LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

October 19/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today

The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10/01-07/:"After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace to this house!"And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house."

We intend to do what is right not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of others
Second Letter to the Corinthians 08/16-22/:"But thanks be to God who put in the heart of Titus the same eagerness for you that I myself have.For he not only accepted our appeal, but since he is more eager than ever, he is going to you of his own accord. With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his proclaiming of the good news; and not only that, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us while we are administering this generous undertaking for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our goodwill. We intend that no one should blame us about this generous gift that we are administering, for we intend to do what is right not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of others. And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found eager in many matters, but who is now more eager than ever because of his great confidence in you.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 18-19/16

Lebanon speaker Nabih Berri warns of civil war/Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/October 18/16
Government Presidency File Threatens Aoun’s Chances to Become President/Paula Astih/Asharq Al Awsat/October 18/16/
Twenty bizarre bans on Iranian women by misogynic mullahs’ regime ruling Iran/NCRI/October 18/16
Obama Quietly Empowers Iran's Military/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/October 18/16
A Month of Islam and Multiculturalism in Britain: September 2016/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/October 18/16
Why the real battle for Mosul is political/Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/October 18/16
Are we on the brink of World War Three, or has it started/Peter Harrison/Al Arabiya/October 18/16
China in the Mediterranean: Beyond growing interests/Dr. Naser al-Tamimi/Al Arabiya/October 18/16
Oman: Between the Gulf and Iran/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/October 18/16
Bob Dylan and the Nobel prize: When the ear loves before the eyes/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/October 18/16
The Egypt-Saudi Dispute Over A Resolution To The Syria Crisis Goes Public/ N. Mozes/MEMRI/October 18/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on on October 18-19/16

Lebanon speaker Nabih Berri warns of civil war
Government Presidency File Threatens Aoun’s Chances to Become President
Members of Parliament Bureau, Committees Reelected as Fadel's Resignation Accepted
Berri Calls Wednesday Legislative Session amid LF Reservations
Aoun Bloc Says AMAL Remarks on War, Sunni-Christian Deal 'Unacceptable'
Khalil Says Berri's Bloc to 'Vote against Aoun', AMAL to 'Join Opposition'
Hariri Meets Aides of Franjieh, Jumblat, Berri as PSP Delegation Visits Speaker
Jumblat: Democratic Gathering Not a 'Flock of Sheep'
Army Arrests Senior Nusra Official in Arsal
Mashnouq Reiterates President to be Elected before Year's End
March 8 Official Rules Out Imminent Election of President
Report: Nasrallah Tells Berri March 8 Not Part of Bassil-Hariri Agreements
Berri Says Aoun, Hariri Seeking to End 'Partnership with Shiites', Warns of 'Civil War'
Future bloc: priority to elect president in accordance with Constitution
Berri reviews presidential deadline with his visitors
Ambassador Lassen discusses political situation with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea
Geagea, Kanaan tackle presidential dossier
Hariri, Khalil take up current situation

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on October 18-19/16
Assad’s father-in-law in denial: ‘No children being bombed in Syria’
Russia, Syria forces halt Aleppo bombing
France to Host Talks Thursday on Mosul's Future
Turkish air force involved in air strikes in Iraq’s Mosul
Iraq Forces Advance on IS Stronghold of Mosul
Latest updates: Ongoing battle to retake Mosul
Yemen conflict: Both sides accept 72-hour ceasefire
Houthi military information officer killed near Najran
Saudi Arabia: Prince executed for murder crime
Five Egyptians confess to murdering Saudi teacher
Indian hospital fire toll rises to 20, staff suspended
UNESCO vote on Jerusalem site angers Israel
French minister: Britain must fulfil duty to Calais migrant children
Retired US general charged with lying in ‘Stuxnet’ leak case
Iran: The Report of a University Student
Turkey and Saudi Arabia oppose using Iran regime affiliated militias in Mosul Operations
Iran: 700 Child Laborers and Street Children In Only one Province (Kermanshah)
Trump Bashes Clinton but She Extends Campaign Lead

Links From Jihad Watch Site for on October 18-19/16
Canada: Islamic center demands revocation of neighboring bar’s liquor license
Germany: Green MP says “Germans should learn Arabic”
Ireland: Crusaders Athletic Club drops cross from its crest to avoid offending Muslims
Pakistan: Muslim murders daughter for “honor,” goes free after pardoning himself
Sweden: Outside Parliament, Muslim crowd praises Khomeini, chants “make Muslims of them all”
Sharia in Indonesia: Woman savagely beaten for standing too close to her boyfriend
17,000 Muslim migrants sue the German government
Sweden: Returning Islamic State jihadis to get free housing, driver’s license, tax benefits
Usual Suspects Get Ready to Gut Law Letting 9/11 Families Sue Saudis
Video: Ex-Muslim Sarah Torrent Takes a Stand on Trump and Hillary — on The Glazov Gang
Houston: Muslim “refugee” pleads guilty to trying to bomb malls for the Islamic State

Links From Christian Today Site for on October 18-19/16
Christian Nun On Aleppo: A Broken City Where People Cry Without Tears And Life Does Not Exist
Pope's Man In Iraq Urges Christians Not To Flee
Largest Christian Town In Iraq 'Liberated From ISIS'
Boko Haram 'Ready To Release 83 More Chibok Schoolgirls', Government Says
Archbishop Of Canterbury Welcomes Russian Orthodox Patriarch To Lambeth Palace
Freed At Last: Iranian Pastor Released From Prison After Six Years
Indian Pastor Beaten By Mob Of Hindu Extremists Saved By Treatment From Christian Charity
Marine Le Pen Would Ban All Religious Clothing, Including Crosses, 'To Fight Islam'
Young Pope Actor Jude Law Is Not Religious But Has Faith 'In All Sorts Of Things'

Latest Lebanese Related News published on on October 18-19/16

Lebanon speaker Nabih Berri warns of civil war
Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/October 18/16
Hezbollah distances itself from Free Patriotic Movement
Beirut: Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and the highest-ranking Shiite leader, accused Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) founder General Michel Aoun and Future Movement leader and former prime minister Saad Hariri of seeking to “topple political Shiism” in Lebanon.
His strong warning — that such an attempt might lead to a new “civil war” in the country — prompted Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to distance himself and his party from ally Aoun in what was little short of a political tsunami. The pro-Hezbollah Al Akhbar daily quoted aides to Berri lamenting Hariri’s choice, which apparently “triumphed [as] he revived the 1943 pact with Aoun”. “We will be outside of power — among the ranks of the opposition,” it said, continuing: “What they [Aoun and Hariri] are doing will lead to a civil war and we will fight to defend ourselves and Hezbollah!”
The unwritten 1943 National Pact established the political foundations of modern Lebanon that allocated power along an essentially confessional system that handed the powerful post of president to a Maronite Christian, the prime ministership to a Sunni Muslim and the speakership of parliament to a Shiite Muslim. Amendments made following the Lebanese Civil War transferred many of the Christian president’s powers to a cabinet divided evenly between Christians and Muslims in the 1989 Taif Accords.
According to Al Akhbar, Hariri and Aoun were trying to undermine the partnership with political Shiism that followed the Taif Accords and asked both to “become used to governments in which Hezbollah would be entrusted with preserving the share of the Shiite community in power”.
Berri stands with Marada Movement leader Sulaiman Franjieh, and insists that he will not back Aoun who is apparently not reassuring because the FPM is avoiding to mention the Resistance, a reference to Hezbollah’s armed wing, and is no longer backing the group’s military deployments in Syria.
What prompted the Speaker to vent his anger was the alleged agreement between the FPM’s Jibran Bassil, the Foreign Minister and Aoun’s son-in-law, and Nader Hariri, Saad Hariri’s adviser, on everything.
An anonymous March 8 source conveyed the Speaker’s dismay, noting — again, according to Al Akhbar — that he commented harshly and said: “So now it is Jibran Bassil and Nader Hariri who decide who the next president, prime minister and speaker be! And, they are the ones who distribute the quotas and portfolios and all I have to do is sign?”
Berri’s disapproval upset Hezbollah, which prompted an urgent meeting on Monday night between Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil (Amal) and Hussain Al Khalil (Hezbollah), according to Al Liwa’a. The pro-March 14 newspaper reported that Nasrallah reassured Berri that the March 8 camp does not consider itself to be part of the alleged agreement that was reached by Bassil and Nader Hariri, which will render Hezbollah’s backing of Aoun invalid. With these latest revelations, and while Lebanon waited to hear from Saad Hariri, Berri signalled that the ongoing polarisation would not be tolerated. The Speaker rejected a return to the 1943 bilateral power-sharing between Sunnis and Maronites, and insisted that he was against the election of Michel Aoun as president.
Asked whether that means that Berri has ruled out any agreement with Aoun and Hariri, the unnamed Hezbollah sources told Al Akhbar: “No. They must first realise that an agreement with Hezbollah is not an agreement with us [Amal] and that their [Hariri-Aoun] problem with us is not about a share, a post or a ministerial portfolio. They must renounce the deal of returning to the 1943 bilateral power-sharing and they must return to the dialogue table so that we discuss the country’s future.”

Government Presidency File Threatens Aoun’s Chances to Become President
Paula Astih/Asharq Al Awsat/October 18/16/Lebanese Christian leader Michel Aoun arrives at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, near Beirut, to attend a new session of the national dialogue in 2015.
Beirut – Head of Change and Reform parliamentary bloc General Michel Aoun barely crosses the road bombs leading to the Presidential Palace to face a new barrage, which alludes there is a decision to prevent any internal election before a clear picture discloses what could happen in the region, and particularly in Syria.At the eve of rumors about an announcement expected by president of the Future Movement MP Saad Hariri to adopt the candidacy of Aoun for the presidential post, March 8 sources close to the so-called Hezbollah and the Syrian regime came out and placed the file of the next prime minister on the table, hinting that they would reject the comeback of Hariri to the Serail.
This position threatens the chances of Aoun to become president and paves the way for a new phase of institutional vacuums from which Lebanon has been suffering for the past two and half years.
Secretary General of the so-called Hezbollah party, Hassan Nasrallah had repeatedly announced, even if indirectly, his openness to the idea of handing the prime minister post to Hariri, in case an agreement is reached on the presidential candidacy of Aoun.
“In case an agreement is reached on the president, we will be open to the issue presidency of the next government.”
However, a source from the March 8 forces who is close to the party told Asharq Al-Awsat that Nasrallah’s comments means that “he is open to discussing the issue, but he has not said a decision or promise was taken in this regard.”
The source ruled out the appearance of a new President in the near future. “All internal files are frozen awaiting a regional decision. And therefore, the appointment of Hariri as the next prime minister, which is the most important post in Lebanon, would not happen in the existing circumstances,” the source added.
In the past few days, several parties close to the so-called Hezbollah and the Syrian regime have been calling on Hariri to take new positions regarding the Syrian file and some regional states, in addition to the issue of the party’s weapons and its participation in the fighting in Syria.
Ahmad Fatfat, an MP with the Future Movement said: “Hezbollah is using the issue of the prime minister and other papers to disable the presidency and all state institutions, based on a clear order from the Iranians.”Fatfat told Asharq al-Awsat that Iran was using the Lebanese file as a trading paper in any future negotiations. “There is a hazy atmosphere” surrounding the next session to elect a new president on Oct. 31, Pascal Monin, an international and political affairs professor at Universite Saint Joseph in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Members of Parliament Bureau, Committees Reelected as Fadel's Resignation Accepted
Naharnet/October 18/16/The parliament on Tuesday renewed the terms of the members of the Parliament Bureau and the parliamentary committees as it accepted the resignation of Tripoli MP Robert Fadel. The members were unanimously reelected as three changes were introduced. Newly-elected Change and Reform bloc MP Amal Abou Zeid of Jezzine replaced Change and Reform bloc MP Youssef Khalil in the Youth and Sport Committee and Change and Reform bloc MP Salim Salhab in the Economy, Commerce and Industry Committee, state-run National News Agency reported. Lebanese Forces bloc MP Antoine Zahra will also replace Fadel in the Economy, Commerce and Industry Committee, NNA said. The session had been commenced with the recitation of Fadel's resignation letter and a letter from Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq on the results of Jezzine's parliamentary by-election.

Berri Calls Wednesday Legislative Session amid LF Reservations
Naharnet/October 18/16/Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday scheduled a legislative session for Wednesday amid reservations by the Lebanese Forces over the issue of the electoral law. The session will involve morning and evening meetings, state-run National News Agency reported.The session's agenda will include the thorny issue of the electoral law, according to Deputy Speaker Farid Makari. LF bloc MP George Adwan had announced earlier in the day that the LF would reject any legislative session not having the electoral law on its agenda and his colleague MP Antoine Zahra later voiced reservations over the fact that the electoral law is not the first topic on the agenda. “We are willing to take part in a session aimed at approving the urgent laws and we believe that the financial laws are a priority but the electoral law must be on the session's agenda,” Adwan said.

Aoun Bloc Says AMAL Remarks on War, Sunni-Christian Deal 'Unacceptable'
Naharnet/October 18/16/The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc on Tuesday dismissed accusations from Speaker Nabih Berri's AMAL Movement about an alleged “Sunni-Christian” deal as an attempt to “blackmail” the supporters of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun's presidential bid. Describing Aoun as “the nominee whose candidacy conforms with the National Pact,” the bloc boasted that the FPM founder “has become immunized with broad support” from the majority of the political parties. “The (Oct. 16) speeches of General Aoun and (FPM chief Jebran) Bassil carried all the indications about a project to build the state with all the country's components without the exclusion of anyone,” said the bloc in a statement issued after its weekly meeting. “The National Pact is not bilateral or tripartite but rather for everyone,” it stressed. “Any remarks about Christian-Sunni bilateral powersharing are unacceptable and seditious and we will confront any attempt to stir sedition,” the bloc added. And reassuring that “the project of the state” is its “unifying project,” Change and Reform stressed the importance of “passing an electoral law that ensures correct representation in line with the National Pact.”“We do not apologize and we do not try to justify and we are walking with firm steps towards the National Pact and the Lebanon of national partnership. Those who want to support us are free to support us and those who do not want to support us are free to oppose us without launching arbitrary accusations,” the bloc added. Earlier in the day, Berri's aide and Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil confirmed that the speaker's Development and Liberation bloc would “vote against” Aoun in any presidential election session. He also noted that Berri's AMAL Movement would “join the ranks of the opposition” should Aoun be elected president. “We see things heading to the Maronite-Sunni bilateral power-sharing of 1943 and we will confront this scenario,” Khalil added. In remarks published Tuesday in al-Akhbar newspaper, aides to Berri had also accused Aoun and ex-PM Saad Hariri of seeking to undermine “the partnership with political Shiism that followed the Taef Accord.”Asked whether a return to the 1943 pact would ignite a new civil war, the sources said: “That's true. What they are doing will lead to a civil war and we will fight to defend ourselves and Hizbullah!”MP Alain Aoun of the FPM announced Monday that Hariri will announce his endorsement of Aoun “this week.” The ex-PM has been exploring the possibility of endorsing Aoun for several weeks now and on Sunday Education Minister Elias Bou Saab of the FPM announced that Hariri has officially decided to endorse Aoun's presidential bid. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum. Hariri launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Khalil Says Berri's Bloc to 'Vote against Aoun', AMAL to 'Join Opposition'
Naharnet/October 18/16/Speaker Nabih Berri's aide and Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil confirmed Tuesday that Berri's Development and Liberation bloc would “vote against” Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun in any presidential election session. “The problem with General Michel Aoun cannot be resolved with a visit (to Berri) and the issue is not a matter of formalities,” Khalil was quoted as telling reporters. Marada Movement chief “MP Suleiman Franjieh was briefing us on all the details of his agreements with ex-PM Saad Hariri, unlike the General,” the minister added.“We will take part in the presidential election session and we will vote against Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri will be the first person who will congratulate him,” Khalil went on to say. He also noted that Berri's AMAL Movement would “join the ranks of the opposition” should Aoun be elected president. “We see things heading to the Maronite-Sunni bilateral power-sharing of 1943 and we will confront this scenario,” Khalil added. In remarks published Tuesday in al-Akhbar newspaper, aides to Berri had accused Aoun and Hariri of seeking to undermine “the partnership with political Shiism that followed the Taef Accord.” Asked whether a return to the 1943 pact would ignite a new civil war, the sources said: “That's true. What they are doing will lead to a civil war and we will fight to defend ourselves and Hizbullah!”MP Alain Aoun of the FPM announced Monday that Hariri will announce his endorsement of Aoun “this week.” The ex-PM has been exploring the possibility of endorsing Aoun for several weeks now and on Sunday Education Minister Elias Bou Saab of the FPM announced that Hariri has officially decided to endorse Aoun's presidential bid. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum. Hariri launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Hariri Meets Aides of Franjieh, Jumblat, Berri as PSP Delegation Visits Speaker
Naharnet/October 18/16/Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri held separate talks Tuesday at the Center House with representatives of Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and Speaker Nabih Berri. Hariri's talks with Health Minister Wael Abou Faour, who is close to Jumblat, tackled “the current developments in the country,” Hariri's press office said in a statement. The ex-PM later met with Culture Minister Rony Araiji and ex-minister Youssef Saade of Franieh's Marada Movement in the presence of his adviser ex-MP Ghattas Khoury. Talks addressed the latest political developments. Later on Tuesday, Hariri met at the Center House with Berri's aide and Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil. “The meeting lasted ten minutes and Khalil conveyed a message to Hariri,” LBCI television said. Following the meeting, a PSP delegation comprising Taimur Jumblat, Wael Abou Faour, Akram Shehayyeb and Ghazi Aridi visited Ain el-Tineh for talks with Berri in Khalil's presence. Hariri had arrived Monday evening in Lebanon from a brief foreign trip. On Tuesday he was presiding over a meeting for his Mustaqbal bloc that is expected to address the presidential developments. MP Alain Aoun of the Free Patriotic Movement announced Monday that Hariri will announce his endorsement of FPM founder MP Michel Aoun's presidential nomination “this week.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum. Hariri launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Jumblat: Democratic Gathering Not a 'Flock of Sheep'
Naharnet/October 18/16/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed Tuesday that the members of his Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc are not “sheep.”“As a reminder, there is a diverse parliamentary bloc consisting of party members, independents and friends and it has its own opinion alongside the opinion of its chief,” Jumblat tweeted. “Also as a reminder, the Democratic Gathering was the first bloc to announce a presidential nomination by nominating (MP) Henri (Helou), and the Democratic Gathering is not a flock of sheep,” he added. “I wish they took the opinion of this diverse and democratic gathering into consideration, even if the extraordinary circumstances in the country require an extraordinary settlement,” Jumblat went on to say. He added: “Regardless of the circumstances, let calm dialogue prevail.” MP Alain Aoun of the Free Patriotic Movement announced Monday that ex-PM Saad Hariri will announce his endorsement of FPM founder MP Michel Aoun's presidential nomination “this week.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum. Hariri launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Army Arrests Senior Nusra Official in Arsal
Naharnet/October 18/16/The army on Tuesday arrested a senior official of the jihadist al-Nusra Front group in an ambush in the eastern border town of Arsal, state-run National News Agency reported. It identified the official as Adnan Mohammed Slaibi, saying he is also known as “Zoaiter.”“He was transferred to a military post for interrogation,” the agency added. Al-Nusra has recently rebranded itself as Fateh al-Sham Front after announcing a severing of ties with the global jihadist network al-Qaida. Militants from the group and the rival Islamic State jihadist group are entrenched in areas along the undemarcated Lebanese-Syrian border and the army regularly shells their posts while Hizbullah and the Syrian forces have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border. The two groups overran the town of Arsal in 2014 before being ousted by the army after days of deadly battles. The retreating militants abducted more than 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen of whom four have been executed and nine remain in IS' captivity.

Mashnouq Reiterates President to be Elected before Year's End
Naharnet/October 18/16/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq reiterated Tuesday that a new president will be elected before the end of 2016, stressing that al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri is the one who would declare the name of Mustaqbal's presidential candidate in the name of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc. “The final stance needs some time and Hariri will declare his position at the appropriate moment,” Mashnouq added in remarks to LBCI television. Hariri has been exploring the possibility of endorsing the presidential nomination of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun for several weeks now, amid reservations from large segments of al-Mustaqbal Movement and its parliamentary bloc. Mustaqbal sources who oppose Aoun's nomination have noted that the recent flurry of optimistic media reports is aimed at “embarrassing Hariri and pushing him to take a quick stance under the threat of holding him responsible for the failure of the current chance if he doesn't complete his rapprochement with Rabieh.”MP Alain Aoun of the FPM announced Monday that Hariri will announce his endorsement of Aoun “this week.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum. Hariri launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

March 8 Official Rules Out Imminent Election of President
Naharnet/October 18/16/An official from the Hizbullah-led March 8 camp has ruled out the imminent election of a president despite the latest optimism that followed the return of ex-PM Saad Hariri to Lebanon. “All domestic files have become practically suspended pending the outcome of the developments in the region,” a March 8 source close to Hizbullah told the Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat, adding that he totally rules out “the election of a president in the near future.” The source also noted that Hizbullah has not taken a final decision on the issue of Hariri's re-designation as prime minister, despite the “openness” that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has expressed in his latest speeches. “Accepting the appointment of Hariri as premier -- which is the most important post in the Lebanese state – will definitely not happen amid the current circumstances,” the source added. The ex-PM has been exploring the possibility of endorsing the presidential nomination of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun for several weeks now and MP Alain Aoun of the FPM announced Monday that Hariri will announce his endorsement of Aoun “this week.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum. Hariri launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Report: Nasrallah Tells Berri March 8 Not Part of Bassil-Hariri Agreements
Naharnet/October 18/16/Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has reassured his ally Speaker Nabih Berri that the March 8 camp does not consider itself to be part of the alleged agreements that were reached by Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil and ex-PM Saad Hariri's adviser Nader Hariri during their latest meetings, a media report said on Tuesday. “The political aides of Berri and Nasrallah – Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and Hussein al-Khalil – met overnight and discussed the latest developments regarding the presidential file,” al-Liwaa newspaper reported. “They also discussed the calculations of each of Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement regarding the nomination of (FPM founder MP Michel) Aoun and what needs to be done after the head of al-Mustaqbal Movement officially declares” his endorsement of Aoun, the daily added. Hizbullah's envoy reassured the finance minister that “his allies in the March 8 camp are not concerned with the guarantees and agreements that were reached or signed between Bassil and Nader Hariri, not to mention that Hizbullah itself considers itself not concerned with these agreements,” al-Liwaa said. Berri is strongly opposed to Aoun's nomination and is one of the main backers of the nomination of Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh. According to a report published by al-Akhbar newspaper on Tuesday, Berri has accused Aoun and Hariri of seeking to “topple political Shiism” in Lebanon, warning that such an attempt might lead to a “civil war” in the country. MP Alain Aoun of the FPM announced Monday that Hariri will announce his endorsement of Aoun “this week.”The ex-PM has been exploring the possibility of endorsing Aoun for several weeks now and on Sunday Education Minister Elias Bou Saab of the FPM announced that Hariri has officially decided to endorse Aoun's presidential bid. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum. Hariri launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Berri Says Aoun, Hariri Seeking to End 'Partnership with Shiites', Warns of 'Civil War'
Naharnet/October 18/16/Speaker Nabih Berri has accused Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun and al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri of seeking to “topple political Shiism” in Lebanon, warning that such an attempt might lead to a “civil war” in the country, a media report said on Tuesday. “Congratulations. Saad Hariri's choice has triumphed and he has revived the 1943 pact with Aoun. We will be outside power – among the ranks of the opposition,” al-Akhbar newspaper quoted aides to Berri as saying. Asked whether a return to the 1943 pact would ignite a new civil war, the sources said: “That's true. What they are doing will lead to a civil war and we will fight to defend ourselves and Hizbullah!”And asked whether AMAL Movement's latest “military parade” in Nabatieh during Ashura was a “message” in this regard, the sources said “the Nabatieh scene is nothing compared to what we might do to prevent a return to the pre-Taef Accord era.”Hariri and Aoun are trying to undermine “the partnership with political Shiism that followed the Taef Accord and we will not agree to take part in this game. Let them become used to governments in which Hizbullah would be entrusted with preserving the share of the Shiite community in power,” the sources added. “Our presidential candidate is (Marada Movement chief MP) Suleiman Franjieh. We have respected Hizbullah's stance that is supportive of Aoun, although we asked Hizbullah around 50 questions related to the characteristics of each of Aoun and Franjieh and we received answers indicating that Franjieh is better than Aoun but that they have an ethical commitment to Aoun's nomination,” the Ain el-Tineh sources explained. Clarifying why they have reservations on Aoun's nomination, the sources added: “First of all, Suleiman Franjieh reassures us more than Aoun. The remarks of (FPM chief Jebran) Bassil in his latest interview, his avoidance to mention the resistance, and the way he talked about Hizbullah's fighting in Syria were not reassuring.”
“Through their (FPM's) agreement with (Lebanese Forces leader) Samir Geagea, they have appointed him as a 'crown prince' for leading the Christian majority in the future, not to mention that Jebran Bassil and (Hariri's adviser) Nader Hariri have agreed on everything,” the sources went on to say. “They have agreed on granting sovereign ministerial portfolios to the LF, on the oil file, on the finance ministry, on the army command and on the central bank governor post. They agreed that independent Christians would not be granted any ministerial portfolio except for one that would go to someone loyal to Hariri,” the sources alleged. Asked about Berri's latest praise of Hariri, Berri's aides said: “We support Saad in the face of extremism and (resigned Justice Minister) Ashraf Rifi, not in his return to the 1943 bilateral (Sunni-Maronite) power-sharing.”“We are against the election of Michel Aoun as president and we will not agree to this settlement in which we were not partners. They are not recognizing anyone's presence, so why would we take part in their government?” the sources said. They also stressed that AMAL's stance will remain unchanged unless “unforeseen political developments happen, such as Franjieh's withdrawal of his nomination.”Berri's aides also admitted that the parliament speaker “has been encouraging Franjieh to carry on with his nomination.”
Asked whether that means that Berri has ruled out any agreement with Aoun and Hariri, the sources said: “No. They must first realize that an agreement with Hizbullah is not an agreement with us and that their problem with us is not about a share, a post or a ministerial portfolio. They must renounce the deal of returning to the 1943 bilateral power-sharing and they must return to the dialogue table so that we discuss the country's future.”“Otherwise, let us go parliament and may the best candidate win. If the General (Aoun) wins we will congratulate him and move to the ranks of the opposition,” the sources added. MP Alain Aoun of the FPM announced Monday that Hariri will announce his endorsement of Aoun “this week.” The ex-PM has been exploring the possibility of endorsing Aoun for several weeks now and on Sunday Education Minister Elias Bou Saab of the FPM announced that Hariri has officially decided to endorse Aoun's presidential bid. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.
Hariri launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.
 

Future bloc: priority to elect president in accordance with Constitution
Tue 18 Oct 2016/NNA - The Future Parliamentary Bloc on Tuesday stressed the need to elect a president in accordance with the Constitution. The bloc said following its weekly meeting, "the political parties and parliamentary blocs are asked today to work to elect a president of the state, and to activate the state's institutions precisely the Parliament and the government to resolve urgent issues and preserve the economy of the country". The bloc also denounced the war crimes and violations of international law, in Aleppo, urging the international community, including the UN Secretary General to swiftly resume negotiations to end the conflict.

Berri reviews presidential deadline with his visitors
Tue 18 Oct 2016/NNA - Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri met on Tuesday night with Taymour Walid Jumblatt and Ministers Wael Abou Faour and Akram Shehayeb and MP Ghazi Aridi, in the presence of Minister Ali Hassan Khalil. Discussions focused on the presidential deadline. Aridi said following the meeting, "we discussed the ongoing incidents in the country and the upcoming deadlines". Asked if PSP still nominates Deputy Henry Helou to the presidency, Aridi said "When anything else happens naturally PSP will meet to take the appropriate decision. We are keen on the country, its stability and the dignity of our candidate".

Ambassador Lassen discusses political situation with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea
Tue 18 Oct 2016/NNA - Ambassador Christina Lassen, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, met today with the Head of the Executive Committee of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea. Discussions focused on the political situation in the country and the developments in the region. Ambassador Lassen stated after the meeting: "We had a frank and open exchange on all issues pertaining to the current institutional crisis, the developments in the region and the on-going cooperation between the EU and Lebanon." "The sovereignty, stability, territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon are important for the European Union", Ambassador Lassen stated. "The prolonged political crisis can only further weaken the country in facing its many challenges".

Geagea, Kanaan tackle presidential dossier
Tue 18 Oct 2016/NNA - Lebanese Forces head, Samir Geagea met on Tuesday afternoon with MP Ibrahim Kanaan delegated by General Michel Aoun.
Discussions touched on the presidential file and the legislative session. Kanaan left without making any statement.

Hariri, Khalil take up current situation
Tue 18 Oct 2016/NNA - Prime Minister Saad Hariri met on Tuesday afternoon at the Central House with Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, whereby the pair reportedly dwelt on most recent political developments in the country.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on October 18-19/16

Assad’s father-in-law in denial: ‘No children being bombed in Syria’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 18 October 2016/When Asma al-Assad’s father was asked about his feelings toward the deaths of children at the hands of his son-in-law’s regime, Dr. Fawaz Akhras responded: “What children? I’ve seen no children being bombed.”His comments were made to the Daily Express’ Adam Helliker, who approached Akhras last week outside the private Cromwell hospital in Earl’s Court. Akhras, 69, still supports Bashar al-Assad’s rule and continues to lead a privileged life in Britain, living with his wife Sahar in Acton.More than 430 people have been killed in bombardment on the eastern half since the assault on Aleppo was announced on September 22, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Russia, Syria forces halt Aleppo bombing
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 18 October 2016/A short truce seems to be faltering in Syria's Aleppo, after activists reported Syrian activists say warplanes struck two rebel-held villages shortly after Russian and Syrian airstrikes were halted. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Ibrahim Alhaj, a spokesman for the Civil Defense, say that Tuesday's airstrikes hit villages of Anadan and Daret Azzehe. They had no immediate word on casualties. Russia had said there would be an eight-hour “humanitarian pause” in the battered city, a move welcomed by the United Nations and the European Union which nevertheless said the ceasefire needed to be longer to allow the delivery of aid. “Strikes in the Aleppo region by the Russian and Syrian air forces are stopping today starting at 10:00 am,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a televised briefing, adding that the measure was “necessary” to pave the way for the truce. “This guarantees the security of civilians’ exit through six corridors and prepares the evacuation of the sick and injured from eastern Aleppo,” he said, adding that it would also guarantee safe passage for armed rebels to leave eastern Aleppo. Turkey, Qatar, and Saudis join Aleppo truce discussions. Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have agreed to military talks with the United States and Russia on efforts to distance Syrian opposition fighters from extremist groups in order to facilitate implementing the truce. Russia has repeatedly demanded that the Syrian rebels break off from extremist groups, as a condition to revive a ceasefire in the battleground city of Aleppo. “Those countries did express their intention to work hard with those moderate opposition groups in order for them to be separated from Al-Nusra,” Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters. More than 430 people have been killed in bombardment on the eastern half since the assault on Aleppo was announced on September 22, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.With Agencies

France to Host Talks Thursday on Mosul's Future
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 18/16/France will host an international meeting Thursday on the future of Mosul, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on the second day of a major offensive to retake Iraq's second city from the Islamic State group.
"We must anticipate, plan for the 'day after', and the stabilization of Mosul after the military battle," Ayrault said Tuesday, adding that Iran -- which wields substantial influence in Iraq -- was not invited to the talks. "We must win the war but also look at everything that will enable us to win the peace," he said. The French foreign minister said the international coalition fighting IS also had a "responsibility" to retake Raqa, in Syria, which would be the last major city in either country under the group's control if Mosul falls. "Not to go on to Raqa would be a bad mistake," Ayrault told reporters. "If we want to fight effectively against terrorism it is essential to take this city." The long-awaited offensive on Mosul was launched on Monday, with some 30,000 forces involved in Iraq's largest military operation since the pullout of U.S. troops in 2011. The U.S. military, which is leading a coalition providing air and ground support, said Iraqi forces looked "ahead of schedule" but warned the battle would be long and difficult. The coalition's defense ministers will meet in Paris next Tuesday to assess progress in the battle for Mosul. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will be among 13 ministers at the talks, an aide to French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said. Le Drian said Tuesday the battle for Mosul could take "several weeks" or even months. The ministers are also expected to stress the importance of routing the jihadists from Raqa. The coalition is concerned that IS will attempt to move fighters and military equipment from Mosul to Syria as the offensive intensifies. Although the coalition includes around 60 countries, the meeting will comprise only Western nations providing air support. They are: United States, France, Britain, Canada, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Norway, Denmark and New Zealand.

Turkish air force involved in air strikes in Iraq’s Mosul
Reuters, Istanbul Tuesday, 18 October 2016/Turkey’s air force has been involved in coalition air strikes on the Iraqi city of Mosul, part of the US-backed operation to flush out ISIS, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday. Turkey has been locked in a row with Baghdad about the presence of its troops at the Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq and over who should take part in the US-backed assault on Mosul. Turkey has trained up to 3,000 forces taking part but is concerned the operation could stoke sectarian tensions.

Iraq Forces Advance on IS Stronghold of Mosul
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 18/16/Iraqi forces are "ahead of schedule" in an offensive aimed at retaking Mosul and dealing a death blow to the Islamic State group, but the battle will be difficult and protracted, the Pentagon has said. The start of the long-awaited assault raised deep concerns for hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in Iraq's second-largest city, with aid groups warning of a massive humanitarian crisis. Some 30,000 federal forces are leading the offensive, backed by air and ground support from a 60-nation U.S.-led coalition, in what is expected to be a long assault on IS' last major Iraqi stronghold. Iraqi forces readied weapons and ammunition as columns of armored vehicles headed towards Mosul from the town of al-Shura, some 45 kilometers (30 miles) south of the city. The Pentagon said late Monday the operation had begun well but warned it would be a "difficult campaign that could take some time". A top U.S. general earlier said it would take several weeks or even longer. "Early indications are that Iraqi forces have met their objectives so far, and that they are ahead of schedule for this first day," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had announced the beginning of the assault in a televised address earlier in the day. "Today I declare the start of these victorious operations to free you from the violence and terrorism of Daesh (IS)," Abadi said.IS seized control of large parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria in mid-2014, declaring a cross-border "caliphate" and committing widespread atrocities.
Toughest battle yet
The jihadists have suffered a string of territorial defeats this year in both countries, and the retaking of Mosul would all but end their presence in Iraq as a land-holding force. Iraqi forces have been closing in on Mosul in recent weeks but the battle begun Monday could be the toughest yet against IS. IS forces are vastly outnumbered, with the U.S. military estimating 3,000 to 4,500 jihadists in and around Mosul. But they have had months to prepare and will seek to use hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, snipers, bombs, berms and trenches to slow down and bleed Iraqi forces. In an online statement after the assault began, IS claimed it launched a series of deadly suicide car bombings against Iraqi forces. Early Monday, federal forces moved from their main staging base of Qayyarah, south of Mosul, as peshmerga forces from the autonomous Kurdish region advanced from the east. Around 4,000 Kurdish peshmerga took part in a push to reclaim villages once inhabited by members of the Christian and Kakai minorities, a statement said. Several villages were promptly recaptured and peshmerga forces had moved to the edges of Qaraqosh and Bartalla, two Christian towns IS seized in August 2014, commanders said.
Exodus fears
The U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Lise Grande, told reporters that an exodus could begin within a week and some aid groups worried about preparedness. "It is estimated that as many as 200,000 people could flee from the city in these first weeks, though there are currently only 60,000 tents available in seven emergency camps," the International Rescue Committee said. In London, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Riyadh had urged Iraq's government not to let Shiite militias enter Sunni-majority Mosul, fearing "mass atrocities." "It could add fuel to the sectarian fires raging in the region and so we have urged the Iraqi government not to use the Shia militias. That is the greatest danger that we see," he said. Iraqi forces advancing on multiple fronts are some distance from Mosul and are expected to eventually take up positions on the city's edge and lay siege before breaching its boundaries and directly engaging die-hard jihadists. "This operation to regain control of Iraq's second-largest city will likely continue for weeks, possibly longer," warned Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, commander of the U.S.-led coalition. Most of the coalition's support has come in the shape of air strikes and training, but U.S., French and British special forces are also on the ground to advise local troops. "This is a decisive moment in the campaign to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat," U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said, using an alternative acronym for IS.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday indicated that Turkey would also play a role in the offensive despite concerns raised by Baghdad.
Last stand
As the biggest Iraqi military operation since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops unfolded, a Turkish delegation arrived in Baghdad for talks and coalition defense ministers agreed to meet in Paris on October 25 to take stock. IS once controlled more than a third of Iraq's territory but its self-proclaimed "state" has been shrinking steadily. It lost its emblematic bastion Fallujah in June, the Anbar provincial capital Ramadi months earlier and on Sunday Syrian rebels retook the town of Dabiq, which held special ideological significance for the group.If Mosul falls, only Raqa in Syria would remain as the last major city in either country under IS control. But even the recapture of Mosul will not mark the end of the war against IS, which is likely to increasingly turn to insurgent tactics as it loses more ground. Just hours after the offensive began, IS claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing targeting an Iraqi army checkpoint south of Baghdad that killed at least 10 people.

Latest updates: Ongoing battle to retake Mosul
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 18 October 2016/As the battle to retake Mosul enters its second day, military sources have confirmed the gradual capture of two small towns south of the city where Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants set fires to oil fields in the run up to the operations. Spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting ISIS Col. John Dorrian has warned that the extremist group has increased its defenses dramatically in Mosul, pointing that the battle to restore the city “will be difficult”. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has also warned that the battle could take “months”. “It could be a long battle, it’s not a blitzkrieg... It’s a lengthy affair (lasting) several weeks, maybe months,” he told reporters in Paris a day after the offensive began. The long-awaited offensive on Mosul was launched on Monday, with some 30,000 forces involved in Iraq’s largest military operation since the pullout of US troops in 2011. France will host an international meeting Thursday on the political future of Mosul, while the coalition’s defense ministers will meet in Paris next Tuesday to assess progress on the military front.

Yemen conflict: Both sides accept 72-hour ceasefire
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 18 October 2016/A 72-hour ceasefire has been agreed to between Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Houthi militias slated to begin on Wednesday, with the possibility of an extension. “The President agreed to a 72 hrs ceasefire to be extended if the other party adheres to it,” Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdulmalek al-Mekhlafi said on twitter. The agreement triggers a ceasefire which would end the siege of the city of Taiz. “We are here to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, which will be declared in the next few hours,” said UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. He said the warring factions had agreed to follow the terms and conditions of a previous ceasefire agreement that was made in April. He expressed hope that the upcoming ceasefire would lead “to a permanent and lasting end to the conflict.”

Yemeni forces advance
Meanwhile Al Arabiya News Channel's correspondent reported that military sources that Houthi leader Abdel Khalek al-Karmouchi was killed during clashes with Yemen’s national army north east of the capital Sanaa. Other sources confirmed the death of Houthi leader and military spokesperson colonel Ahmed Abdel Rahman al-Khatib during clashes northeast of the Houthi strong hold province Saada. Houthi militia senior leaders Abu Saleh al-Ghamri and Jaafer Adlan were also confirmed killed in the Saada clashes. Meanwhile on Tuesday, coalition forces were able to kill tens of Houthi militia forces who attempted to breach the borders with Saudi Arabia.
 

Houthi military information officer killed near Najran
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 18 October 2016/Colonel Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Khatib, one of the prominent commanders of the Houthi militia and the head of its war propaganda and media division, has been killed alongside several of his bodyguards in the northern province of Saada area off Najran, it has been revealed. According to a report in Al Arabiya.net, it was reported that Houthi leader Abdul Khaliq Al-Karmouchi was also killed in clashes between the Yemeni army and the militias. Meanwhile, the Media Center of the Yemeni army has announced that it has regained control over the Brigade 101 camp Mica, which is an important market northeast province of Saada.

Saudi Arabia: Prince executed for murder crime
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 18 October 2016/A statement from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior has confirmed on Tuesday it has carried out the execution orders on Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir. The prince was found guilty three years ago by a Saudi court for murdering a young Saudi man following a group fight in al-Thumama region in the outskirts of Riyadh. The statement said that "Saudi Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir killed Saudi citizen Adel bin Suleiman bin Abdul Karim Mohaimeed." The statement added that "authorities were able to arrest the above mentioned offender. After the investigations, they charged him of committing the crime and his indictment was sent to the General Court. He was charged with what was attributed to him and sentenced to death as retribution." The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court both agreed on the indictment. A Royal Decree was issued for the implementation of the court’s rule.
The victim’s family refused offers of ‘blood money’ and demanded justice be carried out.
The statement added that the Interior Ministry confirmed “King Salman’s keenness on enforcement of security, justice and God's judgments.”It also warned “that legitimate punishment would be the fate of whoever tries to assault innocent people and shed their blood”.

Five Egyptians confess to murdering Saudi teacher
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 18 October 2016/Judicial sources confirmed to AlArabiya.net that five suspects in the murder case of Saudi teacher Khalil Al-Omayrini have confessed to their crimes.Egyptian prosecutors decided on Tuesday to jail the five suspects – aged between 19 and 32 – pending formal charges for the murder Omayrini in Giza. Among the suspects were a mechanic of a car garage found at the bottom of the building where Omrayrini lived in Cairo. Hamada Mohammed Taha – the garage owner – was the mastermind behind the murder who, along with his friends, decided to rob the Saudi citizen on the day of the murder. The 47-year-old victim, who was found dead on Tuesday in his apartment in Cairo, is seen in a new video taken during his farewell party at his school before his killing in Egypt.
Khalil, who decided to leave his teaching job, was seen in the sendoff with his students

Indian hospital fire toll rises to 20, staff suspended
AFP, New Delhi Tuesday, 18 October 2016/Three staff at an Indian hospital have been suspended after a deadly blaze in the intensive care unit, authorities said on Tuesday, as the toll from the disaster rose to 20. Fire broke out on Monday night in the dialysis ward of the hospital in eastern Odisha state before quickly spreading to other floors, killing 19 seriously ill patients who were unable to flee the blaze. Another patient died in hospital on Tuesday after being rescued from the burning building, said police inspector Sharat Kumar Sahu. "The toll is now 20 as one more person has succumbed to his injuries," he told AFP.
Negligence
"We can also confirm that three mid-level hospital staff have been suspended prima facie (for) negligence."About 40 critically ill patients were in the ICU of the SUM hospital in state capital Bhubaneswar when the fire broke out. In all more than 100 were rescued by firefighters who smashed windows to get them out of the burning building. Local television stations showed images of firefighters wearing masks smashing glass panes to enter the building.Police inspector Sahu said the firefighters had battled the blaze for around five hours until it was brought under control.

UNESCO vote on Jerusalem site angers Israel
Reuters, Paris Tuesday, 18 October 2016/UNESCO member states have renewed a resolution criticizing Israel for restricting Muslim access to a Jerusalem holy site, a European diplomatic source said, angering Israel’s government by also referring to the area only by its Muslim names. But a draft of the latest version of the resolution, posted on UNESCO’s website and dated Oct 12, showed the site repeatedly described only by its Muslim names - something Israel says amounts to a denial of its Jewish history. “The theatre of the absurd at UNESCO continues and today the organization adopted another delusional decision which says that the people of Israel have no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Jerusalem after the decision. The resolution, which is renewed periodically, condemns Israel for restricting Muslims access to the site, and for aggression by police and soldiers. “To declare that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall of China or that Egypt has no connection to the Pyramids,” Netanyahu said. Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said: “This is an important message to Israel that it must end its occupation and recognize the Palestinian state and Jerusalem as its capital with its sacred Muslim and Christian sites.” The resolution was voted through on Thursday with 24 votes in favor, six against, and 26 abstentions with two countries absent, the diplomatic source and another source with knowledge of the vote said on Thursday. France, which is trying to bring the Israeli and Palestinians leaders back to the negotiating table by year-end, was among countries voting in favor of the resolution on a previous occasion, a move that caused a diplomatic row with the Israeli government. Earlier this year, President Francois Hollande said there had been an “unfortunate,” amendment to the text on that occasion and that he would be “extremely vigilant” with this year’s resolution. Paris abstained this time round, the diplomat said.
Last Update: Tuesday, 18 October 2016 KSA 09:00 - GMT 06:00

French minister: Britain must fulfil duty to Calais migrant children
AFP, Paris Tuesday, 18 October 2016/Britain must fulfil its duties towards unaccompanied migrant children in the Calais “Jungle” camp, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in an article published Tuesday, just a day after more than a dozen teenagers were transferred to the UK. “(The) French government has now decided to dismantle the Calais camp for good,” Cazeneuve said in an opinion piece for British newspaper The Guardian, adding that neither London nor Paris wants “to leave people with the right to refugee status in the cold and the mud -- women and children least of all”. The makeshift settlement in Calais has become a focal point in France of Europe’s migrant crisis, the subject of heated debate among politicians and a constant source of tension with Britain, which is where many of the migrants want to go. The minister said that “because they share a moral responsibility towards them, the governments of France and the UK are determined to succeed with this operation together”. “The British government has pledged to help solve this crisis by taking in some unaccompanied minors, the vast majority of whom have expressed the wish to go to the UK,” he added. “The UK government now needs to intensify this effort, so that every unaccompanied minor can benefit from fair, lasting protection. In the longer term, neither the UK nor France can abdicate our responsibilities regarding the migration crisis across our continent.”The interior minister warned the “humanitarian operation must be supported by long-term measures aimed at making the border impenetrable at Calais and other Channel ports”. He said that “thanks to the cooperation between our police services, 33 illegal immigration networks smuggling people into the UK have already been dismantled in France since the beginning of this year”. His comments came as 14 unaccompanied teenagers who had been living in the Calais “Jungle” were reunited with relatives after being transferred to Britain on Monday, ahead of the demolition of the French migrant camp. The children, who Britain said were aged between 14 and 17 and from countries including Syria and Sudan, are due to be followed by dozens more in the coming days. They are entitled to move to Britain under EU law due to family ties with those already in the UK. But campaigners and faith leaders warned there were many more left behind who also deserved the country’s help.

Retired US general charged with lying in ‘Stuxnet’ leak case
Reuters, Washington Tuesday, 18 October 2016/A retired US Marine Corps general who last served as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pleaded guilty on Monday in a federal court to making false statements to the FBI during an investigation into leaks of classified information. Four-star General James Cartwright was questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2012 over a book written by New York Times reporter David Sanger, which exposed a malicious computer software program known as “Stuxnet” designed to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program. Cartwright also in 2012 confirmed classified information about an unnamed country to Daniel Klaidman, then a reporter for Newsweek, according to his plea agreement. He retired from the US Marine Corps in September 2011, four months before he began providing information to Sanger, the plea agreement said. “I knew I was not the source of the story, and I didn’t want to be blamed for the leak,” said Cartwright of his effort to mislead FBI agents in a statement released after he pleaded guilty on Monday. “My only goal in talking to the reporters was to protect American interests and lives.”Cartwright’s guilty plea was for his false statements to FBI agents, not for speaking to the reporters, said Cartwright’s attorney Gregory Craig, of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, in a separate statement: “His effort to prevent publication of information that might harm American lives of national security does not constitute a violation of any law.” Federal prosecutors declined to comment on the hearing. A false statements conviction carries a maximum prison sentence of five years, but prosecutors and Cartwright’s attorneys agreed his offense merited a sentence ranging from zero to six months. Reuters and several other news outlets have previously reported that Stuxnet was developed jointly by US and Israeli forces. Both the US and Israel have never publicly admitted responsibility for Stuxnet. Stuxnet was a sophisticated computer virus deployed covertly in 2009 and 2010 to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program. The worm, parts of which surfaced publicly in 2010 due to a programing error that allowed it to spread across the open internet, is believed to have destroyed a thousand or more centrifuges that were enriching uranium. Cartwright has long been the target of a Justice Department probe investigating the source of leaks about Stuxnet to the New York Times. US District Judge Richard Leon on Monday tentatively scheduled Cartwright’s sentencing for Jan. 17, 2017, and acknowledged that part of the sentencing might be closed to allow for discussion of classified information.

Iran: The Report of a University Student
Tuesday, 18 October/2016/NCRI - The crises in the provision of accommodations and the lack of commitment and responsibility by the officials of the Ministry of Science and universities: In the new academic year that has started from October, there is a serious crisis for the university students. There are no suitable dormitories for the new students and even the students of the previous years have the same problem as well. At the time of the registration, the student welfare institutions raise the issue in advance and withhold any assurance by saying that there are not enough funding and good infrastructure conditions in housing and feeding. This problem intensifies for the female students as they are more exposed to the social and cultural barriers. Regarding these issues, the universities and students have entered into correspondence with the Ministry of Science but the officials evaded the answers due to the lack of funding and inadequate explanations. Therefore the issue has remained unsettled.
The difficulty of procuring and supplying equipment and laboratory facilities in universities:
As most of the courses of engineering and related branches of medical science are practical, the use of materials and laboratory facilities are considered as the major priorities of these disciplines as well. Unfortunately, a very serious crisis that nearly all universities faced with in the country is the lack of laboratory facilities and the existence of a black market for the provision of those in Tehran. The LC section of the Ministry of Science, affiliated with the vice president of research, is responsible for the purchase of the laboratory equipment from the European companies. This section announced that all banks and European companies do not cooperate for any purchase in wholesale products and there is no possibility of opening a foreign currency account for exchange.
The scholarships for the international students and the deep political corruption in this regard: Recently, a public statement has been sent to all public universities to admit foreign students in master and Ph.D. degrees. According to the notice, despite all of the consecutive crises, our universities are obliged to admit the foreign students from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Pakistan and so on. As it is planned, these students could be the cultural missionaries of the Iran's regime in their home country and they could support the thoughts and ideas of Iran's revolution and of Imam Khomeini's. Apparently, the foreign students are admitted to Iran's universities and they are granted the scholarships that include the tuition fees, dormitories and training facilities and especially the donation of funds as grants. Unfortunately, these facilities are not provided for our elites and students and they have been deprived of them.
The evident religious and gender discrimination in the new academic year:
According to a circular issued by the Supreme Leader, the Sunni students and the students of other religious minorities must be fully separated from the Shiite students and any other programs or religious activities of them must be confirmed by the Supreme leader and the security office in form of an official permit. According to the circular, any prayer congregation of Sunnis is forbidden and the Sunni students are not permitted to hold any special religious programs or prayer congregation in the university dorm or public places.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia oppose using Iran regime affiliated militias in Mosul Operations
NCRI Iran News/ Monday, 17 October 2016/Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, at a joint news conference, opposed the presence of Iraq’s so-called Popular Basij (mobilization) Forces, made up mainly of the Shiites affiliated with Iranian regime, in the operations to retake Mosul from ISIS. Turkish Foreign Minister, Mouloud Chavosh Oglu, and his Saudi counterpart, Adel al-Jubeir, participated in a joint press conference on October 13 following Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting. The issue of Iraq was one of the most important topics in the press conference, as well as the main topics of talks, as the report implies, in the meeting of the GCC members and Turkey. According to the Turkish news agency, Anatolia, Mr. Chavosh Oglu said Ankara does not want the people of Mosul be forced to choose between the Shiite militias [affiliated with Iran regime] and the paramilitary group known as the Islamic State (ISIS). Adel Jubeir too said Shiite militias “Associated with Iran [regime] have created problems elsewhere in Iraq and have committed crimes. If they enter Mosul, a disaster will occur.”
Saudi newspaper “Saudi Gazette” cited the statement of Turkish Foreign Minister in a different way that is not mentioned in the report by Anatolia news agency. In the Saudi Gazette’s report, Chavosh Oglu quoted as saying: “The presence of extremists and Shiite militia is disastrous and Iraq should avoid both dangers.”The Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Saudi Arabia also raised their approach on how to retake Mosul. Chavosh Oglu said it is better the people of (born in) Mosul and “local volunteers” lead the operations against ISIS in Mosul and “the Iraqi army and other factors can provide them with the necessary helps.” Adel Jubeir said, “It is better for Iraq to use its National Army and the factors that are not linked to Iran and are not sectarians help them. Turkey and Saudi Foreign Ministers, however, in their statements did not name their preferred factors (candidates) or volunteers.
Before meeting with his counterparts in the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council and talking with the Saudi Foreign Minister about Iraq, Turkish Foreign Minister had made some talks with the Iranian regime’s Foreign Minister on this issue as well. The Iranian regime is the main supporter of Iraq’s central government and also supports a number of powerful Shiite militia groups in that country.

Iran: 700 Child Laborers and Street Children In Only one Province (Kermanshah)
Tuesday, 18 October 2016/NCRI - The Iranian regime’s director general of social welfare in the province of Kermanshah –Western Iran, said there are 700 child laborers in the province. He claimed that the Welfare policy is in line with the “support and empowerment” of child laborers and street children. This is while in an article last month, a local newspaper reported that the regime agents have been shaving heads of street children and child laborers in the city of Kermanshah to humiliate them and prevent their presence in the streets.In his remarks while claiming to provide support for child laborers, Omid Qaderi said: “Children who [are forced to] work on the streets to earn a living may be only a child laborer, an unsupervised or badly supervised child, or an orphan or abandoned child on the street.” He said the social welfare organization is in charge of taking care of the street children and child laborers and claimed: “Kermanshah is a leading province in addressing child laborers and in 2000 we have launched a center for street children in the pro-vince. After the children are identified and determine to be whether simply a child laborer or an orphaned and abandoned child, the center holds them in their custody and provides them with counseling and health screening services. In the child care center, they offer services that lead to empowerment and return of the children to the community.”
While this local authority claims to be addressing and providing services for child laborers, in August this year, Bakhtar newspaper in an article reported that an unnamed government institution [have been] shaving heads of these children in Kermanshah and humiliating them to prevent their presence in the streets. According to the report, these children were likely facing arrest and detention in the institution for a few days.
No accurate statistics on the number of child laborers
The director of social welfare in the province of Kermanshah revealed that there are 600 to 700 child laborers in the province and said: “Of this number, 300 have been identified, but due to the nature of the work the number of [statistics on] child laborers in the province and the country is not accurate.”
Referring to the plan for “consolidating child laborers and street children” in accordance with the Cabinet Ministers’ decision, Qaderi admitted: “This plan is done in partnership with the governorate, judiciary, municipalities, and the police and then the Welfare organization enters the project as social worker,” according to state-run Mersad News. “According to the law, child labor is prohibited but regarding those (children) who are forced to work for a living, the Welfare organization’s policy in the field is empowerment of the children,” he claimed.

Trump Bashes Clinton but She Extends Campaign Lead
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 18/16/White House hopeful Donald Trump branded Hillary Clinton's operations a "criminal enterprise" Monday as he assailed her for creating conditions for a rigged election, and accused US media of wanting to "poison" voters' minds. Trailing in national polls and in key battleground states just three weeks before Election Day November 8, Trump came out swinging on the campaign trail, accusing Clinton of colluding with U.S. authorities to cover up misconduct regarding her private email system and denouncing it as "one of the great miscarriages of justice" in U.S. history. Trump, whose campaign has been reeling in the face of lewd comments about women and accusations of sexual assault, has doubled down on claims of massive voter fraud in 2016, despite denials from within his own party. And his team has deployed his wife Melania in a media blitz to try to tamp down the furor over the allegations, with interviews airing late Monday on CNN and early Tuesday on Fox News. "Those words, they were offensive to me and they were inappropriate. And he apologized to me. And I accept his apology. And we are moving on," Trump told Fox, in an excerpt released by the network. A firestorm erupted earlier this month when a 2005 video was made public and caught Trump saying lewd things about women, in a mostly off-camera conversation with host Billy Bush of the show "Access Hollywood."Melania Trump told CNN that she felt her husband had been "egged on by the host to say dirty and bad stuff."The Republican nominee takes the stage Wednesday with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in their final debate before voters make their choice. Trump unleashed a litany of complaints recently about the nation's election system, and also blamed the media for his woes, raising concerns about possible unrest should he lose.
'Tell the truth!'
He let loose again Monday at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin. "Voter fraud is very, very common," he told a fired up crowd, who at various times broke into chants of "Lock her up!" "Tell the truth!" and "CNN sucks!" "This is a rigged election folks," he said. "And the media's trying to rig the election by giving credence... to false stories that have no validity," he added. "They want to poison the minds of the voters." Trump also accused Clinton of colluding with U.S. authorities by seeking to pressure the FBI to alter its findings in a probe of Clinton's use of private servers while she was secretary of state. Federal Bureau of Investigation documents released Monday showed a senior State Department official, undersecretary of state Patrick Kennedy, had asked the FBI to declassify or lower the classification of one Clinton email that had been rated secret." Trump said the State Department official made the request for altering classification "as part of a 'quid pro quo.'"
"We're witnessing a criminal enterprise" at work, he said of the Clinton campaign.
"This is felony corruption by any standard."Clinton leads Trump by 12 points, 50 percent to 38 percent, among likely voters nationwide in a four-way contest with third-party candidates, a Monmouth University poll showed. Meanwhile, a survey from Quinnipiac University had Clinton leading in several key swing states -- Colorado, Florida and Pennsylvania -- and tied with Trump in Ohio. A CNN poll puts Trump ahead by four points in Ohio, but gives Clinton a slight lead in battlegrounds North Carolina and Nevada.
Her leads in key states correspond to her advantage of 6.4 percentage points in an average of recent national polls given by RealClearPolitics.
'Irresponsible'
The polls indicate that the allegations swirling around Trump have taken their toll. Monmouth found that six in 10 voters believe he made unwanted sexual advances towards women -- claims he vehemently denies. Trump's running mate Mike Pence sought to ease tensions, insisting his camp would accept defeat if voters reject the Republican ticket at the polls. "We will absolutely accept the results of the election," he told CBS Sunday. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican who oversees election operations in his state, insisted that Trump was being "irresponsible," after the nominee tweeted a warning Monday about "large scale voter fraud" in the U.S. election. "If there is a systemic problem, please identify it. Don't just make an allegation on Twitter. Tell me," Husted said on CNN. For Clinton's campaign manager Robby Mook, Trump is "desperately trying to shift attention from his own disastrous campaign.""He knows he's losing and he's trying to blame that on the system. This is what losers do," Mook said during a press call on Monday. Clinton was lying low Monday, prepping for the final debate. "She is trying to avoid issues for the next 22 days in the hopes that this will just end up being about Mr. Trump," his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told CNN Monday outside of Trump Tower in New York.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on on October 18-19/16

Twenty bizarre bans on Iranian women by misogynic mullahs’ regime ruling Iran

في إيران الملالي اسياد عون وحزب الله النساء ممنوعات من ممارسة 20 حق محللة فقط للرجال هي:
NCRI/October 18/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/10/18/ncritwenty-bizarre-bans-on-iranian-women-by-misogynic-mullahs-regime-ruling-iran/
- Many of the prohibitions that Iranian women are facing are considered bizarre and odd by their counterparts in many other countries. The bans have been changed over time and sometimes become more intense. Let’s get familiar with some of these bans.
Deutsche Welle Farsi has collected and published in a report a list of strange prohibitions for Iranian women in Iran as the followings:
Cycling is prohibited for women
One of the latest prohibitions Iranian women are facing is a ban on bike riding. Recently, Ali Khamenei, Iranian regime’s supreme leader, answering a question on women’s cycling said: “Women’s cycling in public places and also in places where they are visible to strangers is forbidden.”
Women selfies with footballers is prohibited
After some Iranian women published in social networks their selfies with famous footballers in the recent years, the Iranian regime’s so-called “ethics committee” announced: “Women taking selfi photos [with male footballers] is prohibited.”
Employment of women in coffee shops is prohibited
In Iran, women are not allowed to work in some fields. In the latest example of such instance, Iranian Police announced: “Women’s employment in coffee shops (cafés) and coffeehouses is prohibited.”
Iranian women are not allowed to wear boots on pants
Iranian police, in line with their “winter combat (against mal-veiling)” plan, have announced that women are prohibited from wearing boots on pants.
Using hat or cap instead of scarf (veil) by women is prohibited
Iranian police also prohibited women from using hats instead of scarves or veils and announced: “Those women who use hats (as a veil) instead of head scarves and wear tight and short winter coats will be dealt with.”
Women are prohibited swimming while wearing maillot or “swimming suit”
In Iran under the rule of mullahs, women are not allowed to wear swimsuit for swimming in front of “stranger men.”
Women are barred from going on stage
According to Sharq newspaper, “Women musicians and performers in 13 provinces in Iran are not allowed to go on the stage for musical performance [playing musical instruments or singing, etc.].”
Women are not allowed to enter sport stadiums
In Iran [under the rule of mullahs], women are not allowed to enter sport stadiums such as football or volleyball stadiums when men are playing matches.
Women are not allowed to go to men’s section of Metro (Subway) or Bus
A small section of the buses and subways in Iran is allocated to women and they are not allowed to sit in the men’s section which is much bigger [even if women’s section is full and men’s section is empty].
Wearing Support (legging) is prohibited for women
The Iranian regime’s police have in recent years prohibited women from wearing Support (or leggings).
Women are not allowed to let their hair come out of either or both sides of their scarf or veil
The Iranian regime’s Police and Security forces have announced: “In the discussion on scarf and veil there is a point. Some people (women) think that if their hair is not shown from both sides of scarf but let their hair come out (and be seen) from one side of the scarf, this is not an instance of mal-veiling. In response, they should be told that changing the type of hairdressing is not applicable (the same) as fixed veiling (i.e. is not acceptable as proper veiling).”
Female students are prohibited to go camping with men
State-run Iranian media published an overview of the students mixed (gender) camping in the city of Jiroft as an example of non-compliance with “Islamic values” and a taboo.
Any contraceptive surgery is prohibited for women
In line with the Iran Regime’s policy to encourage population growth, any surgical procedure to prevent pregnancy is prohibited (for women) in Iran. In addition, publicity and advertising about contraception is also prohibited.
Women’s entry into coffeehouse and providing hookah to women is prohibited
According to the Union of coffeehouse (café) and traditional table houses, women’s entry into regular coffeehouses is “illegal” and the traditional coffee - and table - houses are “not authorized” to provide hookah to women.
Divorce at the request of women is not allowed
In Iran under the rule of mullahs, only men have the right to divorce, except in exceptional cases. So, normally women do not have the right and are not allowed to divorce their husband even if a woman does not agree with her husband.
Iranian women are prohibited marrying non-Muslim men
According to Iranian regime’s laws, Iranian women are not allowed to marry non-Muslim men. However, Iranian men are allowed to marry non-Muslim “People of the Books” such as Christians and Jews.
Women are not allowed to obtain a passport or travel abroad without husband's permission
According to Iranian regime’s law, Iranian women are not allowed to obtain a passport or travel abroad without getting permission from their husband or legal male guardian.
Wearing manteau (coat) with writing on its back is prohibited for women
After the media affiliated with the Iranian regime's hardline faction criticized the release of “Women’s manteau (coat) with writing on its back” in Iran, Iranian police has announced plans to deal with the importers of these women’s coats.
Holding track and field competition for women wearing internationally recognized clothing for this sport such as shorts and short-sleeve T-shirts is prohibited.
… No explanation needed.
Iranian women are banned from education in some academic fields
In recent years, Iranian regime's oil minister announced: “Education of women in the field of operations such as drilling and processing and so on that require (physical) activities in operational areas and sites is useless and these are masculine (men’s) jobs.”

Obama Quietly Empowers Iran's Military
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/October 18/16

http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/10/18/majid-rafizadehgatestone-institute-obama-quietly-empowers-irans-military/
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9128/obama-empowers-iran-military

This sanctions relief not only gives legitimacy to the Revolutionary Guards globally, but emboldens and empowers Iran's elite military unit by allowing them legally to conduct business and transfer money.
Many Iranian companies are owned by senior figures from Iran's Revolutionary Guards and judiciary who have been involved in crimes against humanity, violating international laws, breaching UN resolutions, money laundering and monstrous human rights violations. Nevertheless, the new sanctions relief allows foreign companies to do business with them without repercussions.
Furthermore, the Obama administration secretly agreed to remove sanctions on several Iranian banks, including banks have long been sanctioned by the UN due to their illegal activities in missile financing and skirting UN security resolutions regarding the arms embargo.
Iranian leaders have become cognizant of the fact that their hardball political tactics pay off very well with President Obama. They continue to obtain concessions from President Obama even in his last few months in office. They see that intransigence works with the White House, and that threatening the U.S. will lead to Obama offering more concessions to Iran. For Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), giving concessions means weakness.
After a series of anti-American statements and lashing out at the U.S. by Ayatollah Khamenei, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif, the Obama administration eased more critical sanctions on Iran through new regulatory measures by the Treasury department.
The new measures, in loosening further sanctions against Iran, are critical, as they directly lift sanctions against powerful entities in Iran's elite military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The timing of the new sanctions reliefs is also intriguing: it was implemented quietly, right before the presidential debate and before the three-day holiday in Congress, probably in an attempt not to attract media attention or Congressional criticism.
Both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, have been extremely critical of the Obama administration's continuing appeasement policies and loosening of sanctions against Iran.
According to the Treasury's website, one of the new guidelines in easing crucial sanctions on Iran is:
"It is not necessarily sanctionable for a non-US person to engage in transactions with an entity that is not on the SDN (Specifically Designated Nations) List but that is minority owned, or that is controlled in whole or in part, by an Iranian or Iran-related person on the SDN List."
This regulatory measure facilitates business dealings with government-owned companies in Iran, by assisting Iran in attracting foreign businesses, as well as further giving the IRGC access to the global financial system.
More fundamentally, this sanctions relief allows foreign companies to do business with Iranian firms even if those Iranian firms are owned by individuals who are listed on the US sanction list.
Many Iranian companies are owned by senior figures in the IRGC and Iran's judiciary who have been involved in crimes against humanity, violating international laws, breaching UN resolutions, money laundering and monstrous human rights violations. Many senior members of the IRGC have long been blacklisted. Nevertheless, the new sanctions relief allows foreign companies to do business with them without repercussions.
The IRGC has significant control over Iran's economic and political systems. The IRGC and its foreign branch, the Quds Force (which operates in foreign countries) have been involved in military adventurism across the region supporting, financing and arming terrorist-designated groups, Shiite proxies and Syria's Assad's regime, and have been determined to scuttle US foreign policy and national security for decades.
This sanctions relief not only gives legitimacy to the IRGC globally, but also emboldens and empowers Iran's elite military unit by allowing them legally to conduct business and transfer money.
In addition, to further assist and appease Iranian leaders, the Obama administration has allowed Iran to use American dollars in its business dealings. According to the recently updated website of the Treasury Department:
"Foreign financial institutions, including foreign-incorporated subsidiaries of US financial institutions, may process transactions denominated in US dollars or maintain US dollar-denominated accounts that involve Iran or persons ordinarily resident in Iran, or in which there is an interest of a person whose property and interests in property are blocked solely pursuant to Executive Order 13599 and section 560.211 of the ITSR, including NIOC, the CBI, and other individuals and entities that meet the definition of the government of Iran or an Iranian financial institution, provided that such transactions or account activities do not involve, directly or indirectly, the United States financial system or any United States person, and do not involve any person on the SDN List..."
Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of Iran's Expediency Council, pointed out that the U.S. Treasury's action will further facilitate Iran's banking transactions. This new sanctions relief will in fact facilitate Iran's money laundering and also help Iran's ruling politicians to transfer their wealth offshore, secured in safe havens.
Furthermore, the Obama administration secretly agreed to remove sanctions on several Iranian banks, including Bank Sepah and Sepah International. These banks have long been sanctioned by the United Nations due to their illegal activities in missile financing and skirting UN security resolutions regarding the arms embargo.
This means that by lifting sanctions against Iranian banks and permitting IRGC leaders to conduct business, there exists no mechanism to check and stop Iran's illegal activities when it comes to platforms such as advancement of its ballistic missile program.
Last month, the Treasury Department also granted licenses to aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing. This allows the IRGC to buy advanced aircraft.
The new sanctions reliefs and other measures by the Obama administration directly benefits and empowers the IRGC stranglehold regionally and globally. It appears that, even in his last few months in office, President Obama is determined to give as many concessions as he can to Iranian leaders, and to make sure that reversing such sanctions relief will be impossible.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, political scientists and Harvard University scholar is president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He can be reached at Dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

A Month of Islam and Multiculturalism in Britain: September 2016
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/October 18/16

http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/10/18/soeren-kerngatestone-institute-a-month-of-islam-and-multiculturalism-in-britain-september-2016/
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9129/islam-britain-september
"Sharia councils are thriving because there is no other authentic and credible mechanism for Muslim women to obtain an Islamic divorce. If the government offered an alternative, 90% of the work of sharia councils would end." — Moulana Raza, Director of the Muslim Law Council UK.
Peter Sutcliffe, who was convicted in 1981 of murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven more, has faced daily death threats since arriving at Frankland Prison. Muslim gang members have offered to protect him, but only if he converts to Islam. They told Sutcliffe that changing faith will also allow him access to a special diet, more time out of his cell and the right to refuse certain types of prison work.
Kamran Ahmed, 27, was sentenced to ten years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl. Ahmed, a Pakistani man who moved to the UK to wed a British-born woman in an arranged marriage, had been in the country less than six months when he raped the girl after trying to groom her for sex.
"Take off your tight jeans or you're going to burn in hell, kafir [unbeliever]. I'm going to follow you home and blow up your house." — Krissoni Henderson, a 31-year-old Muslim bodyguard.
"If they arrest me and put me in prison, I will carry on in prison. I will radicalize everyone in prison." — Anjem Choudary, sentenced to five years, six months in prison for activities supporting Islamic State.
"There is only one punishment for insulters: cut off their heads, cut off their heads, cut off their heads." — Tanveer Ahmed, 32, who murdered a Glasgow shopkeeper for "disrespecting Islam," calling on supporters to behead other "insulters."
Home Office statistics released to the Daily Express under Freedom of Information laws revealed that 12,000 migrants seeking asylum in the UK are missing.
September 1. A team of University of Oxford sociologists published a paper about why young, highly educated Muslim women who live in modern urban environments are choosing to wear Islamic veils. The report says that in social situations in which Muslim women mix with non-Muslim friends, work outside the home or interact with strangers, they may wear the veil as "a signal to others in their community to show that mixing with others does not compromise their religious piety." Veils may also be used "to strengthen their own sense of commitment to their faith and its values in a secular world." The report says that efforts by Western governments to ban the veil in public might be counterproductive because it would "deprive Muslim women from integrating." It suggests that if they cannot signal their piety through wearing the veil, they might be forced to stay at home.
September 2. An official list of the most popular baby names in England and Wales in 2015 showed the top name as Oliver. The list shows Muhammad at number 12, followed by Mohammed at 29, Mohammad at 68 and Muhammed coming in at 121. When the different spellings are combined, however, the name Mohammed was used 7,570 times, outstripping the 6,941 babies named Oliver on their birth certificates.
September 2. Ayasofia Primary School, a Muslim school in Whitechapel, East London, was shut down by Ofsted, the agency that regulates schools in Britain, after four inspections uncovered a raft of educational failings. Cityside Primary Trust, which owns the school, said the decision to close the institute, which has 80 pupils between the ages of 4 and 11, was "disproportionate." The Trust argued that children attending the school were now in danger of "radicalization" during "home schooling" by ultra-religious family members. Judge Laurence Bennett rejected the appeal: "We are not persuaded that there is a binary consequence, that is attendance at Ayasofia, a school judged to have significant failings, or home schooling with attendant risks."
September 4. British courts should be able to issue Islamic divorces to protect the rights of Muslim women, according to a leading expert in sharia law. Elham Manea, who spent four years researching the UK's sharia councils, said the measure would render "inherently discriminatory" sharia councils redundant because they are mainly used by women seeking an Islamic divorce. Manea said the vast majority of women attending sharia councils have not formalized their religious marriage under British law and are often forced into conceding their civil rights in order to secure an Islamic divorce. Moulana Raza, director of the Muslim Law Council UK, added: "Sharia councils are thriving because there is no other authentic and credible mechanism for Muslim women to obtain an Islamic divorce. If the government offered an alternative, 90% of the work of sharia councils would end."
September 4. Peter Sutcliffe, a serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper, was "preparing to convert to Islam in a bid to protect himself as part of Muslim prison gang," according to media reports. Sutcliffe, 70, was recently moved from the Broadmoor psychiatric hospital to Frankland prison after a tribunal found he no longer required medical treatment. Sutcliffe, who was convicted in 1981 of murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven more, has faced daily death threats since arriving at the prison. Muslim gang members have offered to protect him, but only if he converts to Islam. They told Sutcliffe that changing faith will also allow him access to a special diet, more time out of his cell and the right to refuse certain types of prison work.
September 6. Kamran Ahmed, 27, was sentenced to ten years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl. Ahmed, a Pakistani man who moved to the UK to wed a British-born woman in an arranged marriage, had been in the country less than six months when he raped the girl after trying to groom her for sex. Ahmed, who claimed "the devil" made him commit the crime, will be deported once he serves his sentence.
September 6. Krissoni Henderson, a 31-year-old Muslim bodyguard, appeared in front of Birmingham Magistrates' Court over charges that he called a woman a "prostitute" and threatened to "blow her up" because she was wearing tight jeans. Henderson ordered Noor Alneaimi, 38, to take off her jeans while she was listening to a Christian street preacher in Birmingham city center. The victim, who was also a Muslim, said she was reduced to tears following the ten-minute tirade which attracted a crowd of 60 people. Prosecutor Simon Brownsey told the court:
"He told her she was Satan, she was the devil, she was a slut, she was a prostitute. He said: 'Take off your tight jeans or you're going to burn in hell, kafir [unbeliever]. I'm going to follow you home and blow up your house.'"
Henderson was charged with "causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress and using racially aggravated insulting words or behavior."
September 6. Anjem Choudary, one of the most outspoken Islamists in Britain, was sentenced to five years and six months in prison for activities supporting Islamic State. Choudary, 49, was sentenced at the Old Bailey in London after his conviction in August of urging Muslims to support IS in sermons posted on YouTube. He was convicted alongside his associate, Mohammed Rahman, 33, who was also sentenced to five years and six months in prison.
Choudary has said he is not afraid of going to prison, which he describes as a fertile ground for gaining more converts to Islam. "If they arrest me and put me in prison, I will carry on in prison," he warned. "I will radicalize everyone in prison."
Outspoken Islamist Anjem Choudary (left) was recently sentenced to prison for activities supporting Islamic State. He has threatened to "radicalize everyone in prison." Imprisoned serial murderer Peter Sutcliffe (right), who has faced daily death threats since arriving at Frankland Prison, has been offered protection by Muslim gang members if he converts to Islam.
September 7. The government should impose tight financial restrictions on terror suspects in order to control how they spend their money, according to Tom Keating, an expert in financial crime and security studies at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Terror suspects claiming benefits should be monitored so that they can only use taxpayers' money for the purpose for which it was intended, such as rent and food.
The recommendation came after a judge condemned Anjem Choudary for obtaining £500,000 (€550,000; $610,000) in welfare benefits. Mr. Justice Holroyd asked how it was possible for Choudary to claim benefits from a country he so "adamantly despises."
September 7. A man who murdered a Glasgow shopkeeper for "disrespecting Islam" released messages from Barlinnie Prison calling on supporters to behead other "insulters." Tanveer Ahmed, 32, admitted to stabbing Asad Shah to death in his shop because he felt his victim was "disrespecting the prophet Mohammed" with his beliefs as an Ahmadi Muslim. The Ahmadi branch of Islam believes Mohammed was not the final prophet, a view considered blasphemous to other Muslims. In a YouTube video believed to have been recorded on a mobile telephone, Ahmed celebrated sending Shah "to hell with the help of Allah, the prophet, angels and saints." He continued: "Whoever is listening to my voice must make a resolve to protect the finality of the prophethood. There is only one punishment for insulters: cut off their heads, cut off their heads, cut off their heads."
September 7. The BBC reported a sharp increase in the number of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in Britain. The number of asylum seeking children in the care of English councils rose 62% in a year. The largest group are boys aged 16 and 17, coming from countries such as Afghanistan or Eritrea. Figures released to the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that at least 104 councils were caring for more unaccompanied minors than they were in 2015. There were at least 4,156 children seeking asylum without parents or guardians and cared for by 147 councils on March 31, 2016, compared to 2,569 the year before. The figure is likely to be higher: some councils did not have up-to-date figures.
September 8. Haroon Ali-Syed, 19, of Hounslow, West London, was arrested on suspicion of planning to carry out a mass-casualty terror attack on key London landmarks, including Buckingham Palace. "What started out as professed intent to become a suicide bomber crystallized into a plan to kill as many 'Kuffar' (unbelievers) as possible with a nail bomb," the prosecutor said.
September 9. Four members of an alleged Muslim terror gang appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on charges of intending to commit a terrorist act in Britain. Police searching a car linked to the group found a meat cleaver with the word "kaffir" (unbeliever) carved on the handle. They also recovered guns and bullets in a bag found in the car. Prosecutor Louise Gray said that in addition to the weapons,
"There are 114 WhatsApp messages. The conversation covers a range of topics including Islam, Jihad and violent extremism. There are other exchanges of posts where videos and links were posted relating to Daesh [Islamic State], the events in Syria and articles about MI5 blackmailing British Muslims."
September 9. Chief Constable David Thompson, head of West Midlands Police, one of the largest police forces in Britain, said he would consider allowing Muslim officers to wear the burka while on duty in a bid to boost diversity. Some officers mocked the announcement:
"How could you possibly have an officer pursuing a suspect down the street while wearing a burka over their face? It is frankly a mad idea. I think the Chief Constable was probably trying to be politically correct because if he'd said outright no to burkas then he would have come in for some stick as well."
September 11. A former counterterrorism sergeant accused London's Metropolitan Police of failing to tackle extremist views among some of its Muslim officers, for fear of being labelled "Islamophobic." Javaria Saeed, a practicing Muslim who worked in Scotland Yard's counterterrorism division, complained to her bosses after she witnessed a fellow Muslim officer saying female genital mutilation (FGM) — illegal in the UK since 1985 — was a "clean and honorable practice" and "shouldn't be criminalized." She said the same officer also said female Muslim victims of domestic violence should go to local Sharia courts rather than the police for help, except in the "serious violent cases." But when she raised her concerns with managers, they refused to take action because they were afraid of appearing racist. Saeed told The Sunday Times she had been demonized by some of her fellow Muslim officers for not wearing the veil and was told she was "better off at home looking after her husband." She accused the Metropolitan Police of applying a different standard when investigating allegations of racism by Muslim and non-Muslim officers.
September 12. Ofcom, the media regulator, said it would not investigate complaints over an episode of the children's program Fireman Sam, which Muslims said showed one of Sam's mates trampling on a page of the Koran. Ofcom received 170 complaints but it could not confirm the page was from the Islamic holy book. "We studied a recording of the program in the highest possible resolution," an Ofcom spokesperson said. "We found that the page did appear to contain Arabic text, but its contents could not have been deciphered, nor recognized as being from a given text." After the complaints were made, Mattel said it would "no longer be working with the animation studio responsible," and would take "immediate action to remove this episode from circulation."
September 13. Azad Chaiwala, 33, of Sunderland, North East England, launched a Google Play app for SecondWife.com, a website designed for Muslims seeking to enter into polygamous marriages. The Polygamy App states:
"We are the first and only Muslim Polygamy Matchmaking Service. We set up this service as we believed this is a Sunnah (prophetic tradition) we needed to revive. This service is for practicing Muslims who are seeking marriage and accept polygamy as lifestyle.
"Polygamy in Islam is an acceptable practice and SecondWife.com is where Muslim brothers and sisters who are seeking a polygamous relationship can meet. With over 100,000 members in over 136 countries, start your search for free. All sisters receive a free for life premium profile."
Although polygamy is illegal in Britain, polygamous marriages legally performed in another country where the law allows it are legally recognized in the UK for the purposes of welfare benefits, according to a report prepared for the House of Commons.
September 13. Some 75 new cases of female genital mutilation were recorded in Bristol between the months of April and June 2016, the Health and Social Care Information Center revealed. Bristol made up the vast majority of the 80 new cases in South West England over that time period.
September 14. Police in Redbridge released an image of a man they wish to speak to after two young men were assaulted in High Road, Ilford. The attack occurred after four students decided to visit Ilford to carry out filming in a Muslim area for a college media project. Six men allegedly made racist comments, at which point one of the victims was grabbed and punched in the face. The other men then took off their belts, approached the second victim and pushed him to the ground before assaulting him, police say. Both victims managed to escape and call the police. All six suspects were described as "Asian" in appearance, between 16 and 21 years old.
September 14. A woman who teaches English to migrants with refugee status said her students are not interested in learning the language or getting a job, but rather in the benefits they can extract from British taxpayers. Breitbart London reported that the teacher called into a morning show on London's LBC radio program to discuss her experiences. She said: "It's so frustrating. They're simply not interested in learning English. A lot of them have been here for many years now, and when I was teaching English for employment some of them refused to go because they said 'Well I don't want to work. I don't want to work so I don't want to learn English for employment.'" The radio host replied: "I'm assuming they're happy to live off the welfare state." The teacher responded: "That is what they're doing."
September 15. The British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Simon Collis, completed the Hajj after converting to Islam. He is believed to be the first British ambassador to perform the pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam.
September 16. Britain will receive around 43,381 asylum applications in 2016, costing over £620 million, according to projections by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). The ODI estimates that 330,000 people will reach Europe in 2016 through "overt" channels via the Mediterranean Sea, but many more will reach Europe thorough "covert" channels, some over land concealed in vehicles; others by plane with false documents or by overstaying visas.
September 16. The Guardian reported that young Muslims living in the borough of Rochdale, on the outskirts of Greater Manchester, are increasingly turning to anti-Western sentiment and extreme interpretations of Islam. Muslim leaders interviewed by the paper described a "disturbing trend" of young Muslims adopting more fundamentalist beliefs on key social and political issues than their parents or grandparents. There is strong evidence of a "growing religiosity," with an increasing minority firmly rejecting Western life and anything that they consider varies from traditional, almost hardline Islamic scripture. One man said: "In Rochdale alone, there are many different mosques, catering for all these different ideologies and this can cause problems."
September 17. Islamic State supporter Mohammed Syeedy, 21, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Jalal Uddin, a 71-year-old imam at the Jalalia Jame mosque in Rochdale. Manchester Crown Court heard how Syeedy developed "a hatred" of Uddin for practicing Ruqya, a form of religious healing considered by supporters of IS to be punishable by death. Uddin suffered multiple injuries to his head and face in an attack, thought to have involved a hammer, in a park as he made his way home after evening prayers on February 18.
September 21. Alex Younger, the head of Britain's MI6 foreign intelligence agency, warned that globalization, the information revolution, a deepening sectarian divide in the Middle East and failed states would ensure that Islamist terrorism remained a threat to the West for years to come. "Regrettably this is an enduring issue which will certainly be with us for our professional lifetime" he said. "I would have to forecast that whilst it is wholly desirable to remove territory [from Islamic State] you will have a persistent threat representing some of the deep fault lines that still exist in our world."
September 28. Noor Walile, a 38-year-old imam at Rugby Mosque, Warwickshire, was sentenced to six years in prison for raping a boy in a toilet in between a lesson he was giving at the mosque. The elders of the mosque ordered Walile to flee back home to India and told him never to return or the police would be told. But after his young victim broke his silence and told detectives, the disgraced imam was traced to an address in Leicester, where he lived with his wife and family. When confronted about the attack he said: "The devil made me do it."
September 28. Home Office statistics released to the Daily Express under Freedom of Information laws revealed that 12,000 migrants seeking asylum in the UK are missing. The data showed that of 77,440 asylum cases in progress, one in six skipped their first interview with immigration officers and vanished. The 11,988, which may be the tip of the iceberg, include migrants seized and held while trying to sneak into the UK but who subsequently absconded.
September 28. A government report found that Muslims are the least likely of all faith groups in Wales to be employed. The report, "Creating a Faith-Friendly Workplace for Muslims," encourages employers to adopt Sharia standards — providing prayer rooms, having flextime to enable staff to leave early for Friday prayers, and serving halal or vegetarian food in canteens — to attract Muslim staff. The report advises: "In using the toilet Muslim staff may prefer to clean themselves with clean running water. A small jug, which can be kept in a cubicle, is sufficient for this." The report says that "cultural differences," such as whether to make eye contact or shake hands, are "not about being impolite."
September 28. The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, opened an inquiry into the Stockwell Green Mosque for distributing literature that calls on members of the Ahmadi community to be killed. The leaflets demanded that Ahmadis should convert to mainstream Islam or face "a capital sentence."
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Why the real battle for Mosul is political
Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/October 18/16
As coalition airstrikes and Iraqi troops with allied groups encircle Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul to take it back from ISIS, it is paramount to have a political roadmap in the aftermath of any military victory. Mosul’s third offensive following the war in Iraq (2003) and then its capture by ISIS in 2014, can only be its last if coupled by a political strategy that protects its locals, and reinfuses it into the state of Iraq. Failure to do so will be detrimental on both, the fate of Mosul and that of the Iraqi state. To be able to reverse the ISIS path, there must be an understanding of what went wrong in 2014. ISIS takeover of Mesopotamia’s ancient city was the result of a political failure before a military one. Back then, the Nouri Maliki government in Baghdad abandoned the Sahwa strategy, and the reconciliation efforts with the Sunni tribes in Mosul, opening the door for ISIS to exploit the disenfranchisement of the locals and ransack the city. Putting in place a strategy that wins back the tribal elements, assures and protects the locals, is the only way for lasting victory in Mosul. Finding a new political tapestry to address the local grievances, while making sure that the clashing interests of the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Shiite militias don’t dictate the outcome of the post-ISIS Mosul, will determine the long-term success of the battle. The real hard battle for Mosul will be in charting its political course after the military operations. Failure in reaching a safe political landing will mar the city in a spiral of conflict over its fate and Iraq’s future
Military landscape
The battle promises a bloody confrontation between 6000 ISIS fighters in a city of landmines, burning oil fields and extensive tunnels, encircled today by the Iraqi army, the Kurdish Peshmerga, a tribal force and Shiite militias. The Turkish army deployment behind Bashiqa mountains – despite objections from Baghdad – only expands the military field around Mosul, and exposes the charged political climate that will unlikely go away if ISIS is defeated. What is clear behind the timing for this battle is the lack of the element of surprise and the high level of preparedness on all sides including ISIS. The talk about liberating Mosul started last Spring with US President Barack Obama telling CBS “my expectation is that by the end of the year, we will have created the conditions whereby Mosul will eventually fall.”The Kurdish forces, Peshmerga’s, latest advances East of Mosul have only increased the speculation about a looming battle to recapture the city with those forces leading the frontline. The US has also increased its troop presence the number of American troops authorized to be in Iraq is now 5,262, according to a senior US defense official.
What’s at stake
For Washington, liberating Mosul will help Obama salvage his legacy in Iraq and against ISIS, while also offering a national security boost for the Democrats ahead of the November 8th elections. The complex nature of the battle, and the need for many political and military pieces to come together could mean, however, fight that would go beyond a month for the ancient Mesopotamian city. The loss of Mosul will undoubtedly deal the biggest blow for ISIS since 2014. For two years, ISIS ransacked, obliterated its heritage and exploited Mosul’s population estimated at 1.5 million by the United Nations. The city as a landmark for the militants served as a recruiting ground for ISIS, and a territorial entity to govern and exhibit brutality and prowess. Mosul also helped ISIS generate money from oil, taxes and ransom, and to distinguish itself from al-Qaeda who never controlled territory or announced a Caliphate.
But beyond symbolism, losing Mosul, after Tikrit, Fallujah and Ramadi would force ISIS more out of Iraq and in the direction of Syria and other conflict areas in Libya and Yemen. Syria offers ISIS a safer haven than Iraq today, given that there is no serious effort to fight the group in Raqqa or Deir Zour, and because of the inability of US coalition to operate as freely as it does in Iraq. For Iraq, the battle of Mosul is a testing ground for Iraqi factions to find a working formula and consensus for governance after ISIS. Reaching a power-sharing agreement between the different forces fighting for Mosul today, and protecting the local Sunni population will be critical for both the outcome of the battle and Iraq's future. The real hard battle for Mosul will be in charting its political course after the military operations. Failure in reaching a safe political landing will mar the city in a spiral of conflict over its fate and Iraq’s future.

Are we on the brink of World War Three, or has it started?
Peter Harrison/Al Arabiya/October 18/16
Up until recently I would regularly argue that the world was in a more peaceful time than in any other era in history – obviously a concept that is hard to comprehend in vast parts of the Middle East – but nonetheless, it seemed accurate. But in recent weeks something has happened that has led to a seemingly overnight change in the situation. The world has become a frighteningly aggressive place. So much so, that some people say it’s not a question of when or if world war three will start – but that it’s already here. India and Pakistan seem hell bent on blowing each other up in their ongoing feud over Kashmir. And most recently Indian troops were involved in a deadly gun battle with militants in the troubled region. The various ongoing wars across Africa and Afghanistan, that once hit the headlines on a daily basis, have almost become irrelevant in the bigger picture. Russia and the US have of late reentered a dangerous stand-off, last seen back in the depths of the Cold War. The most worrying thing I heard recently was that Russian’s were holding nuclear attack drills in some towns. As a man who grew up in the 1970s and ‘80s, a lot of this seems to me all too reminiscent of an era when a nuclear holocaust seemed a highly likely outcome – indeed it is well documented that in the early 1980s the world was close to annihilation. Across Europe and America populist politics are hitting the headlines on an almost daily basis. In Britain this rise happened as the Brexit referendum occurred with an ever increasing trend in hate crimes against migrants and Muslims. In the US, Donald Trump continues to display deep rooted prejudices against various groups of nonwhite, non-American groups of society. Muslims have become public hate figure number one, because of a tiny minority of truly evil people operating in various terror groups that claim to be the true followers of Islam. As a man who grew up in the 1970s and ‘80s, a lot of this seems to me all too reminiscent of an era when a nuclear holocaust seemed a highly likely outcome – indeed it is well documented that in the early 1980s the world was close to annihilation.
The proxy wars
It was an era of proxy wars being fought by countries backed by the US and the former USSR. It was a frightening time to be a child growing up – my own mother would vouch for how scared I was. I remember as a child the public information films and other references that would usually start with a voice saying: “in the event of a nuclear attack…”It was unsettling, to say the least, the stuff that nightmares are made of for me – who at that stage was just a young boy. Sadly it seems to me that history has a habit of repeating itself with these dangerous situations. You don’t have to take my word for it, on Friday Russia’s UN Mission, Vitaly Churkin admitted that relations between the US and Russia were “probably the worst ... since 1973”. Back then tensions became increasingly bad when Syria and Egypt launched a surprise attack against Israel on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar in October 1973, the Mideast was thrown into turmoil. The threat of an outbreak of fighting between the Arab-backing Soviet Union and Israel’s closest ally, the US, during the Yom Kippur War was the highest since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Back now to the present day, with tensions worsening across the Middle East and spilling over into the political spectrum of the wider world. With troubles ongoing in South Asia and in the South China Sea and North Korea apparently carrying out more missile tests, should we be afraid? The only saving grace is that in this increasingly globalized world nations that appear to be archrivals in some respects are good business partners in others. But should we be concerned by the growing trend of populist politics across the world and aggressive nature of those people who follow them? I know I am.

China in the Mediterranean: Beyond growing interests
Dr. Naser al-Tamimi/Al Arabiya/October 18/16
Almost three years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed his ambitious plan “One Belt One Road” or (OBOR), that aim to connect China and Europe through terrestrial roads, railways and maritime lanes crossing Central Asia, Middle East and Africa. Since then, China’s economic interests are growing in areas alongside OBOR, particularly in the Mediterranean. Certainly, a region with a population of over 520 million people, huge markets, and strategic location cannot be ignored. To be sure, in 2015, the Mediterranean countries as a block ranked China’s fourth-biggest market and the sixth-largest trading partner. However, the Mediterranean region is large, diverse and composed of 23 countries and areas; which all differ in terms of population, languages, area, size of the economy, stages of development, political status and challenges. As a result, China does not have a common strategy towards the Mediterranean region and is dealing with each country bilaterally, but its policy toward the region still dominated by the economic factor, trade and investment in particular.
China has also growing military ties with Israel, Egypt, Algeria and Syria, but these relationships are still limited in their scoop. However, several countries in the region are looking to China as an alternative to balance their foreign policy, a market to sell their products, source of investments and in some cases to buy arms. Considering this, China has shown a strong desire to invest in the Mediterranean countries. In the last decade (from January 2005 through June 2016), the combined value of China’s investment and construction in the region exceeded $ 129 billion, or around 10 percent of China’s total.
With nearly two-thirds of that amount concentrated in four countries only: France, Algeria, Italy and Egypt. Meanwhile, commercial exchange is also substantial; as the two-way trade volume between China and the Mediterranean countries reached over $ 209 billion in 2015 or around 5-6 percent of China’s total foreign trade. However, trade balance tilts considerably in favour of China. Several countries in the region are looking to China as an alternative to balance their foreign policy, a market to sell their products, source of investments and in some cases to buy arms
Gate to Europe
According to the Chinese unofficial map the Mediterranean represents the western end of the Silk Road or “One Belt One Road.” In order to provide this road with a western maritime outlet, China stepped up its presence in the region by acquiring, building, modernizing, expanding and operating Mediterranean ports and terminals in Greece, Egypt, Algeria, Turkey and Israel. However, Beijing bets big on Greece’s biggest port in Piraeus. China’s COSCO Shipping (China’s biggest shipping company which owns the world’s fourth-largest container shipping fleet) already bought 51 percent of Piraeus operating company for 280.5 million Euros ($ 315.5 million) with another 400 million Euros slated for investments to create China’s largest maritime hub in the Mediterranean and one of the world’s 30 largest container ports by 2018.
Importantly, to complement its western maritime strategy, China proposed plan to connect the port by railway to East and Central European countries; or as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang put it; Greece could be China’s “gateway to Europe”. Meanwhile many Europeans’ are hopeful that the recent expanding of the Suez Canal could increase the centrality of the Mediterranean region and its main ports. Importantly, China is also building its first overseas logistical naval base in Djibouti. To be sure, around one fifth of China’s total trade, over 4 percent of China’s maritime oil imports and almost 4 percent of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports passed through Suez Canal (Red Sea) and Gulf of Aden (Bab-el- Mandeb).
Promising areas
Looking forward, several factors could further China’s engagement in the Mediterranean region. These include; trade, investments, financial integration (using Chinese currency), military cooperation, nuclear energy, and tourism. China’s GDP may add almost $ 7 trillion to hit over $ 18 trillion by 2021. Consequently, the country’s trade could rise by $ 1-1.5 trillion in the same period. In the long term, China’s GDP could double again by 2030 as well as the trade. As a result, there is room for Mediterranean countries to improve their trade balance with China. Although the use of the Chinese currency renminbi (RMB) in cross-border trade transactions between China and Mediterranean countries is growing, it remains limited. Nonetheless, as trade grows and Beijing moves its currency towards greater convertibility, there is no doubt that the Mediterranean -China Renminbi swap line will grow considerably. Beijing could also deepen its military ties with countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Syria, and possibly Turkey and Israel. Additionally, the civil nuclear programme is another important area for cooperation as Turkey, Egypt, Algeria and Jordan, all of which signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China. Meanwhile, more than 4 million Chinese visited countries in the Mediterranean region. Countries such as France, Spain, Italy, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Turkey, which all have plans to attract more Chinese tourists.
Looking ahead
China’s expanding economic presence in the Mediterranean region and the importance of securing maritime lanes for its trade have given Beijing a new focus. The US Department of Defence’s 2016 report on the Chinese military noted that “China is expanding its access to foreign ports to pre-position the necessary logistics support to regularize and sustain deployments in the – far seas – waters as distant as the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Atlantic Ocean. In late November, China publicly confirmed its intention to build military supporting facilities in Djibouti (...) This Chinese initiative both reflects and amplifies China’s growing geopolitical clout, extending the reach of its influence and armed forces.” There is no doubt that with China’s economic, technological and military ascent there will be the potential for a comprehensive global power shift. With Beijing’s increasing dependence on the maritime lanes, it may seek to strengthen its military presence in the region and could open the way for strategic partnerships with several countries in the Mediterranean. However, this development could take years to materialize if it occurs at all. Against this backdrop, there are also several factors that may adversely affect the development of relations between China and the Mediterranean countries including; China’s economic stagnation or sever slow-down, political and security concerns, especially in European countries, and political stability in several Mediterranean countries.
Additionally, Chinese companies have a “tendency” to bring their own materials and workers to overseas projects which could still sparks tensions with some host countries. Above all, protectionist policies and nationalistic sentiment could have a very negative impact.

Oman: Between the Gulf and Iran
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/October 18/16
I read the interview of Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi in Okaz newspaper and, prior to that, I watched his interview on Russia Today. Both interviews raise questions about Oman’s policy. To those who don’t understand it, Oman is a mysterious country. However, it’s possible to simplify the foundation of the sultanate’s foreign policy - at least as we understand it - in one word: isolation. Muscat’s government has not become involved in regional conflicts for decades, despite the fact that it occasionally voices its stance on issues. Not all countries can adopt this approach because most conflicts impose themselves on countries. Kuwait was invaded by Saddam Hussein and Saudi Arabia would have confronted this same fate if it hadn’t fought against him. The UAE has islands occupied by Iran. Bahrain suffers due to the threat of its political regime being changed by Iran. Not all the peace which the sultanate has enjoyed was a result of this policy of staying away from conflicts and axes. There is also the geopolitical factor as its location on the map summed up its options in not angering Iran and its neighbors from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Oman is lucky to be a member of the GCC, which consists of peaceful countries that it shares borders with. This does not lessen the wisdom of Sultan Qaboos who for decades adhered to the policy of dissociating his country from conflicts and axes and did not commit to any stance that may be costly. However, we must note that there’s no country in the world that can live in peace just because it chooses to. It actually lives in peace if others allow that, such as the case with Switzerland, the neutral country, which signed an agreement in Paris in 1815 confirming its neutrality. Oman’s neutrality is also the result of a decision by its Iranian and Gulf neighbors. Although Oman’s dealings with the Iranian regime have upset its Gulf neighbors, everyone is concerned with its stability as it passed through the Arab Spring ordeal, when the entire region witnessed unrest in 2011, and it overcame this phase with political and economic support from GCC countries which stood by Oman on the security and economic fronts.
A potential threat
Yemen is the only neighbor which presents a potential threat to Oman and it poses a bigger threat than the sultanate has ever known since the 1970s. Meanwhile, Yemen is currently the source of a threat to Saudi Arabia. Based on Bin Alawi’s statements, Muscat’s policy towards Yemen does not seem to match the Gulf countries’. It’s not only that but differences are also related to Oman’s vision of the Syrian crisis. In both crises, the Yemeni and the Syrian, Muscat seems closer to the Iranian regime than to its Gulf brothers which think that the Iranian leadership is behind these crises and that it threatens them more than before. This is particularly so since its negotiations with the US began, in which Oman played the role of the messenger and later became a center of hushed negotiations. The continuity of the war in Yemen only suits the strategy of Iran...but it does not suit Oman. After reports of these secret negotiations surfaced in the Wall Street Journal, a high-ranking Gulf official told me: “We’re not angry there are negotiations between the enemies the US and Iran. It does not upset us that Oman plays this role behind our backs and in secret. What matters are the results and we will be happy if Iran agrees to suspend its military and hostile activities in exchange for the West giving up on boycott and confrontation.” Unfortunately, it later turned out that these were not peace negotiations but reconciliation attempts between Iran and the West at the expense of the security of Gulf countries and the entire region.
Following the negotiations in Muscat, Yemen has become an arena for the Iranians. Oman does not have a direct link in that, however, Washington’s reconciliation with the Iranians made the latter daring enough to escalate and open new fronts. The future may prove that if Iran continues to exploit Yemen as it’s trying to do today, Yemen will pose a threat to everyone and not just to Saudi Arabia. Without the political agreement that restores legitimacy to Yemen’s governance, which the UN engineered and which Oman (as a members of the GCC) supported, Yemen will be fragmented and it will suffer an enduring war. Such a tragic end is not in the interest of Oman or Saudi Arabia and it’s certainly not in the interest of the Yemeni people. The continuity of the war in Yemen only suits the strategy of Iran - which is engaged in wars against Gulf countries and the Arab camp as it supports fighting over an expanded area that includes Iraq, Syria and Yemen and contributes to tension in Bahrain - but it does not suit Oman, the more civilized country that keeps away from war.
**This article was first published Asharq al-Awsat on Oct. 18, 2016.

Bob Dylan and the Nobel prize: When the ear loves before the eyes
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/October 18/16
The Nobel Prize in Literature was recently awarded to Bob Dylan marking the first time a singer and songwriter has won the award. People do pay attention to other Nobel prizes. They write a little about the winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and a little less about the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. They continue to talk about them for days. However, everyone stays up across the world on the eve of announcement of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Publishers stay up and poets and novelists do not sleep on this long night of fall of every year. When asked whether he looked forward to win a Nobel prize, Late Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish mockingly replied, saying “I am not interested and I don’t get the fever which my friend suffers from every fall.”When Darwish said that, many interpreted he was referring to Syrian Poet Adonis. This joke by Darwish was commonly heard in the fall of every year. Many have written about Adonis ever since tree leaves began to fall this year. Some mocked his bias toward bloodshed and how he stained literature. However, there hasn’t been another Arab candidate for the award this year.
In his black sunglasses and with his guitar on his shoulder, Dylan created a musical legacy which he left behind in the hidden bars of New York. His voice is that of a permanent rebellion. His words oppose racism, support minorities and denounce the US for shelling other countries and increasing the isolation of Americans inside the US. Bob Dylan has sung for 50 autumns until the flowers blossomed this year! Dylan has been famous since the 1960s. His lyrics appealed to the sentiment of the youth as he sang intellectual songs against wars and destruction in his hoarse voice. Dylan has been famous since the 1960s. His lyrics appealed to the sentiment of the youth as he sang intellectual songs against wars and destruction in his hoarse voice. In his song “Blowin’ in the Wind,” he sings: “How many times must the cannon balls fly, before they’re forever banned?” The Independent included that song in its report “70 reasons why Bob Dylan is the most important figure in pop culture history.” Blowin’ in the Wind was one of these 70 reasons.
Dylan is the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature ever since Toni Morrison - who is the first black woman to win the prize - won in 1993. In 2008, Horace Engdahl, the then-permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, said: “The US is too isolated, too insular. They don’t translate enough and don’t really participate in the big dialogue of literature. That ignorance is restraining.”The Swedish Academy justified the surprising decision to award the prize in literature to Dylan in many ways. The most beautiful of these justifications was that “Dylan writes poetry for the ear.” The ear loves before the eye sometimes, according to an Arabic proverb. When the discussion got heated, Swedish Academy secretary Sara Danius advised those who are unfamiliar with Dylan’s work - and I am one of them - to learn about it by starting with Dylan’s 1966 album “Blonde on Blonde.”“It’s an extraordinary example of his brilliant way of rhyming, putting together refrains, and his pictorial way of thinking,” Danius said. She admitted that when she was young, she was not exactly a fan of Dylan as she preferred the works of David Bowie. “Perhaps it’s a question of generation – today I’m a lover of Bob Dylan,” she said. Dylan did not only win this for music, which has suffered from injustice as the greatest of arts, even greater than theater. He won for songwriting and for his ability to develop. He won for the intellectual’s capability to express himself, even if through a song which no one will hear, like Dylan himself reportedly said. Music is the first nation and it is the oldest among all languages. Music comes first, even if its award came late and came as a surprise one fall night.
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Oct. 18, 2016.

The Egypt-Saudi Dispute Over A Resolution To The Syria Crisis Goes Public
By: N. Mozes/MEMRI/October 18/16
Introduction
In recent weeks there has been severe tension between Egypt and Saudi Arabia due to disagreements on the Syrian crisis. These disagreements, which are long-standing, recently deepened and became public, especially after on October 8, 2016, Egypt voted at the UN Security Council in favor of a Russian draft resolution on the situation in Aleppo, a draft resolution that Saudi Arabia opposed.[1]
Egypt's support for the Russian draft resolution was a blatant expression of its dispute with Saudi Arabia over the Syrian crisis and constitutes an independent Egyptian step that placed this country squarely outside the Saudi camp. In fact, Egypt's position on resolving the Syrian crisis is clearly closer to that of Russia, the ally of Bashar Al-Assad, than to the Saudi position.
In the weeks prior to the vote at the UN, Egyptian senior officials, headed by President 'Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri, began voicing in public their position on the Syrian crisis and clarifying the points of contention with Saudi Arabia in this matter. Their statements, as well as articles published in the Egyptian press, described Saudi Arabia as advocating a military solution in Syria and supporting the armed factions there, in contrast to Egypt, which advocates a political solution, seeks to end the bloodshed in the country and preserve its unity and stability, and also seeks to halt the spread of terrorism from Syria to other countries. It was claimed further that, while Saudi Arabia insists on the ouster of Bashar Al-Assad as a condition for a solution in Syria, Egypt does not endorse this view. Some of the articles stressed Syria's importance to Egypt and the security and strategic ties between the two countries, stating that Egypt's position on Syria stemmed from Egyptian interests that take precedence over Arab ones.
Saudi Arabia, for its part, was enraged by Egypt's support of the Russian draft resolution. Saudi Representative to the UN 'Abdallah Yahya Al-Mouallimi wondered how it could be that some non-Arab countries were closer to the Arab positions than Egypt was. Furthermore, Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed Al-Kattan was recalled to Riyadh for consultations. In addition, Saudi Arabia has begun taking economic steps, apparently in response to Egypt's significant divergence from the Saudi position. For example, two days after the vote at the UN Security Council, it was reported that the largest Saudi oil company, Saudi Aramco, had suspended the supply of oil to Egypt, and that Saudia Airlines, the Saudi national carrier, had not approved EgyptAir flights to Saudi Arabia. These moves were seen in Egypt as Saudi economic sanctions against Egypt.
The Saudi anger at Egypt was also expressed in numerous Saudi press articles that described the Al-Sisi's regime as ungrateful, given the significant material and political support Saudi Arabia has extended to Al-Sisi. At the same time, other articles called to understand Egypt's considerations, especially in light of its complicated political situation.
It should be noted that Egyptian-Saudi relations since Al-Sisi's rise to power have seen ups and downs. Both countries have been trying to keep up a front of unity and close relations. Saudi Arabia supported Al-Sisi and his ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) regime headed by Muhammad Mursi; the Saudi support for the current Egyptian regime was also manifested in significant economic aid extended to Egypt. Egyptian president Al-Sisi, for his part, declared on several occasions that the Egyptian army is on full alert, ready to defend Egypt's sister-countries in the Gulf, should they be directly threatened. In April 2016 Saudi King Salman made a historic visit to Egypt, during which the latter acknowledged Saudi Arabia's sovereignty over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir, which had been under Egyptian sovereignty for years, and agreed to transfer them back to the kingdom. A series of economic agreements were also made during the visit.[2] However, despite their efforts to appear united, significant disagreements have surfaced between the two countries on various issues – chiefly Saudi Arabia's openness towards Turkey and the MB, which Egypt regards as its enemies, and, conversely, indications of possible rapprochement between Egypt and Iran, as well as Egypt's position on Syria. Saudi Arabia is also severely disappointed with the limited extent of Egypt's cooperation with it in the war against the Houthis in Yemen, and with Egypt's failure so far to implement the agreement on the transfer of the two islands.
The Saudi ire was also sparked by the participation of a senior Egyptian delegation, headed by Egyptian Mufti Shawki 'Allam, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayeb, and Al-Sisi's advisor Osama Al-Azhari, in a conference of Muslim clerics in Grozny in late August 2016, under the title "Who Are The Sunnis?" Saudi clerics were not invited to this conference, and its closing statement, which defined the term "Sunni," made no mention of Wahhabiyya and Salafiyya. Saudi Arabia saw this conference as a plot against its status as the leader of the Sunni world and leveled harsh criticism at Egypt for participating in it.[3]
This report reviews the current tension between the two countries over the solution of the Syrian crisis.
Egyptian Foreign Minister: Saudi Arabia Advocates A Military Solution; We Advocate A Political Solution
As noted above, in recent weeks Egyptian officials, chiefly President Al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Shukri, publicly discussed the Egypt-Saudi rift over a resolution to the Syria crisis.
On August 22, 2016, President Al-Sisi gave an interview to the editors of Egypt's three main newspapers, Al-Ahram, Al-Gumhouriyya, and Al-Akhbar, in which he stressed that "Egypt's position regarding the Syria crisis is based on a number of principles: honoring the contiguousness of Syrian lands and the will of the Syrian people; reaching a political solution; disarming the militias and extremist groups; and restoring and reopening Syrian state institutions."[4]
In his September 2016 speech to the UN General Assembly, Al-Sisi stressed that the solution for Syria was political, not military. He called for disarming the militias and extremist groups, but did not address what was to happen to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. He also refrained from blaming the Assad regime and Russia for the ongoing crisis. He said: "The ongoing bloodshed in Syria and the lack of a political horizon are no longer acceptable. It is clear what needs to be done – an immediate and total halt of all aggression across Syria, which will pave the way for a political solution that ends the bloodshed and prevents the ongoing chaos, the only result of which is the spread of terrorism. We welcome the cessation of hostilities agreement achieved through [much] effort by Russia and the U.S., and anticipate an acceleration of serious international moves to renew negotiations as soon as possible, in order to arrive at a comprehensive solution for the crisis."[5]
In contrast, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Naif bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz Al-Sa'ud called, in his speech to the UN General Assembly, to facilitate a transitional process in Syria by supporting the moderate opposition, and accused President Assad of being responsible for the massacre of and crimes against the Syrian people.[6]
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri expressed himself more forthrightly and decisively regarding the points of contention with Saudi Arabia. Two days after Al-Sisi's speech to the UN General Assembly, Shukri told the editors of Egypt's three main newspapers, in an interview, that Saudi Arabia is promoting an unviable solution to the Syria crisis, and described Egypt's role as "the voice of reason." While Shukri did emphasize the extensive Egypt-Syria relationship and coordination, he added: "The disagreement surrounds the question of whether or not armed struggle can decide the situation in Syria. Our position since the start has been that armed struggle will decide nothing, and that there is no place for terrorist organizations in the new Syria. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia believes that armed struggle will [indeed] decide the situation in Syria, and will lead to change. But this will not happen."
Additionally, Shukri argued that "there is no need for a ceasefire to launch a political process, because the tragic situation in Syria, and its ramifications, are compelling us to formulate guidelines for political negotiations, so that we can work in accordance with them as opposed to waiting for a ceasefire..."[7] This position vis-à-vis a ceasefire contrasts with that of the Syrian armed resistance, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, according to which negotiations are conditional upon a ceasefire. It also contrasts with Al-Sisi's statements at the UN General Assembly.
In its reporting, the Egyptian independent Islamic daily Al-Misriyyoun, which was not represented at the interview, highlighted additional points of Egyptian-Saudi contention that it claimed were raised during the interview. The newspaper reported that Shukri said, when asked whether a departure by President Assad could bring Syria to the same situation as Iraq's and Libya's following the ouster of their leaders: "That is the affair of the Syrian people, and we should not discuss specific individuals or waste time on questions regarding the post-war phase." He stressed that, unlike Saudi Arabia, whose "position highlights the need for regime or leadership change in Syria, Egypt does not support this..."[8] It should be noted that while none of the three newspapers whose editors interviewed Shukri reported on these statements, they were widely cited in the Arab media and were not denied by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
Articles In Official Egyptian Press: The Choice Is Between Bashar Al-Assad And Jabhat Al-Nusra
Following Shukri's and Al-Sisi's statements, the official Egyptian press further examined, in a number of articles, the Egypt-Saudi schism, specifically regarding the fate of Bashar Al-Assad and the two countries' divergent priorities for dealing with the crisis. The Egyptian positions reflected in these articles are in line with those of Russia and the Syrian regime.
'Abd Al-Hadi 'Allam, the editor of the Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram, characterized Egypt's position as follows: "Assad has no place in Egypt's future, but now is not the time [to remove him]. In other words, Assad is not part of the future but he is part of the [immediate] solution." He added: "Egypt presented the elements [who support the Syrian opposition] with a question: 'Who will fill the vacuum after Bashar [Al-Assad] is gone?' The answer was: 'Terrorism and the extremists, of course. That's a certainty'... If Bashar [Al-Assad] is removed from the scene right now, what will happen next? Syria will surely suffer the same fate as Iraq and Libya! Are the region and the world prepared [to face] another Somalia? Everyone will pay the price. This terror will spread to Europe, the U.S. and the [entire] region..."[9]
Makram Muhammad Ahmad, the former head of Egypt's journalists' union, likewise warned in an Al-Ahram article that the alternative to Assad could be the extremist terrorists. He wrote that Egypt's stance is "based on a correct Arab position that is attempting to restore a minimal [degree of] Arab solidarity, and which demands to put an immediate stop to the civil war in Syria and save the Syrian people and state from certain catastrophe that will weigh on the Arab consciousness for decades. The loss of Syria will mean the loss of the entire Middle East, because the victory of extremist organizations in Syria will accelerate the collapse of the entire Arab nation, and [in this context] there is no difference between Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria and Jordan – all of them are targets for attack!"
Ahmad urged Saudi Arabia to endorse the Egyptian position and allow the Syrian people to decide Assad's fate, and even proposed an Arab-Iranian reconciliation to avoid sectarian war: "The only way to avoid [this scenario of an accelerated collapse] is for Egypt and Saudi Arabia to formulate a joint position vis-à-vis the Syria crisis, so as to unite the Arab efforts to save the Syrian people and state. This position must oppose supporting extremist organization and arming them, especially Jabhat Al-Nusra. [It must also] demand that the [international] powers keep their hands off the Syrian people, support its independent [decisions], and leave the question of Bashar Al-Assad's fate for [the Syrian] people to decide via parliamentary and presidential elections that will end the reign of the Assad family after 42 years of division, rift and hopeless wars. No matter how intense the conflict with Bashar Al-Assad and his family, Jabhat Al-Nusra is [surely] not fit to replace them, because allowing it to head the regime or be a part of it will mean perpetuating the Syrian civil war. We can [even] open a new path towards Arab-Iranian reconciliation, in order to save the Muslims, both Shi'ite and Sunni, from an all-out sectarian war and reduce the danger of foreign intervention seeking to widen this rift and turn it into a big civil war that will destroy the Arab and Muslim world."[10]
In his column in Al-Masri Al-Yawm, 'Abd Al-Nasser Salama, the former editor of the daily of Al-Ahram, stressed the points of contention between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and stated that Al-Sisi's statements at the UN "reflected a clear Egyptian position that has never been expressed so firmly... The value of this position," he added, "cannot be understated... for it is different from the position of many others in the region... chiefly from the position of Saudi Arabia, which has always advocated a military solution and constantly threatened Assad via official statements... [to the effect] that he must step down voluntarily or else be removed by force. This position has not changed one whit so far. It seems that Egypt is moving towards adopting an independent position on the regional level... Some might think that we are headed towards an open crisis with Riyadh, and that the signs of its impending outbreak are clear, for Egypt and Saudi Arabia are divided on many issues, certainly about what is happening in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and even in Gaza. They also differ in the nature of their relations with Qatar, Turkey and Russia."[11]
Saudis Enraged By Egypt's Vote In Favor Of Russian Resolution In UN Security Council
These statements were a prelude to Egypt's adopting an independent policy on the Syria crisis, opposed to the Saudi position. This policy was manifested in Egypt's voting in favor of an October 8, 2016 Russian draft proposal in the UN Security Council concerning the situation in Aleppo, a move that enraged the Saudis.
In effect, Egypt supported two UN draft proposals on a ceasefire in Aleppo that contradicted one another. One, submitted by France, also on October 8, called for a no-fly zone over the city, and the other, submitted by Russia after it vetoed the French proposal, stated that one of the main conditions for a ceasefire was for the Syrian opposition factions to distance themselves from Jabhat Fath Al-Sham, formerly called Jabhat Al-Nusra.
Egypt's representative to the UN, 'Amr Abu Al-Atta, explained why his country had supported the two conflicting draft proposals, noting that Egypt "is supporting all efforts to end the suffering of the Syrian people. It voted based on the content of the proposals, not as part of political sloganeering that thwarts the activity of the Security Council." According to him, Egypt supported points that were included in both drafts, among them halting the targeting of Syrian civilians, delivering humanitarian aid, halting aggressive actions in accordance with Security Council resolutions, and decisively addressing "some armed groups' flagrant disregard of calls by the international community not to collaborate with terrorist organizations." He said that both drafts prioritized the cessation of aggression in Aleppo and called for renewing the political process and negotiations on the transitional phase in Syria.[12]
As stated, Egypt's vote in favor of the Russian draft proposal infuriated the Saudis. Permanent Saudi Representative to the UN 'Abdallah Yahya Al-Mouallimi called the Egyptian vote "unfortunate" and said: "Egypt's vote in the Security Council and its support for the Russian draft resolution express [only] the Egyptian position. Arab coordination is carried out via the Arab League's Council of [Foreign] Ministers... It was absurd [of Russia] to submit this counter-proposal [to the French draft] that received only four votes. I feel sorry for the elements that voted for the [Russian draft] resolution, since it was strongly and harshly opposed."[13] He added: "It was unfortunate to see that Senegal and Malaysia's position was closer to the agreed-upon Arab stance than the position of the [Egyptian] Arab representative."[14]
Khaled Al-Tuwaijri, former chief of the Saudi Royal Court, addressed Al-Sisi on Twitter under the hashtag "Egypt voted in favor of the Russian proposal." He wrote: "Mr. President, I am very sorry for this position of yours regarding Saudi Arabia. You have forgotten our positions that support you like brothers!!"[15]
The Saudis' rage also took the form of practical steps: Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed Al-Kattan was recalled to Riyadh for deliberations on bilateral ties between the countries.[16]
Additionally, several Saudi companies took steps that could negatively impact Egypt's economy. For example, several days after the Security Council vote, Egyptian sources reported that the largest Saudi oil company, Saudi Aramco, had informed Egypt that during October it would not supply the monthly quantity of oil that had been agreed upon during King Salman's April 2016 visit to Egypt. However, it should be mentioned that Saudi Aramco had actually delivered this message in early October, prior to the Security Council vote, and the spokesman of Egypt's Oil Ministry said that the move was economic, not political.[17] Also, the director of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Agency said that Saudia Airlines, the Saudi national carrier, had not approved EgyptAir flights to Saudi Arabia. This, he said, was also unrelated to developments in Egypt-Saudi relations, and happened prior to the Security Council vote.[18]
Despite the claims that these two moves had nothing to do with Egypt-Saudi relations, they were viewed in Egypt as the Saudis' signal of their intention to economically penalize Egypt.
Saudi Journalists: Egypt Is No Longer Fit To Lead The Arab World – And Could Forfeit Its Alliance With The Gulf States
Saudi journalists also harshly condemned the Egyptian vote.
Sa'ud Al-Rayes, a columnist for the Al-Hayat daily, wrote that Egypt's position under Al-Sisi is vague, and that Egypt deludes itself that it is the leader of the Arab world when in fact it is unable to fulfill this role. He wondered: "What does Egypt want with respect to Syria? Does it want to support the regime? If so, why does it not declare this [explicitly] or at least hold a dialogue with the regime about stopping the massacre of the Syrian people? If Egypt's president does not want to support the [Syrian] regime and is concerned for the safety of the Syrian people – as we hope he is – why doesn't the Egyptian regime support the Syrian people instead of adopting vague positions in its decisions regarding it? Perhaps the Egyptian president does not support either the Syrian regime or the Syrian people, but rather the contiguousness of Syrian [land], and that is also fine. But if the world, with its two poles – American and Russian – wants to see Syria divided, what can the Egyptian president do [about it]? The problem is that Egypt does not tell us what it wants, nor do its positions indicate the answer [to this question]. This begs [another] question: does Egypt even know what it wants regarding Syria?"
Al-Rayes went on to accuse Egypt of being ungrateful: "The Gulf countries worked to protect Egypt and its people, and supported its president both before and after he rose to power, on the material and political levels. They pressured the world, especially the U.S. and Europe, to hold ties with him. Despite this, the Gulf countries do not feel that this investment had a positive effect on the Arab and Muslim world... [for] the other side [Egypt] did not do what was needed in order to support the Arab and Muslim world... Egypt's problem today is that it still labors under the illusion that it is the leader of the Arab world and that nobody else is fit to lead it. [But] the big problem is that Egypt is no longer fit to lead, either politically or economically... It has no presence [in addressing] Arab issues. Even in the neighboring countries [its influence] is completely absent, so what [can be said] about distant countries?..."[19]
Saudi Journalist Muhammad Al-'Osaimi warned in an article in 'Okaz that the Gulf states may drop Egypt as an ally. These states, he said, rely on Egypt's help in confronting the Iranian threat. "But if Egypt chooses to take a different path and to [strike] alliances that are at odds with the Gulf position on Syria and with the Iranian threats, then it [effectively] chooses to give up its allies, [namely] Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. Nobody can force Egypt to maintain [the alliance] with them, but at the same time, nobody can blame Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states if they drop Egypt and work to form other alliances to protect their security and that of their peoples.
"However, no matter how saddening [the recent developments] are, there is hope that Egypt still understands how its national security, and the national security of all Arabs, might be adversely affected if it dismantles its alliance with the Gulf states in favor of other alliances..."[20]
Fury In Egypt Over Saudi Criticism, Economic Measures – President Al-Sisi: Egypt Will Bow Down Only Before Allah, Will Not Abandon Syria, Which Is Crucial For Its National Security
Egypt, for its part, was enraged by the Saudi criticism over its vote in the UN Security Council, and also over the economic measures taken by Saudi companies which were perceived as a threat of economic sanctions. President Al-Sisi stressed that his country would not submit to anyone and would adhere to its independent policy. At the same time, he wished to downplay the significance of reports on Egyptian-Saudi tensions and about Aramco's decision to suspend the supply of oil to Egypt, stating that nothing could harm the relations between his country and the "sister" Gulf states.
In a conference held by the Egyptian army on the anniversary of the October War (the 1973 war with Israel), Al-Sisi said: "In the recent weeks, there have been unwelcome debates [expressing] hostility towards Egypt in the Gulf media. I wish to remind you... that I said nobody can come between us and our brothers in the Arab Gulf states. However, we pursue an independent policy in protecting Arab national security... The Egyptian vote in favor of the [French and Russian] draft resolutions was one [vote], and there was no contradiction, because it was [a vote] in favor of ceasefire and delivering humanitarian aid. Some observers claimed that [Aramco's] suspension of the oil supply to Egypt had been a response to the vote, but this is an economic agreement [with no political dimensions]... Immediately [following the reports about the vote] we took the required measures. We have no problem with oil... If Egypt wants to make independent decisions, the Egyptian people has to bear the consequences... Our relations with the peoples of the Gulf are solid and well-established. What is happening now is an attempt to destroy these relations, similar to [attempts being] made inside Egypt by spreading rumors meant to isolate it. Egypt will bow down only before Allah. We have no problem meeting the challenges, as long as we are united... We are intensely committed to our relations with the Gulf states and to the [Arab] national security, which is indivisible, [but only] within the confines of the independence of Egypt's courts. Egypt will not harm anyone, even one who harmed it."[21]
A few days later, in another interview with Egypt's three main newspapers, Al-Ahram, Al-Gumhouriyya, and Al-Akhbar, President Al-Sisi called to increase the cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Egypt in order to clarify the policy, but denied the reports about significant tension between the two countries, saying that it was a fiction spread by the media and social networks. He said: "There is need for closer coordination with our brothers in Saudi Arabia, in order to clarify things. As for the [issue of] the oil supply, after the decision was made [to suspend it], we approved the agreements necessary to meet our needs. We do not want things to get out of proportion, because nothing affects the strategic ties of brotherhood between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and nothing must be allowed to harm this historic connection or to create a rift [between us]. We express to our Saudi brothers our full thanks and appreciation for the help they extended to Egypt during the [difficult] times it experienced... It is the handling of [this affair] in the media and the talk on social media that created the impression [of a rift between the countries], but there is no cloud over Egyptian-Saudi relations."[22]
Responding to the criticism voiced by Saudi Arabia's representative to the UN 'Abdallah Yahya Al-Mouallimi, Egyptian MP 'Imad Gad, the deputy director of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said that "Riyadh created a problem and started openly criticizing Egypt." He added that this could deepen the disagreements between the two countries "on handling crises in the Middle East, especially since Saudi Arabia is cooperating with the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen, Iraq and other countries in order to realize its interests and impose its perception of the solution [to the crises]."[23]
Al-Masri Al-Yawm editor Muhammad Amin took a more moderate tone, stressing the depth and importance of Egypt's relations with Saudi Arabia, but also the depth of its commitment to Syria, and urged the Saudis to understand that "[Egypt's] vote at the Security Council was not [a vote] against Saudi Arabia but [rather a vote] for Syria." He wrote: "We are at a historical moment, and it is inconceivable that we should be on one side and Saudi Arabia on another, nor is it conceivable that we should leave Saudi Arabia alone in the fray. But this does not prevent us from having our own positions on Syria. I am sure that Egypt's position on Syria comes as no surprise to Saudi Arabia. Our position is constant, declared and known, even if Saudi Arabia does not like it. Syria is [like a] norther province of Egypt, and [it is crucial for Egypt's] national security. We cannot sacrifice it – either for Saudi Arabia's sake or anyone else's... Let's be logical. Did Egypt [ever] promise to adopt Saudi Arabia's position on Syria and Lebanon? [Our relations] do not depend on sharing [all our] positions and interests."
Seeking to reassure Saudi Arabia, Amin added: "Egypt will by no means manipulate its sister [country]. If that happened, it is wrong – [especially] at a time when Saudi Arabia is facing a threat of partition on the one hand and JASTA on the other. Egypt does not do [things like that]. [Both] its morals, its status and its interests forbid it. That is why no [Saudi] is entitled to condemn [Egypt] or threaten us with painful measures... Egypt has no interest in losing [the friendship of] Saudi Arabia, even for a moment. But neither is it an Egyptian interest to see Syria partitioned..." Amin stated that "no disagreement, hidden or overt, exists between us and Saudi Arabia," but stressed that "Saudi Arabia's concern is Bashar [Al-Assad], whereas Egypt's concern is the Syrian state. When Egypt cast its vote, it was thinking of the [Syrian] state, and when Saudi Arabia cast its vote it was thinking of Bashar [Al-Assad]. I hope Saudi Arabia forgets Bashar [Al-Assad] and concentrates on its own affairs. That would be better for us and for them."[24]
Reports that the Saudi oil company Aramco had decided to suspend the supply of oil to Egypt for a month likewise sparked harsh criticism in the Egyptian press, which declared that Egypt would not capitulate to economic pressures and that it had alternative sources of aid. Al-Ahram editor Muhammad 'Abd Al-Hadi 'Allam wrote: "Those who do not read Egypt's history do not realize how much patience and fortitude its people are blessed with. Thanks to [this patience and fortitude] Egypt will never alter its firm principles on issues concerning the countries of the Middle East. Egypt cannot be pressured, and the delusions of those who think they can trigger, or help trigger, internal problems [in Egypt] are incompatible with Egypt's status.
"I think that all the foreign aid that Egypt receives, in all its forms, must be reexamined, in order to determine what can be replaced in the short term and what can be negotiated in light of common interests with certain countries. The language of subjugation and [exploiting] interests will not avail [anyone] when it comes to Egypt, whose honor and whose people's honor must not be demeaned. We must face the situation squarely and declare that we are rethinking everything that burdens [our] decision-makers...
"[Protecting] Egypt's interests does not mean harming the interests of others, [but] Egypt's interests take precedence over Arab ones..."[25]
The owner of the Al-Yawm Al-Masri daily, Salah Diab, who writes under the pen-name Newton, wrote in a similar vein. While assuring Saudi Arabia that Egypt harbors it no ill will, he stressed the depth of Egypt's relations with Syria, calling the two countries "twins," and stated that no economic pressures or economic siege would cause Egypt to change its position: "This is not the first time we have been under siege or had friends boycott us or enemies rejoice at our misfortune. We have experienced much hardship and distress in the course of our history... but we [always] knew how to withstand the hardship with fortitude... We do not fear trials and hardship. We are not alarmed by siege. We have unusual powers of adaptation." Mentioning the disagreements between Egypt and Saudi Arabia over Yemen in the 1960s, Newton added: "I hope that our Saudi brothers in the past and the future... [understood then] and understand [now] that Egypt has no evil intentions towards any Arab state. Just as our position on the Yemen revolution [in the 1960s] was not directed against our Saudi brothers, Egypt's current position on Syria is not directed at Saudi Arabia. Egypt is [merely] fulfilling its obligation. It has always been close to Syria – geographically, historically and culturally. Egypt and Syria are twins. They have always had an existential, security and strategic connection... This eternal Egyptian position does not in any way entail hostility towards Saudi Arabia and is not directed against Saudi Arabia... Egypt and Saudi Arabia are the central pillars of the Arab tent. Without them the Arabs will continue to deteriorate..." He concluded: "No matter how dire Egypt's economic situation, it can withstand any boycott. But the Arab world cannot withstand a misunderstanding between the two great sisters, Egypt and Saudi Arabia."[26]
Egyptian television presenter Lamis El-Hadidy said in her program on the CBC channel: "Egypt's hand cannot be forced by means of the oil aid. We will not accept that. Egyptians must put their [powers of endurance] to the test. If [the Saudis] pressure us, we will be forced by buy Israeli gas, which is closer and cheaper." Senior Egyptian journalist and television presenter Wael Al-Abrashi called on Saudi Arabia to apologize, warning that if it doesn't, Egypt may withhold military aid from Saudi Arabia, should the latter require it. [27]
Mutual Attempts To Alleviate Tension
On the other hand, figures in both countries tried to downplay the recent developments and alleviate the tensions between them, although this was more the case in Saudi Arabia than in Egypt. Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya TV reported that a delegation of Egyptian officials was expected in Saudi Arabia in the next few days to discuss the recent events.[28]
Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said: "There is no Egypt-Saudi schism. Reports that the Saudi representative [to the UN] attacked Egypt are neither correct nor accurate, and are in contrast to the truth... Egypt has not deviated from the Arab position vis-à-vis the Syrian crisis, and supports an end to the bloodshed and a ceasefire."[29]
Egyptian MP Mustafa Bakri stressed that Egypt's relationship with Saudi Arabia is "strong" and that no one could separate the two. It is the Muslim Brotherhood, he said, that is attempting to drive a wedge between the countries and spread misinformation that the Saudis aim to stop the transfer of oil to Egypt. Bakri called on Egyptian journalists to "stop attacking Saudi Arabia, because it has always stood alongside us, and it stands with us now as well."[30]
In Saudi Arabia too there were those who tried to put out the fire. 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, former editor-in-chief of the London based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat and former general manager of Al-Arabiya TV, tweeted in response to Saudi anti-Egypt commentary: "Egypt's position is not strange. We must treat Egypt like Turkey. [We must understand it just as] we understand why Turkey conducts massive deals with Iran while at the same time maintaining a political position that is opposed to it." Al-Rashed also accused the Muslim Brotherhood of attempting to incite Saudi Arabia to fight the Egyptian government in its stead, and assured his readers: "This will not happen. Egypt is [Saudi Arabia's] most important ally, regardless of who heads [Egypt]."[31]
Ali Sa'd Al-Moussa, a columnist for the official Saudi daily Al-Watan, criticized the Saudi "intelligentsia and public opinion leaders" for being "dragged along" with the reaction of the Saudi street, and for directing condemnation at Egypt just because it voted in favor of the Russian draft resolution "that would have certainly been vetoed anyway." He wrote: "First of all, expecting the other, whoever it is, to adopt your position and examine events solely from your perspective is a cultural flaw in the political perception. Egypt has complex political interests. It is currently rebuilding itself after being abandoned by weak and hesitant American positions... We [Saudis] are currently dealing with the same U.S., and undergoing the same test of abandonment [i.e. the passage of JASTA]. Second, in politics you must give the friendly brother whom you trust a chance to follow a parallel or even an opposite path, because the day may come when... you need him to convey your political messages, or as a mediator. Third, and this could be the main point: Let us clearly and objectively examine the political positions on the issues that are shared by both sister countries, in an intellectual and not an emotional way: Why, for instance, did the Egyptian intelligentsia and official Egypt not rebuke us... when we had official relations with Iran, at a time when Egypt was the only Arab state that opposed [Iran]?... Why did Egypt never ask why we have an ambassador in Tehran when [Iran] named one of its main thoroughfares after the assassin of historic [Egyptian] leader Anwar Sadat...? Why did official Egypt never say a word or express suspicions or fears regarding our open alliance with Turkey, despite [Turkey's] flagrant interference in Egypt's internal affairs...? The only answer is that the politically astute in both countries' leaderships know that historic relations are far more important than a vote on a [single] resolution or the opening of an embassy..."
Al-Moussa added that in light of the danger of the spread of Iranian influence, and in light of the situation in the Arab world, there was a need to examine "what is left of the Arab and Islamic world, and what will remain if we drive a hot spike into the heart of Saudi-Egypt relations just because of a valueless vote in the Security Council?"[32]
Likewise, Muhammad Al-Sa'd, a columnist for the Saudi daily 'Okaz, wondered whether disagreement over a political issue was reason enough to sever relations between two sister countries: "Undoubtedly, Egypt has its own strategic interests and so does Saudi Arabia... In the difficult days that the Arab world is facing in the wake of 'the autumn of protests' [i.e., the Arab Spring] the two major capitals, Riyadh and Cairo, which are the final remaining cornerstone [of the Arab world], must not succumb to political disagreements, because Saudi Arabia's security and political depth is in Cairo, and Egypt's Arab and security depth is in Riyadh."[33]
* N. Mozes is a research fellow at MEMRI.
Endnotes:
[1] In fact, Egypt supported two UN draft proposals on a ceasefire in Aleppo that contradicted one another, both of them on October 8, 2016. One, submitted by France, called for a no-fly zone over the city, and the other, submitted by Russia after it vetoed the French proposal, stated that one of the main conditions for a ceasefire was for the Syrian opposition factions to distance themselves from Jabhat Fath Al-Sham, formerly called Jabhat Al-Nusra.
[2] Arabic.cnn.com, February 18, 2016.
[3] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), September 12, 2016.
[4] Al-Ahram (Egypt), August 22, 2016.
[5] Al-Misriyyoun (Egypt), September 21, 2016.
[6] Un.org, September 21, 2016.
[7] Al-Ahram (Egypt), September 23, 2016.
[8] Al- Misriyyoun (Egypt), September 23, 2016.
[9] Al-Ahram (Egypt), September 23, 2016.
[10] Al-Ahram (Egypt), September 26, 2016.
[11] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), September 23, 2016.
[12] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), October 9, 2016.
[13] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), October 10, 2016.
[14] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), October 10, 2016.
[15] Twitter.com/kt_tuwaijri, October 9, 2016.
[16] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), October 12, 2106.
[17] Al-Shurouq (Egypt), October 10, 2016.
[18] Al-Yawm Al-Sabi' (Egypt), October 12, 2016.
[19] Al-Hayat (London), October 11, 2016.
[20] 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), October 11, 2016.
[21] Al-Ahram (Egypt), October 14, 2016.
[22] Al-Ahram (Egypt), October 16, 2016.
[23] Al-Shurouq (Egypt), October 10, 2016.
[24] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), October 10, 2016.
[25] Al-Ahram (Egypt), October 13, 2016.
[26] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), October 11, 2016.
[27] Rassd.com, October 11, 2016.
[28] Alarabiya.net, October 12, 2016.
[29] Al-Shurouq (Egypt), October 10, 2016.
[30] Al-Watan (Egypt), October 11, 2016.
[31] Twitter.com/jkhashoggi, October 9, 2016.
[32] Al-Watan (Egypt), October 13, 2016.
[33] 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), October 12, 2016.