LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 11/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today
Everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12/06-09/:"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. ‘And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God."

I fell into a trance and saw Jesus saying to me, "Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me
Acts of the Apostles 22/17-29/:"‘After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw Jesus saying to me, "Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me."And I said, "Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him."Then he said to me, "Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles." ’Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.’And while they were shouting, throwing off their cloaks, and tossing dust into the air, the tribune directed that he was to be brought into the barracks, and ordered him to be examined by flogging, to find out the reason for this outcry against him. But when they had tied him up with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, ‘Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who is uncondemned?’When the centurion heard that, he went to the tribune and said to him, ‘What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen.’The tribune came and asked Paul, ‘Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’The tribune answered, ‘It cost me a large sum of money to get my citizenship.’ Paul said, ‘But I was born a citizen.’Immediately those who were about to examine him drew back from him; and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 10-11/17
McMaster's Misunderstanding of the Middle East/A.Z. MohamedGatestone Institute/August 10/17
Jew-Hating Imams Need to be Removed/by Shireen Qudosi/Gatestone Institute/August 10/17
How Trump Can Confront Iran without Blowing up the Nuclear Deal/Josh Rogin/The Washington Post/'August 10/17
Qatar’s Supremacy…Fortune Doesn’t Make Respect/Salman Al-dossary/ASharq Al Awsat/August 10/17
Iran’s Jaw-Dropping Hypocrisy on Qatar Crisis/Eyad Abu Shakra/ASharq Al Awsat/August 10/17
The choice between coexistence or ISIS/Ghassan Charbel/Al Arabiya/August 10/17
A response to the New York Times and the Washington Post/Ali al-Shihabi/Al Arabiya/August 10/17
How US confusion facilitates the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan/Huda al-Husseini/Al Arabiya/August 10/17
Pakistan’s judiciary and the trial of Nawaz Sharif/Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi/Al Arabiya/August 10/17
Saudi Writer, Muhammad 'Arif : Arab States Should Stop Hiding Their Relations With Israel/MEMRI/August 10/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on August 10-11/17
Hariri: Lebanon Witnessing Transitional Phase Thanks To Modern Technology
Geagea: Some Trying to Use Lebanon to Bestow Legitimacy on Assad Regime
Army Shelling Inflicts Direct Damages to IS Posts in Ras Baalbek, Qaa
Reports: Lebanon Faces 'Difficult Situation' as Hizbullah, AMAL Ministers Announce Visit to Syria
Economic round table on salary scale is only an idea: Baabda source
Salary scale saga lingers, Aoun signature still missing
Aoun still studying salary scale law
Lebanese Christians Are Supporting Iranian-Backed Hezbollah
Aoun receives credentials of new Ambassadors of Spain, Hungary
Aoun to chair dialogue meeting over salary scale Monday
Berri welcomes Tunisian parliamentarians, German Ambassador
Hariri receives British Chargé d'Affaires, Ambassador of Azerbaijan
AUB a partner in international conference on Arab Women in Computing

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 10-11/17
Qatar Crisis: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince receives US envoys
Qatar launches diplomacy campaign through its foreign ministers
International Civil Aviation Organization welcomes cooperation of boycotting states
Kuwaiti Emir Seeks Direct Dialogue to Resolve Gulf Crisis
Mysterious Raids on Popular Mobilization Forces near Syria
Concerns in Israel over Deteriorating Relations with Egypt
National Coalition President: Riyadh Plans to Host Extended Meeting for Syrian Opposition
Iran Says Committed to Hajj Agreement with Riyadh
Barzani: Iraq Failed to Maintain Partnership with Kurds
Israel Demolishes Homes of Palestinian Attackers
Regime Shelling Kills Three in Truce Zone near Damascus
N. Korea Says Trump 'Bereft of Reason', Says KCNA
Israel Moves ahead on Underground Wall around Gaza

Latest Lebanese Related News published on August 10-11/17
Hariri: Lebanon Witnessing Transitional Phase Thanks To Modern Technology
Naharnet/August 10/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Thursday said that Lebanon is witnessing a transitional phase thanks to modern technology, highlighting the importance of knowledge and education to develop the country in the future, the National News Agency reported. Hariri's remarks came during the launching ceremony, at the Grand Serail, of an electronic platform designed to connect the Lebanese Diaspora to their homeland and enhance cooperative work. "This platform embodies a vision on the many capacities Lebanon enjoys," Hariri said. "The idea of the electronic platform is excellent, and it shall contribute to creating communication between us and the Lebanese Diaspora worldwide," he added. "Our goal is to help the Lebanese connect to each other," he underlined.

Geagea: Some Trying to Use Lebanon to Bestow Legitimacy on Assad Regime
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/17/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea warned Wednesday that some parties "are trying to use Lebanon and the Lebanese government to bestow legitimacy on Bashar al-Assad's regime," shortly after a cabinet session witnessed controversy over an expected visit by some ministers to Syria.“The Turkish and Jordanian governments have managed to return 100,000 Syrian refugees through cooperation with the United Nations, whereas here we have parties seeking to consult with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while forgetting that the refugees had escaped from him in the first place,” said Geagea at a press conference in Maarab. “Those who want to return to Syria can return to the Assad-controlled regions from this very moment,” Geagea added, noting that refugees refraining from returning to regime-held areas are staying in Lebanon out of fear of political persecution or bloodshed.The LF leader lamented that there are Lebanese parties who are “trying to give people the impression that the refugees' return is hinging on cooperation with Assad.”“They tried to press in this direction in the cabinet session,” Geagea decried.He added: “There is no real Syrian government and the reconstruction of Syria without a political solution is impossible.”“Things in the cabinet are unacceptable and we do not tolerate any official communication between the Lebanese and Syrian governments,” Geagea emphasized. “Any minister who wants to visit Syria can do so in his personal capacity, but not in an official manner, and we hope the cabinet will take a clear stance in this regard amid these circumstances,” the LF leader went on to say. According to an official statement issued after Wednesday's cabinet session, Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed during the meeting the importance of dissociating Lebanon from “regional conflicts and axes.”“If a minister wants to visit Syria, he can go but without a decision from cabinet,” Information Minister Melhem Riachi told reporters after the session, emphasizing that “any such visit will not be authorized by Cabinet.”

Army Shelling Inflicts Direct Damages to IS Posts in Ras Baalbek, Qaa
Associated Press/Naharnet/August 10/17/The Lebanese army has shelled the posts of the Islamic State group on the outskirts of the eastern border towns of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek, the Army Command-Orientation Directorate said in statement on Thursday. “Army units have pounded with heavy artillery, missile launchers and helicopters, several posts of terrorist in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa. Several injuries were reported among their ranks,” the Army's communique said. The move comes as the army gears up for a long-awaited assault to dislodge hundreds of Islamic State militants from a remote corner near Syrian border, seeking to end a years-long threat posed to neighboring towns and villages by the extremists. The years-long presence of extremists in the border area has brought suffering to neighboring towns and villages, from shelling, to kidnappings of villagers for ransom. Car bombs made in the area and sent to other parts of the country, including Beirut's southern suburbs, have killed scores of citizens. The planned operation follows a six-day military offensive by Hizbullah that forced al-Qaida-linked fighters to flee the area on the outskirts of the border town of Arsal, along with thousands of civilians.

Reports: Lebanon Faces 'Difficult Situation' as Hizbullah, AMAL Ministers Announce Visit to Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/17/The Lebanese government is facing the “most difficult situation” since its formation, as ministers of Hizbullah and Amal Movement plan to travel to Syria “not according to a cabinet decision,” media reports said on Thursday. "The government is in the worst situation since its formation. Although it passed through a period where it was unable to keep up with a number of accumulated files related to the State and people's interests, but here it is today facing an unenviable situation,” as for its relations with Syria, a ministerial source told al-Joumhouria daily. An-Nahar daily described the move as an attempt to “normalize relations” with Syria. Wednesday's cabinet meeting “may be the most sensitive test for the fate of the government since its formation with the most advanced attempt to forcibly normalize relations with the Syrian regime,” said the daily. Two ministers are to travel to Damascus next week to attend an industrial fair, they announced after Wednesday's cabinet session. Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan said he and Agriculture Minister Ghazi Zoaiter had received invitations to the Damascus International Fair, which opens on August 16. "I will take part in the expo as the minister of industry in order to hold talks... I am going to Syria first and foremost as part of my vision for Lebanon's national interest," Hassan told reporters.
Hassan, a minister of Hizbullah, which has intervened in Syria on behalf of President Bashar Assad's government.
Zoaiter belongs to Amal movement.
"There are some issues that need to be dealt with on the trade and industry levels between the two countries," Hassan said. "The ties between Lebanon and Syria are still in place politically and diplomatically. We have an ambassador (in Damascus) and they have an ambassador (in Beirut)," he added. Syria's conflict broke out in March 2011 with protests demanding Assad's ouster. The following year, Lebanon's government adopted a policy of "disassociation" -- preferring to maintain a neutral stance towards the complex war in a bid to avoid spillover. Lebanon's political parties are bitterly divided between those opposing Syria's regime and factions like Hizbullah and Amal which support it. The announced visit sparked controversy on Wednesday. "If the minister wants to visit Syria, it will be on his own and not through a decision from the council of ministers," said Information Minister Melhem Riachi. Many Arab countries cut off ties with Syria when its crisis erupted six years ago, but Lebanon maintained diplomatic relations. Still, official visits between the two countries have remained rare. In November, Damascus dispatched its minister of presidential affairs, Mansour Azzam, to Beirut to congratulate newly-elected Lebanese President Michel Aoun. The trip was the first by a Syrian official to Lebanon since 2010, when Assad and then-Saudi King Abdullah visited the country in a bid to ease rising political tensions.

Economic round table on salary scale is only an idea: Baabda source
The Daily Star/August10/17/BEIRUT: There are no tangible signs that President Michel Aoun will form a round table to discuss the salary scale, a source from Baabda Palace told The Daily Star Thursday.The source and various media outlets said that a round table between the relevant actors was suggested in an attempt to find common ground. “At the moment there is still nothing that has been set in this regard," the source said. "It is among the ideas that are being suggested."The round table would include employees, employers, economic associations and state representatives. Aoun has yet to sign the salary scale and accompanying tax measures that were endorsed by Parliament last month. The bills include new tax measures to finance the increase in the salary, including a 10 percent increase in value added tax. Aoun was critical of Parliament’s endorsement, saying that he would have preferred for the state budget be ratified before the two laws were passed. Speaker Nabih Berri, the most vocal supporter of the bill, and Prime Minister Saad Hariri have both reportedly signed the salary scale bills. In order for the bills to become laws, they need to be published in the Official Gazette, which requires Aoun’s signature. The president is under pressure from the private sector, the Association of Banks in Lebanon and the Kataeb Party to return the two laws to Parliament for further review. The source also reiterated Aoun’s comments Wednesday before a delegation from the Economic Committees, during which he underscored the importance of coordination between the legislative and executive powers to resolve standard of living and economic issues. “And I think part of this is the idea [of a round table],” the source added.

Salary scale saga lingers, Aoun signature still missing
The Daily Star/August10/17/BEIRUT: The salary scale saga, which most thought over, took yet another turn Wednesday when President Michel Aoun said the legislation was still awaiting his signature before it could be passed into law. During a meeting with a delegation of economic associations at Baabda Palace, Aoun stressed the importance of maintaining Lebanon’s economic stability. He confirmed that he supported the new wage hike, but said that “economic stability” for the country as a whole should be the priority. The president has yet to sign the salary scale and accompanying tax measures that were endorsed by Parliament last month. The wage hike included new tax measures that aimed to finance the increase in the salary, including a 10-percent increase in value added tax. The first time Parliament convened to pass the bill it was met with large street protests. Yet, months later the bill was hammered through Parliament with minimal reaction by the general public. Aoun was critical of Parliament’s endorsement, saying that he preferred that the state budget be ratified before the two laws were passed. The Kataeb Party, headed by MP Sami Gemayel, sent a question to Cabinet asking why the government had not released a law detailing the auditing of the budget before its announcement. The auditing bill has so far been excluded due to political infighting over billions of dollars of overspend in the 12 years since Lebanon last passed a budget. Speaker Nabih Berri, the most vocal supporter of the bill, and Prime Minister Saad Hariri have both reportedly signed the salary scale bills. Yet in order for them to become law, the bills need to be published in the Official Gazette, which requires Aoun’s signature. The president is under pressure from the private sector, the Association of Banks in Lebanon and the Kataeb Party to return the two laws to Parliament for further study. Economic associations claim that the new wage and tax hikes will have negative consequences for the economy as a whole, which has already been struggling since the eruption of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Aoun’s plea to lawmakers to abide by the Constitution regarding the state budget fell short of returning the two laws to Parliament for a review, as demanded by the private sector. Speaker Nabih Berri said Wednesday that he was waiting for Aoun’s signature on the salary scale and tax hike laws, reiterating his respect for the president’s jurisdiction in this regard. “In case the [laws] were returned, the Parliament would practice its role in this regard and it would study the reasons behind this and would take a decision on it,” he said. Speaking in the weekly meeting with MPs at his Beirut residence, after returning from an official visit to Iran, Berri also announced that he may call on Parliament to convene in the near future. “I don’t believe that the president will return the salary scale law to Parliament because it is a right for those [who were calling for it],” he said. “The president has constitutional jurisdictions that allow him to take the decision that he sees as appropriate based on its provisions.” Touching on Parliament’s next legislative session, the speaker said that he would call a session soon to discuss the items remaining on the agenda for the session that was held in mid-July. Berri added that he is still waiting for the Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee to end its discussions on the state budget draft law. If the draft law is referred to Berri ahead of the next Parliament session, he said that it would be given priority over other items. “It will be discussed in a general assembly [of parliament] to be endorsed, with the hope that this will happen before the end of this month,” Berri said. Meanwhile, the Higher Judicial Council urged judges to handle urgent cases despite a three-week-old strike to protest changes to their salaries and benefits in the salary scale, which they say will reduce their social standing and threaten their independence.
The salary scale law contains provisions that will reduce family medical and education benefits, and the judges’ solidarity fund – also known as the mutual fund – that provides judges a benefit of just under one month’s salary every three months.
Judiciary sources said the Council was drawing its own law that includes a separate salary scale.

Aoun still studying salary scale law
The Daily Star/August10/17
BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun said Wednesday that the salary scale legislation is currently pending his examination before he moves to sign it into law. In a meeting with a delegation of economic associations at Baabda Palace, Aoun stressed the importance of maintaining Lebanon's economic stability. Aoun also said he supported the new wage hike, but added that “economic stability” in the country should be a priority. Aoun is yet to sign the salary scale and tax hike bills, which Parliament endorsed last month. He has been critical of Parliament’s endorsement, expressing his preference for the state budget to have been ratified before the two laws were passed. Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri have signed the laws, but in order to be published in the Official Gazette and go into effect, both laws need to be signed by Aoun. The president is under pressure from the private sector, the Association of Banks in Lebanon and the Kataeb Party to return the two laws to Parliament for further study. Economic associations claim that the new wage and tax hikes will have negative consequences for the economy. Aoun’s plea to lawmakers to abide by the Constitution regarding the state budget fell short of returning the two laws to Parliament for a review, as demanded by the private sector. Speaker Nabih Berri said Wednesday that he is waiting for Aoun’s signature on the salary scale and tax hike laws, reiterating his respect for the president’s jurisdiction in this regard. Speaking in the weekly meeting with MPs at his Beirut residence, after returning from an official visit to Iran, Berri also announced that he may call on Parliament to convene in the near future. “I don’t believe that the President will return the salary scale law to Parliament because it is a right for those [who were calling for it],” Berri said. “The President has constitutional jurisdictions that allow him to take the decision that he sees as appropriate based on its provisions.” He went on: “In case the [laws] were returned, the Parliament would practice its role in this regard and it would study the reasons behind this and would take a decision about it.”Touching on the Parliament's next legislative session, the Speaker said that he would call a session soon to discuss the items remaining on the agenda from the session that was held in mid-July. Berri added that he is still waiting for the Parliament's Finance and Budget Committee to end its discussions on the state budget draft law. If the draft law is referred to Berri ahead of the next Parliament session, he said that it would be given priority over other items."It will be discussed in the General Assembly to be endorsed, with the hope that this will happen before the end of this month," Berri said.

Lebanese Christians Are Supporting Iranian-Backed Hezbollah
Iran Focus/09 August 2017/London, 9 Aug - Saudi journalist Mashari Althaydi wrote an op-ed for Al Arabiya in which he decried minorities in Lebanon for their support of the Iranian-backed terror cell Hezbollah, who are attacking the Syrian opposition groups near to the border between the two countries.
In the piece, titled “Lebanon and the unfortunate alliance of minorities”, Althaydi assesses that it is strange how many Lebanese Christians are throwing their support behind a Shiite Muslim terrorist group who are funded by another county. He noted that a fellow Al Arabiya correspondent, Nadim Koteich from Lebanon, had pointed out the irony of Lebanese leader Samir Geagea opposing the Iranian Project but not criticising Hezbollah the terrorist cell that is funded by the Iranian Regime. While it is normal for politicians to do this, Geagea’s decision to criticise Iran but not Hezbollah, has actually affected that way that minority groups in Lebanon, like the Christians who have traditionally protected Lebanon and opposed projects that threaten Lebanese sovereignty, see the terrorist group.
Althaydi wrote: “This marks a very dangerous, interesting development.”By why is it so dangerous?Althaydi wrote: “It is dangerous because it indicates the vigilance of negative sectarian feelings that emerged when the Aounist Movement tried to promote the idea of the “alliance of the minorities.” But against who? Clearly, it is against the Sunnis even if they’re affiliated with Rafiq Hariri or Fouad Siniora.”Lebanese thinker Radwan as-Sayyid recently wrote about this approach and accused the Christians of effectively damning themselves.
He wrote: “Delusions are not only linked to the idea that Hezbollah is fighting for Lebanon’s sake. There’s another delusion that Lebanese Christians currently suffer from as although they still hold on to the army, they also hold on to (Hezbollah) because it fights Sunni terrorism which threatens the Christians in particular!”He continued: “Lebanese Christians have adhered to the state, army and international decisions the most. Today however they’re controlled by the mentality of (the alliance of the minorities) which Iran protects and they find no shame in having the army follow an Iranian militia and in forgetting the state and its constitution.”Of course, there is no question that terrorist groups like al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda organization and ISIS must be eliminated and most Muslims around the world not only agree to this, they are making waves to help bring peace to the world. So why will the Lebanese Christians not do the same to both Hezbollah and the Iranian Regime? Althaydi concluded: “Instinctive fear does bad things in critical times.

Aoun receives credentials of new Ambassadors of Spain, Hungary
Thu 10 Aug 2017/NNA - President of the republic, Michel Aoun, on Thursday received the credentials of newly-appointed Ambassadors of Spain (Jose Maria Ferre de la Pena), Hungary (Geza Milayhi), France (Bruno Foucher), and Switzerland (Monika Schmutz Kirgoz). The diplomats conveyed to Aoun their countries' keenness on bolstering ties with Lebanon. Separately, Aoun met with a delegation of Batroun municipalities' union, headed by Marcelino Jacob al-Harak, in presence of Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. "Municipalities have a key role in contributing to reinvigorating the Lebanese towns and villages," Aoun told the delegation. He also highlighted the importance of balanced development to achieve the sought social and economic stability in the country.

Aoun to chair dialogue meeting over salary scale Monday
The Daily Star/August 10/17/BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun Thursday called for a dialogue meeting next week between relevant ministers, the governor of the Central Bank, representatives of the private sector and labor unions, financial bodies and private and public school teachers to resolve lingering differences over the salary scale and tax hike bills.Prime Minister Saad Hariri will attend and the dialogue session is set to be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Baabda Palace, according to a statement released by Aoun’s media office. Aoun has yet to sign the private sector’s salary scale bill and a string of tax measures endorsed by Parliament last month. The tax measures, including an increase in value added tax from 10 percent to 11, are designed to finance the salary hikes for civil servants, estimated at more than $800 million annually. Aoun was critical of Parliament’s endorsement of the salary scale bill, saying that he would have preferred for the 2017 draft state budget be ratified before the two laws were passed.

Berri welcomes Tunisian parliamentarians, German Ambassador
Thu 10 Aug 2017/NNA - Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, welcomed, at his Ain-el-Tineh residence on Thursday, a Tunisian parliamentary delegation.
Talks reportedly featured high on latest developments in Lebanon and the broader Arab region. "We discussed the Lebanese-Tunisian bilateral relations, as well as the regional and international situation, especially the latest events in Syria," a spokesperson of the delegation told reporters following the meeting.
"Our delegation comprises all the parliamentary blocs; we came here to inspect closely the reality of the situation and to support the Syrian people in its stand against this attack concocted regionally and internationally against Syria," he said. "We shall try, through all the diplomatic means, to create a public opinion in Tunisia and to lift the diplomatic blocked imposed on Syria with all the Arab Parliaments," he added. "We came here to salute the Lebanese Resistance, army, and people, on their fresh victory over terrorism in Arsal," he concluded. Berri later met with German Ambassador to Lebanon, Martin Huth, with whom he discussed latest developments. He also received Lebanon's Ambassador to the United Nations, Nawaf Salam. Berri later welcomed Minister of Economy Raed KHoury and Director General of the Ministry of Economy Alia Abbas.

Hariri receives British Chargé d'Affaires, Ambassador of Azerbaijan
Thu 10 Aug 2017/NNA - Prime Minister Saad Hariri received on Thursday at the Grand Serail UK Embassy Chargé d'Affaires in Lebanon, Ben Wastange, with talks reportedly touching on the current situation in Lebanon and the broad region, in addition to the bilateral ties between the two countries. Following the meeting, British Chargé d'Affaires Wastnage said: 'I was honoured to meet Prime Minister Hariri as he steers his government through this very important time for Lebanon.' Wastnage added: 'I reaffirmed the UK's support to the Lebanese Armed Forces as the sole legitimate defender of Lebanon, who successfully and singlehandedly repelled an invasion by Daesh in 2014, and which is a cornerstone of Lebanese sovereignty.' The UK Chargé d'Affaires CONCLUDED: 'In particular, I welcomed the convening of the Higher Defence Committee and the Prime Minister's backing for the Lebanese Armed Forces Commander.' On the other hand, Premier Hariri received the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Lebanon, Aghasalim Shukurov. The meeting focused on the bilateral relations and means of strengthening them, especially in the economic and political fields. Hariri later met with deputies Ahmad Fatfat and Kassem Abdel Aziz in the presence of the coordinator of the Future Movement in Denniyeh Nazem Hayek and Assistant Secretary General for Public Relations in the Future Movement Bassam Abdul Malek. After the meeting, Fatfat said that the meeting focused on development issues related to the Denniyeh area, especially the projects of the Ministry of Public Works.

AUB a partner in international conference on Arab Women in Computing
Thu 10 Aug 2017/NNA - The Fifth International Arab Women in Computing (ArabWIC) Conference was hosted at the American University of Beirut (AUB) as a partner in the support of women in technology and a key promoter of quality research in the region. Hosted for the first time in Lebanon, the conference attracted more than 400 participants from 30 countries and was opened in the presence of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform Inaya Ezzeddine, AUB President Dr. Fadlo R. Khuri, students, professionals, and academics in the global tech ecosystem. The annual conference is the largest gathering of women in technology in the Arab world. It aims to inspire, retain, and encourage collaboration among Arab women in computing, while increasing their visibility and elevating their status within the field. President Fadlo Khuri shared at the opening session the University's vision and the various faculties' initiatives to increase women's interest and involvement in the technology field and to combat any disparity in contribution rates. "It is my firm belief that in the Arab world we have the capacity to show the rest of the human race how things can be done more equitably and more fairly, I do think this is our time," said President Khuri. "Your vision in ArabWIC is paired with our vision and our ability to empower and launch all those young people of talent into the world who want to make it a better place, for all of us, whether women or men."
Minister Inaya Ezzeddine called AUB "a cultural and intellectual beacon that has greatly impacted the region and Lebanon," and thanked it for its support of the conference. Dr. Ezzeddine called for an examination during the conference of four fundamental and related issues: education as a sustainable development goal; the role of technology in human development; democracy and e-governance (transparency, accountability and the participation of civil society); and the engagement of women in technology for greater economic growth. The conference is organized by ArabWIC, an association that connects Arab women in technology and tackles the entire ecosystem - the various computing/technology sectors (academia, industry and entrepreneurship) - to create linkages with international women in computer science organizations, facilitate women's reach of their career goals, and bring applied tech skills to the region. Through 18 chapters, the organization encompasses more than 2,500 members worldwide.
Dr. Sana Odeh, chairperson and founder of ArabWIC, spoke to us about "AUB's crucial role and suitability" as a partner and host for this international event. Seen as a leader in research and a key element in the tech ecosystem in the Arab World, AUB was one of the partners who facilitated the conference and brought in academics, students, alumna, and speakers who helped in the planning and execution of the conference. Both founders of the Lebanese Chapter of ArabWIC are AUB affiliated: Nisreen Deeb is currently a master's student at AUB, and Mona Itani is an AUB alumna."The support we received is a testimony that the ecosystem is eager and ready to support women's integration," said Dr. Odeh in her speech. "We are giving a message that in the Arab world we are ready to make things different and women here are demanding that they be hired based on their talent, not their gender."
Over the past year, the department of Computer Science at AUB coordinated with ArabWIC in preparation for the conference. The mission of the department revolves around teaching computer science to students at all levels and benefitting the community.
Over one year, 35 schools from all over Lebanon were trained by the department on computer science topics. The computer science department also runs "Future Developer" summer camps to teach recent technologies to students between the ages of 11 and 17. It partnered with the Center of Civic Engagement and Community Service at AUB and the World Food Program to teach basic and advanced IT skills to Syrian refugees and under-served Lebanese people; benefitting one thousand participants. "The conference goals match those of the AUB upper administration regarding the support of women and their contribution to research and the workforce," Dr. Wassim El Hajj told us. "AUB's endorsement of this event is in fact an endorsement of how important this is for AUB, putting women's integration in the forefront and investing in them through many initiatives."The three-day conference program includes more than 100 sessions of keynotes, panel discussions, research talks, applied technology lectures, as well as coaching and networking sessions showcasing top tier research in data science and machine learning. A hackathon will be held on the third day to teach 50 girls from refugee camps to create apps that help them solve problems within their communities. Career booths are set up on site for on-the-spot interviews for short and long-term hiring of aspiring women. Although the rate of enrollment of women in computer science is higher in the Arab world (an estimated 50%) compared to that in the US (15%), their rate of employment in the field, compared to their male counterparts, is very low. Diversity in the workforce has been proven to increase productivity and the production of a balanced society, yet collaboration to increase this diversity in the region is minimal. The conference aims to involve entrepreneurs, policy-makers, and universities in a conversation on the future of technology, the challenges faced, and a better integration of women in education and work in the field.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 10-11/17
Qatar Crisis: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince receives US envoys
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishThursday, 10 August 2017/Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, received two senior envoys assigned by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to handle issues relating to Qatar crisis in the region. The visit of the envoys, retired General Anthony Zinni and Tim Lenderking, deputy assistant secretary for Arabian Gulf Affairs in the Near East Bureau, comes as part of their tour of the region to mediate a resolution for Qatar crisis after a visit to Kuwait and Qatar.
Reports indicate that they are due to travel to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt later.
Tillerson decided to appoint envoys in alliance with the US administration's efforts to resolve the Qatari crisis with the Gulf States and Egypt.

Qatar launches diplomacy campaign through its foreign ministers
By Staff Writer, Al Arabiya English Thursday, 10 August 2017/Qatar appears to pressing on with its campaign against the four Arab countries boycotting it, this time through public relations. Gulf observers believe this is a new course exploited by Qatar to escape Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt’s pressures demanding it to stop supporting and financing terrorism, hosting on-the-run terrorists, and spreading hate and incitement. Observers say the campaign is noticable through its ambassadors’ press statements, which involves Qatar adopting an "arrogant stance and shifting responsibility onto the boycotting countries." Qatari Ambassador in Moldova, Mohammed Ali al-Maliki, issued a press statement at the capital, Chisinau, denying any responsibility for his country's deteriorating relations with the boycotting countries. Additionally, in an attempt to gain support from the Eastern European republic, he hinted that Qatar is seeking closer bilateral relations with Moldovia. The state is also looking into pursuing huge investments there, especially in the agricultural field, he added. A similar press statement was issued by the Qatari ambassador in Spain, Mohammed Jaham Al Kuwari, who referred to the boycott as an unjust blockade. He continued saying that the circumstances will not prevent Qatar from developing its ties with the world.Al Kuwari also used the money card to gain allies or new friends through luring them into the idea of Qatari investments in the agricultural field in the Spanish territory of Extremadura.

International Civil Aviation Organization welcomes cooperation of boycotting states
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishFriday, 11 August 2017/The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has issued its decisions regarding Qatar’s complaint about the four counterterrorism countries. The statement noted that the bureau of the Council had taken note of the contents of Qatar’s complaint as well as the response of the concerned States to it and had heard the General Secretariat’s opinion about the flow of traffic over international waters. The Council recognized the existence of political issues that the States concerned should address in appropriate international platforms away from ICAO. Commenting on the organization’s decisions, His Excellency Engineer Abdul Hakeem Bin Mohammed Al Tamimi, Chairman of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, said: “These decisions underscore the neutrality of the organization and its commitment to the role for which it was established which is the preservation of the safety of civil aviation throughout the world.” Al-Tamimi appreciated the abstention of the Organization and its distinguished Council from going into political matters. The members stressed that such matters should be discussed in specialized platforms. In fact, during his speech, the Chairman of the Council of the Organization stated that New York was only an hour away from Montreal, in reference to the headquarters of the United Nations. On the other hand, the Council expressed its appreciation to the General Secretariat and the States concerned for the emergency preparation they have undertaken in the Gulf region. The General Secretariat was requested to continue to coordinate with concerned and neighboring States to ensure the speedy implementation of emergency arrangements. In this regard, Tamimi explained that the members of the Council commended the steps taken by the four countries to open new emergency routes to help the flow of air traffic on the high seas, stressing that emergency corridors are only temporary and established in exceptional cases, at high altitude and when air traffic rises in a limited area. Tamimi emphasized that the Kingdom’s sovereign airspace is still closed to the registered aircraft in Qatar. In its resolutions, the Council also welcomed the commitment of the States concerned to continue technical consultations under the patronage of ICAO to ensure the application of optimal technical solutions, and requested the General Secretariat to provide information on a regular basis and to submit an updated report for consideration by the Council at its next session. The Council also urged all Member States of ICAO to continue to cooperate to enhance the safety, security, efficiency and sustainability of international civil aviation and expressed its appreciation to the five States for their spirit of cooperation during the special session.

Kuwaiti Emir Seeks Direct Dialogue to Resolve Gulf Crisis
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 10/17/Dammam – Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al Sabah arrived in Doha on Wednesday on his fifth and last stop on a tour that took him to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other countries, within the framework of reviving a mediation aimed at resolving the crisis with Qatar. Sheikh Sabah, accompanied by Kuwaiti Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammed Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al Sabah, met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to whom he delivered a letter from Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al Sabah. During the past two days, the Kuwaiti envoy visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and conveyed written messages to the Arab leaders in efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis.
Kuwaiti sources noted that the Emir has focused in the letters on the need to unite Arab and Gulf leaders in a summit in order to look into possible mechanisms to resolve the crisis. The sources added that the Emir was seeking to hold direct dialogue between the parties based on the GCC values of preserving unity and solidarity among member states, while rallying international support, especially by the United States, to provide guarantees that meet the demands of the countries boycotting Qatar.
In Doha, a US delegation formed of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arabian Gulf Affairs Tim Lenderking and retired general Anthony Zinni met with Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The two officials made an earlier visit to Kuwait, where they stressed the US support to Kuwaiti mediation efforts. They are also expected to continue their tour to the countries concerned with the Gulf crisis. Qatar News Agency (QNA) said that the foreign minister has discussed with Zinni and Lenderking developments in the Gulf crisis. It also quoted the Qatari minister as saying that his country fully supports the Kuwaiti mediation efforts aimed at finding a solution to the current dispute.
Meanwhile, Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said on Twitter: “Qatar’s crisis is with its neighbors and surroundings. The solution is by addressing these grievances and realities; the solution will not come through external pressures. The solution is in the bravery in facing the crisis.”

Mysterious Raids on Popular Mobilization Forces near Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 10/Beirut, Baghdad – Mysterious airstrikes launched Tuesday against a faction linked with the Popular Mobilization Forces near the US-led international coalition camp of Syria’s al-Tanf, drove disputes between Iraqi officials and members of the coalition fighting ISIS in the war-torn country..Sources from Sayyed al-Shuhada Brigade (The Battalion of the Sayyed’s Martyrs) said that the US army conducted airstrikes last night on one of its convoys, which was moving from inside the Iraqi territories in the direction of the Syrian border, near al-Tanf area. Many members of the Brigade were killed and injured as a result of the aerial bombardment, including an officer from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. A spokesman from the brigade said on Tuesday that at least 36 members of the Sayyed al-Shuhada force were killed and more than 75 others were wounded in the strike. The US attack is considered the first against militias linked to Iran inside Iraqi territories, although the coalition’s warplanes had already attacked military regime forces and Iranian-linked militia convoys near al-Tanf camp in the east. For its part, Iran admitted on Tuesday the killing of one of its Revolutionary Guards officers. Tehran said that Colonel Morteza Hosseinpour-Shalmani from was killed in Syria during an “advisory” mission fighting ISIS forces. Colonel Abbas Bayrami, assistant of coordination affairs at Al-Quds Brigade based in Gilan province, said on Tuesday that Shalmani was killed during a “consultative mission in Syria” on Monday. However, Iran’s Fars news agency said that ISIS captured Shalmani during clashes with the Popular Mobilization Forces in an area near al-Tanf, without giving additional information. Meanwhile, although the International Coalition has denied its involvement in the raid, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Tuesday “the international coalition has no authority to carry out bombardment without the knowledge of Iraq.”

Concerns in Israel over Deteriorating Relations with Egypt
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 10/17/Tel-Aviv – Senior Israeli sources expressed their concern over the “serious deterioration” of relations with Egypt in diplomatic channels and the closing of the Israeli embassy in Cairo for the eighth consecutive month. During a meeting recently held by the parliamentary subcommittee in the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Army and the Ministry of Economy said that relations with Egypt have sharply decline since the departure of the diplomatic corps from Cairo, said parliamentary sources, However, officials at the National Security Council in the Israeli Prime Minister’s office tried to play down the situation. They said that the continuation of security relations with Egypt was more important for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than the reopening of the Israeli embassy in Cairo, which was shut in December 2016. The Israeli ambassador and his staff were returned to Israel for security reasons, purportedly following a warning of an attack against the embassy. Since then, the diplomatic corps has not returned, while Israel accuses Egypt of stalling to implement the required security arrangements. Sources at the meeting, which was held two weeks ago, said that the representatives of the foreign ministry stressed that the months-long absence of a diplomatic representation in Cairo has made the ties between the two countries “very difficult.”They added that cooperation between the Israeli foreign ministry and the Egyptian government was limited to talks with the Egyptian ambassador to Israel and his staff.

National Coalition President: Riyadh Plans to Host Extended Meeting for Syrian Opposition
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 10/17/Riyadh, Jeddah – The head of the Syrian National Coalition opposition group, Riad Seif, said that Saudi Arabia was planning to host an extended meeting for the different factions of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), to discuss upcoming challenges and the outcome of communication between opposition groups, in particular the Cairo and Moscow platforms. Seif met on Wednesday with the undersecretary of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political and Economic Affairs Ambassador, Dr. Adel bin Siraj Mirdad in Riyadh. In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, the Syrian opposition figure noted that his meeting with Mirdad, who was representing Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, lasted four hours, during which the officials issued related to the Syrian file. “We have provided a general view of the institutions of the coalition, especially the interim government and the role that can be assigned to it, especially after the completion of the entry of factions of the Free Army and representatives of elected local councils,” he stated. Seif said that the delegation has received Saudi pledges to support the coalition and the interim government in assuming their effective role of managing the de-escalation zones, which fall under the authority of the interim government, and supervising over state properties and institutions to avoid power vacuum. The head of the National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces revealed efforts to improve the HNC representation “to enable it to play a strong and effective role, taking into account the changes that took place since its establishment a year and a half ago.” Seif pointed out, on the other hand, that Mirdad has stressed Saudi Arabia’s adherence to Syria’s autonomous decision and respect to the choices made by the Syrian people. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) published following the meeting, Mirdad said: “It is on the basis of the keenness of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his Deputy … on the future of Syria and the security and safety of its brotherly people, that this meeting was held to confirm the Kingdom’s steadfast stance on the Syrian crisis and to discuss developments and coordinate visions and positions.” “We are keen to unite efforts to guarantee a solution to the Syrian crisis and to support the brotherly Syrian people in determining their fate,” he added.

Iran Says Committed to Hajj Agreement with Riyadh
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 10/17/Riyadh- Upon the arrival of 23,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, an official from the Iranian pilgrimage office announced his country’s commitment to bilateral agreements signed with Riyadh, covering the pilgrims’ arrival to the airport, the days they will pass at the holy sites and finally their departure. The official also expressed gratitude for the good services and treatment presented to the Iranian mission in Jeddah and Medina airports. During a phone call with Asharq Al-Awsat, executive assistant at the office Nasser Hawsawi said that the last Iranian mission is expected to arrive at the kingdom on the third of Zulhijja, making a total of 86,000 Iranian pilgrims. Hawsawi denied any different points of view between Saudi Arabia and Iran on Hajj-related topics. The insistence of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization of Iran in 2016 to carry out some rituals unrelated to Hajj led to Iran’s rejection to sign the Hajj agreement with the Kingdom, depriving Iranian pilgrims from performing Hajj. In response to a question on what has been agreed upon with the Saudis, Hawsawi stated that “the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization of Iran has notified hajj convoys of the agreement and they will commit to it.” He added that the Iranian convoys are well known for their organization, discipline, potentials and residence. Commenting on the bilateral agreement to transport Iranian pilgrims, Hawsawi noted that Saudi Arabian Airlines and Iran Air are the exclusive carriers of Iranian pilgrims.

Barzani: Iraq Failed to Maintain Partnership with Kurds
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 10/17/Erbil– The head of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Masoud Barzani, reiterated his adherence to hold an independence referendum on September 25, noting that Iraq “has failed to maintain a true partnership with the Kurdish people.”During a meeting on Wednesday with Kurdish Muslim clerics in Erbil, Barzani said: “The Kurds have long tried to establish a federal state in Iraq,” adding that since 2003, the Iraqi government has violated around 55 articles of the Constitution, which was adopted by the people. He also stressed that Kurdistan would never represent part of Iraq, “if Baghdad continues to violate the Constitution,” revealing that in 2004, the proportion of Kurds in the Army was 40 percent, while “today it is zero”.“The independence referendum is not the property of one person or one party, but belongs to the people of Kurdistan and all the Kurdish parties,” Barzani said, adding that “the Kurdish people have been subjected to genocide since the establishment of the Iraqi state in the 1920s.”Meanwhile, Barzani’s media advisor, Kifah Mahmoud, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the Kurdish leader has stressed that the decision to hold the referendum was not biased or personal, in reference to those who claim that the decision was solely made by the president and the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Mahmoud pointed out that Barzani “realizes the important role of religious scholars in support of the independence referendum, which is equal to the role of media, teachers in schools, and politicians.”

Israel Demolishes Homes of Palestinian Attackers
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/17/Israeli authorities have demolished three homes and sealed off a fourth of Palestinians who carried out attacks that killed a soldier and a policewoman, the army said on Thursday. Israel regularly carries out such demolitions, which it says act as a deterrent, but human rights groups and Palestinians say they punish families for the actions of relatives. Two houses were demolished in Deir Abu Mashaal, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and a third was sealed off, an army spokeswoman said. Village mayor Emad Zahran told AFP Israeli soldiers entered the area around 2:00 am (2300 GMT Wednesday) with bulldozers. On June 16, three villagers carried out an attack outside Jerusalem's Old City that killed a policewoman. According to police, two of the assailants opened fire at a group of officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot. All three attackers were killed. A home in the West Bank town of Silwad was also demolished in response to an April 6 car-ramming attack near the Jewish settlement of Ofra that killed an Israeli soldier. A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has killed 293 Palestinians or Arab Israelis, 47 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP toll. Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks. Others were shot dead during protests or clashes, while some were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. The violence had greatly subsided but tension around the highly sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem saw a spike in July.

Regime Shelling Kills Three in Truce Zone near Damascus
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/17/Government bombardment killed three civilians on Thursday in a ceasefire zone near Syria's capital, a monitor said, in the second day of deadly shelling on the rebel area. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and local residents also reported violations in a second "de-escalation zone" in the central province of Homs. The areas -- in addition to a third ceasefire zone in the south -- were announced in recent weeks by Syrian government ally Russia.But on Thursday, government bombardment on the zone near Damascus killed three civilians and wounded seven more. "The shelling hit the town of Hammuriyeh early on Thursday, killing a woman, a man, and a child," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. The attack came a day after government shelling killed five civilians and wounded 10 more in the nearby town of Kfar Batna, the British-based Observatory said. Air strikes have also pummelled rebel-held parts of the Jobar district of Damascus and the adjacent district of Ain Tarma. Further south, one man was killed in Syrian government air strikes in the northern parts of Homs province, according to the Observatory and a resident. The raids were the first since the ceasefire in Homs was announced one week ago. "Four air strikes hit Al-Houla today," resident Abbas Abu Osama told AFP, adding that four other surrounding towns were hit with one air strike each. "We have our first casualty, killed in an air strike in Tal Dahab," he said.
Abdel Rahman confirmed that a man was killed in a raid but could not specify whether he was a rebel fighter or civilian. Under a plan hammered out in May between Russia, Turkey and Iran at peace talks in Kazakhstan, four "de-escalation zones" were to be established across swathes of Syria. Last month, Moscow announced the establishment of the first two zones in southern Syria and in the rebel stronghold of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus. The zone in Homs province was announced on August 3. The fourth zone, in northwestern Idlib province, has yet to be implemented.

N. Korea Says Trump 'Bereft of Reason', Says KCNA
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/17/North Korea on Thursday said US President Donald Trump was "bereft of reason" and would only respond to force, as it elaborated on a threat to attack the US Pacific territory of Guam. Trump this week stunned the world with a bold-faced message to Kim Jong-Un, saying his country faced "fire and fury like the world has never seen". Pyongyang then said it was working on a plan to fire simultanenously four ballistic missiles in an enveloping fire around Guam, a key US military stronghold. "Sound dialogue is not possible with such a guy bereft of reason and only absolute force can work on him," the official KCNA news service quoted General Kim Rak-Gyom of the Korean People's Army (KPA) as saying on Thursday. The statement said the KPA would complete mid-August a plan for the attack, which would involve four rockets flying over Japan, and submit it to Kim Jong-Un for consideration as a "crucial warning to the US". The unusually detailed statement said the four missiles would overfly the Japanese prefectures of Shimane, Hiroshima and Koichi. They would have a flight time of 17 minutes 45 seconds, travel 3,356.7 kilometres (around 2,086 miles) and hit the waters 30 to 40 kilometres away from Guam. The western Pacific island is home to US strategic assets including long-range bombers and military jets and submarines, which are regularly deployed for shows of force in and near the Korean peninsula, to Pyongyang's fury. Two supersonic US bombers took off from the island on a fly-over mission to the Korean peninsula early this week. Shin Jong-Wook, an analyst with Korea Defence and Security Forum, said Guam is well within range of the North's Hwasong-12 missile, which was unveiled in Pyongyang during a military parade in April. "The North is believed to have verified the credibility of Hwasong-12 by successfully test-launching it in May," he told AFP. Tensions tend to increase when South Korea and the US launch major military joint exercises. The next such exercise, Ulchi Freedom Guardian, is set to kick off around August 21.

Israel Moves ahead on Underground Wall around Gaza
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 10/17/Israel is pushing ahead with a project to build a giant underground wall around the Gaza Strip to block tunnels that could be used for attacks, the army said on Thursday. The project comes after the government faced heavy criticism over Hamas's use of tunnels in the 2014 Gaza war, with a state inquiry earlier this year accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and army top brass of being unprepared for the threat. "In the coming months, we are going to accelerate the construction of the barrier," Major General Eyal Zamir told journalists. "We hope that construction will be complete in two years." Army radio reported that the wall, comprising concrete planks and sensors, will stretch some 64 kilometres (40 miles). It is expected to be some six metres (20 feet) high and 40 metres (130 feet) deep, and cost around three billion shekels (710 million euros, $834 million). Construction Minister Yoav Galant said the wall will be built in Israeli territory parallel to the border fence sealing off the Palestinian enclave run by Islamist movement Hamas. "The fact that the work will be located in our sovereign territory rules out any justification for attacks against those working there," Galant told army radio. Attack tunnels were a key weapon for Hamas during the 2014 Gaza war. Hamas also built a vast network of tunnels under Gaza's border with Egypt to smuggle goods and allegedly weapons. The Israeli army found and destroyed several tunnels during the 2014 war, while Egypt has also destroyed smuggling tunnels. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars in the Gaza Strip since the group wrested control of the territory from the rival Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in 2007. The 2014 war killed 2,251 Palestinians and left 100,000 homeless, according to the UN. On the Israeli side, 74 people were killed, all but six of them soldiers.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 10-11/17
McMaster's Misunderstanding of the Middle East
A.Z. MohamedGatestone Institute/August 10/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10809/mcmaster-middle-east
If H.R. McMaster, President Trump's national security adviser, were merely exhibiting a misunderstanding of how things work in the Middle East, it would be bad enough. Yet this is not the greatest problem with his attitude towards Israel and the Palestinians. More serious is his anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian bias, as an article in the Conservative Report, based on comments by senior West Wing and defense officials, reveals.
According to the piece, "McMaster has emerged as a man fiercely opposed to strengthening the U.S. alliance with the Jewish state" -- one who "constantly refers to the [historically false] existence of a Palestinian state before 1947," and "who describes Israel as an 'illegitimate,' 'occupying power.'" More recently, as a source told the Conservative Report, after the terrorist attack on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on July 14, 2017 -- committed by three Arab Israelis against two Druze Israeli Border Police officers -- McMaster called Israel's placement of metal detectors at the site "just another excuse by the Israelis to repress the Arabs."
As Middle East scholar Daniel Pipes explains, peace is achieved through victory over one's enemies, not by appeasement or dangerous compromises. In his address to the American Jewish Committee's Global Forum in Washington on June 4, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, pointed to a "reassessment of regional relationships, most notably between Israel and a number of our Arab partners -- all friends of America, but too often adversaries of each other." McMaster was referring to the counter-terrorism initiative that President Donald Trump launched two weeks earlier in Saudi Arabia. McMaster called the move "an opportunity."Judging by his previous statements -- for example, during a speech in honor of Israel Independence Day at the Israeli Embassy in Washington in May -- McMaster considers one aspect of this opportunity to be a resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This is where his approach is misguided, if not totally counter-productive.
In the first place, the Arab states have never been America's allies in the way that Israel has been. Israel and the U.S. not only share a Western value system, but the Jewish state is a technological, economic and military democratic power in an unstable Middle East ruled by dictatorships. Speaking about them in the same breath not only indicates a lack of understanding of the region, but necessarily hinders any attempt on the part of the U.S. administration to revive long-stalled negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, let alone achieve a peace deal. As Middle East scholar Daniel Pipes explains, peace is achieved through victory over one's enemies, not by appeasement or dangerous compromises.
If McMaster were merely exhibiting a misunderstanding of how things work in the Middle East, it would be bad enough. Yet this is not the greatest problem with his attitude towards Israel and the Palestinians. More serious is his anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian bias, as an article in the Conservative Report, based on comments by senior West Wing and defense officials, reveals. According to the piece, "McMaster has emerged as a man fiercely opposed to strengthening the U.S. alliance with the Jewish state" -- one who "constantly refers to the [historically false] existence of a Palestinian state before 1947," and "who describes Israel as an 'illegitimate,' 'occupying power.'" More recently, as a source told the Conservative Report, after the terrorist attack on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on July 14, 2017 -- committed by three Arab Israelis against two Druze Israeli Border Police officers -- McMaster called Israel's placement of metal detectors at the site "just another excuse by the Israelis to repress the Arabs."This is in keeping with McMaster's ideology in general. During his first "all hands" staff meeting on February 23, 2017, he called terrorism "un-Islamic" and the term "radical Islamic terrorism" not helpful.
Prior to the meeting, retired U.S. Army Col. Peter Mansoor told Fox News that McMaster, with whom he served in Iraq during the 2007 surge of American troops, "absolutely does not view Islam as the enemy... and will present a degree of pushback against the theories being propounded in the White House that this is a clash of civilizations and needs to be treated as such."In response to mounting criticism against the national security adviser in conservative circles, Trump said in a statement emailed to the New York Times, "General McMaster and I are working very well together. He is a good man and very pro-Israel. I am grateful for the work he continues to do serving our country."This may be an attempt on Trump's part to mitigate the damage done by the manpower upheaval in the White House, and allay fears of further turmoil. However, if McMaster continues to view Israel and its Arab neighbors as comparable U.S. allies, and to consider the Jewish state to blame for a lack of peace with the Palestinians, the president would do well to re-examine whether his national security adviser is serving either his interests or those of the United States.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Jew-Hating Imams Need to be Removed
Shireen Qudosi/Gatestone Institute/August 10/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10811/imams-antisemitism
For Muslims in other parts of the world, inflammatory outrage -- often based on spurious charges -- against Israel, has always been given immediate priority, while serious human rights violations by Muslim nations, dictators, and mobs are shrugged off as problems "over there."
This silent refusal by many Muslims to condemn attacks that are openly inspired by Islam does not come from aggression, but from a fear of challenging religious authority or needfully holding our own community accountable. In a post-Trump era, Muslims are not worried about what Jews, Americans or a new administration will do. Many of us fear first and foremost our own community for the ostracism and harassment we risk if we rise as a dissenting voice.
Extremist ideology will only change once we remove the imams and the mosque leadership who are complicit and who have unfettered access to a powerful platform. These are not people of faith; they are not spiritual leaders. They are dangerous propagandists and they need to be removed.
From Lebanon to Norway -- now most recently in California -- pulpits at mosques are ripe with raw Jew-hate. This hate is not denounced by the immediate community. When news broke recently that Imam Ammar Shahin of the Islamic Center in Davis, California, delivered a one- hour war-drum sermon against Jews concerning the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the imam and the members of mosque stood shamelessly behind his bidding to "Liberate the Al Aqsa mosque from the filth of the Jews. Annihilate them down to the very last one."
That is a call for genocide.
On the same day, in front of a congregation of Friday worshippers, another imam, Mahmoud Harmoush, in Riverside, California, also gave a Jew-hating sermon. Harmoush openly said:
"Oh, Allah, liberate the Al Aqsa Mosque and all the Muslim lands from the unjust tyrants and the occupiers... Oh, Allah, destroy them, they are no match for you. Oh, Allah, disperse them and rend them asunder. Turn them into booty in the hands of the Muslims."
hating public sermon. (Image source: US Marin Corps/Lance Cpl. Derrick Irions)
The Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem made headlines recently, when Israeli forces placed necessary metal detectors -- the same as protect many other mosques -- at the entrances to the religious site of Jerusalem's Temple Mount, after a deadly terrorist attack in which three Israeli Arabs shot and killed two Druze Israeli policemen days earlier. Palestinians then launched a protest against the security measures, which had been installed to protect Muslim worshippers as well as to protect the mosque from being destroyed by weapons that were being brought into it.
Palestinian protestors claimed that the metal detectors were a violation of their religious freedom, even though no one had forbidden Muslims to go to the Temple Mount other than the Palestinian Authority itself.
For Muslims in other parts of the world, inflammatory outrage against Israel -- often based on spurious charges -- has always been given immediate priority, while serious human rights violations by Muslim nations, dictators, and mobs are shrugged off as problems "over there."
In the U.S., the reactionary sermons in "liberal" California received negative media coverage. Congressmen John Garamendi and Brad Sherman openly admonished the sermons, and there was welcome pushback from the Muslim community. A week after the sermons were delivered and largely defended by the immediate Muslim community despite public denunciation, Imam Ammar Shahin, after public pressure, offered a public apology; Imam Mahmoud Harmoush also apologized.
The war-mongering rhetoric of the imams were not slips of the tongue or off-hand comments. Their rhetoric is the same packaged radical ideology churned out in madrassas, terror camps, and online extremist publications. These are calculated and crafted messages that appear to convey the assumption that their religious "authority" will not be challenged. Their words were not indicative of American Islam or what it means to be a Muslim American who embraces tolerance and religious liberty for all, often putting a religious identity second to a collective national identity.
What is even more telling is that in the instance of Imam Shahin of Davis, not only did the mosque's board and larger community stand behind him and his sermon; they also chose to attack the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which did the hard work of uncovering these stories. Rather than those who attended the mosque voicing their concern in public, it was MEMRI that did the footwork Muslim communities should be doing internally -- which includes acting as watchdogs against hate speech. What the American Muslim community should be doing, (instead of, by their silence, implicitly backing the calls for genocide) is helping to launch the flagship Reform Project, devoted to amplifying voices of liberal Muslims.
As a southern California native, and an American Muslim who is part of a larger network of progressive Muslims advocating for desperately-needed self-examination, I would like to say that these apologies are simply not good enough. Within days of the sermons, we launched a petition against Imam Ammar Shahin, calling for his immediate termination on the basis of an inexcusable interpretation of the faith; gross abuse of power; manipulating innocent worshippers; disregarding the unacceptable cruelty that this might be inflicting on others (in this instance, Jews); and for further alienating and endangering American Muslims who will suffer backlash and suspicion for the sermon.
Voicing concern about backlash, or fear of backlash, is detrimental to American Muslims. It handicaps our ability to speak freely and publicly denounce calls for war against an entire population. Instead of voicing a deeply passionate resistance to using a mosque pulpit, or any pulpit, for advocating genocide -- a sentiment privately disclosed in multiple conversations with California-based American Muslims -- the public response is silence.
This silent refusal by many Muslims to condemn attacks that are openly inspired by Islam does not come from aggression, but from a fear of challenging religious authority or needfully holding our own community accountable. In a post-Trump era, Muslims are not worried about what Jews, Americans or a new administration will do. Many of us fear first and foremost our own community for the ostracism and harassment we risk if we rise as a dissenting voice. For this reason, it is critical to underscore that these imams not only antagonize fragile relationships and stir chaos in an already tense time; they do much more than that. Their actions alarm the local Jewish community, who must live with the fact that one block from their homes is someone who wants their family dead. These imams deliberately harm the ability of their own Muslim communities to evolve and embrace pluralism.
The petition was supported by outstanding American Muslims and their organizations -- those that value tolerance, respect for the religious values of others, and pluralism. Organizations that signed the petition include the Muslim Reform Movement, Muslims for Progressive Values, as well a handful of other strong southern California Muslim American activists, such as Anila Ali and Soraya Deen.
Within days, the petition received literally thousands of signatures. All it demanded was that those imams be fired. The truth is that the entire mosque board that defended and allowed these imams to speak at length, without interruption, should step down. Members of the interfaith community (best described by the Islamic scholar Tarek Fatah as an "interfaith harem") also need to take a hard look at their own complicity. Partnering with Jew-haters is of no service to anyone -- not Jews, not Christians, and not the Muslim community. There is also the larger issue of the ineffectiveness of many interfaith groups and their tendency to be used as props during public-relations disasters such as this one.
Apologies do not change an ideology. The imams' apologies will not dissolve their open bias against Jews or anyone else. Extremist ideology will only change once we remove the imams and the mosque leadership who are complicit and who have unfettered access to a powerful platform. These are not people of faith; they are not spiritual leaders. They are dangerous propagandists and they need to be removed.
**Shireen Qudosi is the Director of Muslim Matters, with America Matters.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

How Trump Can Confront Iran without Blowing up the Nuclear Deal
Josh Rogin/The Washington Post/'August 10/17
President Trump seems determined to not certify that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal when that question comes before him this fall. But that would be only the beginning of the story. He could follow such a determination with actions that risk blowing up the deal and the US-Iran relationship. Or he could — as some of his senior national security advisers prefer — adopt a more careful, complicated approach. There’s a growing push both inside and outside the administration to craft a way to acknowledge what many see as Iran’s violations of the nuclear agreement without precipitating a crisis. Many worry that provoking the deal’s collapse would not only risk an unpredictable and dangerous escalation but also hamper the international effort to confront Iran’s regional expansion, support for terrorism and other mischief.
The question is whether Trump’s national security team can persuade him to take a middle approach to a nuclear deal he campaigned against and clearly despises.
In a news conference last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson laid out his view that the Iran deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), must not dominate the administration’s Iran focus. Tillerson admitted he disagrees with the president on whether the agreement can be salvaged.
“The JCPOA represents a small slice of the Iranian relationship,” he said, adding, “We continue to have conversations about the utility of that agreement, whether it has utility, whether it doesn’t have utility.”“[President Trump] and I have differences of views on things like JCPOA and how we should use it,” he said. Tillerson argued for certifying Iran’s compliance when it came up in April and July. Both times, Trump yielded to Tillerson’s view. But in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, Trump suggested he won’t again.
“If it was up to me, I would have had them non-compliant 180 days ago,” Trump said, adding that next time, “I think they’ll be non-compliant.”
The intelligence community believes that Iran’s violations are minor and do not amount to a material breach. But the president’s view is that Iran is in violation of the spirit of the deal, a senior White House official told me. Under the law Congress passed, the certification is subjective.
It’s also unclear what follows non-certification. Trump could continue to waive nuclear sanctions on Iran or stop, effectively reimposing them. The White House admittedly does not know how the Iranian government would react to new sanctions, the official said.
Congress could also reimpose sanctions if Trump does not certify compliance. For many Republicans, having new negotiations with Iran would be nice but is not necessary. They agree with Trump that the deal is probably not worth saving.
“I don’t think we get much benefit from the deal, so it collapsing doesn’t trouble me all that much,” said Senator Tom Cotton. “The president’s instincts on Iran are sound.”
Tillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster argue that if Trump decides not to certify Iranian compliance, rather than scuttle the deal he can work to improve it and increase pressure on Iran in other ways, according to sources involved in the discussions.
CIA Director Mike Pompeo agrees with Tillerson and McMaster that Iran’s regional threats are the near-term priority. Unlike Tillerson, Pompeo has never supported certifying compliance.
McMaster’s team is leading an inter-agency policy review that is sure to call for expanding confrontation with Iran in places such as Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. The Iran deal, if in place, could be used as a pressure point while upping the ante on those fronts, experts argue.
Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and David Albright of Institute for Science and International Security have offered a middle approach they describe as “waive and slap,” recommending that Trump not certify compliance but continue to waive nuclear sanctions while imposing new sanctions on nonnuclear issues. Skeptics doubt the Trump team can thread the needle, considering that once Trump declares noncompliance, there’s no way to predict what Iran will do. Also, tinkering with the deal or reimposing sanctions could cause new disputes with European allies and other partners, such as Russia and China. “Even if they did a great job, it’s serious risks,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association. “And for what gain?”
If Trump is determined to get the United States out of the Iran deal, nobody can stop him. But if the majority of his national security team gets its way, Trump will repeat what he did with Cuba: make minimal changes to the policy, then declare he has undone Obama’s “terrible deal” and fulfilled a campaign promise.And if Trump can’t bring himself to certify Iran’s compliance anymore, he should at least minimize the chances his decision will cause a diplomatic crisis and distract the United States from the mission of combating Iran’s other nefarious activities.

Qatar’s Supremacy…Fortune Doesn’t Make Respect
Salman Al-dossary/ASharq Al Awsat/August 10/17
In April 1986, Qatar executed a military operation marking the first of its kind between countries of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Military forces were airdropped in Bahraini island al-Debel and they apprehended 29 employees and construction workers over there. During the ruling of former King Fahd, Saudi Arabia intervened and its mediation led to the release of the Bahraini nationals after 17 days of apprehension. Orchestrated by the former Prince Hamad bin Khalifa, who was the Crown Prince and Defense Minister back then, Qatar’s aggressive and barbaric operation was catastrophic to the Gulf. Even amid their toughest border disagreements, no Gulf state ever executed such a reckless behavior.
International Court of Justice ruled that Hawar islands remain under Bahrain’s jurisdiction, despite the forged documents presented at the court by Qatari authorities. Even after the ruling, and despite being its closest neighbor and many of Qatar’s families married into Bahraini ones, Doha continued to treat Bahrain with superiority. Yet, what God granted Qatar of natural resources, was used immorally by the state sometimes and pathetically at other times. Majorly, its behavior became dominated by money and its value, but anyway, Qatar continued to believe that its behavior is a tool to prove its dominance and power.
The bitterness was apparent during the interview of Bahrain’s Minister of Interior Affairs Rashid bin Abdallah with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper when he narrated Qatar’s history of superiority or the Qatari aggression when it peaked during the crisis in February 2011; when Doha intervened and supported the extremist opposition seeking to topple the regime. The Bahraini minister revealed that Doha disrupted the construction of a bridge between Bahrain and Qatar by not providing its share of the Gulf support program like its GCC counterparts. In addition, Qatar prevented the export of gas to Manama, forcing Bahrain to import it from Russia, although Qatar exports its gas to different countries around the world, according to the minister.
Aside from the details of historical background that enabled Qatar to poorly treat its neighboring countries, the heinous behavior of the authorities reached the peak when they began promoting an ignorant idea, which is based on the concept that natural resources favors a state over another and that money owned by people is what makes a nation more respected than the other. Bahrain was the country most slandered and defamed by Qatar, which was caught on by Bahrain Foreign Minister who said: “Thank God we are immensely more rich with wonderful creative people than materialistic wealth, and more thankful for not being nouveau riche.” The sure thing is that Qatar’s superior behavior, precisely when dealing with Bahrain, was publicly unveiled as its isolation crisis unraveled. Doha confirmed a shallow concept that its resources and fortune permits it to carry on with its hostile policies towards its neighbors. Without any regard for the social and political concepts, Qatar is delusional that money can buy whatever it pleases. If only Qatar knew that this is a concept that devalues the country and doesn’t promote it. When was fortune a measure for people’s worth?Any country that brags about its money and resources instead of its history and geography, is doomed to be wiped out. Money can buy a lot of things, but not respect and dignity. Qatar seems to forget that fortune doesn’t buy open land borders and all the fortune in the world won’t make Turkey or Iran Gulf neighbors.

Iran’s Jaw-Dropping Hypocrisy on Qatar Crisis
Eyad Abu Shakra/ASharq Al Awsat/August 10/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=57828
There is a famous saying that “in politics, there is neither a lasting friendship nor a permanent enmity, but rather a permanent interest.” It is true. The most successful policies are the most realistic ones, in which pragmatism trumps principles. Take the US, established by its Founding Fathers with their Declaration of Independence bestowing the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Despite this foundation, the US had no qualms during the Cold War about supporting dictatorships in the Far East, Latin America and parts of Africa. It justified this support by saying the US feared the expansion of the “Communist Ghoul” into poor countries that were prone to political instability. Or take the former Soviet Union, with its roots in the 1917 October Revolution that demanded a fair global society for the world’s workers, with no racial, linguistic and religious differences. But within its borders this “workers’ paradise” built individual police states and sheltered mafia groups with illegally obtained wealth. They enslaved hard-working people, limited the dreams of the poor and deceived those who believed in social justice.
And why look so far afield for examples of such pragmatism? At the very heart of our Arab world, have we not seen how some “progressive” parties ended up once they acquired power? In a short period of time, and in the absence of accountability, they awarded themselves castles, privileges and wealth.
In the end, words may be forgotten and data erased, but interests, and interests alone, determine the policies of the countries that are good at “handling” politics.
For decades, the US State Department has issued annual statements about countries that flout international law and support terrorism. Iran, Syria and North Korea invariably appear on that list. Let us disregard North Korea for the time being and examine how Washington behaved toward the other two during the eight-year presidency of Barack Obama.
Obama reached a deal with Iran that will allow the latter, after 15 years, to establish a nuclear military capability. That was not all. To reach this deal, the US disregarded the expansion of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) throughout the Middle East, inciting sectarian hatred and civil war.
At the same time, the US mocked the Syrian people’s revolution and denied it a path to success and any means of support. It also deceived the Syrian people and turned a blind eye to violence, starvation, displacement and destruction — crimes that have killed up to half a million Syrians and destroyed the lives of untold millions more. To put it simply, the Iranian and Syrian people have been overlooked, for the sake of a capricious deal that contradicted every principle of combating terrorism. What applies to Obama’s Washington applies, in fact, to most developed countries that brag about their democratic heritage while lecturing a Third World that endures poverty, famine, disease and underdevelopment. It also applies to countries that claim to be living in accordance with divine spiritual principles that supersede political institutions, of which Iran is a classic example. To comply with the requirements of international relations, it elects governments and presidents, and establishes councils and surveillance bodies: But governance is exercised through the theory of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist or Wilayat Al-Faqih. Two powerful forces form the core of the regime, apart from all the claims related to democracy and public freedoms: The IRGC and its institutions, and the moneyed group that provides the IRGC with the means of subsistence, expansion and domination, and benefits from its activities.
At the end of 2001, and in response to the 9/11 attacks, the US decided to topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan because it supported and had close ties with Al-Qaeda. The Iranian leadership did not object to the presence of US and NATO troops on the Muslim lands of Afghanistan. Quite the reverse, Iran was happy that Washington had brought down a hard-line tyranny that it disliked. The same silence followed the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the toppling of the regime and the execution of its president. Moreover, despite the hostility to Washington and the “Death to America” culture that Iran spread through the areas under its influence and control, Tehran supporters actually benefited from the US occupation.In Afghanistan, since the liberation from Taliban rule and the Afghan forces’ agreement on a consensual legitimate authority, Tehran has moved to secure a foothold in the country by re-establishing close ties with its “ancient foe,” the Taliban. Almost the same thing happened in Iraq: The US did Tehran a favor by exterminating the Baathist regime, but once that was achieved Tehran had no interest in keeping the Americans there for long. To put pressure on Washington, Tehran gave the Syrian regime the task of exporting Al-Qaeda terrorism to Iraq with operations targeting the remaining US soldiers. That is how Iran forced the US to withdraw, leaving the arena clear for Tehran’s influence. According to Tehran’s followers in the Arab region, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and now Daesh are takfiri organizations who accuse other Muslims of apostasy. This charge does not, of course, extend to similar organizations that are supported by Tehran. Iran waged an aggressive war in Syria against its people, economy and national unity under the pretext of fighting takfiris. For several years now, Tehran’s spokesmen and Iranian policy advocates on Arab media have been attacking countries that they accuse of supporting takfiris. However, as soon as the Qatar crisis began, Tehran rapidly switched sides and stood shoulder to shoulder with the countries it had just accused of supporting takfiri ideology.
Some may describe this as “realpolitik,” and pragmatism trumping principles. Others may describe it as hypocrisy.

The choice between coexistence or ISIS
Ghassan Charbel/Al Arabiya/August 10/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=57830
The ISIS terrorist organization was established after the collapse of a series of coexistence trials. It changed maps and tore borders apart, and maps are like buildings, they always need maintenance. Negligence speeds up their demise with walls cracking and doors breaking down. Factionalism policies rattle their core and peace. This gives “black winds” the chance to infiltrate into them. Songs and armies are not enough to protect the borders. Based on experiences, borders fall from within before they are violated from the outside.
Today, the region rejoices the series of strikes against ISIS, and it is within its right to celebrate. ISIS is a storm of blood and mud and a heavy chapter of injustice and darkness in the story of time. Stories of those captivated or orphaned by ISIS are both heartbreaking and terrifying.
But, what is more important than victorious celebrations are the lessons learned.
This terrible organization wasn’t dropped over our societies but rather penetrated through cracks and supported by experienced fighters driven by their grudges. ISIS couldn’t have violated borders hadn’t they were already suffering and it couldn’t have settled in the region hadn’t the national will been torn apart.
War on ISIS seems a difficult one with suicide bombers, tunnels, explosives, and young men brainwashed until they became bombs searching for a chance to detonate themselves.
A comprehensive war
Yet despite its importance, this war should be part of a more comprehensive war. Real victory is overcoming the idea of ISIS and the circumstances that facilitated the birth of the organization and its infiltration into one country or another. Without an encompassing confrontation against ISIS on the streets, in school books, in the media and in mosques, the war on the terrorist organization remains incomplete and the results are endangered. ISIS militants can escape and live as lone wolves waiting for the right moment to explode anywhere.Without an encompassing confrontation against ISIS on the streets, in school books, in the media and in mosques, the war on the terrorist organization remains incomplete
The most important thing about a broad confrontation is taking a difficult and probably painful decision to coexist. This doesn’t mean returning to the fake coexistence on television that failed its first test. The point is to have people within countries and countries live together. One must admit that ISIS leader Abu Baker al-Baghdadi couldn’t have emerged in Mosul, Iraq and open the door on this costly tragedy had the relations between Iraqi components been healthy and normal.
ISIS wouldn’t have been able to infiltrate into Syrian territories and take over the popular revolution causing its failure if relations between Syrian components had been natural within a normal state. We must make the decision to coexist with the world and the different various beliefs, ethnicities, and colors without thinking that we should impose our beliefs on the world or otherwise destroy it.
Ticking bomb
Believing that we have to subjugate the world into becoming like us is the shortest way towards becoming a ticking bomb in this world. We enter into a crushing clash more than we can handle if we fail to admit to one’s right to be different.
Considering anyone different from us as an enemy or someone who strayed from the right path consolidates demarcation which blocks any cooperation we need to achieve progress reached by other countries. Those countries went through their own costly experiences and survived with the belief that being different can enrich them and is a right that should be respected. Thinking that it is our duty to salvage humanity based on a single concept that can’t be interpreted or even without considering any other forms puts us in front of a wall and pushes us towards disaster.
Before making the decision to coexist with other people outside our region, living with others within the region must be determined. Considering every different idea a crime and a threat is the first step towards civil wars, identities terminations, and massacres. We must admit to other people’s right in a building, or a village, or a city to be different, and it is within their right to be equal and feel safe in a state based on citizenship and not on a majority, regardless of demographic percentages and modifications.
There is no way out of this hellhole that created hundreds of thousands of casualties and millions of refugees unless we coexist. Without deciding that, every victory is threatened of becoming another round in a war that settles and rekindles.
Without a true determination, torn societies will be the perfect opportunities for ISIS and similar organizations to resurface again.
Final triumph over ISIS can’t happen without the mission to build a truly modern state with rights and duties. It is not possible without citizenship in a country that respects the right to be different and a country of opportunities, comprehensive development, welcoming curriculum, and open and responsible media.
There is no way out of this hellhole if interventions and coups continue and if elimination and hatred policies are still used. For ages now, we tried these vindictive futile policies and retaliations that took us out of the race for the future, poisoned our states, capitals, and colleges. We can’t keep swimming in these turbid waters. Determination doesn’t mean that we are personally turning our children and their children into fuel for upcoming wars, nor does it mean we allow our countries to become pools of blood struggling with poverty and unemployment.
Our problem didn’t begin with ISIS’ existence to end with a military victory over it. Our real issue is failing the test of time to follow up development and modern age. Our problem is that we don’t want to pay for the train ticket heading towards the future.

A response to the New York Times and the Washington Post
Ali al-Shihabi/Al Arabiya/August 10/17
On August 3 and 5 respectively, the New York Times and the Washington Post published editorials condemning the decision by Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court to uphold death sentences for fourteen Shia’a citizens, including the then-seventeen-year old prospective Western Michigan University student Mujtaba’a al-Sweikat.In response to these convictions, the Times and the Post issued their own judgments; the Kingdom, they wrote, continues to make a “mockery” of due process and “demonize” its Shia’a minority, signs of “backwardness” that are “entirely out of sync with ambitions to create a thriving and modern state.”This writer freely admits that Saudi Arabia’s legal system is not a paragon of international best practices. However, if the Times and the Post wish to maintain their credibility in the eyes of a global audience, they should make an earnest effort not only to comprehend the extraordinary geopolitical challenges the Kingdom currently faces but also to consider how any state under such stress, including the most developed Western nations, has responded under similar circumstances.
They would also recognize that Saudi Arabia remains a developing country. For any developing state, the legal system is among the most difficult system to modernize; the rule of law can be applied unevenly, the judiciary can be opaque, and rulings can appear arbitrary. I would challenge the Times and the Post to identify how, in comparison to most other developing states, the Kingdom is exceptional in any one of these areas. And yet, Saudi Arabia’s legal and judicial systems seem to receive considerably more scrutiny and be spoken of in far more hyperbolic terms than those of its peers.
A key example is the Islamic Republic of Iran, which executes more people per capita than any other country and is thought to execute more nonviolent political dissidents than any other country. Cornell University Law School’s Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide reported that Iran’s 2015 per capita execution rate was nearly two and a half times that of Saudi Arabia. In 2014, it was three times as high. The gravity of Iran’s human rights abuses does not absolve Saudi Arabia from any criticism of its own practices. It does, however, raise questions about fairness and impartiality. Since 2012, the Times has printed at least five editorials directly criticizing Saudi Arabia’s record on executions. The Post has published at least four. During that same time frame, Iran’s wholesale execution of its political opponents, including the Islamic Republic’s brutal persecution and killing of its ethnic Arab minority in Ahvaz, is barely mentioned in their editorials. Why is that?
Saudi Arabia has not faced an attack on the scale of 9/11. We have, however, been fighting a war on our home soil for the better part of two decades.
Unlike Iran, Saudi Arabia did not condemn fourteen men to die for voicing a dissenting viewpoint or, as the Times and the Post suggest in the case of al-Sweikat, “attending political protests,” but for violent crimes—in this case, specifically, the wounding and killing of security personnel. Even in instances of overt violence against the state and its people, the Saudi government goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid shedding its citizens’ blood. The reasoning is practical; in a tribal society, execution can inflame a much wider constituency of people, which can sometimes invite retaliation and, consequently, cause more bloodshed. This applies to Shia’a as well as Sunni citizens. This is, however, a system with limits.
Geopolitical stress
Saudi Arabia is a country under severe geopolitical stress. For decades, the Kingdom has been targeted by both Sunni jihadist and radical Shia’a groups backed by Iran. It is important to remember that between 2003 and 2006, Saudi Arabia’s security forces fought an existential battle against the Sunni extremists of al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda’s successor, ISIS, continues to target the Kingdom. For all of the press coverage Saudi Arabia’s January 2016 conviction of five Iranian-backed Shia’a extremists, including Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, received, it is forgotten that these individuals were executed alongside forty-three Sunni jihadists. Severe stress can have a deleterious impact on even the strongest judicial systems in the most advanced countries. In the 1980s, a wave of attacks by the Irish Republican Army against the British government led the latter to suspend jury trials, target Irish Catholics for mass arrests, and ban prominent Sinn Féin leaders from the airwaves. In the aftermath of the horrors of the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration detained nearly eight hundred suspected enemy combatants in Guantanamo Bay, a detention facility structured specifically to exist outside the formal national boundaries of the United States and outside US standards of due process. As has been well-documented by both the Times and the Post, many of Guantanamo’s “enemy combatants” were detained under questionable circumstances, kidnapped by Afghan bounty hunters targeting any Arabic speaker they could locate. Once turned over to the United States, these individuals were subjected to “harsh interrogation techniques” or transferred via illegal renditions to other countries, where they were subjected to torture and often death by the security services of allied governments. Most of those imprisoned languished for years despite never being formally charged. In all, just five men have been put on trial for crimes related to the planning and/or execution of the 9/11 attacks.
Saudi Arabia has not faced an attack on the scale of 9/11. We have, however, been fighting a war on our home soil for the better part of two decades. This war has claimed the lives of hundreds of citizens, expatriates, and security personnel, and may yet claim many more.
When the United States was attacked, it threw its rule book out the window. It took many years to put that rule book back together (even today, forty-one prisoners remain in Guantanamo). Saudi Arabia is not as advanced as the United States. Our rule book would still be a work in progress even if we were not currently caught in the crosshairs of both Sunni jihadists and Iran and its extremist allies. Given that we are fighting a war on two fronts, our legal and judicial shortcomings are unique neither among developing states nor among advanced nations that have faced similar extraordinary challenges. The Post and the Times would do well to consider that before singling out Saudi Arabia for the harshest condemnation in their editorials.

How US confusion facilitates the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan
Huda al-Husseini/Al Arabiya/August 10/17
Kabul is politically crippled while the Taliban is fiercely progressing on several fronts.
If Afghanistan falls, it will represent a new terrorist problem to the world. A few months ago, American generals proposed to American President Donald Trump to increase the number of American troops there by at least 5,000. It seems he refused because he thinks all the old approaches have failed especially that the US spent around $718 billion on a war that it continues to lose. The current number of American troops there is 8,400 while in 2011, it was 100,000. Afghanistan suffers from Taliban’s vigorous return. Meanwhile, the government feels it is weak. Kabul is slowly losing its control over the country. The Afghan authorities control 52% of territories. Two years ago they controlled 72%. The state has lost control over 15% of its territories since September 2016 and until March 2017. Meanwhile, other provinces suffer under Taliban’s rule where around 500 soldiers get killed each week. All this indicates that the government is on its path towards a dead end in Kabul as security and developmental challenges confronting the country are tough and they require coordinated efforts and state funds. However, there is no hope on the horizon.
Ashraf Ghani’s government and Abdullah Abdullah, the Chief Executive of Afghanistan, who were presidential rivals in 2014, control the country’s political scene. They decided to join a national unity government to avoid a short-term political crisis but instead they sowed the seeds of a long-term crisis by undermining the fragile Afghan constitution. Corrupt military groups that only care about protecting their interests have controlled politics in Afghanistan since 2014. It’s a sick environment. There’s little hope that the situation may change with the parliamentary elections next year or with the presidential elections in 2019. Considering the state’s decreased control over all provinces, there may not even be a state by the election date in 2018.
Security, military and presidential meetings are being held in Washington to discuss Afghanistan and aim to convince Trump to maintain American activity there. They think this is the more secure option even if it’s not the most efficient. Like North Korea, Afghanistan represents a security problem that’s impossible to solve and Trump’s administration must find a way out of it. An American source told me: “The president may choose the safe way and commit to the common logic of maintaining the money flow and increasing the number of American troops. The best he can expect out of this approach is to prevent the Afghan state from losing more territories. However this will not divert the path of the civil war and it will not defeat Taliban. Afghanistan represents clear failure of American policy. Trump does not want to bear its responsibility as in the end he’s a president from outside the institution and he proposed himself as someone who wants to improve American policy on the local and foreign levels. Therefore, it will be no surprise if Afghanistan is the matter which raises disagreements between him and the generals he commends.”
American media reports said the president proposed dismissing John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, and argued that the US should get a share of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth. The Wall Street Journal reported that the American administration is looking into reducing US’ commitment and decreasing losses “in the longest war in America’s history.” However, decreasing American financial and military support to Kabul may make the end of the civil government near as the country will further plunge in civil war and foreign sponsors, like Pakistan, India, Russia and the US, may interfere in favor of their proxies. Afghanistan’s situation will be similar to the Syrian civil war with two possibilities: permanent deadlock as a result of conflicts which will lead to sectarian clashes or Taliban’s complete victory and resumption of its Islamic-like governance which it has adopted before 2001.
Is Afghanistan a failed state? Yes. Is it a failed cause that must be abandoned? No.
What’s interesting are the recent meetings between Tajik and Hazara leaders and Uzbek former warlord and current vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum who “fled” to Turkey claiming he seeks medical treatment. According to media reports, they said in a statement that they seek to establish “a coalition to save Afghanistan.” This recent meeting in Turkey either aims to establish an opposition movement and paralyze the government or seeks to solidify the basis to form a new alliance that consists of several ethnicities shall the US withdraws from Afghanistan and hostilities resurface.
My source added: “It’s difficult to blame Trump’s administration if it considers withdrawing. Trump thinks he has nothing to do with getting to this point. However he will be blamed more if he chooses to drastically reduce American intervention in Afghanistan. Therefore, he must specify his Afghan policy amid Taliban’s uproar. It will be Trump’s war after any decision he makes. President George W. Bush sowed, and Barack Obama and Trump will reap after him. If Trump chooses to withdraw, then this will happen very soon because Trump is still new and he still blames those who preceded him.”
A failed state
An American official told Reuters that despite Trump’s hesitancy, he may order increasing the number of troops as this is the least bad option and he may also order full withdrawal. There are claims that Trump granted absolute power to US Secretary of Defense James Mattis to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan but the latter does not want to do so without the president’s approval. Senator John McCain recently said he may introduce an amendment to the annual defense policy bill to provide a strategy for the war in Afghanistan noting that: “Eight years of a ‘don’t lose’ strategy has cost us lives and treasure in Afghanistan.” He added: “"Our troops deserve better.” Taliban however is in no mood to negotiate. Strategies and intentions are some of the reasons behind the failure of American policy in Afghanistan. The US also does not have influence over Taliban. Therefore, they must increase the number of US troops so Taliban becomes more inclined to negotiate. However, the only problem is that Taliban did not sit for negotiations and the chances that it will sit today are less. It’s not military superiority that will prevent Taliban from negotiating as the movement is always demanding the complete withdrawal of NATO forces. To Americans, this request does not mark the beginning of negotiations. There’s also the issue of integrating Taliban in the political process. The movement’s commanders insist to have guarantees that sharia will govern the constitution. Integrating Taliban politicians in the current regime will be a nightmare though. Taliban is also confronting challenges due to groups linked to ISIS. The movement is winning in the Afghan arena now, and it’s unlikely that its commanders will give up their extremist ideology and accept to reinforce the peace process with Kabul and its allies in the NATO.
Is Afghanistan a failed state? Yes. Is it a failed cause that must be abandoned? No. The statement “America First” will not succeed if American policy fails in all tense regions across the world.

Pakistan’s judiciary and the trial of Nawaz Sharif
Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi/Al Arabiya/August 10/17
The trial of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and the verdict to disqualify him from holding public office as Pakistan’s prime minister have sparked controversy in various circles. There are some people who welcomed the court’s landmark ruling. They are of the view that this was a significant step in securing justice and fighting corruption in the higher echelons of government. Those who expressed joy over this verdict, which forced the head of the country’s executive to quit the post after his election as prime minister for a third time, considered that it was in line with the theory of the late Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew, who believed that fighting corruption is just like cleaning staircases and as such that it should start from the top to the bottom.
However, there are others who see this verdict as one that is doubtful, lacking in clarity and seeming more like a desire for revenge. This was obvious from remarks made by a judge of Pakistan’s Supreme Court suggesting that Sharif and his family were like members of the mafia as depicted in the famous American film The Godfather. I do not know whether this judge was accurate in making a comparison between the mafia and a prime minister who was elected three times by the people of Pakistan. However, it is a fact that Sharif is very popular, whether we agree with him or not.
Panama Papers
The name of Nawaz Sharif did not figure in what was known as the Panama Papers leak, but it was said that the names of his sons and the names of other Pakistanis appeared in the leaks, and that it was his political opponents, who were unable to defeat him through the ballot box who lodged the lawsuit against him. After their election debacle, these opponents made attempts to overthrow him by organizing demonstrations on the pretext that the elections were rigged, but they were unable to do so. Eventually, they reportedly attempted to use their proximity to the military establishment, which ruled Pakistan for nearly half of the country’s history.
In most cases, the military establishment is allied with judicial authorities not only in Pakistan, but also in other parts of the world. However, the trend of military coups has subsided as a result of their failure in governance all around the world whether in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia or even Europe.
The Supreme Court has set a dangerous precedent that will not serve the interests of democracy in Pakistan.
The countries ruled by military junta are among the least developed and most heavily indebted nations across the world. It is unfortunate that in many countries, including Pakistan, the military establishment still imposes itself on civilian rule with its intermittent interventions. There have been rare instances when the judiciary has put on trial military officials who were responsible for such interventions that have nothing to do with their basic functions.
The Pakistani Supreme Court judges took a unanimous decision to the effect that Sharif was not eligible to be prime minister besides barring him from holding any public office for life after denying him a fair trial that fulfills all legal procedures. If there had been any such a trial, he would have been given the right to defend himself. On the other hand, the entire exercise seemed to be designed to deny him justice.
The integrity of the team, carefully formed by the Court to investigate the leak case, was also doubtful. One of its members is close to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party leader Imran Khan, the archrival of Sharif. Khan lodged the case against Sharif after he failed defeat him in the election. More than one member of the team was chosen by military intelligence and, hence, the outcome was almost predictable. It was also evident from the difficulties faced by the lawyers of Sharif.
The guilt of Sharif was not because of the Panama Papers leak. It was also not because of corruption. Instead, his apparent “fault” was that he wanted politics to be handled only by politicians and wanted the military to concern itself with its own responsibilities. His initiative to find a political solution to the long-standing issues with India and Afghanistan angered the military establishment as it felt that it had a role to play in such decisions.
At the same time, the military found that it was no longer appropriate for it to involve itself in a political intervention in the country. In the past, the military did not hesitate to ratify all the coups that overthrew elected governments, the latest of which was that of Pervez Musharraf that toppled the government of Sharif in 1999. However, the judiciary has a long history of alliance with the military and this time it took charge of the mission of isolating the elected prime minister through a trial that lacked many legal requirements and procedures. In this way, the Supreme Court has set a dangerous precedent that will not serve the interests of democracy in Pakistan.

Saudi Writer, Muhammad 'Arif : Arab States Should Stop Hiding Their Relations With Israel
MEMRI/August 10/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=57825
In his August 2, 2017 weekly column in the Saudi daily Al-Madina, Muhammad 'Arif criticized Arab countries for maintaining ties with Israel while denying this fact, and called on them to be honest about these relations, because hiding them leads to embarrassment. He condemned these countries' feeble reactions to the closure of the Al-Aqsa mosque to Muslim worshipers (following the July 14, 2017 terror attack that resulted in the death of two Israeli policemen) and their failure to take tangible measures against Israel. He mocked them for banning the American movie Wonder Woman because the lead actress is an Israeli, noting that this is hardly likely to stop Israel from "harming Al-Aqsa," and added that maintaining overt relations with Israel would at least enable these countries to criticize Israel openly.
'Arif's criticism is apparently aimed mainly at Qatar, as part of the ongoing crisis in Saudi-Qatari relations and the mutual accusations in the two countries' media.[1]
Below are selected translated excerpts from his article:[2]
"I remember that many years ago, when Viagra first appeared on the market and men were captivated by it, one of my friends told me [an anecdote]: He and some friends were visiting a neighboring country and saw the blue pill, but each was ashamed to buy it in front of the others, until they [finally] told each other: 'go ahead and buy some, and don't be ashamed of me.' But in spite of this none of them would buy it in front of the others. A short time later, when they met on some social occasion, it emerged that some of them had begun using Viagra, but they still wouldn't admit it openly.
"I recently recalled this story when it became evident to me that some Arab [countries] maintain relations with Israel but deny it, [although] these ties can hardly be denied given the existence of embassies and mutual visits in full view. Those who deny these relations despite their existence are like someone who takes Viagra in secret and does not want anybody to know about it because he fears it will detract from his manliness and wants to remain a macho in the eyes of his neighbors and friends.
"We keep hearing empty slogans and hollow condemnations from [these countries] every time something happens in the occupied territories, such as the recent overt attack on the Al-Aqsa mosque, the defilement of its sanctity, the killing and expulsion of worshipers, and the placement of metal detectors at its gates, and before that the complete closure [of the mosque] for two days, which has not occurred for half a century. Whenever something like this happens we hear feeble condemnations, or else see ridiculous or even laughable measures. [For example], we heard on some satellite channels that an Arab country [Qatar] banned a famous new American movie called Wonder Woman from its cinemas because one of the actresses in it is Israeli. [This is] a real slap in the face to Israel! It will undoubtedly make Israel cease its repressive measures and stop harming the places holy to Islam, first and foremost the Al-Aqsa Mosque. By Allah, how grave the damage caused to the Zionist state by banning this American film starring an Israeli actress! Do these worthless decisions not devalue any meaning of manliness…?"
"When [these Arab countries] do condemn Israel, they do so feebly, because they maintain relations with it, [although] they don't want anybody to know about them… Had [these countries] declared these relations openly, it would have been infinitely better, [because then] they could have at least addressed the enemy and directed criticism and condemnations at it, albeit not [very] seriously… However, since they conceal these relations, none of them dare to threaten [Israel], even for domestic purposes, with the severance or suspension of these relations."
[1] On the crisis between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, see MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1315, Uproar In The Gulf Following Alleged Statements By Qatari Emir Condemning Gulf States, Praising Iran, Hizbullah, Muslim Brotherhood And Hamas, May 25, 2017; Special Dispatch no. 6996, The Gulf Crisis As Reflected In Editorial Cartoons, July 6, 2017; Special Dispatch no. 7007, Criticism In Gulf, Egyptian Press: Trump Administration Is Pro-Qatar, July 13, 2017; Special Dispatch no. 6987, Senior Saudi Columnist Voices Unusual Position: Boycott Should Target Qatari Officials, Not Our Brothers The Qatari People, July 3, 2017.
[2] Al-Madina (Saudi Arabia) August 2, 2017.