LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 20-21/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today
Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 15/21-28/:"Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly."

I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory
Letter to the Ephesians 03/01-13/:"This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him. I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.".’

Question: "Is an eclipse a sign of the end times?"
GotQuestions.org?
Answer: Numerous biblical passages link end-times events with astronomical phenomena. The sun, the moon, the stars, meteors, and possibly even eclipses are mentioned in connection with end-times Bible prophecies. For example, when asked about the timing of the end times, Jesus says, “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars” (Luke 21:25). It’s natural that, whenever strange or rare astronomical phenomena occur, many wonder if the end times are approaching. Eclipses and “blood moons” seem to especially stoke end-times hysteria. Some point to Matthew 24:29 as connecting a solar eclipse with the end times: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light” (ESV; see also Isaiah 13:10). During a solar eclipse, the sun is significantly darkened and the light normally reflected by the moon is gone. Also, during a lunar eclipse, the light normal reflected by the moon significantly decreases. So, yes, there does seem to be a possible connection between an eclipse and the end times.
With that said, there is no way to connect a specific eclipse with the fulfillment of end-times prophecy. Eclipses are actually quite common, with a total solar eclipse occurring somewhere on Earth approximately once every 18 months. Partial solar eclipses occur several times per year. Total lunar eclipses occur virtually every year in most parts of the world. Since the time that Jesus spoke the words recorded in Matthew 24, there have been thousands of total and partial, solar and lunar eclipses. None of them seem to have had any significance to end-times Bible prophecy. So, there is no way to know a particular eclipse in the future will have a connection to the end times.
Also, it is important to look at the rest of what Jesus says in Matthew 24, which is known as the Olivet Discourse. The possible eclipse is just one of several signs that Jesus mentions. Here is the whole of verse 29: “Immediately after the distress of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’” People pick up on the dark sun and moon, but they tend to ignore the stars falling and the planets shaking. Also, Jesus specifies that this sign will come “immediately after the distress,” a reference to the abomination of desolation in verse 15. This will be a time when “there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again” (verse 21). In fact, so terrible is that time that, “if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive” (verse 22). This is no regular eclipse that Jesus speaks of but one that occurs in the middle of the tribulation with a multitude of other signs. It will be the worst time of trouble the world has ever seen.
It is important to remember that Jesus said no one knows the day or hour of His return (Matthew 24:36). Since eclipses can be pinpointed to the very second, it would seem an eclipse cannot be the precise moment of Christ’s return. Our curiosity about when the rapture will occur, who the Antichrist will be, when the tribulation begins, and what exactly the abomination of desolation is must remain unsatisfied for now. The apostle Peter gives us practical instruction in light of the end times: “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat” (2 Peter 3:11–12). We know that we will then see the new creation, “where righteousness dwells” (verse 13). Living our lives in light of Christ’s return means living in holiness and anticipation. Trying to calculate the timing of end-times events based on astronomical phenomena is not something the Bible calls us to do.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 20-21/17
Mercenary Lebanese Politicians & the Sheep/Elias Bejjani/August 20/17
A new Lebanese Leadership is a must/Elias Bejjani/August 19/17
Brexit Reversal? The EU Should Say ‘No Way’/Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg View/August 19/17
Muslims Tell Europe: "One Day All This Will Be Ours"/Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/August 19/17
Abdullah Al Thani: Solution from within Qatar/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17
When Feminists Join Islamist Terrorists/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/August 20/17
All has become clear now in the Qatar crisis/Sawsan Al Shaer/Al Arabiya/August 20/17/
How Qatar is looking for solutions in Kerala/Jameel al-Thiyabi/Al Arabiya/August 20/17/

Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on August 20-21/17
Mercenary Lebanese Politicians & the Sheep
A new Lebanese Leadership is a must
Lebanese Army Advances against IS in Border Battle, Pays Tribute to Spain Victims
Lebanese Army Captures New Hills from IS as Mine Kills 3 Troops
Lebanese Army Begins Offensive against IS on Syria Border
Aoun to Field Commanders in Outskirts: We are Looking Forward to Victory
Lebanon Throws Support Behind Army as Offensive Against IS Begins
Lebanese Army Command: No Coordination with Hizbullah or Syrian Army in Offensive
Sarraf Receives Call Supporting Army from Iraqi Counterpart
Ceasefire Reached in Ain el-Hilweh after Fierce Overnight Fighting
Geagea Calls for 'Army-People-State Equation'
Aoun Signs Salary Scale, Tax Hike Laws
Ain el-Hilweh Residents: Fed up with Tension and Death
Lebanese Army Launches Offensive to Clear Border of ISIS Militants

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 20-21/17
Rouhani Says Top Priority is to Protect Nuclear Deal from U.S.
Anti-ISIS Operations Launch on Two Axes
Russian Foreign Ministry: Lavrov May Visit Gulf in August
Gargash: Saudi Arabia Plays Central Role in Gulf
Iraqi Forces Launch Operation to Liberate Tal Afar from ISIS
Riyadh Establishes American-Gulf Center for Combatting Terror Funding
Palestinian Official: US-Sponsored Bilateral Negotiations Not Possible
Erdogan Tells Germany’s Turks to Vote against Merkel
Mattis to Discuss Regional Challenges with Jordan’s King, Turkish President
Netanyahu, Putin to Meet on Regional Issues as Syria Regime Violates Russia-Brokered Ceasefire
Damascus’ Diplomats Meet to Outline Future Foreign Policy

Latest Lebanese Related News published on August 20-21/17
Mercenary Lebanese Politicians & the Sheep
Elias Bejjani/August 20/17
The Iranian-Hezbollah occupied Lebanon it at the present time in an SOS urgent need for genuine, free, honest and patriotic voices.
The occupied county and its oppressed and impoverished people are in need of  patriotic voices that are loud, strong and witnessing for the mere truth with no fear, Dhimmitude or personal agendas.
Sadly the majority of the current active Lebanese politicians, if not all of them, the so called Lebanese feudal, Mafiosi parties, as well as 99% of the officials are ugly, hungry - evil merchants.
in reality and actuality, they are a role model for narcissism and trogon horses, while all their prime focus, interests, alliances, affiliations, activities and stances are totally tailored and engineered to revolve around their own personal power ambitions and their coffers'-bank accounts gains agendas..
In this derailed context he majority of the Lebanese politicians are a living miserable model for evilness and corruption.
They never ever honour or respect the Lebanese peoples' rights or abide by the constitution  or any ethical-faith-honesty-transparency codes.
They are professional acrobats and pioneering experts in prostituting any thing and every thing in a bid to promote and serve their own greediness and power-money hungry ambitions.
The sad part in this funny on going theatrical play and dilemma lies in the fact that unfortunately many... many Lebanese citizens are ignorant, lack the ABC of self respect, have no insight in all that is patriotism and blindly follow the corrupted politicians and against all odds accept happily the role sheep.
Yes sheep no more no less.
Our main problem as Lebanese citizens from all religious denominations and all walks of live is deeply rooted in our education, our norms for what is wrong and what is not, in our willingness to be subservient if it serves our agendas, in our rotten mentality of opportunism and in our lack of loyalty to our great country...the Land Of the Cedars.
In conclusion, unless we change our own education and mentality and adopt genuine patriotic stances we shall continue to go down more and more. It remains that and as our popular proverb says:" God does not change what people think and do unless they themselves initiate and work hard on the change"

A new Lebanese Leadership is a must لبنان القداسة والتاريخ بحاجة إلى قيادات جديدة
Elias Bejjani/August 19/17
https://www.facebook.com/elias.y.bejjani
Lebanon, the land of the Holy Cedars,
Lebanon the holiness and the Godly treasure
Lebanon the heavenly gift,
Lebanon the freedom, the coexistence, the tolerance, the civilization, the sovereignty and independence, this beloved Lebanon that is deeply and solidly rooted in our hearts minds and conscience is the Lebanon that we the patriotic Lebanese have an obligation to fight for, proclaim and safeguard.
This Lebanon of the 7000 years of history and civilization is the Lebanon that we should never ever abandon no matter what the sacrifices are or will be.
This Lebanon, the Godly gift must be the prime salvation task for all the Lebanese citizens in both Lebanon and Diaspora from all denominational sects and from all walks of live.
The ABC of Lebanon's salvation from terrorism ,terrorists, local mercenaries and all the Iscariot like leaders-politicians-parties-clergy and officials starts with kicking out of the political life and arena the majority of the current corrupted, Trojan leaders and the so called political parties.
We, the free, faithful and patriotic Lebanese must select and elect wisely a new political patriotic figures and leadership who are 100% Lebanese by all means, on all level, in all domains and by all standards of devotion and honesty.
A new Leadership is a must and all the other resistance steps and stages will evolve and grow solidly around the clock.
God Bless and Safeguard Our Beloved Lebanon

Lebanese Army Advances against IS in Border Battle, Pays Tribute to Spain Victims
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 20/17/Lebanese soldiers renewed fire on Islamic State group positions on the country's eastern border with Syria on Sunday after capturing a third of the territory held by jihadists in the area. The army began its operation in the mountainous outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa early on Saturday, and in the first day captured around 30 square kilometers of territory, a military spokesman said. "That is around a third of the area controlled by the terrorists," Brigadier General Nazih Jreij said late Saturday. Jreij said 20 IS fighters had been killed in the clashes, and 10 Lebanese soldiers wounded. Lebanon's battle against IS comes as the jihadist group faces assaults in both neighboring Syria and Iraq, where the government early Sunday announced an offensive on the group's bastion of Tal Afar. The attack also comes after IS claimed several international attacks, including twin car ramming incidents in Spain that killed 14 people. Lebanese soldiers raised the Spanish flag on a hilltop captured from IS on Saturday in a tribute to the victims of those attacks, the army said. The military estimated around 600 IS fighters were present in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas, controlling around 120 square kilometers of territory before Saturday's advances. On Sunday, state-run National News Agency reported soldiers were firing heavy artillery and rockets at IS positions in Ras Baalbek's outskirts. The army's assault comes after Hizbullah waged its own campaign against jihadists operating in another border area south of the current battle. The group's six-day offensive against al-Qaida's former affiliate in the Jurud Arsal area ended with a ceasefire.The agreement saw around 8,000 refugees and jihadists transported to a jihadist-held area of northwestern Syria in return for the release of eight captured Hizbullah fighters. Hizbullah said Saturday it had launched a simultaneous operation against IS from the Syrian side of the border, where the group's fighters are battling alongside President Bashar al-Assad's army against rebels and jihadists. The Lebanese army has denied any coordination with Hizbullah or the Syrian army. Hizbullah's War Media outlet said its fighters and the Syrian army had on Saturday "managed to liberate 87 square kilometers of the total area controlled by the Daesh (IS) organization... in western Qalamun region" of Syria. Security along Lebanon's eastern border with Syria has long been a concern, and in 2014 jihadists invaded the town of Arsal and kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and police. Four were executed by their captors while a fifth died of his wounds. Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine solders are believed to remain in IS hands.It is not clear if they are alive or not.

Lebanese Army Captures New Hills from IS as Mine Kills 3 Troops
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 20/17/The Lebanese army pressed its offensive Sunday in the outskirts of the eastern border towns of Ras Baalbek al-Qaa, capturing new hills from the Islamic State group, as three soldiers were killed in a landmine explosion. The three soldiers were en route to participate in the anti-IS operation that began on Saturday, an army source told the AFP news agency. "An army vehicle was hit by a landmine on the Dawwar al-Njasa road in Arsal's outskirts at noon today, killing three soldiers and injuring one soldier seriously," the army said in an official statement. It said the wounded soldier was evacuated to a hospital for treatment. A spokesman said Saturday that 20 IS fighters had been killed in the clashes so far, and 10 Lebanese soldiers had been wounded. During a daily press briefing on the operation, an Army Command spokesman said the army seized control of 30 square kilometers of territory on the second day of the offensive. He added that the army has so far managed to oust the IS group from 80 out of 120 square kilometers it initially held. The day also witnessed the destruction of 12 IS posts, the seizure of arms and ammunition and the destruction of a booby-trapped car and a bomb-laden motorbike that were carrying suicide bombers, the army spokesman, Colonel Fadi Abu Eid, announced. State-run National News Agency meanwhile reported that the army on Sunday captured the Jabal al-Kheshen, Khirbet Daoud, Khirbet al-Tineh and Dhalil Umm al-Jamaa areas in Ras Baalbek's outskirts from the hands of IS militants. The advancing troops were backed by airstrikes and artillery and rocket shelling. Lebanese soldiers were also besieging a number of IS militants in the Wadi Mirtbayya area, according to NNA. “The army is bolstering its posts and dismantling the landmines and traps that were left behind by the IS group,” the agency added. Army Commander General Joseph Aoun meanwhile inspected military units deployed in the Ras Baalbek region and toured posts recaptured from the hands of the IS group. The army began its operation in the mountainous outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa early on Saturday, and in the first day captured around 30 square kilometers of territory, a military spokesman said. "That is around a third of the area controlled by the terrorists," Brigadier General

Lebanese Army Begins Offensive against IS on Syria Border
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 20/17/The Lebanese army announced Saturday the start of an offensive against the Islamic State (IS) group close to the Syrian border in the east of the country, where jihadists have been operating for several years. "In the name of Lebanon, in the name of kidnapped Lebanese soldiers, in the name of martyrs of the army, I announce that operation 'Dawn of Outskirts' has started," army chief General Joseph Aoun said, referring to the mountainous outskirts of Arsal border region. The announcement was made by the Lebanese commander on Twitter and the Central Military Media outlet. President Michel Aoun, who had arrived at the Defense Ministry early on Saturday to follow up on the operation, contacted the field commanders in the outskirts of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek and said: “We are looking forward to victory.”Prime Minister Saad Hariri said: "We are monitoring the army's Dawn of the Outskirts operation with all forms of support and backing to expel the remnants of terrorism from Lebanon's territory." The National News Agency reported later during the day that the army seized control of Tallet al-Mkhayrmeh in Ras Baalbek. In parallel, it pounded the IS posts in al-Qaa inflicting casualties among the militants' ranks. Saturday's announcement came at the same time as Hizbullah and the Syrian army announced a similar offensive to clear IS militants from the Syrian side of the border, in the western Qalamoun mountain range. Later during the day, Hizbullah said that “IS terrorists started handing themselves in to Hizbullah and the Syrian army near Zamrani crossing in Western Qalamoun.”Hizbullah, which provides military support to Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, launched last month an offensive to eliminate Syrian rebels as well as all jihadists formerly linked to al-Qaida from the region.
After six days of fighting, a ceasefire deal between Hizbullah and fighters from al-Qaida's former Syrian affiliate, previously known as the Al-Nusra Front, was announced. Nearly 8,000 refugees and jihadists from al-Qaida's former Syrian branch were bused back to Syria following the deal and on Monday the last Syrian rebels were evacuated from the region. The army is now launching an offensive against the IS fighters still operating in the area. Arsal's outskirts had been used for years as a hideout by Syrian anti-regime militants but was also home to an unknown number of refugees seeking shelter from Syria's six-year war. Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah said that IS holds around 296 square kilometers (115 square miles) on both sides of the border, of which around 140 square kilometers are in eastern Lebanon.

Aoun to Field Commanders in Outskirts: We are Looking Forward to Victory
Associated Press/Naharnet/August 20/17/President Michel Aoun followed up on the army's launching of a military offensive against the Islamic State group in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa from the Ministry of Defense, the National News Agency said on Saturday. Aoun had arrived at the Defense Ministry early Saturday to monitor the operation. Aoun had contacted the field commanders in the outskirts as he hailed and encouraged the troops saying: “We are looking forward to victory.”"You will not disappoint us," and "Our hearts and minds are with you," according to video broadcast on TV channels across the country. Lebanon's U.S.-backed army has announced the start of a military offensive to clear Islamic State group militants from the frontier with Syria. Saturday's announcement came at the same time as Hizbullah and the Syrian army announced a similar offensive to clear IS militants from the Syrian side of the border, in the western Qalamoun mountain range. The announcement was made by the Lebanese commander Joseph Aoun on Twitter and the Central Military Media outlet.

Lebanon Throws Support Behind Army as Offensive Against IS Begins
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/Naharnet/August 20/17/Lebanon threw its support Saturday behind its army after it launched an offensive to eliminate Islamic State jihadists that have been operating for several years in an area close to the Syrian border in the east of the country. Lebanese nationals and politicians took to social media in a show of support for the army's mission. Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil said in a tweet: “With the the launch of 'Dawn of Outskirts' offensive, the whole country will witness victory. This is our strong army, this is strong Lebanon.”Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat said: “I wish the army success in its operation to liberate the outskirts of terrorists, for the sake of Lebanon and its democratic system.” Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani, MP Butros Harb, ex-PM Najib Miqat, Environment Minister Tarek al-Khatib, Minister for combating Corruption Nicolas Tueni and many others have all hailed the army's efforts in their tweets. Lebanese Twitter users responded to a hashtag #فجر_الجرود or Dawn of the Outskirts, uttering indefinite support for their army. “Our pride, God bless our heroes,” said one tweet. “God save our army,” and “Our Lebanese Army is our pride... May God bless these young and brave hearts,” said others. The Army announced Saturday the start of a long-awaited military campaign to clear Islamic State militants from a remote corner near the frontier with Syria, an offensive that seeks to end a years-old threat to neighboring towns and villages. The army has accumulated steady successes against the militants in the past year, slowly clawing back territory, including strategic hills retaken in the past week. The 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 the Lebanese capital, Beirut, have killed scores of people.

Lebanese Army Command: No Coordination with Hizbullah or Syrian Army in Offensive
Associated Press/Naharnet/August 20/17/The Lebanese Army stressed on Saturday that there has been “no coordination with Hizbullah or the Syrian military” in its offensive against the Islamic State group, as it assured that the troops are confident that they “will win the battle.”
Military Spokesperson, Director of Orientation Brigadier General Ali Qanso said in a press conference shortly after the “Dawn of Outskirts” offensive launch: “There has been no direct or indirect coordination with Hizbullah or the Syrian military in the army's offensive.”“The security situation is under control. We have waged the battle and are confident that we will win,” added Qanso.“The army is confronting the IS terrorists to chase them out and recover territory," Qanso said. Qanso pointed out that the army has been “attacking and destroying IS posts since dawn at 5 A.M.”As for the number of militants and their distribution in said areas, Qanso said the “army believed there were around 600 IS fighters in the two areas, controlling some 120 square kilometers (46 square miles) of territory.”Assuring that part of the army's mission is to uncover the fate of Lebanese servicemen captured by the IS, he said: “Uncovering the fate of captive servicemen held by IS is our priority. This military offensive has no time limit.”Nine Lebanese soldiers captured during the 2014 raid are believed to remain in the hands of the jihadists. Four were executed by their captors while a fifth died of his wounds. Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015. The Army announced Saturday the start of a long-awaited military campaign to clear Islamic State militants from a remote corner near the frontier with Syria, an offensive that seeks to end a years-old threat to neighboring towns and villages.
The army has accumulated steady successes against the militants in the past year, slowly clawing back territory, including strategic hills retaken in the past week. The 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 the Lebanese capital, Beirut, have killed scores of people.

Sarraf Receives Call Supporting Army from Iraqi Counterpart
Naharnet/August 20/17/Iraqi Defense Minister Irfan al-Hayali on Sunday called his Lebanese counterpart Yaaqoub Sarraf to voice support for the Lebanese army in its fight against terror, Lebanon's National News Agency said. “Iraq, which has suffered a lot from the woes of terrorism, knows very well the importance of the battle that the Lebanese army is fighting and its impact on the region,” the Iraqi minister told Sarraf, hoping Lebanon will “celebrate victory soon.” Lebanese soldiers renewed fire on Islamic State group positions on the country's eastern border with Syria on Sunday after capturing a third of the territory held by jihadists in the area. The army began its operation in the mountainous outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa early on Saturday, and in the first day captured around 30 square kilometers of territory, a military spokesman said. Lebanon's battle against IS comes as the jihadist group faces assaults in both neighboring Syria and Iraq, where the government early Sunday announced an offensive on the group's bastion of Tal Afar.

Ceasefire Reached in Ain el-Hilweh after Fierce Overnight Fighting
Naharnet/August 20/17/A ceasefire was reached Sunday in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh after a night of violent clashes that left two people dead and around seven wounded, media reports said.
“Contacts involving Palestinian and Lebanese national and Islamist forces have managed to bolster a ceasefire in Ain el-Hilweh, after fierce overnight clashes pitting the Fatah Movement and the Joint Palestinian Security Force against the two groups of the Islamist militants Bilal Badr and Bilal al-Orqoub,” the reports said. Those who were killed overnight have been identified as Ahmed al-Fares and Saeed al-Daoud. The formation of a so-called followup committee that sought to withdraw gunmen from the streets had preceded the ceasefire agreement, according to reports.A Ain el-Hilweh-based Fatah source meanwhile told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Sunday that "orders from outside the camp" were likely behind the extremists' decision to attack the Palestinian force. "It was likely aimed at alleviating the pressure on Daesh (Islamic State group) on the eastern border," the source added, referring to a Lebanese army offensive that started Saturday and is aimed at ousting the IS group from the eastern border region. The clashes first broke out Thursday when gunmen from Badr's small group opened fire on a position of Palestinian security forces inside Ain al-Hilweh, a Palestinian source said.
Two people were killed in that fighting. The clashes had forced dozens of families to flee the camp and seek shelter in Sidon mosques. The sound of fierce gunfire and rocket fire could be heard outside the camp on Saturday as black smoke billowed over it. By longstanding convention, the Lebanese army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, leaving the factions themselves to handle security. Ain el-Hilweh -- the most densely populated Palestinian camp in Lebanon -- is home to some 61,000 Palestinians, including 6,000 who have fled the war in neighboring Syria. Several armed factions including extremist groups have a foothold in the camp which has been plagued for years by intermittent clashes.

Geagea Calls for 'Army-People-State Equation'
Naharnet/August 20/17/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has called for replacing the controversial “army-people-resistance equation” with an “army-people-state equation”, as he hailed the Lebanese army over its border offensive against Islamic State militants. “In light of what the Lebanese army is doing today in Operation Dawn of the Outskirts, it would be unacceptable for things to continue in the same manner. Some were claiming that the army lacked the capabilities but it has been proven otherwise, seeing as when it is given the opportunity it can achieve anything,” Geagea said. “No state can maintain two armies and no state can rise without having exclusive control of the strategic decisions. All of their excuses have been refuted and I call on all political forces to do a reevaluation so that we all embrace the army-people-state golden equation,” the LF leader added.
The army began its long-awaited operation in the outskirts of the border towns of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa region early on Saturday, and has so far captured around 80 out of 120 square kilometers of territory from the hands of the IS group.The army's assault comes after Hizbullah waged its own campaign against jihadists operating in another border area south of the current battle. The group's six-day offensive against al-Qaida's former affiliate in Arsal's outskirts ended with a ceasefire and the transfer of around 8,000 refugees and jihadists to a jihadist-held area of northwestern Syria in return for the release of eight captured Hizbullah fighters.

Aoun Signs Salary Scale, Tax Hike Laws
Naharnet/August 20/17/President Michel Aoun signed the wage scale and tax hike laws on Saturday and referred them to the cabinet before publishing them in the official gazette.Unnamed sources told Naharnet: “The salary scale is now in the cabinet after it was signed by President Aoun.”Presidential Palace circles have announced early today, that Aoun is “set to sign said laws in the few coming hours," the National News Agency reported.

Ain el-Hilweh Residents: Fed up with Tension and Death
Asharq Al Awsat/August 19/17/Ain el-Hilweh (South Lebanon)- Cautious calm prevailed on Friday in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon although a second round of fighting might erupt any minute if efforts to hand over wanted extremists to the Lebanese sate failed. On Thursday, clashes erupted in the camp when militants from the wanted Bilal Abu Arqoub group opened fire at members of the Joint Palestinian Force. Exchanged shooting then escalated into rocket attacks, tossing bombs and sniping operations that resulted in the death of Obeida, the son of Bilal Abu Arqoub, and the injury of eight others. But, next to the fighting stand residents who are sick of the presence of extremists and the security tension constantly witnessed in the camp in the past couple of months.
“We are against the presence of extremists in the camp, and we also refuse their fanatic ideas,” one resident from Ain el-Hilweh told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday.
But, residents are neither concerned nor scared of another battle inside the camp. “We got used to the sporadic clashes that erupt from time to time. This sentiment is shared among all residents who continuously struggle to have a normal life. We are sick of tension and death,” a taxi driver, who crosses daily from Ain al-Hilweh to the city of Sidon, told Asharq Al-Awsat. The issue of the wanted extremists hiding in Ain al-Hilweh reemerged following the Arsal deal reached lately between “Hezbollah” and al-Nusra Front which secured the deportation of members of the militant group to northern Syria. Observers believe that a similar deal could resolve the problem of the militants who have taken refuge in Ain al-Hilweh after the Lebanese state extends its authority in the Juroud, the barren mountainous border area between Lebanon and Syria.
The Lebanese army’s battle against the militant enclave in the Jouroud was launched early Saturday.

Lebanese Army Launches Offensive to Clear Border of ISIS Militants
Asharq Al Awsat/August 19/17/The Lebanese army launched on Saturday an offensive against an ISIS enclave on the northeastern border with Syria, as Hezbollah and Syrian forces announced an assault from the Syrian side of the border in the western Qalamoun mountain range. The Lebanese army was targeting ISIS positions on the outskirts of the town of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek with rockets, artillery and helicopters, a Lebanese source said. The area is the last part of the Lebanese-Syrian frontier under insurgent control. “We started advancing at 5 a.m.,” the source added about the operation, which is called “Juroud Dawn”. “Juroud” refers to the barren mountainous border area between Lebanon and Syria.“In the name of Lebanon, in the name of kidnapped Lebanese soldiers, in the name of martyrs of the army, I announce that operation ‘Juroud Dawn’ has started,” Army chief General Joseph Aoun said earlier Saturday. The operation by the Syrian forces and Hezbollah was targeting ISIS militants in the western Qalamoun region of Syria, an area across the frontier from Ras Baalbek. Last month, Hezbollah forced Nusra Front militants and Syrian rebels to leave nearby border strongholds in a joint operation with Syrian forces. The Lebanese army did not take part in the July operation, but it has been gearing up to assault the ISIS pocket in the same mountainous region. A military source said around 500 ISIS militants were holed up in the enclave. The army said it was not coordinating with Hezbollah or the Syrian forces in the operation. In a televised news conference, an army spokesman said the operation would continue until the army recovered control of Lebanese territory up to the border with Syria. Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who was following the army operation, called the commander on the ground to congratulate the offensive and told him “we await the victory.”

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 20-21/17
Rouhani Says Top Priority is to Protect Nuclear Deal from U.S.
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 20/17/Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday the top foreign policy priority for his new government was to protect the nuclear deal from being torn up by the United States. "The most important job of our foreign minister is first to stand behind the JCPOA, and not to allow the US and other enemies to succeed," Rouhani told parliament, using the technical name for the 2015 deal that eased sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran's nuclear program. "Standing up for the JCPOA means standing up to Iran's enemies," he said on the last day of debates over his cabinet selections. Rouhani indicated a week ago that Iran was ready to walk out on the nuclear deal if the United States continued to apply fresh sanctions. It has come under mounting pressure after Tehran carried out missile tests and Washington imposed new sanctions -- with each accusing the other of violating the spirit of the agreement. But Rouhani has insisted the deal remains the preferred way forward, not least to help rebuild Iran's struggling economy and create jobs. "The second responsibility of the foreign ministry... is to get involved in economic activities. It should help attract foreign investment and technology," Rouhani said. He was addressing lawmakers ahead of votes of confidence on his ministerial choices. Rouhani, a political moderate, began his second term earlier this month after winning a resounding victory over a hardline challenger in May. He has vowed to continue his outreach to the world, and to improve civil liberties at home, but has been criticized by reformists for again failing to select a single female minister.

Anti-ISIS Operations Launch on Two Axes
Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17/Beirut- The Lebanese army succeeded in regaining control of an area of ​​about 30 square kilometers in the first day launched of the operation against ISIS territory near Syrian borders. Some 11 terrorist strongholds, including tunnels, communication trenches and fortifications and various weapons were said to be destroyed. The military said that the army troops “continue to advance rapidly under fire artillery support, rocket launchers and aircraft.” Simultaneously, terror pockets diminished a large number of militants fled the stronghold as it went under attack. “In the name of Lebanon, the kidnapped soldiers, the blood of martyrs, and all the heroes of the Lebanese army, I hereby launch the Barrens’ Dawn operation,” army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun said. The militants are entrenched on fortified high ground, in outposts and in caves. An army spokesman said a third of the area had been recaptured in the offensive, with 20 militants killed in direct combat, shelling or airstrikes. Ten Lebanese soldiers were wounded. An hour after the battle launch, President Michel Aoun visited the Ministry of Defense to review the conduct of military operations. “The army has succeeded in eliminating a very large part of their men and equipment. We have tightened the noose around them and they have become much weaker,” Col. Nazih Jraish said. In parallel, Hezbollah announced its militants, joined by Syrian regime forces, carrying out an offensive to control the western Qalamoun groves in Syria. The Qalamun Mountains are the northeastern portion of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, and they are located northeast of the Syrian capital Damascus. Despite the Lebanon-based Hezbollah actively intervening in military operations in Syria, the Lebanese army leadership confirmed that the battle it is waging is not coordinated in any way either with Hezbollah or with the Syrian regime. Footage broadcast on Saturday by Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV showed the group’s fighters armed with assault rifles climbing a steep hill in the western Qalamoun. It also later showed a group of ISIS fighters it said had handed themselves over to their forces. A Hezbollah statement said the group was meeting its pledge to “remove the terrorist threat at the borders of the nation” and was fighting “side by side” with the Syrian army.Any joint operation between the Lebanese army on the one hand and Hezbollah and the Syrian army on the other would be politically sensitive in Lebanon and could jeopardize the sizeable US military aid the country receives.
Washington classifies the Iran-backed Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

Russian Foreign Ministry: Lavrov May Visit Gulf in August
Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17/Moscow – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov may visit the Arab Gulf region before the end of August, revealed a source from the Foreign Ministry. Another source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the timing of the visit is still being studied, adding that Russia wants to be part of a solution to a number of crises in the region “given its good ties with the Arab Gulf.” “We have recently witnessed positive developments in the ties between Riyadh and Moscow,” it stated.“It is natural that Lavrov will address, during the expected tour, regional crises, starting the one with Qatar,” it continued.
The source did not rule out the possibility that Russia may back the Kuwaiti mediation to end the dispute with Doha. Lavrov had held a telephone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on August 12 in order to discuss regional developments and bilateral relations. The Russian Foreign Ministry said at the time that the two ministers had talked about pressing issues to continue on developing Russian-Saudi bilateral ties. They also underscored the importance of peace and stability on the regional and international scenes, agreeing to continue dialogue as a way to resolve problems in the Middle East.
Russian media at the time said that Jubeir and Lavrov had discussed the crisis with Qatar. Moscow is seeking to play the role of mediator in the Gulf dispute, an intention Lavrov had announced in July when he said that Russia “is ready to help resolve the crisis between Qatar and its neighbors if the mediating parties believe that this assistance is necessary.” The Russian official said that the solution should take into consideration the mutual concerns of the sides involved. He also expressed a Russian readiness to join the Kuwaiti mediation, led by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah, to end the dispute.

Gargash: Saudi Arabia Plays Central Role in Gulf
Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17/Dubai – United Arab Emirates State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Gargash said that the crisis with Qatar highlights the role Saudi Arabia plays in the Gulf region. He said that Riyadh will continue to play a central role in the area, underlining the role of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the crisis. Their management “of the crisis has brought together patience and a firm stance. They were able to distinguish between a political dispute with a government that conspired against Riyadh and religious and humanitarian responsibilities,” said the minister in a number of posts on Twitter. “Sooner or later, it will become clear that you will be treated the same way you treated your neighbors as we all live in glass houses. Your neighbor will be patient, but he will not forget the conspiring,” he added. Gargash warned that the crisis is ongoing and it may even expand and escalate. He therefore urged Qatar to seriously address the issue and give way to wisdom and reason because it is waging a “losing battle.” Furthermore, he tweeted that the wisdom and firmness of King Salman should encourage every reasonable individual and “we advise those with good intentions that the solution to the crisis lies in Riyadh and not in chasing windmills.”

Iraqi Forces Launch Operation to Liberate Tal Afar from ISIS
Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17/Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced on Sunday that Iraqi security forces have launched an operation to liberate the town of Tal Afar from the clutches of the ISIS terrorist group. “The city of Tal Afar will be liberated and will join all the liberated cities,” Abadi said in an address to the nation broadcast on state television early Sunday. “You either surrender or die.”Tal Afar and the surrounding area is one of the last pockets of ISIS-held territory in Iraq after victory was declared in July in Mosul, the country’s second-largest city. The town, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of the Syrian border, sits along a major road that was once a key ISIS supply route. Tal Afar, 50 miles (80 km) west of Mosul, was cut off from the rest of the ISIS-held territory in June. The city is surrounded by Iraqi government troops and Shi’ite volunteers in the south, and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in the north. About 2,000 battle-hardened militants remain in the city, according to US and Iraqi military commanders. They are expected to put up a tough fight, even though intelligence from inside the city indicates they have been exhausted by months of combat, aerial bombardments, and by the lack of fresh supplies.
Hours before Abadi’s announcement, the Iraqi air force dropped leaflets over the city telling the population to take their precautions. “Prepare yourself, the battle is imminent and the victory is coming, God willing,” they read.
ISIS’ self-proclaimed “caliphate” effectively collapsed last month, when US-backed Iraqi forces completed the takeover of the militants’ capital in Iraq, Mosul, after a nine-month campaign. But parts of Iraq and Syria remain under its control, including Tal Afar, a city with a pre-war population of about 200,000.Waves of civilians have fled the city and surrounding villages under cover of darkness over the past weeks, although several thousand are estimated to remain, threatened with death by the terrorists who have held a tight grip there since 2014. Residents who left Tal Afar last week told Reuters the militants looked exhausted. “(Fighters) have been using tunnels to move from place to place to avoid air strikes,” said 60-year-old Haj Mahmoud, a retired teacher. “Their faces looked desperate and broken.” Some 49,000 people have fled the Tal Afar district since April, according to the United Nations. Nearly a million people remain displaced by the nine-month campaign to retake Mosul.

Riyadh Establishes American-Gulf Center for Combatting Terror Funding
Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17/Riyadh- Saudi Arabia announced establishing an anti-terror center in Riyadh based on a joint effort with the United States. The center is part of the May signed agreement with US President Donald Trump. Abdulaziz Hamad Aluwaisheq, GCC assistant secretary general for political affairs and negotiations, said that the American-Gulf agreement on combatting the funding of terrorism will need to undergo a number of legal proceedings in each of the GCC countries. The official stressed that the GCC secretariat is highly concerned with implementing all items of the agreement. It is anticipated that meetings between GCC officials and experts on countering terror financing will be held in the upcoming days. Meetings will tackle the US-Gulf agreement signed at the Gulf-American summit held in Riyadh recently. The third summit held last May was aimed at limiting funds reaching terror organizations and members. Aluwaisheq believes that since the Gulf-US on curbing and fighting the funding of terrorism must go through legal procedures in every country, this means that the time is still early to activate all agreement stipulations with 100 percent efficiency. The GCC continues to implement all the agreements agreed upon in this file until all the ratifications of the six states is completed. In his remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Aluwaisheq stated that Saudi Arabia has already started the process of establishing the Counter Terrorism Financing Center, pointing out that the GCC Secretariat is seeking to arrange meetings with the founders of the Center to consider completing the remaining requirements of this cooperation.

Palestinian Official: US-Sponsored Bilateral Negotiations Not Possible
Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17/Ramallah – Palestinian Liberation Organization executive committee member Wassef Abou Youssef questioned the feasibility of holding bilateral negotiations with Israel with the sponsorship of the United States.He told Asharq Al-Awsat that that such negotiations are not possible due to Washington’s “great and obvious bias” towards Israel. He therefore revealed that the Palestinian leadership is studying a number of alternative options to this route. “Twenty-six years of US-sponsored negotiations are enough. We must open a new page. We have long banked on the American stance, but today we are convinced that it will not offer anything. They are allies of common interests with the occupying forces,” Abou Youssef said. He made his statements at a time when a US delegation, headed by envoy Jared Kushner, is set to visit the region at the end of the month to discuss the peace process. The delegation, which also includes envoy Jason Greenblatt, will also visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan, in addition to Qatar, the Palestinian territories and Israel. Abou Youssef said that this will mark the 20th meeting with the new American administration. He said that he was not optimistic with the outcome of the talks because they never once addressed Israeli settlements, which is one of the main Palestinian demands. “This proves without any doubt the blatant American bias,” he stressed. “They want to continue to manage the conflict, not resolve it,” said the PLO official. “We do not want to return to bilateral negotiations that are sponsored by a biased party in order to waste more years,” Abou Youssef declared. The alternative is the international community, he explained. He revealed that the Palestinian leadership will return to the United Nations Security Council to demand it to implement its international resolutions on ending the occupation and ensuring the Palestinian people’s right to determine their fate. The leadership will also seek to demand complete membership of a Palestinian state at the UN. “The Palestinians are aiming for a different international mediator. We have demanded an international peace conference. We want an international bloc to kickstart the peace process to end the occupation and establish a Palestinian state. Without this, there can be no solution.” “All the US and Israeli proposals are rejected and we will not accept economic peace without humanitarian solutions. We will not offer concessions,” stressed Abou Youssef.

Erdogan Tells Germany’s Turks to Vote against Merkel
Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17/Asharq Al Awsat/August 19/17/Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats were enemies of Turkey and called on Turks in Germany to vote against major parties in next month’s elections, prompting a sharp warning from Berlin. “I am calling on all my countrymen in Germany: the Christian Democrats, SPD, the Green Party are all enemies of Turkey. Support those political parties who are not enemies of Turkey,” Erdogan said after Friday prayers in Istanbul, urging ethnic Turks in Germany to “teach a lesson” to those parties. Ties between Ankara and Berlin have been strained in the aftermath of last year’s failed coup as Turkish authorities have sacked or suspended 150,000 people and detained more than 50,000 people, including German nationals. The comments, some of Erdogan’s harshest yet against Merkel, drew a furious response from Merkel, her government and some Turkish organizations in Germany, illustrating the widening divide between the two countries. “We will not tolerate any kind of interference,” said Merkel in response at a campaign event in the western city of Herford, while her foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel of the SPD described the remarks as “unprecedented” interference with Germany’s sovereignty. Germany has voiced concern that Erdogan is using the coup as a pretext to quash dissent. Erdogan has accused Germany of anti-Turkish and anti-Muslim sentiment. Gabriel urged ethnic Turks to use their vote regardless.
“Let’s show those who want to set us against each other that we are not playing their game,” he added. Community leader Atila Karaborklu accused Erdogan of wanting to divide Germany’s Turkish communikty. Germans go to the polls on Sept. 24 for elections where Merkel is running for a fourth term. Her conservatives enjoy a comfortable lead over the Social Democrats, their current coalition partner and major rival. Erdogan did not make it clear which German political party he would like people to support in the polls for the Bundestag.

Mattis to Discuss Regional Challenges with Jordan’s King, Turkish President
Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17/Asharq Al Awsat/August 19/17/Washington- US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will begin on Saturday a five-day trip to the Middle East and Europe to reaffirm the enduring US commitment to strategic partnerships, the Pentagon said. Mattis will begin his engagements on Monday in Jordan by meeting with King Abdullah II and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat. Discussions will focus on “Jordanian efforts to combat ISIS,” it said, adding that Mattis will “reaffirm US commitment to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Jordan in facing regional and global challenges.” “This is the secretary’s first trip to Jordan during his tenure,” the Pentagon said. Mattis is scheduled to travel to Turkey on Wednesday to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli and Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The defense secretary will emphasize the steadfast US commitment to Turkey as a NATO ally and strategic partner, “seek to collaborate on efforts to advance regional stability, and look for ways to help Turkey address its legitimate security concerns — including the fight against the [Kurdistan Workers’ Party],” the statement said.
Mattis concludes his trip on Thursday with his first visit to Ukraine as defense secretary. There, he will meet with President Petro Poroshenko and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak.

Netanyahu, Putin to Meet on Regional Issues as Syria Regime Violates Russia-Brokered Ceasefire
Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Russian President Vladmir Putin next week to discuss “the latest developments in the region,” the premier’s office announced in a statement. The two officials will meet on Wednesday in the Russian Black Sea resort town of Sochi. Israel and Russia have established a special mechanism to prevent friction between their air forces in Syria. Russia is active in Syria providing support to Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad. Israel has tried to stay out of the fighting in the neighboring country, but its air force frequently strikes weapons shipments directed toward Lebanon’s “Hezbollah” that is backing Assad’s regime. Two years ago, Israel and Russia agreed to coordinate military actions over Syria in order to avoid accidentally trading fire. On Saturday, Syrian jets and artillery struck rebel-held eastern Damascus suburbs a day after a Russian sponsored ceasefire with a rebel group agreed a halt of fighting in the last opposition enclave in the capital, rebels and witnesses said. The Russian defense ministry said on Friday it had reached a ceasefire that took effect at 21.00 hrs Moscow time (1800 GMT) with Faylaq al Rahman, the main Free Syrian Army (FSA) group fending off a two-month widescale Syrian regime offensive in the Joubar district and nearby town of Ain Tarma. A spokesman for Faylaq al Rahman said both Joubar, which lies some 2 km (1.2 miles) east of the Old City wall, and nearby Ain Tarma on the edge of Eastern Ghouta witnessed army strikes and shelling soon after the ceasefire went into effect. “After the first few hours … there were many violations midnight they dropped barrel bombs and from the morning there have been strikes across the Ghouta,” Wael Alwan, spokesman for the group, said. At least five civilians were killed in the towns of Hamouriya and Zalamka and fighters said there were several case of suffocation from rockets filled with chlorine that were fired at the front lines of Jobar and Ain Terma, he added. Moscow said on Friday that the ceasefire meant an earlier one announced last month in Eastern Ghouta now included all the moderate opposition groups in the main rebel stronghold that stretches from eastern to northeastern suburbs of Damascus. The regime has not commented on the latest Russian agreement with Faylaq al Rahman whom it considers a terrorist group that threatens the capital. It however says it abides by truces Moscow has brokered.

Damascus’ Diplomats Meet to Outline Future Foreign Policy
Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17/Damascus- Syria’s diplomatic cable held a meeting to outline the regime’s foreign policy for the upcoming period, said informed sources. Sources told the German news agency, DPA, that the meeting coincided as regime troops pushed for control over swathes of Syrian heartland. On Friday, it was announced that some 9,000 kilometers have been brought in regime control . The area is said to connect Raqqa, Homs and Hama.In the processes, a siege cut off ISIS-controlled towns in Hama’s northeastern rural areas, such as Uqayribat.The sources linked the meeting to the qualitative changes in the course of the political solution to the seven-year-old Syrian conflict. On the other hand, Russian forces based in Lattakia announced reaching an agreement to manage de-escalation zones through joint committees between the opposition and the regime forces in concerned areas.
However, Al-Rahman Legion media director Mowafaq Abu Ghassan told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper said that regime forces gassed rebel areas. The group’s medical center documented four severe cases of asphyxiation. Syrian jets and artillery struck rebel-held eastern Damascus suburbs on Saturday a day after a Russian sponsored ceasefire with a rebel group agreed a halt of fighting in the last opposition enclave in the capital, rebels and witnesses said. The Russian defense ministry said on Friday it had reached a ceasefire that  took effect at 21.00 hrs Moscow time (1800 GMT) with Failaq al Rahman, the main Free Syrian Army (FSA) group fending off a two-month widescale Syrian army offensive in Jobar district and nearby town of Ain Tarma.A spokesman for Failaq al Rahman said both Jobar, which lies some 2 km east of the Old City wall, and nearby Ain Tarma on the edge of Eastern Ghouta witnessed army strikes and shelling soon after the ceasefire went into effect. “After the first few hours … there were many violations…at midnight they dropped barrel bombs and from the morning there have been strikes across the Ghouta,” Wael Alwan, another spokesman for the group, said.
At least five civilians were killed in the towns of Hamouriya and Zalamka and fighters said there were several case of suffocation from rockets filled with chlorine that were fired at the front lines of Jobar and Ain Terma, he added.
The Syrian army elite 4th Division has been trying unsuccessfully to storm Jobar and residents say the army has retaliated for its heavy losses by shelling residential areas, leaving scores killed and wounded since the campaign was launched. Failaq al Rahman said the Syrian army bombardment appeared to be an attempt to wreck a ceasefire deal whose main points included deploying Russian military police along the frontline, the release of detainees and allowing humanitarian goods into the besieged Eastern Ghouta.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 20-21/17
Brexit Reversal? The EU Should Say ‘No Way’
Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg View/August 19/17
Though most UK politicians would have us believe that “Brexit is Brexit,” European leaders have recently spoken of a reversal of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union as a real possibility. That should be alarming to anyone who cares about continuing the EU’s resurgence since the 2016 vote.
“For the first time, I’m starting to believe that Brexit will not happen,” Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said last week. “I see encouraging signs that the tide is turning.” Muscat is knowledgeable about the Brexit process: His country held the EU’s rotating presidency in January through June.
“Well I still hope that it won’t happen,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said when asked about Brexit on Monday. He also knows more than most about Brexit because his country’s border with the UK is one of the thorniest issues under negotiation.
There are good reasons why UK politicians, affiliated with both the government and the opposition, won’t say similar things. Calling for another EU referendum did nothing for the Liberal Democrats in the June election. Most major figures in UK politics have pledged to respect the result of last year’s Brexit vote. No one wants to be first with a risky reversal, even if some polls show that most Britons would now vote to remain in the EU. Foreign leaders such as Muscat and Varadkar have no such constraints, so their sudden optimism is a strong hint that the ground is shifting behind the scenes.
But those who, like Muscat and Varadkar, hope that Brexit won’t actually happen should be careful what they wish for.
After the 2016 catharsis, the EU looks stronger both economically and politically. But it still has trouble defining its goals and even basic values, as evidenced by the current strife between Western and Eastern Europe. The easterners, led by Poland and Hungary, are pushing toward more authoritarian government and tougher measures to remain ethnically homogeneous. The Westerners stand on traditional liberal values and are softer on immigration despite pressure from right-wing parties. There are plenty of other divides, and new ones emerge constantly. Now, there’s sudden tension between France and Italy over the former’s decision to block the takeover of a major shipyard by an Italian company. French President Emmanuel Macron’s foray into trying to settle the Libyan political crisis — traditionally Italy’s domain in Europe — hasn’t helped matters.
The EU bureaucracy and the bloc’s core nations are trying to formulate a clearer common line on the union’s future. The last thing they need is another centrifugal force — and the UK, with its current political establishment, would certainly be one. Even before Brexit burst into political reality, the UK was the most outvoted member state in the EU Council. Now, with millions of citizens who have voted against the EU, it would likely be even more contrary and anti-federalist.
The UK also had the most opt-outs of important EU policies — the Schengen free travel area, the euro, the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights (the UK wanted to block the European Court of Justice from overruling its laws on Charter-related grounds) — and, uniquely, a rebate on the EU budget. The UK’s ability to obtain these exemptions has inspired Eastern European countries — whose English-speaking elites have long idolized Britain — to seek their own opt-outs. If it hadn’t been for the UK example, the euro area would probably be bigger today. When that example is eliminated, it will be easier for the EU to make a case for more uniformity and a closer union.
The UK is certainly to blame for Ireland’s forced opt-out of the Schengen area: It would have wanted the travelers with Schengen visas to come without making a separate visit to the embassy, but seamless travel with the UK was more important. Even after Brexit, Ireland may be forced to stay out of the borderless area.
The scenario under which the UK comes back into the fold humbled and willing to accept everything — the euro, Schengen, full ECJ jurisdiction — or at least to make some concessions is probably what pro-European leaders such as Macron and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble meant when they said they’d welcome a Brexit reversal. Such a turnaround, however, appears unrealistic. As long as brain surgery remains off the table, there’s no way for the British public to change their minds so soon after making the decision to leave.
There is a better scenario for everyone than either a hard Brexit or a return to the pre-referendum status quo. It would involve the UK joining the European Free Trade Association, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Trade ties and current border arrangements would largely be preserved, but the UK would have no vote in Europe. It would stop being a centrifugal force, just as Norway isn’t. Though UK politicians say the Norwegian scenario is not being considered, it’s far easier to revive than full EU membership, perhaps for a transitional period first — with an eye to making a transition to permanence. Britons didn’t vote against EFTA membership in 2016. Simply not overdoing Brexit would be better than forcing it or reversing it.

Muslims Tell Europe: "One Day All This Will Be Ours"
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/August 19/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10748/europe-muslims-demography
The Archbishop of Strasbourg Luc Ravel, nominated by Pope Francis in February, just declared that "Muslim believers know very well that their fertility is such today, that they call it... the Great Replacement. They tell you in a very calm, very positive way: One day all this, all this will be ours...".
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán just warned against a "Muslimized Europe". According to him, "the question of the upcoming decades is whether Europe will continue to belong to Europeans".
"In the coming 30 years, the number of Africans will grow by more than one billion people. That is twice the population of the entire European Union... The demographic pressure will be enormous. Last year, more than 180,000 people crossed in shabby boats from Libya. And this is just the beginning. According to EU Commissioner Avramopoulos, at this very moment, 3 million migrants are waiting to enter Europe". — Geert Wilders, MP, The Netherlands, and leader of the Party for Freedom and Democracy (PVV).
This week, yet another Islamic terrorist attack targeted the Spanish city of Barcelona. As it was for many years under Muslim rule, it is, therefore, like Israel, land which many Islamists believe they are entitled to repossess.
At the same time, far from Spain, elementary schools have been closing, shuttered by the state after the number of children dropped to less than 10% of the population. The government is converting these structures into hospices, providing care for the elderly in a country where 40% of the people are 65 or older. That is not a science-fiction novel. That is Japan, the world's oldest and most sterile nation, where there is a popular expression: "ghost civilization".
According to Japan's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, by 2040 most of the country's smaller cities will see a dramatic drop of one-third to one-half of their population. Due to a dramatic demographic decrease, many Japanese councils can no longer operate and have been closed. Restaurants have decreased from 850,000 in 1990 to 350,000 today, pointing to a "drying up of vitality". Predictions also suggest that in 15 years, Japan will have 20 million empty houses. Is that also the future of Europe?
Among the experts in demography, there is a tendency to call Europe "the new Japan". Japan, however, is dealing with this demographic catastrophe with its own resources, and banning Muslim immigration to the country.
"Europe is committing demographic suicide, systematically depopulating itself in what British historian Niall Ferguson has called "the greatest sustained reduction in European population since the Black Death in the fourteenth century'", as George Weigel recently noted.
Europe's Muslims appear to be dreaming of filling this vacuum. The Archbishop of Strasbourg, Luc Ravel, nominated by Pope Francis in February, recently declared that "Muslim believers know very well that their fertility is such today, that they call it ... the Great Replacement. They tell you in a very calm, very positive way: 'One day all this, all this will be ours' ...".
A new report by the Italian think tank Centro Machiavelli just revealed that if current trends continue, by 2065 first- and second-generation immigrants will exceed 22 million persons, or more than 40% of Italy's total population. In Germany, as well, 36% of children under the age of five are being born to immigrant parents. In 13 of the 28 EU member countries, more people died than were born last year; without migration, the populations of Germany and Italy are expected to decline by 18% and 16%, respectively.
The impact of demographic free-fall is most visible in what was once called the "new Europe", the countries of the former Soviet bloc such as Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, to distinguish these from the so called "old Europe", France and Germany. Those Eastern countries are now the ones most exposed to the "depopulation bomb", the devastating collapse in birth rate that the current-events analyst and author Mark Steyn has called "the biggest issue of our time".
The New York Times asked why, "despite shrinking population, Eastern Europe resists accepting migrants". The shrinking demography is precisely the reason they fear being replaced by migrants. In addition, much of Eastern Europe has already experienced being occupied by Muslims for hundreds of years under the Ottoman Empire, and are all too well aware what would be in store for them were they to come there again. Aging countries fear the antipathetic values sure to appear if there were a replacement by the current young foreign population.
"There are two distinct views in Europe today to consider [regarding the decline and aging of the population]", Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán recently said. "One of these is held by those who want to address Europe's demographic problems through immigration. And there is another view, held by Central Europe – and, within it, Hungary. Our view is that we must solve our demographic problems by relying on our own resources and mobilising our own reserves, and – let us acknowledge it – by renewing ourselves spiritually". Orbán just warned against a "Muslimized Europe". According to him, "the question of the upcoming decades is whether Europe will continue to belong to Europeans".
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán recently said: "Our view is that we must solve our demographic problems by relying on our own resources and mobilising our own reserves, and... by renewing ourselves spiritually". (Image source: David Plas/Wikimedia Commons)
Africa is also pressing Europe with a demographic time bomb. According to Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders:
"In the coming 30 years, the number of Africans will grow by more than one billion people. That is twice the population of the entire European Union... The demographic pressure will be enormous. One-third of the Africans want to move abroad, and many want to come to Europe. Last year, over 180,000 people crossed in shabby boats from Libya. And this is just the beginning. According to EU Commissioner Avramopoulos, at his very moment, 3 million migrants are waiting to enter Europe".
Eastern Europe is thinning out. Demography has even become a problem for Europe's security. There are fewer people to serve in Europe's military and social welfare posts. The President of Bulgaria, Georgi Parvanov, has, in fact, called on the country's leaders to attend a meeting of the national Consultative Committee entirely devoted to the problem of national security. Once Eastern European countries feared Soviet tanks; now, they fear empty cradles.
The United Nations estimated that there were about 292 million people in Eastern Europe last year, 18 million fewer than in the early 1990s. The number is equivalent to the disappearance of the entire population of the Netherlands.
The Financial Times had called this situation in Eastern Europe "the largest loss of population in modern history". Its population is shrinking as has no other before. Not even the Second World War, with its massacres, deportations and population movements, had come to that abyss.
Orbán's way -- dealing with a demographic decline using the country's own resources -- is the only way for Europe to avoid Archbishop's Ravel's prediction of a "great replacement". Mass immigration will most likely fill those empty cradles -- but Europe will then become also just a becomes a "ghost civilization"; it is just a different kind of suicide.
Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author.
APPENDIX
Romania will lose 22% of its population by 2050, followed by Moldova (20%), Latvia (19%), Lithuania (17%), Croatia (16%) and Hungary (16%). Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine are the countries where the population decline will be most severe. Poland's population is estimated to decrease by 2050 to 32 million from the current 38 million. Nearly 200 schools have closed, but there are enough children to fill the remaining ones.
In Central Europe, the proportion of "over 65s" increased by more than one-third between 1990 and 2010. The Hungarian population is at its lowest point in half a century. The number of people fell from 10,709,000 in 1980 to the current 9,986,000 million. In 2050, there will be fewer than 8 million people in Hungary; and one in three will be over the age of 65. Hungary today has a fertility rate of 1.5 children per woman. If you exclude the Roma population, this figure drops to 0.8, the lowest in the world -- the reason Prime Minister Orbán announced new measures to solve the demographic crisis.
Bulgaria will have the fastest population decline in the world between 2015 and 2050. Bulgaria is part of a group that is expected to decrease by more than 15% between 2015 to 2050, along with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. Bulgaria's population of about 7.15 million people is estimated to fall to 5.15 million in 30 years -- a decline of 27.9%.
Official figures show that 178,000 babies were born in Romania. By comparison, in 1990, the first post-Communist year, there were 315,000 births. Croatia last year had 32,000 births, a decline of 20% from 2015. The depopulation of Croatia could come to more than 50,000 people each year.
When the Czech Republic was part of the Communist bloc (as part of Czechoslovakia), its total fertility rate was conveniently close to the replacement rate (2.1). Today it is the fifth most barren country in the world. Slovenia has the highest GDP per capita in Eastern Europe, but an extremely low fertility rate.
© 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.

Abdullah Al Thani: Solution from within Qatar
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/17
Qatar’s Foreign Minister travelled all the way to the Norwegian capital Oslo this time to complain about Saudi Arabia and the boycotting countries and find a supporter for his country during its long-forgotten crisis.However, the issue posed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman is pilgrimage of Qatari nationals. So, yes! The Qatar minister found no other than this Scandinavian country to complain to about Hajj issue, even though there is no issue to begin with. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz welcomed the Qatari pilgrims and offered to send private planes to get them directly from Doha to Makkah, despite the ongoing severance between the quartet and Doha. Head of Qatar’s diplomacy reached an unprecedented level this time by saying that banning Qatari pilgrims from entering Saudi Arabia was politically motivated, and then allowing them was also politically motivated. This diplomatic statement sums up the Qatari political confusion. Qatar’s accusations are always available whether its citizens went to Hajj or not. Either ways, claims that Saudi Arabia is politicizing Hajj season will not stop. If only the Qatari Minister would explain to us, from Finland this time, how the King of Saudi Arabia’s hosting of his country’s pilgrims has political motivations, if banning them was also politically driven? The only answer to that question is that all of a sudden, Qatar’s diplomacy has new political powers involved.
Riyadh welcomed brother of ruler and founder of modern Qatar Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani. It also agreed to permit Qatari pilgrims to enter to the kingdom through Salwa border crossing and even authorized all Qatari nationals wanting to perform Hajj to enter without electronic permits.
After all of that, Doha has found itself in trouble before its citizens and the world capitals where many officials lodged their complaints. Qatar no longer has the excuse to ban its citizens from performing Hajj like it tried before, and now its officials are confused and anxious.
In Jeddah, the top official of the ruling family met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and then travelled to Tangier, Morocco, to meet with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. King Salman received Sheikh Abdullah and stressed the Kingdom’s keenness and constant and continuous interest in the welfare of the pilgrims while harnessing all possibilities to carry out their affairs with ease and comfort. Sheikh Abdullah proceeded with his attempts to achieve what the Qatari diplomacy couldn’t do in 75 days. With Saudi Arabia welcoming those efforts and responding to this mediation, the resounding message reached Doha that this step has effects on political, popular and social levels. Qatar is taken by surprise by the grand involvement of a powerful political party in this crisis and this surely has the doors wide opened on future revelations within the Qatari house. Doha received a new blow involving one of the prominent members of the ruling family who mediated and paved the way for a new political track looking to achieve his country’s best interest that has long been damaged by the current reckless leadership.
Sheikh Abdullah didn’t bother himself by travelling to Moscow, Washington, or London. He didn’t go to Oslo either to politicize a pure religious ritual. He took the shortcut and visited the closest country to his: Saudi Arabia.
The Shiekh succeeded in finding the solution. Indeed, no matter how far the travels may reach, there is no escape from visiting Riyadh.
In his new book “World Order”, Henry Kissinger says: “Sooner or later, history punishes strategic frivolity. In every era, humanity produces abusers and evil ideas. Political wisdom lies in preventing their rise to positions of power and maintain a qualified international order capable of deterring them.”
The words of the “fox” of US policy can be exactly applied to Doha’s policy. After almost two and a half months of cut-off ties crisis, Qatar’s reactions prove the validity of positions taken against it. Whoever doubted those decisions, has now become convinced of this move because of Qatar’s reckless policy.
The sure thing is the success of Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani’s mediation had shaken the Qatari state and added more pressures. Doha doesn’t know where the winds will blow in the coming days.

When Feminists Join Islamist Terrorists
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/August 20/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10852/feminists-islamist-terrorists
The fact is that these supposed feminists not only turn a blind eye to those atrocities, but their presence at these events actively endorses and legitimizes the rule of these dictators.
When the subject turns to the specific cases of millions of oppressed women around the world -- such as Asia Bibi, a Christian mother on death row in Pakistan for seven years for taking a drink of water; or the 19-year-old who, this year, was raped by her cousin at gunpoint and then sentenced to death by stoning for "adultery"; or women who were forced to marry their rapists; or child marriages at 12,000 a day; or women who are beaten by their husbands or who have acid thrown in their faces; or women used as suicide bombers.
When Mogherini smiles in her hijab in Iran, she is delivering a strong blow to women rights movements that attempt to remove the compulsion of the obligatory hijab and grant women equal autonomy, education and freedom. She is empowering suppression.
The social democrats and so-called feminists have been raising their voices for all to hear. They boast about advocating gender equality, individual rights, and advancing women's rights. They argue that these values are universal; that every person, especially every woman, everywhere in the world, is entitled to these "inalienable" rights. Speeches are given, fundraisers are held, and an army of champions charges toward the cause.
Everyone is equal, and everyone deserves these rights. The chants, the inspirational lectures, the determination that echoes through television interviews, and is spread across the pages of magazines, all fill their followers with enthusiasm. But what is the reality?
Alongside other social democrats, Federica Mogherini, the current High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, recently visited the Islamist state of Iran to attend the official endorsement and inauguration of the regime's president, Hassan Rouhani. Instead of enforcing the standards she professes -- such as the strong support for women -- she folded in with those around her. Others who accepted Iran's invitation were North Koreans, members of Hezbollah, and leaders of Hamas. All three of these groups are known for cruelty, especially against women, and crimes against humanity.
The presence of such people makes the issue of despotism more complicated than it needs to be. By attending these kinds of events, social democrats such as her repeatedly endorse and give legitimacy to repressive states that implement Islamic law, Sharia. As Mogherini rubs elbows with men who have ordered the deaths of thousands of women (and men), she toes the line of their expectations. Instead of evolving their mindset, she allowed all of the women she claims to represent, to remain oppressed, as they have been for so very long.
Mogherini took the problem even a step even farther. Instead of attempting to appear as if she were working toward progressive thinking among these violent Islamist leaders, she acted as if they were friends. She appeared proud to snap selfies with the representatives of this repressive regime. The story came under the international spotlight. Some of the deputies used their selfies with Mogherini to project their legitimacy to the international community while others created self-promotional posters of themselves with Mogherini wearing the mandatory hijab. Mogherini, a social democrat Italian politician who speaks of women's rights and was once a member of the Italian Communist Party, delightedly agreed to follow the Islamist rule of wearing a mandatory hijab. This act of compliance sends a brutal and unshakeable message. Women in these Islamist societies are controlled by laws which proclaim they must be hidden, or treated as their husband's property. The hijab has become a symbol of this. Conversely, when Iranian leaders visit Mogherini's country, they do not follow Italy's rules. Instead, Italy follows the regime's Islamist rules by offering appeasements such as covering up nude statues and not serving wine.
Mogherini -- who years ago also agreed to be in controversial picture taken with the late Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat -- also played a crucial role in sealing the nuclear agreement for the Iranian regime and lifting the sanctions for those dictators. Instead of seeing these oppressors punished, she enabled them to have fewer limitations, as they still hold their own people beneath their thumbs and continue to be the cause of their suffering.
Mogherini then tweeted about her blog post, which states "It was an opportunity to talk again to Rouhani, to Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and to the Supreme Leader's foreign policy advisor, Ali Akbar Velayati".
Is this really an opportunity to be proud of and boast about? And what did she talk to them about?
While Mogherini is joyfully attending events with these Islamist leaders and rejoicing in having taking pictures beside them, does she ever think about the millions of women who are brutally oppressed under these Islamist regimes? Does she consider those women balled up and crying on the floor after being beaten by their husbands? Does she ever think about hundreds of people -- men and women -- being executed, often after sham trials, every year, and based on the Islamist laws in this country?
During her visit to Iran this month, Federica Mogherini (left), the current High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, rubbed elbows with men who have ordered the deaths of thousands of women (and men). Does she ever think about hundreds of people being executed, often after sham trials, every year, and based on the Islamist laws in this country? (Image source: European Commission)
While she shakes the hands of these men, does think of the nine-year-old girls who are "legally" being forced into marriage with the government's approval?
Where are all the women's rights, liberal moral values that she and her party stand for? They were not at the celebration, and they were certainly not represented by those selfies.
Women are dehumanized, subjugated and treated as inferior on a daily basis in Islamist state of Iran as well as other Muslim states. Many people in there are struggling every day despite all the dangers they face to obtain the few rights they can. In general, a woman's testimony in court is worth half of a man's testimony. Women need approval from their male guardian to leave the country, and in Saudi Arabia, to leave their home. Women cannot obtain a passport without a guardian's consent. In Iran, a man can marry any woman he desires. Men are allowed to have four wives and an unlimited number of temporary marriages (mut'a), but women can only marry a Muslim man. Honor killings continue while the regime turns a blind eye to them.
Based on the law of tamkin (obedience), women must provide full accessibility and unhampered sexual availability to her husband. Article 1105 of Iran's Islamist Civil Code states, "In relations between husband and wife, the position of the head of the family exclusively belongs to the husband." Article 1117 of the Iran's Islamist Civil Code states that states :
"The husband can prevent his wife from an occupation or technical profession which is incompatible with the family's interests or the dignity of him or his wife."
Men can initiate a unilateral divorce. Women receive only half of what men get in inheritance. A wife gets to receive only one-sixth of an inheritance if she has a son when her husband dies. If she has only a daughter, the inheritance would not automatically go to them. The deceased husband's family -- brothers, sibling and parents -- would have a call on it as well. Women cannot become judges... and the list goes on.
Of course, people such as Mogherini are fully cognizant of these atrocities and the discrimination which are repeatedly reported by human rights organizations. These are even possibly the same abuses that people such as Mogherini then use to rally funds at their parties and splash in disturbing images across the media. Not one of these European leaders can plead ignorance of the acts that those men commit.
Yet, there we see people like Mogherini shaking the hands that rob women of their freedom and their voices.
The fact is that these supposed feminists not only turn a blind eye to those atrocities, but their presence at these events actively endorses and legitimizes the rule of these dictators.
People like Mogherini may be calling for admission to exclusive clubs and higher salaries for women because that equality is fair. But why, if they claim that they are champions and front-runners of women all around the world, do they contribute to, and facilitate the rule of ruthless dictators against their own people?
When the subject turns to the specific cases of millions of oppressed women around the world -- such as Asia Bibi, a Christian mother on death row in Pakistan for seven years for taking a drink of water; or the 19-year-old who, this year, was raped by her cousin at gunpoint and then sentenced to death by stoning for "adultery"; or who were forced to marry their rapists; or child marriages at 12,000 a day; or women who are beaten by their husbands or who have acid thrown in their faces; or women used as suicide bombers -- they become totally silent. They disregard these women's rights.
By demonstrating their support for these regimes and the men that enforce them, people such as Mogherini significantly weaken and undermine the indigenous movements that attempt to advance precisely the human rights that people such as Mogherini claim to advocate.
When Mogherini smiles in her hijab in Iran, she is delivering a strong blow to women rights movements that attempt to remove the compulsion of the obligatory hijab and grant women equal autonomy, education and freedom. She is empowering suppression.
A true advocate of individual rights and democracy might instead have set a brave example. Women such as Mogherini are feeding into the system, not destroying it. Those who continue to give legitimacy to oppressors and Islamists need to be held accountable.
Finally, my message to people such as Mogherini and others like her is simple: Do you have any conscience or sense of decency? Or is it simply all about power, money, narcissism, and manipulations at the cost of the oppressed, including women? Can you hear that little girl's cry, or are your ears as deaf to it as the men who cause it?
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He is a Harvard-educated and Iranian-American political scientist, businessman, and author of "Peaceful Reformation in Iran's Islam". He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu.
© 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.

All has become clear now in the Qatar crisis
Sawsan Al Shaer/Al Arabiya/August 20/17/
It’s interesting how the pace of exposing Qatar’s scandals has accelerated. Pandora’s Box was suddenly opened, revealing all the evils since 1996 and until today. There is “international” synergy to expose Qatar’s role in conspiring against the entire world. If I were in the shoes of Qatar’s officials though I’d be worried of my allies’ leaks more than I’d be worried of my rivals’.Bahrain recently broadcast a phone call between former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani and Ali Salman, the chief of the dissolved Al-Wefaq Party. This revealed Qatar’s role in conspiring against Bahrain during the coup attempt led by Al-Wefaq Party against the constitution. The phone call showed how Hamad bin Jassim provided all forms of support and conveyed an American initiative to make mediation efforts in support of Al-Wefaq – this was during Obama’s presidential term. Qatar, Al-Wefaq and part of the former American administration were thus pressuring against the entrance of Peninsula Shield troops to Bahrain.Bahrain also published other evidence that shows the financial support which Qatar provided to terrorist groups in Bahrain. Meanwhile the role of Al Jazeera television channel was exposed by the leaked conversation between Attiyah, an advisor of the former Emir of Qatar, and a member of Al-Wefaq Party. The latter provided all forms of support to terrorists so “blood is shed,” and Attiyah voiced Al Jazeera’s willingness to broadcast this!
Qatar undermining security
In addition to exposing Qatar’s role in Bahrain, WikiLeaks recently exposed the role which Qatar played in undermining Egypt’s security and which led to the death of dozens of Egyptian soldiers, security forces and civilians. The Guardian and other media outlets published two leaked cables on the matter. The first one is numbered 432 and dated July 1, 2009. It described a 50-minute meeting between Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim and Al Jazeera channel with the American ambassador. During the meeting, Bin Jassim discussed Qatar’s foreign policy towards some affairs including the Palestinian reconciliation and the peace process. He also launched a fierce attack against Egypt and its policies both directly and indirectly. The American ambassador analyzed the meeting and noted that Al Jazeera is a tool in the Qataris’ hand that they use any way they want to serve their interests.
The second cable is numbered 677 and dated November 19, 2009. It included a comprehensive evaluation prepared by different departments at the American embassy. The evaluation addressed the role of Al Jazeera channel in Qatar’s policy and analyzed the network’s orientation since Obama became president. The document said that Al Jazeera’s coverage became more positive towards the US. At the same time, the evaluation confirmed that Al Jazeera was still used as a tool in Qatar’s foreign policy. What must worry Hamad bin Jassim and Hamad bin Khalifa is not exposing their role in conspiring to topple Arab regimes. What must worry them is exposing the secrets of Israeli-Qatari relations. Both men must be haunted by the idea! At some point someone wanted to end these close relations by exposing them!
Secret relations
Israel began to expose these secrets through Sammy Revel, the first chief of Israel’s trade bureau in Doha. According to his book “Qatar – Israel – A file of secret relations,” relations between Qatar and Israel began after Hamad bin Khalifa assumed power after the coup he staged against his father. The coup happened in June 1995. Qatar and Israel signed the gas agreement in October the same year. Few months later, in 1996, Israel opened its trade bureau in Doha while Al Jazeera channel was launched in November 1996. The role which Hamad bin Khalifa offered to play to serve Israel thus became clear.
The Daily Telegraph revealed information that is as dangerous as the information revealed by The Guardian. It reported that Qatar is involved in helping three terrorists, wanted by the US, escape. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said he has seven cables about Qatar and only five were published while the other two were not after Qatar negotiated with the website’s administration that requested huge sums of money in order to publish them as they contained dangerous information about meetings with Israeli and American officials and incited against Egypt and their people.Even Pakistan published documents that convict Hamad bin Jassim in the trial of Nawaz Sharif. Another document exposed Qatar’s role in funding Sarkozy’s campaign during the French presidential elections. Who else did not expose Qatar’s roles?
The scandals are being revealed, one after the other. This drives Qatar’s media crazy as it’s incapable of holding them off. Everything has become clear now.

How Qatar is looking for solutions in Kerala
Jameel al-Thiyabi/Al Arabiya/August 20/17/
It has been three months since the Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar. There is no immediate settlement in sight, and the four countries will not back down on the conditions and demands they have set. After all, their patience has worn thin due to Qatar’s policies, which are against all international norms and conventions. The situation has been complicated because of the malicious policies of Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, former Emir of Qatar, and Hamad Bin Jassim, former Prime Minister of Qatar, and because of Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad’s refusal to address the demands which he pledged to do, and his refusal to abide by the six principles announced by the states which call for combatting terrorism. Qatar’s government has been seeking support in several world capitals and from global organizations but its efforts have proved futile. It has left no stone unturned searching for support and sympathy everywhere to the extent that it has even paid money for advertisements posted on London buses and taxicabs and broadcast on American TV channels. All this is meant to promote the idea of Qatar being oppressed and downtrodden and of being the victim. Again, this mendacious propaganda has proved to be futile, as the governments of other countries have not fallen for it.
Laughable
g is the Qatari government’s decision to resort to the Indian state of Kerala. The government hired some mercenaries there and paid them millions of rupees to improve its tarnished image. This clearly shows that Qatar has a bad reputation and a weak image, an image that has changed since 5 June 2017. Today, the international community views Qatar with suspicion. The Qatari leadership should realize that going to Washington, London, Paris or even Kerala will not resolve its dispute with its neighboring sisterly countries nor will it end this boycott. It also will not cancel the demands calling upon it to change its negative behavior. Qatar should realize that the only solution lies in addressing the demands of the four countries. It is high time that the Qatari leadership listens to the voice of reason and wisdom or else it will have to face more dire and severe consequences in the near future.
The desired solution lies in the Riyadh agreement. Egypt and the three Gulf countries are not the only ones that have cut ties with Qatar because of its policies; there is also Kuwait. Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad has already refused Qatar’s malicious policies and warned against their repercussion on the solid Gulf Council. The Emir of Kuwait, who plays the role of mediator in this unprecedented crisis, will not remain neutral on this forever. He knows very well that Qatar has worked for the fragmentation and division of the Kingdom as well as the militarization of some of its regions. Qatar continues to work to sow sedition and destabilize the security situation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. l revolutions and uprisings, gives bribes to corrupt persons and undermines the security of other countries in order to achieve the objectives of the Muslim Brotherhood’s vision in which the Qatari government believes. Let us not forget that Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad played the mediator’s role in the Riyadh agreement in 2013 and complementary addenda in 2014.
Bogged down
The Qatar government is now bogged down in a deep quagmire, even if it tries to pretend otherwise. It has complicated the crisis and internationalized it when it should have contained it with sisterly countries. It continued to maneuver and lie until the crisis got out of control. Neither Iran nor Turkey can help Qatar at this stage. No matter how smart Qatar pretends to be and no matter how many billions it pays, it will not succeed in this. It continues to lose and will suffer from more losses and this will cause the Qatari people to suffer as well from consequences from which they could have been spared.
Using Al Jazeera TV channel and other media channels, which it runs secretly, will not help Qatar in promoting misleading propaganda, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah. Everyone can now see through these flagrant lies. The Qatari government has betrayed its sisterly Gulf countries but this betrayal will not undermine the strength and unity of the sisterly countries and will not achieve the Qatari government’s malicious desires.
It is high time that the Qatari leadership listens to the voice of reason and wisdom or else it will have to face more dire and severe consequences in the near future.