LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
June 02/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For Today
Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the
whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one
who does not believe will be condemned
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 16/15-20/:"‘Go into all the
world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and
is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned.
And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will
cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in
their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they
will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’So then the Lord Jesus,
after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right
hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while
the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that
accompanied it.
We speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who
tests our hearts
First Letter to the Thessalonians 02/01-08/:"You yourselves know, brothers and
sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already
suffered and been shamefully maltreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage
in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For
our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just
as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel,
even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.
As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or
with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you
or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we
were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.
So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only
the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to
us.
Titles For Latest LCCC
Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June
01-02/17
New crisis between Lebanon and GCC/Diana Moukalled/Arabnews/June 02/17
Lebanese Philosopher Ali Harb: We Steal Theories From The West and Attribute
Them To Islam; 'We Have Been Resisting The Attempts At Reform' For Over A
Century/MEMRI TV/June 01/17
Innovation Won’t Overcome Stagnation/Satyajit Das/Bloomberg/June 01/17
Foreign Intervention and the UK General Elections/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al
Awsat/June 01/17
Grooming Jihadists: The Ladder of Radicalization and Its Antidote/Saher Fares/Gatestone
Institute/June 01/17
The Muslim Brotherhood Connection: ISIS, "Lady al Qaeda," and the Muslim
Students Association/Thomas Quiggin/Gatestone Institute/June 01/17 /
Israel disappointed after Trump delays US embassy move/Associated Press/Ynetnews/June
01/17
Reunification Only Way to Defuse Korea Crisis/John R. Bolton/Gatestone
Institute/June 01/17
Titles For Latest
Lebanese Related News published on
June 01-02/17
Hariri, Jumblat Confirm 'Agreement Reached' on
Electoral Law as Berri Says 'All Things Positive'
Aoun touts Lebanon as center of dialogue
Lebanese PM: Electoral Law Right Around the Corner
Aoun Signs Decree Opening Extraordinary Legislative Session ahead of Baabda
Iftar Banquet
Aoun Opens Extraordinary Legislative Session, Promises 'Balanced' Electoral Law
in 'Coming Days'
Meet Me in Court, Defiant Gemayel Tells FPM as He Accuses Jreissati of Bias
Mashnouq: Staging the Elections Within 3 Months is Difficult, Preparations Need
More Time
MP Alain Aoun: Presidential Iftar Will Help Ease Tension
Report: 'Silent' Crisis Emerges to Public between Once Allies Hariri-Jumblat
Report: Marada Says FPM Seeking Vacuum at Legislative Authority
Riachi in front of TL delegation: Sectarian accountability unreservedly
prohibited during my term
Pharoun visits Geagea, sounds optimistic about imminent new vote law
Loyalty to Resistance: Passing election law step towards saving country
Army apprehends two Syrians in Nabatieh for links to Daash
New crisis between Lebanon and GCC
Lebanese Philosopher Ali Harb: We Steal Theories From The West and Attribute
Them To Islam; 'We Have Been Resisting The Attempts At Reform' For Over A Century
Titles For Latest
LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
June 01-02/17
Trump Expected to Sign Order Delaying US Embassy
Move to Jerusalem
Trump, after House Panel Subpoenas, Backs Inquiry Into Obama Administration
Guterres Calls for Referring Syrian File to ICC
Idlib: An Impending Fierce Battle Risking the Lives of 1 Million Syrians
Russia Participates in Syria’s ‘Desert Battle’ with Missiles, Warplanes
US: We Want to Partner with KSA to Face Threats, Specifically Malign Iranian
Influence
ISIS Preparing for Final Showdown in West Mosul
Arab Coalition: Oil Tanker Targeted with RPGs Off Yemen
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Receives King of Jordan
Dissolution of Bahraini ‘Waad’ Association, Liquidation of Its Funds
Car Bomb Reportedly Rocks Saudi Shiite City
Palestinian Woman Stabs Israeli Soldier, is Shot
France moves to ban MPs from hiring family members
Russophobia' in West 'Counterproductive', Won't Last, Putin Says
Manila Casino Complex under IS Attack
Philippine Military Airstrikes Kill 10 Troops
Latest Lebanese
Related News published on
June 01-02/17
Hariri, Jumblat
Confirm 'Agreement Reached' on Electoral Law as Berri Says 'All Things Positive'
Naharnet/June01/17/The political
parties have agreed on an electoral law based on full proportional
representation and 15 electoral districts and the details “will be finalized
before the expiry of parliament's term,” Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced
Thursday after a meeting with President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri in
Baabda. “We have agreed on the framework of the
electoral law and a committee will address the details and the final touches,”
Hariri added after the talks, which were held on the sidelines of the annual
Ramadan iftar banquet at the Baabda Palace. “The atmosphere between President
Aoun and Speaker Berri was positive,” Hariri revealed. Berri for his part told
reporters while leaving the palace that “all things are positive.”Aoun later
held a meeting with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat.“The
atmosphere is positive and we will have a new electoral law. No to extension (of
parliament's term) and no to returning to the 1960 law. The atmosphere is
positive and thank God this was a blessed evening,” Jumblat said after the
meeting. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea meanwhile told reporters in Baabda
that he expects the new electoral law to be finalized “in the coming days.” In
his speech at the iftar banquet, Aoun announced that the country will have a new
and “balanced” electoral law in the “coming days.”“Finalizing the electoral law
in the coming days will restore confidence and reflect a will to improve popular
representation and make it more balanced,” Aoun said.
Aoun touts Lebanon as
center of dialogue
The Daily Star/June 02/17ظBEIRUT:
President Michel Aoun spoke of Lebanon’s central role in being a land of
assembly, interaction and dialogue during an iftar dinner at Baabda Palace
Thursday evening to mark the month of Ramadan. “At this stage, Lebanon is the
most capable of being at the center for interfaith dialogue and of playing a key
role in re-establishing ties between faiths,” Aoun said in front of over 250
guests that included key political and religious leaders.Among the guests and
lawmakers in attendance were former Lebanese presidents Michel Sleiman and Amine
Gemayel, the Vatican Ambassador to Lebanon Gabriele Caccia and other Christian
and Muslim leaders, both local and foreign.Aoun said that Lebanon still remained
a model for all communities living in collective unilateralism and seeking
pluralism. He added that with its pluralistic society
bringing together all religions and sects, “Lebanon continues to maintain the
balance of the system and its ethics even if, sometimes, political divisions
spoil this image when they hide under a religious label whereas it is purely
political.” “All of us are quite aware that if the
image of Islam is distorted and the East will come to an end if Christians
abandon it ... the oriental spirit based on pluralism, openness and religious
tolerance will vanish letting the destructive unilateral racism prevail,” Aoun
said. Touching on the confidence of the Lebanese
people in the government, the president added that the main purpose of his
government was to build a strong nation and restore this damaged
confidence.However, he added that it would take time to build a nation.
“A nation is not built overnight and it cannot be built ... unless wills
and pure intentions combine for the national interest,” he said, saying that any
step forward would benefit all and any step back would be a failure for all.
Separately, Lebanese Forces MP Georges Adwan told reporters as he arrived,
“There is a new electoral law,” despite LF chief Samir Geagea’s comments
indicating that there was still work to be done.
Meanwhile, Free Patriotic Movement MP Ibrahim Kanaan told reporters as he
arrived at the Baabda Palace that discussions on an electoral was close to
completion. “We are on the verge of achieving a new
electoral law,” Kanaan said. However, talk of a rift
between Aoun and Marada chief MP Sleiman Frangieh was stoked with the MP
rejecting a reported invite to the iftar. Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos,
who is affiliated with Frangieh, also did not attend the gathering.
Ties soured between Frangieh and Aoun, who were both main candidates for
the presidency and members of the now-defunct March 8 coalition, after the
latter piped the Marada Movement head to the country’s top post last October.
Calling for forces to come together to open a new chapter in rebuilding Lebanon,
Aoun said: “It is an open invitation to everyone, to let the national interest
take precedence over all other interests, making all solutions easier.”
Lebanese PM: Electoral Law Right Around the Corner
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 01/17/Beirut- Lebanon’s electoral law remains at the center
of meetings held between different political parties striving to reach an
agreement on a structure that is acceptable by all sides. However, discussions
on such a draft-law was absent from Wednesday’s cabinet session chaired by Prime
Minister Saad Hariri, who said he was optimistic about reaching a solution.
Hariri stressed the electoral law was right around the corner. “We still have 19
days to agree on a new electoral law. I am optimistic about reaching a solution,
and this is what we must work on achieving, and we are working day and night to
overcome the remaining difficulties,” Hariri said at the start of the cabinet
session. He also urged ministers to abide by what was agreed on to preserve the
government’s solidarity, and stressed that the door is open for the discussion
of any idea in the council of ministers.
Meanwhile, political observers are waiting for a speech by President Michel Aoun
during the Iftar hosted by the Presidential Palace in Baabda on Thursday. The
president might announce a “final agreement on the electoral law based on the
proportional system and on dividing the country into 15 electoral
districts.”Sources close to the electoral file predicted that Aoun’s position
would be preceded by a closed meeting between him, Speaker Nabih Berri and
Hariri. “As Prime Minister Hariri said, we are working on the final agreement”
on the electoral law, Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury told reporters at the end
of the cabinet session. For their part, deputies who met with Berri on Wednesday
quoted him as saying that he “was awaiting for the outcome of ongoing contacts
regarding the vote law based on 15 districts.”According to the MPs, Berri hoped
that the different parties would strike a deal on a new vote law as soon as
possible. Also Wednesday, Interior Minister Nohad al-Mashnouq told reporters
following the cabinet session that if a new electoral law based on 15 districts
was approved, then there would not be enough time to hold the elections within
three months.On May 21, Lebanon missed the first deadline for conducting the
parliamentary elections.
Aoun Signs Decree Opening Extraordinary Legislative
Session ahead of Baabda Iftar Banquet
Naharnet/June 01/17/President Michel Aoun on Thursday signed a key decree
opening an extraordinary legislative session ahead of an iftar banquet at the
Baabda Palace during which he is expected to voice important remarks regarding
the electoral law. The decree, which also carried the signature of Prime
Minister Saad Hariri, stipulates that the session will begin on June 7 and end
on June 20 and that it will be “exclusively limited to the approval of a new
electoral law.”The decree signals that the parties have inched closer to an
agreement on an electoral law based on full proportional representation and 15
electoral districts. Lebanese Forces deputy leader MP George Adwan played a key
role in promoting the aforementioned electoral system among the rival parties.
Earlier in the day, Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Alain Aoun stressed
that “there is no disagreement between President Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri
that needs to be resolved at the Baabda iftar banquet.”"Today's gathering will
clear the air and help reach a new electoral law," he said. A disagreement had
recently emerged over who between Aoun and Berri has the jurisdiction to call
for an extraordinary parliament session. An annual Ramadan iftar banquet hosted
by Aoun at the Presidential Palace on Thursday evening is expected to accelerate
agreement on a new voting system. Some reports have even said that Aoun could
announce the agreement in his speech.
Aoun Opens Extraordinary Legislative Session, Promises
'Balanced' Electoral Law in 'Coming Days'
Naharnet/June01/17/President Michel Aoun on Thursday signed a key
decree opening an extraordinary legislative session and announced that the
country will have a new and “balanced” electoral law in the “coming days.”The
decree also carried the signature of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and was inked a
few hours before an annual Ramadan iftar banquet at the Baabda Palace that was
attended by Speaker Nabih Berri, MP Walid Jumblat, Lebanese Forces leader Samir
Geagea and a host of political, religious and social figures. The decree
stipulates that the session will begin on June 7 and end on June 20 and that it
will be “exclusively limited to the approval of a new electoral law.”“Finalizing
the electoral law in the coming days will restore confidence and reflect a will
to improve popular representation and make it more balanced,” Aoun said in a
televised speech during the banquet.
“The state can only rise through the synergy of good wills in order to achieve
the country's interest. Any step on this path is a success for us all and any
retreat is a failure for us all,” the president added. “All solutions become
easy when you put the country's interest before all other interests,” he noted.
“This presidential tenure's main objective is to build a strong state,” Aoun
went on to say. “Our national unity is a security valve... We must not allow any
event to threaten our national unity,” he added. A closed-door meeting between
Aoun, Berri and Hariri preceded the iftar banquet and the president held talks
later with Jumblat.Hariri announced later that the parties have agreed on an
electoral law based on full proportional representation in 15 districts and that
"some details will be finalized in the next two days."
Meet Me in Court, Defiant Gemayel Tells FPM as He Accuses
Jreissati of Bias
Naharnet/June 01/17/Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel announced Thursday that
he is willing to confront Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil of the Free Patriotic
Movement in Lebanese courts over the controversial file of leasing power
generation ships and the libel lawsuit that ensued.
“This scene in addition to other scenes that we witnessed over the past few
months remind us of the era of the (Lebanese-Syrian) security apparatus,” a
defiant Gemayel said at a press conference, referring to Abi Khalil's lawsuit
against dozens of politicians, journalists and activists who have launched
corruption accusations against the minister in connection with the ships file.
“I have already expressed my willingness to have my parliamentary immunity
lifted and I hope this issue will be addressed as soon as possible so that we
can meet in courts,” Gemayel added. “The problem is not that you have a problem
with 400 Lebanese citizens but rather that we have a problem with you,” he went
on to say. He also reminded that he had recently submitted an official request
to form a parliamentary panel of inquiry into suspected corruption in the file
of the power ships. “If they want to discuss the case in parliament we are ready
and if they want to go to court we are also ready,” Gemayel added. Referring to
the meeting Abi Khalil and an FPM delegation held with Justice Minister Salim
Jreissati, who is loyal to the FPM, the Kataeb chief slammed the remarks that
were voiced by the minister during the meeting. “The justice minister turned
himself into a judge and issued a ruling before the case was even referred to
the judiciary,” Gemayel lamented. “He said 'none of us' has requested a
commission, as if he is part of the issue,” he added. “When citizens see the
justice minister siding with the ruling class, this is considered intimidation
and an attack on public freedoms, and it is a method used in backward states,”
Gemayel went on to say. He also noted that he has documents obtained from one of
the firms that had intended to submit a bid that prove that the book of terms is
“tailored” to secure the win of a specific firm – the Turkish Karadeniz firm
which is the operator of the Fatmagul Sultan and Orhan Bey vessels that Lebanon
has been leasing since 2012.
Mashnouq: Staging the Elections Within 3 Months is
Difficult, Preparations Need More Time
Naharnet/June 01/17/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said on Thursday it is
difficult to stage the parliamentary elections within a period of three months
if a new law was agreed, pointing to the need for a technical extension of the
parliament's term. “I explained to President Michel Aoun that shall political
parties agree on an electoral law, it would be difficult to stage the elections
within three months without a technical extension of the parliament's term,”
said Mashnouq after a meeting with Aoun at the Baabda Palace. Mashnouq remarked
that in order to prepare for the elections more time is needed. “I explained to
Aoun in a study performed at the interior ministry that three months are not
enough to prepare for the polls,” he added. However, Mashnouq said “positive
atmospheres” are prevailing and the chances of agreeing on a new law are
progressing. Touching on the security situation in Baalbek he said: “The
situation is alarming in spite of the army's pre-emptive operations. The
President has recommended that necessary measures be taken.”
MP Alain Aoun: Presidential Iftar Will Help Ease Tension
Naharnet/June 01/17/Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Alain Aoun stressed
on Thursday that President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri are not in a
dispute and the misunderstanding between the two is a mere “divergence of
views.”“There is no disagreement between Aoun and Berri to need to reconcile at
the Baabda Iftar. There is a divergence of views,” said Aoun in an interview to
VDL (100.5). "Today's gathering will clear the air and help reach a new
electoral law," he said. A disagreement emerged lately over who between Berri
and Aoun has the jurisdiction to call for an extraordinary parliament
session.The Speaker, who called for an extraordinary session on June 5, was
criticized by FPM officials under claims that the “issue is one of the
President's constitutional jurisdictions.”Berri justified his move saying that
although Prime Minister Saad Hariri had sent a draft decree to open an
extraordinary session to President Michel Aoun, but Berri did not receive any
confirmation from the president which compelled him to call for the June 5
session to avoid vacuum. An annual Ramadan Iftar hosted by President Michel Aoun
at the Presidential Palace on Thursday will reportedly accelerate agreement on a
new voting system.
Report: 'Silent' Crisis Emerges to Public between Once Allies
Hariri-Jumblat
Naharnet/June 01/17/A “silent” crisis lingering since April between Prime
Minister Saad Hariri and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has
exploded in public as the two men indirectly traded corruption accusations, al-Akhbar
daily reported on Thursday.
The crisis began first in April when Hariri supported the so-called
qualification “sectarian” parliamentary electoral law, proposed by Foreign
Minister and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, which Jumblat
criticized as a format that marginalizes his role and the Druze community, said
the daily. The two men have been at loggerheads trading thorny comments without
any naming each other.Three days ago, Jumblat asked in a tweet reportedly
referring to Hariri without naming him: “Why don't all the tenders pass through
the (Central Inspection Bureau's) Tender Department so as to prevent newly
bankrupts from looting the State?”The tweet was enough to tarnish relations
between the men who were once allies, and to “turn Jumblat into a rival that the
prime minister would fight till the end,” said the daily. The Prime Minister
replied to Jumblat's comments without naming him, he said during a Ramadan Iftar:
“Yes I am one of the newly bankrupts but I have and will never take a penny from
the country. I will fight those trying to make gains out of the country,” as he
indirectly accused the PSP chief of corruption. “A new group has started giving
us lessons in corruption as if they have not been corrupt before,” said Hariri.
Report: Marada Says FPM Seeking Vacuum at Legislative
Authority
The Marada Movement has raised concerns of vacuum at the legislative authority
and accused the Free Patriotic Movement of driving the country into vacuum and
having the parliamentary elections staged based on the controversial
majoritarian 1960 law, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday. “The FPM is
seeking vacuum despite its repeated assertions that it is not. Its deeds
indicate so far a desire to turn to the 1960 law,” Marada sources told the daily
on condition of anonymity. Pointing to the call for an extraordinary parliament
session, they said when a session is not called for despite the fact that the
regular legislature session was about to end, “it means that chances for a
solution and an agreement on a new electoral law are being held back with
intentions to go for the 1960 law.”Speaker Nabih Berri had recently called for
an extraordinary parliament session on June 5, which was criticized by FPM
officials under claims that the “issue is one of the President's constitutional
jurisdictions.”Berri justified his move saying that although Prime Minister Saad
Hariri had sent a draft decree to open an extraordinary session to President
Michel Aoun, but Berri did not receive any confirmation from the president which
compelled him to call for the June 5 session to avoid vacuum. Touching on the
Berri-Aoun constitutional debate, Marada sources said raising the issue at a
time when political parties are still bickering over a new voting system was a
“battle at the wrong time and wrong place.” “It is a mistake to say that the
Speaker has trespassed the President's jurisdictions, because an agreement was
(eventually) reached and was also signed by the PM”, they added. Marada
criticized the FPM's approach, saying “the President must not take sides. He
should be the solution to problems, not the hurdle.”“Until this moment, we have
seen that the FPM has problems with the entire political parties,” they
concluded.
Riachi in front of TL delegation: Sectarian accountability
unreservedly prohibited during my term
Thu 01 Jun 2017/NNA - Information Minister, Melhem Riachi, stressed that
sectarian accountability is utterly prohibited during his term of office, urging
everyone to act responsibly. Minister Riachi's fresh stance on Thursday came
during his meeting at his ministerial office with a delegation of state-run Tele
Liban Station, including News Director Saab Diab and senior TV employees and
mediamen. Minister Riachi pledged an imminent appointment of a new TL Board of
Administration, to kickstart heeding special attention to the TV's vital affairs
and consecrating up-to-date programs, as a prime objective. "Everyone should act
responsibly," Riachy said, pledging that the TV Station's archive shall be soon
re-energized.
Pharoun visits Geagea, sounds optimistic about imminent new
vote law
Thu 01 Jun 2017/NNA - "Lebanese Forces" leader Samir Geagea met on Thursday at
his Meerab residence with State Minister for Planning Affairs, Michel Pharoun,
where they discussed most recent developments with regard the long simmering
vote law issue. On emerging, Minister Pharoun sounded optimistic about the
possibility of realizing a new election law soon, saying "all available
information points towards positivity in this regard."The Minister anticipated a
new vote law within one week or ten days at the latest, as he said. Pharoun also
pointed out that several impediments standing in the way of a new vote law have
been eliminated, stressing the paramount importance of achieving the general
public welfare instead of narrow or personal calculations. "We are optimistic
about realizing a new vote law soon," he said. On the other hand, Geagea met
with a delegation of the "Islamic Civil Alliance" Command in Lebanon, with talks
reportedly touching on most recent developments on the Lebanese and Arab arena.
Loyalty to Resistance: Passing election law step towards
saving country
Thu 01 Jun 2017 /NNA - The "Loyalty to the Resistance" bloc held its periodic
meeting at its headquarters in Haret Hreik under the chairmanship of MP Mohammad
Raad, and in the presence of bloc members who went over the events that recently
took place in the region. The bloc stressed, in its statement, that "the
completion of the new electoral law is a step on the path of saving the country,
as it prevents falling into vacuum or having to return to the election law in
force; a return that can only be described as epic failure."Calling on all
political forces in the country to avoid sectarian and provocative discourse and
to exercise their full legitimate right to express their political differences,
whether in discussing the wording of the electoral law or any other issue, the
bloc stressed that "the interest of the country in security and stability is
greater than recording points against each other through abhorrent sectarian
incitement or despicable class provocation.""The Lebanese people's confidence in
the commitment of the new presidential mandate to the strategic national
principles set out in the inauguration speech and the ministerial statement will
no doubt increase with the concern to implement the laws in force (...)
especially in the process of (...) providing vital and developmental services to
citizens and their regions," the statement read. "With utmost appreciation for
the efforts of the security and military agencies in pursuing the Takfiri and
Israeli terror cells, we urge the internal security forces and the information
branch, in addition to the Lebanese Army intelligence, to double their concern
over the security situation in the region of Baalbek-Hermel, and to chase those
who sow chaos and crime," the bloc's statement concluded.
Army apprehends two Syrians in Nabatieh for links to Daash
Thu 01 Jun 2017/NNA - The Lebanese army intelligence arrested in Nabatieh two
Syrian young women for links to the terrorist Daash Organization, NNA field
reporter said on Thursday.The two young women recently entered Lebanon in an
illegal manner.
Following close and thorough monitoring by the Lebanese army intelligence, the
two women were arrested after being tasked by Daash to carry out a security
mission in said area. The detained women were handed over to the army
intelligence in the South.
New crisis between Lebanon and
GCCأزمة جديدة بين لبنان ومجلس التعاون الخليجي
Diana Moukalled/Arabnews/June 02/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55882
Nothing seems to make us optimistic in Lebanon; we climb out of a hole only to
stumble into another.
There are signs of a new diplomatic crisis looming on the horizon.
After the return of the Lebanese delegation from the recent Riyadh Summit,
Lebanese President Michel Aoun, through his Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil,
tried to renounce the Riyadh Declaration, which set the highest ceiling of
confrontation with Iran and termed Hezbollah a terror group.
Bassil said Lebanon had nothing to do with the declaration, a statement that was
agreed upon and confirmed by Aoun. The response came quickly and plainly with
the blocking of the website of Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement in Saudi Arabia
and through a series of criticisms in Saudi newspapers, which were the harshest
since Aoun took power in Lebanon. I would not say relations between Beirut and
Riyadh returned to the point of crisis, especially since Riyadh maintains
relations with other Lebanese components, notably with Prime Minister Saad
Hariri, but Lebanon is prone to deep divisions and sectarian strife that
threaten a worst-case scenario. Will the Lebanese authorities be able to face
the challenges dictated by the rapid developments around us?
It is true that some GCC reservations about Lebanon are sometimes expressed in
harsh language, but that does not mean that Lebanon has reached a major crisis
point. It could, however, reach it if the Lebanese leaders do not deal properly
with the current events. The Riyadh Declaration referred to Iran and the
organizations it supports by name and, automatically, Lebanon finds itself in
the direct line of Arab-American confrontation and, therefore, Iranian
reactions. No one should underestimate the dangers looming over Lebanon and the
whole region. Preparing to face dangers requires not escapism but unity of rank
and severing dependence on foreign elements for relief. The current situation
will not be less dangerous if Iran exploits the Lebanese arena to respond to
those who try to besiege it and force it not to interfere in Arab affairs. Will
Iran take a risk by meddling in Lebanon’s affairs in the next stage and taking
advantage of Hezbollah’s position and its influence on the president of the
republic?The nature of the campaign against Hezbollah and Lebanese president
will put a major onus on their shoulder vis-a-vis the Lebanese people. Hezbollah
has the potential to drag the country into war, but, at the same time, can take
Lebanon’s national interests and the ramifications of a confrontation into
account.
It has to be seen how the Lebanese government, represented by President Aoun,
will deal with the stormy developments in the region and whether it will be able
to stop Lebanon from being dragged into confrontation, particularly if Iran is
no longer an external element but, rather, remains at the heart of Lebanon in
its Arab and regional policies. It will take some time before we see how the
government will deal with the new situation, but pessimism prevails among the
Lebanese due to the perceived inability of the current authority to deal with
fateful issues. This inability was clear in past experiences and it is still
expected in the days and weeks to come. No one should underestimate the dangers
looming over Lebanon and the whole region. Preparing to face dangers requires
not escapism but unity of rank and severing dependence on foreign elements for
relief.
At this stage, the Lebanese have no choice but to remove the thorn with their
own hands.
• Diana Moukalled is a veteran journalist with extensive experience in both
traditional and new media. She is also a columnist and freelance documentary
producer. She can be reached on Twitter @dianamoukalled.
Lebanese Philosopher Ali Harb: We Steal Theories From The West and Attribute
Them To Islam; 'We Have Been Resisting The Attempts At Reform' For Over A
Century
MEMRI TV/June 01/17
In an Al-Arabiya TV interview, which aired on May 15, Lebanese philosopher Ali
Harb said that "we engage in the theft of theories and knowledge, produced by
the minds of human beings, and we attribute them to Islam," and that "to this
day, we oppose any attempt at reform."
Ali Harb: "I am critical of both camps: the religious and the modern. With
regard to the religious camp, I am critical of the sense of exceptionalism. I
call this cultural narcissism. We believe ourselves to be the best of all
nations. We believe that we, and nobody else, own the truth. "When we say that
our (Holy) Book includes science in all its aspects, perhaps in the past, this
was a call to engage in science, and to open up our minds to knowledge."
Interviewer: "The Quran also says this: 'Say, are those who know equal to those
who do not know?'"
Ali Harb: "But today, this call has the opposite effect. It has turned us into
thieves, into robbers. We steal the knowledge and theories produced by the West,
and we attribute them to the Quran.
"We engage in the theft of theories and knowledge, produced by the minds of
human beings, and we attribute them to Islam. This is the difference between us
and (the Islamic scholars of) the past.
"We have been resisting the attempts at reform since the days of Muhammad Abduh
in Egypt and Muhammad Iqbal in Pakistan. All these attempts failed... On the
contrary..."
Interviewer: "So there are two groups - an enlightened group and a group that
thwarts..."
Ali Harb: "Of course. Muhammad Abduh was enlightened, because he said that after
the death of the Prophet Muhammad, nobody can claim guardianship over the human
mind. This is the principle of enlightenment: to use your brains and to think
without any guardianship.
"Today, someone who has learned very little religion comes along, and imposes
himself ruler over the Muslims and wages wars. None of the attempts at reform
have been successful. To this day, we oppose any attempt at reform."
Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
June 01-02/17
Trump Expected to
Sign Order Delaying US Embassy Move to Jerusalem
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 01/17/President Donald Trump is expected this week to back
down from his campaign pledge to relocate the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem, US officials and a diplomatic source said on Wednesday. With a
deadline for a decision looming, Trump is likely to continue his predecessors’
policy of signing a six-month waiver overriding a 1995 law requiring that the
embassy be transferred to Jerusalem, an action that would have complicated his
efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the sources said. Trump has
yet to make his decision official but is required by law to act by Friday,
according to one US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.Barring a
last-minute surprise, Trump is expected to renew the waiver. His administration
intends to make clear, however, that Trump remains committed to the promise he
made during the 2016 presidential campaign, though it will not set a specific
timetable for doing so, officials said. On Thursday, a Palestinian woman stabbed
an Israeli soldier outside a Jewish settlement in the northern West Bank before
being shot and critically wounded, the army and medics said. The attack came
just days before the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War in which Israel
occupied the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem. The soldier
was taken to hospital with a stab wound to his upper body, medics from Israel’s
Magen David Adom emergency service said. The assailant was in critical
condition, the medics added. The attack took place at the entrance to Mevo Dotan,
a Jewish settlement southwest of Jenin. The army said the assailant used a knife
and was shot by military “forces at the scene”.
Trump, after House Panel Subpoenas, Backs Inquiry Into
Obama Administration
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 01/17/Delving into a political quarrel over the most recent
subpoenas in the US House Intelligence Committee’s Russia test, US President
Donald Trump on Thursday backed endeavors to examine activities by US security
and different authorities under past president Barack Obama.
“The big story is the ‘unmasking and surveillance’ of people that took place
during the Obama Administration,” Trump said in a tweet, one day after the
committee’s Republican chairman subpoenaed the CIA, FBI and National Security
Agency amid complaints by Democrats that they were not consulted.
Committee Chairman Devin Nunes asked the agencies on Wednesday for subtle
elements of any solicitations made by two top Obama administration aides and the
previous Central Intelligence Agency chief to “unmask” Trump campaign advisors
incidentally grabbed in top-mystery remote interchanges catches, as indicated by
congressional sources. Another congressional source, who also requested
anonymity, said Democrats were “informed and consulted” ahead of time, but
committee aides said they were not told. Nunes, in April, recused himself from
driving the board’s examination concerning suspected Russian intruding in the
2016 presidential race taking after a mystery visit he paid to White House
authorities, however he holds subpoena control. A senior committee aide said
Wednesday’s subpoenas were not part of the Russia test. In a separate statement
on Wednesday, Republican Representative Mike Conaway and Democratic
Representative Adam Schiff, who are leading the committee’s Russia probe,
announced subpoenas for Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn,
and personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, as well as their firms. Russian President
Vladimir Putin has denied leading efforts to interfere in last year’s US
election. Trump, a Republican, has denied any collusion between Russia and his
campaign and has repeatedly questioned the US intelligence finding that Putin
led an operation that included computer hacking, fake news and propaganda
intended to swing the election in his favor.
The House Intelligence Committee’s investigation is just one of several
congressional probes into Russia, along with one by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. Also, the U.S. Department of Justice recently appointed a special
counsel. The Guardian newspaper said on Thursday said that Nigel Farage, a Trump
supporter and a leading Brexit campaigner, is a “person of interest” in the FBI
probe but has not been accused of wrongdoing. Farage, a former leader of the
United Kingdom Independence Party, said he had no Russia connections. Farage
said on Twitter it had taken him a long time to read the Guardian article
because he was “laughing so much at this fake news”.“This hysterical attempt to
associate me with the (Vladimir) Putin regime is a result of the liberal elite
being unable to accept Brexit and Trump,” he said. “I consider it extremely
doubtful that I could be a person of interest to the FBI as I have no
connections to Russia.”Separately, the Washington Post reported that the Trump
administration was moving toward returning two Russian compounds in the United
States to Moscow. The Maryland and New York compounds were seized under the
Obama administration in December as part of a larger action targeting Russian
diplomats whom it said were spies. Russian officials said last month that they
might retaliate.
Guterres Calls for Referring Syrian File to ICC
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 01/17/New York– UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
reiterated his call for the need to refer the crisis in Syria to the
International Criminal Court, accusing the Syrian regime of hampering the access
of civilians to humanitarian aid. In his report on Syria submitted to the
Security Council on Tuesday, Guterres urged member states to support a neutral
and independent international mechanism to investigate persons who are
responsible for most dangerous crimes in Syria, in accordance with the
international law. “In light of the chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun on April 4
and the continuation of attacks against educational institutions, markets,
religious sites (…), I am still calling for referring the situation in Syria to
the International Criminal Court”, the UN secretary general said. The report
assessed the commitment of warring parties in Syria to the relevant UN Security
Council resolutions during the month of April. It added that the UN was able to
deliver assistance to 350,000 civilians per week through joint aid convoys,
while decrying constraints imposed by the Syrian regime on aid delivery. For his
part, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien noted that while there
were significantly fewer reports of violence in some parts of Syria, “the
consequences of the conflict continue to devastate lives.”He also called for
ending attacks and obstacles that prevent humanitarian workers from reaching the
hundreds of thousands of civilians still trapped in the war-torn country. “We
must not lose sight of the fact that – all over Syria – millions of people, in
locations inside and outside the four de-escalation areas, continue to suffer
because they lack the most basic elements to sustain their lives,” he told the
Security Council. He added that last week, 30 children and women were injured in
an attack by ISIS on besieged neighborhoods in Deir ez-Zor as they were lining
up to collect water. According to estimates, nearly seven million children are
living in poverty and some 1.75 million are out of schools with another 1.35
million at risk of dropping out, he said. Almost one in three schools have been
damaged, destroyed, or otherwise made inaccessible. “And even if the schools
were intact, many would be unable to open, with almost one quarter of the
country’s teaching personnel no longer at their posts,” O’Brien added.
Idlib: An Impending Fierce Battle Risking the Lives of 1
Million Syrians
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 01/17/London- Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib
increasingly became a refuge for militants who refused to surrender to regime
forces anywhere else in the country in the ongoing civil war. The population of
the province became highly concentrated following deals brokered by the regime
of Bashar al-Assad, where civilian buses and fighters have been moved north to
areas controlled by opposition forces throughout Syria. Syria’s regime had
inhumanly packed an approximate million Syrians to a single slice of their
homeland, who remain hopeful of a true ceasefire being implemented.
A report published by the Washington Post said that this vast and often hilly
expanse along Turkey’s southern border has become the rebels’ final redoubt. In
the coming months, it could become the sternest — and the bloodiest — challenge
for Assad’s forces as they battle to control areas they lost to rebel fighters
after the country’s 2011 uprising. Residents say new arrivals are packed into
every last space. Apartment buildings are full and rents sky-high. Many families
live in tents, mud houses or even caves. A deal brokered by Russia, Turkey and
Iran this month has stopped much of the violence in Idlib province and three
other regions of Syria. But if the truces break down and fighting resumes, the
stakes will be highest in the northwest: The Turkish border is tightly
controlled, and pro-Assad forces have been closing in for months. Across the
province, a coalition of al-Qaeda-linked rebels would be firmly in Assad’s
crosshairs, with hundreds of thousands of civilians stuck in the middle. The
seven-year war has scattered more than 5 million refugees around the world.
Inside Syria, even more people who want to leave are trapped. Already struggling
to accommodate earlier refugees, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan have mostly closed
their borders. Crossing east into Iraq risks a perilous journey through ISIS
territory. So the displaced live in permanent flux, doing what they can to
outrun the violence and to make ends meet when they arrive at their next
destination. If pro-regime forces tried to retake Idlib, they would face a
grinding fight that would probably result in heavy casualties, especially among
civilians.
Russia Participates in Syria’s ‘Desert Battle’ with
Missiles, Warplanes
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 01/17/London, Beirut, Ankara- Russia on Wednesday got
strongly involved in the “desert battle” by firing cruise missiles from the
Mediterranean Sea towards areas in central Syria. Free Syrian Army (FSA)
officials said on Wednesday that six Russian jets bombed their positions to
prevent their advancement in the desert between Palmyra and the triangle where
the borders of Jordan, Syria and Iraq meet. Saad al Haj, a spokesman for Jaish
Usud al-Sharqiya, one of the main groups in the area told Reuters: “A sortie of
Russian jets bombed us to repel our advance after we broke the first lines of
defense of the Iranian militia and took over advanced positions near the Zaza
checkpoint.”The Russian military had announced that “Russia carried out four
strikes against ISIS targets near the city of Palmyra.”Moscow said that the
militaries of the US, Turkey and Israel “were informed in a timely manner of the
missile launches through existing communication channels.” On May 18, the US
pounded Syrian regime forces and Iranian-backed militias advancing towards the
crossing of al-Tanf where the borders of Jordan, Syria and Iraq meet, and had
warned those militias from getting near al-Tanf military camp affiliated to the
international coalition forces near the Iraqi borders. Meanwhile, as opposition
sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that factions fighting at the desert front have
received new arms as a support for their combat, Southern Front spokesman Issam
al-Rayes said that the Syrian regime and Iran “want to guarantee an Iranian
corridor throughout the Syrian Desert to help them reach the Mediterranean Sea.”
He said the FSA would not permit Tehran’s forces from achieving their target.
Nevertheless, he did not deny that the battle was difficult. Meanwhile, Syria’s
main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) leader Nasr al-Hariri told
Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday that the opposition does not bet on the regime’s
approval of a political transition in Syria, but it is rather testing Russia’s
intentions to accept a political solution in the country. Al-Hariri added that
the opposition forces could not accept Iran as a guarantor or a monitor of the
“de-escalation” memorandum. The HNC chief also heavily criticized the Syrian
Democratic Forces, which are backed by the US-led International Coalition. “We
consider the SDF as terrorist forces that do not at all differ from ISIS,” he
said, adding that the Free Syrian Army should be supported to fight ISIS. Also
on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu issued a warning
following Washington’s decision to transfer weapons to Kurdish fighters that
Ankara considers as terrorists. Turkey’s National Security Council also warned
against supporting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units. In a statement issued
following a closed-door meeting in Ankara under the chairmanship of President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Council said: “It has been stressed that a policy of
supporting the PKK/PYD/YPG terror organization — which is acting under the guise
of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — does not suit [the principles of]
friendship and alliance.”
US: We Want to Partner with KSA to Face Threats,
Specifically Malign Iranian Influence
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 01/17/The United States affirmed the strategic partnership
for the 21st century with Saudi Arabia in the security realm to face threats in
the region, specifically the malign Iranian influence, Acting Assistant
Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Stuart Jones said. In a special briefing on
the US President Donald Trump trip to the Kingdom, Jones highlighted the “US
commitment to expand our decades-long security relationship with the Saudis”,
saying that the military and commercial agreements with Saudi Arabia aimed at
supporting the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, thus bolstering
the kingdom’s ability in facing terrorism operations across the region, and
reducing the already heavy burden on the US. “We want our security partner, the
Saudis, to have the – what they need to secure their borders and to secure their
region, and also to send a strong message that we will stand by our security
partners,” Jones added. Speaking on the ETIDAL center, which is the Global
Center for Countering Extremist Ideology, Jones said the United States is still
elaborating on how exactly it is going to participate in this Saudi project.
Jones said the US should respond to the Saudi invitation to participate in this
center and decide on a way to contribute, adding that the US would “certainly
benefit from the Saudi expertise in this area”. Moreover, the Assistant
Secretary underscored the importance of the statement that followed the GCC-US
summit, describing it as “a very strong message” to deter Iran’s malevolent
interventions in the region, especially in Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria. Jones also
praised the Arab-Islamic-US summit during which the entire Islamic world came
together and the United States expressed respect for Islam. 55 states came
together with the United States and jointly condemned extremism, he added.
Jones said he was also taken by the “tremendous spirit” that day and the very
positive statements against extremism by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, prime
minister of Indonesia, and King Abdullah of Jordan.
ISIS Preparing for Final Showdown in West Mosul
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 01/17/Mosul- ISIS jihadists have closed the streets around
Grand al-Nuri Mosque, residents of western Mosul have said, apparently in
preparation for a final showdown in the battle over their last major stronghold
in Iraq. Dozens of militants were seen by residents taking up positions in the
past 48 hours around the medieval mosque, the site where ISIS leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi declared a so-called “caliphate” in July 2014, Reuters reported on
Wednesday. ISIS’ black flag has been flying from the mosque since the militants
captured Mosul and seized swathes of Iraq and Syria three years ago.
The Grand al-Nuri Mosque has become a symbolic focus of the campaign launched by
Iraqi forces to recapture West Mosul. Iraqi commanders are privately saying they
hope to capture it during the month of Ramadan. Jihadists “know that the mosque
is the most important target and they are preparing for a major battle there,”
said Hisham al-Hashemi, who advises several Middle East government including
Iraq’s on ISIS affairs. But a battle in or near the mosque would put the
building and its famed leaning minaret at risk, experts have said. The minaret,
several feet off the perpendicular and standing on humid soil, is particularly
vulnerable as it has not been renovated since 1970. Its tilt gave the landmark
its popular name – al-Hadba, or the hunchback. Over the past few days, the
militants ordered dozens of families living in the Zanjili district to move into
the Old City to prevent them from escaping toward the Iraqi forces trying to
advance from the northern side, a resident said. Government forces have been
dropping leaflets over the districts telling families to flee but the intensity
of the fighting has prevented people from escaping. The militants have been
countering the offensive with suicide car and motorbike bombs, snipers,
booby-traps and mortar fire.
Arab Coalition: Oil Tanker Targeted with RPGs Off Yemen
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 01/17/A ship passing through Bab al-Mandab. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Command of the Coalition for Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen announced
that a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker came on Wednesday under attack while
passing through the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait. The coalition statement said
three Rocket Propelled Grenades were fired at the tanker from a naval boat on
Wednesday morning near Bab al-Mandab between the islands of Yemeni Mayun and
Djiboutian Saba’. “None of the crew was hurt,” said the coalition statement
carried by official Saudi Press Agency, adding that the tanker had sailed on
into the Red Sea. The coalition said it was investigating who was behind the
attack. It renewed its warning that the continuing practices of Houthi militias
of arms and ammunition smuggling activities into Yemeni territories affect the
security of navigation in this vital part of the world. This is not the first
time that a vessel comes under attack by Houthi insurgents in Bab al-Mandab. In
January, the rebels attacked a Saudi frigate off the Yemeni coast, killing two
sailors in a suicide attack. In October, a United Arab Emirates civilian vessel
that was carrying humanitarian assistance and wounded civilians was also
targeted by Houthis.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Receives King of Jordan
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 01/17/Riyadh – Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King
Salman bin Abdulaziz received at al-Salam palace in Jeddah on Tuesday King
Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. At the outset of
the meeting, King Salman welcomed King Abdullah who, in turn, expressed
happiness to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and meet with the Custodian of
the Two Holy Mosques.During the visit, both leaders discussed Jordanian-Saudi
ties, current developments in the region, and the high level of historic and
brotherly relations between the two countries. The two leaders expressed
keenness to further boost relations in all fields to serve Arab and Islamic
causes. They also reviewed the Middle East crises, efforts to reach political
solutions, and means to enable region’s peoples to live in peace and security.
Then, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques held a dinner banquet in honor of
Jordan’s King and the accompanying delegation, according to Saudi Press Agency.
The reception and the banquet were attended by Advisor to the Custodian of the
Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Region Prince Khalid al-Faisal bin
Abdulaziz, Prince Mansour bin Saud bin Abdulaziz; Prince Talal bin Saud bin
Abdulaziz; minister of state and member of the Cabinet and Advisor to the
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdulaziz,
Undersecretary of the Ministry of National Guard for the Western Sector Prince
Khalid bin Faisal bin Turki, Prince Sattam bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Governor of
Jeddah Province Prince Mishaal bin Majed bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian
of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Abdulaziz bin Sattam bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy
Premier and Minister of Defense Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin
Abdulaziz, Counselor at the ministry of foreign affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan
bin Abdullah, Advisor to the ministry of interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin
Naif bin Abdulaziz, Prince Nawaf bin Naif bin Abdulaziz; Deputy Governor of
Makkah Region Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, and Prince Rakan bin
Salman bin Abdulaziz.
The events were also attended by King of Jordan’s official accompanying
delegation: Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki, head of the Royal Diwan Fayiz al-Tarawna,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Jordanian Armed Forces Lt-Gen
Mahmoud A. Fraihat, Director of General Intelligence Department Major General
Adnan Issam al-Jundi, National Policies Council Rapporteur Abdullah Wreika, and
a number of officials. On Wednesday, King Salman received a phone call from Fahd
bin Mahmoud al-Sayid, Deputy Prime Minister for Cabinet Affairs of the Sultanate
of Oman, who congratulated the monarch on the holy month of Ramadan. The King
exchanged with him the congratulations on this occasion and expressed
appreciation to the Omani senior official for his noble feelings, stated SPA.
Dissolution of Bahraini ‘Waad’ Association, Liquidation of Its Funds
Obaid Al-Suhaymi/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 01/17/Leaders of opposition groups,
including Sheik Ali Salman, head of the largest Shiite Muslim opposition society
Al Wefaq, front row fourth left, participates with thousands of Bahrainis
carrying national flags and posters of jailed political and religious opposition
figures in a rally in Muqsha, Bahrain. A court in Bahrain has the ordered the
country's last functioning opposition group dissolved and its property
confiscated. Manama- Bahrain’s High Civil Court ordered the dissolution of the
National Democratic Action Society (Waad) and the liquidation of its assets, the
Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs said. The court said that Waad used on
its official online account the term “Martyrs of the Nations” to refer to
criminals sentenced to death after they targeted police officers with explosive
devices, resulting in three officers losing their lives. The term is a violation
of Article Six of the Political Society Law that stipulates that societies must
protect the independence and security of the Kingdom and its national unity and
reject all forms of violence. Waad also expressed its solidarity with al-Wefaq
National Islamic Society which was dissolved following a court ruling after it
was found guilty of questioning the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain and
adopting deviant political activities, inciting violence and illegal rallies and
sit-ins likely to cause sectarian sedition in the country. This alignment is in
breach of the law that bans association or cooperation with any political
society that does not respect the principles and articles of the constitution or
the premises of the political regime in the Kingdom. Waad also announced in a
solidarity statement with other societies that it rejected the 2002 Constitution
as illegitimate. Waad is considered the second major association that was
dissolved in Bahrain as the government used similarly broad wording to dissolve
the country’s largest Shiite opposition group, al-Wefaq on 17 July 2016. The
ministry said that the arguments presented by Waad in its defense could not
constitute a valid explanation for its attitude and breach of the law,
particularly in light of the terror incidents that hit Bahrain.“The society, as
a popular national organization, was supposed to help protect the security of
the Kingdom within a spirit of national unity and social peace as stipulated in
the Constitution and the law, and not to praise criminals who had carried out
terror attacks or to support political societies that harmed the state’s public
interests as confirmed by a court of law,” the ministry said. “Waad has deviated
off the normal course of political activities by issuing statements and
declarations that were likely to harm public interests, undermine security and
stability. The society also failed to recognize the Constitution and thus
violated the articles of the Political Society law.”
Car Bomb Reportedly Rocks
Saudi Shiite City
Naharnet/ Agence France Presse/June 01/17/An explosion took place in a Saudi
Arabian community dominated by minority Shiites on Thursday and emergency
vehicles converged on the scene, a witness told AFP.It was the latest incident
in Qatif, where Islamic State group jihadists have carried out deadly attacks in
recent years but where Shiite discontent has also raged. "The explosion was very
huge," the witness said, asking not to be identified. Armored and other police
vehicles sealed off the area after the explosion, the witness said. Saudi
television channel Al-Arabiya reported a car bombing was the cause of the
explosion. Video and photographs posted on social media showed a vehicle
engulfed in flames in the middle of a street, with dense black smoke rising
around it. Other images showed what appeared to be at least one charred body
lying beside a vehicle, which looked like an SUV, after firefighters
extinguished the blaze. The Sunni extremist IS -- which views Shiite Muslims as
heretics -- in 2014 began a campaign of bombings and shootings that has killed
more than 40 Shiites in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, which includes Qatif.
In August, police said they shot dead a would-be suicide bomber targeting a
mosque in Qatif district. Two months later, a gunman killed five people at a
Shiite meeting hall in Saihat district of Qatif. Most of Saudi Arabia's Shiites
live in the oil-rich east, where they have long complained of marginalization.
Alongside IS attacks, Shiite discontent and general crime are also behind a wave
of violence in the area. In 2011, Shiite protests began in the area and
developed into a call for equality in the Sunni-majority Gulf country. Police
then issued a list of 23 wanted people, many of whom have since been detained or
killed in shootouts. Last month, violence escalated around a redevelopment
project in the old section of Awamiya, a Qatif-area town. The interior ministry
said criminals engaged in the drug and arms trade were involved in the unrest. A
police officer was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade, following the shooting
deaths of an infant and a Pakistani man, in Awamiya.
Palestinian Woman Stabs
Israeli Soldier, is Shot
Naharnet/ Agence France Presse/June 01/17/A Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli
soldier outside a Jewish settlement in the northern West Bank on Thursday before
being shot and critically wounded, the army and medics said. The attack came
just days before the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War in which Israel
occupied the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem. The soldier
was taken to hospital with a stab wound to his upper body, medics from Israel's
Magen David Adom emergency service said. The assailant was in critical
condition, the medics added. The attack took place at the entrance to Mevo Dotan,
a Jewish settlement southwest of Jenin. The army said the assailant used a knife
and was shot by military "forces at the scene". A wave of unrest that broke out
in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 266 Palestinians, 41 Israelis, two
Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an
AFP tally. Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying
out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks. Others were shot dead during protests or
clashes, while some were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. The
violence has subsided in recent months.
France moves to ban MPs
from hiring family members
Thu 01 Jun 2017/NNA - The French government on Thursday (June 1) announced plans
to ban lawmakers from hiring family members, one of a raft of measures aimed at
cleaning up politics after a slew of scandals. Justice Minister Francois Bayrou
said the government aimed to restore confidence in politicians, which was
severely rattled by revelations over the alleged fake parliamentary job that
conservative MP Francois Fillon gave his wife. -- AFP
'Russophobia' in West 'Counterproductive', Won't Last,
Putin Says
Naharnet/ Agence France Presse/June 01/17/Russian President Vladimir Putin
insisted Thursday that alleged anti-Russian sentiment in the West would not last
indefinitely because it damages both sides. The Kremlin strongman said in
televised comments that he hoped "Russophobia" would "not last for too long, not
forever, if only because the understanding has to come that it is
counterproductive and harms everyone."
Manila Casino Complex under
IS Attack
Naharnet/ Agence France Presse/June 01/17/Gunfire was reported at a hotel and a
casino resort in the Philippine capital on Friday, the operator of the complex
said, and the Islamic State group (IS) quickly claimed responsibility. "Resorts
World Manila is currently on lockdown following reports of gunfire from
unidentified men," the company said on its Twitter account.
"The company is working closely with the Philippine National Police to
ensure that all guests and employees are safe."IS said "lonewolf soldiers" from
its group carried out the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group that
monitors terrorist organizations. Police confirmed
there were reports of gunfire at Resorts World, which is across a road from one
of the main terminals of the Philippines' international airport. There were no
immediate reports of fatalities or injuries. Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte imposed martial law last week across the southern region of Mindanao to
crush what he said was a rising threat of Islamic State there. He declared
martial law shortly after militants went on a rampage through the southern city
of Marawi, which is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) south of Manila. Security
forces are still battling the militants in Marawi, and the clashes there have
left at least 171 people dead. Duterte said last week he may need to declare
martial law across the rest of the country if the terrorism threat spread.
Philippine Military Airstrikes Kill 10 Troops
Philippine military airstrikes aimed at Islamist militants who are battling
soldiers in a southern city instead killed 10 troops and injured seven others,
the defence secretary said on Thursday. "A group of our military armed men were
hit by our own airstrikes. Ten killed," Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told
reporters in Manila, adding the incident happened on Wednesday. Security forces
have been battling militants flying the black flags of the Islamic State (IS)
group in Marawi, a major Muslim city in the predominantly Catholic Philippines,
since Tuesday last week. The military has bombed and fired rockets from attack
helicopters throughout the conflict at the militants, who have been hiding in
residential areas holding hostages. About 2,000 civilians are also trapped in
the militant-held areas, according to the local government. Military chiefs had
repeatedly said the assaults involved "precision" and "surgical" airstrikes, and
assured they were not harming any of the trapped civilians or hostages. "It's
sad but sometimes it happens in the fog of war. The coordination was not
properly done," Lorenzana said Thursday as he announced the deaths. He told AFP
later via text message that seven soldiers had also been wounded. The clashes
erupted when security forces raided a house to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, a veteran
Filipino militant regarded as IS's leader in the Philippines. He is on the US
government's list of most-wanted terrorists. Authorities said they were taken by
surprise when dozens of gunmen emerged to protect Hapilon and then went on a
rampage through Marawi, which has a population of 200,000. Most of the residents
had fled the city but the International Committee of the Red Cross has
repeatedly expressed deep concern for those who remained trapped, and called for
a humanitarian ceasefire "I think it's horrific for the civilian people who are
in there and we really hope that both sides can agree that the civilians should
be given the opportunity to come out," the deputy head of the ICRC's Philippine
delegation, Martin Thalmann, told AFP in Marawi on Wednesday. President Rodrigo
Duterte declared martial law across the entire southern region of Mindanao in
response to the crisis, which he described as the start of a major campaign by
IS to establish a foothold in the Philippines. Eighty-nine militants have been
killed in the fighting, and the gunmen have murdered 19 civilians, the military
said on Wednesday.The announcement of the friendly fire deaths brings the number
of security forces killed to 31, and the combined death toll to 139.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on
June 01-02/17
Innovation Won’t Overcome Stagnation
Satyajit Das/Bloomberg/June 01/17
Innovation, everybody hopes, will rescue the world from economic stagnation. I’m
not so sure. The extent to which an innovation is significant depends on the
degree to which it alters existing activity or the performance of a function. It
must create related and ancillary activities that in turn lead to employment,
wealth and other discoveries in a virtuous cycle. It must have longevity, being
capable of exploitation over long periods. These characteristics are why the
Second Industrial Revolution (electricity, internal-combustion engines, modern
communications, entertainment, hydro-carbons and so on) succeeded in lifting
productivity and living standards. Today’s innovations are unlikely to be nearly
as powerful. Most new technologies have significant benefits but don’t radically
reshape the modes of doing things. A driverless or electric automobile is just a
new type of car. It isn’t the quantum leap that motorized transport was over its
animal-powered predecessors. Email improves the speed of communication but it
isn’t as radical as the advent of telephony. Platforms such as EBay Inc., Uber
Technologies Inc. and Airbnb Inc. are merely new marketplaces matching buyers
and sellers. Big data is just a more sophisticated way to handle information and
statistical analysis. Moreover, many of today’s tech companies focus on
consumption, improving the marketing and distribution of existing goods and
services. Many center on entertainment and communication, with tangential impact
on productivity. Most emphasize enhancing speed, capability, power and
efficiency, rather than changing the work itself. Word processing software
didn’t eliminate the need to type out documents but eliminated secretaries and
typing pools, leaving individuals to do the task themselves.
New technologies also tend to cannibalize existing industries, limiting their
effect on growth and productivity. Smartphones and tablets cannibalized
computers, mobile phones, portable music players such as the Walkman and digital
assistants like the once-ubiquitous Palm Pilot. They replaced low-end cameras
and watches. They incorporated GPS and other standalone technologies. Alphabet
Inc. and Facebook Inc. divert advertising revenue from newspapers and magazines.
Amazon.com Inc. and other online sellers have taken market share from existing
retailers. Netflix Inc. has cannibalized television, video stores and cinemas.
Few of these businesses create completely new streams of income. The revenue
gain for smartphones is offset by reduced revenue from all the products it
replaces. New products redirect investment capital, and are not necessarily
incremental, at least not significantly.
It’s true that many recent innovations have reduced costs. But they’ve often
done so by using lower-quality products or untrained workers, or by extracting
revenue from personal assets. Airbnb allows people to rent out their own lodging
for accommodation. Uber allows people to use their own cars to offer rides for
others (or entails arbitraging regulations). Many online media or entertainment
services rely on contributors who offer their services for free. Such disruption
changes industry economics. New technologies have reduced advertising rates,
benefiting advertisers but harming companies that relied on them. Uber and
Airbnb have had the same effect on taxis and hotels, reducing the earnings of
incumbents. Lower-cost products and services leave more disposable income for
consumers to spend elsewhere. But the decreased cost typically comes at the
expense of employment or wages. The loss of income offsets the savings. In an
economic model that is 60 to 70 percent powered by consumption, this affects
total economic activity.
Another reason for skepticism is that many new industries don’t require
substantial investment or create well-paying jobs. Many are easily scalable:
Electronic platforms mean that expansion of activity doesn’t necessarily require
a commensurate expansion in investment and capacity.
Many new tech companies, finally, are based on implausible business models.
Rather than displacing competitors through efficiency or creating new markets,
they often seek to simply convince investors their future market dominance is
inevitable. Although they may have limited long-term growth and productivity
potential, such businesses can still appeal to venture capitalists, who hope to
extract short-term value by selling out to an incumbent or going public.
Typically, competition increases spending through higher expansion and
customer-acquisition costs, extending the period before investment is recovered
and resulting in poor long-term returns. In short, there’s little reason to
think this current round of innovation will overcome stagnation. Its overall
effect on economic activity and living standards is lower than believed. The
failure of traditional remedies to restore the health of advanced economies has
made policy makers, many of whom need assistants to work their digital devices,
vulnerable to the siren song of technology, promising a quick and painless fix.
Foreign Intervention and the UK General Elections
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/June 01/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55868
The UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s comments on the Manchester suicide bombing,
suggesting that “Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and
security services, have pointed to the connections between wars our government
has supported or fought in other countries and terrorism here at home,” provoked
a storm of criticism.
What is worth mentioning is that the terrorist atrocity committed by
Libyan-born, British Salman Abedi was linked to the American air force
bombardment of Syria. Interesting, indeed, that it is specifically linked to the
American – as well as British, under the umbrella of ‘anti-ISIS coalition’ –
attacks targeting ISIS-held territories inside Syria.
This may call the attention of serious analysts to several issues, although
people like Abedi – who murdered 22 innocent people and injured many others
while attending a concert – are nothing but brainwashed ‘killing machines’.
One issue is surely related to the aforementioned ‘justifications’ of the
atrocity. The attacks of US-led ‘coalition’ started quite late in the Syrian
War. Actually, they started many years after the Assad regime’s attacks on
civilians, then direct involvement of Iran’s sectarian militia backing the
regime, and later Russia’s joining the war directly against the Syrian people.
It is a well-known fact that the Russian air force has played a decisive part
during the last three years in turning the tide of the war in Assad’s favor. It
has provided it with the much-needed air cover to systematically destroy the
cities and carry out ‘sectarian cleansing’ and population exchange. On the
contrary, during Barack Obama’s presidency, Washington – so keen to befriend
Iran – refused to intervene militarily in Syria; subsequently, encouraging the
Damascus regime and Iranian leaders to escalate the war using all kinds of
weapons, including chemical weapons!
Another issue regards the concept of ‘intervention’. In general, this term on
its own does not reflect a comprehensive political vision. It is impossible to
morally justify ‘intervention’ in a stable country governed by broadly-based
political, social and institutional consensus; but, it is both morally and
politically right to prevent the escalation of a war whereby a dictatorial
leadership kills its own people as we have been witnessing in Syria and Yemen.
Moreover, it is wrong to intervene with the intention of ‘regime change’ without
having a plan for the day after, and a proper viable and legitimate alternative.
When the 2003 Iraq War was met with wide Arab and international opposition,
those opposing the War did not do so because they were great admirers of Saddam
Hussein and his regime, but because Washington and London had no plan to fill
the power vacuum and save the post-Saddam Iraq chaos.
Eventually, as we know now, Iraq was handed to Iran and its Revolutionary Guards
(IRGC) on a platter.
Still, the most preposterous understanding of ‘intervention’ must be reserved to
Obama’s handling of Syria. Here, both the US president and his associates kept
on justifying their refusal to defend the Syrian people and deter its murderers
by pathetically repeating the claim that the “intervention in Iraq made the
situation worse!” It is particularly this shameful and destructive inaction that
created ISIS phenomenon as a global problem.
Today, in the UK, the Labour leader Corbyn is following the footsteps of Barack
Obama. Last week, Corbyn made the connection between wars UK supported or fought
in other countries and terrorism on British soil. The Labour leader, however,
does not seem to be interested in the details of these wars, who caused them,
are benefitting from them, or the realities they seek to impose. Mr. Corbyn, who
rightly opposed the 2003 Iraq War, today ignores the fact that that war brought
about an explosive regional reality that all those who opposed the war must
realize. They need to understand how Iranian extremism has provoked an opposite,
extremist reaction, and that Tehran rulers are now exploiting this reaction in
order to cut deals and make international alliances that would nurture it for
years and decades to come.
The third issue, linked to the above, is that the current Labour leadership has
been too consistently loyal to its opposition to foreign adventures. It is
‘principled’, and like some Labour leadership before it, has been too dogmatic
and simplistic in arguing international affairs, as well as being sometimes
‘childishly’ anti-Washington. Something that makes it fall an easy prey to great
slogans of ‘progress’ and ‘liberation’ uttered by fake nationalists and their
mouthpieces. Indeed, the Labour ‘Left’ has always been idealistic, and quite
often naïve.
During the thick of the Cold War, the Labour Left won control of the party’s
leadership with clear-cut radical leftist political positions bearing all the
fingerprints of the UND (Unilateral Nuclear Disarmament) – of which the new
leader Michael Foot was an active member – as well as a radical economic agenda.
The Left’s ascendancy led the leaders of centrist Labour Right to break away
with their supporters and found the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981. This
party merged later with the Liberal Party to form the current Liberal Democratic
Party.
In 1983, as the leftist Labour leadership announced its radical electoral
manifesto, the late Labour wise man Gerald Kaufman described it as “the longest
suicide note in history”. He was absolutely right; as Labour was trounced by
Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives, gaining just above % 27.5 of the votes and
paving the way for uninterrupted Conservative rule until 1997.
In the early 80s, Corbyn and some of his associates were young firebrands and
‘spiritual’ sons and daughters of Michael Foot and his fellow Leftist luminary
Tony Benn. However, while many of those matured and moderated their outlooks,
including Benn’s son Hilary Benn – a former cabinet minister – Mr. Corbyn
remained an unrepentant radical.
Today, he practically supports Iran and Assad since he believes they are
confronting America’s influence and conspiracies. This is why he promised a
change in London’s foreign policy if Labour wins on June 8th.
Finally, the fourth issue regards an anxious period Western societies are going
through. Many ‘givens’ and ‘constants’ have fallen; causing astounding electoral
surprises. Thus, it would be ironic if the problems of the Middle East and
Muslim world would shape the future of cultural co-existence and democracy in
the West.
Grooming Jihadists: The Ladder of Radicalization and Its
Antidote
Saher Fares/Gatestone Institute/June 01/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55871
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10263/grooming-jihadists
What you find is that behind every jihadist, who usually starts out as a young,
often angry, Muslim seeking a purpose, lies a pulpit ideologue promising rewards
and threatening punishments both on earth and in the afterlife.
Violent jihad may be postponed not out of concern for its victims, but rather if
it might adversely affect a Muslim community. This view is frequently mistaken
as "moderate."
Use the press and social media to expose young Muslims to facts other than those
they are fed in mosques and the textbooks of their native countries, including
the humanistic values of the West, such as freedom of speech and of the press;
equal justice under the law -- especially due process and the presumption of
innocence; property rights; separation of religion and state; an independent
judiciary; an independent educational system and freedom of religion and from
religion -- for a start.
On March 22, when Khalid Masood rammed his vehicle into pedestrians on
Westminster Bridge in London before attempting to stab his way to the Parliament
building, it was as if the heart and soul of British democracy were under
assault.
As horrifying as the terrorist attack was, however -- murdering four innocent
people and wounding scores of others -- it belied the magnitude of a much larger
problem that has been plaguing Europe and creeping up on the rest of the West.
Jihadists committing murder in the name of Islam have left a trail of blood
across North America, the Middle East, Australia, the Indian Subcontinent,
Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe.
Police officers stand guard on London's Westminster Bridge on March 29, 2017, a
week after Khalid Masood began his murderous car-ramming and stabbing attack at
the site. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
In November 2015, a suicide-bombing and shooting spree in Paris left 130 people
dead and hundreds wounded; in March 2016, three coordinated suicide bombings
targeting travelers in Brussels killed 32 and wounded hundreds; and last
December, a truck-ramming at the Christmas market in Berlin left 12 people dead
and another 56 injured.
These were just a few of the successful attacks; those thwarted were more
numerous.
France's prime minister said last September that authorities were foiling plots
"daily," while some 15,000 people "in the process of radicalization" were being
monitored. Last year, British security services prevented no fewer than 12 other
assaults.
The average European now knows the names of Masood and those of other publicized
terrorists. But few in the West are familiar with the many people who put those
terrorists on their path by leading them up the rungs of a ladder of
radicalization.
If you spend hours listening to speeches and sermons -- and reading countless
articles by "respectable" local imams, community leaders and Islamic scholars --
you can see a pattern emerge. What you find is that behind every jihadist, who
usually starts out as a young, often angry, Muslim seeking a purpose, lies a
pulpit ideologue promising rewards and threatening punishments both on earth and
in the afterlife.
The following is a description of the ladder of radicalization, based on
material from 45 detailed case studies, covering the period 2012-2015, compiled
by the author from U.K. government sources:
A radical preacher commonly employs theological "carrots and sticks" as a spur
to action. He attempts to terrorize audiences with passages from religious
literature about the horrors of hell. He shames those he brands complacent or
reluctant to engage in jihad, and instills a heightened sense of crisis. He does
this while harping on the notion of Muslim superiority and providing an
idealized reading of history that emphasizes "glorious Islamic conquests."
The preacher quotes passages from the Quran and hadith [the sayings and deeds of
Muhammad], gradually ratcheting up his rhetoric until openly calling for the
restoration of the caliphate through global jihad. The preacher determines
whether jihad is beneficial at a given time -- or whether it needs to be
deferred -- depending on the clout a Muslim community has attained in a host
country or culture. In other words, he decides whether to "declare jihad" based
on what he deems possible for the Muslim ummah [community] at that time. Violent
jihad may be postponed not out of concern for its victims, but rather if it
might adversely affect a Muslim community. This view is frequently mistaken as
"moderate."
The preacher presents stark, simplistic choices, cornering his audience into
accepting his particular reading of Islam, and leaving no option but jihad. He
does this by using language that evokes gut emotions. He presents the Quran,
hadiths and Islamic history in a way he knows his audience is in no position to
challenge. He juxtaposes, for instance, incidents in Muhammad's life to explain
modern geopolitics -- such as the Arab-Israeli conflict -- and that point to a
particular course of action. Or he uses ancient Islamic conquests as an
inspirational model for current jihadist attacks against the West.
At the root of such preaching is a totalitarian worldview. According to it,
there is no distinction between private freedoms and the public good. The past
and the present are on a continuum. Secular matters are meticulously "guided" by
clerical judgements. The nation state, he alleges, will give way to the
caliphate. Morality is stressed, but expressed more in outward appearance (such
as modest dress) than as an internal spiritual goal. And he emphasizes that the
purpose of public worship is to consolidate al-mumeneen (the believers) into a
unified bloc in the cause of jihad -- which ultimately entails physical warfare.
The underlying theme is that all "infidels" are to be held in perpetual
hostility until, as is written in the Quran, "Allah's word reigns supreme."
One reason that this radicalization process has gone undetected in the West has
to do with language. Imams and Islamist intellectuals use terms that are
seemingly identical to those of Judeo-Christian or secular-liberal discourse,
but which have an entirely different connotation in Arabic.
Salaam, "peace," means the peace that will reign only after the whole world has
accepted living under the rule of Islam.
Shihada, for example, often translated as "martyrdom," usually refers to the act
of those who kill or are killed in battle for a religiously-sanctioned cause. It
is not a testimony of faith in laying down one's life instead of recanting under
pressure.
Iman, translated as "faith," is proven by total submission to Allah, His
Messenger Mohammed and the edicts of sharia as propagated by the leader. It is
of great "faith" not to waver in battle against Allah's enemies.
Qassas, wrongly interpreted as "justice", often entails a sense of
vindictiveness, and "eye-for-an-eye" revenge. It is also circumscribed by
Islamic law, sharia: whatever is inside sharia is just; whatever is outside
sharia is not just.
Fight them; Allah will torment [not "punish" as many current translations claim]
them by your hands... and will give you victory over them and satisfy the
breasts (give a great sense of satisfaction, relief) of a believing people. --
Quran, 9:14, after Sahih International
Power is elevated as an Allah-given right to the believers, whereas humility is
scorned as a sign of weakness. The goal toward which you are urged to aspire is
not equality but ascendancy.
It is a matter of ihssan, or "benevolence" of Muslims that they tolerate the
life and severely limited "liberties" of dhimmis (subjugated non-Muslims) so
long as the latter pay a "protection" tax, the jizya, and abide by a covenant of
inferiority "while feeling themselves subdued". In a state ruled by sharia,
equal citizenship between Muslims and non-Muslims is unthinkable.
To challenge Islam's authority, its prophet's character or received tradition,
or to critique the religion, is construed as ihanah, or "insult"; sabb-e-Rasul,
"disparaging the Prophet," is a libelous offense worthy of death. Failure to
accept Islam is also regarded as an "insult" that justifies attack:
As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this
world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help. -- Quran (3:56)
Counteracting the radicalization of vulnerable Muslims requires a multi-pronged
effort on the part of governments, academic institutions and community leaders.
Here are a few recommendations:
Discourage voluntary segregation in Muslim communities. Establish initiatives
that introduce genuine multiculturalism into classrooms, neighborhoods and
community centers. This is the only way that insular, extremist thought can be
debated and challenged openly by Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Prevent fundamentalist Muslim community leaders from hiding behind a "moderate"
or "mainstream" façade. Hold preachers accountable for the content of their
sermons, and make sure that what they are promoting in Arabic aligns with their
public statements in English.
Subject the history of early Islam -- the conquests of Persia, the Byzantine
Empire, the Middle East, North Africa, Greece, Spain and most of Eastern Europe
-- to the same academic rigors to which Western history has been subjected. Do
not allow a romantic view of it as a "superior" model to go unchallenged, and do
not shy away from examining similarities between current and centuries-old
jihadism. The same goes for religious texts and their modern-day
interpretations.
Use the press and social media to expose young Muslims to facts other than those
they are fed in mosques and the textbooks of their native countries, including
the humanistic values of the West, such as freedom of speech and of the press;
equal justice under the law -- especially due process and the presumption of
innocence; property rights; separation of religion and state; an independent
judiciary; an independent educational system, and freedom of religion and from
religion -- for a start.
Those who preach hate simply build on ahistorical, uncontested narratives to
spread the messages that inspired the Manchester, London, Paris, Brussels and
Berlin terrorists and that groom the terrorists of tomorrow. When will
correcting the record and addressing the root causes please start?
**Saher Fares is an Arabic linguist and researcher from the Middle East.
© 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.
The Muslim Brotherhood Connection: ISIS, "Lady al Qaeda," and the Muslim
Students Association
Thomas Quiggin/Gatestone Institute/June 01/17 /
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55876
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10423/muslim-brotherhood-connection
"It should be the long-term goal of every MSA [Muslim Students Association] to
Islamicize the politics of their respective university ... the politicization of
the MSA means to make the MSA more of a force on internal campus politics. The
MSA needs to be a more 'in-your-face' association." — Hussein Hamdani, a lawyer
who served as an adviser on Muslim issues and security for the Canadian
government.
Several alumni of the MSA have gone on to become leading figures in Islamist
groups. These include infamous al Qaeda recruiter Anwar al Awlaki, Osama bin
Laden funder Ahmed Sayed Khadr, ISIS propagandist John "Yahya" Maguire and
Canada's first suicide bomber, "Smiling Jihadi" Salma Ashrafi.
What they have in common (whether members of ISIS, al Qaeda, Jamaat e Isami,
Boko Haram, Abu Sayyaf or others) is ideology often rooted in the Muslim
Brotherhood -- as findings of a 2015 U.K. government review on the organization
revealed.
In August 2014, ISIS tried to secure the release from a U.S. federal prison of
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui -- a Pakistani neuroscientist educated in the United States
-- formerly known as the "most wanted woman alive," but now referred to as "Lady
al Qaeda", by exchanging her for American war correspondent James Foley, who was
abducted in 2012 in Syria. When the proposed swap failed, Foley was beheaded in
a gruesome propaganda video produced and released by his captors, while Siddiqui
remained in jail serving an 86-year sentence.
ISIS also offered to exchange Siddiqui for a 26-year-old American woman
kidnapped in Syria while working with humanitarian aid groups. Two years
earlier, the Taliban had tried to make a similar deal, offering to release U.S.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for Siddiqui. These efforts speak volumes
about Siddiqui's profile and importance in Islamist circles.
Her affiliation with Islamist ideology began when she was a student, first at
M.I.T. and then at Brandeis University, where she obtained her doctorate in
2001. Her second marriage happened to be to Ammar al-Baluchi (Ali Abd al-Aziz
Ali), nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the principal architect of the 9/11
attacks. During the 1995-6 academic year, Siddiqui wrote three sections of the
Muslim Students Association "Starter's Guide" -- "Starting and Continuing a
Regular Dawah [Islamic proselytizing] Table", "10 Characteristics of an MSA
Table" and "Planning A Lecture" -- providing ideas on how successfully to
infiltrate North American campuses.
The MSA of the United States and Canada was established in January 1963 by
members of the Muslim Brotherhood at the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign campus. Since its inception, the MSA has emerged as the leading
and most influential Islamist student organization in North America -- with
nearly 600 MSA chapters in the United States and Canada today. The first edition
of the MSA Starter's Guide: A Guide on How to Run a Successful MSA was released
in 1996. A subsection on "Islamization of Campus Politics and the Politicization
of The MSA," written by Hussein Hamdani, a lawyer who served as an adviser on
Muslim issues and security for the Canadian government, states:
"It should be the long-term goal of every MSA to Islamicize the politics of
their respective university ... the politicization of the MSA means to make the
MSA more of a force on internal campus politics. The MSA needs to be a more
'in-your-face' association."
In early 2015, Canadian Minister of Public Safety Steven Blaney suspended
Hamdani from the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on National Security. No reason was
given for the suspension, but Hamdani claimed it had been politically motivated
-- related to his support for Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party. The
French-language Canadian network TVA suggested, however, that the suspension was
actually due to activities in which Hamdani had engaged as a university student,
and radical organizations with which he was associated. During the 1998-9
academic year, Hamdani was president of the Muslim Students Association at the
University of Western Ontario; in 1995, he was treasurer of the McMaster
University branch of the MSA.
Several alumni of the MSA have gone on to become leading figures in Islamist
groups. These include infamous al Qaeda recruiter Anwar al Awlaki, Osama bin
Laden funder Ahmed Sayed Khadr, ISIS propagandist John "Yahya" Maguire and
Canada's first suicide bomber, "Smiling Jihadi" Salma Ashrafi.
What they have in common (whether members of ISIS, al Qaeda, Jamaat e Isami,
Boko Haram, Abu Sayyaf or others) is ideology often rooted in the Muslim
Brotherhood -- as findings of a 2015 U.K. government review on the organization
revealed.
Siddiqui's involvement in the MSA, her subsequent literal and figurative
marriage to al Qaeda and her attempted release by ISIS, perfectly illustrate
this ideological connection and path.
**Thomas Quiggin, a court qualified expert on terrorism and practical
intelligence, is based in Canada.
© 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/10423/muslim-brotherhood-connection
Israel disappointed after Trump delays US embassy move
Associated Press/Ynetnews/June 01/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55879
President Donald Trump on Thursday has signed a waiver to delay relocating the
US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv; Prime Minister Netanyahu
expresses disappointment, saying, we appreciate 'Trump’s friendship to Israel';
Jordan, on the other hand, welcomes the decision.
President Donald Trump has temporarily waived a law requiring the US to move its
embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Trump's move to renew the waiver for six months
keeps the US embassy in Tel Aviv for now. Trump has said he's reviewing whether
to fulfill his campaign promise to move it to Jerusalem.
Trump was facing a Thursday deadline to renew the waiver or see the State
Department lose half its funding for its overseas facilities. Presidents of both
parties have renewed the waiver every six months for years.
The US says its policy on Jerusalem hasn't changed and that Jerusalem's status
must be negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians. In a statement issued by
the White House: "While President Donald J. Trump signed the waiver under the
Jerusalem Embassy Act and delayed moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv
to Jerusalem, no one should consider this step to be in any way a retreat from
the President's strong support for Israel and for the United States-Israel
alliance.
"President Trump made this decision to maximize the chances of successfully
negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, fulfilling his solemn
obligation to defend America's national security interests. But, as he has
repeatedly stated his intention to move the embassy, the question is not if that
move happens, but only when."Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by
stating, "Israel's consistent position is that the American embassy, like the
embassies of all countries with whom we have diplomatic relations, should be in
Jerusalem, our eternal capital. "Maintaining embassies outside the capital
drives peace further away by helping keep alive the Palestinian fantasy that the
Jewish people and the Jewish state have no connection to Jerusalem."Though
Israel is disappointed that the embassy will not move at this time, we
appreciate today's expression of President Trump’s friendship to Israel and his
commitment to moving the embassy in the future."
The Palestinians praised Trump's decision not to move the US Embassy, saying it
strengthens the chances of peace. President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman, Nabil Abu
Rdeneh, said the decision is an "important positive step" that illustrates the
US seriousness about promoting peace. The Palestinian ambassador to Washington,
Hussam Zomlot, said the move "gives peace a chance."
Zomlot said: "We are ready to start the consultation process with the US
administration. We are serious and genuine about achieving a just and lasting
peace."
A senior Israeli official expressed disappointment over Trump's decision and is
accusing the US of caving in to Arab pressure. Cabinet Minister Yuval Steinitz
said the refusal to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital makes no sense.
Steinitz is a confidant of Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Steinitz told Israel's Army Radio station: "I think the time has come to put an
end to this farce. Everybody recognizes Israel as the capital of Israel. When
Trump comes here, he goes to Jerusalem, not Tel Aviv."
When told that Trump said he will move the embassy later, Steinitz said: "I hope
that happens before the Messiah comes."He said leaving foreign embassies in Tel
Aviv is "a surrender to unfair Arab and Muslim pressure."Jordan has welcomed
President Donald Trump's decision to delay moving the US Embassy in Israel from
Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem.
The pro-Western kingdom had warned that such a move was a "red line" that it
would bolster extremists if crossed. More than half of Jordan's citizens are of
Palestinian descent.
Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Momani said Thursday that "we strongly
welcome the decision and highly value the message it is sending."
Momani says the president's decision shows "how much the administration values
the advice of its allies" and that the focus must be on relaunching serious
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Reunification Only Way to Defuse Korea Crisis
John R. Bolton/Gatestone Institute/June 01/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55887
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10463/korea-reunification
Barack Obama's foreign-policy failures, and those of his predecessors, regarding
North Korea, are coming back to bedevil Donald Trump's new presidency. Trump
administration spokesmen have rightly said that Obama's policy of "strategic
patience," a synonym for doing nothing, is over. But they have not yet
articulated a replacement strategy.
Analysts across the political spectrum now believe that North Korea is
perilously close to fabricating nuclear devices — at least five of which have
already been detonated — small enough to mount on intercontinental ballistic
missiles capable of striking targets within the continental United States. Some
estimates posit this capability as early as 2018, with targets closer to the
Korean Peninsula, including Japan and Hawaii likely at risk earlier.
Time is thus in desperately short supply, one of the fruits of 25 years of
wasted efforts negotiating with Pyongyang. The harsh reality is that Kim Jung Un
and his predecessors were never going to be chit-chatted out of their
nuclear-weapons program, which they have always regarded as essential to regime
survival. Neither persuasion nor coercion, nor any mix of the two, has succeeded
before, and we have no reason to believe they will start succeeding now.
There are any number of suggestions about how to increase military pressure on
North Korea, including scenarios for pre-emptive attacks against its nuclear and
ballistic-missile assets. Certainly, no American president should be willing to
countenance the risk to innocent U.S. civilians, and those of our vulnerable
friends and allies in the region, that Pyongyang's erratic leadership
increasingly poses. Moreover, we must be sure China understands President
Trump's determination — reportedly explained in person to Chinese President Xi
Jinping during the recent Mar-a-Lago summit — not to be held hostage by
Pyongyang.
Unfortunately, however, years of savage Obama Administration defense budget cuts
have rendered U.S. military options far from optimal. Obama underfunded national
missile-defense programs, thereby rendering this last line of defense woefully
inadequate compared to how President George W. Bush originally conceived it.
Similarly, our ability to neutralize North Korea's military threats to the
South, which have long worried United States and South Korean decision-makers,
is severely challenged.
Since an American president's highest obligation is ensuring the safety of our
own citizens, pre-emptive or other military action against Pyongyang must always
be a live option. And even though the time for peacefully eliminating the
North's nuclear threat is rapidly disappearing, there is still a diplomatic
strategy worth trying. Indeed, it is now the only option with any prospect for
long-term resolution of the ongoing Korean crisis.
Reunification of the two Koreas, effectively ending the North Korean state and
merging it into the political and economic structures of the South, is both
feasible and desirable. There is simply no point in further negotiations with
Pyongyang, nor will anything be achieved by urging Beijing to strong-arm
Pyongyang.
For decades, China has played a double game, asserting its opposition to a North
Korean nuclear capability, but doing little or nothing to prevent it. Beijing
has worried that effectively pressuring Pyongyang, which Beijing has the
undeniable capacity to do, will collapse the regime itself, producing massive
refugee flows into China and a long-planned U.S.-South Korean armed
intervention, leaving China facing American military forces across the Yalu
River.
China didn't relish that prospect in 1950, nor does it today. Instead, President
Trump should persuade Beijing that its own best interests lie in directing its
economic leverage toward swift, orderly reunification of the Peninsula. China
and the U.S. could jointly facilitate this process through mutually applied
pressure and communication with the North's captive population.
Most significantly, America has no interest in a military presence along China's
border, just as it prefers today not to have its troops in fixed positions along
the DMZ. Instead, we have long sought to concentrate our forces near Busan,
making them available for rapid redeployment as events might require.
There is a modus vivendi here acceptable to China, although negotiations on this
and other reunification issues will undoubtedly be difficult.
Korea's post-World War II partition along the 38th Parallel in 1945 was always
intended to be temporary.
Three South Korean soldiers watch the border at Panmunjeom, in the Demilitarized
Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. (Image source: Henrik Ishihara
Globaljuggler/Wikimedia Commons)
The Cold War intervened, however, followed by the Korean War, and the
Peninsula's partition seemed frozen, as did Germany's. But just as communism's
European collapse led to German reunification, so too, in time, will the
partition of Korea be reversed.
The real question is whether it will end peacefully, with a minimum of turmoil
and disruption, or whether it will end catastrophically with considerable loss
of human life. China's leaders, scholars, and policy analysts are split over the
reunification issue.
Increasingly, however, key Chinese strategists have come to conclude that the
Kim family's authoritarian dynasty is an ugly piece of baggage, of little real
strategic utility to China, but one that brings with it enormous burdens and
risks.
Had we opened quiet negotiations with China over reuniting Korea a decade ago,
the problem might already be resolved. Starting talks only now places the
diplomacy in a race with North Korea's rapidly advancing nuclear capabilities,
with the outcome far from certain.
Nonetheless, since we are clearly and correctly unwilling to accept a nuclear
North Korea with global strike capabilities, and since we wish to avoid if
possible outright military action against the North, reunification is plainly
the most desirable outcome.
*John R. Bolton, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, served as
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under former President George W. Bush.
Reprinted from Newsmax Magazine by permission of the author.
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