LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
December 17/16
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.december17.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
Let anyone
who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the
scripture has said, "Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of
living water."
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 07/37-44/:"On the last
day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried
out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me
drink. As the scripture has said, "Out of the believer’s heart shall flow
rivers of living water." ’Now he said this about the Spirit, which
believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus
was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, some in the crowd said,
‘This is really the prophet.’Others said,
‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the
Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So
there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest
him, but no one laid hands on him."
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of
yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober
judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Letter to the Romans 12/01-08/:"I appeal to you therefore, brothers and
sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so
that you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and
perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think
of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober
judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as
in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same
function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are
members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given
to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher,
in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the
leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 16-17/16
Soaid: Lebanon is Being Shaped on Hizbullah's Terms/Al Arabiya/December
16/16
Lebanon’s long wait for a government/Eyad Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/December 16/16
Hazem Saghiya: The Arab
Countries Seem To Be Engaged In A Perpetual War Against Women/MEMRI/December
16/16
Hezbollah vs. ISIS. vs. Israel/Jonathan Spyer/The
Jerusalem Post/December 12, 2016'
Question: "Should we give gifts at Christmas?/GotQuestions.org/December
16/16
Saudi Arabia Resets Calendar To Follow Birth Date Of Jesus Christ/Ruth
Gledhill/Christian Today/December 16/16
Iran lures the West by rushing business/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/December
16/16
Aleppo’s fall is Obama’s failure/Leon Wieseltier/The
Washington Post/ December 15/16
Rosemary Barton, War Crimes, and the Liberation of Aleppo/Jim Miles/Foreign
Policy/Journal/December 16/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News
published on December 16-17/16
Iran and Hezbollah prisoners captured by Yemeni army
Soaid: Lebanon is Being Shaped on Hizbullah's
Terms
Israel Fires Flare Bombs Launches Reconnaissance Flights over Arqoub
Geagea Says No Vetoes but LF Won't Give Any of Its
Govt. Seats to Other Parties
Report: Changes in the Balance of Distribution Delays Cabinet Formation
Sami Gemayel Urges 'Unified Criteria' in Govt.
Formation, Suggests Technocrat Cabinet
FPM to Continue Electoral Law Contacts after Tour as Hizbullah
Warns on Deadlines
Qabalan Reiterates Calls for Proportional
Representation Electoral Law
Aoun: Lebanon faces era of recovery
Hariri sponsors inauguration of real estate festival in Beirut Souks
Shabib holds meeting to organize traffic during
festive period and after
MP Kanaan from Ain Tineh:
New electoral law requires working on it
MP Khreis: Legislative polls on time as per
proportionality law
Smuggling attempt of counterfeit $400K to Iraq foiled at Beirut airport
Pierre Kakhya elected FLB President
Lebanon’s long wait for a government
Hazem Saghiya: The Arab
Countries Seem To Be Engaged In A Perpetual War Against Women
Hezbollah vs. ISIS. vs. Israel
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 16-17/16
Obama: Syria's Assad, Russia and Iran Have Blood on Hands
France Makes U.N. Push for Aleppo Observers
Damascus Blast Reportedly Caused by 7-Year-Old Girl Carrying Explosive Belt
Russia’s Putin to seek nationwide ceasefire in Syria
Iran in Aleppo: ‘Kill all those who are trapped’
Aleppo evacuation of civilians ‘suspended’
Coalition strike destroys ISIS weapons near Palmyra
UN nuclear watchdog chief to visit Iran on Sunday
Turkey to set up camp for 80,000 Aleppo evacuees
ISIS push families back to the heart of Mosul
US House: Iran violated the nuclear agreement by ‘supporting terrorism’
British PM refuses to end Saudi Arabia arms sales
US files first case against ISIS to recover antiquities
Netanyahu Urges Settlers to Allow Peaceful Eviction
Putin, Abe Signal no Resolution on Island Dispute
Saudi Arabia Resets Calendar To Follow Birth Date Of Jesus Christ
Iran Regime Claims Unity While Killing Innocent Women and Children in
Aleppo
Confronting the Murderous Iran Regime
Chairman Royce Statement on Enactment of Iran Sanctions Extension Act
Iran: Families of Executed Prisoners Stage Protest Gathering
Links From Jihad Watch Site for on December 16-17/16
UK Muslims trained for Islamic State jihad by playing paintball
DHS
hires Hamas-linked CAIR to train French counter-terrorism officials
Hungary’s
Orban to Merkel: “We won’t pay for your error”
Sweden
lists 50 No-Go Zones as MP’s clash over Muslim
migrant crisis
Life
in Boko Haram school: “All
day, we were just memorising the Koran”
“Islamophobia” propagandists in desperate damage control
mode after fake hate crime exposed
Anti-Muslim
hate crime hoaxer’s sister blames the NYPD
Hugh
Fitzgerald: The Confusions of Tony Blair, Part II
German
prosecutor dismisses Muslim migrant sex assault claims: “They were just
interested in you”
Israel:
Two Muslims charged with arson over massive forest fire
Germany:
Muslim migrant accused of sexually assaulting boy 68 times calls it “love
affair”
UK
to train “moderate” Syrian opposition forces to target the Islamic State
France:
10,000 troops on streets as Islamic State threatens Christmas jihad massacres
Latest Lebanese Related News
published on on December 16-17/16
Iran and Hezbollah
prisoners captured by Yemeni army
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 16 December
2016/Yemeni armed forces have captured large number of militants including
Iranian experts and Hezbollah members in al Jawf
Governorate, northwest Yemen, according to a Yemeni official. Amin al Ikamai, Governor of the Jawf said in a press conference, Thursday: “During the
recent military clashes in the governorate we have managed to capture a large
number of militias including Iranian experts and others from Hezbollah, they
were providing them with information and support.” He asserted that army have cleared
and recaptured large swathes of the governorates where the militias have
extensively rigged the streets, farms and residential areas with over 130,000
bobby traps and bombs. “Militias have implanted mines, in some locations we
have found large amount of explosives weighing up to 100 kilograms, enough to
cause fatalities among large number of civilians.”
Soaid: Lebanon is Being Shaped on Hizbullah's
Terms
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/16/%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B3-%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%AF-%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%83%D9%84-%D8%A8%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B7-%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D9%81%D9%8A/
فارس
سعيد: البلد
يتشكل بشروط
حزب الله في
الرئاسة
والحكومة
وقانون
الانتخاب
Naharnet/December 16/16/March 14 General
Secretariat Coordinator Fares Soaid criticized on
Friday a Hizbullah statement, which aforesaid that
proportional representation in the upcoming elections is an “obligatory path
for the state rise”, and said that the country is being shaped according to the
terms of Hizbullah.“The country is taking shape under
Hizbullah's conditions. The party got what it wanted
at the presidential level, and it will get what it wants at the governmental
level and electoral levels. We might as well hand the whole country to Hizbullah,” Soaid told al-Joumhouria daily.On Thursday, Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc
announced that the proportional representation electoral system is an
“obligatory path” for change and reform in Lebanon.
“What Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has
proposed about endorsing an electoral law fully based on proportional
representation in a single electorate or several large electorates is an
obligatory path for the rise of a State that can achieve change and reform in
the country,” said the bloc after its weekly meeting Thursday. Soaid, a former MP noted: “The Free Patriotic Movement and
other political parties will play along with Hizbullah
in that regard. In that case, Lebanon
will be formed in accordance with the will of Hizbullah
-which will impose its condition on the (parliamentary) elections after it
imposed its condition to elect a president- instead of in accordance with the
constitution. “Struggling to lift the Iranian domination off Lebanon is a
joint national responsibility,” he emphasized. Hizbullah
has repeatedly called for an electoral law fully based on proportional
representation but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal
Movement, have rejected the proposal and argued that the party's controversial
arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition in regions where the
Iran-backed party is influential. Mustaqbal, the
Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party have meanwhile proposed a
hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional representation and the
winner-takes-all systems. Speaker Nabih Berri has also proposed a hybrid law. The country has not
voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending
its own mandate. The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960
electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.
Israel Fires Flare Bombs Launches Reconnaissance Flights
over Arqoub
Naharnet/December 16/16/The Israeli army fired four
flare bombs at dawn on Friday from Ramtha over the
heights of Jabal al- Saddaneh,
north of the U.N.-demarcated Blue Line, the National News Agency reported. The
flare bombs were fired simultaneously with the overflight
of a reconnaissance drone over the border area of Arqoub
in south Lebanon,
NNA added.
Geagea Says No Vetoes but LF Won't Give Any of Its Govt.
Seats to Other Parties
Naharnet/December 16/16/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed Thursday
that the LF “does not have a veto on anyone” while emphasizing that his party
is not willing to give up any of its declared ministerial portfolios.“We
do not have a veto on anyone at all and we do not have a problem with any
cabinet format,” Geagea said during a Maarab educational seminar. “Some are claiming that the LF
is vetoing some candidates and I openly tell everyone that we do not have a
veto on anyone but meanwhile we will not accept to give up any of our
ministerial seats in favor of a candidate from
another party,” Geagea added. “We in the LF do not
have a problem if the cabinet is consisted of 24 or 30 ministers and we will
not raise hell under both scenarios,” the LF leader went on to say. Geagea however noted that a smaller cabinet would be more
“productive and effective,” pointing out that “it is not a representative body”
like parliament. After a settlement was reached under which the Marada Movement would be given the public works portfolio
and the LF would get the health portfolio, the cabinet formation process ran
into new obstacles in the wake of the parties' decision to raise the number of
seats from 24 to 30. The parties are reportedly bickering over the six new
candidates amid reservations over some controversial figures as well as over
the shares of some parties.
Report: Changes in the Balance of
Distribution Delays Cabinet Formation
Naharnet/December 16/16/Lining up a new cabinet could
be delayed until next week because President Michel Aoun
suggested to grant specific titles to the ministers who will be given a state
portfolio, which Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri
said presses the need for reconsidering the distribution of ministerial
portfolios, the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa daily reported. Aoun did not in principle object to lining up a cabinet of
30 minsters, said the daily. He only suggested giving specific titles for the
candidates who will be given a state portfolio to give their post some
significance. A State Minister would for example become Minister of State for
Presidential Affairs or Minister of State for Foreign and Financial affairs,
etc. Hariri found this a case to re-examine the distribution of ministerial
portfolios which led to the postponement of the government formation until the
next week, and possibly until after the New year,
added the daily. The above could lead to clear modifications in the previous
distribution of balance which was completed based on forming a cabinet of 24
ministers. It presses the need for a new round of consultations, said al-Anbaa. After a settlement was reached under which the Marada Movement would be given the controversial public
works portfolio and the Lebanese Forces would get the health portfolio, the
cabinet formation process ran into new obstacles in the wake of the parties' decision
to raise the number of seats from 24 to 30.
The parties are reportedly bickering over the six new candidates amid
reservations over some controversial figures as well as over the shares of some
parties.
Sami Gemayel
Urges 'Unified Criteria' in Govt. Formation, Suggests Technocrat Cabinet
Naharnet/December 16/16/Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel slammed Friday what he called a “chaotic” cabinet
formation process, urging “unified criteria” and suggesting the creation of a
“neutral or technocrat” cabinet. “The formation process suffered a setback
after the parties resorted to selectivity. The solution is unifying the
standards upon which the government is being formed,” Gemayel
said at a press conference. “If the equation is that those who voted for the
president should form the cabinet and those who didn't vote for him should go
to opposition, so be it, and we will shoulder the responsibility of our
stances,” Gemayel added. “If the objective is to
represent everyone, then every five MPs have the right to get one minister,
seeing as there are 128 MPs and 30 ministerial seats,” Kataeb's
chief went on to say.
“And if the criterion is popular representation, then let us form a
neutral or technocrat cabinet after which the elections would be held and the
sizes of political forces would become clear,” Gemayel
added. Slamming what he called “the chaos of standards” and the “chaotic
formation process,” the Kataeb chief said his party
is willing to accept a “unified criterion,” even if “this criterion leads to
keeping Kataeb outside the government.” “Kataeb is a free and sovereign voice and it represents a
large portion of the aggrieved Lebanese, and this voice will be heard inside or
outside the cabinet,” Gemayel added.
FPM to Continue Electoral Law Contacts
after Tour as Hizbullah Warns on Deadlines
Naharnet/December 16/16/The Free Patriotic Movement
announced Friday that it will continue its electoral law talks with the
political parties away from the media spotlight, after an FPM delegation met
with the country's main political parties this week to push for the adoption of
a new electoral law. “As of this moment, we will launch the second phase, which
is serious communication away from the media spotlight, because there are
deadlines and our aim is to reach real partnership and equal power-sharing
between Christians and Muslims,” MP Ibrahim Kanaan of
the FPM said after meeting Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh. “We agreed
that the proportional representation system is the only system that ensures the
representation of everyone,” he added. MP Ali Fayyad of Hizbullah
meanwhile announced from Ain el-Tineh that the
parties “must explore means to implement a law fully based on proportional
representation,” calling for “speeding up the discussions over the new electoral
law seeing as the deadlines are nearing.”Caretaker
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq
has recently warned that there is not much time left to pass a new electoral
law while announcing that the ministry is ready to organize the polls under the
1960 law. Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an
electoral law fully based on proportional representation but other political
parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement, have
rejected the proposal and argued that the party's arsenal of arms would prevent
serious competition in regions where the Iran-backed party has clout. Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive
Socialist Party have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes the
proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems. Berri has also proposed a hybrid law. The country has not
voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending
its own mandate. The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960
electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.
Qabalan Reiterates Calls for Proportional Representation
Electoral Law
Naharnet/December 16/16/The deputy head of the Higher
Shiite Islamic Council, Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan
urged Lebanon's
politicians to work hard to produce a new electoral law that fulfills just
representation, the National News Agency reported Friday. “Politicians must
work hard to devise a new electoral law that achieves just representation and
reflects the aspirations of the Lebanese people to choose their representatives
(in the parliament),” said Qabalan in a speech during
the Friday prayer. “That is why we have asked and still call for the adoption
of a proportional representation law considering Lebanon a single electoral
district, which allows a Muslim Lebanese to elect his Christian brother and a
Christian can elect his Muslim brother in order to make Lebanon a country of
true partnership without partiality to any of its components,” concluded Qabalan. Hizbullah has repeatedly
called for an electoral law based on proportional representation but other
political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement,
have rejected the proposal and argued that the party's controversial arsenal of
arms would prevent serious competition in regions where the Iran-backed party
is influential. Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and
the Progressive Socialist Party have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law
that mixes the proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems.
Speaker Nabih Berri has
also proposed a hybrid law. The country has not voted for a parliament since
2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own mandate. The 2009
polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next
elections are scheduled for May 2017.
Aoun: Lebanon faces era of recovery
Fri 16 Dec 2016/NNA - Lebanese President, Michel Aoun,
said on Friday during his meeting with Head of the Physicians Order, Professor
Raymond Sayegh, that Lebanon is undergoing an era of
recovery. Separately, President Aoun received Armenia's Ambassador to Lebanon, Samuel
Makritichian, who handed him an official invitation
from Armenian President, Serzh Sarkisian,
who underlined his "attachment to strengthening bilateral relations."
"Regular visits between the two countries over the last two decades
contributed to improving mutual understanding and to strengthening cooperation
at different levels," the Armenian President said in his letter. Aoun also received congratulations on his election from
President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, relayed by Sierra
Leone's Honorary Consul in Lebanon, Donald Abed. In return,
President Aoun thanked his counterpart for his
wishes, praising the role of the Lebanese Diaspora in Sierra Leone.
The President also received MPs Farid Elias Khazen and Emile Rahme, with
talks touching on the general situation and the needs of Keserwan
and North Bekaa
regions.
Hariri sponsors inauguration of real
estate festival in Beirut Souks
Fri 16 Dec 2016 /NNA - Prime Minister-designate Saad
Hariri, represented by MP Jean Ogassapian, sponsored
on Friday the inauguration of a real-estate festival in Beirut Souks, organized
by SOLIDERE and REDAL. In a word delivered on the occasion, Ogassapian
indicated that Lebanon
was capable of surmounting all hurdles and difficulties, especially in the
fields of investments and real-estates. "The election of President Michel Aoun is a positive development which shall be completed
with the government led by PM Saad Hariri, and which
we hope will be formed soon," he said, adding that this step will lead to
more openness and cooperation with the Arab states. He also confirmed that he
sensed during his participation in several activities in Arab countries, that
"everybody awaits the formation of the government, which shall lead to
visits and meetings on the level of ministers, companies, and
institutions."
Shabib holds meeting to organize traffic during festive
period and after
Fri 16 Dec 2016/NNA - Beirut's Governor, Judge Ziad
Shabib held on Friday noon a meeting at his office in
the Municipal Palace in Beirut to organize and facilitate the traffic in Beirut
City during the festive seasons and after, in the presence of the concerned
sides. The attendees took measures related to the traffic and public safety
during the festive period. "Measures will be taken against violations
related to parking cars on public roads and in places that are not allowed. The
concerned sides will close a number of openings on some roads to allow the
smooth flow of traffic," Shabib stressed. Shabib called for the implementation of Resolution No. 2665
issued by the Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Nuhad
Mashnouk, which determines the timing of motorcycles
starting from 19.00 pm to 5.00 am.
MP Kanaan from
Ain Tineh: New electoral law requires working on it
Fri 16 Dec 2016/NNA - Change and Reform bloc Secretary, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, categorically underscored on Friday the need for a
new electoral law, stressing that such a novel law requires working on it. MP Kanaan's fresh words came in the wake of the meeting
between House Speaker, Nabih Berri,
and a delegation from Change and Reform bloc who visited him today at Ain Tineh residence. "The new electoral law aims to
rectify existing flaws, secure fair representation and reach an effective,
genuine national partnership," added Kanaan.
MP Khreis:
Legislative polls on time as per proportionality law
Fri 16 Dec 2016/NNA - Amal Movement MP Ali Khreis indicated on Friday that the legislative polls will
take place on their due date, but not as per the 1960 majoritarian
election law, "despite efforts by some [sides] to keep on this mode."
"The adoption of the 1960 law means going more than 50 years back; this
will only complicate and aggravate the situation," the lawmaker told a
memorial service in the Tyre town of Bourj Rahhal. Khreis
also reiterated support for the current action seeking agreement on a new law
based upon proportionality with Lebanon
as sole district or several large districts. "This is what House Speaker Nabih Berri has been calling for
since the beginning, through the package deal," he said.
Smuggling attempt of counterfeit $400K to
Iraq foiled at Beirut airport
Fri 16 Dec 2016/NNA - Inspectors at Beirut international airport managed to
foil this morning an attempt to smuggle USD 400 000 in imitated currency into
Iraq, hidden in a cargo pack belonging to Iraqi passenger M.A., a statement by
the Internal Security Forces indicated on Friday. The counterfeit money was
seized and investigation kicked off under the supervision of the competent authority.
Pierre Kakhya
elected FLB President
Fri 16 Dec 2016/NNA - The Lebanese Basketball League (FLB) announced on Friday
the election of its new administration board, held at Demerjian
Center-Naccache. Pierre Kakhya
won the presidency of the league, with Doumet Klab as his First Deputy, and Salim
Fawal as his Second Deputy.
Lebanon’s long wait for a government
Eyad Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/December 16/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/16/eyad-abu-shakraal-arabiya-lebanons-long-wait-for-a-government/
Against the background of Syria’s debacle, Lebanon continues to wait for the
birth of its first government (cabinet) under its new president Michel Aoun.
Yet, Lebanon, long
regarded by Hafez al-Assad, and later Bashar
al-Assad, until 2011 as ‘Syria’s
soft belly’, looks in better shape than its ‘Older Sister’. There is no
fully-fledged destructive war here. No declared and systematic sectarian
displacement carried out by force with official international blessings. And no
need for the East and West to call a common strategy for confronting extremist
groups, operating in territories controlled and occupied by militias unopposed
by regional and international powers, as a result of limiting the anathema of
terror and terrorism to a single confessional strain while overlooking others.
Thus, Lebanon looks
‘great’ compared with Syria;
however, this should not mean that things are really moving in the right
direction, especially in the light of the failure of Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri to form a new government.
When Hezbollah nominated Aoun, head of the Free
Patriotic Movement, as Lebanon’s
presidential candidate, and forced a presidential ‘vacuum’ for almost two and a
half years until it got its way, opinions were divided on its choice of
candidate, its suspension of the elections process, and the way it would deal
with ‘President’ Aoun!
Initially, before the February 2006 ‘agreement’ between the two sides,
Hezbollah was not a great fan of Aoun, and neither
did the hardline Christian Maronite
leader believe much in Hezbollah’s policies of ‘Resistance’. Later, however,
both decided to bury the hatchet and enter a ‘marriage of convenience’ against
the anti-Tehran and anti-Damascus ‘14 of March’ loose coalition, born in the
aftermath of the assassination of the former Prime Minister Rafiq
al-Hariri in February 2005 against what was described as the ‘Lebanese-Syrian
Security Regime’, and Hezbollah’s open support of the al-Assad regime- then
widely accused of carrying out the assassination.
Since February 2006, Aoun has been providing
almost full backing to Hezbollah’s policies and actions, inside and outside
Lebanon; while the latter has turned its ‘agreement’ with Aoun
into a blueprint of its dealings with Lebanon’s religious sects. Hezbollah
through its leaders and mouthpieces has been citing its ‘respect of the
powerbase’s wishes’ within the Christian communities for Aoun
to justify its all-out support for him; and thus regarding Aoun
as the ‘most popular Christian Lebanese leader’ the Shiitete
powerful militia claimed it was abiding with the spirit of the country’s
unwritten ‘National Pact’.
This however, has been rarely practiced by Hezbollah toward other sects,
namely the Sunnis and Druze. The pro-Iran powerful militia brought down the
national unity cabinet headed by the leading Sunni Saad
al-Hariri in January 2011, and formed an alternative cabinet with poor Sunni
cover. On the Druze front, it not only pushed to ‘neutralize’ the supreme Druze
leader Walid Jumblatt, but
also ‘invented’ alternatives even to his traditional competitor Emir Talal Arslan, in case Arslan decided to side with Jumblatt
on issues vital to their small community.
A ‘side show’
The Syrian Uprising, then civil war and international intervention, were
bound to profoundly affect the Lebanese. As the weak independent capabilities
of Bashar al-Assad’s regime became clear for all to
see, Iran’s plans for
regional and sectarian hegemony became clearer; best manifested in Hezbollah’s
direct involvement in combat duties inside Syria
under the guidance of Iran’s
IRGC. Later on, the regional and international picture became clearer still
with the signing of JCPOA (i.e. the Iran
– American nuclear deal), and Russia’s
direct military intervention in support of al-Assad with Washington’s silent approval.
Lebanon remains a ‘soft belly’ although its fragility has now spilled
over across its border and spread into its region
In such a scenario, Lebanon became a ‘side show’, a refuge for the
displaced, and a land controlled by the illegitimate forces of the ‘Status Quo’
which until recently were – along with their sponsor, Iran – accused of aiding
and perpetrating terrorism.
Furthermore, the crippling of political activity entwined with economic
collapse and acute Shiite – Sunni polarization, both inside and outside Lebanon,
have necessitated some sort of a political deal.
However, Lebanon’s internal problems neither disappeared by making Aoun president and al-Harari
prime minister, nor has the state’s wellbeing been assured given the fact that
some local players continue to reject the ‘Taif
Accords’ and conspire against them.
Hence, Lebanon
remains a ‘soft belly’ although its fragility has now spilled over across its
border and spread into its region. This is making more difficult the job of a
political class that proves everyday it does not believe in coexistence, is not
brave enough to be frank about it, is unable to read the changing scene and
seems unable to learn from past mistakes.
*This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on December 9, 2016.
Hazem Saghiya: The Arab Countries
Seem To Be Engaged In A Perpetual War Against Women
MEMRI/December 16/16/In a scathingly sarcastic article on the liberal website Elaph, Lebanese columnist Hazem Saghiya criticized the attitude towards women in the Arab
world, stating that the Arab Spring revolutions took no interest in improving
their status, and that various outrageously misogynic
statements by Arab MPs, as well as cases of blatant discrimination against
women, reflect their dire situation in the Arab world. He stated further that
when women leave home and find employment, men feel threatened and respond with
violent misogynist rhetoric. The following are excerpts from his article:[1]
"An observer might get the impression that, in addition to the many civil
wars raging in the Arab countries, these countries are also engaged in a
perpetual war against women. Very many men in our midst – [whether] at the top
echelons of leadership or in the lowest strata of society – feel helpless, unsure what to do with these creatures [i.e.,
women] whose numbers seem excessive. "A Lebanese MP called Elie Marouni, who generally
failed to notice that women had any role [in society] at all, understood one
day that they do have a role, and he should be thanked for that. But the role
he ascribed to them was [embodied by his statement] that 'some women give a
rapist a reason to rape them.' "Egyptian MP Ilhami
Agina, possessing an imagination and [capacity] for
fantasy absent in his Lebanese colleague, opposed a bill criminalizing female
genital mutilation. [According to him], the rise in impotence among men
obligates us to suppress sexual desire in women! Agina
kindly provided us with an opportunity to examine the unusual and amazing statistic, that between 70 and 90 percent of Egyptian women have
undergone FGM.
"The same day… [my] colleague, [journalist] Roula Amin, posted an 'urgent
call' on Facebook demanding to enforce the decision
of a Jordanian court [giving her custody over her daughter. She wrote]: 'My ex-husband Muhammad 'Ajlouni
took my seven-year-old daughter Dina for a routine visit and did not return her
as mandated by the court's ruling, and the police say they cannot do anything
to help me.' It was the widespread solidarity [evoked by Amin's
post], and the extensive pressure exerted by media outlets of every sort, that
[eventually] caused Dina to be returned to her mother. "These are three
headlines that were highlighted by the media and social networks, all of them
somehow related to the plight of Arab women. But [the fact is that] there are
many thousands [of women] who live out their tragedies in remote suburbs and
locked rooms that nobody discusses what goes on in them.
"What to do with a woman who is forever required to be [treated] either
like a slave, a commodity or a doll? The [Arab] regimes, whether conservative
or revolutionary, only work to entrench this status of women. The Arab Spring
revolutions, with the partial exception of the one in Tunisia, took
no interest in the situation [of women] or in changing it. The military regimes
chose to turn her into a soldier to be paraded around on 'Revolution Day.' The
revolutionary Islamists regarded her as another object to control and to punish
in the name of the scriptures. At the same time, the old tradition of
[publishing articles] celebrating some socialite or businesswoman continued, so
that their photos in women's magazines and society magazines would prove [to
the world] that we [Arabs] have come a long way in [guaranteeing] equality
between the sexes!
"But the fact is that women are excluded from public discourse, and are
suddenly remembered [only] when there is a need for proof of Western
conspiracies or Orientalism that distorts [our
image]. In any case, [the discourse on women's issues] is confined to a handful
of feminist men and women and a few legislators and activists in civil society
organizations whose noble [intentions] and enthusiasm exceed their [actual]
influence. The same is true for the Western pressure on our governments, for
our governments deceive the West by beautifying [the facts and keeping up] the
charade until the Western official's [plane] leaves the airport, and then
things go back to the way they were.
"All this is happening while masculinity is in deep crisis, not only in
our [societies] but throughout the world. Suffice it to mention that modern
societies and economies render physical strength unnecessary, along with the
values that were long associated with manliness and are [now] obsolete. When
the education [system], job market and media strive to integrate women and
encourage them to leave home, this pours fuel on the fires of masculine rage
that are already burning. Add to that the current decline of enlightenment and
modernity, as indicated by the rise to power of men like Donald Trump and Silvio Berlusconi before him, and we discover that the
'macho male' uses the most despicable rhetoric and behaviors
to protect the old world [order] and his privileged status.
"However, while the British, and not only them, are thinking of including
hostility and hatred towards women in the category of hate crimes, we in this
part of the world find nothing to rely on in confronting the mounting
barbarity: neither moral standards, nor policies nor laws have any effect. As
for the MPs of the Arab nation, who are elected by the public to pass laws and
limit the brutal power of the executive branch over us, [let me just say that] Marouni and Agina are not [even]
the worst of the lot.
"In this situation only one thing still keeps us awake at night: what
shall we do with this burden called women?"
Endnotes:
Hezbollah vs. ISIS. vs. Israel
Jonathan Spyer/The Jerusalem Post/December 12, 2016'
http://www.meforum.org/6418/hezbollah-vs-isis-vs-israel
Some of the world's deadlies non-state military
forces are deployed close to Israel's
border with Syria.
Two incidents in recent weeks showcase the complexity of the challenges facing Israel on its
northern front.
In the first, an air strike killed four members of the Islamic State-affiliated
Khalid Ibn al-Walid Army
after a patrol of the Golani reconnaissance unit in
the southern Golan Heights was targeted by the
organization. Israeli aircraft then targeted a facility used by the group in
the Wadi Sirhan area.
In the second incident, according to regional media reports, Israeli aircraft
operating from Lebanese airspace fired Popeye missiles at targets in the Sabboura area, 8 km. northwest of Damascus.
There were no casualties, according to SANA,
the official Syrian news agency.
London-based Arabic newspaper Rai al-Youm reported that the Israeli strike was targeting a
Hezbollah-bound weapons convoy. The paper also reported that Israeli aircraft
carried out a second strike on a facility of Syria's
4th Armored Division, near Damascus.
Israel
neither confirmed nor denied the second incident. But on a number of occasions
over the last four years of war in Syria,
Israel has used its ability
to operate in the skies over Syria
to prevent weapons transfers to Hezbollah in Lebanon from the Syrian regime. It
is possible that this incident was the latest act in this effort.
A brutal Khalid Ibn al-Walid Army execution earlier this year.
These two events are of tactical importance only. Neither is likely at this
stage to lead to broader engagements, but they reflect a reality in which some
of the world's most powerful non-state military organizations are deployed
close to Israel's border
with Syria,
making war against one another while planning and organizing for a future war
against the Jewish state.
The Khalid Ibn al-Walid
Army is a franchise of the Islamic State. It was formed from the merger of two Salafi organizations operating in southern Syria – the Shuhada al-Yarmuk group and the Muthanna organization. The group controls an area of the
border east of the Golan Heights, from south of the town of Tasil, down to Syria's
border with Jordan.
From this area, Khalid Ibn al-Walid
is conducting a war against the Syrian rebels to its north. It does not fight
the forces of the Syrian government because they are not deployed in its
immediate vicinity.
Israel
has long eyed the Islamic State-affiliate with particular suspicion, expecting
that sooner or later a clash would be inevitable. This week it came.
A relationship of tolerance and cooperation exists between Israel and
non-Islamic State rebels along the border.
The volume of the Israeli response was clearly intended to reestablish
deterrence against the Sunni jihadis, with the hope
that it will cause them to think again before engaging with Israeli forces.
Islamic State is facing battle for survival in its main domains farther north
and in Iraq
and it is unlikely to be in a position to contemplate opening a front against a
newer and more powerful enemy farther south.
The non-Islamic State rebels who control the rest of the border, with the
exception of a small regime-controlled part at the northern edge near Beit Jinn, are of lesser concern to Israel. Indeed,
a relationship of tolerance and cooperation exists between Israel and
elements among those rebels.
Israel's
main concern, rather, is the Iran/Assad/Hezbollah side. The reported strikes in
the Damascus
area, if they took place, were the latest incidents in a limited Israeli
campaign against these elements intended to produce two outcomes: first, to
limit the transfer of complex weapons systems to Hezbollah, and second, to keep
the Iran-supported militia and its allies from replacing the rebels along the
borderline.
As of now, it is difficult to assess the extent of the success of the first
objective.
Hezbollah is known to now possess advanced SA-22 anti-aircraft missiles and Yakhont anti-ship missiles. So, as might be expected, it
appears that the sporadic Israeli efforts have not succeeded in sealing the
Lebanese-Syrian border from efforts by the Assad regime and Iran to supply
their ally to the west.
Regarding the border, however, as of now, it remains almost entirely out of
government hands, reflecting greater Israeli success.
Smoke rises from a Syrian village near the border with Israel, as seen from the Golan
Heights, September 8, 2014. Photo: Flash90
Nevertheless, Israeli planners are carefully observing events farther north.
President Bashar Assad's regime, with Russian help,
is set to reconquer the northern city of Aleppo. This will
represent the greatest setback for the rebels since 2012. Once the reconquest of eastern Aleppo
is completed, regime forces will hope to move against remaining areas of rebel
control in Idlib Governorate.
If they succeed also there, then eventually the southern front will come back
on to the agenda. At this point, the Israeli concern will be that similar methods
to those that helped the regime to prevail elsewhere will be used here too. The
Russian entry into the Syrian arena has tilted the balance for the regime and
complicated the picture from Israel's
point of view. It is Russian air power that is enabling the regime to advance
in the north. If employed in the south, it can be expected to eventually
produce similar results.
It is probable that Israel
will be quietly lobbying Moscow to take account
of Israel's
security needs on the border when contemplating action in the south. The
Russians are not hostile to Israel,
but will act according to how they perceive their own interests. Their decision
as to whether to allow Assad to reconquer the
southwest of his country – and by so doing to allow Iran
and Hezbollah to reach the border with Israel – will be decisive.
Of course, even in the worst case scenario in which they decide to allow this,
the task facing Israel
on the border will not fundamentally change. It will mean that instead of
needing to deter hostile but relatively weak Sunni jihadi
forces from contemplating action against the hated Zionists, Israel will
need to deter hostile and less weak Shi'ite jihadis with the same intentions.
Iran/Hezbollah and Islamic State agree about relatively little, but on the goal
of destroying Israel and
returning Jerusalem
to Islamic rule they are entirely in consensus.
Israel,
naturally, prefers the weaker, non-state enemy in close proximity to the
stronger. The events of this week show that it is engaged in a tacit, ongoing,
unstated and limited war against both.
***Jonathan Spyer, a fellow at the Middle East Forum,
is director of the Rubin
Center for Research in
International Affairs and author of The Transforming Fire: The Rise of the
Israel-Islamist Conflict (Continuum, 2011).
Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on December
16-17/16
Obama: Syria's Assad,
Russia and Iran Have Blood on Hands
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December
16/16/U.S. President Barack Obama declared Friday that Bashar
Assad's Syrian regime and its Iranian and Russian backers are responsible for
the slaughter of civilians in Aleppo, with "blood... on their hands."
"The world as we speak is united in horror at the savage assault by the
Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian allies on the city of Aleppo," he told an
end-of-year news conference. "This blood and these atrocities are on their
hands," he said, before admitting to reporters that he also asks himself
whether the United States
has done enough to halt the war. "There are places around the world where
horrible things are happening and -- because of my office, because I'm
president of the United
States -- I feel responsible," he said.
"Is there something I could do that would save lives and make a difference
and spare some child who doesn't deserve to suffer? So that's a starting point."The U.S. leader, who leaves office on
January 20 to make way for President-elect Donald Trump, called for impartial
observers to deploy to monitor efforts to evacuate civilians from the city. And
he warned Assad, who has been engaged in a brutal civil war against rebel
forces since 2011, that he will not be able to "slaughter his way to
legitimacy."
Synonym for hell
Obama's White House has been engaged in a diplomatic effort to convince Russia to bring
Assad to the table to negotiate a peace deal with the Syrian opposition. But
all attempts to broker a ceasefire have rapidly broken down, and now Russia is working with Turkey to oversee an evacuation of the last
rebel-held pocket of Aleppo.
On Friday, the Syrian government suspended that operation, trapping thousands
of civilians and rebel fighters in the city and increasing fears of a bloodbath
to come. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned
that Aleppo had
become "a synonym for hell" and urged "the parties to take all
necessary measures to allow safe resumption of this evacuation process."
Senior U.S. officials,
including Secretary of State John Kerry and Washington's ambassador to the U.N. Samantha
Power, have warned Assad against carrying out a Srebrenica-style massacre. They
have also warned the defeat of Aleppo
will not end the civil war but instead foment extremism among Assad's opponents
and have called for war crimes investigations.
Right approach
But Washington has not been able to mediate the start of a credible peace
process, nor separate so-called "moderate rebels" from
al-Qaida-linked extremists. "I cannot claim that we've been successful and
so that's something that, as is true with a lot of issues and problems around the
world I have to go to bed with every night," Obama said. "But I
continue to believe it was the right approach given what realistically we could
get done." More than 310,000 people have been killed since early 2011,
when Assad brutally repressed anti-government protests and provoked a civil
war. More than half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming
refugees, placing a huge burden on neighboring
countries and sparking a political crisis in Europe.
Meanwhile, the extremist Islamic State jihadist group has taken advantage of
the chaos to seize part of eastern Syria
and set up a "capital" in the city of Raqa. U.S. troops and
warplanes are helping locally recruited militias fight the Islamic State in the
east, but have not intervened against Assad, who has Russian military backing.
France Makes U.N. Push for Aleppo
Observers
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December
16/16/France will on Friday seek Russia's
backing at the U.N. Security Council to allow international observers to be
deployed to Aleppo
and urgent deliveries of humanitarian to the Syrian city, the ambassador said.
A draft resolution prepared by France,
Germany
and other European countries could be quickly adopted if there is a consensus
at the council on the emergency measures, said Francois Delattre.
"The immediate priority is to save lives, to stop the massacres and to
avoid a new Srebrenica," Delattre told
reporters, referring to the massacre of Bosnian Muslims at the hands of Bosnian
Serbs during the Balkan wars. "It is critically urgent that populations be
safely evacuated and be evacuated under the surveillance and coordination of
international observers," he said. The Syrian government suspended the
evacuation of civilians and fighters from Aleppo
on Friday, leaving thousands of people trapped and facing an uncertain fate.
The Security Council will hold an emergency meeting around midday (1700 GMT) to
hear a report from UN aid chief Stephane
O'Brien on the situation in Aleppo
and discuss the French proposal. Delattre said France would support calling an emergency
session of the General Assembly on the Aleppo
crisis if the council again fails to take action on Syria. Such a step would be aimed
at maximizing pressure on Syria
and its main backers, Russia
and Iran,
he said. The Syrian government has for months refused to allow UN aid convoys
to reach Aleppo as forces loyal to President Bashar
al-Assad pushed ahead with an offensive to crush opposition fighters who held
the city's east since 2012. Under a deal reached with Syria and backed by Russia
and Turkey, evacuations held
from the last remaining pocket of rebel opposition in Aleppo on Thursday, but were halted on
Friday. It is unclear how many people remain in east Aleppo, with tens of thousands fleeing to
territory held by the government or Kurds in recent days but perhaps tens of
thousands still inside. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told a council debate on the Middle East that
humanitarian aid was reaching Aleppo
and that priority was a return to political negotiations. "We believe that
the most urgent task now is a comprehensive end to military activity and
resumption of inter-Syrian negotiations and Damascus has expressed more than
once its readiness to take part in these negotiations," said Churkin. The fall of Aleppo
will hand Assad his biggest victory in the nearly six-year war,
that has killed more than 300,000 and displaced half of the country's
population.
Damascus Blast Reportedly Caused by
7-Year-Old Girl Carrying Explosive Belt
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December
16/16/A blast that rocked a police station in southeast Damascus on Friday was
caused by a seven-year-old girl carrying a belt of explosives, Syrian media
reported. The explosion in the bustling Midan neighborhood of the Syrian capital wounded three police
officers, said the al-Watan daily, which is close to
the government. "A seven-year-old girl entered the police station,
carrying a belt that was detonated from afar," the paper posted on its Facebook page. A police source told al-Watan
that she had appeared lost and asked to use the bathroom when the explosives
went off. Although rebel groups have fired rockets and mortar rounds into the
capital, explosions inside the city itself are rare. Syrian state news agency SANA said earlier there were preliminary reports about a
"terrorist explosion at the Midan police station
in Damascus."The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed
there had been a blast in Midan but said it could not
specify the cause. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that "one woman" was killed in
the blast, but it remained unclear whether she was a suicide bomber or a
bystander. In early 2012, a suicide bomber killed 26 people when he blew
himself up in Midan. More than 310,000 people have
died since Syria's
conflict broke out in 2011.
Russia’s Putin to seek nationwide ceasefire in Syria
Reuters, Tokyo Friday, 16 December 2016/Russian
President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia
would now pursue talks on a nationwide ceasefire in Syria. Speaking at a news
conference during a visit to Japan,
Putin said that he had agreed with Turkish President Tayyip
Erdogan to hold peace talks on Syria in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. Those
talks would be in addition to United Nations brokered talks that have been
taking place intermittently in Geneva,
Putin told reporters.
Iran in Aleppo: ‘Kill all those who are
trapped’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 16 December
2016/Syrian media sources said that General Javad al-Ghafari, commander of the Revolutionary Guards and 16
IRGC-backed Shiite militias wants to kill all those who are still trapped in
eastern Aleppo, which is hampering the completion of the operation aiming to
evacuate the rest of the civilians and fighters. The sources said that General Ghafari has been in conflict with the Russians since the
beginning; since he didn’t want civilians and opposition fighters to evacuate
the besieged neighborhoods.
He hindered the Russian-Turkish agreement, where Iranian media had started to
attack Russia
in line with talks about this agreement. Iranian media hinted about a conflict
of interest between the two sides in Syria. General Ghafari, who took command of the Revolutionary Guard and
its affiliated militias in Syria
after the killing of General Hussein Hamadani in
October 2015, was able to break the siege of Aleppo
by taking control of the Khanasser road up to the
central prison of Aleppo,
a year and a half after the start of the operation.
Aleppo evacuation of civilians ‘suspended’
Agencies Friday, 16 December 2016/The Syrian government on Friday suspended an
operation to evacuate civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo, accusing the
opposition of violating the deal, a security source said. An AFP correspondent
heard gunfire and explosions in Ramussa, the government-held
neighborhood that evacuees had been passing through.
"The evacuation operation has been suspended because the militants failed
to respect the conditions of the agreement," the security source told Agence France-Presse.
A regime source close to the negotiations said the deal had been suspended
because rebels were "leaving Aleppo
with hostages."In Ramussa,
buses and ambulances that had been waiting to evacuate more people left the
area after the gunfire and explosions, the AFP correspondent said. The delicate
operation to evacuate remaining civilians and fighters from east Aleppo began on Thursday
afternoon and continued through the night. The Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said around 8,500 people had left the city,
going to rebel-held territory in the west of the province. The army began an
operation to recapture all of Aleppo in mid-November, and had overrun more than
90 percent of the former rebel bastion in the east of the city before the
evacuation began.Kerry accuses Assad regime of Aleppo
‘massacre’
US Secretary of State John Kerry accused Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad on Thursday of carrying out “nothing short of a massacre” as tens of
thousands of Syrian civilians remained trapped in Aleppo. "The Assad regime
is actually carrying out nothing short of a massacre," Kerry said.
"And we have witnessed indiscriminate slaughter, not accidents of war, not
collateral damage, but frankly purposeful, a cynical policy of terrorizing civilians."He accused Assad, who is from Syria's Alawite minority and is backed by Iranian-backed Shiite
militias, of unleashing a "sectarian passion" in his Sunni majority
country. United States Secretary of State John Kerry delivers a statement on
the situation in Aleppo, Syria at the State Department in Washington U.S., December 15, 2016. (Reuters)
Kerry also warned that the civilians still trapped in the city must not face a
Srebrenica-style massacre, although he stopped short of offering a new plan to
end the war. "What has happened already in Aleppo
is unconscionable," Kerry told reporters as a first convoy of hundreds Aleppo civilians made use
of a ceasefire to flee the city. "But there remains tens of thousands of
lives that are now concentrated into a very small area of Aleppo," he said. "And the last
thing anybody wants to see... is that that small area turns into another
Srebrenica," he said, referring to a 1995 Bosnian war massacre. Kerry
demanded that Russia,
which backs the Syrian regime, compel its ally to come to the negotiating
table. "The only remaining question is whether the Syrian regime with Russia's support is willing to go to Geneva prepared to
negotiate constructively," he said.
‘Idlib risks Aleppo fate’
UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura
warned on Thursday that without a ceasefire or political agreement the
rebel-stronghold of Idlib risked becoming a new
Aleppo after the evacuation of thousands from the besieged city started. The
operation to evacuate civilians and fighters from Aleppo began on Thursday, part of a ceasefire
deal that would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A Syrian man, who
was evacuated from rebel-held neighbourhoods in the embattled city of Aleppo, cries upon his
arrival in the opposition-controlled Khan al-Aassal
region. (AFP) Speaking alongside French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, de Mistura said some
50,000 people were still in eastern Aleppo
and, to ensure a smooth process, the United Nations needed to be given
permission to send more observers to the city to guarantee there were no
reprisals and that aid was distributed. “There are about 50,000 people,
including 40,000 civilians that will go to West Aleppo.
For those we need to be present to ensure they aren't 'disturbed',” de Mistura said, referring to possible atrocities already
carried out in recent days. He said the remaining 10,000 were made up of
between 1,500 to 5,000 fighters and their families, who would be evacuated to
the northern city of Idlib. “I don't know what will
happen in Idlib, but if there is no ceasefire or
political accord then it will become the next Aleppo,” he said. De Mistura
said there were “not enough” UN observers on the ground at present. (With AFP
and Reuters)
Coalition strike destroys ISIS weapons near Palmyra
AFP, Washington Friday, 16 December 2016/US-led coalition aircraft have
destroyed heavy weaponry seized by ISIS when they retook the Syrian city of
Palmyra from regime forces over the weekend, officials said Friday. The strikes
on Thursday destroyed an air defense artillery
system, 14 tanks, three artillery systems, two ISIS-held buildings and two
tactical vehicles, the coalition said in a statement. Among the Russian
weaponry the ISIS captured around Palmyra were thought to be modern surface-to-air
missiles, or SAMs, giving militants the potential
capability to shoot down coalition jets, a coalition official told AFP. Earlier
on Wednesday, the commander of the coalition forces conducting air strikes
against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, Lieutenant
General Stephen Townsend, had said that “anything they (ISIS) seize poses a
threat to the coalition, but we can manage those threats and we will.”
Thursday’s attack took place near the Tiyas military
airfield near Palmyra,
northeast of the fabled city along a highway. ISIS overran Palmyra on Sunday,
nine months after its fighters were expelled by Russian air strikes and forces
loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad. Militants had
initially seized Palmyra
in May 2015 and went on to blow up UNESCO-listed Roman-era temples and loot
ancient relics. Before ISIS retook the city, it had been the focus of Russian
and Syrian counter-ISIS operations and not an area were the US coalition
was particularly active.
UN nuclear watchdog chief to visit Iran on
Sunday
Reuters, Vienna Friday, 16 December 2016/The head of the atomic energy watchdog
agency of the United Nations will travel to Iran on Sunday for meetings about
the country’s implementation of its nuclear agreement with major powers, the
International Atomic Energy Agency said on Friday. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano expressed “concerns” to Iran last month
over its repeated testing of a limit under that agreement on its stock of heavy
water, a substance used as a moderator in some nuclear reactors. Iran has since
shipped its excess heavy water out of the country, but diplomats say it has yet
to be delivered to a buyer. The United States
and its allies say Tehran
must do so to comply with the agreement. “The visit is part of regular
high-level contacts between the agency and Iran,”
the IAEA, which is policing the restrictions the agreement places on Iran’s nuclear
activities, said in a statement. “In Tehran, the
Director General will discuss Iran’s
implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA),” it said, using the official name of the deal, which
also lifted international sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The row over
heavy water raises questions about how US President-elect Donald Trump will
handle any such incidents after he takes office next month. He has said he
would “police that contract so tough they (the Iranians) don’t have a chance.”The visit also comes as Iran
is complaining increasingly loudly that the United
States has not held up its side of the bargain, a charge Washington denies.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered his
country’s scientists on Tuesday to start developing systems for nuclear-powered
marine vessels. He was responding to a decision by US Congress to extend some
sanctions against Tehran
that would also make it easier to re-impose others.
Turkey to set up camp for 80,000 Aleppo
evacuees
Reuters, Cilvegozu, Turkey Friday, 16 December 2016/Turkey plans to
set up a camp inside Syria
to host people evacuated from the city of Aleppo
but will continue to take the sick and wounded to Turkish hospitals, officials
said on Friday. Two potential sites, around 3.5 km (2 miles) inside Syria, have
been identified for a camp with the capacity to host up to 80,000 people, two
senior officials told Reuters. “Work on the infrastructure for the camp will
begin shortly,” another official from the Turkish aid organization IHH said by
phone from inside Syria.
The camp will be jointly set up by the Turkish Red Crescent, disaster agency
AFAD and IHH. The IHH official said evacuees had so far largely found shelter
with relatives in and around Syria’s
Idlib province, southwest of Aleppo, but added that work to identify those
with nowhere to go was under way. Some arrived on Friday at a clinic in Syria close to
the Turkish border gate of Cilvegozu where they were
tended to by Turkish aid workers, video footage obtained by Reuters showed. “We
were bombed by a plane,” said one man, his head and arm bandaged, lying on a
bed hugging his young son. “All my family were killed and all I have left is
him and a daughter,” he said. He had been told his daughter had been brought to
Turkey
but did not know her condition or whereabouts.Turkey
has taken in 55 wounded or sick evacuees, according to Hasan
Aydinlik, head of an emergency response division of
the Turkish Health Ministry. He told reporters at the Cilvegozu
crossing that one of the wounded had died in hospital while four people,
including a child, were in serious condition. The evacuation of the last
opposition-held areas of Aleppo
was suspended on Friday after pro-government militias demanded that wounded
people should also be brought out of two Shi’ite
Muslim villages being besieged by rebels. Turkey
says that close to 8,000 people - rebels and civilians - have been evacuated
under a ceasefire deal it brokered with Russia. Turkey is already sheltering around
2.7 million Syrian refugees. An aid official with Syrian NGO Shafak, working on the Aleppo
evacuation, said he expected more people to head for the Turkish border as the
villages west of Aleppo
were now full. Aleppo
was divided between government and rebel areas of control for much of the
nearly six-year-old civil war. But a lightning advance by the Syrian army and
its allies that began in mid-November saw the insurgents lose most of their
territory.
ISIS push families back to the heart of
Mosul
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 16 December
2016/Al Arabiya’s correspondent in Iraq said on
Friday that ISIS is forcing the residents of the neighborhoods
that are near the Iraqi forces and which were not invaded by counter-terrorism
forces to flee towards the center of Mosul, to ensure that these families will
not go towards areas that are being recovered from ISIS. Security sources
reported to Al Arabiya on Thursday that ISIS is
fighting to protect a new defensive line in the archaeological city of Nineveh, in order to prevent Iraqi forces from approaching
adjacent areas to the Tigris
River. On another level,
regarding the losses of ISIS in Mosul, Al Arabiya correspondent quoted security sources saying that
ISIS security leader in Nineveh,
Badran Abu Ayyub, was
killed in an air strike by the international coalition. It is worth mentioning
that the intensity of the fighting in Mosul has
downgraded recently due to heavy rains and bad weather, prompting ISIS to launch counter attacks on Thursday, targeting the
counter-terrorism apparatus and civilians.
US House: Iran violated the nuclear agreement by ‘supporting terrorism’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 16 December
2016/The Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the US House of
Representatives, Ed Royce, rejected Tehran’s claims about the violation of the
United States nuclear deal, saying that “Iran is the one who violated the
agreement through its support to terrorism. Indeed, the quest to develop a
missile capable of striking the United
States is a direct threat to American
national security.”Royce said in a statement Thursday
that “the extension of sanctions for ten years against Iran has nothing to do with the nuclear deal,
and we should not be fooled by Tehran.”According
to Royce, the law will renew existing sanctions - which were not part of
President Obama’s nuclear agreement – in an effort to confront Iran’s illegal
missile program, and ensures Trump’s administration another set of strong
sanctions if Iran went on to build a nuclear weapon. The head of the Foreign
Relations Committee in the US House of Representatives, stressed that “Iran is the
only party who has violated the terms of the agreement. This law will ensure
that the United States
reserves the right to hold accountable the Iranian regime.” The House of
Representatives is drafting an additional project law against Tehran which includes three packages of new
sanctions against the Revolutionary Guards, the leaders of the Iranian regime
for its continued support for terrorism in the region and the world and ongoing
human rights violations against its own people, and its controversial missile
project. The new sanctions aim to reduce Iran’s
military interventions and terrorist operations in the region and the world;
the Revolutionary Guards would be classified as a threat to the security of the
United States
and its allies.
British PM refuses to end Saudi Arabia
arms sales
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 16 December
2016/British Prime Minister Theresa May has rejected a call for the UK to stop
selling weapons to Saudi Arabia. Answering a question from the Scottish
National Party’s Westminster group leader Angus
Robertson parliament this week, May said the UK’s regime was “very strict.” “As
the right honorable gentleman knows we do have a very
strict regime of export licenses in relation to weapons here in the United
Kingdom, We exercise that very carefully and in recent years we have indeed
refused export licenses in relations to arms including to Yemen and Saudi
Arabia,” May said in remarks reported by the Independent. She added that the
intervention in Yemen
is a UN-backed intervention."We
do have a relationship with Saudi
Arabia – the security of the Gulf is
important to us. I would remind the RHG that the intelligence and
counter-terrorism links we have with Saudi Arabia
has saved potentially hundreds of lives here in the UK.”
US files first case against ISIS to recover antiquities
AFP, Washington Friday, 16 December 2016/The United States filed a suit in
court on Thursday to recover an ancient serpentine ring and gold coins
trafficked by ISIS in a move aimed at preventing stolen Syrian and Iraqi
antiquities from disappearing into collectors' hands.
The US attorney filed a
forfeiture claim in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against the
antiquities, thought to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Officials
have not said where the treasures might be, but the action aims to warn
would-be collectors that any purchase they might make could be contested. The
antiquities, including a neo-Assyrian stele, were identified from cell-phone
pictures and other electronic media seized from powerful ISIS commander Abu Sayyaf, who was killed in a US Special Operations raid in
eastern Syria
in May 2015. Abu Sayyaf was in charge of raising
money for ISIS from the antiquities trade,
selling or taxing looted artifacts from the ancient
and culturally rich region. The group is believed to have raked in several
million dollars from the lucrative trade, the US State Department said last
year. US
authorities recovered extensive records of the trade in the raid, including
pictures, documentation of taxes collected and sales made. There was even a
claim by traders who said an ISIS official
cheated them out of some valuable items.
Assistant US Attorney Arvind Lal
said the four items named in the seizure filing, the first of its kind, were
the first which could be clearly identified and described for the legal action.
"When the raid was conducted on Abu Sayyaf, the United States
collected a lot of electronic media," like cellphones,
he told AFP. "There were many, many images on that electronic media"
of ancient artifacts. The court action formally laid US claim to the items based on US sanctions
against ISIS as a foreign terrorist group. The
aim, Lal said, is to put the global antiquities trade
on notice that anyone who buys them will not have legal title to them. Lal would not say if the US knows where the items are: a stunning gold ring with a serpentine cameo face of the
Greek goddess Tyche from 330-400 AD; second-century
Roman coins featuring Antoninus Pius and Emperor
Hadrian Augustus Caesar; and a cuneiform stele possibly dating to the ninth
century BC. Lal said the aim is not for the US to
take permanent control of the items, but eventually to return them to the
authorities who are the rightful owners.
"Antiquities seized in the Abu Sayyaf raid were
handed over to Iraq,"
he noted.
Netanyahu Urges Settlers to Allow Peaceful
Eviction
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December
16/16/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Friday on residents of a
wildcat Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank
to refrain from violence against security forces during their imminent
eviction. "My heart is with you," Netanyahu said in an address to 40
families facing a court order to leave the Amona
outpost by December 25 because it was found to have been built on private
Palestinian land. The Amona residents had rejected
early Thursday a government proposal to leave voluntarily, raising fears of
violence as the relocation deadline approached. "I call on everyone to act
responsibly -- do not harm IDF (Israel Defense
Forces) soldiers or security forces in any way. These are our sons,"
Netanyahu said in a video posted on his Facebook page."There is no room for violence," he said,
calling on Amona parents to keep their children away
from the outpost during the eviction, the date of which is not publicly known.
Netanyahu also stressed the importance of upholding the law which also applies
to illegal Arab construction in Israel.
"The court ruling binds us all, it binds the government too. But the law
must be equitable. The same law that necessitates Amona's
evacuation necessitates the evacuation of illegal construction in other parts
of our country," he said. "I have therefore ordered to expedite the
demolition of illegal construction in the Negev, in Wadi
Ara, the Galilee,
the center -- in all parts of the country," Netanyahu said of areas with
significant Arab populations. "I won't tolerate double standards in
enforcing construction (laws) between Israeli citizens, whether Jewish or Arab."The dispute over whether to demolish the Amona outpost northeast of Ramallah has taken on
international importance because of concern over settlement expansion in the
West Bank, occupied by Israel
since 1967. All Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, are seen as illegal under international law,
but Israel
differentiates between those it has approved and those it has not. Settlements
such as Amona -- those that Israel has not
approved -- are called outposts. Amona residents
responded to Netanyahu's video, saying they "were not seeking empathy."
"We expect the person leading a state to be capable of finding a way to
prevent the terrible injustice about to happen," a statement issued by a
spokesman for the outpost said.
Putin, Abe Signal no Resolution on Island
Dispute
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December
16/16/Russia and Japan on Friday signalled there was no resolution after a
two-day summit to a decades-long territorial dispute that has blocked them from
achieving a peace treaty to formally end World War II hostilities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks in Abe's ancestral hometown and in Tokyo, in the latest
attempt to secure a deal."It would be naive to
think we can solve this problem in an hour," Putin said at a joint press
conference with Abe. "There must be an end to this historic
ping-pong," he said. "The fundamental interests of Russia and Japan require a long-term deal."Abe concurred, but said the effort would
continue despite the "difficult path ahead"."Concluding
a peace treaty that has not been concluded in more than 70 years is not
easy," Abe said. "But we cannot resolve this issue only by asserting
the correctness of each other's claims." The Soviet Union seized four
islands off Japan's
northern coast in 1945 in the closing days of the war. The dispute over the
islands, known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern
Territories in Japan,
has prevented the two sides from fully putting the conflict behind them. Abe
has looked to win concessions by dangling the prospect of major Japanese
investment in front of Moscow, which is mired in
an economic crisis made worse by falling oil prices and Western sanctions over
Crimea and Ukraine.
Before they spoke, the two leaders oversaw a flurry of signings by their
governments and businesses for economic cooperation and agreed to begin
negotiations towards possible economic cooperation in the disputed islands. Abe
said they had agreed on "more than 60 projects" in economic-related
sectors. "I believe there are a wide range of areas where Japan and Russia have not exercised our
fullest potential, despite the fact that we are neighbouring nations," he
said. 'Security issues' -Putin said business ties were a way to build
confidence. "Our work together on the economic front will help us create a
foundation to improve relations," he said. Local media reported Japan would provide an economic package worth
about 300 billion yen ($2.5 billion), including private sector projects in
areas such as mining, and loans for natural gas exploration and economic
development in Russia's Far East. Japan,
however, did not immediately announce such a figure. Despite any largesse from Tokyo, few believe Putin is likely to hand the islands
back, not least because of their strategic value sitting astride the entrance
to the Sea of Okhotsk. "There are security
issues," Putin said. "We have two naval bases in Vladivostok, from where our ships go out to
the Pacific. "We'd like the Japanese side to take
all these concerns into account." Abe had tried to create a warm atmosphere
for the talks, encouraging Putin to sample hot springs
in his hometown and accompanying the accomplished judoist
to a demonstration of the sport in Tokyo.
Despite Abe's efforts, Putin clearly bested him, said Itsuro
Nakamura, professor of Russian politics at the University of Tsukuba.
"Putin pocketed a lot of souvenirs and lost nothing at all during the
trip," Nakamura told AFP. "There was no progress on the territorial
issue. "Ahead of elections in Russia, Putin will never compromise
on it."Putin has not yet confirmed his candidacy
but is widely expected to run for a fourth term in March 2018.
Saudi Arabia Resets Calendar To Follow
Birth Date Of Jesus Christ
Ruth Gledhill/Christian Today/December 16/2016
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/16/ruth-gledhillchristian-today-saudi-arabia-resets-calendar-to-follow-birth-date-of-jesus-christ/
Saudi Arabia has changed its official calendar so that the Islamic kingdom is
now being run on a timeline based on the birth of Jesus Christ.
Saudi Arabia
has used the Islamic Hijri calendar since the kingdom
was founded in 1932. The lunar Hijri calendar dates
its first year in AD 622, when Muhammad made his pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina.
It has 12 months but each year is 11 days shorter than a year of the Gregorian
calendar. The
kingdom has adopted the Western Gregorian calendar, based on the date of the
birth of Jesus Christ, for administering the state, such as paying its civil
servants. The downside for the civil servants and all other public sector workers, is that for no extra pay, they now have to work an
extra 11 days a year.
The dates of Islamic festivals will continue to follow the Hijri
calendar as they do worldwide.
Christians are still not allowed to worship publicly in Saudi Arabia
and there are no official churches. According to The Economist, puritans in
Islam’s birthplace are “wincing” at their loss of control of the calendar.
The Economist reports: “Guardians of the Wahhabi
rite, who seek to be guided by Muhammad’s every act, ask whether they are now
being required to follow Jesus.” These scholars refer to the pre-Islamic as an
“age of ignorance”. The Economist notes: “The judiciary, a clerical bastion,
still defiantly insists on sentencing miscreants according to the old calendar.”The change was announced in April, when it was
part of a plan that significantly was titled “Vision 2030″ and not
“Vision 1451″ as Islamic scholars and judges would have wished. It passed
into law in October. “Henceforth they will run the state according to a
reckoning based on Jesus Christ’s birth, not on the Prophet Muhammad’s religious
mission,” reports The Economist, which also notes that some other countries
also use non-Christian calendars to order their affairs.
In Iran it is currently
1395, in Kurdistan it is 2628 and in Israel it is 5776. In Thailand it is 2559 and in Japan, it is just year 28 of the
Heisei era.
Iran Regime Claims Unity While Killing
Innocent Women and Children in Aleppo
Friday, 16
December 2016/NCRI - The Iranian regime president, Hassan Rouhani,
in his speech on Thursday December 15 in the so-called Islamic Unity
Conference, claimed violence from any religion or ethnicity is against Islam.
In this regard, Turkey’s
Anatolia news agency in a report on December 15 questioned Rouhani’s
statement regarding Islam’s opposition to violence and said while Rouhani today talked about Islam opposing violence, the
(sectarian) militants backed by Iranian regime killed several civilians, who
were evacuating East Aleppo during the
ceasefire, by firing direct shots. “Sectarian militants affiliated to the
regime in Iran today once
again under the command of Seid Javad,
a commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), fired direct shots at
the civilians, who were evacuating East Aleppo
following the ceasefire, killing several civilians and injuring a large number
of them. This is while Hassan Rouhani in his speech
in «Islamic Unity Conference» today said: «Violence is against Islam. Violence
from Shiite or Sunni is unacceptable. Murder by anyone is undue and rejected»” Anatolia reported. “So far, thousands of civilians in East
Aleppo have lost their lives because of the (crimes of) Assad regime and its
supporters including Iranian regime; all hospitals and medical centers have
been destroyed; bakeries closed down, and tens of thousands have been under
intense and deadly siege. Yet, Rouhani talks about
«Jihad» and «Confronting Oppression» and «Tradition and Love for the Prophet»” Anatolia news agency continued. The news agency added:
“While Rouhani said «One cannot get close to the
Prophet and Islam by bloodshed and killing innocents», according to official
report of the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva, two days ago forces loyal to
Syrian regime and its allies raided residential homes where civilians were
taking refuge and executed at least 82 people including 11 women and 13 children
on the spot, by firing gunshots in a field (summary) style execution.”
According to Anatolia, “Various international institutions, scholars,
individuals and organizations across the world have strongly condemned the
killing of civilians in Aleppo
by Assad regime and its supporters.”
Confronting the Murderous Iran Regime
NCRI Iran News/Friday,
16 December 2016/Iran has dispatched tens of thousands of men to Syria since
2011. It is just another effort by Iran to get involved in the
internal affairs of other countries. Tehran has
been involved in and even caused wars in Syria,
Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. The international
community has failed to hold Iran
accountable, so it has not stopped. Iran
has been a big factor in genocide campaigns in Iraq
and Syria.
It has used the support of Shiites to target Sunnis. The current example of Aleppo speaks for itself.
The West’s appeasement of Iran
has propelled it further and further into its horrific acts. Mehdi Taeb, former chief of
Revolutionary Guards intelligence, said: “Syria
is the 35th province [of Iran]
and a strategic one for us. If the enemy attacks us and wants to appropriate
either Syria or Khuzestan
[in southern Iran], our
priority is to keep Syria.”This
shows us why Syria is
important to Iran
and explains why it continues to meddle abroad. Iran
has send a huge amount of special ops troops on top of
tens of thousands of its militias from Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Iraq and the Lebanese Hezbollah to Syria.
U.S. Congress has recently raised issues about Iran’s
destabilising role across the Middle East and
has said that it is tantamount to its nuclear ambitions. Republican and
Democratic senators released a joint statement on 6th December. Republican Bob
Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in reference to the
Lebanese Hezbollah, Shia militias in Iraq, and Houthi
insurgents operating from Yemen,
said: “Iranian proxies remain a direct threat to the United States and our allies
today.” Senator Ben Cardin added: “American citizens, uniformed and civilian,
have been victims of Iranian terror. Iran-sponsored [entities], directed,
trained and equipped are a threat to U.S. forces and American citizens today.”British Prime Minister Theresa May recently told Iran that its meddling
in the Middle East will no longer be
tolerated. If the Gulf States develop a
tougher stance with Iran
it will be easier to put an end to its negative influence. Iran takes
advantage of weak policies and maintains its terrible track record with
provocations. The nations in the Middle East
are paying a high price. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), led
by Muslim woman Mrs. Maryam Rajavi,
has come up with a 10-point plan to deal with Iran. Over a decade ago Rajavi warned the world that Iran’s negative involvement in the
affairs of other countries is more dangerous than its mission to obtain a
nuclear weapon. The West ignored this warning and continued to appease the most
violent and dangerous regime in the Middle East.
With the new administration in Washington,
now is the time to change foreign policies for the better. It is a new chance
to finally get it right and to stop Iran
from continuing its murderous rampage across the Middle
East.
Chairman Royce Statement on Enactment of Iran Sanctions Extension Act
NCRI/Friday, 16 December 2016/December 15, 2016, following the adoption of the
sanctions on Iran
regime.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) released the following
statement on enactment of his bill, H.R. 6297, to extend the Iran Sanctions Act
for a decade: “Iran’s
support for terrorism, and its push to develop a missile capable of striking
the United States,
is a direct threat to our national security. This legislation renews existing
sanctions – which were not part of President Obama’s nuclear agreement – to
counter Iran’s
illicit missiles program. And it ensures the Trump administration can
‘snap-back’ other powerful sanctions when the ayatollah makes a rush for a
nuclear weapon. “So don’t be fooled by Tehran’s
rhetoric. Iran
is the only party that has broken terms of the deal. This law ensures the U.S. retains
its ability to hold the regime accountable.”
Iran: Families of Executed Prisoners
Stage Protest Gathering
Friday, 16 December 2016/NCRI - The families of executed prisoners staged a gathering
on Thursday December 15 in front of central prison of Karaj in cold weather to
protest execution of their loved ones and to demand return of their bodies to
the families.The Iranian regime agents first resisted
the families demand to hand over the bodies of their loved ones and told the
families that for security reasons and in order to prevent publication of the
executed prisoners’ photos and video clips, they would wash (Ghusl) the bodies and bury them but the families stood
against this crime and violation their basic rights and protested. Khamenei’s henchmen, fearing further escalation of the
protest, backed off and handed over the bodies of executed prisoners to their
families. Thursday morning, December 15, at least 4 prisoners were executed on
drug-related charges in central prison of Karaj.
Some reports indicate that a woman was also executed along with other prisoners
bringing the total number of those executed in this prison to at least 5. Four
executed prisoners were identified as Saeed Faramarzi, Behzad Lazemi, Fardin Sabzi and Mehdi Ka’eni. Also on Thursday, December 15, a prisoner named “Behzad Salim Kurd” was executed
in Bandar Abbas prison. He was transferred to
solitary confinement two days before implementation of the execution but met
with his two small children a day before the execution. In addition, a prisoner
was executed in Qezel-Hesar prison in Karaj on Wednesday
December 14. The prisoner, identified as Mohammad Hossein
Behdasthi, has been incarcerated in Gohardasht prison for 23 years before the execution.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on on
December 16-17/16
Question: "Should we give gifts at Christmas?"
GotQuestions.org?
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/16/should-we-give-gifts-at-christmas/
Answer: Many people take the idea of gift giving at Christmas back to the
scripture in Matthew 2:10-11 which talks about the Magi (wise men) giving gifts
to Jesus at his home: "When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On
coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed
down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with
gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." The Bible gives a wonderful
story about the gift God gave us—Jesus Christ—and we can use it as an opportunity to present the gospel and to show love.
Giving and receiving gifts can be part of fulfilling what Paul says about giving
in 2 Corinthians 8:7-8, "But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in
speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that
you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to
test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of
others." Paul was talking to the churches who were giving him gifts
(financial) so that he could keep on in the ministry. We can apply this same
lesson to our own lives by giving to others, not just at Christmas, but year
round! So, can gift giving become the focus of Christmas instead of thanking
the Lord for the gift of His Son (John 3:16)? Absolutely! Does giving gifts
have to take away from the true meaning of Christmas? No, it does not. If we
focus on the wonderful gift of salvation the Lord has given us (Isaiah 9:6),
giving to others is a natural expression of that gratitude. The key is our
focus. Is your focus on the gift, or on the ultimate gift-giver, our gracious
Heavenly Father? "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down
from the Father of the heavenly lights..." (James 1:17).
Iran lures the West by rushing business
By Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/December 16/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/16/dr-majid-rafizadehal-arabiya-iran-lures-the-west-by-rushing-business/
Iran’s President Hassan Rowhani has been rushing to
seal business deals with Asian, European, and even American corporations as
quickly as possible.
This week, Iran
signed a historic deal with Boeing worth nearly $17 billion. It worth noting
that this is the first business deal Tehran
finalized with an American aviation corporation since the establishment of the
Islamic Republic 1979. Iran
is also finalizing its purchase of planes from the European firm Airbus. In
addition, another major deal has been signed with Royal Dutch Shell, the second
largest listed oil firm in the world. Shell signed a provisional agreement with
National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) "to further explore areas of potential
cooperation". Royal Dutch Shell will be working with Iran on developing some of Tehran’s largest oil fields. Last month, the
energy corporation, Total signed a deal with Iran for working on new projects in
the oil and gas sectors.
Remarkably, in a short time Iran
has increased its oil sales by nearly 3 millions bpd. Iran has risen
to be the third largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC). Why is Rowhani rushing to bring
more business contracts to Iran?
Political and Financial Leverage Against the “Enemies”
One of the major reasons behind Iran’s rush to reap profits is gaining
political leverage against the US and other “enemies”, by signing oil or other
business deals with Western and Asian powers. This allows Iran to cement its ties with other countries in
case there would be any heightened pressure from the next US administration over Iran, and in
case of potential threat to the nuclear agreement under the Trump
administration.
When Western and Asian corporations are investing billions of dollars in Iran, they put significant pressure on their
governments to prevent political tensions or conflicts with Iran that might
lead to political instability and endanger their investments. Iranian leaders
are also shrewd enough to sign deals with major corporations, which have
critical leverage over their governments and politicians. One of the major
reasons behind Iran’s rush to reap profits is gaining political leverage
against the US and other “enemies" Secondly, by making Europe and Asia
more dependent on Iran’s gas and oil industries, Iran ensures its hold on
power.
These business deals and economic ties will make it much harder for the US to reinstate pressure on Iran if it
chose to. Iran will gain
significant leverage against the US. In other words, economic ties
are the ruling clerics’ assurance of holding power and achieving their regional
hegemonic ambitions. Third, Tehran is still
desperate for additional revenues, not for improving the living standards of
Iranians but to continue spending billions of dollars on its staunchest ally, Bashar Al Assad, to support the Shia
militias in Syria and Iraq, and to
increase the budget of its Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Fourth, Iran needs to
modernize its military capabilities in order to successfully achieve its
regional goals.
This week, Iran
signed a historic deal with Boeing worth nearly $17 billion. It worth noting
that this is the first business deal Tehran
finalized with an American aviation corporation since the establishment of the
Islamic Republic 1979. (Reuters)
It worth noting that when we examine the business deals Iran has made with
other countries recently, the beneficiaries of these deals are more likely the
IRGC and the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
All of the major deals were conducted on the state level and with the
government or state-owned companies rather than with the private sectors in Iran. The
profits of these deals will not trickle down to the Iranian people. Iran’s
continuing rising unemployment is proof of this.
Khamenei and the senior cadre of the IRGC, on the
other hand, will continue to utilize the Machiavellian strategy of criticizing Rowhani’s business deals with the West. For example, the
supreme leader has questioned the recent deal of billion-dollar fleets of
aircraft, "Suppose we modernize our air fleet. Okay, it's a very important
and necessary move. But is it the priority?"
But the reality is that, if it was not for the blessing of the Supreme Leader, Rowhani would not have been capable of signing such
critical deals worth billions of dollars. Behind closed doors
Khamenei gives Rowhani
the green light to finalize the Boeing deal, but in public he maintains his
powerful survival tool and legacy: Opposing Iran’s “Great Satan” and “enemies”.
The ruling clerics of Iran
are prioritizing economic deals in order to assure their hold on power, and
more fundamentally, advance Tehran’s
revolutionary ideals and regional goals and ambitions.
Aleppo’s fall is Obama’s failure
Leon Wieseltier/The Washington Post/ December 15/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/16/leon-wieseltierthe-washington-post-aleppos-fall-is-obamas-failure/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/aleppos-fall-is-obamas-failure/2016/12/15/5af72640-c30f-11e6-9a51-cd56ea1c2bb7_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-a%3Ah&utm_term=.daf985901149
Contemplating the extermination of Aleppo and its people, I was reminded of a
sentence that I read this summer. It appeared in an encomium to Elie Wiesel shortly after his death. It was a sterling
sentence. It declared: “We must never be bystanders to injustice or indifferent
to suffering.” That was Wiesel’s teaching, exactly. The problem with the
sentence is that it was issued by the White House and attributed to President
Obama. And so the sentence was not at all sterling. It was outrageously
hypocritical.
How dare Obama, and members of his administration, speak this way? After five
years and more in which the United States’
inaction in Syria
has transformed our country into nothing other than a bystander to the greatest
atrocity of our time, they have forfeited the right to this language. Their
angry and anguished utterances are merely the manipulation of the rhetoric of
conscience on behalf of a policy without a trace of conscience. You cannot be
cold-hearted and high-minded at the same time. Historians will record — they
will not have to dig deeply or interpret wildly to conclude — that all through
the excruciations of Aleppo, and more generally
of Syria, the United States
watched. As we watched, we made excuses, and occasionally we ornamented our
excuses with eloquence. The president is enamored of
his eloquence. But eloquence is precisely what the wrenching circumstances do
not require of him. In circumstances of moral (and strategic) emergency, his
responsibility is not to move us. It is to pick up the phone. “Elie did more than just bear witness,” Obama said in his
eulogy, “he acted.” And he added: “Just imagine the peace and justice that
would be possible in our world if more people lived a little more like Elie Wiesel.” Just imagine.
If Obama wants credit for not getting us into another war, the credit is his.
If he wants credit for not being guilty of “overreach,” the credit is his. If
he wants credit for conceiving of every obstacle and impediment to American
action in every corner of the globe, the credit is his. But it is a shameful
and incontrovertible fact of our history that during the past eight years the
values of rescue, assistance, protection, humanitarianism and democracy have
been demoted in our foreign policy and in many instances banished altogether.
The ruins of the finest traditions of American internationalism, of American
leadership in a darkening world, may be found in the ruins of Aleppo. Our ostentatious passivity is a
primary cause of that darkening. When they go low, we go home. The Obama legacy
in foreign policy is vacuum-creation, which his addled America-First successor
will happily ratify. Aleppo
was not destroyed by the Syrian army. It was destroyed by a savage coalition
led and protected by Russia.
While they massacred innocent men, women and children, we anxiously pondered
scenarios of “deconfliction.”
We need to be unforgivingly clear. The obligation to
act against evil in Aleppo was no different from
the obligation to act against the evil in Sarajevo
and Srebrenica. (Has anyone ever heard Obama mention Bosnia?) It was no different from
the obligation to act against the evil in Rwanda. It was no different from
the obligation to act against the evil in Auschwitz.
And we scorned the obligation. We learned nothing. We forgot everything. We
failed. We did not even try.
No, that is not quite right. It would be incorrect to analyze our delinquency
in Syria
in the dichotomously simple terms of action and inaction. The administration
creatively pioneered a third option, which it pursued not only in Syria but also in Ukraine and elsewhere: Between
action and inaction, it chose inconsequential action. There is the Obama
doctrine! We backed moderate Syrian rebels, but not as seriously or as
generously as the immoderate Syrian rebels were backed. We sent in small numbers
of special operators. The CIA ran a few programs. We acted, in sum, only in
ways certain not to affect the outcome. We were strategically feckless. I
suspect that the president believes that the United States has no moral right to
affect an outcome in another country. I suspect that he regards such decisive
action as imperialism, or at least as Iraq-like. What this means in practice is
that we will not help people who deserve our help. In the spirit of respecting
other societies, we will idly gaze at their destruction. How would
disrespecting them be worse?
As a direct or indirect consequence of our refusal to respond forcefully to the
Syrian crisis, we have beheld secular tyranny, religious tyranny, genocide,
chemical warfare, barrel bombs and cluster bombs, the torture and murder of
children, the displacement of 11 million people, the destabilization of Turkey,
Lebanon and Jordan, the ascendancy of Iran in the region, the emergence of
Russia as a global power, the diminishment of the American position in the
world, the refugee crisis in Europe, the resurgence of fascism in Europe and a
significant new threat to the security of the United States. It is amazing how
much doing nothing can do, especially when it is we who do nothing.
Obama to Putin: U.S. is 'deeply concerned' about Syria Embed Share Play
Video1:32
President Obama says he spoke about the need for a cease fire in Syria when he
spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
(Reuters)
Not long after he mourned Wiesel, the president engaged in another one of his
exercises in empathy without consequence. At the U.N. Summit for Refugees and
Migrants, he spoke of Alan Kurdi, the Syrian boy who
washed up dead on a beach in Turkey.
“That little boy on the beach could be our son or our grandson,” the president
moistly said. “We cannot avert our eyes or turn our backs.” And then we
proceeded to avert our eyes and turn our backs. The people who had the power to
prevent, stop or even mitigate this catastrophe should now bow their heads and
fall silent and reflect on how it is that they brought us so low. Aleppo is no more, and we
are weakened and disgraced.
**Leon Wieseltier is the Isaiah Berlin senior fellow
in culture and policy at the Brookings Institution.
Rosemary Barton, War Crimes, and the
Liberation of Aleppo
By Jim Miles/Foreign Policy Journal/December 16/16
What is truly happening is that Russia is standing up to US imperial interests
as it increasingly recognizes that the US is still fighting its cold war.
It continues to amaze me—although I know it shouldn’t because of its
repetitious nature—but the mainstream media (MSM) content of Canada’s CBC as represented by
Rosemary Barton on Power and Politics is a combination of double standards,
misinformation, and innuendo through choice of language.
Barton’s main talking points on December 14, 2016, came under the title “Fall
of Aleppo”, with her main theme being war crimes. The implications made for the
latter put full blame for the declared crimes on the Assad/Russia combination.
Her three guests today were: Louise Arbour, former Canadian Supreme Court
Justice; Stephane Dion, current Liberal foreign
affairs minister; and Stephen O’Brien, UN Undersecretary General for
Humanitarian Affairs. All three avidly reflected and supported the “war crimes”
thesis of Ms Barton.
First, the “Fall of Aleppo”
From the many sources I have read, from the many history books and contemporary
events books I have read, the very title “Fall of Aleppo” is a lie. Aleppo—at
least a good part of it, “fell” to the al-Qaeda/al-Nusra
related so called rebels about four years ago. These ‘rebels’ were aided and
abetted by the CIA, indirectly through our great democratic allies in Saudi
Arabia, and more discreetly, at first at least, by our Turkish NATO ally. Yes
there were protests, but the violence came from outside (hmmm, perhaps the call
for war crimes investigations should extend back in time….more later).
What is actually happening in Aleppo is a
victory of government forces, aided by its allies, in retaking the part of Aleppo that was held
under the severe hand of the Islamic fundamentalist groups. The way the CBC and
other western MSM present the story is as if the “moderate” terrorists—which
the U.S. failed to
identify—were the ones besieged in Aleppo.
Certainly the civilians trapped in this “cauldron” (the non-western term used
for the surrounding and defeat of the rebel/terrorist groups) have suffered, as
they do in all wars. They will continue to suffer until the Assad
government—okay call it a regime, which it is just as much as Trudeau’s
government is a regime considering it governs with only 40 per cent of the
populations approval (at last count)—until the government can restore some
semblance of security to the city as a whole. The civilians were essentially
hostages to the rebel/terrorist forces, not allowed to leave the area, killed
if they tried, subject to enforced fundamentalist rules.
In short, Aleppo has not fallen’ Aleppo has recovered from
its hostage taking by the terrorists. Aleppo
has been liberated.
War crimes—for sure, all wars are crimes, but how far back do you want to go?
The first guest, Louise Arbour, supported the war crimes meme currently
circulating in western MSM and government agencies. Barton asked about Canada’s UN
initiatives which have gone nowhere. Arbour’s response accepted the war crime
premise, and placed the blame on the UN and the ICC as being ineffective and
their actions insufficient in the past (as per Rwanda,
Yugoslavia, Darfur). She reported that they (someone) is “collecting…accumulated evidence” of the “devastation” as
Aleppo “falls
completely to the regime.” The U.S.
is not party to the ICC, and Russia
has recently withdrawn because of its evident western bias and its true
ineffectiveness.
Barton ended asking if Arbour was “anyway hopeful for the people of Syria?” The
response was a clear “No”, qualified by saying that the civilians were “hostage
to both sides.” Time will tell what happens in Aleppo,
but so far from what I have seen, most of the citizens are very happy to see
the end of the rebel/terrorist occupation and hostage holding in eastern Aleppo. Arbour called it
a “very dark day.” Crazy, hey, I thought it was the best news to come out of
the war so far—yes, I know, more civilians will die, in Mosul as well as
Aleppo, and on to Idlib and Raqqa
—but at least the scourge of fundamentalist terrorism has been alleviated and
hopefully seriously restricted for this important city.
Stephane Dion was the second guest, and stuck with
the main themes of the afternoon. Barton again began with comments about
“shelling is a war crime” (really Rosemary?) in pockets of east Aleppo. Dion attempted to
explain what Canada was
doing via the UN which effectively highlighted Canada’s ineffectiveness. Part of
the discussion actually entertained the idea of removing the veto from Russia in the Security Council—a great idea if the same would apply to the other four veto
holders, the U.S., France, Great
Britain, and China. In other words, allow the
General Assembly to hold the true power, but that of course goes against
‘western’ wishes for dominance globally.
I missed a short section then returned to find Britain’s
Stephen O’Brien essentially doing the British lap dog thing for the U.S. empire. If one ever wants to hear any kind of rant
containing double standards, lies, and false humanitarianism, just listen to
those who still believe that Britain
is an imperial power. It is in a way, but only as mentioned, as a U.S. poodle.
O’Brien’s supercilious self-righteousness for humanitarian concerns would bring
a tear to even the most jaded eye. Mine were tears of cynical jaded laughter as
to the willful ignorance of his overwrought
self-satisfied rectitude and virtue, typical British imperial rhetoric.
Repeating the memes of a fallen Aleppo
and war crimes, O’Brien used such wonderful phrases as “heinous and abominable
acts…atrocities,” in his attempts to be the civilizer, the bringer of
benevolence to the world. At the end, responding to Barton’s question
concerning when Aleppo
were to be “run over entirely”, he indicated it was a “man made crisis” and
those that “perpetrated these abominations” should be brought to justice.
War crimes? Well, where should we start?
Perhaps we should start most recently in Libya, where the British promoted a
no-fly zone turned into a bomb anything that will help the rebels, all on the
pretext of a supposed genocide, the now thoroughly disreputable “right to
protect.” Certainly war crimes were committed there by Britain, and Canada,
and the U.S.,
and every other participant. The military equipment used to supply the
‘rebels’—really another branch of al-Qaeda—was redistributed to the protesters
in Syria
and the African Sahel. Who are the people responsible for that who should be brought to justice for their abominable
actions? Hint: it wasn’t the Russians.
Or maybe we can go back to all the war crimes that started and followed with
the U.S. push for war in Iraq, based on lies and deception from the U.S.
government, all departments including the military and the CIA, as well as the
full Congress. Britain
followed suit with its false declarations by the Blair government in order to
reinvigorate the aged and poorly preserved ethos of the British
Empire and its civilizing role in the world. That led to war
crimes throughout Iraq,
including Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, Tikrit,
and on through other prisons where the rise of al-Qaeda in Iraq
essentially occurred as it had not been there originally. As a consequence of
other events, that led to the rise of ISIS and the current war in Iraq and Syria. Hint: the Russians weren’t
involved.
Hmmm, where else can we go? In reality, the whole U.S.
empire—as were the British and French empires before
that—is based on military dominance of other regions for the sake of U.S. and later
international corporate interests. There is ample material on this history of
crimes against humanity under the fake guise of democracy and freedom, when
what really mattered was the subservience of all to
the Washington consensus and the dominance of U.S. power and U.S. money.
Enter Russia
After the CIA supported coup in Ukraine from which the Ukrop
neonazis were wanting to ethnically cleanse the
Donbas region of Russian speaking people; after the establishment of nuclear
capable missiles on the borders of Russia in Poland and Romania; after fighting
fundamentalist terrorists in Chechnya who originated from U.S./CIA efforts in
supporting the Afghanistan mujahedeen, (from which al-Qaeda and the Taliban
arose); after watching Yugoslavia be torn apart on the “right to protect”
doctrine that had no foundation and then to have Kosovo almost literally bombed
out of Serbia; after the war crimes committed by the west without a Russian
veto in the Security Council; after watching all these U.S. related crimes
against humanity/war crimes, it is really no wonder that Russia finally found
the strength to say no to U.S. imperial desires in the Middle East.
But wait, wasn’t this about ISIS?
Well, yes, but ISIS is generally rooted in U.S. war crime activities that have
taken place throughout the region, including U.S. supplying of military
materials to Israel as it bombed the open air prison of Gaza with its now 2
million inhabitants. But…but….the bad guys were hiding behind the
civilians…whereas in Aleppo,
the rebels/terrorists are….oh yeah, hiding behind civilians.
Also consider that the U.S. pretended to bomb ISIS for a couple of years—before
Russia intervened—and accomplished little but a bit of publicity; consider that
very recently a major agreement on military alignment was aborted by the U.S.
when they bombed a known Syrian army position guarding Deir
Ezzor from the ISIS terrorists; consider that Saudi
Arabia, the U.S.’s second largest ally in the region after Israel is supporting
and supplying al-Qaeda and ISIS wherever it can find the necessary conditions
to promote its fundamentalist inhumanitarian form of
religion; consider that the U.S. has been the frontrunner in wanting to get rid
of Assad, supported by their faithful British lapdog; consider all this before
pointing a finger at anyone for war crimes.
So why would the U.S.
do all that? Simple, really: as mentioned above it’s about oil and money. The U.S. does not
necessarily want the oil, there are many sources
available for that. What it wants is twofold. First, the price of oil, in large
part controlled by the Saudis, is the main support of the U.S.
petrodollar, the current global reserve currency. If that status failed, if the
Saudis sold oil in Euros, or yen, or renminbi, or
rupees, the U.S. dollar would fail. That is another reason for the
misadventures in Libya and Iraq as both were wanting to set up currency exchanges not involving the
US dollar.
The second reason is related in that the U.S.
wanted a pipeline to run from its friendly dictatorship countries in the Middle
East to Europe in order to weaken the Russian economic handle of oil/gas sales
to Europe. Except that Syria stood in the way, and Syria was allied with Iran,
and Russia was bypassing Ukraine with its Nordstream
and its Southstream through Turkey (or the Black Sea,
whichever works out). So once again Russia is not only surrounded by U.S.
missiles and military bases, but also has to counter U.S. oil/financial
attempts to deconstruct it and make it, like all other states, subservient to
U.S. demands.
Syria, unfortunately for its
citizens, is the small country caught up in U.S.
geopolitical enterprises that are attempting to isolate and destroy the
strength of Russia.
War crimes, yes, but start with the reality of the U.S. and its allies’ war crimes around
the region over the past many decades.
War criminals then for sure must be brought to justice to stop these
“atrocities” and “abominations”. Start with Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld, then
onto Blair, then back to the U.S. for the CEOs of
Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics, General Electric,
Lockheed Martin (of Hellfire missile infamy), et al. The current crop in the EU
could also be indicted for war crimes as they support the U.S. efforts and follow along with the
manufactured consent of thinking of Russia as the bad guy in all this.
And don’t forget to come to Canada
where we have our own crop of war criminals who support U.S. actions
both rhetorically and in action.
Russia
is being vilified as the evil scapegoat for all the west’s problems, as an
empire needs a good enemy to distract its citizens from problems it really
created itself and from war crimes it has created itself. As a person who has
proven to recognize U.S.
intentions and outsmart the U.S.
on most fronts, Vladimir Putin becomes the arch-villain. What is truly
happening is that Russia is
standing up to U.S. imperial
interests as it increasingly recognizes that the U.S. is still fighting its
anti-Soviet cold war because it needs a good enemy to distract blame from itself.
The war is far from over, as the U.S. will certainly try to pull out all stops
in order to retain dominance in the region—up to and including—and here’s some
big speculation—the CIA operating internally to stop Trump from taking the
presidency. I would have to say, “Thank you” to Russia
for intervening on behalf of the Syrian people in order to rid the country of U.S. supported
terrorists. It ain’t pretty, it ain’t
neat and tidy, and it ain’t over, but Aleppo is liberated.
**Jim Miles is a Canadian educator and a regular contributor/columnist of
opinion pieces and book reviews for The Palestine Chronicle. Miles' work is ilso presented globally through other alternative websites
and news publications.