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

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Bible Quotations For Today
They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 16/01-04/:"‘I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. ‘I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you."

We must obey God rather than any human authority
Acts of the Apostles 05/21b-33/:"When they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching. When the high priest and those with him arrived, they called together the council and the whole body of the elders of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the temple police went there, they did not find them in the prison; so they returned and reported, ‘We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.’Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about them, wondering what might be going on. Then someone arrived and announced, ‘Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!’ Then the captain went with the temple police and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.’
But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour, so that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’ When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 16-17/17
No Oil or Gas extraction As long As Hezbollah Occupies Lebanon/François Bainy/Face Book/June 16/17
Israeli Commandos in extensive drill in CyprusظAnna Ahronheim/Jerusalem Post/June 16/17
Jordanian MP: Marrying Her Rapist Is In Rape Victim's Best InterestظMEMRI TV/June 16/17
Former Iraqi MP: Iraq Ruled By Iran's Militias; ISIS Arab-Made; Trump Better Than 'Catastrophe' Obama/MEMRI TV/June 16/17
No Tolerance for ExtremismظDenis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/June 16/17
Iran: The Mullahs’ Discomfort With Persian Language/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/June 16/17
How Qatar prolonged the Syrian crisis/Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/June 16/17
Syria pays for ISIS attack in Tehran/Huda al HusseiniéAl Arabiya/June 1617
Mediating the Qatari crisis/Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/June 16/17
The SCO and Middle East: Expanding stakes and new approaches/Talmiz Ahmad/Al Arabiya/June 16/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 16-17/17
Parliament Passes Electoral Law as Some MPs Voice Objections
Lebanon: Electoral Law Preserves Domination of Traditional Political Parties
Lebanon’s Gemayel Criticizes ‘Flawed’ Electoral Law
Lebanon’s Sami Gemayel Criticizes ‘Flawed’ Electoral Law
Sami Gemayel brands new vote law as 'Batroun District law'
Hariri Walks Out of Parliament after Verbal Clash with Gemayel
Aoun disappointed with missing women's quota in new vote law
Report: Bkirki Says Proportionality Doesn't Serve Christians in Long Run
Report: Vote Law Takes Final Step After Parliament Vote Friday
Health Ministry Confiscates 2600 Boxes of Smuggled Medicines in North Clinic
Mashnouq: Berri, Hariri Support Reactivating Death Penalty, Aoun Mulling Issue
Dr. Geagea: New election law is an achievement
Salam: Abolition of political confessionalism is our ultimate aspiration
Adwan hails new election law as great achievement
ISG for Lebanon welcomes agreement on new electoral framework
MP Hout: New election law divides Beirut
MP Murr expects outstanding victory under any law
Kanaan: Extension was inevitable
Britain still looking for missing Lebanese: Shorter tells Aoun
No Oil or Gas extraction As long As Hezbollah Occupies Lebanon

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 16-17/17
Jubeir: Whole world wants Qatar to stop its support for terrorism
British FM to discuss Qatar with Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini counterparts
Russia’s military says may have killed ISIS leader Baghdadi
Man 'With Knife' Arrested Outside UK Parliament
U.N. Says 100,000 Civilians Held by IS in Mosul as 'Human Shields'
International Community Supports Gulf Solution to ‘Qatari Role’ Crisis
UAE Envoy in Indonesia Reviews Qatar Crisis
UAE Approves US Diplomatic Mediation for a Regional Solution
Paris Backs Kuwaiti Mediation to Resolve Qatar Crisis
Ankara: We Stand at Equal Lengths from Gulf Row Poles
UN: Over 100,000 Civilians behind ISIS Lines in Mosul’s Old City
Russia May Have Killed Baghdadi but US-Led Coalition Cannot Confirm it
Bahraini Jailed, Has Citizenship Revoked over ISIS-Linked Activity
Shoukry, Kobler Agree on Need to Preserve Libya’s Sovereignty
UN Calls for Freeing up Aid to Syria ‘De-escalation’ Zones
Report Warns Against Sectarian Conflict in Syria in Wake of Displacement
Putin Planning to ‘Bolster’ Syrian Regime Forces, Sees No Solution without US
Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces Cross into Syria with Heavy Weapons
Egypt Forms a Committee to Manage Funds of 1,553 Muslim Brotherhood Members
Heavy rains kill 14 in Niger, 11 in Ivory Coast

Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 16-17/17
Parliament Passes Electoral Law as Some MPs Voice Objections
Naharnet/June 16/17/The parliament on Friday approved a new electoral law based on proportional representation and 15 districts, amid objections by some MPs and a protest by civil society groups near the legislature's building. The MPs of the Kataeb Party, independent MP Butros Harb and MP Assem Qansou of the Baath Party voiced objections against the law. "Let's be realistic. We were heading to an existential crisis and this law is the best we can do,” Speaker Nabih Berri said at the beginning of the session. Berri also called on the government to open an extraordinary legislative session as soon as possible so that the legislature can “look into legislative issues and regain people's confidence.”During the session, MP Sami Gemayel demanded that the draft law be discussed article by article, with Berri noting that no controversial article would be passed without a vote. “However, this would change should there be a suggestion to pass the law as a single article,” Berri added. Gemayel asked about “the reasons that led to confining the preferential vote to the administrative district” and not to the bigger electoral district. “If their goal is Christian representation, then what is the fate of 60,000 Christian voters eliminated by confining the preferred vote to the administrative district?” Gemayel wondered. LBCI television said Gemayel described the electoral law as the "Batroun law for the sake of Jebran Bassil." “Why has parliament extended its own term for another year? Is it to give the government more time to bribe the people?” Gemayel added. MP Butros Harb for his part said the law was "tailored" to fit the interests of certain parties. He also slammed the ruling political class for failing to approve a women's quota and for "deforming proportional representation."MP Najib Miqati of Tripoli also slammed the new electoral law as "deformed."Harb had called for a thorough discussion of the draft law's articles “and not to rush them under the excuse of iftar time.”
“Even if the draft law will be passed as a single article, I will allow discussion and every MP will be given five minutes to speak,” Berri reassured. The session meanwhile witnessed a walkout by MP Assem Qansou of the Baath Party. Qansou's walkout followed a discussion with Berri about the failure to turn Lebanon into a single electoral district, with the speaker stressing that “the electoral law cannot but be consensual, or else it would lead to the country's ruin.” Prime Minister Saad Hariri also walked out of parliament after a verbal clash with Gemayel. He returned after Gemayel finished his statement. The bill consisted of 68 pages and several MPs were expected to demand amendments and changes related to the so-called preferential vote and the division of electoral districts. Media reports said it will be impossible to introduce any changes during the session "seeing as it will be passed as a single batch."
A number of civil society activists meanwhile rallied outside parliament to denounce the electoral law which, despite being based on proportional representation, fell short of their expectations. Civil society groups argue that proportional representation should be implemented in fewer and bigger districts in order to be effective. Videos posted on social networking websites showed security forces severely beating some protesters in the streets around parliament. Other videos showed some activists hurling eggs at cars carrying MPs.
Prior to the session, MP Sethrida Geagea expressed her keenness on “the historic reconciliation with the Free Patriotic Movement.”“We might be on the same electoral lists in some regions and not in others,” she added. Geagea also expressed its dismay that the new electoral law does not involve any women's quota. MP Jean Oghassabian, who is also the State Minister for Women's Affairs, noted that “any electoral law passed without a women's quota is an unfair law that harms Lebanon's image and its parliament.”The government had approved the new electoral law during a Cabinet session Wednesday, ending months of tense discussions and paving the way for the first parliamentary elections in nine years. The deal comes after a stalemate that has seen the country's parliament extend its term twice since the last elections in 2009. Under the agreement, the current parliament's term will be extended once again, but this time for just 11 months to prepare for elections under the new rules in May 2018. The new law replaces the existing winner-takes-all voting system with proportional representation and reduces the number of electoral districts. Lebanon recognizes 18 official religious sects and its 128 parliamentary seats are divided equally between Muslims and Christians, an arrangement unique in the region.

Lebanon: Electoral Law Preserves Domination of Traditional Political Parties
Caroline AkouméAsharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Beirut – As the features of the Lebanese parliament’s political distribution become more defined with the adoption of the new proportional representation electoral law, which divides the country into 15 electoral districts, small blocs and candidates, who do not belong to the traditional political parties, seem to have less of a chance of winning in wake of the new voting system. While experts stress that the new law, which will be endorsed by parliament on Friday, serves the interests of the Shi’ite duo (“Hezbollah” and the Amal Movement) and the Christian coalition (Free Patriotic Movement and Lebanese Forces), they say that it might lead to a drop in the representation of the Future Movement. Head of Beirut Center for Research and Information Abdo Saad ruled out the possibility for non-traditional parties to win over dominant blocs in the upcoming parliamentary elections, which are set to take place in May 2018. Saad noted in this regard that a proportional electoral law with a single electoral district was the only system that can achieve fair political representation. Secretary General of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) Zeina Helou told Asharq Al-Awsat that the ball was in the court of the Lebanese people and the voters, adding that the new law included many holes that would “lock the system rather than broaden the circle of participation.”The cabinet on Wednesday approved a new electoral law based on the proportional system, which divides the country into 15 electoral districts. The cabinet also agreed to extend parliament’s term by 11 months to allow for the preparations for the elections based on the new voting system. Commenting on the law, Helou said that small and medium districts, as well as the mechanisms set for counting votes, would distort the principle of proportionality, promote the majoritarian regime and weaken the change dynamics. For his part, Saad said: “They praise the new voting system as being representative, but the division of Lebanon into 15 electoral districts would give more representation to the majority blocs.”
nd tailored the law to your taste. You had five years to amend it, but you abandoned the people,” said the Kataeb chief. “Despite this, we will head to the elections and we will hold you accountable there. We will cooperate with all who want change and the state of law,” he vowed.

Lebanon’s Sami Gemayel Criticizes ‘Flawed’ Electoral Law
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Beirut – Head of Lebanon’s Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel slammed on Thursday the new parliamentary electoral law that was approved by the government, saying that it was flawed and lacked “unified standards.” He declared during a press conference that proportional representation in an electoral law was “acceptable if it is done right,” but it is rejected because it was “disfigured in this new project.”He said that officials approached the electoral law as they have approached other issues in the country where they seek to make a “deal” that best suits their interests. “The adoption of the preferential vote in the ‘qada’ (district) contradicts proportionality. Why have districts been divided in some areas and merged with others? Isn’t this so they can tailor the law to their interests?” asked the MP. Gemayel vowed that the Kataeb Party will run in the elections and emerge victorious. “We will now turn towards the electoral campaign and our speech will focus on a new Lebanon where people may choose between the logic of the current authority and our serious logic in managing political life in the country,” he stressed. He criticized how the electoral law was passed without being discussed at cabinet or parliament. “Parliament has been barred from addressing it because the law was approved behind closed doors. The state institutions guarantee transparency, but the mafia mentality of the authority does not want them,” he said. Addressing the ruling authority, Gemayel announced: “We were going to right the wrongs of the electoral and today you have left no room for maneuver for anyone, not even civil or women’s groups.”“You have compartmentalized everything and tailored the law to your taste. You had five years to amend it, but you abandoned the people,” said the Kataeb chief. “Despite this, we will head to the elections and we will hold you accountable there. We will cooperate with all who want change and the state of law,” he vowed.

Sami Gemayel brands new vote law as 'Batroun District law'
Fri 16 Jun 2017 /NNA - Kataeb Party chief, MP Sami Gemayel, on Friday denounced the new vote law, saying it has been set up for the sake of Batroun district. MP Gemayel's words came in his intervention at the parliament session on Friday to discuss and approve the new vote law based on proportional representation and 15 districts. Gemayel noted in his remarks that the Parliament extended its term by one year in order "to give the government more time to bribe the people" as he said. Such a remark triggered a debate between MP Gemayel and Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Hariri Walks Out of Parliament after Verbal Clash with Gemayel
Naharnet/June 16/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri walked out Friday of a parliamentary session dedicate to discussing and passing the new electoral law after a verbal clash with Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel. The heated debate erupted after Gemayel accused the government of approving an 11-month extension of parliament's term in order to have enough time to “offer electoral bribes.”At that point Hariri interrupted Gemayel, insisting that “this is not what the government is doing.”“Do not interrupt me, let me finish my remarks,” Gemayel responded. The exchange prompted Hariri to leave the parliament hall but he eventually returned after Gemayel finished his statement. Speaker Nabih Berri later asked that Gemayel's remarks be omitted from the session's minutes of meeting, prompting the young lawmaker to say, “You can delete this phrase but no one can prevent us from saying what we want to say.” The electoral law was later approved by parliament amid the objections of the Kataeb Party, MP Butros Harb, MP Assem Qansou and other lawmakers.

Aoun disappointed with missing women's quota in new vote law
The Daily Star/June 16, 2017/BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun Friday expressed disappointment that the new vote law didn't include a women's quota, urging more females to run for Parliament. “The [lack of women’s quota] can be compensated through increased women’s candidacy to Parliamentary elections,” Aoun was quoted as saying to visitors at the Baabda Palace in a statement carried by his media office. The vote law sparked the ire of a number of MPs and NGOs, notably the National Commission for Lebanese Women over the long-promised quota.“The Constitution does not discriminate between women and men when presenting [applications] for candidacy,” Aoun said, hoping “the parties would include women candidates on their lists.”Parliament is expected Friday afternoon to ratify with an overwhelming majority the new draft proportional vote law passed by the Cabinet two days earlier. “The endorsement of a new electoral law on the basis of proportionality for the first time since the establishment of the Lebanese state will create a pivotal change in Lebanon’s political life,” Aoun said. The key elements of the vote law deal were agreed on by Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri at Baabda Palace on June 1. “It will produce a political class that is capable of achieving the desired change and reform in the various institutions, particularly, as regards the gradual reduction of corruption,” Aoun added. It replaces the disputed 1960 sectarian-based winner-take-all electoral system that divides Lebanon into small- and medium-sized constituencies used in the last elections in 2009. Aoun expressed satisfaction with the law praising proportionality as “it allows extensive representation opposite to the majoritarian law.”In addition to dividing Lebanon into 15 electoral districts based on a proportional voting system, the agreement states that the preferential vote will be based on the district rather than the governorate as had been demanded by some parties, notably the Free Patriotic Movement and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. Aoun also said that “requiring [the use of] a magnetic vote card ... curbs forgery, exploitation or pressuring of voters.” Many blasted the proposed magnetic card as a pretext for justifying the nearly-one-year extension of the Parliament term till May 2018. Anticipating that the endorsement of the electoral law will open room for further follow up on the pending legislative work at Parliament, Aoun said, “the process of development and growth will be driven through an economic agenda that boosts the various productive sectors.” The vote law came mere days before Parliament’s term expires on June 20, thus sparing the country the dire consequences of a parliamentary vacuum. “The current security stability in the country will help to accomplish further progress,” Aoun concluded.

Report: Bkirki Says Proportionality Doesn't Serve Christians in Long Run
Naharnet/June 16/17/Church sources said on Friday that a proportional representation electoral system may not be appropriate for the Christians in the long run, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.
“In the long run, proportionality may not be appropriate for the Christians especially in mixed areas where the number of Muslim voters is growing faster than the number of Christian voters,” unnamed Church sources told the daily. However, they confirmed: “The 15-electoral district format on the basis of proportionality is good for the current circumstances and ensures fair representation. Most importantly is that it garnered the approval of all parties.” The sources called the Christians for a massive turnout, they said: “The argument they used before that their votes have no value has fallen. The new law gives a real value to each vote. The Christians in Lebanon must not abandon their electoral duty and then complain later that they are missing from the political game.”Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi is expected to make a stance as for the newly approved vote law approved on Wednesday by the cabinet.
Parliament is scheduled to vote on the law on Friday.

Report: Vote Law Takes Final Step After Parliament Vote Friday
The parliament will convene on Friday to vote on the newly approved electoral law amid reports claiming that the parliament's term will be extended for 12 months instead of 11, al-Joumhouria daily reported. Reports circulated a day earlier claimed that the parliament's term will be extended for one year, although it has been announced that the polls will be staged on May 6, 2018, said the daily. Lawmakers are to deliver their remarks during the legislative session which will take place at 2:00 pm. All deputies are aware that there is no possibility of any structural change in the law, which was the result of hard work, and that it will be published immediately after ratification before the end of the extended parliamentary mandate next Monday, it added. The interior ministry will begin preparations for the polls, mainly the electronic card to be used by voters to cast their ballots which needs according to Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq a seven-months time frame. Starting next week, the parliament's attention will turn to study and approve the State's annual budget along with next year's draft budget law, which the related authorities at the finance ministry have already begun preparing. The government announced a new election law after a cabinet session Wednesday, ending months of tense discussions and paving the way for the first parliamentary elections in nine years. The deal comes after a stalemate that has seen the country's parliament extend its term twice since the last elections in 2009. Under the agreement, the current parliament's term will be extended once again, but this time for just 11 months to prepare for elections under the new rules in May 2018. Parliament is scheduled to vote on the law on Friday. The new law replaces the existing 1960 majoritarian voting system with proportional representation and reduces the number of electoral districts. It comes after years of wrangling during which key political parties rejected various proposals for fear of losing parliamentary seats.

Health Ministry Confiscates 2600 Boxes of Smuggled Medicines in North Clinic
Naharnet/June 16/17/Police on Friday confiscated hundreds of smuggled medicinal products and sealed with red wax a specialized clinic center in the northern region of Bhannine, LBCI reported on Friday.
A team from the Health Ministry raided the center that was illegally run by a non-Lebanese doctor.
They confiscated 600 smuggled medications made in Syria. The amount seized was more than 2700 boxes. The Health Ministry team had requested assistance from the State Security agents.
The center was sealed with red wax.

Mashnouq: Berri, Hariri Support Reactivating Death Penalty, Aoun Mulling Issue
Naharnet/June 16/17/Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri support the reactivation of the death penalty law and President Michel Aoun has promised to mull the issue, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq announced on Thursday. The minister voiced his remarks during a meeting at the ministry with families of victims of “intentional homicide.” Mashnouq called on the families to “raise their voice high to mobilize the Lebanese society to press for fulfilling justice and stand in the face of external and international pressures aimed at preventing the reactivation of the capital punishment law.”
And expressing his sympathy with the relatives, the minister promised them that he will follow up on the issue until the end. “My efforts towards the reactivation of the death penalty law stem from my keenness on protecting the rest of the youths” from murders, Mashnouq noted, citing the recent killing of 24-year-old man Roy Hamoush that has shocked the Lebanese society. The minister also pointed out that there is a study that revealed that “intentional homicides stopped completely for several months after executions were carried out during the tenure of president Elias Hrawi, martyr premier Rafik Hariri and justice minister Bahij Tabbara.”Human Rights Watch had on Monday urged Lebanon to respect its moratorium on the death penalty after the latest calls for its reinstatement. Capital punishment is legal in Lebanon, but there has been an effective moratorium in place since 2004, without any executions carried out despite judgments to that effect. "Ending its moratorium on executions would only serve to tarnish Lebanon's human rights record," HRW said in a statement. Roy Hamoush's recent murder was the latest in a growing number of people killed on the street or in broad daylight in Lebanon, often for minor reasons.
"Once again, political pressure is growing for Lebanon to resume executions," said Human Rights Watch.
"A resumption of executions would constitute a troubling setback for Lebanon, without making the country safer or deterring crime," the London-based watchdog said. Instead of resuming executions, "parliament should solidify Lebanon's position as a leader on this issue in the Middle East, and abolish the death penalty outright," HRW urged.

Dr. Geagea: New election law is an achievement
Fri 16 Jun 2017/NNA - Lebanese Forces' leader, Samir Geagea, on Friday congratulated the Lebanese on the endorsement of an election law to run the next legislative polls, stressing that the newly approved vote mode is an achievement."Reaching a new election law is an achievement amid the existing complications. The achievement lies within combining the contrasts and conflicting interests of the components of the entire Lebanese society," Geagea told a press conference held at Maarab following the Parliament's endorsement of the proportional law approved earlier by the government.
"The new election law is perfect because it was built upon the already existing pluralism in Lebanon," he said. "Reaching a new election law amid the complications of the Lebanese situation and the explosion of neighboring volcanoes was not easy," he explained. "A new election law could not be reached had it not been for the clear and firm stance of President Michel Aoun, as well as for the positivity of the Prime Minister," he added.
"Also, we could not reach a law if it weren't for the clear political decision of the majority of the political parties, and for the clear strategy set by the Lebanese Forces and the action of MP George Adwan," he continued. "The new law is the product of the cooperation, whether directly or indirectly, between all the parties. And we hope that this cooperation would carry on," he said. "The goal is to improve representation, regardless of the law," he underlined. A new electoral law based on proportional representation and 15 districts was approved by lawmakers today. The government had approved the new electoral law during a Cabinet session Wednesday, ending months of talks and paving the way for the first legislative polls in nine years.

Salam: Abolition of political confessionalism is our ultimate aspiration
Fri 16 Jun 2017/NNA - Former Prime Minister Tammam Salam on Friday said that the abolition of political confessionalism remains his ultimate aspiration. The former PM's words came in the wake of the Parliament's session to discuss and endorse the new vote law, based on proportional representation and 15 districts. "As long as we lack a law that eliminates political confessionalism, we will always face problems," Salam said.

Adwan hails new election law as great achievement
Fri 16 Jun 2017/NNA - Member of Parliament George Adwan felicitated the Lebanese people on the endorsement of the new vote law, describing the realization of such a law as "great achievement."
"Fear of vacuum has ended," MP Adwan said on Friday in the wake of the Parliament's session to discuss and endorse the new vote law, based on proportional representation and 15 districts.

ISG for Lebanon welcomes agreement on new electoral framework
Fri 16 Jun 2017/NNA - The members of the International Support Group (ISG) for Lebanon welcome today's agreement of a new electoral framework, the group said in a statement on Friday.
"The ISG sees this as a further step towards the reactivation of Lebanon's institutions of state and the normalisation of Lebanese political life, which will in turn be conducive to addressing pressing concerns of Lebanon's citizens, and to enhanced cooperation with the international community," the statement read.
"In the spirit of continued political progress, members of the ISG stress that the timely conduct of peaceful and transparent parliamentary elections, in accordance with the Constitution, and reflecting the country's democratic traditions, will be important to sustain progress achieved to date. It is also important that technical delays are dealt with effectively so as to allow for the prompt organization of elections. In this regard, ISG members are willing to provide Lebanon with relevant technical assistance," it said.
"The ISG also notes the importance of achieving the meaningful participation of women candidates in the electoral process, as also foreseen in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015, with a view to increasing women representation in the decision-making bodies of Lebanese institutions," it concluded.

MP Hout: New election law divides Beirut
Fri 16 Jun 2017/NNA - Jamaa Islamiya lawmaker Imad Hout on Friday considered that the new election law was sectarian and that it would divide Beirut. "This election law brings us back to the days of barricades between West and East Beirut; it is a sectarian law," he said in his intervention during a Parliament session to endorse the new election law approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday.

MP Murr expects outstanding victory under any law
Fri 16 Jun 2017/NNA - MP Michel Murr on Friday confirmed that he would score an outstanding victory in the next legislative polls, regardless of the adopted vote format. "I shall win by one and a half times more than anybody else," he told reporters at the Parliament. "We welcome any [election] law," he stressed.

Kanaan: Extension was inevitable
Fri 16 Jun 2017/NNA - Secretary of the Change and Reform bloc, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, on Friday said that the extension of the Parliament's term could not be avoided. Speaking from the Parliament, Kanaan said that at least a new election law was endorsed. "Extension was inevitable; but at least there is an election law," he said.

Britain still looking for missing Lebanese: Shorter tells Aoun
Daily Star/June 16, 2017/BEIRUT: British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter Friday briefed President Michel Aoun on the ongoing search to find the missing Lebanese family from the devastating London tower block fire. Aoun asked Shorter to provide the Lebanese government with any information on the Choucair family that lived on the 22nd floor of the west London tower block. The meeting was held at the Baabda Palace. "The rescue team has been searching for the missing Lebanese among the residents of the burnt tower block in London," Shorter told Aoun. The Choucair family consists of six members. Lebanese Ambassador to the U.K. Inaam Osseiran told The Daily Star Thursday that so far the embassy is only aware of the six Lebanese nationals missing since the fire at the 24-story Grenfell Tower in west London. The embassy also confirmed the identities of the missing, adding that Bassem and Nadia were from Baalbeck’s Nahleh in east Lebanon. “We provided them [British authorities] with all we have, but we haven’t received any information yet.” The rescue team has been searching for missing people for several days, since the fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy admitted Thursday that it's possible that "we may not be able to identify everybody". 17 have been killed so far, but there are concerns that the death toll could exceed 60. This is in addition to another 74 injured, 37 of whom are hospitalized, and 17 of whom are still in critical condition.

No Oil or Gas extraction As long As Hezbollah Occupies Lebanon/لا استخراج للغاز والنفط ما دام حزب الله يحتل لبنان
François Bainy/Face Book/June 16/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=56287
We learned from reliable sources that both international and Arabic prime anti terror Agencies, as well as many countries won’t keep a blind eye and remain idle in regards to Hezbollah’s Iranian vicious schemes focusing on controlling Lebanon’s oil and gas extraction.
These hideous schemes’ main aim is to finance Hezbollah’s terrorist activities and numerous wars from the money the Lebanese oil and gas future sources will provide, as a replicate to what ISIS did and still doing in both Syria and Iraq.
The same reliable sources, as well as numerous intelligence creditable reports published recently in reputable Arabic and Western media facilities, has greatly exposed these Iranian-Hezbollah plans that are fully adopted by Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, who was appointed in his post by Iran and its Lebanese mercenaries.In this context, it is well known to many Lebanese current ministers and MP’s that Hezbollah’s General Secretary, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah has reached a secretive oil-gas deal with President Micheal Aoun, House Speaker, Nabih Berri and PM, Saad Al Hariri, to swiftly pass in the Lebanese current Parliament all the Acts and regulations that secure the save implementation of the Hezbollah-Iran’s oil-gas schemes.
In this same realm it is strongly believed in Lebanon that the term of the current Lebanese Parliament was extended two days ago for more 11 months in a bid that all the required acts, regulations and laws governing the Extraction of oil and gas are passed.
It is worth mentioning that the term-mandate of the Lebanese Parliament has been extended three times to serve Hezbollah’s Iranian terrorist agenda.
In reality and actuality this parliament has turned to be a mere anti Lebanese and anti Arab Hezbollah tool, no more no less.
Hezbollah, the terrorist Iranian armed proxy that occupies Lebanon and controls its institution has assigned the gas-oil schemes’ implementation to Lebanon’s FM, Gobran Bassil, (President Aoun’s son-in-law), and to Pro Aouni Ministers, Cesar Abi Khalil, (Minister of Water and Electrical Resourses), Justice Minister, Salim Jraisati, as well as to the Pro Berri Finance Minster, Al Hassan Khalil.. Many other politicians, Lebanese Diaspora Millionaires and Commercial companies are also involved in this Iranian scheme.
Observers believe that President Aoun and his Son in-law are trying to hasten and facilitate the oil-gas implementation plan by all ways and means locally and regionally, and in this context came the Cyprus president’s recent official visit to Lebanon during which oil-gas extraction topped its agenda.
Meanwhile, studies carried by the Norwegian PGS Company between 2007 and 2008 that covered 21,500 km showed a very rich existence of gas and oil in the northern, central and southern Lebanese regions.
Oil-gas future save extraction needs an end to an going dispute between Lebanon and Israel over a region of 850 square kilometres. This requirement will not be a reality as long as Hezbollah remains a threat to peace and stability in the region.
Hezbollah is counting on President Aoun, and on his political party, the FPM, to be a facade for its oil-gas scheme…
In summary, Arab countries, UN, USA, many European countries, and top notch anti terror intelligence regional and international agencies are fully aware of Hezbollah’s oil-gas Lebanese schemes, as well as of Aoun’s mercenary role.
In conclusion and according to all of the above shocking facts, the gas-oil extraction will not take place in Lebanon as long as the terrorist Iranian proxy, Hezbollah remains occupying the country and using its rulers and officials as mere robots and Trojans.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 16-17/17
Jubeir: Whole world wants Qatar to stop its support for terrorism
Reuters, London Friday, 16 June 2017/Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Friday that a list of grievances involving Qatar was being drawn up and would be made public soon. The minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said Qatar should respond to demands to halt its support for “extremism and terrorism” which, he said, were being made by the whole world and not just Gulf states. Speaking to journalists in London, the minister said: “I would not call them demands. I would say it is a list of grievances that need to be addressed and that the Qataris need to fix. “We are working on those with our Bahraini, Emirati and Egyptian partners in order to compile this list and present it to the Qataris, and I think it will be done fairly soon,” he said.

British FM to discuss Qatar with Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini counterparts
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 16 June 2017/Three separate bilateral meetings will be held in London this evening between British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and his Saudi, UAE and Bahraini counterparts, reported Al Arabiya. The crisis with Qatar is believed to be the highlight of these meetings. Johnson issued a statement a few days ago urging Qatar to take the concerns of its neighbors seriously and to do more to end the backing of extremist groups. As regional and international efforts continue to try to contain the Qatari crisis, the British prime minister asked Doha authorities to make a greater effort to tackle terrorism in the region. The UAE foreign minister also stressed the importance of the fact that Qatar should take decisive action on counter-terrorism and stop the provocation and interference in neighboring countries’ affairs. The efforts and mediations to contain the crisis with Qatar and its neighbors still has no positive signs from Doha so far. The Arab, American and European counterparts have sent similar messages to Qatar, to counter terrorism and to calm fears related to its practices. The UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed recently met with his US counterpart Rex Tillerson in Washginton.The UAE foreign minister asked Doha to take decisive action to stop funding terrorist groups, refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of its neighboring countries and ending the hostile media platforms which incite and promote extremism. Washington denied that it had any intention to host a summit to discuss the crisis, dodging speculation that it may put its political and diplomatic pressure for a solution to Qatar’s crisis. In a telephone conversation with leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar, British Prime Minister Theresa May called for steps to ease tensions, engage wisely in dialogue and to restore the unity of the Gulf Cooperation Council as soon as possible calling on Qatar to do more to counter terrorism in the region.

Russia’s military says may have killed ISIS leader Baghdadi
Reuters, Moscow/Baghdad Friday, 16 June/2017/Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Friday it was checking information that a Russian air strike near the Syrian city of Raqqa may have killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in late May. The air strike was launched after the Russian forces in Syria received intelligence that a meeting of ISIS leaders was being planned, the ministry said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. “On May 28, after drones were used to confirm the information on the place and time of the meeting of IS leaders, between 00:35 and 00:45, Russian air forces launched a strike on the command point where the leaders were located,” the statement said. “According to the information which is now being checked via various channels, also present at the meeting was ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was eliminated as a result of the strike,” the ministry said. The US-led coalition fighting ISIS said it could not confirm the Russian report that Baghdadi may have been killed. The strike is believed to have killed several other senior leaders of the group, as well as around 30 field commanders and up to 300 of their personal guards, the Russian defense ministry statement said.
The ISIS leaders had gathered at the command center, in a southern suburb of Raqqa, to discuss possible routes for the militants' retreat from the city, the statement said. The United States was informed in advance about the place and time of the strike, the Russian military said.
ISIS fighters are close to defeat in the twin capitals of the group's territory, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria. Russian forces support the Syrian government which is fighting against ISIS mainly from the west, while a US-led coalition supports Iraqi government forces fighting against ISIS from the east.
Born Ibrahim al-Samarrai, Baghdadi is a 46-year-old Iraqi who broke away from al Qaeda in 2013, two years after the capture and killing of the group’s leader Osama bin Laden. Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, cast doubt on the report Baghdadi may have been killed. He said that according to his information, Baghdadi was located in another part of Syria at the end of May. “The information is that as of the end of last month Baghdadi was in Deir al-Zor, in the area between Deir al-Zor and Iraq, in Syrian territory,” he said by phone. Questioning what Baghdadi would have been doing in that location, he said: “Is it reasonable that Baghdadi would put himself between a rock and a hard place of the (US-led) coalition and Russia?”

Man 'With Knife' Arrested Outside UK Parliament
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 16/17/London police on Friday arrested a man at the fence surrounding the British parliament on suspicion of carrying a knife, which comes nearly three months after an Islamist terror attack in the same area. The man was detained at 11:10 am (1010 GMT) by the Palace of Westminster in central London, police said in a statement. "The man -- aged in his 30s -- was arrested on suspicion of possession of a knife. There are no reports of any injuries," the brief statement said. A bearded man, wearing black trousers and a grey sweatshirt, could be seen being held against the fence with his arms behind his back by a police officer. A parliamentary spokesman said: "We are aware of an incident outside the Palace of Westminster, which is being dealt with by the Metropolitan Police." On March 22, knifeman Khalid Masood drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four, and fatally stabbed a policeman guarding the gates of parliament before being shot dead by armed officers. On April 27, a man was arrested across the street from parliament. Police said knives were recovered from him. Khalid Mohammed Omar Ali, 27, of north London, was charged with the intention of committing acts of terrorism engaged in conduct in preparation for giving effect to that intention. He was also charged with two counts relating to explosive substances in Afghanistan in 2012. Friday's arrest comes on the first anniversary of the murder of MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed to death in her constituency by a man with links to neo-Nazi organisations. More than 110,000 events were to take place around Britain between Friday and Sunday for "The Great Get Together" in honour of Cox, celebrating her belief that "we have far more in common than that which divides us".

U.N. Says 100,000 Civilians Held by IS in Mosul as 'Human Shields'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 16/17/The U.N. said Friday that Islamic State group jihadists may be holding more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians as human shields in the Old City of Mosul. Iraqi forces are fighting to retake Mosul from IS, after the jihadist group overran the city in 2014, imposing its brutal rule on its inhabitants. The U.N. refugee agency's representative in Iraq Bruno Geddo said IS had been capturing civilians in battles outside of Mosul and had been forcing them into the Old City, one of the last parts of the city in their grip."More than 100,000 civilians may still be held in the Old City," Geddo told reporters in Geneva. "We know that ISIS moved them with them as they left… locations where the fighting was going on," he said, using another acronym for IS, which is also known as Daesh or ISIL. "These civilians are basically held as human shields in the Old City." With virtually no food, water or electricity left in the area, the civilians are "living in an increasingly worsening situation of penury and panic," he said. "They are surrounded by fighting on every side." Snipers meanwhile try to kill anyone trying to leave the area under jihadist control, he said, adding that the few who manage to escape are "deeply traumatized."
Since the battle to retake Mosul began nine months ago, an estimated 862,000 people have been displaced from the city, although 195,000 have since returned, mainly to the liberated east of the city. That means 667,000 people remain displaced, nearly all of them from western Mosul, and are living in 13 camps set up by UNHCR or with host families. Geddo said the U.N. agency so far had provided assistance to more than 500,000 of the displaced people, and was also attempting to help those returning to Mosul, often to live in bombed-out buildings. "Many of these people are returning … to situations of penury," he warned.

International Community Supports Gulf Solution to ‘Qatari Role’ Crisis
Heba El-Koudsy, Michel Abu Najem and Saeed Abdelrazek/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Washington, Paris, Ankara- World leaders on Thursday stressed the need to adopt a “Gulf solution” to the crisis of the “Qatari role” in the region. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson affirmed during a phone call with Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah on the importance of supporting the efforts of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber al-Sabah and his good offices to contain the Qatari crisis. A statement issued by the Omani Foreign Minister said the Sultanate looks forward that all parties would substantiate such efforts. “The Foreign Minister affirmed that the US role is important and there is a need to find solutions to settle such differences,” the statement added. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May urged Qatar to do more in facing extremism and terrorism. In this regard, May also stressed the need to take steps to de-escalate tension that led major powers and Arab countries to cut ties with Doha. In Paris, French sources confirmed that the authorities supported a Kuwaiti mediation based on the principle that “Gulf States are able to solve their own problems.”The sources noted that this message was reiterated by French officials to all parties. In Kuwait, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country was ready to play a mediation role to resolve the diplomatic row in the Gulf. “Turkey stands at the same distance from Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” the foreign minister said, one day after he visited Qatar. Also, Cavusoglu said he was going to visit the Saudi Kingdom on Friday, and share Turkey’s “sincere views” on the crisis. “Turkey is working to avoid an escalation of the Qatari crisis,” he said.

UAE Envoy in Indonesia Reviews Qatar Crisis
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Dubai- United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said that the intricacies in which the Qatar crisis is woven calls for a direct change in foreign policy. Doha’s record, outstandingly negative, presses that the peninsula deals with the core issue and not disputes lining the crisis’ periphery. The crisis between Qatar and the Arab bloc boycotting it is not a media duel, Gargash said in a tweet. “How do you lose a neighbor and believe that safety and support lies with extremists and the terrorists?” he added. On the other hand, the UAE sent a special envoy to meet with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in Jakarta on Tuesday. During the visit, envoy Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Oweis reviewed his government’s views on the Qatar diplomatic crisis in the Gulf and discussed possible solutions. On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the peninsula of financing extremists and terror-linked networks. Oweis noted that measures taken are within the realm of the boycotting countries’ sovereign right, and aim to push the Qatari government to alter course in undermining regional security and stability.
He stressed that the solution that the UAE awaits is undisputedly political and is built on Qatar committing to de-funding extremism and terrorism. At least 59 individuals and 12 entities have been designated as terrorists by the list. The UAE minister and the Indonesian minister also reviewed the list of Qatar-linked groups and individuals recently blacklisted by each of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. Towards the end of the meeting, Oweis thanked the Indonesian government for its understanding, cooperation and recognition that extremism and terrorism threaten everyone.

UAE Approves US Diplomatic Mediation for a Regional Solution
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Abu Dhabi – The United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also the country’s International Cooperation minister, approved on Wednesday the proposition on stabilizing the country put forth with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The proposition also addresses the means to tackle US-UAE common interest and US mediation for a diplomatic solution tackling all regional turmoil. Shaikh Abdullah thanked Secretary Tillerson for taking the lead to engage and strengthen America’s relationship with its key regional partners and for his assertive approach against extremism and aggression. The top UAE diplomat also briefed Tillerson on diplomatic and economic measures taken by UAE and a bloc of other nations against Qatar for incessant support it provides to extremist individuals and groups. They also discussed the media factor Doha played in promoting radical agendas. More so, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed reaffirmed UAE’s vital role as a model of regional stability, progress and openness in the Middle East. In addition, he and Secretary Tillerson discussed a positive agenda for the region’s future, which includes greater opportunities for young people, more emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship, and advancing the position of women in all areas. Earlier in the day, Shaikh Abdullah met with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The Foreign Minister and Secretary discussed joint efforts to shut down terror finance networks and the UAE’s recent blacklisting of 59 individuals and 12 groups for funding terrorism. The two senior officials noted the importance of maintaining an open investment environment that has contributed to the US in $19 billion trade surplus with the UAE in 2016, the third-largest US investor globally. Supporting hundreds of thousands of American jobs, the UAE remains the US’ largest export market in the Middle East and North Africa region, a position it has held for eight consecutive years. Shaikh Abdullah also conducted meetings with National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Deputy National Security Advisor Dina Powell. The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation to enhance regional security. He also briefed the senior officials on the steps the UAE and other nations were taking to address and confront Qatar’s support for extremism in the region. They also discussed ongoing joint operations and planning to defeat al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Al Shabab, ISIS and other extremist groups in the region. During his visit, Shaikh Abdullah also met with senior congressional leaders. The meetings held mark the beginning of Shaikh Abdullah’s two-day visit to Washington, DC, which will also involve discussions with other senior officials. Accompanying Shaikh Abdullah in the meetings was Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the US.

Paris Backs Kuwaiti Mediation to Resolve Qatar Crisis
Michel Abu Najm/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Paris- French President Emmanuel Macron seems interested in playing an active political and diplomatic role in the international scene, including the Middle East and the Arab world, a month after reaching the Elysee palace. According to high-ranking diplomats, Macron wants France to have its say in the Syrian conflict, the war on terrorism, the crisis in the Gulf and the Libyan file. Regarding the war in Syria, Macron wants his country to launch a new political and diplomatic initiative that is in the making. As for the war on terror, Paris is closely involved in the Raqqa battle as it sees that French or former resident “extremists” are there and the mission of French special forces is to prevent them from returning to France and carrying out terrorist attacks. On the Libyan file, Macron has assigned French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to communicate with influential regional parties who could affect warring sides in Libya. So the minister recently visited Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria. The French FM also contacted involved Gulf parties and is expected to visit Moscow on June 20. The Gulf file remains the most delicate and it has a different nature. Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Macron is dedicated to containing the Qatari crisis. France abstained from saying that it is carrying out a mediation between Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt from one side and Qatar from the other, but it stressed that it backs the Kuwaiti mediation based on the principle that “the Gulf is capable of resolving its issues.” Paris believes that the Middle East has its shares of wars and crises and doesn’t need a new crisis. It also believes in containing conflicts, maintaining stability and consolidating the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a move that is highly important for the war on terrorism.

Ankara: We Stand at Equal Lengths from Gulf Row Poles
Said Abdul Razzak/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Ankara- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that his country is willing to deploy armed troops to Qatar amid rising tensions in the Gulf diplomatic row. A bloc of three Gulf states joined by Egypt have led a boycott against the gas-rich peninsula in a joint effort to curb its funding of extremists and terror organizations. Speaking upon his arrival to Kuwait, after having visited Doha, Cavusoglu said that Turkey regards both Saudi Arabia as equally valuable allies. He also reiterated Turkey’s “deep sadness” over the incident. Cavusoglu discussed with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah “regional and international developments,” the official KUNA news agency said.Turkey is ready to be a mediator to resolve the diplomatic row in the Gulf region, Cavusoglu added. Cavusoglu told reporters in Kuwait one day after an official visit to Qatar’s capital, Doha, that Turkey preferred that the crisis be resolved through dialogue with all parties coming together, and that Turkey was ready to do its part as a mediator. “Although the kingdom is a party in this crisis, we know that King Salman is a party in resolving it,” the Turkish minister said. “We want to hear the views of Saudi Arabia regarding possible solutions and will share with them our views in a transparent way … We pay a great attention to our relations with them,” he said. The top diplomat’s remarks follow the polarizing statements made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who said that the sanctions imposed against Qatar are unjustified and a huge mistake, and stressing Turkey’s continued support given to Qataris. Cavusoglu later left for a tour to promote Turkey’s diplomatic and mediatory role, softening the strong language portrayed by Erdogan. For his part, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said that there are high chances of Erdogan soon visiting Qatar. A visit to Qatar may be made at any time, but its timing and conditions will be assessed in accordance with political developments, said Kurtulmuş .
He also praised the strong relations shared with Saudi Arabia, reassuring that they uphold a positive course.

UN: Over 100,000 Civilians behind ISIS Lines in Mosul’s Old City
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/The UN refugee agency said Friday that ISIS militants may be holding more than 100,000 civilians as human shields in the historic district of Mosul with a government offensive to recapture the northern Iraqi city entering its ninth month. The UN refugee agency’s representative in Iraq Bruno Geddo said ISIS had been capturing civilians in battles outside of Mosul and had been forcing them into the Old City, one of the last parts of the city in their grip “More than 100,000 civilians may still be held in the Old City,” Geddo told reporters in Geneva. “We know that ISIS moved them with them as they left… locations where the fighting was going on,” he said. “These civilians are basically held as human shields in the Old City.” Iraqi forces are fighting to retake Mosul from ISIS, after the terrorist organization overran the city in 2014. The offensive started on October 17 with key air and ground support from a US-led international coalition. “With virtually no food, water or electricity left in the area, the civilians are “living in an increasingly worsening situation of penury and panic,” Geddo said. “They are surrounded by fighting on every side,” he said, adding the Old City “is a very dense labyrinth, a maze of alleyways where fighting will have to be done on foot, house by house.” Snipers meanwhile try to kill anyone trying to leave the area under ISIS control, he said, adding that the few who manage to escape are “deeply traumatized.”Since October, an estimated 862,000 people, more than a third of the pre-war population of the Iraqi city, have been displaced from Mosul, although 195,000 have since returned, mainly to its liberated east. That means 667,000 people remain displaced, nearly all of them from western Mosul, and are living in 13 camps set up by UNHCR or with host families. Geddo said the UN agency so far had provided assistance to more than 500,000 of the displaced people, and was also attempting to help those returning to Mosul, often to live in bombed-out buildings. “Many of these people are returning … to situations of penury,” he warned.

Russia May Have Killed Baghdadi but US-Led Coalition Cannot Confirm it
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Russia’s Defense Ministry revealed on Friday it was checking information that a Russian air strike in Syria may have killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in late May although the US-led coalition battling the terrorist organization said it could not confirm his death.
The air strike was launched near the Syrian city of Raqqa after the Russian forces received intelligence that a meeting of ISIS leaders was being planned, the ministry said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.“On May 28, after drones were used to confirm the information on the place and time of the meeting of IS leaders, between 00:35 and 00:45, Russian air forces launched a strike on the command point where the leaders were located,” the statement said. “According to the information which is now being checked via various channels, also present at the meeting was ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was eliminated as a result of the strike,” the ministry said. But US Army Colonel Ryan S. Dillon, spokesman for the coalition’s Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria and Iraq, said: “We cannot confirm these reports at this time.”The strike is believed to have killed several other senior leaders of the group, as well as around 30 field commanders and up to 300 of their personal guards, the Russian defense ministry statement said. The leaders of the terrorist organization had gathered at the command center, in a southern suburb of Raqqa, to discuss possible routes for the militants’ retreat from the city, the statement said. It added that Washington was informed in advance about the place and time of the strike near the jihadists’ Syria stronghold, which is now under assault by US-backed fighters. ISIS militants are also close to defeat in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul. There had been previous reports of Baghdadi being killed but they did not turn out to be true. The ISIS leader last released an audio on Nov. 3, urging his followers to keep up the fight for Mosul as they defend the city against a major offensive that began weeks earlier. Informed Syrian sources said on Sunday that ISIS has limited Baghdadi’s role and sent a 12-member leadership council to the Syrian territories under the name of “negotiating committee” to practically lead the terrorist organization. “Lately, Baghdadi has only been ISIS’ image, while the actual leadership of the organization in Syria and Iraq is in the hands of a 12-member council that plans and orders everything related to the group,” the founder of the Euphrates Post, Ahmad al-Ramadan, told Asharq Al-Awsat. Ramadan denied reports that Baghdadi had been killed in an air strike in Syria, asserting that the leader of ISIS “initially lives in Iraq.”

Bahraini Jailed, Has Citizenship Revoked over ISIS-Linked Activity
Obaid Al-Suhaymi/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Manama- Bahrain’s prosecution convicted on Wednesday a Bahraini suspect of involvement with the terror group ISIS, revoking his citizenship and sentencing him to 10 years in jail. The convict was proven radicalized and having pledged to using force against the government, rabble-rousing and spreading chaos, threatening to disrupt social and civil peace. Bahraini prosecution condemned Yousef Albinali, cousin of ISIS self-proclaimed cleric Turki Albinali, of all plaintiffs pushed against him. Albinali’s legal representative, Abdullah Hashem, said he plans on pushing for a discrimination claim, and expects an appeal for the verdict against his client. Advocate General and Head of the Terror Crimes Prosecution, Ahmed Al-Hammadi, said that the First High Criminal Court had sentenced a suspect to 10 years in prison, revoked his citizenship and confiscated most of his possessions.
The Advocate General confirmed that the defendant was afforded full legal rights throughout the trial, adding he has the right to appeal the ruling, and may challenge the Court of Appeals’ verdict at the Court of Cassation as guaranteed by Bahraini law. The suspect stood trial over charges of joining a terrorist group, possessing a firearm illegally for terrorist purposes and disseminating false news, Al-Hammadi said. Case documents revealed that the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science had received reports indicating that a Takfiri (person who accuses others of apostasy) individual had joined, along with other persons, including convicts in other cases and unknown ones, the branch of the ISIS terrorist organization in Bahrain. The suspect was in charge of linking ISIS’ branch in Bahrain and its militants abroad, used social media networks to publish and exchange information about ISIS and its principles which are based on accusing Bahrain’s ruling system and its state institutions of apostasy and calling for their overthrow and the killing of those in charge of them. ISIS has sparked division among the sects of the Bahraini society in an attempt to subvert its national unity, using force or threatening to use it, which would cause harm to individuals, spread terror among them and pose a serious threat to their lives and safety for the sake of undermining public order and putting the security of Bahrain and the International Community at risk. The Public Prosecution leveled charges against the suspect based on testimonies from the witnesses and his confessions, as well as on technical reports. It referred the defendant to the High Criminal Court where he stood trial in the presence of his lawyer.

Shoukry, Kobler Agree on Need to Preserve Libya’s Sovereignty
Sawsan Abu-Husain/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Cairo– Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry and UN Special Envoy to Libya Martin Kobler have said that any solution to the current political crisis in Libya should emanate from national efforts in order to preserve the country’s sovereignty and independence. The two officials met in Cairo on Thursday to assess the situation in Libya, as reported by the Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson, Ahmed Abou Zeid. Shoukry underlined the need to reach solutions that would guarantee the entity of the Libyan state and preserve its institutions. He stressed in this regard the importance to abide by the Skhirat agreement as a basis to restoring stability in the African country and activating the role of national institutions. The foreign minister expressed Egypt’s keenness on promoting cooperation with the United Nations on the Libyan file. He reiterated that working with the UN on the Libya situation was important and beneficial. As Kobler’s successor is expected to be announced soon, diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Richard Wilcox, who served as an officer in the military intelligence, was likely to occupy the post. Abou Zeid said that Kobler praised Egypt’s leading role in the region and its efforts to resolve the deteriorating situation in Libya. He also valued the country’s endeavor to activate the political process to reach a peaceful solution to the Libyan crisis and to encourage dialogue between the different disputing factions. Kobler also said that his recent visit to Cairo would be his last as an international envoy, thanking the Egyptian foreign minister for his support during his mission. He expressed hope for further collaboration between the new UN envoy and the Egyptian government. Abou Zeid said talks during the meeting touched on latest developments in Libya on the security and political levels, as well as challenges facing peace negotiations.

UN Calls for Freeing up Aid to Syria ‘De-escalation’ Zones
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Geneva- The United Nations urged Russia, Iran and Turkey on Thursday to open up areas of Syria to the delivery of humanitarian aid in “de-escalation” zones whose parameters the three are meant to finalize. Jan Egeland, UN humanitarian adviser, said that UN technical experts were joining officials from Russia, Iran and Turkey in Moscow at preliminary talks that began on Thursday. A Western diplomat told Reuters the two-day talks are to focus on setting GPS coordinates for the de-escalation zones. The three countries brokered a deal in the Kazakh capital, Astana, in May to create four de-escalation zones in Syria. Russia said on Tuesday that the next round of negotiations in Astana was likely to be held in early July. Egeland, asked about his hopes for the Moscow meeting, told a news briefing: “That the de-escalation reaches a place like (the southern city of) Daraa, which is supposed to be a de-escalation zone but rather has been an area of increased fighting.”The United Nations had received an appeal from the Daraa provincial council describing “intensive bombardment of (rebel-held) Daraa city, including the use of barrel bombs”, he said. The Daraa region of southwestern Syria is split between rebel- and regime-controlled areas. Fighting has lessened in the northwestern Idlib region and in eastern Ghouta in the Damascus countryside, Egeland said, calling for using that window of opportunity to open up humanitarian access. He said he hoped that the zones, in which some 2.5 million people are expected to live supposedly safe from harm in Syria’s civil war, “will indeed become not only de-escalation zones but free humanitarian access zones”, as spelled out in the Astana memorandum. Russia, Iran and Turkey are trying “to agree on exact delineation of the zones,” Egeland said. “We have been invited to observe the (Moscow) meeting. We will certainly use any opportunity to tell them that we need free, unimpeded access and we certainly do not need a moren bureaucratic system. We need an end to this red tape system that is keeping (humanitarian aid) away from many populations.” Egeland said he expected UN aid convoys to arrive this week in hard-to-reach areas in Homs and Hama, and in besieged areas of eastern Ghouta at the weekend. It had been 40 days since the United Nations last reached any of the besieged areas where 680,000 people are trapped, which was Douma in May. The Syrian regime has given the United Nations permission to get aid to the Kurdish-dominated city of Qamishli by truck, the world body said on Wednesday. “We’re hopeful that we will able to reach that place very soon now, within hours, hopefully,” Egeland said.

Report Warns Against Sectarian Conflict in Syria in Wake of Displacement
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Beirut – A recent report issued by a Syrian rights center said that forced displacement and demographic changes in Syria were threatening the social fabric and the national identity, in light of attempts by international powers to implement their own agendas in the Middle Eastern country. The report noted that more than 15 million Syrians were forced to flee their homes due to war and live in dire humanitarian conditions whether in refugee camps within Syria or in other countries.The report entitled, “Displacement in Syria”, which was issued by the Syrian Center for Legal Studies, blamed the Syrian regime for conducting “organized and extensive forced displacement campaigns”, since the beginning of the anti-government protests in 2011. “This strategy had paved the way for the establishment of the principle of the guardianship of the Islamic jurist (Wilayat al-Faqih), which seeks to transform the revolution in Syria into a Sunni-Shi’ite conflict…and consolidate the Iranian influence,” the report stated. It added that the displacement strategy was a common interest between the Syrian regime and Iran, who had different goals and ambitions behind the Syrian war. “While Assad wants to strike the revolution and regain his full control over Syria, Iran is seeking to establish a demographic change that grants it strong presence and influence on the Syrian arena,” the report said. It also explained that the Syrian regime was implementing the forced displacement with the support of sectarian militias. “Communities, which were displaced, mostly belong to one religious confession,” it noted. The report went on to say that practices imposed by the Syrian regime on areas controlled by the opposition included “systematic murder, blockade and destruction of the infrastructure” – in addition to starving the population and looting residents’ properties.It noted that Iran wanted to establish a demographic change in some Syrian areas, either through military force or by way of “soft power”, by buying properties and real estate and launching projects and investments.

Putin Planning to ‘Bolster’ Syrian Regime Forces, Sees No Solution without US
Taha Abed alWahed/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Moscow – Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday that his country is planning to improve the abilities of the Syrian regime forces, which will allow Russian troops in the country to move to return to their bases there. He said during a live call-in show with citizens: “We aim to establish a political settlement process (in Syria) between all the sides involved. Our task for the near future is to increase the capability of the Syrian regime itself, by providing the possibility for it to act on its own effectively.”This will allow the Russian troops return to the bases that they had had established there in Hmeimim and Tartous, explained Putin. He added however that his country’s troops will be available to support the Syrian regime if needed. The Russian military has gained “priceless” experience in Syria, continued Putin. The campaign in Syria that Russia has conducted since September 2015 has allowed the military to test its state-of-the art weapons in real combat. Putin said that Moscow realizes that there are several errors in the structure of the Syrian regime and that it committed certain mistakes in building ties inside the country. Russia had held dialogue with Syrian regime head Bashar Assad before Moscow had kicked off its military campaign in 2015. It was evident during those talks, said Putin, that Assad “understands several of the problems.”He revealed that Assad was prepared to hold dialogue with the opposition, even the armed one. He was also ready to work with them to establish a new constitution for Syria. Furthermore, Putin stated that Assad was prepared to agree that the potential upcoming presidential elections could be overseen by international monitors. On international cooperation to resolve the Syrian conflict, Putin said that it was not easy to reach consensus over this issue, adding that direct dialogue “with the partner and the other grants us opportunities to achieve that.” He stressed that Russia is in great need of the help of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt to resolve the Syrian crisis. “Everyone realizes that the Syrian crisis and conflict in the Middle East cannot be resolved without joint effort,” he declared.

Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces Cross into Syria with Heavy Weapons
Youssef Diab/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Beirut, Moscow- Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) once again entered Syrian territories, a few hours after a regime military delegation visited Baghdad and following the US deployment of two rocket launchers in al-Tanf military camp at the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian border. El-Dorar al-Shamiya news network wrote on Thursday: “The Iraqi Popular Mobilization militia launched a fierce attack on ISIS areas at the border villages of southeastern Hasaka.” The news network said heavy and medium weapons were used in the fighting. “The shelling hit a commercial market in the village of Tal al-Jariah,” El-Dorar said. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the PMF has been present at the border for the past several months. But, the Observatory said that these forces have not yet received from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi the green light to infiltrate Syria, except when the PMF entered two villages for a couple of hours before pulling back. “The PMF deliberately attacks ISIS areas south of al-Hasaka and at the northeastern border of Deir Ezzor, trying to advance towards the northeast of al-Tanf to meet with Hezbollah and al-Nujaba militias coming from the Homs desert,” the Observatory said. It added that for the first time in several weeks, regime warplanes pounded on Thursday the neighborhood of Jawbar al-Dimashqui, the last opposition bastion east of the capital. President of al-Rutbah district Imad al-Dalimi announced that “sections from the Iraqi border guards and al-Hashd al-Ashaeri arrived during the last 24 hours to the outskirts of al-Waleed border gate with Syria.”Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that his country plans to boost the capacities of the Syrian regime forces, which would allow Russian forces to relocate to their bases inside the country. The president also said the Russian army received “priceless” experiences from participating in the military operations in Syria.

Egypt Forms a Committee to Manage Funds of 1,553 Muslim Brotherhood Members
Waleed Abdul Rahman/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 16/17/Cairo – The Cairo Criminal Court decided Wednesday to form a committee headed by the Ministry of Justice, Ministries of Interior, Finance, Social Solidarity and Local Development, Central Bank and the National Security Apparatus to hand over and manage all assets and properties of 1,553 accused in the well-known case of financing terrorist entities. Among the huge number of convicts, the most notable are former Egyptian football player Mohammed Aboutrika, Deputy Leader of the Brotherhood Khairat al-Shater, Leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Mahmoud Ezzat and Brotherhood Businessman Safwan Thabet. Aboutrika, who remained for many years one of the most prominent African football stars before his retirement in 2013, announced his support for former pro-Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi during the latter’s campaign in 2012 before he was ousted from power in July 2013. The Egyptian authorities have already listed 1,553 individuals on their terror lists. The official gazette has published the decision after accusing them of financing the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group, aiming at carrying out acts of terrorism and damaging the economy of the country. In its ruling, the court said that its decision to manage the funds of those listed on the terror lists for their crimes of financing the purchase of weapons, training the members of the Muslim Brotherhood militarily and preparing them physically to carry out terrorist operations against members of the armed forces and police, spreading false news and rumors about the Egyptian economy, monopolizing the companies and institutions holding the goods in order to harm the national economy, collecting foreign currency from the markets and smuggling the remaining Brotherhood’s hard currencies abroad through the exchange companies affiliated with the group. The ruling added, according to the official gazette, that investigations and supporting documents proved that the Muslim Brotherhood is considered one of the terrorist entities that was established for the aim of calling for the disruption of the constitution and laws and the prevention of state institutions and public authorities from carrying out their work and the attacks on personal freedom and citizens to change the regime by force. The court said that it found out that the Brotherhood had been funded by a number of economic entities, businessmen and some of its supporters, to carry out acts of violence against state institutions as leaders of the Guidance Office formed a financial committee headed by the deputy leader of the group Khairat al-Shater (imprisoned), and included a number of leaders, most notably Leader Mahmoud Ezzat (fugitive), Mohammed Abdulrahman al-Morsi and Mahmoud Hussein, one of the Brotherhood leaders who put a plan based on forming many economic and financial entities inside and outside the country to finance all activities of the terrorist group.

Heavy rains kill 14 in Niger, 11 in Ivory Coast
Fri 16 Jun 2017/NNA - At least 14 people, mostly children, have died in Niger and 11 in Ivory Coast after heavy rains this week triggered landslides and caused homes to collapse, UN and local officials said Friday. The UN's humanitarian affairs office OCHA said 14 people had died when houses collapsed in Niger's capital Niamey with another four missing. Nine children were reported dead there earlier this week. In Ivory Coast's economic capital, Abidjan, the toll from the rains climbed from eight to 11 on Friday, with one person unaccounted for and hundreds affected by landslides and flooding, rescue workers said. "If the rain continues, we're going to have a lot to do," said Vital Oulai who runs the military firefighting unit. West Africa's rainy season, which lasts three to four months, regularly causes fatalities and damage across Abidjan's hillside shack communities, with 16 people killed last year and 39 in 2014.
In Niger, this week's rain destroyed 350 homes, leaving 3,000 people homeless. Last year, 50 people died in flooding in the country. ---AFP

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 16-17/17
Israeli Commandos in extensive drill in Cyprus
Anna Ahronheim/Jerusalem Post/June 16/17
Senior IDF officer: "We went to Cyprus to learn how to fight on terrain that soldiers aren't familiar with."
IDF commando unit in Cyprus drill
Israeli commandos wrapped up a large scale exercise in Cyprus on Thursday, returning to Israel after an intensive three-day drill on the island nation.
The advanced drill involved close to 500 combat soldiers from the Egoz Special Forces unit as well as Super Hercules transport planes, 10 Black Hawk helicopters, and around 100 Cypriots.
“We went to Cyprus to learn how to fight on terrain that the soldiers are not familiar with,” a senior IDF officer told journalists on Thursday, adding that the two countries have “shared strategic interests.”
Israel and Cyprus have taken part in several military drills in recent months and Cyprus’s Defense Minister Christoforos Fokaides on Tuesday stated that the drill with Israel was “aimed at enhanced defense cooperation which enables joint training and exercises to take place.”
The commandos trained on high altitude terrain of between 1,350 and 2,000 meters, and also practiced urban combat in abandoned and semi-abandoned Cypriot villages, as well as underground inside tunnels.
“The world of warfare is now one of urban and underground combat. The enemy, be it Hezbollah Hamas or Daesh (Islamic State), now fights differently and we must be properly prepared to fight them,” the senior officer said.
Described by him as the first of its kind and one of the largest exercises by the commandos held on foreign territory, it required the transport of a large amount of equipment using the Super Hercules planes which took off from Nevatim air base.
A senior Air Force officer who took part in the drill said that the ability to take a significant amount of troops and equipment abroad was challenging as “a flight of an hour and a half over the ocean in a helicopter is no small challenge,” he said.
The drill also worked on the cooperation between the IAF and the commandos in unfamiliar terrain, including transporting soldiers at low-altitude both during the day and at night.
According to the senior officer, any small miscalculation of the drill could turn into a security issue as it was held on foreign soil and therefore the locations where the drill was held were chosen where there were the least amount of civilians present.
The exercise was nonetheless criticized by many on Cyprus, including opposition party AKEL (The Progressive Party of Working People), which said that it was a “dangerous development” which risked sending the wrong message to the Arab world.
Israeli commandos during a large scale drill in Cyprus, June 2017 (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)Israeli commandos during a large scale drill in Cyprus, June 2017 (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
“AKEL expresses its opposition to this exercise, which not only does not serve the interests of our country, but involves us in dangerous war plans along with an army that has been an occupying power for 50 years in the Palestinian territories,” Cyprus Mail quoted the party as saying.
“Any form of militarization of the cooperation of the Republic of Cyprus with Israel is also dangerous for Cyprus and for peace in the region,” it added.
Rejecting those claims, the Cypriot Defense Ministry stated that the country was “upgrading its geopolitical role as a security contributor and a factor for stability in our wider region,” and that Nicosia was planning to hold joint exercises with Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan.
“The signed agreements strengthen and upgrade the Republic of Cyprus, and they do not turn us against anyone,” Cyprus Mail quoted the ministry as saying. “They serve the need for stability, security and peace in the eastern Mediterranean region, an area that we would like to see transformed from a region of tensions, conflicts and asymmetric threats such as terrorism into a region of stability, cooperation and development for all peoples of the region.”

Jordanian MP: Marrying Her Rapist Is In Rape Victim's Best Interest
MEMRI TV/June 16/17
Jordanian MP Mahmoud Al-Kharabshe said that "if there is a possibility to marry [the rape victim] off to the perpetrator of this crime, and if the continuity of this marriage can be guaranteed by law and by society, I think that this is in the best interest of both society and the victim, because Arab society is different than other societies." Speaking on the American Al-Hurra TV channel on April 5, Al-Kharabshe further said: "I do not think anyone else will marry her."
Mahmoud Al-Kharabshe: "The damage to a rape victim cannot be rectified. The psychological residue and the damage to her reputation and her honor will continue to haunt her in society.
"But if there is a possibility to marry her off to the perpetrator of this crime, and if the continuity of this marriage can be guaranteed by law and by society, I think that this is in the best interest of both society and the victim, because Arab society is different than other societies.
"Such a marriage cannot take place unless the woman consents to it. If she does not, the perpetrator will get the punishment he deserves. Therefore, we are different than other societies. We are Eastern societies, not European ones. The honor and reputation of the family and the woman still need to be maintained. When I say this, I am not saying that we only protect...
Interviewer: "Such statements are very degrading to women. Suggesting that a rape victim should be married off to the rapist is degrading."
Mahmoud Al-Kharabshe: "Sir, please... The law is the product of a certain social environment. We cannot implement the law of France or America in Jordan. There are social norms and customs. A law that does not follow these social norms and customs, and does not protect the woman as well as society as a whole, is bound to become a sword hanging over our necks. We want to protect society and women, not just the women.
"Secondly, if the woman consents to the marriage - what's the problem? Thirdly, the law guarantees that the marriage will last at least five years, and stipulates that if it is annulled or fails in less than five years, the attorney-general or the claimant can relaunch the (rape) case. Therefore, the law guarantees everybody's rights and protects the woman's honor.
"I support punishing the perpetrator. But when there is a possibility to keep the entire issue under wraps, thus avoiding the social consequences and the damage to honor and reputation, I believe that this is in the best interest of the woman and the family, especially if both the woman and the family consent. We do not want the perpetrator to escape punishment, but nor do we want this crime to spread this way. We want to protect society and the woman from this exposure, because this will continue to follow the rape victim wherever she goes. I do not think anyone else will marry her."

Former Iraqi MP: Iraq Ruled By Iran's Militias; ISIS Arab-Made; Trump Better Than 'Catastrophe' Obama
MEMRI TV/June 16/17
In a May 24 TV interview, former Iraqi MP Mithal Al-Alusi said that Iraq was ruled by Iran’s militias and that ISIS was "Arab-made," with "clear assistance from Mr. Erdoğan's Turkish government." He called to adhere to human rights in Iraq, asking: "Why must the prime minister be a Shiite man with a moustache?" Asked by the Baghdad TV interviewer about Trump, he said that he liked him "a million times more than Obama," who, he said was a "catastrophe" who sold Iraq out to Iran.
Mithal Al-Alusi: "We are not an Islamic state. Let everybody hear this. If it makes people angry, that's their problem. We are not an 'Arab' state either. Our country is called 'Iraq.' We existed before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad, and before the Arabs. Iraq is much greater and more ancient than all of this. This is my first point."
Interviewer: "Right."
Mithal Al-Alusi: My second point is that Iraq has a diversity of religions and origins.
"My third point, and the most important one, is that we adhere to human rights and women's rights, we will surpass Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iran, and all those regimes in which a person has no value.
"Why is it that only a Shiite can become a prime minister in Iraq? Is Iraq your private property, or what?! What if I want a Yazidi PM? What if I want a nice Christian woman, a competent one, as a prime minister? Why must the prime minister be a Shiite man with a moustache? I cannot accept this. Iraq cannot accept this."
Interviewer: "So what does Iraq want, in your opinion?"
Mithal Al-Alusi: "How come only a Sunni can be the parliamentary speaker? Isn't it time to throw away these delusions and lies?
"In Iraq today, we have no political state or regime."
Interviewer: "What do we have then?"
Mithal Al-Alusi: "It is ruled by gangs."
Interviewer: "Gangs?"
Mithal Al-Alusi: "Of course. A government that defends itself with tanks is not a government. Today, Baghdad is ruled by a militia. The PM, the Minister of Defense, the Interior Minister…"
Interviewer: "The militias rule Iraq today?"
Mithal Al-Alusi: "Of course."
Interviewer: "Whose militias?"
Mithal Al-Alusi: "Iran's. Who else?"
"The Arabs support ISIS. ISIS is Arab-made. It was not created by Iran, America, or Israel."
Interviewer: "This is a serious accusation."
Mithal Al-Alusi: "No, it’s the reality. It was the Arabs who helped the creation of ISIS, with clear assistance from Mr. Erdogan's Turkish government."
Interviewer: "Do you like Trump?"
Mithal Al-Alusi: "A million times more than Obama. Obama destroyed us. He sold us out to Iran. Obama gave some of the rulers in Baghdad carte blanche to do whatever they wanted. That's why Obama was a catastrophe."

No Tolerance for Extremism
Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/June 16/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10536/tolerance-extremism
At the moment, the bar for taking extremists out of circulation is set ridiculously high. People known for their own extremism that reaches pre-terrorist levels should not be walking the streets when they have expressed support for Islamic State (ISIS) or tried to head to Syria or called for the destruction of Britain and other democracies or allied themselves to people already in prison. Their demand for free speech or freedom of belief must never be elevated above the rights of citizens to live safely in their own towns and cities. It is essential for parliament to lower the bar.
Is this to be the political landscape for the future, where groups of people demanding death and destruction are given the freedom of the streets whilst those wishing to hold a peaceful celebration are prevented from doing so?
To see extremist Islam as a "perversion" of Islam misses an important point. The politically correct insistence that radical versions of Islam somehow pervert an essentially peaceful and tolerant faith forces policy-makers and legislators, church leaders, rabbis, interfaith workers and the public at large to leave to one side an important reality. Flatly, Islam in its original and classic forms has everything to do with today's radicals and the violence they commit. The Qur'an is explicit in its hatred for pagans, Jews and Christians. It calls for the fighting of holy war (jihad) to conquer the non-Muslim world, subdue it, and gradually bring it into the fold of Islam. Islam has been at war with Europe since the seventh century.
On the Sunday morning after the terrorist attacks in London the night of June 3, British Prime Minister Theresa May addressed the nation in a powerful speech. It deserves to be read in full, but several points stand out and call for a response.
We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are. Things need to change and they need to change in four important ways.
First, while the recent attacks are not connected by common networks, they are connected in one important sense. They are bound together by the single evil ideology of Islamist extremism that preaches hatred, sows division and promotes sectarianism.
It is an ideology that claims our Western values of freedom, democracy and human rights are incompatible with the religion of Islam.
Lower down, she enhances that by saying:
Second, we cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed. Yet that is precisely what the internet, and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide.
No one who has watched the endless stream of radical Muslim preachers who appear on YouTube or who post extremist, anti-Western, anti-democratic, or anti-Semitic opinions on Facebook would object to May's stricture. But given earlier attempts to rein in the providers of so many internet spaces in a demand for better scrutiny and the removal of radicalizing material from their sites, we must remain pessimistic about how far May or any other Western leader can bring effective pressure to bear. Without strong financial disincentives, these rulers of the internet will pay little heed to the concerns of the wider public and our security services.
Perhaps May's strongest statement comes some lines later:
While we have made significant progress in recent years, there is -- to be frank -- far too much tolerance of extremism in our country. So we need to become far more robust in identifying it and stamping it out across the public sector and across society. That will require some difficult, and often embarrassing, conversations.
Here, she puts her finger on the most sensitive yet compelling reason for our vulnerability. The democracies have been and still are weakened by the very things that in other contexts give us strength. May speaks rightly of our "pluralistic British values". But those values include freedom of speech, freedom of religion, open-mindedness, and tolerance -- things that are not held as desirable values in any Muslim country. Such values are key to our survival as free and tolerant people unrestricted by any overarching ideology. Yet May is right. Even toleration has its limits. While allowing Muslims to live in our societies with full freedom to live their lives according to the tenets of their faith is desirable expression of our openness and love for humanity, we have been tolerant of radical Islam and even traditionalist and conservative Islam where it leads into radicalization and an extremism that erupts in physical assaults, fatalities, and, as intended, widespread public fear.
For years, we have known the identities of radical Islamic preachers and extremist organizations, but we have allowed them to bring their hatred for us onto university and college campuses, into mosques and Islamic centres, and even onto our streets, where they set up stalls to speak and hand out literature. Scroll down here or here to find long lists of radical individuals and organizations, few of which have even been banned. Few terrorist suspects have ever been deported. In a Telegraph article from 2015, one reads:
Here is an astonishing figure to mull over. In the past 10 years, the UK has deported just 12 terrorism suspects from its shores under its Deportation with Assurances (DWA) scheme. In the same period, France deported more than 100 more. The British figures come from a review of the DWA programme that is unlikely to be published until after the general election. It suggests, as we have always suspected, that the UK remains a soft touch for foreign-born jihadists.
It took eight years, 15 court cases and a £25 million bill to keep the hate preacher and terrorist fighter Abu Hamza and his huge family in the UK before he was finally deported (to the United States) in 2012, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment. In that same year, Theresa May (then Home Secretary) was frustrated because another sinister figure, Abu Qatada, could not be deported to Jordan because the European Court of Human Rights had ruled against it for fear of his being tortured there. But in 2013, once Jordan agreed not to do so, he was sent there only to be tried and set free. Last year, he used Twitter to urge Muslims to leave the UK for fear of persecution and "bloodshed" -- a possible encouragement to would-be jihadis to head abroad. May spoke vehemently against the Strasbourg ruling:
It is simply isn't acceptable, that after guarantees from the Jordanians about his treatment, after British courts have found that he is dangerous, after his removal has been approved by the highest courts in our land, we still cannot deport dangerous foreign nationals.
The right place for a terrorist is a prison cell. The right place for a foreign terrorist is a foreign prison cell far away from Britain.
We constantly undermine ourselves by our need to be principled. This is an ongoing problem in politics. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's Labour Party, is frequently described as a man of principle, and in many ways that judgement seems fair. Certainly, he has stuck by his socialist principles even if they have led him to adopt positions not well aimed at creating security for Britain. He has supported the IRA; refused many times to condemn their terrorist attacks; has called Hamas and Hizbullah his "friends" and invited their representatives to the British parliament. If that were not enough, he has boasted of his opposition to every piece of anti-terrorist legislation parliament has tried to pass.
In a 2015 interview just shown by the tabloid newspaper The Sun, Corbyn spoke with the Bahrain-based LuaLua Television. Although The Sun is not a reliable source, the clip from the interview shows Corbyn speaking in English with an accurate Arabic translation in subtitles. The interviewer speaks in Arabic. What are alarming are Corbyn's statements, including a criticism of the UK government laws preventing would-be fighters who have travelled to Syria and from returning to the UK:
The British government's response has been to try to make it impossible for them to travel, to restrict their ability to travel, to take upon themselves the ability to remove passports and, strangely, to deny people the right of return – which is legally a very questionable decision.
Surely no responsible politician would want to make it easy for jihadi fighters to come and go between Syria and the UK, especially while Islamic State is encouraging jihadis who leave to go back to European countries to carry out acts of terror -- which seems to be exactly what has been happening.
In 2002, Corbyn addressed a large anti-Israel rally in London attended by Hizbullah supporters, several radical preachers including Abu Hamza, and 300 members of al-Muhajiroun, a banned extremist organization. According to one left-wing newspaper:
None of these groups called (openly at least) for the destruction of the state of Israel. It was a different story though for the ultra-reactionaries of such organisations as Al Muhajiroun, who held placards reading, "Palestine is muslim". They chanted, "Skud, Skud Israel" and "Gas, gas Tel Aviv", along with their support for bin Laden. Two would-be suicide posers were dressed in combat fatigues with a 'bomb' strapped to their waists. This section accounted for no more than 200-300, but they made a noise far out of proportion to their numbers.[1]
Stories concerning Corbyn's support for jihadis was plastered on the front pages of several newspapers one day before the general election on June 8. He may never take charge of our national security, but following the results of the election, which proved disastrous for May and her Conservative party, it is now not entirely unimaginable that he may yet form a minority government. Overconfidence in her party's strength, a hardline stance on Brexit, and a lack of concern in her Manifesto for public sensitivities concerning the National Health Service, social care and pensions led May to lose the confidence of much of the public, especially some, such as the elderly, who were traditional Tory voters. The campaign she ran turned out to be very badly handled. The two advisers who worked on it have just resigned, and large numbers of citizens, including 60% of Conservatives, are calling on her to resign. She no longer commands the large parliamentary majority of which she was so sure when she called the election, in fact she has no majority at all without pairing with the backward-looking Democratic Unionist Party, founded by bigoted Ian Paisley in 1971 and now the largest party in Northern Ireland. Many predict that the alliance will soon founder.
Whoever remains in power in coming months, the threat of terrorism has risen to the top of the agenda as a public preoccupation. Except that almost nobody talked much about it in the days after the London Bridge attack leading up to the election. Alarmingly, large numbers of young people rushed to vote for the leader of the one party that will do the least to combat that threat. The abolition of student fees or other right-on issues mattered so much more. And yet, in a matter of months, the British people have grown frightened of a beast our political correctness and laxity helped create, a Frankenstein monster that has risen from its slab and shows no signs of lying back down again. This beast has, in a few fell swoops, changed the nature of politics in Britain as it has elsewhere.
Jeremy Corbyn is the last person to whom we should entrust our future safety, yet he is now in a position to water down or cancel any legislation that might ensure more preparedness and better control. Theresa May, whatever her political disaster, has at least promised firmness in our relations with the Muslim community, identifying the problem and calling for action.
That promise of action is exemplified in her statements that:
If we need to increase the length of custodial sentences for terrorist-related offences -- even apparently less serious offences -- that is what we will do. Since the emergence of the threat from Islamist-inspired terrorism, our country has made significant progress in disrupting plots and protecting the public. But it is time to say "Enough is enough".
On June 6, addressing party supporters in Slough, and again speaking about resistance to terrorism, she went farther, saying:
I mean longer prison sentences for those convicted of terrorist offences.
I mean making it easier for the authorities to deport foreign terrorist suspects back to their own countries.
And I mean doing more to restrict the freedom and movements of terrorist suspects when we have enough evidence to know they are a threat, but not enough evidence to prosecute them in full in court.
And if our human rights laws get in the way of doing it, we will change the law so we can do it.
Clearly, not even May can ride roughshod over essential human rights values and legislation, things put in place to protect the public. Now, with Corbyn looking over shoulder, tough and measured action is in jeopardy. It is clear nonetheless that an excessive concern for the rights of dangerous individuals and hostile communities has served to take away vital protections for the lives of British citizens. This misguided generosity is linked to a growing worry that we have been too relaxed about individuals who have later gone on to commit atrocities in our midst. Salman Abedi, the suicide bomber who murdered 22 concert-goers, including several children, during an Ariane Grande concert in Manchester, had been reported to the authorities no fewer than five times, yet had been allowed to walk free enough to take forward his mission to kill and maim.
Youssef Zaghba, one of the three attackers on London Bridge and Borough Market on June 3, had been stopped in Bologna in 2016 carrying terrorist literature while trying to fly to Istanbul en route for Syria. He told officers "I am going to be a terrorist", was arrested but later released. His name was flagged on an international terrorism database and the Italian authorities notified the British security services. Allowed to go to the UK, he helped kill seven people and injure more.
Even more alarmingly, his accomplice, Khuram Butt, a Pakistani-born British man, was well above the horizon. He had been reported to the security services and was alleged to have been an associate of Anjem Choudary, a radical preacher now serving time in jail for his support for Islamic State. Butt had defended Choudary by calling a Muslim opposed to the preacher an apostate (murtadd); and in 2016, he had appeared in a Channel 4 television documentary where he was seen with others in a park holding an ISIS flag and at two events attended by radical preachers who had been arrested for radicalizing others. One of those preachers, Mohammed Shamsuddin, has said: "Our message is deadly, we are calling for world domination, and for Sharia for the UK."
In 2015, MI5, the UK's domestic intelligence service, stated that it had 3,000 extremists on its watchlist. According to Business Insider:
There are 6,000 employees at GCHQ and 4,000 at MI5. But there are up to 3,000 terror suspects in the UK. At the French ratio, you would need 60,000 officers to track them all. That's almost half of Britain's total number of police officers, 127,000.
What this means, in effect, is that thousands of potential terrorists are left free to live with little interference from the police or MI5. Raising the number of police, as Jeremy Corbyn demands, would place a heavy strain on the economy of a country sailing into uncharted waters as it leaves the EU. The answer must be, as May suggests, a different approach to human rights legislation. At the moment, the bar for taking extremists out of circulation is set ridiculously high. People who are known for their own extremism that reaches pre-terrorist levels should not be walking the streets when they have expressed support for Islamic State or tried to head to Syria or called for the destruction of the UK and other democracies or allied themselves to people already in prison. Their demand for free speech or freedom of belief must never be elevated above the rights of citizens to live safely in their own towns and cities. It is essential for parliament to lower the bar.
That the police and security services are avoiding any real confrontation with Islamists is clear from the contents of this letter, sent on June 7 to the Daily Mail by pro-Israel activist Clive Hyman. It makes troubling treading:
On 18th June, Muslims will be holding a march in central London to celebrate Al-Quds Day. In previous years these marches have called for the destruction of Israel and death to the Jews, and the marchers have carried signs to this effect and flags supporting Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS. Despite requests from both the Christian and Jewish communities for this march to be cancelled because of the violence it will incite amongst those participating and their followers, Mayor Khan and the Metropolitan police have refused to do so, their reason being that there has been no violence at these marches in previous years.
By comparison, an event to honour Israel organised by Christians United for Israel for 22nd June has been cancelled apparently because Mayor Khan and the Metropolitan Police cannot guarantee the safety of those who wish to attend.
Is this to be the political landscape for the future, where groups of people demanding death and destruction are given the freedom of the streets whilst those wishing to hold a peaceful celebration are prevented from doing so?
As might be expected, leftists have rejected May's appeal for changes in human rights legislation. They argue that she will need to declare a state of emergency, something that can only be invoked when the life of the nation is under threat. This is not incorrect, since all democracies have to avoid potential dictators using changes in the law to give themselves powers they might not otherwise have. But that is not the whole story.
What May plans to do will take us far, but not far enough. Her weakness, set against Corbyn's show of strength, undermines the likelihood of any serious changes to how Britain tackles the Islamic threat. Bit by bit, the political fear of appearing xenophobic or "Islamophobic" will reassert itself. Labour will make sure of that. Members of parliament with substantial numbers of Muslim constituents will answer calls to water down any legislation that can be labelled as discriminatory to Muslims. It is only when we come to terms with the fact that terrorist attacks are not being carried out by Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Baha'is, Quakers or the members of any religion except Islam.
Regrettably May herself fell into a politically-correct trap in her speech, when she said in reference to Islamic radicalism, "It is an ideology that is a perversion of Islam and a perversion of the truth." It is easy to see what she means by this -- that she wants to distance radicalism and terrorism from the majority of decent Muslims in the UK, the ones like Sara Khan who work to create a British Islam based on the best Islamic values in alliance with the British values May rightly extols. However, to see extremist Islam as a "perversion" of Islam misses an important point. The politically correct insistence that radical versions of Islam somehow pervert an essentially peaceful and tolerant faith forces policy-makers and legislators, church leaders, rabbis, interfaith workers and the public at large to leave to one side an important reality. If not tackled head-on, that reality will not go away.
In a June 3 speech, British Prime Minister Theresa May regrettably fell into a politically-correct trap, when she said in reference to Islamic radicalism, "It is an ideology that is a perversion of Islam and a perversion of the truth."
Flatly, Islam in its original and classic forms has everything to do with today's radicals and the violence they commit. The Qur'an is explicit in its hatred for pagans, Jews, and Christians. It calls for the fighting of holy war (jihad) to conquer the non-Muslim world, subdue it, and gradually bring it into the fold of Islam. Muhammad himself led his followers into battle and sent out expeditions out of Arabia before his death in 632. The astonishing Islamic conquests that followed in the Middle East, Europe, and far beyond into Central Asia and India turned a swathe of territories into Islamic fiefdoms, and most of these remain under Muslim rule today. The Ottoman Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453 not only destroyed the Eastern Orthodox Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire), but is still regarded by Muslims as a turning point in the history of the world. The subsequent Ottoman conquests across eastern Europe were only halted when the King of Poland John III Sobieski (1629-1696) defeated a massive Turkish army under the command of Sultan Soleiman I outside the city of Vienna.
In 2015, after Islamist attacks in Paris, French president François Hollande declared that "We are in a war against terrorism, jihadism, which threatens the whole world." But Islam has been at war with Europe since the seventh century. The beheadings, crucifixions, massacres and demolitions of towns and churches carried out by Islamic State today are replicas of wider atrocities carried out by the Muslim conquerors of Spain in the 8th century.[2]
Jihad wars against the Byzantines were carried out twice a year. Spain and Portugal were occupied for centuries until the Christian kingdoms of the north drove the Muslims out, in a process that itself took some centuries. The Ottomans continued to be a threat down to their defeat in the First World War. From the sixteenth to late eighteenth centuries, the Muslim slavers, known as the Barbary pirates, dominated the Mediterranean and took more than a million Christian slaves to North Africa. In the nineteenth century, jihad wars against European colonists were frequent.[3] Today, Europeans and others are fighting wars against Islamic radicals from Afghanistan to Iraq to Syria, and on the streets of our own cities.
To be at war is justification for extreme measures. Deportation and internment are unattractive, just as the measures Western countries have been forced to take against their enemies in other wars. But set next to the threat of unending terror in our cities, and given the nature of the people we will deport or intern, they are probably not as bad as the alternative. We will not execute terrorists (just as Israel has never executed the thousands of terrorists who have murdered its citizens) nor torture them or harm their families. Minor adjustments to our human rights laws and the lowering of the bar a bit on what we consider unacceptable are all we need. But that will not stop Jeremy Corbyn and his terrorist-supporting friends crying that such measures will be a "slippery slope" that will set back community relations by decades.
**Dr. Denis MacEoin has recently completed a large study of concerns with Islam. He is an Arabist, Persianist, and a specialist in Shi'i Islam. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
[1] See also here.
[2] See Darío Fernández-Morera, The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise, Wilmington, 2016, chapters 1 and 2.
[3] See Rudolph Peters, Islam and Colonialism: The Doctrine of Jihad in Modern History, The Hague, 1979, especially chapter 3.
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Iran: The Mullahs’ Discomfort With Persian Language
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/June 16/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=56315
Like in most Indo-European languages, sentence arrangement in the Persian language is based on subject, object, verb or SOV in linguistic code. (In Arabic it is the other way round!) This means that the first thing that a Persian sentence does is to identify the subject (in Arabic: Fa’el), the doer of what is done. The key advantage of that sentence structure is clarity. You know who did what to whom before learning when and how and why.
But what if, for whatever reason, you fear clarity and wish to hide reality behind a fog of delusion and diversion.
In clerical terms, what if you wish to practice taqiyeh (obfuscation) or “kitman ” (dissimulation).
Throughout the ages some writers, many of them mullahs, have tried to cope with that problem by using a lexical device called “nakereh” (unknown) that allows the writer or the speaker to be vague about the subject of the sentence. Thus, instead of identifying the subject at the start of the sentence you might say “It happened that…” Or they did …”
Examples of the use of this device are numerous in the writings of Shi’ite theologians from Muhammad-Baqer Majlisi to the more recent and far deeper Alameh Tabataba’i.
But the device has also been used by politicians and diplomats. In 1941 when Russian and British troops invaded Iran to use its railways to ferry arms to the Soviet Union, the then prime Minister Muhammad Ali Forughi had this to say on Tehran Radio: They come, and they go, and they won’t bother anyone!”
He couldn’t bear telling the truth in good Persian: “The British and the Russians have invaded our country!”
In 1989, when the late Ayatollah Khomeini was forced to admit that he cannot march to Jerusalem via Karbala in Iraq, he didn’t say that his tragic gable had failed. He said: “It has been decided to accept the ceasefire.”
More recently, the Islamic Republic team that concocted the Obama “nuclear deal” used the device in drafting the Persian version of the 179-page “fact-sheet” in which you read that this or that “will be done” without ever finding out who is supposed to do it. Anxious to secure some legacy for Obama, the Americans fell for the trick, going around claiming that Iran was going to do this or that.
Some writers, like my late friend Jalal Al-Ahmad, who moved from Communism to Islamism, used a different version of the device by putting the verb in the middle of the sentence in his writings, creating the confusion he desired.
There are many disadvantages to the use of that device, especially in politics as the public are never told exactly who the competing sides in any argument are.
Consider this from newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani’s talk with reporters in Tehran last week: “Some pretend to be experts in measuring people’s piety and attachment to revolution, and cut down whoever is taller than them!” Asked by a reporter to name who “some” are, Rouhani said: Beyond them there is one taking decisions”.
Without saying who that person was. (Rouhani’s utterances were censored on state-owned Islamic radio and TV but are available on YouTube!)
The “Supreme Guide” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also sues the verbal trick. Addressing a group of militant “students” last week, he said: “Of course, my words are addressed at everyone to do what they can and if {institutions} of state don’t do their functions to act on their own as in battlefield when time comes for free fire.”
It is obvious that Rouhani and Khamenei are ultimately referring to each other in the context of the struggle for power within the narrow Khomeinist clique of which both are members. Yet, neither of them is prepared to adopt a normal political posture which is to identify the “other side” in a debate, spell out any difference there is and ask for public support for one’s own position. The myth of “Islamic unanimity” must be maintained at the cost of the truth.
Last week, some members of the Islamic Majlis, Iran’s ersatz parliament, used the trick to show their unhappiness about the government’s failure or unwillingness to provide a coherent account of the terror attacks that shook Tehran.
Here is one member, Ahmad Zamani: Six days after the attacks there is still no account of what really happened.
And here is another member, Muhammad Qassim Zamani: The attackers must have had command and control and support network about which we know nothing.
And another member, Muhammad-Reza Tabesh: Help must have been there for terrorists, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to do what they did.
Like Khamenei and Rouhani, the three Majlis members wish to please their real or imagined constituency without committing to any clear position. They are not prepared to name the security services, the military and their supposed political masters, and blame them for failure to provide a credible narrative of the tragedy.
Language is a medium for exchange of information, ideas, and sentiments in all walks of life, including politics. In the Islamic Republic, however, language is used either to hide things or to relay coded messages that only insiders might understand.
Not having the courage of one’s declared convictions may, at times, be needed for self-protection in a hostile environment, hence the justification some mullahs cite for taqiyeh.
But what about politicians in an environment controlled by themselves?
One might understand why critics of the regime might be censored or otherwise silenced. But, what about state-owned media censoring the incumbent president, not to mention former presidents who have become non-persons?
Rouhani claims that he is a moderate and reformist without ever telling us on what precise issues he is seeking moderation and which aspect of current policy he wishes to reform and how.
For his part, Khamenei is constantly warning against “plotters and Zionist agents” who are trying to sabotage the revolution from within but never tells us who these are and why are they allowed to pursue their misdeeds.
Khomeinist grandees don’t speak or write Persian the way it is supposed to be. This is why the more they speak, the less people know. The only authentic sound is that of knives they are sharpening behind the scenes.

How Qatar prolonged the Syrian crisis
Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/June 16/17
Less than a year after the first spark of the Arab Spring developments, I was in a closed door meeting with a Gulf minister. He resentfully talked about Qatar’s foreign policy and described how they were involved in what he called “Qatari loitering”.
According to him, they do not only pose a threat to his country but also to the entire region because they support “political Islamist” groups and negatively play on contradictions.
This opinion and other similar statements were a result of Doha’s violation of the policy agreed upon among the parties, which support the opposition in Syria. These parties had agreed on a specific and official channel that is internationally supervised to train and support fighters from among “the moderate opposition” and whom the Free Syrian Army is its backbone.
The “joint operations’ room” in the Jordanian capital Amman, and its other branch in Turkey, were a small cell that included military and intelligence officers and political representatives from the US, Britain, France and Arab countries that included Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan in addition to Turkey. These representatives met periodically while officers continuously worked in rotation.
The Saudis believe that Doha is playing a “destructive” role that has prolonged the conflict in Syria, which is helping fundamentalist, making them stronger than other moderate factions
Coordinating operations
This room’s major tasks were training on martial arts and special operations and supplying the opposition with military equipment, gathering information and coordinating among fighters.
The room operated based on a specific agenda, which hoped that the moderate opposition controls areas which the Syrian regime troops withdraw from so they do not fall in the hands of fundamental groups like ISIS and al-Nusra Front.
A Saudi official who follows up on Syrian developments once told me: “We’ve seen the repercussions of the September 11, 2001 twin attacks and how they led to a crisis with the US due to a bunch of extremist terrorists. We do not want this crisis to happen again.”
He added that Saudi Arabia made a clear and frank decision not to support “extremist Islamic groups” in Syria. But was Riyadh’s anger over Doha the result of what happened next?
This same Saudi official said that instead of committing to the agreement reached between countries that support the Syrian opposition, Qatar began to fund, arm and support groups outside the context of “the operations’ room.” Certain parties coordinated this support sometimes while at other times they simply overlooked it.
Evading questions
The Qatari representative used to evade questions or “work on his phone” or just “keep silent” when he was confronted with truth or with proof that his government armed “fundamentalist” groups in Syria.
This is not limited to one or two incidents but happened frequently. This made Riyadh take a clear position, suspending its participation in the operations’ room back then.
This was one of the reasons behind the problem between Saudi Arabia and Qatar in Syria. The Saudis believe that Doha is playing a “destructive” role that has prolonged the conflict in Syria, which is helping fundamentalist, making them stronger than other moderate factions. This poses threat to the entire Middle East region.

Syria pays for ISIS attack in Tehran
Huda al Husseini/Al Arabiya/June 1617
What happened was expected, but who would have imagined that the response would be as it came. Terrorist attacks targeted a main institution that is the Parliament Building; it is a symbolic building, the shrine of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini. As for the terrorists, they were Iranian citizens. The reaction of a group of Syrians was: “We, the Syrians, have suffered a lot from terrorism, ISIS, al-Assad and the Iranian regime; we stand in solidarity with all the victimized peoples everywhere.” Iran mixes between ISIS and the Gulf states. In fact, ISIS represents a more serious threat to the Arab countries than to Iran. Iran’s situation is better than that of Arab countries because extremist groups, whether Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Popular Mobilization and its militias in Iraq, or the Houthi groups in Yemen, are all pro-Iranian militias.
Security taken by surprise
The Iranian security was taken by surprise by what happened and stopped all the communication networks “because of terrorist activities.” This is the biggest terrorist operation in Iran in 10 years. The Iranians were confused because the reaction on the ground did not match with what local television stations reported, trying to ease the impact of the attacks. In fact, a number of terrorists had made their way through many checkpoints, and according to a report, they dressed as women. It took several hours to control the situation and kill the terrorists.
The success of ISIS in carrying out a terrorist operation in Iran was expected due to already known reasons, but during the last couple of months, observers have seen a remarkable development and predicted the occurrence of a terrorist operation. In late March, the organization broadcast a video in Persian, calling on the Sunni minority in Iran to rebel against the Shiite-dominated Iranian institutions. The Iranian Broadcasting Corporation described the video as nonsense and said that it was an attempt by ISIS to cover its increasing losses in Iraq. Iranian officials revealed last year that they had stopped several ISIS attacks. After the video, ISIS published 4 editions of its online publication ‘Rumiyah’ in Persian. It is published in English, French, Russian and Indonesian.
With the rise of ISIS, Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have warned that they will take “decisive actions” if ISIS militants came just 40 kilometers near Iran’s border. The regime tends to use this terrorist attack to continue its support for the Assad regime and the Popular Mobilization in Iraq, under the pretext that it is better to fight ISIS outside Iran rather than inside one’s own country. However, ISIS was able to destabilize Iran. Charlie Winter, a senior researcher at the International Center for the Study of Political Extremism and Violence, says that ISIS used to publish the translation of selected articles and statements in Persian, but this was the first time that ‘Rumiyah’ was published in Persian. (Rumiyah is derived from the name of Rome, and the organization considers that when it occupies the Italian capital, then the whole world will be under ISIS control).
According to Winter, the organization has been publishing articles in Persian and translated videos since 2015. However, with the Persian edition of ‘Rumiyah’, “it seems that a logical progress has already taken place.”Winter had co-authored a report published by the International Center for Counter-Terrorism, based in The Hague, in which seven Iranians committed suicide attacks in Iraq and Syria between December 2015 and November 2016.
In the first issue of ‘Rumiyah’ in Persian, ISIS called for killing of ‘infidels’, and to consider killing as halal and a form of prayer.
The cover of the second issue was a blood-stained knife, with tips on how to kill the infidels with a knife (we have seen this in the London Bridge attacks that took place recently in Britain).
The other four issues were translations from previous editions of ‘Rumiyah’.
Online propaganda
ISIS online propaganda is an important pillar in its strategy that is used to attract sympathizers from all over the world, thousands of whom have traveled to Syria and Iraq. It is difficult to measure the degree of its success in Iran.
Some analysts believe that the ideology of ISIS has little interest among Sunni Iranians constituting between 5 and 10 percent of the total 81 million population, although Sunnis in Iran are routinely subjected to harassment, discrimination and marginalization. However, ISIS remains a threat to Iran.
Last August, Intelligence minister Mahmoud Alawi said that the authorities had prevented 1,500 Iranians from joining ISIS.
Last week, in the eastern province of Nangarhar in Afghanistan, where reports confirm that ISIS is active, the Afghan authorities published a video of a man claiming that he is from western Iran’s Azerbaijan and had joined ISIS through the Telegram application, the most widespread means of communication in Iran.
He said: “By the name of God, I am Yasser from Western Azerbaijan” claiming that an unspecified number of Iranians have joined and arrived in Nangarhar. The fact that the four attackers of the parliament and the shrine of Khomeini came from a Sunni Kurdish town, means that Iranians of different ethnicities have joined ISIS. The Kurdish media are full of stories from Iranian Kurds groups (also from Iraq’s Kurds) who joined ISIS and the Fatah al-Sham group that is linked to al-Qaeda. The Kurdish channels that are loyal to ISIS aired dozens of videos of Iranian Kurds reaching Raqqa and Mosul.
Difficult to gain sympathy
ISIS has long sought to launch an attack inside Iran, where 90 percent of the population is Shiite, and the proportion of Shiites in Tehran amounts to 95 percent. Thus, it is difficult for ISIS to gain sympathy or potential in recruiting new members in Iran, which is also the case in the Arab and Muslim world with Sunni majority.
ISIS or others, plotting a terrorist operation within Iran was expected. There is rising anger among Sunnis and the Arab world against Iran and its interference in Arab countries and the Middle East to achieve its ambitions, and its support for the regime of Bashar al-Assad that is responsible for a large number of civilian casualties, its support for former Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Lebanese Hezbollah and Shiite militias in Iraq.
Even at the level of non-political and non-religious groups, there is a considerable hostility towards the Iranian regime.
On the other hand, these extremist Sunni radical groups, whether ISIS, al-Qaeda or others, are seeking to overthrow Arab regimes before overthrowing the Iranian regime. Therefore, the Iranian regime seeks to distort the image of Saudi Arabia to protect itself as it knows that Persian nationalism is against Saudi Arabia, and this hostility brings together the Iranian opposition and religious clerics. This is where the sectarian religious factor fades.
What has happened is a setback for the government and officials who were till now proud that Iran was a safe haven in a terrorized Middle East. What has happened shook the confidence of many Iranians regarding their security forces because they discovered that their mysterious security system can be penetrated and decoded.
Deeply involved in Syria conflict
Iran has been deeply involved in the Syrian conflict. It has given billions of dollars to the Assad regime, where millions have been displaced and turned into refugees. It is therefore illogical for Iran to remain immune to the Syrian backlash, not to mention that it has supported terrorism in the region and the world.
The attack of ISIS will not have a moderate effect on Iran’s regional policies. The first response on the field was the images of General Qassem Soleimani on the Iraqi-Syrian borders, with mercenary fighters from the Afghan Fatimiyon brigade.
The regime tends to use this terrorist attack to continue its support for the Assad regime and the Popular Mobilization in Iraq, under the pretext that it is better to fight ISIS outside Iran rather than inside one’s own country. However, ISIS was able to destabilize Iran.
The Itimad newspaper published an article in which it considered the attack as a ‘golden opportunity’ to show national unity and warned of ‘childish’ retaliation attempts.
Another newspaper pointed the finger at Michael D’Andrea, the new head of the CIA’s Iran Operations. The problem in this case is that the one who prepared the poison will be suffering from it, and the pain may have reached Iran.

Mediating the Qatari crisis
Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/June 16/17
Several mediation efforts have been initiated to end the Qatar crisis. The Turkish President Erdogan has been clear in taking the Qatari side from the beginning. This may weaken his credibility in the mediations because he openly said that Qatar is oppressed and cannot be held accountable.
Would that mean that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, along with Jordan, Mauritania and some other countries, all have no proof against Qatar? However, according to the Anadolu agency, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mouloud Jawish Oglu said after his visit to Doha that the “crisis must be overcome through dialogue and peace and Turkey is willing to help.”I wish all the success for the Turkish efforts but I think Turkey will not be more trustworthy, considerate or interrelated compared to Kuwait – the founding state of the Gulf system – whose efforts have not succeeded until now, despite the great respect among Gulf leaders of the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad. This is not due to the “intransigence” of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, and the rest of the Arab and African countries, but rather it is because no one has tackled the essence of the problem yet. As Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid said, the problem is not just a matter of “concerns” that Qatar should be ready to understand!
Turkey’s Erdogan is not the only one who wants to underestimate the problem; even European countries are doing so under the pretext of uniting the efforts to fight terrorism
Tangible proof
Indeed, it is not a matter of concerns but rather tangible proof and a long history that has not been revealed yet; it is not even a matter of reassuring but rather urging Doha to stop these policies, efforts, information, and troubles. As the UAE ambassador in Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, told al-Ittihad newspaper: “What should Qatar do? First, it must recognize what the world already knows: Doha has become a financial, media and ideological source of extremism. Then Qatar must take decisive action to solve the problem of extremism for good.”Turkey’s Erdogan is not the only one who wants to underestimate the problem; even European countries are doing so under the pretext of uniting the efforts to fight terrorism. They are acting as if the Saudi, Emirati, Egyptian, Bahraini and Yemeni speeches disagreed with Doha for some other reasons. We all want what is good for the Qataris and Qatar. At the end they are part of the Gulf region. However, the “statement of account” of Qatar’s policies for 20 years is what led us here today. Do mediators have the ability to “understand” the reasons of this anger? Do they really understand the seriousness of the political chaos and the activities encouraging strife?
If they do, it won’t be difficult for them to urge Doha to adopt an upright approach; it will be better for them, their neighbors and the whole world.

The SCO and Middle East: Expanding stakes and new approaches
Talmiz Ahmad/Al Arabiya/June 16/17
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) began life in 1996 when China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan set up the “Shanghai Five” as a regional confidence-building forum. It was re-christened as the SCO with the membership of Uzbekistan in 2001.
The accession of India and Pakistan to full membership at the Astana Summit on June 8-9 is the first expansion of the SCO in 16 years. SCO observers are: Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia and Belarus, while Turkey, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal are dialogue partners.
The SCO has a total population of 3.5 billion, nearly 50 percent of the world population, and the combined GDP in absolute figures that is over 25 percent of global GDP. It has considerable geopolitical significance in that it links the Asia-Pacific and the Atlantic with South Asia and West Asia, as its secretary general, Rashid Alimov, has recently noted.
West Asian issues have been discussed at the SCO for the last several years. All the members are concerned about the three evils of “terrorism, extremism and separatism” since transnational extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS, anchored in West Asia, get several recruits from SCO members and in turn threaten them with radicalisation and violence.
The conflict in Afghanistan and the associated radicalism has affected SCO members over the last 35 years and remains an important area of concern today. Now, the Syrian conflict has captured SCO attention as well. At a recent meeting of SCO defence ministers, the threat from ISIS and the al-Qaeda-affiliate Jabhat Nusra was highlighted.
Russia, with two SCO observers, Iran and Turkey, is spearheading the ceasefire and the peace process, with meetings of government and opposition groups taking place in Astana to complement the UN-sponsored Geneva conferences. The interest of both Iran and Turkey in obtaining full membership of SCO is being strongly backed by Russia and China.
To play a more credible role in regional security affairs, the SCO needs to put into effect some much-needed changes in its organization and functioning and the range of its engagements
Connectivity projects
West Asia is also important to the SCO as the pathway for transnational connectivity projects. Thus, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), promoted by Russia, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) sponsored by China, which envisage linkages across the Eurasian continent and the Indian Ocean, and India’s projects from Iranian ports to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Russia, give central importance to West Asia.
Addressing the sixth China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in 2014, President Xi Jinping saw the West Asian states as “natural partners” in building the BRI projects, and suggested that the two sides should “build a community of common interest and common destiny”.
Besides logistical links, the president also saw wider links between China and the Arab world, including energy, trade and investment, and the new frontier areas of space technology, and nuclear and renewable energy. These perceptions are shared by India, whose prime minister, after very robust engagements with regional nations, has shaped solid strategic and economic partnerships with West Asia.
The biggest concern that the SCO states have regarding West Asia relates to the security situation that is marked by: the regional confrontation, the wars in Syria and Yemen, the rising tide of sectarianism in defining regional differences, and, above all, trans-national militant groups with their lethal assaults and the attacks of their “lone-wolf” adherents which target the region and beyond.
The successful implementation of the BRI land and sea projects requires that the pathways of the routes be secure. However, so far SCO has displayed neither the capacity nor the interest in pursuing this onerous but important responsibility.
New approach
To play a more credible role in regional security affairs, the SCO needs to put into effect some much-needed changes in its organization and functioning and the range of its engagements.
First, following its recent expansion, it must promote greater internal cohesion and cooperation. For instance, the various BRI and other regional connectivity projects should not be projected as sponsored by specific countries but promoted as cooperative ventures of the grouping as a whole. And, linked with this, the projects themselves should be the product of region-wide consultations and take on board the core interests and sensitivities of partner countries. Thus, India has found it difficult to associate itself with the BRI initiative since a major project involved, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), takes no account of the disputed character of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK). It is a welcome development that the Indian and Chinese leaders spoke frankly to each other on this subject at the Astana summit.
Regional forum
Secondly, the SCO should approve an “SCO Regional Forum” on the lines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), where members, observers and dialogue partners could engage in a free and frank discussion of security issues with a wide range of interlocutors.
This forum could be supported by a Track-II platform on the lines of the Council for Security and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP) that supports the ARF. Finally, given the importance of the connectivity projects that envisage a central place to West Asian and the significance of ties with the West Asian nations for all SCO members, some major Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE and should be invited to be dialogue partners of the SCO as an institution. Only then will it be possible for the SCO members to shape an effective approach to regional security issues.