LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 22/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias
Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the
lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias18/english.march22.18.htm
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Bible
Quotations
Anyone
who believes in him will never be put to shame. ”For there is no difference
between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all
who call on him
Romans 10/01-21: "Brothers and sisters, my
heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be
saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their
zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of
God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s
righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be
righteousness for everyone who believes. Moses writes this about the
righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will
live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in
your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down)
“or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the
dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and
in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If
you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you
profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in
him will never be put to shame. ”For there is no difference between Jew and
Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then,
can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe
in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without
someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord,
who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the
message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. But I ask:
Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all
the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”] Again I ask: Did Israel
not understand? First, Moses says, “I will make you envious by those who are
not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”
And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I
revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”But concerning Israel he
says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate
people.”
Titles
For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on March 21-22/18
After A Decade Israel Admits: We Bombed Syria Nuclear
Reactor in 2007/Jerusalem Post/March 21 /18
France: Free Speech on Trial - Again/Robbie Travers/Gatestone
Institute/March 21/18
The Population Bomb Has Been Defused/Noah Smith/Bloomberg View/March 21/18
What the Saudi Prince's Visit Really Means/Ahmed Charai/Gatestone
Institute/March 21/18
Paris and Tehran: Dialogue of the deaf/Christian Chesnot/Al Arabiya/March
21/18
The regional powder keg and the threat of conflagration/Radwan al-Sayed/Al
Arabiya/March 21/18
Saudi Arabia embraces change - and the United States can help/Prince Khalid
bin Salman bin Abdulaziz/Al Arabiya/March 21/18
Mohamed Salah: Need for caution in success/Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/March
21/18
The US-Saudi relations: New challenges and opportunities/Saad Alsubaie/Al
Arabiya/March 21/18
Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News
published on March 21-22/18
Aoun not meddling in vote: Change and Reform
Lebanon: Electoral Breakup Between Future, Lebanese Forces
Cabinet convenes at Baabda Palace, approves infrastructure investment
project
Nasrallah Calls for 'Improving Electoral Law', Agrees to Defense Strategy
Talks
Shorter visits Arsal, borders: Ongoing UK commitment to Lebanon
Bassil announces draft law granting Lebanese women right to pass citizenship
to their children
STL to Hold a Pre-Defense Conference on Thursday
UN Gives Strong Backing to Lebanon's Political Independence
Aoun Chairs Cabinet Meeting, to Partake in Arab Summit in April
Bassil to Push Ahead with Law Granting Women Right to Pass Citizenship to
Children
Shorter Visits Arsal, Borders, in Signal of 'Ongoing UK Commitment to
Lebanon'
EU, British Council Urge Bigger Role of Women in Lebanese Politics
Marouni: Electoral Law Gave Rise to Bizarre and Absurd Alliances
Former First Lady Joyce Gemayel : Elections Provide the Chance to Rescue
Lebanon
American who Killed Lebanese Neighbor Admits Assaulting Mother
Berri Calls for 'Clean, Free' Legislative Elections
Mustaqbal Slams Hizbullah 'Sectarian' Remarks on Baalbek-Hermel Elections
'Amnesty Committee' stages sit in demanding general amnesty law in Brital
EU Declaration on International Day for Elimination of Racial
Discrimination: Strong commitment to values of unity and coexistence
Berri receives phone calls from Abbas, al Ghanim
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And
News published on March 21-22/18
After A Decade Israel Admits: We Bombed Syria Nuclear Reactor in 2007
Israel Admits 2007 Syrian 'Nuclear Reactor' Strike for First Time
Nuclear Targets: Other Attacks Linked to Israel
Merkel Sharply Criticizes Turkish Offensive in Afrin
Monitor Says 62 Regime Fighters Dead in IS' Monday Attack on Damascus
Toll in Rockets on Syria Capital Rises to 44 Dead
Turkey Kurds Mark Nowruz under Shadow of Afrin, Arrests
KSA, US: Strategic Partnership Between Two Global Economic Powers
US Poll: 6 in 10 Citizens Favor Strengthening Relations with Saudi Arabia
Gulf Financial Deficit Drops 52%
Libyan Speaker: Qatar and Turkey Violated Sovereignty of Our Country
US Optimistic on Crown Prince's Visit Opening New Areas of Cooperation
PA Calls on Hamas to Hand Over Gaza Strip ‘All at Once’
UK Envoy Snubs Moscow Meeting on Spy Poisoning
Strike near School in Syria's Idlib Kills 16 Children
HRW Says Libya Far from Ready to Hold Elections
Doctors treat 50 children after suspected leak from Russian dump
Iranian leader says Tehran has defused regional threats
UK either behind poisoning or unable to stop 'terrorist attack': Moscow
UK targeted by Russia because it 'called out' abuses: Johnson
Jordan: Security Court sentences 2 men to 10 years for plotting terrorist
attacks
Latest Lebanese Related News published
on March 21-22/18
Aoun not meddling in
vote: Change and Reform
Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/March 21/18
BEIRUT: The battle for the upcoming parliamentary elections took another
twist Tuesday with reports that President Michel Aoun is interfering in the
formation of electoral tickets to isolate his political opponents, prompting
a strong denial from the Free Patriotic Movement’s Change and Reform bloc.
Aoun’s alleged interference to influence the outcome of the elections comes
amid spiraling political tensions in the lead up to Lebanon’s first polls in
nine years, slated for May 6, reflecting the rival parties’ confusion and
difficulties in forging electoral alliances.
Perhaps the parties’ difficulties in forming electoral coalitions stem from
the fact that the elections will be conducted for the first time in
Lebanon’s history under a new vote law based on proportional representation.
This law, in the eyes of many election experts, gives a chance to
independent and civil society candidates to crack into established parties’
lists.
The parliamentary Change and Reform bloc of the FPM, founded by Aoun, denied
that the president was intervening in the elections.
“Any talk about an intervention by the [Baabda] Palace and its master in the
elections does not merit a response. Also, verbal attacks on the palace and
the strong president will not pay off,” Justice Minister Salim Jreissati
said after the bloc’s weekly meeting chaired by FPM leader and Foreign
Minister Gebran Bassil. The FPM’s officials and supporters have long
described Aoun as “a strong president” even before he was elected president
on Oct. 31, 2016.
Jreissati’s denial came on the same day the FPM’s Metn MP Nabil Nicolas
announced he was withdrawing his candidacy for a Maronite seat in his home
district.
Local media said Nicolas’ withdrawal was intended to pave the way for
candidate Sarkis Sarkis, a businessman, to replace him in the FPM’s
electoral list in the Metn district against a rival list to be announced by
Metn MP Michel Murr.
The move was also seen as an attempt by the FPM to isolate Murr who was
reported to be planning to include Sarkis in his list.
Annahar daily said that what’s happening in the northern Metn district, even
though it is part of the electoral competition between some major political
parties, reflected “a war of elimination” targeting Murr.
The Marada Movement led by MP Sleiman Frangieh accused Aoun of intervening
in the elections. “With total brazenness, they announce the lists of [Aoun’s]
era. It’s the right of the president to interfere in the elections, but this
matter requires several conditions, the most important of which is to
abandon the slogan that [Aoun] is everyone’s father and full commitment to
the neutrality of all state institutions,” Youssef Saadeh, a former minister
and a member of Marada’s political bureau, tweeted.
Jreissati, one of eight ministers representing the FPM in the Cabinet, said
preparations were underway to announce the FPM’s candidate lists on March
24, two days before the Interior Ministry’s deadline for parties to submit
their tickets expires.
Ahead of the deadline for parties to forward their lists, the Future
Movement and the Lebanese Forces were reported Tuesday to have agreed to
contest the elections on joint tickets in the Baalbeck-Hermel district and
the northern district of Akkar.
The Future Movement’s parliamentary bloc highlighted the importance of the
May 6 elections, by calling on its supporters to vote for the movement’s
lists in order to protect Lebanon from the fallout of regional conflicts.
“Lebanon is standing at a historic crossroads in its democratic and
parliamentary life. The forthcoming parliamentary elections constitute an
important milestone that will decide the country’s basic options,” the bloc
said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting chaired by former Prime
Minister Fouad Siniora.
The bloc stressed that voting for the Future lists would be “a vote for the
project to ensure Lebanon’s recovery and protect it from the repercussions
of the crises surrounding it and foil all attempts to align it with external
axes.”
It congratulated Prime Minister Saad Hariri on the success of last week’s
Rome II conference during which France pledged to provide a 400 million euro
($493 million) line of credit to purchase weapons and equipment for the
Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces.
“This success sends a positive signal to the CEDRE conference, which will be
held within two weeks in Paris to discuss the financing of the first phase
of the investment program for Lebanon’s infrastructure,” the bloc said.
The CEDRE conference, also known as Paris IV conference, set to be held in
Paris on April 6, is designed to boost the country’s ailing economy and
aging infrastructure.
Hariri said Monday the government would submit to the CEDRE conference not
only its Capital Investment Program, but also a comprehensive vision for
stability and sustainable long-term growth and job creation.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet is set to meet at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Baabda
Palace to discuss 35 items on the agenda, the most important of which is
Lebanon’s blueprint to the CEDRE conference.
However, some ministers might opt to raise the electricity crisis which is
not listed on the Cabinet agenda, an official source told The Daily Star.
Media reports said that Aoun might even seek a Cabinet voting on Energy and
Water Minister Cesar Abi Khali’s controversial plan to lease
power-generating barges to solve Lebanon’s long running electricity problem.
But the source denied the reports, saying Aoun would not ask the ministers
to vote on the electricity plan in order to avoid a split within the
Cabinet. Hariri was reported to be opposed to voting on the plan.
Abi Khalil’s plan has been opposed by the Lebanese Forces, Hezbollah, the
Amal Movement, the Kataeb Party and MP Walid Jumblatt’s bloc for being too
expensive and lacking transparency.
“We support sending the electricity plan to the Tenders Department to act on
it in a transparent manner,” Youth and Sports Minister Mohammad Fneish told
The Daily Star.
Lebanon: Electoral
Breakup Between Future, Lebanese Forces
Beirut- Caroline Akoum/Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/18/The Future Movement and
the Lebanese Forces will run for the May 6 parliamentary elections in
separate lists in the majority of electoral districts, negatively reflecting
on the number of seats expected by the Christian party in Parliament.
“Talks are still ongoing. However, the current electoral law makes it
difficult for us to build alliances. In almost all districts, separation is
better than the coalition,” a source from the Future Movement told Asharq
Al-Awsat on Tuesday. However, LF circles explained the separation
differently. “Offering justifications related to the electoral law are
nothing but claims to justify the Mustaqbal’s lack of political will to
reach an agreement with us,” sources from the LF said. The Christian party
had counted on allying with Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Movement in the
majority of electoral districts to win more seats during the upcoming polls.
However, talks between the two sides produced an alliance in only two
electoral districts: Baalbak-Hermel in the Bekaa and Akkar in the north.
“Talks with the Future Movement have reached a dead end, except an alliance
in Akkar and the Baalbek-Hermel districts,” LF leader Samir Geagea's aide,
candidate Wehbe Qatisha told Asharq Al-Awsat. For his part, head of LF
communications and media department Charles Jabbour said an alliance could
have been reached between the two sides if the Fututre had the political
will. “While the Future took a decision not to ally with the LF, they chose
to join hands with the Free Patriotic Movement in several districts,
including Zahle, Beirut, and Koura,” Jabbour said. He admitted that an
alliance with Hariri’s Movement would have placed the LF in a better
situation in most areas. “It seems clear that they took a decision to ally
with the FPM,” Jabbour added.
Cabinet convenes at Baabda Palace, approves
infrastructure investment project
Wed 21 Mar 2018/NNA - The Council of Ministers held its regular weekly
session at the Baabda Palace on Wednesday under the chairmanship of
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and the presence of Prime
Minister Saad Hariri. The Council of Ministers
discussed 35 items on its agenda and a range of matters that require swift
and appropriate decisions. President Aoun
initiated the cabinet session by congratulating mothers on Mother's day,
hailing the role of Lebanese mothers at the political, intellectual and
social levels. The President hoped that the
Parliament would endorse the 2018 draft state budget as soon as possible,
presenting some of the observations on the draft budget and the demands put
forward by the Supreme Judicial Council in this regard.
He informed the Council of Ministers of his participation in the Arab
Summit in Riyadh next month and his trip to Qatar to take part in the
inauguration of the Great Library. For his part,
Premier Hariri highlighted the success of the Rome II conference, which
reflected the international community's commitment to the stability and
security of Lebanon. He also announced that France will provide a credit
line with a ceiling of 400 million euros, whereas Russia offered a one
billion dollar credit line under study. Hariri
added that the projects proposed by Lebanon under the Public Investment
Program (CIP), will be submitted to the CEDRE Conference, according to the
priorities of Lebanon, noting that this conference will be accompanied by a
series of reforms. Premier Hariri also announced that the US delegation has
informed the Lebanese authorities that the US Congress has lifted the
blockade imposed on the delivery of certain weapons to the Lebanese army.
Thus, Washington will give Lebanon a donation, in weapons, estimated at 110
million dollars.
At the end of the session, Minister of State for Women's Affairs Jean
Ogasapian, said that the Cabinet approved the proposed national
infrastructure investment program, to be submitted to the CEDRE Conference,
set to take place soon in Paris,
Nasrallah Calls for
'Improving Electoral Law', Agrees to Defense Strategy Talks
Naharnet/March 21/18/Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday
called for “improving” the current electoral law while declaring that his
party does not have “reservations” over President Michel Aoun's call for
post-polls defense strategy talks.
“The upcoming elections represent a serious opportunity for the Lebanese
people to re-produce their national authorities,” said Nasrallah in a
televised address to announce his party's electoral platform. He said
Hizbullah's platform includes “improving the electoral law, especially in
terms of turning Lebanon into a single electoral district and lowering the
voting age to 18.” The new electoral law, approved last year after years of
political wrangling, is based on a complex proportional representation
system and 15 electoral districts. It replaces the winner-takes-all system
that had governed Lebanon's elections since 1943.
Hizbullah had long called for an electoral law based on proportional
representation and a single electoral district. Separately, Nasrallah said
Hizbullah's MPs “will work to provide the necessary capabilities to
strengthen the security and military institutions, topped by the Lebanese
Army.”“The necessary funds must be provided to enable them to perform their
missions in defending Lebanon,” he emphasized. “The judicial system must be
developed so that the judiciary becomes an independent authority,” Nasrallah
added. And calling for “creating a planning ministry,” Nasrallah underlined
that Hizbullah's ministers “will not agree to any outsourcing agreement
without a tendering process.” “It seems that the country's financial
situation is dangerous... This danger may pose an existential threat to the
state and the country should this situation persist,” the Secretary-General
warned.
He announced that Hizbullah will form “a special unit tasked with
confronting corruption and the waste of public money.”We commit to keep our
organization and party clean and uninvolved in any corruption,” Nasrallah
pledged.
“Those who have any suspicions of corruption against Hizbullah should
present them (to the authorities). We will hold accountable anyone
implicated in corruption and graft,” he added. “I will personally follow up
on the issue of combating corruption, because we are entering a dangerous
period,” Nasrallah vowed.
Hizbullah's chief noted that the new electoral law is “an opportunity for
better representation for our allies and friends.”“But if our allies don't
show modesty, the result will be failure. I call on everyone to show modesty
and to offer concessions in order to reach agreements,” Nasrallah urged. He
also noted that the electoral differences will not affect the “strategic”
political alliance between Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement.“As for
Hizbullah and the FPM, there is central communication and our political
relation is still ongoing. We might disagree over some files but we have not
become a single political party,” Nasrallah said. “We will cooperate with
the Free Patriotic Movement after the elections,” he stressed. Turning to
Aoun's call for defense strategy talks, Nasrallah said the president “has
the right to call for talks over a national defense strategy.”“We do not
have any reservations over this call, especially that it came from President
Aoun,” he said.
The issue of Hizbullah's arsenal of arms has long been a thorny issue in
Lebanon.
Shorter visits Arsal, borders: Ongoing UK commitment to
Lebanon
Wed 21 Mar 2018/NNA - British Ambassador to Lebanon, Hugo Shorter, has
visited Arsal for the first time, to see first-hand how the border town is
benefiting from the UK's security and development partnership with Lebanon.
In a press release by the British Embassy in Beirut, it said: "Arsal used to
be a vulnerable near-border community on Lebanon's frontline with Daesh.
Thanks to the LAF's Fajr el Jouroud operation last summer, security has much
improved: with UK support following the operation, the LAF now hold all
territory east of Arsal, changing the security dynamic in the town.
Release added: "Shorter held discussions with the head of Arsal
municipality Bassel el Hujeiri and marked that the UK has not forgotten
Arsal: together they visited to projects meeting the needs of the local
community - a new solid waste management systems, and a flood-control system
funded by the UK and delivered through the Lebanese Host Communities Support
Programme (LHSP), under the Ministry of Social Affairs and UNDP. The UK is
the first donor to be working with UNDP through the LHSP to deliver projects
for the host community in Arsal, since militants were cleared from the town
last summer. The Ambassador also heard from el Hujeiri about the outstanding
needs of the local community."Release said: "Shorter also met with the LAF
(9 Brigade) and the ISF at Arsal police station. Both briefed on how
security in Arsal was changing since last summer, and discussed how the UK's
partnership with the ISF in support of its Strategic Review is helping the
ISF realise its ambitions of becoming a modern, professional police service.
Shorter also discussed with the ISF and LAF how the UK's additional $13m -
announced at Rome II last week - could benefit security forces around Arsal.
Following his meetings within the town, Shorter visited one of seven
new LAF border positions where the Second Land Border Regiment are
overseeing the border with Syria. These new positions - funded by approx
$2.5m announced by the UK last year - mean Arsal is no longer a frontier
town, but is instead benefiting from the security provided by the LAF
throughout the Arsal Jurd. After his visit,
Ambassador Shorter said: "It was fantastic to see the transformation that is
already happening in Arsal thanks to the efforts of both the LAF and the ISF
on the security front. Arsal has faced huge challenges in recent years, but
I am proud the UK is contributing to help Arsal get back on its feet. We
hope that our over $800m of support to Lebanon since 2011 - including what
will now be over $120m for security - is benefiting all Lebanese, wherever
they are. Crucially, security is an enabler for development, and that's why
we're also proud to support the Ministry of Social Affairs and UNDP to make
improvements on waste management and storm-water drainage, which will make a
different to people's daily lives. The UK continues to be by your side, in
actions not words."
Bassil announces draft law granting Lebanese women
right to pass citizenship to their children
Wed 21 Mar 2018/NNA - Marking Mother's Day, Foreign Minister, Gebran Bassil,
blissfully announced that a draft law will be submitted granting Lebanese
women married to foreigners the right to confer their nationality to their
children, with the exception of neighboring countries. "A draft law will be
forwarded to the Cabinet allowing Lebanese women married to non-Lebanese the
right to pass their nationality to their children with the exemption of neighbouring countries, to avert naturalization," Bassil said at a press
conference at the Ministry on Wednesday. The Press
conference was attended by Justice Minister, Selim Jreissati, Foreign
Ministry Secretary General Hani Shmaitili, National News Agency Director
Laure Sleiman Saab, and scores of political dignitaries and women candidates
to the parliamentary elections. "In accordance with my constitutional duties
and powers, I present today this initiative entailing the principle of
equity among all the Lebanese, men and women," Bassil noted, adding that his
initiative was in line with the Lebanese Constitution's article 7 preventing
discrimination on the basis of gender.
STL to Hold a Pre-Defense Conference on Thursday
Naharnet/March 21/18/The Trial Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
will hold a second Pre-Defense Conference in the Ayyash et. al case under
Rule 129 on Thursday, the STL said. “Prior to the commencement by the
Defense of its case, pursuant to Rule 129, the Trial Chamber shall hold one
or more Pre-Defense Conferences as needed and in the presence of
representatives of the Prosecution, Defense and Participating Victims,” the
court said in a statement on Wednesday. The Trial
Chamber may give directions that are “necessary or desirable to ensure a
fair, impartial and expeditious trial,” the statement said. STL's judges had
on March 7 rejected a bid to acquit an alleged Hizbullah member of any role
in the 2005 assassination of ex-prime minister Rafik Hariri. The chamber at
the STL "finds that the prosecution has provided a sufficiency of evidence
upon which it could convict" Hussein Oneissi, presiding judge David Re said.
"Application for his acquittal is therefore dismissed," Re added. The judge
stressed though the court "could still acquit Mr. Oneissi at the end of the
trial" if the prosecution has not proved the charges "beyond reasonable
doubt." The prosecution last month concluded its case against Oneissi, and
three other suspected Hizbullah members, all being tried in absentia in the
court in the Netherlands. Before opening the defense case, lawyers for Oneissi, 44, had argued the five charges against him should be dropped as
the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence. The judges agreed
much of the evidence against Oneissi, much of which is based on records from
mobile phone networks and SIM cards used in the attack, was circumstantial.
But "the number of coincidental actions is such that the trial chamber has
sufficient evidence from which it could convict Mr. Oneissi of his
involvement in the attack on Mr. Hariri," judge Janet Nosworthy said.
Hariri, who was Lebanon's prime minister until his resignation in
October 2004, was killed in February 2005, when a suicide bomber detonated a
van packed with tons of explosives next to his armored convoy on the Beirut
seafront.
Another 21 people were killed and 226 injured in the assassination, with
fingers pointing at Syria which had long been a power-broker in the country.
"The assassination of Mr. Hariri was obviously a carefully planned and
rehearsed event requiring ... military precision," said Re. Oneissi is
notably accused of having recruited Lebanese Islamist Ahmed Abu Adass, and
helping him to make a videotape falsely claiming the assassination. Within
minutes of the attack, the false claim of responsibility was made in several
phone calls to Reuters news agency. Shortly afterwards a videotape of Abu
Adass' "confession" was dropped off in a tree by the Beirut offices of
Al-Jazeera. The court agreed that since the trial opened in January 2014 no
evidence had been found that Abu Adass was the suicide bomber and his DNA
had not been found at the scene. Rather Abu Adass had been used as a decoy
"to divert attention from the attackers" to a "fictional fundamentalist
group," Nosworthy said. Salim Ayyash, as well as a
fifth suspect Hizbullah commander Mustafa Badreddine, are accused of
masterminding the plot, with Oneissi and two others – Hassan Merhi and Assad
Sabra -- as accomplices. The case against Badreddine was dropped after he
was said to have been killed in fighting in Syria in 2016. Hizbullah denies
any involvement in the attack and its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has
dismissed the court as a U.S.-Israeli scheme.
UN Gives Strong Backing to Lebanon's Political Independence
Naharnet/March 21/18/The U.N. Security Council reaffirmed its strong support
for Lebanon's political independence following a report by Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres who said "crises in the region continue to pose a risk to
the stability" of the country. In a report circulated this week, Guterres
pointed to the sudden resignation — later rescinded — of Lebanon's Prime
Minister Saad Hariri late last year while he was in Saudi Arabia as one
crisis. It was widely seen as orchestrated by Hariri's Saudi backers, who
complain that the Lebanese government is controlled by the powerful
Iran-backed Hizbullah group. Guterres also reiterated his call to all
Lebanese parties and individuals "to cease their involvement in the Syrian
crisis." Lebanon, with its own history of a 15-year civil war, has a fragile
sectarian mix that supports both sides in the Syrian conflict. The country
also hosts almost 1 million Syrian refugees. But Guterres' message appeared
clearly aimed at Hizbullah, which has been fighting alongside Syrian
government forces. Under a Security Council
resolution passed in 2004, Lebanon's militias were told to disarm, but have
not. Hizbullah has instead increased its weapons capacity.
Guterres said unauthorized weapons in the hands of Hizbullah fighters
"warrants condemnation." He stressed that those weapons, together with
"threatening rhetoric" from both Hizbullah and Israel, "heightens risks of
miscalculation and escalation into conflict." "I call upon the parties to
exercise restraint at all times," Guterres said.
He also expressed concern about the use of "bellicose rhetoric" between
Lebanon and Israel, especially in a dispute over their exclusive economic
zones — and plans for oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean. U.N.
peacekeepers have been in Lebanon since 1978 after Israel invaded parts of
southern Lebanon. Violence has broken out on several occasions since then,
including major wars in 1982 and 2006. The 2006 war between Israel and
Hizbullah claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people on both sides. A
statement by the council after closed briefings by U.N. peacekeeping chief
Jean-Pierre Lacroix and Acting Special Coordinator Pernille Dahler Kardel
reiterated support for the 2004 resolution and disarmament of all militias.
The council backed efforts by Lebanese authorities "to restore normal
functioning institutions" and hold legislative elections on May 6. Guterres
said he was "encouraged by signals of political will and determination to
conduct parliamentary elections," which would be the first since 2009.
Aoun Chairs Cabinet Meeting, to Partake in Arab Summit in
April
Naharnet/March 21/18/President Michel Aoun chaired the government meeting on
Wednesday at Baabda Palace to discuss and decide on 35 items on the agenda,
“including some urgent files,” the National News Agency reported. The
meeting was held in the presence of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and
government ministers. Aoun and Hariri held a closed door meeting before the
session began. Discussions touched on the general situation and latest
developments, said the National News Agency. The Presidency media office
said: “Aoun presented to ministers the most important meetings with the
foreign delegations to Lebanon in the past two weeks. He discussed with them
the economic, security and health implications of the Syrian refugees living
in difficult conditions,” The President has also stressed the need for “safe
return of Syrian refugees without waiting for a peaceful solution.”
President Aoun urged foreign delegates to “support Lebanon as a center for
religious dialogue, cultures and civilizations.”He spoke about the Rome II
Conference and “thanked it for hosting the conference and for providing
Lebanon's security forces with assistance.”The President and Prime Minister
informed the Cabinet they will participate in the Arab summit to be held in
Riyadh on April 15.
Bassil to Push Ahead with Law Granting Women Right to Pass Citizenship to
Children
Naharnet/March 21/18/Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil said on Wednesday that a
draft law will be submitted granting Lebanese women married to foreigners
the right to pass their nationality to their children, “with the exception
of neighboring countries.”
At a press conference held at the Foreign Ministry, Bassil declared “an
initiative for implementing equality among the Lebanese, men and women,
based on the Constitution, international agreements and the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).”
Adding, “a draft law will be put forward granting women the right to confer
their nationality to their children, with the exception of neighboring
countries, for naturalization purposes.”“The State of Lebanon adheres to the
right of Palestinians to return back to their land, and the return of Syrian
refuges back to Syria,” he said. Bassil noted that
Lebanese women married to non-Lebanese, except from neighboring countries
(Syria and Palestine,) will be given the right to pass the Lebanese
nationality to their children. “The constitution bans naturalization,” he
argued.
The Lebanese nationality law says a Lebanese man who holds Lebanese
citizenship can automatically confer citizenship to his children and foreign
wife (only if entered in the Civil Acts Register in the Republic of
Lebanon). Under the current law, descendants of Lebanese emigrants can only
receive citizenship from their father and women cannot pass on citizenship
to their children or foreign spouses. On 12 November 2015, the Parliament of
Lebanon approved a draft law that would allow "foreigners of Lebanese origin
to get citizenship", Bassil announced on 5 May 2016 the beginning of the
implementation of citizenship law for Lebanese diaspora.
Shorter Visits Arsal, Borders, in Signal of 'Ongoing UK
Commitment to Lebanon'
Naharnet/March 21/18/British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter has visited
the eastern border town of Arsal for the first time, to “see first-hand how
the border town is benefiting from the UK’s security and development
partnership with Lebanon,” the British embassy said on Wednesday. “Arsal
used to be a vulnerable near-border community on Lebanon’s frontline with
Daesh (Islamic State group). Thanks to the LAF’s Fajr el Jouroud operation
last summer, security has much improved: with UK support following the
operation, the LAF now hold all territory east of Arsal, changing the
security dynamic in the town,” the embassy said in a statement.
Shorter held discussions with the head of Arsal's municipality,
Bassel al-Hujeiri, and marked that the UK “has not forgotten Arsal.”
Shorter and al-Hujeiri then inspected projects meeting the needs of
the local community -- a new solid waste management system and a
flood-control system funded by the UK and delivered through the Lebanese
Host Communities Support Program (LHSP). The
Ambassador also heard from al-Hujeiri about the outstanding needs of the
local community. Shorter also met with the Lebanese Army's 9th Brigade and
the Internal Security Forces at the Arsal police station. “Both briefed on
how security in Arsal was changing since last summer, and discussed how the
UK’s partnership with the ISF in support of its Strategic Review is helping
the ISF realize its ambitions of becoming a modern, professional police
service. Shorter also discussed with the ISF and LAF how the UK’s additional
$13m – announced at Rome II last week – could benefit security forces around
Arsal,” the British embassy said. Following his meetings within the town,
Shorter visited one of seven new LAF border positions where the Second Land
Border Regiment are overseeing the border with Syria. “These new positions –
funded by approx $2.5m announced by the UK last year – mean Arsal is no
longer a frontier town, but is instead benefiting from the security provided
by the LAF throughout the Arsal Jurd,” the embassy added. After his visit,
Ambassador Shorter said: “It was fantastic to see the transformation that is
already happening in Arsal thanks to the efforts of both the LAF and the ISF
on the security front. Arsal has faced huge challenges in recent years, but
I am proud the UK is contributing to help Arsal get back on its feet.”“We
hope that our over $800m of support to Lebanon since 2011 – including what
will now be over $120m for security – is benefiting all Lebanese, wherever
they are. Crucially, security is an enabler for development, and that’s why
we’re also proud to support the Ministry of Social Affairs and UNDP to make
improvements on waste management and storm-water drainage, which will make a
different to people’s daily lives. The UK continues to be by your side, in
actions not words,” Shorter added.
EU, British Council Urge Bigger Role of Women in
Lebanese Politics
Naharnet/March 21/18/With support from the EU-funded “DAWRIC" project, the
British Council organized Wednesday a panel discussion on challenges and
solutions related to women's political participation in Lebanon. The event
was organized in collaboration with Maharat Foundation and the Committee for
the Follow up on Women Issues (CFUWI). One of DAWRIC's main objectives is to
promote gender equality in the political sphere and in decision-making
processes at local and national levels in Lebanon. Wednesday's event
included the launch of an awareness campaign on women's political
participation, as a step forward to achieve gender equality in Lebanon.
The British Council described how they promote gender equality in
Lebanon. CFUWI announced the two priorities for DAWRIC’s advocacy campaign,
including women's political participation and the personal status law in
Lebanon. Maharat Foundation stressed on the important role of media and
communication in promoting women political participation.
The Minister of State for Women's Affairs Jean Oghassabian stressed
that "women's work should not be limited to gender issues as they have a
bigger role to play in national issues, such as the economy, security, and
oil and gas."The panel that followed discussed the challenges facing women
in politics and the solutions paving the way to increased participation
through strategies and policies at the local and international level, in
addition to the role of media in providing more space for women in the
public sphere.
EU Ambassador to Lebanon Christina Lassen explained that the EU works hard
to advance gender equality and women empowerment worldwide. "In Lebanon, we
specifically focus on barriers in the law, gender-based violence and women's
participation in politics. But change has to come from Lebanon, and the EU
is here to help," she said. "We help by supporting organizations that share
our values and belief in gender equality and by implementing projects like
DAWRIC that contribute to this goal", she added.
British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter expressed his wish to see more
men involved in the fight for gender equality. He said that "the #HeForShe
campaign should become the norm. Men should be campaigning for gender
equality as much as women, because the decision-making process involves
everyone."Furthermore, the National Commission for Lebanese Women's
President Claudine Aoun Roukoz said: "The international community is here to
support Lebanon, and we have a common agenda on gender equality. However,
the pressure to change the status quo should come from the Lebanese,
especially NGOs."Finally, media host Georges Salibi described how years ago,
women were almost absent from the media. "But the times are changing," he
said. "Today it is easier to host women, not only to discuss gender
equality, but also to talk about various political, social and economic
issues," he added. “DAWRIC - Direct Action for
Women: Reform, Inclusion and Confidence” is implemented by the British
Council. It aims to build women’s capacity and to provide broad-based
support for their active involvement in combating poverty among Lebanese
women and ensuring gender equality in the political and decision-making
realm. DAWRIC’s activities are implemented in 22 towns in the North, the
South, the Bekaa, and in Beirut and Mount Lebanon.
Marouni: Electoral Law Gave Rise to Bizarre and Absurd Alliances
Kataeb.org/March 21/18/MP Elie Marouni on Wednesday said that the new
electoral law has given rise to "bizarre" and "absurd" alliances in
different districts, adding that it is very rare to find homogenous slates.
In an interview with Akhbar Al-Yawm news agency, Marouni said that Lebanon
will be at a crossroads on May 6, warning that the country will find itself
to be annexed to the Syrian-Iranian axis if the March 8 forces win the
majority of parliamentary seats. “Will the sovereign powers and
anti-corruption forces be able to maintain their existence and rebuild a
parliamentary bloc that restores balance to the Parliament?" “Does Lebanon
have today a real state of law, justice and institutions?” he asked. “Of
course not." Marouni deemed the electoral battle in Zahle as heated, saying
that most of the lists include forces that were never expected to ally.
Marouni criticized the idleness and inaction of the elections supervisory
committee, saying that no action was taken against the illegal electoral
spending and vote-buying that is witnessed in most of the districts.
Former First Lady Joyce Gemayel : Elections Provide the
Chance to Rescue Lebanon
Kataeb.org/March 21/18/Former First Lady Joyce Gemayel on Wednesday saluted
all mothers on their international day, calling on them not to surrender to
despair amid the hardships that the country is going through. "For the first
time in my life, I feel that I have a message to deliver to all the mothers
in Lebanon. I once lived in a heavenly Lebanon which we have lost today. Our
struggle should now be focused on getting it back," Gemayel said in an
interview on Voice of Lebanon radio station. Gemayel also addressed the
mothers of martyrs, urging them to stay strong for the sake of their
families and not to pass on to them the sorrow they feel in their hearts.
Gemayel stressed that there is nothing that is impossible to achieve, noting
that the upcoming parliamentary polls serve as an opportunity to rescue
Lebanon from the suicidal path it has been placed on and to pull it out from
the current miserable situation.
"We've got all what is needed to build a better Lebanon, provided that we
know how to act," she said. "I am starting to sense a serious danger as many
have become convinced that change cannot be made in this country." The
former first lady urged the Lebanese to vote for honorable and righteous
people to get into the Parliament, assuring that the Kataeb party has made
sure to pick upright candidates to be part of its electoral race. Gemayel
hoped that the Parliament would include lawmakers who really want to rebuild
a better country despite political divergences, saying that the people's
affairs must be prioritized. Finally, she addressed her martyr son, Minister
Pierre Gemayel, assuring him that everything he had done did not go in vain
as his brother, Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel, is standing firm to all what he
believed in and fought for.
American who Killed Lebanese Neighbor Admits Assaulting
Mother
Associated Press//Naharnet/March 21/18/An Oklahoma man already sentenced to
life in prison for the hate-crime killing of his Lebanese neighbor has
pleaded guilty for a hit-and-run that injured the victim's mother. Stanley
Majors was convicted last month on murder and hate crime charges in the 2016
shooting death of 37-year-old Khalid Jabara. On Tuesday, Majors pleaded
guilty to assault and battery with a deadly weapon, leaving the scene of an
injury collision and violating a protective order for running over Jabara's
mother, Haifa Jabara, with his car. She suffered a broken shoulder, among
other injuries, in the 2015 incident.The Tulsa World news website reports
Majors' plea agreement calls for a sentence of 15 years in prison, which
will run concurrently with his life sentence for Khalid Jabara's killing.
Berri Calls for 'Clean, Free' Legislative Elections
Naharnet/March 21/18/In light of Lebanon's preparations for its long-awaited
parliamentary elections, Speaker Nabih Berri said he is “looking forward for
high voter turnout,” urging the Lebanese to “practice their national duty”
and cast their votes, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday. “We are
looking forward for massive election turnout. It is the national duty of
each citizen,” Berri told the daily in an interview. He reiterated saying
the elections will be staged based on the new proportional representation
electoral system, “my position is well known. I support staging clean, free
elections in every sense. I have always raised the slogan “do not distort
the elections.” Let's make it an opportunity to move our country to
safety.”It is clear that Berri is in the “opposite direction of pessimists”
who have recently raised their doubts about the possibility of staging
timely polls, said the daily. They link their fears to regional and
international developments that could take a serious military character in
the Syrian arena “threatening to reflect the tension on Lebanon,” it
added.On May 6, Lebanon is scheduled to stage its first legislative
elections in nine years based on a complex proportional representation
system that replaces a majoritarian winner-takes-all system. Regarding
rentals of power generating vessels in light of reports the cabinet will put
it for voting, he told the daily: “I have reiterated that lots of
squandering is involved in this file. We have, and will keep on rejecting
the plan or any other plan that squanders (public funds) even if we were
accused of obstruction.”The cabinet is set to convene on Wednesday to
discuss several items on its agenda, amid reports the thorny electricity
file will be put for voting.
Mustaqbal Slams Hizbullah 'Sectarian' Remarks on
Baalbek-Hermel Elections
Naharnet/March 21/18/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.
'Amnesty Committee' stages sit in demanding general
amnesty law in Brital
Wed 21 Mar 2018/NNA - "Amnesty Committee" on Wednesday afternoon staged a
sit-in in the town of Brital, demanding the issuance of the general amnesty
law, NNA correspondent said.
EU Declaration on International Day for Elimination of
Racial Discrimination: Strong commitment to values of unity and coexistence
Wed 21 Mar 2018/NNA - The European Union Mission in Lebanon distributed the
text of the declaration by the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini on
behalf of the European Union on the International Day for the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination, which said: "All human beings are born free and equal
in dignity and rights without distinction to their origin, ethnicity or
religion. On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination, the European Union reaffirms its strong commitment to
the values of unity and coexistence, and to the fight against racism,
discrimination, xenophobia and exclusion in all their forms, inside and
beyond our borders. Demonstrations of discrimination, hatred and intolerance
are still triggering conflicts in many countries around the world, forcing
people to flee and generating intolerable human suffering, and are on the
rise also in our European Union.
A society where human rights are not guaranteed for all is more fragile,
less resilient and is more prone to conflicts. The EU is promoting the
universal ratification and full implementation of the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination - the
universal foundation for the work to prevent and eradicate racism and
discrimination. Within the EU, the High Level Group on combating Racism,
Xenophobia and other forms of Intolerance compiled guiding principles on
hate crime training for law enforcement and criminal justice authorities and
on access to justice, protection and support for victims of hate crime. It
contributed to further developing guidance on improving the recording of
hate crime by law enforcement authorities, currently being tested in several
Member States. But this is first and foremost a cultural fight. Supporting
partner countries and civil society in preventing and countering racism and
intolerance is a guiding principle also of the EU's external action. Through
EU funding, support is being provided to civil society around the world to
counter racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. For instance,
projects have been put in place in order to improve the Criminal Justice
system in Rwanda through human rights education and legal aid provision. In
Sri Lanka, support is being provided aimed at strengthening fundamental
rights and freedoms in the Northern and Eastern Provinces by improving the
quality and the access to legal services in these regions.As this year marks
the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the EU
continues more than ever its dedicated work towards the universalisation of
the Declaration's fundamental values, working closely with all our partner
countries, regional and international organisations, National Human Rights
Institutions (NHRIs), civil society and human rights defenders, towards the
elimination of racial discrimination. The EU will keep working until
discrimination, hatred and violence will have no more place anywhere."
Berri receives phone calls from Abbas, al Ghanim
Wed 21 Mar 2018/NNA - House Speaker Nabih Berri and Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas discussed, during a phone call on Wednesday, latest
developments in the Occupied Lands in light of the fresh military escalation
in Gaza.
The pair also dwelt on the inter-Palestinian relations focusing on the
necessity to unify the Palestinian stance, as well as on the
Lebanese-Palestinian bilateral ties. The Speaker
received the phone call during his meeting with Palestinian Ambassador to
Lebanon, Ashraf Dabbour. Berri also received a phone call today from his
Kuwaiti counterpart Marzouq al-Ghanim. Separately, the Speaker held meetings
at his Msayleh residence with popular delegations. Furthermore, Berri
received a phone call from former Deputy Speaker Elie Ferezli; the latter
was decided to run for the legislative elections in West Bekaa, within the
list presided by former minister Abdul Rahim Mrad.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on March 21-22/18
After A Decade Israel
Admits: We Bombed Syria Nuclear Reactor in 2007
Jerusalem Post/March 21 /18
"It was a threat we couldn’t live with."
Israel was behind the 2007 destruction of a nuclear reactor that was being
built in northeastern Syria, the IDF Military Censor has now cleared for
publication.
Until now, Israeli media have been blocked from publishing details of the
reactor’s discovery and the decision- making process that led to its
destruction – even as many of those details were being published in the
foreign press and in the memoirs of former president George W. Bush and vice
president Dick Cheney. The Mossad confirmed the existence of the Syrian
reactor in March 2007, when the agency obtained photographs of the reactor
that was being built in the northeastern Deir al-Zor province, close to the
Euphrates River.
The pictures had been requested by the IDF Military Intelligence
Directorate, which had suspicions that Damascus was engaging in rogue
nuclear activity. Military Intelligence had seen the structure being built
during routine satellite scans of the country. Because it was built like a
regular building, it was not immediately clear what the structure was.
Then-head of Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin convinced Mossad
chief Meir Dagan to send agents to obtain additional, conclusive
intelligence. According to Amir Peretz, who was defense minister at the
time, “We had the intelligence but then came the dilemmas,” both military
and diplomatic. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Peretz explained
that in April 2007, he convened his first meeting on the facility with top
Israeli officials, during which he made the decision to prepare all options
to destroy the facility.
In the months that followed, prime minister Ehud Olmert embarked on a
diplomatic push to get Bush to attack the reactor. In July 2007, after Bush
decided not to attack, Olmert convened his security cabinet, which
ultimately concluded that the reactor had to be destroyed.
“It was a threat that we couldn’t live with,” one member of the security
cabinet at the time told the Post. “Syria with nuclear weapons would have
posed an existential threat to the State of Israel.”
Some sources have suggested that Olmert wanted to carry out the strike as
quickly as possible, but that once Peretz lost the Labor Party leadership
and his position as defense minister to Ehud Barak, plans to destroy the
facility were delayed. They say the 2006 Second Lebanon War was always a
presence in the room and that Barak was simply waiting for the final report
of the Winograd Commission on the war to lead Olmert to resign and allow
Barak to get all the credit for the strike. Meanwhile, Fox News requested
information on the reactor from the Pentagon under the US Freedom of
Information Act. Israel was informed of the request. Fearing a leak to the
media would lead to the operation being compromised, the security cabinet
deliberated on the strike one final time on September 5. According to The
New Yorker magazine, all ministers voted to strike, with the exception of
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, who abstained. Following the meeting,
Olmert, Barak and then-foreign minister Tzipi Livni were given the green
light to decide the final characteristics of the attack. They then withdrew
to a side room where IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi recommended carrying
out the strike that night.
Just before midnight on September 5, 2007, four F-15s and four F-16s took
off for the al-Kibar facility. The planes entered Syrian airspace via
Turkey, and sometime between 12:40 and 12:53 a.m., the pilots called out the
operation’s codeword, “Arizona,” signaling that some 17 tons of bombs had
been dropped on the facility and it had been destroyed.
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/After-a-decade-Israel-admits-We-bombed-Syria-nuclear-reactor-in-2007-546573?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=21-3-2018&utm_content=after-a-decade-israel-admits-we-bombed-syria-nuclear-reactor-in-2007-546573
Israel Admits 2007 Syrian 'Nuclear Reactor' Strike for
First Time
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/18/Israel's military
admitted for the first time Wednesday it was responsible for a 2007 air raid
against a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor, a strike it was long believed to
have carried out. The admission along with the release of newly declassified
material related to the raid comes as Israel intensifies its warnings over
the presence of its main enemy Iran in neighbouring Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also repeatedly called
for the nuclear deal between world powers and Iran to be changed or
eliminated.US President Donald Trump, who met Netanyahu at the White House
this month, has said that the nuclear deal must be "fixed" by May 12 or the
United States will walk away. An Israeli military
spokesman declined to respond to questions related to the admission and the
release of the documents, including over the timing, which could be seen as
a warning regarding Iran's activities. The declassified material includes
footage of the strike, video of a speech by military chief of staff Gadi
Eisenkot on the operation and pictures of secret army intelligence
communiques about the site. A military statement summarising the operation
lays out the case for why Israel carried out the strike at the desert site
in the Deir Ezzor region of eastern Syria on what it says was a nuclear
reactor under construction. It has long been widely assumed that Israel
carried out the strike. Syria has meanwhile denied it was building a nuclear
reactor. "On the night between September 5th-6th, 2007, Israeli Air Force
fighter jets successfully struck and destroyed a Syrian nuclear reactor in
development," the Israeli statement says.
"The reactor was close to being completed. The operation successfully
removed an emerging existential threat to Israel and to the entire region --
Syrian nuclear capabilities."
- 'Strategic implications' -Israel's admission is by no means the first time
its military has been identified as the source of the attack. In 2008, less
than a year after the strike, US officials accused Syria of having sought to
build a secret nuclear reactor and acknowledged Israel destroyed it in the
raid. The UN atomic watchdog declared in 2011 that the Syrian site was "very
likely" to have been a nuclear reactor, adding that information provided to
it suggested that it was being built with North Korean assistance. Israel
said in its new disclosures that secrecy surrounding the strike was
necessary due to the sensitive security situation. In defending the strike,
it notes that Islamic State group jihadists later overran much of Deir Ezzor
during Syria's civil war, while also saying that Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad "in the past used chemical weapons against his own citizens."
"The nuclear reactor being held by Assad would have had severe strategic
implications on the entire Middle East as well as Israel and Syria," it
said. While Israel's admission will come as little surprise, the
declassified material provides new details on what is widely known as
"Operation Orchard." The material speaks of an ultra-secretive operation,
with very few knowing details of the strike and a cover story provided.
Israeli intelligence had picked up on what it determined was the
construction of the nuclear reactor and followed its development, it says.
Four F-16s and four F-15s were involved in the strike, with the operation
beginning at 10:30 pm on September 5 and the planes returning at 2:30 am the
following day. Grainy footage of the strike included in the material shows a
target locking on to a building that is blown apart shortly afterward.
Israel determined that the alleged reactor was "totally disabled, and that
the damage done was irreversible."
Israeli military chief of staff Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, who was
northern commander at the time, recalled in a video in the material meeting
with his officers shortly before the raid. "I don't give them the exact
details of the target and its essence, but I say that there's going to be a
significant attack in the upcoming 24-48 hours, an event that in low
likeliness could lead to war," he said.
"Low, to me, is even 15 or 20 percent, which is a lot."
- 'Message' sent? -Syria and Israel have fought in repeated wars since the
Jewish state's founding in 1948. The two countries are still technically at
war. Israel has sought to avoid direct involvement
in the Syrian civil war that broke out in 2011, but it acknowledges carrying
out dozens of air strikes there to stop what it says are advanced arms
deliveries to Hizbullah. Hezbollah is fighting alongside Assad's regime,
like Iran and Russia. Israel has expressed growing concern over what it sees
as Iran's attempts to entrench itself militarily in Syria.
It also accuses Iran of seeking to build factories to construct
precision-guided missiles in Syria and Lebanon that could be used against
Israel. Beyond that, Netanyahu has warned that Israel will "never let Iran
develop nuclear weapons." Eisenkot spoke of
the "message" of the 2007 strike, while making reference to a 1981 Israeli
raid against a nuclear reactor in Iraq. "The message from the 2007 reactor
attack was that Israel won't accept the construction of abilities that could
constitute an existential threat to the state of Israel," he said in the
video. "That's the message from '81, that's the message from 2007 and that's
our future message to our enemies."
Nuclear Targets: Other Attacks Linked to Israel
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/18/Israel, which Wednesday admitted
responsibility for a top-secret 2007 air raid against a suspected Syrian
nuclear reactor, has been accused of other attacks in the Middle East
involving atomic targets:
Osirak raid
On June 7, 1981, Israeli fighters bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak,
or Tammuz for Iraqis, located west of Baghdad. A French technician was
killed in the raid. The Israeli planes operated
2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) from their base near Eilat on the Red Sea.
According to Israeli media, the planes were able to go unnoticed by flying
at low altitude above the Saudi and Iraqi deserts. Tammuz was believed to be
key to an Iraqi nuclear bomb program. The first Israeli bomb dropped weighed
900 kg (almost 2,000 pounds). The Israeli attack drew widespread
international condemnation, including by the U.S. and in the U.N. Security
Council. In 2007, Israeli television broadcast for the first time images
shot by Israeli aviation during the raid. The prime minister at the time,
Menachem Begin, said Osirak was on the point of becoming operational, which
would have enabled Saddam Hussein's Iraq to produce atomic bombs.
Iranian scientists targeted
In January 2010, Massoud Ali Mohammadi, a particle physics professor at
Tehran University, was killed when a booby-trapped motorcycle exploded
outside his home in the capital. The respected professor taught at Tehran
University but also worked for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Several leaders and official media in Iran quickly blamed the attack on
Israeli and U.S. intelligence services. Tehran had earlier the same year
accused the U.S. and Israel of kidnapping nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri
who disappeared in May 2009. In November 2010, two
scientists with key roles in the Iranian nuclear program were targeted in
Tehran by two bomb attacks that Iran blamed on Israel and the U.S. One of
the scientists, Majid Shahriari, was killed. A year later, on November 12,
an explosion in a munitions depot of the Revolutionary Guard in a Tehran
suburb killed at least 36 people including General Hassan Moghadam, in
charge of weapons programs for the elite unit. According to the Los Angeles
Times, the U.S. and Israel had led the operation against the Iranian nuclear
program.
Cyberattacks
In 2010, a powerful computer virus called Stuxnet attacked Iran's nuclear
facilities in a bid to set back the country's atomic program. Stuxnet
affected the functioning of Iranian nuclear sites, infecting several
thousands of computers and blocking centrifuges used for the enrichment of
uranium. Tehran accused Israel and the U.S. of being at the origin of the
computer viruses Stuxnet and Flame. In Syria, Israel has sought to avoid
direct involvement in the civil war that broke out in 2011, but it
acknowledges carrying out dozens of air strikes there to stop what it says
are advanced arms deliveries to Lebanon's Hizbullah.
Merkel Sharply
Criticizes Turkish Offensive in Afrin
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/18/German Chancellor Angela Merkel on
Wednesday strongly criticized the Turkish military offensive against Kurdish
militants in their Syrian stronghold of Afrin. "Despite all the legitimate
security interests Turkey has, it is unacceptable what is happening in
Afrin, where thousands and thousands of civilians are being persecuted,
dying or forced to flee," she told parliament. "We also condemn that in the
strongest terms." The People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia,
was driven out of Afrin on Sunday, one the cantons in the self-proclaimed
autonomous administration run by Syria's Kurds. Turkey considers the YPG
"terrorists" allied with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which
has waged a three-decade insurgency inside Turkey.
But Washington and the anti-Islamic State international coalition have
backed the YPG to spearhead its effort to oust IS jihadists from Syria.
In a wide-ranging speech on her new government's priorities, Merkel
offered a full-throated defense of her decision to let in more than one
milion asylum seekers since 2015, many of them from war-ravaged Syria. She
said the conflict required a "political" solution as well as a humanitarian
response and warned that the current offensives were exacerbating the
already desperate situation for the civilian population there.
"Just now we are seeing horrific things with the bombing for example
in Eastern Ghouta," Merkel said. "We condemn these bombings by Assad regime
-- for example on a school, in the strongest terms, but also Russia which is
looking on." Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has
brought swathes of territory back under his control since the war started in
2011, with help from Russia and allied forces, including Iran-backed
Lebanese Hezbollah militia. He has recently focused efforts on flushing out
the last pockets that escape government control in and around the capital,
the largest of them being Eastern Ghouta. On Monday, an air strike on a
school in Eastern Ghouta killed 15 children and two women who were using its
basement as a bomb shelter.
Monitor Says 62 Regime Fighters Dead in IS' Monday
Attack on Damascus
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/18/A lightning assault by the Islamic
State group that put the jihadists in control of a southern part of the
Syrian capital killed 62 regime fighters, a monitor said Wednesday in a new
toll. IS launched the surprise attack on Monday
night to seize the Qadam neighborhood of Damascus. The Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights war monitor gave an initial toll on Tuesday of 36
pro-government fighters dead, but said that loyalists had retrieved
additional bodies since. "The toll has risen to 62, most of them local
pro-regime fighters," said the Observatory, a Britain-based monitor which
relies on sources inside Syria for its information. "Regime reinforcements
have gathered on the outskirts of Qadam, but the operation to recapture it
has not yet started," said monitor chief Rami Abdel Rahman. IS have
maintained a presence in parts of Damascus, including in the Palestinian
camp of Yarmuk and the neighborhoods of Hajar al-Aswad and Tadamun.
It launched its Monday night attack from Hajar al-Aswad, taking
advantage of a temporary power vacuum in Qadam after Islamist and jihadist
fighters evacuated the area under a deal with the regime. That agreement saw
most of them head to the northwestern province of Idlib, which is controlled
by a group led by Syria's former al-Qaida affiliate. Al-Watan, a Syrian
daily close to the government, also reported Wednesday that regime forces
had sent reinforcements to Qadam, but said IS had only taken "a few
buildings in the district's east". IS swept across swathes of Syria and
neighboring Iraq in 2014, but has since lost most of that territory to
different offensives in both countries. In Syria,
the extremists only control less than five percent of the country, according
to the Observatory, including in pockets in the eastern desert near the
Iraqi border.
Fighters who pledged allegiance to IS are also present in the southern
province of Daraa. Syria's war has killed more than 350,000 people, starting
in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests before
spiraling into a complex conflict involving world powers and jihadists.
Toll in Rockets on Syria Capital Rises to 44 Dead
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/18/The death toll in a barrage of
rebel rocket fire on a popular shopping district of Syria's capital Damascus
has risen to 44 civilians, state media said on Wednesday. The attack on
edges of the Jaramana district in eastern Damascus took place on Tuesday
night, and state media had reported 35 dead at the time. "Nine more
civilians lost their lives after sustaining critical wounds," state news
agency SANA reported Wednesday, citing a police source.
"A number of wounded are still in the intensive care units of the hospitals
in Damascus," SANA said. The toll is the highest in rebel shelling on
Damascus since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011. Medical facilities in the
capital were overwhelmed on Tuesday, with pools of blood on the floor and
families searching desperately for loved ones. An AFP correspondent at the
main Damascus hospital said there were so many dead, they could not fit in
the mortuary. Outside, women wailed and hugged each other as they waited to
hear whether their loved ones had survived. The rain of rockets hit a
popular market known for its inexpensive prices. It was packed with people
shopping on the eve of Mother's Day in Syria, celebrated on March 21. The
district lies south of Ain Terma, a rebel-controlled town that falls in the
opposition's bastion of Eastern Ghouta. Ghouta-based rebels have for years
lobbed rockets and mortar shells at Damascus. Syrian troops have been waging
a fierce month-long air and ground assault to oust rebels from the enclave
that has left more than 1,400 dead.
Turkey Kurds Mark Nowruz under Shadow of Afrin, Arrests
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/18/Turkey's Kurds on Wednesday
celebrated the annual New Year festival of Nowruz under the shadow of the
capture of Afrin in Syria by the Turkish army, arrests of pro-Kurdish
politicians and the breakdown of the peace process. Tens of thousands joined
authorized celebrations for the New Year across the country, particularly in
Istanbul and the main majority Kurdish city of the southeast, Diyarbakir. A
sea of people crammed into a square outside Diyarbakir traditionally used
for the festival and where landmark declarations were made in the past over
the peace process with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Statements read on behalf of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan had in 2013
and 2015 voiced support for the peace process and urged a congress to bring
an end to the PKK's armed rebellion.
But a ceasefire collapsed later in 2015 and violence resumed, leading to a
crackdown against pro-Kurdish political leaders that has seen nine Peoples'
Democratic Party (HDP) MPs jailed. Turkish forces at the weekend took the
city of Afrin in Syria from a Kurdish militia Ankara sees as a wing of the
PKK, dealing a blow to Kurdish hopes of a large autonomous region in postwar
Syria. "They attacked Afrin because they could not tolerate the gains of the
Kurds," the HDP's co-leader Pervin Buldan told the rally in Diyarbakir.
"Afrin was a town of peace. We will never accept the attack on the people of
Afrin who had formed self government and lived fraternally," she added.
Particpants waved HDP flags but steered clear of using images of
Ocalan. Women in traditional dress flashed the victory sign. One of the
participants at the Istanbul rally, Yasar Tanrikulu, said: "Why is mankind
deaf to our pleas? Why doesn't Europe hear us? Nobody cares about our
situation." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meanwhile sent his own
statement of congratulations for the New Year and boasted in a speech in
Ankara that "our celebration... is not that of the PKK." Erdogan has long
argued the PKK is a terror group that does not represent Kurds, insisting he
has done more than any Turkish leader to help the minority through reforms.
KSA, US: Strategic Partnership Between Two Global
Economic Powers
Riyadh- Shuja Al-Baqmi/Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/18/Trade relations between
Saudi Arabia and the United States are a global model of deeply-rooted
international relations and common interest. The two countries are among the
most prominent economic forces in the world, with US GDP and Saudi Arabia's
weight and prestige in oil markets. Figures related to trade exchange
between the kingdom and US affirm the strong ties, at a time when Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman visit is expected to open wider dimensions of
strategic economic ties.
Based on initial data of 2017, issued by the General Authority for
Statistics, the US comes second in trade exchange with the kingdom, SAR135
billion (USD36 billion). Given this data, the huge deals signed by Saudi
Arabia and US in May are forecast to push the trade and economic ties in the
coming period – these huge deals reflect the US keenness to cement trade
partnership with Saudi Arabia. In this regard, Saudi Arabia signed with US
in May deals and unprecedented cooperation memorandums worth USD280 billion,
which would create hundreds of thousands of vacancies in both countries
within the coming years. Among the signed deals are: ExxonMobil Chemical Co.
and SABIC deal that targets petrochemicals production projects; Lockheed
Martin deal that would support manufacturing 150 Blackhawk helicopters in
Saudi Arabia; and General Dynamics deals that target domestic manufacturing
and designing of armored trucks in the kingdom.
The two countries were keen to develop trade and investment to serve the
best interest of Saudi Arabia and the US. In 2003, an agreement was signed
to establish the Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs) including
representatives from both parties.
Libya depends on Saudi Arabia's support to maintain stability in the
country, according to Libyan Speaker Agila Saleh who stressed that Riyadh
has a role in the unity of the Arab and Islamic nation, noting that both
Qatar and Turkey violated Libya's sovereignty and supported terrorist
military factions.
During his interview with Asharq al-Awsat on the sidelines of his visit to
Riyadh, where he met with Chairman of Saudi Shura Council Sheikh Abdullah
al-Sheikh, Saleh explained that his visit is aimed at developing relations
between the two councils and clarifying what is happening in Libya regarding
the political agreement. The Speaker of the House of Representatives praised
the Saudi-Libyan relations and stressed the Saudi leadership's keenness to
support Libyan people under all circumstances. He added that Libyans rely on
the active role of Saudi Arabia, welcomed by Arab and Islamic communities,
in exercising diplomacy to prevent foreign interventions, saying: "Let
Libyans rule themselves."
Saleh pointed out there is no progress in the Libyan issue because there has
not been enough pressure on the UN envoy by the international community to
implement the agreement. "We came to Saudi Arabia, and we rely on the
Kingdom to contribute to pressure the UN envoy and accelerate the reunion
and the implementation of what was agreed upon," said Saleh. He also
expressed optimism about the appointment of Ghassan Salame as UN envoy to
Libya, asking him to expedite the search for a solution.
Qatari - Turkish interventions
Saleh confirmed Turkish and Qatari interventions in Libya, adding that
evidence of this intervention is prominent, last of which was discovered on
Monday, with a group of terrorists backed by both countries arriving in
Libya. "We wished our Qatari brothers had supported Libya, and were
neutral," said Saleh, adding he hoped Doha had respected Libyans. The
Speaker also accused Turkey of arming terrorist groups, the last of which
was revealed in Greece trying to smuggle 29 containers full of weapons and
explosives to Libya. On the other hand, he lauded the efforts of the Libyan
army and its sacrifices despite the presence of terrorist organizations with
developed weapons. He also called upon the tribes and dignitaries to convene
and try to find a solution for the Libyan crisis.
Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi
When asked on the candidacy of Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi for presidential
elections, Saleh indicated that Libyan parliament annulled the law of
political isolation, meaning that every Libyan, whether Saif al-Islam or any
other, has the right to run for elections given they are not subject to
judicial restrictions.
"It is up to Libyans to choose their candidate, and we as the Parliament,
can't rule out any candidacy for any reason," he added. As for him, Saleh
believes that Saif al-Islam's candidature for presidency is not appropriate,
given that many Libyans have their concerns and this could further divide
the country. As for the current House of Representatives, the adviser stated
that some countries, instead of supporting the legitimacy as they claim,
support Muslim Brotherhood, creating a rift among Libyans.
"We were surprised by the political agreement, achieved in Sukhairat by
unauthorized people," he stressed. Saleh stressed that after international
pressure, "amendments were approved by the United Nations and the Security
Council with the support of the Arab States, indicating that the
Presidential Council, instead of including three presidents, becomes
composed of a president and two deputies, and the Prime Minister is tasked
with presenting the government's program before the parliament for approval
and confidence vote." The Speaker told Asharq Al-Awsat that the decision to
form an executive authority composed of a president and two deputies from
each region, a government of national accord in order to unite institutions,
and take Libya out of this crisis was almost unanimous. The government of
national accord (GNA) violated the political agreement, and yet the
international community continues to support it, according to Saleh.
Relations with Egypt
Saleh stressed that relations between Libya and Egypt are historic,
considering Cairo a refuge for Libyans. He also praised Egypt's cooperation
with Libya in securing the border. The Speaker concluded by calling Arab
leaders to unite and assume their responsibilities for a strong Arab nation,
adding that it is crucial to join Arab forces together to prevent foreign
interventions.
US Poll: 6 in 10 Citizens Favor Strengthening Relations
with Saudi Arabia
Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/18/The visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman received wide attention in the US media, political and cultural
circles.
A Washington-based advisory firm indicated
there was a great interest in Prince Mohammed and his social and political
reform program.
A study by FTI Consulting on perceptions of the US voter and his vision of
Saudi Arabia drew a complex picture of the US public opinion in Saudi
Arabia. The survey showed that about 56 percent of US citizens have read or
heard about Saudi Arabia recently in the media.
Managing Director at FTI Consulting Hani Okaily stated: "It may be
surprising that the US public opinion has not changed much over the years,
but the shift between the different segments of the public picture should be
analyzed and will have a strong impact on the long run."
He indicated that about 6 in 10 US citizens want to keep the relationship
with Saudi Arabia at its current level or consolidate it. The majority of
this includes unmarried women and the new generation, which is the
Millennial and non-white US citizens.
Over the past 17 years and since September 11, the coverage of the US media
has been almost entirely negative. The FTI study revealed that one out of
every 10 news articles on Saudi Arabia was positive.
"Our study showed that these few positive news about Saudi Arabia do not
affect US public opinion," he explained.
Okaily attributed this to the fact that there is a fundamental state of
unconscious reaction that overcome the media news received by citizens,
explaining that the personal opinion of the individual and his convictions
that accumulated over the years do not change by watching or reading one
story about Saudi Arabia.
The successive US administrations do not lead the people as absolute
leadership, as much as it is driven by the desire of the majority of the
people, indicated the managing director.
"The electoral trend often swings from liberals to conservatives and vice
versa, but the dynamic enthusiasm of the coming generation of voters can
lead to unprecedented changes that end such a political custom," said one US
citizens.
During former President Obama's administration, US-Saudi relations underwent
a period of stagnation, which Senior Vice President at Center for Strategic
and International Studies Jon Alterman described as weak because "he [Obama]
because he did not appreciate their efforts and role."
However, Trump is now excited to develop a personal relation, Alterman told
Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that there was a US warning against Saudi Arabia,
but "we are now seeing an US enthusiasm for a young leader," meaning Prince
Mohammed bin Salman.
Nearly half of US citizens see the Saudi-US relationship as positive,
according to the study, similar to the results of other studies over many
years.
As for Yemen, one-third of US citizens support the war in Yemen, and
according to Okaily, "this third is the third that supports Trump, who is
one in three US citizens and they are the electoral base of the president."
As for the unmarried women category, half of them believe that Saudi Arabia
is an ally of the United States in the Yemen war.
"Everyone needs to get their expectations back. The world's demographics are
changing, and this new generation of promising leaders has become very
influential," Okaily concluded, adding that US citizens seek to overcome
inherited views to objectively consider Saudi society, just like Saudis must
objectively form the true image on the real US society.
Gulf Financial Deficit Drops 52%
London- Mutlaq Muneer/Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/18/Financial deficit in
countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is expected to reach $51
billion in 2018, dropping 52 percent compared to 2017 budgets ($107
billion), according to an analysis by KAMCO Investment Company based on
estimates of government budget issued by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF). Initiatives to enhance and control expenses are basic factors in
reducing the deficit gaps in the budget. The budget deficit is expected to
drop amidst forecasts that the revenues rise in case oil prices maintain
stability until the end of the year and remain at the same levels of Q1 2018
(above $60 per barrel). Current accounts credits of GCC countries are also
expected to achieve a surplus in the time extending from 2017 till 2019,
even if marginal (an estimate of 0.3 percent of GDP for that period).
Directive initiatives are expected to continue in order to reinforce non-oil
economy in the GCC countries, but they will be less concurrent compared to
previous years as GCC countries will likely use financial instruments to
support their financial resources. An example is the introduction of VAT in
UAE and Saudi Arabia. However, other Gulf countries didn’t implement it
despite the IMF estimating that the VAT will offer additional revenues
ranging from 1.5 percent to 3 percent of the oil GDP in the region. Some
independent procedures taken by some Gulf countries to generate revenues
include: implementing the selective tax by UAE and Saudi Arabia in 2017, and
the Saudi intention to raise fees for government services and taxes on
vacant lands. Other states are preparing to introduce tax reforms on firms’
profits.
Libyan Speaker: Qatar and Turkey Violated Sovereignty
of Our Country
Riyadh- Nayef Al Rasheed /Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/18/Libya depends on Saudi
Arabia's support to maintain stability in the country, according to Libyan
Speaker Agila Saleh who stressed that Riyadh has a role in the unity of the
Arab and Islamic nation, noting that both Qatar and Turkey violated Libya's
sovereignty and supported terrorist military factions. During his interview
with Asharq al-Awsat on the sidelines of his visit to Riyadh, where he met
with Chairman of Saudi Shura Council Sheikh Abdullah al-Sheikh, Saleh
explained that his visit is aimed at developing relations between the two
councils and clarifying what is happening in Libya regarding the political
agreement. The Speaker of the House of Representatives praised the
Saudi-Libyan relations and stressed the Saudi leadership's keenness to
support Libyan people under all circumstances. He added that Libyans rely on
the active role of Saudi Arabia, welcomed by Arab and Islamic communities,
in exercising diplomacy to prevent foreign interventions, saying: "Let
Libyans rule themselves." Saleh pointed out there is no progress in the
Libyan issue because there has not been enough pressure on the UN envoy by
the international community to implement the agreement. "We came to Saudi
Arabia, and we rely on the Kingdom to contribute to pressure the UN envoy
and accelerate the reunion and the implementation of what was agreed upon,"
said Saleh. He also expressed optimism about the appointment of Ghassan
Salame as UN envoy to Libya, asking him to expedite the search for a
solution.
Qatari - Turkish interventions
Saleh confirmed Turkish and Qatari interventions in Libya, adding that
evidence of this intervention is prominent, last of which was discovered on
Monday, with a group of terrorists backed by both countries arriving in
Libya. "We wished our Qatari brothers had supported Libya, and were
neutral," said Saleh, adding he hoped Doha had respected Libyans. The
Speaker also accused Turkey of arming terrorist groups, the last of which
was revealed in Greece trying to smuggle 29 containers full of weapons and
explosives to Libya. On the other hand, he lauded the efforts of the Libyan
army and its sacrifices despite the presence of terrorist organizations with
developed weapons. He also called upon the tribes and dignitaries to convene
and try to find a solution for the Libyan crisis.
Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi
When asked on the candidacy of Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi for presidential
elections, Saleh indicated that Libyan parliament annulled the law of
political isolation, meaning that every Libyan, whether Saif al-Islam or any
other, has the right to run for elections given they are not subject to
judicial restrictions. "It is up to Libyans to choose their candidate, and
we as the Parliament, can't rule out any candidacy for any reason," he
added. As for him, Saleh believes that Saif al-Islam's candidature for
presidency is not appropriate, given that many Libyans have their concerns
and this could further divide the country. As for the current House of
Representatives, the adviser stated that some countries, instead of
supporting the legitimacy as they claim, support Muslim Brotherhood,
creating a rift among Libyans. "We were surprised by the political
agreement, achieved in Sukhairat by unauthorized people," he stressed.
Saleh stressed that after international pressure, "amendments were approved
by the United Nations and the Security Council with the support of the Arab
States, indicating that the Presidential Council, instead of including three
presidents, becomes composed of a president and two deputies, and the Prime
Minister is tasked with presenting the government's program before the
parliament for approval and confidence vote."The Speaker told Asharq Al-Awsat
that the decision to form an executive authority composed of a president and
two deputies from each region, a government of national accord in order to
unite institutions, and take Libya out of this crisis was almost unanimous.
The government of national accord (GNA) violated the political agreement,
and yet the international community continues to support it, according to
Saleh.
Relations with Egypt
Saleh stressed that relations between Libya and Egypt are historic,
considering Cairo a refuge for Libyans. He also praised Egypt's cooperation
with Libya in securing the border. The Speaker concluded by calling Arab
leaders to unite and assume their responsibilities for a strong Arab nation,
adding that it is crucial to join Arab forces together to prevent foreign
interventions.
US Optimistic on Crown Prince's Visit Opening New Areas
of Cooperation
Riyadh, Washington - Abdul Hadi Habtoor and Asharq Al Awsat/March 21/18/The
visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the United States comes
in a period that witnesses fostering and expanding historic ties between the
two countries.
Head of the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council Edward Burton told Asharq Al-Awsat:
"Both the US and Saudi Arabia have a strong economic relationship. The
United States is the kingdom's largest trading partner, and the Kingdom is
one of the largest US export markets in the Middle East. "
Burton stated that Saudi Arabia signed the joint strategic vision with US
President in May, and it included several agreements worth billions of
dollars. The deals were divided into two: defense and energy. He added that
the business leaders in the two countries declared more than $200 billion of
commerce deals, including deals with Aramco, General Electric and Honeywell
International. In statements to Asharq Al-Awsat, Christopher Henzel, the
Charge d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Riyadh, said he was confident Trump
and the Crown Prince would “enjoy open and candid discussions on a variety
of issues.”
The two countries share a fruitful partnership and permanent friendship that
go back to 80 years. “The world has changed amazingly since 1940, and with
these changes, our partnership grew,” he added. “Our bilateral ties focused
at the beginning on energy and security. But they developed later on to
include a wide group of mutual interest topics.” He underpinned that the
kingdom is a primary partner in maintaining stability in the Middle East.
Henzel continued that Trump expressed the US concerns towards the Iranian
attitude that seeks to harm security in the Middle East.
PA Calls on Hamas to Hand Over Gaza Strip ‘All at Once’
Ramallah- Kifah Zboun/March 21/18/The Palestinian Authority government on
Tuesday called on Hamas to transfer full control of the Gaza Strip to it
“all at once.”The PA government made the statement a day after President
Mahmoud Abbas suggested he would cut all budgets allocated to Gaza if the PA
does not take full control of the coastal territory. Senior member of
Fatah's Central Committee Azzam al-Ahmad said that Abbas’s speech, in which
he accused Hamas of being involved in the assassination attempt of
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami al-Hamdallah, marks the beginning of a new
phase.
Abbas accused Hamas of carrying out the roadside bombing that struck
Hamdallah and PA General Intelligence Services Majid Faraj’s motorcade in
the northern Gaza Strip last week. He also said that if Hamdallah and Faraj
had died in the bombing, a bloody inter-Palestinian conflict would have
broken out.
Ahmad, who is responsible for the reconciliation file in Fatah, told Asharq
Al-Awsat that the period before the assassination attempt is different from
the period after it. “If the attempt succeeded, it would have been a major
disaster,” Ahmad added. He also denied that the measures Abbas had promised
to take were yet to be formulated, but he said it would be legal, economic
and financial. “It is a very national goal, which is to end the division
forever.""It is no longer possible to continue with this division at this
historic and important stage of the conflict."He rejected Hamas's
accusations against the president regarding burning the bridges. "Hamas
neither recognizes the PA nor the government, which is supposed to be
responsible in the West Bank and Gaza," he said. “During their
investigations, they did not address the attorney general, and they did not
even recognize him.” “They have their own attorney general, and this is
proof that they control everything in Gaza, and they do not recognize the
legitimacy and do not want to hand over Gaza Strip to the government," Ahmad
told Asharq Al-Awsat. “I want to hand over the Gaza Strip and end the
division once and for all, not help in the liquidation of the Palestinian
cause," he said. “Hamas shall hand over Gaza Strip to the government, and
once this happens I will be the first person to confront any action against
Gaza.” "It is necessary to hand over Gaza Strip and end the division once
and for all instead of helping in the liquidation of the Palestinian cause,”
Ahmad stressed.
UK Envoy Snubs Moscow Meeting on Spy Poisoning
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/18/Britain said Wednesday its
ambassador will snub a Moscow meeting on the poisoning of a spy in England
as Russia's foreign minister threatened further retaliation against
"anti-Russian measures."
The Kremlin slammed the planned absence of British ambassador Laurie Bristow
from a meeting being hosted by the foreign ministry, saying it showed
London's unwillingness to cooperate. On Tuesday, Moscow had invited all
ambassadors to Russia to a meeting with foreign ministry experts to hear its
views on the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in an English
city earlier this month. Vladimir Yermakov, director of the ministry's
non-proliferation and arms control department, will brief foreign embassy
representatives at 1200 GMT, an official told AFP. But several Western
diplomatic missions said their chiefs would not go.
"The ambassador will not be attending the meeting," British embassy
spokeswoman Zeenat Khanche told AFP, adding that the mission was considering
sending a "working level" official. "Perhaps this is another eloquent
demonstration of the absurdity of the situation when questions are being
asked but the unwillingness to hear some answers is being shown," President
Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The head of European Commission delegation to Russia will also not
attend because "he is not the country," its spokeswoman Luca Eszter Kadar
told AFP.
Instead, his deputy, Sven-Olov Carlsson, will attend the gathering, she
said. The German and French embassies said they
planned to send representatives to the meeting. Russia is facing huge
pressure from Britain and its allies to explain how Skripal and his daughter
Yulia were poisoned on British soil with a nerve agent the UK says is
Soviet-designed. Moscow has denied being involved.
- 'Principle of reciprocity' -The March 4 attack in the English city of
Salisbury has plunged Russia's ties with Britain and its allies into a new
crisis. Britain has thrown out 23 Russian
diplomats over the attack, prompting a tit-for-tat response from Moscow.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is on a visit to Japan, urged the
British government to "respond calmly" over the attack on the Skripals, who
remain in critical condition.
"If the British government continues taking some anti-Russian measures, we
will hit back under the principle of reciprocity," he said after a meeting
with Japanese counterpart Taro Kono. "Overall, there is no doubt that the
British leadership has knowingly chosen to undermine the British-Russian
relationship."
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said London was "actively
considering" other measures. Putin -- who secured
a landslide victory in Sunday's poll -- has dismissed allegations of
Moscow's responsibility as "nonsense".
Russian officials said Putin had received a record vote share of more than
76 percent as Russians closed ranks behind their leader.
- 'Proud of our country' -The Russian diplomats and their families --
around 80 people in total -- arrived from London late Tuesday.
"We are very happy to have returned home," Yekaterina, the wife of one of
the diplomats, was quoted as saying by TASS state news agency.
"We are proud of our country, that we've managed to prove our
innocence despite all the accusations." Britain says only Russia had the
capability, motive and intent to be behind the attack, in which it says the
nerve agent Novichok, developed by the Soviet Union, was used. The EU has
expressed its solidarity with Britain and at a summit later this week, its
leaders will agree to "coordinate on the consequences" for Russia, according
to a draft statement seen by AFP. However, US President Donald Trump on
Tuesday appeared to have ignored the poisoning row when he called to
congratulate Putin on his re-election and proposed a summit in the
"not-too-distant future". On Tuesday, the head of
the OPCW chemical watchdog said it would take two to three weeks to complete
laboratory analysis of samples taken from the poisoning.
Strike near School in Syria's Idlib Kills 16 Children
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/18/An air strike hit near a school in
Syria's northwestern province of Idlib Wednesday, killing at least 16
children, a monitoring organization said. "Twenty civilians, including 16
children, were killed in an air strike in Kafr Batikh in Idlib province,"
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of
the Britain-based monitoring organization, said the strike hit near a
checkpoint held by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist group that consists
largely of ex-members of a former al-Qaida affiliate. It was not clear
whether the air strike was carried out by the Syrian regime or its Russian
ally. Abdel Rahman said the strike hit children coming out of a nearby
school. "The oldest among them is 11," he said.
HRW Says Libya Far from Ready to Hold Elections
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/18/Human Rights Watch said Wednesday
that Libya is far from ready in political, judicial or security terms to
hold free and fair elections as sought by the United Nations.
U.N. special envoy Ghassan Salame has submitted an action plan to
stabilize Libya centered on holding legislative and presidential elections
this year. However, "for elections to be free and
fair, they need to be held in an environment free of coercion,
discrimination, or intimidation of voters, candidates, and political
parties," HRW said. A 2015 U.N.-brokered deal that saw the establishment of
a Government of National Accord (GNA) was meant to overturn years of chaos
that followed the ouster of strongman Moammar Gadhafi in a 2011 revolt.
But Libya has remained mired in violent turmoil as the country is
riven by divisions between the GNA in Tripoli and a rival administration
backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar in the east. "Libya today
couldn’t be further away from respect for the rule of law and human rights,
let alone from acceptable conditions for free elections," said Eric
Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director of the New
York-based HRW. "The authorities need to be able to guarantee freedom of
assembly, association and speech to anyone participating in the elections,"
said Goldstein. The rights watchdog said that
"restrictive laws have undermined freedom of speech and association in
Libya, and armed groups have intimidated, harassed, threatened, physically
attacked, and arbitrarily detained journalists, political activists, and
human rights defenders.""The legal framework for holding elections remains
opaque," according to HRW. After his rise to power in a 1969 military coup,
Gadhafi banned elections and abolished the Libyan constitution. Following
his fall, legislative polls were organized in 2012 and 2014. Out of a
population of six million, 2.4 million Libyan voters have so far been
registered. A new constitution has to be put to a referendum and an
electoral law adopted before polling.
Doctors treat 50 children after suspected leak from
Russian dump
Wed 21 Mar 2018/NNA - Doctors in a Russian town where residents have
protested over gas leaks from a local dump, treated dozens of children
complaining of dizziness and nausea today, officials said. Riot police were
called into Volokolamsk, some 120 kilometres west of the Russian capital,
earlier in the month to break up a demonstration calling for the closure of
the landfill. Local officials said the day before the demonstration that a
gas leak from the site led to double the usual levels of hydrogen sulphide
and nitric oxide in the air.
Doctors treated 50 children from different schools in the town, the Moscow
regional authority said in a statement. "The main complaints were nausea and
dizziness," it said, adding that experts were not linking the cases to the
Yadrovo landfill. But the statement added that Moscow governor Andrei
Vorobyov had earlier said reforming the region’s landfill system would be
one of his priorities. Around 200 people had gathered outside the
Volokolamsk hospital Wednesday, an AFP journalist said. One person was
holding a sign reading: "We are suffocating! We so want to live you know."
"Don’t kill our kids," another placard read. Yekaterina Volkova, deputy head
of the local education department, told the TASS state news agency she
believed the cause of the dizziness outbreak was the Yadrovo landfill. ---AFP
Iranian leader says Tehran has defused regional threats
Wed 21 Mar 2018/NNA - Iran has defused all regional threats against the
country, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday, as
tension rises between Tehran and Washington over the influence of the
Islamic Republic in the Middle East.
In an Iranian New Year message, Khamenei did not specify any particular
threat. But he appeared to be mainly referring to the Islamic State militant
group, which Iranian forces have confronted in Syria and Iraq as well as at
home. Shi’ite Iran has also been locked in a regional power struggle with
Sunni Saudi Arabia which has extended to the war in Yemen and to Lebanon.
"Last year, the Islamic Republic defused regional threats - one of their
aims was to harm the Islamic Republic," Khamenei said in a broadcast on
state television. "These threats did not damage our country, but turned into
opportunities."
In November, Tehran declared the end of Islamic State and hailed the Iranian
soldiers killed fighting against it in Syria and Iraq. Iran has provided
critical military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, helping his
army regain swathes of land from rebels and militants in recent months.
"Our humble soldiers and tireless diplomats were able to stand with the
people of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon to establish stability and increase
security for the region," President Hassan Rouhani said in his New Year
message. U.S. President Donald Trump, who sees Iran as a threat to stability
in the Middle East, has pledged to work with Gulf Arab states and Israel to
curb what they say are Tehran’s attempts to extend its influence in the
region. Trump sent greetings on Monday to Iranians celebrating the New
Year’s holiday, known as Nowruz, but used the message to attack Iran’s
government, particularly its powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Trump has threatened to pull the United States out of the 2015 agreement
between world powers and Tehran which limited Iran’s nuclear programmes in
return for a lifting of sanctions. Trump said in his Nowruz message that
Tehran had spent more than $16 billion to prop up Syria’s government and
support militants in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Many
Iranians, however, resent the foreign interventions and want their leaders
to create more jobs at home, where youth unemployment stood at 25 per cent
this year. Anti-government protests swept the country in December, with
young working-class demonstrators asking for jobs and calling for more
freedom. The unrest resulted in 25 deaths and nearly 5,000 people reportedly
were arrested. Khamenei said on Tuesday the protests were "the enemies’ plot
against Iran" and were promptly defused. Rouhani, who is under pressure for
his economic record, took a softer stance against protesters. "The people
said that criticising and protesting is the right of the people. But the
wise people of Iran will not accept lawlessness, will not accept violence,"
Rouhani said in his New Year message. ---Reuters
UK either behind poisoning or unable to stop 'terrorist
attack': Moscow
Wed 21 Mar 2018/NNA - Moscow on Wednesday said Britain either failed to
protect a Russian national from what it termed a "terrorist attack" or was
itself behind the poisoning of a former double agent and his daughter in
England. The accusation came as Russia faces huge pressure from Britain and
its allies to explain how Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were
poisoned in the city of Salisbury earlier this month with a nerve agent the
UK says is Soviet-designed. "The British authorities are either unable to
ensure protection from such a... terrorist attack on its territory, or they
directly or indirectly -- I am not accusing anyone of anything here --
directed the attack on a Russian national," said Vladimir Yermakov, head of
the Russian foreign ministry's non-proliferation and arms control
department. "There's no third option here," he said. Yermakov made the
statement to representatives of foreign diplomatic missions during a
briefing held by Moscow to explain Russia's view on the March 4 poisoning.--AFP
UK targeted by Russia because it 'called out' abuses:
Johnson
Wed 21 Mar 2018/NNA - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Wednesday
that Russia chose to send a message to potential defectors by targeting an
ex-spy in Britain because of London's record of "calling out" Moscow's
abuses. "It's Britain that has been most forthright, and most obstinate in
sticking up for our values. I think that is probably the reason why it was
decided to make this gesture here in this country," he told MPs.--AFP
Jordan: Security Court sentences 2 men to 10 years for
plotting terrorist attacks
Wed 21 Mar 2018/ NNA - Jordan's State Security Court on Wednesday sentenced
2 defendants to 10 years of hard labor for plotting to blow up the Russian,
Israeli and Iranian embassies in Amman with explosive. The verdict was
issued in a public session, held under presiding military judge, Col.
Mohammad Afif, with civil judge Ahmad Qatarneh and military judge Maj.
Safwan Al Zu'bi as members, and in the attendance of State Security Court
Prosecutor General. ---PETRA
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on March 21-22/18
France: Free Speech on Trial - Again
Robbie Travers/Gatestone Institute/March 21/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12008/france-le-pen-free-speech
Is the real, secret, goal of the French state to have no one who disagrees
with it speak out?
Marine Le Pen did not suggest that all Muslims are terrorists. She did not
suggest that anyone should use violence against Muslims. She did not even
suggest that French people should take action against Islam.
Marine Le Pen should not be prosecuted for alerting the French to the
dangers of an organisation that still threatens to invade their capital and
murder their children.
"Free speech can't just apply to those you agree with," the editor of Spiked
Online, Brendan O'Neill, once said. Politically correct speech does not need
protecting. The United States' First Amendment exists precisely to protect
the minority from the majority and to protect unpopular opinions from those
who would silence them.
On March 2, French prosecutors decided that Marine Le Pen should be
prosecuted for drawing attention on Twitter to the atrocities committed by
Islamic State. They apparently decided that Le Pen's message, even if
factually correct, should not be heard.
Le Pen's "crime," the prosecutors allege, is that in a series of tweets, she
posted disturbing images of victims of Islamic State, thereby exposing the
crimes against humanity that group have been committing in the Levant.
Presumably, these were potential dangers about which she thought the public
should be aware. They included the beheading of the British journalist,
James Foley, who was repeatedly beaten, starved, and waterboarded before his
throat was slit.
Other tweets documented a Jordanian fighter pilot, Moaz al-Kasasbeh, in a
cage, being burned alive, and a tank crushing a Syrian army soldier. These
crimes, however, are those of Islamic State, not Marine Le Pen.
Her most objectionable crime, apparently, was to have distributed a picture
of Foley's decapitated corpse with the tweet, "Daesh is THIS!"
It would be hard to disagree. Even Islamic State does not deny that these
events took place. On, the contrary, it broadcast them globally. Le Pen was
merely informing people, in the most striking way she could, that Islamic
State is a murderous organisation that continues to slaughter innocents. She
is issuing a warning.
Marine Le Pen did not suggest that all Muslims are terrorists. She did not
suggest that anyone should use violence against Muslims. She did not even
suggest that French people should take action against Islam.
She did not stage or misrepresent the facts. She did not share material that
was doctored or false. Someone might suggest that perhaps she was attacking
Islam or Muslim attitudes by distributing pictures of its activities. Even
so, why should that be grounds for silencing her, prosecuting her, for
stripping her of immunity, conceivably imprisoning her for three years and
fining her €75,000?
Why should Le Pen -- or anyone -- not be able to criticise or inform the
public about Islamic extremism -- or anything for that matter? One would
think it especially important for a politician, who is responsible for the
welfare of the public, to advise it of potential threats. What, for
instance, if people had not been allowed to warn people about Communism? How
convenient for Communists that would have been!
In addition, what are people to do who may not have the resources to fight
the bottomless war chests of the French Government? How are they ever to
speak out without fear of legal retribution? Or is the real, secret, goal of
the state to have no one who disagrees with it speak out?
One might object to publishing a picture of a decapitated body on the
grounds of good taste, or that it would be painful for Foley's family to
see. But should that be the reason for someone to face an exorbitant fine,
crushing court costs, and a possible jail term? Le Pen was merely
highlighting the crimes of a terrorist organisation that has already
attacked France, and murdered hundreds on French streets.
Imprisoning politicians is, of course, a tidy way for a state to silence
those who disagree with it. The former USSR under the KGB, and Germany's
STASI, doubtless assumed it was simply a professional perk. Russian
President Vladimir Putin, in fact, just guaranteed that in upcoming
elections, his leading challenger, Alexey Navalney, will be unable to run.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey seems to find arresting anyone who
disagrees with him a favourite pastime, with more than 113,000 – including
possibly 150 journalists. Is this the model Western democracies would like?
Le Pen's message was clear: Islamic State's practices and the ideology of
extremist Muslims must not come to Europe.
Unfortunately, they already have. Since the attack on the French satirical
magazine Charlie Hebdo, in January 2015, the Islamic State and its
affiliates have murdered more than 247 individuals. For how long can France
afford to keep its head in the sand?
Le Pen, in what increasingly looks like an empty attempt to silence her,
appears to be trapped in a politically motivated prosecution. The charge
states that Le Pen is allegedly guilty of: "Violent messages that incite
terrorism or pornography or seriously harm human dignity."
Regardless of your stance on the politics of Marine Le Pen, to say that she
is aiming to "incite terrorism" has no basis. On the contrary, Le Pen has
been virtually the only politician in France consistently raising difficult
questions on how to fight terrorism. She has suggested that France must
reinstate border checks to "counter terrorism." She has repeatedly said that
politicians who do not stand their ground in seeing Islamism with clear eyes
are failing to stand up for their country. She notes, "I'm on the ground to
meet the French people to draw their attention to important subjects,
including Islamist terrorism to which the least we can say Mr Macron is weak
on."
As to the second element of the charge against her, if the actions of
Islamic State are indecent, evil or pornographic, this does not mean that
alerting people to them is -- any more than 18th century drawings informing
people about the mass beheadings during the French Revolution, or Hitler's
atrocities during the Second World War. Not to inform the public about them
could justifiably be viewed a dereliction of duty and reckless endangerment.
As to the claim that Le Pen's tweets "harm human dignity," they do not;
Islamic State does. It is important for Europeans to know about these
Islamic-inspired atrocities before they start "coming soon to a theatre near
you", as they have already been doing.[1]
Tellingly, the prosecution of Le Pen has come at a time when the
establishment has seen the public increasingly support politicians who
question the taboo subject of mass migration and its threat to Europe --
opinions that until now have been considered dangerous and "racist". One can
see the electoral successes of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Austria; Geert
Wilders and his Freedom Party in the Netherlands; the AfD party in Germany
and the Five Star Movement in Italy. Incumbent politicians must be
terrified.
In this new trend of censorship by prosecution – as in the similar political
trials of Geert Wilders, or the increasingly severe government censorship in
Germany -- mainstream politicians appear desperate to hold onto their jobs.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for instance, this week finally had to
accept that "there are no-go zones in Germany". For years, politicians
scorned the idea that such areas exist. Counterterrorism experts, however,
such as Steven Emerson and policy analysts such as Soeren Kern, as well as
many others, have been warning the public about them since 2015.
In Paris, alone, there are many no-go-zones, complete with an app on how to
avoid them, despite the denial of its Mayor. Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille,
Grenoble, Avignon also face similar social problems.
Marine Le Pen should not be prosecuted for alerting the French citizens to
the dangers of an organisation that still threatens to invade their capital
and murder their children.
France may lock up Le Pen for warning Europe about Islamism, but all that
would accomplish is to imprison someone for telling the truth, and to
endanger the public even further.
If the opposition wish to defeat Le Pen, they are free to argue against her
policies.
Otherwise one can only conclude that their objections are nothing more than
playing politics.
Robbie Travers, a political commentator and consultant, is Executive
Director of Agora, former media manager at the Human Security Centre, and a
law student at the University of Edinburgh.
[1] They started nearly thirty years ago, on March 7, 1989, with the
multi-million pound sterling bounty on the head of a British citizen, Salman
Rushdie, for writing a novel, The Satanic Verses. This bounty was even
recently increased. That inducement to murder was followed by an attack on
the United States World Trade Center in 1993; the 9/11/2001 attacks in the
U.S.; the train bombings in Madrid on March 11, 2004; the murder of Theo van
Gogh on November 3, 2004 for having made a film; the London transit bombings
of 7/7/2005, and the murders of the staff of the French satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo on January 7, 2015. Less than a year later, Paris witnessed
more mass murders – apparently preceded by torture, reports of which were
suppressed -- at the Bataclan Theatre on November 13, 2015. Next, 86 people
were murdered, and more than 400 wounded, by a truck on Bastille Day, July
14, 2016; another truck murdered more people at a Berlin Christmas market in
December 2016. In England, more recently, there were murders near the houses
of Parliament in Westminster on March 22, 2017; teenagers blown up at a
music concert at the entry to the Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017, and
still more people murdered on London Bridge on June 3, 2017, to name just a
few. This list does not include many smaller murders and attempted murders,
such as the three week long torture and murder of Ilan Halimi in 2006; the
murder in Toulouse, France, of three schoolchildren and their teacher on
March 19, 2012; the murder in London of Lee Rigby in 2013; the murder at a
free speech event in Copenhagen in 2015. The murder of Father Jacques Hamel
in July, 2016 and the torture and murder of Sarah Halimi in April, 2017--
again, to name just a few. There is not room here to start listing attempted
murders in Europe that were reportedly inspired by Islam.
© 2018 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone
Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be
reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of
Gatestone Institute.
The Population Bomb Has Been Defused
Noah Smith/Bloomberg View/March 21/18
Some of the most spectacularly wrong predictions in history have been made
by those who claim that overpopulation is going to swamp the planet. Thomas
Malthus, a British economist writing in the late 1700s, is the most famous
of these. Extrapolating past trends into the future, he predicted that
population growth would inevitably swamp available food resources, leading
to mass starvation. That didn’t happen -- we continued to develop new
technologies that let us stay ahead of the reaper.
In 1968, Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich wrote “The Population Bomb,”
warning that unchecked population growth would lead to mass starvation in
the 1970s. He was just as wrong as Malthus. Global population did surge, but
food production managed to keep up.
So far, the prophets of overpopulation have been defeated by technology. But
human ingenuity alone can never deliver a final victory in the battle to
feed the world -- eventually, population growth will overwhelm the Earth’s
ability to provide calories. That’s why in order to put Malthus and Ehrlich
finally to rest, a second component is needed -- lower fertility rates. To
save both the environment and themselves, humans must have fewer kids.
Fortunately, this is happening. During the lifetimes of Malthus and Ehrlich,
humans still tended to have large families, with each woman bearing an
average of five children over her lifetime. But shortly after Ehrlich’s
book, that began to change:
The total fertility rate is just an estimate, based on the number of
children women have been having. When the rate is lower than about 2.1, it
means total population will eventually stabilize and decline.
The world is now approaching that magic level, thanks to a phenomenon known
as the fertility transition. In most countries, total fertility falls from a
high level of about six or seven children to two or below, and stays there.
Once smaller families become the norm in a country or region, they very
rarely go back up. There are a number of theories for why this happens. The
shift from agriculture to urban life means less incentive for families to
have kids to work on farms. Urban life also increases the cost of raising a
kid. Higher education levels for women, freeing them from traditional gender
norms, are probably a big factor as well. Importantly, none of these factors
are temporary.
In other words, the fertility transition probably represents the ultimate,
final victory over the Malthusian threat. The supergiant countries of China
and India have been especially important in this process.
Still, as overall world fertility has fallen, overpopulation concerns have
shifted from global to regional. If some regions continue to have big
families forever, they will eventually outgrow the regions with limited
population growth, causing the overall world fertility rate to go back up.
People who worry about overpopulation are now concerned that some cultures
will simply always have more kids.
So far, those concerns seem to be unfounded. A decade ago, many believed
that Muslim culture, with its emphasis on traditional gender roles, would
defy the fertility transition. But then fertility rates in majority-Muslim
countries plunged. Bangladesh and Indonesia have mostly completed their
fertility transitions, while Egypt’s and Pakistan’s are underway.
As an aside, it’s worth noting that these World Bank estimates of total
fertility rates tend to err on the high side -- the CIA, which also tracks
fertility, places Pakistan’s number all the way down at 2.62.
So now the worry has shifted to sub-Saharan Africa. With a fertility rate of
about five births per woman, it’s the only region of the globe that has not
yet made the jump to small families. But even here, there are signs of
change in a small but growing number of countries.
Countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of
the Congo still have very high fertility rates. But if these last holdouts
fall, the global triumph of small families will be complete.
Fortunately, there are two other patterns that suggest Africa will not buck
the trend and overpopulate the world. First, there’s a strong association
between fertility and income levels -- once a country passes about $5,000 in
per capita annual gross domestic product, it almost never has a high
fertility rate. Rapid growth in a number of African countries means that
this level will be in reach within a few decades. Also, the transition
appears to be happening much faster than in the past -- it took the UK 95
years to drop from a fertility rate of six children per woman to three, but
it took Botswana only 24, Bangladesh 20 and Iran only 10.
Of course, it’s worth noting that lower fertility won't immediately defuse
the population bomb. The number of people in a country continues to rise for
years after young people stop having lots of kids -- a phenomenon known as
population momentum. Thus, the United Nations continues to project that
global population will rise from about 7.6 billion today to more than 11
billion by the end of the century.
It’s looking like the dire predictions of Malthus and Ehrlich will never
come to pass.
What the Saudi Prince's Visit Really Means
المعاني الحقيقية
لزيارة ولي العهد السعودي للإميركا
Ahmed Charai/Gatestone Institute/March 21/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/63319
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12073/mohammed-bin-salman-visit
Perhaps the most dramatic Saudi reform is the one that has received
virtually no attention in America. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)
has led an effort to sweep out the Muslim Brotherhood from teaching and
leadership positions in elementary, middle and high schools as well as
colleges and universities.
MBS is kicking a dragon and he knows it.
The stakes of his fight with the Brotherhood could not be higher. If MBS
succeeds, Saudi Arabia returns to pre-1979 roots, with movie theaters, women
in the workplace, and features of a modern developing country. If MBS fails,
he will be killed by the Brotherhood and Saudi Arabia will become more
repressive than ever.
The global stakes of MBS's internal fight with the Brotherhood are large,
too. If the crown price wins, nearly all Saudi funding for violent Islamic
radicals ends — and if he dies, it grows to new heights.
His "Vision 2030" is the biggest planned change in any country since
Turkey's Ataturk or Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew. With America's encouragement,
Saudi Arabia could lead a regional transformation that would be truly
historic.
Saudi Arabia, with the visit of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
to the United States this week, opens a new front in its war with Iran.
The visit is a collection of firsts. It is the first trip by Prince Mohammed
bin Salman — known universally as "MBS" — to the U.S. since becoming the
heir to the oil kingdom's throne in June 2017. (President Trump's first
presidential trip to the Middle East began with a stop in Saudi Arabia.)
More importantly, it is the first time a senior Saudi official, let alone a
ruling royal, will venture outside the U.S. capital to make official visits
to Wall Street, Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Never before has a crown
prince — especially one who runs Saudi Arabia's government on a daily basis
— come to America's financial and cultural capitals to do business. Indeed,
MBS is hoping to drum up support for his plan to offer five percent of
ARAMCO, the Saudi oil producer, to Western investors as well as to make
investments in software upstarts and media empires. This is a Saudi royal
who sees no division between commerce and statecraft, between diplomacy and
investment.
President Donald Trump (right) shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman at the White House on March 20, 2018, in Washington, D.C. (Photo
by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)
For Americans, the three most important items on MBS's agenda are Saudi
Arabia's internal reforms, its new kinetic role in the war on terror from
Yemen to Syria and its evolving relationship with Israel.
While much has been made of MBS's opening "drivers ed" schools for women
(which quickly attracted some 70,000 students) as part of the kingdom's June
2018 move to allow women to drive, the domestic reforms have been far more
rapid and sweeping than the conservative kingdom has ever seen.
Perhaps the most dramatic reform is the one that has received virtually no
attention in America. The crown prince has led an effort to sweep out the
Muslim Brotherhood from teaching and leadership positions in elementary,
middle and high schools as well as colleges and universities. The
Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, has been the birthplace of nearly
every radical Islamist group in the past century — from Egyptian Islamic
Jihad to al Qaeda. The Brotherhood came to power in Cairo, following the
departure of Hosni Mubarak, and only lost its grip due to a Saudi-funded
coup. Inside Saudi Arabia, the organization's intellectual and financial
influence is vast. It has shaped the thought of at least two generations of
Saudis, and it counts many allies among the kingdom's 15,000 princes and
even more among its 20,000 major clerics. It also has a literal army of
armed supporters. MBS is kicking a dragon and he knows it.
The stakes of his fight with the Brotherhood could not be higher. If MBS
succeeds, Saudi Arabia returns to pre-1979 roots, with movie theaters, women
in the workplace, and features of a modern developing country. If he fails,
he will be killed by the Brotherhood and Saudi Arabia will become more
repressive than ever. The global stakes of MBS's internal fight with the
Brotherhood are large, too. If the crown price wins, nearly all Saudi
funding for violent Islamic radicals ends — and if he dies, it grows to new
heights.
MBS is betting his life that he can reform his country and offer it a future
beyond its dangerous dependency on oil. He wants to build 18 nuclear power
plants over the next two decades, thereby safeguarding his nation's
electricity prices from the rollercoaster of world oil prices. He wants to
diversify the economy, allowing men and women to leave their subsidized and
static lives for new roles as professionals, executives and entrepreneurs.
His "Vision 2030" is the biggest planned change in any country since
Turkey's Ataturk or Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew. And Saudi Arabia is larger in
terms of both people and land than 1920s Turkey or 1960s Singapore. If he
succeeds, his achievement will be studied for centuries. America should get
behind MBS's bold vision — it is the best roadmap for regional peace and
security as well as domestic modernization.
Regarding the war on terror, Saudi Arabia has been one of America's most
steadfast allies. Since the September 11 attacks, it has killed or captured
hundreds of al Qaeda operatives and provided intelligence on thousands more.
It has cracked down hard on sheikhs who once financed terror outfits, seized
bank accounts and jailed malefactors.
America would also do well to support Saudi Arabia's peaceful attempts to
reform its neighbor, Qatar.
Finally, MBS's visit allows the Saudi royal to talk about his nation's
increasingly warm relationship with Israel. The two nations have a common
enemy (Iran) and a shared interest in thwarting terrorism. Together with
MBS's apparently close friendship with Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, a
new and less confrontational relationship with Israel could pay dividends
for peace.
America should welcome MBS. With America's encouragement, Saudi Arabia could
lead a regional transformation that would be truly historic. Missing this
opportunity to engage would be beyond tragic.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12073/mohammed-bin-salman-visit
Ahmed Charai is Chairman and CEO of Global Media Holding. He sits on the
Board of Directors of The Atlantic Council in Washington and International
Councilors at The Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also
Board of Trustees of the The Foreign Policy Research Institute in
Philadelphia, a member of The National Interest's Advisory Council and a
member of the Advisory Council of Gatestone Institute in New York.
© 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.
Paris and Tehran: Dialogue of the deaf
Christian Chesnot/Al Arabiya/March 21/18
The diplomacy of Emmanuel Macron had aspired to stand at an equal distance
between Iran and Saudi Arabia as well as with its allies. Advisers to the
French president had a constant refrain: “We do not have to be involved
between Sunnis and Shiites.” During his first year at the Elysee, Emmanuel
Macron sought to open dialogue with Iran. He has had many contacts with his
counterpart, President Hassan Rouhani, and has also stated his plan to pay
an official visit to Iran this year. Obviously, the conditions have not been
favorable in recent times.
Here we have the clear impression that ‘irritants’ (as diplomats say), have
come in the way of tarnishing Franco-Iranian relations. Certainly, during
the visit of the chief of the Quai d'Orsay Jean-Yves Le Drian to Tehran on
March 5th, the inauguration of an exhibition of antiquities at the Louvre
Museum created the perception that a new climate was building between the
two countries. However, it is rather a diplomatic freeze that we are
currently observing.
Iran’s double rejectionFrench Foreign Minister has received a ‘double-no’ to
Paris’ appeals: ‘no’ to curtailment of the Iranian ballistic program and
‘no’ to putting a limit on Iranian domination of the region, especially in
Syria and Lebanon. In short, the French envoy hit a wall. Should we be
surprised? Iranians argue that the issue of ballistic missiles does not fall
under the purview of the July 2015 nuclear agreement of Vienna. As for
leaving the Syrian battlefield, the arena that offers Tehran a platform to
reach out into the Mediterranean, there can be no way of retreat! Behind the
scenes, an Iranian official told me: “There is no trust between us and the
French.”
On the Elysee’s side, there is a lot of impatience with as well as tensions
over Iran. It must be said here that the Trump ultimatum to revise the
Vienna nuclear agreement by 12 May has shocked the European chancelleries.
Paris, Berlin and London, who signed the agreement, do not want to
renegotiate but are concerned about a possible US withdrawal from this
agreement, signed under the leadership of Obama. This call into question
would open the door for uncertainty and negative repercussions throughout
the region.
For several weeks, France has led from the front, seeking to put pressure on
Iran for setting limits to its missile program. Along with London and
Berlin, Paris has led the diplomatic offensive and circulated a draft of new
sanctions against Tehran that could be endorsed by the European Union. The
idea is to mollify the Trump administration by twisting Iran’s hand in an
attempt to save the Vienna deal! France would then return to its traditional
position as an ally of the Sunni monarchies, which was its position under
Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande
Will Trump scrap the nuke deal?
This is as far as the intentions go on paper. However, it is highly unlikely
that Tehran would back down under pressure, which could lead to heightened
tensions in May if Donald Trump decides to undermine the nuclear agreement.
Iranians will have a field day in blaming the United States for going back
on its word, since its deals can be subject of revision in the term of
another president. At that moment, Emmanuel Macron is going to have a tough
time playing the mediator. He will clearly side with the Western bloc and
Gulf countries, because of his prospective failure to convince Tehran.
France would then return to its traditional position as an ally of the Sunni
monarchies, which was its position under Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois
Hollande. This would signal the failure of the Macronian diplomacy of
achieving equidistance between Tehran and Riyadh. We are not there yet.
Emmanuel Macron wants to believe to take matters till the end of the
dialogue process with Iran. But for him, Iranians have to make a move. In
Tehran, we see things from a completely different perspective. It is
believed that Iran has already made many compromises by signing the nuclear
agreement, that it respects the deal in form and in practice as has been
regularly confirmed by the routine reports of the IAEA. In short, between
Paris and Tehran, the dialogue of the deaf looms over the horizon.
The regional powder keg and the threat of conflagration
Radwan al-Sayed/Al Arabiya/March 21/18
There are varying assessments on the factors that might trigger a large
scale conflagration in the Middle East. There are those who believe that
this major outbreak of hostilities may occur in May, when President Trump
makes a final decision on the Iranian nuclear deal. Some argue that the
overwhelming Iranian pressure on the borders of the Zionist entity from
Syria and Lebanon will be the immediate factor behind an escalation. Israel
has stated that it will not put up with the reality which Iran seeks to
impose, such as establishing bases in southern Syria. Finally, some argue
that the outbreak will be the result of Russia-US rivalry over Syria. As
regards rivalry, Russia is scoring ahead of the United States in terms of
the territory possessed by its allies as well as the political and
diplomatic forums it has created, such as in Astana and Sochi. Furthermore,
Russia keeps acquiring more lands, as seen on the eastern side of the Ghouta
and through the progress of its ally Turkey towards Afrin.
US-Russia sparring match
Nevertheless, the United States secured wide areas in eastern and
northeastern Syria – areas which US’ Kurdish allies are in control of. The
US has al-Tanf base and two other bases close to the Jordanian border.
France and the US are both putting pressure on Russia over the humanitarian
crisis in Ghouta and to investigate the Syrian regime’s use of chlorine gas
again. Russia has vetoed UN Security Council resolutions on the Syrian
regime’s use of chemical weapons. This has led the Americans and the French
to threaten strikes against the Syrian regime forces, if it is finally
proven that they have used chemical weapons. Russia then said it would
retaliate. Earlier this month, Britain accused the Russian intelligence of
trying to assassinate a former Russian spy in England, along with his
daughter. Britain has expelled Russian diplomats, and Russia has responded
in the same manner.
Preventing the war is an onus to be borne both by Russia and the United
States.
In the second scenario that might lead up to an explosive situation is an
Israeli attack on Iranians in Syria. Over the last two weeks, there haven’t
been any Israeli raids. Yet Jordan had invited international observers look
into the crisis unfolding on its borders as a result of the Iranian threat.
Israel’s silence may be due to the fact that the United States is heading
the diplomatic assault on Iran, both in terms of the nuclear deal or over
the interference of Tehran and its militias in Arab countries. How and when
will this confrontation manifest on the ground and whether Israel will have
a role in it or not may be answered only in the coming weeks and months.
Will Trump scrap Iran nuclear deal?
What about the most pressing and the top priority issue i.e. the nuclear
agreement with Iran? Trump threatens to scrap it, while Europeans while the
Russians and Chinese that brokered the agreement wish to leave it untouched.
Trump was pressured twice to postpone taking a decision on the matter;
however, he will most likely make a decision in May. Some observers think
that differences over the nuclear deal and the disputes over the declaration
of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel were behind the dismissal of Rex W.
Tillerson from his post as Secretary of State. The Europeans tried to find
middle ground with Tehran that could relieve Trump's concerns. The French
foreign minister visited Tehran and talked to the Iranians about their
ballistic missiles and intervention in the Arab region, but they refused to
compromise on the two issues or to accept holding negotiations.
A spark neglected
If Trump decides to scrap the nuclear deal unilaterally, how would Iran
react? Will it resume enrichment? Will it increase its movements in the
region or will Hezbollah risk going to war with Israel? Will the pressure
come from Hamas, which no longer has the same freedom which it enjoyed
before strengthening its relations with Egypt?
Preventing the war is an onus to be borne both by Russia and the United
States, and by the secret channels between their active militaries. Does
that also include preventing their collision leading up to war?
The problem is that Russian-American tensions are increasing on all fronts
and on a variety of other issues as well. The two countries or one of them
may give their allies permission to try their luck at vengeance or
deterrence. After all, even a small spark can bring the house down!
Saudi Arabia embraces change - and the United States
can help
Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz/Al Arabiya/March 21/18
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.
Our security cooperation includes shared efforts against terrorism,
including intelligence sharing and joint counter-terrorism ventures
Diversification strategy
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.
Fighting extremism
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.
Mohamed Salah: Need for caution in success
Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/March 21/18
The young Egyptian football player Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool star, is no
longer just an Egyptian or Arab prodigy but an international
“phenomenon.”This Egyptian player is scoring one success after another
because of his talent and professionalism at various levels of international
football since he left the Egyptian League, even though he never played for
any of the two main teams in Cairo — Ahly and Zamalek.
Impact on the economy
Salah or ‘Mo’ has become an icon for the legendary British club and is
beloved of the people. Strangely, football even had an impact on the
economy, when Salah’s score of four historic goals against the Watford team,
buoyed up the Egyptian stock market. Mohsen Hassan, Member of the Board of
Arabia Cotton Ginning, one of the companies which trade in the stock market,
said that the rise in the Egyptian stock exchange was the result of an
upbeat mood that Mohamed Salah generated after scoring four goals against
Watford and becoming the Premier League’s top scorer. The former minister of
communications and president of Vodafone Egypt Hani Mahmoud stated that
Mohammed Salah was able to promote Egypt as a ‘brand’ more effectively than
the entire government could. The most important thing that Salah should do
on his way to success is to beware of being politicized
Salah became the top scorer in his debut season with Liverpool, after he
raised his goal tally in all competitions to 36 goals, surpassing the
Spanish player Fernando Torres who scored 33 goals in the 2008 season.
Comparisons to Messi, Ronaldo
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said that the 25-year-old Salah can become
the successor of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the world’s best
player. He asserted: “I guess he is on his way to (being the best in the
world).”
“As it always is in life, if you have to have the skills you have to show
that constantly and consistently, and he is very good,” Klopp added. All
this is wonderful to hear in the midst of all the negative stereotypes the
world has developed about Arabs and Muslims. Salah is a ‘splendid’ example
of success, determination and discipline. Being a superstar, he has inspired
youths across the world. He realizes the moral significance of his fame, so
he frequently makes a nice gesture every now and then — such as when he gave
his shirt to a British kid who asked for it while he was in the stadium.
This was appreciated and widely reported by the British and international
media. While being a star is an advantage, it is also a responsibility that
demands caution, which increases if the star happens to be an Arab Muslim
living in a European country. The most important thing that Salah should do
on his way to success is to beware of being politicized or to fall for
populist demands, especially religious ones, as it is a sensitive and
crucial issue.
Salah’s success is the best promotion for him, for his people and for his
culture.
The US-Saudi relations: New challenges and
opportunities
Saad Alsubaie/Al Arabiya/March 21/18
The close strategic relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia
has been vital for the security and prosperity of both countries as well as
for regional peace and stability. This historical relationship has never
been more important than it is today, mainly for two intertwined reasons:
the change in the complex security landscape of the Middle East and the
change within Saudi Arabia. President Trump’s administration came into
office during an unprecedented tumultuous time in the history of the Middle
East. The system of the modern nation state is crumbling, states are falling
apart, and armed non-state actors are proliferating. In the face of all
this, the Trump administration inherited a Middle East foreign policy
quagmire, in which the US plays the slightest role in influencing the events
in the region. Due to vital US interests in the region, President Trump
embarked on a Middle East foreign policy overhaul to put “America first” on
this front. The major themes of President Trump’s Middle East policy are
eradicating terrorism, confronting the danger from Iran, and revitalizing
partnerships with stable regional partners. Saudi Arabia appears to be the
most reliable and suitable partner for implementing this policy. In addition
to being a long-standing traditional partner, Saudi Arabia shares the US
concerns on the threat posed by Iran. However, the key asset that
distinguishes Saudi Arabia from other regional partners is its unique status
in the Islamic world. Being the birthplace of Islam, Saudi Arabia possesses
a legitimate influence on the war of extremist ideas. Moreover, it has an
unrivaled diplomatic influence within the Islamic world. A contention-free
cooperation will enable the two countries to respond to the growing
challenges arising from the deteriorating security environment in the region
Trump’s trip
This was evident during President Trump’s very first international trip to
the kingdom, where he laid the foundation for cooperation with fifty-five
Muslim-majority countries. During the same visit, President Trump attended
the inauguration of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology,
which aims to expose and refute extremist ideology. Located in the central
part of the Islamic world, as President Trump describes it, “this
groundbreaking new center represents a clear declaration that
Muslim-majority countries must take the lead in combatting
radicalization.”The Saudi efforts to combat terrorism are not limited to
curbing the extremist ideologies. In 2015, Saudi Arabia formed an Islamic
Military Counter Terrorism Coalition, which consists of 41 partner nations.
The mission of this coalition is to combat terrorism ideologically,
financially, and militarily. Moreover, the kingdom is an active member of
the US-led international coalition against ISIS. This coalition has defeated
ISIS territorially in Iraq. However, the US, Saudi Arabia, and their allies
in the region still have a long way to go to eradicate terrorism. Central to
the effectiveness of the US-Saudi revitalized partnership is the change in
the kingdom itself. Since King Salman ascended to the throne in 2015, he and
his Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, embarked on a course of an
unprecedented reforms. The Crown Prince has engineered the kingdom’s
ambitious Vision 2030, which expresses how optimistically he views the
future of the country. In his words, Vision 2030 aims to make Saudi Arabia
“a strong, thriving, and stable Saudi Arabia that provides opportunities to
all…a tolerant country with Islam as its constitution and moderation as its
method.”The Crown Prince vows to bring back moderation, eradicate extremism,
and crackdown on corruption. Coming from the heart of the Islamic world,
such a statement is revolutionary. Its impact goes far beyond the borders of
Saudi Arabia. The Saudi message of moderation, transparency, and openness is
key to countering extremism in the entire region.
Women empowerment
Although most of the publicity about his reforms is centered on his
crackdown on corruption and women empowerment, Mohammed bin Salman views
these developments as going back to normal. His ambition is not only to go
back to normal, but, more importantly, to move forward with a vision for the
future.
As outlined in Vision 2030, his long-term ambition is to maintain the
kingdom’s status as the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds and transform
into a global investment powerhouse, the epicenter of trade, and a gateway
to the world.
This vision presents a promising opportunity for not only the Saudi people,
but also entire region and international partners. The coinciding of the
transformations in Saudi Arabia and the entire region poses challenges as
well as opportunities for the US and Saudi Arabia.
In addition to presenting investment opportunities between the two
countries, the transformation in Saudi Arabia has eliminated major points of
contention that affect the US-Saudi cooperation such as the lack of
transparency in dealing with extremism and corruption in the past.
A contention-free cooperation will enable the two countries to respond to
the growing challenges arising from the deteriorating security environment
in the region.