LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 29/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias/english.september29.17.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today
You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 12/33-37/:"‘Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgement you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.’"

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 28-29/17
Saudi Arabia: Women to Drive after Community Persuaded/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/September 28/17
More than Just Driving Cars/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/September 28/17
Switzerland: The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Jihad/Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/September 28/17
Florida Islamist's "Human Rights" Organization Needs to Be Investigated for Possible Terrorism Ties/Joe Kaufman/Gatestone Institute/September 28/17
The Iranian Khoramshahr ballistic missile test did take place – although the US said “It didn’t happen”/DebkaFile/September 28/17

Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on September 28-29/17
Geagea Visits Saudi Arabia as First Stop in Foreign Tour
Geagea and Gemayel Hold Talks with Saudi Crown Prince
US House Committee to Vote on Hezbollah Sanctions Bill
U.S. House Committee OKs New Hizbullah Sanctions
Explosion Rocks Akkar, Injures One
Cabinet Reaches Solution to Wage Hike Crisis, to Meet Again Friday
Reports: Tax Law Annulment Crisis Tops Cabinet Talks
Bassil Defends Muallem Talks, Reassures on Ties with Hariri, Hizbullah
Al-Asir Sentenced to Death, Shaker Gets 15 Years' Hard Labor
Loyalty to Resistance bloc applauds Bassil, Moallem meeting
EU Backs Lebanon Plan on Mitigating Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Risks

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 28-29/17
N. Korean Firms in China Ordered to Close by January
Kurds Reject Post-Vote Iraq Moves as 'Collective Punishment'
Baghdad Cranks up Pressure on Kurds with Flight Ban
Washington Plans to Call for Negotiations between Baghdad, Erbil
Iraq: Threat of ‘Kirkuk Powder Keg’ Grows
Putin in Turkey for Talks on Weapons Deal, Syria
IS Chief Calls on Jihadists to 'Resist', in Apparent Recording
Coalition Commander Says IS Breathing 'Last Gasps' in Raqa
De Mistura Calls for New Round of Syria Talks in About a Month
Regime Forces Attack ‘De-escalation Zones’ in East Damascus
Saudi Arabia Appoints its First Female Spokesperson at US Embassy

Latest Lebanese Related News published on September 28-29/17
Geagea Visits Saudi Arabia as First Stop in Foreign Tour
Asharq Al-Awsat/September 28/17/Jeddah, Beirut– Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz met on Thursday with the leader of Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea. Geagea landed in Jeddah on his first stop in a foreign tour that would also take him to a number of Arab and western states. A statement by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said that talks during the meeting focused on regional developments and issues of mutual concern. The LF leader left Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport on Wednesday, accompanied by Minister of Social Affairs Pierre Bou Assi. His visit coincided with the arrival of the head of Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel, to Jeddah, upon an official invitation, which was also sent to him by the Kingdom. Crown Prince Mohammed also held separate talks with Gemayel on Thursday. Geagea’s tour is aimed at following up on regional developments, according to the head of the LF media and communication department, Charles Jabbour, who pointed out that the party leader would seek answers on the ongoing talks between decision-making states, “especially with regards to Lebanon’s fate and the need to spare the country any sanctions due Hezbollah’s military and security role in the region.”Jabbour told Asharq Al-Awsat that Geagea’s choice of Saudi Arabia as a first stop in his foreign visit “stems from the pivotal role of the Kingdom, which leads Arab efforts in confronting regional schemes to strike the unity of the Arab nation.” “Saudi Arabia has long assumed a leading role in protecting Lebanon, starting with its sponsorship of the Taif Agreement and supporting the country’s economy. Over the past decades, it has formed a safety valve to protect Lebanon from the dangers of the Iranian axis,” the LF official stated.

Geagea and Gemayel Hold Talks with Saudi Crown Prince
Naharnet/September 28/17/Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and Kataeb party leader Sami Gemayel held separate talks on Thursday with Saudi Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. Social Affairs Minister Pierre Bou Assi attended Geagea's meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince, the National News Agency said. Geagea and Gemayel had traveled on Wednesday to Jeddah for political talks, reports have said. An LF statement said on Wednesday that Geagea and Bou Assi “traveled via the Rafik Hariri International Airport, beginning a foreign tour whose first stop will be the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”A Kataeb statement meanwhile said Gemayel had arrived in the Saudi city of Jeddah accompanied by his adviser Albert Kostanian. Gemayel arrived in Jeddah “at an official invitation addressed to him by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the statement said.

US House Committee to Vote on Hezbollah Sanctions Bill
Asharq Al Awsat/September 28/17/Washington– US House of Representative Foreign Affairs Committee will vote on Thursday on legislation that tightens sanctions against Hezbollah, which is highly supported by both the Republican and the Democratic parties, according to informed sources.Two bills were introduced by the committee’s chairman Ed Royce along with Democrat Representative Eliot Engel. The first bill restricts Hezbollah’s ability to fundraise and have access to the international financial system and deal with financial institutions, while the second bill condemns Hezbollah for using civilians as human shields during warfare. The bills enjoy wide bipartisan support and are expected to pass unanimously. The committee passed a bill in 2015 to sanction Hezbollah without any opposition, and it is unlikely for the new bills to be protested. Bill number HR 3329 suggests imposing mandatory sanctions with respect to fundraising and recruitment activities of Hezbollah. Article 101 of the bill imposes sanctions on any foreign person that can be determined knowingly assists, sponsors, or, provides significant financial, material, or technological support for Hezbollah’s: Bayt al-Mal, Jihad al-Bina, the Islamic Resistance Support Association, the Foreign Relations Department of Hezbollah, the External Security Organization of Hezbollah, al-Manar TV, al-Nour Radio, or the Lebanese Media Group, or any successor or affiliate. The bill also dictates that any foreign person determined by the US President to be engaged in fundraising or recruitment activities for Hezbollah or a foreign person owned or controlled by a foreign person should be sanctioned. Whereas HR 3342 imposes sanctions on foreign persons that are responsible for gross violations of the use of human civilians as human shields by Hezbollah. The bill dictates: “Identification of foreign persons that are responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights by reason of the use by Hezbollah of civilians as human shields, and for other purposes.”The bill also indicated that throughout the 2006 conflict between Hebzbollah and Israel, Hezbollah utilized human shields to protect themselves from Israeli counterattacks, including storing weapons inside civilian homes and firing rockets from inside populated civilian areas. Hezbollah has rearmed itself to include an arsenal of over 150,000 missiles provided by the Syrian and Iranian governments. Hezbollah conceals the weapons in Shi’ite villages in southern Lebanon, according to HR 3342. The bill requires the US administration to consider the use of human shields by Hezbollah as a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights and to officially and publicly condemn the use of innocent civilians as human shields by Hezbollah. It also asks the government to take effective action against those that engage in the breach of international law through the use of human shields. It also asks the President to direct the US Permanent Representative at the UN to secure support for a resolution that would impose multilateral sanctions against Hezbollah for its use of civilians as human shields.

U.S. House Committee OKs New Hizbullah Sanctions
Naharnet/September 28/17/The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, chaired by Republican Representative Ed Royce, on Thursday passed a bill to further sanction Hizbullah, according to a statement posted on its website.“Hizbullah and Iran are reportedly introducing game-changing facilities into the region – independent factories that can produce rockets to be used against Israel and our allies. We also have reports of missile factories opening up in Lebanon near mosques, homes, hospitals, and schools,” Royce noted. “It is clear that Hizbullah intends to increase their exploitation of Lebanese civilians as defenseless human shields. So today the Committee is taking action against Hizbullah and its sponsor Iran, by passing legislation that tightens the screws on Hizbullah’s financial operations globally,” Royce added. According to Lebanon's MTV, the bill authorizes U.S. President Donald Trump to freeze the assets of “high-ranking Lebanese political figures who deal with Hizbullah.”“The first legislation targets Hizbullah's ability to raise funds and deprives it of access to the international financial system and the financial institutions,” MTV said. “It also increases pressure on Lebanese and foreign banks that deal with Hizbullah and its leadership,” the TV network added. A second bill slaps sanctions on Hizbullah for “violating human rights in the July 2006 war through using civilians as human shields,” MTV said.

Explosion Rocks Akkar, Injures One
Naharnet/September 28/17/An explosion was heard overnight on Thursday in the border region of Akkar in Wadi Khaled wounding one person, the National News Agency reported on Thursday. The blast rocked the border town of al-Hisheh near a Syrian refugee camp in Wadi Khaled shortly after midnight, NNA said. The explosion left one man injured. Lebanese Army units deployed in the area to maintain stability. LBCI later reported that the explosion was the result of a shell coming from the “Syrian side.”

Cabinet Reaches Solution to Wage Hike Crisis, to Meet Again Friday
Naharnet/September 28/17/The Cabinet on Thursday reached a solution to the wage hike crisis after “very positive” deliberations and another session will be held Friday to put the final touches, the information minister said. “President Michel Aoun briefed the Cabinet on the outcome of his visits to New York and France, as Prime Minister Saad Hariri demonstrated the stages that followed the approval of the new wage scale all the way to the Constitutional Council's ruling,” Information Minister Melhem Riachi told reporters after the session. “It was decided to apply legal measures to address the issues of the wage scale and the taxes in a session that will be tomorrow at 10:00 am at the Grand Serail,” Riachi said. “The atmosphere is very positive and tomorrow's session is aimed at drafting the laws,” he added. In a tweet, Riachi later announced that the salaries of public sector employees will be paid this month according to the new wage scale and that Friday's session will “reach solutions that immunize rights and financial stability.”Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani meanwhile confirmed that this month's salaries will be paid according to the new wage scale but announced that the wage hike “could be suspended” in the coming months “should no revenues be secured to fund it.” The crisis had erupted after the Constitutional Council revoked a tax law aimed at funding the new wage scale following an appeal filed by ten MPs led by Sami Gemayel. The ruling prompted the Cabinet to hold several emergency sessions in a bid to find alternative funding sources, amid protests and an open-ended strike that was declared by private and public school teachers and public employees. The teachers and employees are trying to press the government not to delay the payment of the long-awaited wage hike, fearing that the contentious debate over the funding sources could protract indefinitely. On Thursday, the Syndical Coordination Committee, a coalition of private and public school teachers and civil servants, escalated its measures and staged sit-ins in parallel with the Cabinet meeting. The SCC was up in arms and warned of escalating measures shall the implementation of the wage scale be halted. “No wage scale means no work. The strike is open-ended and we will escalate measures,” they said. Hasbani told reporters before the session: “Our role is to provide and fund the wage scale. It is our duty to find the best and quickest way to do so, and we should approve the state budget.”On the issue of the suspension of Article 87 of the Constitution, Hasbani explained that it falls under the president's jurisdiction. For his part, Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos stressed: “The President has the right to request the suspension of Article 87 but the parliament has to approve this.”“Pushing for the implementation of the wage scale without securing the funds is harmful for the country,” he warned. Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil stressed the need to approve the country's state budget as a prelude to solve other problems, pointing out to some violations committed in the accounting records. “If there is an irregularity in the accounting records, it is not more important than the failure to approve the budget,” he said.

Reports: Tax Law Annulment Crisis Tops Cabinet Talks
Naharnet/September 28/17/The government will convene on Thursday at the Baabda Palace under the chairmanship of President Michel Aoun to discuss needed mechanisms after the Constitutional Council's decision to annul a tax law intended to fund the wage scale, in addition to a number of fiery issues that took their toll lately on the general situation in the country. Sources close to President Aoun told al-Akhbar daily: “The aim of today's meeting is to come up with a solution. Contacts are continuing between ministers of the Free Patriotic Movement and ministers of the Amal movement to reach a formula,” as for the repercussions of the annulled tax law that triggered uproar in the country.Things are reeling between two extremes: "Either the adoption of an independent (tax) law, a solution insisted by (Speaker Nabih) Berri, or be part of the budget, which is our proposal,” the sources added on condition of anonymity. The sources stressed that they will “take all proposals into consideration.” Meanwhile, al-Joumhouria daily quoted unnamed sources who said that “cabinet talks will focus on two proposals, one submitted by Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil related to the accounting records and amending articles 11 and 17 of the tax law --which was repealed by the Constitutional Council-- to be approved by an independent law in the Parliament. “The second suggestion as adopted by the President's team, is aimed at a constitutional amendment that temporarily suspends the constitutional provision relating to the accounting records until the budget is approved,” added the sources. According to the sources, the possibility of reconciling the two proposals is “difficult.”Last week the Constitutional Council revoked a controversial tax law aimed at funding a new wage scale for civil servants and the armed forces.The decision sent waves of uproar amid fears that it will obstruct the implementation of a long-awaited wage scale approved in July.

Bassil Defends Muallem Talks, Reassures on Ties with Hariri, Hizbullah
Naharnet/September 28/17/Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Thursday strongly defended his latest meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, which sparked controversy in Lebanon, as he reassured on the firmness of the FPM's ties with each of al-Mustaqbal Movement and Hizbullah. “I don't want anyone to attack the premiership, but I won't accept that my jurisdiction be encroached on,” Bassil said in an interview on LBCI television. “No one should believe that they can deal with us as 'dhimmis' by attacking us and not daring to attack others,” Bassil added, referring to the criticism of his New York meeting with Muallem. “We have a political and diplomatic relation with Syria and I don't need the Cabinet's permission to meet with Walid Muallem at the U.N.,” he stressed. He added: “I'm keen on Lebanon more than Syria and I want the Lebanese people's approval before the approval of any other people.”Asked about the relation with Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Bassil said: “Our rapprochement with PM Hariri is still ongoing and we are keen on it, and if the situation is otherwise, let him act accordingly.” Turning to the relation with Hizbullah, Bassil said: “We will preserve our strategic agreement with Hizbullah and the partnership agreement with al-Mustaqbal Movement.”As for the thorny issue of returning Syrian refugees to their country, the Foreign Minister said “we cannot maintain the waiting policy that they other camp has endorsed.”“I have informed PM Hariri that we will no longer accept to stand idly by regarding the refugee issue,” he revealed. Separately, Bassil pointed out that there is an attempt to “revive the previous political alignments” but emphasized that “it will be thwarted because it has no place.”Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, who is close to Hariri, had recently boycotted President Michel Aoun's visit to France in protest at the Bassil-Muallem meeting. He described the talks as as “political attack on the prime minister.” “We will respond to it with all the available means,” he vowed.

Al-Asir Sentenced to Death, Shaker Gets 15 Years' Hard Labor
Firebrand Islamist cleric Ahmed al-Asir was on Thursday sentenced to death in the case of the 2013 Abra clashes as pop star-turned-Islamist militant Fadel Shaker was sentenced in absentia to 15 years of hard labor. The court also sentenced to death two other defendants and five Islamists who remain at large, including the cleric's brother Amjad. Capital punishment is legal in Lebanon, but there has been an effective moratorium in place since 2004, without any executions carried out despite judgements to that effect. Singer-turned-militant Fadel Shaker, who was tried in absentia, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor, while another 30 defendants were handed life sentences. Al-Jadeed televisions said families of detainees blocked the al-Nejmeh Square road in the southern city of Sidon after the verdicts were announced. Tight security measures had been taken around the Military Court in Beirut during the trial session. As he appeared before the court, Asir “refused to recognize the court and its rulings" and said it was "subject to Iranian hegemony,” NNA said. He also refused to recognize a military lawyer appointed by the court. Before the trial, lawyers of Asir told MTV: “We will not enter the court hall because of the court's previous decision,” they said. A September 12 session had witnessed a heated debate pitting Asir's lawyers against the court's president, Brig. Gen. Hussein Abdullah, and Assistant State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Hani al-Hajjar. The debate erupted after the court rejected the lawyers' request for hearing the testimonies of former president Michel Suleiman, ex-PM Najib Miqati, former army chief General Jean Qahwaji and a number of ministers and security chiefs. Asir's lawyers withdrew from that session after the request was rejected, which prompted the court president to bar them from future trial sessions. Describing the lawyers' demands as “infeasible,” Abdullah said: “This is a judicial and not a political trial... The defense lawyers' approach reflects a will to obstruct the trial.” Asir hit back during that session.
“I'm not facing a fair trial. Had it been fair, the court would have heeded our requests for unveiling those who fired the first bullet and identifying those who should have been here instead of me,” Asir said. Asir claims Hizbullah fighters played a role in the deadly 2013 clashes that erupted in the Sidon suburb of Abra between his group and the army.The Islamic cleric was detained at Beirut's airport in 2015 as he tried to flee the country using a fake Palestinian passport. The firebrand anti-Hizbullah cleric had been on the run since the 2013 clashes. The fighting killed 18 Lebanese soldiers and a number of his supporters.
The army seized his headquarters after 48 hours of clashes, but Asir was able to escape with several of his followers. In 2014, a military judge recommended prosecutors seek death sentences for Asir and 53 others, including pop star-turned-Islamist militant Fadel Shaker.
Asir was a virtual political unknown until the outbreak of Syria's civil war. He began making headlines after the conflict erupted by criticizing Hizbullah and its ally Syrian President Bashar Assad. Although he was born to a Shiite Muslim mother, his discourse was highly sectarian and he often accused Lebanon's army of failing to protect Sunnis and being beholden to Hizbullah. He encouraged his supporters to join Syria's mainly Sunni rebels and to rise up against Hizbullah. Asir also hit headlines with media stunts, including by taking a group of his followers to the trendy winter ski resort of Faraya in early 2013.

Loyalty to Resistance bloc applauds Bassil, Moallem meeting
Thu 28 Sep 2017/NNA - The Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc welcomed the "responsible positions" uttered by President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, as well as during his State visit to France.
The bloc notably praised the president's refusal of the resettlement of Syrian refugees. Deputies held their regular meeting this Thursday whereby they highlighted the importance of the meeting held a few days ago in New York between Lebanese Foreign Minister, Gebran Bassil, and his Syrian counterpart, Walid Moallem, warning against submission to "international pressures that undermine the interests of Lebanon".

EU Backs Lebanon Plan on Mitigating Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Risks
Naharnet/September 28/17/In the framework of the European Union (EU) Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Centers of Excellence (EU CBRN CoE) Risk Mitigation Initiative, representatives of the Governments of Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, the European Union and the United Nations, as well as several regional partners and EU Member States convened on September 28, 2017 at the Grand Serail in Beirut for the presentation of the CBRN National Action Plans of Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan to mitigate CBRN risks. In the opening session, Secretary General of the Lebanese Premiership, Fouad Fleifel, said: "We thank the EU and friendly countries on their willingness to fund the implementation of the National Action Plan to mitigate CBRN risks, in compliance with the support that Lebanon receives from the International Working Group that was established through a United Nations Security Council resolution in 2014."
Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, Julia Koch de Biolley, said: "We have seen remarkable progresses achieved in CBRN defense in Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan in coordination with the EU Regional Center of Excellence based in Amman and will encourage further steps to consolidate the important results achieved so far in inter-agency cooperation, capacity-building, and awareness."
The CBRN Lebanese National Focal Point, Dr. Bilal Nsouli, thanked the EU and the partner countries for their support, saying: "We highly appreciate the trainings provided to members of our specialized institutions and agencies, and we look forward to more collaboration in the future."
The opening session was followed by an overview of the work of the EU-funded CBRN Risk Mitigation Centers of Excellence initiative and a presentation of the National Action Plans of Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan. The EU CBRN CoE is a worldwide initiative jointly implemented with the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). The Initiative aims to mitigate CBRN risks of criminal, accidental or natural origin by promoting a coherent policy, improving coordination and preparedness at national and regional levels and by offering a comprehensive approach covering legal, scientific, enforcement and technical issues. The Initiative, implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), involves more than 60 countries and has been launched in eight different regions of the world, namely: African Atlantic Façade; Central Asia; Eastern and Central Africa; Gulf Cooperation Council Countries; Middle East; North Africa; South East Asia; South East Europe, Southern Caucasus, Moldova and Ukraine. Each of these regions has a functioning Secretariat. The Regional Secretariats ensure cooperation and coordination with partner countries and are responsible for supporting them with the identification of needs, the formulation of regional project proposals, the development of national action plans and the implementation of the projects.
As a result of the on-going activities of EU CBRN CoE initiative in the Middle East, 20 projects – addressing countries’ needs – have been launched since 2011.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 28-29/17
N. Korean Firms in China Ordered to Close by January
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 28/17/China has ordered North Korean companies in the country to shut down by January as it applies UN sanctions imposed following Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test, the commerce ministry said Thursday. The ministry said the companies, including joint ventures with Chinese firms, have 120 days to close from the date the United Nations resolution was adopted, September 11. The announcement comes days after China confirmed that it will apply another major part of the sanctions: a limit on exports of refined petroleum products to North Korea starting October 1 and a ban on textiles from its neighbour. China's application of UN sanctions is particularly biting for North Korea. Beijing is Pyongyang's main ally and trading partner, responsible for around 90 percent of the hermit nation's commerce. The United States has pressed China to use its economic leverage to strongarm North Korea into giving up its nuclear ambitions. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Beijing this weekend for talks with China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Kurds Reject Post-Vote Iraq Moves as 'Collective Punishment'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 28/17/The Iraqi Kurdish regional government on Thursday rejected measures adopted by Baghdad in the wake of its independence vote as illegal and nothing more than "collective punishment.""The Kurdish Regional Government rejects all the decisions taken by the Iraqi government and parliament and regards them as collective punishment against the Kurds," it said after a cabinet meeting in the region's capital Arbil. "These decisions are illegal and unconstitutional... They deny the constitutional rights of the Kurds," it said, while reiterating, however, that the KRG was "ready for dialogue to resolve problems" with Baghdad. In a first concrete move by the central government in retaliation for the non-binding referendum, which delivered a resounding 92.7 percent "yes" for independence, all foreign flights to and from Arbil are to be suspended from Friday. Monday's vote in the three provinces of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan in the country's north and some disputed areas was held in defiance of Baghdad, which declared it illegal, and despite international opposition. Iraqi lawmakers on Wednesday passed a resolution calling on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to "take all necessary measures to maintain Iraq's unity" including by deploying security forces to disputed areas.They also called for the closure of border posts with Turkey and Iran that are outside central government control.

Baghdad Cranks up Pressure on Kurds with Flight Ban
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 28/17/Iraq has suspended all international flights to and from the Iraqi Kurdish capital Arbil from Friday, sending anxious foreigners rushing to the airport, as Baghdad cranked up the pressure on the Kurds over their independence referendum. The cut in foreign air links, Baghdad's first retaliatory measure for Monday's 92-percent "yes" vote, drew condemnation from the Kurds' regional government as "collective punishment." Arbil airport director Talar Faiq Salih said all international flights to and from the city would stop from 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Friday following a decision by the Iraqi cabinet. Thursday's decision saw people, many of them foreigners, turn out in droves at Arbil airport to avoid getting stuck in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. "I was supposed to travel next week but I changed my flight to today because, as everyone expects, all the flights next week will be canceled," said Ahmad, a logistics coordinator for an international NGO. An extended suspension of flights would have significant consequences for the Kurds, who have turned Arbil into a regional transport hub that is home to a large international community.The non-binding referendum in the three provinces of Iraqi Kurdistan and some disputed areas was held in defiance of Baghdad, which declared it illegal, and despite international objections. Turkey, also home to a large Kurdish minority, is especially concerned and has threatened a series of measures to isolate the Iraqi Kurds. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim of Turkey said on Thursday that he wants to hold a summit with Iraqi and Iranian leaders to coordinate how to respond to the disputed referendum. Turkish Airlines was among the regional carriers including EgyptAir and Lebanon's Middle East Airlines that had already announced they would suspend flights serving Iraqi Kurdistan at Baghdad's request. Turkey fears the vote will inflame separatist feelings among its own Kurdish population and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier threatened to block oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan. A civil aviation official in Baghdad told AFP the measure applied to the airports in Arbil and the region's second-largest city Sulaimaniyah. Baghdad has demanded the airports be handed over to central authorities.
'Going to affect everyone'
The Iraqi Kurdish government rejected Baghdad's measures as illegal. "The Kurdish Regional Government rejects all the decisions taken by the Iraqi government and parliament and regards them as collective punishment against the Kurds," it said. Salih said she deeply regretted the decision, which she said would hamper the campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and neighboring Syria, as well as the delivery of aid to those displaced by it. "We have consulates, international staff, international companies, so it's going to affect everyone," Salih said. "We have a big international community here, so this is not only against Kurdish people." Kurdish forces have been key allies in U.S.-backed offensives against IS in both Syria and Iraq, and Washington had urged Arbil to postpone the referendum in the interests of that battle. Longtime Iraqi Kurd chief Massud Barzani went ahead anyway, and more than 3.3 million people -- 72.6 percent of the electorate -- flocked to polling stations to pursue a decades-old dream of statehood. Barzani said the vote would not lead to an immediate declaration of independence, instead opening the door to negotiations, but Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has rejected any talks on the basis on the referendum. On Wednesday, Abadi demanded the results of the vote be "annulled" and talks take place "in the framework of the constitution."Lawmakers on Wednesday passed a resolution calling on Abadi to "take all necessary measures to maintain Iraq's unity" including by deploying security forces to disputed areas. A similar demand had been made on Monday but there have been no signs of any deployment. Wednesday's resolution also called for the closure of border posts with Turkey and Iran that are outside central government control.
Analysts have said it is unlikely Baghdad will take military action in response to the vote, especially as the top priority for its forces remains the battle against IS. It could coordinate efforts with Turkey however to tighten the screws on the Kurds by cutting off trade routes, including for vital oil exports.
Kurds slam 'collective punishment' -
Abadi's office said in a statement on Thursday that Ankara had told Baghdad it would deal only with the Iraqi government on oil exports. The Iraqi Kurds export an average 600,000 barrels per day through a pipeline running through Turkey to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast. Turkey has also warned it could close its land border with Iraqi Kurdistan and even suggested the possibility of a cross-border incursion similar to one against IS and Kurdish fighters in Syria. A senior Iraqi government official said there were no ongoing talks with the Kurds. "There will be no negotiations with Kurdish leaders, neither officially nor in secret, as long as they do not declare that the results of the referendum are void and do not hand over to authorities in Baghdad the border posts, airports and disputed regions where they deployed their forces," the official told AFP.

Washington Plans to Call for Negotiations between Baghdad, Erbil
Asharq Al Awsat/September 28/17Washington- The United States has reiterated its rejection of the independence referendum held in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, calling for “constructive” talks between Baghdad and Erbil. “One of the things we would do is call on all sides to engage constructively. We want the – both sides to come together and have some conversations and be able to move things forward, but do it in a constructive fashion,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said. “We know that the turnout was obviously quite high and we certainly would understand why, a lot of enthusiasm, certainly, for that,” she said in her press briefing. But Nauert stressed that the US government “did not support that referendum.” US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had spoken with Iraqi Kurd leader Massud Barzani and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi by phone. “We expressed our deep concern about that (the referendum), and also our disappointment that they decided to go ahead and conduct that vote,” said the State Department spokesperson. “I think our conversations will be ongoing. We will continue to have conversations both with our friends in Baghdad as well as our friends in the north,” she told reporters. “The United States government and the coalition’s concern about this and the timing of this referendum was we didn’t want to splinter Iraq. We see the primary issue as taking on ISIS, defeating ISIS, annihilating ISIS,” Nauert added. Monday’s vote took place across the three northern provinces of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan — Erbil, Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk — and in disputed border zones such as the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Iraq: Threat of ‘Kirkuk Powder Keg’ Grows
Asharq Al Awsat/September 28/17Ankara, Baghdad, Erbil- Pressure on Iraq’s Kurdistan region mounted on Wednesday along with the announcement of official results in a non-binding referendum that showed 92.73 percent of voters backed statehood. Disputed areas between the Kurdish capital Erbil and Baghdad, mainly the oil-rich Kirkuk province, have turned into powder kegs that could go off any moment. Iraqi lawmakers passed on Wednesday a resolution calling on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to “take all necessary measures to maintain Iraq’s unity” including by deploying security forces to disputed areas, mainly Kirkuk, a move that could lead to armed confrontations in the multi-ethnic regions. They also demanded that foreign governments close their diplomatic missions in Erbil and called for the closure of border posts with Turkey and Iran that are outside central government control. “The referendum must be annulled and dialogue initiated in the framework of the constitution. We will never hold talks based on the results of the referendum,” Abadi told the parliament. “We will impose Iraqi law in the entire region of Kurdistan under the constitution,” he said. Meanwhile, the military brass of Iran and Iraq met and held talks amid the controversy on the referendum. Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri received his Iraqi counterpart Major General Othman al-Ghanmi, who was in Tehran at the head of a military delegation. Attempts to isolate the Kurds also came from Turkey. Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday said that Omar Mirani, representative of Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s President Masoud Barzani was asked not to come back to Turkey.Electoral commission officials told a news conference in Erbil that 92.73 percent of the 3,305,925 people who cast ballots voted “yes” in Monday’s referendum, which had a turnout of 72.61 percent.

Putin in Turkey for Talks on Weapons Deal, Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 28/17/Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks on Syria and a key weapons deal, hoping to strengthen an increasingly active relationship that has troubled the West. Despite a regional rivalry that goes back to the Ottoman Empire and the Romanov dynasty, Russia and Turkey have been working closely since a 2016 reconciliation ended a crisis caused by the shooting down of a Russian war plane over Syria. "Russia and Turkey are cooperating very tightly," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ahead of the one-day working visit by Putin to Ankara. Erdogan welcomed Putin at the doors of his vast presidential palace in Ankara for the evening talks, shortly after the Russian president landed at the city's airport. The two will hold a working dinner before a one-on-one meeting and a late night press conference at 9:30 pm (1830 GMT), the Turkish presidency said. Turkey and Russia have been on opposing sides during the more than six years of war in Syria, with Russia the key backer of President Bashar al-Assad and Turkey supporting rebels seeking his ouster. But while Turkey's policy is officially unchanged, Ankara has notably cooled its attacks on the Damascus regime since its cooperation with Russia began to heat up. Both Moscow and Ankara are pushing for the creation of four "de-escalation zones" in Syria, in line with peace talks in Astana, to end the civil war that has raged since 2011. With Moscow's ally Assad now having the upper hand in the conflict, Russia will be hoping Turkey will bring the rebels it has supported into the political process. Turkey, a NATO member, has signed a deal reportedly worth $2 billion (1.7 billion euros) to buy S-400 air defense systems from Russia, a move that has shocked its allies in the alliance.Economic cooperation is also beginning to flourish, with Russian tourists returning to Turkey and the two countries working on a Black Sea gas pipeline.
'Loaded with contradictions'
Yet analysts say that while both countries share an interest in seeking to discomfort the West by showing off close cooperation, their relationship falls well short of a sincere strategic alliance. "Relations between Turkey and Russia may appear to be friendly, but they are loaded with contradictions and set to remain unstable in the near term," Pavel Baev and Kemal Kirisci of the Brookings Institution wrote in a study this month. Russia's stance on the non-binding Kurdish independence vote is also troubling for Turkey, for whom opposing Kurdish statehood is a cornerstone of foreign policy due to its own Kurdish minority. The Russian foreign ministry said Wednesday that while Moscow supports the territorial integrity of Iraq, it "views the Kurds' national aspirations with respect.""Russia has been trying to abstain from taking a clear stance on the issue and Turkey may be wanting to get some assurances and explanations," Timur Akhmetov, Ankara-based Turkey expert at the Russian International Affairs Council, told AFP. In public, Erdogan has shied away from attacking Russia's stance on the Kurdish referendum, declaring that Israel was the only state that backed the poll. Deliveries of the S-400s, meanwhile, could be years away due to orders from China, while Ankara's insistence on a technology transfer as part of the deal may also create problems. But both Moscow and Ankara are, for now, happy to send a message to the West that they are serious about defense cooperation. "They are trying to utilize the issue of the S-400 for their respective political interests," Akhmetov told AFP.

IS Chief Calls on Jihadists to 'Resist', in Apparent Recording
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 28/17/The Islamic State group released an audio recording Thursday of what it said was its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi calling on members under pressure in Syria and Iraq to "resist" their enemies. "The leaders of the Islamic State and its soldiers have realized that the path to... victory is to be patient and resist the infidels whatever their alliances," said the person heard in the recording. It was not clear when the message, released by the IS-affiliated al-Furqan media group, was recorded. In it, the apparent IS leader lashed out at "infidel nations headed by America, Russia and Iran" who, along with their allies, have inflicted losses on the jihadists during separate anti-IS offensives against IS in Syria and Iraq. Thursday's was the first audio message said to be of Baghdadi since November 2016, when he spoke in a defiant tone in urging his supporters to defend the city of Mosul against a massive operation by Iraqi forces. That recording, also released by al-Furqan, was a rare sign of life from Baghdadi. In July, Moscow said it was struggling to confirm if Baghdadi was dead or alive, a month after reporting his possible demise in an air strike near the IS stronghold of Raqa in Syria. Rumors have abounded about Baghdadi's own health and movements, but his whereabouts remain unclear. Shortly after the jihadists swept across swathes of Iraq in June 2014, Baghdadi appeared before thousands of faithful at Mosul's Great mosque of al-Nouri to urge Muslims around the world to join his "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq. The jihadists have since lost vast territory in both countries, including in Syria to Russia-backed regime troops and a U.S.-supported Kurdish-Arab alliance. But his group has claimed its members were behind deadly attacks carried out worldwide, including in Paris, London and Barcelona.

Coalition Commander Says IS Breathing 'Last Gasps' in Raqa
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 28/17/Ousting the last Islamic State group fighters from Raqa will be tough, but the jihadists are breathing their "last gasps" in their Syrian bastion, a senior U.S.-led coalition commander told the AFP news agency. Those defending the city would not be allowed to withdraw, and the coalition has already set its sights on a prized IS-held city further east, the commander said at a coalition compound near Kobane, in northern Syria. After a months-long campaign, the Syrian Democratic Forces -- a U.S.-backed alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters -- have cornered diehard jihadists in a pocket of territory in the battered northern city of Raqa. "It's a tough fight. There's a lot of (IS) foreign fighters there that don't want to give up and intend to fight very hard," the top coalition commander assisting and advising the SDF said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"They're isolated in this small section that's left, but they're not isolated alone," with civilians and family members trapped inside along with jihadists.
Now surrounded, IS fighters would likely lash out in "last gasps," but a negotiated withdrawal would be unacceptable, the commander said.
"The enemy inside Raqa needs to surrender or be destroyed in Raqa because if they sneak out, they'll find a way to get to Europe or neighboring countries, or attack places outside of Syria," he added.
New hub targeted
Since IS captured it in 2014, Raqa served as the de facto Syrian capital of the group's self-styled Islamic "caliphate" and was long thought to be the main hub for planning attacks abroad. But now, the coalition believes that headquarters lies in a strategic eastern city that will form their next target. "We're going for Al-Mayadeen. There are a lot of folks in Al-Mayadeen who plot external attacks on our homelands, on coalition homelands, so we can't allow it to remain an IS sanctuary," the commander said.
The city lies in Syria's oil-rich Deir Ezzor province, where the U.S.-backed SDF and Russian-backed government forces are waging rival offensives against IS territory on either side of the Euphrates River. A "de-confliction" line is supposed to prevent the two campaigns from clashing, but the SDF has twice accused Russia and the regime of bombing its fighters in the province. Asked how a race between the SDF and regime forces over Al-Mayadeen could play out, the commander said it "has the potential to be chaotic but isn't chaotic (yet)."
"If Al-Mayadeen is like Deir Ezzor, with the two forces on either side, then we will have to de-conflict very closely. If one of us is there first, then it will be pretty straightforward."The coalition is backing both SDF operations on Raqa and Deir Ezzor with air strikes, special operations advisers, weapons, and other equipment.

De Mistura Calls for New Round of Syria Talks in About a Month
Asharq Al-Awsat/September 28/17/UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said Wednesday that he hopes to convene a new round of talks between the Syrian regime and opposition in Geneva in the coming weeks. “I am calling on both sides to assess the situation with realism and responsibility to the people of Syria and to prepare seriously to participate in the Geneva talks,” de Mistura said at the UN Security Council. He said he intends to convene an eighth round of talks on the bloody more than six-year conflict no later than the end of October or early November. De Mistura has already hosted seven rounds of largely unsuccessful talks in Geneva, with the fate of the head of the regime, Bashar Assad, one of the main obstacles to progress. Syrian opposition groups and various Western powers insist that Assad must go. But he has little motivation to make concessions. At the same time, there is a second process of negotiations in Kazakh capital Astana that has led to the establishment of multiple “de-escalation zones” that have contributed to a reduction in violence. De Mistura said these zones should be a precursor “to a truly nationwide cease-fire” and action to provide humanitarian aid to all in need. He stressed the opposition has “a duty to signal that it wants to speak with one voice and a common platform in genuine negotiations with the government.” The regime has a duty “to genuinely negotiate with the opposition,” he said.
De Mistura added both sides should show readiness to negotiate on four key issues: “credible” and “inclusive” local and central governance; a schedule and process for drafting a new constitution; UN supervised elections; and combating terrorism. On the humanitarian front, the creation of the de-escalation zones “have had a positive impact on civilians,” said Mark Lowcock, the UN’s head of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief. But “we continue to receive reports of violations of international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict,” he said.

Regime Forces Attack ‘De-escalation Zones’ in East Damascus
Asharq Al Awsat/September 28/17/Beirut, London, Moscow- Syrian regime forces have made reinforcements on the Jobar and Ein Tarma fronts, east of Damascus, while the opposition forces thwarted the attack. The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces said targeting residential areas and medical centers serves the terrorist groups’ interest. Failaq al-Rahman announced that it thwarted an attempt by the 4th Armored Division to storm Ein Tarma region, killing dozens of the regime forces and armed men supporting them. An officer in Failaq al-Rahman stated that after the regime forces’ failure to launch the attack, they shelled Jobar and Ein Tarma as well as Jesrin town. Jobar and Ein Tarma fall under the de-escalation zones in tandem with an agreement signed between Failaq al-Rahman and the Russian party mid-August. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced on Wednesday that fierce clashes were ongoing in Damascus and its outskirts of eastern Ghouta between the regime forces and their militias from one side and Failaq al-Rahman fighters from the other. Further, the negotiations’ committee of Eastern Qalamoun held a round of talks with the Russian side in the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Syrian regime figures. The meeting discussed the current situation and the strict measures on civilians in Eastern Qalamoun. The escalation in Damascus and Ghouta witnessed similar tension in the north of Syria where airstrikes targeted Aleppo’s countryside, leading to the destruction of a school but without causing any injuries, revealed SOHR.In a related matter, Russia said that airstrikes in Idlib have killed five prominent field commanders and 32 members of al-Nusra Front. Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said that the airstrikes also destroyed militant ammunition depots and military vehicles.

Saudi Arabia Appoints its First Female Spokesperson at US Embassy
Asharq Al Awsat/September 28/17/Washington – Saudi Ambassador to Washington Prince Khalid bin Salman issued an order to assign Fatima Baeshen the embassy’s spokeswoman, making her the first female spokesperson for a government institution. Baeshen is a businesswoman, who has earned her master’s degree with a focus on Islamic finance from the University of Chicago, and has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Baeshen was a director at the Washington based think tank Arabia Foundation. She spent several years working in Riyadh’s Saudi Ministry of Labor and the Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning before returning to the United States in 2017. She has also worked as a consultant for the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development. Baeshen was raised in the US and spent most of her childhood in Mississippi.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 28-29/17
Saudi Arabia: Women to Drive after Community Persuaded
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/September 28/17
Similar to other historic decisions, some are petrified of announcing them, supporters anticipate in boredom while conservatives persistently warn of such moves. Once the clock ticks and the time is adequate to take the decision, the fear of people vanishes. This is what happened when King Salman issued a reformatory decision in allowing women to drive as part of an overall process, which began on the first day of his leadership in January 2015, to empower Saudi women. Saudi passwords are always on time. This has been the case in the past two years and nine months during which great decisions have been taken. Many were intimidated by them and probably warned of them, but surprisingly decisions were issued in remarkable flexibility. I don’t agree with those who describe this decision as political in the first place. Any political decision on a community-linked cause first needs a suitable environment for it to be accepted based on
cultural and intellectual consensus.
Had it been purely a political decision, it would have been implemented long time ago. The problem throughout the past period was that some movements continued to exploit the matter and exaggerate the consequences of issuing such a decision. When removing the aura around those who spread such ideas, the Saudi community appeared pragmatic, and it was supported by the stance of the Council of Senior Scholars that saw no problem in permitting women to drive. Therefore, we can’t deny the huge organized work done during the previous period to provide an adequate environment in which the community accepts the decision. I don’t think the surprise is in issuing the decision itself – the development taking place in Saudi Arabia indicates that women getting behind the wheel is absolute. Because the social reform is on track in Saudi Arabia without any slowdown and because the historic moment was set to come even if late, the woman in the kingdom now drives a car after a reform-based decision by the Saudi leadership that has not stopped making drastic changes politically, economically and socially within a short period. Why do we say finally? Because the Saudi community has finally got rid of previous stages’ consequences that had led to delays in taking such a decision. During the past three years, the Saudi community has proven its readiness to develop and accept community reforms that were considered prohibited for long decades. Besides the social and economic benefits of this step in Saudi Arabia and its contribution in a comprehensive project to empower women as part of the economic and social reform process, the topic of allowing women to drive, which used to be stirred while discussing any political issue on every occasion, has now been dropped.
We can say that this decision is better than dozens of billions of dollars worth media campaigns in the West. Its positive outcome won’t be restricted to one day, month or year but the kingdom will yield its positive influence for several years to come.
When launching the Saudi Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman answered a question on the matter of women driving cars saying that he relies on the society’s wish between granting the women this right or not.
He later noted that future decisions are built on social change. True, when the change happened, society witnessed a long-anticipated historic decision. The password was: social change; this is the magical equation and real power for the launching of a new Saudi Arabia that was once mentioned by Mohammed bin Salman: “In case the Saudi people were convinced, then skies are the limits of our ambitions.”

More than Just Driving Cars
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/September 28/17
These are happy and historic days in Saudi Arabia! There are positive changes that would have never crossed our minds after years of despair. For decades, every time an obstacle was removed, social and political battles would erupt tackling education, employment, sports and the media.
Mother of all battles was granting women their right to driving cars. King Salman intervened, signed and adopted the decree, and with that the biggest and toughest obstacle is removed. The king’s decision was brave and wise which will be long remembered by history. He is the man who ended an era and began a new one. The history will also remember Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in charge of development in the kingdom and the architect of the “vision” of the new state and its future. Ever since Vision 2030 was announced, decisions were made one after the other; decisions we never thought possible because for long decades we were running in a vicious circle. The message we can conclude here is that we are before a new modern kingdom discovering its status among civilized nations by adopting more welcoming standards that include everyone and is building a new and competent generation of men and women amid a real economy based on real developing aspects.
Many decisions and activities issued came as a surprise to the Saudi society because up until recently, they were considered almost impossible. Combined, they all reflect the transition plan evident to those considering the entire picture. I believe, and after fierce opposition, that allowing women to drive cars is of great significance. However its political and social aspects are much bigger than that. The king’s decision is a clear message to the society that the government will carry on with the path of change and modernization and will not allow those objecting to obstruct it. Many years were wasted waiting for the society to change, especially the conservative members who refused any progress until hopelessness took over us. They objected any initiative or any hint to allow women to go out or drive cars or work or participate in social life. Saudi Arabia cannot adopt an ambitious plan like Vision 2030 without acknowledging women as partners in it. With the King’s courageous decision to allow women to drive, skeptics’ excuses tumble. Such decisions are not popular and are not looking to please one part at the expense of another; They aim to serve the greater good of the country and society.
For years now, driving ban was never based on convincing social or religious reasoning, but was applied following the desire of a category that wants to form the society according to its desires. Those isolated men who obstructed social and economic development can no longer lead an entire nation.
In order to not generalize, let’s note that those objecting the historic decision can be divided into two categories: a conservative category raised on traditions and wanting to maintain them, whose opinion we respect but is not binding, and another politicized category that wants to lead the society according to its own agenda. The latter can no longer have a place in the kingdom. It is an extremist category with ill intentions, opposing every move and project because it wants Saudi Arabia to remain a disabled, depressed and obstructed state until it fails.
This category better understand the message: no one will allow it to stop the wheel of change.

Switzerland: The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Jihad
Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/September 28/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11082/switzerland-islam
What you would never know, from all this hand-wringing about "Islamophobia," is that only a few weeks before the conference, the country's media had reported on a popular imam in Biel who, in his sermons, "asked Allah to destroy the enemies of Islam -- Jews, Christians, Hindus, Russians, and Shiites."
The imam in question, Abu Ramadan, preached that Muslims who befriended infidels were "cursed until the Day of Judgment" -- which, of course, is not radical at all, but is straight out of the Koran.
The crisis is real. But, says Swiss Muslim author Saïda Keller-Messahli, Swiss politicians, "especially on the left," refuse to address it. Instead of trying to defend their country from radicalism, they think their job is to "protect minorities and multiculturalism."
Mosque kindergartens and youth groups, too, are "places of religious indoctrination" for Swiss Muslims. So are the German-speaking public schools, in which imams are permitted to teach classes in Islam using instructional materials from Saudi Arabia or Turkey.
If you listen to some of Switzerland's pollsters and government officials, the country is suffering from a serious and ever-intensifying crisis -- anti-Muslim bigotry.
In August, a study concluded that Swiss Muslims "are generally well integrated into Swiss society." Their main problem? They face "Islamophobia."
Another study the same month found that the percentage of Swiss non-Muslims who feel "threatened" by Islam had more than doubled since 2004, from 16% to 38%.
At a September 11 conference, Switzerland's Federal Commission against Racism (FCR) issued an explicit alert: "hostility toward Muslims," it warned, was rising – and was "fed by facts that have nothing to do with Muslims themselves."
Conference organizers blamed this "hostility" on online "propaganda"; Interior Minister Alain Berset accused Swiss citizens of erroneously holding "Islam responsible for all the extremist acts committed in its name."
What you would never know, from all this hand-wringing about "Islamophobia," is that only a few weeks before the conference, the country's media had reported on a popular imam in Biel who, in his sermons, "asked Allah to destroy the enemies of Islam -- Jews, Christians, Hindus, Russians, and Shiites." The imam in question, Abu Ramadan, preached that Muslims who befriended infidels were "cursed until the Day of Judgment" -- which, of course, is not radical at all, but is straight out of the Koran.
Abu Ramadan has been living in Switzerland for almost two decades. In 1998, he came to the Alpine country from Libya as an asylum seeker, but over the years has returned home several times -- in addition to visiting Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. This fact should have automatically negated his right to asylum and resulted in his expulsion. But the years went by, and the government, ignoring the evidence right there on his passport, did nothing.
On the contrary: over the years, in fact, the Swiss state had given Ramadan the equivalent of $620,000 in welfare payments.
Reportedly, some public officials were well aware of his hate sermons -- but until the content of those sermons surfaced in the media, nobody in the government had made any effort to do anything about him. Instead, people such as Interior Minister Berset and the members of the FCR had kept busy going to conferences and tarring the general public as "Islamophobes".
At least one high-profile individual in Switzerland has long rejected the official line about successful Muslim integration and unfounded infidel Islam-hatred: Saïda Keller-Messahli. Of Tunisian descent, living in Zurich, she has spent years investigating institutional Islam in Switzerland and urging politicians to take action against it. Asked in a recent interview whether Abu Ramadan is an isolated case, Keller-Messahli said no: such preaching, she explained, is common in Swiss mosques, part of an international strategy to plant a "discriminatory" and "violent" Islam in Switzerland and elsewhere in the West.
Keller-Messahli has just published a book entitled, Switzerland: An Islamist Hub ("Islamistische Drehscheibe Schweiz"). It is sort of a field guide to Islam in Switzerland. The country's mosques belong to various networks based here and there in the Muslim world; many of the imams have been trained in Egypt or Saudi Arabia; many of the mosques receive funding -- and take orders -- from organizations in Turkey. In her book, Keller-Messahli draws all the connections, follows all the money trails, and spells out the poisonous articles of faith. And she prescribes strong medicine: monitor the mosques, cut off the foreign cash, and expel the preachers of jihad.
Saïda Keller-Messahli, the Swiss Muslim author of Switzerland: An Islamist Hub, has spent years investigating institutional Islam in Switzerland and urging politicians to take action against it. (Switzerland photo by Monk/Wikimedia Commons)
Keller-Messahli has not only probed the mosques. She has also visited prisons. In some of the prison libraries, she reports, she had found not a copy or two but hundreds of copies of pro-jihadist works. When she told a reporter that imams who work as prison chaplains are past masters at turning Muslim inmates into jihadists, and argued that the position of Muslim chaplain should therefore be eliminated, her interviewer asked whether that wouldn't amount to "unequal treatment." Keller-Messahli pointed out that the concept of prison chaplain does not even exist in Islam but "was invented precisely for the sake of equality."
Mosque kindergartens and youth groups, too, are "places of religious indoctrination" for Swiss Muslims. So are the German-speaking public schools, in which imams are permitted to teach classes in Islam using instructional materials from Saudi Arabia or Turkey: "All they do," complains Keller-Messahli, "is give them suras to learn by heart, the veil for the girls and the segregation of the sexes as soon as possible. And all the 'students' do is learn words without understanding them." The result: "social segregation, exclusion, contempt for women, honor crimes."
The crisis is real. But, says Keller-Messahli, Swiss politicians, "especially on the left," refuse to address it. Instead of trying to defend their country from radicalism, they think their job is to "protect minorities and multiculturalism." Keller-Messahli actually took part in the design and implementation of a course that warned prison employees about the dangers of Islamic radicalization. It was, she said, "a huge success" -- but an order by a Zurich court put an end to it. "Right and center," she laments, "politicians prefer to stay in their comfort zone and close their eyes."
Keller-Messahli does not mince words. The relentless spread of jihadist Islam in Switzerland, and the see-no-evil response by Swiss authorities, give her "a tremendous sense of betrayal. We trusted these people, we opened the doors of our country and our institutions. They say they want to be our partners in dialogue. But none of it is true." She reports that some Swiss residents with Muslim backgrounds have thanked her for speaking up and have told her that organized Islam does not speak for them. She is grateful for their support, she says, but she "would prefer it if they did not keep so silent."
The picture Keller-Messahli paints is a grim one. Is there any hope for change? Well, during the last few days it has become clear that at least some Swiss officials do not wish to remain silent about the enemy within. On September 21, it was reported that federal prosecutors had brought charges against the president and two members of the board of the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS), the country's largest Islamic organization. The charge: making videos in Syria featuring a top Al-Qaeda member and posting them on YouTube and other sites.
Only days later, the lower house of the Swiss parliament voted by a narrow margin to prohibit mosques from taking foreign money and to require that imams preach in the local language. The upper house has yet to debate the bill; the Federal Council, which constitutes the government's executive branch, opposes the measure on the grounds that it places Muslims "under general suspicion" and "fuels the argument of extremists."
It will be interesting to see where these developments lead. Will the bill pass the upper house? Are federal prosecutors looking into non-ICCS mosques? Stay tuned.
**Bruce Bawer is the author of the new novel The Alhambra (Swamp Fox Editions). His book While Europe Slept (2006) was a New York Times bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.
© 2017 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.

Florida Islamist's "Human Rights" Organization Needs to Be Investigated for Possible Terrorism Ties
Joe Kaufman/Gatestone Institute/September 28/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11078/nidal-mohamed-sakr-muslim-brotherhood
"WE WILL OVERTHROW them ALL. US WILL PAY FOR ITS CRIMES" — Nidal Mohamed Sakr.
Sakr is a prime example of a radical Islamist taking advantage of the freedoms that the United States has to offer all its citizens, in order to undermine its existence -- in the name of "human rights."
Although voicing his enmity is precisely one of those rights, membership in a terrorist group is not, particularly if he is using his March of Justice organization as a front. A serious investigation into Sakr and his operations needs be launched to determine whether and to what extent he is a threat to US national security.
On March 19, 2014, Nidal Mohamed Sakr, an American citizen from Providence, Rhode Island, was detained by Homeland Security upon his arrival in the United States from an extended stay in Egypt, the country of his mother's birth. Although Sakr is an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood and former al-Qaeda associate, he was released and has been operating freely in the U.S., traveling back and forth between Florida and California as the head of a Miami-based, self-described "human rights" organization called The March for Justice.
This was not the first time that Sakr, who describes himself as "US born from Palestinian origin," had been interrogated by American authorities. According to an account he posted on the March for Justice website, he was questioned by Palm Beach police in January 2002 about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. This occurred as he, Sakr, left an event held by a Jewish organization to express unity and solidarity in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, which had taken place less than four months earlier. At the time, he penned a letter to President George W. Bush complaining that he was being victimized by anti-Muslim Jews.
Prior to 2014, when he was temporarily detained at a US airport, Sakr had spent time in Egypt, where he actively participated in the eruption of the "Arab Spring" -- which led to the ouster and imprisonment of then-President Hosni Mubarak and the rise of Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohammed Morsi as Egypt's president. While in Egypt, Sakr gave a lecture in which he recounted how he was recruited by al-Qaeda co-founder and bin Laden mentor Abdullah Azzam to a Palestinian terrorist cell operating out of Jordan in the 1970s and '80s. He also spoke about having gotten to know bin Laden and his family.
In the aftermath of the July 2013 military coup against Morsi, which led to the current presidency of General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Muslim Brotherhood was outlawed and anyone associated with it became a target. Thousands of people were arrested and hundreds sentenced to death, including Morsi -- whose sentence was later reversed, but recently reinstated for a term of 25 years in prison.
Sakr was allegedly among 529 Muslim Brotherhood members sentenced to death by an Egyptian court "for murder and other offenses."
Sakr managed to abscond from Egypt and return to the US before his court hearing. Since then, he has used his March for Justice organization as a platform not only for attacking President el-Sisi and defending the Muslim Brotherhood -- and its offshoot Hamas -- but to assail America in general and for its support of Israel and Jews in particular. Among its many hostile Facebook posts is one with a cartoon showing the White House as "Israel's other occupied territory."
Recently, he called US President Donald Trump a "white trash supremacist," and issued threats against the government, such as: "WE WILL OVERTHROW them ALL. US WILL PAY FOR ITS CRIMES;" and "TODAY: RESIST. TOMORROW: REVOLUTION. ONLY THEN AMERICA CAN BE UNITED." He also warned: "Civil war imminent... From North Dakota 2 Chicago, Texas & Southern Plains American blood will be spilled." In February this year, he retweeted an article in Salon about then-White House adviser Steve Bannon, commenting: "Only Jihad can put this trash in check. Learn what Jihad really is."
Sakr is a prime example of a radical Islamist taking advantage of the freedoms that the United States has to offer all its citizens, in order to undermine its existence -- in the name of "human rights."
Nidal Mohamed Sakr is a prime example of a radical Islamist taking advantage of the freedoms that the United States has to offer all its citizens, in order to undermine its existence -- in the name of "human rights."
Although voicing his enmity is precisely one of those rights, membership in a terrorist group is not, particularly if he is using his March of Justice organization as a front. A serious investigation into Sakr and his operations needs be launched to determine whether and to what extent he is a threat to US national security.
**Joe Kaufman was the 2016 Republican nominee for United States House of Representatives in Florida's 23rd Congressional District. He is an expert in the fields of counter-terrorism, foreign affairs and energy independence for America. Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
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The Iranian Khoramshahr ballistic missile test did take place – although the US said “It didn’t happen”
DebkaFile/September 28/17/The new Khoramshahr ballistic missile with a range of 2,000km and multiple warheads, which was paraded in Tehran on Sept 22, was indeed test fired, as reported by Iran’s Airspace chief, Gen. Amir Ajakozadeh. The launch shown filmed from a great distance on national television was genuine. President Donald Trump tweeted: “Iran just test fired a ballistic missile capable of reaching Israel. They are also working with North Korea. Not much of an agreement we have!” However, three days later, on Sept. 26, an administration official offered the opinion that the footage shown on Iranian television “appears most likely to be a re-run of a previous test launch.” He added: “the video was more than seven months old and dated back to a failed launch in late January, which resulted in the missile exploding shortly after lift-off. ” As to the latest launch, the US official said: “As far as we can see, it did not happen. Iran’s report “so far does not appear to be true.” However, DEBKAfile’s intelligence and military sources in the Middle East, who examined the conflicting versions, found indications that refuted the US official’s disclaimer. The Khoramshahr was indeed test-launched, except that it happened a bit earlier than Tehran claimed – although very recently, and not seven months ago.
Those sources could not categorically confirm that it was a success – only that “it certainly did not fail.” That the new missile is exceptionally accurate appears to be correct, since there is evidence that Iran has been able to develop a new control and guidance system for its ballistic missiles.
The Iranian general’s account of “several warheads” could refer to no more than two or three. Of deep concern to Israel is the video reported to be fitted in the Khoramshahr’s nose cone, because that would make it possible to steer the missile precisely to target from a ground station in Iran – even if Israel prevented the missile’s delivery to Hizballah in Lebanon. Our intelligence sources account for the extra long-distance shots of the launch by Iran’s need to disguise the location of the launching site deep in the desert.
But there were was another reason too. DEBKAfile’s sources reveal that in the same area, Iran is secretly developing special vehicles for carrying ballistic missiles across rugged desert or mountain terrain. This would make the missiles mobile, like North Korean rockets. Tehran has gone to great lengths to keep this project well hidden from alien eyes.