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Bible Quotation For Today/Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector/All who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted
Luke 18/09-14: "Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income."But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’"

Bible Quotation For Today/When we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience & Genuine Faith
Letter to the Romans 08/18-27: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

"Why should we study the Old Testament?"
GotQuestions.org/Answer: There are many reasons to study the Old Testament. For one, the Old Testament lays the foundation for the teachings and events found in the New Testament. The Bible is a progressive revelation. If you skip the first half of any good book and try to finish it, you will have a hard time understanding the characters, the plot, and the ending. In the same way, the New Testament is only completely understood when we see its foundation of the events, characters, laws, sacrificial system, covenants, and promises of the Old Testament.
If we only had the New Testament, we would come to the Gospels and not know why the Jews were looking for a Messiah (a Savior King). We would not understand why this Messiah was coming (see Isaiah 53), and we would not have been able to identify Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah through the many detailed prophecies that were given concerning Him [e.g., His birth place (Micah 5:2), His manner of death (Psalm 22, especially verses 1, 7–8, 14–18; 69:21), His resurrection (Psalm 16:10), and many more details of His ministry (Isaiah 9:2; 52:3)].
A study of the Old Testament is also important for understanding the Jewish customs mentioned in passing in the New Testament. We would not understand the way the Pharisees had perverted God’s law by adding their own traditions to it, or why Jesus was so upset as He cleansed the temple courtyard, or where Jesus got the words He used in His many replies to adversaries.
The Old Testament records numerous detailed prophecies that could only have come true if the Bible is God’s Word, not man’s (e.g., Daniel 7 and the following chapters). Daniel’s prophecies give specific details about the rise and fall of nations. These prophecies are so accurate, in fact, that skeptics choose to believe they were written after the fact.
We should study the Old Testament because of the countless lessons it contains for us. By observing the lives of the characters of the Old Testament, we find guidance for our own lives. We are exhorted to trust God no matter what (Daniel 3). We learn to stand firm in our convictions (Daniel 1) and to await the reward of faithfulness (Daniel 6). We learn it is best to confess sin early and sincerely instead of shifting blame (1 Samuel 15). We learn not to toy with sin, because it will find us out (Judges 13—16). We learn that our sin has consequences not only for ourselves but for our loved ones (Genesis 3) and, conversely, that our good behavior has rewards for us and those around us (Exodus 20:5–6).
A study of the Old Testament also helps us understand prophecy. The Old Testament contains many promises that God will yet fulfill for the Jewish nation. The Old Testament reveals such things as the length of the Tribulation, how Christ’s future 1,000-year reign fulfills His promises to the Jews, and how the conclusion of the Bible ties up the loose ends that were unraveled in the beginning of time.
In summary, the Old Testament allows us to learn how to love and serve God, and it reveals more about God’s character. It shows through repeatedly fulfilled prophecy why the Bible is unique among holy books—it alone is able to demonstrate that it is what it claims to be: the inspired Word of God. In short, if you have not yet ventured into the pages of the Old Testament, you are missing much that God has available for you.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 05-06/15
A Loud "thank You" To Dr Geage for saying no To Berry's Evil Call for dialogue/Elias Bejjani/September 05/15
Raped in a Lebanese detention center/Myra Abdallah/Now Lebanon/September 05/15/“
How Lebanon’s YouStink protests are rippling across the world/Tarek Ali Ahmed/Al Arabiya News/September 05/15
We are the condemned wanderers from the East/Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/September 05/15
What can the Saudi-U.S. relationship achieve/Manuel Almeida/Al Arabiya/September 05/15
A Friend in a Friendly Country: Saudi, U.S. seek common ground/By David Andrew Weinberg | Special to Al Arabiya News/September 05/15
Toddler death: Canada notices a crisis it chose to ignore/By Ranjit Bhaskar/pecial to Al Arabiya News/Toronto/September 05/15
Iran Deal: Barbarity Wins/Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/September 05/15
Saudi Arabia: The Region's New Superpower/Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/September 05/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on September 05-06/15
A Loud "thank You" To Dr Geage for saying no To Berry's Evil Call for dialogue.
Geagea Slams Division of Shares, Describes Dialogue as 'Waste of Time'
Civil Society Activists Call for Nationwide Protests
General Security Arrests Palestinian, Syrian for Terror Ties
Raped in a Lebanese detention center
How Lebanon’s YouStink protests are rippling across the world

A Loud "thank You" To Dr Geage for saying no To Berry's Evil Call for dialogue.
Elias Bejjani/05.09.15
We call on all Lebanese politicians to follow Dr. Geage in his patriotic and courageous stance and refuse to succumb to the Iranian occupation and loudly say no to Berry's call for the poisonous dialogue.

Geagea Slams Division of Shares, Describes Dialogue as 'Waste of Time'
Naharnet/September 05/15/Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea announced on Saturday that the LF will not participate in a dialogue that Speaker Nabih Berri has called for to tackle Lebanon's controversial issues, describing it a “waste of time.”“The dialogue will be similar to its predecessors. Consequently, it is a waste of time,” Geagea said about previous all party-talks held under former President Michel Suleiman. “That's why we will not attend,” said the LF chief in a speech he gave following a yearly mass that he organizes in commemoration of the LF martyrs. “One thing is required now – heading to parliament and electing a president,” he said. Geagea stressed that holding the dialogue “would divert the attention from the single major step of … electing a president.”
His announcement came a day after Berri said he “would be glad” if Geagea decided to attend the talks. The rival parties are expected to discuss on Sept. 9 ways to end the vacuum at Baabda Palace, the resumption of the work of parliament and the cabinet, a new electoral draft-law, legislation allowing Lebanese expats to obtain the nationality, administrative decentralization and ways to support the army and the Internal Security Forces. Geagea said it was an “impossible assumption” that the conferees could agree on a presidential candidate. “The stance of each side from the presidential elections is known. How could we reach a different result?” he asked. “The dialogue will disregard our major problems, among them the waste crisis and the presidential elections,” he said. Lebanon has been without a president since the expiry of Michel Suleiman's six-year term in May 2014. The vacuum at Baabda Palace has paralyzed the parliament and the cabinet. The country's political problems worsened in July when a waste management crisis erupted following the closure of Lebanon's largest landfill in Naameh. The government's failure to resolve the crisis has evolved into wider protests against the corrupt political class that has dominated Lebanon since the end of the country's civil war in 1990. Geagea, who does not have representatives in the cabinet, slammed the government for failing to reach major decisions. He said that 25 years after the end of the civil war, Lebanon is still suffering from water shortage, power cuts, bad infrastructure, bad services and now a waste crisis. He said the only thing that the government's members agree on is the division of portfolios and shares. “When all the parties want to unite in a single cabinet and at a time when many politicians are corrupt, everyone would want to keep pace with the other through corruption,” Geagea stated. The LF chief agreed with protesters that the government should resign. “But on condition to form a new cabinet, which is neither ineffective, nor corrupt.”The election of a president is the only way to change the government with a better one, he added.

Civil Society Activists Call for Nationwide Protests
Agence France Presse/ Naharnet/September 05/15/The civil campaigns that have organized protests against the ruling class called on Friday for a nationwide mobilization against a government they say is too corrupt to function. "The people's outrage at this corrupt system continues... The protests will go on today and tomorrow in all Lebanese regions," the "You Stink" campaign wrote on its Facebook page. The movement and other groups called for demonstrations on Friday at 6:00 pm in the coastal city of Tyre and in Zrariyeh, both in southern Lebanon. And on Saturday, activists have called on supporters to protest in the eastern city of Chtaura, the historic town of Beiteddine and Nabatiyeh and Marjayoun in the south. The protest movement began over a rubbish crisis that left pungent waste piling up in Beirut and its outskirts, but it has evolved into a broad-based movement against government impotence and corruption. Demonstrations have escalated over the past two weeks, peaking on Saturday when tens of thousands flooded Martyrs Square in central Beirut in a rare display of non-partisan mobilization. On Tuesday, dozens of young activists staged a sit-in at the environment ministry to demand the resignation of the minister, but they were forcibly ejected. On Thursday, 13 "You Stink" activists began a hunger strike that they said would not end until Mohammed al-Mashnouq resigned as environment minister. In addition to his resignation, the campaign is calling for a lasting waste management plan, parliamentary elections, and accountability for violence against protesters. Rubbish has been piling up on the streets of Beirut and in the heavily populated Mount Lebanon area since the country's largest landfill in Naameh closed on July 17. The cabinet awarded tenders to several waste management companies last week, but has since retracted them. Both the cabinet and parliament have been paralyzed by profound political disputes.

General Security Arrests Palestinian, Syrian for Terror Ties
Naharnet/September 05/15/The General Security Department said on Saturday that it has arrested a Palestinian and a Syrian for carrying out terrorist activities in Lebanon. The Palestinian refugee has been involved along with other members of a group in training Islamic State group members in exchange for financial payments made by another Palestinian, said a communique. The training they have received is for the purpose of carrying out bombings in Lebanon, it said. General Security also arrested a Syrian for belonging to the IS and monitoring Lebanese army bases and movements in the northeastern border town of Arsal. The two suspects have been referred to the judiciary, added the communique.

Raped in a Lebanese detention center
Myra Abdallah/Now Lebanon/September 05/15/“Do not get scared when you hear the voices of prisoners in the other room screaming. We do not usually beat people up, but now we are bored and we want to have some fun,” he said. If one were to imagine a stereotypical Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir supporter, you wouldn’t imagine Amar (pseudonym). When she walked into the coffee shop for this interview, she was dressed like any number of 30-something, socially liberal women in Lebanon. Amar once owned a pet clinic in the Abra area of Saida before she was forced to shut it down. A Sunni, she used to drink alcohol and only stopped for medical reasons, and details of her lifestyle are evidence enough of her open-mindedness. But she was also an early supporter of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, the infamous radical Sunni cleric from Saida recently arrested in Beirut attempting to flee the country. Amar’s support for Assir ultimately led to her arrest by Lebanese authorities. While detained, she was brutally assaulted and gang-raped by officials. This is her story.
NOW: How did all this begin?
Amar: It all started with the Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir movement emerging in Saida. As a Saida resident, I felt that I was exposed and no one was protecting me. For me, Assir was a sheikh who was defending all people, especially the Sunnis. It started as a peaceful movement, but when Assir’s calls were not answered, the movement took a wrong turn and it became more violent. At the beginning, I started supporting Assir because I believed he was doing the right things and this is when many people started to be against me.
NOW: Were you the subject of any threats?Amar: Yes. In fact, I had a pet clinic in Abra. A lot of people attacked me there. They used to send me threatening messages and break into my shop to insult me in front of everybody. Because of this, I had to close my shop because I do not dare going there anymore. Before closing, people used to throw stones at me if they saw me walking on the street and sometimes they would shoot guns in the air to scare me. This happened directly after the Abra battle, although I did not have any direct connection with Assir. I used to pray at the Al-Imam mosque only and I used to like the sheikh. I used to post statements on Facebook, too, expressing my political opinion. I complained at the Ministry of Justice and they advised me to file a legal complaint, but they did not do anything about it.
NOW: Why were you arrested?
Amar: I was arrested after a personal conflict with the son of one of the commanders at the Lebanese Army intelligence branch. He used to enter my shop and insult me in front of everybody — he didn’t care if there were customers there or not. The story behind his behavior is that Ahmad al-Assir used to verbally attack his father. He once entered my shop in the evening, I was late at work and he was drunk. The employees were there and I was waiting for them to finish their tasks to close the clinic. He started insulting me loudly. That night, I asked him to leave and never come back to my shop. I literally told him that I did not care what he or his father could do to me. I threatened him for attacking me in my workplace. The next day, I receive a threatening message from someone from the Al-Masri family, known for being politically affiliated with Hezbollah. The third day, I got arrested.
NOW: What happened when you were detained?
Amar: I was arrested for five days and charged with 18 offenses. They accused me of being Assir’s office manager, of carrying weapons and communication devices, of having secret videos, attempting assassination, and others. I only supported Assir theoretically and did not have anything to do with the activities he used to plan for. The only contact I had with some of Assir’s people was in my shop, if they had animals and were my customers. When they arrested me, they searched my phone and did not find anything related to Assir. They tried to make me confess to the charges but I didn’t.
NOW: Did they physically assault you?
Amar: This is the biggest story I had to live. I was arrested for five days — I was hit and beaten up a lot. At first, they held me at the Ministry of Justice for three days and then transferred me to Rihaniyye. I had aneurysms in my leg because of the stress and the terror I had to deal with while I was detained. They did not allow me to call any lawyer or my parents. For five days, my parents did not know where I was. I was also raped. The day I was transferred to Rihaniyye — at the army intelligence branch detention center — I was sitting in my cell and trying to rest and I took off my jeans to wash up since I was alone in the cell. I was wearing a very long shirt that was long enough to cover me up in case somebody entered. All of a sudden, a muscled man came into my cell. I still remember him; his eyes were green, and he had a scarf wrapped around his wrist. He started threatening me. “Do not get scared when you hear the voices of prisoners in the other room screaming. We do not usually beat people up, but now we are bored and we want to have some fun,” he said. He went out, leaving the door open. After a few minutes, he came back in with another man. One of them cornered me against the wall and held my shoulders to restrain me from moving. I couldn’t resist him — he was stronger than me. This is when he raped me. When he was done, the other man approached me and did the same. They raped me twice. I was actually raped and sodomized. Afterwards, they started accusing me of being a prostitute and said they would investigate my ‘prostitution activities.’ When I asked them whether they were asking about my political activities or my sexual life, they hit me in the face. One of my teeth broke.
NOW: How were you released?
Amar: When they arrested me, I was at my shop. My employees were there and saw what happened. They notified a few of my friends. A lot of pressure started then — people who were supportive started acting accordingly. They also organized protests. My family started speaking to a few of their connections. I still do not know why I was released but I assume it was because of all this pressure. I have also been told that Ashraf Rifi was also working on my case to get me released. NOW: Did you hire a lawyer? Did you speak to anyone about this? Amar: The second I was released, I called a doctor I know to give me a medical report to prove I had been raped. When he found out that the incident happened to me at a detention center and by army intelligence officers, he did not want his name to be involved. I assumed many doctors would give the same answer. I hired a lawyer. Likewise, the lawyer advised me not to speak about it, because I would expose myself and no one would believe me. I felt that nobody would support me, so I didn’t dare to speak about it. I was too scared it might happen again.
NOW: What happened next?
Amar: My lawyer just followed up on the charges against me. Surprisingly, more than a month after my release release, he found out that there was an arrest warrant in my name. However, I was sentenced in absentia. According to the legal procedure, I was never detained. When my lawyer told me this, it came to my mind that they did not make me sign any paper, not even the investigation proceedings. Currently, I am following up with my lawyer on this case and going to court sessions. I am avoiding going to any official institution, especially institutions related to General Security of the Lebanese Army. The incident traumatized me. I do not even dare to go to General Security to renew my passport. I am scared of being detained again and having the same thing happen.

How Lebanon’s YouStink protests are rippling across the world
Tarek Ali Ahmed, Special to Al Arabiya News/Saturday, 5 September 2015/Lebanese expats living in the U.S. and Europe took to social media last week to organize protests in support of demonstrators in their home country rallying against the garbage crisis and calling for a change in government. Lebanese abroad have not let distance stop them from participating in the #YouStink movement, which kicked off on August 23rd and have continued since then, filling Martyrs’ square with thousands of youthful protesters calling for a change in the government. “I believe the rallies and protests being held abroad will have a significant impact on the Lebanese people,” Ghenwa Hakim, a lawyer and lead organizer of the Boston #YouStink rally, told Al Arabiya News. “I want to show my compatriots that they are supported and that their voices are heard.”
Support overseas
The main objective for the global protests is to show support to the activists and citizens in Martyrs’ square. Head organizer of the Los Angeles #YouStink rally Ibrahim el-Sayyed told Al Arabiya News that “we are here more to show the movement back home support, to know more about how grief the situation really is and what needs to happen.”“I think we’re here to give more hope the people back home. I don’t think we should be involved in what should happen next, they’re on the ground there, they are making the decisions and we trust the decisions they make,” he added. There are from 8 to 14 million Lebanese living outside of Lebanon; almost 4 times the amount currently residing in the country. The YouStink movement in Paris told Al Arabiya News that “even abroad, Lebanese are fed-up with the situation in Lebanon, and would like to see change, for the sake of their families still living there.”“Lebanese abroad still carry a strong tie with their country, and the success of this gathering [of between 700 to 1,000 people showing up] is evidence of this tie,” they added.
A united front
Lebanese citizens from all corners of the world are demanding change to the government that has been ruling the country since the end of the civil war in 1990. Even though the majority of them live abroad, everyone is rejoicing under one flag.“I know that one result of the protests, already evident, is the unity of the Lebanese people,” Hakim said. “I am so proud to see Lebanese from all backgrounds, religions, and political parties, put aside the differences that so long divided them and separated them,” she added. The movement has united expats from all across the globe under one reason and that is to find justice in Lebanon, from Paris to Montreal. The organizing committee of the Montreal #YouStink protest told Al Arabiya News, “The main objective of our movement was to show our families and friends back in Lebanon that they are not alone.”Although some are worried that their movement will soon fade, many believe that they will persist until reforms are made. “I’m very afraid that they lose faith in the movement for whatever reason, we’ve seen this happen before,” Sayyed said. “It could be through violence against them or through derailing this movement in a political way...we’re here just to tell them ‘don’t lose faith’, we’re abroad but we also, like you, believe in this movement,” he added.
A fresh start
The protest is seen as the biggest, politically independent, protest movement in Lebanon’s history to be organized. Lebanon has been plagued by a sectarian system since the new government was formed in the 90s. “Sectarian rule is meant to be temporary, and cannot work on a long term basis. It eats away at national identity and makes politicians accountable only to those voting from their sect,” Hakim said. Like many Lebanese living at home, many living abroad are tired with the government system that they see as doing more harm than good. “We need to change all the politicians and political figures. We need to shuffle faces, introduce new blood, a technocratic government, people not associated with the old regime,” said Sayyed. “I’m very much against the current system, and the way it surrounds sectarianism.”

EU's Mogherini Says Refugee Problem here to Stay
Agence France Presse/ Naharnet/September 05/15/EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said the refugee influx, which has opened deep divisions in the bloc, is here to stay and member states must adjust to that new reality. "It is here to stay; the sooner we accept it, the sooner we will be able to respond effectively (and) united as Europeans," Mogherini said after a two-day informal meeting of EU foreign ministers. "It affects all of us. A few months ago, it was Italy, Greece and Malta. Now it is Hungary and it could (be the) turn of other member states in the future," Mogherini said. The crisis has exposed sharp rifts in the 28-nation bloc, with Germany leading calls to take in many more people fleeing war and upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa. However, newer eastern member states led by Hungary bluntly oppose European Commission plans for mandatory quotas and a permanent admission mechanism, saying that would only encourage more migrants to risk their lives coming to Europe. The foreign ministers meeting, which as an informal gathering discussed policy but took no decisions, was overshadowed by dramatic events as thousands of migrants stranded for days in Budapest were bused to Austria en route to Germany. Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said their plight and the growing human cost was a "wake up call" for Europe to resolve its biggest refugee crisis since World War II. Austrian police said 4,000 people crossed into the country early Saturday morning, with the number predicted to rise to 10,000. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the understanding with Austria and Hungary on letting the refugees through should not set a precedent. "The help in the emergency situation was linked to an urgent appeal not to make out of this the practice for the coming days," he said. Mogherini said the issue was hugely important for the future of the European Union, which should remember that other countries were doing much more -- Turkey has taken in some two million refugees while member states could not agree on even the initial 60,000 proposed by the European Commission. Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker is expected to present new proposals next week in a "State of the Union" address, including taking in some 120,000 people via a quota system. Mogherini said the EU must connect the dots -- to deal with the problem from start to finish by pushing peace efforts in Syria, Libya and working with transit countries such as Niger. Efforts too must be made to tackle the stalled Middle East peace process, she said, arguing that the recent Iran nuclear accord showed how even long-standing problems could eventually be resolved.

Druze anti-regime cleric assassinated in Syria’s Suweida
Now Lebanon/September 05/15/BEIRUT – A top Druze cleric critical of the Syrian regime has been assassinated in Syria’s Suweida days after grassroots protests against high prices and corruption erupted in the southern province. The local “Suweida Now” Facebook group reported early Friday evening that an improvised explosive device had targeted a vehicle transporting Shaikh Waheed Balaous—who leads the Sheikhs of Dignity group—as well his companion Fadi Naim. Sources told the pro-regime news outlet that both were killed “instantly” by the explosion, which comes amid heightened tension in the normally secure region, which has not been beset by the fighting gripping the rest of the war-torn country. Lebanese daily Ad-Diyar—which supports the Bashar al-Assad regime—also reported on the assassination, saying that “a car packed with over 100 kilograms of explosives detonated as Balaous’ convoy passed by.”The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in turn, said a blast in the Thuhr al-Jabal area had killed four people, including a “Druze sheikh known for his opposition to the regime,” without naming Balaous. Minutes after Balaous’ assassination, another explosion rocked Suweida near a hospital in the Druze-populated city, leaving a number dead. Balaous’ assassination comes less than a month after the anti-Assad cleric announced the formation armed party, which he cryptically implied had been equipped with the help of Druze compatriots in Israel. The Druze sheikh issued a statement August 11 heralding the founding of Bayrak al-Fahd (Banner of the Leopard) in the village of Mazraa – the site of a historic August 1925 battle which saw Druze rebels lead by Sultan Pasha al-Atrash rout French troops in a victory that would inspire the Great Syrian Revolt against colonial mandate. Balaous also launched a broadside against Syrian security chief Ali Mamlouk in his statement, accusing him of trying to eliminate Syrian Druze who oppose the regime. “We know about the decision of Ali Mamlouk and others to liquidate us. We say to them: do your worst.”
Suweida protests
Friday’s dramatic events comes amid a growing protest movement in the Druze province, which saw hundreds of demonstrators gather outside the provincial government HQ in the provincial capital on Tuesday for a rally called by the newly-formed “We Are Being Strangled” (خنقتونا#) movement, which stresses it is making only social, not political, demands. The grassroots group has called on regime authorities to provide the province with electricity, heating oil and benzene, and to dismiss corrupt local officials and put an end to the smuggling of essential living supplies out of the Druze region.In an unprecedented show of anger, demonstrators on Tuesday went as far as storming the regime’s provincial government branch, which has a history of quelling dissent with disproportionate violence. However, regime forces took a more subtle approach to handling the protests, instead cutting roads as well as the internet in the province. “The organizers of the demonstrations were coordinating a new demonstration, larger than the first, that would have been held [Tuesday] in front of the provincial building in the middle of Suweida,” anti-Damascus outlet All4Syria reported. “The regime halted the organizers by taking away the means of communication between them and residents of the city.”Sources inside the city told All4Syria that “security forces are on high alert in case demonstrations start… and have blocked a number of roads.”Soaring prices, rising crime and poor infrastructure have all stoked already growing levels of popular discontent in Suweida, sparking the formation of the “We Are Being Strangled Movement.”Not much is known about the activist group—which announced its public presence August 30 via Facebook—or whether it is linked to Balaous’ Sheikhs of Dignity movement. While Suweida is under regime control, residents of the region have generally maintained an autonomous attitude and have protested enlistment into the Syrian army to fight in far-off areas of the country. However, as rebels in southern Syria have encroached on the borders of the Suweida province, the regime has ramped up efforts to build up its public support amid heightened fears of Islamist attacks.

UAE declares 3-day mourning for soldiers killed in Yemen
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News/Saturday, 5 September 2015/The UAE’s Ministry of Presidential Affairs has announced a three-day mourning period starting from Saturday in the wake of the death of at least 45 Emirati soldiers in Yemen, according to official news agency WAM. Flags will be flown at half-mast during the three-day period. The soldiers died after an accidental explosion at an ammunition store. No further details were available. (File photo: AFP) In a statement issued on Friday, the ministry said that UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al-Nahyan “mourns the death of the brave soldiers who martyred while performing their sacred duty as part of Arab coalition’s forces’ Operation Restoring Hope in order to defend justice and righteousness and to support those who suffer injustice.”The 45 soldiers were killed in an accidental explosion during operations at an arms depot at a military base in the eastern province of Maarib in central Yemen, near the border with Saudi Arabia, WAM reported on Friday. Saudi Arabia and a coalition of other Arab states have been fighting since March to restore Yemen’s exiled government and to repel the Iran-allied Houthi militias, who took control of the capital Sanaa in September.

At least 47 fighters die in clashes near Turkey border
By Reuters | Beirut/Saturday, 5 September 2015/At least 47 fighters were killed in clashes between ISIS and rival Syrian rebels, a monitor said on Saturday, in an area where the United States and Turkey are planning to open a new front against ISIS militants.
The renewed fighting raged on Friday around the rebel-held town of Marea, 20 km from the Turkish border, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The area falls within a “safe zone” Turkey said last month it would set up in northern Syria to help keep ISIS at bay. ISIS said late Friday it had waged a fresh assault on Marea, killing “dozens” of Syrian rebels fighting against it. The group last week encircled Marea, taking several villages around the town, in a blow to rebels who are likely partners for Ankara and Washington in any ground campaign. A loss of Marea would make it harder for Turkey and the United States to open a new front against ISIS. Western-backed rebels have sent in reinforcements from other parts of Aleppo province to try to beat back the jihadists, according to a rebel fighter. ISIS holds large swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq, and has advanced in other areas of Syria in recent months. It is fighting rival insurgents, the Syrian military and Kurdish regional forces alike in Syria’s four-year-old civil war.

Six Syria Regime Loyalists Killed in Druze Unrest
Agence France Presse/ Naharnet/September 05/15/At least six regime security personnel were killed in unrest in the heartland of Syria's Druze minority after the assassination of an anti-government cleric, a monitor said on Saturday. Supporters of Sheikh Wahid al-Balous, who was the leader of a powerful Druze militia, blamed the regime for twin car bombings in the southwestern city of Sweida that killed him and 27 other people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "Six members of regime security forces were shot dead on Friday night," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. The deaths came when angry local residents, some of them armed, attacked two security branches in Sweida after news of Balous's assassination. The cleric was a popular figure among Syria's Druze minority which made up around three percent of the country's pre-war population of 23 million. The Druze, who follow a secretive offshoot of Shiite Islam, have been divided during Syria's civil war, with some members fighting on the government side and others expressing sympathy for the opposition. Balous led the "Sheikhs of Dignity" group, Sweida's most powerful militia, and fought the Islamic State group and al-Qaida affiliate Al-Nusra Front. But he also opposed conscription of Druze men in a province where thousands of the sect's members have evaded service in the Syrian army's dwindling ranks, refusing to take up arms outside their own areas. As word of Balous's death spread on Friday night, protesters pelted the municipality building with stones, and gunfire was heard outside two security headquarters in the city. Residents said demonstrators also smashed a statue in the city centre of Hafez al-Assad, father and predecessor of President Bashar al-Assad.Local Druze clerics later intervened with the protesters to urge them to return home. On Saturday, calm returned to the city although residents said Internet connections remained down and an army checkpoint blocked the main road to Damascus. In the capital, a security source insisted the demonstrations were against "terrorism" not the regime. State media reported the car bombs but made no mention of Balous's death. Sweida has largely been spared the violence that the rest of Syria has experienced since the conflict erupted in March 2011. But there has been occasional unrest, including protests backed by Balous just days before his death, in which residents demanded better government services, including power and water. Analysts said Balous's killing appeared intended to intimidate parts of the Druze community that have sought to hedge their bets and distance themselves from a weakened regime.
"Balous symbolized that movement of Druze wanting to be independent from the regime, but also not hostile to the opposition, wanting to decide their own fate," said Hassan Hassan, an associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank. "The regime had made it clear that this movement was not to be tolerated." Thomas Pierret, a Syria expert at the University of Edinburgh, said the short-term anger was a price the regime was willing to pay to undermine Balous's movement. "It managed to eliminate the most influential critical voice among the Druze community," he said.

U.S. Tells Moscow it's Concerned about Possible Russian Military Buildup in Syria
Agence France Presse/ Naharnet/September 05/15/U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry raised U.S. concerns about reports of "an imminent enhanced Russian military buildup" in Syria, in a phone call Saturday to his counterpart in Moscow, the U.S. State Department said.
"The secretary made clear that if such reports were accurate, these actions could further escalate the conflict, lead to greater loss of innocent life, increase refugee flows and risk confrontation with the anti-ISIL coalition operating in Syria," the State Department said. Kerry spoke by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, discussing with him "U.S. concerns about reports suggesting an imminent enhanced Russian buildup there," the department said. "The two agreed that discussions on the Syrian conflict would continue in New York later this month," it said. The New York Times reported that Russia has sent a military advance team to Syria and was taking other steps that Washington fears may signal plans to vastly expand its military support for President Bashar al-Assad.
The Times said the moves included the recent transport of prefabricated housing units for hundreds of people to a Syrian airfield and the delivery of a portable air traffic control station there. Russia's President Vladimir Putin was asked Friday whether Russia was taking part in military operations against the Islamic State group in Syria. "We are looking at various options but so far what you are talking about is not on the agenda," he said. "To say we're ready to do this today -- so far it's premature to talk about this. But we are already giving Syria quite serious help with equipment and training soldiers, with our weapons," RIA Novosti state news agency quoted Putin as saying. Russia's Foreign Ministry said Saturday's telephone call was made at Kerry's initiative. It made no mention of U.S. concerns about a possible Russian military buildup, but said the two discussed "different aspects of the situation in Syria and its environs, as well as the objectives of the fight against IS and other terrorist groups."

Egypt Refers Islamist Cleric, Dozens of Others to Military Trial
Agence France Presse/ Naharnet/September 05/15/ Egypt's prosecution referred at least 38 alleged Islamists, including an influential exiled cleric, to military trial Saturday, accusing them of setting up militant cells that killed a police officer. The prosecution said 35 people have been arrested, and accused leaders of the ousted Muslim Brotherhood of inciting them to carry out violent attacks. The statement said they include two detained Muslim Brotherhood figures. Additionally, Youssef al-Qardawi, an influential Egyptian-born cleric who lives in Qatar and at least two other suspects who are abroad will be tried in absentia. They are charged with ordering or carrying out several bombings in Cairo and involvement in the assassination of a police colonel in April. Police have arrested thousands of Islamists since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. A crackdown on Morsi's followers has killed hundreds of protesters, while militant attacks have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers, mainly in the Sinai Peninsula. Courts, usually civilian ones, have sentenced hundreds of alleged Islamists to death, including Morsi himself. Most have appealed and won retrials, while seven have been hanged, including six who had been sentenced to death by a military tribunal.Rights campaigners say military trials deliver harsh verdicts with little due process for defendants.

Report: France Mulls Joining Syria Air Strikes on IS
Agence France Presse/ Naharnet/September 05/15/ France is considering joining U.S.-led coalition air strikes against Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Syria, a reversal of its current position, Le Monde daily said Saturday.
Neither the French presidency, the ministry of foreign affairs nor the defense ministry would comment on the report, with officials saying only that President Francois Hollande may address the question during his twice-yearly press conference on Monday. France currently only participates in missions against IS in Iraq following that country's request for international help against the jihadists. Paris has refused to join coalition strikes in Syria on fears that foreign intervention may inadvertantly help Syrian President Bashar Assad hold on to power.
But Le Monde said France is feeling forced by events to reconsider its position and contemplate joining air strikes and reconnaissance flights over the war-torn country. "The accelerating exodus of Syrian (refugees), the failure of the coalition to push IS back to Iraq and the possible reinforcement of Russian military presence (in Syria) are challenging the French position," Le Monde said. One French official speaking on condition of anonymity rejected the paper's claim, telling AFP on Saturday that "our line hasn't changed, and there's no question of joining the coalition in Syria."However, official sources told AFP that Paris may renounce its pledge not to intervene militarily in Syria "for reasons of national security... (and) in complete independence" in response to France having been targeted this year by terror attacks and plots to IS-linked jihadists.But at the same time, officials said, France's priority remains finding a credible political alternative to Syria's current regime.

Morocco's Ruling Islamists Win Regional Polls
Agence France Presse/ Naharnet/September 05/15/ Morocco's Islamists came first in regional elections seen as a test of their popularity after nearly four years in power, but trailed the liberal opposition in municipal polls, results showed Saturday. Friday's double elections were viewed as a gauge of the political climate ahead of a general election next year. They come four years after Arab Spring protests ushered in constitutional reforms by the monarchy in the North African nation. Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's Justice and Development Party (PJD) won 25.6 percent of 678 seats in regional councils. The Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM), a liberal opposition party founded by a politician close to the king, came second with 19.4 percent. It was the first opportunity for Moroccan voters to elect their regional councillors directly. The PJD came first in five of Morocco's 12 regions, including in Casablanca, Rabat and Fez, cities with large populations. In the municipal polls, however, the PAM came first with 21.1 percent of 31,503 seats, while the conservative opposition Istiqlal Party followed with 16.2 percent. The PJD came third with 15.9 percent. Earlier the interior ministry had said a tally of 80 percent of the overall votes indicated the PAM was leading. The PJD hailed its stronger performance compared with the previous local elections in 2009, when it finished with 5.4 percent, far behind PAM which scored 21 percent. "These results confirm the confidence of the Moroccan people in the work of the government," Abdelali Hamieddine, a senior official with the Islamist party, said of the earlier partial results. The interior ministry said turnout was 53.6 percent, little changed compared with 2009. About 15 million people were eligible to vote. Habiba Ramzi, a voter in her 80s, said she hoped that those elected "will think about the poor this time".
"To those candidates I say 'enough corruption and lies,'" she said, adding that she wanted to see more done to improve education. In 2011, Benkirane's PJD became the country's first Islamist party to win a national election, and the first to lead a government. That vote followed concessions from King Mohammed VI, the scion of a monarchy that has ruled Morocco for 350 years. A new constitution curbed some, but not all, of the king's near-absolute powers as pro-democracy uprisings unseated autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. The local polls were boycotted by Morocco's largest Islamist movement, Justice and Charity, and the smaller, far-leftist party Democratic Path.

Reports: Yemen Missile Strike also Killed 10 Saudi Troops
Naharnet/September 05/15/Ten Saudi soldiers were killed in the missile strike in Yemen that also left 45 Emirati soldiers dead, Saudi media said Saturday, in the kingdom's first losses inside the country. Friday's explosion at the Safer base in Marib province east of the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa was also reported to have killed five troops from Bahrain. It was the worst day yet for the Saudi-led coalition that in March began a campaign of air strikes, targeting Iran-backed Shiite rebels, aimed at restoring President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government to power.Coalition spokesman General Ahmed Assiri was cited by Saudi online media on Saturday as confirming the Saudi deaths in the explosion. The Huthi rebels claimed they had fired a rocket that caused the blast, and the UAE's official press agency reported the military responded with a series of night raids on Marib, Sanaa, the northern Huthi stronghold of Saada and the central city of Ibb. "The mission of the coalition forces is to restore peace and stability to Yemen," the daily Al-Riyadh quoted Assiri as saying.
"They will continue their military operations until their objectives are achieved."While the explosion was the first time Saudi soldiers were killed on the ground in Yemen, around 60 people, mostly soldiers, have been killed inside Saudi Arabia by cross-border shelling.

Labor's Herzog: Israel Must Welcome Syrian Refugees
Agence France Presse/ Naharnet/September 05/15/Opposition Labor party leader Isaac Herzog called Saturday for Israel to take in Syrian refugees, recalling the plight of Jews who sought refuge from past conflicts. "Our people has experienced first-hand the silence of the world and cannot be indifferent in the face of the murder and massacre raging in Syria," Herzog posted on his Facebook page. Speaking at a panel discussion in Tel Aviv, he called on the government "to act toward receiving refugees from the war in Syria, in addition to the humanitarian efforts it is already making."There is already hostility in Israel toward asylum-seekers from Africa and a concerted government effort to repatriate them. Official figures show there are 45,000 illegal immigrants in the Jewish state, almost all from Eritrea and Sudan. Most of those who are not in detention centres live in poor areas on the south side of Tel Aviv, where there have been several protests against them. Someone identifying himself as Sefi Kamrani wrote on Herzog's Facebook page: "Take all the refugees into your home if you're so worried about them. I'd like to see you live just one week in south Tel Aviv." Meanwhile, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called on the United Nations Saturday to press Israel to allow Palestinians from refugee camps in Syria to take shelter in the Palestinian territories, whose external borders are controlled by the Jewish state. "President Abbas has asked the Palestinian representative to the UN to implement as quickly as possible, in coordination with the UN secretary general, measures for the return of Palestinian refugees from Syria to the Palestinian territories," his office said. The U.N. says there are more than 525,000 Palestinian refugees at its camps in Syria, many of whom have been displaced by the civil war there. Israel has long been treating wounded Syrians who reach Israeli lines on the occupied Golan Heights, but hostility among the Druze of the area has flared due to rebel attacks on their brethren in Syria. In June Druze attacked an Israeli military ambulance on the Golan transporting wounded Syrians to hospital, killing one of them. Previously, Druze in northern Israel's Galilee region stoned a military ambulance they suspected was taking Syrian rebels to hospital.

UK Plan to Join Syria Air Strikes Threatened by Corbyn
Agence France Presse/ Naharnet/September 05/15/Prime Minister David Cameron's hope that Britain would join air strikes against Islamic State (IS) group targets in Syria is fading due to the likely election of anti-war campaigner Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the opposition Labor Party. After parliament returns Monday, Cameron's center-right government had hoped to call a vote on the issue in a bid to extend Britain's current role in coalition air strikes against IS targets in Iraq. But Corbyn, a leading opponent to the 2003 Iraq war who wants to apologize over the conflict if elected leader of Britain's main opposition party on September 12, is deeply opposed to the move. "I will only proceed going further on this issue if there is genuine consensus in the United Kingdom about it before going back to parliament," Cameron said during a press conference on Friday. Cameron stressed that military action against IS was part of the "comprehensive program" he envisages to tackle the migrants crisis which has seen thousands of people, including many Syrians, flock to Europe.
Lawmakers in parliament's foreign affairs committee are due to discuss possible air strikes on Tuesday. The prime minister cannot secure the necessary parliamentary approval for air strikes without opposition support due to a slim parliamentary majority and the opposition of some of his own MPs. "He thinks there is a case for taking further action against ISIL (another term for IS) but he would prefer to proceed in a consensual way," Cameron's spokeswoman told reporters recently. This looks impossible under a Corbyn leadership. "I'm not convinced that air strikes in Syria will do any good other than kill a lot of civilians and other people," Corbyn told AFP at a campaign event last week. Cameron's government was defeated on taking military action in Syria in 2013 in one of the most damaging foreign policy blows to his previous coalition government. If the veteran leftist is elected Labour leader as expected, it could also pose wider and highly sensitive problems on defence for Cameron.Asked if there were any circumstances under which he would deploy military forces abroad during a debate Thursday, Corbyn said: "I'm sure there are some. But I can't think of them at the moment."Corbyn, who was a leading figure in the Stop The War Coalition, which organised one of Britain's biggest ever rallies against the Iraq conflict in 2003, also wants to scrap Britain's nuclear deterrent.
Policy 'on the hoof
Cameron's desire to go further in Syria is linked to the jihadist killing of 30 Britons on a beach in Tunisia in June. He signaled his intention to hold a vote during a visit to the U.S. in July, saying Britain should "step up and do more" in the fight against IS. Britain is part of a coalition of over 60 countries and has eight Tornado jets flying missions over Iraq, plus Reaper drones. British pilots embedded with coalition forces have already taken part in a small number of air strikes on Syria. But Cameron has been criticized for a lack of coherence over his strategy in the region. David Richards, a former head of Britain's armed forces, has accused Cameron of lacking the "balls" to take action earlier, while the chairman of the House of Commons defense select committee, Julian Lewis, said policy was being made up "on the hoof". "It is difficult to see any material advantage to the UK conducting air strikes against ISIS in Syria," said Neil Quilliam of foreign affairs think-tank Chatham House, adding it could even fuel support for the group.

Al-Shabaab militants seize two towns in southern Somalia
By Reuters, Mogadishu/Saturday, 5 September 2015/Islamist militants al Shabaab seized control of two towns over two days in southern Somalia and attacked two African Union (AU) convoys in the same region, a spokesman for the group and a local official said on Saturday. Both captured towns were on routes towards Indian Ocean ports south of the capital Mogadishu and came after al Shabaab fighters attacked an AU base in the same area on Sept. 1. Last year, African Union peacekeepers known as AMISOM drove al Shabaab back in the south and seized the port of Barawe in October, a coastal town used by the Islamist militants to bring in arms and fighters from abroad for years. Al Shabaab lost control of the main southern port of Kismayu and the port of Marka in 2012, so the loss of Barawe was a setback, leaving the group with no access to the sea in the south of Somalia. On Saturday, al Shabaab said it had seized two small towns in the Lower Shabelle region: El Saliindi, 65 km (40 miles) south of Mogadishu en route to Marka, and Kuntuwarey, on the road between the capital and Barawe. The al Qaeda-affiliated group, which is seeking to overthrow the Western-backed government and impose its harsh version of Islamic law, attacks the AU-led peacekeeping force and Somali officials regularly.
Convoys
Ali Nur, the acting governor of Lower Shabelle, confirmed the towns had been captured. “It is sad to say al Shabaab has taken El Saliindi. AU forces withdrew and al Shabaab now controls it,” said Nur, adding that Kuntuwarey was seized on Friday. The AU peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM, could not immediately be reached for comment. Also on Saturday, the militants said they attacked an AU convoy outside Marka, killing several soldiers. But Nur said the death toll had not been determined. “A roadside bomb targeted an AU vehicle as the AU convoy passed in the outskirts of Marka today. We do not know details about casualties,” said Nur. Al Shabaab said it hit a second AU convoy with a suicide car bomb near Janale, the site of the attack on the AU base. “Many soldiers died and several AU vehicles are burning,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military spokesman, told Reuters. Nur said he was aware of the bombing. He said while AMISOM forces had not been hit, one civilian was killed. Al Shabaab often exaggerates the success of its attacks and officials play down losses. On Sept. 1, al Shabaab stormed an AU base in Janale, about 90 km (55 miles) south of Mogadishu, killing at least 12 Ugandan soldiers. Al Shabaab claimed it had killed 70 people in the assault, which came roughly a year after its leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed in a U.S. air strike.

We are the condemned wanderers from the East
Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/September 05/15
We are the new condemned wanderers from the East. We are the new itinerants traversing through your physical borders of barbwires and inhospitable emotional barriers. We are moving hurriedly and anxiously through your highways and byways fleeing on our feet, in rickety boats and suffocating trucks, lands of sorrows and despair, following the Northern Star to the heart of Europe which seems to us at times as distant as a faraway galaxy. We are escaping the barrel bombs and gas attacks of the Assad regime in Syria, and the barbarous depredations of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the civil wars in Africa and Afghanistan. You see us trekking ceaselessly and sometimes aimlessly, carrying few sacks and bundles of meager possessions and many precious children and babies. We carry them on our shoulders and backs, in sacks attached to our chests, with their dark and blond hairs blowing in the winds. When we get too exhausted we hold them by the hand and almost drag them on the hot asphalt. We dare not read the horrors in their eyes, and we try to console them, wiping tears off their fair faces while trying to hide ours. What can you say to a hungry and cold three year old girl clutching you almost violently at a crowded railroad station in a foreign land while waiting for handouts?
Desperate crossing
We are the new boat people coming to your Southern shores, from some of your previous colonies. Our histories were intertwined, in the geographic confines of the great White Sea. We make our desperate crossing on crowded boats that are not seaworthy, hostages to the hard men who sail them and to the cruelty of the sea. Our ordeal is not your fault Europe, but in a way it is everyone’s failure - except the children
And the short distances from North Africa and the Levant seem as long and as painful as those accounts of the horrific Middle Passage of the infamous transatlantic slavery that we read about in history books. And it turned out that the Greek mythical sea creatures of the Mediterranean like the Scylla and Charybdis were real. They claimed many of our loved ones. Those who were not kept in the watery graveyards of the Mediterranean were washed up on its shorelines, half naked, on their backs with arms open as if in silent prayer, or on their stomachs in serene postures, with the gentle waves still lapping on their sleepy faces. There were too many of them, including children last week. Many of them were nameless, and some we came to know their names and became acquainted with their surviving relatives who introduced us to some of their happier moments captured in photographs. And those are the hardest to deal with.
An iconic photo
We know that many of you were very moved by the picture of a lifeless 3- year old Kurdish Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach. The name of the little boy in a red shirt and blue shorts and sneakers, is Aylan Kurdi. His 5-year old brother, Galip, washed up not far away on the same beach. Somehow the waves lifted him to the beach and deposited him in a posture that would break the heart of every parent, remembering the numerous times they watched their 3-year olds in that serene posture in their beds, without the sneakers. The photograph, which included a lanky Turkish policeman writing brief notes about a brief life created an international outcry betraying our collective failure to protect the lives of countless Aylans in Syria in particular, a country that has been dying slowly for almost five years. Some of you reacted as if ten thousand Syrian children did not perish in that cruel war. Aylan’s body looked eerily at peace. He was reminiscent of those rows and rows of Syrian boys and girls killed by Assad’s chemical weapons in August 2013, with their ashen faces wet after they were washed by their parents and medics in the last desperate efforts to save their lives. There is something peculiar about bloodless victims of wars. But why is it that some of you can only relate to wars and calamities through iconic photos like Aylan’s? Most of the children killed in Syria remain nameless except for their next of kin, and their final moments were bloody.
The children of a lesser God
We know that we are the second largest refugee Tsunami to hit Europe since the Second World War, when 60 million were uprooted, expelled or displaced and left to roam the ruined cities and towns of the continent. We know that Europe is deeply divided because of us. There is the magnanimous welcoming Germany willing to take about 800 thousands of us, four times last year's figure and more than all the other nations in the European Union, but then there is Hungry which is building a modern hostile fence on its border with Serbia to prevent us from crossing. To them we are the modern day equivalent of the Barbarians who should be kept at the gates. Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, wrote in a German paper about the need to secure his nation’s borders from the mostly Muslim refugees and migrants ‘to keep Europe Christian’. Not to be outdone, Slovakia has said it will accept only a limited number of Christian refugees. Is this the Europe of the 21st century? Are not there already millions of Muslims in Europe with deep roots from the shores of the Black Sea to the Iberian Peninsula? And as if the old Jewish communities of Europe, did not contribute magnificently to its arts and sciences? We know that we worship the same God, though we know also that you consider us the children of a lesser God.
The forgotten history of European wanderers
Some of us know your traumatic history with refugees, since you have created the largest wave of such wanderers in history. Our numbers are large, but they pale in comparison with the refugees in your midst 70 years ago. Maybe the German government’s moral position is in part due to its bitter memories of the millions of Germans who were expelled from Eastern Europe after WWII. During the last stages of that war many Germans fled East Prussia, but Thousands of them drowned in the overloaded ships in the Baltic Sea. With the exception of few details those European refugees 70 years ago were like us today. More than 11 million Germans were expelled or moved from Eastern Europe. Other refugees were the Jews, including those who survived the concentration camps, were turned into refugees after the end of the war when they returned to their homes only to be told that they are not welcomed since their properties had new occupants. Will some in Europe shot the gates in our faces, just as they did to German and Jewish refugees after the Second World War? We want to be part of your future by reminding you of your recent past.
Some of us are cognizant that the United States, a country of immigrants, wanderers and refugees has accepted less than 2 thousand Syrian refugees. But some of us still remember that the U.S. during WWII accepted only 21 thousand Jewish refugees from Europe; in fact in 1939 a ship carrying 936 Jewish refugees from Germany was not allowed to unload on orders of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
From Warsaw to Homs
Until recently, we were like you, leading lives of normalcy, worried about mundane things and the everyday inconveniences, punctuated by occasional sublime acts and thoughts. Nothing prepares you to become a refugee. To be uprooted and condemned to a life of wandering and relying on the kindness of strangers, knowing as the patterns of resettlement of refugees, shows that a majority of them cannot go home again is akin to banishment to a life of perpetual unfulfilled yearnings and disillusionments. Some of us lived in famed cities like your famed cities. And abruptly the sky was raining barrel bombs, cluster munitions, and rockets laden with chemical weapons, accompanied by siege and starvation.
The world expressed sympathy and we were grateful. Then our cities began to die, like Europe’s cities in the 14th century when the bubonic plague decided to visit and stay. People were uprooted, and then the historic places, structures and activities that one associate with culture and civilization began to crumble literally and figuratively. Some of us, like some of your forefathers in the Second World War were forced to defend their cities. Those who were under siege in an ancient city like Homs, fought bravely against the praetorian guards of the local despot and his foreign brutal legionnaires, just as the braves of Warsaw fought ferociously in 1944 against German occupation ( just as the Jews did a year earlier with tragic end to the whole community). The defendants of both cities lost, as magnificently as great men lose. The few who survived became refugees…
Our ordeal is not your fault Europe, but in a way it is everyone’s failure - except the children. We will always ask ourselves, just as our children will ask us in the future; what went wrong? How come we reached this nadir? How come we are now a nation on the move, a nation of itinerants? We are the wanderers from the East, condemned to wandering and wondering.
Refugees in the sun
In one week more than a hundred refugees drowned off the coast of Libya and 71 migrants suffocated in a truck on an Austrian highway in the heart of Europe. Crammed against one another in the heat of summer, the bodies began to decompose. It is believed that some, if not all of them fled the war in Syria, to die alone in a dark truck on another continent.
When I read the news I immediately remembered the novella ‘Men in the Sun’ written by the Palestinian novelist Ghassan Kanafani, and published in 1962. This is a tale of three Palestinian refugees of humble backgrounds, a young boy of 16, a resistance fighter in his twenties, and an old peasant. All are leaving behind lives of alienation and disillusionment, hoping to find a better future in wealthy Kuwait. Their smuggler hide them in the oven-like tank of his lorry, before he is delayed for trivial reasons at the borders. The three men suffocate and die. After the smuggler dispose of the bodies in a trash dump, he wonders in fright why the three men did not knock on the walls of the lorry, their allegorical prison. Were these men condemned to die, because they traveled too far from their homeland, did they feel total despair because their self-imposed exile in the desert could only lead to their demise. Or did they decide at that fateful moment that it is better for them to commit suicide and die with some dignity rather than run the risk of being caught and endure further humiliation. The smuggler kept asking ‘why didn’t you knock on the walls of the lorry? Why didn’t you say anything? Why? Why? Why?
I kept wondering if those 71 refugees tried to knock on the walls of the truck. Did they knock and were ignored? Is it conceivable that they decided to die in silence and some dignity? Maybe, but if they did not knock on the walls, we have to keep asking why? Why? Why?

What can the Saudi-U.S. relationship achieve?
Manuel Almeida/Al Arabiya/September 05/15
The ties between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are more resilient and in better shape than what a few gloomy reports and analyses in American media might suggest. Yet, ahead of King Salman’s visit to Washington to meet with President Obama on Friday, it was no secret there were some important differences on key regional issues between the Saudi government and the current U.S. administration. Leaders on both sides have always managed to overcome inevitable divergences. In fact, previous visits by Saudi kings to the U.S. often occurred during periods of serious tensions in the bilateral relationship. For example, in April 2002 the late King Abdullah (at the time de facto regent) met with George W. Bush in Texas. This was only eight months after 15 Saudi nationals were directly involved in the Sept.11 terrorist attacks and when the image of Saudi Arabia among Americans was at its lowest ever. King Abdullah returned three years later during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which the king himself and various senior Saudi government officials had strongly warned the Bush administration against. It ''would not serve America's interests or the interests of the world'', King Abdullah said in early 2002.
A transformed region
Part of the challenge to make the best out of the relationship is that the region itself has been transformed dramatically. The more stable and predictable Middle East of the 1990s no longer exists. Iraq, one of the three Gulf giants and key piece of the Gulf’s balance of power together with Saudi Arabia and Iran, is in shatters. Some of the elements that have characterized the U.S.-Saudi relationship for many years have changed. The hangover of the invasion of Iraq not only affected the region and opened the doors to Iranian control in Baghdad, but also had a profound impact in the way the current administration perceives America’s regional role. The four goals above all seem to define the current U.S. engagement in the Middle East: the fight against ISIS and al-Qaeda; the nuclear deal with Iran; the commitment to the U.S. military presence in the Gulf, but without enough political backing so far to have the desired stabilizing effect; and not to become embroiled in the region’s intricate conflicts.
Beyond these goals, the Obama administration has never really devised a Middle East strategy, to the desperation of regional partners and most of Washington’s close observers of the region. Then the Arab uprisings and the unprecedented levels of turmoil and violence in the Middle East have come to magnify the feeling of insecurity, not only among the Saudis. The Syrian tragedy in particular became a perfect storm, affecting neighbouring states, igniting radicalism and tensions across the region, all in the face of Washington’s passivity. In the meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, still bent on exporting the revolution, are playing a prominent role in various regional crises.
A need for a tangible achievement
Some of the elements that have characterized the U.S.-Saudi relationship for many years have also changed. In the late 1930s, an American company started to export oil from Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province and the Saudi oil industry would grow exponentially to become the key source of oil imports for the U.S. Today, the U.S. shale revolution has made the U.S. energy-independent. However, contrary to what some peculiar voices have argued ahead of King Salman’s visit, the list of strategic interests shared by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia is still a long one. The global oil market is deeply interconnected and its stability is a shared interest. Saudi Arabia remains Washington’s key security partner in the Gulf. A member of the G20 and key member of the GCC, Riyadh continues to be a very attractive market for American companies. The U.S. is Saudi’s major weapons supplier, it can play a key role in assisting Saudi efforts of economic diversification, and many Saudis continue to eagerly invest in the U.S. market.Nevertheless, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia should now work closely to achieve something tangible that could reinvigorate the alliance and help invert the current negative tide in the Middle East. Among the various pressing regional issues addressed in the meetings between King Salman, President Obama, and other officials from both sides, was the nuclear deal with Iran and its consequences, the IRGC’s activities in the region, the Syrian conflict, the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen, and the fight against ISIS and al-Qaeda. While Syria, safe zones and an agreement that involves Assad’s departure should be an absolute priority, this is perhaps the toughest aim to achieve. In the meantime, closer Saudi-U.S. collaboration on other issues could go a long way in putting an end to conflicts and reducing tensions. This would require boldness and political will from Washington and a willingness to think strategically beyond the nuclear deal.

A Friend in a Friendly Country: Saudi, U.S. seek common ground
By David Andrew Weinberg | Special to Al Arabiya News/September 05/15
Sitting in the White House Oval Office, King Salman told President Obama on Friday that he was “happy to come to a friendly country to meet a friend.” In many ways, that mentality defined the visit. President Obama similarly welcomed the opportunity to “reaffirm not only our personal friendship” but the longstanding friendship between the two nations. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave a White House presentation on his vision for a twenty-first century strategic partnership, and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the visit would move relations to “a new horizon.”An extensive joint statement was issued Friday after the king’s White House meeting. That and the extensive preparatory meetings by Jubeir and Secretary of State John Kerry suggest the visit was carefully planned out to identify areas of common ground in spite of what President Obama’s former Mideast aide Philip Gordon recognized were some “fundamental strategic gaps,” most notably on Iran.
Addressing Iranian threats
King Salman permitted the U.S. administration to write in joint language that he “expressed his support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” provided it is “fully implemented.” Reuters news agency also quoted FM al-Jubeir stating that the king received assurances on the effectiveness of inspections and snapback sanctions, the deal’s technical features other than its expiration date that have elicited the most Saudi concern. Riyadh has long expressed concern over the nuclear deal but has reportedly accepted it as a fait accompli.
Saudi MP Abdullah al-Askar explained before the visit that the kingdom is now more focused on the risk sanctions relief under the JCPOA will exacerbate Iran’s terrorist subversion throughout the region. On Friday the leaders agreed to oppose this behavior, partly through their regional discussions and partly via the military agenda adopted at Camp David. Despite King Salman’s decision not to attend Obama’s Camp David summit in May, the two leaders “expressed satisfaction” with that summit’s outcome and pledged to implement its results. Lately the U.S. has declined to confront Iran’s forces directly and prefers to empower GCC interventions instead, bolstering the Gulf’s assets versus asymmetric Iranian threats. Kerry explained in a letter to Congress Wednesday that six working groups are implementing this agenda focusing on expedited arms sales, military training, cyber security, counterterrorism, missile defense, and maritime cooperation to stop Iranian arms smuggling.
Counterterrorism in Syria and Yemen
The parties in Washington recommitted to terms of the Jeddah Accord from the last anniversary of 9/11, when Saudi Arabia and other Arab states pledged to keep blocking terror recruitment, tackle terror finance, and fight ISIS’s exclusionary ideology. King Salman and President Obama also pledged to keep cooperating to defeat al-Qaeda and the ISIS. President Barack Obama, right, meets with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office of the White House, on Friday, Sept. 4, 2015, in Washington. (AP) On Yemen, the leaders highlighted the importance of an urgent political solution, a point reiterated in a meeting between Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The king also agreed on the importance of ensuring unfettered access for aid and fuel to all areas of Yemen and on reopening Yemen’s Red Sea ports under United Nations supervision.
On Syria, Obama’s advisors indicated he would discuss ways to ensure the U.S. is on the same page as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey in terms of which rebel groups should receive outside support. Friday’s joint statement also noted that the leaders also discussed their ideal vision for that nation’s future as a pluralistic democracy with territorial integrity and its military and civilian institutions kept intact.
The broader agenda
While it was widely expected Syria and Yemen would be on the docket, there was little public talk of a wider regional agenda in advance. Other topics that ultimately were touched on included the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iraq, and Lebanon. Palestinian Authority official Nabil Abu Rudeineh had predicted Palestine would dominate the talks, but that was not the case. With a Saudi-U.S. business forum taking place across town, trade relations were in clear view Friday as well. President Obama and his advisors pledged support for Saudi efforts on renewable energy, education modernization, and health care so young Saudis can look forward to greater “prosperity and opportunity” in the future. The king, for his part, dispelled hints this could be his last presidential meeting in the Obama era, inviting the president to visit Riyadh again.

Toddler death: Canada notices a crisis it chose to ignore
By Ranjit Bhaskar/pecial to Al Arabiya News/Toronto/September 05/15
News that the family of Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler who drowned on a Turkish beach, had tried to get to Canada has touched a raw nerve amid campaigning for the federal election in October.
The government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, sensing a looming public relations crisis, hunkered down on Thursday to recalibrate its public stance on the refugee crisis. Leaders of both the main opposition parties berated the Conservatives for not doing enough for the refugees, without offering new policy proposals of their own. Suddenly, what was until now a European crisis had become Canada’s too. “It is a crisis that has been on the radar for over five years that Canada had chosen to ignore,” said Sujith Xavier, professor of law at the University of Windsor. “Xenophobia, the fear of Islam and racist views have a role here.” The spotlight was thrown on the crisis because Tima Kurdi, an aunt of Aylan who lives in the Vancouver area, had sent a letter this spring to federal Immigration Minister Chris Alexander seeking to sponsor the boy’s family of four for resettlement here. Their application was apparently rejected.
However, later on Thursday, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) said in a statement that the department had handled an application for another Kurdi brother, Mohammad, not for Abdullah and his family.
“An application for Mr Mohammad Kurdi and his family was received by the department but was returned as it was incomplete and it did not meet regulatory requirements for proof of refugee status recognition from the UNHCR or from a foreign state. There was no record of an application received for Mr Abdullah Kurdi and his family,” the statement said.
It also denied that Canada had offered citizenship to Abdullah Kurdi. Earlier reports had said that after identifying his dead family, Abdullah Kurdi, the sole survivor, claimed Canadian officials had offered him citizenship after seeing what had happened but that he declined.
“I was trying to sponsor them, and I have my friends and my neighbours who helped me with the bank deposits, but we couldn’t get them out, and that is why they went in the boat,” a distraught Tima Kurdi has been quoted as saying. She posted this on Facebook: “My deepest condolences to my brother's family who suffered a tragic death in search of a better life. Where is the humanity in the world [?] They did not deserve this. My heart is broken. Rest in peace Angels.”
Rocco Logozzo, her husband, told The Canadian Press news agency his family had money and plenty of room to house his brother-in-law’s family. He blamed Canada’s refugee asylum system for his family’s plight and said it is designed to fail.
Prof. Xavier agrees. “The present government has gone out of its way to sideline refugee issues and pass them off as cases of people smuggling.” He said delays in filling up vacancies to the Immigration and Refugee Board had created a huge backlog of cases.
The Kurdi family is likely to have sought to come under a G5 refugee sponsorship application where a group of five Canadians or permanent residents acts as guarantors. Also, Canadian residents and organizations including cultural and religious groups can apply to sponsor refugees. But processing times are long. In July, the government estimated it would take 45 months to process one such application at the embassy in Ankara.
Government in crisis mode
As more details about the toddler’s drowning came in, Harper - who is campaigning in Surrey, British Columbia - abruptly cancelled a news conference that was supposed to have focused on the crisis in Iraq and Syria.
Jason Kenney, minister of national defense and of multiculturalism, cancelled a campaign event in Brampton, Ontario, where he was to have made an “important announcement on Conservative efforts to protect the integrity of Canada’s immigration system and the security of Canada.” Before taking up his current portfolios, Kenney had a high-profile stint as minister for immigration and multiculturalism. He is seen as the architect of Canada’s current stringent policy toward asylum-seekers, and has been criticized by refugee advocates. Chris Alexander, minister of citizenship and immigration, cancelled campaign activities in his constituency of Ajax, near Toronto, to be in the capital Ottawa for talks with immigration officials. “The tragic photo of young Aylan Kurdi and the news of the death of his brother and mother broke hearts around the world,” Alexander said in a statement. “Like all Canadians, I was deeply saddened by that image and of the many other images of the plight of the Syrian and Iraqi migrants fleeing persecution at the hands of ISIS.”
He said Canada had resettled 2,300 Syrians to date as part of a pledge in January to take in 10,000 over three years.In the course of the current election campaign, Harper has vowed that an additional 10,000 people from the Middle East would be resettled over the next four years. Alexander said the government had a target to accept 23,000 Iraqis and 11,300 Syrians, and would add 10,000 more “persecuted ethnic and religious minorities from the region.”
Less welcoming country
Taking aim at the Conservatives, the opposition said the party had abandoned Canada’s history of welcoming refugees. “These kids, the older brother could've been going to school next week in Canada,” New Democratic leader Thomas Mulcair said, choking up while speaking during a campaign stop in Toronto. “This is hard for everyone. It’s a failure by the international community, it’s a failure for Canada.”On how many people he would commit to resettling in Canada, Mulcair said the government should accept 10,000 right away and move forward from there. “I don’t want us to wait until Oct. 19,” the date of the election, he said. “I want us to act immediately.” He added: “Let’s be generous. Let’s be open. Let’s do like we did with the boat people after the collapse of Vietnam. Let’s bring our hearts to understand that we have this obligation, and let’s get it done.”Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was cynical about Alexander’s decision to stop campaigning to deal with refugee issues. “You don’t get to suddenly discover compassion in the middle of an election campaign. You either have it or you don’t,” Trudeau said during a campaign stop, adding that Canada must immediately accept 25,000 Syrian refugees. Xavier is skeptical about the refugee-intake figures being touted by the politicians. He said the issue must be seen from the broader perspective of North-South relations and inequities perpetuated by colonialism and imperialism. Faisal Alazem, a 32-year-old campaigner for the Syrian-Canadian Council in Montreal, was quoted as saying by the National Post newspaper: “The worst part of it is the feeling that we don’t have any allies. That is what people in the Syrian community are feeling.”Organizations such as Lifeline Syria, a Toronto-based community engagement initiative formed in response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis, hope to set right this anomaly. On Thursday, it asked the Canadian government to take action on five points. Among other things, it wants less complex paperwork, more steps to facilitate Syrian family reunification, and boosting financial, human and logistical resources in Canada and in visa offices abroad.
The photo of a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack changed American minds about the Vietnam war. It is hoped that the image of a lifeless toddler on a beach will change the way Canadians view this latest refugee crisis. Xavier said deep-seated prejudices has made Canadian society less welcoming than it wants to be seen as, “but at least Canadians have the potential to learn.”

Iran Deal: Barbarity Wins
Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/September 05/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6451/iran-deal-barbarity-wins
*When Israeli Jews are murdered, often barbarically, nearly all European and American media blame Israel and find excuses for the killers.
*Forgotten is that the "Palestinian people" and the "Palestinian cause" are a mythic narrative invented by the KGB and Nasser's secret service propaganda machine in the 1960s.
*Hamas has an even more genocidal goal: the destruction of Israel and all Jews. For many journalists, that is also a detail not worth mentioning.
*The Iranian regime claims non-stop that its main objective is the elimination of Israel and Israeli Jews. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has just published a book, Palestine, detailing his plans to destroy Israel. For most commentators, the book is of no relevance. It does not matter. Leaders of Western countries adopt the same view.
*What is at stake in enriching Iran and arming it with nuclear capability is more than the fate of Israel and Israeli Jews: it is also the fate of America -- even if it does not wish to realize that goal yet --as well as values of Western civilization.
*As migrants continue to pour over the borders of Italy and Hungary, and from there to spread out into the rest of Europe, the continent is becoming increasingly and irreversibly Muslim. Europe is lost to Islam.
In recent weeks, the Middle East section of most European and American newspapers and magazines included many articles on Muhammad Allan, a hunger striker imprisoned in Israel. Apparently that Muhammad Allan is in jail because he belongs to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad seemed irrelevant. That the Israeli intelligence services know he was preparing terrorist attacks also did not seem to matter . That the Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel additionally did not seem to matter.
Muhammad Allan was described as a victim. If he had died on a hunger strike, Israel would be blamed. As he did not die, but suffered brain damage due to self-inflicted starvation, Israel was blamed anyway.
When a member of a Palestinian jihadist organization that has killed Jews and that wants to kill more Jews puts his life in danger, most mainstream media in Europe and in America depict him as a "resister." Negative comments are usually directed against Israel.
When a Palestinian Arab terrorist is killed by an Israeli soldier, most members of the mainstream media in Europe and America blame the Israeli army, even if the person killed was known to have murdered or injured Israeli Jews.
A few weeks ago, when a Palestinian Arab house was set on fire and a baby died in the flames, the perpetrators were assumed to be Israeli Jews. Even though the Israeli government immediately denounced the crime, almost all the reports published in European and American media accused Israel.
When Israeli Jews are murdered, often barbarically, nearly all European and American media blame Israel and find excuses for the killers.
If the murdered Jews lived in the West Bank, they are automatically featured as people occupying someone else's land, and to blame for what happened to them. Such accusations even fall on murdered young children, including babies.
Immediately after the massacre of the Fogel family in Itamar in 2011, many newspapers reported that "five settlers" were killed. Some "pro-Palestinian" websites in Europe went even farther; one reported, "Five terrorist Zionists eliminated."
If the murdered Jews lived outside the West Bank, it was harder to belittle them directly, but it did not stop those who said that the murdered had good reasons to kill. Some journalists cite "Palestinian" organizations' press releases claiming the bloodshed was in response to "crimes" committed by the Israeli army. Others, suggesting that the killers were guided by "despair," included the criminals among the victims.
After the November 2014 massacre at a synagogue in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof, the French daily, Le Monde, published an article entitled, "Six Killed in Jerusalem." In the article, the murderers shot dead by police were included in the victims' body-count.
CBC News in Canada did worse. The headline of the report on the attack read, "Jerusalem police fatally shoot 2 after apparent synagogue attack."
Despite the massive atrocities committed by the Islamic State in Iraq and in Syria, despite the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime in Syria, despite the existence of atrocious dictatorships, this disproportionate pile-on against Israel has a name: the hatred and demonization by racists of an entire country and an entire people.
Demonization works because it uses all sorts of political stereotypes. All the false and collective allegations used to demonize Jews in Europe for centuries are used again. Israel is described as an "imperialist," "colonialist" and "militarist" power, and Israeli Jews are portrayed as ruthless agents of this power. The "Palestinian" killers of Israeli Jews, including civilians and babies, are presented as "freedom fighters" and heroic members of an "oppressed people."
Forgotten is that the "Palestinian people" and the "Palestinian cause" are a mythic narrative invented by the KGB and Nasser's secret service propaganda machine in the 1960s.
Jews in Europe have long been accused of every conceivable evil; now Israel and Israeli Jews are accused of blood libels, the gratuitous murder of innocents. Killers of Jews in Europe were often glorified and described as killers of people who were strangers to the land they lived in. Crimes committed by Jews were used to incriminate all Jews. When Jews were slaughtered, they were often designated as deserving the blame for their fate.
Historians of anti-Semitism explain that in Europe, frequently the hatred of Jews was so common that it made the unacceptable acceptable.
The historian Leon Poliakov noted that, "Without the incessant incitement to hatred of Jews throughout Europe, without the trivialization of the hatred, the attempted extermination of an entire people would not have been possible."[1]
The late scholar Robert Wistrich said that demonization of Israel and Israeli Jews leads to the same kind of hatred. He added that a trivialization of hatred is accepted all the more if it is based on an old hatred: "What did happen could happen again."[2]
Ideas of extermination proliferate in the Middle East; most people do not pay attention.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and Israeli Jews. For many journalists, that is a detail not worth mentioning. Hamas has an even more genocidal goal, the destruction of Israel and all Jews. "The hour of judgment shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jews hide behind trees and stones , and each tree an stone will say, 'O Muslim, O servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." For many journalists; that is also a detail not worth mentioning.
Official Palestinian Authority television constantly calls for the destruction of Israel. It also glorifies killers of Jews as role models; most commentators just look the other way.
The Iranian regime claims non-stop that its main objective is the elimination of Israel and Israeli Jews. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has just published a book, Palestine, detailing his plans to destroy Israel. For most commentators, the book is apparently of no relevance; it does not matter.
Leaders of Western countries have the same view. They fund the Palestinian Authority (PA), and therefore finance official PA Television. They know that much of the money given is used to pay and train killers of Jews, but evidently they do not care.
They just signed an agreement with the Iranian regime that will allow Iran soon to have nuclear weapons and to receive billions of dollars to finance and arm terrorist groups dedicated to the full destruction of Israel, and Israeli Christians, Muslims and Jews. But evidently leaders of Western countries do not care about that, either.
They are, in effect, acquiescing to genocide; but so long as business can be done with Iran, apparently that is fine with them. If genocide occurred, they would be ready to cheer from the sidelines.
Some journalists and columnists see what is happening and are sounding an alarm. But they are a minority, especially in Europe, where courage seems to have vanished along with a number of Jews.
Some political leaders still have ethical values and shout their indignation. None of them is European. Nearly all of them are American. They understand that silence means consent and that at certain moments in history, it is imperative to take a stand.
What is at stake in enriching Iran and arming it with nuclear capability is more than the fate of Israel and Israeli Jews: it is also the fate of America, even if it does not wish to realize that yet. It is also the fate of Western civilization.
As migrants continue to pour over the borders of Hungary, Italy and Greece, and from there to spread out into the rest of Europe, the continent is becoming increasingly and irreversibly Muslim. Europe is lost to Islam.
Seven decades after Auschwitz, barbarity is fast gaining ground again.
In September, the U.S. Congress may vote -- or try to weasel out of a vote -- to approve or disapprove of the agreement with Iran. Either way, U.S. President Barack Obama has vowed to push the deal through. His decision will have consequences far beyond what we see now. One thing is certain: they will not be good.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei (center), is shown meeting in May 2014 with Iran's military chief of staff and the commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. (Image source: IRNA)
[1] Leon Poliakov, Harvest of Hate: The Nazi Program for the Destruction of the Jews of Europe, Schocken Books, 1979.
[2] Robert Wistrich, From Ambivalence to Betrayal: The Left, the Jews, and Israel, University of Nebraska Press, 2012.

Saudi Arabia: The Region's New Superpower
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/September 05/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6458/saudi-arabia-the-region-new-superpower
*The Saudis are planning to establish themselves as the Arab world's undisputed military superpower.... At this rate Saudi Arabia will soon replace Egypt as the Arab world's most significant military power.
*The Saudi royal family is determined to secure the overthrow of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, one of Iran's most important regional allies, and any attempt by Riyadh to deepen its involvement in the Syrian conflict is likely to result in direct military confrontation with Iran.
*The tragedy of all this for the Obama administration is that, had it not been for its obsession with doing a deal with Iran, Washington could have formed a useful strategic alliance with Riyadh to defeat common foes, such as Islamic State (ISIS,Isil) in Syria and Iraq.
President Barack Obama may have hailed his deal with Iran as an historic breakthrough, but this is not how it is being viewed in Saudi Arabia, where the kingdom has responded to Washington's attempted rapprochement with Tehran by embarking on a massive military build up. Saudi Arabia is Iran's fiercest regional rival, with enmity between the two countries dating back at least to Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, and the Saudi royal family has voiced deep scepticism about the Obama administration's foreign policy tilt towards Iran. Mr Obama will hear these views most forcefully expressed himself with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, the Saudi monarch visits Washington this weekend.
In the past, the late Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, consistently spoke out against the dangers of a U.S.-Iran deal, while other senior Saudi security officials have warned that the kingdom would strike out on its own if its interests were threatened by an unsatisfactory nuclear agreement. The most public demonstration of the Saudis' displeasure came in May when King Salman declined to attend a Camp David summit at which Mr. Obama hoped to reassure Gulf leaders that the Iran protected their interests.
So no one should be surprised that, now that Mr. Obama has signed off his deal with the ayatollahs, the Saudis have embarked on a massive arms build up, one that promises dramatic changes to the military balance of power in the region.
Institutional concerns in Riyadh's defense establishment over the threat posed by Iran have already resulted in Saudi Arabia having the world's fourth largest defence budget.A recent study by London's International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank conservatively estimated Riyadh's defence spend for 2014 at $59.6 billion, although other assessments have suggested it rose by 17 percent to $80.8 billion. Either way this places Saudi spending above that of Britain, at $57 billion and France's £52.4 billion (nearly $80 billion).
Now the Saudis are planning to establish themselves as the Arab world's undisputed military superpower by embarking on a $150 billion defense spending spree that will see the country's Armed Forces double in size over the course of the next five years.
The new Saudi defense doctrine drawn up by senior military officers in Riyadh proposes a doubling in the size of the air force from its current strength of around 250 combat warplanes to 500. Increases of a similar scale are envisaged for the kingdom's other armed forces, with the Navy set to see the size of its surface fleet more than double, as well as acquiring its first submarine fleet. Saudi Arabia also wants to acquire a range of sophisticated ballistic missile systems, air defence systems and battle tanks, while the total number of combat ready personnel will rise above the 500,000 mark.
At this rate Saudi Arabia will soon replace Egypt as the Arab world's most significant military power.
Nor is Saudi Arabia's huge arms build up confined to conventional weaponry. In a recent interview with the Daily Telegraph in London, Prince Mohammed bin Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Britain, warned that Riyadh would not rule out acquiring nuclear weapons if Washington failed to provide proper safeguards about Iran's nuclear ambitions. "We hope we receive the assurances that guarantee Iran will not pursue this kind of weapon," explained Prince Mohammed "But if this does not happen, then all options will be on the table for Saudi Arabia." Nawaf Obaid, a Saudi defence expert and visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, said: "Saudi Arabia is preparing itself in case Iran develops nuclear weapons."
Saudi Arabia is known to have close links with Pakistan, where Dr A.Q. Khan, the "father" of Pakistan's nuclear weapons arsenal, is believed to have received Saudi funding for his research into building an atom bomb. Senior U.S. officials have warned Saudi Arabia has recently taken a "strategic decision" to acquire "off-the-shelf" nuclear weapons from Pakistan.
Saudi Arabia's new arms build-up is being undertaken as a direct response to what many Saudis believe is the Obama administration's capitulation to Tehran over its nuclear program. The defense doctrine identifies a nuclear-armed Iran as one of the three main threats the kingdom is likely to face in the future, together with terrorism and regional instability. The new doctrine threatens to change dramatically the military balance of power in the Arab world, a change that is likely to be viewed with deep concern by Israel. Shortly before Mr. Obama announced the nuclear deal with Tehran the Saudis announced they had concluded a $12 billion arms deal with France, including helicopters and naval patrol vessels. Saudi Arabia's new policy of military assertiveness was recently demonstrated in the Yemen conflict, where the Saudi military played a decisive role in recapturing the strategically important port of Aden after it was overrun by Iranian-back Houthi rebels. As a result exiled Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Balah has been able to return to his home country.
After their success in Yemen, the Saudis now intend to focus on Syria, where they are again likely to find themselves in direct conflict with Iranian-backed forces. The Saudi royal family is determined to secure the overthrow of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, one of Iran's most important regional allies, and any attempt by Riyadh to deepen its involvement in the Syrian conflict is likely to result in direct military confrontation with Iran. The tragedy of all this for the Obama administration is that, had it not been for its obsession with doing a deal with Iran, Washington could have formed a useful strategic alliance with Riyadh to defeat common foes, such as Islamic State (ISIS, Isil) in Syria and Iraq. But after the Iran deal, the Saudis now appear determined to go it alone, which means they are likely to pursue aggressive policies in the region that will not necessarily be to Washington's liking, and over which the Obama administration will be able to exercise precious little influence.
**Con Coughlin is Defense Editor of London's Daily Telegraph and author of "Khomeini's Ghost: Iran since 1979" (Macmillan)

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