LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 23/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias
Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the
lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias18/english.february23.18.htm
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Bible
Quotations
Your
rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase
after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s
case does not come before them.
Isaiah 01/02-31: " Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has
spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled
against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but
Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Woe to the sinful
nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given
to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One
of Israel and turned their backs on him. Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole
heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is
no soundness— only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with olive oil. Your country is desolate, your cities burned with
fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid
waste as when overthrown by strangers. Daughter Zion is left like a shelter
in a vineyard, like a hut in a cucumber field, like a city under siege.
Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become
like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, you
rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of
Gomorrah! “The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the
Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of
fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and
goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this
trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is
detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your
worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I
hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of
bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from
you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are
full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of
my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the
oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are
like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as
crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will
eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be
devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. See how the
faithful city has become a prostitute! She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her— but now murderers! Your silver has
become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. Your rulers are
rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not
come before them. Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty, the Mighty One of
Israel, declares: “Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes and avenge myself on
my enemies. I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away
your dross and remove all your impurities. I will restore your leaders as in
days of old, your rulers as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called
the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.” Zion will be delivered with
justice, her penitent ones with righteousness. But rebels and sinners will
both be broken, and those who forsake the Lord will perish. “You will be
ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be
disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen. You will be like an
oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water. he mighty man will
become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to
quench the fire.”
Titles
For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on February 22-23/18
The Next Israel-Hezbollah War Won’t Be an Accident/Nicholas Noe/Tablet/February
22/18
The Machines Are Taking Over Space/Faye Flam/Bloomberg View/February 22/18/
The Nation and Patriotism Dialogues/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/February
22/18/
Europe: The Rapid Spread of Dhimmitude/Judith Bergman/Gatestone
Institute/February 22/18
Hamas: Turkey's Longtime Love/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/February
22/18
How Iran Continues To Profit From The Syrian War/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab
News/February 23/18
Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News
published on February 22-23/18
ISF Liberates Kidnapped Syrian Girl
Aoun winds up official visit to Armenia, hails bilateral ties
Aoun Meets Senior Armenian Officials, Says Lebanon Adheres to its Border
Aoun calls on expats in Armenia to vote
Satterfield in Ain el-Tineh, Meets Berri
Geagea Urges 'Military Intervention' to Stop Ghouta 'Massacre'
Lebanon: Hariri Appeases Fears over Security Turmoil
UK Home Secretary Stresses 'Commitment to a Strong and Stable Lebanon'
Hariri Vows to Finalize State Budget Next Week
Shiite Street Displeased with Amal, Hezbollah Candidates for Elections
Army: Lebanon renewed during Ras Naqoura meeting adherence to sovereignty,
maritime borders and oil resources
Army Commander meets EU Parliament delegation
Geagea meets MP Tohme over electoral issues
Hariri receives Cameroon presidential candidate
Lassen meets families of Syrian refugees in Beqaa
Lebanon receives promises from Iraq on key issues
EU Ambassador Meets Syrian Refugee Families in Bekaa
Japan provides endoscopy, X ray units to Al NADWAH dispensary in Aley
Tony Franjieh Says Doesn't Want to be a Minister
The Next Israel-Hezbollah War Won’t Be an Accident
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 22-23/18
U.N. Bid for
Syria Ceasefire Falters as Russia Says No Deal
Russia Says 'No Agreement' at U.N. on Syria Ceasefire
Russia Tested 'Over 200 New Weapons' in Syria
Five-Day Assault on Syria's Eastern Ghouta Kills More than 400
Russia Says Fighters Rejected Offer to Evacuate from Ghouta
Protest in Istanbul against Bloodshed in Syria's E. Ghouta
UAE Concerned over Eastern Ghouta Violence, Calls for ‘Immediate Truce’
Saudi Arabia Calls for Stopping Eastern Ghouta Violence
Trump Considers Arming Teachers amid Lobbying Efforts on Gun Rights
Byzantine Church Discovered in Heart of Tunisian Desert
Iraqi Criticism of Iran's Adoption of Saddam's Execution
Ahmadinejad Calls for Early Presidential, Parliamentary Elections
Man Blows Himself Up after Hurling Grenade into U.S. Embassy in Montenegro
Egypt Court Sentences 21 to Death for Planning Attacks
400 kilograms of cocaine found in Russian embassy in Argentina
Seven soldiers, 71 militants killed in Egypt Sinai operation
Latest Lebanese Related News published
on February 22-23/18
ISF Liberates Kidnapped Syrian Girl
Naharnet/February 22/18/Agents from the Intelligence Branch
of the Internal Security Forces on Thursday managed to liberate a Syrian
toddler girl who was kidnapped in the morning from the Bekaa town of
Barelias. An ISF statement said the two captors were arrested in a “special
operation” and that no ransom was paid. The child, Saleha Ali al-Kattouh,
had been nabbed from outside her house in Barelias. In a phone interview
with the National News Agency, her father said the captors had asked for a
$250,000 ransom in a phone call from a Lebanese number. “They used a silver
SUV,” the father added. The seven-year-old girl was abducted as she was
getting into the school bus along with her two brothers. Her father owns a
clothes shop in Barelias.
Aoun winds up official
visit to Armenia, hails bilateral ties
Thu 22 Feb 2018/NNA -
President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, on Thursday hailed the Lebanese and
Armenian peoples' ties as deeply rooted in history, saying the Armenians in
Lebanon constitute an inseparable part of the Lebanese people.
"Armenians in Lebanon are not a community but rather an inseparable part of
the Lebanese people," President Aoun said during the official dinner banquet
hosted by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in his honor during his official
visit to Armenia. The dinner banquet was attended by the Armenian
House Speaker and Prime Minister, in addition to scores of Armenian
officials and diplomatic figures. Aoun heaped praise on the positive role
played by the Armenians in Lebanon notably in its economic, cultural and
political horizons, saying the combination of cultures is always a source of
wealth for Lebanon's pluralistic society. Aoun also stressed that failure to
acknowledge past massacres has prompted the perpetration of massacres of the
present. President Sargsyan, for his part, lauded the wide-ranging bilateral
ties between Lebanon and Armenia, and deemed such relations as all-inclusive
and genuinely friendly. "The bonds of Armenian-Lebanese friendship stretch
between Antelias and Burj Hammoud and Anjar, far-reaching to the heart of
the capital Yerevan," Sargsyan said, expressing gratitude to the brotherly
Lebanon for standing by Armenia in the tragic moments of its history and
embracing the sons of the Armenian nation who survived the genocide. In the
wake of the dinner banquet, President Aoun moved to Yerevan's Zvartnots
Airport, winding up his official visit to Armenia.
Aoun Meets Senior
Armenian Officials, Says Lebanon Adheres to its Border
Naharnet/February 22/18/President Michel Aoun
held talks on Thursday with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan at the
presidential palace in Yerevan, Aoun's media office said. A closed door
meeting was first held between the two men followed by a meeting between the
Lebanese and Armenian delegations, the media office added. “Lebanon adheres
to its land and maritime border and to its right to defend it by all
legitimate means. We count on our international friendships to help us
counter the (Israeli) threats,” said Aoun in a joint press conference with
Sargsyan. Aoun said he had "constructive" talks with his Armenian
counterpart and announced the signing of several agreements “that serve the
interests of both Lebanon and Armenia.”On the crisis of Syrian refugees,
Aoun said both have stressed “the need to work towards reaching an
international agreement to secure their return to safe areas in their
country.”President Aoun later met with the Armenian Parliament Speaker Ara
Babloyan and Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan. “President Aoun's visit will
open the door to more investments between Lebanon and Armenia,” said
Karapetyan. Aoun has however assured that Lebanon is willing to strengthen
economic relations with Armenia saying he will “coordinate with the Lebanese
PM (Saad Hariri) to complete cooperation agreements during Karapetyan's
visit to Lebanon on March 12 and 13.”Aoun began an official visit to Armenia
on Wednesday following a similar visit to Iraq. He began his talks in
Yerevan by meeting Catholicos Karekin II -- the Catholicos of All Armenians
and the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He also visited the
Armenian Genocide memorial complex and wrote a statement in its visitors'
book. In the evening, Aoun met with the Lebanese expat community in Armenia.
The president's visit to Armenia follows a trip to Iraq in which he met with
President Fuad Massum and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Aoun calls on expats
in Armenia to vote
The Daily Star/ February 22/18 /BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun called on
Lebanese expatriates to take part in the upcoming parliamentary elections as
he arrived in Armenia Wednesday on an official visit. “Meeting with Lebanese
during my foreign visits has become a tradition I enjoy and the size of the
Lebanese diaspora in the world reaffirms what I said before about Lebanon
being a global country,” Aoun told expats in Armenia according to a
statement from his office. Aoun added: “Lebanon is enriched by you, and the
Lebanese of Armenian origin made a positive impact in Lebanon on various
levels including economic, political and cultural.” The president also spoke
of his historic relationship with Lebanese of Armenian origins. “It dates
back to my days of study and to the [Lebanese] Army where we were brothers
in arms and in politics,” Aoun said, adding that “we sit beside one another
and form one bloc together.”
Speaking of the upcoming parliamentary elections Aoun called on Lebanese to
vote, “either in Lebanon or in Armenia if you have registered within the
deadline.”Aoun left Iraq Wednesday midday for Armenia, arriving in Yerevan
for a two-day official visit. He visited the Armenian Genocide memorial at
Church of Our Lady of Etchmiadzin where he placed a ceremonial wreath and
held a minute of silence. Afterward, he took a tour of the museum dedicated
to the genocide, where he was given a medal. “What I have seen in this
museum, recounting the history of the Armenian people and the brutal
massacre, prompts me to emphasize that justice needs to be achieved,” Aoun
said. “We know about Armenia and its Christian history, for it is the first
country to proclaim itself a Christian nation, despite the Roman oppression
at the time,” he said. Prior to his visit to Armenia, Aoun met with Iraqi
Speaker of Parliament Salim al-Jabouri and former Iraqi Vice President Iyad
Allawi in Baghdad early Wednesday as part of an official visit to Iraq.
During his meeting with Allawi, Aoun called for strengthening bilateral
cooperation and resolving outstanding issues between Iraq and Lebanon, and
facilitating the work of Lebanese and Iraqi businessmen. “The friendship
between Iraq and Lebanon precedes other interests,” Aoun was quoted saying
in a statement from his media office. “We have learned many things from
Lebanon, such as democracy, coexistence, [how to] safeguard freedom ... and
Iraq must return the favor, starting with the refugees Lebanon has taken
in,” Allawi said at the meeting, which was attended by various Iraqi
ministers. While meeting with Jabouri, Aoun drew a parallel between the two
countries’ experiences with political strife. He said Lebanon has gone
through “harsh experiences,” but “we succeeded in overcoming them after ...
defending the homeland, despite political differences,” a statement from his
office quoted him as saying. “We hope that the brotherly Iraqi people will
overcome all difficulties and start again to build their state,” he said.
Jabouri also noted that Iraq and Lebanon face similar challenges, including
the fight against terrorist organizations, the statement said. The two
reportedly agreed to coordinate in the fight against terrorism and the
pursuit of “criminal” organizations, in addition to committing to the
“common pursuit of stability in the region.”Jabouri acknowledged the efforts
of both countries to “consolidate principles of peaceful coexistence and
grant rights to all [parts of the population] and minorities.”
Aoun and Jabouri discussed facilitating the movement of citizens between the
countries because it would reflect “positively on economic development and
activation of the tourism sector and aviation.”On the sidelines of the Iraq
visit Wednesday, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk – who accompanied Aoun –
met his Iraqi counterpart Qasim al-Araji in Baghdad and discussed security
coordination between the countries, a tweet from Machnouk’s official account
said. They also discussed preparations for an Arab interior ministers
conference in Algeria next month.
Satterfield in Ain el-Tineh,
Meets Berri
Associated Press/Naharnet/February 22/18/U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of
State David Satterfield, mediating a dispute between Lebanon and Israel over
offshore gas drilling rights, held talks with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh
on Thursday, LBCI said. Ain el-Tineh sources told LBCI that “Lebanon will
not waiver its oil rights. All the Americans have is the Hoff Line
suggestion and the Israeli's are trying their best to circumvent the
situation.”A statement issued by Berri's press office said "there was
nothing new in today's meeting.""The Speaker's stance has not changed," the
statement added.
Satterfield has also been holding talks with Lebanese officials on the
subject. On Wednesday he met with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Foreign
Minister Jebran Bassil. Berri had emphasized Wednesday that Lebanon will not
allow Israel to seize control of parts of its offshore oil and gas fields.
“Lebanon's stance is unified and coherent in terms of defending our
sovereignty, oil resources and maritime and territorial borders,” Berri said
during his weekly meeting with lawmakers. The U.S. official was in occupied
Palestine before he flew to Beirut for oil dispute talks. The dispute dates
back years but recently resurfaced when Lebanon invited companies to bid for
exploratory offshore drilling next year along the countries' maritime
border. Israel claims Lebanon will be drilling partly in areas owned by
Israel. Lebanon and Israel are technically at war, and quarrel over their
land borders. Lebanon is protesting a wall Israel is building along the
cessation of hostilities line, following Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in
2000. It says the border wall may jut into Lebanese territories.
Geagea Urges 'Military Intervention' to Stop Ghouta
'Massacre'
Naharnet/February 22/18/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday
called on the international community to “intervene militarily to stop the
massacre against civilians” in Syria's Eastern Ghouta region. “What's
happening in Eastern Ghouta is a hallmark of shame for the entire humanity.
No matter what the reasons, excuses or alibis may be, nothing justifies the
premeditated mass killing of innocent civilians with all types of heavy
weapons,” Geagea said in a written statement. “No terrorism has worse and
more terrible outcome than what is currently happening in Eastern Ghouta,”
Geagea added. “Statements are of no use in similar situations and crying and
wailing will not save a single child. The only solutions in such cases is
for the international community to intervene militarily to stop the massacre
that is being committed against civilians in Eastern Ghouta,” the LF leader
urged. The Syrian regime launched the deadly aerial campaign on Damascus'
rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region on February 18, with daily bombardments
since then turning it into what the U.N. chief has described as "hell on
Earth." The enclave, controlled by Islamists and besieged by government
forces for five years, was already subjected to a ferocious five-day air
assault this month that left around 250 civilians dead and hundreds wounded.
The new round of strikes by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has
killed more than 360 civilians and wounded 1,700 others since Sunday.
Lebanon: Hariri Appeases Fears over Security Turmoil
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/February 22/18/Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said
that Lebanon is safe from security turmoil and that all political leaders
agree on preventing internal instability. In remarks to a delegation of
traders who visited him at the Center House in Beirut, Hariri stressed on
Wednesday the importance of political and security stability to achieve
economic prosperity. He said the government intends to take a number of
steps in this regard, including opening up to the world, from the Arab
countries to Europe, Africa, America and even China, adopting the policy of
open skies and allowing citizens from certain countries to enter Lebanon
without a visa. Referring to the Paris 4 donor conference set for April 6,
Hariri said: "We are excited about the Ceder conference.” “The government
prepared a series of development projects to be presented at the conference,
in the fields of electricity, water, telecommunications, roads, public
transportation, airport and other projects that benefit the country, provide
jobs opportunities for the youth and create economic growth." "People are
thirsty for change,” Hariri told his visitors. So “the lists of the Future
movement in the coming elections will include a special representation of
youth and women.” “But our electoral alliances are still under discussion,
and we will do what is in the interest of our people, the Future movement
and the areas we represent, regardless of our political alliances,” Hariri
added. Hariri pointed out that the budget of 2018 carries a lot of
incentives for different sectors, and no new taxes. On the same issue,
Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated on Wednesday the importance of the cabinet’s
adoption of the state budget and its swift referral to the parliament for
approval. He warned that international donor conferences would be severely
impacted if the legislature fails to approve the budget by March 5.
UK Home Secretary
Stresses 'Commitment to a Strong and Stable Lebanon'
Naharnet/February 22/18/UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd has stressed
“commitment to a strong and stable Lebanon,” in a statement issued following
her visit to Lebanon on February 19. It was the Cabinet Minister’s first
visit to the country since assuming her post in 2016. Rudd met Interior
Minister Nouhad al-Machnouq and discussed the two countries’ “strong
bilateral relations,” the British embassy said in a statement. This follows
a visit by Machnouq to the UK to meet the former Home Secretary, Theresa
May, in 2016. The one-day visit was an opportunity to “see firsthand how the
UK’s Ł628 million in assistance to Lebanon is helping the country maintain
security and stability and supporting local communities coping with the
Syrian refugee crisis,” the embassy said. The visit follows on previous
visits by the Middle East Minister Alistair Burt, the Security Minister Ben
Wallace and former Secretary of State for International Development. The UK
Home Secretary visited an Informal Tented Settlement in the Bekaa Valley
where she met refugee families and spoke to U.N. agencies supporting the
UK’s work on resettling 20,000 of the most vulnerable refugees of the Syria
conflict to the UK by 2020. According to the embassy's statement, the UK’s
resettlement schemes offer a safe and legal route to the UK for the most
vulnerable refugees. “We purposefully target those in greatest need of
assistance, including people requiring urgent medical treatment, survivors
of violence and torture and women and children at risk. Over half of those
resettled to the UK have been children,” the embassy said. On her return to
London after her visit, the Home Secretary said: “I was very pleased to
visit Lebanon for the first time, a country that has shown enormous
generosity in hosting refugees since the beginning of the conflict in Syria
in 2011.”“Lebanon’s security and stability is very much the UK’s security
and stability, and our support to Lebanon with over Ł600m of assistance
since 2011 is a testament of that. The UK’s partnership, friendship and
commitment to Lebanon is as strong as it has ever been, and I am proud that
my government is standing shoulder to shoulder with Lebanon at this time,”
Rudd said. She said she held a constructive meeting with Minister Mashnouq
in which they discussed a range of issues, and “what more we can do to
further strengthen our countries’ bilateral relationship.”“We discussed
Lebanon’s participation in Rome II conference on 15 March and the important
role of the Internal security Forces. I am proud that the UK is one of
Lebanon’s most significant partners on security, contributing over Ł84
million to the ISF (Internal Security Forces) and LAF (Lebanese Armed
Forces) since 2011, and that we are working together to improve human
rights. We also reviewed our strong counter terrorism relations,” the Home
Secretary added. She said she also recognized “the Minister’s work in
preparing for the upcoming elections, which will reaffirm Lebanese citizens’
democratic rights, and hopefully see increased female representation in the
Lebanese Parliament.”
Hariri Vows to
Finalize State Budget Next Week
Naharnet/February 22/18/Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Thursday vowed to
finalize the 2018 state budget next week. “I will work on finalizing the
state budget next week,” Hariri told MTV after a meeting for a ministerial
committee tasked with studying the draft state budget. Speaking after the
meeting, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said “most of the draft state
budget's clauses have been finalized, including some reformist clauses and
the discussions will be resumed on Monday.”“Should the political forces and
their representatives in the committee shoulder their responsibilities
towards slashing the budget's figures in order to lower the deficit a bit,
this will be very important,” Khalil added. He also denied discussing any
new taxes.
Shiite Street Displeased with Amal, Hezbollah
Candidates for Elections
Asharq Al-Awsat/February 22/18/A large section of the Shiite Hezbollah-Amal
duo supporters has not yet overcome the shock of the nominations to the
parliamentary elections, which were announced earlier this week by Speaker
Nabih Berri and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. This time, the
two Shiite leaders chose to prioritize their parties’ interests over those
of electoral districts and constituencies, causing a state of resentment and
opposition among voters over a number of candidates. The greatest anger was
recorded in Jbeil, which forms with Keserouan one electoral constituency.
The district has one Shiite seat out of the eight electoral seats, and the
number of Shiite voters registered in the circle is 18 thousand compared to
143 thousand Maronite voters. The choice of Hezbollah of a candidate from
outside the region, specifically from the Bekaa, sparked a wave of
resentment among the Shiite families of Jbeil, who were competing to see one
of their members nominated by the party. However, heated tension between
these families and the unprecedented level of competition have led Hezbollah
to nominate Hussein Zeaiter - who is not from Jbeil - but runs the party’s
political affairs in Mount Lebanon and the North, hence, is in contact with
all the families of the region. This has prompted a group of Jbeil residents
to carry out a symbolic sit-in a few days ago and hint at the possibility of
forming an electoral list that would face the candidates of Hezbollah and
its ally, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM). The same resentment is seen in
the Western Bekaa-Rashaya district, where Amal Movement decided to nominate
Mohammed Nasrallah, from South Lebanon, to the only Shiite seat in the
constituency. This has ignited protests against the failure to nominate one
of the Shiite figures from the region, but these objections, according to
sources close to the matter “can be absorbed and overcome in the coming
weeks, unlike the situation in Jbeil.”On Monday, Hezbollah announced the
nomination of 13 candidates, including six new figures, while Amal Movement
nominated 16, including 4 new figures. The duo will reveal at a later stage
the names of allies to fight the electoral battle on their lists.
Army: Lebanon renewed during Ras Naqoura meeting
adherence to sovereignty, maritime borders and oil resources
Thu 22 Feb 2018/NNA - Lebanon renewed during the Ras Naqoura tripartite
meeting adherence to its sovereignty over its territories, maritime borders
and oil wealth, rejecting all attempts by the Israeli enemy to tamper with
these rights, army command said in a communiqué on Thursday. The Ras Naqoura
tripartite meeting was held this morning chaired by UNIFIL Commander,
General Michael Beary, to discuss issues related to land and maritime
borders between Lebanon and the occupied Palestine, as well as the
implementation of UN Resolution #1701. The Lebanese army delegation was led
by Major General Malek Chamas. The Lebanese delegation underlined the army's
firm stance in the face of any Israeli attack on Lebanon's rights,
communiqué added. The Lebanese side also shed light on the Israeli enemy's
recurrent violations of Lebanon's land, air and maritime, calling for an
immediate halt of these violations. Major General Beary, for his part,
stressed the need for strict adherence to the implementation of Resolution
1701 clauses and the arrangements for coordination and liaison, stressing
that maintaining stability is the responsibility of all sides. General Beary
also voiced UNIFIL's readiness to help solve border problems, communiqué
concluded.
Army Commander meets EU Parliament delegation
Thu 22 Feb 2018/NNA - Army commander, General Joseph Aoun, on Thursday
received at his Yarze office a delegation from the European Parliament, led
by MP Udo Vought. On the other hand, General Aoun met with the Assistant
Government Commissioner to the Military Tribunal, Judge Claude Ghanem, and
Elie Maalouf. The army commander then received a delegation of the Holy
Spirit University of Kaslik, led by Dr Lara Wakim, with talks reportedly
touching on a range of matters.
Geagea meets MP Tohme over electoral issues
Thu 22 Feb 2018/NNA - Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir on Thursday met at
his Meerab residence with "Democratic Gathering" MP Neemeh Tohmeh, as part
of continuing electoral consultations between the LF and the Progressive
Socialist Party.
On emerging, MP Tohme gave no statement to media representatives.
Hariri receives Cameroon presidential candidate
Thu 22 Feb 2018/NNA - The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri
received this evening at the "Center House" the candidate for the
Presidential elections in Cameroon, barrister Akere Muna heading a
delegation. After the meeting, Akere Muna said: "The relations between the
Lebanese residing in Africa and the countries they are living in must be
upgraded to an institutional level. As a Presidential candidate in my
country, we must find ways to raise this relationship to this level,
especially with the challenges that Lebanon faces at this stage."Earlier,
Hariri chaired at the Grand Serail the meeting of the Ministerial Committee
tasked with studying the draft budget. The meeting was attended by Deputy
Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani, Ministers Ali Hasan Khalil, Michel Pharaon,
Mohamed Fneich, Jamal Jarrah, Raed Khoury, Ayman Choucair and Youssef
Fenianos and the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers Fouad Fleifel.
After the meeting, Minister Khalil said: "We completed most of the items of
the budget draft, including some of the reform related items and we will
continue the discussions with numbers on Monday." He added: "If the
political forces and the representatives of the committee bear their
responsibility and if we work on decreasing the numbers to be able to reduce
the deficit, this will be very important." He said: "New taxes were not
discussed, contrary to what was said today, and the issue that was raised
during the meeting had to do with increasing the electricity tariff when it
would be supplied 24 hours a day. There are no numbers from outside the
draft and all expenses should be from within the budget."
Lassen meets families of Syrian refugees in Beqaa
Thu 22 Feb 2018/NNA - EU Ambassador Christina Lassen visited today the Beqaa
to meet with Syrian refugee families benefiting from EU assistance. The
visit was organised by the EU's humanitarian aid department, ECHO, together
with the World Food Programme and International Rescue Committee.
In a press release by the EU Media Commission in Beirut, it said: "In the
town of Qab Elias, families of Syrian refugees shared their grievances,
needs and daily challenges with Ambassador Lassen. Their testimonies shed
light on the harsh and abrupt disruption in their lives, caused by their
displacement from Syria. "In Syria, we suffered a lot when the war broke. We
were internally displaced, travelling from village to village for six months
before making it to Lebanon," Ali said. He added: "The assistance carries us
until the middle of the month, then we cover the rest of our expenses by
taking out debts."
Several families described how EU assistance has significantly improved
their living conditions. "With our multi-purpose cash, we are able to buy
more food, as well as cover our electricity, heating gas, and pay for a bit
of our rent," one family said. "Now we can buy fresh produce from the weekly
farmers' market, which is much cheaper than a supermarket," it added. The
EU's humanitarian aid, through ECHO, has reached around 750,000 Syrian
refugees in Lebanon. The EU has been providing cash assistance, non-formal
education and shelter - including water, hygiene and sanitation - to improve
the conditions of the families most affected by the displacement. The EU has
partnered with the World Food Programme to provide cash assistance to
vulnerable Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The cash assistance gives the
families the choice to spend it on their food, health, education, shelter
and other needs.
The EU is also working with the International Rescue Committee to help
Syrian refugees with advice and legal assistance through its protection
programme, for example to victims of violence. "What I have seen today
reminded me of the extremely difficult situation the refugees are facing
since seven years, in particular now in the middle of the winter season,"
Ambassador Lassen said. "We are here today to say that there are people
seeking refuge in Lebanon who have lost almost everything and that there are
the Lebanese who are hosting them and showing incredible hospitality and
generosity," Ambassador Lassen said. Ambassador Lassen reaffirmed the EU's
commitment to support refugees and Lebanon pointing out that the EU has
delivered since 2012 more than €1.1 billion to address the needs of both
Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees affected by the crisis. The EU is
providing, as part of its response, long-term support for the Lebanese
people as well as for Lebanon's infrastructure such as schools, hospitals,
water and waste."
Lebanon receives promises from Iraq on key issues
MEM/February 22, 2018/Lebanese President Michel Aoun has received promises
from the Iraqi government on four key issues, an anonymous official in
Baghdad has confirmed to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. The agreements were reached
during a meeting between Aoun and Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi on
Wednesday evening. They include facilitating Lebanese investments in Iraq;
the exchange of wanted terrorists; an agreement on security and intelligence
cooperation; and the formation of a committee to solve the issue of Lebanese
individuals who already have money in Iraq, estimated at a staggering $8
billion.“There are thousands of Lebanese who had investments and funds in
Iraqi banks from before the American occupation, and their cases are still
pending with the Central Bank of Iraq and the Iraqi Ministry of Planning,”
the source explained. He added that an Iraqi ministerial delegation will
visit Beirut in the coming weeks to follow-up on the agreements reached
between Aoun and Al-Abadi. On Wednesday, President Aoun also met with the
Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Salim Al-Jubouri. “The meeting focused on a
number of issues, including the fight against terrorism and corruption,
bilateral relations and investments in Iraq,” the Speaker’s office said.
EU Ambassador Meets Syrian Refugee Families in Bekaa
Naharnet/February 22/18/EU Ambassador to Lebanon Christina Lassen visited
Thursday the Bekaa region to meet with Syrian refugee families benefiting
from EU assistance. The visit was organized by the EU's humanitarian aid
department, ECHO, together with the World Food Program and International
Rescue Committee, a statement issued by the EU Delegation to Lebanon said.
In the town of Qab Elias, Syrian refugee families shared their grievances,
needs and daily challenges with Ambassador Lassen. Their testimonies shed
light on “the harsh and abrupt disruption in their lives, caused by their
displacement from Syria,” the EU Delegation said. "In Syria, we suffered a
lot when the war broke. We were internally displaced, traveling from village
to village for six months before making it to Lebanon," Ali said. He added:
"The assistance carries us until the middle of the month, then we cover the
rest of our expenses by taking out debts."Several families described how EU
assistance has “significantly” improved their living conditions. "With our
multi-purpose cash, we are able to buy more food, as well as cover our
electricity, heating gas, and pay for a bit of our rent," one family said.
"Now we can buy fresh produce from the weekly farmers' market, which is much
cheaper than a supermarket," it added. The EU's humanitarian aid, through
ECHO, has reached around 750,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The EU has been
providing cash assistance, non-formal education and shelter – including
water, hygiene and sanitation – to improve the conditions of the families
most affected by the displacement. The EU has partnered with the World Food
Program to provide cash assistance to vulnerable Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
The cash assistance gives the families the choice to spend it on their food,
health, education, shelter and other needs. The EU is also working with the
International Rescue Committee to help Syrian refugees with advice and legal
assistance through its protection program, for example to victims of
violence. "What I have seen today reminded me of the extremely difficult
situation the refugees are facing since seven years, in particular now in
the middle of the winter season," Ambassador Lassen said. "We are here today
to say that there are people seeking refuge in Lebanon who have lost almost
everything and that there are the Lebanese who are hosting them and showing
incredible hospitality and generosity," Lassen added. Moreover, Lassen
reaffirmed the EU's commitment to support refugees and Lebanon, pointing out
that the EU has delivered since 2012 more than €1.1 billion to address the
needs of both Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees affected by the crisis.
The EU Delegation statement noted that the EU is providing, as part of its
response, long-term support for the Lebanese people as well as for Lebanon's
infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, water and waste.
Japan provides endoscopy, X ray units to Al NADWAH
dispensary in Aley
Thu 22 Feb 2018/NNA - In a press release by the Embassy of Japan in Lebanon,
it said: "The Embassy provided an endoscopy and portable X-ray units to Al
NADWAH dispensary in Aley, in order to enhance the quality of medical
services in the area. On February 22 2018, Matahiro Yamaguchi, Ambassador of
Japan to Lebanon, visited the dispensary in Qmatiye in Aley to celebrate the
completion of the project implemented by Al NADWAH Cultural and Social Club.
The advanced equipment were funded by the Government of Japan in cooperaion
with FUJIFILM, a leading Japanese company in the healthcare sector, through
the public-private partnership scheme of the Grant Assistance of Grass-roots
Human Security Program (PPP-GGP). During the ceremony, Ambassador Yamaguchi
praised Al NADWAH’s efforts and FUJIFILM’s contribution in the project.
Additionally, H.E highlighted Japan’s strong commitments to assist the local
communities and Syrian refugees. Meanwhile, Hussein Jaafar, President of Al
NADWAH, expressed his deep appreciation for the Japanese support to the
organization and Lebanese people.
With the endoscopy and portable X-ray units, around 3,425 residents in the
area will receive improved medical services."
Tony Franjieh Says Doesn't Want to be a Minister
Naharnet/February 22/18/Tony Franjieh, the son of Marada Movement chief MP
Suleiman Franjieh who will replace him in the upcoming parliamentary race,
announced Thursday that he not seeking to become a minister in the next
government. “I'm not obliged with my father's political alliances but I'm
convinced of them at the beginning of my political journey. I believe that
these friendships serve the country's interest,” Franjieh said in his first
ever TV interview, aired by LBCI television. Noting that civil war was
“painful for Christians and all Lebanese,” Franjieh lamented that the “most
painful” chapter was the inter-Christian conflict. Turning to the present,
Franjieh admitted that Marada's experience with Free Patriotic Movement
chief Jebran Bassil “has not been successful.” “As for communication with
the Lebanese Forces, it is taking place through joint political committees,”
he added. “Prime Minister Saad Hariri is making political sacrifices for the
sake of the country,” Franjieh went on to say. He also emphasized that he is
not hoping to become a minister. “I'm a parliamentary candidate and I don't
want a ministry,” he said.Franjieh added: “My family will not take decisions
against the country's interest and should I do that, I would be
contradicting with my entire history.”
The Next
Israel-Hezbollah War Won’t Be an Accident الحرب المقبلة بين حزب الله
وإسرائيل لن تكون عرضية
Nicholas Noe/Tablet/February 22/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/62772
Non-military options that might prevent an ‘Israel-Resistance Axis War’ are
waning
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is worried that an all-out war
between Hezbollah and Israel may soon engulf the Middle East, even though
neither party wants to fight. “Sometimes a spark is enough to unleash this
kind of conflict,” Guterres warned on Sunday. But how, exactly? Ben Hubbard,
Isabel Kershner and Anne Barnard of The New York Times were quick to echo
and explain. “[T]he more entrenched Iran’s allies become, the greater the
pressure Israeli leaders could face to launch a strike—and the greater the
chances that a miscalculation or mistake by either side could provoke new
hostilities,” they reasoned.
The U.N. chief and the Times reporters could find ample support in their
notions of Middle Eastern causality in the most recent report of the
International Crisis Group (ICG), which warned that a regional war that “no
one wants” could be only “a miscalculation away.” The idea that a war
between Hezbollah and Israel would be an accident—the result of a “mistake”
or “miscalculation” rather than a considered choice—is repeatedly made
throughout ICG’s latest report, and arguably stands as the organization’s
core claim from which all its analyses and recommendations flow. As Joost
Hiltermann, program director for the Middle East and North Africa at ICG,
explained further in his own comments on the report, “The real [emphasis
added] risk here is that of a miscommunication or accident being a trigger
of a conflict across their border.”
I should note here that the ICG generally does excellent work. When I first
arrived in Lebanon in February 2004—and for several years thereafter—the
ICG’s periodic reports on the Levant were invaluable for my understanding of
the nature of the various conflicts within and between Lebanon, Syria,
Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. Two of the most enriching aspects were the
historical reviews that customarily undergirded each report as well as the
critical expositions of the ideological bases of the conflicts. The reader
was usually treated in both the main text and the footnotes to an analysis
of, say, Hezbollah’s ideological origins, its historical fluctuations, and
its current positioning. This sort of treatment ran throughout ICG’s work
and, as such, provided a particularly strong analytical foundation for their
brand of bold, conflict mitigation and peace-building recommendations.
Fast forward to ICG’s latest report last week warning of a potentially
climactic clash in the Levant, titled “Israel, Hezbollah and Iran:
Preventing Another War,” and much of the historical and ideological
frameworks that are evidently lubricating what is now routinely described as
an “inevitable” regional conflict are largely absent. One is therefore left
with a present-day set of disembodied “actors” that could simply
“miscalculate” and therefore “inadvertently” spark a descent into
wide-ranging violence. As for why this all may happen, little guidance is
provided beyond the matter-of-fact statement that the crossing any of
several (apparently shifting) “redlines” will likely trigger some kind of
military action.
ICG’s extremely stripped-down policy recommendations for preventing the
“next war” (Europe and European pressure are not even mentioned) are equally
hobbled. No systematic historical or ideological basis is provided as to
why, for example: “Israel [would] acquiesce in foreign forces remaining in
the rest of Syria pending a deal on the country’s future;” why Russia might
want to or be able to constrain its vital allies Iran and Hezbollah; or why
Iran and Hezbollah themselves might submit to ICG’s key recommendation of
“halt[ing] [their] construction of precision missile facilities and [their]
military infrastructure in Syria,” much less in Lebanon where, incredibly,
no recommendations are forthcoming despite ICG’s estimation that this effort
restarted as of early 2018? Indeed, the only justification for why any of
the powers involved might take up ICG’s recommendations seems to be, simply,
that “everyone stands to lose from an intensification of the Syrian war.”
As we know from so many past conflicts, however, this brand of “balance of
terror” argument can easily crumble as a result of underestimation or
mistakes as well as—crucially—plainly irrational decision-making, perceived
ideological necessity and/or rational calculations (defined by any one of
the sides gauging their long-term interests or moral thresholds). Perhaps
not surprisingly then, the different parties to the conflict have invested
considerable resources in parroting the first part of the analysis since
they are, without exception, eager to absolve themselves of any moral or
political responsibility for their choices going forward. After all, as ICG
uncritically quotes one Hezbollah official (along with several Israeli and
Iranian officials along similar lines), nobody “wants war” so, presumably,
no one will be guilty for kicking it off; everyone’s hands will have been
“forced” by someone else’s mistakes or outright malignity.
But now is not the time to explore why or to what extent the head of the
United Nations, the Times’ Middle East desk, and the world’s premier
conflict mitigation group have all gone down this particular road. Given the
unprecedented military engagements this month over the skies of Syria,
Lebanon, and Israel, the pace leading up to what should properly be termed
the first Israel-“Resistance Axis” War has quickened considerably, adding
urgency to the central task of better understanding what is happening and
then proposing policies commensurate with the extreme level of danger that
the region, Europe and perhaps the international system as a whole now
faces.
Beyond the moral deficiency of accepting the “accidental war” thesis as a
necessary and predictive one, at least two other problems present
themselves.
First, as ICG itself points out in its report, Hezbollah, Iran and its
allies are quietly and deliberately building up their military power while
Israel is quite openly and deliberately calculating a variety of
self-proclaimed “pre-emptive” attack strategies across Lebanon and Syria
(perhaps even including Iran) in the hopes of stopping something deemed
existential: the significant degradation of its Qualitative Military Edge (QME).
Should one of the Israeli attack scenarios come to pass in Lebanon
specifically—for example, a more limited strike that Israel has now
effectively promised against “precision weapons facilities”—a broader war
would be enormously difficult for any of the sides to resist. This is
because contrary to ICG’s claim that Hezbollah has generally “signaled that
the consequences of such a strike [in Lebanon] are unpredictable”—ICG
incorrectly extrapolates comments concerning Syria by one Hezbollah official
to include Lebanon—the secretary general of the Party, Hassan Nasrallah, has
actually repeatedly made clear that Israeli attacks in Lebanon would warrant
commensurate counterattacks into Israel, including from Lebanon. He has even
specifically said, “If you bomb our factories, we will bomb your factories.”
Israeli leaders, on balance, seem to implicitly understand that this
sequence of events would very likely mean an all-out confrontation because,
as but one indication, there have been no substantial military strikes in
Lebanon even as Israel has conducted “thousands of missions” in Syria and
has repeatedly cited the “unacceptable” danger that the alleged Hezbollah
weapons program in Lebanon represents.
ICG, however, asserts that the Israeli “military establishment assesses it
could [engage in a limited strike in Lebanon] without provoking an all-out
confrontation.” This kind of broad supposition, when combined with the
faulty extrapolation from the one Hezbollah official above, allows ICG and
many others to claim that a terrible war might “perhaps” arrive as the
result of “miscalculation” rather than deliberate, well-acknowledged actions
and reactions by the various sides. Unfortunately for the prospects of
stability, ICG’s confident assumption is not only contradicted by a
multitude of Hezbollah’s statements and the lack of Israeli action in
Lebanon to this point, it is also undermined by the official fighting
posture of both the State of Israel and Hezbollah.
Inexplicably, however, ICG fails even to mention, much less discuss, either
the Dahiye or Tel Aviv Doctrines, despite the fact that the former was
largely devised by the current IDF chief of staff and calls for “apply[ing]
disproportionate force” in the event of a substantial attack from Lebanon.
Because Hezbollah’s doctrine calls for hitting Israel as hard as Lebanon is
hit, i.e., by bringing down factories or buildings if Israel does so, both
actors have publicly locked themselves into what Israeli officials have
termed “the proverbial kindergarten” scenario: A substantial attack on
“precision missile factories” in Lebanon, one that would do the stated job
of seriously degrading a core Hezbollah capability, will lead to
counter-strikes against Israeli military bases and factories. To expect that
a kindergarten, or anything, for that matter, equal to the impact of killing
a large number of school children, doesn’t then get hit either deliberately
or mistakenly—and therefore activates the full extent of both Doctrines—is
betting along the lines of Lottery odds. Which is to say, a wholly
irrational calculation. In fact, this is precisely why the overwhelming
majority of public analysis concerning both doctrines has repeatedly
emphasized that the 12 years of relative “quiet” along the Lebanon-Israel
border has largely been determined by a frank private recognition among the
different sides that meaningful strikes in Lebanon by Israel (or the
reverse) inexorably leads to full war.
There is, in short, no “bloody nose,” “mowing the grass,” or “Little Pines”
(as in the original “limited” 1982 Israeli invasion plan for Lebanon)
strategy when it comes to a “pre-emptive” attack by Israel that would
adequately degrade its enemies’ power in Lebanon. Nevertheless, and even
though the combatants appear to be quite cognizant of this, the main sides
are evidently and consciously continuing to move further and further down a
path they all say publicly they “don’t want.”
The central problem here—beyond the severe problem that all of this is
leading to a massive war—is that by not at least exploring the history and
meaning of the combatants’ own fighting postures and their own discourses
over the years, whilst suggesting that the Israeli military as a whole
unambiguously assesses that a limited strike could in fact work, ICG
dramatically undermines its own stated purpose of raising the alarm about
precisely how dangerous the situation has become. After all, if an
underestimation or “miscalculation” of Hezbollah’s response to a “limited”
attack in Lebanon is the primary deficiency—and nobody “wants war” in any
case—then one can safely assume that strictly construed rationality is
preponderant among the different sides. As such, all the potential
combatants just need to better understand each other’s positions, move a bit
farther away from each other, accept some face-saving but hollow
“reconciliations” in Syria and reduce their force projection in order to
avert a major war (i.e., ICG’s core recommendations).
But the situation has moved well beyond strictly construed rationality.
Although there is a slim chance of some field mistake or false flag setting
off a war, the far more powerful reason leading to disaster needs to be said
clearly and as loudly as possible: Hezbollah, Iran and their allies are
consciously and progressively choosing to degrade Israel’s Qualitative
Military Edge to a point where Israel will have to choose between a
“pre-emptive” strike leading to a wide-scale war or one of several non-war
options at least some Israelis believe are available to it.
Which leads to the second problem with the “miscalculation” formula posed by
ICG and so many others: A tendency to diminish the irrational, ideological
drivers that are arguably at the heart of the current march towards war. As
ICG sees it, “today, none of the parties can soberly contemplate the
prospect of a conflict that would be uncontrolled, unprecedented and
unscripted.” But what if several of the parties are, in fact, “soberly”
planning for and taking steps that will very likely lead to all-out war, as
described above, even as they ready their constituencies to blame the other
side for forcing a “war of no choice”? And what if the different sides even
desire a climatic confrontation for moral, religious or even long-term
strategic reasons and are willing to take an ends-justifies-the-means
approach when it comes to the morality of their own actions? Indeed, what if
some of the sides think they could actually weather such a war as their
enemies likely fade away? These are all crucial questions to examine for
anyone invested in peace-building since they further raise the urgency of
the matter at hand whilst also precipitating a cry for more radical actions
by the actors involved and the international community in general.
As a first exercise in this regard, by just analyzing public statements from
Hezbollah over the decades and especially statements by Nasrallah, numerous
indications emerge that the Party’s discourse is guided by pragmatism,
rationality and (on some occasions) Iranian strategic interests but also by
a messianic faith in its moral and religious mission. Indeed, as Nasrallah
imagined it almost exactly eight years ago, this inherent contradiction is
at the heart of the entire “Resistance” project and a key aspect influencing
its posture towards conflict with its primary enemy, Israel:
In the last war we told you that if you hit Beirut we would hit Tel Aviv. We
do not want war; we do not want anyone in Lebanon to start theorizing about
the war-and-peace decision. We do not want war, not because we are afraid,
and not because we are cowards or weak. We crave war but we do not want it.
We do not want it but we crave it. [Applause] But we told you that if you
launch a war, and if you hit the Suburb the next time round, we will hit Tel
Aviv [Applause].
By incessantly building up its military power and securing both Syria and
Lebanon (not to mention an even wider strategic depth beyond both),
Hezbollah has said that it knows it is steadily degrading Israel’s vital QME.
In the party’s view, this is a combined moral, religious, Arab and national
duty. If this “deterrence equation,” as Nasrallah puts it, leads to a
terrible war—one that the Party justifies on the basis of both rational
considerations as well as a deep “craving”—then so be it. Ultimately, it
will be Israel’s fault since, as Nasrallah has also explained on numerous
occasions, the Party and its allies have said that they are presenting the
Israelis with a “peace” option, albeit one that the current Israeli body
politic will not possibly accept. Accede to a diminished balance of power
with the “Resistance Axis,” Nasrallah has suggested, while radically scaling
back your negotiating demands with the Palestinians and the Arab states so
you can reduce your overall threat via a final settlement, or choose to pre-emptively
attack us.
This is, in effect, the “peace plan” that Nasrallah has been deftly
“encouraging” Arab states—and Israel, at least rhetorically—to pursue for
more than a decade as a way to stave off the climactic war he says his party
both “craves” and doesn’t “want”:
How can these [Arab] states secure a just and honorable settlement between
quotes,” he once asked? ”Does the Israeli recognize them in the first place?
I tell you: The Israelis today view the Resistance and the resistance men in
Lebanon with great respect. As for all those lowly ones, they are not worth
anything. Even the Arab [Peace Plan] calls for a stand. It calls for men and
power. If you can’t use power, you can at least threaten with it. The talk
that we are weak will not do. … Realistic political behavior [says:] first
convince the Israelis of the need to have a just and comprehensive peace
before asking the resistance movement to lay down its arms… Even those who
have opted for a settlement have a need for this resistance. Indeed, we want
them [the Arab states] to benefit from the resistance.
Of course, Nasrallah and Hezbollah know that there is little chance of the
Israelis changing the hardware and software of their negotiating position on
the moribund peace process, much less accepting a greatly strengthened
“Resistance Axis” in the process (whether they should or not is a different
matter). So, as Hezbollah and its allies continue to pursue a military
buildup, rather than a pause or a reduction in their strength, all the
parties knowingly move forward to war, albeit with Nasrallah in the quite
advantageous position of forcing Israel to decide if it will be the one to
attack first.
As if all that wasn’t enough, there is an additional powerful element that
hampers a reversal of course by any of the parties: The prospect of total
victory. “In the next war we will triumph,” Nasrallah has repeatedly
promised, “and change the features of the region” decisively, including
ending the Jewish state of Israel and realizing one democratic state of
Palestine (in his preferred, though exceedingly vague formulation over the
decades, some number of Jewish “settlers” would have to emigrate).
Can he and the Party actually believe this? In fact, the answer is yes and
not just for seemingly messianic reasons. Nasrallah (and quite a few
“Resistance Axis” officials) have consistently laid out what they believe to
be a “reasonable” path to winning. It recognizes the power of the Dahiye
Doctrine and recognizes that Lebanon will likely be turned into a proverbial
parking lot as a result of its implementation (Syria is already partially
destroyed). But in the next war, Hezbollah will be joined by tens of
thousands of skilled fighters (if not more) from around the wider Middle
East (especially regional Shia militias). The full power and depth of Iran,
Syria and Gaza, at least, will also stand together on a vast “Resistance
Axis” frontline enveloping tiny Israel. Perhaps most importantly, however,
the imbalance in either side’s ability to bear war and intense pain will
ultimately push the “Resistance Axis” to victory. “Our adversaries,”
Nasrallah once explained, “cannot comprehend that this battle has entered a
totally different stage. This new stage’s motive, title, and incentive are
the belief in God, trust in God, content in God, dependence on God, and hope
to win God’s reward whatever the worldly results were. In such cases,” he
added, in an uncanny parallel to the threat that lies at the heart of
Israel’s nuclear program, “the ability to bear calamities and to stand the
loss of the beloved, the dear, the children, money and wealth becomes
something else.”
In this scenario then, Lebanon would certainly lie in ruins as per the
Dahiye Doctrine. But Israel will also be severely damaged, enough,
“Resistance Axis” officials seem to think, that a massive emigration would
ensue. In the wreckage—supposedly—the region would eventually recalibrate
itself, perhaps even, Hezbollah certainly hopes, toward some kind of a
system akin to that which the party doctrinally adheres: the guardianship of
the jurisprudent, i.e., a clerically guided republic. As Nasrallah put it
last month in a TV interview: “I said to the mujahedeen of the resistance:
Prepare yourselves for a day when you may be asked by the command of the
resistance to enter the Galilee or to liberate it. As for what lies beyond
the Galilee, it is connected to the general idea. … Regardless of the number
of missiles we possess, trust me: You do not need 100,000-200,000 missiles
to defeat the Israeli enemy. This is what terrifies the Israelis. They
themselves say this. The Israelis themselves say: ‘Hezbollah does not need
100,000 missiles. If Hezbollah has several dozen accurate missiles, and if
it selects its targets accurately, it will inflict a great catastrophe upon
us.’ ”
When it comes to the Israeli side, too, the ideological factors
involved—beyond the possible “miscalculations” of strictly rational
actors—should not be underestimated either. Nor should the widespread public
discourse confidently predicting victory given certain structural advantages
Israel would seem to have, including its three-layered Iron Dome, its
overwhelming firepower and this unique moment of strong U.S. and Sunni Arab
state backing for it.
Indeed, as on the ‘Resistance Axis” side, all of these aspects need to be
fully interrogated by those who have demonstrated a deep understanding of
the different lines of thought among Israeli decision-makers and the Israeli
body politic over the decades. As but one small example complicating ICG’s
claim that nobody in Israel desires a new war, Thomas Rick’s wrote recently
for Foreign Policy that, “conversations with Israelis these days tend to end
up in one place: casus belli. Specifically, the casus belli—the one that
will spark the next war in Lebanon.” Israel, he writes further, “isn’t
necessarily trying to avoid this war, however ugly it promises to be.
Indeed, Israelis generally agree the clash is unavoidable and possibly
opportune…”
Analyses like this would seem to lend credence to the widely held sense over
the past 12 years that there is a barely latent desire on both sides of the
border for a “climactic round” given that the end of the last
Israel-Hezbollah war in August 2006 was frustratingly indecisive (for
Israel) and perceived as just the beginning of a much anticipated final
victory (by Hezbollah). What role might a strong desire to significantly
hurt Hezbollah (and Iran) play in tipping Israel towards launching
pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon rather than pursuing non-military options?
What role, for that matter, does Zionism and the history of the State of
Israel play in maintaining Israel’s iron belief in an enduring QME advantage
over its enemies? ICG itself recommends that Israel essentially live with
the bolstered presence of Iranian and Hezbollah forces in Syria (it leaves
out any recommendations for how Israel should deal with the crucial issue of
Hezbollah’s allegedly re-started precision weapons program in Lebanon). But
how might it be possible—in terms of pure rationality, political
self-interest or ideological path dependency—for Israel to change its
position on its own QME and accept such a recommendation? And if it should
affect a major strategic and ideological shift when it comes to Syria (in
exchange for some carrots there), should it also accept the same kind of
bargain in Lebanon (and what bargain exactly?) where the danger of sparking
an all-out war is most evident?
By not raising or answering these questions—in effect, ignoring the
deliberateness of each side’s march to war and then dispensing with a
rigorous analysis of the substantial ideological and historical dimensions
of enmity—ICG not only undercuts the impact of its warning to the
international community, it also fails to provide a basis for understanding
why any of the sides might agree to its recommendations. Indeed, as
mentioned above, the only rationale we are treated to in their latest report
is the hope that all of the potential combatants might somehow come to their
senses and realize that “everyone stands to lose” if the current trajectory
holds. But, as we have also seen, there is much in the public domain from
the two opposed sides that suggests they each think they will be perfectly
capable of bearing the pain of an all-out war which they may partially
desire anyway. One side might even emerge as a decisive winner for years, if
not decades, to come as both Hezbollah and Israeli officials have
specifically predicted.
All of which should prompt peace-building organizations, diplomats and
potentially affected citizens to hold the combatants rigorously to account
for the choices that they are making right now whilst, perhaps most
importantly, demanding a far more expansive discussion about all of the
waning nonmilitary options that might prevent the “Israel-Resistance Axis
War” from coming to pass.
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/255811/the-next-israel-hezbollah-war
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on February 22-23/18
U.N. Bid for Syria
Ceasefire Falters as Russia Says No Deal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 22/18/After two weeks
of negotiations, Russia on Thursday told the U.N. Security Council that
there was still no agreement on a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, dimming hopes
of international action to halt the carnage in Eastern Ghouta. During a
council meeting called by Russia, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia presented a
new raft of amendments to a draft resolution that would allow deliveries of
humanitarian aid and medical evacuations during the pause. Negotiations on
the draft presented by Sweden and Kuwait on February 9 have dragged on as
hundreds of Syrians have died in a fierce government air campaign in the
rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta. Nebenzia told the council that Sweden
and Kuwait had requested a vote on the draft resolution even though they are
"fully aware there is no agreement on it."The Security Council needs to
reach a "feasible" agreement on a ceasefire and not take a decision that
would be "severed from reality," said Nebenzia. UN diplomats resumed talks
in a last-ditch bid to avoid a Russian veto and a vote at the council was
now considered for Friday. "We are trying to find a way forward," Swedish
Ambassador Olof Skoog said after the meeting, adding that he was "leaning
towards a vote" on Friday. The United States, France and Britain called for
a quick vote to address the acute crisis on the ground. "The United States
is ready to vote on this resolution right here and right now," said U.S.
diplomat Kelley Currie. "The assault from the regime is relentless, and the
suffering is overwhelming."Outside U.N. headquarters in New York, a
coalition of aid groups put up three billboards, inspired by the film "Three
Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri" that said "500,000 dead in Syria. And
still no action? How come Security Council?"
Hell on earth
More than 400 people have been killed in the five-day assault by the
government on Eastern Ghouta, where UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
said 400,000 Syrians are living in "hell on earth."In his address to the
council, Nebenzia cited concerns over enforcing the ceasefire and questioned
the feasibility of quickly launching a major aid operation to reach
civilians and lift sieges. He accused supporters of the ceasefire of seeking
to create "a scandal in order to step up pressure on the Syrian government
and taint the Russian government."The draft resolution would pave the way
for the truce to go into effect 72 hours after the adoption of the measure
and for aid deliveries and medical evacuations to begin 48 hours after that.
It demands the immediate lifting of all sieges including in Eastern Ghouta,
Yarmouk, Foua and Kefraya and orders all sides to "cease depriving civilians
of food and medicine indispensable to their survival."In a concession to
Russia, the draft was amended during tough-going negotiations last week to
specify that the ceasefire does not apply to the Islamic State group or
al-Qaida. That would allow the Syrian government offensive to continue
against al-Qaida-linked jihadists in Idlib, the last province in Syria
outside the control of Damascus. French Ambassador Francois Delattre warned
that failure to act to help Eastern Ghouta would result in a devastating
loss of credibility for the Security Council and could mean "the death knell
of the United Nations."More than 340,000 people have been killed and
millions driven from the homes in the war, which next month enters its
eighth year with no end in sight. More than 13.1 million Syrians are in need
of humanitarian aid, of whom 2.9 million live in besieged and hard-to-reach
areas.
Russia Says 'No
Agreement' at U.N. on Syria Ceasefire
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 22/18/Russia on Thursday said there
was no agreement at the U.N. Security Council on a 30-day ceasefire for
Syria to allow deliveries of humanitarian aid and medical evacuations.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia presented amendments to a draft
resolution now under negotiation for nearly two weeks as the Syrian
government pressed on with a fierce offensive in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta.
Russia Tested 'Over 200 New Weapons' in Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 22/18/Russia has tested over 200 new
types of arms in Syria during its campaign in support of President Bashar
al-Assad, a senior lawmaker said Thursday, as Moscow was accused of taking
part in air strikes against rebel-held Eastern Ghouta. "As we helped the
brotherly Syrian people, we tested over 200 new types of weapons," said
Vladimir Shamanov, a former commander of Russia's airborne troops who now
serves as head of the Russian Duma's defense committee. "It's not an
accident that today they are coming to us from many directions to purchase
our weapons, including countries that are not our allies," he said. "Today
our military-industrial complex made our army look in a way we can be proud
of," he said. Russia, a close ally of the Syrian government in the
protracted multi-front war, has been accused of indiscriminate bombing
throughout the conflict causing massive casualties. The latest criticism
focuses on the air strikes against the enclave of Eastern Ghouta, where more
than 350 civilians have been killed in five days, but the Kremlin denied
involvement in the regime-led assault. Shamanov's remarks also come amid
reports that Russia has deployed its Su-57 stealth fighter prototype in
Syria, where two such planes were reportedly spotted Wednesday. Photos of
the fifth generation jet, allegedly over Syria, were re-posted by various
state media Thursday. A source in the defense ministry confirmed to RBK news
agency that the two planes were sent to the Hmeimim base "for a test in real
conditions." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the
reported deployment of Su-57.
Five-Day Assault on Syria's Eastern Ghouta Kills More
than 400
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 22/18/Fresh bombardment on Eastern
Ghouta killed dozens Thursday, bringing the number of dead civilians in a
five-day assault by the Syrian government to more than 400. Mounting calls
for a humanitarian truce in one of the bloodiest episodes of Syria's
seven-year conflict went unheeded as 46 more people were killed by air
strikes and rocket fire. Diplomats were working on securing Russian support
for a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding a month-long ceasefire in
the enclave which the world body's chief Antonio Guterres described as "hell
on earth" but no date was scheduled yet. People huddled in basements as
government forces pounded the besieged enclave with rockets and bombs,
turning towns into fields of ruins and even hitting hospitals. Aid group
Doctors Without Borders said 13 of the facilities it supports in Eastern
Ghouta were damaged or destroyed in three days, leaving remaining staff with
very little to save the hundreds of wounded brought to them every day. In
the hospital mortuary in Douma, the main town in the enclave just east of
Damascus, bodies wrapped in white shrouds were already lining up on the
floor, two of them children.
Nowhere safe
"Five days of air strikes and intense artillery fire by the regime and its
Russian ally have killed 403 civilians, including 95 children," said the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Morning rain appeared to initially keep
warplanes away on Thursday but the sky cleared by midday and jets, some of
them Russian according to the Observatory, soon returned. Russia has so far
denied direct involvement in the assault on Ghouta but the pro-government
Syrian newspaper al-Watan reported on Thursday that Russian warplanes and
advisers had joined the battle. Regime and allied forces have been massing
around the enclave, in which an estimated 400,000 people live, ahead of a
likely ground offensive to flush out holdout Islamist and jihadist groups.
"We are 14 women and children living in a room that is 10 feet wide, with no
toilet and nowhere to wash," said 53-year-old Umm Abdo, who joined a large
group in the basement of a school in Arbin. The brief respite provided by
the rain on Thursday encouraged some residents to venture out of their
basements and shelters, to buy food, check on their property or inquire
about their relatives and neighbors. In the town of Hammuriyeh, a queue had
formed outside a shop as starving residents tried to stock up but another
rocket sowed panic and sent everybody back to their shelters. In Douma, a
young boy tried to peddle lighters on the street but rocket fire quickly
forced him to scamper back to cover.
Powerless
An AFP correspondent saw rescuers known as the "White Helmets" forced to
stop their efforts to retrieve a wounded woman from the rubble of a
collapsed home when air strikes resumed. When they ventured back to the
site, the woman was dead. The indiscriminate bombardment and the strikes on
medical facilities sparked global outrage but few concrete options emerged
to stop the bloodletting. "The killing of children, the destruction of
hospitals -- all that amounts to a massacre that must be condemned and which
must be countered with a clear no," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The aid community voiced its frustration as the world appeared once again
powerless to stop a conflict that has left almost 350,000 dead in seven
years and caused destruction rarely seen since World War II.
Russia
Humanitarian agencies are "sickened that no matter how many times they've
raised the alarm, taken the step of speaking out, called on the Security
Council to do something, the violence and brutality will sink to new lows,"
said the Syria INGO Regional Forum. Talks for a deal between the regime and
the armed groups controlling Ghouta appear to have stalled. Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a press conference in Belgrade that
jihadist fighters in Ghouta had rejected an evacuation deal. "A few days
ago, our military in Syria suggested to the fighters that they withdraw
peacefully from Eastern Ghouta, like the evacuation of fighters and their
families that was organized in East Aleppo," he said. The head of the
defense committee in Russia's lower house of parliament said Thursday that
more than 200 news types of weapons were tested as part of his country's
military support to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. "It's not an
accident that today they are coming to us from many directions to purchase
our weapons, including countries that are not our allies," he said.
Russia Says Fighters Rejected Offer to Evacuate from
Ghouta
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 22/18/Moscow on Thursday said
fighters in Syria's rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta had rejected
Russia's offer to evacuate peacefully and were using civilians there as
human shields. The U.S., rights groups and pro-government Syrian press have
said Russia is taking part in air strikes that have killed more than 350
people in the enclave over five days, but Moscow has denied the claims. "A
few days ago, our military in Syria suggested to the fighters that they
withdraw peacefully from Eastern Ghouta, like the evacuation of fighters and
their families that was organized in East Aleppo," Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov said during a press conference in Belgrade. "The al-Nusra
Front and its allies categorically rejected this proposal and continue to
shell the city from their positions, using the civilian population of
Eastern Ghouta as a human shield," he said. Lavrov added that Russia was
ready to consider a U.N. Security Council draft resolution demanding a
30-day ceasefire in Syria as long as it did not include the Islamic State
jihadist group or the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida's one-time Syria affiliate.
Regime and allied forces have been massing around Eastern Ghouta, in which
an estimated 400,000 people live, ahead of a likely ground offensive to
flush out holdout Islamist and jihadist groups. Talks for a deal between the
regime and the armed groups controlling Ghouta appear to have stalled. The
Russian military has fought a campaign for over two years in Syria, launched
in September 2015 in support of Assad, helping to turn around the
multi-front war.
Protest in Istanbul
against Bloodshed in Syria's E. Ghouta
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 22/18/Over 200 people on Thursday
protested outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul against the deadly
assault on Syria's rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta. More than 350
civilians have been killed in the five-day-old blitz by the Syrian regime
led by President Bashar al-Assad in the rebel-held enclave near Damascus.
Regime supporter Russia has been accused of taking part in air strikes but
the Kremlin denied involvement, on Wednesday calling the accusations "groundless."The
demonstrators, most of them Syrians, chanted slogans against Damascus as
well as Moscow and another regime supporter, Iran, an AFP correspondent
said. Others held placards saying "Russians, you are killing Ghouta's
children, but history records" and "Children are dying of hunger in
under-siege Eastern Ghouta." Protesters called on the major powers to bring
pressure to bear to "end the bloodbath". Over three million Syrian refugees
live in Turkey including nearly 540,000 in Istanbul after fleeing the
conflict which began with anti-government protests in 2011. Now a
multi-front war, Russia entered in September 2015, sending planes to back
the Assad regime and turning the military situation around in Damascus's
favor. Turkey, which has supported Syrian rebels in the conflict, has been
working closely with Moscow and Tehran on a process to bring peace to Syria,
despite occasional tensions. Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin on
Wednesday said Turkey condemned the attacks and "urged the Syrian regime to
immediately put an end" to them. "It is a crime against humanity. That is to
say, killing innocent people in East Ghouta is unacceptable whatever the
reason is," Kalin said.
UAE Concerned over Eastern Ghouta Violence, Calls for
‘Immediate Truce’
Asharq Al-Awsat/February 22/18/The United Arab Emirates
called on Thursday for an end to the violence in Eastern Ghouta that lies on
the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. The Emirati foreign ministry
expressed concern at the escalation of violence and called for an "immediate
truce" to halt the bloodshed and protect civilians.The ministry also called
for allowing humanitarian and medical aid to civilians. It reiterated that
only a political solution can resolve the Syrian crisis. The statement
appealed to all parties to activate the UN’s Geneva-based political process.
Saudi Arabia Calls for Stopping Eastern Ghouta Violence
Asharq Al-Awsat/February 22/18/Saudi Arabia stressed on Thursday the
importance of stopping the violence in the Syrian regime's deadly assault on
Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus. "We stress the need for the
Syrian regime to stop the violence, to allow in humanitarian aid, and to
take seriously the path of a political solution to the crisis," the Saudi
foreign ministry said. "We are concerned over the continuation of Syrian
regime attacks on Eastern Ghouta and the impact on civilians there," an
official source at the ministry said.The official urged Damascus to pursue a
political solution by adhering to UN Security Council resolution 2254, which
calls for a nationwide ceasefire and a political transition.
Trump Considers Arming Teachers amid Lobbying Efforts
on Gun Rights
Asharq Al-Awsat/February 22/US President Donald Trump suggested arming
teachers as students galvanized by the deadly mass shooting at a Florida
high school confronted lawmakers on Wednesday with demands to restrict sales
of assault rifles. Trump made his suggestion as he faced broken voices,
tears and demands for action at a White House meeting Wednesday with
survivors of the gun rampage that killed 17 people at the Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Trump also promised "very strong"
background checks on gun owners during the poignant "listening session," in
which he heard first-hand accounts from bereaved parents and friends, and
schoolchildren who narrowly escaped with their own lives. But his proposal
to arm educators received a cool response from a teacher who survived the
shooting as well as the local sheriff at a town hall meeting in Florida.
Also Justin Gruber, a 15-year-old Stoneman Douglas student, said "there
needs to be significant change in this country because this has to never
happen again." "People should be able to feel that when they go to school
they can be safe," Gruber said. The unprecedented lobbying effort by groups
of teenagers and parents at the White House and at the Florida statehouse in
Tallahassee played out as fellow students staged classroom walkouts and
rallies in cities across the country. Students are planning a march on
Washington on March 24, with sister rallies planned across the country. The
attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 was the
second-deadliest shooting at a US public school. It has revived the
long-running US debate over gun rights. Investigators said the assault was
carried out by 19-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student Nikolas Cruz, who
purchased an AR-15-style assault weapon nearly a year ago. "The laws of the
country have failed," Stoneman Douglas student Laurenzo Prado said,
referring to a Florida law that allows people as young as 18 to buy assault
weapons. Lawmakers in Tallahassee said they would consider raising the age
limit to 21 although the state Senate opted on Wednesday not to take up a
gun control measure. Trump directed the Justice Department on Tuesday to
work on a regulation that would effectively ban bump stocks. Last October, a
retired real estate investor used multiple assault rifles equipped with bump
stocks to kill 58 people at a Las Vegas outdoor concert, the deadliest
attack by a single gunman in US history. Bump stocks have not played a
prominent role in other recent US mass shootings.
Byzantine Church Discovered in Heart of Tunisian Desert
Tunis - Al Munji Al Saidani/Asharq Al-Awsat/February 22/18/Excavations
conducted by a team from the Tunisian National Heritage Institute this month
revealed that a church dating back to the Byzantine period was found in an
archaeological site called Castillia. The church has been completely
submerged in the sands of the Tunisian desert, specifically between the
cities of Tozeur and Dougga, which preserved a big part of it. This
archaeological discovery dates back to the late Roman period, between the
5th and 7th centuries AD. At the site, the team also found many ceramic
items and potteries, as well as lamps discovered near the church. The
archeologists also found several walls that are still under the sand, which
confirms the presence of other buildings, adjacent to the church. Murad Al-Shatawi,
representative of the Tunisian Heritage Institute in Tozeur said: "The
church has three main compartments: a main entrance, two sub-entrances, two
annexes and a circular surface. The church stretches over 140 square meters,
with a 3.50 to 3.70 meters height." Bassam bin Saad, a specialist in
archaeological architecture, said that the primary materials used for the
construction of this archeological monument are local. He suggested that the
stones were brought from the entrance to the city of Dougga. This
archaeological discovery is expected to boost the Tunisian tourism sector.
Researchers suggest that the archaeological site was fully submerged under
the sand, which helped in preserving it.
Iraqi Criticism of Iran's Adoption of Saddam's
Execution
Baghdad - Asharq Al-Awsat/February 22/18/A recent claim by an Iranian
official that his country was behind the execution of former Iraqi president
Saddam Hussein was met with a wave of criticism in Baghdad. Politicians have
called on the government to respond to such "unacceptable interference" in
their country's internal affairs. During a television interview, member of
the Supreme Council for the Cultural Revolution, Rahimpour Azghadi, said
five countries are under the control of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. "Iran
has killed the former regime president, Saddam Hussein, after the United
States sought to retain him. Our group hanged Saddam Hussein and not the
Americans," he added."It is time to declare the Persian Empire in the
region," Azghadi concluded. Former Iraqi MP Hasan al-Allawi said the Iraqi
government must set the record straight concerning these statements. He told
Asharq Al-Awsat if Iraqi officials remain silent, whether over these
statements or any other, including those of Ali Akbar Velayati, they will
validate Tehran's claims that it is managing Iraq’s affairs. Statements made
by Iranian officials aim at informing the Iraqi public that there is no such
thing as sovereignty of states. As if Iran is saying "we are the guardians
of Iraq and the capabilities of this country depend on us."Allawi explained
that a statement claiming Iran’s execution of Saddam Hussein will lead to
confusion. He also wondered about former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's
position on such an announcement knowing that Saddam was executed during his
first term and with his approval. "It is his (Maliki) responsibility to
correct the course of events," he concluded. In addition, senior official of
Badr Organization Karim al-Nouri told Asharq Al-Awsat that Azghadi’s
statement is insulting to Iran's allies and its rivals.
"US provided protection for Saddam's trial, but the decision to execute him
was purely Iraqi," Nouri reiterated. The Badr official wondered – in
reference to Maliki - why officials responsible for the execution remained "silent.”"Al-Sumaria
News" website also quoted top official at "Iraqi Front for National
Dialogue" Haider al-Mulla as saying: "Iraq will not be part of the policy of
sectarian wars that Iran seeks to create in the region in search for its
alleged empire." In a statement, Mullah called on the Iraqi Foreign Ministry
to take a "clear position from these transgressions that affect Iraq's
sovereignty."He added that Tehran must realize that the policy of exporting
the crisis will reflect on it, especially after the international community
began to realize the risks of its expansionist policies on the security and
stability of the region.
Ahmadinejad Calls for Early Presidential, Parliamentary Elections
London - Adil Al-Salmi/February 22/18/Former Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad took advantage of recent statements made by Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei to send him an open letter demanding "free and urgent" presidential
and parliamentary elections without the intervention of the Guardian Council
and the security and military services. On Monday, Khamenei acknowledged the
regime's failure in achieving social justice, while demanding the government
and officials to take serious steps to activate policies that improve
economic and social conditions. Khamenei urged officials to apologize to the
Iranians for delaying justice for more than three decades. Among the
policies advocated by Khamenei are opening up to the East rather than the
West, which implicitly supports certain policies of Ahmadinejad's former
government. Ahmadinejad said in response to Khamenei's speech: “An immediate
and essential need is holding quick and free elections for the presidency
and the parliament, of course without the engineering of the Guardian
Council and interference of military and security institutions, so the
people have the right to choose." Ahmadinejad’s letter also called for
“fundamental reforms” in the three branches of government - executive,
legislative and judiciary, as well as the office of the Supreme Leader. The
former president also called for the release of political prisoners and
dismissal of judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani, whom he has accused of unfairly
targeting his allies. Dolat Bahar website indicated that Ahmedinejad
addressed Khamenei on Monday, moments after the religious leader delivered
his speech. "Making these reforms correctly and urgently would contribute to
restoring public confidence in the Iranian regime," he indicated. On
Wednesday, Ahmadinejad went to Tehran court with his aides, and after being
banned from entering the court, he delivered a speech in which he attacked
senior officials with "absolute powers" who "despise" the Iranian people.
Few days earlier, Ahmadinejad issued a statement on the anniversary of the
revolution, describing the judicial chief as "one of the pillars of
injustice in Iran."Ahmadinejad also implicitly criticized Khamenei, saying
that the judiciary could not be held accountable even by the Supreme leader.
Two days ago, Sadiq Larijani responded to Ahmadinejad's statements and
accused him of "betraying the revolution.""He is attacking the judiciary,
the regime and Supreme Leader after he faced judicial rulings that are not
in his favor," Larijani said, advising his rival to "resort to legal means
to protest judicial rulings."In April, the Guardian Council did not welcome
Ahmadinejad's presidential candidacy, after the former president ignored
Khamenei's warning in September 2016 asking him not to submit his candidacy.
Last September, contrary to speculations, Khamenei revived Ahmadinejad's
hopes of continuing his political career when he was re-elected to the
Expediency Discernment Council. The 2005 and 2009 presidential elections are
the most controversial in Iran. In 2005, Ahmadinejad beat former president
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the second round. The reformist movement
accused the son of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and his
associates of favoring Ahmadinejad. In 2009, supporters of reformist
candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi took to the streets in
angry protests for eight months after candidates rejected the results. After
the 2009 elections, Khamenei said Ahmadinejad's positions were closest to
those of former presidents, such as Hashemi Rafsanjani and Khatami.
Meanwhile, state-run Mehr news agency reported that 80 parliamentarians
signed a second request to question Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The
agency quoted a member of the parliament as saying that more than 80 members
signed a request to direct five new questions to the Iranian president.
According to this MP, the five questions address the economy, smuggling,
people's livelihoods, unemployment and the loss in the value of the Iranian
Toman. This is the second request for questioning Rouhani in around two
weeks after the first demand on the bankruptcy of financial institutions and
the role of the Central Bank. It received the required quorum with the
approval of 76 deputies. The parliament's economic committee is currently
deliberating the first request, and the government must provide answers to
avoid Rouhani’s interrogation.
Man Blows Himself Up after Hurling Grenade into U.S.
Embassy in Montenegro
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 22/18/A suicide attacker blew himself
up after throwing an explosive device into the U.S. embassy compound in
Podgorica, the Montenegrin government said Thursday. Authorities in
Podgorica have not released any theories as to the motive for the early
morning attack in Montenegro, which recently joined NATO. "In front of the @USEmbassyMNE
building in #Podgorica, #Montenegro an unknown person committed suicide with
an explosive device. Immediately before, that person threw an explosive
device," the government tweeted, saying the device was "most probably" a
hand grenade. It said the attacker threw the device "into the U.S. embassy
compound" from an intersection near a sports center. A U.S. State Department
spokesperson confirmed "a small explosion near the U.S. Embassy compound"
saying officials were "working closely with police to identify the
assailant(s)."Montenegro's main daily paper Vijesti identified the attacker
as a 43-year-old man born in neighboring Serbia but who was living in
Podgorica. It also published a picture, apparently from his Facebook page,
showing an award he won for his service in the Yugoslav army in 1999, which
was signed by the late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic. That was the
year in which NATO struck Serbia to end the Kosovo war. In 2006, Montenegro
declared independence and has espoused pro-Western policies ever since.
'Man's body removed'
An AFP correspondent who arrived at the
site shortly after the blast did not see any damage. Police said the
explosion inside the embassy's courtyard had left a crater, but that there
was no other damage to the embassy’s property. On its Twitter account, the
embassy said all its staff were "safe and accounted for" but it canceled all
visa services for the day, although access was available for U.S. citizens
"on an emergency basis."A guard at the sports center who asked not to be
named said he "heard two explosions, one after another.""Police came very
quickly and the body of a man was taken away," he told AFP.
New NATO member
The heavily-secured embassy building is located on the outskirts of
Podgorica's city center, near the secret police headquarters and the Moraca
river. Montenegro, a small Adriatic state of some 660,000 people, joined
NATO last May. The decision to become a member provoked violent protests by
the pro-Russian opposition in 2015. In October 2016, authorities said they
had thwarted a plot by pro-Russian militants to storm parliament and oust
the pro-Western government on the eve of general elections. Authorities
alleged that "Russian state bodies" were involved in the conspiracy, which
they said was aimed at preventing Montenegro from joining NATO. In October
2011, the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo in neighboring Bosnia was the target of a
militant attack. An Islamist, Mevlid Jasarevic opened fire with an automatic
rifle at the embassy building, wounding a police officer. He was also
injured in the exchange of fire and arrested. Jasarevic was later sentenced
to 15 years' imprisonment. According to figures published in November by a
regional thinktank, a thousand people from the Western Balkans have gone to
join jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq since 2012. Twenty-three of those
were from Montenegro, whose population is predominantly Orthodox Christian.
Last month, a court in Montenegro for the first time sentenced one of its
citizens for having fought in Syria. Hamid Beharovic, 39, was found guilty
of fighting for Islamic State group between April 2015 and May 2016. He was
given a six-month jail term.
Egypt Court Sentences
21 to Death for Planning Attacks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 22/18/An Egyptian court sentenced on
Thursday 21 people to death for planning attacks and weapons possession.
Only five of the defendants sentenced to death were present at the trial,
and they may appeal the ruling. The remaining 16 were tried in absentia and
could get a retrial if arrested. The court also sentenced four defendants to
25 years in prison each and three to 15 years. They been accused of planning
attacks and embracing "extremist ideology." Egyptian courts have sentenced
hundreds to death for violence after the military toppled the divisive
Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and unleashed a crackdown on his
supporters. Many have appealed and won retrials, but executions have been
carried out for at least 19 people since December.
400 kilograms of cocaine found in Russian embassy in
Argentina
AFP/February 23/18/BUENOS AIRES: Police have seized nearly 400 kilograms of
cocaine from the Russian embassy in Buenos Aires and arrested several
members of a drug trafficking gang, Argentina's security minister announced
Thursday. Patricia Bullrich told a press conference that the drugs
discovered in an annex of the embassy had a street value of around $50
million. "A gang of narco-criminals was trying to use the diplomatic courier
service of the Russian embassy" to ship the drugs to Europe, she said. She
told reporters that Russian and Argentine police had decided to mount a
sting operation after the Russian ambassador informed them of the drugs find
in Dec. 2016. "The cocaine was replace by flour and monitoring devices were
placed to monitor delivery" of the 16 bags of the drug, Bullrich said. She
said the sting had resulted in the arrest of five suspects — two in
Argentina and three in Russia. The drug, of "very high purity," was destined
for Russia and probably also Germany, where the suspected mastermind lives.
"We believe the German police will arrest this fugitive," Bullrich said. The
minister said Russian security service agents "came to Argentina on three
occasions to assist in the investigation" that took more than a year. One of
the two people arrested in Argentina is a naturalized Russian who was a
member of the police force in Buenos Aires, said Bullrich. Investigators
believe the cocaine likely originated in Colombia or Peru.
Seven soldiers, 71 militants killed in Egypt Sinai op
AFP/February 23/18/CAIRO: Seven Egyptian soldiers and 71 militants have been
killed since the launch of a wide-ranging operation to quell an Daesh group
affiliate in Sinai earlier this month, the military said. “As a result of
the heroic combat operations by our armed forces...seven heroes of the armed
forces were martyred,” military spokesman Col. Tamer Rifai said at a press
conference aired Thursday on state television.“71 extremists have been
killed and five arrested,” he said. Rifai added that 1,852 other suspects
have been rounded up in the operation that began on February 9, following an
ultimatum by the President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to end the deadly
insurgency. IS attacks have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in the
Sinai Peninsula. The group has also killed over 100 Christians in the past
year and targeted tourists. Sissi ordered his security commanders to put an
end to the attacks following a massacre at a northern Sinai mosque in
November that killed more than 300 worshippers. IS is believed to have
carried out the attack on the mosque, frequented by Sufi Muslims, but it has
not claimed responsibility. The group’s Egyptian branch has used the north
of the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Israel, as a staging ground for its
attacks. Officials say IS has tried to move fighters to Sinai following
defeats in Iraq and Syria, where it has lost most of its territory. Egypt is
holding a presidential election next month, which Sissi is expected to
easily win.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on February 22-23/18
The Machines Are
Taking Over Space
Faye Flam/Bloomberg View/February 22/18/
People concerned about robots taking away jobs might want to consider where
it’s already happened. Machines with varying levels of intelligence have
quietly taken over the most glamorous, coveted and admirable job in the
world -- space exploration.
It’s not that people can’t still be astronauts -- it’s just there aren’t
nearly enough jobs for all the people with the desire and ability to do it.
And in terms of gathering data, we can’t catch up to the robots, which have
in recent years been plunging beneath Jupiter’s thick cloud cover and
exploring the exotic moons of Saturn with their methane lakes and roiling
ice geysers. At more then 11 billion miles from home, the unmanned space
probe Voyager 1 has finally reached the edge of the sun’s “atmosphere” of
solar wind particles and sampled true interstellar space.
Perhaps human space flight will start to take a cue from Elon Musk’s
roadster now playfully speeding away on an orbit around the sun. In the
future, going into space might become less of a solemn duty carried out by a
hand-selected few, and more of an adventure, done both for learning and fun.
This will take some attitude adjustment, given that the US has been the
traditional leader in space exploration, and we are a puritanical people,
deeply suspicious of fun.
Robots didn’t take over space in any sort of hostile way. It’s still the
people who are doing the exploration, using technology to boldly go to
places with toxic atmospheres, crushing pressure, deadly X-rays, and extreme
temperatures.
We biological beings are the ones whose curiosity drives the missions. “I’ve
explored Pluto and the distant reaches of the universe from the comfort of
my living room,” said Tod Lauer, an astronomer with the National Optical
Astronomy Observatory in Arizona. “We can make the decisions and judgments
remotely. We can make new missions based on what we’ve learned.” When their
missions end, robots go without question or complaint. The Cassini
spacecraft collected some final data as it plunged to its demise in Saturn's
atmosphere.
That said, Lauer added that it would be fun to go into space. And even more
fun than going into space would be going to Mars. Getting to our neighboring
planet isn’t just Elon Musk’s dream -- it’s the destination recommended by
the National Academy of Sciences. In a 2014 report on the future of space
flight, a panel of experts identified Mars as the most reasonable new place
NASA could send humans.
The panel’s co-chair, Cornell University planetary scientist Jonathan Lunine,
said they concluded that science alone isn’t quite enough to justify sending
people on a Mars mission. But sending humans to Mars could give the US a
chance to display leadership in peaceful international cooperation, he said,
and could inspire the public. So the justification for going to Mars would
combine scientific goals with “economic, political and aspirational” ones.
What is “aspirational” if not a respectable term for fun and adventurous?
Lunine said his panel concluded it would take another 30 years to get humans
to Mars, during which time robot technology may advance in ways we can’t
predict. They may be able to make the journey safer and better in ways we
can’t imagine now. Meanwhile, robotic missions will help answer the big
questions. Scientists are still hoping to learn more about how our solar
system formed. The search for alien life continues, boosted by the surprise
finding that there are seas with the potential for harboring life on
Saturn’s moon Enceladus, as well as on Jupiter’s Europa. And now instead of
just nine planets, we have eight planets and scores of other worlds out
beyond Pluto -- Makemake, Quaoar, Sedna and Varuna, to name a few. It’s
human nature to want to see what’s out there, even if we can’t go in the
flesh. Commercial vehicles such as SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, which launched the
spacefaring roadster, will probably figure into the quest, said Lunine,
since there’s a shortage of powerful rockets and no shortage of ideas for
missions that need to be lofted far into space. Scientists have drawn up
plans for potential missions to look closer at those distant moons of
Jupiter and Saturn for signs of life, and there are plans for exploring
Uranus and Neptune, which hold particular fascination since astronomers have
found many bodies like them in other solar systems. Perhaps these missions
will be long ago accomplished by the time that car is predicted to swing
close enough to be visible from Earth -- roughly estimated to be around
2073. If history is any guide, we and our robots will still be exploring,
launching missions to answer new questions that nobody has yet thought to
ask.
The Nation and Patriotism Dialogues
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/February 22/18/
Major General Saeed Jawdat was one of those who fought under King Faisal’s
command after it succeeded in restoring southern Saudi areas. Back then,
Saudi forces reached the city of Hodeidah. They left three months later
following King Abdulaziz’s directions and returned to Saudi borders. Jawdat
participated in many unification wars later. I selected Jawdat’s biography
to cite because it sums up a lot. Jawdat was a Turkish garrison officer.
When he was defeated before King Abdulaziz’s forces, he was brought before
the king who ordered unchaining him and the rest of the war prisoners.
Jawdat was given the choice to return to Turkey or to join the king’s forces
so he chose to join the great leader Abdulaziz. Many of Jawdat’s friends
joined him while others returned home.
Jawdat thus joined the ranks of the new Saudi forces and the founder king
later trusted him and assigned him to one of the highest-ranking and
important jobs as a commander of the royal guard.
King Abdulaziz was an exceptional figure. He was neither narrow-minded nor
intolerant. His vision was ahead of his time and more advanced than regional
leaders’ plans in terms of establishing an ambitious state. He included
everyone he fought and defeated in his state institutions.
King Abdulaziz founded a modern state that fits everyone as he included
tribal leaders and social dignitaries in his government and councils and he
also included Egyptians, Syrians, Palestinians, Iraqis, Libyans and others.
He granted them the Saudi nationality, and some of them fought behind him
while others served in his modern state. Saudi Arabia was a poor country
that had not discovered oil yet but these men left their countries to stay
in Saudi Arabia because they believed in the king and in his project. This
story narrates what people who have a narrow vision and humble ambitions and
who see a small country with limited resources cannot understand. They’ve
recently been overwhelmed with fear that foreigners will be naturalized -
although this is not true neither for those who deserve to be naturalized
according to the law or based on anything else.
Fear that foreigners will take over and that the society will melt is a
general concern that’s common in many countries where there are calls to
eliminate others under patriotic excuses, such as in Jordan, Lebanon,
Kuwait, Turkey, Britain, the US and others.
Racism is not limited to the Saudis and is actually a result of competition
and high rates of unemployment. Voicing this racism has become easy via easy
and liberal social media networks. A dispute between isolated and
open-minded people and between worried, confident, ambitious and unambitious
people thus erupted. Both categories have good intentions and want the best
for themselves and for their children but they may be led by ill-intentioned
people. We’ve just escaped the chains of a group that calls itself
“religious awakening.” This group succeeded in promoting the idea of
eliminating those who disagree with it during the past two decades after it
monopolized Islam.
And now some parties who want to eliminate others in their community have
emerged. There are solid facts no matter what some may wish. The state is
for everyone and not just for a category of people. This is the case no
matter how loud they are or how deep-rooted they become.
The state’s laws and constitution are the proper reference, and those who
were granted Saudi citizenship have the same rights as their fellow Saudi
citizens. Saeed Jawdat was a Kurdish-Iraqi member of Turkey’s forces, and
King Abdulaziz naturalized him. He also naturalized Abdullah Al-Damluji, an
Iraqi who fought with Turkish troops. Damluji was also given the choice to
stay in Saudi Arabia or return home and he chose to work with King Abdulaziz,
becoming a Saudi citizen. There are also Yusuf Yasin and Rashid Pharaon from
Syria, Hafiz Wahba from Egypt, Khaled Al-Qarqani from Libya and many others.
When King Saud assumed the throne, he kept them in their posts. It was
common to see figures like Rashid Pharaon in King Faisal’s meetings and
councils. Therefore, it’s not true that naturalization is a heresy and that
the state was established based on some people and not others or to serve a
category and not another.
Saudi Arabia has been a project for a modern and advanced state for around
90 years. Its residents included people from China, Russia, India and
Britain. This is a significant characteristic that makes us proud.
Categorizing people and dividing them only serve those who wish to plant
ideas that weaken the society and fragment it. No one wants to put
foreigners before citizens. Citizenship is a priority for almost every state
and it must not mix up concepts, like naturalization and employment, and
confuse them. We have a huge country, great opportunities and an ambitious
leadership that cannot be summed up in debates from the past centuries.
Europe: The Rapid Spread of Dhimmitude
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/February 22/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11932/europe-dhimmis
One of the most troubling aspects of this rapidly spreading dhimmitude, is
the de-facto enforcement of Islamic blasphemy laws. Local European
authorities have been utilizing "hate speech" laws to prohibit criticism of
Islam, even though Islam represents an idea, not a nationality or an
ethnicity. The conventional purpose of most hate-speech laws is to protect
people from hatred, not ideas.
The British Foreign Office, which has ignored Iranian women's desperate
fight for freedom and stayed shamefully silent during the Iranian people's
recent protests against Iran's regime, unbelievably handed out free
headscarves to its staff. Meanwhile, at least 29 Iranian women were arrested
for shedding the hijab, and were likely subjected to rape and other torture,
as is common in Iranian prisons. Yet British MPs and Foreign Office
employees were perversely celebrating the hijab as some sort of twisted tool
of "female empowerment".
Counter-jihad measures have been obstructed by Western leaders everywhere
since immediately after 9/11. President George W. Bush declared that "Islam
is peace". President Obama removed all references to Islam in FBI terror
training manuals that Muslims deemed offensive. New York City's current
leadership threatened New Yorkers, immediately after the October terror
attack in Manhattan, not to link the terror attack to Islam. UK Prime
Minister Theresa May claimed that Islam is a "religion of peace".
Although Europe is not part of the Muslim world, many European authorities
nevertheless seem to feel obliged to submit to Islam in more or less subtle
ways. This voluntary submission appears to be unprecedented: Dhimmi,
historically speaking, is the Arabic term for the conquered non-Muslim, who
agrees to live as a second-rate, "tolerated" citizen, under Islamic rule,
submitting to a separate, demeaning set of laws and the demands of his
Islamic masters.
In Europe, submitting to the demands of Islam, in the name of "diversity"
and "human rights", has also been happening voluntarily. This submission to
Islam is, of course, highly ironic, as the Western concepts of "diversity"
and "human rights" do not exist within the foundational texts of Islam. On
the contrary, these texts denounce in the strongest – and supremacist -
terms those who refuse to submit to the Islamic concept of divinity, Allah,
as infidels who must either convert, pay the jizya ["protection"] tax or
die.
One of the most troubling aspects of this rapidly spreading dhimmitude, is
the de-facto enforcement of Islamic blasphemy laws within European
jurisdictions. Local European authorities have been utilizing "hate speech"
laws to prohibit criticism of Islam, even though Islam represents an idea –
a religion and ideology - not a nationality or an ethnicity. The
conventional purpose of most "hate-speech" laws is to protect people from
hatred, not ideas. It would therefore appear that European authorities are
under no legal obligation to prosecute people for criticizing Islam,
especially as Islamic law, Sharia, is not part of European law; yet they do
so only too willingly.
The most recent example of this kind of dhimmitude comes from Sweden, where
a pensioner has been indicted for calling Islam a 'fascist' ideology on
Facebook. The legal provision under which he is being charged, (Brottsbalken
chapter 16, § 8,1 st), explicitly talks of "incitement" (Swedish: "hets mot
folkgrupp") against groups of people defined by their 'race, skin color,
national or ethnic origin, faith or sexual preference'. However, the
provision does not criminalize criticism of religion, ideology or ideas,
because Western democracies, back when they were genuine democracies, did
not criminalize the free exchange of ideas. Dhimmitude in Europe is
manifested in many other respects, as well. On World Hijab Day a yearly
recurring February event founded in 2013 by a Bangladeshi immigrant to the
US, Nazma Khan, "to fight discrimination against Muslim women through
awareness and education", several British MPs chose to don the hijab. These
included MP Anne McLaughlin and Labour's former shadow Equalities Minister
Dawn Butler and MP Naseem Shah. Furthermore, the British Foreign Office,
which appears to ignore Iranian women's desperate fight for freedom, and
which stayed comparatively quiet during the Iranian people's recent protests
against the Iranian regime[1], unbelievably handed out free headscarves to
its staff. According to the Evening Standard, an email reportedly sent to
staff said:
"Would you like to try on a hijab or learn why Muslim women wear the
headscarf? Come along to our walk-in event. Free scarves for all those that
choose to wear it for the day or part of the day. Muslim women, along with
followers of many other religions, choose to wear the hijab. Many find
liberation, respect and security through wearing it. #StrongInHijab. Join us
for #WorldHijabDay."
Meanwhile, at least 29 Iranian women were arrested for shedding the hijab,
and were likely subjected to rape and other torture, as is common in Iranian
prisons. Yet British MPs and Foreign Office employees were perversely
celebrating the hijab as some sort of twisted tool of "female empowerment".
The above incident is hardly surprising: Britain is rife with some of the
most jarring examples of dhimmitude. Mass rapes of children by Muslim gangs
in many British cities, went on for years with the knowledge of the British
authorities, who did not stop these crimes for fear of appearing "racist" or
"Islamophobic"
The dhimmitude is also apparent in the lengths to which British authorities
will go to excuse or explain away customs that are practiced by British
Muslim communities. The police commander responsible for tackling honor
crimes, female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, Ivan
Balchatchet, recently wrote a letter in which he said that the reason there
have not yet been any convictions for FGM (which was criminalized in 1985),
despite an estimate that 137,000 women and girls are affected by FGM in
England and Wales, is that the crime has "many nuances". He later apologized
for the statement:
"I apologise for this letter... FGM is the appalling abuse of children. It
is unacceptable that there have been no successful prosecutions. Working
with others, this is something that needs to change."
Similarly, according to new figures, hundreds of "honor" violence and forced
marriage crimes go unpunished in London. Data shows that between 2015 and
2017, police recorded 759 "honor" crimes and 265 forced marriages in London
alone -- but only 138 people were charged with offenses. Diana Nammi,
executive director of the Iranian & Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation,
which provides refuge for victims, said
"What makes it so alarming is that figures that we obtained through freedom
of information requests show that, at the same time, since the
criminalisation of forced marriage in 2014, many more people at risk than
ever before are coming forward for help".
Dhimmitude, however, leads not "only" to child rape, female genital
mutilation and "honor" killings, all spreading under the willfully blind
eyes of national authorities, but also to the obstruction of
counterterrorism efforts. In a recent interview for SVT public television,
Peder Hyllengren, a researcher at the Swedish Defense College, said:
"You risk being identified as racist in a way that you have not seen in
other European countries. There, this question has been as uncontroversial
as the importance of combating Nazism and right wing extremism. But in
Sweden it took a long time before it was acceptable to discuss jihadism in
the same way that we have been discussing Nazism".
Hyllengren is being too harsh on Sweden: Counter-jihad measures have been
obstructed by Western leaders everywhere since immediately after 9/11, when
President George W. Bush declared that "Islam is peace". President Obama
removed all references to Islam in FBI terror training manuals that Muslims
deemed offensive. Theresa May claimed that Islam is a "religion of peace".
New York City's current leadership threatened New Yorkers, immediately after
the October terror attack in Manhattan, not to link the terror attack to
Islam.
Most recently, the British government's terror watchdog and independent
reviewer of terrorism legislation Max Hill QC, said that it is
"fundamentally wrong" to use the phrase "Islamist terrorism" to describe
attacks carried out in Britain and elsewhere. According to a report by the
Evening Standard, he said that the word terrorism should not be attached "to
any of the world religions" and that the term "Daesh-inspired terrorism"
should be used instead. Last year, Max Hill opined that some jihadis
returning from Syria and Iraq should escape prosecution as they were
"naive".
In Germany, dhimmitude now runs so deep that the minister of family affairs
recently suggested that sexual assaults by Muslim migrants could be
prevented by inviting more Muslim migrants into the country -- the mothers
and sisters of the male Muslim migrants already there. This was the German
minister's answer to a question in the Bundestag about what "concrete
educational and danger prevention measures" her ministry was planning to
"protect and inform women and girls in the long term about the
disproportionately increased physical and sexual and life threatening
attacks that have taken place since 2015" by migrants. This was the
minister's pathetic answer:
"... On the one hand this concerns the accommodation where the young
unaccompanied refugees live. Also of course to the...yes... the macho
culture from which they often come... That one does not conceal this and
attempts to discuss this there, and of course influence them, this is quite
obvious... We have the expert's report from Professor Pfeiffer here, which
gives very precise starting points... we must work with the youth and we
also know that family reunification is important... he [the professor] says
it is just the same with young men whether they are from here or elsewhere,
they are easier to handle when they have their mothers and sisters with
them".
Europe is rife with other recent examples of dhimmitude, exhibited by
countless state and commercial actors. There was the removal of a cross by
the presiding judge in a German courtroom during the trial of an Afghan
charged with threatening another Muslim for converting to Christianity; H&M
recalling a range of socks after Muslims complained that the pattern on them
resembled the word "Allah" written in Arabic upside down; a French court
dropping hate crime charges from the indictment of a Muslim murder suspect,
who confessed to killing his 66 year old Jewish neighbor, a woman whom he
tortured, before throwing her to her death off her balcony, while shouting "Allahu
Akbar". He had also reportedly called the victim's daughter "dirty Jewess"
two years prior to the murder.
The list goes on. Sheikh Yussuf Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim
Brotherhood, who has said that Europe will be conquered not through the
sword, but through dawa, probably could not be happier. Europe is leaping to
fulfill his request.
Pictured: Women wearing Islamic niqab veils stand outside the French Embassy
during a demonstration on April 11, 2011 in London, England.
*Judith Bergman is a columnist, lawyer and political analyst.
[1] Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson merely said:
"...there should be meaningful debate about the legitimate and important
issues the protesters are raising and we look to the Iranian authorities to
permit this... people should be able to have freedom of expression and to
demonstrate peacefully within the law... We ...call on all concerned to
refrain from violence and for international obligations on human rights to
be observed".
© 2018 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone
Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be
reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of
Gatestone Institute.
Hamas: Turkey's Longtime Love
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/February 22/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11933/turkey-hamas-erdogan
Erdogan's ideological love affair with Hamas is obligatory for all Islamists
in this part of the world, and they do not tend to forget it. In February, a
deported Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) board member, Sami al-Arian,
denounced the United States as "our enemy."
For Turkey's Islamist leaders, Hamas is not a tactical alliance or a
geopolitical necessity for the country. It is an age-old feature of
political Islam capturing not just minds but hearts.
Despite the nominal 'normalization' of diplomatic relations between Turkey
and Israel, Ankara is still fully supporting a terrorist organization -- one
that Washington, among others, lists as terrorist. The Shin Bet's report,
the Istanbul conference and its contents, the official Turkish support for
that conference and Turkish Foreign Ministry's explicit support of Hamas
make new evidence that Turkey insists on siding ideologically with a
terrorist organization -- ironically at a time when Erdogan claims Turkish
troops are fighting terrorists in Syria.
In 2014, Turkey hosted Salah al-Arouri, a Hamas commander whom the
Palestinian Authority had accused of planning multiple attacks against
Israeli targets. At that time, the newspaper Israel Hayom called Turkey's
important guest "an infamous arch-terrorist believed to be responsible for
dozens of attacks against Israelis".
In August 2014, speaking at the World Conference of Islamic Sages in Turkey,
Arouri admitted that Hamas had instigated the "heroic action carried out by
the al-Qassam Brigades [the military wing of Hamas], which captured three
settlers in Hebron." The "heroic action" consisted of Hamas operatives
kidnapping and murdering three teenage boys, an incident that triggered the
spiral of violence that led to the 50-day war in Gaza.
In December 2014, a Hamas leader confirmed that his organization was using
NATO member Turkey as a refuge for logistics, training and planning
terrorist attacks. The same month, then-Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu hosted the chief at that time of Hamas's political bureau, Khaled
Mashaal, at a high-profile party congress in Konya, Central Turkey. Taking
the stage at the event, Mashaal congratulated the Turkish people "for having
[President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and Davutoglu." His remarks were received
passionately, with thunderous applause, the waving of Palestinian flags and
thousands of party fans shouting, "Down with Israel!".
In June 2016, Jonathan Schanzer forcefully reminded the public that although
Arouri had been expelled from his safe base in Istanbul, "many other senior
Hamas officials remain there [a]nd their ejection from Turkey appears to be
at the heart of Israel's demands as rapprochement talks near completion."
Schanzer named half a dozen or so Hamas militants enjoying refuge in Turkey.
These included Mahmoud Attoun, who had been found guilty of kidnapping and
murdering a 29-year-old Israeli. Also enjoying safe haven in Turkey were
three members of the Izzedine al-Qassam brigades. Ten Hamas figures were
believed to be in Turkey, Schanzer said:
"There are a handful more that can be easily identified in the Arabic and
Turkish press, and nearly all of them maintain profiles on Facebook and
Twitter, where they regularly post updates on their lives in Turkey."
Stubbornly ignoring Hamas's violent past --and present -- Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed more than once that Hamas is not a
terrorist group but a legitimate political party. He has also repeatedly
described Hamas militants as "freedom fighters". In November 2016, Erdogan
said again that he did not view Hamas as a terrorist organization; he called
it instead a "political movement born from [a] national resurrection," and
mentioned that he meets with Hamas "all the time".
Erdogan's ideological love affair with Hamas is obligatory for all Islamists
in this part of the world, and they do not tend to forget it. In February, a
deported Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) board member, Sami al-Arian,
denounced the United States as "our enemy." The venue was an Istanbul
conference sponsored by Diyanet, Turkey's powerful religious affairs
authority. Diyanet's president and Turkey's top cleric Ali Erbas, an Erdogan
loyalist, said:
"Diyanet is with the suffering Palestinian Muslims who have been serving as
the guardians of al-Aqsa for years despite any kind of invasion and
violence, and will continue to be by their side and provide any kind of
support for them."
Arian, meanwhile, is the founder of a charity called the Islamic Committee
for Palestine and raises money for PIJ. It was only too normal that Diyanet
sponsored an event featuring hatred of the U.S. and Israel while promoting
the "Palestinian cause."
Recently, the U.S. government declared Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh a
"specially designated global terrorist" and imposed a raft of sanctions
against him. Immediately afterwards, the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned
the U.S. for this decision. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the
timing of Washington's decision was "suspicious". Apparently, the Turkish
love affair with Hamas is not only about nice words.
Israel's Shin Bet security service has announced that a Turkish law
professor was deported and that an Israeli Arab was facing indictment over
involvement in a Hamas effort to funnel money for terrorism to the West Bank
and Gaza via Turkey. According to Shin Bet, both men were recruited by a
Hamas operative who was deported from the West Bank after Israel released
him from prison in 2011 as part of the deal to ensure the release of
captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Enter Arouri -- again. The Hamas recruiter, according to Shin Bet, was one
of the chiefs of Hamas's West Bank Command, headed by Arouri, until recently
Turkey's very important guest. The Hamas West Bank Command's mission is to
plan and fund acts of terror in the West Bank.
The Shin Bet also accused Turkey of aiding Hamas's military build-up by
means of a Turkish company called SADAT, a security services and training
specialist. SADAT's owner, Adnan Tanriverdi, is a retired Turkish general
who is now one of Erdogan's chief advisors.
SADAT has come under accusations that it may secretly be training armed pro-Erdogan
militias in Turkey as well as jihadist fighters in Syria, allegations which
Tanriverdi denies. The Turkish law professor, however, who was deported from
Israel, told his interrogators that SADAT does send money and arms to Hamas.
Unsurprisingly, Tanriverdi is another pro-Hamas Islamist. In a 2009 speech,
before he was Erdogan's chief advisor, he said:
"To defeat Israel, the country must be forced into defensive warfare, all of
its forces must be engaged and the war must be prolonged. "What should
Turkey do? The resistance units in Gaza should be supported by anti-tank and
low-altitude anti-aircraft weapons.
"Turkey, Iran, Syria, the Iraqi Resistance Organization and Palestine should
form the nucleus of a defense structure. Within this context the formation
of an Islamic rapid reaction force consisting of an amphibious brigade, an
armored brigade and an airborne brigade should be encouraged".
For Turkey's Islamist leaders, Hamas is not a tactical alliance or a
geopolitical necessity for the country. It is an age-old feature of
political Islam capturing not just minds but hearts.
Pictured: Palestinians, waving Hamas flags, hold a rally in support of Recep
Tayyip Erdogan (then Turkey's Prime Minister) on January 30, 2009, in Gaza
City. (Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images)
*Burak Bekdil, one of Turkey's leading journalists, was recently fired from
Turkey's leading newspaper after 29 years, for writing what was taking place
in Turkey for Gatestone. He is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2018 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone
Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be
reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of
Gatestone Institute.
How Iran Continues To Profit From The Syrian War
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/February 23/18
Since the uprising in Syria in March 2011, the Iranian regime has spent
approximately $100 billion, roughly between $15 and $20 billion a year, to
keep the Syrian regime in power. Some scholars and policy analysts argue
that the Islamic Republic is losing politically, bleeding financially, and
gaining nothing when it comes to the Syrian conflict.
While it is accurate to argue that the Iranian regime is hemorrhaging
billions of dollars on the Syrian regime, Iranian leaders’ calculated
measures and policies are, in fact, making Tehran profit from the conflict
in both the short and long term. Tehran’s political opportunism in Syria is
serving the Iranian regime ideologically, economically, geopolitically and
strategically.
Economically speaking, Tehran’s trade with Damascus, specifically exports,
has significantly increased during the war, as regional and international
sanctions on the Syrian regime have made it more dependent on Iran for its
merchandise and commodities.
Tehran is also reaping the benefits of long-term business deals in various
Syrian sectors, such as energy and mining. It has signed lucrative contracts
to provide electricity, obtained a license to become a major mobile phone
service operator, which will allow Iran to keep communications in Syria
under surveillance, and has received thousands of hectares of land from the
Syrian regime for farming or setting up oil and gas terminals.
While Syrian law does not allow foreign citizens to buy or own real estate,
Damascus appears to have made an exception for the Iranian regime. Iran is
increasingly buying up Syrian real estate and land, giving Tehran a
considerable amount of power over its neighbor in the long term. These
investments appear to be done not only with Bashar Assad, but also with many
Shiite militia groups. Portions of the real estate are located near Shiite
religious sites, such as the Sayyidah Zaynab and Ruqayyah shrines in
Damascus.
Tehran is also reportedly changing the demographics, for instance by
repopulating some areas with Shiite families from Hezbollah and other
militia groups in an attempt to consolidate its influence in Syria for the
long term, as well as to bolster Assad’s rule.
Ideologically speaking, the Iranian regime is more forcefully and easily
exporting its revolutionary principles via its non-military and military
presence in Syria. The Islamic Azad University is planning on opening new
branches in Syria, while Tehran has been building Shiite mosques and
investing in expanding Shiite shrines across Syria.
Despite the high costs involved, Tehran’s political opportunism is serving
the Iranian regime ideologically, economically, geopolitically and
strategically.
Strategically and geopolitically speaking, the Iranian regime has
strengthened its coalition of Shiite forces and militias, some of which
invaded Syria from Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Lebanon. Many of the
Shiite militias in Syria have already become the bedrock of Syria’s
socio-political and socio-economic infrastructures.
By having military bases and personnel in Syria, it is also less costly for
the Iranian regime to manufacture and export weapons to its proxies in
Syria’s neighboring countries, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Thanks to the Syrian conflict, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and
its special operations unit known as the Quds Force are also enjoying a
military presence close to the border of a major rival — Israel. This helps
Tehran to tip the regional balance of power in its favor. The IRGC is also
establishing a permanent military base in the south of Damascus and has
significant control over some Syrian airports.
It is also worth noting that, by keeping Assad in power, the Iranian regime
is projecting its influence and military capabilities to the world. By
depicting itself as a significant player in determining the direction and
destiny of the Syrian war, Tehran is showing off its supremacy and
pre-eminence in the region.
So, while it is accurate that the Iranian regime is hemorrhaging billions of
dollars on Assad, it is reaping greater rewards now than it did prior to the
conflict. The conflict has made Assad more vulnerable and he is willing to
submit to Iran’s demands and pressure in order to stay in power. Iran’s
regime is managing to benefit militarily, geopolitically, economically,
ideologically and strategically in the short term and, more importantly, in
the long term — regardless of whether Assad stays in power or not.
• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political
scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a
businessman and president of the International American Council. He serves
on the boards of the Harvard International Review, the Harvard International
Relations Council and the US-Middle East Chamber for Commerce and Business.
Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh