LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 18/15

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletins05/english.december17.15.htm 

Bible Quotations For Today
‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 07/37-44: "On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, "Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water." ’Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him."

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God
Letter to the Romans 12/01-08: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching;
the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 17-18/15
Lebanon's controversial candidate for president/Sami Nader/Al-Monitor/December 17/15
Rouhani announces sanctions to be removed by January/Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/December 17/15
Is this man Israel's next prime minister/Mazal Mualem/Al-Monitor/December 17/15
How to help Libya … before it’s too late/Mustafa Fetouri/Al-Monitor/December 17/15
Iran's military bulks up with new Russian tanks/Abbas Qaidaari/Al-Monitor/December 17/15
Islamic Jihad: Symptom of a Western Cause/Raymond Ibrahim/PJ Media/December 17/15
More Lies from Abbas about The "Intifada"/Bassam Tawil/ Gatestone Institute/December 17/15
Muzzling silence-breakers damages Israeli democracy/Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/December 17/17
An alliance against a radical ideology/Manuel Almeida/Al Arabiya/December 17/17
A black-market mentality shapes Middle East politics/Raed Omari/Al Arabiya/December 17/17

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on December 17-18/15
Franjieh Says 'Candidate More Than Ever', Describes Ties with Aoun as 'Abnormal'
UNIFIL Donates Equipment to LAF, General Security, Army Intelligence
Rifi: Gadhafi Won't be Handed to Syria, Lebanon has Upper Hand in his Detention
Ex-MP Yaaqoub Held in Connection with Hannibal Gadhafi's Abduction
Hizbullah Questions 'Motives' of Saudi-led Coalition, Says PM's Stance 'Not Binding'
Report: Mustaqbal, LF Agree to Form Joint Committee to Bolster Cooperation
At Least Two al-Nusra Militants Killed in Lebanese Army 'Ambush'
Suicide Vest Found in Detainee's House in Wadi Khaled
Salam Launches Crisis Response Plan, Says Syrian Refugees Won't be Naturalized in Lebanon
U.S. Congress Votes to Sanction Banks Financing Hizbullah
Report: Salam Says Some Sides 'Jumped to Conclusions' on Lebanon Joining Islamic Alliance
Report: Trash Crisis Solution Not Final, Exportation Costs Still Kept Secret
Lebanon's controversial candidate for president

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 17-18/15
Canadian Statement on meeting with Saudi Arabian counterpart
Britain PM Rules out Ban on Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood
Syria Rebels Debunk Putin Claim of Aiding Opposition
Libya’s rival factions sign U.N. peace deal
Jewish Groups Decry Atomic Agency Decision to End Probe Into Military Dimensions of Iran’s Nuclear Program
Yemen peace talks struggle amid clashes, disputes
French defence minister to visit Moscow to coordinate ISIS fight
Syria rebels debunk Putin claim of aiding opposition
Tunisian Nobel winners marking 5 years of Arab Spring
Iraq Kurds repel major ISIS offensive
Putin rules out reconciliation with Turkey
Turkish forces kill 25 PKK militants in operation
UK won’t ban Muslim Brotherhood but finds link to extremism
U.N. war crimes team will not investigate foreign strikes in Syria
Egypt to try 13 policemen next month over fatal beating
Kerry to chair U.N. Security Council meeting on Syria
Saudi Arabia warns Umrah firms against shabby lodging for pilgrims
Efforts to deal with migrant crises at ‘a breaking point’
After Iran missile test, U.S. senators urge more sanctions
Libya parliament chief throws U.N. deal into doubt
Syria settlement ‘should not hinge’ on Assad’s fate
Kremlin denies top Iranian commander met Putin in Moscow

Links From Jihad Watch Site for December 17-18/15
Obama: No “specific and credible information about an attack on our homeland”.
Robert Spencer in FrontPage: The LA Schools’ “Not Credible” Threat.
Michael Moore starts #WeAreAllMuslim campaign in front of Trump Towers.
Minnesota: Parents question public high school’s choice to sing “Allahu akbar” at holiday concert.
Missouri: FBI notified after “Middle Eastern” men ask if they can rent a boat and tour Bagnell Dam.
Hamas top dog: “The so-called peace process is futile. There is no peace. Only the path of Jihad, sacrifice, and blood.”.
Russia: Muslim cleric arrested after weapons and explosives found in his apartment.
Hugh Fitzgerald: Mr. Allen’s Report.
William Kilpatrick: ‘The Vast Majority Myth’.
Yazidi slave’s life spared by Islamic State because he didn’t have armpit hair, in imitation of Muhammad’s example.
Raymond Ibrahim: Islamic Jihad — Symptom of a Western Cause.
Publishers Weekly apparently totally cool with beheading Americans, Jewish genocide, removing girls’ clitorises.
Team led by “Middle Eastern woman” caught surveilling U.S. facility on Mexican border.
Australia Security Intelligence Organisation top dog calls for self-censorship to avoid offending Muslims.

Franjieh Says 'Candidate More Than Ever', Describes Ties with Aoun as 'Abnormal'
Naharnet/December 17/15/Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh announced Thursday that he insists on his presidential nomination “more than ever before,” as he described his relation with his ally Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun as “abnormal.”“Today more than ever before, I consider myself to be a presidential candidate but I will let General Aoun take his chance. As for time, I will coordinate it with my allies,” Franjieh said in an interview on LBCI television. “I went to Paris with a clear conscience and I returned with a clear conscience,” he noted, referring to his famous meeting last month in the French capital with al-Mustaqbal movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri. “Many thought that things would happen in a quick pace but I knew that things need time,” he added. The Paris meeting had sparked intense speculation that a presidential settlement was in the making. But the initiative ran aground in recent days after it drew reservations from the country's main Christian parties – Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party. “I agreed on several issues with Hariri in Paris and we decided that the meeting must remain confidential so that each of us can consult with his camp,” Franjieh told LBCI on Thursday. He also revealed that his March 8 allies Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Speaker Nabih Berri were “in the picture of all the developments.” “March 14 made a serious presidential initiative and we dispatched a member of the (Marada) movement to inform General Aoun of the initiative after I returned from Paris,” Franjieh noted. He revealed that his relation with Aoun has been “abnormal for two years now.” Aoun “believes that he is the only candidate without having plan B,” Franjieh said of his ally. “I'm not General Aoun's competitor although the media outlets of some allies have described me as a rival,” he lamented. Referring to meetings that Aoun and FPM officials had reportedly held last year, Franjieh added: “I did not ask for the presidency, I traveled to Paris as an accepted president while other parties went to Clemenceau, the Saudi embassy and Paris without consulting with anyone.”“I coordinated my moves step by step with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and he was in favor of the visit while stressing that he will not abandon Aoun. If General Aoun does not have a plan B, Hizbullah has one. This does not mean that I have decided to abandon General Aoun,” he added. “From the very beginning we said that we will all support Aoun if he has chances and we did not conspire against him today. We want to go to the settlement together despite the media uproar,” Franjieh noted. “I have not joined March 14 and Hariri has not joined March 8 but we have met halfway. We agree on the interest of Lebanese citizens, on development and on the minimum requirements for preserving the state's entity,” the Marada chief said.

UNIFIL Donates Equipment to LAF, General Security, Army Intelligence
Naharnet/December 17/15/The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) donated on Wednesday a number of U.N.-owned information-technology equipment to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the General Security Directorate at a ceremony held at its headquarters in Naqoura, South Lebanon, announced UNIFIL on a statement on Thursday. The event was attended by UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Luciano Portolano, Deputy Head of Mission Imran Riza, Deputy Force Commander Brigadier General Sandeep Singh Bajaj, Director of Mission Support Wolfgang Weiszegger, LAF South Litany Sector Commander Brigadier General Charbel Abou Khalil, LAF Intelligence Chief (Southern region) Brigadier General Khodr Hammoud and Lieutenant Colonel Fawzi Chamoun, representing General Security on behalf of Major General Abbas Ibrahim. Some 1,776 items including computers, printers, servers and accessories valued at over USD 400,000 were handed over with the aim of assisting LAF and General Security in their operational needs, as part of UNIFIL’s efforts to support the development of LAF capabilities within the framework of the Strategic Dialogue process. During the ceremony, Portolano spoke of the importance of the Strategic Dialogue process, which aims to empower the Lebanese army in implementing the tasks mandated in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and to facilitate the gradual assumption of greater security responsibilities by the LAF in UNIFIL’s area of operations. He noted that the partnership between UNIFIL and the Lebanese army is central to the implementation of the mandated tasks. “It is essential, in this regard, that our strategic partners in the South get the technical and material resources they require to fulfill their vital responsibilities,” Portolano said. “The Strategic Dialogue Plan remains an integral part of the overall LAF capability development plan, which is supported by the International Support Group. The continued support and assistance of the international community to the LAF is therefore vitally important,” he added. Portolano reiterated UNIFIL’s commitment to support the Government of Lebanon and its entities, including LAF and General Security, by continuing to assist them in developing operational capabilities for the successful implementation of Resolution 1701. Since the beginning of the Strategic Dialogue process, UNIFIL has donated various resources to LAF, including vehicles, prefabricated buildings, generators, sea containers and computer equipment worth more than USD 1 million. This is apart from assistance provided by the UNIFIL Troop Contributing Countries on a bilateral basis.

Rifi: Gadhafi Won't be Handed to Syria, Lebanon has Upper Hand in his Detention
Naharnet/December 17/15/Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi stressed on Thursday that Lebanon has the final word in keeping or releasing Hannibal Moammar Gadhafi and that he will not be handed over to the Syrian authorities. “We reiterated that the Lebanese judiciary has the final word in keeping Hannibal Gadhafi in detention or in releasing him,” said Rifi in a statement. “As for the request to hand him over to the Syrian authorities, it is a dream that will never come true,” he added. Syrian authorities had demanded on Wednesday that Gadhafi be handed over through an official request, explaining that he had been granted political asylum in Syria. The demand was dismissed by Rifi after it was addressed to Lebanon's general prosecutor, and later was sent to the Lebanese foreign ministry which referred it to the justice ministry in line with procedure. On the accusations fired by Gadhafi's lawyer, Bouchra al-Khalil, against Rifi alleging that the latter had a hand in kidnapping Gadhafi, the Minister denounced the reports and described them as “dangerous direct accusations.”Gadhafi was taken into custody Friday in Lebanon after a brief abduction at the hands of an armed group. The Minister has sent a letter to the General Prosecutor requesting that an investigation be opened into the kidnapping in a bid to reveal the identity of the abductors, added the statement. The judiciary had on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Hannibal on charges of withholding information linked to Imam Moussa al-Sadr's case. The 40-year-old son of slain Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appeared in a video on Friday in which he announced that he had been kidnapped in Lebanon. In the video, Hannibal described his captors as "loyal to the cause of Imam Moussa al-Sadr," the founder of Lebanon's AMAL Movement who disappeared while on a trip to Libya in 1978. State-run National News Agency said Gadhafi was abducted Thursday “after being lured from Syria into a town near Baalbek” and that his captors had demanded "information about Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions." Later on Friday, the agency said Hannibal was “handed over to the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch after his captors left him on the Baalbek-Homs international highway near the northern Bekaa town of al-Jamaliyeh.”

Ex-MP Yaaqoub Held in Connection with Hannibal Gadhafi's Abduction
Naharnet/December 17/15/Former MP Hassan Yaaqoub was detained Thursday in connection with Hannibal Gadhafi's abduction case after being interrogated for more than seven hours, media reports said. His family announced that the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch had started questioning him at 12:00 pm. “The public prosecution has ordered the detention of Yaaqoub pending further investigations as it issued summons for other suspects,” MTV said. The ex-MP is the son of Sheikh Mohammed Yaaqoub – one of two companions who disappeared together with AMAL Movement founder Imam Moussa al-Sadr in 1978 during a trip to Libya.Then Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Hannibal's father, was indicted in Lebanon in 2007 over the disappearance of al-Sadr and his associates and many parties in Lebanon accused the slain Libyan strongman of abducting or even killing the three men.
Hannibal Gadhafi was kidnapped last Thursday at the hands of an armed group. Conflicting reports have emerged on whether he was kidnapped inside Syria or inside Lebanon. State-run National News Agency has reported that he was “lured from Syria to a town near Baalbek” and that his captors had demanded "information about Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions." But Lebanese sources have told the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper that Hannibal was kidnapped in Syria by a Syrian gang at the behest of Lebanese parties. On Friday evening, Hannibal was “handed over to the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch after his captors left him on the Baalbek-Homs international highway near the northern Bekaa town of al-Jamaliyeh,” NNA said. He had appeared in a video earlier on Friday in which he described his captors as "loyal to the cause of Imam Moussa al-Sadr."Yaaqoub denied any links to the kidnap operation on Friday but he noted that he was not “saddened” by the news. Hannibal Gadhafi is married to Lebanese lingerie model Aline Skaff. He was among a group of family members -- including Moammar Gadhafi's wife Safiya, son Mohammed and daughter Aisha -- who escaped to neighboring Algeria after the fall of the Libyan capital Tripoli. The Lebanese judiciary on Monday remanded Hannibal in custody after accusing him of withholding information about al-Sadr's disappearance.

Hizbullah Questions 'Motives' of Saudi-led Coalition, Says PM's Stance 'Not Binding'
Naharnet/December 17/15/Hizbullah on Thursday expressed “deep doubts” about “the motives and objectives” that pushed Saudi Arabia to announce the formation of “an Islamic anti-terror military coalition.”“This announcement was a response by Saudi Arabia and other countries to a U.S. decision seeking to provide forces from certain regimes in the Arab and Islamic worlds … as an alternative to sending U.S. ground troops to the region,” the party noted in a statement. Questioning if Riyadh is “qualified” to lead such a coalition, Hizbullah blamed the kingdom for the proliferation of “the terrorist and extremist thought” in the world, accusing it of “maintaining its support for this ideology.” "Saudi Arabia has practiced state terrorism in Yemen and it is backing the terrorist organizations in Syria, Iraq and Yemen," the party charged. “Will this coalition combat Israel and its incessant terrorism against the Palestinian people or will it combat the resistance movements that are fighting the Zionist enemy?” Hizbullah asked. It noted that it was “surprised by Saudi Arabia's announcement that Lebanon is a member of this coalition without the knowledge of any of the Lebanese.”“This step violates the Constitution, the law and all applicable norms in Lebanon,” Hizbullah stressed. Turning to Prime Minister Tammam Salam's remarks on the issue, the party described his statements as “a personal opinion that is not binding for anyone.” “Any premier cannot agree to joining such a suspicious military coalition, as such a matter must be discussed in cabinet in order to take an appropriate decision,” Hizbullah added. “Hizbullah categorically rejects joining such a suspicious alliance and we stress that Lebanon was the first nation to counter all forms of terrorism, whether it comes from Israel or the takfiri groups,” it said. Salam believes that some sides were quick to “make assumptions” over the coalition, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Thursday. “Salam noted that they jumped to conclusions in this issue before hearing the constitutional and legal aspects of the alliance,” sources close to him told the daily. “The coalition has only made a declaration of political and diplomatic intent,” they explained. Saudi Arabia unveiled on Tuesday the coalition that is aimed at confronting “terrorism.”It includes 35 countries from across the Muslim and Arab world, except Syria, Iraq, and Iran. The announcement that Lebanon joined the alliance sparked objections in the country, with some officials saying that they were not informed of such a measure. Salam was informed of the step and defended it on Wednesday, saying: “I am entitled as premier to take a preliminary decision on Saudi Arabia's invitation to take part in this alliance, especially since cabinet is not holding sessions.”“No one can prevent me from taking a decision that I deem appropriate and I will assume the responsibility of my actions,” he declared. “This does not mean that I am overriding the government that ultimately has the final say and executive role in the matter,” Salam said.

Report: Mustaqbal, LF Agree to Form Joint Committee to Bolster Cooperation
Naharnet/December 17/15/The Mustaqbal Movement and Lebanese Forces emphasized during their meeting on Wednesday “the strength of their alliance,” reported the daily al-Mustaqbal on Thursday. Sources from the two sides told the daily that they agreed to form a joint committee “to bolster and strengthen their means of consultations and coordination regarding developments in the country.” Sources from the Mustaqbal Movement added that the gatherers at the meeting stressed the need to reach a common vision on the parliamentary electoral law and to have “complete” coordination in the committee tasked with devising a new law. A Mustaqbal delegation, comprised of Nader Hariri and Hani Hammoud, held talks on Wednesday with LF chief Samir Geagea in wake of the tensions between the party that were sparked after Movement leader MP Saad Hariri's push for the nomination of Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh as president. Geagea, Hariri's ally in the March 14 alliance, is a presidential candidate himself. Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc head MP Fouad Saniora meanwhile told As Safir newspaper Thursday that the meeting between the movement and LF was aimed at asserting to the Lebanese people, including the two parties' supporters, that they are in constant communication despite the differences that have emerged. “We agreed with the LF for each side to respect the choice of the other” on how to tackle the vacuum in the presidency, he explained. Discussions will continue over the proposed settlement to end the political deadlock, he added. Hariri has been pushing for Franjieh's nomination as part of a settlement that would resolve the country's political impasse. A leading LF member told As Safir that “differences between the Mustaqbal and LF over the presidency almost developed into a dispute.”“It was therefore necessary to revitalize communication between the two sides in order to prevent the relationship from taking a negative turn,” it stated. This does not mean that the Mustaqbal Movement has abandoned its initiative or that the LF has changed its rejection of it, it said. The LF believes that there is a need for a “comprehensive national settlement that is based on fundamental principles.”

At Least Two al-Nusra Militants Killed in Lebanese Army 'Ambush'
Naharnet/December 17/15/At least two members of the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front were killed Thursday in a Lebanese army ambush in the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal. “Three terrorist militants were killed in a Lebanese army ambush in Arsal's Wadi Hmeid and the army is evacuating the bodies of the dead,” state-run National News Agency reported. Al-Jadeed television meanwhile said two al-Nusra militants were killed and a third was critically wounded after they tried to “sneak towards the Wadi Hmeid checkpoint.”The TV network also reported “heavy gunfire” by the army in Wadi Hmeid. On Tuesday, the army announced targeting an Islamic State vehicle traveling in the Khirbet Daoud area of Ras Baalbek's outskirts with a “guided missile.” “The vehicle was destroyed as four militants, including a field commander, were killed,” the army added. Militants from the IS and al-Nusra are entrenched in mountainous regions along the porous Lebanese-Syrian border. The Lebanese army regularly shells their positions and Hizbullah fighters have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border. The fighters of the two extremist groups had stormed Arsal in August 2014 and engaged in bloody battles with Lebanese troops and policemen. They eventually withdrew after a ceasefire but took with them over 30 hostages from the army and the police, of whom four have been executed. Sixteen Lebanese servicemen were freed in a swap deal with al-Nusra earlier this month.

Suicide Vest Found in Detainee's House in Wadi Khaled
Naharnet/December 17/15/An explosive vest was found Thursday in a detainee's house during a raid in the northern border region of Wadi Khaled, state-run National News Agency reported. “A force from the General Security intelligence department and the Lebanese army raided and searched the house of B. A. in the town of al-Rama in the border region of Wadi Khaled,” NNA said. The man had been recently arrested by the General Security, it noted. The raiding force found a suicide vest in the house and a bomb technician dismantled it, the agency added. Several suicide vests were seized in recent weeks as security forces launched a nationwide crackdown in the wake of a deadly suicide attack in the southern Beirut suburb of Bourj al-Barajneh. The attack, among the worst in years, killed 44 people and wounded 240 others and was claimed by the jihadist Islamic State group.

Salam Launches Crisis Response Plan, Says Syrian Refugees Won't be Naturalized in Lebanon
Naharnet/December 17/15/Prime Minister Tammam Salam stressed Thursday that the Syrian refugees will not be “naturalized” in Lebanon, as he launched the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan for 2016 during a Grand Serail ceremony.The plan is a joint effort between the Lebanese government and the United Nations and it aims to ensure that the response to the Syria crisis “tangibly benefits Lebanon and helps to stabilize the country during this difficult period,” the U.N. said in a statement. “I say to whomever it might concern: the naturalization of the refugees is out of the question. It is not in our calculations or in the calculations of our Syrian brothers,” Salam said. “I am pleased to announce the launch of the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan for 2016, but I add to this announcement a call for all parties concerned to deal with this document without neglecting Lebanon's national priorities,” the premier urged. He said the plan is the outcome of the efforts of Lebanese ministries, “topped by the Social Affairs Ministry,” noting that “these efforts would not have been fruitful had it not been for the U.N. support.” “Lebanon is in need for financial projects dedicated to developmental goals and infrastructure plans,” Salam added. The PM underlined that “given its size and resources, Lebanon has been generous with the refugees more than any country or party.” “The entire world knows how fragile our economic situation is and it knows that we are hosting what is equivalent to more than one third of our population. We were and are still counting on the understanding of the friendly and donor countries,” Salam added. He hoped the upcoming donors conference in London will be able to “offset this negligence of Lebanon.” “This is a temporary solution to a crisis that must not protract any further, as it is necessary to stop the bloodbath in Syria so that all refugees can return to their country,” he added. A country of four million people, Lebanon is hosting more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees who have fled the nearly five-year war across the border.

U.S. Congress Votes to Sanction Banks Financing Hizbullah
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 17/15/The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously Wednesday to impose tough new sanctions on banks that knowingly do business with Hizbullah. The bill passed the Senate last month. It now goes to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature. The legislation also targets Hizbullah's television channel al-Manar by aiming to cut the broadcast of satellite operators that air the channel's programming. The House adopted the measure 422 to 0, following a unanimous vote in the Senate on November 17. Obama will sign the legislation, a senior administration official told AFP, adding that the administration has worked with Congress for years "to intensify the pressure against Hizbullah," which the official described as "a terrorist organization." The new rules direct the U.S. president to prescribe punishing regulations against financial institutions that conduct transactions with Hizbullah or otherwise launder funds for the organization. It also requires the U.S. administration to present to Congress a series of reports highlighting the group's "narcotics trafficking, transnational crime, and operations of international groups linked to Hizbollah, especially in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia." The administration will list those particular countries that support Hizbullah, or in which the group maintains a key logistical base. "Hizbullah has had to cast a wide net because most Lebanese banks have not wanted to do business with them," a congressional expert on the legislation told AFP. With participants in Hizbullah's global networks "in our cross-hairs, they should be worried," House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce told lawmakers Wednesday ahead of the vote. "There is no question that Hizbullah is stronger than ever," said congresswoman Jackie Walorski, who described the group as a dangerous enemy to Israel and one that has amassed more than 150,000 rockets and missiles and gained hardened battlefield experience in Syria.

Report: Salam Says Some Sides 'Jumped to Conclusions' on Lebanon Joining Islamic Alliance
Naharnet/December 17/15/Prime Minister Tammam Salam believes that some sides were quick to “make assumptions” over the Islamic alliance that was announced by Saudi Arabia and which Lebanon has decided to join, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Thursday. “Salam noted that they jumped to conclusions in this issue before hearing the constitutional and legal aspects of the alliance,” his sources told the daily. “The coalition has only made a declaration of political and diplomatic intent,” they explained. Saudi Arabia unveiled on Tuesday the coalition that is aimed at confronting terrorism. It includes 35 countries from across the Muslim and Arab world, except Syria, Iraq, and Iran. The announcement that Lebanon joined the alliance sparked objections in the country, with some officials saying that they were not informed of such a measure. Salam was informed of the step and defended it on Wednesday, saying: “I am entitled as premier to take a preliminary decision on Saudi Arabia's invitation to take part in this alliance, especially since cabinet is not holding sessions.”“No one can prevent me from taking a decision that I deem appropriate and I will assume the responsibility of my actions,” he declared. “This does not mean that I am overriding the government that ultimately has the final say and executive role in the matter,” Salam said.

Report: Trash Crisis Solution Not Final, Exportation Costs Still Kept Secret
Naharnet/December 17/15/Clear information on the actual cost of exporting Lebanon's trash is still unrevealed, pointing to the possibility that a final decision on its deportation has not been finalized, An Nahar daily reported on Thursday.
“Reports are still reticent on the cost of exporting the trash, which indicates that the issue of financing is still on the table and has not been settled,” unnamed ministers told the daily. There are some question marks on the possibility of holding a cabinet session soon to tackle the issue, they added. The cabinet is seeking to close the trash management file before the year ends. To that end, Prime Minister Tammam Salam held a meeting at the Grand Serail with Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and President of the Council of Development and Reconstruction Nabil al-Jisr. Shehayyeb had reassured after the meeting that the waste that has been accumulating in random sites since July will be removed, describing reports of hefty costs as exaggerated. “Another meeting is expected to be held on Thursday,” disclosed Shehayyeb to the daily, adding that “further clarifications are needed,” and that “the file has some legal, technical, financial and infrastructure aspects.”“The process of exporting garbage starts in Karantina and Amrousiyeh and ends at the (Beirut) port. We did not have such a mechanism in place and we will study it with the port's administration and the head of land and maritime transport, Abdul Hafiz al-Qaissi,” the minister had said. Lebanon has been suffering from a waste management crisis since the closure of the Naameh landfill in July. None of the plans suggested over a five-month period to end the crisis succeeded over disputes between various officials, leaving piles of waste on the streets and random dumps throughout the country.

Lebanon's controversial candidate for president
Sami Nader/Al-Monitor/December 17/15
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2015/12/17/sami-nader-lebanons-controversial-candidate-for-president/
Lebanon is witnessing political turmoil with Maronite Christian politician Suleiman Franjieh’s unexpected bid for the presidency. The candidacy of Franjieh, which is currently debated, a March 8 figure and a friend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, may seem nothing out of the ordinary at first glance given Franjieh’s national eminence. However, the March 14 popular bases and other prominent political figures were shocked that Franjieh was nominated by Future Movement leader Saad Hariri, who is the No. 1 in the March 14 camp and Saudi Arabia’s close associate.Franjieh’s bid may lead to the Future Movement losing some of its key Christian allies, such as the Kataeb Party and the Lebanese Forces (LF), which in turn could join the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) within the March 8 coalition, thus possibly creating further sectarian tension. If we are to highlight the similarities between Franjieh and Hariri, then we ought to note that the two are middle-aged and from the same generation. More importantly, they have both experienced the same tragedy as they lost their fathers to political assassination.
Tony Franjieh was killed in a terrible crime in the northern town of Ehden on June 13, 1978. The Kataeb Party and LF head Samir Geagea were accused of perpetrating the bloody crime; however, no official investigation was ever conducted and the truth was never revealed. The wounds left by this crime are yet to heal and left a split within the Christian community, namely among Franjieh’s and Geagea’s supporters. Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a Sunni, was assassinated on Feb. 14, 2005, in a huge explosion that left tension between Sunnis and Shiites. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon accused on June 18, 2014, five Shiite Hezbollah members of complicity in the Hariri assassination. Fate may have brought Franjieh and Hariri together, but several points had divided the two; the March 8 camp, represented by the former, and the March 14 camp, represented by the latter, are on opposite sides.
During the past two years, an agreement between Hariri and Franjieh was nearly impossible, as exemplified by the presidential vacuum and the disruption of government institutions.
No details have been revealed so far about the reasons that led to this major shift in Hariri’s position, and no information is available of whether the talks between Hariri and Franjieh tackled key pending issues such as Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria and the need for a new electoral law.
Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi, the Kataeb Party representative and Hariri’s main Christian partner in the current government, told Al-Monitor, “We cannot talk about a settlement. A settlement is usually an agreement on certain points reached [between two people], but what happened was an understanding between two men with the support of some countries.”
He added, “There is a lack of coordination when it comes to declaring positions, and every camp feels that the other camp is imposing a fait accompli.”Somehow former member of parliament Misbah al-Ahdab, a Sunni figure from northern Lebanon known for his opposition to Franjieh’s two allies, Hezbollah and the Assad regime, joined this logic. Ahdab told Al-Monitor, “The problem in this initiative is the nebulosity surrounding it. No one person can be behind this initiative, even if this person enjoys international support. This person should discuss the initiative with his popular base. We do not absolutely reject Franjieh, but we do not want for the Lebanese arena to turn into an arena that attracts terrorist acts against Assad or his figures. Therefore, there are guarantees required from the candidate, and these guarantees require him to shun away from the axes,” referring to Franjieh’s responsibility in keeping a distance from Assad to avoid tension with the Sunni bases in Syria.
Meanwhile, Hariri’s partners are clearly unhappy about the proposal and the way they were excluded from the secret talks that led to the settlement. The LF, the chief Christian party in the March 14 camp, expressed this resentment through its media official, Melhem Riachy, who said in a radio interview Dec. 13, “The LF has not yet received any news deeming what happened as an ‘initiative,’ and we shall refrain from considering this as an initiative until Saad Hariri officially announces it.”Riachy added, “Franjieh’s bid came as a surprise to the public opinion, whose refusal was only normal given that [Franjieh] is an opponent of the March 14 camp.”Meanwhile, the LF’s objection led it toward further convergence with its historical rival, FPM leader Gen. Michel Aoun. Some LF sources even said that the LF might go so far as to nominate Aoun, as the LF had always opposed Aoun’s bid for the presidency.
In the March 8 camp, Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian party, received the initiative with some caution and remained silent. It is true that Franjieh is an ally of Hezbollah, but the party voiced suspicions over the timing of the initiative and its supporting parties.
The initiative has remarkably garnered the support of some countries. As soon as it was leaked to the media, it managed to garner wide support, especially from Saudi Arabia and France. After a meeting with the head of the Kataeb Party, Sami Gemayel, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Assiri said Dec. 3, “Saudi Arabia blesses this initiative.”
“As long as the candidate is a Lebanese chosen by the Lebanese, then he will get the blessing of Saudi Arabia, regardless of his affiliation,” he added. For his part, French President Francois Hollande called Franjieh the day following his meeting with Hariri, who commented then that they were working to end the presidential vacuum. On Dec. 16, Franjieh was reported by Al-Akhbar as saying that US Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale had supported his candidacy a year ago. Hariri’s strong proposal has seemingly reflected the weakness of those opposing the proposal, namely the Christian parties, as these failed to put forth an alternative by agreeing on a candidate or on a mechanism to put an end to the presidential vacuum. Hariri's initiative is not over. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who was the first to contribute to promoting it, said in a tweet on Dec. 12 that the initiative has been delayed, ironically hinting at the rapprochement between old foes, such as the FPM and LF, in refusing the initiative. Yet still, this initiative has certainly lost momentum given the obstacles that have been thrown its way, including the Christian polarization against it. The initiative could also push Sunnis toward extremism, should they witness the advent of an ally of Assad — whom they are fighting in Syria — to the Lebanese presidency. This would galvanize the Sunnis' frustration and give an additional boost to Sunni extremist groups at a time when all efforts are directed at fighting the latter.
Most importantly, this initiative has yet to receive Iran’s approval. Hezbollah, Iran’s ally, still enjoys the upper hand in Lebanon and has yet to comment on Franjieh’s bid.

Canadian Statement on meeting with Saudi Arabian counterpart
December 17, 2015 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on his meeting with Adel Al Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs:
“I was pleased to host the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Adel Al Jubeir, today in Ottawa. Our meeting strengthened the ties between Canada and Saudi Arabia and allowed us to discuss regional security issues, our common resolve in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Saudi-Arabian-led efforts in the recent creation of an Islamic coalition against terrorism, our contribution to the international response to the Syrian crisis and coordination of our efforts to support refugees fleeing conflict areas in the region.
“I congratulated the Minister on his leadership in bringing together the Syrian opposition parties, an important step toward a much-needed political resolution to the crisis. We also discussed Canada’s concerns regarding the state of human rights in Saudi Arabia, including the case of Raif Badawi, whose family resides in Canada. I expressed the government’s hope that clemency will be granted in this case.
“I also welcomed the recent local elections in Saudi Arabia, in which a number of women were elected. Engaging with our international partners serves Canadian interests, and I look forward to continuing to build on this important relationship, including our robust two-way trade, as well as our strong people-to-people ties, with 16,000 Saudi students pursuing their education in Canada.”

Britain PM Rules out Ban on Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 17/15/British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday ruled out banning Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood but said the group had a "highly ambiguous relationship with violent extremism" and was "opaque" and "secretive".Membership or having links to the Islamist organization, which is an opposition force in Egypt and has a base in London, should be considered a "possible indicator of extremism", Cameron said. His written statement contained the main findings of a review into the Muslim Brotherhood's activities whose publication has been delayed for months. Britain has come under pressure from countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia to ban the Muslim Brotherhood, and ministers had been accused of delaying the review so as not to upset allies in the Middle East. Egypt has cracked down on the Islamist group since its leader Mohammed Morsi was ousted as president by the military in 2013, with thousands of supporters arrested and hundreds condemned to death in mass trials. Cameron said the government would "keep under review whether the views and activities of the Muslim Brotherhood meet the legal test for proscription". "Parts of the Muslim Brotherhood have a highly ambiguous relationship with violent extremism," he said, describing the group as "deliberately opaque and habitually secretive". "Both as an ideology and as a network it has been a rite of passage for some individuals and groups who have gone on to engage in violence and terrorism." The Brotherhood's British lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment.

Syria Rebels Debunk Putin Claim of Aiding Opposition
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 17/15/Syrian rebels debunked reports of receiving aid from Moscow, after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his air force has been supporting opposition factions battling jihadists. Putin, in his annual news conference, said Russia had "found contacts" among Syrian rebel groups fighting the Islamic State jihadist group and was backing them with air strikes. But Syrian rebel groups denied the account. Asaad Hanna, a member of the Northern Division rebel alliance's political office, told AFP the claim was "categorically a lie."The Northern Division is a newly-formed rebel coalition that is part of the loose network of Free Syrian Army (SLA) groups in northern Syria. It is both anti-regime and anti-IS. "With these statements, the (Russian) government is trying to create a split within the Free Syrian Army by broadcasting rumors about working with the Russians," Hanna told AFP. Russia has been conducting a nearly three-month air war in Syria in support of President Bashar Assad's regime. Last week, Putin said Russia was backing some 5,000 members of the FSA with weapons and air strikes. "This is a lie, there is no relationship between us and them (Russia)," said Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Saoud, a spokesman for the U.S.-backed Division 13 rebel group. "They are saying this to justify their bombing against us and against civilians in Syria," Saoud told AFP. And General Ahmad Berri, known as the FSA chief of staff, said the claim had "no grain of truth."In a statement posted by the opposition National Coalition on Wednesday, Berri said a majority of Russia's strikes were hitting non-extremist rebels, not jihadists. But he said the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) was also receiving support from Russia. Russian helicopters had delivered "equipment and logistical aid" to the YPG on at least three separate occasions in the northern province of Aleppo. Syria's Kurdish community is dominated by the powerful Democratic Union Party, which is the political wing of the YPG. After government troops withdrew from parts of northern and northeast Syria in 2012, Syrian Kurds declared many of those areas part of an "autonomous administration."Tensions are high between the YPG and armed Arab opposition groups in some of these areas, with rebels accusing Kurdish fighters of ethnic cleansing and collaborating with the regime.

Libya’s rival factions sign U.N. peace deal
Aziz El Yaakoubi, Reuters, Morocco Thursday, 17 December 2015/Libya’s warring factions met in Morocco signed a U.N.-brokered peace deal on Thursday to form a national government that Western powers hope will bring stability and help fight a growing ISIS presence. Four years after Muammar Qaddafi’s fall, Libya has steadily splintered into rival fiefdoms with two rival governments -- a self-declared one in Tripoli and an internationally recognized one in the east -- each backed by coalitions of former rebels and militias. After more than a year of wrangling between the two factions, the United Nations has proposed a unity government deal and a ceasefire that will open the way for international aid and training to rebuild the OPEC oil-producing state. But the U.N. accord faces resistance from hardliners in both camps. Some opponents criticize the deal as imposed and want a Libyan initiative; others reject names proposed for the presidential council that will form the new government. Critics also question how armed factions on the ground will react and how any new government will be installed and secured in Tripoli. “It is in the nature of this agreement that nobody is entirely happy. This is always like this in difficult situations,” U.N. envoy Martin Kobler told reporters after a briefing in the east. “We have only 75 percent of people who are happy with it. But I think it’s a good start.” The official signing was scheduled for later on Thursday. Representatives from both parliaments, local councils and political parties were in the Moroccan coastal town of Skhirat to sign the deal. But exact numbers from each parliament who would sign were not immediately clear. Western officials believe war fatigue, promises of foreign aid, the strain on Libya’s oil economy and the common threat of Islamic State will help build momentum for the national government and bring onboard opponents. “We have reached an agreement, but the biggest challenge now is to implement it,” said Salah Huma, a parliament member and negotiator for the eastern government. The chiefs of each rival parliament have rejected the U.N. deal and called for more time to negotiate a Libyan initiative though diplomats say both men may face international sanctions for blocking a vote on the U.N. agreement. Since revolution ousted Qaddafi, Libya has struggled with almost constant instability as heavily armed brigades of former rebels and their political allies squabbled for control. Battered by protests and attacks, oil production that accounts for most government revenue is now less than half of the 1.6 million barrels per day level prior to 2011. But last year, fighting intensified when one armed faction took over Tripoli, set up its own government and reinstated the old parliament, the General National Congress. Since then, the recognized government and elected House of Representatives operate out of the east of the country. In the chaos, ISIS militants have steadily expanded their presence, taking over the city of Sirte, attacking a hotel and a prison in Tripoli, ransacking oilfields to the south of Sirte and executing a group of Egyptian Christians.

Jewish Groups Decry Atomic Agency Decision to End Probe Into Military Dimensions of Iran’s Nuclear Program
The Algemeiner /December 17/15 /Jewish groups decried a decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Wednesday to close its probe of Iran’s nuclear program. The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (CoP), a nonprofit umbrella representing 51 groups nationwide, said “many questions remain unanswered” regarding Iran’s previous nuclear work, especially after a leaked copy of the IAEA report closing the investigation revealed Iran had continued some activities as late as 2009. The Conference of Presidents said it was concerned that the IAEA had failed to establish an adequate baseline from which to progress in lifting sanctions and upholding the agreements of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the deal agreed upon by Iran and six world powers last July. International inspectors from the IAEA will be responsible for ensuring Iran remains within the parameters of the JCPOA and other nuclear agreements for all future nuclear work. US officials have said the IAEA report on Iran’s previous nuclear work would not affect the implementation of the JCPOA. “Closing this investigation raises serious questions and grave concerns because of Iran’s proven refusal to be honest and transparent about its nuclear activity and goals,” said B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin in a statement. The group’s international president, Gary P. Saltzman, said he was concerned with Iran’s recent testing of ballistic missiles in October and November, which the US, France and UN experts said violated UN Security Council resolutions. “This outcome sets a perilous example to other countries — that deception and continued testing of proscribed weapons is acceptable,” said Saltzman. “In a blatant act, Iran test launched two ballistic missiles, capable of delivering nuclear warheads, in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions,” said CoP Chairman Stephen Greenberg and Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Malcolm Hoenlein in a statement.
The US has said it is considering a response to the Iranian missile test, which Iran says did not violate Security Council resolutions.

Yemen peace talks struggle amid clashes, disputes
Reuters, Dubai Thursday, 17 December 2015/U.N.-sponsored Yemeni peace talks in Switzerland appeared to be struggling amid differences over government demands for the release of senior officials held by the Iran-allied Houthis, sources close to the talks said on Thursday. The dispute comes amid fresh fighting between Houthi militias and forces loyal to the internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in which at least 15 people were killed from both sides, according to tribal and medical sources. Peace talks began on Tuesday away from television cameras in Switzerland to try to end nearly nine months of fighting that has killed almost 6,000 people and displaced millions. The sources said that direct talks between the two sides have been suspended since Wednesday evening, after the Houthis rejected demands to free senior officials, including Defence Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi and Hadi’s brother, Nasser. Both Subaihi and Nasser Mansour Hadi, who was responsible for intelligence operations in the provinces of Aden, Lahej and Abyan, have been held by the Houthis since March. The Houthis say they are ready to free the prisoners once a permanent ceasefire was agreed upon, another source close to the talks told Reuters. The sources said that instead of direct talks, U.N. special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, was shuttling between the two sides trying to bridge differences.
Clashes
In MaArib, heavy fighting broke out east of the capital Sanaa overnight, and medics and tribal sources said that at least 15 people were killed from both sides.
Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition also struck the northern Hajja province on the border with Saudi Arabia, residents said. They also said that gunboats struck Midi port, also in Hajja, near the Saudi border. Both sides have been trading accusations over violating the ceasefire. On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition spokesman, Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asseri, accused the Houthis of committing some 150 violations since Tuesday and urged the United Nations to try to save the truce. In a rare positive gesture on Wednesday, the Houthis and fighters from the so-called Southern Resistance, who are allied with Hadi, exchanged hundreds of prisoners early on Thursday, following delays by local tribesmen angry at the exclusion of relatives from the deal, an official involved in the swap said. Fikri al-Mutaili said the Houthis freed 265 residents of the former south Yemen while the Southern Resistance freed 300 Houthis, including 40 teenagers. The deal was brokered by local tribal leaders and had been expected to reflect positively on the peace talks in Switzerland.

French defence minister to visit Moscow to coordinate ISIS fight
AFP, Paris Thursday, 17 December 2015/French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will travel to Moscow for talks with Russian officials on Sunday and Monday to coordinate efforts to defeat ISIS, his office announced. “On December 20 and 21 Mr Le Drian will go to Russia to discuss coordination in the fight against Daesh (an Arabic acronym for ISIS in the Levant), defence ministry spokesman Pierre Bayle told a press conference Thursday. The minister’s visit is “part of international efforts to reinforce the coalition against Daesh,” he added. After last month’s deadly attacks in Paris and the October downing of a Russian plane in Egypt, claimed by ISIS, French President Francois Hollande and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to unprecedented cooperation of their forces in Syria in the battle against the jihadists. So far the coordination has remained symbolic, with no visible effect on operations.
Russia has been carrying out air strikes in the war-ravaged nation at the request of President Bashar al-Assad since the end of September, while a U.S.-led coalition, of which France is a member, is conducting its own campaign targeting ISIS. Moscow insists its campaign in Syria is aimed at destroying ISIS jihadists and other extremist groups in the war-torn country. But members of the U.S.-led coalition complain that Russia is mainly hitting groups fighting Assad, and NGOs and observers have alleged civilian casualties. On Thursday, Putin said Russia was providing air support to some of the armed opposition groups that are fighting ISIS. He did not say what rebel groups he was referring to.

Syria rebels debunk Putin claim of aiding opposition
AFP, Beirut Thursday, 17 December 2015/Syrian rebels debunked reports of receiving aid from Moscow, after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his air force has been supporting opposition factions battling militants. Putin, in his annual news conference, said Russia had “found contacts” among Syrian rebel groups fighting ISIS and was backing them with air strikes. But Arab rebel groups denied the account. Asaad Hanna, a member of the Northern Division rebel alliance’s political office, told AFP the claim was “categorically a lie.” The Northern Division is a newly-formed rebel coalition that is part of the loose network of Free Syrian Army (SLA) groups in northern Syria. It is both anti-regime and anti-ISIS. “With these statements, the (Russian) government is trying to create a split within the Free Syrian Army by broadcasting rumors about working with the Russians,” Hanna told AFP. Russia has been conducting a nearly three-month air war in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Last week, Putin said Russia was backing some 5,000 members of the FSA with weapons and air strikes. “This is a lie, there is no relationship between us and them (Russia),” said Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Saoud, a spokesman for the U.S.-backed Division 13 rebel group. “They are saying this to justify their bombing against us and against civilians in Syria,” Saoud told AFP. And General Ahmad Berri, known as the FSA chief of staff, said the claim had “no grain of truth.”In a statement posted by the opposition National Coalition on Wednesday, Berri said a majority of Russia’s strikes were hitting non-extremist rebels, not jihadists. But he said the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) was also receiving support from Russia. Russian helicopters had delivered “equipment and logistical aid” to the YPG on at least three separate occasions in the northern province of Aleppo. Syria’s Kurdish community is dominated by the powerful Democratic Union Party, which is the political wing of the YPG. After government troops withdrew from parts of northern and northeast Syria in 2012, Syrian Kurds declared many of those areas part of an “autonomous administration.” Tensions are high between the YPG and armed Arab opposition groups in some of these areas, with rebels accusing Kurdish fighters of ethnic cleansing and collaborating with the regime.

Tunisian Nobel winners marking 5 years of Arab Spring
The Associated Press, Sidi Bouzid Thursday, 17 December 2015/Tunisians who won the Nobel Peace Prize are joining with townspeople in the country's beleaguered heartland to mark five years since a desperate street vendor set himself on fire, unwittingly setting in motion upheaval across the Arab world.
Tunisia is the only country to have emerged with a budding democracy, but it is grappling with the threat of violent Islamist extremism, now ravaging the region from neighboring Libya to Syria. Nobel winners are expected to take part in a ceremony Thursday in Sidi Bouzid, the epicenter of Tunisia's revolution, where fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself afire on Dec. 17, 2010. The gesture unleashed protests by poor and frustrated Tunisians that forced out an autocratic ruler and sparked uprisings elsewhere. Five years later, though, Sidi Bouzid residents are still struggling.

Iraq Kurds repel major ISIS offensive
AFP, Erbil Thursday, 17 December 2015/Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces repelled a multi-pronged offensive by ISIS in the northern province of Nineveh Wednesday, officials said. One of the targeted areas included a base housing Turkish soldiers that has been at the heart of a bitter dispute between Baghdad and Ankara. Peshmerga forces repelled coordinated attacks by ISIS in Nawaran, Bashiqa, Tal Aswad, Khazr and Zardik, the Kurdistan Regional Security Council (KRSC) said. “This was an attempt by (ISIS) to breach Peshmerga defensive lines following significant losses in recent months,” it said.
“A number of fronts, including Bashiqa and Nawaran and Khazr north and east of Mosul, were attacked by (ISIS) terrorists this evening,” Jabbar Yawar, the secretary general of the ministry responsible for the Peshmerga forces, told AFP. The extremists “used car bombs and mortars and rockets and after that launched attacks on Peshmerga sites on all of these fronts”, Yawar said. The KRSC, which is headed by de facto regional president Massud Barzani’s son Masrour, claimed that more than 70 ISIS members were killed in the attacks. That claim could not be independently verified, and the statement provided no indication of possible Peshmerga casualties. Ankara announced earlier that four of its troops at the base were wounded in Wednesday shelling by ISIS. Turkey, a close ally of Barzani, deployed troops earlier this month to a base in the Bashiqa area where it trains volunteers preparing to confront ISIS in the city of Mosul. Ankara insists the deployment was a routine rotation, but Baghdad said it was unauthorized and a violation of its sovereignty. The area has been under Peshmerga control for some time but lies outside the official borders of the autonomous Kurdish region, inside Nineveh province of which Mosul is the capital. Turkey said this week it had withdrawn an unspecified contingent from the base, but the Iraqi government responded by demanding a complete pullout. Turkey is widely perceived in Iraq’s Shiite majority as complicit with ISIS, and Shiite militias have advocated using force against Turkish troops should the diplomatic track fail. One of the most powerful among them, Kataeb Hezbollah, said on its TV channel Etejah that it was responsible for shelling the Turkish base near Bashiqa on Wednesday. The claim did not specify how the group might have achieved such range, given that the northernmost front in which federal and allied militias are deployed is more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the south.

Putin rules out reconciliation with Turkey
Staff writer, Al Arabiya news Thursday, 17 December 2015/Russian President Vladimir Putin fired off an angry tirade against Turkey on Thursday, ruling out any reconciliation with its leaders and accusing Ankara of shooting down a Russian warplane to impress the United States. In comments littered with crude language, Putin dismissed the possibility that the downing of the warplane over the Turkish-Syrian border last month was an accident, calling it a “hostile act”. “We find it difficult if not impossible to come to an agreement with the current leadership of Turkey,” said Putin, addressing almost 1,400 reporters in a cavernous hall inside a Moscow conference center. “On the state level, I don’t see any prospects of improving relations with the Turkish leadership,” he said of Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ties between Russia and NATO member Turkey have been severely strained since the November 24 incident, which led to deaths of two Russian military officers. Putin referred to U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump as 'a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented,” Putin said. “He is the absolute leader of the presidential race.' (Reuters) Turkey has said the Russian jet strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings, but Moscow insists it never left Syrian territory. Possible ‘trade-off’ Putin said he did not rule out that Ankara was acting with tacit approval from Washington, possibly so that the United States would look the other way to let Turkey “go onto Iraqi territory and occupy part of it”.
“I don’t know if there was such a trade-off, maybe there was,” Putin said. “If somebody in the Turkish leadership decided to lick the Americans in one place... I don’t know, if they did the right thing,” he added. “Did they think we would run away now? Russia is not that kind of country,” Putin said, speaking of Moscow’s increased military presence in Syria. “If Turkey flew there all the time before, breaching Syrian airspace, well, let’s see how they fly now.” Putin told journalists that 'If somebody in the Turkish leadership decided to lick the Americans in one place... I don’t know, if they did the right thing.' (AP) Putin also accused Turkey’s leaders of overseeing a “creeping Islamisation” of the country “which would probably cause (modern Turkey’s founding father Mustafa Kemal) Ataturk to turn in his grave.”Putin and Erdogan have been locked in a war of words over the plane downing, and Moscow has accused Erdogan’s family of engaging in oil smuggling operations in Syria. Putin said that had the downing of the plane been an accident, Turkish leaders should have tried to “pick up the phone and explain themselves”. Erdogan attempted to call Putin on the day of the incident, but the Kremlin ignored his request to speak to the Russian leader.
Syrian issue
During his annual marathon session of questions and answers with journalists, Putin said on Thursday he broadly supported U.S. plans to try to push forward the Syria peace process. The Russian leader said he generally backed a U.S. plan to prepare a U.N. resolution on Syria even though differences between Moscow and Washington remained. But he signaled Moscow was not yet ready to withdraw its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying a new constitution needed to be drawn up and elections held to determine the fate of the conflict-torn country.“We believe that only the Syrian people can decide who should govern them,” Putin told an annual news conference, saying Moscow would continue its air strikes in Syria for as long as the Syrian army continued its own military operations.
Trump card
Putin also referred to U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump as a talented and outstanding man. “He is a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented,” Putin said. “He is the absolute leader of the presidential race.” Trump said of Putin in an October interview with CNN that “I think that I would probably get along with him very well.”“And I don’t think you’d be having the kind of problems that you’re having right now.”

Turkish forces kill 25 PKK militants in operation
AFP, Turkey Thursday, 17 December 2015/Turkish security forces have killed 25 Kurdish militants this week as they battle suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) inside two flashpoint towns, security sources said on Thursday. The operations conducted inside the towns of Cizre and Silopi in the southeastern Sirnak province, backed by curfews, mark a new escalation in five months of fighting with the PKK since a truce collapsed. Twenty-four PKK members have been killed in Cizre since the operations began earlier this week, while one was killed in Silopi, security sources told AFP, increasing an earlier toll. The authorities had already announced on Wednesday that eight PKK fighters had been killed in Cizre. According to Turkish media, some 10,000 members of the police and army have been deployed in Cizre and Silopi in one of the biggest operations yet against the PKK, who have erected barricades and ditches inside the towns. Although analysts have called for peace talks, the authorities led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have said Ankara must "eradicate" the PKK which in recent months has again built up a significant presence in urban centres. “The terrorists wanted to paralyse daily life in these towns by intimidating inhabitants who they had extorted,” Interior Minister Efkan Ala told the state-run Anatolia news agency. Cizre has a population of some 100,000, while Silopi has over 80,000 people. He said the authorities had seized 2,240 weapons, ten tons of explosives and 10,000 Molotov cocktails from the militants. Images published by Anatolia showed heavily armed soldiers backed by tanks going house-to-house in the towns and firing from street corners. The authorities also imposed blanket and open-ended curfews in the two towns, the latest in a succession of such measures across the southeast that have angered activists. There have also been growing tensions over a curfew in the Sur district of southeastern Diyarbakir province -- also mainly Kurdish -- that has been in place almost uninterrupted since December 2. There were new clashes early Thursday between police and pro-PKK sympathizers in Diyarbakir, an AFP correspondent reported. In a new report Thursday, the International Crisis Group (ICG) urged both sides to “urgently” resume peace talks, saying Turkey’s return to a military-based approach would only intensify the conflict. “Turkey faces a critical choice: to advance its military strategy against the PKK in a fight that is bound to be protracted and inconclusive, or to resume peace talks,” the non-governmental think tank said. The ICG said that rather than talking to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, Turkey’s “strategy is instead cent red on fighting the PKK, particularly until its recently empowered urban structures are eradicated.”The PKK launched a formal insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984, initially fighting for Kurdish independence although it now presses more for greater autonomy and rights for the country’s largest ethnic minority. The conflict has left tens of thousands dead.

UK won’t ban Muslim Brotherhood but finds link to extremism
AP, London Thursday, 17 December 2015/Some members of the Muslim Brotherhood have supported violence and involvement with the group can be an indicator of extremism - but it should not be banned in Britain, the government said Thursday. Last year, Prime Minister David Cameron ordered Britain’s intelligence agencies to investigate the philosophy and activities of the Islamist group, amid reports the Brotherhood was using London as a base to plan militant activities after a crackdown in Egypt. The Brotherhood says it is a peaceful charitable and political organization, but opponents accuse it of orchestrating attacks on Egyptian police and military targets. It is considered a terrorist organization by British ally Saudi Arabia and by Egypt, where Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mursi was ousted as president in 2013. The British review concluded that the Brotherhood’s form of political Islam is primarily “a political project,” but that a minority of its supporters in Egypt “have engaged alongside other Islamists in violent acts.” “Individuals closely associated with the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.K. have supported suicide bombing and other attacks in Israel by Hamas,” the review said. In a written summary of the findings, Cameron said aspects of the group’s ideology and activities “run counter to British values” and that membership is “a possible indicator of extremism.” But the government found the group’s views and activities didn’t meet the legal tests for a ban. Cameron said the government would keep the Brotherhood’s activities under review, and refuse visas to members and associates who have made extremist comments.

U.N. war crimes team will not investigate foreign strikes in Syria
Reuters, New York Thursday, 17 December 2015/A United Nations team of war crimes investigators will not probe air strikes by foreign countries in Syria, its chairman said on Wednesday, despite concerns that some attacks by foreign militaries could have violated the laws of war. The U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria is not intended to investigate air strikes in Syria by foreign nations, Chairman Paulo Pinheiro said. “It is not our mandate to investigate the behavior of powers involved in the crisis of Syria,” Pinheiro told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview. It would not probe potential cases of violations of international human rights law involving nations conducting military strikes in Syria, he said. “There is no possibility that we will investigate the American air strikes or French or British or Russian,” he said. The decision reflected a desire not to meddle into the affairs of powers outside Syria as well as limited means at the group’s disposal, Pinheiro added. With the rapid expansion of territory controlled by the militant group ISIS, nations including the U.S., France, Britain and Russia have carried out air strikes on targets in Syria. Some observers have cited instances that disproportionately hit civilians and civil infrastructure, and Pinheiro and his three co-commissioners have repeatedly cautioned powers to follow the laws of war. Embodied in the Geneva Conventions, the rules require warring parties to distinguish between military and civilian targets, such as schools and hospitals, and carry out operations in a way that is proportional to the perceived threat. U.S. officials said in November they did not dispute human rights activists’ allegations that Russian bombs and missiles have hit Syrian mosques, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, killing hundreds of people.

Egypt to try 13 policemen next month over fatal beating
AFP Thursday, 17 December 2015/Thirteen policemen will go on trial in Egypt next month after the beating to death of a man in custody in the southern city of Luxor, a judicial official said Wednesday. Last week prosecutors ordered nine policemen, including three lieutenants and a captain, to stand trial over the death of the 47-year-old who was detained for unknown reasons in November. The official said that four other police officers, who are free on bail, would join them in the trial which is scheduled to open on January 9. Rights groups regularly accuse Egyptian police and members of the secret police of abusing and torturing detainees. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned this month that police officers found guilty of "committing mistakes" would be punished.

Kerry to chair U.N. Security Council meeting on Syria
Reuters, Washington Thursday, 17 December 2015/U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday to push efforts to end the conflict in Syria, the State Department said on Wednesday. While in New York, Kerry will also host a meeting of the International Syria Support Group to discuss “efforts to foster a nationwide ceasefire and parallel political transition negotiations to end the conflict while intensifying the fight” against ISIS militants, State Department spokesman John Kirby said. On Friday afternoon, Kerry will chair a Security Council meeting that aims to “reinforce efforts to accelerate an end to the conflict, including necessary formal negotiations between representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition,” Kirby told reporters in a news briefing. Kerry held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in Moscow this week to pave the way for Friday’s meeting of the support group. The meeting follows talks in Vienna last month in which the U.S., Russia and European and Middle Eastern countries agreed on a plan for a political process in Syria leading to elections within two years. Kirby said the countries invited for the talks to be held on Friday morning were those that participated in Vienna. They included Iran, another key backer of Assad. Syria did not take part. Among the goals of the meeting is to better define the notion of a transition and a ceasefire, and to give participants a chance to learn more about what happened at a meeting of Syrian opposition groups in the Saudi capital Riyadh last week, he said. The groups in the Riyadh meeting called for an all-inclusive, democratic Syria and said Assad should leave power at the start of a transitional period. U.S. diplomats hope Friday’s talks will lead to a U.N. Security Council resolution that would provide a U.N. blessing to the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Syria - excluding the ISIS group - and to direct talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups.

Saudi Arabia warns Umrah firms against shabby lodging for pilgrims
Saudi Gazette, Makkah Thursday, 17 December 2015/The Hajj Ministry has warned Umrah companies not to lodge their pilgrims in unsuitable accommodations in Makkah and Madinah and threatened violators with severe punishment. “If the pilgrims of a certain company were found without accommodation in one of the two holy cities, the ministry will accommodate them in the available hotels and deduct the cost from the company’s bank guarantee,” the ministry said in a statement published by Makkah daily. The ministry asked the companies to honor their commitments agreed upon with the ministry before the arrival of the pilgrims including due care of their accommodation and transport. It asked the companies to link the pilgrims’ data to their accommodation in Makkah and Madinah through the e-track. “Any incorrect data will subject the companies to questioning and punishment,” the ministry said. The ministry said hotels and other buildings earmarked for accommodating pilgrims should be classified by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and have safety licenses from the Civil Defense. “Any violation of these two conditions will subject the Umrah company to punishment including cancellation of its operation permit,” the ministry said. It made it a condition on the companies to provide it daily with the number of the pilgrims actually present in Makkah and Madinah. The ministry also said the means of transport should be approved by the Transport Ministry and asked the companies to provide enough number of drivers and not to exhaust them for the safety of the pilgrims. The ministry, however, said the place of accommodation and the means of transport could be changed before or after the arrival of the pilgrim through e-track on condition that the pilgrim has approved the change. It also asked the companies to provide it with the date of arrival and departure of pilgrims.

Efforts to deal with migrant crises at ‘a breaking point’
AFP, Geneva Thursday, 17 December 2015/Humanitarian organizations attempting to help the soaring numbers of people fleeing conflicts and natural disasters around the world are at “a breaking point,” U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday. “In the last few years, we have seen a staggering escalation of displacement caused both by conflict and by natural hazards,” Guterres told a conference in Geneva on the root causes of displacement. Conflicts and serious crises are raging in 27 countries, and six of them - the Central African Republic, Burundi, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen - have spilled over to surrounding regions, bringing the total number of countries currently in peril to a staggering 37, the U.N. said earlier this month. The conflicts have forced more than 60 million people to flee their homes worldwide, with those escaping violence in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan especially sparking Europe’s biggest migration crisis since World War II. “The fact that we are seeing so many new crises breaking out without any of the old ones getting resolved, clearly illustrates the lack of capacity and political will to end conflict, let alone prevent it,” Guterres said, pointing out that the number of people forced to flee daily due to conflict and persecution nearly quadrupled between 2010 and 2014. “The result is an alarming proliferation of unpredictability and impunity,” he warned. At the same time, the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events like floods, storms, cyclones and droughts are destroying more livelihoods and pushing even more people to migrate. “The resulting steep rise in humanitarian needs far exceeds the capacity of the international humanitarian community to provide the minimum core protection and life-saving assistance to all those affected,” said Guterres, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees who is due to complete his 10-year tenure next month. He urged the international community to stop treating the two main causes of displacement “in silos”, stressing that they are intimately intertwined and must be addressed together. “Violent conflicts, just like human rights violations and persecution, do not erupt in a vacuum,” he said, pointing out for instance that the drought that displaced 1.5 million Syrians from rural to urban areas between 2007 and 2010 contributed to the tensions that set off the ongoing devastating conflict. “The moment has come for a radical change in international efforts to address displacement,” he said, warning that the humanitarian organizations trying to respond to the towering needs “are at a breaking point.” “We must stop just dealing with the consequences of displacement, and seriously start tackling its root causes,” he said.

After Iran missile test, U.S. senators urge more sanctions
Reuters, Washington Thursday, 17 December 2015/Dozens of U.S. Republican senators called on President Barack Obama on Wednesday not to lift sanctions on Iran, saying Tehran’s recent ballistic missile testing showed “blatant disregard for its international obligations.”Thirty-six of the 54 Republican senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, signed a letter urging Obama not to lift sanctions on Iran as planned under an international nuclear agreement announced in July. The letter, seen by Reuters, said the missile tests enhance Tehran’s capability to target Israel and U.S. troops in the region. “That is why it is a mistake to treat Iran’s ballistic missile program as separate from Iran’s nuclear program,” the letter said. The letter was organized by Senator Kelly Ayotte, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. U.S. Republican lawmakers, and several of Obama’s fellow Democrats, have been deeply skeptical about the nuclear deal. Their worries have intensified since Iran’s rocket test on Oct. 10. In a report first reported by Reuters, a team of sanctions monitors found on Tuesday that Iran violated a U.N. Security Council resolution by test-firing a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Gehghan was quoted by state media on Wednesday saying that Iran will not accept any restrictions on its missile program.

Libya parliament chief throws U.N. deal into doubt
AFP, Tripoli Thursday, 17 December 2015/The president of the Libyan parliament that is not recognized by the international community said Wednesday that lawmakers preparing to sign a U.N.-sponsored unity government agreement in Morocco had no legitimacy. Four years after the fall of dictator Muammar Qaddafi, world powers have been pressuring the North African nation’s two rival administrations to form a unity government amid concerns about the rise of the ISIS group there. Libyan parliamentarians are due in the Moroccan resort of Skhirat on Thursday to sign the deal in a ceremony a Moroccan diplomat said would take place at 1100 GMT. But Nouri Abusahmein, who heads the militia-backed General National Congress in Tripoli, said the signatories would have no legitimacy. “Whoever has not been commissioned by the GNC to sign or initial a deal on its behalf is, and will remain, without legitimacy,” he said before the GNC in the capital. A government such as that proposed by the U.N. “is not the subject of consensus and does not even guarantee the minimum required to ensure its effectiveness”, he added. Martin Kobler, the U.N. envoy to Libya, said the Moroccan ceremony would proceed as planned. “A large number of Libyan participants and high-level international participants, including many foreign ministers, have committed to attend,” Kobler said in a statement. On Tuesday in Malta, Abusahmein met Aguila Saleh who heads the internationally recognized parliament based in Tobruk in the east near the border with Egypt. It was the first time they had met since the rival administrations were formed in 2014. At a joint news conference, both men said that those who sign the agreement represent only themselves. U.N. ‘takes note’ They said Thursday’s signatories, although members of the respective parliaments, would not be acting as official representatives of those bodies. “I take note of the meeting” between the two men in Malta, Kobler’s statement said. “The United Nations encourages all Libyan efforts to end the current divisions through inclusive dialogue, and I will continue to actively engage with all Libyans to that end,” he added. At the beginning of October in Skhirat, delegations from both sides approved a draft agreement negotiated under the auspices of the U.N., but it was later rejected by their parliaments.

Syria settlement ‘should not hinge’ on Assad’s fate
AFP, United Nations Thursday, 17 December 2015/Ending the crisis in Syria should not hinge on deciding the fate of President Bashar al-Assad, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday. Ahead of a new round of international talks on Syria in New York on Friday, Ban said disagreements on Assad’s future should not stand in the way of advancing prospects for peace. “It is unacceptable that the whole Syrian crisis and the solution to the crisis has to be dependent on the fate of one man,” Ban told a news conference. “That is unacceptable,” he repeated. Foreign ministers from 17 countries including key players Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States are meeting in New York on Friday for a third round of talks on ending Syria’s nearly five-year war. At the last round, the so-called International Syria Support Group (ISSG) agreed to U.N.-led peace talks and a ceasefire in January, and to put in motion a political transition within six months, leading to elections and a new constitution in 18 months. Preparations for the talks and ceasefire are moving forward, but U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said “the gaps are very real” over what role, if any, Assad will play in the new transitional government. “We remain absolutely convinced that for as long as President Assad is in power, it is going to be extremely challenging to turn the country’s attention and the various armed groups’ attention to fighting terrorism and to fighting ISIL,” Power said. The U.S. and its allies in the Gulf and in Europe are pushing for a transition that provides for Assad’s exit from power at some point, but Russia and Iran oppose that stance. Ban indicated that countries involved in the international talks were showing flexibility, but stressed that there was no urgency to resolve the dispute. “Some countries are expressing some nuanced positions. There may be some role or need for President Assad to stay for just limited months, but that will have to be decided later on,” he said. More than 250,000 people have died since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011, and some 12 million more have fled their homes.

Kremlin denies top Iranian commander met Putin in Moscow
Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, Reuters, Dubai Wednesday, 16 December 2015/An Iranian news agency said on Wednesday the commander of foreign operations for Tehran’s elite Revolutionary Guards had met Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, but his spokesman flatly denied the report. Fars news agency said General Qassem Soleimani, who visited Moscow in July to aid in planning the Russian military intervention in Syria, was back there last week for talks with Putin and senior military and security officials. Russia and Iran support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against various rebel groups in that country’s civil war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov issued a quick denial. “No, there wasn’t,” RIA news agency quoted him as saying when he was asked whether there had been such a meeting. There was a similar confusion about Soleimani’s travels last July. An Iranian official and two United States security sources told Reuters he had visited Moscow but Russia denied this. Backed by Russian air strikes, hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria since late September to take part in a pro-government ground offensive, their biggest deployment in the country to date. Soleimani, head of the Quds Force, has been subject to an international travel ban and asset freeze by the U.N. Security Council since 2007 for his alleged role in illicit arms trafficking and smuggling nuclear materials. Fars said that he “held a meeting with President Putin and high-ranking Russian military and security officials during a three-day visit last week... They discussed the latest developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.”Quoting unnamed sources, it added that Putin called him “my friend Qassem” during the reported meeting. Soleimani has helped lead Iran’s efforts to fight armed insurgents in Syria and neighboring Iraq and reports directly to the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Last month, Putin met Khamenei in Tehran. Iranian officials described the two-hour meeting as “unprecedented in the history of both countries.”U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said Soleimani’s earlier visit to Moscow violated the U.N. travel ban, which Russia endorsed at the time. Once a reclusive figure directing covert operations abroad, Soleimani now enjoys almost celebrity status among Shiites, with Iraqi fighters and Syrian soldiers posting selfies with him from the battlefield on social media.
He played a role in organizing Iraqi militias to fight ISIS after the group captured large swathes of the country last year.

Rouhani announces sanctions to be removed by January
Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/December 17/15
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a nuclear watchdog organization, concluded its 12-year investigation into Iran’s possible nuclear weapons research, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that international sanctions against Iran will be removed by January.The IAEA concluded that Iran conducted weapons research until 2003 and even to a lesser extent until 2009, but found no evidence that any research had been conducted since 2009. As part of the July 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, Iran cooperated with the IAEA so that a clear report would facilitate the removal of sanctions enacted by the European Union, the United States and the United Nations. In a televised speech Dec. 16, Rouhani called the IAEA resolution “one of the successful steps of Iran on the political and international scene.” Rouhani said that for nearly 14 years Iran has been accused of having a secret nuclear weapons program, which was the justification for UN sanctions. Rouhani added that closing the possible military dimensions (PMD) investigation of their nuclear program was not only a legal and technical issue, but it was an ethical, political and moral victory. He added that the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and Iran’s atomic agency played a significant role in resolving the PMD case against Iran. He said, “God willing, in the month of Dey [Dec. 22-Jan. 20], the sanctions will be removed and our administration will have fulfilled one of its campaign promises and the chains of sanctions will be removed from the feet of Iran’s economy and the path to larger cooperation with the world will be more open.” Rouhani invited Iranians inside and outside of the country to participate in the country’s economic opening.
With the upcoming parliamentary elections in February, Rouhani is in need of a political victory, even if the economic impact of sanctions removal will take more time to be felt by voters. Reformist media and media run by the administration were in a celebratory mood after the IAEA resolution.
The top half of Iran Newspaper, which is run by the administration, was dedicated to the IAEA resolution, with the top story headlined “The end of accusations.” One of the top stories on Shargh Newspaper was headlined “Iran without resolutions [sanctions].”
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, “Based on this resolution, it can be stated positively that the fraudulent issue about military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program, known as PMD, is history.” Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that in the coming weeks Iran will implement the next steps of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the sanctions will be removed. As part of the sanction removal, Iran will also have to reduce the size and dimensions of its nuclear program.
Kayhan newspaper, which has been critical of the nuclear negotiations, wrote that while the IAEA closed Iran’s PMD case, the United States left open the possibility of future investigations. Quoting Henry Ensher, US chief IAEA delegate, who said that the IAEA may again be called upon to investigate Iran in the future, Kayhan attempted to throw cold water on the celebratory mood. On its front page, Kayhan also ran another story headlined “Westerners are not worried about our centrifuges, they’re worried about an ideology that grows every day.” The article was about a conference at Tehran University attended by nuclear critics, including former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, endorsing the Islamization of the political sciences at Iranian universities.

Is this man Israel's next prime minister?
Mazal Mualem/Al-Monitor/December 17/15
At Washington’s annual Saban Forum on Dec. 10, Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid was seen keeping close to the American Jewish political strategist Mark Mellman. Actually, Mellman has been by Lapid's side ever since the 2013 elections. Lapid didn’t have to come all the way to Washington just to consult with him. The two men speak daily, even when the former finance minister is in Israel. Still, this was a great chance for the two to sharpen Lapid’s messages for the Israeli public and hone the campaign intended to lead Lapid right into the prime minister’s office. Ever since he returned to Israel, Lapid’s precise objective, as set by Mellman, can be clearly identified: He is trying to win the votes of the moderate right, or in other words, Likud supporters who opinions are more closely aligned with the political center — Israeli patriots.
Over the past few days, Lapid has managed to attack Haaretz for removing the Israeli flag when senior Palestinian official Saeb Erakat addressed a conference it hosted in New York. He has found time to unleash a resounding attack against leftist nongovernmental organization Breaking the Silence, which collects and exposes the testimonies of Israel Defense Forces combat troops who served in the Palestinian Territories, and he has cast aspersions on the far left, claiming that they have lost any sense of national pride, when confronting the current wave of Palestinian terrorism. To Lapid’s credit, he is leaving the impression that he has learned to enjoy his position in the opposition, even if he spends most of his time on public diplomacy trips overseas and on criticizing the left.
On Dec.14, the chairman of Yesh Atid launched a campaign against the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. The campaign had already been brewing for a long time. Always a well-disciplined and diligent campaigner ready for a fight, Lapid showed up in Ben Gurion Airport’s departures lounge with a few dozen Yesh Atid activists to try and recruit Israelis headed for an information campaign against anti-Israel boycotts. The activists handed out pamphlets with arguments that Israeli travelers could use when discussing the issue overseas. “We cannot abandon that front to people who hate Israel. We must defend Israel’s reputation in the world. We are being slandered, and we are being reviled. It is time for us to respond,” he reportedly explained to the press. He also used the occasion to laud a senior Likud official, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, for allowing him to bring a group of party activists to the airport so that they could engage in this important work, benefiting Israel’s public diplomacy campaign.
While confronting Breaking the Silence, Lapid also came out favorably in support of a Likud minister. He posted on Facebook, “I congratulate Defense Minister [Moshe] Ya’alon on his decision to ban members of that organization from participating in any activities in the IDF." Lapid’s praise of certain Likud officials is no chance occurrence. It was intended to win over the support of the moderate right. It is a backhanded approach that makes a lot of strategic sense. It insinuates that Lapid is no less of a patriot than Ya’alon or Katz and a far cry from politicians on the left. That is why there has been no cooperation (and probably won't be in the future) between him and the leaders of the other opposition parties, namely the Zionist Camp and Meretz. Lapid is keeping a safe distance from them, as if they had a contagious disease. The messages that Mellman is concocting for Lapid are simple, catchy and most importantly, nationalist and semi-religious. When it comes to public opinion, Mellman is an expert. His tools are polls and detailed surveys, segmented by the subtlest nuances in the respondents’ answers. He conducts in-depth studies of what motivates people. Based on his analyses, Mellman has always claimed that most Israelis identify with the political center. Lapid is, therefore, the classic candidate to represent them. He is the closest match.
Lapid is appealing to the moderate right, which tends to be more traditional. This approach is intended to transform him by election day into a legitimate, patriotic leader who can be trusted not to flinch when staring down the Arabs. The starting point of this campaign is that Lapid will succeed in becoming the leader of the strongest center-left party in the Knesset. In that case, all that would stand between him and a political turnover are a few seats from the right-wing bloc. In other words, he would like to do what Zionist Camp leaders Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni couldn’t in the March 17 election (by creating the Zionist Camp) when they failed to win over the moderate right, which regarded them as too far to the left and too secular.
So far, it looks like Lapid is drawing all his votes from the center and the left. He has not managed to make any headway with Likud voters. Nevertheless, recent polls show that the first stage of Mellman and Lapid’s strategy is working. Yesh Atid is getting much stronger at the expense of the Zionist Camp, which is the chief opposition party. It is actually posing a challenge to the Zionist Camp’s role as leader of the opposition bloc. That cannot be taken for granted. Yesh Atid has only 11 seats. It has no official role in the opposition, nor does it have a clear agenda. Lapid represents a diplomatic agenda that supports a two-state vision and advocates a regional solution for the Middle East, but that is not the main issue on which he is focusing his efforts. He is busy morning, noon and night transforming himself into the perfect Israeli patriot.
Lapid does have a prominent Achilles' heel: He has no real experience dealing with security matters. He has never held a senior position in any part of the security establishment, and his only role in government was that of finance minister. He was a senior member of the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet and gained real experience during Operation Protective Edge in July-August 2014, but that was hardly enough to make him an authority on security matters, especially in the eyes of the Israeli public. Lapid believes that when the time comes, he can bolster his status by surrounding himself with senior defense officials with right-wing leanings. Meanwhile, he is building himself up as a leader with significant diplomatic standing in the international arena. He meets frequently with heads of state and foreign ministers and maintains close relationships with foreign representatives in Israel.
While Herzog is still struggling to take off, both within his party and among the Israeli public, Lapid’s position in the opposition is much cushier. Herzog has a party to run. The Labor Party has democratic institutions of its own, and he must block internal assaults against him from within the party while preparing for a possible primary campaign. In contrast, Lapid is the sole authority in a party that succumbs to his will without engaging in internal elections. The Yesh Atid platform was designed to serve him.
True, the Zionist Camp is not sitting idle on the opposition benches. Its Knesset members figure prominently in the fight over the natural gas outline, the budget and diplomatic issues. On the other hand, the party sends out scattered messages without coordinating them first. It has many people fighting to take credit for its achievements and eventually, to take over as leader. Yet, regardless of how important it is, the struggle over the gas deal has not become a major issue for the Israeli public. The fact that the Zionist Camp is so focused on it actually damages its credibility as a potential ruling party. Israelis are much more worried about security issues and incessant Palestinian terrorism. If Herzog really wants to maintain his position as head of the center-left bloc and preserve his party’s standing, he must start treating Lapid as a political rival now, instead of allowing him to take more votes away.

How to help Libya … before it’s too late
Mustafa Fetouri/Al-Monitor/December 17/15
While the US-led coalition has been busy attacking Islamic State (IS) strongholds in Raqqa, Syria, and Mosul, Iraq, the faraway coastal city of Sirte, Libya, has been seized by the extremist group. Only an hour's flight from Europe’s southern shores, Sirte fell without a shot of resistance. What began as a small group of locals pledging allegiance to IS has evolved into a sizeable force that has extended its control nearly 40 miles west of Sirte and nearly twice that to the east, threatening the city of Ajdabiya and even Benghazi.Omar, a civil servant who requested the use of a pseudonym, has lived all of his 30 years in Sirte. He told Al-Monitor by phone, “IS now has full control of the city and all roads leading to Sirte in all directions.” IS has imposed laws banning tobacco sales and smoking and ordering women to cover their hair. “Actually, my own brother was jailed for a couple of days because they caught him smoking in the street,” Omar said. Like other residents, he is extremely worried and is already planning to leave if his mother agrees to go with him.
Sirte is strategically situated at the crossroads connecting Libya’s three regions: Fezzan in the south, Cyrenaica to the east and Tripolitania to the west. In addition, it is close to the country's main oil terminals at Brega and Ras Lanuf as well as Sidra. Ras Lanuf could well be the next safe haven for IS' top leaders. On Dec. 9, England's Daily Mail cited the Iranian news agency, FARS, as reporting that an injured Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had already arrived in Sirte, having fled his headquarters in Mosul with Turkish assistance. Given the absence of a functioning state in Libya, it would not be surprising if IS leaders decamped to Sirte. The increased air bombardments of IS strongholds in Syria and Iraq will likely hasten their departure to Sirte, if they have not already left. During a visit to Tripoli last spring, Omar had talked to Al-Monitor about “some 300 fighters, mainly foreigners, concentrating at the Ouagadougou Halls,” the huge conference center in Sirte built by Moammar al-Gadhafi’s regime to host major events such as Arab League and African Union summits. In early December, Omar spoke of there now being 3,000 or 4,000 fighters.
“Almost two-thirds of them are foreigners,” Omar said. “They are young people from Tunisia, Algeria, Mali, Chad and Niger. Now they can move freely all the way to Ajdabiya and beyond. If you are heading west, the checkpoints are manned by Arabs with Tunisian and Algerian accents, but when you head east, you encounter Africans speaking broken Arabic with a heavy accent.”IS fighters in Sirte are hard to take out. According to Omar and lorry drivers passing through the area, IS fighters do not move about in big groups in the streets or near former government buildings. Omar observed, “They have taken over many houses whose owners have fled in fear and use them as bases for meetings and organizing their activities.” Omar and other Sirte residents had reported airplanes constantly buzzing over the city long before France's Dec. 4 admission to having flown reconnaissance missions over IS-controlled areas in late November. In June, the United States admitted to having launched at least one drone strike, which it said killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the notorious al-Qaeda leader, in Ajdabiya, east of Sirte.
There are two main reasons why Libya fell prey to IS. First, as noted, the country lacks a strong central government. For now, the two quasi-governments still sit in Tripoli and Tobruk, backed by their various militias. The Libya Dawn armed alliance had taken over Tripoli in August 2014, forcing the official, internationally recognized government to relocate to Tobruk. Second, about 200 young Libyans who fought for IS and Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria have returned home with orders to focus on the local level, including fomenting jihad.
The anti-IS coalition in Syria and Iraq should move quickly and help Libya before it is too late and it finds itself in a similar scenario there. Its assistance could take different forms. First, pressure should be applied to the two rival governments to accept the UN-proposed unity government as quickly as possible. It is unlikely IS can be defeated with air power alone, as evidenced in Syria and Iraq, so a unified government is necessary to undertake operations on the ground. Second, the UN should lift the arms embargo imposed on Libya since the 2011 war. This would allow a new government to acquire the military hardware it needs to mount a serious fight against all terror groups in the country, including Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi. Third, Turkey and Qatar should stop interfering in Libyan internal affairs. Libya’s internationally recognized government has accused both countries of supplying arms to Islamists in the western part of the country. If the international community does not move quickly, it might soon find itself waging a pointless war against a well-prepared IS in Libya. Before any air campaign starts targeting the strategically located Sirte, the city should be liberated by ground troops and established as the seat of government, so Libya can establish the capability needed to fight for itself.

Iran's military bulks up with new Russian tanks
Abbas Qaidaari/Al-Monitor/December 17/15
TEHRAN, Iran – On Dec. 8, the commander of the Iranian army's ground forces, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, announced that the Islamic Republic’s “ties with Russia in the field of equipment supply are established. Our first contract was for the S-300 missile system and now we have on our agenda the purchase of T-90 tanks. God willing, our experts will go on a trip to Russia to sign the related contracts with the Russians. However, no such contract has been signed yet.” Following the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna earlier this year, Iran’s military became hopeful that its might would increase. This was mainly because the P5+1 group of countries (Russia, China, France, Britain and the United States plus Germany) had pledged under the JCPOA to lift the UN heavy arms embargo against Iran within the next five years, in return for Tehran showing goodwill and abiding by its commitments. The first branch of Iran’s military to pursue the idea of expansion through the purchase of heavy equipment was the air force, which has already held negotiations with the Russians and the Chinese. Indeed, the widespread attrition and deterioration of air force equipment has prompted the Iranian public to view the air force as antiquated. However, in reality, the country’s ground forces are suffering from more complex and deeper problems in terms of hardware. Prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian armor was considered to possess a higher operational capacity compared to those of the country’s regional rivals. Following the Islamic Revolution and the ensuing 1980-1988 war with Iraq, a great portion of this armor was lost. The international restrictions placed on Iran after the eight-year war with Iraq worsened the situation, making it difficult for the country to quickly upgrade its military technology to an acceptable level. In recent years, Iran has made numerous attempts to become self-sufficient in the production of armored equipment — none of which have been very successful. This is while countries such as Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Pakistan have succeeded in designing and producing a large part of their modern armored capabilities.
Over the years, Iran has adopted several approaches in order to expand its armored capabilities.
The first approach was to purchase weapons. During and after its war with Iraq, Iran tried to supply some of its armor needs from abroad. Turning to China and Russia, it bought a number of T-59 and T-72Z tanks, respectively. However, the T-59 is in no way suitable for today’s battlefields, while its Iranian upgrade, the T-72Z, is very similar to the T-72 seen in the army of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Upon careful consideration of these models’ specifications, it is apparent that the weakest and most inefficient versions of this tank are those produced in Russia. The second approach was to assemble existing tanks. After making the purchases mentioned above, Iran sought to assemble T-55 and T-72 tanks on its own. The quality of these tanks is not clear, nor are there any reports available on their performance in the battlefield during the war with Iraq. However, what is crystal clear is that these tanks are inferior compared to those found in Israel, Turkey and the Arab armies.
The third approach was to upgrade older tanks. Iran has many old tanks in its arsenal, including the M-48, the M-60, the Scorpion and the Chieftain. Over the years, it has tried to upgrade a number of these vehicles and reintroduce them into its service under new names. Some of these tanks are from the post-World War II era, while the newest ones are from the 1970s. In fact, many are reminiscent of the arsenals employed during the Arab-Israeli wars, the Vietnam War or the Korean War. Other armies, such as those of Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel, have also attempted to upgrade tanks such as the M-60. However, the upgrades Iran made to these tanks are nowhere close to as significant as the upgrades carried out by the Islamic Republic’s regional rivals.
The fourth approach was to produce domestically made tanks. Iran has heavily invested in the production of Zulfiqar tanks. Local arms factories have been engaged in this project for more than two decades. Yet it was only last year that Iranian state television aired footage of the tank firing a shell. The Zulfiqar is the result of a combination of somewhat old Russian, Chinese and Brazilian technology. Its specifications and efficiency are not clear. Moreover, Iran has not been able to achieve the level of mass production necessary to replace existing models.
Having experienced these disappointments, Iran’s armed forces is now seriously seeking to purchase tanks suitable for today’s battlefields. In this vein, there are three reasons in particular behind why it has decided to buy T-90 tanks. First, they are cheaper compared to today’s more modern tanks. Second, they have greater capabilities compared to the tanks that are already present in the Iranian military. Third, Western countries are reluctant to sell more advanced models to Iran.
Compared to the existing tanks in Iran’s arsenal, the T-90 is more advanced in terms of its penetration capacity, fire power, navigation technology, fire control and guidance system, maneuverability, and sophisticated electronics. However, keep in mind that any type of weaponry is bought or produced with the intention of being prepared for a time of war. Today, the armies of Iran’s regional rivals are in possession of much more advanced and efficient tanks. Israel, for instance, has the Merkava IV, Turkey has the Leopard and Altay, the United Arab Emirates has Leclerc and Saudi Arabia has the Abrams and will have Leopard 2A7 in the near future. Moreover, Egypt also has Abrams, while Jordan and Oman have the Challenger 2. In terms of technical specifications, such as armor penetration, firing precision, engine technology, armor technology, protection level, heating systems, infrared and navigation, these tanks are all significantly more advanced than the T-90. Furthermore, in terms of anti-tank weapons, there are the TOW, Javelin, MILAN and other Western-made anti-armor weapon systems that can easily target T-90 tanks. In fact, the T-90 is an upgraded version of the T-72 — and has thus inherited all of its weak, and strong, points. T-72 tanks were easily blown to pieces during the first 1990-91 Persian Gulf War, in the face of Abrams tanks operated by the US military.
The weak state of Iran’s heavy armor justifies the need to add more modernized tanks. Indeed, this is the first impression upon hearing news of Iran’s planned arms purchases. However, these purchases will be intensively questioned in face of the increasing daily power and advancement of other regional armies and the possible scenarios of conflict. Iran is likely to allocate $3-$5 billion to the purchase of tanks. In a hypothetical conflict situation, these tanks could have to face off against 800 Saudi Leopards along with thousands of Abrams, Challengers, Leclercs and Merkava tanks from Israel and Arab countries. If this occurs, the outcome can easily be predicted.
Hence, some figures inside Iran are looking at the arms purchases of regional countries and comparing the technical specifications of those countries’ current and future artillery with the options available to Iran. Given the current situation, these individuals believe that purchases of T-90 tanks will only result in the destruction of the country’s national wealth — as evidenced in the case of Saddam and his huge army.

Islamic Jihad: Symptom of a Western Cause
Raymond Ibrahim/PJ Media/December 17/15
As someone specializing in Islamic jihadism, one would expect I’d have much to say immediately after jihadi attacks of the sort that recently occurred in San Bernardino, or Paris, or Mali, where a total of about 180 dead. Ironically, I don’t: such attacks are ultimately symptoms of what I do deem worthy of talk, namely, root causes. (What can one add when a symptom of the root cause he has long warned against occurs other than “told you so”?)
So what is the root cause of jihadi attacks? Many think that the ultimate source of the ongoing terrorization of the West is Islam. Yet this notion has one problem: the Muslim world is immensely weak and intrinsically incapable of being a threat. That every Islamic assault on the West is a terrorist attack—and terrorism, as is known, is the weapon of the weak—speaks for itself.
This was not always the case. For approximately one thousand years, the Islamic world was the scourge of the West. Today’s history books may refer to those who terrorized Christian Europe as Arabs, Saracens, Moors, Ottomans, Turks, Mongols, or Tatars[1]—but all were operating under the same banner of jihad that the Islamic State is operating under.
No, today, the ultimate enemy is within. The root cause behind the nonstop Muslim terrorization of the West is found in those who stifle or whitewash all talk and examination of Muslim doctrine and history; who welcome hundreds of thousands of Muslim migrants while knowing that some are jihadi operatives and many are simply “radical”; who work to overthrow secular Arab dictators in the name of “democracy” and “freedom,” only to uncork the jihad suppressed by the autocrats (the Islamic State’s territory consists of lands that were “liberated” in Iraq, Libya, and Syria by the U.S. and its allies).
So are Western leaders and politicians the root cause behind the Islamic terrorization of the West?
Close—but still not there yet.
Far from being limited to a number of elitist leaders and institutions, the Western empowerment of the jihad is the natural outcome of postmodern thinking—the real reason an innately weak Islam can be a source of repeated woes for a militarily and economically superior West.
Remember, the reason people like French President Francois Hollande, U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are in power—three prominent Western leaders who insist that Islam is innocent of violence and who push for Muslim immigration—is because they embody a worldview that is normative in the West.
In this context, the facilitation of jihadi terror is less a top down imposition and more a grass root product of decades of erroneous, but unquestioned, thinking. (Those who believe America’s problems begin and end with Obama would do well to remember that he did not come to power through a coup but that he was voted in—twice. This indicates that Obama and the majority of voting Americans have a shared, and erroneous, worldview. He may be cynically exploiting this worldview, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s because this warped worldview is mainstream that he can exploit it in the first place.)
Western empowerment of the jihad is rooted in a number of philosophies that have metastasized into every corner of social life, becoming cornerstones of postmodern epistemology. These include the doctrines of relativism and multiculturalism on the one hand, and anti-Western, anti-Christian sentiment on the other. Taken together, these cornerstones of postmodern, post-Christian thinking hold that there are no absolute truths and thus all cultures are fundamentally equal and deserving of respect. If any Western person wants to criticize a civilization or religion, then let them look “inwardly” and acknowledge their European Christian heritage as the epitome of intolerance and imperialism.
Add to these a number of sappy and silly ideals—truth can never be uttered because it might “hurt the feelings” of some (excluding white Christians who are free game), and if anything, the West should go out of its way to make up for its supposedly historic “sins” by appeasing Muslims until they “like us”—and you have a sure recipe for disaster, that is, the current state of affairs.
Western people are bombarded with these aforementioned “truths” from the cradle to the grave—from kindergarten to university, from Hollywood to the news rooms, and now even in churches—so that they are unable to accept and act on a simple truism that their ancestors well knew: Islam is an inherently violent and intolerant creed that cannot coexist with non-Islam (except insincerely, in times of weakness).
The essence of all this came out clearly when Obama, in order to rationalize away the inhuman atrocities of the Islamic State, counseled Americans to get off their “high horse” and remember that their Christian ancestors have been guilty of similar if not worse atrocities. That he had to go back almost a thousand years for examples by referencing the crusades and inquisition—both of which have been completely distorted by the warped postmodern worldview, including by portraying imperialist Muslims as victims—did not matter to America’s leader.
Worse, it did not matter to most Americans. The greater lesson was not that Obama whitewashed modern Islamic atrocities by misrepresenting and demonizing Christian history, but that he was merely reaffirming the mainstream narrative that Americans have been indoctrinated into believing. And thus, aside from the usual ephemeral and meaningless grumblings, his words—as with many of his pro-Islamic, anti-Christian comments and policies—passed along without consequence.
Once upon a time, the Islamic world was a super power and its jihad an irresistible force to be reckoned with. Over two centuries ago, however, a rising Europe—which had experienced over one millennium of jihadi conquests and atrocities—defeated and defanged Islam.
As Islam retreated into obscurity, the post-Christian West slowly came into being. Islam didn’t change, but the West did: Muslims still venerate their heritage and religion—which impels them to jihad against the Western “infidel”—whereas the West learned to despise its heritage and religion, causing it to be an unwitting ally of the jihad.
Hence the current situation: the jihad is back in full vigor, while the West—not just its leaders, but much of the populace—facilitates it in varying degrees. Nor is this situation easily remedied. For to accept that Islam is inherently violent and intolerant is to reject a number of cornerstones of postmodern Western thinking that far transcend the question of Islam. In this context, nothing short of an intellectual/cultural revolution—where rational thinking becomes mainstream—will allow the West to confront Islam head on.
But there is some good news. With every Islamic attack, the eyes of more and more Western people are opened to the true nature of Muhammad’s religion. That this is happening despite generations of pro-Islamic indoctrination in the West is a testimony to the growing brazenness of the jihad.
Yet it still remains unclear whether objective thinking will eventually overthrow the current narrative of relativism, anti-Westernism, and asinine emotionalism.
Simply put, celebrating multiculturalism and defeating the jihad is impossible.
However, if such a revolution ever does take place, the Islamic jihad will be easily swept back into the dustbin of history. For the fact remains: Islam is terrorizing the world, not because it can, but because the West allows it to.
[1] Although the original Mongol-Tatar conquerors were not Muslim, most of them eventually converted to Islam—finding natural appeal in its divine validation for conquest, rapine, and plunder—and articulated their later wars on Christendom and others in the name of jihad.
Filed Under: Islam, Other Matters Tagged With: The West, political correctness, immigration, Postmodernism
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/2015/12/16/islamic-jihad-symptom-of-a-western-cause/

More Lies from Abbas about The "Intifada"
Bassam Tawil/ Gatestone Institute/December 17/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7064/intifada-abbas-lies
We still have never encountered even one case where a terrorist complained about the absence of a two-state solution. Also, contrary to Abbas's claim, none of the terrorists has ever complained about checkpoints or settlements. This latest wave of terrorism is not about "despair," unemployment, poor living conditions or freedom of movement. Instead, it is another attempt by Palestinian "youths" to eliminate Israel, again using the false excuse that Jews are "desecrating" and "destroying" Islamic holy sites.
A review of the Facebook accounts of most of the terrorists shows that their main intention was to murder as many Jews as possible in order to become "martyrs" -- to impose a reign of terror Jews, to force them to leave Israel.
Abbas is well aware that the "youths" are not complaining about the "occupation." The "occupation" these " youths" have a problem with is the one that began with the creation of Israel in 1948.
A new generation of Palestinians has once again been deceived into believing that the Jews are plotting to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Al-Aqsa Mosque stands, as always, unharmed in its place.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas now wants us to believe that the Palestinian "youths," who are sent out to murder Jewish soldiers and civilians, are acting out of "despair." He wants us to believe that these "youths" decided to murder Jews because their dream of a two-state solution has not been realized. Abbas is also trying to convince us that these "youths" are upset about Israeli checkpoints, construction in settlements, and visits by Jews to the Noble Sanctuary (Temple Mount).
These latest statements by President Abbas show that he is either completely disconnected from reality, or else thinks that everyone will believe whatever he tells them. His claim -- that the Palestinian assailants who carry out stabbing and car ramming attacks against Israelis, are frustrated because the two-state solution has not yet been realized -- is, frankly, an insult. We still have never encountered one case -- ever -- where a terrorist complained about the absence of a two-state solution. Also, contrary to Abbas's claim, none of the terrorists has ever complained about settlements or checkpoints. In fact, these "youths" that Abbas is talking about are mostly affiliated with Hamas, and do not believe in any two-state solution. Like Hamas, these terrorists want to see Israel wiped off the map.
Abbas's "youths," who, since the beginning of October, have murdered 22 Israelis and wounded dozens of others, set out on their missions because their leaders have been telling them that the Jews are planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. These "youths" are driven by hatred, not by 'despair," as Abbas has been claiming. His allegation that the "youths" are "lone wolves" acting on their own initiative is also not true. What is true is that both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have publicly admitted that some of the terrorists were members of these two Islamist groups.
Take, for example, the most recent case, of 21-year-old Abdel Muhsen Hassouneh, the east Jerusalem terrorist who rammed his car into a group of Israelis at a bus stop earlier this week. He wounded 14 people, including an 18-month-old infant who remains in hospital in critical condition. Shortly after the attack, Hamas announced that this terrorist was one of its group.
Similarly, Islamic Jihad also endorsed some of the terrorists who carried out the recent attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank -- again exploding the claim that the "youths" were acting on their own. On October 3, Islamic Jihad took credit for a stabbing attack in Jerusalem's Old City, in which two Israeli men were killed. The group announced that the terrorist, Muhannad al-Halabi, was an active member of Islamic Jihad.
A review of the Facebook accounts of most of the terrorists shows that their main intent was to murder as many Jews as possible in order to become "martyrs." Their goal was to impose a reign of terror and intimidation on Jews to force them to leave Israel.
Abbas is well aware that the "youths" are not complaining about the "occupation" of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The "occupation" these " youths" have a problem with is the one that began with the creation of Israel in 1948. As recently as last month, official Palestinian Authority TV was stating this, adding that Israel would cease to exist: "The occupation must know... [Haifa, Jaffa, Acre, Nazareth] - all of this land belongs to us... and will return to us."
Jewish visits to the Noble Sanctuary, or Temple Mount, are merely an excuse being used to proceed with the plan to eliminate Israel. The Al-Aqsa Mosque has not been destroyed or desecrated by Jews. The terrorists nevertheless continue to launch attacks against Israelis under the pretext that Jews are seeking to destroy Islamic holy sites.
The person who bears much of the responsibility for these attacks is Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas. His ongoing lies and inflammatory, anti-Israeli rhetoric have contributed significantly to the poisoning of the hearts and minds of many of these "youths." It was Abbas who told his people, a few days before the current wave of terrorism erupted, that he would not allow Jews to "contaminate with their filthy feet our holy sites." It was also Abbas who announced that, "Every drop of blood that is spilled in Jerusalem is pure blood."
The Palestinians, unfortunately, have already seen this movie. In September 2000, Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority lied to their people about Ariel Sharon's visit to the Noble Sanctuary. Then, Arafat and the PA told Palestinians that Sharon and the Jews were planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. As a result of this incitement, Palestinians took to the streets and we found ourselves in the midst of something called the Al-Aqsa Intifada, which lasted from 2000 until 2005, and consisted of a wave of suicide bombings and various terror attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis and thousands of Palestinians. This intifada was supposedly meant to prevent the Jews from "destroying" the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Palestinians knew -- they saw -- that Sharon and the Jews had not destroyed the Al-Aqsa Mosque, yet that did not prevent them from waging a massive campaign of terrorism against Israel. The Al-Aqsa Mosque stands, as always, unharmed in its place.
Today, history seems to be repeating itself, as a new generation of Palestinians has once again been deceived into believing that the Jews are plotting to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Palestinian youths were not driven by "despair," and they are not driven by "despair" now. They are driven by hatred and bigotry towards Israel and Jews. The generation of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, like the " youths" of today, believed that suicide bombings and drive-by shootings would ultimately lead to the destruction of Israel.
We are now witnessing the same scenario. Although the Al-Aqsa Mosque has neither been desecrated nor destroyed, the stabbings and car attacks continue almost on a daily basis. Would you like to know why? Because there is a new generation of Palestinians who believes that this from of terrorism will bring them closer to achieving their goal of destroying Israel.
President Abbas knows that he is lying when he talks about the "despair" of Palestinians because of checkpoints and settlements. The terrorists from east Jerusalem held Israeli-issued ID cards which gave them the right to travel around freely and work in Israel.
The only difference between these terrorists and an Israeli citizen is that they cannot vote for members of parliament. One of the east Jerusalem terrorists, Abu Jamal, was even working for the Israeli phone company, Bezeq, and was receiving a monthly salary of nearly USD $4500. He and the other terrorists were certainly not driven by "despair."
Some of the terrorists who came from the West Bank had Israeli-issued permits to work inside Israel. The permits did not stop these terrorists from setting out to murder Jews. Take, for example, the case of Raed Masalmeh, 36, who murdered two Israelis in Tel Aviv last month. He had a work permit and was employed at a restaurant in Jaffa. He was neither unemployed nor restricted in his freedom of movement. He is the last person who can be described as "desperate."
The current wave of terrorism against Israelis is not linked to settlements, checkpoints or a two-state solution. Nor, as Abbas falsely claims, does it have to do with the Al-Aqsa Mosque or a feeling of "despair" and "frustration." The terrorists have one thing in mind -- destroying Israel and killing as many Jews as they can.
What we are witnessing these days is an attempt by a new generation of brainwashed Palestinians to eliminate Israel. These "youths" want to replace Israel with an Islamist empire. We have not heard even one of them complain about a checkpoint or settlement, or that he or she is seeking a Palestinian state next to Israel. This latest wave of terrorism is not about "despair." It is not about unemployment, poor living conditions or freedom of movement. Instead, it is another attempt by Palestinian "youths" to eliminate Israel, by again using the false excuse that Jew are "desecrating" and "destroying" Islamic holy sites. This is something that President Abbas knows very well, but does not have the courage to admit. He prefers to continue lying not only to the international community, but even to his own public.
**Bassam Tawil is a scholar based in the Middle East.
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Muzzling silence-breakers damages Israeli democracy
Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/December 17/17
One of the prevalent Israeli myths is that regardless of the country’s policies toward the Palestinians, Israeli democracy is robust and unaffected. As with all myths there is a grain of truth in this assertion, but it shrinks rather rapidly. Even if Israeli society lived in complete democratic bliss, despite the oppressive nature of its occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza, it would have not legitimized these anti-democratic actions in the slightest. This illusion is further blemished by the creeping in of human rights abuses within Israeli society. It represents a constant and worrying erosion of pluralistic values. Harassment of human rights organizations - either by absurd legislation, abuse of police power, or vitriolic language by politicians - is turning from rare aberration to frequent occurrence. Recently, an organization of former soldiers who served in the Israeli military since the start of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000, was on the receiving end of what allegedly seems to be heavy-handed police treatment and verbal attacks by politicians.
Exposing reality
For more than a decade, Breaking the Silence took it upon itself to “expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories.” Its foremost aim is to stir public debate about the daily tasks handed to young soldiers, such as controlling civilian populations, and their impact on Israeli society and the soldiers themselves. Breaking the Silence’s activism is holding a mirror up to Israeli society. Instead of breaking the mirror, the establishment needs to dramatically improve its image. For those who live under an oppressive occupation, the continuous suffering and long-term harm is self-evident. Less obvious, though undeniable, is the psychological damage caused to those who serve as the long arm of the occupation’s brutality. Many live in a combination of collective and individual denial. For Israeli society, the state of affairs in the West Bank and Gaza is an inconvenient truth.
It is a story of young people, who in their naivety believe that by joining the military they defend their country, but in many cases end up subjugating civilian populations and depriving them of basic human and political rights. Upon returning to civilian life, they are not the same people, frequently suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and bearing mental scars. The situation distorts young minds’ views about the use of force in the public and private sphere.
The organization’s list of recorded abuses toward Palestinians include killing, maiming, looting and destruction of property, bribing and the use of civilians as human shields, which are all denied by Israel’s government. For a long time, it was almost taboo in Israeli society to discuss any of the abuses or their impact on both sides of the border. This is routinely excused with the justification that Israeli security needs override Palestinians’ human rights. On two recent occasions, the police were involved in stopping Breaking the Silence activist events from taking place. In the southern city of Beer Sheba, the Magistrate’s Court issued an order prohibiting a lecture by the NGO in a local bar, citing threats by far-right activists to use violence to disrupt its events. The order was issued by police request, claiming it would not be able to prevent an outbreak of violence against the speakers. On another occasion, the police, according to the owners of a restaurant in Tel Aviv, tried to intimidate them from running an event with the organization. Though there is no claim that the activities of Breaking the Silence are illegal, the police are not prepared to protect its legal and natural right to express its views.
It is a clear case of handing victory to hooligans from the extreme right, who want to hush any public debate about the nature of the occupation, with the Israeli establishment’s at-least-tacit support.
Legislation
Civil society groups as much as opposition parties are not formed to please governments. They are there to oversee government activities and ensure open debate. Muzzling Breaking the Silence has not been a solitary incident. Equally worrying, if not more so, is the newly-proposed bill presented to parliament that suggests imposing restrictions on Israeli NGOs that receive foreign funding. This draconian legislation, if it passes, obliges all NGOs that receive at least half their funding from abroad to label their official documentation with the names of all foreign sources of financial aid, and requires their representatives to wear identifying tags when they visit parliament. Ostensibly, since the law applies to all NGOs it is supposed to be fair. In reality, it is human rights and left-wing organizations that enjoy the lion’s share of support from formal international bodies, including governments. Right-wing organizations receive funds from private donors, who are not part of this legislation. Though this legislation is called the Transparency Bill, and ironically was proposed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, it is a blunt attempt to intimidate the watchdogs of Israeli human rights’ violations. Breaking the Silence’s activism, like that of other civil rights’ organizations such as B’Tselem, Gisha, Adhala, ACRI and many more, is holding a mirror up to Israeli society. This has angered some quarters of the Israeli political system because they do not like the image that is reflected in this mirror. Instead of breaking the mirror, the establishment needs to dramatically improve its image.

An alliance against a radical ideology
Manuel Almeida/Al Arabiya/December 17/17
Following the Paris attacks last month, widespread demonstrations of sympathy generated criticism for supposed double standards in global reactions to terrorist attacks and their victims. According to these critics, nothing of the sort was seen after recent terrorist attacks in the Middle East and the wider Muslim world. Tragically for the region’s inhabitants, deadly blasts and civilian victims have become the norm. Recognizing that the phenomenon is first and foremost a threat to the Muslim world, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman announced on Tuesday an alliance of 34 Muslims nations to fight terrorism. Cooperation between members will include intelligence sharing and deployment of troops if necessary “on a case by case basis”, according to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. Its formation is also recognition that, as much as the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) requires close coordination between Middle Eastern and international partners, Sunni-majority states have a key role to play in efforts to eradicate the group. Participating in this 34-nation coalition against terrorism are key Sunni-majority powerhouses such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt or Turkey. Also part are Sub-Saharan countries that have long grappled with the threat of terrorism such as Nigeria, with a population nearly equally divided in numbers between Christians and Muslims, or Somalia. In Asia, Malaysia and Pakistan were also listed as members of the alliance. All 34 nations are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and there will be a joint operations center in Riyadh. Ten other states, including Indonesia, have expressed support for the initiative and openness to collaborate with it.
Absentees
Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional rival, as well as the regime of Bashar al-Assad, are naturally absent from the alliance. Also not included is Shiite-majority Iraq, where ISIS was born, and where concerns over Iranian meddling run deep, even among key Shiite figures such as Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. In the longer term, a determination to cooperate against radical ideology and the conditions that allow it to thrive will prove more vital than the military and security responses the alliance can offer
Oman is also not participating. That is unsurprising given its traditional foreign policy of balancing between Iran and Saudi Arabia and being a neutral mediator. Also outside the alliance is Algeria, which has cultivated close ties with Iran and often finds itself at odds with Sunni Arab states over various issues. Afghanistan, where the Taliban and ISIS vie for influence while both threaten the weak government, is also out. The list of participants and notorious absentees indicates that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others are responding to the U.S.-led call for a greater Sunni role against ISIS and other radical groups. but also to a clear Iranian strategy to portray itself as crucial partner in the fight against ISIS while it accuses Sunni governments of sponsoring ISIS. The Iranian strategy to use the fight against terrorism to justify its unconditional backing to the murderous Bashar al-Assad of Syria, or support for the expansion of a variety of Shiite militias in Iraq, thus faces a renewed challenge.
Goals
There is much speculation about the next steps and how to achieve them, as well as which groups other than ISIS, Al-Qaeda and their affiliates could be included as targets of the Saudi-led alliance. Jubeir explained during a press conference in Paris that there are still procedures to go through for countries to join the alliance, but the announcement was made "out of keenness to achieve this coalition as soon as possible.” Nevertheless, much of its initial focus is likely to be on Syria and Iraq, where the core ISIS presence is. Bin Salman said operations in either country would be coordinated with major powers, international organizations and the international community. The slight improvement of relations between Riyadh and Baghdad means there is room for cooperation, and Saudi ties to Sunni tribes in western Iraq could help in the Sunni mobilization against ISIS. In exchange, Baghdad would have to do more to guarantee greater Sunni inclusion, and security of Sunni communities against both ISIS and Shiite militias. It is still unclear what the alliance can do until there is a deal for Syria among regime forces, the moderate opposition, and the foreign backers of both. Without a deal that includes the eventual departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, it is difficult if not impossible to foresee a full, united focus against ISIS and other terrorist groups. Other areas of great concern include Libya, which experts fear might become a focus of ISIS as it gradually loses ground in Iraq and Syria, or Yemen, where the conflict and the collapse of government authority has provided an opportunity for Al-Qaeda to expand and ISIS to infiltrate. In the longer term, a determination to cooperate against radical ideology and the conditions that allow it to thrive will prove more vital than the military and security responses the alliance can offer. Here could reside much of the positive impact of this coalition.

A black-market mentality shapes Middle East politics
Raed Omari/Al Arabiya/December 17/17
“Before you can begin to think about politics at all, you have to abandon the notion that there is a war between good men and bad men.” - Walter Lippmann
Russia, Turkey and Syria suddenly began trading accusations earlier this month about who buys oil from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Indeed, such claims contradict, or betray, the international community’s anti-ISIS efforts but they show exactly why Middle Eastern politics are complicated, unreliable and unpredictable.Still, the timing of such accusations is important - why did they wait so long to reveal such activities, which if true, make their anti-ISIS rhetoric hypocritical? Russia has accused Turkey of smuggling 200,000 barrels of ISIS oil daily, with President Vladimir Putin describing the volume as “industrial.” He said Ankara shot down a Russian warplane to protect its trade with ISIS. Moscow displayed still images from a video showing convoys of fuel transporters on the Syrian-Turkish border, said to be carrying ISIS oil. Why were such images not shown or taken before?
Why no evidence before? Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has angrily dismissed Russia’s claims, saying he will resign if they are proven true. He was quoted as saying a Russian-Syrian citizen has been buying oil from ISIS and selling it to the Syrian regime - Erdogan said this was confirmed by U.S. sources. Why did Ankara not reveal such evidence before?
The Middle East’s politics and the international handling of the region’s extraordinary affairs bear a certain resemblance to black-market gambling. There are no regularities or logical flow of incidents
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused Turkey of buying ISIS oil, but has not said how ISIS fuel transporters are able to travel through his war-torn country toward the border with Turkey. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has also entered this accusation ‘scene,’ saying most ISIS oil goes through Turkey, but he did not mention that it must have originated from Syria or Iraq. The United States has said significant volumes of ISIS oil have been sold to the Assad regime, with some finding its way to Turkey. Why did Washington’s explanation only come after the eruption of the Russian-Turkish war of words? But there is indeed a big question mark in all the charges each party has leveled against the other. In the case of Russia, the suspicion is over the very purpose of its large-scale military operations in Syria. If the Russians’ military build-up in northwestern Syria is to fight ISIS, as announced by the Kremlin, then why they did they wait this long to uncover the Turkish businesses with the ultra-radical group? And why did they wait until their fighter jet was downed by the Turks? Again, the answer for such mysterious questions lies in Moscow’s real objectives behind securing a military presence in Syria.
Whispered accusations
Turkey’s accusations have no doubt come in reaction to the Russian’s claims. For a long time, Turkey had been under suspicion of facilitating the entry of fighters to Syria, or being lax about the issue. But the accusations were whispered and never publicly talked about in part due to lack of evidence and also as they contradict Ankara’s anti-ISIS position. Regardless of the authenticity of Ankara’s accusations, what is indisputable is that they came as a reaction to Moscow’s claims. Erdogan might not have said what he said if his ‘war of words’ with Putin would have never erupted.
Assad, who is accused of buying ISIS’s oil, accused Turkey because his ally Putin did. In fact, Assad’s testimony mattered, but I am sure it fell on deaf ears simply because Syria is no longer a sovereign state.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s accusation to Turkey came only after Ankara’s deployment of forces near the ISIS-held city of Mosul and never before which, in fact, puts its authenticity on the line. But Abadi did not accuse Syria of buying ISIS oil or at least blame it for allowing the group to use its territory to smuggle it to Turkey. Were Iran and Russia in his mind when he said what he said? Seemingly yes.
No logic
Also remarkable was the U.S. announcement on illegal trade with ISIS. Washington was seemingly trying to ease off the tension between Moscow and Ankara in its cautiously-worded statement, saying there was “some” oil delivered to Ankara and “much” to Syria. If the Ankara-Moscow tension had not erupted, the U.S. Treasury Department official Adam Szubin’s statement would probably have never been made. At the end, it is either that one of party or multiple ones really buy oil from ISIS or that is how Middle Eastern politics is managed and shaped – no certainties and logic. In both cases, it is disastrous and scandalous. The truth about ISIS’s oil business is now lost in who is receiving it, at the expense why and how.The Middle East’s politics and the international handling of the region’s extraordinary affairs bear a certain resemblance to black-market gambling. There are no regularities or logical flow of incidents. As such, people should not be blamed if they link the rise of ISIS to a conspiracy theory and state sponsorship. Many conspiracy theories can be drawn from the Middle East’s politics and history. But traces of black-market policies are in fact clear there in Syria, Turkey and on their borders – and of course, in Iraq and Iran until proven otherwise.