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

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Bible Quotations
The need to pray always and not to lose heart Parable
Saint Luke 18/01-08/:"Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, "Grant me justice against my opponent." For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, "Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming." ’And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you
First Letter to the Corinthians 01/10-17/:"I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, ‘I belong to Paul’, or ‘I belong to Apollos’, or ‘I belong to Cephas’, or ‘I belong to Christ.’ Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 16-17/17
Analysis Why Syria Didn't Retaliate to the Last Israeli Strike/Syria and allies practice restraint after alleged Israeli attack on missile plant/Amos Harel/Haaretz/October 16/16
What is Really Uniting the Palestinians/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/October 15/17
Saudi Arabia Still Promoting "Violent and Intolerant Teachings" in Schoolbooks/
A. Z. Mohamed/Gatestone Institute/October 16/17
Iran’s never-ending hostage-taking/Majid Rafizadeh|/ArabNews/October 15/17
Iran Quds commander pays respects at Talabani's tomb as Kirkuk crisis escalates/Al Monitor/Week in Review October 16/17
A Month of Islam and Multiculturalism in Britain: September 2017/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/October 16/17
Blowing up the nuclear agreement/Salman al-Dosary/Al Arabiya/October 16/17
Who is driving Qatar into suffocating, costly isolation/Mohammed Al Shaikh/Al Arabiya/October 16/17
Was it the Kurds who brought foreigners to Iraq/Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/October 16/17
Trump and The Coup Against The Coup/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/October 16/17
The New Strategy and Attempts to Contain Iran/David Ignatius/Asharq Al Awsat/October 16/17
Trump's Iran Plan Does Too Much and Too Little/Meghan O’Sullivan/Bloomberg/October 16/17
Trump’s Iran strategy: Rhetoric and bluster, or aggressive containment/Baria Alamuddin/ArabNews/October 16/17

Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on October 16-17/17
Lebanon cannot handle Syrian refugees anymore, says Aoun
Refugee Crisis Tops Aoun's Talks with UNSC Permanent Members
Hariri Ready to 'Work Together' with Hizbullah on 'Things that Can Serve Lebanon'
Hariri Discusses Military and Economic Support to Lebanon with Italy PM
Kataeb Slams Govt. 'Inaction over Military, Economic Threats'
Aoun pushes P5 Ambassadors to swiftly handle refugee crisis to ward off undesirable ramifications
Hariri receives Sant'Egidio delegation
Merehbi meets Dutch parliamentary delegation over refugees' affairs
ISF Chief meets MP Hashem, Roads For Life delegation
Hariri meets with Gentiloni
Geagea holds diplomatic, political meetings in Sidney
Mashnouq meets Swiss Ambassador, Tourism Minister
UK welcomes Lebanese Education Minister and champions commitment to ensure all children go to school
UK Welcomes Hamade, Champions 'Commitment to Ensure All Children Go to School'
Berri Says Staging Parliamentary Elections 'Inevitable'
Israel Hits Syrian Anti-Aircraft Battery in Response to Fire on Jets over Lebanon
The broken promises of the Lebanese president
Threats of war and the memory of Aoun asylum

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 16-17/17
Trump Says 'Total Termination' of Iran Deal a 'Real Possibility'
Spain Gives Final Call for Catalan Independence Decision
Iraqi Forces Drive Back Kurdish Fighters in Independence Standoff
EU sends Mogherini to fight for Iran deal in Washington
Iraqi forces seize Kirkuk from Kurds in bold advance
Trump’s Iran Strategy Sharpens Power Struggle in Tehran
U.S.-Led Coalition Urges Baghdad, Kurds to Avoid 'Escalatory Actions'
Iran Police Seizes 100,000 Fake Iraq Visas
Tillerson: US prefers diplomacy with North Korea, but has options
Israeli Air Force Destroyed Syrian Ant-Aircraft Battery In Retaliatiory Strike
Egypt considers Turkey a bigger threat than Iran’
Egyptian Army Announces Death of 24 Terrorists in Sinai

Latest Lebanese Related News published on October 16-17/17
Lebanon cannot handle Syrian refugees anymore, says Aoun
Reuters/Tuesday 17 October 2017/BEIRUT: Lebanon’s president said on Monday his country could no longer cope with hosting huge numbers of Syrian refugees and called on world powers to help them to return to calmer areas of their troubled homeland. Michel Aoun told international envoys he wanted to work out ways to help refugees return safely to the neighboring state but he had no plan to force people back to places where they could face persecution. “My country cannot handle it anymore,” Aoun told representatives of the EU, the Arab League and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council at a meeting in Beirut, according to his media office. More than six years into the Syrian war, 1.5 million Syrians account for one quarter of Lebanon’s population and patience is wearing thin with their presence and the strain it has placed on local resources. As the Syrian government regains control of more territory, calls have increased in Lebanon for Syrians to return home. Aoun told the envoys there were areas of Syria not currently at war and areas where calm has returned, a media office spokesman said. “The return of displaced to stable and low-tension areas must be carried out without attaching it to reaching a political solution,” the president’s Twitter account said, describing what Aoun said in the meeting. Aoun said it was in the international community’s interest to solve the refugee problem so that existing political, economic and social problems in Lebanon did not get out of hand. Refugees’ long-term presence is a particularly sensitive issue for Lebanon. Many people fear that the influx of so many predominantly Sunni Muslim Syrians might upset the sectarian balance with Christians, Shiite Muslims and other groups. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri has said there can be no forced return to Syria. The UN’s refugee agency has said it does not yet consider conditions in Syria conducive for safe refugee returns.

Refugee Crisis Tops Aoun's Talks with UNSC Permanent Members
Naharnet/October 16/17/President Michel Aoun held talks Monday in Baabda with the envoys of France, China, Russia, the UK, the U.S., the EU, the Arab League and the U.N. and the meeting focused on the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on Lebanon. Aoun, who called the meeting, stressed that the “return of the displaced to stable and safe areas in Syria must be done without linking the matter to a political solution in Syria.” The President warned of the dangers of Syrian displacement, saying “it is in the interest of the international community to address the matter in order to avoid an outburst as a result of the crisis.""The risks will affect everyone,” he warned. Aoun added that he is “not asking for the return of Syrian refugees who have political problems with the Syrian regime.” U.N. Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, in his capacity as Officer in Charge of UNSCOL, reaffirmed the envoys' "strong support in assisting Lebanon to mitigate the impact of the Syrian crisis.""Discussions focused on the presence of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The Ambassadors and the Deputy U.N. Special Coordinator voiced their deep appreciation for Lebanon’s hospitality, solidarity and generosity in hosting Syrian refugees for nearly seven years," a statement issued by the office of the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon said. They expressed their "full understanding of the concerns that are being voiced by Lebanese citizens," underlining that "a return of refugees to their country of origin must take place in safety, dignity and voluntarily, in accordance with principles of international law," the statement said. "The Ambassadors and the DSCL underscored that the vast majority of the refugees want to return and that they do not consider local integration in Lebanon an option," it added. The Ambassadors and the U.N. remain "committed to supporting Lebanon's security, stability and territorial integrity, and call for increased international solidarity to meet the humanitarian needs of Lebanese, Syrian and other vulnerable communities," the statement said. Al-Joumhouria daily had reported that Aoun was expected to explain to the ambassadors, and later to representatives of international organizations, the negative repercussions at the economic, social, educational and health levels in Lebanon that are resulting from the Syrian refugee influx. The president will also shed light on the Syrian competition in the Lebanese labor market. The daily also said that the issue of Syrian refugees will be addressed “seriously” starting this week. Aoun's meeting with the ambassadors on Monday signals the beginning of regional and international consultations that the president intends to make over the issue, the newspaper said. He will later have talks with ambassadors of donor countries to put forward an implementation plan for the return of the displaced, al-Joumhouria added.

Hariri Ready to 'Work Together' with Hizbullah on 'Things that Can Serve Lebanon'
Naharnet/October 16/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said that he has joined a coalition government with Hizbullah after he and the Iran-backed party “decided together to put aside” their differences and “work together on big or small things that can serve Lebanon.”Asked about being in a government with a party accused of murdering his father, ex-PM Rafik Hariri, Hariri told Italy's La Repubblica newspaper that “this can be done in one way.”“The Prime Minister thinks about Lebanon's interest and finding the appropriate formula for the consensus that will allow to manage the country's problems. Saad Hariri, the son of Rafik Hariri, trusts the judiciary system and he has confidence in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which has to condemn the criminals,” Hariri added, according to an English-language transcript of the interview. As for U.S. President Donald Trump's escalation against Iran and the possible repercussions on Lebanon, Hariri said: “We want good relations with all countries in the region, and we hope that in the midst of the confrontation between the United States and Iran, we will avoid any negative repercussions on our country.”“However, I also say that interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries is absolutely unacceptable, and Iran should play a positive role that will help in economic development and security and not contribute to destabilization,” Hariri added.

Hariri Discusses Military and Economic Support to Lebanon with Italy PM
Naharnet/October 16/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Monday in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and the talks focused on military and economic support for Lebanon.“The meeting tackled the ongoing preparations for the Rome II Conference to support the Lebanese army and security forces, and the Paris Conference to support the Lebanese economy as well as Lebanon's request to lift Italian restrictions on Lebanese agricultural and industrial products,” Hariri's office said in a statement. Lebanon's ambassador to Italy Karim Khalil, Hariri's adviser Nader Hariri, Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Massimo Marotti and the advisers of the Italian Prime Minister for diplomatic, political and military affairs participated in the talks after a closed-door meeting between the two premiers. Hariri had traveled to the Vatican late last week where he held talks on Friday with Pope Francis and invited him to visit Lebanon.

Kataeb Slams Govt. 'Inaction over Military, Economic Threats'
Naharnet/October 16/17/The Kataeb Party on Monday accused the government of inaction regarding perceived “military and economic threats.”“How can the political authority stand idly by and how can the Cabinet refrain from holding an extraordinary or even a regular session to discuss the military and economic threats that Lebanon is facing as well as the latest regional and international developments?” Kataeb's political bureau asked in a statement issued after its weekly meeting in Saifi. Turning to the sessions that the parliament will hold starting Tuesday to debate the draft state budget, the party said it warns “the ruling class against committing legal and constitutional violations in the process of approving the budget.” “Any suspension of Article 87 of the Constitution would represent a blow to public auditing norms and Parliament's supervisory role,” Kataeb cautioned. It also lamented that “the waste of public funds, corruption and shady deals have reached an extent unprecedented in the country's modern history.”

Aoun pushes P5 Ambassadors to swiftly handle refugee crisis to ward off undesirable ramifications
Mon 16 Oct 2017/NNA - President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, on Monday briefed his visitors on Lebanon's position vis-a-vis the simmering Syrian refugee crisis.The President met at Baabda Palace with the ambassadors of the United Nations Security Council's permanent members, in presence of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister, Gebran Bassil. Aoun sounded the alarm on the grave repercussions of the Syrian refugee crisis on the political, economic, and security levels, warning that this could affect the Lebanese workforce since the unemployment rate is on the rise. The President also urged the P5 Ambassadors to swiftly handle the refugee crisis in a bid to thwart undesirable ramifications. He also requested of the international organizations that assist refugees "not to intimidate," those who wish to return to Syria "for as long as their return is voluntary". "Lebanon's security is as important as the Syrian refugees' security," Aoun Said. "We seek the safe return of those who have fled because of the Syrian conflict," the president added. He went on to thank the Ambassadors for their visit after they discussed with him their countries' point of view with regard to this matter. Aoun finally handed the ambassadors letters to the Presidents of their respective countries, to the United Nations Secretary-General, and to the head of the European Union. "Providing appropriate conditions for the safe return of Syrian refugees to their country is a must, especially to the stable areas that can be reached, or areas of low tension, without being linked to a political solution."The meeting took place at 11:30 a.m. in presence of the ambassadors of Russia, China, France, the United States, and Britain, and was also attended by Deputy UN Secretary-General in Lebanon, Philippe Lazarini, European Union Ambassador to Lebanon Christina Lassen, and Arab League Representative, Ambassador Abdel Rahman Solh.

Hariri receives Sant'Egidio delegation
Mon 16 Oct 2017/NNA - The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri met today at the Eden Hotel in Rome with a delegation from the Sant' Egidio Community, headed by Marco Impagliazzo, in the presence of the Lebanese Charge d'Affaires to the Holy See Ambassador Albert Samaha, and discussed with them their activities and the issue of the displaced in Lebanon. After the meeting, Impagliazzo said: "We met today with Prime Minister Hariri as a Catholic gathering based in Rome that has been working for 50 years on interreligious dialogue under the title of peace and development of the world. We thanked him for the support provided by the Lebanese government for the humanitarian corridor project for the displaced Syrians in Lebanon, who are in Italy. We also highlighted the importance of our relationship with Lebanon, a country that represents a message, as Pope John Paul II said, in the context of coexistence between the various Lebanese communities. This is vital not only for Lebanon but for the whole world. In the aged of globalization, Lebanon is an example of how everybody can live together in peace". Hariri also met with a delegation from the Future Movement in Italy, headed by the coordinator in Italy, Saed El-Din Khalifa.

Merehbi meets Dutch parliamentary delegation over refugees' affairs
Mon 16 Oct 2017/NNA - State Minister for the Affairs of the Displaced, Mouein Merehbi, on Monday hailed the help provided for Lebanon by the Netherlands within the frame of supporting the Syrian refugees and the Lebanese host communities. Merehbi met today with a delegation of the Dutch Parliament, in presence of Dutch Ambassador to Lebanon Jan Waltmans. Talks featured high on the burdens saddling Lebanon amid the massive presence of displaced Syrians and the subsequent pressure on public services and infrastructures. Accordingly, Merehbi urged the European Union to help Lebanon in that respect, reiterating that the majority of refugees want to return to their country. For their part, the delegation indicated that their visit aimed to "keep the focus on this country which hosts the biggest number of refugees, and to remind the Dutch government not to forget about Lebanon, as well as to evaluate the efficiency of the programs offered by the Netherlands in support for the displaced Syrians and the Lebanese host communities."

ISF Chief meets MP Hashem, Roads For Life delegation
Mon 16 Oct 2017/NNA - Internal Security Chief, General Imad Othman, on Monday met with MP Qassem Hashem, over the current general situation on the local scene. Othman also met with a delegation of Roads of Life association; both sides signed a memorandum of understanding on training ISF members to rescue the injured in road accidents.

Hariri meets with Gentiloni
Mon 16 Oct 2017/NNA - The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri held talks today with the Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Hariri's press office indicated on Monday. Hariri arrived at the headquarters of the Italian government in Rome where he was greeted by his Italian counterpart. After listening to the Lebanese and Italian national anthems, they inspected the honor guards and held a closed meeting. Lebanon's ambassador to Italy Karim Khalil, Mr. Nader Hariri, the Italian ambassador to Lebanon Massimo Marotti and the advisors of the Italian Prime Minister for Diplomatic, Political and Military Affairs participated later on to the meeting. The meeting tackled the ongoing preparations for the Rome II Conference to support the Lebanese army and security forces, and the Paris Conference to support the Lebanese economy as well as Lebanon's request to lift Italian restrictions on Lebanese agricultural and industrial products.

Geagea holds diplomatic, political meetings in Sidney
Mon 16 Oct 2017/NNA - Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, devoted his third day of his Australia visit to a series of diplomatic and political meetings, namely with the representatives of the social institutions and associations in Jebbeh-Bcharre district. Accompanied by his wife MP Strida Geagea, the LF head began his meetings at his residence in Sidney on Monday with the Lebanese Chargé d'Affaires in Canberra, Giscard Khoury, with whom he discussed the condition of the Lebanese Diaspora in Australia. He later met with an extended delegation of Bcharre League and representatives of the region's main families. "If we look at the general scene in Lebanon and brush away the LF, the situation will become totally different," Geagea said. "The family and the village are social frames, while the party is the means that must be used to practice politics," he added. In turn, MP Strida Geagea revealed that businessmen Carlos Ghosn and Marios Saradar were seeking to undertake a 500-million-dollar project in the Cedars' region, explaining that this project will help Bcharre sons remain rooted in the towns and that it will create job opportunities.

Mashnouq meets Swiss Ambassador, Tourism Minister
Mon 16 Oct 2017/NNA - Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Nohad Mashnouq, met, at his office in the Ministry on Monday, with Swiss Ambassador to Lebanon, Monika Schmutz Kirgoz, over the legislative polls' dossier. During the meeting, Mashnouq maintained to his guest that the elections would be held upon their due date, and that his Ministry had set a clear plan in that regard. "The Ministry of Interior has been also engaging in contacts with a number of states and international bodies to provide donations and aids," Mashnouq added. He later met with Minister of Tourism, Avedis Guidanian, accompanied by the Secretary General of Tashnag Party, MP Hagob Pakraodunian. Talks reportedly featured high on latest developments, in addition to development-related affairs. Mashnouq also received Head of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, former minister Hassan Mneimne, before holding a meeting with Head of Beirut municipality, Jamal Itani.

UK welcomes Lebanese Education Minister and champions commitment to ensure all children go to school
Mon 16 Oct 2017/NNA - UK International Development Secretary Priti Patel welcomes Education Minister Marwan Hamade to London today as she reaffirms the UK's leadership in ensuring all children in Lebanon including a generation of Syrian children who have fled to Lebanon have access to quality education (Monday 16 October). Minister Hamade's three-day visit follows the International Development Secretary's own trip to Lebanon in February this year, when she saw first-hand how UK aid is helping to deliver life-changing education for both Lebanese and Syrian refugee children. International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: "The brutal, senseless and inhumane conflict in Syria has now raged for more than six years, with many innocent children murdered over that time. Those who have survived have suffered deeply and witnessed unimaginable horrors which have left a scar on their innocent lives."I have seen for myself the transformative effect UK aid is having, ensuring a generation of children who fled to Lebanon are not denied their basic human right to an education. The UK has committed £160m for education in Lebanon over four years, helping Lebanon to get nearly 300,000 Syrian children into school. "The UK continues to lead the international response, standing by the pledges made at the London Syria Conference and working to accelerate enrolment in quality formal, non-formal and vocational education for all school-aged Syrian refugees. "I welcome Minister Hamade's visit to the UK. We are both committed to ensuring Lebanese as well as refugee children are getting the quality education they deserve, giving them hope for the future." Minister Hamade's visit gives the ministers an opportunity to discuss Lebanon's progress in recent months and to share best practice for boosting teaching standards.
Before his departure Minister Marwan Hamade stressed the importance of coordination between Lebanon and Britain at all levels and he will discuss how UK aid is supporting Lebanese quality education. Minister Hamade reiterated the historic relations between both countries, noting that the British government is one of the largest donors supporting education in Lebanon. He thanked British Ambassador Hugo Shorter, his team and the Department for International Development for the welcoming reception. Commenting on Minister Hamade's visit to the UK, British Ambassador Hugo Shorter said: "We are proud that the UK is one of the largest education donors, the cornerstone of our partnership with Lebanon. DFID ministers have found their visits to Lebanon extremely useful, particularly school visits, commending the ministry's campaign to make education available to all out-of-school children." In 2016/2017, the number of children who benefited from UK funding reached over 103,000. 400,000 vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian students are already receiving their education across public schools thanks to the partnership between the Ministry of Education and the international donor community. We want to ensure that 550,000 vulnerable Lebanese and refugee children are getting an education by 2020. Every child has the right to an education, that is why the UK's strong partnership with Lebanese and international partners will continue to help ensure that all children in Lebanon are 'School Heroes'.

UK Welcomes Hamade, Champions 'Commitment to Ensure All Children Go to School'
Naharnet/October 16/17/UK International Development Secretary Priti Patel welcomes Education Minister Marwan Hamade to London on Monday as she reaffirms the UK’s “leadership in ensuring all children in Lebanon including a generation of Syrian children who have fled to Lebanon have access to quality education,” the British Embassy said. Hamade’s three-day visit follows the International Development Secretary’s own trip to Lebanon in February this year, when she saw first-hand how UK aid is “helping to deliver life-changing education for both Lebanese and Syrian refugee children,” the Embassy said in a statement. “The brutal, senseless and inhumane conflict in Syria has now raged for more than six years, with many innocent children murdered over that time. Those who have survived have suffered deeply and witnessed unimaginable horrors which have left a scar on their innocent lives,” Patel said. “I have seen for myself the transformative effect UK aid is having, ensuring a generation of children who fled to Lebanon are not denied their basic human right to an education. The UK has committed £160m for education in Lebanon over four years, helping Lebanon to get nearly 300,000 Syrian children into school,” she added.“The UK continues to lead the international response, standing by the pledges made at the London Syria Conference and working to accelerate enrollment in quality formal, non-formal and vocational education for all school-aged Syrian refugees,” Patel went on to say.
Welcome Hamade’s visit to the UK, the Secretary said they are “both committed to ensuring Lebanese as well as refugee children are getting the quality education they deserve, giving them hope for the future.”According to the Embassy statement, Hamade’s visit gives the ministers an opportunity to discuss Lebanon’s progress in recent months and to share best practice for boosting teaching standards. Before his departure, Hamade stressed the importance of coordination between Lebanon and Britain at all levels. He will discuss how UK aid is supporting Lebanese quality education. Hamade reiterated the “historic relations” between both Lebanon and the UK, noting that the British government is one of the largest donors supporting education in Lebanon. He thanked British Ambassador Hugo Shorter, his team and the Department for International Development for the welcoming reception.
Commenting on Hamade’s visit to the UK, Ambassador Shorter said: “We are proud that the UK is one of the largest education donors, the cornerstone of our partnership with Lebanon. DFID ministers have found their visits to Lebanon extremely useful, particularly school visits, commending the ministry’s campaign to make education available to all out-of-school children.”In 2016/2017, the number of children who benefited from UK funding reached over “103,000. 400,000 vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian students are already receiving their education across public schools thanks to the partnership between the Ministry of Education and the international donor community. We want to ensure that 550,000 vulnerable Lebanese and refugee children are getting an education by 2020,” Shorter added. “Every child has the right to an education, that is why the UK’s strong partnership with Lebanese and international partners will continue to help ensure that all children in Lebanon are ‘School Heroes’,” the ambassador went on to say.

Berri Says Staging Parliamentary Elections 'Inevitable'
Naharnet/October 16/17/As Lebanon's parliamentary elections loom closer, Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that staging the polls has become an “inevitable reality” and that they will be staged “on time,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday. “Parliamentary elections have become a reality and staging them on time is inevitable,” Berri was quoted by the daily as telling his visitors on Sunday. The country's elections are scheduled to be held in May 2018. Controversial reports arose lately claiming that some unnamed political parties have goals of postponing the polls. Others however, including Berri, have voiced calls for bringing the elections' date closer shall the government decide not to issue the “time-consuming” magnetic voter cards. On his the latest meeting that brought him together with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat at the latter's residence, Berri was keen to reaffirm the “importance” of the tripartite meeting. On the country's state budget, Berri assured his visitors that “the adoption of the budget this year opens the way for the completion of the budget next year,” and considered that "corruption is Lebanon's ageless suffering at more than one scale, and that the adoption of the budget eliminates between 50 and 60 percent of this corruption.”

Israel Hits Syrian Anti-Aircraft Battery in Response to Fire on Jets over Lebanon
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 16/17/Israel's military carried out an air strike on an anti-aircraft battery in Syria on Monday after it fired toward its planes, while vowing it sought no further escalation in the war-torn country. Israeli planes were on what the military described as a “routine reconnaissance mission” over Lebanon when an anti-aircraft missile was fired in their direction, a military spokesman said. The planes returned safely, according to the spokesman, adding it was believed the anti-aircraft battery in Syria was destroyed. Syria's military said Israel's air force breached the country's air space, causing it to respond with its air defenses. It claimed one of the Israeli planes was hit, "forcing it to flee."Israel then "launched several missiles ... on one of our military positions in the Damascus region, causing only material damage," Syrian state television quoted the military as saying. Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told journalists: "We hold the Syrian regime responsible for the anti-aircraft fire and any attack originating from Syria." He said Israel "will maintain its ability to thwart hostile intentions and activities endangering Israeli civilians."Syria's military said it "warns against the dangerous consequences of repeated attempts at aggression by Israel." Conricus did not specify how many Israeli planes were involved in the reconnaissance mission, but described them as being "in proximity to the Syrian border." The battery targeted was located some 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of Damascus, he said. It was believed to be the first time since Syria's civil war began that Israeli planes were fired toward while in Lebanese airspace, said Conricus. However, Israel's military said it had no interest in any further escalation. "Israel has no intention to destabilize the situation," said Conricus.
Russian visit
Israel has sought to avoid becoming more directly involved in the six-year civil war in neighboring Syria, though it acknowledges carrying out dozens of air strikes to stop what it calls advanced arms deliveries to Hizbullah. The Lebanese Shiite group is backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in the conflict. Israel and Hizbullah fought a devastating war in 2006. In March, Israeli warplanes struck several targets in Syria, drawing retaliatory missile fire in the most serious incident between the two countries since the start of the Syrian war. At the time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the air strikes targeted weapons bound for Hizbullah and that Israel would do the same again if necessary. Syria's military had said it launched anti-aircraft missiles at the aircraft, claiming it had downed an Israeli plane and hit another as they carried out pre-dawn strikes near the desert city of Palmyra. Israel denied any of its aircraft was hit. During the sortie, Israel fired its Arrow interceptor to take out what was believed to have been a Russian-made SA 5 missile. In the aftermath, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened to destroy Syrian air defense systems "without the slightest hesitation" if they fired on Israeli planes in future. Monday's strike comes with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu due to visit Israel later in the day. Russia is also backing Assad in the Syrian conflict. Russia and Israel have established a hotline to avoid accidental clashes in Syria. "The Russians were notified in real time," Conricus said of the strike. Shoigu and Lieberman were expected to discuss Syria and Iran's presence there. Iran, Israel's main enemy, backs Assad in the war along with Russia and Israel is concerned Tehran will establish a permanent military presence along its border.

The broken promises of the Lebanese presidentالرئيس اللبناني ينقض وعوده
Makram Rabah/The Arab Weekly/October 16/17
http://www.thearabweekly.com/Opinion/9437/The-broken-promises-of-the-Lebanese-president'
Hezbollah, rather than becoming more Lebanese, has become an even greater menace to regional stability.
Growing up during the Lebanese civil war, I vividly recall Michel Aoun, the commander of the Lebanese forces at the time, with his military fatigues and his famously short temper, pledging to rid Lebanon of the Syrian occupation, even if it meant “breaking the head of [Hafez] Assad.”
Despite his failure to achieve this goal, Aoun touted the same pro-sov­ereign line from his Parisian exile, relentlessly attacking the Syrian hegemony of the Lebanese political system and promising supporters the total liberation of their motherland.
Aoun’s ultimate contribution to that end is debatable. When the Syrian Army pulled out in 2005, most attributed the withdrawal to the resentment fuelled by the assassina­tion of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Nevertheless, the pattern of Aoun promising much and delivering little was set and it is one that looks likely to continue up to his forthcoming visit to Iran.
There’s little that’s new here. Following Syria’s withdrawal, Aoun returned with a new reformist line, campaigning throughout the country under the hackneyed slogans of reform and change. Shortly after­ward, Aoun surprised many by signing a memorandum of under­standing with Hezbollah, which was under considerable pressure both locally and internationally after initiating the conflict with Israel in July 2006.
Despite the unpopularity of the agreement, Aoun rebuked his critics, guaranteeing that such a cross-sec­tarian alliance could only serve as the first step to bringing the pro-Iranian faction in from the cold and making it more Lebanese, whatever that may mean.
Be that as it may, the memoran­dum of understanding brought Aoun closer to the anti-Western axis and, as Syria began to reconcile with a historic enemy, the Assad regime welcomed Aoun and his family to a personal tour of Syria’s historic Christian sites, guided by none other than the young dictator and his wife. Similarly, Aoun visited Tehran, where, despite his minor status as a Lebanese legislator, he was received and treated as a quasi-head of state.
Looking back, much of the activity of Aoun and his cronies during this time appears framed as part of a larger plan to benefit both Christians’ and Lebanon’s greater interests. In the case of Syria, Aoun’s friendly relations would theoretically secure the release or at least reveal the fate of the hundreds of Lebanese detainees in Assad’s dungeons, many of whom were captured after Aoun’s military debacle of 1990, when the invading Syrian occupied the presidential palace and executed many of the officers and soldiers who were left behind after Aoun fled to the safety of the French Embassy.
Likewise, Aoun’s alliance with Hezbollah promised to address the issue of the 5,000 Lebanese, who, fearing persecution by Hezbollah and its allies, fled to Israel after the conclusion of the fighting. Some of them had served in the South Lebanon Army during the Israeli occupation.
Over the years, Aoun and members of his parliamentary bloc have piggybacked strategy of the sup­posed plight of these exiles, many of whom happen to be family members. By incorporating their cause into their electoral platform, yet refrain­ing from taking concrete steps to bring their cases to any kind of conclusion, Aoun continues to play the long game.
While Aoun’s heart might be in the right place, his allies in Damascus and Tehran have worked tirelessly to prove him wrong, by challenging and curbing what remains of the Leba­nese state’s fragile sovereignty. Syria and some of its Lebanese proxies have been implicated in a series of bombings, the sole intention of which was to ratchet up sectarian tensions within Lebanon’s volatile religious tapestry.
Hezbollah, rather than becoming more Lebanese, has become an even greater menace to regional stability and, by meddling in the affairs of Arab countries and fielding its militias in conflict zones, further exposed Lebanon and its economy to potential financial and political sanctions.
Officially invited by his Iranian counterpart, Aoun will soon embark on a state visit to Iran, where both sides will engage in a series of fairly redundant meetings under the umbrella of fortifying fraternal relations.
A few kilometres away from where the Lebanese presidential delegation will be lavishly hosted, Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen, languishes in the dismal cell where he has been held by the Iranian authorities for the last two years. Zakka, who was invited by the deputy president of Iran to be a guest speaker at a technology conference, was detained without charge on his way to the airport. Zakka and his family have reached out to people in the Lebanese government, including Aoun, pleading for their intervention in the matter without success.
After his election as president, Aoun pledged to be a father to all and to protect Lebanon and its people. Yet many of the statements and positions Aoun has taken over the years have yielded the opposite effect. The fate of hundreds of detainees in Syria remains unknown; the families of the South Lebanon Army collaborators still dream of their sons, brothers and fathers returning home; Hezbollah contin­ues to affirm its undying allegiance to Iran and Zakka still hopes he can hitch a ride home on the presidential jet.
However, if history has taught us anything, it’s that many of the promises issued so easily by Aoun and his supporters can be broken just as effortlessly as the shattered dreams of the Lebanese who still think their leaders will one day deliver on their word.
**Makram Rabah is a lecturer at the American University of Beirut, Department of History. He is the author of A Campus at War: Student Politics at the American University of Beirut, 1967-1975.

Threats of war and the memory of Aoun asylum
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=59561
Radwan al-Sayed/Asharq Al Awsat/October 16/17
October 13 marked the day when General Michel Aoun, a former commander of the Lebanese army, fled to the French Embassy in Beirut. Although history does not repeat itself, a tragedy that affects Lebanon’s domestic situation is about to happen.
Divisions are widening and deepening in the country due to Hezbollah’s domination and its control of institutions and the army’s decision-making. Meanwhile the president, i.e. Michel Aoun, is biased toward Hezbollah even when it comes to international decisions.
Some of Aoun’s recent remarks reflected Hezbollah’s control over the decision making process of the state and army as he reiterated that Hezbollah is needed to deter Israel because the army’s power is not enough and claimed that Hezbollah has nothing to do with domestic affairs. Aoun also claimed that Lebanon is committed to the dissociation policy toward the Syrian crisis.
Iran may be interested in escalating the conflict to respond to Trump’s measures against it and in order not to be accused of being weak
Everyone knows that Hezbollah controls Lebanon through its militias’ power and that it is fighting in Syria alongside other Shiite militias! In addition to all this, there are the threatsm, which Israel and Hezbollah are exchanging. Israeli officials are saying that any future war will target all of Lebanon and not just Hezbollah while Nasrallah is saying that all of Israel will be threatened if it attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon.
There are also the increasing American sanctions against Hezbollah, which the US views as a terror group. This time, the sanctions do not only target Hezbollah and its practices but it directly targets Iran and the nuclear agreement. Since Hezbollah is a purely Iranian organization, it is normal for Iran to consider using it whenever it feels threatened.
A potential war
A potential war thus has the following interests to consider. First of all, Israel thinks Hezbollah’s power is growing in Syria and Lebanon and if war against Iran is unlikely then ending Iran’s links in Syria and Lebanon is preferable. The US may share this opinion with Israel.
Meanwhile, Iran may be interested in escalating the conflict to respond to Trump’s measures against it and in order not to be accused of being weak. Iranian officials said considering the Revolutionary Guards as a terror organization entails an overwhelming response.
Are these exchanged accusations credible? Both parties do not want war now, especially Nasrallah, but it may accidentally happen if one party does something and the other responds. Israel has struck Hezbollah’s bases and convoys in Syria and the Syrian regime, Iran, Russia and Hezbollah itself did not do anything.
What will Lebanon’s stance be if the war happens? If it happens, Aoun and Hariri cannot do anything but they could have done many things in the past months. Aoun could have kept silent regarding the South where Israel claims that Hezbollah is still operating in despite UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
Fighting ISIS
The president could have shown the army as independent and efficient on the eastern borders with Syria but following the decision to fight ISIS, he opted for a ceasefire upon Nasrallah’s request.
Nasrallah is still claiming that he emerged victorious while the Lebanese state did not dare celebrate what it viewed as a victory for its army. This is why Lebanon and the decisions of its army and president looked like they are tools in Hezbollah’s hands.
Could the prime minister have done anything? He could have pressured the president to serve Lebanon’s interest of maintaining calm in the South where the front has been calm since 2006 after international troops deployed according to UN Resolution 1701. The prime minister could have objected to suspending the fighting against ISIS upon Nasrallah’s request.
However, instead of doing that, he summoned the general security chief and assigned him as a third party, in addition to Nasrallah and the president, in the deal between ISIS and Nasrallah and the Syrian regime. Nasrallah commended the president as he viewed him as a “patriot,” which is a great testament. However we do not know the type of the reward which Hariri received!
What’s dangerous now is that the situation is out of Lebanon’s hands as it’s in the hands of the Israelis, Iranians, Russians and Americans. This is what happened in 2006 when Iran engaged Lebanon in a war following Hezbollah’s raid against an Israeli patrol.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 16-17/17
Trump Says 'Total Termination' of Iran Deal a 'Real Possibility'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 16/17/U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that a "total termination" of the Iran nuclear deal remains possible, after refusing to certify the 2015 accord and leaving its fate to Congress. Speaking to reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting, he said: "I feel strongly about what I did I'm tired of being taken advantage of. "It might be total termination, that's a real possibility, some would say that's a greater possibility."His comments came as the EU announced it was sending its chief diplomat to Washington next month to fight to save an accord that saw Tehran dramatically scale back its nuclear ambitions in return for an end to punishing sanctions. Trump alarmed allies across the Atlantic with a belligerent speech on Friday in which he stopped short of pulling out of the agreement but warned he could do so at any time, restating his belief the deal was letting Iran off the hook.
EU ministers have warned that ditching the deal when Iran has repeatedly been certified as keeping up its end of the bargain would send a signal to North Korea that negotiating with the international community is a waste of time. There is broad support among U.S. lawmakers for fresh pressure on Iran over its continued missile development and sponsorship of militant groups in the Middle East -- factors that Trump says violate the "spirit" of the agreement. Tehran has warned such action would mean Washington had broken its end of the bargain, and thus likely signal the end of their own compliance.

Spain Gives Final Call for Catalan Independence Decision
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 16/17/Madrid on Monday gave Catalonia's separatist leader three more days to "return to legality" after he refused to say whether he would follow through on a threat to declare independence from Spain. Responding to an initial deadline set by the central government, Carles Puigdemont sent a letter early Monday calling for talks with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy "as soon as possible" amid Spain's worst political crisis in decades. But he stopped short of giving a definitive "yes or no" as demanded by Madrid after his ambiguous independence speech last week, and Spain gave him until Thursday morning to clarify. Anything less than a full climb-down by Thursday's 10:00 am (0800 GMT) deadline is likely to prompt moves by Madrid to impose direct control over the semi-autonomous region. "The government regrets that the president of the Catalan government has decided not to respond to the request made by the government," Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told a news conference. "All we are asking for is clarity."In Monday's letter addressed to the premier, Puigdemont wrote: "For the next two months, our main objective is to bring you to dialogue." In a written response, Rajoy said it was "absolutely necessary" that Catalonia clarify its position. "I hope that in the hours that remain until the second deadline... you reply with all the clarity which citizens demand and the law requires," Rajoy said, calling on the Catalan separatists to "return to legality." European Union officials are keeping a close eye on developments amid fears that Catalan independence could put further strain on the bloc as it grapples with Britain's shock decision to leave.
Growing repression'
Puigdemont had told regional lawmakers last week he was ready for Catalonia to "become an independent state" following a secession referendum on October 1 that went ahead despite a court ban. But he immediately said he was suspending proceedings to allow time for negotiations with Madrid. Puigdemont and some separatist allies want mediation with Madrid over the fate of the 7.5 million-strong region, an idea the central government says is a non-starter. In his letter, he wrote that his "suspension of the political mandate given by the polls on October 1 demonstrates our firm will to find a solution and not confrontation. "Our desire for dialogue is sincere, despite all that has happened," he added. Rock and a hard place -Catalonia, an economic heavyweight that accounts for a fifth of Spain's economy, has its own language and distinct culture but is deeply divided over independence.
Separatists argue the prosperous region is helping to prop Spain up, saying it pays more in taxes than it gets back and that a break from the rest of the country would allow it to prosper. But the region itself is profoundly split on independence. Although separatists say 90 percent of people who voted on October 1 backed secession from Spain, turnout was just 43 percent as many unity supporters stayed home.
The Spanish government says growing uncertainty over Catalonia, which is deeply indebted to Madrid and which cannot borrow internationally, imperils Spain's recovery from the financial crisis. The two biggest Catalan banks have already moved their legal headquarters to other parts of Spain, while ratings agency Standard and Poor's has warned of a recession in the region if the crisis drags on.
Puigdemont, a 54-year-old former journalist and father of two, is under intense pressure from Madrid and world leaders to back off. But he is also being squeezed by his separatist allies to crack on with independence. Rajoy said he is ready to invoke article 155 of Spain's constitution, allowing him to retake full control of Catalonia -- the so-called "nuclear option." And Puigdemont's separatist allies have threatened mass strikes and protests in the event of a climb-down. Adding to tensions is the expected appearance in court in Madrid of Catalan police chief Josep Lluis Trapero. He is to be questioned on accusations of sedition for his handling of pro-independence protests and for allegedly failing to stop the October 1 vote.

Iraqi Forces Drive Back Kurdish Fighters in Independence Standoff
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 16/17/Iraqi forces seized a key military base, an airport and an oil field from Kurdish fighters Monday in disputed Kirkuk province in a major operation sparked by a controversial independence referendum. The rapid advance, which follows weeks of soaring tensions between two U.S. allies in the battle against the Islamic State group, aims to retake oil and military sites that Kurdish forces took over during the fightback against the jihadists. The U.S.-led coalition against IS urged the two sides to "avoid escalatory actions" and to focus on fighting the extremists, who are on the verge of losing their last strongholds in Iraq. Thousands of residents were seen fleeing Kurdish districts of Kirkuk city, heading in buses and cars towards the autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. "We're leaving because we're scared there will be clashes" in the ethnically mixed city of 850,000 people, said 51-year-old Chounem Qader. At the same time crowds on the streets of Kirkuk's southern outskirts welcomed Iraqi forces as they entered the city, where they were seen raising Iraqi flags in the place of Kurdish ones. Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga forces exchanged artillery fire early Monday south of the capital of the oil-rich province, after the launch of the operation on Sunday night which triggered a spike in oil prices on world markets.A Kurdish health official said at least 10 peshmerga fighters were killed and 27 wounded during fighting overnight, but there was no confirmation of the toll from the Kurdish government. The rapid progress of Iraqi forces suggested that Kurdish fighters were withdrawing with little or no resistance in many areas. Iraq's Joint Operations Command said its forces had retaken the K1 military base northwest of Kirkuk, the military airport east of the city and the Baba Gargar oil field, one of six in the disputed region.
Danger of partition'
The operation follows an armed standoff between Kurdish forces and the Iraqi army prompted by the September 25 non-binding referendum that produced a resounding "yes" for Kurdish independence. Baghdad has declared the vote -- held despite international opposition -- illegal.Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the operation was necessary to "protect the unity of the country, which was in danger of partition" because of the referendum. "We call upon all citizens to cooperate with our heroic armed forces, which are committed to our strict directives to protect civilians in the first place, and to impose security and order, and to protect state installations and institutions," he said. Peshmerga forces loyal to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a political party linked to Iraqi President Fuad Masum, who is himself a Kurd, were reported to be withdrawing from areas under their control.
The PUK had supported a U.N.-backed plan for negotiations with Baghdad in exchange for dropping the referendum. Pro-PUK forces were deployed south of the city, including at oil fields, while fighters loyal to the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), linked to Iraqi Kurd leader Massud Barzani who initiated the referendum, were deployed to the north. Two people were killed in artillery exchanges at Tuz Khurmatu, 75 kilometers south of Kirkuk, a doctor at a city hospital said. The U.S.-led coalition against IS called for dialogue between Iraqi and Kurdish authorities. "All parties must remain focused on the defeat of our common enemy, ISIS, in Iraq," Major General Robert White, a commanding general in the coalition, said in a statement. The coalition said it was aware of reports of clashes but they appeared to be the result of a "misunderstanding and not deliberate."
Declaration of war
On Sunday, Iraq's National Security Council said it viewed as a "declaration of war" the presence of "fighters not belonging to the regular security forces in Kirkuk", including fighters from Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Long claimed by the Kurds as part of their historic territory, the province has emerged as the main flashpoint in the dispute. Polling during the referendum was held not only in the three provinces of the autonomous Kurdish region but also in adjacent Kurdish-held areas, including Kirkuk, that are claimed by both Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurds have been in control of six fields in the Kirkuk region providing some 340,000 of the 550,000 barrels per day exported by the regional administration. The fields would provide crucial revenue to Baghdad, which has been left cash-strapped from the global fall in oil prices and three years of battle against IS.

EU sends Mogherini to fight for Iran deal in Washington
AFP/Tuesday 17 October 2017/LUXEMBOURG/MOSCOW: The EU is to dispatch its chief diplomat Federica Mogherini to Washington next month to fight for the Iran nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump threatened to tear it up. EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday joined a chorus of international support for the landmark 2015 accord, warning that Trump’s hard-line stance jeopardized efforts to find a peaceful solution to the nuclear crisis with North Korea. Trump caused alarm across the Atlantic with a belligerent speech on Friday in which he stopped short of pulling out of the agreement but warned he could do so at any time, restating his belief that the deal was letting Iran off the hook. He left it to the US Congress to decide whether to reimpose sanctions that were lifted in return for Tehran abandoning its nuclear ambitions. Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy head, said she would “be in Washington in early November” to urge US lawmakers not to pull out of the deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was negotiated with Iran over 12 painstaking years by the US, Britain, France, China, Germany and Russia. Ditching the deal when Tehran has repeatedly been certified as keeping up its end of the bargain by UN inspectors would send a signal to North Korea that negotiating with the international community is a waste of time, EU ministers fear. “Clearly the ministers are concerned about the fact that messages on the JCPOA might affect negatively the possibility of opening negotiations or opening even the space for negotiations with the DPRK,” Mogherini told reporters after the bloc’s 28 foreign ministers held talks in Luxembourg. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Trump’s hard-line stance risked dragging the world back to a “military confrontation” with Iran. “The threatened termination of the deal with Iran of course undermines the credibility of such international treaties,” he said. The leaders of France, Britain and Germany gave a rebuke to Trump in a joint statement on Friday, which said the deal remained “in our shared national security interest.” Russia and China also voiced their support for the agreement. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that any rupture would be “extremely damaging.” EU officials have already been lobbying members of Congress not to turn their backs on the accord, which was endorsed unanimously by the UN Security Council, and Mogherini, touted as a Nobel Peace Prize candidate for her work on the deal, had already delivered an angry retort to Trump on Friday. “It is clearly not in the hands of any president of any country in the world to terminate an agreement of this sort. The president of the United States has many powers (but) not this one,” she said. Diplomats say that European powers share some of Trump’s concerns about Iran’s activities not covered by the nuclear deal — notably its ballistic missile program and involvement in numerous Middle East conflicts, including the war in Syria. But they say these should be dealt with in other forums and warn it would be a calamitous mistake to sacrifice the achievement of the nuclear deal. Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, said that Tehran had a specific plan of action if the US withdrew from the nuclear pact and that Washington would regret any such decision, the Interfax news agency reported. Larijani made the statement in St. Petersburg where he was taking part in a parliamentary forum.

Iraqi forces seize Kirkuk from Kurds in bold advance
Reuters/Monday 16 October 2017/BAGHDAD: Iraqi government forces captured the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk on Monday, responding to a Kurdish vote on independence with a bold lightning strike that transforms the balance of power in the country. A convoy of armored vehicles from Iraq’s elite US-trained Counter-Terrorism Force seized the provincial government headquarters in the center of Kirkuk on Monday afternoon, residents said, less than a day after the operation began. A dozen armored vehicles arrived at the building and took up positions nearby alongside local police, residents said. They pulled down the Kurdish flag and left the Iraqi flag flying. Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi ordered that the Iraqi flag be hoisted over Kirkuk and other disputed areas claimed by both the central government and the Kurds, who defied Baghdad to hold a vote for independence on Sept. 25. Baghdad described the advance as largely unopposed, and urged the Kurdish security forces known as Peshmerga to cooperate in keeping the peace. The Peshmerga said Baghdad would be made to pay “a heavy price” for triggering “war on the Kurdistan people.”A resident inside Kirkuk said members of the ethnic Turkmen community in the city of 1 million people were celebrating, driving in convoys with Iraqi flags and firing shots in the air. Residents feared this could lead to clashes with Kurds. The overnight advance was the most decisive step Baghdad has taken yet to block the independence bid of the Kurds, who have governed an autonomous part of Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and voted three weeks ago to secede. Kirkuk, one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse cities in Iraq, is located just outside the autonomous Kurdish zone. Kurds consider it the heart of their homeland and say it was cleansed of Kurds and settled with Arabs under Saddam to secure control of the oil that was the source of Iraq’s wealth. State TV said Iraqi forces had also entered Tuz Khurmato, a flashpoint town where there had been clashes between Kurds and mainly Shiites of Turkmen ethnicity. The “government of Al-Abadi bears the main responsibility for triggering war on the Kurdistan people, and will be made to pay a heavy price,” the Peshmerga command said in a statement, cited by Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani’s assistant Hemin Hawrami. The Kurdish secession bid was strongly opposed by neighbors Iran and Turkey. Washington, allied with the Kurds for decades, pleaded vainly for them to halt a vote that could break up Iraq. There were signs of internal conflict among the Kurds, who have been divided for decades into two main factions, the KDP of regional government leader Barzani and the PUK of his longtime rival Jalal Talabani. Both parties control their own Peshmerga units. While Barzani’s KDP strongly supported the independence referendum, some PUK figures were more circumspect. Monday’s Peshmerga statement accused a group within the PUK of “treason” for assisting Baghdad’s advance. “We regret that some PUK officials helped in this plot,” it said. The status of Kirkuk and fate of the Kurds were left unsettled 14 years ago when a US-led invasion toppled Saddam. During the years of US occupation that followed, Washington leaned on its Kurdish allies to keep their ambitions in check to avoid triggering another war amid an insurgency by Sunni Arabs.

Trump’s Iran Strategy Sharpens Power Struggle in Tehran
London - Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/October 16/17/London- Although it had been expected for months, US President Donald Trump’s unveiling of his new strategy on Iran seems to have taken the ruling elite in Tehran by surprise, intensifying the power struggle within it.
The radical faction close to “Supreme Guide” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had expected Trump to tear-up the so-called nuclear deal, depriving the rival faction known as Rafsanjani’s orphans led by President Hassan Rouhani, of their main propaganda plank. That Rouhani is anxious to pretend that the nuke deal remains intact is a sign of his faction’s failure to work out any alternative policy. If he denounces the deal, he would be validating Trump’s claim that Tehran never intended to abide by the rules. Such move would, in turn, persuade the Europeans and perhaps even Russia and China to tone down their support for Tehran against Washington. “We intend to remain committed to the nuclear deal,” Rouhani said Friday night, “for as long as others continue to respect it.”That was a strange position since one of those “others”, the US, had already announced it would not abide by the deal as it stands now. “We hope that others will not follow Trump’s lead,” says Hessameddin Ashna, Rouhani’s chief political adviser. This means that Rafsanjani’s Orphans are determined to stick to the “deal” even when and if the US renders it meaningless.
For the deal to work in favor of Iran it is important that international banks and businesses resume treating the country as a normal partner.
Two years after the nuclear deal was announced, this hasn’t happened. The reason is that companies and banks are not sure that by doing business with Iran they would not risk running into trouble with US rules and regulations. Fear that the sanctions that were suspended under the nuclear deal could be snapped back at any time has prevented Iran from attracting any significant foreign investment. For the same reason Iran has failed to regain access to world capital markets and banking services. Today, even Iranian embassies abroad are not allowed to open bank accounts and are forced to pay their staff in cash. Tehran is also forced to pay the militant groups it backs, notably Hezbollah in Lebanon, Islamic Jihad in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen with suitcases filled with dollars. However, Rouhani and his faction, which includes former President Muhammad Khatami, may not be totally unhappy with Trump’s move because the US president singled out the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is controlled by Khamenei, as the main culprit. The Rouhani faction is now harping on the theme that had it not been for the IRGC, the nuclear deal would have borne real fruits for Iran. However, Trump, according to the daily Kayhan, believed to be a mouthpiece for Khamenei, chose a “more devious method” by not formally denouncing the deal while making it clear the US will intensify sanctions against Iran. This means that “Iran will continue to comply with the deal while the US refuses to abide by its pledges,” the paper says.
The IRGC is clearly happy that, despite months of rumors, Trump did not ask the US Congress to declare it a “terrorist organization”. According to Kayhan, Trump “dared not” classify the IRGC as “terrorist.” The reason, Kayhan says, was “the stern warning” given by IRGC Commander General Muhammad-Ali Aziz Jaafari. IRGC spokesman Gen. Massoud Jazayeri has also highlighted IRGC’s message of defiance. “We intend to intensify our support for suffering peoples fighting for their rights everywhere, most notably in the Middle East,” he said. The message was further amplified by Quds Corps Commander General Qassem Soleimani. He ended weeks of seclusion with a lightning trip to Iraq after which he posted his “selfies” all over the official media. The message was that he remains very much in business. The IRGC also tried to dismiss Trump’s order for imposing economic sanctions on the IRGC’s business wing. That business wing, known as the Khatam al-Anbia Conglomerate, controls over 100 companies with a presence in Dubai, Oman, Austria, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. On Saturday, General Ibad-Allah Ibadi, the head of the conglomerate, inaugurated a new steel mill with a fiery speech about the IRGC’s determination to expand its business activities across the globe. “Despite Trump’s forlorn attempts many around the world are keen to do business with us,” he claimed. While Khamenei has maintained silence, at least at the time of this writing, spokesmen for the rival factions have tried to minimize the impact of Trump’s dramatic move in different ways. Rouhani is beating the drums about a promise by French President Emmanuel macron to visit Tehran next year as a sign that Iran can ignore the US and “work with European and other partners.”Rouhani’s rival in the recent presidential election, Ayatollah Ibrahim Raiisi, however, has called for a “full adoption of Resistance Economy” which means forgoing foreign trade and adopting a North Korean style system of self-sufficiency. For the time being, the rival factions are jumping and gyrating much like angry cats meaning to spring at each other. Without knowing it, perhaps, under the surface, Trump may have sharpened the power struggle in Tehran.

U.S.-Led Coalition Urges Baghdad, Kurds to Avoid 'Escalatory Actions'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 16/17/The U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State group urged Baghdad and Iraq's Kurds on Monday to "avoid escalatory actions" after Iraqi forces launched an operation to retake parts of Kirkuk province. "We continue to advocate dialogue between Iraqi and Kurdish authorities. All parties must remain focused on the defeat of our common enemy, ISIS, in Iraq," Major General Robert White, a commanding general in the coalition, said in a statement. The Iraqi operation, which follows weeks of soaring tensions between two U.S. allies in the battle against IS, aims to retake oil and military sites in Kirkuk that Kurdish forces took over during the fightback against the jihadists. It follows the referendum last month which saw Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly back independence for their northern region, despite warnings from Washington that the vote would complicate efforts to tackle the jihadists. At least 10 Kurdish fighters were killed and 27 wounded during fighting overnight with Iraqi pro-government paramilitary forces, a Kurdish official said. The coalition said it was monitoring movements of military vehicles and personnel in the vicinity of Kirkuk, which is disputed between Baghdad and the Kurds, and denied a wide-scale offensive was under way. "These movements of military vehicles, so far, have been coordinated movements, not attacks," the statement said. It said coalition forces were not supporting activities by the Iraqi or Kurdish governments around Kirkuk. The coalition was aware of reports of clashes, it said. "We believe the engagement this morning was a misunderstanding and not deliberate."

Iran Police Seizes 100,000 Fake Iraq Visas
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 16/17/Iranian police have seized 100,000 fake visas for Iraq and made six arrests ahead of the huge annual Shiite pilgrimage of Arbaeen in November, newspapers reported Monday. "Police forces have dismantled a band of six persons and seized 100,000 fake visas for Arbaeen" which this year falls on November 9, Tehran's police chief Hossein Rahimi said. The head of Iran's organizing committee for the pilgrimage to Karbala, south of Baghdad, Hossein Zolfaghari, said 500,000 official visas have so far been issued, state television's website reported. Iran's participation in Arbaeen has spiked massively in recent years, with some two to three million Iranians among the 17 to 20 million participants last year. Iranian police officials have repeatedly warned that pilgrims without a visa will not be allowed to enter Iraq this year, advising them to avoid fake visas.
Arbaeen marks the 40th day after the martyrdom of the Shiites' Imam Hossein in the seventh century.

Tillerson: US prefers diplomacy with North Korea, but has options
AP/Monday 16 October 2017/WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the North Korean crisis “will continue until the first bomb drops.”That statement comes despite President Donald Trump’s tweets a couple of weeks ago that his chief envoy was “wasting his time” trying to negotiate with “Little Rocket Man,” a mocking nickname Trump has given the nuclear-armed nation’s leader, Kim Jong Un. “I think he does want to be clear with Kim Jong Un and that regime in North Korea that he has military preparations ready to go and he has those military options on the table. And we have spent substantial time actually perfecting those,” Tillerson told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “But be clear: The president has also made clear to me that he wants this solved diplomatically. He’s not seeking to go to war.”Recent mixed messaging from the top of the US government has raised concerns about the potential for miscalculation amid the increasingly bellicose exchange of words by Trump and the North Korean leader. Trump told the UN General Assembly last month that if the US is “forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.” Trump also tweeted that Korea’s leadership “won’t be around much longer” if it continued its provocations, a declaration that led the North’s foreign minister to assert that Trump had “declared war on our country.” Tillerson acknowledged during a recent trip to Beijing that the Trump administration was keeping open direct channels of communications with North Korea and probing the North’s willingness to talk. He provided no elaboration about those channels or the substance of any discussions. Soon after, Trump took to Twitter, saying he had told “our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man ... Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!” Trump offered no further explanation, but he said all military options are on the table for dealing with North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. Analysts have speculated about whether the president and his top diplomat were playing “good cop, bad cop” with North Korea, and how China might interpret the confusing signals from Washington. Beijing is the North’s main trading partner, and the US is counting on China to enforce UN sanctions. “Rest assured that the Chinese are not confused in any way what the American policy toward North Korea (is) or what our actions and efforts are directed at,” Tillerson said. Asked if Trump’s tweets undermined Tillerson, the secretary said: “I think what the president is doing is he’s trying to motivate action on a number of people’s part, in particular the regime in North Korea. I think he does want to be clear with Kim Jong Un and that regime in North Korea that he has military preparations ready to go and he has those military options on the table and we have spent substantial time perfecting those.”He added that Trump “has made it clear to me to continue my diplomatic efforts, which we are, and I’ve told others those diplomatic efforts will continue until the first bomb drops.” North Korea has launched missiles that potentially can strike the US mainland and recently conducted its largest ever underground nuclear explosion. It has threatened to explode another nuclear bomb above the Pacific.

Israeli Air Force Destroyed Syrian Ant-Aircraft Battery In Retaliatiory Strike
Jerusalem Post/October 16/17/The SA-5 missile battery, which was stationed some 50 kilometers east of the Syrian capital, fired at Israeli jets that were on a routine aerial reconnaissance flight in Lebanese airspace.
he Israeli Air Force attacked and destroyed a Syrian SA-5 anti-aircraft battery east of Damascus Monday morning after it fired a surface-to-air missile at Israeli jets.
The SA-5 missile battery, which was stationed some 50 kilometers east of the Syrian capital, fired at Israeli jets that were on a routine aerial reconnaissance flight in Lebanese airspace, IDF Spokesman Brig.Gen. Ronen Manelis stated.
“We see the Syrian regime as responsible and see these missiles as a clear Syrian provocation, and it will not be accepted,” Manelis stated, adding that while Israel has no intention to enter into the civil war in Syria, Israel will react to all provocations.
Manelis told journalists that Russia was updated about the incident, in which no Israeli jets were harmed, in real time, and that it will be brought up during the visit of the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu who is set to land in Israel in the coming hours.
Moscow intervened in the Syrian conflict in September 2015, and officials from Israel and Russia meet regularly to discuss the de-confliction mechanism system implemented over Syria to prevent accidental clashes between the two militaries.
Shoigu will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and other senior officials to discuss the Jewish State’s ongoing concerns regarding Iran’s entrenchment in Syria and the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah by Tehran through Damascus.
Syria's general command warned Israel of "harsh consequences to Israel's repeated aggressive attempts."
Israel rarely comments on foreign reports of military activity in Syria but has publicly admitted to having struck over 100 Hezbollah targets in Syria, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that strikes will continue when “we have information and operational feasibility.”
During an IAF operation in March to strike a Hezbollah arms convoy in Syria, regime air defense fired three surface-to-air missiles towards IAF jets. It was the most serious incident between the two countries since the war in Syria began six years ago.
Following that incident, Liberman warned against any further launching of missiles by the Syrian regime, threatening to destroy all Syrian air defenses.

Egypt considers Turkey a bigger threat than Iran’
Middle East Monitor/October 16, 2017/Egyptian Ambassador to Washington Yasser Reda said Cairo believes Turkey is more dangerous than the Iran; a leaked telegram published the Twitter account of anonymous social media activist Nafez Nafez revealed. Speaking during a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart, Reda spoke of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a very negative way saying that the problem with Ankara is that the Arab countries have different positions on it. Turkey has refused to maintain diplomatic ties with Egypt since the military coup which ousted the country’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Reda went on to say that Jordan and Egypt have been successful in their fight against terrorism, both Daesh and other groups, while Saudi Arabia has not been. Nafez, who describes himself as an Arab citizen who has relations with officials and decision-makers and who has decided to sing from a different song sheet, said he considers what has been mentioned in the document about Saudi Arabia’s role in combating extremist ideology and its lack of experience in this field is a reference to the Kingdom’s adoption of Wahhabist ideology.

Egyptian Army Announces Death of 24 Terrorists in Sinai
Asharq Al Awsat/October 16/17/Egyptian armed forces said Sunday that at least 24 terrorists and six soldiers were killed as they foiled terror attacks aimed at targeting checkpoints in al-Qawades district, North Sinai. Armed Forces Spokesman Colonel Tamer al-Rifai said in a statement that one terrorist was also injured during the clashes. During the operation, 24 militants were killed and another one was injured when law enforcement forces thwarted a failed terrorist attempt. The armed forces also destroyed two vehicles, which were used by terrorists, and the forces are currently combing the area of the incident and chasing the attackers. North Sinai has witnessed many terrorist attacks since the January 2011 revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak. Egypt is fighting an insurgency by militants affiliated with ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed since 2013 when the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi after mass protests. Since then, hundreds of Egyptian security personnel have been killed in attacks across Sinai, especially in the peninsula’s volatile northeastern quadrant, which shares borders with both Israel and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. The militants have also extended their campaign to other parts of Egypt, most recently attacking churches in Cairo and other cities with the loss of dozens of lives.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 16-17/17
Analysis Why Syria Didn't Retaliate to the Last Israeli Strike/Syria and allies practice restraint after alleged Israeli attack on missile plant
Amos Harel/Haaretz/October 16/16
This article was originally published on September 12, 2017 after Israel allegedly struck a missile-production plan in Syria and republished after an Israeli airstrike on an anti-aircraft battery today.
Syria didn’t retaliate to the airstrike, which it has attributed to Israel, on a missile-production plant in the west of the country on Thursday. The statement by the Syrian military was carefully crafted and low on detail. The release described the bombed facility, part of the Scientific Studies and Research Center, as a military outpost and said two guards were killed in the attack.
Iran, which is leading the project to improve the accuracy of Hezbollah’s missiles, was also cautious in referring to the incident. So were Hezbollah and Russia, which provides an aerial umbrella for the forces supporting the Assad regime. At the moment it seems the bombing won’t lead to a conflagration with Israel.
The airstrike’s timing was sensitive because it came after the partial cease-fire achieved in Syria, under Russian auspices, in July. The aerial attack also came after Russia and the United States didn’t heed Israel’s protests about the cease-fire deal, which didn’t keep the Iranian forces out of Syria.
The strike was different from earlier ones attributed to Israel, which targeted weapons convoys intended for Hezbollah or the makeshift arsenals in which those weapons were kept. This time the bombed site was a large, permanent facility clearly identified with the Assad regime.
It appears, however, that the timing isn’t convenient for sabre rattling by the Assad regime and its supporters. The regime scored an important victory last week when the Syrian army and Shi’ite militias took over Deir el-Zour in eastern Syria and drove out Islamic State fighters. Iran is explaining its active military involvement in Syria with the need to help the Assad regime, more than opening a front with Israel, while Hezbollah is playing down the assistance it receives from Iran and Syria.
A military retaliation against Israel could create difficulties for the parties bolstering Hezbollah. The response could come at a later stage and indirectly, like the tightening of Russian-Iranian cooperation.
Recently, reports have said Russia will provide air defense in western Syria, mainly via S-400 missiles, for Iranian arms plants as well. As far as is known, Iran operates such facilities in Syria in coordination with the Assad regime, but so far hasn’t implemented plans to set up similar ones in Lebanon.
On Sunday, Israel’s military will continue the large drill in the north that began last week; numerous infantry units and aircraft will be involved. The exercise, which is taking place in a Lower Galilee area that simulates Lebanon, will move this week from defense to offense.
Presumably, Hezbollah and Syria will also have to take the Israeli army’s high alert into account if they’re considering a retaliation to the airstrike.
Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said he didn’t know who attacked the plant in Syria, “but whoever it was did Israel an excellent service.”
As Ya’alon put it, “The Russians, even if they think we did it, aren’t saying a word. There’s a hotline between our defense establishments and understandings that we won’t get in their way and they won’t get in ours. I don’t see a fear of an escalation, but we have to keep evaluating the situation
Amos Harel/Haaretz Correspondent
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/1.811402?utm_content=%2Fmiddle-east-news%2Fsyria%2F1.811402&utm_medium=email&utm_source=smartfocus&utm_campaign=newsletter-breaking-news

What is Really Uniting the Palestinians?
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/October 15/17
Saleh Arouri and Hamas view the "reconciliation" agreement as Fatah moving closer to Hamas and not the other way around....The "reconciliation" agreement requires from Hamas only to dissolve its shadow government in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is not being asked to recognize Israel's right to exist, or renounce terrorism or lay down its arms. Hamas is not being asked to change its anti-Semitic charter, which openly calls for the elimination not only of Israel but of Jews: "The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews." (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem). (Hamas Charter, Article 7)
The "reconciliation" agreement is clearly a Fatah submission to Hamas and not vice versa. In his accord with Hamas, Abbas has signed onto Hamas's version of violent "resistance" against Israel and Jews. This is the real meaning of this Abbas-Hamas deal.
Buoyed by the "reconciliation" agreement reached with President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority (PA), Hamas has announced that it seeks to unite all Palestinians in the fight against the "Zionist enterprise." In other words, Hamas views the agreement as a vehicle for rallying Palestinians behind it toward achieving its longtime goal of destroying Israel.
When Hamas talks about the "Zionist enterprise," it is referring to the establishment of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. Hamas is not only opposed to the existence of Israel on what it and most Muslims perceive as "Muslim-owned" land; it reiterates, at every opportunity, its desire to annihilate Israel.
Those who think that the new "reconciliation" accord will have a moderating effect of Hamas are both blind and deaf to what Hamas itself has been stating both before and after the agreement. One has to give Hamas credit for being clear, honest and consistent about its goal of destroying Israel.
Hours after the latest agreement was signed in Cairo, Saleh Arouri, the newly elected deputy chairman of Hamas's "political bureau," stated that his movement's next step was to work toward uniting all Palestinians against the "Zionist enterprise."
According to Arouri -- an arch-terrorist wanted by Israel for his role in funding and orchestrating terrorism -- pursuing the fight against Israel should be the number one priority of all Palestinians, especially in light of the "reconciliation" deal with Abbas and the Palestinian Authority. The well-being of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is the very farthest thing from the minds of Hamas and its new partner, the PA.
Arouri, who shuttles between a number of Arab and Islamic countries, does not live in the Gaza Strip. As such, he is not faced with the power outages, lack of medical supplies, and ill-equipped hospitals dealt with on a daily basis by most Palestinians there. Why should he care about the plight of his people when he can afford to stay in five-star hotels in Lebanon, Egypt and other countries?
"We are hoping that we will be able to reach agreement with our brothers in Fatah [Abbas's ruling faction] and other Palestinian factions on a comprehensive national strategy to confront the Zionist enterprise," Arouri said in an interview with the Palestinian daily Al-Quds. "It's not hard for us to find a formula that would bring all factions together. We believe that confronting the Zionist enterprise, with all means, is not only a right, but also the duty of all of us. This does not contravene international law."
Translation: Arouri, like most Hamas leaders, sees the "reconciliation" accord as an opportunity to advance Hamas's genocidal agenda against Israel and Jews. He believes that the new partnership with Abbas's Fatah should incentivize all other Palestinian factions to join forces in the fight against Israel.
More importantly, Arouri and Hamas view the "reconciliation" agreement as Fatah moving closer to Hamas and not the other way around. Here, the Hamas leader is absolutely right. The "reconciliation" agreement requires from Hamas only to dissolve its shadow government in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is not being asked to recognize Israel's right to exist, or renounce terrorism or lay down its arms. Hamas is not being asked to change its anti-Semitic charter, which openly states:
There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. (Hamas Charter, Article 13)
The charter also calls for the elimination not only of Israel but of Jews:
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said:
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews." (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem). (Hamas Charter, Article 7)
All that Hamas is being asked to do is to allow Abbas's Palestinian Authority government to manage civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip. Hamas, for now at least, will continue to maintain "security control" over the Gaza Strip.
In the new "reconciliation" agreement between Hamas and Fatah, all that Hamas is being asked to do is to allow the Palestinian Authority government to manage civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip. Hamas will continue to maintain "security control" over the Gaza Strip. Pictured: Hamas "security forces" parade their weapons in Gaza City, on July 20, 2017. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Hence, the "reconciliation" agreement is clearly a Fatah submission to Hamas and not vice versa. Abbas and his Fatah faction went crawling to Hamas because they were afraid of a possible alliance between Hamas and ousted Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan. Hamas played the Dahlan card very cleverly by spreading news that it was about to strike a deal with Dahlan to allow him back into the Gaza Strip, where he would serve as a governor with no security power. Dahlan is based in the United Arab Emirates.
Dahlan's return to the Gaza Strip would have saved Hamas from its isolation and financial crisis, especially in the aftermath of a series of sanctions imposed by Abbas on the Gaza Strip in a bid to undermine Hamas.
Moreover, through its "reconciliation" accord with Abbas, Hamas is hoping to prevent him from resuming peace talks with Israel. As Arouri clearly stated in the interview:
"We in Hamas do not want to engage in any political process with Israel. We don't want this and this is not our job. Our role is to pursue the resistance until the occupation is removed from our land. This is our position and it hasn't changed. With the [Israeli] enemy, there should be no political process. Instead, there should only be resistance."
For those who are not familiar with Arab terminology and culture, "resistance" is a euphemism for terrorism. For Hamas, resistance means rockets, missiles, suicide bombings and other forms of terrorism against Israel and Jews.
As such, Hamas is hoping that the "reconciliation" agreement will even further endear Fatah to terrorism as an alternative to peace talks with Israel. Hamas sees Abbas's intention to return to the Gaza Strip as a first step toward abandoning any peace process with Israel in favor of an armed struggle.
Not only does Hamas want Abbas to abandon any political process, it is now warning him that as its new partner, he has no authority to do so. Hamas's message to Abbas is: As of now, we are partners in "peace" and war. No one is entitled to surprise us by signing a political agreement with Israel that suits the views of one faction over the others. These are the precise words of the Hamas leader, Arouri.
Conclusion: The "reconciliation" deal is not meant to advance any peace process or to persuade Hamas to stop terrorism. Nor is it designed to rally Palestinians behind Abbas and Fatah. This is an agreement that paves the way for Abbas and Hamas to become equal partners. Hamas is right: Why should it allow Abbas to sign a peace agreement with Israel once he has agreed to sit with Hamas when it continues to seek the destruction of Israel? As Hamas's new partner, Abbas should as of now be held responsible for any terror attack that emanates from the Gaza Strip. Partnership entails accepting responsibility for the actions and rhetoric of your partners.
The bluff of Palestinian "reconciliation" is far from being about peace. Instead, it is about pursuing the fight against Israel and the "Zionist enterprise" -- namely, Israel and Jews. In his accord with Hamas, Abbas has signed onto Hamas's version of violent "resistance" against Israel and Jews. This is the real meaning of the Abbas-Hamas deal.
**Bassam Tawil is a Muslim based in the Middle East.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Saudi Arabia Still Promoting "Violent and Intolerant Teachings" in Schoolbooks
A. Z. Mohamed/Gatestone Institute/October 16/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11127/saudi-arabia-schoolbooks
"As early as first grade, students in Saudi schools are being taught hatred toward all those perceived to be of a different faith or school of thought. The lessons in hate are reinforced with each following year." — Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East Director, Human Rights Watch.
The Saudis "are both the arsonists and the firefighters. They promote a very toxic form of Islam that draws sharp lines between a small number of true believers and everyone else, Muslim and non-Muslim" – which spur jihadis to take action -- yet they are "our partners in counterterrorism." — William McCants, senior fellow, Brookings Institution, to the New York Times, August 2016.
In fourth-grade second semester Monotheism textbook, Saudi students learn that polytheists, "the worst of creatures," are condemned to Hell. They also study a Quranic verse in which Allah dictates that: "Indeed, they who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell, abiding eternally therein. Those are the worst of creatures." (98:6, Sahih International)
A review of the Saudi Ministry of Education's school religion books currently available at the portal for digital curriculum (visited on September 25, 2017) found out that the curriculum still has violent and intolerant teachings. These books were published for the school year 2016-17.
At a very early stage, the fourth grade, the curriculum begins to teach Saudi children that Muslims are essentially different but superior to all non-Muslims.
Saudi Ministry of Education, Al-Tawhid, Student Book, Fourth Grade, First Semester, 2016-2017, p. 11
In a fourth-grade second semester Monotheism textbook, Saudi students learn that polytheists, "the worst creatures" according to the Quran (98:6), are condemned to Hell.
In a lesson entitled "Universality of Islam and Prophet Mohammed" fifth-graders are taught that Prophet Mohammed was sent to all human beings: "Say, [O Mohammed], "O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all (7:158).
They also learn that all human beings should believe in the Prophet Mohammed and in Islam, and leave supposedly corrupted religions.
Saudi Ministry of Education, Al-Tawhid, Student Book, Fifth Grade, Second Semester, 2016-2017, pp 63-64
In short, Saudi Arabia has not been upholding its commitment to reform its school curricula and remove incendiary lessons from the Education Ministry-produced textbooks used in religious-studies classes, also according to a recently released report from Human Rights Watch (HRW). A comprehensive review of material taught during the 2016-17 academic year found that:
"some of the content that first provoked widespread controversy for violent and intolerant teachings in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks remains in the texts today, despite Saudi officials' promises to eliminate the intolerant language."
The HRW examination of a set of 45 elementary, middle and high school textbooks and student workbooks -- used in a course called al-Tawhid, or "Monotheism" -- revealed that Saudi children are being taught to denigrate people, including Sufi and Shiite Muslims, who do not adhere to a strict interpretation of Sunni Islam (Wahhabi-Salafism). They are also instructed to designate Jews and Christians disparagingly as "unbelievers."
One fourth-grade book, for example, quotes the Prophet Mohammed saying, "No child is born except on the Fitrah [Islamic concept of human nature] and then his parents make him Jewish, Christian or Magian (Zoroastrian)." The same book also includes Quran verse 98:6, in which Allah dictates:
"Indeed, they who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell, abiding eternally therein. Those are the worst of creatures."
In a lesson on the "Universality of Islam," fifth-graders are taught Quran verse 7:158, which states that Mohammed is "Allah's messenger" to all people.
A book for sixth-graders teaches that denying any of Islam's pillars or mocking Allah, Mohammed or the Quran is the greatest kufr (denial of the truth).
"As early as first grade, students in Saudi schools are being taught hatred toward all those perceived to be of a different faith or school of thought," said HRW Middle East director, Sarah Leah Whitson. "The lessons in hate are reinforced with each following year."
In May this year, US and Saudi leaders announced the establishment of the Riyadh-based Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology as part of a joint effort to eradicate both rogue and state-sponsored terrorism wherever it originates and occurs. As a long-standing ally of the United States, Saudi Arabia is receiving money and a warm embrace from Washington to participate in this effort. Yet the Saudis continue to spread their Wahhabist ideology in mosques and schools around the world. As Brookings Institution senior fellow William McCants told the New York Times in August 2016, the Saudis "are both the arsonists and the firefighters. They promote a very toxic form of Islam that draws sharp lines between a small number of true believers and everyone else, Muslim and non-Muslim" -- which spur jihadists to take action -- yet they are "our partners in counterterrorism."
It is time for the administration in Washington to hold Riyadh accountable for its double game, and demand that the Saudi government make good on its stated intention to reform the educational curricula in its school system. After all, the classroom is where the seeds of jihad are first sown.
*A. Z. Mohamed is a Muslim born and raised in the Middle East.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Iran’s never-ending hostage-taking
Majid Rafizadeh|/ArabNews/October 15/17
Nazanin Ratcliffe, a project manager at the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was with her infant daughter when Iranian authorities confiscated their passports. Ratcliffe, a British citizen working for the foundation’s charitable section, was imprisoned on trumped-up charges such as orchestrating a “soft overthrow.” Her trial was conducted without due and fair process.
Since the nuclear deal, the number of Westerners imprisoned in Iran has increased. Even the US State Department has acknowledged the increasing threat against Americans since the deal was reached, saying in a March travel warning: “Iran has continued to harass, arrest, and detain US citizens, in particular dual nationals.”
It is very important to understand the intersection of Tehran’s hostage-taking, foreign policy and revolutionary ideals. Its hostage-taking policy goes back to 1979, when the theocratic regime was established. It began with the US Embassy takeover in Tehran, which led to 52 Americans being held hostage for 444 days, until the regime achieved its political and ideological objectives.
This pattern has continued for almost four decades. Iran’s hostage-taking is systematic, and a core pillar of its rogue foreign policy. It is used to strengthen the mullahs’ hold on power and ensure the regime’s survival. More fundamentally, Tehran holds foreign hostages as pawns to extract economic concessions and obtain geopolitical and financial gains. It often uses these innocent hostages to swap prisoners.
Tehran has learned that holding foreigners hostage can bring in billions of dollars and increase its political leverage against the West. Countries should not submit to Iran’s economic and political demands, because it will encourage and reinforce its behavior.
For Tehran, holding hostages is a political and ideological exercise, and a form of leverage against other countries.
Tehran has been boasting about hostage-taking, and has been publicly asking for more money to release them. Regarding recently arrested Americans, it said it is seeking “many billions of dollars” for their release. Tehran also uses hostages as a tool to pressure the West to ignore its military adventurism, violations of international law and testing of ballistic missiles.
Iran’s hardliners are sending a message to the Iranian people that improved economic ties with the West do not mean political and social liberalization. Tehran is also signaling to the West and to young Iranians that the nuclear deal does not mean it will welcome Westerners, alter its foreign policy or respect human rights. For Tehran, holding hostages is a political and ideological exercise, and a form of leverage against other countries.
• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated, Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Iran Quds commander pays respects at Talabani's tomb as Kirkuk crisis escalates
Al Monitor/Week in Review October 15, 2017
REUTERS/Ako RasheedIraq's Kurdish Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani prays in front of the coffin of former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani at Sulaimaniya Airport, Iraq, Oct. 6, 2017.
Iranian Popular Mobilization Units may determine Kirkuk outcome
On Oct. 13, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis conveyed a message via reporters that Iraqi parties should “stay focused on defeating ISIS,” or the Islamic State (IS).
The next day, as forces massed near Kirkuk, Iraq, Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, paid his respects at the tomb of former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in Sulaimaniyah.
The contrast might be illustrative of what to expect in coming days. Despite long-standing US political and military ties with both Baghdad and Erbil, it is Tehran, not Washington, that seems best placed to determine the course of events, as we wrote in this column two weeks ago. Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), which recently liberated the city of Hawija from IS, as Shelly Kittleson reports, have lined up in support of Iraqi government forces around key military and oil installations outside Kirkuk, which is defended by Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga units.
Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has been able to play both statesman and nationalist by opposing the Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum and seeking a negotiated solution to the crisis. His endgame includes re-establishing Iraqi government control of areas of Kirkuk lost to IS in 2014 and subsequently seized by Iraqi Kurdish forces.
Abadi would prefer a victory without bloodshed, given Iraq’s fragile polity. The precedent of the Iraqi referendum could spur Basra and some Iraqi Sunni communities to seek autonomy as well, as Adnan Abu Zeed reports. But there may now be an escalatory dynamic, and Abadi is one of several players, with Iran holding the balance.
The crisis over the referendum has given new charge to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which has strong ties to Iran. At Talabani’s funeral, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sat one seat away from Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani; the United States was represented by its ambassador in Iraq. Perhaps it is no surprise that Soleimani is in PUK territory, as Iran-backed militias are opposite peshmerga fighters on the Kirkuk front.
The PUK had been skeptical of the independence referendum, which was driven by the Barzani-led Kurdistan Democratic Party. The PUK, including the late president's son Bafel Talabani, has taken the lead in calling for a negotiated solution to the crisis and for holding talks with Iraqi President Fuad Masum, who is also a Kurd, in Sulamaniyah, the party’s home base in the region.
There is also the role of Iraqi Turkmens, who number about 3 million (about 8.3% of Iraq’s population) and are concentrated mostly in Kirkuk and surrounding regions. Turkmen parties opposed the independence referendum and have been able to “establish armed factions within the [PMU] in mixed areas such as Tuz Khormato and al-Bashir,” writes Hamdi Malik. “Shiite forces such as Asaib Ahl al-Haq backed the Turkmen PMU factions to pressure the Kurds in these areas. … The Turkmens hope the liberation of Hawija and adjacent areas as well as pressure from the federal forces will ultimately weaken the Kurds in these areas.”
Turkey looks to Syrian tribes for support
Turkey deployed special forces, commandos and Free Syrian Army (FSA) units into Idlib, which is mostly controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the al-Qaeda-linked armed group, in accord with a de-escalation agreement with Russia and Iran. The Syrian government criticized the incursion.
Khaled al-Khateb reports from Aleppo, “Although Turkey controls the FSA factions in the liberated areas, it still needs the allegiance of the tribes spread across the areas they hold. Organizing the tribes into a council makes it easier for Turkey to control them. Hence, the new council's formation is a boon for Turkey.”
“The tribes constitute a strong suit in the civil war, so all the parties involved want to win them over,” Khateb adds. “Turkey is trying to take advantage of the role the tribes play in the liberated areas while also preventing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad or the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from enrolling them as allies. Tribes are particularly prominent in northern and eastern Syria, where they have a lot of social clout. The SDF has relied on several tribes in the Aleppo and Raqqa countrysides in its fight against [IS]. Some tribes have also fought with the regime in Aleppo's eastern countryside. The establishment of the new tribal council in the liberated areas is a step aimed at getting the tribes to ally with Turkey.”
DeMistura seeks to build on de-escalation zones
Syrians are suffering unacceptable levels of violence, and civilian casualties have spiked recently as a result of what may be the final or near final battles against IS in Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zor.
A report from the UN secretary-general to the Security Council last month notes that “ongoing clashes, in particular military operations targeting strongholds of [IS], continued to result in the injury, death and displacement of the civilian population and the destruction of civilian infrastructure” and contains a plea “for the parties to the conflict, in particular the Syrian Government, to release detainees, abductees and missing persons.”
The spike in civilian casualties may have obscured another trend in the report, which acknowledges “the persistent and determined efforts to reduce violence through de-escalation agreements, which have delivered observable results in reducing hostilities by all parties to the conflict.”
The report points out that there are nearly a million fewer people living in besieged or hard-to-reach locations in Syria, a total of 3.47 million, down from 4.44 million, “as a result of increased access in the northeast of the country.” The UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported in June that 440,000 internally displaced Syrians and over 30,000 refugees had returned to their homes in the first six months of 2017. It is a good bet that those numbers are increasing.
Although the situation is fragile, we can say at this point that the de-escalation zones have exceeded most expectations and may offer the best chance in years for a renewed political process. That is certainly the plan of UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, who told the Security Council on Sept. 27 that “de-escalation should be a precursor to a truly nationwide cease-fire, and to action on the humanitarian and confidence-building fronts … [and to] laying the basis for a renewed Geneva process — one that moves from preparatory talks into genuine negotiations on the political future of Syria.”
De Mistura is banking on a Saudi initiative, a "Riyadh 2" conference in Geneva, to unify and impart “realism” into the opposition platform prior to a new round of Geneva talks to commence in October or November.
Signs of realism may be evident among Syria’s Kurdish leaders. Gen. Mazlum Kobane, the chief commander of the SDF and leader of its military campaign in Raqqa, told Amberin Zaman in September that he considers the Syrian government a “threat to us at present," but added that "one has to come to terms with the current regime. The Syrian regime is a reality. Militarily, the regime has won a victory against the opposition — the opposition other than us, I mean — at least in the areas it is currently present. And looking at things objectively, the regime is here to stay." He also said, "Our essential objective is to negotiate with the central government and get a certain status for the areas we liberated. If required, we are ready to engage in dialogue with the central government on this.”

A Month of Islam and Multiculturalism in Britain: September 2017
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/October 16/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=59558
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11181/islam-multiculturalism-britain-september
A Freedom of Information request revealed that Sammy Woodhouse, a woman sexually abused as a child by a grooming gang, was told by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), a government body, that she was not entitled to compensation because she "consented" to the sexual abuse. Woodhouse appealed the decision: "If an adult can privately think that it's a child's fault for being abused, beaten, raped, abducted, I think you're in the wrong job."
Online jihadist propaganda attracts more clicks in Britain than in any other European country and the main internet companies are failing to curb it, according to Policy Exchange, a think tank. The report, "The New Netwar," said that the Islamic State is still producing, at a conservative estimate, about 100 items of new content each week, including execution videos and bomb-making instructions, reaching an audience of, at minimum, tens of thousands, including large numbers of users in the UK.
British universities hosted 110 events featuring extremist speakers in the last academic year, 2016/17, with the highest proportion taking place in London institutions. The extremist events listed were overwhelmingly organized by Islamic societies, and groups and speakers included former Guantanamo Bay detainees and Islamists. The findings suggest that despite Prime Minister Theresa May's claim that "enough is enough," British universities continue to be a target for extremists promoting their messages.
September 1. Britain is home to up to 35,000 "Islamist fanatics," more than any other country in Europe, according to European Union's counter-terrorism coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove.
September 1. Mike Adamson, Chief Executive of the British Red Cross, wrote: "There is a risk that...an organization with the words 'British' and 'Cross' in its title is confused with a Christian, establishment organization." He added: "We are nowhere near as diverse as we need to be in our volunteer base, our staffing or our leadership... that is why, as CEO, I am personally leading our inclusion and diversity strategy."
September 1. Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 26, was charged with a terror offense after he attacked police outside Buckingham Palace with a sword and "ranted" that the "Queen and her soldiers will all be in hellfire." The British-born suspect, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, was accused of one charge of preparing terrorist acts, which carries a maximum charge of a life sentence.
On September 1, Mohiussunnath Chowdhury was charged with a terror offense after he attacked police outside Buckingham Palace with a sword and "ranted" that the "Queen and her soldiers will all be in hellfire." Pictured: Police secure a road outside Buckingham Palace after Chowdhury's attack, on August 25, 2017.
September 2. A Christian church in Wales was accused of a "lack of unity" after it rejected a Muslim group's request to hold Koran studies in its hall. The Muslims wanted to use the hall in the Feed My Lambs church for "Koran and cultural studies." Reverend Roger Donaldson said: "We are not against Islam; no way. Everybody has the right to worship as they please. Feed My Lambs is used for Christian worship."
September 2. Rabar Mala, a 32-year-old illegal immigrant from Iraq, was charged with supplying hundreds of SIM cards to Islamic State jihadists to set up social media accounts. Mala allegedly provided 437 cards and phone numbers to jihadists in Iraq and Syria so that they could have a platform to post propaganda online.
September 2. Sarah Champion, a former Labour MP, said that the British left was turning a blind eye to Muslim sexual grooming gangs for fear of being branded racist. She also said that many Labour members and politicians based in London had "never been challenged by a reality that's different" from their "multicultural world." She resigned under pressure after she wrote in an op-ed: "Britain has a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls."
September 3. Thousands of schools in Britain are allowing girls as young as five to wear religious headscarves as part of their uniform policies, according to The Sunday Times. The growing trend has been criticized by campaigners who pointed out the headscarf is supposed to be worn by a girl when she reaches puberty, not as a child. Muslim politician Amina Lone said: "In an Islamic context, the hijab is commonly understood as being for females after they reach the age of puberty. There are very few Muslims who would say a child should be covered." Gina Khan, a children's rights campaigner, said that schools are listing the garment as uniform "because they are afraid of being called Islamophobic and they have been told that this is a religious garment."
September 4. Robbie Travers, a 21-year-old law student at Edinburgh University, was investigated for a hate crime that "puts minority students at risk and in a state of panic" after he allegedly mocked the Islamic State on social media. After the U.S. Air Force attacked an Islamic State stronghold in Afghanistan in April, Travers wrote on Facebook: "I'm glad we could bring these barbarians a step closer to collecting their 72 virgins." A fellow student, Esme Allman, claimed that Travers breached the student code of conduct with his comments. Travers ultimately was exonerated.
September 5. Three members of a Muslim sex gang who used drugs to turn abuse victims into addicts and forced them to have sex if they wanted more drugs were sentenced to a total of 56 years in prison. Seventeen men and one woman from Newcastle were sentenced for crimes including rape, sexual assault, inciting girls into prostitution and drug dealing. They were part of a network of nearly 40 men, including Pakistani, Indian, Iranian, Iraqi, Bangladeshi and Turkish nationals, who preyed on around 100 girls. Prosecutor John Elvidge said the victims who gave evidence in court were white British and the male defendants were "all of Asian extraction" but he insisted that the crimes were not racially motivated.
September 8. Michael Adebolajo, 32, who murdered the fusilier Lee Rigby, 25, in Woolwich, south east London, in 2013, demanded £100,000 ($133,000) after he lost his two front teeth when staff at Belmarsh Prison tried to restrain him. He filed the lawsuit claiming that he was left with a "psychiatric injury." Adebolajo allegedly warned prison staff to "watch themselves" and asked "Allah to strike down his oppressors." He claims that he was "verbally abused" before he was smashed into the bars of his cell windows. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The public will be rightly outraged at the thought of this offender claiming compensation from the taxpayer."
September 9. Kamal Hanif, a counter-extremism expert appointed by the British government to rehabilitate schools involved in the "Trojan Horse" scandal, said that some teachers, particularly those who work in schools with a high proportion of Muslim students, are afraid of teaching about 9/11 because they fear a backlash from Muslim parents for being "Islamophobic." Sir Steve Lancashire, the chief executive of a multi academy trust, said that a lot of teachers feel "uncomfortable" about the legacy of 9/11: "We need to address the nervousness of teachers to teach this kind of subject. Teachers don't feel well equipped on facts, there are a lot of conspiracy theories, a lot of misinformation. It's children saying 'you are attacking Muslims, you are attacking our faith,' that kind of thing."
September 10. The Ministry of Justice revealed that Muslim inmates at HMP Prison Send, a female prison in Surrey, will be provided with special outfits for when they are checked by sniffer dogs. The overalls will be given to female prisoners who follow Islam because many Muslims believe that dogs are "impure."
September 11. A Freedom of Information request revealed that Sammy Woodhouse, a woman sexually abused as a child by a grooming gang, was told by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), a government body, that she was not entitled to compensation because she "consented" to the sexual abuse. Woodhouse was 14 when she met 24-year-old Arshid Hussain, who was jailed in 2016. Hussain, known as Mad Ash around Rotherham, was one of three brothers behind the grooming and sexual abuse of more than 50 girls, including Woodhouse. He was jailed for 35 years for 23 offenses including indecent assault and rape. Woodhouse appealed the decision: "If an adult can privately think that it's a child's fault for being abused, beaten, raped, abducted, I think you're in the wrong job."
September 11. TheCityUK, London's top lobby group, urged the British government to prioritize Islamic finance to retain its status as Europe's financial hub ahead of Brexit negotiations to exit the country from the European Union. A 32-page report showed that assets of British firms offering Islamic finance services surpassed $5 billion (£3.8 billion) in 2016, up 11% in two years. Britain was the first non-Muslim country to sell a bond that can be bought by Islamic investors. At the time, former prime minister David Cameron said: "I don't just want London to be a great capital of Islamic finance in the Western world. I want London to stand alongside Dubai and Kuala Lumpur as one of the great capitals of Islamic finance anywhere in the world."
September 12. British Muslims are twice as likely to espouse anti-Semitic views, according to a survey produced by the London-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research. "The prevalence of negativity towards Jews and Israel is, on average, twice as high among Muslims than the general population," said the 85-page report.
September 14. A Dundee woman found a handwritten note on a city bus pledging that "the sword will be used" to institute Sharia law. The note read: "Sharia law will be for all human beings with Islam. The sword will be used to reach this goal." The woman said that she believed the message to be "some sort of call to Jihad." She said: "I went to sit on the seat and there was a bit of paper and I happened to look at it. I read it and then I gave it to my partner to read and we both said that it was really worrying. It just didn't seem right. I didn't know who I should get in touch with. I thought the best person would be the driver, so I gave it to him. These days, we can't ignore things like this. Even if it's nothing, it should be looked into. We just didn't expect to find something saying that on a bus in Dundee."
September 15. A homemade bomb exploded during rush hour on a train at the Parsons Green tube station in West London, injuring 30 people. The bomb, which failed to detonate properly, had been packed with knives, screws and shrapnel, as well as hundreds of grams of a homemade explosive known as TATP. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. Ahmed Hassan, an 18-year-old refugee from Iraq, was charged with attempted murder.
September 17. The Lancashire County Council Cabinet re-opened a debate on whether it should use meat from animals which have not been stunned before slaughter. It revived a row from 2012, when the authority banned all meat that was not pre-stunned from its 600 schools. The Lancashire Council of Mosques (LCM) advised Muslim families to boycott all such meat because it was not Sharia-compliant. As a result, thousands of Muslim children refused to eat meals containing the meat. LCM chairman Abdul Hamid Qureshi said: "The LCM position is and always has been that stunning before slaughter means the meat is not halal [permitted]." Council leader Geoff Driver said: "In my view, it is abhorrent to kill an animal without stunning it because of the distress it causes. We will bring it to a full council meeting where members can vote with their conscience."
September 18. Online jihadist propaganda attracts more clicks in Britain than in any other European country and the main internet companies are failing to curb it, according to Policy Exchange, a think tank. The report, "The New Netwar," said that the Islamic State is still producing, at a conservative estimate, about 100 items of new content each week, including execution videos and bomb-making instructions, despite big military defeats in Iraq and Syria. It also said that the jihadist online "ecosystem," the core of which is rooted in the Telegram app, is resilient and reaches an audience of, at minimum, tens of thousands, including large numbers of users in the UK.
September 20. Oliver was the top name for baby boys in England and Wales in 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics, which also reported that the name Muhammad ranked eighth. Muhammad, however, was, in fact, the top name. With variations in spelling, the name Muhammad was given to 7,084 boys in 2016, compared to 6,623 boys named Oliver.
September 20. Shabir Ahmed, a 64-year-old inmate at Wakefield prison, was found guilty of repeatedly stomping on an elderly fellow inmate's face and head after an argument about the March 2016 Brussels terror attacks which left 32 victims dead and 340 injured. Ahmed flew into a rage when he heard 71-year-old James Palmer say that the bombers should be "eradicated." Ahmed, a former taxi driver, is currently serving a 22-year-prison term for leading a sexual grooming gang in Rochdale. He was sentenced to a further 12 months in prison on top of the term he is already serving.
September 22. Hussain Yousef, a 21-year-old fast food restaurant worker who arrived in Britain from Afghanistan in 2010 and lived in London, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for recruiting jihadists for the Islamic State. Yousef had six Facebook accounts from which he posted Islamist propaganda and execution videos. He also shared a list claiming to be details of U.S. military personnel, including their addresses. Kingston Crown Court heard how Yousef, before becoming an enthusiastic supporter of the Islamic State, had been a gifted student who excelled at school.
September 25. London Mayor Sadiq Khan revealed that since March 2017, police had foiled seven jihadist plots in the British capital. Those seven plots were in addition to the four successful attacks at Westminster, Borough Market, Finsbury Park and Parsons Green. Khan also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump over his "Muslim travel ban" and his "ignorant" views about Islam. Khan accused Trump of adopting the language of the Islamic State: "They say that there is a clash of civilizations, it is not possible to be a Muslim and a westerner, and the west hates us. And you are inadvertently playing their game, you are helping them."
September 25. Muhammad Rabbani, the director of Cage, a Muslim advocacy group critical of British anti-terrorism laws, was convicted of an offense under the Terrorism Act after refusing to hand over the pin code to his mobile phone at Heathrow Airport. Rabbani, 36, was stopped on November 20, 2016 after returning home from a wedding in Doha. He refused to give his pin number or the password to his laptop, citing privacy and civil rights. Westminster Magistrates' Court convicted him of one count of willfully obstructing a stop-and-search under Section 7 of the Terrorism Act. Schedule 7 gives officers their right to stop and search people "with or without suspicion." Rabbani was sentenced to one year conditional discharge; he plans to appeal.
September 25. Most British voters believe that Arabs have failed to integrate into British society, and that their presence has not been beneficial, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by the Council for Arab-British Understanding and the Arab News newspaper. Only 28% believe that migration from the Arab world has been beneficial to the UK, and 64% believe Arabs have failed to integrate.
September 26. Zameer Ghumra, a 38-year-old pharmacist from Leicester, was accused of showing beheading videos to young boys and telling them that they "had to kill" anyone who insulted Islam. Nottingham Crown Court heard that Ghumra believed in a "very, very, very extreme" form of Islam. He used a rented house to teach children about jihad and told them that they were not allowed to have non-Muslim friends. Ghumra also asked them to choose between going to Iraq or Syria, or staying in the UK and encouraging others to support the Islamic State.
September 26. Police launched a probe into an alleged sexual grooming ring targeting teenagers in Glasgow. Girls as young as 14 are thought to have been targeted by men in the city center. A social worker told the Evening Times that the area is "rife" with child exploitation problems. One of the victims, a 17-year-old girl, is understood to have been taken to houses in Govanhill and Dennistoun for sex with multiple men. A relative said: "This really is just our worst nightmare, it's this Rochdale and Rotherham-type stuff but it's happening here in Glasgow in a big way. Nobody seems to be doing anything to stop it, all the girls have been made to believe these men are their boyfriends. It is white females they are hitting on, aged 14 to 19."
September 26. The Wolsey Infant and Junior Academy, a school in New Addington, announced that it would only serve halal meat in the canteen. The move sparked outrage among parents, who insisted that halal should be optional.
September 26. The National Secular Society (NSS) reported that girls in dozens of schools in England were being made to wear the hijab or a headscarf as part of their official uniform policy. NSS research found that out of 142 Islamic schools that accepted girls, 59, or 42%, had uniform policies that suggested a headscarf or another form of hijab was compulsory. Ishtiaq Ahmed, spokesman for the Council for Mosques, said: "We have to accept that Britain, and a city like Bradford, is a multi-faith society, and faith is an important part of people's identity. It is about tolerance and respect, and making efforts to understand people's different way of life. People should have choices without the fear of being criticized."
September 27. A crowd of men wearing Islamic dress gathered outside a church in East London and repeatedly shouted "Allahu Akbar!" ("Allah is the Greatest") into a microphone while playing gunshot sounds at top volume on a loudspeaker. A video of the incident can be viewed here. A witness said: "I was alarmed, I did not know what was going on. When someone shouts Allahu Akbar while playing gunshot sounds on a speaker it is deliberately trying to alarm." Another witness said: "I was alarmed at first but you come to expect things like that, it's become common place in East London." London police said they were unaware of the incident.
September 28. Kamran Hussain, a 40-year-old imam at a mosque in Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of two charges of supporting the Islamic State and six of encouraging terrorism. The Pakistan-born Hussain was secretly recorded by an undercover officer giving a series of sermons in which he told children as young as ten that martyrdom was better than academic success. "When you don't fulfill the command of Allah, I'm coming to remove your head," he said. Hussain argued that the ability to discuss "difficult concepts in a challenging world" was an essential part of religion and claimed he was exercising his right to freedom of speech. Prosecutors said the 10 out of 17 sermons investigated "strayed beyond the mainstream moderate Islamic thought."
September 28. Soruth Ali, a 42-year-old restaurant owner in Manchester, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for beating his 17-year-old daughter and her secret boyfriend. Bolton Crown Court heard how Ali, a devout Muslim, went into a rage and grabbed a hammer when he found the two in bed together. The daughter said she had been forced to live "two lives" at home and was forced to wear a headscarf in front of her father. She added that she wanted to "live her own life." The court also heard that in 1995, Ali was convicted of raping a 15-year-old school girl and served seven years in prison. Ali has been banned from contacting his daughter for three years under the terms of a restraining order.
September 29. Henry Bolton, a former army officer, was elected to lead the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). Bolton, the party's fourth leader in a year, beat the two favorites, Anne-Marie Walters, an anti-Sharia activist who describes herself as "an opponent" of Islam, and Peter Whittle, who has publicly spoken of his opposition to boycotts of Israel. Bolton has pledged to take a softer line on Islam: "I absolutely abhor the rhetoric that says we are at war with Islam." He also promised to review UKIP's "integration agenda," which calls for a ban on full-face veils in public. The policy changes are likely to reduce UKIP's role as the country's primary opposition party resisting the Islamization of Britain.
September 30. British universities hosted 110 events featuring extremist speakers in the last academic year, 2016/17, with the highest proportion taking place in London institutions, according to a new report by the Henry Jackson Society. The extremist events were overwhelmingly organized by Islamic societies and groups and speakers included former Guantanamo Bay detainees and Islamists. The findings suggest that despite Prime Minister Theresa May's claim that "enough is enough," British universities continue to be a target for extremists promoting their messages.
**Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
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Blowing up the nuclear agreement
Salman al-Dosary/Al Arabiya/October 16/17
It was a matter of time before the clock ticks to reconsider the Iranian nuclear agreement, repeatedly described by US President Donald Trump as “the worst deal ever”. It is the worst. Trump needed 10 months to start an actual confrontation with Iran, while Obama took eight years to throw the safety buoy to Iran. Iran was delighted by the agreement since it is the greatest winner. Iran was allowed to exceed the limited heavy water quantities, which means that it would move on with its nuclear project. Even more dangerous is its terrorist arm IRGC, described by Trump as “the Iranian Supreme Leader’s corrupt personal terror force and militia”. Trump added that Iran spreads death, destruction, and chaos and doesn’t abide by the agreement spirit, but benefits from lifting the economic sanctions. Reimposing sanctions on Iran and its military militias (IRGC) was Trump’s new strategy to face a nuclear deal that has flaws and which undermined the regions’ states. Washington didn’t announce withdrawing from the agreement since this scenario is seen by US officials as a knock out that would make European partners slam the US. Washington, however, chose a modest solution by neither withdrawing from the deal nor permitting it to continue with its dangerous impact on the world and region’s security and stability. Iran manipulated the world via the bad nuclear deal, its militias expanded more and it exploited its IRGC in strengthening its militias
An extremist regime
Trump decertified that Iran committed to the deal, describing it as an extremist regime. He added that the topic will be referred to the Congress and US allies will be consulted on ways to amend the deal. This step probably aims at dragging Iran to breach the deal or withdraw it, decreasing Washington’s responsibility infront of European allies. More than two years since signing the deal, Iran has earned a huge amount of money. The White House affirmed earlier that Iran has recovered $50 billion of its foreign assets then started its attempts to open the nuclear door. It insisted on dealing with the missile file separately from the nuclear one. IRGC conducted several experiments on ballistic missiles, a matter described by Washington as a violation of the agreement. Iran manipulated the world via the bad nuclear deal, its militias expanded more and it exploited its IRGC in strengthening its militias. If Iran was left to go on with its subversive strategy during the agreement deal without confronting it, then it would have been impossible to halt its terrorism around the world at a point where its militant arms would have expanded and become a reality such as “Hezbollah” in Lebanon.
When enthusiasm was at its peak after announcing the nuclear deal in 2015, Saudi Arabia remained among the few states that sensed danger. It was frank in expressing concerns over Iran not abiding by the deal and warned the Iranians of their intervention policy in the region. The kingdom considered that using the lift of economic sanctions term to cause tension will be faced decisively by the region states.
Sabotage project
Back then, it was said that Riyadh is being strict towards the chance to contain Iran and return it to a normal state to the international community. Here is the US proving that Riyadh was right and affirming that it wasn’t a strict stance but a forecast vision to an infidel state that was granted several chances but remained adamant to its project of sabotage. In her book “Hard Choices”, former United States Secretary of State and one of the main sponsors of this agreement Hillary Clinton said that nothing makes the US trust the Iranians. She added that despite reaching a nuclear agreement, Iran remains a threat to the international community, US, and allies – due to its hostile attitude and support to terrorism. This reveals that the agreement was a purpose for the Obama administration and not a means to terminate the danger of Iran. Maybe it is finally time to snatch the winning card from Iran, which it has been exploiting to spread terrorism in the world.

Who is driving Qatar into suffocating, costly isolation?
Mohammed Al Shaikh/Al Arabiya/October 16/17
A top Qatari investor in Doha Stock Exchange recently appeared on Al-Jazeera television channel to reassure Qatari and foreign investors that the stock situation is alright. This has come following the news of many investors exiting the market as they feared a dark future especially that the quartet’s boycott is still on and there are little indications of it ending soon. The investor, Jaber bin Hajjaj Al-Ashahwani, broke down as he called on the Qataris to feel for Qatar as he saw how capital inflow has stopped in the exchange because they are worried about the boycott and fear that they will lose their capital and profit.
As a result, the stock exchange has lost many of its traded funded. The Qatari government’s efforts did not reassure investors even though it pumped government funds to revive the stock exchange. The economic situation, particularly the stock exchanges, are the most credible when detecting reactions to any political development as these numbers do not lie. This is how analysts figure out people’s real opinion away from the media fuss, which may depict a wrong picture about the situation of a country. Yes, Qatar is a rich country and its population is small, which makes its citizens rich. However, investors are fleeing the country, which is draining the economy. This indicates what the Qatari citizens cannot disclose as they fear the government’s suppression. The government of Hamad bin Khalifa and Hamad bin Jassim does not hesitate to punish anyone who dares criticize it and oppose it. Punitive measures can go as far as revoking citizenships. Qatar’s situation resembles that of a human being who refuses to admit he is ill and in need of treatment and insists on maintaining his lifestyle
Refusal to admit
Qatar’s situation resembles that of a human being who refuses to admit he is ill and in need of treatment and insists on maintaining his lifestyle until his condittion gets worse and it’s impossible to control the disease. A skilled politician does not include words like stubbornness in his dictionary.
He only insists on something when persistence is in his favor and backs down when he realizes that persistence may harm his country’s interest. However, the government of Hamad bin Khalifa and Hamad bin Jassim foolishly addresses political matters. All they do is lie and they are basically lying to themselves before lying to others. They say the Qatari treasury has huge funds but I am certain that they will not be able to withstand the situation forever especially after their attempts to internationalize their cause failed and the world ignored them or only sympathized with them via statements.
As I have said before, Qatar will be forced to submit as the Qataris will not be able to bear the isolation they are suffering from. Moreover, trying to please people inside Qatar by pumping money into the market is a policy which the regime cannot continue to adopt.
This is more so especially that their advisors from the Arabs of the North, mainly Azmi Bechara, will eventually realize that they are the ones who misled Hamad bin Khalifa and Hamad bin Jassim and led them to this suffocating and costly isolation.

Was it the Kurds who brought foreigners to Iraq?
Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/October 16/17
We are on the verge of a new civil war in Iraq between the Kurds and Baghdad’s authority, which is dominated by Shiite parties. The sectarian part of the war will be between the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Popular Mobilization while on another hand it will be between the Iraqi army forces and Kurdistan’s army.
The line of fire, which may spark clashes, is the Kirkuk front, the Iraqi city known for its petroleum and mixed identity as the Kurds insist that it is Kurdish and belongs to the Kurdistan region. Baghdad is using the constitution as a pretext to confirm that the Kurds, led by Masoud Barzani, violated the constitution and created a de facto power base. Baghdad concluded that the independence referendum is worthless and unconstitutional. Baghdad has Arab and Islamic regional and international support while Erbil stands alone due to Barzani’s stubborn decision to hold the referendum. What’s interesting though is the argument brought up by the Iraqi authority regarding the Kirkuk battle. The Iraqi authority reproached the Kurds, and we wish it reproached them for something shameful! They said Erbil resorted to foreign fighters from the Kurdistan’s Workers Party and this, according to the Ministerial Council for National Security’s statement, amounts to “dragging the country to domestic fighting to achieve the aim of fragmenting Iraq and the region to establish a state on ethnic basis.” Baghdad’s statement also accused Iraq’s Kurds of “seeking to make demographic changes.”
Baghdad has Arab and Islamic regional and international support while Erbil stands alone due to Barzani’s firm decision to hold the referendum
The Iraqi Kurds
How are the Iraqi Kurds supposed to respond to these accusations? An official of the Kurdistan Region Security Council said the Popular Mobilization forces who stand at the gates of Kirkuk and threaten the Peshmerga consist of Shiite factions supported by Iran.
The right thing to do here is to look into what led to the current disastrous situation instead of standing still at the present moment! Yes, Baghdad’s government is right about wanting to maintain the constitution and protect Iraq’s unity and it is right about rejecting the Iraqi Kurds’ move of seeking the help of an armed Kurdish-Turkish group –Erbil of course denies this accusation. However what about the philosophy and doctrine of the so-called Popular Mobilization in Iraq? Who are they? Where do they derive their ideology from and who trains them? What about Qais Khazali, Aws al-Khafaji, Hadi Al-Amiri and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis? What is the nature of the link between the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Quds Brigade, under Qassem Soleimani’s command, to these militant formations? What about protecting the sense of Iraqi patriotism that is not flavored with sectarian chants? This is the point and this is what led the Kurds to say what they said and do what they did. IRIB reported that Revolutionary Guard Major General Abdullah Khosrawi died in Syria on Saturday after going there “to defend the shrines of Ahl al-Bayt.”

Trump and The Coup Against The Coup
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/October 16/17
Donald Trump did not shred the “very bad” nuclear deal with Iran. He has strongly shaken it and trembled the image that Iran tried to market at the international level after the signing of the agreement. He raised doubts and asked questions about what his predecessor, Barack Obama, considered the most important achievement of his era.The deal was not the most important part of the president’s speech. It was rather the message that Iran’s problem with the world and the Middle East is about its role outside its borders, long before its nuclear dream; as if he wanted to say that the role is more dangerous than the bomb, and that thinking about the bomb may be aimed at protecting the ability to maintain this role.
The American president awakened memories and facts that Obama was keen to forget. He recalled the bloody events in the Iranian-American relations since the victory of the Khomeini revolution. He reminded the Americans of their diplomats being held hostage at their country’s embassy in Tehran as Iranians shouted “Death to America.” He has also mentioned the coffins of American soldiers returning from Beirut because of a bomb carrying the fingerprints of the Iranian intelligence.
Trump went beyond the aspect of bilateral relations. He accused Iran of being “the biggest supporter of terrorism in the world”, harboring al-Qaeda officials, and turning a destabilizing approach into a permanent policy. He also pointed to the Revolutionary Guard’s role and weapons in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.  The US president seemed to be putting together accusations as a prelude to trial, or as someone preparing a complete file to justify the “new strategy” toward Iran.
This strategy contains a clear message to the people of the Middle East. He said: “We will revitalize our traditional alliances and regional partnerships as bulwarks against Iranian subversion and restore a more stable balance of power in the region… We will work to deny the Iranian regime ... funding for its malign activities.” The Treasury’s sanctions against the Revolutionary Guard were the first fruits of Trump’s words.
Many points have to be considered in Trump’s position. He placed Iran back in the center of danger, after Korea occupied this place in the previous weeks. It became clear that Trump considers his first test to be in the Middle East, not along China’s borders. Trump also re-emphasized the danger posed by the Iranian role, which is translated in a large-scale attack on the Middle East region - an area that concerns the world in terms of its wealth, stability and balance of power.
The third message is that America, which has signed the nuclear agreement with Iran, is not in a position, especially under the current administration, to consider violations that Iran has made in a number of Arab countries as a de-facto reality that must be recognized. This practically means that Washington does not recognize Tehran’s right to have the last say in Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Sana’a, and refuses that Qassem Soleimani becomes the chief of generals in the four capitals.
What Trump has publicly announced from the White House is what US diplomats say in closed rooms and private meetings. His position is also consistent with the stance of US generals who worked in Iraq and witnessed the size of the coup led by Iran in the region, especially after the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime…A coup that is waged “by militias, rockets and small mobile armies and by destroying the immunity of international borders,” as described by an Arab official.
Trump’s speech turning into policies on the ground will certainly reverse the approach Obama has taken in his last years in power. An American diplomat says he has asked Obama more than once to allow some weapons into Syria to restore balance that would force the regime to engage in serious negotiations. He adds that Obama’s consistent position was based on three rejections: No to war against Iran in Syria, no to a position threatening US special forces in Iraq, and no to a stance threatening nuclear negotiations with Iran.
The diplomat concludes that Iran was more interested in field expansions than its nuclear program, and thus succeeded in “changing the positions of countries and their political and sectarian balances and altering the environment of historic Arab capitals.”
America’s allies and friends had feelings of resentment when Obama insisted on reading the whole region’s file based on his desire to accomplish the Iranian nuclear deal. They considered his position a coup to the pillars of the US traditional policy, which was focused on the security of its allies and its commitment to address any threat to their stability. Trump’s speech turning into a specific policy is aimed at containing the Iranian fiasco in the region. In coordination with Washington’s historic friends, this policy would certainly be the largest response to the great Iranian coup, which is aimed at besieging and destabilizing influential countries in the region and weakening their strategic importance.
There is no return to a degree of stability in the region unless the balance of power is adjusted by new regulations that require armies to be stationed within their own countries and that force militias to leave the territory of others.
Arab moderates do not see an opportunity of this kind without an American role that will revive the red lines in the face of successive coups and the spread of militias. In this context, it is possible to understand Saudi Arabia’s support for the “firm strategy” announced by Trump, and the phone call made by King Salman bin Abdulaziz with Trump after the latter’s speech. Trump has returned the issue of the Iranian role to the international agenda. This was evident in the conversation between Angela Merkel and Theresa May. While the two officials stressed their adherence to the nuclear agreement with Iran, they underlined the need for the international community to face the Persian State’s destabilizing policies – an issue that will be discussed in the coming days on the European table.
It is obvious that Iran is angered with the new attention to its destabilizing role. We must wait and see whether it would respond by its old means and where. It is certain that Trump’s speech turning into a policy represents a major coup against the Iranian coup, which has benefited greatly from the invasion of Iraq, Obama’s withdrawal tendencies, and the emergence of ISIS and its horrific practices.

The New Strategy and Attempts to Contain Iran
David Ignatius/Asharq Al Awsat/October 16/17
Donald Trump is notorious in the business world for stiffing other companies when it’s time to pay the bill — offering partial settlement of what he owes and proposing to negotiate the rest. Trump did a version of that Friday when he announced he will stay in the Iran nuclear deal for now, but quit if he can’t get better terms. Trump’s speech tossed a verbal grenade into a turbulent Middle East. This may have been the goal of a president who styles himself as “the great disrupter.” But it fuels regional feuds that Trump can’t control and provokes disputes with both allies and adversaries that may frustrate America’s interest in curbing Iran’s bad behavior. The volatility of the region was demonstrated anew Friday, as Iranian-backed Shiite militias and Iraqi government troops massed near Kirkuk, Iraq, threatening Kurdish forces there that have been crucial to US allies against ISIS.
That’s the maddening challenge for US policy in the Middle East, now as always: The United States may seek to squeeze Iranian proxies, but Tehran is positioned to strike back — in ways that could endanger US partners, such as the Kurds, and even American troops.
On the nuclear deal, Trump’s speech was heading in two directions at once. For the near term, he waffled, saying Iran was “not living up to the spirit of the deal,” but tossing the issue of imposing tougher terms in Iran to Congress. But the speech included this harsh warning: “In the event we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, then the agreement will be terminated.”
European reaction was swift, and unhappy. About an hour after Trump had finished speaking, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement urging Congress not to enact new sanctions that would “undermine” the deal and stressing that their three nations, which helped negotiate the deal, “stand committed” to its implementation.
The European statement is important for two reasons. It shows that Trump’s hope of gaining allied support for reopening negotiations (he wants to extend the term of the agreement and provide tougher enforcement) are almost certainly misplaced. Perhaps more important, Iranian contacts have told me that if Europe reaffirms its compliance with the deal (as the three leaders just did), and Congress (as expected) doesn’t legislate new sanctions, then Iran is likely to remain in compliance, too. So the European statement may help keep the deal in limbo, for now.
Trump’s top foreign-policy advisers had been pitching the Iran speech as part of a broad effort to control Tehran’s aggressive behavior in the region. A White House fact sheet issued before the speech spent four pages on Iran’s mischievous behavior and added only a brief section saying the nuclear deal “must be strictly enforced” and the International Atomic Energy Agency “must fully utilize its inspection authorities.”
This same theme of a broad campaign against Iranian behavior was voiced in a telephone interview Friday morning by a senior administration official who’s helping to implement the strategy. He talked about moves to counter Iran in Yemen, Lebanon, the Persian Gulf and elsewhere. And he asserted that European allies “are already working with us” to curb the Iranians. Several hours later, the three European leaders issued their critical statement.
The new confrontation between Iraqi forces and Kurds is an example of how complicated the regional terrain is, and how vulnerable US interests are to local feuds.
The Iraqi government, still fuming about the Kurdish independence referendum last month, has reportedly massed troops and artillery near the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk. According to a Kurdish source, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has given the Kurds a list of six demands, including turning over control of Kirkuk’s airport, oil fields and military checkpoints to the Shi’ite-dominated Iraqi military.
A top Kurdish official asserted in an email: “It’s important that the world knows Qassem Suleimani [the head of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] is running this campaign.” That claim couldn’t be verified, but it illustrates regional anxieties.
Facing so many flashpoints in trying to contain Iran, Trump has chosen to put the nuclear issue center stage, once again. Rather than focusing on Iranian behavior, Congress and foreign allies will instead be preoccupied anew with Trump’s threatening statements about the future of the nuclear agreement. It will be about Trump, more than Iran. But maybe that’s the way he wants it.

Trump's Iran Plan Does Too Much and Too Little
Meghan O’Sullivan/Bloomberg/October 16/17
President Donald Trump’s advisers are at pains to emphasize that Friday’s speech on Iran policy was an effort to lay out a comprehensive strategy to tackle the malign behavior of the Tehran regime, not just an announcement that the president had refused to certify Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. Their frustration that the headlines missed the forest for the trees is understandable -- given the need for an Iran policy, not simply an Iran nuclear strategy, which was essentially the approach of the Barack Obama administration.
But Trump’s advisers only have the president -- and not the media -- to blame. The Iran nuclear deal has long been the focal point of the president’s rhetoric and was the centerpiece of the speech. And the decertification of the deal was one of the few tangible actions outlined by the president.
This focus on decertifying the Iran deal, reached between the US, five other major powers and Iran -- is not just a distraction from the bigger picture: Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region. In fact, it also undermines US efforts to execute a strategy aimed at reducing Iran’s influence. While decertification brings with it an array of costs, it brings no obvious benefits.
The main motivation for decertifying the deal seems to be the need to scratch a high-priority presidential itch. As the world knows, while the International Atomic Energy Agency and other entities have judged that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal, Trump is uncomfortable certifying it every 90 days, as required by Congress. His refusal to do so today must give the president a certain amount of satisfaction, given how unequal he perceives the terms of the deal to have been. And he has a point. But the decertification is not linked to the rest of a more comprehensive strategy in any way; none of the steps laid out in the speech require the president make such a determination before they can be taken.
Instead, the failure to certify Iran’s compliance will make the stated objectives -- to deter and prevent Iran from undertaking malign activities in the region from Syria to Iraq to Yemen --harder to achieve. Few people or governments will understand the difference between the president’s decision not to certify the deal from a complete US withdrawal of support for the deal. How many Americans -- or others -- know the difference between the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action? The first is the U.S. domestic law that requires certification; the second is the international accord with Iran, and US participation in it is not related to certification in any direct manner.
This complexity will help the president appear to be delivering on a campaign promise to “rip up” the pact. But it will also have the unfortunate downside of confusing allies, making it harder to work with them to bring additional pressure to bear on Iran outside of the deal. Moreover, it plays into Iranian propaganda and seems to reinforce Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s longstanding mantra that the US cannot be trusted and is really seeking regime change above all else.
Moreover, Trump’s tough rhetoric obviously has repercussions within Iranian society. It undermines those in Iran who have been advocates of the deal -- and strengthens its opponents. At the top of the list of those opponents is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps -- the group responsible for Iran's efforts to destabilize the Middle East. Strengthening the very actor that you most want to debilitate seems to be a poor approach.
Finally, if -- as is very possible -- the move not to decertify is answered by congressional crickets, Trump could find himself weakened, not strengthened. Surely, no president wants to declare his position that an agreement entered into by his government is flawed and against the US interests -- only to see nothing happen. This will leave the president looking as if he is all talk and no action.
The starting point for Friday’s speech was correct: The US needs a more comprehensive strategy toward Iran, one that addresses its problematic behavior in the region. But a much better approach would have had very different components.
First, it would not have made the nuclear deal the focus, but would have put it in the proper context: a transactional agreement about one particularly problematic behavior (the nuclear file), but not a transformational agreement that can only be viewed as failing in light of Iran’s continued misdeeds in other domains.
Second, Trump could have alleviated the discomfort he feels in repeatedly certifying the agreement by working with Congress to find a way to designate that responsibility to another member of his administration. This would not be unusual; in other circumstances, the certification required by lawmakers is made by the secretary of state or other cabinet members. The president actually made a reference to this possibility when he said, “this law requires the president, or his designee, to certify that the suspension of sanctions under the deal is “appropriate and proportionate” to measure -- and other measures taken by Iran to terminate its illicit nuclear program.”
Third, tangible measures to increase pressure on Iran to curb its meddling in other parts of the Middle East would have been the cornerstone of the strategy articulated Friday -- rather than a sideshow. Such steps have been widely expected, and do not run afoul of the nuclear deal unless they replicate the sanctions that were lifted as its result of its signing. Steps to curb financing of terrorist groups and sanctions against the IRGC are fair game even while adhering to the pact. Notably, although complicated, a stronger approach might have involved some military measures; past experience tells us that the IRGC curbs its behavior when confronted more directly, as the US did in 2007 under the surge strategy in Iraq.
Fourth, had the president been silent on certification, congressional efforts -- such as those led by Senator Bob Corker -- to lay out conditions under which lawmakers could impose new sanctions might have actually provided the Trump administration with some leverage. As has been true in other cases, from Libya to China, the administration could have found its efforts to gain greater cooperation from allies were enhanced by the perception that it is under great pressure from Congress to see tangible results. Instead, current congressional initiatives look a lot like what they are -- efforts to stave off the most destructive behaviors of the administration -- and are unlikely to help the president extract more cooperation from allies.
Finally, a solid strategy toward Iran would of course need to address the country’s nuclear pursuits. But rather than focus on renegotiating the elements of the deal as it stands, a comprehensive US policy might have shifted gears to focus on what happens when elements of the deal start to expire. This is the only way to approach the very real question of what constraints will remain on Iran years later down the road.

Trump’s Iran strategy: Rhetoric and bluster, or aggressive containment?
Baria Alamuddin/ArabNews/October 16/17
President Donald Trump had scarcely finished his long-awaited announcement decertifying the Iran nuclear deal, when Iranian proxy forces were already massing around the Iraqi city of Kirkuk digging in for war against the Kurds — sending a chilling implicit message to all those who dared to threaten Iran.
One Western “expert” after another criticized Trump, while studiously ignoring the most dangerous aspects of Iran’s activities. Indeed, Tehran’s nuclear program is the least of our immediate concerns. Iran-backed militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen and a plethora of paramilitaries in Syria are now deciding issues of war and peace in these states — on behalf of Tehran.
There is a refusal to recognize that since signing the 2015 deal, Iran’s regional posture has become exponentially more aggressive, largely through proxy forces that boast about aspiring to attack Western targets. European nations such as Germany, France and Italy are so enraptured by the economic dividends of reengaging with Iran that they are blinded to the fact that the Islamic Republic is existentially hostile to their values and interests. Just hours after Britain called on Trump to uphold the nuclear deal, it emerged that Tehran had been behind a major cyber-attack against dozens of British MPs.
Is Trump serious about getting tough with Tehran? Beyond the desire to undermine Obama’s legacy, will he settle for angry rhetoric and incremental tightening of sanctions, while casually tossing international consensus about the nuclear deal into confusion?
Such a vacuous approach would be music to the ears of Iran’s leadership, who burnish their legitimacy and unity through anti-American saber-rattling. Indeed, Rouhani (habitually portrayed as a consummate moderate and enemy of the hardliners) immediately came out and furiously attacked Trump, and affirmed his support for the Revolutionary Guards. IRGC leaders were meanwhile threatening to “bury” Trump. Supreme Leader Khamenei must have been thrilled!
Trump is correct that the nuclear deal is deeply flawed, with many military sites unregulated and the ballistic program unabated. The 1994 US nuclear deal with North Korea gave Pyongyang space to pursue its breakout capabilities. Do we intend to allow Tehran to reach the position Pyongyang is in today, where it can threaten the world with impunity? Indeed, failing to act decisively against these proliferators sends the message that the spineless international community can’t and won’t take action when these rogue states imperil global security.
Sanctions must be just one strand of a multifaceted containment strategy: Countering Tehran’s espionage, money-laundering, propaganda and cyberspace capabilities; liaising with allies to obstruct the Revolutionary Guards’ illicit economic activities, including revenue-generating involvement in arms and narcotics smuggling.
The US Administration’s language on sanctions against the Revolutionary Guards appears to be deliberately ambiguous, falling short on clearly designating the entire IRGC as a terrorist entity. However, in any case, we must be clear that new sanctions are not a game-changer: There are few IRGC officials stupid enough still to have European bank accounts, or who would be significantly affected by travel bans. Just as Saddam Hussein’s regime made a fortune by monopolizing circumvention of the UN Oil-for-Food program, many measures against Iran simply enrich those Trump seeks to target.
Tehran ran rings around Obama because ultimate deterrence was off the table, meaning parties to the deal were negotiating from a position of weakness; deliberately ignoring Iran’s nefarious activities in order to nail down a narrow nuclear proliferation accord. Nobody wants war, yet Iran is a bully state which only understands the language of force, and doesn’t hesitate to use violence against weaker peoples.
With his first genuine challenge, this is when the world will find out what the US president is made of.
Investment in transnational proxies has bought Tehran a frontline of defense, the likes of which the world has never seen before. In neighboring states it is not Iranians fighting on behalf of the Islamic Republic, but impoverished Afghans, Pakistanis, Yemenis and brainwashed local Shiites, fighting for a few dollars a day for the honor of becoming cannon-fodder. Iran can thus sustain armies in the field for a fraction of the usual cost, with minimal exposure for Iranian nationals or territory. In Iraq around 80,000 of those Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi forces which answer to Tehran directly are paid from Baghdad’s state budget. These forces, complicit in human rights violations tantamount to sectarian cleansing, supplement their income through extortion, smuggling and demanding ransoms for abducted Sunni citizens. Should we allow Iran to extend its paramilitary franchises to the GCC, Central Asia, Africa and beyond?
Control of states like Syria is a means to an end. Tehran’s aggressive regional stance is a bridgehead for attacking regional and Western targets. Middle Eastern oil reserves are central to global energy security. With Tehran’s ability to block the Straits of Hormuz at will, its penetration through the Mediterranean and its use of Houthi proxies to menace shipping through the Mandib Strait, Iran can hold the global economy to ransom.
Iran’s proxies have exploited tensions around the Kurdish referendum to pursue territorial claims across central Iraq. Hashd leaders repeatedly threatened to use force to secure control of Kirkuk. There have been skirmishes in other cities along this Kurd-Arab faultline in recent weeks. The Kurds are perceived as having benefited from US support and thus any offensive against them can partly be interpreted as a personal rebuke to Trump.
At moments over recent months there appeared to be a US desire to reinforce its Kurdish and Arab allies in eastern Syria to prevent Iranian proxies regaining control of this vast region from Daesh. But US military leaders drew back from this option, fearing prolonged confrontation – allowing Tehran to win another round in this regional chess-match.
Trump is blessed with senior officials like H.R. McMaster and James Mattis with decades of experience in grappling with Iranian meddling. Trump must use the vast resources of his presidency to consolidate international support behind a multi-faceted campaign against Tehran’s expansionist policies.
An experienced European diplomat told me that all eyes now are on the Revolutionary Guards. Will they deflect attention, or provoke Trump further with renewed missile tests and confrontational military posturing”
Likewise, this is the moment of truth when we discover what Trump is made of. Will he settle for bluster and rhetoric, while ultimately allowing Tehran to become the unchallenged power in the Middle East? Or is he serious about a far-reaching and decisive strategy to contain and push back Iran?
• Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate, a foreign editor at Al-Hayat, and has interviewed numerous heads of state.