LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 15/17

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 05/17-20/:"‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven
Letter to the Hebrews 12/25-29/:"See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.’ This phrase ‘Yet once more’ indicates the removal of what is shaken that is, created things so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 14-15/17
Lebanese Daily 'Al-Akhbar' Attacks UN Special Coordinator For Lebanon Over Opposition To Hizbullah Weapons/MEMRI/February 14/17
The Political Assassination of Michael Flynn/Eli Lake/Blooberg View/February 14/17
A Real Story of an Assassination by Iran Regime's IRGC/NCRI Iran News/ Tuesday, 14 February 2017
Khamenei’s threats to Donald Trump/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/February 14/17
Maritime implications of Trump’s threats against Iran/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/February 14/17
Trump’s lifeline to oil producers/Dr. Mohamed A. Ramady/Al Arabiya/February 14/17
Safeguarding the security and sovereignty of Bahrain/Abdullah bin Bijad Al-Otaibi/Al Arabiya/February 14/17
Steve Jobs and me/Hussein Shobokshi/Al Arabiya/February 14/17
Beyond the Failed "Two-State Solution"/Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/February 14/2017
Tale of Two Talks: Free Speech in the U.S./Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/February 14/2017
Thoughts on Making Universities Safe for Free Speech/Jeff Trag/Gatestone Institute/February 14/2017

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published February 14-15/17
AMAL Supporters Try to Storm al-Jadeed Building in Protest at TV Show
Aoun, King Abdullah II agree to activate bilateral cooperation
President Aoun to Arab League representatives: Lebanon ready to play role within Arab family
Aoun to Nile TV: Future of Hezbollah arms subject to national defense strategy
Aoun Visits Arab League, Agrees with Jordan King on Boosting Cooperation
Hasbani to Emirati officials: Lebanon offers high quality of tourist, medical services
Lebanon Commemorates Rafik Hariri's Assassination Anniversary
Aoun Says Fate of Hizbullah's Arms Subject to Defense Strategy
Aoun Visits Arab League, Agrees with Jordan King on Boosting Cooperation
Report: LF Says Failure on Election Law Brings on Parliament Vote or Vacuum
Beary Chairs Regular Tripartite Meeting With Lebanese Army and Israeli Officials
Fathali reiterates Iran's support for 'defiant people'
Aridi from Bkirki: We are keen on reaching an understanding on electoral law
Hariri: We Won't Bargain on STL, Hizbullah Arms and Electoral Law Mustn't Isolate Any Ally
Lebanese Daily 'Al-Akhbar' Attacks UN Special Coordinator For Lebanon Over Opposition To Hizbullah Weapons

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published February 14-15/17
Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn resigns
UN warns of ‘looming catastrophe’ in 4 besieged Syria towns
Pro-Ankara rebels, Syria regime ‘agree security line’ in al-Bab
Even under Trump, U.S. in No Hurry to Move Israel Embassy
Iran President to Visit Oman, Kuwait
Haifa Chemicals ordered to empty bay ammonia tank
Report: Israel's Cairo envoy returned home amid security concerns
Saudi Media Says 7 Soldiers Killed in Yemen Border Fighting
Baghdad car bomb kills four: police
Egyptian hostages in Libya released: Army
Queen to unveil Britain’s new cyber security center
Iran: 13 Prisoners Executed
IRGC Should Be Treated Like ISIS
Turkey and Saudi Arabia Agreed to Check the Iranian Regime's Meddling in the Middle East
90% of cotton 'Made in Egypt' is fake, Cotton Association says
Half-brother of N. Korean leader assassinated in Malaysia

Links From Jihad Watch Site for February 14-15/17
Sign petition calling on Schumer to withdraw support for Ellison for DNC Chair
Germany: Security personnel to be permanently stationed at Cologne Cathedral
UK: Muslim found with pipe bomb in luggage was allowed to fly again days later
Trump defends immigration ban as Trudeau says he won’t “lecture another country”
Sweden’s “first feminist government” dons hijabs in Iran

Links From Christian Today Site for February 14-15/17
Will Trump Backtrack On A Jerusalem Embassy And Illegal Settlements When Meeting Netanyahu Tomorrow?
More Than 220 Church Leaders Join Calls On Government To Reverse Decision To Block Child Refugees
The Love Paradox: Why Marriages – And Churches – Fail To Live Up To 1 Corinthians 13
Iranian Christian Convert 'Seriously Ill' Following Hunger Strike
Jews 'Boiled Christians In Cauldrons' Alleges Ultra-Conservative Russian Lawmaker
Dying Former Chorister Helps Convict Former Vicar Of Abuse With Evidence Using Eye-Tracking Technology
How To Read The Bible: Take It Literally But Take It Seriously
Prisons Guilty Of 'Institutional Secularism': Christian Convert Jonathan Aitken, Ex-Cabinet Minister And Convict
Tragedy Of Our Times': UK Government Urged To Protect World's 250,000 Child Soliders
Hillsong To Open Its First Church In Israel, Pastor Brian Houston Announces On Instagram

Latest Lebanese Related News published on February 14-15/17
AMAL Supporters Try to Storm al-Jadeed Building in Protest at TV Show
Naharnet/February 14/17/Supporters of AMAL Movement attempted to storm al-Jadeed TV's building in Beirut on Tuesday evening in protest at a satirical TV show that they deemed insulting to AMAL founder Imam Moussa al-Sadr. TV footage showed hundreds of demonstrators trying to push their way through police and army lines with the aim of storming the building. Protesters also hurled rocks and firecrackers at the building, smashing several windows and injuring two al-Jadeed employees and a policeman. The demonstrators eventually dispersed after around two hours of rioting and following the arrival of huge army reinforcements. President Michel Aoun, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, Defense Minister Yaaqoub al-Sarraf and Information Minister Melhem Riachi had held a series of contacts with security chiefs and political leaders in a bid to pacify the situation. Al-Jadeed deputy chairwoman Karma Khayyat had urged the army to “intervene to put an end to the behavior of (Speaker Nabih) Berri's supporters outside al-Jadeed's building,” calling the protesters' actions “an insult to Imam Moussa al-Sadr.”
An army force eventually arrived outside the building to reinforce security lines. Army forces also deployed along the Salim Salam bridge and on the highway near the Sports City, state-run National News Agency reported. “Those attacking al-Jadeed's building did not watch the episode that they are protesting against and al-Jadeed does not accept any insult against Sayyed Moussa al-Sadr,” Khayyat stressed. “We are being threatened with bullets and the cutting off of broadcast, but this will not deter us from saying the truth,” Khayyat added. Earlier in the day, AMAL supporters had blocked the highway linking the city of Sidon to the South, which was eventually reopened. Media reports said AMAL supporters have also forced many cable TV providers in Beirut, Dahiyeh, the South and the Bekaa to remove al-Jadeed from their service. In its latest episode on Sunday, the satirical show “Douma Cracy” hosted ex-MP Hassan Yaaqoub, the son of Sheikh Mohammed Yaaqoub who disappeared along with Imam al-Sadr during a 1978 visit to Libya. Ex-MP Yaaqoub is an opponent of Berri and has criticized his handling of al-Sadr's case. The episode featured three puppets impersonating Berri, slain Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon. According to An Nahar newspaper, the episode “hinted that Berri knows the location in which al-Sadr vanished.” The TV show is directed by controversial director Charbel Khalil. AMAL MP Hani Qobeissi had on Monday accused al-Jadeed of “insulting” al-Sadr whom he described as “the first defender of Lebanon.”“The language of mockery and disrespect showed that your $70 million contract with some remnants of the Libyan regime to print their books is more important to you than all the causes of the country and its people,” Qobeissi said in a statement. “AMAL Movement with its martyrs, wounded, cadres and leader will not confront you, because you are too little for that,” the MP added. Resistance Brigades gunmen had attacked al-Jadeed's building in 2012 in protest at an interview with Islamist cleric Ahmed al-Asir.

Aoun, King Abdullah II agree to activate bilateral cooperation
Tue 14 Feb 2017/NNA - President Michel Aoun met on Tuesday with King Abdullah II of Jordan during his official visit to the Hashemite Kingdom. The top officials agreed to activate cooperation between both states on all levels. King Abdullah II decided to up security collaboration and increase the number of Lebanese officers partaking in training courses.Aoun focused on the importance of coordinating efforts to find viable solutions to the crisis of displaced Syrians in order to end their suffering. The joint higher Lebanese-Jordanian commission announced that it planned to call for a meeting soon to chart down a plan of action between both states.

President Aoun to Arab League representatives: Lebanon ready to play role within Arab family
Tue 14 Feb 2017/NNA - "Lebanon has now recovered and is ready to perform a major role within the Arab family," President of the Republic Michel Aoun said on Tuesday in front of the representatives of the Arab League. President Aoun added that the ideology of the Zionists has succeeded in turning the Arab-Zionist war to an Arab-Arab war based on sectarian sensitivities. He concluded that the "World is once again witnessing a third war, but a fragmented one."

Aoun to Nile TV: Future of Hezbollah arms subject to national defense strategy
Tue 14 Feb 2017 /NNA - President Michel Aoun told Nile News Channel on Monday evening that his talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi revolved around the impact of the catastrophic events in the Arab world and the necessary means to strengthen bilateral relations. As for the cancellation of his visit to Al-Azhar, he said that it was more than a protocol visit because moderation, coexistence and respect for freedom of belief were essential principles. "The Lebanese module goes beyond the issue of religion and is based on respect for freedom of belief, right for divergent [views] and freedom of opinion," the President said.He explained that the Lebanese state was coherent and that all the parties were working to establish stability and rebuild the country. Aoun noted that the pluralistic political thinking in the country was the cause of difference in points of view concerning some files. The President also assured that he gave priority to the security situation, indicating that the preservation of stability would allow officials to address other files. He asserted that the current government was working in a coherent manner, and that all Lebanese parties were working to serve the interests of the country. "We cannot ignore the repercussions of the war in Syria on our country, the situation is dangerous, it is a war that knows no borders, we must protect our territory from terrorists who can infiltrate our land," he said. Regarding Hezbollah's weapons, the President said that this issue was subject to the national defense strategy, which the state was charting out before overwhelming events took place. "In comparison to its regional environment, at the levels of human and economic powers, Lebanon is unable to assemble a military force capable of confronting the enemy, for this we must use other means of combat that involve both popular and regime forces. This is an idea that can be manifested in a realistic plan."As for the electoral law, Aoun said that he was in favor of proportional representation because it ensured the representation of all Lebanese. "We need a solution for the Syrian war to resolve the refugee crisis, which has burdened the Lebanese state and has caused an economic crisis," he said. Responding to a question about the Arab league, the head of state finally said that it constituted a moral reference for Arab countries, but could only play an effective role if member states respected its charter.

Aoun Visits Arab League, Agrees with Jordan King on Boosting Cooperation
Naharnet/February 14/17/President Michel Aoun stated in front of Arab League delegates in Cairo on Tuesday that Lebanon has regained its strength and is ready to carry on with its role within the Arab family. “Today, Lebanon has recovered its well-being and is ready to carry out its role within the big Arab family. It is ready to contribute to each project that raises our people to stability and progress,” stated Aoun. “The world is once again living a World War III, but a fragmented one,” added the President. “The Zionist ideology has succeeded in transforming the Zionist-Arab war into a sectarian inter-Arab war which justifies Israel's Judaization. This alone is enough to make us unite our efforts to preserve the holy Christian and Muslim landmarks. Lebanon has restored its wellbeing and ready to carry out its role,” concluded Aoun. Aoun's comments came after a meeting he held with Ahmed Abul Gheit, secretary general of the Cairo-based Arab League. he president later arrived in Jordan for talks with King Abdullah II. “President Aoun focused during his talks with Jordan's king on the need to coordinate efforts to find solutions to the Syrian refugee crisis and end the refugees' plight,” LBCI TV reported. The Jordanian monarch for his part decided to “boost security cooperation” with Lebanon and “raise the number of Lebanese officers who take part in training courses” in the kingdom, the TV network added. Aoun had arrived in Egypt on Monday, his first visit to Cairo since his election in October. He held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and religious leaders.At a joint press conference with Sisi, Aoun had said: “Hopes of the role that Egypt could play are high. An Egypt of moderation and openness... could launch an Arab rescue initiative based on a strategy to fight terrorism.” For his part, Sisi said the two sides "agreed on the need to stand together against the dangers of terrorism", adding that Egypt was ready "to support the capabilities of Lebanon's army and its various security bodies". Aoun also met the leader of Egypt's Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II, and held talks with Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb of Al-Azhar, the highest institution of Sunni Islam.

Hasbani to Emirati officials: Lebanon offers high quality of tourist, medical services
Tue 14 Feb 2017/NNA - Vice Prime Minister and Public Health Minister, Ghassan Hasbani, stressed on the importance of the return of Emirati tourists to Lebanon, adding that Lebanon offers high quality tourism and medical services. Minister Hasbani, whose words came during the fifth edition of the World Government Summit, outlined the challenges faced by the health sector and the government's aspiration for developing projects for institutions. Earlier, Hasbani convened with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Mansour Bin Zayed Nehyan, and with Emirati Health Minister, Abdul Rahman Owais, with discussions reportedly featuring high on the general situation and the health sector in Lebanon.

Lebanon Commemorates Rafik Hariri's Assassination Anniversary
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 14/17/Lebanon marks on Tuesday the twelfth anniversary of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in a massive and shocking suicide bombing in 2005 that destabilized the country. In downtown Beirut, political leaders and ordinary citizens gathered to lay flowers at Hariri’s grave. Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader and Prime Minister Saad Hariri visited his father's tomb early on Tuesday. A torch sculpture, that is part of a memorial that includes a statue of Hariri, was lit near the St. Georges Hotel where the blast went off at exactly 12:55 pm. Al-Mustaqbal Movement will hold a commemoration ceremony at BIEL at 4:00 p.m. marking the occasion. The Feb. 14, 2005 assassination killed Hariri and 21 others and wounded more than 200 people, stunning a nation long used to violence. The charismatic billionaire businessman was Lebanon's most prominent Sunni politician. Although a divisive figure, he was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the ravages of the 1975-90 civil war. The massive explosion that tore through his convoy on the Beirut seaside 12 years ago sent a tremor across the region and unleashed a popular uprising that briefly united the Lebanese and ejected Syrian troops from the country. But despite millions of dollars spent, justice remains elusive in a case that has been overshadowed by more recent turmoil. Five Hizbullah suspects are being tried in absentia by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon based in The Hague.

Aoun Says Fate of Hizbullah's Arms Subject to Defense Strategy
Naharnet/February 14/17/In light of the controversy that emerged after President Michel Aoun's statement about Hizbullah's weapons, Aoun stated on Tuesday that the future of the party's arms will comply with Lebanon's National Defense Strategy. “The matter is subject to the National Defense Strategy which we have been trying to set when the incidents got ahead of us,” Aoun told Egyptian Nile News TV channel. “Lebanon, relative to its surroundings in terms of both human and economic power, is incapable of building a military force capable of confronting the enemy. Therefore it has to use special ways for fighting, involving regular (army) and popular forces. This is the idea that can be translated into a realistic plan,” added the President. Numerous dangers threaten Lebanon, most of them coming from the Israeli enemy, and pose challenges for the State to face them by putting forth a National Defense strategy based on the Constitution, the laws, the requirements of coexistence and the resolutions of the international legitimacy. Aoun's comments came after an earlier statement about Hizbullah's armament that raised criticisms. On Sunday, Aoun has stressed that Hizbullah's weapons “do not contradict with the State,” noting that it is “more than guaranteed” that Hizbullah will not “turn its arms inwards.” Separately commenting on the controversial electoral law, Aoun expressed adherence to a proportional representation system for the upcoming parliamentary polls.
He said: “I support proportionality which allows the representation of all national components including the minorities.”

Aoun Visits Arab League, Agrees with Jordan King on Boosting Cooperation
Naharnet/February 14/17/President Michel Aoun stated in front of Arab League delegates in Cairo on Tuesday that Lebanon has regained its strength and is ready to carry on with its role within the Arab family. “Today, Lebanon has recovered its well-being and is ready to carry out its role within the big Arab family. It is ready to contribute to each project that raises our people to stability and progress,” stated Aoun. “The world is once again living a World War III, but a fragmented one,” added the President. “The Zionist ideology has succeeded in transforming the Zionist-Arab war into a sectarian inter-Arab war which justifies Israel's Judaization. This alone is enough to make us unite our efforts to preserve the holy Christian and Muslim landmarks. Lebanon has restored its wellbeing and ready to carry out its role,” concluded Aoun. Aoun's comments came after a meeting he held with Ahmed Abul Gheit, secretary general of the Cairo-based Arab League. The president later arrived in Jordan for talks with King Abdullah II. “President Aoun focused during his talks with Jordan's king on the need to coordinate efforts to find solutions to the Syrian refugee crisis and end the refugees' plight,” LBCI TV reported. The Jordanian monarch for his part decided to “boost security cooperation” with Lebanon and “raise the number of Lebanese officers who take part in training courses” in the kingdom, the TV network added. Aoun had arrived in Egypt on Monday, his first visit to Cairo since his election in October. He held talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and religious leaders. At a joint press conference with Sisi, Aoun had said: “Hopes of the role that Egypt could play are high. An Egypt of moderation and openness... could launch an Arab rescue initiative based on a strategy to fight terrorism.” For his part, Sisi said the two sides "agreed on the need to stand together against the dangers of terrorism", adding that Egypt was ready "to support the capabilities of Lebanon's army and its various security bodies".Aoun also met the leader of Egypt's Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II, and held talks with Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb of Al-Azhar, the highest institution of Sunni Islam.

Report: LF Says Failure on Election Law Brings on Parliament Vote or Vacuum
Naharnet/February 14/17/The Lebanese forces warned on Tuesday that shall efforts fail to agree on a consensual electoral law for the upcoming parliamentary polls, the political parties would be compelled to either run a parliament vote on the available electoral law proposals, or enter into a parliamentary vacuum, al-Joumhouria daily reported. “We have not dropped chances to agree on a new electoral law, particularly that efforts in that regard are ongoing. We are working on a new hybrid electoral format that takes into consideration the remarks made about the previous formats,” unnamed Lebanese Forces sources told the daily. However, the sources added that shall an agreement fail to be reached, “then everyone will be faced with a choice of two: first, to vote in the parliament on the electoral law proposals and the law that garners the majority will be adopted. This is a normal institutional path and a normal application of the constitution. “Second, is to enter into (parliamentary) vacuum awaiting consensus on a forthcoming electoral law.”They warned that threats about vacuum are very serious, and asked: “What is the use of periodic elections if they do not reflect real representation?” “Mistaken are those who bet on a third option, whether related to the 1960 election law or the extension of the parliament term,” they remarked. The Lebanese Forces has blamed Hizbullah party for “overthrowing” the hybrid electoral law which mixes the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems after realizing that it would give the Lebanese Forces a bigger parliamentary bloc.Political parties are bickering over amending the current 1960 majoritarian election law which divides seats among the different religious sects. The political parties have intensified their efforts lately in a bid to agree on a new electoral law before the expiry of the deadlines. They are discussing several formats of a so-called “hybrid” electoral law that combines the proportional representation and winner-takes-all systems. While Mustaqbal has rejected that the electoral law be fully based on proportional representation, arguing that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's strongholds, Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat has totally rejected proportional representation, even within a hybrid law, warning that it would “marginalize” the minority Druze community. Hizbullah, Mustaqbal, the Free Patriotic Movement, AMAL Movement and the Lebanese Forces are meanwhile discussing several formats of a so-called hybrid electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the winner-takes-all system. The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next vote is scheduled for May.

Beary Chairs Regular Tripartite Meeting With Lebanese Army and Israeli Officials
Naharnet/February 14/17/The Head of Mission and Force Commander of UNIFIL, Major General Michael Beary, chaired on Monday a regular tripartite meeting with senior officials from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel army at the UN position at Ras Al Naqoura, a press release said. Discussions focused on issues related to the implementation of UNIFIL’s mandate under UN Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), air and ground violations, the situation along the Blue Line and its ongoing visible marking, as well as the issue of withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Ghajar. The parties acknowledged the important stabilizing role played by the tripartite forum in the context of the cessation of hostilities and the prevailing regional volatility. Calling for a concerted effort by all parties to do more to preserve the integrity of the Blue Line, Major General Beary advocated utmost restraint in undertaking any activities in sensitive areas along the Line. “Prior coordination through UNIFIL’s liaison channels is the only practical way to avoid tensions and incidents in this context,” he said. Ten years into the Blue Line marking process that commenced in 2007, Major General Beary underlined its strategic significance as “a key confidence building measure that has played a vital role in maintaining the cessation of hostilities.”Noting the progress made so far, and the challenges in marking the contentious points going forward, he urged the parties to be flexible and pragmatic in seeking solutions so that the positive momentum could be maintained. Tripartite meetings have been held regularly under the auspices of UNIFIL since the end of the 2006 war. They have become an essential conflict management and confidence building mechanism between the parties.

Fathali reiterates Iran's support for 'defiant people'
Tue 14 Feb 2017/NNA - Amal Movement held a ceremony on Tuesday commemorating the 38th anniversary of the triumph of the Islamic revolution in Iran, attended by Ambassador of Iran Mohammed Fathali, who asserted that his country plans to maintain its support for Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Bahrain. The event was attended by MP Ayoub Homeid and a host of partisan and religious figures. The Ambassador said in a word that that under the wise leadership of Imam Seyed Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, the Islamic Republic of Iran would remain the advocate of justice, dialogue and unity. He asserted that Iran continued to represent the "strategic depth" for the proud people facing "Zionist occupation and takfirist terrorism." "[Iran] will continue to be the true supporter of defiant people...in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon," noted Fathali, without failing to add Bahrain and Yemen to the list of "wronged people."Fathali lauded the Lebanese people and particularly Amal Movement, with its leader House Speaker Nabih Berri.

Aridi from Bkirki: We are keen on reaching an understanding on electoral law
Tue 14 Feb 2017/NNA - Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rahi met on Tuesday in Bkirki with a delegation of Democratic Gathering Deputies. After the meeting, Deputy Ghazi Aridi highlighted the importance of consecrating and enhancing diversity and partnership in Lebanon. Based on that, it was necessary to reach an understanding on the electoral law and to start the implementation of the Taef Agreement. The Deputy rejected the false accusations against the Democratic Gathering claiming that it agreed on the 60s law, saying that "we agreed on the 60s electoral law but a modified version."Aridi added that he and his party respected the constitutional deadlines and had no intention for delaying them.

Hariri: We Won't Bargain on STL, Hizbullah Arms and Electoral Law Mustn't Isolate Any Ally
Naharnet/February 14/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed Tuesday that al-Mustaqbal Movement “will not bargain” over the issues of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon or Hizbullah's weapons, while emphasizing that the new electoral law should not “subdue or isolate” any Lebanese component. “Justice is coming and it is 'God's promise' and your pledge to Rafik Hariri and all the martyrs of Lebanon,” said Hariri at a BIEL rally marking the 12th anniversary of the assassination of his father, ex-PM Rafik Hariri.
“Rafik Hariri will remain with us, because we are simply committed to the pledges of honor, loyalty and coexistence,” the premier added. Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a massive and shocking suicide bombing in 2005 that destabilized the country for many years. The explosion killed Hariri and 21 others and wounded more than 200 people. The assassination sent a tremor across the region and unleashed a popular uprising that united large segments of the Lebanese and ejected Syrian troops from the country. Five Hizbullah suspects are being tried in absentia by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon based in The Hague. “We made initiatives when initiatives were needed to rescue Lebanon and we have the courage to confront when confrontation is needed in order to defend the State,” Hariri told the BIEL rally on Tuesday, referring to his initiatives that eventually led to ending more than two years of presidential vacuum and the formation of a new government.
“We've made concessions to preserve stability but we won't bargain over the STL, our stance on the Assad regime, illegal arms or Hizbullah's involvement in Syria,” Hariri underlined. Apparently addressing the criticism he has faced from former justice minister Ashraf Rifi, the premier said “Rafik Hariri's name must not be used for political vengeance and it won't be a barricade for creating animosity among the Lebanese.” “Rafik Hariri understood the profound meaning of settlements in Lebanon and we understood with him that the policy of isolation and obstinacy is a futile policy that paralyzes the State and exposes the country to sectarian conflict,” Hariri added.
“Yes, there is a dispute in the country over Hizbullah's arms and its involvement in Syria. There is no consensus on the issue in the government, the parliament or national dialogue, but what protects the country is consensus over the army and the State and only the State,” the PM stressed. “We are now involved in governance, an integral part of a common political will to protect Lebanon and assume the responsibilities of the state. This means that we are still in the heart of the project aiming to 'cross towards the State,' in the heart of the goals that we have fought for, and for which Rafik Hariri and the martyrs of the Independence Uprising paid their lives,” Hariri emphasized. He noted that Lebanon today is secure, legally and constitutionally, and the political efforts “should concentrate on preventing any attempt to remove it from this scope.”“No authority can be higher than the authority of the State. Whether the authority of parties or sects, or authorities supported by anyone abroad,” Hariri stated. “Lebanon’s decision is in the hands of the Lebanese state and not in the hands of individuals, leaders or regional or international axes,” he said.
Hariri added: “To those who believe that any regional side can usurp the Lebanese national decision, just as they thought in the past, I say: the failure of past experiences is a lesson to them and to everyone. The Lebanese, us in the forefront, will not allow Lebanon to be handed over to foreign axes.”
“In this sense, Lebanon will never be, not today nor tomorrow or at any time, part of any axis in the face of its Arab brothers. We do not seek rivalry with anyone, and will not allow Lebanon to be an arena for the conflicts of others on its land,” Hariri vowed.
Turning to the thorny issue of the electoral law, Hariri said Mustaqbal is “keen on reaching a new electoral law that revives political life on the condition that it does not subdue or isolate any confessional component,” topped by Mustaqbal's “allies.”While Mustaqbal has rejected that the electoral law be fully based on the proportional representation system, arguing that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's strongholds, Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat has totally rejected proportional representation, even within a hybrid law, warning that it would “marginalize” his minority Druze community. Hizbullah, Mustaqbal, AMAL Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces are meanwhile discussing several formats of a so-called hybrid law.
The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next vote is scheduled for May.

Lebanese Daily 'Al-Akhbar' Attacks UN Special Coordinator For Lebanon Over Opposition To Hizbullah Weapons
MEMRI/February 14/17
On February 11, 2017, in an interview with the Egyptian channel CBC, Lebanese President Michel 'Aoun defended Hizbullah's possession of weapons, saying: "So long as there is [Lebanese] land occupied by Israel, and so long as the [Lebanese] army is not strong enough to fight Israel, we feel that the weapons of the resistance are vital to complementing the weapons of the army." He added: "Hizbullah's weapons absolutely do not challenge the state and are a main part of defending Lebanon."[1]
'Aoun's statements sparked criticism from UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag, who tweeted: "Recalling SCR 1701 vital 4 Lebanon's stability-security. Resolution calls 4 disarmament [of] all armed groups. No arms outside control of state."[2]Kaag later told the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar that 'Aoun's comments were concerning and that she intended to set a meeting with him to discuss the issue.[3]
The following day, on February 14, 2017, Hassan 'Aliq, a columnist for the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is known for its support of Hizbullah, published an article titled "Sigrid Kaag, Shut Up!" which harshly attacked Kaag for her opposition to Hizbullah's weapons. In it, he demanded that she "shut up" and even told her: "Die in your rage." He went on to argue that Kaag, like other Western diplomats in Lebanon, is displeased that the Lebanese regime is headed by a powerful figure such as 'Aoun, who refuses to bow to them and speaks candidly. Hizbullah, he wrote, has become a "massive regional force" that grows stronger every day, amasses armaments, possesses game-changing weapons, operates south of the Litani River, and disregards the existence of Security Council Resolution 1701. He added that the Lebanese people support Hizbullah's increasing strength and "will be displeased with the resistance if it attains anything less than a nuclear bomb."
Following are excerpts from 'Aliq's column:[4]
"Lebanon is attractive to consuls. It is home to an army of politicians, people who yearn to be ministers or MPs, businessmen, clerics, members of the media, key figures in society, intellectuals, and the like – who worship the [foreign] consuls and draw strength solely from [serving foreign] embassies [in Lebanon]. Nothing is valid for them unless it is issued by [some] superpower. They say that the former French ambassador to Beirut, Barnard Émié, sunk into a deep depression after his [recall from Lebanon] and his reappointment as his country's ambassador to Turkey. [This is because] in Beirut, Émié partnered with [former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon] Jeffrey Feltman in order to 'engineer' the regime in Beirut [to operate according to their will] after the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon. He was guest of honor at countless meetings and banquets. No one contradicted him. He was above the [Lebanese] constitution, and his influence was greater than that of the law. The difference between him and any high commissioner who ruled Lebanon before 1943 is merely in their official duties. Conversely, in Turkey, he is strictly an ambassador who represents the interests of his country, without servants, without motorcades, and without the applause that accompanied his arrival at meetings. He receives no gifts, is not invited [to events], and there are no politicians willing to do anything just to receive a recommendation from 'his eminence' to include their name on the list of people who will receive some order of merit from the Élysée Palace.
"The weight of the American ambassador to Beirut is several times that of the French ambassador. He is a god to many politicians. Additionally, the British ambassador and the EU representative are treated, at the very least, like prophets. In recent years, the list of people worshipped [in Lebanon] also saw the addition of the UN Special Coordinator [for Lebanon]. This same UN, which is powerless to do anything in the world, has a high commissioner in Lebanon who runs from the home of one [Lebanese] politician to another, from this ministry to that administration, and from one association to the next, without being stopped by anyone... Because this is Lebanon, the UN Special Coordinator becomes a high commissioner in the fullest sense of the term. Sigrid Kaag currently serves in this role. The comments by President Michel 'Aoun two days ago [February 11, 2017] regarding the role of the resistance [i.e. Hizbullah] in Lebanon angered [Kaag], who reminded us of [UN Security Council] Resolution 1701 and of the regular empty talk of 'disarming all armed groups.'
"This lady, who does not address any Israeli violation of Lebanese sovereignty or the occupation of the Jaroud 'Arsal area by ISIS, and who operates as a very low-level clerk in the American administration, who opposes strengthening the Lebanese army, told the website [for the Lebanese daily] Al-Nahar yesterday [February 13] that 'Aoun's comments were 'concerning.' She later denied to [Lebanese news channel] LBCI that she had commented on 'Aoun's remarks.
"We must say the truth: 'Aoun's remarks are indeed concerning [to them]. For the first time in 10 years, the international community encounters a Lebanese official at this level, who speaks candidly...
"But in fairness, we must thank Kaag for her courage. Yesterday she took it on herself to speak for her American, British, French, and European colleagues, who are displeased with 'Aoun and his positions, and who oppose anything that includes even a possibility of constructing a strong state in Lebanon. This is because it is better for them [if Lebanon] remains a submissive [private] estate that requires their protection, and nothing more.
"Ms. Kaag, thank you for your courage, but die in your rage. The Lebanese resistance has become a massive regional force. Its capabilities increase daily in terms of armament, equipment, and manpower, as well as in terms of the game-changing weapons [it possesses], both north and south of the Litani [River]. As for Resolution 1701 – it is the last thing on our minds. In fact, one might assume that the resistance members who dig the underground missile silos have forgotten that [Resolution 1701] even exists, or haven't even bothered hearing about it in the first place. The only thing on their minds, as the defenders of our country's security, is to increase the might of our resistance. Many Lebanese will be displeased with the resistance if it attains anything less than a nuclear bomb.
"Ms. Kaag, this country is completely different than what you think. There are people here who believe it is an independent and sovereign nation, including the man at the head of the regime – Michel 'Aoun.
"Ms. Kaag, speak nicely or shut up."
[1] Al-Mustaqbal (Lebanon), February 12, 2017.
[2] Twitter.com/SigridKaag, February 13, 2017.
[3] Al-Nahar (Lebanon), February 13, 2017.
[4] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), February 14, 2017.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 14-15/17
Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn resigns
The Canadian Press/February 14/17
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned late Monday night, following reports that he had misled Vice-President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with Russia. His departure upends Trump's senior team after less than one month in office.In a resignation letter, Flynn said he gave Vice-President Mike Pence and others "incomplete information" about his calls with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. The vice-president , apparently relying on information from Flynn, initially said the national security adviser had not discussed sanctions with the Russian envoy, though Flynn later conceded the issue may have come up. Trump named retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as the acting national security adviser. Kellogg had previously been appointed the National Security Council chief of staff and advised Trump during the campaign. Trump is also considering former CIA Director David Petraeus and Vice Admiral Robert Harward, a U.S. Navy SEAL, for the post, according to a senior administration official.
The Trump team's account of Flynn's discussions with the Russian envoy changed repeatedly over several weeks, including the number of contacts, the dates of those contacts and ultimately, the content of the conversations.
Late last month, the Justice Department warned the White House that Flynn could be in a compromised position as a result of the contradictions between the public depictions of the calls and what intelligence officials knew to be true based on recordings of the conversations, which were picked up as part of routine monitoring of foreign officials communications in the U.S.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press that Flynn was in frequent contact with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on the day the Obama administration slapped sanctions on Russia for election-related hacking, as well as at other times during the transition.
An administration official and two people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the Justice Department warnings on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. It was unclear when Trump and Pence learned about the Justice Department outreach.
The Washington Post was the first to report the communication between former acting attorney general Sally Yates, a holdover from the Obama administration, and the Trump White House. The Post also first reported last week that Flynn had indeed spoken about sanctions with the Russian ambassador.
Trump never voiced public support for Flynn after that initial report, but continued to keep his national security adviser close. Flynn spent the weekend at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and was in the president's daily briefing and calls with foreign leaders Monday. He sat in the front row of Trump's news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Monday afternoon.
White House officials sent contradictory messages about Flynn's status throughout the day. Counselor Kellyanne Conway said Trump had "full confidence" in Flynn, while spokesman Sean Spicer said the president was "evaluating the situation" and consulting with Pence about his conversations with the national security adviser. Asked whether the president had been aware that Flynn might have planned to discuss sanctions with the Russian envoy, Spicer said, "No, absolutely not."Flynn's discussions with the Russian raised questions about whether he offered assurances about the incoming administration's new approach. Such conversations would breach diplomatic protocol and possibly violate the Logan Act, a law aimed at keeping citizens from conducting diplomacy. Administration officials said misleading Pence was ultimately Flynn's downfall, though they insisted he resigned and was not fired by Trump. Flynn was spotted near the Oval Office just after 10 p.m. Monday. As uncertainty about his future swirled, several of the president's top advisers, including chief of staff Reince Priebus and counsel Don McGahn, ducked in and out of late-night meetings in the West Wing.
California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Flynn's resignation "does not end questions over his contacts with the Russians." He said the White House has yet to be forthcoming about whether Flynn was acting at the behest of the president or others.
Flynn's resignation comes as Trump and his top advisers seek to steady the White House after a rocky start. The president, who seeks input from a wide range of business associates, friends and colleagues, has been asking people their opinions on his senior team, including Spicer and chief of staff Reince Priebus.
Advisers have privately conceded that the White House spit out too many disparate messages in the first few weeks, though they also note that the president's own tweets sometimes muddy the day's plans before most of the White House staff has arrived for work.
Trump voiced support for Priebus Monday, saying the chief of staff was doing, "not a good job, a great job." But he did not make a similar show of support for his national security adviser.
Over the weekend, Trump told associates he was troubled by Flynn's situation, but did not say whether he planned to ask him to step down, according to a person who spoke with him recently. Flynn was a loyal Trump supporter during the campaign, but he was viewed skeptically by some in the administration's national security circles, in part because of his ties to Russia.
In 2015, Flynn was paid to attend a gala dinner for Russia Today, a Kremlin-backed television station, and sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the event. Flynn apologized to Pence about the matter on Friday, according to an administration official. The official said Pence was relying on information from Flynn when he went on television and denied that sanctions were discussed with Kislyak. Kellogg takes the helm of the National Security Council at a time when the young administration is grappling with a series of national security challenges, including North Korea's reported ballistic missile launch. The president, who was joined at his Mar-a-Lago estate by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over the weekend, voiced solidarity with Japan. The White House is also dealing with fallout from the rocky rollout of Trump's immigration executive order, which has been blocked by the courts. The order was intended to suspend the nation's refugee program and bar citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Associated Press writers Catherine Lucey and Matthew Daly in Washington and Jonathan Lemire in New York contributed to this report.

UN warns of ‘looming catastrophe’ in 4 besieged Syria towns
By AFP, Damascus Tuesday, 14 February 2017/The top UN official in Damascus has warned of a “looming humanitarian catastrophe” in four besieged towns in Syria, calling for immediate access to deliver aid to some 60,000 residents. In a statement late Monday, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Ali al-Za’atari, warned of dire conditions in the towns of Zabadani, Madaya, Fua and Kafraya. Zabadani and Madaya, in Damascus province, are besieged by government troops and their allies, while Fua and Kafraya are under siege by the rebels. “Sixty thousand innocent people are trapped there in a cycle of daily violence and deprivation, where malnutrition and lack of proper medical care prevail,” the statement said. “The situation is a looming humanitarian catastrophe. The principle of free access to people in need must be implemented now and without repeated requests,” it added. Za’atari said the situation was complicated by the “tit-for-tat arrangement” between the towns, whereby no aid can be provided to Madaya and Zabadani without similar access to Fua and Kafraya, and vice versa. The linkage “makes humanitarian access prone to painstaking negotiations that are not based on humanitarian principles,” he said.
“This has prevented medical cases from receiving proper treatment and evacuation. People are in need, and they cannot wait any longer. We need to act now.”The UN’s last humanitarian access to the four towns was in November, the statement said, without directing blame for the lack of access at one side or the other. Earlier this month, the UN said it had been able to deliver aid to just 40,000 people in besieged and hard-to-reach areas in January, despite requesting access to more than 900,000 people. That made January the worst month for humanitarian deliveries in nearly a year, with approval received for just one of 21 humanitarian convoys proposed by the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. The UN says 4.72 million Syrians are in so-called hard-to-reach areas, including 600,000 people under siege, mostly by the Syrian army, but also by rebel groups or ISIS.

Pro-Ankara rebels, Syria regime ‘agree security line’ in al-Bab
AFP, Istanbul Tuesday, 14 February 2017/Turkey-backed Syrian rebels and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have created a security corridor to avoid clashes in the battle to capture the flashpoint town of Al-Bab from ISIS militants, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. If confirmed, it would mark a rare case of contact in the conflict between the Damascus regime and the rebels seeking to oust it. The Hurriyet newspaper likened the zone to the demilitarized “Green Line” in Cyprus between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities. The corridor has been set up in the south of Al-Bab and varies in width from 500 meters to 1,000 meters (yards), Hurriyet said, adding that occasional communication took place between the rival sides. There has been intense fighting between Turkey-backed rebels and ISIS militants to take full control of the northern Syrian town. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that Turkey-backed forces had entered the centre of Al-Bab and that its capture was imminent. Hurriyet said rebels now controlled 40 percent of the town. Meanwhile, Assad’s forces have pushed towards the town from the south, completing an encirclement of the ISIS fighters. Turkey has been an implacable foe of Assad since the start of Syria’s nearly six-year civil war, backing the rebels who sought to oust him from power. But in the past few months Turkey’s relations with Assad’s main ally Russia have warmed dramatically and Moscow and Ankara have been working together to bring peace to Syria. Ankara has always vehemently denied sporadic reports of secret political contacts with the Assad regime. Backing the opposition fighters, Turkey launched an unprecedented incursion inside Syria in August, taking back several border towns including Jarabulus and Al-Rai from the militants. But the battle for Al-Bab has proved the toughest in the campaign that claimed at least 67 Turkish troops’ lives, according to tallies.

Even under Trump, U.S. in No Hurry to Move Israel Embassy
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 14/17/It might have sounded the death knell for an already moribund Middle East peace process, but Donald Trump seems to have delayed plans to move the US embassy to Jerusalem. The new U.S. president campaigned for office on a long-standing Washington plan to move its main mission to Israel to the city that remains the focus of its conflict with the Palestinians. To have done so would have been read by many as a signal that Washington supports Israel's claim on Jerusalem as the eternal and undivided capital of the Jewish state. This would reassure Israel's internationally isolated right-wing government but trigger fury among the Palestinians, still hoping to make east Jerusalem the capital of a future state. And it would have complicated Israel's delicate efforts to build a network of open and covert alliances with the broader Arab world as a bulwark against Iran and Islamist extremism. The question is bound to come up on Wednesday, when Trump welcomes Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House and sets the tone for future U.S.-Israeli ties. In 1995, the U.S. Congress passed a law ordering that the U.S. mission be shifted from Tel Aviv to the Holy City, but every president since has delayed taking a decision on the move. In the meantime, the debate has become a proxy for that over US support for Israel's settlement building enterprise on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The previous U.S. administration under president Barack Obama opposed the expansion of Jewish settlements, arguing that they hurt the longer-term search for a two-state solution. But this did not hold back Trump the presidential candidate, who promised to move the embassy "fairly quickly" if he were to win.  Trump the president has been less determined. "I am not somebody that believes that going forward with these settlements is a good thing for peace," Trump reportedly told the Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom last week. Moving the embassy, he admitted, was "not an easy decision."This would seem to fly in the face of the view of David Friedman, the lawyer tipped to become U.S. ambassador to Israel. In a news release to mark Trump's decision to nominate him, Friedman said he looked forward to working from "the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem." But observers in Washington agree that Trump appears to have moved away from a quick decision, towards the more traditional wait-and-see approach adopted by his recent predecessors. "The Israelis are obviously in favor of the move," said Jonathan Schanzer, vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a conservative think tank.
"But I got the sense from Israeli officials on a visit in January that the Israelis are willing to tread slowly."Schanzer said his impression was that Israel would not push on the embassy issue if it is assured that Washington remains loyal to its primary security objectives in the region. Robert Satloff of the Washington Institute of Near East Policy said Israelis across the political spectrum would welcome a move of the embassy but that the timing is crucial. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War -- when in Israeli eyes their victory secured the "reunification" of Jerusalem -- a sensitive date for Palestinians.
Under the Hebrew calendar, the commemoration falls in May. Coincidentally, this is also when Obama's last six-month "waiver" delaying the move expires. "If the president wants to move forward on this, he should do so well in advance of that date lest he inadvertently feed any Palestinian sense of provocation and outrage," Satloff said. Sooner than May does not seem likely, however. At his first news conference after last month's inauguration, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said: "We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject."

Iran President to Visit Oman, Kuwait
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 14/17/Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is to visit Oman and Kuwait on Wednesday, state television reported, amid efforts by Kuwait to mend relations between the Gulf Arab states and Tehran. The Gulf tour comes after Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah visited Tehran last month to deliver a message from the emir on Gulf-Iranian relations. "Gulf states have a true desire that relations with Iran are normal and based on international law," Sheikh Sabah said at the time, calling for a "normalisation of ties and opening dialogue".
Iran has had no diplomatic relations with regional kingpin Saudi Arabia since January last year when protesters stormed the kingdom's missions in Tehran and Mashhad following the execution of a Saudi Shiite Muslim cleric. Ties were already strained between the region's leading Shiite and Sunni powers, which have taken opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, and the persistent political unrest in Sunni-ruled but Shiite-majority Bahrain. Kuwait, which has a significant Shiite minority, has sought to maintain relations with Iran. The emir visited Tehran in June 2014. Oman has always had good ties with Iran. The sultanate is the only one of the six Gulf Arab states not taking part in the Saudi-led military intervention against Shiite rebels in Yemen. It played a key role in the negotiations that led to the July 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, hosting secret talks between Iranian and US representatives. Rouhani visited Muscat in March 2014. Sultan Qaboos visited Tehran in August 2013.

Haifa Chemicals ordered to empty bay ammonia tank
Amir Ben David, Lior El Hai and Ilana Curiel|/Ynetnews/February 14/17
The court order to empty the tank within 10 days comes as Haifa Chemicals backtracks on pledge not to appeal previous court decree closing the facility; Haifa mayor accuses Haifa Chemicals of 'misleading and lying to the public.'
Haifa Chemicals has been ordered to empty the Haifa ammonia tank within 10 days and has been banned from restocking until the end of discussions on a petition to close the facility filed by the city of Haifa. Haifa Chemicals are expected to appeal the decision, which was taken by Judge Ghada Bsul of the Haifa Court for Local Affairs, despite an earlier pledge to "respect the decision of the court."In response, Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav accused the company of "misleading and lying to the public." He went on to say, "I call on them to come to their senses and understand that the rules of the game have changed and we will fight until the tank is removed from the Haifa Bay."In a statement, Haifa Chemicals asked to delay discussions taking place in the Supreme Court, adding that "it goes without saying" that they intend to appeal because the decision to order the tank emptied was both "false and erroneous" because it was made without authority. The petition claimed that there is evidence of a clear and immediate danger to the public by the continued operation of the ammonia tank. The claim is based on a report by a professional committee examining ammonia in the Haifa Bay, which was written by Prof. Ehud Keinan. The report detailed for the first time the significant danger presented by ammonia shipments to the storage facility, which occur every few weeks. According to the experts, the danger presented by damage to an ammonia transport ship is greater than damage to the actual facility itself, which has the potential to harm hundreds of thousands of people. In her decision, the judge noted that the picture painted by the report "causes sleepless nights for every reader" and draws attention to alternative arrangements that have not been implemented. As reported in Yedioth Ahronoth, the Ministry of Environmental Protection is expected to announce in the coming days that it has revoked the company's permit to use ammonia, which is expected to cause the closure of the storage tank on its own. This is seen as part of the attempt by government offices including the Treasury and the Prime Minister's Office to push Haifa Chemicals to build a new plant itself elsewhere. A host of environmental groups as well as Knesset members have praised the court's decision and the ministry of environmental protection released a statement saying that it will "continue to operate with the available tools to ensure there is no room for the ammonia facility in the Haifa Bay."

Report: Israel's Cairo envoy returned home amid security concerns
Ynetnews/Fred Goldberg/February 14/17/According to reports in the British daily The Telegraph, David Guvrin was brought back to Israel from Cairo three months ago after fears arose over his personal safety; while it is believed that since his departure Gurvin has not returned to Egypt, the Foreign Ministry has yet to comment on the matter. Israel's ambassador to Egypt, David Guvrin quietly returned to Israel in late 2016 from Cairo over concerns for his personal safety, it was reported in The Telegraph. Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon declined to comment on the report which was first reported in the British daily. According to the report, Guvrin was evacuated from Cairo some three months ago and is currently working from Jerusalem. The Foreign Ministry is hoping to return him to Egypt as soon as circumstances permit. The Telegraph said the exact circumstances are unclear, but it is most likely due to a series of terrorist attacks in the Egyptian capital which claimed the lives of several people and officials. Ambassador Guvrin was appointed last summer and in September presented his credentials to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Saudi Media Says 7 Soldiers Killed in Yemen Border Fighting
Tue 14 Feb 2017/NNA - At least seven Saudi soldiers have died on the southern border since late last week, according to an unusual series of official reports released. In separate dispatches since last Thursday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has carried photographs of funerals for the “martyrs” it said had died “defending the southern borders.”The most recent report, published late on Monday, named Mohammed al-Manjahi as the latest soldier to have been killed. A Saudi-led coalition began a brutal aggression on Yemen in March 2015 to support its ally the fugitive President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. An earlier AFP tally of reports by the Saudi interior ministry and civil defence department found that at least 115 Saudi soldiers and alleged civilians had been killed on the southern border since coalition operations began. That total has now reached at least 122. The Saudi interior ministry regularly gives details of casualties among its border guard troops but other military services normally do not. Official media have previously reported on funerals for dead troops but the series of dispatches since last week is unusual. ---AFP

Baghdad car bomb kills four: police
AFP, Baghdad Tuesday, 14 February 2017/A car bomb exploded in an industrial area of south Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least four people, Iraqi police said. “The blast was caused by a parked car bomb in an industrial area,” home to many car maintenance workshops and companies in Bayaa, a neighborhood with a mixed Sunni and Shiite population, a police colonel said. He said at least four people were killed and 14 wounded, a casualty toll confirmed by hospital sources. The Iraqi capital was rocked by a wave of deadly suicide bombings during the first days of 2017 but relatively few explosions have been reported since. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in Bayaa. Nearly all suicide attacks are claimed by ISIS, which is currently defending its last major Iraqi bastion of Mosul against a massive, four-month-old operation by the security forces.

Egyptian hostages in Libya released: Army
Ashraf Abdul Hamid, Al Arabiya.net – Cairo Tuesday, 14 February 2017/The Egyptian army, in coordination with the General Command of the Libyan army managed to release the 13 Egyptians, who were kidnapped by an armed criminal gang in the region of Ajdabiya, Libya. Egypt’s military spokesman, Colonel Tamer al-Rifai, asserted that they contacted the relatives of the kidnapped and finalized their deportation papers in preparation for their return to Egypt. Al-Rifai thanked the General Command of the Libyan army for their cooperation to help put an end to the crisis. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry warned Egyptian citizens of the risks of traveling to Libya, appealing to all the Egyptians residents there to be extremely cautious and stay away from troubled regions. The Egyptian foreign Ministry urged its citizens not to be misled by gangs that promote travel tours, by taking them to Libya via a third country, thereby entering Libya illegally and risking detention.

Queen to unveil Britain’s new cyber security center
By AFP, London Tuesday, 14 February 2017/Queen Elizabeth II will inaugurate Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre on Tuesday, spearheading the country’s efforts to combat a growing wave of cyber attacks notably from Russia. The 90-year-old monarch is due to formally open the London hub alongside her husband Prince Philip, 95, and a host of government ministers including finance minister Phillip Hammond. “The cyber attacks we are seeing are increasing in their frequency, their severity, and their sophistication,” Hammond is expected to say, according to extracts of the speech released in advance. “In the first three months of its existence the NCSC has already mobilized to respond to attacks on 188 occasions.”The center is one element of a £1.9 billion ($2.38 billion, 2.24 billion euros) government strategy unveiled in November to tackle cyber threats. As part of its bid to tighten security, the government is opening 100 posts at the new hub to be filled by private sector employees on secondment from their permanent jobs. Part of Britain’s communications spying agency, GCHQ, the London hub is aimed at implementing preventative measures such as better securing state websites and email accounts.
Staff are also preparing for a major “category 1” cyber attack, which is expected to happen sooner or later, CEO Ciaran Martin said in a Sunday Times interview. The center chief accused Moscow of targeting political institutions and parliamentary organizations in incidents “well evidenced by our international partners”. “Over the last two years there has been a step change in Russian aggression in cyber-space,” he told the newspaper. Martin’s comments come after US intelligence agencies accused Moscow of interfering in the country’s November elections, which prompted the outgoing administration to impose sanctions on Russian agencies. Cyber attacks on government departments seek information on policy, including energy and diplomacy, while state-sponsored attacks on companies can be aimed at stealing intellectual property, Martin told the Sunday Times.

Iran: 13 Prisoners Executed
NCRI Statements/Tuesday, 14 February 2017/Nine prisoners on death row, three verdicts for hand amputation
The mullahs' regime's henchmen sent 10 inmates to the gallows in Qum and Zabol on February 13. One of them was executed while his appeal had been sent to the regime's judiciary. Also, three other prisoners, 29 and 30 years old, were executed in Jiroft and Mashhad prisons on February 11 and 12.
On the other hand, nine prisoners have been reportedly transferred to solitary confinement in Gohardasht prison for execution. Iranian Resistance calls all relevant international authorities to take urgent and effective action to prevent these executions.
A few days ago, Ali Alizadeh, an official in the so-called anti-drug campaign, called for the continuation of brutal punishments and said, "Adjusting death penalty does not contribute to the campaign, and faces it with challenges." (Khaneh Mettlat, state-run news agency- 5 February 2017)
In yet another case, the mullahs' judiciary in Tehran issued the ruling for cutting off the hands of three individuals charged with theft. (Hamshahri, state daily- 12 February 2017)
Unable to cope with the growing domestic and international crises, and in fear of public uprising, the hated regime of mullahs finds the only way out in intensifying suppression. The regime's officials should be expelled from the world community for their anti-human crimes, and must be tried for crime against humanity. Silence and inaction before the crimes of this savage regime over the past three decades has encouraged it to continue and intensify these crimes.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/February 14, 2017

"IRGC Should Be Treated Like ISIS"
NCRI Iran News/Tuesday, 14 February 2017
The Director of the National Security and Terrorism Studies Department at the Gulf Research Center, Mustafa Alani believes that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) should be treated like ISIS.
The following is his interview with Al-Arabiya TV aired on 11 February 2017:
US officials say that they are considering designating the IRGC as the terrorist group. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards was founded in 1979 and it is the largest security force in Iran. They are trying to promote Shahab Missiles. They also interfere in the internal affairs of the countries of the region by aiding Hezbollah in Lebanon, training militias to fight against the Syrian regime, supporting the Iraqi and Houthi militants in Yemen and meddling in Bahrain. The IRGC is also operating outside of Iran through its Quds Force commanded by Qassem Soleimani."
Al-Arabiya: "Washington is evaluating designating the IRGC as a terrorist entity. If it gets confirmed, then how this group could be targeted?
Dr. Mustafa Alani: "Some entities affiliated with the IRGC have been on the list since 1990. A number of leaders of institutions affiliated with the IRGC have been listed as terrorist as well. Nevertheless, the IRGC has not yet been listed as a complete entity. This is an important measure though it is adopted with delay.
The IRGC has been the biggest cause of instability and insecurity since 1985. Many entities affiliated with this group were listed as terrorist during Obama's term in office as well as the former US administration but no measure had been taken against them. For instance, the Senior Commander of the IRGC, Qassem Soleimani is in the same list with Zarqawi, bin Laden, and al-Baghdadi but no action has been taken against him. The US aircraft are in Iraq while Qassem Soleimani is also present in this country. We have to see if Trump fulfills his promises. Is the IRGC being treated the same as ISIS? It is, of course, important to designate the entire IRGC as a terrorist group.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia Agreed to Check the Iranian Regime's Meddling in the Middle East
NCRI/Tuesday, 14 February 2017/The Saudi Foreign Minister visited his Turkish Counterpart in Ankara. Meanwhile, the Turkish Minister of Defense traveled to Saudi Arabia. The two regional powers have the similar stance regarding the interference of the Iranian regime in the region."Al-Arabiya TV interview with the deputy editor of Al-Riyadh Newspaper of Saudi Arabia, February 11th 2017
The Deputy Editor of Al-Riyadh Newspaper: "We know that the interference of the Iranian regime in the region is detrimental and disastrous. Anywhere the Iranian regime is present, the calamity breaks out. I think the alliance between Turkey and Saudi Arabia as the two major regional powers would benefit all since they have great facilities to stand against the Iranian region and bring the stability to the region." Hani Wafa added: "I think it would to the benefit of the region. Turkey is a powerful country in the region and it is also a member of NATO. In addition to that, Saudi Arabia has its influential position in the Islamic and Arab world and it can arrange the essential preliminaries. Therefore, Turkey and Saudi Arabia could be successful to stop the Iranian regime and its meddling in the region."

90% of cotton 'Made in Egypt' is fake, Cotton Association says
By Reuters, Cairo Tuesday, 14 February 2017
Egypt's most famous export, the silky soft cotton prized by makers of luxury bedding and clothing, has become so scarce as production has fallen that most supplies sold under its brand name last year were fake. But a surge in local cotton prices ahead of next month's planting season, and a crackdown on ersatz Egyptian cotton worldwide, are reviving interest in cultivating the long-neglected crop. Farmers, spinners, and exporters say the weakness of the Egyptian pound following its flotation in November and a scandal over the alleged sale of falsely labelled Egyptian cotton have increased demand for the real thing, injecting life into a historic industry on its deathbed. Egyptian cotton output will be "between double and triple this year," said Ahmed Elbosaty, chairman of Modern Nile Cotton, a major cotton trading company. Last year, agricultural production of Egypt's high quality long-staple cotton hit a more than 100-year low. Production has slumped since 2011, a year of political upheaval that coincided with looser regulations that degraded the quality of local cotton, said Nabil al-Santaricy, head of the Alexandria Cotton Exporters Association. Faced with big losses, farmers burned their cotton crops, with many switching to rice.
In a bid to save its historic crop, Egypt in 2016 banned all but the highest quality cotton seed, dramatically shrinking the area under cultivation but restoring quality. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that in 2016-17 Egypt will produce 160,000 bales, half the previous year's crop and a fraction of the 1.4 million produced in 2004-05.
Saved by scandal
With global stocks low, some foreign suppliers have mixed lower grade lint into yarns and fabrics, passing them off as Egyptian cotton, spinners and exporters said. The Cotton Egypt Association, which provides an official logo to suppliers of 100 percent Egyptian cotton, estimates that about 90 percent of global supplies of Egyptian cotton last year were fake. "When the manufacturer can write it's 100 percent Egyptian cotton, and everyone else does the same, why would he buy the actual Egyptian cotton?" said association head Khaled Schuman. The scandal hit the headlines last year when U.S. retail chain Target Corp accused Indian textile manufacturer Welspun India of using cheaper, non-Egyptian cotton in sheets and pillowcases. Retailers began reviewing whether to stop selling Welspun products and demanded that those offering 100 percent Egyptian cotton should show proof. "This whole thing revived interest in Egyptian cotton and increased demand," Santaricy said. Schuman said his association had received an "enormous number" of requests to use its logo, which guarantees quality, since the Welspun affair, with 20 companies signed up since December. "There's now more focus on selecting suppliers who use 100 percent Egyptian cotton ... Companies are telling us that 'we are required to get your license because we cannot sell our product without it'," he said. Following the scandal, Welspun, one of the world's largest textile manufacturers, announced an investigation into its supply processes. The company said last Thursday that the Cotton Egypt Association had granted it the right to use its logo through 2022 following a review of its supply chain. Welspun said it now plans to invest $3 million to market Egyptian cotton worldwide and may open a plant in Egypt. "We foresee an increase in demand for Egyptian cotton and find an ideal condition for making Egypt one of our hubs for sourcing and manufacturing Egyptian cotton products," Welspun said. Schuman says measures such as DNA testing and a system of international auditing will reduce imitation Egyptian cotton to 30 percent of world supply by the end of this year.
Float to fortune
Exporters and spinners say one of the biggest challenges is supply: there simply isn't much Egyptian cotton. This is set to change. Farmers and exporters expect a comeback for the crop, spurred by the country's decision to float its currency, halving its value overnight but helping push local cotton prices sky high -- to about 3,200 Egyptian pounds ($174) per qintar (160 kg) from 1,200 Egyptian pounds a few months earlier. "There was no hope in cotton until this season ... Now all the farmers are going to grow it," said Nile Delta farmer Maher Allam, who plans to quadruple his cotton area. Egypt's sunny skies and superior seed help it grow a cotton known for unusually long fibres that produce a light durable fabric with an attractive sheen and soft touch. Long-staple sells at 155 cents per lb, about twice the price of common short-staple cotton. Its return to world markets could provide a lucrative export opportunity at a time when Egypt has a huge trade deficit and is seeking to relaunch its stagnant economy. "The 2016-17 season marked the beginning of the return of Egyptian cotton ... More farmers want to plant now, because the crop has become more competitive," said farmer Waleed al-Saadany, who is doubling his cotton planting this year.
Spinning a profit
At Egyyarn, a yarn factory on the outskirts of Cairo, January was the first month its machines had run at full capacity in over a year, owing to a rise in demand. The plant, with humidity levels set high to preserve the soft touch of its long-staple cotton, produced 150 tonnes of yarn in January, up from 110 tonnes a month earlier. "Business was bad, but now with this new cotton, things have become different ... clients are increasing their contracts," factory manager Ahmed Hussein said over the steady swish of yarns whipping around spinning machines. Egyyarn was among the first to procure the new high quality crop, said Hussein, prompting the return of clients who had shunned the company because of quality issues. "Companies were going to India and Pakistan because the characteristics of Egyptian cotton were not great," said Khaled Moussa of Almatex, another yarn producer. Moussa said increased supplies would allow the company to increase exports just as the Welspun case and a better crop drive up demand. His company hopes to nearly double its exports over the next year to 3,000 tonnes. "The case exposed those who were bluffing and charging people for something they were not providing," he said.

Half-brother of N. Korean leader assassinated in Malaysia
AFP, Seoul Tuesday, 14 February 2017/The half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been assassinated in Malaysia, South Korean media reported Tuesday, with one TV station saying he was attacked at the main airport with poisoned needles. Officials in Seoul could not be reached for comment on the reported death of Kim Jong-Nam. Malaysian police said an unidentified Korean had been taken sick at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and since died. If confirmed, Kim’s case would be the highest-profile death under the Kim Jong-Un regime since the execution of the leader’s uncle Jang Song-Thaek in December 2013. Kim Jong-Un has been trying to strengthen his grip on power in the face of growing international pressure over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. The latest missile launch on Sunday brought UN Security Council condemnation.South Korea’s national news agency Yonhap quoted a Seoul government source as saying Kim Jong-Nam was killed on Monday. The source gave no further details. The 45-year-old was poisoned by two unidentified female agents using poisoned needles at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, according to South Korean broadcaster TV Chosun.
The report, citing what it called multiple government sources, said the two women hailed a cab and fled immediately afterwards. In Malaysia, the police chief in charge of Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Assistant Commissioner Abdul Aziz Ali, told AFP a Korean in his forties was found sick at the airport on Monday.
Airport authorities rushed him to the hospital and he died on the way, the police chief said. “We do not have any other details of this Korean man. We do not know his identity,” Abdul said. Kim Jong-Nam was once considered heir apparent but fell out of favor with his father Kim Jong-Il following an embarrassing botched attempt in 2001 to enter Japan on a forged passport and visit Disneyland. He has since lived in virtual exile, mainly in the Chinese territory of Macau. Jong-Nam’s half-brother Jong-Un took over as North Korean leader when their father died in December 2011. Jong-Nam, known as an advocate of reform in the North, once told a Japanese newspaper that he opposed his country’s dynastic power transfers. He was reportedly close to his uncle Jang Song-Thaek, once the North’s unofficial number two and political mentor of the current leader. Jong-Nam has been targeted in the past. In October 2012 South Korean prosecutors said a North Korean detained as a spy had admitted involvement in a plot to stage a hit-and-run car accident in China in 2010 targeting Kim Jong-Nam. In 2014 Jong-Nam was reported to be in Indonesia -- sighted at an Italian restaurant run by a Japanese businessman in Jakarta -- and was said to be shuttling back and forth between Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and France. In 2012 a Moscow newspaper reported that Jong-Nam was having financial problems after being cut off by the Stalinist state for doubting its succession policy. The Argumenty i Fakty weekly said he was kicked out of a luxury hotel in Macau over a $15,000 debt. Last year South Korea warned of possible North Korean assassination attempts on its territory. It noted previous attempts to assassinate Hwang Jang-Yop, the North’s chief ideologue and former tutor to Kim Jong-Il, who defected to the South in 1997 and died of natural causes in 2010.Jong-Nam was born from his father’s extra-marital relationship with Sung Hae-rim, a South Korean-born actress who died in Moscow.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 14-15/17
The Political Assassination of Michael Flynn
Eli Lake/Blooberg View/February 14/17
If we are to believe the Trump White House, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn just resigned because he lied about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the vice president. As White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway told NBC's "Today Show" on Tuesday: "Misleading the vice president really was the key here."
That sounds about as credible as when the president told CIA employees that the media had invented the story about his enmity toward the spy agency, not even two weeks after he had taken to Twitter to compare the CIA to Nazis. It's about as credible as President Donald Trump's insistence that it didn't rain during his inauguration. Or that millions of people had voted illegally in the election he just won.
The point here is that for a White House that has such a casual and opportunistic relationship with the truth, it's strange that Flynn's "lie" to Pence would get him fired. It doesn't add up.
It's not even clear that Flynn lied. He says in his resignation letter that he did not deliberately leave out elements of his conversations with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak when he recounted them to Vice President Mike Pence. The New York Times and Washington Post reported that the transcript of the phone call reviewed over the weekend by the White House could be read different ways. One White House official with knowledge of the conversations told me that the Russian ambassador raised the sanctions to Flynn and that Flynn responded that the Trump team would be taking office in a few weeks and would review Russia policy and sanctions. That's neither illegal nor improper.
What's more, the Washington Post reported Monday night that last month Sally Yates, then the acting attorney general, had informed the White House that Flynn discussed sanctions with Kislyak and that he could be susceptible to blackmail because he misled Pence about it. If it was the lie to Pence that sunk Flynn, why was he not fired at the end of January?
A better explanation here is that Flynn was just thrown under the bus. His tenure as national security adviser, the briefest in U.S. history, was rocky from the start. When Flynn was attacked in the media for his ties to Russia, he was not allowed by the White House to defend himself. Over the weekend, he was instructed not to speak to the press when he was in the fight for his political life. His staff was not even allowed to review the transcripts of his call to the Russian ambassador.
There is another component to this story as well -- as Trump himself just tweeted. It's very rare that reporters are ever told about government-monitored communications of U.S. citizens, let alone senior U.S. officials. The last story like this to hit Washington was in 2009 when Jeff Stein, then of CQ, reported on intercepted phone calls between a senior Aipac lobbyist and Jane Harman, who at the time was a Democratic member of Congress.
Normally intercepts of U.S. officials and citizens are some of the most tightly held government secrets. This is for good reason. Selectively disclosing details of private conversations monitored by the FBI or NSA gives the permanent state the power to destroy reputations from the cloak of anonymity. This is what police states do.
In the past it was considered scandalous for senior U.S. officials to even request the identities of U.S. officials incidentally monitored by the government (normally they are redacted from intelligence reports). John Bolton's nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations was derailed in 2006 after the NSA confirmed he had made 10 such requests when he was Undersecretary of State for Arms Control in George W. Bush's first term. The fact that the intercepts of Flynn's conversations with Kislyak appear to have been widely distributed inside the government is a red flag.
Representative Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told me Monday that he saw the leaks about Flynn's conversations with Kislyak as part of a pattern. "There does appear to be a well orchestrated effort to attack Flynn and others in the administration," he said. "From the leaking of phone calls between the president and foreign leaders to what appears to be high-level FISA Court information, to the leaking of American citizens being denied security clearances, it looks like a pattern."
Nunes said he was going to bring this up with the FBI, and ask the agency to investigate the leak and find out whether Flynn himself is a target of a law enforcement investigation. The Washington Post reported last month that Flynn was not the target of an FBI probe.
The background here is important. Three people once affiliated with Trump's presidential campaign -- Carter Page, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone -- are being investigated by the FBI and the intelligence community for their contacts with the Russian government. This is part of a wider inquiry into Russia's role in hacking and distributing emails of leading Democrats before the election.
Flynn himself traveled in 2015 to Russia to attend a conference put on by the country's propaganda network, RT. He has acknowledged he was paid through his speaker's bureau for his appearance. That doesn't look good, but it's also not illegal in and of itself. All of this is to say there are many unanswered questions about Trump's and his administration's ties to Russia.
But that's all these allegations are at this point: unanswered questions. It's possible that Flynn has more ties to Russia that he had kept from the public and his colleagues. It's also possible that a group of national security bureaucrats and former Obama officials are selectively leaking highly sensitive law enforcement information to undermine the elected government.
Flynn was a fat target for the national security state. He has cultivated a reputation as a reformer and a fierce critic of the intelligence community leaders he once served with when he was the director the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama. Flynn was working to reform the intelligence-industrial complex, something that threatened the bureaucratic prerogatives of his rivals.
He was also a fat target for Democrats. Remember Flynn's breakout national moment last summer was when he joined the crowd at the Republican National Convention from the dais calling for Hillary Clinton to be jailed.
In normal times, the idea that U.S. officials entrusted with our most sensitive secrets would selectively disclose them to undermine the White House would alarm those worried about creeping authoritarianism. Imagine if intercepts of a call between Obama's incoming national security adviser and Iran's foreign minister leaked to the press before the nuclear negotiations began? The howls of indignation would be deafening.
In the end, it was Trump's decision to cut Flynn loose. In doing this he caved in to his political and bureaucratic opposition. Nunes told me Monday night that this will not end well. "First it's Flynn, next it will be Kellyanne Conway, then it will be Steve Bannon, then it will be Reince Priebus," he said. Put another way, Flynn is only the appetizer. Trump is the entree.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

A Real Story of an Assassination by Iran Regime's IRGC
NCRI Iran News/ Tuesday, 14 February 2017
Why Iran Tried To Assassinate Me -- And How I Survived
This article by Mr. Hossein Abedini, an Iranian parliamentarian in exile, and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, appeared in Forbes on February 13, 2017. The following is the full text.
As the new U.S. administration begins its work, a major challenge that looms on the horizon is how to deal with the theocracy ruling Iran. A key factor in articulating a sound policy on Iran is to understand the fundamentally violent and adversarial nature of the clerical regime.
General James Mattis, the new Secretary of Defense, has rightly described Iran as the leading source of instability in the Middle East. The Iranian regime has institutionalized terror at home and abroad. This is one of the main tasks of the notorious Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and its extraterritorial arm to carry out this ominous mission, i.e. the Qods Force.
I am a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the coalition of Iranian opposition movements, with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the principal Iranian opposition movement at its core. (The People's Mojahedin Organization is also known as MEK, which stands for Mojahedin-e-Khalq.) I for one am living proof of the clerical regime’s nefarious activities beyond its borders, because I was almost killed by one of them.
In mid-afternoon on March 14, 1990, I was sitting next to the driver taking me to the Istanbul airport. As we were discussing the state of affairs in Iran, a car suddenly blocked our path. A few seconds later another car pinned us in from behind.
In a flash, two strange men from the front car jumped out with automatic weapons. I made a decision in a split second. I opened the car door and rushed at them carrying only a small briefcase. One of the men fired nine bullets; the other man’s gun jammed. I was gravely wounded. The assailants fled. My four-month struggle for survival had just started.
I was rushed to Istanbul’s International Hospital nearby. I was in a deep coma for over 40 days, and unconscious for three months.
After the attack I underwent 14 major surgeries, received 154 pints of blood, and lost 80 percent of my liver. In one of the operations, the doctors sought the permission for an operation from my colleagues, notifying them that odds for my survival were one to one hundred.
A few days later, state TV in Tehran announced that Mohammad Mohaddessin, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, had been seriously wounded in an attack in Istanbul and had died. It became evident that he was the ultimate target of that operation.
Nevertheless, Tehran on several occasions tried to finish me off while I was recovering in hospital. In one case, the police sealed off the hospital because the Turkish president was visiting his ailing mother. In so doing, they discovered Iranian agents disguised as Turkish police officers and foiled their plot. In another instance, the would-be assassins pretended to be friends coming to visit me, but were scared off by the arrival of real visitors.
Around that same time, there were many others who were not as lucky. The renowned human rights activist Kazem Rajavi was fatally shot in Geneva in 1990, and several Kurdish activists were killed in the two years thereafter. Furthermore, Iran left its fingerprints on major terrorist attacks including the bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, which killed American servicemen, and the bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires.
There is much diversity among the people who have been victims of Tehran’s unbridled terror. But none have suffered more than my fellow activists of the MEK. Two years before the attempt on my life, some 30,000 political prisoners were put to death in a single summer as part of an effort by the Iranian leadership to utterly destroy the MEK.
But in a testament to the group’s dedication and broad appeal, the MEK survives to this day and is in fact thriving as it gains support not just from the restive Iranian population but also internationally.
Make no mistake, the current Iranian government has in no way moderated its behavior, contrary to the promises of the Obama administration. Terrorism is a pillar of the survival of the turbaned tyrants in Iran. Hassan Rouhani, the current president, was the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council for many years and is now its president. It was the organization that ordered major terrorist activities of the regime, including the attempt on my life, and its function remains the same to this day.
Rouhani has also dramatically increased funding for the IRGC, which is the main driving force both behind Iranian contributions to crimes against humanity in Syria and behind the well-recognized crackdown on activists, journalists, artists, and dual nationals in Iran. And since taking office in 2013 amidst Western praise for his “moderate” positions, Rouhani has overseen more than 3,000 executions.
If the administration will only make itself fully aware of the unbroken history of violence and human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic, it can only conclude that the time has come for an assertive foreign policy – one that starts by seeing the Iranian regime for what it is and putting pressure on it and particularly on the IRGC. The organization should be listed as a foreign terrorist group and should therefore be subject to serious, effective sanctions.
It is the time to cripple the Iranian regime’s terror machine for the betterment of the Iranians, the region and the world.

Khamenei’s threats to Donald Trump
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/February 14/17
“I do not fear Trump. We must thank the new American president because he showed the real face of America and because he exposed what we have been saying for decades about the political, moral and economic corruption in it.” This is the recent statement made by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against the newly-elected US administration.
Yes, we’re passing through a new phase. There has been a major transformation following the reactive years of isolationism which show the depth of the roots that America has returned to in terms of engaging with world crises and contributing to managing its development.
This is something that influential academic and politician Fouad Ajami had called for. Ajami passed away heartbroken because the former administration was “hopeless” since it neglected managing the concept of the “world order.”
The current US administration is convinced that its predecessor’s legacy on Iran weighs heavy on its shoulders. Development of ballistic missiles is the result of the Obama administration’s complete negligence. The major reason of terrorism in the region is Iran. The latter’s involvement in Syria has awakened sectarianism in the region and it is time to discipline this political rebellion represented by the Iranian regime.
US Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, nicknamed the Mad Dog, said Iran sponsors terrorism across the world and the White House announced that all options, including the military one, are on the table. This is the new rhetoric which has shook Iran.
Trump’s administration focuses on Iranian terrorism in an unrivaled manner as they seek to restore the necessary firm position as was the case during Bush administration
Beseiging terrorism
The axis of resistance is in shock because the old strategic facilitations are now out of its hand. Trump has inherited a bad legacy and he must screen it beginning with besieging the terrorism of the Iranian regime. Everyone knows that Iran killed the most number of Americans in Beirut, Tehran and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian regime is skilled at blowing up embassies and masters executions, murder and assassinations.
But how did the Revolutionary Guards’ cadres comment and what’s their reaction to Trump’s statements against Iran’s terrorism?
Hamid Reza, the media and cultural consultant of the Revolutionary Guards, angrily and defiantly said that the new US president has begun his presidential term with a heated media fuss, just like what America witnessed during his electoral campaign that stirred controversy in the American and global political scene due to the vagueness of his future plans and political orientations on the local and international levels.
Reza added that Trump’s recent statements – claiming it’s important to be more accurate when monitoring Tehran’s activity after it conducted a successful missile experiment – confirms the repeated and pitiful statements of his predecessor, Obama, that all options are on the table.
Wishful thinking
However, Trump clearly said that the display of kindness is over and that he’s different than his predecessor. Iran and its axis, however, continue to maintain their wishful thinking and Trump attacks them because they forgot this threatening rhetoric since the days of George Bush.
Trump’s administration focuses on Iranian terrorism in an unrivaled manner as they seek to restore the necessary firm position as was the case during Bush administration. During a speech on January 29, 2002, Bush coined the famous term “Axis of Evil” which included Iran that, he said, represents terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and organized and institutional work to carry out violent practices that oppose international agreements.
The Iranian regime is passing through a different phase amid domestic unrest. It is faced with a suffocating economic crisis, which is leading to growing poverty and unemployment. Meanwhile, it is spending tens of billions on the leaders and commanders of terrorist groups. The commanders of the Revolutionary Guards receive wages that are enough to support an entire state. Iran has engaged in absurd wars which it will not exit from until after it’s broken – in Yemen or Syria or even Iraq.
The era of adulating the Houthis and Kerry’s plan under the excuse of dealing with a political party are over as Trump and his team believe the Houthis are a terrorist group. This is the time of transformation and of restoring prestige to nations so each country retreats to its borders. The Supreme Leader’s threats to Trump are pointless.
*The article was first published in Al Sharq al-Awsat on February 14, 2016.

Maritime implications of Trump’s threats against Iran
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/February 14/17
Last week, US President Donald Trump’s administration all but declared pending military action against Iran to push the Islamic Republic out of Arab lands. Trump, National Security Council Advisor Michael Flynn and US Defense Secretary James Mattis are not going to tolerate Iranian harassment at sea any more. The suicide boat attack against a Saudi frigate off the coast of Yemen was the last straw for the new administration.
Iranian assistance to the Houthis in Yemen is now front and center. The United States is accepting GCC arguments that Iran is indeed behind the Houthi missile program and well as backing Houthis fighting against Saudi Arabia with almost daily intrusions into the Kingdom’s two provinces, Jizan and Najran, America’s toolkit is about to open for sending a strong message to Tehran.
Besides seeing Iran’s hand behind Houthi attacks on the UAE’s HSV SWIFT and the USS Mason in October 2016. The Trump administration and the GCC see Iranian naval expansion into the Red Sea as alarming. Iranian ships are notorious for acting as platforms for maritime intelligence but also part of a system of weapons and supplies delivery to the Houthis.
According to a GCC official, “Iranian missile technology is being delivered to the Houthis. This must be stop and we hope the Americans will do something about this behavior.” The US Defense Department is considering more patrols and airstrikes in Yemen, designed at preventing Iranian weapons from being delivered to the Houthis.
“Conflict talk” against Iran occurred in the 2000s and in 2012 specifically with some moments very close to authorizing a US and/or Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear infrastructure. But this new round of DC-Tehran shouting has important implications.
A maritime clash is also part of the Trump transactional approach. Naval exchanges are likely given that volume of harassment attacks by Iran and its proxies against US and Arab naval ships
Trump cards
There are a number of Trump cards that are now in play. First, Trump is trying to get Iranian concessions by listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the terrorist list and not ripping up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear treaty at this time.
Second is a message to Russia. The Trump administration is floating the idea to Moscow to trade Iran for Ukraine in a bold geo-political transactional move with the Kremlin. Russia is concerned by escalating rhetoric between the United States and Iran and sees itself as a negotiator which is pleasing to GCC ears.
Third, the Trump administration wants to show that Washington is back in the region so they can help manage the Middle East conflict which means controlling Iraq and jointly operating with Arab partners to push back Iranian proxies.
A maritime clash is also part of the Trump transactional approach. Naval exchanges are likely given that volume of harassment attacks by Iran and its proxies against US and Arab naval ships.
It is quite possible that the US and its Arab allies want to check the readiness of Iranian forces who are spread out across Arab lands and losing over a thousand commanders and soldiers of the IRGC and the Basij. At this juncture there is no stability in MENA without some type of American military action. This is where the prospect of a “Tanker War II” comes into play.
What will a Tanker War II look like?
The first Tanker War occurred from 1980 to 1984. Attacks on shipping by both sides led to over 500 vessels suffering damage and hundreds of seafarers being killed. The Tanker War was seen as having the potential both to affect world oil exports and prices and to draw other countries into the conflict.
The attack on the USS Stark and the actions by the USS Vincennes are reminders of what may happen next. A Tanker War II will take a different shape, and it’s the impact on regional psychology which will be dramatically different in today hyper social media environment.
US National Security Advisor Flynn’s warning that Iran has been “put on notice” over Iran’s aggressive behavior such as missile launches is adding fuel to the specter of a Tanker War II. This type of language is exactly what the GCC states want to hear from America: They want forceful US language that carries a big stick unlike the Obama Administration.
According to a Jordanian official “the GCC is losing two wars because of Iran: Yemen and Syria. They need America to be tough on Iran. The GCC sees IRGC existence in the area between Oman, Hormuz, and Bahrain. Other Iranian troops are covering other areas in the Levant. Thus any clash between the US and Iran will be between Hormuz and Manama in the Gulf.”
Best case scenario
The best-case scenario is that any confrontation is short and any damage to shipping returns to normal after 30 days and not last four years like the first Tanker War. But in terms of timeframe and assessment of severity of a Tanker War II, there are a number of potential escalatory outcomes. Any extended closure of maritime shipping will be costly.
Again, we are looking at Iranian forces will most certainly try to block the Strait of Hormuz and paralyze international shipping. It would wreak havoc with the world’s oil supply that would shoot oil prices higher that ironically provide some budgetary relief to OPEC and non-OPEC countries.
Tehran will do its best to hinder US and allied naval operations by making it engaged in prolonged mine countermeasure operations. Thankfully, the US and the international community are ready for this potential Iranian action through several years of multilateral drills, IMCMEX.
The Trump Administration is moving toward a confrontation with the Islamic Republic that the GCC sees as necessary to alleviate Tehran’s dangerous regional onslaught.

Trump’s lifeline to oil producers?
Dr. Mohamed A. Ramady/Al Arabiya/February 14/17
While President Trump seems to be making the headlines for the wrong reasons concerning rather blunt speaking telephone calls with foreign heads of state and the shambolic introduction of his US entry executive orders on some Muslim countries, in contrast oil producers seem to have found a new found friend who has thrown them a lifeline.
Oil producers had been coming under increased pressure over the past decade from global environmentalists and climate change advocates who have vigorously campaigned for a reduction in fossil fuel consumption and renewed emphasis for renewable and clean energy sources.
Trump’s victory, with his belief that climate change proponents have been exaggerating the degree of harm to the environment, and has even called climate change a hoax, coupled with his election promises to push harder for domestic US oil and coal production has seemingly changed the energy equation, at least for the next four years of his administration.
Mixed energy portfolio
Now no less than Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khaled al-Falih has announced that US president Donald Trump’s policies would be good for the oil industry, as according to the minister, Trump has steered away from excessively anti-fossil fuel’s unrealistic policies and that he wants a mixed energy portfolio that includes oil, gas and renewables.
The American president has followed up on his rhetoric by appointing unapologetic climate change skeptics in key administration positions such as Scott Pruitt as head of the Environment Protection Agency, as well as other climate change skeptics like David Schnare, Chris Horner and William Happer.
Despite Trump’s seeming lifeline to Gulf oil producers, the major fossil producers know that this lifeline is short term as the environmental bandwagon and scientific evidence points toward an eventual reduction in fossil fuel consumption
According to reports, in 2015, the environmental group Greenpeace UK announced that it had caught Happer in a sting operation. Greenpeace officials, posing as representatives of an unnamed Middle Eastern oil company, offered Happer money to write a report on the benefits of increasing atmospheric levels of CO2 while keeping the funding source a secret.
Happer agreed, but maintains that he did nothing wrong. He says that he told the ‘oil company’ officials that any payments should be sent to the CO2 Coalition, a US non-profit organization that promotes “the important contribution made by carbon dioxide to our lives and the economy”.
The Paris Agreement
The seemingly unabashed new Trump embrace for fossil fuel will put into question the USA’s commitment to the December 2016 Paris Climate Change Conference which ended in much fanfare to try and enforce stricter national compliance in reducing global emissions, with fossil and coal being the primary targets.
This was much to the annoyance, but grudging acceptance of major oil producers who have pointed out that they either need to be compensated for future loss of oil revenues, which was discounted by consumer nations, or try to diversify their oil-based economies. The result has been a plethora of Visions and Missions all over the Gulf countries to do exactly that, and hope that the private sector will take up the challenge of being the future engine of non-oil growth.
By contrast, the European Union as a whole has set a target of an 80-95 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Among EU nations, Sweden, Britain, Denmark and Finland have also passed climate laws meant to make long-term policies less easily overturned and to give more certainty to investors, especially those embarking on long term and costly renewable energy programs.
These countries and others want to set an example at a time when climate sceptics are seemingly gaining power in the world again. Despite US skepticism, at least from Trump appointees, they feel encouraged by pledges by China and India, the world’s other large emission countries to fulfil their commitments to the Paris Agreement.
So will the Paris Agreement get anywhere? On the one hand, it doesn’t oblige any government to cut their greenhouse gases. But on the other, each country’s efforts will be scrutinized every five years. And although the agreement has no teeth, it does represent something unique: the first time that every nation on the planet has signed up to try to head off the worst effects of global warming.
Potential game changer?
China in particular, is investing billions in solar that could be a potential game changer, and put at risk those that still want to invest in fossil fuels and ultimately be the losers.
Despite Trump’s seeming lifeline to Gulf oil producers, the major fossil producers know that this lifeline is short term as the environmental bandwagon and scientific evidence points toward an eventual reduction in fossil fuel consumption.
They too have been embracing a future that encompasses renewal, especially solar energy, and are planning significant investment in the sector. In this respect, Minister Falih is also right by hedging his long-term bets on a mixture of energy portfolio too, given that in the short term the new Trump energy policies might increase US oil production and reduce dependency on oil imports from the Gulf countries.
Oil producers like Saudi Arabia have seemingly welcomed additional US oil production if this helps to meet increased global demand. This is a big “if” in face of global uncertainties on renegotiated trade agreements and protectionist economic policies.

Safeguarding the security and sovereignty of Bahrain
Abdullah bin Bijad Al-Otaibi/Al Arabiya/February 14/17
Iranian officials are continuously attacking Bahrain by issuing statements. Such statements have come from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and even the President’s office.
However, Bahrain has never succumbed to Iranian blackmail and has stood tall to safeguard the stability of the country and welfare of its people. Iranian interventions in Bahrain expanded alongside some human rights international institutions not distinguishing between foreign agents who scheme against Bahrain and carry out vandalism, and between someone with a political opinion that does not affect the state security nor is he disloyal to it.
Bahrain prevailed and the enemies were silenced. Despite the growing pressure, Bahrain was forced to deploy the Peninsula Shield Force and the Gulf forces entered with all its capabilities. At the time, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton expressed outrage over Bahrain’s decision on an American channel. Unfortunately, the former US president did everything he could to get closer to Iran and gave up on America’s traditional allies in the region against the logic of history and the interests of America itself.
Obama was willing to give up more for the sake of the nuclear deal with Iran. He now has the blood of millions of Syrians on his hand as he should be held responsible for the killing and displacement of millions of Syrians and the chaos that made Iraq an easy prey for Iran following the US withdrawal. Nevertheless, Bahrain overcame the crisis with the full support of the Gulf.
Iran is better off governing its people and safeguarding its interests, and abandon the principle of “exporting the revolution” in all its forms
Terror execution
On January 15, Bahrain announced the execution of three terrorists who have killed the Emirati officer Tariq al-Shehi following a complete judicial ruling. We all recall the words of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2014 on the incident: “Our blood will not go in vain, we shall take revenge.” The day finally came where justice spoke loud and clear to prove that Bahrain doesn’t compromise on its stability, status and security.
On February 9, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry announced the arrest of fugitives from prison who escaped in early January, in a boat heading to Iran. This was another triumph of Bahrain in response to Iranian interventions and its determination to eliminate all terrorists and agents and thwart Iran’s intentions to threaten the authority and stability of Bahrain.
The Gulf Arab states do not hesitate to defend its legitimate rights and sovereignty over its territory. In all issues with Iran, the Gulf states have neither bargained nor compromised in the case of illegal interventions in Bahrain and on the issue of the three occupied UAE islands. They share a mutual will and a strong determination. With the restoration of the US’s international influence and its awareness regarding the subversive role of terrorism in the region and the world, Iran will find itself under siege once again.
Bearing consequences
Tehran’s attempts to attack Bahrain will backfire. Iran must bear the consequences of its aggression and interventions. Iran is better off governing its people and safeguarding its interests, and abandon the principle of “exporting the revolution” in all its forms.
The outstanding security achievement of the Kingdom of Bahrain is a clear message to abusers and agents alike, that the Kingdom of Bahrain will remain immune and decisive to the external interventions against the collaborators and traitors, and that it is a country for all Bahrainis with different religions, sects and denominations.
Bahrain was never Iranian anyway. It will remain an Arab kingdom with a deep rooted history, from the time of Awal, to Dilmun, down to the modern state of Bahrain.
Finally, Bahrain is the cannonball of the Gulf and an oasis of coexistence. It forcefully rejected all attempts to export the Iranian revolution the way it happened in Lebanon or Yemen, or the sabotage and destruction in Iraq and Syria.
*This article is also available in Arabic.

Steve Jobs and me
Hussein Shobokshi/Al Arabiya/February 14/17
It’s been 10 years since Apple Inc. and its then president Steve Jobs launched the first iPhone. No one knew what this smartphone device would do when Steve Jobs first invented it. The innovation turned out to be a revolution and a qualitative shift in the means of communication that transferred the intelligent concept from company provided services to the device and offered the user with broader, larger and excellent options. Personally, this has had an impact on my life as well.
On a personal level, I love books and I am fond of collecting pens and wristwatches. Over time, Steve Jobs outdated these three products and integrated them into an electronic format and put it onto the iPhone device. It quickly grew into a revolutionary platform for hardware, software and services integration and inspired new products, like iPad and Apple Watch to come into existence.
Thus, it has become easy to browse books on smartphone and read electronically without inks, printing and paper. Libraries began to close its doors with the decline in demand for paper books and everyone now believes that soon the paper book will become a thing of the past in a very short period of time.
Many book publishers and pen companies are suffering major crises as a result of significant drops in sales because of what Steve Jobs did. Today, people make limited use of pen and paper and are quite adapted to the method of e-mails, fast and short messaging on mobile phones registered on mobile devices. Thus, the smartphone has revolutionized the way people communicate without pen and paper.
The big blow also came from the smartphone makers to the wrist watchmakers. Watch manufacturers have experienced significant decline in sales. The new generation of young people are not interested in buying wrist watches as the smartphone product offers them not only reporting of time but other benefits as well and with better options.
The new generation of young people are not interested in buying wrist watches as the smartphone product offers them not only reporting of time but other benefits as well and with better options
Technology and society
The most important lesson learned from the iPhone is the technology’s ability to bring about changes in the society. There is no denying the fact that Jobs invented the iPhone device to bring about changes in the media and in the mode of advertisement.
He created a single platform to launch news, entertainment, education and communication between people in different ways along with millions of apps that have become essential part in people’s daily lives. Today, this has become the most important, influential and most dangerous tool as well in the hands of people.
The iPhone device has been imitated by other manufacturers, but it’s the foundation and its inventor who continue to set the rules of the game. Communication in the last ten years has contributed to the social revolution and behavioral changes, ethics of meeting and relations habits, some of which is good and some is bad.
But what has been leaked about the future versions of the device that are expected in the market is going to be very interesting and stunning. One invention caused three personal blows to me! May God forgive you Steve Jobs!
**This article was first published in the Saudi Gazette on February 13, 2016.

Beyond the Failed "Two-State Solution"
Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/February 14/2017
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9906/failed-two-state-solution
"No one should be telling Israel that it must abide by some agreement made by others thousands of miles away... When I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end on day one... There is no moral equivalency. Israel does not name public squares after terrorists." — Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, March 21, 2016.
Many Western leaders behave as if they genuinely want the destruction of Israel and the murder of Israeli Jews. They have Jewish blood on their hands and many skeletons in their closet.
In 1977, Zuheir Mohsen, a PLO leader, said bluntly that the Palestinian people were invented for political purposes.
During the British Mandate (1922-1948) the Arabs never used the word "Palestine," and called the area a "province of Damascus".
For 19 years (1948-1967), the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt, and Judea and Samaria were occupied by Jordan. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) never said that Egypt and Jordan were "occupying powers," and never described the Gaza Strip and Judea-Samaria as "Palestinian".
The failed two-state model could be replaced by alternative solutions requiring the dismantling of Palestinian Authority and its replacement by something infinitely better for Israel and the Arab population of the area.
The "peace conference" held in Paris on January 15, 2017 was supposed to be a continuation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 (voted on December 23, 2016), and John Kerry's speech five days later. It was supposed to isolate Israel even further and provide a new step towards the declaration of a "Palestinian State". It was a total washout. The final declaration, prepared in advance, was not ratified, and the resolution published at the end was so watered down it was meaningless. The United Kingdom's representatives refused to sign it. US Secretary of State John Kerry chose to remain silent. French President François Hollande delivered a speech full of empty words, praising resolution 2334 and desperately stressing the need to "save the two-state solution".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the conference as the "death throes of yesterday's world". He may be right.
The Obama years are gone. The Trump years will be different. US President Donald J. Trump stated on March 21, 2016:
"No one should be telling Israel that it must abide by some agreement made by others thousands of miles away... When I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end on day one... There is no moral equivalency. Israel does not name public squares after terrorists."
The Republican Party platform adopted on July 12, 2016 went in the same direction, clearly stated an opposition to "any measures intended to impose an agreement or to dictate borders or other terms", and called for "the immediate termination of all U.S. funding of any entity that attempts to do so". It added that the Republican Party is "proud to stand with Israel now and always". It did not refer to the "two-state solution".
One of Donald Trump's first decisions was the appointment of David Friedman as US Ambassador to Israel. Friedman has said often that he wanted the US Embassy in Israel to be located in Jerusalem, and regarded the two-state solution as a "dangerous illusion."
The two-state solution is much worse than a dangerous illusion. It places on the same level a democratic state and a rogue entity that glorifies terrorism and uses its media and schoolbooks to incite hatred and the murder of Jews. The two-state solution does not demand that the Palestinian Authority (PA) change its behavior; it therefore endorses what the PA does.
The two-state solution is also based on falsehood. It claims the rights of a "Palestinian people" that does not exist. In 1977, Zuheir Mohsen, a PLO leader, said bluntly that the Palestinian people were invented for political purposes. More recently, Mahmoud Abbas described Jordanian and Palestinian Arabs as "one people living in two states."
The two-state solution invokes "Palestinian territories" that also do not exist. There has never been an Arab or Muslim "Palestinian State." Palestine is a name the Romans gave to Judea in the land of Israel in the Second Century AD, after they crushed a Jewish revolt and were already then trying to negate a Jewish presence. Since then, the region has never enjoyed any autonomy. During the British Mandate (1922-1948), the Arabs never used the word "Palestine" and called the area Balad esh-Sham (province of Damascus). For 19 years (1948-1967), the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt, and Judea and Samaria were occupied by Jordan. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) never said that Egypt and Jordan were "occupying powers," and never described the Gaza Strip and Judea-Samaria as "Palestinian".
Israel ceded to international pressure by agreeing to recognize the PLO as an interlocutor and, at the time of the Oslo Accords, entering into a hollow "peace process." The "two-state solution" became the basis for subsequent negotiations.
The price paid by Israel and the Israeli people quickly became extremely high. After the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority launched a far greater number of bloody attacks against Israel.
Only the construction of the security barrier (2003-5) ended the carnage. About 500 suicide bombings and other assaults took place between 1994 and 2002. More than one thousand Israelis lost their lives. Many more were wounded or maimed.
The PA obstinately refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, which means it never recognized Israel. It never gave up demanding the return of "refugees": 500,000 people who left Israel in 1948, when the Arab countries launched a war of extermination against the Jewish state, most of them with no roots in the Israeli land. They became the only refugees in the world who are denied the right of resettlement. A few thousand are still alive, but most of today's so-called "Palestinian refugees" were not born on Israeli soil, have never set foot in Israel and know nothing about the country to which they are supposed to want to "return", despite what Palestinian propaganda told them. They now number more than six million. It is not hard to guess what their "return" would mean.
All peace proposals made by Israeli leaders were rejected by Palestinian leaders, without even a counter-offer.
Anyone who pays attention to the Palestinian media knows why: when speaking Arabic, Palestinian leaders say that "Palestine" will go from the (Jordan) river to the (Mediterranean) sea. Israel does not exist either on Palestinian maps or on the Palestinian Authority logo. The PA is supposedly non-religious, but Palestinian TV teaches jihad to children, and encourage them to "shoot Jews" because it is pleasing to Allah. Palestinian imams at public events explain that the Palestinian "war with the descendants of the apes and pigs [i.e., Jews] is a war of religion and faith," and add that all "Palestine" is a part of dar al-islam and is to remain "under Islamic dominion forever." Denial of Jewish history in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel has always been a central component of PA propaganda.
Many Israelis desperately continue to believe that peace with Palestinian Authority is possible. But more than half the Israeli population no longer entertains that illusion.
For decades, many Western leaders have relentlessly demanded more concessions from Israel, and have spoken and acted as if they did not know what the Palestinian Authority really is and what Palestinian leaders really want. They have been accomplices and liars. They behave as if they genuinely want the destruction of Israel and the murder of Israeli Jews. They have Jewish blood on their hands and many skeletons in their closet. They continue to finance Palestinian propaganda, Palestinian terrorists, and international and Palestinian NGOs that support the genocidal Palestinian agenda. They even gave money that was used to reward the murderers of Jews. Some of them seem to long for what Giulio Meotti calls a "new Shoah," and seem disappointed that it has not yet occurred.
The Obama years were particularly horrendous. In his June 2009 Cairo speech, Barack Obama compared Israel, the only open and truly pluralistic county in the Middle East, to South Africa in the apartheid years and to the American South at the time of slavery. He repeatedly called for Israel's return to "pre-1967 borders", but never said that they were not borders, but merely the 1949 armistice lines. He used the term "resistance" to speak about Palestinian terrorism. He described settlements as the main obstacle to peace, thereby endorsing the Palestinian Authority's desire for the ethnic cleansing of Jews. When he spoke of attacks on Israelis, he never explicitly condemned the attackers and never said they were Palestinians.
In his June 4, 2009, speech in Cairo, Barack Obama compared Israel, the only open and truly pluralistic county in the Middle East, to South Africa in the apartheid years. (Image source: White House)
The European Union and most European countries supported all the positions taken by Barack Obama.
Furious after the results of the January 15 conference, President François Hollande said he had to "send a warning" to the Trump Administration. Fortunately, a warning sent by a failed president in a country where nearly six hundred areas are no-go zones under the control Islamic "enforcers" control does not matter much.
On January 20, 2017, a new era began.
The acceptance of the Palestinian glorification of terrorism, the incitement to hatred and murder of Jews, the acceptance by Western leaders of the falsifications of history on which the Palestinian cause rests may also end.
In the early days of his term, still only in its third week, President Trump decided to halt U.S. funding to UN agencies and other international bodies that grant the Palestinian Authority full membership. He added that any organization "controlled or substantially influenced by any state that sponsors terrorism" will lose US aid. U.S. funding to the PA will certainly be curtailed soon. In a much-discussed statement, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, said that the construction of new settlements "may not be helpful", but added immediately that the Trump administration "don't believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace".
A "Trump effect" could lead to political change in Europe. More and more Europeans are tired of policies of appeasement and submission to Islam. Pro-Jewish and pro-Israel sentiments are rising in most European countries.
Sunni Arab countries still verbally support the Palestinian cause, but the rise of Iran in the Middle East and the stated ambitions of Tehran's mullahs concern them more. If the United States becomes energy-independent, all oil-producing Muslim countries will also have other concerns than the Palestinian leaders' demands.
In a recent article describing the "eight great powers of 2017", Walter Russell Mead and Sean Keeley wrote: "Israel is a rising power with a growing impact on world affairs." Israel is increasingly unwilling to submissively accept arbitrary decisions and pressures.
The recent solution offered by Daniel Pipes, "Israel wins, Palestinians lose", could take shape.
The period of "the two-state solution" as the only solution is probably over. The period when the two-state solution could be imposed on Israel from outside also probably belongs to the past.
The failed two-state model could be replaced by alternative solutions requiring the dismantling of Palestinian Authority and its replacement by something infinitely better for Israel and the Arab population of the area.
"Terrorism is successful," wrote Alan Dershowitz in 2003, " when the international community gives in to the demands of terrorists."
The leaders of the Palestinian Authority might learn the hard way that the time when terrorism works is over.
*Dr. Guy Millière, a professor at the University of Paris, is the author of 27 books on France and Europe.
© 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.

Tale of Two Talks: Free Speech in the U.S.
Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/February 14/2017
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9943/free-speech-yiannopoulos
During his talk at Georgetown University, Jonathan A.C. Brown condemned slavery when it took place historically in America and other Western countries, but praised the practise of slavery as it happened in Muslim societies, explained that Muslim slaves lived "a pretty good life", and claimed that it is "not immoral for one human to own another human." Regarding the vexed matter of whether it is right or wrong to have sex with one of your slaves, Brown, who is director of the Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, said that "consent isn't necessary for lawful sex".
No mob of anti-sharia people has gone to Georgetown, torn up telephone poles, set fire to things or smashed up the campus, as mobs did at Berkeley.
Milo Yiannopoulos has never argued that the Western system of slavery was benevolent and worthwhile, and that slaves in America had "a pretty good life". He has never argued against consent being an important principal in sexual relations. If he had, then the riots at Berkeley would doubtless have been far worse than they were and even more media companies and professors would have tried to argue that Yiannopoulos had "brought the violence upon himself" or even organized it himself.
Sometimes the whole tenor of an age can be discerned by comparing two events, one commanding fury and the other, silence.
To this extent, February has already been most enlightening. On the first day of the month, the conservative activist and writer Milo Yiannopoulos was due to speak at the University of California, Berkeley. To the surprise of absolutely no one, some of the new anti-free speech brigade attempted to prevent the event from happening. But to the surprise of almost everyone, the groups who wish to prevent everyone but themselves from speaking went farther even than they have tended to of late. Before the event could even start, Yiannopoulos was evacuated by security for his own safety. A mob of 150 people proceeded to riot, smash and set fire to the campus, causing more than $100,000 of damage and otherwise asserting their revised version of Voltaire's maxim: "I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to your death my right to shut you up."
When conservative activist and writer Milo Yiannopoulos was due to speak at the University of California, Berkeley on February 1, a mob of 150 people proceeded to riot, smash and set fire to the campus, causing more than $100,000 of damage. (Image source: RT video screenshot)
The riots at Berkeley caused national and international headlines. Mainstream media, including Newsweek, also attempted to do their bit for an event they would ordinarily deride as "fake news." Following a segment on CNN, Newsweek ran a piece by Robert Reich, the chancellor's professor of public policy at Berkeley and a former Clinton administration official, arguing that "Yiannopoulos and Brietbart [sic] were in cahoots with the agitators, in order to lay the groundwork for a Trump crackdown on universities and their federal funding." This conspiracy theory would involve Yiannopoulos arranging for 150 masked fanatics not merely to trash a campus on his orders, but to continue to remain silent about it in the days and weeks after the event.
In Newsweek, Reich wrote, "I don't want to add to the conspiratorial musings of so many about this very conspiratorial administration, but it strikes me there may be something worrying going on here. I wouldn't bet against it." And so, a tenured academic made an implausible as well as un-evidenced argument that his political opponents not merely bring violence on themselves but actually arrange violence against themselves.
All of the violence and all of these claims were made in February in the aftermath of a speech that never happened. But consider how little has been said and how little done about a speech that certainly did go ahead just one week later at another American university -- not by a visiting speaker but by a resident academic and teacher.
On February 7, at the University of Georgetown, Jonathan A.C. Brown, the director of the entirely impartial Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown, gave a 90-minute talk entitled "Islam and the Problem of Slavery". Except that the white convert to Islam, Jonathan Brown, apparently did not think that there is a particular problem with slavery -- at least not when it comes wrapped in Islam. During the talk (which Brown himself subsequently uploaded onto YouTube) the lecturer condemned slavery when it took place historically in America, Britain and other Western countries, but praised the practice of slavery in Muslim societies. Brown explained how Muslim slaves lived "a pretty good life", claimed that they were protected by "sharia" and claimed that it is "not immoral for one human to own another human." Regarding the vexed matter of whether it is right or wrong to have sex with one of your slaves, Brown said that "consent isn't necessary for lawful sex" and that marital rape is not a legitimate concept within Islam. Concepts such as "autonomy" and "consent", in the view of the Director of the Alwaleed Center at Georgetown, turned out to be Western "obsessions".
Of course, Jonathan Brown's views on Islam are by no means uncommon. One could easily demonstrate that they are all too common among experts in Islamic jurisprudence. Among such people, debates over where and when you can own a slave and what you can or cannot do with them are quite up to the minute, rather than Middle Ages, discussions to have. But until this moment, there have been no protests at Georgetown University. Under a certain amount of online pressure, from the few websites to have reported Brown's talk, Brown has attempted to clarify or even reverse some of his views. But no mob of anti-sharia people has gone to Georgetown, torn up telephone poles, set fire to things or smashed up the campus, as mobs did at Berkeley.
Here is a stranger thing. Nothing that Yiannopoulos ever said as a visitor speaking to a room full of people has ever come near the level of what Brown said to his ordinary class of credit-seeking students. Yiannopoulos has never argued that the Western system of slavery was benevolent and worthwhile, and that slaves in America had "a pretty good life". He has certainly spoken out vociferously against the claim that there is a "rape culture" on American universities. But he has never argued against consent being an important principal in sexual relations. If he had, then the riots at Berkeley would doubtless have been far worse than they were, and even more media companies and professors would have tried to argue that Yiannopoulos had "brought the violence upon himself" or even organized it himself.
The proximity of these two events, the difference in the arguments and the vast chasm of difference between the outrage and violence against one, and the great silence and complicity with the other, tells us much about what we need to know about the state of free speech -- and academia -- in America today.
**Douglas Murray, British author, commentator and public affairs analyst, is based in London, England.
© 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
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9943/free-speech-yiannopoulos

Thoughts on Making Universities Safe for Free Speech
Jeff Trag/Gatestone Institute/February 14/2017
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9907/universities-free-speech
If a speaker or group is committing battery, assault or vandalism, the situation should be police and judicial matter -- as well as valid grounds for mandatory expulsion. There is no place for vigilantism by students, faculty or administers on campus to enforce political conformity.
The people who are causing the problems should be the ones who pay -- not only in colleges and universities but in other venues also.
We should never let rioters have a hecklers veto over who gets to speak.
Universities and colleges in the United States need to be safe places where students of all backgrounds and beliefs can live and study, free from intimidation by other students, faculty, and administrators.
Protests are fine, and they are our right as Americans, but there needs to be zero tolerance for violence and intimidation. If a speaker or group is committing or inciting battery, assault or vandalism, the situation should be a police and judicial matter -- as well as valid grounds for mandatory expulsion. There is no place for vigilantism by students, faculty or administers on campus to enforce political conformity. There is no place for any kind of intimidation and violence anywhere in the US. We should never let rioters have a hecklers veto over who gets to speak. The following are some ideas to rein in the current terror on campuses:
Pass a law that the leaders of protesters will be responsible for -- and must pay for -- the extra security needed.
The people who are causing the problems should be the ones who pay -- not only in colleges and universities but in other venues also. If you participate in and/or pay for a group and organize a protest, and if you or your group intentionally commits violence, you and your protestors should be held responsible for the cost of police and other security in the event of physical or personal injury. The protesters (or rioters) will say it is free speech, but when they are trying to shut down someone else's free speech in a physical way, that is denying someone's constitutional rights with violence.
If there is violence, organizers should have to pay for property damage and medical bills of the injured as well as face legal consequences.
Pass a rule that universities, including professors and administrators, should be personally responsible in their dealings with students not to enforce political preferences in any way. If any professor or administrator uses a student's political beliefs in any way as a means of judging that student's grades or position at a school, it should result in dismissal and criminal charges. The left has used social intimidation and job insecurity as a weapon to drive conservatives out of academic life for half a century. Students at a university have the right to be in an atmosphere where they are not belittled, disparaged or intimidated because they hold a minority political view. This was what the left fought for in the sixties; now they have become the oppressors.
There should be a federal law that makes trying to deny somebody's right to free speech a felony with mandatory jail time, for even first offense.
There should be a law that says a person participating in a riot is guilty of the crimes committed by the group, the same as in robbing a bank: if one of your partners murders a teller then all the bank robbers are guilty of murder.
Make it a crime for a police chief or mayor to not repel violent rioting.
The FBI should be tasked with identifying violent rioters and building felony cases against them.
No one should ever take action against a protester who is not being violent. If someone is not resisting or is incapacitated, then care should be taken to use minimal force.
There should be a shaming-campaign to get donors to stop donating to schools that permit violence and actively try to stomp on the rights of students or any non-violent group of persons and speakers. Colleges should support free speech and diversity of opinions.
There needs to be a law that makes it legal to record all university classes and lectures, and public meetings. This should apply to public and private schools. If you take on the responsibility of molding young minds, there needs to be complete transparency and accountability. Whatever you teach should be public. What would be the point of keeping what you are teaching a secret? The idea of education is to spread information. What is the big secret?
All alumni and donors should be able to sit in on any class they wish. They should simply have to go to the administration and request a permission slip. It would be safer for students if there were a background and metal-detector check on the person making the request, but in general it should be a right for donors and alumni to be in any class at any time without the professor having prior notice, but also a right to remove them if they should become disruptive.
The rioters have been doing us a favor by showing their real colors.
© 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.