LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 25/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias
Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the
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Bible
Quotations
If you
love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever
John 14/15-20: "‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will
ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for
ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you,
and he will be in you. ‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me;
because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in
my Father, and you in me, and I in you."
Titles For The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on July 24-25/18
Lebanon's government paralysis: Will
Hariri blink first/Bassem Ajami/Annahar/July 24/18
An Israeli David’s Sling missile falls into Russian and Syrian hands/DEBKAfile/July
24, 2018
Daesh makes comeback in Iraq with switch to guerrilla tactics/Reuter/AFP/July
24, 2018
Americans Rate Helsinki Performance/Scott Clement and Dan Balz/The
Washington Post/July 24/18
Sweden's Turbulent Election Year/Fjordman/Gatestone Institute/July 24/18
The Great British Foreign Office Fantasy/Douglas Murray/Gatestone
Institute/July 24/18
What the UK should ask Qatar’s emir to do with Iran/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab
News/July 24/18
How Trump gave Putin the upper hand in Helsinki/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab
News/July 24/18
Russia ups its game with players in Syria/Maria Dubovikova/Arab News/July
24/18
Between Trump’s policy and character/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/July
24/18
Please do not die young/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/July 24/18
Muqtada al-Sadr and the future of Iraq/Michael Flanagan/Al Arabiya/July
24/18
Titles For The
Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on July 24-25/18
Hariri Welcomes Efforts to Ensure
Return of Syria Refugees
Hariri to Submit Govt. Format 'within 2 Days', Hits Out at Damascus
Berri Says Contacts with Syria 'Serve' Lebanon’s Economy
Lebanon's government paralysis: Will Hariri blink first?
Most Dangerous Drug Dealer Killed in Army Raid in Lebanon
Lebanon: Crackdown on Activists for Tweets Criticizing Aoun, Hezbollah
Aoun awards medal to outgoing UNIFIL head
Direct air route ties Lebanese expats to their home country: Aoun
MEA Ranked Second Best in Middle East
UN Security Council Urges National Unity Government in Lebanon
Father of Lebanese woman imprisoned in Egypt calls on Aoun, Hariri to help
Hakim Expresses Pessimism over Government Formation
Hariri receives Russian and Belgian diplomats, UNIFIL commander
Japan supports construction of water tank in west Bekaa
Sheikh Hassan meets Abu Faour
United States provides 100 school buses to Lebanese public schools
Titles For The Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on July 24-25/18
An Israeli
David’s Sling missile falls into Russian and Syrian hands
Israel Shoots Down Syrian Fighter Jet over Golan Heights
Israel’s only goods crossing with Gaza to partially reopen
Russia Offers to Keep Iran Forces in Syria Far from Golan, Says Israel
Iran Army Warns of 'Firm, Strong Response' to US Threats
Washington Works With UN on ‘Lasting Settlement’ in Syria
Bolton Reinforces Trump Threats against Iran
Pompeo say US to broadcast in Farsi across several platforms
Iranian FM Zarif responds to Trump tweets with same words: ‘BE CAUTIOUS!’
Iran says will respond equally if US tries to block oil exports
Washington Backs Iraqi People’s Right to Hold Peaceful Rallies
Daesh makes comeback in Iraq with switch to guerrilla tactics
German spy agency says Iran’s growing cyber capabilities pose danger
Syrian actress and face of Syria’s anti-Assad revolution dies in Paris
The Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on July 24-25/18
Hariri Welcomes
Efforts to Ensure Return of Syria Refugees
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 24/18/Prime Minister-designate
Saad Hariri said Tuesday that he welcomes international efforts to ensure
the return of Syrian refugees to their homes and awaits a roadmap being
developed by the Russian ministry of defense on the matter. In a statement
issued by his office, Hariri said he hopes the plan, in coordination with
the U.S. administration, the United Nations and other relevant parties, will
be a serious effort to resolve the refugee crisis. Last week, Russia's
Defense Ministry said it proposed to the United States the creation of a
joint group, along with Jordan, to organize refugee returns. Close to 1
million Syrians are registered with the U.N.'s refugee agency in Lebanon, a
burden that the cash-strapped Lebanese government says it can no longer
bear.
Hariri to Submit Govt. Format 'within 2 Days', Hits Out
at Damascus
Naharnet/July 24/18/Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri announced Tuesday
that he will meet soon with President Michel Aoun as an MP of his bloc said
he will submit a “new government format” within “two days.”“I will visit the
president soon and I have not announced any deadline for my designation and
I'm not compelled to abide by any deadline,” Hariri said. Turning to the
Syrian refugee file, Hariri added: “It caught my attention that the Russians
and the Americans were the ones who decided that the refugees should return
and not the Syrian regime.” “As for coordination to return the refugees, it
is underway in the known manner,” the PM-designate added, apparently
referring to General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim's efforts in
this regard. MP Dima Jamali of Hariri's al-Mustaqbal bloc meanwhile told al-Jadeed
TV that the PM-designate “will visit Baabda within two days to present to
President Aoun a new cabinet line-up format.”“He has told the bloc that the
atmosphere is positive regarding the Cabinet formation process,” Jamali
added.Hariri was tasked with forming a new government on May 24. His mission
is being hindered by political wrangling over the Christian and Druze
shares.
Hariri Welcomes Efforts to Ensure Return of Syria Refugees
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 24/18/Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri
said Tuesday that he welcomes international efforts to ensure the return of
Syrian refugees to their homes and awaits a roadmap being developed by the
Russian ministry of defense on the matter. In a statement issued by his
office, Hariri said he hopes the plan, in coordination with the U.S.
administration, the United Nations and other relevant parties, will be a
serious effort to resolve the refugee crisis. Last week, Russia's Defense
Ministry said it proposed to the United States the creation of a joint
group, along with Jordan, to organize refugee returns. Close to 1 million
Syrians are registered with the U.N.'s refugee agency in Lebanon, a burden
that the cash-strapped Lebanese government says it can no longer bear.
Berri Says Contacts with Syria 'Serve' Lebanon’s Economy
Naharnet/July 24/18/Speaker Nabih Berri voiced hopes that a quick solution
is reached for the crisis of Syrian refugees, noting that “coordination”
between the Lebanese and Syrian governments on the issue serves Lebanon, al-Joumhouria
daily reported on Tuesday.
Berri was quoted as telling his visitors that endeavors must be intensified
to solve the crisis of refugees. He said “there is a need for communication
between the Lebanese and Syrian governments to follow up on the refugees
issue and solve it.”The Speaker stressed: “Solving the crisis falls in
Lebanon’s and Syria’s interests alike,” adding that “having contacts with
Syria serve Lebanon’s interest economically mainly when the phase of Syria’s
reconstruction begins.” Seven years into Syria's war, Lebanon hosts around
1.5 million Syrian refugees, compared with a local population of 4.5
million. Over the past few months, more than 800 Syrians have left Lebanon
for their neighboring home country in operations organised by the
governments of Beirut and Damascus. Several thousand have also independently
left in recent years. Coordination between Lebanon and Syria is a
contentious issue in Lebanon. Some of Lebanon's political parties support
it, while others who blame the Syrian regime for the assassination of ex-PM
Rafik Hariri categorically reject it.
Lebanon's government paralysis: Will Hariri blink first?
Bassem Ajami/Annahar/July 24/18
No one doubts the patriotism and integrity of Prime Minister-designate Saad
Hariri. The man is truly among the few political leaders in the country who
genuinely care about Lebanon's stability and economic progress. But he also
succumbs too easily to pressure and sheer bullying by his political rivals.
While between 2005 and 2018 the March 14 movement that he led enjoyed a
clear parliamentary and popular majority, Hariri surrendered in every
confrontation that pitted him against the March 8 movement, from disputes
over appointments in key government posts to the formation of cabinets. He
always justified his retreat by the desire to save the country political
turmoil and security risks. No doubt a noble cause. The most serious retreat
by Hariri was his decision to endorse Hezbollah's declared candidate, MP
Michel Aoun, as president. In justifying his decision, Hariri said that he
was inspired by reading "from the book of Rafik Hariri." That may be so. But
he would have done better had he read the last chapter of his father's book.
It speaks volumes about the rough characteristics that sway Lebanese
politics. But the young Hariri was bullied and intimidated by the March 8
movement. And he surrendered once more. Today, in his attempt to form a
government, Hariri again confronts the harassment apparatus of the March 8
movement. It manifests itself in the - sometimes subtle sometimes not-
threats to revoke his nomination to form the awaited government. Foreign
Minister and Aoun’s son-in-law Gebran Bassil's declaration that his patience
"is wearing thin" is a clear expression of the prevailing mood within the
March 8 camp.The serious point about Bassil's intimidating statement is that
it conceals an intent to violate the constitution. Since the Taif Accord
imposes no deadline on the nominated prime minister to form a government.
Moreover, Bassil's declaration attracts criticism because the man has no
official capacity to announce to the Lebanese the level of his patience over
such a delicate issue. One can understand if the president makes such a
declaration, or even the speaker or the designated prime minister. While
Bassil is a key political player, and his role was enhanced by the recent
legislative elections, which positioned him as the leader of the largest
bloc in parliament, he is in no position to make such demands. His aim is to
bully Hariri in the hope of coercing him to embrace his views on the shape
and form of the awaited government. Interestingly, Bassil's patience did not
wear thin when the office of the president was kept vacant for some two and
a half years because the then-presidential candidate, MP Michel Aoun, did
not command the needed majority in parliament. One may argue that this is
all within the limits of the legitimate political game. That may be so. But
the question that poses itself today is how will the current impasse be
resolved? Previous experience tells us that Hariri is likely to blink first.
Hopefully, he doesn’t.
**Mr. Ajami is a freelance researcher, writer and contributor to The Arab
Weekly, London.
Most Dangerous Drug Dealer Killed in Army Raid in Lebanon
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 24 July, 2018/Eight gunmen were killed and
41 others arrested in raids by the Lebanese army in the town of Hammoudieh
in eastern Lebanon over the possession of drugs and arms. Military sources
described the operation as “very important and unique.” The sources told
Asahrq Al-Awsat on Monday that Ali Ismail, who is wanted for drug dealing,
was killed in the operation, describing him as “one of the most dangerous
wanted men and the biggest drug dealer in the country.”The National News
Agency reported that a wanted Syrian, who threatened to blow himself up to
avoid arrest, was shot dead by an army unit that had been surrounding the
suspected drug dealer and his gunmen in the town of Hammoudieh – Brital. The
Syrian was identified as Hussein Ali Matar, also known as Jamal the Syrian.
He worked Ismail’s bodyguard. "An army unit is raiding the house of Ali Zaid
Ismail, wanted for drug dealing charges, in the Brital town of Hammoudieh,
alongside armed groups linked to him,” said an army communique. Sources said
that several military units were used in the operation, including air
forces. Military choppers were seen flying over Hammoudieh, amid intensive
patrols and other land reinforcements. “The wanted man and his team had
fired in the direction of army personnel, while Ismail tried to escape the
town,” the sources said. They revealed that the military had prepared for
this operation for quite some time by monitoring and tracking the armed men
and to avoid targeting civilians at the residential compound where the drug
dealers had stayed.
Lebanon: Crackdown on Activists for Tweets Criticizing Aoun, Hezbollah
Beirut- Youssef Diab/Asharq Al Awsat/Tuesday, 24 July, 2018/Crackdowns on
activists on social media have escalated because of criticisms and comments
against Lebanese officials. People are being questioned by the security
services because of views and positions posted on their social media pages,
criticizing President Michel Aoun, Hezbollah and other influential figures.
Angered by the state measures, a group of activists will take part in a
sit-in on Tuesday evening in central Beirut to reject what they call as “the
policy of intimidation, the silencing of mouths and the restrictions on
public freedoms.” Summonses and lengthy interrogation sessions with
activists did not stop statements strongly attacking officials. During the
past week, the Anti-Crime Office of the Internal Security Forces and the
General Security Service summoned activists including Imad Bazzi, for his
criticism of the Eden Bay tourist project, which is being built on the shore
of Ramlet al-Bayda. Bazzi failed to attend the interrogation session on
Friday as he was undergoing a surgery. Another activist, Elie Khoury, was
summoned to a similar hearing before being contacted and informed of the
cancellation of the session. In his tweets, Khoury criticized Aoun and said
the purpose of the summons is "to intimidate Lebanese youth." In remarks to
Asharq Al-Awsat, he said: “I have spoken to let the President of the
Republic know the difficult reality and the suffering of young people in
this country, and not to abuse him or attack his position.”“What I said does
not mean revolution, but an expression of the grief felt by every Lebanese,
and the campaign of summons does not scare me,” he noted. A judicial source
told Asharq Al-Awsat that the judiciary “acts immediately when it receives
tweets or remarks against the president who represents the country,”
stressing that the investigation was conducted under the supervision of the
Attorney General, Judge Samir Hamoud.
Aoun awards medal to outgoing UNIFIL head
The Daily Star/Jul. 24, 2018/BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun Monday granted
the National Order of the Cedar to Maj. Gen. Michael Beary, the outgoing
commander of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, during a farewell visit at
Baabda Palace. Aoun thanked Beary for his efforts during his two-year term,
and awarded him the medal in appreciation, a statement from the president’s
office reported. The National Order of the Cedar is the highest state order
of Lebanon and is offered in five grades. Beary was awarded the Commander’s
badge.
Beary in turn thanked Aoun for his support, expressing hopes cooperation
would continue with his successor, Italian Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col. Aoun
reiterated Lebanon had asked to extend UNIFIL’s mandate for an additional
year without any amendments to its functions or budget.
Direct air route ties Lebanese expats to their home country: Aoun
The Daily Star/Jul. 24, 2018/BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun Monday said that
the new direct air route between Beirut and Madrid would help tie Lebanese
citizens living abroad to their home country. In a speech to a delegation of
Lebanese expatriates from Canada, Aoun added that the direct flights, which
were resumed by Middle East Airlines after a 25-year hiatus, would
facilitate the marketing of Lebanese products around the world. The
president also focused on the importance of political integration among
Lebanese expatriates and praised their participation in this year’s
parliamentary elections. Canada achieved the highest voting rate among
Lebanese expatriate communities. Aoun called on the expatriates to consider
the country’s latest achievements, including the passing of the new
electoral law, the beginning of a new political era following the first
Lebanese parliamentary elections in nine years, as well as the Lebanese
Army’s victory last year against Daesh (ISIS) militants on the
Lebanese-Syrian border.
MEA Ranked Second Best in Middle East
Kataeb.org/Tuesday 24th July 2018/The Middle East Airlines (MEA) was ranked
second in the Middle East, as per TripAdvisor's 2018 Travellers' Choice
awards. Lebanon's national carrier was named second best in the region,
being listed between Emirates and Qatar Airways. Singapore Airlines was
named the world's best airline in the awards, which are based on the
US-based travel website's user ratings and reviews submitted from around the
globe over a 12-month period. TripAdvisor Flights general manager Bryan
Saltzburg said the Traveller's Choice awards "recognize the carriers that
exceed passenger expectations and receive top marks from travellers".
UN Security Council Urges National Unity Government in
Lebanon
Kataeb.org/Tuesday 24th July 2018/The UN Security Council on
Monday expressed hope that a new government of national unity will be formed
swiftly in Lebanon, voicing commitment to follow closely the situation in
the country, including the implementation of 1701. "The members of the
Security Council look forward to the upcoming mandate renewal of UNIFIL,"
read a statement issued following the meeting. The members of the Security
Council also expressed support to the activities of UN Special Coordinator
for Lebanon and UNIFIL in carrying out its mandate.
Father of Lebanese woman imprisoned in Egypt calls on Aoun, Hariri to help
The Daily Star/Jul. 24, 2018/BEIRUT: The family of a Lebanese woman
imprisoned in Egypt since May called Tuesday for their daughter’s release,
voicing fears that she is considering ending her life. Mona al-Mazbouh was
charged with “deliberately broadcasting false rumors which aim to undermine
society and attack religions.” She was sentenced to eight years in prison
earlier this month after an Egyptian court accused her of insulting Egypt
and attacking religion. “The put her on the ground in water and with bugs
and she went nine days without food. The girl is dying, crying all day and
night and now she’s thinking of committing suicide,” Mona’s father said in a
news conference from Beirut Tuesday. “If something happens to her there,
what’s going to happen after that?” he asked. The father called on President
Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to intervene and help
secure the release of his daughter. He said he wouldn’t let human rights
organizations intervene in the case “so they wouldn’t insult Egypt.” The
father added that he has apologized to Egypt and the Egyptian people on a
daily basis. “The girl was treated unfairly and I hope she is sent to
Lebanon as soon as possible because I am scared of what she may do,” he
said. Mazbouh’s lawyer has filed an appeal and the court date has been set
for July 29. She was arrested in May as she was leaving Cairo, after a video
of her lashing out at sexual harassment in Egypt and calling Egyptians
“dirty” and “pimps” began circulating, the Associated Press reported at the
time. She has since remained in detention. Mazbouh later posted another
video in which she apologized to the Egyptian people.
She said she first posted the video on a private Facebook page that had only
25 members and that one of the participants then posted it on a public
platform.
Hakim Expresses
Pessimism over Government Formation
Kataeb.org/Tuesday 24th July 2018/Former Economy Minister Alain Hakim on
Tuesday slammed the delay in forming a new government, criticizing the
blatant recklessness and indifference towards the people's daily issues.
“They are busy partitioning portfolios and setting conditions as if they
exclusively own the ministeries, while the nation is going through economic,
and financial crises that are threatening its citizens,” Hakim wrote on
Twitter. “Where do they [officials] stand regarding the unresolved files on
the economic, financial and social levels? Is there any place for the
country and the nation when their personal interests are involved?”“The
government will not be an all-inclusive one, but will rather be monopolized
by certain people," Hakim expected.
Hariri
receives Russian and Belgian diplomats, UNIFIL commander
Tue 24 Jul 2018/NNA - Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri received today
the Russian chargé d'affaires Vyacheslav Maksudov at the Center House, in
the presence of his adviser for Russian affairs Georges Chaaban, a statement
by Hariri's press office said on Tuesday.
They discussed the Russian proposal for the return of displaced Syrians from
Lebanon to their country. Maksudov told Prime Minister Hariri that a
representative of the Russian president and a representative of the Ministry
of Defense would arrive before the end of the week in Beirut to discuss the
issue. Hariri also received Belgian Ambassador Alex Lenaerts. They discussed
the situation and bilateral relations. Hariri also met with the UNIFIL Head
of Mission and Force Commander Major General Michael Beary, on a farewell
visit on the occasion of the end of his mission. He also met with former MP
Khaled al-Daher, who said at the end of the meeting: "We visited Prime
Minister Hariri and heard from him his commitment to Lebanon, its political
stability and its protection, in the light of the difficult atmosphere in
the region. We asked him about development in the region, but the national
concern remains formation of the government and the need to accelerate it,
because it is the national interest of the Lebanese". He added: "It is
necessary to respect the Constitution and the prerogatives of all
presidencies and institutions, and all attempts to weaken the prerogatives
of the Prime Minister to weaken the presidency of the Council will fail. As
a result, all Lebanese stand alongside Prime Minister Hariri today in his
commitment to form the government and preserve prerogatives. We all know
that the government is formed by the prime minister-designate who presents
the names to the President of the Republic." He recalled "the remarkable
political position of Prime Minister Hariri, who is discussing with all the
parties," and hoped "that President Hariri will be rewarded by facilitating
his mission and by not putting obstacles in the wheels of the formation,
which is detrimental to the national interest. Prime Minister Hariri is
committed to rights, duties, prerogatives and the constitution, and we are
by his side and will not accept anything else." ---PM press office
Japan supports construction of water tank in west Bekaa
Tue 24 Jul 2018/NNA - In a press release by the Japanese Embassy in Beirut,
it said: "The Embassy supports the construction of a water tank in Sohmor,
West Bekaa, in order to provide clean water to all the residents of the
village. On the occasion of the project completion, on July 24 2018,
Matahiro .Yamaguchi, Ambassador of Japan to Lebanon, attended the
inauguration ceremony organized by the municipality of Sohmor.
The ceremony was also
attended by Kabalan Kabalan, the President of the Council of the South. With
a grant of USD 88,730 through the Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human
Security Program (GGP), the municipality can provide clear water to at least
1,000 residents in the village that suffer from water shortage. During the
ceremony, Ambassador Yamaguchi praised the municipality’s efforts in
implementing the project and highlighted Japan’s strong commitments to
assist the local communities. Meanwhile, Mohammed EL Khechen, Mayor of
Sohmor, expressed his deep appreciation for the Japanese support to people
of Lebanon over the years."
Sheikh Hassan meets Abu Faour
Tue 24 Jul 2018/NNA - Druze Sheikh Aql, Naeem Hassan, met at the Druze House
on Tuesday, with MP Wael Abu Faour, with whom he discussed the latest
developments and general situation. During the meeting, Sheikh Hassan
reportedly highlighted the necessity to preserve home stability and to speed
up the government formation while considering the results of the recent
legislative elections. Separately, Hassan met with Lebanon Ambassador to
Yemen, Hadi Jaber.
United States provides 100 school buses to Lebanese public schools
Tue 24 Jul 2018/NNA - US Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard, and
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director
Dr. Anne Patterson on Tuesday delivered 100 school buses provided by USAID
to public schools in 24 districts nationwide in the presence of Caretaker
Minister of Education and
Higher Education Marwan Hamade.
In a press release by the US Embassy in Beirut, it said: "Starting academic
year 2018-2019, this $4.6 million donation will provide access to school for
nearly 5,000 vulnerable Lebanese and refugee students enrolled in both the
first and second shifts of public schools throughout Lebanon. USAID's
donation includes comprehensive bus operations and maintenance plans,
regional training for school administrators on sound bus management, and
training for drivers and supervisors on safe driving, child protection as
well as bus operation and maintenance. The Ministry of Education and Higher
Education will operate and maintain the buses and ensure their long-term
sustainability. The buses are part of the $46.2 million Quality Instruction
Towards Access and Basic Education Improvement (QITABI) program funded by
USAID since 2014. QITABI works with young learners to improve their Arabic
reading skills, increases access to education for deserving students and
helps the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Center for
Educational Research and Development sustain reading and access reforms.
Today's initiative is part of the U.S. Government's investment, through
USAID, of more than $286 million to improve access to and the quality of
education in Lebanon. Initiatives have included improving the quality of
education in the public school system, training teachers and principals,
equipping public schools with science laboratories and computers, and
providing merit-based scholarships to deserving public school students to
access top U.S.-accredited universities."In her delivered word, Ambassador
Richard said: "We are here to mark another very important step in the U.S.
Government's strong support for education in Lebanon - and especially our
support for public schools. The 100 buses some of which are parked behind me
will enable over 5000 young students in 24 districts across the country to
get the education they deserve.
I don't have to tell anyone here about the importance of education. If I had
to pick one factor in a young person's life that would determine whether his
or her future would be bright and full of possibility, or whether it would
be a lifetime of struggle, I would choose education.
For that reason, the U.S. government has committed a long time ago to invest
heavily in education in Lebanon - nearly $300 million in the last ten years.
We work with the public schools, from the earliest grades, and with private
universities. We have trained public school teachers, we've renovated
schools, we've provided equipment, we've helped develop a national education
strategy, we've provided thousands of young people a chance to study English
in the United States, and we've offered full four year scholarships for kids
whose families cannot afford a private university education.
Today, I want to highlight one program that will be enhanced by the delivery
of these buses you see here. It's called QITABI, and it is a nearly $50
million investment, increasing young children's ability to read in Arabic.
We are now doing this program in half of Lebanon's public schools across the
country - including in some of its most rural areas. It's been a big
success! The Ministry of Education has developed benchmarks based on
extensive data and experience to systematically measure and improve reading
outcomes. The results for this program have been remarkable: over 70% of
students have improved at least one reading level. But while we are
improving programs that teach children in public schools good Arabic
language skills, there are still many other barriers and challenges,
including simply getting kids to school - especially in the remote areas.
This is why we worked with the Ministry of Education for over a year to
design the school bus program. It will provide safe, reliable, and modern
transportation system to get Lebanese children to school. We have a long and
strong relationship with the Ministry of Education, whose unwavering
commitment to the future of Lebanese children is impressive.
I'd like to say a special word today about Minister Hamade, whose personal
commitment to educating every single young person in this country has been
an inspiration to all of us. He has worked tirelessly with the United States
and with our other international community partners who are also investing
in education to dramatically improve access to education for all."
The Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News
published
on July 24-25/18
An Israeli David’s
Sling missile falls into Russian and Syrian hands
DEBKAfile/July 24, 2018
Two missiles of the David’s Sling cutting-edge air defense system were
launched against Syrian SS-21 missiles on Monday, July 23. One landed in
Syria; the other one self-destructed. Both missed their targets.
The IDF spokesman eventually came clean about what happened to the the David
Sling on its maiden combat mission – but only in dribs and drabs. The Syrian
missiles targeted by the Israel interceptors did not actually cross into
Israel. The built-in mechanisms of the two interceptors already in flight
were ordered to self-destruct. Only one did. DEBKAfile’s military sources
note that it is normal practice for an army, after a top-line weapon on its
first operational mission falls on enemy soil intact – or even in pieces –
to act fast for sterilizing the drop-site with heavy aerial or artillery
bombardment. This enables a salvage team to move in and retrieve the weapon
and is what an American or Russian army would have done.
IDF behaved differently for four reasons.
1. The David Sling’s launch team may not have discovered the location of the
drop site.
The Air Force only slowly grasped what had happened.
By the time the second missile was known not to have self-destructed, it was
too late to recover. It had almost certainly been carried off by Russian or
Syrian helicopter.
Israel decided that its recovery was not worth the risk of a major clash
with Russia and Syria.
By now, the first David’s Sling missile to go into action is almost
certainly being studied avidly by Russian and Syrian intelligence engineers.
It is only a matter of time before its secrets reach the hands of Iran and
Hizballah. This loss is therefore a gave setback for Israel’s air defense
system and intelligence which is also shared by the US.
This two-stage missile, developed jointly by the Israeli defense contractor
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the American Raytheon, is brand new,
having entered service only two years ago to fill the gap in Israel’s
multi-tiered missile defense arsenal between the Iron Dome for short-range
operations and the Arrows which are designed to stop long-range ballistic
missiles. David’s Sling is built to intercept a variety of missiles ranging
between 40 and 400km, including cruise missiles at low speed. Consisting of
a solid-fuel rocket motor booster, it has speeds of up to mach 7.5. or 5,754
mph, and is armed with topline radar and electro-optical systems. David’s
Sling missiles are worth $1m apiece. This anti-missile missile was assigned
by US and Israeli planners to replace the Patriot PAC-2 in the Israeli
arsenal.
The most urgent task now is to ascertain what know-how the Russians and
Syrians have been able to extract from the missile in their hands, before
determining how David’s Sling should redesigned and any glitches revealed in
its first performance corrected before it is restored to service.
Israel Shoots Down
Syrian Fighter Jet over Golan Heights
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 24 July, 2018/Israel announced on Tuesday that it
had shot down a Syrian warplane over the occupied Golan Heights. Israel’s
Army Radio said the aircraft crashed in the Syrian-held side of the
frontier. The condition of the pilot was unclear.
The military said it monitored the advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet
and shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it entered Israeli
airspace by about two kilometers. It is only the second such incident along
the border in 30 years. The military said that there had been an increase in
the internal fighting in Syria since the morning hours, including an
increase in the activity of the Syrian regime air force. It added the
Israeli military was on high alert and would continue to protect its
territory. Earlier, Israel sounded air defense sirens near the Syrian
frontier and witnesses said the Israeli military launched two interceptor
missiles, followed by the sound of explosions. It was the second such
incident in two days on the Golan Heights, opposite Syrian areas where
Damascus's forces have been routing opposition factions. Israel said two
incoming Syrian rockets prompted Monday's alert and the launch of two
interceptor missiles, but that the rockets fell short. On Monday, Israel
rebuffed a new offer by regime ally Russia to keep Iranian forces in Syria
away from the Golan Heights ceasefire line, an Israeli official said. The
latest disagreement arose in a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and a senior Russian delegation dispatched to Jerusalem
as regime forces advanced on the Golan. In Monday's meeting with Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Netanyahu turned down a Russian offer to
keep Iranian forces 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border, according to
an Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said
that Netanyahu told Lavrov: "We will not allow the Iranians to establish
themselves even 100 kilometers from the border."Israel had previously
rejected a Russian proposal that Iranian forces be kept 80 km from the
frontier, according to Israeli officials. Netanyahu held talks with Russian
President Vladimir Putinin Moscow on July 11 amid Israeli concern that
Syrian regime head Bashar al-Assad might defy a 1974 demilitarization deal
on the Golan or allow his Iranian and Lebanese “Hezbollah” allies to deploy
there. Russia has said that it wants to see the separation of forces on the
frontier preserved.
Israel’s only goods
crossing with Gaza to partially reopen
AFP, JerusalemTuesday, 24 July 2018/Israel will partially reopen its only
goods crossing with the blockaded Gaza Strip later Tuesday, a minister said,
after closing it July 9 over border tensions and kites carrying firebombs to
burn Israeli farmland. “Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman decided that
Kerem Shalom will partially reopen and as of today at 12:00 pm (0900 GMT) it
will be possible to transfer gas and fuel into the Gaza Strip, in addition
to food and medicine,” Lieberman’s office said. The statement noted that the
number of kites and balloons carrying firebombs into Israeli territory had
been reduced but not totally eliminated. It said the crossing could return
to full activity soon “conditioned on the full cessation of fire-balloon
launches and friction on the fence.”Israel says the devices have sparked
hundreds of fires since April and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars
worth of damage.
Palestinians in Gaza see the kites and balloons as legitimate resistance
against Israel’s more than 10-year blockade. The partial reopening follows
urgent warnings from United Nations officials that emergency fuel
suppliesare running low in the Gaza Strip and that the shortage is starting
to affect hospitals and water sanitation. The coastal enclve suffers from a
severe lack of electricity and relies on fuel-powered generators during
outages that last hours at a time. Israel and Hamas, the Islamist movement
that runs the Gaza Strip, reached a ceasefire at the weekend following a
major flare-up of violence on Friday. Israel had carried out a wave of air
strikes killing three Hamas militants after one of its soldiers was shot
dead along the Gaza border There have been months of tension along the
border, where mass protests and clashes began on March 30 and have continued
at varying levels since then Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since
2008.
Russia Offers to Keep Iran Forces in Syria Far from
Golan, Says Israel
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 24/18/Russia has offered to keep Iranian
forces in Syria away from the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
but Israel wants Tehran to completely withdraw, an Israeli official said
Tuesday. Moscow made the offer -- which would see Iranian forces stay 100
kilometres (62 miles) from Syria's border with the Golan -- during talks
Monday in Jerusalem between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the official said. But Israel said the
proposal did not go far enough. "We won't accept Iranian military
entrenchment in Syria, not near the border, not beyond the 100-kilometre
stretch, which by the way the Russians talk about and agree to," the senior
official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We said there are also
long-range weapons beyond that distance, and all the forces must leave
Syria," the official said. The Monday meeting came after Moscow-backed
Syrian government forces regained control of most of the two provinces in
the country's south near the Golan Heights, through a combination of deadly
bombardment and Russian-brokered surrender deals. The advance has pushed
hundreds of thousands to flee southward, with Israel enabling more than 400
rescue workers and family members to cross through its territory into Jordan
on Sunday for resettlement in Western countries. Iran is Israel's arch-enemy
and Netanyahu has pledged to prevent it from entrenching itself militarily
in Syria. A series of air strikes that have killed Iranians in Syria have
been attributed to Israel. Both Tehran and Moscow are backing Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict. Israel is eager to obtain
guarantees that Iranian forces and allied groups, such as Lebanon's
Hezbollah, are kept away from the Golan and even beyond.
Iran Army Warns of 'Firm, Strong Response' to US
Threats
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 24/18/Iran's armed forces chief of staff
on Tuesday warned the US of a robust reaction if it continued to threaten
Iranian interests. "They will receive a firm and strong response to an
unbelievable degree in the places and interests where they are based in the
region and around the world," said Major General Mohammad Bagheri, according
to the official IRNA news agency. "The vain and useless imaginings of the US
president will never be realised," he said. Washington and Tehran have been
trading angry threats since Sunday, when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
warned the US "not to play with the lion's tail" and that conflict with Iran
would be the "mother of all wars". His US counterpart Donald Trump responded
with an all-caps tirade on Twitter: "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES
AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT
HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE."Bagheri said Iran had "never instigated
war" and "wanted peace and stability in the region".But, he added: "All
plots against the Iranian people will be strangled at birth and the enemies
will receive an unforgettable lesson."
Washington Works With UN on ‘Lasting Settlement’ in
Syria
Washington- Mouaz al-Omari/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 24 July, 2018/US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that his country will work with
the United Nations and its partners to forge a lasting settlement of the
Syrian conflict that includes full representation for all Syrians, including
the people of northeast Syria now recovering from the ISIS occupation. “We
congratulate the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on their successful
operations to liberate al-Dashisha, Syria, from the scourge of ISIS,” Pompeo
said in a press statement. “Dashisha since 2013 has been a key stronghold
and transit route for ISIS fighters, weapons, and suicide bombers between
Syria and Iraq,” he explained, adding that the SDF now controls the area,
with Iraqi Security Forces controlling the Iraqi side of the border. He
noted that last week he convened 53 members of the US Coalition to Defeat
ISIS to discuss the next phase of the campaign and the imperative for
coalition burden sharing, particularly with respect to stabilizing liberated
areas. Pompeo stressed that the US is grateful for the significant
contributions received to date and look for these contributions “to
accelerate as our partners in the SDF prepare for the next phase of
operations against the few remaining ISIS strongholds in Syria.”He said that
SDF ground offensive cleared over 1,200 square kilometers in the Dashisha
area. “The offensive was part of our Coalition-backed effort to clear the
last pockets of ISIS-held territory in the Middle Euphrates River Valley and
the Iraq-Syria border region,” the secretary of state added. “We commend the
bravery and sacrifice of the Syrian Democratic Forces. We also commend the
significant efforts of the Iraqi Security Forces to ensure that ISIS could
not flee into Iraq and the artillery and air support provided during key
moments of the operation.”Pompeo stated that the liberation of Iraq and
ISIS’s losses in Syria are major achievements, but the mission of his
country’s forces is not complete. Destroying ISIS continues to be an urgent
priority for President Trump and the Administration, he stressed. In this
context, the US has welcomed the safe evacuation of more than 400 members of
the Syrian Civil Defense, otherwise known as the White Helmets, and their
families from southwest Syria. “We are glad that these brave volunteers,
who have saved thousands of lives, are now out of harm’s way although the
White Helmets have consistently been targeted by the Assad regime,” State
Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said. She added that the United
States and its international partners asked the United Nations to take the
central role in this critical humanitarian operation. Nauert renewed her
country’s call on the Assad regime and Russia to abide by their commitments,
end the violence and protect all Syrian civilians in areas formerly part of
the southwest de-escalation zone and throughout Syria.
Bolton Reinforces Trump Threats against Iran
The Hill/Tuesday 24th July 2018/National security adviser John Bolton on
Monday reinforced President Trump's threats against Iran, warning that the
country would "pay a price" if it acts negatively toward the United States.
“I spoke to the President over the last several days, and President Trump
told me that if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a
price like few countries have ever paid before," Bolton said in a statement
Monday morning. Bolton's comments come roughly 12 hours after President
Trump took to Twitter and issued an all-caps warning to Iranian leadership.
"Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer
consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered
before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words
of violence & death. Be cautious!" Trump tweeted. Trump appeared to be
responding to remarks Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gave to a group of
diplomats in which he said war with Iran "is the mother of all wars." He
also seemed to leave the door open to peace talks, saying peace with Iran
"is the mother of all peace." The tweet came shortly after Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo compared Iran's leaders to the mafia and touted U.S.
support for the people of Iran, especially protesters who have taken to the
streets recently in opposition to the current government. Pompeo's comments
came during an appearance at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and
Museum on Sunday evening. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have been
heightened for years, dating back well before the Trump administration.
However, Trump risked escalation when he withdrew the U.S. from the Iran
nuclear deal earlier this year. The Obama-era agreement lifted sanctions on
Tehran in exchange for the country abandoning its nuclear program. Every
other country in the pact has vowed to uphold the deal, even in the United
States' absence. Trump's latest rhetoric toward Iran was reminiscent of his
threats against North Korea in August, when he warned that any additional
threats from the country would be "met with fire, fury and, frankly, power,
the likes of which this world has never seen before.”That heated tone
eventually gave way to more traditional diplomacy. Trump met with North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month. While Trump has touted the meeting as
an unmitigated success and claimed the country is no longer a nuclear
threat, multiple reports have indicated the North Koreans have continued to
develop their nuclear arsenal.
Pompeo say US to
broadcast in Farsi across several platforms
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 24 July 2018/The US is stepping up
its efforts to broadcast in Farsi across several platforms and channels, the
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in a speech made to a largely
Iranian American audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library outside
Los Angeles on Sunday. Pompeo said the US Broadcasting Board of Governors is
aiming to end internet censorship in Iran by creating a round-the-clock
Farsi channel across television, radio, digital and social media platforms.
He added that this is “so that ordinary Iranians inside Iran and around the
globe will know that America stands with them”. The US Broadcasting Board of
Governors (BBG) is a US government organization that operates directed
media, notably Voice of America, Al Hurra, and Radio Sawa. Pompeo’s remarks
come as the 40th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran approaches.
He did not mention when exactly this project will be launched. Pompeo had
launched a rhetorical assault on Iran’s leaders, comparing them to a “mafia”
and promising unspecified backing for Iranians unhappy with their
government.
Iranian FM Zarif responds to Trump tweets with same
words: ‘BE CAUTIOUS!’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 24 July 2018/‘BE CAUTIOUS!’ wrote
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in a tweet on Monday as a response to US
President Donald Trump’s angry tweets, where he used the same words in
response to Hassan Rowhani’s latest statements warning the US from ‘playing
with the lion’s tail’. Zarif went on to say that Iran has received “harsher
bluster” from other countries in the past few months, and that Iran has been
around for millennia, hinting that the US is a younger country than his.
President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Iran of consequences “the likes of
which few throughout history have ever suffered,” if it threatens the United
States. This was in response to Iranian President Hassan Rowhani’s latest
statements, where he said that “America should know ... war with Iran is the
mother of all wars.” US President Donald Trump withdrew in May from the 2015
nuclear accord designed to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Tehran
has said its nuclear work is just for electricity generation and other
peaceful projects. Iran “is run by something that resembles the mafia more
than a government,” US Secretary Mike Pompeo had said on Monday, citing what
he called Iranian leaders’ vast wealth and corruption.
Iran says will respond equally if US tries to block oil
exports
Reuters, BeirutTuesday, 24 July 2018/Iran will respond with equal
countermeasures if the United States tries to block its oil exports, the
foreign ministry in Tehran said on Tuesday.
US officials are stepping up diplomatic efforts to pressure countries to
stop importing Iranian oil. “If America wants to take a serious step in this
direction it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal
countermeasures from Iran,” foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi was
quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei on Saturday backed President Hassan Rouhani’s suggestion that Iran
might block Gulf oil exports if its own exports are stopped. Already fraught
relations between Tehran and Washington have worsened in recent days. On
Monday, Iran dismissed an angry warning from President Donald Trump that it
risked dire consequences “the like of which few throughout history have
suffered before” if it made threats against the United States. Iran’s
parliamentary speaker on Tuesday described Trump’s comments as “the words of
a troublemaker”. “The United States is experiencing disorder and wildness in
its diplomatic relations,” Ali Larijani was quoted as saying by IRNA. Iran
has faced the threat of US sanctions since Trump decided in May to withdraw
the United States from a 2015 agreement between world powers and Iran over
its disputed nuclear program.
Washington Backs Iraqi People’s Right to Hold Peaceful
Rallies
Baghdad – Hamza Mustafa/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 24 July, 2018/The United
States announced on Monday its support for the demands of Iraqi protesters.
The White House said in a statement that it backs the people’s right to hold
peaceful rallies to express their views. It also voiced its support for the
Iraqi government’s vow that it will protect the people’s right to stage the
demonstrations. It added that it was ready to support the people and
government in their pursuit of economic reform, creation of job
opportunities and fight against corruption. Protests had swept southern
Iraqi regions, particularly Basra, with angry demonstrators demanding better
services and an end to corruption. Three weeks into the protests, the Iraqi
government announced on Monday that it was dispensing funds that it had
pledged to spend on impoverished provinces, starting with Basra. Prime
Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s spokesman Saad al-Hudaithi revealed that 3.5
trillion Iraqi dinars have been dedicated to Basra and were immediately
dispensed. The funds will be invested in stalled water desalination,
electricity, health, education and environment projects, he revealed. Former
Basra MP Awatef Nehme told Asharq Al-Awsat: “That the move, if late, was
still a good step.”She added, however, that it was not enough to meet
Basra’s needs, demanding “radical solutions to Basra’s problems.”
“Ultimately, the prime minister’s slogan that he will combat terrorism never
materialized,” she added, saying that corrupt figures should be held
accountable for their practices. This demands actions, not words, Nehme
said. Another MP, Salim Shawqi, said: “These funds are not a gift from the
government, but what Basra was owed in the first place.”He explained that
they were revenues from the province’s rich oil sector. The revenues,
however, total 14 trillion dinars, “meaning the government only gave us
crumbs that do not cover Basra’s needs,” he revealed. “The problem with the
government and others before it since 2003 is that they lacked a project or
vision or methodology. This in turn has negatively affected their
performance in that they do not have real construction projects,” Shawqi
explained. Iraq enjoys a budget of some $100 billion and a 25 percent
deficit. It could have enjoyed $500 billion had the government worked on
mega industry, agricultural and touristic projects, the lawmaker told Asharq
Al-Awsat. The protests have meanwhile not abated. At least 14 people have
been killed in the past two weeks, a member of the state human rights
commission said Monday. Rights commission official Fadel al-Gharrawi said 14
people had died in Basra, Samawah, Najaf and Karbala and in the provinces of
Diwaniyah and Babylon. He did not specify whether those killed were
protesters or members of the security services, but a Sunday toll compiled
from medical sources put the number of dead at 11, all demonstrators.
Gharrawi said 275 protesters and 470 security personnel were wounded during
thousands-strong demonstrations against corrupt officials. He said over 800
people had also been arrested, but said “the majority were later released”,
without providing a precise figure.
Daesh makes comeback in Iraq with switch to guerrilla tactics
Reuter/AFP/July 24, 2018
BAQUBA, Iraq: Months after Iraq declared victory over Daesh, its fighters
are making a comeback with a scatter-gun campaign of kidnap and killing.
With its dream of a Caliphate in the Middle East now dead, Daesh has
switched to hit-and-run attacks aimed at undermining the government in
Baghdad, according to military, intelligence and government officials
interviewed by Reuters. Daesh was reinventing itself months before Baghdad
announced in December that it had defeated the group, according to
intelligence officials who said it would adopt guerrilla tactics when it
could no longer hold territory.
Iraq has now seen an increase in kidnappings and killings, mainly in the
provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahuddin, since it held an election in
May, indicating the government will come under renewed pressure from a group
that once occupied a third of the country during a three-year reign of
terror.
Last month saw at least 83 cases of kidnap, murder or both in the three
provinces. Most occurred on a highway connecting Baghdad to Kirkuk province.
In May, the number of such incidents in that area was 30, while in March it
was seven, according to Hisham Al-Hashimi, an expert on Daesh who advises
the Iraqi government.
In one incident on June 17, three Shiite men were kidnapped by Daesh
militants disguised as policemen at a checkpoint on the highway. Ten days
later their mutilated corpses were discovered, rigged with explosives to
kill anyone who found them. Speaking in the Shiite holy city of Kerbala
surrounded by children wearing photos of their slain fathers around their
necks, Bassem Khudair, a relative of the men, said security forces were
uncooperative. He had implored the soldiers who found the men’s
bullet-ridden car to pursue the kidnappers but was refused. “We went alone,
bearing personal responsibility, as three of our own had been taken and we
couldn’t just watch,” he said. “Six of us, all civilians, walked for about
10 or 12 kilometers. We found their documents scattered on the ground as we
walked.” The next day, he received a phone call from his brother. The men
were alive but held by Daesh. One of the kidnappers had said they would be
executed if the government did not release all female Sunni prisoners.
The kidnapper then called Khudair daily. Khudair informed the government but
none of Iraq’s intelligence agencies offered to trace the caller’s location,
he said. Ten days later, the kidnapper told Khudair the men were dead.
Military commanders in the provinces of Diyala and Salahuddin ducked
responsibility for retrieving the bodies. Diyala Provincial Council Chairman
Ali Al-Dani said the advantage currently lay with Daesh. “The terrorists now
are moving in small groups that are hard to track. Intelligence work is
needed,” he said. “The situation is confusing, and the reason is the
chaos within the security forces. There isn’t one command leading security
in the province. This strengthens Daesh,” said Salahuddin Provincial Council
Chairman Ahmed Al-Kareem. That kind of disarray among the security forces
has allowed Daesh to stage a comeback, according to military, police,
intelligence, and local elected officials.
They said poor coordination, meagre support from the central government, and
a culture of avoiding responsibility are hindering efforts to contain the
group, which continues to stage a steady stream of lower-level attacks in
addition to the spike in kidnap and murder.
A military spokesman did not respond to phone calls and written requests for
comment. The US-led coalition fighting Daesh said in a statement that it
“has no safe haven in Iraq.”
Hit and run
The militants have regrouped in the Hemrin mountain range in the northeast,
which extends from Diyala, on the border with Iran, crossing northern
Salahuddin and southern Kirkuk, and overlooks Iraq’s main highway. Officials
describe the area as a “triangle of death.” Military and intelligence
officials gave varying estimates of how many Daesh fighters remain active in
Iraq. Hashimi puts the number at more than 1,000, with around 500 in desert
areas and the rest in the mountains. Al Qaeda once held sway over most of
Iraq’s Sunni areas until it was beaten by US and Iraqi troops and their
tribal allies during the “surge” campaign of 2006-2007. Its remnants hid in
the desert between Syria and Iraq and later turned into Daesh. Some
officials fear an even more radical group could emerge if there are gaps in
security.“Filth wandering the desert for a loaf of bread is what they are,”
said an intelligence official in Tikrit, the Salahuddin provincial capital.
Fighters are resorting to Al Qaeda’s tactics: quick attacks then retreating
into the desert. Even though they possess machine guns, anti-tank weapons
and mines, the militants cannot penetrate cities because they no longer
enjoy support among those Sunnis who once sympathized with them, said Eid
Khalaf, Salahuddin’s deputy chief of police. “They can’t get food or weapons
from citizens,” he said. “Their operations are primitive; they can’t send a
car bomb into a city.”Each Daesh cell contains between three and five
fighters, said Diyala Operations Commander Lt. Gen. Muzher Al-Azawi. He said
there were no more than 75 fighters in the province. “They hide in the
mountains, making it hard to find them. They plant explosives, use
hit-and-run tactics, and snipers. They set up fake checkpoints for
kidnappings,” he said.
‘Cities will fall’
Numerous attempts to track down and kill Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi
have failed, and his fighters are still active in other Arab states. In
Syria, Daesh still holds some territory but has suffered militarily. In
Egypt, it is concentrated in the sparsely populated northern Sinai desert.
It holds no territory but conducts hit-and-run attacks. Daesh has tried to
rebuild in Libya through mobile units in the desert and sleeper cells in
northern cities. The group has exploited the ethnic and sectarian divide in
Iraq. Iraqi and Kurdish forces fought together against Daesh. Now ties are
strained over a Kurdish bid for independence last year which Baghdad
stifled. Lack of coordination has caused a security vacuum in disputed
territories, from which Iraqi forces dislodged the Kurds, creating
opportunities for Daesh. “Are we expected to go into Diyala and help them
clear the area then withdraw again? We are not being attacked in those
areas, Iraqi forces are. We are not there, they expelled us,” said a Kurdish
security official. Sunni tribesmen helped US and Iraqi forces turn the tide
in the war against Al-Qaeda. Local tribes now say they need help as Daesh
claws its way back. “We know these areas better than the security forces and
at least 280 of us have been kidnapped or killed,” said Shammar tribal chief
Ali Nawaf. Last month, militants drove into a village inhabited by Shammar
tribesmen and kidnapped 30 men, he said. The next day, eight bodies were
found tied up and blindfolded. Nawaf says he has 1,400 men ready to fight
but they need help from the government in Baghdad. “Either the government
sends more forces, or we raise Daesh flags. If we don’t plug this hole now,
entire cities will fall,” Nawaf said.
German spy agency says Iran’s growing cyber
capabilities pose danger
Reuters, Berlin Tuesday, 24 July 2018/Iran has expanded its cyber attack
capabilities and poses a danger to German companies and research
institutions, Germany’s BfV domestic intelligence agency said in its annual
report. The report, released on Tuesday by German Interior Minister Horst
Seehofer and the BfV agency, cited steadily increasing cyber attacks with a
likely origin in Iran since 2014, and said numerous such attacks were seen
on German targets in 2017.
Syrian actress and face of Syria’s anti-Assad
revolution dies in Paris
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 24 July 2018/Syrian activists on
Monday announced the death of prominent Syrian actress, Mai Skaf, in Paris.
Skaf has been publicly opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as
being one of the most notable anti-Assad individuals in the entertainment
industry. She was arrested several times as a result since the beginning of
protests against Assad, which she was a part of since 2011. Social media
users shared their sorrow and condolences, stating that the last post she
shared on her Facebook page before her death was: “I will not lose hope, I
will not lose hope. It is the great Syria, not Assad’s Syria.”French
authorities have not released a cause of death yet, or the results of their
ongoing investigation into her sudden death. Syrian musician Samih Chokueir
stated that an autopsy of her body is still being carried out to find out
the cause. Chokeir said that Skaf’s house in Paris has been closed off with
yellow tape, adding that she was in good health before her passing. Skaf has
a son who is 20 years of age who lived with her in Paris. Sources say that
he is currently at Syrian actor Maxim Khalil’s house, which is also in
Paris. It was not yet announced if Skaf’s body would be buried in France or
Syria. Several social media users, Syrian actors and civilians have
described the case as mysterious and strange. Pro-Assad media outlets have
also picked up the news and begun a campaign smearing Skaf’s name according
to sources. Skaf was an avid anti-Assad activist and was arrested twice in
2011 and 2013. She was nicknamed as the ‘Revolution’s Icon’. After she was
released from prison, she left Syria in 2013 and lived in France until she
died.
The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on July 24-25/18
Americans Rate Helsinki Performance
Scott Clement and Dan Balz/The Washington Post/July 24/18
But public reaction nationally appears more muted than in Washington, where
Trump faced withering bipartisan criticism for appearing to side with Putin
over US intelligence agencies at a July 16 news conference in Helsinki. Most
Americans do not think Trump went “too far” in supporting Putin, and while
more Americans say US leadership has gotten weaker under Trump, his ratings
on this question are slightly improved from last fall.
The findings indicate that while Trump was judged critically for his summit
performance, the event has not at this time proved to be a significant
turning point in his presidency, despite the sharp criticism he received in
the hours and days after the meeting and the multiple efforts by White House
officials and the president to clarify his remarks in Helsinki. The poll
results suggest that overall attitudes toward the president have hardened on
both sides and that major events produce only modest changes in his overall
standing, if any.
The Post-ABC poll conducted Wednesday through Friday finds that overall, 33
percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of his meeting with Putin
while 50 percent disapprove. A sizable 18 percent say they have no opinion.
A slightly larger 56 percent disapprove of Trump expressing doubts about US
intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russia tried to influence the outcome
of the 2016 election. On both questions, those who say they “strongly
disapprove” of Trump’s performance outnumber those who say they “strongly
approve” by better than 2 to 1.
Trump’s ratings for handling the summit represent a weakened moment for him,
but they are not markedly worse than ratings of his presidency overall in
other recent polls. A Washington Post-Schar School poll earlier this month,
for instance, found 43 percent approved of Trump’s job performance while 55
percent disapproved, with strong disapproval outpacing strong approval by
roughly 2 to 1.
The new Post-ABC poll finds 40 percent saying Trump went “too far” in
supporting Putin, a criticism that was voiced by both Democrats and
Republicans in Washington over the past week.
However, almost as many — 35 percent — say Trump handled Putin “about
right,” while an additional 15 percent say he did not go far enough to
support Putin. The rest have no opinion. Democrats, liberals and college
graduates are the only groups in the poll among whom a majority say Trump
went too far in supporting Putin.
Partisans split in their ratings of Trump’s meeting with Putin, but
Republicans are less united in support for Trump than in other recent polls
about his presidency. Among Democrats, 83 percent disapprove of Trump’s
handling of the meeting, while among Republicans, 66 percent approve of
Trump’s performance. By way of comparison, in the Post-Schar School survey,
87 percent of Republicans said they approved of Trump’s overall job
performance as president.
A bare majority of Republicans in the new poll — 51 percent — approve of
Trump expressing doubts about US intelligence conclusions on Russian
election interference. But a smaller 31 percent disapprove, with 18 percent
offering no opinion. Among Democrats, 78 percent disapprove of what Trump
said about US intelligence findings, as do 59 percent of independents.
Independents lean negative on Trump’s handling of the summit overall, with
33 percent approving and 46 percent disapproving. Self-identified
“moderates” are particularly negative, with 64 percent disapproving of how
Trump handled the meeting, nearly as high as 73 percent among liberals. A
smaller 58 percent majority of conservatives approve of Trump’s conduct at
the summit.
The Post-ABC poll finds that 47 percent say that under Trump, America’s
leadership in the world has gotten weaker, vs. 30 percent who say it has
gotten stronger. That is an improvement on last November, when the margin
between those who said weaker vs. those who said stronger was 27 percentage
points.
Despite Republicans’ lukewarm support for Trump’s Helsinki performance, they
express growing confidence in his ability to project U.S. strength around
the world. A 74 percent majority of Republicans say American leadership has
“gotten stronger” under Trump, up from 53 percent last November and 61
percent in July 2017. By contrast, 80 percent of Democrats say Trump has
weakened U.S. leadership around the world.
On this question, independents lean more negatively than positively, with 22
percent saying America’s leadership has gotten stronger under Trump, 47
percent weaker and about one-quarter saying it has stayed the same.
College graduates had a much sharper negative reaction to the Helsinki
summit than those without college degrees — college grads are 18 points more
likely to disapprove of Trump’s performance (62 percent vs. 44 percent).
Those without college degrees are nearly three times as likely to say they
have no opinion of Trump’s performance.
In contrast to many surveys about the president and politics, the Helsinki
poll produced only modest gender differences. Men were slightly less
disapproving of the president’s handling of the summit than women, but the
gap was not statistically significant.
Americans younger than 40 gave Trump lower marks for his overall handling of
the summit than did those older than 40. But younger and older Americans
tended to offer similar assessments to other questions.
The Post-ABC poll was conducted by landlines and cellphones from Wednesday
through Friday among a random national sample of 464 adults. Overall results
have a margin of sampling error of 5.5 percentage points, and the error
margin is larger among subgroups.
Sweden's Turbulent
Election Year
Fjordman/Gatestone Institute/July 24/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12731/sweden-election-year
Disaffection with immigration has affected the two largest establishment
parties.
"What you read about Sweden on alternative news platforms is true. We are
facing problems more severe than ever before in our history, where Swedes
face a situation of being a minority within 20 years if nothing is done to
stop the replacement of our people...What makes the situation even more
difficult is, of course, the extreme political correctness that has haunted
Sweden for decades, but which is now finally breaking up." -- Gustav
Kasselstrand, co-founder and Chairman of the Alternative for Sweden party.
Kasselstrand and the Alternative for Sweden argue that the policies of the
Sweden Democrats are no longer sufficient to deal with Sweden's problems
with violent crime and public gang shootings.
Sweden's general election on September 9 looks set to become the most
interesting the country has had in years. Concerns over mass immigration and
rampant crime are redefining the political landscape. For the first time in
more than a hundred years, the Social Democrats may be dethroned as the
country's largest political party. By Swedish standards, this constitutes a
political earthquake.
Concerns in Europe over crime and mass immigration have been changing the
political atmosphere, from Italy to Germany. Now, these developments may
finally have caught up with Sweden as well.
The Social Democrats in Sweden are not just any political party. They have
shaped Swedish political and cultural life for generations. At the peak of
their power, they dominated Swedish society to such an extent that the
country almost resembled a one-party state. They have been the largest party
in all national elections for more than a century. From the 1930s until the
early 1990s, they received more than 40% of the vote. Several times during
this period, they got more than 50% of the votes and held an overall
majority of the seats in the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag). They received
45.2 % of the votes as late as in 1994, and 39.9 % in 2002.
In most opinion polls from mid-2018, the Social Democrats received between
22% and 28% support. If they get 24% of the votes in the 2018 general
elections, this will still make them a major party – but it would also be
the worst election result the Swedish Social Democratic Party has had since
1912.
The main challenger is the nationally-oriented party known as the Sweden
Democrats (SD). The SD entered the Swedish Parliament for the first time in
2010. In 2014, they received 12.9% of votes and became the third largest
party, after the Social Democrats and the Moderate Party.
The Moderates have promoted mass immigration just as much as the Social
Democrats have when they held power. Disaffection with immigration has thus
affected the two largest establishment parties.
Jimmie Åkesson, who has served as the leader of the SD since 2005, stated in
an interview from July 2018 that he is certain the Sweden Democrats will
become the largest political party in Sweden. Perhaps in 2018; if not,
later. The Sweden Democrats have clearly become a force to be reckoned with.
His optimism is not without merit. Several polls have shown the SD to
surpass the Moderates to become the second largest party. A couple of
opinion polls from 2018 have even suggested that the SD could surpass the
Social Democrats and become the largest party in Sweden with up to 28.5 %
support.
Stefan Löfven, who led the Social Democratic Party since 2012, has been
Prime Minister of Sweden since 2014, heading a minority coalition government
consisting of the Social Democrats and the Green Party. Löfven is widely
perceived as not being a particularly strong leader. It caused concern among
the Social Democrats when Löfven was openly laughed at by the audience
during a TV debate with other party leaders in May 2018.
Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Löfven is widely perceived as not being a
particularly strong leader. It caused concern among the Social Democrats
when Löfven was openly laughed at by the audience during a TV debate in May
2018. Pictured: Löfven at a European Union summit on December 14, 2017.
(Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
The election could leave an unpredictable political situation in Sweden. One
possibility is that the Social Democrats and the Moderates, the two
traditionally largest parties, could team up and form a coalition government
together.
This would be comparable to how the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian
Democratic Union (CDU) have been in power together in Germany since 2013.
The major establishment parties largely agree on major issues concerning the
EU, mass immigration, Islam and Multiculturalism. It may make sense for them
to team up together to prevent dissenting voices from gaining power.
The decline of the Social Democrats in Sweden mirrors the decline of their
sister parties in other European countries, such as Germany and the
Netherlands. This wider trend cannot be attributed to one person alone, and
has also opened up room for movements to the right of the SD.
This year, a new party called Alternative for Sweden (Alternativ för Sverige,
AfS) entered the election campaign. Its name is clearly inspired by the
Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland, AfD), which, during
the elections in 2017, became the third-largest party in Germany.
Several former members of the Sweden Democrats, such as the writer Jan Milld,
have defected to the AfS, as have several former SD Members of Parliament.
Even the party leader of Alternative for Sweden, Gustav Kasselstrand, has a
background in the Sweden Democrats.
During an interview with Voice of Europe last month, Kasselstrand stated:
"What you read about Sweden on alternative news platforms is true. We are
facing problems more severe than ever before in our history, where Swedes
face a situation of being a minority within 20 years if nothing is done to
stop the replacement of our people. I would describe the problems in Sweden
as a kind of low-intensity civil war (with gradually increasing intensity
each day). What makes the situation even more difficult is, of course, the
extreme political correctness that has haunted Sweden for decades, but which
is now finally breaking up."
Kasselstrand and the Alternative for Sweden argue that the policies of the
Sweden Democrats are no longer sufficient to deal with Sweden's problems
with violent crime and public gang shootings. The AfS want to end
immigration completely and to start repatriating hundreds of thousands of
illegal immigrants, criminal aliens and immigrants who burden Swedish
society in one way or another.
Meanwhile, some established parties such as the Green Party feel that
Swedish immigration policies are too restrictive. They want even more
immigration than today. However, this view no longer seems to be popular
with the voters. The Green Party is currently struggling to maintain their
seats in Parliament.
Mass immigration has created an atmosphere of extreme polarization in
Swedish society. These tensions will not go away regardless of the election
results in September. Political change finally seems to be coming to Sweden.
*Fjordman, a Norwegian historian, is an expert on Europe, Islam and
multiculturalism.
© 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.
The Great British Foreign Office Fantasy
Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/July 24/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12755/golan-israel-white-helmets
The armies of ISIS came right up to the villages on the Syrian side along
the borders of the Golan. There, they were able to bring that form of
peace-through-barbarism which the world has come to know well. If ISIS had
triumphed in the Syrian conflict rather than suffering repeated set-backs,
would the UK Foreign Office have handed them the territory by way of
reparational justice, or victor's prize?
The painful irony of this situation should be clear to all observers. If the
Israelis did not lay claim to the Golan, there would have been no means to
have got the White Helmets and their families out of Syria. Had Israel not
made the Golan the peaceful and thriving area it is, it would simply be
another part of Syria in which different sectarian groups were slaughtering
other sectarian groups.
The British Foreign Office will have to back out of its self-imposed corner
regarding the Golan at some point and accept the reality on the ground. How
much better it would be if it did so now in a spirit of goodwill and
reciprocity, rather than later on in a spirit of inevitable and grudging
defeat.
According to the British Foreign Office, the Golan Heights are 'occupied'.
They have been 'occupied' -- according to the logic of the UK Foreign Office
-- since 1967, when Israel took the land from the invading forces of Syria.
Ever since then, the Israelis have had the benefit of this strategic
position and the Syrian regime has not. This fact, half a century on, still
strikes the British Foreign Office as regrettable, and a wrong to be righted
in due course.
Of course, since the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the official
position of the UK government has become ever-harder to justify. For
example, if the Israeli government were at some point over the last seven
years suddenly to have listened to the wisdom of the Foreign Office in
London and handed over the strategic prize of the Golan, to whom should it
have handed it? Should Israel be persuaded to hand over the territory to the
Assad regime in Damascus? It is true that, throughout the course of the
Syrian civil war, the one bit of territory to which the Syrian regime has
laid claim and which it has not been able to barrel-bomb and otherwise
immiserate the people there has been the Golan Heights. Only in the Golan
has anybody in this 'Greater Syria' been able to live free from the constant
threat of massacre and ethnic, religious or political cleansing.
Other candidates for the territory naturally presented themselves across the
same time-frame. The armies of ISIS came right up to the villages on the
Syrian side along the borders of the Golan. There, they were able to bring
that form of peace-through-barbarism which the world has come to know well.
If ISIS had triumphed in the Syrian conflict rather than suffering repeated
set-backs, would the UK Foreign Office have handed them the territory by way
of reparational justice, or victor's prize? If not them, then perhaps the
armies of Iran or Russia could have been the recipients of this feat of
restorative diplomacy? Perhaps anyone who wished to lay claim to the Golan
could have had it. So long as it was not the Israelis.
The ongoing madness of the British Foreign Office's position has been
highlighted in recent days thanks to a request which came from the British
government, as well as the governments in other European capitals and in
Washington. A request which also involved the Golan.
Over the weekend, it emerged that the British government was among foreign
governments to have made a dramatic request of the Israelis. As the war in
Syria appears to be clarifying towards its end-point, a group of around 800
members of the 'White Helmets' and their families had reportedly become
trapped near the southwestern border near the Golan Heights. The White
Helmets only operate in 'rebel areas' and are despised by the Assad regime.
With Syrian government forces moving in, a massacre may well have been about
to occur.
At the request of these foreign governments, the Israelis just carried out
an extraordinary and unprecedented mission. In recent days, a reported 422
of the intended evacuees and their family members were saved by the
Israelis. The other -- almost half -- of the intended number appears already
to have been cut off by other forces. Nevertheless, those who did make it
out were transferred by Israeli forces across the Golan and have now
reportedly arrived safely in Jordan where their future status will be
determined. Some may stay in Jordan; others will be moved abroad to Western
countries.
The painful irony of this situation should be clear to all observers. If the
Israelis did not lay claim to the Golan, there would have been no means to
have got the White Helmets and their families out of Syria. Had Israel not
made the Golan the peaceful and thriving area it is, it would simply be
another part of Syria in which different sectarian groups were slaughtering
other sectarian groups.
As it is, the area is in the control of Britain's most reliable ally in the
region. An ally which -- even as it is lectured by Britain -- agrees to
requests from the British government that takes advantage of a strategic
reality, one which the British government still refuses to accept. The
Israeli government has given the British government what it wanted. Perhaps
now would be a good time for the British government to reciprocate in some
way? There could be no better means of doing so than by admitting that the
British policy of the last half a century has been a Foreign Office fantasy
and a wholesale dud of 'realist' regional thinking. The Foreign Office will
have to back out of its self-imposed corner regarding the Golan at some
point and accept the reality on the ground. How much better it would be if
it did so now in a spirit of goodwill and reciprocity, rather than later on
in a spirit of inevitable and grudging defeat.
**Douglas Murray, British author, commentator and public affairs analyst, is
based in London, England. His latest book, an international best-seller, is
"The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam."
© 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.
What the UK should ask Qatar’s emir to do with Iran
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 24/18
The emir of Qatar is in London this week for talks with British Prime
Minister Theresa May, and she should use her leverage with the Gulf state to
demand a more unified approach to dealing with Tehran.
When the BBC published evidence last week that the Qatari government had
supplied around a billion dollars to terrorist groups in southern Iraq for
the release of 28 hostages kidnapped on a hunting trip, including nine royal
family members, it led to outrage across the Middle East because of the
likely impact this seemingly reckless move would have on the prolongment of
conflict in the region.
The allegations had been made before, but were always denied firmly by
Qatar. In March 2018, Qatar’s ambassador to the United States, Sheikh Meshal
bin Hamad Al-Thani, wrote to The New York Times clearly stating that “Qatar
did not pay a ransom.” Last week, text messages were revealed that not only
exposed the dishonesty of the regime, but also an apparent disinterest in
the implications for counter-terrorism operations of any ransom payment of
this magnitude.
It was by some distance the largest such transfer ever made, but its costs
will be felt most sharply by the residents of Iraq and neighboring
countries, who will have to most likely endure many more months of
instability and bloodshed as a result of Doha’s decision.
In geopolitical terms, the leaked messages emphasized another aspect of
Qatar’s foreign policy, one which may have more far-reaching consequences
for the region’s future and Western interests in it. Two of the groups Qatar
is shown to be negotiating with are Iran-backed Shia militias: the Lebanese
arm of Hezbollah and the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah (the Party of God Brigades),
known in that part of the world mainly for bombing scores of American
troops. Negotiations were eventually directed on the kidnappers’ side by the
leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), General Qassem Soleimani.
The fact that the architect of Iran’s foreign military activities felt that
it would improve the environment in which negotiations took place to insert
himself into the picture, and that the Qataris appear in the text messages
to be willing to accept him as a reasonable interlocutor, shows how much
daylight there is between Western and Qatari perceptions of the regime in
Tehran. In Washington and London, the Qataris were negotiating with
designated terrorists. But in Doha, it was just diplomacy.
The story was a microcosm of an increasingly awkward situation unfolding in
the Gulf right now, wherein Qatar is showing a growing fondness for the
Iranians at the very moment that it is trying to protect its relationships
in Europe and North America. The regime in Doha wants military and political
backing from Iran, and so has made overtures in both the investment and
security realms.
There has even been talk that it could share the 2022 World Cup with its
Persian neighbor if, as looks likely, it fails to develop the necessary
infrastructure in time. But these maneuvers are taking place at exactly the
same time that the US administration is trying to place maximum pressure on
the Iranians to return to the negotiating table over its expansionist (in
terms of religion and influence more than territory) policies in the region.
The prime minister should make it clear that continued British political
support, arms sales and investment protection are conditional on a foreign
policy which better befits an ally.
Qatar is placing itself boldly between the US and Iran by offering the
economic lifeline that may keep the latter afloat in a time of sanctions.
This undermines Britain’s interests in two important ways. First, Europeans
have been working hard to mediate between the US and Iran. British
intelligence services and foreign policy officials are privately very
critical of Iran’s role in the region, but are more supportive publicly out
of a fear that taking too hard a line will empower the extremists in Tehran.
The British and their European allies are hoping that US pressure will give
Iran the incentive to negotiate, and that they can then retain the necessary
trust to conduct those negotiations. Qatar’s political and economic
lifelines to the Iranians will diminish this incentive and make talks less
likely.
Second, Qatar’s willingness to do business with Iranian militias should
concern Western officials immensely. They are not designated as terrorist
groups for political reasons – but these groups routinely conduct attacks
against civilians and finance insurgency against internationally recognized
governments. If Doha believes that it can curry favor with Iran by dealing
with these militias as partners rather than enemies, as it did in the ransom
case, then it will be responsible for prolonged violence in the region as
well as strengthening the IRGC, emboldening Iran’s overseas military
operations and further weakening the prospects for negotiation.
The Qataris are heavily dependent on British support for their diplomatic
strength and, to a lesser extent, economic prosperity. There is a reason why
they have spent tens of millions lobbying in Britain since they were
boycotted by other Arab states last June. Theresa May has a lot of leverage
over the government there. So as the emir is paying his respects this week,
the prime minister should make it clear that continued British political
support, arms sales and investment protection are conditional on a foreign
policy which better befits an ally: the Qataris must stop buttressing Iran’s
position and discontinue their casual attitude towards activities that
support and sustain terrorism. If they refuse, then the emir should not be
invited back again. • Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated
Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US
foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American
Council. He serves on the boards of the Harvard International Review, the
Harvard International Relations Council and the US-Middle East Chamber for
Commerce and Business. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh
How Trump gave Putin the upper hand in Helsinki
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/July 24/18
And just when you think that you have seen almost everything possible in
politics, here comes the Trump travel show with a new, unexpected and
bizarre surprise. Many political observers in Washington feared a summit
between the US president and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, especially a
one-on-one meeting. Their view was that a canny and ruthless Putin, who
possesses ample experience in international affairs, would outwit and
outmanoeuvre the complete diplomatic novice and out-of-sorts Trump. Even in
their worst-case scenario it was hard to imagine that the meeting would turn
into such a major farce, letting Russian meddling in US elections completely
overshadow other pressing issues that affect the entire world. In this
European visit, Donald Trump managed to weaken America’s relationship with
NATO and consequently the alliance itself; he intervened in British politics
to the fury of Prime Minister Theresa May; he brought out hundreds of
thousands of people onto the streets of the UK to demonstrate against his
visit; and in Helsinki he undermined his own intelligence community. He flew
back home facing a barrage of criticism for handing a victory by knockout to
the leader of a country that he, only on his way to the summit, described as
a foe of the United States.
To be sure, the US president’s European trip yielded one major achievement.
For at least a short time, and after many years, he united a very partisan
Washington. To his self-inflicted misfortune, a divided American political
scene joined forces in condemning his embarrassing pandering to Putin,
undermining in the process his own intelligence and security services. In
the run-up to the summit in Helsinki both sides had low expectations.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov may have asserted that “we consider Trump a
negotiating partner,” but he added “the state of bilateral relations is very
bad. We have to start to set them right.” And Trump in a Twitter outburst,
which can now be seen as a precursor to the now infamous post-summit press
conference, attested to worsening relations with Russia. However, he blamed
his own country for this: “Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse
thanks to many years of US foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged
Witch Hunt!”
This provides an insight to what was on his mind prior to meeting Putin.
Forget the rumours that the Russians have embarrassing evidence regarding
his behaviour; the real issue is the investigation by former FBI director
Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election,
and the allegation that senior people in the Trump campaign conspired with
those agents to derail Hillary Clinton’s quest for the White House. Only two
days before the meeting between Trump and Putin, Mr Mueller signed an
indictment against 12 Russian state agents for “Conspiracy to Commit an
Offense Against the United States,” accusing them of conducting large-scale
cyber operations to interfere with the 2016 US presidential race.
It left Putin more confident than he has been for a long time that ... he
can continue with his aggressive policies and interference in other
countries’ affairs with complete disregard for international laws and
conventions
There is no expectation that Russia will hand over its operatives to the US
to face trial, but it is widely acknowledged by those in charge of the
investigation, and by most people on the US political scene, that there was
indeed such meddling in the presidential elections. Moreover, at least 12
Trump associates had contacts with Russians during the campaign or the
subsequent transition period, and four have already been indicted including
Paul Manafort, a former Trump campaign chairman. It is therefore not
particularly astonishing that Trump would prefer Putin’s “extremely strong
and powerful” denial of Russian interference in the elections over the
findings of his own intelligence agencies, and also blame what he calls
“Mueller’s witch hunt” for the deteriorating relations between the two
countries. Trump was selling indulgences to Putin very cheaply and
exonerating an aggressive Russia.
There is nothing wrong with reflecting on one’s own country’s handling of
foreign affairs. Yet to stand next to a serial human rights abuser – who has
annexed part of a neighbouring country and occupied another part of it, who
has allegedly sent secret agents to poison his enemies abroad and who is
supporting the murderous regime in Damascus – and accept the strength of his
denials as evidence of truth, is to break new ground in lack of judgment.
Putin must have left the press conference laughing all the way back to his
Kremlin office, knowing that he had got exactly what he wanted from the
American president: an incoherent, defensive and divisive put-down of his
own country and allies.
The world was left guessing and picking up clues from media interviews, as
to whether issues such as the Crimea, or Russia’s role in Syria including
allowing Iran’s menacing forces to take key strategic positions there, or
addressing the extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty which
expires in 2021, or trade relations, were discussed at all.
Uncharacteristically for such summits, no joint communique was issued. It
left Putin more confident than he has been for a long time that the
sanctions imposed on his country following the invasion of the Crimea will
be lifted sooner rather than later, and more generally that he can continue
with his aggressive policies and interference in other countries’ affairs
with complete disregard for international laws and conventions.
The Helsinki summit reinforced the view that in this period of increasing
threats to world stability, rising nationalistic-populism, regional
conflicts and US-induced trade wars, a resurgent Russia is feeling empowered
by a divided and leaderless democratic-liberal world. It senses the
opportunity to take advantage of EU and NATO internal squabbling: some of
this is fuelled by Washington, some by Russia and in the case of the EU much
of it is self-inflicted. The Russians are bound to perceive this lack of
direction, conviction and leadership on both sides of the Atlantic as an
opportune moment, and might reach the conclusion that it is their time
again.
*Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations at Regent’s
University London, where he is head of the International Relations and
Social Sciences Program. He is also an associate fellow of the MENA Program
at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written
and electronic media. Twitter: @YMekelberg
Russia ups its game with players in Syria
Maria Dubovikova/Arab News/July 24/18
The international movement around Syria involving Moscow is getting more
intense. Meetings and phone conversations between Moscow and Tel Aviv are
becoming more than regular after Russia fulfilled its promise to guarantee
the presence of the Syrian Army in the South, on the borders with Israel.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chief of Staff Valery
Gerasimov met Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Minister of
Defense Avigdor Lieberman in Jerusalem; just after, Netanyahu spoke with
Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone.
The boost for Syria is also due to the successful operation to recover Daraa,
the province which was the starting point of the Syrian conflict in March
2011. And after talks in Helsinki between Putin and Donald Trump where the
two presidents reached some important agreements, albeit their outcomes
remain unclear, the situation in Syria has received momentum. Right after
the Helsinki summit, Russia’s special presidential envoy to Syria, Alexander
Lavrentiev, went to Iran to clarify the outcome of the Helsinki talks with
the Iranian leadership. The Iranian presence on Syrian ground was among the
key subjects in the Putin-Trump talks. Iran had stated before that it is
looking forward to further cooperation with Russia in Syria, and might
consider withdrawal of its troops if its interests will be guaranteed by
Russia. The Russian ambassador to Turkey, Alexei Yerkhov, has announced that
an agreement was reached between Russia, Turkey and Iran to hold a
trilateral meeting, though a date was not yet set. However, it is expected
to be held by summer’s end. The three countries have much to discuss. Many
groundbreaking changes occurred since the last trilateral meeting in April
this year, including a ceasefire in the Golan Heights, the transferring of
those who want to leave to Idlib province and the rescue of the White
Helmets from Syria to Jordan through Israel, with their further
transportation to the West, as this was the main precondition by Jordan.
Reportedly, the latter was made possible by an agreement between Putin and
Trump in Helsinki. Russia is playing a multilevel and multidimensional game
in the region, and it is obvious. And it is implementing its game
successfully.
Russia intends to work hard to return Syrian refugees from Jordan and
Lebanon back to Syria, in cooperation with the United States and the United
Nations. Moscow will seek to assist Amman and Beirut, which have taken in an
enormous influx of refugees, bearing in mind its strategic interests to
strengthen its political ties with these countries and being ready to use
every opportunity to realise the long-term strategic goals and interests.
Russia is playing a multilevel and multidimensional game in the region, and
it is obvious. It is implementing its game successfully. Moscow will have to
work hard to persuade Ankara and Tehran that Russia and the US have not yet
reached any agreements behind their backs that might hurt their interests.
Russia will attempt to advocate for Israeli interests in Syria as well. This
task will be among the toughest to realise for Russia, yet it is obliged to
proceed for further implementation of the settlement plan in Syria. Russia
will do its utmost to persuade Iran to withdraw its forces from Syria, which
is an Israeli and American demand. This might provide a breakthrough
vis-a-vis international negotiations over Syria. Russia is showing similar
leadership on the Kurdish issue. Since the end of last summer, Turkey and
Iran have discussed launching a joint campaign against the Kurdish PKK to
abort their bid for an independent state. The reasons behind this are
different, but in the very end the policies are serving the same cause in
the framework of the Syrian conflict.
This will be tough for Russia and the US to handle. Moscow will advocate its
Helsinki agenda, which was indirectly formulated during the summit. Russia
will guarantee the security of the Jewish state, Iran will get a guarantee
that it will not be expelled from the process, and cooperation will continue
with broad international involvement in the Syrian crisis settlement that is
developing following Russia’s scenario. In the current circumstances, it is
obvious that Russia’s strategy is a winning one: pursuing approaches that
correlate with the interests of regional and global players. The upcoming
month will pave the way for a more solid ground for the trilateral talks. A
lot depends on what the US will come up with following what has been
discussed in Helsinki.
*Maria Dubovikova is a prominent political commentator, researcher and
expert on Middle East affairs. She is president of the Moscow-based
International Middle Eastern Studies Club (IMESClub). Twitter: @politblogme
Between Trump’s policy and character
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/July 24/18
There are around 2,000 employees and workers in the White House where the
American president works and lives. These workers include cleaners and
floral designers. The president has 234 administrative assistants, 76
assistant and consultants in the National Security Council, 27 in the
economic council, 33 in the office of science and technology policy, 240 in
the commercial affairs office and so on.
President Donald Trump, and those who preceded him, do not wake up in the
morning and just decide policies from their head. The president is an
institution and not a figure on his own. An army of consultants works with
him, and there are specialized departments, which offer him options. Trump
thus makes decisions accordingly and based on a supreme policy that
represents the American Republican right wing.
Trump’s offensive policy in defending America’s economic interests is also a
higher policy that’s based on five pillars: supporting national security,
strengthening the economy, sealing better commercial deals, confronting
competitors and ratifying bilateral commercial agreements
Anyway, everyone now knows that Trump is different than previous presidents.
It’s due to mixing between his character and his policy that they warn us of
dealing with him and ask: Why do you bet on him? Before talking about him,
we must remember that in terms of relations between countries, dealing with
the state’s president is not an option. Trump is the president of the US
regardless of what some think of him.
Character vs policy
There are two sides to Trump, his character and his policy. He is not a
traditional president, as he does not commit to the presidency’s traditions.
He’s spontaneous and a populist, and he knows how to sway his voters. The
most recent poll among Republican voters last month showed that Trump still
enjoys great popularity, above 80%.
He’s someone who likes confrontations when there are crises, regardless of
all the trouble this may bring. An example is his battles with American
media outlets which has reached an unprecedented level of clashing to the
extent that these days there are advertisements calling on people to sign a
petition to impeach him. This is Trump and this is his character.
The side which people find difficult to understand is his policy. Many think
he does not have a policy and that he represents a chaotic and impulsive
case. That is not true at all. Most of what he proposes reflects the policy
of the higher institution, such as dealing with the nuclear deal and Iran
and dealing with North Korea, China, Europe, NATO, terrorism as well as
dealing with internal affairs like health insurance, abortion, migration and
others.
Of course, some of his opinions are opposed even inside his Republican
party, and this is normal. The most controversial matter is his policy
towards Russia, and we’ve seen him back down while making statements after
he returned from his meeting with the Russian president. This confirms that
the higher policy remains the final judge.
Foreign policy
It’s actually Trump who permitted the announcement of the indictment of
Russian officers in the case of the electronic targeting the Democratic
Party. And this was before he met with Putin to pressure him.
There is also his decision to impose massive fees on China’s imports and the
commercial war it may cause between the two giant markets. This decision
reflects the state’s fear of what it views as China’s rise at the expense of
the US while using America’s technology and living off American markets with
subsidized goods and others. This is the state policy in which congress
members in joint committees from both parties in the Senate participate in
making.
Trump’s offensive policy in defending America’s economic interests is also a
higher policy that’s based on five pillars: supporting national security,
strengthening the economy, sealing better commercial deals, confronting
competitors and ratifying bilateral commercial agreements.
Most of what we’ve seen, at least in foreign affairs, reflects the
government’s policy. What’s new is the president’s style. In Brussels, after
Trump entered the meeting hall and sat in front of the NATO secretary and
after the door was opened for journalists and photographers to enter and
take photos, Trump surprised everyone, except his team, when he harshly
criticized Germany, much to the NATO representatives’ shock.
Despite the strange incident, Trump’s statements were in line with the US
stance even before Trump became president. Washington was displeased with
Europe’s orientation to import gas and in large quantities from Russia
because it strengthens Russia’s political influence and economically
empowers it.
What’s common is for the president’s statements in front of journalists to
be limited to compliments, such as voicing the strong ties with his NATO
partners, and then after the journalists leave and the door is closed, the
participants frankly talk to each other and Trump can then attack Germany’s
stance and NATO’s stance if he wants to.
Trump reflected Washington’s real stance. He said it in his own style which
prefers to embarrass the other party. The US secretary of state who sat
beside him did not seem surprised because these statements have been
prearranged within the American team while making use of Trump’s
controversial character and as he himself, i.e. Trump, seeks to make gains
from popularity inside the US. His eye is on the midterm elections in
November and his other eye is on the presidential elections later.
My next article will be about Trump and his policy, changing the constants
and destroying the international institution.
Please do not die young!
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/July 24/18
In old times, a young man would bid his parents farewell after they had
saved enough money and supplies to get him to his destination, embrace him
and say goodbye to him as they may never see him again. Seeking education
was difficult, tiresome and far. It required money, supplies and energy but
before all that, it required a patient mother and a father who know well
that good education is always far, tiring and expensive. But, like a
beautiful woman, it is worth all the trouble that men with good taste go
through! Also back then, people were the ones who sought education, and not
the other way around. However, this has no longer been the case until a few
decades ago. There are now different types of schools and universities that
have all sorts of majors. Your language teacher may be a click away on your
laptop or even on your smartphone. You can even obtain a oud (similar to a
guitar) and follow the musical notes on your smartphone. Open your eyes well
and you will see something new. Open your eyes well when you watch
television and you will see an idea that you’ve seen before but without
noticing its hidden message. You will smile alone. This new smile is the
sign that you learnt something new even if you do not tell anyone about it
my dear reader
This article is not paid for by smart devices companies but it has a tone
that opposes the ‘end of study’ syndrome!
Studying and learning
It’s true that there’s a difference between studying and learning, but the
distance between the two definitions have remained an objective and urgent
question before defining the above-mentioned syndrome: Is it really possible
to stop learning and studying? When? Where? And how? Back to the end of
study syndrome, which is that feeling that we all experienced – feeling
tired and exhausted of the plenty of assignments or of the nearing exams and
the mental fatigue that extends to the entire body and you feel like you
don’t have the desire to do anything as you make the huge wish and ask: When
will studying come to an end? I am no doctor but everyone has experienced
this. High school students, for instance, think going to university is their
lifeline but they are taken by surprise when the syndrome emerges again
during their last semester when they begin to lose hope whenever someone
mentions the lack of jobs or low wages.
The victim of the end of study syndrome then gets married after the
systemized and university education marathon ends only to find
himself/herself back in the seat of education as they try to understand the
opposite sex. It’s a new type of learning!
The first child then arrives, and a new phase of joyful mental and physical
fatigue that resembles the end of study syndrome begins. The parents
reluctantly learn how to deal with their infant and then how to deal with
him as a boy, a teenager and a young man later. As days pass by, this
boredom feeling repeats and life goes on so when will this tired exhausted
individual stop learning?We all know the definition of the old man: “Anyone
who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.” Take it from me.
Therefore, learning is not a purely voluntary and continuous process, but
one can say that real aging is what one suffers from when he stops learning
anything new and discovering skills. This is even if said individual is a
muscular young man in his 20’s, as he’d be an old man who suffers from
negative aging because he surrendered to the idea of no longer learning.
Allow me to note that some of our proverbs have been frustrating when they
believe that seeking knowledge at an old age is like engraving in water.
It’s as if they are preventing you from knowledge, discovering and learning
new things for the mere fact that you are old of age!
Learning despite old age
Not a day should pass by without exercising your memory, without recalling a
verse of poetry or sharing a new song with a friend or a loved one. Open
your eyes well and you will see something new. Open your eyes well when you
watch television and you will see an idea that you’ve seen before but
without noticing its hidden message. You will smile alone. This new smile is
the sign that you learnt something new even if you do not tell anyone about
it my dear reader. I am grateful to a dear friend and poet I have hosted on
the talk show Edaat as he narrated how he found a poetry bahr (metrical
series) difficult, so he swore to never learn it. When he tried to
understand it and write poetry according to it, he couldn’t. He said it was
like seeing waves before him and he couldn’t master the bahr which he
willingly rejected to learn. I smiled and said: “Poetry, like everything
else, has premonition and dignity that prevent them from relenting before
those unwilling to understand it.”A university student and a young man who
is worried about the massive amount of information before high school
examinations can enjoy the curricula’s small details. There’s no doubt that
part of this is the responsibility of the teacher and parent.
However, this art of enjoying every moment and of maintaining the sentiment
of childish amazement when we learn something new for years is what makes a
50-year-old man wake up at 5:00 a.m. to go run for two hours and go early to
work before other younger men in their 20s and 30s. How many 60-year-olds
have exhausted young men who are not one even a third of their age?! Women
advise their daughters who are about to get married: “A man’s worst disease
begins when they retire, my child. They master disgruntling when they stop
learning your new characteristics. Be new so he maintains his agility.
Beware of early retirement. Life begins to slow down when a man sits on a
couch in the middle of the house and begins to observe the world from behind
screens or through newspapers.” Get out of the house, my friend, and do not
let the grey hairs on your head to prevent you from breaking the stereotype
that it’s difficult to learn and discover when you’re old. Paddle and learn
how to dive! As for you, the young, enjoy the nectar of life. Do not look at
life’s stages like an old horse looks at the distant barrier. Invade new
opportunities, surprise yourselves and those around you and keep in mind the
never-dying saying by Al-Mutanabbi: I have not seen among the defects of
people anything worse than a shortage in the willingness of the able to do
something. Full capacity is optimizing everything, and this can only
be achieved by enjoying everything well, even traffic lights!
Muqtada al-Sadr and the future of Iraq
Michael Flanagan/Al Arabiya/July 24/18
The Iraqi elections in May have been marred with corruption, theft, fraud
and mass abstentions by honorable Iraqis looking to not participate in the
sham. Muqtada al-Sadr’s bloc won the elections and gained the right to form
a government. He did so by a combination of factors.
First, there was a record low turnout by Iraqis boycotting the elections
because of pervasive government corruption and a lack of trust in the
system. Al-Sadr’s bloc showed up in ordinary numbers while all of the
opposing blocs had record lows in their respective turnouts.
Second, al-Sadr’s group performed mass vote fraud by destroying the
registration machines in a suspicious fire and then by destroying actual
paper ballots in another suspicious fire hopefully forcing the (now
unreliable) electronic ballots to be used. The origins of these fires are
not proved yet but al-Sadr’s involvement is the biggest open secret in Iraq
since the days of Saddam. Third, al-Sadr actually gained legitimate votes
and bloc partners by preaching a popular message of Iraqi Nationalism,
anti-corruption and honest government. Iraqis are starved for an honest,
Iraq-First government and al-Sadr held out that possibility, however
illusory the promise turned out to be. The legitimate installation of al-Sadr
and his cronies in the highest seats of power in Baghdad may take Iraqis on
a very short road to destruction
Invalidate ballots
In response to this outcome, the Iraqi Parliament (filled with
parliamentarians who are losing their jobs) voted to invalidate all of the
electronic ballots on the grounds of fraud and require that a manual recount
be taken in all of Iraq. Parliament also invalidated the votes cast outside
of Iraq by ex-pats and soldiers – especially the Peshmerga (the Kurdish
Militia). Last, Parliament ousted the National Electoral Commission and
replaced it with a better-respected panel of judges. This law was
immediately challenged by the sitting President of Iraq, the Kurdish parties
and others. On Thursday of last week, the Supreme Federal Court of Iraq
ruled on the challenge to that new law and largely upheld the actions by
Parliament. There will be a manual recount of electronic balloting but not
the entire country – only the parts of Iraq where fraud was alleged. Also,
the court upheld the appeal by requiring that the votes cast outside of Iraq
will not be invalidated and will be counted.
Iranian bloc
Al-Sadr largely won his points and his majority will likely hold up. Since
the election, al-Sadr’s bloc has gained the support of the Iranian bloc.
Additionally since the appeal’s failure, al-Sadr has gained the support of
the current Prime Minister, Hayder al-Abadi, in the naked hope of remaining
prime minister.
Al-Sadr still lacks sufficient votes to declare a majority and must work
with additional partners to form the next Iraqi government. This will be
hard being that al Sadr has sacrificed all of his credibility and will now
need to horse-trade for power. This process is exactly what he ran against
but apparently never meant to put into practice.
Additionally, his situation is further complicated by the possibility of his
bloc partners (the Communists among others) defecting from al Sadr because
his promises of an honest government turned-out to be a lie.
The matter is now with the Iraqi people to decide whether they want an
honest government dedicated to Iraqi nationalism, honesty, integrity and
success, or, to have another group of leaders rob and pillage the country
for they own wants and needs in the exercise illegitimate power with stolen
money.
Lack of honesty
Sadr’s militia is a scary proposition to oppose but now is the time to
strike before he gains more power and capacity. His lack of honesty, fair
dealings and devotion to Iranian interests makes al Sadr dangerous to all
Iraqis. It is not an overstatement that he could easily be another Saddam in
the making and Iraqis should be wary and act now, while they still can. They
should protest constantly, forcefully and demand another election. At that
election, they should actually show-up this time and vote and elect an
honest government. It is clear that the message of an honest government is a
wining message and such a candidate would prevail in a re-election if held.
In one fell swoop, the Iraqi population could throw out a corrupt sitting
government and blunt the efforts of a dangerous demagogue whose allegiance
is to Iranian interests and not to Iraqi nationalism as it should be.
The legitimate installation of al-Sadr and his cronies in the highest seats
of power in Baghdad may take Iraqis on a very short road to destruction. If
he is willing to lie about his principles to get elected, why would he
respect the law if installed?
The success of al-Sadr in forming a coalition will not only fail to hold the
promise of a new day for Iraq but may herald the beginning of the end of
Iraqi democracy. Now is the time to act.