LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 27/17

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias/english.may27.17.htm

 News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2016

Bible Quotations For Today
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 14/01-06/:"‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account.
Letter to the Philippians 04/15-23/:"You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account. I have been paid in full and have more than enough; I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The friends who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of the emperor’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 26-27/17
Once Again Coptic children Are Brutally Massacred/Elias Bejjani/May 26/17
Hezbollah's bogus Liberation & Resistance Day/Elias Bejjani/May 25/17
Lebanon’s dilemma following the Riyadh Summit/Diana Moukalled/Arab News/May 26/17
Who runs Qatar behind the scenes/Said al-Suraihi/Al Arabiya/May 26/17
Frankincense, the story of a tree that continues to weep for love/Reem Al-Kamali/Al Arabiya/May 26/17
Why Scientific Consensus Is Worth Taking Seriously/Faye Flam/Bloomberg/May 26/17
Rouhani and the ‘As-If’ System/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/May 26/17
Iran: The Regime’s Nature and Its Calculations/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/May 26/17
How Saudi Arabia played Donald Trump/Fareed Zakaria/Washinton Post/May 26/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 26-27/17
Once Again Coptic children Are Brutally Massacred
Hezbollah's bogus Liberation & Resistance Day
Lebanon’s dilemma following the Riyadh Summit
Amal Movement: Parliamentary Vacuum would Overthrow the Republic
Hariri Inaugurates Tripoli Projects: Failure to Agree on Electoral Law is Shameful
Daryan Says Ramadan Begins on Saturday
Fugitive Blows Himself Up in al-Nabi Othman, Wounds 6 Troops
Aoun-Hariri Meeting Precedes Meeting of Higher Defense Council
Karam Says LF Initiative Prevents Bad Scenarios as Adwan Meets Berri
Army Arrests Two Terror Suspects in Akkar Province
Berri's Bloc Says Parties Discussing Proportional Representation Districts
Change and Reform Says Polls in Fall under 'Proportional Law with Restraints'
Jumblatt visits Vatican, meets Pope Francis
Army raids house of Ras Baalbeck explosion suspect in Arsal
Aoun deplores terrorist attack in Egypt's Minya, cables condolences to Sisi, Tawadros II
Foreign Ministry deplores in strongest terms terrorist attack in Egypt's Minya
Hariri receives Microsoft regional president
Geagea, Chab tackle election law issue
Hizbullah denounces terror attack in Egypt, calls for grave stand in face of terrorism
Army Commander, interlocutors tackle overall situation
Geagea denounces terrorist attack in Egypt, calls for global solidarity against terrorism

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 26-27/17
Gunmen with machine guns kill 26 Coptic Christians in Egypt
At Least 28 Killed including Children in Attack on Egypt Christians
Trump Rows Shadow 'Toughest G7 in Years'
Arab NATO plan being studied to fight ISIS, isolate Iran
Monitor: Air strikes kill 35 civilians in ISIS-held Syria town
Abbas calls on US to mediate hunger strike in Palestinian jails
UN Slams Syria Airstrikes as 35 Civilians Killed in Deir Ezzor
Arab NATO Plan Being Studied to Fight ISIS, Isolate Iran
Trump Proposes Regional Peace Plan Based on Arab Initiative
Iranians stage protest rally against Bahrain crackdown
Senate committee approves added sanctions for Iran

Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 26-27/17
Once Again Coptic children Are Brutally Massacred
Elias Bejjani/May 26/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55683
More than 40 Egyptian Coptic Christians, mostly children, were brutally and savagely murdered,  while many others severely injured in Egypt this morning while on their way to visit a Coptic Monastery
As news agencies reported, the monstrous assailants were ten males, dressed in military attire, and heavily armed.
The 10 cowardly murderers targeted  a convoy of buses and cars that were carrying the Coptic children with their escorts to the monastery.
One wonders what is the rationale and what are the gains of killing for just the sake and pleasure of killing?
The reasonable questions are, what did these murderers accomplish in murdering innocent children,
What actually are their ultimate evil schemes, and what do they really want?
For heavens sake, who are these creatures that target innocent Coptic Christian Egyptian children while on their way to a religious monastery for praying, worshiping, supplication and reverence?
Who are these ugly monsters that enjoy, dance and hail the scenes of blood, disasters and tragedies? ..
Who does finance them and why?
Who trains, educates, breeds and uses these human like robots?
Who orchestrates, plans and facilitate these inhuman atrocities?
Who are those creatures that cherished and rejoice in watching weeping and howling  mothers whose children are slaughtered in front of their eyes and cut into pieces?
What kind of creatures are those mean cowards and barbarians who attack unarmed civilians, innocent children that are unable to defend themselves?
Who are these Draculas who hate, and hold grudges against other people to the extent that they explode their children, decapitate their clergy, confiscate their properties and destroy their worshiping places?
Who are these bloodthirsty monsters who never get satisfied with blood shedding, but always grow more and more barbaric, brutal and savage?
We wonder, are these barbarians and murderers actually human beings with emotions and feelings?
Do they actually fear Almighty God and take in account His last Day of Judgment?
Do they have human minds and human standards ?
In accordance with all religious, human and moral standards, these monster must be void from all that human, and merely alienated from all religions teachings, humanity standards, values ​​and moral principles.
In actuality and practicality, These are demonic creatures stripped of all feelings, sensations, and all that is intellectuality and reason.
They are practically mere satanic enemies for all that is humanity, peace, love, religions, civilization, science, tolerance, human rights and freedoms.
We call on each and every human being, all over the world who condemns such evil and brutal acts to pray and ask almighty to receive and dwell the souls of the Coptic martyrs in His heaven alongside the righteous and saints.
Meanwhile we wish all the injured a quick and safe recovery.
May Almighty God shower on the families of the victims all gifts of forgiveness, patience, faith and consolation.

Hezbollah's bogus Liberation & Resistance Day
Elias Bejjani/May 25/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=41013
Believe it or not, on May 25 each year since 2000 Lebanon has been celebrating a so-called "Liberation & Resistance Day." Sadly, this celebration commemorates a bogus event, and a phony heroism that did not actually take place.
On May 22, 2000 the Israeli Army unilaterally and for solely Israeli domestic reasons withdrew from the security zone of South Lebanon in accordance with UN Resolution 425. The withdrawal was a fatal Israeli decision that has inspired the Hamas terrorism acts and the on-going havoc in the Palestinian Gaza strip. During the last 13 years many Israeli officials and politicians form all parties openly and harshly criticized Barak's Government (Barak was PM at that time) hasty and unwise decision through which Israel' abandoned its ally the South Lebanon Army (SLA) and gave Hezbollah all south Lebanon on a plate of sliver. The unilateral Israeli withdrawal created a security vacuum in south Lebanon. The Syrians who were occupying Lebanon at that time and fully controlling its government, did not allow the Lebanese Army to deploy in the south and fill this vacuum after the Israeli withdrawal. Instead Syria helped the Hezbollah militia to militarily control the whole southern region, and even patrol the Israeli-Lebanese border.
It is worth mentioning that the Israeli army's withdrawal was executed without any military battles, or even minor skirmishes with Hezbollah, or the Lebanese and Syrian armies. The Syrian regime, in a bid to justify both its on going occupation of Lebanon and the avoidance of disarming Hezbollah, came up with the "Shabaa Farms occupation big lie" and declared Hezbollah a Liberator, alleging it had forced Israel to withdrawal from South Lebanon.
Syria, in the same camouflaging and devious context, dictated to both the Lebanese parliament and government to declare May 25th a National Day under the tag of "Liberation & Resistance Day".
In reality Hezbollah did not force the Israeli withdrawal, and did not play any role in the Liberation of the southern Lebanese region. In fact both Hezbollah and Syria deliberately hindered and delayed the Israeli withdrawal for more than 14 years.
Every time the Israelis called on the Lebanese government to engage in a joint, serious effort under the United Nations umbrella to ensure a safe and mutually organized withdrawal of its army from South Lebanon, the Lebanese government refused to cooperate, did not agree to deploy its army in the south, and accused the Israelis of plotting to divide and split the Syrian-Lebanese joint track. This approach to the Israeli calls was an official Syrian decision dictated to all the Lebanese puppet governments during the Syrian occupation era.
Since then, Hezbollah has been hijacking Lebanon and its people, refusing to disarm and advocating for the annihilation of Israel. This Iranian mullahs' terrorist army stationed in Lebanon, is viciously hiding behind labels of resistance, liberation and religion. Hezbollah has recklessly jeopardized the Lebanese peoples' lives, safety, security and livelihood. It has been growing bolder and bolder in the last four years and mercilessly taking the Lebanese state and the Lebanese people hostage through terrorism, force and organized crime.
Sadly, Hezbollah is systematically devouring Lebanon day after day, and piece by piece, while at the same time marginalizing all its governmental institutions in a bid to topple the Lebanese state and erect in its place a Shiite Muslim regime, a replica of the Iranian Shiite mullahs' fundamentalist republic. Meanwhile the free world and Arabic countries are totally silent, indifferent, and idly watching from far away the horrible crime unfolding without taking any practical or tangible measures to put an end to this anti-Lebanese Syria-Iranian scheme that is executed through their spearhead, the Hezbollah armed militia.
Who is to be blamed for Hezbollah's current odd and bizarre status? Definitely the Syrians who have occupied Lebanon for more than 28 years (1976-2005). During their bloody and criminal occupation, Syria helped the Iranian Hezbollah militia build a state within Lebanon and fully control the Lebanese Shiite community. But also the majority of the Lebanese politicians, leaders, officials and clergymen share the responsibility because they were subservient and acted in a dire Dhimmitude, selfish and cowardly manner. If these so-called Lebanese leaders had been courageous and patriotic and had not appeased Hezbollah and turned a blind eye to all its vicious and human rights atrocities, intimidation tactics, crimes and expansionism schemes, this Iranian Shiite fundamentalist militia would not have been able to erect its own mini-state in the southern suburb of Beirut, and its numerous mini-cantons in the Bekaa Valley and the South; nor would Hezbollah have been able to build its mighty military power, with 70 thousand militiamen, or stockpile more than 50 thousand missiles and force the Iranian "Wilayat Al-Faqih" religious doctrine on the Lebanese Shiite community and confiscate its decision making process and freedoms.
Since Hezbollah's emergence in 1982, these politicians have been serving their own selfish interests and not the interests of the Lebanese people and the nation. They went along with Hezbollah's schemes, deluding themselves that its militia and weaponry would remain in South Lebanon and would not turn against them. This failure to serve the people of Lebanon allowed Hezbollah to make many Lebanese and most of the Arab-Muslim countries through its terrorism propaganda to blindly swallow its big lie of theatrical, faked resistance and Liberation.
Hezbollah would not have been able refuse to disarm in 1991, like all the other Lebanese militias in accordance to the "Taef Accord," which called for the disarmament of all militias. Hezbollah would not have become a state inside the Lebanese state, and a world-wide terrorism Iranian-Syrian tool which turned against them all after its war with Israel in year 2006 and after the UN troops were deployed on the Lebanese - Israeli borders in accordance with the UN Resolution 1701.
On May 7, 2008 Hezbollah invaded Sunni Western Beirut killing and injuring in cold blood hundreds of its civilian citizens, and attempted to take over by force Mount Lebanon.
Hezbollah's General Secretary Sheik Hassan Nasrallah called that day (May 7, 2008) a great and glorious victory for his resistance, and keeps on threatening the Lebanese that a replicate of that day will take place if they do not succumb and obey his Iranian orders.
Hezbollah is a deadly dragon that the Lebanese politicians have been allowing him to feed on sacrifices from the southern Lebanese citizens, especially on those who were living in the "Security Zone" and who fled to Israel in May 2000 after the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon. This dragon who enjoyed devouring his southern sacrifices has now turned on all the Lebanese and if they do not stand for their rights and dignity, he will keep on devouring them all one after the other.
We call on the Lebanese government, the Lebanese Parliament and on all the free and patriotic Lebanese politicians and leaders to cancel the May 25 National Day, because it is not national at all, and also to stop calling Hezbollah a resistance, put an end for its mini-state, cantons and weaponry, and secure a dignified, honorable and safe return for all the Lebanese citizens who have been taking refuge in Israel since May 2000.
N.B: This article was first published in 2010

Lebanon’s dilemma following the Riyadh Summit
Diana Moukalled/Arab News/May 26/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55701
Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil is a different person and in a different position after the Riyadh Summit. Looking at Lebanon’s previous governments in the past years, we notice how Lebanon used to return from such meetings burdened with major internal and Arab crises. The reason was Lebanon’s leaning toward parties allied with Iran, a position that was also held by Bassil. This Lebanese bias was the reason for many confrontations and rifts with other Arab states. Undoubtedly, Bassil is not in an enviable position. On the one hand, he wants to show that his father-in-law, President Michel Aoun, is in a strong position and has good connections in the Arab world. However, Aoun’s support for Hezbollah led to several reservations, which caused him not to be invited to the summit. Instead the invitation was limited to the Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri. On the other hand, Bassil wants to appease his allies in Hezbollah and Iran and avoid any embarrassment with them, especially after he complied with the prime minister, who chose to follow the summit’s stance in confronting Iranian interventions in the region. During the summit, Al-Hariri fully endorsed this direction. Despite Hezbollah ministers’ pressures to issue negative statements criticizing the Riyadh Summit, the government has avoided officially leading Lebanon into a confrontation with the Arab world. The dilemma for both Bassil and Aoun is that juggling these two directions is difficult — rather, impossible — and more now than ever.
This particular struggle is probably what led Bassil to say upon his return to Lebanon that he wasn’t aware that the Riyadh Declaration included a strong line on Iran, a comment that was widely ridiculed by the Lebanese people. Yet, the statement in the government’s last session on avoiding Lebanon getting involved in any regional conflicts served as a ruling that allowed Lebanon to contain the fallout of the US-Arab-Islamic Summit. It seems that all parties have agreed on overcoming a crisis that could have been caused by Lebanon’s harmony with the Arab consensus at the Riyadh Summit.
Despite Hezbollah ministers’ pressures to issue negative statements criticizing the Riyadh Summit, the government has avoided officially leading Lebanon into a confrontation with the Arab world and international community. This position was in agreement between Al-Hariri and Aoun, as it is obvious that both want to spare Lebanon challenges in light of the summit’s main priority of combating Iran and its branches, particularly Hezbollah. The question remains: How will Lebanon address the next phase? And how will it distance itself from Hezbollah’s involvement in more than one field, as the confrontation with Iran intensifies? Lebanon will defiantly reach a moment of truth that could prove earthshaking if its leaders aren’t wise enough.
• Diana Moukalled is a veteran journalist with extensive experience in both traditional and new media. She is also a columnist and freelance documentary producer. She can be reached on Twitter @dianamoukalled.

Amal Movement: Parliamentary Vacuum would Overthrow the Republic
Asharq Al-Awsat English/May 26/17/Beirut – Lebanon’s Amal Movement, which is headed by Speaker Nabih Berri, has described the ongoing failure to agree on a parliamentary electoral law as “the most dangerous crisis that is currently hitting the country.”Allowing for a parliamentary vacuum would lead to toppling the republic, it said. Amal Movement Member Qabalan Qabalan made the comments during a popular rally on Thursday in South Lebanon, where he stressed that Lebanon was facing “a series of local and foreign challenges.”
“The Israeli enemy is waiting for an opportunity to attack Lebanon, and it is part of the blind terrorism that is threatening the whole world,” Qabalan said. As for internal challenges, the Amal Movement official underlined the presence of severe divisions among the Lebanese political parties, saying: “The parliamentary elections crisis is the most dangerous since it affects the entire country.” He stressed the need for all political factions to stand together and save the country from collapse. He also urged all politicians to “stop wasting time and opportunities” and to put national interests above all other personal considerations.
“It is necessary to agree on the elections and save the country from falling into the abyss,” Qabalan stated, adding: “We must not forget that our system is republican, democratic and parliamentarian, and that parliament is the core of institutions and without it there is no presence for any other institution.”“Toppling the legislature is toppling the Republic”, he stated. The Lebanese parliament’s term ends on June 20 and the country will head towards an unprecedented vacuum since 1920 should the political parties fail to agree on a new electoral law and hold the elections within the constitutional deadlines.

Hariri Inaugurates Tripoli Projects: Failure to Agree on Electoral Law is Shameful
Youssef Diab/Asharq Al-Awsat English/May 26/17/Beirut – Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s visit to Tripoli on Thursday was significant seeing as it was the first of its kind to the northern city since his appointment to his position. It also marked the first time he headed to the city since his Mustaqbal Movement’s defeat in last year’s municipal elections to former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi. Rifi’s victory was seen as a political challenge to the premier and all the forces in the city. Hariri toured various projects in what was seen as a political message and his efforts to regain some of his popular support in the city that has long suffered from the state’s neglect. He declared during the trip that he will agree to any new parliamentary electoral, stressing: “The state will be in service of Tripoli and its people.”The premier had arrived in the city on Thursday where he was received by a number of ministers, lawmakers and popular delegations. He kicked off his long day by inaugurating the first phase of the Tripoli bridge before then inspecting the exclusive economic zone at the city’s port, in addition to the Lebanese University campus and projects that are still under construction.
A luncheon banquet was thrown in his honor by Mufti of the North and Akkar Sheikh Malek al-Shaar. Hariri said during the banquet that his government seeks to restore trust “because the people have lost faith in the state during the recent years of vacuum.” “Rafik Hariri’s plan was that of the state and institutions. This state will be at the service of the people, not the people at the service of the state.” Addressing the Tripoli residents, he declared: “Every employee working in this state is at your service and any one who thinks otherwise should come to me.” On the issue of the contentious electoral law, the PM said: “The other parties should make some concessions in order for us to agree on a new law.”“I am not sure that we will reach the desired goals however,” he remarked. “It is shameful that we are unable to achieve this goal in a Lebanon that has always boasted of it democracy,” lamented Hariri.
Mustaqbal politburo member former MP Mustafa Alloush told Asharq Al-Awsat that despite some setbacks, the Movement is still deep-rooted in Tripoli. “Since his return to Lebanon, Hariri has been tackling central issues to avert the deterioration on the ground,” he added. “His seat at the head of the government has righted courses in the imbalance in popular bases, whether in Tripoli or other regions,” he noted. Asked if the Tripoli visit has electoral purposes, Alloush replied: “In politics, everything is connected. Hariri may be the head of the government and there are projects that are being executed through it. He therefore may visit any other region in Lebanon, not necessarily ones that have electoral weight.”

Daryan Says Ramadan Begins on Saturday
Naharnet/May 26/17/Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan on Thursday announced that the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan will begin on Saturday. “We have not been able to verify the sighting of the crescent moon of the holy month of Ramadan and accordingly tomorrow, Friday... will be the 30th day of Shaaban, and Saturday, May 27 will be the first day of the holy month of Ramadan,” Daryan said in a statement. “As we greet Muslims on this holy month... we ask God Almighty to fill its days with security and serenity for all Muslims and Lebanese,” the mufti added. Saudi Arabia had also confirmed earlier in the day that Ramadan will begin on Saturday, after the kingdom's moon-sighting committees failed to spot the month's crescent moon. The month begins with the sighting of the new moon, which varies from country to country. Ramadan is sacred to Muslims because it is during that month that tradition says the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and strive to be more pious and charitable. The fast is one of the five main religious obligations under Islam.

Fugitive Blows Himself Up in al-Nabi Othman, Wounds 6 Troops
Naharnet/May 26/17/Six army soldiers were lightly wounded Friday in northern Bekaa when a dangerous fugitive blew himself up during a confrontation with a military force, media reports said.“As a patrol from the military intelligence's Strike Force was raiding a house in the town of al-Nabi Othman, where two armed militants were holed up – one from the al-Breidi family and the other from the al-Hujeiri family who both hail from the town of Arsal – a clash erupted with the raiding force and the militants tried to flee in a pickup truck,” the National News Agency said. “After the noose was tightened on them, Breidi blew himself up, wounding several soldiers,” the agency added. Other media reports said Breidi detonated the explosives inside a military vehicle after he was arrested. LBCI television said the six injured troops were transported by helicopter to Beirut. Breidi is involved along with the detainee Hussein al-Hassan, who was arrested Thursday, in a plot to attack churches in the northern Bekaa town of Ras Baalbek, reports said. Two devices had exploded Wednesday evening inside a garbage container near a church in Ras Baalbek, causing no casualties, reports said.

Aoun-Hariri Meeting Precedes Meeting of Higher Defense Council
Naharnet/May 26/17/President Michel Aoun held talks with Prime Minister Saad Hariri Friday at the Baabda Palace ahead of a meeting for the country's Higher Defense Council. Aoun, Hariri, the relevant ministers, security chiefs and judicial officials took part in the meeting. "The president lauded the performance of the security agencies and the continuation of the military and security operations to deter terror and confront all its forms... amid the proliferation of terrorist movements across the globe," said a statement issued after the meeting. "The council then discussed the readiness of the relevant security and administrative agencies on the occasion of the advent of the holy month of Ramadan and the summer season, in order to provide the needed stability for citizens, tourists and expats in all regions," it added. "The council also discussed the number of military and security personnel who are needed to cover the requirements on the ground," the statement said. "After deliberations, the council took the appropriate measures, gave directions and kept its resolutions confidential in line with the applicable laws," the statement added. Earlier in the day, state-run National News Agency said the council was expected to discuss the security situations in the country and listen to reports from the security chiefs regarding the preparations for the holy month of Ramadan, which will begin Saturday.

Karam Says LF Initiative Prevents Bad Scenarios as Adwan Meets Berri
Naharnet/May 26/17/MP Fadi Karam of the Lebanese Forces announced Friday that the latest initiative by LF leader Samir Geagea regarding the electoral law has the ability to prevent bad scenarios such as returning to the 1960 law, parliamentary vacuum or an extension of parliament's term. “Dr. Geagea's latest initiative might be the last solution should no agreement be reached during the next two days,” Karam added, following talks with Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut Elias Aude. “Dr. Geagea's initiative calls for consensus on a law based on full proportional representation and should some disagreements linger over the law's restraints, they would be put to a cabinet vote,” the MP explained. LF deputy head MP George Adwan meanwhile held talks on Friday in Ain el-Tineh with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. The National News Agency said talks tackled “the latest developments regarding the electoral law.” Adwan for his part said “progress is being made but nothing is final.”“Contacts and deliberations will continue in this regard,” he added.

Army Arrests Two Terror Suspects in Akkar Province
Naharnet/May 26/17/The army on Friday arrested two terror suspects in the northern Akkar district, state-run National News Agency reported. “A unit from the Lebanese army's Strike Force raided at dawn two houses in the outskirts of Qammoua in Akkar's mountains,” NNA said. “It arrested W.M. and S.H.Z. who are suspected of belonging to terrorist groups,” the agency added.

Berri's Bloc Says Parties Discussing Proportional Representation Districts
Naharnet/May 26/17/The proportional representation system is the focus of electoral law discussions and the debate is still revolving around the electoral districts and the ranking of candidates on the electoral ballots, MP Michel Moussa of Speaker Nabih Berri's Development and Liberation bloc said on Friday. “All electoral formats have been proposed and what remains is to find a formula that creates common ground among the parties,” Moussa told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3), noting that there are “major efforts” in this regard. He warned that failure to agree on a new law “would have negative repercussions on the proper functioning of the State,” adding that another extension of parliament's term is “out of the question.” Moussa also noted that “the opening of an extraordinary legislative session will provide an additional chance” to reach a new electoral law.

Change and Reform Says Polls in Fall under 'Proportional Law with Restraints'
Naharnet/May 26/17/The parliamentary elections will be held in the fall under a proportional representation electoral system with “some restraints,” ex-justice minister and Change and Reform bloc member Shakib Qortbawi has said. “The presidency has a clear vision: the same as the struggle was successful in the presidential elections and the representative of Christians was elected by near-unanimity, correct representation in the parliamentary elections will be achieved soon,” Qortbawi told Kuwait's al-Anbaa newspaper in remarks published Friday. “There is a major national consensus on proportional representation with some restraints because only such a law would achieve correct representation,” the former minister added. “After the president used his constitutional powers to suspend parliament's convention, the Lebanese became convinced that any extension is not possible,” Qortbawi explained. And noting that President Michel Aoun “will not let Lebanon plunge into vacuum after June 20,” the Change and Reform member said “the eleventh-hour efforts will produce a new law and there will be no vacuum at all.”“I'm confident that a new law will be passed according to proportional representation with some restraints before June 20 and the elections will be held in the fall,” Qortbawi went on to say.

Jumblatt visits Vatican, meets Pope Francis
Fri 26 May 2017/NNA - "Democratic Gathering" head MP Walid Jumblatt visited the Vatican where he met with Pope Francis. MP Jumblatt also held talks with Vatican senior officials over the general situation in Lebanon and the broader region. Jumblatt underlined during his talks the importance of multilateralism, diversity and national partnership in Lebanon, as per a statement by Progressive Socialist Party's Media Commission. The PSP leader is accompanied by his son Teymour and Gathering's members MPs Ghazi Aridi and Henry Helou. Vatican officials expressed keenness on the Lebanese national unity and coexistence, as per the statement by PSP media bureau. Jumblatt applauded "the important positions proclaimed by Pope Francis in the various humanitarian spheres."

Army raids house of Ras Baalbeck explosion suspect in Arsal
Fri 26 May 2017 /NNA - The Lebanese army raided the house of the terrorist H.H. who is accused of Ras Baalbeck explosion, NNA field reporter said on Friday. The army is also raiding houses of other suspects who were revealed during investigations to be involved in said incident and their relation with armed men in Arsal outskirts.

Aoun deplores terrorist attack in Egypt's Minya, cables condolences to Sisi, Tawadros II
Fri 26 May 2017/NNA - President of the Republic Michel Aoun on Friday condemned the terrorist attack that targeted a bus carrying Egyptian Copts while traveling to a monastery in southern Egypt, killing 26 people and wounding dozens. President Aoun stressed that Lebanon stands beside Egypt in the face of terrorism and all that threatens its security and stability. Aoun cabled his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Pope of Alexandria, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II, offering heartfelt condolences on the fallen victims and wishing the injured speedy recovery.

Foreign Ministry deplores in strongest terms terrorist attack in Egypt's Minya
Fri 26 May 2017/NNA - The Lebanese Foreign Ministry condemned in the strongest terms the cowardly terrorist attack that targeted a bus carrying Egyptian Copts while traveling to a monastery in southern Egypt, killing 26 people and wounding dozens, including children.
"This second brutal massacre against the Copts in less than a month confirms the existence of a systematic terrorist scheme aimed at targeting an essential component of Egypt in a malicious attempt to stir up sectarian strife, hit the fabric of the Egyptian society and harm Egypt's pioneering role and status globally and in the region," Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday. The Ministry reiterated its stern condemnation of all sorts of violence, affirming that terrorists' attempts to target minorities aimed at fueling tensions, are nothing but botched attempts buried by Lebanon in its cradle a long time ago. The Ministry voiced solidarity with Egypt to thwart all these hellish schemes, offering heartfelt condolences to Egypt- leadership, government and people- as well as to the families of fallen victims and wishing the wounded speedy recovery.

Hariri receives Microsoft regional president
Fri 26 May 2017/NNA - The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri received today at the "Center House" the President of the Middle East and Africa region at Microsoft, Samer Abu Ltaif. After the meeting, Abu Ltaif said that discussions focused on the role that technology can play in upgrading the performance of the government and what Microsoft can do through its strategic relation with the Lebanese government to help it move in this direction, especially that the digital revolution represents a major revolution in the world. They also talked about the situation of the emerging companies and the importance of developing the sectors of education, banks and universities in particular so that Lebanon would have the structure and environment for the emerging companies. For his part, Hariri spoke about the capabilities that could be provided through amending policies and changing laws in a way that enables Lebanon to be a regional center that attracts talents and technological companies to increase investments in it.

Geagea, Chab tackle election law issue
Fri 26 May 2017/NNA - Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea met on Friday at his Maarab residence with "Future" parliamentary bloc MP Bassem Chab over the overall situation in the country, notably the stalled vote law. On emerging, MP Chab hoped that a new electoral law would be devised before June 20, saying "chances are still available to reach a new modern vote law that satisfies all camps", especially with the presence of true determination to reach such a solution. The Lawmaker sounded optimistic about the endorsement of a new election law as soon as possible, bringing to attention that all sides refuse to go back to the 1960 vote law. Chab stressed that all concerned sides are aware of the repercussions of failing to reach a new election law, stressing the presence of determination by all to reach a solution that spares Lebanon any vacuum.

Hizbullah denounces terror attack in Egypt, calls for grave stand in face of terrorism
Fri 26 May 2017/NNA - Hizbullah on Friday categorically condemned the terrorist attack that targeted a bus carrying Egyptian Coptic civilians while traveling to a monastery in southern Egypt, killing at least 26 people and wounding dozens. "This heinous crime is to be added to the criminal record of the lethal gangs who are committing their crimes devoid of every human feeling and violating the sanctity of the human soul, thus smearing the noble values of the true religion," Hizbullah said in a statement on Friday. Expressing great pain for the terrible human losses amongst the innocent people, Hizbullah called for a serious and sincere stand in the face of terrorism which is carrying out its crimes under the cover of religion. The Party called for a clear-cut, decisive fight against this terrorism, in terms of thought, funding and support. Hizbullah offered heartfelt condolences to the sisterly Egypt and the families of the fallen victims, wishing the injured speedy recovery.

Army Commander, interlocutors tackle overall situation
Fri 26 May 2017/NNA - Army commander Joseph Aoun on Friday met respectively at his Yarzeh office with MP Elie Aoun and head of the Maronite General Council, former Minister Wadih Khazen, with talks reportedly touching on the overall situation in the country. Major General Aoun then met with Deputy Government Commissioner to the Military Tribunal, Judge Dani Zaani, where they took up an array of judicial affairs. The Secretary General of the Lebanese Syrian Supreme Council, Nasri Khoury, also visited General Aoun over the situation on the Lebanese-Syrian borders. On the other hand, the army commander met with the Strategic Advisor of the British Security Cooperation Program pertaining to the Border Control Project, Retired General Grim Lamb, in the presence of British Ambassador to Lebanon, Hugo Shorter. Talks reportedly touched on military cooperation relations between the armies of both countries, notably in the fields of training and borders' control.

Geagea denounces terrorist attack in Egypt, calls for global solidarity against terrorism
Fri 26 May 2017/NNA - Lebanese Forces Party leader, Samir Geagea, condemned the terrorist attack that targeted a bus carrying Egyptian citizens while traveling to a monastery in southern Egypt, killing 30 people and wounding 16. Expressing his deepest condolences to the Egyptian people, the Coptic Church and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Geagea regretted the fact that "terrorism is moving from one country to another in a desperate attempt to prove that it is capable of having major influence, while it is truly incapable of doing anything under the global insistence on confronting, beating and eradicating it."Geagea called for "global solidarity in the face of terrorism," saying that "Egypt has always been and will always remain stronger than those terrorist acts."

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 26-27/17
Gunmen with machine guns kill 26 Coptic Christians in Egypt
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 26 May 2017/Ten masked gunmen, who used machine guns, opened fire at two buses carrying Egyptian Coptic Christians to a monastery south of Cairo on Friday, killing 26 mostly children and injuring 26 others, Al Arabiya News Channel reported. A Church source told Egypt’s al-Ahram newspaper that the bus trip was for children to visit a monastery and only three has survived. The Christian group was travelling in two buses and a truck through the province, which is home to a sizeable Christian minority, the governor of Egypt’s Minya province, Essam al-Bedaiwy, said.
The health ministry said there were between eight and 10 attackers dressed in military uniforms, according to witnesses. Al Arabiya News Channel’s correspondent said the Interior Ministry’s Special Forces shut down entry points and exits to Minaya to prevent militants from escaping.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. After the deadly attack, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi called for an emergency security meeting. Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 92 million, have been the subject of a series of deadly attacks in recent months. About 70 have been killed in bomb attacks on churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta since December. Those attacks were claimed by ISIS. Late last month Pope Francis visited Egypt in part to show his support for the Christians of this Muslim majority Arab nation who have been increasingly targeted by Islamic militants. During the trip, Francis paid tribute to the victims of the December bombing at Cairo’s St. Peter’s church, which is located in close proximity to the St. Mark's cathedral, the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Following the pope’s visit, ISIS affiliate in Egypt vowed to escalate attacks against Christians, urging Muslims to steer clear of Christian gatherings and western embassies as they are targets of their group’s militants. Copts rallied behind general-turned-president, Sisi, in 2013 when he ousted his Islamist predecessor Mohammed Mursi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood group. Attacks on Christian homes, businesses and churches subsequently surged, especially in the country’s south. (With Reuters, AP)

At Least 28 Killed including Children in Attack on Egypt Christians
Masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians on a visit to a monastery south of the Egyptian capital on Friday, killing at least 28 people including children, officials said. The assailants in three pick-up trucks attacked the bus as it carried visitors to the Saint Samuel monastery in Minya province, more than 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Cairo, before fleeing, the interior ministry said. It was the latest attack on Copts after Islamic State (IS) group jihadists bombed three churches in December and April, killing dozens of Christians. Pictures of the bus aired by state television showed the vehicle riddled with machinegun fire and its windows shot out. Cellphone footage and pictures circulated on Egyptian media sites showed several victims who had apparently been shot dead scattered in the desert sand around the bus. State television quoted a health ministry official as saying a "large number" of the victims were children. "They used automatic weapons," Minya governor Essam el-Bedawi told state television of the attackers. Bedawi said police were fanning out along the road where the attack took place and had set up checkpoints. State television reported that the attack killed 28 people, citing the health minister. The latest attack came after jihadists had threatened more strikes against the Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 90-million population. In a statement on its spokesman's Facebook page, the Coptic Church called for "measures to be taken to prevent the dangers of those incidents that tarnish Egypt's image." Suicide bombers with the jihadist group struck a Cairo church on December 11, next to the seat of the Coptic pope, killing 29 people. On April 11, bombers attacked two churches north of Cairo on Palm Sunday, killing 45 people, in the deadliest strike in living memory against the Copts. The Copts' Pope Tawadros II had been leading a service in one of the two churches attacked that day. The bombings prompted President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare a three-month state of emergency.
'Unacceptable to Muslims'
The Egyptian affiliate of IS has also killed several Copts in North Sinai, forcing dozens of families to flee the province in January. Friday's shooting came after a historic visit to Egypt by Roman Catholic Pope Francis to show solidarity with the country's Christians. In his late April trip, Francis visited one of the bombed Coptic churches and condemned violence carried out in the name of God. Al-Azhar, Egypt's top religious authority, condemned Friday's shooting which took place on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "The Minya incident is unacceptable to Muslims and Christians and it targets Egypt's stability," Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb said in a statement.
Israel, with whom Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979, also condemned the attack. "Israel strongly condemns the severe terrorist attack in Egypt and sends the condolences of the Israeli people to President al-Sisi and the Egyptian people," a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.Copts have suffered sectarian attacks for years. A suicide bomber attacked a church in 2011, and there have been deadly clashes with Muslims, especially in the rural south, following disputes over church construction. Egypt says it has identified those behind the church bombings in April, saying they were part of an extremist cell based in southern provinces, offering a reward for their capture.
Sisi has defended the performance of his security forces and accused jihadists of trying to divide Egyptian society by attacking vulnerable minorities.

Trump Rows Shadow 'Toughest G7 in Years'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 26/17/U.S. President Donald Trump, fresh from scolding Europe over military spending, slammed "bad" behavior in trade by Germany as acrimony dogged the start of annual G7 summit talks on Friday. The controversy threatened to undermine a show of unity by the world's richest democracies against jihadist terrorism, after 22 people were killed in the Manchester concert bombing this week. Unusually for such a setpiece event, leaders gave up any pretence of papering over their divisions as they opened the two-day summit in Sicily's ancient hilltop resort of Taormina, which the Italian hosts had hoped would showcase cooperation against deadly flows of illegal migration from nearby Africa. "There is no doubt that this will be the most challenging G7 summit in years," European Union president Donald Tusk said. The meeting comes days after an eight-year-old girl was among those killed in Manchester, northwest England, by a homegrown suicide bomber. Four more of the victims were aged 14 or 15. British Prime Minister Theresa May was to issue a call for G7 countries to put more pressure on internet companies to ensure extremist content is quickly taken offline and notified to authorities. With the Islamic State group on the retreat in Iraq and Syria, "the fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet", May was to tell her colleagues, aides said, before flying home early to oversee the ongoing "critical" security situation in Britain. U.S. officials acknowledged they were expecting a difficult discussion on trade after reports that Trump had described the Germans as "bad, very bad" and vowed to stop them selling millions of cars in the United States, during a meeting with senior EU officials in Brussels on Thursday. Also in Brussels, Trump had fired an extraordinary broadside at NATO allies for failing to pay their fair share of the transatlantic defense bill, and stopped short of endorsing the group's guarantee of collective defense. Both U.S. and EU officials confirmed the outspoken president had raised the auto trade issue but sought to play down the language used, as Trump shared friendly words with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders heading into the G7 gathering. White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said that trade would be a "big topic" overall after Trump rode to power on an "America First" platform of protectionism. "We are going to continue to fight for what we believe is right, which is free, open and fair trade, which the president has been very clear on what that means," Cohn said. "We will have a very robust discussion on trade." With May and Trump among four new faces in the G7 club, the gathering in Italy was billed as a key test of how serious the new U.S. administration is about implementing its radical policy agenda, particularly on climate change. Senior officials are preparing to work overtime in a bid to bridge what appear to be irreconcilable differences over Trump's declared intention of ditching the U.S. commitment to the landmark Paris accord on curbing carbon emissions.
Leaks row
Officials acknowledge the summit is effectively about damage limitation against a backdrop of fears among U.S. partners that the Trump presidency could undermine the international order in place since World War II. For Trump, the talks will be the final leg of his first presidential foray overseas. The grueling week-long trip briefly diverted attention from domestic concerns focused on alleged campaign collusion with Russia. But that issue reared up again overnight as it emerged the FBI is examining his son-in-law Jared Kushner's contacts with the Russian ambassador in connection with the probe of alleged interference in the election campaign by Moscow. U.S. officials had hoped the globe-trotting trip would enable Trump to position himself as a more statesmanlike figure and he enjoyed largely positive coverage on his stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian territories, and at the Vatican. But some of that has been undone by now-viral images of the billionaire tycoon shoving his way past other leaders at a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, and by his reported comments on Germany.
N. Korea 'will be solved'
The other new face is France's youthful president, Emmanuel Macron, who has vowed to defend the Paris climate change deal agreed in 2015. Macron met May just before the summit and promised France would do "everything we can" to help Britain in the fight against terrorism. But he gave short shrift to May's request for Brexit-bound Britain and the EU to negotiate their future trading relationship at the same time as they thrash out the terms of their divorce. Japan meanwhile was using the summit to air its concerns about North Korea. Meeting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Sicily, Trump bullishly promised the problem posed by North Korea's missile and nuclear programs "will be solved."

Arab NATO plan being studied to fight ISIS, isolate Iran
By Staff writer Al Arabiya, London, Brussels Friday, 26 May 2017/A NATO-style alliance for the Middle East was discussed on Thursday during a NATO summit, attended by US President Donald Trump in the Belgian capital Brussels, where leaders agreed to further discuss the so-called “Middle East Treaty Organization” METO that would mainly fight ISIS and isolate Iran, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. The newspaper quoted a western diplomatic sources as saying that the Trump administration was very enthusiastic about the plan and had brought up the issue with several Arab leaders. Trump: King Salman is a wise man who wants ‘rapid’ improvements. He said “The plan is moving forward and is being studied. There has been an agreement to hold further talks concerning its establishment, and to reach a deal concerning its targets, mechanisms and the means to achieve them.”The diplomat added that one issue of dispute is related to the headquarters of METO, before suggesting Brussels. The aim of the new plan is to achieve joint priorities between Washington and regional states, including the defeat of ISIS, fighting terrorism, in addition to facing the Iranian treats and to draw a new map of regional alliances through establishing joint forces and intelligent information sharing.

Monitor: Air strikes kill 35 civilians in ISIS-held Syria town
AFP, Beirut Friday, 26 May 2017/US-led coalition air strikes on Thursday killed at least 35 civilians in an eastern Syrian town held by the ISIS militants, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes hit a series of residential buildings in Mayadeen, a town in Syria’s oil-rich eastern province of Deir Ezzor. “Among the dead are at least 26 relatives of ISIS fighters, many of them women and children, including Syrians and Moroccans,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. “The other nine are Syrian civilians and include five children,” Abdel Rahman told AFP. Thursday’s toll brought the known deaths from two days of coalition bombing raids on Mayadeen to 50, the Observatory said, after 15 people were killed in US-led strikes on the town on Wednesday. The Britain-based monitor this week reported the highest monthly civilian death toll for the coalition since it began bombing Syria on September 23, 2014. Between April 23 and May 23 of this year, coalition strikes killed a total of 225 civilians in Syria, the Observatory said. The international alliance is providing air cover for twin offensives on IS’s remaining bastion cities: Raqa in northern Syria and Mosul in neighboring Iraq.
Killed ‘unintentionally’
On Thursday, a Pentagon investigation concluded that at least 105 civilians died in an anti-militant air strike on an ISIS weapons cache in Mosul in March. Prior to the new revelation, the US military had said coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria had “unintentionally” killed a total of 352 civilians since 2014.Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks non-combatant deaths in Iraq and Syria, estimated earlier this week that as many as 366 civilians were killed in Iraq and Syria in April alone. It said it had seen civilian fatalities surge since US President Donald Trump came to power and gave greater leeway to battlefield commanders. Airwars’ figure and its claim that fatalities had risen under Trump were denied by Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, who heads US Air Forces Central Command. The US military insists that its precision targeting abilities are the best in the world and that it takes every measure to avoid hitting civilians, including by aborting missile strikes at the last moment if a civilian unexpectedly wanders into the target zone.

Abbas calls on US to mediate hunger strike in Palestinian jails
AFP, Ramallah Friday, 26 May 2017/Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he had asked the United States to help end a weeks-long hunger strike by Palestinians held in Israeli jails, as the Red Cross warned the strikers were entering a “critical phase”. Hundreds of the prisoners have been refusing food since April 17 over conditions for about 6,500 Palestinian inmates. Speaking to senior members of his Fatah party in Ramallah after meeting President Donald Trump's special representative Jason Greenblatt, Abbas said he had spelt out his position to the envoy who would convey it to the Israelis. “We have explained in detail to American envoy Jason Greenblatt the issue of the prisoner strike and we have called for American intervention to ensure that the rights of prisoners are protected and their humanitarian demands are granted,” he said.
‘Shall be in touch’
“We shall be in touch with him to give us the answer of the Israeli side,” he said, adding he hoped to announce a response “in the evening or tomorrow”. Greenblatt is in Israel and the Palestinian territories to follow up on Trump’s visit earlier in the week and to build on his plans for a new Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative, according to Israeli media. The hunger strike is being led by prominent Fatah figure Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences for murders committed during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising. Among the strikers’ demands are access to telephones, more family visits, improved medical care and an end to punitive solitary confinement.The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday that its doctors who have been visiting the prisoners were concerned about “potential irreversible health consequences”. “From a medical standpoint, we are entering a critical phase,” it added, urging the authorities on both sides to find a solution to the standoff.

UN Slams Syria Airstrikes as 35 Civilians Killed in Deir Ezzor
Asharq Al-Awsat English/May 26/17/UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein of Jordan speaks during a news conference at the UN European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, May 1, 2017. The United Nations condemned on Friday the rising death toll of civilians in Syria, urging all air forces operating in the country to take greater care to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilians in their escalating air strikes especially in the northeast against the ISIS terror group. “The rising toll of civilian deaths and injuries already caused by airstrikes in Deir Ezzor and Al-Raqqa suggests that insufficient precautions may have been taken in the attacks,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in a statement. His spokesman Rupert Colville told a Geneva briefing: “There are multiple air forces operating in this part of Syria including the (US-led) coalition, mainly the coalition. We also understand that there are Iraqi airplanes as well.”On Thursday, US-led coalition airstrikes killed at least 35 civilians in Mayadeen in eastern Syrian, a town held by ISIS, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes hit a series of residential buildings in the town in the oil-rich eastern province of Deir Ezzor. “Among the dead are at least 26 relatives of ISIS fighters, many of them women and children, including Syrians and Moroccans,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. “The other nine are Syrian civilians and include five children,” Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Thursday’s toll brought the known deaths from two days of coalition bombing raids on Mayadeen to 50, the Observatory said, after 15 people were killed in US-led strikes on the town on Wednesday. The Britain-based monitor this week reported the highest monthly civilian death toll for the coalition since it began bombing Syria on September 23, 2014.
Between April 23 and May 23 of this year, coalition strikes killed a total of 225 civilians in Syria, the Observatory said. The international alliance is providing air cover for twin offensives on ISIS’s remaining bastion cities: Raqqa in northern Syria and Mosul in neighboring Iraq. On Thursday, a Pentagon investigation concluded that at least 105 civilians died in an anti-terrorist air strike on an ISIS weapons cache in Mosul in March. Prior to the new revelation, the US military had said coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria had “unintentionally” killed a total of 352 civilians since 2014. Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks non-combatant deaths in Iraq and Syria, estimated earlier this week that as many as 366 civilians were killed in Iraq and Syria in April alone. It said it had seen civilian fatalities surge since US President Donald Trump came to power and gave greater leeway to battlefield commanders. Airwars’ figure and its claim that fatalities had risen under Trump were denied by Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, who heads US Air Forces Central Command. The US military insists that its precision targeting abilities are the best in the world and that it takes every measure to avoid hitting civilians, including by aborting missile strikes at the last moment if a civilian unexpectedly wanders into the target zone. More than 320,000 people have been killed and millions more displaced since Syria’s conflict broke out in March 2011.

Arab NATO Plan Being Studied to Fight ISIS, Isolate Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat English/May 26/17/London, Brussels, Moscow – A NATO-style alliance for the Middle East was discussed on Thursday during a NATO summit, attended by US President Donald Trump in the Belgian capital Brussels, where leaders agreed to further discuss the so-called “Middle East Treaty Organization” METO that would mainly fight ISIS and isolate Iran. Western diplomatic sources said that the Trump administration was very enthusiastic about the plan and had brought up the issue with several Arab leaders. The aim of the new plan is to achieve joint priorities between Washington and regional states, including the defeat of ISIS, fighting terrorism, in addition to facing the Iranian treats and to draw a new map of regional alliances through establishing joint forces and intelligent information sharing. A diplomat told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday: “The plan is moving forward and is being studied. There has been an agreement to hold further talks concerning its establishment, and to reach a deal concerning its targets, mechanisms and the means to achieve them.”The diplomat added that one issue of dispute is related to the headquarters of METO, before suggesting Brussels. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced Thursday an Action Plan on how to step up NATO’s efforts in fighting terrorism and to “to join the Global Coalition fighting ISIS.”He added: “This will send a strong political message of NATO’s commitment to the fight against terrorism and improve coordination within the Coalition. But it does not mean that NATO will engage in combat operations.” The issue is expected to create a strong dispute with Turkey, because fighting ISIS means supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes Kurdish People’s Protection Units, considered by Ankara as a terrorist organization. Also in Brussels, Trump had called on NATO leaders to focus on the threats from Russia at the top of their agenda, a demand that was not welcomed by all member-states. “The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration as well as threats from Russia and NATO’s eastern and southern borders,” Trump said at NATO headquarters. On Thursday, Moscow warned from the escalating tension in northeast Syria in light of the Turkish threats to launch a military operation against Kurds.

Trump Proposes Regional Peace Plan Based on Arab Initiative
Nazir Majli/Asharq Al-Awsat English/May 26/17/Tel Aviv – US envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt, who arrived in the region recently, is attempting to push Palestinians and Israelis towards a new equation that will pave the way for the resumption of peace negotiations, revealed political sources in Ramallah and Tel Aviv. Palestinian and Israeli sources said that the US project will be mainly focused on the regional peace plan based on the Arab peace initiative. These sources said that the two sides should not search for the errors in each other’s approach, but should make their own initiatives to push the negotiations forward. On this basis, the US administration will not suffice with the measures that the Israeli government took on Sunday in regards to facilitating Palestinians’ daily lives. It instead demands Israel to restore large areas to them in order to expand the territories of the West Bank.
The maps of these plans have been presented to Israel by American officials. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied these claims, while political circles confirmed them. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also hinted that these plans had been devised, disclosing them to reporters during US President Donald Trump’s official visit to Rome. He revealed that the president had exerted a lot of pressure on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu during his trip to Israel earlier this week. He stressed to them that they should reach a settlement in order to advance the peace process. He also reiterated Trump’s assertion that reaching Palestinian-Israeli peace will lead to peace throughout the Middle East. The president was firm when he stressed to the two officials that they should be serious in dealing with the future negotiations and they must consent to making concessions, Tillerson added. Media leaks on the Trump’s meetings in Israel revealed that he had pledged to Abbas to work on leading a political effort based in essence on the Arab peace initiative. Statements by a Palestinian official on the meeting indicate that Trump is seeking a comprehensive regional plan based on the peace initiative. The US president asserted that this will not lead to the abandonment of the two-state solution, but it will call for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. At the heart of the plan, which was addressed in general terms, said the Palestinian official, was Washington’s goal to establish ties between Israel and moderate Arab Sunni countries.At a later time, and based on how much progress is made in implementing the Arab peace initiative, the US will push for holding direct negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis to resolve critical disputes, such as the demarcation of the border of the Palestinian state, the fate of Israeli settlements and the right of return.

Iranians stage protest rally against Bahrain crackdown
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Hundreds of Iranian worshippers have rallied in Tehran to denounce a Bahrain police raid on the hometown of a prominent Shiite cleric this week that left five of his supporters dead and 286 arrested. The Iranian demonstrators took to the streets after Friday prayers in Tehran, chanting “Death to the House of Khalifa,” a reference to the ruling family of Bahrain, and also, “Death to the House of Saud,” a reference to the Saudi royal family. Iranian media said similar rallies took place in other cities and towns across the country. Predominantly Shiite Iran sees itself as a protector of Shiites across the Muslim world. Saudi Arabia has backed Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy. Bahrain says Tuesday’s operation in Diraz, Sheikh Isa Qassim hometown, to “maintain security and public order.”

Senate committee approves added sanctions for Iran
Michael Collins /USA Today/May 26/17/WASHINGTON — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Thursday to impose new sanctions against Iran but held off on placing sanctions on Russia for meddling in last year’s presidential election. The panel voted 18-3 to impose sanctions on Iran over its recent flurry of ballistic missile tests and human rights violations, despite warnings from some Democrats and the former Obama administration that its actions could jeopardize the landmark nuclear deal struck with Tehran. The committee’s Republican chairman, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, insisted the new sanctions would have no impact on the nuclear deal, which he opposed. “This in no way touches the nuclear deal,” Corker said. The bipartisan bill, which now has 48 Senate co-sponsors, imposes mandatory sanctions on people involved with Iran’s ballistic missile program and those who do business with them. It also applies terrorism sanctions to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and enforces an arms embargo.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 26-27/17
Who runs Qatar behind the scenes?
Said al-Suraihi/Al Arabiya/May 26/17
It is our duty toward Qatar, as a sisterly country, to believe its officials when they say that the official website of the Qatar News Agency (QNA) was hacked and that the hackers put in the mouth of the agency things that it had not said. It is also our duty toward Qatar, as a friendly country, not to disbelieve its official media through which the country’s Emir said things that were not a far cry from the numerous tweets Qatar has written in the past and from which it later tried to disengage itself. Qatar’s tweets and the statements of its ruler are confusing to both its enemies and its friends. Qatar has left those who love it, and we Saudis are among them, and those who are unsure about its attitude, and we are also among them, in total darkness. We are confused by the attitude of this country toward issues that concern all of us. We are unable to take a clear stand toward Qatar except to say that it has disengaged itself from the consensus on issues that represent a common danger to the entire region. Qatar has also disengaged itself from the consensus of the Riyadh Arab-Islamic and US summit, which considered Iran to be a hostile country that is interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.
If the Emir of Qatar believes that it is not wise to escalate matters with Iran because of its Islamic and regional weight, he should be wise enough to realize that it is Iran, and no one else, that has escalated issues with its neighbors
Safe haven
The summit also decided that Iran has provided a safe haven for terrorists and sectarian groups who are jeopardizing the security and stability of the region. If the Emir of Qatar believes that it is not wise to escalate matters with Iran because of its Islamic and regional weight, he should be wise enough to realize that it is Iran, and no one else, that has escalated issues with its neighbors. This is, of course, unless the Emir is unaware of Iran’s interventions in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and its flagrant support for the Houthis in Yemen. And also unless the Emir has not heard of the ballistic missiles Iran has launched along the coast opposite to his country’s borders in the Arabian Gulf. Furthermore, if the Emir of Qatar believes that Hamas is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, then let me tell him that the Palestinians know better than him when it comes to who their real representatives are.
The Palestinians and the Arab League know better than the Emir of Qatar who the sole legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people are.
Real representative
Qatar is still a member of the Arab League and as such the country should know better than its own ruler who is the real representative of the Palestinian people. He has gone against his country’s official stand on who represents the people of Palestine. Qatar recognizes the real representative of the Palestinian people while its Emir does not. Al-Jazeera news channel, the official spokesman of Qatar, has adopted the ambiguous ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, which found a stronghold for its beliefs in that country. These conflicting attitudes have prompted the Emir of Qatar to say that he was maintaining good relationships with both Iran and America at the same time. He also spoke about his good ties with both Hamas and Israel! Paradoxically, while the Emir thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for his warm welcome, he said in his speech before the Riyadh summit that the world consensus against terrorism constituted a danger to Qatar and the security of the region.

Frankincense, the story of a tree that continues to weep for love
Reem Al-Kamali/Al Arabiya/May 26/17
A legend has it that a girl from jinn fell in love with a human boy. Since this love was a violation of the jinn rules, they decided to punish her and transform her into something else. She cried for a long time and after they insisted that she must be punished, she chose to become a tree. Thousands of years passed by and this silent and hurt tree that’s called frankincense continued to shed tears in the form of resin that solidified into white particles which smell of musk. It is therefore a girl in the shape of a tree weeping over her beloved. Crystal tears that taste of grief came out of the trunk and people scattered them on burning coal to turn it into pure smoke with a scent that heals the sick and with a bitter taste that grieves for lost love. With time, these tears turned into grains used in traditional medicine in ancient communities. Modern societies realized the worth of this medicine and learnt that it must be chewed and not swallowed as it has dental effects particularly in preventing bad odor. They have also learnt it is helpful for chronic illnesses and that it can adjust the mood and help with depression and sadness. It can also be used to extract oil and clerics used it to burn incense and purify places of worship. It was thus made use of for several purposes and the tree became a source of profit for merchants. A beautiful tree, which suffered as a result of love, heroically produced a material that healed people. Isn’t it love that we seek from each other?
Old myth
This old myth is from Dhofar in Oman, Yemen and the Horn of Africa as represented in Somalia. This tree’s incense can be found in every household in the UAE and the Arabian Peninsula or rather in the entire world. Doesn’t it deserve to transform into a literary project that the world celebrates? It must not just live through narrated stories. This legend made a passionate love story – despite being mythical – turns into tangible reality. Doesn’t this narrative deserve to transform into a piece of literature in which the heroes are remembered? Myths have no origin but narrating surprises is a beautiful literary concept that the entire world does. This tree has turned into a magnificent legend due to stories about it in folklore and narratives about the conflicts between good and evil and the difference in beliefs between the worlds of human and jinn. A beautiful tree, which suffered as a result of love, heroically produced a material that healed people. Isn’t it love that we seek from each other? The tree is thus worthy of turning into indispensable mythological literature as the idea of writing legends and epics must not remain incomplete in our countries.

Why Scientific Consensus Is Worth Taking Seriously
Faye Flam/Bloomberg/May 26/17
Yes, collective missteps happen. But if anything, history shows how hard it is to get scientists to agree in the first place.
Following the pack is not part of the scientific method. The point is to follow the evidence. And that leaves room for ambiguity in interpreting the survey results showing that 97 percent of climate scientists agree that global warming is real and that human-generated greenhouse gases are a major cause. The National Academy of Sciences, American Physical Society, American Chemical Society and other relevant scientific organizations all agree, too.
For some, this consensus proves that climate change is real and that humans must take immediate action against it. But others, citing history, say the consensus view has been wrong before. Why should we believe it now? For example, scientists once believed the earth was headed into an ice age. So why should we trust them when they say the globe is warming?
A look at the history books and some chats with historians suggest scientists of the past were not the fickle flip-floppers some make them out to be. There’s nothing contradictory about short-term global warming and a much longer-term cycle of ice ages, for example.
In his book “The Discovery of Global Warming,” the historian Spencer Weart writes that in the 19th century, there was a common folk belief that God would keep a hand on the planet’s thermostat. The growing understanding that there had been long-ago ice ages shook that up, and scientists started to recognize that we might head into another ice age in thousands of years. (Recent estimates put the next one at about 50,000 years in the future.)
People did consider the possibility of global cooling on near-term timescales, too, said Harvard historian of science Naomi Oreskes. Particulate matter in smog can dim the sun enough to cool the globe. In the mid-20th century, free of the belief in God’s hand on the thermostat, scientists debated which would win out: particulate-driven cooling or greenhouse gas-driven warming. As they learned more, scientists realized the warming would dominate. The idea that there was any scientific consensus predicting an impending ice age is a lie, Oreskes said.
Another commonly cited example of the fallibility of science is continental drift. In that case, scientists get blamed for failing to accept the theory, which was proposed way back in 1912 by Alfred Wegener, and in hindsight seems sort of obvious — just look at all those jigsaw relationships on the map. The general concept evolved, became known as plate tectonics, and finally gained widespread acceptance by the 1960s.
But between Wegener’s proposal and the 1960s, scientists held a wide range of views about what was going on with the continents, said Oreskes, who has written two books about the topic. Some thought they moved just vertically or just horizontally, or only a little. “There was debate, but no consensus,” she explained.
Both global warming and plate tectonics were proposed decades before they became part of scientific consensus. Scientists of the early 20th century understood the possibility that coal burning would lead to greenhouse gas warming, but there wasn’t consensus until experiments showed that indeed, carbon dioxide was building up in the atmosphere, and the global temperature was rising close to the predicted rate. Likewise, Wegener didn’t know how the continents moved. Scientists eventually figured out the continents were riding around on massive “plates” of crust, the motion driven by convection of material below them.
If anything, history shows how hard it is to get a new consensus in science. Scientists have proposed plenty of wrong ideas — from cold fusion to the connection between autism and childhood vaccines. But these are not consensus ideas. Wrong ideas that get into the heads of whole scientific communities generally don’t start with the scientists. They are part of the prevailing culture, or they represent holding places before scientists develop better theories.
Take the examples that came up a few years ago when the website The Edge posed this question to a group of scientists and other intellectuals: The flat earth and geocentric world are examples of wrong scientific beliefs that were held for long periods. Can you name your favorite example and for extra credit why it was believed to be true?
The flat earth isn’t an idea that traces back to scientists. Long before there were professional scientists, ancient philosophers realized the planet was spherical. You can get the long version of this in a good history-of-science book, such as the recent “To Explain the World” by Steven Weinberg, or a quick and dirty version on Wikipedia. To call this belief “scientific” is like calling the belief in God scientific because in pre-Darwinian times, many scientists believed in God.
The geocentric universe runs into the same problem. It’s a social belief — a religious belief — and it reflects the way things look from down here to those who haven’t been taught otherwise. Scientists were the ones who finally got it right. It undermines science to label past scientists as “wrong” for not knowing what hadn’t been discovered yet.
Physicists did wrongly believe in an invisible substance called “luminiferous ether” — an idea that dates back to Aristotle and was embraced by Isaac Newton. But that was really just an extension of the status quo belief that to have a wave, you needed a substance to make the wave out of — water, or air for sound, or ether for light. Eventually, experiments indicated the ether didn’t exist, and Einstein’s theory of special relativity showed light waves can travel through empty space. Ether wasn’t a dumb idea — it represented an intermediate step in understanding the nature of light.
One of the more interesting wrong ideas that came up in The Edge discussion was the Great Chain of Being: a philosophical idea that stacks everything — people, animals, plants, objects — in a hierarchy, from lowest to highest. Charles Darwin correctly threw the Great Chain of Being into the dumpster, and proposed instead that all life sprung from a common origin and all creatures have been evolving for the same amount of time. Consensus formed around this idea because the evidence kept piling up.
Similarly, until the 20th century there was a folk belief about the climate, which Weart expresses this way in his book: “Hardly anyone imagined that human actions, so puny among the vast natural powers, could upset the balance that governed the planet as a whole … such was the public belief and scientists are members of the public, sharing most of the assumptions of their culture.” The idea of a benevolent natural balance has emotional appeal — just as creationism did — but if history is any guide, the smart money is on the more science-based view that replaced it.

Rouhani and the ‘As-If’ System
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/May 26/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55676
In traditional clerical schools in Iran and Iraq, one of the skills that aspirant mullahs learn is known as “shabih-khani ”.
This is difficult to translate but, broadly speaking, it means “narrating as-if”. In other words, this is a primitive form of theater imitating life with a few broad strokes of words and images.
It was, therefore, no surprise that when the mullahs seized power in Iran in 1979 they dipped into their immense experience of “shabih-khani ” to create a political system, and a way of being, that imitates the real but is as far from reality as possible.
The “as-if” technique was first reflected in the name they chose for the regime they created: Islamic Republic of Iran. Now, anyone familiar with history and theology would know that there could be no republic in Islam. In a republic sovereignty belongs to the people, in Islam it belongs to God. In a republic laws are made and unmade by the public through elections and parliaments. In contrast, Islam is the realm of Divine Law which immutable for eternity, could never be changed and is at best, open to interpretation.
The “as-if” scenario also applies to including the name of Iran into the new regime’s triple identity. One problem is that Islam is a universal faith and cannot be confined to any particular national identity. Another problem is that Iran existed as a nation-state and a cultural space long before Islam appeared while Islam does not depend for its existence and success on Iran or any other particular country.
In other words, outside the ”as-if” exercise, the Khomeinist regime is neither a republic nor Islamic and, even more so, not even Iranian.
The mullahs also created an “as-if” parliament, a body that looks like a parliament and sounds like one but is miles away from a real legislature. Khomeini was obliged to include this pseudo-parliament in his scheme in order to hoodwink the Iranian middle classes who had dreamt of a Western-style parliamentary democracy since the 19th century.
But the most glaring example of the “as-if” gimmick is the election of a President of the Islamic Republic, an exercise that we witnessed earlier this month. Since the Khomeinist system isn’t a republic it is logical that it should have no president either. And, yet, such a position is included in the Constitution of the Khomeinist regime. Leaving aside “as-if” considerations, the position has nothing to do with the presidential function in any normal republic. The man who occupies it could, at best, be described as “Head of the Council of Ministers” or “First Minister.” Muhammad Khatami who played the role of president for eight years has described his position as that of a “logistics-man” whose task is to provide the wherewithal to implement policies set by the “Supreme Guide”.
To foment more confusion, the so-called “president” is allowed to have countless “assistants” (mu’awen). The trouble is that in their case the term “assistant to the president” is translated as “vice president”. This is why a foreign visitor is flattered when on arrival in Tehran he is greeted by an “as-if” “vice president” who, in reality, could be no more than a bag-carrier for the “as-if” president. Having said all that, one must give it to the mullahs: their “as-if” scheme has fooled many people inside and outside Iran. In the latest pseudo-election we saw some otherwise sane Iranians arguing about the necessity of voting for Hassan Rouhani, as “the bad candidate”, to prevent the election of Ibrahim Raisi, branded as “the worst candidate.”
This has also been the theme of several panels organized by the Tehran lobby in Washington and elsewhere to sell the idea that the re-election of “moderate, reformer” Rouhani promises a change of behavior by Iran.
The fact is that Rouhani is neither a moderate nor a reformer. He started his career as a member of the Islamic Majlis by introducing bill to have the hanging of regime opponents organized in public, preferably during Friday Prayer gatherings. He claims that his greatest “honor” is that he was the first mullah to refer as Imam to the late Ayatollah Khomeini.
Rouhani was also a member of a committee charged with purging the Iranian army of its best officers, a move that weakened Iran immensely on the eve of Saddam Hussein’s invasion in September 1980. A member of the security services from the start, Rouhani was deeply involved in almost all of the atrocities committed by the regime.
As for his description as “reformer”, in his first four-year term Rouhani did not suggest, let alone implement, a single reform in any walk of life. He says he wants reform, but does not say what it is precisely that he wants.
For all that, I believe everyone, including Rouhani, should be given the benefit of the doubt. Who knows, maybe age has mellowed him. Maybe he had his fill of revolutionary blood-letting and is seeking to burnish his historic image.
If Rouhani has truly changed we shall soon know. Even within his extremely limited powers he can still do quite a few things to ease the pressure on the Iranian people and reduce tension in the region. Even if he can’t do anything he can at least call for some things. For example, he could ask for a moratorium on executions which, in his first four years, reached the highest peak since the 1980s. He could also call for the release of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience who have already served their sentences but are still being held without fresh charges. He could publicly demand that those put under house-arrest without charge regain their full freedom.
Maybe because he is conscious of his limited powers, in his first message after the election, Rouhani promised to be “a good advocate for you, pleading you cause.”
On foreign policy, Rouhani could at least “plead” for the release of the 11 hostages from five countries, including some from the US and the UK. He may not be able to efface the “Death America” slogan that constitutes the cornerstone of Khomeinist fake ideology. But he could, at least, paint over the American flag on which he walks every day before entering his office. How could Rouhani feel if Donald Trump walked on an Iranian flag every day before entering the Oval Office?
Rouhani or any other “as-if” president cannot decide radical changes in the Khomeinist regime’s policies. But he can if he has the courage, at least, ask for change.

Iran: The Regime’s Nature and Its Calculations
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/May 26/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55679
It was interesting that the arrival of the US president Donald Trump in Riyadh in his first foreign visit since taking office should coincide with the election of Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani for a second term.
Avoiding the temptation of ‘conspiracy theory’, I reckon it was very much in the interest of the Iranian regime that Rouhani easily defeated his opponent Ebrahim Raisi who is thought of as the future ‘supreme guide’, given the change of leadership in Washington. Such a result reflects a wise and tactful approach by the ‘movers and shakers’ in Tehran to internal as well as foreign policies.
Those ‘movers and shakers’ may be pretty extremist anti-Arab and anti-West, but it doesn’t follow that they are stupid. Actually, the opposite is true; as there are many smart and cultured individuals in the Iranian regime who are skillful political and tactical operators and understand the limits of adventures and open hostilities, thus, never hesitate to bend before the storm.
Now that Barack Obama has left office carrying with his vision for the Middle East, a Republican administration is in charge. It is less convinced of Tehran’s leaders’ ‘moderation’, and more doubtful that their policies of sectarian incitement, military intervention, and direct hegemony adopted towards the Arab world are the best way to fight terrorism.
Hence, with the apparent end of the American-Iranian honeymoon, beginning with Syria, Tehran’s political ‘kitchen’ felt in need to balance out the two Iranian power blocs, although they are nothing but the two sides of one coin. With this in mind, the final six presidential candidates were approved, while others were disqualified including Mahmud Ahmadinejad, the former two-term president!
Of course, the ‘supreme guide’ remains the real ruler of Iran, regardless of the attempts of its state PR machine to promote a mirage of democracy. Indeed, the unrivalled position of the ‘supreme guide’ is a fact even the much trumpeted ‘reformists’ Rouhani and his vice president Mohsen Jahangiri by the Iranian people during the last four years of his presidency, he would never had the courage to raise the issues of corruption, unemployment, social problems, and claim to the champion of the poor, as he did during the televised debates. The fact is that Rouhani’s tough talk was directed at the de facto presidential candidates of the IRGC, which thanks to its institutions, interests, and money, network the real powerbase of Iran’s security system and its major strike force.
This actually means that the election campaign, just like ‘Iranian democracy’ itself, is flawed and self-contradictory; since the president does not rule … and the real ruler is neither the president nor a candidate to be chosen through elections.
Despite this fact one has to accept that Iran has gained in political savviness since 1979 with the emergence of ‘pragmatists’ like Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, and later Hassan Rouhani, who have mastered the policy of taking a few steps forward and one step backward. And although ‘conservative’ hawks remain the real mainstay of the regime and the honest reflection of its true nature, those infrequently described as ‘reformists’ and ‘moderates’ are much closer to the pulse of people, millions of whom do not agree with the regime’s political priorities.
Here it is worth recalling how the ‘Revolution devoured its children’. Hundreds, indeed, thousands of the Iranian revolution were liquidated. Former foreign minister Sadegh Ghotbzadeh was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow the Government and kill Ayatollah Khomeini; Abolhassan Banisadr, the first president after the 1979 revolution, had to flee the country after being impeached and is now living in exile in France. Even senior clerics, such as Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari and Grand Ayatollah Hussein Mutazeri, suffered for their opposition. And last but not least, both a former prime minister, Mir Hussein Mousavi, and a former parliament speaker Mehdi Karoubi, have been placed under house arrest since the 2009 pro-democracy ‘Green Path of Hope Movement’.
The reality is that most Iranian voters do not remember – and do not care about – the old legacy of hate against the Pahlavi royal family, and the abuses of the old royalist SAVAK secret police; as around %70 of Iranians are under-30 years old. Thus, they are not hostages to memories but are rather dreamers for a better future, and deservedly so. They have every right to dream of steady jobs, better education, refining their oil more efficiently, and sure enough, live in peace with their compatriots and neighbors instead of demonizing and fighting them.
Moreover, it is ironic that against the logic of accountability in proper democracies, incumbent president Rouhani was re-elected by ‘protest votes’ against the real rulers. Most of the votes cast in Rouhani’s favor were not ‘his’ but ‘against’ his adversaries, i.e. the ‘supreme guide’ and the IRGC and their authority, even though he is a product of this authority.
What will happen next?
The first question must deal with Rouhani’s policies during his second term, and the second would be about the future of his challenger Raisi.
The new Middle East perhaps best portrayed by Trump’s pictures in Riyadh should send a clear message to Rouhani. It may be beneficial for him if follows Washington’s new approaches in the Arab ‘arenas’ that Tehran managed to penetrate during Obama’s presidency. So far one of Washington top goals is undoing the Russo-Iranian alliance with all its consequences in the Region.
As for Raisi, one wonders if his chances of becoming ‘supreme guide’ can survive his crushing defeat. For even in a lame democracy, like Iran’s, it may prove difficult for someone so strongly rejected by people, in what has been described as fair and clean election, to assume absolute power like that of the ‘supreme guide’!

How Saudi Arabia played Donald Trump
Fareed Zakaria/Washinton Post/May 26/17
This week’s bombing in Manchester, England, was another gruesome reminder that the threat from radical Islamist terrorism is ongoing. And President Trump’s journey to the Middle East illustrated yet again how the country central to the spread of this terrorism, Saudi Arabia, has managed to evade and deflect any responsibility for it. In fact, Trump has given Saudi Arabia a free pass and a free hand in the region. The facts are well-known. For five decades, Saudi Arabia has spread its narrow, puritanical and intolerant version of Islam — originally practiced almost nowhere else — across the Muslim world. Osama bin Laden was Saudi, as were 15 of the 19 9/11 terrorists. And we know, via a leaked email from former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, in recent years the Saudi government, along with Qatar, has been “providing clandestine financial and logistic support to [the Islamic State] and other radical Sunni groups in the region.” Saudi nationals make up the second-largest group of foreign fighters in the Islamic State and, by some accounts, the largest in the terrorist group’s Iraqi operations. The kingdom is in a tacit alliance with al-Qaeda in Yemen.
The Islamic State draws its beliefs from Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi version of Islam. As the former imam of the kingdom’s Grand Mosque said last year, the Islamic State “exploited our own principles, that can be found in our books. . . . We follow the same thought but apply it in a refined way.” Until the Islamic State could write its own textbooks for its schools, it adopted the Saudi curriculum as its own.
Saudi money is now transforming European Islam. Leaked German intelligence reports show that charities “closely connected with government offices” of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait are funding mosques, schools and imams to disseminate a fundamentalist, intolerant version of Islam throughout Germany.
President Trump did not use the phrase when he delivered a speech to leaders from Muslim countries in Saudi Arabia. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)
In Kosovo, the New York Times’ Carlotta Gall describes the process by which a 500-year-old tradition of moderate Islam is being destroyed. “From their bases, the Saudi-trained imams propagated Wahhabism’s tenets: the supremacy of Shariah law as well as ideas of violent jihad and takfirism, which authorizes the killing of Muslims considered heretics for not following its interpretation of Islam. . . . Charitable assistance often had conditions attached. Families were given monthly stipends on the condition that they attended sermons in the mosque and that women and girls wore the veil.”
Saudi Arabia’s government has begun to slow many of its most egregious practices. It is now being run, de facto, by a young, intelligent reformer, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who appears to be refreshingly pragmatic, in the style of Dubai’s visionary leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. But so far the Saudi reforms have mostly translated into better economic policy for the kingdom, not a break with its powerful religious establishment.
Trump’s speech on Islam was nuanced and showed empathy for the Muslim victims of jihadist terrorism (who make up as much as 95 percent of the total, by one estimate). He seemed to zero in on the problem when he said, “No discussion of stamping out this threat would be complete without mentioning the government that gives terrorists . . . safe harbor, financial backing and the social standing needed for recruitment.”
But Trump was talking not of his host, Saudi Arabia, but rather of Iran. Now, to be clear, Iran is a destabilizing force in the Middle East and supports some very bad actors. But it is wildly inaccurate to describe it as the source of jihadist terror. According to an analysis of the Global Terrorism Database by Leif Wenar of King’s College London, more than 94 percent of deaths caused by Islamic terrorism since 2001 were perpetrated by the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other Sunni jihadists. Iran is fighting those groups, not fueling them. Almost every terrorist attack in the West has had some connection to Saudi Arabia. Virtually none has been linked to Iran.
Trump has adopted the Saudi line on terrorism, which deflects any blame from the kingdom and redirects it toward Iran. The Saudis showered Trump’s inexperienced negotiators with attention, arms deals and donations to a World Bank fund that Ivanka Trump is championing. (Candidate Trump wrote in a Facebook post in 2016, “Saudi Arabia and many of the countries that gave vast amounts of money to the Clinton Foundation want women as slaves and to kill gays. Hillary must return all money from such countries!”) In short, the Saudis played Trump. (Jamie Tarabay makes the same point.)
The United States has now signed up for Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy — a relentless series of battles against Shiites and their allies throughout the Middle East. That will enmesh Washington in a never-ending sectarian struggle, fuel regional instability and complicate its ties with countries such as Iraq that want good relations with both sides. But most important, it will do nothing to address the direct and ongoing threat to Americans — jihadist terrorism. I thought that Trump’s foreign policy was going to put America first, not Saudi Arabia.