LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 12/19

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one
John 17/20-23: "‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on January 11-12/19
Arab Economic Summit Deepens Differences Between Lebanese Political Forces
Organizing Committee: Berri Consented to Libya's Participation in the Arab Summit
Arab League: Summit on Time, Tensions Domestic
Supreme Islamic Shiite Council ‘Rejects’ Libya Invitation to Beirut Summit
Higher Defense Council Denounces Israeli Violations on Southern Border
Qobeissi Warns of Repercussions over Libya Attendance of Beirut Summit
US Delegation in Beirut to Contain ‘Tunnels Crisis’
Tenenti Says Ongoing Efforts to ‘Solve Border Issue’ as Israel Proceeds with Construction Works
Israeli enemy pursues construction of cement wall in Adeisseh
Lebanese Foreign Ministry Condemns Israeli Violations
Report: Hariri Won’t Lead the Government ‘Weak’
Bassil Says Syria Relation in Lebanon Interest, Slams Parties 'Exploiting' It
Khalil: No Intention to Restructure Debt or Violate Holders Rights
Samy Gemayel Renews Government Proposal, Unveils Draft Law to Commemorate Minorities Persecution
'Capernaum' Nominated for Prestigious British Awards
Ghosn Seeks Bail after Indictment on 2 New Charges

Litles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 11-12/19
Tickets now available online for historic Pope Francis’ mass in the UAE
US-led Coalition: Syria Troop Pullout has Started
Pompeo Turns Page on Obama’s Middle East Policies
Pompeo in Bahrain on first leg of tour of Gulf allies
Pompeo Takes U.S. Anti-Iran Message to Gulf Arab States
Netanyahu: Every Palestinian Who Killed An Israeli in 2018, Dead Or Arrested
Tehran Says it Will Soon Send New Satellites into Orbit
Sisi: Egypt Maintains Efforts to Reach Political Solutions to Regional Crises
Moscow Cancels Haniyeh’s Trip to Protest Reconciliation Paralysis
British Sources Point to Presence of 'Russian Mercenaries' in Khartoum
Tunisia Raises Security Alert Level on Borders following US Warning
US to Host Iran-focused Global Summit in February
Violent explosion shakes Yemen’s Aden refineries, massive fire breaks out
Britain Asks U.N. to Approve Yemen Observer Mission
Trudeau Says Canada 'Pleased' to Offer Asylum to Saudi Teen
Deputies Agree Historic Name Change for Macedonia

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 11-12/19
Netanyahu: Every Palestinian Who Killed An Israeli in 2018, Dead Or Arrested/Jerusalem Post/January 11/19
Trump and a World Without Gary Cooper/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/January 11/19
Behind The Lines: Will Turkey Invade Northeast Syria/Jonathan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/January 11/19
How Critical Are American Boots On The Ground In Syria For Israel/Jerusalem Post/January 11/19
Qatar and the legitimate interests of Iran/Salman al-Dosary/Al Arabiya/January 11/19
Betraying the American people: Congress kissing Israel’s ring/Walid Jawad/Al Arabiya/January 11/19
Has EU woken up to its security threats/Hamid Bahrami/Al Arabiya/January 11/19
US focus on confronting Iran should reassure allies/Camelia Entekhabifard/Arab News/January 11/19
US withdrawal would signal new phase in Syrian imbroglio/Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/January 11/19

Latest LCCC English Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on January 11-12/19
Arab Economic Summit Deepens Differences Between Lebanese Political Forces
Beirut - Youssef Diab/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 January, 2019/Reactions continued to the call of Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to postpone the holding of the Arab Economic Summit, scheduled for Jan. 19-20 in Beirut.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, sources in the presidential palace confirmed that the summit would be held on time. “So far, the organizing committee of the summit has not been informed of any announcement by the Arab League secretariat or any concerned authority to delay or cancel it. Therefore, the summit is still on schedule and there have been no amendments,” the sources said. Asked whether the divergence of views would lead to a rift in the relationship between President Michel Aoun and Berri, the Baabda Palace sources stated: “We have no comment on President Berri’s position.”Lebanese officials are counting on this summit based on three constants: to attract Arab attention to Lebanon, to boost the opportunity of Arab Gulf countries’ participation in the Cedar conference, and to revive the needed Arab investments in the wake of the current crisis. In this regard, Minister of Economy and Trade in the caretaker government Raed Khoury ruled out any amendment to the date or place of the summit, which he considered “a political and economic opportunity for Lebanon.”“Lebanon is part of the Arab world and the Arab League… this summit is important because it will be held in a country that enjoys a free economic system; therefore we cannot renounce it whatever the reasons marketed by some parties,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. According to financial and economic expert Dr. Marwan Iskandar, Berri and other political forces “fear that the summit would fail, because of the absence of Arab leaders, as the Arab representation is limited to ambassadors and foreign ministers.”He added that Berri “is trying to avoid problems that may result from the absence of Syria from the summit.”

Organizing Committee: Berri Consented to Libya's Participation in the Arab Summit
Kataeb.org/ Friday 11th January 2019/The media committee in charge of the organization of the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit announced on Friday that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had consented to the participation of Libya from the beginning of the preps, and was informed that the decision to invite Syria hinges on the Arab League's decision to readmit the country. The summit is set to be held in Beirut on January 19-20. Earlier this week, Berri said that it would be better to postpone the Arab economic summit until after a government is formed, while other Shiite figureheads and pro-Syria factions started mobilizing the pressure the deferral of the event. NBN, a Berri-affiliated TV channel, announced that it would boycott the summit because Syria was not invited and because Libya is participating. The Higher Shiite Council also held an emergency meeting Friday to discuss Libya’s invitation to the summit, warning of the "negative reactions" that this issue will entail. Moreover, the family of missing Lebanese Shiite Imam Moussa Sadr issued a statement on Thursday saying that it is the duty of all Lebanese officials to support the "sacred" cause of their disappeared kin, adding that they must all abstain from normalizing ties with Libya until it cooperates in uncovering the fate of Sadr. Sadr, one of the most influential Shiite figures in Lebanon in the previous century, disappeared in August 1978 while on an official visit to Libya at the invitation of Moammar Gadhafi. Journalist Abbas Badreddine and Sheikh Mohammad Yaacoub were also kidnapped along with Sadr. Lebanon has been blaming Gadhafi’s regime for the kidnapping. "The committee chairman, Antoine Choucair, and head of the executive committee, Nabil Chedid, visited Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, as well as the competent ministers to inform them all of the arrangements related to the summit, the participating countries, the items set to be listed on the summit's agenda, its estimated cost and other relavant topics," the committee said in a statement, noting that preparations kicked off in August. "All the points were agreed by everyone," the statement stressed. “Speaker Berri consented to the participation of Libya provided that the invitation would be addressed through diplomatic channels,” the committee pointed out. "Accordingly, the invitation was sent to Libya's representative in the Arab League."
“It is worth noting that Libya took part in the Arab summit that was held in Beirut in 2002,” the statement noted. Regarding Syria's participation in the summit, the committee revealed that its two members had clearly informed Berri that this issue hinges on the Arab League's decision to readmit the country to the bloc.Speaker Berri fired back at the committee's statement, deeming the allegations it included as "totally fabricated and unfounded".In a statement issued by his media office, Berri voiced surprise at the level of fabrications and falsities made, denying that he had consented to the participation of Libya in the summit. “On the contrary, the finance minister was dispatched to visit President Aoun in order to protest the invitation addressed to Libya," the statement noted.

Arab League: Summit on Time, Tensions Domestic
Naharnet/January 11/19/Beirut's upcoming Arab economic summit will be held on time and the tensions surrounding it are “domestic,” a top League official said on Friday. “The summit will be held on time,” Assistant Arab League Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told reporters upon his arrival at Beirut's airport.“The political tensions are domestic and do not concern the Arab League. The League is concerned with the organization of the summit and we are here to coordinate the arrangements with the Lebanese authorities,” Zaki added. Tensions have surged in Lebanon in recent weeks between parties who want Damascus to be invited to the summit and others who reject its participation.Controversy has also arisen over the invitation of Libya in connection with the case of Imam Moussa al-Sadr, a revered Shiite cleric who disappeared in 1978 while on an official visit to the country.

Supreme Islamic Shiite Council ‘Rejects’ Libya Invitation to Beirut Summit
Naharnet/January 11/19/The Supreme Islamic Shiite Council held an “emergency” meeting on Friday and rejected in a statement the invitation of Libya --which it blames for the disappearance of AMAL Movement founder Imam Moussa al-Sadr-- to Beirut’s Economic Summit, as it warned of the consequences. In a statement made by Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan, the council said "Libya must not be invited to the summit," scheduled in Beirut on January 19-20, as it blames Libyan authorities for the disappearance of Sadr. The Council accused the Lebanese authorities of “inaction and failure of shouldering responsibility,” in the case, as it warned of the consequences shall Libya gets invited. Inviting Libya to the summit has triggered the dismay of AMAL Movement and the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council. On August 25, 1978, al-Sadr and two companions -- Sheikh Mohammed Yaaqoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine -- departed for Libya to meet with government officials. The visit was paid upon the invitation of then Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi. The three were seen lastly on August 31. They were never heard from again. The Lebanese judiciary indicted Moammar Gadhafi in 2008 over al-Sadr's disappearance, although Libya had consistently denied responsibility, claiming that the imam and his companions had left Libya for Italy. The son of Moammar Gadhafi, Hannibal, was detained in Lebanon in 2015 over the issue.

Higher Defense Council Denounces Israeli Violations on Southern Border
Kataeb.org/ Friday 11th January 2019/Lebanon on Thursday condemned Israel's activities along the Blue Line as a clear violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701, announcing plans to lodge a complaint to the UN and to intensify diplomatic efforts to relay the country's stance regarding Israel's continuous violations. In a statement issued following a meeting held at the Baabda Palace on Thursday, the Higher Defense Council said that the Lebanese Army will be given the necessary instructions to deal with Israel's violations, notably the ongoing works to build a border wall that goes through several contested points along the Blue Line. "Lebanon stresses its commitment to every inch of its land and water, as well as its constant preparedness to complete negotiations in order to address existing border disputes," the Council noted.The Council requested an emergency Tripartite meeting which gathers officials from the Lebanese and Israeli armies under the auspices of UNIFIL to discuss the latest developments, also calling on the UN Security Council and the UNIFIL to assume their responsibilities when it comes to implementing Resolution 1701 and maintaining border security.

Qobeissi Warns of Repercussions over Libya Attendance of Beirut Summit
Naharnet/January 11/19/MP Hani Qobeissi of the AMAL Movement warned Friday that Libya's participation in an upcoming economic Arab summit in Beirut might have severe consequences. “The participation of the Libyan delegation in the economic summit will open the door to all possibilities,” Qobeissi warned in an interview with al-Jadeed TV. “We will not remain silent over the insult against our imam, Moussa al-Sadr,” the MP added, referring to a revered Shiite cleric who disappeared while on a visit to Libya in 1978. Sadr is the founder of the AMAL Movement. And in a jab at caretaker Justice Minister Salim Jreissati, Qobeissi said raising the issue of pardoning Hannibal Gadhafi, who is detained in Lebanese prisons, carries “an insult to the entire Shiite sect.”Hannibal is the son of slain Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, who is blamed for Sadr's disappearance.

US Delegation in Beirut to Contain ‘Tunnels Crisis’
Beirut - Nazeer Rida/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 January, 2019/US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale is expected to visit Beirut on Sunday to express Washington’s support for the Lebanese State and security institutions, and to prevent an escalation on the southern border following a crisis between Lebanon and Tel Aviv over Hezbollah cross-border tunnels. Hale is also expected to push Beirut to stick to its dissociation policy, which means steering clear of regional conflicts. Unofficial Lebanese sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hale would be accompanied by a high-ranking diplomatic delegation. “In the coming days, we expect several protocol visits to assess the issue of tunnels and hold talks on Hezbollah,” the sources said. Ahead of Hale’s two-day visit, Israel on Thursday resumed the erection of earth mounds behind the technical wire off Wazzani parks.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that an Israeli Merkava tank was positioned behind a dirt cover in the settlement of Meskaf Aami while the Israeli forces resumed digging and installing concrete blocks along the technical fence on the outskirts of Adaisseh village in Marjayoun. “The enemy deployed a number of soldiers while the Lebanese army patrolled the area along with peacekeeping forces,” an NNA correspondent said. The Higher Defense Council, chaired by President Michel Aoun, held an emergency meeting at Baabda palace to discuss the Israeli violations and tension in the South.
Caretaker Interior Minister Nohad al-Mashnouq said the Council was meeting to discuss the latest Israeli violations. Loqman Slim, a political activist and co-director at UMAM Documentation & Research, told Asharq Al-Awsat that “Lebanon failed to deal seriously with what happened at the border after the discovery of tunnels, which crossed the Blue Line.”“Instead, Lebanon kept following a denial policy … despite UNIFIL’s confirmation of the existence of such tunnels,” he said. The Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, Major General Stefano Del Col, chaired the first regular Tripartite meeting of 2019 at the UN position in Ras al-Naqoura with a focus on discussions regarding tunnels and ongoing engineering works near the Blue Line, a UNIFIL statement said. "Any activity close to the Blue Line should be predictable, with sufficient prior notification to allow UNIFIL to duly inform the other party and so that coordinated security arrangements could be put in place to prevent incidents or violations,” Del Col said. He noted that the parties were updated about UNIFIL's independent investigation that had confirmed the existence of four tunnels, of which two crossed the Blue Line in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. “UNIFIL remains closely engaged with both sides in this regard as the operations continue,” the commander said.

Tenenti Says Ongoing Efforts to ‘Solve Border Issue’ as Israel Proceeds with Construction Works
Naharnet/January 11/19/As Israel continues construction works on disputed points along the Blue Line, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti assured that efforts are being exerted to avoid any “misunderstanding and find a mutual solutions for the issue,” the National News Agency reported on Friday. “The UNIFIL command is in full contact with the parties to avoid misunderstanding and find a common solution to this issue. Our soldiers are on the ground to monitor the situation and maintain calm along the Blue Line,” said Tenenti. Tenenti’s remarks came as Israel continued construction works it kicked off on Thursday along the Blue Line opposite the outskirts of Adaisseh village in Marjayoun. On Friday, Israel poured concrete as part of blocking some infrastructure along the technical fence in the outskirts of Adaisseh. It momentarily halted construction works it began a day earlier to build a concrete separation wall.
The troops also launched a phantom drone over al-Mahafer neighborhood.

Israeli enemy pursues construction of cement wall in Adeisseh
Fri 11 Jan 2019/NNA - The Isreali enemy has pursued the construction of a cement wall in Adeisseh amidst heightened Lebanese army mobilization, and under the supervision of the international peace keeping forces in the region, NNA field reporter said on Friday.
At noon on Friday, MP Kassem Hashem toured Adeisseh and inspected the Israeli breach in said region. “Lebanon will face this Israeli breach, whether at the political level or otherwise,” he said, stressing the importance of the tripartite army-people-resistance defense formula “to force the enemy to stop its violations." “The United Nations is responsible for this Israeli aggression,” he said, calling for "an end to the breaches of the enemy, which is always thirsty for our land and waters."

Lebanese Foreign Ministry Condemns Israeli Violations
Naharnet/January 11/19/Lebanon’s foreign ministry condemned on Friday the Israeli violations against Lebanon’s sovereignty following Israel’s construction works on disputed points along the Blue Line near the Misgav Am settlement, the National News Agency reported. “The Security Council should meet and the international community should deal with this clear and frank violation of Resolution 1701, as it did with the complaint made by the Israeli enemy,” a ministry statement said. “Israel's violations constitute a flagrant violation of resolution 1701 and threaten stability in the south and the region,” it added. On Thursday, Israel resumed the construction works to build a separation wall on disputed points along the Blue Line. President Michel Aoun on Thursday called for an emergency meeting for the country’s Higher Defense Council to tackle the issue. A statement issued after the Council's meeting said “the development is an attack on Lebanese territory and a blatant violation of Article 5 of Security Council Resolution 1701.”The Council also decided to request an emergency meeting for the tripartite committee that comprises the UNIFIL peacekeeping force and the Lebanese and Israeli armies and to give “the necessary instructions to the Army Command on how to confront this aggression”

Report: Hariri Won’t Lead the Government ‘Weak’
Naharnet/January 11/19/Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is not going to concede or negotiate his share in the government, he is waiting for Hizbullah and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil to either reach an agreement or “end their complicity” over the ministerial seat they are “fighting over,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday. Hariri’s al-Mustaqbal Movement sources stressed in remarks to the newspaper that the PM “is not going to lead the government weak,” noting that attempts to pressure the PM by introducing “initiatives” --in reference to suggestions made by Bassil-- that make him offer concessions “won’t lead to a government formation.”“Hizbullah wants to invest what is believed to be a regional victory in the government. If Hizbullah and its allies truly adhere to Hariri as prime minister, they must enter into a national settlement,” they added. Hizbullah has recently backed a suggestion made by Bassil to form a 32-member government. Bassil was reportedly trying to “press” Hariri into accepting the suggestion. The representation of pro-Hizbullah Sunni MPs of the Consultative Gathering is the latest obstacle hampering the formation after several hurdles related to the Christian and Druze representation were eased.

Bassil Says Syria Relation in Lebanon Interest, Slams Parties 'Exploiting' It
Naharnet/January 11/19/Free Patriotic Movement chief and caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil stressed Friday that the relation with Syria is “in Lebanon's interest,” as he noted that it should not be “exploited” by any political party. “Our relation with Syria is in the interest of Lebanon and all its components, but the relations with Syria cannot be the subject of domestic overbidding or exploitation by a certain party seeking to improve its own relation with Syria at Lebanon's expense,” Bassil said during a visit to Zahle. “We have put an end to the subordinate and subservient foreign policy and we're now practicing an independent policy based on reciprocity for the sake of Lebanon,” the FM added. “When Syria was in Lebanon, we confronted it until its withdrawal, and when Syria returned to its territory, we boldly declared our determination to establish the best relations with it. We are not ashamed of this and it changes nothing of our history,” the minister went on to say. Turning to the controversy over Syria's return to the Arab League, Bassil said: “We were the first to call for Syria's return to the Arab League and we will not merely follow a certain side to Syria when they decide so.” “We objected against the suspension of Syria's membership in the Arab League from the very beginning and we preserved the best ties with it and it is normal today to help in its return,” the FPM chief went on to say. He added: “We are keen on our national unity but we also reject to subject our national interests to harm and we will not await a decision from beyond the border.” “The war in Syria had suffocated us and the Arab markets were closed in our face, so it is unacceptable to suffocate ourselves during peacetime,” Bassil said. Tensions have surged in Lebanon in recent weeks between parties who want Damascus to be invited to a key Arab economic summit in Beirut and others who reject its participation. Some parties have meanwhile called for postponing the summit until after Syria's return to the Arab League.

Khalil: No Intention to Restructure Debt or Violate Holders Rights
Naharnet/January 11/19/Caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil stressed Friday that there was “absolutely no intention of touching the value of Lebanese bonds” or to “restructure” the country's debt. “There is absolutely no intention of touching the value of Lebanese bonds or taking a percentage of them,” Khalil said. “The proposals are an operation to organize and manage the debt and to move ahead with reform measures that reduce the burden of it,” he clarified, after a media report caused Lebanon’s dollar-denominated sovereign bonds to tumble for a second day. The media report apparently carried an inaccurate headline that mixed up the words “reschedule” and “restructure.”Khalil said such a rescheduling would be undertaken in coordination with lenders and the central bank. There is “no intention to restructure or to violate the rights of holders of sovereign debt instruments in any way at all,” the minister stressed.

Samy Gemayel Renews Government Proposal, Unveils Draft Law to Commemorate Minorities Persecution
Kataeb.org/ Friday 11th January 2019/Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel on Friday renewed his call for a government of specialists amid the ongoing failure to reach political consensus, saying that the lingering delay is "incomprehensible", "abnormal" and "unacceptable". "There should be no delay in the government formation amid the catastrophic economic and social situation that the Lebanese are going through," he said following a meeting with MP Hagop Pakradounian at the Tashnag Party's headquarters in Burj Hammoud. "We are failing to understand the reason behind the government formation stalemate, especially that everyone is supposed to be satisfied with the presidential settlement that was sealed." “If there is no possibility to form a government of partitioning, then we reiterate our call to form a government of specialists while a national dialogue would be held at the Parliament so that political forces would solve their differences,” he stated. "The Lebanese cannot continue to feel that there's no captain behind the steering wheel," Gemayel stressed. “The Arab economic summit is imminent while the country is still without a government. This is harmful to the country and its reputation,” he added. Gemayel revealed that he plans to submit a draft law that proposes setting April 24 as a national holiday to commemorate the genocides that inflicted persecuted minorities, be it the Armenians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Assyrians, Maronites and the Shiites.“These communities are the ones that established this country and they existed before it. Therefore, the Lebanese government must grant them the right to commemorate their sacrifices,” Gemayel said.

'Capernaum' Nominated for Prestigious British Awards
Kataeb.org/ Friday 11th January 2019/Lebanese movie "Capernaum" scooped another nomination, as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) announced its 2019 list of nominees for the "Best Foreign Language Film" category. The film director Nadine Labaki, therefore, has become the first Lebanese and Arab woman to be nominated for the prestigous awards. The BAFTA awards ceremony will take place on February 10 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Other films nominated in the same category include Alfonso Cuaron's Roma, Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War, Matteo Garrone's Dogman and Hirokazu Kore-eda's Shoplifters.The movie, which depicts the daily struggles of the life of a child refugee and tackles many social issues affecting Lebanese and refugees alike, already won the prestigious Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Globes. "Capernaum" has been also shortlisted for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 91st Academy Awards, aka Oscars, along with 8 other films from a selection that exceeded 80 submissions from all around the world.The final nomination list will be announced on January 22.

Ghosn Seeks Bail after Indictment on 2 New Charges
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 January, 2019/Tokyo prosecutors on Friday filed two new charges of financial misconduct against former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, meaning the auto tycoon is unlikely to be leaving his jail cell soon. Lawyers for the former jet-setting executive filed a bail application hours later, but have acknowledged that he will probably be detained until a trial. Ghosn denies any wrongdoing and argued in a dramatic first court appearance on Tuesday that he has been "wrongly accused and unfairly detained."Ghosn was the overlord of an alliance that included Nissan Motor, Mitsubishi Motors and France's Renault, until his surprise November arrest and removal as chairman of both Japanese automakers sent shockwaves through the industry. The former executive, lauded for rescuing Nissan from the financial brink two decades ago, was charged with aggravated breach of trust for temporarily transferring personal investment losses to Nissan in 2008. Ghosn, former Representative Director Greg Kelly and Nissan itself were also charged for understating Ghosn's income for three years through March 2018. The three parties have already been indicted for the same charge covering the years 2010-2015. Ghosn and Kelly have denied all charges. Nissan said it regretted any concern caused to its stakeholders. Ghosn's lawyer, Motonari Otsuru, expects his client to be held until trial, which he said could begin in about six months. If bail is granted, Ghosn - who is suffering from fever, according to his lawyer - would not likely be released until Tuesday given that Monday is public holiday. Also on Friday, Nissan said it had filed a criminal complaint against its former leader "on the basis of Ghosn's misuse of a significant amount of the company's funds.""Nissan does not in any way tolerate such misconduct and calls for strict penalties," it said in a statement. Ghosn, 64, appeared in court on Tuesday for the first time since his arrest, looking thinner and greyer. He denied the allegations, calling them "meritless" and "unsubstantiated".He said he had asked Nissan to temporarily take on his foreign exchange contracts after the 2008-2009 financial crisis prompted his bank to call for more collateral. He said he did so to avoid having to resign and use his retirement allowance for collateral.

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on January 11-12/19
Tickets now available online for historic Pope Francis’ mass in the UAE
Arab News/January 11, 2019/DUBAI: Attendees to the papal mass in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 5 can now register online, a Catholic church body in the region has announced. Residents from the UAE, Oman and Yemen who would like to attend the mass can register through the official website of the Papal visit, according to the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (AVOSA), a Catholic church jurisdiction covering the three Gulf nations. The mass will take place at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi on the last day of Pope Francis’ UAE trip. The stadium has a capacity of over 40,000 people. A few reserved seats will also be allocated for residents from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. A “very limited” number of tickets will be issued to non-GCC residents on a first-come, first-served basis. “As this is a visit to the AVOSA, tickets are reserved primarily for the local faithful. However, we understand that this is a rare opportunity for people living nearby to see the pope,” AVOSA said on its website. “Details on distribution policies are being worked out. We will have more information regarding this on our website very soon,” the statement added. The February visit will be Pope Francis’ seventh trip to a predominantly Muslim nation, including Palestine, Jordan and Egypt, with the 82-year old pontiff employing those visits to call for inter-religious peace.Crown Prince Mohammed had said in a tweet that the pope “is a symbol of peace, tolerance and the promotion of brotherhood. We look forward to a historic visit, through which we will seek dialogue on the peaceful coexistence among peoples.”

US-led Coalition: Syria Troop Pullout has Started
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 January, 2019/The US-led military coalition has begun the process of withdrawing troops from Syria, a spokesman said on Friday without elaborating on locations or timetables. "CJTF-OIR has begun the process of our deliberate withdrawal from Syria," Col. Sean Ryan said, referring to the US-led anti-militant force. In a statement emailed to several international news agencies, he declined to discuss specific timelines or locations or troops movements out of concern for operational security. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict in Syria through a network of activists on the ground, said the withdrawal began Thursday night. According to the Observatory, a convoy of about 10 armored vehicles, in addition to some trucks, pulled out from Syria's northeastern town of Rmeilan into Iraq. The US has around 2,000 troops in Syria. Russia's foreign ministry said it had the impression that the United States wanted to stay in Syria despite the announced withdrawal. On Sunday, US national security adviser John Bolton said American troops will not leave northeastern Syria until ISIS is defeated and American-allied Kurdish fighters are protected, signaling a slow-down in Trump's initial order for a rapid withdrawal. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is on a tour of the region, has also sought to reassure the Kurds that they will be safe after US troops withdraw from the country.

Pompeo Turns Page on Obama’s Middle East Policies
Cairo - Sawsan Abu Husain and Mohamed Abdu Hassanein/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 January, 2019/US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration's Mideast policies on Thursday, accusing the former president of spreading chaos in the Middle East.In a speech at the American University in Cairo, Pompeo held Barack Obama responsible for chaos after failing to confront radicals appropriately. But the secretary did not mention Obama by name. “He told you that the United States and the Muslim world needed 'a new beginning.' The results of these misjudgments have been dire," said Pompeo about the former president. Obama had given a speech in Cairo in 2009 in which he spoke of "a new beginning" for US relations with countries in the Arab and Muslim world. Pompeo's speech came on the third leg of a nine-nation Mideast tour aimed at reassuring America's Arab partners that the Trump administration is not walking away from the region amid confusion and concern over plans to withdraw US forces from Syria. “The Trump administration is also working to establish the Middle East Strategic Alliance to confront the region’s most serious threat and bolster energy and economic cooperation,” said Pompeo. Airstrikes against ISIS in the region “will continue as targets arise,” he told the audience. “It is important to know also that we will not ease our campaign to stop Iran’s malevolent influence and actions against this region and the world. The nations of the Middle East will never enjoy security, achieve economic stability, or advance the dreams of their people if Iran’s revolutionary regime persists on its current course,” he said. Earlier, Pompeo met separately with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Speaking at a joint news conference with Shoukry, Pompeo said that the US remained a steadfast partner in the Middle East. He stressed the troop pullout from Syria would go ahead, despite recent comments appearing to walk back on US President Donald Trump's decision, but said Washington would remain engaged. "We will withdraw our forces, our uniformed forces, from Syria and continue America's crushing campaign," Pompeo said at the press conference. On Thursday evening, the US official visited the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ and the Al-Fattah Al-Alim mosque in Egypt's New Administrative Capital, 45 kilometers east of the capital.

Pompeo in Bahrain on first leg of tour of Gulf allies
AFP, Manama/Friday, 11 January 2019/US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Bahrain on Friday, the first leg of a tour of Gulf countries which Washington says are “critical” to confronting Iran and extremist groups. “These Gulf partnerships are critical to achieving shared regional objectives - defeating ISIS, countering extremist groups, protecting global energy supplies and rolling back Iranian aggression,” a State Department spokesman said. Pompeo met King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Bahrain’s capital Manama. Bahrain, a key US ally in the Gulf, hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet with around 7,800 US military personnel deployed in the country, as well as a British naval base.
Countering Iran’s malign efforts
“Bahrain is a staunch supporter of countering Iran’s malign efforts” in the region, the State Department spokesman said. “Bahrain continues efforts to investigate and counter Iranian sanctions evasion and combat illicit maritime activity,” he added. Pompeo’s visit is part of a regional tour aimed at reassuring US allies after President Donald Trump’s shock decision to withdraw all US troops from Syria. The US top diplomat flew in to Manama from Cairo and has already visited Amman, Baghdad and the Iraqi Kurdish regional capital of Arbil. He will also visit the other five members of the Gulf Cooperation Council - the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The State Department said Pompeo would also work with regional leaders to advance a proposed Middle East Strategic Alliance - a NATO-style security pact.

Pompeo Takes U.S. Anti-Iran Message to Gulf Arab States
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 11/19/U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought the Trump administration's anti-Iran message to Gulf Arab states on Friday as he continued a nine-nation tour of the Middle East aimed at reassuring America's partners that withdrawing troops from Syria does not mean Washington is abandoning the region. Pompeo was traveling to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates where he will call for increasing pressure on Iran and push for unity among Gulf neighbors still embroiled in a festering dispute with Qatar. He'll also be promoting a U.S.-backed initiative to form what some have termed an "Arab NATO" that would bring the region together in a military alliance to counter threats from Iran. In Bahrain, the UAE and later Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait, Pompeo will also be making the case as he did on previous stops in Jordan, Iraq and Egypt that President Donald Trump's decision to pull U.S. troops from Syria is not a sign Washington is retreating from the fight against the Islamic State group. U.S. partnerships with the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council "are critical to achieving shared regional objectives: defeating ISIS, countering radical Islamic terrorism, protecting global energy supplies, and rolling back Iranian aggression," the State Department said in a statement released as Pompeo departed Egypt for Bahrain, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
But the now 2-year-old crisis between GCC members Saudi Arabia and UAE and Qatar has hampered U.S. attempts to forge a unified front against Iran. Washington's efforts to ease the dispute, begun by former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have thus far failed and took another hit this week when the former general tasked to broker a solution stepped down. "A united GCC is the backbone for regional peace, prosperity, security, and stability, and is essential to countering the single greatest threat to regional stability: the Iranian regime," the State Department said. At each of his stops in the Gulf, Pompeo will be urging progress on creating the Middle East Strategic Alliance, which would join GCC militaries with those of Egypt and Jordan to serve as a counter-balance to Iran, which they all accuse of fomenting unrest and rebellion throughout the region. In addition, Pompeo will call for boosting efforts to end the conflict in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been battling Iranian-backed rebels in what the U.N. says is now the world's worst humanitarian crisis, the department said.
U.N.-led peace efforts in Yemen, along with attempts to broker a political solution to the war in Syria that "expels every last Iranian boot from the country" and promoting reconciliation in Afghanistan will also be high on Pompeo's agenda, the State Department said. Pompeo kicked off the Gulf portion of his tour after a stop in Cairo, where he delivered a scathing rebuke of former President Barack Obama's Middle East policies that Obama had outlined in a 2009 address to the Arab and broader Muslim world. In a speech entitled "A Force for Good: America's Reinvigorated Role in the Middle East," Pompeo accused the former president of "misguided" thinking that diminished America's role in the region while harming its longtime friends and emboldening Iran. He unloaded on the Obama administration for being naive and timid when confronted with challenges posed by the revolts that convulsed the Middle East, including Egypt, beginning in 2011. And, he said the Trump administration was taking action to repair the damage. "The age of self-inflicted American shame is over, and so are the policies that produced so much needless suffering," Pompeo said in the speech, which was itself denounced by former Obama administration officials for pandering to autocrats, ignoring human rights concerns. "That this administration feels the need, nearly a decade later, to take potshots at an effort to identify common ground between the Arab world and the West speaks not only to the Trump administration's pettiness but also to its lack of a strategic vision for America's role in the region and its abdication of America's values," National Security Action group, a group of former officials, said in a statement.
Pompeo blamed the previous administration's approach to the Mideast for the ills that consume it now, particularly the rise of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria and Iran's increasing assertiveness, which he said was a direct result of sanctions relief, since rescinded by the Trump administration, granted to it under the 2015 nuclear deal. He said Obama ignored the growth of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon to the detriment of Israel's security and not doing enough to push back on Iran-supported rebels in Yemen.Since withdrawing from the nuclear deal last year, the administration has steadily ratcheted up pressure on Tehran and routinely accuses the nation of being the most destabilizing influence in the region. It has vowed to increase the pressure until Iran halts what U.S. officials describe as its "malign activities" throughout the Mideast and elsewhere, including support for rebels in Yemen, anti-Israel groups, and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Netanyahu: Every Palestinian Who Killed An Israeli in 2018, Dead Or Arrested
نيتانياهو: كل فلسطيني قتل إسرائيلياً في العام 2018 قد قتل أو تم اعتقاله
Jerusalem Post/January 11/19
14 people killed in attacks last year, lowest number since 2013.
ll the terrorists who killed Israelis in 2018 have either been killed or arrested, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday during a visit to the base of the Yamam, Israel’s elite Counterterrorism Unit. The visit comes after the arrest on Tuesday of Assam Barghouti, accused of killing soldiers Yuval Mor-Yosef and Yosef Cohen outside Givat Assaf last month. Barghouti’s arrest follows the killing in December of Ashraf Walid Suleiman Na’alwa, the terrorist who killed Kim Levengood-Yehezkel and Ziv Hagbi in the Barkan industrial park in October, as well as the arrest of four Palestinians suspected in the shooting attack outside Ofra last month and the killing of a fifth suspect in that attack, Saleh Omar Barghouti. Seven people were wounded in the Ofra attack, including Shira Ish-ran who was 30 weeks pregnant. Her baby, whom the couple named Amiad Israel, was delivered in an emergency operation, but died three days later. Netanyahu praised the Yamam and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) for their actions in apprehending those responsible for the Ofra, Barkan and Givat Assaf attacks. The Yamam and Shin Bet combination gives Israel “the best counterterrorism units in the world,” Netanyahu said, adding that many countries come to Israel and say, “‘bring them to us, so we can learn from them.’”“What Israel’s citizens need to know, is that anyone who killed an Israeli citizen last year was either killed or apprehended,” Netanyahu said. “This is an unparalleled achievement in the world, and it is because of these guys, because of their daring heroism, creativity and commitment.”All of Israel’s enemies knew that “Israel’s arm would reach them, and it reached them through the Yamam fighters and through the Shin Bet.”Fourteen people, according to the Foreign Ministry, were killed in terrorist attacks in 2018, compared to 19 people killed in attacks in 2017. The 2018 figure was the lowest number of people killed in terrorist attacks since 2013, when seven people were killed. At the height of the Second Intifada in 2002, 457 people were killed in terrorist attacks. Netanyahu was accompanied by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Shin Bet director Nadav Argaman, and top police and Yamam officers.

Tehran Says it Will Soon Send New Satellites into Orbit
London - Adil al-Salmi/ Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 January, 2019/In a new challenge to US warnings against violating United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday his country is set to send two new satellites into orbit using domestic missiles. Speaking on the second anniversary of ex-president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s death, Rouhani said: “In the coming weeks, we will send two satellites into space using our domestically-made rockets.” Resolution 2231, adopted in July 2015 to endorse the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, bans any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Rouhani said: “Full lifting of the arms embargo is one of the greatest achievements of JCPOA.” He said the Resolution would lift sanctions against buying weapons in less than two years. Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit over the past decade, and in 2013 launched a monkey into space. The US says Iran's plans for sending satellites into orbit demonstrate its defiance of Resolution 2231. The Iranian President’s comments come days after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Tehran against pursuing launches that he said would violate the resolution because they use ballistic missile technology. Last week, Iran said it is on the verge of launching its three new satellites after successful pre-launch tests. In July 2017, Iran tested its Simorgh rocket, which it said could deliver a satellite into space. The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France in a joint statement condemned the launch, saying it contravened the UN resolution. Rouhani’s announcement on Thursday is considered a test of expected European measures to activate financial mechanisms capable of coping with the sanctions imposed by Washington on Tehran last August and November, after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Nuclear Deal.

Sisi: Egypt Maintains Efforts to Reach Political Solutions to Regional Crises
Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 January, 2019/Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said his country would maintain its efforts to reach political solutions to the crises in the Middle East region. Sisi met on Thursday with the Greek National Intelligence Service Director General, Yiannis Roubatis in Cairo, in the presence of the chief of General Intelligence, Abbas Kamel. According to a statement from the presidency’s spokesperson, Bassam Radi, the meeting discussed the distinguished relations between Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus. The officials also addressed several issues of mutual concern, including increasing cooperation, as well as the latest updates in the Middle East and efforts to counter terrorism. Sisi emphasized Egypt’s continued efforts to reach political solutions for the crises in the region, as well as supporting each country’s sovereignty over its territories, and ensuring security for its people. Roubatis, for his part, said Greece was keen on boosting its relations with Egypt in all fields. Relations between Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus have recently increased within the framework of cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean region.

Moscow Cancels Haniyeh’s Trip to Protest Reconciliation Paralysis
Moscow - Raed Jabr/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 January, 2019/The Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Mikhail Bogdanov, the deputy foreign minister, and senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk have discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip during a phone conversation. Moscow expressed “deep concern” after a long-running dispute between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority over power-sharing worsened this week when the PA pulled its personnel from Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt. They were replaced by Hamas employees. Consequently, the planned trip to Moscow next week by the leader of Hamas was canceled. The January 15 meeting between Ismail Haniyeh and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was called off due to Lavrov's busy schedule, Abu Marzouk tweeted. No new date was announced. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not make an official announcement on the meeting’s cancellation. The news first broke out after Interfax news agency quoted the PA ambassador to Russia as saying that Haniyeh will no longer be heading to Moscow in January. A diplomatic source told Asharq Al-Awsat, however, that Russia has expressed frustration over the latest developments in Gaza, which paralyzed its efforts to push the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas forward. "Moscow had high hopes that Haniyeh's visit would give the reconciliation an extra push," said the Russian source.

British Sources Point to Presence of 'Russian Mercenaries' in Khartoum
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 January, 2019/Russian-speaking mercenaries were spotted in the Sudanese capital Khartoum which has raised questions about the Kremlin’s intention to move to support the regime of President Omar al-Bashir, in the wake of angry public protests that erupted last month, according to a report published in the British The Times newspaper on Thursday. According to the newspaper, “the apparent deployment of Russian muscle comes as the Kremlin seeks to develop trade, security, and defense links to sub-Saharan Africa.” Over the past two years, the Kremlin has authorized the establishment of civilian nuclear power projects in the Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Sudan. Russian companies are also involved in a major project worth $400 million for Zimbabwe’s uranium mines, a large nuclear power plant to be built in Egypt and a $220 million bauxite project in Guinea.
The report said that sources in the Sudanese opposition reported that mercenaries from Russia’s PMC Wagner were conducting strategic and practical training for local security and intelligence services. In the Central African Republic, hundreds of Wagner fighters are believed to be stationed next to Sudan, helping train Sudanese military. The report added that in July, three Russian journalists were killed in an ambush when they attempted to verify the activity of mercenaries. In 2017, the US Treasury Department listed the Russian company Wagner on a long list of Russian individuals and companies subject to US sanctions because of their involvement in the conflict in Ukraine. It is estimated that the company has 2,500 fighters working in the Syrian civil war. “In Sudan, Caucasian Russian-speaking men wearing camo were photographed as they were transported in trucks. The same fighters were noticed during the protests in Khartoum,” according to the report. The Russian government has hosted Al-Bashir twice. The British newspaper said that Bashir has agreed to help Russian President Vladimir Putin achieve his ambitions to secure more Russian influence on the African continent.
Bashir held a meeting last month with Syria's Head of Regime Bashar al-Assad. The Russian side secured his flight on a military plane from Khartoum to Damascus.

Tunisia Raises Security Alert Level on Borders following US Warning
Tunis - Al Munji Al-Saidani/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 January, 2019/The Tunisian army and security forces have increased security alert level to the maximum on borders with Libya and Algeria, days after the US Department of State warned US citizens to avoid travel to Tunisia due to increased risk of terrorist attacks against foreign and domestic targets in the country. Tunisia's high security and military presence at 11 border crossings shows seriousness in dealing with the US warning. Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Tunisia. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, museums, resorts, hotels, festivals, nightclubs, restaurants, religious sites, markets/shopping malls, government facilities, and security forces, according to the US warning. Interior Minister Hichem Fourati belittled the US warning saying that “these warnings do not only concern Tunisia but rather involve all the countries of the world”. “Many European countries, including Great Britain, have already eased their restrictions on travel to Tunisia, which they have sent to their nationals, thereby recovering many of the traditional destinations on the Tunisian tourist market,” the minister said. According to Tunisian military sources, some terror suspects confessed that a terrorist group called "Ahrar al-Janoub" (Free South) is plotting terrorist attacks starting from the south. The interior ministry revealed that it has been following four terrorist members of this group. Tunisia commenced at the beginning of 2019 the implementation of a new security plan to combat terrorism. It primarily depends on attacking terrorist members suddenly in mountain regions and running ahead their suspicious movements. This plan began in Kasserine and will gradually reach other states along the western border.

US to Host Iran-focused Global Summit in February
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 January, 2019/US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed on Friday that Washington plans to host in February a two-day global summit focused on the Middle East, mainly Iran. Pompeo told Fox News that the international gathering would be held Feb. 13 to Feb. 14 in Poland to "focus on Middle East stability and peace and freedom and security here in this region, and that includes an important element of making sure that Iran is not a destabilizing influence." According to the top US diplomat, the summit would include representatives from countries around the world to address Iran's regional influence as the administration of President Donald Trump has sought to pressure Tehran. Pompeo is visiting a number of Middle Eastern countries this week in an effort to shore up support in the region. Pompeo, in the midst of his eight-day trip through the region, has said that the United States is "redoubling" its efforts to put pressure on Iran and sought to convince allies in the region that it was committed to fighting ISIS despite Trump's recent decision to pull US troops out of Syria.

Violent explosion shakes Yemen’s Aden refineries, massive fire breaks out
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishFriday, 11 January 2019/A violent explosion rocked Aden’s refineries and broke out massive fire on Friday, amid news about Houthi militias targeting the refineries with drones.A fire broke out in of the oil refineries in Aden following the explosion.
Yemeni sources have accused Qatar of financing the recent attacks and escalation of violence in Yemen. Al Arabiya's correspondent said that reasons behind the refinery fire is still unclear. The attack happened after Houthis attacked on Thursday al-Anad airbase, a historical airbase established by the British in Yemen.

Britain Asks U.N. to Approve Yemen Observer Mission
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 11/19/Britain on Friday presented a United Nations Security Council draft resolution that would expand an international observer mission monitoring a ceasefire in Yemen and allow humanitarian aid to reach millions on the brink of famine.
The council is expected to vote on the measure next week, diplomats aid. The mission would provide for the deployment of up to 75 monitors in the rebel-held city of Hodeida and its port along with the ports of Saleef and Ras Issa for an initial period of six months, according to the draft obtained by AFP. Talks between the Saudi-backed government and Huthi rebels last month in Sweden on ending the devastating war led to an agreement on the observer force. A first group of about 20 monitors has been authorized by the council to begin work in Yemen, but their mandate was only for a month. The U.N. says a ceasefire that went into force on December 18 in Hodeida has been generally holding, but there have been hurdles in the way of redeploying rebel and government forces from the city. The draft calls on U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to "expeditiously" deploy the full mission, led by retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert. U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths told the council on Wednesday that "substantial progress" was needed to shore up the ceasefire before a second round of talks could be held. Under the Stockholm deal, the sides were to meet again later this month, but that has now been pushed back to February, diplomats said. The new United Nations Mission to support the Hodeida Agreement (UNMHA) will be tasked with supporting the Stockholm agreement by overseeing the truce, forces pullback and ensure the security of the city and ports.
The port of Hodeida is the entry point for more than 70 percent of Yemen's supplies of imported goods and humanitarian aid. The war has unleashed the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the U.N., which says 80 percent of the population -- 24 million people -- are in need of aid. Nearly 10 million people are just one step away from famine, according to U.N. aid officials. The conflict between the Huthis and troops loyal to the government escalated in March 2015, when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia and the Riyadh-led coalition intervened.

Trudeau Says Canada 'Pleased' to Offer Asylum to Saudi Teen
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 11/19/An 18-year-old Saudi asylum seeker who fled her family and armed only with Twitter staved off deportation from Thailand has been accepted as a refugee by Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday. "Canada has been unequivocal that we'll stand up for human rights and women's rights around the world," Trudeau said. "When the United Nations made a request of us that we grant miss (Rahaf Mohammed) al-Qunun's asylum, we accepted."

Deputies Agree Historic Name Change for Macedonia
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 11/19/Macedonian deputies voted Friday to change the country's name to "the Republic of North Macedonia", settling a decades-long row with Greece and paving the way to NATO and EU membership.Parliamentary speaker Talad Xhaferi said 81 MPs had voted in favor of the name change in the 120-seat chamber, securing the required two-thirds majority. However, the ball is now in Athens' court as the name change will be effective only once it is cleared by the Greek parliament. Athens has promised to lift its veto on Skopje's attempts to join NATO and the European Union, once Macedonia changed its name. Greece has blocked that path since Macedonia broke away from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 because, it says, the name Macedonia should apply solely to its own northern province. For the Greeks, Macedonia evokes national pride as the cradle of Alexander the Great's ancient empire, a heritage that they guard jealously.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 11-12/19
Trump and a World Without Gary Cooper
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/January 11/19
Like some of his other quick-tweet decisions President Donald Trump’s announcement, last month, on troop withdrawal from Syria triggered a tsunami of instant-coffee comment most of it adverse.
Ardent advocates of global retreat by the United States feigned anger because Trump was doing what their darling Barack Obama dared not contemplate. Dyed-in-wool isolationists hailed the tweet as the start of a return to the Monroe Doctrine while pathological Trump-haters labeled it as another example of his supposed subservience to Vladimir Putin.
Had everyone waited a little bit longer the storm-raising tweet may have looked different in the manner that a hologram seems different from different angles.
If a week is a long time in politics, a month must be four times longer. So, what does the quick-tweet “decision” look like now?
The first thing to note is that the term withdrawal has given its place to another term: drawdown. Next, a number of conditions have been added to what sounded like a straight forward unconditional decision to cut and run.
We are now told that a timetable must be established and a commitment must be obtained from Turkey not to attack Washington’s Kurdish allies in Syria. Furthermore, US military presence won’t be ended without “total defeat” of what is left of the ISIS. We are also told that “ drawdown” depends on success in sorting out the fate of over 800 ISIS fighters from 48 countries, including 10 European Union members held by America’s Kurdish allies.
More importantly, perhaps, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is dispatched on a tour of regional allied capital to add a few reassuring “ifs” and “buts” of his own. But what about the initial quick-tweet decision itself? It could be understood if not necessarily justified in three different ways. The first is that with just 2000 troops, mostly technicians and training officers, America’s presence in Syria is more symbolic than determinant in military terms.
However, such a symbol of interest gives the US a say in shaping the future of Syria which must now be regarded as a territory without a functioning government. The question is how much of a say? Contrary to what some Trump-haters believe, Putin would love to keep the Americans in Syria as far as they play second or, in fact; fourth, fiddle. America’s symbolic involvement could enable Moscow to demand that the US foot part of the bill for rebuilding Syria the way Putin wants. The Europeans who are also directly affected by themes that Bashar al-Assad and his Russian backers have created would also like to keep the Americans involved if only in their capacity as “room service” providers.
Over the years I have heard numerous European officials asserting that if, for example, Saddam Hussein in Iraq or the mullahs in Iran went too far, the Americans would deal with it. In Syria over 20,000 Jihadis from European Union and Russia, but no one from the US joined ISIS. But now clearing the region of that plague is a task for the Americans while Russia’s task is to destroy the non-Jihadi opponents of Bashar al-Assad.
In other words, the nastiest regimes could go far, sometimes very far in savagery, but not too far and if they did the 800-kilo American gorilla would be called unleashed. If we were a cynic we might even suggest that leaving Syria to Putin might not be such a bad idea. With his economy in poor shape and his military resources stretched, Putin might not enjoy being pinned down in a chaotic Syria for years if not decades. Bing bogged down in Syria may even temper his appetite elsewhere, notably, in Ukraine and the Baltic states.
Decades ago, French novelist Romain Gary wrote a novel called “Adieu Gary Cooper” in which he imagined a world without an America symbolized by the hero of “High Noon”. That was a world in which there was no Gary Cooper to fight for justice; to defend the weak even when no one else would come to help, and to keep bullies and killers in check.
No one knows how Trump’s quick-tweet decision may end up; It may morph into something quite different or, like many other of his tweets, simply be consigned to oblivion in an epoch of short-span attention. The sad fact is that the current atmosphere of passionate hatred prevents a cool and clinical debate on America’s role in a world order it has largely created and policed for almost seven decades. Those feigning outrage over the supposed “abandoning of America’s “Kurdish allies” behave as if the US has never shifted gear before. At the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson won millions of hearts across the globe, especially in Europe and the Middle East, promoting “self-determination” for oppressed nations. Within a year all that was forgotten and Wilson’s successor wouldn’t touch “other peoples’ business” with a barge pole. Some old empires were rejuvenated and new semi-colonial mandates were imposed on many nations.
Before the end of World War II, at Yalta President Franklin Roosevelt transferred the fate of many nations in central and eastern Europe to Josef Stalin- his “Uncle Joe”. President John F Kennedy stabbed America’s Vietnamese allies in the back by concocting a military coup against heir regime. Later, President Gerald Ford simply walked away from Vietnam, abandoning tens of millions who became refugees or captives in their own land. In 1975, Henry Kissinger stopped US support for Iraqi Kurds, giving Saddam Hussein a free hand in suppressing their national aspirations. More recently, Obama posed as a defender of human rights but refused to lift a finger to help Iranians rising for democracy and Syrians fighting for dignity. Thus Trump is being castigated for something which he might do but hasn’t done yet, while many of his predecessors actually did. Americans need to debate the role they wish to play in an increasingly complex and unstable world. Gesticulation is no substitute for strategy. The US cannot read through the world’s filthiest swamps without getting bark mulch on its boots. Gary Cooper had a choice: Stand and fight or jump into the cabriolet where his new bride was waiting to start their honeymoon trip. Unwittingly, perhaps, and in his unorthodox way, Trump may have invited Americans to also contemplate the choice they have.

Behind The Lines: Will Turkey Invade Northeast Syria?
جوناثان سبايرمن الجيروزاليم بوست: هل ستقوم تركيا بغزو شمال شرق سوريا؟
Jonathan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/January 11/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/70979/jonathan-spyer-jerusalem-post-will-turkey-invade-northeast-syria%D8%AC%D9%88%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B2/
The prospect of Erdogan making a move is a concern for Israel, but significant obstacles remain before a Turkish push south.
The announcement by US President Donald Trump on December 19 of his intention to rapidly withdraw US forces from eastern Syria led to expectations of a rapid move by Turkish forces into all or part of the area currently controlled by the US-aligned, Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces.
The precipitating factor that led to Trump’s announcement, after all, was a phone call between the president and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. For Turkey, control by what Ankara regards as the Syrian franchise of the PKK of a large swath of the 900-km. Syrian-Turkish border has long been seen as entirely unacceptable.
The Kurdish dominated SDF has capable and proven fighters. But without US help, and facing Turkish air power and artillery, they would be able to resist only for a while. This had already been proven in Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch in January 2018, when Ankara invaded and destroyed the Kurdish canton of Afrin in northwest Syria.
For Israel, the prospect of a Turkish invasion was and remains a matter of concern. Pro-Iranian Iraqi Shia militias are deployed close to the border adjoining the Kurdish-controlled area. In the event of a Turkish incursion from the north, SDF fighters would likely leave the southern part of their area of control to try to stop the Turkish forces further north. This could leave the way open for a push by the Shia militias into the oil rich Deir al-Zor province. Alternatively, Syrian regime forces along with Iran-associated militias could push into the same area from west of the Euphrates River. In either case, the result would be a dramatic widening of the Iranian “land corridor,” the area of freedom of activity for Iran and its allies. Israel was hence strongly opposed to the abandonment by the US of its Kurdish allies and their area of control.
Similarly, the US and allied base at Tanf is located in the area adjoining the Baghdad-Damascus highway. Its abandonment would thus leave the way open from the Albu Kamal border crossing between Iraq and Syria to Quneitra province, adjoining the Golan Heights.
FOR A number of reasons, however, the prospect of an early large-scale entry of Turkish forces into northeast Syria now seems less likely than it did a couple of weeks ago.
Firstly and most importantly, the US withdrawal, which alone would make possible a major Turkish incursion, currently looks less immediately imminent. On this matter, a certain confusion appears to reign, with different US officials saying different things.
The tendency to chaos of the current US administration is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can produce sudden apparent bonanzas, of the kind that the president’s announcement of imminent US departure must have seemed to Turkey.
On the other hand, the chaotic approach to policy-making means that presidential statements of this kind can’t necessarily be safely “banked,” in a way that would be assumed to be possible with other administrations.
National Security Adviser John Bolton found himself cold-shouldered by Erdogan in Turkey this week, after he appeared, in a statement made in Israel, to be conditioning the withdrawal on Turkish agreement not to target Kurdish forces who had fought with the Americans.
Trump nevertheless tweeted on Monday that “we will be leaving at a proper pace while at the same time continuing to fight ISIS and doing all else that is prudent and necessary!”
Thus, the US timetable and the precise nature of US intentions remain something of a mystery for friend and foe alike. But for Erdogan, as long as US special forces and air power remain in and over eastern Syria, a Turkish entry would be possible only in coordination with them. And if it proves that the US is indeed not prepared to accept the wholesale crushing of its Kurdish partners in the war against ISIS (as the Turkish leader clearly envisages), this places a question mark over the Turkish planned action.
A second area of concern for the Turkish leader is the Russian stance. Russia has emerged as the key power broker between all countries and elements seeking to act within the Syrian space (with the exception of the US). Moscow chose to allow the Turkish incursion into Afrin in January 2018, probably as part of an attempt to draw Turkey away from its traditional Western alignment.
But statements by Russian officials this week appear to indicate that Russia prefers lands currently administered by the Syrian Kurds to return to the control of the Assad regime. Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova, for example, unambiguously expressed this stance. Moscow evidently wants to be able to present the Syrian war as effectively over as soon as possible. A new standoff between a large Turkish-controlled area of north and east Syria and the Assad regime would not facilitate this. Erdogan said on Wednesday that he will visit Moscow in the near future, presumably with the intention of clarifying this matter.
Sipan Hemo, the senior military figure in the Kurdish YPG, has been leading a delegation taking part in Russian-brokered talks with Assad regime representatives in recent days. Kurdish sources close to the SDF confirmed that if forced to choose, the Syrian Kurds will prefer to allow the Assad regime to resume control of their areas of control, rather than face an onslaught from the Turks.
But, of course, as long as the US position remains ambiguous, and American withdrawal does not look immediately imminent, the Kurds are unlikely to accept the conditions of the regime. As seen in an earlier round of contacts over the summer, the regime will settle for nothing less than the resumption of its full sovereignty east of the Euphrates. That is, the termination of the Kurdish de facto autonomy that has held sway over the last half decade. The Kurds are likely to agree to these terms of surrender if the Americans are about to leave and the Turks are about to enter. But this is not yet quite the situation.
Lastly, it is not clear how effectively Turkey, with its Sunni Arab rebel allies, would be able to police the territories it would conquer from the SDF in the event of a major military operation. Kurdish attacks on Turkish forces in Afrin are a common occurrence. The area that would be taken in the event of a major operation into northeast Syria would constitute a far larger and more complex space.
Thus, in spite of the Turkish saber rattling on the border, and Erdogan’s pledge in his New York Times op-ed this week that Turkey can “get the job done,” significant obstacles remain before a large-scale Turkish incursion into northeast Syria.
*The writer is a research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies.

How Critical Are American Boots On The Ground In Syria For Israel
جيرازلم بوست: ما مدى أهمية وجود القوات الأمريكية في سوريا بالنسبة لإسرائيل
Jerusalem Post/January 11/19
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It’s been almost three weeks since US President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced that he would be withdrawing American troops from Syria. In Israel, there has been much speculation as to whether the pullout will open the door for Iran to solidify its land bridge to the Mediterranean.
For the past four years, outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot has been working to prevent Iran’s expansion in the Middle East and entrenchment in war-torn Syria. It was his biggest challenge as the military’s top officer.
He expanded Israel’s “war between the wars,” overseeing countless operations beyond the borders of the Jewish state to prevent Iran from realizing its goals and to stop it from strengthening its Shi’ite proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah.
According to the Missile Threat website of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Hezbollah’s arsenal of rockets and missiles has greatly increased since the last war between the group and Israel – from 15,000 rockets and missiles to 130,000.
While the majority of the arsenal comprises short- and medium-range surface-to-surface, antitank and antiship missiles, “Hezbollah is the world’s most heavily armed non-state actor, and has been described as a militia trained like an army and equipped like a state,” the report concluded.
Although the IDF has said that it struck Gaza a total of 865 times over the past year in response to the firing of rockets toward southern Israel, the majority of operations by the Israel Air Force has been against targets in Syria.
It’s because of those strikes against Iran and Hezbollah in Syria that the Shi’ite terrorist group has not been able yet to fulfill its goal of obtaining a large amount of precision missiles from its sponsors in Tehran.
And while Iran’s presence and capabilities on the Golan Heights has decreased significantly, now that Trump has announced that American troops will withdraw from the region, concern has grown in Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for Washington to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the strategic Golan Heights as compensation.
YAAKOV AMIDROR, a former IDF major-general, who is the Anne and Greg Rosshandler Senior Fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and a Distinguished Fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America’s Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy, told The Jerusalem Post that while declaring Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights is an Israeli interest, it is not connected to the IDF’s operations against the Iranians.
“Declaring Israeli sovereignty over the Golan won’t help us in acting against the Iranians, but it won’t stop us from acting against the Iranians,” he said Wednesday night.
In August Russia’s TASS news agency quoted a Russian envoy as saying that Iranian forces had withdrawn their heavy weapons in Syria 85 km. from Israel’s Golan Heights, and according to Amidror, while there are no more Iranians or Iranian facilities “formally” on Syria’s Golan Heights, their militias can still be found “here and there.”
“The Iranians understood a long time ago that this is a redline for us, and anyone who tries is taking a risk,” he said, adding that Tehran knows that Israel is very determined to enforce its redlines.
“In every previous attempts by the Iranians and Hezbollah to build launching pads in the Golan Heights, our actions were very clear, and even the Russians understand that this is a very sensitive point and that they should not allow Iranians to come to close to Israel.”
With the help of Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, Assad has regained control over the majority of Syria and is rebuilding his army, focusing first on intelligence and air defense divisions, which could pose a threat to Israeli aircraft.
Russia, which over the course of its time in Syria during the civil war has respected Israeli security interests, has installed new air defenses in Syria, which, while currently manned by Russian troops, do pose a threat to Israel.
Despite a tacit agreement not to meddle in Israeli operations against Iranian or Hezbollah targets, it is not far-fetched to imagine a scenario in which Russia changes its minds and allows Syrian troops to man the advanced air defense systems. According to Amidror, it is only a matter of time before the Russians hand over control of the systems to the Syrians.
“Politically, it’s a big difference between Russian-manned anti-air systems and Syrian-manned systems, but militarily it doesn’t matter,” he said. “From the Israeli point of view, it’s a technical question; because if it is in our interest and need, and the decision is taken in Jerusalem, for us it doesn’t matter if it’s the Russians or Syrians. But what we have to do is to have the ability to use the capabilities we have to stop the Iranians.”
According to foreign reports, Israel has trained to outmaneuver the S-300 air defense system Russia deployed to Syria. Israel also has the stealth F-35 fighter jet, which has already seen action over the skies in the Middle East.
“The Russians understand the need of Israel to defend itself,” Amidror said, adding that “even if they don’t like it or agree with it, they understand that Israel has the right to defend itself by not letting the Iranians build an independent war machine in Syria.”
So it is likely that Israel will continue its operations against Iran and Hezbollah on the northern front, whether that be in Lebanon, Syria or western Iraq.
“There is a difference between Syria and Lebanon,” Amidror said, and while the IDF has “kept our freedom to act in Syria, we didn’t build this freedom to act in Lebanon, and this is one of the most problematic decisions which might be taken in the future as to how to deal with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
American National Security Adviser John Bolton, who was in the region this week to reassure Washington’s allies, maintained that there is no fixed timetable for the withdrawal, and that some 200 American troops will remain in the vicinity of the Tanf base to counter Iranian activity.
The withdrawal, Bolton said “would be carried out in such a way as to “make sure that the defense of Israel and our other friends in the region is absolutely assured,” but Israeli defense officials are not so sure, and have said that the Americans will not remain in the Tanf base, which borders Iraq.
Tanf would be a strategic crossing point for Iran’s land bridge, should the Americans leave.
Nevertheless, it is not critical for Israel that there be American boots on the ground in Syria, as long as the IAF retains its freedom of action there. But with the regime of Bashar Assad consolidating its grip of the country, the window of opportunity to continue striking is closing, and the IDF knows that.

Qatar and the legitimate interests of Iran
Salman al-Dosary/Al Arabiya/January 11/19
Qatar did well by putting the record straight and calling things by their names. It officially announced, through its ambassador to Moscow, its true position towards the Iranian occupation of Syria, by considering that Iran has “legitimate” interests in Syria and supporting Tehran’s quest to maintain those interests; and that the “Syrian regime, which oppressed its opponents, is responsible for allowing for international and regional foreign intervention, which should not be blamed on others.”
This is only part of a new chapter of the Qatari contradictions that the region and the world have witnessed for more than two decades. On one hand, Doha supports extremist groups fighting Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its Iranian ally on Syrian territory, and on the other hand, it stands with Iran in its occupation of Syrian territory and legitimizes its presence; hence supporting two conflicting parties at the same time. This is the climax of the political tragedy in which Qatar excels, in search of a role that it believes will give it a diplomatic advantage in the region, no matter whether the result is feeding conflicts and prolonging wars... and regardless of whether it was the worst thing a regime in the world can do.The Qatari position obviously did not explain the “legitimate interests” of Iran in Syria, nor did it clarify the potential interests of a foreign country on the territory of another state
Destructive practices
What is important is that Qatar continues its destructive practices and behavior, with which no one is competing. The Qatari position obviously did not explain the “legitimate interests” of Iran in Syria, nor did it clarify the potential interests of a foreign country on the territory of another state. This strange definition of sovereignty may be understood only in one case; when we reflect on the size of the “legitimate interests” of Turkey over Qatar’s land, with the recent disclosure of the full details of the secret military agreement between Doha and Ankara on the Turkish military bases, which were mysteriously set up on the territory of Qatar, and which will enable “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to use the Qatari airspace, land and maritime blocks in the promotion of his ideology and ideas in the Gulf region, in addition to achieving his interests and personal goals.”
Notion of sovereignty
Qatar’s notion of sovereignty is radically different from international concepts. Iran has the right to settle in Syria, contribute to the killing of 700,000 Syrian citizens, and release its militias.
At the same time, according to that concept, the Turkish army has the right to remain on Qatari land for as long as it wants and to increase the number of its soldiers without even requesting the approval of the Qatari regime. At a time when the international community, as well as the Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia, are seeking to bring Syria back to the Arab circle, in an effort to end the civil war and the Iranian occupation of its territory, even with their radical disagreement with the regime’s practices, hoping to strengthen the Arab role and activate it in order to preserve Syria’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Doha stands in sharp contrast in an attempt to nurture the conflict to the fullest extent and keep the Syrian regime a hostage of Iran. Thus, Qatar maintains its destabilizing behavior in the region, prolonging chaos after it was a sponsor to its ignition. The Qatari regime proves once again that it lives out of chaos and crises, surviving only in a jungle of instability.

Betraying the American people: Congress kissing Israel’s ring
Walid Jawad/Al Arabiya/January 11/19
Senator Marco Rubio took to Twitter in defense of his sponsored bill in support of Israel. Rubio and others have the right to support Israel as part of their constitutional right to Freedom of Speech. Apparently, Rubio thinks the First Amendment is exclusive to him and those who hold similar views.
His sponsored bill, SB1, if passed will criminalize those who chose to boycott Israel. They don’t even need to take active measures to that end; they would be punished for the mere act of refusing to promise not to engage in BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions of Israel).
Let’s not be rash here; I’m not arguing for or against BDS. But I am concerned by Rubio’s audacity to sponsor such an indefensible bill and him engaging in Twitter battles to assert his position. His muddling of the discussion is a sorry attempt to earn points for sponsoring the bill even if it fails. As for BDS, I reserve my views on the matter for a future article.
To BDS or not to DBS, that is NOT the question
First, I believe that Schumer, Feinstein, Cardin, and all of the other Jewish members of Congress are patriotic Americans regardless of their support Israel or not. I don’t have to agree with those who are holding the line for the Jewish state, because I respect the fact they are standing up for their people. I can only imagine how such opposition to Israel can trigger memories of the historical trauma of the Holocaust flooding back as if it happened yesterday. It would be abnormal if it didn’t.
It is human to do all that is in one’s power to prevent a repeat of the unimaginable atrocities committed by the Nazi’s against six million Jews. Any of us would do the same if we were in their shoes. But I don’t have the Holocaust in my past, nor do I need to imagine the killings.
Supporting Palestinians is the mirror image of supporting Israelis. In isolation, supporting Palestinians must not be confused for anti-Semitism
I stand witness to the plight of the Palestinian people who are ironically suffering at the hand of the Israeli government at this very moment and for generations. These are people who look like me, have names that sound like my relatives, and the majority of them repeat in Arabic the mantra: justice, right of return, dignity, and peace. Supporting Palestinians is the mirror image of supporting Israelis. In isolation, supporting Palestinians must not be confused for anti-Semitism. True support of either side compels the rational and ethical person to extend that support to the other group. This reality holds true unless threat of oppression, violence and/or killing of civilians is introduced.
This argument is harder to accept when we approach the issue within the framework of retribution as it triggers an emotional response. However, not accepting this equation keeps Israelis fearful and Palestinians defiant preventing the two from coming to an understanding.
The right and wrong way
As a country, we must stand up to anti-Semitism, this is not up for debate. However, support for the nation of Israel is a political issue independent of racism. Suffice it to say, members of Congress have the right to support Israel as part of their political agenda.
When it comes to non-Jewish members, we all know that such a political agenda is not for the good of Israel as much as it is for the benefit of the politician. Rubio, raised Catholic, has political ambitions. The presidency is a goal, which he has been pursuing. Securing the support of the voting blocks and influential and generous groups is part of the election game.
When that support tramples over citizens’ rights, we can but wonder if they have crossed the line of loyalty and patriotism. Advancing any other nation’s interest above America’s is grounds for suspicion. The hostage-taking of the American people as collateral in the tug-of-war over building a wall along the southern border with Mexico is only one manifestation of the deplorable acts of US elected officials. Instead of working on resolving their wall differences and reopening the government, a few Senators are working on a bill that would violate American citizens’ constitutional right to free speech.
The US Senate is working on passing this bill to criminalize the right of Americans to protest Israel. It is true that the American public is in a state of shock over what might turn out to be the most extended government shutdown in US history, but still, they have the capacity to call a foul on this political play. It is easy to dismiss my accusations and that of others under the false guise of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is not exclusive to the Jewish people. Arab-Americans are Semitic ourselves. If at anytime the nation turns on its Jewish citizens, we will be undoubtedly next. So if not for altruistic reasons, if not for moral reasons, if not for basic human decency, then for self-preservation. Arab-Americans will never compete with the racism of white supremacist in vilifying Jews. The memory of Charlottesville, VA of last year is still fresh; supremacist marching while chanting the slogan “Jews will not replace us!”
The six-pointed star-spangled banner
While the country is waiting for the Robert Mueller report to reveal whether there was collusion between the Trump election campaign and Russia – whether Russia’s Putin has undue leverage over the president of the United States, Americans are not nearly as outraged as they should when members of Congress pledge their allegiance to Israel by sacrificing American citizens’ fundamental constitutional rights. These power-hungry politicians are reneging on the oath of office they took to defend the constitution and allegiance to the United States. They are no longer working for the American people; they are only concerned with kissing AIPAC’s ring to increase their reelection bids chances. Supporters of SB1 are treading on the constitution by violating American citizens first amendment rights. Defeating this bill is not anti-Semitism; it is the patriotic thing to do.

Has EU woken up to its security threats?
Hamid Bahrami/Al Arabiya/January 11/19
The European Union sent a message to Iran by imposing the first sanctions since the flawed nuclear deal was signed in 2015. The green continent decided on Tuesday to blacklist and freeze the assets of an Iranian intelligence (MOIS) unit and two of its staff for planning two political assassinations in Netherlands and for plotting attacks in Denmark and France.
Last June, the regime targeted the annual gathering of the Iranian opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), in Paris which the French Government said was planned by the now sanctioned MOIS unit.
In November, Denmark’s security service and police revealed that they have stopped a plot by the MOIS to assassinate an Iranian dissident on Danish soil. Secretary Pompeo welcomed the decision and wrote on Twitter, “European nations sent Iran a clear message that terrorism will not be tolerated. The US strongly supports the new sanctions and stands with our European allies as we counter this common threat.”Today, EU faces a new threat from Iran’s organized terrorist operations under diplomatic protection. Member states understand now this reality and have decided to act together to counter this threat.
The 28 EU member states are not alone. Other countries such as Albania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Canada also comprehended the threat of Iran’s terrorism and responded by cutting diplomatic ties with the regime in order to protect their citizens. Weeks ago, senior American officials praised Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s decision to expel the Iranian Ambassador and another diplomat for threatening the country’s security.
Europeans should be alarmed as the MOIS gains experience from its latest failures in Europe, especially in light of Rouhani’s recent threat that “the EU will be flooded by drugs and terrorism”
Dissident group
On March 22, 2018, two Iranian operatives were arrested in Tirana on charges of plotting a terrorist attack against thousands members of the Iranian dissident group, the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK), at their Persian New Year celebration.
The MEK members are living in Tirana since they were welcomed and moved from Iraq under the supervision of the UN. Iran regime views the group as the main threat to its existence and senior regime officials are unable to hide their concerns over the MEK’s activity.
The regime’s foreign minister Javad Zarif attacked the EU on Twitter writing, “Europeans, incl (including) Denmark, Holland and France, harbor MEK”. During the UN Security Council meeting over Iran’s missile program in December last year, Tehran’s ambassador repeated the regime’s baseless allegations against the MEK.
Pundits and experts believe that such desperate actions and false statements by the theocracy against the opposition is a testament to the group’s capacity and political weight.
It is not surprising that the religious dictatorship, world’s leading state sponsor for terrorism, orchestrates a series of terrorist operations across the world. It has just done that for the last four decades with the MEK being its first and main target. The NCRI President-elected Maryam Rajavi welcomed EU’s decision but pointed out that the imposed sanctions are not enough to stop the MOIS. She called on International Community to list the entire MOIS as a terrorist entity, a conclusion which the EU has yet to reach.
Sanctions must
Mrs Rajavi believes sanctions are necessary to fight terrorism in Europe as she tweeted, “they must be completed by blacklisting of the entire intelligence and IRGC (Revolutionary Guard) apparatus and by prosecuting and expelling the regime’s terrorist diplomats and mercenaries.”
It is the first time after signing the nuclear deal that proponents of the policy of appeasement like Federica Mogherini and her team were unable to whitewash Iran’s destructive behavior in Europe. Iran regime is currently like a wounded dog seeking revenge as the Iranian opposition MEK has successfully inspired and led popular protests against the regime inside the country.
Europeans should be alarmed as the MOIS gains experience from its latest failures in Europe, especially in light of Rouhani’s recent threat that “the EU will be flooded by drugs and terrorism”.
Then the question is will the people of Europe show their dismay by voting out the responsible EU leaders, like Federica Mogherini, in the May EU Election. What is evident however is that the era of whitewashing Iran’s terrorist operations has just ended.

US focus on confronting Iran should reassure allies
Camelia Entekhabifard/Arab News/January 11/19
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech on Thursday in Cairo about America’s Middle East policy reminded many of former US President Barack Obama’s speech delivered 10 years ago from the same city. Pompeo’s speech may not have gotten the global attention that Obama’s did, but the secretary of state was more direct and straightforward.
Since US President Donald Trump’s announcement of the US troop withdrawal from Syria and the pull-out of thousands of US service members from Afghanistan, America’s allies have had a nagging feeling that the ensuing vacuum will be filled by those who want to exploit developments to their advantage. The allies’ main concern is Iran and its malign activity in the region.
Pompeo’s Middle East tour — including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, among other countries — is aimed mainly at assuring US allies of the continuation of American support for them despite the troop withdrawal from Syria.
The Cairo speech was not as inspiring as expected, but it was well expressed. It indicated that Trump’s regional policy for 2019 revolves around defanging Iran and checking its interference and that of its militias in the Middle East.
Mike Pompeo’s Cairo speech may not have gotten the global attention that Obama’s did in 2009, but the secretary of state was more direct and straightforward.
Pompeo’s messages may not have been broadcast globally, but they were heard clearly by those at whom they were directed, especially Iran. In Syria, the US “will use diplomacy and work with our partners to expel every last Iranian boot,” he said. So Trump’s decision is not just to pull out troops from Syria, but to ensure that Iranians are no longer there.
Pompeo highlighted that “countries across the globe have cut Iranian oil imports to zero and are working toward that goal. Private companies in France, Germany, Britain and elsewhere have all calculated that enriching themselves through work with the (Iranian) regime is bad for business and bad for the people of their own countries.”
He firmly stated that there will be no US reconstruction assistance for areas of Syria held by Bashar Assad until Iran and its proxy forces withdraw “and until we see irreversible progress toward a political resolution.”
These were clear messages for Iran, whose economic situation may worsen this year if it refuses to stop its malign activity in the region. Americans are confident of Iran being forced to leave Syria, as Assad will need the help of wealthy Arab nations for his country’s reconstruction, as well as US help for global support. That cannot happen with Iranians on Syrian soil.
With the reopening of the Emirati and Bahraini embassies in Damascus, the chances of other regional countries doing so have increased. Tunisia will host an Arab League session in March 2019, and there is a possibility of Assad being invited and Syria being welcomed back to the organization.
For the reconstruction of Syria and the normalization of its relationship with the wider world, Assad needs to sacrifice Iran in order to remain in power and rebuild his nation. It seems this is also clear to the Iranians. During Pompeo’s ongoing tour, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei mocked American leaders, but this will not go down well with the Iranian people, who are being forced to live in very difficult economic circumstances.
• Camelia Entekhabifard is an Iranian-American journalist, political commentator and author of ‘Camelia: Save Yourself by Telling the Truth’ (Seven Stories Press, 2008).
Twitter: @CameliaFard

US withdrawal would signal new phase in Syrian imbroglio
Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/January 11/19
Three weeks on from the announcement by US President Donald Trump that he would be withdrawing the 2,000 US troops that are currently stationed in Syria, the decision continues to reverberate across the Middle East, with regional policy-makers attempting to understand the implications of this dramatic initiative and shape strategies to safeguard their interests.
Trump himself continues to contribute to the confusion with his tweets and off-the-cuff remarks. While earlier he had suggested that the withdrawal would be completed in a month, it seems it will now take four months. Again, even though earlier it seemed that the troops would be going home, Trump made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Dec. 26 and indicated that the troops in Syria might be deployed to Iraq to fight the remnants of Daesh from across the border.
Then, during a televised Cabinet meeting on Jan. 2, Trump dismissed Syria by saying: “They (Iran) can do what they want there, frankly.”
Trump’s complicated approach has been reflected by his officials. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo staunchly stood by his president, saying firmly that US troops would be withdrawn, while adding innocuously that the goals of the administration had not changed, i.e., to counter Daesh and Iran.
Meanwhile, National Security Adviser John Bolton firmly contradicted the president, saying that the withdrawal would be conditional — the conditions being the final defeat of Daesh and a guarantee from Turkey that it would not attack the Kurds.
Moscow is happy with the Arab nations’ recent engagement with Syria and would welcome its readmission into the Arab League.
Later, Bolton received a cold reception in Ankara. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described his reference to seeking Turkish guarantees for the Kurds as “a serious mistake” and affirmed that Turkey saw no difference between Daesh and the Kurdish “terrorists.”
The Turkish media set out its own conditions relating to the US withdrawal: One, that the US either destroy its 22 bases and facilities in Syria or hand them over to the Turks; and, two, that weapons supplied to the Kurds by the US be taken back so that they don’t reach the Kurds in Turkey.
Some US commentators have seen in this scenario a disjointed US approach and the absence of a clear-cut policy for the Middle East. Not surprisingly, the region’s principal players in Syria are confused about how to shape their response. Turkish forces were poised to launch an attack on the Kurds east of the Euphrates before the Trump announcement, despite the threat of a confrontation with US forces located there. They now see the US withdrawal as a diplomatic victory.
But the US announcement has revealed new difficulties for Turkey. Erdogan has assumed responsibility for the final destruction of Daesh, but Daesh elements are said to be far south of the Euphrates, close to the Iraq border, so an attack would pull Turkish troops into new areas deep inside Syria. Such an incursion would be resolutely opposed by Syria and Iran, who wish to maintain Syria’s territorial integrity. Thus, for now Turkey has delayed its war plans and is in consultation with Russia to seek a settlement of the Daesh and Kurdish issues.
Iran believes there will be no change in US hostility toward itself and its role in Syria and the region. It sees merit in adopting a low-key approach, mainly by pushing forward the proposal to set up a constitutional committee for Syria that had been agreed to at the Sochi Congress in January last year.
Again, it has not publicly criticized Turkey’s planned attacked on the Kurds, but has joined Russia in promoting an Assad-Kurd rapprochement and in persuading Erdogan to see the advantage of a buffer zone at the Syria-Turkey border that would be patrolled by Syrian troops.
Russia is today playing the principal behind-the-scenes diplomatic role to influence Syrian affairs in consultation with the major domestic and regional players.
Moscow obviously sees the Astana peace process as the best hope for Syria and is therefore committed to keeping the alliance intact and moving forward on political issues, such as the constitutional committee. It is also a restraining influence on Turkey’s belligerency: It has made clear it will militarily prevent Turkish attacks on the Kurds and, with Iran, is supporting the buffer zone idea.
Russia shares concerns with its Astana partners relating to the revival of the threat from Daesh. It also fears that the US could encourage certain extremist militants to promote attacks on the partners and foment disorder as an excuse to stay on in Syria and the region. The US’ intention to use Iraq to attack Daesh forces and to check Iran’s regional interests is particularly alarming for Russia and Iran.
Moscow is happy with the Arab nations’ recent engagement with Syria and would welcome its readmission into the Arab League, seeing in this the first step toward greater regional stability and a possible source of funding for reconstruction in Syria. The challenge it will face is how to address Damascus’ concerns about Turkish and Iranian regional intentions and specifically the presence of their forces and allies in Syria.
Though fraught with grave uncertainties, we are perhaps seeing a fresh phase and a move toward peace in the Syrian imbroglio, which will witness new claims, new alliances and new competitions.
• Talmiz Ahmad is an author and former Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE. He holds the Ram Sathe Chair for International Studies, Symbiosis International University, Pune, India.