LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 10/17

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations
Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom
James 4/1-10: "Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members?  You lust, and don’t have. You kill, covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask.  You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures.  You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”?  But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 09-10/17
All So Called Hezbollah Victories Are mere Defeats/Elias Bejjani/November 08/17
Lebanon believes Saudi holds Hariri, demands return/Laila Bassam, Tom Perry/Reuters/November 09/17
Israel's Coming War with Hezbollah/Thomas Donnelly/Weekly Standard/November 13/17
It worked and at an amazing speed/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Araqbiya/November 09/17
Riyadh-Moscow: Toward a strategic relationship/Dr. Ibrahim Al-Othaimin/Al Araqbiya/November 09/17
The ideology of a genocide/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Araqbiya/November 09/17
Allahu Akbar: Islamic Battle Cry/A. Z. Mohamed/Gatestone Institute/November 09/17
France: A Decomposing Civilization/Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/November 09/17
Christmas in an Islamized Europe/Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/November 09/17
How to prevent the next war/Elie Aoun/November 10/17/

Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on November 09-10/17
All So Called Hezbollah Victories Are mere Defeats
Lebanese Patriarch Beshara al-Ra'i requests to meet Harriri in visit to Saudi Arabia
Al-Rahi to Seek Hariri Meeting in Saudi and Relay Messages from Aoun
Hariri Receives EU, US, French and British Ambassadors in Riyadh
Mashnouq: Lebanese are Not 'Sheep', Politics in Lebanon Governed by Elections
Mustaqbal: Hariri's Return Necessary to Restore Balance
Report: Aoun May Ask for Foreign Mediation, Saudi Wants Hariri's Brother to Lead Mustaqbal
Hizbullah Bloc Calls on Saudis to Stay Out of Lebanese Affairs
Bassil: We Demand the Return of 'Our Prime Minister'
Hamadeh Urges 'Considering Content of Hariri's Resignation Announcement'
Police Detain Two Syrian Drug Dealers in Mkalles Linked to 'Abu Salle' Gang
Nasrallah to Deliver Speech Friday
Saudi Arabia urges its nationals to leave Lebanon immediately
Lebanon believes Saudi holds Hariri, demands return
Israel's Coming War with Hezbollah/Thomas Donnelly/Weekly Standard/November 13/17

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 09-10/17
Macron Arrives in Riyadh on Surprise Visit
Saudi, Kuwait, UAE Warn Their Citizens against Travel to Lebanon
Anti-IS Forces Retake Last Jihadist Bastion
Trump Urges China, Russia to Act Fast on N. Korea
Saudi Arabia: Seven of the 208 accused of corruption have been released
In Abu Dhabi, France’s Macron says must remain firm with Iran
Saudi Arabia calls on UN Security Council for action against Iran
Saudi Crown prince welcomes Yemeni president in Riyadh
Egypt's Sisi warns against escalation between Saudi Arabia and Iran

Latest Lebanese Related News published on November 09-10/17
All So Called Hezbollah Victories Are mere Defeats
Elias Bejjani/November 08/17
All those Lebanese who falsely allege that the terrorist Hezbollah defeated Israel in the 2006 war, or liberated South Lebanon in year 2000 are evilly faking the truth 100% and boldly, deceiving themselves as well as every body else. All Hezbollah so called victories are mere loses for each and every Lebanese. Hezbollah is not Lebanese Or Arabic, but an Iranian terrorist mercenary army.

Lebanese Patriarch Beshara al-Ra'i requests to meet Harriri in visit to Saudi Arabia
Al Arabiya/09 November 2017/The Head of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the East, Lebanese Patriarch, Beshara al-Ra'i, has asked to see resigned Prime Minister Saad Hariri during his upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia next week, a spokesman said.
The patriarch has received “positive response” from Saudi officials about meeting Hariri, and it will happen “in principle”, he said. On November 3 Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Gulf Affairs, Thamer al-Sabhan, announced the visit of the Patiarch to Saudi Arabia. Al-Sabhan said that the visit confirms the openness of the Kingdom. "The visit of Patriarch Beshara al-Ra'i to the Kingdom affirms the Kingdom's approach to understanding, openness and peaceful coexistence with all the constituents of the Arab peoples," Sabhan said on Friday. Al-Ra'i received an invitation to to meet King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently, according to the Charge d'Affaires of the Saudi Embassy in Lebanon, Ambassador Walid al-Bukhari. Bukhari described the visit as one of the most important official visits as he will be the first church leader to visit the kingdom.

Al-Rahi to Seek Hariri Meeting in Saudi and Relay Messages from Aoun
Naharnet/November 09/17/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has not postponed his Monday visit to Saudi Arabia and will seek to hold a meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri, media reports said on Thursday. Following talks between al-Rahi and President Michel Aoun in Baabda, presidential palace sources said “al-Rahi's visit to Saudi Arabia is still scheduled” and that the patriarch “will seek to meet with PM Saad Hariri to inquire about his situation.” “Al-Rahi will inform the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that Lebanon cannot withstand the wars of others on its soil or the Iranian-Saudi conflict,” the sources added. Al-Rahi had left the palace without making a statement. The National News Agency said talks tackled “the current situations and the latest developments.”Bkirki spokesman Walid Ghayyad confirmed to al-Jadeed TV that the patriarch would relay messages from Aoun to Saudi officials. Media reports meanwhile said that al-Rahi has received a positive response from Saudi officials regarding his request to meet with Hariri and that the meeting will be held “in principle.”Al-Rahi's visit to Saudi Arabia had been scheduled prior to Hariri's shock resignation on Saturday. In a haltingly delivered address, Hariri accused Iran of meddling in Arab affairs and Iran-backed Hizbullah of holding Lebanon hostage. He also said he feared for his life. In his absence, Lebanon has been awash with speculation the prime minister may be held against his will in Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials have denied Hariri is under house arrest.

Hariri Receives EU, US, French and British Ambassadors in Riyadh

Naharnet/November 09/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri received at his residence in Riyadh on Thursday the French ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Francois Gouyette, his media office said. On Wednesday, Hariri received the head of the European Union delegation to the Kingdom, Michele Cervone d'Urso. He had met on Tuesday with the US Charge d'affaires in Riyadh, Christopher Henzel, and the British ambassador Simon Collis.

Mashnouq: Lebanese are Not 'Sheep', Politics in Lebanon Governed by Elections
Naharnet/November 09/17/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq stressed Thursday that the Lebanese are not “sheep” and that “politics in Lebanon is governed by elections not pledges of allegiance,” when asked about reports that Riyadh is seeking to replace Prime Minister Saad Hariri with his brother Bahaeddine as leader of the al-Mustaqbal Movement. “Lebanon is going through a major national crisis that requires constant consultation with the mufti and agreement on steps aimed at reaching a common vision regarding the issue of the government,” said Mashnouq after talks at Dar al-Fatwa with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan. He called for awaiting Hariri's return to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia “because is the one who should decide the nature of the coming period, in consultation with all presidents and the concerned political forces.”
Asked about media reports claiming that Bahaeddine Hariri will replace his brother Saad, Mashnouq said: “These claims reflect ignorance of Lebanon's nature and the nature of politics in it. There is no proof that the issue is being discussed in a serious manner, and we are not a flock of sheep or a land lot whose ownership gets transferred from one person to another.” “We elected PM Saad Hariri because he was the son of martyr premier Rafik Hariri in 2005, while in 2009 he was elected by the Lebanese... with his experience, mistakes, right moves and capabilities,” the minister added.
“In Lebanon, things happen through elections, not pledges of allegiance. This is Lebanon's different nature and anyone who thinks otherwise certainly does not know Lebanon nor its nature, atmosphere, politics and democratic system,” Mashnouq went on to say. Hariri had announced his resignation on Saturday in a surprising and pre-recorded statement from Saudi Arabia. In a haltingly delivered address, Hariri accused Iran of meddling in Arab affairs and Iran-backed Hizbullah of holding Lebanon hostage. He also said he feared for his life.In his absence, Lebanon has been awash with speculation the prime minister may be held against his will in Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials have denied Hariri is under house arrest.

Mustaqbal: Hariri's Return Necessary to Restore Balance
Naharnet/November 09/17/Al-Mustaqbal Movement on Thursday announced that Prime Minister Saad Hariri's return to Lebanon is “necessary” in order to “restore respect for Lebanon's balance at home and abroad.”“The return of the head of the Lebanese government, the national leader and the head of al-Mustaqbal Movement Saad Hariri is necessary to restore respect for Lebanon's balance at home and abroad, in the framework of full respect for the Lebanese legitimacy represented in the Constitution and the Taef Accord and in respecting the Arab and international legitimacies,” said Mustaqbal in a statement issued after an emergency meeting for its parliamentary bloc and political bureau. “The bloc and the political bureau stress that they fully stand by PM Saad Hariri and his leadership... and that they will back anything he decides under any circumstances,” Mustaqbal added. Hariri had announced his resignation on Saturday in a surprising and pre-recorded statement from Saudi Arabia.In a haltingly delivered address, Hariri accused Iran of meddling in Arab affairs and Iran-backed Hizbullah of holding Lebanon hostage. He also said he feared for his life.In his absence, Lebanon has been awash with speculation the prime minister may be held against his will in Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials have denied Hariri is under house arrest.

Report: Aoun May Ask for Foreign Mediation, Saudi Wants Hariri's Brother to Lead Mustaqbal
Naharnet/November 09/17/President Michel Aoun is likely to launch an initiative “demanding the help of foreign states” to “end the ambiguity” surrounding the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his “will for free movement,” amid reports that Saudi Arabia wants the Hariri family and al-Mustaqbal Movement to “pledge allegiance” to Hariri's brother Bahaeddine. “Sources following up on Aoun's, declared and undeclared, consultations with foreign ambassadors regarding Hariri's situation and his freedom of movement (in Riyadh), said the President may ask the ambassadors for intervention to end the ambiguity surrounding this issue,” al-Joumhouria daily reported. Some media reports have alleged that Hariri, who resigned as PM on Saturday shortly after arriving in Saudi Arabia, is being held by Riyadh. Hariri announced his resignation Saturday in a televised speech from the kingdom. He said he feared for his life and accused Saudi Arabia's arch-rival Iran and its Lebanese ally Hizbullah of taking over his country and destabilizing the broader region. Hariri's announcement from Riyadh, which coincided with a Saudi purge of princes, ministers and a billionaire business tycoon, sparked speculation in Lebanon that he quit under duress and was subject to Saudi movement restrictions. According to pro-Hizbullah al-Akhbar daily, “the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has decided to summon Bahaeddine Hariri (Saad's brother) to Riyadh to name him for the leadership of al-Mustaqbal Movement,” instead of Saad. It claimed that the “newly appointed Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Walid al-Yaaqoubi, had contacted members of the family of late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, including his wife, Nazek, sister Bahia Hariri and her son, Ahmed, and informed them that the decision has been taken and that Bahaeddine will take over the party's leadership and they have to travel to Saudi Arabia to pledge allegiance, along with Saad.”The daily said that “PM Hariri has agreed to the above in exchange for his release and that he moves to live in Europe and retire from political life.”According to undocumented information, Hariri is supposed to return to Beirut first where he will submit his resignation officially at the Presidential Palace.

Hizbullah Bloc Calls on Saudis to Stay Out of Lebanese Affairs
Associated Press/Naharnet/November 09/17/Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc on Thursday called on Saudi Arabia to stay out of Lebanese affairs, saying the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, announced from Riyadh over the weekend, "has raised many questions."In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc said Saudi Arabia was mired in crisis after the “failure” of its 2 ½-year military intervention in Yemen, which has led to a military stalemate. Saudi Arabia has demanded that Iran-backed Hizbullah play no role in Lebanon's government, accusing it of aiding Yemen's Huthi rebels. Hariri had announced his resignation on Saturday in a surprising and pre-recorded statement from Saudi Arabia. In a haltingly delivered address, Hariri accused Iran of meddling in Arab affairs and Iran-backed Hizbullah of holding Lebanon hostage. He also said he feared for his life.Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speculated on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had forced Hariri to resign amid the deepening Saudi-Iran rivalry in the region.

Bassil: We Demand the Return of 'Our Prime Minister'
Agence France Press/Naharnet/November 09/17/Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Thursday demanded the return of Prime Minister Saad Hariri from Saudi Arabia, where he announced days ago his shock resignation.
"Today we demand the return to the nation of our Prime Minister Saad Hariri," tweeted Bassil. He had announced on Wednesday evening that “Lebanon was the first democratic country in the Levant.”“We paid a heavy price to elect a president and a premier who represent us. We chose our representatives and we are the ones to decide whether to remove them or not,” Bassil added. The foreign minister is the son-in-law of President Michel Aoun, who has not yet accepted Hariri's resignation and is awaiting his return before taking any decision.
Hariri announced in a televised speech from Saudi Arabia on Saturday that he was stepping down, citing Iran's "grip" on Lebanon and threats to his life.
The shock announcement raised fears that Lebanon -- split into rival camps led by Hariri and Iranian-backed Hizbullah -- could once again descend into violence.
It also raised questions about the fate of Hariri, who also holds Saudi nationality, as it coincided with the announcement in Saudi Arabia of an anti-corruption purge in which dozens of princes, ministers and businessmen have been rounded up.
Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is close to Hizbullah, has suggested that Hariri was being held "hostage" in Saudi Arabia.
"We have no information (concerning Hariri). We just want him to return" home, Mustafa Alloush, a member of Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement, told the AFP news agency, commenting on that report. Al-Mustaqbal itself issued a statement on Thursday saying Hariri's return is "necessary to restore respect for Lebanon's balance at home and abroad." On Sunday, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Hariri announced his resignation from Riyadh because it had been “imposed” by Saudi authorities, and wondered what would happen to the prime minister.
"Is he at home? Will they let him return? These are legitimate concerns," he said, referring to the anti-graft sweep in which Saudi Arabia now says 201 people were held. As questions about Hariri's fate mounted, the resigned premier's media office on Thursday said he had met at his Riyadh home with the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia Francois Gouyette. Two days earlier he had met in Riyadh with the U.S. charge d'affaires and with the British ambassador Simon Collins. On Tuesday, official media in the United Arab Emirates said Hariri visited Abu Dhabi where he met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

Hamadeh Urges 'Considering Content of Hariri's Resignation Announcement'

Naharnet/November 09/17/Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh on Thursday said the content of Prime Minister Saad Hariri's resignation text came to remind how Lebanon's national unity government used to be before “turning towards another axis in the region.”“The text of the resignation came in the framework of reminding how the national unity government was before it shifted towards another axis in the region,” said Hamadeh in an interview to radio VDL (93.3). The Minister urged those “wailing over” Hariri's resignation to “pay attention to the content of the resignation otherwise it is unlikely for him to return to the country or participate in any future government,” added Hamadeh. He also said that the “government's performance regarding the financial indicators and international confidence has declined significantly.”He warned against “rumors” circulating about Hariri's fate and said: “We may be facing a long national crisis.” Hariri may not “backtrack” on his resignation, said Hamadeh but he may “support or participate in a balanced government formation agreed earlier when President Michel Aoun was elected.”Hariri stunned the Lebanese with his resignation on Saturday in a televised speech from Saudi Arabia. President Michel Aoun has said that he is awaiting Hariri's return to Lebanon to “inquire about the circumstances of the resignation and decide on the next steps."In a haltingly delivered address, Hariri accused Iran of meddling in Arab affairs and Iran-backed Hizbullah of holding Lebanon hostage. Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speculated on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had forced Hariri to resign amid the deepening Saudi-Iran rivalry.

Police Detain Two Syrian Drug Dealers in Mkalles Linked to 'Abu Salle' Gang
Naharnet/November 09/17/The Internal Security Forces said it arrested two drug dealers on Tuesday in Metn's Mkalles area, it said in a statement released on Thursday. The agency stated that it was on a mission to clamp down on a drug gang that works for a senior dealer nicknamed Abu Sale when it arrested the suspects, two Syrian nationals. Two other suspects who worked for the same ring were arrested a few days ago, it added. The police confiscated large amounts of drugs that were neatly packed in bags ready to be traded. They found cocaine, hashish and seized around LL600 thousand in cash.
The defendants have confessed to their crime and admitted to have obtained the material from Abu Salle through an intermediary.

Nasrallah to Deliver Speech Friday
Naharnet/November 09/17/Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is expected to make a TV appearance on Friday marking “Martyr's Day” where he will “stress the need for self-restraint and a solution for the crisis” in the wake of Prime Minister Saad Hariri's resignation, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday. A senior Hizbullah source told the daily regarding speculations on Hariri's return to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia from where he announced his resignation, he said: “We hope, we do not expect.”On Saturday, Hariri unexpectedly announced his resignation from Saudi Arabia and in a televised speech accused Iran of meddling in Arab affairs and the Iran-backed Hizbullah group of holding Lebanon hostage. The daily added that Nasrallah's speech "will be divided into several themes: a religious one on the occasion of the 40th commemoration of Imam Hussein, and another that will touch on the possibilities of an Israeli war against Lebanon and the Resistance's ability to deter it,” said the daily. He will also focus on the “regional developments and the military operation in Syria's Albu Kamal and the implications of that declaring victory over the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq after linking the Iraqi-Syrian border. He will also highlight the Yemeni crisis,” added the daily. Syrian state news agency SANA had reported that “Syrian troops and allied forces on Wednesday encircled the Islamic State group in Albu Kamal, the jihadists' last urban stronghold in the country, and have begun operations to eradicate them from the town." Hariri's resignation was seen as a reflection of growing tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran, its archrival in the region. After Hariri's resignation, rumors spread in Lebanon that he was under house arrest in Saudi Arabia — especially after news broke over the weekend of arrests in the kingdom of dozens of Saudi princes, ministers and influential businessmen in a sweep purportedly over corruption.

Saudi Arabia urges its nationals to leave Lebanon immediately
Al Arabiya English/Thursday, 9 November 2017/Saudi Arabia has asked its nationals residing in Lebanon to leave immediatly in a travel warning issued on Thursday, November 9. The travel warning also called for Saudi nationals not to travel to Lebanon from any point of origin. Due to the situations in the Republic of Lebanon, an official source at the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Saudi nationals visiting or residing in Lebanon are asked to leave the country as soon as possible, the Saudi news Agency reported. "The Kingdom advised all citizens not to travel to Lebanon from any other international destinations," the statement . This follows a similar warning issued by the Kingdom of Bahrain on November 5 urghing its nationals residing in Lebanon to leave immediately and to "exercise caution.”The Bahraini call came a day after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his resignation. The Bahraini foreign ministry said in a statement received by AFP that its call was "in the interest of its citizens’ safety and to avoid any risks they may be exposed due to the conditions and developments” that Lebanon is going through.

Lebanon believes Saudi holds Hariri, demands return
Laila Bassam, Tom Perry/Reuters - Lebanon believes Saad al-Hariri is held in Saudi Arabia, from where he resigned as prime minister, two top Lebanese government officials said, amid a deepening crisis pushing Lebanon onto the frontlines of a power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
A third source, a senior politician close to Saudi-allied Hariri, said Saudi Arabia had ordered him to resign and put him under house arrest. A fourth source familiar with the situation said Saudi Arabia was controlling and limiting his movement. In a televised statement indicating deep concern at Hariri’s situation, his Future Movement political party said his return home was necessary to uphold the Lebanese system, describing him as prime minister and a national leader. Hariri’s shock resignation, read out on television from Saudi Arabia, came as a shock even to his aides and embroils Lebanon further in a regional contest between Riyadh and Tehran. Hariri’s exit fueled wide speculation that the Sunni Muslim politician, long an ally of Riyadh, was coerced into stepping down by Saudi Arabia as it seeks to hit back against Iran and its Lebanese Shi‘ite ally Hezbollah. In his resignation speech, Hariri denounced Iran and Hezbollah for sowing strife in Arab states and said he feared assassination. His father, a veteran former prime minister, was killed by a bomb in 2005. Saudi Arabia has denied reports he is under house arrest. But he has put out no statements himself to that effect, and has not denied that his movements are being restricted.
RESTRICTED FREEDOM
“Keeping Hariri with restricted freedom in Riyadh is an attack on Lebanese sovereignty. Our dignity is his dignity. We will work with (foreign) states to return him to Beirut,” said the senior Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the government had yet to declare this position.
Saudi Arabia says Hariri resigned because Hezbollah, which was included in Hariri’s coalition government, had “hijacked” Lebanon’s political system. Hariri aides had until Thursday denied he was under house arrest but took a dramatically different tone after a meeting of the Future Movement convened at Hariri’s Beirut residence on Thursday. A statement read by former prime minister Fouad Siniora said his return was “necessary to recover respect for Lebanon’s internal and external balance, and in the framework of full respect for Lebanese legitimacy”. Hariri’s aunt, Bahia, sat next to Siniora as he read the statement. The party stood behind his leadership, it said. Hariri came to office last year in a political deal that made the Hezbollah-allied Christian politician Michel Aoun head of state and produced a coalition government grouping most Lebanese parties including Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia blessed the government at the time, but has been fiercely critical of the Hariri-led government since he stepped down, saying it failed to act against Hezbollah, whose guerrilla army is far more powerful than the weak state. Saudi Arabia had wanted Hariri to take a tougher stance toward Hezbollah, and he failed to do so, the fourth source said. “He was functioning as if it is business as usual, so the Saudis had to accelerate the process and to force a resignation.” Saudi Arabia this week lumped Lebanon together with Hezbollah as parties that are hostile to it, breaking with a long-established policy that has drawn a line between them and raising concerns of further Saudi measures.
SAUDI ARRESTS
Hariri flew to Saudi Arabia last Friday. The top Lebanese government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Lebanon is heading toward asking foreign and Arab states to put pressure on Saudi Arabia to release Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri.” The official said Hariri was still Lebanon’s prime minister, echoing other Lebanese government officials who say his resignation had not been received by Aoun and his government therefore remains in place. The resignation of Hariri, a business tycoon whose family made their fortune in Saudi Arabia, happened at the same time as a wave of arrests of Saudi princes and businessmen accused of corruption by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The senior Lebanese politician close to Hariri said: “When he went (to Saudi Arabia) he was asked to stay there and ordered to resign. They ordered him to read his resignation statement and he has been held under house arrest since.”
Two U.S. officials said the Saudis, led by Crown Prince Mohammed, had “encouraged” Hariri to leave office. The fourth source said: “He is under controlled movement by the Saudis, limited movement.” Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc said Saudi Arabia must halt its interference in Lebanese affairs. He made a one-day flying visit to the United Arab Emirates, a close Saudi ally, earlier this week before returning to Saudi Arabia. Hariri’s office said in statement he had received the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia on Thursday. He had also met the head of the EU mission to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, and on Tuesday the British ambassador and the U.S. charge d‘affaires. Saudi Arabia on Thursday warned its citizens against travel to Lebanon and said those already there should leave. It has issued similar advice about Lebanon to its citizens before. Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch will visit Saudi Arabia next week and has received “a positive response” from Saudi officials over the possibility seeing Hariri, his spokesman said. Patriarch Beshara al-Rai’s visit “had been decided on a long time ago. In light of the developments, his mission has become national,” Walid Ghayyad said. The patriarch will take a message to the kingdom that “Lebanon cannot handle conflict.”
**Additional reporting by Samia Nakhoul, Tom Perry, Ellen Francis, Sarah Dadouch and Lisa Barrington in Beirut, John Walcott in Washington; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Toby Chopra
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Israel's Coming War with Hezbollah
Fraught with peril—and opportunity.
Thomas Donnelly/Weekly Standard/November 13/17
http://www.weeklystandard.com/israels-coming-war-with-hezbollah/article/2010333
Donald Trump’s feud with North Korea’s “Little Rocket Man” notwithstanding, the most likely major war on the horizon is one between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia that, thanks to years of experience and an increasingly lethal arsenal, has become part of the vanguard in Iran’s drive for hegemony in the Near East. Indeed, such a war would be a huge next step for Iran after its rescue of the Assad regime in Syria and its increasingly powerful posture in post-ISIS Iraq. For just such reasons, this war would be a potential tipping point in the Middle East balance of power, a frightfully violent prospect that is equally ripe with strategic opportunity for the United States.
As Willy Stern chronicled in these pages last year (“Missiles Everywhere,” June 20, 2016), an Israel-Hezbollah conflict would be nasty and brutish but not short. Ever since its 2006 clash with Israel, Hezbollah has been stockpiling hundreds of thousands of rockets, missiles, and mortars capable of reaching not just border areas but deep into Israel. This arsenal includes hundreds of ballistic missiles capable of carrying chemical warheads—some of Assad’s chemical weaponry no doubt made its way to Hezbollah—as well as substantial conventional explosives. More important is their improved accuracy; Hezbollah might actually hit something for a change, and not just large cities like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv but military bases and airports. Despite Israel’s successful development of missile defenses like the “Iron Dome,” “Arrow,” and “David’s Sling,” it’s unlikely that an all-out or sustained series of attacks could be fully blunted.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been making increasingly warlike comments in recent months and claimed in June that his men would be reinforced in battle by “tens .  .  . or even hundreds of thousands” of Shiite fighters from Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Nasrallah may be boasting, but Israeli intelligence assessments put the likely strength of such forces at about 40,000. In addition to expanding the number of Hezbollah-like militias it commands, Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, has improved its ability to shuttle forces to decisive points. In the fight to evict ISIS from western Iraq, the Iranian proxy Popular Mobilization Units have played as critical a role as U.S. or Iraqi regular forces, not least in the recent clashes that drove Kurdish militias out of Kirkuk.
Jeffrey White of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy has long argued that the next Israel-Hezbollah conflict would be quite unlike the 2006 edition of this “forever” war or any of the recent Israeli campaigns against Hamas. The numbers of missiles, including anti-ship cruise missiles, would dwarf previous Hezbollah salvos and, including upgraded versions of the ubiquitous Scud, could be launched from deep within Lebanon at targets deep within Israel. And the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) could well confront its nightmare scenario—a two-front war in the form of simultaneous attacks launched from the Syrian part of the Golan Heights. As White and his colleague Michael Eisenstadt recently noted, an IRGC general was killed in a January 2015 IDF airstrike while he was touring the Syrian Golan with Hezbollah hosts.
Israel has not faced such a powerful threat since the 1973 war, and confronting the Iran-Hezbollah-Assad coalition will tax the IDF heavily. To begin with, even if its missile defenses live up to their advertising, they cannot obviate the need to conduct counterstrikes into Lebanon and Syria. While the Israeli air force has long ruled the local skies, the proliferation of advanced Russian-made air defenses calls into question how rapidly—and at what cost—the IDF can establish or sustain the kind of air supremacy it will need. The best way to remove the Hezbollah missile threat is to seek and destroy the launchers or to deny use of customary launch sites. The Israelis have worked very hard to improve their mobile-missile-hunting abilities, but this would be a risky mission.
Moreover, the best missile defense is a large-scale ground assault. Both sides know this, and Israel’s enemies have made strenuous preparations for the IDF counterattacks—again, simultaneously into Lebanon and Syria—that must come. The IDF has worked to improve the survivability of its mechanized infantry and armored forces and the responsiveness, lethality, and accuracy of its artillery. For its part, Hezbollah, which showed considerable tactical skill in defending southern Lebanon in 2006, has added advanced anti-armor weaponry and new layers of defenses. The terrain in southern Lebanon and on the Golan is well suited for such purposes; the IDF will have to pick its way forward cautiously, through ambush after ambush, and ultimately it may have to go farther north and east than in 2006.
These daunting tactical challenges also, as in the past, generate strategic and geopolitical problems. The perception of victory often counts more than the battlefield result, both in the region and in the larger international contest. Nasrallah excels at spinning defeat into victory. The 2006 war began when Hezbollah captured two IDF soldiers. In an unguarded moment shortly after the cessation of hostilities, he admitted that he did not anticipate, “even by 1 percent,” that the snatch “would result in such a wide-scale war, as such a war did not take place in the history of wars. Had we known” what would result, “we would not have carried it out at all.” But in short order, survival became triumph, a bit of propaganda that caught on in outlets such as the Economist, which declared, “Nasrallah wins the war.” By now even many Israelis, especially on the political left, concur; in an otherwise thoughtful analysis of the current situation, Ha’aretz concluded that the 2006 campaign “remains a resounding failure.” The standard of victory for Israel remains almost impossibly high.
Despite the gloomy view of the past and the foreboding about the future, it is also the case that since 2006 Israel’s northern border has been remarkably quiet. That’s even more remarkable considering the chaos that’s ripped Iraq and Syria apart and catapulted Iran to the fore. This is a ceasefire worth preserving.


Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 09-10/17
Macron Arrives in Riyadh on Surprise Visit
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 09/17/French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Saudi Arabia late Thursday for talks with the kingdom's powerful crown prince on the rising tensions between Tehran and Riyadh. Macron, on his debut visit to the Middle East, made the surprise announcement at a news conference in Dubai. Macron's talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will cover Iran and Yemen, where Saudi Arabia and its allies have imposed a complete blockade in the wake of a missile attack last Saturday by Tehran-backed Huthi rebels. "I've heard some very hard positions" taken by Saudi Arabia against Iran, said Macron, adding it was important to speak to all sides and that France had a role in making peace. The visit comes at a time of increased friction between the Sunni kingdom and Shiite Iran, which are embroiled on opposite sides in Lebanon and Yemen. The talks would also include developments in Lebanon, whose Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned in a shock announcement broadcast from Riyadh on Saturday. Macron's visit comes days after Prince Mohammed launched what the Saudi government has dubbed a wide-ranging corruption crackdown, arresting dozens of members of the royal family as well as ministers and businessmen.

Saudi, Kuwait, UAE Warn Their Citizens against Travel to Lebanon
Agence France Press/Naharnet/November 09/17/Saudi Arabia on Thursday ordered its citizens out of Lebanon amid skyrocketing tensions between the kingdom, its regional foe Iran and Tehran's Lebanese ally Hizbullah. A brief statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency called on all Saudis living in or visiting Lebanon to depart “as soon as possible,” citing “the current situations in the Lebanese republic.” It also warned Saudis against travel to the country. Saudi Arabia has recently said that it considers Hizbullah's participation in the Lebanese government an "act of war" against the kingdom.
Following the travel warning on Thursday, firebrand Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan, who is in charge of the Lebanon file, tweeted that “all the successive measures will continue to escalate in a strict manner until things return to their natural course.” Later on Thursday, the Kuwaiti foreign ministry called on its citizens to "leave Lebanon immediately" due to "the situations in brotherly Lebanese republic" and as a "precaution against any negative repercussions." The ministry also hoped "the brothers in Lebanon will be able to overcome this difficult period in a manner that achieves their stability and security."The UAE foreign ministry meanwhile renewed a travel warning to Lebanon, urging its citizens not to travel to the country from the UAE or from any other country. The developments come in the wake of Prime Minister Saad Hariri's shock resignation in a televised address from the kingdom on Saturday.
In a haltingly delivered address, Hariri accused Iran of meddling in Arab affairs and Iran-backed Hizbullah of holding Lebanon hostage.Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah speculated on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had forced Hariri to resign amid the deepening Saudi-Iran rivalry.

Anti-IS Forces Retake Last Jihadist Bastion
Syrian troops and allied militiamen on Thursday expelled Islamic State group fighters from Albu Kamal, the last significant town the jihadists still held in their disintegrating "caliphate".The jihadists' latest rout left them with only the dregs of a self-styled "state" that once spanned huge territory in Iraq and Syria, with surviving IS fighters melting away into desert hideouts. Anti-IS forces stormed into the town just across the border from Iraq on Wednesday and while fighting was initially reported as fierce, the outcome of one of IS's last major battles was never in doubt. "Our armed forces units, in cooperation with allied and auxiliary forces, have liberated the town of Albu Kamal in Deir Ezzor province," a statement carried by the official SANA news agency said. "Albu Kamal's liberation is very important because it means the failure of the IS terrorist group in the region," the army statement said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said much of the fighting had been done by allied militias rather than the regular army. The capture of Albu Kamal was be the last in a string of setbacks that saw IS lose its urban bastions of Mosul and Raqa within a few weeks and its embryonic state shrink to a rump. Leading the battle for the town were the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah and advisers from Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, as well as fighters from mostly Shiite Iraqi militias, according to Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman. He said that even as IS still controlled half of the town and fighting raged earlier Thursday, the jihadists retained one escape route to the north. Abdel Rahman confirmed that Albu Kaml had been fully retaken but said that "IS withdrew to desert areas in eastern Deir Ezzor" province, where they are likely to encounter US-backed Kurdish-led fighters.
Thousands displaced -The jihadists' flight from the town, where IS leaders used to meet and were once considered untouchable, caps a process which has seen the group relinquish any ambition as a land-holding force and return to the desert to fight a clandestine guerrilla war. Many of the group's top leaders have been killed as Syrian and Iraqi forces with backing from Russia, Iran and a US-led coalition rolled back the territorial losses that saw the jihadists declare a "caliphate" roughly the size of Britain in 2014.
But the whereabouts of the first among them, self-proclaimed "caliph" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remains unclear. He has been reported killed or wounded many times but IS has never offered ay confirmation. The capture of the group's last urban stronghold had always looked to be a matter of days after Syrian forces last week retook provincial capital Deir Ezzor and Iraqi forces reconquered Albu Kamal's twin town of Al-Qaim just over the border.
There was little to slow the advance of the Syrian and its allies after their victories further up the Euphrates valley, but while the military phase of the fight against IS was nearing its end, the humanitarian crisis it sparked was still in full swing.
"In the last few weeks, an estimated 120,000 people were displaced from Albu Kamal," the United Nations' humanitarian affairs office in Damascus said. IS still has a small presence in the east of Homs province, in the southern outskirts of Damascus and in the southern province of Daraa. It also holds the small Iraqi town of Rawa down the Euphrates valley from Al-Qaim.  A rival jihadist alliance led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate controls much of the northwestern province of Idlib and adjacent areas as well as pockets of territory elsewhere. It has come under attack by Russian-backed government forces and by Turkish-backed rebels. More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011, which spiralled into a complex, multi-front war that drew in jihadists and armed forces from around the region and beyond.

Trump Urges China, Russia to Act Fast on N. Korea
Agence France Press/Naharnet/November 09/17/US President Donald Trump urged China and Russia on Thursday to act fast to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis, warning that "time is quickly running out". "We must act fast. And hopefully China will act faster and more effectively on this problem than anyone," Trump said as he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. Trump thanked Xi for his efforts to restrict trade with North Korea and cut off all banking ties with China's ally, but he urged him to do more. "China can fix this problem easily and quickly, and I am calling on China and your great president to hopefully work on it very hard," the US leader said.
"I know one thing about your president: If he works on it hard, it will happen. There's no doubt about it."Trump, who is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at an APEC summit in Vietnam this weekend, appealed for help from Moscow, which also has economic ties with North Korea. "I'm also calling on Russia to help rein in this potentially very tragic situation," he said. Trump earlier said he and Xi believe there is a solution to the nuclear standoff. He did not elaborate on what the solution might be but his administration believes that China's economic leverage over North Korea is the key to strong-arming Pyongyang into halting its nuclear weapons and missile programmes. China has called for negotiations to resolve the matter peacefully.


Saudi Arabia: Seven of the 208 accused of corruption have been released
Al Arabiya EnglishThursday, 9 November 2017/Seven of the 208 accused of corruption have been released, according to a statement by the Attorney-General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the latest development related to the action initiated by the recently instituted High Commission against Corruption.
Sheikh Saud Al Moaajeb, Attorney General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and member of the Supreme Committee for Combating Corruption, said on Thursday that the investigations of the individuals who have been summoned are proceeding rapidly and updates will be provided. The Attorney General said that “the number of persons arrested was 208, while seven were released, for lack of sufficient evidence.”Earlier on Thursday, Saudi Arabia also announced a new list of people suspected of corruption. Funds were frozen, with arrests also involving managers and officials of government and judicial institutions. Sheikh Saud said “the financial value of these decades-long practices amounts to very large amount of misappropriated and unutilized public funds, and the potential value of these amounts may exceed $100 billion, according to initial investigations.”Further evidence to substantiate the facts in these cases will continue to be collected he said, and “as announced on Tuesday, the Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has accepted my request to freeze their personal assets in this investigation. This action confirms the findings of our preliminary investigation over the past three years on the scale of these corrupt and large practices.”
Next stage of investigations
Sheikh Saud made it clear that “given the magnitude of these charges, under the Royal Order of 4 November, there is a clear legal mandate to move to the next stage of investigations with the suspects, and there is a great deal of speculation around the world about the identities of the individuals concerned and the details of the charges against them. However, we will not disclose any details at this time, to ensure that they enjoy the full legal rights granted to them by the Kingdom, and ask to respect their privacy while undergoing judicial proceedings.”However, he said normal commercial activity in the Kingdom will not be affected by these investigations. “Only personal bank accounts were frozen, and companies and banks have the freedom to continue transactions and transfers as usual, something that the official authorities in the Kingdom had pointed out and reiterated.”The work of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is within a clear legal and institutional framework to maintain transparency and integrity in the Saudi market.

In Abu Dhabi, France’s Macron says must remain firm with Iran

Reuters, Abu Dhabi Thursday, 9 November 2017/French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he wanted to remain firm with Iran regarding its ballistic missile program and influence in the Middle East, but warned regional countries against exacerbating rising tensions. The French leader arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday for a two-day visit that will see him inaugurate a new Louvre museum, hold talks on the geopolitical situation with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, before ending his trip in Dubai to attend an economic forum. In an interview with the government-linked al-Ittihad newspaper posted on the French embassy website, Macron repeated his country’s stance that there was no alternative to the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. “At the same time, it is also important for us to remain firm with Iran with regard to its regional activities and its ballistic missile program,” Macron was quoted as saying. With tensions mounting in Lebanon following the resignation of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and an attempted ballistic missile strike on Riyadh by Houthi rebels in Yemen, Macron warned about an escalation in the region.
“Today, more than ever, we need a region of peace and responsible regional actors working for the stability of the Middle East,” Macron said. “The opening of an additional front would only exacerbate tensions and further destabilize the region.”
Battle against ISIS to go on
President Macron said Thursday that the ISIS group faced complete military defeat in Iraq and Syria within months but warned the battle against militants would go on. He was speaking after Syrian troops and allied militiamen broke into the ISIS-held town of Albu Kamal on the Iraqi border, edging closer to ousting the militants from their last urban stronghold in the country following their loss of Deir Ezzor, Mayadeen and their de facto capital Raqqa. “We have won in Raqqa and the coming weeks and months, I am quite sure, will allow us to achieve complete military victory in the Iraq-Syria theatre,” Macron told French naval personnel deployed in Abu Dhabi for the war against ISIS. “But that won’t be the end of this struggle. Long-term stabilization and combating terrorist groups will be indispensable complements to the inclusive and pluralist political solution we want to see emerge in the region.”

Saudi Arabia calls on UN Security Council for action against Iran
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishThursday, 9 November 2017/Saudi Arabia called on the United Nations Security Council to take appropriate measures against Iran’s active support of terrorism saying that it is seeking to compromise the security of the Kingdom and the region. In a letter presented by the Saudi mission to the United Nations on Wednesday, ahead of the closed session on the Humanitarian situation in Yemen, the Kingdom detailed the terrorist actions of the Iranian allied Houthi militias. The Houthi militias resorted only to aggression and violence since the beginning of the Yemeni crisis, the letter said. The militias refusal to the return of legitimacy, it said, or abide by the Security Council resolutions, has led to humanitarian disasters adding to that their dismissal of all political solutions to the conflict. Saudi Arabia stressed on the fact that Iran's continuous supply of weapons to the militias in Yemen through smuggling routes, and the presence of Hezbollah fighters on the ground to assemble and operate these weapons, is clear evidence of Iran's aggression. This support for terror directly endangers the Kingdom's national security as well as regional and global security, the letter stated. The Kingdom revealed to the Security Council evidence of the involvement of the Iranian regime in missile development and launches towards the Kingdom on November 4 and July 22 of this year. The letter noted that numerous smuggling operations of Iranian weapons to Yemen have been thwarted adding that this is a flagrant violation of Security Council resolution 2216 from 2015 and resolution 2231 from 2016. The Kingdom affirmed that it will take appropriate action to respond to acts of violence and terrorism by the Houthi militias in order to safeguard the Kingdom's security in accordance with the United Nations Charter and international laws.

Saudi Crown prince welcomes Yemeni president in Riyadh
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishWednesday, 8 November 2017/Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in Riyadh today with the President of the Republic of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. During the meeting, they discussed the current developments in Yemen and the efforts exerted in addressing the situation, reported Saudi Press Agency. The meeting was attended by the Saudi Minister of State Dr. Musaid bin Mohammed al-Aiban, the Head of General Intelligence Khalid bin Ali al-Humaidan, and the Deputy Head of General Intelligence Ahmed bin Hassan Asiri.
The Director of the Office of the Yemeni Presidency, Dr. Abdullah al-Alimi and a number of Yemeni officials were also present.

Egypt's Sisi warns against escalation between Saudi Arabia and Iran
MEE/November 09/17/Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday his country does not support a military escalation in regional tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, adding the region already faces enough crises.
Sisi spoke at a wide-ranging press conference in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh where he addressed regional disputes and his country's efforts to tackle militant attacks and economic reforms. Asked about the prospect of attacks on Iran and Hezbollah - two days after Saudi Arabia had accused Lebanon of declaring war because of Hezbollah's "aggressive actions", Sisi stressed the importance of de-escalation. "I am always against war," Sisi said, without spelling out who might be involved in military action.
"The region faces enough turmoil already. We should approach it (the tensions) extremely cautiously." But Sisi, who is closely allied with Saudi Arabia, reiterated his support for the Gulf monarchy. "We support our (Saudi) brothers," he said. "The security of the Gulf (countries) is a red line."Sisi said the situation in the kingdom was "reassuring and stable" following last weekend's arrests of 11 princes, former and current ministers, and a group of elite businessmen on corruption allegations. They face allegations of money laundering, bribery, extortion and exploiting public office for personal gain.
His comments came as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned Saudi Arabia not to test Tehran. Rouhani warned Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that it will achieve nothing by threatening the might of Iran. "You know the might and place of the Islamic republic. People more powerful than you have been unable to do anything against the Iranian people," Rouhani said. His comments came after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accused Iran of delivering missiles to Yemeni rebels for use against targets in the kingdom. Iran strongly denied supplying any missiles to the rebels saying that it would have been impossible to do so in any case in the face of a Saudi-led air and sea blockade. Sisi, a former army chief elected as president less than a year after overthrowing his Islamist predecessor, is all but certain to run and win in another election next year. He told foreign and Egyptian journalists that he believed his government was making headway in its two major challenges, economic reforms and countering militant attacks that have plagued Egypt since president Mohamed Morsi's overthrow in 2013. A 2015 bombing of a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from Sharm el-Sheikh led Russia to suspend flights to Egypt. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed the attack which killed all 224 people on board.
"We're solving the security situation in a good way," Sisi said.
"In Sinai, matters have improved," he said of the peninsula where the IS group's Egyptian branch have focused their attacks. Regarding the economy, which saw record inflation after Egypt floated the pound last year, Sisi said the government would take measures to bring prices down. The former field marshal is popular among many Egyptians who say the country needs a firm hand after years of tumult.
But he faces growing criticism over a security crackdown on dissidents, both Islamist and secular, with tens of thousands of non-violent activists jailed.
His security services have faced accusations of involvement in the kidnap and murder of an Italian PhD student, Giulio Regeni, in 2016. Egypt has denied the accusations, and Sisi said on Wednesday that he intended to get to the bottom of the case, which strained ties with Italy. "Regeni's case is essential," he said. "We are keen on...holding those responsible to account."

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 09-10/17
It worked and at an amazing speed
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Araqbiya/November 09/17
More than two and a half years ago, I was among the listeners in the ministerial meetings’ room. It was the first time I heard the ideas of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who clearly spoke about a new project. We heard him talk about a different state project, which includes the kingdom’s revenues, activities, openness, production and global status. It was something that resembled a myth! It was a very interesting proposal, a future vision for a great country and that begins now. It was not just some other five-year developmental plan. Afterwards, the crown prince began a discussion on the matter and I was the last to comment. I was a visitor. I told him: “Your highness, I have no doubt that what you proposed (which later became Vision 2030) resembles a dream but at the same time, it’s realistic and achievable. However, there is one huge problem. Your highness, you are energetic and you have a clear vision and what I’ve heard (from you) in details is amazing and very convincing. However, it’s like you are driving an old car with worn out tires and machinery. Frankly speaking, with such a car, you will not arrive on time and to the place you desire. This is an old administrative government that’s more than 50 years old. It’s eroded.”He smiled and said: “The car must work and if it doesn’t, I’ll replace the car with another.”It is not possible to reform the government and achieve the very ambitious vision with the spread of bribes. Corruption causes many problems, whether political, social and economic
Dismantled and reformed
Over the course of interesting and consecutive weeks, we saw how the government (the car) was dismantled and reformed. It went from being semi-broke to working at a high speed. Its work thus became based on a philosophy with a new comprehensive work mechanism. We witnessed historic legislations, massive projects, changes on all levels, whether in terms of commanders and institutions, and foreign relations became based on a very focused strategy. What happened ever since is much more than the country witnessed in the past six decades. The future measures planned will elevate the state’s status. Some thought Saudi Arabia awaited burial as it was targeted by the big Iran and small Qatar. Its economy was shrinking with the collapse of oil prices. Bureaucracy was increasing and the state’s commitments towards its citizens and others were impossible. Production was bad due to bureaucratic institutions. Traditions obstructed the society and the market alike while the private sector lived off governmental contracts. All these are being addressed via decisions and arrangements that fall within the context of the plan to rebuild the new kingdom. When the recent decisions pertaining to fighting corruption, including detentions, were made, I recalled Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s insistence that the car will work or he will replace it. He carried out certain measures to reform the market distortion and prices. He ended social restraints that prevented development and allowed women to drive and introduced entrainment programs. He laid the foundation stone for projects that end reliance on oil.
Ambitious vision
It is not possible to reform the government and achieve the very ambitious vision with the spread of bribes. Corruption causes many problems, whether political, social and economic. The cost has been high on the government throughout all these decades while results have been poor.
This situation cannot keep up with the ambitions of the crown prince who will not settle with just meeting the budget aims at the end of every year as he vowed to implement a renaissance project. He began executing this project and he will continue working on it for another 13 years.
The modern state that’s capable of bearing its responsibilities must be transparent, fair, efficient and productive. We cannot expect the crown prince to, for instance, impose the idea of women driving on those who obstruct development in society without resolving corruption problems, no matter how high the ranks. We now know him. Prince Mohammed bin Salman opposes the policy of postponing solutions, which has lasted for decades, whether when confronting a harmful country like Qatar or a hired group like the Houthis or allowing extremists to hinder society’s development or letting the state be robbed by men accepting bribes. The crown prince insists to make Saudi Arabia a bigger regional power and a modern, strong and successful state whose economy is among the world’s top ten, and not top twenty, economies. I’ll conclude what I began my piece with. Few weeks ago, I saluted his highness for the amazing decisions made. He asked me: “What do you think? Did the car work?” I said: “At an amazing speed.” He replied: “We have not begun yet.”Who can imagine that this is the same Saudi Arabia which was worn out and slow just two years ago?

Riyadh-Moscow: Toward a strategic relationship
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Othaimin/Al Araqbiya/November 09/17
Being the first visit of its kind for a Saudi king, the historic visit of King Salman to Moscow represented a quantum leap in Riyadh-Moscow relations. In fact, it is a new phase in the desired strategic partnership, which hopes to achieve common interests and enhance regional and global security and stability.
In recent decades, starting from 1990, the diplomatic activity between Riyadh and Moscow has followed various twists and turns. The path of Riyadh-Moscow relations has relied heavily on regional issues. Once King Salman took power, Saudi foreign policy saw a clear shift toward adopting a firm approach and engaging directly to play a central role in regional security and stability. In addition, the ambitious Saudi Vision 2030 seeks to enhance Saudi Arabia’s global stature as a center of economy and development by giving the Saudi investment environment a boost in its transition to the post-oil phase. Hence, Saudi Arabia realizes the significance of building closer ties with Russia driven by common interests. Russia is one of the world’s most influential countries as it has the largest natural gas reserves in the world. In addition, it is ranked 12th in the world in terms of GDP, and 6th in purchase power. Thus, Saudi coordination and cooperation with Russia is essential for regional security and stability and for seizing investment opportunities in the Russian industry. Moreover, in view of the sharp decline in oil prices in the past two years, cooperation with Russia as a non-OPEC country also serves the stability of oil markets. “Without Saudi-Russian cooperation, it is impossible to have a stable oil policy,” Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman has stated on several occasions.
Saudi coordination and cooperation with Russia is essential for regional security and for seizing investment opportunities in the Russian industry
Herein lies the importance of visits by the Crown Prince to Russia in 2015 and 2017 during which he met with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Both parties agreed to overcome their past differences to start working on areas of common interests and pushing their relations forward into a new phase of partnership in different areas. The visits resulted in the signing of several agreements of cooperation in the fields of energy, armaments, investment and continuing dialogue and coordination to discuss regional and international issues of common concern.
Political positions
The Saudi–Russian summit between King Salman and President Vladimir Putin discussed several political, military, economic, investment and oil issues. The summit revealed that both parties share the same political stand on most international issues. Saudi Arabia is clear about its stand on combating and curbing the sources of terrorism, and stopping Iran’s interference in the region, in addition to the emphasis on the need for a political solution to the crises of Syria, Iraq and Yemen, in accordance with international resolutions that preserve their unity. On the economic level, a joint investment fund worth one billion dollars was established between the two parties. As far as military cooperation is concerned, Saudi Arabia agreed to purchase the advanced S-400 missile defense system. I think the Saudi–Russian summit and its resulting agreement on different levels marks a new era of strategic partnership and proposes a road map in all areas to serve the interests of both parties and the security and stability of the region and the world.

The ideology of a genocide
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Araqbiya/November 09/17
Of a total population of less than 1 million Rohingya present in Myanmar in mid August this year, more than 600,000 have already been pushed out of the country by a concerted military operation led by the Myanmar military authorities.
These military operations included the burning down of villages (visible from satellite imagery), widespread reports of extensive use of rape as a weapon of war, the extrajudicial killing of civilian men, women, and children, as well as laying down mines on the paths taken by those fleeing the carnage towards the border with Bangladesh.
The UN, in its characteristic conservative tone has described the ongoing intervention by the Myanmar army as ‘textbook ethnic cleansing’, while other world leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron have more accurately described it as ‘genocide’. As for the international response? My conversations with Western diplomats circles seem to have conceded as inevitable that the entire remaining Rohingya population in Myanmar will be pushed over the border, and everyone is resigned to just waiting for it to be over and done. But one group of people who are not quite so complacent are those who are perpetrating this genocide and those who are urging them on. Their goal is within reach, but they will not take their success for granted until they see it accomplished. So what do these people fear if obviously not the wrath of the international community or censure from the West? Apparently, the unwelcome intervention of human empathy and remorse. On 30 October, a revered Burmese Buddhist monk by the name of Sitagu Sayadaw has given a rather telling sermon to army officers at the Bayintnaung garrison and military training school in Kayin.
We are all failing to identify the religious bigotry dimension of a genocide carried out under the auspices of holy and revered Buddhist monks
The Pali chronicle
The sermon is 3 hours long but the translated transcript of one small section of it is certainly worth reading (here). It involves a tale from the Pali chronicle the Mahavamsa, detailing a 5th Century CE civil war in Sri Lanka between Pali Buddhists and Tamil non-Buddhists. The conflict kills ‘millions’ of Tamils, and after his victory, the triumphant Pali Buddhist king Duttagamani is unable to savor his achievement of winning the conflict and politically reuniting the country due to remorse over the loss of life. But the king is swiftly released from his anguish by eight helpful Buddhist ‘saints’, who show up at his palace and proceed to put his mind at ease: yes, millions of beings have been destroyed in the conflict, but only one and a half of the millions of Tamils were in fact humans: one of the Tamils had adopted the 5 precepts of Buddhism, and another one accepted the precepts and “taken the three refuges in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha”. The death of those two was unfortunate, but the slaughter of millions of non-Buddhists is in no way a problem, and will not impede king Duttagamani’s ascent to heaven upon his death. So if you are one of those foot soldiers in the Myanmar army who is ordered to rape a young Rohingya girl for religion and country, you need not consult your conscience: she’s a Muslim, ergo not a human being. You are doing the work of a Buddhist saint. If you are one of the officers ordering wanton extrajudicial killings of unarmed civilians, you are doing nothing more than your solemn duty for the protection of the sanctity of the Buddhist state. These ‘beings’ are not Buddhist, and therefore pose a threat to the religious purity of the state and need to be removed and/or destroyed.
Western audiences are accustomed with the idea of using the Christian religion or Islam to encourage and justify mass murder (crusades, jihads, the European Wars of Religion etc.), but genocide in the name of nirvana by and towards beings which expect to be reincarnated is a much more bizarre proposition.
Still, there we have it. Zen masters inciting and justifying genocide to soldiers who are in the middle of carrying out a genocide. And we are all failing to identify the religious bigotry dimension of a genocide carried out under the auspices of holy and revered Buddhist monks.

"Allahu Akbar": Islamic Battle Cry
A. Z. Mohamed/Gatestone Institute/November 09/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11326/allahu-akbar
What the phrase "Allahu Akbar" actually means is that "Allah is greater" than any other god. When recited, it empowers Muslims, making them feel superior to the rest of mankind. "Allahu Akbar" has, in fact, been a jihadist tool since the early years of Islam.
Muslims do use it in various benign situations, as well. When it is shouted publicly as an expression of rage, however, particularly during an attack on others, it is intended to intimidate or threaten; its purpose is to emphasize that the assault is being committed on behalf of Allah -- submitting to his command to kill enemies -- and in the expectation of the reward of eternal paradise.
When mainstream media outlets in the West whitewash a key tenet of Islam -- jihad in the name of Allah -- these "fellow travelers" are both enabling the problem and obstructing its solution.
Within hours of the recent ISIS-inspired truck-ramming attack in lower Manhattan -- which left eight innocent people dead and more than a dozen others wounded -- much of the media began to divert attention away from the plight of the victims and focus instead on defending Islam. A common thread in the coverage of the mass murder was an accompanying analysis of the Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar," which the terrorist, Sayfullo Saipov, shouted when he exited his vehicle and continued his rampage on foot.
Sayfullo Saipov shouted the Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar" when he exited the truck with which he murdered eight people and wounded more than a dozen others, during his October 31 terrorist attack in Manhattan.
The New York Times, for example, prefaced the tweet of an article about the use of the phrase, by saying: "'Allahu akbar' has somehow become inextricably intertwined with terrorism. Its real meaning is far more innocent."
The Times, like Shariah law apologist and Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour, played down the definition of "Allahu Akbar," by insisting that it simply means is "God is great."
The Huffington Post, meanwhile, said that the phrase actually means "God is greater." This is also the translation used by Imam Omar Suleiman, founder and president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research and an adjunct professor of Islamic Studies at Southern Methodist University, in an op-ed on CNN's website. Suleiman said that "Allahu Akbar... should be known as a celebration of life, not death and destruction."
What the phrase "Allahu Akbar" actually means, however, is that "Allah is greater" than any other god. When recited, it empowers Muslims, making them feel superior to the rest of mankind. "Allahu Akbar" has, in fact, been a jihadist tool since the early years of Islam. According to the Sahih Muslim, a highly acclaimed collection of hadiths (sayings of the Prophet Muhammed), Allah's messenger (Muhammed) launched a raid against the Jews living in Khaybar, 90 miles north of Medina, with the battle cry: "Allahu Akbar, Khaybar shall face destruction."
This is not to say that "Allahu Akbar" is always uttered in a violent context. Muslims do use it in various benign situations, as well. When it is shouted publicly as an expression of rage, however, particularly during an attack on others, it is intended to intimidate or threaten; its purpose is to emphasize that the assault is being committed on behalf of Allah -- submitting to his command to kill enemies -- and in the expectation of the reward of eternal paradise.
When mainstream media outlets in the West whitewash a key tenet of Islam – jihad in the name of Allah – they are unwittingly aiding and abetting the killing of innocents. In so doing, these "fellow travelers" are both enabling the problem and obstructing its solution.
**A.Z. Mohamed is a Muslim born and raised in the Middle East.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

France: A Decomposing Civilization

Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/November 09/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11336/france-decomposing
France's authorities and elites are tearing up, piece by piece, the country's historical, religious and cultural legacy so that nothing remains. A nation dispossessed of its identity will see its inner strength broken.
No French terrorist who went to cut off heads in Syria lost his citizenship. The magazine Charlie Hebdo is now receiving new death threats, and no major French publication expressed solidarity with their murdered colleagues by drawing Islamic caricatures. Many of the French intelligentsia have been dragged in courts for alleged "Islamophobia".
The martyrdom of Father Jacques Hamel at the hands of Islamists has already been forgotten; the site of the massacre is still waiting for a visit from Pope Francis as a sign of condolence and respect.
France "sacrificed the victims to avoid fighting the murderers". — Shmuel Trigano, sociologist.
France is about to commemorate the victims of the terror attacks of November 13, 2015. What has been achieved in the two years since the attacks?
The French authorities are sending compensation to more than 2,500 victims of the jihadist attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis, who will be compensated with 64 million euros. Important victories were also attained by anti-terrorism forces. According to an enquiry by the weekly L'Express, in the last two years, 32 terrorist attacks were foiled, 625 firearms were seized, 4,457 people suspected of having jihadist links were searched, and 752 individuals were placed under house arrest. But the general impression is that of a country "frailing from within".
In 1939, a Spanish anti-Fascist journalist, Manuel Chaves Nogales, fled to France, where he witnessed the collapse of the French Republic under German assault. His book, The Agony of France, could have been written about today. Nogales wrote that while the German soldiers were marching through Paris, the French were swarming out of movie theaters, "just in time for the apéritif at the bistro".
After two French girls were murdered by an Islamist in Marseille last month, the social commentator Mathieu Bock-Côté wrote that France is experiencing "a process of national and civilizational decomposition that the authorities have decided to accompany and moderate, without claiming to fight and overthrow it, as if it were unavoidable". He seem to have got it right.
The previous French president, François Hollande, did not even try to get re-elected; his successor, Emmanuel Macron, refuses to talk about Islam and appears to accept the permanent capitulation to the state of fear and emergency. The French army failed to liberate Raqqa, Syria as it promised after the attacks. "France will destroy ISIS", Hollande said after the carnage in Paris; but it was US and Kurdish forces that liberated the Islamic State's de facto capital. 15,000 French Islamists are now being monitored by the French intelligence services. Meanwhile, in the last ten years, 40,000 Jews have fled France.
The safety of ordinary French people is no longer guaranteed. Islamist violence can arise anywhere to strike those who wear a uniform and those who do not. All French citizens are now targets in a war where, for Islamist terrorists, everything is allowed.
In France's parliament, "Islamo-Leftist" voices are becoming increasingly bold. The political class distracts itself with "inclusive writing" at school; in vitro fertilization for singles and gays and on-the-spot fines for "sexist" harassers. No French terrorist who went to cut off heads in Syria lost his citizenship. The magazine Charlie Hebdo is receiving new death threats; no major French publication expressed solidarity with its murdered colleagues by printing Islamic caricatures. The victims' relatives published books entitled, You Will Not Have My Hate. Many of the French intelligentsia have been dragged into court for alleged "Islamophobia".
Meanwhile, no Islamist enclave inside the secular Republic has been reclaimed, and only 19 Salafist mosques have been closed.
The French parliament recently found it urgent to strip the politician Marine Le Pen of immunity after she tweeted photographs of victims of ISIS, including that of the US journalist James Foley. "Daesh is THIS!", she wrote in a post accompanying the photographs and using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. So, a country that that suffered 250 murders at the hands of ISIS removed political protection to a leader, who is already under police protection, for having spread the images of victims of ISIS, and thereby opening the door for her prosecution.
The martyrdom of Father Jacques Hamel at the hands of Islamists has been forgotten; the site of the massacre is still waiting for a visit from Pope Francis as a sign of condolence and respect. French judges are now busy removing Christian symbols from the landscape: last month in Ploërmel, the cross above a statue of Pope John Paul II was ordered dispatched for allegedly violating the separation of church and state.
Paris's Mayor Anne Hidalgo recently banned the city's main Christmas market for being insufficiently elegant. France's authorities and elites are tearing up, piece by piece, the country's historical, religious and cultural legacy so that nothing will remain. But a nation dispossessed of its identity will see its inner strength broken. Samuel Pruvot, a journalist for Famille Chrétienne ("Christian Family"), recently claimed that Christianity in France will be soon found in "museums".
French culture, for the past two years, has been marked by "the sentiment of the end of the world". Intellectuals from both the left and right have been publishing essays about the "suicide of France", its "decadence" and its "unhappy identity". These are brilliant and important takes on the current state of French society. France now needs to go beyond mourning. It needs to show strength -- the will to prevail.
France now needs to start fighting the ideological war, the most important one after arrests and the seizure of weapons. If France does not do that, November 13, 2015 will be remembered as the day in which France, as the sociologist Shmuel Trigano said, "sacrificed the victims to avoid fighting the murderers".
*Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Christmas in an Islamized Europe
Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/November 09/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11331/christmas-islam-europe
Of course, shoehorning Koran verses into a Christmas event does nothing but cause misunderstanding.
The whole thing was pretty bizarre, given that (a) Christmas is not an Islamic holy day, and (b) thanks to such misguided innovations, a whole generation of Norwegian children will grow up thinking "that Allah and the Koran have something to do with Christmas."
The Stigeråsen School's Christmas plans provide yet another example of dhimmitude: craven European submission to Islam. This year, there might be a couple of Koran verses in a Christmas show; next year, a yuletide event at which both religions are celebrated on an even footing; and not too many years after that, perhaps, a children's celebration at which there is no cross and no Christmas tree, only prayer rugs, benedictions in Arabic, and hijabs for the girls.
Compared to Americans, as everyone knows, people in the Nordic countries -- and here I am speaking of the blond, blue-eyed natives who descend from generations of Christians (and, before that, followers of Thor and Odin) -- are not big believers these days, and do not spend a lot of time in church. But that does not mean they are not devoted to their Christian heritage. At least in Norway, which is probably the most culturally conservative of the Nordic lands, Confirmation is still a universal rite of passage. Most of the official national holidays are Christian holy days, even if most people could not tell you exactly what Ascension Day and Pentecost commemorate. At Christmastime, the main streets are decked out with lights and wreaths, every home has a Christmas tree, and you cannot turn on the radio without hearing Christmas songs.
In some regards, the celebration of Christmas goes even further in Norway than it does in the U.S., or at least in some parts of the U.S. Because, until a generation or so ago, almost everybody in Norway was at least a nominal Christian, and because the separation of church and state is a relatively new concept in these parts. The Church of Norway was the nation's established church until this past January, and continues to be fully funded by, and to have strong ties to, the government. Christmas events at public schools still tend to have a more religious tinge than they do in public schools in the U.S., at least in religiously diverse urban areas such as New York City and Los Angeles.
It drew national attention, then, when Document.no, an online outpost of honesty about Islam, reported on November 7 that the Stigeråsen School, an elementary school in Skien (Henrik Ibsen's hometown), announced that this year that its Christmas festivities would include not only the usual reading by pupils of verses from the Bible but also a bonus -- two verses from the Koran. All of the verses in question are about Jesus, whom Islam considers a prophet, although not, of course, the Son of God.
Breaking the news of these plans, reporter Hanne Tolg noted that some such change in traditional holiday programming was probably inevitable, given that 40% of the kids at the Stigeråsen School speak Norwegian as a second language (if they speak it at all). Still, added Tolg, the whole thing was pretty bizarre, given that (a) Christmas is not an Islamic holy day, and (b) thanks to such misguided innovations, a whole generation of Norwegian children will grow up thinking "that Allah and the Koran have something to do with Christmas."
No major Norwegian newspaper reported on the Stigeråsen School's Christmas plans. Tolg found out about it thanks to a tip-off. Clearly, local officials did not want to attract national attention or spark national debate -- and the mainstream media do not want to play any part in getting the people of Norway riled up about such matters.
Nonetheless, Tolg's report, posted on an alternate news and commentary website, was the most shared news item in Norway on the morning of November 8 -- showing just how much Norwegians still care about their traditions, and how concerned they are about multiculturalist efforts to muck them up.
But the story did not end there. As it happens, Norway's biggest newspaper, VG, operates a so-called "fact check" operation not unlike the Tampa Bay Times's notorious PolitiFact. It is called Faktisk.no, and it quickly confirmed that Tolg's story was true. Faktisk.no, however, did not leave it at that, even though affirming the factuality of Document.no's account would seem, in this instance, to be the proper beginning and end of the job for a "fact check" website. Plainly, the people at Faktisk.no -- which is to say, the people at VG -- were not satisfied with a mere fact check. They felt the need to put their own spin on the story. So they went beyond fact, their manifest purpose apparently being to defend and justify the school's plans.
To this end, Faktisk.no interviewed Skien's top education honcho, Grete Gjelten, who provided, as she herself put it, "context." The reason for including the Koran verses, she maintained, was "to create respect and understanding between different religions."
Of course, as Tolg herself noted, shoehorning Koran verses into a Christmas event does nothing but cause misunderstanding.
The school also wished to "show the pupils the differences between the religions." Gjelten went on a bit about this, but probably did not succeed in convincing anyone that including the two Koran verses in a Christmas show would serve to increase any child's awareness of the extensive, manifold theological disparities between Christianity and Islam.
On the contrary, Gjelten's claim itself -- which Faktisk.no, unsurprisingly, did not challenge or question -- is an insult to the intelligence of any adult reader. Far from seeking to enhance interfaith respect, understanding, or awareness, the Stigeråsen School's Christmas plans provide yet another example of dhimmitude: craven European submission to Islam. This year, there might be a couple of Koran verses in a Christmas show; next year, a yuletide event at which both religions are celebrated on an even footing; and not too many years after that, perhaps, a children's celebration at which there is no cross and no Christmas tree, only prayer rugs, benedictions in Arabic, and hijabs for the girls.
**Bruce Bawer is the author of the new novel The Alhambra (Swamp Fox Editions). His book While Europe Slept (2006) was a New York Times bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

How to prevent the next war?
Elie Aoun/November 10/17
U.S. Major General Smedley Butler defines three steps to prevent war: (1) to take the profit out of war; (2) to permit the youth who would bear arms to decide whether or not there should be war; and (3) to limit military forces to home defense purposes.
With regard to Lebanon and the region, one step to be added to the list above is: courage to speak the truth, at least as we know it.
A pretext for a war that involves Lebanon can be summarized in one word: "Hizballah." During 2005-June 2006, an attempt to take preemptive measures and to offer a legitimate solution that would neutralize that pretext from being used by foreign entities against Lebanon failed primarily because Hizballah's leadership did not adopt the proposed solution and did not advance any viable alternatives.
At the present, no solution is being discussed by Hizballah's leadership or its "opponents," foreign or domestic. The only discussion is about sanctions, punishment, and confrontation.
Speaking the truth might diminish the possibilities for a new war. So, what is the truth?
The truth is that: (1) the best way to undermine a community is by infiltrating its clergy (who are least suspected); (2) The infiltrated Christian and Muslim clergy and politicians pursue a regionalist, globalist, or a selfish agenda (not a nationalist one).
Most observers look at the differences between opposing factions. Discovering the truth requires that we uncover their similarities. Let us analyze what these "opponents" have in common.
On one hand, we have Iran and Hizballah. Who rules them? Clergymen. It should also be noted that "the Iranian Embassy in the Vatican is one of the largest, and Iran’s ambassador to the Vatican is considered to be the most important one in the West, while ambassadors to other countries of Europe and America rank lower in the hierarchy."
http://katehon.com/agenda/iranian-presidents-meeting-pope
The Iranian delegates meet on a regular basis with Vatican officials and coordinate their policy in Lebanon and the region.
On the other hand, we have the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Who rules them?
President Kennedy warned us of “the secret societies.” President Eisenhower warned us of “the military industrial complex.” President Lincoln accused “the Jesuit Order” of instigating the American civil war.
Few days prior to every American election, the Republican and Democratic candidates for President are seated one at the right and another at the left of the Jesuit Cardinal of New York during the “Al Smith dinner.” Their pictures can be seen at this link:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/photos-scenes-from-past-al-smith-dinners/collection_3f85f019-bbc4-5216-be5f-3832867be0eb.html
This is one of many indications about Vatican’s influence in American politics (foreign or domestic).
Can anyone explain how a Vatican-influenced United States is in confrontation with a Vatican-influenced Iran?
With regard to the Israeli-Saudi connection, King Faisal Al-Saud told The Washington Post on September 17, 1969: “We, the Saudi family, are cousins of the Jews …”
https://concisepolitics.com/2016/04/28/the-documented-jewish-roots-of-saudi-royal-family/
Personally, I have no opposition to Jews or anyone’s lineage to Jews. I believe that we are all descendants of either Jews or pagans because, originally, no one else did exist. I am simply pointing out that the regional political or military confrontation is a scam -- and all sides are connected in one form or another. Can anyone explain why those who oppose Israel and Zionism neglect (on purpose) to mention freemasonry when the official name of the Zionists is the “Masonic Labor Zionists”?
According to a Lebanese intelligence officer quoted in a daily newspaper, half of the Lebanese parliamentarians and more than half of the Lebanese ministers are Freemasons. Can anyone explain what role the Freemasons on the Lebanese and Israeli side are playing while Lebanon and Israel treat one another as enemies? It is clear that all the warring factions are ruled by clergymen and secret societies. There is no real animosity. There is only a “managed confrontation” aimed at serving their common agenda and the profits of the military industrial complex.  The existence of Hizballah and regional militias are necessary to advance foreign interests. Without them, there would be no viable justification for foreign interference. For that reason, we hear of sanctions, threats, and confrontations -- but no logical solutions. In the meantime, the leaders of Hizballah are “faithful” in preserving that pretext, and do nothing towards a meaningful solution that would protect Lebanon.
In summary, the clergy and secret societies rule Lebanon and the region. Their oath is loyalty to their superiors, not to a country or a constitution. They are responsible for every drop of blood shed in the past or to be shed in the future. Anyone who lacks the courage to speak that truth is a contributor to war.