LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 15/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations
Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 25/01-13/:"‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, "Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him." Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out." But the wise replied, "No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves." And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, "Lord, lord, open to us." But he replied, "Truly I tell you, I do not know you."Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish
Letter to the Philippians 02/12-18/:"Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labour in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me."

Question: "How can I overcome temptation?"
GotQuestions.org?
Answer: The Scriptures tell us that we all face temptations. First Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man.” Perhaps this provides a little encouragement as we often feel that the world is bearing in on us alone, and that others are immune to temptations. We are told that Christ was also tempted: “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Where, then, do these temptations come from? First of all, they do not come from God, although He does allow them. James 1:13 says, “For God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” In the first chapter of Job, we see that God allowed Satan to tempt Job, but with restrictions. Satan is roaming on the earth like a lion, seeking people to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Verse 9 tells us to resist him, knowing that other Christians are also experiencing his attacks. By these passages we can know that temptations come from Satan. We see in James 1:14 that temptation originates in us as well. We are tempted when we are “carried away and enticed by our own lust” (verse 14). We allow ourselves to think certain thoughts, allow ourselves to go places we should not go, and make decisions based on our lusts that lead us into the temptation.
How then do we resist the temptations? First of all, we must return to the example of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness by Satan in Matthew 4:1-11. Each of Satan’s temptations was met with the same answer: “It is written,” followed by Scripture. If the Son of God used the Word of God to effectively end the temptations—which we know works because after three failed efforts, “the Devil left him” (v. 11)—how much more do we need to use it to resist our own temptations? All our efforts to resist will be weak and ineffective unless they are powered by the Holy Spirit through the constant reading, studying, and meditating on the Word. In this way, we will be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). There is no other weapon against temptation except the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” If our minds are filled with the latest TV shows, music and all the rest the culture has to offer, we will be bombarded with messages and images that inevitably lead to sinful lusts. But if our minds are filled with the majesty and holiness of God, the love and compassion of Christ, and the brilliance of both reflected in His perfect Word, we will find that our interest in the lusts of the world diminish and disappear. But without the Word’s influence on our minds, we are open to anything Satan wants to throw at us.
Here, then, is the only means to guard our hearts and minds in order to keep the sources of temptation away from us. Remember the words of Christ to His disciples in the garden on the night of His betrayal: “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Most Christians would not openly want to jump into sin, yet we cannot resist falling into it because our flesh is not strong enough to resist. We place ourselves in situations or fill our minds with lustful passions, and that leads us into sin.
We need to renew our thinking as we are told in Romans 12:1-2. We must no longer think as the world thinks, or walk in the same way that the world walks. Proverbs 4:14-15 tells us, “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by; Turn away from it and pass on.” We need to avoid the path of the world that leads us into temptation because our flesh is weak. We are easily carried away by our own lusts.
Matthew 5:29 has some excellent advice. “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw if from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” That sounds severe! Sin is severe! Jesus is not saying that we literally need to remove body parts. Cutting out the eye is a drastic measure, and Jesus is teaching us that if necessary, a drastic measure should be taken to avoid sin.
*Recommended Resource: The Truth About Lies: The Unlikely Role of Temptation in Who You Will Become by Tim Chaddick

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 14-15/17
Trump in a Confrontation with Tehran’s Regime/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/October 14/17
Here's How to Fix But Not Nix the Iran Deal/Robert Satloff/Atlantic/Washington Institute/October 13/017
Why There Is No Peace in the Middle East/Philip Carl Salzman/Gatestone Institute/October 14/17
Corruption nears religious symbols in Iraq/Adnan Hussein/Al Arabiya/October 14/17

Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on October 14-15/17
Hariri, Pope Discuss Syrian Crisis and Burden of Refugees
Opposition to Taif accord wasn't spontaneous: Aoun
Salameh: The Lira will remain stable, our mechanisms are sufficient to comply with sanctions
Foreign Affairs Ministry: We adhered to ministerial statement's content in UNESCO elections
Sabhan Indirectly Lashes Out at Hizbullah, Warns against Meddling in SA’s Affairs
Hariri Meets Rai: Maintaining Consensus in Lebanon is Essential
Lebanese Army Arrests Drug Dealers in Beirut Suburbs
Aoun calls on Lebanese expatriates to exchange their expertise with Lebanon
Riachy: Nothing would prevent holding parliamentary elections on time except if war occurs
Ezzeddine Visits UNIFIL Headquarters
Geagea begins a twoweek visit to Australia
Hasbani representing Aoun: We are working to strengthen public health sector, great improvement has been achieved

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 14-15/17
US military setting new plans for Iran
Israel Welcomes Trump’s ‘Courageous’ Stance on Iran Nuclear Deal
ISIS Loses Eastern Syria’s al-Mayadeen
Raqqa Battle Nears End as ISIS Terrorists Surrender
Iraqi forces take down Kurdistan flag in southern Kirkuk/Iraqi forces seek to reduce Peshmerga-controlled areas outside Kurdistan region, officials say
Kurds: Baghdad Gives Ultimatum on Kirkuk Pullback
US, Egypt Urge Israel against ‘Sabotaging’ Palestinian Reconciliation
Palestinian Authority to Take Control of Gaza Crossings in November
King Salman Congratulates Palestinian President on Reconciliation Agreement
Canada welcomes arrival of Joshua Boyle and family
Mattis urging Iraqi, Kurdish forces to avoid conflict
IMF worried over Venezuela, 'no solution in sight'
Italian priest kidnapped in southern Nigeria
Dozens of IS Fighters Surrender as Raqa's Fall Nears
Iranians Mock 'Ridiculous' Trump Speech
Former French Culture Minister Picked to Head UNESCO, Lebanon’s Candidate Bows
ISIS ‘caliphate’ crumbles as militants surrender and forced out of Raqqa
Turkey orders detention of 100 former police officers in post-coup probe
Iran was behind cyber attack on British lawmakers in June - The Times

Latest Lebanese Related News published on October 14-15/17
Hariri, Pope Discuss Syrian Crisis and Burden of Refugees
Asharq Al Awsat/October 14/17/Beirut- Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri held separate talks on Friday with Pope Francis and Vatican’s Secretary of State Monsignor Pietro Parolin. Discussions focused on the situation in Lebanon and the regional crises, mainly the war in Syria. “It was a very good meeting,” Hariri said following the talks at the Vatican. The National News Agency reported that the Lebanese premier discussed with the pope the situation in Lebanon and the region, and the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon, in addition to ties with the Vatican. “The Vatican has a responsibility” regarding the burden of Syrian refugees, Hariri was quoted as saying following the talks. “The Pope will work on this. But what is essential for me and for the displaced, is that no one is preventing any displaced from returning to Syria today. The right way for their return to their country should be found and there must be safe areas in Syria for the displaced to be convinced to return safely to their country and to these areas,” he said. “In this way, we would have secured the return of the displaced to Syria. The talk about forcing them to return is out of the question, unnatural and inhuman,” Hariri added. But the PM stressed that the Lebanese authorities had a role in protecting Lebanese citizens, by implementing laws that preserve their jobs. “We heard from him that Lebanon is important to him and coexistence in Lebanon is an example for the whole region, and must be preserved,” Hariri said about the pope who promised to visit Lebanon.“We discussed the problems in the region. His Holiness went to Egypt to confirm the importance of dialogue, especially between Muslims and Christians. He accepted to come to Lebanon, hopefully soon, and this is a positive thing,” Hariri added.

Opposition to Taif accord wasn't spontaneous: Aoun
The Daily Star/Oct. 13, 2017/BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun Friday said that his revolt against the Taif Accord in the 1990s wasn’t to gain popularity, but to lay the foundations for a state.Speaking before a delegation from the Antonine University, Aoun said that with his election, the time is ripe to restore the rights of the Maronite community, referring to the Taif stipulation that the presidency can only be held by a Maronite Christian. His comments came on the anniversary of the Oct. 13, 1990 events when Syrian warplanes bombed the Baabda Palace where Aoun and his family were sheltering in a bunker, having refused to step down. As a result of the heavy Syrian bombardment, Aoun, who was then a military commander, fled to the French Embassy before the Syrian army reached the palace. Aoun headed an interim military government at the time after Parliament failed to elect a successor to then President Amine Gemayel. He was engaged in battle with the Syrian military over his strong opposition to the 1989 Taif Accord that ended the 1975-1990 Civil War. He was later exiled to France in 1991, where he spent the next 14 years. Aoun returned to Lebanon in May 2005, a few weeks after Syria withdrew its army from Lebanon under local and international pressures, ending nearly three decades of its domination of the country. Over the past couple of years, the events of Oct. 13, 1990 were marked by supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement, the party founded by Aoun. “It later turned out for those who thought that amid [Syrian] occupation, a state could be built, that that wasn’t an option,” he said. “A state that doesn’t enjoy sovereignty, with no independence, freedom can’t build itself by itself.” Aoun Friday also held a series of meetings that included a sit down with head of the International Red Cross Committee delegation in Lebanon, Christophe Martin.

Salameh: The Lira will remain stable, our mechanisms are sufficient to comply with sanctions
Sat 14 Oct 2017/NNA - Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh stressed Saturday that the Lebanese Lira is stable, adding that the Central Bank's mechanisms are adequate to comply with the US imposed sanctions on Hezbollah. "The mechanisms set by the Central Bank to commit to US sanctions on Hezbollah are ongoing and sufficient, and have received the welcome and satisfaction of the US Treasury officials we met in Washington," affirmed Salameh, adding "we will continue to address penal laws with the same mechanism." "The sanctions were tight in content from the start, but were expanded to outside Lebanon," he added. Salameh referred to continuous coordination with the US Treasury in this respect, reassuring that the existing mechanisms are sufficient to apply the sanctions with all additions thereto. In an interview to the Washington-based Arab Economic News site, where he took part in the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, as well as with several banks, Salameh said, "We have not received any reservation or change in position, and even some of them intend to expand their work in Lebanon." "These positions confirm the stability of the adopted policies and the normal flow of business, and we have detected the American administration and American banks' satisfaction and did not feel that anyone wants harm for Lebanon," he emphasized, noting that the practical decrees of the new laws have not yet been issued. "We held meetings at the US State Department where we sensed a positive atmosphere and sympathetic approach towards Lebanon, and satisfaction with our policies. Meetings with investors in Lebanese financial currencies revealed their continued interest, and we explained to them the whole situation in numbers and facts," explained Salameh. He stressed the continuation of these policies, backed by arising developments.

Foreign Affairs Ministry: We adhered to ministerial statement's content in UNESCO elections
Sat 14 Oct 2017/NNA - In an issued statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates confirmed its commitment to the ministerial statement's content during the UNESCO elections. The statement referred to certain misleading information in the media about Lebanon's position and its voting during the elections that took place at the UNESCO last week. "The voting mechanism is secret, which means that what is being circulated in the media is mere speculation," the statement indicated. "The Ministry adhered, as always, to what is stated in the ministerial statement of the current government, and to the constants and principles that are the basis of Lebanon's international relations," the statement emphasized. It concluded by affirming that "the voting in its many stages was held after consultation between the Foreign Affairs Minister, the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic."

Sabhan Indirectly Lashes Out at Hizbullah, Warns against Meddling in SA’s Affairs
Naharnet/October 14/17/Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan said that Saudi Arabia will “cut off the hands” of anyone who tries to harm it, in an indirect reference to Hizbullah’s practices. "Certainly, the Kingdom supports all counter-terrorism policies, its source and arms. Countries of the region must unite in the face of killing of people and the destruction of civil peace," said al-Sabhan in a late Friday tweet. In another tweet, he said: “The ‘Party of Terror’ and those orchestrating it must realize that their dirty practices against the Kingdom and Gulf countries will not go unpunished. The Kingdom will cut the hands off anyone who tries to harm it.”Sabhan’s remarks came after US President Donald Trump's speech at the White House, in which he announced "tough" new sanctions against Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which he accused of "supporting terrorism."Trump said in his speech that he could cancel the Iranian nuclear deal at any time after he announced his refusal to recognize Tehran's commitment to the agreement signed under former US President Barack Obama. Saudi Arabia expressed its support for the "resolute" strategy announced by US President Donald Trump over Iran. The UAE and Bahrain also praised Trump's speech on Iran's nuclear deal. Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of supporting "terrorism in the region" through supporting Hizbullah and Houthi rebels in Yemen, where the kingdom is leading a military alliance in support of the internationally recognized government. Al-Sabhan’s rants are not the first time he criticizes Hizbullah. On Sunday he called for an “international coalition” to confront the party. Al-Sabhan has launched several anti-Hizbullah diatribes in recent months.

Hariri Meets Rai: Maintaining Consensus in Lebanon is Essential
Naharnet/October 14/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks Friday evening with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai at the Maronite Pontifical Institute in Rome, Hariri's media office said. The meeting was attended by Hariri’s chief of staff Nader Hariri and his adviser Daoud Sayegh. After the meeting, Hariri told journalists that discussions touched on “matters that concern Lebanon's unity and stability. We also discussed the issue of the displaced Syrians, and the Lebanese government will prepare a document on this issue. For me, maintaining consensus in Lebanon and the stability of the country is essential.”
Hariri added: “The issue of the displaced must first address Lebanon's supreme interest and must be dealt with in such a way that Lebanon is not affected externally, within the international community, or even on the humane level. The displaced are our brothers and we should preserve their security and stability. They left Syria because they were threatened there. We have to preserve Lebanon's supreme interest, the economy and security in our country, and the employment opportunities for the Lebanese.”He continued: “We can address this issue. The previous policies, because of political divisions, were not able to find solutions, but today there is a Lebanese consensus to address this issue, and God willing we will”.To a question that the controversial displaced issue could blow up the internal situation and perhaps lead to the resignation of the government, the PM replied: “On the contrary, I believe that there is a great consensus in the government on this issue, and there are some details that we must agree on. Do not be afraid, this government will not explode because we are all working for the benefit of Lebanon.”“The political differences were taking place because everyone was entrenched behind his political positions. We are still entrenched behind these political positions, but the difference is that there is a Lebanese situation and the stability of Lebanon has nothing to do with what is happening around us. So we have to work for Lebanon’s interest”. Hariri added that there is “joint paper between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of the Interior on the matter. It is the basic paper that the previous government worked on.”For me, maintaining this consensus in Lebanon and the stability of the

Lebanese Army Arrests Drug Dealers in Beirut Suburbs
Naharnet/October 14/17/Army units arrested two suspected drug dealers in the Beirut suburb of al-Jnah, the Lebanese Army Orientation Directorate said in a statement on Saturday. The statement said that army units from the Intelligence Branch have arrested the suspects, a Syrian and Lebanese, during raids they staged on several houses in al-Jnah neighborhood in search for drug dealers. Police shot the Syrian suspect, identified as Mohammed al-Najjar, in his foot after an attempted assault against the troops. He was detained along with his partner, a Lebanese suspect identified as Abbas Ismail.
Police confiscated a large amount of drugs in their possession in addition to four cameras and electronic devices. Al-Najjar was transferred to a hospital while the other detainee was referred to related authorities.

Aoun calls on Lebanese expatriates to exchange their expertise with Lebanon
Sat 14 Oct 2017/NNA - President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, called Saturday on Lebanese expatriates and the descendants of Lebanese origin, especially those who excel in all scientific and medical fields, to "come to Lebanon periodically and put their expertise at the disposal of their motherland, and contribute to highlighting Lebanon's civilized, cultural and scientific image." Aoun's words came during a meeting this afternoon at Baabda Palace with the delegation of the Lebanese Association of Blood Diseases and Blood Transfusion, chaired by Professor Ahmed Ibrahim. Aoun told the delegation that "the foreign energy conferences organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs aim to deepen the communication between the Lebanese residents and the Lebanese Diaspora." Aoun deemed that "the distinction of the Lebanese living abroad is an added value to Lebanon; therefore, I urge you not to forget your country, while staying loyal to the countries that hosted you."

Riachy: Nothing would prevent holding parliamentary elections on time except if war occurs
Sat 14 Oct 2017/NNA - Minister of Information, Melhem Riachy, deemed that there is no excuse that would prevent the holding of legislative elections on time during upcoming May, except in case of war, God forbid. "On the domestic level, there is no reason not to hold the parliamentary elections," Minister Riachy said during an interview on Future Television, adding that the only reason that might stop the holding of elections is war at the regional level. "The situation at the regional level is unstable, especially as the possibility of war rises daily, and we all see how black clouds are gathering in the area," Riachy added. The Minister reiterated that the Lebanese Forces' position pushes for adopting the identity card in the elections, in case the Interior Ministry couldn't issue the magnetic card due to time constraints. Commenting on the government's achievements, he said that the endorsement of the new electoral law was amongst its notable accomplishments, pointing out that said law has many reforms. In his assessment of the State's first mandate, Riachy described the situation as "less than our expectations and aspirations, but the situation is now better than it was two years ago." During the interview, the Minister spoke about the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement's relations, saying "what matters is to preserve this reconciliation strategically and sentimentally," noting that this reconciliation is under observation. Riachy spoke about the "Tele Liban" crisis, warning of the bankruptcy of the television station if officials did not bear their responsibilities. He disclosed that Prime Minister Saad Hariri promised to include the issue on the agenda of the Cabinet meeting next week.

Ezzeddine Visits UNIFIL Headquarters
Naharnet/October 14/17/UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Michael Beary and Minister of State for Administrative Reforms, Inaya Ezzeddine, discussed capacity building, joint activities carried out by the Mission in close coordination with local communities and issues related to the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, the UN said in a statement. During the State Minister’s visit to the UNIFIL Headquarters, the UNIFIL Force Commander also acknowledged and appreciated the efforts of the Ministry in developing the institutional and technical capacities of the Lebanese ministries, central bodies, public agencies and municipalities. In his briefing to Ezzeddine, Major General Beary said that one of the key aspects of the UN Security Council resolution 1701, which forms the core of UNIFIL’s mandate, is the capacity building and the extension of state authority in the area of operations. He also noted that the close engagement that UNIFIL’s officials have with local authorities has helped in identifying opportunities and addressing challenges together. For her part Ezzeddine said: “UNFIL efforts are undeniable in Lebanon and through the course of the day here, I have witnessed and assessed your tremendous efforts to contribute to the sustainable development that support the capabilities of the Lebanese government and empower the local communities.”During the visit, Minister Ezzeddine inspected some of the projects implemented by the Mission in coordination with the local authorities in South Lebanon: “These projects are one of the factors of building trust between UNIFIL and the local communities and they also help restoring state authority in the area.”“These projects are addressing the direct needs of the municipalities, which is a very important element in building trust and stability in UNIFIL’s area of operations,” she added. Ezzeddine also inspected UNIFIL’s sewage plant and solar farm. In order to reduce the Mission’s environmental footprint, UNIFIL has installed more than 2,100 solar panels, which account for more than 5 per cent of total energy consumption in UNIFIL’s headquarters.

Geagea begins a twoweek visit to Australia
Sat 14 Oct 2017/NNA - Lebanese Forces Party Chief Samir Geagea arrived Saturday in Australia, starting a two-week visit during which he will meet with Australian officials, LF supporters and members of the Lebanese expatriate community. Accompanied by his wife, Streida, Geagea was warmly welcomed by more than 800 Party members and supporters in the Australian capital, Sydney. Addressing a gathering crowd of partisans, Geagea deemed that "the presence of President Michel Aoun in Baabda has readjusted internal balance in the country," urging him to "initiate the restoration of the State's decision." Over the parliamentary elections, Geagea stressed that elections would take place on their scheduled date, hoping that the Lebanese Forces would win a significant parliamentary bloc so that it can achieve its project of building the State. He urged Lebanese expatriates, in general, and LF partisans, in particular, to register their names at the various Lebanese Consulates in preparation for taking part in the upcoming legislative elections. "There are fundamental challenges for the Lebanese Forces, foremost of which is the restoration of the national sovereignty decision, as well as building and administering a strong state," added Geagea. "Lebanon can be a rich country if the waste expenditure ceases in various departments, and we have become closely aware of the volume of waste expenditure through our participation in the government," he went on. On the possibility of an electoral alliance with al-Mardah Movement, Geagea said "continuous contact exists between officials of both sides and the relationship has become normal, but alliance still has a not-so-short way ahead in light of al-Maradah's different perspective on political matters." As for the dispute with the Kataeb Party, Geagea explained that "with the Kataeb, we cannot but be on good terms, for it is the closest to us among all Lebanese parties with regards to political proposals, despite our diverse approaches to the current leadership." Geagea reiterated his refusal to "connect with the Syrian regime and pay double for Hezbollah's policies, once through its participation in the war and again in its quest for normalization with the Syrian regime which is nearing its end."

Hasbani representing Aoun: We are working to strengthen public health sector, great improvement has been achieved
Sat 14 Oct 2017/NNA - Public Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani stressed Saturday on the exerted efforts to boost the public health sector's capabilities in Lebanon, indicating that great improvement has been achieved. Representing President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, Minister Hasbani's words came at the inauguration of the Lebanese Neurologists Association's Ninth Conference at the Hilton Habtour Hotel in Sin El-Fil, attended by prominent physicians and members of the medical field. "We have developed an integrated health strategy for the coming years, including hospitalization, pharmaceutical, food quality and safety and out-of-hospital services," said Hasbani. "We are working in different directions, especially on strengthening the public hospital's capabilities which has witnessed great improvement," he asserted. "We are working to connect different medical levels through the Referral System, which is the best way to avoid speculation between institutions and to better secure the consumption of available services," Hasbani went on. He reaffirmed "the importance of the private and public sectors, which are the main partners in all our programs and policies."

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 14-15/17
US military setting new plans for Iran
Reuters, WashingtonSaturday, 14 October 2017/The US military said on Friday it was identifying new areas where it could work with allies to put pressure on Iran in support of President Donald Trump’s new strategy, which promises a far more confrontational approach to Tehran. Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement on Friday in defiance of other world powers, choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal and warning he might ultimately terminate it. He also promised to address Iran more broadly, including its support for extremist groups in the Middle East. Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway, a Defense Department spokesman, told Reuters the Pentagon was assessing the positioning of its forces as well as planning but offered few details.“We are identifying new areas where we will work with allies to put pressure on the Iranian regime, neutralize its destabilizing influences, and constrain its aggressive power projection, particularly its support for terrorist groups and militants,” he said. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said his first goal would to talk with US allies in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere to gain a shared understanding of Iran’s actions. “Certainly we intend to dissuade them from shipping arms into places like Yemen and explosives into Bahrain and the other things they do with their surrogates, like Lebanese Hezbollah,” Mattis said. The US military has long been a strident critic of Iran, accusing it directly and indirectly of trying to undermine the United States and its allies, including in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. The tensions escalated in recent months in Syria, where American pilots shot down two Iranian-made drones this summer. Still, a more aggressive approach to Iran could trigger a backlash from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and forces that it backs. That includes in Iraq, where US troops are fighting ISIS and trying to keep their distance from Shi’ite militia aligned with Iran. “US forces in Iraq are quite exposed, and coalition forces are quite exposed to the risk of attack if Iranian elements so choose,” said Jennifer Cafarella, lead intelligence planner at the Institute for the Study of War, a think-tank in Washington. The US military is analyzing an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, that killed an American soldier in Iraq this month. The reappearance of the device, which Iran-backed Shi’ite militia routinely used to target American troops in Iraq before their withdrawal in 2011, has startled US officials.
Link to Iran?
CIA Director Mike Pompeo noted the device was detonated in an area controlled by a militia backed by Tehran. “We do not have evidence of a direct link to Iran, but we are closely examining this tragic incident,” Pompeo said on Wednesday.
Cafarella said the killing of the US soldier may have been a warning from Iran. “I think it is possible that the Iranians have been attempting to signal their commitment to retaliate against the US strategy,” she said. Mattis said the United States was watching for any new provocations from Iran. Asked whether he thought Tehran might retaliate, he said: “It would be ill advised for them to attack us.”Reuters has previously reported that options to increase pressure on Iran include more aggressive US interceptions of Iranian arms shipments, such as those to Houthi rebels in Yemen, It could also direct US naval forces to react more forcefully when harassed by armed IRGC speed boats. The Pentagon on Friday detailed a series of major concern about Iran, including its ballistic missile development and cyber attacks against the United States and US allies. The Pentagon promised to review US security cooperation activities with allies in the region, something that could lead to alterations in US arms sales and military exercises. It also signaled a willingness to re-examine the positioning of the roughly 70,000 American troops the Pentagon says are stationed in the Middle East.
Still, Mattis said: “Right now we are not changing our posture.”

Israel Welcomes Trump’s ‘Courageous’ Stance on Iran Nuclear Deal
Asharq Al Awsat/October 14/17/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised on Friday US President Donald Trump’s decision not to re-certify to Congress the Iran nuclear deal. He welcomed the “courageous decision,” saying Trump has created an opportunity to “fix this bad deal” and to roll back Iran’s aggression. He encouraged all other relevant nations to do the same. Israeli Minister Tzachi Hanegbi also praised Trump’s stand, noting however that there appear to be deep partisan divisions surrounding the US administration. He added: “The result that may happen and which is the only positive thing we can see at this stage is for Congress to agree on new significant sanctions.”These sanctions would compel large international companies to choose between doing business with the Iranians or the Americans.

ISIS Loses Eastern Syria’s al-Mayadeen
Asharq Al Awsat/October 14/17/ Syrian regime and allied forces have taken the eastern town of al-Mayadeen from ISIS militants, in the latest blow to the terrorist group. Al-Mayadeen, near the Iraqi border in Deir Ezzor province, had become a major base for ISIS terrorists as they were being driven out of their de facto Syrian capital in Raqqa city by the US-backed offensive. Over the past few months many of the individuals which the US-led coalition against ISIS has targeted have come from al-Mayadeen, coalition spokesman Ryan Dillon told Reuters. The Syrian regime campaign to take al-Mayadeen has been supported by heavy Russian air strikes. The US-led coalition has also previously struck in the vicinity of the town. Al-Mayadeen lies south of the provincial capital Deir Ezzor city, where Syrian and allied forces are also trying to oust the militants from a small pocket they still control. “Units of our armed forces, in cooperation with allied forces, have regained control of the city of Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor, killing a large number of terrorists and destroying their weapons,” regime media said, citing a military source. “Our units are chasing down remaining members of ISIS fleeing the city amid a collapse in their ranks, and the engineering units are removing mines and explosives planted by the terrorists in the streets and square of the city,” the source added.

Raqqa Battle Nears End as ISIS Terrorists Surrender
Asharq Al Awsat/October 14/17/Syrian ISIS members in Raqqa have started to leave the northern city in recent days, said a Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The removal of foreign ISIS fighters is being prepared. “All Syrian fighters from the ISIS group left Raqa over the past five days,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman, saying they headed to unknown destinations. Some 200 ISIS members surrendered and they have left the area with their families, he added. A local official revealed however that members of the terror group have surrendered to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). He did not specify their numbers. The Observatory had reported earlier that a convoy of buses had entered Raqqa to transport the remaining ISIS members and their families outside of the city. A spokesman for the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) stated that the forces combating ISIS in Raqqa are on the verge of defeating the group and declaring victory. Nuri Mahmoud predicted that the announcement of the liberation of Raqqa will take place later on Saturday or on Sunday. A spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting ISIS said that some 100 fighters had surrendered in the city in the past 24. They have since been removed from the area. “We still expect difficult fighting in the days ahead and will not set a time for when we think ISIS will be completely defeated in Raqqa,” said coalition spokesman Ryan Dillon. US Secretary of Defense James Mattis announced on Friday that the coalition will accept the surrender of ISIS members in Raqqa. He added however that the surrender of the more radicalized members will not be accepted. The international coalition estimated in a report on Thursday that some 4,000 civilians were still trapped in Raqqa. Most of them are being used as human shields by 300 to 400 ISIS terrorists.Backed by coalition air strikes, the SDF succeeded in liberating nearly 90 percent of Raqqa, ISIS’ former stronghold in Syria.

Iraqi forces take down Kurdistan flag in southern Kirkuk/Iraqi forces seek to reduce Peshmerga-controlled areas outside Kurdistan region, officials say
By Staff Writer, Al Arabiya English Saturday, 14 October 2017/An Iraqi military official said on Friday that the Iraqi army has demanded Kurdish troops out of the military base and oil reserves in Kirkuk governorate. They have also taken down the Kurdistan region’s flag South of Kirkuk, he added. Footage shared on social media by the Emergency Response Division showed Iraqi forces taking down the flag.Iraqi forces entered the area seeking to reduce Peshmerga-controlled areas outside Kurdistan’s borers, said the official.
Oil reserves
Kirkuk is known to hold about 10 percent of Iraq’s oil reserves.
Similarly, the Kurdish state sees Kirkuk as a Kurdish city in history which changed over the years during Baghdad’s Arabization. The city has been a hotspot for Iraqi-Kurdish conflict especially after Kurdistan voted for independence in the referendum last month.
According to an article in the Washington Post, Kirkuk’s Governor Najmaldin Karim said that Baghdad gave them “an ultimatum.”
Targeted infrastructure
He continued saying: “There were troop movements of Shiite militias. Some of them were disguised as the federal police; they were with elements of the army. They moved toward our vital infrastructure, power plants, gas and oil fields.”Also, a member of the city council in Taza Southern Kirkuk, Irsan Shukur, said that Peshmerga commanders agreed to leave the area without an armed conflict. Shukur also said that Iraqi forces claimed that to take control of the area to maintain Hawija’s security – a town in the center of Kirkuk recently freed from ISIS command.

Kurds: Baghdad Gives Ultimatum on Kirkuk Pullback
Asharq Al Awsat/October 14/17/Baghdad has set a pre-dawn Sunday deadline for Kurdish forces to abandon positions in the disputed oil province of Kirkuk they took during the fightback against ISIS more than three years ago, a senior Kurdish official said. “The deadline set for the peshmerga to return to their pre-June 6, 2014 positions will expire during the night,” the Kurdish official told AFP. Asked at what time, he said 2 am on Sunday (2300 GMT Saturday).
The alleged ultimatum comes as thousands of Iraqi troops and the Popular Mobilization Forces are locked in an armed standoff with Kurdish peshmerga fighters near ethnically divided but historically Kurdish-majority Kirkuk. Tensions have soared between the erstwhile allies in the war against ISIS since a Kurdish vote for independence last month. Tens of thousands of peshmerga soldiers have been stationed in and around Kirkuk for some time and another 6,000 have arrived since Thursday, Kosrat Rasul, vice president in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), has said. The KRG’s Security Council expressed alarm late on Thursday at what it called a significant Iraqi military buildup south of Kirkuk, “including tanks, artillery, Humvees and mortars.”Kurdish security sources later said that the Peshmerga had shifted their defense lines by 3 km to 10 km south. of Kirkuk to reduce the risk of clashes with Iraqi forces, which then moved into some of the vacated positions, including in Taza Khurmatu, without incident. Also Saturday, Iraqi President Fuad Masum, who is himself a Kurd, held urgent talks with Kurdish leaders in the city of Sulaimaniyah in the south of the autonomous Kurdish region. In June 2014, ISIS militants swept through vast areas north and west of Baghdad, prompting many Iraqi army units to disintegrate and Kurdish forces to step in. They did so primarily in historically Kurdish-majority areas they had long sought to incorporate in their three-province autonomous region in the north against the strong opposition of Baghdad. The Kurds currently control the city of Kirkuk and three major oil fields in the province which account for a significant share of the regional government’s oil revenues. In Washington, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday that the US was working to reduce tensions between Iraqi federal and Kurdish forces, urging them to remain focused on the war against terrorists. “We are trying to tone everything down and to figure out how we go forward without losing sight of the enemy, and at the same time recognizing that we have got to find a way to move forward,” he told reporters. “Everybody stay focused on defeating ISIS. We can’t turn on each other right now. We don’t want to go to a shooting situation,” he added.

US, Egypt Urge Israel against ‘Sabotaging’ Palestinian Reconciliation
Asharq Al Awsat/October 14/17/Tel Aviv, Washington – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received firm messages from the United States and Egypt leaderships, demanding him against “sabotaging” the Palestinian reconciliation deal, political sources in Tel Aviv revealed. Chances should be given to allow the deal to be a success, they said. They noted that at first glance, it appears that the PM’s reaction to the reconciliation is negative because he has been demanding that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. He has also been demanding that Hamas be stripped of its weapons and sever ties with Iran. The sources said that this response is in fact a “moderate” one. In his first reaction, Netanyahu had said that “we will not accept a fake reconciliation where Palestinians will reach an agreement at the expense of our existence.” He later added however: “Israel will study the developments on the ground and work accordingly.”An official at the Israeli Foreign Ministry underlined the premier’s “remarkable” diplomatic rhetoric, while the political sources attributed his position to his desire against harming ties with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. He is also aware that the US administration of President Donald Trump welcomed Cairo’s sponsoring of the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. Furthermore, Netanyahu realizes that the Palestinian Authority’s return to Gaza, even partially, will serve Israel’s security interest. Observers believe that Netanyahu was forced to take a more lenient stand, but he is still “unconvinced” of the inter-Palestinian reconciliation. The premier and other officials in his government are concerned with the reconciliation possible longevity because the Palestinian division had greatly benefited Israel. Israel’s Education Minister Naftali Bennett went so far as to describe the government that will be established through the agreement as a “terrorism unity cabinet.”Other observers said that the reconciliation will be short-lived due to ongoing Palestinian and Arab differences. Alex Fishman of Yedioth Ahronoth said: “The Cairo talks left Hamas with its tunnels, labs, weapons factories, drones and with the Ezzeddine al-Qassam Brigades and their naval commandos. In fact, Hamas’s military wing remains as it were—under the direct and exclusive command of Hamas. “This is why Israel views the agreement signed on Thursday as one that has no chance of being realized, so there’s no reason to even waste energy on trying to sabotage it. Especially as both the American administration and the Egyptians have asked Israel not to interfere,” he noted in an oped on Friday.

Palestinian Authority to Take Control of Gaza Crossings in November
Asharq Al Awsat/October 14/17/Leading member of the Hamas movement, Saleh al-Arouri, announced on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority will be handed control of the Gaza Strip crossings in early November. Arouri was part of the delegation that signed the reconciliation with the Fatah group in Cairo on Thursday. The Gaza crossings was a thorny issues at the talks because Hamas has had control of them for the past ten years. Arouri told al-Quds newspaper that Hamas and Fatah agreed to hold “deep and detailed” discussions in Gaza between security officials from both factions. The security forces in Gaza will remain as they are until an agreement is reached over a mechanism to merge them, he explained. This will help avoid any “security vacuum.” The reconciliation called for the merger of the security and police forces in Gaza and the West Bank in a manner that would ensure their unity and that they adhere to the Interior Ministry. Asked if the agreement means that Hamas will abandon its armed resistance, Arouri replied: “Partnership means partnership in decisions of war and peace.”Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip after bloody clashes with Fatah in 2007. On September 17, Hamas dissolved the administrative committee that had taken over the role of the government in Gaza to pave the way for the return of the Palestinian cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Rami al-Hamdallah, to the coastal strip. The Cairo-sponsored reconciliation, signed on October 12, is expected to end the ten-year divide between the two factions.The agreement calls for forming a national unity government and preparing for holding legislative and presidential elections. It also calls for establishing joint committees to take in the 45,000 civil and military employees Hamas hired at public institutions.

King Salman Congratulates Palestinian President on Reconciliation Agreement
Asharq Al Awsat/October 14/17/Riyadh- The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz has congratulated Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the reconciliation agreement struck between Fatah and Hamas movements in Cairo this week. King Salman received on Friday a telephone call from Abbas who briefed him on the reconciliation deal. During the conversation, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques stressed that unity is the roadmap to enabling the Palestinian government to serve its people. He also lauded the efforts of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his government in striking the agreement. For his part, Abbas expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his noble feelings and the support the Palestinian people receive from the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since the era of late King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman to date. An official source at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs also welcomed the reconciliation deal. The source reaffirmed the Kingdom’s hope that this significant breakthrough would fulfill aspirations of the Palestinian people for achieving national unity and ending Palestinian internal division, in order to enable the Palestinian people to regain their legitimate rights, in line with the resolutions of international legitimacy and Arab Peace Initiative.

Canada welcomes arrival of Joshua Boyle and family
October 13, 2017 - Ottawa, Ontario - Government of Canada
The Government of Canada today issued the following statement on the arrival in Canada of Joshua Boyle, his wife Caitlan Coleman and their three children:
“Today, we join the Boyle family in rejoicing over the long-awaited return to Canada of their loved ones.
“Canada has been actively engaged on Mr. Boyle’s case at all levels, and we will continue to support him and his family now that they have returned.
“At this time, we ask that the privacy of Mr. Boyle’s family be respected.”

Mattis urging Iraqi, Kurdish forces to avoid conflict
Sat 14 Oct 2017/NNA - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday urged Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces to focus on defeating the Islamic State group and not fight each other, as tensions spiked in the disputed region around Kirkuk.
“Everybody stay focused on defeating ISIS,” Mattis said, using an alternate acronym for IS. “We can’t turn on each other right now. We don’t want this to go to a shooting situation.” Speaking to reporters as he flew back to Washington from a three-day trip to Florida, Mattis said the U.S. is trying to calm the already fractious relations between the two sides and figure out a way ahead. Kurdish forces had taken positions southwest of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, but later withdrew. Iraqi government troops also have been moving around the area. Tensions between the two sides have been escalating since the Kurds voted for independence from Iraq in a non-binding referendum last month. The Peshmerga took control of Kirkuk when Iraqi defenses crumbled in the face of the advancing Islamic State group in 2014. Baghdad is demanding the Kurds return the city, which falls outside the autonomous Kurdish zone, to federal authority. The roiling conflict grew in recent days with the movement of forces on both sides, raising U.S. concerns that as the fight with IS begins to wind down, the long-simmering sectarian violence between Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites will once again erupt. So far, Mattis said, there has been no actual fighting between the Iraqi troops and the Peshmerga around Kirkuk. He said U.S. forces that are embedded with the Iraqi and Kurdish units are working to “make certain they keep any potential for conflict off the table.” He added, “We’re trying to tone everything down, and let’s figure out how we go forward without losing our sight on the enemy.” He said U.S. leaders are working with both sides to find a diplomatic compromise. “We’ve got to find a way to move forward,” Mattis said. “Geography is not going to change. They’re going to be alongside each other, no matter what.” In comments to Pentagon reporters later Friday, Mattis said the U.S. has been watching for the problem. “Obviously, once ISIS is down and out we don’t want another terrorist group to rise up and also some of the old conditions or tensions now come back to the forefront.”
Also, he added: “We don’t want to take our eye off the ball with ISIS this close to being crushed. So, we are working, trying to be a contributor to solving this.” --- AP
Mattis was in southern Florida visiting several of his top military commanders, including Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, including the war in Iraq. He also met with Gen. Tony Thomas, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, and Adm. Kurt Tidd, head of U.S. Southern Command. ---AP

IMF worried over Venezuela, 'no solution in sight'
Sat 14 Oct 2017/NNA - The International Monetary Fund expressed grave concerns Friday over Venezuela's unending political crisis, seeing no end to the economic downturn and suffering of the population. Venezuela "remains in a full-blown economic, humanitarian, and political crisis with no end in sight," the Fund said in a report on Latin American economies. The country's economy will have contracted by 35 per cent by the end of this year from 2014, and the Fund says the country is headed toward hyperinflation, when prices soar uncontrollably every day for a long period. But it said the shortages and political strife is taking a huge toll on the Venezuelan people. "The main risk to the region relates to the humanitarian crisis and ensuing migration of Venezuelans to neighbouring countries," it said. "The number of Venezuelans arriving in Brazilian and Colombian border towns has been rising sharply as the crisis in Venezuela intensifies." "The refugees coming from Venezuela is an unfortunate side effect of the crisis, which is extremely severe," said Robert Rennhack, deputy director of the IMF's Western Hemisphere Department. The refugees, he said, are putting pressure on the social services of neighbouring countries. "The (Colombian) government is managing it as well as it can, but it's a challenge. If, say half a million to a million of Venezuelans enter Colombia, that's something the government has to deal with and it's causing much problems." --- AFP

Italian priest kidnapped in southern Nigeria
Sat 14 Oct 2017/NNA - An Italian priest has been kidnapped at gunpoint in Nigeria, where he has been working for three years, Italian news reports said Friday. The 63-year-old Maurizio Pallu was taken with four others after arriving Thursday in Benin City in the country's south, the news agency ANSA and Avvenire, the newspaper and website of the Italian Catholic Bishops Conference, reported. Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria, with ordinary residents and even schoolchildren targeted as well as foreigners. Victims usually are freed unharmed after a ransom is paid, though security forces have rescued a few high-profile abductees. Pallu had worked as a lay missionary before entering a seminary in Rome in 1988, Avvenire reported. He was later a parish priest in the Dutch city of Haarlem before being assigned to the archdiocese in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. The archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, told the television station Tv2000 that they did not yet have news about the priest, "but we have faith and continue to hope that in a short time Maurizio will be freed." "Authorities are doing everything to locate him," the cardinal said. "The kidnappers should let him go soon, because it is not easy to bring an Italian around in the forest without being seen." The archdiocese of Rome expressed "apprehension and worry" for the priest's safety and said the church "was united in prayer" for his liberation. Other foreigners kidnapped in the West African nation this year include two German archaeologists, who were freed by their captors, and two Turkish nationals, whom local police said they rescued. The two were employees of a construction company. ---AP

Dozens of IS Fighters Surrender as Raqa's Fall Nears
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 14/17/Dozens of Islamic State group fighters have surrendered in their former Syrian stronghold of Raqa, the US-led coalition said Saturday, as the fall of the one-time jihadist bastion nears. A monitor said no Syrian members of the jihadist group remained in Raqa, and that negotiations on the fate of foreign fighters were ongoing. But the US-led coalition backing the offensive insisted that foreign fighters would not be allowed to leave the city. Raqa was once the de facto Syrian capital of the jihadist group's self-proclaimed "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria. The city's loss would be the latest in a string of heavy blows for IS, which has already been driven from its strongholds in Iraq including second city Mosul. In June, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, broke into Raqa, and since then they have captured around 90 percent of the city. In recent days, talks had been under way on a deal to secure the last parts of Raqa while protecting trapped civilians, some of them being used by IS fighters as human shields. On Saturday, the US-led coalition confirmed dozens of IS fighters had handed themselves in. "Within the past 24 hours, approximately 100 ISIS terrorists have surrendered in Raqa, and were removed from the city," the coalition said in a statement in response to AFP questions.
Syrian IS fighters surrender
Earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, reported that all the remaining Syrian IS members in the city had now left with their families. "All Syrian fighters from the Islamic State group left Raqa over the past five days," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman, saying they numbered around 200 fighters. A Raqa official told AFP on Saturday that Syrian IS members had surrendered overnight to the SDF, without specifying how many. "They sent a message to the Raqa Civil Council (RCC) and to the tribal mediators," the official said. "Those that surrendered are local, not foreigners -- the foreigners have not handed themselves in yet," he said. An SDF military source told AFP that buses and trucks were waiting outside Raqa and would take the surrendered fighters further east to Deir Ezzor province, much of which remains under IS control. Members of the RCC -- a provisional administration for the city, set up by the SDF -- had been working with tribal leaders throughout the week to try to secure safe passage for civilians. Up to 1,500 civilians have managed to flee the battle-ravaged city in the past week, according to the coalition. The United Nations estimates thousands more may still be trapped inside. US-led coalition strikes have dropped off at points in the past week, with their latest update reporting no air raids on Friday.
City on verge of capture
Abdel Rahman said up to 150 foreign jihadists remain in Raqa and negotiations on their fate were ongoing. "The foreign fighters are asking to leave in one group towards areas under IS control in Deir Ezzor province," in eastern Syria, he said. The US-led coalition however insisted that "foreign fighters are not being allowed to leave Raqa," and cautioned that it still expected "difficult fighting in the days ahead."And Nuri Mahmud, a spokesman for the key Kurdish People's Protection Units that forms the SDF's backbone, denied that any deal would be cut with IS. "Daesh is on the verge of being finished in Raqa in the coming days," he told AFP, using the Arabic acronym for the group. "Until this very moment, we are fighting Daesh." IS captured Raqa in 2014, seizing it from other opposition forces, and turned it into the de facto capital of its "caliphate."Under its rule, the city became synonymous with some of the worst of its abuses, including public executions, as well as a centre for the planning of attacks abroad. The jihadists are also under attack by both the SDF and the Syrian army in their remaining territory in Deir Ezzor province, while in Iraq they hold just a small sliver of territory along the Euphrates valley.

Iranians Mock 'Ridiculous' Trump Speech
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 14/17/Iranians responded with anger and mockery on Saturday to the bellicose criticism of their government by US President Donald Trump who threatened to tear up the landmark nuclear deal. Trump's use of the phrase "Arabian Gulf" rather than "Persian Gulf" particularly hit a nerve in a country with a fierce nationalistic streak. "Everyone knew Trump's friendship was for sale to the highest bidder. We now know that his geography is too," wrote Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Twitter, referring to the US alliance with Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia. Despite pressure from the Arab Gulf monarchies, most international bodies still use "Persian Gulf" as the conventional name for the region's waterway, and many Iranians shared photos of US veterans' medals and graves referring to the "Persian Gulf conflict" of the 1990s. In his White House speech on Friday, Trump reeled off a list of grievances committed by the "Iranian dictatorship, its sponsorship of terrorism, and its continuing aggression in the Middle East and all around the world." He threatened to "terminate" the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and six world powers unless Congress passed stringent new sanctions. But as Iranians headed to their offices on Saturday -- the first day of the work week in Iran -- the reaction was often one of bemusement. "Trump's statements are so ridiculous that it actually works in Iran's favour. Speaking about the 'Arabian Gulf' is taken very badly by people here," said Abbas, a 40-year-old banker who only gave his first name. "The reaction of the Europeans shows that the United States is isolated, and only Saudi Arabia and Israel have supported Trump," he added. The other signatories to the nuclear deal -- Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia -- have called for its preservation, saying that Iran is clearly sticking to its commitments. Trump's efforts to reach out to ordinary Iranians, who he referred to as the "longest-suffering victims" of the Islamic regime, also appeared to have fallen on deaf ears, with many recalling the travel ban he slapped on them earlier this year.
His Instagram page was inundated by more than a million comments, mostly from jeering Iranians."I was so angry last night. This person hates Iran so much that even if we don't support the ideas of the regime, we find ourselves supporting them and the Revolutionary Guards," said Layla, 42, in her Tehran artisan shop."Trump stopped Iranians going to the US. How can he say he's on our side?" she added.
'Baseless accusations' For all the bluster, Trump's strategy was not as tough as many had predicted. It placed new sanctions on Iran's Revolutionary Guards, but did not designate them a foreign terrorist organisation as trailed in the run-up to the speech.The hardline Kayhan newspaper spun this as a victory, saying Trump had not "dared" to do so after the Guards warned the US would have to move its regional bases out of reach of Iranian missiles. President Hassan Rouhani had pushed back against the Revolutionary Guards' deep involvement in the economy after winning re-election earlier this year. But Trump's threats have brought a new solidarity among Iran's often fractious institutions. "We have dissatisfactions, for example there are economic problems," said Bahram Siavoshi, 36, as he walked to work at a private finance firm in Tehran. "But if it comes to it, we will stand together to the end, and will defend even the Guards. Their efforts cannot be ignored. If it wasn't for them we would be like Syria or Yemen." Rouhani took to the airwaves shortly after Trump's speech on Friday night, dismissing it as "nothing but the repetition of baseless accusations and swear words". "He has not studied international law. Can a president annul a multilateral international treaty on his own?" Rouhani said. Nonetheless, the deal's future hangs in the balance as the US Congress has 60 days to decide how to tighten sanctions, or possibly introduce new red lines that would trigger a US response. "If the Congress goes ahead with new sanctions, then the deal is dead and Iran will restart its nuclear programme and move forward full-steam ahead in all fields," Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran, told AFP. "Iran will probably invest even more than before in order to show the Americans that they can't get away with destroying the agreement."

Former French Culture Minister Picked to Head UNESCO, Lebanon’s Candidate Bows
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 14/17/French former culture minister Audrey Azoulay was named to head the UN's embattled cultural agency on Friday, beating her Qatari rival after a politically charged contest clouded by Gulf tensions and accusations of anti-Israel bias. Azoulay, 45, came from behind to defeat Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari, also a former culture minister, after he failed to pick up support from other Gulf states which are part of a Saudi-led coalition blockading Qatar. The vote was 30 to 28. The campaign to succeed UNESCO's outgoing chief Irina Bokova was overshadowed by Washington's announcement Thursday that it planned to withdraw from the Paris-based body after years of tensions over decisions seen as critical of Israel. In the face of the Arab divisions, France presented Azoulay as a consensus figure who could mend fences and soothe tensions with Israel. "In a time of crisis, we need more than ever to get involved (and) work to strengthen the organisation," Azoulay said after the final vote. Azoulay, who is Jewish of Moroccan origin, will face the difficult task of trying to persuade the United States and Israel to remain as members. Just as daunting will be her job of reforming the agency struggling under the weight of a bureaucracy that has become unwieldy over the seven decades since it was founded. French President Emmanuel Macron hailed her victory on Twitter, saying: "France will continue to fight for science, education and culture in the world."Azoulay, who will become UNESCO's second woman leader after Bokova, had edged out Egyptian rights activist Moushira Khattab earlier Friday as the main challenger to Al-Kawari, the frontrunner until the final run-off. Azoulay's nomination must be approved by the agency's 195 member states on November 10, a vote that has never previously gone against the board's nominee. Arab states believed the job of director-general of the organisation should go to one of them for the first time, but regional rivalries and the US and Israeli withdrawals undercut their ambitions. Egypt threw its weight behind Azoulay after Khattab dropped out, a member of her delegation told AFP. Egypt is part of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia that has been blockading strategically placed Qatar since June over its alleged support for radical Islamists and its ties to Iran.
Arab divisions
Lebanon's candidate Vera El-Khoury, who bowed out at the fourth round of voting, told AFP that the power game at play in the race had shown UNESCO members "did not give a damn" about the candidates' programs. Qatar has generously funded UNESCO in recent years and lobbied intensively for the post, which would have helped bolster its international status at a time when it faces isolation in the Gulf. Al-Kawari had also been dogged by old allegations of anti-Semitism after the Simon Wiesenthal Center accused him of remaining silent about anti-Semitic books at a fair in Doha when he was culture minister.
US walkout
UNESCO is best known for its World Heritage sites including tourist favorites such as the Grand Canyon or Cambodia's Angkor Wat, but it also runs science, media training and cultural programs internationally with an annual budget of about $250 million (210 million euros). The US decision to withdraw, which is to take effect on December 31, 2018, underlined America's drift away from international institutions under President Donald Trump. Washington has walked out on UNESCO once before, in 1984, after a row over funding and alleged anti-US bias. Washington returned to the fold in 2002, seeing UNESCO as a vehicle for combatting extremism in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. But in 2011 relations soured again after UNESCO admitted Palestine as a full member, prompting the US to cut its funding to the organization, leaving a gaping hole in its finances. In just over a year as culture minister under Socialist president Francois Hollande, Azoulay secured a budget increase for her ministry after years of deep cuts.

ISIS ‘caliphate’ crumbles as militants surrender and forced out of Raqqa
AgenciesSaturday, 14 October 2017 /Some 100 fighters from ISIS handed themselves over to US-backed fighters in the northern city of Raqqa Friday as fighting continued with remaining gunmen in a pocket inside the city. Omar Alloush of the Raqqa Civilian Council did not give details how the 100 fighters surrendered but said fighting is still ongoing in parts of the city that was once the de facto capital of ISIS's self-proclaimed "caliphate." US-backed fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces have been on the offensive in Raqqa since early June and have so far captured more than 80 percent of the city under the cover of airstrikes by the US-led coalition. Foreign ISIS fighters not allowed to leave. All Syrian ISIS fighters have left the one-time bastion of Raqqa, a monitor said Saturday. The Syrian militants left Raqqa with their families, heading to unknown destinations, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.Foreign ISIS fighters ‘not allowed’ to leave Raqqa, the US-led coalition said.
Smaller control
“There are still fighters but the area they control is getting smaller,” said Mohammed Khedher of Sound and Picture Organization, which tracks atrocities by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Earlier Friday, scores of civilians including women and children fled the last few remaining neighborhoods held by the ISIS in Raqqa, ahead of an anticipated final push by US-backed fighters seeking to retake the city. A new video that emerged Friday shows desperate, terrified residents emerging from destroyed districts, some of them collapsing on the ground in exhaustion as they arrive. They seemed to be taking advantage of a slowdown in the fighting and airstrikes by the US-led coalition amid efforts to ensure the safe evacuation of an estimated 4,000 civilians who remain trapped in the city. The coalition has said that ISIS militants are holding some civilians to use as human shields, preventing them from escaping as the fight enters its final stages. The city, on the banks of the Euphrates River, has been badly damaged by the fighting, and activists have reported that over 1,000 civilians have been killed there since June.
Petrified residents
The video released by the Turkey-based Kurdish Mezopotamya Medya on Friday showed clearly petrified residents running toward safety, some clutching babies or wounded people. “This is my husband, we are civilians!” one woman cried, fearing that fighters from the US-backed force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces would take him away. Some of the arriving men were searched before being allowed in while others kissed the ground in relief. “God is stronger than them (ISIS),” shouted another woman, clutching what appeared to be a large Quran in her hand. Another elderly man hobbled out on crutches, begging for water. After drinking from a bottle handed to him, he collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. Gunfire could be heard in the background. SDF fighters have been on the offensive in Raqqa since June 5 and have so far captured more than 80 percent of the city that was the de facto capital of ISIS.
ISIS still controls the city’s stadium believed to be a jail run by the extremists, as well as the National Hospital and a small area north of Raqqa.(AP, Reuters and AFP)

Turkey orders detention of 100 former police officers in post-coup probe
ReutersSaturday, 14 October 2017/Turkish authorities issued detention warrants on Saturday for 100 former police officers and have so far detained 63 of them, the state-run Anadolu news agency said, as part of a widening crackdown since last year’s failed coup attempt. The suspects were believed to be users of ByLock, an encrypted messaging app which the government says was used by the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by Ankara of orchestrating last July’s abortive putsch. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies involvement. Anadolu said security forces were seeking the suspects in 19 provinces across the country. Since the abortive coup, more than 50,000 people have been jailed pending trial over alleged links to Gulen, while 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from jobs in the military, public and private sectors. Rights groups and some of Turkey’s Western allies have voiced concern about the crackdown, fearing the government is using the coup as a pretext to quash dissent. The government says only such a purge could neutralize the threat represented by Gulen’s network, which it says deeply infiltrated institutions such as the army, schools and courts.

Iran was behind cyber attack on British lawmakers in June - The Times
Reuters, LondonSaturday, 14 October 2017/Iran carried out a cyber attack on British lawmakers earlier this year, The Times newspaper reported on Saturday, citing an intelligence assessment of the incident. The report came the day after Britain joined other European countries in warning the United States against harming a nuclear deal with Iran. Britain’s parliament was hit by a “sustained and determined” cyber attack in June, designed to identify weak email passwords, just over a month after a ransomware worm crippled parts of the country's health service.
Initially blamed on Russia  The Times said that the attack was Iran’s first significant cyber attack on a British target after the hack was initially blamed on Russia. Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre was not immediately available for comment. The Iranian government had no immediate comment. While the motive for the attack has not yet been established, the hackers were not seeking simple financial profit, The Times said.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 14-15/17
Trump in a Confrontation with Tehran’s Regime
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/October 14/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=59511
We, and the whole world, are anticipating the results of US President Donald Trump’s decision to confront Iran after he announced yesterday that he will reconsider his country’s nuclear deal with Tehran. Trump saw that Iran has violated the deal’s spirit and this is not in the interest of the US security and therefore it must be amended. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates promptly and courageously backed the US decision as it falls in the region’s interest and sends a political message to Iran, urging it to stop its battles and threats.
The decision is also in favor of the moderate voices in Iran – perhaps it would restrain extremist groups in power.
The US decision is courageous and one which we have not seen in two decades. It may be the beginning of a regional course correction, or it may at least stop Iran’s advance. In his decision, Trump will rectify a number of mistakes that Iran has seen as implicit agreements to it to expand and threaten the security of the region and the interests of the United States, as well in Bahrain, Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. Iran thought that the declining role of the international community in Syria is a new sign of victory for it and “Hezbollah”, and it tried to benefit from the battle of the US-led coalition against ISIS to be granted control in Iraq.
Trump is not hasty as some say. Don’t forget that he was patient with Iran previously and signed the continuation of the US-Iran deal twice since he should be reviewing it every three months. However, Iran did not cooperate with Washington whether in stopping its military activity in the region or quitting its military tests. Instead, Iran challenged Washington and announced that it was developing a ballistic missile system. This time, Trump made up his mind, thereby delivering the biggest blow to Iran’s extremist wing. With this decision, Trump would send back the deal to Congress to vote on and he would then re-impose painful economic sanctions. Now, let Tehran’s government do what it wants.
The rest of the Western countries are against Trump’s decision. They want the agreement to continue, fearing Iran will again start enriching Uranium and developing its military forces as an excuse. In fact, what President Trump is proposing is correct because he is noting that the current signed deal is not halting Iran from carrying on its military-nuclear project, but it is only postponing it. During the period of temporary ban on enrichment, Iran is allowed to build its military equipment, such as missiles carrying nuclear warheads.
We are not underestimating the risks of Trump’s decision on the region since if the president completely terminated the agreement and faced Iran, he could open a new phase, which could lead to a greater confrontation. What is said about President Trump as being a reckless warmonger, who acts without taking into consideration the consequences of serious global issues, such as Iran and North Korea, is not true. The truth is that since he took over his post, Trump has given Tehran’s leaders two chances in order to respond in a positive manner towards the deal; however, they refused to meet him halfway.
Also, let’s not forget that members of Trump’s party, the Republican Party in the Congress, have had a consensus against the agreement even before Trump became president.
It is also obvious that Tehran has underestimated Trump after living eight comfortable years during Barack Obama’s time in office. There is no interest for the world in allowing the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to roam around freely in the region and allow it to lead the militias war in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. By the time the ban period comes to an end and the agreement is terminated, Iran would have extended its presence in the region and established puppet governments.
Then, the West will not be able to impose sanctions or prevent Iran from enriching Uranium. Iran would have also completed establishing a support system comprised of platforms, laboratories, caches and others. Iran’s agenda is an expansionist one and it intends to dominate the region. The agenda is not simply about building Iran’s nuclear powers for defensive purposes. For instance, Iran and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons, but we have never seen the two countries seek expansion or wage wars.It is wrong to view Iran’s nuclear agenda as just a mean to join the nuclear states’ bandwagon. Iran is involved in destructive wars in the region on a daily basis, none of which are for defensive purposes, but they all serve its expansionist goals. Tehran’s intentions and persistence to challenge the world are clear from the way it has dealt with its current conflict with Washington.
The US administration stepped down for Iran in Syria and agreed to maintain Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Iran’s ally. Yet, Tehran did not step down from any of the areas where it is fighting wars, nor did it give Trump any concessions in the nuclear deal.

Here's How to Fix But Not Nix the Iran Deal
Robert Satloff/Atlantic/Washington Institute/October 13/017
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/heres-how-to-fix-but-not-nix-the-iran-deal
After decertifying the JCPOA, President Trump now has leverage to negotiate a better agreement.
Two years ago, I urged senators to vote "no" on the Iran nuclear deal. My goal was not to have them scrap the accord, which had numerous positive benefits, but to give President Barack Obama leverage to repair its serious flaws. "No," I argued, "doesn't necessarily mean 'no, never.' It can also mean 'not now, not this way.' It may be the best way to get to 'yes.'"
The idea of "nix to fix" -- not to be confused with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "nix or fix" slogan -- didn't win a lot of support in 2015 but it's back, thanks to President Trump's decision not to certify the deal under the terms of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act and to seek INARA's revision by Congress. Now, his administration may have the standing to win from other signatories, especially the Europeans, support for correcting many of its faults. Such improvements would give the president a strong rationale to recertify the agreement down the road.
Achieving this outcome won't be easy but it's doable. Here are three core problems of the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and how President Trump could correct them, without requiring Iran to renegotiate any terms of the deal.
DETERRENCE
The JCPOA was sold, in part, as a way for Iran to recoup billions of dollars in lost sanctions revenue and win billions more in new commercial investments to improve its economy and thereby increase the standard of living of its people. All of this would, so the theory went, tie the Iranians to global norms and institutions and make them more moderate actors.
From the beginning, however, there was a real fear that the Iranians would divert large sums to their destabilizing regional ambitions and their terrorist proxies. Over the past two years, that has certainly been the case, with Tehran expanding its provocative ballistic-missile program and extending its regional influence by channeling funds and weapons to Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and thousands of Shia militiamen traveling from as far away as Afghanistan to fight in Syria and Iraq.
The ballistic-missile program is particularly problematic. Given that the Iranians are exploiting a loophole that the Obama administration permitted in the relevant UN Security Council resolution to plow ahead with developing missiles potentially capable of delivering nuclear weapons, it is wholly false for advocates of the deal to argue that the JCPOA has halted, frozen, or suspended Iran's nuclear-weapons program. Such a program has three main parts -- development, weaponization, and delivery -- and ballistic missiles are an integral part of that. In other words, critical aspects of the program are moving ahead, deal or no deal.
To address these problems, the administration could seek understandings now with European and other international partners about penalties to be imposed on Iran for continued investment in its ballistic-missile program and for its provocative regional activities. To be effective, these new multilateral sanctions should impose disproportionate penalties on Iran for every dollar spent on ballistic missiles, Hezbollah, the Houthis, or other negative actors. Since these sanctions are outside the bounds of the JCPOA, their implementation does not violate any promise made to Iran. Pursuing this path would also begin to repair the Obama administration's error of having an "Iran nuclear policy" but no broader "Iran policy."
CONSEQUENCES
The JCPOA has no agreed-upon penalties for Iranian violations of the deal's terms, short of the last-resort punishment of a "snapback" of UN sanctions. This is akin to having a legal code with only one punishment -- the death penalty -- for every crime; the result is that virtually all crimes will go unpunished.
Again, as the record of the past two years shows, this has been the case. Contrary to press reports, there have been numerous violations of the terms of the deal, but on each occasion, Iran has been given the opportunity to correct its error. That's a logical outcome of a situation in which there are no agreed-upon penalties for violations other than the threat to scrap the deal altogether.
The solution is for the Trump administration to reach understandings now with America's European partners, the core elements of which should be made public, on the appropriate penalties to be imposed for a broad spectrum of Iranian violations. The Iran deal gives the UN Security Council wide berth to define such penalties at a later date, but the penalties have no value in deterring Iran from violating the accord unless they are clarified now.
SUNSET
One of the biggest flaws in the JCPOA was the expiration of all restrictions on Iran's enrichment of nuclear material 15 years into the agreement. To be sure, Iran argues that it remains forever bound by its commitment not to produce a nuclear weapon under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. But if anyone believed that promise, there would have been little reason to negotiate the JCPOA in the first place.
As the leader who negotiated the Iran nuclear deal, President Obama would have helped correct this problem if he had issued a declaration making it the policy of the United States, then and in the future, to use all means necessary to prevent Iran's accumulation of fissile material (highly enriched uranium), given that its sole useful purpose is for a nuclear weapon. Such a statement, to be endorsed by a congressional resolution, would have gone beyond the "all options are on the table" formulation that, regrettably, has lost so much of its credibility in the Middle East.
Two years into the agreement, Iran's relentless pursuit of more effective ballistic missiles -- one leg of a nuclear-weapons program -- underscores its strategic decision to pursue the weapons option. Repairing the sunset clause is, therefore, more urgent than ever.
President Trump could achieve this by reaching an agreement with the five other JCPOA signatories -- or, if Russia and China balked, at least the three European countries who negotiated the deal, Britain, France, and Germany -- on a joint declaration binding themselves to a promise to take whatever action is necessary to prevent Iran's accumulation of fissile material. To give that declaration real weight, signatories could begin a joint-planning process for executing their commitment, if necessary. America's allies may even welcome this declaratory approach, since it might assuage private concerns some of them have about Iran's rapidly expanding nuclear program down the road. And President Trump could repair a major drawback in the original JCPOA negotiations by bringing into those consultations the parties most directly threatened by Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons: Israel and the Arab states of the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia.
None of this will be easy. Even in the hands of an agile, well-oiled administration, one that had invested in partnerships with U.S. allies and had a track record of adroit, creative diplomacy, winning agreement to this lengthy "fix Iran deal" agenda would be heavy-lifting, especially with the North Korea crisis looming. And whatever one's view of the Trump team's achievements, it's fair to say that it has been far from an agile, well-oiled administration.
But if the president does go down this path, working in his favor is the simple argument that "the alternative is worse" -- namely, the immediate collapse of the Iran nuclear deal and with it all constraints on Iran's nuclear program. While I don't believe this alternative leads to war, as the Obama administration argued when it made the case for the JCPOA, many in Berlin, Paris, and London may think so, which the administration can use to its advantage.
It is not often that governments get a second chance to do the right thing. If handled properly -- with purposeful leadership and adroit diplomacy, admittedly very big "ifs" -- the Trump administration has the opportunity to correct its predecessor's flawed deal. In my view, better late than never.
**Robert Satloff is executive director of The Washington Institute. Read the Institute's full coverage of President Trump's Iran policy speech.

Why There Is No Peace in the Middle East
Philip Carl Salzman/Gatestone Institute/October 14/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11117/middle-east-tribal-culture
Peace is not possible in the Middle East because values and goals other than peace are more important to Middle Easterners. Most important to Middle Easterners are loyalty to kin, clan, and cult, and the honour that is won by such loyalty.
There was no group and no loyalty above the tribe or tribal confederation until the rise of Islam. With Islam, a new, higher, more encompassing level of loyalty was defined. All people were divided between Muslims and infidels, and the world was divided between the Dar al-Islam, the land of believers and peace, and Dar al-harb, the land of unbelievers and war. Following the tribal ideology of loyalty, Muslims should unite against infidels, and would receive not only honour, but heavenly rewards.
Honour is gained in victory. Losing is regarded as deeply humiliating. Only the prospects of a future victory and the regaining of honour drives people forward. An example is the Arab-Israel conflict, in the course of which the despised Jews repeatedly defeated the armies of Arab states. This was not so much a material disaster for the Arabs, as it was a cultural one in which honor was lost. The only way to regain honor is to defeat and destroy Israel, the explicit goal of the Palestinians: "from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea." This why no agreement over land or boundaries will bring peace: peace does not restore honor.
We in the West, unlike Middle Easterners, love "victims." But what if Middle Easterners are victims of the limitations and shortcomings of their own culture?
Living as an anthropologist in a herding camp of the Yarahmadzai tribe of nomadic pastoralists in the deserts of Iranian Baluchistan clarified some of the inhibitions to peace in the Middle East. What one sees is strong, kin-based, group loyalty defense and solidarity, and the political opposition of lineages, whether large or small.[1] This raised the question how unity and peace could arrive in a system based on opposition.
Peace is not possible in the Middle East because values and goals other than peace are more important to Middle Easterners. Most important to Middle Easterners are loyalty to kin, clan, and cult, and the honour which is won by such loyalty. These are the cultural imperatives, the primary values, held and celebrated. When conflict arises and conflict-parties form based on loyal allegiance, the conflict is regarded as appropriate and proper.
The results of absolute commitment to kin and cult groups, and the structural opposition to all others, can be seen throughout Middle Eastern history, including contemporary events, where conflict has been rife. Turks, Arabs and Iranians have launched military campaigns to suppress Kurds. Meanwhile, Christians, Yazidis, Baha'is and Jews, among others, have been, and continue to be ethnically cleansed. Arabs and Persians, and Sunnis and Shiites, each try to gain power over the other in a competition that has been one of the main underlying factors of the Iraq-Iran war, the Saddam Hussein regime, and the current catastrophe in Syria. Turks invaded Greek Orthodox Cyprus in 1974 and have occupied it since. Multiple Muslim states have invaded the minuscule Jewish state of Israel three times, and Palestinians daily celebrate the murder of Jews.
Some Middle Easterners, and some in the West, prefer to attribute the problems of the Middle East to outsiders, such as Western imperialists, but it seems odd to suggest that the local inhabitants have no agency and no responsibility for their activities in this disastrous region, high not only in conflict and brutality, but low by all world standards in human development.
If one looks to local conditions to understand local conflicts, the first thing to understand is that Arab culture, through the ages and at the present time, has been built on the foundation of Bedouin tribal culture. Most of the population of northern Arabia at the time of the emergence of Islam was Bedouin, and during the period of rapid expansion following the adoption of Islam, the Arab Muslim army consisted of Bedouin tribal units. The Bedouin, nomadic and pastoral for the most part, were formed into tribes, which are regional defense and security groups.[2]
Bedouin tribes were organized by basing groups on descent through the male line. Close relatives in conflict activated only small groups, while distant relatives in conflict activated large groups. If, for example, members of cousin groups were in conflict, no one else was involved. But if members of tribal sections were in conflict, all cousins and larger groups in a tribal section would unite in opposition to the other tribal section. So, what group a tribesmen thought himself a member of was circumstantial, depending on who was involved in a conflict.
Relations between descent groups were always oppositional in principle, with tribes as a whole seeing themselves in opposition to other tribes. The main structural relation between groups at the same genealogical and demographic level could be said to be balanced opposition. The strongest political norm among tribesmen was loyalty to, and active support of, one's kin group, small or large. One must always support closer kin against more distant kin. Loyalty was rewarded with honour. Not supporting your kin was dishonourable. The systemic result was often a stand-off, the threat of full scale conflict with another group of the same size and determination acting as deterrence against frivolous adventures. That there were not more conflicts than the many making up tribal history, is due to that deterrence.
There was no group and no loyalty above the tribe or tribal confederation until the rise of Islam. With Islam, a new, higher, more encompassing level of loyalty was defined. All people were divided between Muslims and infidels, and the world was divided between the Dar al-Islam, the land of believers and peace, and Dar al-harb, the land of unbelievers and war. Following the tribal ideology of loyalty, Muslims should unite against infidels, and would receive not only honour, but heavenly rewards.
Honour is gained in victory.[3] Self-sacrifice in the attempt is lauded, but honour comes from winning. Having lost and being a victim is not an esteemed position in Arab society. Having lost in a political struggle results in loss of honour. This is felt deeply as a loss that should be corrected. Losing is regarded as deeply humiliating. Only the prospects of a future victory and the regaining of honour drives people forward. An example is the Arab-Israel conflict, in the course of which the despised Jews repeatedly defeated the armies of Arab states. This was not so much a material disaster for the Arabs, as it was a cultural one in which honour was lost. The only way to regain honour is to defeat and destroy Israel, the explicit goal of the Palestinians: "from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea." This why no agreement over land or boundaries will bring peace: peace does not restore honour.
None of this is unknown to Arab commentators, who repeatedly refer to the tribal nature of their culture and society. Of course, today, few Middle Easterners live in tents and raise camels, but villagers and urbanites share the same tribal assumptions and values. According to the Tunisian intellectual Al-Afif al-Akhdar, the Arabs cherish their "deep-culture of tribal vengefulness" and consequent "fixated, brooding, vengeful mentality."[4] Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki has said that "We need an ideological revolution; our tribal mentality has destroyed our society."
Dr. Salman Masalha, an Israeli Druze literary intellectual, argues:
"The tribal nature of Arab societies is deeply embedded in the past, and its roots date back through Arab history to the pre-Islamic era. ... Since Arab societies are tribal in nature, the various forms of monarchies and emirates are the natural continuation of this ingrained social structure in which tribal loyalty comes before all else."
Mamoun Fandy, an Egyptian-born American scholar, wrote in the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat:
"The Arabs, even after the arrival of Islam, were never "ideological" people who sought to develop an intellectual vision of ourselves and the outside world. Instead, we are the people of blood relations and family ties, or "Shalal" as we call it in Egypt. ... Despite the fact that Islam was the greatest intellectual revolution in our history, we, as Arabs, have succeeded in adapting Islam to serve the tribe, the family, and the clan. Islamic history began as an intellectual revolution, and as a history of ideas and countries; however, after the beginning of the Orthodox Caliphate, it was transformed into a somewhat tribal state. The State of Islam became the Umayyad State, and after that the Abbasid, the Fatimid, and so on and so forth. This means that we now have a history of tribes instead of a history of ideas. ... Has this tribal history, alongside tribal and family loyalties and the priority of blood relations over intellectual relations gone forever after the "Arab spring?" Of course not; what has happened is that the families and tribes have dressed themselves up in the cloak of revolutions in Yemen and in Libya, and in Egypt the opposition consists of tribes rather than concepts."
The history of the Middle East, the centuries of tribal wars, and the ongoing fissures in Arab society all testify to the Arab tribal culture and structural opposition. There may have been good reasons to stick with tribal culture and organization in pre-modern times: states and empires were despotic, exploitative, and heavily dependent on slave-labor, and tribal organization gave some people a chance to remain independent. In recent times, with the modern state model, governments in the Middle East have tried to establish states, but these have foundered on tribal loyalties and oppositions, which do not fit with constitutional states. Rulers in the region have all turned to coercion to maintain their positions, making all Muslim states in the region despotic.
Many Middle Easterners see the disasters around them, and blame outsiders: "It is the fault of the Jews"; "The British did this to us"; "The Americans are to blame."[5] Many Western academics and commentators say the same, dignifying this counter-historic theory with the label "postcolonialism." But given that tribal dynamics were dominant in the region for a thousand years since the foundation of Islam, and thousands of years before that, blaming outsiders for regional dynamics is hardly credible. Nonetheless, "postcolonialists" will claim that pointing to regional culture as the foundation of regional dynamics is "blaming the victim." We in the West, unlike Middle Easterners, love "victims." But what if Middle Easterners are victims of the limitations and shortcomings of their own culture?
**Philip Carl Salzman is Professor of Anthropology at McGill University, Canada.
[1] Philip Carl Salzman, Black Tents of Baluchistan, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2000.
[2] Philip Carl Salzman, Culture and Conflict in the Middle East, Amherst, NY: Humanity Books, 2008.
[3] Frank Henderson Stewart, Honor, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.; Gideon M. Kressel, Ascendancy through Aggression, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1996.
[4] Quoted in Barry Rubin, The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Hoboken, NY: Wiley, 2006), 80-81.
[5] Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Infidel, NY: Free Press, 2007, p. 47.
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Corruption nears religious symbols in Iraq
Adnan Hussein/Al Arabiya/October 14/17
Corruption, it is always corruption, because the consequences of corruption are far more destructive than terrorism and war. What we suffered from unbridled terrorism and catastrophic war over the past three years in Iraq has been the legitimate spawn of the corruption of previous governments.
Here is a new story of corruption, which is one of thousands; a pervasive form of corruption, in which the ruling (Islamic) parties that practiced, nurtured and protected it did not consider the sanctity of the father of imams, Ali bin Abi Talib. The corrupt persons in this story practiced their corruption and protected not far from the tomb of Al-Imam, who they claim to defend the doctrine of.
This story of corruption is in Najaf airport.
The story is narrated by a member of the Najaf province council, Zuhair al-Jubouri, who made a press statement in which he explained that the formation of the board of Najaf airport "was based on each party allocation of the groups inside the provincial council. This was a clear mistake because the airport is an executive department thus competent and professional people must be chosen to manage it, this is the clear corruption. Political parties impose full control over the Najaf airport, while revenue and investment projects are shared among them. "
Mr. Jubouri adds: "The Council of Ministers confirmed the existence of financial suspicions and corruption at the airport and ordered to form a committee to investigate this issue, but the recommendations of the Committee did not provide anything new," pointing out that "the huge mistake is that the members of the provincial council were playing the monitoring role and they were issuing orders, signing contracts and playing a clear executive role, this type of corruption does not need documents to prove."
Mr. Jubouri continues the story of the corruption of Najaf airport with figures: "The financial costs of the airport's renovation reveal significant financial violations, as the estimated cost of the airport runway in the official documents was estimated to be $35 million in 2014, but this project is to be completed in 2017 with double that amount with $72 million. Regarding the reception hall, the estimated cost for completion in 2014 by the airport administration is estimated between $35-45 million, but in 2017 it is doubled to be $109 million.”