Detailed
Lebanese & Lebanese Related LCCC English New Bulletin For October 29/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias
Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the
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Bible
Quotations
No
slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love
the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve
God and wealth
Luke 16/13-17: "No slave can serve two
masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
wealth.’The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they
ridiculed him. So he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves in
the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human
beings is an abomination in the sight of God. ‘The law and the prophets were
in effect until John came; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is
proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by force. But it is easier for
heaven and earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a letter in the law to
be dropped.
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الرابط التالي
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Titles For The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on October 28-29/18
Iran accused of using
civil flights to funnel arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon/Simon Speakman/The Arab
Weekly/October 28/18
The Annihilation of Iraq's Christian Minority/ Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone
Institute/October 28/18
Iran is pressuring US using Islamic Jihad in Gaza/Ron Ben Yishai/Ynetnews/October
28/18
The Vatican under Siege/What Must the Church Do to Restore Trust/Lawrence A.
Franklin//Gatestone Institute/October 28/18
What Next After Netanyahu’s Visit to Muscat/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/October,
28/18
Netanyahu in Oman/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al-Awsat/October, 28/18
Qatar comes back empty-handed/Mohammed Al Shaikh/Al Arabiya English/October
28/18
Rocky road’ to Iraq’s full govt formation as key posts remain
unfilled/Michael Flanagan/Al Arabiya English/October 28/18
Will stinging US sanctions strengthen Iranians’ pursuit of freedom/Reza
Shafiee/Al Arabiya English/October 28/18
The European Union's "special purpose vehicle" (SPV) is not likely to save
business ventures with Iran’s regime/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/October
28, 2018
Turkish Israeli relations back to square one again/Yasar Yakis/Arab
News/October 28/18
The hypocrisy of Turkey’s ‘outrage’ over the death of Khashoggi/Tom
Regan/The Arab Weekly/October 28/18
Titles For The
Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
October 28-29/18
Rahi from Beirut Airport: It is time
to have a government, no justification for delay
Hezbollah’ Insists on Giving Cabinet Seats to its Members
New Government Expected Monday or Tuesday
Report: Hariri Insists on Govt. within 48 Hours, Rejects Giving Up Sunni
Seat
Hizbullah Names 3 Party Members for New Govt.
Adwan Says 'Large Possibility' LF Won't Join New Govt.
Cautious Calm at Miyeh Miyeh Camp after Night Clashes
Duchess of Luxembourg arrives in Beirut
UNIFIL Western Sector Commander visits Tyre's Archbishops
'Year of Zayed' 2018 Horse Racing Cup in Park Beirut, under AlShamsi,
Shebib's patronage
Lebanese Diaspora Football Tournament concludes in presence of Bassil
Hasbani says LF always takes advanced position in correcting path
Jumblatt patronizes inauguration of Kamal Jumblatt Public School in Mukhtara
Iran accused of using civil flights to funnel arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon
Titles For The Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October 28-29/18
US Congress officials: Iran must be cut-off from global financial transfer
system
Iran’s Khamenei calls for fight against enemy ‘infiltration’ amid cyber
worries
Mattis Says KSA Vows 'Full' Probe of Khashoggi Murder
Trump's Biggest Supporters in Congress Demand Tougher Sanctions on Iran
Oman’s FM: We Help Bring Palestinians, Israelis Together, We are not
Intermediaries
Oman’s FM: We Help Bring Palestinians, Israelis Together, We are not
Intermediaries
Istanbul Summit Stresses Importance of Political Solution in Syria
Turkish forces bombard Kurdish YPG militia positions east of Euphrates
ISIS repels US-backed forces from east Syria holdout
Bahraini Crown Prince Stresses Saudi Role in Ensuring Regional Security
Jubeir: Suspects in Khashoggi Case Under Investigation
Iraq: Controversy Over Choosing President's Deputies
Egypt Sets Ceasefire in Gaza After Violent Night Ignited by ‘Jihad’ Movement
Almost 2 Million Iranian Pilgrims Head into Iraq for Arbaeen
The Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
October 28-29/18
Rahi from Beirut
Airport: It is time to have a government, no justification for delay
Sun 28 Oct 2018/NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara
Boutros al-Rahi, stressed Sunday that it is high time that the Lebanese had
a new government, considering the delay as "unjustified". Speaking upon
arrival at Beirut International Airport this afternoon, following a pastoral
visit to Canada and after partaking in the works of the Synod of Bishops in
Rome for 40 days, al-Rahi reiterated his "appeals to Lebanese officials to
speed up the government formation." Addressing the President of the
Republic, the Prime Minister-designate and all the political forces in
Lebanon, Rahi said, "The time has come for us to have a government...I have
always emphasized, and still do, that there is no justification for the
delay since day one, and we cannot continue in this manner whilst the whole
world wonders whether we actually care about our homeland!" "Countries have
rushed to aid Lebanon, and have held three conferences within two months for
Lebanon's sake, yet till this day we have not formed a government," the
Patriarch reminded, hoping that the new cabinet will soon be formed to
assume its economic, social and daily living responsibilities. Asked whether
the new government would see the light without the participation of the
Lebanese Forces, al-Rahi said, "If they talk about a government of national
unity, it means that all political forces will be included...Otherwise, we
cannot call it a government of national unity."Responding to another
question whether Bkirki would soon witness an encounter between the Maradah
Chief Sleiman Franjieh and the Lebanese Forces Party Head Samir Geagea, the
Patriarch disclosed that he met with Franjieh in Rome who expressed his
readiness to meet with Geagea upon the Patriarch's return. "I wish this
meeting had taken place long before, and that it would last...and I cannot
hide that when the rapprochement between the Lebanese Forces and the Free
Patriotic Movement occurred, I wondered about the rest, since there must be
rapprochement between the four parties," al-Rahi underlined. "Through our
unity, we respect all the Lebanese society...So we have to come together as
Lebanese, and only then can we talk about true national unity," the
Patriarch asserted.
Hezbollah’ Insists on
Giving Cabinet Seats to its Members
Beirut - Nazeer Rida/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 28 October,
2018/ Most of the obstacles hindering the formation of the government have
been resolved, except for one "knot" which shall be tackled by Prime
minister-designate Saad Hariri once he returns from Jordan before he
presents the full formation of the government to Lebanese President Michel
Aoun. Meanwhile, reliable Lebanese sources revealed that ‘Hezbollah’ will
have three ministers of its members, despite US pressures. Hariri confirmed
on Saturday that the cabinet will be formed in the coming days. His
announcement followed meeting parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri at Ain al-Tineh.
He added that there remains a small obstacle in the way of forming a
government but will be resolved once he is back from Jordan. "Everyone has
sacrificed for the sake of the country and with the aim to form a national
unity government that includes all parties," Hariri continued. He
intensified consultations on Friday in which he met caretaker Information
Minister Melhem Riachy following meetings with caretaker Finance Minister
Ali Hasan Khalil, caretaker Public Works and Transportation Minister Youssef
Fenianos and MP Wael Abou Faour. Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that
there has been an exchange among the political forces in the ministries.
They added that the small obstacle is represented in the demand to grant a
portfolio to an independent Sunni from 8 March Alliance. The Lebanese Forces
showed an additional flexibility in which Riachy considered that the
government is to be formed soon and that the positions and portfolios don’t
entice the LF. Despite US objections over ‘Hezbollah’ being in charge of
leading positions such as the ministry of health, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat
that 'Hezbollah' has named three ministers for the upcoming government from
its cadres. Hariri announced, at the beginning of the month, that he doesn’t
mind Hezbollah having the ministry of health.
New Government Expected Monday or Tuesday
Naharnet/October 28/18/The line-up of the new government is expected to be
announced Monday or Tuesday, a media report published Sunday said. Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri, who voiced optimistic remarks on Saturday,
will return Sunday evening to Beirut from Jordan to “make the final steps
regarding the cabinet line-up,” An Nahar newspaper reported.
“Hariri has asked all parties to provide him with the names of their
ministers before Monday so that he allocates the portfolios and completes
the cabinet line-up before his expected visit to the Baabda Palace in the
beginning of the week,” the daily added. President Michel Aoun is expected
to accept the line-up, An Nahar said. Political wrangling over portfolios,
especially among Christian and Druze forces, has delayed the formation of
the cabinet for several months now.A new hurdle has also emerged in recent
days regarding the representation of Sunni MPs opposed to Hariri's al-Mustaqbal
Movement.
Report: Hariri Insists on Govt. within 48 Hours,
Rejects Giving Up Sunni Seat
Naharnet/October 28/18/Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is insisting
that the new government should be formed “within 48 hours,” sources close to
him said on Sunday. “Hariri is awaiting the Lebanese Forces' response to a
proposal giving it the labor portfolio instead of the justice portfolio in
addition to other ministerial portfolio,” the sources told MTV. As for
Hariri's stance on the appointment of a Sunni minister from outside his al-Mustaqbal
Movement, the sources quoted Hariri as saying: “If you want to appoint him
from my share, then start searching for another premier, but if President
Aoun wants to give them a ministerial seat from his share, then this would
be up to him.” The sources also confirmed that the cabinet formation process
has entered “the phase of distributing portfolios and picking specific
candidates.”
Hizbullah Names 3 Party Members for New Govt.
Naharnet/October 28/18/New Government Expected Monday or
Tuesday.The line-up of the new government is expected to be announced Monday
or Tuesday, a media report published Sunday said. Prime Minister-designate
Saad Hariri, who voiced optimistic remarks on Saturday, will return Sunday
evening to Beirut from Jordan to “make the final steps regarding the cabinet
line-up,” An Nahar newspaper reported. “Hariri has asked all parties to
provide him with the names of their ministers before Monday so that he
allocates the portfolios and completes the cabinet line-up before his
expected visit to the Baabda Palace in the beginning of the week,” the daily
added. President Michel Aoun is expected to accept the line-up, An Nahar
said. Political wrangling over portfolios, especially among Christian and
Druze forces, has delayed the formation of the cabinet for several months
now. A new hurdle has also emerged in recent days regarding the
representation of Sunni MPs opposed to Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement.
Hizbullah has chosen its three ministers in the new government from
within the ranks of the party, defying alleged U.S. pressures in this
regard, media report said. “Hizbullah named three of its cadres to become
ministers in the new government,” sources informed on the government
formation talks told Asharq al-Awsat daily in remarks published Sunday.
“After reports of U.S. pressures, the party's insistence increased and it
named a party member to be assigned the health ministerial portfolio,” the
sources said. “The other ministers who will be part of its ministerial share
are also party members,” the sources added, reminding that the party had
taken a decision, prior to the parliamentary polls, to name its legislative
and ministerial candidates from within the party's ranks. Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri had announced Saturday that the upcoming
health minister will be a Hizbullah member despite any U.S. concerns in this
regard. There are fears that Washington could suspend its health aid to
Lebanon should a Hizbullah member become in charge of the ministry.
The party is blacklisted by the U.S. as a “terrorist organization.”
Adwan Says 'Large Possibility' LF Won't Join New Govt.
Naharnet/October 28/18/There is a “strong possibility” that the Lebanese
Forces will not take part in the new government although a final decision is
yet to be taken, LF deputy chief MP George Adwan announced on Sunday. “I can
confirm that the government will be formed in the coming days and there's a
large possibility that the LF won't take part in it,” Adwan told MTV,
revealing that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is expecting the LF to
give a final answer on Monday evening. “They must devise a Plan B if we
don't join the government,” he advised. Noting
that the LF's answer “is very critical and requires a meeting for the LF's
Executive Committee,” Adwan noted that the meeting will take place in the
next 24 hours. “The issue will be discussed and
voted on,” he added, revealing that the LF had received Hariri's final
proposal in the past few hours. “The government will be formed by the next
three or four days,” Adwan went on to say. “For the first time ever, I will
break the pledge of silence: general balance is required in the national
affairs and granting us a sovereign portfolio would ensure this balance.
Should we refrain from taking part in the government, all those who made us
reach this stage will bear the responsibility,” the lawmaker warned.
Adwan also pointed out that Hariri “wants the LF to take part in the
government, whereas (caretaker Foreign) Minister (and Free Patriotic
Movement chief) Jebran Bassil wants two things: preventing the LF from being
represented with its true weight in the government or its non-participation.”Hariri
had promised the LF the justice portfolio, a proposal that was eventually
rejected by President Michel Aoun and Bassil's FPM.Wrangling over shares and
portfolios has delayed the formation of the new government for several
months now after Hariri was tasked with forming it in May.
Cautious Calm at Miyeh Miyeh Camp after Night Clashes
Cautious calm was engulfing the Miyeh Miyeh Palestinian refugee camp on
Sunday after intermittent clashes at night, the National News Agency said.
The agency said the night unrest involved the firing of three shells,
heavy gunfire, sniper gunfire and grenades. The violence continued until
2:00 am, NNA said. The latest round of fighting
had erupted on Friday after the collapse of a fragile and brief ceasefire.
The truce had been reached after a "broad meeting between delegations from
the Fatah and Ansarullah movements at the headquarters of Hizbullah's
Political Council. The clashes between the two
movements had first erupted on October 16 and have so far left several
people dead and wounded.
Duchess of Luxembourg arrives in Beirut
Sun 28 Oct 2018/NNA - Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Maria Teresa, arrived in
Beirut this evening to meet with President of the Republic, Michel Aoun,
House Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri. During
her stay, the Duchess will visit Syrian refugee camps in the Bekaa to have a
closer look at their situation, and will meet with UNICEF officials in
Beirut. Welcoming the Duchess at Beirut Airport was the Director of Protocol
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Najla Assaker, the Luxembourg Consul in
Lebanon Jacques Raphael and senior Embassy staff.
UNIFIL Western Sector Commander visits Tyre's
Archbishops
Sun 28 Oct 2018/NNA - UNIFIL Western Sector Commander, Italian General
Diodato Abaniara, visited Sunday the religious authorities in Tyre. Abaniara
began his visit at the Maronite Archdiocese in Tyre, where he met with
Archbishop Shukrallah al-Hajj, during which discussions focused on
"strengthening the relationship between UNIFIL and religious and local
authorities, and boosting the fruitful cooperation between them."Archbishop
al-Hajj thanked Italy for its continued support for Lebanon, stressing on
the important role played by the Italian Contingent in the South and
recalling the relationship of Italians with Lebanon across the ages,
especially in the Roman era. General Abaniara then visited the Cathedral of
Saint Thomas of the Melkite Roman Catholic Church, where he met with
Metropolitan Archbishop Michael Abras, who paid special tribute to Italy and
its people for their permanent standing alongside Lebanon. Abras stressed
the historical relations between Italy and Lebanon, especially the
Phoenicians who built old ties with the peoples of the Mediterranean. He
also highlighted the importance of cooperation with local and spiritual
authorities in southern Lebanon in order to make the UNIFIL mission a
success.
Abaniara, in turn, thanked Archbishops Hajj and Abras for their warm
hospitality and their continuous support to the UNIFIL peacekeepers,
especially the Italian soldiers, in order to complete the required tasks in
southern Lebanon. He also underlined the significant role of main religious
authorities in strengthening the relationship between UNIFIL and the people
of the South. Abaniara concluded by praising the Lebanese people's cultural
values and the advantage of coexistence that renders Lebanon a unique
country in the world.
'Year of Zayed' 2018 Horse Racing Cup in Park Beirut,
under AlShamsi, Shebib's patronage
Sun 28 Oct 2018/NNA - The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Beirut,
under the patronage of its Ambassador Hamad Saeed Al-Shamsi and Beirut
Governor Ziad Shebib, organized the Zayed 2018 Cup for Horseracing in the
Park Beirut Square on Sunday. Attending the sports event was Caretaker State
Minister for Planning, Michel Pharaon, former MP Nabil de Freij, President
of the Lebanese Equestrian Federation, Major General Suhail Khoury, Race
Director Nabil Nasrallah, and various sports dignitaries. In his word on the
occasion, Shebib said, "This is a special day for Beirut and for the Beirut
horseracing field, and God willing, this will be recurrent." He
congratulated the winners of the first, second and third places, deeming the
organized Cup "a special event which is a collaboration between Lebanon and
the United Arab Emirates.""The horses sport in the United Arab Emirates has
reached a world-class level in advancement, and together with Ambassador Al-Shamsi,
we wished to unite the development, modernity and globalism of the history
of this ancient sport in Lebanon, and in Beirut specifically," Shebib added.
"The field of horseracing in Beirut dates back two thousand years since the
Roman era," he continued to explain, noting that the horseracing field in
which today's sports event was organized is 102 years old and thus, forms
part of the heritage of Beirut that ought to be preserved. "This is what the
Society for the Protection and Improvement of the Arabian Horse Breed is
trying to do, and it is our duty to cooperate with this association to
develop this sport and raise it to a more professional standard," Shebib
emphasized. In turn, Minister Pharaon thanked the UAE and Ambassador Al-Shamsi
for his continuous efforts and follow-up on activities in Lebanon. "Today,
the event is important and symbolic, compared to the level of horseracing in
Dubai, "he said. "We are living in a difficult situation in the field of
horseracing in Beirut, so we hope that the plans and projects will be
implemented quickly, with the approval of His Excellency Governor Shebib,
the Municipality of Beirut and its Council, Prime Minister-designate Saad
Hariri and His Excellency, President Michel Aoun," Pharaon added. For his
part, Al-Shamsi referred to "several initiatives in the Year of Zayed 2018
at the humanitarian and developmental levels in various educational and
medical sectors," underlining "the importance of the horseracing field in
Beirut."
"It is a historic field with Arabian horses, which Sheikh Zayed accorded
great importance," Al-Shamsi added. "Our presence in the heart of Beirut,
the capital of culture and civilization through the Sheikh Zayed Award means
a lot to us," he went on. "Beirut is the Arab capital that embraced horses
before many countries, and it continues to do so despite all the conditions
facing this sport," Al-Shamsi underscored.
Lebanese Diaspora Football Tournament concludes in presence of Bassil
Sun 28 Oct 2018/NNA - In cooperation with the Moroccan Embassy in Lebanon
and the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism, the Royal Moroccan Airlines hosted for
the second year in a row, football teams from the Lebanese communities
abroad, under the auspices of Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gebran
Bassil. The finals were attended by Bassil, Moroccan Ambassador to Lebanon
Mohamed Karin, Regional Director of Royal Moroccan Airlines Khaled Dzeri,
and Jounieh Municipality Head Juan Hobeich. The football tournament was
organized by “Sport Evazion” with teams from the following countries:
Canada, United States, Brazil, France, Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana,
Nigeria and a team from Lebanon. The final games took place at the “Modern
Star Lebanese Club” in Kafrhab - Ghazir.
Hasbani says LF always takes advanced position in
correcting path
Sun 28 Oct 2018/NNA - Deputy Prime Minister, Caretaker Public Health
Minister, Ghassan Hasbani, noted Sunday that the Lebanese Forces Party
continuously adopts an advanced stand towards path rectification. Speaking
in an interview to "Voice of Lebanon - Dbayeh" Radio Station earlier today,
Hasbani assured that there is no obstacle related to the Lebanese Forces,
but rather the obstacles lie with those who are attached to certain
portfolios. "All sides possess sovereign or considerable ministerial
portfolios...Why then is the veto on the Lebanese Forces?" Hasbani
questioned. "Our real share pertains to the ability to carry out a
development project through portfolios in order to reach achievements. Our
parliamentary bloc has grown and LF's popular voice is largely significant,"
he added. "Everyone maintained their status as in the previous government
with some amendments, and did not make enough sacrifices," Hasbani went on.
"We hope to form a government as soon as possible, a harmonious cabinet that
represents all Lebanese," he added, noting however that the cabinet
formation alone is not the solution but rather the adoption of bold
decisions.
Jumblatt patronizes inauguration of Kamal Jumblatt
Public School in Mukhtara
Sun 28 Oct 2018/NNA - Progressive Socialist Party Chief, Walid Jumblatt,
patronized on Sunday the inauguration of the Kamal Jumblatt Official School
in Mukhtara, after funding its restoration works at his own expense.
Attending the inaugural ceremony was Caretaker Education Minister, Marwan
Hamadeh, who thanked Jumblatt for his generous initiative in funding the
school's reconstruction. "We have been accused of being against private
education in general," Hamadeh said, adding, "Even though we do recognize
its importance, yet public education is secular and it is for the nation and
the citizen."Hamadeh hoped that the Democratic Gathering would work on
elevating public learning to the level of aspiration of the late Martyr,
Mentor Kamal Jumblatt. In appreciation of his kind initiative, Jumblatt
received a recognition shield and floral bouquet from the School's principal
and students.
Iran accused of using civil flights to funnel arms to
Hezbollah in Lebanon
Simon Speakman/The Arab Weekly/October 28/18
TUNIS - Western intelligence sources say Iran is using commercial aircraft
to ship weapons systems to its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, in Beirut.
News reports indicate that Tehran is using the civil Qeshm Air to supply
Hezbollah with the equipment to upgrade its standard rocket arsenal to
precision-guided missiles that could prove decisive in any future conflict.
US broadcaster Fox News used Flightradar24 to track Qeshm flight QFZ-9950 as
it left Tehran. The plane landed in Damascus before proceeding to Lebanon
several hours later, the network reported.
Western intelligence sources told Fox News the Iranian cargo plane carried
weapons components, including GPS devices, to convert missiles to
precision-guided weapons at Iranian factories in Lebanon.
Iran’s Qeshm Air has faced long-standing accusations of transporting arms
for the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the elite al-Quds
force, both the subject of US sanctions.
Officially, the airline ceased operations in 2013, ostensibly due to poor
management. However, operations recommenced under new management in March
2017. Three IRGC officials — Ali Naghi Gol Parsta, Hamid Reza Pahlvani and
Gholamreza Qhasemi — were reported to play instrumental roles in the
airlines’ operation of its fleet of two Boeing 747s.
“It seems Iran/Hezbollah’s priority at this point is to continue converting
their missiles,” said Hanin Ghaddar, a visiting fellow at the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy, “since it is no longer safe to continue
doing it in Syria (Israel is bombing them constantly), they are starting to
move them to Lebanon, thinking that Israel will think twice before moving
its operations against Iran/Hezbollah to Lebanon.”
Israel has struck several Hezbollah and Iran-aligned targets in Syria over
the last year. Most recently, Israeli fighters struck a military facility in
Latakia, where they claimed precision weapons were being developed for
transfer to Hezbollah.
That strike resulted in the downing of a Russian transport plane operating
over Syria and the subsequent deployment of Russia’s S-300 air defence
system to Damascus.
That Hezbollah had access to precision-guided weaponry was all but admitted
by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in September. Nasrallah told
supporters that Israeli efforts to prevent the group from obtaining
precision weaponry had failed as that had “already been achieved.”
“No matter what you do to cut the route, the matter is over and the
resistance possesses precision and non-precision rockets and weapons
capabilities,” he said. “If Israel imposes a war on Lebanon, Israel will
face a fate and a reality it has never expected on any day.”
Hezbollah’s arsenal is thought to be formidable. Speaking at a conference
hosted by the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies on October 21,
Israeli Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan claimed Hezbollah possessed
about 150,000 missiles and rockets.
“Iran’s goal is to deepen the Israeli dilemma of whether to strike Iran
while it is opening more and more fronts against us — fronts that will be
used to extract from us a high price if we think about attacking the Iranian
nuclear programmes,” Israel Hayom reported Erdan as saying.
While Ghaddar conceded that Israel was not interested in seeking a war with
Hezbollah in Lebanon, the development of weapons facilities in the country
could prove to be Israel’s main red line.
“There are many options, (or) scenarios, that might or might not lead to a
war but I also believe that Israel will not sit back and watch Hezbollah
continue converting these missiles,” she said.
That much was largely made clear during Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations in September when he accused
Hezbollah of establishing three “secret sites” near Beirut’s international
airport, where rockets could be converted into precision-guided missiles
capable of striking deep inside Israel “within an accuracy of 10 metres.”
Hezbollah was designated a terrorist organisation by the US State Department
in 1997. The group is expected to be subjected to additional sanctions in
the coming weeks, with two bills awaiting signature by US President Donald
Trump. The new measures target foreign nationals and companies providing
financial, material or technological support to Hezbollah and its affiliates
in the region.
Written By Simon Speakman Cordall
*Simon Speakman Cordall is a section editor with The Arab Weekly.
The Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News
published
on
October 28-29/18
US Congress officials:
Iran must be cut-off from global financial transfer system
The Associated Press/Washington/Sunday, 28 October 2018/A
battle is brewing between the Trump administration and some of the
president's biggest supporters in Congress who are concerned that sanctions
to be re-imposed on Iran early next month won't be tough enough. As
President Donald Trump prepares to re-impose a second batch of Iran
sanctions that had been eased under the 2015 nuclear deal, conservative
lawmakers and outside advisers have become worried that the administration
may break a promise to exert "maximum pressure" on Iran. They are angered by
suggestions that measures to be announced Nov. 5 won't include a provision
cutting Iran off from a key component of the global financial system. The
self-described Iran hawks are concerned enough that they have drafted
legislation that would require the administration to demand that Iran be
suspended from the international bank transfer system known as SWIFT. "The
president asked for maximum pressure, not semi-maximum pressure," said
Richard Goldberg, a former aide to a Republican senator and senior adviser
to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a group that supports
punishing Iran with sanctions. "Maximum pressure includes disconnecting
Iranian banks from SWIFT."
Trump pledged Thursday to do whatever it takes to pressure Iran to halt what
he refers to as its "malign conduct" such as nuclear and missile development
and support for terrorism and groups that destabilize the Middle East. "On
Nov. 5th, all U.S. sanctions against Iran lifted by the nuclear deal will be
back in full force," he told a gathering at the White House to commemorate
the 35th anniversary of the 1983 attack on the Marine Corps barracks in
Beirut, Lebanon, which is blamed on Iranian-backed extremists. "And they
will be followed up with even more sanctions to address the full range of
Iran's malign conduct. We will not allow the world's leading sponsor of
terror to develop the world's deadliest weapons. Will not happen." The Nov.
5 sanctions cover Iran's banking and energy sectors and will reinstate
penalties for countries and companies in Europe, Asia and elsewhere that do
not halt Iranian oil imports. They could also include measures to force Iran
out of SWIFT. Despite Trump's tough stance, the hawks are worried about
recent comments from Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin and his staff that
suggest Iran will be able to stay connected to SWIFT. They are also
concerned the administration will back down on its stated zero-tolerance
policy for Iranian oil purchases by granting waivers to certain countries
and companies that do not fully stop buying it.
Iran deal supporters, like the other parties to the agreement, argue that
pushing Iran out of SWIFT, the Belgium-based Society for Worldwide Interbank
Financial Telecommunication, will lead to the creation of alternate
mechanisms that could supplant it as the leading global institution for
financial institutions to send and receive information about banking
transactions. They also say expulsion will make it harder for Iran to
conduct transactions, such as humanitarian purchases, that will still be
allowed after Nov. 5. Allowing Iran to remain in SWIFT would make it easier
for Tehran to import humanitarian goods like medicine permitted under U.S.
sanctions and "would help the United States make clear that its critique of
Iran is directed at the regime, not the people of Iran," said Elizabeth
Rosenberg, a former Treasury official now with the Center for a New American
Security. She added, though, that disconnection would be a "fast track" to
isolation. The debate underscores the challenges the administration faces as
it tries to isolate Iran without the full backing of other world powers who
remain supportive of the nuclear deal. Although the hawks had been pleased
by Trump's decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal in May and cheered the
August re-imposition of an initial set of sanctions, they are now seething
that Treasury may opt to use existing safeguards to isolate Iran instead of
hitting SWIFT members with sanctions if they don't disconnect Tehran.
Treasury has been coy about its intentions, saying only that Mnuchin and the
agency have led "an intense economic pressure campaign against Iran as part
of this administration's comprehensive strategy to address the totality of
Iran's malign and destabilizing activity, with much more to come."
Iran’s Khamenei calls for fight against enemy
‘infiltration’ amid cyber worries
Reuters, Iran/October 28/18 /Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
called on Sunday for the stepping up of efforts to fight enemy
“infiltration” in a speech to officials in charge of cyber defense, state
television reported. “In the face of the enemy’s complex practices, our
civil defense should ... confront infiltration through scientific, accurate,
and up-to-date ... action,” Ayatollah Khamenei told civil defense officials,
who are in charge of areas including cyber defense. The television report
did not give details of the “infiltration” Khamenei was referring to.
Iranian officials have long warned about Western cultural influences through
entertainment, social media and the Internet as a threat against Islamic and
revolutionary values.A decade ago, Iran’s nuclear program was hit by Stuxnet,
a virus which was deployed by US and Israeli intelligence agencies against a
uranium enrichment facility. Gholamreza Jalali, head of Iran’s civil defense
agency, said on Sunday that Iran had recently neutralized a new version of
Stuxnet. “Recently we discovered a new generation of Stuxnet which consisted
of several parts ... and was trying to enter our systems,” Jalali was quoted
as saying by the semi-official ISNA news agency at a news conference marking
Iran’s civil defense day. He did not give further details. On October, 19,
Jalali said that Iran is in the process of cutting off internet access,
launching instead a national network as the US re-imposed sanctions near in
early November, in a move seen by observers that it comes within the Islamic
Republic control of possible protests due to further deterioration of
economic and living conditions. Full story
Mattis Says KSA Vows 'Full' Probe of Khashoggi Murder
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 28/18/Saudi Arabia has promised a
"full" investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, U.S.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Sunday following talks with Saudi Foreign
Minister Adel al-Jubeir in Bahrain. "We discussed it... the need of
transparency, full and complete investigation. Full agreement from FM Jubeir,
no reservations at all," Mattis told reporters following the talks, during
which he warned the Saudi kingdom that the murder attributed to the Saudi
authorities risked destabilising the region. "No reservations at all. He (Jubeir)
said we need to know what happened and it was very collaborative, in
agreement," the Pentagon chief told reporters on a flight from Manama to
Prague where he will mark the centenary of Czechoslovakia.
Saudi journalist Khashoggi, 59, who had criticized the kingdom's
powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had lived in self-imposed exile
in the United States since 2017. He was murdered
after entering his country's Istanbul consulate on October 2 to obtain
paperwork to marry his Turkish fiancee. Gruesome reports have alleged that
the Washington Post columnist was killed and dismembered by a team sent from
Saudi Arabia to silence him. After weeks of
denials, Riyadh has sought to draw a line under the crisis with an
investigation. Prince Mohammed, heir to the
oil-rich nation's throne, publicly denounced the murder as "repulsive,"
while the Saudi prosecutor acknowledged for the first time this week that
based on the evidence of a Turkish investigation the killing had been
"premeditated." But Riyadh on Saturday dismissed
Ankara's calls to extradite 18 Saudis being held over Khashoggi's murder, as
Washington warned the crisis risked destabilizing the Middle East.
Addressing a forum in Manama on Saturday, Mattis warned that "the
murder of Jamal Khashoggi in a diplomatic facility must concern us all
greatly.""Failure of any nation to adhere to international norms and the
rule of law undermines regional stability at a time when it is needed most,"
he stressed. The murder, which has tarnished the image of Crown Prince
Mohammed, has sparked a wave of international criticism and affected
Washington's relations with the kingdom. The United States relies heavily on
Saudi Arabia to counter Iran's influence in the region and to defend the
security of Israel. Mattis did not have a formal bilateral meeting with
Jubeir on the sidelines of the Manama forum, where he met with several Arab
and European leaders. The two men spoke at a dinner gathering all the
ministers.
Trump's Biggest Supporters in Congress Demand Tougher
Sanctions on Iran
Washington - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 28 October, 2018/US President Donald
Trump's biggest supporters in Congress are concerned that sanctions to be
re-imposed on Iran on the 5th of November won't be tough enough. Lawmakers
and outside advisers have become worried that the administration may break a
promise to exert "maximum pressure" on Iran, demanding that Iran be
suspended from the international bank transfer. Iran sanctions that had been
eased due to the 2015 nuclear deal signed under the administration of former
President Barack Obama. Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said
Iran will “resist” and “fight” the US economic war against it. He also
announced a major government economic reshuffle to help face new US
sanctions against Tehran’s oil exports. Rouhani urged the Iranian Parliament
to approve four new ministers whom he described as part of the agenda to
reform the Iranian banking sector and boost oil wealth. “Our main enemy,
America, faces us with a drawn sword and we have to fight it and we have to
unite," Rouhani said earlier, urging MPs to vote for his proposed ministers.
Iran’s parliament approved the government economic reshuffle on Saturday,
Reuters reported. Farhad Dejpasand received a vote of confidence by a wide
margin as the new minister of economics and finance. The reshuffle, approved
in a parliamentary session carried live on state TV, also brought in new
industry, labor and roads ministers.
Oman’s FM: We Help Bring Palestinians, Israelis Together, We are not
Intermediaries
Manama, Ramallah – Merza al-Khuwaldi, Kifah Zboun/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 28
October, 2018/ Oman is offering ideas to help Israel and the Palestinians to
come together but is not acting as mediator, according to Oman's Minister of
Foreign Affairs Yousuf bin Alawi.
Speaking at the 14th IISS Manama Dialogue regional security summit in
Bahrain, Alawi added, "If we do not reach a radical solution in Palestine,
the Palestinians will never enjoy security and the entire Arab region will
not settle, and terrorism will not end."
The FM asserted that his country relies on the United States and efforts by
President Donald Trump in working towards this "deal of the century", noting
that: "Israel is a state present in the region, and we all understand this,
the world is also aware of this fact and maybe it is time for Israel to be
treated the same and also bear the same obligations".Referring to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said: "We do not say that the road is
paved, but our priority is to end the conflict and move to a new world." Bin
Alawi’s statement comes after Netanyahu's rare visit to Oman, and days after
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas paid a three-day visit to the country
and met Omani leader Sultan Qaboos.
Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Abbas welcomed this, adding that the
Palestinian president supports any intervention that could save the
situation. The sources stressed that the president wants Arab countries
within an international mechanism along with the United States, Russia, the
United Nations and other countries. Abbas was apparently aware of contacts
and meetings with Netanyahu. The President banned any abuse of the Sultanate
of Oman and ordered spokesmen and officials to refrain from commenting on
Qaboos's meeting with Netanyahu and withdraw any comments on the issue. The
Palestinian Authority remained silent about the meeting, and Fatah officials
were forced to withdraw their comments on rejecting "normalization".It was
not known if Oman would succeed in achieving a breaking through, but
Palestinian sources ruled out this in light of current complexities.
Ramallah preferred if Netanyahu wasn’t greeted in such a way that others
would not be encouraged to start a public normalization with Israel.
However, this is not the first senior Israeli official to the Sultanate, as
former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin visited Oman in 1994 and was
received by Qaboos. Few days after Rabin’s assassination, Israeli Prime
Minister Shimon Peres hosted Omani Foreign Minister Yousef bin Alawi in
Jerusalem. In January 1996, Israel and Oman signed an agreement on the
mutual opening of commercial representation offices. Netanyahu's recent
visit is the first public contact between Israel and Oman and came after a
series of long negotiations. Netanyahu was accompanied by "Mossad" chief
Yossi Cohen, National Security Advisor Meir Ben Shabbat and Foreign Ministry
Director-General Yuval Rotem. “Among the issues discussed were ways to
advance the peace process in the Middle East as well as several matters of
joint interest regarding the achievement of peace and stability in the
Middle East,” said a joint statement by the two leaders.
In contrast to the PA’s position, Hamas warned about the dangerous
consequences of Netanyahu’s visit rejecting all types of normalization with
the Israeli occupation. Hamas “deplores the acceleration of normalization
with the Israeli entity” which serves as “an encouragement and cover for the
Zionist enemy to commit more crimes and violations against the Palestinian
people, and a stab in the back,” the organization said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker's Special Aide Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
said that the Friday meeting with Israeli regime's Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu is far from the wisdom of Oman’s Sultan Qaboos. In a Saturday
tweet and in reaction to Netanyahu’s unannounced trip to Oman, Amir-Abdollahian
wrote, “the meeting of Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the illegitimate
Israeli regime, with Sultan Qaboos in Oman is far from the known wisdom of
Sultan Qaboos,” according to Mehr News Agency. ‘Palestine Deal of the
Century’ will not be fruitful for Trump and Netanyahu, he asserted.
Istanbul Summit Stresses Importance of Political
Solution in Syria
Ankara - Saeed Abdulrazzak/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 28 October, 2018/The
Istanbul quartet stressed the need to continue on all tracks of the
political solution, eliminate terrorism in Syria and ensure the voluntary
return of refugees under the auspices of the United Nations.
Following the Syria summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan along
with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and
French President Emmanuel Macron held a joint news conference calling on the
international community to work hand in hand for a sustainable solution in
Syria. President Erdogan said "our aim is to reach a complete cease-fire to
halt bloodshed," adding that the four nations agreed to increase cooperation
among themselves and at the international level on the issue.
"We have discussed a political solution in line with Syrian people's
legitimate demands which moves to reach stability in the country," Erdogan
told reporters. He said that the participants in the summit stressed the
importance of continuing Geneva talks to resolve the crisis in Syria, adding
that the implementation of the Sochi agreement for Idlib was confirmed in
preparation for a permanent solution to the Syrian crisis. On Turkey’s
effort to eliminate terrorists along its borders in northern Syria, Erdogan
repeated Ankara’s determination for a possible counter-terror operation in
east of the Euphrates River. “We will continue to eliminate threats to
national security in the east of Euphrates as well as in its west in Syria,”
he said.
The leaders agreed on the importance of eliminating all terrorist
organizations in Syria and calling on the international community to help
the Syrians and prevent new waves of asylum.
With regard to the return of the Syrian refugees, Turkish President noted
that his country had already spent $33 billion in helping Syrians. The
Turkish leader also stressed that the return of Syrians to their homeland
should be voluntary and that the UN is needed to coordinate this process.
Turkey’s President called on other nations to increase support for refugees
as he declared the “people of Syria will determine the future of Bashar
al-Assad”. For his part, Putin told the news conference that a settlement in
Syria cannot be reached without consultations that include Syria and "our
Iranian partners.”
Asked about the possibilities of a second summit of the four countries,
Putin said the countries have "not negotiated this yet, but everything is
possible." “We proposed to our partners that Russia’s initiative to convene
an international conference on Syrian refugees be supported. We are aware of
everything related to this, we are aware of the problems, but unless we join
efforts, we won’t achieve any results," Putin said. Putin pointed out that
the talks focused on humanitarian aid to the Syrian people and on assistance
in the return of refugees to the country. "Russia spares no effort in this
area, but in order to drastically improve the situation in the country, to
handle acute social problems and to revive the economy, the world’s
collective efforts are needed," he asserted.
Macron said that the Istanbul summit is a continuation of Astana. He
stressed the need to unite the various tracks of Syria and cooperate in the
fight against terrorism and ensure access of aid to those in need. “The
constitutional committee needs to be established, and should hold its first
meeting by the end of the year. This is what we all want," he said, adding
that” creating it will become a part of the political settlement in Syria."
"It needs to be formed in order to prepare transparent elections monitored
by the international community," the French leader noted. He praised
Turkey's role in taking in the Syrian refugees and the sacrifices Ankara had
done on the material and humanitarian levels of hosting them. He stressed
the need to ensure the security of refugees wishing to return to their
homeland. Macron underscored the importance of the ceasefire: "We will all
be extremely vigilant to ensure that these commitments are met and that the
ceasefire is stable and sustainable," he told reporters. In turn, the German
Chancellor stressed the need for a political process to end the conflict
under the auspices of the United Nations, with the ultimate goal of free
elections. "At the end of this political process, there must be free
elections to which all Syrians have access — including the diaspora," Merkel
told the conference. She indicated that Sochi deal for Idlib was a
successful agreement to prevent a new wave of refugees, while lauding the
role of UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura. In response to a question on
the drafting committee of the constitution and whether the Syrian regime
will participate, Russian President asserted that the ongoing process
includes the Syrian government and the opposition. Prior to the four-way
meeting, Erdogan held a series of bilateral meetings, where he met Putin,
Merkel and Macron separately.
The 45 minutes meeting between Erdogan and Putin discussed the relations
between the two countries, especially in the field of energy as well as the
Syrian file. On July 29, Erdogan called for the summit against the
background of rising tensions in Idlib and growing fears of a humanitarian
tragedy after the Syrian regime and its supporters mobilized military forces
on its outskirts. Turkey has stepped its diplomatic efforts to avert a new
wave of displaced people from Idlib, which includes some 4 million
civilians, until Sochi agreement was reached with Russia on September 17.
Ankara confirmed that the quartet summit will continue to promote Idlib
agreement and coordinate efforts to push for a final political solution to
the crisis. France has repeatedly stressed that the cease-fire in Idlib was
"fragile" and needed to be strengthened, and considered the summit an
"opportunity" to support the formation of a constitution drafting committee
in Syria. Meanwhile, convey of reinforcements have reached the border
province of Kilis including artillery and military vehicles, headed from the
center of the state to various military units stationed on the Syrian
border.These reinforcements, according to information obtained by the
Anadolu Agency correspondent, aim to strengthen the capabilities of the
military units stationed at the border.
Turkish forces bombard Kurdish YPG militia positions east of Euphrates
Reuters, Istanbul/Sunday, 28 October 2018/Turkish forces bombarded Kurdish
YPG militia positions on the eastern shore of the Euphrates River in
northern Syria, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Sunday. The
bombardment targeted the Zor Magar area to the west of northern Syria’s Ayn
al-Arab region and was aimed at preventing “terrorist activities”, Anadolu
reported. Turkey carried out an offensive against YPG forces in Syria’s
Afrin region earlier this year and has repeatedly said it would target YPG
forces to the east of the Euphrates River.
ISIS repels US-backed forces from east Syria holdout
AFP, Beirut/Sunday, 28 October 2018/ISIS has ousted a US-backed coalition of
Kurdish and Arab forces from its holdout in eastern Syria, killing dozens of
fighters, a monitoring group said Sunday. A Syrian Democratic Forces
commander, asking not to be named, confirmed the SDF retreat from the Hajin
pocket near the Iraqi border seven weeks into an offensive. The SDF, who are
backed by air strikes of the US-led coalition, launched its campaign to
retake the ISIS holdout on September 10. But they have faced a fierce
fightback from the extremists, including under the cover of sandstorms, the
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says. “In counterattacks
since Friday to Sunday dawn, ISIS has taken back all positions to which the
SDF had advanced inside the Hajin pocket,” the monitoring group’s chief Rami
Abdel Rahman said. The Observatory reported 72 SDF fighters killed, as ISIS
took advantage of the storm that hampered coalition air cover and dispatched
suicide bombers as part of their fightback. The SDF commander told AFP that
his forces had faced a “strong dust storm” and lacked local knowledge of the
terrain. Unlike ISIS, “our forces don’t know the area and can’t move around
in conditions of zero visibility,” he said. “Military reinforcements and
heavy weapons have been sent to the front and some units will be replaced by
more experienced ones,” the commander said. “We will launch a new military
campaign as soon as those reinforcements have arrived,” he said. More than
300 SDF fighters and around 500 ISIS extremists have been killed in the past
seven weeks of fighting, the Observatory says. The coalition estimates that
2,000 ISIS fighters remain in the Hajin area. ISIS overran large swathes of
Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a “caliphate” across land it
controlled. But the extremist group has since lost most of that territory to
various offensives in both countries. In Syria, its presence has been
reduced to parts of the vast Badia desert also in the east and the Hajin
pocket. A total of more than 360,000 people have been killed since Syria’s
war erupted in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
Bahraini Crown Prince Stresses Saudi Role in Ensuring
Regional Security
Manama/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 28 October, 2018/Bahraini Crown Prince Salman
bin Hamad Al Khalifa stressed Saudi Arabia’s role in achieving regional
peace and stability and supporting development and investment efforts for
everyone’s benefit. He praised Saudi-Bahrain strong ties and added that they
always look forward to strengthening them in various fields under the
leadership of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. This came during the meeting
between Prince Salman and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on the
sidelines of the 14th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)
Manama Dialogue. The Crown Prince hailed Saudi Arabia's keenness to attend
and participate in the forum’s activities, adding that it contributes
significantly to its success. He said the Kingdom holds a global position,
stressing its prominent role in supporting security, peace and development
issues at the regional and international levels. During the meeting, both
parties discussed the most important topics at the regional and
international levels, issues of common interest and the most important axes
discussed by the Manama Dialogue Forum, the annual security conference in
Bahrain. Jubeir, for his part, expressed Saudi Arabia’s appreciation for
Bahrain’s support towards the bilateral relationship and regional
cooperation. He stressed the importance of such forums to exchange ideas and
visions to face regional security challenges. During his meeting with US
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis on Saturday, the Bahraini Prince stressed
the Middle East’s strategic position in the global system, which highlights
the geopolitical dimension of the region. He pointed to” the active efforts
of the US administration and its pivotal role in establishing security,
stability and peace in the region.” Also, he stressed the Kingdom’s
continued support to the regional and international efforts. The two sides
exchanged views on how to face the challenges of extremism and terrorism and
discussed bilateral relations and means of strengthening them to achieve the
two countries’ common interests. Prince Salman also shed light on the
importance of the Manama Dialogue as a political and intellectual platform
to discuss the latest security and political developments in the region. He
said a number of regional and international decision-makers meet and
contribute to enhancing security and stability.
Jubeir: Suspects in Khashoggi Case Under Investigation
Manama- Obeid Al Suhaimi/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 28 October, 2018/Saudi
Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said “unfortunately there has been
"hysteria in the media" regarding the case of Saudi Citizen Jamal Khashoggi
before investigations were concluded. During the 14th International
Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Manama Dialogue, Jubeir cautioned
that "investigations take time." Eighteen Saudis have been arrested in
connection with Khashoggi’s death. “The individuals are Saudi nationals,
they are detained in Saudi Arabia, the investigation is in Saudi Arabia and
they will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia," he affirmed. Jubeir also confirmed
Saudi-US ties, saying: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a strategic
relationship with the United States.” "That relationship is ironclad. Saudi
Arabia has been an ally of the Western countries since the beginning of the
third Saudi state … it’s not going to change." During a discussion session
that witnessed the participation of Bahrain’s foreign minister Shiekh Khalid
bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Jubeir said, “The GCC will remain the most important
institution for the Gulf States.” The FM aslo described ties with Iraq as
excellent, noting that the kingdom has investments in this country and plans
to open two consulates. Bahrain’s FM told the conference that the Gulf bloc
would remain a “pillar” of regional security and that a proposed security
alliance grouping the United States, Gulf states, Jordan and Egypt would be
activated next year. Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary James Mattis called the
death of Khashoggi a national security concern for nations in the Middle
East. Our Secretary of State will be taking additional measures as the
situation is clarified," Mattis said. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this
week announced moves against 21 Saudis to either revoke their visas or make
them ineligible for US visas after the Khashoggi death.
Iraq: Controversy Over Choosing President's Deputies
Baghdad - Hamza Mustafa/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 28 October, 2018/Iraqi Prime
Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi announced that the post of deputy PM is abolished
and has assigned ministers to the task, meanwhile, political blocs aspiring
to take the position of vice-president are adhering to the Federal Supreme
Court’s decision, which confirmed the unconstitutional decision of former
Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to abolish the position of Vice President in
August 2015. Legal adviser Ahmed Abadi believes that there is no
relationship between the formation of the government and the position of
vice-president because this position, regardless of the number of persons
that occupy it, is not within the authority of the Prime Minister. Abadi
told Asharq Al-Awsat that the positions of vice-presidents of the republic
are within the authority of the president only. As stipulated by the law,
the selection of a vice-president should be submitted to the parliament for
approval by absolute majority. Nothing has been issued yet by the Iraqi
Presidency to indicate President Barham Saleh will soon announce his deputy,
or deputies, however, an informed political source indicated the president
is waiting for the consensus of the blocs on this post, although according
to the constitution, it is within his powers. The source told Asharq Al-Awsat
that the president is waiting for bloc’s nominations, taking into account
this time there is a tendency to assign a second or third deputy to the
Turkmens and not limiting it to Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. Within the
Shiites officials, there seems to be an agreement to assign Nouri al-Maliki,
head of State of Law Coalition and former VP, to this term’s position,
member of State of Law Saad al-Matlabi told Asharq Al-Awsat. As for Sunnis,
a top official revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat there were sharp differences
within the component about who would assume this position if it was agreed
to choose a second or third vice president, noting that Saleh al-Mutlaq,
Khamis al-Khanjar, Osama al-Nujaifi and Jamal al-Karboli are all competing
for the post. However, Athil al-Nujaifi, Muttahidoon Party top official,
denied reports that his brother Osama Nujaifi is a candidate. Nujaifi told
Asharq Al-Awsat that his brother, Ousama, decided to remain a member of the
parliament. Deputy head of the Turkmens Front, MP Hassan Turan, told Asharq
Al-Awsat that the Turkmens are now trying to achieve the position of
vice-president given they are the third nationalism in Iraq after the Arabs
and Kurds. He added that President Barham Salih and the political leaders in
the country support this idea, especially since the Turkmens did not get a
ministry in the current government. "There is a tendency among some Shiite
leaders to grant the post of vice president to a Shiite-Turkmens figure,
which implies a silent conflict between Shiite-Turkmens and Sunni-Turkmens,"
indicated the source. He added that this means a Turkmens figure other than
Arashad al-Salihi could be named vice-president and Salihi will be given a
ministerial position in Abdul Mahdi’s government.
Egypt Sets Ceasefire in Gaza After Violent Night
Ignited by ‘Jihad’ Movement
Ramallah - Kifah Ziboun/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 28 October, 2018/Egypt
succeeded in setting a new truce in Gaza Strip on Saturday, following a
violent night set by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Movement, which
fired rockets at Israel, who responded with raids. The exchange of rockets
lasted for long hours and almost dragged the Strip into a new war. PIJ
Movement announced that it has reached for a ceasefire with Israel following
Egyptian intervention. "We informed the Egyptians that we will be committed
to a ceasefire as long as Israel is committed to it," PIJ Spokesperson
Dawoud Shihab said in a statement. Egypt has made great efforts with UN
Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nikolay Mladenov to
contain the situation that was triggered by sudden escalation decision by
the PIJ. PIJ Movement, one of the resistance groups that operate in Gaza,
said it had fired the rockets in retaliation for Israel's killing of five
Palestinian protesters on Friday. It said it can't stand idly while peaceful
protesters are being killed. Khaled al-Batsh, member of the movement’s
political bureau, said that the attacks were the fulfillment of the promises
made by PIJ to protect the return marches with their guns, break the siege
and revenge for the blood of the martyrs. "The occupation could not have
been allowed to kill four peaceful demonstrators in Gaza and two in the
occupied West Bank for taking part in peaceful popular marches without
responding to the crimes," he said. But the movement's rhetoric was neither
convincing to Israel nor to Hamas, which refused PIJ’s initiative in such a
confrontation. Tel Aviv, for its part, accused Iran and Syria of being
behind PIJ’s escalation. "Islamic Jihad fired dozens of missiles at Israel
under the guidance of Iran and Syria,” said Israeli Army spokesman Ronen
Manelis. “These incidents show the dangers threatening the State of Israel,"
he stressed. He confirmed that the Israeli army sent clear messages that it
would respond inside and outside Gaza Strip on these rocket attacks. “The
priorities of the Israeli army in terms of threats have not changed. Iran
and then its military presence in Syria top it, followed by thwarting
Hezbollah's armament with precision rockets, Hamas threats and finally
ISIS.” Manelis said that Damascus and the Iranian Quds Force directed the
Hamas rockets that recently targeted Israel. "Clear messages were delivered
to those who needed that delivery," the spokesman said, "nobody is immune,
neither in Gaza Strip nor outside of it,” he stressed.
Almost 2 Million Iranian Pilgrims Head into Iraq for
Arbaeen
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 28/18/At the border
town of Mehran between Iran and Iraq, a sea of pilgrims surges forwards, en
route to one of the biggest religious pilgrimages on the planet. Iranian
organizers say more than 1.8 million Iraqi visas have been issued for
Iranians this year for the Arbaeen pilgrimage which culminates on Tuesday as
the devout head, many by foot, to Karbala and one of the holiest sites of
Shiite Islam, the shrine of Imam Hussein. Men and women, young and old,
toddlers in prams and elderly pushed in wheelchairs -- they converge from
all over the Islamic republic. "I go because my heart demands it of me, I go
because of my love for Imam Hussein," said Morteza Taghikhani, a 39-year-old
auto worker, who had already been on the pilgrimage five times before. His
wife and young children were accompanying him for the first time: "They
insisted on coming. Though it is a difficult trip, they've enjoyed it so
much." The pilgrims stream past tents, called "mokebs", which hand out free
food ranging from scrambled eggs to boiled turnips. Full meals are served at
midday and in the evenings. The crossing stays open around the clock, but
blankets and tents are provided for anyone needing a rest. Every few meters
there is a free shoeshine, and when the pilgrims take off their shoes the
attendant kisses their feet as a sign of respect: for Shiites the Arbaeen
march is so holy that just serving the pilgrims is thought to bring divine
reward. The pilgrimage marks the martyrdom in 680 of Imam Hussein, grandson
of the Prophet Mohammad, who refused to accept the leadership of the
"usurper" Caliph Yazid and was massacred along with his followers at
Karbala.
Cannot be defeated
Shiite Muslims have honored his death with elaborate mourning ceremonies
ever since and Hussein's last stand has come to serve as a powerful symbol
of resolve and sacrifice in the face of oppression. That imagery remains a
key part of Iran's religious and political self-image, and even as modernity
has transformed much of the country, the huge scale of the Arbaeen
pilgrimage is a reminder of how significant the symbolism remains. "This
march shows world imperialism that the Muslim nation cannot be defeated,
whether by economic or military or political means," said Sajjad Entezar, a
23-year-old cleric from the Iranian holy centre of Qom.
Arbaeen marks the 40th day after Imam Hussein's martyrdom, with the
devout marching on foot for all or part of the way to Karbala. Khadijeh
Mehrjoo, a 36-year-old city council member from a small town in central
Iran, said she was not concerned by the long days and nights -- or even
Iraq's security issues. "There is no need to worry, Imam Hussein himself
looks after us," she said. State institutions offer free services and food
to pilgrims alongside those of the public, while the national broadcaster
gives wall-to-wall coverage for a fortnight before Arbaeen, which falls on
October 30 this year. The march was forbidden for many years, under former
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who fought a devastating war with Iran in the
1980s. Restrictions were only lifted after his downfall in 2003. With the
formation of a new Iraqi state, where the post of prime minister is held by
a Shiite, the march quickly became one of the most popular religious
pilgrimages in the world. Even the Islamic State group's emergence and its
ruthless campaign against Shiites, which it considers infidels, did not
deter the pilgrims. If anything, the Sunni
extremists' seizure of vast swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014 -- reaching
within 70 kilometers (45 miles) of Karbala -- only invigorated the faithful,
pushing the number of pilgrims into the millions. For Mehrjoo the pilgrimage
is itself a means to defeat the threats against it. "The march creates
unity, solidarity," she said.
"If we join hands we can overcome. We can defeat the enemies of Islam."
The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on
October 28-29/18
The
Annihilation of Iraq's Christian Minority
ريموند إبراهيم: إبادة الأقلية
المسيحية في العراق
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/October 28/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/68454/raymond-ibrahim-the-annihilation-of-iraqs-christian-minority-%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF-%D8%A5%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%8A%D9%85-%D8%A5%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%82/
"I'm proud to be an Iraqi, I love my country. But my country is not proud
that I'm part of it. What is happening to my people [Christians] is nothing
other than genocide... Wake up!" — Father Douglas al-Bazi, Iraqi Catholic
parish priest, Erbil.
"Contacting the authorities forces us to identify ourselves [as Christians],
and we aren't certain that some of the people threatening us aren't the
people in the government offices that are supposed to be protecting us." —
Iraqi Christian man, explaining why Christians in Iraq do not turn to
government authorities for protection.
Government-sponsored school curricula present indigenous Christians as
unwanted "foreigners," although Iraq was Christian for centuries before it
was conquered by Muslims in the seventh century.
According to the "World Watch List 2018" report, Christians in Iraq -- the
eighth-worst nation in the world in which to be Christian -- are
experiencing "extreme persecution," and not just from "extremists."
"Another wave of persecution will be the end of Christianity after 2,000
years" in Iraq, an Iraqi Christian leader recently said. In an interview
earlier this month, Chaldean Archbishop Habib Nafali of Basra discussed how
more than a decade of violent persecution has virtually annihilated Iraq's
Christian minority. Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the Christian
population has dropped from 1.5 million to about 250,000 -- a reduction of
85%. During those 15 years, Christians have been abducted, enslaved, raped
and slaughtered, sometimes by crucifixion; a church or monastery has been
destroyed about every 40 days on average, said the archbishop.
While it is often assumed that the Islamic State (ISIS) was the source of
the persecution, since that terror group's retreat from Iraq, the situation
for Christians has barely improved. As the archbishop said, Christians
continue to suffer from "systematic violence" designed to "destroy their
language, to break up their families and push them to leave Iraq."
According to the "World Watch List 2018" report, Christians in Iraq -- the
eighth-worst nation in the world in which to be Christian -- are
experiencing "extreme persecution," and not just from "extremists."
Although "Violent Religious Groups" (such as the Islamic State) are "Very
Strongly" responsible, two other societal classes seldom associated with the
persecution of Christians in Iraq are also "Very Strongly" responsible, the
report states: 1) "Government officials at any
level from local to national," and 2) "Non-Christian religious leaders at
any level from local to national." Also, three other societal groups -- 1)
"Ethnic group leaders," 2) "Normal citizens (people from the general
public), including mobs," and 3) "Political parties at any level from local
to national" -- are all "Strongly" responsible for the persecution of
Christians in Iraq. In other words, virtually everyone is involved.
The report elaborates: "Violent religious groups such as IS and other
radical militants are known for targeting Christians and other religious
minorities through kidnappings and killings. Another source of persecution
are Islamic leaders at any level, mostly in the form of hate-speech in
mosques. Government officials at all levels are reported to threaten
Christians and 'encourage' them to emigrate. Also, normal citizens in the
north have reportedly made remarks in public, questioning why Christians are
still in Iraq."
Several regional Christian leaders confirm these findings. According to
Syriac Orthodox bishop, George Saliba:
"What is happening in Iraq is a strange thing, but it is normal for Muslims,
because they have never treated Christians well, and they have always held
an offensive and defaming stand against Christians.... We used to live and
coexist with Muslims, but then they revealed their canines [teeth].... [They
do not] have the right to storm houses, steal and attack the honor of
Christians. Most Muslims do this, the Ottomans killed us and after that the
ruling nation-states understood the circumstances but always gave advantage
to the Muslims. Islam has never changed."
Father Douglas al-Bazi -- an Iraqi Catholic parish priest from Erbil who
still carries the scars from torture he received 9 years earlier -- made the
same observation:
I'm proud to be an Iraqi, I love my country. But my country is not proud
that I'm part of it. What is happening to my people [Christians] is nothing
other than genocide. I beg you: do not call it a conflict. It's genocide...
When Islam lives amidst you, the situation might appear acceptable. But when
one lives amidst Muslims [as a minority], everything becomes impossible....
Wake up! The cancer is at your door. They will destroy you. We, the
Christians of the Middle East are the only group that has seen the face of
evil: Islam.
The Iraqi government is complicit -- when not actively participating -- in
the persecution. As one Christian man explained after being asked why
Christians in Iraq do not turn to governmental authorities for protection:
"Contacting the authorities forces us to identify ourselves [as Christians],
and we aren't certain that some of the people threatening us aren't the
people in the government offices that are supposed to be protecting us."
When Christians do take the risk of reaching out to local authorities,
police sometimes rebuke them with comments like, "[you] should not be in
Iraq because it is Muslim territory."
The Iraqi government has only helped foster such anti-Christian sentiments.
In late 2015, for instance, it passed a law legally forcing Christian and
all other non-Muslim children to become Muslim if their fathers convert to
Islam or if their Christian mothers marry a Muslim.
Government-sponsored school curricula present indigenous Christians as
unwanted "foreigners," although Iraq was Christian for centuries before it
was conquered by Muslims in the seventh century. As a Christian politician
in the Iraqi Ministry of Education explained:
"There's almost nothing about us [Christians] in our history books, and what
there is, is totally wrong. There's nothing about us being here before
Islam. The only Christians mentioned are from the West. Many Iraqis believe
we moved here. From the West. That we are guests in this country."
"If the [Christian] children say they believe in Jesus" in school, notes one
report, "they face beatings and scorn from their teachers."
Most telling is that the Iraqi government hires and gives platforms to
radical clerics whose teachings are nearly identical to those of the Islamic
State. Grand Ayatollah Ahmad al-Baghdadi, for instance, one of the nation's
top Shia clerics, explained during a televised interview the position of
non-Muslims living under Muslim rule:
"If they are people of the book [Jews and Christians] we demand of them the
jizya [a tax on non-Muslims] — and if they refuse, then we fight them. That
is if he is Christian. He has three choices: either convert to Islam, or, if
he refuses and wishes to remain Christian, then pay the jizya. But if they
still refuse — then we fight them, and we abduct their women, and destroy
their churches — this is Islam!...This is the word of Allah!"
Considering that Muslims in Iraq are indoctrinated by such an anti-Christian
rhetoric from early youth -- starting in the schoolrooms and continuing in
the mosques -- it should probably not be a surprise that many Muslims turn
on neighboring Christians whenever the opportunity presents itself.
In one video, for example, a traumatized Christian family from Iraq tell of
how their young children were murdered -- burned alive "simply for wearing
the cross." The mother explained how the "ISIS" that attacked and murdered
her children were their own Muslim neighbors, with whom they ate, laughed,
and to whom they even provided educational and medical service -- but who
turned on them.
When asked who exactly threatened and drove Christians out of Mosul, another
Christian refugee said:
"We left Mosul because ISIS came to the city. The [Sunni Muslim] people of
Mosul embraced ISIS and drove the Christians out of the city. When ISIS
entered Mosul, the people hailed them and drove out the Christians.... The
people who embraced ISIS, the people who lived there with us... Yes, my
neighbors. Our neighbors and other people threatened us. They said: 'Leave
before ISIS get you.' What does that mean? Where would we go?... Christians
have no support in Iraq. Whoever claims to be protecting the Christians is a
liar. A liar!"
Iraq's Christians are on the verge of extinction, less because of ISIS, and
more because virtually every rung of Iraqi society has been, and continues
to be, chipping away at them.
"If this is not genocide," said Chaldean Archbishop Habib Nafali towards the
end of a recent interview, "then what is?"
**Raymond Ibrahim, author of the new book, Sword
and Scimitar, Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, is a
Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and a Judith Rosen
Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2018 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone
Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be
reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of
Gatestone Institute.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13193/iraq-christians-annihilation
Iran is pressuring US using Islamic Jihad in Gaza
Ron Ben Yishai/Ynetnews/October 28/18
Analysis: Iran is worried by Netanyahu's visit to Oman and the progress in
ceasefire talks in Gaza. To disrupt these efforts, Tehran sent Islamic Jihad
to fire a massive barrage of rockets. Islamic Jihad also stands to gain, it
gets to have the final say and claim a victory.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which was behind the escalation in the Gaza
Strip over the weekend, normally works in coordination with Hamas. As the
second biggest and strongest military organization in Gaza, it feels
responsibility towards the strip's residents and serves as a silent partner
to the Hamas regime. Ideologically and religiously speaking, the Palestinian
Islamic Jihad is not much different to Hamas, which is another reason for
the good, close cooperation between the two factions.
The main difference between Islamic Jihad and Hamas nowadays is mostly their
relationship with Iran. Hamas receives financial support and technological
aid from the Islamic Republic, despite the fact it is a Sunni organization
and despite the "bad blood" between Hamas and the Ayatollah regime over the
Syrian civil war.
Meanwhile Islamic Jihad, which is also Sunni, has subjugated itself almost
completely to Iran. Like Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad receives not just money
and weapons from Tehran, but also orders. This must also be why it initiated
the escalation over the weekend.
A senior security official shared that assessment, noting the organization's
new leadership—which now sits in Damascus—is far more extreme than that of
Ramadan Shalah, and is more devoutly serving the Iranians. And so the Gazan
Islamic Jihad is trying to create a new equation according to which it would
respond with rocket fire to Palestinians deaths in the riots on the strip's
border.
"We won't allow for a new equation of this type, and we won't let Islamic
Jihad launch rockets at Israel without us responding with a heavy military
blow. We also won't allow Islamic Jihad to do as it pleases with the silent
consent of Hamas," the senior security official said.
So what happened this weekend to make Islamic Jihad break away from the
restraint imposed by Hamas under Egyptian pressure, with the hope of
improving the living conditions of the Gaza residents? The main cause was
the reports on Friday that the Egyptians have finally reached understandings
with Hamas to restore calm in Gaza, more or less under the same parameters
put in place after the 2014 Operation Protective Edge.
Another explanation lies in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to Oman
and the diplomatic talks he had there with Sultan Qaboos. Several days
before Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visited
Oman, with Sultan Qaboos initiating this indirect dialogue between Netanyahu
and Abbas and doing a great service to the American administration.
The Iranians, who saw and heard the reports from Gaza and Oman, are worried
the arrangement in the strip would allow the Americans to make a bigger move
to present their plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They don't
want this to happen and are doing all they can to disrupt such a move.
Tehran is also trying to put pressure on the Americans to prevent US
President Trump from re-imposing a second wave of sanctions on November 6,
targeting the export and sale of oil.
In other words, the Iranians are trying to pressure the Americans by
sabotaging their interests concerning Israel, to spare themselves the harsh
sanctions. It is therefore rather clear why Islamic Jihad would act against
the interest of Hamas, which wants to bring the negotiations with the
Egyptians to a successful end, by escalating the situation in the service of
its masters in Tehran.
The Islamic Jihad leadership also has its own reasons. All of the
Palestinian factions in Gaza, and mostly Hamas and Islamic Jihad, want not
only an arrangement that would lead to a truce and ease the humanitarian
distress of the strip's residents, but also a victory they can claim. They
want to have an arrangement on their terms, which they could present as a
military triumph of the "resistance" over Israel.
The Gaza factions don't want to admit that the "March of Return" campaign,
which led to more than 200 Palestinian fatalities and thousands of others
wounded, was a complete failure. They want to show the Palestinian blood
spilled on the border was not in vain, and so they need that psychological
victory. Therefore, with the arrangement closer than ever, Islamic Jihad
seeks to have the final say with the final shot, thus proving the "March of
Return" campaign and the arson terrorism forced Israel to accept the terms
of the agreement mediated by the Egyptians.
Islamic Jihad can afford to fire that final rockets barrage because it knows
Israel has made a strategic decision not to launch a wide-scale ground
operation and take over the strip. And so Islamic Jihad—and Hamas—are
willing to suffer serious damage to their military facilities, for the sake
of that psychological victory. That way, they don't lose face in Gaza in
case a ceasefire is reached, and their patrons in Tehran are pleased.
Israel accepts this pattern, which has cemented itself since August: the
Egyptians negotiate with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The two organizations
promise restraint but continue with the March of Return riots and the
incendiary balloons. From time to time, when there are difficulties in the
negotiations with the Egyptians, Hamas, Islamic Jihad or the errant factions
escalate with rockets—while the Hamas political leadership looks the other
way—following which the talks with Egyptians resume with Israel giving Egypt
as much leeway as necessary to reach a stable arrangement.
Israel's security heads—primarily Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister
Lieberman and IDF Chief Eisenkot—have decided that in any case it's best to
let the Egyptians exhaust their influence on Hamas. And as long as the
negotiations continue, Israel can settle for measured responses to the
rioting on the border, the incendiary balloons, and the rockets. The Iron
Dome gives the security heads the feelings that we could tolerate an erosion
of the Gaza border residents' sense of security, so long as we don't have to
launch a large-scale war in the strip that would cost us in lives and
economic damage and end exactly as Operation Protective Edge and its
predecessors had ended.
This cold and cruel calculation is what causes the fire from the strip, the
ongoing erosion of the Gaza border residents' sense of security, the
worsening humanitarian distress of the Palestinians in the strip and the
rocket fire.
Israel accepts this situation, inter alia, because it wants the close
cooperation with Egypt to continue and because its security heads realize
there is no point in a large military campaign in the strip right now
without the decision to take over Gaza and hold it for over a year in order
to establish a different regime there. After all, it's not even guaranteed
that we could find a different and better regime that would stop the rocket
fire.
Israel therefore uses these rounds of escalations to systematically destroy
considerable parts of Hamas's quality military capabilities—both to make an
example out of them, but also because when the IDF does go to war, large
parts of Hamas's military assets (mostly its tunnels, naval commandos and
special aerial measures) will be out of commission and won't harm us.
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5381560,00.html?fbclid=IwAR3pK71SeC4vtzAWVw-wKEKvFX7Dbe9mU5jiHc9ObiDOb0JDlqzpqZ2Rsho
The Vatican under Siege/What Must the Church Do to
Restore Trust?
Lawrence A. Franklin//Gatestone Institute/October 28/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13194/vatican-under-siege
If reports are verified that Pope Francis, while Archbishop of Buenos Aires,
defamed accusers of predator priests, refused to meet with them, and denied
that any abuse occurred under his watch, then he may not possess the moral
authority to cleanse the Church of predatory priests, and those who
protected them, without resigning.
The Vatican, it seems, still needs to make a policy decision on whether to
allow homosexual-oriented clergy. Pedophilia, on the other hand, needs to be
treated with zero tolerance.
The Vatican could convene a new Vatican Council where resolutions could be
adopted to permit priests to marry and have children. In a world where women
are increasingly recognized as equals before the law, such a council could
also decree that female priests are permissible. These changes would be
superficial and would not alter the eternal truths and dogma of the Catholic
faith.
The Catholic Church needs to recast itself as the conscience of the world,
although this could invite censure, even persecution, and risk alienation
from secular authorities and some leaders of other religions over issues
such as abortion, immigration, capital punishment, religious freedom, the
equality of women, and freedom of conscience.
On October 12, Pope Francis officially accepted the resignation of
Washington's archbishop, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, from the high-profile post
Wuerl had occupied for 12 years. Wuerl's resignation was the latest and most
direct casualty of the sex-abuse scandal that for years has been rocking the
Catholic Church. Pictured: Pope Francis waves as he leaves after his
September 24, 2015 visit at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Washington, DC,
as Donald Wuerl (right) looks on. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
On October 12, Pope Francis officially accepted the resignation of
Washington's archbishop, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, from the high-profile post
Wuerl had occupied for 12 years. Wuerl's resignation was the latest and most
direct casualty of the sex-abuse scandal that for years has been rocking the
Catholic Church. More specifically, Wuerl -- a close ally of Pope Francis --
stepped down as a result of a nearly 900-page Pennsylvania grand jury report
from 2018, which detailed the extent of the rampant sexual abuse of priests
against children and of the systemic cover-up of the crimes.
Cardinal Wuerl was among those accused of covering for abusive priests in
the grand jury's exhaustive investigation of Pennsylvania's dioceses,
including the Diocese of Pittsburgh, which Wuerl had headed from 1988 to
2006. As a consequence of his role in re-assigning or reinstating priests
accused of sexual abuse, Wuerl requested that the Pope accept the
resignation he had previously submitted in 2015, at age 75, as is tradition.
Although Pope Francis accepted Wuerl's resignation, he nevertheless
requested that Wuerl stay on as apostolic administrator of the diocese until
a new Archbishop to Washington, D.C. is selected.
It was, however, the Pope's heaping of praise on Wuerl that especially
angered the victims of sexual abuse at the hands of clerics. In his letter
accepting Wuerl's resignation, Francis wrote:
"To our Venerable Brother Card. Donald William Wuerl, Archbishop of
Washington,
"On September 21st I received your request that I accept your resignation
from the pastoral government of the Archdiocese of Washington.
"I am aware that this request rests on two pillars that have marked and
continue to mark your ministry: to seek in all things the greater glory of
God and to procure the good of the people entrusted to your care. The
shepherd knows that the well-being and the unity of the People of God are
precious gifts that the Lord has implored and for which he gave his life. He
paid a very high price for this unity and our mission is to take care that
the people not only remain united, but become witnesses of the Gospel "That
they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also
may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me" (John 17:21).
This is the horizon from which we are continually invited to discern all our
actions.
"I recognize in your request the heart of the shepherd who, by widening his
vision to recognize a greater good that can benefit the whole body (cf.
Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 235), prioritizes actions that
support, stimulate and make the unity and mission of the Church grow above
every kind of sterile division sown by the father of lies who, trying to
hurt the shepherd, wants nothing more than that the sheep be dispersed (cf.
Matthew 26:31).
"You have sufficient elements to "justify" your actions and distinguish
between what it means to cover up crimes or not to deal with problems, and
to commit some mistakes. However, your nobility has led you not to choose
this way of defense. Of this, I am proud and thank you.
"In this way, you make clear the intent to put God's Project first, before
any kind of personal project, including what could be considered as good for
the Church. Your renunciation is a sign of your availability and docility to
the Spirit who continues to act in his Church.
"In accepting your resignation, I ask you to remain as Apostolic
Administrator of the Archdiocese until the appointment of your successor.
"Dear brother, I make my own the words of Sirach: "You who fear the Lord,
trust in him, and your reward will not be lost" (2:8). May the Virgin Mary
protect you with her mantle and may the strength of the Holy Spirit give you
the grace to know how to continue to serve him in this new time that the
Lord gives you."A few months earlier, in July, Pope Francis also accepted
the resignation of Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, the former archbishop of
Washington, from the College of Cardinals, after he had been removed from
public ministry in June over "credible allegations" of his sexual abuse of a
minor nearly five decades ago, when he was a priest in New York.
In August, former Papal Nuncio (ambassador) to the United States, Carlo
Maria Viganò, called upon Pope Francis to resign the Papacy. Viganò
justified this demand by claiming that the Pontiff had covered up
allegations of sexual-abuse crimes by McCarrick. Viganò also named several
high-ranking, pro-Pope Francis officials -- including Wuerl -- whom he
accused of abetting a homosexual sub-culture inside the Vatican.
In a September 13 piece in National Review, Michael Brendan Dougherty posed
two questions about why McCarrick's influence had endured, despite frequent
and long-standing allegations of his predatory sexual behavior. The first
was: Did Francis spare McCarrick because he sought McCarrick's counsel on
how the Vatican should reform the American Episcopate (bishops)? The second
was: Does Francis overlook the sins of those prelates he views as allies,
such as McCarrick, in order to advance his papal agenda?
If the response to either of those questions is yes, then the Vatican's
factional infighting between liberals and conservatives may have reached a
critical level. This moment may demand a massive restructuring of church
structure to sustain Catholicism's vitality as the moral compass for half of
the world's Christians. (Non-Catholic Christians such as Orthodox and
Protestant sects comprise the other half of the world's 2.2 billion
Christians.)
Viganò's 11-page "indictment" was published at a vulnerable moment for the
Catholic Church, already reeling from ever-widening evidence of sexual abuse
of innocents by predator priests. Viganò had launched his attack during the
Pope's visit to Ireland, a country where respect for the Catholic Church had
already declined, following revelations of sexual crimes by priests and
decades of harsh treatment of young women who have given birth to children
outside of marriage.
Given public knowledge of the bitter factional disputes within the Vatican,
Viganò's detailed accounts of political maneuvering within the College of
Cardinals and the Roman Curia (the Catholic Church's administrative
bureaucracy) are indeed plausible. He is allied with high-ranking Vatican
conservatives who are opposed to the apparent liberal agenda of Francis,
such as permitting divorced and remarried Catholics, in some cases, to
receive the Eucharist (Communion). He is also allied with whoever is against
the Vatican's recent pastoral rhetoric on same-sex attraction; and with
those who are skeptical of what they perceive as the Pope's antipathy to
capitalism. Other high-ranking church officials have denounced the West for
failing to support Christians being persecuted in Muslim lands.
These denunciations can be interpreted as criticism of Pope Francis's
perceived unwillingness directly to confront the issue of clerical sexual
crimes. Additionally, some Catholics have criticized the pope's tendency to
grant unscripted in-flight media interviews, and then seeming to blame them
for confusion among Catholic laypeople as to where he stands on key
theological and social questions.
Viganò himself has been a casualty of inside-the-Vatican bureaucratic wars
during his tenure as Secretary-General of the Vatican Governorate
(2009-2011), the equivalent of serving as Mayor of Vatican City. While in
this position, he was accused by some of his Vatican City adversaries of,
among other things, nepotism and exhibiting "a harsh and intransigent
managing style." However, these accusations may have been generated by
Viganò's uncompromising opposition to financial improprieties he had
previously uncovered in the Vatican Bank.
Those criticisms prompted Viganò's removal at the time by Pope Benedict XVI
from his position as the Vatican Bank's Secretary-General. Subsequently,
Benedict dispatched him to the United States to serve as nuncio (ambassador
from the Vatican). Viganò may also be disappointed by the failure of Popes
Benedict and Francis to appoint him as president of Vatican City, a post
that automatically includes a promotion to Cardinal.
Viganò's allegations against Pope Francis were buoyed by some recently
surfaced corroborating evidence, including a letter from 2006 indicating
that the Vatican had been aware of McCarrick's alleged predatory behavior
for some time. This letter, addressing McCarrick's alleged pattern of sexual
abuses, was written by Father Boniface Ramsey. Ramsey then was a faculty
member at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in New
Jersey. The university was in the Diocese of Newark, where McCarrick was
archbishop at the time. The letter appears to confirm Viganò's charge that
McCarrick's sexual criminal activity had been known by the Vatican for
several years.
On September 27, Viganò released an additional letter, appealing directly to
Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops, to
reveal documents that would further corroborate Viganò's allegations.
Cardinal Ouellet, however, refused to substantiate them. Instead, he
defended the Church as having been grievously wounded by Viganò's unproven
assertions.
Some prominent Catholics imply that the Vatican gave a pass to McCarrick
because of the Cardinal's prodigious fund-raising capabilities for the
Catholic Church's Papal Foundation in America. That theory, which connects
McCarrick's fund-raising prowess to the Vatican's toleration of the
Cardinal's aberrant behavior, was furthered by an announcement on September
13 that West Virginia's only bishop, Michael Bransfield, had resigned over
allegations of sexual harassment. Bransfield was the President of the Papal
Foundation for several years in conjunction with his tenure as Rector of the
Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. He had worked
closely with Cardinal McCarrick, raising millions for the favorite charities
of Popes Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
As for former Ambassador Viganò, he reserved some of his most pointed
criticism for those in the Vatican who allegedly promoted the careers of
members of homosexual networks in the Holy See. It seems likely that Viganò
supports Catholic teaching that "homosexuality is a psychological and moral
disorder... that is always sinful, depraved, and ruinous of character." In
addition, Viganò asserted that one Vatican prelate possessed a "pro-gay
ideology" and another favored the promotion of homosexual clerics to
positions of authority.
In his original letter, Viganò also sardonically ridiculed the Pope's public
condemnation of clerical careerism, as if that were the source of the
Church's problem, when the real issue was predatory sexual behavior. Viganò
may be calling out the inadequate response of the Pope because he is
genuinely horrified. The Pope's silence on Viganò's specific charges,
however, as well as his thinly veiled comparison of Viganò to the devil, may
lend further credibility to Viganò's accusations and character.
Moreover, Pope Francis, a week before he accepted Wuerl's resignation,
ordered a search of the Vatican Archives to determine how McCarrick managed
to climb the ladder of Catholic hierarchy despite allegations that he had
abused both seminarians and younger priests.
The President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Daniel
DiNardo, urged Francis to establish a more exhaustive investigation --
called an "Apostolic Visitation" -- of McCarrick's crimes. This would be
similar to the investigation that the Vatican approved recently in Chile,
which helped lead to the resignation of almost all of its bishops.
More significant than the personalities involved in these allegations of
misconduct, however, is the greater question of what the American Catholic
Church can do to redeem its moral authority among its approximately 70
million lay faithful. What must the Church do to restore the trust of the
billions of Christians and non-Christians around the world? How can the
Vatican recalibrate its primary mission that every human's ultimate and
proper destination is union with the divine presence of God?
One thing Pope Francis should not do is resign -- at least not immediately.
Such a dramatic move might throw the Church into chaos and lead to a feeding
frenzy by secular enemies of Catholicism and cynical media outlets. If,
however, reports are verified that Francis, while Archbishop of Buenos
Aires, defamed accusers of predator priests, refused to meet with them, and
denied that any abuse occurred under his watch, then he may not possess the
moral authority to cleanse the Church of predatory priests, and those who
protected them, without resigning himself. These reports about the Pope's
tenure in Argentina were echoed in a cover story on Francis's papacy raised
in Der Spiegel, charging that there are currently 62 cases on trial in
Argentina concerning allegations of clerical sex crimes.
While Francis is still Pope, he should first demand that any cleric or lay
person guilty of sexual abuse or its cover-up resign immediately. The
Vatican should then invite lay investigative authorities to review all
allegations of criminal behavior, including any possible related blackmail
activity. Only when innocent clergy, seminarians, and lay Catholics believe
that a total eradication of inappropriate sexual activity within the
Church's hierarchical structure has occurred, will harmony be restored to
the Church.
Such a purge is not likely to result in an open-season hunting period on
homosexuals inside the church. The church teaching on homosexual behavior as
immoral is likely to remain constant, but continued compassion towards those
with a same-sex attraction is also likely. The Vatican, it seems, still
needs to make a policy decision on whether to allow homosexual-oriented
clergy. Paedophilia, on the other hand, needs to be treated with zero
tolerance.
The Catholic Church, one of humanity's oldest institutions in civilization,
will endure. Moreover, its followers embrace as article of faith the words
of Jesus that "the gates of hell will not prevail against it (the church)."
All the same, to remain relevant in this contemporary moment, the Church
would do well to draw open the curtains to let fresh air and new ideas into
its hallowed halls.
The Vatican could convene a new Vatican Council where resolutions could be
adopted to permit priests to marry and have children. In a world where women
are increasingly recognized as equals before the law, such a council could
also decree that female priests are permissible. These changes would be
superficial and would not alter the eternal truths and dogma of the Catholic
faith.
The Church needs to be revolutionary in action in a revolutionary era. Its
high clerics must lead, not manage. It must not seek to be popular or even
welcomed in the halls of state power. The Catholic Church needs to recast
itself as the conscience of the world, although this could invite censure,
even persecution, and risk alienation from secular authorities and some
leaders of other religions over issues such as abortion, immigration,
capital punishment, religious freedom, the equality of women, and freedom of
conscience. The Church's hierarchy must not shy away from confrontation with
some of society's materialistic, one-dimensional view of man.
If the papacy can regain its moral authority, it might also be able to rally
Christians to the cause of defending Western civilization from religious
totalitarian extremism, responsible for the martyrdom of hundreds of
thousands of the faithful in recent decades -- around 90,000 in 2016 alone.
The failure of the Vatican to posit a comprehensive rebuttal of Viganò's
allegations has seriously wounded this Papacy. The Pope's indecision is
sapping his once-wide international acclaim. His lack of exigency is
characterized by his decision to wait until January before formally
addressing the issue of sexual criminality among the clergy in front of
Church's bishops. There is also confusion and anger within the body of the
Catholic faithful. If support for Francis continues to ebb, it will, and
should, lead to his resignation as Pontiff.
**Dr. Lawrence A. Franklin was the Iran Desk Officer for Secretary of
Defense Rumsfeld. He also served on active duty with the U.S. Army and as a
Colonel in the Air Force Reserve. He is also a practicing Catholic.
© 2018 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone
Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be
reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of
Gatestone Institute.
What Next After Netanyahu’s Visit to Muscat?
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/October, 28/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/68457/%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B0%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7/
The nonchalant reactions of the Arab public
and media to the Omani announcement that they received Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Muscat illustrates how much the region has
changed. Israeli activity has exceeded political meetings and delved into
other areas such as economics and sports, and is repeating this in a number
of Arab countries, so is it the end of this forbidden relationship?
I think so. The non-pragmatic way of dealing with the conflict has
harmed the Palestinians and hasn’t deterred the Israelis.
The Arab culture of rejecting relations and normalization with Israel
is deeply rooted and still alive, but what’s new is that it is no longer the
engine moving the policies of Arab governments, which they used to throw
around like a ball against each other. The
Sultanate of Oman has done well by handling things with clarity and
openness, and because Oman is not part of regional conflicts, none of these
governments pointed their media artillery against them, despite the
frankness of the visit that included a number of ministers who went with
Netanyahu.What happened behind the scenes of the visit is still unknown, and
what was said about the Omani mediation between the Palestinians and the
Israelis is unlikely, given that Egypt is taking up this task. So does it
have to do with the Iranian-Israeli file? Maybe, given that Oman is trusted
by both sides as an honest broker.
Iran is living its worst time on both fronts. It was hit in Syria, US
sanctions have returned and it will be crowned by more sanctions on oil and
dollar transactions in only a week’s time. The very important development is
Israel’s growing role in the region as a result of the Syrian civil war and
the entry of Iran and its militias into areas considered by Israel as its
security belt.Israel has played an important role in hitting Iran’s growing
influence in Syria. It took up roles that rejecting Arab countries couldn’t
achieve. With this, military balance in the region was achieved, and Israel
became integral to regional security after it was once considered a
poisonous apple that everyone avoided dealing with.
The Syrian war changed the equation when Israel became an involved
party. In addition to Turkey and Russia, Iran’s strong involvement in the
war is what prompted Israel to enter and become a major player, especially
when both the US and Turkey failed in the face of the Iranian regime’s
expansion and hegemony in Syria, after it was clear that it is building an
empire with chaotic militias.
Even those who reject Israel in the context of the Palestinian cause found
themselves compelled to welcome the intervention of Israeli air forces which
dramatically changed the situation in Syria and curbed Iranian threats in
the region. Israel imposed itself on the heart of
the region’s military camps, and without its intervention, stopping Iran’s
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ expansion that succeeded on the back of
Russian military and political presence would not have been possible.
Is Iran increasing its understanding with Israel and reassuring it
through intermediaries, or is it Israel that wants to deliver its messages
to Tehran, given that Israel influences US decision-making and policies that
are steadfast on boycotting the Iranian regime and choking it
economically?These are important changes in the region, and they will not
stop with the activities of the Israeli leaders in Muscat. It is actually
the start of a political division built on conflicts in Syria, Yemen and
elsewhere.
Netanyahu in Oman
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al-Awsat/October, 28/18
Twenty-four years after Israel’s first visit to Oman, by late Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the Sultanate surprised the observers on Monday by
receiving another Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a move that
brought back the debate over the Omani-Israeli relations, the normalization
of relations between the two sides, and the extent of its benefit for the
Palestinian cause. Is it possible for these visits to advance the peace
process and contribute to the establishment of an independent Palestinian
state, or is it nothing more than a gratuitous reward to the Israeli side?
The relationship between Muscat and Tel Aviv is a controversial issue. There
is Oman’s pragmatic position towards a state that it considers as existing,
whether we accept it or not, and another opinion that sees in the
Sultanate’s stance a distancing from the consensus over the need to adhere
to the Arab initiative and not give Israel the opportunity to infiltrate
Arab countries, by normalizing relations with it without nothing in return.
While a proposal was made to the Israeli side, represented by the Arab
Initiative, which Israel is refusing to accept, and which Arab countries
regard as the minimum acceptable condition to carry out the normalization
process, there are those, including the Sultanate of Oman, who believe that
practical steps are necessary to end the stalemate in this file. In fact,
they believe in this necessity, even if it meant jumping towards a direct
contact with Israel, in contradiction to what has been agreed upon in the
Arab Initiative. This is a point of view, although we disagree with it. In
reality, this is not the first time an Arab country diverts from agreements
it has signed in the Arab League corridors.
In the case of the Omani reception of the Israeli prime minister, although
many reservations were made, leaked information revealed that the moves of
the Sultanate came in coordination with the Palestinian Authority.
In addition, Muscat declares clearly and publicly that its ultimate goal is
to move towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. For
the sake of this goal, the Sultanate takes the risk of holding individual
communication with Israel’s highest officials.
What is the difference between normalization between Oman and Israel and
that between the latter and Qatar? The difference is vast, but can be summed
up in three essential points: The first is that Muscat does not practice
duplicity or incitement while extending its hands to Israel and maintaining
uninterrupted visits between the two countries, as does Doha.
The second point is that the Sultanate has adopted a unique approach to
dealing with the Palestinian issue, governed by the principles of political
benefits and interests. It, therefore, considers that its political route is
governed by its strategy, not by blatant and reproachful contradictions and
by portraying itself as a supporter of the resistance axis to cover its
strong relations with Israel.
As for the third point, the Sultanate does not try to overstep other Arab
countries, does not incite their peoples, nor does it intervene in their
affairs. It has never thrown accusations against others. Of course, it is
too early to judge the sudden Omani move - the reception of the highest
Israeli official - and the extent to which it will succeed in achieving a
breakthrough of the peace process stalemate, although I believe that any
such moves should be carried out within the framework of the Arab peace
initiative. What counts for the Omanis is that they make their steps, bear
the consequences, declare them publicly, do not flatter nor betray, and most
importantly, have the courage to declare what they see right, even if it had
not essentially the conditions to be so.
Qatar comes back empty-handed
Mohammed Al Shaikh/Al Arabiya English/October 28/18
I said it and I will always say it that the Saudi Kingdom is not a banana
republic like Qatar that lives without history, legitimacy and a rooted
culture, and this is what is the Muslim Brotherhood and the statelet of
Qatar do not realize.
The Muslim Brotherhood used the Jamal Khashoggi incident and tried to take
advantage of it to achieve their old dreams which are represented in
disturbing the security and stability of Saudi Arabia, by distorting the
image of its leaders and demonizing them, and especially the image of our
great dream Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This is what they have been trying
to do after they had realized that their survival at the time of this great
pioneer is impossible.
Thus, once the circumstances of Khashoggi’s case appeared to them and Hamad
bin Khalifa, they started to exaggerate and ignite everything through their
satellite channel Al-Jazeera, through the international organization of the
Muslim Brotherhood and some of the Western media platforms, whether the ones
that Qatar bought or by bribing the workers in the platforms which they
could not buy.
This harmonizes with what Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany Joseph
Goebbels said: “Lie and lie, until people believe you”. However, liars are
eventually exposed. They have been threatening us, ever since the crisis of
Khashoggi’s disappearance emerged, that the Turks have irrefutable evidence,
recordings and photos that are tantamount to a knockout for Saudi Arabia.
After almost three weeks of fuss and rumors, Turkish President Erdogan
asserted what Saudi Arabia said about the case. He added some questions and
suggested that the accused ones be tried in Turkey; he gave no statement or
a hint opposite to what Saudi Arabia’ government had said in a detailed
statement that was attributed to an official source and that was published
on Reuters. Those who work with Qatar had raised the ceiling of accusations
and dealt with the case like an ambiguous and foggy movie.
I would say to the Muslim Brotherhood and, Hamad bin Khalifa who still
controls Qatar: At the beginning you tried to recruit and polarize the Saudi
Sahawis and Sururists, paid them millions and bought media platforms for
millions. You limited your goal and your utmost desire to disturbing the
stability and security of Saudi Arabia ever since Hamad’s coup against his
father. All your mad attempts and reckless adventures failed. You conspired
with Gaddafi, whom you eventually turned against. This is in addition to
your irrational financing of the Arab Spring, or to be more precise, the
bloody spring, and you also used terrorists, adopted them and issued them
Qatari passports to facilitate their harmful movements. You clung to
Khashoggi’s case not because you love the man, but to use it as a pretext to
harm us. As for the results, you failed every time and you returned from you
aggressive attempts empty-handed.
If there was a rational person in the Qatari leadership, who deals with the
incidents objectively and wisely, you would not have faced all these
disasters which at the end, the Qataris are the ones who are paying for.
Saudi Arabia’s leadership, specifically in this era, enjoys legitimacy and
acceptance that are rarely found in Arab countries, except for the UAE. Your
attempts, or more accurately the attempts of Azmi Bishara, your great
preacher who thinks on your behalf, will have no impact on us and will only
harm you.
‘Rocky road’ to Iraq’s full govt formation as key posts
remain unfilled
Michael Flanagan/Al Arabiya English/October 28/18
In keeping with constitutional requirements, Adel Abdul Mehdi was invited to
form a government about a month ago by the President of the Republic. He was
the consensus choice of the major players/parties and pledged independence
and end to corruption.
One of Abdul Mehdi’s chief requirements was that “technocrats” replace the
usual party cronyism is making cabinet ministers. As I explained in earlier
posts here, ordinarily the parties “spend” their votes that they have in
Parliament to “buy” Ministers in the government. Thusly, the various parties
controlled the Ministries which, in turn, reflexively helped the party first
and the people afterward.
Abdul Mehdi pledged to abolish this process and replace it with the
selection of “technocrats” who would be primarily interested in the nation.
This pledge proved to be impossible to entirely keep. Instead of the
“technocrat” approach replacing the previous system, Abdul Mehdi selected
from three candidates offered by the political parties for each post as
opposed to the parties self-selecting an automatic Minister “bought” with
their parliamentary votes. After reviewing these slates, Abdul Mehdi made
the final pick from those lists. It is marginally better than the old system
but still allows for too much cronyism. As those of us from Chicago know
best, corruption dies hard. Further, Abdul Mehdi
was unable to get all of the Ministers required selected at once. Power
struggles and party politics kept the new Prime Minister from filing the
last eight positions. In these eight are the most influential and important
Ministers including Defense Minister and the Interior Minister (the DoD and
Homeland Security equivalents in the United States).
The new Prime Minister viewed the partial selection as more important
than waiting for a complete slate to be acceptable. This is because his own
position and his Cabinet must be approved by the deadline of the Second of
November. It is better to have half a loaf now and meet the deadline and
assemble the rest later than to risk the entire slate of twenty-two
Ministers to be confirmed all at the same time.
Key posts remain vacant
As for these last eight Ministers, the road will be rocky to reach a
decision.The Sunni believe that they are entitled to have the Defense
Minister and will likely reject any choice that is not a Sunni.
The Iranian bloc wants to be responsible for appointing the Interior
Minister (MoI). Iran wants the new Prime Minister to choose the MoI Minister
from Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The PMF has been the Iraqi
militia fighting ISIS. It has been thoroughly infiltrated by Iran and, in
its role of protecting the borders; the PMF facilitates Iranian illicit
activities and movement across the entire Northern Middle East. This was a
huge sticking point with many Parliamentarians and led to a deferred
decision. Also the new PM pledged to completely
change the cabinet, holding over no current Ministers. This pledge he was
able to keep. Sadly but necessarily, the good went with the bad. Mohammed
Shi’ia al Sudani, the former Minister of Work and acting Minister of
Industry was swept out with the old. Mohammed al Sudani is known to me from
my time in the Maysan Province where he was the Provincial Governor. He is
honest and a good man. He is just the kind of man that belongs in government
and I hope that there will be a future for him serving the Iraqi people.
Frictional points
Other frictional points in this process provide for future problems for the
new Prime Minister.
First, there was no selection from the Basra Province to the cabinet. Basra
is the second city of Iraq and has ordinarily been given the Ministers of
Oil and Transportation. Iraq’s only port is in Basra and the people there
feel that they are entitled to these Ministries because of the closeness of
Basra to these issues. Also, Basra has been without a regular supply of
water for some time now and there have been riots and general unrest. Abdul
Mehdi must tread carefully here. Second, the
conscience of Iraq had spoken about government formation recently. Imam al
Sistani recently gave a sermon “suggesting” that any new government should
have several hallmarks. Among these are principally that there should be no
holdovers, that the selections should be non-sectarian and that the
political parties should not be the arbiters of the selection process. Abdul
Mehdi was only able to meet these “suggestions” in part. Al Sistani, of
course, has no formal role in the process but is ignored at the peril of the
government. Their selection had better work out for all concerned or the
government will almost certainly fall.
All in all, the process was a step forward to building an anti-corruption
government. In hopes for the future, United States congratulated the
progress of the new Prime Minister and Secretary of State Pompeo telephoned
Mr. Abdul Mehdi to congratulate him and wish him well. The Western Nations
have similarly signaled their approval as well.
Will stinging US sanctions strengthen Iranians’ pursuit of freedom?
Reza Shafiee/Al Arabiya English/October 28/18
The new round of US sanction on Iran hit where it really hurts i.e. Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its arm the Basij Force. The US
Treasury Department slapped Iran with fresh sanction on October 16.
It sanctioned the force and 22 other banks, companies and financial
institutions directly funneling billions of dollars into IRGC’s foreign
adventures. The Basij for decades has been recruiting, training and
dispatching hundreds of thousands of child soldiers into wars. Basij now has
earned its well-deserved place, as “specially designated global terrorists”
on US’s blacklist. The list sanctions a number of Iranian companies and also
freezes Basij assets and blocks US citizens from doing business with the
Basij and its conglomerate of banks, investment companies and engineering
firms, among other interests.
The new sanctions-for the first time- have targeted Iran’s Tractor
manufacturing, the largest in the Middle East and Africa. Ironically, the
revenues are used to fuel foreign wars and the leftovers are used to oil the
regime's repressive security forces at home.
“In addition to its involvement in violent crackdowns and serious human
rights abuses in Iran, the Basij recruits and trains fighters for the
IRGC-QF, including Iranian children, who then deploy to Syria to support the
brutal Assad regime,” the Treasury Department said in a press release. The
Treasury Department added that the Basij also recruits among Afghan migrants
to Iran.
By targeting the Basij militia- IRGC's most powerful arm at home – using
child soldiers since 1979, the US economically will have the regime on
chokehold. Basij is the machine with which the Supreme Leader Ali Khomeini
and his financial conglomerate heavily rely on for doing their dirty work.
The Treasury Department’s detailed statement sheds light on highly unethical
conduct of recruiting, training and sending child solders to the war. The
statement also revels shocking truth of how the IRGC uses children as young
as 12-years-old merely as canon fodders in its many wars across the region.
“The Basij recruits and trains fighters for the IRGC-QF, including Iranian
children, who then deploy to Syria to support the brutal Assad regime. Since
at least early 2015, the Basij has recruited and provided combat training to
fighters before placing them on a waiting list for deployment to Syria,” the
statement added.
A coordinated effort
US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley blasted the Iranian regime for its use
of children in the war front. She said in the Security Council: “The use of
child soldiers is a moral outrage that every civilized nation rejects while
Iran celebrates it.”
Haley added that the regime is using Basij to recruit children to fight in
Syria, including Afghan immigrants as young as 14-years-old. She said the
group’s funding comes from “multibillion dollar business interests operating
in Iran’s automotive, mining, metals and banking industries.”
She hits the nail on the head by adding: “Iran’s economy is increasingly
devoted to funding Iranian repression at home and aggression abroad. In this
case, Iranian big business and finance are funding the war crime of using
child soldiers. This is crony terrorism.”
The US Treasury also added a screenshot of a November 25, 2017 video
broadcast by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) news agency
showing a 13-year old Basij member in the Syrian border city of Abu Kamal.
He said he was a “defender of the shrine,” the euphemism the Iranian
government uses for fighters it sends to Syria and Iraq. He names two of his
fellow soldiers who were killed in Syria. In the video, the boy speaks about
his motivation to join forces in Syria.
Afghan child soldiers in Syria
The same system of sacrificing children continues to this day. According to
Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released on October 1 last year, the IRGC
and its armed Basij units continue to put children of Afghan refugees in
Iran in harm’s way, as was witnessed in the currently waging Syrian
conflict.
In a repeat of the Iran-Iraq War, the regime reportedly recruited and
dispatched schoolchildren to sweep minefields in Syria. The HRW report
states: “Afghan children as young as 14 have fought in the Fatemiyoun
division, an exclusively Afghan armed group supported by Iran that fights
alongside government forces in the Syrian conflict. Under international law,
recruiting children under the age of 15 to participate actively in
hostilities is a war crime.”
During the Iraq-Iraq war, Khomeini’s regime used hundreds of thousands of
schoolchildren as cannon fodder. It has been reported that most young
recruits received between one to three months of military training before
they were being sent to the war front.
There were reports of nine-year-old children being used in human wave
attacks, while others were asked to run over minefields to clear the path.
In fact, many child soldiers captured by Iraqis during the Iraq-Iran war
were in their early teens.
Iranian child soldiers were sent into the battlefield with plastic keys
around their necks. These keys symbolized their so-called permission to
enter paradise. Sent ahead of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
troops and armored vehicles, these children were used as ‘mine-clearers’.
Most of them were blown up as they charged across the minefields, thereby
clearing the way for the IRGC.
Clearing minefields
According to some estimates about the Iran-Iraq War, which killed around a
million people between 1980 and 1988, the paramilitary Basij Force recruited
thousands of children to clear minefields. Although there are no reliable
records about the actual number of children casualties in the war, a
statement made in 1982 by former president of the regime Ali Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani stated that 400,000 volunteers had supplemented Iran’s armed
forces. According to a report by the International Committee of the Red
Cross at least 10 percent of Iranian prisoners of war were underage
children. According to many Iranian military officers captured by Iraqis
during the war, nine out of 10 Iranian child soldiers were killed in the
battlefields. Basij Force’s illegal and cynical tactics for mobilizing and
indoctrinating Iran’s innocent children to participate in wars abroad, and
internal suppression, has been ignored for years by the international
community. The steps taken by US Treasury Department are certainly welcomed
by the Iranian people as they give strength to their pursuit of freedom.
*Reza Shafiee is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National
Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). He tweets @shafiee_shafiee.
The European Union's "special purpose vehicle" (SPV) is not likely to save
business ventures with Iran’s regime
د. ماجد ربيزاده: من غير المرجح أن تحمي قوانين الحماية التجارية في الإتحاد
الأوروبي المشاريع التجارية مع النظام الإيراني
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/October 28, 2018
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/68460/dr-majid-rafizadeh-the-european-unions-special-purpose-vehicle-spv-is-not-likely-to-save-business-ventures-with-irans-regime-%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AF-%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A/
It has been almost six months since US
President Donald Trump pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA), commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal. In August, primary
sanctions were re-imposed on the Islamic Republic. Secondary sanctions will
be re-imposed on Tehran as well in early November.
Since the US withdrew from the nuclear agreement, the European Union has
been attempting to chart ways through which it can satisfy several demands
set by the Iranian regime.
Tehran made it clear to the EU that Iran’s Supreme Leader’s five demands
must be fulfilled. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s demands included ensuring that
the signatories maintain Iran’s major sanctions reliefs, that there would be
no interference by the world powers and the UN in Iran’s domestic and
regional policies or its ballistic missile program, and that the EU would
“guarantee the total sales of Iran’s oil.”
The EU’s primary efforts to satisfy the Iranian leaders through political
support or some minor policy changes were unsuccessful. Iran’s oil revenues
and exports have been steadily falling since the US withdrew from the JCPOA.
In the first week of October, Iran’s oil export dropped to approximately 1.1
million barrels per day (bpd). In April 2018, before the US pulled out of
the nuclear agreement, Iran’s oil export was more than 2.5 million bpd, a
decline of more than 50 percent.
As a result, the EU has come up with a new plan to facilitate payments to
Tehran. The new mechanism, which is called the "special purpose vehicle" (SPV),
will be officially in place by Nov. 4, a few days before the US imposes the
secondarysanctions on Iran’s oil industry.
The SPV is designed to assist Iran’s regime to circumvent sanctions. Instead
of paying the Islamic Republic through dominant currencies such as the
dollar or euro, payments will be made to the Islamic Republic for its
exports through other goods and services that have the same monetary value.
This mechanism, which was introduced by the EU’s foreign policy chief
Federica Mogherini at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in
September, is neither new nor innovative.
Tehran is not unfamiliar with such a barter system, which has been used for
many decades by countries that are under sanctions by the international
community or the United Nations Security Council.
Although the EU claims that the main objective is to maintain the nuclear
deal, the EU is prioritizing trade and business deals with the Islamic
Republic.
The EU’s primary efforts to satisfy the Iranian leaders through political
support or some minor policy changes were unsuccessful. Iran’s oil revenues
and exports have been steadily falling since the US withdrew from the JCPOA.
However, the EU’s SPV is doomed to fail for several reasons. To begin with,
even if the European governments agree to participate in such a plan,
corporations, firms, and private financial institutions will be reluctant to
do so because of the repercussions. Doing business with Tehran will have
critical legal and financial impacts on European companies which would most
likely drag them into a legal battle with American financial institutions.
It is also unrealistic to argue that European corporations are willing to
run the risk of losing the $18 trillion US market for the sake of Iran’s
$400 billion market. If firms are caught violating US financial sanctions
even with the EU’s SPV, not only they will endanger their business with the
US, the world’s largest economy, but they will most likely lose their
ability to obtain credit, funds or borrow money from the US monetary
institutions.
Furthermore, those European financial institutions or banks which help Iran
sidestep US sanctions may be barred from using the US dollar. This would be
a “death penalty for any international bank,” as former Treasury Under
Secretary David Cohen once put it.
That is why large EU corporations — such as the French oil company Total,
leading German firms from the transport and telecom sectors including Rail
operator Deutsche Bahn and Deutsche Telekom, and carmakers PSA, Renault and
Daimler- immediately — ended their projects in Iran. Besides, no large
company has declared that it will be willing to re-enter Iran’s market
because of the EU’s new plan. In fact, more companies are planning to leave
Iran’s market.
Secondly, Iran is more desperate for cash than for goods and services. In
these critical times, the Islamic Republic needs the money because it is
hemorrhaging billions of dollars in Syria and Iraq — recruiting foreign
fighters to operate in Syria in support of Bashar Assad, smuggling powerful
weapons to the Houthis in Yemen, and ratcheting up its financial and
military support to Hezbollah and Shiite militias across the region.
More likely, the SPV is not going to be the last plan that the EU introduces
to help the Iranian regime sidestep the US sanctions.
In conclusion, the EU’s new plan, the SPV, will most likely fail. Instead of
assisting the top state sponsor of terrorism circumvent economic sanctions,
the EU must seize the opportunity and pressure the Iranian regime into
changing its destructive behavior and becoming a constructive player in the
region.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political
scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a
businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh
Turkish Israeli relations back to square one again
Yasar Yakis/Arab News/October 28/18
Turkish-Israeli relations sometimes look like the myth of Sisyphus. According to
the Greek mythology, Zeus condemned Ephyra’s king Sisyphus, in the afterlife, to
rolling a big rock to the top of a mountain. Whenever he neared the top the rock
rolled down and he had to roll it back up again in a never-ending labor.
Turkish-Israeli relations face a similar fate. Whenever these two
countries managed to settle their disputes, a new reason popped up: Sisyphus’
rock rolled back down the hill and Ankara and Tel Aviv had to restart mending
their relations again.
These relations reached one of their peaks in the 1990s, paradoxically when
Necmettin Erbakan was Turkey’s prime minister. The military establishment chose
his term of office to push through several military cooperation agreements with
a view to forcing Erbakan to do the opposite of the anti-Israel rhetoric he used
before he came to power.
The high mood in Turkish-Israeli relations continued — and even improved —
during the early years of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). When,
as a newly established political party, we paid our first unofficial visit to
the US in 2002, the American Jewish organizations were queuing up to host
Erdogan in their respective think tanks. Two years later the American Jewish
Congress (AJC) bestowed the Profile of Courage award on Erdogan. He was the
first non-Jewish (and Muslim) leader to receive this award. However, ten years
later AJC President Jack Rosen sent a letter to Erdogan saying: “A decade after
we gave you our award, you have become arguably the most virulent anti-Israel
leader in the world, spewing dangerous rhetoric for political gain and inciting
the Turkish population to violence against the Jewish people.”
“And now, we want it back,” he concluded.
During this ten-year period relations had gradually deteriorated. Turkey
energetically protested in 2008 against Israel’s attack on Gaza where hundreds
of Palestinians were killed. In 2009, Erdogan angrily reacted to the
intervention of journalist David Ignatius in a session of the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland and, turning to the Israeli president Shimon Peres,
said: “You know very well how to kill.”
Paradoxically, the biggest increase in trade relations took place in 2010 and
2011 when the political relations were at their lowest level. During the 16
years of AKP rule, foreign trade increased 4.5 fold.
The relations reached its lowest level when, in May 2010, the Israeli Defence
Forces attacked a cargo ship carrying humanitarian aid products to Gaza in the
international waters and killed ten Turkish citizens. After this incident,
Turkey put three pre-conditions for normalizing the relations: an apology, an
indemnity to be paid to the families of the incident’s victims and the lifting
of the embargo imposed on Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was
persuaded by then-US president Barrack Obama to offer a verbal apology in 2013.
The Israeli government agreed to pay a certain amount to the families of the
victims. On the lifting of embargo, Netanyahu said this could be done if the
security situation warrants it.
However, President Erdogan maintained his harsh rhetoric against Israel. In a
conversation with the journalists after a Friday prayer in July 2014, he said:
“Our diplomatic relations are at present at the level of chargé d’affaires.
Israel conducts a policy of state terror. We cannot look at Israel in a positive
way. As long as I will be in my present position (prime minister), I will never
think positively about Israel.”
Despite this strong tone of animosity, efforts to improve relations continued
among diplomats. When a framework was agreed upon, President Erdogan made a more
conciliatory statement in January 2016 and said: “Israel needs a country like
Turkey in the region. We have to admit that we need Israel as well”. Soon after
this statement, in June 2016, diplomatic relations returned to the ambassadorial
level.
This truce lasted only two years. When the Trump administration transferred the
US Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018, Turkey withdrew its ambassador
in Tel Aviv and Israel withdrew its ambassador in Ankara. Erdogan, in his
capacity as the rotating chairman of the Islamic Cooperation Organization,
convened an emergency summit, which in May 2018 adopted a strongly worded
communique saying: “Israel committed savage crimes with the backing of Donald
Trump’s administration, emboldened by the US decision to recognize Jerusalem”.
Despite the fluctuating nature of the relations in the political sphere,
economic relations have developed satisfactorily and steadily. Paradoxically,
the biggest increase in trade relations took place in 2010 and 2011 when the
political relations were at their lowest level. During the 16 years of AKP rule,
foreign trade increased 4.5 fold.
Turkey’s relations with Israel have always been part and parcel of domestic
politics in Turkey. It needs to be de-emotionalized with the efforts of the
political leaders.
**Yasar Yakis is a former foreign minister of Turkey and founding member of the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Twitter: @yakis_yasar
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not
necessarily reflect Arab News' point-of-view
The hypocrisy of Turkey’s ‘outrage’ over the death of
Khashoggi
Tom Regan/The Arab Weekly/October 28/18
Ever since Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared October 2 into the Saudi
Consulate in Istanbul, US media have shown little restraint in condemning the
man’s death.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish officials have
been relentless in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia. Turkish officials claim
they have an audiotape of Khashoggi’s killing.
They released pictures of the 15 men they say were Saudi operatives sent from
Riyadh to kill Khashoggi. On October 23, Erdogan made a speech in which he
openly attacked the Saudis and claimed they had spent days plotting the killing.
US journalists are beginning to point out the hypocrisy of Turkey’s position on
Saudi Arabia and how Turkish officials — Erdogan in particular — have “played”
American media and political figures.
One of the first people to bring this to the public’s attention was Anthony
Cordesman, who holds the Arleigh A. Burke chair in Strategy at the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. Cordesman wrote an
article for the CSIS website titled “The Other Side of the Khashoggi Tragedy.”
In the article, Cordesman admitted it was hard to believe Saudi Arabia did not
bear responsibility for Khashoggi’s death but he also pointed out the hypocrisy
of Turkey’s “outrage” over the death of a US-based Saudi journalist.
Cordesman said the outrage comes from a government that was described in the US
State Department’s “2017 Country Reports on Human Rights,” released last April,
as “actively repressing far more people than Saudi Arabia.”
He noted that while this is not a region where “most governments hesitate to
eliminate legitimate opposition elements,” the US State Department made clear
Turkey does not lag “in the comparative body count” nor has it “shown any more
concern for its prisoners than Saudi Arabia seems to have shown for Khashoggi.”
The State Department’s human rights report noted that, by the end of 2017,
Turkey had “dismissed or suspended more than 100,000 civil servants from their
jobs, arrested or imprisoned more than 50,000 citizens and closed 1,500
nongovernmental organisations.” The report documented the extent of the Turkish
government’s prosecution of independent journalists, noting that journalistic
sources said there were as many as 153 Turkish journalists in prison at the end
of last year.
After Cordesman’s article appeared, several US outlets picked up on the theme of
Turkish hypocrisy but Cordesman said too little attention has been paid to “the
fact that in many ways this is a contest between two very authoritarian and
repressive regimes.”
“A lot of others have simply singled out Saudi Arabia, which has its flaws, but
they have not put anything into perspective and I think what has been
particularly weak has been the effort to really look at the strategic importance
of Saudi Arabia and the need to find some way both to deal with the Khashoggi
murder and preserve what is a strategic relationship because in this region you
don’t have ‘correct’ partners,” Cordesman said.
He added that part of the problem was that the Saudis played into Turkish hands
with their delayed response and confused stories. “I think that first it is a
horrible crime and it is remarkably stupid in terms of the target and you would
be hard put to find an operation that was more visibly and stupidly carried
out,” Cordesman said. “You created an almost ideal model of how not to carry out
a covert operation. One problem is that if you make yourself into the ideal
target, sooner or later somebody’s going to go for you.”
Cordesman said Erdogan has been quick to seize the opportunity and “played” the
Western media, which relies on a flood of instant news with little perspective.
He added that Western media and politicians largely ignored Turkey’s awful
record on human rights, its treatment of journalists and rendition of its
citizens to Turkey. Erdogan “played this very skilfully while the Saudi side was
very stupid in the way it conducted its public relations campaign as it
practically begged to get negative coverage,” he said.
Can Saudi Arabia recover from the negative coverage and, if so, how long will it
take?
“You never know for about six weeks,” Cordesman said. “A lot of these things go
away fairly quickly but the question is still going to be we haven’t seen any of
this come to the point where you know what the Saudi reaction is really going to
be.”
Cordesman pointed to another unknown: “All these things are still to be played
out. Then the question is whether the kingdom does anything proactive that would
convince people it has learned from this lesson.”