Detailed
Lebanese & Lebanese Related LCCC English New Bulletin For October 21/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias
Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the
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Bible
Quotations
Whoever
listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and
whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me
Luke 10/13-16: "‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to
you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre
and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and
ashes. But at the judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you
will be brought down to Hades. ‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and
whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who
sent me.
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Titles For The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on October 20-21/18
Iran Sent Hezbollah Advanced Weapons
to Turn Rockets into Precision Missiles, New Flight Data Suggests/Fox
News/October 3/18
Al Arabiya/Presidential compromise did not save Lebanon, but warns of its
collapse/Ali Al-Amin/Al Arabiya/October 20/18
Lebanon: Governance in difficult times/Eyad Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/October
20/18
Saudi admission of Khashoggi death leaves turmoil in Riyadh, fallout on
Saudi-US relations/DebkaFile/October 20/18
UK: Anjem Choudary Released from Prison/Soeren Kern/Gatestone
Institute/October 20/18
Are Turkey's Spies Operating in America/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone
Institute/October 20/18
Britain's Grooming Gangs: Part 1/Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/October
20/18
Oil prices and approaching Iran sanctions/Randa Takieddine/Al Arabiya/October
20/18
Exaggerations around the case of the late Jamal Khashoggi/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arab
News/October 20/18
Under the radar, an EU institution flexes its muscles/Cornelia Meyer/Arab
News/October 20/18
Little change in oil prices as supply concerns ease/Faisal Mrza/Arab
News/October 20/18
Titles For The
Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
October 20-21/18
Iran steps up shipments of weapons, military aid to Hezbollah
Lebanese Officials Meet Visiting Armenian Prime Minister
Report: Government Formation Faces ‘Setback’
Hariri to Continue Govt. Formations Talks after ‘Setback’
Aoun holds talks with visiting Armenian PM
Berri: God knows when the government will form!
Hariri meets with Geagea, Riachy in Khoury's presence
Arbeed says no financial or real estate collapses, economic situation can be
rectified
Marotti honors Museums National Council President: Protection of cultural
heritage an essential cornerstone of civilizations
Riachy at Christian Media Conference: History will curse all those who
tamper with reconciliation
Kanaan says matters ought to be finalized in upcoming hours, stresses on
LF's presence in cabinet
Khalil: We believe that in the coming days we will reach a real solution to
the cabinet formation issue
Civil Aviation Directorate responds to Fox News: Iranian plane landed at
Beirut Airport empty, took off loaded with livestock
Iran Sent Hezbollah Advanced Weapons to Turn Rockets into Precision
Missiles, New Flight Data Suggests
Al Arabiya/Presidential compromise did not save Lebanon, but warns of its
collapse
Lebanon: Governance in difficult times
Titles For The Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October 20-21/18
Saudi admission of Khashoggi death leaves turmoil in Riyadh, fallout on
Saudi-US relations
Saudi Arabia Admits Critic Khashoggi Killed in Istanbul Consulate
Turkey Will 'Reveal Whatever Happened' in Khashoggi Death
Gulf Ally UAE Hails Saudi Reponse on Khashoggi
Istanbul-Based Journalists' Group Seeks Punishment for Those Who 'Ordered'
Khashoggi Death
Saudi source: Crown prince had no knowledge of ‘specific’ Khashoggi
operation
Trump: Saudi announcement of what happened to Khashoggi credible
White House: US ‘saddened’ by confirmed Khashoggi death
King Salman orders restructuring of Saudi General Intelligence Presidency
Saudi Arabia terminates services of a number of general intelligence
officers
ISIS ‘releases six’ of 27 Druze hostages in exchange for prisoner swap,
ransom
US-led coalition kills at least 35 ISIS members in eastern Syria
Multiple Blasts Rock Kabul Polling Stations
The Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
October 20-21/18
Iran steps up
shipments of weapons, military aid to Hezbollah
Staff Writer, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 20 October 2018/Iran recently
stepped up its shipments of sophisticated weapons and military aid to
Lebanon’s Hezbollah, according to US and Western intelligence reports. The
shipments arrived at the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport on an
Iranian military cargo plane on Tuesday. The shipments included a
sophisticated positioning system (GPS) to manufacture unguided rockets and
convert them into guided missiles, increasing the risk of its threats to
Israel’s security. The Iranian plane left Beirut on Wednesday for Doha and
then headed to Tehran on Thursday evening.
Lebanese Officials
Meet Visiting Armenian Prime Minister
Naharnet/October 20/18/President Michel Aoun received visiting Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday at the Presidential Palace in
Baabda where talks highlighted bilateral ties between the two countries, the
State-run National News Agency reported.
After the meeting, Armenian Prime Minister reiterated support for the
stability of Lebanon and the Armenian presence in the UNIFIL peacekeeping
forces. He also stressed the importance of establishing an academy in
Lebanon for further dialogue between cultures and religions.
The Armenian PM and his spouse had arrived early Saturday in Beirut
accompanied by Armenia’s Foreign Minister and a delegation of officials, NNA
said. Pashinyan is scheduled to hold talks with senior Lebanese officials
during his two-day visit, said NNA. After meeting Aoun, he held meetings
with Speaker Nabih Berri and PM-designate Saad Hariri.
Report: Government Formation Faces ‘Setback’
Naharnet/October 20/18/The latest positive political momentum heralding a
near formation of the government faces a setback and raises fears of new
difficulties that could delay the lineup further. “The unfortunate
development was surprising,” said al-Joumhouria daily on Saturday. “It was
embodied in the political positions of some (parties) over the distribution
of ministerial portfolios.”President Michel Aoun, the Free Patriotic
Movement and Hizbullah party have refused allocating the justice ministry
for the Lebanese Forces party. Aoun is reportedly insisting on naming the
justice minister in the new government after the failure to give him an
alternative. However, a senior official assured that “efforts to form a
cabinet did not go in vain despite uncertainty. It will only be delayed for
a few more days because the decision is taken and it will be formed before
the end of this month." Caretaker Information Minister Melhem Riachi of the
Lebanese Forces warned Friday that some parties were seeking to undermine
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri's latest efforts to resolve the
government deadlock. Wrangling between President Michel Aoun and the
Lebanese Forces over the justice portfolio is reportedly the new obstacle
that is delaying the formation of the government
Hariri to Continue Govt. Formations Talks after ‘Setback’
Naharnet/October 20/18/The six-month stalled formation of the government saw
“positive” signals on Friday that relapsed later during the day when
President Michel Aoun insisted on naming the justice minister in the new
government. Reports have said the insistence of Marada Movement chief
Suleiman Franjieh on the public works portfolio and the failure to give the
president an alternative to the justice portfolio have pushed Aoun to cling
to justice and backpedal on the stance he voiced yesterday. The discussions
to tackle the latest “setback” in the government formation talks will
continue until a solution is found, VDL (93.3) radio said on Saturday.
Quoting sources closely following up on the formation process, they said a
specific date for an expected meeting between PM-designate Saad Hariri and
President Michel Aoun in Baabda has not been set yet. Asked whether he would
meet with Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss the issue, Hariri said: "Of course,
today I will complete the meetings.”Government formation talks have
reportedly saw a “setback” on Friday because of conflict between the
Lebanese Forces and President Michel Aoun over the justice ministry
portfolio. Whether the obstacle is going to be eased, Hariri has reportedly
assured that every problem has a solution.
Aoun holds talks with
visiting Armenian PM
Sat 20 Oct 2018/NNA - President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, met Saturday
with Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, with talks centering on ways
of promoting bilateral relations, activating the work of the joint
governmental committee and recent regional developments.
Aoun welcomed Pashinyan at Baabda Palace this morning upon his arrival in
Beirut on a 2-day visit, accompanied by an official Armenian delegation.
During their encounter, Aoun congratulated the Armenian PM on the success of
the Francophone Summit held in Yerevan last week, thanking him for the warm
hospitality extended to members of the Lebanese delegation attending the
Summit. He also praised the bilateral relations existing between the two
countries, appreciating Armenia's contribution to the UNIFIL peacekeeping
forces in the South. He stressed on the active role played by the Lebanese
Armenians in their country's political and economic life, especially as they
constitute a bridge of communication with Armenia. The President also
highlighted the importance of the agreements held between Lebanon and
Armenia, calling for the conclusion of other pending agreements. Moreover,
Aoun briefed Pashinyan on Lebanon's initiative of establishing the "Academy
of Encounter and Dialogue", hoping that Armenia would be among the first
states to sign its establishment agreement. Pashinyan, in turn, thanked Aoun
for his warm welcome and for attending the Francophone Summit in Yerevan,
emphasizing the importance of the role played by Lebanon in the Francophone
Organization. The Armenian PM also stressed on strengthening
Lebanese-Armenian bilateral relations, especially in the economic field,
hoping for more coordination and collaboration between the relevant
ministries of both countries. Furthermore, Pashinyan expressed his country's
support for Lebanon's decision to establish a "Human Academy for Encounter
and Dialogue" which will allow for more communication between civilizations,
religions and cultures. He said his country would continue to work within
UNIFIL to maintain security and stability in the South of Lebanon, adding
that the Armenian Defense Minister would visit his country's troops on the
Lebanese border to confirm this support. Touching on the mutual aspects
shared between the Lebanese and Armenian peoples, PM Pashinyan hoped that
the Lebanese-Armenian Joint Committee would hold a meeting soon to study the
common issues and take appropriate decisions in favor of both countries.
Berri: God knows when the government will form!
Sat 20 Oct 2018/NNA - House Speaker Nabih Berri sounded pessimistic Saturday
over the developments of the long-awaited cabinet formation. "Only God knows
when the government will be formed," Berri said this morning after meeting
with the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. During their discussions,
the pair reportedly touched on the bilateral Lebanese-Armenian ties and
means of cooperation between the two countries.
Hariri meets with Geagea, Riachy in Khoury's presence
Sat 20 Oct 2018/NNA - Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri met at the "House
of Center" this evening with Lebanese Forces Party Chief, Samir Geagea,
accompanied by Caretaker Information Melhem Riachy, in the presence of
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury.
Arbeed says no financial or real estate collapses,
economic situation can be rectified
Sat 20 Oct 2018/NNA - Head of the Economic and Social Council, Charles
Arbeed, assured Saturday that despite the difficulties witnessed in the
country, there is no monetary or real estate collapse, and the economic
situation can be resolved if plans are implemented.
Arbeed's words came during an economic forum on the challenges faced by the
Lebanese economy, organized by the "Tripoli Leaders Lions Club" in
cooperation with Safadi Cultural Center. Arbeed highlighted four inevitable
tracks in applying economic reform, namely:
I- Applying the Cedar Conference resolutions
II- Implementing the Mackenzie Study, most importantly in raising the
contribution of the agricultural sector by enhancing the capacities of
farmers and the industrial and tourism productive sectors
III- Implementing a proposed initiative study involving political parties
and the Economic and Social Council that targets deficit reduction first and
foremost
IV- Creating social security networks.
"All these tracks require an awaited package of legislations to be
implemented," he stressed.
Marotti honors Museums National Council President:
Protection of cultural heritage an essential cornerstone of civilizations
Sat 20 Oct 2018/NNA - Italian Ambassador to Lebanon, Massimo Marotti, and
his wife held an honoring ceremony at the Italian Villa in Naccash on
awarding the Director General and President of the National Council of
Museums in Lebanon, Anne-Marie Affeish, a high-ranking Italian citation in
recognition of her dedication and efforts to preserve the Lebanese cultural
heritage. In his delivered speech on the occasion, Marotti lauded Affeish's
valuable contribution as "an expert in the field of archeology and museum
science, and an ideal and dedicated person who works with high
ethics.""Italy believes that the protection of cultural heritage is a
cornerstone of civilizations and supports all efforts in the world to
highlight the value of cultural heritage, and therefore appreciates Anne
Marie's role in this field," said Marotti.
He praised Affeish's "commitment to combating the smuggling of antiques,
which is a threat to countries such as Lebanon and Italy that have a very
large cultural and archaeological heritage," noting that she has filed a
lawsuit at the international level with the assistance of the American
Ambassador to restore some of the pieces owned by Lebanon.
"We are delighted that the Italian cooperation with Lebanon has contributed
to the success of the cultural project in the National Museum, which is the
cradle of civilizations in the Levant and throughout the Middle East," said
Marotti.
Affeish, in turn, thanked the Italian Ambassador and the Italian State for
the honorable citation and ceremony, expressing appreciation for "the
valuable contributions that Italy gave to the National Museum, which had a
distinctive impression especially in the restoration of the Tyre cemetery
and the Museum basement." She stressed "the importance of cooperation
between Italy and the Directorate of Archeology," pointing to the special
relationship they have shared since 2010. Affeish also highlighted "the
mutual respect and friendship that binds the Lebanese-Italian team, which
includes united specialists in all fields."
Riachy at Christian Media Conference: History will
curse all those who tamper with reconciliation
Sat 20 Oct 2018/NNA - Caretaker Information Minister, Melhem
Riachy, pointed Saturday to the hurdles suffered by the reconciliation
between Christians because of certain media, stressing that "history will
curse all those who tamper with this reconciliation." "We are the guardians
of this reconciliation, and we have to stand in the face of anyone who
attempts to meddle with it because this reconciliation is our reconciliation
as a whole, not only the reconciliation of two parties," he said. "It is the
reconciliation of families, brothers and sisters who unfortunately fought
each other one day...and history is ruthless and unforgiving and will curse
whoever tries to alter the essence of this reconciliation," Riachy
underlined. The Caretaker Information Minister's words came in his address
at the third "Christian Media Conference" organized under his auspices by
"Tele Lumière" Channel at the "Liqaa" Center in Rabwe, in the presence of
Archbishop Boulos Matar representing Maronite Cardinal, Patriarch Beshara
Boutros al-Rahi, with several prominent political and religious figures
attending.
Riachy went on: "Together with Tele Lumière, we established the so-called
'Society for the Defense of the Lebanese Family', but we failed to follow up
on this issue. The defense of the family is to defend the right of the
family to know, the Catholic family or the Lebanese family in general,
because this project is not exclusive to Christians but is meant to be a
national project for both Christians and Muslims." "I am proud that I was
once part of the establishment of this great Christian building and national
architecture because, besides ensuring the preservation and protection of
this great fortress in Lebanon and the Levant, it also consolidates the
national balance with my Muslim partner and brother at home and in the
world, and reflects the living model of a unique experience that must be
circulated, which is the responsibility of the Christian before the Muslim,"
he underscored. "Media is not the abuse of the other and the free insult to
the other, but rather it is meant to defend the right of the other to
differ, and to know, and to access information and knowledge," Riachy added.
He stressed that "the right to be respected among each another is the
essence of the media." Riachy also emphasized the media's "strategic
responsibility in the defense of right, not only in the transfer of
information and the transfer of news," as well as its responsibility in
defending liberty and freedom of expression of the other.
Kanaan says matters ought to be finalized in upcoming
hours, stresses on LF's presence in cabinet
Sat 20 Oct 2018/NNA - "Strong Lebanon" Parliamentary Bloc
Secretary, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, indicated Saturday that the ongoing contacts
by PM-designate Saad Hariri with the various blocs would lead to resolving
obstacles, and expected that matters would be finalized in the upcoming
hours. Speaking in an interview to "LBCI" Channel this morning, Kanaan said,
"We want the Lebanese Forces Party within the government and not outside."
He added: "The constant in the understanding between the Free Patriotic
Movement and the Lebanese Forces lies in the declaration of intentions and
in turning the page on the past." "Based on this, we can agree and disagree
in politics but it is forbidden to eliminate each other," Kanaan emphasized.
He continued to stress that it is unacceptable for citizens to pay the price
of conflicts and disputes over the government formation, adding, "We need to
have a productive government in which we cooperate to provide the best
because people's expectations are huge." Kanaan hoped that the future
cabinet would carry an economic and reform vision, noting that whoever
disrupts the reform cycle would be responsible for the country's collapse.
Referring to President Michel Aoun's mandate, the MP considered that "an
objective assessment of the President of the Republic's role in the past two
years confirms that he exercised a national role of unison in the country,
pushed towards an electoral law that represents all sides...and laid the
foundation for a regime that respects the Constitution which has not been
applied since the Taef."
Khalil: We believe that in the coming days we will reach a real solution to
the cabinet formation issue
Sat 20 Oct 2018/NNA - Caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil disclosed
Saturday that indications point to an actual solution to the government
formation obstacles in the upcoming days. Khalil's words came as he
represented House Speaker, Nabih Berri, at the memorial service of Caretaker
State Minister for Developmental Affairs, Innaya Ezeddine's late sister in
the Southern town of Shehour earlier today. "Our country, Lebanon, is going
through the most delicate stages...and this entails that we maintain
stability in the work of political institutions at the internal level," said
Khalil. He added that efforts must be exerted to restore the confidence of
people in their institutions' ability to manage their affairs in a way that
preserves their stability.
"We still believe that public interest must advance over narrow party and
political calculations, while tending to the Lebanese people's needs who
hope that their leaders would be up to the critical stage, especially in
addressing matters of the state and citizens," stated Khalil.
Civil Aviation Directorate responds to Fox News:
Iranian plane landed at Beirut Airport empty, took off loaded with livestock
Sat 20 Oct 2018/NNA - In an issued statement by the Lebanese Civil Aviation
General Directorate on Saturday, it responded to reported news by the
American "Fox News" Channel that the Iranian Airline, "Fars Qeshm", smuggled
weapons into Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Categorically denying the circulated news, the statement clarified that
"Fars Qeshm is an Iranian Airline which had applied earlier to the General
Directorate of Civil Aviation in Lebanon on October 15, 2018, for a cargo
flight between Damascus-Beirut-Doha Airports, according to the following
schedule:
I) Damascus-Beirut on 16/10/2018, where the B747 Aircraft landed at Rafic
Hariri International Airport at 3:00 pm local time empty of any load
II) Beirut-Doha on 17/10/2018, whereby the plane took off at 7:30 pm local
time with 74 tons of livestock, after the Qatari Civil Aviation Authority
agreed to the cargo."
In this connection, the General Directorate urged the media to be vigilant
in publishing any information related to Beirut Airport.
Iran Sent Hezbollah Advanced Weapons to Turn Rockets
into Precision Missiles, New Flight Data Suggests
Fox News/October 3/18
American and western intelligence sources believe Iran has been increasing
its shipments of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah, deliveries that now include
Global Positioning System (GPS) components to make previously unguided
rockets into precision guided-missiles, increasing the threat to Israel.
One of the Iranian flights arrived in Lebanon three days ago, officials tell
Fox News. Iran’s Fars Air Qeshm flight number QFZ-9950 departed Tehran
International Airport on Tuesday at 9:33 a.m. local time, and flew to an
unknown destination, according to flight data obtained by Fox News. Later in
the day, the Boeing 747 jet touched down in Syria’s capital Damascus before
continuing on to Beirut, arriving just past 2 p.m., according to the flight
tracker software.
On Wednesday evening, the Iranian cargo plane departed Beirut for Doha,
Qatar arriving just after midnight local time, and returned to Iran’s
capital Thursday at 6:31 p.m. Western intelligence sources said the Iranian
cargo plane carried weapons components, including GPS devices to make
precision-guided weapons in Iranian factories inside Lebanon.The United
States and Israel, as well as other western intelligence agencies, have
offered evidence that Iran has operated similar weapons factories in Syria
and Yemen, in addition to Lebanon.
Last month, at his address at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared photos of what he said were three
Hezbollah “secret sites” near Beirut’s international airport, locations
where the GPS components from Tehran were being assembled to turn the
rockets into precision-guided missiles capable of striking deep inside
Israel “within an accuracy of 10 meters (11 yards).”
“I have a message for Hezbollah today: Israel knows, Israel also knows what
you’re doing. Israel knows where you’re doing it. And Israel will not let
you get away with it,” warned Netanyahu. Western sources told Fox News the
weapons components from this week’s chartered 747 fight from Tehran were
bound for these Hezbollah secret sites near the Beirut airport to target
Israel in the future. A former head of Israeli military intelligence said
Israel will not allow Iran’s weapons shipment to Lebanon and Syria to go
unchecked. “Israel is determined not to let it happen,” said retired Israeli
Gen. Amos Yadlin. “This is a source of concern because if the Iranians, on
the one hand, are determined to build this precision project with ballistic
missiles, and the Israelis are determined not to let it happen—this is a
recipe for collision.”
While not able to confirm this latest cargo flight from Tehran to Beirut,
Gen. Yadlin is intimately familiar with Israel’s past use of preemptive
strikes. He was one of eight F-16 fighter pilots who bombed Iraq’s nuclear
reactor in 1981. Yadlin served as head of Israel’s military intelligence and
helped plan Israel’s strike on Syria’s nascent nuclear reactor in 2007. “The
Iranians are building a formidable military presence in Syria with ballistic
missiles, precise ballistic missiles, UAV, air defense. Israel is not going
to allow Iran to duplicate Hezbollah in Syria,” Yadlin said in an exclusive
interview with Fox News.
The Israeli military says it has conducted more than 200 airstrikes inside
Syria since last year, targeting Iranian weapons shipments.
Hezbollah has been a designated terrorist organization by the U.S. State
Department since 1997. The Iranian-funded terrorist group was responsible
for the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing over 50, and the U.S.
Marine barracks in Lebanon’s capital six months later, killing 241 Americans
and 58 French peacekeepers in 1983. The group hijacked a TWA flight two
years later, holding dozens of American hostage for weeks and killed a U.S.
Navy sailor. In 2006, a federal judge held Iran responsible for the Khobar
Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American service members 10
years earlier.
Iran’s Fars Air Qeshm airline has long been accused of flying arms for the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the elite Quds force led by
shadowy Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Last year, the Trump administration
imposed sanctions on the IRGC and Quds force.
The Iranian airline ceased operations in 2013, citing poor management, but
restarted under new management in March 2017. It is said to have two Boeing
747s in its fleet. Among the company’s new management are three current IRGC
officials: Ali Naghi Gol Parsta, Hamid Reza Pahlvani and Gholamreza Qhasemi.
The United States is Lebanon’s primary supplier of military aid, according
to the State Department. Since 2006, the U.S has provided Lebanon over $1.7
billion in security assistance, in part to counter Hezbollah. Russia’s
recent delivery of an advanced air defense system, the S-300, to Syria has
both Israeli and U.S. intelligence concerned. Last month, a Russian
reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by Syrian forces by mistake, killing
all 15 aboard off the coast of Syria in the Mediterranean Sea. The Russian
plane was downed by a 1950s-era surface-to-air missile, prompting Moscow to
deliver a more advanced air defense system, the S-300. The Russian plane was
shot down moments after an Israeli airstrike in Syria. This comes as the
White House appears to have shifted its strategy in Syria to counter Iran.
“We’re not going to leave as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian
borders and that includes Iranian proxies and militias,” President Trump’s
National Security adviser John Bolton said last month, according to the
Associated Press. The U.S. military has roughly 2,000 troops on the ground
in Syria.
Al Arabiya/Presidential
compromise did not save Lebanon, but warns of its collapse
Ali Al-Amin/Al Arabiya/October 20/18
علي الأمين/التسوية الرئاسية لم تحصن لبنان بل تنذر بانهياره
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/68181/%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A6%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%84%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B5%D9%86-%D9%84%D8%A8/
The disagreement over the formation of a
government in Lebanon is not about the dispute over matters such as who
should exclusively have weapons and it’s not related to the extent of the
execution or non-execution of the policy of dissociation from regional
crises in the Arab world. The dispute is also not about whether Hezbollah
fighters should retreat from Syrian territories or not. Everyone is trying
to book their seats in the new government. However, the formation process is
still subject to opposite demands among several political parties regarding
the quotas. Despite the optimistic statements during the past five months
about the cabinet formation, the government hasn’t been formed to this day.
Decommissioning no longer an issue
The division and the disagreement are no longer connected to issues raised
by the March 14 Alliance, which have now fizzled out, such as the slogans of
sovereignty, independence and placing Hezbollah's weapons under the
authority of the state. They are no longer related to what the March 8
Alliance called for, such as keeping Hezbollah’s weapons until the
establishment of a fair and powerful state, as Hezbollah officials claim –
even though everyone knows that the fair state cannot come into existence in
the presence of both legitimate and illegitimate arms and the duo of the
state and the “statelet”.
These issues no longer stand in the way of forming a government or delay
forming one as was the case in previous years and since 2005 as back then,
efforts were focused on finding an appropriate settlement for all parties in
the formulation of the Ministerial Statement. Today, neither Prime Minister
Hariri demands a solution over Hezbollah’s weapons nor does Lebanese Forces
Party Samir Geagea demands the withdrawal of Hezbollah from Syria or the
implementation of international resolutions on this matter. This concession
on the sovereignty level by those who were part of the sovereign party in
power, or the so-called March 14 Alliance, did not facilitate the process of
managing the affairs of the state and the formation of the government.
Everyone knows that the so-called "settlement" that made Michel Aoun
president two years ago included placing controversial files with a regional
dimension aside, namely Hezbollah's weapons and its participation in the
Syrian war. This was done to avoid the delays in governance and civil
administration. In spite of the neutralization of these highly important
issues related to sovereignty, the situation has remained stagnant as they
remained incapable of doing both, forming a government and managing the
state’s affairs with the minimum level of efficiency and responsibility. As
sovereign matters were marginalized, political parties developed a strong
appetite to dominate whatever they can attain from public money.
When political life is marginalized from addressing national issues, or when
there is a conspiracy to neutralize it, like what happened when Michel Aoun
became president, it becomes impacted with a fundamental flaw in favor of
different agendas in the conflict that can be summarized through the fight
to acquire quotas whether in the cabinet or public sector. The competition
is now about who can appoint the biggest number of his followers or
loyalists to public posts, while eliminating the principle of efficiency,
abolishing equality among citizens and promoting favoritism in the public
sector which has thus become burdened with tens of thousands of unproductive
employees, full with corruption and incapable of performing its role.
Blatant corruption
Not only this, in the absence of political life, political forces are
looking for benefits by fighting over deals in the electricity and oil
sectors. The fight over garbage disposal remains a striking example on the
sharing of benefits through dubious means, by coming up with fake projects
or projects that cannot be executed. Such projects aim to worsen the crisis
in order to keep the trash issue a source of looting the public treasury.
Even the Lebanese University has been subjected to violations which have
harmed its academic performance. It has transformed from a university
largely subject to academic authority into a domain of sharing influence
among the authority powers. University appointments as well as access to its
academic space are determined by the principle of quotas and not academic
accomplishments. Thus, the university has lost its academic and national
role. This is the tip of the iceberg of Lebanese political life, which has
become captive to the logic of quotas and benefit-sharing, after neglecting
major national issues related to the concept of state, national identity and
unity of the people. When the concept of sovereignty is marginalized and
destroyed and when this is acknowledged and accepted by the authorities’
powers, when calling on official military and security forces to protect the
state becomes national treachery, when public money is plundered by the
parties of power in an organized and deliberate manner andwhen the
conditions of citizenship do not require the application of law, then the
state will be in a flawed and violated situation and it will be deprived of
its will.
Duality of power
If some people in Lebanon consider or even believe that there is a
possibility of building a state in the absence of basic concepts and
framework for the establishment and progress of any state, then they must
realize today that this is false and destructive for the existing state as
well.
A state cannot survive if it remains captive of the duality of the state and
the statelet or of the legitimate- illegitimate weapons’ duality, or rather
a captive of the dual loyalty to the state and an outside power. In a
country whose authority allows itself to be ruled by those who are loyal to
an external state (as in the case of Hezbollah) more than they’re loyal to
their own homeland, disaster cannot be avoided, and this is what Lebanon is
suffering from today. Without going back to the basic principles of the
state and without the establishment of a political life based on the
condition of sovereignty and independence, this paralysis will not be
limited to the inability of forming a government but it could also lead to
the collapse of the political and social life as well as financial and
economic collapse which appears highly imminent as acknowledged by the
authority parties in Lebanon before citizens, who feel the noose tightening
around them, even acknowledge that.
Lebanon: Governance in difficult times
Eyad Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/October 20/18
Few hours separated the optimism expressed by Lebanon’s Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri, and the frustrated reply that came from
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement (founded
by current President General Michel Aoun).
Given his incessant talk about the economy, Hariri seems to be obsessed with
the worrying economic situation, which is why he wants to form a government
that receives and manages the promised and much-needed international aid, in
the hope that such aid saves Lebanon from a more than probable economic
collapse. Across the political arena, the priorities of the Foreign Minister
– who is also Aoun’s son-in-law – look totally different. In intentionally
sabotaging Hariri’s ‘optimism’, as expressed in an eagerly followed TV
interview, Bassil seems keen to build ‘another Lebanon’. A Lebanon based on
the advantage of armed hegemony, and on the ruins of “The Taif Accord.”
New balance of power
Bassil now believes that the new “balance of power” imposed by Hezbollah’s
military might since 2008, and enhanced by the new electoral law based on PR
(proportional representation) – under which the latest general elections
were conducted – has effectively nullified “The Taif Accord”. Thus, Bassil
is tacitly working to deprive the Prime Minister of almost all extra powers
given to the post – the highest reserved to Sunni Muslims under the Accord –
and bring Lebanon back under a ‘strong’ Christian President, albeit
empowered by Hezbollah’s arms.
In the meantime, the Lebanese continue to await the birth of their new
cabinet around five months after the general elections in early May. Many
would rather be optimistic, even with few encouraging signs that the future
will be better than present time. One of those is none other than PM Hariri
who is betting on solving the complex political crises with injections of
economic boosts. Enjoying the much hoped for economic well-being may, hence,
become a common denominator that brings the Lebanese together. In fact,
although Lebanon’s problems are seen as being too complex and too deep to
allow for magical panacea made up of solicited loans, investment and
financial aid; Lebanon’s history, since its independence in 1943, has
witnessed periods when money helped in resolving political and sectarian
crises, without eliminating them. In the meantime, the Lebanese continue to
await the birth of their new cabinet around five months after the general
elections in early May. Many would rather be optimistic, even with few
encouraging signs that the future will be better than present time. One of
those is none other than PM Hariri who is betting on solving the complex
political crises with injections of economic boosts. Enjoying the much hoped
for economic well-being may, hence, become a common denominator that brings
the Lebanese together. Among these periods was President Camille Chamoun’s
term (1952-1958), when military coups, and the ensuing mass nationalization
of private businesses in neighboring countries – including those owned by
foreign nationals – led to an exodus of capital and investments towards
Lebanon. The country, then was a safe haven thanks to its lasses-faire
economy, banking secrecy and active services sector (tourism, education,
hospitals, etc.).
The generation that remembers this boom period says Lebanon was fairly
stable despite acute regional struggles fueled by “The Cold War”
polarization and its pacts – among which was “The Baghdad pact” – created by
the “Policy of Containment”, as well as the escalating Arab-Israeli
conflict. However, the “1958 Revolt” that was backed by President Gamal
Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and prevented Chamoun from securing a second term in
office, ended relatively fast and with no high costs. It was followed by the
Army Chief General Fouad Chehab taking over. He was a wise man who enjoyed
wide international support, kept the unity of the army, and launched an
institutional reform operation that allowed the Lebanese a good period to
reap the benefits of economic wellbeing against the backdrop of regional
turmoil.
The Taif Accord
The second experiment came with Prime minister Rafik Hariri, near the end of
“The Lebanese War” (1975-1990). Again, injecting money and investing in the
Lebanese manpower as well as infrastructure projects, were crucial in making
the Lebanese discover the absurd suicidal circle they were in, after paying
the heavy price of foreign interventions, most of which were welcome, if not
invited, by their local leaders and parties. Indeed, most Lebanese people
found a “common” interest in peacefully coexisting and in giving entente a
chance, although some opposed the settlement that ended the war, and became
known as “The Taif Accord” of 1989, signed in the Saudi city of Taif. It is
important to mention here that the “Accords”, as the wise and
well-intentioned Lebanese realize, were not necessarily the final and magic
cure. Actually, the roots of political conflicts both within the country and
in its neighboring entities – as we have seen in Syria and Iraq – are
centuries old. So it would be impossible to simply wipe out political
cultures, myths, and old grudges, and claim that brotherly hugs between sage
and visionary leaders are enough. Still, “The Taif Accord” provided the
necessary roadmap to move forward to the desired solution. It was certainly
necessary but by no means sufficient, since there was a need for it to be
solidified and built on.
Regional players
On the other hand, there were regional players, led by the Assad regime in
Syria and the Tehran regime in Iran, that claimed to accept the Accord,
while they were working to undermine it. These two players had no interest
in real entente and solid peace that would push them out of Lebanon, thus
cutting off the corridor of Iranian influence to the Mediterranean as this
plan became clear after 2011. So Damascus and Tehran, along with a group of
Lebanese who continue to dream of Lebanon as a “Christian national home”,
were hell-bent on sabotaging “The Taif Accord” at any price.
Following the assassination of President Rene Moawad (on November 22, 1989),
who was the man agreed on in Taif, came the second step in 1992. The Syrian
regime, which was in control of Lebanon, ignored then the widespread
Christian boycott of the first post-Taif general agreement. It later,
strived to emasculate the Accord through:
1- Turning what became known as “The Syrio-Lebanese Security Apparatus” into
the real powerhouse in the country, along the lines of how pre-2011 Syria’s
security agencies turned into a “police state”.
2- Becoming the “nanny” of Iran’s greatest investment in the region, i.e.,
Hezbollah!
The assassination of Rafik Hariri, on February 14, 2005, was an inseparable
part of the strategy of killing off “The Taif Accord”, and what is now
taking place is an attempt to confirm Iran’s hegemony over Lebanon albeit
behind a Christian façade.
The Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News
published
on
October 20-21/18
Saudi admission of
Khashoggi death leaves turmoil in Riyadh, fallout on Saudi-US relations
DebkaFile/October 20/18
The Saudis cannot hope to lay to rest the upsets in the royal house and
commotion in Washington by their disclosure on Saturday, Oct. 20 that the
journalist Jamal Khashoggi died after a fistfight with intelligence agents
sent to abduct him. Neither will the vibes subside after royal decrees were
issued to sack the crown prince’s associate, Deputy intelligence chief Ahmed
Al-Asiri, court adviser Saud Al-Qahtani and three other intelligence
officers, or 18 arrests in the ongoing investigation. President Donald Trump
saw this when he said: “Saudi Arabia has been a great ally, but what
happened is unacceptable. It’s a big first step, only a first step.” He also
announced he would work with Congress on the response. There are too many
fingers in the pie and open questions for the scandal to die down any time
soon. For one, what happened to the body of the dead journalist? The Saudis
now report that it was handed to an unnamed “local collaborator.” This
mysterious person either got away, was smuggled out of Turkey by Saudi
agents or is no longer alive. This may explain the sweep Turkish police have
been conducting in the woods near the consulate and other parts of Istanbul.
King Salman’s appointment of a ministerial committee, headed by Saudi Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman to restructure the country’s General Intelligence
agency and issue the results of its work within a month, was intended as a
vote of confidence in Prince Muahmmed (MbS) who has taken most of the
international flak over the Khashoggi mystery. The monarch was clearly
trying to put the running of the kingdom back to normal.
Abductions and assassinations by clandestine agencies of traitors, enemies,
double agents or regime opponents are not uncommon in the shady underworld
of many nations. But even when they are botched and lead to unplanned deaths
of the objects or even their assailants, such cases are rarely admitted by
officialdom or reach the public domain. Yet the Khashoggi case hit world
headlines, fed day after day by vividly morbid details, from the moment he
failed to come out of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, because
three parties had an immediate interest in fanning the flames of outrage.
The crown prince’s rivals at home, who saw their chance to topple him. The
official announcement on Saturday will not end the infighting in Riyadh, but
rather intensify the struggle waged against him for some months by
high-ranking princes, army commanders, intelligence agents and rich Saudis.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan seized the affair with both hands as a
vehicle for climbing up to the top of the international and Muslim power
ladder in the guise of a seeker after justice and truth.Donald Trump’s
political foes at home, who saw an opening for getting at him through the
friendship between his son-in-law Jared Kushner and the Saudi crown prince.
In this respect, the president’s decision to send Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo to Riyadh and Ankara to get to the bottom of the affair and take the
heat off the White House did more harm than good. Trump would have been
better served by standing aloof from the scandal. Now he hopes to get rid of
the hot potato by his decision to work with Congress on Washington’s
response to the embarrassing Saudi crisis.
Saudi Arabia Admits
Critic Khashoggi Killed in Istanbul Consulate
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October
20/18/Saudi Arabia on Saturday admitted that critic Jamal Khashoggi was
killed during a "brawl" inside its Istanbul consulate, an explanation that
President Donald Trump said he found credible but failed to convince top US
lawmakers.
The kingdom announced the arrest of 18 Saudis in connection with their probe
and the sacking of two top officials linked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman who has faced mounting pressure over the journalist's disappearance.
Khashoggi, a critic of the Islamic petro-state's powerful crown prince and a
Washington Post contributor, was last seen on October 2 entering his
country's consulate in Istanbul. His disappearance had been shrouded in
mystery and triggered an international crisis, with Turkish officials
accusing Saudi Arabia of a state-sponsored killing and dismembering his
body. The admission of his death after vehement denials by the Gulf kingdom
came amid threats of US sanctions and leaves lingering questions about
whether Prince Mohammed had any role in the affair. In the latest version of
events from Riyadh, Saudi Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said
Khashoggi died after talks at the consulate devolved into an altercation,
without disclosing any details on the whereabouts of his body. "Discussions
that took place between him and the persons who met him... at the Saudi
consulate in Istanbul led to a brawl and a fist fight with the citizen,
Jamal Khashoggi, which led to his death, may his soul rest in peace," the
attorney general said in a statement. The Saudi king also ordered the
setting up of ministerial body under the chairmanship of the crown prince,
widely known as MBS, to restructure the kingdom's intelligence agency and
"define its powers accurately", state media said. Deputy intelligence chief
Ahmad al-Assiri and royal court media advisor Saud al-Qahtani, both top
aides to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, were sacked.
Intense outcry
The controversy has put the kingdom -- for decades a key Western ally and
bulwark against Iran in the Middle East -- under unprecedented pressure to
offer an explanation to take the heat off its rulers. It evolved into a
major crisis for Prince Mohammed, a US administration favourite whose image
as a modernising Arab reformer has been gravely undermined. US President
Donald Trump said Friday that he found credible Saudi Arabia's assertion
that Khashoggi died as a result of a fight. "I do, I do," Trump said when
asked if the Saudis' explanation was credible, while adding: "It's early, we
haven't finished our review or investigation." Trump had earlier said
Washington could impose sanctions, but his administration had been notably
slow to criticise the Gulf ally despite mounting evidence of what happened
to Khashoggi. The case has presented Trump with one of the most acute
foreign policy crises of his nearly two-year-old presidency.
"It took an intense international outcry sustained for two weeks to
acknowledge the obvious -- that Khashoggi is dead, that he was killed in the
Saudi consulate," said Kristin Diwan, of the Arab Gulf States Institute in
Washington. "That gives you an idea of the immense financial and strategic
interests that are invested in maintaining the US partnership with Saudi
Arabia and its leadership."
Deeply troubled
Saudi officials have roundly denied that Prince Mohammed had any
involvement. But a suspect identified by Turkey was said to be a frequent
companion of Prince Mohammed, three others were linked to his security
detail and a fifth is a high-level forensic doctor, according to The New
York Times. The decision to overhaul the intelligence apparatus and sack
members of MBS's inner circle is designed to "distance the crown prince from
the murder", said analysis firm Eurasia Group. Complicating the official
narrative, Ali Shihabi, head of pro-Saudi think tank Arabia Foundation which
is said to be close to the government, tweeted that "Khashoggi died from a
chokehold during a physical altercation, not a fist fight", citing a senior
Saudi source. But pro-government Turkish media have repeatedly claimed that
Khashoggi was tortured and decapitated by a Saudi hit squad inside the
diplomatic mission, although Turkey has yet to divulge details about the
investigation. "Each successive narrative put out by the Saudis to explain
what happened to Khashoggi has strained credulity," Kristian Ulrichsen, a
fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute in the United States, told AFP.
"Especially because the Saudis are still unable or unwilling to produce the
one piece of evidence -- a body -- that could provide a definitive answer
one way or the other." UN chief Antonio Gutterres said he was "deeply
troubled" by the kingdom's disclosure on Saturday, adding there needed to be
"full accountability for those responsible."Republican Senator Lindsey
Graham, an influential Trump ally, said he doubted the latest admission from
Saudi authorities. "To say that I am skeptical of the new Saudi narrative
about Mr Khashoggi is an understatement," he tweeted. Bob Menendez, the top
US Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for sanctions,
saying "we need to keep up international pressure" on the kingdom. Saudi
Arabia's admission comes after Turkish authorities widened their probe on
Friday, searching a forest in Istanbul city for further clues.
Turkey Will 'Reveal Whatever Happened' in Khashoggi
Death
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 20/18/Turkey vowed Saturday to reveal
all details of the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after Saudi Arabia
admitted he was killed at its Istanbul consulate, state media reported.
"Turkey will reveal whatever had happened. Nobody should ever doubt about
it," said Omer Celik, spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP), the Anadolu news agency reported. Khashoggi, a Washington Post
contributor and critic of the Islamic petro-state's powerful crown prince,
was last seen on October 2 entering his country's consulate in Istanbul.
Riyadh's admission came after persistent claims by the Saudi authorities
that the journalist had left the consulate alive. Turkish police and
prosecutors this week searched both the consulate as well as the consul's
residence in Istanbul. Celik said it was Turkey's "debt of honour" to reveal
what happened. "We are not accusing anyone in advance but we don't accept
anything to remain covered (up)," he said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan on Friday night spoke with Saudi King Salman and the two agreed to
continue cooperation in the probe. In public, Erdogan and top government
figures have remained extremely cautious, often referring to a prosecutors'
investigation and stopping short of pinning the blame on Saudi Arabia. Staff
members of the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul testified to prosecutors
Friday as part of the probe.
Gulf Ally UAE Hails Saudi Reponse on Khashoggi
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 20/18/Gulf ally the United Arab
Emirates on Saturday hailed Saudi Arabia for its response to the death of
critic Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the kingdom's Istanbul
consulate. "The United Arab Emirates welcomes the decisions and the
directives by King Salman," regarding the Khashoggi affair, state news
agency WAM said. Earlier on Saturday, Riyadh announced the arrest of 18
Saudis and the sacking of two top aides of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,
as part of its probe into the killing.
Istanbul-Based Journalists' Group Seeks Punishment for Those Who 'Ordered'
Khashoggi Death
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 20/18/An Istanbul-based journalists'
group on Saturday demanded punishment for those who ordered the killing of
Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate. "We demand that not only the
18 men but those who commanded (the killing) are punished," said Turan
Kislakci, head of the Turk-Arab Media Association (TAM), of which Khashoggi
was a member.
Saudi source: Crown
prince had no knowledge of ‘specific’ Khashoggi operation
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 20 October 2018/Saudi Arabia’s
crown prince had no knowledge of the specific operation that resulted in the
death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul
this month, a Saudi source said according to Reuters.
The Saudi prosecutor said on Friday that the investigation showed the death
of Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi was a result of a physical fight at the
Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The prosecutor’s investigation also pointed out that the discussions that
took place between Khashoggi and those who met him while he was in the
consulate in Istanbul led to a brawl which led to his death. In addition,
the Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed that its investigations into this
case are continuing with 18 suspects identified and detained, all of whom
are Saudi nationals.
The Saudi prosecutor said that investigations are ongoing and aimed at
reaching all the facts and that they will hold those accountable and bring
them to justice.
Trump: Saudi announcement of what happened to Khashoggi
credible
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 20 October 2018/US President
Donald Trump said he agreed that Saturday's explanation and investigation
into what had happened to Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was credible. At
the same time, he stressed that it was too early to talk about any
conclusions. “It’s early, we haven’t finished our review or investigation
but it’s a very important first step and it happened sooner that people
thought it would happen,” he said. Trump praised the speed with which the
results of the preliminary investigation were issued and said he would speak
to the Saudi crown prince soon. He reiterated strong ties with Saudi Arabia,
recalling that it was a strong and important ally of the United States in
the Middle East. The Saudi prosecutor said on Friday that the investigation
showed the death of Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi was a result of a
physical fight at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The prosecutor’s investigation also pointed out that the discussions that
took place between Khashoggi and those who met him while he was in the
consulate in Istanbul led to a brawl which led to his death. In addition,
the Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed that its investigations into this
case are continuing with 18 suspects identified and detained, all of whom
are Saudi nationals.
White House: US ‘saddened’ by confirmed Khashoggi death
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 20 October 2018/The White House
said Friday it was “saddened” after confirmation that journalist Jamal
Khashoggi was killed inside a Saudi consulate. In the first US response to
Saudi Arabia's admission, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said merely
that Washington “acknowledges the announcement.”“We will continue to closely
follow the international investigations into this tragic incident and
advocate for justice that is timely, transparent and in accordance with all
due process,” she said. “We are saddened to hear confirmation of Mr.
Khashoggi's death, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family,
fiancee and friends.”The US president Donald Trump had reiterated on Friday
night the importance of the Saudi-US relations. Trump said that Saudi Arabia
is a great ally and that the importance of Saudi-US ties need to be taken
into account. He added that “it would be hurtful to the US if we don’t sell
products to Saudi Arabia”.With Agencies
King Salman orders restructuring of Saudi General
Intelligence Presidency
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 20 October 2018/Saudi King Salman
has directed for the formation of ministerial committee headed by Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman to restructure the kingdom’s General Intelligence
Presidency. “Based on what has been submitted by His Royal Highness Prince
Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and President of
the Council of Political and Security Affairs to the Custodian of the Two
Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the urgent need to
restructure the General Intelligence Presidency and modernize its
regulations and regulations as well as to determine its authorities and
assess the procedures and powers governing its work with its administrative
and hierarchical sequence in order to ensure the proper functioning of its
work and the determination of responsibilities,” a statement on Saudi Press
Agency read.
The ministerial committee will be chaired by the Crown Prince and a number
of members of the Council of Political and Security Affairs namely: Prince
Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Interior; Dr.
Mousaed Al-Aiban; Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf; Minister of Foreign Affairs;
President of General Intelligence and President of the State Security. The
Committee shall submit the results of its work within one month of its issue
date.
Saudi Arabia terminates services of a number of general
intelligence officers
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 20 October 2018 /Saudi Arabia’s
King Salman bin Abdulaziz has issued on Friday a royal order terminating the
services of a number of officers working in the General Intelligence.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, those officers were identified as the
following:
1 - Assistant Chief of General Intelligence for Intelligence Affairs, Pilot
Brigade/ Mohammad bin Saleh Al-Rumaih.
2 - Assistant Chief of General Intelligence
for Human Resources, Major General/ Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Shaya.
3 - Director of the General Directorate of Security and Protection at
General Intelligence Presidency/ Rashad bin Hamed Al-Muhamadi.
ISIS ‘releases six’ of 27 Druze hostages in exchange
for prisoner swap, ransom
AFP, Beirut/Saturday, 20 October 2018/ISIS has released six of 27 Druze
hostages it seized during a deadly July attack in Syria's Sweida province in
exchange for a prisoner swap and ransom, a monitor said Saturday. "Two women
and four children from the province of Sweida were released last night,"
Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a
monitor group, told AFP. He added that the releases were the "first wave"
and part of an agreement sealed with the Syrian government to exchange all
the hostages for "60 ISIS prisoners held by the regime and a ransom of $27
million." ISIS abducted around 30 people -- mostly women and children --
from Sweida in late July during the deadliest attack on Syria's Druze
community of the seven-year civil war. During the coordinated assaults on
July 25, ISIS waged a series of suicide bombings, shootings and stabbings
that left more than 250 people dead across the southwestern province, most
of them civilians. Sweida province is the heartland of the country's Druze
minority, which made up around three percent of Syria's pre-war population
-- or around 700,000 people. ISIS executed a 19-year-old male student among
the captives in August and then a 25-year-old female captive in early
October. The group said a 65-year-old female captive also died from illness.
Families of those kidnapped held protests to demand action by the Syrian
government to free them. Negotiations between the government's Russian ally
and the jihadists for the release of the captives had stalled. Government
forces have battled ISIS in the volcanic plateau of Tulul al-Safa in the
east of the province since the July attack.
US-led coalition kills at least 35 ISIS members in
eastern Syria
Staff Writer, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 20 October 2018/At least 35 ISIS
members were killed in air strikes by the US-led coalition in eastern Syria,
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Head of the Observatory,
Ramy Abdulrahman, told AFP: “28 ISIS members were killed in raids on the
city of Hajin and areas surrounding it during the day and night.”He added
that seven other ISIS members were also killed during clashes with the
Syrian Democratic Forces who launched a coalition-backed offensive last
month.
Multiple Blasts Rock Kabul Polling Stations
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 20/18/Multiple explosions rocked
polling centres across Kabul on Saturday, as voters cast their ballots in
long-delayed legislative elections. Voters were seen fleeing a school in the
north of the Afghan capital after a blast, an AFP correspondent said, with
witnesses reporting explosions at other polling centres. A man told AFP "he
was trying to vote but then had to run for his life after the blast" at the
school that had been turned into a polling centre. He saw several casualties
evacuated. Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi confirmed another two
explosions near polling centres. There were no casualties because voters
were inside the buildings, he told AFP. At least one official said there
were "fatalities and injuries" from the explosions. The blasts come after
the Taliban warned voters on Saturday to boycott the "sham and theatrical
process to protect their lives". Around 70,000 security forces have been
deployed to protect polling centres across the war-torn country.
The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
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UK:
Anjem Choudary Released from Prison
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/October 20/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13145/uk-anjem-choudary-released-from-prison
"I believe we are underestimating the potency and danger of the radicalizers
who don't carry knives, guns and overtly plot terrorist attacks but who
pollute the minds of young Muslim men." -- Richard Walton, former head of
Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command
"I asked the guy who spoke to him if the de-radicalization program had
worked and he said, 'No, he's got worse. He's hardened. He speaks in the
mind-set of the victim. He sees himself as a martyr the state tried to
silence.'" -- Fiyaz Mughal, head of the anti-extremist group Faith Matters
Choudary is now considering mounting a legal challenge to the strict
conditions of his release, according to the Telegraph. It reported that he
has applied for legal aid funding, at taxpayer expense, to bring his action
against government ministers, and arguing the parole conditions breach his
human rights.
The Islamist firebrand preacher Anjem Choudary, described as Britain's "most
dangerous extremist," has been released from prison after serving only half
of the five-and-a-half-year sentence he received in 2016 for pledging
allegiance to the Islamic State.
Prison authorities could not prevent his release: under British sentencing
guidelines, prisoners — even those who are still a risk to the public —
automatically become eligible for release under license (parole) after
serving half their terms.
Prime Minister Theresa May has downplayed concerns over Choudary's release;
British counter-terrorism authorities, however, say they are worried that he
will re-exert influence on hundreds of followers upon his release. The cost
to British taxpayers of keeping Choudary under surveillance is expected to
exceed £2 million (€2.25 million; $2.6 million) a year, compared to the
£50,000 (€57,000; $65,000) to keep him in prison.
Choudary, a 51-year-old born in Britain to Pakistani immigrants, has
actively been promoting Islamic fundamentalism in Britain for more than
three decades. In 1986, Choudary and an exiled preacher, Omar Bakri
Mohammed, founded an Islamist group, al-Muhajiroun (Arabic: The Emigrants),
a network of Salafi jihadists determined to spread Sharia law across
Britain.
Al-Muhajiroun — which hailed the September 2001 jihadi attacks on the United
States — was banned under the UK Terrorism Act 2000, in January 2010.
After that, al-Muhajiroun reinvented itself under an array of successor
aliases. These included Islam4UK, Call to Submission, Islamic Path, Islamic
Dawa Association, London School of Sharia, Muslims Against Crusades and
Need4Khalifah, all of which have also been proscribed.
A November 2013 investigative report published by the anti-extremism charity
Hope Not Hate concluded that al-Muhajiroun was "the single biggest gateway
to terrorism in recent British history."
A September 2014 study published by the London-based Henry Jackson Society
found that one in five terrorists convicted in Britain have had links to al-Muhajiroun.
In October 2018, during a debate in the House of Lords, Lord Anderson, a
former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said that existing
British law is insufficient to deal with Islamic radicalizers:
"Anjem Choudary has been mentioned, with good reason. As many as 25% of
British jihadis convicted between 2001 and 2015 were associated with his
organizations, outnumbering the 10% linked to al-Qaeda and the 5% linked to
ISIS, or Daesh. His organizations also had great influence in northern
Europe, yet although the police reported his activities to the Crown
Prosecution Service 10 times between 2002 and 2015, no prosecution could be
brought, whether for incitement to religious hatred, indirect encouragement
to terrorism, inciting terrorism overseas, incitement to murder or
proscription offences."
For years, Choudary, a lawyer by training, managed to stay "just within the
law" by treading the fine legal line between the inflammatory rhetoric of
Islamic supremacism and the right to free speech. Choudary — who called for
the flag of the Islamic State to fly above Downing Street and wanted
Buckingham Palace converted into a mosque and the Queen's face to be covered
— was never been convicted of any offense, presumably much to the
frustration of British authorities.
That scenario changed after the Islamic State proclaimed the establishment
of an Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria in June 2014. Police said that
Choudary had become far more brazen and repeatedly crossed the legal
threshold for criminal prosecution for encouraging terrorism.
In September 2014, Choudary pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and
declared that the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is "the
caliph of all Muslims and the prince of the believers." Between June 29,
2014 and March 6, 2015, Choudary also uploaded a series of lectures on
YouTube in which he invited support for the Islamic State. At the time,
Choudary was believed to have had links to as many as 500 jihadis who left
Britain to join the Islamic State.
Police said the oath of allegiance was a "turning point" in terms of their
ability to prosecute him. On September 25, 2014, Choudary and Mohammed
Mizanur Rahman, of Palmers Green in London, were each charged under Section
12 of the Terrorism Act with one offense of inviting support for the Islamic
State.
Speaking to Sky News before his conviction, Choudary claimed that he was
exercising his right to freedom of speech and had not broken the law:
"If you look at my speeches, I have said the same thing for 20 years. For
me, it is a matter of worship. If people are implementing the Sharia, then I
cannot shy away from what the divine text says in relationship to that. If
you cannot say when you believe in something and you cannot share that view,
then you don't really have freedom to express yourself in this country."
Choudary also welcomed the prospect of spending time in prison: "If they
arrest me and put me in prison, I will carry on in prison. I will radicalize
everyone in prison."
On July 28, 2016, following a trial at the Old Bailey, Choudary and
co-defendant Rahman, were found guilty of inviting support for the Islamic
State. Both were sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison.
Choudary spent some of his sentence in a special "separation unit" for
dangerous extremists inside Frankland Prison in County Durham, to limit his
possible influence over other inmates. He was released from Belmarsh prison
in south-east London on October 19.
It is probable that Choudary will carry on as before: During his time in
prison, according to the BBC, Choudary refused to take part in
deradicalization programs.
Choudary will spend the rest of his sentence on "license" (parole) in the
community, as part of attempts to reintegrate him and reduce the risk of
reoffending. He must comply with 25 conditions that his release team, made
up of probation and police officers, believe are necessary and proportionate
to manage the risk he may still pose. If he breaches them, he risks being
recalled to prison.
Several British officials downplayed the significance of Choudary's release.
Prime Minister Theresa May said that "obviously he's an extremist preacher"
but "if and when any terrorist offender is released, well-rehearsed plans
are put in place to keep the public safe."
Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police's former assistant commissioner and
former national lead for the UK's counter-terrorism policing, said it was
important not to overstate Choudary's influence:
"At the end of the day he is a pathetic groomer of others.That is what he
has done in the past. He is not some sort of evil genius we all need to be
afraid of. I think we have to recognize that radicalizers look to generate a
profile, look to prey on the vulnerable and we need to be thoughtful about
how we report their activity."
Rowley also criticized the media's elevation of individuals like Choudary:
"It's pretty depressing if you Google 'UK Muslim spokesman' and he comes up
as the first hit. For goodness sake, we have a very impressive Muslim mayor
of London, a Muslim home secretary and he comes up as the first hit. On
YouTube he is four of the first 10 videos.
"That is giving him a profile because these companies chase your attention
through the salacious and contentious rather than through anything accurate
or responsible.That is the disgrace in this and it gives people like him,
who is a sad individual, more credibility and more attention than they
deserve."
Others vehemently disagree. Prisons Minister Rory Stewart admitted that
Choudary remains a "genuinely dangerous" individual. Stewart added that the
"completely pernicious" cleric would be watched "very, very carefully" by
police and security services.
Richard Walton, a former head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command,
said that British authorities were underestimating the threat Choudary
presents:
"I would describe him as a hardened terrorist, somebody who has had huge
influence on the Islamist extremist scene in this country over many years. I
believe we are underestimating the potency and danger of the radicalizers
who don't carry knives, guns and overtly plot terrorist attacks but who
pollute the minds of young Muslim men."
A former member of al-Muhajiroun, Adam Deen, who is now a director of the
anti-extremist group Quilliam, warned that "it's highly unlikely that he's
reformed and being out of prison he would definitely get lots of credence
from his followers." Deen added:
"Restrictions are not going to stop Anjem's act. Be it middle-men or
whoever, he will find a way to make an impact. I would be very surprised if
he has in any way been reformed by prison. He has too much invested in his
image. Some think he doesn't mean what he says, but he does. It's the
scariest thing about him."
David Videcette, a former counter-terrorism officer, added:
"[Choudary] is aware of what the law allows him to say and what not to say,
and he rarely steps over the line. He knows how not to get himself into
trouble. We were extremely lucky to find some material showing him promoting
IS that allowed us to put him away. He remains a danger to anyone with whom
he comes into contact — those who are vulnerable and impressionable.
"Goading is part of his strategy. He wants to drive a wedge between the
Muslim community and the secular community. Terrorism is about polarizing
views. Muslims are left alone by the main population and that allows
extremists to thrive within that community.
"Choudary is one of the few public faces of Islamist extremism.There are not
many people with his public persona, but several hundred who behind closed
doors share his views. He is at the top of a hierarchical structure that at
its base has about 20,000 people who are known to have contact with these
hundreds of advisers."
The head of the anti-extremist group Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal, spoke of
his interaction with an imam who was brought into prison to try to
deradicalize Choudary:
"Choudary was put in containment that stops him engaging with other
prisoners, but also given pastoral care to see if they could get through to
him. I asked the guy who spoke to him if the de-radicalization program had
worked and he said, 'No, he's got worse. He's hardened. He speaks in the
mind-set of the victim. He sees himself as a martyr the state tried to
silence.'"
"He [Choudary] should have served the full term. It's a terrible day for
victims of the attacks he has helped incite. We need a change in the law so
that anyone named as the inciter in two terrorist attacks should
automatically serve the full sentence."
Only hours after Choudary arrived at a halfway house, where he will spend
the next six months before being allowed to return home, he held a staged
photo session. Choudary smiled and waved to the cameras — but said nothing,
mindful not to breach his parole conditions, which prevent him talking to
the media.
Choudary is now considering mounting a legal challenge to the strict
conditions of his release, according to the Telegraph. It reported that he
has applied for legal aid funding, at taxpayer expense, to bring his action
against government ministers, and arguing the parole conditions breach his
human rights.
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
© 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.
Are Turkey's Spies Operating in America?
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/October 20/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13094/turkey-spies-mosques
According to Turkish media reports, the Turkish government's Directorate of
Religious Affairs (Diyanet) gathered intelligence via its imams and other
employees in 38 countries on the activities of Turks suspected of supporting
the US-based Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen.
Peter Pilz, then an Austrian member of parliament, last year revealed that
he had received documents from a Turkish source indicating the existence of
"a global network of informants" -- spanning four continents -- reporting to
Turkey's Diyanet on alleged Gülenists. In most cases, these informants were
religion attachés at embassies and consulates.
In 2016, the Diyanet Center of America (DCA) completed the construction of a
$110 million mosque complex in Lanham, Maryland. According to the DCA
website, "The result is a small village that will be an important cultural
hub for all visitors and residents of Washington DC area." Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the complex, one of many Diyanet-affiliated
mosques in North America.
The Trump administration should be on guard. If Erdogan's mosques in Europe,
Africa, Australia and Asia are being used as a conduit to spy on Turkish
nationals who possibly oppose his rule, is it not safe to assume that
similar activity has been going on in the United States?
If Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's mosques in Europe, Africa,
Australia and Asia are being used as a conduit to spy on Turkish nationals
who possibly oppose his rule, is it not safe to assume that similar activity
has been going on in the United States, for example, at the $110 million
Diyanet Center of America mosque complex (pictured at left) near Washington,
D.C.?
According to Turkish media reports, the Turkish government's Directorate of
Religious Affairs (Diyanet) gathered intelligence via its imams and other
employees in 38 countries on the activities of Turks suspected of supporting
the US-based Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, whom Turkey's
government accuses of organizing a failed coup attempt in July 2016. Diyanet
reportedly requested from its branches abroad to submit their findings in
time for the 9th Eurasia Islamic Council, which took place in October 2016.
These findings were then reportedly submitted to the "Coup Commission" of
the Turkish parliament (TBMM).
The findings included photos of the people who were being spied on by mosque
employees hired by Diyanet and detailed information on the schools,
companies, associations, foundations and media outlets allegedly linked to
the Gülen movement, which the Turkish government has since labeled the "Fethullahist
Terrorist Organization" (FETO).
According to the newspaper Hurriyet,
"The Diyanet said it gathered intelligence and prepared reports on Gülenists
in Abkhazia, Germany (three reports from Dusseldorf, Cologne and Munich),
Albania, Australia (two reports from Melbourne and Sydney), Austria (two
reports from Salzburg and Vienna), Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria (two reports from Plovdiv and Sofia), Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, Georgia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden,
Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan,
Kosovo, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Norway, Poland,
Romania, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Turkmenistan and Ukraine."
During a recent three-day state visit to Germany to discuss ways to "develop
trade and economic investments... and how to effectively struggle against
racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia," Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan attended the inauguration ceremony of the Cologne Central Mosque,
established by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DiTiB).
DiTiB, the largest umbrella organization of mosques in Germany, provides the
financing and imams for the Cologne Central Mosque. It is also linked to the
Turkish government's Diyanet.
DiTiB has been at the center of multiple scandals, such as its refusal to
attend an "anti-terrorism march" in Cologne; its calls on worshippers to
pray for a Turkish military victory against Kurds in northern Syria; its
staging of a military re-enactment involving Turkish flags and fake guns
handed to child "martyrs;" and its own admission that some of its imams were
spying for the Turkish government.
In the two years since this spying was made public, the German government
has been paying closer attention to DiTiB activities, going as far as to
detain a number of imams. According to a February 2017 report by the German
international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW):
DITIB says it only provides religious and cultural services and does not
conduct political activities. Green [Party] politician Volker Beck, who
filed a criminal complaint in December, said DITIB's claims of innocence do
not add up.
"Diyanet, religious attachés at consulates and the local DITIB associations
are an entity which normally executes the political orders of Ankara
concerning religion. But at the same time this is an entity that is capable
of acting as a secret service," he told DW.
He said people mentioned in the report have become victims of ongoing purges
in Turkey, with some relatives of those informed upon being questioned in
Turkey and people's bank accounts frozen.
The Turkish state's collection of information on Gulen activities has likely
occurred "all over the world," Beck said.
As a result, the German government said in January 2018 that it would not
approve funding for the DiTiB -- which has received about €6 million ($6.9
million) since 2012 for counter-extremism programs and for aiding refugees.
A week before Erdogan arrived for his state visit in Germany last month,
Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the
Protection of the Constitution (BfV), began to examine the possibility of
putting DiTiB under surveillance.
Sevim Dagdelen, the deputy parliamentary head of the Left Party, said:
"The federal government and the federal states must stop cooperation at all
levels with Erdogan's outpost in Germany. It must be examined whether the
preferential tax treatment of the association can be further justified.
DITIB is not charitable, but a danger to the public."
Germany is not the only country to express growing concern over Turkish
operations within its borders and beyond, however. Peter Pilz, then an
Austrian member of parliament, last year accused Turkey of spying on
suspected Gülen supporters in Austria, via ATIB, an umbrella organization
headed by the religion attaché at the Turkish Embassy in Vienna, which
oversees dozens of mosques in the country. According to Reuters, Pilz said:
"The ATIB umbrella group is an instrument of hard, ruthless and...legally
unacceptable Turkish government politics in Austria, [which]... also
monitors Turkish Kurds, Turkish opposition politicians and journalists in
Austria."
Subsequently, Pilz revealed that he had received documents from a Turkish
source indicating the existence of "a global network of informants" --
spanning four continents -- reporting to Turkey's Diyanet on alleged
Gülenists. In most cases, these informants were religion attachés at
embassies and consulates.
In 2016, the Diyanet Center of America (DCA) completed the construction of a
$110 million mosque complex in Lanham, Maryland. According to the DCA
website, "The result is a small village that will be an important cultural
hub for all visitors and residents of Washington DC area." Here, too,
Erdogan inaugurated the complex, one of many Diyanet-affiliated mosques in
North America.
The Trump administration should take notice and be on guard. If Erdogan's
mosques in Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia are being used as a conduit to
spy on Turkish nationals who possibly oppose his rule, is it not safe to
assume that similar activity has been going on in the United States?
Uzay Bulut, a journalist from Turkey, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at
Gatestone Institute. She is currently based in Washington D.C.
© 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.
Britain's Grooming Gangs: Part 1
Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/October 20/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13075/britain-grooming-gangs
As far back as 2013, Britain's Attorney General stated in the House of Lords
that 27 police forces were then investigating no fewer than 54 alleged gangs
involved in child sexual grooming.
Last year, Shahid Javed Burki, a former Pakistani finance minister and
vice-president of the World Bank, spoke out about the treatment of women in
his country, arguing that the low status given to women has had serious
social, demographic, educational, and financial effects.
This problem is, in some measure, reflected in the UK, where Muslim women
(mainly of Pakistani origin) face limitations on their participation in the
workplace, in higher education, and even knowledge of the English language
-- matters examined by Dame Louise Casey in her 2016 government review into
opportunity and integration.
Bringing Pakistani attitudes into the UK, often within segregated
communities, only serves to perpetuate the belief that women are
intrinsically the inferiors of men in all respects.
Rotherham, England was the first city to experience child sexual grooming
gangs on a large scale, and the site of the UK's largest ever child sexual
abuse scandal.
On July 24, 2018, Britain's Home Secretary, conservative MP Sajid Javid,
issued orders for research into the ethnic origins of the country's many
sexual grooming gangs that had involved large numbers of loosely-termed
"Asian men", who, over many years, had taken vulnerable young white British
girls to use or pass on for sexual purposes. Most of the men have, Javid has
stated been of Pakistani extraction, which makes the Home Secretary's
intervention significant. Javid's father came, as did many other Pakistani
immigrants, from Punjab, and with only £1 to his name. He became a bus
driver, then a clothing store owner. Yet his five sons have all become fully
integrated Britons, with successful careers in business, politics and the
public sector. They are all models of second-generation immigrant
achievement, miles away from the men in the gangs. Reporting on the Javid
family, The Times wrote:
"Javid's appointment as the first non-white person — and the first with a
Muslim background — to hold one of Britain's great offices of state is the
culmination of a six-decade family journey."
Given the great potential for controversy over identifying ethnicity as a
factor in serious crimes, Javid showed courage in taking this move only
months after his appointment in April to lead the Home Office. Criticism
came quickly from the Labour Party. "Jeremy Corbyn denied there was any
'problem' with Pakistani men and abuse, saying: 'The problem is the crime
that's committed against women from any community." His combined political
and ethnic experience will have shown Javid, based on previous Home Office
bans and academic reports, that any such investigation might be used by the
far right to attack Pakistanis and Muslims.
Crossing party lines, Javid made his commitment to investigate the ethnic
origins in a letter to Sarah Champion, the Labour Member of Parliament for
Rotherham, the first city to experience grooming gangs on a large scale, and
the site of the UK's largest ever child sexual abuse scandal. Just under a
year before, Champion had come under fire for daring to draw public
attention to the problem of the preponderance of Pakistanis in the gangs.
First elected to parliament in 2012, Champion, in 2015, served as the Shadow
Minister for Preventing Abuse. She was awarded the post in recognition of
her work on child sexual exploitation, notably by chairing a cross-party
inquiry into child sexual exploitation. The inquiry was done in conjunction
with the children's charity Barnardo's, which published a report in April
2014. Unfortunately, Champion had to resign briefly in 2016, when a number
of MPs stood down in an attempt to remove Jeremy Corbyn. She was appointed
Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities in October 2016, a role
for which she was well suited. In November, she launched a National Action
Plan (Dare2Care) to prevent child abuse and violence in teenage
relationships.
Then things went wrong. She remains an MP, but was forced to resign her
shadow cabinet post nearly a year later, on August 16, 2017, after a major
controversy. During an interview with BBC Radio 4, on August 10, she said,
about a major grooming gang which had just been convicted in Newcastle upon
Tyne:
All the towns where these cases have gone on, the majority of the
perpetrators have been British Pakistanis.... One of the things that, for
example, on the news last night, there was a picture of eighteen of the
people who were convicted, that seventeen of those were clearly Asian men.
And it just pains me that this is going on time and time and time again, and
the government aren't researching – you know – what is going on. Are these
cultural issues, some sort of message going out inside the [Pakistani]
community? We have got now hundreds of men, Pakistani men, who have been
convicted of this crime. Why are we not commissioning research on what's
going on, and how we need to check and how we need to change what's going
on?
On the same day, the less respectable tabloid newspaper, The Sun, published
an article by Champion saying much the same. Entitled, "British Pakistani
men ARE raping and exploiting white girls and it's time we faced up to it",
the article argued in part:
For too long we have ignored the race of these abusers and, worse, tried to
cover it up.
No more. These people are predators and the common denominator is their
ethnic heritage.
We have to have grown-up conversations, however unpalatable, or in six
months' time we will be having this same scenario all over again.
The irony of all of this is that, by not dealing with the ethnicity of the
abusers as a fact, political correctness has actually made the situation
about race.
Although Champion subsequently tried to distance herself from the article,
it had done her no favours in the Labour Party, which has stressed its
opposition to racism -- except against Jews. A cross-party group of MPs
wrote to The Sun, condemning the article. Even though Champion had
courageously stated that, "The perpetrators are criminals and we need to
deal with them as such, not shy away from doing the right thing by fearing
being called a racist", she was forced to resign on August 16.
Ironically, another Labour MP, Naz Shah, herself of Pakistani origin, tried
to deflect Champion's comments by stating, no doubt correctly, that nearly
90% of child abusers (presumably in the UK) are white men. She added, "What
I won't accept, or tolerate, is a narrative that demonizes every Pakistani
man as a rapist." But, of course, Champion had not been talking about child
abuse in general in a mainly white country, only about the specifics of the
grooming gang situation, previously unheard of in Britain; nor had she
claimed for a moment that all Pakistani men were rapists. Not surprisingly,
Shah herself (who had just been suspended in an antisemitism dispute, but
then reinstated) was appointed in July this year to be the Shadow Secretary
of State for Women and Equalities, the very post Champion had held.
Champion, meanwhile, after death threats, had to be given increased security
by the counter-terrorism police. So-called human rights activists, evidently
caring nothing for the rights of little girls and teenagers in the North of
England or presumably elsewhere, accused her of "industrial-scale racism."
Champion, incidentally, was not the first to draw attention to the crimes
and the perpetrators. Another MP, Ann Cryer, had revealed details about
grooming gangs in her Yorkshire constituency, Keighly, as far back as 2003.
When she did so, she was "ridiculed, branded a racist, a liar and a
fantasist [and] forced to install a panic button in her own home."
Champion's reputation was saved at an early stage by other MPs. Barry
Sheerman, Labour MP for Huddersfield, a town where twenty-eight men of
mostly Pakistani origin had been tried and sentenced only months earlier for
the same offenses, declared that it was a "shameful and disgusting campaign
against a courageous and remarkable woman". Most importantly, it was Sajid
Javid, not yet Home Secretary, who spoke out in her defence. He tweeted, "Corbyn
wrong to sack Sarah Champion. We need an honest open debate on child sexual
exploitation, including racial motivation". It was an intention he fulfilled
virtually as soon as he headed the Home Office.
Although the sexual abuse of children and young teenagers occurs around the
world, the grooming gang crisis in the UK, certainly in its wide extent,
appears to be unique in the West. As far back as 2013, Britain's Attorney
General, Lord Morris of Aberavon, stated in the House of Lords that 27
police forces were then investigating no fewer than 54 alleged gangs
involved in child sexual grooming. He asked:
"Is it collective amnesia that has blinded us to the underlying
circumstances, whereby at least 27 police forces are investigating 54
alleged child grooming gangs?
"Why has investigating and prosecuting in so many different parts of the
country taken so much time?
"Is it the fear of racialism, or is it the fact that many of these
vulnerable girls come from care homes?"
Four years later, in August 2017, the Daily Express presented a map showing
eight towns and cities where gangs had been active. An inquiry in April had,
in fact, already brought 29 men from Huddersfield to court, prior to a
January 2018 trial in which all were convicted, thereby making the total
nine cities.
On September 15, 2018, what was described as "the most serious example of
sex grooming yet to emerge in this country" was made public, following a
speech in the House of Lords by Baroness Caroline Cox, a staunch defender of
women's rights within Britain's Muslim communities.
The case involved a girl, Sarah, who was abducted by a Muslim gang when 15,
held in captivity for twelve years, forced twice into marriage, repeatedly
raped, beaten, and made to endure eight abortions. As in other cases, her
family's pleas for help were ignored by the police to whom they had turned.
"I know Sarah and her family," said Baroness Cox. "Every sex grooming case
is terrible. But the length and cruelty of her abduction make it the worst I
have known."
Sarah is a single victim, but it is likely that the gang involved will have
dealt with more young women taken from the same streets.
In 2017, the English Defence League, which some disparage as racist -- to
which the EDL responds, "The truth cannot be racist" -- published online a
list of "Muslim grooming gangs and other rape jihad convictions". It
provides a long, alphabetical list of "170 known completed trials with
convictions for rape jihad offences at 68 main locations". The list may be
of intrinsic interest, in that it provides links to news reports about these
trials, but it is in reality, highly misleading.[1] First of all, there is
no evidence that any of the men involved (most often one or two) had the
least notion of conducting "rape jihad", a concept seemingly made up by the
EDL.
The behaviour of the grooming gangs differs greatly from the rapes and
sexual harassments -- often of people above the age of 16, by men in general
in Britain and in other countries -- in its clannish and organized nature.
Pakistanis seem almost unique in combining efforts to engage in this
harassment. That is why Javid's inquiry must proceed even if it does upset
parts of the Pakistani and wider communities -- given that large numbers of
those community members are themselves keen to see the matter cleared up and
their reputations restored. These include other prominent British Muslims
such as Yasmin Alibhai Brown, Mohammed Shafiq, and Nazir Afzal.
Although Javid's inquiry will focus on the question of why it is Pakistani
men who organize and dominate these gangs, it is important that this not be
interpreted as a racist endeavour, as some have claimed it to be -- for
example, when Sarah Champion was accused of "industrial scale racism". No
one is claiming that the racial characteristics of the rapists are remotely
a factor in their crimes, and no one should criticize the inquiry on such
grounds.
The problem, then, seems to stem not from race but from culture. Many
people, trapped by the inquiry's emphasis on multiculturalism, appear to
deem it "racist" to comment negatively on any culture except for Western
(including Israeli) culture. For some, it is even racist to borrow from
another culture's dress, food, religion, architecture, art or music – which
they term "cultural appropriation" or "cultural voyeurism" -- instead of
what it might well be: admiration and respect.
The men in the grooming gangs are not proper representatives of many regular
aspects of Pakistani culture and Muslim ethics. According to Ben Sixsmith:
"Quite apart from being abusively adulterous, these criminals drank, did
drugs, and made their victims have abortions. These were not, in other
words, devout Muslim men."
Speaking on the BBC's leading political debate show, Newsnight, Muhbeen
Hussain, the founder of British Muslim Youth went so far as to deny that the
men convicted were real Muslims:
These grooming gangs were individuals that were using alcohol, using drugs
and actually having 'sessions' exploiting these young girls. I don't know
what's Islamic about drinking alcohol, drugs and exploiting young girls.
Despite rising secularism in some cities, Pakistan remains a deeply
religious society in which outward expressions of piety are ubiquitous, and
blasphemy and heterodox allegiance are major social issues. So, the question
comes to be: to what extent might some Pakistani values influence men like
these?
A partial answer is that, despite tight regulations concerning the behaviour
of women in Pakistan and restrictions on male-female relationships there,
the country, like some other Muslim countries, has a reputation for a high
level of sexual harassment, even if this harassment does not take the form
of grooming underage girls. Pakistani social activist Muhammad Usman Awan,
for instance, has written at length about various forms of harassment in
Pakistan. In one 2016 article, he writes:
According to a research conducted by UNISON in 2008, more than 50% working
women face sexual harassment in Pakistan. An increasing number of violence
cases are filed every day and there is an even bigger number of incidents
which go unreported. A total of 24119 of violence against women cases were
reported during 2008-10 among which only 520 workplace harassment cases were
filed...
7,733 cases of violence against women were reported in the media in 2013.
1,516 were murdered while 472 were killed for reasons of 'honor'. The
country has notoriously failed to curb the flow of harassment cases.
Clearly, there is a predominance of physical violence here, but there are
other forms of harassment, including the sexual harassment of women when
they use public transport:
The condition of public transport in Pakistan is not even close to a
satisfactory level. Daily commute for an average Pakistani woman is through
public transport buses. But commuting through these public buses has become
considerably difficult because of the unwanted attention and indecent
remarks.
Harassment is especially experienced, it seems, in the workplace, as
Pakistani journalist Nosheen Abbas has described in some detail. The bill on
the harassment of women in the workplace that she writes about became an Act
of Parliament in 2010, but has yet to make much of an impact. In a lengthy
and detailed article in Dawn, published in May 2018, Nazish Brohi writes
that things have improved since the 2010 law was passed, but that severe
problems remain, particularly for women making complaints of harassment.
Last year, Shahid Javed Burki, a former Pakistani finance minister and
vice-president of the World Bank, spoke out about the treatment of women in
his country, arguing that the low status given to women has had serious
social, demographic, educational, and financial effects. He compares it to
neighbouring Bangladesh, which, he said, has improved women's lot
considerably, especially through their engagement in the workforce:
"The main factor accounting for women's higher social status in Bangladeshi
society is the rate of female participation in the labour force which, at
43.1 per cent, is almost double of Pakistan's 24.3 per cent."
This problem is, in some measure, reflected in the UK, where Muslim women
(mainly of Pakistani origin) face limitations on their participation in the
workplace, in higher education, and even knowledge of the English language
-- matters examined by Dame Louise Casey in her 2016 government review into
opportunity and integration. Bringing Pakistani attitudes into the UK, often
within segregated communities, only serves to perpetuate the belief that
women are intrinsically the inferiors of men in all respects. Once women as
such are demeaned to this extent, some men may come to regard sexual
mistreatment of non-Muslim women as their God-given right. It is important
to note that all of the women treated in this way are Muslims.
One justification used for the UK grooming cases is that the girls involved
are non-Muslims who may, as supposed inferiors, be attacked with impunity.
Many victims of foreign rapists report that they have kept repeating that
rape is permitted in the Quran.
In addition, a female professor from al-Azhar, has claimed that Allah allows
"Muslims to rape non-Muslim women to 'humiliate' them."
The second part of this article will examine the roles played by an absence
of integration combined with conservative or radical religious attitudes, as
well as the Arab practice of taharrush jama'i (mass harassment), both of
which may well be keys to why this abuse is happening in the first place.
Dr. Denis MacEoin, who holds a PhD from Cambridge in Persian Studies, taught
Arabic-English translation at Mohammed V University in Fez, Morocco, and
Arabic with Islamic Studies at Newcastle University in the UK. He is a
Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.
[1] Another statistical list of the names of all the accused in joint cases,
arranged chronologically and with full details of the towns, trials, and
convictions may be found here.
© 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.
Oil prices and approaching Iran sanctions
Randa Takieddine/Al Arabiya/October 20/18
The price of Brent crude stands at about $84 per barrel, after having risen
to $86 per barrel, as the November 5 deadline for imposition of US sanctions
against Iran’s oil trade in the world comes closer, raising serious concerns
in oil markets.
Already, a million barrels of daily Iranian oil has vanished from the
international markets. However, there is no shortage. Saudi Oil Minister
Khalid al-Falih said few weeks ago that markets had sufficient oil supply.
He stressed that there is no oil refinery owner in the world who is looking
for oil and not finding it.
However, there is a psychological factor that contributes to keeping prices
in the range of $80 and it’s that a number of analysts and market dealers
think OPEC member states and other oil producing countries do not have
sufficient spare capacity to cater for any future increase in demand.
OPEC countries have increased production to cover the decline in Iranian
exports. However, oil prices have remained volatile. IEA Executive Director
Fatih Birol has said that “Oil prices are entering the red zone” from now
until the end of the year but he did not specify the level they will reach.
Some analysts forecast that prices may rise to $100 per barrel.
Output boost
Birol believes that Saudi Arabia can increase production to around 11
million barrels a day. However, some companies like Trafigura expect the
absence of 2 million barrels a day from Iranian oil and this makes a number
of market dealers fear the inability of compensating this quantity.
Despite prevailing uncertainty and tensions in the region, some analysts
conversely claim that oil prices might decline by the end of this year and
fall to $80 or even $70 per barrel because expectations of rise in demand
for oil this year has set the demand at 1.53 million barrels per day,
compared to 1.46 million barrels per day in 2019. Meanwhile, oil production
from non-OPEC countries is expected to reach 2 million barrels per day with
major increase in US shale oil production.
There is uncertainty about future of oil prices, as some analysts say that
spare capacity in OPEC countries has decreased
This indicates rise in supply that would exceed demand, thus prices might
remain in the range of $70 to $80 per barrel. This might help countries like
Russia, which produces more than 11 million barrels a day, as was recently
claimed by Russian President Vladimir Putin himself.
Historically, the value of the Russian ruble rises against the dollar with
increase in the price of oil. Similarly, when oil prices decline, the value
of the ruble falls. Putin does not want the ruble to have high value because
he wants to encourage local industry in a way that promotes exports, instead
of constantly depending on developing oil and gas exports. In the beginning
of 2018 when oil prices started to rise, the Russian central bank was
selling dollars in order to keep the ruble weak. When sanctions were imposed
on Russia and despite the increase in oil prices, the ruble remained weak.
Putin said he prefers the price of oil to be in the range of $65 to $75 per
barrel.
In spite of this analysis, there is uncertainty about the future of oil
prices, as some analysts say that spare capacity in OPEC countries,
especially in Saudi Arabia, has become limited after the Kingdom increased
its production to 10.7 million barrels per day. However, Saudi circles deny
this and assure us that they have the capacity to increase production in
case of increased demand. Certainly, Saudi Arabia has the largest production
capacity among OPEC countries. It has historically maintained its production
in the range of 1.5 million barrels a day to 2 million barrels per day. The
kingdom even managed to produce 11 million barrels a day during the Gulf
War. The uncertainty about oil prices stems from psychological factors and
geopolitical concerns as well as investor speculation. In the end, it should
be noted that it is difficult to forecast oil price trends, in spite of
sanctions on Iran approaching deadline.
Exaggerations around the case of the late Jamal
Khashoggi
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arab News/October 20/18
Many governments and institutions were led to take harsh stances against
Saudi Arabia when it came to the case of the late Jamal Khashoggi. There is
no doubt that these stances will have a cost, and Saudi Arabia is paying a
price today. However, despite critical positions and withdrawals, Saudi
Arabia will still maintain its extensive role and relations, and will
continue to exert its regional influence. The Kingdom’s relations will be
affected but surely not disrupted, as these relations are driven by the
supreme interests of other states and not just by Saudi Arabia. Saudi oil is
indispensable, essential and the most widely distributed in world. Also,
Saudi geopolitical influence in the region cannot be disregarded because
geography is an indisputable reality in politics. Furthermore, Saudi
religious influence cannot be overlooked as it is the Qibla of more than a
billion Muslims. Moreover, the Saudi regional role cannot be ignored given
that the region is divided into two main axes, and the Kingdom’s crucial
support for many countries and institutions cannot be supplied by others.
In brief, weakening Saudi Arabia will only lead to more unrest and
instability in the region.
Of course, the disappearance of Khashoggi was definitely shocking at first,
but what is now more shocking are the campaigns targeting Saudi Arabia.
While demanding that the case be investigated is only normal, preempting
these investigations with sanctions, withdrawals and political boycotts is
not.
We can understand that the international community evaluates and classifies
countries according to different standards. This is especially true given
that Saudi Arabia is held accountable based on its good reputation, and what
is expected from such a reputable country, cannot be the same as from the
regimes in Tehran or Damascus.
Although these standards do not take into account the wild nature of our
region and the serious ongoing conspiracies, they would have been within the
limits if the case had not been overstated and turned into such a worldwide
predicament. While demanding that the case be investigated is only normal,
preempting these investigations with sanctions, withdrawals and political
boycotts is not. If we exclude the criminal side — if there is one — we will
see that the issue of the late Khashoggi has been overstated to the extent
that even some of those who disagree with Saudi Arabia have become skeptical
about the purposes of these campaigns.
Most likely, this excessive exaggeration in politicizing the case and
attacking the Kingdom, with the resulting confusion between several cases,
will push many countries and institutions that are subject to these
pressures to take a stance of solidarity with Saudi Arabia. The case will
turn against those who lead and fuel the battle against Saudi Arabia. Saudi
Arabia has a strong political system and such attacks cannot affect it.
Given the significance of Saudi oil to the global economy, the Kingdom’s
geopolitical importance and its great religious influence, this will be a
losing battle for the parties that wanted to politicize Khashoggi’s case, in
order to weaken and exclude Saudi Arabia. There will be a hefty price for
everyone.
On a regional level, weakening Saudi Arabia would weaken its allies in the
region; and will strengthen Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthi militias, Al-Qaeda
and Daesh. These are the expected results if the pressure campaigns against
Saudi Arabia continue, as these campaigns will lead to strengthening the
forces that the world wants to weaken. Therefore, it is not surprising
to see that the extremist forces and their allies in the region are
exploiting Khashoggi’s case, and are adding fuel to the fire that could
potentially reach the whole region. In my opinion, this exaggerated attack
and the overexploitation of the late Khashoggi’s case by anti-Saudi axes,
will ultimately reach a dead end, as they have become unreasonable and
unacceptable.
**Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a veteran columnist. He is the former general
manager of Al Arabiya news channel, and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat.
Twitter: @aalrashed
Under the radar, an EU institution flexes its muscles
Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/October 20/18
All one hears about the European Union these days are the travails of the
never-ending Brexit saga or the organization’s angst about migration. The
roots of the EU date to the aftermath of the Second World War and the
establishment of the Council of Europe. It is built on a foundation of
shared values such as democracy, the rule of law, freedom of the press and
human rights. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, the EU made it
possible for former Warsaw Pact members in the Baltic and Central Europe to
become integrated into the European family of nations — and this without
much conflict.
There is a case to be made that the organization needs reform. Its
institutions also need to become more accessible. Discontent with the
unwieldy bureaucracy is widespread throughout its (still) 28 member
countries. Brexit pioneer Nigel Farage is not alone when he accuses the EU
of being out of touch with what ordinary European citizens need and want.
Right-wing populist parties have achieved power, influence or both in former
eastern-bloc countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic; and in the
“old West” in Austria, Italy, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
Populists have been in charge of the political agenda in Poland since
Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s Law and Justice party gained an absolute majority in
parliament in 2015. Brussels and several EU member governments grew
concerned when the Polish government took de facto control of the state-run
television station. Mainstream EU politicians were further disconcerted when
President Andrzej Duda sent several Supreme Court judges into early
retirement and replaced them with 27 new ones who held views more to his
liking. Not only did this create outrage among the political and legal elite
in the EU, it also provoked the president of the Polish Supreme Court to
file a lawsuit at the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The ECJ ruled last week that the Polish executive branch did not have the
right to break the term of office of the existing justices, and that they
must be reinstated to the Supreme Court with immediate effect and their
replacements withdrawn. There is no doubt that the EU and its institutions
need reform to be fit for the challenges of the 21st century. The ECJ ruling
was big news in Poland as it curbed the powers of the ruling party in favor
of due legal process. The timing was particularly pertinent as the Poles
vote on Sunday in the first round of local government elections. In other
European countries the news barely made it on to the front pages, and the
world’s media ignored it amid all the developments in North America and the
Middle East.
The ruling was nonetheless significant; it proved that while the EU and its
institutions need reform, they are indispensable to safeguard the value
system on which the organization is built. The ECJ ruling did more than set
boundaries to the Polish executive branch. It set a precedent, which ensures
that the rule of law will prevail in Poland, and in the other EU member
states. The ruling’s relevance goes beyond the narrow confines of
jurisprudence, and reaches into the worlds of politics and the economy.
Democracies are built on due process and trust in citizens’ right to go to
court and be heard by impartial judges. This means the executive branch
cannot be permitted undue influence over courts or the legal process. In the
same vein, prosperous economies are built on frameworks that give investors
the certainty that the rule of law will protect their investments; and that
they have legal recourse if things go wrong. The rule of law also protects
workers and other stakeholders, and makes society as a whole more stable.
This gives the ECJ ruling importance beyond Poland’s borders. It signals to
governments, people and investors that the rule of law matters in the
European Union, and cannot easily be tampered with.
There is no doubt that the EU and its institutions need reform to be fit for
the challenges of the 21st century. That said, the ECJ proved last week
that, when it really matters, some of these institutions can be relied upon.
Cornelia Meyer is a business consultant, macro-economist and energy expert.
Twitter: @MeyerResources
Little change in oil prices as supply concerns ease
Faisal Mrza/Arab News/October 20/18
Oil prices haven’t changed much over the past week. Brent Crude fell
slightly below $80 per barrel for the first time in a month and settled at
$79.78 per barrel by the week-ending close on Friday. WTI also fell slightly
below $70 per barrel for the first time since mid-September and settled at
$69.12 per barrel by the end of the week.Mostly, oil prices deteriorated
amid the easing of concerns on supply shortages. This also led the WTI
market structure to shift from backwardation to contango — implying that
markets are well supplied. The shift to contango is primarily due to
saturated oil volumes in pipelines heading to Cushing, Oklahoma, the pricing
point for the WTI Nymex contract. However, WTI as a land-locked benchmark
isn’t a reasonable reflection of other seaborne benchmarks. Hence, it is not
necessarily indicative of a truly well-supplied market. The US Energy
Information Administration (EIA) reported a record average for US crude oil
output of 11.1 million barrels per day in September, which will further
widen the Brent/WTI spread amid pipeline and export constraints. Despite the
widening Brent/WTI spread that should support WTI-linked crude
competitiveness, S&P Global Platts reported that the crude inventories
buildup was due in large part to a sharp decline in export activity. Crude
exports averaged 1.78 million barrels per day, down 30.8 percent from 2.58
million barrels per day the week prior.
The Kingdom has no desire to see oil price hikes or steep price fluctuations
and has repeatedly asserted that it plans to continue its primary role as
swing producer to balance oil markets and stabilize the global economy. The
increase in US oil output came simultaneously with seasonal declines in
refining capacities expected before the refinery turnaround for the winter
season. This has resulted in crude oil inventories that continue to build,
adding 6.49 million barrels. While there has been a decline in exports due
to infrastructure limitations, the stock buildup is mostly due to lower US
refining capacity ahead of the winter turnaround maintenance season. The EIA
reported US refining capacity use at 88.8 percent, while it was at above 97
percent during the summer months.
With oil futures, it seems that sentiments are following global equity
markets. The most bearish news might be that US oil exports to China slid
down to nothing in August from about $1 billion of crude just two months
earlier. Some commodities traders believe that the upcoming sanctions on
Iran are already priced into the market. Saudi Arabia, as the world’s
largest oil exporter and OPEC’s largest producer, has continued to raise
production. In recent months there has been a 20 percent increase in Saudi
Aramco’s drilling activities. The Kingdom has no desire to see oil price
hikes or steep price fluctuations and has repeatedly asserted that it plans
to continue its primary role as swing producer to balance oil markets and
stabilize the global economy. Other OPEC members continue to meet targets
and there is little fear of unrest disrupting production.
Despite Saudi Arabia having the largest spare capacity for oil production,
it has continued to invest billions of dollars. This investment means it
alone provides more than 10 percent of global crude requirements with the
largest oil infrastructure and oil export capacity in the world and there is
no sign of any policy change in this regard.
**Faisal Mrza is an energy and oil market adviser. He was formerly with OPEC
and Saudi Aramco. Reach him on Twitter: @faisalmrza