LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 22/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations
Then some of the Pharisees in the crowd spoke to Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “command your disciples to be quiet!” Jesus answered, “I tell you that if they keep quiet, the stones themselves will start shouting"
Luke 19/28-40/: "After Jesus said this, he went on in front of them toward Jerusalem. As he came near Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead  with these instructions: “Go to the village there ahead of you; as you go in, you will find a colt tied up that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.  If someone asks you why you are untying it, tell him that the Master needs it.” They went on their way and found everything just as Jesus had told them.  As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying it?” “The Master needs it,” they answered,  and they took the colt to Jesus. Then they threw their cloaks over the animal and helped Jesus get on. As he rode on, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near Jerusalem, at the place where the road went down the Mount of Olives, the large crowd of his disciples began to thank God and praise him in loud voices for all the great things that they had seen:  “God bless the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory to God!” Then some of the Pharisees in the crowd spoke to Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “command your disciples to be quiet!” Jesus answered, “I tell you that if they keep quiet, the stones themselves will start shouting"

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 21-22/18
In the drugs and arms trade, is Iran getting away with murder/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/January 21 2018
Hezbollah Reign Of Terror From Beirut & Beyond/Charles Bybelezer/The Media Line/Jerusalum Post/January 21/18
Nasrallah Warns Israel Against Continued Construction Of Border Wall/erusalem Post/January 21/18
Lebanon bans Daniel Radcliffe movie/Ynetnews/Inna Toker/January 21/18
Lebanese Women Look for Greater Role in Parliament Elections/Associated Press/Naharnet/January 21/18/
Restoring Persecuted Middle East Christians' Faith in America/Johny Messo//Gatestone Institute/January 21/2018
215,000,000 Christians Persecuted, Mostly by Muslims/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/January 21/2018
Young Afghans in Sweden/Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/January 21/2018
Our Responsibility Towards Refugees Freezing to Death/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/January 21/18
EU Quietly Turning the Heat on Iran/London- Amir Taheri//Asharq Al Awsat/January 21/18/

Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on January 21-22/18
In the drugs and arms trade, is Iran getting away with murder?
Hezbollah Reign Of Terror From Beirut & Beyond
Nasrallah Warns Israel Against Continued Construction Of Border Wall
Lebanon bans Daniel Radcliffe movie
Ain el-Tineh Insists Justice Ministry is Biased in Decree Row
Ahmed Hariri's Car Goes Up in Flames
Mustaqbal MP Says Riyadh Won't Interfere in Elections
Lebanese Women Look for Greater Role in Parliament Elections
U.N. Says 13 Syrians Have Died of Cold while Fleeing to Lebanon
Report: New Political Spat Looms Over Election Launch Decree Signing
Rahi expresses regret over the 14 Syrians' tragedy
Berri Wages 'Fierce Campaign' Against Bassil
Latin Bishop of Rio de Janeiro partakes in Sunday Mass in Reshmaya: A visit filled with history, kindness and faith
Siniora's Office: Jordanian Monarch has confirmed adherence to the twostate solution and peace initiative
Moukheiber: Challenge lies in giving priority to security, liberties
Moussa to Radio Lebanon: No progress regarding officers' seniority decree
Shbib from Central Beirut: We live the blessing of safety thanks to the sacrifices of our Army martyrs and the achievements of our security forces

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 21-22/18
Turkish Troops Enter Syria in Bid to Oust Kurdish Militia
France Urges End to Turkish Offensive against Syrian Kurdish Militia
US urges Turkey to ‘exercise restraint’ in Syria operation
Turkish state media say Turkey’s ground forces have entered Syrian Kurdish enclave
Iraqi court sentences to death German woman who joined Daesh
Jordan urges Pence to rebuild trust after Jerusalem pivot
Mossad Assassinated at Least 3,000 People
Bahraini Minister of Information Denounces Iran-backed Houthi Terrorism
Kuwait: Musallam Al Barrak Turns Himself In
Syria: Sunni-Alawite Talks Yield 11-Article Document in Berlin
U.S. Lawmakers in Bid to End Govt. Shutdown Stalemate

Latest Lebanese Related News published on January 21-22/18
باريا علم الدين: إيران في تجارة المخدرات والأسلحة فهل ستتفلت من هذا الإجرام
In the drugs and arms trade, is Iran getting away with murder?
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/January 21 2018
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/61965
Possibly one of the biggest scandals of the Obama administration was the blocking of active investigations into Hezbollah and Iran’s complicity in the deadly global trade in drugs and armaments. Former US Treasury official Katherine Bauer testified that these investigations were “tamped down for fear of rocking the boat with Iran and jeopardizing the nuclear deal.” In recent days, the US Justice Department has reopened these investigations. This couldn’t come a moment too soon.
We all remember former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cozying up to Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez as part of their anti-American axis. It later came to light that this alliance brought forth a vast drug-trafficking operation, which saw Venezuelan cocaine sales skyrocket from 50 to 250 tonnes a year — mostly bound for the US. In and around 2007, Venezuela’s state airline was ferrying large quantities of cash and drugs to Tehran each week, returning laden with weapons and Hezbollah operatives.
Venezuela was just one segment of Iran and Hezbollah’s strategy for cultivating crime networks in South America, operating via Lebanese and Syrian communities across the continent. US officials recognized that Hezbollah was becoming one of the largest global crime networks, yet this flew in the face of the criminally naive Obama administration orthodoxy that the Islamic Republic could be sweet-talked into becoming a constructive member of the international community. Barack Obama’s CIA Director John Brennan was an advocate of cultivating Hezbollah’s “moderate elements,” commending the movement’s success in “assimilating” into the Lebanese political system, just as Hezbollah was rolling up its trousers to wade into the blood-soaked Syria conflict. In reality, the 2015 nuclear deal emboldened Tehran, eased the constraints of sanctions, and removed global pressures as European nations trampled each other in the unseemly stampede to tap into Iran’s oil economy.
Figures like Lebanese arms dealer Ali Fayad, who the Obama administration missed an opportunity to extradite from the Czech Republic, are today deeply involved in diverting a flood of Russian heavy weapons to Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and the wider region. Similar routes transported chemical weapons used by Bashar Assad against his people: Just one strand of a dense clandestine network connecting Iran, North Korea and entities like the Pakistani A.Q. Khan network for smuggling nuclear and ballistic materials.
Hezbollah’s ambassador to Tehran, Abdallah Safieddine, reputedly oversaw one of the world’s largest drug-smuggling operations, laundering around $200 million per month out of the US from profits of narcotics imports. At one point an “entire Quds Force network” was active in the US, laundering money and trafficking drugs and weapons. Counter-narcotics officials amassed detailed information about this activity, which ran in parallel with plots to assassinate foreign diplomats and terrorist operations elsewhere. However, Obama hindered investigations (known as Project Cassandra) by his own law enforcement agencies and blocked preventative action; even though US agents discovered that narcotics revenues were being channelled to Iraqi Shiite militants who were then engaged in killing American troops. Nevertheless, during 2016 some Hezbollah personnel were indeed arrested by US police on drugs trafficking charges.
A DEA official who led these investigations commented: “(Hezbollah) were a paramilitary organization with strategic importance in the Middle East, and we watched them become an international criminal conglomerate generating billions of dollars for the world’s most dangerous activities, including chemical and nuclear weapons programs and armies that believe America is their sworn enemy.”
Hezbollah previously dabbled in arms smuggling and criminal activity, but observers were dumbfounded by this wholesale shift into global organized crime from around 2006. Hezbollah strongholds became awash with foreign currency, with cash reserves of US dollars in Lebanon doubling to $16 billion in just a few years. This was massively important in helping Hezbollah rearm and rebuild its infrastructure after the 2006 war with Israel. Hezbollah operations in south Beirut during April 2017 against local drug dealers appear designed to ensure a monopoly over the drugs trade. Hezbollah was criticized for behaving like a state within a state by embarking on such actions.
Iran’s shared border with Pakistan and Afghanistan is one of the world’s busiest drug smuggling corridors (an estimated 140 tonnes a year). The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is well placed to monopolize this cross-border trade. This has had terrible consequences inside Iran, with up to 10 percent of Iranian nationals estimated to be drug addicts — the highest proportion in the world.
Even though the Trump administration is willing to revisit evidence of Hezbollah’s role in narcotics and arms trafficking, much of the West remains stubbornly in denial that Iran and its proxy militias are pursuing a coherent long-term strategy for aggressively expanding their influence.
Baria Alamuddin
With Hezbollah heavily implicated in Syria, Iranian financial transfers to the movement recently soared to an estimated $800 million, yet this is exceeded by the approximate $1 billion a year it is reported to receive from narcotics, arms trafficking and organized crime. Data indicates that the IRGC may double its formal budget (around $8bn) through illicit economic activities. After encroaching on territory formerly held by Daesh, Iran’s new corridor of control through Iraq, Syria and Lebanon to the Mediterranean opens up lucrative and potentially destabilizing pathways into the heart of Europe.
Tehran’s proxy militias of Al-Hashd al-Shaabi (the Popular Mobilization Forces) in Iraq act like gangsters in the expanding territories they control, with militants fighting among themselves to monopolize the oil smuggling trade around Basra; reportedly conducting systematic kidnappings of Sunnis and often murdering them after ransoms are paid; and engaging in the full spectrum of organized crime: Extortion, drugs, expropriating property, terrorizing local people, and the theft of historical artefacts. As primary benefactors of laundered funds from Hezbollah’s American narcotics network, Al-Hashd factions are said to be investing these funds in activities to perpetuate Tehran’s cultural control: Universities, schools, religious institutions and paramilitary training for young people — all calculated to indoctrinate Iraqi Shiites into Iran’s theological model of Wilayat al-Faqih.
Iran has reportedly become deeply complicit in arms smuggling throughout Africa. Nigeria, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Senegal and other states are key proliferation hubs, with a broad range of African insurgent and terrorist groups benefiting from Iranian military munificence. Several West African states also became integral parts of Hezbollah’s cash-laundering network for billions of dollars of drugs money flooding out of the US. Sudan had been a key ally in facilitating Iranian arms smuggling towards conflicts that claimed countless lives. However, GCC states notched up a remarkable success in drawing Sudan away from Tehran’s orbit.
Intelligence officials describe a standard operating procedure of Hezbollah, Quds Force and Iranian diplomats establishing connections through the Lebanese diaspora across Africa and the Americas. Front companies and smuggling routes are then established and evangelical Shiite institutions are set up to cultivate local support and nurture proxy groups. These channels are then exploited for a variety of illicit purposes. Iran’s support for the Houthis in Yemen, meanwhile, offers opportunities to expand new routes through Somalia, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian Ocean.
The US Justice Department’s reopening of investigations into Iranian crime networks may have to start from scratch, having lost institutional expertise and on-the-ground sources after Project Cassandra was closed down. We have yet to see whether these investigations are a stepping stone to decisive action against Iran and its proxies, or whether this is more empty rhetoric against both Tehran and the Obama administration.
After the investigation announcement, Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah came out with a vigorous denial of any involvement in drugs, claiming that such activities violated the movement’s fundamental principles. I fervently wish this was true, just as I wish that Hezbollah had adhered to its founding principles of being a Lebanese nationalist bastion against Israel — yet a mountain of evidence tells us otherwise.
All this illustrates why Tehran constitutes a greater proliferation threat than Pyongyang. While tiny North Korea is an isolated and encircled failed state in Far East Asia, imperialist oil-rich Iran is expanding out of Central Asia, through the Middle East and towards the shores of Europe. Tehran is furthermore aggressively branching out through Africa, Latin America and South Asia, profiting from organized crime to bankroll its blueprint for paramilitary expansionism. With each successive year that the world turns a blind eye to these activities, Iran becomes stronger, more belligerent, wealthier and wider-reaching.
Even though the Trump administration is willing to revisit evidence of Hezbollah’s role in narcotics and arms trafficking, much of the West remains stubbornly in denial that Iran, Hezbollah and Al-Hashd al-Shaabi are pursuing a coherent long-term strategy for aggressively expanding their influence. What will it take for Europe to wake up to the Iranian proliferation threat? Automatic weapons in the hands of Eastern European anti-democracy militias? The streets of Hamburg, Paris and Barcelona awash with heroin? Or a 9/11-style major terrorist atrocity?
**Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

Hezbollah Reign Of Terror From Beirut & Beyond/إرهاب حزب الله من بيروت وما بعدها
Charles Bybelezer/The Media Line/Jerusalum Post/January 21/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/61959
Foreign governments continue to pursue inconsistent policies towards Lebanese leaders, thanks to Hezbollah's participation in the country's government.
The trial of two Hezbollah operatives accused of blowing up an Israeli tour bus in 2012, killing five Israelis and the Bulgarian driver, kicked off this week in Sofia. The suspects, Meliad Farah and Hassan El Hajj Hassan, are being tried in absentia after fleeing to Lebanon, which refuses to extradite them despite Interpol warrants for their arrest.
This comes against the backdrop of US Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement last week of the formation of a new task force to combat Hezbollah’s vast drug trafficking and money laundering empire, worth an estimated $1 billion annually. That decision followed a Politico report claiming that the Obama administration interfered with a Drug Enforcement Agency initiative—code-named Project Cassandra—to crack down on the Iranian-sponsored Shi'ite organization's illicit activities for fear of jeopardizing the nuclear deal with Iran.
Concurrently, the British House of Commons is slated on January 25 to discuss fully blacklisting Hezbollah, whose so-called "political arm" has until now been allowed to fundraise and recruit in major European capitals in a successful attempt to bifurcate the terrorist organization into legitimate civic and martial elements. While Israel, the US and, most recently, the Arab League have listed Hezbollah, in its entirety, as a terror group, the European Union, like the UK, banned only the organization's "military wing" in the wake of the Burgas attack.
"While European governments have outlawed Hezbollah's armed body, this has no distinction because, as Hezbollah itself says, it is a monolithic organization," Benjamin Weinthal, a Fellow at the Washington-based Foundation For Defense of Democracies, explained to The Media Line. "In this respect, the Europeans have engaged in a sort of savvy appeasement of Hezbollah because they are afraid of it."
Hezbollah was created by the Iranian regime in the early 1980s, foremost to counter Israel’s presence at the time in southern Lebanon. However, its hatred for the West quickly manifested in the 1983 attack on American military barracks in Beirut which killed 241 US Marines and 58 French peacekeepers. In the ensuing decades,Hezbollah has effectively taken control of the Lebanese government while developing into one of the Middle East’s most powerful military forces, currently engaged in the wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
According to Professor Efraim Inbar, President of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies, "Hezbollah uses Arab communities abroad to make inroads not only in the Middle East, but also in Europe, South America and even Asia. They are there to establish cells that will eventually attack Jewish and Israeli targets," he told The Media Line, while noting that "Hezbollah's Islamic ideological underpinnings also motivate its expansion." Inbar further explained that while Hezbollah's overarching policies are coordinated by Iran, its local branches maintain freedom of action.
"Unit 133, for example, primarily focuses on the West Bank where it recruits local Palestinians, transfers them funds and then provides online training [on how to conduct attacks]," Yaakov Lappin, an Associate Researcher at Israel's Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, told The Media Line. "It also has links to Sinai and Jordan and, [more broadly], has cells across the Middle East which promote terrorism against Israeli targets. The unit is a major concern of the Israeli intelligence community," he expounded, "and also is reportedly involved in drug trafficking, [which is] a source of financing."
In Germany, there are an estimated 1,000 Hezbollah members currently operating, with reports suggesting that additional combatants have been infiltrating the country by posing as Mideast refugees. This is part and parcel of Iran's attempt to further penetrate the continent, with German police this week having conducted wide-scale raids targeting members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds [Jerusalem] Force, who were reportedly conducting surveillance on Israeli and Jewish targets.
Weinthal traces these developments to 1992, when Iranian and Hezbollah agents killed four Kurdish dissidents in a Berlin restaurant. While German authorities accused the highest levels of the Iranian government of complicity in the attack, the two countries reportedly reached a quid pro quo deal in which Tehran and Hezbollah would cease perpetrating violent attacks on German soil in exchange for being permitted to freely operate in the country.
Another contributing factor, Weinthal noted, is that "Europeans are so invested in the Iran nuclear deal that they do not want to act against its wholly owned subsidiary, Hezbollah. This is similar to why the Obama administration turned a blind eye to Hezbollah's illicit activities."
To this end, terror group is actively engaged in drug trafficking throughout the Americas, from the Tri-Border Area where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay converge, to Mexico, where it cooperates with local drug cartels. Using these funds along with those generated from sophisticated money laundering schemes, Hezbollah and, as a corollary, its patron Tehran, have been able to buy political influence throughout the region.
This was made evident by the previous Argentine government's attempted cover-up of the 1994 bombing of the Jewish AMIA community center in Buenos Aires, which followed the bombing of the Israeli Embassy two years earlier. An investigation into the attacks, which together killed over 100 people, was stymied for decades until, in 2015, federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman was slated to testify before a congressional panel that then-president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had concealed facts about Iran's and Hezbollah's involvement. Hours before Nisman was set to reveal his findings—including that in exchange for Kirchner's compliance, the Islamic Republic would supply her government with a steady stream of cheap oil—he was found shot to death in his apartment in what was first ruled a suicide but eventually reclassified as a murder.
The apparent assassination garnered global headlines and "caused a growing awareness in the West of Hezbollah's negative actions," Inbar stated, before qualifying to The Media Line that "there remains a big gap between existing legal frameworks, which place an emphasis on upholding human rights, and the [steps required] to crack down on terrorist groups."
For his part, US President Donald Trump appears committed to bridging this gap by pressing Congress to pass stronger sanctions on Hezbollah. The American administration also directed the Treasury Department to place multi-million-dollar bounties on senior Hezbollah leaders, in a bid to hamper its illegal infrastructure. However, many analysts point to an apparent contradiction in Washington's strategy, which includes firm backing for the Lebanese government and more than one hundred million dollars in annual military aid. This, despite Hezbollah's domination over Beirut and that sophisticated American weaponry provided to the Lebanese Armed Forces has found its way into the terror group's hands. It is a reality encapsulated by Lebanese President Michel Aoun's recent assertion about his ally: namely, that "Hezbollah represents the people…[and is] an essential part of Lebanon's defense."
Accordingly, these experts argue, so long as foreign governments maintain policies towards Hezbollah premised on inconsistencies, any measures taken against the terror group, while potentially damaging in the short-term, are unlikely to have any long-lasting effects.
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Hezbollahs-reign-of-terror-From-Beirut-and-beyond-539306?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=19-1-2018&utm_content=hezbollahs-reign-of-terror-from-beirut-and-beyond-539306

Nasrallah Warns Israel Against Continued Construction Of Border Wallنصرالله يهدد إسرائيل على خلفية بناء الجدار
Jerusalem Post/January 21/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/61959
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has warned Israel against continued construction of a wall along its border with Lebanon, after Beirut said the project was undermining peace.
“After liberating the Lebanese occupied territories from the Zionist enemy in 2000, the UN demarcation of the national border with the Palestinian territories left 13 controversial positions, and the Lebanese government informed the UNIFIL about its rejection for any Israeli measure in this concern,” Nasrallah was quoted by Hezbollah website al-Manar as saying.
“The Islamic Resistance backs the Lebanese government and army, and the Zionists must take Lebanon’s warning seriously,” he continued.
On Friday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun met in Beirut with UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Michael Beary and stressed that a border fence within the demarcated Blue Line “isn’t compatible with the efforts that [UNIFIL] is exerting in cooperation with the Lebanese Army to preserve security and stability along the southern border.”
Israel and Hezbollah fought a deadly 33-day war in 2006 that ended under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for the disarmament of Hezbollah, withdrawal of the Israeli Army from Lebanon, deployment of the Lebanese Army and an enlarged UN force in the south.
According to Aoun, “Lebanon doesn’t consider the Blue Line to be the final border. It is a temporary measure that was used following [Lebanon’s] liberation in 2000 and Israel’s withdrawal.”
“The army has deployed an additional troop to maintain stability and help implement resolution 1701, at the time that Israel persists its incessant violations against the country’s sovereignty,” he added.
Beary also met with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and told Berri that Israel had stopped construction on the border wall pending tripartite meetings scheduled for February, the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
Tripartite meetings have been held regularly under the auspices of UNIFIL since the end of the 2006 war as an essential conflict-management mechanism between the two parties.
The IDF on Sunday denied it had stopped construction on the fence, telling The Jerusalem Post that work was continuing as normal.
The border area with Lebanon has seen nine infiltrations since 2009, and has been flagged by the IDF as being vulnerable to enemy infiltrations. It is feared that during the next war with Hezbollah, the terrorist group could try to infiltrate Israeli communities in the area in order to inflict significant civilian and military casualties. Significant efforts over the past several years have gone into creating obstacles, such as artificial cliffs and high concrete barriers, to help prevent any such ground attacks by Hezbollah.
The border fence with Lebanon was originally built in the 1980s and has been upgraded several times. Last year, a 29-km. stretch was upgraded with reinforced concrete panels, concrete blocks and fortified watchtowers. Despite those improvements, the barrier is said to be in poor condition.
In May, Israel began upgrading two sections of the fence: between Rosh Hanikra on the northern Mediterranean coast and the kibbutz of Misgav Am near Kiryat Shmona, and from Rosh Hanikra to Hanita, northeast of Nahariya.
The steel and barbed wire fence will be similar to the “smart fence” along Israel’s border with Egypt and along some 30 km. of its border with Jordan. The barrier will be six meters tall, several kilometers in length and have information collection centers and warning systems at an estimated cost of NIS 120 million.

Lebanon bans Daniel Radcliffe movie
Ynetnews/Inna Toker/January 21/18
Starring Jewish British actor Daniel Radcliffe, Jungle, a new movie based on survival tale of an Israeli backpacker, joins long list of Israel-associated movies pulled from Lebanon’s cinema screens, including Wonder Woman and Justice League.After banning the movies Wonder Woman and Justice League starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, Lebanon has now decided to also ban the film Jungle starring the Jewish actor Daniel Radcliffe, two weeks after its debut in the country. Jungle, based on the book Back from Tuichi, is based on the true experience of Israeli born Yossi Ghinsberg who spent three weeks lost in the Bolivian Jungle. Yossi is played by British actor Daniel Radcliffe and the film was produced by Dana Lustig, an Israeli. The movie depicts the survival saga of Ghinsberg who travelled as a backpacker to South America and got lost for three weeks in the Bolivian jungle near the Tuichi River. The movie was shown in Lebanese cinemas during the last two weeks but was pulled after the Israeli involvement in the movie was protested. The film is expected to arrive in Israeli theatres in March. This is not the first time Lebanon is banning movies because of an association with Israel. In addition to Wonder Woman and Justice League, the recently released Spielberg film The Post was also targeted by censors. Another film starring Gal Gadot, Keeping Up with the Joneses, was shown, however, without incident or protest in Lebanon. Directed by the renowned director Spielberg, Schindler's List included scenes filmed in Jerusalem which seemed to have placed him on the Arab League's blacklist. The Post's movie's distributors reached an agreement with the censors and the movie is set to be screened.

Ain el-Tineh Insists Justice Ministry is Biased in Decree Row
Naharnet/January 21/18/The Justice Ministry is "affiliated" with President Michel Aoun and his political party and cannot offer a neutral recommendation on a disputed decree that has sparked a row between the president and Speaker Nabih Berri, Ain el-Tineh has said. "The Justice Ministry is affiliated and this was verified when Justice Minister Salim Jreissati asked the (ministry's) Committee of Legislation and Consultations to interpret a constitutional article that does not fall under its jurisdiction," sources close to Berri told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Sunday."This request is in itself a major violation," the sources added, noting that "the judges who expressed their viewpoint are also affiliated.""The core of the crisis regarding the decree granting seniority to the officers who graduated in 1994 lies solely in the violation of the constitution," the sources added, denying the presence of political undertones.

Ahmed Hariri's Car Goes Up in Flames
Naharnet/January 21/18/Mustaqbal Movement secretary-general and his family escaped unharmed Sunday when a car he was driving caught fire.A statement issued by Mustaqbal's media department said the fire resulted from an electrical malfunction and that the flames were quickly contained. Hariri was driving the car in the al-Sharhabil area east of the southern city of Sidon. Mustaqbal's media department reassured that the young politician and his family did not suffer any harm.

Mustaqbal MP Says Riyadh Won't Interfere in Elections
Naharnet/January 21/18/Saudi Arabia "will not interfere" in the upcoming parliamentary elections and it is only concerned with Lebanon's stability, MP Ammar Houry of al-Mustaqbal bloc said on Sunday. "It is concerned with Lebanon's stability and alleviating tensions and it will not interfere in other issues," Houry said in a TV interview.He also reassured that Prime Minister Saad Hariri's relation with the kingdom is "good" and that his "popularity" in Lebanon has increased.

Lebanese Women Look for Greater Role in Parliament Elections
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 21/18/
Lebanon is campaigning to get at least five times more women elected to parliament this spring in its first vote in nearly 10 years, the country's first women's affairs minister says. It is a daunting task for a Middle Eastern country that may otherwise look like one of the most liberal in the region. Despite a relatively free press, diverse religious groups and women in prominent positions in the business world and the media, Lebanon ranks surprisingly low when it comes to female representation in politics, and politicians have failed to act on a movement to institute a quota for women in parliament.
"Keeping women from public life is not only a loss for women. It is a loss for the parliament," Minister of State for Women's Affairs Jean Oghassabian told The Associated Press. "The main obstacles are mentality, a philosophy of life, and this needs time," he said.
There are only four women in the outgoing parliament elected in 2009, a flimsy 3 percent of its 128 lawmakers. It was a drop from 2005, when six women were elected. Since 2004, there have been one or at most two posts for women in government. Compared to other countries in the region, Lebanon ranks as one of the lowest in terms of female representation in parliament, with only Oman, Kuwait and Yemen having fewer. Oman and Kuwait have one and two women representatives respectively. War-torn Yemen has none and is currently without a functioning parliament. Even in ultraconservative Saudi Arabia, the monarch appointed 30 women to the consultative Shura Council, giving them nearly 20 percent of the seats.
"In politics, there seems to be some kind of invisible barrier for women to really break through," Christina Lassen, European Union Ambassador to Lebanon, told The Associated Press at a conference held last week to promote women's representation. Three months before the vote, the Women's Affairs Ministry in collaboration with the United Nations and the EU launched a campaign to boost women's numbers in the elections, with the slogan: "Half the society, half the parliament." Billboards went up in several Beirut districts. Programs on local TV stations about women in politics are airing weekly and local groups say they are training women candidates on public speaking. Oghassabian said last year's decision to appoint a man to the newly created portfolio was meant to send a message that it is also "a man's duty" to fight for women's rights.
Holding parliamentary elections in Lebanon is a feat in itself. Scheduled for May, these are the first elections in the country since 2009. Previous votes were delayed amid instability and haggling over a new election law. Seats in the Lebanese parliament are allotted according to sects, with each community distributing them according to region and strongholds. In this complex confessional-based political system, adding a women's quota was too complicated for some to contemplate, said Nora Mourad, a gender researcher with the United Nations Development Program. Last year, the politicians refused to even discuss a female quota in the new law. Members of Hizbullah walked out of the room before the discussion began. "We are against a quota. We are against imposing conditions from the outside on our policies and roles and work," said Rima Fakhry, a politician from conservative Hizbullah. "The women movement considers that women should reach decision-making positions. For them it is in parliament. We differ with those movements." Although Fakhry herself is a senior member of the political bureau of Hizbullah, she told the audience at the conference that her group doesn't see the role of a lawmaker as befitting for a woman in Lebanon. Her group won't nominate women to run for office.
"For us, the woman is a woman. She must work to realize the main goals she exists for. These are not different from those of men. But the difference is in the details," she said. "She has a home. She is a mother and must bring up generations. This takes a lot of the woman's time."Even though the country's civil war ended 28 years ago, its politics are still dominated by former warlords and family dynasties, and elections are often settled behind closed doors. Most women in politics have their posts because they are related to influential male politicians. Of the four women currently in parliament, one is the aunt of the current prime minister, another is the wife of a party leader, and the other two are the daughters of an assassinated media figure and a former minister. Still, Oghassabian said he expects at least 20 women to make it into parliament, and dozens more to run.
The new law introduced a complicated proportional representation system that would preserve the sectarian nature of the parliament. But some argue it will offer women and independents a better chance.
Local groups, along with the U.N. and EU, are encouraging political parties to have a voluntary quota for women on their lists. Women's groups are contemplating all-women lists as well as a campaign of "no-woman, no-vote" to pressure political parties to include women on their lists.
In Wednesday's conference, representatives from the political parties said internal deliberations are ongoing. One senior member of al-Mustaqbal Movement said he will recommend 20 percent women's representation. Another, from the Progressive Socialist Party, said it has commissioned a review of internal literature to ensure women's issues and requests are reflected. Victoria El-Khoury Zwein, a potential candidate with a new party called Seven, said she's skeptical that veteran parties would give women a winning chance. But she said with proportional representation, she's optimistic she needs fewer votes to make it. "There must be 15 percent of the population who want a new political class," she said. "It is not an easy battle. But we can (do it)."

U.N. Says 13 Syrians Have Died of Cold while Fleeing to Lebanon
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 21/18/The number of Syrians who have died trying to flee their war-torn country into neighboring Lebanon during a snowstorm has risen to at least 13, the United Nations has said. A group of Syrians, including children, had tried to enter Lebanon late on Thursday through a smuggling route but were caught in a fierce storm. The Lebanese Army and Civil Defense said on Friday they had retrieved the bodies of 10 Syrians, including two children and six women.But the toll has since increased. Lisa Abou Khaled, a spokeswoman for the U.N.'s refugee agency, said at least 13 Syrians were confirmed to have died in the incident. "The victims were trying to cross an arduous and rugged passage in freezing temperatures," the UNHCR said in a statement. "Others in the group, including a pregnant woman, were discovered in time and assisted by nearby residents and the Lebanese Armed Forces and Civil Defense to reach hospitals before they froze to death."A Lebanese Army source told AFP on Saturday that the toll had reached 14. "The army retrieved a total of 12 bodies on Friday, and one person died at the hospital. Another body was found on Saturday, bringing the total to 14," the source said. Lebanon, a country of four million, hosts just under a million Syrians who have sought refuge from the war raging in their neighboring homeland since 2011.Many live in informal tented settlements in the country's east and struggle to stay warm in the winter. The U.N.'s children's agency UNICEF said on Saturday it was distributing blankets, warm clothes and heating fuel. "More children could be among the dead as residents in the area and the Lebanese authorities continue to look for people who are reportedly trapped in the mountainous in freezing temperatures and snow," a UNICEF statement said.
"The brutal wars have to stop and we all need to step up our generosity and assistance for the most affected children. We have no excuse. We cannot continue failing children!"In 2015, Lebanese authorities introduced new restrictions to curb the number of Syrians entering the country. Lebanon and Syria share a rocky 330-kilometer border with no official demarcation at several points.

Report: New Political Spat Looms Over Election Launch Decree Signing
Naharnet/January 21/18/President Michel Aoun has reportedly "refrained" from signing a decree launching preparations for the upcoming parliamentary polls because it “did not bear the signature of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Jebran Bassil,” An Nahar daily reported Saturday. Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq has accordingly sent Aoun the decree inviting the Election Supervisory Committee to begin preparations for this year's polls. But the President has returned it back to the Minister “under the pretext that it did not carry the signature of Bassil being as Lebanese emigrants will be able to cast ballots this time,” according to the daily. Mashnouq has in turn “requested the opinion of the State Shura Council that declared the decree as not needing the foreign minister's signing.”The daily added “Mashnouq has re-sent the decree to Aoun but bearing his own signature alone.” It is still unclear whether the issue will trigger a new political spat over decree signing. A row between Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri over the signing of a decree promoting a number of army officers is still left unresolved. Parliamentary elections are set for May 6. Lebanese nationals living overseas will have the chance for the first time in Lebanon's history to cast ballots from abroad. The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law.

Rahi expresses regret over the 14 Syrians' tragedy
Sun 21 Jan 2018/NNA - Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Boutros Rahi expressed his regret over the death of fourteen Syrians at the Lebanese-Syrian borders, as they were trying to enter Lebanon through illegal crossings two days ago. "We have been struck by the tragedy of the fourteen Syrian refugees who have died of cold and frost while trying to enter Lebanon illegally," Rahi said during Sunday's Mass service in Bkirki today. The Patriarch held the international community responsible for the tragedy of the 14 Syrians, and for "failing to stop wars and establish peace in Syria and other countries in the region."The Prelate deemed that the international community proves, day after day, that it gives no importance to human lives or citizens'security and their right to a decent life in their homeland. Rahi ended his sermon by calling on politicians to rise above all personal interests and narrow calculations for the country's sake.

Berri Wages 'Fierce Campaign' Against Bassil
Naharnet/January 21/18/Speaker Nabih Berri “waged the fiercest campaign” against Foreign Minister Jebarn Bassil and his request to amend the electoral system stressing he won't allow any changes and assuring that the country will stage timely polls, al-Joumhouria daily reported Saturday.
Speaking to his visitors, Berri was quoted as emphasizing he “won't open the door for changes,” expressing surprise at “attempts of some to picture themselves as keen on expatriates, forgetting that I was and still have the slogan that Lebanon can only rise with both its wings, the residents and expatriates.”
Berri was referring to Bassil's request to extend the deadline registration for Lebanese expats living abroad wishing to cast their ballots in the upcoming legislative elections. The measure requires opening an extraordinary parliament session in order to make changes to the electoral law system, which Berri strongly rejects. “The elections will take place on time. The prevailing atmospheres will not affect nor hinder their timely implementation,” said the Speaker. "There may be someone who wants to overthrow the election, but he will not be able to,” he added. Parliamentary elections are set for May 6, while overseas ballots will be cast in April.Lebanese nationals living overseas will have the chance for the first time in Lebanon's history to cast ballots from abroad. The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law.

Latin Bishop of Rio de Janeiro partakes in Sunday Mass in Reshmaya: A visit filled with history, kindness and faith
Sun 21 Jan 2018/NNA - The town of Reshmaya in the Casa of Aley celebrated the return of its son, Latin Parish Bishop of Rio de Janeiro Fernando Rivan (of Maronite Lebanese origins) as he took part in presiding over Sunday Mass alongside Beirut Parish Bishop Boulos Matar at Saint Keriakos Church. Bishop Rivan described his visit to his mother nation as "filled with history, kindness and faith," thanking all those who contributed to its success. "I am here representing all those who have migrated from Lebanon for decades, to thank the Lord Almighty for all the gifts and blessings He has given to Lebanon, blessings of love, hospitality and planting happiness in the hearts of everyone who visits its lands...I am sure that my grandparents are happy wherever they are today that I am visiting the land where they lived and loved...Blessings be to Saint Charbel and Our Lady of Lebanon and to all its saints," said Rivan in his sermon.

Siniora's Office: Jordanian Monarch has confirmed adherence to the twostate solution and peace initiative
Sun 21 Jan 2018/NNA - In an issued statement by Future Parliamentary Bloc Head, former PM Fuad Sinora's media bureau on Sunday, it indicated that Jordanian King Abdullah II met with Siniora in Amman today, within the framework of his meetings with the Arab and International Relations Council delegation. "Talks with the Jordanian Monarch centered on developments in the region following the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, whereby King Abdullah assured the delegation of his adherence to the two-state solution and the Arab peace initiative," the statement added.

Moukheiber: Challenge lies in giving priority to security, liberties
Sun 21 Jan 2018/NNA - MP Ghassan Moukheiber said Sunday that maintaining security was a top priority for the Lebanese. "The challenge for the Lebanese is to give priority to the country's security while maintaining public freedoms," Moukheiber said during an interview to "Radio Lebanon" Station. The lawmaker deemed that security forces should be reinforced by all means, in order to maintain security in the country. "We must strengthen the Lebanese security forces in all aspects within the framework of their subordination to the political authority and the law," Moukheiber added. Commenting on the controversial issue of signing the decree to promote a number of Lebanese Army officers who served under President Michel Aoun, Moukheiber considered that it was up to the judiciary to end this dispute.

Moussa to Radio Lebanon: No progress regarding officers' seniority decree
Sun 21 Jan 2018/NNA - MP Michel Moussa said Sunday that there is still no progress concerning the decree on the seniority of Army officers.
In an interview to Radio Lebanon, the MP said he was satisfied with the work of security apparatuses in the country. He stressed, however, the need to preserve individual liberties as stipulated by the Lebanese Constitution. In this context, Moussa called for the proper implementation of laws through a judicial commission.

Shbib from Central Beirut: We live the blessing of safety thanks to the sacrifices of our Army martyrs and the achievements of our security forces
Sun 21 Jan 2018/NNA - Governor of Beirut, Judge Ziad Shbib, paid tribute on Sunday to the sacrifices of Army martyrs who lost their lives for the sake of ensuring a safe environment for Lebanese citizens to live in, while praising as well the achievements of Lebanon's security forces. Speaking from downtown Beirut, which witnessed a long day of fun and entertainment activities organized by the Beirut Municipality, Shbib said, "Beirut will remain the city of life, love and hope...My joy is the joy of all those participating in this special day in downtown Beirut...The safety of our lives today is thanks to the sacrifices of the Lebanese army and the achievements of the security forces...and therefore, we must enjoy the beauty of our city and our homeland." Shbib vowed that the city's central district will witness a revived phase of positivity and vibrant economic and social activities, where all streets will be open to citizens without any obstacles, and which will continue throughout the coming days and months. "We believe in the viability of restoring investment in our city," Shbib asserted, thanking the media for covering today's event and portraying the city's true lively image.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 21-22/18
Turkish Troops Enter Syria in Bid to Oust Kurdish Militia
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 21/18/Turkish ground troops entered Syria on Sunday to push an offensive against Kurdish militia as France warned the operation risked harming the international fight against jihadists. Turkey on Saturday launched operation "Olive Branch" seeking to oust from the Afrin region of northern Syria the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara considers a terror group. But the campaign risks further increasing tensions with Turkey's NATO ally the United States -- which has supported the YPG in the fight against Islamic State jihadists -- and also needs at least the tacit support of Russia to succeed. France's defense minister sounded the sternest Western warning to Turkey since the start of the offensive, saying it risked harming the campaign to crush Islamic State (IS) jihadists.Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said troops crossed into the YPG-controlled region in Syria at 0805 GMT, the Dogan news agency reported. Turkish artillery and war planes pounded YPG sites around Afrin and total of 153 targets, including YPG refuges and weapons stores have now been hit, according to the army.The state-run Anadolu news agency said the Turkish troops, whose number was not specified, were advancing alongside forces from the pro-Ankara rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and were already five kilometers (three miles) inside Syria. In his first comments on the offensive since it began, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hope the "operation will be finished in a very short time" and vowed "we will not take a step back."Following calls from some Turkish pro-Kurdish politicians for people to take to the streets, he warned that anyone protesting in Turkey against the operation would pay "a heavy price."
Second Syria incursion
The operation is Turkey's second major incursion into Syria during the seven-year civil war after the August 2016-March 2017 Euphrates Shield campaign in an area to the east of Afrin against both the YPG and IS. The army said IS was also being targeted in this operation although it no longer has any major presence in the Afrin area. Erdogan had repeatedly vowed that Turkey would root out the "nests of terror" in Syria of the YPG, which Ankara accuses of being the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK, which has waged a rebellion in the Turkish southeast for more than three decades, is regarded as a terror group not just by Ankara and but also its Western allies. Afrin is an enclave of YPG control, cut off from the longer strip of northern Syria that the group controls to the east extending to the Iraqi border. Turkey wants the YPG to retreat east of the Euphrates River. Yildirim was quoted as saying that the Turkish forces aimed to create a security zone some 30 kilometers (18 miles) deep inside Syria. The YPG said that after the first strikes on Saturday 10 people were killed, including seven civilians. The Turkish army said there were casualties but insisted they were all members either of the YPG or the PKK. A YPG spokesman claimed that the Turkish forces had sought to enter Afrin "but we blocked the attack."In a sign of the risks to Turkey, four rockets fired by the YPG hit the border town of Kilis early Sunday, damaging one building and lightly wounding a woman.
'Russian green light?'
Turkey risks entering a diplomatic minefield with its action in Syria and the foreign ministry lost no time in inviting the ambassadors of all major powers to be briefed on the offensive. The ministry said it had even informed Damascus through its Istanbul consulate. But the Syrian regime, which is at odds with Turkey, strongly denied this and President Bashar al-Assad slammed the offensive as "support for terrorism."There was no immediate comment from the United States on the offensive but ahead of its launch a senior State Department official had raised concerns it risked being harmful for security in the region.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly said the fighting "must stop" as it could deter YPG fighters helping the international coalition against IS. "Our priority is the fight against terrorism," Parly told France 3 television. Crucial is the attitude of Russia, which has a military presence in the area and is also working with Turkey on a drive to end the civil war. The Russian foreign ministry voiced concern and urged Turkey to show restraint. And the defense ministry said its troops were withdrawing from the Afrin area to ensure their security and prevent any "provocation."Timur Akhmetov, Ankara-based researcher at the Russian International Affairs Council, told AFP that Russia appeared to have given the "green light" to the operation but made clear it should not lead to destabilization elsewhere.

France Urges End to Turkish Offensive against Syrian Kurdish Militia
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 21/18/French Defense Minister Florence Parly on Sunday pressed Turkey to stop its offensive against Kurdish militia fighting in Syria, saying the fighters were a key ally against terrorism in the war-torn country. "This fighting... must stop," Parly told France 3 television, adding that the Turkish offensive could "deter Kurdish forces who are at the side" of the international coalition battling jihadists in Syria. Her comments came as Turkish ground troops entered northern Syria on Sunday to push an offensive against the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers a terror group. But Parly said the Kurdish militants had been a crucial ally in fighting extremists such as the Islamic State group. "Our priority is the fight against terrorism," Parly said. "As a result, anything that could deter the fighters of this battle is a bad thing."She added: "What is essential is the fight against terrorism and all this fighting, notably that which is taking place in a terrible fashion near Idlib and elsewhere, must stop." The Turkish campaign risks further increasing tensions with NATO allies including the United States, which has supported the YPG in the fight against IS jihadists. Operation "Olive Branch", in the Afrin region, is Turkey's second major incursion into Syria during the seven-year civil war. The army said IS was also being targeted in this operation although it no longer has any major presence in the Afrin area. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had repeatedly vowed that Turkey would root out the "nests of terror" in Syria of the YPG, which Ankara accuses of being the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK, which has waged a rebellion in the Turkish southeast for more than three decades, is regarded as a terror group not just by Ankara but also its Western allies.

US urges Turkey to ‘exercise restraint’ in Syria operation
Reuters | Published — Sunday 21 January 2018
WASHINGTON: The United States called Sunday for Turkey to “exercise restraint” and avoid civilian casualties in its cross-border operation targeting Syrian Kurdish forces. The call came a day after Turkey launched “Operation Olive Branch,” an offensive by Ankara’s troops and allied Syrian rebels against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the town of Afrin. “We urge Turkey to exercise restraint and ensure that its military operations remain limited in scope and duration and scrupulous to avoid civilian casualties,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. “We call on all parties to remain focused on the central goal of defeating” Daesh, Nauert said. The YPG has been a key US ally in the war against Daesh, helping to drive the rebel group from swaths of Syrian territory, including its stronghold Raqqa. But Ankara considers YPG fighters to be “terrorists” linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been engaged in a separatist struggle against the Turkish state since 1984. A Britain-based monitoring group and a YPG spokesman both said that Turkish air raids killed eight civilians in northern Syria on Sunday. On Saturday, the YPG’s Birusk Hasakah told AFP that a Turkish bombardment had killed 10 people, including seven civilians. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Sunday that claims of civilian casualties from the offensive were untrue.

Turkish state media say Turkey’s ground forces have entered Syrian Kurdish enclave
AFP | Published — Sunday 21 January 2018
HASSA, Turkey: Turkish ground troops entered Syria on Sunday to push an offensive against Kurdish militia as rocket fire hit a border town in apparent retaliation.Turkey on Saturday launched operation “Olive Branch” seeking to oust from the Afrin region of northern Syria the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) which Ankara considers a terror group. But the campaign risks further increasing tensions with Turkey’s NATO ally the United States — which has supported the YPG in the fight against Daesh terrorists — and also needs at least the tacit support of Russia to succeed. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said troops crossed into the YPG-controlled region in Syria at 0805 GMT, the Dogan news agency reported. Turkish artillery and war planes pounded YPG sites around Afrin and total of 153 targets, including YPG refuges and weapons stores have now been hit, according to the army. The state-run Anadolu news agency said the Turkish troops, whose number was not specified, were advancing alongside forces from the pro-Ankara rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and were already five kilometers (three miles) inside Syria.
An AFP correspondent on the southwestern edge of the Afrin region saw a warplane bombing the western outskirts of the area early on Sunday. A small unit from a Turkish-backed rebel group was manning a monitoring point on a hilltop overlooking several Kurdish-controlled villages below. The operation is Turkey’s second major incursion into Syria during the seven-year civil war after the August 2016-March 2017 Euphrates Shield campaign in an area to the east of Afrin against both the YPG and IS. The army said IS was also being targeted in this operation although it no longer has any major presence in the Afrin area. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had repeatedly vowed that Turkey would root out the “nests of terror” in Syria of the YPG, which Ankara accuses of being the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK, which has waged a rebellion in the Turkish southeast for more than three decades, is regarded as a terror group not just by Ankara and but also its Western allies.   Afrin is an enclave of YPG control, cut off from the longer strip of northern Syria that the group controls to the east extending to the Iraqi border. Turkey wants the YPG to retreat east of the Euphrates River. Yildirim was quoted as saying that the Turkish forces aimed to create a security zone some 30 kilometers (18 miles) deep inside Syria.
The YPG said that after the first strikes on Saturday 10 people were killed, including seven civilians. The Turkish army said there were casualties but insisted they were all members either of the YPG or the PKK. A YPG spokesman claimed that the Turkish forces had sought to enter Afrin “but we blocked the attack.” In a sign of the risks to Turkey, four rockets fired by the YPG hit the border town of Kilis early Sunday, damaging one building and lightly wounding a woman. “No one lost their life,” Kilis governor Mehmet Tekinarslan said, quoted by Dogan. “They can fire one rocket at us and we will fire 100 back. There is no need to worry.”Turkey risks entering a diplomatic minefield with its action in Syria and the foreign ministry lost no time in inviting the ambassadors of all major powers to be briefed on the offensive. The ministry said it had even informed Damascus through its Istanbul consulate. But the Syrian regime, which is at odds with Turkey, strongly denied this, denouncing the operation as a “brutal Turkish aggression.”There was no immediate comment from the United States on the offensive but ahead of its launch a senior State Department official had raised concerns it risked being harmful for security in the region. But even more crucial is the attitude of Russia, which has a military presence in the area and is also working with Turkey on a drive to end the civil war. The Russian foreign ministry voiced concern and urged Turkey to show restraint. And the defense ministry said its troops were withdrawing from the Afrin area to ensure their security and prevent any “provocation.” Timur Akhmetov, Ankara-based researcher at the Russian International Affairs Council, told AFP that Russia appeared to have given the “green light” to the operation but made clear it should not lead to destabilization elsewhere. “I don’t think Russia will agree to let Turkey occupy the whole Afrin region and insists on keeping the Syrian government in charge,” he added.

Iraqi court sentences to death German woman who joined Daesh
REUTERS | Published — Sunday 21 January 2018
BAGHDAD: An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced to death a German woman of Moroccan origin for joining Daesh, a spokesman said. The German national was captured by Iraqi forces during the battle for Mosul last year, the spokesman said, declining to identify her.
She can appeal the sentence, said Abdul-Sattar Al-Birqdar, spokesman for Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council in Baghdad. “She confessed that she traveled with her two daughters from Germany to Syria and then joined Daesh in Iraq,” Birqdar said. The woman was convicted of participating in attacks on Iraqi security forces and offering the militant group logistical support, said Birqdar. Thousands of foreigners have been fighting for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Iraq declared victory last month over Daesh, which had seized control of nearly a third of the country in 2014. However, the group continues to carry out bombings and other attacks in the country. Separately, Iraq’s Supreme Federal Court on Sunday ruled against calls by Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers to delay a parliamentary election, expected to be called for May, to allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced by war to return home.
Shiite politicians, including Prime Minister Haider Abadi, argued delaying the election would be unconstitutional. The election must be held “within the timeframe provided by the constitution,” the court said in a statement. Parliament is expected to meet on Monday to validate May 12 as the date for the ballot, as suggested by the government, or agree another date in May. Abadi is seeking re-election, building on a surge in his popularity among Iraq’s majority Shiite Arab community after leading the three-year fight against Daesh militants, supported by a US-led coalition. “Postponing the elections would set a dangerous precedent, undermining the constitution and damaging Iraq’s long-term democratic development,” the US Embassy in Baghdad said in a statement on Thursday. The US had shown understanding for Abadi’s move in October to dislodge Kurdish fighters from the oil rich northern region of Kirkuk, even though the Kurds are traditional allies of Washington and played a key part in the war against Daesh. Tens of thousands of Kurds were displaced as a result of the takeover of the ethnically mixed areas of Kirkuk and its surroundings by Iraqi forces supported by Iranian-backed paramilitary groups. Rouhani aims for better ties with Iraqi Kurds Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday called for boosting relations with the Iraqi Kurdish region as part of a united Iraq, Iranian media reported, after ties were strained over an independence referendum in the area last year.The call came during a visit by the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, the first such high-level trip to Iran since last year’s Kurdish independence referendum which Iran strongly opposed. The Kurdish referendum on Sept. 25, which produced an overwhelming “yes” for independence, angered Iraq’s central government and neighbors Iran and Turkey, which have their own restive Kurdish minorities. “President Rouhani stressed the historical and deep-rooted ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kurds of Iraq, and said all efforts should be made to strengthen the close relations between the two nations of Iran and Iraq,” the state news agency IRNA reported.

Jordan urges Pence to rebuild trust after Jerusalem pivot
AP | Published — Sunday 21 January 2018
AMMAN: Jordan’s king appealed Sunday to US Vice President Mike Pence to “rebuild trust and confidence” in the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, following fallout from the Trump administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Pence, in turn, tried to reassure the monarch that the Trump administration remains committed to restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and views Jordan as a central player. The vice president also said that “the United States of America remains committed, if the parties agree, to a two-state solution.” Such a caveat deviates from long-standing US support for a two-state solution as the only possible outcome of any peace deal. Trump’s pivot on Jerusalem last month infuriated the Palestinians, who seek the Israeli-annexed eastern sector of the city as a future capital. They accused the US of siding with Israel and said Washington can no longer serve as a mediator. Jerusalem is the emotional centerpiece of the long-running conflict, and Trump’s policy shift set off protests and condemnation across Arab and Muslim countries. Any perceived threat to Muslim claims in the city is seen as a challenge to Jordan, where a large segment of the population is of Palestinian origin. Pence told Jordan’s king on Sunday that Trump made it clear in his announcement on Jerusalem “that we are committed to continue to respect Jordan’s role as the custodian of holy sites, that we take no position on boundaries and final status.” He said Jordan would continue to play a central role in any future peace efforts. The vice president also praised Jordan’s contribution to a US-led military campaign against Daesh extremists who in recent months were pushed back from large areas in Iraq and Syria, both neighbors of Jordan. King Abdullah expressed concerns about the regional fallout from the Jerusalem decision. “Today we have a major challenge to overcome, especially with some of the rising frustrations,” he said. He described the Pence visit as a mission “to rebuild trust and confidence” in getting to a two-state solution, in which a state of Palestine would be established in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in 1967. Another cause of concern for Jordan is the Trump administration’s decision to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Jordan vehemently opposes such a move if taken ahead of an Israeli-Palestinian partition deal. Israel views Jerusalem as its unified capital. A longstanding international consensus holds that the city’s final status should be decided through negotiations, which was also US policy going back decades. Palestinians view Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as a blatantly one-sided move. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would not meet with Trump administration officials and called off a meeting with Pence that had been scheduled for mid-December. In a new expression of that snub, Abbas overlapped with Pence in Jordan from Saturday evening to midday Sunday, when the Palestinian leader flew to Brussels for a meeting with EU foreign ministers Monday. There, Abbas is expected to urge EU member states to recognize a state of Palestine in the pre-1967 lines, and to step up involvement in mediation. Nabil Abu Rdeneh, an Abbas adviser, reiterated Sunday that “the US is no longer acceptable as a mediator.” “Any plan from any side should be based on the basic references, which are the UN resolutions on the establishment of a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967, with East Jerusalem as a capital, and the Arab Peace Initiative, which addresses many issues, including the issue of refugees,” he said. “Any plan that is not based on the international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative will not be acceptable, neither by the Palestinians nor the Arabs.” Pence also met with US troops in the region on Sunday.Later, he will visit Israel to hold meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, deliver an address to the Knesset and visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

Mossad Assassinated at Least 3,000 People
Asharq Al Awsat/January 21/18/A recent book by Israeli researcher and journalist Ronen Bergman revealed that the Israeli intelligence service Mossad killed at least 3,000 people. "In total, we are talking about at least 3,000 people, not only the targeted people, but the many innocent people who were in the wrong place at the wrong place," the writer said in the German magazine Der Spiegel. Bergman's book, "The Shadow War, Israel and the Mossad's Secret Killings," is on the market as of Monday. According to the author, he spoke in his research with about 1,000 people, "including six former heads of the Mossad and six Israeli prime ministers, such as Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, as well as with current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."Bergman said that during the second intifada alone, orders were issued for "targeted killings" of between four to five people, usually those of members of Hamas. The Mossad is one of the main entities in the Israeli intelligence apparatus, which also includes the Military Intelligence, the Shin Beth security service, and the Shin Bet. The Mossad is responsible for collecting intelligence and conducting secret operations, And the management of espionage operations outside the country. The Mossad was established on December 13, 1949, at the recommendation of David Ben-Gurion, the former Israeli Prime Minister, and reorganized in 1951 to be directly subordinate to the Prime Minister's authority and orders.

Bahraini Minister of Information Denounces Iran-backed Houthi Terrorism
Asharq Al Awsat/January 21/18/Bahraini Information Affairs Minister Ali al-Romaihi denounced recurrent Houthi attacks targeting cities in Saudi Arabia with tens of Iran-made ballistic missiles in a dangerous escalation aimed to undermine the security of the kingdom, the Gulf and the Arab countries. He indicated that the Houthi attacks were a flagrant violation of all international and humanitarian conventions.Speaking to Asharq al-Awsat, Romaihi praised the Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces, their advanced systems and military services in thwarting Houthi terrorist attacks, including the recent ballistic missile attack on Najran city that was intercepted. The Houthis attack was a blatant breach of international and humanitarian laws that proves the implication of Tehran regime and its terrorist proxies in threatening regional and global peace and security, he added.
The minister urged the international community to take a decisive stance against Iranian-backed Houthi terrorism, and effective measures against Iran's escalating violations and its breach of international laws, expansionist sectarian policies and terrorist activities of sabotage in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Yemen and other countries in the region. The minister reiterated Bahrain’s support along with the Arab and Muslim countries for Saudi Arabia, the land of the Two Holy Mosques, in all the measures it takes to protect its security and stability as well as safeguarding its boundaries and ensuring the safety of its people and pilgrims of the Holy Kaaba. The minister also assured his country's support to Saudi humanitarian efforts in alleviating the suffering of Yemeni people and solving Yemen’s ongoing crisis caused by Iran proxies, namely the Houthi coup militias which violated international laws especially UN Security Council Resolution 2216, the Gulf Initiative and its implementation mechanism and the outcomes of Yemen’s Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference. In related news, Spokesman of the Coalition Forces Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen Colonel Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on Saturday that the Air Defense Forces affiliated to Coalition detected a ballistic missile launched by Iran-affiliated Houthi militias from Saada Governorate towards Saudi Arabia. Maliki stated that the missile was directed towards Najran and was launched deliberately to target civilian and populated areas. The missile was intercepted and destroyed by the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces (RSADF). "This hostile action by Iran-backed Houthi group proves the continuous involvement of the Iranian regime in supporting the Houthi armed group with qualitative capabilities, in a clear and explicit defiance and violation of UN Resolutions 2216 and 2231 in order to threaten the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the regional and international security," the Spokesman said. Maliki renewed his call for the international community to take more serious and effective steps to stop Iranian violations of continued smuggling and transfer of ballistic missiles and weapons to terrorist groups and outlaws. He also asked to hold Iran accountable for its blatant defiance of the international values as the threat it poses to the regional and international security.

Kuwait: Musallam Al Barrak Turns Himself In
Asharq Al Awsat/January 21/18/Kuwaiti authorities detained former member of Kuwaiti parliament (National Assembly) and member of the opposition Musallam al-Barrak upon his arrival in the country through Nuwaisib land border with Saudi Arabia. In light of reports stating that Kuwait may apply for extradition, Barrak chose to turn himself in before the legal deadline to challenge his sentence issued by the Court of Cassation. This comes 50 days after Court of Appeal ordered the imprisonment of Barrak and other deputies along with 67 other defendants in the case of forcible entry into the National Assembly in November 2011. Sentences against the defendants, including deputies, ranged from one to seven years in prison. The court sentenced former MP Barrak to seven years in prison. Other than Barrak, three current deputies are also sentenced: Juman al-Harbash and Waleed al-Tabtabai (sentenced to 7 years each) and MP Mohammed al-Mutair (one year). The sentence also included former MPs MubarakaAl-Waalan, Salem al-Namlan, Faisal al-Musallam, Khalid al-Tahous, each sentenced to 5 years, and former MP Mohammed al-Khalifa to three years. As soon as he arrived at the crossing point, Barrak was arrested by Kuwaiti security forces, while lawyers say that he could have appealed to the Court of Cassation, but the court will not accept the appeal unless he turns himself in. However, Barrak left Kuwait to Saudi Arabia before the verdict. Before arriving at the crossing point, Barrak recorded a video saying he was on his way to Kuwait to turn himself in to execute the court sentence which he described as "political." In November 2011, demonstrators and opposition MPs stormed Kuwait's parliament building demanding that the then prime minister step down, and they occupied the main chamber and sang the national anthem before leaving a short time later. Despite the resignation of PM Sheikh Nasser days after the incident and the appointment of Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah as his successor, the issue has been in the courts, where the Court of First Instance acquitted the deputies and activists in December 2013.
Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah described the incident as "Black Wednesday", saying that those responsible for attacking the security men will be held accountable. Barrak can appeal the ruling before the Court of Cassation. Kuwaiti constitutional expert Muhammad al-Faily explained that the issuance of a penal judgment by the Court of Appeal makes it enforceable in itself. He added to Asharq Al-Awsat that an appeal before the Court of Cassation does not stop the enforcement of ruling unless a request was submitted to the cassation judge to halt the sentence from coming into force. On April 20, 2017, Kuwaiti authorities released Barrak, after two years in prison on charges of insulting and undermining the status of the Emir during a seminar organized by the Kuwaiti opposition forces in 2012. On 15 April 2013, Court of First Instance sentenced Barrack to five years' imprisonment on charges of insulting the Emir On April 22, 2013, the judge of the Court of Appeal ordered the suspension of the sentence provisionally pending dismissal of the appeal. He was released from prison on 20 April 2017.

Syria: Sunni-Alawite Talks Yield 11-Article Document in Berlin
London- Ibrahim Humaidi/Asharq Al Awsat/January 21/18/
Mounting rounds of unannounced talks in Berlin between politicians and leaders of Syria’s ethnic, religious and sectarian components yielded an 11-item document encompassing Syria's Unity and Individual Accountability, reflecting the consensus of the central bloc in Syrian society, with the hope that it would be a "social contract” for constitutional supremacy of Syria's future away from the regime and the opposition arguments. Talks were attended by Alawite clergymen, tribal leaders, and Christian, Druze and Kurdish leaders. Preliminary meetings took place in Beirut and Turkey before moving to Berlin organized by an independent German institution, which planned the process carefully, leading to the signature of an official and binding document on 21 November 2017. Clerics and figures from the Alawite sect participated regularly in the talks, coming from Homs, Safita and the Syrian coast.
“There was a close revision on everyone's rank. Personalities who participated in the talks have a striking influence and social legitimacy along the Syrian coast,” one of the organizers told Asharq Al-Awsat. However, the planner refused to reveal names of partakers for security reasons relating to participants, especially clerics, social and historical members. Organizers are planning to leak contents as the dates for the Syrian Sochi talks and the peace negotiations in Vienna closes in. The Russian-sponsored Sochi talks are scheduled for January 29 and 30, while the Vienna negotiations are booked for the 25th and 26th.
Russia hopes to broker peace between the Syrian regime and its opposition while appeasing major stakeholders. The document, which Asharq al-Awsat obtained, contains 11 articles under the title: "Code of Conduct for a Joint Syrian Life". According to the text, the code of conduct includes the unification of Syrian lands, where there is neither conquerer nor defeated, and everyone is held accountable. Article five suggests upholding accountability, however away from retribution-- accountability for violations is fundamental in building a state away from retaliation, marginalization and exclusion.
Nevertheless, accountability has to be subjective so that the individual does not bare the fault of the group, and vice versa. Article six recognizes the right of every Syrian to compensate for the loss of property and to recover what has been dispossessed in the long span of the over six-year war. It also stresses the right of every uprooted Syrian to return to his/her birthplace or wherever he or she resided prior to the outbreak of March 2011 civil war. On a humanitarian scope, the document mandates a follow-up on humanitarian conditions of detainees, prisoners, missing persons and families of victims. As well as a check-up on those who sustained physical injury or suffer from disability. Above all, Article six recognizes that "the Syrian social fabric is by nature varied religiously, culturally, tribally, politically, socially and sect-wise”. Article 9 states that the “Syrian society shall not be politicized on a national, religious or doctrinal basis whilst upholding the right of the individual to belong to a race, religion, sect or tribe.”Overall, the document backs a “collective Syrian heritage” and promotes “equality among Syrians and protecting individual freedoms.”

U.S. Lawmakers in Bid to End Govt. Shutdown Stalemate
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 21/18/U.S. lawmakers will launch a last-ditch bid Sunday to end a budget impasse before hundreds of thousands of federal workers are forced to start the work week at home with no pay. The impact of the shutdown that began at midnight Friday has been largely limited so far, closing sites like New York's Statue of Liberty, but the effect will be acute if the stalemate runs into Monday. Republicans and Democrats have traded bitter recriminations over who is to blame for the failure to pass a stop-gap funding measure by a January 20 deadline, a year to the day since Donald Trump took office as U.S. president. Highlighting the deep political polarization, crowds estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands took to the streets of major U.S. cities Saturday to march against the president and his policies. Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell on Saturday set a key vote for a funding measure for 1:00 am (0600 GMT) Monday, with both houses of Congress set to reconvene Sunday. "I assure you we will have the vote at 1:00 am on Monday, unless there is a desire to have it sooner," he said in a statement. At the heart of the dispute is the thorny issue of undocumented immigration.
Democrats have accused Republicans of poisoning chances of a deal and pandering to Trump's populist base by refusing to fund a program that protects 700,000 "Dreamers" -- undocumented immigrants who arrived as children -- from deportation. Trump, in return, has said Democrats are "far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border."The shutdown's effects meanwhile are set to intensify. Essential federal services and military activity are continuing, but even active duty troops will not be paid until a deal is reached to reopen the U.S. government.
'Holding pattern'
There have been four government shutdowns since 1990. In the last one in 2013, more than 800,000 government workers were put on temporary leave. "We're just in a holding pattern. We just have to wait and see. It's scary," Noelle Joll, a 50-year-old furloughed U.S. government employee, told AFP in Washington. A deal had appeared likely on Friday afternoon, when Trump -- who has touted himself as a master negotiator -- seemed to be close to an agreement with Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on protecting Dreamers. But no such compromise was in the language that reached Congress for a stop-gap motion to keep the government open for four more weeks while a final arrangement is discussed. And Republicans failed to win enough Democratic support to bring it to a vote. Congress reconvened for a rare Saturday session, where leaders of both sides were meant to hammer out their differences to prevent the shutdown from stretching into Monday. Instead, they traded accusations of responsibility for the shutdown. Schumer said trying to negotiate with Trump "was like negotiating with Jell-O.""It's impossible to negotiate with a constantly moving target," he said. "President Trump is so mercurial it's been impossible to get him to agree to anything." Meanwhile, McConnell said Schumer "took the extraordinary step" of preventing the legislation from passing and thus "plunging the country into this totally avoidable mess."
Anti-Trump protests
Republicans have a tenuous one-seat majority in the Senate, and on Friday needed to lure some Democrats to their side to get a 60 vote supermajority to bring the motion forward. They fell ten votes short. The measure brought to Congress would have extended federal funding until February 16 and reauthorized for six years a health insurance program for poor children -- a long-time Democratic objective. But it left out any action on the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, that affects Dreamers. White House officials insisted there was no urgency to fix DACA, which expires March 5. As U.S. lawmakers wrangled over government funding, protesters turned out in cities including Los Angeles, New York and Washington to express their opposition to Trump, and their support for women's rights. Protestors hoisted placards with messages including "Fight like a girl" and "A woman's place is in the White House" and "Elect a clown, expect a circus."

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 21-22/18
Restoring Persecuted Middle East Christians' Faith in America
Johny Messo//Gatestone Institute/January 21/2018
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/61957
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11745/persecuted-christians-middle-east
Christians, members of the largest religion in the world, have become the most persecuted faith group but lack a political voice.
The White House urgently needs to develop a clear vision of how to help Christianity survive -- let alone thrive -- in its homeland. At the moment, there seems to be no foreign policy based on this vision.
Without urgent action on the part of the United States, Christianity in biblically historic lands, such as Iraq, Syria and Turkey, will be clinically dead before the year 2030. The current administration in Washington has expressed, in words, that this situation cannot be tolerated. It is time now for deeds, as well, to reverse the previous administrations' virtual abandonment of Christians in the Middle East to the fate of persecution at the hands of Islamists.
In September 2007, then-Senator Obama wrote a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, expressing "concern for Iraq's Christian and other non-Muslim religious minorities, including Catholic Chaldeans, Syriac Orthodox, Assyrian, Armenian and Protestant Christians, as well as smaller Yazidi and Sabean Mandaean communities."
Obama warned:
"These communities appear to be targeted by Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish militants... And according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, 'violence against members of Iraq's Christian community occurs throughout the country'... Such violence bespeaks a humanitarian crisis of grave proportions. The severe violations of religious freedom faced by members of these indigenous communities, and their potential extinction from their ancient homeland, is deeply alarming... and demand an urgent response from our government."
In spite of Senator Obama's having addressed the growing threat to Christians and other ethno-religious minorities in Iraq, their situation would only deteriorate during the eight years of his presidency. While President George W. Bush may have opened the gates of hell for Iraq's Christians, President Obama not only widened them, but unleashed the demons on Syria. The following give some idea of this downward spiral:
Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, after earlier underreported exoduses of Christians from the country, there were 1.4 million Christians in Iraq, making up 5.4% of its overall population of 26 million. Today, 15 years later, Iraq's Christian population stands at less than 250,000, a drop of 82%, and a mere 0.65% of Iraq's general and much larger population of 38 million.
In 2011, there were 1.8 - 2 million Christians in Syria, who made up 8% of the country's total population of 23 million. Today, less than seven years later, no more than 500,000 Christians, out of a total population of 18.2 million can be found in their war-torn homeland -- a drop of more than 72%.
Enter the Trump Administration
The classical Christian populations in the Middle East consist of Copts, Greeks, Armenians and Arameans -- the latter being the indigenous people of Southeast Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. As a stateless Semitic people, who live in a global diaspora, the Arameans include the traditionally Aramaic-speaking churches of the Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholics, Chaldeans, Nestorians (also known as Assyrians), Maronites, Melkite Orthodox and Melkite Catholics.
Their incessant pleas and cries for help from the international community seem to have fallen on deaf ears for more than a decade; these Middle Eastern Christians feel abandoned and betrayed by both the United Nations and America. Statements emerging from the Trump administration, however, have given rise to new hope.
Addressing the "In Defense of Christians" summit in Washington at the end of October, Vice President Mike Pence delivered a message that "help is on the way."
Declaring that the U.N. "has too often failed to help the most vulnerable communities... [and] too often denies their funding requests," Pence promised that "from this day forward, America will provide support directly to persecuted [Christian] communities through USAID."
Pictured: Vice President Mike Pence making a speech at the "In Defense of Christians" summit, on October 25, 2017, in which he said: "from this day forward, America will provide support directly to persecuted [Christian] communities through USAID." (Image source: Channel 90 TV video screenshot)
As an Aramean (Syriac Orthodox), whose family originates from Southeast Turkey -- where the indigenous Arameans have been reduced to fewer than 2,000 people struggling for survival -- I felt encouraged. As the head of the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs), an NGO with special consultative status at the U.N., I can testify to the truth of Pence's statements. Our organization frequently has brought the needs and challenges of the Christians and other threatened minorities to the attention of the international community -- mainly through the Human Rights Council of the U.N. Human Rights Council and its Commission of Inquiry on Syria -- to no avail.
This is why persecuted Christians greeted Trump's election last year with cautious optimism, anxious to see whether he would follow Obama's example and ignore their plight, or take action on behalf of his coreligionists abroad. Statements Trump made, both before and after his inauguration -- such as tweeting, "Christians in the Middle East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!" -- indicated that he might actually come to their aid.
When Trump entered the Oval Office, cynics argued that Trump's words were hollow. In an op-ed in the Washington Post in January 2017, Daniel Williams, author of Forsaken: The Persecution of Christians in Today's Middle East, called Middle Eastern Christians "Trump's pawns."
Yet Trump's actions, so far, have involved putting the genies of Bush and Obama back in the bottle. Trump ended the covert CIA program of 2013 to arm the "rebels" in Syria; he spoke out against "radical Islamic terrorism" during his first address to Congress; he visited the heart of the Muslim world in Riyadh, where he urged leaders of Islamic states to "drive out the terrorists from your places of worship;" and he contributed to the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
All of the above are fulfillments of his campaign promises, and thus bode well for the fate of the remaining Christians in the Middle East. Much work needs to be done to help them, however.
To this end, the White House urgently needs to develop a clear vision of how to help Christianity survive -- let alone thrive -- in its homeland. At the moment, there seems to be no foreign policy based on this vision. Trump might launch an international conference -- similar to one held in Budapest in October -- to address and engage the lay and religious Mideast Christian leaders, with the participation of world representatives.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration should pressure the U.N. Security Council to recognize the genocide, committed by ISIS, which uprooted many tens of thousands of Aramean Christians, Yazidis and others from their ancestral lands. It is not enough to defeat and punish ISIS and other terrorist groups; their victims must be acknowledged and provided help. America also could demand that the U.N. declare an International Day of Solidarity with the Threatened Christians of the Middle East.
Christian America's Duty and Role
America was founded on Judeo-Christian values. Almost all U.S. presidents, including Trump, and members of Congress, have identified themselves as Christian. Yet Christians, members of the largest religion in the world, have become the most persecuted faith group but lack a political voice. In addition, as a result of failed U.S. foreign policy, Christians have vanished in record numbers from the lands where the traditional and still main religion of America (and Europe) was born. In view of its Christian roots and identity, America has a moral obligation to the cradle of Christianity from becoming "Christenrein" ("free of Christians").
Christians in and from the Middle East should be viewed as reliable partners and allies in securing America's interest in a more viable and prosperous region, where Jews, Christians, Muslims and others are able to coexist peacefully on equal footing.
Johny Messo, author of "Arameans and the Making of 'Assyrians': The Last Aramaic-speaking Christians of the Middle East," is from the Netherlands and presides over the World Council of Arameans, a worldwide umbrella organization of the Aramean (Syriac) people and an NGO in special consultative status with the United Nations.
© 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.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11745/persecuted-christians-middle-east

215,000,000 Christians Persecuted, Mostly by Muslims
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/January 21/2018
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/61954
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11775/persecuted-christians-open-doors
In short, the overwhelming majority of persecution that these 215 million Christians experience around the world — especially the worst forms, such as rape and murder — occurs at the hands of Muslims.
If time is on the side of Christians living under Communist regimes, it is not on the side of Christians living under Islam. The center of the great Christian Byzantine Empire is now an increasingly intolerant, rapidly Islamizing Turkey. Carthage, once a bastion of Christianity — where one of Christendom's greatest theologians, St. Augustine, was born and where the New Testament canon was confirmed in 397 — is today 99% Muslim-majority Tunisia.
As what began in the seventh century comes closer to fruition and the entire world becomes more Islamic and "infidel" free, as in Iraq, confronting these uncomfortable facts is at least a welcome first step in countering the problem.
"215 million Christians experience high levels of persecution" around the world, according to Open Doors, a human rights organization. On its recently released World Watch List 2018, which ranks the world's 50 worst nations wherein to be Christian, 3,066 Christians were killed, 1,252 abducted, and 1,020 raped or sexually harassed on account of their faith; and 793 churches were attacked or destroyed.
The Islamic world had the lion's share of this persecution; 38 of the 50 worst nations are Muslim-majority. The report further cites "Islamic oppression" behind the "extreme persecution" that prevails in eight of the 10 worst nations. In short, the overwhelming majority of persecution that these 215 million Christians experience around the world — especially the worst forms, such as rape and murder — occurs at the hands of Muslims.
These Muslims come from all walks of life and reflect a variety of races, nationalities, languages, socio-economic and political circumstances. They include Muslims from among America's closest allies (Saudi Arabia #12 worst persecutor) and Muslims from its opponents (Iran #10); Muslims from rich nations (Qatar #27 and Kuwait #34) and Muslims from poor nations (Afghanistan #2, Somalia #3, and Yemen #9); Muslims from widely recognized "radical" nations (Pakistan #5), and Muslims from "moderate" nations (Malaysia #23 and Indonesia #38).
But if the World Watch List ranks North Korea — non-Islamic, communist — as the number one worst persecutor of Christians, why belabor the religious identity of Muslims? Surely North Korea's top spot suggests that Christian persecution is not intrinsic to the Islamic world but is rather a byproduct of repressive regimes and other socio-economic factors that proliferate throughout the Muslim world?
There are some important distinctions that need to be made. While Christians are indeed experiencing a "life of hell" in North Korea, overthrowing Kim Jong-un's regime could not only lead to a quick halt to this persecution but also to a rise of Christianity — as has happened recently in Russia. Under the Soviet Union, between 12 and 25 million Christians were killed for their faith[1], and approximately 153,000 churches were shut down.[2] Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, about a thousand churches have been (re)built every year, and, according to a 2014 Pew report, between 1991 and 2008, Russians identifying themselves as Orthodox Christian rose from 31% to 72%. That "South Korea is so distinctively Christian" reflects what could be in store — and creating fear for — its northern counterpart.
In the Islamic world, the fall of dictatorial regimes rarely seems to alleviate the sufferings of Christians. On the contrary, when secular dictators fall — Saddam in Iraq, Qaddafi in Libya, and attempts against Assad in Syria — persecution of Christian seems to rise as a grassroots byproduct. Today, Iraq is the eighth worst nation in the world in which to be Christian, Syria is fifteenth, and Libya seventh. Under dictators, these countries were significantly safer for religious minorities.
A militiaman from the Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU) walks through a destroyed church on November 8, 2016 in Qaraqosh, Iraq. The NPU is a militia made up of Assyrian Christians that was formed in late 2014 to defend against ISIS. Qaraqosh is a mostly Assyrian city near of Mosul that was captured by ISIS in August 2014, and liberated in November 2016.
Similarly, the only countries that were part of the former Soviet Union that still persecute Christians are, rather tellingly, the Muslim-majority ones of Central Asia. These include Uzbekistan (#16 worst persecutor), Turkmenistan (#19), Tajikistan (#22), Kazakhstan (#28) and Azerbaijan (#45).[3]
The "extreme persecution" of Christians throughout the Muslim world is part of a continuum begun nearly fourteen hundred years ago. The same patterns of persecution are still prevalent — including attacks for blasphemy and apostasy, restrictions and attacks on churches, and a general contempt for — followed by the vile treatment of — "subhuman infidels."
Unlike the persecution of Christians in Communist nations, rooted to a particular regime, Muslim persecution of Christians is perennial, existential, and far transcends any ruler or regime. It unfortunately seems part and parcel of the history, doctrines, and socio-political makeup of Islam — hence its tenacity and ubiquity. It is a "tradition."
That those persecuting Christians come from a wide variety of racial, linguistic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds — from African, Arab, Asian, and Caucasian nations — and share little in common with one another, except for Islam, sadly only further underscores the true source of the persecution.
If time is on the side of Christians living under Communist regimes, it is not on the side of Christians living under Islam. The center of the great Christian Byzantine Empire is now an increasingly intolerant, Islamizing Turkey. Carthage, once a bastion of Christianity — where one of Christendom's greatest theologians, St. Augustine, was born and where the New Testament canon was confirmed in 397 — is today 99% Muslim-majority Tunisia. Centuries of persecution and forcing non-Muslims to live as barely-tolerated third-class residents are responsible for the demographic shift that Tunisia and other formerly non-Muslim nations are experiencing.
Long after North Korea's Kim Jong-un has gone, tens of millions of Christians and other "infidels" will still suffer persecution. As what began in the seventh century comes closer to fruition and the entire world becomes more Islamic and "infidel" free, as in Iraq, confronting these uncomfortable facts is at least a welcome first step in countering the problem.
*Raymond Ibrahim is the author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians (published by Regnery with Gatestone Institute, April 2013).
[1] James M. Nelson, Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality, 2009, p. 427.
[2] Paul Froese, "Forced Secularization in Soviet Russia: Why an Atheistic Monopoly Failed," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 43, Number 1, March 2004, p. 42
[3] While Open Doors ascribes the persecution of Christians in these five nations to "Dictatorial Paranoia," considering that they are all overwhelmingly Muslim majority, it seems reasonable to conclude that Islam is at least partially responsible. Open Doors itself notes that "There is a grassroots revival of Islam in Central Asia, and that means more pressure from the nationalist pro-Islamic governments and within society—causing increased persecution levels on two fronts."
© 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
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11775/persecuted-christians-open-doors

Young Afghans in Sweden
Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/January 21/2018
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11768/sweden-afghans-immigration
The Young in Sweden website describes the group's members by first begging for pity -- explaining how tough it is to be a refugee and how desperately these young people long to make a lasting home in Sweden and contribute to the country's future. It portrays them, in the American parlance, as "Dreamers."
But in a way familiar to observers of the Islamic incursion into the West, the plea for sympathy abruptly gives way to something more aggressive. The group issues a series of what it explicitly calls "demands."
It was reported that Muhammed Hussaini, an Afghan refugee who had participated in protests by Young in Sweden, had last August tried to murder a Stockholm policeman at one such event.
There exists an organization Sweden that goes by the name "Young in Sweden" ("Ung i Sverige"), which Radio Sweden has described as "one of the most notable protest movements in the country right now." It is not just any group of young people -- its members are from Afghanistan. According to its website, they fled "violence and persecution" in their homeland, only to find that they were "not welcome after all" in Sweden.
The Young in Sweden website describes the group's members by first begging for pity -- explaining how tough it is to be a refugee and how desperately these young people long to make a lasting home in Sweden and contribute to the country's future. It portrays them, in the American parlance, as "Dreamers."
But in a way familiar to observers of the Islamic incursion into the West, the plea for sympathy abruptly gives way to something more aggressive. The group issues a series of what it explicitly calls "demands." First, it demands that Sweden stop returning to Afghanistan those Afghans whose asylum requests have been rejected. Second, it demands a meeting with Mikael Ribbenvik, Secretary General of the Swedish Migration Agency. Third, it demands that politicians pass laws granting amnesty and residence permits to Afghan refugee claimants.
Pictured: The offices of the Swedish Migration Agency in Solna, Sweden.
To be sure, Young in Sweden does not just make demands. It holds illegal public protests, which have been marked by acts of vandalism and violence. It also arranges language courses. Swedish language courses for Afghans? No -- courses in Persian and Dari for native Swedes. The group's Facebook page describes these courses as an "integration project," explaining that as Afghans become part of Swedish society, Swedes need to "take responsibility to be a part of that society as well." Which is to say that if native-born Swedes wish to be full members of the new Swedish society, they must learn Persian and Dari.
The head of Young in Sweden is a young woman named Fatima Khawari, who lives with her mother and siblings in a block of government-owned flats that was built for retirees. In other words, they are yet another family of immigrants who have been given precedence in housing waiting-lists over Swedish pensioners. Khawari, born in Afghanistan and raised in Iran, was granted permanent Swedish residency at the Swedish Embassy in Tehran in December 2014, because her brother was already living in Sweden. Her family followed afterwards via what in the U.S. is quite properly called "chain migration".
There's one curious detail, though, in Khawari's personal history. Under Swedish law, only individuals under 18 years of age can be accorded residency on the grounds that they have siblings in Sweden. Khawari says that she was born in January 2000, which would have made her fourteen in December 2014. But many Swedes have observed that she seems considerably older. Was Khawari, in fact, over the legal age limit when she moved to Sweden? Journalist Egor Putilov came up with a brilliant way to find out: knowing that both Afghanistan and Iran use the Persian calendar, he asked her, during an interview last October, to state the year of her birth according to that calendar. She could not. "How can you forget your birthday?" he asked. "I can forget what I want!" she replied.
In October, at a demonstration against the return of rejected Afghan refugee-claimants to Afghanistan, a Swedish man dared to ask Khawari why she and her fellow refugees wanted to stay in Sweden instead of returning to their own country and helping to build it up. "I do not want to," Khawari replied with a laugh. When the man responded that she did not belong in Sweden while he did, Khawari retorted: "You belong nowhere." She added that while he was the face of hatred, she was the face of love, and had every bit as much right to be in Sweden as he did.
Unsurprisingly, the left-wing Swedish establishment has embraced Young in Sweden and Khawari. In October, the Left Party and its youth wing, the Young Left, awarded Young in Sweden their Anita D'Orazio Prize, which includes a cash sum of 10,000 kronor (approximately USD $1,500). On January 15, Khawari herself won the Martin Luther King Award from the Swedish Christian Council, an umbrella group that includes virtually all of the Christian denominations and Christian organizations in Sweden, including the Church of Sweden, the Syrian Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, Catholic Pentecostalists, the Christian Peace Movement, and the Swedish Christian Council. Khawari accepted the prize, which includes 25,000 kronor (USD $3,100) in cash, at a ceremony held in a Stockholm church.
Only a few days before the latter prize was presented, it was reported that Muhammed Hussaini, an Afghan refugee who had participated in protests by Young in Sweden and who, last August, had tried to murder a Stockholm policeman at one such event, was an acquaintance of Khawari, and that she had, in fact, arranged for his legal representation. Asked about this ticklish detail, Karin Viborn, head of the Swedish Christian Council, described the murder attempt as an "accident." Viborn also defended Young in Sweden's illegal public protests as acts of civil disobedience ("if you're changing the world, you sometimes have to break rules"), and dismissed concerns that members of Young in Sweden had committed crimes and acts of violence that a Christian group should perhaps not be rewarding.
As for the Left Party's prize to Young in Sweden, Tomas Brandberg of the Samtiden website speculated in October that Young in Sweden, far from being, as it professes to be, a grassroots movement run by Afghan youth, is in fact a covert project of the Left Party. He noted that the group's website is professionally produced and contains references to issues about which one would not expect recent arrivals from Afghanistan to know or care.
Every young Afghan refugee costs Sweden's taxpayers a million kroner (USD $125,000) a year. When Putilov asked Khawari how she felt about all that money being diverted from healthcare and other services, causing people to die of cancer because of ever-lengthening waiting times for life-saving surgery, she cut off the interview, saying she had no further time to answer questions.
One last fact about Khawari: she has said that her goal is to become Prime Minister of Sweden. Given the way in which the leftist establishment has embraced her, it hardly seems a pipe dream.
**Bruce Bawer is the author of the new novel The Alhambra (Swamp Fox Editions). His book While Europe Slept (2006) was a New York Times bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.
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Our Responsibility Towards Refugees Freezing to Death
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/January 21/18
The twelve Syrian refugees whose bodies were found frozen to death near the Lebanese borders are only a few of the hundreds who die without anyone knowing anything about them.
The Syrian people’s murderers are the weather, starvation, mass evacuation and robbery, as well as the Russians, Iranians, Assad’s forces, ISIS and al-Nusra Front. Those whose houses were not destroyed, or did not die from chemical gas or during the war may die in camps or on their escape routes out of the country seeking shelter. If we are incapable of confronting the evil forces killing the Syrian people daily, we are not exonerated from the responsibility to aid refugees. This is the heart of our responsibility towards them. It’s our duty to help millions of Syrians who live in tragic conditions in refugee camps and shelters, especially in these harsh weather conditions. Thousands of refugees endure snow, rain and mud in camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and inside Syria.
Unfortunately, it was not enough for extremist groups to sabotage the Syrian revolution but they also abused charity work causing many institutions to suspend their work because of suspicions, thus worsening the refugees’ suffering.
Our societies love charity work and are known for their values and helping others. It is necessary to revive the spirit of volunteering through transparent and accountable charities that allows everyone to know how their donations are spent. During the civil war in Syria, and even before that during the wars in Afghanistan, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and others, the work of charities was suspicious and pursued by international security services because terrorist and extremist groups, and even suspicious institutions, infiltrated it.
Many institutions had to suspend their work after being harassed while governments banned many fundraising activities fearing they might be abused.
Unfortunately, this affected the helpless refugees who can do nothing but wait for help from international organizations, which are overwhelmed by a large number of refugees and multiple crisis zones.
Delivering food, clothes, tents and medical supplies to refugee centers became a difficult task. The humanitarian aid is also subject to the greed of some governments in the region that exploit aid, sell it or loot it. Thus, international organizations suffer from the abuse of some powerful forces in host or transit countries. It’s unfortunate to see how countries in the region are justifying their inaction by blaming one another in order to avoid the responsibility of helping people suffering in our region.
Not only volunteering and donating are part of our values and morals, they’re also part of the network of the social and humanitarian solidarity that protects the region’s countries from future crises. The entire region is constantly threatened by wars and tragedies, so reviving these good morals is a guarantee to everyone, including people who enjoy a prosperous life today.
People in Syria, Yemen and other war-torn countries live each day in harsh conditions. They rely on what international and regional organizations and philanthropists provide them with. All of those who work in charity deserve our respect and appreciation for their continuous efforts in aiding refugees. Most of these workers are volunteers who come from around the world, and they may not have anything in common with those they’re helping, other than humanity and love to help others.
It pains us when we hear about those dying of starvation or cold, and we feel like we’re partners in this tragedy because we could have helped them. It’s not true that there’s nothing we can do! One dollar is enough for a refugee to survive one day. In the end, collective and volunteer work and charity activities are a sign of nation's development and progress. The day we succeed in humanitarian work and relief, then we’d be certain that we’re a nation advancing and progressing on the right path.

EU Quietly Turning the Heat on Iran
London- Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/January 21/18/
Last month when US President Donald Trump called for a renegotiation of the so-called Iran nuclear deal, Tehran, the European Union, Russia and China responded with a chorus of “No! No!” and dismissed Trump’s move as “totally unacceptable.”
Trump, however, set the clock ticking by fixing a 120-day delay in which those involved in the “nuke deal” should come up with a clear agenda for renegotiation.
With the clock ticking, the thunderous “no! no!” became a sotto voce “well, maybe!”
Last week, EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn surprised everyone by announcing that the Commission, in consultation with Britain, France and Germany, is “closely studying President Trump’s statement and its consequences.”
More importantly, Hahn revealed that the EU had raised the issue of fresh negotiation during a brief visit to Brussels by the Islamic Republic's Foreign Minister Muhamad-Javad Zarif. Special focus on projected talks would be on “Tensions in the Middle East, Iran’s ballistic missiles projects, and end of the year the mass protests in Iran.”
It is significant that the EU’s nuanced response to Trump’s statement has come from Commissioner Hahn and not the union’s official foreign policy spokesperson Ms. Federica Mogherini who is regarded as a passionate advocate of the Islamic Republic.
The impression that the EU is moving towards Trump’s position, at least half-way, was reinforced when, according to the Financial Times, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel telephoned the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to signal EU’s readiness to engage Iran in talks on Tehran’s missile projects and regional ambitions. Gabriel went further to claim that Iran had expressed its readiness for new talks during Zarif’s visit to Brussels.
Though Iran denied those reports, it did not call in the German Ambassador to Tehran for “explanations”, a routine move in the diplomatic sphere. The reports were given additional weight when the German Foreign Ministry refused to deny them.
“The world has three months in which to find a compromise,” says Farid Vashani, an analyst of Iran’s foreign relations. “Trump has said this may be the last time he signs a waiver on the Iran nuclear deal. He could, of course, do a Frank Sinatra and have another last time in three months’ time. But that is unlikely. The Europeans, Russia and China will have to give him something not to throw the whole thing out of the window.”
But, what could the EU, and others, give Trump?
The first item would be the reassertion for the fact that the “deal”, known as the Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action (CJPOA) is an implicit verbal understanding with no legal basis and thus capable of countless reinterpretations.
This was pointed out in some detail in an editorial published by the Tehran daily Vatan-e-Emruz.
“The totality of sanctions the US has accepted to suspend represents a small portion of sanctions imposed on Iran by the US Congress and presidential decrees,' the paper said. “ At the same time, there is no commitment not to impose new sanctions.”
Thus the second item on the list of concessions that the EU, Russia and China could give to stop Trump from denouncing the CJPOA is to impose new sanctions on Iran related to issues not directly linked to the nuclear project.
According to reports broadcast by Manoto, a popular Iranian satellite TV channel, the EU has already decided to ban all flights by Mahan Air, Iran’s second-biggest carrier by next March. Mahan Air is charged with transporting thousands of Afghan and Pakistani “volunteers for martyrdom” from Iran to fight in Syria. This violates the International Air Transport Agency (IATA) protocols under which civilian aircraft cannot be sued for military purposes. An end to Mahan Air flights would reduce Iran’s capacity to ferry troops and mercenaries to Syria and to ship arms to the Lebanese branch of Hezbollah.
Despite Ms. Mogherini’s lyrical praise of the Islamic Republic, the EU is coming up with other measures against Iran.
Germany has suspended the application of export guarantee rules, known as Hermes, for trade with Iran and France has toughened its trade rules known as COFACE. Under new procedures, the so-called “dual use” rule would be applied to all trade with the Islamic Republic. This is supposed to prevent Iran from obtaining know-how, material and equipment that could have a military use. But its net effect would be to slow down deliveries to Iran and increase the cost.
For its part Britain has reneged on an earlier promise to release some $500 million in Iranian frozen assets, citing “technical difficulties.”
Last week, the financial control authority in Luxembourg authorized the Clear Stream- an investment firm- to freeze some $4.9 billion in Iran’s assets until further notice. The firm reports that some $1.9 billion of the sums involved have already been handed over to a US court for payment to families of 241 US Marines killed by Hezbollah in a suicide attack in Beirut in 1983.
On a broader scale, the EU has all but suspended a number of contracts already signed with Iran in the form of memoranda of understanding. The largest of these is the $5 billion deal with the French oil giant TOTAL to develop an offshore Iranian gas-field. The EU Commission wants to reexamine that in detail.
In Austria the government has refused to provide guarantees for a $1 billion loan negotiated by a private Vienna bank with Iran, making sure that no transfer of money will happen in the near future. A similar deal between Tehran and a consortium of Italian banks is likely to meet the same fate.
A number of EU members have also imposed strict limits on a number of visas issued to Iranian citizens for either business or pleasure. Britain has chosen a limit of 2000 visas a month, including hundreds issued to Islamic Republic officials and their families. Greece has imposed no limit but is under investigation for reports that its consulate in Tehran was selling Schengen visas, allowing travel to 19 EU countries, for up to $3000 apiece.
The emerging EU strategy seems to be aimed at persuading Trump to help keep CJPOA in place, at least in name, but make its implementation conditional to a parallel set of talks aimed at stopping Iran’s missile project, ending Iran’s intervention in the Middle East and improving respect for human rights inside Iran.
The time-limit fixed by Trump ends in March which will coincide with the date set for a review of CJPOA by the foreign ministers of all the seven nations involved in it.
At that time Tehran would be given the option of either accepting a new set of restrictions on its military, economic and domestic policies or bang the door and walk out in anger, something that might not displease Trump.