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LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 13/15

Bible Quotation For Today/Have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return so they may open the door once he knocks.
Luke 12/35-44: "‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. ‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’Peter said, ‘Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone? ’And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions."

Bible Quotation For Today/we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly.
First Letter to the Corinthians 04/09-16: "For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to mortals. We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honour, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we grow weary from the work of our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day. I am not writing this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me."

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletins05/english.june13.15.htm

Latest analysis, editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 12-13/15
The Druze Dilemma/Firas Maksad/Foreign Affairs/May 12/15
How the new Erdoğan Killed the old one/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/June 12/15
Libya must not be left to ISIS/Osman Mirghani/Asharq Al Awsat/June 12/15
Deciphering Iran’s groundbreaking invitation to U.S. oil firms/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/June 12/15
A close call in Luxor, but this is not the first time/Abdallah Schleifer/Al Arabiya/June 12/15

Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 12-13/15
Canada Offers to Take In Jailed Saudi Blogger Badawi
Saudi Blogger's Lawyer Wins Human Rights Prize
Pentagon: Price tag for war on ISIS is $2.7 billion
Moscow says Iran talks 'virtually stalled,' Washington declines to confirm
Kerry to leave hospital for his Boston home, US official says
Deciphering Iran’s groundbreaking invitation to U.S. oil firms
Russian negotiator says ‘very worrying’ slowdown in Iran nuke talks
U.S. allies conduct 23 air strikes against ISIS: military
Iraq: Ramadi tribes cautious about US deployment of troops
Yemen peace talks in Geneva postponed to Monday: UN statement
UNESCO condemns airstrike on site in Yemen capital
U.S. troops at Taqaddum to help Iraqis plan fight for Ramadi
Can U.N. peace talks in Geneva bring reconciliation to Yemen?
Two US men charged with beheading plot to help Islamic State
Syrian army drives rebels from air base in south
GCC says won’t end anti-Houthi campaign if Geneva talks fail
Intelligence File: Who will Netanyahu tap to head the Mossad?
Orange CEO to Netanyahu: We will not participate in boycott against Israel
Orange chief apologizes to Israeli premier over exit remarks
Palestinians need non-violent strategy
Egypt tourist sites on alert after attacks
Indonesia’s Islamic Aceh province canes unwed couples
Attacks on peacekeepers, civilians in Darfur increasing: U.N.
North Korea accuses U.S. of targeting it with anthrax
A close call in Luxor, but this is not the first time
For Turkish parties, Erdogan is a headache
French court acquits Strauss-Kahn of pimping charges

Jehad Watch Latest Reports And News
University of California-Berkeley student’s article about why she left Islam pulled from school paper over fears for her safety
California Muslim who tried to join the Islamic State became more observant last year, frequently attending Anaheim mosque
Texas: Muslim faces charges of lying to FBI about allegiance to Islamic State
“We are planning to give Kenyan non-believers a true taste of Jihad”
More Muslims from Britain trained as terrorists than ever before, says MI5
Israel: Muslims assault Holocaust survivors
Another Muslim arrested in Boston jihad plot targeting cops and Pamela Geller
Fifth man charged in New York in Islamic State recruitment plot

Thanks Canada for supporting a Free and Independent Lebanon
Gobran Bassil, Lebanon’s FM,is an ally with the Iran-Syrian Axis Of Evil
Elias Bejjani/12.06.15
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2015/06/12/elias-bejjanithanks-canada-for-supporting-a-free-and-independent-lebanon/
The press release that was issued today by the Canadian Foreign Minister after his meeting with the so called Lebanese Foreign Minister, Mr. Gobran Bassil was great and showed clearly that Canada really and practically cares about Lebanon and its people much more than Bassil himself who is an ally to the Iran-Syrian Axis Of Evil, as well his father in law the derailed MP, Michael, the Maronite Patriarch Al Raei, and all the 8th of March mercenaries. Sadly, apparently Canada as was delineated in the articles of the great press release honors Lebanon's independence, sovereignty and freedom much more than many 14th of March politicians who subdue to the occupier, Hezbollah and adopt Dhemmitute stances towards its horrible on going atrocities.
Thanks a lot to Canada, our great country, and thanks to its Conservative patriotic Government.

Minister Nicholson Meets with Lebanese Foreign Minister
June 12, 2015 - Ottawa, Ontario - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today released the following statement after meeting with Gebran Bassil, Lebanon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants:
“In my meeting with Minister Bassil, I expressed Canada’s commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East and underscored Canada’s determination to fight terrorism. I also reiterated Canada’s strong support for Israel’s right to exist, to live peacefully with its neighbours and to defend itself, by itself.
“In a region where ISIS [the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] runs rampant, where Iran’s state sponsorship of terrorism breeds instability, and where the brutality of the Assad regime’s war against its own people continues, Canada unabashedly stands with those who share our values. This includes those in Lebanon who share the values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
“There are many areas of mutual agreement between Canada and Lebanon, including Canada’s thriving Lebanese-Canadian community and our desire to strengthen pluralism, religious freedom and economic prosperity. We discussed the enormous humanitarian pressures on Lebanon as a direct result of the conflict in Syria and the continued need to assist over 1.2 million refugees inside Lebanon on whom ISIS, Hezbollah and the Assad regime have inflicted so much devastation.”
Contacts

Johanna Quinney
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
343-203-1851
johanna.quinney@international.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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Elie Aoun/Analysis of the FPM-LF Declaration — Part 1 & 2 تحليل باللغة الإنكليزية لورقة نوايا عون وجعجع الجزئين الأول والثاني
May 12/15
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2015/06/12/elie-aounanalysis-of-the-fpm-lf-declaration-part-1%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%86%D9%83%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%84%D9%88/
Analysis of the FPM-LF Declaration — Part 1
Elie Aoun
May 09/15
The purpose of my articles is not to insult, but to correct.
My loyalty is to The Truth, which is the path to true freedom. The reason we, as a country or as individuals, have not achieved what we deserve or are entitled to achieve is mainly because we had been deceived into believing and pursuing concepts which are not true. We have no enemy, except ignorance.
Following are my concerns on the FPM-LF Joint Declaration, intended not simply to criticize but to build for what is better. I have reservations on the context of the Declaration and its content.
Concern #1: The absence of Christianity
The Declaration between two Christian political parties failed to provide any plan, or promise any tangible plan, aimed at strengthening the Christian community or supporting its elements to achieve a better status. The word “Christian” is not even mentioned.
All that the Declaration refers to, and all the March 14 “eagles” and some independents talk about — dialogue, coexistence, authority of the state, United Nations, etc. — did not protect us in the past, nor will do so in the future. No one refrained from persecuting, killing, or displacing Christians simply because those Christians believed in dialogue and coexistence. No Middle Eastern Christian was protected when he relied on the authority of the state where he lives, the United Nations, or any international institution.
Concern #2: The misguided reliance on “international legitimacy”
The Declaration calls for “Respect for all the resolutions of ‘international legitimacy’ and commitment to conventions of the United Nations and the League of Arab States.”
We can find the conventions of the United Nations and Arab League. However, personally, I do not know what are “all the resolutions of international legitimacy” which are being respected. No list of these resolutions is provided, and no list will be provided even if we ask for it.
To believe in an international legitimacy is to believe in a right of an entity outside the Lebanese territory to rule or to govern the Lebanese or their affairs — which is contrary to the concept of true sovereignty and independence.
Moreover, there is another important concept to recognize when we discuss anything that is “international” — understanding the difference between “unalienable rights” and “privileges.”
“Unalienable Rights” are God-given rights, sometimes called Natural Rights. Man has no power to alienate — to dispose of, or surrender those rights. The United States Bill of Rights is an example of these unalienable rights.
The nations established with bill of rights and common law have had freedom, liberty and opportunity for all citizens. In these nations, the people have sovereign unalienable God-given rights, and the government is responsible for protecting those rights. The rights of personal freedom, individual liberty, and private property are granted by an authority higher than man; thus, this authority cannot be overruled by men.
On the other hand, documents issued by the United Nations view individual rights as a “privilege” granted by government — which means that these rights can be taken away.
Any “respect” given to any international or globalist entity, is a respect given to an enslavement system that eventually can and will take away whatever rights we have.
The disrespect given by the U.N. Special Tribunal for Lebanon in questioning Lebanese politicians and media personnel is only a small example — a result of Lebanese Cabinets that sold out the country to the globalists and a misinformed Lebanese public that views the United Nations and its entities in a positive light and refuses to recognize the infringement on national sovereignty and dignity by this and other international institutions.
As a Lebanese citizen, I do not respect the “international legitimacy,” the United Nations, or the Arab League — none of which has done anything to protect Middle Eastern Christians when needed.
I advocate self-reliance and the enactment of rights similar to the U.S. Bill of Rights and laws based on common law which historically have been proven to work and lead to a prosperous nation and a protected citizenry. There is no logic in pursuing anything else that has resulted in failure.

Part 2 — Analysis of FPM-LF Declaration
Elie Aoun/May 12/15
Concern #3: Misguided Political Thinking
The FPM-LF Declaration made reference to “national interest,” a “strong” president, and “empowering governmental institutions.”
In a recent interview with Voice of Lebanon radio station, Lebanese Kataeb leader Amine Gemayel also called on everyone to empower public institutions.
Firstly, who decides what is in the “national interest”? What could be in the national interest for one person, may not be for another. The proof lies in past military and political confrontations with each side claiming its views and actions are in the national interest.
Fascism says that government should do “whatever is necessary” to serve its “interests” — which allows lawmakers and military personnel to intervene anywhere and control anything. No exceptions. No limits.
Secondly, the false prevailing viewpoint today is that the government is our friend, our protector, and the solution to all our problems; all we have to do is simply empower it, and all will be well.
This political perspective, held by all Lebanese political parties, is contrary to what is actually true. In reality, governments are fundamentally predators. The larger and stronger they become, the more they will devour.
What is the alternative?
Instead of empowering the central government, we should empower the individual citizen and local or regional communities. Political power should be kept widely dispersed and limited.
Instead of speaking of “national interest” –which means different things to different people — we should speak in terms of defined national principles.
There are no better principles to establish a civilized nation than the principles of common law. History proves it. The present status of common law countries versus non-common law countries prove it. We cannot deny the evidence.
If Middle Eastern Christians lived in nations which had a Bill of Rights, their properties, lives, and liberties would have been protected. They would have the right to bear arms and organize local regional groups for their self-defense. In case their government fails to protect them, they would have arms and organized local groups to defend themselves. This is how Christians and all minorities can be protected — and not by theoretical talk about dialogue, coexistence, and full reliance on government or international entities.
In addition, a Bill of Rights and a common law environment does not breed terrorists. All the declarations, dialogues, and political statements — of whatever source they may be — are of no value if the drafters fail to understand, or ignore, the connection between common law, peace, and prosperity. Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin were strong, had an empowered government, and acted in what they considered to be the national interest. We all know what was the outcome, in the absence of God-given rights that governments cannot take away.
Any government official should not be measured by strength alone, but by his dedication to the principles outlined herein. The closer an official is to a bill of rights and common law principles, the better he is for the country. The further he is from these principles, the more irrelevant he becomes in making any constructive contribution to the long-term well-being of the nation. It is better to empower the individual than to sacrifice him for the “interest” of sect or state. It is better to live for a cause or a country than to die for it. It is better for a government to create the conditions for people to lead happy lives than the conditions of chaos and misery.

Killing of Syrian Druze 'isolated incident': Jumblatt
The Daily Star/June 12, 2015
BEIRUT: The killing of at least 20 Druze civilians in northwest Syria by Islamist militants was an “isolated incident” incomparable to the atrocities committed by the Syrian regime every day, Progressive Socialist leader Walid Jumblatt said. Speaking after an “emergency meeting” of Lebanese Druze leaders in Beirut, Jumblatt called for calm and reconciliation with the Sunni majority of Syria. After condemning Wednesday’s killings by the Nusra Front in the village of Qalb Lozeh, Jumblatt said, “At the same time I condemn the Syrian regime’s shells that kill 150 to 200 people every day ... and more than 350,000 so far [since the beginning of the civil war].”“It’s true that we stand in grief and shock before the death of 25 martyrs,” he added. “But 200 martyrs fall everyday all over Syria.” The Druze leader, who is a prominent critic of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime, said Syria’s Druze community should seek full reconciliation with the Sunni community. “There are 25,000 Druze people in north Syria and not more than 500,000 overall, while Syria’s population is 24 million,” Jumblatt said, adding that such a tiny minority cannot oppose the 75 percent of the population who are Sunni Muslims. “There is no escape from reconciliation with the majority of the Syrian people. What happened was an isolated incident, and I will resolve the issue politically through local and regional contacts.”“We should deal with the situation calmly and through politics.”The PSP chief also criticized the way others have commented on the incident saying “this excitement leads nowhere, and creates a more tense climate” - in an apparent reference to the speech of Tawid Party leader Wiam Wahhad. Wahhab made a heated speech Thursday in which he called for a “Druze Army” to defend Syria’s Druze from Islamist extremists in response to the “massacres.” He called on Assad to provide the Druze in the southern Swaida province with arms, and said Lebanon’s Druze youth would volunteer to fight in Syria. In separate comments, Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan said that Syria's Druze were strong enough to defend themselves, accusing Israel of orchestrating the killings. He said that the “takfiri terrorists” and Israel were “two sides of the same coin.”Both Wahhab and Arslan called on Syria's Druze to stand by the Syrian government. Jumblatt, however, accused the Syrian regime and the “Zionist regime” of sharing the intent to create divisions and fragmentation, adding that Assad was not interested in protecting any minorities including his own Alawite sect. Speaking after Jumblatt, the Druze's spiritual leader in Lebanon, Naim Hassan, condemned the killings and called for the protection of unity and the avoidence of sectarian strife, which he said would only benefit Israel.

Jumblat: Fiery Statements on Qalb Lawzah Jeopardize Druze in Syria
Naharnet/12.06.15/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat condemned on Friday the attack against Druze in Syria's Qalb Lawzah, saying however that it was an “individual incident.”He remarked: “Fiery statements regarding the incident will only jeopardize the Druze in Syria and I will tackle the tensions by holding a series of contacts.”He made his statement following a meeting at the Druze council in light of the attack that took place in the northern province of Idlib in Syria on Wednesday.“Over 200 people are being killed in Syria on a daily basis,” continued Jumblat. “We must see the larger picture lest we fall victim to small disputes,” he warned. He therefore stressed the need to tackle the Qalb Lawzah attack through political means, adding that only a political solution will restore calm in Syria. Syrian President Bashar Assad should not be part of this solution, added the PSP chief, who has long been a vocal critic of the Syrian ruler. He has also long called on the Druze community in the southern Syrian region of Sweida to join the revolt against the country's ruling regime. “Our greatest priority lies in maintaining stability in Lebanon, because we are waging a battle to defend the country,” he stated. “We must preserve Lebanon's stability and commit to the state, its government, army, and security forces,” he declared. At least 20 members of Syria's Druze minority were killed in an unprecedented shoot-out with Al-Qaida affiliate Al-Nusra Front in Qalb Lawzah on Wednesday. On Thursday, Arab Tawhid Party chief Wiam Wahhab declared that the Druze of Lebanon and Syria must stand ready to fight the extremist groups. “We will all take up arms, here and elsewhere, and anyone on Lebanese soil who has ties to al-Nusra Front or is collaborating with it is unwelcome, and they better leave this land because the reactions cannot be contained,” he warned. He called on Assad and the Syrian government to supply arms to Sweida's residents, urging “everyone in Lebanon and elsewhere to take up arms and stand by our people.”

Geagea, Jumblat Reject Terrorism after Killing of Druze Villagers in Syria
Naharnet/12.06.15/Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat have rejected terrorist activities and announced their support for stability, Geagea's press office announced on Friday Geagea and his wife MP Sethrida visited Jumblat in Clemenceau on Thursday night, said the statement. The PSP leader's wife Noura, his son Taymour and daughter Dalia attended the meeting in addition to Health Minister Wael Abou Faour, his wife Zeina and MP Nehme Tohme, it said.
The conferees discussed “the political situation in Lebanon and the region and mainly the massacre of Qalb Lawzah in Idlib province in Syria,” said the statement. They stressed “their rejection of these terrorist activities and their keenness on stability and coexistence whether in Syria or Lebanon,” it added. After the meeting, Jumblat threw a dinner banquet in honor of his guests. Al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria al-Nusra Front killed at least 20 Druze villagers in Qalb Lawzah on Wednesday. The killings are the deadliest against the Druze sect, which has been split between supporters and opponents of President Bashar Assad since Syria's crisis began in March 2011.

Syrian Druze mobilize to help repel rebels in south
Tom Perry/Reuters/ June 12, 2015
BEIRUT: Members of Syria's Druze minority have helped repel a rebel attack on an army base in the south, mobilizing to confront insurgents including Al-Qaeda's Nusra Front who are trying to build on gains against President Bashar Assad. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organisation that tracks the war, said on Friday rebels had been driven from the base, which they had partly captured on Thursday, by air strikes and Druze fighters from nearby Swaida. A Druze leader from Swaida said young men from the city had helped recapture the disused Al-Thaaleh airbase. A rebel leader confirmed that the government side had sent reinforcements to the base. Spread between Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, the Druze are viewed as heretics by al Qaeda and Islamic State because of their religion, an offshoot of Islam incorporating elements of other faiths.
They have moved into the spotlight of the Syrian war this week, with advances by insurgents triggering statements of concern about their fate from both Israel's president and Druze figures in Lebanon. Some Druze leaders have warned of an existential threat facing their kin after Nusra Front fighters shot dead 20 people in a Druze village in northwestern Syria on Wednesday - an incident ignited by Nusra's attempt to confiscate a house. Groups fighting to topple Assad say he is trying to exploit sectarian fear to shore up his support base. Bashar al-Zoubi, the head of a rebel group involved in the battle for the army base, said those attempts would fail, adding that the Druze know the "regime is collapsing and cannot protect them."Insurgents battling Assad in southern Syria include the Nusra Front but also groups that do not share its jihadist ideology and are trying to calm Druze fears.
Insurgent groups have been advancing towards Swaida from the west and the east, where Islamic State has been mounting attacks on army positions. The Druze role was key in repelling the attack on the base, said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Observatory that monitors the four-year-old civil war in Syria. "If they hadn't mobilized, [the insurgents] wouldn't have been repelled," he said. "There is a rebel retreat." The Druze leader, Sheikh Abu Khaled Shaaban, said young men from Swaida had deployed in several areas including the airport under the umbrella of the National Defense Force and "popular committees" that are battling alongside the Syrian army. State TV said dozens of Swaida residents had joined the army and NDF. "Matters are heading towards calm and complete control of the situation," Shaaban told Reuters by telephone from Syria.
Zoubi, the rebel leader, said the base remained in government hands on Friday. But he added that there was "coordination between us and the sheikhs of Swaida" - a reference to community elders whom he did not identify. Echoing comments from other, secular-leaning opposition groups in recent days, he said the Druze would be treated as Syrians with the same rights as other citizens. Since March, an array of insurgent groups have gained ground from Assad in the northwest, the east and the south. The southern rebels, operating in a region just 100 km (60 miles) from Damascus, seized a major army base on Tuesday in Deraa province, building on victories including the capture of the Nassib border crossing with Jordan. Druze in Israel have been lobbying for arms to be sent to Syria, a U.S. official has said. Lebanese Druze politicians aligned with the Syrian government have also called for the arming of their kin in Syria. But Walid Jumblatt, a Lebanese Druze leader who backs the uprising against Assad, has urged the Druze of Swaida to reconcile their differences with the Syrian opposition.He convened a meeting of Druze spiritual figures in Beirut Friday, declaring afterwards that the shooting in northwestern Syria was an isolated incident.

Syria’s Druze strong enough to defend themselves: Arslan
The Daily Star/ June. 12, 2015/BEIRUT: Democratic Party chief Talal Arslan criticized the media Friday for depicting Syria's Druze as weak and in need of protecting, instead warning that any attack on Swaida would be suicidal. “There is a conspiracy in the Arab media, supported by Israel and the West, to distort the image of Druze in Syria and say that they are weak and fearful,” said Arslan, who heads Lebanon's second strongest Druze political grouping. He remarks came during in a news conference held in response to the reported killing of at least 20 Druze civilians Wednesday by Nusra Front militants in the village of Qalb Lozeh in Idlib, northwest Syria. He also took issue with the media representation of a possible attack on Jabal al-Arab by extremist Islamists from nearby areas in the Deraa province. “A week or ten days ago, a battle took place in a village named Al-Hoqf [in Jabal al-Arab, south Syria],” he said. “Why did the media not show the Druze women who, wearing their scarves, loaded the ammunition for the Druze sheikhs and men [on the front line]?”“Who said Jabal al-Arab is weak? Who said the morale is low?” he continued. “You think this mountain, which overthrew the [French] mandate, cannot defeat the takfiris and whoever is standing behind them?”"Jabal al-Arab will be the graveyard of whoever attacks it.”
With regard to Wednesday’s “slaughtering” of Druze civilians, Arslan said the actions were orchestrated by Israel to create strife between Druze and Sunnis. “I cannot but relate what happened with the Druze in Idlib to the Israeli-takfiri joint plan to undermine Syria,” he said. “Enough with the lies and hypocrisy of some Arab countries, Israel and the West, who say they are countering terrorism. They support terrorism, and Israel and the takfiris are two sides of the same coin.”Arslan compared Wednesday’s events to the massacres of the Mount Lebanon village of Kfar Matta, where more than 100 Druze villagers were slaughtered when the Israeli army withdrew from the area in 1983. After reports of the killings emerged, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin told the top U.S military commander, Gen. Martin Dempsey, that Syria’s Druze were under threat and should be protected. "What is going on just now is intimidation and threat to the very existence of half a million Druze on the Mount of Druze, which is very close to the Israeli border," he said. His remarks sparked outrage among Lebanese politicians and prompted Progressive Socialist Leader Walid Jumblatt to warn against Israel’s “manipulative tactics.”

Army arrests terror suspect behind Hermel bombings
Nidal Solh/The Daily Star/June 12, 2015 /ARSAL, Lebanon: Military Intelligence Friday arrested an Arsal resident accused of preparing two explosive-rigged vehicles that targeted the northeastern city of Hermel last year, a security source told The Daily Star. Ahmad al-Atrash, also known as the “Eagle of Arsal,” was suspected of belonging to the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the group that claimed responsibility for a 2013 suicide bombing outside Iran’s embassy in Beirut. The Army confirmed his arrest in a statement released later Friday, which said Al-Atrash was suspected of "carrying out terrorist operations and belonging to terrorist groups operating in ... [Arsal's] outskirts."Al-Atrash, who is in his twenties, was suspected of involvement in a car bomb suicide attack on a petrol station in Hermel that killed at least four people, including the bomber, and wounded 23 others in February 2014. He was also linked to another suicide car bombing that targeted an Army post in Hermel less than a month later - an attack that killed three people, including two soldiers, and wounded 17 others.His brother, Sami Al-Atrash, who was killed during a shootout with Lebanese Army last year, was also a member of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated group. The security source said that the arrest came after sources close to the suspect tipped-off security forces on Al-Atrash’s whereabouts.The suspect was said to have joined the Abdullah Azzam brigades roughly two years ago, after which he left his residence in Arsal and took up base in the town's outskirts. Residents in the area said that Al-Atrash still frequented the town prior to his arrest.

Amine Gemayel criticizes questioning of the Army
The Daily Star/ June. 12, 2015/BEIRUT: Kataeb Party chief Amine Gemayel Friday implicitly criticized the Free Patriotic Movement for questioning the Army’s leadership while claiming to support it. “We pretend to support the Army, and then we steal its right to defend Lebanon and question its leadership,” Gemayel said in a speech he made at his party’s 30th annual conference. “It is a chaotic process that is exhausting Lebanon and undermining its sovereignty.” FPM chief Michel Aoun has been campaigning for the appointment of a new Army commander to succeed Gen. Jean Kahwagi, whose term is due to expire in September. “We stand in the shadow of the constitution and its articles during the day, and then we turn against it in the evening,” he said, in another indirect message to Aoun, who suggested changing the presidential electoral process to a popular vote.Gemayel also highlighted the necessity that Lebanon’s fate not be dependent on the fate of regional "interests, strategies or axes.""This is suicide, not victory, no matter who wins or loses," he said. "Lebanon can only win through internal unity and closing the ranks to confront any foreign [threat]." Gemayel also criticized Hezbollah’s military action, accusing the party of claiming responsibilities that were supposed to be carried by Lebanon’s official armed forces. “Confiscating the war and peace decision and stealing the Lebanese Army and security forces’ roles is a matter of exiting the whole concept of state,” he said. “The fact that it [Hezbollah] has, due to its de facto [military] presence, does not give it any legitimacy.”The Maronite leader and former president also called for the election of a president as soon as possible and the reactivation of the country’s political institutions. Lebanon has been without president since May 25 of last year, when former President Michel Sleiman left office at the end of his term. Gemayel also praised the Baabda declaration for establishing the principle of distancing Lebanon from regional conflicts, which he claimed had always been advocated by the Kataeb party, in addition to stating the need for political and administrative reforms.

Lebanese, Syrian cousins shot dead by Syrian army on Lebanese border
The Daily Star/June 12, 2015 /BEIRUT: A Lebanese man and his Syrian cousin were shot dead by Syrian troops in a northern Lebanese border village Friday, the mayor told the state-run National News Agency. However, the Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV claimed that the two men were among a terrorist group attempting to infiltrate into Syria. It said the Syrian army clashed with a the armed group before killing a number of militants in border fields. But according to the NNA report, Wadi Khaled’s Mayor Fadi al-Assaad said that “Syrian army soldiers intentionally shot a young Lebanese man named Khaled Ahmad al-Oueishi, from Wadi Khaled and his cousin Fadi al-Ahmad, from Syria.” “There was no border infiltration. The two men were just farmers working in greenhouses in the Syrian village of Al-Arida on the Lebanese border,” he said. “They were shot while they were on Lebanese soil after returning from their work inside Syrian territory.” He added that media reports mentioning infiltration were “false allegations against the area’s people.”

Hezbollah gains new ground in Qalamoun
The Daily Star/June 12, 2015/BEIRUT: Hezbollah and the Syrian army captured fresh territory from Syrian jihadis outside a northern Qalamoun town Friday, Al-Manar TV reported. The Hezbollah-run channel said the allied forces took over the areas of Qirnet Shaab al-Nasoub, Qirnet Abu Harb and Qirnet Semaan on the southern outskirts of government-held Jarajeer, in an advance that left scores of militants either dead or wounded. The Syrian army and Hezbollah also captured Qirnet Shmeis al-Housan, located southwest of the outskirts of Jarajeer.ISIS and Nusra Front militants started fleeing the area as a result of Friday’s push, after the two groups collaborated in an attempt to stall the advance of the allied forces, Al-Manar said. Hezbollah and the Syrian army have been battling jihadis in Syria's Qalamoun mountain range along Lebanon’s eastern borders for more than one month. The allied forces have achieved major field victories, taking 64 percent of the Qalamoun hills in less than 5 weeks, according to Al-Manar. The TV station also reported Monday that 90 percent of Nusra positions in Qalamoun, including Arsal’s outskirts, have been seized by Hezbollah fighters. ISIS has been in control of most of Arsal’s northern outskirts since last year, while Nusra has been in control of the eastern and southern outskirts.For over a week the Qalamoun battles have been focused on Arsal’s eastern and southern outskirts, and on the western outskirts of the Syrian town of Flita. Flita is located around 23 kilometers southeast of Arsal. Most of the outskirts of Flita are now under control of Hezbollah and the Syrian army, who seized key crossings linking Arsal to Flita Monday. At least 39 Hezbollah fighters and 244 militants have been killed since the launch of the Qalamoun offensive on May 4, according to the source close to Hezbollah. The figures include the fighters on both sides killed in Tuesday's clashes near Ras Baalbek.

Al-Rahi: How Can a State Survive if Its Head is 'Severed'?
Naharnet/12.06.15/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed Friday that the election of a new president is the solution to the country's crises, wondering if a country could survive without a head of state.“The gateway to finding a solution to these crises and rifts is the election of a president for the republic. How can a state survive if its head is severed?” said al-Rahi in a sermon in Bkirki. He warned that the protracting presidential vacuum is “paralyzing the work of parliament and obstructing the work of government, which is facing the possibility of a similar paralysis.”“It is also preventing appointments in state institutions and violating the Constitution, the National Pact and the laws,” al-Rahi added.The patriarch also warned that the presidential void is causing “chaos, economic decline and security deterioration.”The presidential seat, the country's top Christian post, has been vacant since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014. Political disputes and electoral rivalry have prevented MPs from electing a successor. The presidential vacuum is having a tough impact on the work of state institutions. The crisis has led to a suspension of parliamentary and governmental sessions and controversy over the appointment of top security and military officials.

U.S. Intelligence Chief Cites Threats from Iran, Hizbullah after Criticism over Terror Report
Naharnet 12/06/15/Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has said that Iran and Hizbullah continue to threaten the U.S. despite a report released earlier this year by the intelligence claiming that Tehran and the Shiite party have been removed from the U.S. terror list. According to the Wall Street Journal, Clapper told Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee that Iran and Hizbullah “directly threaten the interests of the United State and our allies.” The intelligence community considers Iran to be the “foremost state sponsor of terrorism” and sees Tehran increasing its ability to influence regional crises and conduct terrorism, largely through Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Hizbullah, Clapper wrote in the June 3 letter, the contents of which haven’t been previously reported. The intelligence report that Hizbullah and Iran are no longer enrolled on a U.S. list of terror threats was released by Clapper on February 26 to the Senate. But Clapper wrote the letter this month in response to a document that lawmakers sent in April expressing concern that the unclassified threat assessment report “didn’t fully represent the threat posed by Iran’s support for terrorist organizations and certain Shiite militias in the Middle East,” said the Wall Street Journal.

Canada Offers to Take In Jailed Saudi Blogger Badawi
Naharnet 12/06/15/Canada offered Friday to take in Raif Badawi, a jailed Saudi blogger who faces flogging, listing him as a priority immigrant on humanitarian grounds so that he might rejoin his family already living in the country. The province of Quebec cleared the way for his coming to this country by offering Badawi a so-called immigration selection certificate. These are issued "in exceptional circumstances to foreigners in need of protection," Quebec Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil said. In this case, it opens the door for Ottawa to increase pressure on Saudi Arabia to release Badawi and allow him to join his wife Ensaf Haidar and three children in exile. The family lives in Sherbrooke, Quebec, 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Montreal. Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said he was hopeful the offer to help Badawi immigrate to Canada "will allow us to break the logjam and have a happy ending to this." Worldwide outrage followed a lower court's decision sentencing Badawi to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail for insulting Islam. Badawi, 31, received the first 50 lashes outside a mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on January 9. Subsequent rounds of punishment were postponed. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia condemned foreign criticism of the sentence that the kingdom's highest court upheld against the blogger.
Source. Agence France Presse

Saudi Blogger's Lawyer Wins Human Rights Prize
Naharnet/12.06.15/Saudi lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair, who is defending a blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes in the Middle East country was on Friday awarded the prestigious Ludovic Trarieux Prize for his work defending human rights, organizers said. The annual legal award -- one of the world's oldest -- is presented to lawyers who "through their work, activities or suffering defend the respect for human rights," the prize's founder Bertrand Favreau said from Amsterdam. Al-Khair, who is the founder of the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (MHRSA) was last year handed a 15-year sentence on six charges by a specialized court in connection with his work. This included "publicly slandering the judiciary, distorting the king's reputation, making international organizations hostile to the kingdom and issuing unverified statements that harm the kingdom's reputation." Al-Khair is the brother-in-law and lawyer of local blogger Raif Badawi, who has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail for insulting Islam. The sentence was met by worldwide condemnation and Badawi, 31, has already received the first 50 lashes outside a mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on January 9. Subsequent rounds of punishment have been postponed. Rights groups however fear he could be flogged again soon, despite appeals from the United States, European Union and France for his sentence to be rescinded. The first Ludovic Trarieux Prize was presented in 1985 to Nelson Mandela's daughter Zenani, who received the award on behalf of her lawyer-turned-activist father -- who was still languishing in an apartheid jail at the time. It has been awarded 20 times over the last three decades and is judged by defense lawyers representing human rights bodies at several major European bars. It also consults non-governmental organizations and humanitarian organizations worldwide, who are invited to nominate candidates. The prize is named after the 19th-century French lawyer Ludovic Trarieux, a human rights law pioneer who was a staunch defender of Alfred Dreyfus, who was falsely accused of treason in France. The prize will be handed over at a ceremony in Geneva in November, organizers said. Al-Khair has previously received the Swedish Olof Palme Prize for defending human rights in Saudi Arabia

The Druze Dilemma
How the Religious Minority Gained Influence in Syria
By Firas Maksad/Fotreign Affairs/May 12/15
Throughout Syria’s civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has for the most part managed to maintain the loyalties of the country’s various religious minorities: Christians, Alawites, and Shiite Muslims. These groups, which together amount to about one-quarter of Syria’s population, appear to prefer Assad’s authoritarianism to an uncertain future dominated by Sunni radicals. One minority community, however, has begun to distance itself from the Assad regime: the Druze, followers of an esoteric offshoot of Islam who live near Syria’s border with Jordan and Israel. Their growing opposition to the regime, alongside their deep hostility toward Islamic radicals, puts this small but influential group in a unique position. Indeed, the Druze, who number about two million worldwide and 700,000 in Syria, could help the U.S.-led coalition shape the outcome of Syria’s civil war and the ongoing fight against al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Historically, determining the loyalties of Syria’s Druze has been difficult, as its members tend to hide their political persuasions -- a preference for privacy with roots in their theological concept of taqiyya, the concealing of one’s religious beliefs to avoid accusations of heresy. Like many Syrians living in regime-controlled areas, many Druze have also been afraid to speak out against Assad. Recently, however, a number of Druze religious leaders have taken to social media to broadcast their antiregime sentiment, part of a series of unusually assertive gestures against the regime. Where Druze sheiks once lavished praise on Assad, they now present him with strict demands and ultimatums.
Their biggest grievance is that Assad has not provided them with enough weapons to defend against attacks by ISIS and al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al Nusra. Since the start of the popular uprising against the regime, in 2011, Syria’s government has provided weapons only to pro-Assad forces -- in this case, to Druze militias loyal to the regime. As attacks have intensified, however, many Druze, particularly a group of religious leaders known as the Ajaweed, have begun demanding weapons for themselves, claiming that the regime-backed militias have not done enough. During a funeral for Druze fighters on August 17, one Ajaweed leader gave a speech demanding heavy weaponry. If Assad failed to provide the weapons, he said, community members would not hesitate to acquire them independently. His statement underscored a growing schism between the Druze religious establishment and the Syrian regime.
In another display of assertiveness, the Druze also called for the removal of their province’s top security official, Wafic Nasser. This campaign began in April, after government officials, led by Nasser, arrested a prominent Druze sheik for opposing a compulsory celebration of Assad’s reelection bid. Shortly after the arrest, online videos showed armed Ajaweed sheiks raising the Druze flag, shooting their guns into the air, and demanding Nasser’s resignation -- an outpouring of rage reminiscent of the events that first ignited the Syrian revolt. And in a display of communal solidarity, members of the Druze government-backed militias broke ranks and joined the Ajaweed in protest. The regime, however, has refused to remove Nasser, further straining relations.
These tensions were on full display at the August funeral, which the Ajaweed demanded be free of regime symbols and spokespeople. The funeral packed an entire stadium, yet online videos reveal only a few Syrian flags, vastly outnumbered by the colorful stripes of the Druze banner. And the regime took notice. On September 2, Assad sent two influential Druze loyalists, former Lebanese minister Wiam Wahhab and Syrian General Issam Zahreddine, to relay a message to Druze leaders. “You demand your rights from the state,” video footage shows Wahhab saying. “It also demands your loyalty.”
Undeterred, however, some Ajaweed have emerged as an independent political and military entity that could play an important role in shaping Syria’s civil war and the fight against Islamic extremists, whom they view as an existential threat. And unlike the Free Syrian Army and other rebel groups, they wish to confront ISIS and al Qaeda before taking on the regime, making them natural allies for the U.S.-led coalition in the region.
As the only independent voice among the Druze capable of shaping the trajectory of southern Syria, the Ajaweed present Assad’s regime with a critical choice: meet their demands for more weapons, at the risk of further enabling their increasingly independent streak, or hold back, betting that the Druze will ultimately prefer the regime to any alternative. Assad cannot afford to lose the Druze. For Assad, the Druze are a strategic buffer, defending the southern flank of Damascus from rebel-controlled territory farther south. But unless the U.S.-led international coalition is willing to alter Assad’s calculus by supporting the Druze, Assad will probably stay the course, and the Druze will remain lodged between an authoritarian regime they grudgingly need and the Islamic extremists they fear.

How the new Erdoğan Killed the old one
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat
Friday, 12 Jun, 2015
When Turkey went to the polls to vote in last Sunday’s general elections, almost all commentators expected a setback for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). What they could not agree upon was the extent and the intensity of the expected setback.
In the event, the results amounted to a bigger setback for Erdoğan than even the most ardent pessimists had forecast. Over the past 13 years, the AKP has contested four general and five local elections, each time increasing its share of the vote. The average vote secured by the AKP in these elections comes to around 45 percent. This time, however, AKP’s share of the vote fell to 41 percent in an election with a high turnout of 86 percent. In other words, the 13-year long trend that saw AKP increase its share of the vote with each successive election has now been dramatically reversed.
So, what do the results tell us?
The first message, and this is an important one, is that the kind of politics that AKP offers still enjoys a bedrock support base but is rejected by two-thirds of the Turkish electorate. This means that while there is no doubt that the AKP can no longer set the agenda in Ankara; it would be premature to write it off as the single largest political force in Turkey. The majority of the millions who abandoned the AKP did so because they rejected Erdoğan personally, not because they had grown disenchanted with the party’s posture as a pro-business and moderate Islamist movement. Thus, some Western headlines shrieking that “Turkey Rejects Islam” may be off the mark.
Next, it is clear that the massive anti-AKP vote was, in the first instance, a vote against Erdoğan’s slide down the slippery slope of hubris. I don’t share the view of some Turks who believe that Erdoğan has simply become unhinged. But there is no doubt that his weird behavior over the past few years indicates a gradual loss of contact with reality. His last minute use of anti-American, anti-European Union and anti-Israeli themes looked like nothing more than a drowning man reaching for the shadow of a buoy.
Erdoğan’s neo-Ottoman dreams of sultanhood or even caliphate-dom cannot be dismissed as mere quirks of character. The fact that many in his own camp now criticize his penchant for pomposity shows that the concern is more widely shared than he imagines. The old Erdoğan was perhaps the most genuinely popular politician in modern Turkish history. But he was killed by the new Erdoğan in a political version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Yet another message concerns the emergence of new ethnic and gender-based constituencies. Even a decade ago the prospect of an ethnic-based Kurdish party contesting the election, let alone winning almost 14 percent of the vote, would have been unimaginable. Last Sunday, however, the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) won 82 seats in the 550 seat Grand National Assembly while proudly asserting its basic Kurdish identity. This is a major development when we recall the fact that a couple of decades ago one could end up in prison simply by talking of a Kurdish identity. Equally important is the shattering of the glass roof that prevented Turkish women, more than half of the electorate, from securing a fairer share of representation in the Grand National Assembly. Sunday’s polls could be regarded as historic because it gave women over 100 seats.
Yet another message is that the Turkish electorate is moving towards the center. The radical nationalist parties marketing pan-Turkist shibboleths did not manage to break out of their niche position. Thus, Turkish voters did not believe that opposing AKPs crypto-Islamist ideology requires a switch to ultra-nationalist fantasies based on “blood and soil” politics.
The election results confirmed the belief that many of us have held with regard to Middle Eastern politics, namely that a parliamentary system of government is more suitable to the realities of the region than a US-style presidential one. Over the past century and in almost every case in the Middle East, a presidential system has produced nothing but dictatorship. Erdoğan’s attempt at replacing the Turkish parliamentary system with a presidential one must be rated as a key reason for his defeat.
Finally, the election is yet another demonstration of the Turkish democracy’s capacity for self-correction through free and fair elections. The old claim that only the army could stop the country’s deviation from the right path and/or drift towards extremism has been fully exposed as a sham. When the Turkish way of life is in danger, as it was with Erdoğan’s neo-Ottoman recipe, the cure is not a military coup but a general election.
While it is too early to speculate about the aftermath of the election it is clear that whatever shape the next government might assume, a number of changes are inevitable in Turkish domestic and foreign policies.
Domestically, Turkey needs a period of healing to undo the damage done by Erdoğan’s divisive behavior and his thirst for extra-judicial revenge against opponents. The election produced an accurate picture of Turkish reality as a diverse society with multiple ethnic and religious communities and a rich spectrum of political diversity. The Turks have rejected the old Middle Eastern political myth that equates unity with uniformity.
The next government will also have to revisit the perennial Kurdish problem which, for the first time perhaps, could be tackled in the context of a pluralist and democratic Turkey.
On a different register, Turkey needs to review the grandiose projects Erdoğan has launched, ostensibly to raise the nation’s global profile but, as his critics claim, partly to benefit the oligarchs backing the AKP. At a time that the economy is experiencing a slowdown, such projects make even less sense whole adding to Turkey’s already gargantuan foreign debt. In foreign policy, Turkey needs to repair its ties with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and traditional partners in the Middle East especially the Arab states. One step in that direction would be the harmonization of policy over Syria and Iraq and the adoption of a more principled position regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions and Russia’s muscle-flexing in its “near-neighborhood”.
Last Sunday, people of Turkey did well. Now they need to do even better.

Libya must not be left to ISIS
Osman Mirghani/Asharq Al Awsat
Thursday, 11 June, 2015
Can anyone claim that they have been taken aback by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) recent attempts to expand within Libya, or by Arab impotence towards stopping the constant collapse of the North African country?
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is well-known. The situation in Libya has gone from bad to worse in full view of the entire world.
It was obvious that the mixture of chaos, proliferation of weapons, and the political, tribal and factional infighting would repeat the Somalia or Afghanistan scenario and allow for the expansion of Al-Qaeda and ISIS or any other Islamist groups.
In fact, this has been the case in Iraq, Syria and, though differently, in Yemen. The Arab reaction to the deteriorating situation in Libya was not unexpected. Condemnations were issued and useless meetings were held as Libya fell victim to a debilitating power struggle and became an easy target for extremists. It has become habitual for Arabs to be impotent. And regional crises have been dealt with by referring them to a UN envoy to absolve the Arab League from its responsibilities.
Some, however, may argue that there have been Arab interventions in Libya in support of the “uprising” against Muammar Gaddafi. This is true, but such efforts were limited to a handful of Arab countries. Moreover, those cases of intervention were part of a cold war among some Arab states.
In other words, Egypt and the UAE intervened in Libya in order to prevent the North African country from falling into the hands of Islamist groups backed by Qatar, Sudan and Turkey. Egypt remains more concerned about the situation in its western neighbor than any other Arab country, particularly given its war on the Muslim Brotherhood. Should Libya fall into the hands of armed Islamist groups, Egypt would be fighting Islamists on two fronts: to the west in Libya and to the east in the Sinai Peninsula where extremists have stepped up attacks after declaring an alleged “Islamic Emirate” and pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and his so-called “Islamic state.” It is no secret that relations between Egypt and Hamas are not that great. Added to this is the Sudanese Islamists’ unfriendliness towards Cairo even if things on the surface point to a potential rapprochement between the two governments. A few days ago Brotherhood members and leaders, including Hassan Al-Turabi, took to the streets of Sudan and issued statements and even warnings to express their condemnation of the rulings Egypt recently issued against its ousted president Mohamed Mursi and some other senior Brotherhood members.
The consequences of the conflict in Libya will not be limited within its borders. The situation in the North African country will send direct consequences to Tunisia and Algeria and possibly to Morocco and Mauritania. Islamism in the Maghreb, as well as across the Arab world, remains a thorny and complex issue. And extremists continue to haunt security and political agencies there.
Europe also seems to be preoccupied with the deteriorating situation in Libya and the potential political and security threats it poses to its southern borders. The chaos in Libya has made it a hub for human trafficking networks that ship thousands of desperate migrants on death boats that either reach European shores or sink in the Mediterranean. Media coverage of the crisis has mobilized public opinion in Europe, prompting governments there to address the issue of immigration, which became more pressing as Europe faces increasing economic and social problems. There are also increasing concerns about ISIS’s exploitation of the waves of migrants to sneak fighters into Europe in order to carry out terrorist operations there.
This is why some in Europe are calling for military intervention in Libya. The most recent call came from Spain’s Minister of Defense Pedro Morenés who a few days ago called for the anti-ISIS international coalition to expand its operations beyond Syria and Iraq, particularly in Libya. Morenés referred to the recent developments in Libya where ISIS has made gains in the cities of Derna and Sirte. Such calls are still limited in number; nevertheless, the situation in Libya remains subject to change should ISIS increases its influence on the ground. Unfortunately, the situation in Libya could worsen unless quick and serious steps are taken on two fronts: supporting the current UN-sponsored talks, and stymieing ISIS’s advance in the same way the group’s progress has been halted in Syria and Iraq. Capable and concerned Arab states must play a role on both fronts. Hesitation would only further complicate matters.

Pentagon: Price tag for war on ISIS is $2.7 billion
Associated Press, Washington/Friday, 12 June 2015/The U.S. has spent more than $2.7 billion on the war against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in Iraq and Syria since bombings began last August, and the average daily cost is now more than $9 million, the Pentagon said Thursday. Releasing a detailed breakdown of the costs for the first time, the Defense Department showed that the Air Force has borne two-thirds of the total spending, or more than $1.8 billion. The daily combat, reconnaissance and other flights eat up more than $5 million a day. The data also provided a rare look into the often secret special operations costs, which totaled more than $200 million since August. The release of the spending totals came as Congress debated and rejected legislation Thursday that would have banned spending on the combat operations until lawmakers passed a new war powers resolution. Military operations cost have grown since airstrikes began in Iraq in August, and then expanded to Syria the following month. The bulk of the strikes has been in Iraq, as the U.S. and coalition strikes have tried to help Iraqi forces retake key and hold key cities. Other total costs include $438 million for the Navy, including fighters and other ship support; $274 million for the Army, which has trainers and special forces troops on the ground; $16 million for military pay; $646 million for munitions; and $21 million for intelligence and surveillance operations.

Ghassan Tueni’s words still ring true in Lebanon
Friday, 12 June 2015
Nayla Tueni/Al ARabiya
Monday June 8 marked the third anniversary of Ghassan Tueni’s death. It marked the memory of his permanent presence – his name and memory live on as a reminder of the core aims for the well-being of Lebanese society and the wider nation.
I will not talk about Tueni, my grandfather who played a father’s role following the latter’s absence as this is private and there’s no need to talk about it. I will talk about Tueni, the journalist, the thinker, the politician, the diplomat, the orator, the debater and most importantly, the patriotic Lebanese figure who enriches my knowledge and enlightens me.
Perhaps recalling what Tueni said at the United Nations is useful, or rather necessary, to develop new analyses of policies and events. Reconsidering his speeches is also important to confirm that history is repeating itself as what Tueni said in 1981 before the United Nations’ 36th General Assembly is still applicable to Lebanon’s current situation. The past 35 years has passed in no time.
A sound lesson
Tueni’s ideas could perhaps teach some a lesson. He said that paving the way for the resumption of international and regional struggles inside Lebanon turned it – or rather further turned it – into an explosive situation threatening the region’s societies and states.
The region’s countries then went on to say they don’t want to become another Lebanon. Lebanon thus has the right to ask: Can Arabs gain peace themselves after they have lost Lebanon? Gentlemen, Lebanon is a country of dialogue which always rises from below rubble and ruins and when someone bets on its national unity, he’d also be betting on its Arab affiliation and its civilized message to its surrounding and the world. Experiences which Lebanon has been through prove that what divides the Lebanese people is a lot less important than what unites them and that what distinguishes them as a group is deeper than what distinguishes them as separate individuals.
The disputes which expand by the day can be contained within the context of democratic institutions which, even if wounded, have overcome years of captivation. Violence failed to suffocate freedoms, and the Lebanese people’s ferocity at clinging to their land and defending it emerged as a role model to look up to. A small country that can overcome all what we’ve overcome and continues to be a one united and sovereign entity that holds on to life and that can build a house to replace its destroyed ones, seek a livelihood even in the darkest moments of desperation and embrace life, make death seem like it’s not a fact but a mirage.
Lebanon, which now believes that its strength lies in its energy to defend its land and rights, considers that it must now finish preparing the army with the help of brothers and friends so it can gradually carry out its security and defense duties completely and on its own and so it can fully participate in sharing Arab strategic responsibilities. Then, the faithful Lebanon will become a real guarantee for the security of those close to it instead of being a source of fear in regards to its own and their own security – or it can go back to gaining its security from others’ security but all in vain.These were the words, thoughts and ideas of Ghassan Tueni, and they still ring true.

Deciphering Iran’s groundbreaking invitation to U.S. oil firms
Friday, 12 June 2015
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya
In an unprecedented move, Iranian leaders have welcomed American oil companies to Iran, upon the condition that sanctions are lifted. This move suggests that the Islamic Republic is putting its economic interests ahead of its revolutionary ideological interests. In return, the economic profits will definitely help Iran spread its revolutionary ideologies and principles in the region.
Recently, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh stated to Iran’s media: “We welcome the presence of American oil companies in Iran,” adding, “we will definitely prepare the grounds for the presence of American oil companies in Iran.”
Several foreign companies were unable to pay Iran for its deliveries due to the financial and banking sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council as well as due to unilateral American economic sanctions
On the other hand, for the Islamic Republic, one of the advantages of the final nuclear deal between the six world powers (known as the P5+1; the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, plus Germany) and Tehran is the short-term and immediate benefits such as receiving billions of dollars which have been frozen due to economic sanctions.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, which owes the Islamic Republic an outstanding debt of more than $2 billion, has been talking about repaying Iran after the nuclear deal is signed, and consequently the related sanctions are lifted.
In an unprecedented meeting, Zanganeh recently met with Shell’s Chief Executive Ben van Beurden. Beurden pointed out that he is giving “assurance that payments will be made [to the Islamic Republic] as soon as they can be made.” Moreover, Zanganeh met with other Western companies in a summit of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Intriguingly, Zanganeh reciprocated Iran’s interest in working with super-major oil and gas companies offering “more attractive” contracts.
Several foreign companies were unable to pay Iran for its deliveries due to the financial and banking sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council as well as due to unilateral American economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic due to its nuclear defiance.
The West’s misconception
The issue of immediate access to billions of dollars is particularly appealing and crucial for the Iranian leaders due to the notion that Tehran looks at the final nuclear deal through the prism of a short-term, immediate economic and geopolitical boost.
There exists a misconception in the West that the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic is going to be transformational and revolutionary. This follows that the West, and particularly the United States, contends that the final nuclear deal or the nuclear resolution is going to transform the character of the Iran’s political system in the long term; hence it will fundamentally alter Iran’s regional, domestic policies, shift its support for Shiite militia groups and proxies across the Middle East, moderate Iran’s foreign policy, and probably change the government in long term.
Nevertheless, from the Iranian leaders’ perspective, the nuclear deal is transitory, fleeting, momentary and transactional. In other words, Iranian authorities will follow the rules of the nuclear agreement for the limited time assigned in the deal, they will boost their economy, regain billions of dollars, and reinitiate their nuclear program soon after.
For Iran: A nuclear deal is a no-brainer
As a result, from the perspective of Iranian leaders, and particularly Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and influential officials of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reaching a final nuclear deal is a no-brainer, economically speaking. In addition, Iran will not give up its nuclear program.
It is crucial to point out that the flow of billions of dollars into the Islamic Republic will not trickle down to the Iranian citizens or even be distributed equally among the governmental institutions such as Iran’s foreign ministry. The overwhelming majority of the cash will likely be controlled by the IRGC, Quds forces (an elite revolutionary branch of IRGC fighting in foreign countries) and the office of the supreme leader. The IRGC and office of the supreme leader do enjoy a monopoly over major economic sectors of the Islamic Republic.
As a result, the final nuclear deal is viewed as purely business for the IRGC and the supreme leader.
The IRGC’s high officials and the supreme leader will not only receive billions of dollars frozen in other countries and multinational corporations, but will also seek new avenues to increase exports of oil and economic deals with Western and multinational oil and gas companies.
Iran tells OPEC: Be ready for Iran’s full return
Western companies, including Shell and BP, have already shown interest in re-entering Iran’s oil market as soon as a final nuclear deal is reached and issues of economic and banking hurdles are resolved.
After several decades, this is the first time that Western super-major oil and gas corporations are openly and publicly expressing their interest to access Iran which enjoys the world’s second-largest natural-gas and fourth-biggest oil reserves.
Iranian leaders will attempt to use the short term nuclear deal as a platform to seal long term oil contracts, which will institutionalize the profits for many years to come. This will make it more difficult for sanctions to snap back in case Iran defied the terms of nuclear deal. Iran’s oil ministry is looking for roughly $200 billion investment in order to revive and rehabilitate its oil industry. Iran has been publicizing and circulating its oil and business contracts. As Zanganeh stated, the new contracts are “long-term, with better situations, rather than the previous framework that we have.”
In closing, unprecedentedly, both Western oil and gas companies and Iran hardliners are openly expressing interest in cooperating with each other, as Iran will gain legitimacy from the final nuclear deal.
This suggests two crucial issues. First of all, OPEC members ought to be prepared and chart ways for Iran’s full return to the oil market. As an Iranian delegate pointed out “Iran is telling other OPEC members to get ready for its return”. Iran is planning to boost exports by one million barrels a day after sanction are lifted. Currently, Iran’s oil production is roughly 2.7 million barrels a day and it oil exports is approximately 1 million barrels a day. Secondly, the international community, and particularly the U.S., needs to have a strategy pre-planned for Iran’s economic return, which will boost Tehran’s geopolitics and the IRGC’s influence in the region. So far, the Obama administration does not appear to have any particular strategy to respond to Iran’s economic return.

A close call in Luxor, but this is not the first time
Friday, 12 June 2015
Abdallah Schleifer/Al Arabiya
My first thought when I heard about this week’s jihadist attack on tourists at temple sites in Luxor was the infamous Luxor massacre in Nov. 1997, when 62 people (nearly all tourists) were gunned down or butchered with machetes by Islamist terrorists.
However, the differences between the two attacks are extraordinary. The 1997 massacre was a sophisticated operation. Six jihadists appeared at Queen Hatsheput’s Temple disguised as Egyptian security forces, and as such were openly armed with automatic weapons. They killed two unsuspecting armed guards at the site, then advanced into the temple where a large group of tourists was effectively trapped and murdered.
This week’s aborted attempt may herald the beginning of a more murderous phase of Islamist warfare against both the Egyptian state and society
This week’s operation was far from sophisticated. Three jihadists were reportedly waiting at a cafe near a parking lot, and when about 100 or more tourists disembarked from a bus the jihadists tried to join the group.
However, they had already aroused the suspicion of Egyptian policemen in the parking lot, and when challenged before they could reach the tourists, one of the terrorists apparently blew himself up while the other two exchanged gunfire with the police. The second terrorist was killed and the third seriously wounded. A few temple staff and police were reportedly wounded. Miraculously, none of the tourists were killed or injured.
Hardened veterans
The men who carried out the 1997 massacre were hardened veterans of Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya guerrilla force, which had its origins as a predominantly Muslim Brotherhood-dominated Islamist university student movement in the early and mid-1970s during a brief honeymoon between Egypt’s late President Anwar Sadat and the Brotherhood.
However, early on Al-Gama’a branches in Upper Egypt were taken over by an already clandestine Islamic Jihad group, disciples of the late Sayid Qutb, the most radical thinker in the late 1950s Brotherhood. They had long since broken off from the Brotherhood, and would go on to wage guerrilla warfare against the state through the early 1990s.
However, by the summer of 1997 Al-Gama’a had been so weakened in combat and by massive security sweeps that their leaders in prison declared an end to armed struggle. Al-Gama’a leaders who had fled Egypt condemned this development and ordered the Luxur massacre in a desperate attempt to subvert the ceasefire. It not only failed to do so, but the atrocity alienated whatever limited popular support Al-Gama’a had enjoyed.
This week’s attack was amateurish in comparison. It does not match the deadly operational style of the Sinai jihadists who have been fighting Egyptian security and army forces, and most recently have declared adherence to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
On the other hand, suspected elements of the Muslim Brotherhood Youth have engaged in sporadic terrorist attacks in and around Cairo, the Delta and Upper Egypt, targeting individual Egyptian policemen manning checkpoints, or unmanned power pylons and neighborhood electricity transmission units.
Tourism
Tourists have been left alone until now, and the industry has been slowly recovering this past year from the slump set off by the chaos that characterized Egypt in the wake of the fall former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
However, a recent declaration - the “Call of Egypt” - signed by 150 so-called “Muslim scholars” from all parts of the Muslim world, calls for “retribution” against “all rulers, judges, officers, soldiers, muftis, journalists and politicians” who have participated in the repression of the Brotherhood, or have “incited” in favor of the repression. Needless to say, such a call is abhorrent.
So it is quite conceivable that while the memory of the 1997 Luxor massacre, which must haunt older generations of Egyptians, was a death-throes act that signalled the end of a terrorist insurgency, this week’s aborted attempt may herald the beginning of a more murderous phase of Islamist warfare against both the Egyptian state and society.

Moscow says Iran talks 'virtually stalled,' Washington declines to confirm
By REUTERS/06/12/2015/J.Post
MOSCOW/WASHINGTON - Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers have virtually stalled and a deadline for a final deal may have to be postponed again, Russian news agency TASS quoted a diplomatic source as saying on Friday.
Iran and the powers – the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany – reached a framework deal on April 2 in Switzerland and are seeking to strike a broader settlement by June 30 under which Iran would curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. The latest round of discussions in Vienna on Friday made no significant progress, the source from one of the missions said, according to TASS. "The process has virtually stalled, there is risk the deadline will have to be postponed again," the source added. Over the last several weeks, in the lead-up to the talks, the Obama administration has recommitted itself to the June 30 deadline. More time will not make the political decisions required for a deal any easier, US officials say.
The White House is also keenly aware of several other pressures on the deadline. Its chief negotiator, Wendy Sherman, is scheduled to step down from the State Department at the end of the month; and a new bipartisan law grants Congress double the time to review and vote on any deal should negotiations extend beyond July 10. "I'm not going to characterize the current state of the talks," Jeff Rathke, a State Department spokesman, said in response to the comments from Moscow on Friday. "We've said all along that we're not going to negotiate in public." "We remain of the view that it is possible to conclude the talks by June 30," Rathke continued. "That remains our focus."
**Michael Wilner contributed to this report.