LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 02/17
Compiled &
Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For
Today
Whoever does not carry the cross and follow
me cannot be my disciple
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 14/25-35/:"Large crowds were
travelling with him; and he turned and said to them, ‘Whoever comes to me and
does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes,
and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross
and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a
tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has
enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able
to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, "This fellow began
to build and was not able to finish."Or what king, going out to wage war against
another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten
thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he
cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks
for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you
do not give up all your possessions. ‘Salt is good; but if salt has lost its
taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is fit neither for the soil nor for
the manure heap; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’
This is the message you have heard from the
beginning, that we should love one another
First Letter of John 03/11-22/:"This is the message you have heard from the
beginning, that we should love one another. We must not be like Cain who was
from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because
his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be astonished,
brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed from
death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in
death. All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that
murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. We know love by this, that
he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for one
another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees
a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love,
not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we
are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts
condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we
receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what
pleases him."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on September 01-02/17
Politico's Jihad against Walid Phares Tries Again, and
Fails Again/Rebecca Bynum/Jerome B. Gordon/Family Security Matters/August 31/17
Khomeini or Kim? Khamenei’s Real Teacher/Amir Taheri//Asharq Al Awsat/September
01/17
Washington Remains United Behind NATO/Kay Bailey Hutchison/The New York
Times//September 01/17
Action is Needed to Save Idlib before it’s too Late/Charles Lister/Asharq Al
Awsat/September 01/17
What Is The Concrete & Abstract Thinking/Brain Injury Association of New York
State/September 01/17
UN Chief Guterres, the Media and Palestinian Fake News/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone
Institute/September 01/17
Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
September 01-02/17
Macron Vows Economic Support for Lebanon in Talks with
Hariri
Hariri Says He and Aoun Allowed IS to 'Cross' to Syria, Denies Presence of
Missile Factories
Gemayel Slams 'Crime' of Asking Army to Stop Its Offensive
US prevents evacuation of IS fighters
Iraqi Forces Divided over Hezbollah Deal with ISIS
Nasrallah: I Met Assad over ISIS Evacuation to Syria
International Coalition Forces Still Monitoring ISIS Convoy in Syria
Muslims around world celebrate Eid as hajj enters final days
Macron receives Hariri: Two conferences to support the Lebanese economy and the
return of the Syrian refugees
Derian praises work of Lebanese Army, Security Forces in fighting against
terrorism
Wastnage congratulates Lebanese Army on success of "Fajr el Jouroud" operation
Mustafa Hujeiri's son arrested in Arsal
Rahi congratulates Aoun on 'Greater Lebanon' declaration commemoration, Muslims
on Adha Feast
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports
And News published on September 01-02/17
Iraq Announces Security Plan Amid Fears of Terrorist
Attacks during Adha
Iraq Declares Victory Over ISIS in Tal Afar
Kuwaiti Emir Visits Washington to Meet with Trump
Israel Shuts Down Radio Station in Khalil, Launches Wide Campaign of Arrests in
West Bank
Pope, Orthodox patriarch call for action against climate change
Two more Germans arrested in Turkey 'for political reasons'
Pending Trump immigration action could pressure Hill to act
Trump administration selects construction firms to build US border wall
prototypes
Turkey's Erdogan says US arrest of guards involved in Washington brawl a
'scandal'
UK to Send More Troops to Iraq to Bolster Anti-IS Fight
U.S. General Says al-Baghdadi Likely Still Alive
Russia Voices 'Regret' at U.S. Order to Shut San Francisco Consulate
Latest Lebanese Related News published on
September 01-02/17
U.N. Chief Affirms Support for UNIFIL Commander
Naharnet/Associated Press/September
01/17/U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the extension of a
longtime peacekeeping operation in Lebanon, reiterating support for a commander
who drew U.S. criticism. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement that
the peacekeeping mission, known as UNIFIL, will keep enhancing its operations
and Guterres has confidence in its leadership and staff. The Security Council
renewed the mission on Wednesday, with new instructions for more patrols with
Lebanese forces and detailed reports when peacekeepers run into roadblocks in
Hizbullah strongholds in southern Lebanon. The U.S. and Israel pushed for the
changes, saying UNIFIL wasn't doing enough to stop an alleged Hizbullah buildup
of illegal weapons. U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Nikki Haley also said UNIFIL's
commander was "blind" to Hizbullah. The commander said he had no evidence it was
happening.
Macron Vows Economic Support for Lebanon in Talks with Hariri
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 01/17/French President Emmanuel Macron
emphasized Friday that France will continue to stand by Lebanon following talks
in Paris with Prime Minister Saad Hariri. “France will continue to stand by
Lebanon and this will be reflected in the economic ties between the two
nations,” said Macron at a joint press conference with Hariri. “The visit
signals the strong relation between our two countries. There are issues that we
want to reinforce, especially amid the difficult situation that Lebanon is
facing. We will continue to stand by Lebanon and we will follow up on the
various issues during President Michel Aoun’s visit to Paris in a few weeks,”
the French leader added. “We want to encourage the reinforcement of the Lebanese
state and its institutions and we will lead our bilateral cooperation within
this spirit,” Macron went on to say. Referring to the Lebanese army’s latest
operation against Islamic State militants on the eastern border, the French
president saluted the armed forces for “their constant efforts to protect
Lebanon and the Lebanese border.” “I assert France’s full support for the UNIFIL
forces and we will carry on with our military and security cooperation” with
Lebanon, Macron added.
As for the burden of the Syrian refugee crisis on Lebanon, France’s leader said
“Lebanon will remain the first recipient of French aid related to the Syrian
crisis given the burden it is shouldering.”Macron also said he hoped to organize
an international conference early next year in Beirut on facilitating the return
of Syrian refugees, saying this was crucial for "stabilizing Syria and the
entire region."Lebanon currently hosts more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees.
Hariri for his part thanked France for its support for the renewal of UNIFIL’s
mandate, the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the Lebanese army.
“The issue of refugees is very difficult for Lebanon and it is posing a major
burden to the Lebanese economy, security and environment,” the PM added. “We
must strengthen the relation (between Lebanon and France) in all fields,” Hariri
went on to say. The premier had started his official visit to France on Thursday
with meetings with his French counterpart and the ministers of foreign affairs,
economy, finance and European affairs.
Hariri Says He and Aoun Allowed IS to 'Cross' to Syria, Denies
Presence of Missile Factories
Naharnet/September 01/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri has revealed that he and
President Michel Aoun had allowed Islamic State jihadists to “cross the border”
into Syria as part of a ceasefire agreement, while noting that “their transfer
in buses to eastern Syria was the decision of Hizbullah and the Syrians.”
“What’s important to us was the safety of our troops,” Hariri told France’s Le
Monde daily when asked how “300 IS fighters managed to leave the Qalamun region
safely.”“A major anti-IS battle occurred in 2014 and a number of soldiers were
abducted and killed by IS. We didn’t know where they were buried and we did not
want anyone else to get killed, that’s why we tightened our siege and they (IS
militants) suggested negotiations,” Hariri explained. “They gave us information
about the location of the soldiers’ bodies and, in return, these fighters were
able to leave Lebanese territory without fighting, along with their families,”
he added. Told that Hizbullah played “a bigger role than the army in the Arsal
battles in July and in Qalamun in August,” Hariri said: “This is what Hizbullah
is claiming but in fact it was the Lebanese army that played the bigger role and
did everything.”“I know how the army carried out its offensive… What’s important
to us is that IS has no presence in Lebanon anymore,” the premier added. The
controversial truce deal was negotiated between IS and Hizbullah, which fought a
week-long offensive against IS on Syria's side of the border, at the same time
as the Lebanese army’s assault on Lebanon’s side of the frontier. The agreement
has been criticized inside Lebanon, as well by the U.S.-led coalition fighting
IS in Syria and Iraq and especially by Baghdad, which protested that the
jihadists were being brought to its doorstep. Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah has argued that the deal was necessary to acquire information about
the fate of Lebanese soldiers taken hostage by IS three years ago. Separately,
Hariri was asked about Israel’s allegations that Iran has built secret Hizbullah-run
missile factories in Lebanon. “The Israelis know very well that there are no
missile factories in Lebanon. They are used to launching these disinformation
campaigns. They claim that Hizbullah is in control of Lebanon and this is not
true. Hizbullah has a presence -- it is present in the government and it enjoys
support in the country -- but this does not mean that Hizbullah is in control of
entire Lebanon,” Hariri emphasized.
“Our problem with Israel is that its leaders always talk about war and security
but never about peace,” Hariri added. Asked whether Syrian refugees in Lebanon
should “return to their country,” the prime minister said: “In Lebanon, some are
saying that we should restore ties with Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Look at Iraq,
Jordan and Egypt. These countries have ties with the Syria regime but despite
that, refugees there have not returned to Syria.”“They will not return home as
long as the current regime is present there. As long as I’m not given a green
light from the U.N. for a safe return by the refugees, I will not do anything,”
Hariri added.
Gemayel Slams 'Crime' of
Asking Army to Stop Its Offensive
Naharnet/September 01/17/Kataeb
Party chief MP Sami Gemayel has slammed the ruling class for “asking the army to
stop its military operation” against the Islamic State group on the eastern
border. “What happened was a major victory for the army and the ruling class
tried to minimize it when it asked the army to stop the military operation,”
said Gemayel in remarks to al-Joumhouria newspaper published Friday. “That was
the biggest crime against the army, which was achieving a full, comprehensive
and flawless victory. The people must demand accountability for those who asked
the army to halt the offensive,” Gemayel added. The army had seized control of
100 square kilometers of territory, besieging IS militants in the remaining 20
square kilometers, when it declared a ceasefire on Sunday morning. The army said
the ceasefire was aimed at facilitating negotiations with IS over the fate of
nine soldiers abducted in 2014 and eventually murdered. The Hizbullah-led
agreement resulted in the recovery of the soldiers’ bodies, the evacuation of
hundreds of IS militants and their families to eastern Syria, and the handover
of a Hizbullah captive fighter and the bodies of several members of the
Iran-backed group.“Hizbullah conducted negotiations outside state institutions
while the army was fighting the battle and offering sacrifices. How can this
ruling class allow that its army be offering martyrs as it cedes the
responsibility for negotiations to another party?” Gemayel asked. “The political
class has lied to its army and I don’t know if officials can sleep at night
after what they did against the army,” he added. Gemayel’s remarks come after
Speaker Nabih Berri announced Wednesday that General Security chief Maj. Gen.
Abbas Ibrahim was representing the Lebanese state in the negotiations and that
the general had coordinated every move with President Michel Aoun and Prime
Minister Saad Hariri. Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has argued that
the evacuation negotiations with the IS group were "the only way" to recover the
bodies of the executed troops, describing the removal of IS from the Lebanese
border as the country's "Second Liberation Day".
US prevents evacuation of IS fighters
Washington Post/August 01/17/US WARPLANES on Wednesday blocked a convoy of hundreds of Islamic State fighters
who were heading to eastern Syria under the terms of a deal brokered by
Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement. The 310 fighters were travelling to the
Iraqi-Syrian border in a convoy of buses after Hezbollah and the Syrian
government permitted them to withdraw from a besieged enclave on the
Lebanese-Syrian border. The deal triggered a rare outburst of public anger
against Hezbollah even among some of its closest allies, notably in Iraq, which
is gearing up for an offensive to reclaim Iraqi territory adjoining the area to
which the fighters were relocating. Negotiated withdrawals have been a common
tactic in Syria’s six-year war and have enabled the Syrian government to
reassert its authority over many of the areas that fell to opposition control.
But this was the first publicly announced instance of a deal involving the IS on
any battle front in Syria or Iraq since the war against the group geared up
three years ago. The criticisms laid bare a widening rift between the US-led
coalition battling the IS and the rival coalition fighting the extremists that
includes the Shia Hezbollah movement, Syria and the Iranian-backed Shia militias
in Iraq.
On Wednesday morning, the US-led coalition moved to prevent the convoy from
reaching its destination, cratering the road and blowing up a bridge leading to
the Islamic State-controlled town of Bukamal on the Syrian border with Iraq,
according to a US military spokesman, Colonel Ryan Dillon.
The strikes took place in the vicinity of a desert town called Hamaymah, and
though front lines are fluid and shifting in that part of Syria, it is the US
military’s understanding that the convoy is now stuck in Syrian government-held
territory, Dillon said. “Isis (IS) is a global threat, and to relocate
terrorists from one place to another for someone else to deal with is not
acceptable to the coalition,” he said, using an alternative acronym for the
Islamic State. The US military said airstrikes targeted a number of individual
vehicles and fighters that were “clearly identified as Isis". The strikes and
the criticisms triggered a defensive response from Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah, who called the deal a “great victory” in a televised speech on
Monday. “The number of those transferred was not big: 310 tired, broken,
militants who had surrendered and lost the willpower to fight will not change
the course of the battle in Deir al-Zour, where there are tens of thousands of
fighters,” Nasrallah said on Wednesday, referring to the province where the IS
fighters were headed. He pointed out that the fighters were being transferred
from one border region of Syria to another, not to Iraq. But the planned
relocation of the fighters to a town right on the Iraqi border, where they would
have easily been able to reinforce militants in Iraq, infuriated many Iraqis. In
addition to sending thousands of fighters to help Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad, Hezbollah has provided training and advice to some of the
Iranian-backed Shia militias fighting the IS in Iraq.
Anger erupted after photographs showing the armed IS fighters travelling across
Syria in air-conditioned buses - one of them marked with the words “Happy
Journey” - began circulating on social media. But the leader of one of the
Hezbollah-allied Iraqi militias countered the criticisms. Hadi al-Amiri, who
heads the Badr Organisation, said that negotiating with the IS could save lives,
and that he wished there had been a similar deal to avert the high death toll in
the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul. Under the arrangement negotiated over
the weekend, the fighters and their relatives were allowed to leave in return
for the bodies of nine captured Lebanese soldiers, the bodies of three Hezbollah
fighters and the body of an Iranian military adviser.
Iraqi Forces Divided over Hezbollah Deal with ISIS
Asharq Al-Awsat English/September 01/17/Baghdad– Disparity among Iraqi forces
surfaced following the “suspicious” deal between Lebanese Hezbollah and Syrian
regime from one side, and ISIS from the other.The deal granted ISIS militants a
safe exit from the Syrian-Lebanese borders towards the Syrian Deir Ezzor, near
the borders with Iraq’s Anbar, which prompted Peshmerga to announce their full
willingness to fight Qalamoun’s ISIS. The fiercest outrage is probably that of
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi which led Hezbollah’s Sec-Gen Hasan
Nasrallah to issue a statement explaining the details of the deal. Abadi said on
Tuesday that the deal was “unacceptable” and an “insult to the Iraqi people”. He
said Iraq was battling the fighters, not sending them to Syria. The only
supporting stance is possibly from Popular Mobilization Forces’ leader Abu Mahdi
al-Muhandis who sent Hezbollah leader a letter on Thursday expressing his
support. Muhandis praised Nasrallah saying they learned from him how to follow
this path, adding that over three decades ago was the spark, and now Hezbollah
leads a freedom project. He, however, didn’t refer to the transfer incident.
“Islamic Resistance in Lebanon and Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces join the
same front against terrorism, extremism and Zionism,” said Muhandis in his
letter. Meanwhile, Vice President Nouri al-Maliki, one of the prominent Shiites
and close to Hezbollah and Iran, was accredited for a statement on Thursday
condemning those criticizing the negotiation deal between Hezbollah and ISIS.
The statement denounced what Maliki described as “the systematic campaign
against Hezbollah, adding that transferring ISIS militants was “part of the
strategy against terrorism powers”, adding that every battle has its
circumstances and its tools for victory. However, his media bureau issued a
statement saying that the statement published on social media outlets is not
true and unofficial. PMF spokesperson Ahmed al-Assadi denied media allegations
that there had been an agreement between Baghdad and Hezbollah. He explained the
Iraqi government had no idea about this deal.
If Shiites were critical of what Hezbollah did, Sunni forces in Iraq were
outraged with Speaker Salim Jabburi denouncing the agreement. “Iraq should not
pay the price for agreements that affect its security and sovereignty,” he said
Wednesday, adding that the agreement was a return to square one and a
misrecognition of the martyrs’ souls. Jabouri asked the federal government to
take all necessary measures to overcome the repercussions of such an agreement.
He also urged the security and defense committee to issue an extensive report
detailing the consequences of the deal between Hezbollah and ISIS and how it is
reflected on the security and stability of Iraq. Member of parliamentary
security committee Mohammed al-Karbouli said that the issue is what the state
and the government will do and not the committee, which is incapable of doing
anything.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Karbouli warned of an imminent attack ISIS could
execute on Iraqi soil. He pointed out that transferring numbers of ISIS
militants to the border with Iraqi will grant the existing militants the moral
support they need after the losses they underwent in Iraq. Karbouli stated that
they have contacted the US administration and they haven’t received any response
yet. Muttahidoon Bloc, member of Sunni Iraq’s National Alliance, accused Iran of
being behind the suspicious deal between Hezbollah, backed by Syrian regime, and
ISIS.The bloc issued a statement in which its leader, Dhafer al-Ani said that
they were surprised with this deal, as if Iraq is a “dumpster for terrorists.”
He added that this deal, backed by Iran, is a misrecognition of Iraqis’ lives
and a direct threat for the national security. Spokesman of the Kurdistan Region
Presidency (KRP) Omid Sabah said the transfer of such a large number of forces
from east Syria to Iraqi border was very suspicious, adding that Kurdistan
region was keeping an eye on this movement.
Nasrallah: I Met Assad over ISIS Evacuation to Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat English/September 01/17/Beirut's suburbs November 14, 2013.
REUTERS/Beirut- Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday he
had traveled to Damascus to meet head of Syrian regime Bashar al-Assad to
request the evacuation of ISIS militants from their enclave on the
Syrian-Lebanese borders. “I personally met with President Bashar al-Assad… I
went to him in Damascus,” Nasrallah said in a speech in Baalbek addressed to
hundreds of his supporters, whom he urged to celebrate what he called the
“Second Liberation.” The evacuation convoy left the border area late on Monday
to take about 600 ISIS militants and their family members to a territory the
group controls in eastern Syria. In his speech on the battle of Arsal, in which
the party fought against Al-Nusra Front,the Hezbollah leader outlined some
details of the deal that led to the deportation of ISIS militants. “The time of
defeats has ended… thanks to the equation of the homeland, the people and the
resistance,” he stated. Nasrallah stressed that Lebanon’s eastern borders were
now under the control of the Lebanese Army, warning that any sanctions against
the party and its supporters would be reflected on the Lebanese economy, calling
for facing international pressure in the spirit of cooperation. “Terrorism has
taken control of our northern and eastern borders, and the army has prevented
the transformation of the northern border and its villages into a haven for
terrorists,” he said. “On the eastern border, the terrorists took control, and
their threat was stronger on Lebanon, as they sought to establish an emirate
extending from the north to the sea. The Lebanese disagreed on this, despite the
clarity of the enemy,” he continued. “The Lebanese had three choices: either not
to intervene, or to be positive, in the sense of facilitating their [ISIS]
expansion. The third option was confrontation, which was supported by the
majority of people, including Hezbollah,” Nasrallah said.
International Coalition Forces Still Monitoring ISIS Convoy
in Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat English/September 01/17/A convoy of ISIS fighters and their
families being evacuated into another ISIS-held territory in east Syria remained
in government-held areas of Syria on Friday, US-led forces said. According to
Reuters, there are about 300 fighters and about 300 civilians in the convoy,
which the Syrian army and Lebanon’s Iran-backed militia group, Hezbollah, gave
safe passage to after they surrendered their enclave on Syria’s border with
Lebanon. “It has not managed to link up with any other ISIS elements in eastern
Syria,” Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting ISIS
said. But the coalition against ISIS has used air strikes to block the convoy
from crossing into the group’s main territory straddling Syria’s eastern border
with Iraq. The ISIS fighters in the border pocket accepted a truce and
evacuation deal after simultaneous but separate offensives by the Lebanese army
on one front and the Syrian army and Hezbollah on the other. It angered both the
coalition, which does not want the fighters bussed to a battlefront in which it
is active, and Iraq, which is fighting ISIS across the border. “We are
continuing to monitor that convoy and will continue to disrupt its movement east
to link up with any other ISIS element and we will continue to strike any other
ISIS elements that try to move towards it,” Dillon said. The departure of ISIS
and other groups from the Western Qalamoun district means the border with
Lebanon is Syria’s first to be controlled entirely by its army since early in
the conflict. Qara is only a few miles from the mountains delineating the
frontier with Lebanon, in which ISIS and other militant groups held territory
until August. Part of an agreed exchange under the truce went ahead on Thursday
as wounded ISIS fighters were swapped for the bodies of pro-government forces.
But the fate of the main part of the convoy is uncertain.“It was moving this
morning and then they had stopped … I don’t know if they stopped for a break or
were trying to figure out what to do,” Dillon said.
Muslims around world celebrate Eid as hajj enters final
days
Fri 01 Sep 2017/NNA - Muslims around the world are celebrating the Eid al-Adha
holiday on Friday as some 2 million Muslim pilgrims carry out the final rites of
the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims made their
way toward a massive multi-story complex in Mina after dawn on Friday to cast
pebbles at three large columns. It is here where Muslims believe the devil tried
to talk the Prophet Ibrahim out of submitting to God's will. Muslims believe
Ibrahim's faith was tested when God commanded him to sacrifice his only son
Ismail. Ibrahim was prepared to submit to the command, but then God stayed his
hand, sparing his son. In the Christian and Jewish version of the story, Abraham
is ordered to kill his other son, Isaac. The final days of hajj coincide with
the Eid al-Adha holiday, or "Feast of Sacrifice," to commemorate Ibrahim's test
of faith. For the holiday, Muslims slaughter livestock and distribute the meat
to the poor. For the final three days of hajj, pilgrims sleep in a large tent
valley called Mina and for three days take part in a symbolic stoning of the
devil. Mina is also where more than 2,400 people were killed two years ago in a
stampede and a collision of two crowds that crushed people under the force.
The Saudi government has since widened some roads in Mina to try and improve the
safety of the hajj. More than 100,000 security forces are managing the hajj this
year, assisting pilgrims and directing the massive crowds that move from one
location to another in the areas around Mecca for five days during the hajj. The
Saudi government also offers all pilgrims free health care and access to
hospitals during the hajj. Most pilgrims will remain in Mina until Monday before
completing the hajj. They will then circle the cube-shaped Kaaba in Mecca,
Islam's most sacred site, before departing. The Kaaba represents the
metaphorical house of God and the oneness of God in Islam. Observant Muslims
around the world face toward the Kaaba during the five daily prayers. The
five-day-long hajj is a series of rituals meant to cleanse the soul of sins and
instill a sense of equality and brotherhood among Muslims. The pilgrimage is
required of all Muslims with the means to perform once in a lifetime. ---AP
During the last three days of hajj, male pilgrims shave their heads and remove
the terrycloth white garments worn during the hajj. Women cut off a small lock
of hair in a sign of spiritual rebirth and renewal.
Macron receives Hariri: Two conferences to support the
Lebanese economy and the return of the Syrian refugees
Fri 01 Sep 2017/NNA - Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Friday with French
President Emmanuel Macron, who announced after the meeting that two conferences
will be held in the first quarter of next year: the first to support the
Lebanese economy and the second to discuss the issue of the Syrian refugees.
Prime Minister Hariri was welcomed at the main entrance of the Elysee by
President Macron and they held a closed meeting that lasted 40 minutes. An
extended meeting was then held in the presence of the Lebanese Chargé d'affaires
Ghadi Khoury, Mr. Nader Hariri, advisor Basil Yared and the advisers of
President Macron.
Derian praises work of Lebanese Army, Security Forces in
fighting against terrorism
Fri 01 Sep 2017/NNA - Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian,
lauded during his Adha Feast sermon Friday the exerted efforts of the Lebanese
Army and Security Forces in combating terrorism and preserving security and
peace in the country. Speaking at Mohammed Amine Mosque in Downtown Beirut,
Derian called on all Lebanese people "to stand united alongside the Lebanese
Army, which is capable of protecting Lebanon from the Israeli enemy and
terrorists." "The Lebanese army is the symbol of unity, sovereignty,
independence and stability of Lebanon," Derian went on. The Mufti also saluted
the Lebanese Army's achievements in their military operation to liberate al-Qaa
and Ras Baalbek mountains from the control of terrorists, expressing his sincere
condolences to the military institution and the families of the martyr soldiers
who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country.
Wastnage congratulates Lebanese Army on success of "Fajr el
Jouroud" operation
Fri 01 Sep 2017/NNA - In a press release by the British Embassy in Beirut, it
said British Chargé d'Affaires Ben Wastnage congratulated the Lebanese Army on
the success of the operation 'Fajr el Jouroud'. Wastange said 'I congratulate
the Lebanese Army on the military success of the Fajr el Jouroud operation. This
was a complex, dangerous, but successful operation whereby the Lebanese Army
demonstrated yet again that it is the sole legitimate, effective and capable
defender of Lebanese security.
I offer my sincere condolences for those Lebanese Army soldiers who were killed
and injured in this operation, as well as to the families and friends of those
soldiers who were abducted in 2014. The UK remains committed to Lebanon's
stability and to supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces as the cornerstone of
Lebanese sovereignty. It is also important to stress that Daesh is a global
threat to people everywhere. As such, I regret that Daesh were able to retreat
across Syria, and welcome the Global Coalition's action seeking to prevent
this.'
Mustafa Hujeiri's son arrested in Arsal
Fri 01 Sep 2017/NNA - The Intelligence department of the Lebanese army arrested
Friday morning, Abada Hujeiri, the son of Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri, known as "Abu
Takiyye", in the northeastern border town of Arsal, National News Agency said.
Abada was detained over many arrest warrants issued against him for alleged ties
to extremist organizations and for carrying weapons in his Toyota FJ cruiser.
The detainee was referred to the Military Police in Bekaa for further
investigations.
Rahi congratulates Aoun on 'Greater Lebanon' declaration
commemoration, Muslims on Adha Feast
Fri 01 Sep 2017/NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Butros
al-Rahi, congratulated Friday President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, and the
Lebanese people on the 97th commemoration of declaring the Greater State of
Lebanon.
"This occasion reminds us of the huge responsibility shouldered by every
Lebanese, weighing also on the conscience of all civil and spiritual officials
to preserve Lebanon's national unity and independence, which is only complete
through liberating the land and the Lebanese administration from all occupation
and external influence," emphasized al-Rahi. The Patriarch also pointed to the
need of exerting efforts to lift the economic burdens off Lebanese citizens,
reinforcing Lebanon's role in attracting investments, business services and
tourism in order to reduce poverty and inequality in the country. Al-Rahi seized
the occasion to pay tribute to the Lebanese army and security forces for their
huge sacrifices, while wishing all the wounded speedy recovery and expressing
deepest condolences to the families of the fallen martyrs. On the other hand and
marking the coinciding occasion of Eid al-Adha, al-Rahi congratulated all
Muslims on this blessed holiday, hoping that the Eid will be a season of
goodness and abundance, bringing by blessings and peace for Lebanon and the
region. In this context, the Patriarch contacted Mufti of the Republic Sheikh
Abdul-Latif Derian; Islamic Supreme Shiite Council Head Sheikh Abdul-Amir
Qabalan; Druze Sheikh Aql Naim Hasan; Islamic Supreme Council Charge d'Affaires
Sheikh Mohammed Asfour, and Mufti of Tripoli Sheikh Malik al-Sha'ar,
congratulating them on the Adha Feast.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
September 01-02/17
Iraq Announces Security Plan Amid Fears of Terrorist Attacks during Adha
Asharq Al-Awsat English/September
01/17/Baghdad – The Iraqi Interior Ministry and the Baghdad Operations Command
have developed a security plan for Eid al-Adha that would cover cemeteries,
markets, amusement parks and places of worship over fears of terrorist attacks
that could target Iraqis and Baghdad residents in particular. Interior Ministry
spokesman Brigadier Saad Maan said during a press conference held at the
ministry’s headquarters on Thursday that the plan was based on “securing
protection for shopping areas, places of worship, entertainment and cemeteries
in Baghdad.”He added that the plan included “preventing the passage of
motorcycles and vehicles in crowded places and the closure of some roads during
the days of Eid.”On a different note, Reuters reported that markets in eastern
Mosul have returned to normal, packed with visitors as residents prepared to
celebrate Eid al-Adha, which comes after the city was taken back from the grip
of the ISIS. People began to flow slowly back to the homes they had abandoned
during nine months of war between Iraqi government forces and militants, hoping
to restore the daily life they had before the fall of the city in the grip of
the terrorist organization. “This year’s Eid is better than last year,” Bassem
Mohammed, a Mosul resident, said. “ISIS has been expelled and people can
celebrate again,” he added. The United Nations estimates the initial cost of
reconstructing Mosul at over one billion USD.
Iraq Declares Victory Over ISIS in Tal Afar
Asharq Al-Awsat English/September
01/17/Irbil, Baghdad- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared on Thursday
victory over terror group ISIS’ militants in Tal Afar and the entire province of
Nineveh. “Tal Afar has been liberated,” Abadi said in a statement. “We say to
the ISIS fighters: wherever you are, we are coming for you, and you have no
choice but to surrender or die.”The announcement came despite continued fighting
in the small town of al-‘Ayadiya. Tal Afar had become the next target of the
US-backed war on the extremist group following the capture of Mosul, where it
declared its “caliphate” over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The defeat in
Mosul, Nineveh’s provincial capital, marked the latest in a string of
territorial losses for the group. However, the militants still control areas on
both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi border. This includes Hawija, a city between
Mosul and Baghdad that Iraqi officials have said will be the coalition’s next
target. The Iraqi army dropped millions of leaflets over Hawija on Thursday,
warning residents it was preparing an offensive to recapture the city from ISIS,
the military said in a statement. The leaflets urged residents to stay away from
militants’ headquarters, to drop weapons and turn themselves in to avoid being
killed. Iraqi forces had been waiting to clear al-‘Ayadiya, 11 km (7 miles)
northwest of Tal Afar, before declaring complete victory in the offensive. ISIS
militants had retreated to the town. Divisions from the Iraqi army and federal
police, backed by units from Shi‘ite paramilitaries, retook al-‘Ayadiya on
Thursday, military officers told Reuters, after several days of unexpectedly
fierce fighting. However, pockets of resistance remained and Iraqi forces were
still working to clear the remaining militants from the town. “We have to make
sure that no more terrorists remain hiding inside the town’s houses,” Army
Lieutenant Colonel Salah Kareem told Reuters. Two military officers whose units
are leading the fight in al-‘Ayadiya on Thursday said scattered groups of
militants were still hiding in houses and using tunnel networks to move through
the town. Four soldiers were killed and 10 more wounded as clashes continued in
parts of al-‘Ayadiya on Thursday night, despite the announcement hours earlier
by the prime minister. Three soldiers were killed on Thursday evening and seven
more wounded when a woman detonated a suicide vest, Kareem said. “Soldiers
thought the woman was a civilian trying to escape the fighting, but as soon as
she came close to the soldiers, she blew herself up and killed three,” an army
officer said. In a separate incident, an ISIS sniper killed a soldier and
wounded three others during a search. “We are still being shot at by snipers and
coming under heavy gunfire from Daesh fighters,” Kareem said. Iraqi forces will
intensify their operations on Friday, to dislodge the militants still entrenched
inside scattered houses, army officers said.
Kuwaiti Emir Visits Washington to Meet with Trump
Asharq Al-Awsat English/September
01/17/Kuwait– Kuwait’s Emiri Diwan said on Thursday that Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad
Al-Jaber Al Sabah would travel to Washington on Friday for talks with US
President Donald Trump. According to a statement published by Kuwait News Agency
(KUNA), the Emir of Kuwait will meet with Trump on September 7. Kuwait emerged
as a key mediator after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt cut diplomatic
and economic ties with Qatar. As soon as the four countries suspended their
relations with the Arab peninsula, Trump expressed great support for Saudi
Arabia, which was confirmed on Wednesday during a telephone conversation with
King Salman bin Abdulaziz, to whom he stressed that the solution to the crisis
with Qatar should be based on the Riyadh summit commitments to unite in the face
of terrorism and Iranian threats and to defeat terrorism, cut off its funding
and combat extremist ideology. Sheikh Sabah received a telephone call on
Thursday from Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. KUNA reported that
the two leaders exchanged congratulations on Eid al-Adha, and discussed some
important topics.
Israel Shuts Down Radio Station in Khalil, Launches
Wide Campaign of Arrests in West Bank
Asharq Al-Awsat English/September
01/17/Ramallah- Israeli authorities raided and shut down a Palestinian radio
station for six months for allegedly “inciting terrorist attacks” early on
Thursday in the southern occupied West Bank. Israeli soldiers raided Al-Hurriya
(Freedom) Media Company and destroyed, damaged, and confiscated various
equipment, according to Ayman al-Qawasmi, the head of the radio station. “It is
not the first time the radio is closed; but this time it was done in a barbaric
way,” Qawasmi said, noting that the price of confiscated devices reached more
than USD 400,000. All employees and workers have been banned from entering the
building until Feb. 14, 2018, according to local media. “56 employees working in
the radio and who support 56 families will not be able to work,” the head of the
station stated. The Palestinian Information Ministry expressed its strong
rejection of the Occupation’s decisions and practices. “The ministry will take
all possible measures to stop Israeli crimes against our media institutions,” it
said in a statement. The ministry also called on the United Nations, UNESCO and
the International Federation of Journalists to assume their responsibilities
towards the Palestinian people by stopping Israeli practices that violate all
international laws and conventions. Earlier this week, Israeli forces arrested a
Palestinian wedding band after it performed a song about an assailant who
stabbed three Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian media said
the band, led by singer Mohammed Al-Barghouti, had been arrested and sound
recording devices and studio equipment have been confiscated from Barghouti’s
house in the village of Kafr Ein, northwest of Ramallah. Israel monitors all
means of social communication and inspects government and private media, the
Palestinian educational curricula, statements of officials, and even the names
of institutions, centers and streets, always accusing the Palestinian Authority
of incitement. The closure of the radio station coincided with a wave of arrests
in the West Bank on Thursday. An Israeli army statement said that 15
Palestinians were arrested, two from the town of Marka in Jenin district, one
from Ya’bad, four from Nablus, one from Tulkarm, five from Ramallah and two from
Bani Naim.
Pope, Orthodox patriarch call for action against climate change
Fri 01 Sep 2017/NNA - The head of the
Roman Catholic Church and the patriarch of Constantinople on Friday issued a
joint message urging world leaders to take action against climate change and
environmental destruction on occasion of the World Day of Prayer for Creation.
Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said in their missive that
human dignity and welfare were deeply connected to the care for the whole of
creation, but they were now imperiled by actions that have led to the
deterioration of the planet's natural environment.
"We urgently appeal to those in positions of social and economic, as well as
political and cultural, responsibility to hear the cry of the earth and to
attend to the needs of the marginalized, but above all to respond to the plea of
millions and support the consensus of the world for the healing of our wounded
creation," read the joint statement. The two ecclesiastic leaders cited as
factors for humanity's alienation from the original purpose of creation the
propensity to interrupt the world's "delicate and balanced" ecosystems and an
"insatiable desire" to manipulate and control the planet’s limited resources, as
well as the "greed for limitless profit" in markets. They underscored how the
planet's deterioration weighed upon the most vulnerable and how climate change's
impact mainly affected those living in poverty. "The urgent call and challenge
to care for creation are an invitation for all of humanity to work towards
sustainable and integral development," the letter added. "We are convinced that
there can be no sincere and enduring resolution to the challenge of the
ecological crisis and climate change unless the response is concerted and
collective, unless the responsibility is shared and accountable, unless we give
priority to solidarity and service," the Catholic pontiff and the Eastern
Orthodox dignitary said in their message's conclusion. ---EFE-EPA
Two more Germans arrested in Turkey 'for political
reasons'
Fri 01 Sep 2017/NNA - Two more German
citizens have been arrested in Turkey "for political reasons", Berlin said
Friday, bringing the total number of German political prisoners in Turkish
custody to 12, AFP reported. "On August 31, two German nationals were detained
in Turkey for political reasons," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr
said, adding that news of the arrests was confirmed not by Ankara but by
Anatolia airport police. The German authorities have yet to be allowed to see
the pair, she added, declining to give further details. ---AFP
Pending Trump immigration action could pressure Hill
to act
Fri 01 Sep 2017/NNA - As President Donald Trump weighs scrapping protections for
nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants, focus is intensifying on Capitol
Hill on whether congressional leadership can reach a deal to continue the
popular Obama-era program. It's unclear how drastically Trump may reshape DACA,
the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which gave young people who
had come to the United States illegally as kids a chance to work and study in
the US without fear of deportation. Sources on the Hill increasingly believe
Trump is leaning toward ending renewals and new applicants to the program, and a
source familiar has said the White House is considering that option. White House
discussing whether DACA deadline can be moved. If Trump were to end the program,
it would force a gut-check moment for leadership on both sides of the aisle.
House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would have to
decide whether they're willing to risk angering the most conservative wing of
the Republican base by allowing a vote on what some on the right consider an
"amnesty" -- which would almost certainly need Democratic votes to pass.
Meanwhile Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, will be forced to decide whether they are willing
to swallow a compromise that could include border wall money in in exchange for
protections for "Dreamers," a population they have long advocated for.
With a hotly contested 2018 midterm election looming, and a number of moderate
Republicans representing areas with high numbers of Dreamers up for re-election,
lawmakers may feel compelled to act to save the program.
Trump is expected to announce a DACA decision by September 5, the deadline set
by a group of Republican state attorneys general who have threatened to sue over
the program. But two sources familiar with DACA discussions at the White House
say the administration is looking at whether the attorneys general who are
pushing this issue would be willing to extend their deadline. One source said
White House chief of staff John Kelly is among those officials advocating for
such a delay. But the sources did not say whether Trump will listen to Kelly on
the issue as he has come under tremendous pressure from inside the White House
and from outside groups to end the DACA program.
Trump administration selects construction firms to build US
border wall prototypes
Fri 01 Sep 2017/NNA - The Trump administration has selected four construction
companies to build concrete prototypes for a wall on the U.S. border with
Mexico, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said on Thursday. The four companies
are Caddell Construction of Montgomery, Alabama; Fisher Sand & Gravel of Tempe,
Arizona; Texas Sterling Construction of Houston; and W.G. Yates & Sons
Construction Company of Philadelphia, Mississippi, the agency said. The four
contracts range in price from about $400,000 to about $500,000, CBP said. The
prototypes will be 30 feet tall and about 30 feet wide and will be tested in San
Diego, it said. ---Reuters
Turkey's Erdogan says US arrest of guards involved in
Washington brawl a 'scandal'
Fri 01 Sep 2017/NNA - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says the arrest of
members of his security detail involved in a brawl with protesters in Washington
is a scandal. US prosecutors charged a dozen Turkish security and police
officers with assault after an attack on protesters in Washington during
Erdogan's visit to the US capital in May. "This is a complete scandal," Mr
Erdogan told reporters. The May 16 skirmish, caught on video, injured 11 people
outside the Turkish ambassador's residence and further strained bilateral ties
at a time when the NATO allies are in sharp disagreement over policy in Syria.
Turkey blamed the violence on demonstrators linked to the Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK), while the Washington police chief described it as a brutal attack
on peaceful protesters. Mr Erdogan said the US had failed to provide him
protection from members of the PKK during his visit, and added he would discuss
the issue with President Donald Trump in his next visit. "The United States has
literally become a country where the PKK terrorist organisation is under
protection," Mr Erdogan said in response to the arrests. "I am having trouble
understanding what the United States is trying to do with all these
developments." US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the charges against some
members of Mr Erdogan's security detail sent a clear message to Turkey. "[The
US] does not tolerate individuals who use intimidation and violence to stifle
freedom of speech," he said in a statement. Since a failed coup attempt last
year, Turkey has sacked or suspended more than 150,000 officials in purges,
while sending to jail pending trial some 50,000 people including soldiers,
police, civil servants. The crackdown has targeted people whom authorities say
they suspect of links to the network of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Ankara blames Mr Gulen for the coup, but he denies any involvement. ---Reuters
UK to Send More Troops to Iraq to Bolster Anti-IS Fight
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September
01/17/Britain will send a small contingent of expert troops to Iraq to help
coalition forces drive out Islamic State jihadists, Defense Minister Michael
Fallon has said. "We are stepping up our contribution to the fight against Daesh
(IS) and fulfilling Britain's role as a key player in the global coalition,"
Fallon said in a statement."These extra troops will help support operations to
bring the defeat of Daesh a step closer."The 44 Royal Engineers are to be
deployed for six months at the al-Asad airbase in Anbar Province, in western
Iraq, to build infrastructure including accommodation and offices. This brings
the number of British troops at the airbase to more than 300 and the total in
Iraq to around 600. The airbase also houses hundreds of U.S. advisers as well as
Iraqi and Danish troops. Anbar, a sprawling desert province that borders Syria,
Jordan and Saudi Arabia, has long been an insurgent stronghold, and IS already
controlled parts of it when it swept through Iraq in 2014 to take control of
roughly a third of the country. Pro-government forces have since retaken most
towns and cities in Anbar, but the jihadists still hold several areas along the
border with Syria. Earlier Thursday, Iraq declared that its forces had retaken
the northern city of Tal Afar and the surrounding region of Nineveh, in another
victory against the jihadist group. IS now controls barely 10 percent of the
country, according to the U.S.-led international coalition ranged against the
jihadists.
U.S. General Says al-Baghdadi Likely Still Alive
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 01/17/Elusive Islamic State leader Abu
Bakr al-Baghdadi is probably still alive and likely hiding in the Middle
Euphrates River Valley, a senior U.S. general said overnight. "We're looking for
him every day. I don't think he's dead," Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend,
commander of the counter-IS coalition in Iraq and Syria, told reporters in a
conference call. Townsend admitted he didn't "have a clue" where Baghdad is
precisely, but believes he may have fled with many other IS soldiers into the
Middle Euphrates region stretching from Syria to Iraq, after coalition and local
force assaults on the IS bastions of Mosul, Raqa and Tal Afar. "The last stand
of ISIS will be in the Middle Euphrates River Valley," Townsend said. "When we
find him, I think we'll just try to kill him first. It's probably not worth all
the trouble to try and capture him."With a $25 million U.S. bounty on his head,
Iraq-born Baghdadi has successfully avoided an intense effort to seek him out
for six years or more. Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a
longtime conflict monitor, said in mid-June that it had heard from senior IS
leaders in Syria's Deir Ezzor province that Baghdadi was dead. Russia's army
said in mid-June that it was seeking to verify whether it had killed him in a
May air strike in Syria. "I've seen no convincing evidence, intelligence, or
open-source or other rumor or otherwise that he's dead.... There are also some
indicators in intelligence channels that he's still alive," said Townsend.
Russia Voices 'Regret' at U.S. Order to Shut San Francisco Consulate
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September
01/17/Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has expressed "regret at the
escalation of tensions" after the United States told Moscow to shut its
consulate in San Francisco. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Lavrov
as Washington announced it was ordering Moscow to shut the consulate, the
Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. "In response the minister
expressed regret at the escalation of tensions in bilateral relations," it said.
"Moscow will examine the new measures announced by the Americans in detail after
which our reaction will be announced." The U.S. State Department ordered Moscow
to close the consulate and two annexes in Washington and New York in two days,
saying the decision was made "in the spirit of parity" following a
Moscow-imposed cap on the U.S. diplomatic presence in Russia. "The Consulate
General will act in accordance with the decision that will be taken by the
Russian leadership regarding this decision by the Americans," the consul in San
Francisco Sergei Petrov told RIA-Novosti news agency. "Right now the foreign
ministry will decide on the procedure of the shut down, where people will go,
and so forth," he said. Russia has had a diplomatic presence in San Francisco
since 1852, according to the consulate's website. It closed in 1924 because of a
lack of funds but reopened in 1934 after Washintgon established diplomatic
relations with the Soviet Union.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on September 01-02/17
Politico's Jihad against Walid Phares Tries Again, and Fails Again
Rebecca Bynum/Jerome B. Gordon/Family Security Matters/August 31/17
Since the time when Dr. Walid Phares was appointed by Presidential candidate
Mitt Romney as one of his national security advisors in 2011, the pro Iran
regime and Muslim Brotherhood networks in the media have been waging one smear
campaign after the other to tarnish his reputation and intimidate decision
makers so they will not appoint him to any position in any administration. As
soon as Donald Trump announced Phares as one of his foreign policy advisors in
March 2016, he was attacked again by an even wider network of militant media
across the web using the same recycled and repeatedly discredited material.After
the 2016 election, Phares returned to the private sector as an expert, but the
pro-Iran and MB lobby was still concerned he may be called to join the new
administration. Politico ran a hit piece against him in November, filled once
again with falsehoods. This August, as a number of officials were leaving the
White House, it is believed that the "lobby" feared he may be invited in. Though
there were no indications at all that Phares was intending to join the
administration or be called upon to officially advise, Politico published
another attempt to discredit Phares in a scathing hit piece. The article was
authored by a former AP journalist Nahal Toosi, who has shown her support for
the Iran Deal and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Dr. Phares, an expert in the field who has been testifying about country
conditions in Congress, to governments, and in courts for over twenty years, had
just finished a testimony at an immigration court in Detroit on behalf of an
Iraqi Chaldean who was detained for deportation. Phares was called upon to
explain one thing: whether country conditions today would affect this individual
because of his particular family and personal circumstances. The expert spent a
few hours explaining to the court and the government how things are in Iraq and
then left. The court decided to release the Chaldean detainee and reinstate his
status. The judge was convinced of the facts and assessment, and the government
decided not to appeal. The session did not address US politics nor the policies
of the administration. It focused only on what could happen now or in the near
future should this individual be deported to Iraq.
However, for Politico there are only two issues at hand:
One is that Phares, having been an advisor to Trump in 2016, was sitting in
court countering President Trump's order for removal. The argument is twisted in
its inception. Phares did not discuss the immigration policies of the
administration. He was asked only about one case-possibly impacting multiple
cases in the future-of immigrants who entered legally, committed unlawful acts,
lost their green cards and are now being considered for deportation. Dr. Phares
was asked very specific questions based on one: How would the country conditions
affect the deported person? Politico is fooling its readers by claiming anything
else, as court transcripts and the many who attended the session can attest.
Martin Manna, the president of the Chaldean Community Foundation, who was in
attendance, has repeatedly told Politico that Phares testified on country
conditions, but to no avail, for the said media was set on smearing not on
reporting.
The second charge by Politico was that Phares charged for his testimony and that
his fee was high. Again, Politico failed in this low-level argumentation. First,
Phares offered his services, and the clients could accept or not, as all other
paid experts do. Second, Phares does not have a non-profit operation similar to
a number of NGOs involved in the deportation issue who receive millions of
dollars from donors. Dr. Phares did charge for his time on this case, though he
has offered public service free of charge for the past 27 years, including
helping humanitarian groups and communities to pass their messages on to
Congress, administrations, media and the United Nations. As for the fee levels,
in the private sector, such fees are negotiable. But a mere calculation of the
fees based on time spent, places Phares's numbers solidly within the norm for a
national expert.
Walid Phares is introduced in this article as the "Lebanese American Maronite"
who appears on Fox News. It would be as if Henry Kissinger was introduced as the
"German Jew" or Zbignew Brejinski is presented as the "Catholic Pole." This
obsession with Phares' background demonstrates how the forces behind Politico
perceive American immigrants, always linked to the politics and the sectarianism
of their mother countries. That's how it works in Iran or Syria, but not in the
United States.
Toosi wrote, "Phares has benefited from the belief of people desperate to stay
in the U.S. that his involvement in their cases might give them an edge." Jawad
Sayegh, the top analyst on US affairs at the liberal Arab publication Elaph
reports otherwise: "The judge is liberal, there is no chance for politics there.
And the government represents the Trump administration and argues for
deportation. Phares talks about Iraq not Trump."
In the end, Politico shattered its journalistic credibility by publishing this
piece, only to please its backers and perhaps, as Tom Harb has argued, as an
extended arm of the Iranian and Brotherhood propaganda machine. Politico is no
more mainstream and respectable than radical subversive websites in the far left
or far right circles. Meanwhile in the real world, the detainee is free, his
family is happy and thankful for the US justice system, the court was informed,
the Government didn't appeal and the communities are looking forward for more
stability.
**Rebecca Bynum is the publisher and editor of New English Review Press and
author of Allah is Dead and The Real Nature of Religion.
**Jerome B. Gordon is a former intelligence officer, Senior Editor of New
English Review and author of The West Speaks.
**Rebecca Bynum is the editor of the New English Review and member of the
American Mideast Coalition for Democracy (AMCD)
Khomeini or Kim? Khamenei’s Real Teacher
Amir Taheri//Asharq Al Awsat/September 01/17
According to the initial narrative of the Khomeinist ideology, the “perfect
state” which Muslims should aspire was the brief period during which Ali Ibn
Abi-Taleb exercised the Caliphate against a background of revolts and civil war.
However, it now seems that Khomeinist zealots have found another “ideal model”
outside the world of Islam. That model is the People’s Democratic Republic of
Korea, better known as North Korea, which Khomeinists present as living paragon
of heroic resistance against the American “Great Satan.” The daily Kayhan,
believed to reflect the views of “Supreme Guide” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
recently ran editorials praising North Korea’s “brave defiance of Arrogance” by
testing long-range missiles in the face of “cowardly threats” by the United
States. In one editorial last month, the paper invited those who urge dialogue
with the US to learn from North Korea’s “success in humiliating the Great
Satan.”
The editorial provoked some critical responses from the “reformist” wing of the
ruling clique with President Hassan Rouhani’s unofficial spokesman expressing
regret that Iran was being asked to downgrade to the level of “a pariah in a
remote corner of Asia.”
Nevertheless, last month North Korea’s nominal “president” Kim Yong-nam whose
official title is Chairman of the People’s Assembly was given red carpet
treatment during a 10-day visit to Tehran at the head a 30-man military and
political delegation. He was granted a rare two-hours long audience with
Khamenei. During his stay, he inaugurated North Korea’s new embassy which
includes an expanded military cooperation section.
At first glance, the Khomeinist “republic” and the Kimist regime in Pyongyang
seem to have little in common.
The Khomeinists claim legitimacy in the name of the Hidden Imam who is believed
to be preparing his return at an unspecified date. The Kimists, on the other
hand, base their legitimacy on the “heroic victories” of Kim Il-sung, the
proto-Communist leader who, with support from the Soviet Union and Communist
China, carved out a fiefdom in part of the Korean Peninsula. Also at first
glance, it might appear that the only thing the two regimes share is a primitive
version of anti-Americanism, an affliction that affects many others even in
Western democracies, albeit in milder forms.
Seen by Khomeinists, who pretend to be sole custodians of “The Only True
Religion”, the Kimists, who regard religion as “confused mumbo-jumbo”, must be
regarded as adversaries if not outright enemies. And, yet, such is their mutual
attraction that the little matter of religion seems to have had no effect on
their love fest. The Kimists have even allowed the Khomeinists to set up a
mosque in Pyongyang provided they do not try to convert North Koreans.
In the spring of 1979, Kim Il-sung, the founder of the dynasty and grandfather
of the present Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, was among the first to congratulate
Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini on the seizure of power by mullahs.
A few weeks later, Khomeini, then stationed in Qom, broke his rule of not
talking to foreign emissaries by receiving North Korean Ambassador Chabeong Uk
for a long session during which the ayatollah dictated a message of friendship
to Kim Il-sung, in which, he invited “the masses of Korea” to expel the
Americans from the peninsula.
When Saddam Hussein invaded Iran in September 1980, Kim Il-sung was the first to
offer assistance to the Islamic Republic by supplying its version of the Soviet
SCUD missiles. In January 1981, invited by Iran, the North Koreans set up a
military advisory mission in Tehran to help the newly created Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Crops (IRGC) develop tactics and strategies in the war
against Iraq.
One tactic quickly adopted by the Iranians was the sue of “swarm attacks” by
masses of teenagers sent to clear Iraqi minefields at the cost of thousands of
lives, a tactic that Kim Il-sung had developed in the Korean War against the
Americans.
North Korea became one of only two nations to sign a military pact of sorts,
including joint staff conversations, with Iran. (The other is in Syria which
signed in 2007.)
Iran’s top contact man with the North Korean military mission was Khamenei then
a mid-ranking mullahs operating as Deputy Defense Minister. The new friends
started “military cooperation” in 1982 with special emphasis on helping Iran
develop a range of missiles.
Getting to know the North Koreans, Khamenei developed a profound admiration for
their “discipline and readiness to sacrifice for their struggle”. But it was not
until six years later that Khamenei, by that time named President of the Islamic
Republic, could express that admiration directly in a state visit to Pyongyang.
According to those who accompanied Khamenei in the visit, the future “Supreme
Guide” saw North Korea as the “ideal state” that only lacked religious faith.
“Khamenei was impressed by how everything (in North Korea) worked like the
clockwork,” says Hassan Nami, a member of the entourage. “The fact that in North
Korea the individual was dissolved in the collective symbolized by the Supreme
Leader overwhelmed Khamenei.”
Khamenei’s visit to North Korea, in May 1989, was the first to give him the
feeling that he was the rising leader of a rising new power on the world scene.
The North Koreans declared a holiday for schools and factories to mobilize a
million people to line the streets to greet Khamenei. In a rare gesture, Kim
Il-sung himself went to the airport to greet the visitor. The North Korean
despot then chaired a special session of the People’s Assembly to hear
Khamenei’s speech which included a thinly disguised invitation to Koreans to
return to religious belief.
In the end, however, the North Koreans adopted nothing from Khomeinism while
Khamenei adopted much of Kim Il-sung’s ideology.
Kim’s “juche” (self-reliance) shibboleth became Khamenei “eqtesad muqawemati”
(Resistance Economics). Khamenei also adopted Kim’s reliance on missiles, caused
by the fact that North Korean had no access to modern warplanes, as the main
plank of his defense doctrine. The revival of the Shah’s nuclear program,
scrapped by Khomeini but revived under Khamenei, was also inspired by Kim who
believed a weaker nation enhances its position by owning “the ultimate weapon.”
When it comes to Khamenei’s rejection of compromise with domestic or foreign
adversaries, again Kim was the teacher.
Kim preached “absolute independence” which meant total disregard for
international law, something that Khamenei has made an article of faith for the
Islamic Republic.
Going down the list of Khamenei’s beliefs, including his reliance on the
military for the survival of the regime, one could see that in many cases the
real teacher was Kim Il-sung, not Khomeini.
Washington Remains United Behind NATO
Kay Bailey Hutchison/The New York Times//September 01/17
Partisanship and contentiousness typically dominate Washington news. In the
clamor, it’s easy to overlook the national consensus on a significant issue: the
need to revitalize America’s most crucial security alliance, the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization.
I was nominated as United States ambassador to NATO by President Trump in late
June. As I made my rounds of congressional offices before my confirmation
hearing, I found near unanimity from Republicans and Democrats alike on NATO’s
future.
There is no appreciable difference of views among the president, Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and senators of either
party on the need to revitalize NATO so it can meet today’s security needs while
maintaining the fundamental principle of Article 5 of the organization’s
founding treaty — that an attack on one is an attack on all. There is a strong
consensus that a renaissance of NATO offers the best hope to unite our Western
allies against threats including intolerable Russian aggression in Ukraine,
international terrorism, nuclear and missile capacities of rogue nations, and
efforts to wipe out religious and individual freedoms around the globe. NATO is
the most successful alliance in world history. It was founded on the conviction
that a potent joint effort by the democracies of Europe and North America was
the most effective way to deter and counter Communist expansion and prevent
World War III. That idea held the alliance together more than 40 years, through
many changes of government, and it won the Cold War. After the Soviet Union
dissolved in the 1990s, NATO’s future was uncertain. With the immediate military
threat reduced, was NATO even needed any longer? In a brief era of good
feelings, security concerns appeared less important and reductions in defense
preparation were widespread. Some voices even called for Russian membership in
NATO.
Those days are long gone. New security challenges have appeared, and not only in
the form of Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine. We also face attacks aimed
at the heart of our democratic institutions, and terrorism has become a
worldwide threat, notably in Europe, as the recent attack in Spain demonstrated.
As an essential start to revitalization, all NATO members must meet the defense-spending
pledge made at the 2014 summit meeting in Wales — namely, 2 percent of gross
domestic product should be spent on defense and 20 percent of each member’s
national defense budget should be devoted to major equipment and modernization.
If all 29 NATO countries were already meeting this level of funding, more than
$100 billion in defense funding would have been generated in 2016, spreading a
burden now being carried disproportionately by United States taxpayers. Allies
must increase their investment because their own security and our collective
security require it. Under Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s leadership, NATO
members agreed to outline concrete plans for reaching their 2 percent military
spending goal. In June, members individually agreed to take on, for the first
time, the full set of military capability targets assigned to them by NATO. For
America’s part, President Trump has proposed spending nearly $4.8 billion on the
European Deterrence Initiative, an effort to shore up security in NATO’s eastern
edge, as a demonstration of our will to defend our allies. But I know well from
my time in the Senate that this cannot continue if the other NATO members do not
meet their obligations. In my meetings with senators this summer, I was
heartened to see unified bipartisan commitment to NATO. There was no space
between the priorities of Republicans and Democrats about our duty to defend our
common values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of
law. Congress and the Trump administration believe that an alliance of 29
Western democracies is far more effective at ensuring our security than one
country acting alone. That unity sends an important message to friends and
adversaries alike.
**Kay Bailey Hutchison is the United States ambassador to NATO.
Action is Needed to Save Idlib before it’s too Late
Charles Lister/Asharq Al Awsat/September 01/17
While actions undertaken by external states are defining the trajectory of the
conflict in many parts of Syria, it is the lack of any action or decision by
external states that is defining the fate of Idlib. After six years of
operations in Syria, during which it has behaved both pragmatically and
ruthlessly, al-Nusra Front’s long-term strategic plan is beginning to enter its
final stages. Having destroyed or subdued all of its potential rivals, the group
now known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is exploiting its military dominance in Idlib
governorate in order to forcefully guarantee the establishment of a civil
administration body heavily under its control. If it achieves sufficient buy-in
for this initiative, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham will have won a significant victory
for its project in Syria. This is an objective that Jabhat al-Nusra has long
spoken about, as the necessary step that would precede the creation of an
emirate. Though most mainstream Syrian opposition figures continue to resolutely
reject the prospects for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s Idlib-wide administration, it is
hard to ignore the likely inevitability of its introduction at some point in the
future. After all, who in Idlib is willing or capable to step in and scupper it?
And who abroad has an interest in preventing its formation, when its very
creation would then represent the necessary grounds for intervention?
It is almost certainly impossible to roll-back Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s gains
altogether, but it is still possible to prevent the group from winning what
would be its greatest victory. Despite al-Nusra’s long history of coordinating
with Syria’s opposition on the battlefield, evolving geopolitical dynamics have
forced the group’s successors (first Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and now, Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham) to act in increasingly aggressive ways through 2016-2017, thereby
eroding the trust won by the group in previous years. Today, Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham is far from a popular actor within Syria’s mainstream opposition, but it
is an actor whose sheer strength has frequently demanded subservience.
That Syria’s opposition was so openly willing to cooperate with al-Nusra for so
long was a poisoned chalice that has arguably damaged the Syrian revolutionary
cause more than any other factor. Over time, that history of cooperation meant
that a critical mass of fighters simply refused to consider confronting al-Nusra
or its successors. Today, more Syrians than ever stand in open opposition to
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, but they no longer have the capacity to push back against
the group’s unequalled power. But this does not mean they do not want to. As has
been said before, combating Al-Qaeda’s influence in Syria is not merely a
military fight – it should be defined by a struggle to outcompete the group’s
influence through the creation of more attractive and socially representative
alternatives.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham proponents have boasted recently that the group has
acquired pledges of support for its civil administration project from more than
70 local councils across Idlib. However, what they have failed to reveal is that
many of those councils proposed their support in exchange for Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham agreeing to dissolve itself. Moreover, most of Idlib’s largest, elected
local councils – in Idlib city, Saraqeb, Marat al-Numan and Jarjanaz – all
refused to support Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s project, while the opposition Interim
Government, the ETILAF, the Free Syrian Army, Euphrates Shield and many other
bodies and prominent individuals have similarly rejected it. Such widespread
skepticism is unlikely to stop Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from pursuing its objective
– Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s attack on the Idlib city local council on August 28
underlined that clearly. However, this reality unquestionably underlines that
any Hayat Tahrir al-Sham “success” would be far from popular.
Some influential Syrians who are personally concerned about Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham’s intentions in Idlib, are nonetheless embracing the civil
administration initiative with open arms. Why? As some of them have told me
recently, they believe that a majority of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham members are not
deserving of great concern, but that a minority of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is
indeed very dangerous. These Syrians tell me that therefore, the best way of
constraining the behavior of the committed extremists is to engage with Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham; to integrate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham into larger opposition bodies;
and to empower civil initiatives that will depend on genuine popular support to
succeed. This is precisely the same logic employed by many of the same people in
their attempts to encourage al-Nusra to rebrand to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham in the
Summer of 2016. It should be clear now that that logic failed – Jabhat Fateh
al-Sham turned out to be a more confident and aggressive actor towards Syria’s
opposition than al-Nusra before it.
Today, the immediate decision to be made is for Syria’s opposition: reject Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham’s civil administration initiative, or risk total abandonment by
the international community. Unite under a representative and credible
political, civil and military leadership, or watch individual components of your
revolution defect, surrender or join the extremist camp.
But it is also the civilized international community that now faces a choice:
between protecting and bolstering mainstream opposition elements in northern
Syria who genuinely represent their people, or leaving them to weaken, fade away
and be replaced by extremists whose ultimate enemy is us, in London, Paris, or
Washington.
Policymakers must begin to look beyond the surface-level reality and beyond the
short-term. Nobody would challenge the assertion that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is
the dominant actor in Idlib today. But similarly, nobody should challenge the
assertion that reversing that state of affairs is something achievable with jets
and missiles. Should Idlib be abandoned to the fate bestowed upon it by the
Assad regime, Russia and Iran, one thing will certainly result: popular support
for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham will grow, not decline. Does it make sense to pursue a
policy that strengthens the narratives of our terrorist enemies? Does any
serious policymaker think that a coalition of Russia-Iran-Hezbollah-Assad will
bring peace and stability to Idlib? Does anyone really believe that Syria’s
opposition will not realize that an eventual campaign of Russian carpet bombing
in Idlib would only have been possible if the ‘Friends of Syria’ had not chosen
to close their eyes to it?
Terrorism is not something that can be defeated through weapons alone. If we are
to have any chance of effectively challenging a group like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham,
we must develop, protect and empower a superior counter-narrative and
socio-political alternative to take its place. Our potential partners in such an
endeavor are hardly strangers – our governments have supported them for six
years. If we were to abandon them now, we only guarantee more death, destruction
and instability, and sadly, a great deal more terrorism. Such an effort would
take time, substantial resources and a not insignificant amount of risk, but
that may well be a more favorable prospect than leaving Idlib to its current
fate.
**Charles Lister is Senior Fellow & Director of Counter-Terrorism Middle East
Institute, Washington DC
What Is The Concrete & Abstract Thinking/ما يجب أن تعرفه عن التفكير الباطوني وعن
التفكير المجرد
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=58349
Abstract thinking is a level of thinking about things that is removed from the
facts of the “here and now”, and from specific examples of the things or
concepts being thought about. Abstract thinkers are able to reflect on events
and ideas, and on attributes and relationships separate from the objects that
have those attributes or share those relationships. Thus, for example, a
concrete thinker can think about this particular dog; a more abstract thinker
can think about dogs in general. A concrete thinker can think about this dog on
this rug; a more abstract thinker can think about spatial relations, like “on”.
A concrete thinker can see that this ball is big; a more abstract thinker can
think about size in general. A concrete thinker can count three cookies; a more
abstract thinker can think about numbers. A concrete thinker can recognize that
John likes Betty; a more abstract thinker can reflect on emotions, like
affection.
Another example of concrete thinking in young children is a two or three year
old who thinks that as long as he stays out of his bedroom, it will not be bed
time. In this case, the abstract concept of time (bedtime) is understood in
terms of the more concrete concept of place (bedroom). The abstract idea of
bedtime comes to mean the concrete idea of being in my bedroom.
Another example that applies to two or three year olds is the following. One of
the favorite Dr. Seuss books is Green Eggs and Ham, which ends with the narrator
changing his mind from rejecting green eggs and ham under any circumstances to
trying them and actually liking them. At a concrete level of understanding, the
story is about a stubborn person changing his mind. At a more abstract level of
understanding, it is about people in general being capable of modifying their
thoughts and desires even when they are convinced that they cannot or do not
want to do so. This more abstract level of understanding can be appreciated by
two and three year old children only if the higher level of meaning comes out of
a discussion of the book with a more mature adult. At older ages and higher
levels of thinking, this same process of more mature thinkers facilitating
higher levels of abstraction in less mature thinkers characterizes the process
of teaching abstract thinking. For example, this is how great philosophers, like
Socrates and Plato, taught their pupils how to think abstractly.
An example of concrete versus abstract thinking in adolescence is the following.
A concrete thinking adolescent can recognize that a good strategy in football is
to make maximal use of the team’s most talented players. An abstract thinking
adolescent can recognize that this strategy in football is the same as using
ones cognitive strengths in studying for an exam. In general, abstract thinkers
are able to perceive analogies and relationships that others may not see and
thereby understand higher levels of abstraction.
The term abstraction also applies to uses of language. Abstract language is said
to include terms that refer to entities other than physical objects and events,
for example, “justice” and “freedom” as opposed to terms that refer to actual
physical things, like “chair” and “car”. Abstract language also includes
indirect uses of language, such as metaphors and figures of speech. For example,
a concrete thinker would interpret “People who live in glass houses should not
throw stones” to refer literally to breakable panes of glass. An abstract
thinker, in contrast, would understand that the figure of speech means that
people who have faults of their own should not criticize others. One should be
careful, however, not to equate metaphor with abstract. Metaphors that were well
understood before the injury (e.g., “Go take a hike”) may be just as concrete
and easy to understand as their literal equivalents (“Please leave”). Sometimes
metaphors come to be so commonly used and easy to understand that we forget that
they are metaphors, like “He’s a barrel of laughs.”
The terms concrete and abstract are also used to suggest how practical or
impractical an idea might be. In this sense, concrete ideas are those that have
relevance to action (e.g., a recipe is concrete because it states how to cook a
dinner; a differential equation is abstract because it is not tied to action in
this way). This connection to action offers teachers and parents a way to make
abstract ideas more concrete (and therefore more understandable) by showing
their relevance to action. For example, chemistry can be connected to cooking or
medicine; mathematics can be connected to construction. These connections with
practical activity help concrete thinkers understand and appreciate abstract
concepts.
Abstraction is a relative concept, related to the age of the child. For a two
year old, “the day after tomorrow” is a highly abstract concept. For a college
student, the day after tomorrow is relatively concrete, as opposed to highly
abstract ideas like Heisenberg’s Indeterminancy Principle. And of course there
are many degrees of abstraction between these two extremes. A major component of
intellectual development is this process of gradually moving from extremely
concrete thinking to increasingly abstract thinking in an ever increasing array
of content areas.
To some extent, concrete and abstract are domain specific For example, for a
mathematician, concepts like exponent and equation are second nature and
relatively concrete in their meaning. However, that same mathematician might
find concepts like value as used in political economy to be quite abstract. The
reverse might be true for a political economist. Familiarity with the content in
a given domain or speciality area dictates to some extent what will be
considered concrete (and therefore easy to understand) and what will be
considered abstract (and therefore hard to understand).
The ability to think concretely and abstractly is also associated with the
ability to transfer what is learned from one context to another. For example, a
student who is a reasonably abstract thinker might learn the organization of an
essay in English class and then transfer that learning to her writing in social
studies class. In contrast, a concrete thinker might need to be specifically
taught in both classes.
WHY ARE CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT THINKING IMPORTANT FOR MANY STUDENTS AFTER TBI?
It is often said that individuals with TBI have difficulty with abstract levels
of thinking. Frontal lobe injury is typically identified as the source of this
difficulty. In students with brain injury, impaired abstract thinking is
frequently associated with reduced foresight, judgment, insight, reasoning,
creativity, problem solving, and mental flexibility.
Indeed, one popular theory of frontal lobe function maintains that many of the
symptoms associated with injury to the frontal lobes can be grouped under the
general heading “stimulus-bound”. In addition to the difficulties listed in the
last paragraph, these individuals tend to be impulsive (directed in their
actions by whatever is most salient in the here and now) and distractible
(attending to events in the here and now, however irrelevant). They have
difficulty with multi-step activities and in general have difficulty sustaining
goal-directed activity. Within this theory, difficulties at the level of
abstract thinking have the same underlying cause as impulsive behavior and
difficulty modifying behavior as a result of experience.
There are other theories that account for difficulty with abstract thinking
after TBI. However, most investigators agree that these difficulties are common
and need to be attended to in rehabilitation and special education. Brain
injury-related difficulties must, of course, be distinguished from normal
developmental phenomena. In section 1 above, emphasis was placed on gradual
development in childhood and adolescence from very concrete to increasingly
abstract thinking. The concrete thinking of a child with brain injury may be
developmentally normal, not a result of the injury.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN FEATURES OF TEACHING OR TRAINING THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR
STUDENTS WHO HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH ABSTRACT THINKING?
There are no simple solutions to the problem of concrete thinking. Indeed, many
intelligent and successful adults would probably be classified as concrete
thinkers in many areas of functioning. Despite their intelligence and many
abilities, the likelihood that they could be trained to be theoretical
physicists or philosophers is not large. With these common sense observations as
background, staff and parents should enter the world of facilitating a student’s
abstract thinking skills with modest expectations. (See Tutorials on Cognitive
Rehabilitation, Attention, Memory and Memory Problems, Organization, Problem
Solving, Transfer of Training, Conversation and Cognition.)
Understanding the Problem
As always, the first task for teachers and parents is to correctly understand
the problem. The concrete thinking associated with brain injury can easily be
misidentified as mental retardation or a general problem with learning. Students
with abstract thinking problems might be reasonably effective learners and
processors of information in select domains.
Having identified the difficulty with abstract thinking, parents and educators
should become familiar with the compensations they can implement and procedures
to gradually improve the student’s ability to think abstractly.
Environmental Compensations and Strategies
Competent and Sensitive Communication Partners: Knowing that a student is a
concrete thinker, communication partners, including teachers and parents, should
adjust their language accordingly. They should either avoid the use of language
that is at too high a level of abstraction, or link abstract language with its
concrete equivalent. For example, in encouraging a student to study hard, a
parent might say, “You’ve got to give it your best shot – study real hard.”
“Give it your best shot” is a metaphor that might be too abstract; “study real
hard” is a literal or concrete equivalent.
Using Concrete Meanings to Support Comprehension of Abstract Concepts: When
learning to add and subtract, first graders commonly rely on their fingers or
other physical objects to represent the abstract numbers. The children’s
conceptual transition into the world of abstract numbers is supported by the
representation of those numbers in physical things that can be seen, held, and
moved. Similarly, concrete thinking high school students might be able to
understand an abstract social arrangement, like the caste system in India, by
comparing it to social cliques they are familiar with in their school.
Discussing similarities and differences between that which is unfamiliar and
distant (i.e., abstract) and that which is familiar and close to home (i.e.,
concrete) is a valuable way to help students grasp the abstract concept.
Facilitating the Development of Abstract Thinking
There are no known “exercises” in abstract thinking that have the effect of
turning a concrete thinker into an abstract thinker across domains of content.
Sometimes practice with “brain teasers” or math and logic problems is suggested
as a means to facilitate more abstract thinking. However, there is no evidence
that practice of this sort enhances abstract thinking in a generalizable way.
That is, a person can improve performance with brain teasers, math problems, and
logic problems with no transfer to other domains of thinking.This failure of
transfer is connected with the theme of “domain specificity” introduced earlier:
a person can be a reasonably flexible and abstract thinker in one area (e.g.,
sports) and remain a concrete thinker in another area (e.g., literature).
Therefore, attempts to facilitate increasingly abstract thinking should be made
within all relevant academic areas (e.g., math, literature, science, social
studies), without expecting that improvements in one area will yield
improvements in another area. If possible, similar language and analogies should
be used (e.g., by parents and teachers) across areas so as not to overwhelm
students with too much information or too many comparisons. Schools should not
expect that exercises in abstract thinking in a therapy context (e.g., a
speech-language therapist using workbook exercises in abstract thinking) will
transfer to other academic or social domains.
An alternative to “exercises” (like brain teasers) is to consider how the great
thinkers of the past successfully taught their students how to think more deeply
and abstractly, and how parents of young children facilitate the development of
their child’s thought processes. In the latter case, there is considerable
evidence showing that parents who think out loud with their children in ways
suggested by the following list facilitate their child’s cognitive development.
That is, parents who think out loud with their children in these ways have
children who, other things being equal, develop organized, deep, and abstract
thinking more quickly than comparable children who do not spend time with adults
who think out loud with them in these ways. Teachers can play the same
thinking-out-loud role with students. In effect, adults are taking children on
as “apprentices in thinking” as they think out loud with the children. As adults
think out loud with children, they should routinely seek feedback from the
student to ensure that the adult’s “out-loud thinking” is being understood and
perhaps even triggering the student’s thought processes.
Think out loud with the student: Great teachers of thinking, like Socrates,
spend much of their time thinking through issues with their students, leading
them gradually to ever higher levels of understanding and abstraction. Similarly
it is known that parents who think out loud in an organized and compelling way
with their young children facilitate the child’s development of systematically
higher levels of thinking, better organized thinking, and better problem
solving. In home and classroom discussions, this out-loud thinking about
important topics can be organized around the following thought processes:
searches for explanations (e.g., why and how questions)
searches for analogies to make the subject matter more understandable (e.g.,
“Let’s think about what this might be like in your life; what are other examples
of this?”)
searches for alternative perspectives (e.g., “Are there other ways to think
about this? How might other people think about this?”)
ways to organize the topic and make connections (e.g., “I think there are three
separate issues here that we should consider in order”; “Let’s try to think
about what this might be connected to”)
ways to evaluate (e.g., “How can we decide if this is a good thing or not?”)
ways to draw inferences (e.g., “If this is true, then what else must be true?”)
Think out loud with the student about issues that are interesting and important:
Issues that can be jointly thought about include topics from the student’s
curriculum and school books as well as issues of personal importance. There are
few issues that do not lend themselves to thinking about at a somewhat higher or
more abstract level. These think-out-loud sessions can be lively and enjoyable
dinner time conversations.
Highlight the thinking process: In connection with abstract thinking,
discussions with adolescents should highlight the words concrete and abstract
(e.g., “That is how the story might be interpreted in a concrete way.... But now
let me give you a more abstract understanding.”). Similarly, adults should not
only explore explanations, but also explicitly describe this explanatory thought
process as a way to derive explanations; they should not only explore analogies,
but also explicitly describe this analogical thought process as a way to see
connections; they should not only make organized connections, but also
explicitly describe this organizational thought process as a way to become more
organized in thinking. Talking about the thought processes and giving them a
name facilitates an understanding of those thought processes, how to use them,
and when to use them.
Use illuminating and motivating analogies: Just as finger counting makes
abstract numbers and arithmetic operations more concrete for six year old
children, so also meaningful analogies make abstract material more concrete for
older students. For example, in explaining the three branches of government to a
concrete thinking high school student, a teacher might say, “When your parents
create rules for you, they are functioning like the legislative branch of
government. When they enforce those rules, they are functioning like the
executive branch. When they try to resolve conflicts between you and your
sister, they are functioning like the judicial branch.” This use of analogies
connects the unfamiliar with the familiar, thereby making the abstract and
unfamiliar more concrete and understandable.
Use external supports as needed: In logic, Venn diagrams (overlapping circles)
are used to “concretely” represent logical relationships among propositions.
Similarly, a time line flow chart might be used to represent relationships among
events in time. Models of the solar system are used to represent relationships
among the sun, planets, and moons. When a product that needs assembly is opened,
there is usually a sequence of pictures showing exactly how to put the object
together. Each of these two- or three-dimensional representations of the
organization of that which is represented can be considered a “map” – a concrete
representation of more abstract relationships. The map guides one through
unfamiliar territory and if you don’t know the territory, you need a map!
Other graphic organizers can be used to represent other relationships and
organizational systems. [See Tutorials on Organization; Advance Organizers;
Reading Comprehension; Written Composition.]
Gradually remove the supports: Just as primary grade teachers try to gradually
remove their students’ reliance on fingers and other objects as they do simple
adding and subtracting problems, so also teachers at every level – and parents –
should gradually remove the concrete supports that they use to facilitate the
child’s more abstract thinking skills. For example, a graphic organizer with
boxes and connecting arrows, used to represent narrative organization for
elementary school students, might be gradually transformed into a simple outline
for middle schoolers.
Specialists in cognitive development and intervention may be able to assist
school staff in their attempts to facilitate development of abstract thinking in
students with brain injury.
**Written by Mark Ylvisaker, Ph.D. with the assistance of Mary Hibbard, Ph.D.
and Timothy Feeney, Ph.D.
LEARNet
A program of the Brain Injury Association of New York State, and funded by the
Developmental Disabilities Planning Council.
Copyright 2006, by
The Brain Injury Association of New York State
10 Colvin Avenue, Albany, NY 12206 - Phone: (518) 459-7911 - Fax: (518) 482-5285
UN Chief Guterres, the Media and Palestinian Fake News
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/September 01/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10921/palestinian-fake-news
One of the mothers who attended the meeting with the UN chief was Latifa Abu
Hmaid. Four of her sons, Nasser, Sharif, Nasr and Mohammed are serving multiple
life sentences for their role in terrorism. The Palestinian Authority (PA) chose
the mother of these terrorists because they are all members of President Mahmoud
Abbas's ruling Fatah faction, which is regularly described by Western media
outlets as a moderate and pragmatic Palestinian party that believes in the
two-state solution and peace with Israel.
The minimum the UN chief and his aides could have done is to call out the PA
leadership and condemn it for the ambush and the fabricated report from the
official Palestinian news agency. Had Israel been involved in a similar
incident, we would have witnessed a diplomatic crisis, prompted by the UN
secretary general and his spokesmen as well as the international media.
Palestinians, as usual, are given a pass.
The lie about "Jewish extremists" setting fire to the Al-Aqsa Mosque has become
so widespread and accepted that even senior Muslim scholars such as Abbas's
Grand Mufti, Sheikh Mohamed Hussein, has also been spreading the blood libel. He
and most Palestinians continue to describe the Australian Christian arsonist as
a "Jewish extremist."
According to the Palestinian propaganda machine, nearly without exception, the
terrorists were on their way to buy bread for their mothers or visit their
grandmothers. These were innocent victims, the story goes, arrested or shot by
Israel for no reason. Then there are the lies about Israelis "planting" knives
near the bodies of terrorists who stab or try to murder Jews. Western
journalists and others accept these lies as facts.
Fake news is an old story in the Palestinian world. Yet recently, fake news has
been taken to new heights by Palestinian spin-doctors, who have been working
overtime to mislead the international community and media. A number of stories
published in the past few days in the Palestinian media demonstrate the extent
to which Palestinians are prepared to go to deceive the world and impact
international public opinion.
Excellence is often a virtue -- except when one excels at lying. And if there is
one thing at which the Palestinians have excelled in the past few decades, it is
spreading lies about its conflict with Israel. The mainstream media in the West
usually takes the fake-news bait -- it sells papers! -- and demonstrates
tolerance, if not sympathy, toward Palestinian-produced fake news fabrications.
The most recent case of Palestinian fake news emerged during United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's visit to Ramallah, the de facto capital of
the Palestinians. The UN chief, who does not seem to be familiar with the
Palestinian culture of lies, fell victim to a typical PR stunt organized by his
Palestinian hosts.
According to the Wafa news agency, the official organ of the Palestinian
Authority (PA), Guterres "held a meeting on Tuesday evening (August 29) with
families of Palestinian martyrs and prisoners held in Israeli occupation
prisons." The report said that the families called on the UN secretary-general
to take rapid and serious action to save the lives of more than 6500 male and
female prisoners held in Israeli prisons. Wafa then quoted Guterres as saying:
"We understand the suffering of the Palestinian prisoners and we will work with
the relevant parties to end their suffering."
First, it ought to be of interest that the "prisoners" and "martyrs" are
Palestinians who were involved, directly and indirectly, in terror attacks. Many
of the prisoners have Jewish blood on their hands and were convicted of often
unspeakable crimes.
Second, it quickly became clear that the meeting between the UN chief and the
Palestinian families was part of an ambush set up by his Palestinian hosts in
Ramallah. According to a UN spokesman, Guterres was surprised by the sudden
request of the Palestinian Authority to meet with the "mothers of detained
children" but that he agreed to meet with them. To his great credit, Guterres
also issued a clarification that the report in Wafa that he had expressed
sympathy for the prisoners' plight was "fabricated."
Third, it is worth noting that one of the mothers who attended the meeting with
the UN chief was Latifa Abu Hmaid, from the Al-Ama'ri refugee camp near
Ramallah. Four of her sons, Nasser, Sharif, Nasr and Mohammed are serving
multiple life sentences for their role in terrorism. The Palestinian Authority
chose the mother of these terrorists because they are all members of President
Mahmoud Abbas's ruling Fatah faction, which is regularly described by Western
media outlets as a moderate and pragmatic Palestinian party that believes in the
two-state solution and peace with Israel.
The response of the UN chief's spokesman to the "fabricated" report by Abbas's
Wafa news agency and the unscheduled meeting with the families of the
"prisoners" and "martyrs" is a fine example of how the Palestinian Authority
manipulates the world's top diplomat. The PA and other Palestinians, however,
have been getting away with this for decades.
The minimum the UN chief and his aides could have done is to call out the PA
leadership and condemn it for the ambush and the fabricated report on the
official Palestinian news agency. Had Israel been involved in a similar
incident, we would have witnessed a diplomatic crisis, prompted by the UN
secretary general and his spokesmen as well as the international media.
Palestinians, as usual, are given a pass.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during his to Ramallah, August
29, 2017. (Image source: UN Photo/Ahed Izhiman)
In another example of Palestinian fake news designed to slander Israel and win
international sympathy, several Palestinian media outlets have been reporting
during the past week that an Israeli female undercover agent masquerading as a
nurse has been uncovered in a Palestinian hospital in Hebron.
According to the fake reports, the "nurse" was an Israeli settler who had helped
the Israel Defense Forces infiltrate the hospital to arrest and shoot
Palestinian fugitives. A quick check of the facts revealed that the Palestinians
were apparently referring to a Western volunteer who had worked in the hospital
to treat Palestinian patients. The hospital administration has strongly denied
the reports, which continue to spread like fire on social media and Palestinian
news websites. The purpose of the fake reports is to implicate Israel and
present it as a state that shows disregard for hospitals and patients. This case
shows that rumors and fake news are regularly accepted as facts in the world of
the Palestinians and Arabs.
Or consider another example of how the Palestinian propaganda machine operates.
On August 23, the same Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported on the
anniversary of the 1969 fire at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
First, the historical facts: On August 21, 1969, an Australian citizen named
Denis Michael Rohan set fire to the pulpit of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Rohan was
arrested for the arson attack, tried and found to be insane. He was hospitalized
in a mental institution before finally being deported from Israel in 1974.
Since 1969, however, the Palestinians have repeated the lie that Israel and Jews
were behind the arson attack. The fact that Rohan was a Christian is apparently
inconsequential to them.
So this year, marking the anniversary of the arson, this is what Abbas's
official mouthpiece, Wafa, had this priceless piece of perjury to say: "The Al-Aqsa
Mosque was torched by Jewish extremists in 1969."
The lie about "Jewish extremists" setting fire to the Al-Aqsa Mosque has become
so widespread and accepted that even senior Muslim scholars such as Abbas's
Grand Mufti, Sheikh Mohamed Hussein, has also been spreading the blood libel. He
and most Palestinians continue to describe the Australian Christian arsonist as
a "Jewish extremist."
These lies are simply a few recent examples that extend a long list of
Palestinian fake news and blood libels aimed at framing Israel and inciting the
world against it. Take for example, the famous Palestinian lies about
terrorists: according to the Palestinian propaganda machine, nearly without
exception, the terrorists were on their way to buy bread for their mothers or
visit their grandmothers. These were innocent victims, the story goes, arrested
or shot by Israel for no reason. Then there are the lies about Israelis
"planting" knives near the bodies of terrorists who stab or try to murder Jews.
Western journalists and others accept these lies as facts.
The manipulation of the UN chief in Ramallah comes as no surprise to those
familiar with Palestinian tactics of deception. The question, however, remains:
For how long will the international community receive with equanimity the lies
that Palestinians spit in its face, lies that hour after hour, day after day,
only endanger the lives of both Palestinians and Jews, promote an
all-too-welcomed anti-Semitism, and worst – contrary to the claims of those who
purport to want to help them -- prolong the suffering of Palestinians who dream
of one day living in freedom –like their neighbors, the Israelis -- with
institutions of democracy like free speech, an independent judiciary and
educational system, and most of all, with accountable leadership?
**Bassam Tawil is a Muslim based in the Middle East.
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