LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

July 03/16

 Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.july03.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’"
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10/38-42/:"Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’"

You Must abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.
Acts of the Apostles 15/22-30/:"Then the apostles and the elders, with the consent of the whole church, decided to choose men from among their members and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers, with the following letter: ‘The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the believers of Gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds, we have decided unanimously to choose representatives and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.’So they were sent off and went down to Antioch. When they gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter."

Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
True joy which is experienced in the family is not something random and fortuitous, but normal and ongoing.
La joie véritable dont on fait l’expérience dans la famille n’est pas une chose due à un hasard ou fortuite, mais fondée et stable.
إن الفرح الحقيقي الذي نختبره في الأسرة ليس عشوائيا وسريع الزوال، إنما هو راسخ وثابت.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 02-03/16

Sybaritic West Surrenders to Islamists/Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/July 02/16
The Political Blame Game: Pulling Tricks to Deny the Obvious/Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/July 02/16
Bring Christian and Yazidi Refugees from the Muslim World First/Phyllis Chesler/New York Post/June 30, 2016
Look back and ahead in anger/Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/July 02/16
Why is ISIS attacking Turkey/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/July 02/16
Why is Iraq in ruins/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/July 02/16
Why rural Britain’s influence is set to outlive the Brexit vote/Ehtesham Shahid/Al Arabiya/July 02/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on July 02-03/16

AlRahi to Parish Members in Ohio: Lebanese political system is demographic, so preserve your nationality to safeguard Lebanon's balance and message
LF, MP, Zahra: Tension in relation with Hariri, but our alliance is destined to continue
Jumblat Hails Reactivation of Lebanon's Oil and Gas File
Jumblatt to Ain Dara delegation: I shall partake in any move against cement factory
Two Young Brothers Drown in Lake in Btadii
Hizbullah Destroys IS Positions in Ras Baalbek
Report: Lebanese Security Forces Keeping an Eye on Encampments of Refugees
Lebanese Army Intelligence raids Syrian refugee camp in Abra, arrests residency violators
Hariri bound for Jeddah
Sami Gemayel: Auto security either denied to all or allowed for all
Machnouk meets with Italian Ambassador, Restaurants syndicate delegation
Bou Saab Baccalaureate II success percentage 78.99%, second session exams on 4 August
 

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 02-03/16

2 Medics among 20 Dead in Syria Army Reprisal for Slain Pilot
Israel Seeks to Raise Profile in Africa with Netanyahu Trip
Israel Locks Down Flashpoint Hebron after Spate of Attacks
Israeli Airstrikes Hit Gaza Hamas Sites after Rocket Attack
Palestinian kills Israeli, wounds family in West Bank attack
Erdogan calls Assad a ‘more advanced terrorist’ than ISIS
Istanbul airport attack toll rises to 45
A drone strike kills three al-Qaeda suspects in Yemen
Political prisoners in Zahedan support “Free Iran” rally in Paris
Interview with Struan Stevenson about the “Free Iran” rally

Links From Jihad Watch Site for July 02-03/16
Hugh Fitzgerald: Pass/Fail in Bangladesh
Arizona: Muslim teen arrested for jihad plots against government buildings
Ramadan in France: Muslim couple screaming “Allahu akbar” stabs man in stomach
First call to Islamic prayer inside Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia in 85 years

Bangladesh: Muslims murder 20 hostages, 13 others saved
Bangladesh restaurant jihad attack: Those who could recite Qur’an were spared
Trump: “Incitement and preaching of hate by the Palestinian leadership…must end immediately”
Al Quds Day and the jihadist mantra: “death to America, death to Israel”
Reading the Qur’an during Ramadan 28: Juz Qad Sami Allahu
Presbyterian Church USA offers prayers to Allah, acknowledges Muhammad as prophet
To counter Muslim migrant sex assaults, Swedish cops giving girls “Do not molest me” bracelets

Latest Lebanese Related News published on July 02-03/16

AlRahi to Parish Members in Ohio: Lebanese political system is demographic, so preserve your nationality to safeguard Lebanon's balance and message
Sat 02 Jul 2016/NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bshara Butros al-Rahi, urged parish members in the American State of Ohio to "preserve their personal civil status records in Lebanon to the benefit of both their country and themselves, since the Lebanese system is based on demography."Al-Rahi's words came following a Mass service he chaired at Saint Anthony of Padova's Church. "We are convinced more than any time in the past that we shall remain in this East, for we are entrusted with the roots of Christianity," said al-Rahi. The Patriarch urged parish members to "coordinate with Lebanese diplomatic missions and various dioceses and parishes, in a bid to preserve Lebanon and its Islamic-Christian balance so that it can continue to be a message to the Middle East."

LF, MP, Zahra: Tension in relation with Hariri, but our alliance is destined to continue
Sat 02 Jul 2016/NNA - "Lebanese Forces" Parliamentary Bloc Member, MP Antoine Zahra, considered on Saturday that "some tension exists in the relation with PM Saad Hariri," however, he noted that "alliance with both Hariri and March 14th ideology is destined to persist."Speaking in an interview to "MTV" Channel, Zahra indicated that "what unites us with Future Movement is a partnership that can never be an issue of disagreement between us."Over the recent security situation in the Qaa region, Zahra stated that "weapons were carried by the people of al-Qaa in coordination with the Lebanese Army, and once additional Army troops arrived, the Army Command solely took control."He criticized herein Hezbollah's reaction to what happened in al-Qaa, saying that "Hezbollah was upset with the people's willingness to defend themselves without any interference on its part.""The Taef Accord stipulated that the State would take over security control in the country within 6 months of its declaration," Zahra went on, adding that "whoever agreed to Hezbollah's weapons in the ministerial statement back then is most regretful today!""Self-defense is the natural, moral and humanitarian right of each and every individual," Zahra underscored, paying tribute to the people of al-Qaa for their courageous stand.
 

Jumblat Hails Reactivation of Lebanon's Oil and Gas File
Naharnet/July 02/16/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat hailed on Saturday the reactivation of efforts with regard to Lebanon's oil and gas wealth, after a dispute over excavation between the Free Patriotic Movement and the AMAL Movement was reportedly settled a day earlier. “It seems that the oil file which has been pending for years will finally be tackled,” said Jumblat via his Twitter account. “In order to preserve this national wealth and benefit from it, it may be useful that we take advantage of remarks made by an expert in the oil field Nicolas Sarkis,” he added. Jumblat stressed that it is crucial that the file is handled with transparency by the legal and financial figures, he said: “A transparent legal and financial management here is crucial. It is better that things remain clear because the issue can not endure confusion.” Jumblat's comments came a day after the FPM and the AMAL Movement met in Ain el-Tineh and announced that they have settled their dispute over the excavation of Lebanon’s offshore oil and gas reserves. The disagreement between the two parties has hindered agreements on energy extraction for years. Lebanon and Israel are bickering over a zone that consists of about 854 square kilometers and suspected energy reserves that could generate billions of dollars. Lebanon has been slow to exploit its maritime resources compared with other eastern Mediterranean countries. Israel, Cyprus and Turkey are all much more advanced in drilling for oil and gas. In March 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil and a mean of 34.5 trillion cubic meters of recoverable gas in the Levant Basin in the eastern Mediterranean, which includes the territorial waters of Lebanon, Israel, Syria and Cyprus. In August 2014, the government postponed for the fifth time the first round of licensing for gas exploration over a political dispute. The disagreements were over the designation of blocks open for bidding and the terms of a draft exploration agreement. Lebanese officials have continuously warned that Israel's exploration of new offshore gas fields near Lebanese territorial waters means the Jewish state is syphoning some of Lebanon's crude oil. Beirut argues that a maritime map it submitted to the U.N. is in line with an armistice accord drawn up in 1949, an agreement which is not contested by Israel.

Jumblatt to Ain Dara delegation: I shall partake in any move against cement factory
Sat 02 Jul 2016/NNA - Democratic Gathering Head, MP Walid Jumblatt, told a delegation from the region of Ain Dara on Saturday that he is ready to personally take part in any civil move in protest against the cement factory in the area. The delegation expressed their fears and worries to Jumblatt regarding the possibility of endorsing the cement factory project which is to be established by Fattoush family in their town, especially in light of its many health, agricultural and environmental hazards. Jumblatt voiced total rejection of said project, particularly since its intended location falls at the edge of the Shouf Cedars Natural Reserve Forest, while reiterating his full support to any civil move against the factory establishment.

Two Young Brothers Drown in Lake in Btadii
Naharnet/July 02/16/Two young boys who went missing Friday afternoon were found dead after they drowned in a lake in the town of Btadii in Deir al-Ahmar in Baalbek, the National News Agency reported on Saturday. Civil Defense rescue teams pulled the bodies of Elia Hanna Iskandar, 15, and his brother Anthony Hanna Iskandar, 13, from a 12 meters deep irrigation lake. Search operations kicked off as soon as the boys went missing Friday afternoon. The bodies were found at 2:00 am Saturday. NNA said that the boys have side-slipped and fell into the water and drowned. They did not go for a swim because they were found with their clothes on, it added. Their bodies were transported to the Baalbek Governmental Hospital.

Hizbullah Destroys IS Positions in Ras Baalbek
Naharnet/July 02/16/Hizbullah has reportedly destroyed Islamic State group positions entrenched on the outskirts of the border town of Ras Baalbek and al-Zwaytineh, al-Manar TV said on Saturday.The TV station said that Hizbullah fighters bombarded two positions during the attack and that several were killed and wounded. Militants from the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State group are entrenched in rugged mountains along the Lebanese-Syrian border and the Lebanese army regularly shells their positions while Hizbullah and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border.The two groups overran the town of Arsal in 2014 and engaged in deadly battles with the Lebanese army for several days.The retreating militants abducted around 35 troops and policemen of whom four have been executed and nine remain in captivity.

Report: Lebanese Security Forces Keeping an Eye on Encampments of Refugees
Naharnet/July 02/16/Lebanon's security apparatuses are keeping an eye of the encampments of Syrian refugees which they believe provides a shelter for Islamic State members and other terrorist groups. Security forces have obtained information a couple of months ago which state that the Islamic State group in Syria's al-Reqqa has decided to take advantage of the fragile political situation in Lebanon, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday. “We have definite information, nearly two months ago, that the leadership of the IS in Reqqa has decided to intensify its terrorist operations in Lebanon, taking advantage of the fragile political situation,” a prominent security source told the daily. However the source assured that “the situation is fully under control, but cautioned that vigilance must be maintained.”On the encampments of Syrian refugees the source expressed concern and said: “The encampments are close to a ticking time bomb. There are reports to official bodies that warned that the encampments and the places of Syrian gatherings threaten the fate of Lebanon and its unity.”“The greatest threat comes from the Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp (in Sidon),” stressed the source and added “it is an incubator for terrorists and there are large numbers of the IS, al-Nusra Front and other takfiri groups that spread out in areas of al-Tawari, Minshieh, Safsaf, al-Tayrah, and part of Hettin. They recruit attackers and suicide bombers and prepare the plans and set the goals for terrorist operations, bombings and assassinations.”The source highlighted the responsibility of the Palestinians security forces in the camp and said: “Here lies the responsibility of the Palestinian factions responsible for the safety at the camp.”

Lebanese Army Intelligence raids Syrian refugee camp in Abra, arrests residency violators
Sat 02 Jul 2016/NNA - Army Intelligence Unit raided on Saturday a Syrian refugees' camp in Abra, east of Sidon, arresting six persons for violating residency requirements, NNA correspondent reported.

Hariri bound for Jeddah
Sat 02 Jul 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri left Beirut at noon on Saturday, heading to the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Sami Gemayel: Auto security either denied to all or allowed for all
Sat 02 Jul 2016/NNA - Head of Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel, criticized decision by Central Security Council to forbid certain Lebanese from defending themselves, while allowing Hezbollah to carry arms for that very same reason. The Central Security Council held a meeting following eight terrorist attacks which hit the Bekaa town of Qaa. The meeting was not attended by the Head of State Security. Speaking during a party ceremony in Saifi, Gemayel wondered how the conclusion that the Central Security Council came up with was to refuse all forms of self-security, at a time when both Ministers of Defense and Interior had to pass through various Hezbollah checkpoints in order to reach the town of Qaa. "Aren't the people of Qaa also resistance fighters who carry arms against takfirists? So, why don't they have the right to defend themselves as they did with their own weapons? Should we leave them to die?," asked Gemayel, asserting that "either everyone carries arms, or everyone drops their weapons."Once more, the Kataeb Chief confirmed that the Lebanese Armed Forces alone should protect all Lebanese territories. The MP was bewildered at the reason the Head of State Security was absent from the meeting at such a crucial time, which demanded national unity. "What crime has he committed to be kept away? And if he had erred, then why not dismiss him from his job?" Gemayel wondered what message the Lebanese could understand from this move. Touching on the thorny matter of Syrian refugees, the MP confirmed that once the Syrian crisis was resolved, the refugee problem would also be resolved. "They will go back to their homes, because Lebanon cannot handle them staying on its lands."Gemayel noted that the only short term solution was in the hands of the Foreign Ministry, which should carry out negotiations with countries capable of taking them in for redistribution.

Machnouk meets with Italian Ambassador, Restaurants syndicate delegation
Sat 02 Jul 2016/NNA - Minister of the Interior and Municipalities, Nohad Machnouk, met on Saturday at his ministerial office with Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Massimo Marotti, over security and political developments in addition to means of cooperation between the two countries. Marotti also offered his condolences to minister Machnouk over the latest terrorist attacks in the Qaa Village of Bekaa. Marotti praised the work of the ISF and the Lebanese Army in the fight against terrorism and strengthening security and stability in Lebanon. He also expressed readiness of his country to provide all required support for security apparatuses in a bid to carry out their duties. On the other hand, Minister Machnouk met with Restaurants syndicate delegation headed by Tony Rami with discussions focusing on the security situation that could affect the tourist season.

Bou Saab Baccalaureate II success percentage 78.99%, second session exams on 4 August
Sat 02 Jul 2016/NNA - Education and Culture minister Elias Bou Saab announced on Saturday in a press conference at the Education ministry the results of the Baccalaureate II official exams, noting that the success percentage in the four branches (H.L, G.S, E.S, L.S) is 78.99%. Bou Saab announced the dates of the second session official exams for both Brevet and Baccalaureate II which are to start Friday 29 July and Thursday 4 August 2016 respectively. Bou Saab noted that "at present in our country, education and students accomplishments are of the greatest importance" adding "we called at night the ten first students in the official exams to be with us and take pride in them in front of everybody."Bou Saab extended thanks to all the educational and management team who worked hard and honestly this year, adding that they succeeded to achieve a different quality move and "we learned from our mistakes to make things better."Bou Saab noted that the new way in correcting the exams brought down the margin of making mistakes to the minimal. Bou Saab indicated that four persons were put to prison as a result of cheating that happened, noting that others are subject to investigation. The minister underscored that only good and official schools would be able to present applications for the official exams for their students, pointing out that the names of the schools which are not up to the level will be announced later. Bou Saab indicated that the students who set for the exams in the place of others and those who asked them to do so were deprived from exams for four sessions while as those who were cheating via mobile phones are deprived for just one session.Bou Saab noted that the results of the exams are posted on the ministry site, NNA electronic site and other electronic sites.
 

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 02-03/16

2 Medics among 20 Dead in Syria Army Reprisal for Slain Pilot
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 02/16/Syrian government shelling of a rebel-held town killed 31 people, including two medics, on Saturday, as a two-year local truce broke down after suspected al-Qaida militants killed a captured regime pilot. The bombardment struck the town of Jayrud, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Damascus, where the army says Islamist rebels killed the pilot after he was forced to eject on Friday. In its statement about the incident, the military said the attack "will not go unpunished."The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday's attack was the first bombardment of the town in at least two years."Prominent figures in Jayrud have had a local truce with the regime for at least two years, and neither fired on each other," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence France Presse. He said at least 31 people were killed, including two medics. It was not immediately clear how many of the rest were civilians.Activists in the town said the head of the local medical center and several colleagues were killed."There have been at least 45 air strikes today. The town's medical centro was hit and its director Amjad al-Danaf was killed," activist Abu Malek al-Jayrudi told AFP via the Internet. He said the town is home to some 60,000 people and that the bombardment had not stopped since early Saturday. Rebel groups in Jayrud include the Saudi-backed Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam), the hardline Ahrar al-Sham, and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front. Jaish al-Islam spokesman Islam Alloush said on Friday that Al-Nusra Front had executed the air force pilot.Several government aircraft have been shot down by rebels or crashed because of technical faults since the civil war erupted five years ago. According to the Observatory, three Syrian officers were killed on Friday when their helicopter crashed in the south, near territory held by the Islamic State jihadist group. Abdel Rahman said government forces had managed to recover the bodies of the victims of the crash, the cause of which remained unclear. "We don't know if it was a technical issue or not, but the bodies are with the regime," Abdel Rahman said. Dozens of local truces have been brokered between the myriad of armed groups fighting in Syria's increasingly complex civil war. But a nationwide ceasefire between government forces and non-jihadist rebels brokered by Moscow and Washington in February has been repeatedly violated by both sides. US officials have accused Russia of not doing enough to rein in its ally President Bashar Assad. Moscow has countered that rebel groups that have failed to break ranks with Al-Qaeda and continue to fight alongside it are legitimate targets.The civil war, which began with peaceful protests in 2011, has killed more than 280,000 people and driven millions from their homes.

Israel Seeks to Raise Profile in Africa with Netanyahu Trip
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 02/16/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to make his first trip as premier to Africa, seeking new trade partners and marking the 40th anniversary of a hostage rescue in which his brother died. He is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to travel to Africa since Yitzhak Rabin visited Casablanca in 1994. While no official itinerary has been announced, Netanyahu is expected to visit Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda.Israel's cabinet approved a proposal on June 25 to open offices of Israel's Agency for International Development in the four countries. Netanyahu told the cabinet that his visit "is part of a major effort on our part to return to Africa in a big way". "This is important for Israeli companies and for the state of Israel. It is also important for the countries of Africa," he said. The trip comes at a time when Israel is launching a $13 million aid package to strengthen economic ties and cooperation with African countries, said Netanyahu's office. Israel would also provide African states with training in "domestic security" and health, it said. "Israel's comparative advantage in these fields has created great interest in African countries seeking training from Israel," it said. "The African continent constitutes vast potential for Israel in very many areas."Netanyahu has publicly accepted an invitation from Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. He said he wants to make the trip close to the anniversary of the July 4, 1976 Israeli hostage rescue in Uganda, in which his brother died. - 'Great personal consequence' -Israel's dealings with Africa currently constitutes only two percent of its foreign trade, leaving plenty of room for growth. Demand is rising for its defence expertise and products. But it also sees African countries as potential allies, particularly at the United Nations and other international bodies, where it is regularly condemned over its occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza Strip. Some African countries are keen to obtain Israeli agricultural and water technology, which the country has been promoting, say officials. Netanyahu's trip follows years of efforts to improve ties. The Arab-Israeli conflict drove a wedge between African countries and the Jewish state in the 1960s. Following wars between Israel and its neighbours in 1967 and 1973, North African nations led by Egypt put pressure on sub-Saharan African states to cut ties with Israel, which many did. Relations were not helped by Israel's friendship with the apartheid regime in South Africa before it fell in 1994. Beyond diplomacy and trade, the trip will have deep personal meaning for Netanyahu. His brother Yonatan was killed in July 1976 as he led a commando raid in Entebbe, Uganda, to free passengers aboard an Air France plane hijacked by two Palestinians and two Germans.About 100 Israeli and Jewish hostages were freed in the raid but 20 Ugandan soldiers and seven hijackers were killed, along with several Ugandan civilians. Yonatan Netanyahu was the lone casualty among the Israeli assault team.
Netanyahu has called the rescue operation "a very dramatic national experience" and "for me, obviously, one of great personal consequence".

Israel Locks Down Flashpoint Hebron after Spate of Attacks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 02/16/Israeli troops locked down the occupied West Bank's most populous city Hebron and surrounding villages on Saturday after two Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks nearby. The crackdown comes amid a flare-up in nine months of deadly violence as the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan looms, and after the major diplomatic players called for urgent steps by both sides to revive the moribund peace process. Troops closed all exit roads from Hebron except for the main northern one through the town of Halhul towards Jerusalem, an Agence France Presse correspondent reported. The army announced on Friday that it would close off the flashpoint city and deploy two additional battalions to the area. The measures were described as the "most substantial steps on the ground" since 2014, when Israeli forces carried out a huge search operation in the southern West Bank for three young hitchhikers abducted and later found murdered by Palestinian militants. Hebron has been one of the main focuses of the wave of deadly unrest that has rocked Israel and the Palestinian territories since last October. At least 214 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed. The army has said that around 80 of the attacks on Israelis have been carried out by Palestinians from the Hebron area. Several hundred Jewish settlers live in a tightly guarded enclave in the heart of the city of more than 200,000 Palestinians, a persistent source of tensions. On Thursday, 19-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Nasser Tarayra broke into the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba on the outskirts of Hebron and killed 13-year-old Israeli-American Hallel Yaffa Ariel in her bedroom before being shot dead by a security guard. And on Friday, 48-year-old Michael Mark was killed after his car was fired on by a suspected Palestinian gunman south of Hebron. The army was conducting searches for the gunman on Saturday but there were no immediate reports of any arrests. An army spokesman said the closure was "intended to break the chain of lethal attacks.""The physical presence will also disrupt, prevent and foil additional attacks, inspired by the attackers of the last 48 hours," Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told AFP. - 'They must feel the consequences' -On Friday, Sarah Tarayra, 27, was shot dead after drawing a knife on Israeli forces in Hebron. She was a relative of the Kiryat Arba attacker, and both were from Bani Naim, a village just outside Hebron. Lerner said the army had revoked the Israeli work permits of all residents of the village. The army said no decision had been taken on how long the closure would remain in place, but Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan said it should stay "for an extended period of time.""The terror and incitement atmosphere in the Hebron area is backed by the public and local leadership, and they must feel the consequences of their murderous acts in their daily lives," he said in a statement. In a report released on Friday, the Middle East diplomatic Quartet of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States said Israel's persistent expansion of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories was "steadily eroding the viability of the two-state solution". It called on Israel to halt its demolition of Palestinian homes and confiscation of Palestinian land. But it also urged the Palestinian Authority to act "to cease incitement to violence and strengthen ongoing efforts to combat terrorism, including by clearly condemning all acts of terrorism".The Quartet's recommendations are to serve as the basis for push to revive the Middle East peace process which has been comatose since US-brokered talks collapsed in April 2014. The group said the Palestinian Authority's lack of control over the Gaza Strip, which is run by the Islamists of Hamas, was another major obstacle, along with the "dire humanitarian situation" in the territory which has been devastated by three wars since 2008. A rocket launched from Gaza hit the southern Israeli city of Sderot on Friday, causing damage to a building but no casualties. There was no immediate claim for the fire but Israel responded with air strikes early on Saturday against four facilities run by Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group. They were empty at the time and there were no reports of casualties.

Israeli Airstrikes Hit Gaza Hamas Sites after Rocket Attack
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 02/16/The Israeli military struck a series of militant sites in Gaza early Saturday in response to a rocket attack that hit a kindergarten in the Israeli border town of Sderot. No injuries were reported on either side but damage was caused to buildings. The exchange comes amid an escalation of violence in the West Bank following a pair of fatal attacks against Jewish settlers that has sparked Israel's largest military surge in two years. The military said its airstrikes targeted four training sites belonging to Gaza's militant Hamas rulers. Late Friday, a rocket from Gaza struck an empty kindergarten, marking a rare successful hit of a civilian target in Israel. Rocket attacks have been sporadic since Israel and Hamas waged a deadly 50-day war in the summer of 2014.Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said the rocket attack was "a horrific reminder of the intentions of terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip to target communities, people, men, women and children.""Over the past two days Israeli civilians have witnessed and experienced the devastating effects of incitement-fueled terrorism based on hatred and radical beliefs," he said. "In our efforts to ensure stability, we continue to defend against those who put innocent lives in harm's way."On Friday, a Palestinian gunman ambushed a family traveling in a car in the southern West Bank, killing an Israeli man and wounding his wife and two teenage children. The previous day a Palestinian teen stabbed a 13-year-old Israeli-American girl to death as she slept in her bedroom. The attacks prompted Israel's military to send hundreds of troops to the area and impose a closure on the Hebron district, a flashpoint area where many of the recent attacks have stemmed from. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will reduce the amount of tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians each month, saying that some of the money was being given to families of attackers. His Cabinet will convene late Saturday to discuss further measures. It's the latest development in nine months of violence in which Palestinians have carried out dozens of stabbings, shootings and attacks using cars against civilians and security forces, killing 34 Israelis and two American tourists. Israeli troops as well as some armed civilians have killed about 200 Palestinians during this period, most said by Israel to be attackers. Israel says the violence is fueled by a Palestinian campaign of lies and incitement, compounded on social media sites that glorify and encourage attacks. Palestinians say it stems from frustration at nearly five decades of Israeli rule in territory they claim for a state.

Palestinian kills Israeli, wounds family in West Bank attack
Agencies Saturday, 2 July 2016/Israeli troops locked down the occupied West Bank’s most populous city Hebron and surrounding villages on Saturday after two Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks nearby. Troops locked gates and set up barriers blocking access routes to villages in the area and closed all exit roads from the city except for the northern one through the town of Halhul towards Jerusalem, an AFP correspondent reported. The army announced on Friday that it would close off the flashpoint city and deploy two additional battalions to the area. The measures were described as the “most substantial steps on the ground” since 2014, when Israeli forces carried out a huge search operation in the southern West Bank for three young hitchhikers abducted and later murdered by Palestinian militants. Hebron has been one of the main focuses of a wave of deadly unrest that has rocked Israel and the Palestinian territories since last October.
At least 214 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed. The army has said that around 80 of the attacks on Israelis have been carried out by Palestinians from the Hebron area.
Several hundred Jewish settlers live in a tightly guarded enclave in the heart of the city of more than 200,000 Palestinians, a persistent source of tensions. On Thursday, 19-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Nasser Tarayra broke into the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba on the outskirts of Hebron and killed 13-year-old Israeli-American Hallel Yaffa Ariel in her bedroom before being shot dead by a security guard. And on Friday, 48-year-old Michael Mark was killed after his car was fired on by a suspected Palestinian gunman south of Hebron.The army was conducting searches in the area on Saturday but there were no immediate reports of any arrests. An army spokesman said the closure was “intended to break the chain of lethal attacks.”
“The physical presence will also disrupt, prevent and foil additional attacks, inspired by the attackers of the last 48 hours,” Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told AFP. On Friday, Sarah Tarayra, 27, was shot dead after drawing a knife on Israeli forces in Hebron. She was a relative of the Kiryat Arba attacker, and both were from Bani Naim, a village just outside Hebron. Lerner said the army had revoked the Israeli work permits of all residents of the village. The army said no decision had been taken on how long the closure would remain in place, but Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan said it should stay “for an extended period of time.” A Palestinian gunman ambushed a family traveling in a car in the West Bank on Friday, killing an Israeli man and wounding his wife and two teenage children in an assault that prompted the military to send hundreds of troops to the area — the largest operation in the territory in two years.The army also imposed a closure on the Hebron district, a flashpoint area where many of the recent attacks have stemmed from.
Additionally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will reduce the amount of tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians each month, saying that some of the money was being given to families of attackers.
The tough Israeli action followed a deadly spike in Palestinian violence, with several attacks in two days. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, said the Hebron closure will limit movement except for humanitarian cases. Over 80 Palestinian attacks have originated or taken place in Hebron area since the current wave of violence erupted in September, he said. Hebron is the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank and home to about 170,000 Palestinians. About 850 Israeli settlers also live in heavily-guarded enclaves there. Much of the animosity in the biblical city is over a holy site known to Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs and to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque. Lerner said an initial investigation shows the Palestinian car overtook the Israeli vehicle and opened fire before fleeing the scene. He said it was not immediately known how many gunmen carried out the attack. He said at least 20 shots were fired. Hundreds of soldiers deployed will act as “a physical barrier on the ground,” Lerner said, describing it as the military’s “most substantial” steps taken in the West Bank since 2014, when thousands of troops entered the West Bank to find three Israeli teenagers who were abducted and killed by Palestinian gunmen. Lerner did not elaborate on how long the closure would be in place.
Hebron Mayor Dawod Zatari said the Israeli troops closed the southern entrance to the city, which connects it to other cities and villages. “This measure is meant to collectively punish our people,” he said. In Friday’s shooting, an Israeli man was killed and his wife and two teenage children were wounded, Israel’s ambulance service said. The man was identified in Israeli media as Miki Mark, 48, the head of a Jewish seminary in the settlement of Otniel. Reports said he was a father of 10 and a cousin of Yossi Cohen, the head of Israel’s spy agency, Mossad. In another attack Friday, Israeli police said a Palestinian woman, later identified by Palestinian officials as 27-year-old Sarah Tarayreh, had attempted to stab an officer during a security check outside the Hebron shrine.
She aroused suspicion at the checkpoint and was asked to go into a room to undergo a further security check by a female police officer, said Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri. At that point, the woman pulled out a knife and tried to stab a female officer before she was shot and killed, Samri said.
Tarayreh was from the same town and the same clan as the Palestinian who stabbed a 13-year-old Israeli-American girl to death as she slept in her bedroom on Thursday, but was not a close relative, said the mayor of Bani Naim, Mahmoud Manasrah.Palestinian clans in the West Bank can have thousands of members. The killing of the 13-year-old-girl, carried out by a 17-year-old Palestinian high school dropout, was among the most brazen attacks so far in a nine-month wave of assaults, and it drew angry accusations and calls from Israeli leaders for the world to condemn the incident. On Thursday evening, a Palestinian stabbed and wounded a man and a woman in the Israeli city of Netanya. Over the past nine months, Palestinians have carried out dozens of stabbings, shootings and attacks using cars against civilians and security forces that killed 34 Israelis and two American tourists.
Israeli troops as well as some armed civilians have killed about 200 Palestinians during this period, most said by Israeli to be attackers. The Palestinians and Israeli rights groups have accused Israel of using excessive force at times by killing assailants who they say could have been subdued. In some cases, Palestinians were killed as they tried to flee the scene, or after they had already been stopped or wounded after carrying out an attack.
Israel says the violence is fueled by a Palestinian campaign of lies and incitement, compounded on social media sites that glorify and encourage attacks. Palestinians say it stems from frustration at nearly five decades of Israeli rule in territory they claim for a state.Netanyahu on Friday visited the family of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, the girl stabbed to death Thursday. “To see Hallel’s room, to see the blood stains next to her bed and the books and clothes of a small child, this is shocking,” he said.In announcing the tax money withholdings, Netanyahu accused the Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank, of transferring funds to attackers by various laundering methods.“The more severe the acts of terrorism, the greater the amount of funds,” he said, adding that payment “to terrorists and their families constitutes incentive for murder.”The Palestinian ministry of prisoner affairs said the salaries are paid to every Palestinian prisoner and freed prisoners who spent more than five years in Israeli jails. “The money goes to the families as social welfare, we cannot leave any family without help,” said Issa Qaraqe, the minister for prisoner affairs. Amani Sarahneh, spokeswoman of the Palestinian prisoners’ club said the Palestinian government pays about $11 million per month to prisoners and freed prisoners. Also Friday, a report by, the Quartet of Mideast negotiators — the U.N., US, European Union and Russia — said Israel’s settlement expansion is eroding the viability of a Palestinian state and raises “legitimate questions” about its commitment to a two-state solution. The report criticizes the glorification of Palestinians who commit “terrorist attacks” and calls on the Palestinians to “act decisively” to stop incitement to violence and to clearly condemn “all acts of terrorism.”

Erdogan calls Assad a ‘more advanced terrorist’ than ISIS
By AP Istanbul Sunday, 3 July 2016/Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Saturday that Syrian President Bashar Assad was a “more advanced terrorist” than ISIS, despite the deadly attack on Istanbul's Ataturk Airport that Turkish officials blame on ISIS. Speaking in the town of Kilis near the border with Syria, Erdogan said the Syrian leader was responsible for the deaths of some 600,000 of his own citizens and was the root cause of the war in Syria.“He is a more advanced terrorist than a terrorist from the PYD or the YPG,” Erdogan said. “He is a more advanced terrorist than Daesh.” Erdogan was referring to Syrian Kurdish militia, which Ankara accuses of being a terror organization because of their affiliation with Turkey’s Kurdish rebels, and to the ISIS group by its Arabic name. Three militants armed with assault rifles and suicide bombs attacked one of the world's busiest airports on Tuesday night, killing at least 44 people. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, Turkish officials say they believe it was the work of ISIS. Turkish authorities have detained at least 24 people in raids in several Istanbul neighborhoods over possible connections to the attack. Seventeen other people were detained in the province of Gaziantep, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Erdogan paid an unannounced visit to the airport on Saturday, saying a prayer in front of a memorial set up for the victims, which features the pictures of airport employees killed in the rampage. He later flew to Kilis, where the number of Syrian refugees is higher than the local Turkish population. ISIS militants have also attacked the town with cross-border rocket fire, killing 21 people there since January. Erdogan said countries he did not name were supporting the Syrian Kurdish militia and the ISIS in a bid to prevent democracy in Syria and for their “dirty calculations” in the region. He also announced that his government would allow Syrian refugees in Turkey to take on Turkish citizenship. Turkey has been accused of long turning a blind eye to militant fighters who crossed into Syria from Turkish territory in the hope that they would hasten Assad’s downfall. Turkey has also been accused of not doing enough to fight IS, despite allowing the US-led coalition to use a key air base to conduct air strikes against militants. Turkey denies the accusations but such statements from Erdogan help reinforce beliefs that fighting ISIS is not a priority for Ankara despite the extremist groups’ attacks on Turkish territory. Earlier, the Istanbul governor's office said 52 people were still in the hospital - 20 of them in intensive care - four days after the devastating airport attack. It said 184 airport victims had been discharged from hospitals so far, including 13 people released Saturday.
Prosecutors have established the identity of two of the three airport attackers - giving their names as Rakim Bulgarov and Vadim Osmanov - and were trying to identify the third, Anadolu said. Other media reports have given different versions of Osmanov’s name.
Investigators’ attentions have reportedly focused on whether a Chechen extremist known to be a top lieutenant in ISIS masterminded the attack. US Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, told CNN that Akhmed Chatayev directed the attack. The CIA and White House declined to comment on McCaul’s assertion and officials said the investigation into the airport bombings is still ongoing. McCaul could not be reached for further comment. Turkish officials also were not able to confirm Chatayev’s possible role in the deadly attack. The Sabah newspaper, which is close to the Turkish government, said police had launched a manhunt for him. ISIS, which has used the porous border with Turkey to establish itself in neighboring Syria and Iraq, has repeatedly threatened Turkey. In turn, Turkey has blamed ISIS for several major bombings in the past year in Ankara and Istanbul.

Istanbul airport attack toll rises to 45
By Staff Writer Al Arabiya English Saturday, 2 July 2016/The death of a Jordanian child brought the toll from this week’s Istanbul airport attack to 45, media reported Saturday, as a scare sparked fresh jitters in Turkey's biggest city. Ankara has pointed blame at ISIS for Tuesday’s gun and suicide bomb rampage at Ataturk international airport. Dogan news agency reported that four-year-old Jordanian national Rayyan Mohammed, one of more than 200 people injured in the attacks, had died in hospital. The governorate said 184 airport victims have been discharged from hospitals so far, including 13 people released Saturday. It said 20 people were still in intensive care. Three militants armed with assault rifles and suicide bombs attacked one of the world’s busiest airports on Tuesday night. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, Turkish officials say they believe it was the work of ISIS.
Turkish authorities have detained at least 24 people in raids in several Istanbul neighborhoods over possible connections to the attack. Seventeen other people were detained in the province of Gaziantep, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The four-year-old child’s death came as a man sparked chaos by shouting “Suicide bomber” in a crowded Istanbul market on Saturday, with the city still reeling from the attacks. One woman was slightly injured in the panic in Umraniye, a working-class neighborhood on Istanbul’s Asian side. Police were called to the scene. The airport carnage was the latest in a string of deadly attacks to hit Turkey in the past year blamed on either ISIS or Kurdish rebels. There has been no claim of responsibility, but officials and analysts say the evidence points to an ISIS strike. “It is clear that this was Daesh,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late Friday, using another name for ISIS. “Their place is in hell,” he added. In this framegrab from CCTV video, made available by Turkish police on June 30, 2016, three men (front, in black) believed to be the attackers, walk in Istanbul's Ataturk airport on June 28, 2016 (Photo: Handout/ Istanbul Police Headquarters/AFP)
Authorities have said they believe the three attackers were a Russian, an Uzbek and a Kyrgyz national. Anadolu named two of them Friday as Rakim Bulgarov and Vadim Osmanov, without giving their nationalities. Central Asia’s former Soviet republics have been a major source of foreign militants travelling to fight with ISIS and other extremist groups in Iraq and Syria.Turkish media have identified a Chechen, Akhmed Chatayev, as the mastermind of the attacks, describing him as the head of an IS cell in Istanbul. He is accused of planning two bombings in the city earlier this year in the Sultanahmet tourist district and the Istiklal shopping street, both of which killed foreigners.(With AFP, AP and Reuters)

A drone strike kills three al-Qaeda suspects in Yemen
The Associated Press, Sanaa (Yemen) Saturday, 2 July 2016/Security officials and tribesmen say that at least three suspected al-Qaeda militants have been killed in a drone strike in southern Yemen. The officials said the militants were hit while traveling in an SUV in the province of Shabwa. Tribesmen put the death toll among the militants to six and said the vehicle turned into charred, twisted metal. They said they believe a US drone is behind the attack. It was not immediately possible to verify their account.They spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisal. The attack came at a time the White House revealed for the first time that as many as 116 civilians were killed by drone and other US strikes in different countries including Yemen since 2009 when President Barack Obama took office.

Political prisoners in Zahedan support “Free Iran” rally in Paris
Saturday, 02 July 2016/NCRI - Political prisoners in Iran’s south-eastern city of Zahedan have issued a statement in support of the July 9 “Free Iran” gathering in Paris by members and supporters of the Iranian Resistance. In their statement, smuggled outside of Zahedan Prison, the political prisoners said: “We political prisoners of the Central Prison of Zahedan call on all our countrymen, both inside the country and abroad, to definitely take part in the major gathering of Iranians in Paris which will be taking place in defense of the rights of the Iranian people in order to prevent all these catastrophes that are taking place.”In another part of the statement, touching upon the human rights violations carried out in Iran by the mullahs’ regime, the political prisoners said: “Individuals who are arrested are denied access to a lawyer until after their interrogation and they are kept uninformed about the charges in their files.”
“In interrogation centers [prisoners] are subjected to the worst sorts of tortures, the most common of which is being tied to a bed and flogged with heavy cables.”“People who are arrested in Sistan and Baluchistan Province are mainly from impoverished backgrounds who are denied proper education and literacy,” they said, adding the judges re-write that which the defendants say such that it ends up being used against them, leading to many instances where “defendants who had not carried out any crimes are sentenced to life imprisonment or execution.” They added that “executions in the country continue unabated and there has been no change for the better” during Hassan Rouhani’s presidency. At the end of their statement, they urged participants at the “Free Iran” rally to be the voice of political prisoners in Iran. The signatories of the statement, included political prisoners: Hamzeh Rigi, Mowlavi Noureddin Kashani, Mowlavi Abdolvahed Shahnavazi, Mowlavi Mohammad Amin Dehqani, Mowlavi Abdolrahim Kuhi, Farooq Barani, Abdolkhaleq Rigi, Abed Bampuri, Eshaq Kalkali, Zubeir Hud, Abed Baran-Zehi, Mosayeb Baran-Zehi, Shahab Dehvari, Vahid Hud, Mohamad Dehvari, Abubakr Rostami, Sajjad Baluch, Shir-Ahmad Hossein-Zehi, Meysam Chandani, Mohammad Hossein Rigi, Dor-Mohammad Shah-Bakhsh, and another prisoner only identified by his first name Esmaeil. The Free Iran rally by tens of thousands of supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) will be held on July 9 in Paris. There, members of the Iranian Resistance will expose the evil nature of the regime to policymakers, journalists, religious leaders, and civilians globally.

Interview with Struan Stevenson about the “Free Iran” rally
Saturday, 02 July 2016/NCRI - Former European lawmaker Struan Stevenson has been a staunch supporter of freedom for the Iranian people for many years. Until his retirement in 2014, he chaired the Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup (Caucus) in the European Parliament for over 10 years. During that time and in subsequent years, he has participated in the annual “Free Iran” rallies organized by the Iranian Resistance each year in Paris.
We asked him why he thinks the rallies are important to Iranians inside the country.
Stevenson: I have attended many of the great NCRI rallies in Paris and have been staggered at the massive crowds who attend every year. Last year there were in excess of 100,000 people, most of them from the worldwide Iranian diaspora. Almost every single one of these people will have extended families inside Iran, meaning that potential support for the Iranian opposition is colossal, numbering millions. This gives the lie to those who contend that the Opposition has little or no support inside the country. Of course people cannot openly declare their support for the PMOI/MEK inside Iran, as to do so will lead to immediate arrest, torture and execution. Nevertheless an active network of courageous PMOI members and supporters inside Iran and even inside government institutions continue to keep the West informed of the clandestine nuclear and military activities of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Qods Force, at huge personal risk to their own safety and security. We have much to thank them for in the West, not least that they were the first to alert us to the mullahs’ nuclear programme back in August 2002. We should be throwing our total support behind the Iranian opposition instead of doing dirty deals with the mullahs and their murderous regime.
Question from ncr-iran.org: Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said in one of these grand gatherings that the combined number of participants at the U.S. Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention is less than the number of people who participate in the annual gatherings of the Iranian Resistance. How can an opposition movement have the strength to organize such a meeting?
Rudy Giuliani is quite correct. He is one of many prominent and internationally renowned figures who address the annual NCRI gathering in Paris. Having attended many of these events, I never cease to be overwhelmed by the size of the crowd, who come from every corner of the globe to show their outrights support for the only viable opposition movement that promises to restore, peace, justice, democracy, human rights, women’s rights, an end to the death penalty and the abolition of nuclear weapons, to this oppressed and beleaguered nation. The strength of this opposition movement is a clear indication that they are an alternative to the ruling mullahs and should be recognized as such by our governments.
Question: How do you assess the Iranian situation one year after the nuclear deal? Do you think Tehran is weaker or stronger?
Regarding the nuclear deal, while we condemn the concessions given to the regime and the lifting of most of the sanctions, we also recognize that this deal created a substantial internal crisis and fighting within the ruling clique, which has significantly weakened the regime. Of course we also welcome the fact that the regime's ability to make a nuclear bomb has really decreased. But it is important to remind the West that the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen assets, despite the wishful thinking of the West, did not result in any benefits for the Iranian population. On the contrary, instead of the money being used for the welfare of the people, it has in fact been used to finance terrorism, supporting Bashar al-Assad’s on-going bloody civil war and other terrorist and sectarian military projects in Iraq and throughout the Middle East.
Question: What practical measures can Western governments take to support the establishment of democracy in Iran?
It is time we woke up to the fact that as long as the mullahs remain in power there will be no possibility of peace in the Middle East. Federica Mogherini, the EU’s High representative for Foreign Affairs & Security should stop her business-as-usual approach to Tehran. She should be shouting in anger and condemnation at the human rights abuse that takes place in that country on a daily basis. The West should be entering into dialogue with the political coalition that is the NCRI, rather than pussyfooting around with the mullahs in Tehran. The NCRI under the inspiring leadership of Mrs Maryam Rajavi, offers the best possible hope for peace and stability in the region.
A major force in the NCRI is the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), which believes in a democratic, tolerant Islam and has bravely stood up against fundamentalism and violence. The PMOI’s vision of democracy, human rights, women’s rights, abolition of the death penalty, abolition of nuclear weapons and non-interference in other countries is surely the only way forward for Iran and its beleaguered and oppressed population. The West should impose international sanctions for human rights violations. These actions could lead to breaking the atmosphere of fear and terror and ultimately to another uprising which could topple the mullahs’ fascist regime and restore democracy to Iran.

***Struan Stevenson was a Conservative MEP representing Scotland in the European Parliament from 1999 until his retirement in 2014. He chaired the Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup (Caucus) in the European Parliament for over 10 years. He was President of the Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq from 2009 to 2014. He is now President of the European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA).
 

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 02-03/16

Sybaritic West Surrenders to Islamists
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/July 02/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8343/decadent-west-islamists
The West should be proud of what the Islamists call "decadence." For the West, "decadence" is synonymous with freedom. The problem is that we, postmodern Westerners, have sacrificed the very values that ensure our survival, and have exchanged them for "decadence."
The problem is that the West does not desire life. The West is ready to surrender its love of life to those who want to take it away from them.
"Islam manifests what Nietzsche called 'great health': there are young soldiers ready to die for it. What are the values of our civilization? Supermarket and e-commerce, trivial consumerism and egotistical narcissism, vulgar hedonism or scooters for adults?" — Michel Onfray, French philosopher,
In the Netherlands, the minister of education decided to impose the teaching of LGBT courses in migrant centers. Germany has published guidelines, leaflets and cartoons to communicate to immigrants the new sexual norms to follow. Is that all we have to offer to these people?
Omar Mateen did not choose the Pulse gay nightclub because it had few security guards or because it was an easy target. He could have targeted a supermarket or a school. No, Mateen chose Pulse because it is a nightclub, where he slaughtered 49 "infidels" and wounded 53 more.
Before murdering 2,977 people, the leader of the 9/11 terrorists, Mohammed Atta, along with four of the other hijackers, made several trips to Las Vegas during the summer before the attack, where they were entertained by dancers in nightclubs.
Fifteen years later, there was another country, another jihadist cell, another nightclub. Salah Abdeslam was dancing in a nightclub in Brussels with his brother, Brahim, and flirting with a blonde woman. A few months later, Brahim blew himself up in Paris at a concert in the Bataclan Theater. Nightclubs haunt the Islamist imagination with their mix of alcohol, sexual promiscuity, drugs and music. ISIS labelled Paris "the capital of prostitution and obscenity."
The London nightclub Tiger Tiger, located between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, was the target of a terror plot in 2007. Last February, the French intelligence service foiled a plot to attack swingers' clubs in Paris. Places such as Les Chandelles, which boasts a "fascinating journey into the heart of sensuality," or the Overside, which offers 250 square meters "dedicated to pleasure."
The most spectacular and bloody of these attacks at nightclubs took place in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002: 190 victims, mostly Western tourists, Australian surfers and girls in bikinis.
In 2008, Islamists attacked the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, which they used to call "the den of Western decadence." Like the nightclubs, the hotels are ideological targets, places where men and women freely mix and guests can consume alcohol and enjoy music.
In July 2005, at least 88 people were killed by terrorists storming Sharm el Sheikh, the tiny Egyptian seaside village transformed by Hosni Mubarak into a global attraction for foreign tourism. In 2015, ISIS butchered British tourists on a beach in Sousse, Tunisia.
"We desire death more than you desire life," these Islamist terrorists have been telling us for the last twenty years. It seems they want to achieve a catharsis by spilling blood in our comfortable promiscuity, in the dark of a nightclub.
Mohammed Atta (left) leader of the 9/11 terrorists, along with four of the other hijackers, were entertained by dancers in Las Vegas nightclubs several times during the summer of 2001. Omar Mateen (right) deliberately chose to attack the Pulse gay nightclub, where he slaughtered 49 "infidels." Many Islamist terrorist attacks around the world have seemingly aimed to achieve a catharsis, by spilling blood in our comfortable promiscuity, in the dark of a nightclub.
Senior Hamas official Fathi Hamad, addressing Israel, has said the same thing. Major Nidal Malik Hasan wrote, "We love death more than you love life" before murdering 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas. "We are going to win, because they love life and we love death," said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, along with Osama bin Laden and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The West, however, should be proud of what the Islamists call "decadence." For the West, "decadence" is synonymous with freedom. The problem is that we postmodern Westerners have sacrificed the very values that ensure our survival and exchanged them for "decadence" -- pleasure. That is why Pim Fortuyn, the openly gay sociology professor and politician murdered in 2002, scorned Islam as a "backward culture" (an animal rights activist killed Fortuyn "to protect Muslims"). Fortuyn fought on behalf of what Islamists would consider "decadence," and he regarded permissiveness as the great glory of Western civilization. The problem is that the West does not desire life. It seems tired of it. You can see that from the post-Orlando reactions which cannot even mention the word "Islam." The West is ready to surrender its love of life to those who want to take it away from them. To quote the French atheist philosopher, Michel Onfray:"Islam manifests what Nietzsche called 'great health': there are young soldiers ready to die for it. What are the values of our civilization? Supermarket and e-commerce, trivial consumerism and egotistical narcissism, vulgar hedonism or scooters for adults?"
Pleasure has become sad in the West.
In a fever of moralistic prudery, Italy recently veiled naked art at the Capitoline Museums in Rome during the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. But we obligate other Muslims who arrive in Europe to see far more explicit naked images.
From Norway to Denmark, the Scandinavian nations have adopted compulsory sex education for migrants. In the Netherlands, the minister of education decided to impose the teaching of LGBT courses in migrant centers. Germany has published guidelines, leaflets and cartoons to communicate to immigrants the new sexual norms to follow. Is that all we have to offer to these people?
"The morally illiterate leaflets European local authorities are distributing to migrants reflect the problems that official EU culture has in the realm of values," wrote sociologist Frank Furedi. Europe already tried to integrate Muslims by offering them wantonness and libertinism. And it failed. Asked what drove them to convert to Islam, many Europeans talked of feeling their lives had been lost and lacking in purpose, citing "lack of morality and sexual permissiveness".
The "clash of civilizations" has turned into a war between those who cry, "We will not give up our lifestyle" and those who sing, "We desire death more than you desire life." It is a war between a decadent apathy with moral inertia and Islamist theological turmoil. The Caliphate is much stronger than our disarmed and self-righteous decadence.
ISIS's black banner, crying "No God but Allah" -- the banner of the people who kill cartoonists in Paris and gays in Orlando -- is marching over the ruins of our addiction to pleasure.
**Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

The Political Blame Game: Pulling Tricks to Deny the Obvious
Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/July 02/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8338/orlando-gay-islam-blame

Immediately after the massacre in Orlando, the gay press was full of articles that adamantly refused to admit the reality of Islamic homophobia.
The same organisations that obsess over which bakeries in the U.S. and Europe will or will not bake wedding cakes for gay couples, and rightly have no trouble berating homophobic Christian pastors, seemed wholly uninterested in the motivations of the Pulse nightclub killer. Instead, these papers and websites were filled with articles, petitions and joint letters, enjoining people not to notice the Islamic element.
These gay activists have a vision of the world where only "patriarchal" white males of Jewish or Christian heritage can cause the world's problems.
A small minority of very vocal "far-left" activists are now using their LGBT status as a smokescreen not to advance gay rights but to advance "far-left" politics.
The recent shootings at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando Florida have already begun to be submerged by the news cycle. Shock at the worst mass-shooting in American history -- which saw the death of forty-nine people and the wounding of even more, fifty-three -- has been further dulled by various distractions in the debate. This time, these have included a debate on America's gun laws and speculation around the sexuality of the gunman.
All of these matters have been fought backwards and forwards and should certainly be components of any argument. But the part of the debate that has been the most important and -- as usual -- the most covered over, has been the religious motivation of the gunman. This, and the response it has entailed, is worth dwelling on: it reveals a concerted effort not to learn from events.
Just as it is inevitable that those obsessed with gun legislation should wish to make the debate about gun legislation, so it is inevitable that those with any other over-riding political agenda should wish to pin responsibility for the shooting on whatever is their particular obsession. It seems inevitable, for instance, that "Black Lives Matter" would blame the shooting on "the four threats of white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and militarism."
But why would government and the community which had been attacked try to pretend that the gunman's religion had absolutely nothing to do with the shooting? One could understand why the most ardent proselytiser for Islam or the most sensitive Muslim believer might like to downplay the Islamic element of a Muslim going into a gay nightclub and gunning down gays. But why would so many others be at such pains to erase this aspect of the story?
To say that the U.S. government has done so is simply a statement of fact. Consider the partial transcripts of the 911 calls of the gunman, Omar Mateen, on the night in question, released by the FBI. There are two especially notable aspects to these transcripts. The first is that where the gunman refers to "Allah," the FBI transcript has changed "Allah" to "God'. This cannot be in order to translate from the Arabic and thus make Mateen's sense clearer to any American who did not know what "Allah" meant (which is itself highly unlikely after all these years). Most of the call is in English. There is no reason for the FBI to use an English-speaker's use of the word "Allah" and turn it into "God" -- other than to cover over an important aspect of the call.
The second is that the FBI chose to redact those portions of the call which refer to ISIS. Where Mateen had said in his call that he was doing what he was doing in Orlando in the name of ISIS, no version of the group's name was originally included. Instead, the FBI transcript related that Mateen said: "I pledge allegiance to [omitted]." Of course, the Obama administration has tried to refrain from referring to ISIS in any of its forms other than the cutesy Arabic term, "Daesh" (which means the same thing as ISIS but avoids any variant of the "I" word reaching tender American ears). Since the outcry in response to the FBI's redactions, it has released a full, unedited transcript of Mateen's call. In this the shooter says, among other things, "My name is I pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State.'
Perhaps it is inevitable that this administration in Washington would try to cover over the Islamist nature of this attack. It is administration policy to do so -- a policy they are unlikely now to reverse, however many more Orlandos are to come.
The most confused and confusing motive of all, however, is that of organised sections of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Immediately after the massacre in Orlando, the gay press was full of articles that adamantly refused to admit the reality of Islamic homophobia. The same organisations that obsess over which bakeries in the U.S. and Europe will or will not bake wedding cakes for gay couples, and rightly have no trouble berating homophobic Christian pastors, seemed wholly uninterested in the motivations of the Pulse nightclub killer. Instead, these papers and websites were filled with articles, petitions and joint letters enjoining people not to notice the Islamic element. Or, as one open letter published in one of the major Scottish papers put it, "Don't use Orlando shootings to demonise Islamic communities', say prominent LGBTI Scots." This exemplar of the problem stated:
"Prominent Scots are among signatories to an open letter published in The National today condemning the use of the Orlando massacre by figures such as Donald Trump to stoke Islamophobia."
There may be forty-nine dead gay people, but these activists knew where they were going to put the blame.
Among other things the letter's contents said:
"In the wake of this atrocity, it has been additionally distressing to see various far-right commentators attempt to equate the killings with Islam, and in doing so fan the flames of Islamophobia.
"We want to emphasise that this is not happening in any way in solidarity with the LGBT+ community, and wholeheartedly reject any attempts to use the Orlando killings as a tool to demonise entire communities on the basis of the actions of one individual."
A number of tricks are pulled here. Not least of them is the denigration of the few people (of all political persuasions) who express concern about Islamist violence as "far-right." The other is to claim that such people -- even when they are gay -- do not represent LGBT people, whereas this group of noticeably under-qualified "far-leftists" do. If one imagined that any genuinely unified expression of LGBT opinion must surely encompass some centre-right or conservative voices, these signatories would disagree.
This tiny morsel of activism in fact demonstrates a far greater problem. Just as the Obama administration cannot face up to -- or even name -- the problem, because doing so would run wholly counter to its seven-year old policy, so "far-left" LGBT activists who dominate LGBT politics have to downplay or "disappear" the Islamist nature of such events, while accusing others who do not of "Islamophobia." As with the Obama administration, this decision is a political stand. These gay activists have a vision of the world just as much as the "Black Lives Matter" and other such campaign groups do. This vision includes a world where only "patriarchal" white males of Jewish or Christian heritage can cause the world's problems.
It is high time that this was more widely pointed out. A small minority of extremely vocal far-left activists are now using their LGBT status as a smokescreen not to advance gay rights but to advance far-left politics. Gay rights are in fact a casualty of their politics -- but a casualty they are willing to accept. It is unlikely that this political wing of the gay community, who have formed such a smokescreen around radical Islam, will become aware of their mistake anytime soon. Forty-nine dead bodies were not enough, so there is no reason to imagine that hundreds more would be. But it is to be hoped that the wider public remember that those who would deny this problem come from all walks of society -- from the top of the U.S. government all the way down to the most unknown but fervent signatories of identity politics.
**Douglas Murray is a current events analyst and commentator based in London.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Bring Christian and Yazidi Refugees from the Muslim World First
Phyllis Chesler/New York Post/June 30, 2016
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/07/02/phyllis-cheslernew-york-post-bring-christian-and-yazidi-refugees-from-the-muslim-world-first/
Originally published under the title "Shouldn't We First Help the Christian Victims of Mideast Genocide?"
Zoroastrian Kurds, known as Yazidis, were forced to flee in August 2014 after their town of Sinjar was massacred and taken over by ISIS. Reuters
Before dawn Monday, four suicide bombers killed five and wounded at least a dozen in the Lebanese Christian town of al-Qaa. Later that night, as townspeople prepared to bury their dead, four more suicide bombers hit.
The attacks underscored just how endangered are Christians who live in today's Muslim world. As the United States debates how many Mideast refugees to accept and who should get priority, the answer is staring us in the face: Those most in need of refuge are Christians and Yazidis who live among Muslims.
On June 19, a suicide bomber killed three people as he detonated himself at a memorial to massacred Christians in Qumishi, Syria. On June 9, a Pakistani Muslim mob badly beat a man merely because he was a Christian. On June 5, two people were killed when Islamists targeted a church with rockets in Syria; the same day, a Christian man was hacked to death at his shop by Islamists in Bangladesh. On June 2, in Nigeria, Muslim youths beheaded a Christian woman for allegedly insulting Mohammed.
And that's just this month — a typical month, sadly, for the world's Christians.
In May, similar Muslim attacks against Christians took place in Niger, Turkey, Syria, the Philippines, Uganda, Pakistan and Bangladesh. On March 27-28, a Taliban group murdered 69 Christians and wounded 30 more, mainly women and children, as they were celebrating Easter in a park in Lahore, Pakistan.
The Obama administration has called for massive acceptance of Muslim refugees from war zones.
The list goes on. Yet President Obama seems to value endangered Muslim lives more than the lives of endangered Christians and Yazidis.
In April, America built a temporary "surge" center in Amman, Jordan, to more rapidly process Muslim immigrants from Syria. The vetting process has been "fast tracked," perhaps in order to meet Obama's desired number of 10,000 Muslim Syrians to be admitted by September.
The Obama administration has called for an openhearted and massive acceptance of Muslim refugees from war zones. Democratic leaders insist that it would be wrong, morally, legally and politically, to stop Muslim immigration — but concede that it's currently impossible to identify would-be jihadists among refugees or homegrown radicals among their descendants.
The United Nations has more modestly suggested that Western nations accept Muslim "women and children" first.
Obama has paid no attention to what has happened in Europe, namely the large number of sexual assaults of girls, women and homosexuals by Muslim men, as well as the staggering financial cost of hosting hostile, non-productive immigrants who may have no desire to assimilate to Western customs.
Here's another suggestion.
Christian refugees are more inclined to assimilate to Western ways, or at least respond to them nonviolently.
If we want to accept refugees in flight from Arab and Muslim war zones, why not start with Christians who are being slaughtered by Muslims in Muslim-majority countries? Although they're Arabs, Africans or Central Asians, the fact that they're also Christians might make them more inclined to assimilate to Western ways — and, even if they assimilate imperfectly, they're more likely to respond to Western freedoms in nonviolent ways.
Why has the pope offered symbolic asylum in the Vatican only to Muslims and not to fellow Christians?
Recently, according to my colleague Ashraf Rameleh, a Coptic Christian advocate, "Pope Francis, who is 'building bridges to build peace' around the world, has naturally reached out to embrace Sunni Muslims." Rameleh notes that the pope has "grieved with the Orthodox of Egypt and offered his prayers over the spilled blood of Christians in Libya, recognizing the Coptic Christian martyrs."
However, the pope has remained silent about the systematic destruction of the Eastern Christian Church. He hasn't supported Egyptian President Abdel Fatta el-Sisi, who is trying to break the stranglehold that the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood still has on Egypt.
I have been told by the director of the Hatune Dogan Foundation, Hans Erling Jensen, that Christians stuck in refugee camps in Turkey have arrived penniless; that Muslims don't look out for them but, instead, continue to persecute them. Most are starving. Many don't have money to buy food or to pay traffickers to smuggle them out.
Why not bring Christians and Yazidis from the Muslim world here first? Why not bring Muslim dissidents, ex-Muslims, and Muslim homosexuals here second?
Finally, why not bring Muslim girls and women who are already in flight from honor-based violence, including from honor killing here, next — before we extend visas, green cards and asylum to Muslim boys and men?
*Phyllis Chesler, a Shillman-Ginsburg fellow at the Middle East Forum, is an emerita professor of psychology and women's studies and the author of sixteen books.

Look back and ahead in anger
Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/July 02/16
Every week I struggle with the topic of my article. Sometimes I am saved by the bell when after a day or two of researching an issue without enthusiasm, when an event, a sudden development, or an unavoidable calamity imposes itself and I go with the flow.
When I find myself about to delve into a subject that I have revisited many times, such as the Syrian tragedy, or America’s current tragicomedy, also known as the presidential election, I agonize to avoid repeating myself. How many ways one can warn people not to vote for a vile charlatan who exploits their anxieties and fears in times of uncertainties, a scoundrel who breathes resentment, delusion and ignorance, and emits more than a whiff of racism? How can one analytically, and yes passionately tell peoples in the Middle East and beyond, that Syria’s slow and horrific journey into the night, will also drag us all into a dark uncharted territory?
A second betrayal of the Syrian people
Avoiding Syria this week was not possible given the revelation that the Obama administration has proposed a new agreement with the Russian government on Syria where the two countries would share intelligence and enhance military coordination that would allow Russia to expand its bombing campaign against Jabhat al-Nusra, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, which has been a leading force fighting the Assad regime. In return, Russia would pressure the Assad regime to stop its aerial attacks against Syrian rebel formations that are either allied with the U.S or not considered terrorist groups by Washington.
Whether the proposed agreement is finalized and implemented or not, the mere fact that the American government, with the blessing of President Obama personally is seeking such an arrangement with Russia represents a stark negation of America’s stated policy on Syria since the beginning of the “Geneva process” which called for the establishment of a transitional governing authority with full executive power formed on the basis of mutual consent. For five long years, the cost of America’s political and military inconsistencies in Syria, its unkept promises and undelivered threats has been staggering
If the proposed agreement is carried out, its first obvious benefit would be to strengthen the Assad regime, and weaken the very moderate opposition that the U.S. claims it is nurturing. Ultimately, such American-Russian collaboration, which will actually serve Iran’s objectives in Syria, will spell the demise of diplomacy and condemn Syria to a long slow war of attrition. Once again, President Obama would be reneging on his own political commitments, and more damning he would be once again betraying the Syrian people. Few weeks ago, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said, without any hint of irony, that President Obama was “certainly pleased" with his administration's policy on Syria, while admitting that conditions in Syria are “terrible” and “awful” and that the country poses a “heightened risk” to the United States and its interests.
One cannot but compare President Obama’s cold, detached and unprincipled position on Syria with the courageous and principled position expressed two weeks ago by 51 of his diplomats working on aspects of the Syrian war, who called in a dissenting memo for the limited use of military power to compel the Assad regime to seriously engage in negotiations, which was precisely the initial justification of the Obama administration’s early support for the moderate rebels.
Five long years of inconsistencies
With America shifting its priorities in reaction to events on the ground, which frustrated and weakened its purported Syrian allies, the Assad regime and its main bakers; Iran and Russia established a consistent pattern: military force will always be the primary instrument to settle the conflict decisively or barring that to establish a stalemate from a position of strength. Hence the repeated violations of any temporary arrangement to establish local cease fires, or end the siege and starvation practices of the Syrian regime against isolated communities. A corollary to that were the impossible demands and conditions demanded by the regime during the sham negotiation sessions.
For the Obama administration to believe that Russia will honor any commitment not to attack moderate opposition groups fighting the Assad regime, or that President Putin would or could stop Assad’s scorched earth policy against the moderate opposition and the civilians under their control is utterly naïve. Even the peripatetic Secretary of State John Kerry, who probably spend more time in the last few years with his Russian and Iranian counterparts than with his family, and who is reportedly support the proposed agreement with Russia has recently expressed his frustration with Moscow. While in Oslo last month Kerry complained that Russia and the Assad regime were violating the February Cessation of Hostilities agreement and were dragging their feet regarding the delivery of humanitarian supplies to starving and besieged neighborhoods.
A smile and a shoeshine
The problem with Kerry is that he is seen as a man of good intentions, who occasionally huffs and puffs and issues threats, only to be undermined by the White House. For months Kerry threatened a so-called “Plan B”, to pressure Assad and Russia by arming Syrian rebels if Russia and Assad continued their attacks on moderate Syrian opposition groups. But true to form, the White House, by blessing the contacts with Russia to reach an agreement against al-Nusra Front, which in case it was implemented, will likely deal the rebels a serious setback. It was ironic that when the reported talks for the new agreement with Russia were leaked, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency CIA John Brennan was asserting publicly that Russia is “trying to crush” the opposition to Assad, and that Moscow is violating the Cessation of Hostilities, and did not live up to its commitment to the political process, accusations that were repeated by Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter after the story of the proposed agreement was leaked.
Since his resignation as the Secretary of State’s Special Representative on Syria, Ambassador Fred Hof, whose knowledge of Syria is immense, has been a consistent and strong critic of President Obama’s maddening approach to Syria. Ambassador Hof told me that Secretary Kerry has absolutely no leverage with Russia. Hof poignantly captured Kerry’s (and Obama’s self-inflicted predicament) succinctly and devastatingly thus: “He still wants to hope that Moscow was sincere when it announced, last September, that it was entering Syria to fight Daesh (ISIS). Yet all of the evidence accumulated since then proves that Russia really intended to save Assad from his nationalist opponents, and that Daesh would be left in place to serve as an example of something arguably worse than Moscow's mass murdering, war criminal client. How then, without leverage, does one become a partner of Putin's Russia in Syria short of conceding on every issue of any importance? Protection of civilians is the coin of the realm in Syria. Without it there can be no end to the country's emptying. Without it there can be no negotiations of any value. And yet the survival strategy of the Assad regime rests entirely on collective punishment and mass murder: a strategy facilitated by and participated in by Russia and Iran. Again: how does one "partner" with actors such as these? And what choices does one have if a smile and a shoeshine are the sum total of what one brings to the table?”
Russia ascendant
Late last year President Obama forcefully denounced Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria vowing not to cooperate with Russia and saying that Moscow’s escalation would lead to a “quagmire” that will ultimately empower the “Islamic State” ISIS. Obama re-iterated his demand that any political resolution to the war must include the departure of Assad: “We’re very clear in sticking to our belief in our policy that the problem here is Assad and the brutality he’s inflicted on the Syrian people and that it has to stop”. Russia’s military intervention in Syria enhanced Assad’s tactical position and helped make it the outside power capable, with Iran and the Assad regime and their surrogate Shiite militias, to create military facts on the ground and to influence and shape the political initiatives, thus eclipsing American diplomacy.
If the purported agreement is implemented, and Russia with Washington’s blessing routed al-Nusra and other Islamist groups occupying a significant part of the city of Aleppo, this would constitute a major victory for the Assad regime, which would shatter any prospects for negotiations. More importantly, enhanced military and intelligence cooperation with Russia in Syria, will amount to conceding that Russia is the main power broker in Syria and not the U.S. and its allies. Such collaboration will accede to Moscow’s long demand for such military to military cooperation, which will undermine Washington’s efforts to isolate Russia and its military after its seizure of Crimea. Such military and intelligence cooperation will make the U.S. for all intents and purposes an accomplice in Russia’s war on the Syrian people, and in its exploitation of the Syrian refugee crisis that is increasing the pressure on Europe’s institutions and societies.
The fierce urgency of now
During the 1963 March on Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr spoke of “the fierce urgency of now.” The impatient and passionate civil right leader was highlighting the need for, “vigorous and positive action”. One would wish for President Obama to have borrowed King’s words, and more importantly his passion and conviction and applied them to the Syrian tragedy. Unless The United States, the European Union and most of Syria’s neighbors move quickly and in a concerted way to make it clear and painful for Assad, Moscow and Tehran that their predations in Syria will be costly, Syria’s bleeding will continue and the flow of refugees to Europe will remain unabated. Already the EU (because of Syria, and the other conflicts in Iraq, and Afghanistan, and the migrants from Africa) is facing its most dangerous crisis since its inception. The recent Brexit referendum in Britain and the possibility of similar referenda with similar results could spell doom for the Union, and present the U.S. with a serious economic and security challenge.
It is not too late to attempt to challenge the axis of Russia, Iran and Assad in Syria. For five years serious diplomats, military officers and experts proposed a variety of options to help the Syrians help themselves to get rid of Assad: safe zones, for displaced Syrians under the protection of air power provided by the U.S. and regional states, enhanced military training and equipping moderate opposition groups, limited and specific deployments of special forces from the U.S. and European and Arab allies, to defeat ISIS in Syria and turn the liberated areas to the Syrian opposition groups to work with Arab forces as stabilization force. Such a relatively small Western-Arab force can intervene in Syria without the approval of the Security Council, as was the intervention in Kosovo.
It is important to keep reminding people that Syria, is our collective shame in the twenty first century, that it gave the lie to the cry of “never again”. During the Nazi war of extermination against European Jewry, a relatively small enlightened community that distinguished itself by its tremendous contribution to European civilization, most of the horrific deed was done in relative darkness, although some Western leaders were aware that unspeakable evil was let loose; Syria’s evil on the other hand is operating in high noon, and we see it live on video, bloody blow after bloody blow. Let’s make people inconvenient once again: Half a million people died in Syria, many of them civilians with a frightening percentage of children. Forty five percent of Syrians have been displaced.
The population has already shrunk by 21 percent, with 7 million internally displaced and almost 5 million refugees living in squalid camps in neighboring countries or roaming the highways and byways of Europe seeking shelter and a home. The Syrian refugees in Lebanon and to a lesser extent in Jordan are subjected to abuse and exploitation, they suffer from malnutrition, and many young refugees are deprived of basic schooling, some girls and women are subjected to sexual abuse and sexual slavery. Arranged or forced marriages of teenage girls is rising. And then there is the growing phenomenon of many young teenage Syrians, particularly girls turning to suicide as a way out of their private hell. In 2014 one UN study found that 41 percent of Syrian youths in Lebanon have harbored thoughts of committing suicide.
A decade or two from now, many of these refugees, who may never go back to their homes, and some of them will never shed that status; will look back in anger at those who turned them refugees and those who exploited them and that would be enough to harden their hearts. And when they look ahead, they would do so in anger too, for they may see nothing but quiet and not so quiet lives of desperation.

Why is ISIS attacking Turkey?
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/July 02/16
Turkish authorities have confirmed that the perpetrators of the suicide attack on Istanbul airport are members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), from the Syrian province of Raqqa, the headquarters of the “caliphate.”
Its motives are perhaps to retaliate against Ankara for blocking crossings to money and fighters. Also, Turkey is engaged in a war against ISIS in cooperation with the United States, and has reconciled with Russia and Israel. The organization may also have demands such as the release of prisoners.
What has changed is that Turkey used to refuse to see ISIS trafficking, so the country was used as a main crossing. However, the organization’s anger against Ankara does not justify the attack. There is a long list of enemies that are more important as ISIS targets. Furthermore, the attack will double Turkey’s determination against it.
Infiltration?
ISIS has most probably been infiltrated, as many of its activities go against its ideology. In two consecutive days, it carried out attacks against two enemies of the Syrian regime: the Lebanese Forces party, and Turkey. The attacks on the Lebanese Forces contradict what ISIS says about targeting the Syrian regime and Hezbollah. The involvement of eight suicide bombers in the Lebanese Forces-controlled town of Qaa, which has limited influence on the conflict zone, is strange, larger than expected and unprecedented. ISIS has most probably been infiltrated, as many of its activities go against its ideology. The repeated targeting of Turkey promotes the idea that ISIS has been infiltrated. Al-Qaeda used to cooperate with the Syrian regime and the Iraqi opposition against U.S. forces in Iraq. When ISIS rose during the Syrian uprising, it was an extension of Al-Qaeda. It fought against different factions, including the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Islamist groups, the Syrian regime and its allies.Despite its ideological fanaticism, ISIS does not mind cooperating with its opponents. It is working with the Syrian regime against Turkey. It has cooperated with Baathist groups in Iraq, although it defames them. It has traded with the Syrian regime and sold oil to it. Some blame Russia for terrorism in Turkey, but there is no evidence for this. Maybe Moscow has the biggest interest in weakening Turkey, especially since threatening Ankara after it shot down a Russian warplane over the border with Syria, and asking Turkey to stop cooperating with armed groups against the Syrian regime. However, the Russians were never known to be skilled in infiltrating and using Islamist groups, as opposed to the Syrian regime, which has 30 years of such experience via its intelligence services, which run Palestinian and Lebanese extremist groups.
Whether the mastermind of the attack on Istanbul airport was ISIS or the intelligence services of the Syrian regime and its allies, it is in Ankara’s interests not to abandon the Syrian revolution. The FSA has proven with time, despite all its weakness and losses, that it is the only Syrian group that deserves support as it does not have a foreign agenda, unlike other opposition groups such as Al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham, which are not so different from ISIS, even if they are not yet involved in operations against Turkey and its allies. Ankara’s interest lies in a military solution against the Syrian regime to reach an appropriate political solution between the regime and the opposition. Without military success, chaos will continue because the regime is broken and cannot be repaired.
This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on July 2, 2016.

Why is Iraq in ruins?
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/July 02/16
At first glance the answer is very straight-forward: the Iraq War. And with the publication of the publication of the Chilcot report just around the corner, we can expect much of the blame will be laid at the feet of Tony Blair.
But I don’t expect all the time and money it has taken to compile the report, supposedly longer than all the Harry Potter books put together, to reveal anything particularly surprising. The motivations and stratagems which motivated the US to go to war in Iraq will be many and complex: looking to diversify their oil supply where they were over-reliant on Saudi Arabia, looking to bolster Israeli security in the face of an increasingly erratic and Islamist leaning Saddam regime, looking to encircle Iran, looking to shift the political organisation in the region away from militaristic strong men and towards systems of government more palatable to Western Audiences, and we can go on. But the motivations for the UK to go into the war were very simple indeed: Britain went to war because the US went to war. Tony Blair has been one of the most ardent advocates of the special relationship in the post-war era. So much so that he had managed to build an incredibly close working relationship with George W Bush despite the fact that you would not expect them to have very much in common, either personally or politically. Bush, Blair, Cheney and the rest are not solely responsible for where Iraq is today. They are not even, I would argue, chiefly responsible. Nor is this foreign policy approach for the UK unreasonable. If the United States is, still to this day, the world’s policeman, the most internationalist position Britain can aspire to be is the Deputy Sheriff. Whether you agree Britain should play this kind of assertive role in the world or not, there is no denying that it is in this position that we have the most amount of international clout, and can exercise the most amount of influence over world events.
Of course, in retrospect, the Iraq war was a mistake. It was primarily the mistake of the Bush administration, both in the decision to prosecute this war and in the way they have gone about it. But let us not forget that Tony Blair’s government has been the chief enabler. And that it has played that role in a less than honest fashion. Whatever judgement comes out of the Chilcot Inquiry report, Tony Blair has earned the public hostility he gets these days.
Admitting mistakes
But Bush, Blair, Cheney and the rest are not solely responsible for where Iraq is today. They are not even, I would argue, chiefly responsible. To be sure, the Saddam regime was not a good government. Not good for international stability, as Iranians and Kuwaitis can testify, but even less good for their own citizens – as the mass graves of Kurds can attest. The Invasion of 2003 gave the Iraqis the opportunity to move away from government based on sectarianism and terror, and towards a government based on mutual respect and democratic negotiations between the country’s many diverse groups. They had the support of the US and Britain’s military, and of their investors, to rebuild a better country for all Iraqis. But they have failed to take that chance in a spectacular fashion, as even Iraqi insiders who initially supported the Invasion have admitted: “Iraqi mistakes are orders of magnitude more important to what has gone wrong in Iraq than American mistakes.” Iraqis did not build political parties to take part in the democratic process based on shared visions for the future of Iraq, say based on left, right, or centrist political ideologies. Rather, they have created parties based on sectarian lines and narrow localised interests. And those parties have always looked to exclude competitors and assert their dominion over the institutions of state. Thus, the political system in Iraq was not an inclusive democracy: instead it was a sectarian exclusivist zero-sum competition for power and resources within the semblance of a parliamentary democratic system. Fast forward ten years, and that has resulted in the de facto fragmentation of the country in the Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish areas, the bitter war against the Sunni ISIS in the north-west, the atrocities on all sides of the conflict, the massive dislocation of people and the ongoing humanitarian crisis both in Iraq and in neighbouring Syria. Yet the problems of Iraq are not new ones, wrought by the American-led invasion. They are the old ones of a bitterly sectarian politics. The Invasion made a cold civil war into an overtly hot one. But the atrocities, the mass killings, the sectarian struggles had been going on long before, even when the country was nominally at peace. The problems, in other words, are not so much with what the Invasion changed – rather, they are with what has remained the same.

Why rural Britain’s influence is set to outlive the Brexit vote
Ehtesham Shahid/Al Arabiya/July 02/16
A day after the tempestuous British referendum result, and already under a deluge of stories narrating horrors of separation, I suggested to my newsroom: “Let us run some positive Brexit stories”. “There are none,” was the prompt reply. Moving quickly over the spirit of remaining “fair and balanced”, I stumbled upon a more interesting phenomenon – the way rural B¬¬¬ritain voted and what it means for the continent going forward. Reports by then were clear. Unlike in bigger cities, a majority of voters in rural areas had overwhelmingly voted for an exit from the European Union. That appeared a far more interesting byproduct of this experiment to me than the much-talked about youth vs old divide. The rural-urban dichotomy had layers of historical legacies related to migration going back decades, economic inequality and a general lack of understanding on common challenges. On matters such as unions and alliances, inhabitants of cosmopolitan cities are more likely to find resonance with similar populations around the world. In any case, more and more big cities are beginning to look alike. One has to move beyond London to analyze the shifting sands of time and figure out whether the sun is indeed setting on the British Empire. My quest, on this occasion, was to try and understand whether this vote will deepen the realization among rural voters of the extent to which they have been ignored and marginalized by increasingly distant urban elites. There is little empirical evidence to suggest that this has already happened. However, as they say, it’s the perception that matters.
Profound polarization
Chatham House’s Prof. Yossi Mekelberg, who doubles as an Al Arabiya English opinion writer, says “the remain campaign, until it was too late, concentrated on big urban places where they felt comfortable; they were not as active in rural places which were more hostile to their message.” A bit of arrogance was already discernable. However, Prof. Mekelberg’s insight on the larger issue is more interesting. “I think it is the combination of globalization and polarization. There is a huge divide between the big cities and the rest. It is a reflection of profound polarization over the nature of society, relations with the wider world and mostly puritan basic values.”One has to move beyond London to analyze the shifting sands of time and figure out whether the sun is indeed setting on the British Empire. His views indicated that people living in urban centers have a more positive outlook of globalization than rural folks. One can also infer from this that the future of regionalism in Europe is bright considering the increased rural-urban migration. Whichever way one looks at it, there seems to be an obvious and growing realization among the rural folk that they don’t enjoy the benefits of globalization but suffer from the perils of it. This is alarming considering the country in question is the fifth largest economy in the world, and second largest in the European Union that they have chosen to exit.
I had to seek one more view on the subject before I could arrive at any conclusion. Toby Birch, financial forecaster, thought leader and entrepreneur, says while people in rural Britain feel more disenfranchised than ever it is unlikely that they had a direct impact as a group on Brexit. He admits though that they could have been “the marginal tipping point to swing the outcome.”“While farmers benefit from subsidies they feel too rule-bound by Directives which benefit farms with economies of scale in a larger landmass like Europe,” says Birch. According to him, one of the most unedifying scenes in the run-up was a photo of celebrities making hand gestures at destitute fisherman when the latter came to London to protest. We return to the same argument, the divide between international elite in London and ordinary working people across the country. I am more convinced though that, in order to be more precise about which way a society is headed, it probably makes more sense to listen to the countryside. While I rest my case and continue to hunt for positive Brexit stories, the fact remains that such a divide is not ending anytime soon, irrespective of whether Britain or other countries choose to exit or strengthen the union.