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Merry Christmas/Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests

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Bible Quotations For Today
Luke/02/01-20/Christmas
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus 2 that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. 3 She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. "When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us."So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 24-25/15
Lebanon's Mercenary Politicians are the actual Trash/Elias Bejjani/December 24/15
The True Meaning Of Christmas Is Love/Elias Bejjani/December 25/15
Samir Qantar is no hero, and Hezbollah is no resistance/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/December 24/15
Will the next US president scrap the Iran deal/Barbara Slavin/Al-Monitor/December 24/15
Is Iran retreating from Syria/Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/December 24/15
Salehi reveals new details of secret US, Iran back-channel/Mohammad Ali Shabani/Al-Monitor/December 24/15
Jordanian Journalist: Hatred Toward Christians Is The First Step On The Path To Terrorism/December 24, 2015 Special Dispatch No.6246/MEMRI
How American weapons are ending up in the hands of IS/Wilson Fache/Al-Monitor/December 24/15
President Sisi, Egyptian Grand Mufti: Offering Christmas Greetings To Our Christian Brothers Is Part Of Our Religion/December 24, 2015 Special Dispatch No.6245/MEMRI
Turkey's Dangerous Ambitions/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/December 24/15
Iran's Next Supreme Leader/Lawrence A. Franklin/Gatestone Institute/December 24/15
Middle East Christians: Caught in crossfire/Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/December 24/15
What Mubarak was better at than Sisi/Mohammed Nosseir/Al Arabiya/December 24/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on December 24-25/15
Lebanon's Mercenary Politicians are the actual Trash
The True Meaning Of Christmas Is Love
Abdulrahman al-Rashed: Samir Qantar is no hero, and Hezbollah is no resistance/
Salam Meets al-Rahi, Stresses 'Importance of Perseverance during this Difficult Time'
Rahi: Presidential Initiative Must be Taken Seriously
Mashnouq Meets Daryan: Settlement to Nominate Franjieh Ongoing
Lebanese Army Uncovers Weapons Depot in Akkar Based on IS Detainee's Confessions
Red Bishop Gregoire Haddad Passes Away
General Security Arrests Four-Member Terrorist Cell
Report: Hizbullah Will not Back Down on Aoun's Nomination
Israeli Rocket, Filled with Cluster Bombs, Discovered in South

Lebanon's Mercenary Politicians are the actual Trash
Elias Bejjani/December 24/15
The majority of Lebanon's politicians, political parties and the high-ranking clergy are the actual trash, and not the trash that is pilled in the streets. Those rotten and mercenary thugs are the vicious cancer that is killing around the clock the Lebanese oppressed and tortured citizens. In reality they are the reason why Lebanon is still an Iranian occupied and rogue country. These "Mafioso" gangsters found a way to export Lebanon's trash, but definitely they will not find a place in history, and not even in its dustbin because they are evil Trojans and merchants whose conscious is dead.
On the Christmas eve let us pray that Almighty God may save Lebanon and the Lebanese from these cancerous creatures and safeguard them from their venomous conspiracies.

The True Meaning Of Christmas Is Love
Elias Bejjani/December 25/15
Christmas simply means, love and Fatherhood, Equality and modesty, Sacrifice and forgiveness.
Love and Fatherhood: Almighty God Is Our Father and that's why He created us in His image and likeness.
Modesty and Equality: Jesus Christ, the begotten God was born in a manger to be a role Model in Modesty & Equality.
Sacrifice and Forgiveness: Almighty God has sent His begotten son to be humiliated, tortured, persecuted and crucified in a bid to absolve our original sin and to be a role model in love and sacrifice.
The true meaning of Christmas is love. (John 03:16-17) says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love. The real Christmas story is the story of God's becoming a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ. Why did God do such a thing? Because He loves us! Why was Christmas necessary? Because we needed a Savior! Why does God love us so much? Because He is love itself (1 John 4:8). Why do we celebrate Christmas each year? Out of gratitude for what God did for us, we remember His birth by giving each other gifts, worshipping Him, and being especially conscious of the poor and less fortunate. The true meaning of Christmas is love. God loved His own and provided a way—the only Way—for us to spend eternity with Him. He gave His only Son to take our punishment for our sins. He paid the price in full, and we are free from condemnation when we accept that free gift of love. "But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). (Got.Question.org)Understanding and fully practising the above faith pillars makes us the kind of holy God's children that He wants us to go back to His heavenly homes that He Himself built for us. The Holy Bible teaches us to be love care, help, and forgive every one, but in particular those who hate, harm, betray and curse us. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 05:44) .In this context let us on this Holy Christmas Day, Pray For all the evildoers and all those who fell prey for temptations. Let us offer our authentic and honest prayers for the repentance and salvation of all sinners Let us pray for those evil and wicked world leaders, rulers, politicians, fundamentalists and outlawed militants whose devastating culture of greed and vicious acts of terrorism are threatening peace and tranquility all over the world, and especially in the Middle East.
Apostle Paul in his Letter to the Romans speaks about these evil people and describes thoroughly their thinking and conduct (Romans03/10-18: "As it is written, ‘There is no one righteous; no, not one. There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God. They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not, so much as one. Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of vipers is under their lips; “whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. The way of peace, they haven’t known. There is no fear of God before their eyes."
One might wonder why we should pray and particularly on the Christmas Day for those that are creating world-wide havoc, advocate grudges and hatred, classify us as infidels, allege we are their worst enemies, call openly for our death, and proudly legitimize our slaughter?
The answer is very simple. We should pray for them because they are lost, evil, morally sick and need our help. Jesus has already answered this question in (Matthew 9/12 & 13): "Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. But you go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.".
The faithful and righteous have an obligation to love their enemies and forgive them as well as to bless those who hate, persecute and curse them. (Luke 6:28): "bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
The secret and magic formula word in all this holy cycle of forgiveness, meekness, patience, endurance and acceptance of others is LOVE, and as the bible teaches us LOVE is GOD. (Proverbs 19:11): "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense".
Apostle Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians explains what love is and what it encompasses: (1 Corinthians 13/4-13): "Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 1 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known. But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love."
If we love those who love us, help those who do not need help, pray for those who are righteous, and feed those who are not hungry, we do nothing different from anybody else including the sinners and wicked. But when we can tame ourselves to love those who hate us and help those who need help, than we are making something different. (01 Samuel 24:17): "You are more righteous than I, he said. You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly."
Almighty God loves us, we His children, and wants us to return back to His heavenly mansions that have been prepared for us. Therefore, He has sent His begotten son to be humiliated, tortured, persecuted and crucified in a bid absolve our original sin and be a role model in love and sacrifice.(John15/12 & 13) “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends"
With the Christmas Spirit let all genuinely pray for those of us who are hurt, lonely, feel betrayed and deserted by their beloved ones. Those who are enduring in silence pain, anguish, and are deprived of happiness, warmth and joy on this holy and adorned day.
Let us all take Jesus a role model in our lives. Let us learn from Him the graces of forgiveness, sacrifice, love and the obligation for helping those who need our help and even those who hate and hurt us. (Romans 12:20:) "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."
May God Bless you all and shower upon you, your families, friends, and beloved ones all graces of joy, health, love, forgiveness, meekness and hope. (01 Thessalonians 05:15): "Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else".
Let us all to pray for the salvation of our beloved country of Lebanon and ask Almighty God to lead and bless the peace endeavours of righteous politicians and leaders all over the world.
On this Christmas Day may Jesus Christ, God of love, justice and mercy, dwell in your hearts, minds, souls and conscience to purify you and lead your steps into righteousness.
Merry Christmas

Samir Qantar is no hero, and Hezbollah is no resistance
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/December 24/15
Syria’s tragedy exposed the real faces behind the masks worn by many in the Arab political arena. Samir Qantar, one of Hezbollah’s stars, was recently killed there. No one cared about him, although Hezbollah hailed him as a martyr and held a massive funeral for him. Before that, Hezbollah had made him a hero because he was jailed by Israel. Those who celebrated their “martyr” were employees from among Hezbollah’s members who are assigned to issue statements on the deceased - statements that no one wants to reprint or publish anymore. Hezbollah’s statement said Qantar was killed by the Israelis. This is unconvincing because the Israelis do not have a motive to kill someone who is fighting on their behalf and far away from their borders, in Rif Dimashq. Some reports said Qantar was mistakenly killed by Russian airstrikes, while others went as far as saying he was betrayed by Hezbollah. The only reasonable claim is the Syrian opposition’s - that it buried Qantar under the rubble of a six-story building it shelled. No one really cares about who killed him because he died defending Iran, the Syrian regime and Hezbollah. It is time to end this black comedy of resistance against Israel and defending occupied Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian territory. No one believes this narrative anymore.
Broken narrative
The indifference regarding his death may wake up Hezbollah and similar organizations to the fact that it is time to end this black comedy of resistance against Israel and defending occupied Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian territory. No one believes this narrative anymore. The image that Hezbollah drew for itself, and which most Arabs and Lebanese have believed, is now shattered, except maybe for those in southern Lebanon as they have paid a high price. Syria’s tragedy and regime atrocities shocked millions of Arabs, who now wonder whether those they viewed as heroes were really heroes or agents for foreign plans. They wonder whether there is anything real about what they have been told for years. Was it all a myth? Does Qantar deserve heroism because he killed three members of an Israeli family, including a child, or is he a criminal because he participated in the murder of 300,000 Syrians? Look back 10, 20, 30 years ago, and you realize they are all chapters of one book in which Syria is the end. “Resistance” is the title of a detective story. When looking at this history, we see that evidence was concealed and facts were forged. The term “confronting aggression” aimed to seize the Lebanese state. The term “resistance” was created to cancel real resistance - this front was formed as an alliance with Tehran to control the region. We read news separately, but if we read it as one story we understand that he who has killed a third of a million Syrians is the same man who assassinated dozens of Lebanese figures 10 years ago. He killed them as part of his plan to eliminate rivals, from Rafiq Hariri to Gebran Tueni, George Hawi and others. Before that, his men attempted to assassinate the late emir of Kuwait, and to target Gulf and Arab tourism and airline companies. We can understand the story when we reread it chronologically. In the 1980s, Iran and Syria decided to engage in the narrative of confronting Israeli aggression. This was an excuse to stay in Lebanon, carry arms and kidnap foreigners after they got rid of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), which was competing with the Syrian and Iranian regimes.Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 following an assassination attempt against the Israeli ambassador to the UK. Damascus and Tehran were the biggest beneficiaries, as they adopted the resistance project and used it to solidify the occupation of Lebanon, obstruct its institutions and threaten the world via organizations they run. It is in the name of Palestine that Iran and Syria dominated Lebanon, and opened camps to train other Arab nationals to fight in Iraq, the Gulf, Yemen and Syria. This was the beginning of Iran’s regional plan. Today, it is no longer possible to continue selling the story of resisting Israel. I do not know if Iran, Hezbollah and Damascus are aware how Syria, which has experienced the most hideous massacres in the region’s history, has launched a new history that will not be easy to overcome and forget. The story of resistance, which was never true, is now over. Their exploitation of the Palestinian tragedy is over.

Abdulrahman al-Rashed: Samir Qantar is no hero, and Hezbollah is no resistance/عبد الرحمن الراشد: ما كان قنطار بطلاً ولا الحزب مقاومة
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2015/12/24/abdulrahman-al-rashed-samir-qantar-is-no-hero-and-hezbollah-is-no-resistance%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%83%D8%A7/

Salam Meets al-Rahi, Stresses 'Importance of Perseverance during this Difficult Time'
Naharnet/December 24/15/Prime Minister Tammam Salam paid a visit on Thursday to Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on the occasion of Christmas, taking the opportunity to highlight the need for national unity in Lebanon. He said from Bkirki: “We stress the importance of perseverance during this critical time.” He added that he has never spared an opportunity to call for the election of a president, saying that the patriarch made “significant points” during his Christmas message earlier on Thursday. “We hope officials would be receptive of this message,” remarked Salam. Al-Rahi urged during his message the election of a president, which began in May 2014 with the end of the term of Michel Suleiman without the election of a successor. “We reiterate the calls to elect a president as soon as possible, and we urge the political blocs to take the presidential settlement initiative seriously,” he declared. An initiative emerged lately by Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri suggesting the nomination of Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency. The nomination has been met with reservations from the Kataeb Party, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces.
Later on Thursday, Salam held talks with Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Audeh on the occasion of Christmas.

Rahi: Presidential Initiative Must be Taken Seriously
Naharnet/December 24/Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi reiterated the calls on Thursday for the election of a president and for the formation of a new electoral law that respects the national pact and provides parity. “We reiterate the calls to elect a president as soon as possible, and we urge the political blocs to take the presidential settlement initiative seriously,” said al-Rahi in a pre-Christmas letter. “We deeply appreciate the personal initiatives,” he added. “A new electoral law that respects the national pact and provides parity must be stipulated. The government must commit to its responsibilities and reactivate the work of the public institutions.” “We are determined to perform our duty to confront fanaticism, divisions and takfiris and we are keen to preserve coexistence,” stated the patriarch. “We renew the demands for a lawful state where equality prevails among all.” He concluded urging the government not to ignore the crisis of Syrian refugees in Lebanon fearing that some sides might exploit them to carry out terrorist acts. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014. An initiative emerged lately by Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri suggesting the nomination of Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency. The nomination has been met with reservations from the Kataeb Party, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces.

Mashnouq Meets Daryan: Settlement to Nominate Franjieh Ongoing
Naharnet/December 24/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq stated on Thursday that the settlement initiative that suggested the nomination of Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh is “alive and ongoing,” the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday. “Nominating Franjieh is not an initiative as much as it is a move for communication between the political parties to fill the presidential vacuum,” he stated. “It is still there, alive and ongoing,” he assured after meeting with Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan.He voiced expectations that a president might be elected in the next coming months. “I expect positive results on the election of a president within a few months because no one can claim that the vacuum can lead us to serious stability,” Mashnouq added. On his meeting with Daryan, he said: “We discussed the means to reactivate the government's and parliament’s activities. The Mufti has proved that he is a figure of moderation who encourages dialogue between the parties in order to reach the desired outcomes that lead to stability.”Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri launched in recent weeks a proposal to nominate Franjieh as president in an attempt to end the vacuum in the presidency that started in May 2014 with the end of the term of Michel Suleiman. His suggestion has been met with reservations from the Kataeb, Lebanese Forces, and Free Patriotic Movement.

Lebanese Army Uncovers Weapons Depot in Akkar Based on IS Detainee's Confessions
Naharnet/December 24/15/The army raided on Thursday an arms depot in the northern region of Akkar based on the confessions of a detainee who admitted to belonging to the Islamic State extremist group. The military announced in a statement that the weapons were seized in the Mashta Hassan area in Akkar. The depot included dozens of machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and a number of ammunition and military gear. The detainee, Bilal Muheiddine al-Hassan, confessed that the arms were going to be used in military operations by the IS in the North in an attempt to isolate it and bring it under the group's control. Investigations are still ongoing with him and a number of other suspects.

Red Bishop Gregoire Haddad Passes Away
Naharnet/December 24/15/Former patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut and Jbeil, Archbishop Gregoire Haddad passed away on Wednesday after a long battle with illness. He was 91. Known as the “Red Bishop”, he leaves behind a long legacy in religion, politics, and society. Born Nakhle Amin Haddad, he took the name Gregoire in honor of Gregorios Haddad, who was the patriarch of Antioch of the Church of Antioch from 1906 to 1923. Known for his controversial ideas, the patriarch believed in secularism ad established in 2009 a group of secularists from the Civil Society movement, which is a secular socio-political movement. He also advocated civil marriage. These demands prompted the Catholic Church to question his beliefs. He spent the last years of his life battling illness. Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat offered his condolences over the death of the patriarch, saying: “Lebanon lost one of its symbols of moderation, openness, and dialogue.”“He dedicated a significant number of years of his life to stress these principles as part of his church work and later his role on the social and cultural scenes,” he remarked.

General Security Arrests Four-Member Terrorist Cell
Naharnet/December 24/The General Security arrested four Lebanese nationals on suspicion of forming terrorist cells that work in favor of the Islamic State, the National News Agency said on Thursday. "Within its framework to follow up on the activities of terrorist and sleeper cells, the General Security arrested A.R, M.K., Y.B. and A.G.," it said in a statement. "Investigations have unveiled that the group had formed the cell with plans to recruit people and carry out missions in favor of the IS," it added. One of the detainees, A.R., confessed to belonging and pledging allegiance to the IS and that he had done so through a Lebanese-Australian relative of his who is an IS official in the Syrian al-Raqqa area. He is known for manufacturing explosives and preparing bombs.

Report: Hizbullah Will not Back Down on Aoun's Nomination
Naharnet/December 24/Hizbullah will continue to support the candidacy of MP Michel Aoun for the post of presidency, despite reports claiming that the party implicitly prefers Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh, the Kuwaiti al-Anba daily reported on Thursday. “Anyone who believes that Hizbullah's backing of Aoun is only a tactic or an act of courtesy is mistaken,” a March 14 official told the daily on condition of anonymity. “Contrary to the perception that prevailed lately that Hizbullah implicitly prefers Franjieh over Aoun, the real and radical option of the party at the level of the presidency is Aoun,” added the source. “Aoun has been able to provide a wide Christian support for the party since 2005 which was classified as impossible before that,” he concluded. Former Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun is a presidential candidate and member of the March 8 camp along with Franjieh who emerged as a presidential candidate as part of an initiative launched by Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri aimed at ending the political deadlock in Lebanon. Franjieh's nomination alongside Aoun has drawn speculation of differences between the two officials. Franjieh's potential nomination has also been met with reservations from the Kataeb Party and Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces. Lebanon has been witnessing a presidential vacuum since the term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014.

Israeli Rocket, Filled with Cluster Bombs, Discovered in South
Naharnet/December 24/15/A rocket filled with cluster bombs, dropped by Israel during the July 2006 war, was discovered in the South, reported the National News Agency. The discovery was made by Abbas Yaghi as he was surveying a field in Western Zawtar in al-Nabatiyeh. He promptly informed the municipal chief, Hassan Ezzeddine, who in turn contacted Army Intelligence. Members of the branch arrived at the field, cordoning off the area ahead of carrying out the necessary measures to either remove the rocket or detonate it at the location should they be unable to perform the first option. Ezzeddine said: “This area had been previously swept of Israeli cluster bombs, but some still remain as they have been covered by rain and landslides.”One person had been killed and 12 wounded in various cluster bomb incidents in the region, he revealed, while pleading with the army and international and local organizations to remove the mines and remaining bombs. He demanded that new sweeps of fields be performed in order to verify that they do not have any mines. “The presence of these mines is a form of Israeli subterranean occupation, whose danger is worse than the Israeli presence on the ground,” he said.

Violence clouds Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem
The Associated Press - Bethlehem, West Bank Thursday, 24 December 2015/Christian faithful from around the world on Thursday descended on the biblical city of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations at the traditional birthplace of Jesus, trying to lift spirits on a holiday dampened by months of Israeli-Palestinian violence. The fighting cast a pall over the celebrations. Crowds were thin and hotel rooms were empty. While the annual festivities in Bethlehem’s Manger Square went on, other celebrations in the city were canceled or toned down. “There’s lights, there’s carols, but there’s an underlying sense of tension,” said Paul Haines of Cornwall, England, who arrived in Bethlehem following a four-month trek from Rome. Bethlehem has been a focal point for clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters during a three-month wave of violence that has gripped the region. The city was quiet on Thursday, although violence raged elsewhere in the West Bank. Israeli authorities said three Palestinian assailants were killed as they carried out or tried to carry out stabbing or car-ramming attacks against Israeli security personnel, and a fourth Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli troops, a Palestinian hospital official said. Two Israeli security guards and a soldier were wounded. Lisette Rossman, a 22-year-old student from Albuquerque, New Mexico, said the violence made her think twice about visiting a friend studying in Jerusalem. She said she was glad she made the trip because “it was one of my dreams to come here.”
Since mid-September, Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings and shootings, have killed 20 Israelis, while Israeli fire has killed 124 Palestinians, among them 85 said by Israel to be attackers. The rest were killed in clashes with Israeli forces. Israel accuses Palestinian leaders of inciting the violence. The Palestinians say it is the result of nearly 50 years of military occupation. In Manger Square, local activists placed an olive tree they said was uprooted by the Israeli army in a nearby village, and surrounded it with barbed wire and decorated it with spent tear gas canisters fired by Israeli troops and photographs of Palestinians killed or arrested in recent violence.
“We’re in Bethlehem celebrating Christmas, celebrating the birthday of our lord Jesus Christ. This is the birthplace of the king of peace, so what we want is peace,” said Rula Maayah, the Palestinian tourism minister. In the evening, several thousand people crowded into Manger Square, admiring the town’s glittering Christmas tree and listening to holiday music played by marching bands and scout troops. Palestinian vendors hawked coffee, tea and Santa hats. Young children sold sticks of gum. But at 9 p.m., traditionally a bustling time of the evening, there were few tourists to drink local wine sold on the square or to eat freshly fried falafel. As the festivities got underway, Miral Siriani, a 35-year-old publicist from Jerusalem, said she was relieved to get a break from three months of tension that has included numerous attacks in her city. “I feel safe in Bethlehem,” she said. In recent years, Bethlehem had enjoyed a relative calm and thousands of revelers and pilgrims poured into Manger Square each Christmas. But vendors and hotel owners complained of sagging business this Christmas season. Xavier Abu Eid, a Palestinian official, said hotel bookings were down 25 percent from last year, which itself was weak following a war between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip several months earlier. Some Palestinians hoped holiday cheer would replace the gloom. Said Nustas, dressed in a Santa Claus suit, rang a Christmas bell on a narrow asphalt street as he prepared to deliver gifts from a toy store to children nearby. “The situation is what it is, a war and intifada,” Nustas said. “But God willing, we’ll overcome it and celebrate.” Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal led a procession from his Jerusalem headquarters into Bethlehem, passing through a military checkpoint and past Israel’s concrete separation barrier, which surrounds much of the town. Israel built the barrier a decade ago to stop a wave of suicide bombings. Palestinians say the structure has stifled Bethlehem’s economy. In Bethlehem, Twal wished “peace and love” for all. Twal was set to lead worshippers in a Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born.

Russia identifies groups behind Egypt plane crash
Reuters, Moscow Thursday, 24 December 2015/Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service, said on Thursday Russia had identified groups behind the explosion of a Russian plane in Egypt, which killed all 224 passengers on board in October, local news agencies reported.

U.S. readies New Year push to expel migrants
Friday, 25 December 2015ظU.S. President Barack Obama’s administration is planning an operation to round up and expel migrant families fleeing drought and violence in Central America, reports said Thursday. The flow of families and unaccompanied children crossing into the United States from Mexico slowed in 2015, but the numbers surged upwards again in October and November. Several Latin American countries are in the grip of violent lawlessness and the El Nino weather pattern has plunged several countries in the region into drought. The Department of Homeland Security did not dispute anonymously-sourced reports in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal that a crackdown is imminent. According to the reports, hundreds of families living in the United States whose asylum requests have been denied will be rounded up and sent home. DHS’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Gillian Christensen told AFP that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson “has consistently said our border is not open to illegal immigration.“If individuals come here illegally, do not qualify for asylum or other relief, and have final orders of removal, they will be sent back consistent with our laws and our values.” Any such operation would be controversial. Refugee rights activists argue the families are fleeing corruption, gang violence and drought in their homelands and should be treated as refugees. In El Salvador, there was a sobering wave of violence this year. Between January and November there were 6,065 homicides, according to the Forensic Medical Institute. In Honduras, there has been a police crackdown but the homicide rate is still expected to be one of the highest in the world this year at 62 per 100,000 inhabitants. And in Guatemala, there were 5,924 homicides in 2014, according to the national forensic sciences institute INACIF. In 70 percent of cases, firearms were the cause of death. Last month, the UN weather agency warned that the El Nino phenomenon, triggered by a warming in sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, was the worst in more than 15 years.Many countries around the Pacific rim are facing extreme weather, including drought, and Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras are among the worst victims.
Broken system
Despite this trouble to the south, in the 2015 fiscal year arrests of non-documented migrants crossing the U.S. southern border dropped by a third to the second lowest level since 1972. The number of children crossing without their relatives – which surged in 2014 – was also well down over the period. But the number of minors and of families crossing began to increase again sharply toward the end of 2015, alarming the Department of Homeland Security. Arrests of members of “family units” on the US southwest border in October and November, the first two months of fiscal year 2016, were up 173 percent over the same period last year. Arrests of unaccompanied minors are up 106 percent. Immigration is one of the hottest topics in the 2016 US presidential campaign, with Republican hopefuls including frontrunner Donald Trump vying for who can promise the toughest stance. Obama’s opponents – some of whom like Trump have demanded that a massive border wall be built – will argue the reported DHS plan is a stop-gap to disguise a broken immigration system. But, according to an opinion piece in the Washington Post, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton could also find herself in a tough spot if the crackdown goes ahead. Immigration advocate Frank Sharry of “America’s Voice” told The Post that Clinton would come under pressure from Latino supporters to disavow Obama’s tougher stance. If Trump or his fellow Republicans claim credit for pressuring the White House into action, Clinton will have to decide whether to side with her liberal base or her president.

Belgium Charges 9th Paris Attacks Suspect
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 24/15/The Belgian authorities have charged a ninth person in connection with last month's deadly Paris attacks, the prosecutor's office said Thursday. A spokesman said the suspect had telephoned Hasna Aitboulachen, the cousin of ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, several times after the November 13 attacks and before a police raid five days later in which they both died. A statement identified the man as Abdoullah C., a Belgian national born in 1985, who was arrested on Tuesday on charges of "terrorist murders and participation in the activities of a terrorist organization." The attacks, claimed by the Islamic State jihadi group, and the Belgian links to them have shocked the country and sparked a sharp increase in visible security. Armed police and soldiers now patrol the streets in Brussels, Europe's diplomatic hub and home to the European Union, NATO and a host of major companies. The Paris onslaught stoked fears the city was fertile ground for Islamist extremists, who have in some cases gone to fight in Syria and returned home battle-hardened and even more determined.
The police are especially looking for Brussels-born Salah Abdeslam, 26, who is believed to have played a key role in the attacks on bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the French national stadium which left 130 dead. Friends drove him from Paris back to the Belgian capital, slipping through three police checks, with the authorities bemoaning a lack of intelligence sharing and closer cooperation for missing Europe's most wanted man. The attacks and the apparent ease with which some of those involved traveled around the EU beforehand has also raised questions. In early December, Belgian prosecutors said they were looking for two "armed and dangerous" men who used false ID papers to help Abdeslam travel to Hungary in September where he was stopped -- but then let go -- by police. The fake identity card of one of the suspects was also used to wire money from Brussels to Paris and Hasna Aitboulachen four days before the attacks.Several people have since been charged with helping Abdeslam on his return to Brussels where he lived in the gritty Moelenbeek district, along with several others implicated in the attacks and Islamist groups. Earlier this week, the police arrested another five people in a series of raids in and around Brussels but a judge later ordered their release without charge.

Syria Says Ready to Enter New Peace Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 24/15/Syria's regime said Thursday it was ready to take part in new talks in Geneva aimed at ending the war but appeared to make its participation conditional on which opposition groups will attend. It came as the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group pushed further into a key city in eastern Syria in fighting that left more than two dozen regime loyalists reported dead. During an official visit to China on Thursday, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Damascus "is ready to participate in the Syrian-Syrian dialogue in Geneva without any foreign interference."
Last week, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing a peace plan aimed at bringing the regime and opposition together for talks in January. The plan is the product of a nearly two-month diplomatic flurry among top diplomats from 17 countries, including regime backers Russia and Iran. But it does not address the sharpest difference between opposition groups and the regime: the fate of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Muallem's comments on Thursday seemed to indicate government approval of the plan -- but with apparent preconditions. He said Syria rejected "foreign interference" and the government's negotiating team "will be ready as soon as we receive a list of the opposition delegation". Speaking after a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Muallem said Syria was waiting to receive a list of "terrorist organizations" that would not be allowed to participate in the talks. The U.N. tasked Jordan with creating the banned list, which was submitted Friday and apparently included IS and the Al-Qaida-linked Al-Nusra Front. But Syria's government has systematically referred to all its opponents, including non-Islamist groups, as "terrorists". A landmark summit in Saudi Arabia earlier this month saw armed and political branches of the opposition agree to talks with Assad's government. The opposition delegation to future peace negotiations is expected to include the factions present in Riyadh, as well as other groups on the ground in Syria. The U.N. resolution calls for talks in early January that would lead to the "establishment of an inclusive transitional governing body with full executive powers" within six months. Muallem, however, only referred to an eventual "national unity government".He said Damascus would "compose a constitutional committee to look for a new constitution with a new law of election so the parliamentary election will be held within the period of 18 months, more or less". The U.N. resolution was received coolly by Syrian opposition forces, including the main group in exile, the Istanbul-based National Coalition. The agreement "waters down previous U.N. resolutions concerning a political solution in Syria," coalition head Khaled Khoja said on Twitter on Saturday. Previous efforts to negotiate a political solution to Syria's nearly five-year conflict have faltered, including the 2014 Geneva talks between the regime and opposition forces. But with the violent rise of IS, world powers have redoubled their efforts to contain Syria's civil war, which has left more than 250,000 people dead. The extremist organization has overrun swathes of territory across Syria, declaring a self-styled caliphate governed by a literal interpretation of Islamic law. Late Wednesday, IS militants seized another neighborhood in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, strengthening their position in the oil-rich province. The attack began when three IS suicide bombers drove explosive-laden cars into the city's industrial neighborhood, killing at least 11 pro-regime fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The ensuing "violent clashes, air strikes, and an exchange of shelling" brought the toll up to 26 government loyalists and 15 IS militants, including the suicide bombers, according to the Observatory. IS has held most of the desert province of Deir Ezzor and much of its provincial capital since 2014. The jihadist group has been fighting for months to take Deir Ezzor city, including the adjacent military airport. If the city falls to IS, it would be the second provincial capital under the extremist group's control, after Raqa in the north.

Iraq 'Nets 40 IS Operatives' in Major Swoop
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 24/15/Iraq's intelligence service said Thursday it detained 40 members of the Islamic State group as part of a major operation in Baghdad and Diyala provinces. "The Iraqi national intelligence service, in coordination with Baghdad and Diyala security forces, carried out an operation which resulted in the arrest of 40 members of varying rank," a statement said. Diyala is a province just northeast of the capital where IS has not had fixed positions in almost a year but has carried out several deadly suicide car bombings. "Many bombs, suicide belts and cars used by the terrorists were seized, as well as large amounts of money they used to fund their criminal activities," the statement said. The intelligence service said the detained IS members had requested assistance from cells in other parts of the country, suggesting the group is weakened in Baghdad.
The swoop was the continuation of an operation that had already resulted in more than 30 arrests and the dismantling of a car bomb-making cell in Baghdad in March.

Syria Regime Raids Kill 20 People including 7 Children
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 24/15/Air raids by Syrian government warplanes killed 20 civilians, including seven children, in an area southeast of Damascus on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. Dozens more people were also wounded in the raids on the centre of Hammuriyeh in Eastern Ghouta, the largest rebel stronghold in Damascus province. The area is regularly bombed by the forces of President Bashar Assad, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said. Two more civilians were also killed by shelling in the Douma area, northeast of Damascus, while government forces were also pounding Eastern Ghouta with artillery fire, the Observatory said. Rebels often shell the capital from Eastern Ghouta, to the east of Damascus. More than 250,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict, which began in March 2011 as an anti-government protest movement but which has spiraled into a multi-sided war.

Israel Charges Two Arab Cousins for IS Ties
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 24/15/Israel charged two Arab cousins from towns near northern city Nazareth for ties to the Islamic State group and planning an attack, the Shin Bet domestic security agency said Thursday. Mohammad Hassan, 20, from Rina, and Ahmed Saida, 23, from Umm el Ghanam, were arrested in November, the Shin Bet said. They had left Israel for Turkey in May, where they met up with an IS operative who was to help them steal across the border into Syria, where they were to join fighters, it said. But after encountering Syrian refugees at the border town who told them of the horrors they suffered under IS, as well as their families' pleas, the two had a change of heart and returned to Israel, the statement said. Back home, Hassan and Saida allegedly continued to maintain their contacts with IS operatives abroad and supporters in Israel. Identifying with the jihadist group's ideology, the two resolved to carry out an attack against Israeli Jews, and Saida attempted to purchase a rifle, Shin Bet said. The two were charged Thursday for links to foreign agents, an attempt to enter an enemy country and conspiring to commit a crime. Saida was also charged with weapons felonies. Also Thursday, the Jerusalem district court sentenced a Palestinian from east Jerusalem employed by Israel's health ministry to two years in prison for attempting to join IS forces in Syria in January. Earlier this month, Israel charged five Arabs from the northern city of Nazareth with having ties with the group. Arab Israelis are those who remained in the Jewish state after its 1948 creation, as well as their descendants. They account for more than 17 percent of the country's population. Police have said Israeli Arabs traveling to Syria to fight for IS represent "a serious threat to Israel." According to the Shin Bet, around 35 Israeli Arabs have joined IS. A number of them have died fighting with Islamist organizations, according to Israeli security and their families. Around 10 have returned to Israel and have been arrested or jailed.

Israeli-Palestinian Clashes, Three Attacks Rock West Bank
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 24/15/New violence erupted in the West Bank Thursday, with three Palestinian attackers shot dead as they carried out stabbings and a car ramming and another killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers. The upsurge came after nearly three months of attacks and protests but with the violence having become less frequent in recent weeks. The ongoing unrest has led to a sharp decrease in pilgrims traveling to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, where the Bible says Jesus was born, for Christmas Eve celebrations and the traditional midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity. Early on Thursday, a Palestinian stabbed two security guards at an entrance to an industrial zone at the Jewish settlement of Ariel, the largest in the north of the occupied West Bank, before being shot dead. Both of the victims suffered moderate wounds, police said. The assailant was identified as Mohammed Zahran, 23, from the nearby village of Kafr Addik. Later, a Palestinian tried to attack soldiers with a screwdriver at a checkpoint near the West Bank city of Hebron and was shot dead. The Palestinian health ministry identified him as Iyad Idaissat, 25, from the village of Yatta. A third incident saw a Palestinian shot dead attempting to ram his car into a military post near the Adam junction northeast of Jerusalem, the army said. Bilal Zayd, 23, was from the Qalandiya refugee camp between Jerusalem and Ramallah, where clashes broke out Thursday between Israeli security forces and Palestinians.
Israeli forces were said to have entered the camp to arrest three suspects, local officials said. Seven people were wounded, including two from gunshots to the head, according to camp official Jamal Lafi said. A spokeswoman for the Israeli army said the forces were "assaulted by a violent mob" of Palestinians shooting at them and throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails and explosive devices. "The force responded to the immediate danger and fired toward the gunmen. Hits were confirmed," she said. A wave of violence since the start of October has claimed the lives of 129 on the Palestinian side, 19 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean. Many of the Palestinians killed have been attackers while others have been shot dead by Israeli security forces during clashes. A number of them have attempted attacks with kitchen knives in what some analysts have described as virtual suicide missions. Palestinians have grown frustrated with Israel's occupation, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities said they had opened an investigation into a video showing gun-wielding Jewish extremists at a wedding celebrating the death of a Palestinian toddler in a firebombing. The video, broadcast by an Israeli news program, has spread online and drawn strong condemnation from politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It shows guests at the wedding of a radical right-wing couple dancing with guns, knives and at least one unlit Molotov cocktail, while also stabbing a picture of the toddler killed in a firebombing blamed on Jewish extremists. That attack killed 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha, and fatally injured his parents. The toddler's four-year-old brother was the sole survivor from the immediate family. Palestinians have often highlighted the lack of progress in the case as one of the causes of the wave of attacks targeting Israelis that began on October 1. In recent weeks, Israeli authorities have arrested a number of suspected Jewish extremists over the July 31 firebombing in the West Bank village of Duma, though no one has been charged. Their detentions have sparked anger among far-right Israelis who have held several protests, including outside the home of a judge, while lawyers have alleged torture of suspects by the domestic security agency, Shin Bet. The firebombing drew renewed attention to Jewish extremism and accusations Israel had not done enough to prevent such violence.
Young Jewish men from wildcat settlement outposts in the West Bank and known as the "hilltop youth" have been blamed for violence and vandalism targeting Palestinians, Christian holy sites and even Israeli military property.

Arab League Denounces Turkish Troop Deployment in Iraq
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 24/Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi condemned on Thursday a Turkish military deployment in Iraq as a violation of international law, at a meeting called by Baghdad to pressure Ankara on withdrawing the forces. "The Turkish military incursion into Iraq is a clear violation of international law and Iraqi sovereignty," Arabi said at the start of the foreign ministers meeting in the Cairo headquarters of the pan-Arab bloc. Turkey announced on Saturday that it had begun withdrawing troops in a bid to de-escalate a bitter row with Baghdad and following a call from US President Barack Obama. But at the Cairo meeting, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Turkey has insisted on "using the term 'redeployment'". "They (the troops) would be relocated from one Iraqi area to another Iraqi area. Sovereignty is sovereignty, and the territories are one," he said. Earlier this month, Turkey deployed troops to a base in Nineveh province where it has a long-running training program for forces battling the Islamic State jihadist group. Ankara had said the deployment was routine and necessary to protect the trainers, while Baghdad said it was unauthorized and protested to the United Nations Security Council.

Sinai Road Bomb Kills Egyptian Police Captain
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 24/A roadside bomb struck a police vehicle near a town in the Sinai Peninsula Thursday, killing a policeman and wounding two others, the interior ministry said. The Islamic State group's Egypt affiliate has claimed regular attacks on security forces, who have struggled to quell the insurgency in the peninsula bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip. The interior ministry said the bomb killed a police captain, and wounded a sergeant and a conscript, on a road leading to provincial capital El-Arish. The jihadists have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and unleashed a deadly crackdown on his supporters. They also claimed to have downed the Russian Metrojet A-321 plane over the Sinai on October 31, killing all 224 people on board, after smuggling a bomb on board at an Egyptian airport.
The army has often announced the death or capture of jihadists, most recently launching a sweeping offensive it claimed killed hundreds of extremists.

Will the next US president scrap the Iran deal?
Barbara Slavin/Al-Monitor/December 24/15
Iranians are likely to be nostalgic about the presidency of Barack Obama no matter who succeeds him in 2017.While Democrats running for their party’s nomination all support the nuclear deal with Iran negotiated by the Obama administration, the leading candidate — former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — lists “Iran’s continued aggression” as the second-most disturbing trend in the Middle East. Republicans are more negative, with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — now the front-runner for the Iowa caucuses — threatening to scrap the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on his first day in office if elected president.
The following are the positions of seven major candidates:
Donald Trump
At the last Republican debate of 2015, Trump, who leads Republicans in national polls, said he “certainly would never have made that horrible, disgusting, absolutely incompetent deal with Iran where they get $150 billion. They're a terrorist nation.” In an earlier debate on Sept. 16, the New York real estate magnate called the agreement “one of the worst contracts of any kind I've ever seen.”
However, unlike Cruz, Trump has not threatened not to implement the accord. He said on NBC’s "Meet the Press" on Aug. 16, “OK, I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘We’re going to rip up the deal.’ It’s very tough to do when you say, ‘Rip up a deal.’ … But I will police that deal. … I would police that contract so tough that they don’t have a chance.”
Ted Cruz
Speaking in the Sept. 16 debate, the freshman Republican senator from Texas said the Iran agreement “abandons four American hostages in Iran, and this deal will only accelerate Iran's acquiring nuclear weapons. You'd better believe it. If I am elected president, on the very first day in office, I will rip to shreds this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal.”
At a rally Sept. 9 against the accord, Cruz said preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon was “the single greatest national security threat facing America.” Cruz also asserted that once the agreement goes into effect, “the Obama administration will become, quite literally, the world's leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism.”
In the Dec. 15 debate, Iran receded as a topic and the threat of terrorism from the group that calls itself the Islamic State dominated the conversation. However, Cruz, while pledging not to send American troops abroad to overthrow secular dictators, said at one point in an aside, “A regime we should change is Iran … because Iran has declared war on us.”
Ben Carson
In a Sept. 11 interview with conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, the retired pediatric neurosurgeon said, “My biggest problem with the whole Iranian situation is that I believe that the Congress should have never agreed to anything outside of a treaty.”
If elected, Carson said, “I think we let the Iranians know that there’s a new sheriff in town, and that we’re not abiding by that, and we begin to use whatever powers we have to slow down the process. But you know, this is a longer-term problem, because our allies right now don’t have a whole lot of respect for us. … We’re going to have to very quickly get back to a point where people actually believe what we say, that our friends recognize that we’re their friends and that our enemies recognize that we’re their enemies. And there has to be consequences for being an enemy of the United States.”
Marco Rubio
In the Sept. 16 debate, the first-term Republican senator from Florida did not say precisely what he would do about the JCPOA as president, but expressed doubt that Iran would abide by the agreement.
“Anyone who is paying attention to what [Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei says knows that they will not comply,” Rubio said. “In the middle of negotiating this treaty, Khamenei led the assembled masses in chanting ‘Death to America.’ … We need a commander in chief who will stand up and protect this country. And I'll tell you, I can't wait to stand on that debate stage with Hillary Clinton and to make abundantly clear if you vote for Hillary, you are voting for the Ayatollah Khamenei to possess a nuclear weapon and if you elect me as president, under no circumstances will a theocratic ayatollah who chants 'Death to America' ever be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
Jeb Bush
Similarly to Trump and Rubio, the former Florida governor has not threatened to immediately scrap the nuclear deal, while at the same time not expressing support for it.
“It's not a strategy to tear up an agreement,” Bush said in the Sept. 16 debate. “A strategy would be, how do we confront Iran? And the first thing that we need to do is to establish our commitment to Israel, which has been altered by this administration. And make sure that they have the most sophisticated weapons to send a signal to Iran that we have Israel's back. If we do that, it's going to create a healthier deterrent effect than anything else I can think of.”
Hillary Clinton
The former secretary of state, who initiated secret talks with Iran while she was in office, has expressed support for the agreement while vehemently opposing Iran’s other policies. At a forum at the Brookings Institution on Dec. 4, Clinton listed three worrisome trends in the Middle East. The first, she said, was “a rising tide of extremism” and “the second is Iran’s continued aggression.” (The third was what she called “the growing effort to delegitimize Israel on the world stage.") Accusing Iran of having its “fingerprints … on nearly every conflict across the Middle East,” Clinton and her administration would “embed” vigorous enforcement of the JCPOA “in a larger effort to counter Iran across the region.” Accusing Iran of testing US resolve by firing a ballistic missile in violation of a UN Security Council resolution, Clinton added, “We have to respond to these provocations, including, if necessary … taking military action.” Clinton would also challenge Iranian policies in Syria by establishing a no-fly zone on the border with Turkey.
Bernie Sanders
The Vermont senator agrees with Clinton that the nuclear agreement is not perfect, but has said he would implement it. “Does the agreement achieve everything I would like? No, it does not,” Sanders said in a Sept. 9 statement. “But to my mind, it is far better than the path we were on — with Iran developing nuclear weapons capability and the potential for military intervention by the US and Israel growing greater by the day.” The self-described Democratic Socialist also echoed Clinton’s position by saying, “Let us not forget that if Iran does not live up to the agreement, sanctions may be reimposed. If Iran moves toward a nuclear weapon, all available options remain on the table. I think it is incumbent upon us, however, to give the negotiated agreement a chance to succeed, and it is for these reasons that I will support the agreement.”
**Barbara Slavin is the Washington correspondent for Al-Monitor and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, where she focuses on Iran.

Is Iran retreating from Syria?
Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/December 24/15
Iranian military commanders have responded to reports in Western media that their country’s presence in Syria has decreased due to a mounting death toll in recent months.In an interview with Fars News Agency on Dec. 22, Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, the deputy head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was asked about “claims from Western media” regarding Iran’s decreasing deployment of forces in Syria. “Decreasing or increasing forces at any scene is a natural act,” Salami said. “But our strategy in this area and our roles in the battlefield and arena of politics have in no way been decreased.”
The question from Fars News was prompted by a Dec. 10 Bloomberg article titled “Western Officials: Iran Retreating From Syria Fight.” The article stated that due to the high level of casualties on the battlefront, US officials said they are seeing “significant numbers of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps troops retreat from the Syrian combat zone.”
In a Dec. 22 interview, Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of staff for the armed forces, also denied reports about Iran decreasing its role in Syria. Jazayeri said Iran’s support for Syria was based on a number of unchanging strategic and religious principles and “despite the false and unfounded news based on the exit or decrease of Iran’s advisory forces in Syria, which have been produced as part of the psychological war against the resistance front, our advisory presence will continue until an appropriate time in various dimensions and with the needs of the battlefront against takfiri terrorists in Syria.” Iranian military officials often refer to all Syrian opposition fighters as "takfiris," as in those who excommunicate other Muslims.
In late September, Russian air power, Iranian IRGC forces and the Syrian army began a major offensive in Syria to take back territory previously lost to a variety of opposition fighters. This offensive was accompanied by a large deployment of Iranians. On Oct. 26, Salami said the Iranians on the front line were advisers, and to give accurate advice, it was necessary for them to be on the front line.
Salami’s Oct. 26 comments were prompted by questions from the rising death of Iranians in Syria. While Iran has been heavily involved in supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government since the civil war began, there has been a dramatic uptick in Iranian deaths in recent months. In a Nov. 11 interview, Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, downplayed the number of deaths, putting them at just under 50 since major operations began.
While Iranian media announces the names and positions of those killed in Syria, no media or institution has issued a public tally as to the total number killed. Ali Alfoneh, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who specializes in the IRGC, estimates that since the major operations began in late September, approximately 116 Iranians have been killed.
Iranian journalist Hassan Shemshadi, who reports from Syria frequently, often announces the names of those recently killed. A typical announcement will say that the individual was killed defending “the Shrine of Zeinab, in defense of our country’s national interests, and at the hands of takfiri terrorists.”
Iranian officials in the past have said that the recent push would not be permanent and is based on needs on the ground. However, they have not given a timetable for how long it will last.

Salehi reveals new details of secret US, Iran back-channel
Mohammad Ali Shabani/Al-Monitor/December 24/15
Over the past two years, Al-Monitor has broken the story of secret back-channel negotiations between Iran and the United States via Oman. According to US sources who have spoken to Al-Monitor, these contacts were initiated in 2011 and 2012, when Puneet Talwar, the National Security Council's senior director for the Persian Gulf at the time, and Jake Sullivan, deputy chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, participated in lower-level, “preparatory” meetings with the Iranians, facilitated by the Omanis, to see about the prospect of a bilateral channel led on the US side by William Burns. Subsequently, such higher-level talks were held in March 2013, three months prior to the June election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.Now, the Iranian foreign policy magazine 'Diplomat' has published a three-hour interview with Ali Akbar Salehi, who served as foreign minister from December 2010 until August 2013. Of note, Salehi currently holds the title of vice president and heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. The MIT-educated nuclear physicist played a key role in securing the July 14 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, leading the technical track with his US counterpart Ernest Moniz.
Al-Monitor has obtained the full transcript of Salehi’s interview, which includes so far unknown details of the secret US-Iran back-channel on the nuclear issue — and how it was initiated.
According to Salehi, Iran first became aware of an American desire to meet bilaterally “in mid-1390” in the Iranian solar calendar, which corresponds with late summer of 2011. He said that Hassan Ghashghavi, then (and current) deputy foreign minister for Consular and Parliamentary Affairs, who is in charge of pursuing the cases of Iranians jailed abroad, paid a visit to Oman. Specifically referring to the case of former Iranian Ambassador Nosratollah Tajik, who had been arrested in Britain in 2006, Salehi noted, “Through the support and cooperation of the government of Oman, and especially the sultan, we were able to free" these prisoners. Of note, two American hikers, detained in Iran in 2009, were also released via Omani mediation, on Sep. 21, 2011.
In this vein, Salehi said, "An Omani individual by the name of Mr. Salem told one member of Ghashghavi's delegation that the Americans wish to hold bilateral negotiations on the nuclear issue. That director prepared a memo for me on this matter," clarifying that it was not an Omani memo, but that “Mr. Salem,” whom the magazine 'Diplomat' described as an adviser to Sultan Qaboos of Oman, had orally conveyed the suggestion. Salehi added, "Mrs. Clinton was secretary of state and Mr. Kerry was head of the Senate Foreign Relations committee. But at that time, it was toward the end of Mr. Obama's first term, and we did not take this message seriously." Saying that it was "unclear" whether the message came from the White House or the State Department, Salehi said, "[The Omanis] said [the message] came from the Americans. … We did not take the message seriously. One of the reasons was that negotiations with the Americans at that time was not a reasonable act." He further explained, "First, we said who [among us Iranians] can go negotiate with the Americans? Second, we did not know whether the message really came from the US government or whether it was an effort by the Omanis or whether the Omani individual [Mr. Salem] had come up with the message himself.”
In a further twist, Salehi relayed the involvement of a senior Iranian business official in helping to establish the back-channel. “Some weeks later, Mr. [Mohammad] Souri, who at that time was the managing director of the National Iranian Tanker Company [NITC], traveled between Iran and Oman for a trade agreement. … At that time, Mr. Salem got in touch with Mr. Souri and said now that the Americans are interested, why is Iran not responding? Mr. Souri conveyed that Mr. Salem announced that if we are ready, [Oman] is ready to be a facilitator.” Salehi emphasized that this was the moment when Iran “understood that the matter [of the American request] is serious.”
Salehi further explained the seemingly crucial role of the NITC director in helping jump-start the backchannel diplomacy. “After that, Mr. Souri said that now that he is coming and going to Oman, to let him know if we have anything we want said. I told him, ‘Mr. Souri, we are not very sure about this process, but if they [the Americans] are really serious about holding negotiations, our demands are the following,' and I wrote down four demands by hand. The first was recognition of Iran's right to enrichment, while the other three demands were for example steps to lift sanctions and other matters in this vein … all conditions were related to the nuclear issue. I said that if they [the Americans] first express readiness to address our demands, we are also ready. Second, we wanted the Americans to officially express this readiness. … I said ‘a handwritten [note] by one of our directors or an oral report by an Omani official is not [considered] official.’ Mr. Souri wrote down my request as demands from a representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The letter was then given to Mr. Salem.”
According to Salehi, following his request for more formality behind the American proposal, the sultan of Oman wrote a letter addressed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “It was in this letter that it became apparent that the Americans really want to enter a serious dialogue. … After this letter was received, I got in touch with the office of the supreme leader, and I told Mr. [Asghar Mir] Hejazi that such a letter exists, and how I should deliver it. Mr. Hejazi said he will let me know. He later got in touch and said that we should give the letter to Mr. [Ali Akbar] Velayati. I gave the letter to Mr. Velayati and he delivered it to the supreme leader." Salehi also said that Mr. Souri separately conveyed from the Omanis that the Americans were ready to hear the response to the letter.
In Salehi’s telling, the letter from the sultan was sent in fall 2011, and “until the end of 1390” in the Iranian solar calendar, which corresponds with September 2011-March 2012, “Mr. Souri came and went [to Oman] and became an exchanger of messages."
Salehi further noted that he did not tell anyone about the letter, including then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, arguing that at that time, “the matter was not serious and not something to be told to the president. First I had to certify the seriousness of the matter to myself, to then inform the president."
Salehi said, “[At that time], an authorization for negotiations with the Americans had not been given. Within the framework of the P5+1, which included the presence of a US representative, yes, but not within a bilateral setting.” However, he noted that direct engagement was authorized, albeit on one regional matter, back in 2007. “At that time, Iraqi officials requested from Iran, in order to address issues that had risen in Iraq, for us to negotiate with the Americans. … ‘Aqa’ [Khamenei], in relation to negotiations in Iraq, gave a special authorization, and our ambassador [to Baghdad], Mr. [Hassan Kazemi] Qomi, conducted the negotiations, which did not lead to a conclusion."
Of particular note, Salehi also conveyed his conversation with Khamenei regarding the letter from the sultan of Oman and the line of reasoning that he adopted to convince the supreme leader to authorize a direct channel with the Americans.
Salehi said, “I told the supreme leader, ‘Considering that for several years, we have been negotiating through the [P]5+1, and we have in practice not reached a conclusion. Now, considering that Oman has also announced its readiness, and experiences have shown that Oman is a trustworthy mediator, allow us to take steps through bilateral negotiations with the United States.’ [In response], the supreme leader noted the past of the Americans, that the United States is not trustworthy, that we have done this [directly engaged] several times, but that their [American] officials are not bound to their own commitments and easily make decisions that are outside their commitments.”
Salehi said that at this point he argued to Khamenei, “If we reach a conclusion, then nothing, and if not, we will be in the same situation … and we will know that the establishment has taken all measures to solve things peacefully, and people will also know that the establishment was ready for negotiations and that it was the Americans who refused." Following this line of reasoning, Salehi said that Khamenei then responded that he was not opposed to bilateral negotiations with the Americans — but that he did not grant a carte blanche.
According to Salehi, the supreme leader put four conditions for direct engagement with the United States: “First, that negotiations should be held at a level below that of foreign ministers, meaning, the foreign ministers of the two countries should not meet. Also, that negotiations should not be held for the sake of negotiations … and that negotiations should only be about the nuclear issue and not political relations and the like.” After expressing some hesitance about conveying the fourth condition put down by Khamenei, Salehi described it as related to “the management of these negotiations."
While it has previously been reported that then-Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Asghar Khaji — now ambassador to China — headed the Iranian delegation, apparently in line with Khamenei’s condition that engagement be below minister-level, Salehi also revealed the other members of the Iranian delegation that traveled to Oman. Reza Zabib, who currently serves as ambassador to Cyprus, accompanied Khaji while serving as director general of the North America Bureau of the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Moreover, Salehi revealed that Mohsen Baharvand, who currently serves as deputy secretary-general of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization in India, met with the Americans while serving as deputy director general for Latin American Countries at the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Salehi also conveyed that in the first meeting with the Americans, the US side “didn’t believe our seriousness to the extent that they said that we are not ready for negotiations. Our representatives then said, 'So it is true what they say about you not being trustworthy!' Yet, in the first session, the framework and road map was explained.”
According to Salehi, the first meeting took place “at the end of the spring of 1391 … meaning four to five months after the supreme leader’s authorization [of direct negotiations].” This corresponds with the reported July 7, 2012, meeting in Oman attended by Sullivan and Talwar, but not Burns. According to this timeline, Iran’s supreme leader formally authorized bilateral talks with the United States in early 2012, some 18 months before the election of President Rouhani.
*Mohammad Ali Shabani is Al-Monitor's Iran Pulse Editor and a doctoral researcher at SOAS, University of London, where he focuses on Iranian foreign policy. His work has appeared in outlets such as the New York Times, National Interest and BBC World News. He has also offered commentary on CNN and Al Jazeera English among other leading channels.

Jordanian Journalist: Hatred Toward Christians Is The First Step On The Path To Terrorism
December 24, 2015 Special Dispatch No.6246/MEMRI
On the occasion of Christmas, and in light of fatwas being circulated across the Muslim world that ban Muslims from greeting Christmas on their religious holidays,[1] Jordanian journalist and educator Zuleikha Abu Risha harshly condemned Muslim clerics that preach hatred of the other. In an article titled "Let's Celebrate Together" in the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad, she wrote that what these clerics preach stands in complete contradiction to the directives of the Koran and to the history of Muslim-Christian relations.
The following are excerpts from her article.[2]
"Tomorrow [December 23, 2015] is the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, and two days later is the birthday of Jesus, that is, close enough together that we can think about celebrating both events together. This thought arises not only due to the coincidence [of the events occurring close together], but also due to deep human and historical bonds [between Muslims and Christians] and a common affinity for one homeland and one humanity. When Islam entered the Levant,[3] all its residents were Christians. Therefore, they are the original residents of the land and the founders of the culture of this place, which has become, after lengthy labor pains, a homeland for all...
"At least three quarters of the Jordanians, [both] east and west of the River [Jordan], were Christians, and it is no wonder that good relations were formed between those who adhered to their religion [i.e. Christianity] and those who chose the new religion [Islam] – relations of mutual compassion, harmony, and good neighborliness.
"The history of the region includes stories of this mutual compassion [between Muslims and Christians], and they remained an expression of the meaning of the love on which Christianity is based and of the meaning of the Koranic verse [5:82]: 'You will find that the worst enemies of the believers are the Jews and the idol worshipers. And you will find that the closest people in friendship to the believers are those who say, "We are Christian." This is because they have priests and monks among them, and they are not arrogant.'
"[This situation prevailed] until – like a plague from the depths of ignorance, backwardness, and the 'Islam' created in the factories of hatred and ugliness – there arrived those who accuse [other Muslims] of apostasy because they greet a Christian on his holiday, those who preach discrimination and racism, and who direct religious sentiments towards resentment and rejection of the other, eradication of his existence, and removal of his human rights.
"There have appeared preachers who deviate [from the right path] and who guide towards ideas that did not arise [even] in the mind of the devil himself – until extremism, deviation, and radicalism turn into terrorism. And behold, [this terrorism] is sowing ruin and destruction in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya, in the name of Islam and under the banner of jihad.
"Dear readers, the hatred of Christians and [displays of] loathing towards them in one homeland is the first step towards the terrorism that most of us claim to oppose. Let us celebrate with our brothers in the homeland, and with [all] humanity, our shared holiday – the holiday of love and peace – [if only there would be] peace and love for us all. It is for this that we hope."
Endnotes:
[1] For example, see a recent tweet by the Saudi religious scholar Dr. Muhammad Al-'Arifi, in which he forbade Muslims in non-Muslim countries to extend holiday greetings to Christians or take part in their celebrations (Twitter.com/MohamadAlarefe, December 20, 2015).
[2] Al-Ghad (Jordan), December 22, 2015.
[3] The region including modern day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, and the Palestinian territories.
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8913.htm

How American weapons are ending up in the hands of IS
Wilson Fache/Al-Monitor/December 24/15
Amnesty International (AI) released a 44-page report Dec. 7 on the Islamic State's “substantial arsenal of arms and ammunition.” According to the human rights group, the inventory comprises weapons designed or manufactured “in more than 25 countries,” including the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, China, Germany and France.The findings come as no surprise to arms-tracking organizations that have been monitoring IS weaponry for years, among them the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey and the British Conflict Armament Research (CAR). Studies conducted by these nongovernmental organizations in Iraq and Syria indicate that IS benefits from a large array of supply sources.
Although IS militants can rely on well-stocked Iraqi black markets, their main access to firepower has been the battlefield, where they have systematically captured their enemies' weaponry after defeating them.
Al-Monitor spoke with a CAR investigator who describes the range and scope of weapons streaming into the jihadists’ stockpiles as “astonishing.” For this researcher, who requested anonymity for security reasons, the goal is now to connect the dots.
“Weapons are physical documents that can be read and reveal stories,” the investigator told Al-Monitor. “If you start with fieldwork, you can pull the string and then find more in order to understand the complex mechanisms behind the group,” In this case, the string often starts at the very same country leading the international coalition fighting IS — the United States.
In the conflict-ridden Middle East, where military equipment passes from one hand to another faster than dollar bills, it is not uncommon to see Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga riding American Humvees. Yet, these fighters never officially received such thoughtful gifts from the United States. Some US-provided equipment has been captured by IS militants, who have in turn from time to time lost equipment to the Kurds, including after the battle for Makhmour.
In a June Reuters blog post, “Dude, where's my Humvee?,” Peter Van Buren reported the loss of 2,300 Humvees to IS when the fighters of the self-proclaimed caliphate expanded toward Mosul in June 2014. That’s the figure for the northern Iraqi city alone. As they overran much of the Sunni Arab heartland that summer, the jihadists acquired a massive arsenal when Iraqi forces abandoned equipment in their haste to flee.
“It’s a surreal state of affairs in which American weaponry is being sent into Iraq to destroy American weaponry,” wrote the 24-year veteran of the State Department.
As findings show, however, US weapons looted from the Iraqi army are not IS' only source. Other countries of origin are predictable, such as Russia, a longtime ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but others come as a surprise, like North Korean, the source of 34 ammunition cartridges found in the Syrian city of Gatash by a CAR member in July 2014.
CAR investigators also typically find bullets so old that the states that produced them, among them Czechoslovakia, no longer exist. Decades-old ammunition is not the only type of discovery that sparks investigators' curiosity.
“When you find in 2014 ammunition produced the same year, that means that when manufacturers provide weapons to the region, in a very, very short amount of time, these arms fall into IS’ hands. That raises questions,” the CAR investigator said. Iranian-manufactured ammunition found in Kobani and dating from 2006 to 2013 also raises questions. If transferred deliberately, the Assad ally would be violating UN Security Council Resolution 1736 (2006), which prohibits Iran’s export of ammunition. Firepower supplied by Saudi Arabia to Syrian rebel groups has also found its way into the hands of extremists.
According to the source, one way to understand IS is to understand how the group arms itself. “It is important to know where these arms come from, because if you apprehend the flow, then you can do something to stop the flow. It allows us to understand who supports IS. With such a group, it is vital to go beyond the myth,” he said.
The investigator emphasized the vital need for field studies, as video footage and pictures only show what IS wants people to see. The goal, he said, is to understand the jihadist organization “beyond the propaganda.”
On video released by IS, militants appear to be armed with NATO-caliber weaponry, including the famous M16 assault rifle, while field research mainly points to the use of Warsaw Pact armaments, both dating to the Cold War. NATO rifles need NATO bullets, and arms produced by the Soviets require specific ammunition as well. “It gets complicated to have parallel supply lines with different weapons stocks,” the investigator said. This could mean IS actually has American weapons in higher proportions than what is being found in the field.
Whereas CAR clearly states that its reports aim to review physical evidence rather than “attribute responsibility for the supply of weapons,” AI, on the other hand, is far less shy. For the human rights advocacy group, the vast and varied arsenal being used by the jihadists is “a textbook case of how reckless arms trading fuels atrocities on a massive scale.”
“States must learn the deadly legacy of arms proliferation and abuse in Iraq and the surrounding region, which has destroyed the lives and livelihoods of millions of people and which now poses a dire threat to the people of Iraq, Syria and the wider international community,” the AI report stated. “The consequences of reckless arms transfers to Iraq and Syria and their subsequent capture by IS must be a wake-up call to arms exporters around the world,” concluded an AI researcher on arms control, security trade and human rights.
The apparent chaos is not discouraging arms-monitoring organizations from shedding light on the region’s dizzying, yet unsurprising array of international weapons. In fact, they aspire to trace the entire chain of custody.
As long as export licenses and other transportation documents can't be researched, the CAR investigator explained, “It is impossible to draw conclusions, just assumptions.” His London-based organization has begun sending requests to arms manufacturers around the world to piece together the bigger picture.
Once a chain of custody is clearly established, CAR will make its findings public on iTrace. The European Union-funded database aims to provide policymakers with precise information by mapping the flow of diverted conventional weapons and ammunition, as CAR managing director Marcus Wilson told Al-Monitor, “from manufacturers to the final endpoint where investigators picked the weapon up.”
“We have a lot of contacts with manufacturers, private companies, exporting countries, transit companies, brokers … all the different parties that play a role in the transfer of weapons and ammunition,” Wilson said, also noting that the response rate so far is “positive.” Although negotiations with some governments remain ongoing, CAR will publish all its data next year.
Supplying nations, such as the United States, now face a Cornelian dilemma: Should they sell weapons to Baghdad and possibly witness them ending up in the wrong hands, or should they suspend arms sales, hence weakening an already failing state? In May, the Pentagon decided to deliver 2,000 anti-tank weapons to Baghdad.
During a visit to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter declared Dec. 17 that the United States is going to send more weapons to the peshmerga. According to the Los Angeles Times, the military equipment will include body armor, helmets and machine guns, as well as the familiar Humvees.

President Sisi, Egyptian Grand Mufti: Offering Christmas Greetings To Our Christian Brothers Is Part Of Our Religion
December 24, 2015 Special Dispatch No.6245/MEMRI
This year the Muslim holiday celebrating the Prophet Muhammad's birthday fell close to Christmas, and a number of Muslim political and religious leaders took the opportunity to send an ecumenical message. Egyptian President 'Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi extended Christmas greetings to the Copts; the Grand Mufti of Egypt Shawqi 'Allam and other prominent Egyptian Muslim authorities expressed similar sentiments. Last year, Sisi attended Christmas Mass in Cairo and was greeted with cheers.[1] King 'Abdullah of Jordan likewise sent Christmas greetings this year, and stressed the need for unity and equality of citizens of both faiths. These leaders' comments come against a general backdrop of religious and sectarian violence in the Middle East, and specifically in response to Muslims who forbid greeting non-Muslims on their religious holidays – a prohibition commonly endorsed even by non-militant streams of Salafism and Wahhabism.[2]
The following are excerpts from their statements:
Cartoon in the official Egyptian daily Al-Ahram: "The Prophet Muhammad's Birthday and Christmas Fall At The Same Time"
On the presents: "Dignity, Happiness, Love, Good, Tolerance"
Next to the Santa smiley: "May you be well every year" (a traditional holiday greeting in Arabic)
ahram.org.eg, December 23, 2015
Sisi: "We Wish [Our Christian Brothers] A Happy Holiday And We Share Their Joy From The Bottom Of Our Hearts"
On December 22, 2015, in a public address on the occasion of the celebration of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, Egyptian President 'Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi extended Christmas greetings to Egypt's Christians and emphasized the need for national unity. He likewise stated that if Muslims do not share in the Christians' holiday spirit, it is a "tragedy":
"The holidays of our brothers and our folk, the Christians, are drawing near... We wish them a happy holiday and we share their joy from the bottom of our hearts. If you do not feel the same, it's a tragedy. If you think that this is not a part of your religion, it's a problem. Please note that I am not saying this just so you hear it. You know this already. I am saying this so that the Egyptians will practice it.
"Do not listen to people who divide us. I never allow anyone to say to me: Our brothers who are like this or that. Nobody should describe anyone by his appearance or his religion. We are all... Egyptians.
"I say on the eve of their celebration: Happy holidays. I say this with all my love and appreciation... I say these things so that you will teach them from the mosque pulpits. What divides us destroys us. What divides us destroys us. There is no difference. We are united, and God willing, we will remain united. This is not just talk. We must say it and practice it."
Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawqi 'Allam: Islam Encourages Sending Christmas Greetings
In comments on the occasion of Christmas, Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawqi 'Allam said that offering Christmas greetings is considered a meritorious action that is encouraged by Islam. He added that the exchange of holiday greetings among compatriots of different faiths strengthens the spirit of love and camaraderie, which is something that Egyptians are in need of today in order to bequeath a humane faith-based culture to coming generations. According to the Mufti, "all of the divine messages firmly fixed in us lofty values and principles regarding relations with other people of various religions and races, so that we might follow these values and principles and bring peace, coexistence, and love to our societies."
Dr. Ahmad Karima, a professor of shari'a at Al-Azhar, explained why extending holiday greetings on Christmas is a praiseworthy act, and condemned those who claim otherwise. He said that the Prophet Muhammad celebrated Moses' being saved from drowning at the hands of Pharaoh together with the Jews of Yathrib (the city later called Medina), and that this festival later became the Muslim fast of 'Ashura. "It is [an act of] piety and good relations for a Muslim to greet People of the Book [Christians and Jews] on their holidays, whether these be religious holidays, social holidays, or other. The Muslim jurisprudents say that all things are permitted unless there is a [religious] text of definitive authenticity and meaning that forbids them, and since [in this case] there is no such prohibition, greeting [non-Muslims on their holidays] is permitted. And in our days it is considered a meritorious act... We extend our greetings to all the Christians, of all churches and sects." Karima then condemned "pigheaded" Wahhabis who differ from this opinion, saying that their view is a joke that need not be taken into account by serious Islamic scholarship.[3]
Sheikh Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyib, in his speech on the occasion of the celebration of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, also extended Christmas greetings to "our brothers the Christians in Egypt and in the entire world, east and west."[4]
King 'Abdallah II Of Jordan: "Arab Christians Are A Deep-Rooted Part Of Our Past, Our Present, And Our Future"
In a televised address broadcast on December 22, 2015, King 'Abdallah II of Jordan sent holiday greetings to both Muslims and Christians, and noted that this year the two holidays coincided in the shadow of "the hardest conditions that our region has encountered... [in terms of] the spread of extremism [and] violence, and the straying from the values and teachings that both the Muslim and Christian messages brought [to humanity]. We must recall, on this occasion, that Islam is a religion of mercy, and that what unites us are shared values, as far as can be from what the modern Kharijites are doing..." (The Kharijites were an early Islamic sect that declared other Muslims to be unbelievers and engaged in violent revolt against the authorities; the reference is to ISIS, al-Qaeda, and their like.)
King 'Abdallah continued, saying that in Jordan "our society has never known [sectarian] division. We all live under the umbrella of [equal] citizenship, which unites and does not divide. We believe that the Arab Christians are a deep-rooted part of our past, our present, and our future..."[5]
Endnotes:
[1] See MEMRI TV Clip No. 4713, Egyptian President Al-Sisi at Coptic Christmas Mass: We Are All Egyptians, January 6, 2015.
[2] For a recent example, see a tweet dating December 23, 2015, by the Saudi religious scholar Dr. Muhammad Al-'Arifi: "It is permissible to greet a kafir [infidel] on his happy occasions, [such as] a promotion or graduation, but it is forbidden to greet him on his religious occasions. If he celebrates the birth of the son of God, and you greet him [on that occasion], then that is affirmation of his beliefs" (Twitter.com/MohamadAlarefe).
[3] Al-Yawm Al-Sabi' (Egypt), December 24, 2015.
[4] Al-Ahram (Egypt), December 23, 2015.
[5] royanews.tv, December 22, 2015.
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8912.htm

Turkey's Dangerous Ambitions
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/December 24/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7079/turkey-ambitions
Erdogan repeated on Dec. 11 that Turkey would not pull out its troops out of Iraq. In response, Iraq appealed to the UN Security Council to demand an immediate withdrawal of all Turkish troops from Iraq, calling Turkey's incursion a "flagrant violation" of international law.
"For centuries, and even since the Mongols, sensible Islam has asked: 'What went wrong? Why has God forsaken us, and allowed others to reach the moon?'" — Professor Norman Stone, prominent expert on Turkish politics.
With the inferiority complex and megalomania still gripping the country's Islamist polity, Erdogan's Islam is not sensible; it is perilous.
It is the same old Middle East story: The Shiite accuse Sunnis of passionately following sectarian policies; Sunnis accuse the Shiite of passionately following sectarian polices; and they are both right. Except that Turkey's pro-Sunni sectarian policies are taking an increasingly perilous turn as they push Turkey into new confrontations, adding newcomers to an already big list of hostile countries.
Take President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent remarks on the centuries-old Shiite-Sunni conflict: they amusingly looked more like a confession than an accusation: "Today we are faced with an absolute sectarianism. Who is doing it? Who are they? Iran and Iraq," Erdogan said.
This is the same Erdogan who once said, "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers...." Is that not sectarian?
So, with a straight face, the President of one sectarian country (Sunni Turkey) is accusing another country (Shiite Iran and Shiite-dominated Iraq) of being sectarian.
Erdogan went on: "What about the Sunnis? There are Sunni Arabs, Sunni Turkmen and Sunni Kurds [in Iraq and Syria]. What will happen to their security? They want to feel safe."
Never realizing that its ambitions to spread Sunni Islam over large swaths of the Middle East, especially Syria and Iraq, were bigger than its ability to do so, Turkey now finds itself confronting a formidable bloc of pro-Shiite countries: Russia, Iran, Syria, Iraq, and (not to mention the much smaller Lebanon).
Even before the crisis with Russia that began on November 24 -- over Turkey's shooting down a Russian SU-24 along the Turkish-Syrian border -- has shown any sign of de-escalation, another Turkish move had sparked a major dispute with neighboring Iraq.
Just when Turkey moved to reinforce its hundreds of troops at a military camp in Iraq, the Baghdad government gave an ultimatum to Ankara for the removal of all Turkish soldiers stationed in Iraq since last year. Turkey responded by halting its reinforcements. Not enough, the Iraqis apparently think. Iraq's prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, said on December 7 that his country might turn to the UN security council if Turkish troops in northern Iraq were not withdrawn within 48 hours. Hadi al-Ameri, the head of the militant Shiite Badr Organization, threatened that his group would fight Turkish forces if Ankara continued its troop deployment.
Badr Brigade spokesman Karim al-Nuri put the Turkish ambitions in quite a realistic way: "We have the right to respond and we do not exclude any type of response until the Turks have learned their lesson ... Do they have a dream of restoring Ottoman greatness? This is a great delusion and they will pay dearly for Turkish arrogance."
Inevitably, Russia came into the picture. Russia's UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said he told the Security Council that Turkey was acting "recklessly and inexplicably" by sending troops across the border into Iraq without the consent of the Iraqi government. According to Russia, the Turkish move "lacks legality."
All that fell on deaf ears in Ankara, as Erdogan repeated on Dec. 11 that Turkey would not pull out its troops from Iraq. In response, Iraq appealed to the UN Security Council to demand an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Turkish troops from northern Iraq, calling Turkey's military incursion a "flagrant violation" of international law.
The next day, Shiite militia members gathered in Baghdad's Tahrir Square to protest against Turkey. Crowds of young men in military fatigues, as well as some Shiite politicians, chanted against Turkish "occupation," vowing they would fight the Turkish troops themselves if they do not withdraw. Angry protesters also burned Turkish flags.
Supporters of Iraqi Shiite militias burned Turkish flags in Baghdad this month, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to withdraw Turkey's troops from northern Iraq.
Through its efforts to oust Syria's non-Sunni president, Bashar al-Assad, and build a Muslim Brotherhood-type of Sunni Islamist regime in Damascus, Turkey has become everyone's foe over its eastern and southern borders -- in addition to having to wait anxiously for the next Russian move to hit it -- not knowing where the blow will come from.
The confrontation with Russia has given Moscow an excuse to augment its military deployment in Syria and the eastern Mediterranean, and weaken allied air strikes against Islamic State (IS).
Russia has increased its military assets in the region, including deploying S-400 air and anti-missile defense systems, probably ready to shoot down the first Turkish fighter jet flying over Syrian skies.
Waiting for Turkish-Russian tensions to ease, and trying to avoid a clash between NATO member Turkey and Russia, U.S. officials have quietly put on hold a request for Turkey to more actively to join the allied air missions in Syria against IS. After having lost its access to Syrian soil, Turkey also has been declared militarily non grata in Iraq.
As Professor Norman Stone, a prominent expert on Turkish politics, explained in a recent article: "Erdogan's adventurism has been quite successful so far, but it amounts to an extraordinary departure for Turkish foreign policy, and maybe even risks the destruction of the country. How on earth could this happen? The background is an inferiority complex, and megalomania. For centuries, and even since the Mongols, sensible Islam has asked: 'What went wrong? Why has God forsaken us, and allowed others to reach the moon?'"
With the inferiority complex and megalomania still gripping the country's Islamist polity, Erdogan's Islam is not sensible; it is perilous.
**Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2015 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Iran's Next Supreme Leader?
Lawrence A. Franklin/Gatestone Institute/December 24/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7089/iran-next-supreme-leader
The process of selecting the successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei already seems underway.
President Rouhani, government cabinet officers, and deputies of the Majles (consultative assembly/parliament) usually have little to no influence in the vetting process of candidates.
The Revolutionary Guards, ranking intelligence officers, and the regime's plutocrats do not want to elevate anyone with an independent power base or a charismatic personality.
Whoever is ultimately selected, regime stability at least for the next few years seems assured: anti-regime networks remain shredded after the 2009 nationwide protests were violently suppressed.
While U.S. policymakers, media talking-heads and many think tank pundits are fixated on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and Tehran's nuclear weapons projects, the focus of Iran's power-brokers is on regime continuity and leadership succession. Iran's next parliamentary elections are scheduled for February 26, 2016.
The process of selecting the successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei already seems underway. Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-1997) hinted as much, according to a Reuters report. The aging first generation of the 1979 Islamic Revolution's leadership are determined to maintain regime stability during the transition to a new rahbar (leader) upon the retirement or death of Khamenei.
Those institutions that will play a large role in the selection process include: ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), senior clergy in Qom, members of the Assembly of Experts,[1] and the Council of Guardians.[2]
President Hassan Rouhani, government cabinet officers, and deputies of the Majles (consultative assembly/parliament) usually have little to no influence in the vetting process of candidates.
Some Western media commentary, which can be inclined to mirror imaging -- assuming "they" are like "us" -- has hinted that former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is a serious contender. This is not so. The 81-year-old Rafsanjani was long ago pushed to the side by political and religious hardline acolytes of the current leadership. As early as 2011, when Rafsanjani's personal website registered growing popularity in a poll, it was shut down. Another sign of Rafsanjani's marginalization is the decision by the Council of Guardians to disqualify him from submitting his candidacy for the Presidency in the 2012 presidential election. Still another is the dearth of coverage of the former president in Iran's media. In one recent case, Iranian state television and the regime's leading daily newspaper, Keyhan, appeared to excise his photo from a public event where he sat near Khamenei. Another sign is his reduced role in the 82-member Assembly of Experts, which holds its next election in February 2016. Rafsanjani was also defeated by Khamenei ally, Ayatollah Mohamad Yazdi, in a recent election for the Assembly's Speakership.
The likely successor to Khamenei will be chosen from a vetting process that is probably already underway.
The next Supreme Leader likely will be selected from the following pools of talent: Tehran Friday Prayer Leaders, the Council of Guardians, and Iran's Judiciary.
But if Khamenei's demise is sudden, an interim leader may be selected from Qom's several senior Ayatollahs.
The next Supreme Leader, however, is likely to be just as colorless as the present occupant of the office: the IRGC, ranking intelligence officers, and the regime's plutocrats do not want to elevate anyone with an independent power base or a charismatic personality. They do they want someone like Rafsanjani who is independently wealthy and considered politically unreliable by hardliners. Nor will they be content with the radical hardline cleric, Mesbah Yazdi, who once was close to former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, Yazdi has been of late an exuberant, public supporter of Khamenei, especially since Ahmadinejad's fall from favor.
One candidate who may be a serious contender for the office of Supreme Leader is the current chief of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani. Nevertheless, whoever is ultimately selected, regime stability at least for the next few years seems assured: anti-regime networks remain shredded after the 2009 nationwide protests were violently suppressed.
Out with the old, in with the new?
A serious contender to replace Ayatollah Khamenei (center) in the office of Supreme Leader is Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani (right). (Image source: Office of Supreme Leader)
**Dr. Lawrence A. Franklin was the Iran Desk Officer for Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. He also served on active duty with the U.S. Army and as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, where he was a Military Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Israel.
[1] The Assembly of Experts is mandated by Article 111 of the Islamic Constitution of Iran to monitor the probity of the Supreme Leader's behavior. Theoretically, it has the power to remove the Supreme Leader. Its influence has waned during the later years of Ayatollah Khamenei's term as Supreme Leader. The Assembly consists of 86 members who are scholars and clerics. They are elected to eight-year terms.
[2] The Council of Guardians is a 12-member body of six clerics and six laymen who have the authority to rule on the constitutionality of all recommendations passed by the Majles (parliament). The Council is tasked with the responsibility of vetting all candidates for public office.
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Middle East Christians: Caught in crossfire
Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/December 24/15
Sheltered within the rocks of Kadisha valley in Northern Lebanon, the Hamatoura monastery has become a destination for monks escaping the war ravaged lands of Iraq and Syria. Their story is that of a minority trapped between the horror of radicals and indiscriminate bombing of the regime, bringing about Christianity’s largest exodus from its birth-land in recent history. For Daniel, one of the new comers to Hamatoura that I met last summer, leaving his monastery in Homs was not a choice. "We didn't want to take sides between the regime and the opposition, we wanted to be left alone." But neutrality in civil wars comes at a high price, and could mean life or death in Syria and Iraq.
A culture eroding
As the monks gather ahead of sunset prayers, questions about the Levant’s dark days linger. Will their Church that survived the Mamluks and the Ottomans overcome ISIS and the sectarian inferno? Or will the flames of the barbarians and the indiscriminate bombing of the Assad regime completely wipe out their culture and heritage? One of the ironies of current struggle of Christians in Middle East is the fact that it was triggered by the same powers who historically claimed to protect and speak for the minority. Neither the Iraq war nor the Syrian or the Libyan conflicts were sought by the Christian minority, yet and from the early stages of those wars, they became a target. In Iraq, the rise of sectarian militias since the U.S. invasion in 2003 and after ISIS took Mosul in 2014, have practically emptied old Mesopotamia from its Christians. Today, more than 50% of Iraqi Christians are displaced or have left the country. Two bishops Boulos Yazigi and Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim were kidnapped in Syria in 2013, one year before ISIS proclaimed its so-called Caliphate, and others against the regime like Father Paolo were forced out only to be abducted by ISIS later. Local sources speak of Christians leaving in droves Aleppo and Homs. In Libya, this year witnessed killing of 21 Christians in cold blood by ISIS, as other Coptic Christians where persecuted at night. Staying on the margins of the conflicts has not protected the community. The choices for many Christians in those countries are between exodus and submission, between living under ISIS and paying the “Jezya”, or leaving behind their life and their culture and attempt to resettle in Europe. Across the Middle East, some Christians strike a sentimental tone when talking about the days of Saddam Hussein, and express a great deal of anxiety when envisioning a post-Assad Syria. Whether the fake stability of the autocrats could have held longterm is a debate that many in the minority choose not to have.
Caught in crossfire
Today, the Christians in the Middle East are by in large caught in conflicts they neither triggered nor have decisive leverage over, but whose outcome will shape their own existence in the region. The Sunni-Shiite war that's being partially fought and fueled in Iraq and Syria will not spare the minorities. Its radicalized fighters and mercenaries from ISIS to Asaib Al-Haq militia consider nothing sacred, and are pursuing sectarian dominance and borderline ethnic cleansing. Even in Lebanon, where the highest office Christians assume in the Middle East (the Presidency) has been vacant for 18 months due to the dysfunctional Sunni-Shiite split and internal Christian divisions. In Iraq only 275000 Christians remain, and in Syria, at least 37 churches have been bombed. Within the region, Christians are fleeing to Lebanon or the Kurdish areas of Iraq and Syria. But given the dire economic and social conditions for those displaced regionally, thousands have taken the longer journey to Europe.
West looks away
One of the ironies of current struggle of Christians in Middle East is the fact that it was triggered by the same powers who historically claimed to protect and speak for the minority. It was U.S. President George W. Bush ill-fated invasion of Iraq that unleashed the sectarian radicals, followed by the international failure on Syria that magnified the crisis. Now, the West and Russia are readjusting to the new regional fire, trying to put bandage through aerial bombing of ISIS and resettlement of refugees to what has become a disaster by all proportions. This strategy will fail because it ignores the fundamental political problems that gave rise to ISIS, and that continue to fester today. The plight of the Christians in Syria and Iraq cannot be seen in isolation of the larger political crisis in Damascus and Baghdad. Saving the Assyrian or the Armenian heritage from being wiped out will not materialize through airstrikes, or arming of sectarian militias. The current strategy, whether through Russia’s alignment with Shiite militias or Turkey’s with radical Sunni groups, is only feeding the sectarian divide. As long as this narrative continues, it will empower the radicals on all sides, and will backfire on the minorities by playing into the hands of ISIS.
Tonight, Christmas bells will go silent again in Raqqa, Nineveh and many corners of Aleppo and Tripoli. Yet, the minority that has endured many cycles of oppression since the 5th century, still finds hope rooted in history that it will outlive this horror, even as the West looks the other way.

What Mubarak was better at than Sisi
Mohammed Nosseir/Al Arabiya/December 24/15
People may believe that authoritarianism is a standardized practice - on the contrary. There are several degrees and functionalities of authoritarian rule, wherein autocrats’ personalities play an essential role in shaping their respective ruling mechanisms. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has always envied his late predecessor Gamal Abdel Nasser’s leadership style - which was bereft of the slightest glimpse of democracy - has accused Hosni Mubarak of being too soft on the Muslim Brotherhood. However, Mubarak - a thoroughly authoritarian president who was overthrown by his people in Feb. 2011 - was substantially better than Sisi at a number of tasks. Mubarak was always surrounded by a close group of trustworthy, qualified political executives and advisors who served him well, whereas Sisi trusts no one. The latter uses a fill-in-the-blanks approach to political appointees, assigning bureaucrats to fill ministerial and parliamentary positions with little concern for their merits and qualifications as long as they can implement his ideas in the shortest possible time span. Mubarak was a strong manipulator who had the ability to induce people to meet his needs by skillfully communicating his political goals. Sisi, with his inadequate communication skills, is not influencing anybody; he is not even controlling his own people, in my opinion. Appropriate use was made of ‘political clowns’ under Mubarak, yet they remained firmly within the ‘clown’ bracket. Sisi, however, in my opinion, has given them more room to perform their antics. As a result, they have managed to dominate the political scene. Mubarak used a divide-and-rule strategy, establishing a number of political power entities while making sure to create friction among them. Sisi’s complete reliance on military and security forces has diffused Mubarak’s traditional power entities.
Outreach
Because Mubarak was aware that politics is an obsession, he allowed many citizens to become involved in politics - either as regime supporters or by assuming the role of a fake opposition - as long they did not exceed their designated roles and persistently expressed their loyalty to him. Sisi has been working on depoliticizing Egyptians, maintaining politics as his own private domain. Despite differences, the two leaders share most of the fundamental qualities of authoritarianism: a policy of repression, widespread injustice and inefficient government. Mubarak used to reach out to everyone, which entailed listening to his opponents. Like all authoritarians, he did what suited him at the end, but listening to the perspectives of a diversity of citizens did influence his thoughts to a certain degree. Sisi gives no indication that he listens to either his supporters or opponents. Whereas Mubarak was aware of his limitations, was happy to live in his comfort zone and declined any attempt to do things differently, Sisi believes the sky is the limit, but has yet to explain how he plans to accomplish his ambitions. Government bureaucracy has been a concern to both presidents. Neither has worked on reforming the government apparatus to improve its productivity and efficiency, yet Mubarak used to empower his entourage, encouraging them to bend the law in order to overcome bureaucracy, and providing them with the necessary immunity to do so. Sisi expects his cabinet to produce positive results, but unlike Mubarak he has not provided his executives with any ruling mechanisms, support or immunity. Mubarak was well established regionally and internationally. For better or for worse (for Egypt), many world leaders recognized and trusted his narrative. Although he perceives the situation differently, Sisi’s credentials have not yet been accepted either regionally or internationally. Despite the above differences, the two leaders share most of the fundamental qualities of authoritarianism: a policy of repression, widespread injustice and inefficient government. Nevertheless, Mubarak, whose clearly-structured reasoning mindset was easily understood by his followers, managed to run a functional authoritarian state. Sisi’s method of reasoning is fragmented, making him very difficult to understand. His dissociation from Egypt’s challenges threatens to turn it into a flailing state.

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006 Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006