LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

March 22/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.march22.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 13/22-30:"Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’ He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, "Lord, open to us", then in reply he will say to you, "I do not know where you come from."Then you will begin to say, "We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets."But he will say, "I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!"There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out.Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.’"

Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins; but God’s wrath has overtaken them at last.
First Letter to the Thessalonians 02/13-17:"We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers. For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone.by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins; but God’s wrath has overtaken them at last. As for us, brothers and sisters, when, for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you in person, not in heart we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 22/16
Trump names foreign policy team members, Dr. Walid Phares is one of them/NICK GASS/Politico/March 21/16

Reports In Arab, Lebanese Media: Hizbullah Has Pulled Some Of Its Troops From Syria/MEMRI/March 21/16

Erdogan takes authoritarian rule to new heights in war on PKK/Week in Review/Al-Monitor/March 21/16
What is required from Iran for rapprochement/Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/March 21/16
Syria and the Islamic Military Alliance/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/March 21/16
Can the EU-Turkey refugee deal achieve its objectives/Raed Omari/Al Arabiya/March 21/16
Strategic constants behind the Russian withdrawal/Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/March 21/16
Claims that Istanbul bomber targeted Israelis - Turkish disinformation/DEBKAfile Special Report March 21/16
 

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on March 22/16

Trump names foreign policy team members, Dr. Walid Phares is one of them
Nasrallah Warns Israel over Nuclear Sites, Accuses LF of Seeking Hizbullah-FPM Dispute
Reports In Arab, Lebanese Media: Hizbullah Has Pulled Some Of Its Troops From Syria
Hezbollah Brigades vows to attack US forces 'defending ISIS' in Iraq
Salam Wants to Fill Vacuum amid Report on Search for Other Candidates
Arsal Hostages Case in Limelight on Mother's Day
3 Ministries Cooperate on Safety of Wheat Imports
Beirut Buses Provide Rare Bridge to IS Turf
Kuwait expels 14 accused of Hezbollah links
11 Hizbullah-Linked Lebanese Declared 'Persona Non Grata' in Kuwait
Asiri: Saudi Arabia's Doors Open for Lebanese and Investments
Sukleen Employees 'Assault' Protesters at Sit-in outside Firm HQ
Bassil Rejects his Foes' 'Logic,' Says People's Choice on Presidency Falls on FPM
Berri, Salam Agree to Ask Ban for U.N. Demarcation of Maritime Border
UAE Says Keen on Ties with Lebanon after 'Baseless' Reports on Ambassador
Mogherini Meets Salam, Bassil, Underlines Political Solution to End Refugee Plight
Sami Gemayel: President Must Have Economic Vision, Ability to Neutralize Lebanon from Region Conflicts

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 22/16

Some US Marines on ground in Iraq ‘to fight ISIS’
Russia will act alone against Syria truce breaches
Biden casts doubts on Israeli peace efforts
Investigators have trouble with crashed Dubai plane's data
Kurds gather for festival in southeast Turkey under tight security
Biden says Israel settlements raise questions about commitment to peace
North Korea fires 5 short-range projectiles
Turkish monitors arrive on Greek islands for migrant deal
Israel 'Rescues' 19 Jews from War-Torn Yemen in Covert Operation
Obama, Raul Castro Meet in Havana
Yemen Peace Talks Could Resume in Kuwait this Month
Syria Regime Pressured on Transition as Talks Open Second Week
Arab League Rejects Kurd-Led Moves for Federal Syria
U.N. Expert Slams Israel's 'Lack of Accountability'

Links From Jihad Watch Site for March 22/16
Iran-backed Shia militia says it will fight US Marines deployed to Iraq
Islamic State vows to punish anyone celebrating ‘spring festivals’ with 20 lashes
Islamic State threatens to “pursue and kill” members of Kaka’i religious minority if they don’t convert to Islam
Unusual pizza order delivers police to hideout of Paris jihad mass murderer Salah Abdeslam
France: Four Muslims linked to the Islamic State under investigation for jihad mass murder attack plan
Robert Spencer in FrontPage: The Democrats’ Soft Spot for Islam
Ahmadi propagandist claims foes of jihad, not jihad terror, responsible for suspicion of Islam
US, UK governments knew where girls kidnapped by Boko Haram were, but no one tried to rescue them
Turkey: Islamic State jihad bomber targeted Israelis, murdering three and wounding 11
The letter kills: L’Informale interview with Robert Spencer
Video: Muslim migrants punch, kick, ram journalists with car in Sweden’s “Little Mogadishu” no-go zone
Paris jihad mass murderers planning new jihad mass murder attacks
NYC: Leftist and Muslim anti-Trump protesters battle cops, scream “f–k the police!”
Jewish students frequently harassed and assaulted during Israeli Apartheid Week
Italian politician Mara Carfagna: “If the West abandons Israel, it will be abandoning itself”
Police report: 90 potential jihad suicide bombers “roaming” EU, arrived via Muslim migrant influx

Trump names foreign policy team members, Dr. Walid Phares is one of them
By NICK GASS/Politico/03/21/16

http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/03/21/nick-gasspolitico-trump-names-foreign-policy-team-members-dr-walid-phares-is-one-of-them/
http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/trump-foreign-policy-team-221049
For the first time in his nine-month-old campaign, Donald Trump on Monday revealed the names of five of his foreign policy advisers in an editorial board meeting with The Washington Post, the paper reported. Those named by Trump include counterterrorism expert Walid Phares; Carter Page, a long-time energy industry consultant; George Papadopoulos ("an oil and energy consultant. Excellent guy"); Joe Schmitz, a former inspector general at the Defense Department and later an executive at Blackwater; retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, "and quite a few more," Trump told the editorial board at the meeting in downtown Washington, where he was accompanied by campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and spokeswoman Hope Hicks. Phares, a professor at National Defense University who appears regularly on Fox News to discuss matters of national security and terrorism, also advised Mitt Romney during the 2012 campaign. His inclusion on Romney's team drew fierce criticism after comments surfaced in which he warned about the influence of sharia law in the United States. In a December 2015 briefing at the Center for Security Policy’s National Security Group, Phares outlined the "jihadist strata" and the growth of ISIS in the U.S. That discussion occurred 13 days after the San Bernardino shooting and a little more than a week after Trump called for a temporary shutdown of Muslims from entering the country. Kellogg, currently a vice president at defense contractor Cubic, previously served as commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and as a security-focused deputy to L. Paul Bremer in Iraq. His final job in the military was as director of Command, Control, Communications and Computers for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump told the Post that he plans to announce more names in the coming days. The Republican presidential frontrunner had, until Monday, declined to name specific advisers, telling MSNBC's "Morning Joe" last week that his primary consultant on foreign policy is himself. The Post said its meeting with Trump covered media libel laws, foreign policy, climate change and violence at his rallies.

 Nasrallah Warns Israel over Nuclear Sites, Accuses LF of Seeking Hizbullah-FPM Dispute
Naharnet/March 21/16/Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday ruled out an imminent Israeli attack or war against Lebanon as he warned that this group has the ability to target nuclear and biological sites in Israel in any future confrontation. “I rule out an Israeli attack or war against Lebanon in the near future,” said Nasrallah in an interview on al-Mayadeen television, dismissing recent media reports in this regard. “Any Israeli war on Lebanon would be an uncalculated adventure,” he warned, reassuring that “through its readiness, expertise, military skills and stance, the resistance has made the Israelis realize that any war on Lebanon will be very costly.” “We will not abide by any restrictions or red lines in the event of any war against Lebanon,” Nasrallah threatened, revealing that Hizbullah possesses “a full list of targets in occupied Palestine, including nuclear reactors and biological research centers.”Commenting on the latest Israeli military exercises, Hizbullah's chief noted that “Israel's military maneuvers are not new.”
“Some think that Hizbullah is preoccupied in Syria, but we have a team that is dedicated to the Israeli issue and everything the Israelis say,” he added. “If anyone in the enemy's entity is thinking of waging a limited military operation, I tell them that they are mistaken … We will not allow the Israelis to impose a new equation and any step by them will be an uncalculated adventure. We will respond to any attack in a manner that protects our country and the Israelis must expect anything from us,” Nasrallah warned. Asked whether the latest Arab League decision that labeled Hizbullah as terrorist could encourage Israel to wage an attack against Hizbullah, Nasrallah noted that “Israel does not wait for an Arab cover to wage its wars,” stressing that “it only weighs its interest and seeks U.S. approval.”Turning to Syria, Hizbullah's chief accused Saudi Arabia of blocking any “political solution” to the conflict, adding that he does not expect progress on the political track.
“The political solution must not be imposed on the Syrians by the foreign forces. The Turks might be more realistic than the Saudis regarding the precondition of President (Bashar) Assad's departure,” he said. Nasrallah also declared that all claims that Hizbullah might withdraw from Syria in the wake of Russia's pullout are baseless. “Our presence these is linked to a goal. We are contributing to preventing the fall of Syria into the hands of Daesh (Islamic State group), al-Nusra (Front) and the takfiri groups,” he said.“We went there for this goal and as long as this objective needs us, we will be where we should be,” Nasrallah underlined. “We are capable of sending more forces but we are not seeking a military solution. We want to curb the bloodshed and we want the opposition to achieve some of its legitimate demands,” he added.Asked about al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri's return to Lebnaon, Nasrallah noted that he is willing to meet with the former premier “if the Hizbullah-Mustaqbal dialogue requires such a meeting.” He noted however that “any meeting should lead to political results,” voicing skepticism about such an outcome in the current period. “Our representatives are meeting and discussing all issues. Things are deadlocked regarding the issue of the presidency and the electoral law,” Nasrallah explained.
Noting that “there is a problem called real partnership” in the country, Hizbullah's chief emphasized that “the fair and real solution that can reflect the true sizes of all political forces would be an electoral law based on proportional representation.” As for the presidency, Nasrallah accused the Lebanese Forces of trying to stir a dispute between Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement. “If we head to parliament, it is known that (FPM founder MP Michel) Aoun will not be elected,” Nasrallah noted, dismissing LF calls in this regard. “Our relation with (Speaker Nabih) Berri is not based on coercion and we are ethically committed to supporting Aoun's nomination,” Nasrallah added. “We have a clear commitment and as long as Aoun says he is a candidate, we will support him. We want a strong, firm president who cannot be bought with money, a president who does not bow to the power of the media or the regional and international forces,” he went on to say. Asked about the nomination of his other ally, Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh, Nasrallah stressed that the northern leader is “qualified to be a president.”“We trust him and he is our ally and friend,” he added. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and the FPM, Hizbullah and some of their allies have been boycotting the electoral sessions. Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his suggestion was rejected by the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The Hizbullah-led March 8 camp, as well as March 14's Lebanese Forces, have argued that Aoun is more eligible than Franjieh to become president given the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Reports In Arab, Lebanese Media: Hizbullah Has Pulled Some Of Its Troops From Syria
MEMRI/March 21, 2016 Special Dispatch No.6355

http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/03/21/memri-reports-in-arab-lebanese-media-hizbullah-has-pulled-some-of-its-troops-from-syria/
Recently there has been a series of reports in the Lebanese and Arab press that Hizbullah has begun withdrawing its troops from Syria, reports which the organization has repeatedly denied.
The reports come against the backdrop of several important developments that have occurred in the region in the last few weeks: the decision taken by the Saudi-led Gulf and by most other Arab countries to designate Hizbullah a terrorist organization; the UN-sponsored talks in Geneva between representatives of the Syrian regime and opposition, which began on March 14, 2016 in an attempt to promote a political solution in Syria; the current ceasefire in the country that came into force on February 27 and includes most of the warring sides, and finally Russia's withdrawal of some of its forces from Syria.
The following is a review of the recent reports on Hizbullah's withdrawal from Syria, and of the organization's denials:
Lebanese Janoubia Website: Hizbullah Is Withdrawing Troops From Syria
On March 14, 2016, the Lebanese Janoubia website, which is run by Shi'ite Lebanese journalist 'Ali Al-Amin, known for his opposition to Hizbullah, posted the following report, citing sources close to the organization: "Yesterday night [March 13], hundreds of Hizbullah troops that had been fighting in Syria began returning to their homes in the Southern Dahiya of Beirut, suddenly and without advance announcement." The website assessed that the main reason for the move was Russia's decision, declared by President Putin on March 14, to withdraw some of its forces from the country. It speculated further that Hizbullah's pullout from Syria was part of an agreement that had recently taken shape between Russia and the U.S. to promote a political process between the warring sides in Syria and to prevent any element from sabotaging this process. Hizbullah's withdrawal, said the website, suggests that Iran and Hizbullah are committed to this agreement, though they have not officially declared this.[1]
The next day, the Turkish news agency Anadolu cited Al-Amin as saying that Hizbullah was likely "to withdraw its troops from areas [in northwestern Syria,] like the Aleppo [area], but not from Damascus and from regions along the Lebanese border, such as Al-Qalamoun and Al-Zabadani."[2]
Hizbullah: These Rumors Are Groundless
The same day, March 15, Hizbullah's military media bureau released a statement via Facebook to the affect that "these rumors [about a Hizbullah withdrawal] are groundless and are part of the failed psychological warfare to which we are accustomed." The organization added that the rumors are spread by "foreign news agencies and Arab media [that] work in coordination with the terrorist organizations," and urged other media "not to be fooled and not to spread these lies and rumors." It stated further that "the last word in Syria will still be uttered by [the forces on] the battlefield, which are making daily progress in isolating the terrorists and in thwarting the countries that support them."[3]
Janoubia And Other Sources Reiterate The Claims
Another report by the Janoubia website, on March 15, cited two sources (one described as "knowledgeable" and another as close to Hizbullah operatives) as confirming that Hizbullah had fully withdrawn from some of its positions in Syria and had taken up new positions elsewhere in the country.[4]
Also on March 15, the Kurdish Syrian website ARA News cited Lebanese media activist Ahmad Salman as confirming the reports about Hizbullah's retreat. Salman assessed that the withdrawal was a result of popular pressure on Hizbullah inside Lebanon, and also of the attack on Hizbullah by the Gulf states and Arab countries that had recently designated it a terrorist organization.[5]
According to a March 18 report in the Lebanese daily Al-Liwa, Lebanese security sources confirmed to senior Lebanese authorities the claims about a Hizbullah pullout.[6] On March 19, the London-based UAE daily Al-Arab reported, citing several sources, that Hizbullah had changed its deployment in Syria from offensive to defensive and had retreated from several fronts. The daily added that some troops had returned to Lebanon, while others had been transferred to different parts of Syria, including to areas with a Shi'ite majority. The sources listed two reasons for the move: the ceasefire that recently came into force in Syria; and concerns that, following Hizbullah's designation as a terrorist organization, its forces would be targeted by both opposition elements and by the jets of the international coalition. The daily also quoted Mustafa Ahmad Al-Sheikh, a high-ranking officer who defected from the Syrian army, as saying that, in addition to the Arab states, Russia too had exerted pressure, both military and political, against Hizbullah's activity in Syria.[7]
Hizbullah Deputy Sec. Gen. Repeats The Denial: "Hizbullah Is Still In The Field"
The flurry of reports prompted another denial from Hizbullah, this time by deputy secretary-general Na'im Qassem, who said on March 18 that "Russia's partial withdrawal [of its forces] does not affect the military forces that are supporting the Syrian army and its allies in the fight against ISIS, [Jabhat] Al-Nusra and their allies... Hizbullah is still in the field, as it was, and has not changed its moves, its [level of] readiness or its plan."[8]
Endnotes:
[1] Janoubia.com, March 14, 2016.
[2] Aa.com.tr, March 15, 2016.
[3] Facebook.com/Military.Media.Syria.Central1, March 15, 2016.
[4] Janoubia.com, March 15, 2016.
[5] Aranews.org, March 15, 2016.
[6] Al-Liwa (Lebanon), March 18, 2016.
[7] Al-Arab (London) March 19, 2016.
[8] Al-Safir (Lebanon), March 19, 2016.

Hezbollah Brigades vows to attack US forces 'defending ISIS' in Iraq
Jerusalem Post/March 21/16/Hezbollah Brigades fighters in Iraq have threatened to attack the American soldiers stationed in the country, following the decision by the US army to send reinforcements to Iraq to support the international coalition in its fights against ISIS. In a statement released Sunday, the Iranian-backed organization active in Iraq and in the Syrian civil war, claimed: "the United States increasingly intervenes in Iraq's issues with its presence in the Iraqi joint operations command."While the US army says it is sending reinforcements to Iraq to help the international coalition vanquish ISIS, Hezbollah Brigades' statement claimed the opposite. "ISIS, the stepdaughter of the Americans, is taking its last breaths, so the Americans dispatched their ground troops to protect the "clinically dead" body of ISIS," Hezbollah Brigades' statement read. "We have vanquished the American occupation with our quality and quantity in the past and we will continue attacking them, with our resources significantly increased. Iraq's streets are still filled with the ruins of their vehicles that destroyed our explosive devices, and those injured by their soldiers are still hospitalized. "The occupation's coward soldiers should understand that however protective their vehicles are, these vehicles will become an obstacle for them and they will burn to death inside them," the statement read. Hezbollah Brigades, known in Arabic as Kata'ib Hezbollah, is not directly affiliated to the Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah. However, according to American forces, the group received training and logistical aid from the Iranian Quds force as well as from Lebanese Hezbollah. Hezbollah Brigades' statement comes shortly after Colonel Steve Warren, the Spokesman of the US military operation against ISIS, announced Sunday that a group of Marines will reinforce the existing force in Iraq to support the international coalition's efforts against ISIS.On Saturday, an American Marine troop who served at a coalition fire base near Makhmur in northern Iraq was killed after the base came under ISIS rocket fire. Several other Marines were wounded in this ISIS attack.

Salam Wants to Fill Vacuum amid Report on Search for Other Candidates
Naharnet/March 21/16/Prime Minister Tammam Salam has reiterated his call for the swift election of a president amid a report that officials will begin to propose names of new candidates in an attempt to end the 22-month vacuum that has gripped the country. Salam told his visitors on Sunday that all political parties should head to the parliament and exercise their constitutional rights through the election of a new head of state. “It is no longer important” which candidate will be elected, said the PM, whose remarks were published in An Nahar newspaper on Monday. “There should be consensus on any personality to fill the vacuum because the country can no longer tolerate the repercussions of such a vacuum,” Salam added. But the next session set for the election of a president on Wednesday will have the same fate of its predecessors as long as MP Michel Aoun is holding onto his candidacy and lawmaker Suleiman Franjieh is doing the same. Aoun is backed by the majority of his March 8 allies and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, who is a member of the March 14 coalition. As for Franjieh, he is supported by the head of the March 14 alliance, Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri. The failure to elect a president as a result of the lack of quorum pushed political circles to expect officials to start discussing ways to choose other candidates. Some parties have expressed resentment at the alliance between Aoun and Geagea, the sources told An Nahar. FPM and centrist sources said, meanwhile, that the movement and the LF are mulling to hold street protests. While the two parties' sources denied to al-Akhbar daily that they would make any move ahead of Wednesday's session, they said they are “studying and preparing for popular and political plans” for later. Baabda Palace has been vacant since the term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014.

Arsal Hostages Case in Limelight on Mother's Day
Naharnet/March 21/16/The families of nine Lebanese servicemen held hostage by the Islamic State extremist group blocked on Monday the road between the northeastern border towns of Labweh and Arsal to protest their continued captivity. The relatives said they held their protest on the occasion of Mother's Day to shed light on their suffering. They set in the middle of the road holding photographs of their loved ones. The protesters issued a statement apologizing from the Lebanese people and the residents of Arsal on the road closure. The statement appealed for mercy for the mothers of the captives and called for the people's support to bring the hostages back home. The soldiers and policemen remain in captivity since August 2014 when jihadists from the IS and al-Nusra Front overran Arsal and took with them hostages following bloody clashes with the Lebanese army. While al-Nusra Front freed 16 servicemen in exchange for Islamist prisoners last December, there are no news on the hostages taken by the IS. The last time the relatives of the captives held a protest was in February when they held a sit-in near Casino du Liban in the town of Maameltein, north of Beirut.

3 Ministries Cooperate on Safety of Wheat Imports
Naharnet/March 21/16/Three cabinet ministers agreed on Monday to form a task force to resolve the problem of imported wheat days after Health Minister Wael Abou Faour and Economy Minister Alain Hakim exchanged accusations on the issue. The two ministers, in addition to Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb, stressed that they are cooperating and hoped that the task force would come up with a clear proposal in the coming few days. One of their plans is to seek funding from the authorities to have silos that meet health standards. Abou Faour said last week that four out of six imported wheat samples taken by his ministry's inspectors contained ochratoxin. But Hakim snapped back, saying wheat samples that the economy ministry had tested were carcinogen-free. On Monday, the two ministers played down their saber-rattling. “The result of tests that we carried out do not contradict the results of the economy ministry,” said Abou Faour at a press conference that the three ministers held following a meeting. “The samples are different and not all the wheat is carcinogenic,” he added. As for Hakim, he also stressed that some wheat samples tested positive while others tested negative.
“The interest of the citizen comes before any misunderstanding” on the issue, said the minister.

Beirut Buses Provide Rare Bridge to IS Turf
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/16/"Raqa! Manbij! Al-Bab!" drivers call out at a bus station in the heart of bustling Beirut looking for passengers to make the perilous journey to Islamic State group strongholds in Syria. "Just before we reach the first Daesh checkpoint, everyone throws out their cigarettes," said Abu Ali, a bus driver in his 40s, using a derogatory Arabic name for IS."And we spray perfume in the bus so that they can't smell the tobacco, otherwise we'll be whipped!" he said with concern etched into his expression, as he prepared to travel up to Manbij in northern Syria. The jihadists, who apply their own extreme interpretation of Islam in areas of Syria and Iraq that they have seized since 2013, do more than just inspect the bus for cigarettes. "They even smell our hands to make sure we haven't smoked," said Jawad, another bus driver, also using a pseudonym for fear of retribution. Standing near his bus at the Charles Helou station near the Lebanese capital's harbor, another driver begged Agence France Presse journalists not to film either his face or his number plate. "These people, they're dangerous, and they can recognize the bus even from the most minor detail," said the terrified man.The buses, which leave from a bus station located in one of Beirut's busiest districts, are a rare link between IS-held turf in Syria and the outside world.
'Nescafe, toys, sugar'
Since IS began conquering swathes of Syria in 2013, the buses have made two journeys a week to areas under the jihadists' grip, often with no more than three passengers on board. In cities like Raqa, the IS de facto capital in northern Syria, and Al-Bab to the west, residents are banned from smoking or wearing clothes deemed inappropriate under the jihadists' interpretation of sharia law. "Women passengers always carry with them a full-face veil and they put it on before we reach the first IS checkpoint," located on the highway linking Dmeir near Damascus to the ancient city of Palmyra, Abu Ali said. Men must roll up their trousers to bare their ankles, also in line with IS rules on dress. Most of the passengers are Syrians going home to towns and cities that have fallen to IS, taking with them food, clothes, medicine and cash for their families. The drivers also act as delivery men, taking with them goods that are no longer available in parts of war-torn Syria. "We take coffee, Nescafe, toys and clothes for the children," said Mohammed, a driver just back in Beirut from Manbij. Abu Ali says the drivers also carry with them packets of sugar, which has become very expensive. But "mortadella (cold cuts) is strictly forbidden, because (IS fighters) can't be sure it's halal even if the packaging says it is".
No Kurds, Christians
On this frightening journey to jihadist-held turf, religious diversity is no longer welcome. "Before, our company would take members of the Assyrian, Syriac, Kurdish and Christian communities. Today, none of them can come on board," Jawad said. Marwan Zouro, a 55-year-old Kurdish laborer, said he would have to go to Damascus first, and then take a flight to his home city, Qamishli, in northeastern Syria. The journey is also made life-threatening by frequent fighting and air raids by the regime, Russia and the U.S.-led coalition on areas along the way. "Before the war, it took us four hours to make this journey; now, the route is 24 hours long," Abu Ali said. The buses leave from Beirut and pass through Damascus and Dmeir before reaching Palmyra in eastern Syria, in IS hands since spring last year. The vehicles then head northwest towards Raqa, Manbij, Maskana and Al-Bab near Turkey. "When the fighting is fierce, the regime doesn't let us through and we are forced to spend one or two nights on the road before we can continue on our journey," Abu Ali explained. Yet on one of the world's most dangerous routes, neither drivers nor passengers can ever be sure they'll make it to their destinations alive. "My colleague was heading back several days ago on the Palmyra road, when fighting broke out," Mohammed said. "I recognized his bus, its front was completely smashed in. He didn't make it."

Kuwait expels 14 accused of Hezbollah links
Reuters, Dubai/Monday, 21 March 2016/Kuwait has expelled 11 Lebanese and three Iraqis suspected of belonging to Hezbollah, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Monday, nearly three weeks after the country joined other Gulf Arab states in designating the Lebanese Shiite group a terrorist organisation. Al-Qabas cited a security source as saying the 14 people had been expelled at the request of the state security service. The Interior Ministry was not immediately available for comment. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) named Hezbollah, an Iranian-allied Islamist political movement that is fighting for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war, a terrorist group on March 2. The GCC, which groups six Sunni-ruled states -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar -- had already imposed sanctions on Hezbollah in 2013. Al-Qabas said Kuwait’s state security body had prepared a list of “unwanted” Lebanese and Iraqis, including advisers to major companies, for deportation “in the public interest”. At the time of the GCC decision, Secretary-General Abdullatif al-Zayani accused Hezbollah of recruiting young men to carry out terrorist attacks in Gulf states, smuggling in weapons and explosives, and inciting chaos, violence and political unrest. Hezbollah called the GCC decision “reckless and hostile” and blamed it on Saudi Arabia.

11 Hizbullah-Linked Lebanese Declared 'Persona Non Grata' in Kuwait
Naharnet/March 21/16/In a new series of expulsions, Kuwait has deported eleven Lebanese and three Iraqis after it has been proven that they belong to Hizbullah, the Kuwaiti al-Qabas daily reported on Monday. “They have been deported at the request of Kuwait's state security apparatus,” the daily quoted a Kuwaiti security source as saying on condition of anonymity. “The Assistant Undersecretary for Citizenship and Passports Major General Mazen Al-Jarrah has formed a specialized team to follow up on the requests of the state security with regard to the deportation requests,” the source stated.
“The State Security has prepared a new list that includes names of Lebanese and Iraqis some of whom are general managers or senior advisers in reputable companies who were declared persona non grata,” it added. “They should be deported for Kuwait's public interest,” it pointed out, adding that “their expulsion will prevent them form entering the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in the future.” The move comes shortly after Kuwait announced last week that 1,100 Lebanese and Syrian nationals will be banned from renewing their residence permits for having direct links to Hizbullah. Several of the expelled were forced to leave the country within a period of one month while the more “dangerous ones” were requested to leave immediately. Last week, the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper said that Kuwaiti authorities have started to prepare lists of Hizbullah supporters to prevent their arrival in the country and others in anticipation of their deportation. These measures began a week ago shortly after the GCC decided to consider Hizbullah as terrorist. The GCC's blacklisting of Hizbullah came in wake of Saudi Arabia's decision in February to halt an army grant to the Lebanese army over the party's harsh stances against the kingdom and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil's abstention to vote in favor of Arab League resolutions condemning attacks against Riyadh's embassy in Iran. The Arab League last week also voted in favor of labeling Hizbullah as a terrorist group, amid the abstention of Lebanon, Iraq, and Algeria. Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries have also issued travel advisories against Lebanon. A number of Lebanese expatriates living in these countries have also been deported.

Asiri: Saudi Arabia's Doors Open for Lebanese and Investments
Naharnet/March 21/16/Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri confirmed on Monday that the kingdom will always be the best destination for Lebanese businessmen, assuring that it will keep its doors open for them and for their investments. “The kingdom was and will remain the best destination for Lebanese businessmen. It will keep its doors open,” Asiri told Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Magazine in an interview. He called on business persons to “engage in projects in Saudi Arabia because it is profitable investment. Lebanon only means well for the kingdom. End of discussion.”The ambassador added: “The reasons behind the latest political dispute with Lebanon are known, and what happened is not worthy of the historical relationship between the two countries.” “We were disappointed in some Lebanese who forgot or claim to have forgotten the kingdom's help for Lebanon,” he said, addressing those as saying: “I hope that you love Lebanon the way we love it and to stay away from anything that harms it politically, economically or security wise.”Relations between Riyadh and Lebanon deteriorated in February when Saudi Arabia halted a grant to the army in protest against Hizbullah's virulent criticism of the kingdom and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil's abstention from voting in favor of Arab League resolutions condemning attacks against the Saudi embassy in Iran in January. The kingdom urged its citizens against traveling to Lebanon. Gulf countries also issued similar advisories. On the presidential vacuum, Asiri urged the Lebanese to elect the “appropriate president.” He concluded by saying: “Despite the regional challenges I am not afraid for Lebanon. What we see of regional developments lead me to be optimistic about the fate and future of this country.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of president Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014.

Sukleen Employees 'Assault' Protesters at Sit-in outside Firm HQ
Naharnet/March 21/16/The We Want Accountability campaign on Monday accused employees from the Sukleen waste management firm of beating up its protesters during a sit-in outside the company's headquarters in Karantina. The campaign also posted pictures of a protester with a bruised face on its Facebook page. On Sunday, unknown individuals torched a Sukleen garbage truck in the Dawhat Aramoun area in protest at the reopening of the controversial Naameh landfill. We Want Accountability has recently accused Sukleen of corruption in its handling of the country's waste management file in the past two decades. On March 2, Financial Prosecutor Ali Ibrahim filed a lawsuit against the Sukleen and Sukomi firms on charges of “squandering public funds.” Ibrahim's move was based on a lawsuit that was filed by Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel. Gemayel has also filed a lawsuit against the Council for Development and Reconstruction for its long running failure to follow up on the trash management file since Sukleen and its subsidiary Sukomi were tasked with collecting, sorting and land-filling garbage in Beirut and Mount Lebanon in 1994. Stressing that Sukleen should have been inquired about its procedures of handling and sorting the waste, Gemayel lashed out saying: “For many years, Sukleen has been responsible for removing the trash and has failed in its work. Instead of land-filling 20% of the garbage, it was land-filling 80% in Naameh, which brought us to this disaster today.”Reports have emerged that Sukleen has failed to abide by the conditions that were set in the contract with regard to the amounts of trash that should have been sorted, recycled and land-filled. Sukleen has recently issued a statement in which it clarified that it had been “campaigning, without success, since 1997 to have the Government provide (it) with more land, as per the contracts, to build additional composting and sorting plants.”“For this purpose, and during our years of operation, 323 letters have been sent to the concerned authorities. These letters are documented in our registers and in the registers of the authorities who have received them,” the firm added.Lebanon's most recent trash management crisis erupted in July 2015 after the closure of the Naameh landfill that receives the trash of the capital and Mount Lebanon. The crisis, which sparked unprecedented protests against the entire political class, has seen streets, forests and riverbanks overflowing with waste and the air filled with the smell of rotting and burning garbage. On Saturday, workers began removing tons of rubbish that have piled up around Beirut under a government plan aimed at ending the eight-month crisis. Civil society activists and environmental experts meanwhile lashed out at the government's plan, warning that it does nothing to allay the ecological concerns that took them to the streets in the first place. The government last week said it would reopen the Naameh landfill for two months to ease the crisis, but civil society activists have opposed the plan, demanding a more environmentally sound solution. Naameh was set up in the early 1990s as a temporary measure. Activists and nearby residents have long opposed the use of the site but when it was shut in July no alternative was proposed. Two other landfills are also planned for Bourj Hammoud, a mainly Armenian suburb of northern Beirut, and Costa Brava to the south of the capital, likely for four years. The government also intends to set up a landfill for the Aley and Chouf regions.

Bassil Rejects his Foes' 'Logic,' Says People's Choice on Presidency Falls on FPM
Naharnet/March 21/16/Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil slammed his foes on Monday for allegedly paralyzing the presidential elections and violating the National Pact through their rejection of the candidacy of his father-in-law MP Michel Aoun, the founder of the Free Patriotic Movement. “We won't allow anyone to impose on us a logic that does not impose on himself,” said Bassil, who took over the leadership of the FPM last year. “As long as the people's choice falls on us, then they are violating the National Pact and paralyzing the elections,” Bassil told An Nahar newspaper. The minister reiterated his call on consensus over Aoun. But al-Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri, who heads the March 14 alliance, has been holding onto the candidacy of Marada chief lawmaker Suleiman Franjieh. Lebanon has been without a head of state since President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended in May 2014. The lawmakers of Hizbullah, which heads the March 8 coalition, and Aoun's Change and Reform bloc have been boycotting parliamentary sessions aimed at electing a president over lack of agreement on a consensual candidate. Bassil also criticized the recent branding of Hizbullah a terrorist organization by the Saudi-led bloc of six Gulf Arab nations. The move has heightened tensions between the group and the GCC states. “Hizbullah is not terrorist. It is a resistance and a basic component of Lebanon,” said the foreign minister.He accused Gulf states of seeking to hold Lebanon and the government responsible for Hizbullah's role in Syria although the party's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has distanced the cabinet from the group's involvement in the war in the neighboring country. Bassil said that Hizbullah “should understand us and help us in some things.”On the other hand, Gulf countries should be aware that they cannot link the Lebanese state with what Hizbullah says. “The most important thing is that neither Iran can drag us to a war with Saudi Arabia and Gulf states, nor the latter can force us to fight Iran,” Bassil told An Nahar. “We are in a war against terror and not in an axis with this and that side,” he added.

Berri, Salam Agree to Ask Ban for U.N. Demarcation of Maritime Border
Naharnet/March 21/16/Speaker Nabih Berri said Monday that he has agreed with Prime Minister Tammam Salam to ask U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon for the demarcation of Lebanon's maritime border. Berri told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that the demarcation of Lebanon's Exclusive Economic Zone would resolve Lebanon's maritime conflict with Israel. Lebanon and Israel are at loggerheads over the 850 kilometers of territorial water that each claims as part of its EEZ. Beirut argues that a maritime map it submitted to the U.N. is in line with an armistice accord drawn up in 1949, an agreement which is not contested by Israel. “It is no longer acceptable for this issue to remain frozen,” Berri said. “It should be put on the move again in the government and at all levels so that Lebanon benefits from its natural resources,” he told the newspaper. The speaker stressed that the U.N. can demarcate the maritime border the same way it demarcated the Blue Line, the U.N.-monitored border between Israel and Lebanon. Berri said he already stirred the issue with Amos Hochstein, the Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs leading the Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) at the U.S. Department of State, during his visit to Beirut last year. The speaker stated that Hochstein sought to resolve the conflict between Lebanon and Israel. But Berri said that the only solution would come if the U.N. demarcates the EEZ with Washington's cooperation. In January, the leaders of Cyprus, Greece and Israel pledged to work together to seize opportunities emerging from newly found offshore gas reserves in order to bolster stability and security in a region wracked by conflict. The leaders agreed to set up a tripartite committee to study the possibility of building a pipeline to carry natural gas found in waters off Israel and Cyprus to Europe via Greece.

UAE Says Keen on Ties with Lebanon after 'Baseless' Reports on Ambassador
Naharnet/March 21/16/The United Arab Emirates stressed Sunday its keenness on the ties with Lebanon, denying media reports about delaying the return of its ambassador to Beirut. “Local media outlets have circulated inaccurate reports in the past two days, claiming that the UAE ambassador to Lebanon was not able to leave his country's airport for Lebanon following a family visit except after the intervention of his country's foreign ministry,” the embassy's press office said in a statement. “These reports are false and baseless and everyone knows the nature of the ties that gather the UAE and Lebanon,” the embassy added. The UAE “understands how critical the situation in Lebanon and it had appointed an ambassador amid the presidential vacuum that Lebanon is currently going through,” it said. Seven people have gone on trial in the United Arab Emirates on charges of forming a cell linked to Lebanon's Hizbullah, reports said Tuesday. The UAE was one of the Gulf countries that banned their citizens from traveling to Lebanon in the wake of a series of Saudi measures against Lebanon and Hizbullah. On March 2, the Gulf Cooperation Council -- which groups Saudi Arabia, the UAE and four other countries -- -- declared Hizbullah a "terrorist" group over alleged "hostile actions" in the Gulf countries and "terrorist acts and incitement in Syria, Yemen and in Iraq." Saudi Arabia last month halted a $3 billion program for military supplies to Lebanon in protest against Hizbullah. Announcing the funding cut, a Saudi official said the kingdom noticed "hostile Lebanese positions resulting from the stranglehold of Hizbullah on the state."He specifically cited Lebanon's refusal to join the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in condemning attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran in January. Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran after demonstrators burned its embassy and a consulate following the Saudi execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shiite dissident cleric.

Mogherini Meets Salam, Bassil, Underlines Political Solution to End Refugee Plight
Naharnet/March 21/16/European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini kicked off on Monday an official visit to Lebanon by holding talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam and later Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, with the Syrian refugee crisis at the heart of discussions. Bassil emphasized that Lebanon's constitution “prohibits the naturalization of Syrian refugees.” He highlighted during a joint press conference with the EU official the need to reach a political solution to the crisis in Syria in order to ease the refugee burden. “Lebanon can no longer support this burden,” he said. “The safe return of Syrian refugees to their country can precede a political solution to the crisis,” he added, while noting that Lebanese authorities have never resorted to force to thwart the flow of refugees. “Lebanon has been generous in taking in the displaced,” he said. For her part, Mogherini acknowledged the strain Lebanon is under due to the refugee influx, echoing Bassil's call for a political solution to the Syrian conflict. She hoped that a political mechanism would be reached in Syria to end the crisis and the refugees' plight. Bassil and Mogherini also touched on the growing threat of terrorism in the region and the world, with the minister stressing the need to exert more efforts to confront this danger. He thanked the EU for its support to Lebanon's stability, while Mogherini said that the union and Lebanon “have common interests in combating terrorism.”“The EU will continue on supporting Lebanon, but this is not enough as the Lebanese need to exert efforts of their own through state institutions,” she declared. During her one-day trip, Mogherini will visit a Syrian refugee informal settlement and a public school in the eastern Bekaa town of Bar Elias. She is scheduled to hold a press conference later in the day at the delegation of the European Union in Beirut. Mogherini arrived in the Lebanese capital from Brussels on Sunday night. The EU has already granted Lebanon 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) since the outbreak of war in neighboring Syria in 2011, she said. Mogherini's visit came as Europe grapples with its worst migrant crisis since World War II. But while over a million migrants reached Europe's shores in 2015 alone, Syria's neighbors have shouldered the bulk of the refugee crisis triggered by the five-year war. Lebanon alone is hosting around 1.5 million refugees -- a huge number for a country of four million people. Mogherini's visit also came as a landmark EU-Turkish deal took effect, with Brussels seeking to curb the influx to Europe. "Our work on Syrian refugees isn't only in Turkey but also very strong and from the very beginning in Lebanon," she said, adding that she would "bring the same message" on a visit to Amman on Tuesday. Lebanon has since the outbreak of war in Syria become home to the world's highest refugee population per capita. Turkey hosts 2.7 million Syrians, while over 630,000 have sought shelter in Jordan, according to the United Nations.

Sami Gemayel: President Must Have Economic Vision, Ability to Neutralize Lebanon from Region Conflicts
Naharnet/March 21/16/Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel has stressed that the country needs a president who has an “economic vision” and the ability to “neutralize Lebanon from the ongoing conflicts in the region instead of dragging it into them.”“For the country to witness a new beginning, it needs the election of a president – a competent, upright president who has an economic vision and who has the ability to oversee files and pull Lebanon out of its crises,” said Gemayel. “The president must have the ability to improve the country, run the cabinet … and shift us from one state to another,” the MP added. He said the country's next president must also “understand the young generation and have an economic plan that can create jobs for them.” “A strong president is not strong in himself but rather in the support he receives from the Christian parties, as was the case prior to the Taef Accord,” Gemayel noted. He added: “The president's strength lies in his ability to protect Lebanon from all forms of terrorism and to neutralize it from the ongoing conflicts in the region instead of dragging it into them, while preserving its ties with the countries of the region.”Warning that the country cannot withstand further “selfishness,” Gemayel emphasized that Lebanon's fate should not hinge on the election of a certain candidate as president. On Wednesday, Gemayel had stressed that his party's parliamentary bloc will not vote for Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh or Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun in the presidential elections. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and the FPM, Hizbullah and some of their allies have been boycotting the electoral sessions.Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his suggestion was rejected by the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The Hizbullah-led March 8 camp, as well as March 14's Lebanese Forces, have argued that Aoun is more eligible than Franjieh to become president given the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.
 

Some US Marines on ground in Iraq ‘to fight ISIS’
Reuters, Washington Monday, 21 March 2016/A detachment of US Marines is on the ground in Iraq to support US and coalition efforts against ISIS, the US military said on Sunday. A group of Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, will add to the US forces already in Iraq battling ISIS, it said. The 26th MEU is currently deployed in the US 5th Fleet area of operations, which covers the Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. A sailor cleans the canopy of an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the Knighthawks of Strike Fighter Attack Squadron 136 on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Fifth Fleet area of operations. (File photo: AP)

Russia will act alone against Syria truce breaches
By Reuters GenevaMonday, 21 March 2016/Russia will act unilaterally against those militants who violate ceasefire in Syria if Moscow does not reach agreement with the United States on a mechanism of detecting and preventing truce breaches, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday. The ceasefire agreement, worked out by Russia and the US, is largely respected, the ministry said. But the two nations, which co-chair the Syria International Support Group, have so far failed to agree on terms of preventing all cases of ceasefire violations, which sends a wrong signal to "those members of the opposition ... who have not dissociated themselves clearly enough from well-known terrorist groups”, it said. Russia’s general staff of the armed forces proposed earlier on Monday to hold an urgent meeting with US representatives to agree on the mechanism of controlling the ceasefire in Syria, saying it would act unilaterally starting from March 22 if it gets no response. The United States later rejected the call from Russia’s military, saying that its concerns were already being handled in a constructive manner. “We have seen the media reports on alleged Russian concerns over ceasefire violations. Whoever is making such statements must be misinformed, because these issues have been discussed at length already, and continue to be discussed, in a constructive manner, a US official told Reuters in Geneva.

Biden casts doubts on Israeli peace efforts
By Patricia Zengerle Reuters, Washington Monday, 21 March 2016/ US Vice President Joe Biden called on Israel’s government on Sunday to demonstrate its commitment to a two-state solution to end the conflict with the Palestinians and said settlement expansion is weakening prospects for peace. “Israel’s government’s steady and systematic process of expanding settlements, legalizing outposts, seizing land, is eroding in my view the prospect of a two-state solution,” Biden said in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a leading pro-Israel lobbying group. Biden said he did not agree with Israel President Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that expanded settlements would not interfere with any effort to settle the conflict. “Bibi (Netanyahu) thinks it can be accommodated, and I believe he believes it. I don’t,” Biden said. Biden said the region instead seems to be moving toward a one-state solution, which he termed dangerous. “There is no political will at this moment among Israelis or Palestinians to move forward with serious negotiations. And that’s incredibly disappointing,” Biden said. Israel says it intends to keep large settlement blocs in any future peace agreement with the Palestinians. Palestinians, who seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, say they fear Israeli settlement expansion will deny them a viable country. Palestinians have cited Israeli settlement activity as one of the factors behind the collapse of US-brokered peace talks in 2014, and a surge of violence over the past five months has dimmed hopes negotiations could be revived any time soon. “We’ve stressed to both parties the need to take meaningful steps to demonstrate their commitment to a two-state solution that extends beyond mere words,” Biden said. “There’s got to be a little ‘show-me.’ This cannot continue to erode,” he said. Biden was cheered for criticizing what he called Palestinian actions at the United Nations to undermine Israel, and he said changes in the region, including the united fight against Islamic State militants, could help thaw relations between Israel and its neighbors. Israel and the United States are also in talks on a generous military assistance agreement, he said. “It will, without a doubt, be the most generous security assistance package in the history of the United States,” Biden said of a pact expected to be worth billions of dollars annually to the Jewish state, the largest recipient of such US assistance.

Investigators have trouble with crashed Dubai plane's data
The Associated Press, MoscowMonday, 21 March 2016 /Russian investigators say they can't immediately read data from the flight recorders of a Dubai plane that crashed in southern Russia on Saturday, killing all 62 on board. Sergei Zaiko, deputy chairman of the Inter-State Aviation Committee which investigates the crash, told Russian television on Monday that the black boxes have been damaged to the point that the experts could not immediately read the data. He said, however, that they have copied data from the data recorder and have yet to do that for the voice recorder. Once it's done, the experts will see if they can extract the data, he said. FlyDubai's Boeing 737-800 nosedived and exploded in a giant fireball before dawn on Saturday on the runway of Rostov-on-Don after trying to land for a second time in strong winds.

Kurds gather for festival in southeast Turkey under tight security
By Seyhmus Cakan Reuters, Diyarbakir/TurkeyMonday, 21 March 2016/Thousands of Kurds gathered for the Newroz spring festival in Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey on Monday under tight security after months of fighting between security forces and Kurdish separatists, and a series of bombings in Istanbul and Ankara. The armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) attracts wide support among those attending the event, and lines of police searched people entering the festival area on the outskirts of the biggest city in mostly Kurdish southeast Turkey. Nevertheless, some revellers waved PKK flags and posters showing its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan, while others chanted "We will win by resisting!" "Long live Ocalan!" and "The PKK are the people, the PKK are here!" as music blared over the sound system. In a statement read out at last year's festival, Ocalan said the PKK's three-decade-old insurgency had become "unsustainable" and urged it to hold a congress on laying down its weapons. But shortly afterwards, a 2-1/2-year-old PKK ceasefire collapsed along with peace talks. Since then, fighting has become more intense than at any time since the 1990s, and hundreds have been killed across the southeast. On Monday, authorities lifted a curfew to allow the Newroz celebration to take place in Diyarbakir's Kaynartepe neighbourhood, but imposed tight security across the city, with police searching vehicles and checking identities in hotels and cafes. Security fears have also been heightened by the deaths of more than 80 people in bombings in Ankara and Istanbul this year. Some were carried out by Kurdish militants with links to the PKK, although a bombing that killed four people in Istanbul on Saturday was the work of Islamic State, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said on Sunday. He said 200,000 security force members would be maintaining security across the country over Newroz, also celebrated across Iran and central Asia, and that celebrations had been banned in much of Turkey but allowed in 18 provinces. More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK launched its insurgency in 1984. The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Biden says Israel settlements raise questions about commitment to peace
By Patricia Zengerle Reuters, WashingtonMonday, 21 March 2016 /U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called on Israel's government on Sunday to demonstrate its commitment to a two-state solution to end the conflict with the Palestinians and said settlement expansion is weakening prospects for peace. "Israel's government's steady and systematic process of expanding settlements, legalizing outposts, seizing land, is eroding in my view the prospect of a two-state solution," Biden said in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a leading pro-Israel lobbying group. Biden said he did not agree with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government that expanded settlements would not interfere with any effort to settle the conflict. "Bibi (Netanyahu) thinks it can be accommodated, and I believe he believes it. I don't," Biden said. Biden said the region instead seems to be moving toward a one-state solution, which he termed dangerous."There is no political will at this moment among Israelis or Palestinians to move forward with serious negotiations. And that's incredibly disappointing," Biden said. Israel says it intends to keep large settlement blocs in any future peace agreement with the Palestinians. Palestinians, who seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, say they fear Israeli settlement expansion will deny them a viable country. Palestinians have cited Israeli settlement activity as one of the factors behind the collapse of U.S.-brokered peace talks in 2014, and a surge of violence over the past five months has dimmed hopes negotiations could be revived any time soon. "We've stressed to both parties the need to take meaningful steps to demonstrate their commitment to a two-state solution that extends beyond mere words," Biden said. "There's got to be a little 'show-me.' This cannot continue to erode," he said. Biden was cheered for criticizing what he called Palestinian actions at the United Nations to undermine Israel, and he said changes in the region, including the united fight against ISIS militants, could help thaw relations between Israel and its neighbors. Israel and the United States are also in talks on a generous military assistance agreement, he said. "It will, without a doubt, be the most generous security assistance package in the history of the United States," Biden said of a pact expected to be worth billions of dollars annually to the Jewish state, the largest recipient of such U.S. assistance.

North Korea fires 5 short-range projectiles
By AP Seoul, South Korea Monday, 21 March 2016 /North Korea fired five short-range projectiles into the sea on Monday, Seoul officials said, in a continuation of weapon launches it has carried out in apparent response to ongoing South Korea-US military drills it sees as a provocation. The projectiles launched from a site near the northeastern city of Hamhung flew about 200 kilometers (125 miles) before landing in waters off North Korea's east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The South Korean military was attempting to determine whether the projectiles were missiles, artillery shells or rockets. The firings came three days after Seoul said North Korea launched its first medium-range ballistic missile into the sea since early 2014, ignoring UN resolutions against such tests. The firings appear to be North Korea’s response to annual springtime US-South Korean military exercises that it says are a rehearsal for an invasion. In the past two weeks North Korea has fired several short-range missiles and artillery shells into the sea and threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes against Washington and Seoul. This year’s drills are the largest ever, and come after North Korea conducted a nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch earlier this year, leading the UN Security Council to impose its toughest sanctions on the country in two decades. The US special representative for North Korean policy, Sung Kim, who is visiting Seoul, said Monday that North Korea “should refrain from all provocative actions, including missile tests, which are clearly in violation of Security Council resolutions.”On Sunday, North Korean state TV broadcast photos of leader Kim Jong Un supervising landing and defensive drills. The photos showed artillery blazing, navy ships landing as shells fell nearby, and soldiers running with the national flag. North Korea has a history of photo manipulation and there was no way to verify the authenticity of the photos.Last week, state media said Kim ordered tests of a nuclear warhead and ballistic missiles capable of carrying such armaments. He issued the orders while overseeing what state media called a successful simulated test of a re-entry vehicle aimed at returning a nuclear warhead to the atmosphere from space so it could hit its intended target. The re-entry vehicle is considered one of the last major technologies North Korea must master to develop long-range missiles equipped with nuclear weapons capable of reaching the US mainland. Analysts in South Korea said the medium-range missile launch last Friday may have been a test of the re-entry technology. North Korean state media have not commented on the reported launch. South Korean defense officials say North Korea doesn't yet have functioning intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Turkish monitors arrive on Greek islands for migrant deal
By AP Athens, GreeceMonday, 21 March 2016/Monitors from Turkey have arrived on the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios to help supervise an agreement aimed limiting the number of refugees flowing into the European Union via smugglers’ boats. The officers arrived Monday and were to stay for at least one week, as Greek authorities scrambled to implement the landmark deal reached last week between the EU and Turkey that includes faster refugee relocations to European countries as well as collective deportations of migrants from Greek islands back to Turkey. Greece’s conservative opposition criticized the Turkish arrivals, a controversial topic as Greece and Turkey have ongoing boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea. “I think it is particularly insulting to have Turkish officers operating on Greek territory,” Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, a former merchant marine minister, told private Skai television. Government figures released Monday said the number of stranded refugees in Greece exceeded 50,000 with no significant letdown in the number of daily arrivals. Four migrants died Sunday while trying to reach Greece, two men off the island of Lesbos and two girls off the tiny islet of Ro, the coast guard said, as smugglers appeared to be opting for more overnight trips and increasingly dangerous routes. Panos Skourletis, Greece’s environment minister, said smugglers needed to be stopped for the deal to work. “On paper, the agreement is balanced and the best result we could get,” he told private Mega television. “But no one can guarantee that it will work in practice. That will become clear over the next few days.”Under the deal, migrants arriving on Greek islands from Sunday onward will not be allowed to travel to the Greek mainland. But authorities here are still working out how newly-arrived refugees and migrants will be sent back to Turkey. EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras were meeting on the topic Monday in Athens. On the Greek mainland, army personnel continued expanding refugee shelters at sites in central and northern Greece - mostly at former army bases - so migrants who traveled to the Greek islands before the agreement came into effect could be resettled. Ferries transporting them from the islands were using the port of Elefsina, west of Athens, instead of the main commercial port of Piraeus, to allow authorities to cope with the increased numbers.

Israel 'Rescues' 19 Jews from War-Torn Yemen in Covert Operation
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/16/Israel has spirited 19 Jews out of war-torn Yemen in a "covert operation" to rescue some of the last remnants of one of the world's most ancient Jewish communities, officials said Monday. The operation transporting them to Israel almost brings to an end the Jewish community in Yemen, which once numbered around 60,000 people and dates back some 2,000 years.Only 50 or so Jews now remain in Yemen after choosing to stay, according to the Jewish Agency, responsible for immigration to Israel. Most of them -- around 40 -- live in a protected compound adjacent to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa."Nineteen individuals arrived in Israel in recent days, including 14 from the town of Raydah and a family of five from Sanaa," the agency said in a statement. "The group from Raydah included the community’s rabbi, who brought a Torah scroll believed to be between 500 and 600 years old." The Yemeni capital and the town of Raydah to its north are both controlled by Iran-backed Huthi-rebels who are battling loyalists of the internationally recognised government and its supporters in a Saudi-led coalition.The agency declined to provide details of the operation, but a spokesman said it took several months to prepare. It was initially to be carried out last week, but was delayed. Seventeen of those brought to Israel arrived on Sunday night. The others arrived over the preceding days. Photos distributed by the agency showed them arriving and unrolling the yellowed Torah scroll. They were taken to an immigration centre in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. "If you only knew," Jewish Agency spokesman Yigal Palmor told Agence France Presse. "Maybe one day we'll make a movie out of it. We are talking about a secret operation in a hostile environment. It is not easy to transport people who are visibly and recognisably Jews."Palmor said that "being a Jew in Yemen right now is extremely dangerous. The Huthi militants, for example, are openly anti-Semitic." - Operation Magic Carpet -The agency also arranged for the remains of Aharon Zindani, a Jewish man stabbed to death in Sanaa in 2012 by a Muslim who accused him of witchcraft, to be brought to Israel. Zindani's son and his family were the ones brought to Israel from the Yemeni capital in the latest operation. Yemen has been gripped by violence since September 2014, when the Huthi rebels, who had long complained of marginalisation, stormed Sanaa and forced the internationally recognised government to flee south. The Saudi-led coalition began bombing raids on Huthi positions across Yemen in March last year, but the insurgents still control swathes of the country including the capital. Al-Qaeda and Islamic State group jihadists have gained ground in southern Yemen since the coalition launched its air campaign. The Jewish Agency says more than 51,000 Yemenite Jews have immigrated to Israel since the country was founded in 1948. Nearly 50,000 were brought over in 1949 and 1950 in a secret airlift known as Operation Magic Carpet. The community in Yemen continued to dwindle in subsequent decades, and by the early 1990s it numbered only around 1,000 people. The lifting of a longstanding travel ban in 1993 sparked a fresh exodus. Since 2007, authorities in Yemen have moved members of the minority community from the northern province of Saada to the protected neighbourhood in Sanaa near the US embassy. "This chapter in the history of one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities is coming to an end, but Yemenite Jewry’s unique, 2,000-year-old contribution to the Jewish people will continue in the state of Israel," the agency said. Elsewhere in the Muslim world, Iran, Morocco and Tunisia, still boast significant Jewish communities. In Egypt, and war-torn Iraq and Syria, few if any Jews remain.

Obama, Raul Castro Meet in Havana
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/March 21/16/U.S. President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro met Monday in Havana's Palace of the Revolution for groundbreaking talks on ending the decades-long standoff between the two neighbors. Obama, meeting Castro for only the third time for formal talks, was the first U.S. president in Cuba since 1928. He was greeted by a military band at the Palace of the Revolution, the main government building since the 1959 revolution that turned Cuba into a communist state and Soviet client barely an hour's flight from Florida. Obama, under pressure back home to show that his scrapping of more than half a century of U.S. hostility to the Castro regime is paying off, then sat for discussions against a backdrop of tall tropical plants and the two countries' flags. The United States has yet to fully lift a punishing economic embargo against Havana, and Cuba continues to restrict many basic freedoms. But despite these differences, Obama and Castro -- brother of original revolutionary leader and anti-U.S. firebrand Fidel Castro -- say they are ready to bury the Cold War-era conflict for good. Obama, who arrived Sunday and began his visit with a look in driving rain at Havana's beautiful old town, earlier laid a wreath at the monument of Cuban independence hero Jose Marti. On Tuesday, he was to give an address carried live on Cuban state television, and then attend a baseball game between the national team and Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays, before flying out. Obama's visit has raised hopes among struggling Cubans that decades of economic and political stasis may be coming to an end.
But the brief detention of dozens of pro-democracy protesters on Sunday and the deployment of a horde of secret police around the old town served as a stark reminder of the regime's iron grip on power. And despite the excitement among ordinary Cubans, officials appeared to be taking pains to give a restrained welcome. Raul Castro did not greet Obama at the airport Sunday, sending his foreign minister instead, and the heavy police presence has ensured that Cubans have no chance of gathering spontaneously at any of Obama's appearances. "I think Raul does not want a warm relationship with the U.S. He sees it in limited terms for the moment -- tourism revenue and remittances plus the changes to the sanctions," said Paul Webster Hare, a former British ambassador to Cuba who teaches international relations at Boston University. On the eve of the Castro-Obama meeting, White House officials were locked in talks with their Cuban counterparts to ensure the two leaders take even a few questions from the press. Obama's administration is betting that forcing Cuba to open up in this way, as well as a gradual relaxation of the embargo, will promote democratic change. But Obama is defending himself from critics who say he has given away too much. Arriving in Havana, Obama admitted change is not going to happen "overnight." "Change is going to happen here and I think that Raul Castro understands that," he told ABC News. "Although we still have significant differences around human rights and individual liberties inside of Cuba, we felt that coming now would maximize our ability to prompt more change." Obama will be keen to hear from Castro about economic and political changes that are likely to come from a key Communist Party congress in April. Castro may be interested to hear how Obama's policy of engagement can weather a turbulent election year and change of administration next January. In another major piece of Latin American business, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is traveling with Obama, was due to meet separately Monday with representatives of the Colombian government and the Marxist FARC rebels, according to a Colombian negotiator.The two sides have been negotiating in Cuba since 2012 to end their more than 50-year war. Both sides have acknowledged that a Wednesday deadline they had set themselves will pass without the signing of a final accord.

Yemen Peace Talks Could Resume in Kuwait this Month
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/16/A new round of U.N.-brokered Yemeni peace talks could be held by the end of this month in Kuwait, a government official told AFP on Monday. The talks would be accompanied by a ceasefire, much-needed in the war-torn country where a Saudi-led coalition launched a military campaign in support of the internationally-recognized government one year ago, said the Yemeni official who requested anonymity. Yemen's warring parties who met with U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed last week have agreed on "the principle of holding a new round of talks in late March in Kuwait," the official told AFP. The U.N. envoy wrote on his Facebook page late on Sunday that he held "positive and constructive talks" in rebel-held Sanaa with the Iran-backed Huthis and their allies -- supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. "Preparations are ongoing for the next round of peace talks on Yemen," he wrote, without giving a specific date or location for the awaited negotiations. A resumption of talks must be accompanied by a "week-long truce that could be renewed if respected," he said, adding that discussions should focus on the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 2216. The resolution states that the rebels must withdraw from seized territories and disarm, before peace talks can progress. On Wednesday, the Arab coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri told AFP that the alliance was at "the end of the major combat phase", raising hopes of a possible relaunch of peace talks. Kuwait is a member of the nine-nation coalition. Previous U.N.-sponsored negotiations between rebels and government officials failed to reach a breakthrough, and the most recent round ended in acrimony in December. The World Health Organization says fighting in Yemen has killed almost 6,300 people over the past year and the United Nations has warned of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.

Syria Regime Pressured on Transition as Talks Open Second Week
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/16/Peace talks to end the war in Syria entered their second week on Monday, with Damascus under U.N. pressure to meet a looming target date for making a concrete proposal on political transition. United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura says that before negotiations are paused on Thursday he wants the Syrian regime to set down on paper its vision for a new government for leading the country out of five years of brutal conflict. De Mistura has praised the main opposition High Negotiations Committee for submitting "substantive" ideas on political transition, but noted that through several meetings last week, the government side's focus was limited to procedural issues and broad principles. Through the weekend, when no formal meetings were held in Geneva, the regime blasted de Mistura for taking sides, saying he had exceeded his mandate by pressuring the government and claiming the talks achieved nothing since resuming on March 14. HNC member Yahya Kodmani on Sunday charged the government with being "obstinate" and "refusing any serious discussion" about the central question of political change. The toughest issue facing the talks is the fate of President Bashar Assad. The HNC has insisted the president's departure be part of any peace deal, with the regime describing such demands as "a red line."De Mistura has acknowledged that huge divides remain between the camps but claimed the talks had already produced positive outcomes by helping maintain a fragile ceasefire declared on February 27. Assad-ally Russia on Monday accused the United States of stalling on the enforcement of the truce and not committing to mechanisms for responding to violations. Washington supports the HNC and some opposition forces fighting on the ground in the conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions. In a statement, Russian lieutenant general Sergei Rudskoy said that, given the U.S. feet-dragging, Moscow was ready to unilaterally resort to force against ceasefire violators as of Tuesday. The truce has broadly held since being declared last month and allowed life-saving aid to reach tens of thousands of Syrians stranded in besieged areas. The ceasefire does not include the Islamic State group (IS) and Al-Qaida linked Al-Nusra Front, who continue to be targeted in Russian air strikes and government offensives. At least 26 pro-government fighters were killed battling the Islamic State group near Palmyra on Monday as Damascus stepped up a bid to recapture the ancient city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Negotiations were rattled last week by Russia's surprise decision to withdraw most of its troops from Syria, a move that diplomats and experts said could help the peace drive by weakening Assad's position and forcing him to negotiate. De Mistura has called the Russian pull-out a "positive" development and said that if the talks stall, he will turn to "those who have influence," to help clear the roadblocks, listing Moscow for its presumed ability to sway Assad. The HNC's Kodmani on Sunday restated the opposition's belief that Moscow has the power to force the regime's hand. "We hope that Russia will use its powers to pressure al Assad regime in order to move into serious negotiations on the political transition," he said. Regardless of the regime's actions, Kodmani said the HNC was moving forward with negotiations by responding to 30 questions de Mistura had posed regarding the opposition's plan for political transition. The U.N. envoy is scheduled to hold multiple meetings with both sides this week, beginning on Monday.

Arab League Rejects Kurd-Led Moves for Federal Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/16/The Arab League on Monday rejected Kurdish-led moves for a federal system of government in Syria, charging that they would lead to the break-up of the war-torn country. League deputy secretary general Ahmed Ben Helli said the pan-Arab bloc would not recognize last week's unilateral proclamation by the Kurds and their Arab and Assyrian Christian allies. "The Arab League rejects such separatist calls that harm the unity of Syria," Ben Helli told reporters. "The unity and territorial integrity of Syria is a fundamental principle" of the Arab League. Both the Damascus government and the main Syrian opposition grouping involved in U.N.-brokered peace negotiations in Geneva, the High Negotiations Committee, have also rejected Thursday's move by the Kurds and their allies. Washington has said it will not recognize any autonomous regions they set up under their planned federation and says that Syria's future system of government is something to be negotiated in the U.N. talks. But it has also said that it will continue to work closely with the Kurds, whom it regards as the most effective fighting force against the Islamic State jihadist group. The Kurds and their allies have not been invited to the Geneva talks. Some of the League's other 21 members have federal systems of government, notably Iraq.

U.N. Expert Slams Israel's 'Lack of Accountability'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 21/16/The U.N. expert on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories voiced scathing criticism of Israel Monday as he stepped down over what he said was a lack of access to areas he was meant to monitor. Makarim Wibisono, who took on the role of Special Rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories in June 2014, presented his final report to the U.N. Human Rights Council, criticizing Israel's refusal to cooperate with his mandate. "It was with deep regret that I accepted that the premise upon which I took up the mandate... was not fulfilled," he told the council. The Indonesian diplomat, who had announced in January that he intended to quit, said he had been assured before taking up the position that he would have access to the occupied Palestinian territories. But he said repeated requests for access were unsuccessful. "This lack of cooperation regrettably seems to signal the continuation of a situation under which Palestinians suffer daily human rights violations under the Israeli occupation," he said, and slammed "a general lack of accountability" for such abuses. Israel has long accused the Human Rights Council of having a built-in bias against it. It was not present for Wibisono's presentation Monday.The EU representative, Peter Soerensen of Denmark, said he regretted that Israel had not allowed Wibisono to access the Palestinian territories. But he also noted that his mandate was "limited to investigate Israel's violations", and insisted that all rights abuses, regardless of who committed them, "should be subject to scrutiny."Palestinian representative Ibrahim Khraishi meanwhile charged that the appointment of Wibisono's successor had been postponed after an Israel-linked rights group had sent out a letter accusing both nominees, British law professor Penny Green and Canadian law professor Michale Lynk, of being anti-Israeli activists. Khraishi called the delay a "flagrant violation" of the rules of the Human Rights Council. A spokesman for the council meanwhile told AFP there had been "no postponement" of the appointment. "The process to appoint the (Special Rapporteur) continues and the (council) president continues to consult with a wide range of stakeholders," spokesman Rolando Gomez said in an email, adding that an announcement was expected on Thursday. In his presentation, Wibisono stressed the need for a successor to continue his work, voicing alarm at the recent escalation of violence committed by both Palestinians and Israelis. According to an AFP count, nearly 200 Palestinians, 28 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed since October. While stressing that "any wanton act of individual violence, whether committed by Palestinians or Israelis, is unacceptable and must be investigated and prosecuted," he stressed the violence was happening "in a preexisting context... against a backdrop of illegal settlements in the West Bank... (and) the blockade of Gaza."

Erdogan takes authoritarian rule to new heights in war on PKK
Week in Review/Al-Monitor/March 21/16
Is Turkey winning the war against the PKK?
A terrorist attack in Istanbul on March 19 killed at least five people, among them two Americans with dual Israeli citizenship, and wounded dozens more. This attack comes less than one week after a suicide bombing in Ankara took 37 lives.
Turkey is fighting a two-front terrorist war. While early reports indicate that the Islamic State (IS) may be responsible for the bombing in Istanbul, the Turkish government has implicated Kurdish separatists as responsible for the murders in Ankara on March 13. Al-Monitor supports Turkey in defeating terrorists from any and all quarters, and expresses its deepest sympathy for the innocent victims of these inexcusable crimes. The terrorist offensive in Turkey, whether from IS or the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), can be understood in the context of Turkey’s disastrous policies in Syria. As this column said more than two years ago, “The blowback from terrorists is connected to popular discontent with Turkey’s Syria policies. The vast majority of Turks want their government to stay neutral and keep out of the Syria conflict. [Then] Turkish President Abdullah Gul made public the "open secret" of his own dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Syria policy. In a Jan. 13 [2014] speech to Turkey’s ambassadorial corps, he said, 'When developments in Syria are considered in particular, the threats and potential threats that have emerged are growing.' He added, 'In view of the realties that have emerged on our country’s southern flank, we have to recalibrate our diplomacy and security policies by also taking into consideration the threat perceptions that have emerged around us.'”
It goes without saying that Gul’s counsel went unheeded, and that Turkey’s perhaps deliberate ambiguity until recently in dealing with Salafi armed groups, especially al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, along with what Kadri Gursel has called the ‘two-way jihadist highway’ from Turkey to Syria, has compounded Turkey’s security dilemma.
Metin Gurcan explains how Turkey “is bent on undermining the Kurdish resistance by combat,” and the challenges and limitations of its approach in confronting the PKK. The Turkish military “is engrossed in long-term sieges of towns such as Yuksekova, Sirnak and Nusaybin to disrupt the logistics lines of the PKK and its newly established youth wing, the Civil Defense Units. …The plan is to first clear out the trenches and barricades in the towns and then deploy forces based in permanent outposts to restore state authority over the restive neighborhoods. The PKK has only one card to play to confront Ankara’s increasing pressure, and that is to carry the battles to western Turkey,” Gurcan writes. He explains, “The PKK, which is becoming a true umbrella organization that uses proxies to launch attacks in western Turkey, forces Ankara to think hard about how to deal with this new wave of terror. It is certainly imperative for Ankara to form a special task force that will be free from the shackles of bureaucratic hierarchy and that operates in all parts of the country with the full backing of all public bodies. Ankara, still burdened with security mayhem, has yet to come up with a comprehensive and integrated strategy to combat such attacks. Ankara must recognize that the PKK, because of its combat against IS, has achieved significant global legitimacy. By not claiming credit for attacks in western Turkey, the PKK protects that legitimacy while still disrupting Ankara’s plans to boost its forces in the southeast for the coming spring clashes. That eases the pressure on PKK forces in that region.”
Gurcan says that the latest terrorist attacks in Ankara and Istanbul “expose a dangerous trend in Turkey’s domestic politics. Now when a part of the population harshly criticizes the Justice and Development Party government over such attacks, another segment castigates this criticism as terror propaganda. This terror conundrum is becoming the main agenda item shaping the debates in the Turkish media and influencing the policies to be developed.”
Mustafa Akyol describes how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has resurrected “thought crimes” following the March 13 bombing in Ankara. Erdogan “is using Turkey's troubles to take his increasingly authoritarian rule to new heights. … He not only condemned the terrorists who use bombs and weapons to kill people, but also what he called 'unarmed terrorists' who supposedly help them with their ideas. He said, 'There is no difference between a terrorist with a gun and bomb in his hand and those who use their work and pen to support terror. The fact that an individual could be a deputy, an academic, an author, a journalist or the director of an NGO [nongovernmental organization] does not change the fact that that person is a terrorist.'”
Gaza-based faction accused of ties to Iran
Fadi Shafei examines the Gaza-based Harakat al-Sabireen Movement for Supporting Palestine, which has been accused by Salafi clerics and others of having Shiite affiliations and being funded by Iran. Shafei, reporting from Rafah, explains how Harakat al-Sabireen (Movement of the Patient) emerged in 2014 as an offshoot of Islamic Jihad. Harakat al-Sabireen leaders have advocated greater fealty to the ideology of the Islamic Jihad’s founder Fathi Shakaki (1981-1995), who was deeply influenced by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the Iranian Revolution. This column and Al-Monitor’s Palestine Pulse have provided unmatched coverage of Iran’s influence and role in Palestinian politics, especially following Tehran’s falling out with Hamas over Syria.
Shafei writes that the movement’s positions “are in line with the positions of both the Syrian and Iranian regimes. Such positions, with Iran’s financial aid, led to claims by some Salafi jihadist groups in Sunni majority Gaza that Harakat al-Sabireen is a religious movement that seeks to create a Shiite entity in the Gaza Strip that would be an extension of Iran’s influence in the region, along the lines of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Ansar Allah (Houthis) in Yemen. All these groups have Shiite backgrounds, are active in various Arab countries and are funded and supported by Iran.”
Shafei concludes, “It is difficult to know what the future holds for Harakat al-Sabireen without taking into account the sharp polarization prevailing in the Arab region between the two main axes leading the current phase and headed by Saudi Arabia and Iran. This situation has directly affected the Palestinian organizations, and the disagreements between Harakat al-Sabireen and the Salafist groups opposing it are nothing but a reflection of this polarization in Gaza. The existence of Harakat al-Sabireen is thus directly linked to the achievements Iran and its allies may achieve in the region.”
Israel wary of overture from Sudan
Akiva Eldar examines the origins and possible consequences of Sudan’s overture to Israel. Israel, Eldar writes, “is following the messages from Sudan with curiosity, but is careful not to get too close. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon are quietly awaiting a signal from the United States in regard to relations with Khartoum. … Israel is known in Sudan as a supplier of weaponry and surveillance equipment to South Sudan. Sudanese generals who crossed the blurred lines between the various militias and ethnic groups brought with them as dowries made-in-Israel rifles and surveillance tools. Khartoum’s signals of rapprochement to Israel, along with reconciliation moves between the Muslim state and the Christian neighbor to the south headed by dictator Salva Kiir, will enable international arms industry and weapons traders, including those of Israel, when the time comes, to enjoy the best of both netherworlds: those of war criminals and genociders in Sudan and of murderers from South Sudan. It will happen the day the Western world decides to lift the barrier of sanctions.”
 

What is required from Iran for rapprochement
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/March 21/16
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has repeatedly spoken about what is required from Iran for a political settlement. Tehran is deploying all efforts to find a channel for dialogue with Riyadh, but it can no longer behave like a militia or back others such as the Popular Mobilization Units, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Iran used to be welcoming, tolerant, and interested in trade, dialogue and harmony. That changed with the 1979 revolution.The symbolism of ransacking the Saudi embassy and consulate in Iran pushed the Gulf states to stand against this dishonest regime that has been instigating in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Africa and other regions.
Good neighborliness
The whole world wants Iran to be well-balanced, like any other country in the region that cares for its internal affairs, people, economy and growth without violating the sovereignty of its neighbors.The whole world wants Iran to be well-balanced, like any other country in the region that cares for its internal affairs, people, economy and growth without violating the sovereignty of its neighbors. Since the fundamentalist revolution, Iran has failed to build successful communication channels with its surroundings. Hopefully it will come to its senses after all its recklessness since 1979.

Syria and the Islamic Military Alliance
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/March 21/16
Five years into the Syrian debacle, there is new momentum for a real Sunni intervention, unlike past programs to support Syrian opposition forces. The Dec. 2015 announcement of the Islamic Military Alliance (IMA) by Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman represents a significant moment of unity in the Sunni world. The announcement put into place a foundation for Sunni majority states to coordinate their military capabilities and unite against extremist threats. That Shiite majority Iran is being singled out is important. The IMA’s formation by Saudi Arabia sets the stage for potential operations in Syria. Riyadh sees the necessity of a Sunni coalition to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in its capital Raqqa, and to guarantee that Sunni interests are guarded and promoted in any political outcome in Syria. Some may scoff at the IMA’s potential, but there is evidence of the will to fight based on Sunni unity. The recently-concluded Northern Thunder military exercise in Saudi Arabia featured over two-dozen Sunni countries participating in live drills for various scenarios. This exercise comes two years after the Abdullah’s Sword exercise, illustrating Riyadh’s intent to coalesce forces for future contingencies across a broad range of operations. The show of force in both exercises sends a sharp message to the kingdom’s enemies that it is serious about protecting Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies from state and non-state threats. IMA member states believe they can prosecute operations in any regional theater. This thinking is seeing results in Yemen, where the Iranian-backed Houthi threat drove the Saudi-led coalition to launch operations Decisive Storm and Restoring Hope. Riyadh and its allies do not want to see a Hezbollah-type proto-state formed on the Arabian Peninsula.
Raqqa
The IMA appears to be preparing to go ISIS in Raqqa. The size and structure of such a force is subject to ongoing operations by the US-led coalition, as well as the Syrian army supported by continued Russian airstrikes. In other words, the strategic and tactical environment will evolve in perhaps unpredictable ways in the next few months. The IMA wants Washington to provide air cover, but given American apprehension, it may instead provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support. The IMA will pursue its objectives with or without the United States, particularly given Washington’s stated desire for Sunni Arab states to take care of their own strategic and defense affairs. While an IMA push in Syria is a net positive, a larger and more salient aspect is that key member states will have a real seat at talks on Syria’s political future. US President Barack Obama’s visit to Saudi Arabia next month will likely illuminate what America’s position will be on the IMA’s requirements and timing. One Gulf interlocutor told me that May 2016 is the likely window for a possible IMA intervention in eastern Syria. The scenario runs that with Iraqi security forces and others driving ISIS out of Mosul back into Syria toward Raqqa, the IMA will then implement its battle plans. ISIS members and adherents who flee Raqqa will act out against IMA participants, and pro-activity will be required against the prospect of terrorism. What comes after the IMA ousts ISIS from Raqqa is important for determining Syria’s future.
While an IMA push in Syria is a net positive, a larger and more salient aspect is that key member states will have a real seat at talks on Syria’s political future. Their goal is to oust Iran from that future. This may be more difficult than operations in Raqqa, but perseverance will pay off.

Can the EU-Turkey refugee deal achieve its objectives?
Raed Omari/Al Arabiya/March 21/16
There is no doubt that the agreement reached between the European Union (EU) and Turkey, to deal with the influx of Syrian refugees, has political dimensions. The deal is also inseparable from Ankara’s quest for a full-fledged membership of the EU and its troubled relationship with the 28-member union. In fact, such is the “unsaid” backdrop of the agreement that the two sides couldn’t mention or even drop a hint. The two sides, especially the Europeans, have maintained that the deal’s sole objective is stopping refugees from making the dangerous journey across the Aegean Sea to Greece. This has become exceedingly important with around 1000 to 2000 people reaching the shores of economically-troubled Greece and then not being able to travel north as a result of border closures. For the Europeans, the deal is part of the efforts to come to grips with the migration challenge, which is turning into a major humanitarian catastrophe. So from this point of view it is all about humanitarian efforts. Yet, at the heart of this endeavor, it could all be about controlling the flow of human population. It may not be right to label the EU and Turkey as “human traffickers”, which they indeed are not, yet too much politics infused in it making this deal a lot less humanitarian. The deal is part of the joint action plan the EU and Turkey agreed on last year.
Ankara’s burden
It was also announced that the plan is aimed at alleviating Ankara’s burden. Under this plan, the EU had pledged €3 billion to help feed and shelter the almost three million Syrian refugees stranded in Turkey. In return, Turkey vowed to curb the smuggling of refugees to Europe through its shores and land routes.
The deal, which, in practice, aims to keep refugees outside Europe, is in a way the EU leaders’ acknowledgment of Ankara’s exploitation of the issue to press for more gains from the union. As this money hasn’t yet been paid to Turkey, waves of refugees continue to arrive at Europe’s shores, which probably pushed the EU to sign the deal with Ankara. This is what raises the question whether this is about controlling the flow of refugees across borders without any real humanitarian concerns. The deal, which, in practice, aims to keep refugees outside Europe, is in a way the EU leaders’ acknowledgment of Ankara’s exploitation of the issue to press for more gains from the union.
Smugglers’ boats
The Turks’ exploitation of the refugee crisis is not that difficult to pinpoint anyway. Having lived in Jordan and seeing how the movement of Syrian refugees is regulated (here I don’t mean crackdown), I wonder how thousands of Syrians move from the eastern side of Turkey to its west and from there to Greece via smugglers’ boats with the Turkish authorities either not doing anything or being completely unaware. In sending refugees back to Turkey or refusing to accept more, the EU is not violating the international law. For them, these are not refugees fleeing war zones – as they have already done so after moving out of Syria. They view these people as fleeing the security and relative comfort of internationally supported refugee camps in Turkey. Yet, human rights groups believe, refugee crisis has been mishandled by Europeans even though they always present themselves as “defenders of human rights.”
Amnesty International recently accused the EU of escaping its responsibilities toward people fleeing warzone by relying on Turkey to monitor European borders. It said that it has recorded unlawful detentions and forced returns of refugees to Turkey and from there to Syria. “Using Turkey as a ‘safe third country’ is absurd,” said Amnesty’s Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia, Gauri van Gulik, adding, “Europe has an absolute duty to protect refugees.”Moreover, if humanity and ending the misery of refugees is the basis of the EU-Turkey refugee deal, then how is it that hundreds and thousands of refugees are relocated from a secure continent such as Europe to a less rich and security-challenged Turkey. Although the number of refugees in the EU countries is relatively large but they can still be absorbed in the continent if the religious and cultural considerations are kept aside.

Strategic constants behind the Russian withdrawal
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/March 21/16
The strategic constants in the wake of Russia’s military redeployment out of Syria include the following:
First, the continuation of the US-Russian partnership in the Syrian arena, and its expansion into Yemen and Iraq where the remaining time Barack Obama has in the White House will be used to consolidate achievements in bilateral relations.
Second, the regime in Syria has been given a new lease on life, though through state institutions rather than by clinging to certain individuals in their posts, while opening the door to radical changes in the equation of power. For example, the army command, rather than the presidency, could be given to an Alawite.
Third, maintaining a long-term strategic relationship with Iran, but with the expansion of the policies of rapprochement with the Arab Gulf countries, Egypt, and Algeria to ensure balance in Russian relations with Sunni Arabs, so that Moscow does not appear like an exclusive ally to the Shiites in Iran.
Fourthly, making way for Sunni forces to intervene on the ground in the war against ISIS and similar terrorist groups, as the boots on the ground in the international anti-ISIS alliance, which could be developed to become under joint US-Russian leadership in the region, including in Syria.
Fifthly, fortifying the Russian interior and Russia’s neighbors against any possible retaliatory attacks resulting from Moscow’s continued spearheading of the war on Sunni extremism in alliance with Tehran-backed Shiite militias – which explains the Russian decision to avoid becoming further implicated in the Syrian quagmire.
Sixthly, strengthening Russia's position in the global scene as an essential power in decision-making. Moscow will not accept to be bypassed anymore.
Seventhly, containing economic repercussions on Russia if it continues its comprehensive intervention in Syria without an exit strategy, bearing in mind that the value of the ruble has been declining in a way that hurt the economy and that oil and gas prices have been falling drastically.
Eighthly, taking advantage of available opportunities through reconciliations and settlements, in order to secure investments, open markets, and sell arms to the Gulf states.
And ninthly, Russia gains a foothold in the Middle East in Syria’s strategic bases, which will also be a foothold near the shores of Europe and NATO.
Talking federalism
President Putin’s decision reconfigured his intervention in Syria through a gradual and partial withdrawal of his forces there, amid negotiations, escalation, and talk of federalism in Syria. The decision came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Moscow had evidence of Turkish military presence inside Syria, and as Moscow was warning Ankara should it continue to transport arms into Syria.
It also came in the wake of a visit by the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to Tehran and his meeting with President Hassan Rowhani amid talk of Iranian mediation between Russia and Turkey in exchange for Turkish mediation to improve Saudi-Iranian relations.
Putin’s announcement of his strategy of the Middle East coincided with increasing US-Russian coordination in Yemeni affairs, with indications they both agree to the priority of protecting Saudi national security along the Saudi-Yemeni border with mutual guarantees, including their influence on Tehran to prevent it from sending advisors and militias to Yemen as it had done in Syria.
Russian diplomacy is keen for the upcoming visit by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz to Moscow to succeed, and become the key to better relations with Riyadh and other capitals of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Russia wants to build on what was achieved during the recent visit by the emir of Qatar to Russia, which also tackled the future of gas, Russia, Qatar, and Iran being the world’s top exporters.
The visit also tackled the Turkish-Qatari traditional support for the Muslim Brotherhood as opposed to Moscow’s utter hostility to this group’s rise to power in any Arab or Muslim country, most importantly Syria. Russian diplomacy has made it clear to Gulf diplomacy that it is prepared to turn the page on the hostility towards its previous policy in Syria, in return for active cooperation in crushing terror group and preventing the rise of fundamentalist groups to power.
The statement by veteran diplomat Sergei Lavrov praising Saudi efforts in facilitating the formation of a serious opposition grouping is but one example of the kind of developments that have taken place in Russian thinking and policy.
What matters to Putin is what US policy toward him will be like after Obama leaves and how his relations with Europe would evolve in light of the sanctions imposed on Russia over its meddling in Ukraine
Not long ago, Russian diplomacy was criticizing Saudi diplomacy for pushing the parties of the Syrian opposition to create the High Negotiations Commission (HNC), as tasked by the Vienna process to settle the Syrian conflict. Moscow was trying to force Syrian oppositionists into the list agreed upon in Riyadh, and was escalating on issues like defining who is an oppositionist and who is a terrorist in Syria.
Suddenly, Lavrov praised Saudi efforts after the opposition delegation arrived in Geneva to handle negotiations brokered by UN envoy Staffan de Mistura with the regime – though Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said talking about the future of Assad was a red line and the head of the regime delegation Bashar al-Jaafari said Damascus rejects any discussion of a “transitional phase.”
These statements were tantamount to an obituary for the Vienna process, which is considered the legitimate offspring of Russian diplomacy. This was preceded by positions made by Damascus that annoyed Moscow, which saw them as undermining the credibility of Russian policy: Russia failed to stop barrel bombs, and was surprised by Damascus’s announcement it would hold parliamentary elections that conflict with the timetable of the Vienna process, which requires elections to be held within 18 months after a new constitution is drafted and a political transition is negotiated.
Exit strategy
All this obstruction coming from Damascus sought to prolong Russia’s military intervention until Bashar al-Assad’s agenda is implemented. But Vladimir Putin did not want to play that game. The Russian president has indeed rescued Assad by intervening in Syria more than six months ago. However, Putin did not want to be involved militarily in Syria for more than four months. His intervention was coupled with an exit strategy, and he did not want to slip into a quagmire in Syria that the West perhaps wished him to fall into, as he believes. Second, the mainstay of Russian military intervention in Syria are the strategic interests there represented in military bases and state institutions led by the army, and not keeping one man in power.
This does not mean, however, that Putin is prepared to abandon Assad or turn the table against him. In reality, Assad remains important in Putin’s calculations. Realism suggests that Putin’s US-style pragmatism makes him willing to abandon Assad in his long-term strategy, if needed. True, Putin is keen on having a reputation of loyalty to his allies against the opposite reputation the US has, but the man fully understands the language of interests and deals.
And because Putin’s legacy in the countries where he intervened militarily is a legacy of partition, some fear this would be his legacy in Syria. However, geopolitical reality could prevent partition in Syria in the full sense. Rather, the federal model could be pursued, a model adopted by the US, Russia, and Switzerland albeit in different modes of implementation.
What matters to Putin is what US policy toward him will be like after Barack Obama leaves the White House, and how his relations with Europe would evolve in light of the sanctions imposed on Russia over its meddling in Ukraine. Putin is also concerned about what it is going to take to save the Russian economy, which has paid a high price for Putin’s military and diplomatic adventures. Other questions include how terrorist Islamic groups can be defeated, and how he would benefit from his strategic foothold in Syria, with implications for both the Middle Est and NATO.
Vladimir Putin is a practical man. He is relying on Donald Trump because he is an arbitrary man to the point of farce. However, Putin realizes the dangers of arbitrary thinking, and he does not trust the US establishment whether it endorses this candidate or fights that candidate. True, Trump appears as if he is an anti-establishment candidate, but he could also be the product of the establishment for a specific purpose.
Most probably, Hillary Clinton will become the next US president with support from the establishment. Putin is concerned about what Hillary, a veteran politician, may be carrying to the White House. Especially so when Hillary probably remembers how she was tricked by Lavrov, who upended the Geneva Communique, before Lavrov made sure to facilitate success for her successor Kerry, making her appear as a failure.
Regardless of the history of US-Russian relations at the start of Barack Obama’s term, the current partnership between Russia and the US on Syria and Iran is crucial. It is a radical change in the relationship between the two countries, and in their respective relationship with key players in the Middle East region.
It is clear that Barack Obama has had tense relations with Arab countries, from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, and that he has prioritized the relationship with the Iran yet without daring to have this be at the expense of the Israeli ally. Obama started out his term by endorsing the Turkish model for changing Arab regimes, supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen. He waged warfare through drones, which destroy others without returning coffins to the US carrying the bodies of American soldiers.
He withdrew America from others’ wars. He paved the way for Russia, Iran, and militias – as well as terrorists from all around the world – to join the battles but far away from American cities. He fought all these wars with others’ men and materiel, fulfilling the American desire to do so and helping the US economy recover through military industries and arms exports.
Barack Obama showed Putin an America that is old and infirm, unable and unwilling to be the world’s leader, and suggesting to Putin that there is a vacuum for him to fill. Putin pounced on the opportunity. However, it is now time now for Putin to curb Russia’s dash, because the fine print in the US invitation to Russia contains a plot to implicate it in a quagmire that reverses Russian gains made under Obama. This is why Russia has made its recent move.
The Russian rectification would be beneficial if other parties involved in the Syrian war learn from it, especially Hezbollah. Iran is aware of the meanings and implications of Russian strategic decisions, and is in turn engaged in developing strategies for exit and for remaining.
The player outside these calculations is Hezbollah, which is not yet aware of the implications of its involvement in Syria and Yemen while others are taking steps back. Perhaps the best thing Hezbollah can do for itself and Lebanon is to develop an exit strategy from Syria. An exit strategy is not foolish; it is greatly prudent.

Claims that Istanbul bomber targeted Israelis - Turkish disinformation
DEBKAfile Special Report March 21/16/The widely-reported claim originating in the Turkish media of Monday, March 21, that the suicide bomber who murdered four people and injured 39 in Istanbul Saturday had deliberately targeted Israeli tourists, is challenged by debkafile’s intelligence sources. Those reports are classified as "Turkish disinformation" meant to demonstrate that their MIT intelligence service was on top of the wave of terror sweeping their country.
The reports cited CCTV footage as showing the bomber trailing the Israeli tourists from their hotel to the restaurant for breakfast, and waiting for them to come out before detonating his bomb. Our sources ask:
If the MIT’s information on terrorist operations is so precise, why doesn't it stop them? The bomb blast in the popular Istiklal Caddesi street in the European side of Istanbul killed three Israelis, Jonathan Shor, 40, Simha Damari, 60, and Avraham Goldman, 69
They were laid to rest in Israel Monday. Five Israelis, who were among the people wounded in the attack, were flown home. Five others were too seriously hurt to evacuate from Turkish hospitals. Turkey’s interior minister on Sunday identified the bomber as Mehmet Ozturk, from the southern border city of Gaziantep, with past ISIS links. However, no organization has so far claimed the Istanbul attack. Monday, Turkish media also published images of three ISIS suspects, who were reported on a tip-off to be plotting attacks in busy areas of Istanbul and possibly other Turkish cities. They were named along with their aliases as Hacı Ali Dumaz, codenamed Mervan; Savaş Yıldız, codenamed Ebu Cihat; and Yunus Durmaz, who uses the codenames Abdüllatif Efe, Sarı Yunus and Muhammed Ali. Yildiz was already being sought over bomb attacks in Adana and Mersin in May 2015. Our intelligence sources are just as skeptical about that report as the first, suggesting that it too was released in a face-saving effort by the Turkish authorities to parade their inside knowledge of the workings of the Islamist terror networks at large in their country. In fact, say debkafile’s counterterrorism sources, Turkish President Tayyip Edrogan and his MIT director Hakan Fidan are now paying the price for their long dance macabre with the terrorists. ISIS networks were long permitted to use Turkey as an open highway for the transfer of fighters and money to Syria, while the Islamic State siphoned through Turkey, often with the help of Turkish Kurdish middlemen, shipments of oil that were pumped illicitly from Syrian oilfields. The Turkish authorities recently changed their policy and tried to clamp down on these ISIS transit operations, but by the time they acted, the MIT had lost control of the situation. The Syrian-Turkish gate could not be slammed shut against the networks, which had set up open shop on both sides of the border. Turkey is now facing a deadly backlash. This is what Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon meant when he commented Monday that “Turkey is awash with terror.”