choice but to hold the parliamentary elections and I don't have any doubt
that they might not be held, seeing as one cannot talk about democracy in
Sami Gemayel
Meets Saudi Minister, Says Keen on Lebanese-Saudi Ties
Naharnet/February 08/17/Kataeb Party chief MP
Sami Gemayel held talks Wednesday with visiting Saudi
State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan, who has met with several senior leaders in recent
days. “Our main concern is the hundreds of thousands of young people who work
in the Gulf due to the problems in
Cabinet Dedicates Next Session to Budget,
PM Says Saudi-Lebanese Panel to be Formed
Naharnet/February 08/17/The Cabinet held an
ordinary session Wednesday at the Baabda Palace
during which it decided to dedicate next week's session to studying the draft
state budget. The session was presided over by President Michel Aoun. “Next Wednesday's session will be dedicated to
discussing the state budget and should there be an agenda, another session
would be held on Thursday,” Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil
said after the session. Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani meanwhile
announced that the ministers of the Lebanese Forces demanded a Cabinet session
dedicated to the issue of the stalled electoral law. Prime Minister Saad Hariri revealed that “a higher Saudi-Lebanese
committee will be formed and the work of the rest of the joint committees will
be activated to follow up on the common issues between the two countries.”Hariri's remarks come after a meeting in
Hamadeh: Assad Transformed
Naharnet/February 08/17/Following a report by Amnesty
International about
Khalil: Budget Will be Approved without New Taxes
Naharnet/February 08/17/In light of a cabinet meeting
scheduled for Wednesday to discuss the state's fiscal budget, Finance Minister
Ali Hassan Khalil said there are genuine intentions
to approve the budget this year after Lebanon failed to approve one since 2005.
“As the result of a joint will between political parties, for the first time in
years the budget will be discussed with the intention of approving it,” Khalil told al-Joumhouria daily
in an interview. “I am keen for a balanced budget that includes a start for
reforms without affecting the poorer classes. And I hope from which we will be
able to begin reforms on the tax system,” he added. To a question about the 27
tax items included in the draft budget, Khalil said:
“The finance ministry did not include any new taxes other than the ones
approved during the parliament session that discussed the wage scale issue.
“Taxes were added solely on bank revenues, big corporates
and real-estate operations for non-low-income earners,” he pointed out. The minister
concluded that he included the wage scale in the draft budget which compelled
him to include the taxes, that were initially approved
in the parliament, for funding. Due to conflicts between the rival political
parties,
EU Envoys Urge 'Consensual' Electoral Law,
Say 'Technical' Delay Must be Brief
Naharnet/February 08/17/The Ambassadors of the
European Union and EU Member States held talks Wednesday with Interior Minister
Nouhad al-Mashnouq to
discuss “the advancement of preparations for the forthcoming elections,” an EU
Delegation statement said. The EU Ambassadors stressed that after the election
of a president and the formation of a national unity government, “the timely,
transparent and peaceful holding of parliamentary elections will be another
step towards consolidating the normal functioning of democratic institutions in
UNIFIL and Lebanese Army Conduct Live
Firing Exercise
Naharnet/February 08/17/The United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) on Wednesday
carried out a joint exercise combining armored
assets, machine gun and small arms live fire in an area one kilometer
south of the UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqoura, southern
Lebanon, UNIFIL said. The exercise, named “Steel Storm,” is one of several
joint exercises, conducted regularly between the LAF and UNIFIL peacekeepers.
“It strives to improve the skills and expertise of the two forces, maintain
their efficiency and mutual knowledge, train on the procedures of execution of
fire support, establish the appropriate coordination mechanism and liaise at
all levels between LAF and UNIFIL,” a UNIFIL statement said. The exercise was
led by the UNIFIL Force Commander Reserve (FCR/French) and LAF’s
5th Brigade elements, 7th briga. The live firing was
also conducted by UNIFIL specialized units from Slovenian, Spanish and French
contingents constituting each sector and the FCR. The exercise, witnessed by
senior UNIFIL and LAF officials, involved “a dynamic presentation of the two
forces’ respective infantry and armored assets,”
UNIFIL said. Dozens of machine gun rounds were fired at targets located off the
coastline. The targets were located at sea in order to minimize disturbance to
the population. Lebanese Navy ships, supported by UNIFIL
Maritime Task Force, ensured safety at sea.
Border Security Meeting Tackles Reopening
of Lebanon-Syria Crossings
Naharnet/February 08/17/A security meeting was held
Wednesday at the al-Qaa border post between Lebanese
General Security officers and others from the Lebanese and Syrian customs
authorities in the presence of a representative of the Higher Syrian-Lebanese
Council,
ISF apprehends father who physically
abused two teenage daughters
Wed 08 Feb 2017/NNA - Based on the signal of the concerned court, Qobeiyat Station Police members arrested on Wednesday a
Lebanese father, with the initials J.S, for physically abusing at an earlier
time his two teenage daughters, Internal Security Forces (ISF) Directorate General
said in a communiqué. According to the testimonies of the two teenage girls,
the father physically abused them through detaining them inside the house
bathroom, cruelly hitting them and burning them with a blazing iron bar. The
two abused daughters were examined by a coroner who pointed out in his report
that one of the girls sustained burns in her face while the other on her hands.
The detained father was handed over to the concerned court.
Army Chief of Staff inspects
Wed 08 Feb 2017/NNA - Lebanese Army Chief of Staff, Hatem
Malak, inspected on Wednesday evening a number of
military units in
Four men try to kidnap Syrian from Klayaa farm
Wed 08 Feb 2017/NNA - Four unidentified men tried to kidnap a Syrian worker
from a farm in Klayaa after forcing him to go inside
their vehicle at gunpoint, NNA field reporter said. The kidnappers set the
Syrian man free after passersby happened to witness the incident. They hit him
with a gun on his head and hands and then ran away, NNA reporter added.
Meanwhile, security forces are investigating the incident with the Syrian man
in an attempt to unveil the identity of the kidnappers and the reason they
attacked him.
Kahwaji, USEK delegation discuss cooperation agreement
Wed 08 Feb 2017/NNA - Army Commander General Jean Kahwaji
met on Wednesday at his office in Yarzeh with a
delegation of Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
(USEK), with talks reportedly touched on issues related to the cooperation
agreement in the field of food safety, clinched between the army and the
University.
Bou Assi tackles developmental
affairs with Maten municipalities union
Wed 08 Feb 2017/NNA - Social Affairs Minister, Elias Bou
Assi, on Wednesday tackled developmental, social, and
economic affairs with a visiting delegation from Maten
municipality headed by Maten municipalities
union head, Marwan Salha.
EU Ambassadors meet with the Minister of
Interior and Municipalities to discuss the forthcoming parliamentary elections
Wed 08 Feb 2017/NNA - The Ambassadors of the European Union and EU Member
States were received today by Minister of Interior and Municipalities, H.E. Nouhad al-Machnouq, to discuss
the advancement of preparations for the forthcoming elections.
The EU Ambassadors stressed that after the election of a president and the
formation of a national unity government, the timely, transparent and peaceful
holding of parliamentary elections will be another step towards consolidating
the normal functioning of democratic institutions in
The EU remains the largest and most essential donor in
Sarraf receives Canadian Ambassador, German senior
Wed 08 Feb 2017/NNA - National Defense
Minister, Yaacoub Sarraf,
on Wednesday received at his office Canadian Ambassador, Michelle Cameron, and
discussed with her bilateral military ties and means for supporting the
Lebanese military at all levels. Both also discussed regional affairs.
Separately, Minister Sarraf received German Deputy Defense Minister, Markus Grubel,
who said that his country was committed to combat terror and solve the
displaced people crisis. "We want to contribute in protecting the Lebanese
Army from terrorist attacks," said Grubel.
Chweifat road reopens to traffic after short closure
Wed 08 Feb 2017/NNA -
Report: Contentious Supervisory
Committee Raised at Cabinet Despite Aoun's Decline
Naharnet/February 08/17/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq will raise a
contentious issue during the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, related to
appointing a committee to supervise the parliamentary polls, which was strongly
rejected earlier by President Michel Aoun for linkage
to the controversial 1960 electoral law, al-Joumhouria
daily reported. Ministerial sources told the daily that Mashnouq
might raise the issue today because the parliamentary electoral legal framework compel him to do so. Adding to that are the
looming electoral deadlines, they said.
It is believed that shall the supervisory committees be appointed,
it would mean that the elections will be held based on the contentious 1960
law. In an earlier cabinet meeting, Mashnouq had
requested appointing the supervisory committee to overlook the parliamentary
polls. But, Aoun rejected the proposal and said it
would pave way for staging the election under the 1960 law. Aoun
had recently warned that he prefers “vacuum” over holding the parliamentary
polls under the 1960 electoral law or another extension of the parliament's
term. He also announced that he might call for a popular referendum should the
political forces fail to reach a new electoral law. The political parties are
bickering over amending the current election law which divides seats among the
different religious sects. While al-Mustaqbal has
rejected that the electoral law be fully based on proportional representation,
arguing that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious
competition in the party's strongholds, Druze leader MP Walid
Jumblat has totally rejected proportional
representation, even within a hybrid law, warning that it would “marginalize”
the minority Druze community. Hizbullah, Mustaqbal, the Free Patriotic Movement, AMAL Movement and
the Lebanese Forces are meanwhile discussing several formats of a so-called
hybrid electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the
winner-takes-all system.
The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature
has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an
amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next vote is scheduled for
May.
Will the Lebanese President Be Assad's New
Friend in Town?
Fadi al-Dahouk is a Syrian
journalist./Washington Institute/February 08/17
Following accusations that
With the recent election of General Michel Aoun
as Lebanese president, Syrian delegates resume visiting the Lebanese
presidential palace, which it frequented after their army entered
As expected, following Aoun’s appointment,
Iranian Provocation
Aoun’s arrival in office was only sealed once
he agreed to the candidacy for prime minister of
While
In a televised interview with Al-Mayadeen on
December 15, Bassil said that “President Bashar al-Assad is the legitimate president of
Bassil settled rumours the Lebanese president
was preparing to visit
Similarly, to the Syrian attempt to embarrass Aoun
by dispatching a Syrian official to Beirut to convey Assad’s congratulations to
the Lebanese president, Tehran also pre-empted Aoun’s
visit to Riyadh by sending Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of the National Security Committee, to
Beirut to spoil and influence the outcomes of the Saudi –Lebanese meeting.
The First Test of the New Era
Many of the politicians were counting on the Saudi-Lebanese summit to lead
to major political and economic breakthroughs in Lebanon, but it turned out to
be no more than a handshake between Aoun and the
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
Following the meeting, Al Arabiya held a
lengthy interview with Aoun in
The answers provided by Aoun on Al-Arabiya were not the same when he was asked similar
questions in
Aoun’s interview with the French channel was
preceded by some remark able statements by the President of the Free Patriotic
Movement and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who accompanied Aoun to
The Saudi State Minister for
Hassoun also visited the Maronite
Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi,
one of
Hassoun, who recently returned from addressing
parliament in
Assad’s message, which came as his forces were retaking
This begs the question: how can
Political actors and analysts in
This argument allows for the Iranian-Syrian alliance to stay one step
ahead of its rivals in
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individual authors, and are not necessarily endorsed by the Institute, its
staff, Board of Directors, or Board of Advisors.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 07-08/17
At Least 8 Hurt as
'Electric Malfunction' Causes Blast at Paris Metro
Agence France Presse/February
08/17/At least eight people were injured Wednesday evening in a blast resulting
from an "electric malfunction" at the Place d'Italie
metro station in Paris, French media outlets said. The station was evacuated in
the wake of the incident.Al-Mayadeen television said
smoke was seen bellowing from the site.
Agence France Presse/February
08/17/Several rockets were fired from
British MPs Approve Bill to Start Brexit
Agence France Presse/February
08/17/British MPs overwhelmingly backed a bill on Wednesday empowering Prime
Minister Theresa May to start negotiations on leaving the European Union,
bringing Brexit a significant step closer. Members of
the House of Commons voted by 494 votes to 122 for a law enabling May to
trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which begins two years of talks
on pulling out of the 28-nation bloc. The unamended
two-clause bill now moves to the House of Lords, where there may be more
opposition from unelected peers -- and where May's Conservative party does not
have a majority. But its passage through the Commons, where two-thirds of MPs
had campaigned against Brexit ahead of the June
referendum, puts May on course to begin the withdrawal process by the end of
March, as she has vowed. "This, elementally, is a straightforward bill
which serves only to give the prime minister the power to trigger Article 50
and thereby respect the result of the referendum," said Brexit minister David Jones.
Labor headaches
The referendum result sent shockwaves around
Vote on final deal
May has promised to prioritize controlling migration in the Brexit
negotiations, even if that comes at the expense of giving up membership of
U.N. Preparing Invitations to Syria
Peace Talks
Agence France Presse/February
08/17/U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura
will send invitations to Syria peace talks in the coming days, the U.N.
spokesman said Wednesday -- seemingly allowing the opposition to bypass a
deadline to agree on its negotiators. De Mistura had
warned the opposition that he would pick their delegates to the talks opening
in
Death Toll in Strikes on
Agence France Presse/February
08/17/The death toll in air strikes against al-Qaida's former affiliate in
Why the pope has taken control of the
Knights of
The Vatican clashes with an ancient chivalric order
The Economist explains/Feb 8th 2017/by J.H./ON
FEBRUARY 2nd, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Angelo Becciu
as his special delegate to the Order of the Knights of Malta, an exclusive,
centuries-old Roman Catholic fellowship. He told him to collaborate with the
Order’s acting head for the “reconciliation between all its members” and to
work for it “spiritual and moral renewal”. The letter in which he gave these
instructions completed a virtual takeover of the Order that began on January
24th when the pope forced the resignation of the order's grand master, a 67
year-old Briton, Matthew Festing. What is going on? Popes
have occasionally sent representatives in to crack the whip over monastic
orders suspected of veering from the doctrinal straight-and-narrow. But the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which defended pilgrims to the
The affair has left some Catholics wondering if the pope is less stringent
about artificial contraception than the Catholic catechism, which teaches that
its use is sinful. But there have been suggestions that the affair is about
more than birth control. There have been claims of freemasonic infiltration and
a power struggle within the Order between Germans and Italians. A London-based
Catholic weekly, the Tablet, reported that the former grand master had objected
to the Vatican commission because of links between three of its members and an
unidentified “
Israeli military responds to tank fire
from
Associated Press/JERUSALEM/February 08/17/The Israeli military says it has
struck a target in
White House Weighs Designating Iran's
Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) a Terrorist Group
Reuters – February 7,2017:U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is
considering a proposal that could lead to potentially designating Iran’s
powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization,
according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.The
officials said several U.S. government agencies have been consulted about such
a proposal, which if implemented would add to measures the United States has
already imposed on individuals and entities linked to the IRGC.
The IRGC is by far
Reuters has not seen a copy of the proposal, which could come in the form of an
executive order directing the State Department to consider designating the IRGC
as a terrorist group. It is unclear whether Trump would sign such an order.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Several draft orders on other topics have been circulated among
Reuters reported last week that officials were debating whether to declare the
Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, but that decision appears to have
been indefinitely postponed.
Naming
The
A designation of the entire IRGC as a terrorist group would potentially have
much broader implications, including for the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated
between
The nuclear deal, which has been harshly criticized by Republicans in Congress
and Trump for giving Iran too much and not placing tight enough restrictions on
the country, granted Iran relief from most Western sanctions in return for
curbs on its nuclear program.
Reuters reported last week that the IRGC designation is among the proposals being
considered as part of an
“The new administration regards
The official said that rather than tearing up the nuclear agreement, a step he
said even Israel and Saudi Arabia oppose, the White House might turn instead
toward punishing Iran for its support for Lebanese militant group Hezbollah,
the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and some Shiite forces in
Iraq, as well as covert support for Shiites who oppose the Sunni regime in
Bahrain, and cyber attacks on Saudi and other Gulf Arab targets.
The Revolutionary Guards answer to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose power far surpasses that of Rouhani. Current
Sanctions lawyers say the fine print of existing
Iranian Resistance Condemns Atrocities in
Syrian Prison
NCRI/ Wednesday, 08 February 2017/Mohammad Mohaddessin,
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance
of Iran described the horrible crime in Saydnaya
prison an unprecedented crime against humanity that was committed by the Assad
regime's henchmen, with the support of the mullahs' anti-human regime, and the
Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and its intelligence apparatus. Many
methods used in this crime against humanity, are similar to mass executions in
Iran: Factional Feuding in 2017
Presidential Election
NCRI/ Wednesday, 08 February 2017/NCRI - On Tuesday February 7, 2017, Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani called upon everyone to
participate freely in the upcoming presidential election and taunting rival
factions who don’t want him to run again for the second term said: “Is the
election really worth committing sin?”According to
the state run news agency ISNA, Rouhani attacked the Khamenei’s faction and said: "A number of people are
professionals for violence and I don’t know in which school they have been
trained in."
He stated that "there are people who love fighting, violence and
invasion", and added: "We are a nation that has unique revolution,
constitution, leadership, government, culture and identity... So why should we
antagonize each other? "Hassan Rouhani’s
statements are made while, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Minister of
Interior, had said earlier in July 2016 that he would “definitely” run for
President in 2017 and had asked the Interior Ministry to hold a “legal and
healthy” election. It is noteworthy that
Letter to AP by Senator Torricelli, on
Distorted Story About MEK
NCRI/ Wednesday, 08 February 2017/In response to a bias and distorted story ran
by Associated Press about Iranian opposition, the People’s Mojahedin
Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) on February 5, 2017, Senator Robert Torricelli
wrote the following brief response to the AP.
To: Editors of the Associated Press
The February 5, 2017 AP submission by Jon Gambrell is so outrageous and demonstrably false that it's
difficult to know where to begin. Mr Gambrell
variously describes the Iranian exile organization, the MEK, as a
"cult", and "terrorist group", with a "controversial
past" that has gone "against American interests". Specific accusations
include "killing Americans" and whose Members "responded by
lighting themselves on fire".I served as the
legal representative of the MEK in the State Department hearings to advise
Secretary of State Clinton on the issue of designating the MEK as a terrorist
organization. As I'm certain your reporter is aware, the State Department never
offered evidence that the MEK ever engaged in terrorist activities, killed any
American or worked contrary to American interests. No evidence was similarity
offered to the US District Court for the
Robert Torricelli
NCRI Women's Committee Calls for Urgent
Action to Free Activist Mother, Shahnaz Akmali
The Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
issued a call on international human rights and women's rights organizations,
women's rights activists, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, the UN
Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in
Iran, and on the UN Special Rapporteur on Arbitrary
Arrests, to undertake urgent and effective measures to free Ms. Shahnaz Akmali, mother of a young
man killed by security forces in the 2009 uprising. Agents of the Ministry of
Intelligence (MOIS) arrested Ms. Akmali at home on
January 25, 2017, and transferred her to Ward 209 in Evin
Prison. Ms. Akmali's son, Mostafa
Karimbeigi, 26, was shot dead by the regime's
revolutionary guards in the uprising on December 27, 2009. The family searched
everywhere for two weeks until they found his body in the Coroner's Office of Kahrizak. During this time, the Ministry of Intelligence
continuously threatened the family. After they found Mostafa's
body, the MOIS agents did not allow them to bury him in
Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance
of
Iran: Internal Disputes Over
'Disqualification of Rouhani' in 2017 Presidential
Bid
NCRI/ Wednesday, 08 February 2017/Two days after a member of the Iranian
regime’s Parliament announced that: “the issue of disqualification of Hassan Rouhani in presidential election of 2017 is resolved.” A
spokesman for the Guardian Council (which approves the candidates) said such
news is not true. Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei,
spokesman for this council, on Tuesday February 7 in an interview with the Mizan news agency, affiliated to the judiciary, said: “I am
not aware of this.”The council’s spokesman added: “At
the time of vetting, the members may have different opinions, but ultimately
whatever is announced, is the opinion of the Guardian Council.”Mohammad
Reza Tabesh, Member of Parliament of the regime, on
Sunday February 5 told ILNA news agency that "severe psychological
war" against Hassan Rouhani is waged with the
aim of not running for the upcoming presidential election and Mr. Rouhani “may not survive all these attacks and give up the
presidency”. Referring to remarks of the spokesman a few days ago, Tabesh said that "the disqualification of the
incumbent President on the eve of next election campaign is unprecedented."He
added: "Even if some members of the Guardian Council had such intentions
and motives, this problem is resolved with the guidance of senior officials."This Member of Parliament did not give any
explanations about "resolving the issue of disqualification of Rouhani with the guidance of senior officials". It is
noteworthy that whenever regime’s sites and authorities cannot address Khamenei (the leader of regime) directly, they refer to him
as “a senior official of the regime.”Earlier, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei had
announced the the Guardian Council always reviewed
the qualification of the incumbent President for his second term, and there was
"no guarantee" that the “incumbent” president would be approved. Ten
days after these remarks, Nejatollah Ebrahimian, another member of the Council, affirmed that
there were no legal distinction between the president and others, and the
president may also be disqualified.
Syria Says Amnesty Report on Mass
Hangings 'Completely False'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February
08/17/Syria's justice ministry on Wednesday dismissed as "completely
false" an Amnesty International report alleging up to 13,000 people were
hanged over five years in a Syrian government prison. The ministry said the
Amnesty report was "completely untrue and intended to harm
Turkey Says to Target
IS-Held Raqa, Claims Progress in Al-Bab Battle
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February
08/17/Turkey on Wednesday claimed significant progress in the months-long
battle to capture the Islamic State (IS) held Syrian town of Al-Bab, signaling it was looking to
push to the jihadist stronghold of Raqa in the next
stage of the operation.
Raqa next up?
Cavusoglu suggested that once Al-Bab was captured
"The target after this (Al-Bab) in
'Russia-Turkey coordination'
Al-Bab has been besieged since Monday, when
government forces of President Bashar Assad advancing
from the south severed a road leading into the town. Turkish forces and allied
rebels meanwhile have advanced from the east, north and west, the Observatory
told AFP in
Six Red Cross staff killed, two missing in
Afghanistan
Wed 08 Feb 2017/NNA - Suspected Islamic State gunmen killed six Afghan
employees of the Red Cross delivering relief supplies in snowbound northern
Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials said, underscoring the dangers faced by aid
workers in the war-battered country. Two other Red Cross workers were missing
in the incident in the volatile
ICRC president Peter Maurer denounced the killings as a "huge
tragedy", saying it appeared to be a deliberate attack on the charity's
staff. Jowzjan police chief Rahmatullah
Turkistani told AFP that Islamic State fighters had
killed the aid workers. "Daesh fighters are
active in the area," he said, using the Arabic acronym by which IS is commonly known in the area. "We had previously
repeatedly warned them not to go to such dangerous areas under Daesh control."Turkistani
said the bodies of the six workers had been brought to a provincial hospital.
Some of the bodies had multiple bullet wounds and had been shot from close
range in the head and chest, Fraidoon Habib, director of the hospital, told AFP. The ICRC, which
has been operating in
This is not a Christian gesture’: Pope
Francis denounces walls while praising immigrants
Lindsey Bever/Washington Post/
February 08/17
Amid controversy over President Trump’s immigration executive order barring
travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries, Pope Francis
on Wednesday echoed his previous comments about building bridges of
understanding instead of walls, according to the Associated Press.He
made the comments during a weekly address Wednesday that coincided with the
“International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking” and the
feast day of Sudanese immigrant Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita.
“In the social and civil context as well, I appeal not to create walls but to
build bridges,” he said, according to the AP. “To not respond to evil with
evil. To defeat evil with good, the offense with forgiveness.
A Christian would never say ‘you will pay for that.’ Never.
“That is not a Christian gesture,” he continued. “An offense you overcome with
forgiveness. To live in peace with everyone.”
In strongly worded statements, several prominent U.S. Catholic leaders
denounced Trump’s executive order. Although Pope Francis did not directly
address the president’s recent actions, he has made the same point in the past.
After Trump declared during his presidential campaign that he would deport
millions of undocumented immigrants and build a wall along the border between
Mexico and the United States, Francis denounced the wall idea, telling
reporters on board the papal plane that anyone who wanted to build a wall “is
not Christian.”
“A person who thinks only about building walls — wherever they may be — and not
building bridges, is not Christian,” he said in February, according to an AP
translation. “This is not in the Gospel.”
“I’d just say that this man is not Christian if he said it this way,” he added.
The
“It is not that the pope wishes to be, in any way, a personal attack nor an
indication of voting,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio,
according to a translation from the
Lombardi said at the time the pope believes people “should not build walls, but
bridges” — which is “very consistent with what is a courageous following of the
gospel of welcome and solidarity.”
As The Washington Post’s Sarah Pulliam Bailey reported, weeks before the
presidential election, Francis again spoke out against inciting fear and
building walls during a meeting with participants in a group of grass-roots
organizations called Third World Meeting of Popular Movements, and he urged
political leaders to act.
“No tyranny can be sustained without exploiting our fears,” Francis said,
according to Vatican Radio’s translation. “Citizens are walled-up, terrified,
on one side; on the other side, even more terrified, are the excluded and
banished.”
Fear “is fed and manipulated,” he added.
“Because fear — as well as being a good deal for the merchants of arms and
death — weakens and destabilizes us, destroys our psychological and spiritual defenses, numbs us to the suffering of others, and in the
end it makes us cruel.”
Francis said he believes that mercy is the “best antidote” to fear — and is
“much more effective than walls, iron bars, alarms and weapons. And it is
free,” according to the Catholic News Service.
During his audience at the
Acts of Faith newsletter
Conversations about faith and values.
Wednesday marked a time for prayer and action against human rights crimes, as
well as remembrance for the Sudanese saint.
“I urge all those in government positions to combat this scourge with firmness,
giving voice to our younger brothers and sisters who have been wounded in their
dignity,” Francis said, according to Vatican Radio. “All efforts must be made
to eradicate this shameful and intolerable crime.”
Saint Josephine Bakhita “was kidnapped as a child and
sold into slavery in
“Let’s pray to Saint Josephine Bakhita for all
migrants and refugees who are exploited and suffer so much,” the pope said.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 08-09/17
What Is the Muslim Brotherhood?
Thomas Quiggin/Gatestone Institute/February
08/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9909/muslim-brotherhood
A variety of groups ascribe to the Islamist
objective of imposing their politicized beliefs on others. Included in these
are
The founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna,
stated that "It is in the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated,
to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire
planet."
A bill, introduced by Senator Ted Cruz, to have the Muslim Brotherhood
designated as a terrorist group would have far-reaching impact, and be the
single greatest blow stuck against Islamist extremism in the
The Muslim Brotherhood operating in the U.S. made it clear that
"their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and
destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable
house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated
and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions."
The North Atlantic Islamic Trust, according to former FBI Agent Robert
Stauffer, "served as a financial holding company for Muslim
Brotherhood-related groups." This money was wired into the
Muslims living in the
A bill introduced by Senator Ted Cruz to have the Muslim Brotherhood
designated as a terrorist group could have far-reaching implications, many of which
have received little public attention. The bill, if acted upon, would be the
single greatest blow stuck against Islamist extremism in the
Islamists are those who have the desire to "impose any
interpretation of Islam over society by law." A variety of groups ascribe
to the Islamist objective of imposing their politicized beliefs on others.
Included in these are
The Muslim Brotherhood operating in the United States made it clear that:
"their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and
destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable
house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated
and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions."
The producer of the memorandum from which this statement is derived was
Mohamed Akram (A.K.A. Mohammad Akram
Al-Adlouni). He is now the Secretary General of al-Quds International, the international think tank of the
Muslim Brotherhood.
Today, according to a 2015 report, Mohammed Akram
Adlouni is the General Secretary of the Al Quds International Foundation, a Special Designated Global
Terrorist entity, accused by the U.S. Treasury Department of financing Hamas.
The Treasury Department notes:
"Hamas's leadership runs all of the foundation's affairs through
Hamas members who serve on the Board of Trustees, the Board of Directors, and
other administrative committees. All documents, plans, budgets, and projects of
Al-Quds are drafted by Hamas officials. Several
senior Hamas officials, including Specially Designated Global Terrorists Musa
Abu-Marzuq and Usama Hamdan, served on Al-Quds' Board
of Trustees. Representatives at an Al-Quds conference
were told to consider themselves unofficial ambassadors for Hamas in their
respective countries."
The chairman of the board of trustees of the Al Quds
International Foundation is identified as Qatar-based Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leadership figure of the Muslim
Brotherhood. Qaradawi is the subject of an Interpol
Red Notice.
The Senate Bill - S.68
Senate Bill S.68, would not only have the effect
of designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist entity, but it would also
list three Muslim Brotherhood front groups: The Council for American Islamic
Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North
American Islamic Trust (NAIT).
CAIR has already been identified as a Muslim Brotherhood front
organization, founded to advance the cause of Hamas, and it was listed as a
terrorist entity by the
ISNA was the first of the major Muslim Brotherhood groups formed out of
the Muslim Student Association (MSA), itself formed by Muslim Brotherhood
adherents. Its loss would undermine the Muslim Brotherhood on multiple levels.
The Major Impact
The most important issue in Bill S.68 may be the inclusion of the NAIT –
the North American Islamic Trust. Formed in 1973, it can fairly described as a waqf, which is the
Islamic finance equal to a trust or endowment fund.
The property and cash holdings of the NAIT have never been made
completely clear. CAIR itself stated that the NAIT holds the title of some 27%
of the 1200 mosques in the
Former FBI Agent Robert Stauffer led a 1980s investigation into the NAIT,
including its role in the ideological takeover of moderate mosques. At that
time, he assessed that the ISNA received millions of dollars from the NAIT,
which he says "served as a financial holding company for Muslim
Brotherhood-related groups." This money was wired into the
Like CAIR and ISNA, NAIT would have its assets frozen if it is designated
as a terrorist group. This would include property such as real estate, as well
as cash and other assets held in bank accounts. The responsibility for this would
mainly fall to the Department of the Treasury, the Justice Department and the
integrated inter-agency strategy known as National Money Laundering Strategy
(NMLS).
In addition to stripping the Muslim Brotherhood of its assets, Bill S.68
would also have the effect of silencing the extremist voice of the Muslim
Brotherhood in the
This bill would be a most helpful first step in countering what seems to
be on the part of many a purposeful global jihad.
*Tom Quiggin, a court qualified expert on terrorism
and practical intelligence, is based in
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights
reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced,
copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.
Do Not Reward Bad Behaviour/Trump
Must Bury Anti-Semitic UN Resolution
Jagdish N. Singh/Gatestone
Institute/February 08/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9887/palestinians-bad-behaviour
The Trump Administration needs to see to it that UN Security Council
Resolution 2334 is rendered null and void.
UNSC Resolution 2334 also implies that
Given the history of violence which the Palestinians indulge in against
the Jews, it would seem a counter-productive precedent to reward decades of
terrorism and uncivilised behaviour with a state. It would also leave the
Palestinians, who deserve a responsible and accountable leadership, under the
domination of two corrupt and brutal governments, the Palestinian Authority and
Hamas.
A study of the various proposals
The
In the long-continuing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians,
conventional wisdom has it that peace can be achieved through realistic
negotiations between the parties to the conflict.
The previous Obama administration displayed a clear tilt towards one
party to the conflict, the Palestinians, at the cost of the other,
Last month,
Objectively speaking, this resolution amounts to anti-Semitism: it is
simply counterfactual to the Jews' history in the region. Both the Bible and archeology reveal that Jews have had a historical
connection with this land for more than 3000 years.
Given the history of violence that the Palestinians indulge in against
the Jews, it would seem a counter-productive precedent to reward decades of
terrorism and uncivilised behaviour with a state. It would also leave the
Palestinians, who deserve a responsible and accountable leadership, under the
domination of two corrupt and brutal governments, the Palestinian Authority and
Hamas.
One hopes President Donald J. Trump, as the leader of the democratic
world, would waste no time to bury this counter-factual, anti-Semitic
resolution. Nikki Haley, Trump's appointment to the United Nations, has already
condemned the controversial resolution as an "outrageous bias"
against
Nikki Haley (pictured above from 2014), President Trump's appointment to
the United Nations, has already condemned UN Security Council Resolution 2334
as an "outrageous bias" against
The Trump Administration needs to see to it that UNSC Resolution 2334 is
rendered null and void. Significantly, it has the moral and political support
of the American Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly
condemned the resolution. The Senate has introduced a similar bipartisan bill
to cut funding from the United Nations.
Ironically, it is
A study of the various proposals Israel has made to the Palestinians from
time to time shows the key obstacle to peace is not the Palestinian demand for
any piece of land but its refusal to recognize the very existence of the Jewish
state, or, presumably any state but an Islamic one, preferably its own. That
there is any dispositive linkage of land for peace is a myth.
Sometimes, the Palestinians do recognize the state of
The Palestinian leadership said they did so in the Oslo Accords, too, but
they never practised it. In all the proposals for peace
The current Palestinian leadership is divided into two factions -- the
West Bank-based Fatah party of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the Gaza
Strip-based Hamas. Both openly incite violence against the Jews, and aspire to
the eventual creation of an Islamic state replacing all of
According to a recent House of Representatives resolution, there have
been more than 300 terrorist attacks targeting Israelis since September 2015.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas,
too, incites violence against Jews.
The
**Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based
in
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights
reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced,
copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.
Germany's Muslim Demographic Future
Soeren Kern/Gatestone
Institute/February 08/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9892/germany-muslims-demographic
Critics of Germany's open-door immigration policy are warning that the
recent surge in Germany's Muslim population — which surpassed six million in
2016 for the first time — has already changed the face of the country forever.
The price for reversing
With a fertility rate of 1.6 births per woman, well below the replacement
rate of 2.1,
"We are importing Islamic extremism, Arab anti-Semitism, national
and ethnic conflicts of other peoples, as well as a different understanding of
society and law. German security agencies are unable to deal with these
imported security problems, and the resulting reactions from the German
population." — Leaked German intelligence document.
More than a decade ago historian Bernard Lewis warned that if current
migration trends continue,
The document, parts of which were published by the Rheinische
Post on February 1, reveals that the German government is counting on permanent
mass migration — presumably from Africa, Asia and the
The report implies that Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to allow into
the country some 1.5 million mostly Muslim migrants between 2015 and 2016 was
not primarily a humanitarian gesture, but a calculated effort to stave off
If most of the new migrants arriving in
Critics of
Mass migration is fast-tracking the rise of Islam in
The government has not said how it plans to integrate potentially
millions of additional Muslims into German society. The price for reversing
Out with the old, in with the new...
According to the report, which was drafted by the Federal Statistics
Office (Destatis), the government had previously
predicted that Germany's population would drop from a high of 82 million to 73
million by the year 2060 — or even 67.6 million in the worst case scenario.
That estimate is now being revised, however, based on a recalculation of
forecasts regarding immigration, birth rates and life expectancy.
Due to positive net migration (more people entering the country than
leaving it), the German population increased by 1.14 million in 2015, and by
another 750,000 in 2016, to reach an all-time high of 82.8 million at the end
of 2016, according to preliminary estimates by Destatis.
With a fertility rate of 1.6 births per woman, well below the replacement
rate of 2.1,
The report stresses the need quickly to integrate migrants into the
workforce so that they can begin paying into the social welfare system.
"According to past experience, this will not be easy and will take longer
than initially often hoped," the report concedes. "Successes will
only be visible in the medium to long term."
A recent survey by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung found that the 30 biggest German companies have
employed only 54 refugees, including 50 who have been hired as couriers by
Deutsche Post, the logistics provider. Company executives said the main problem
is that migrants lack professional qualifications and German language skills.
According to the Federal Labor Office, the
educational level of newly arrived migrants in
For now, the vast majority of migrants who entered
A Finance Ministry document revealed that the migrant crisis could end up
costing German taxpayers €93.6 billion ($101 billion) between now and 2020.
About €25.7 billion would be for social spending, such as unemployment benefits
and housing support. About €5.7 billion would be destined for language courses
and €4.6 billion for integrating refugees into the workforce.
Mass migration has also increased the demand for housing and has pushed
up rental costs for ordinary Germans. Some 350,000 new apartments are required
each year to meet demand, but only 245,000 apartments were built in 2014, and
another 248,000 in 2015, according to the Rheinische
Post.
Meanwhile, migrants committed 208,344 crimes in 2015, according to a
police report. This figure represented an 80% increase over 2014 and worked out
to around 570 crimes committed by migrants every day, or 23 crimes each hour,
between January and December 2015.
A leaked German intelligence document warned that mass migration from the
Muslim world will lead to increasing political instability in the country. The
document warned that the "integration of hundreds of thousands of illegal
migrants will be impossible given the large numbers involved and the
already-existing Muslim parallel societies in
"We are importing Islamic extremism, Arab anti-Semitism, national
and ethnic conflicts of other peoples, as well as a different understanding of
society and law. German security agencies are unable to deal with these
imported security problems, and the resulting reactions from the German
population."
In an interview with Die Welt, an unidentified high-ranking security
official said:
"The high influx of people from other parts of the world will lead
to the instability of our country. By allowing this mass migration, we are
producing extremists. Mainstream society is radicalizing because the majority
does not want migration, which is being forced by the political elites. In the
future, many Germans will turn away from the constitutional state."
A recent YouGov poll found that 68% of Germans
believe that security in the country has deteriorated due to mass migration.
Nearly 70% of respondents said they fear for their lives and property in German
train stations and subways, while 63% feel unsafe at large public events.
An INSA poll found that 60% of the Germans believe that Islam does not
belong to
If the German election were held today, however, Angela Merkel would
easily win another four-year term as chancellor. An INSA poll conducted for Bild on February 2 found that Merkel's ruling Christian
Democratic Party (CDU) would win with 33% of the vote, compared to 27% for the
center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and 9% for the anti-immigration party
Alternative for
Calculating the Muslim Population of Germany
Germany now vies with
The increase in
In addition to the newcomers, the rate of population increase of the
Muslim community already living in
Based on Pew projections, which were proffered before the current
migration crisis, the Muslim population of
Adding the 800,000 Muslim migrants who arrived in
The Muslim population of
More than a decade ago historian Bernard Lewis warned that if current
migration trends continue,
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New
York-based Gatestone Institute. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights
reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced,
copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.
Back to the ‘Axis of Evil’ on
By Barbara Slavin/US Opinion and Commentary/Posted
February 7th, 2017
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes
to the White House next week, he is likely to find common ground with its new
occupant on at least one topic:
Tough rhetoric by the Trump administration, coupled with new sanctions over
missile tests and
Iran policy under Trump is “not accommodation but confrontation,” Suzanne
Maloney, an Iran expert at the Brookings Institution, said at an event this
week at another Washington think tank, the Washington Institute for Near East
Policy. She predicted that the new administration would not rip up a landmark
nuclear deal reached in 2015 but would “use it as a sledge hammer to push back
at every turn” at
For those who have watched
In 2002, President George W. Bush included
Twelve years later, current President Hassan Rouhani,
an architect of the nuclear deal, is expected to run for re-election in May. A
more momentous transition will take place when
Making
Khamenei, who supported the nuclear deal
grudgingly and has made sure that its opponents continue to get a wide hearing
in
Speaking Tuesday in
The visa restrictions, imposed on
Also of questionable value is the new macho White House rhetoric against
Michael Flynn, the new national security adviser, put
Senior White House officials, in a subsequent background call with
reporters, said their intention was not to undermine the nuclear agreement but
to deter
Despite the administration’s reassurance on the nuclear deal, the
agreement could unravel in an atmosphere of growing mutual hostility. An
incident in the Persian Gulf between an Iranian speedboat and a U.S. Naval
vessel could escalate into a wider military confrontation that would further
destabilize the
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has no apparent strategy for pushing
back on Iranian regional influence in a way that would also meet the primary
Trump goal of defeating the group that calls itself the Islamic State (ISIS).
Iran-backed militias are fighting ISIS in
In
Critics of the Obama diplomacy with
If the Trump administration would like to renegotiate the deal – or seek
a new one that addresses such concerns – it will need to use diplomatic tools
and not simply sanctions and insults.
Iran-bashing has always been a popular activity in
**Barbara Slavin is Acting Director of the
Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council in
Trump and the Iranian Elections: How His
Rhetoric Could Affect the Outcome
By Ariane M. Tabatabai/Foreign
Policy/February 07/17
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iran/2017-02-07/trump-and-iranian-elections
The Iranian government is not a monolith. Its regime is actually
based on decentralization. To be sure, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
does sit atop the formal hierarchy, and he calls many of the shots. But the
other centers of power have considerable influence in domestic matters and
foreign affairs. As a result, infighting in
But selling the deal is an increasingly difficult task for Rouhani and his team. And the rhetoric coming out of the
Beltway isn’t helping. For months, Rouhani argued
that his country was better off engaging
In this context, the rhetoric coming out of the Donald Trump
administration in the
THE FALL AND RISE OF ENGAGEMENT
In 1997–2005, under the reformist President Mohammad Khatami,
Meanwhile, during the nearly decade and half
More recently, during the nuclear talks, the Iranian parliament mirrored
the U.S. Congress both rhetorically and in placing obstacles on the way of the
deal. For example, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and 47 of his Republican
colleagues signed a controversial letter to Iranian leaders that warned the
Islamic Republic that Congress or the next president could undo any deal signed
with President Obama. That, combined with congressional leaders’ rhetoric and
the Republican presidential candidates’ comments, including threats to
dismantle the agreement or impose more sanctions, made it more difficult for Rouhani to sell the nuclear deal at home.
TRUMP’S TEHRAN ADVANTAGES
Since taking office, Trump and administration
has started its mandate by adopting a more vocal and hard-line position on
Yet
This positive, or at least neutral view, of
Trump is beginning to change, primarily because of the administration’s travel
ban, which targets
Trump entered the White House at a time when U.S.-Iranian relations were
the best they’d been in the nearly four decades since the 1979 revolution. For
the first time, the two countries had a working relationship on at least one
key strategic area, and open channels of communication on others, too. Trump
could build on this progress while the Rouhani
government is still around and make it as irreversible as possible.
But this can’t be achieved if
While specific hard-line candidates have yet to announce that they’ll run
for president and be confirmed by the Guardian Council, it’s a safe bet that
those who end up doing so will advocate chillier relations with the United
States. Many hard-liners opposed the nuclear deal, and virtually all of them
view the
Ultimately, the Trump administration’s escalatory rhetoric will produce
precisely the opposite of what it hopes to achieve: it will embolden
Fanaticism is a barrel of gunpowder
Mohammed Al Shaikh/Al Arabiya/February
08/17
Terrorism and sectarianism are inseparable. Whoever is
a fanatic to his doctrine, atoning others, is a
terrorist even if he doesn’t admit it. When Obama gave
I have friends from the Saudi Shiite community and I find them the most noble
of men. I trust them. They are the most faithful to the homeland; but they
suffer from fanaticism and its implications, just as Sunni intellectuals do.
Someone once told me: if
If we were to read the history of some nations who suffered from civil wars,
one cannot ignore the horrors, the tragedies and the bloodshed, all because of
sectarian and doctrinal differences, which could have been avoided
What my friend said is convincing and rational; because every exclusionary
action will have the same kind of reaction. It is known in political sociology
that you cannot deal with political or religious social phenomena unless you
surround it with objective dimensions, seek the motivation behind it, their
causes, where it came from, and the catalysts that made them a phenomenon on
the first place. As long as we privilege the religious affiliation to the
national union, we are creating a fissure in the national cohesion.
Tragedies that could have been prevented
If we were to read the history of some nations who suffered from civil wars,
one cannot ignore the horrors, the tragedies and the bloodshed, all because of
sectarian and doctrinal differences, which could have been avoided if some
people showed tolerance with the offender, and agreed to live with each other
despite differences.
We now live in an era which has seen President Trump ascended to the presidency
of the
**This article was first published in al-Jazirah
newspaper.
American threats and the Iranian
complexities
Hamad al-Kaabi/Al Arabiya/February 08/17
War drums have begun to roll between Washington, specifically President Donald
Trump, and Tehran. Each is challenging the other and threatening escalatory
actions, in another sign of the return of the climate of tension between the two
sides, with the possibility of entering into a confrontation.
The recent warnings issued from
It is difficult to speculate whether these companies will continue to look for
possible new markets, seek privileges and do business with
Despite the fact that President Trump threatened to tear apart the signed
agreement between
Cancelling the deal?
The United States’ decision to cancel the nuclear deal, could be a great one,
more than many can imagine, because of the aggressive attitude of Iran in
defying the international community's policy, and presenting reasons for the
breaches of the terms of the agreement, such as the continuing missile testing.
Apart from what some media say, that the existence of other powers will
guarantee the survival of the agreement, Europe will undoubtedly follow the
The recent warnings issued from Washington are a clear and explicit indication
of the determination of President Trump to translate his words into actions
There are also some other reasons why the other parties will walk in the
footsteps of Trump, especially since Iran did not show much commitment to the
clauses of the nuclear deal, as well as other pressing issues regarding Tehran
and its human rights policies, military activities outside its borders, its
support of terrorist militias, and sitting astride the top of the list of
countries supporting terrorism. All of which will undoubtedly strongly push the
rest of the five other countries to break its commitment to the Convention.
Especially since
In this context, the possibility of Russia changing its stance with Iran is
very probably, especially if the nuclear deal went out of the window and the
economic sanctions returned again, which could make companies distance
themselves from it, and avoid getting involved in an oscillating market because
of politics. The concerns of Western companies about accessing the Iranian
market for fear of the collapse of the deal are what dispels the idea of the
Iranian paradise; a notion that is constantly advertised by the regime in case
the sanctions were to be lifted! Soon enough, the dreams that Tehran promised foreign
companies have turned, over time, to nightmares due to the unavailability of a
fertile investment environment, to the lack of an economic system compatible
with the political system in the country, and also in light of Iran's greed for
external expansion and construction of the alleged empire that controls the
area and water pathways, and navigational movement, God forbid.
Regarding the waterways, the recent Houthi assault on
the Saudi frigate is another indication that
*This article was first published by Al Ittihad
newspaper.
Is
Mosa Zahed/Al Arabiya/February 08/17
Just days after the new US administration commenced, Tehran resolved to put
Washington’s Iran policy to the test by firing a medium-range ballistic
missile, designed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads, in an ostensible
act of power projection during an era in which the mullahs’ regime is faced
with internal and external economic and political challenges.
In response to
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s initial remarks neither confirmed nor denied the
missile launch, but in due course Zarif took to
Twitter and elaborated that Iran “Will never initiate war, but we can only rely
on our own means of defense.”
Considering the challenges that lie ahead vis-à-vis
This exercise requires a study to the doctrine of the ayatollahs as one cannot
merely rely on tweets of government officials like Zarif,
who nevertheless disseminate lies and sugar coat the grim reality for political
purposes.
Considering
The mandate and credo of Iran’s theocracy can be traced back to the first
political tract of the architect of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, titled ‘Kashf
al-Asrar’ (the Unveiling of Secrets), which was
published in the early years of 1940. In this book, Khomeini dedicates an
entire section to jihad in Islam in which he argues that it is “obligatory for
all men…, to prepare themselves for conquering other nations and to disseminate
Islamic law in all the countries across the world.”
Khomeini’s Jihadist creed in fact advocates the alteration of the world’s
status quo and calls for a conquest that will ultimately subject other
countries to the ideals of his brand of Islamic fundamentalism, through the
establishment of an “Islamic state under supervision of an imam…”
This grand project completely disregards territorial integrity and sovereignty
of other nation-states and exclusively eyes to expand “God’s sovereignty” on
earth. Khomeini’s rationale for global jihad propounds that Islam will “benefit
everybody” and that conquered nations will be “proposed luminous heavenly law
which, if implemented, embraces eternal bliss.”
A global Islamic state
Khomeini was not the first clergyman in the twentieth century who propagated
jihad with the objective of overthrowing un-Islamic rulers across the world in
order to establish a global Islamic state. Nearly two decades prior to the
publication of Khomeini’s manifesto, Abul A'la Maududi had already put
forward similar ideas in his work titled ‘Al Jihad fil-Islam’
(Jihad in Islam).
Maududi argued that “Islam wishes to destroy all
states and governments anywhere on the face of the earth which are opposed to
the ideology and programme of Islam…” with the objective of establishing an
“ideological Islamic State.” Parallel to Khomeini’s reasoning, Maududi stressed that “Islam requires the earth - not just
a portion, but the whole planet...the entire mankind should benefit from the
ideology….”
It is clear that Maududi’s early work on jihad
influenced Khomeini’s line of thought in subsequent years, as sections of
Khomeini’s Kashf al-Asrar
undeniably show similarities in nature to Maududi’s
notions. In fact, Maududi’s teachings further
continued to shape the views of the future founder of the Islamic Republic
through the leaders of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood – who were themselves heavily influenced by Maududi – as
Khomeini and his followers developed close ties with the group in the 1950s.
These connections effectively cleared the path for the Brotherhood to
promulgate its ideology and by extension that of Maududi
in
Whereas the Brotherhood failed to establish an Islamic state based on its
ideological and political programmes, Khomeini and his adherents successfully
consolidated power following the Iranian revolution in 1979 and established a
theocracy, modelled on Khomeini’s creed, which codified the export of their
brand of Islamic revolution in the constitution. The preamble of the Khomeinist constitution emphasises in this regard that the
army and the IRGC “will be responsible not only for guarding and preserving the
frontiers of the country, but also for fulfilling the ideological mission of
jihad in God’s way; that is, extending the sovereignty of God’s law throughout
the world…”
Contrary to the deceiving statement issued on Twitter by Zarif,
which aims to generate the impression that Iran’s ballistic missile programme
merely serves as a means of the country’s defense,
Tehran has in fact stayed true to the Khomeinist
doctrine for the past 38 years by aggressively expanding its influence and
presence across the region, stretching from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean
Sea. Considering
The intellectual beauty queen
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/February 08/17
Our connections to items that were popular years ago
has now greatly changed. There is a short video that shows items that were
possessed by many in the 80s and 90s such as simple toys, cassettes and other
things that at the time were indispensable.
A few weeks ago during a television interview, former Miss Lebanon Nadine Nassib Njeim spoke about the lack
of a connection between people and books. This seemed like a strange statement
to be made by a celebrity who is presumed to convey fluffy ideas or discuss
trivial matters. The statement was not made by a bespectacled intellectual
while sipping his morning coffee near a window.
The point is that technology has taken over our lives through tablets and smart
phones which have many advantages such as facilitating communication, getting
closer to others and managing work affairs. However, the phenomenon can
dominate one’s life, distract their mind and destroy their wit.
One of the best habits is to dedicate time for reading and learning no matter
what the circumstances are. For instance, one can read in the metro or on the
tram in
If we read prominent figures’ biographies, we’d learn how attached they were to
books and how their extensive knowledge was the outcome of reading during their
entire lives. When late Egyptian journalist, poet and literary critic Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad read Bertrand Russell’s works, he was impressed with
his philosophical ideas that greatly influenced him. Aqqad
thus wrote a lot about thought and an example is his book “Thought on Islamic
Duty.” During the day, philosopher Roland Barthes read modern and controversial
books while before going to bed, he read an old classical book. These two
examples reveal how much geniuses were attached to books and knowledge and show
the desire to learn more and enjoy knowledge.
It’s been scientifically proven that reading plays a role in man’s
psychological balance as it helps him relax and feel comfortable and positive
when he reads everyday for 20 or 30 minutes. This allows one to engage in
discussions and dialogues and enhances his self confidence during occasions and
gatherings. Without reading, one will repeat the same statements he makes.
In Omar Amiralay’s documentary “The Man with the
Golden Soles” which is about former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq
Hariri, the latter spoke about culture and said it’s rare for him not to read a
book each week. This wealthy politician who was known for his international
connections was very well-aware of the importance of reading as that’s how he
updated his knowledge in the world.
**This article was first published in Okaz on
February 8, 2017.