LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 08/15

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletins05/english.september08.15.htm

Bible Quotation For Today/My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it
Luke 08/16-21:"‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.’ Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you. ’But he said to them, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’"

Bible Qoutation For Today/We renounce shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practise cunning or to falsify God’s word
Second Letter to the Corinthians 04/01-06: "Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practise cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 07-08/15
They didn't die for Taif and what followed/Walid Phares/September 07/15
No carriers in the Gulf/Walid Phares/September 07/15
Analysis: Russia taking advantage of West’s inaction to keep Assad in power/ARIEL BEN SOLOMON /J.Post/September 07/15
A lion in winter/The Econimist/September 06/15
Nuclear Jihad/Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/September 07/15
The Gulf and Syrian refugees/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/September 07/15
Will Lebanon’s protest movement continue to get global attention/Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/September 07/15
Russian submarine with 20 ICBMs and 200 nuclear warheads is sailing to Syria/DEBKAfile/September 7, 2015
Europe and the misrepresentation of refugees/Sharif Nashashibi/Al Arabiya/September 07/15
Much more than trees: Forests are key to sustainable development/José Graziano da Silva/Al Arabiya/September 07/15
Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan: We Will Always Provide Arms To The Resistance Against The U.S. And Israel/MERI/September 07/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on September 07-08/15
They didn't die for Taif and what followed...
Berri Prioritizes Presidential Crisis, Warns to Suspend Dialogue if more Parties Boycott it
Hollande to Visit Beirut over Refugee Crisis
Qatar Emir Promises Geagea to Exert All Efforts to Free Captive Servicemen
Denmark Places Ads in Lebanon Newspapers to Warn Would-Be Migrants
Sami Gemayel Mulling Cabinet and Dialogue Boycott
Explosive Device Dismantled on Taanayel-Bar Elias Road
Scores Hospitalized as 'Unprecedented' Sandstorm Engulfs Several Regions
IS Suspect Held in Chekka as General Security Arrests Nusra Militant

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 07-08/15
Hollande: France to Prepare Air Strikes against IS in Syria
Germany Pledges 6 Bn Euros for Refugees as France Vows to Take
Iraq Defense Minister Unharmed in Sniper Attack
Egypt Agriculture Minister Quits, Arrested in Graft Probe
Amnesty Says Syria Kurds Using Arbitrary Detention, Unfair Trials
Russia Dismisses U.S. Concerns over Syria Military Buildup
Media: Gulf States Send more Troops to Yemen
Germany and France to take 55,000 refugees
U.S. pressured to help Europe with refugee crisis
ISIS takes Syrian state’s last oilfield
Russia: We never ‘concealed’ giving arms to Syria
Air strikes pound Houthi targets in Yemeni capital
Mother of Palestinian toddler killed in arson attack dies
Hollande: France to prepare air strikes against ISIS in Syr
Egypt arrests agriculture minister over corruption allegations
Syrian Druse stand between ISIS and Israeli border, Druse sheikh warns
Colin Powell, Wasserman Schultz support Iran nuclear deal

Links From Jihad Watch Web site For Today
11 Dhimma rules that Christians must obey in the Islamic State
Obama’s Iran nuke deal depends on anti-nuke fatwa that doesn’t exist
Pizza delivery boy from UK becomes Islamic State jihad murderer
New Glazov Gang: ISIS Terrorists Coming To a Neighborhood Near You
Whose streets? Our streets!” UK Muslims riot in Rotherham, where rape gangs ran wild

They didn't die for Taif and what followed...
Walid Phares DC/September 06/15/Face Book
This September is the 25th anniversary of the US-Syrian decision to allow an invasion of the last free enclave of Lebanon, a month later in October 1990. It is also the month President elect Bashir Gemayel was assassinated by the Assad regime thirty three years ago. A heavy month of remembrance for the families of those who died while fighting, in jails, or under the bombardments. The question a quarter of a century later, and later by historians, is this: Did these men and women die in vain? Did they die for a 'Taif deal' that threw the country under 15 years of Syrian occupation and another ten years of Hezbollah terror? Neither Bashir Gemayel nor the thousands who sacrificed everything, have sacrificed for a reckless end of a war, a stunning defeat and worse, a constant repeat of strategic mistakes over the years. A quarter of a century later, a remembrance should begin with an examination of the mistakes of the past and an alternative thinking for the future, not robotic celebrations of a past that was abandoned. Maybe another generation in the future would see clearer...

Berri Prioritizes Presidential Crisis, Warns to Suspend Dialogue if more Parties Boycott it
Naharnet /September 07/15/Speaker Nabih Berri has reiterated that the presidential deadlock was the first item on the agenda of the dialogue that is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, warning he would suspend his initiative if more than one party decided to boycott the talks. Berri told his visitors that he would propose the discussion of the presidential crisis and then move to another item if the rival parties failed to agree on it. “Who knows? We might agree on the electoral law based on proportionality … and then on holding the parliamentary elections,” he said in remarks published in several newspapers on Monday. “We could then immediately elect a president. This way, we would succeed in Lebanonizing the solution,” Berri added. The speaker rejected criticism that the March 8 alliance is more represented than March 14 at the dialogue table. “There is no majority or minority for anyone in the dialogue because it will take its decisions based on consensus and not voting,” he said. The heads of the rival parliamentary blocs, Prime Minister Tammam Salam and several other officials are expected to attend the first round of the dialogue that Berri will chair on Wednesday. Only the Lebanese Forces announced it would boycott the talks. Berri said, however, that the parties supporting the election of a president and the approval of an electoral draft-law, should head to the parliament and not boycott it. The speaker warned that he would suspend his initiative if any party other than the LF decided not to attend the talks. He also stressed that in case the rival blocs failed to take decisions, then the dialogue would be seen as “a failure for all and not just Nabih Berri.” The talks will be held as civil society groups are planning to hold a mass demonstration in downtown Beirut on the same day.

Hollande to Visit Beirut over Refugee Crisis
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /September 07/15/French President Francois Hollande said Monday that he would visit Beirut to meet with Lebanese officials and inspect Syrian refugee encampments. Speaking at his bi-annual press conference, Hollande said that his trip to Lebanon would come after the U.N. General Assembly session in New York later this month. The International Support Group for Lebanon will meet on the sidelines of the session. Hollande said he will travel to Lebanon to visit a refugee encampment and assess the needs of the displaced Syrians. He said the Syrian war had severe consequences on Lebanon, which is witnessing a political crisis. “A president has not been elected and the parliament is finding difficulty in holding a session. We should stand by the Lebanese,” the president stated. Hollande said the European Commission was preparing to unveil a proposal for mandatory quotas for EU states to relocate 120,000 refugees, "which for France will represent 24,000 people. We will do it."European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will unveil the proposals for mandatory quotas on Wednesday.

Qatar Emir Promises Geagea to Exert All Efforts to Free Captive Servicemen
Naharnet /September 07/15/Qatar's Emir vowed during talks with Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea on Monday that Doha would exert all efforts to resolve the case of the captive servicemen. The LF leader, his wife MP Sethrida Geagea and the accompanying delegation met with Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha in the presence of the Qatari Foreign Minister, Khalid al-Attiyah. They traveled to the Qatari capital on Sunday. A statement issued by Geagea's press office said the discussions focused on the situation in Lebanon and the region. “The two sides agreed on the importance of electing a Lebanese president as soon as possible,” it said. They also stressed an end to the Syrian crisis to avoid more bloodshed and humanitarian suffering, said the statement.
When Geagea brought up the issue of the captive servicemen, the emir vowed that “Qatar would exert all efforts to find a solution to this cause.”Soldiers and policemen were taken hostage by jihadists from al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State extremist group when they overran the northeastern border town of Arsal in August 2014. Qatar has tasked a mediator to resolve the case.

Denmark Places Ads in Lebanon Newspapers to Warn Would-Be Migrants
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /September 07/15/Denmark has placed adverts in several Lebanese newspapers warning would-be migrants about new and tighter restrictions on those seeking asylum in the country.The adverts appeared in at least three Arabic-language newspapers and one English-language daily in Lebanon on Monday. "Denmark has decided to tighten the regulations concerning refugees in a number of areas," the advert cautions. It notes that social benefits for newly-arrived refugees are being reduced "by up to 50 percent" and that family reunification for those with temporary residence permits is not allowed for the first year after they arrive. It advises would-be migrants and refugees that they will be required to speak and understand Danish to obtain a permanent residency. "All rejected asylum seekers must be returned quickly from Denmark," it adds. "There is a special return center for rejected asylum seekers to ensure (they)... leave Denmark as quickly as possible." In Denmark, Immigration and Integration Minister Inger Stojberg, an immigration hardliner from the right-wing Venstre party, announced the adverts on Facebook. "Today I have, as promised, published advertisements in four Lebanese newspapers informing about the changed conditions for people who apply for asylum in Denmark," she wrote. She said the text would also be placed in asylum centers in Denmark in 10 different languages and spread on social media. "The aim is to inform objectively and soberly about (Danish rules), which the government is in the process of tightening," she added. "In light of the huge influx to Europe these days, there is good reason for us to tighten rules and get that effectively communicated." Her Facebook post garnered over 5,000 likes, though some left critical comments. "You should be ashamed," wrote Dorthe Agertoug in the southeastern town of Koge. "One of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes in recent times and our government's answer is to publish advertisements. It's a parody," added Vivi Ravnskjaer Terp in a southwestern town. A spokeswoman for Denmark's integration ministry denied a report that five major newspapers in Turkey had refused to carry the adverts. Denmark's minority right-wing government relies on the backing of the anti-immigrant Danish People's Party to pass legislation. It slashed benefits for asylum seekers this month in a bid to bring down the number of refugees coming to the Scandinavian country. The adverts were placed as several European nations opened their doors to a wave of migrants and refugees, or announced new quotas to accept those in need of asylum. Lebanon, with a population of just four million, is hosting more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees. Some 11 million Syrians have been displaced from their homes by the conflict that began in March 2011, with four million becoming refugees.

Sami Gemayel Mulling Cabinet and Dialogue Boycott
Naharnet /September 07/15/Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel has reportedly warned that his party's representatives would suspend their participation in the cabinet if it failed to resolve the waste crisis this week. “We will have to suspend our participation in the government if no solution was found to the garbage (crisis) this week,” a source in the March 14 alliance quoted Gemayel as saying. The source told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Monday that the Kataeb will also have to take a stance from the dialogue that Speaker Nabih Berri has called for if no agreement was reached on the priority of electing a president. The Kataeb's possible withdrawal from the dialogue would lead to its failure because Berri has said that he would suspend his initiative if any party other than the Lebanese Forces announced its boycott of the talks. LF chief Samir Geagea said on Saturday that his party will not attend the dialogue, which he described as a “waste of time.” The talks will be chaired by Berri on Wednesday as the country reels from the waste crisis that erupted following the closure of Lebanon's largest landfill in Naameh in July. The failure of the government to find an alternative landfill for Beirut and Mount Lebanon led to huge anti-government protests. Civil society groups are planning a similar demonstration on Wednesday to protest the all-party talks. Economy and Trade Minister Alain Hakim, a Kataeb official, was not optimistic on the cabinet's ability to resolve the waste crisis anytime soon. He told al-Liwaa newspaper that Prime Minister Tammam Salam will not call for a session this week.

Explosive Device Dismantled on Taanayel-Bar Elias Road
Naharnet /September 07/15/A roadside explosive device was defused Monday on the road between the Bekaa towns of Taanayel and Bar Elias. LBCI television said the bomb was armed and consisted of “dynamite sticks equipped with an electric wire.” The Internal Security Forces meanwhile said one of its bomb technicians “dismantled an explosive device that was set for remote detonation and placed on the median strip between the two lanes of the Taanayel international highway.”It later said that the bomb weighed "nearly five kilograms." The device was hidden in a metallic barrel, according to the National News Agency, which said that an army force had cordoned off the area prior to the bomb's removal. In June 2013, a roadside bomb in Taanayel targeted a van transporting Hizbullah gunmen to Damascus, causing several casualties. Hizbullah is aiding the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad against an Islamist-led uprising. It has sent thousands of fighters across the border to bolster government troops.

Scores Hospitalized as 'Unprecedented' Sandstorm Engulfs Several Regions
Naharnet /September 07/15/A sandstorm lashed several regions in the Bekaa, North and South on Monday, landing scores of people in hospitals and bringing visibility to extremely low levels. The Meteorological Department at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport described the storm as “unprecedented” in Lebanon's modern history, OTV said. The National News Agency said the Red Cross transferred at least 35 people suffering respiratory distress to hospitals in the northern region of Akkar. In northern Bekaa, a woman identified as Jumana Ali al-Laqqis died of a severe asthma attack at the Baalbek state-run hospital, NNA said. “Dust encircled homes in the regions of al-Bireh, al-Qobaiyat, Jabal Akroum, Wadi Khaled, Khirbet Daoud all the way to Akkar's coast,” the agency said. In the Bekaa, the sandstorm hit the city of Hermel and the area adjacent to Akkar and Dinniyeh, causing low visibility and an accumulation of garbage on streets and in irrigation canals. Dozens of residents were transferred to hospitals in the region. The storm also lashed Baalbek and the neighboring areas, reducing visibility to near zero and causing a surge in temperature. “Some citizens, especially those who suffer from asthma and respiratory allergies, were forced to wear medical masks to avoid inhaling dust,” NNA said. The dust wave also reached the southern regions of Hasbaya, al-Orqoub and Jabal al-Wostani.

IS Suspect Held in Chekka as General Security Arrests Nusra Militant
Naharnet /September 07/15/Two militants from the extremist Islamic State and al-Nusra Front groups have been arrested in Lebanon, the National News Agency and a security agency announced on Monday. “Abdul Rahman Ali Maarabani – born in Bab al-Tabbaneh in 1991 and wanted on an arrest warrant for belonging to the IS group – was arrested in the town of Chekka by a patrol from the (Internal Security Forces') Intelligence Branch,” NNA said. It noted that he was captured after a surveillance operation and that he was handed over to the branch's Beirut department. Earlier in the day, the General Security announced the arrest of a Syrian Nusra Front militant. “As part of its monitoring of the activities of terrorist groups and their sleeper cells, and following authorization from the judiciary, the General Directorate of General Security arrested the Syrian O. A. for belonging to the terrorist al-Nusra Front group,” the General Security said. The man is also accused of “being involved with other individuals in providing logistic support to one of the group's cells, which is tasked with preparing explosives and plotting bombings on Lebanese soil,” the agency added. “Following interrogation, he was referred to the relevant judicial authorities and efforts are underway to arrest the rest of the culprits,” it said. On Saturday, the General Security said it arrested a Palestinian and a Syrian for carrying out terrorist activities in Lebanon. The Palestinian refugee had 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 had received was 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 army fought deadly battles in August 2014 with Syria-based IS and Nusra militants who stormed Arsal after the arrest of a senior jihadist. The attackers were eventually routed from the town but they managed to kidnap dozens of troops and policemen of whom four have been executed.

No carriers in the Gulf...?
Walid Phares DC/September 06/15/Face Book
Sources are signaling that there could be a possibility that by early or mid fall, all US aircraft carriers and their strike forces, would leave the Gulf waters. The bases will continue to be operational but the only strategic deterrence force against Iran's military -the carriers task forces- would be withdrawn. Other sources believe that the "gap" will be only for few months. But experts believe that once the "carriers gap" is a reality, there could be a strong possibility that it would become permanent. Evidently the first projection would place the "carriers absence" to the Iran deal, as part of a sub deal. But so far no official statements in this regards.

Hollande: France to Prepare Air Strikes against IS in Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /September 07/15/France will launch surveillance flights over Syria from Tuesday with a view to conducting airstrikes on Islamic State positions, President Francois Hollande said on Monday. "I have asked the defense ministry that from tomorrow surveillance flights can be launched over Syria, allowing us to plan airstrikes against Daesh (the Islamic State group)," Hollande told a press conference in Paris. "What we want is to know what is being prepared against us and what is being done against the Syrian population," he added. He also confirmed that France would not send ground troops into the country, saying it would be "inconsequential and unrealistic."He said it was unrealistic "because we would be the only ones" and also risked being "transformed into an occupation force"."So we won't do it," he said. "It's for regional forces to take their responsibilities. France, however, will work to find political solutions."He said that finding a political transition that sidelined Syrian President Bashar Assad was "essential.""The transition is an essential point. Nothing must be done that can consolidate or maintain Bashar Assad," he said.
Russian hardening position
Hollande's comments come at a time of growing concern in the West over reports that Russia is toughening its military stance in Syria. Moscow has been a bulwark of military and diplomatic support to the Assad regime, and is promoting an expanded coalition against IS that includes countries in the region as well as the regular Syrian army. The United States government expressed concern on Saturday over reports of "an imminent enhanced Russian buildup" in Syria. Secretary of State John Kerry "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 in a statement. Concerns of being sidelined by Russia have combined with the growing surge of interest in the fate of refugees from the war, pushing France to take a more active role in Syria. Speaking to AFP on Saturday, a French official said any French strikes would not involve joining the U.S.-led coalition. "Our line hasn't changed, and there's no question of joining the coalition in Syria," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. France currently only participates in missions against IS in Iraq following that country's request for international help against the jihadists. Hollande said the French military had so far carried out 200 strikes in Iraq. It has played a minimal role in the recent diplomatic push to find a political solution to the country's civil war, which has included the unprecedented meeting in Doha on August 3 between the top U.S., Russian and Saudi diplomats. The Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers were later received separately in Moscow, as were representatives of various more moderate Syrian opposition groups. Britain is also thought to be considering military strikes in Syria, with Prime Minister David Cameron trying to organize a new parliamentary vote on the issue in the coming weeks. British lawmakers rejected such action two years ago, in a decision that embarrassed Cameron and drew criticism from the United States.

Germany Pledges 6 Bn Euros for Refugees as France Vows to Take
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /September 07/15/Germany pledged billions in new funds for refugees Monday, as Chancellor Angela Merkel said the tens of thousands of people flowing into her country in Europe's biggest migrant crisis in decades would lead to profound change. As European leaders stepped up efforts to tackle the historic crisis, France also said it would take 24,000 more asylum-seekers under a European plan to relocate 120,000 refugees from hard-hit frontline countries. Meanwhile, the poor and desperate kept coming, both on the land corridor through Turkey and the Balkans and on overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean on journeys that have claimed thousands of lives this year. Underscoring the danger brought home so graphically by last week's picture of three-year-old Aylan lying drowned in the surf, a Greek passenger ferry on Monday sent its lifeboats to rescue 61 migrants whose boat was at risk of sinking off Lesbos island. And migrants rescued by Italian coastguards on Sunday said five of their group were still missing.
Merkel, at a joint news conference with her vice-chancellor, said: "What we are experiencing now is something that will ... change our country in coming years." "We want the change to be positive, and we believe we can accomplish that."Germany is expecting at least 10,000 more refugees to arrive on Monday, an official in the south of the country said, after 20,000 entered over the weekend. Merkel hailed as "breathtaking" the emotional and warm welcome given to thousands of migrants who arrived in packed trains in Germany after a grueling odyssey through Hungary and Austria. Germany was now seen by many abroad as a place of "hope", Merkel said, after citizens turned up in large numbers to shower the new arrivals with gifts, cash and toys. Europe's top economy -- which expects 800,000 asylum requests this year, four times last year's total -- faces extra costs estimated at 10 billion euros ($11 billion) this year and next. Merkel said that the federal government would contribute six billion euros for new shelters, extra police and language training in 2016.
Schengen 'collapse' warning
However, despite German solidarity, Merkel stressed that other EU countries must take in more migrants because "only with common European solidarity can we master this effort". Europe has battled to overcome deep divisions on the migrant crisis and French President Francois Hollande warned that unless the EU makes a greater collective effort, the core European ideal of open borders will be in peril. "If there is not a united policy, this mechanism will not work, it will collapse, and it will ... undoubtedly be the end of Schengen, the return of national borders," he said about the passport-free zone across much of the continent. But Europe looked far from united as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has taken a hard line, said quotas would be futile so long as refugees kept streaming in. "As long as we can't defend Europe's outer borders, it is not worth talking about how many people we can take in," Orban said in a speech in Budapest. Hungary, struggling with massive numbers arriving through the Balkans, had Friday and Saturday bussed refugees to the border with Austria, from where some 20,000 traveled on to Germany over the weekend.
EU quotas
Under pressure from Berlin and Paris, the European Union is readying fresh quotas that would see the two top EU economies take nearly half of the 120,000 refugees to be relocated, under a plan by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. According to Juncker's proposal to be unveiled Wednesday, Germany would take over 31,000, France 24,000, and Spain almost 15,000 to relieve the burden on frontline countries Greece, Italy and Hungary, a European source told AFP. Hollande confirmed France would take in 24,000 refugees over the next two years and proposed to host an international conference on Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II. In Berlin, hundreds of refugees and their children again sat on blankets and suitcases outside a registration center, as volunteers brought them water and food, in scenes repeated across the country. "Germany is one of the best countries in Europe and the world, but it's too slow here with the paperwork," said a 25-year-old Syrian music student, waiting for his turn in the overwhelmed office. "I've been here for 12 days without anything happening."The governor of the Bank of Finland, Erkki Liikanen, meanwhile said he would do his part by donating a month's salary to help asylum-seekers. "That is 10,000 euros ($11,200)," he wrote on Facebook. "I know the funds will get across to those who are suffering the most." And the U.N. High Commissioner urged Italian millionaires to help Syrian refugees in Jordan by donating 15,000 euros, enabling 10 families to live in dignity for a year.

Iraq Defense Minister Unharmed in Sniper Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /September 07/15/Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi escaped unharmed as a sniper fired on his convoy Monday near a town where security forces have been battling jihadists, the ministry said. The attack, which took place in the Tal Abu Jrad area near Baiji wounded one of Obaidi's guards, the defense ministry said in a statement. A defense ministry official told AFP that Obaidi himself was unharmed. The minister was touring the area to oversee military operations in Baiji, which was seized by the Islamic State jihadist group last year, retaken by the government but then lost to the jihadists again. It was not immediately clear if the attack was actually aimed at Obaidi, or just a militant firing on a target of opportunity. IS overran large parts of Iraq last year, sweeping security forces aside, but Baghdad's forces have since regained ground with backing from a U.S.-led coalition and Iran. Holding Baiji, located on the road to IS hub Mosul, would eventually be a strategic asset for Iraqi forces, but an operation to retake Iraq's second city from the jihadists is currently a distant prospect. Baiji is also located near the country's largest oil refinery, but the massive facility has been wrecked in fighting between government and IS forces. The attack on Obaidi's convoy is just the latest in a long string of cases in which senior officials and officers have been exposed to bombings or shootings during battles against IS. Two generals were killed in Iraq's Anbar province late last month, two more were wounded in the western province, and a division and a brigade commander were also killed.The Anbar governor was wounded in 2014, while senior army and police commanders have also been killed in other provinces.

Egypt Agriculture Minister Quits, Arrested in Graft Probe
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /September 07/15/Egypt's agriculture minister was arrested in Cairo on Monday after being told to step aside in connection with an investigation into corruption at his ministry, judicial and media sources said. Salah Helal "resigned on the orders of the president," a statement from the prime minister's office said. He was detained after a meeting in the premier's office, a judicial source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "He was arrested as part of an investigation into a major case of corruption in his ministry," the official MENA news agency reported. Officials at the agriculture ministry are alleged to have taken bribes to help businessmen illegally acquire state land, a prosecution official and media reports said.The prosecution service had last week banned media from publishing any information about the case. Helal, 59, an agronomy graduate, rose through the ranks at the agriculture ministry to become minister in March. Graft at many levels has blighted the Arab world's most populous country. In July, a court sentenced a former prime minister of ousted president Hosni Mubarak to five years in prison for corruption and fined him millions of dollars. Ahmed Nazif, whom Mubarak sidelined to appease protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his rule, was convicted in his retrial of having used his position to make a fortune of $8.2 million (7.5 million euros). The court also fined him $6.8 million. Nazif had been accused of corrupt property deals and receiving illegal bonuses.
Popular demand for accountability
Mubarak and many of his former ministers were placed on trial following his overthrow amid popular demands for them to be held accountable for years of corruption. Many former regime figures have been found not guilty in retrials, however. In March, Mubarak's once feared interior minister Habib al-Adly was acquitted of corruption charges. He was cleared of illegally accumulating around 181 million Egyptian pounds, and the court also lifted an asset freeze on him and members of his family. Mubarak himself and his two sons Alaa and Gamal were sentenced to three years in prison earlier this year for corruption. But they had been in detention for much of the past four years, and may be released early when time served is accounted for. Many Egyptians looked upon Alaa and Gamal Mubarak as symbols of corruption during their father's three-decade rule. All three were arrested in 2011, months after Mubarak was toppled in a popular 18-day uprising. On May 9 this year, they and their father were fined 125 million pounds, the amount they were accused of embezzling from funds meant for the maintenance of presidential palaces. The court also ordered them to pay an extra 21 million pounds. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, before his election in May last year to succeed Islamist Mohamed Morsi, the man who succeeded Mubarak and whom he deposed while army chief, had pledged to stamp out corruption. The retired field marshal said there would be no return to the corruption and human rights violations of the Mubarak era.

Amnesty Says Syria Kurds Using Arbitrary Detention, Unfair Trials
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /September 07/15/Kurdish authorities in northern Syria are arbitrarily detaining critics and alleged Islamic State group sympathizers and denying prisoners fair trials, rights group Amnesty International said on Monday. In a new report, Amnesty said it had documented several cases of authorities detaining people with little evidence, on occasion as retribution for criticizing the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD). "The PYD-led autonomous administration cannot use their fight against terrorism as an excuse to violate the rights of individuals under their control," said Amnesty's senior crisis adviser Lama Fakih. "Instead of trampling all over people's rights in the name of security and counterterrorism, the PYD-led administration should ensure that the rights of detainees are respected," she added. The rights group said it had interviewed 10 prisoners in two facilities in northeastern Syria. It acknowledged that prison conditions were "adequate", saying cells were well-equipped and not overcrowded. But it said some people had been detained for up to a year without charge or trial, and those who went to trial said proceedings were "blatantly unfair.""They were denied basic rights including the right to defend themselves, to see the evidence against them, and access to a lawyer and their family," the group said. Some of those detained were Arab residents of areas controlled by Kurdish authorities, who said they were accused of links to IS despite little-to-no evidence. One said he was detained for nearly a month for having a name similar to a wanted man, and another because of Facebook posts critical of the PYD. Amnesty said Kurdish authorities had at times "used the counterterrorism law to detain and prosecute Kurdish opposition groups critical of the PYD." One Kurdish opposition party told Amnesty that 12 of its members had been detained in 2014 and sentenced for "terrorism acts without any substantiated evidence."The group said Kurdish authorities reported holding some 400 prisoners in total in facilities belonging to the Asayesh security forces throughout regions under their control. It was unclear if additional detainees were being held by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia.Syria's Kurds have established an essentially autonomous zone in parts of the country where they form a majority. Regime forces have largely withdrawn from the area to focus on other regions, although IS has regularly attacked areas under Kurdish control. Kurdish forces have served as a key ally of the U.S.-led coalition against IS, calling in air strikes and seizing territory with the help of coalition air support.

Russia Dismisses U.S. Concerns over Syria Military Buildup
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /September 07/15/Moscow on Monday dismissed U.S. concern of a Russian military buildup in Syria, saying its military aid to Bashar Assad was nothing out of the ordinary. Over the weekend U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry phoned his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to express concern about reports of an "enhanced Russian buildup" in Syria. "The Russian side has never concealed the fact that it is sending military equipment to the Syrian authorities to help them fight terrorism," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told AFP, commenting on the Kerry-Lavrov phone talks. "Lavrov confirmed that such aid has always been provided and is being provided." Citing U.S. administration officials, The New York Times reported last week that Russia had sent a military advance team to its ally Syria and was taking other steps that Washington fears may signal plans to vastly expand military support for the beleaguered Assad. Zakharova said she was not aware of the alleged Russian military build-up in Syria. President Vladimir Putin said Friday it was premature to talk about Russia taking part in military operations against the Islamic State jihadist group. A prominent Russian blogger suggested over the weekend that Moscow was apparently building up its military presence in Syria to help prop up Assad. The blogger Ruslan Leviyev -- known for his investigations into Russian military activity in Ukraine -- referred to widely-circulated footage from Syria apparently showing a Russian-made BTR-82A armored personnel carrier as well as reports on social networks that Russian paratroopers have been dispatched to Syria. Moscow has denied sending regular troops to prop up separatist rebels in Ukraine, leaving activists and journalists to trawl through social networks for evidence of the Russian military presence abroad. Liberal lawmaker Dmitry Gudkov on Monday said he sent a formal inquiry to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, asking whether Russian troops are fighting in Syria, and if so, whether any have died or been wounded. "I'm doubtful that the Sunnis, the Shias and Alawites of the Middle East should be dearer to Russia than its own citizens," he wrote on Facebook.

Media: Gulf States Send more Troops to Yemen
Agence France Presse/Naharnet /September 07/15/Gulf Arab monarchies have sent thousands of heavily armed troops to reinforce loyalists in Yemen in the battle against Iran-backed rebels, media reported on Monday. The reinforcements come after a missile attack by the Shiite Huthi insurgents on Friday killed 60 Gulf soldiers -- 45 Emiratis, 10 Saudis and five Bahrainis. The Sunni-ruled Gulf states have remained tight-lipped about the new troops sent mainly by Qatar and Saudi Arabia to Marib province east of Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa. But Qatar's Al-Jazeera news channel reported late on Sunday that 1,000 Qatari soldiers with 200 armored vehicles have arrived in Marib after crossing the border from Saudi Arabia. It is the first time Qatari troops are reported to be taking part in operations on the ground in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition, which in March began an air campaign in support of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. Saudi Arabia also sent elite units to Marib on Sunday, according to the Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat and Emirati state news agency WAM. Yemeni military sources in Marib have spoken of the arrival of some 1,000 Saudi soldiers armed with tanks and other armored vehicles, as well the Qatari reinforcements. Military sources have also mentioned preparations in Marib for an offensive against the rebels and their allies, renegade troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Huthis swept down from their northern mountain stronghold last year and seized Sanaa unopposed before advancing on second city Aden in March. After loyalists recaptured the southern port in July, the coalition began a ground operation that has seen the rebels pushed back from five southern provinces. On Monday, coalition warplanes again targeted rebel positions across Yemen. Air strikes hit the Dailami air base near Sanaa airport, which is controlled by troops loyal to Saleh. Raids also struck positions in Marib, as well as the neighboring northeastern province of Jawf, military sources said. Rebel posts in Taez in central Yemen and in the southern province of Baida were also hit, military sources said. Upwards of 4,500 people have been killed in the Yemen conflict, including hundreds of children, according to the U.N. which has warned that the country is on the brink of famine.

Germany and France to take 55,000 refugees
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News/Monday, 7 September 2015
Germany and France will take nearly half of the 120,000 refugees to be relocated from frontline states under a plan by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, a European source told the AFP news agency on Monday. According to Juncker's proposal for mandatory quotas for EU states which is set to be unveiled Wednesday, Germany would take 31,443 and France 24,031, to relieve the burden on Greece, Italy and Hungary, the source said. Syrian refugee children are stuck after breaking the border fence and crossing into Turkey from Syria, in Akcakale, Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, Sunday, June 14, 2015. (AP) During a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, French President Francois Hollande confirmed that France will be taking accept 24,000 refugees under European
Commission's plan.
“This is a crisis, and it is a grave and dramatic one. It can be brought under control and it will be,” he said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday the record influx of refugees to Europe’s biggest economy will change the country in coming years. “What we are experiencing now is something that will occupy and change our country in coming years,” she said after 20,000 migrants arrived at the weekend alone.
Additional funds
Germany, which is currently opening its doors to a record number of refugees, will allocate an additional $6.7 bln in public funds next year to cover the cost of looking after them, the ruling coalition parties decided on Monday. “The federal government will increase its 2016 budget by 3.0 billion euros to cope with the situation with refugees and asylum-seekers and the regional state governments and local authorities will make available a further 3.0 billion euros,” the conservative CDU and Social Democrat SPD parties said in a joint statement issued after a late night meeting on Sunday. While Germany has seen a spate of xenophobic rallies and attacks against foreigners, especially in the former communist East, many people believe the country, given its dark wartime and Holocaust history and current wealth, has a special obligation to help refugees.
Influx receding
Meanwhile, the influx that saw more than 14,000 people flow into Austria from Hungary over the weekend at the main border point between the two countries appears to have subsided, at least for now. Trains carrying hundreds of migrants start arriving in Vienna as European Union asylum rules are strained. (Reuters) Austrian police said on Monday that 260 migrants crossed before midnight and left by train to Vienna. They say that no more had entered since, and normal traffic has resumed at the Nickelsdorf border crossing point. From then on, about 2,500 refugees are expected to arrive in Germany via Austria by early Monday afternoon, after an estimated 20,000 came in over the weekend, a Bavarian official told reporters. [With AFP, Associated Press and Reuters]

U.S. pressured to help Europe with refugee crisis
By Bill Trott and Matt Spetalnick | Reuters, Washington/Monday, 7 September 2015/The United States came under more pressure on Sunday to help Europe find sanctuary for a flood of immigrants displaced by war and chaos, but Washington showed no signs of planning a dramatic increase in its intake of refugees. David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee and former British foreign secretary, called on the U.S to bring out “the kind of leadership America has shown on these kind of issues” in the past. “The U.S. has always been a leader in refugee resettlement but 1,500 people over four years is such a miniscule contribution to tackling the human side of this problem,” Miliband said on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”State Department spokesman John Kirby, in an interview with Reuters late on Saturday, offered no indication the U.S would be greatly boosting the number of immigrants it would allow into the country. He cited the $4 billion U.S. contribution to refugee relief and reconfirmed the Obama administration’s position about security concerns. “There is a significant vetting process here for folks from Syria that we have to follow,” he said, adding that the Obama administration had been in contact with European allies and was exploring options.U.S. authorities want to prevent militants from ISIS or al-Qaeda from slipping into the country as refugees. But there are risks to sticking to current policy and not playing a more active role in helping Europe. Another U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that, given the graphic images of the refugees’ plight, Washington may face an international image problem for admitting only a small number compared to European countries. Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees, said the U.S had not put a quota on the number of refugees it would accept. She said the UNHCR had submitted almost 16,300 refugees for resettlement in the U.S. and would continue submitting cases for consideration.
‘Fundamentally falls on Europe’Europe has been operating without a consensus on what do with the flood of refugees. Austria and Germany, which expects to receive 800,000 refugees and migrants this year, have opened their borders in recent days to thousands of mostly Syrian refugees who had been stranded in Hungary. Pope Francis on Sunday called on every Catholic parish and religious community in Europe to take in at least one refugee family. Since the Syrian conflict began in early 2011, the U.S. has taken in 1,500 refugees from there, the vast majority this year. Kirby said as many as 1,500 more refugees could be admitted by the end of 2015 and maybe more next year. Immigration has become a major issue in the campaign leading up to the 2016 presidential election. Billionaire businessman Donald Trump has risen to the top of the Republican field with a hardline stance calling for deportation of undocumented migrants and a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, but said last week he would consider allowing Syrians into the U.S.
Another Republican presidential candidate, John Kasich, also appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” said he favored a somewhat enhanced U.S. role with the refugees but that the situation was not primarily a Washington problem. “I think we do have a responsibility in terms of taking some more folks in, making sure they assimilate,” he said. “This is fundamentally an issue Europe has to come to grips with. We can provide some humanitarian aid to them.” Writing in the New York Times, Michael Ignatieff, a former leader of Canada’s Liberal Party and now a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, said the U.S., Canada and Middle East nations were wrong to consider the crisis as Europe’s problem. The U.S. and its allies have a responsibility to the Syrian refugees - estimated at 4 million since civil war began in their homeland - since they are arming Syrian rebels and fighting ISIS in the country, he said. “Blaming the Europeans is an alibi and the rest of our excuses - like the refugees don’t have the right papers - are sickening,” Ignatieff wrote. He called on the U.S. and Canada to take in a minimum of 25,000 Syrians and said pressure on those governments may intensify after publication in the past week of dramatic photographs of the refugees’ plight.

ISIS takes Syrian state’s last oilfield
Reuters, Amman/Monday, 7 September 2015/Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters have seized the last major oilfield under Syrian government control during battles over a vast central desert zone, a group monitoring the conflict said on Monday. The Jazal field was now shut down and clashes were ongoing east of Homs, with casualties reported on both sides, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, without giving dates or more details. Syria's army said it had repulsed an attack in the same area but did not mention Jazal or comment on how much of the country's battered energy infrastructure remained under its sway. It said it killed 25 fighters, including non-Syrian jihadists. "The regime has lost the last oilfield in Syria," said the Observatory, which tracks violence through a network of sources on the ground. Commentators on social media said fighting had surged in the last two to three days and the rebels had taken the oilfield on Sunday. Jazal is a medium-sized field that lies to the north west of the rebel-held ancient city of Palmyra, close to a region that holds Syria's main natural gas fields and multi-million-dollar extraction facilities. The army, which has been fighting to retake the city and surrounding areas since they fell in May, had managed to secure the oil field's perimeter in June. The Observatory also said U.S.-led coalition bombing raids in areas in the militant's de facto capital of Raqqa had killed at least 16 militants, including five foreign jihadists. Islamist insurgents bombarded the heart of the Syrian capital Damascus and mortars killed at least one civilian and wounded scores, state television said.

Russia: We never ‘concealed’ giving arms to Syria
By Reuters | Moscow/Monday, 7 September 2015/Russia says it has never concealed the fact that it supplied military equipment to Syria aimed at ‘fighting terrorism,’ RIA Novosti news agency cited a foreign ministry spokeswoman as saying on Monday. The agency, citing the ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, also reported that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a phone conversation it is “premature” to speak about Russia’s participation in military operations in Syria. A Syrian military official told Reuters there has recently been a “big shift” in Russian military support, including new weapons and training. “Our ties are always developing but in these days a qualitative shift has happened. We call it a qualitative shift in Arabic, which means big,” the Syrian official said.
U.S. concerns over Russian moves
Russia’s Lavrov in recent days reiterated the Russian view that Assad is a legitimate leader, slammed the U.S. position to the contrary as “counterproductive”, and likened the west’s approach to Syria to its failures in Iraq and Libya. A steady flow of Iranian officials to Damascus has also underlined Tehran's support for an ally who has safeguarded its interests in the Levant in alliance with Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed group fighting alongside Assad in Syria. Earlier on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed American concerns over reports of Russia’s enhanced military build-up in Syria in a telephone call over the weekend with Lavrov. “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 department said, using a different acronym for ISIS.

Air strikes pound Houthi targets in Yemeni capital
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News/Monday, 7 September 2015/The Saudi-led Arab coalition has continued airstrikes on Houthi militias and has so far focused its targets on militia positions in the capital Sanaa, especially the al-Dailami air base as well as those near al-Nahdain mountain and al-Suwad and al-Hafa bases south east of the capital. Sources from the Popular Resistance Forces told Al Arabiya News Channel that 16 Houthi militants were killed, including 13 landmines experts, in a coalition air strike that targeted the vehicle carrying them in the Habab region west of Marib.Sources also said that air strikes late on Sunday were able to destroy a number of military vehicles in several clashes and raids in Marib. Marib has been the scene of several violent and sporadic clashes in recent days with heavy air bombardments and ground clashes. In the north-west of the country, clashes with heavy artillery took place in Jafina and Balak.

Mother of Palestinian toddler killed in arson attack dies
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News/Monday, 7 September 2015/The mother of Palestinian toddler who died in an arson attack on a West Bank home in July died on Monday of burns, making her the third victim of the deadly violence after her husband died last month. Suspected Jewish settlers torched the home of Saad Dawabsheh in the West Bank village of Duma on July 31, killing his 18-month-old son, Ali. Riham Dawabsheh, 27, passed away on Monday. A second son was also hospitalized and remains in serious condition. “To my regret, she passed away after midnight,” a spokeswoman said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and especially with little Ahmed, now orphaned due to this heinous act,” a statement by the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov read. “Acknowledging the wide condemnations issued at the time of the incident by Israeli and Palestinian leaders, I am nevertheless concerned by the lack of progress in identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators of this outrage,” the statement added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack as an act of terrorism and his security cabinet has ordered a crackdown on violent far-right Jewish groups in a similar vein to actions taken against Palestinian suspects. The government has allowed harsher interrogations of suspected Jewish militants with methods once reserved for Palestinians and has also started detaining citizens suspected of political violence against Palestinians without trial. After the previous two family funerals, Palestinians rallied in their home village of Duma in the northern West Bank, calling on militant factions to take revenge.[With Reuters]

Hollande: France to prepare air strikes against ISIS in Syria
By AFP | Paris/Monday, 7 September 2015/France will launch surveillance flights over Syria from Tuesday with a view to conducting airstrikes on Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) positions, President Francois Hollande said on Monday. “I have asked the defense ministry that from tomorrow surveillance flights can be launched over Syria, allowing us to plan airstrikes against Daesh (ISIS),” Hollande told a press conference in Paris. “What we want is to know what is being prepared against us and what is being done against the Syrian population,” he added. He also confirmed that France would not send ground troops into the country, saying it would be “inconsequential and unrealistic.”He said it was unrealistic “because we would be the only ones” and also risked being “transformed into an occupation force.”“So we won’t do it,” he said. “It’s for regional forces to take their responsibilities. France, however, will work to find political solutions.”He said that finding a political transition that sidelined Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was “essential”.“The transition is an essential point. Nothing must be done that can consolidate or maintain Bashar al-Assad,” he said. France has so far only carried out airstrikes against ISIS in neighboring Iraq. Hollande said the French military had so far carried out 200 strikes in Iraq. Britain is also thought to be considering military strikes in Syria, with Prime Minister David Cameron trying to organize a new parliamentary vote on the issue in the coming weeks. British lawmakers rejected such action two years ago, in a decision that embarrassed Cameron and drew criticism from the United States.

Egypt arrests agriculture minister over corruption allegations
Reuters, Cairo/Monday, 7 September 2015/Egyptian authorities have arrested the country's agriculture minister over corruption allegations on Monday, security sources said, just after his resignation was announced. The prime minister's office released a statement earlier on Monday saying Salah El Din Mahmoud Helal's resignation had been accepted on the instruction of President Abdel Fattah al-SisiThe statement did not mention any reasons for Salah El Din Mahmoud Helal's departure. Egypt is the world's largest importer of wheat. In July, the agriculture ministry banned cotton imports in order, it said, to boost local production. Egypt grows a high-quality and extra long staple cotton, once known as "white gold", but output has been shrinking for years. "The ministry is keen on Egyptian cotton regaining its glory on all levels," it said in announcing the ban. Eight days later, the cabinet reversed the decision, giving no reason beyond saying that this was in the context of "developing cotton farming and supporting its farmers". Alarmed textile manufacturers had campaigned against the ban, which would have deprived them of cheap imported cotton.

Syrian Druse stand between ISIS and Israeli border, Druse sheikh warns
ARIEL BEN SOLOMON/J.Post/09/07/2015
Israeli Druse leaders told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that the southern Syrian Druse city of Sweida serves as the last barrier separating Islamic State from Israeli territory on the Golan Heights.If Islamic State gets past Sweida, it puts Jordan and the Israeli border areas at risk, Israeli Druse spiritual leader Sheikh Maufak Tarif told the Post. The Druse in Sweida are preparing for war and will fight if they have to, he said. “The situation there is not easy and Islamic State is on the east side,” he explained, adding that it seems that Islamic State is preparing to attack the city. Asked about his meetings with Israeli officials and foreign governments regarding the Syrian Druse situation, Tarif replied that he is in contact with both Israeli and foreign officials all the time. “It is a very stressed situation,” he added, urging the US to attack the Islamists in Syria. Mendi Safadi, an Israeli Druse who has served as chief of staff for Deputy Regional Cooperation Minister Ayoub Kara, agreed. “Sweida is the wall between us and Islamic state,” he told the Post. “Islamic State has to pass through Sweida in order to get to us. Israel’s interest is to strengthen the Druse in Sweida and southern Syria to prevent Islamic State from progressing on Israel’s borders.” Islamic State is sitting on the borders of Sweida and “[Syrian President Bashar] Assad has given them the green light for them to attack,” Safadi claimed, adding, “I predict in the coming weeks Islamic State will try to attack Sweida.”Asked about the killing last week of Druse leader Sheikh Wahid Balous, Safadi said that Assad’s regime killed him because it was starting to worry about Druse opposition to the government in Sweida. Balous opposed his compatriots serving in the Syrian army and called on them to focus only on protecting Druse areas, Safadi said. He did not want the Druse to officially take any side in the ongoing war. From Assad’s perspective, it was as if Balous was supporting the opposition, Safadi explained. “He was the biggest threat to Assad in Sweida. More than 70 percent of Druse in southern Syria support him and he also has supporters in Israel and Lebanon.” Tarif told the Post that Balous had procured weapons to protect the Jabal al-Druse region in the Sweida province. Druse Deputy Minister Kara, meanwhile, said that killing Balous crossed a red line and called for immediate action to overthrow the Assad regime. Syrian state media reported on Sunday that an Islamist insurgent confessed after his arrest to being behind two car bomb blasts that killed 37 people in the south of the country on Friday, including Balous. The explosions provoked protests by Druse in Sweida during which six government security personnel were killed and a statue of Assad’s father was destroyed, a monitor said. Reuters contributed to this report.

Colin Powell, Wasserman Schultz support Iran nuclear deal
September 06, 2015/FoxNews.com/President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal on Sunday got some largely unexpected support -- from former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The deal, which is expected to receive a vote this week in the Republican-led Congress, has essentially no other GOP support. Still, Obama late last week secured enough support from Senate Democrats to ultimately complete the deal, despite the Republican opposition. Powell, who served in the Republican administration of President George W. Bush, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the international agreement is "a pretty good deal" that would reduce the threat of Iran gaining a nuclear weapon. Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, joins about half of the roughly two-dozen congressional Jewish lawmakers in supporting the deal, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly opposes. New York Sen. Charles Schumer, expected to be the next Senate Democratic leader, is among a handful in that group who opposes the deal. And his decision in early August was among the first. Powell said Sunday that Iran's nuclear program "has been thrown into a detour," decreasing the likelihood that it can produce a nuclear weapon to be used against Israel or other countries. "So that's pretty good," he said. The international deal would lift billions of dollars in crippling economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for the rogue nation curtailing its nuclear development program. Wasserman Schultz made her announcement in The Miami Herald, saying the decision to endorse the agreement was the most difficult one she has made in nearly 23 years in elected office. She expressed concerns about the agreement, but argued it "provides the best chance to ensure" security for the U.S., Israel and other allies.
"Under the agreement Iran will not be able to produce a nuclear bomb for at least 10-15 years," she said, while the U.S. and its allies "will be able to more closely concentrate on stopping Iran's terrorist activity."The White House already has enough Senate votes to ensure that Congress will uphold the deal even if Obama has to veto a disapproval resolution set for a vote in the week ahead. But with that support in hand and more piling up, the White House and congressional backers of the deal have begun aiming for a more ambitious goal: enough commitments to bottle up the disapproval resolution in the Senate with a filibuster, preventing it from even coming to a final vote. That effort suffered a setback on Friday as Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, who is Jewish and top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he opposed the deal. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Analysis: Russia taking advantage of West’s inaction to keep Assad in power
ARIEL BEN SOLOMON /J.Post/09/07/2015
Russia’s recent military buildup in Syria has sparked concern in Western capitals as Vladimir Putin again appears to be shrewdly calculating that the West will not significantly counter his moves.
The Russian president’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region last year was not strongly resisted by the Europeans or Americans, and the Kremlin likely expects even less resistance to its involvement a half-world away.
Russia’s efforts to maintain its Syrian ally and build inroads with Egypt and elsewhere represent its contest with the US for power and influence in the region.
US Secretary of State John Kerry told his Russian counterpart on Saturday the United States was deeply concerned about reports that Moscow was moving toward a major military build-up in Syria widely seen as aimed at bolstering President Bashar Assad.
US authorities have detected “worrisome preparatory steps,” including the transport of prefabricated housing units for hundreds of people to a Syrian airfield, which could signal that Russia is readying deployment of heavy military assets there, a senior US official told Reuters.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moscow’s exact intentions remained unclear but that Kerry called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to leave no doubt of the US position.
The State Department pointed to media accounts suggesting an “imminent enhanced Russian military build-up” in Syria.
However, experts told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that it is highly unlikely that Moscow will insert its army into Syria to fight for Assad’s regime.
Nikolay Kozhanov, a non-resident fellow at Carnegie Moscow Center and a visiting fellow at Chatham House London, told the Post on Sunday that recent media speculation that Russia could get more deeply involved in Syria and even fight for Assad’s regime are exaggerated.
However, he said, his talks with people in Russia and Syria reveal that Moscow “has definitely raised the quality of equipment it is sending,” adding that Russia is “raising the stakes.”
More advanced equipment, such as armored trucks and civilian drones are being sent, but Russian society and its military “have no intention to send people on the ground,” said Kozhanov. The experience fighting radical Islamic groups in the southern Russian region of Chechnya adds to the sentiment in Russia.
What they are doing is increasing the quality of equipment and adding the advisers necessary to train Syrian forces to use it.
Kozhanov suggested that it is possible that Russian aviation and special forces are active in Syria in a supporting role.
Asked if he sees a change in Russia’s Syria policy, Kozhanov replied that he does not see so much change, as more continuity in its Syria policy, which is meant to keep the regime’s stronghold in the Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia from collapsing.
Middle East Quarterly editor Prof. Efraim Karsh, a Middle East scholar at King’s College in London and Bar-Ilan University’s Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies told the Post, “Russia has historically been extremely careful in committing ‘boots on the ground’ in Third World conflicts – as opposed to arms shipment and advisory support.”
Russia has done so only when seeing no other choice, he said.
“Hence I seriously doubt whether Russian troops will be fighting in Syria,” he added.
Yet, he continued, Putin tends to use whatever means he has to undermine Western anti-Russian measures, as he did in the Ukrainian crisis.
“And what can be better than this, having the Europeans tear each other apart over the escalating refugee crisis and forgetting all about the Ukraine.”
Ariel Cohen, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and director of the Center for Energy, Natural Resources and Geopolitics at the Institute for Analysis of Global Security in Washington, told the Post that Russia has ambitions to be an equal partner with the US in Syria and the Middle East.
“To accomplish that, it is projecting power into Syria to protect Assad and fight ISIS, so that it becomes an ‘indispensable party’ to the final settlement.
However, this is risky, as Russian and American fighter jets may clash in the skies over Syria,” he said.
“Unfortunately for Russia, it does not recognize that Syria is dead as a nation-state. It is a geopolitical corpse,” asserted Cohen, adding that not even Russia and Iran can maintain Assad’s control over all of Syrian territory.
The capture of the Crimea in Ukraine was the first step, he continued, and the projection of naval power into the Mediterranean via Syria was the second, and now it is trying to secure naval bases in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf.
“While Europe is swamped with throngs of migrants, Russia is trying to build up a distant perimeter of defenses in the Middle East to prevent Islamic State from engaging it in the North Caucasus, including Chechnya and Dagestan.”
“This is 19th and 20th century thinking for the great geopolitical upheaval of the 21st century,” said Cohen. Reuters contributed to this report.

A lion in winter
The Econimist/September 06/15
The intriguing eclipse of a military hero
AS IRAN’S most prominent security operative, Major-General Qassem Suleimani has long been respected at home; but as a creature of the shadows. That changed when pictures of him appeared on social media from the battlefields in Iraq, directing the fight against Islamic State and pushing its jihadists back from the approaches to Baghdad. The 58-year-old commander of the Quds Force, the foreign wing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), quickly became a celebrity, even winning a Man of the Year poll. With Iran keen to project its growing influence in the Middle East, the pictures of General Suleimani were at first tolerated and then actively encouraged in state-run newspapers. He even acquired a parody Twitter account, and some admirers fawningly dubbed him “Supermani”.
This has all changed again. In recent months General Suleimani has all but vanished from view, only appearing this week to give his scheduled annual report on regional affairs to Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts. Not only are the selfies of him posing with Shia militias now seen as unhelpful, but much of his strategy has also been called into question. “He put too much pressure on Iraq’s Sunnis. There were a lot of complaints about him,” says a political analyst in Tehran. Chief of the critics, it is said, is Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most senior Shia cleric. A public rebuke by the ayatollah, issued on March 13th, followed a series of boastful remarks by the general about Iran’s mighty influence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Bahrain. A private message of concern from Mr Sistani even reached Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a well-placed source in Tehran. But it was comments made shortly afterwards attributed to General Suleimani, about the so-called Shia crescent reaching a fifth Arab state, Jordan, that proved the final straw. “He is under the control of a council now and can no longer act as a de facto foreign minister,” the source says.
Saudi Arabia’s push into Yemen this summer also seems to have been part of General Suleimani’s undoing. The Saudi action, at the head of an Arab coalition, came in response to Iran’s involvement in backing and supplying the Houthi rebels, a group that follows a form of Shia Islam and that drove the internationally-recognised government from the country in March. “The Quds Force gave a very bad estimation in Yemen,” says the Tehran source. “They assured the supreme leader that Saudi Arabia would not attack. That is why Mr Rezaei is back in uniform.”
The last-mentioned man is Mohsen Rezaei, a former chief of the IRGC. He tried politics, but failed three times to become president after his retirement from the armed forces in 1997. General Rezaei is regarded in Tehran as reliable, but lacking in charisma; he seems to have been brought back into the IRGC to keep an eye on General Suleimani. “The Quds Force does not have a public-relations department and by its nature is quiet. The pictures were too much, and that’s why the regime stopped them,” says the source.
As General Suleimani has retreated to the shadows, a new front-man with a very different persona has emerged: Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister. Iran, fresh from a nuclear deal with America and five other world powers, is now favouring diplomacy rather than military action in Iraq and Syria. This being so, it is Mr Zarif who now dominates Iran’s foreign policy—a break with recent years, when General Suleimani was often seen as Iran’s power-broker abroad.
In recent weeks Mr Zarif has travelled to Russia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and, this week, Tunisia. His latest task, insiders say, is to find an endgame in Syria that limits, rather than increases, Iran’s armed involvement in the civil war there. Tehran admits only to providing military advisers to Bashar Assad’s regime, but several generals have been killed in Syria, along with many soldiers. The cost, in treasure as well as blood, is getting too high.
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21663234-intriguing-eclipse-military-hero-lion-winter

Nuclear Jihad
Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/September 07/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6461/nuclear-jihad
In the year 628, Muhammad, now ruling in Medina, signed the ten-year Treaty of Hudaybiyyah with his long-time enemies, the tribal confederacy of Quraysh, who ruled Mecca. Twenty-two months later, under the pretext that a clan from a tribe allied with the Quraysh had squabbled with a tribe allied to the Muslims, Muhammad broke the treaty and attacked Mecca, conquering it. It is as certain as day follows night, that the Iranian regime will find a pretext to break the deal. Already, on September 3, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamene'i made it clear that he would back out of the deal if sanctions were not completely removed at once. The Iranian regime not only despises democracy; it considers all Western law, including international law, invalid. The Shi'a consider themselves underdogs, who are willing to sacrifice all to establish the rights of their imams and their successors. That was what the 1979 revolution was all about, and it is what present the Iranian regime still insists on as the justification for its opposition to Western intrusion, democracy, women's rights and all the rest, which are deemed by Iran's leadership as part of a plot to undermine and control the expansion of the Shi'i faith on the global stage. These are not Anglican vicars.
The Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps "have responsibility... for a religious mission, which is Holy War (Jihad) in the path of God and the struggle to extend the supremacy of God's law in the world." — Iran's Constitution, Article "The Religious Army".A Third World War is already taking place. The Iran deal strengthens the hands of a regime that is the world's terrorist state, a state that furthers jihad in many places because its clerical hierarchy considers itself uniquely empowered to order and promote holy war.
Obama's trust in Khamene'i's presumed fatwa of 2013, forbidding nuclear weapons, rests on the assumption that it even exists. It does not. Even if it did, fatwas are not permanent.Why, then, is this deal going ahead at all? Why is one of the world's most tyrannical regimes being rewarded for its intransigence, and especially for repeatedly violating the Non-Proliferation Treaty? "[Some] analysts," writes the historian and former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, "claimed the president [Barack Obama] regarded Iran as an ascendant and logical power -- unlike the feckless, disunited Arabs and those troublemaking Israelis -- that could assist in resolving other regional conflicts. I first heard this theory at Georgetown back in 2008, in conversation with think tankers and former State Department officials. They also believed Iran's radical Islam was merely an expression of interests and fears that the United States could with sufficient goodwill, meet and allay. ... Iran, according to Obama was a pragmatic player with addressable interest. For Netanyahu, Iran was irrational, messianic, and genocidal – 'worse,' he said, 'than fifty North Koreas.'"[1]
Since the signing of the deal at the UN, hot-tempered criticisms and defences have gone into overdrive in the political, journalistic, and diplomatic spheres. Acres have been written and are still being written about the deal, making it the hottest political potato of recent years. Expert analysts such as Omri Ceren and, more recently, Joel Rosenberg have cut through the deliberate obfuscation to show the extent of the dangers the deal presents to the Middle East, the United States, Israel, and the world.
The deal's supporters insist that it will bring peace and calm to the region, while a host of denigrators -- chief among them Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu -- have exposed the enormous risks it entails. Already, a vast majority of American citizens are opposed to the deal. Within the U.S. Congress, bipartisan opposition to the deal is high and mounting. Yet, on September 2, President Obama succeeded in winning over a 34th senator, enough that ultimate passage of the deal is a foregone conclusion. That does not, however, mean that the debate will end. In all likelihood, it will grow fiercer as time passes and true consequences become clearer to the public and politicians alike.
Recent revelations that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which oversees nuclear developments worldwide, has agreed that only Iranians will be allowed to inspect the most controversial of Iran's nuclear sites, have raised anxieties about proper monitoring of the deal. The military complex of Parchin, where Iran is suspected of work on nuclear weapons, will be closed to outside inspection, making it certain that, if Iran decides to cheat (something it has done before), it will be able to do so with impunity. Sanctions will not be re-imposed. And, as we shall see, cheating on the deal can be justified by the Iranians who could always refer to the practice of the prophet Muhammad with the Quraysh tribe in Mecca.
Obama, his Secretary of State John Kerry, and the entire US administration are not merely behind the deal, but almost fanatically so. Many argue that Obama is more interested in securing his "legacy" as the world's greatest peacemaker (or war-creator, as the case may well turn out to be), the statesman par excellence who alone could bring the theocratic regime of Iran in from the cold and shower the Middle East with true balance in its troubled affairs.
To bring this about, Obama has had to diminish, if not leave totally open to obliteration, American support for Israel, the single country in the world most clearly exposed to a possible genocide should the Iran's Islamic regime choose to exterminate it, as it has so often threatened to do. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's words mellal-e Eslami bayad Esra'il-ra qal' o qam' kard – "the Islamic nations must exterminate Israel" -- have been given renewed vigour now that it is highly likely that Iran, evading serious inspections by the IAEA, will soon possess the weapons to do just that. Even if the treaty is a done deal, it is time to show yet another massive hole in the administration's strategy. Already, Obama, Kerry and the tightly knit administration have shown themselves remarkably obdurate in turning a blind eye to the many concerns that surround the deal. At the end of the "sunset period," if not sooner, Iran gets to have, legitimately, as many bombs as it likes. Other problems include breakout times; centrifuge production; centrifuge concealment; uranium enrichment by stealth; refusal to allow the IAEA to inspect military sites; the acquisition of intercontinental ballistic missiles -- presumably to be used intercontinentally at guess who. It is no secret that the hardliners in Iran still speak of America as "The Great Satan" and consider it their enemy. That does not even include the implications of lifting sanctions on, and paying billions of dollars to, the world's main sponsor of terrorism.
As Michael Oren has shown, however, the American president presumably thinks he is doing a deal with a logical and pragmatic regime. Barack Obama, an intelligent, well-read man of Muslim origin, knows almost nothing about Islam; that is the greatest flaw in the Iran deal he has fought so hard to inflict on the human race. With access to platoons of experts, to some of the greatest libraries with holdings in Islamic doctrines and history, and with the Mullahs and Iran's public still daily promising to destroy America, Obama apparently still believes Islam is a religion of peace and that a theocratic, terror-supporting, medieval regime should have the power to make nuclear bombs. The obverse is that he might like, perhaps not wittingly, to see America, Israel and the West brought to their knees.
This author has previously exposed one aspect of Iran's serious lack of logic, rationality, or pragmatism -- namely the extent to which apocalyptic thinking, messianic prophecy, and dreams of Islamic transcendence through universal conflict pervade the clerical elite, a high percentage of the masses, and even the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. One might assume that this would be especially true when they are flush with cash and nuclear weapons, and the risk to their own survival is substantially lower.
On August 17, just over a month after the signing of the nuclear deal, Iran's Supreme Leader, 'Ali Khamene'i, addressed a religious conference, where he expressed his undying hatred for the United States. He said, for example:
We must combat the plans of the arrogance [i.e. the West, led by the U.S.] with jihad for the sake of Allah. ... jihad for the sake of God does not only mean military conflict, but also means cultural, economic, and political struggle. The clearest essence of jihad for the sake of God today is to identify the plots of the arrogance in the Islamic region, especially the sensitive and strategic West Asian region. The planning for the struggle against them should include both defense and offense.
The deal has done nothing whatever to stop military threats to Israel, an ally of the United States (though treated with disrespect by America's president). Speaking on 2 September, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp's top commander in Tehran province, Brigadier General Mohsen Kazemayni, stated that, "... they [the US and the Zionists] should know that the Islamic Revolution will continue enhancing its preparedness until it overthrows Israel and liberates Palestine."
There is a simple word for this: warmongering.
Why is the U.S. President insisting on a bad deal with a warmongering regime? When a military force at its strongest fantasizes about the coming of a Messiah (the Twelfth Imam) to lead them to victory over all infidels, talk of logic, rationality and pragmatism seems acutely out of touch with reality. Obama's assumption that there is something solid about the Iranian regime that makes it suitable as a recipient for such largesse and the chance to enrich uranium until kingdom come seems to be based on false consciousness. The regime has been in place for almost forty years, quite a respectable time for a dictatorship. In part, that has been because it has mastered the art of suppression, giving its people a degree of freedom that is missing in several other Islamic countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Sudan, or Afghanistan. These partial freedoms, especially for young people, lull the population into risk-averseness, possibly helped along by the memory in 2009 of pleas for more freedom, which the United States ignored and the mullahs savaged.
Obama, in his ongoing attempt to portray Islam as benign -- and a dictatorial regime as a sold basis for peace and understanding in the Middle East -- ignores the religious element of the theocracy, as well as the sadistic repression, and in doing so misses a lot.
First of all, Shi'ite Islam is different from its Sunni big brother. It is deeply imbued with features largely absent from Sunni Islam. The most important Shi'i denomination is that of the Twelvers (Ithna' 'Ashariyya), who, from the beginning of Islam, have believed themselves to be not only the true version of the faith, but the group destined by God to rule in its name. Beginning with 'Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet and the fourth Caliph of the Sunnis, the Shi'a began as his supporters. (Please see the Appendix that follows this article: it contains material that even Barack Obama and his advisors need to know; without it, they simply will not "get" what the ayatollahs are about. It comes to an important conclusion that has considerable bearing on today's events -- and not the one you may expect.)
Beneath the smiles and banter lie the unsmiling masks and the taqiyya-flavoured lies. Beneath the wheeling and dealing and the refusals to compromise lies a sense of destiny for the regime, a belief that it stands on the brink of the realization of the centuries-old Shi'ite dream: that God will finally set his people on the pinnacle of the world and usher in the never-ending reign of the Imam Mahdi, with all injustice gone, the martyrs in paradise, the ayatollahs and mujtahids and maraji' in glory, and all the infidels in hell.
It is precisely because Barack Obama and his aides have never got down and dirty to take in hard information that they have remained utterly out of touch with the real springs and cogs of Iranian Shi'ite thinking.
Obama has, when all is said and done, let himself be deluded by the charm offensive of Hassan Rouhani and his henchman Javad Zarif. Obama may not believe in the mystical land of Hurqalya or the white steed on which the Twelfth Imam will ride to the world's last battle any more than you or I do. But the clerical elite of Iran, and those who follow them blindly -- men and women brought up from birth on these tales, and who travel in the thousands every day to send a message to the Imam at the Jamkaran Mosque near Qom -- believe these things with absolute devotion, and that is why this story matters, because it has political consequences.
Shi'i Muslim law enshrines jihad, holy war, as fully as does Sunni law. For Sunnis, jihad has always been possible under the authority of a Caliph, whether fought under his orders or led by kings and governors under his broad aegis.
The Shi'a, however, do not recognize the Caliphate and have often been the victims of Sunni jihads. They may feel impelled to fight a holy war, but under what authority could they do so?
The power of the clergy had waned under the anti-clerical reign of Iran's Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979), only to burst out more strongly than ever in the Islamic Revolution, which placed all authority in a new system of government: rule by a religious jurist, a faqih.[2] Overnight, a jihad state was brought into existence; a jihad state with vast oil reserves, modern military equipment, and, at first, the support of almost the entire Iranian population. The clerical hierarchy under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini did not just intend to prepare the way for the coming of the Mahdi. They were now his earthly deputies, in whose hands lay life and death for millions.
The new Shi'ism allowed the clergy to take on powers they had never imagined. More and more economic and legal power came to be concentrated in the hands of a narrow body of scholars, and sometimes a single man could be the source of religious and legal authority for the entire Shi'i world -- in Iran, Afghanistan, eastern Arabia, Bahrain, and so on. Thus were the foundations laid for the revolutionary rank of Supreme Leader, taken by the Ayatollahs Khomeini and Khamene'i.
Look for a moment at the preamble to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.[3] You will see quickly that this does not read like any other constitution you have seen. The preamble sets the tone. Here, in an account of the circumstances leading to the revolution we read of the clergy as the ruhaniyyat-e mobarez, "the militant or fighting clergy." These are not Anglican vicars at their prayers or rabbis studying Talmud. A mobarez is a warrior, a champion, a fighter. Not far down the preamble, one encounters a description of their struggle as "The Great Holy War," jihad-e bozorg. We are not in Obama's world of logical and pragmatic striving for political and diplomatic coherence. This is made even clearer in one of the constitution's earlier articles, "The Religious Army." Here, we read that the Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps "have responsibility... for a religious mission, which is Holy War (Jihad) in the path of God, and the struggle to extend the supremacy of God's law in the world."
How do you reach a compromise and a pragmatic deal with a regime that thinks in this way? Are the U.S. administration and the P5+1 blind to something the Iranians have never even bothered to conceal? Do they really take everything in the talks at face value? Perhaps they think references to jihad and fighting clergy are nothing more than pious talk "for domestic consumption," as they tried to explain -- as real and everyday as the myths and legends of other faiths. If they do, then they have far less excuse for their blindness, for the Iranian regime is already at war and is already fighting its jihad.
In Iraq, for example, a country with a majority Twelver Shi'i population, Iranian-backed militias have been at war for many years, first against the Americans, then the Sunnis, and now the hordes of Islamic State. In June 2014, Grand Ayatollah al-Sayyid 'Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling on Iraqis to fight against Islamic State, justifying their fight as jihad wajib kafa'i: a Jihad that is compulsory for those who choose it, but not for the entire population. The ruling calls for a struggle against ISIS's irhab – their "terrorism." Jihad is a religious and legal duty, and even though ISIS may call its fighting jihad, it is here condemned as terror.
Hezbollah, created and backed by Iran, is by far the largest terrorist group in the region. Hezbollah is considered a state within a state, with forces and infrastructure inside Lebanon and Syria. It has used the name "Islamic Jihad Organization" to cover its attacks on Israeli forces in Lebanon. In its 1988 Open Letter (Risala maftuha), it describes its followers as "Combatants of the Holy War" and goes on -- in terms similar to those in the Hamas Covenant -- "our struggle will end only when this entity [Israel] is obliterated. We recognize no treaty with it, no cease fire, and no peace agreements, whether separate or consolidated."
Hezbollah and its creator, the Iranian Islamic regime, have a curious link to the Palestinian terror movement, Hamas, despite Hamas being exclusively Sunni. By financing, arming, and defending Hamas, Iran is fighting a strange proxy jihad that serves its own purposes of defying the West, achieving regional hegemony, and winning praise from all Muslims in the world for its own war against Israel. It also furthers the goals of the Muslim Brotherhood (of which Hamas is the Palestinian branch) in the same struggle.
I have dragged you through the briars and mud because it is important here to see another culture through its own eyes. If we insist in pretending that Shi'i Muslims think like Sunni Muslims or, worse still, like Jews or Christians -- if we brush all that history and all those doctrines under the carpet of "any deal is better than no deal " -- we will go on making the same mistakes. We will believe that a purely political and diplomatic enterprise to bring Iran in from the cold and create a new trading alliance will transform an evil regime into a land of sweetness and light.
Members of the U.S. Congress must wake up and examine, in however cursory a fashion, these views that motivate the Iranian leadership, and must stop pretending that they are as logical and pragmatic as would be convenient for the wishes of the West.
Not that Obama and Kerry have ever sounded logical or pragmatic in how they have approached this debate and this deal-making process. In an act of supreme folly, the White House has dismissed Ayatollah Khamene'i's recent call for "Death to America;" they pretend it is just empty rhetoric for the Iranian people.
Left: Senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani, speaking on July 17 in Tehran, behind a banner reading "We Will Trample Upon America" and "We defeat the United States." Right: Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, proclaims "Death to America" on March 2.
We are walking with a blindfold toward sure disaster. Forget the dreams of a Messiah if you will, but do not for one moment let yourself be lulled into thinking that only ISIS is serious about waging a jihad.
Despite their oft-expressed delusion that "Islam is a religion of peace," President Obama, Secretary John Kerry and other leaders are, like it or not, already engaged in a war against jihad. They have already fought it in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere. However much Obama wants to stand off from involvement in the jihad struggles of the Middle East, he cannot: Western states are fighting jihad, sometimes abroad, increasingly at home.
A Third World War is already taking place, a war the Islamists and Islamic states understand, but which many in the West still refuse to grasp. They are not even willing to respect the true motivations of the enemies against whom they fight. The Iran deal strengthens the hands of a regime that is the world's terrorist state, a state that furthers jihad in many places because its clerical hierarchy considers itself uniquely empowered to order and promote holy war.
Let us for the moment ignore the nuclear aspect of this deal and look instead on what it offers the world's leading jihad state. The removal of sanctions coupled with the business deals Europeans and others are rushing to secure, the delivery of perhaps $150 billion to Tehran, and the turning of many blind eyes to both Iran's internal repression and its jihad wars in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Gaza, and Lebanon leave the ayatollahs poised to dominate much of the Middle East.
And that is not all. Obama's belief in the stability of the Iranian regime seems to rest on its endurance since 1979. His trust in Khamene'i's presumed fatwa of 2013, forbidding nuclear weapons rests on the assumption that it even exists. It does not. No one has ever seen it. Even if the fatwa did exist, fatwas are not permanent. They are always regarded as temporary rulings with Twelver Shi'ism. This is a crucial technical point that the White House seems incapable of -- or ill-disposed to -- grasping.
Further, Obama's faith in Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as a reformer and moderate flies in the face of Rouhani's devotion to the hardline clerical leadership of which he is a part. Here are a few facts:
'Ali Khamene'i is 76 years old, but his health is poor and he may not live much longer. Already, factions within the hierarchy will be jostling for the Supreme Leadership.
In the Usuli Twelver version of Shi'ism, once a Mujtahid dies, his fatwas are no longer valid. A new Mujtahid or, in this case, a new Supreme Leader, has to issue fatwas of his own. A new fatwa may confirm an old one or radically differ from it.
A new Supreme Leader is an unpredictable personality.
The Iranian nuclear program is already up and running.
The breakout time for weapons grade materials may be as short as three months.
Iran already has and is acquiring ballistic missiles with an intercontinental range.
Jihad is hard-wired into the regime's philosophy.
Iran is already conducting a series of jihad wars abroad.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed a hope to return to the presidency in 2017. Ahmadinejad and his clique are bent on apocalyptic outcomes and actions to bring the Hidden Imam back to this world.
We only have to get this wrong once. Chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" are not narcotic iterations of slogans but sincerely felt expressions of intent.
Khamene'i last month praised the Iranian people for calling for the deaths of the USA and Israel, and said that he hoped God would answer their prayers because in at most ten years, the Iranian mullahs and their IRGC will possess the power to exterminate Israel, if they and their God so wish.
Why, then, is this deal going ahead at all?
Why are sanctions against the world's leading exporter of jihadi terrorism being lifted, not strengthened?
Why is one of the world's most tyrannical regimes being rewarded for its intransigence, and especially for repeatedly violating the Non-Proliferation Treaty?
Why has Israel's Prime Minister been vilified and sidelined simply for drawing attention to the weaknesses of a deal that could lead to the death of all of his people?
Why have the P5+1 never taken seriously the Shi'ite rule that it is permitted to lie to infidels and conceal one's own true intentions?
Why are secrets being kept -- such as the contents of the two side-deals?
Why is the U.S. Congress being asked to vote without the benefit of full disclosure?
Why is the IAEA banned from spontaneously inspecting only declared Iranian nuclear sites, and why are military sites completely off-limits?
The questions are so many and so critical that we remain in the dark about where this will lead mankind. No one who has ever done a financial or political deal would ever sign on the dotted line until they had answers to all their questions. Far more hangs on this deal than perhaps any deal in history. Yet those who want to make it enforceable under international law are uninformed about the most basic contents of the deal, as well as the beliefs and historical roots of their enemy.
Such folly is almost without precedence, except possibly in the process of appeasement that endeavoured to placate the Third Reich and treat Adolf Hitler as the best friend of democracy.
The Iranian regime not only despises democracy, it considers all Western law -- including international law -- invalid. This view has several deep roots. For both Sunni and Shi'i Muslims, only rule under God is valid, under a Caliph or a clerical theocracy under a Supreme Ruler. Human beings have no right to interfere. Democracy leads to the making of human laws that may contradict shari'a law, and such effrontery is considered arrogant and presumptuous. The democratic elements in Iran are tightly controlled, and supremacy rests in all areas beneath clerical authority. The same principle applies to international law, UN resolutions, treaties and so forth.
Iran has openly genocidal intent, as well as a devotion to holy war that goes to the very deepest level.
Before we leave the subject of jihad, there is one other factor that everyone has overlooked. It is the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the most important agreement in early Islamic history. In the year 628, Muhammad, now ruling in Medina, signed the ten-year Treaty of Hudaybiyyah with his long-time enemies, the tribal confederacy of Quraysh, who ruled Mecca. Twenty-two months later, under the pretext that a clan from a tribe allied with the Quraysh had squabbled with a tribe allied to the Muslims, Muhammad broke the treaty and attacked Mecca, conquering it.
What is important about this is that Muhammad had made the treaty while he was still relatively weak. But in the months after signing it, his alliances and growing conversions meant that he now possessed superior military strength -- and that was when he pounced.
In 1994, the treaty became crucial to the issue of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.[4] In September 1993, Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat signed the Oslo Accords along with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and the following year the two leaders were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
However, even as he awaited that prize, Arafat spoke at a mosque in Johannesburg alluded to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and referred to "a jihad to liberate Jerusalem": "I see this agreement," he said, "as being no more than the agreement signed between our Prophet Muhammad and the Quraysh in Mecca."
Non-Muslims may well have misunderstood this as a reference to some early Muslim peace-making. But Arafat made his meaning clear: "We now accept the peace agreement, but [only in order] to continue on the road to Jerusalem."[5]
The nuclear deal that President Obama and his supporters have imposed will strengthen Iran considerably, removing sanctions and delivering perhaps $150 billion to the country. It is as certain as day follows night, that the Iranian regime will find a pretext to break the deal. Already, on September 3, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamene'i made it clear that he would back out of the deal if sanctions were not completely removed at once.
Whatever happens in the days ahead, the U.S. Congress, backed by a majority of the American public, needs to strike this madcap deal down before it wreaks a storm of tribulations on everyone.
Denis MacEoin has a PhD (Cambridge 1979) in Persian Studies and has written widely on Iran and its religious beliefs.
Appendix
'Ali became the first in a line of twelve imams, all deemed the true leaders of Islam, but all denied their right to rule and all but one assassinated (or so it is claimed) by the Sunni Caliphs. From this comes the Shi'i sense of suffering, injustice, oppression by despots, neglect and rights -- all of which played an important part in the 1979 revolution and continue to play out across society.
The Shi'a are the underdogs who are willing to sacrifice all to establish the rights of their imams and their successors. That was what the 1979 evolution was all about, and it is what present the regime still insists on as the justification for its opposition to Western intrusion, democracy, women's rights and all the rest, which are deemed by Iran's leadership as part of a plot to undermine and control the expansion of the Shi'i faith on the global stage.
The twelfth imam, according to Shi'ite legend, was a young boy, Muhammad al-Mahdi, the son of the murdered eleventh imam. Born in 869 in the Iraqi city of Samarra during the reign of the Sunni Abbasid Caliphate, his father, Hasan al-'Askari, died when Muhammad was born. It is said that young Muhammad, in order to avoid his enemies, went into something called Occultation (ghayba). Even if this originally was physical, he was never seen alive again and is supposed to have entered the celestial realm of Hurqalya, from which he will one day return as the promised Saviour, the Qa'im bi'l-Sayf, the One Who will Arise with the Sword to do battle with injustice and infidelity.
This belief is what waters modern Shi'i apocalypticism, something promoted intensely by former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This expectation has considerable significance for Iran's drive to nuclear power. But that is not why I raise the issue here. There is another, more mundane, aspect to the Imam's disappearance and continued Occultation, and it may be even more relevant to the matters at hand.
The answer to what authority they could fight under was that only the Imam in each generation could order or lead jihad. But when the twelfth Imam vanished from human sight, was jihad to remain in abeyance until his return or could it be fought under another authority? The answer was not at first simple, but one thing started to happen: the Shi'a began to consider their religious scholars to be the intermediaries with the Imam, and this laid the basis for the possibility that they might have the right to order jihad. For some time, this was just conjectural, for the Shi'a had little worldly power.
In 1501, a new dynasty, the Safavids, came to power in Iran, forced most of the population to convert to Shi'ism, and created a line of kings under whom the clerical class became more and more powerful. The Shah could still lead jihad, but the clergy were needed to give permission. The Safavid dynasty lasted till 1722, and an interregnum was followed by the emergence of a new line of Shahs, the Qajars, who ruled from 1796 to 1925.
Under the Qajars, the Shi'i clerical hierarchy underwent deep and lasting changes, producing today's version of Twelver Islam, the Usulis.
The newly powerful 'ulama of the 19th century took on the mantle of deputies for the Hidden Imam and ordered jihads in 1809 and 1826 (against Russia), 1836, 1843, and 1856-7 (against the British). In 1914, when the British occupied Iraq at the start of World War I, the Shi'i clergy in the shrine centres there declared jihad to reinforce the call for Holy War by the Ottoman empire.
[1] Ally by Michael Oren
[2] As in Khomeini's theory and book, Velayat-e Faqih, the Custodianship of the Jurisprudent.
[3] Here in English, here in Persian.
[4] For a detailed discussion of the treaty and its implications for making peace with Muslims, see Daniel Pipes, "Lessons from the Prophet Muhammad's Diplomacy," The Middle East Quarterly, September 1999, pp. 65-72.
[5] Natasha Singer, "Arafat Text Raises Ire," Forward, May 27, 1994.

The Gulf and Syrian refugees
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/September 07/15
The crisis of refugees - Syrians, Iraqis, Yemenis and others - is everyone’s responsibility amid the international community’s failure to support them. No one, including Gulf countries, have an excuse to not support them. Arab Gulf countries have been recently criticized about this, but some critics have aims that are completely irrelevant to the humanitarian side of it. Gulf countries must of course accommodate more people and grant more care to Arabs and Africans fleeing wars in their countries. However, it is important to look at the entire picture, not just rely on people who seek to serve their own interests, or reporters who only know part of the truth. A big percentage of the funds spent by international organizations and received by governments who host refugees, such as Lebanon and Jordan, come from Gulf countries. The latter are thus one of the major funders of about 3 million Syrian and Yemeni refugees in different countries.
Gulf countries are not selfish as some claim. They host some of the biggest foreign communities
Almost all these funds spent on refugees come from Gulf governments, after charities and individuals decreased their activity due to suspicions over beneficiaries and fears that groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) may be making use of the financial aid.
As to hosting refugees, ever since the Arab Spring erupted, Gulf countries have received thousands of them via family reunifications and quick employment programs. Riyadh has exempted Syrians from renewing their visas and from labor permits. There are currently more than 500,000 Syrians in Saudi Arabia, representing the third-largest community after Egyptians and Yemenis. The number of Yemenis in the kingdom has increased to over 1 million since the war erupted in their country. All Yemeni refugees and Yemenis who illegally entered the kingdom have been granted legal residencies that allow them to stay and work.
Europe
Europe agreed to take in 250,000 refugees, and there is uproar regarding this number, although it is humble compared with the numbers who sought refuge in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. It is even less than the number of refugees who quietly found their way to Gulf countries. Despite that, we must thank countries such as Germany for their humanity, and note that Germans have always been one of the most welcoming to refugees since the Lebanese civil war erupted in the 1970s. Gulf countries must provide more space for refugees via the system that reunifies Syrians with their families who reside there, and by allowing more Yemenis to seek refuge there in addition to the 1.5 million already present. Gulf countries are not selfish as some claim. They host some of the biggest foreign communities. All six Gulf countries have opened their doors for these communities to live and work, and some of these foreigners have fled persecution and wars from Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Afghanistan. These people were neither housed in tents nor categorized as refugees, and they mingled with society. This year around 1.5 million people, who sneaked into Saudi Arabia mostly from troubled countries, were granted residencies and work permits.
Demographics
When taking into consideration the percentage of foreigners to citizens in most Gulf countries, there is a dilemma that prevents receiving more refugees. Foreigners make up more than 80 percent of the population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, around half of Kuwait’s population, some 40 percent in Saudi Arabia and around a third in Bahrain. You do not see such percentages in other countries, including in Europe, which complains about the number of foreigners on its land. The percentage of foreigners in Britain is 8 percent, and it is a similar percentage in Germany and Greece. Trading accusations, and some people’s exploitation of a humanitarian cause to achieve personal or political aims, will preoccupy everyone with disputes instead of housing and feeding these poor, miserable refugees.

Will Lebanon’s protest movement continue to get global attention?
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/September 07/15
Major world powers’ disregard for Lebanese affairs has allowed regional powers influential in Lebanon to neglect the state, constitution, people and independence. The youth movement that began with the slogan You Stink has sought to rouse the international community from its slumber to force the ruling political class to change, and stop ignoring the constitution and ordinary people’s rights, from having a president to collecting waste. The youthful civil movement’s call for international intervention is aimed at putting international pressure on regional countries influential in Lebanon to reach accords on many levels, starting with the garbage and electricity crises, as well as the presidential vacuum. What also needs to be addressed is the protection of this tiny country against being drawn into civil and proxy wars, as well as the spillover of battles between Iranian-backed Hezbollah and al-Nusra Front or ISIS in Syria. Attention has now turned to the United States, which, I believe, is the most able country to influence key players, Saudi Arabia and Iran, during this critical period. Washington now has the power to influence Tehran, since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Hassan Rowhani need Congress to approve the nuclear deal, which would lift sanctions on Iran. As deliberations are set to start in Congress soon, there is an opportunity to use U.S. influence on Iran, which in turn can influence Lebanon through its ally Hezbollah to end its obstructionist policy.The timing of the popular movement is right, however, its goals were focused only momentarily, before becoming scattered. The protests were also infiltrated, before the organizers regrouped, though haphazardly. This was to be expected at the start of such a movement, however it still poses a threat to how it may progress.
A sharp blow to Lebanese politics
The most important achievement of the movement is that it dealt a sharp blow to the political class, which had assumed its grip would dissuade anyone from daring to protest. The other key achievement is that the movement has overcome the dichotomy between the March 8 and March 14 camps, calling for accountability from corrupt leaders on both sides.Diverse, naturally beautiful, and inhabited by an educated and cultured people, Lebanon can be described as a breathtaking place. However, its huge religious and ethnic diversity means that, because minorities usually live in fear, its fate has been left in the hands of the leaders of these minorities in a country with no majority. Political leaders decided to deal with their constituents as a flock or a tribe and have discarded citizen-focused politics and resorted to mobilizing the people against each other. Thus, a type of Lebanese emerged; one who is sectarian, bigoted, and dependent on such leaders. This is contradicting another type of Lebanese; one seeking equality and a focus on the average citizen – these are the people who have risen in this crucial protest movement.
Dialogue is not enough
It will not suffice to call for dialogue between party leaders due to the lack of confidence in them. What is needed is for lawmakers to do the job they are paid to do, and elect a president. Otherwise, they are nothing more than administrators of orchestrated chaos.
The political class has been caught off guard by the protest movement. It had assumed that the young protesters were just venting and could be quietly ignored, and that there is enough infiltration of the movement to spin it into a casual act of protest.
Sectarianism as a primed weapon
Some veteran politicians quickly resorted to sectarianism, a weapon always primed to shoot at any aspirations by a civil movement. It is an effective weapon that often subdues even the smartest and bravest of the Lebanese.Certainly, the majority of party leaders have primed their supporters and their minority siege mentality to take revenge and instigate sedition. The civil youth movement that crossed sectarian boundaries rallied all rival politicians together against them, for undermining them. The You Stink street protests, disgusted by refuse and corruption, have exposed the political class and its followers, and have shed light on a corruption that led to the loss of public property and services. These youths deserve support. They have crossed the red lines set by party leaders, namely, that the “street” belongs to them to obstruct and mobilize with sectarianism as they please, as well as intimidate those afraid of another civil war.
Mistakes
Mistakes are inevitable for an emerging movement that dared to ignore sectarian divisions and the default divisions between March 8 and March 14. Both camps have undermined the country’s all-inclusive citizenship and institutionalized division in a populist way to serve narrow interests. In the end, both March 8 and March 14 lost support of the serious public opinion. But avoiding mistakes is necessary. One mistake could hit a sectarian chord and trigger civil strife, or reinforce vacuum that some political forces already favor. The leaders of the movement must avoid such mistakes. There is no need, for instance, for a sit-in in the Environment Ministry building to pressure the minister to resign. The organizers must be aware of the pitfalls and have political awareness. Otherwise, polarization will weaken the movement. The movement should target vacuum in institutions, not empty government institutions selectively. Indeed, this could lead to chaos in the country that would be hard to rein in. It could lead to demands for the entire government to resign, but the slogan of “the people want the downfall of the regime” that some protesters have chanted is both juvenile and suspicious. Calling for the ouster of the government is also politically naïve, because it serves the advocates of vacuum.
The political class has been caught off guard by the protest movement
The game of polarization that most Lebanese television and media outlets engaged in and their attempts to infiltrate the youth movement is an insult to the young men and women and exposes these outlets’ lack of credibility. This is an assault on journalism and only serves the political class. These media outlets must know that they are not above accountability either.
Linking local protests to the international arena is not arbitrary. Lebanon is already an arena for regional and international interactions. The first step to revive international interest in Lebanese developments was made by Sigrid Kaag, representative of the U.N. secretary general, who briefed the Security Council in a session that culminated with a collective position by the council. While this was neither a binding resolution nor a presidential statement, it remains important that the youth protests caught the attention of the council, which had previously ignored Lebanon as too small compared to the Syrian issue. The council sent out a collective letter calling for Lebanon to quickly elect a president to end constitutional instability. The council said it is closely following the situation in Lebanon in support of its unity, sovereignty and independence. The council also affirmed support for the government of Lebanon and Prime Minister Tammam Salam.
During the closed session, Sigrid Kaag warned that anger against the government could grow if no solution is found for political issues and public services. She said the main issue in Lebanon is the political deadlock and loss of public trust in the government.
Kaag called on Lebanese politicians to engage with civil society groups, saying that the current events carry positive developments, including reviving discussions on outstanding political issues and the possibility of the emergence of a secular, cross-sectarian civil society. Kaag also called for an end to presidential vacuum by electing a new president without any delay.Sigrid Kaag’s message is important for having alerted the international community to the key demands that must remain the priority of the civil movement. Kaag also helped Security Council envoys to brief their capitals and support the efforts of ambassadors to Lebanon, who are trying to raise the attention of their governments towards the situation in Beirut. The angry anti-corruption protest movement has caught Washington’s attention. The diplomatic advice being given to Obama’s administration is that the Lebanese issues are much bigger than Lebanon, and that the radical solutions lie in the Saudi-Iranian relationship. Obama can put this to his advantage, and help the civil movement, not through direct intervention but by testing Iranian and Saudi intentions and mediating a rapprochement between them through Lebanon.

Russian submarine with 20 ICBMs and 200 nuclear warheads is sailing to Syria
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 7, 2015
The world’s largest submarine, the Dmitri Donskoy (TK-208), Nato-coded Typhoon, has set sail for the Mediterranean and is destined for the Syrian coast, debkafile reports exclusively from its military and intelligence sources. Aboard the sub are 20 Bulava (NATO-code SS-N-30) intercontinental ballistic missiles with an estimated up to 200 nuclear warheads. Each missile, with a reported range of 10,000km, carries 6-10 MIRV nuclear warheads. The Russian sub set sail from its North Sea base on Sept. 4, escorted by two anti-sub warfare ships. Their arrival at destination in 10 days time will top up the new Russian military deployment in Syria. President Vladimir Putin’s introduction of a nuclear force opposite Syrian shores builds up what first looked like an operation to fortify Assad’s regime in Damascus into a military expedition capable of an air and sea confrontation with US forces in the Middle East. US Secretary of State John Kerry suggested as much Saturday, Sept. 5, when he expressed concern over reports of Russia’s “increasing military build-up in Syria” in a phone call to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The State Department reported: “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 operation in Syria.”Kerry was referring to potential Russian interference with US-led coalition air strikes against the Islamic State in Syria. debkafile’s sources in Washington and Moscow report that the dispatch of a nuclear sub to Syrian waters is taken as a strong message that the Kremlin will not let the US impede its military intervention in the Syrian conflict and will go to extreme lengths to keep the way open for the flow of Russian troops to the war-torn country.
This situation has gone a long way beyond Obama administration intentions when US-Russian talks were initially held for US forces posted in Turkey and Iraq, together with the Russian troops arriving in Syria, to launch a combined effort against the Islamic State. Those talks came to naught. In its coming issue out Friday, Sept. 11, DEBKA Weekly 678 will reveal for the first time how Putin intends to array the Russian forces he is consigning to Syria, their operational planning, their military coordination with Iran and, above all, how the new Russian intervention in Syria may impact US Middle East policy and Israel.

Europe and the misrepresentation of refugees
Sharif Nashashibi/Al Arabiya/September 07/15
For weeks now, images and reports of those trying (and dying) to enter Europe have made headline news. However, despite round-the-clock debate by politicians and the media about how best to handle the situation, they are committing a fundamental error that could hinder a just solution. Their very description - a “migrant crisis" - is neither accurate nor fair, contrary to the basic tenets of journalism.The U.N. high commissioner for refugees and other U.N. officials have made clear that most of those trying to enter Europe are refugees. The definition of a refugee is very different from that of a migrant. According to the United Nations, migrants “choose to move not because of a direct threat of persecution or death, but mainly to improve their lives by finding work, or in some cases for education, family reunion, or other reasons. Unlike refugees who cannot safely return home, migrants face no such impediment to return.” Refugees, however, “are persons fleeing armed conflict or persecution. Their situation is often so perilous and intolerable that they cross national borders to seek safety in nearby countries, and thus become internationally recognised as ‘refugees’ with access to assistance from States, UNHCR [the U.N. refugee agency], and other organisations.”In a nutshell, then, someone is a migrant by choice, but a refugee by force. Most of those heading to Europe are fleeing war-torn countries - primarily Syria followed by Afghanistan, but also Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Nigeria and Eritrea, among others. As such, it is not a migrant crisis but predominantly a refugee crisis.
Importance of terminology
To highlight the issue of terminology is not pedantic. “Conflating refugees and migrants can have serious consequences for the lives and safety of refugees,” the UNHCR wrote on Aug. 27. “Blurring the two terms takes attention away from the specific legal protections refugees require. It can undermine public support for refugees and the institution of asylum at a time when more refugees need such protection than ever before.” Most of those heading to Europe are fleeing war-torn countries. As such, it is not a migrant crisis but predominantly a refugee crisis. Countries deal with migrants under their own immigration laws, but refugees are protected under international law. “One of the most fundamental principles laid down in international law is that refugees should not be expelled or returned to situations where their life and freedom would be under threat,” wrote the UNHCR. Other aspects of refugee protection include “access to asylum procedures that are fair and efficient; and measures to ensure that their basic human rights are respected to allow them to live in dignity and safety while helping them to find a longer-term solution. States bear the primary responsibility for this protection.”
Motives
As such, politicians and media figures who are anti-immigration are likely using the term “migrant” so governments can shirk their legal responsibilities toward refugees without a public backlash, given the rise in anti-immigrant sentiment throughout the European Union (EU), and the fact that countries are not obliged to take in migrants. It is also an attempt to deflect blame when those denied entry end up dying, as so many have. Anti-immigrant sentiment, and the incorrect conflation of refugees and migrants, have given rise to high-profile hostility toward those trying to reach Europe. To take just a few examples from Britain alone, Prime Minister David Cameron and UKIP leader Nigel Farage have described them as a “swarm,” Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond called them “marauding migrants,” and Katie Hopkins, a columnist for The Sun - the country’s highest-circulation newspaper - described them as “cockroaches.”
The misuse of terminology may also be down to ignorance and laziness, with some using the term “migrant” simply because it has caught on. However, that is as inexcusable as being motivated by deceit. News organizations use style guides, which - among other things - clarify the use of certain words, particularly regarding contentious issues. Given the high-profile nature of the refugee crisis, it would be baffling if high-level discussions were not held, and directives not issued, about appropriate terminology. Furthermore, given the clear difference between migrants and refugees, it is equally baffling that media outlets continue to refer to refugees entering Europe as migrants.The BBC, for example, has had the words “migrant crisis” in large letters on screen throughout its coverage. This despite its website containing an article by Ruud Lubbers, former U.N. high commissioner for refugees, who writes that refugees and migrants - “two distinct groups of people” - are “increasingly being confused, and increasingly being treated in the same way: with mistrust, even hatred and outright rejection.”He concludes: “We have to be clear about who is a refugee and who is a migrant, and not sacrifice one to keep out the other.” This was written in April 2004, providing ample time for the BBC to get it right.
Racism
One can sense an element of racism in certain quarters regarding the choice of terminology. Syrians languishing in the Middle East are readily described as refugees until they reach Europe, at which point they inexplicably become migrants even though their circumstances have not changed. In addition, anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe is often expressed specifically in relation to Muslims. Last month, Slovakia said it would only take in Syrian Christians, not their Muslim compatriots. Last week, Hungary’s prime minister wrote in a German newspaper that it was important to secure his country’s borders from mainly Muslim refugees “to keep Europe Christian.” This despite the fact that up to August, the number of those who reached Europe so far this year constituted just 0.027 percent of the continent’s total population.It would be preposterous - and deeply offensive - to describe European refugees during the two world wars as migrants. Present-day refugees should be afforded the same humanity and respect. We should be letting the media and politicians know - factually and firmly but politely - that their misrepresentation of the crisis is unacceptable, illogical, and does a grave disservice to the many who are suffering so greatly.

Much more than trees: Forests are key to sustainable development
José Graziano da Silva/Al Arabiya/September 07/15
Good news is being delivered this week at the World Forestry Congress in Durban, South Africa: the rate of net global deforestation has slowed down by more than 50 percent since 1990.
In another positive development, the net loss of natural forests declined from 8.5 million hectares per year between 1990 and 2000 to 6.6 million hectares per year between 2010 and 2015.
These results have contributed to reducing total carbon emissions from forests by more than 25 percent between 2001 and 2015.
The findings were revealed in the Global Forest Resources Assessment, an effort led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that is the result of the most comprehensive worldwide survey of forests ever conducted.
The fall in deforestation comes at a time when more wood than ever before is being used, as the global human population is more than one-third larger now than it was in 1990. This shows that sustainable forest management works and that political will and concrete action can make a difference. Today, forest management plans cover more than half of the global forest area.
Ending extreme poverty
These findings provide an important foundation to build on as the international community is set to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) later this month. Forests are an important element in reaching the goals that global leaders are setting.
This post-2015 development agenda will feature 17 SDGs that aim to end extreme poverty and hunger by 2030 and promote prosperity and harmony with nature.
Among the most pressing of the challenges facing humankind is feeding a global population projected to increase from over 7 billion today to over 9 billion by 2050. This challenge is made even greater by the threats of climate change, increasing water and land scarcity, soil and land degradation, and a deteriorating natural resource base.
Forests are therefore an irreplaceable part of sustainable development. We need to manage them better, with much greater integration with other land uses, including agriculture, and we need to ensure that their benefits are distributed equitably
We cannot meet the challenge without forests. They cover nearly one-third of the planet´s land; are home to over 80 percent of the world´s biodiversity, representing an irreplaceable genetic resource for the future development of agricultural crops; and hold about three-quarters as much carbon as the Earth's entire atmosphere, thus mitigating climate change.
Over the last years we have been protecting our forests better. About 13 percent of the world’s forests (more than half a billion hectares) are now designated primarily for biodiversity conservation, with Africa reporting the highest increase in the last five years.
There has also been a remarkable increase in the forest area covered by recent or ongoing national inventories – about four-fifths of the world’s forests in 112 countries have initiated or conducted forest inventories in the last five years.
But much remains to be done. While in the last five years total forest area increased by 4 million hectares in Asia, 1.9 million hectares in Europe, 1.5 million hectares in Oceania and 0.7 million hectares in North America, it fell by 14.2 million hectares in Africa and 10.1 million hectares in South America.
Threat to biodiversity still exists
The Global Forest Resources Assessment also confirmed that, despite considerable conservation efforts, the threat to biodiversity persists and is likely to continue. And, despite the growing use of forest management plans, implementing them effectively is still a challenge in many countries.That is why we need to use the momentum generated by the SDGs to strengthen sustainable management of forests. The importance of this is clearly recognized in SDG 15, which calls on us to “protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss”.
Moreover, sustainably managed forests can make major contributions to all SDGs. For example, forests are recognized in SDG 6, which aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Forests can help protect and restore water-related ecosystems. To increase this contribution, we need to guarantee adequate incentives to developing countries so that they can advance towards this management.
Millions of people also depend on forests to meet their food, energy and shelter needs. Wild foods from forests offer nutritious diets all year round, including in periods of hardship, and agroforestry – trees combined with agriculture – can increase the productivity of agricultural lands while diversifying diets. An estimated 2.4 billion people – about one-third of the world’s households ¬– rely on wood fuel for cooking.
Forests generate employment in rural areas, and they are the basis of millions of small enterprises that improve rural livelihoods. And they provide environmental services that are essential locally and globally. Forests support agriculture by keeping water catchments healthy, providing habitats for pollinators, and offering protection against climatic extremes.
Forests are therefore an irreplaceable part of sustainable development. We need to manage them better, with much greater integration with other land uses, including agriculture, and we need to ensure that their benefits are distributed equitably. And the results we are seeing show that we can do it.
We will not succeed in reducing the impact of climate change and promoting sustainable development if we do not preserve our forests and sustainably use the many resources they offer us. Committing to zero illegal deforestation would send a strong message in this direction. Together, we can make forests one of the great comeback stories of our time. We need this today and for our future generations.
**José Graziano da Silva is the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan: We Will Always Provide Arms To The Resistance Against The U.S. And Israel
MERI/September 07/15
In a recent TV interview, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said: "I officially declare that under no circumstances will we refrain from providing material and moral support to Hizbullah, or to any group of the resistance to the U.S. and Israel." Dehghan further said that Iran would continue to consider the U.S. to be the "Great Satan" even after the nuclear deal. The interview, held in Farsi, with Arabic voice-over, aired on Mayadeen TV on September 1, 2015. To view the MEMRI TV video-clip, click here.
Following are excerpts:
"The Iranian Regime Continues To View The U.S. As The Great Satan"
Interviewer: "Will the U.S. remain "the Great Satan" even after the nuclear agreement, and for how long?"
Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan: "Ayatollah Khomeini called the U.S. the 'Great Satan,' and there is nothing strange about it. This name was given on the basis of the principles of the holy Quran, which clearly points to Satanic characteristics, conduct, and goals. Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has dedicated itself to a policy of instigating strife, discord, and wars between the world's nations. They have occupied countries and carried out conspiracies all over. They have meddled in the affairs of others, and have toppled independent regimes. All these policies have been solely to serve American interests.
"The U.S. interfered in Iran in the middle of the 20th century, and brought down the democratically elected government of Mosaddegh. It did not hesitate to perpetrate the most abominable crimes against the Vietnamese and Korean peoples, as well as many other countries, because they refused to serve as its lackeys. When the U.S. administrations insist on a policy of arrogance towards others, it is only natural that the Iranian regime continues to view the U.S. as the 'Great Satan.'"
The Americans "Have No Credibility And Do Not Keep Their Promises"
Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan: "During the [nuclear] negotiations, they kept changing their positions. Their positions were not resolute, and therefore, we do not trust their positions. They have no credibility and do not keep their promises."
"I think that today, it is the U.S. that faces isolation. This is because of its unstable positions and its attacks on weak countries."
"Under No Circumstances Will We Refrain From Providing Material Support To The Resistance"
Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan: "Hizbullah does not need us to supply them with rockets and arms. Israel and the U.S. need to know this. Today, Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and Hizbullah have the capability of producing their own resources and weapons themselves. Nevertheless, we shall not refrain from supporting them."
"They received the technology from us and from others, and today, they produce them themselves. I officially declare that under no circumstances will we refrain from providing material and moral support to Hizbullah, or to any group of the resistance to the U.S. and Israel.
"We say this loud and clear. We have declared this officially, and we intend to continue on this path."