LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 21/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias
Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the
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http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias18/english.march21.18.htm
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Bible
Quotations
Does
the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against
the one who uses it? As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
or a club brandish the one who is not wood!
Isaiah
10/01-34: "Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive
decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the
oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.
What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To
whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? Nothing will
remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. Yet for all
this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. God’s
Judgment on Assyria. “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose
hand is the club of my wrath! I send him against a godless nation, I
dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch
plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. But this is not
what he intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy,
to put an end to many nations. ‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says.
‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria
like Damascus? As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose
images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria— shall I not deal with
Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’” When the
Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will
say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart
and the haughty look in his eyes. For he says: “‘By the strength of my hand
I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed
the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I
subdued their kings. As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the
wealth of the nations; as people gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all
the countries; not one flapped a wing, or opened its mouth to chirp.’” Does
the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against
the one who uses it? As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
or a club brandish the one who is not wood! Therefore, the Lord, the Lord
Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his
pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame. The Light of Israel will
become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and
consume his thorns and his briers. The splendor of his forests and fertile
fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick person wastes away. And
the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write
them down. In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, will
no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will
return to the Mighty God. Though your people be like the sand by the sea,
Israel, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed,
overwhelming and righteous. The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out the
destruction decreed upon the whole land. Therefore this is what the Lord,
the Lord Almighty, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of
the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as
Egypt did. Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be
directed to their destruction.” The Lord Almighty will lash them with a
whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise
his staff over the waters, as he did in Egypt. In that day their burden will
be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be
broken because you have grown so fat. They enter Aiath; they pass through
Migron; they store supplies at Mikmash. They go over the pass, and say,“We
will camp overnight at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees. Cry out,
Daughter Gallim! Listen, Laishah! Poor Anathoth! Madmenah is in flight; the
people of Gebim take cover. This day they will halt at Nob; they will shake
their fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem. See, the
Lord, the Lord Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty
trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low. He will cut down
the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One."
Titles
For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on March 20-21/18
The Crown Prince’s US Visit and the Yemen War/Abdulrahman
Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/18
Tillerson’s Insubordination Meant He Had to Go/Marc A. Thiessen/The
Washington Post/March 20/18
Saudi Arabia Embraces Change - and the United States Can Help/Prince Khalid
bin Salman bin Abdulaziz/The Washington Post/March 20/18
Germany: Migrant Rape Crisis Still Sowing Terror and Destruction/Soeren
Kern/Gatestone Institute/March 20/18
Who Are the Jihadists Fighting alongside Turkey in Syria/Sirwan Kajjo/Gatestone
Institute/March 20/2018
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud 'Abbas, Fatah Movement: U.S.
Ambassador To Israel Is A 'Settler' And 'Son Of A Dog'/MEMRI/March 20/18
60 Minutes with Mohammed bin Salman/Abdullah bin Bijad Al-Otaibi/Al
Arabia/March 20/18
The Saudi Crown Prince's US tour and the war in Yemen/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al
Arabia/March 20/18
To our friends: The United States of America and its people/Faisal Al-Shammeri/Al
Arabia/March 20/18
Reflections on Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the US/Dr. John Duke
Anthony/Al Arabiya/March 20/2018
Israel prepares for 'May Madness'/Ben Caspit/Al Monitor/March 20, 2018
Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News
published on March 20-21/18
Report: Thorny File of Renting Power Barge 'Heads to Cabinet Vote'
Aoun welcomes head of Supreme Judicial Council
Berri congratulates Putin on re election, meets popular delegations
LF, Mustaqbal Will Only Ally in Akkar, Baalbek-Hermel
Mustaqbal Slams Hizbullah 'Sectarian' Remarks on Baalbek-Hermel Elections
Hariri: Lebanon Heading to 'Cedre Conference' with Vision of Growth
Jreissati Defends 'Presidential Palace' Over Poll Meddling Accusations
Berri Says Voting a 'National Duty', Urges Massive Turnout
Al-Daher, Nicola Withdraw from Electoral Race
MEA Resumes Flights to Iraq's Arbil
Korean contingent to UNIFIL Support Group KLM 3rd Anniversary Event
Riachi offers Shamsi archival video footage of Al Nahyan's visit to Beirut
early 70s
Bejjani Urges Invincible Democratic Pulse on May 6
Doueihy Says Voters in Zgharta Must Make Their Voices Heard in Ballot Boxes
Dagher: Authority's Flawed Policy Must Be Changed
Mikati launches election list with five-point plan
Childhood is a right for all: Aoun
Hariri: CEDAR Stresses International Commitment to Lebanon’s Stability
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And
News published on March 20-21/18
Arab summit in Riyadh in midApril: Arab League
Several people shot at Maryland high school media report
Saudi Crown Prince, Trump hold bilateral meeting
Trump: US-Saudi relations are better than ever
What did Saudi Crown Prince say to Trump in the White House
Saudi crown prince meets with top US congress officials
Trump: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Steals from the People to Fund Terror
UN Rights Chief Slams Syrian Regime’s War Crimes as 15 Children Killed in
Strike
ISIS Militants Seize Damascus Neighborhood in Surprise Attack
Tehran Refuses to Engage in Negotiations over Ballistic Missile Program
Expelled Russian Diplomats Leave UK after Spy Attack
Warned of Boko Haram, Nigerian Army Fails to Act Before Schoolgirls'
Abduction: Amnesty
Ex-French President Sarkozy Held by Police over Illegal Financing from Libya
India: 39 Workers Abducted by ISIS in Iraq Are Confirmed Dead
Latest Lebanese Related News published
on March 20-21/18
Report: Thorny File of Renting Power Barge 'Heads to
Cabinet Vote'
Naharnet/March 20/18/The government is expected to convene on
Wednesday in a session described as “fateful”, amid a disposition to put to
vote the “highly controversial” file of renting power generating barges, al-Joumhouria
daily reported on Tuesday. The cabinet was first set to convene on Tuesday,
but the session was postponed because of “President Michel Aoun's insistence
to propose the vessels' plan from outside the agenda and referring it to
vote, while Prime Minister Saad Hariri prefers not take this bitter step ,”
ministerial sources told the daily on condition of anonymity. “The President
is determined to decide on the plan in tomorrow's meeting. He will not allow
any further postponement,” said the daily. Ministerial sources who strongly
reject renting power ships told the daily that “ministers of Hizbullah, AMAL,
al-Marada, Lebanese Forces, Progressive Socialist Party and the Syrian
Social Nationalist Party are going to staunchly stand against the plan.”
However, they voiced “fears it would pass shall it be put for
voting.”“Hariri has stressed that he does not wish things to deteriorate
inside his government, and that he will do his best to avoid having the
issue put for voting,” concluded the daily.
In November 2017, the Tender's Department said three companies bidding to
provide electricity in Lebanon failed to meet requirements, leaving Turkish
Karadeniz firm -- operator of the Fatmagul Sultan and Orhan Bey vessels that
Lebanon has been leasing since 2012-- the only company to have met
requirements. But under Lebanese law no award can be made if there is only
one qualified bidder. Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil, of the Free
Patriotic Movement, was accused of “tailoring” the book of terms to secure
the win of Karadeniz firm.
Aoun welcomes head of Supreme Judicial Council
Tue 20 Mar 2018/NNA - President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun,
welcomed at Baabda Palace on Tuesday Head of the Supreme Judicial Council,
Jean Fahd, as well as members of the Council. Following the meeting, Judge
Fahd reiterated the president's concern to preserve the rights of judges. On
another level, Aoun sent a congratulatory cable to his Chinese counterpart,
Xi Jinping, for his re-election as President of the People's Republic of
China. Aoun expressed commitment to strengthen bilateral relations with
China. He also expressed confidence in China's constant position supporting
Lebanon's just causes in international platforms.
Berri congratulates Putin on re election, meets popular
delegations
Tue 20 Mar 2018/NNA - House Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday cabled Russian
President Vladimir Putin, congratulating him on his re-election as President
of the Russian Federation. On the other hand, Speaker Berri welcomed at his
Mseileh residence popular delegations from the various southern towns and
villages, with whom he tackled a range of electoral, developmental and
services' affairs.
In this framework, Berri held an extensive meeting at Mselieh's Adham
Khanjar Hall with the President and members of the Federation of Tyre
District Mayors, including more than 150 mayors. Berri stressed in front of
the delegation that all southerners, especially mayoral and municipal bodies
and associations, should turn the electoral deadline into a referendum on
the southern constants notably genuine unity and coexistence. The Speaker
underlined the pivotal role played by mayors in urging voters to intensively
partake in the balloting operation in the various constituencies, especially
in the south. Berri stressed that voters' participation in the voting
operation is a national duty.
LF, Mustaqbal Will Only Ally in Akkar, Baalbek-Hermel
Naharnet/March 20/18/The Lebanese Forces and al-Mustaqbal Movement will only
be allied in the Akkar and Baalbek-Hermel districts in the upcoming
parliamentary elections, the LF said on Tuesday. Electoral negotiations over
the other districts “have stopped,” the LF's official website reported. “The
LF's candidate for Akkar's Greek Orthodox seat, retired Maj. Gen. Wehbe
Qatisha, will join al-Mustaqbal Movement's list” in the district, the
website added. “Mustaqbal's leadership has been informed of this,” it said.
Mustaqbal Slams Hizbullah 'Sectarian' Remarks on
Baalbek-Hermel Elections
Naharnet/March 20/18/Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday blasted
Hizbullah over what it called “sectarian” remarks about the upcoming
parliamentary elections in the Baalbek-Hermel district. “The remarks
attributed to Hizbullah's leaders about the parliamentary elections in the
Baalbek-Hermel district contain a repeated inclination to resort to
sectarian incitement,” said the bloc in a statement issued after its weekly
meeting. “It is an unacceptable attempt to attribute terror labels to a
Lebanese group whose most trivial national right is to run for elections in
this district and in other districts,” Mustaqbal added. “This arrogant and
undemocratic approach in dealing with the electoral issue is rejected,” the
bloc went on to say, accusing Hizbullah of “daily law violations” and
“continuous breaching of the requirements of national accord.”Hizbullah
chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has recently stressed that his party “will not
allow the allies of al-Nusra (Front) and Daesh (Islamic State group) to
represent the residents of Baalbek and Hermel.”“The residents of Baalbek and
Hermel will not allow those who armed al-Nusra and Daesh to represent the
region,” Nasrallah added, in an apparent jab at Mustaqbal and some figures
of the eastern border town of Arsal.
Hariri: Lebanon Heading to 'Cedre Conference' with
Vision of Growth
Naharnet/March 20/18/Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Tuesday there is a
serious intention on the part of the international community to help
Lebanon, pointing out to “projects worth 3-4 billion dollars that can be
implemented in partnership between the public and private sectors,” he said.
In a speech he delivered at a Business and Financial Economic Forum, Hariri
said: “We are heading to the Cedre Conference in Paris with an integrated
vision of stability and growth, and to project our vision for the investment
program.”“Our goal is to secure funding for the first five-year program,” he
said. “We have come a long way in financial reforms and expect to complete
this achievement in the 2018 budget.”Hariri's remarks come as Lebanon gears
for the Cedre Conference aimed at backing investments in Lebanon. The
conference is scheduled to be held on April 6 in Paris. He stressed that
“the efforts exerted in the ministerial (budget and finance) committee
affirm that there is a will among all Lebanese to straighten the finances.”
“During the discussions of the Finance committee, our concern was to reach a
balance between reducing the expenditures and granting some incentives to
the economic sectors in addition to trimming taxes for the private sector
and citizens,” he added. “The international community is seriously willing
to help Lebanon, but we must first help ourselves. We have development
projects worth 3 or 4 billion dollars that could be implemented in
partnership between the public and private sectors,” he stated.
Jreissati Defends 'Presidential Palace' Over Poll
Meddling Accusations
Naharnet/March 20/18/Justice Minister Salim Jreissati on Tuesday dubbed
reports accusing President Michel Aoun of interfering in the country's
upcoming parliamentary elections as false. Jreissati described as
“dishonest” those who said Aoun was meddling in the polls. “Those who accuse
the presidency of interfering in the polls lack objectivity and honesty,
because the proportional electoral system helps determine the real magnitude
of the various political parties, without neglecting the alliances which in
the end flow into the ballot count,” he said. “The (presidential) Palace and
its President are eagerly waiting for this entitlement with passion for true
democracy,” he concluded.
Berri Says Voting a 'National Duty', Urges Massive Turnout
Naharnet/March 20/18/Speaker Nabih Berri stressed Tuesday that voting is a
“national duty,” urging a massive turnout in the May parliamentary
elections. “The electoral juncture must be turned into a referendum on south
Lebanon's constant principles of unity and real coexistence,” Berri told a
delegation of mukhtars, or village heads, who represent the Tyre district.
“Mukhtars have a central role in urging voters to up the voting turnout in
the various districts, especially in the South,” the Speaker added. “Failure
to take part in the electoral process is failure to perform a national duty
and an evasion of responsibility,” Berri went on to say.
Al-Daher, Nicola Withdraw from Electoral Race
Naharnet/March 20/18/Independent MP Khaled al-Daher of Akkar and MP Nabil
Nicola of the Change and Reform bloc on Tuesday announced that they will not
run in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Following talks with Prime
Minister Saad Hariri at the Center House, Daher called on his supporters to
stand by the premier in the elections in order to “protect and defend
Lebanon.”“I love Hariri and I trust him and I'm not here for a parliamentary
seat. My goal is unity and closing ranks,” the MP said. Al-Daher had
announced the “suspension” of his membership in Hariri's al-Mustaqbal bloc
in February 2015, following a wave of controversy stirred by remarks he made
about some Christian symbols. “In the face of the current uproar, and in
order not to embarrass the al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, I announce the
suspension of my membership in the bloc,” Daher said at the time, amid media
reports that he was “expelled” from the bloc. Separately, Change and Reform
bloc MP Nabil Nicola, who was elected in 2005 and 2009 for a Maronite seat
in Northern Metn, said in a statement that he is leaving the electoral race
with no corruption on his hands. “Seeing as the political situation of our
(Free Patriotic) Movement is today in need for change, I will give my place
to those aspiring to occupy this post and I wish everyone success,” Nicola
said.
“I will remain in the service of His Excellency, President Michel Aoun --
who is a father, a brother, a friend and a mentor -- so that the country
reaches the shore of safety,” the MP added.
MEA Resumes Flights to Iraq's Arbil
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 20/18/Lebanon's national carrier, Middle
East Airline (MEA) announced that it will be resuming flights to Iraq's
Kurdish regional capital Arbil starting April the 3rd, the National News
Agency said on Tuesday. MEA said that four flights per week are scheduled on
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, NNA added. MEA halted its flights in
September when the Iraqi authorities imposed an air blockade on Iraqi
Kurdistan in September 2017 in response to its holding of an independence
referendum. Last week, Iraqi authorities said they were lifting the nearly
six-month air blockade. Since the flight ban went into force, all
Kurdistan-bound international flights have been rerouted to Baghdad, which
also imposed entry visas on foreigners wishing to visit the Kurdish region.
Korean contingent to UNIFIL Support Group KLM 3rd
Anniversary Event
Tue 20 Mar 2018/NNA - On March 18, the 3rd anniversary event for the Korean
contingent to UNIFIL's (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) support
group, KLM, was held at the unit. KLM, an acronym for 'Korea Lebanon
MashaAllah', is consisted of Lebanese locals who support the Korean
contingent, and is the only UNIFIL support group solely consisted of locals.
26 members first formed the group in 2015 in the hopes of better
understanding Korean culture after having participated in the unit's Korean
language and Taekwondo classes, and the group currently has 56 active
members.
Members of KLM engage in the unit's language exchange program once a week
and actively participate in the unit's various events playing roles such as
local guides and translators. They also volunteer as guides for the unit
personnel field trips to historic sites and traditional markets. The 3rd
anniversary event, which was attended by a total of 100 people from the
Korean contingent and KLM, proceeded in the order of video screening of
KLM's activities for the past three years, performances by KLM members and
the cake cutting ceremony, and the unit and KLM reaffirmed the friendship
between Korea and Lebanon and imperative role they play in the progressive
relationship between the two countries. The Korean contingent commander
Colonel JIN Chul Ho commented on the value of KLM, remarking, "We can feel
KLM's love towards Korea. They study Korea very hard, reflective of their
high interest in the country, and help unit personnel understand Lebanon
better. They're the cultural bridge and civilian diplomats that connect
Korea and Lebanon. I look forward to their future activities as the medium
for foreign exchange between Korea and Lebanon."
Malak Deeb, president of KLM, remarked, "The Korean contingent protecting
the region of Tyre, is a unit that approaches us with sincerity and treats
us with their particular Korean affection. I am thankful for the Korean
contingent for treating us as their family and friends, for their
civil-military cooperation operations and for playing an important role in
the development in the southern Lebanese region for these past 10 years."
The Korean contingent to UNIFIL, which is the longest Korean foreign
deployed unit in its 11th year of deployment, earns the trust of the locals
through the unit's active civil-military cooperation operations such as
medical support, Taekwondo class, sewing classes and local support projects,
and is striving to instill peace and hope to Lebanon.
Riachi offers Shamsi archival video footage of Al
Nahyan's visit to Beirut early 70s
Tue 20 Mar 2018/NNA - Marking "Zayed Year", Information Minister, Melhem
Riachi, presented to UAE Ambassador to Lebanon, Hamad bin Saeed Al-Shamsi,
an archival video footage of the visit of UAE founder, Sheikh Zayed bin
Sultan Al Nahyan, to Beirut in the early 1970s. The video footage was
obtained from the archive of the state-run Tele Liban. "Zayed Year" is an
initiative launched by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to mark the 100th
anniversary of the birth of UAE's founder Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Bejjani Urges Invincible Democratic Pulse on May 6
Kataeb.org/Tuesday 20th March 2018/Kataeb's candidate for the Maronite seat
in the Chouf-Aley district, Theodora Bejjani, said that the main goal behind
running for the upcoming parliamentary polls is to serve what's best for
Lebanon, boost its neutrality and revive the state in a way that it would no
longer stay in debt. In an interview on Voice of Lebanon radio station,
Bejjani stressed the need to turn Lebanon's economy into a productive
sector, improve infrastructure, install a modern water supply network,
ensure a high-speed Internet, create an e-government, enhance the
transportation sector and do whatever is necessary to draw investments and,
therefore, reduce migration. “All of these projects cannot be achieved
unless we have a stable security situation that would make everyone feel
protected, and that the decision of war and peace is in the State’s hands
only,” she added. Bejjani stressed that the Kataeb's 131-point platform is
not a mere electoral project, but rather a dream and a pledge that the party
is making to the Lebanese. “What matters the most is that life would pulsate
through Aley again and we know that we are the alternative option that the
voters can rely on. We feel people’s pain and we are aware that they are
eager for a real change,” she said. “Our role is to bring the 131-point
platform out to all the Lebanese and to start working on it as of May 7."
Bejjani urged a high electoral turnout on May 6, calling on voters to cast
their ballots based on the candidate's platform, not just his political
affiliation.“That way, we will inject a democratic pulse that no one could
break,” she affirmed.
Doueihy Says Voters in Zgharta Must Make Their Voices
Heard in Ballot Boxes
Kataeb.org/Tuesday 20th March 2018/Kataeb's candidate for the Maronite seat
in Zgharta, Michel Doueihy, on Tuesday said that more people are now
sympathizing with the party's political rhetoric, adding that the Lebanese
are eager for change after amid the flagrant corruption and the erroneous
policies governing the country. "People are upset with the current
situation. They want a new pulse in every sense of the word," he told
Kataeb.org website. Doueihy pointed out that people he has met so far during
his electoral tours are eager for accountability after all the promises made
to them haven't been turned into actions, adding that they are aspiring for
a strong state that is capable of managing the affairs of its citizens.
Asked about the Kataeb's slate in the Zgharta district, Doueihy noted that
we are almost two days away from announcing the list members, saying that it
include four Kataeb candidates with six independent figures selected from
across the Batroun-Koura-Zgharta- Bcharre district. Doueihi stressed that
Zgharta has been deprived of its basic needs over the past years, saying
that it has suffered from the lack of developmental projects and
unemployment. “If elected, I will work on providing jobs for the youths in
Zgharta in a bid to curb migration, boosting investments, establishing
industrial businesses and safeguarding the area's environment,” he stated.
Doueihy called on voters in Zgharta to voice their rejection of the bitter
reality they are living in the ballot boxes by electing candidates based on
their own convinctions away from political pressure, saying that Zgharta is
in dire need of a change pulse.
Dagher: Authority's Flawed Policy Must Be Changed
Kataeb.org/Tuesday 20th March 2018/Kataeb politburo member Serge Dagher on
Tuesday said that the policy of the ruling authority ought to be changed
given the tremendous flaws marring it, noting that President Michel Aoun is
directly interfering in the parliamentary polls and the Foreign Minister
Gebran Bassil is using his world trips to campaign for the FPM. "Some of the
Kataeb partisans abroad received phone calls asking them if they will vote
for FPM. This means that the Foreign Ministry has provided data about expats
to serve the FPM's campaign," he said in an interview on LBCI. "The Ministry
of Energy also executed recently more than 50 projects in the Aley district.
Why were these projects implemented just before the elections?"
Dagher stressed that the Kataeb party represents the serious opposition that
seeks change based on a clear program, calling on the Lebanese to vote
according to a platform, not a slogan. Asked about the Kataeb's electoral
alliances, Dagher pointed out that the party's main strategic agreement is
with the people, adding that only localized alliances have been sealed with
the Lebanese Forces in Zahle and Ashrafieh.
"There is no problem in allying with the Lebanese Forces in certain
districts because, after all, the party is not involved in corruption and is
not providing a political covering to Hezbollah’s arms,” he added. “When the
Lebanese Forces party suggested that we cooperate in all districts, we
conditioned that it would annuls its alliance with the Free Patriotic
Movement and the Future Movement. Our request was not met and, therefore, no
result was reached." Dagher urged a democratic and ethical resistance to
electoral bribery, saying that millions of dollars are being spent in the
electoral battle.
“The Kataeb party has chosen the word 'pulse' as the main slogan of its
electoral campaign because our goal is to revive the people's pulse so as to
topple the political settlement that has been governing the country for
almost the past two years."
Dagher called on the voters to seize the opportunity that the parliamentary
polls offer them to make a real change, urging accountability, notably in
Metn where one of the competing lists includes candidates who advocated the
establishment of the Burj Hammoud landfill and defending the installation of
high-voltage power lines in Mansourieh. “We can either give up or be the
pulse of change. The Kataeb party is giving the Lebanese a new chance to
make a difference," he stressed.
“The question that we have to ask ourselves is the following: Do we want to
improve our future or stay in the past?"
Mikati launches election list with five-point plan
Benjamin Redd| The Daily Star/March 20/18/TRIPOLI/BEIRUT: Najib Mikati
launched his electoral program in Tripoli Sunday, naming a full slate of 11
candidates for the “North II” constituency comprising the northern city,
Minyeh and Dinnieh. “Do you want change?” the former prime minister
thundered to an overflowing crowd at Tripoli’s Quality Inn. “Your voice is
the solution.” Mikati announced a five-point program of institutional and
administrative reform, fighting corruption, improving human rights
protections administrative decentralization and protecting judicial
independence and sovereignty of the law. He also hit a number of hot-button
topics in Tripoli, including calls for developing its Special Economic Zone,
expanding the port, making it the “economic capital” of Lebanon and
delivering around-the-clock electricity. Tripoli currently gets just 12
hours of electricity per day. The former prime minister is likely the
richest man in Lebanon, with an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion,
according to Forbes. “Our list represents the voice of the people, we hope
to create a representative bloc that reflects your aspirations and hopes,”
he told the 1,000-plus crowd. Mikati’s slate of candidates for the May 6
national elections contained no surprises. The latest addition was Kazem
Kheir, the current MP for Minyeh. Kheir had been widely expected to be the
Future Movement’s candidate, but the party of Prime Minister Saad Hariri
abruptly dropped him on March 11, instead choosing Othman Alameddine. Mikati
quickly capitalized, bringing Kheir onto his list and potentially turning
the race for Minyeh’s sole seat into a true competition. Joining Mikati and
Kheir on the list are former Minister Jean Obeid for Tripoli’s Maronite
seat; former Minister Nicolas Nahas for the Orthodox seat; Ali Darwish for
the Alawite seat; Toufic Sultan, Mohammad Nadim al-Jisr, Rashid al-Muqaddam
and Mervat El-Hoz for Sunni seats in Tripoli; and Mohammad al-Fadl and Jihad
Youssef in Dinnieh. Mikati’s “Azm List” will be competing in a crowded field
of up to six lists, including that of the Future Movement and those led by
former ministers Ashraf Rifi and Faisal Karami. Future’s list, announced the
previous Sunday, includes MP Mohammad Kabbara, MP Samir Jisr, Chadi Nachabe,
Dima al-Jamali, Walid Sawalhi, George Bkassini, Nehme Mahfouz, Leila
Chahhoud, MP Qassem Abdel-Aziz, Sami Fatfat and Othman Alameddine. Lists
must be finalized by March 26, so there could still be changes. But a Future
Movement politburo member told The Daily Star that was unlikely. Speaking on
condition of anonymity, they poured cold water on the idea that a deal would
be made with the Free Patriotic Movement to replace George Bkassini and
Nehme Mahfouz with Christians chosen by the latter. Rifi, a strident
opponent of Hezbollah, is set to also announce his list Wednesday at the
Quality Inn. Although the names are still being finalized, the following are
possible, according to one adviser: Walid Qamareddine, Nizam Moghit, Halim
Zaani, Badr Eid, Ragheb Raad, Mohammad Harmoush and Toufic Zreiqa. There
will be no alliance with Kataeb, the adviser said on condition of anonymity,
as “Rifi wants his own people” for the Christian seats. Karami’s pro-March 8
list will include former MP Jihad al-Samad in Dinnieh. Several other names
have been reported but not confirmed: Taha Naji, Abdel-Nasr al-Masri, Adel
Zreiqa, Safouh Yakin, Nazih Raad, Kamal Kheir, Salem Fathi Yakin, and Rafli
Diab or George Jallad for the Orthodox seat. – Additional reporting by
Timour Azhari
Childhood is a right for all: Aoun
The Daily Star/March 20/18/BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun Tuesday advised
children to sing, play and dance, and to “declare to all that your childhood
is your right ... and no one is entitled to take it from you.”Aoun made the
comments during the inauguration of the National Choir Combatting Child
Labor, which was held at Baabda Palace. The president lamented the fact that
some children spend their childhood weaving through the traffic, “selling
[chewing] gum and endangered by all types of aggressions.” He asked: “What
rights endure for them, and what remains of their childhood and what future
awaits them?” The president noted that such “street children” were present
in Lebanon, but that the phenomenon had increased with the arrival of Syrian
refugees fleeing conflict in their homeland. “There are big, unorganized
groups who arrived to a country that already suffered from economic
hardships and unemployment, so many families have relied on their children
to work, or pushed them to beg,” Aoun said.
Both Syrian and Palestinian refugees face barriers to entry in many Lebanese
sectors of the economy.
Hariri: CEDAR Stresses International Commitment to
Lebanon’s Stability
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/18/Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri
said his government would submit to the Cedar conference a comprehensive
vision for stability and sustainable long-term growth and job creation. He
added that the government’s objective at the Brussels Conference was to
ensure that Lebanon’s Crisis Response Program was appropriately funded, that
multi year commitments were secured, and that support to host communities
was substantial. Hariri made his remarks during a meeting on Monday evening
of the High-Level Steering Committee at the Grand Serail, in preparation for
the Cedar and Brussels conferences. “The Government of Lebanon is very
grateful that the Government of France is convening the Cedar Conference on
April 6, 2018. Cedar represents another important milestone to reaffirm the
international community’s commitment to Lebanon's economic stability and
prosperity,” he stated. “The government is submitting to the conference not
only its Capital Investment Program, but also a comprehensive vision for
stability and sustainable long-term growth and job creation. This vision is
underpinned with an increase in investments in infrastructure with an
increased role for the private sector,” he added. The Lebanese premier
emphasized the presence of national consensus over the need to implement
fiscal and structural reforms. “There is a consensus and convergence in
Lebanon on the need for fiscal adjustment to maintain macroeconomic
stability,” he said, adding: “Moreover, there is consensus that the
economy’s full potential for sustained private sector-led growth will not be
achieved unless we embark on long- awaited structural and sectoral reforms.”
He also called on the international community to assist Lebanon in its
difficult task of hosting one and a half million Syrian refugees.
“I call again on our friends in the international community to help Lebanon
in its huge task of hosting one and a half million Syrians displaced, and I
emphasize once again that… a failure to help Lebanon will force the
displaced to seek refuge elsewhere,” he stated.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on March 20-21/18
Arab summit in Riyadh
in midApril: Arab League
Tue 20 Mar 2018 /NNA - The upcoming Arab summit will be held
in Saudi capital Riyadh on April 15, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed
Abul-Gheit said Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in Cairo, Abul-Gheit said the
pan-Arab body has been officially informed by Saudi Arabia that the summit
will be held in mid-April. "Preparatory meetings will be held as of April 9
ahead of the summit," he said. The summit had been originally set to be held
in late March, but the date was changed due to Egypt’s presidential
election, which is scheduled to be held later this month. On March 7, Saudi
Minister of State for African Affairs Ahmad Qattan said that the planned
summit had been postponed during an Arab ministerial meeting in Cairo. The
last Arab summit was held in Jordan in March 2017.--Anadolu Agency
Several people shot at
Maryland high school media report
Tue 20 Mar 2018/NNA - Several people were shot at a Maryland
high school on Tuesday, local news media reported, after school officials
confirmed the campus was on lockdown and the incident had been "contained."
Multiple people were shot and their condition was not yet clear, ABC News
reported, citing the St. Mary's County sheriff. The shooting took
place at Great Mills High School in St. Mary's County, about 70 miles (110
km) south of Washington. The sheriff's office confirmed an incident at the
school and urged parents in a Twitter post not to approach the campus.
Federal investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives were heading to the school, the agency said. It occurred amid a
re-energized national debate over school shootings in the United States
following an attack on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland, Florida, where a gunman killed 17 students and faculty. The
shooting came four days before the March For Our Lives - partly organized by
student survivors of the Parkland rampage - takes place in Washington to
urge lawmakers to pass tighter gun control laws. A student who said his name
was Jonathan Freese said in a telephone interview on CNN that he had been on
lockdown with classmates for nearly an hour, but he did not hear gunshots
himself. The interview ended as police came to his classroom door.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said he was monitoring events at the school.
"Our prayers are with students, school personnel, and first responders," he
said in a statement. ---Reuters
Saudi Crown Prince,
Trump hold bilateral meeting
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday, 20 March 2018/Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday held talks with US President Donald Trump at
the White House followed by a working lunch. After the talks between the
officials, Trump said that the US-Saudi relations "may be better than ever."
He praised his friendship with the Saudi Crown Prince and described it as
great. Trump suggested that this relationship should be strengthened through
large investments. For his part, the Crown Prince pointed out that the
relations between the two countries are historic and deeply rooted. "We are
seeking to invest nearly $200 bln dollars in joint projects," he said.
Trump: US-Saudi relations are better than ever
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday, 20 March 2018/United States
President Donald Trump has said on Tuesday that his country’s relations with
Saudi Arabia are “better than ever”. Trump’s comment came during his meeting
with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on
Tuesday.
What did Saudi Crown Prince say to Trump in the White House
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday, 20 March 2018/Saudi Arabia’s Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman says that the United States and Saudi Arabia can
tackle “a lot of things” together in the future. Prince Mohammed is praising
“very deep” relations between the two countries as he meets with President
Donald Trump in the Oval Office. It’s the first stop on a three-week tour of
the United States by Crown Prince Mohammed. Speaking in English, Prince
Mohammed pointed out significant Saudi investments in the US. Trump says the
US has “zero tolerance” for funding of terrorism. He says that Saudi Arabia
is “working very hard” to cut off that funding.
Saudi crown prince meets with top US congress officials
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Wednesday, 21 March 2018/Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman met with the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and
Paul Ryan, the 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
on Tuesday and discussed the importance of fighting extremism and facing the
Iranian threat. The crown prince had met with President Trump earlier in the
day, where he said that the relations between the two countries are historic
and deeply rooted. "We are seeking to invest nearly $200 bln dollars in
joint projects," he said. During his visit to the US, Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman is set to meet Vice President Mike Pence, Defense Secretary James
Mattis and National Security Advisor Herbert McMaster, in addition to a
number of congressmen. The crown prince will be heading to Boston on
Saturday, and will be in New York on the 26th of March to meet with senior
finance officials. He will also meet with UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres.
Trump: Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard Steals from the People to Fund Terror
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/18/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/18/US President Donald
Trump has attacked Iran's government, particularly the Revolutionary Guard
in his greetings to Iranians celebrating the New Year's holiday known as
Nowruz. The Iranian people were burdened by "rulers who serve themselves
instead of serving the people," Trump said Monday. He called the
Revolutionary Guard "a hostile army that brutalizes and steals from the
Iranian people to fund terrorism abroad."Trump said in the statement the
Guard had spent more than $16 billion to prop up Syria's regime and support
militants and terrorists in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. He also accused the group
of impoverishing Iran's people, damaging its environment and suppressing
civil rights. "Twenty-five centuries ago, Darius the Great asked God to
protect Iran from three dangers: hostile armies, drought, and falsehood,"
the president said in the statement. "Today, the Iranian regime’s
Revolutionary Guard Corps represents all three."
UN Rights Chief Slams Syrian Regime’s War Crimes as 15
Children Killed in Strike
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/18/High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad
al-Hussein condemned on Monday the Syrian regime’s “pervasive war crimes” in
Eastern Ghouta as 15 children were killed in the latest air strikes on the
besieged enclave. He told an informal meeting of the United Nations Security
Council that the regime’s five-year siege of of Eastern Ghouta has involved
the use of chemical weapons and starvation as a weapon of war, decrying
"mind-numbing crimes" committed by all parties in Syria using "unlawful
methods of warfare."Zeid said this has culminated "in the current
relentless, month-long bombardment of hundreds of thousands of terrified
trapped civilians.""Families are now streaming out of the area," he said,
"but many civilians fear reprisals will be taken against them for their
perceived support for opposition groups." He said multiple parties to the
conflict, now in its eighth year, "claim to justify their military
offensives based on their struggle against terrorism."But Zeid said "never
before have the campaigns against terrorism been used more often to justify
the unconscionable use of force against civilians than in the last few
months in Syria." He was especially critical of Syria, singling out regime
head Bashar Assad's claim that his forces were making every effort to
protect civilians. The UN's top human rights official dismissed it, saying:
"When you are capable of torturing and indiscriminately killing your own
people, you have long forfeited your own credibility."Zeid pointed to
Eastern Ghouta as an example. He stressed that "those who have perpetrated
and are still perpetrating these mind-numbing crimes committed in Syria must
be made to answer before a properly constituted court of law." "This must be
assured and made non-negotiable — for the victims," he said, but also for
the legitimacy of the UN and the Security Council, and to prevent future
violations and advance human rights around the world. He again urged the
council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court. That remains
highly unlikely, however, since both Russia and China vetoed a resolution
backed by more than 60 countries in May 2014 that would have referred the
Syrian conflict to the ICC. Zeid also said justice and respect for human
rights must be at the center of any peace talks. "For peace in Syria to be
meaningful and lasting, a guarantee of justice for the Syrian people must be
assured." Zeid had been scheduled to speak at an open council meeting Monday
afternoon, but when it started, Russian Deputy Ambassador Gennady Kuzmin
protested that it was a question for the Human Rights Council in Geneva, not
the Security Council, which is charged with ensuring international peace and
security.
He demanded a procedural vote on whether the meeting should be held. To
proceed, at least nine of the 15 council members had to vote "yes," but only
eight did so. Four countries voted "no" — Russia, China, Bolivia and
Kazakhstan — while the three African countries, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and
Equatorial Guinea abstained.
Longtime UN observers said it was exceedingly rare for a scheduled council
meeting to be halted by a procedural vote. France's UN Ambassador Francois
Delattre criticized Russia for refusing any discussion of human rights in
the Security Council, when rights violations in Syria "are at their very
peak." Britain's deputy UN ambassador Jonathan Allen said Russia "doesn't
want the truth of ... the appalling human rights abuses taking place."
Earlier on Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an air
strike killed 15 children and two women sheltering in the basement of a
school in the Syrian rebel-held town of Arbin in Eastern Ghouta. The
British-based monitoring group said the strike wounded more than 50 people
in the enclave. On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on
Tuesday that 65 percent of territory in Eastern Ghouta had been "liberated
from terrorists," the RIA news agency reported. His ministry said earlier on
Tuesday that the total number of civilians, mostly children, who had been
evacuated from the district since the start of a humanitarian operation has
risen to 79,702. The UN refugee agency said 45,000 Syrians have left their
homes in Eastern Ghouta in recent days. UNHCR added that hundreds of
thousands of people are "still trapped by fierce fighting and in dire need
of aid." Spokesman Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that
UNHCR is not involved in the evacuation into regime-controlled areas near
Damascus, though its teams have been at "makeshift collective shelters."He
said "shortage of appropriate shelter is a major concern", and UNHCR has
delivered 180,000 "core relief items" such as mattresses, blankets, winter
clothes kits, solar lamps and kitchen sets.
ISIS Militants Seize
Damascus Neighborhood in Surprise Attack
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/18/ISIS militants have captured a largely vacant
neighborhood in Damascus in a surprise nighttime attack on pro-regime
forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday. The
Observatory said militants seized al-Qadam, which lies in the Syrian
capital's southern suburbs, a week after Syrian rebels had surrendered the
neighborhood to the regime. It said 36 pro-regime fighters were killed in
clashes, and dozens more wounded or captured, adding the regime has sent
reinforcements into the area.The district of al-Qadam has not been part of
the month-long offensive waged by Syrian forces against rebels in eastern
Ghouta. Earlier, ISIS claimed to have captured Qadam in a statement
circulating on Twitter. ISIS has lost almost all its territory in Syria
after two rival offensives last year by the Syrian forces, backed by Russia
and Iran, and an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias backed by the United
States.It now controls only the small pocket in Qadam, and two small areas
of desert on each side of the Euphrates near the border with Iraq.
Tehran Refuses to Engage in Negotiations over Ballistic Missile Program
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/18/Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi
said on Monday that his country did not intend to engage in negotiations
over its ballistic missile program and rejected international stance towards
Tehran’s regional policies. Qasemi also criticized the positions of French
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian following his visit to Tehran. Le Drian
hinted at Iran’s suspicious role in the region during an EU ministerial
meeting in Brussels. “There are no unknown or questionable issues in Iran’s
regional policies,” he said, adding: “Iran does not discuss its defense
files and other internal issues of national security at the negotiating
table with others.” Qasemi depreciated the position of the French minister,
stressing that raising such issues, which are unfounded, “was nothing new”.
He pointed out that the Iranian side had briefed Le Drian “quite frankly” on
Tehran’s stance on various global and regional issues, adding that Iran’s
regional policies are “very transparent and clear and can be seen by all.”
Qasemi also advised his country’s “French friends” to “look more carefully
at regional issues and at Iran.” Qasemi commented on France’s adherence to
the nuclear agreement while calling for confronting Tehran’s regional role
and its ballistic missile program. He said that the French foreign minister
had repeated “same false statements” about negotiations over the missile
program. The Iranian official claimed that his country’s defense policies
“are clear, accurate and based on the national interests of the Iranian
people and do not target any other country.” He stressed that the
development of ballistic missiles was “a natural right to fulfill national
interests and impr
Expelled Russian
Diplomats Leave UK after Spy Attack
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/18/Twenty three expelled Russian diplomats and
their families left the embassy in London and headed back to Moscow on
Tuesday following the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe
since World War Two. Prime Minister Theresa May blamed Russia for the attack
on Sergei Skripal, a Russian double agent, and his daughter Yulia, and gave
23 Russians whom she said were spies working under diplomatic cover one week
to leave London. Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack
on Skripal and his daughter and on Saturday gave 23 British diplomats a week
to leave Moscow as well as closing the British Council in Russia. Three
buses with diplomatic number plates left the Russian embassy compound in
London on Tuesday morning, a Reuters photographer at the scene said. Embassy
workers waved to the leaving diplomats as the buses pulled away. Skripal,
66, and 33-year-old Yulia have been critically ill since they were found
unconscious on a bench in the English city of Salisbury on March 4. A
British policeman who was also poisoned is in a serious but stable
condition. Russia says it knows nothing about the poisoning and has
repeatedly asked Britain to supply a sample of the nerve agent that was used
against Skripal. The United States and European powers say they share
Britain's belief that Russia is culpable for the poisoning though they given
no indication of what they will do about it. EU leaders will say this week
that they will "coordinate on the consequences" for Russia after the
poisoning, according to a draft summit statement seen by AFP. The 28 leaders
meeting in Brussels on Thursday will wait to see what answers Moscow
provides on the nerve agent attack, the draft says. The draft however makes
no overt mention of sanctions or any other diplomatic measures to follow the
lead of Britain.
Warned of Boko Haram,
Nigerian Army Fails to Act Before Schoolgirls' Abduction: Amnesty
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/18/Nigerian security forces were repeatedly warned
about the presence of Boko Haram fighters near the town of Dapchi, but
failed to respond, allowing insurgents to kidnap 110 schoolgirls in the
country's restive northeast almost unharrassed, Amnesty International said
on Tuesday. The kidnapping on Feb. 19 of the girls from Dapchi, aged between
11-19, had echoes of the radical insurgency’s abduction in 2014 of 276
students from the town of Chibok, which shot Nigeria’s conflict with Boko
Haram, now nine years old, into the global spotlight.
President Muhammadu Buhari has called the Dapchi abduction a "national
disaster" and vowed to use negotiation rather than force to secure their
release. But as in Chibok nearly four years ago, human rights group Amnesty
International claimed the military was warned about the arrival of the
heavily-armed jihadists -- yet failed to act. In the hours that followed
both attacks, the authorities also tried to claim the girls had not been
abducted. “The Nigerian authorities have failed in their duty to protect
civilians, just as they did in Chibok four years ago,” said Osai Ojigho,
Amnesty’s Nigeria director, in Tuesday’s report. “Despite being repeatedly
told that Boko Haram fighters were heading to Dapchi, it appears that the
police and military did nothing to avert the abduction,” she said. A
military spokesman denied that they had been warned of Boko Haram presence
in the region, saying: “There was nothing like that.” He said if Amnesty had
important information, the watchdog should notify a presidential panel set
up in the wake of Dapchi to investigate the incident. Ojigho said "no
lessons appear to have been learned" from Chibok and called for an immediate
probe into what she called "inexcusable security lapses".
"The government's failure in this incident must be investigated and the
findings made public -- and it is absolutely crucial that any investigation
focuses on the root causes," she added. Amnesty alleged that the Nigerian
army and police received at least five phone calls warning that Boko Haram
was on the way to Dapchi as early as four hours before the attack, but did
not take “effective measures” to halt the militants or rescue the girls once
they had been taken. “The military withdrew troops from the area in January,
meaning the closest personnel were based one hour’s drive from Dapchi,” the
report said.
One month after the abductions, there has been little sign of the fate of
the 110 schoolgirls. Neither their parents nor Nigerian authorities have
publicly acknowledged receiving any proof of life, the students have not
appeared in any media issued by the kidnappers, nor has there been a public
ransom demand.
“The Nigerian authorities must investigate the inexcusable security lapses
that allowed this abduction to take place without any tangible attempt to
prevent it,” said Ojigho in the report. Nigeria’s Buhari said last week he
had ordered all military and security agencies to search for them, vowing
that the government would not rest until the last girl kidnapped by
insurgents has been released. Buhari has also said he plans to negotiate for
their release - a sign that the military may not be able to successfully
rescue them.
BOKO HARAM UNDEFEATED?
The Dapchi abduction has thrown into doubt repeated government and military
claims that Boko Haram is on the brink of defeat, after nearly nine years of
fighting and at least 20,000 deaths. Boko Haram, which has used kidnapping
as a weapon of war during the conflict, has not claimed responsibility but
it is believed a faction headed by Abu Mus'ab al-Barnawi is behind it. ISIS
in August 2015 publicly backed Barnawi as the leader of Boko Haram, or ISIS
West Africa Province, over Abubakar Shekau, whose supporters carried out the
Chibok abduction. Analysts have attributed a financial motive to the Dapchi
kidnapping given government ransom payments made to Boko Haram to secure the
release of some of the captives from Chibok.
Ex-French President Sarkozy Held by Police over Illegal
Financing from Libya
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/18/Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was held
by police on Tuesday over a probe linked to receiving illicit funds from the
regime of late Libyan leader Moammar al-Gaddafi. He is suspected of having
received millions of euros in illegal financing for his winning 2007
presidential campaign. A judicial source with direct knowledge of the case
told The Associated Press that Sarkozy was being held at the Nanterre police
station, west of Paris. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because
he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Sarkozy and his former
chief of staff have denied wrongdoing in the case. Though an investigation
has been underway since 2013, the case gained traction some three years
later when French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine told the online
investigative site, Mediapart, that he delivered suitcases from Libya
containing 5 million euros ($6.2 million) in cash to Sarkozy and his former
chief of staff Claude Gueant. A lawyer for Sarkozy did not immediately
respond to a message from the AP seeking comments. A former minister and
close ally of Sarkozy, Brice Hortefeux, was also being questioned by police
on Tuesday morning in relation to the Libya investigation, another source
close to the probe said. Investigators are examining claims that Gaddafi’s
regime secretly gave Sarkozy 50 million euros overall for the 2007 campaign.
Such a sum would be more than double the legal campaign funding limit at the
time of 21 million euros. In addition, the alleged payments would violate
French rules against foreign financing and declaring the source of campaign
funds. In the Mediapart interview published in November 2016, Takieddine
said he was given 5 million euros in Tripoli by Gaddafi’s intelligence chief
on trips in late 2006 and 2007 and that he gave the money in suitcases full
of cash to Sarkozy and Gueant on three occasions. He said the handovers took
place in the Interior Ministry, while Sarkozy was interior minister.
Takieddine has for years been embroiled in his own problems with French
justice, centering mainly on allegations he provided illegal funds to the
campaign of conservative politician Edouard Balladur for his 1995
presidential election campaign — via commissions from the sale of French
submarines to Pakistan. According to Le Monde newspaper, investigators have
recently handed to magistrates a report in which they detailed how cash
circulated within Sarkozy's campaign team. In January, a French businessman
suspected of playing a role in the financing scheme, Alexandre Djouhri, was
arrested in London on a warrant issued by France "for offenses of fraud and
money laundering." Le Monde said French investigators are also in possession
of several documents seized at his home in Switzerland. Sarkozy, who served
as president from 2007 to 2012, has always denied receiving any illicit
campaign funding and has dismissed the Libyan allegations as “grotesque”. In
January a French businessman suspected by investigators of funneling money
from Gaddafi to finance Sarkozy’s campaign was arrested in Britain and
granted bail after he appeared in a London court. Sarkozy has already been
ordered to stand trial in a separate matter concerning financing of his
failed re-election campaign in 2012, when he was defeated by Francois
Hollande. Sarkozy had a complex relationship with Gaddafi. Soon after
becoming the French president, Sarkozy invited the Libyan leader to France
for a state visit and welcomed him with high honors. But Sarkozy then put
France in the forefront of NATO-led airstrikes against Gaddafi’s troops that
helped rebel fighters topple his regime in 2011. It is not the first time
that Sarkozy faces legal troubles. In February 2016, he was handed
preliminary charges by French magistrates for suspected illegal overspending
on his failed 2012 re-election campaign and ordered to stand trial.
India: 39 Workers Abducted by ISIS in Iraq Are Confirmed
Dead
Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/18/India said on Tuesday that 39 Indians, who were
believed to have been kidnapped by ISIS militants in Iraq’s Mosul in 2014,
had been confirmed dead after Iraqi authorities found their bodies northwest
of the city. "With full proof I can say these 39 are dead," Indian Foreign
Minister Sushma Swaraj told lawmakers in parliament. The bodies were
recovered from a mound of earth near Badush, a village northwest of Mosul,
and DNA tests had confirmed them to be those of the construction workers.
Swaraj said the authorities in Baghdad helped identify the mass grave and
with the help of deep penetration radar, the buried bodies were discovered
and exhumed. DNA testing provided matches for 38 of the missing men while
one was a 70 percent match, Swaraj said. Most of the workers were from the
northern state of Punjab. "Shattered at the heart-wrenching news ... that
the 39 Indians missing in Iraq, most of whom were Punjabis, are dead,"
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Twitter. "My heart goes out to
the families who had been living in hope since their reported abduction by
ISIS in 2014." The Indian government had never received any ransom demand or
any other direct communication from the kidnappers. India will send a
special plane to bring the bodies home, said Swaraj.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on March 20-21/18
The Crown Prince’s US Visit and the Yemen War
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/March
20/18
Headlines in the American media reflect the importance of the visit of the
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the United States, which began on
Monday.
In Washington, the crown prince will discuss a number of issues, including
the war in Yemen, which opponents of President Donald Trump are trying to
use in a battle to rob the White House of its powers in an old conflict
between the executive and legislative branches of government over what is
known as the War Powers Resolution.
Three senators are working on a bill obliging the president to stop military
cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen. Although they are asking
for a vote within days, it is more likely to be delayed and reviewed,
because it opens the door wider than Yemen.
It weakens the president’s powers, and limits his freedom in conducting
military cooperation with US allies.
This is quite an old controversial issue that some members of Congress are
trying to revive; using the Yemen war is a Trojan horse to strengthen the
role of the legislature, i.e. the Congress, at the expense of the powers of
the White House, or the president.
In fact, the war in Yemen is not of any real interest to the United States,
in addition to the fact that the US participation in it is extremely
limited. There are no US soldiers on the ground there, unlike the situations
in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, where there are about 9,000 US soldiers and
advisers running the war and fighting on the ground, without forgetting that
the US Air Force is also directly involved.
In Yemen, it is actually very much in Washington’s interest to end the
fighting and ensure the return of legitimacy as prerequisites to eliminating
Al-Qaeda and stopping Iran’s meddling through its Houthi proxy.
Washington’s military involvement with Riyadh and the coalition it is
leading in Yemen is limited to three areas; sharing intelligence, providing
logistical support, and providing air-to-air refuelling. The last is now
being disputed, as the sponsors of the bill claim that supplying fighter
jets in the air is similar to putting troops on the ground and, therefore,
must be approved by Congress.
Regardless of the motives of the bill’s sponsors and those seeking to limit
US military cooperation in Yemen, the major US authorities involved, such as
the Pentagon, consider the coalition war in Yemen to be important for the
United States as well, and thus advocate providing support in those three
areas.
There are also members of Congress who believe that any attempt to deprive
the president of his powers, and restrict his freedom of cooperation with
the coalition in Yemen, would adversely affect the interests and security of
the United States in general.
Republican Senator Bob Corker argues that what is being offered to Saudi
Arabia is similar to what the US offers to its friends around the world, and
hence, believes that the provision of these services to Saudi Arabia does
not constitute “an involvement in hostilities that requires the use of the
War Powers Resolution”; warning that regarding it as such would lead to a
dangerous problem.
The Saudi crown prince’s planned meetings with the US president and
congressional leaders will focus on key issues for both sides, including
Yemen. Most of those who view the war in Yemen only from a humanitarian
perspective are ignoring its causes. Indeed, it is crucial to make clear
that merely stopping the war would not solve the problem, because the
fighting would continue anyway between the local forces themselves.
Moreover, ending the war on its own would not secure food and medicine and
restore civilian life, since there is no effective government there.
Consequently, ending the war without a decisive political or military
solution would only increase the human tragedy there.
Therefore, what is hoped for is the insistence on ending the insurgency,
speeding up the return and consolidation of the legitimate government, and
completing the internationally agreed steps that were thwarted by the
rebels’ coup; including the establishment of a regime that follows a new
constitution and carries out parliamentary elections.
Yemen will remain a source of threat to the world if chaos continues without
a legitimate government and the elimination of the insurgency. The danger
from Yemen is real, as attempted terrorist attacks stemming from there have
already targeted the US and other countries. So, without a strong legitimate
central government, the ground would continue to be fertile for terrorists
and others.
Tillerson’s Insubordination Meant He Had to Go
Marc A. Thiessen/The Washington Post/March 20/18
There are many reasons Rex Tillerson’s tenure as secretary of state was a
failure, from his notorious isolation from his subordinates to his failure
to help quickly staff the political appointment positions at State with
competent Republicans. But it was his insubordination to the president that
assured that he wouldn’t be long in his position. With a summit with North
Korea in the works, President Trump’s decision to oust Tillerson and replace
him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo could not have come at a better moment.
Tillerson was completely out of step with Trump’s hard-line stance on North
Korea, which ultimately brought Kim Jong Un to the bargaining table.
Instead, Tillerson’s North Korea strategy seemed to be to beg Pyongyang for
talks. Speaking at the Atlantic Council in December, Tillerson delivered
this embarrassing plea: “Let’s just meet. And we can talk about the weather
if you want. . . . But can we at least sit down and see each other face to
face?” He might as well have added: “Pretty please, with sugar on top?”
Trump’s critics were constantly griping that the president was undermining
Tillerson’s diplomatic efforts with North Korea, when in fact the opposite
was true. Trump’s strategy has been to achieve a peaceful solution by
getting Kim to understand that the United States is ready to use force to
stop him from deploying a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile capable
of destroying an American city. This is the message Trump was trying to send
during his address to the South Korean legislature, when he told Kim in no
uncertain terms: “The weapons you are acquiring are not making you safer.
They are putting your regime in grave danger. Every step you take down this
dark path increases the peril you face.”
By projecting weakness to Pyongyang, Tillerson was undercutting Trump’s
message of strength — and thus making war more likely. The fact that
Tillerson could not seem to grasp this or get on the same page as his
commander in chief made his continued leadership of the State Department
untenable.
Pompeo, by contrast, is in lockstep with Trump in sending Kim a clear
message that, should diplomacy fail, the United States will not hesitate to
act.
“The president is intent on delivering this solution through diplomatic
means,” Pompeo told me during a recent conversation at the American
Enterprise Institute. “We are equally, at the same time, ensuring that . . .
if we conclude that it is not possible, that we present the president with a
range of options that can achieve what is his stated intention.”
The failure to deliver those options is yet another reason Tillerson’s
tenure at State had to end. Tillerson was working with Defense Secretary Jim
Mattis to slow-walk the delivery of military options to the president,
apparently out of fear that the president might actually act on them.
According to the New York Times, after a conference call about North Korea
organized by national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Tillerson stayed on
the line with Mattis and, unaware the other participants were still
listening, complained about a series of meetings the National Security
Council had set up to consider military options — “signs, Mr. Tillerson
said, that [the NSC] was becoming overly aggressive.”
No one elected Tillerson to make these decisions. They elected Trump. With
Tillerson gone and at State, McMaster will now have an ally at State who
shares his belief that for Trump’s warnings to North Korea to be credible,
he must have well-developed and credible military options on the table.
As Trump put it, Tillerson had to go because “we were not thinking the same.
With Mike Pompeo, we have a similar thought process.” Having a trusted
adviser at State will be critical to the success of the biggest diplomatic
gamble of Trump’s presidency: his upcoming talks with Kim.
At AEI, Pompeo told me that the CIA assesses that Kim is a rational actor —
which means that, given accurate information about the president’s
intentions, Kim should make a rational decision that will not lead to the
destruction of his regime. “We’re taking the real-world actions that we
think will make [it] unmistakable to Kim Jong Un that we are intent on
denuclearization,” Pompeo said. “We’re counting on the fact that he’ll see
it. We’re confident that he will.” With Pompeo in office, Trump now has a
much better chance of getting that message across to the North Korean
dictator.
Saudi Arabia Embraces Change - and the United States
Can Help
Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz/The Washington Post/March 20/18
Seldom in human history do countries peacefully and voluntarily embark upon
a resolute course correction to re-calibrate a national economy and expand
societal norms - without comprising religious sensibilities. Yet that is
precisely what the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is attempting to do.
For decades, the Kingdom lived according to social and cultural norms that
went unchallenged, thus inhibiting our progress. But our leaders have set a
new course that aims to transform our economy and society, and unlock our
untapped potential.
Two years ago, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, working under the guidance
of King Salman bin Abdulaziz, launched Vision 2030, a comprehensive plan for
economic diversification as well as social and cultural reform. Young and
dynamic, the Crown Prince - our chief reform architect - understands our
largest demographic group, namely our youth.
Our old course was not sustainable, and change is now under way in virtually
every aspect of society. We are expanding women's rights, improving services
for Muslim pilgrims and investing in mega-projects across various
industries. We are opening our country to tourism, creating a domestic
entertainment industry and promoting Saudi heritage and culture. And we are
also restructuring our healthcare and education systems. These are but a few
of the reforms that have already been launched.
The United States will have a chance to acquaint itself with these reforms
during Prince Mohammed's first official visit as the crown prince beginning
Tuesday. His visit is intended to reinforce Saudi Arabia's already strong
partnership with the United States, building on the 2017 Riyadh summit,
which elevated our countries' relationship. But, the Crown Prince is not
just here to talk politics; he is also here to talk business, specifically
the bilateral investment opportunities made possible by his diversification
strategy. The Crown Prince's multi-city tour will lay the ground work for
King Salman's visit to the United States later this year. Prince Mohammed is
one of Saudi Arabia's top politicians, so he will come to Washington to meet
with officials from the Trump administration, as well as congressional
members from both sides of the aisle, which will fortify the long-standing
relationship between our two countries. The historic relationship between
Saudi Arabia and the United States stretches back decades, nurtured and
safeguarded by both Democrats and Republicans. It was born in the aftermath
of World War II, sustained during the Cold War and reinforced during
Operation Desert Storm.
Our security cooperation includes shared efforts against terrorism,
including intelligence sharing and joint counter-terrorism ventures, such as
the Global Center for Countering Extremist Ideology, or Etidal. On the
educational front, thousands of Saudi students have studied in the United
States over the decades. Economically, Saudi businessmen have invested
hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States, across various
industries, including technology, real estate and infrastructure.
As we do with every presidential administration, we are focused on
maintaining our close working relationship. The Trump administration has
made tremendous achievements. President Donald Trump's decisions,
particularly in the area of fighting extremism and pushing back on the
malicious influence of Iran, are having an effect. The Kingdom's leaders and
the Trump administration continue to build and strengthen the framework of a
bilateral relationship that facilitates inter-agency cooperation.
We now see new chances for revitalizing the long-standing Saudi-US alliance.
The Crown Prince will highlight this during his trip - especially in the
area of business and investment opportunities - and expand the efforts that
King Salman and Trump initiated last year in Riyadh. The relationship today
is stronger, deeper, and more multidimensional than ever, and it extends
beyond the Oval Office, the halls of Congress, military bases and trading
floors.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is reforming, and our dynamism will take the
Saudi-US relationship to new heights. Both sides should seize the moment. We
must take the opportunity to recommit ourselves to a cemented alliance with
a proud legacy, but one that also looks to the future, sparks prosperity,
unlocks the full potential of all Saudis and helps to stabilize a crucial
region and the world.
Germany: Migrant Rape Crisis Still Sowing Terror and
Destruction
Women and children sacrificed on the altar of political correctness
by Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/March 20/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12066/germany-rape-crisis
The director of the Criminal Police Association, André Schulz, estimates
that up to 90% of the sex crimes committed in Germany do not appear in the
official statistics.
"There is a strict order by the authorities to not report on crimes
committed by refugees," a high-ranking police official in Frankfurt told
Bild. "Only specific requests from media representatives about such acts are
to be answered."
Germany's migrant sex-crime problem is being exacerbated by its lenient
legal system, in which offenders receive relatively light sentences, even
for serious crimes. In many instances, individuals who are arrested for sex
crimes are released after questioning from police. This practice allows
suspects to continue committing crimes with virtual impunity.
Germany's migrant rape crisis continues unabated. Preliminary statistics
show that migrants committed more than a dozen rapes or sexual assaults
every day in 2017, a four-fold increase since 2014, the year before
Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed into Germany more than a million mostly
Muslim male migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
A quarterly report — Criminality in the Context of Migration (Kriminalität
im Kontext von Zuwanderung) — published by the Federal Criminal Police
Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) showed that migrants (Zuwanderer, defined as
asylum seekers, refugees and illegal immigrants) committed 3,466 sex crimes
during the first nine months of 2017 — or around 13 a day. (Final crime
statistics for 2017 will not be publicly available until the second quarter
of 2018.) By comparison, in all of 2016 migrants committed 3,404 sex crimes,
or around nine a day; in 2015, 1,683 sex crimes, or around five a day; in
2014, 949 sex crimes, or around three a day; and in 2013, 599 sex crimes, or
around two a day.
The actual number of migrant-related sex crimes in Germany, however, is
believed to be far higher than the official number. For instance, the BKA
data includes only crimes that have been solved (aufgeklärten Straftaten).
On average only around half of all crimes committed in Germany in any given
year are solved (Aufklärungsquote), according to police statistics.
The director of the Criminal Police Association (Bund Deutscher
Kriminalbeamter, BDK), André Schulz, estimates that up to 90% of the sex
crimes committed in Germany do not appear in the official statistics.
German police frequently omit any references to migrants in crime reports.
When they do, they often refer to migrant criminals with politically correct
euphemisms such as "southerners" (Südländer), men with "dark skin" (dunkelhäutig,
dunklere Gesichtsfarbe, dunklem Hauttyp) or a combination of the two:
"southern skin color" (südländische Hautfarbe). This practice, apparently
aimed at delinking the attackers with Islam, makes it virtually impossible
for German citizens to help police identify suspects.
"There is a strict order by the authorities to not report on crimes
committed by refugees," a high-ranking police official in Frankfurt told
Bild. "Only specific requests from media representatives about such acts are
to be answered."
Germany's migrant rape crisis has continued into 2018. Despite the mounting
human toll, many of the crimes are unreported or downplayed as isolated
incidents (Einzelfall) by German authorities and the media, apparently to
avoid fueling anti-immigration sentiments.
On February 18, a 33-year-old woman was raped while visiting a cemetery in
Bochum. The attacker ambushed the woman from behind and hit her on the head
with a rock, rendering her unconscious. He then repeatedly raped her. Bochum
police kept silent about the rape until pressed by Rheinische Post, a local
newspaper. It subsequently emerged that the rapist is a convicted sex
offender who had attended a "rehabilitation" program and was then released
from custody.
Authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) apparently suppressed
information about the rape to prevent public concern over the recidivism of
convicted sex offenders. The police cover-up sparked public outrage. "The
public, in my view, has a right to know that convicted sex offenders pose a
real danger when they are back out," said a senior detective. "When
something as horrible as Bochum happens, it has to be called by name,
without any ifs or buts. When such important information is withheld from
the public, people think everything is fine and that of course participants
will not relapse." A police spokesperson said the media blackout was meant
to protect the victim: "We know from psychologists that this is often very
stressful for the victims." After a backlash, Bochum police admitted to
making a "mistake."
On February 22, an 18-year-old British student on a class trip to Berlin was
raped by two men after she became separated from her group. She was
hospitalized for two days. Berlin police kept silent about the rape until
the girl returned to Britain and her parents contacted British media
outlets, which reported on the case. When pressed for information by
Journalisten Watch, a media accountability group, Berlin police admitted
that they had arrested two men in relation to the rape but released them due
to a lack of evidence (Haftgründe lagen nicht vor).
On January 26, an "Asian or North African" man (orientalisch bis
nordafrikanischer Herkunft) tried to rape a female student at the Goethe
University in Frankfurt. It subsequently emerged that three other women had
been attacked by a man who police believe is the same individual. Although
the attacks occurred on October 6, December 29 and January 6, university
officials did not warn students that a sex offender was stalking the campus
until February 2, four months after the first attack.
On January 11, an unidentified man sexually assaulted two 15-year-old girls
on a subway train in Munich. One of the girls managed to take a picture of
the man, but police refuse to make the image public. A police blotter asks
the public to help them find the man, described as follows: "Male, 170cm,
20s, skinny, red overcoat, dark pants, black shoes."
On January 10, police in Magdeburg released a photograph of a "dark-skinned"
man (dunkle Hautfarbe) suspected of raping and seriously injuring a woman at
the central railway station on June 27, 2017. Police did not say why they
waited more than six months to make the image public.
On January 4, a 24-year-old man raped a woman at a school in Hanover. The
police blacked out information about the man's nationality. Bild filled in
the missing details: he is from Albania. A local newspaper, Hannoversche
Allgemeine, initially reported that the man was from Albania; an hour later,
however, it "updated" its story by replacing the word "Albania" with "the
Balkans."
Many rapes and sexual assaults occur on public transportation or transport
hubs such as bus and train stations. The problem is especially acute in
Berlin, where police received 296 reports of sexual assaults on buses and
trains in 2017, almost twice as many as in 2016, according to Bild.
On March 4, for instance, a 30-year-old Egyptian man who raped at least four
women at or near subway stations in Berlin turned himself in after police
published surveillance photos of him. The man chose his victims while riding
on subway trains. He made eye contact with them, followed them out of the
station and subsequently raped them. Berlin police blacked out information
about the man's nationality. Berliner Zeitung filled in the missing details:
he was born in Egypt.
On February 28, an 18-year-old Syrian asylum seeker sexually assaulted
several women on a train to Munich. The man systematically made his way
through the train and entered those compartments in which women were seated
alone. He was arrested when the train arrived at the central railway station
in Munich. Police said the man has a long rap sheet.
On January 10, a 31-year-old asylum seeker from Chad sexually assaulted two
teenage girls on a regional express train originating in Müllheim. Police
said the man had sexually harassed the girls on the station platform even
before the train departed. After the girls boarded the train, he sat next to
them and began sexually groping them. When girls then moved to another
compartment, he followed and sexually assaulted them. The girls then locked
themselves into one of the train's restrooms and called police. The man was
detained when the train arrived in Freiburg. Police said the man — who has
multiple outstanding warrants for other sexual crimes — had been arrested a
day earlier for assaulting a woman on another train, but was released.
Attacks on public transportation have now spread to all parts of Germany, in
large cities and small towns:
Frankfurt, February 28. A 29-year-old asylum seeker from Ethiopia sexually
assaulted a 34-year-old woman on a train.
Weilburg, February 24. A "southerner" (Südländer) masturbated in front of an
18-year-old female passenger on an intercity bus to Weilmünster. Police said
the man got on the bus, sat directly next to the woman, masturbated and
alighted at the next stop.
Mühlhausen, February 13. Six "North African men" (Männer nordafrikanischer
Herkunft) sexually assaulted a 17-year-old woman on a regional train from
Erfurt.
Friedrichshafen, February 15. An "Asian-looking" man (orientalisches
Aussehen) masturbated in front of a female passenger on a train.
Heilbronn, February 14. An "Arab-looking man" (arabisch aussehende Mann)
sexually assaulted a 26-year-old pregnant woman at a bus stop.
Hamburg, February 12. An 18-year-old Afghan asylum seeker sexually assaulted
a 19-year-old woman at the Jungfernstieg subway station.
Karlsruhe, February 11. Two "southern-looking" men (südländischem
Erscheinungsbild) sexually assaulted a 28-year-old woman on a tram.
Pforzheim, February 11. A 20-year-old Turkish man sexually assaulted a
17-year-old woman on a tram.
Zierenberg, February 7. A 25-year-old asylum seeker from Azerbaijan was
arrested for sexually assaulting two teenage girls on a regional train.
Weil am Rhein, February 7. A "dark-skinned" man (dunkler Hautfarbe) sexually
assaulted a 14-year-old girl at a subway station.
Schopfheim, February 1. A 61-year-old Indian man was arrested for sexually
assaulting an 11-year-old girl on a train.
Heidelberg, February 1. A 21-year-old Eritrean man sexually assaulted a
woman at a tram station.
Schwabing, February 1. An "Asian-looking" man (orientalisches Aussehen)
rubbed his exposed genitals on a 28-year-old woman on subway train.
Dresden, January 28. A "southern-looking" man (südländischem Aussehen)
sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman at a tram station.
Bad Schwartau, January 26. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklerem Hauttyp) sexually
assaulted an 18-year-old woman at a bus stop.
Greifswald, January 20. Four "North African" men (nordafrikanischer Herkunft)
sexually assaulted a 33-year-old woman at the central railway station.
Mannheim, January 17. A 72-year-old Turkish man sexually assaulted a woman
on an intercity train from Stuttgart.
Berlin, January 13. A 29-year-old Lebanese man masturbated in front of a
19-year-old woman on an intercity train. Police said the man was in Germany
illegally.
Mannheim, January 9. A 28-year-old Afghan man sexually assaulted a
23-year-old woman on a tram at the central railway station. An hour later,
he sexually assaulted another woman on a different tram. The man was
questioned and released.
Munich, January 9. An "Indian- or Afghan-looking" man (indische/afghanische
Erscheinung) sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl at the Harras subway
station.
Many victims are children, some of whom have been attacked in front of their
parents:
Mörfelden-Walldorf, February 27. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklen Teint)
exposed himself to several 11-year-old boys as they were walking home from
school.
Velen, February 25. A "brown-skinned" man (leicht dunkler Hauttyp) exposed
himself to at least four children at a campground.
Eberswald, January 26. Four 19-year-old Syrians tried to sexually assault a
14-year-old girl. When the girl's father intervened, the Syrians threw him
to the ground and punched and kicked him.
Mörfelden-Walldorf, January 26. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklen Teint) exposed
himself to an 11-year-old girl.
Moosach, January 24. A man speaking broken German approached an
eight-year-old girl at a playground and kissed her on the mouth in front of
her mother.
Schwenningen, January 11. A "dark-skinned" man (dunkle Hautfarbe) assaulted
two 11-year-old boys at a bus stop.
Sexual assaults have occurred in public spaces ranging from parks and pools
to supermarkets:
Sulzbach, March 10. A "presumably Asian" man (vermutlich asiatischer
Herkunft) sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl at an electronics store.
Weinheim, March 5. An "Eastern European" man (osteuropäisches
Erscheinungsbild) sexually assaulted two 14-year-old girls at a public
swimming pool. Seven children have been sexually assaulted at the facility
during the past 12 months.
Konstanz, March 3. A "Black African" man (Schwarzafrikaner) sexually
assaulted a woman at a park.
Hagen, February 17. A "southern-looking" man (südländisches Aussehen)
exposed himself to a 68-year-old woman at a park.
Kitzingen, February 3. Three Afghan migrants sexually assaulted two girls at
a public swimming pool.
Fellbach, January 10. A "dark-skinned" (dunklem Teint) man fondled himself
in front of a 35-year-old woman at the city hall.
Hamburg, January 1. A 22-year-old Moroccan man sexually assaulted a
34-year-old woman at a hospital.
Many victims have been stalked and attacked while making their way to and
from home:
Dresden, March 9. A "southerner" (Südländer) sexually assaulted a
27-year-old woman as she was entering her home in Dresden. A day later, a
man of similar appearance sexually assaulted a 40-year-old woman as she was
entering her home, also in Dresden.
Essen, March 2. A man speaking German with an accent sexually assaulted a
30-year-old woman who was walking home from the central railway station.
Werten, March 2. Three "southern-looking" men (südländisches
Erscheinungsbild) sexually assaulted a woman as she was getting into her
car.
Dresden, February 5. A "southern-looking" man (südländisch aussehend)
sexually assaulted a 33-year-old woman as she was entering her home.
Krefeld, January 15. A "southerner" (Südländer) sexually assaulted an
18-year-old woman. The man and the woman were riding on the same tram and
both got off at the same stop. She was walking home when the man ambushed
her from behind.
Instances continue of taharush, a practice in which groups of males encircle
females and assault them:
Essen, March 11. A group of seven "southern-looking" (südländisches Aussehen)
teenage males speaking Arabic encircled and sexually assaulted three teenage
females.
Lienen, March 4. A group of ten migrants encircled and sexually assaulted
several women at an outdoor festival.
Greifswald, January 20. Four "North African" men (nordafrikanischer Herkunft)
sexually assaulted a 33-year-old woman at the central railway station.
Düsseldorf-Altstadt, January 13. A group of young men encircled and sexually
assaulted a 14-year-old girl.
Bremen, January 1. A group of young men encircled and sexually assaulted two
women in the city center. Police arrested a 20-year-old Syrian man.
Rüthen, January 1. A group of young men encircled and sexually assaulted a
23-year-old woman.
Migrants with exhibitionist tendencies are omnipresent:
Oelde, February 22. A "yellow-looking" man (leicht gelblichen Teint) exposed
himself to several school girls. The same individual is believed to have
exposed himself to two school girls in the same town on February 18.
Kirchheim unter Teck, February 17. A 22-year-old Iraqi man was arrested for
exhibitionism.
Hagen, February 17. A "southern-looking" man (südländisches Aussehen)
masturbated in front of a 68-year-old woman at a park.
Stuttgart-Degerloch, February 4. A "southern-looking" man (südländisches
Aussehen) exposed himself to a 32-year-old woman.
Heidelberg-Altstadt, January 21. An "Asian-looking" man (orientalisches
Aussehen) exposed himself to a 30-year-old woman.
Hamburg, January 18. A 21-year-old Somali man exposed himself to passersby
at the central railway station.
Chemnitz, January 17. A "dark-skinned" man (dunkelhäutig) exposed himself to
a 15-year-old girl at a playground.
Unterjettingen, January 13. A "dark-skinned" man (dunkelhäutiger Mann)
fondled himself in front of passersby.
Tübingen, January 9. A "dark-skinned" man exposed himself and urinated while
staring intently at a 23-year-old female student at the University of
Tübingen. Police said the man is believed to have exposed himself in the
same way to several other female students at the university.
Seckach, January 6. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklem Teint) fondled himself in
front of a 17-year-girl on a train.
Germany's migrant sex-crime problem is being exacerbated by its lenient
legal system, in which offenders receive relatively light sentences, even
for serious crimes. In many instances, individuals who are arrested for sex
crimes are immediately released after questioning from police. This practice
allows suspects to continue committing crimes with virtual impunity.
On January 2, for instance, prosecutors in Traunstein reopened a case
involving a 22-year-old Afghan exhibitionist after pressure from a local
newspaper. The man repeatedly exposed himself to a 15-year-old girl on a
school bus. In one instance, the girl filmed the man fondling himself and
exposing his erect penis. Prosecutors dropped all charges after the Afghan
said he was "scratching his penis because of an itch." After the
Munich-based Wochenblatt uploaded the girl's video on YouTube, prosecutors
reversed themselves and ordered the man to appear in court.
Hamburg, March 4. A 25-year-old illegal migrant from Kosovo was arrested for
sexually assaulting a 29-year-old woman. The man had an outstanding arrest
warrant and was on a deportation list.
Bad Krozingen, February 19. A 22-year-old Gambian man sexually assaulted a
25-year-old woman at a park. Police said the man had sexually assaulted
another woman on February 3.
Heidelberg, February 16. A 37-year-old Syrian man was arrested for sexually
assaulting several women in the city center. The man was questioned and
released.
Tübingen, February 13. A 44-year-old Libyan migrant was arrested for
sexually assaulting a 17-year-old woman. The man was questioned and
released.
Esslingen, January 29. An 18-year-old Afghan asylum seeker raped a
13-year-old girl. It later emerged that the Afghan had a previous rape
conviction but in December 2017 a court in Stuttgart ordered that he be
released from custody.
Münster, January 14. A 23-year-old Afghan man physically and sexually
assaulted a woman on a train. The man was questioned and released.
Hennigsdorf, January 2. A 35-year-old Polish man attempted to rape a
41-year-old woman. The man was released from custody after posting bail of
€300 ($370). Police said the man had attempted to rape another woman in
Thüringen in November 2017. It remains unclear why police continue to
release him.
Freiburg, December 26. A 32-year-old Algerian asylum seeker sexually
assaulted two 17-year-old girls at the central railway station. Police said
the man had five outstanding arrest warrants.
Migrants often show extreme disrespect respect for law enforcement officers:
Warstein, March 1. A 37-year-old Moroccan man sexually assaulted a
36-year-old woman. When police tried to arrest the man, he attacked the
officers.
Mainz, February 24. A 28-year-old Kenyan man sexually assaulted a
22-year-old woman at a restaurant. When police tried to arrest the man, he
attacked the officers.
Marburg, February 12. A 20-year-old Eritrean man sexually assaulted a woman
at a railway station. When police tried to arrest the man, he kicked and
punched the officers.
Görlitz, January 8. A 30-year-old Moroccan man exposed himself to two police
officers at a railway station. The officers were questioning him when he
abruptly dropped his trousers.
Germany's mainstream media has been conspicuously silent concerning the
migrant rape crisis. Only the most sensational crimes are covered by the
national media, none of which has connected the dots and reported the big
picture. This lapse may explain why there has been very little public
outrage over the sanctioned criminality that has befallen so many German
women and children.
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
Appendix
Sexual Assaults and Rapes by Migrants in Germany, January-February 2018.
Police blotters show that Germany's migrant rape crisis — which continues
unabated day after day — has now spread to cities and towns in all 16 of
Germany's federal states. Public spaces have become increasingly perilous
for women and children; they have been attacked by migrants at beaches, bike
trails, cemeteries, discotheques, grocery stores, music festivals, parking
garages, playgrounds, schools, shopping malls, taxis, public transportation
(buses, trams, intercity express trains and subways), public parks, public
squares, public swimming pools and public restrooms. Nowhere is safe.
Following are a few cases from just the first two months of 2018:
January 1. A 23-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker raped a 27-year-old woman in
Speyer. A group of young men encircled and sexually assaulted two women in
Bremen; police arrested a 20-year-old Syrian man. A group of four young men
encircled and sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman in Rüthen. Two Guinean
men sexually assaulted a 32-year-old woman near the central railway station
in Dortmund. A 22-year-old Moroccan man sexually assaulted a 34-year-old
woman at a hospital in Hamburg. A man speaking German with a foreign accent
sexually assaulted a woman in Schwabach. Two "southern-looking" men (südländischem
Erscheinungsbild) sexually assaulted a woman at a railway station in
Karben-Kloppenheim; the men physically assaulted a passerby who tried to
intervene. A "southern-looking" taxi driver (Südländer) sexually assaulted a
female passenger in Bochum.
January 2. Two "Arab-looking" men (arabisch aussehenden Personen) sexually
assaulted a 75-year-old woman as she was leaving a shopping center in
Stadtallendorf. A man speaking a foreign language fondled himself in front
of a female passerby at the Schlossgarten in Erlangen. The same man exposed
himself to a female jogger. A 35-year-old Polish man attempted to rape a
41-year-old woman in Hennigsdorf. Police said the man had attempted to rape
another woman in Thüringen in November 2017.
January 3. A "Turkish-looking" man (türkischstämmig) sexually assaulted a
17-year-old girl on a bus in Potsdam as she was going to school.
January 4. A 24-year-old Albanian man raped a woman at a school in Hanover.
January 5. A man speaking broken German raped a 41-year-old woman in
Ofterdingen. Two Afghan men (ages 25 and 17) sexually assaulted a
14-year-old girl at a tram station in Gera.
January 6. A man speaking broken German sexually assaulted a 33-year-old
woman in Wolfenbüttel. A man speaking German with a foreign accent sexually
assaulted a 22-year-old woman in Waiblingen. A 40-year-old Sudanese man
sexually assaulted two women in Papenburg. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklem
Teint) fondled himself in front of a 17-year-girl on a train in Seckach.
January 7. Two "southern-looking men" (südländisch aussehenden Männern)
sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl in Gera. A man speaking broken German
sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman in Leck. A "North African" man (nordafrikanisch
aussehend) sexually assaulted a 30-year-old woman in Dresden.
January 8. Police issued a composite sketch of a man who brutally raped a
23-year-old woman in the stairwell of her apartment building in Hanau. The
man is believed to be responsible for at least four other sexual assaults in
the city. A 30-year-old Moroccan man exposed himself to two police officers
at a railway station in Görlitz.
January 9. A man speaking German with an Eastern European accent raped a
woman in Nettetal-Leuth. A 24-year-old Afghan man tried to rape a
23-year-old Iranian woman in Grünstadt. A 28-year-old Afghan man sexually
assaulted two women on two trams in Mannheim. Four "dark-skinned" men (dunkelhäutig)
assaulted a 29-year-old woman in downtown Bad Krozingen. Police said they
may be the same men who sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in the same
area on December 19. An "Indian- or Afghan-looking" man (indische/afghanische
Erscheinung) sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl at the Harras subway
station in Munich. A "dark-skinned" man exposed himself and urinated while
staring intently at a 23-year-old female student at the University of
Tübingen. He is believed to have exposed himself in the same way to several
other female students at the university.
January 10. A 31-year-old asylum seeker from Chad sexually assaulted two
women on a train originating in Müllheim. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklerer
Teint) exposed himself to a 15-year-old girl in Überlingen. A "dark-skinned
man (dunkelhäutigen Täter) masturbated in front of passersby in downtown
Augsburg. A "dark-skinned" (dunklem Teint) man fondled himself in front of a
35-year-old woman at the city hall in Fellbach.
January 11. A 20-year-old Afghan man sexually assaulted a 29-year-old woman,
who was on a walk with her son, in Kassel. Two police officers witnessed the
incident and arrested the man, who resides in a nearby refugee shelter. A
"dark-skinned" man (dunkle Hautfarbe) assaulted two 11-year-old boys at a
bus stop in Schwenningen. A "presumably southern" man (vermutlich
südländischer Abstammung) masturbated in front of a young woman at the
Steele railway station in Essen. A man of "presumably foreign origin" (vermutlich
ausländischer Herkunft) fondled himself in front of a 15-year-old girl near
the train station in Lingenfeld.
January 12. A "southern-looking" man (südländisches Aussehen) sexually
assaulted a 22-year-old woman at a restaurant in Limburg. The man was trying
to make eye contact with the woman and became enraged when she ignored him.
January 13. A 46-year-old Turkish man exposed himself to a 23-year-old woman
and a 16-year-old girl at the central railway station in Mönchengladbach. A
25-year-old Iraqi man sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman on a train
between Münster and Dortmund. When two passengers intervened, the Iraqi
physically assaulted them. A 29-year-old Lebanese illegal immigrant
masturbated in front of a 19-year-old woman on a train in Berlin. A
"dark-skinned" man (dunkelhäutiger Mann) fondled himself in front of
passersby in Unterjettingen. A group of young men encircled a 14-year-old
girl and sexually assaulted her in Düsseldorf-Altstadt.
January 14. A 23-year-old Afghan man physically and sexually assaulted a
woman on a train near Münster. The man was held for questioning and
released. A 21-year-old Syrian asylum seeker sexually assaulted a
19-year-old woman in Hamburg.
January 15. An Arab-looking man sexually assaulted a 33-year-old woman in
Horn. A "southern-looking" man (südländischen Aussehen) exposed himself to
two 13-year-old girls in Essen. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklen Teint)
sexually assaulted a 42-year-old woman in Krefeld. A "southerner" (Südländer)
sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman in Krefeld.
January 16. A 24-year-old Nigerian man tried to rape a 59-year-old Russian
woman in Munich.
January 17. A "dark-skinned" man (dunkelhäutig) exposed himself to a
15-year-old girl at a playground in Chemnitz. A 72-year-old Turkish man
sexually assaulted a woman on a train between Stuttgart and Mannheim.
January 18. Two "North African" men (nordafrikanische Erscheinung) sexually
assaulted and robbed a 51-year-old woman in Trier. A 21-year-old Somali man
exposed himself to passersby at the central railway station in Hamburg.
January 19. Six "dark-skinned" boys (dunkelhäutigen Jungen) sexually
harassed four teenage girls in Ueckermünde.
January 20. Four "North African" men (nordafrikanischer Herkunft) sexually
assaulted a 33-year-old woman at the central railway station in Greifswald.
January 21. A 19-year-old Ethiopian man sexually assaulted an 18-year-old
woman in Gera. Two North African men sexually assaulted a 22-year-old woman
in Greifswald. An "Asian-looking" man (orientalisches Aussehen) exposed
himself to a 30-year-old woman in Heidelberg-Altstadt.
January 22. A "southern-looking" man (südländisches Aussehen) exposed
himself to an 82-year-old woman in Neu-Ulm. A man of "Turkish or Arab
appearance" (türkischer oder nordafrikanischer Herkunft) sexually assaulted
a 16-year-old girl in Freiburg.
January 23. A "foreign-looking" man (ausländisches Aussehen) exposed himself
to three women in Erlangen. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklen Teint) sexually
assaulted a 14-year-old girl in Groß-Gerau.
January 24. A man speaking broken German approached an eight-year-old girl
at a playground and kissed her on the mouth in Moosach. Three "dark-skinned"
man (dunklen Teint) sexually assaulted a 29-year-old woman who was out
walking her baby in Höchst.
January 25. A "North African" man (nordafrikanisches Erscheinungsbild)
sexually assaulted a 25-year-old woman walking home from a train station in
Hamburg.
January 26. An "Asian or North African" man (orientalisch bis
nordafrikanischer Herkunft) raped a 22-year-old female student at the Goethe
University in Frankfurt. The same man is thought to be responsible for the
rape or attempted rape of three other women on the campus during the past
six months. Four 19-year-old Syrians tried to sexually assault a 14-year-old
girl in Eberswald. A "dark-skinned" man (dunkelhäutig) sexually assaulted a
35-year-old woman in Dortmund. When she resisted, he slashed her stomach
with a knife. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklerem Hauttyp) sexually assaulted an
18-year-old woman at a bus stop in Bad Schwartau.
January 28. A man speaking broken German sexually assaulted a 67-year-old
woman in Bonn. A "southern-looking" man (südländischem Aussehen) sexually
assaulted a 20-year-old woman at a tram station in Dresden. A 20-year-old
German woman accidently bumped into a man at a carnival event in Münstertal
in the Black Forest. When the woman apologized, the man, believed to be
Russian or Eastern European, grabbed the woman's arm and broke her wrist.
January 29. An 18-year-old Afghan asylum seeker raped a 13-year-old girl in
Esslingen. It later emerged that the Afghan had a previous rape conviction
but a court in Stuttgart had ordered him to be released from custody in
December 2017. A "southerner" (südländisch) sexually assaulted a 16-year-old
girl in Speyer. A "southern-looking" man (Südländisches Aussehen) exposed
himself to a 14-year-old girl in Wesel. A man speaking broken German
sexually assaulted a 67-year-old woman in Bonn-Tannenbusch. A "dark-skinned"
man (südländisches Aussehen) sexually assaulted a 22-year-old woman at a
hospital in Moers.
January 30. A 45-year-old Iranian man raped a 41-year-old woman in Bothfeld.
January 31. A "dark-skinned" man (dunkle Hautfarbe) sexually assaulted a
16-year-old girl at a bus station in Goch.
February 1. A 61-year-old Indian man was arrested for sexually assaulting an
11-year-old girl on a train in Schopfheim. An "Asian-looking" man (orientalisches
Aussehen) rubbed his exposed genitals on a 28-year-old woman on subway train
in Schwabing. A 21-year-old Eritrean man sexually assaulted a woman at a
tram station in Heidelberg.
February 2. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklen Teint) sexually assaulted a
15-year-old girl at a railway station in Überlingen. Although 10-15 people
were present, no one intervened to help the girl. A 30-year-old West African
man sexually assaulted a 52-year-old woman in Baden-Baden. A
"southern-looking" man (südländisches Aussehen) sexually assaulted a
17-year-old girl in Weimar.
February 3. A man speaking German with an accent sexually assaulted a female
train conductor at a subway station in Nürnberg. An "African-looking" man (schwarzafrikanisches
Aussehen) sexually assaulted two women in Bad Krozingen. Three
"southern-looking" men (südländischer Erscheinung) sexually assaulted a
23-year-old woman in Herford. Three Afghan migrants sexually assaulted two
girls at a public swimming pool in Kitzingen.
February 4. A "southern-looking" man (südländisches Aussehen) exposed
himself to a 32-year-old woman in Stuttgart-Degerloch.
February 5. Three "dark-skinned" men sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman
at a bus station in Freiburg. A "southern-looking" man (südländisch
aussehend) sexually assaulted a 33-year-old woman as she was entering her
home in Dresden.
February 7. A 39-year-old Syrian man sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl
in Uedem-Keppeln. A 25-year-old asylum seeker from Azerbaijan was arrested
for sexually assaulting two teenage girls on a regional train in Zierenberg.
A "dark-skinned" man (dunkler Hautfarbe) sexually assaulted a 14-year-old
girl at a subway station in Weil am Rhein. A 17-year-old Iraqi raped a
14-year-old girl in Dresden.
February 8. A 23-year-old Romanian man raped a 39-year-old woman in a
parking garage in downtown Stuttgart.
February 9. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklem Teint) exposed himself to a woman
at a clothing store in Kirchheim unter Teck.
February 10. A 25-year-old North African man sexually assaulted two teenage
girls at the railway station in Oppum. A "dark-skinned" man (dunkelhäutig)
sexually assaulted a woman at a bus stop in Tübingen.
February 11. Two "southern-looking" men (südländischem Erscheinungsbild)
sexually assaulted a 28-year-old woman on a street car in Karlsruhe. A
20-year-old Turkish man sexually assaulted a 17-year-old woman on a street
car in Pforzheim.
February 12. A 20-year-old West African man raped a 65-year-old woman in
Viersen. An 18-year-old Afghan asylum seeker sexually assaulted a
19-year-old woman at the Jungfernstieg subway station in Hamburg. A
20-year-old Eritrean man sexually assaulted a woman at railway station in
Marburg. When police tried to arrest the man, he resisted by kicking and
punching the officers. A "southern-looking" man (südländischer, dunkler
Hauttyp) sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl who was riding home from
school on a bicycle in Wesel. A "southern-looking" man (südländisches
Erscheinungsbild) attempted to rape a young woman at a park in Aachen. A
"dark-skinned" man (dunklen Teint) sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in
Riegel.
February 13. Six "North African men" (Männer nordafrikanischer Herkunft)
sexually assaulted a 17-year-old German woman on a regional train between
Erfurt and Mühlhausen. A 44-year-old Libyan migrant was arrested for
sexually assaulting a 17-year-old woman in Tübingen. He was questioned and
released.
February 14. An "Arab-looking man" (arabisch aussehende Mann) sexually
assaulted a 26-year-old pregnant woman at a bus stop in Heilbronn.
February 15. An "Asian-looking" man (orientalisches Aussehen) masturbated in
front of a female passenger on a train in Friedrichshafen. Two
"Arab-looking" men (arabisch ausgesehen) attempted to rape a 23-year-old
woman in Bad Soden.
February 16. A 37-year-old Syrian man was arrested for sexually assaulting
several women in downtown Heidelberg. The man was questioned and released.
February 17. A "southern-looking" man (südländisches Erscheinungsbild)
sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman in Hamburg. He ambushed the woman
from behind, sprayed her in the face with pepper spray to immobilize her and
them assaulted her. A 22-year-old Iraqi man was arrested for exhibitionism
at a shopping center in Kirchheim unter Teck. A "southern-looking" man (südländisches
Aussehen) masturbated in front of a 68-year-old woman at a park in Hagen.
February 18. A 33-year-old woman was raped while visiting a cemetery in
Bochum. A "dark-skinned" man (dunkelhäutig) sexually assaulted a 25-year-old
woman at knifepoint in Heidelberg-Weststadt. An "Indian- or
Pakistani-looking" man (indisch/pakistanisches Aussehen) sexually assaulted
a 33-year-old woman in Konstanz. A "yellow-looking" man (leicht gelblichen
Teint) exposed himself to two school girls in Oelde. The same individual is
believed to have exposed himself to several school girls in the same town on
February 22.
February 19. A 22-year-old Gambian man sexually assaulted a 25-year-old
woman at a park in Bad Krozingen. Police said the man had sexually assaulted
another woman on February 3.
February 22. An 18-year-old British student on a class trip to Berlin was
beaten and raped by two men after she became separated from her group.
February 24. A 28-year-old Kenyan man sexually assaulted a 22-year-old woman
at a restaurant in Mainz. When police tried to arrest the man, he became
violent and attacked the officers. A "southerner" (Südländer) masturbated in
front of an 18-year-old female passenger on an intercity bus near Weilburg.
February 25. A "brown-skinned" man (leicht dunkler Hauttyp) exposed himself
to at least four children at a campground in Velen.
February 26. A 43-year-old Pakistani man sexually assaulted a female
passerby in downtown Pforzheim. Witnesses told police the man offered the
woman cash for sex and turned violent when she refused. A "southern-looking"
man (südländisches Aussehen) sexually assaulted a 30-yer-old female jogger
in Aschaffenburg.
February 27. A "dark-skinned" man (dunklen Teint) exposed himself to several
11-year-old boys as they were walking home from school in Mörfelden-Walldorf.
February 28. A 29-year-old asylum seeker from Ethiopia sexually assaulted a
34-year-old woman on a train near Frankfurt. A "dark-skinned" man (dunkelhäutig)
sexually assaulted a 17-year-old female near the railway station in
Ravensburg. An 18-year-old Syrian asylum seeker sexually assaulted several
women on a train to Munich. An 18-year-old Afghan asylum seeker was arrested
at the central railway station in Berlin on charges of raping a woman in
Schweinfurt in August 2017.
© 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.
Who Are the Jihadists Fighting alongside Turkey in
Syria?
من هم الجهاديون الذين يحاربون في سوريا إلى
جانب تركيا
Sirwan Kajjo/Gatestone Institute/March 20/2018
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/63304
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12061/turkey-jihadists-syria
The remaining 17 groups that make up the Syrian portion of Operation Olive
Branch are a combination of Salafist, jihadist and ultra-extremist militants
who have been either formed or supported by Turkey at various stages of
Syria's seven-year civil war.
In its offensive launched on January 20 against Kurdish fighters in northern
Syria, Turkey has deployed more than 25,000 Syrian rebel fighters who have
been equipped and trained by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's
powerful military.
The offensive, code-named Operation Olive Branch, aims at dislodging the
Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from the Kurdish enclave of Afrin.
On March 18, Turkish military and allied jihadist rebels took control of
Afrin's city center. Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), an insurgent group that has been fighting for greater
Kurdish autonomy in Turkey's southeast. Backed by the United States, the YPG
has been instrumental in the U.S.-led war on terror in Syria since 2014.
Nine days after the start of the operation, the pro-Turkish government
website, Suriye Gundemi, published an infographic showing the Syrian rebel
groups involved in the Afrin offensive. The website says that three
divisions are part of the National Army that is under the command of the
Syrian interim government, an anti-Syrian regime body based in Turkey.
This so-called army consists mainly of Islamist militants who were part of
the most radical Islamic factions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) at some
point during the Syrian conflict, and was formed only two weeks prior to the
Afrin operation. Most of these fighters fled to Turkey after they were
defeated in battles across Syria, including in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Idlib
and Hama. While in Turkey, they were recruited by Turkish intelligence
agencies to be part of forces invading the Kurdish-held Afrin.
The remaining 17 groups that make up the Syrian portion of Operation Olive
Branch are a combination of Salafist, jihadist and ultra-extremist militants
who have been either formed or supported by Turkey at various stages of
Syria's seven-year civil war. The following is a rundown of these groups:
Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Brigade
Named after the notorious Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conquerer, who ruled in
the 15th century and violently conquered Constantinople and Southeast
Europe, this ethnic Turkmen group was founded in 2012 at the height of the
Aleppo battle. It controlled six districts in eastern Aleppo, imposing a set
of sharia (Islamic) laws on local residents. The group commanders were also
involved in criminal activities, such as robbery and human trafficking. The
group was later embraced by the Turkish government, and thus it participated
in Operation Euphrates Shield, another Turkish-led offensive in northern
Syria, which ended in March 2017. It has close to 1,000 fighters.
The Sultan Murad Division
An extremist group established by Turkey in 2013, it receives direct
financial, military and logistic support from Turkish armed forces. Most of
its fighters are ethnic Turkmen. Prior to the Afrin offensive, it was
primarily based in the city of Aleppo. The group has been involved in
clashes with other rebel groups over revenue sharing of the Bab al-Salameh
border crossing when a rival group decided to hand over the crossing to the
main Syrian opposition body.
The Hamza Division
Founded in April 2016 in Turkey, it was one of the first Turkish-backed
Syrian groups that entered the Syrian town of Jarablus in 2017 alongside the
Turkish military. Adopting an extremist anti-Western Islamic ideology, the
group strongly believes in the return of Ottoman rule over the entire Middle
East.
The Sham Legion
Originally named the Homs Legion, the group that was established in March
2014, has nearly 4,000 fighters, making it the largest force within the
Operation Olive Branch. It is a union of at least 19 Islamist groups
affiliated with the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The group
joined other rebel forces in forming the Fateh al-Sham operation center. It
has been active in the provinces of Aleppo, Idlib and Homs. The group is
currently led by Yasser Abdulrahim, a rebel leader known for changing sides
based on funding sources.
The Shamiyah Front
The second largest rebel group participating in Operation Olive Branch, the
Shamiyah Front is a union of Islamists and Salafists from Aleppo. Its
members are largely remnants of the Nureddine al-Zanki Brigades and other
extremist groups that were active in Aleppo in 2015. Supported by Turkey and
Qatar, this rebel group believes that jihad is the only path for Syria to
become an Islamic emirate governed by sharia law. It has an estimated 3,000
fighters.
The Mountain Falcons (Hawks) Brigade
Named after the Zawiyeh Mountain in the northwestern province of Idlib, the
group was active in Idlib's countryside. It was originally part of the
Descendants of the Prophet Brigades. It clashed with the al-Nusra Front,
al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, over revenue and power sharing. Defeated by al-Nusra,
its members were forced to flee to Turkey, before regrouping and joining the
Afrin operation.
Jaysh al-Nasr
The group is made up of smaller groups that operated in Idlib, Hama and
Latakia.
Al-Mustafa Regiment
Named after the Islamic prophet Mohammed's title, the faction was founded in
June 2016 with the financial and military support of Turkey. It participated
in Operation Euphrates Shield.
Islamic Al-Waqqas Brigade
Named after Saad bin Abi Waqqas, a companion of the prophet Mohammed and the
17th person to embrace Islam, the group was formed in early 2016 by the
Turkish government. It has nearly 1,000 well-trained fighters.
Turkmen Muntasir Billah Brigade
Named after al-Muntasir bi'llah, the Abbasid caliph who ruled in the 9th
century, this Syrian rebel group has embraced a radical Islamic ideology
since its inception in February 2014. Based in Aleppo and Raqqa, it has
engaged in several battles with Syrian regime troops. The group welcomed the
arrival of ISIS in Raqqa and did not attempt to challenge its rule. After
Aleppo was retaken by the Syrian military, most of the group's fighters fled
to Turkey, where they went through an organizational restructuring. They
played a central role in launching Operation Euphrates Shield.
The Suleyman Shah Brigade
Named after Suleyman Shah, the father of Omsan I, founder of the Ottoman
Empire, this group was formed in Turkey in April 2016 to participate in
Operation Euphrates Shield. Its fighters are largely ethnic Turkmen, with a
significant percentage of Sunni Arabs. It is currently led by Mohammed al-Jassim,
also known as Abu al-'Amsha.
Samarkand Brigade
Named after the Uzbek city of Samarkand, this is another Turkmen group that
was formed by Turkey in April 2016. In its inaugural statement, it said that
its main objective was to fight the Kurdish YPG. The group is led by Wael
Musa.
The Elite Army, Jaish al-Shamal, Usood al-Fateheen Brigade, Ahrar al-Sharqiya
Unit and Al-Awwal al-Magawir Brigade
These smaller groups that were formed in Syria and Turkey. Each group
reportedly has 200-300 fighters who are commanded by the Turkish military
and larger rebel groups.
*Sirwan Kajjo is a Syrian-Kurdish Washington-based journalist and author.
© 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.
Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud 'Abbas, Fatah Movement: U.S. Ambassador To Israel Is A
'Settler' And 'Son Of A Dog'
MEMRI/March 20/18
On March 19, 2018, in a speech at a meeting of the Palestinian Authority
(PA) and PLO leadership in Ramallah, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
'Abbas attacked the U.S.'s conduct in the region and said that the
"so-called 'Arab Spring'... is in fact an 'American Spring,'" that began in
Gaza with the 2007 Hamas coup. Its aim, he said, was "to separate the Gaza
Strip from the West Bank, so that there will be no united Palestinian
state," and added that Hamas had received guarantees from the U.S. for doing
so. The Trump administration, he said, was implementing its plan to destroy
the Palestinian national enterprise "by declaring Jerusalem to be the
capital of Israel, by deciding to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem... and
by considering the settlements to be legal." He added that U.S. Ambassador
to Israel David Friedman supports the settlements, and he and his family are
themselves settlers; he went on to curse him, calling him "son of a dog."
These statements are additional evidence of deterioration in the
relationship between the Trump administration and the PA. Previously, on
January 14, 2018, 'Abbas announced that the Arab Spring had originated in
the U.S., rejected the Trump administration's demand that the PA stop its
payments to imprisoned Palestinian terrorists and the families of
Palestinian "martyrs," and said that the PA no longer accepts the U.S. as a
mediator between the PA and Israel.[1]
Following 'Abbas's March 19 statements, the Fatah movement, which 'Abbas
heads, posted on its social media accounts a poster with an image of
Ambassador Friedman along with the hashtag in Arabic "#Colonialist, Settler,
Son Of A Dog." It should be noted that in official PA media reports of 'Abbas's
statements, the "son of a dog" invective is omitted.[2]
Below are translated excerpts of 'Abbas's March 19 statements, and Fatah's
social media post of Ambassador Friedman:
Statements By 'Abbas, March 19, 2018
'Abbas: "I have said thousands of times that the so-called 'Arab Spring,'
which is lauded by some simple-minded idiots, incapable of thinking, is in
fact an 'American Spring,' which began in Gaza. We all know how [Hamas]
joined the elections and then staged a coup, having received many [American]
guarantees, both implicit and in public, because the U.S. wants to separate
the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, so that there will be no united
Palestinian state. This is something we should know. We must acknowledge the
truth. We must not avoid the truth any longer.
"The destruction of the Palestinian national enterprise is a plot that the
Trump administration has begun to implement, by declaring Jerusalem to be
the capital of Israel, by deciding to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, by
stopping its funding of UNRWA, and by considering the settlements to be
legal. This has been declared by several American officials, led by their
ambassador in Tel Aviv, David Friedman, who said that 'they are building on
their land.'
"You son of a dog! Building on their land? He himself is a settler from a
family of settlers, yet he is the American ambassador in Tel Aviv! What can
we possibly expect from him?"Fatah Poster Of Friedman With "#Colonialist,
Settler, Son Of A Dog" Hashtag
As noted, also on March 19, following 'Abbas's statements, the Fatah
movement, which 'Abbas heads, posted on its social media a poster with an
image of Ambassador Friedman with the hashtag in Arabic "#Colonialist,
Settler, Son Of A Dog."
Fatah's poster of Amb. Friedman (Source: Facebook.com/officialfateh1965,
March 19, 2018)
[1] See MEMRI TV Clip No. 6371, Mahmoud Abbas: The Plo Should Reexamine Its
Agreements With Israel; We Will No Longer Accept The U.S. As Mediator,
January 14, 2018.
[2] For example, in reports by the official news agency Wafa.ps, March 19,
2017.
60 Minutes with
Mohammed bin Salman
Abdullah bin Bijad Al-Otaibi/Al Arabia/March 20/18
During his interview with “60 Minutes” that airs on the American CBS
television network, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said: “If Iran
developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible,” and that
Khamenei is “the new Hitler.” He also said: “Iran is not a rival to Saudi
Arabia” as its army is not” among the top five armies in the Muslim world.”
He added that the kingdom’s economy is larger than the Iranian economy and
that “Iran is far from being equal to Saudi Arabia.” The interview was aired
right before he kicked off his tour to the US where he is set to meet with
President Donald Trump.
This young prince and inspiring leader has become the world’s talk and the
center of attention of leaders he met or dealt with. World leaders know well
that the crown prince is a man of his word and a man of action. He makes
decisions that harmonize with his statements and translates his visions into
tangible projects. CBS once described him as one of the most powerful
leaders in the Middle East. What many observers do not know is that he was
described as such before he even began implementing his ambitious political
and economic plans.
Leader of major reforms
During his visit to Washington, he would be representing Saudi Arabia with
all its political, economic, Arab and Islamic weight. He’d also be
representing most Gulf, Arab and Muslim countries especially that he leads
two efficient military alliances which are the alliance in support of
legitimacy in Yemen and the Islamic coalition to combat terrorism. He is
also the leader of Saudi Arabia’s military forces as he is the kingdom’s
minister of defense. The Saudi kingdom is the US’ strongest ally in the
US-led alliance which eliminated ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
He is leading major reforms on all fronts, from combating terrorism and
extremism to eliminating corruption, empowering women and creating the
future. The kingdom’s officials and ministers are working around the clock
to accomplish the devised plans. The sky is the limit as he once said.
Everyone thus knows what he’s capable of doing.
This is not exaggerated praise, and my statements do not aim to serve any
flattering purposes. These are all clear facts. Some media outlets and think
tanks in the West and the US may take a long time to comprehend all this
considering the crown prince’s speed and pace in fulfilling these
accomplishments on the domestic, regional and international levels.
Saudi Arabia does not desire a new cold war in the region or the world;
however, if imposed on it, it’s completely ready to protect its interests,
select its allies and create its future. There is no room for improvisation
as there’s always a plan. The crown prince recently visited Britain and
Egypt, the largest political and economic Arab ally to Saudi Arabia. His
visit to Egypt reflected that he had a complete plan that serves the
kingdom’s interests and enhances its future. He signed plenty of major
agreements during these two visits. This will also be the case when he tours
the US which he’s visiting after building strong ties with President Trump
as he was the first Arab or Muslim leader to meet him after he was elected
and convinced him to go to Saudi Arabia on his first foreign tour. His visit
to Washington comes at the same time when Trump is in great harmony with the
Department of State after Mike Pompeo, the former CIA chief, was appointed
Secretary of State after Rex Tillerson was fired.
When devising his vision to transfer the country’s economy from a rentier
economy that relies on oil to a productive economy that attracts
international investments, he adopted an out-of-the-box idea which is
listing Aramco for initial public offering (IPO). World leaders have thus
sought to develop ties with him and with the kingdom as for example Trump
and others publicly voiced their desire to list IPO stocks in their stock
markets.
Reducing Iran’s expansionist influence
The biggest crisis in the Middle East is the Iranian project. The crown
prince had said that he adopted a tight plan to reduce Iran’s expansionist
influence. He besieged Iran in many of its influence zones across the world,
not just in Arab countries which Tehran directly interfered in but also in
other countries in Africa and Central Asia.
If an American who’s interested in the region’s affairs does a quick search
about the region, he will immediately realize that Iran is not a rival to
Saudi Arabia. There is actually a huge difference between Saudi Arabia which
is heading towards the future and towards more international cooperation and
Iran which is witnessing intense conflicts between its powers, such as the
institution of the supreme guide who belongs to the past and who is deluded
by expansionist ambitions, the revolutionary guards who are corrupt
adventurers and the presidency that claims it believes in reform when all it
can do is defend the mistakes of the former and stronger two institutions.
Meanwhile, Iran is also witnessing popular protests that continue to
escalate and intensify.
The crown prince’s visit to the US also comes at a time when all of his
opponents’ projects are failing. They are failing thanks to his vision and
plans. The Iranian project, the Turkish fundamentalist project and the small
Qatari project are failing. Saudi Arabia is entering history as a winning
knight that’s making the future. The kingdom which was accused of terrorism
and extremism is leading an international campaign to combat terrorism and
spread tolerance, co-existence and peace.
Saudi Arabia does not want nuclear weapons but it will develop them if Iran
does. It did not seek the war in Yemen but it was compelled to engage in it
and it’s wisely managing towards achieving victory. It’s building new and
efficient relations with Iraq and Lebanon, and it’s the biggest supporter of
the Palestinian cause and the Syrian people and of the stability of states
across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. This is the crown prince’s policy
that has the full support of Saudi King Salman.
The crown prince is executing his vision according to the highest
international political, economic, military and financial standards. A
recent UN Security Council presidential statement on Yemen commended Saudi
Arabia’s role. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund support
his reform plans while media outlets and humanitarian institutions praise
his decisions and vision.
Saudi Arabia does not desire a new cold war in the region or the world;
however, if imposed on it, it’s completely ready to protect its interests,
select its allies and create its future. Prince Mohammed is an ambitious
leader who has achieved solid victories and who dreams of a bright future.
His Washington tour will thus mark the beginning of a new phase in the
history of the region and the world.
The Saudi Crown Prince's US tour and the war in Yemen
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabia/March 20/18
During his trip to Washington, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will
discuss plenty of affairs such as the war in Yemen. President Trump’s
opponents are trying to exploit this war in their battle to deprive the
White House of some jurisdictions. This is all part of the old conflict
between the executive and legislative institutions over the War Powers Act.
Three senators are working on a resolution that obligates the president to
suspend military cooperation with the Saudi kingdom in Yemen. They’ve called
for voting on the resolution within the next few days but this will probably
be postponed and further reviewed because the move goes beyond Yemen as its
consequences affect the president’s jurisdictions and limit military
cooperation with US’ allies.
This is an old controversy which some Congress members are trying to revive
by using the war in Yemen to strengthen the role of the legislative
authority, i.e. the Congress, at the expense of the White House, i.e. the
president.
The war in Yemen is the war which concerns the US the least. US’ involvement
in this war is very limited as it does not have any soldiers on the ground.
This is compared with its role in Syria, Iraq and other countries where it
has around 9,000 soldiers and consultants managing the war and fighting on
the ground. Its air force is also involved in operations in Iraq and Syria.
As for Yemen, it’s in the Americans’ interest to end the fighting and
restore legitimacy as this will eliminate al-Qaeda and end Iran’s
interferences via its proxy, i.e. the Houthis.
Washington’s military involvement with Riyadh and the alliance that’s
fighting to restore legitimacy in Yemen is in the three fields of sharing
intelligence information, providing logistical support and aerial refueling.
Aerial refueling is debatable as the senators who proposed the bill claimed
that aerial refueling of fighter aircrafts is like sending troops to the
ground therefore it requires the Congress’ approval.
Despite the motives of these senators and of those demanding to decrease
American military cooperation in Yemen, concerned American institutions,
like the Pentagon, believe the Arab coalition’s war in Yemen is also
important for the US and they support providing help in the three
aforementioned fields.
Some Congress members believe that attempting to deprive the president of
some jurisdictions and restraining his activity while cooperating with the
Arab coalition in Yemen will impact US’ interests and security in general.
Republican Senator Bob Corker said: “We do so much of that with our allies
around the world and don’t consider that to be involved in hostilities but
simply helping our allies in what they’re doing,” adding: “I think if we use
the War Powers Act to call these kinds of activities hostilities, we could
go down a really slippery slope.”
Finalizing the war?
Therefore, the Saudi crown prince’s upcoming meetings with the American
president and Congress members will discuss key issues that concern both
parties, like Yemen. Most of those who look at the war in Yemen from a
humanitarian angle are oblivious of the causes of war. We must note that
halting the war in Yemen will not solve the problem as the fighting will
continue among local parties. Halting the war will also not help provide
food and medicine or restore life because there is no efficient government.
Therefore, suspending the war without militarily or politically finalizing
it will worsen the humanitarian situation there. Determination must thus be
focused on ending the rebellion, restoring the government’s efficient role
and executing the measures which have been internationally agreed upon –
establishing a regime that governs on the basis of a new constitution and
holding parliamentary elections – and which the Houthis did not abide by as
they staged their coup instead.
Yemen will remain a source of threat to the world if chaos continues there
and as long as there is no legitimate government or the rebellion is not
eliminated. Threats from Yemen are real as terror plots against the US
itself and other countries have emanated from there. Without a strong,
central and legitimate government in Yemen, conditions will be suitable for
sustaining terrorists.
To our friends: The United States of America and its people
Faisal Al-Shammeri/Al Arabia/March 20/18
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established on September 23, 1932 in a far
different world than we see today. One that even with the benefit of
hindsight few people today would be able to comprehend with true
understanding.
Founded at the height of the age of empires and during the depths of the
Great Depression. When Adolph Hitler was on the ascendancy in Germany and
his National Socialist German Workers Party was on the verge of assuming
power.
The year of 1932 is when Joseph Stalin was truly beginning the
implementation of his quest for total and absolute power inside Russia which
would later culminate in the Great Purge. The previous year before the
founding of Saudi Arabia, the initial foreshadowing of World War II was just
beginning to show itself in Northeast Asia with The Empire of Japan’s
invasion and conquest of Chinese Manchuria.
At this time the League of Nations, the first attempt to establish a forum
for global cooperation, would begin a process that would lead to
organizational failure and in the end a place in the history books. Economic
collapse, unemployment, hunger, despair, and uncertainty would’ve abounded
in the Western World while international commerce would come to a grinding
halt.
The beginning of the ascendancy for the belligerent, revisionist and
authoritarian powers would see them take their initial steps in their
respective bids for global domination brought by imperial conquest obtained
by the sword. That would’ve been the composite picture of the world when
Saudi Arabia was founded by King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman al-Saud.
The country founded in this tumultuous year of 1932 would ultimately outlast
Lenin’s Bolshevik Russia, the 1000 year Reich of Hitler’s Germany, the
British Empire, and even the ensuing Cold War that followed World War II.
Like other countries, Saudi Arabia would have its own arc in history and it
would be a surprising one. It is here the story begins.
Saudi Arabia stands at the very frontline of issues that currently confront
the global community and is partnered with countries that are among the most
important in today’s geopolitical order
Diplomatic recognition
In November 1931, United States extended full diplomatic recognition to
Saudi Arabia, which had been the hope of King Abdulaziz, and in November
1931 this would also include favored nation status as well.
In May 1933, the California Arabian Standard Oil Company began to explore
for oil in Saudi Arabia and thanks to the great efforts of our American
friends was subsequently found. On February 16th, 1943 President Roosevelt
stated that “the defense of Saudi Arabia is vital for the defense of the
United States” which began to deepen the relationship between the two
countries.
Where this relationship truly began to grow is at the Yalta Conference on
the Crimea Peninsula in February 1945. The famous conference where British
Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin and US
President Franklin D. Roosevelt would meet to decide post-war Europe and the
future conduct of the yet unfinished part of World War II which was still
raging in The Pacific.
History remembers the picture of these three leaders sitting alongside one
another for the press at Yalta. However, it is at Yalta where another
meeting would take place. It is here where President Roosevelt would meet
with King Abdulaziz aboard The USS Quincy on February 14th, 1945. It is at
Yalta where the first links in the US-Saudi relationship would be
strategically connected forming the basis for what would become one of the
most important relationships in the world.
Of all the meetings and topics of discussion at Yalta among the leaders of
the victorious Allied Powers this meeting of President Roosevelt and King
Abdulaziz would result in a geopolitical reality that exists to this very
day. The postwar realities of Central and Eastern Europe, and the subsequent
Cold War between the superpowers would come and go including its Iron
Curtain but not the relationship between Washington and Riyadh. It would
outlast everything discussed at Yalta.
Cold War
During the Cold War and afterward our two countries shared the same
strategic concerns. Saudi Arabia was staunchly opposed to the spread of
communism and worked with the United States to achieve this mutually shared
objective. During the First Gulf War Saudi Armed Forces conducted bombing
raids inside Iraq and committed ground forces alongside the US to support
the expulsion of Iraq from Kuwait.
We believe in stability of oil prices and investment in the economies of
Western Countries, like the US. We believe in investing in Western countries
not only for the opportunities they present but to support the strategic
partners of Washington as well. We believe in protecting the security of
international commerce at sea and the freedom of navigation everywhere in
the world, like the US.
We believe in taking a proactive posture in the fight against terrorism and
the terrorists who use this sadistic instrument to achieve their nefarious
aims, like the United States. Terrorists who threaten Americans and the
Western world threaten the well-being of Saudi citizens as well, along with
the Muslim World and humanity as a whole.
We have long believed in the warmth and upright character of the American
people and the value provided by American educators where we send the
majority of our sons and daughters to receive higher education. Currently we
have the fourth largest group of foreign-born students currently studying in
the United States.
We trust the American people with their safety and are grateful to not only
have these expectations consistently met without worry, but to witness with
our own eyes their growth they are able to demonstrate here when they return
home. Very few people, if any, at the time of Yalta would’ve taken the bet
if you had told them that this friendship which was truly struck aboard the
USS Quincy between President Roosevelt and King Abdulaziz would’ve resulted
in what we see today.
If we had told our grandparents and great grandparents then what
American-Saudi relationship would be today it would’ve been very difficult
to impress upon them this reality of this future.
Today American Presidents come to visit Riyadh as partners of the highest
strategic order, for both sides. In the 21st Century Saudi Arabia finds
itself at the very forefront of the global community with a large presence
in the region and beyond. We are the only Arab country with membership in
the G-20.
Bridge to Asia
Today we are the bridge from Europe into the Middle East and beyond to Asia
itself. We express a great deal of gratitude to the United States and the
American people who have been invaluable friends to us during our rise.
Saudi Arabia is one of the first and initial signatories of the United
Nations Charter established in the last months of World War II. The
previously mentioned California Arabian Standard Oil Company which began
work in May of 1933 would become Saudi Aramco, one of the largest companies
the world has ever seen.
This is just one of the many ripened fruits of this relationship that
developed since November 1931. Today Americans, and for the many decades
following the work began in May 1933, work inside the Kingdom in
highly-skilled professions for salaries that sometimes exceed what can be
earned in the United States.
Saudi Arabia stands at the very frontline of issues that currently confront
the global community and is partnered with countries that are among the most
important in today’s geopolitical order. Under the leadership of King Salman
bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom finds itself
fortunate to have astute, capable, and serious leadership who can offer
credibility to our willingness to work directly with our friends in the
multitude of issues we collectively face.
Currently we have a world of instability, uncertainty, and in some cases
submerged in extreme pain, despair, sadism and even death. Saudi Arabia
stands directly alongside our friends, the United States, against the
belligerent and revisionist powers who offer a future of the most nefarious
manner to humanity.
Saudi Arabia is a capable, willing, and serious partner in the most
important issue of our lifetimes, the war against terrorism. At this very
moment we have the very best our country can offer, our brave soldiers,
fighting inside Yemen for our peace, security and well-being of our
citizenry.
Recently a US Navy Guided Missile Destroyer, the USS Mason, was targeted by
the very opponent we are currently facing while conducting it’s right to
transit internationally recognized waters. Fortunately, nobody was injured
or harmed. But this fight where we have committed our very best is against
an opponent who represents a collection of interests who not only directly
threaten our citizenry, but also the strategic interests of the United
States.
They deliberately seek confrontation with the best and bravest of the United
States has to offer as well. It has been mentioned in only two cases where
the US has a “Special Relationship,” which is with Great Britain and the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To us this is an honor of the highest magnitude to
have the privilege to be considered as such.
We reciprocate such sentiments a thousand-fold to the United States and the
American People. As a country we will never forget where we have come from
and where we began. We honor that by knowing where we are today, and what
the possibilities for our future can be if we give a responsible awareness
and respect to our past. We in Saudi Arabia we look to this “Special
Relationship” as one of the greatest legacies King Abdulaziz left us. Saudi
Arabia today would not be recognizable to either President Roosevelt or King
Abdulaziz. They would not have been able to predict the arc of this
partnership they forged on the USS Quincy. Of all the relationships that the
US forged with an eye for the post World War II world in the last days of
that brutal conflict hardly anyone would’ve been able to foresee not only
how important this one would become, but how close it would be. We Thank You
for your sincere friendship which we will never forget.
Reflections on Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the US
By Dr. John Duke Anthony/Al Arabiya/March 20/2018
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud begins
a visit to the United States today. He is reported to be planning stops in
several cities, including Washington, D.C., New York, Boston, Houston,
Seattle, and San Francisco. The occasion will mark his second official visit
to the United States since Donald Trump assumed the U.S. Presidency and
Mohammed bin Salman’s first official visit since assuming the post of Crown
Prince in June 2017.
Roots of the Relationship
In considering the modern U.S.-Saudi Arabian strategic partnership,
reference is often made to a meeting the Crown Prince’s grandfather, King
Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al-Saud, had with U.S. President Franklin D.
Roosevelt on February 14, 1945. That historic visit had the two heads of
state sitting and exchanging views with one another aboard the U.S. Navy’s
U.S.S. Quincy in the Great and Bitter Lake of the Suez Canal. Academics,
scholars, media specialists, policymakers, and foreign affairs specialists
of all stripes have ever since referred to that visit as “historic.”
Yes, that visit was historic in the sense that it occurred on a certain date
in time. Except for the fact that those two outsized heads of state met each
other for the first and only time then and there, however, the encounter was
far less “historic” in the usual sense of the term than countless
commentators have since made it out to be. To be sure, a myth about what
transpired at that meeting is deeply embedded in the literature and lore of
the American and Saudi Arabian peoples.
The truth, however, is that the so-called Saudi Arabian-American love affair
dates not from the meeting between the U.S. President and the Saudi Arabian
King in 1945. Neither does it stem from the discovery earlier by American
engineers, aided by skilled Saudi Arabian Bedouin guides, of a Kingdom-based
petroleum bonanza in 1938 the likes of which the world had never seen before
and has not seen since.
Rather, the roots of the special relationship date from decades before –
from 1917 onwards. The seeds of the extraordinary one-of-a-kind
international special strategic partnership of the American-Saudi Arabian
alliance that has lasted to this day were laid then by others. None among
them were officials of either country’s modern government.
From the U.S. side, those who most directly helped jumpstart the special
relationship were some of the best and brightest of America’s medical
doctors, nurses, and teachers. They administered treatment to Arabia and the
Gulf citizenries’ elites and rank and file at sites throughout southern Iraq
and eastern Arabia – including in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman – under the
auspices of the Arabian Mission of the Dutch Reformed Church of America.
In the manner of their service, comportment, and demeanor, what stood out
were these early Americans’ undaunted volunteerism. In addition, from the
outset it was all too apparent that they were not colonialists. They were
not even imperialists. Rather, they were sincere humane providers of badly
needed health care and educational services.
In keeping with their values, principled convictions, and humanitarian
commitments, these Americans sent no invoices. They, not others, were the
truly remarkable pioneers of the special Saudi Arabia-U.S. relationship that
has ever since been the envy of virtually the entire rest of the world.
Killing the Competition
In trying to understand the nature and extent of the roots of the U.S.-Saudi
Arabian relationship, what one will far more often read about is not the
story just told. Instead, one will more likely hear about a largely
unchallenged allusion pertaining to the 1945 meeting. It is to an alleged
pledge by the United States made then to thenceforth uphold, honor, and
protect the Saudi Arabian government’s security from attack, threat, or
intimidation. The pledge was reportedly in exchange for a promise by the
Kingdom to provide unlimited exports of petroleum that would be needed to
speed and ensure the recovery of the war-devastated economies of Europe.
What has hardly been fair or helpful in understanding the Saudi Arabian oil
exports-for-U.S. security narrative surrounding the 1945 meeting is what it
implied. The substance of the narrative connotes an innate insecurity and
weakness on the part of Saudi Arabia. This is contrasted with the unbridled
power and strength of the United States, whose overriding interest then was
not in Saudi Arabia as a country and people, per se, but, rather, in an
inanimate object the country possessed: a finite and depleting substance
called oil.
Consider for a moment the subsequent analytical and long run American
foreign policy implications of the 1945 meeting that for so long have been
unquestioned. Zero in on what has ever since largely been unchallenged. The
emphasis then and ever since has been on the position and role of the United
States as a humanistic subject in the form of a mighty if not entirely
altruistic defender. In contrast, the insinuation was of Saudi Arabia as an
inanimate and inordinately weaker object in need of American protection. It
takes little to imagine how such a portrayal of the two entities would serve
some people’s interests.
Indeed, for Saudi Arabia’s many opponents in the non-Arab Middle East, in
the United States, and elsewhere, the narrative has been useful. It has
helped feed the notion that the Kingdom should not be allowed to compete in
the international arena on a level playing field fairly and equally with
other countries and, least of all, with more favored American partners in
the region in which it is situated.
To that end, Riyadh’s detractors have been consistently intent on “killing
the competition” that the Kingdom’s partnership with the U.S. represents. In
that regard, reducing the imagery of the Kingdom in the popular imagination,
the media, academe, and foreign policymaking circles to one that focuses
only on the country’s hydrocarbon deposits feeds a largely negative and
defaming narrative of the government and its peoples’ insignificance.
The case can be made that America all along was capable of viewing the
matter differently – and more fairly – and that this should have been
obvious. Apparently, though, it wasn’t; either that or such efforts to that
effect, if any were mounted, proved ineffective.
It is easy to imagine why some parties have long sought to advance the
negative narrative. Take, for example, Saudi Arabia’s sheer size. Compare it
with the far less significant landmass of other countries in the region.
Indeed, with its 13 land and maritime neighbors, the Kingdom can be likened
more to a continent than a country. In this regard, few countries can come
close to matching the degree to which those dependent upon freedom of aerial
and maritime access and passage to and from the planet’s main East-West and
West-East transportation routes have no choice but to obtain the Saudi
Arabian government’s permission.
Islamic and International Organization Dynamics
Add to the equation Saudi Arabia’s innate power, prestige, and position
among the world’s nearly two billion Muslims that are derived from its role
as Custodian of Islam’s two holiest places, Makkah and Medina. Link that
role to Makkah being the focal point of every Muslim’s prayers and, in
addition, the Kingdom’s annual hosting and administering of the hajj, the
ritualistic pilgrimage enjoined of every Muslim during their lifetime.
No other country, in short, comes close to rivaling the Kingdom as the
epicenter of prayer and pilgrimage, and of faith and spiritual devotion, for
the nearly a quarter of humanity that adheres to the Muslim faith. Neither
can any nation rival Saudi Arabia’s standing among the 57 Muslim-majority
nations that are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Islam’s
highest political body.
With regard to its resources, few, if any, can match how Saudi Arabia has
leveraged its range of geopolitical, economic, and other physical assets.
These include, remarkably, nearly one-fifth of the world’s proven oil
reserves (in comparison to America’s one-fiftieth); Saudi Arabia’s standing
in sixth place among countries in terms of proven natural gas reserves; and
Saudi Arabia’s having developed a petrochemical sector from non-existence a
little more than a quarter of a century ago into it being one of the main
pillars of its economy. These mineral-based features of the Kingdom, which
are little known beyond specialists, are ones that impact the needs and
longings of billions of human beings.
This is not all. The aforementioned Saudi Arabian facets are in addition to
the accompanying power and influence that derive from the Kingdom being a
founding, longstanding, and often-leading member of numerous among the
world’s most prominent and powerful international organizations, e.g., the
United Nations, the International Court of Justice, the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund, the League of Arab States, the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the
Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Gulf Cooperation
Council, the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consultancy, the Gulf
Investment Fund, and the Arab Monetary Fund.
To these have been added Saudi Arabia’s central role, more recently, in two
more international groupings. One has been the Kingdom’s formation and
leadership of a coalition of more than forty countries dedicated to
eradicating sources of funding for various forms of violent extremism. The
other has been Riyadh’s contribution in leading a smaller, differently
focused, internationally concerted body of Islamic countries. These are
committed to ending the scourge of political violence in the name of the
Islamic faith by the so-called Daesh terrorist group, better known in the
West as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
In Search of Clarity and Accuracy
The foregoing should provide ample reason why it is important not to lose
sight of all that Saudi Arabia has long represented and continues to
represent, which is of immense interest and importance to humankind. Even
so, it is easy to see why so much of the attention surrounding Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s visit has focused and is likely to remain fixated on
issues, challenges, and opportunities linked to the immediate present. Doing
so, however, risks obscuring something else, which pertains to the Kingdom’s
position and role in regional and global affairs.
An awareness and appreciation of Saudi Arabia’s association with the
abovementioned phenomena, and their bearing on other countries’
relationships with the Kingdom, is vitally important. This has to do with
why it is and has been of such enormous significance throughout the entire
century-long period dating from before the Crown Prince’s visit. It has to
do, also, with why, not just to the United States but to the world in
general, the Kingdom is certain to remain of extraordinary strategic,
economic, political, commercial, and defense cooperation significance – and
in roughly that order of priority – for far into the future.
With this as background, context, and perspective, what the Crown Prince’s
upcoming visit can be seen as is additional evidence of a renewed
invigoration between Saudi Arabia and the United States, and one that has
grown far beyond the foundation of the longstanding bilateral partnership.
Not just to the United States but to the world in general, the Kingdom is
certain to remain of extraordinary strategic, economic, political,
commercial, and defense cooperation significance – and in roughly that order
of priority – for far into the future.
Viewed in this light, the visit of King Salman’s son and Saudi Arabia’s
future leader seeks to further relations between the two countries in
numerous fields. It serves to continue to build and deepen confidence
between the two partners as they work to address national, bilateral,
regional, and global challenges. Accordingly, investment and strong economic
relations between the Kingdom and the United States are two cornerstones of
the multi-dimensional relationship.
What, then, do Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s planned stops in multiple
U.S. cities imply? They indicate that the leader of the Arab and Islamic
world’s most important country is traveling to America in what might be
considered a “road show” intended to build additional momentum for American
investment in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 national development plan. In some
regards, the concept of a road show could also be seen as a metaphorical
Saudi Arabian caravan traversing America with a view to promoting,
explaining, and securing greater U.S. interest and investment in the
economic and social transformations taking place in the Kingdom.
Promoting Kingdom-Wide Advances
Against any backdrop or frame of reference, the emerging era of Saudi
Arabian-U.S. relations is therefore entering a significant juncture. A
relevant window for perspective is, arguably, the one associated with the
Crown Prince’s grandfather in the very early 1900s. That provided the
cornerstone of all the subsequent efforts to establish the national confines
of the current Saudi Arabian state.
Viewed thusly, it is easy to see Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman
positioning himself as a similarly revolutionary and transformative figure
in Arabia. Indeed, half a decade ago, when he had just past the quarter of a
century mark, a Saudi Arabian friend of mine said he had overheard Prince
Mohammed Bin Salman saying to someone else, “Just wait. You haven’t seen
anything yet.” This was years ahead of when he began to implement what he
presaged and promised.
If the prediction as reported to me by my friend was correct, it is clear
that the Crown Prince’s ideas and intentions were not born yesterday. As the
Kingdom continues to endeavor to absorb its extraordinarily young and
educated population into its workforce as effectively as possible, Muhammad
bin Salman – himself one of that very half of the country’s population that
is his age or younger – is working, in effect, to reimagine and reinvent
Saudi Arabia. He is intent on doing this for the country’s relationship with
itself, with the regional realm in which the Kingdom is situated, and with
the global community beyond – all three at the same time. In this regard
alone, the United States has an interest in seeing its Saudi Arabian partner
succeed.
That success might well be measured in prioritizing as well as in enhancing
first and foremost the country’s security. Upon this will turn the prospects
for Saudi Arabia’s stability. Upon these two phenomena will ride the
Kingdom’s prospects for peace. And upon all three will be tethered the
country’s longer-run ambitions and possibilities for sustained prosperity.
London? Cairo?
Though the United States might be the so-called greatest of the
strategically special relationship international prizes being sought by
Riyadh, noteworthy is that the Crown Prince has made a point of recently
visiting, first, Egypt and then the United Kingdom. Among the simplest of
explanations for this sequence is that, next to the United States, no other
Great Power nation has as long known Saudi Arabia and its needs, concerns,
interests, and priorities as well as Great Britain.
Neither should it be difficult to fathom why Egypt figures as highly as it
does. With regards to the Crown Prince’s recent visit to Cairo, there is no
denying that, within the Arab and Islamic contexts, where the Kingdom has
chosen to lead and initiate more than follow and be reactive, he realizes he
has no choice but to try to maneuver as effectively as possible amidst the
fact that almost one out of every four Arabs is an Egyptian.
Often left unspoken, however, is another Cairo-related factor. Egypt is the
one Arab country more than any other that has attacked and in one way or
another sought to inflict harm upon Saudi Arabia within the past two hundred
years. It has done so twice. It is therefore for basically sound realpolitik
reasons that anyone in Riyadh should want to do whatever is necessary and
expedient to be on as good a set of terms with Egypt as possible. Indeed,
Prince Muhammad bin Salman needs to ensure that there are no reasons for any
further attempts from west of the Red Sea region to undermine the Kingdom’s
security, stability, and prospects for peace and prosperity.
Also of monumental strategic significance is Cairo and Riyadh’s bold
intention to link their economic destinies geographically to an extent never
before attempted in the two countries’ history. That is, Saudi Arabia’s
Crown Prince envisions the establishment of a multibillion dollar entirely
new city on the Kingdom’s Red Sea coast. The location, near Egypt’s popular
tourist destination at Sharm El Shaikh on the Sinai Peninsula, is close to
the Strait of Tiran that links Israeli and Jordanian access to the Indian
Ocean and waters beyond. Less often spoken behind this initiative are
Cairo’s and Riyadh’s geostrategic oneness, alongside the increasingly
assertive geopolitical position and role of the UAE Emirate of Abu Dhabi and
its Crown Prince, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. The two
have been keen to join their efforts to counter the advance of Iran and its
geostrategic and geopolitical expansion from Tehran through Iraq, Syria, and
Lebanon to the Mediterranean.
Similarly, albeit in an entirely different geographical direction but for
similar reasons of realpolitik, Riyadh’s reasons for aligning as much of its
international financial considerations as possible and prudent with the
United Arab Emirates are transparent. Doing so has a potential for
tightening the alliance between the two fellow GCC, OPEC, Arab League, and
Organization of Islamic Cooperation members. Without its western and eastern
geopolitical partnerships within the Arab and Islamic worlds assured, or at
least being cultivated to the hilt, Riyadh is well aware that it cannot hope
to surmount challenges from Iran and elsewhere alone.
Mohammed bin Salman has therefore been doing everything feasible to ensure
that, at this still early juncture in his stewardship, his Saudi Arabian
constituents have as little reason as possible to rise in opposition to him.
His prospects for being able to register the requisite effectiveness in this
realm of endeavor, however, cannot be assured by his acting alone. Rather,
they turn in different ways on the extent to which internally he can
indicate that he is doing everything possible to enhance the security,
stability, and peace of his country internationally.
Externally, they turn in significant measure on the degree to which he is
effective in those among his international outreach efforts chronicled
herein. As for the American piece of the equation, which is admittedly
substantial, his effectiveness will turn to a significant degree on how well
he does in two areas. One will have to do with the nature and extent of his
undertakings unilaterally and jointly with powerful areas of the U.S.
domestic economy, energy industry, and technology sectors. The other will be
focused on what kinds of assurances he can secure from President Trump’s
Washington. Regarding the latter, the goal will be to ascertain the extent
to which the two countries’ respective national leaderships, interests, and
key foreign policies are on as much of the same internationally strategic
page and alignment as possible.
Mutually Enhancing Material Wellbeing
As the engines of fiscal reform and economic transformation churn in Saudi
Arabia, huge amounts of indigenous and international investment are needed
if the Kingdom’s National Transformation Plan is expected to work. In the
here and now, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s prospects are buoyed by the
rise in the price of oil. The vicissitudes of the energy markets’ ups and
downs notwithstanding, what is irrefutable is the Kingdom-wide
acknowledgement of how vital continued injections of capital will be. In no
other way do most analysts envision that the prospects for Saudi Arabia to
be able to unlock additional economic opportunities for growth are realistic
and attainable.
Such dynamics are occurring amidst implementation of the Kingdom’s
first-ever Value Added Tax, which came into effect on January 1 of this
year. Added to this reformist economic initiative are:
•reductions in the level of subsidies for such life-sustaining commodities
as water, vehicular energy, electricity, and sewage disposal;
•the Crown Prince’s declared intentions to increase the number and kinds of
employment opportunities for women;
•the declared lifting of the generations-old prohibition on women driving;
•the granting women permission kingdom-wide to establish businesses without
the approval of male guardians;
•the approval for the liberalization of certain social endeavors, such as
mixed gender attendance at public events, e.g., musical performances long
thought to be frowned upon; and, overall,
•a lighter, gentler face of public exhibitions and manner of enforcement of
some of the stricter Islamic norms, principles, and values with a view to
there being a much less stark contrast with the more moderate manifestations
of the faith in other Islamic lands.
The composition and expertise included in the high-level Saudi Arabian
delegation scheduled to visit the nation’s capital, California,
Massachusetts, Washington, Texas, and New York signal the Crown Prince’s
seriousness not only in promoting investment in the Kingdom. They signal
also an openness and a willingness to provide serious and favorable
consideration to any mutually viable and beneficial arrangement that holds
out the prospect of being reciprocally rewarding to prospective
American-Saudi Arabian partners. With these kinds of ends in mind, the
delegation is expected to address and examine the possibilities for further
developing Saudi Arabian-U.S. relations in a wide variety of fields and
levels.
Image Considerations
Simultaneously, also to be probed are just exactly what will be needed to
further boost Saudi Arabia’s image in the United States in light of the
Kingdom’s enormously ambitious transformation efforts. None who specialize
in Saudi Arabia-U.S. relations will deny how difficult, challenging, and
long-term an effort of this nature must inevitably and unavoidably be if it
is to have any prospect of being effective. Of necessity, such a campaign
will have to be addressed to the many Americans who have never bothered or
cared to delve deeply into what was behind the tragedy that produced the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It will also have to be introduced
and championed among the many who do not want to be disabused of their
longstanding negative viewpoints and prejudices against Arabs and Muslims,
and against Saudi Arabians in particular.
Not least, such a strategy will have to be implemented among the many who
simply do not care. These include those who deem it to be in their interest
to maintain a negative stance towards the Kingdom. These view the country’s
government and citizens as well as natural resources as objects – phenomena
to be maligned, defamed, dehumanized, manipulated, exploited, disappointed,
kept off balance, made to be on the defensive, and hemmed forever inside a
perceptual box that wreaks of wrong and negativity.
In addition, there are just as many if not more who simply are against
having their preconceived notions of reality challenged, uprooted, or, for
that matter, disturbed in any way. Making inroads with Americans who would
protest, “Don’t provide me any new information or insight – my mind’s
already made up” will not be easy. Not to be countenanced among such
adversaries is that the Kingdom and its people should simultaneously be
considered and appreciated for what they also are: namely, equal actors. As
such, they have their own legitimate needs, their own legitimate rights,
their own legitimate concerns, their own legitimate interests, and their own
legitimate foreign relations goals.
Building on Past Successes
To give credit where credit is due, Prince Mohammed bin Salman is hardly
arriving to Washington without any prior traction. He comes to America with
the opportunity of building on his meetings with President Trump during the
May 2017 Riyadh Summit. The United States and Saudi Arabia struck a series
of deals totaling more than $350 billion spanning 10 years during that
historic two-day meeting in the Kingdom’s capital last spring. Those
agreements – including some that were prospective – involved a variety of
industries, including information technology, medical equipment, chemicals,
real estate, and $110 billion on defense alone. The agreements involved some
of America’s leading firms, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Blackstone,
Raytheon, General Dynamics, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, and Dow. The
contracts and memoranda of understanding signed last year are to be further
developed and implemented by the Saudi Arabian delegation and American
representatives during this upcoming 2018 visit.
In his first official trip to the United States in 2016, Prince Mohammed bin
Salman’s initiatives for change in Saudi Arabia across many different
sectors as well as within society itself, including the further empowerment
of Saudi Arabian women, received much attention. The Crown Prince is
navigating modernity and tradition in a unique manner, and appears confident
and intent to leave an impression that challenges Americans to think hard
about the Kingdom’s future.
Leaders are not leaders if they are unwilling to take risks as well as
manifest a sincere willingness to serve. This leader has done both. He has
broken with parts of tradition while respecting other parts that went
before. In tackling corruption head-on and in taking giant steps to further
equalize the status and role of women, he has done what would earn any
leader kudos from his constituents and, especially, among those who might
otherwise be disaffected.
Moreover, in reaching out to such an extent to empower greater components of
the Kingdom’s youth, he has shown the mettle of which he is made. What is
more, he has done much to indicate the direction in which he intends to
continue taking his country.
Yet none of this has occurred or is occurring in a vacuum. It is transpiring
all the while acknowledging that none are bereft of blemish. Indeed, what he
will be able to accomplish will turn heavily on his innate and acquired
gifts. These will have to be in evidence alongside the wisdom and shared
experience of his advisors and those who govern with him.
Cognizant of the challenges but, to date, remaining steadfast in his drive
for transforming the Kingdom, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has
positioned himself to push big changes in Saudi Arabia. In developing and
promoting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan and its implementation mechanisms,
the Crown Prince is driving a youth-led reimagining of the Kingdom’s economy
through pragmatic goals and approaches. The Vision 2030 plan is a bold step
forward, seeking a collective effort towards dynamic economic and social
governance, replacing what some charged as bureaucratic inertia.
Perhaps most critical at this juncture in Saudi Arabia’s economic
development efforts is the need to draw attention to the opportunities
present in investing in the Kingdom’s future. New markets can be opened
between the United States and Saudi Arabia in ways that further boost
bilateral relations. The opportunity for women to drive in Saudi Arabia,
which is little more than three months away, will have economic and social
ramifications that herald a new era of possibilities for American investors.
Already, American firms such as Ford, Uber, and Coca-Cola, together with
Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, the latter returning after a thirteen-year
absence, have jumped in to capitalize on the changes taking place.
In developing and promoting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan and its
implementation mechanisms, the Crown Prince is driving a youth-led
reimagining of the Kingdom’s economy through pragmatic goals and approaches.
A future where more American women can build strong, robust relationships
with more Saudi Arabian female executives and ministers is imminent. This
fact, in and of itself, is remarkable and a testimony to the dynamism in the
Saudi Arabian-U.S. relationship.
President Trump’s administration has embraced the goal of maintaining,
strengthening, and expanding the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Drawing on their shared objectives of managing threats from Iran and working
to counter violent extremism in the region, the partnership produced one of
the more phenomenal moments in contemporary U.S.-Arab relations when
President Trump visited Saudi Arabia last May. In Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman’s upcoming visit to America, the relationship holds out the prospect
of continuing to reap the dividends of the Saudi Arabian-U.S. long-standing
cooperation.
Bringing the Partnership into the Future
As Saudi Arabia’s leadership works to highlight the openness of the
Kingdom’s markets, the opportunities in economic privatization with greater
transparency than ever before, and the social diversity embodied in Saudi
Arabia’s vision – together with the manifestation of a new, bold philosophy
– there are sure to be naysayers.
Some in the U.S. might not appear ready to accept a more liberal Saudi
Arabia. To be sure, few specialists question whether the residue of the
deeply ingrained negative images of the Kingdom’s leaders and its people,
noted earlier, will likely continue for some time. No doubt, such images
will be difficult to expunge from the consciousness of numerous Americans.
So, too, will notions of the Kingdom as a hotbed of violent extremism be
difficult to erase – or perhaps perceptibly, for many, even to subside.
Changing the nature and range of impressions that have been pounded into the
American consciousness for so long a period will be a daunting task. Yet it
is not an impossible one provided that an appropriate strategy is adopted
and, as importantly, sustained over time. It will be this mission, too, that
the Saudi Arabian delegation will study and probe during its visit to the
United States.
The challenge of altering imagery, however, goes two ways. It is not just
Saudi Arabia that has the task of overcoming a negative image in the United
States. The United States, too, needs greatly to work on improving its image
in the Kingdom, and elsewhere in the Arab and Islamic worlds. For just one
example, President Trump’s government hardly conjured up an image of moral
probity, responsibility, and respect for international law in its recent
actions regarding Jerusalem, whose holy sites are sacred to the world’s 2.3
billion Christians, 1.8 billion Muslims, and 15 million Jews.
As perceptions about Saudi Arabia and its partnership with the U.S. change
over time, some of the keys to Saudi Arabia’s economic future may well
presently lie in California, where many American technology companies have
their headquarters. The Kingdom will be seeking investments and partnerships
as it works to integrate artificial intelligence, robotics, and other
information technology systems into its economic transformation, including
the ambitious and forward-looking NEOM project. Meanwhile, in New York,
businessmen and financial institutions will be discussing and probing a
possible future listing of Saudi Aramco’s shares on the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE) as part of its planned record-breaking IPO. Although some of
the public offering may be placed on the Tadawul (Saudi Arabian Stock
Exchange) at first, there are also possibilities of future Saudi Aramco
share offers on the NYSE.
In Houston, energy and petrochemicals investments will likely drive the
Saudi Arabian delegation’s focus as the Kingdom’s Saudi Arabian Basic
Industries Corporation (SABIC) seeks to invest in Texas refineries in order
to have America ship LNG to Saudi Arabia. Such an arrangement would help the
Kingdom to realize the maximum benefit of its domestic oil production while
not having to rely on producing LNG itself. Such a strategy, if it can be
agreed to between the Kingdom and the U.S. Department of Energy, might
assist in Saudi Arabia maximizing revenue for its ambitious transformation
efforts.
The Saudi Arabian delegation’s visit to Boston, a hub of high-quality
education and technology, and other American cities holds out the prospect
of enhancing the Kingdom’s efforts to further its intellectual capacity.
There is no shortage of opportunities for new partnerships between U.S. and
Saudi Arabian institutions to develop methodologies and approaches to
management and analysis for knowledge transfer to young Saudi Arabian
professionals and stakeholders.Growing from Firm Roots
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s upcoming visit will therefore not only
affirm the strength of the Saudi Arabia-U.S. relationship. It will also set
the stage for new and enhanced bilateral ties. It is as true now as it was
in the past that the Kingdom needs America and America needs the Kingdom.
The mutually beneficial partnership, rooted in shared needs, concerns,
interests, and objectives, has before it every opportunity to continue to
grow. This is despite the inevitable challenges and periodic tensions and
misunderstandings that are a reality of a relationship between any two
strategically important states.
Massive new opportunities are continually developing for U.S. companies to
take part in Saudi Arabia’s national development plan. To this end, the
Kingdom is working to find ways to make itself a more attractive investment
destination for partners.
One need only reference Saudi Arabia’s initiatives toward small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) – by changing ownership rules and also by creating a SME
Authority – to realize up close the ways in which the playing field inside
the Kingdom is changing. The Saudi Arabian delegation visiting the United
States will work to explain and promote how the Kingdom’s economic
transformation is opening new doors for enhanced U.S.-Saudi Arabian ties.
As time marches on, and as countries and societies evolve, so do the
relationships between international partners. Put more precisely,
international partnerships are but partnerships between human beings – in
this case between Americans and Saudi Arabians.
For the Saudi Arabian-U.S. relationship, a history of strong ties has laid
roots for the flowering of new economic, social, cultural, and defense
bonds. Transformation continues to be the operative word of the day not only
for Saudi Arabia but also America’s relationship with the Kingdom and its
young King to be.
Israel prepares for 'May Madness'
Ben Caspit/Al Monitor/March 20, 2018
ARTICLE SUMMARY
Israeli sources believe President Donald Trump will abandon the Iranian
nuclear deal in May and are analyzing the possible outcomes of a number of
other events anticipated that month.
REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueUS President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump
welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the
White House, Washington, March 5, 2018.
The month of May is shaping up to be “May Madness,” a take on the “March
Madness” of collegiate basketball. According to Israel’s intelligence and
political echelons, President Donald Trump’s policies will be tested in May
on numerous fronts that have implications for Israel’s national security. To
these assessments one must add the mounting rumors, mainly in the Arab
world, about a possible aerial assault — by the United States or Israel or
both of them together — against Iranian forces in Syria. There is no
evidence, however, to support the rumor. No official source has mentioned an
anticipated attack, but the issue has been discussed intently in almost all
the nerve centers of the Middle East.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the Security Cabinet his opinion
that Trump will probably withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran
before a May 12 deadline on sanctions waivers for Iran. It had been said
that Israel faces a dilemma concerning Iran's growing presence in Syria:
Should it carry out a military strike to push the Iranians back from
Israel’s northern border or simply swallow the bitter pill and come to terms
with the new situation? According to Western intelligence assessments,
Israel is vacillating on the matter. Is enforcement of the red lines
regarding Iranian involvement in Syria (that is, a permanent presence and
providing Hezbollah advanced weapons) worth the danger and tremendous
destruction that would be caused by initiating a war?
On Netanyahu's return from a US trip this month, during which he met with
Trump March 5, the prime minister announced that he had secured historical
contributions toward Israel’s “national security.” The educated guess is
that Netanyahu had received some kind of vague promise from Trump on
withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear agreement or maybe even some kind of
cooperation regarding military action against Iranian forces in Syria.
There is great satisfaction in Jerusalem over the change in US policy on
Iran thanks to Trump. According to an intelligence source who spoke on the
condition of anonymity, recent Israeli intelligence reports assess, “Instead
of policy leaning toward an arrangement with Iran and viewing the country as
a strategic partner, the Americans now classify Iran as a key threat to
their interests. Thus, they strive to change the nuclear agreement and
oppose Iran’s growing involvement in the region, which involves
disseminating terror and launching precision missiles. Perhaps they [the
Americans] are even aspiring toward a change of regime in Iran.”
In Israeli eyes, these changes follow a pattern: numerous, fundamental
changes in US foreign policy in Trump’s first year in the White House. With
regard to the Palestinians, the Americans have abandoned the age-old
paradigm of the two-state solution as the only possible arrangement and one
only achievable via bilateral negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians. Instead, the United States involves Arab countries, does not
commit itself to any specific final agreement configuration, expresses a
clear stance on core issues (such as Jerusalem) prior to negotiations and
promises to think “outside the box.”
There has also been a sharp change in US policy regarding North Korea and
emerging changes in policy regarding Iraq and eastern Turkey (namely the US
approach to Ankara's conflict with Syrian Kurds). In addition, whereas the
United States had earlier focused only on fighting the Islamic State in Iraq
and Syria and had abandoned the Middle East battlefield to Iran and Russia,
the Americans (under Israeli pressure) are now examining deeper involvement
in halting Iranian expansionism, among other changes.
According to Israeli assessments, May will feature “opening shots” being
fired in the above arenas. On May 12, Trump will have to decide whether to
renew Iranian exemption from US sanctions and in general to make a final
decision regarding the nuclear agreement. Then in mid-May, the US Embassy in
Israel is slated to move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (though, in fact, only
the ambassador’s residence will be transferred, marked by a ceremonial
event). Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are expected to hold a
“historic” meeting somewhere in May or June, barring unexpected
developments. Elections are planned for May 12 in Iraq, where the choice is
between a pro-Iranian stance and a more independent approach. Elections are
also planned in Lebanon, on May 6.
Israel is keeping a close eye on all of these events — analyzing what’s
happening now and attempting to predict what will happen down the line — in
an attempt to identify the direction that Trump might take and the chances
of him implementing new policies in direct opposition to the policies of his
predecessor.
To all this, one should add the heating up of the security situation on
Israel’s southern front. On March 17-18, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
destroyed two Hamas tunnels, one of which had been demolished in 2014 during
Operation Protective Edge and that Hamas had attempted to rebuild. Defense
Minister Avigdor Liberman has already declared that by the end of the year,
the once-feared Hamas tunnel will be a thing of the past.
This is already raising security tensions on a daily basis. In the past
week, several demolition charges exploded on the border fence between Israel
and Gaza. In another incident, two IDF soldiers were wounded. The odds of a
new eruption of violence along the lines of the 2014 hostilities have
doubled in recent weeks. The deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza is
contributing to the odds.
Recent weeks have also brought an increased number of violent acts against
Israelis on the other Palestinian front, on the West Bank. On March 18, a
Palestinian murdered an Israeli guard. Two days earlier, a vehicular ramming
attack by a Palestinian left two IDF soldiers dead.
“All the signs point to a rapid deterioration in the checks and balances
that had previously maintained peace and quiet on the various fronts,” a
highly placed Israeli source told Al-Monitor, speaking on the condition of
anonymity. “Also, the fact that we are in the President Mahmoud Abbas
twilight stage, with all the rumors about his [failing] health, and the
impasse reached by Hamas in Gaza — all these have not contributed to calming
the territory.”
Will the factors discussed here combine to create the “ultimate tornado”
that drags the entire region into war? At the moment, it seems unlikely.
Although Netanyahu may consider such a path, he is deterred by being up to
his neck in criminal investigations that probably will end his stint in
power before he can jump into a war.
Nevertheless, one must not forget that Netanyahu also understands that his
era will end soon. Will he chose to retire from public life in a storm and
push Iran from Israel's northern border as a farewell gift to his people?
Those who know him well do not think the odds are that he will, but as
always with the Middle East, one should never say never.
**Ben Caspit is a columnist for Al-Monitor's Israel Pulse. He is also a
senior columnist and political analyst for Israeli newspapers and has a
daily radio show and regular TV shows on politics and Israel. On Twitter: @BenCaspit