LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

June 10/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.june10.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18/15-20:"‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."

May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money! You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God.
Acts of the Apostles 08/09.13b-25:"Now a certain man named Simon had previously practised magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great. Even Simon himself believed. After being baptized, he stayed constantly with Philip and was amazed when he saw the signs and great miracles that took place.Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’But Peter said to him, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money! You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness.’Simon answered, ‘Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.’Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans."

Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
Let us protect the oceans, part of the “global commons”, vital for our water supply and the variety of living creatures!
Protégeons les océans qui sont des biens communs globaux, essentiels pour l’eau et la variété des êtres vivants!
لنحمِ المحيطات التي هي خيور عالميّة مشتركة وأساسيّة للمياه وتنوّع الكائنات الحيّة!

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 09-10/16

The money monster/What do Hariri’s woes tell us about Saudi strategy/Michael Young/Now Lebanon/June 09/16
Lebanon fighting economic battle on several fronts: Central bank/Holly Ellyatt/ Hadley Gamble/CNBC/June 09/16
It is a war against Sunni Arabs/Eyad Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/June 09/16
Canadian-Iranian professor arrested in Tehran by Revolutionary Guards/The Guardian/June 09/16
From Russia with love? For now, 'it's complicated'/Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/June 09/16
Why the silence on British special forces/Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/June 09/16
The Selfie show exaggerations/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/June 09/16
Public Support for the European Union Plunges/"The EU policy elites are in panic"/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/June 09/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 09-10/16

Salameh Says 100 Hizbullah-Related Bank Accounts Frozen
Loyalty to Resistance' Says Salameh Remarks Reflect Inclination to 'Give Up National Sovereignty'
Shehayyeb Bans Produce from Syria, Amid Unsupportive Syrian Stances
Cabinet Postpones Janna Dam Debate as Kataeb Ministers Walk Out over Waste File
Hizbullah Praises 'Heroic' Attack in Tel Aviv
Kataeb Threatens to Withdraw from Govt. over Janna, Waste Files
Jones Swears in New USAID Mission Director to Lebanon
Hariri Vows 'Internal Reevaluation', Slams 'Lying, Incitement' in Municipal Polls'
Attempt to Smuggle 2.5 tons of Narcotics Foiled
Investigation with OGERO Chief over 'Negligence' Postponed to June 16
Loyalty to Resistance bloc: Targeting resistance via banking sector is doomed to failure
Geagea receives Klimos, delegation from Andkit
Cabinet session kicks off with Janna dam, trash dossier topping discussions
Moussa asks to resolve presidential, electoral law files
Hariri: I shall bear responsibility of municipal polls results
Juan Hobeich reaps presidency of Keserwen Ftouh Municipalities Union
Salam receives letter from Iraqi counterpart on latest developments
Parties' youth protest uncontrolled arms in front of Interior Ministry
Lebanese Basketball Federation: championship cup to be handed to Sporting
The money monster/What do Hariri’s woes tell us about Saudi strategy?
Lebanon fighting economic battle on several fronts: Central bank
 

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 09-10/16

Russia, Iran Coordinate with Syria in Tehran Talks
Iranian Resistance calls for urgent action to save lives of ill and hunger-striking political prisoners
Miners from central Iran sentenced to flogging
New U.S. policy on Iran should take into account significant role of the organized opposition
Iran: Protest gatherings in Kermanshah, Paveh, and Ilam
IRAN: Notorious prosecutor of Zahedan threatens to suppress Sistan and Baluchistan University students
Maryam Rajavi addresses parliamentary conference on a declaration by the majority of Italian representatives in support of the Iranian Resistance
Majority of Jordanian lawmakers support rights of PMOI
Abbas Rejects 'Violence against Civilians' after Tel Aviv Attack
U.S. Adds IS Ally in Syria to Terror Blacklist
France Says Special Forces in Syria Advising Rebels
Satellite images show ancient Iraq temple destroyed
ISIS loses ground on fronts in Syria, Iraq
Aleppo hospital staff rush to save newborns
Syria approves aid to three more besieged areas
Twin suicide bombings rock Iraq’s Baghdad
Family says Canadian-Iranian professor detained in Tehran
Police officer dies raising Turkish bombing toll to 6
Turkey blames Kurdish militants for Istanbul attack
Ready to back Clinton, Obama works to unite fractured Democrats
Clinton ally Warren weighs potential VP role, sees hurdles
Israel suspends Ramadan permits for Palestinians
Russia proposes mechanism to prevent US sea confrontations
Deep-sea robot to join search for Egyptair wreck ‘from Friday’
Survey: Undecided voters see Brexit making them worse off
WHO declares Liberia free of active Ebola virus transmission
Somalia: 30 Ethiopian troops killed in attack by militants
Jordan sets date for parliament elections
Qatar summons US envoy over video of soldiers laughing near flag
June sandstorm and rain warnings in UAE

Links From Jihad Watch Site for June 09-10/16
Oxford: Parents of Islamic State suspect (“Jihadi Jack”) remanded in custody for terrorism
Islamophobia Hotline could be coming to your community
Muslims assault waitress for serving alcohol in Ramadan — on French Riviera
Pakistan: Muslims beat Christian for selling ice cream
Islam and the West: A Cultural Divide
Sweden: State-run TV cancels jihad documentary to avoid offending Muslims
In the Islamic State, US Muslim was made to study Islam 8 hours daily
Robert Spencer in FrontPage: Muslims Observe Ramadan in Tel Aviv
Reading the Qur’an during Ramadan 5: Juz W-al-Muhsanat
CNN on Tel Aviv jihad attack: “Information about motive wasn’t immediately available”
Tel Aviv: Mall jihadis were disguised as Orthodox Jews, murdered at least 3
Hugh Fitzgerald: You Don’t Have To Be Muslim To Love Ramadan
Ramadan in Israel: Muslims open fire at Tel Aviv mall, nine injured
Louis Lionheart Moment: Lucifer, Lies and Lust: The Dark Reality of Muslim Paradise

Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 09-10/16
Salameh Says 100 Hizbullah-Related Bank Accounts Frozen
Naharnet/June 09/16/Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said that one hundred bank accounts related to Hizbullah have been frozen in accordance with a U.S. law that threatens to sanction anyone who finances the group. Salameh assured in a interview to CNBC on Wednesday that “the central bank is determined to maintain the country's financial stability, and make sure that the U.S. law is implemented.” U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Hizbullah International Financing Prevention Act on Dec. 18. Hizbullah, which has members in parliament and the cabinet, is considered a "terrorist organization" by the United States. Many in Lebanon are worried that the U.S. legislation will have negative effects on the Lebanese banking sector, which is one of the most active industries in the country.
"Our priority is to keep Lebanon on the international financial map,” said Salameh.

Loyalty to Resistance' Says Salameh Remarks Reflect Inclination to 'Give Up National Sovereignty'
Naharnet/June 09/16/Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc warned Thursday that remarks by Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh about the suspension of 100 Hizbullah-linked bank accounts reflect an inclination to renounce “national sovereignty.”
“The policy of blackmail and various type of pressures that the U.S. administrations practice against countries and forces that are opposed to their policies will never manage to arm-twist Hizbullah or change its stances against the U.S. tyranny and injustice,” the bloc said in a statement. “The current U.S. administration's targeting of the resistance and its supporters through the Lebanese banking sector is doomed to fail and will not succeed in achieving its objectives,” Loyalty to Resistance stressed. “The government and the Central Bank are directly concerned with protecting Lebanon's sovereignty and its monetary and social stability,” the bloc added. Commenting on Salameh's latest statements, Loyalty to Resistance described them as “ambiguous and suspicious.”“The central bank governor's latest stance reflects an inclination to liberate the financial policy from the restraints of national sovereignty and that's why we reject it in its entirety,” the bloc said. “Everyone must realize that the resistance's supporters and educational and health institutions are immune to any attempt to target them by anyone,” it added. In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Salameh announced that one hundred bank accounts related to Hizbullah have been frozen in accordance with a U.S. law that threatens to sanction anyone who finances the group. “the central bank is determined to maintain the country's financial stability, and make sure that the U.S. law is implemented.” U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Hizbullah International Financing Prevention Act on Dec. 18.Hizbullah, which has members in parliament and the cabinet, is considered a “terrorist organization” by the United States.Many in Lebanon are worried that the U.S. legislation will have negative effects on the Lebanese banking sector, which is one of the most active industries in the country. "Our priority is to keep Lebanon on the international financial map,” said Salameh.

Shehayyeb Bans Produce from Syria, Amid Unsupportive Syrian Stances
Naharnet/June 09/16/Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb issued a decision banning the entry of vegetable and fruit produce from Syria to Lebanon to “protect Lebanon's production,” which triggered negative responses from the Syrian side, As Safir daily reported on Thursday. “We want to protect the Lebanese farmers and their produce in the face of the inflow of Syrian products, mainly during the month of Ramadan,” said Shehayyeb. The Minster assured that if the Syrian side decided to take a negative decision that harms Lebanese interest, then Lebanon would be obliged to do the same. “The Syrians use the Rafic Hariri International airport as a transit station to export their commodities. Several planes leave the airport on a weekly basis loaded with Syrian goods. I hope they do not take reckless measures so as not to push us to a decision to cut off this artery on the basis of reciprocity,” warned Shehayeb. “We want to protect our national industry particularly that huge amounts of produce from Syria have drowned the market, which reflected negatively on the Lebanese farmer,” added the Minister. “My decision will give the merchants a better opportunity to sell their produce inside Lebanon mainly after several Arab and Gulf markets stopped receiving it,” he added. The Minister remarked that shall Syria issue a decision to close the border crossing for Lebanese trucks, “it would not affect us anymore because Syria is no more a conduit for most of the Lebanese products, after securing maritime alternatives,” he said. The Syrian side did not like the step and considered Shehayyeb's move as a war that is being waged against it at different levels. Syrian authorities are even planning to escalate measures against Lebanon if the decision was not reversed, according to the daily. For his part, Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali urged the minister to review his decision “for the interest of Lebanon and Syria.”Syrian Ministerial sources told the daily that Shehayeb's decision will not pass without a response, noting that Syrian officials held successive meetings yesterday to study the options to counter the decision.

Cabinet Postpones Janna Dam Debate as Kataeb Ministers Walk Out over Waste File
Naharnet/June 09/16/The cabinet met on Thursday and decided to postpone the discussions on the thorny file of the Janna Valley dam until the next session, Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Tammam Salam who reiterated the necessity to elect a president “because vacuum is reflecting on the state institutions, the parliament and cabinet, and harms national interest” he was quoted as saying. “Discussions touched on the Janna dam which was postponed to the next session,” said Jreij. Two ministers, Labor Sejaan Qazzi and Economy and Trade Alain Hakim, withdrew from the meeting over conflicts on the waste management file, added Jreij. Hakim noted that his remarks on the waste management file were not taken into consideration. Ahead of the session, MP Nabil De Freige told the Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3): “Each dam project which has two contradictory studies must take a third opinion, meaning the World Bank. There is decision to form a committee to receive the projects of municipalities on the waste management.”For his part, Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq stated: “I hope we don't have to resort to an international reference to agree on the Janna dam. The Ministry of Energy must study the environmental consequences.”Culture Minister Roni Araiji noted: “We asked for an objective approach from an environmental perspective regarding the Janna dam away from political bickering.”Reports have said earlier that the cabinet will convene to continue the discussions on the Janna dam and the waste management file, amid anticipations that the interlocutors will fail to reach a solution because of the adamant stances of each party, al-Joumhouria daily reported. “The cabinet will begin the meeting with discussions on the Janna dam. They will not be able to reach a solution because the contacts to solve the issue made each party adhere more to its own stances,” sources close to PM Tammam Salam told the daily. “It seems there is already a decision not to be convinced and to maintain the confrontation,” they added. The sources did not pin high hopes on an outcome for the thorny files, because “of the absence of solutions for all pending files. Adding to the Janna dam are the waste and State Secuity issues.” “The obstruction inside the cabinet falls under the same context of the deliberate obstruction of the state which is caused by the absence of a president,” they added. Last week's cabinet meeting, the rival ministers traded jabs over the Janna dam project, some describing it as an environmental threat and others as a developmental and economic project that the country needs. On the other hand, the State Security file may not be discussed during today's session. Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon said that it has been given to PM Salam to tackle and that he vowed to find a solution for the agency's budget and the differences between its director Major General George Qaraa and his deputy Brigadier General Mohammed al-Tufaili.

Hizbullah Praises 'Heroic' Attack in Tel Aviv
Associated Press/Naharnet/June 09/16/Hizbullah on Thursday praised the overnight deadly attack by two Palestinian men in Tel Aviv as a "heroic" act. It said in a statement that the Palestinian people "have reconfirmed through the operation their commitment to resistance as a way to liberate all Palestinian land from Zionist occupation." Two Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis in the shooting at a popular Tel Aviv tourist spot Wednesday night. Hizbullah has fought several wars with Israel including a month-long war in 2006 and it spearheaded the military operations that forced Israel to withdraw its troops from south Lebanon in the year 2000.

Kataeb Threatens to Withdraw from Govt. over Janna, Waste Files
Naharnet/June 09/16/Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel hinted Thursday that his party's ministers might resign or suspend their participation in cabinet sessions should their presence in the government cease to “serve the interest of the Lebanese.”Gemayel voiced his remarks shortly after Kataeb's ministers walked out of a cabinet session in protest at the government's handling of the waste management file. At his press conference, Gemayel also expressed environmental concerns related to the controversial Janna dam project. “The two issues are a disaster targeted against every citizen in Lebanon,” he said.“I don't know if there's a relation between maintaining works at the Janna dam and approving the waste management file. Some ministers said that they were opposed to the approval of the plan, but when we asked them to turn our opposition into a suspension of the plan they suddenly backpedaled on their rejection and passed a resolution allowing the filling of the sea” with garbage, Gemayel added. “They have chosen to destroy the largest forestland in the country and we have proposed alternative solutions,” Kataeb's chief said of the Janna dam project. He noted that two out of three environmental impact studies had concluded that “the project is non-beneficial and non-environmental” while the third had warned of potential risks. “There are 100 other ways to provide water, such as artesian wells,” Gemayel added. “We have found out that the contractor had been put on trial in Brazil on charges of corruption. The Brazilian firm was accused of bribing politicians to approve the contruction of useless dams,” Gemayel revealed. He called for suspending construction works in the Janna area “pending a probe into the integrity of the contractor.”As for the government's plans to set up seaside garbage landfills in the Costa Brava and Bourj Hammoud areas, Gemayel lamented that the government “has decided to fill the Mediterranean Sea with garbage without conducting an environmental impact study and without sorting or treating the waste.”“Our presence in the government is useful when we manage to stop corruption and benefit the Lebanese, but should our presence cease to serve the interest of the Lebanese then it would become unnecessary,” Gemayel went on to say.

Jones Swears in New USAID Mission Director to Lebanon
Naharnet/June 09/16/The United States Chargé d'Affaires ad interim Richard Jones administered the oath of office for Anne Patterson, the new Mission Director for Lebanon for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a U.S. embassy statement said on Thursday. “I am excited to direct the USAID mission in Lebanon and demonstrate, through our work, that USAID is committed to a sovereign, stable, independent, and prosperous Lebanon at peace with its neighbors,” said Patterson.Patterson will oversee programs that improve the lives of Lebanese citizens and their communities by enhancing economic opportunity, increasing access to quality education, improving water and wastewater services, strengthening civil society and municipalities, and protecting the environment. USAID also supports Lebanon in its efforts to respond to the needs of local Lebanese communities hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. “Anne’s leadership and experience managing USAID programs around the world make her a key asset to lead a critical mission in this region,” said Paige Alexander, USAID Assistant Administrator for the Middle East. Patterson began her career with USAID in 1992 as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow in the Near East Bureau where she worked on water and wastewater issues. She was sworn in as a career Foreign Service officer in 1994 and served tours in Egypt, Indonesia, West Bank Gaza, Iraq, Georgia, and the Europe and Eurasia Bureau in Washington. Most recently, she served as the Deputy Mission Director to USAID/Egypt.

Hariri Vows 'Internal Reevaluation', Slams 'Lying, Incitement' in Municipal Polls
Naharnet/June 09/16/Former premier Saad Hariri pledged Thursday to conduct a “critical internal reevaluation” in the al-Mustaqbal movement in light of the results of last month's municipal polls, as he accused certain parties of resorting to “lying, incitement and the manipulation of people's sentiments” during the elections. “The polls represent an opportunity for a critical internal reevaluation whose outcome will be presented to the Lebanese in general and to my people, my loved ones, my comrades and all those who are loyal to the approach of political Harirism,” said Hariri at an iftar banquet he hosted at the Center House in honor of Lebanon's religious leaders. “During this holy month, I will make several revisions, I will say what my conscience obliges me to say, and I will shoulder my responsibilities towards al-Mustaqbal movement's supporters, towards the Lebanese and towards both allies and rivals,” the ex-PM added.
Apparently referring to Mustaqbal minister-turned-electoral rival Ashraf Rifi, who has been accused of using a sectarian rhetoric to win Tripoli's municipal vote, Hariri added: “Politics in Lebanon has tried to give me lessons in lying, maneuvering, incitement and the manipulation of people's sentiments, but my upbringing taught me to be honest, frank and loyal, even if that comes at my expense.”“I will not pin the responsibility on anyone and I will not absolve myself and those with me of the responsibility. I'm in charge of drawing lessons from the polls' outcome, I'm at the top of al-Mustaqbal movement's political hierarchy, and I will digest the results no matter how hard they may be,” Hariri went on to say. Invoking the memory of his late father, slain ex-PM Rafik Hariri, al-Mustaqbal's leader stressed that “Rafik Hariri's school is the school of moderation, coexistence and national unity” that “puts Lebanon before any interest, person or party.”“It is the school of total parity between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon and it will remain so. The results of a municipal vote or media campaigns will not change our belief in this,” Hariri pledged. Giving an example about Beirut's municipal elections, the ex-PM noted that he “would have asked the municipal council to resign had parity been breached.” Rifi had confirmed last week that he would form a coalition with “forces seeking change” in any upcoming parliamentary elections in the northern city of Tripoli. His remarks came after a list he backed achieved a stunning victory in the city's municipal polls against a list backed by Hariri, ex-PM Najib Miqati, former ministers Mohammed Safadi and Faisal Karami, Jamaa Islamiya, al-Ahbash and the Arab Democratic Party. Rifi also announced last week that he was mulling the idea of starting a political movement. Addressing al-Mustaqbal, the minister called for “rectifying the course and endorsing policies that take the opinion of the Sunni community into consideration in order to avoid its descent towards extremism.”

Attempt to Smuggle 2.5 tons of Narcotics Foiled
Naharnet/June 09/16/The Lebanese army busted an attempt to smuggle 2.5 tons of narcotics across the sea off Sidon's shore, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday. “The navy monitored a suspicious boat at sea off Sidon's shore. After careful inspection inside the boat, it found 34 bags of drugs, in addition to earlier findings, bringing the total weight of narcotics to 2.5 tons,” the Amy command Orientation Directorate said in a statement on Thursday. “The narcotics include cocaine, captagon pills and hashish,” added the statement. Efforts continue to arrest all individuals involved and refer them to the related judicial authorities.

Investigation with OGERO Chief over 'Negligence' Postponed to June 16
Naharnet/June 09/16/A hearing against OGERO chief Abdul Moneim Youssef on charges of negligence was held on Wednesday, reported the National News Agency. It said that he is charged with neglecting his duties and squandering public funds. NNA said that the session was also dedicated to assigning lawyers to the defendants, who are Youssef, OGERO IT Director Toufik Shbaro and Internet Division Director Gaby Smaira. The hearing was postponed to June 16, allowing Youssef time to plead his case. Youssef and a number of state-owned OGERO employees have been charged with involvement in a recently uncovered illegal internet network. Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb revealed in March that around four illegal internet stations have been proven to exist in the mountainous terrains of al-Dinnieh, Ayoun al-Siman, Faqra and Zaarour. Early in March, the parliamentary media committee unveiled what it described as a “mafia” that are taking advantage of internet services by installing internet stations that are not subject to the state control. The owners of these stations are buying international internet bandwidth with nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which they are selling back to Lebanese subscribers at reduced prices.

Loyalty to Resistance bloc: Targeting resistance via banking sector is doomed to failure
Thu 09 Jun 2016/NNA - "Loyalty to Resistance" bloc said on Thursday that the US administration spares no effort to undermine the resistance and its audience, stressing that targeting the resistance via the banking sector was doomed to failure. "The US Administration's recent targeting of the resistance and its audience via the banking sector shall fail to achieve its goals," Loyalty to Resistance bloc said in a statement in the wake of its periodic meeting at its headquarters in Haret Hreik, under the chairmanship of bloc head, MP Mohammed Raad. The meeting took up an array of hour issues. "The government and the Central Bank are directly concerned with protecting Lebanon's sovereignty and its monetary and social stability," bloc said, categorically considering the recent stance by the Central Bank Governor as 'ambiguous and suspicious' which demonstrates the insubordinate of the monetary policy from the national sovereignty constraints. The Bloc stressed that all attempts to undermine the resistance audience and its educational and health institutions shall fall short of achieving their goals. On the other hand, the bloc considered that "the real, proper gateway to a stable authority in Lebanon lies in the adoption of an election law based on constitutional standards in terms of proper, comprehensive, and effective representation.""The majority of the formulas under discussion at the joint parliamentary committees go beyond constitutional and objective criteria," the bloc said, pointing out that some of these proposals are discretionally tailored according to interests of certain political forces.The bloc also regarded the 1960 election law as surpassing the constitutional criteria.

Geagea receives Klimos, delegation from Andkit
Thu 09 Jun 2016/NNA - Head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, on Thursday received in Maarab a delegation of the Maronite League chaired by Antoine Klimos who called for expanding the frame of Maarab reconciliation since it was set up on the basis of building a good state for all Lebanese. Separately, Geagea received a municipal delegation from Andkit in Akkar.

Cabinet session kicks off with Janna dam, trash dossier topping discussions
Thu 09 Jun 2016/NNA - The cabinet session has kicked off at the Grand Serail on Thursday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister, Tammam Salam. Prior to the session, Social Affairs Minister, Rashid Derbas, anticipated a number of decisions to be made based on today's cabinet agenda. In turn, Culture Minister Raymond Araiji, saw Janna dam as a "highly important and strategic dossier that ought to be set apart from political polarizations."Araiji also supported the option of resorting to the opinion of international experts in this regard. Abdul Mutaleb Hannawi, the Youth and Sports Minister, suggested the formation of a neutral committee to give its opinion concerning Janna Dam. For his part, State Minister, Nabil de Freige, said, "The World Bank funds the biggest of dam projects worldwide. Since there are two opposing sides concerning Janna Dam, we might as well task the World Bank to conduct a new study on this project."As for the trash dossier, De Freige suggested that each municipality come forward with its own plan to get rid of its region's trash. Also, Environment Minister, Nouhad Mashnouk, reminded that studies over Janna dam remained incomplete. He requested of the Ministry of Water and Energy to complete its share of the environmental effects study it had previously asked the Ministry of Environment to conduct. Mashnouk also hoped that Lebanon would not be urged to seek international help to reach an appropriate decision concerning Janna dam. For his part, Health Minister, Wael Abu Faour, defended Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb's decision to control the illegal smuggling of Syrian dairy and agricultural products, confirming that Chehayeb's decision had no political background whatsoever, but aimed for protecting Lebanese agricultural produce. In turn, Trade and Economy Minister, Alain Hakim, anticipated the postponement of trash-related discussion due to the heated Janna dam talks. Gebran Bassil, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, wondered, "How could this dossier not be deemed political when it's always being discussed as as the first item on the cabinet's agenda?" Finally, Education Minister, Elias Bou Saab, hailed the efforts of Antellias Police station apprehending a young man sitting for today's official exams after having had already sat for Brevet exams back in May.

Moussa asks to resolve presidential, electoral law files
Thu 09 Jun 2016/NNA - Deputy Michel Moussa hoped on Thursday that the political factions "will seriously seek to resolve the presidential and the electoral law dossiers."He told the "Voice of Lebanon" radio it would be normal to discuss the electoral law on the national dialogue table in case there would be a problem at the Joint Committee session.The Deputy pointed that Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri had asked Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to study Mikati's Cabinet draft law in light of Future bloc's continuous rejection to it.

Hariri: I shall bear responsibility of municipal polls results
Thu 09 Jun 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, said, during an Iftar banquet on Thursday, that the municipal polls were a chance for self-criticism, stressing that he shall bear the responsibility of the elections' results "no matter how cruel they are.""During this month, I shall open too many cases and speak out the truth (...) we still belong to the path of martyr Rafic Hariri, which is that of moderation, coexistence, and national unity," he underlined, holding onto the national best interest and parity. "The results of the municipal polls will not change our conviction. This is our real battle regardless of where he had made mistakes," he added. "If parity was broken in Beirut, I would have called the municipal council to resign," he went on to say. "I am convinced that moderation, coexistence, dialogue, and fraternity, are more than just words," he corroborated. Hariri also indicated that there were attempts to disfigure Islam, vowing that Future Movement will stand in the face of strife. "We shall not remain silent over the mistakes of some apparatuses and campaigns leveled by some media and political sides, under the guise of fighting terrorism," he said. "Future Movement will keep holding onto Taef Agreement and the Arab nationality," he concluded.

Juan Hobeich reaps presidency of Keserwen Ftouh Municipalities Union
Thu 09 Jun 2016/NNA - Jounieh Municipality head, Juan Hobeich, was elected president of the Union of Kesrouan Ftouh Municipalities with 28 votes vs. 26 votes for his competitor, Zouk Mkayel Municipality head, Elie Baino, during elections held at the bureau of Kesrouan Commissioner Joseph Mansour at Jounieh Serail. Kfour Municipality head, Antoine Abi Saab, reaped the position of Union Vice President with 28 votes vs. 26 votes for his competitor, Ghazir Municipality head, Charles Haddad. In his delivered word, Hobeich vowed work to render the Union an active institution with all Ftouh Keserwen municipalities, in the hope of accomplishing prosperity in all Kesrouan villages.

Salam receives letter from Iraqi counterpart on latest developments
Thu 09 Jun 2016/NNA - Prime Minister Tammam Salam received on Thursday a letter from his Iraqi counterpart, Haider al-Abadi, on bilateral relations and latest developments in Iraq and the broad region. The letter was handed to Premier Salam by Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who visited him today at the Grand Serail in the company of Sunni Waqef head in Iraq Abdel Latif Hamim, and Iraqi Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abbas al-Amari. On emerging, al-Jaafari said that the Iraqi forces have recorded impressive victories on more than one level, recently of which in Falluja while maintaining maximum keenness on the safety of citizens, women, men, children and elderly.

Parties' youth protest uncontrolled arms in front of Interior Ministry
Thu 09 Jun 2016/NNA - Youth and student committees from various parties gathered on Thursday in front of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, upping calls for gun control and celebration gunfire. Protesters included students from the Lebanese Forces, the Progressive Socialist Party, Future Movement, and National Liberal Party.

Lebanese Basketball Federation: championship cup to be handed to Sporting
Thu 09 Jun 2016/NNA - Head of the Lebanese Basketball Federation, Walid Nassar, explained, in a statement on Thursday, that the national championship cup would be handed to Sporting Club, reiterating that the federation was equidistant from all sides.
He also voiced support for any kind of rapprochement among sports clubs, calling to resolve problems calmly.

The money monster/What do Hariri’s woes tell us about Saudi strategy?
Michael Young/Now Lebanon/June 09/16
What do Hariri’s woes tell us about Saudi strategy?
Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri delivers a speech during a gathering to mark the 11th anniversary of the assassination of his father and Lebanon
It’s routine for the daily Al-Akhbar to report on the difficulties of Saad Hariri. Indeed, the newspaper has a correspondent, Maysam Rizk, whose beat is to cover the former prime minister and the Future Movement, usually with a focus on their setbacks. Sometimes the stories are accurate, more often they have problems. However, when it comes to information on Hariri’s financial woes, Rizk appears to have a large number of sources inside the Future Movement. Frequently these are disgruntled employees, meaning they are willing to pass on the bad news.
An article on Thursday in Al-Akhbar, this time by Amal Khalil, was in a similar vein. It reported that the guards in Hariri establishments have been told that they would be let off this month, after receiving their salaries and compensation. More dramatically, Khalil wrote, “The situation of [Saudi Oger, Hariri’s contracting company] suggests that it is bankrupt, though this has not been announced. According to sources inside the company, unpaid salaries in the last eight months total some $500 million, so how much would the payment of compensation to those let go, which is mandated by law, represent?”
The question is a good one, and regardless of Al-Akhbar’s real intentions, it is becoming increasingly difficult today for the Hariri camp to evade an answer. The financial situation in Hariri institutions is extremely serious, and the repercussions may have a bearing on much more than Hariri’s political fate.
Perhaps that’s where one must seek an answer to the question about why the interior minister, Nohad Machnouk, made surprising statements about Saudi Arabia in a talk show last week on LBCI. Machnouk said that Hariri’s support for the candidacy of Sleiman Franjieh had come after it was endorsed by the United Kingdom, the United States and Saudi Arabia. He also went on to point out that Hariri’s decision to visit Damascus in 2009 was done at the behest of the Saudis, something difficult to deny after King Abdullah accompanied Assad to Beirut in 2010.
Machnouk’s remarks, which prompted an irate Saudi reaction, were open to various interpretations. Some suggested the minister was acting on behalf of Hariri and that his statements were a way for the former prime minister to get out of his commitment to Franjieh. With Franjieh’s candidacy on the rocks today, and the Saudis having taken their distance from him, the argument went, Hariri would like to examine alternatives.
That could be partly true, though there are Hariri parliamentarians who strongly deny such an interpretation. Far from relaying a Hariri message, one that was deniable, they argue, Machnouk has started to drift off the reservation. It could be that the interior minister has political ambitions of his own, they point out, and seeks to do in Beirut what Ashraf Rifi did in Tripoli. Warnings from Walid Jumblatt that Hariri beware of those around him appear to lend credence to this view.
There are many interpretations, but all have meaning in the fact that Hariri is facing a major financial trial, with existential implications, which is undermining his political credibility. But would allowing his political demise really be in the Saudi interest? For now, at least, offering an answer does not appear to be a priority in the kingdom, as it struggles to regain control over its spending at a time when oil prices remain persistently low.
There was a time when Saudi officials understood better the stakes in Lebanon. The country was not only a place to buy influence, but also one where the contradictions of the region tended to be played out. Given the Saudis’ focus on containing Iran, it is surprising that the kingdom has given such modest attention to its allies in Lebanon—maybe because it feels the country has already fallen into the lap of Hezbollah.
But that does not answer the question of whether allowing Hariri to sink, regardless of whether his companies were mismanaged, is good politics. In a country where politicians serve as clients for regional powers, whatever the Saudis do will have a bearing on their credibility elsewhere. Perhaps they have written Hariri off, though that doesn’t seem to be the case. But appearing to do so while not really doing so only reflects ambiguity that will confuse Saudi friends and foes alike.
**Michael Young is a writer and editor in Beirut. He tweets @BeirutCalling.

Lebanon fighting economic battle on several fronts: Central bank
Holly Ellyatt/ Hadley Gamble/Wednesday, 8 Jun 2016/CNBC.com
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/08/why-hezbollah-wont-spoil-our-economy-lebanon-central-bank.html

Lebanon’s politics might be in a mess but the country’s central bank is determined to maintain the country’s financial stability, its governor told CNBC, and to make sure U.S. sanctions are implemented against the supporters of militant political group Hezbollah,
Speaking to CNBC in Beirut, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said that his central bank was battling to maintain monetary stability amid political divisions within the country – which has not had a president for over two years – and wider unrest in the Middle East. Lebanon has also had to contend with a massive influx of 1.1 million refugees from war-torn Syria – a huge burden on a country with just 4.4 million inhabitants.
“The problem is that we have a deadlock and it seems that the Lebanese political class can’t solve it. Usually they rely on external intervention but obviously there is also deadlock on the level of the region and the only interest of the international community in Lebanon is that Lebanon is receiving Syrians and to make sure that those Syrians are kept in Lebanon and not thrown out,” Salameh said.
No president, still
Political disunity and sectarianism in Lebanon has meant that the country has had no president for two years – and no parliamentary elections can take place without a president. The last parliament was elected in 2009 and another election is now not expected until 2017. The next presidential election is due on June 23 yet it will be the 40th attempt to elect a (largely ceremonial) leader, one Lebanese newspaper noted. Salameh said that there had been no international help to solve the political deadlock.
“The international visits we’ve received so far were related to the Syrian refugees. The visits we had from important world leaders were dedicated for the Syrian refugees and the Lebanese are left on their own to solve their problems,” he said. “Unfortunately, structurally, we are in deadlock, that’s why we cannot elect a president and that’s why the coalition government has to act very prudently because it is the only constitutional institution working now.
The parliament is not meeting and we don’t have a president so as a central bank we have to try to cope with these vulnerabilities and try to maintain stability in the currency,” Salameh warned.Maintaining the Lebanese pound’s value against the U.S. dollar was important as it had an impact on the flow of remittances back to the country, he said, which represented 20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and were “fundamental to the funding of the private and public sector.”
“The stability in monetary policy is essential and we have to implement that in an environment that is not really ideal. The instability in the region affects us as our export markets are disrupted, we have refugees other than the Syrians coming from Iraq and Palestine and the labor market in the country is witnessing competition that is negatively impacting on the Lebanese themselves,” he said.
Hezbollah not helping
Despite its political woes, Lebanon has remained relatively stable considering the civil war being waged in neighboring Syria. It is no stranger to sectarianism, however, being the focal point of a proxy war between Israel and Shia-dominated Iran, which is widely seen as the source of funding and ideological support for Hezbollah, a powerful Islamist militant and political group that was created in the mid-1980s to counter an Israeli invasion of South Lebanon. Labeled as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel (which, most recently, fought a short war against Hezbollah in 2006 before a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect), Hezbollah remains opposed to Israel and has called for its destruction. The European Union has proscribed its militant wing as a terrorist organization. Hezbollah is often seen as a “state within a state” in Lebanon and remains popular with the country’s Shia community despite its destabilizing effect on an already disjointed political scene. In December, the U.S. passed a law (called the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act, or HIFPA) that threatens to sanction anyone who finances Hezbollah. The act has caused tensions between Hezbollah and the central bank to rise, Reuters reported in May, but Salameh appeared sanguine and said that the central bank was working to implement the law. He said that 100 Hezbollah-related accounts had already been frozen. “Our priority is to keep Lebanon on the international financial map so we have taken a resolution that we will implement that U.S. law in Lebanon and we have put in place a structure to do it to satisfy the objectives of that law and at the same time preserve the rights of the Shi’ites to have access to the banks,” he said. On a wider level, it was crucial for Lebanon to adhere to international financial practices, he said, to improve its credibility in international markets. “The more you improve your reputation the more funds you get that are serious, we don’t want illegal funds in our system. We don’t want a few Lebanese to spoil the image of the country or the financial markets in Lebanon,” he said.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 09-10/16

Russia, Iran Coordinate with Syria in Tehran Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 09/16/The defense ministers of allies Iran, Russia and Syria on Thursday held talks in Tehran on pressing the fight against opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The talks come as Damascus steps up its military campaign against both the Islamic State group and rebels in second city Aleppo whom it accuses of colluding with al-Qaida's Syria affiliate al-Nusra Front. Iranian Defense Minister General Hossein Dehghan said he and his counterparts from Russia and Syria were determined to deliver a "decisive" battle against "all terrorist groups." Dehghan said the goal could be achieved by "blocking or preventing" these groups from receiving political support or weapons that could enable them "to conduct wider operations."The fight against "terrorism" must be done based on "a mutual program and specified priorities," he said after the talks, the results of which should be seen "in the coming days". "We made decisions for what must be done on the regional and operational levels in an agreed upon and coordinated manner," state television website quoted Dehghan as saying. "The terrorists and their supporters must know that the group fighting against them is determined to support this route until the end and will do so. "The first step toward restoring security to the region is comprehensive ceasefire" and humanitarian aids, said Dehghan. "We agree to a guaranteed ceasefire that doesn't lead to the strengthening of terrorists in this country," he said, adding that "supporting the Syrian army forces" was another major topic. A Russian defense ministry statement before the meeting said talking points were "priority measures in reinforcing the cooperation between the defense ministries of the three countries in the fight with Islamic State and al-Nusra terrorist groups."Iran and Russia are Syria's main allies against the various armed groups fighting Assad, including IS jihadists. Moscow has sent warplanes and special forces in support of his regime, while Tehran has deployed military advisers and trained and equipped pro-government militias. The visit of Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu comes after Moscow's pledge to step up its air strikes against rebel forces in and around Aleppo. Tehran has provided Damascus with military and financial support ever since the uprising against the Assad regime erupted more than five years ago. Assad's position in the battle field received a major boost after Moscow intervened to help last September. Russian forces helped government troops recapture the famed ancient city of Palmyra in March and are now backing a push towards Syria's largest dam at Tabqa in the Euphrates Valley. Shoigu was also expected to hold separate bilateral meetings with Syrian General Fahd Jassem al-Freij and General Dehghan. In a meeting with Shoigu, Iran's secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani thanked "the courageous actions and policies of Russian President (President Vladimir Putin) and his effective support in the comprehensive fight against terrorism in Syria."
 

Iranian Resistance calls for urgent action to save lives of ill and hunger-striking political prisoners
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Thursday, 09 June 2016
The Iranian Resistance calls on all international human rights organizations, especially the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Arbitrary Detentions, Torture and Right to Life to take urgent and effective action for the unconditional release of political prisoners and providing the necessities for them to enjoy fast and necessary medical care. The religious fascism ruling Iran is not only neglecting the political prisoners’ rightful demands, including follow-ups on the status of their cases, fair trials and/or medical care, in fact this regime is forging bogus charges and various other hindering measures in attempts to further torture and harass them.
Afshin Sohrabzadeh, a political prisoner suffering from intestinal cancer, is exiled in Minab Prison (southern Iran) and on the brink of losing his life. During the past few days he has been transferred to a hospital after his health conditions deteriorated. However, despite the physicians’ emphasis, he was returned to prison without receiving the medical care he needed. This prisoner, already enduring very harsh conditions, was handcuffed on June 7 by Saleh Barezi, a very ruthless official in Minab Prison, and severely beaten. His belongings were thrown in the prison hallway and he was told he had to sleep in the hallway from then on. Barezi also threatened to punish any prisoner who provided a bed to Sohrabzadeh.
This political prisoner has lost a significant amount of his weight and is facing other illnesses due to cancer, severe internal bleeding and breathing difficulties. He was arrested in June 2009 and sentenced to 25 years in jail in exile through a court hearing that lasted only a few minutes.
Political prisoner Jafar Azimzadeh, a worker, is in critical condition after 39 days on hunger strike. He is suffering from severe weight loss, dangerously low blood pressure, kidney failure and severe vision weakness. The authorities are not only refusing to allow his transfer to a hospital outside of prison, they are also not permitting his hospitalizing inside the prison clinic. These measures are aimed at forcing him to sign a document saying he himself doesn’t intend to go to the prison clinic. Mr. Azimzadeh has been on hunger strike protesting “fundamental rights violations against teachers and workers,” and “their prosecution and imprisonment for bogus reasons” and demanding the cancellation of charges such as “actions against national security” raised against labor activists and teachers.
Mohammad Sedigh Kabudvand, a Kurdish journalist and political prisoner who has been on hunger strike for 30 days protesting bogus charges raised against him by the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence (VEVAK / MOIS). He is facing the threat of suffering a heart attack. He has been transferred to a hospital during the past few days due to a severe drop in blood pressure that resulted in him going unconscious. Mr. Kabudvand was arrested on July 1, 2007, and condemned to 10 years behind bars in a kangaroo court under bogus charges of “action against national security.” He is suffering from heart artery and kidney illnesses.
MOIS authorities returned political prisoner Alireza Golipour behind bars despite the fact that he is suffering from cancer and severe lung infection. He was returned to prison while still unconscious after surgery. Despite his deteriorated conditions authorities began delivering sever blows to his chest during his return to prison, all leading to the further deterioration of his status. Two nights before this incident he was placed under severe torture aimed at forcing him to participate in a TV interview and repent. Golipour is also suffering from heart illness and severe nose bleeding. The mullahs’ judiciary authorities sentenced this 30-year-old political prisoner to 15 years behind bars for insulting the regime’s supreme leader, supporting the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MeK) and the bogus charge of espionage.
Massoud Arab-Choubdar, a political prisoner suffering from intestinal cancer, from May 25 began protesting his forced transfer and the pressures imposed on him in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. He eventually launched a hunger strike on May 31. The prison authorities transferred him from ward 4 to ward 1 where ordinary prisoners are held. He was arrested back in 2013 and sentenced to three years behind bars. He is suffering from various illnesses, including severe headaches and epilepsy due to the torture he has suffered.
Shir Mohammad Shirani, a Baluchi minority prisoner arrested in 2008 and sentenced to 22 years behind bars. He has been exiled from Zahedan Prison (southeast Iran) to Ardebil Prison (northwest Iran) and been on hunger strike since May 3. He is suffering from severe kidney illness.
Mohammad Abdullahi, a political prisoner detained in Urumieh Central Prison (northwest Iran) has been on hunger strike since May 29 protesting his unfair execution sentence. He was placed under severely torture and harassed after his arrested on March 18, 2011.
Amir Dorosti, a former employee of Iran’s regular air force and political prisoner in Evin Prison who has been on a dry hunger strike from May 24 onward protesting his sentencing, extortion by the public prosecutor and the authorities’ refusal to release him. Hajilu, a known torturer in Evin Prison, said in response to Dorosti’s health deteriorating: “A prisoner on hunger strike must remain behind bars until he dies.” During the past four months the authorities have refused to release him on certain conditions despite receiving the necessary bail money. He is currently serving the 5th year of his 8-year prison sentence.
Political prisoner Rasoul Razavi was transferred to an unknown location on Monday, June 6, marking the 19th day of his hunger strike. He is held in Tabriz Central Prison (northwest Iran) and has been on hunger strike protesting the rulings issued by the mullahs’ so-called courts, and is demanding an open-door fair trial. Razavi was arrested back in July 2015 and sentenced to 1 year behind bars on charges of “bewildering public opinion” and “propaganda against the establishment.” He was arrested once before in 2013 and sentenced to 1 year behind bars.
During the past few weeks a number of other political prisoners have launched hunger strike in solidarity with other hunger striking prisoners. Ali Moezi and Amir Amir-Gholi in Evin Prison, Afshin Baimani, Khaled and Rasoul Heradani, Saeed Shirzad, Loghman Moradi and Zaniyar Moradi in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj (west of Tehran), and Ayoub Assad, a Kurdish political prisoner held in Kashmar Prison.
The hunger strikes launched by these political prisoners, especially Jafar Azimzadeh, have sparked a wave of solidarity and support in various cities across Iran. Acts of solidarity include demonstrations in different cities and placing posters with images of hunger striking political prisoners on walls, along with slogans including “Labor political prisoners must be released” and “Eliminate ‘actions against national security’ charges from protesting workers’ cases.”
*Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/June 7, 2015

Miners from central Iran sentenced to flogging
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Thursday, 09 June 2016
NCRI - Nine more miners have been sentenced to imprisonment and flogging by the oppressive Iranian regime. The miners, from Bafq Iron Ore Company, had been condemned for their union protest in 2014. Bafq is situated in the central Iranian province of Yazd. Mohammad Ali Jaddari Forughi, a lawyer for the arrested miners said: "In the first verdict [of the miners], Mohammad Hassan Tashakkori, was sentenced to an 11-month suspended prison sentence and 50 suspended lashes; the second defendant was sentenced to a 4-month suspended sentence."He added: "In the second verdict, the other seven workers were sentenced to a seven-month suspended sentence and 30 suspended lashes each." His remarks were carried on Monday, June 6, by the state-run ILNA news agency. All of the above sentences are suspended for a period of five years, according to state media. Last month, the flogging of 17 miners, who protested the dismissal of 350 workers from the Agh Dara gold mine, and numerous young people, who attended mixed-gender parties, brought worldwide condemnation for the Iranian regime including from the United Nations. A spokesperson for The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, said: "Flogging is prohibited under international human rights law, in particular, the Convention against Torture. The UN Committee against Torture, the Human Rights Committee, and UN Special Rapporteurs have repeatedly voiced serious concerns about States’ use of flogging…and have called for its abolition.” “For the authorities to have meted out this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment – which could amount to torture – is completely disproportionate and abhorrent."

New U.S. policy on Iran should take into account significant role of the organized opposition
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Thursday, 09 June 2016 /The United States should adopt a new policy on Iran that would finally take into account the significant role that the Iranian people and the organized opposition play, argues Alireza Jafarzadeh of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Writing on Thursday in The Hill, Mr. Jafarzadeh said: It was revealed that the Iranian regime tested another ballistic missile in April. A military official, Brigadier General Ali Abdollahi, publicly boasted about the supposed success of this test, which he said involved a weapon that could strike targets over 1,200 miles away. This test-launch flies in the face of the widespread outcry that had been directed against Tehran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the wake of several previous tests. Two of them took place in October and November, after nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 had been completed but before the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was actually implemented. In March, about two months after the deal’s implementation, the IRGC carried out three more launches. The initial tests were widely recognized as direct violations of a United Nations Security Council resolution banning the Iranian regime from work on weapons capable of carrying a nuclear weapon. UN member states have had a hard time holding Iran “in violation” of the Security Council resolution because it merely “calls upon” Iran to avoid ballistic missile tests, as opposed to simply declaring that it “shall not” carry them out. The United States’ soft policy has given the Iranian regime and particularly the IRGC ample opportunity to exploit what they perceive as American weakness. And they have done so repeatedly. The ongoing ballistic missile tests are only one example of this, but they are an example that is difficult to ignore. Although the White House, under pressure from U.S. Congress, did eventually respond to the October missile test by imposing new sanctions on individuals and businesses with ties to the Iranian ballistic missile program, it soon became clear that Tehran did not take this seriously. The Iranian regime’s president, Hassan Rouhani, whom the Obama administration has falsely portrayed as a moderate force in the Iranian regime, responded to the sanctions by directing his defense minister to greatly increase Iran’s ballistic missile stockpiles and development.
Clearly, Rouhani and his colleagues did not believe that the White House would continue along an appropriately confrontational line after one round of halfhearted sanctions. And considering that there was no clear response from the Obama administration to the follow-up test in November, to the three launches in March, or to the Iranian military’s revelation of another test in April, it seems clear that Iran’s ruling clerics were justified in their dismissiveness.
This same attitude has allowed the IRGC and other Iranian institutions to undertake many other provocations with impunity. These include the brief detention of 10 American sailors in January, the arrest of Iranian-American dual nationals and increasing meddling in Syria.
It seems odd that the recent outpouring of anti-western propaganda by the Iranian regime is ongoing at the same time that the Obama administration has been actively encouraging Western companies to reengage with Tehran.
The current U.S. policy toward Iran threatens to enable the regime’s behavior by channeling money into the hands of the individuals and institutions associated with the IRGC and the unaccountable foundations, who still exert the greatest influence on Iranian foreign policy.
With U.S. presidential elections just around the corner, there is good reason to hope that this policy will come to an end. But every influential person in Washington who recognizes the danger posed by Iran’s ballistic missile program must help to make sure not only that change is guaranteed, but also that it will lead to an alternative policy that specifically constrains the power of the IRGC and similar entities. A new U.S. policy should finally take into account the significant role that the Iranian people and the organized opposition play. One place to look for clues to a better policy may be the July 9 international gathering of tens of thousands of Iranians, where the Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi will be joined by dozens of current and former senior U.S. and European officials to call for a new approach and a decisive policy vis-à-vis the regime in Tehran.  It is time for the real moderates and patriots of Iran who have paid a high price for opposing the regime for the past three decades and strive for a secular, democratic, non-nuclear republic in Iran to be viewed by the United States and the international community as what they are, the true face of a free Iran.
**Jafarzadeh is Deputy Director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

Iran: Protest gatherings in Kermanshah, Paveh, and Ilam
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Thursday, 09 June 2016/NCRI - Several protests were held across Iran on Wednesday, June 8, according to local reports. These included bakery workers in the city of Paveh, western Iran, street cleaners of the central municipality in Kermanshah, western Iran, staff of the Water and Sewage Department in Kermanshah and a group of contractual staff of the medical emergency center in Ilam, western Iran. The group of bakers staged a gathering outside the governorate to protest against the reduction of their flour quotas and demanded that the regime allocate more quotas particularly during the month of Ramadan. Seperately, the street cleaners gathered in the courtyard of the Kermanshah municipality to protest against six months’ non-payment of their deferred salaries. During the gathering, three workers clashed with the regime’s repressive agents who tried to disrupt their gathering. The workers were threatened with dismissal by the regime’s agents. Later staff of the Water and Sewage Department in the city of Kermanshah staged a protest gathering outside the department located in Women Boulevard in Resalat District and demanded immediate payment of their four months’ deferred salaries. According to a separate report, a group of contractual workers and staff of the medical emergency center in Ilam gathered outside the medical center on Wednesday to protest against three months non-payment of their salaries and benefits and demanded that the authorities resolve this problem.

IRAN: Notorious prosecutor of Zahedan threatens to suppress Sistan and Baluchistan University students
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Thursday, 09 June 2016/NCRI - The clerical regime’s notorious prosecutor in Zahedan, south-eastern Iran, has threatened a new crackdown on students of Sistan and Baluchistan Province in order to create a climate of fear. According to the state-run Mizan News Agency, Mohammad Marzieh announced on June 7, that he would investigate the case of dancing in a ceremony by students at the University of Sistan and Baluchistan. In an interview with Mizan news agency, Hosseinali Shahriari, a member of the regime’s Parliament from Zahedan, said: “The ceremony was held under the pretext of launching ethnic festivals in Ferdowsi Hall, the largest and the main hall of the University of Sistan and Baluchistan. And unfortunately, shameful and unjustifiable scenes happened there. In this ceremony, some of the students started dancing and it was not folk dancing which is justifiable but western style dancing.”Noting that the President of Sistan and Baluchistan University was abroad during the ceremony, he said: “We are waiting for the university president to return so that we can hold a meeting with him about this shameful event and we hope he takes the necessary measures in this case.”Shahriari also stated: “If the President of the University does not take the necessary measures, we will hold a meeting with the Minister of Science and provide him with the necessary documents about the ceremony.”The past few weeks have seen many young adults arrested; some being flogged, fined or imprisoned for so-called ‘moral’ crimes like attending mixed-gender parties. Almost 200 young people have been arrested in the past two weeks for attending mixed-gender parties.

Maryam Rajavi addresses parliamentary conference on a declaration by the majority of Italian representatives in support of the Iranian Resistance
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Thursday, 09 June 2016
Honorable members of the Senate and Parliament of Italy
Dear friends of the Iranian Resistance
I salute your conference. I would also like to extend my profound appreciation for the initiative of the majority of the Parliament of Italy in support of the Iranian Resistance for freedom and democracy.
This is the example of a responsible and insightful policy that considers not only Iranian people's freedom but fundamental interests of Europe with regards to the center of the most sensitive crisis of the world today, the Middle East.
urope and the US expected to see an opening in Iran after the nuclear deal in July 2015. Some thought that in the sham elections in March "moderates" would take the upper hand and balance contentious policies.
The situation, however, deteriorated in every respect after the nuclear agreement. The number of executions and arrests has soared, the economy has become more stagnant, poverty has aggravated, and the IRGC's vicious pursuit of belligerence in Syria and the Quds Force's atrocious massacre of Iraqis have become worse.
Thesham elections of March produced a monster instead of moderates when Jannati, a staunch Khamenei loyalist and the very person who had screened all election candidates, became the head of the Assembly of Experts.But why did this happen?
Firstly, because there are no moderates in Iran's theocratic regime.
Secondly,because the clerical regime is extremely frail, riddled with crisis and not able to show any flexibility towards the public. It is therefore in greater need of stepping up its social repression, export of terrorism and war.
Just recently, the mullahs' parliament declared that the country's banking system had gone bankrupt. At the same time, the regime's interior minister has in an official report declared that they arrest an average of 600,000 people every year. Of course, the actual figure is much higher.
Meanwhile the mullahs have carried out mass floggings of workers for going on strike and students for taking part in a graduation party. They do so because they are confronted with volatilesocial discontent throughout the country.
The regime's instability is evident in every respect.
The mullahs have no solution for this crisis. Stepping up dictatorship, repression and belligerence, nomatter how severe,cannot comprise a long-term solution for them. This is exactly why the Italian Parliament's initiative is very significant in showing the way out.
This situation also bears an important message for those who seek economic relations with the mullahs. The message is that they are on the wrong road.
On the one hand, the hugely stagnant economy has diminished the country capacity for economic agreements.
On the other hand, the lion's share of the Iranian economy is dominated by the Velayat-e Faqih and the Revolutionary Guards Corps. Therefore, any deal with Iranian companies is actually a deal with the IRGC and fuels their system.
Fueling the IRGC machine is tantamount to spreading terrorism and war throughout the Middle East and North Africa. For Italy, this translates into a mounting refugee crisis and for Europe, into stepped up terrorist attacks.
The Iranian people, because of their longstanding friendship with the people of Italy, have a special respect for your beautiful country. Bilateral relations must expand in all realms including trade, finance, culture, science and technology but the religious dictatorship ruling Iran is the great obstacle to such excellent relations between our two nations; the regime must be replaced with a pluralist and democratic republic founded on the principle of separation of religion from state, equality of men and women and restoration of human rights.
On behalf of the Iranian people and Resistance, I'd like to express my gratitude to the elected representatives of Italy and the exalted personalities of your country, for lending support to freedom of Iranian people. I am truly grateful. It is your efforts that builds the cornerstone for durable and friendly relations between our two nations.

Majority of Jordanian lawmakers support rights of PMOI
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Thursday, 09 June 2016 /NCRI - A majority of members of the 17th Jordanian Parliament have signed a statement in support of the rights of members of the main Iranian opposition group People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) in Camp Liberty. The following is the text of a June 5 statement by Dr. Mohamed al-Haj, President of the Jordanian Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom:
Statement
Majority of the 17th Jordan Parliament
Call to guarantee Liberty residents’ security until ultimate departure from Iraq
Supporting Iranian Resistance & Mrs. Rajavi as sole response to mullahs’ dictatorship being the epicenter of fundamentalism & terrorism
Seventy seven Members of the 17th Jordanian Parliament, establishing a majority of this council, signed a joint statement condemning Iran’s meddling in the region and calling for guaranteed safety and security for Camp Liberty residents in Baghdad until their ultimate departure from Iraq.
“In contrast to many expectations of Iran engaging in a path of moderation following the nuclear agreement, the trend of executions, oppression, export of fundamentalism and terrorism by the rulers of Iran has only intensified. During this period, Iran’s meddling in the region, especially in Syria, has gained unprecedented proportions as 60,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) members and their proxies are busy massacring the Syrian people as we speak. In addition to the IRGC, Iran’s regular army in early April announced the deployment of its commando division to Syria. The main portion of the funds released due to the Iran sanctions reliefs have been allocated to purchase weapons for IRGC and/or regular army from Russia and other sources,” this statement reads in part.
“Iran’s meddling in Iraq continues and Camp Liberty, home to refugee members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/Mek) in Baghdad, was targeted in a massive missile attack on 29 October 2015 leaving 24 dead and large scale destruction across the camp. Tehran’s main crackdown effort is focused on this organization. Iran considers the PMOI/MeK its main enemy due to its widespread popular support and loyalty to a tolerant and pacifist Islam. This is exactly why Tehran loses no opportunity in its crackdown against its members and supporters. The oppression of ethnic minorities, including the Kurds, Baluchis and Arabs in Iran have intensified parallel to inhumane discrimination against the Sunni community,” the signatories of this statement add.
“February’s farce elections in Iran made it crystal clear nothing has changed. All the candidates are wholeheartedly loyal and practically committed to the mullahs’ establishment. Despite all this, half of the candidates were disqualified and sacked by the Guardian Council, a powerful body under the heavy influence of Iranian supreme Ali Khamenei. Despite their association to different factions, those entering the parliament and Assembly of Experts are no different in their views of crackdown and exporting terrorism. Hassan Rouhani, the regime’s so-called moderate president, in his remarks on March 12th hailed the presence of IRGC members in Syria and Iraq under the pretext of protecting sacred Shiite sanctuaries. Prior to that he labelled Bashar Assad as the legitimate leader of Syria, going on to describe executions as the implementation of Islam’s rulings and the rule of law,” the Jordanian MPs statement adds.
The majority of the 17th Jordanian Parliament concluded their statement by calling on Arab and Islamic governments, the United Nations, the UN Security Council, the United States and European Union for the following:
1. Strongly condemning human rights violations and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran
2. Impelling Iran to withdraw its army, IRGC members and proxy forces from regional countries, especially Syria and Iraq. This is a necessity to defeat Daesh (the Arabic acronym for the self-proclaimed Islamic State, ISIS, ISIL)
3. Guaranteeing safety and security of Liberty residents until their ultimate departure from Iraq
4. Supporting the Iranian Resistance and its President-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, being the sole response in the face of the mullahs’ dictatorship in Iran as the center of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism in today’s world
Dr. Mohamed al-Haj
President
Friends of a Free Iran Committee
17th Jordanian Parliament/2016/June /5

Abbas Rejects 'Violence against Civilians' after Tel Aviv Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 09/16/Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' office said Thursday it rejected violence against civilians after Palestinian gunmen killed four people in Tel Aviv, but stopped short of condemning the attack outright. The presidency said in a statement it has "rejected repeatedly all operations that affect civilians from whichever party it comes from, and whatever the justifications." "Achieving a just peace and creating a positive climate is what will contribute to removing and reducing the causes of tension and violence in this region."Abbas has repeatedly called for non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation, but has never condemned a wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks that began in October. He has said that the true cause of the violence is Israel's occupation of the West Bank and continuous settlement building, which Abbas says have robbed young Palestinians of any hope in the future. Israel says incitement from Palestinian media and leaders are a major cause of the violence. Abbas' rival Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip and calls for Israel's destruction, called the attack a "heroic operation." Israeli officials highlighted Hamas' reaction and pointed to what they said were joyous celebrations in parts of the West Bank after Wednesday night's attack. They also noted in contrast that one of the attackers was treated in an Israeli hospital after being shot. Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a Tel Aviv cafe on Wednesday night, killing four Israelis and wounding five others.

U.S. Adds IS Ally in Syria to Terror Blacklist
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 09/16/The United States on Thursday declared a Syrian militant group known as the Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade a global terrorist threat.The YMB operates on war-torn Syria's borders with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and is accused of kidnapping U.N. peacekeepers. "The YMB was formed in August 2012 in Deraa, Syria and has staged attacks throughout southern Syria," the U.S. State Department said. In 2014 it was tied to al-Qaida's Syrian offshoot, the al-Nusra Front, but it has since reportedly pledged itself to the rival Islamic State group. Now, the group has also joined Al-Nusra and the IS on the U.S. government's list of what it calls Specially Designated Global Terrorist entities. "As a result of this designation, all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which the YMB has any interest is blocked," the statement said.
"And U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the YMB."According to the designation, the YMB was responsible for at least two mass kidnappings of Filipino U.N. peacekeepers in the Golan in 2013. The troops were later released after negotiations.

France Says Special Forces in Syria Advising Rebels
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 09/16/France has deployed special forces in northern Syria to advise the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting the Islamic State group, a defense ministry official said Thursday. "The offensive at Manbij is clearly being backed by a certain number of states including France. It's the usual support -- it's advisory," the official told AFP, without giving further details on the deployment. France until now has only acknowledged the presence in the region of around 150 members of its special forces, deployed in Iraqi Kurdistan.The SDF, a U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab alliance, are on the northern edge of Manbij, a strategic town held by IS that serves as a waypoint between the Turkish border and the jihadists' stronghold of Raqa. The French special forces will not intervene militarily themselves and are not supposed to engage in combat with IS militants, the defense ministry official said. Tabqa, another IS-held transit town which lies near Syria's largest dam, is also under attack. France has 2,500 men in its special forces, of whom around 400 are currently deployed in 17 countries, mainly in the Sahel, the military said. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had indicated last Friday, in remarks to a small state TV channel covering French politics, that French troops were helping operations at Manbij."We are providing support through weapons supplies, air presence and advice," he told the Public Senate channel. In Iraqi Kurdistan, French special forces are already deployed, accompanying Kurdish peshmerga fighters to the front line near the city of Mosul. The French help the peshmerga to locate and neutralize improvised explosive devices (IED) and to handle 20-millimeter guns supplied by France. The IEDs, often buried in the ground and hard to spot, are the scourge of forces fighting IS. Hundreds of French nationals have gone to Syria to fight alongside IS fighters, but the special forces "are not there just because there are French nationals there", the defense ministry official said. France was targeted by jihadists in 2015, with shootings at the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in January and then a series of attacks in the French capital in November. A total of 147 people were killed and hundreds were injured. Several of the gunmen involved were French citizens who had returned from fighting in Syria. The US military says the offensive on Manbij is being led by 3,000 local Arab fighters, backed by 500 Kurdish militiamen.

Satellite images show ancient Iraq temple destroyed
AFP, Geneva Thursday, 9 June 2016/Satellite images confirm the destruction of the ancient Nabu temple in Iraq, the UN said late Wednesday, after the ISIS group claimed to have blown it up. The UN training and research agency UNITAR said it had analysed satellite images collected on June 3 over the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq. “Compared to imagery collected 12 January 2016, we observe extensive damage to the main entrance of what is known as Nabu Temple,” the agency said, providing the two sets of satellite images. In its latest attack on a historic site under its control, ISIS released a video this week claiming to have blown up the 2,800-year-old temple, devoted to the Babylonian god of wisdom. The video showed shots of an information sign at the temple followed by a massive explosion. One of the extremists in the film also threatened to blow up the Egyptian pyramids and the Sphinx. Nimrud, one of the jewels of the Assyrian era, was founded in the 13th century BC and lies on the Tigris River around 30 kilometres (18 miles) southeast of Mosul, Iraq’s second city and the IS group’s main hub in the country. UNITAR said Nimrud was “included in Iraq’s Tentative List of sites which are likely to be nominated for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List”. It remained unclear when the ancient temple had been destroyed. The ISIS footage also showed bulldozers destroying the Mashki and Nergal gates at Nineveh, near Mosul. But Christopher Jones, an expert on Neo-Assyrian Empire who runs an archeology blog, pointed out that the extremist group had already previously released a photo essay showing the destruction of the Mashki gate, which he said had been bulldozed on April 10. As for the Nergal gate, he said ISIS fighters had already chisled the face off an imposing granite Assyrian winged bull representing a lamassu, or an Assyrian protective deity, flanking the gate back in February. “This suggests that ISIS has gone back to re-destroy artifacts that it already destroyed once, in order to get footage for new videos,” he wrote on his blog Wednesday. In the ISIS extremists’ extreme interpretation of Islam, statues, idols and shrines amount to recognizing objects of worship other than God and must be destroyed. The militants have systematically destroyed heritage sites in areas they control, including much of Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra before they were chased out by Syrian regime troops in March.

ISIS loses ground on fronts in Syria, Iraq
Reuters, Beirut/Baghdad Thursday, 9 June 2016/The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS’s, far-flung enemies in Syria and Iraq pressed ahead on Wednesday with major advances on multiple fronts that have put some of the greatest pressure on the ultra-hardline militants in two years. A spokesman for a US-backed alliance in northern Syria said it was poised to enter the city of Manbij, a week after launching an assault with the aim of cutting off the last stretch of Turkish frontier still under ISIS control. A short distance further west, rebels fighting against both ISIS and the government of President Bashar al-Assad said ISIS fighters had pulled out of an area near the border. Assad’s forces, backed by Russian airpower, also launched an offensive against ISIS last week and have advanced in territory further south. And at the opposite end, 750 km down the Euphrates River, Iraqi government forces said they had fought their way into built-up areas of Falluja, the second-biggest city in Iraq under ISIS control and the militants’ closest bastion to Baghdad.The Iraqi government is backed both by US air power and by Shi’ite militia allied to Iran. But the simultaneous attacks on a variety of fronts have created unprecedented pressure on the militants, who have imposed harsh rule over territory with millions of inhabitants while making enemies of all global and regional powers.
Ambitious campaign
The campaign by a US-backed alliance called the Syria Democratic Forces is the most ambitious so far waged with support of the United States in Syria, where Washington previously lacked effective allies on the ground. A small contingent of US special forces troops are assisting the SDF, which was formed last year to combine militarily successful Kurdish militia with Arab allies more acceptable to Washington’s regional NATO ally Turkey. The goal of the offensive, launched last week, is to capture the area around the town of Manbij west of the Euphrates, and seal off the last 80 km (50 mile) stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border in ISIS hands. The frontier has been used for years by ISIS as their main supply route for arms and manpower, and more recently to send followers back to Europe for attacks like those carried out in Brussels and Paris since last year. The SDF had advanced to the outskirts of Manbij but had held back from entering to limit harm to civilians, a spokesman for the SDF-allied Manbij Military Council said. “Any moment that we want to enter it, we can, but because of the presence of civilians ... we are being cautious about entering the city,” Shafan Darwish told Reuters. “I can say that the matter of liberating Manbij is settled.” Darwish said ISIS fighters had fled the city and had rigged homes there with explosives. Further west, also in the border area, ISIS fighters suddenly withdrew from villages near the town of Marea in the face of a counter-attack from anti-Assad rebels, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group. ISIS had managed to besiege the rebel-held town of Marea in a significant advance late last month, stranding thousands of civilians there and prompting a US-led coalition to air drop weapons to rebels, rebel sources said. Rebel fighters in Marea broke the siege on Wednesday when they captured the village of Kafr Kalbin on the road linking Marea with Azaz, 20 km (12 miles) to the northwest at the border with Turkey. “It seems they (ISIS) can’t keep several fronts open at the same time. It is a strategic area, they were on the verge of entering Azaz,” Observatory Director Rami Abdulrahman said. Assad’s army, with Russian air support, has also launched its own offensive against ISIS, in what a pro-Damascus newspaper in Lebanon characterized last week as a “race to Raqqa” -- to capture territory around ISIS’s de facto Syrian capital before the area falls to US allies. Assad has been fighting a civil war against a range of enemies for five years. He vowed on Tuesday to recapture “every inch” of Syria, in a defiant speech seen as a setback to diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict. He is supported by Moscow and Tehran, and opposed by Washington, European powers, Arab states and Turkey.

Aleppo hospital staff rush to save newborns
AFP, Beirut Thursday, 9 June 2016/Terrified medical staff rushed to rescue nine newborns after heavy bombing near a children's hospital in Syria's divided Aleppo city, according to the leading pediatrician there. In a statement published by The Syria Campaign advocacy group, Dr Hatem, the chief of the Al-Hakim children's hospital, described the aftermath of a raid that struck just outside the facility on Wednesday. "It was a horrible moment. The nurses were trampling each other to rush the babies to the basement, while many of them started to cry," said Dr Hatem, whose full name was not disclosed. Government bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo hit within a few hundred metres (yards) of three medical facilities on Wednesday, including near Al-Hakim and near the Al-Bayan hospital, leaving at least 15 civilians dead. At Al-Hakim, nurses were worried the newborns would breathe in the dust and debris in the wake of the raid, Dr Hatem said. "As my staff moved the incubators, I went to tell the people in the waiting room to leave the hospital. I ordered them to 'Leave now! There might be a second attack,'" Dr Hatem said. "We expected that it would happen one day, and today is that day. There are now only 18 incubators left in eastern Aleppo."The newborns all survived but the hospital was left inoperable. Founded in mid-2012, the hospital has been forced to relocate multiple times in fear of government raids, said its funder, the Independent Doctors Association. Syria's brutal conflict has killed more than 280,000 people and has seen hospitals destroyed across the country. In April, Dr Hatem mourned the death of his colleague Mohammad Wassim Maaz, killed in an air strike at Aleppo's Al-Quds hospital. Dr Hatem pledged to repair and reopen the Al-Hakim hospital, which served roughly 3,800 patients each month. "I want every president to imagine that one of these newborns were his own son or daughter. Whatever they would do for their sons if they were bombed, they must do for these newborns." Doctors in opposition-controlled parts of Aleppo city have raised alarm over medical conditions there, particularly as the last route out into the rest of the province is under near-daily bombardment. "Aleppans' options are running out," said Dr Samah Bassas of the Syria Relief Network, an umbrella organisation of 60 humanitarian groups in Syria. "The bombs we are used to. But if we are to be held under siege, hunger and disease will quickly take hold. Even more death is inevitable," she said.

Syria approves aid to three more besieged areas
AFP, United States Thursday, 9 June 2016/The United Nations said Wednesday it has received approval from the Syrian government for aid deliveries to three more besieged areas including Daraya where there have been no humanitarian supplies of food since 2012. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the Damascus regime had given the green light for convoys to reach Daraya, Douma and Moadamiyeh, which are under siege by government forces. Syrian permission has been granted for 15 of the 17 besieged areas for which the United Nations has requested access, said Dujarric. The government has rejected requests for aid convoys to Al’Waer in the Homs region of western Syria and Zabadani in rural Damascus. “We are continuing to seek permission for those areas for land convoys,” he said. A UN aid convoy reached the town of Daraya on June 1 but it delivered only medical supplies and no food to the town that has been siege by the regime since late 2012. The United Nations has said it will consider carrying out airdrops and airlifts of aid to besieged towns, but this would require the approval of the Syrian regime. At least 592,000 people live under siege in Syria -- the majority surrounded by regime forces -- and another four million live in hard-to-reach areas, according to the United Nations. Western diplomats are skeptical of the Syrian approvals, noting that in the past aid convoys that had received the government’s consent were stripped of vital supplies before they reached their destination.

Twin suicide bombings rock Iraq’s Baghdad
Reuters, Baghdad Thursday, 9 June 2016/More than 22 people were killed and 70 wounded in two separate bombings on Thursday in Baghdad, one targeting a commercial street and the other an army checkpoint, Iraqi police said. The attacks come as Iraqi forces are trying to dislodge Islamic State militants from Falluja, their stronghold just west of Baghdad. A car packed with explosive blew up in a commercial street of Baghdad al-Jadeeda (New Baghdad), an eastern district of the capital, killing at least 15 people and wounding over 50, a police officer said. A suicide car bomb also targeted a main army checkpoint in Taji, just north of Baghdad, killing seven soldiers and wounding more than 20 others, he said There was no immediate claim for the blasts but ISIS has claimed responsibility for nearly all such attacks in recent months.The deadliest spate of bombings to hit the capital this year was in May when three attacks on the same day, including a devastating blast in Sadr City, killed close to 100 people.

Family says Canadian-Iranian professor detained in Tehran
By AP Dubai Thursday, 9 June 2016/A retired Canadian-Iranian professor who studies women’s issues across the Middle East has been detained without charges in Tehran, her family said Thursday, the latest dual national held by authorities there since Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers. The detention of Homa Hoodfar, who until recently taught anthropology and sociology at Montreal’s Concordia University, comes amid a widening targeting of Iranians with Western ties in the wake of the accord. Already, at least two Iranian-Americans and a US permanent resident from Lebanon have been detained, likely at the hands of hard-liners opposed to the deal. Hoodfar, 65, traveled to Iran in early February to see family after the death of her husband and retiring from Concordia, her niece Amanda Ghahremani said. She was also doing research at the archive of Iranian parliament’s library as an election that month saw 17 women elected as lawmakers. Two days before she was due to fly out of Tehran in March, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard raided Hoodfar’s home, seizing her belongings and questioning her, Ghahremani said. After several days of interrogation, she was formally arrested and released on bail, though she and her lawyer still don’t know what charges she faces, despite periodic questioning since, her niece said. On Monday, the Revolutionary Guard summoned Hoodfar for questioning at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison and since then she’s been held incommunicado, Ghahremani said. Her family decided to go public with her detention Wednesday by talking to Canadian media in Montreal. “We’re very confused and baffled by what’s going on because those who know Homa either personally or through her academic work know she’s ... someone who’s incredibly even-handed and balanced,” Ghahremani told The Associated Press. “She’s not political. She’s not an activist. And if anything, she has worked to improve the lives of women in different contexts, including Iran.” Calls to Iran’s judiciary rang unanswered on Thursday, the start of the country’s weekend. State-run media had no report on Hoodfar’s detention. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Canada has not had an embassy in Iran since 2012, when its conservative-led government at the time cut diplomatic ties over the Islamic Republic’s contested nuclear program and other issues.
In the time since, world powers have reached a deal with Iran for it to limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. On Wednesday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion acknowledged that not having an embassy complicated matters. Italy has protected Canada’s interests in Iran since 2012. “It would be easier to have an embassy in Iran, but it’s not the case,” Dion said. “We will do everything we can (by) working with the like-minded countries that are in Iran.”Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary force charged with protecting the country’s Islamic government, has increasingly targeted those with Western ties since the deal. A prisoner swap in January between Iran and the US freed Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-Americans. At least two Iranian-Americans remain imprisoned in the Islamic Republic, Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi and his 80-year-old father, Baquer Namazi. Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese internet freedom advocate who is a US permanent resident and has done work for the American government, is held as well. Also unaccounted for is former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished in Iran in 2007 while on an unauthorized CIA mission.

Police officer dies raising Turkish bombing toll to 6
By AP Ankara Thursday, 9 June 2016/Turkey’s state-run news agency says a wounded police officer has died in a hospital, raising the death toll in Wednesday’s suicide car bombing in a town near Turkey’s border with Syria to six. Turkish authorities say the attack which targeted the police headquarters in Midyat, in Mardin province, was carried out by militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. Two women police officers were among the dead. Anadolu Agency said a third police officer, who was seriously wounded in the attack, died at a military hospital in the city of Diyarbakir on Thursday.
The PKK has targeted police and military personnel since July, when a fragile peace process between the rebels and the government collapsed. The group is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its allies.

Turkey blames Kurdish militants for Istanbul attack
Reuters, Ankara Thursday, 9 June 2016/Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s office blamed Kurdish militants for a car bombing that killed 11 people in central Istanbul, while a second bomb on Wednesday killed five people in the largely Kurdish southeast. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, meanwhile, said that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), blamed for Tuesday’s attack in Istanbul, had recently sought to revive peace talks and offered to lay down their arms. A ceasefire with the PKK collapsed almost a year ago, setting off the worst violence the country has seen in two decades. Yildirim, in comments broadcast live by TRT television, said Turkey would not negotiate to end the violence. The car bomb on Tuesday ripped through a police bus during the morning rush hour in Istanbul, killing six police officers and five civilians near the main tourist district, a major university and the mayor’s office.
On Wednesday the bomb targeted a police station in the southeastern town of Midyat, killing three civilians and two police officers and wounding more than 30 others. The province borders Syria in a region where Kurdish militants have waged a three-decade insurgency. “All indicators and signs regarding the attack in Istanbul yesterday point to the separatist terror organization,” Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told a news conference, referring to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).“The Midyat attack is very fresh and we can only make an assessment once we have all the information,” Kalin said. There has been no claim of responsibility from Kurdish militants. They have carried out similar attacks in Turkey’s major cities in the recent past as violence has spiraled since the ceasefire with the PKK collapsed almost a year ago.

Ready to back Clinton, Obama works to unite fractured Democrats
The Associated Press, New York Thursday, 9 June 2016/President Barack Obama opened a determined fence-mending mission Wednesday, hoping to use his popularity among Democrats to unite the party behind Hillary Clinton and draw in Bernie Sanders supporters reluctant to give up after a grueling primary fight. In his first public remarks on the primary since Clinton clinched the nomination, Obama acknowledged the lingering bruised feelings and sought to shower praise on both candidates. He skirted a formal endorsement or a call on Sanders to drop out-- even as he spoke of the Vermont senator’s campaign in the past tense. “It was a healthy thing for the Democratic Party to have a contested primary. And I thought Bernie Sanders brought enormous energy and his new ideas and he pushed the party and challenged them. I thought it made Hillary a better candidate,” Obama said during a taping of NBC’s “Tonight Show.” “My hope is that over the next couple of weeks we’re able to pull things together.”Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in New York. Powered by a solid triumph in California, Clinton seizes her place in history as the first women to become a presumptive presidential nominee and sets out to unite a fractured party to confront Donald Trump. Later, Obama made a delicate reference to the party’s awkward transition period as he talked up donors at a top-dollar fundraiser. Obama noted Democrats had “just ended -- or sort of ended -- our primary season” and declared he was “not too worried” about bringing the party together. Obama said he was more concerned about overconfidence and Democrats not “doing the hard nuts-and-bolts work” of getting young people and low-income people out to vote. “We’ve got to get busy,” he said. “We’ve got to work.” Obama’s impending endorsement for Clinton seemed like a fait accompli. Though the White House kept mum about the timing, all signs pointed to Obama endorsing Clinton on Thursday after the president meets with Sanders in the Oval Office. Democratic leaders hoped the meeting, requested by Sanders, would be a moment of catharsis for the party, sending a signal that even Sanders understands the importance of electing a Democrat in November. Yet it was unclear whether Sanders was ready to follow that script. The Vermont senator emailed supporters saying “The struggle continues” and vowing to compete in the season’s final primary contest next week in the District of Columbia.

Clinton ally Warren weighs potential VP role, sees hurdles
Reuters, New York and Washington Thursday, 9 June 2016/US Senator Elizabeth Warren has considered the idea of serving as Hillary Clinton’s running mate but sees obstacles to that choice as she prepares to endorse the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, several people familiar with Warren’s thinking told Reuters. While her thinking could evolve, Warren has concerns about joining a Clinton ticket, including the question of whether running two women would give the Democrats the best shot at defeating Republican Donald Trump, one source said. Advisers to Warren, a fiery critic of Wall Street and a popular figure among progressive Democrats, have been in close contact with Clinton’s campaign team and the conversations have increased in frequency in recent weeks, the sources said. Warren has signaled to people close to her that she is intrigued by the possibility of being Clinton’s No. 2 but has not discussed the role with Clinton, 68, or anyone else from her campaign, the people said. Warren, 66, has been one of the Democrats’ most outspoken critics of Trump, 69, and her priority is helping to defeat the presumptive Republican nominee in the Nov. 8 presidential election, the sources said. Warren is also committed to advancing her own political agenda, which they described as “more progressive” than Clinton’s more centrist positions. Warren fears that as vice president, or in a cabinet position, her voice could be less heard than it is in the U.S. Senate on her priority issues such as addressing income inequality, the sources said. In the past, Warren has accused Clinton of abandoning her support for stronger bankruptcy legislation to try to appease Wall Street.
 

Israel suspends Ramadan permits for Palestinians
AFP, Jerusalem Thursday, 9 June 2016/Israel said Thursday it had suspended entry permits for 83,000 Palestinians during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan following a shooting in Tel Aviv that killed four people. "All permits for Ramadan, especially permits for family visits from Judea and Samaria to Israel, are frozen," said a statement from COGAT, the unit which manages civilian affairs in the occupied West Bank. It said that 83,000 Palestinians would be affected, adding that 200 residents of Gaza who had received permits to visit relatives during Ramadan would also have access frozen.

Russia proposes mechanism to prevent US sea confrontations
By AP Moscow Thursday, 9 June 2016/Russia’s Defense Ministry says it has presented a proposal to the United States on developing a mechanism for preventing confrontations on the open sea and airspace above it. The Wednesday statement, reported by the news agency Interfax, comes in the wake of several tense incidents in recent months. In April, a Russian jet flew about 15 meters (50 feet) from the wing tip of a US aircraft and two Russian jets flew close to the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea. The Pentagon also said a Russian fighter plane conducted a barrel roll over a reconnaissance plane flying above the Baltic Sea. The ministry said that during consultations with the US on Wednesday, “the Russian side submitted proposals to develop a mechanism to prevent incidents,” Interfax reported.
 

Deep-sea robot to join search for Egyptair wreck ‘from Friday’
By AFP Paris Thursday, 9 June 2016/A research vessel with an underwater robot is set to begin searching the Mediterranean “as from Friday” for the wreck of the EgyptAir plane that crashed last month, according to the French aviation safety agency BEA. Egypt has hired the “John Lethbridge”, which is owned by the private Deep Ocean Search company, to comb the ocean floor for the Airbus A320 that went down with 66 people aboard en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19. The ship is en route and “should arrive in the area as from Friday,” BEA director Remi Jouty told reporters. A French navy vessel using deep-water listening devices picked up signals from one of the black boxes over a week ago, but so far it has failed to locate either it or the second recorder. “For the moment we are hopeful of managing to locate these recorders while they continue to emit (pings),” Jouty said, acknowledging “we have to be quick”.The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have enough battery power to emit signals for four to five weeks. The area where the plane went down is believed to be about 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) deep. The “John Lethbridge” has a side scan sonar that provides digital images of the seabed, as well as a robot that is capable of diving to 3,000 meters. Some wreckage was retrieved from the Mediterranean last month, along with belongings of passengers on board flight MS804, but no bodies have been found so far. The plane crashed between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian coast after disappearing suddenly from radar screens. Investigators have said it is too soon to determine what caused the disaster. While speculation initially centered on a terror attack, a technical fault has also not been ruled out, with automated messages sent by the plane shortly before its demise indicating smoke in the cabin and a fault in the flight control unit. The crash took place seven months after the bombing of a Russian airliner over Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula in October that killed all 224 people on board. ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack. There has been no such claim over the EgyptAir crash.
 

Survey: Undecided voters see Brexit making them worse off
Reuters, London Thursday, 9 June 2016/Britons still undecided on how they will vote in a referendum on EU membership think they would be 71 pounds ($103) a year worse off if Britain quits the bloc, a survey said, suggesting the “Leave” camp faces a bigger challenge than the “Remain” side.Undecided voters, on average, estimated that households would be 181 pounds worse off per annum five years after a vote to leave the EU, compared with a hit of 110 pounds if Britain decided to stay, the survey showed. Eighteen percent of the 3,000 respondents polled by market research firm Opinium and the European Centre for Research in Electoral Psychology at the London School of Economics said they did not know how they would vote in the June 23 referendum. A quarter of those who have not made up their minds think that British households will be worse off after a vote to leave, compared with 17 percent who think they would be worse off if Britain stays in the bloc, the poll showed. Polls on how Britons will vote in two weeks’ time are too close to call. The “Leave” camp edged ahead in two polls on Monday, only for two separate polls to put “Remain” narrowly ahead hours later. Thursday’s survey also found voters were split evenly, although no detailed breakdown was provided. It suggested voters across the board were more skeptical about the “Leave” camp’s arguments. Respondents thought immigration would remain a challenge even after Brexit and the EU would be unlikely to offer Britain a better deal if it left. Opinium and the ECREP gave no definition of such a deal. “Unless ‘Vote Leave’ can find more believable messages for those sitting on the fence, the large number making their final decision at the last moment could tip the scales in favor of remain,” Opinium managing director James Endersby said. Voters were also skeptical about some arguments put forward by the “Remain” campaign, including suggestions that major banks would leave London if Britain quits the EU. The poll found up to 30 percent of voters could make up or change their mind on how to vote in the last week of the campaign, and half of them could do so on polling day itself.
 

WHO declares Liberia free of active Ebola virus transmission
Reuters, Monrovia Thursday, 9 June 2016/Liberia has reached the end of active Ebola virus transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday, the fourth such declaration from one of the west African countries at the epicentre of the world's worst outbreak of the disease. The declaration means it has been 42 days since the last confirmed patient tested negative for a second time for the disease. Liberia first declared itself free of the virus in May 2015 but Ebola flared up again three times, most recently when a woman contracted it after travelling to neighbouring Guinea and infecting her two children, the WHO said. The WHO declared Sierra Leone free of the deadly haemorrhagic fever on March 17 and Guinea on June 1. Tolbert Nyenswah, head of Liberia's Ebola reponse team, told Reuters the country had strengthened its surveillance and response capacity and its laboratory system since the start of the outbreak. "We've proven we can contain the outbreak, we can intervene very swiftly," said Nyenswah. Liberia, like Guinea before it, will now need to undergo an additional 90 days of heightened surveillance as the disease can live on in survivors' bodily fluids for months. WHO data show West Africa's Ebola epidemic killed more than 11,300 people and infected some 28,600 as it swept through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia from 2013 in the world's worst outbreak of the disease.

Somalia: 30 Ethiopian troops killed in attack by militants
By AP Mogadishu, Somalia Thursday, 9 June 2016/At least 30 Ethiopian troops were killed Thursday in an attack on a base for African Union peacekeepers in central Somalia, a Somali military official said. A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle early Thursday at the gates of the Ethiopian military base there before gunmen entered the base, said Mohamed Mohamud, a military officer in the town of Halgan, where the attack happened. The death toll is likely to rise, he said. The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab claimed it had killed 43 Ethiopian soldiers in the attack. But the Ethiopian Communications Minister Getachew Reda told The Associated Press that the assault was repelled and that more than 100 of the attackers were killed. He did not say how many Ethiopians were killed or injured. Ethiopian troops are pursuing the militants who fled led during the firefight, he said. The African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, said on Twitter that there had been attempted attack on a base run jointly by the Somali national army and African Union peacekeepers. The attackers were “successfully repulsed” and some of their weapons seized, it said. Al-Shabab, which has ties with al-Qaeda, is fighting to impose a strict version of Islam in this Horn of Africa nation. Despite losing a lot of ground in recent years, the armed group continues to carry out lethal attacks in many parts of the country, including near the seat of government in the capital Mogadishu. African Union peacekeepers are trying to prevent al-Shabab from threatening the authority of the weak, Western-backed federal government in Mogadishu. Some recent attacks by al-Shabab, which opposes the presence of foreign troops in Somalia, have targeted peacekeepers.

Jordan sets date for parliament elections
By AP Amman Thursday, 9 June 2016/Jordan is to hold parliament elections on Sept 20, the country’s Independent Elections Commission announced on Thursday. The balloting for 130 members of parliament will be the first under a new electoral law. Critics and opposition figures have said the new rules, while an improvement, don’t go far enough in encouraging the formation of political parties in place of tribal politics. The vote is also coming at a time when the main political opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, is fractured and in disarray. Jordan also faces growing economic and security problems, caused in part by fallout from the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. In this climate, political reforms have been on hold. Earlier this year, the outgoing parliament adopted constitutional amendments that consolidated the already considerable powers of King Abdullah II, giving him, among other things, the sole authority to appoint leaders of the security forces and members of the constitutional court. The last parliament election was held in January 2013, under a system in which a voter could only vote for one candidate in his or her district. Under the new law, a voter can choose as many candidates as there members of parliament representing the district. In the upcoming election, Jordan will be divided into 23 electoral districts. The new rules also reduced the number of members of parliament from 150 to 130. Fifteen seats are reserved for women, nine for Christians and three for ethnic minorities. The king had dissolved the old parliament in late May, paving the way for new elections within four months.

Qatar summons US envoy over video of soldiers laughing near flag
By Reuters Doha, Qatar Thursday, 9 June 2016/Qatar, which hosts the largest US air base in the Middle East, summoned the US ambassador on Thursday over a video posted online that showed American soldiers laughing in front of the nation’s flag. The Qatari foreign ministry said it had “summoned the American ambassador... over a video which was recently circulated on social media. She was asked for an explanation of the contents of that video.”The clip shows two uniformed US soldiers, a man and a woman, speaking into camera and joking in front of a US and a Qatari flag. US Ambassador Dana Shell Smith who, according to a ministry official, met Qatari assistant foreign minister Sultan Al Muraikhi on Thursday, said on Twitter that she had apologized. “The US military command was sent to investigate this incident and disciplinary action will be taken,” Smith wrote on her Twitter account, responding to a tweet from a Qatari national. “Rest assured that these soldiers made fun of themselves and not of the state of Qatar,” Shell said in another tweet, written in Arabic. With enormous natural gas reserves that make it one of the world’s wealthiest countries, Qatar is home to the US air base Al Udeid where around 10,000 military personnel are stationed, and is one of Washington’s main Arab allies.

June sandstorm and rain warnings in UAE
By Staff writer Al Arabiya English Thursday, 9 June 2016/Sandstorms, rain, and falling temperatures are expected to hit the UAE Thursday, national news agency WAM reported. The National Center for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) warned motorists to take extra care due to the reduced visibility caused by dust storms kicked up by unusually windy conditions over night. Rain is also expected along the west coast of the country, along with a decrease in temperatures. It also warned seafarers of rough conditions across the Arabian Gulf overnight. In April 2015 thick dust clouds filled the air across big parts of the UAE, causing hazardous driving conditions, and severe disruption to air traffic at Dubai’s airports.
 

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 09-10/16

It is a war against Sunni Arabs
Eyad Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/June 09/16
The other day the US State Department published its annual report about global terrorism for 2015; and again Iran came on top among states supporting terrorism. However, within a few hours Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandes, the deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces – geographically Iraqi, but politically Iranian – spoke of his preparations for “liberating” the town of Fallujah.
As he was speaking, banners, pictures and symbols in the background gave away his and his organization’s true pro-Iran identity and allegiance. Incidentally, Al-Muhandes is still regarded by Washington as a terrorist.
Furthermore, General Qassem Suleimani, the Commander of al-Quds Brigade of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), – also labelled and sought by Washington as a terrorist – is regularly and freely moving about in Iraq, Syria and perhaps Lebanon too, conducting the secular cleansing campaign, as well as visiting Russia from time to time!
This is what is taking place with regards to Iran’s aiding, abetting and sponsoring terrorism but is still not proving an obstacle to it becoming Washington’s regional de facto ally in the war against a dubious organization called ISIS.
On the other hand, heading the list of Washington’s new operatives in the war against ISIS in Syria are armed Kurdish organizations long regarded as “terrorist” by Turkey, America’s old ally, and other armed Kurdish gangs many Syrians accuse of being “agents” of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
I believe this administration knows exactly what it is doing, and if a proof is ever needed, look no further than how it is hiding the full facts of its Iran deal from the American public
Eyad Abu Shakra
The above and what we have been reading and hearing about US official and media positions, point to the notion that by using the war against ISIS as a pretext, Washington is going ahead with a strategic gamble on the Kurds despite the possible negative regional repercussions on the Middle East’s entities; as well as intentionally turning a blind eye to Iranian expansionist policies reaching as far as Yemen.
I think Washington’s Middle Eastern policies have been frequently misread during the last five years. We were told that it “was no more interested in the Middle East” but is rather seeking to concentrate its efforts on “more important and sensitive areas” in the world.
Then we heard there was some sort of “confusion and hesitation” in the White House whose master has little belief in the benefits of foreign interventions, especially after the Iraq War experience. We also read a lot that Barack Obama’s top priority was the economy and internal affairs, NOT foreign relations.
Later on, some suggested that Washington “realized it was wrong to give its rash blessings to the so-called Arab Spring …” when Islamists became the early winners in Egypt and Tunisia, and extreme terrorist organizations appeared on the scene in Libya, Syria and Yemen, thus exacerbating armed conflicts that made foreign intervention necessary.
Larger picture
There may have been some truth in all the above, however, the overall picture is much more sinister and dangerous; and it has been what was uncovered by President Obama’s recent series of interviews, and translated step by step on the ground since the JCPOA nuclear deal with Iran.
The fact of the matter is that Washington has not abandoned the Middle East, is neither confused nor hesitant, has not discarded foreign relations, and is not “correcting” its previous misreading and actions, specifically those related to the invasion of Iran that led to handing it on a platter to Iran.
I believe this administration knows exactly what it is doing, and if a proof is ever needed, look no further than how it is hiding the full facts of its Iran deal from the American public. Indeed, it is engaged in a direct political campaign and a proxy military campaign against its old Middle Eastern allies, namely, the Arabs and the Turks.
It is also laying the foundations for a new map for the region which will replace the post-First World War map. Almost 100 years ago, the Middle East witnessed two major developments that led to the current shaky map: Britain and France inherited the vanquished Ottoman Empire becoming the two mandatory powers, and a ‘Jewish homeland’ was promised and later established. What we are about to witness, with Washington’s blessings and actions, is a new Iranian mandate and a new ‘Kurdish homeland’ extending from As-Suleimaniyah to the eastern Mediterranean.
In the meantime, American media, more specifically its liberal wing, is now at the forefront of a crusade against ‘Islamic extremism’; meaning Sunni extremism exclusively. American liberal media seems to forget – or prefers to forget – that Washington exploited armed extremist Islamist, such as the Afghan ‘Mujaheddins’, for decades; using them in its global confrontations with Soviet Communism.
I am sure the archives of the New York Times – currently a bit too selective in blaming ‘the others’ – contain loads of documents proving the close co-operation between American and Pakistani intelligence agencies during the Afghan War against Moscow’s Red Army; specifically, the strong links between the CIA and General Hamid Gul, the then Director-General of the Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) in Pakistan.
I also believe the NYT know quite enough not only about those who financed the extremist Islamists – who later metamorphosed into al-Qaeda – but more importantly, those who trained and armed them.
As for ISIS, I reckon the NYT, the Washington Post and others have enough information about the long standing and sinister relations between the Syrian and Iranian intelligence agencies with self-claimed ‘Islamist’ terror groups, beginning with al-Qaeda and finishing with ISIS.
On the media front, too, a prominent Washington Post analyst and senior editor, recently appeared on an Arab TV news channel to say that given the “current combat map in Syria”, the ‘Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) militia is in Washington’s calculations the only reliable armed group capable of fighting ISIS. The senior editor was realistic enough to point at “the current map” but found no need to explain why we reached such a situation.
He did not feel the need to say why for five years Washington behaved the way it did; why it refused time and time again to give the ‘Free Syrian Army’ the required weapons capable of confronting the regime as well as the mushrooming extremist terror groups which appeared with the passing of time with valuable help from several intelligence agencies.
In fact, today, thanks to international collusion with the al-Assad regime, well-orchestrated conspiracy against the Syrian popular uprising, and its tacit support of the Russo-Iranian armed intervention in Syria, Washington is working overtime to bluff the whole world about linking a ‘future Syria’ with the SDF which is a secessionist Kurdish militia that has nothing to with ‘democracy’ and does not believe in ‘one’ Syria.
In short, what we are witnessing is a real war against Sunni Arabs that will end with a new ‘Middle East’ which will sow the wind only to reap the whirlwind.
This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Jun. 08, 2016.

Canadian-Iranian professor arrested in Tehran by Revolutionary Guards
The Guardian/June 09/16
Iranian authorities have arrested a Canadian-Iranian professor of social anthropology, the latest in a string of cases involving dual nationals which has prompted concern over the country’s political atmosphere.
Homa Hoodfar was arrested earlier this week after nearly three months of repeated questioning by the Iranian intelligence service, her sister told the Guardian on Wednesday.
Hoodfar is the latest in the ever-expanding list of dual nationals targeted in recent months. Several Iranian dual nationals from the US, the UK, Canada and France are currently behind bars or facing regular questioning, often accused of espionage or collaborating with a hostile government.
The 65-year-old scholar travelled to her home country in February, principally for personal reasons, but she also continued her academic research while in the country, her family said. Her trip coincided with parliamentary elections during which a record number of women were elected as MPs, mostly allied with the moderate administration of Hassan Rouhani.
In March, members of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards raided Hoodfar’s flat a day before she was due to fly to London, where she planned to join her family for the Persian new year and the 70th birthday of her brother. The authorities confiscated her belongings and her three passports, and summoned Hoodfar for regular questioning.
Hoodfar’s family had chosen not to go public until now because they believed the interrogations were the result of a misunderstanding and would soon end, according to her sister, Katayoon Hoodfar. “[Homa] was summoned to Evin prison on Monday where she was told she would face yet another session of questioning but instead she was detained,” she said.
“We are extremely worried for her health,” Hoodfar’s sister said. “She suffers from a rare neurological illness; she often has very bad headaches.” Hoodfar does not have any immediate family in Iran and the Canadian embassy remains closed. Hoodfar’s lawyer and cousin have been denied a family visit, Katayoon Hoodfar said, and were told that she is banned from having any visitors.
Iran does not recognise dual nationality, and treats detainees only as Iranian, depriving them of consular access.
Hoodfar has repeatedly travelled to Iran in the past but the illness of her husband, who died last year, prevented her from travelling there more recently. Hoodfar’s family believe that she has been arrested by the Revolutionary Guards, which act independently of Rouhani’s government and has sought to undermine his administration on various occasions.
Canada, under the previous Conservative government, abruptly closed its embassy in Tehran and expelled Iranian diplomats from Canada in September 2012. Relations between Canada and Iran had been strained for years, much of the tension stemming from the torture and death of Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi in 2003.
The country’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has said his government intends to reopen the embassy in Tehran, but analysts say it could years before the two countries accredit ambassadors.
In February, the Canadian government lifted virtually all sanctions against Iran. In announcing the change, Stéphane Dion, Canada’s foreign affairs minister said, “Canada will lift its sanctions but will maintain a level of mistrust for a regime that must not have nuclear weapons, a regime that is a danger to human rights and is not a friend to our allies, including Israel,” Dion said. “We will do this with our eyes wide open.”
Global Affairs Canada, the country’s diplomatic apparatus, said it was aware of Hoodfar’s arrest. “Consular officials and Minister Dion have met with Dr Hoodfar’s family, and remain in close contact with them,” a spokesperson said. “We are working closely with our likeminded allies in order to best assist Dr Hoodfar.” The department said it could not comment further due to privacy considerations.
Hadi Ghaemi from the New York-based international campaign for human rights in Iran (ICHRI) said Hoodfar’s arrest was “another sign of intolerance and suspicion towards dual nationals who travel to Iran and just want to contribute to their homeland by academic work”.
“These arrests are politically motivated to undermine the opening of the country which is Rouhani’s stated policy,” he told the Guardian. “Ms Hoodfar is a very respected academic who has hugely contributed to the Iranian civil society by her research and trainings.”
“[The arrest] reflects a security and intelligence apparatus out of control in Iran. They are snatching and detaining people without cause and with total impunity, creating a virtual quarantine of Iranian society so that they may more firmly hold it in their grip.”
Other dual nationals arrested in recent months include the British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation as a project manager, and British-Iranian businessman Kamal Foroughi.
American-Iranian businessman Siamak Namazi, was also jailed with no explanation in October after visiting his family. His 80-year-old father, Baquer Namazi, a former Unicef official, has also been arrested and denied access to lawyers. A French-Iranian, Nazak Afshar, who is former employee of the French embassy in Tehran, was sentenced to six years in April.

From Russia with love? For now, 'it's complicated'
Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/June 09/16
I write this from my hotel room overseeing the Russian Foreign Ministry’s iconic main building, a gigantic Stalinist-style skyscraper that was built as one of Moscow’s famous “Seven Sisters” between 1947 and 1953. Having witnessed the rise and fall of the Soviet empire, the building has recently re-emerged as a global power broker, particularly when it comes to the Middle East. However, for an outsider, Moscow’s foreign policy seems intensely confusing to say the least. For instance, Russia remains the only power in the world (aside from Iran) that backs Syria’s dictatorship, a brutal regime that justifies its actions by claiming it is a victim of its anti-Israeli, anti-American position. Yet this Russian support did not prevent Moscow from giving a warm welcome recently to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was visiting to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. This comes just weeks after announcing that Israel does not intend to ever return the Golan Heights - which it seized in 1967 - to Syria. Another oxymoron, in which Russia may be similar to many Middle Eastern countries, is the awkward love / hate relationship with the United States. I must admit that upon visiting Moscow for the first time, the sight of the golden arches of McDonalds and other popular US brands almost everywhere was a real shocker. It is not only Russia’s history of communism that makes these sights awkward. It is the current, intense local media coverage of bilateral relations, which makes one feel like the two nations are still at war. Asked about Moscow’s peculiar foreign policy, some local journalists and political analysts are full of praise, adding that it is pragmatism at its very best and ensures Russian interests are always served. However, one expert candidly said these “Cold War tactics” ensured that people rally behind the flag and do not pay attention to the worsening economy since the collapse of the ruble in 2014.
The dispute over Syria
A major battleground of this new Cold War is Syria, where Moscow and Washington - along with most Gulf states - back opposing sides. Ironically, despite Russia’s military involvement, the average citizens you meet here are not able to locate Damascus on a map, let alone distinguish between regime loyalists, Al-Nusra and ISIS. However, not everyone here is as detached. Almost a year ago, Russia’s Orthodox Church controversially described Moscow’s involvement in Syria as a “holy war,” though it later claimed its position was distorted by the media. Experts I spoke to say Russia’s backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a matter of principle, citing Moscow’s concern for global stability and a lack of desire to see the Libyan debacle (for which they blame US involvement) being repeated in Syria. If this is the case, one could safely deduce that Moscow would have no issue with Assad’s removal if it is done in a way that preserves Syria, or what is left of it. At least this is what should be understood from the recent comments of the Foreign Ministry’s official spokesperson Maria Zakharova. In March, she told the local Sputnik News agency that Russia backs a legitimate authority in Syria, “not Assad personally.”
perceived as a positive sign by many in the Syrian opposition and among their Gulf backers. However, there seems to be conflicting views and more than one say in Moscow when it comes to this issue. Some advisors may feel this would be too much of a compromise, and a victory to the US-backed side. As such, more senior Russian officials have made it clear that it they won't force Assad to leave, particularly if he is reelected by his people (or what remains of them).
Gulf states oppose any solution that does not guarantee the removal of the Iran-backed Assad, particularly following their massive financial, military and - most importantly - personal investment in this matter since 2011. Yet things are changing, and there is a new, dynamic government in Saudi Arabia that is eager to move things forward. While Riyadh continues to maintain its position that Assad should be removed either by diplomatic or military means, we have seen unprecedented determination not to allow differences with Moscow on this matter to affect overall relations. Close cooperation between Riyadh and Moscow cannot but be helpful, particularly when it comes to regional and oil-market stability. Most recently, Russia has proposed to mediate between the Saudis and Iranians. Close cooperation between Riyadh and Moscow cannot but be helpful, particularly when it comes to regional and oil-market stability
Though neither Tehran nor Riyadh has jumped on the offer, the mere fact that Moscow made such a proposal is interesting. For its part, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly maintained that it wants good relations with Iran, but that it must stop meddling in its neighbors’ internal affairs. Russia also seems ready to play a bigger role in Israeli-Palestinian talks. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reportedly brought up the Arab Peace Initiative during Netanyahu’s recent visit. However, without reconciliation between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, Israel will always have an excuse to stay away from the negotiating table.
I leave Moscow with a much better grasp of its positions. However, given that I was there to participate in a media forum, I cannot but say that signing bilateral media agreements with the likes of the discredited Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) will not help clarify Russia’s positions in the Middle East.
Regardless of whether it can convince the Arab street of its stance, Moscow would benefit much more from a stronger presence on mainstream and credible Arabic media outlets. This cannot be achieved by partnering with a state-owned news agency that has, in the midst of a civil war, reported that tourism is on the rise in Syria. The only thing on the rise in the country is terrorism; it is only by closer cooperation with the Gulf that this can be stopped.

Why the silence on British special forces?
Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/June 09/16
As far as the British public knows, British special forces are not fighting in Syria, Libya, Iraq or Yemen. No ground troops are involved, they are told. Not so, according to reports that have now exposed special forces fighting in all these countries. The Times newspaper reported on June 6 that British special forces have frequently crossed from Jordan into Syria to assist the New Syria Army to rebuild a camp at Tanf. In Libya, special forces destroyed two suicide vehicles in Misrata. In March, Jordan’s King Abdallah briefed the US Congress that British special forces had been operating in Libya since the start of the year. Vice News reported in April on covert British anti-terror operations in Yemen. This is only what the media have flushed out - who knows how extensive such operations are and have been? On Dec. 2, 2015, British Prime Minister David Cameron sought parliamentary approval to extend combat operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) into Syria as well as Iraq. In doing so, he made clear that “the government won’t deploy UK troops in ground combat operations.” He said: “The argument was made to us by the Iraqi government that the presence of Western ground troops can be a radicalizing force and can be counterproductive, and that’s our view.” When to use force is one of the prickliest issues confronting political leaders. Nowhere has this been more the case than in Britain, not least since the infamous decision to back the ill-judged war on Iraq in 2003. The ghosts of that decision hang over British politics. One of Cameron’s most painful political defeats was the parliamentary vote in 2013 on using force in Syria following the use of chemical weapons. The deployment of special forces is hardly a shock. French special forces are also reportedly operating in Libya. The United States at least admits it is using such forces, and President Barack Obama announced an additional deployment of 250 US special forces to Syria in April, a six-fold increase. Some of these arrived in Syria only this week. It is time to be more honest and ditch the blanket “no comment” farce. Special forces are used, they have a role, and it is pointless to deny it, but they should not be above the law
Concerns
Special forces are a vital component in taking down groups such as ISIS. This is no doubt why Cameron pledged an extra £2 billion ($2.89 billion) for special forces. Their specialized talents have been used in many conflict theaters against Al-Qaeda and ISIS. However, many are concerned that special forces are now being used to do conventional military tasks because politically, the use of standard military forces is too sensitive. Their use is seen by critics as a bypass around the need for parliamentary approval. The long-standing British convention is that the government never comments on the use of special forces. This is very convenient if you do not like parliamentary scrutiny about the purpose and goals of such operations, their effectiveness, frequency, scale or legality. Human rights groups can be swatted away on this basis too. On what grounds can special forces kill in other countries, not least where they have not been invited, as is the case in Syria and Libya? It has the hallmarks of other tricks and euphemisms to sidestep legal obligations - the use of drones to carry out what are effectively assassinations; the use of the term “enemy or unlawful combatant” rather than “prisoner of war” to avoid Geneva Convention obligations, or “enhanced or coercive interrogation” instead of “torture.”Last July, British pilots participated in military operations in Syria without parliamentary approval. The escape clause was that the pilots were embedded with US forces. Another view is that if the government is willing to deploy special forces, why not commit conventional ground troops, which the United States, Britain and France all admit are needed given the lack of a viable anti-ISIS force on the ground in Syria? There were the exaggerated claims made in December of up to 70,000 Syrian opposition forces who could take on ISIS - nothing close to these numbers have engaged the group in the field. The answer is that they know it is too risky, and prefer using special forces where there is no debate on the end goal and whether it is achievable. Special forces can be used without ministers having to answer awkward questions in public. Full-scale Western troop deployments are deemed too risky, perhaps wisely. It is time to be more honest and ditch the blanket “no comment” farce. Special forces are used, they have a role, and it is pointless to deny it, but they should not be above the law. Politicians have enough of a trust deficit as it is. Operational matters need not be discussed, but the strategic goals should be, not least when there still appears to be no strategy, just the broad goal of wiping out ISIS. Is it not time for the British authorities to show more transparency and open this issue for proper debate? It should not be mission creep in the shadows in a secret war with no end.

The Selfie show exaggerations
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/June 09/16
So far, season two of the satirical show, Selfie, has addressed some major issues related to Saudi Arabia. Many issues have been tackled during the first two episodes. Saudi critic Dr. Saad al-Bazei says it would have been better if the issues addressed were distributed across more than one episode. The purpose behind cramming up so many issues in one episode is to shock viewers regarding normal issues that will last for 100 more years. Comedy has the capacity to convince people. Sometimes, satire is deeper than thoughts. When issues are addressed repeatedly, it’s becomes a must to resort to black comedy. As a result, satire resembled black comedy in the second episode which tackled the subject of religious sects. It was a shocking episode despite being extremely funny. The viewers’ laughter were like cries over the bitter reality. The purpose behind cramming up so many issues in one episode is to shock viewers regarding normal issues that will last for 100 more years
Emotions and reality
Real comedy shocks viewers and moves their emotions toward reality. It is normal for some to get angry over comedy but it is not normal to demand realism from it. Satire and comedy are based on exaggerations and are meant to attract attention and get one to focus on the issue being discussed. Those who request objectivity or realism in comedy are demanding the impossible. It is – as poet Abu Hassan al-Tahami said – like expecting fire in water. Satirical ideas and comic scenes may influence much more than deep words of wisdom and ambiguous scenes. This article was first published in Okaz on Jun. 09, 2016.

Public Support for the European Union Plunges/"The EU policy elites are in panic"
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/June 09/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8224/european-union-support
Public anger is also being fueled by the growing number of diktats issued by the unelected officials running the Brussels-based European Commission, the powerful administrative arm of the bloc, which has been relentless in its usurpation of sovereignty from the 28 nation states that comprise the European Union.
Although the survey does not explicitly say so, the findings almost certainly reflect growing anger at the anti-democratic nature of the EU and its never-ending power grabs.
On May 31, the EU, in partnership with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft, unveiled a "code of conduct" to combat the spread of "illegal hate speech" online. Critics say the EU's definition of "hate speech" is so vague that it could include virtually anything deemed politically incorrect by European authorities, including criticism of mass migration, Islam or even the EU itself.
On April 20, the European Political Strategy Centre, an in-house EU think tank that reports directly to Juncker, proposed that the European Union establish its own central intelligence agency, which would answer only to unelected bureaucrats.
Public opposition to the European Union is growing in all key member states, according to a new survey of voters in ten EU countries.
Public disaffection with the EU is being fueled by the bloc's mishandling of the refugee and debt crises, according to the survey, which interviewed voters in Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden.
Public anger is also being fueled by the growing number of diktats issued by the unelected officials running the Brussels-based European Commission, the powerful administrative arm of the bloc, which has been relentless in its usurpation of sovereignty from the 28 nation states that comprise the European Union.
The 17-page report, "Euroskepticism Beyond Brexit," was published by the Pew Research Center on June 7, just two weeks before the June 23 referendum on whether Britain will become the first country to leave the European Union (Brexit blends the words Britain and exit).
The following are excerpts:
Much of the disaffection with the EU among Europeans can be attributed to Brussels' handling of the refugee issue. In every country surveyed, overwhelming majorities disapprove of how Brussels has dealt with the crisis. This includes 94% of Greeks, 88% of Swedes and 77% of Italians. In Hungary and Poland, disapproval of how the refugee crisis has been managed stands at 72% and 71%, respectively. In France, 70% disapprove; in Germany the figure is 67%. The strongest approval of EU management of the refugee crisis is in the Netherlands, but that backing is a tepid 31%.
The EU's handling of economic issues is another huge source of disaffection with Brussels. About nine-in-ten Greeks (92%) disapprove of how the EU has dealt with the ongoing economic crisis. Roughly two-thirds of the Italians (68%), French (66%) and Spanish (65%) similarly disapprove. (France and Spain are the two nations where the favorability of the EU has recently experienced the largest decline.) Majorities in Sweden (59%) and the UK (55%) also disapprove of the EU's job in dealing with economic challenges. The strongest approval of Brussels' economic efforts is in Poland and Germany (both 47%).
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Britons say they want the EU to return certain powers to national governments. This Euroskepticism is not limited to Britain. In Greece, 68% of those surveyed want some EU powers devolved to the national government, followed by Sweden (47%); the Netherlands (44%) and Germany (43%).
A median of 42% of Europeans across the ten countries surveyed say they want to reclaim some powers from Brussels, while just 19% favor greater centralization (27% prefer the status quo).
Conversely, there is little enthusiasm for transferring more power to Brussels. Only 6% of Britons, 8% of Greeks and 13% of Swedes favor more power for the EU. The strongest backing for an ever closer Europe is only 34%, in France. In most countries, a quarter or more of the public prefers to keep the current division of power.
Three-quarters of Britons who disapprove of the EU's handling of economic problems and 71% of those who have an unfavorable view of the bloc's handling of the refugee crisis believe that Brussels should return powers to national governments.
The strongest backers of the EU are the Poles (72%) and the Hungarians (61%). In many other nations, support is tepid. Just 27% of the Greeks, 38% of the French (down from 69% in 2004) and 47% of the Spanish (down from 80% in 2007) have a favorable opinion of the EU. Notably, 44% of the British view the EU favorably, including 53% of the Scottish.
EU favorability is down in five of the six nations surveyed in both 2015 and 2016. There has been a double-digit drop in France (down 17 percentage points) and Spain (16 points), and single-digit declines in Germany (8 points), the United Kingdom (7 points) and Italy (6 points).
Young people — those ages 18 to 34 — are more favorable toward the European Union than people 50 and older in six of the 10 nations surveyed. The generation gap is most pronounced in France — 25 percentage points — with 56% of young people but only 31% of older people having a positive opinion of the EU. There are similar generation gaps of 19 points in the UK, 16 points in the Netherlands, 14 points in Poland and Germany, and 13 points in Greece. It remains unclear why young Europeans are so favorable to the EU, where youth unemployment is near 50% in some EU countries.
There is overwhelming sentiment across Europe that Brexit would be a bad thing for the European Union: 89% in Sweden, 75% in the Netherlands and 74% in Germany say the British leaving would not be good for the EU. France is the only country where more than a quarter (32%) of the public says it would be positive for the EU if the UK departed.
Although the survey does not explicitly say so, the findings almost certainly reflect growing anger at the anti-democratic nature of the EU and its never-ending power grabs.
On May 31, the European Union, in partnership with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft, unveiled a "code of conduct" to combat the spread of "illegal hate speech" online in Europe. Critics say the initiative amounts to an assault on free speech in Europe because the EU's definition of "hate speech" and "incitement to violence" is so vague that it could include virtually anything deemed politically incorrect by European authorities, including criticism of mass migration, Islam or even the European Union itself.
On May 24, the unelected president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, vowed to use sanctions to isolate far-right or populist governments that are swept into office on the wave of popular anger against migration. Under powers granted to the European Commission in 2014, Juncker can trigger a "rule of law alert" for countries that depart from "the common constitutional traditions of all member states." Rather than accepting the will of the people at the voting booth, Juncker can impose sanctions to address "systemic deficiencies" in EU member states.
On May 4, Juncker warned that EU countries that failed to "show solidarity" by refusing take in migrants would face a fine of €250,000 ($285,000) per migrant.
On April 20, the European Political Strategy Centre, an in-house EU think tank that reports directly to Juncker, proposed that the European Union establish its own central intelligence agency, which would answer only to unelected bureaucrats. According to the plan, the 28 EU member states would have a "legally binding duty to share information."The British Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Penny Mordaunt, responded: "These matters are supposed to be, and must be the competence of member states. Intelligence sharing can only be done on a bilateral basis. This latest EU integration project not only shows how little the EU cares for the sovereignty of nation states, but also how little it understands the business of counter-terrorism."
On December 15, 2015, the European Commission unveiled plans for a new European Border and Coast Guard force that can intervene anywhere in the EU, even without the host country's consent.
On March 8, 2015, Juncker said that the EU needed its own military in order to restore the bloc's standing around the world: "Europe's image has suffered dramatically and also in terms of foreign policy, we don't seem to be taken entirely seriously."
Jean-Claude Juncker, the unelected president of the European Commission, recently vowed to use sanctions to isolate far-right or populist governments that are swept into office on the wave of popular anger against migration. In December 2015, the Commission unveiled plans for a new European Border and Coast Guard force that can intervene anywhere in the EU, even without the host country's consent. (Image source: © European Union 2015 - European Parliament)
In a recent interview with Le Monde, Juncker said that if Britons voted to leave the EU, they would be treated as "deserters":
"I am sure the deserters will not be welcomed with open arms. If the British should say 'No' — which I hope they do not — then life in the EU will not go on as before. The United Kingdom will be regarded as a third country and will have its fur stroked the wrong way (caresser dans le sens du poil). If the British leave Europe, people will have to face the consequences. It is not a threat but our relations will no longer be what they are today."
In an interview with the Telegraph, Giles Merritt, director of the Friends of Europe think tank in Brussels, summed it up this way:
"The EU policy elites are in panic. If the British vote to leave the shock will be so ghastly that they will finally wake up and realize that they can no longer ignore demands for democratic reform. They may have to dissolve the EU as it is and try to reinvent it, both in order to bring the Brits back and because they fear that the whole political order will be swept away unless they do."
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter. His first book, Global Fire, will be out in 2016.
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