LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
January 11/17
Compiled
& Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletins17/english.january11.17.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
No one can
receive anything except what has been given from heaven
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 03/22-30/:'After this Jesus
and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time
there with them and baptized. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because
water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized John,
of course, had not yet been thrown into prison. Now a discussion about
purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. They came to John and
said to him, ‘Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you
testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.’ John answered, ‘No
one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves
are my witnesses that I said, "I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent
ahead of him." He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the
bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s
voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must
decrease.’"
No wonder! Even Satan disguises
himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his ministers also
disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end will match their
deeds
Second Letter to the Corinthians 11/07-15/:"Did I commit a sin by humbling
myself so that you might be exalted, because I proclaimed God’s good news to
you free of charge?I robbed other churches by
accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and was in need, I
did not burden anyone, for my needs were supplied by the friends who came from
Titles
For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on January 10-11/17
Is Lebanon really secure/Diana Moukalled/Arab
News//January 09/17
Understanding Hezbollah’s history as a ‘proxy of Iran/Tony Duheaume/Al
Arabiya/January 09/17
The Real Face of Rafsanjani/NCRI/Tuesday, 10 January 2017/
Iran: Rafsanjani's Complicity in the Massacre of
Political Prisoners/NCRI/January 10/17
The Age of Fake Policy/Paul Krugman/The New York
Times/January 10/17
Arabs amid Uprisings/Ghassan Charbel/Al
Arabiya/January 10/17
Trump Seems to Keep Siding with Russia, but What Does That Get Him/David
Ignatius/The Washington Post/January 10/17
Exclusive: US Jerusalem embassy – only foundations/DEBKAfile
Exclusive Report January 10/ 17
The difference journalists can make in conflict zones/Raed
Omari/Al Arabiya/January
10/17
Emboldened by Syria, is Putin trying to make Libya a Russian satellite/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/January
10/17
Four more years for Assad in power/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/January 10/17
How Putin Unmasked Erdogan's Tough Guy Show/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone
Institute/January 10/17
Palestinians: Glorifying Mass Murderers/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/January 10/17
Extremism Under Sisi/Khalil al-Anani/Foreign
Affairs/January 10/17
Analysis: Syria shatters Obama’s Middle East legacy/Joyce Karam/Arab
News/January 10/17
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News
published on January 10-11/17
Lebanon’s Aoun meets with Saudi King Salman
U.S. Adds Two Hizbullah Members to 'Terrorism'
Sanctions List
Report: Saudi Arabia Unblocks Military Aid to Lebanon
Saudi King During Talks with Aoun: Keen on Improving
Ties with Lebanon
Lebanese, Saudi Summit winds up
Riachy meets Saudi counterpart, pins great hope on
expanding media industry
Hajj Hasan: Positive signals in rapprochement of
economic and industrial files
Jumblat: Druze Community Refuses Marginalization
Man Found Killed in Arsal's Wadi
Hmeid
UNIFIL Head Meets Hariri, Hails 'Unprecedented Calm' in South
Hariri Says Parties Seeking 'Consensus' on Electoral Law, Jumblat
'Open to Dialogue'
Syria Refugees Test Palestinian Solidarity in Lebanon
Geagea Says New Election Law Must Meet PSP Approval
Report: Providing Lebanon with Weapons from Iran Violates U.N. Arms Embargo
Man shot dead in Hermel
Fenianos: I prefer approval of electoral law rather
than remaining at ministry
Hajjar: Aoun tries to
restore ties with Saudi Arabia
UNIFIL: Beary visits Prime Minister Saad Hariri
Army refers Hassan Hussein Hujairi to judiciary for
links to Daash
Is Lebanon really secure?
Understanding Hezbollah’s history as a ‘proxy of Iran’
Titles For Latest
LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 10-11/17
New U.N. Chief Seeks 'Whole New Approach' to Prevent War
UAE Ambassador, Diplomats Wounded in Kandahar Blast
Moscow Slams U.S.-Led Action in Syria as Ineffective
2 Missing Turkish Soldiers Reported Killed in Syria
Syrian Kurds Say Not Invited to Astana Talks
Saudi Detains Two Human Rights Activists
Iran’s Violations of Arms Embargo to Be Discussed by Security Council
Washington Describes Russian Contribution to Face Terrorism as ‘Zero’
Iran ‘disregarded invitation calls’ for Hajj arrangements talks
Free Syrian Army Commander: Iranian Regime's Agents Are Main Violators of Syria
Ceasefire
The Role of Iranian Regime's Militias in Iraq
Iranian Political Prisoners Demand the World's Attention
Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian Knife Attacker in W.Bank
Tunisia Democratic Transition 'Blocked', Says Electoral Chief
Morocco Bans Production and Sale of Burqas
Links From Jihad Watch Site for on January 10-11/17
Meryl
Streep avoids saying Jerusalem is in Israel while
naming stars’ home nations during anti-Trump rant
Victory:
Texas judge dismisses Clock Boy’s defamation lawsuit against critics of his
“hate crime” hoax
South
Dakota: Muslim migrant attempts to molest handicapped woman, local paper omits
fact that he is “refugee”
Hugh
Fitzgerald: Introducing François Fillon (Part II)
Obama
administration has given Iran $700 million each month since nuke deal signed, totaling over $10 billion
Turkey’s
Erdogan: Fighting “Islamophobia
and xenophobia will be high on the agenda of our state”
BBC
accused of “Islamophobia” for satirizing the Islamic
State in “The Real Housewives of ISIS”
Utah:
Teen Muslima gets on wrong school bus, asked to get
off, claims discrimination, demands apology
Islamic
State throws man off roof for crime of homosexuality
Georgetown
University panel applauds Erdogan’s coup and the Islamization of Turkey
Switzerland:
Court rules Muslim girls must swim with boys, government says integrate or leave
Germany:
Muslim migrants lure nurse to park with “fake cries for help,” then beat and
sexually abuse her
Anni Cyrus Moment: How I Was Screened as a Refugee
Links From Christian Today
Site for on January 10-11/17
Thousands
Of Muslims Coming To Faith In Christ Across The Middle East, Says Charity
Being
Open To God': Incredible First Person Account Of Woman Caught Up In Florida
Airport Shooting
Ten
Killed In Fulani Herdsman Attack On Christian Village
Egyptian
President Vows To Build Largest Church In Egypt
Muslim
Children Forced To Attend Mixed-Sex Swimming Lessons
Letter
To Meryl Streep: 'Trump Is Not The Answer. Nor Are You.'
How
To Get Over The Embarrassment Factor In Evangelism
Democrat's
Religious Liberty Bill Blocks Trump's Muslim Register Plans
Kidnapped
Priest Fr Tom Uzhunalil 'Ignored Government Orders'
Not To Go To Yemen
Why
Christians Will Never Return To Mosul - Even After Islamic State Is Gone
Lesbian
Couple To Lead Historic US Baptist Church
Latest Lebanese Related News
published on January 10-11/17
Lebanon’s Aoun meets with Saudi King Salman
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Monday, 9 January 2017
King Salman bin Abdulaziz
Al Saud held at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh official
talks with General Michel Aoun, President of the
Republic of Lebanon.
During the talks, they reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries
and ways of enhancing them in various fields, and the latest developments in
the Arab and international levels. Previously King Salman
has received President Michel Aoun of the Republic of
Upon arrival at the venue, he was also received by
Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of
Riyadh region. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques held a luncheon in honor of the President of the
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Monday that
his visit to
“We all need to cooperate to fight terrorism. We need to cooperate with
Addressing the Lebanese situation, Aoun said balances
in
Aoun voiced hope that the crisis in
Among the topics sources say we will be discussed is the normalization of
political and economic relations between the two countries, including the
lifting of a travel ban on Saudi citizens visiting the country.
Another issue to be discussed will be the restoration of Saudi assistance to Lebanese
military, which was halted in February last year. Aoun’s
tour will then continue on his Gulf tour when he is scheduled to visit
Ministerial meetings
Aoun also met with
My meeting with the Lebanese minister of expatriates and foreign affairs
is come the following fruitful meeting between the Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz
Al Saud and the Lebanese President Michel Aoun. We
will seek to enhance bilateral relations,” Jubeir
said. Minister of Culture and Information Adel Altoraifi
met Lebanese Minister of Information Melhem Riashy. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral
relations between the two countries and topics of common interest. Also,
Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majed bin
Abdullah Al-Qasabi received at King Saud palace the
visiting Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade Raed Khoury where they discussed investment opportunities
between the two countries, especially in the field of agriculture and the
development of food industry.
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 10/17/The Obama
administration said overnight Monday that it has added two senior members of Hizbullah to its “terrorism” sanctions list. The State
Department said that Ali Damush and Mustafa Mughniyeh have been named “Specially Designated Global Terrorists.”Mughniyeh is a Hizbullah
commander with extensive family links to the group. He's the nephew of Hizbullah's previous military commander, Mustafa Badreddine, who was killed near the Syrian capital last
year, and the son of military commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a 2008 car bombing in
Report:
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
10/17/Saudi Arabia and
The king's son, the powerful Defense Minister and
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will discuss
with his Lebanese counterpart how to move forward with the package, said the
official, who asked for anonymity. However, other sources from the Lebanese
delegation downplayed the official's remarks. “The issue of the Saudi grant was
discussed but no decision has yet been taken to unblock the aid,” LBCI
television quoted the sources as saying. Earlier in the day, Lebanon's National
News Agency said Aoun asked King Salman
for “continued support for the army in the face of terrorism and the other
security challenges, including the issue of the grant.”“The
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin
Abdul Aziz, said he will follow up on the issue with the competent ministers,”
NNA added. In February, the kingdom halted the military aid program to protest
what it said was "the stranglehold of Hizbullah
on the (Lebanese) state."The program, funded by
Saudi King During
Talks with Aoun: Keen on Improving Ties with
Naharnet/January 10/17/President Michel Aoun held on Tuesday the long anticipated meeting with
Saudi King Salman bin Aziz in
Later on Tuesday, Lebanon's National News Agency said Aoun
asked the king for “continued support for the army in the face of terrorism and
the other security challenges, including the issue of the grant.”“The
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin
Abdul Aziz, said he will follow up on the issue with the competent ministers,”
NNA added. “Aoun also invited King Salman to visit
Earlier during the day, Aoun met at his place of
residence in
After his meeting with the Lebanese President, el-Qasabi
said: “Saudi nationals are likely to resume trips to
Aoun arrived in
He is accompanied by a large ministerial delegation comprising the ministers Jebran Bassil (foreign affairs), Marwan Hamadeh (education), Ali
Hassan Khalil (finance), Yaaqoub
al-Sarraf (defense), Nouhad al-Mashnouq (interior),
Pierre Raffoul (presidency affairs), Melhem Riachi (information) and Raed Khoury (economy). In an
interview with Saudi state news channel Al-Ekhbaria
on Monday, Aoun said his ministers of foreign
affairs, education, finance and information would meet their counterparts
"to find some fields of cooperation."
Aoun had received an official invitation to visit the
kingdom from Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz. The
trip plans to improve
Lebanese, Saudi
Tue 10 Jan 2017/NNA - The Lebanese-Saudi Summit has winded up with both sides
voicing eagerness to bolster bilateral ties in an attempt to "bring back
relations to their normal course," NNA field reporter said on Tuesday. The
Saudi King confirmed his country's refusal to meddle in internal Lebanese
affairs, and reiterated his country's keenness on having the Lebanese decide
their own fate and affairs. The King also tasked his aides to follow up on
issues proposed by Lebanese President, Michel Aoun,
at the financial, military, security, and tourism levels.
Riachy meets Saudi counterpart, pins great hope on expanding
media industry
Tue 10 Jan 2017/NNA - Information Minister, Melhem Riachy, currently on an official visit to the
Hajj Hasan:
Positive signals in rapprochement of economic and industrial files
Tue 10 Jan 2017/NNA - Industry Minister, Hussein Hajj Hasan,
announced the emergeance of numerous positive
indicators relevant to pending economic and social affairs, explaining that
such positive signals came as Lebanese President Michel Aoun
and PM Saad Hariri put the economic and social files on
the list of top concerns. Minister Hajj Hasan's
stance came Tuesday in the context of an interview on LBCI TV. Hajj Hasan saw another positivity in
the approval on decrees relevant to oil and gas file.
Jumblat: Druze Community Refuses Marginalization
Naharnet/January 10/17/Progressive Socialist Party
leader MP Walid Jumblat was
up in arms recently protesting the cabinet's performance and what he believes
is “marginalization” of the Druze community, al-Joumhouria
daily reported on Tuesday.
The Druze leader's stance stance was evident in a
series of tweets in which he protested, what sources close to him described as,
“tendency to marginalize,” them. “In light of this disposition to marginalize
us, Jumblat has no choice but to engage in a fierce
challenge to deter these attempts,” sources close to Jumblat
were quoted as saying. They were referring to the debate over a new electoral
law and suggestions to adopt the proportional representation law which Jumblat strongly disagrees with, according to the daily.
It is clear that Jumblat is ready for the challenge,
said the daily, and has expressed resentment in a series of tweets with the
stances of some ministers, without naming them, and government decisions the
most recent were the oil and gas decrees. On his position as for the latest
developments on stipulating a new election law for the parliamentary elections,
Jumblat told the daily: “Let everyone know that I
refuse to consider a major faction in
The Druze leader, concluded: “Enough outbidding and side talks. Each party is
doing what suits it best, as if it is the only community being. They act as if
the Druze community does not exist. We will not accept that.”In
light of efforts to agree on a new election law for the parliamentary elections
scheduled for May, some politicians have been encouraging for the adoption of
proportional representation, which the PSP leader strongly rejects. Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law based
on proportional representation but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement, have rejected the proposal and argued
that the party's controversial arsenal of arms would prevent serious
competition in regions where the Iran-backed party is influential. Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive
Socialist Party have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes the
proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems. Speaker Nabih Berri has also proposed a
hybrid law. The country has not voted for a parliament since 2009, with the
legislature instead twice extending its own mandate. The 2009 polls were held
under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next elections are
scheduled for May 2017.
Man Found Killed in Arsal's
Wadi Hmeid
Naharnet/January 10/17/Lebanese citizen
Ismail H., 37, was on Tuesday found dead from a gunshot wound to the head in
the Wadi Hmeid region east
of the Bekaa border town of
UNIFIL Head Meets Hariri,
Hails 'Unprecedented Calm' in South
Naharnet/January 10/17/UNIFIL Head of Mission and
Force Commander Major General Michael Beary held
talks Tuesday with Prime Minister Saad Hariri in
Hariri Says Parties Seeking 'Consensus' on
Electoral Law, Jumblat 'Open to Dialogue'
Naharnet/January 10/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced Tuesday that the political forces in
the country are seeking “consensus” over the electoral law, while noting that
the concerns of minorities will be taken into consideration. “There are several
proposals, but we are seeking consensus on a single draft law in order to send
it to parliament. We are committed to holding the parliamentary polls on time,
but our bigger commitment is reaching a new electoral law,” Hariri told a
delegation from the Press Syndicate. “The introduction of proportional
representation is enjoying the support of a lot of political forces and I
personally will add to it my commitment to a women's quota,” Hariri added.
Asked about the stances of Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat over the electoral
law, Hariri said “Walid Beik
is the representative of Druze, part of the country's components and he has
essential concerns.”“Our aim from consensus is
relieving all sects, not stirring their concerns. Walid
Beik has his viewpoints and he is open to dialogue
and I support him in this,” the premier added. Hizbullah
has repeatedly called for an electoral law fully based on proportional
representation but other political parties, especially the PSP and al-Mustaqbal Movement, have rejected the proposal, arguing
that the party's controversial arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition
in regions where the Iran-backed party has clout. Mustaqbal,
the Lebanese Forces and the PSP have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law
that mixes the proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems.
Speaker Nabih Berri has
also proposed a hybrid law. The country has not voted for a parliament since
2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own mandate. The 2009
polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next
elections are scheduled for May 2017.
Syria Refugees Test Palestinian Solidarity
in Lebanon
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
10/17/When Palestinian Fouad Abu Khaled
fled Syria's war in 2013, he sought refuge among his own, looking for
solidarity among Palestinian refugees based in Lebanon's Shatila
camp. But instead he found a community already struggling to get by and
sometimes resentful of new arrivals who are testing
the limited resources of the U.N. agency dedicated to helping Palestinian
refugees. "Despite the fact he's Palestinian and I'm Palestinian, I'm
Syrian and he's from
- 'Not welcome any more'
In another part of the camp, Najah Awad sits in a modest room where she has lived with her
three children since fleeing Yarmuk in 2013. In the
beginning "they welcomed us. But not any more," she said. "Now
they see us as taking their jobs, taking their livelihoods." UNRWA Syria's
director Matthias Schmale acknowledged the struggles
faced by Palestinian refugees from
Surviving on half needs
Abu Khaled is breeding canaries, hoping to sell the
noisy chicks squeaking in a cage in his living room for up to $30 (28 euros) each. His wife is still recovering from a hernia
operation. While UNRWA paid half the hospital bill, he struggled to raise the
rest of the money. Some 90 percent of Palestinian refugees from
Geagea Says New Election Law Must Meet PSP Approval
Naharnet/January 10/17/Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea emphasized on
Tuesday that a parliamentary electoral law that does not meet the approval of
the Progressive Socialist Party will not be accepted. “We will not accept an
electoral law that does not meet the approval of the PSP,” said Geagea in a tweet. Geagea's
comments came after PSP chief MP Walid
Jumblat took to twitter and criticized, without
naming, in a series of comments attempts to agree on proportional
representation law.
Report: Providing Lebanon with Weapons
from Iran Violates U.N. Arms Embargo
Naharnet/January 10/17/A Western diplomat at the
United Nations in New York stated that reports circulating in Lebanon recently
on the possibility of extending the Lebanese army with weapons from Iran, are
“inconsistent” with the decisions of the Security Council, the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily reported Tuesday. The diplomat stressed that
Man shot dead in Hermel
Tue 10 Jan 2017/NNA - A Lebanese man was found shot dead on Tuesday night in Hermel and was admitted to the hospital, NNA field reporter
said. The reporter added that a coroner inspected the body while ISF opened
investigations into said incident.
Fenianos: I prefer approval of electoral law rather than
remaining at ministry
Tue 10 Jan 2017/NNA - Minister of Public Works and Transport, Yousef Fenianos preferred
"the approval of a new electoral law instead of staying at the
ministry". His remarks came during a meeting at the airport and in the
presence of Director General of Civil Aviation, Mohammed Shahabuddin,
the commander of airport security, Brigadier George Doumit,
president of the airport engineer Fadi Hassan and
others. The attendees stressed the need to coordinate among all departments at
the airport to ensure the proper functioning in this vital facility. On the
other hand, the minister touched on the birds issue
that pose a threat to aviation, he said: "Environment Minister Tarek Khatib held this week
several meetings for this purpose. He met with the landfill company that covers
Hajjar: Aoun tries to restore ties
with
Tue 10 Jan 2017/NNA - Deputy Mohammad Hajjar said on
Tuesday "President of the Republic, Michel Aoun,
is trying to restore ties between
Hajjar reported that Saudi financial support to the
Lebanese army has been interrupted due to Hezbollah's stance and attacks on
UNIFIL: Beary
visits Prime Minister Saad Hariri
Tue 10 Jan 2017/NNA - In a press release by UNIFIL, it said: "Head of
Mission and Force Commander Major General Michael Beary
today called on the newly appointed Prime Minister Saad
Hariri in his office in Beirut.'Following the
meeting, Major General Beary said: "I was
extremely encouraged by this first meeting with Prime Minister Hariri. I was
pleased to have this opportunity just weeks after he
assumed office to brief him on UNIFIL's mission and
related developments in south
Major General Beary said: "We will seek again to
keep the calm with the LAF and not allow any miscalculation or misunderstanding
to lead to an outbreak of tension or conflict in the area."During
the meeting UNIFIL Head of Mission highlighted the greater involvement of the
Lebanese Government in the south: "UNIFIL will continue to work with
ministries as well as local leaders in extending their full authority in UNIFIL
area of operations. It is important for the Government of Lebanon to continue
to take advantage of this unprecedented calm that south
Army refers Hassan Hussein Hujairi to judiciary for
links to Daash
Tue 10 Jan 2017/NNA - Army Intelligence Directorate referred to the concerned
judiciary the so called Hassan Hussein Hujairi, for
his affiliation to the terrorist Daash organization
and involvement in attacks on army posts in Arsal,
army command said in a communiqué on Tuesday. Houjairi
was also involved in firing at army patrols, monitoring military and civilian
for assassination purposes and planting explosive devices targeting army
patrols in Arsal town.
Is
Diana Moukalled/Arab News/January 10/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/10/diana-moukalledarab-news-is-lebanon-really-secure/
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1036651/columns#.WHR8SFG_fNc.twitter
Lebanese newspapers have, over the past two weeks, extensively published
reports of local security services thwarting terrorist plots targeting the
country. These reports have presented scenarios for risks that could have
aggravated the security situation in
Regardless of whether this information is true, it will not change the basic
reality that
Understanding Hezbollah’s history as a
‘proxy of Iran’
By Tony Duheaume/ Special to Al Arabiya English Saturday, 7 January 2017
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/10/tony-duheaume-al-arabiya-understanding-hezbollahs-history-as-a-proxy-of-iran/
During the early days of the Iranian regime, one man who had spent his entire
career in the IRGC, who was devoutly committed to his military role as senior
commander, had stood out more than most amongst his peers as a resolute leader,
and this man was Hossein Dehghan. After
It was during his stint in
The barracks housed US Marines that were part of a multi-national peacekeeping
force, who were sleeping at the time, and as a result of the devastating blast,
the four-story building housing them had collapsed into a heap of rubble,
killing 220 marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers.
Then minutes later, before the dust had even settled, a second truck bomb was
driven into the underground car park of a separate building, in the Ramlet al-Baida area of
Pulling strings
Hezbollah didn’t even admit to its existence until 1985, in its early years it
was suspected of using the alias of Islamic Jihad, and was run by Imad Mughniyeh, who became
notorious for the amount of attacks he eventually carried out in both the
During the 1980s, with the Quds Force still pulling
its strings, Hezbollah continued to be a subservient proxy of
As acts of terror continued across the globe throughout the 1980s, a series of
atrocities were placed at the door of Hezbollah, which included the 1983
hijacking of a TWA airliner, a series of fatal bombings in Paris killing 12
people, a series of kidnapping, tortures and murders of US, citizens in Lebanon
throughout the 1980s; on a list that was forever growing during that era.
As far as Hezbollah’s terrorist activities were concerned, not even the likes
of Hassan Rouhani,
The first of these attacks took place March 17, 1992, when Rafsanjani was
alleged to have ordered the truck bombing of the Israeli embassy in
Then at a later date, during a press conference on October 25, 2006, Argentine
prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcello Marquez
accused high level Iranian ministers of being behind the 1994 terror attack
against the AMIA. But it was claimed that only after the
Too much on its hands
From a report published on May 29, 2013, the Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman issued a 500-page indictment, which also accused
Shiite cleric Mohsen Rabbani
of supplying logistical support for the AMIA attack, and at the time, although
claiming to be a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture of Iran, he was
in fact a leading member of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Intelligence Bureau.
Having originally arrived in
The report went on to explain how young recruits from poorer communities in
Then two years later, in 1996, Hezbollah’s role in the
With much more terrorist activity having taken place that year, 2012 was
a busy period for Hezbollah, but now that much of its force is tied up in
Syria, aiding its Iranian masters to prop up the Assad regime, it presently has
too much on its hands to be a threat elsewhere. But as soon as that war is
over, Iran will be once more back in the business of exporting terror, and
Hezbollah will be back to its old tricks of dishing it out, a sentiment that
has already been echoed by IRGC commanders, threatening future attacks on
Bahrain once the Syrian conflict has been settled.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 10-11/17
New U.N. Chief Seeks 'Whole
New Approach' to Prevent War
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
10/17/U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on
Tuesday called for a "whole new approach" to prevent war, vowing to
boost the world body's mediation capacity to tackle global conflicts. Making
his first address to the Security Council since taking office, Guterres said too much time and too many resources were
being spent on responding to crises rather than preventing them. "People
are paying too high a price," he said. "We need a whole new approach."The ex-prime minister of
Peace first
The 67-year-old diplomat-in-chief is expected to have
a more hands-on approach than his predecessor Ban who left most of the
mediation efforts to his special envoys. He encouraged the Security Council to
invoke article six of the U.N. charter, which allows it to investigate disputes
and lay out procedures for a settlement. "Too many prevention opportunities
have been lost because member states mistrusted each other's motives, and
because of concerns over national sovereignty," said Guterres.
"Today, we need to demonstrate leadership, and strengthen the credibility
and authority of the United Nations, by putting peace first," he said,
renewing his pledge to make 2017 "a year for peace." Complicating Guterres' plan to revitalize U.N. diplomacy is the question
mark hanging over the foreign policy of the incoming
Russia-U.S. clash
In one of her final addresses to the council, U.S.
Ambassador Samantha Power listed many of the conflicts raging worldwide -- in
"This council must be able to act when it is necessary," said Fekl.
UAE Ambassador, Diplomats Wounded in
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
10/17/At least 11 people were killed in an explosion in the governor's compound
in
Moscow Slams U.S.-Led Action in Syria as
Ineffective
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
10/17/Russian military officials on Tuesday slammed U.S.-led coalition action against
Islamic State jihadists in Syria as having had "less than zero"
impact, and claimed that a U.S. air strike killed 20 Syrian civilians this
month.
2 Missing Turkish Soldiers Reported Killed
in
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 10/17/Turkish media
reports say two Turkish soldiers reported missing during a battle with Islamic
State militants in northern
Syrian Kurds Say Not Invited to Astana
Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
10/17/Syrian Kurds have not been invited to the talks on the political future
of
Saudi Detains Two Human Rights Activists
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
10/17/Saudi
Iran’s Violations of Arms Embargo to Be
Discussed by Security Council
Jordan Dakamseh/Al Arabiya/January
10/17/New York- Few days after former Secretary-general of the United Nations
Ban Ki-moon expressed his concern regarding the fact
that Tehran might have violated an arms embargo by supplying weapons and
missiles to Lebanese Shi’ite group so-called
Hezbollah, the topic is set to be discussed by the council on January 18. The
second bi-annual report, due to be discussed by the 15-member council, also
cited an accusation by France that an arms shipment seized in the northern
Indian Ocean in March was from Iran and likely bound for Somalia or Yemen.
Regardless that the session was aimed at following the implementation of
U.N. resolution 2231, which endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,
Reuters confirmed on Monday that the report submitted every six months by U.N.
chief included U.N. concern from
Most U.N. sanctions were lifted a year ago under a deal
Furthermore, at least one of the protesters – Arash
Sadeghi, another human rights defender – is being
denied transfer to specialized medical facilities despite his critical health
condition and is reportedly kept in his cell. “I call on the Iranian
authorities to ensure that Sadeghi has access, as a
matter of utmost priority, to specialized health care in a hospital outside
prison, in compliance with international human rights standards and medical
ethics in particular the principles of informed consent,” said Jahangir.
Washington Describes Russian Contribution
to Face Terrorism as ‘Zero’
Al Arabiya/January 10/17/Moscow- Member of the Duma’s International Affairs Committee Sergey Zelezniak called for disregarding statements by U.S.
Secretary of Defense who said that Russia has done
“virtually zero” in the fight against ISIS terrorists in Syria.
Ash Carter contended that the
Iran ‘disregarded invitation calls’ for
Hajj arrangements talks
Staff writer, Al Arabiya.net Tuesday, 10 January 2017/Saudi Ministry of Hajj
and Umrah confirmed that it has sent its counterparts
to all the Muslim countries, including Iran, to arrange the pilgrimage of their
missions this year. According to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, the Saudi Ministry pointed out that the
invitations were sent through pilgrimage-related authorities and not through
the countries’ foreign ministries. Dr. Talal Kotb, director of the institution of pilgrims’ missions
from
Iran ‘disregarded invitation calls’ for
Hajj arrangements talks
Staff writer, Al Arabiya.net Tuesday, 10 January 2017/Saudi Ministry of Hajj
and Umrah confirmed that it has sent its counterparts
to all the Muslim countries, including Iran, to arrange the pilgrimage of their
missions this year. According to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, the Saudi Ministry pointed out that the
invitations were sent through pilgrimage-related authorities and not through
the countries’ foreign ministries. Dr. Talal Kotb, director of the institution of pilgrims’ missions
from
Free Syrian Army Commander: Iranian
Regime's Agents Are Main Violators of Syria Ceasefire
NCRI/Tuesday, 10 January 2017/On Sunday, January 8, in an interview with Simay-e Azadi TV, Mustafa Baru, a commander of Free Syrian Army who is a signatory to
the nationwide Syria ceasefire as the representative of Syrian fighters
stressed that the Iranian regime’s agents are the main culprit for violation of
cease-fire. Baru said “Naturally, there’s an ongoing
truce violation and the reason is the presence of different kinds of militias
in
The Role of Iranian Regime's Militias in
Iraq
NCRI/Tuesday, 10 January 2017/In an interview with Aljazeera TV, Iraqi lawyer
and director of London based National Center for Justice ‘Dr. Sheikhly’ discusses an Amnesty International report on the
Iranian regime’s militia group ‘Al-Hasad Al-Shaabi’ being equipped with Western weapons. Aljazeera TV:
what do you think about the ‘Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi’ militias being armed with Western weapons? Dr. Sheikhly from
These militias are means of a sectarian war, the kind of war
Iranian Political Prisoners Demand the
World's Attention
NCRI/Tuesday, 10 January 2017/On Jan. 4, the reports came from within Gohardasht Prison, near the Iranian capital
Moezzi has faced repression from the Islamic Republic
since its earliest days. He spent years in prison in the 1980's for his
affiliation with the Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK). He served two more years, beginning in
2008, for having visited his two daughters residing in
Over the course of Moezzi’s long history as a
prisoner of conscience, he has faced many different forms of pressure,
including the arbitrary and unlawful extension of his most recent prison term
beyond its specified four years.
The extension signals the Iranian regime’s aversion to letting its political
prisoners go free. In Moezzi’s case, as in many
others, that aversion was underscored by numerous explicit death threats. Moezzi’s life was already in danger before this latest
development. He was reportedly subjected to routine beatings and torture and,
as with many ill or elderly prisoners, the absence of
medical care and dire prison conditions had aggravated pre-existing health
problems.
Moezzi’s most recent arrest came shortly after he had
been released from a hospital after undergoing surgery following a cancer
diagnosis. Over the years, the regime has repeatedly demonstrated its callous
and deliberate disregard for the health and well-being of prisoners, especially
those detained for political or religious “offenses.” One prominent, recent
example is the case of Arash Sadeghi,
who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for his peaceful human rights activism.Sadeghi began a hunger strike shortly after his
wife was arrested over the contents of an unpublished short story found in her
home.
Sadeghi finally ended his hunger strike after
judicial authorities made the tiny concession of granting his wife temporary
release from her pre-trial detention. It took more than 70 days for the regime
to agree to even that, and, in the end, it was apparently not the likelihood of
Sadeghi’s imminent death that prompted them to act,
but the massive outpouring of support that his protest had garnered within
Hundreds of Iranians gathered outside of Evin Prison,
protesting his treatment. Several thousands promoted his cause on the internet
and via banned social media networks.
It may not be a coincidence that Moezzi disappeared
from Gohardasht Prison just one day after it was
announced that Sadeghi had been hospitalized and
brought back from the brink of death.
Both incidents demonstrated that the Iranian regime has no qualms about
endangering the lives of its political adversaries, but the ruling mullahs can
only take such a situation to its drastic conclusion if relatively free from
public scrutiny. It is much easier for the regime to kill political prisoners,
or simply allow them to die, if those deaths occur in secret locations, beneath
the haze of “plausible” deniability. Thus, Moezzi’s
disappearance does not preclude
This presents a challenge because it is more difficult to rally people around a
cause that they cannot see with their own eyes. These atrocities must not be
allowed to continue in the shadows. This is the challenge that must be
overcome; it simply requires serious commitment, and a broad-based campaign
that encompasses much more of the international community and media. World
powers must take an interest in this case, and in the overall plight of Iranian
prisoners of conscience. This imperative is actually underscored by the recent
successes of
If the global community remains silent, it is sending the clear message to the
Iranian regime that it can get away with such crimes with impunity. That is a
message we must not condone with our silence. Safavi
is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of
Resistance of Iran and president of the Near East Policy Research. You can
follow him on Twitter @amsafavi.
Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian Knife
Attacker in W.Bank
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 10/17/Israeli troops in the
occupied West Bank shot dead a Palestinian who attacked them with a knife
during an overnight operation to arrest suspected militants, the army said on
Tuesday. A Palestinian official in the refugee camp where the incident occurred
said the man tried to prevent the soldiers from entering his home when he was
shot. A military statement said that no soldiers were injured in the incident
at Al-Fara refugee camp, northeast of the city of
Tunisia Democratic Transition 'Blocked',
Says Electoral Chief
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
10/17/Tunisia's transition to democracy after its 2011 revolution has hit a
roadblock, the electoral commission chief said Tuesday, criticizing a delay in
holding the first local elections since the uprising. "
On Tuesday morning, some 40 unemployed graduates broke in to local
government offices in the town of
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January
10/17/Morocco has banned the production and sale of burqa
full-face Muslim veils, apparently for security reasons, media reports said Tuesday.
While there was no official announcement by authorities in the North African
nation, the reports said the interior ministry order would take effect this
week. "We have taken the step of completely banning the import,
manufacture and marketing of this garment in all the cities and towns of the
kingdom," the Le360 news site quoted a high-ranking interior ministry
official as saying. It said the measure appeared to be motivated by security
concerns, "since bandits have repeatedly used this garment to perpetrate
their crimes." Most women in
In some commercial districts of
In Taroudant in southern
It was unclear if
The High Council of Oulemas, the country's top
religious authority, has yet to comment on the issue of banning full-face
veils.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis
& editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 10-11/17
The Real Face of Rafsanjani
NCRI/Tuesday, 10 January 2017/
Iran after Rafsanjani
Dying at the age of 82 from a heart attack on Sunday, former Iranian president
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had a long record of
guiding the regime’s lethal measures domestically and abroad, including suicide
bombings and eliminating exiled dissidents. Such an image is far from the
“moderate” that Western media found in him. Wrote Amir Basiri
in the ‘American Thinker’ on January 10, 2017, the article continues as
follows.
Rafsanjani was known for his central role in Iranian politics. From the 1979
revolution forward, he placed himself amongst the inner circle of regime
founder and first supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini.
He served as the regime’s parliamentary speaker in the 1980s, while in parallel
acted as Khomeini’s envoy to supervise operations in the Iran-Iraq War.
As Khomeini died and the war wound down, Rafsanjani assumed the mantle of
presidency in 1989 and played a significant part in Ali Khamenei’s
rise as Khomeini’s successor. Rafsanjani continued his political life by
chairing the Assembly of Experts -- in charge of appointing the supreme leader
and acting as an oversight body over his role -- and move on to the Expediency
Council before his death, both advising Khamenei and
finalizing conflicts between the ultra-conservative Guardian Council and the
parliament.
Following eight years of Mohammad Khatami’s
presidency, in 2005 Rafsanjani made an effort to reclaim this position. This
campaign ended in humiliation as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad assumed the presidency. For the next eight
years Rafsanjani publicly criticized and denounced Ahmadinejad's
policies and actions, distancing himself from the hardliners and further
attempting to portray himself as a “reformist” favoring
warm relations with the West.
Despite serious differences and rivalry over power and influence, Khamenei fully comprehended his need for Rafsanjani as a
stabilizing factor and could never fully eliminate him. Rafsanjani’s
death is now evaluated as the loss of a significant pillar for the entire
regime, as explained by Iranian opposition leader Maryam
Rajavi, president of the National Council of
Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
Rajavi declared in a statement on Sunday defining Rafsanjani’s death as the downfall of “one of the two
pillars and key to the equilibrium of the religious fascism ruling
“Rafsanjani, who had always been the regime’s number two, acted as its
balancing factor and played a decisive role in its preservation. Now, the
regime will lose its internal and external equilibrium,” she added, also
predicting the “approaching overthrow” of the mullahs’ regime.
For 38 years Rafsanjani “played a critical role in suppression at home and
export of terrorism abroad, as well as in the quest to acquire nuclear
weapons,” Rajavi underscored.
In 2006 Argentine federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman
filed suit against Rafsanjani for his role in one of the deadliest
Iran-supported terrorist attacks abroad -- the 1994 suicide truck bombing
targeting the AMIA Jewish community center in
Rafsanjani also ordered numerous assassinations of dissidents in exile,
including former Iranian ambassador the United Nations and prominent human
rights activist Dr. Kazem Rajavi.
Iranian assassins murdered him in 1990 near his
The March 1993 assassination of 42-year-old NCRI Rome envoy Mohammad Hossein Naghdi in the Italian
capital and the February 1996 murder of the NCRI’s
refugee envoy Zahra Rajabi in
He also had a particular enmity against the People’s Mojahedin
Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the central entity in the NCRI umbrella group.
“Four rulings are a must for [MEK members]: 1-- Be killed. 2 -- Be hanged. 3 --
Arms and legs be amputated. 4 -- Be separated from
society,” Rafsanjani is quoted in saying back in 1981. As Khomeini’s right
hand, he also presided over the summer 1988 massacre, sending over 30,000
political prisoners to the gallows throughout
Rafsanjani has been a balancing factor through the course of the past four
decades. The regime in its entirety has suffered a major defeat and will
significantly decline down the road.
Khamenei’s focus will be to prevent this development
from sparking into an uncontrollable turn of events for the entire
establishment.
Considering this regime’s past approach, there is a high probably of
http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/iran-world/21912-the-real-face-of-rafsanjani
NCRI/January 10/17
Following the United Nations fourth resolution condemning
At the time, despite ample evidence and after the UN General Assembly adopted
the resolution in 1988, Rafsanjani came to the scene on December 2, 1988 to
conceal the crime and deny it ever happened to evade accountability. He told
state-run news agencies: “The claimed executions are just rumors
for propaganda purpose in order to cover up internal crisis within the People’s
Mojahedin Organization (PMOI/MEK) and to take the
organization out of impasse.”
In addition, Rafsanjani on December 3, 1988, following wave of international
condemnations of the 1988 massacre and crimes committed by the regime, once
again tried to cover-up the crime and said: “This false and bizarre propaganda
that Mojahedin have launched in Europe and Western
countries claiming that several thousand of their forces have been executed in
Iran, their aim is to bring them out of the impasse,” (State-run Resalat newspaper, December 3, 1988).
Backgroun
Former Iranian President Ali-Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani, who died on January 8, 2017, aged 82, was one of the two pillars
and ‘key to the equilibrium’ of the Iranian regime.
Over the past 38 years, both under Khomeini and in later years, Rafsanjani
played a critical role in suppression at home and export of terrorism abroad as
well as in the quest to acquire nuclear weapons. Though portrayed by some
Western media outlets as a “pragmatist” or “moderate,” during his long career
he was associated with some of the regime’s most egregious actions, including
mass-casualty terror attacks and the assassinations of exiled dissidents.
Rafsanjani was a stalwart of the Iranian regime and is considered as one of its
founding fathers. He played an outsized political role in the life of the
Islamic republic, serving as President from 1989-1997 (after serving as Speaker
of Parliament and Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces), but also heading two
of the regime’s most important institutions – the Assembly of Experts, an
88-member body of top clerics which nominates the Supreme Leader; and the
Expediency Council, a body that advises the Supreme Leader.
“Rafsanjani, who had always been the regime's number two, acted as its
balancing factor and played a decisive role in its preservation. Now, the
regime will lose its internal and external equilibrium,” opposition leader Maryam Rajavi said in a statement
that also referred to the “approaching overthrow” of the clerical regime.
Suppression at home
• Rafsanjani viciously called for the extermination of members of
“Referring to the grouplets’ operations, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Speaker of the Islamic Parliament and
Tehran’s acting Friday prayer leader, said in his sermon:
‘Divine law defines four sentences for them which must be carried out: 1 – kill
them, 2 – hang them, 3 – cut off their arms and legs, 4 – banish them…
‘Had we caught and executed 200 of them right after the Revolution, they would
not have multiplied so much. If we don’t deal decisively with [Mojahedin] armed grouplet and
agents of America and the Soviet Union today, in three years we will have to
execute thousands of them instead of one thousand now…”
• According to Khomeini's former heir Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Khomeini sought counsel on his dangerous
decisions from these just two individuals: Rafsanjani and current Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei. This included his decision to
issue a fatwa ordering the massacre of some 30,000 political prisoners at the
end of the Iran-Iraq war in the summer of 1988.
Terrorism abroad:
The assassination of Iranian dissidents abroad and the regime’s terror attacks
skyrocketed during Rafsanjani’s tenure as President
and as head of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), a body that
oversees and authorizes the regime’s terrorist operations. The mullahs’ terror
targets were not only Iranians.
• The Associated Press reported Rafsanjani’s remarks
on May 5, 1989 as carried by
• In 2006, Rafsanjani was implicated by Argentinian
investigators in one of the deadliest instances of Iranian terrorism abroad – a
1994 suicide truck bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in
The investigators accused
At
• The FBI established undeniable evidence that
Here are some of the most significant killings of prominent dissidents abroad
during Rafsanjani’s tenure:
• The assassination in 1992 of four Iranian Kurdish dissidents in a
• Kazem Rajavi of the
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) –
• The NCRI representative in
• Zahra Rajabi, the NCRI’s
representative on refugee issues, shot dead with an NCRI colleague in an
Advancing the Iranian nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles program:
The Iranian clandestine nuclear weapons program had a jump start under
Rafsanjani and he was the one who really pushed this program forward as a
guarantor of the regime’s survival. He intensified cooperation with countries
like
In an interview published by the regime's official state news agency IRNA on
October 27, 2015, Rafsanjani acknowledged that during his time as parliamentary
speaker and President, both he and Khamenei sought
ways to obtain a nuclear bomb.
"Our basic doctrine was always a peaceful nuclear application, but it
never left our mind that if one day we should be threatened and it was
imperative, we should be able to go down the other path," Rafsanjani said.
Rafsanjani added he had travelled to
The Age of Fake Policy
Paul Krugman/The New York Times/January 10/17
On Thursday, at a rough estimate, 75,000 Americans were laid off or fired by
their employers. Some of those workers will find good new jobs, but many will
end up earning less, and some will remain unemployed for months or years.
If that sounds terrible to you, and you’re asking what economic catastrophe
just happened, the answer is, none. In fact, I’m just assuming that Thursday
was a normal day in the job market.
The
But why am I telling you this? To highlight the difference between real
economic policy and the fake policy that has lately been taking up far too much
attention in the news media.
Real policy, in a nation as big and rich as
Consider, by contrast, the story that dominated several news cycles a few weeks
ago: Donald Trump’s intervention to stop Carrier from moving jobs to
In other words, it may have sounded as if Mr. Trump was doing something
substantive by intervening with Carrier, but he wasn’t. This was fake policy —
a show intended to impress the rubes, not to achieve real results.
The same goes for the hyping of Ford’s decision to add 700 jobs in Michigan —
or for that matter, Mr. Trump’s fact-challenged denunciation of General Motors
for manufacturing the Chevy Cruze in Mexico (that
factory mainly serves foreign markets, not the U.S.).
Did the incoming administration have anything to do with Ford’s decision? Can
political pressure change G.M.’s strategy? It hardly
matters: Case-by-case intervention from the top is never going to have a
significant impact on a $19 trillion economy.
So why are such stories occupying so much of the
media’s attention?
The incoming administration’s incentive to engage in fake policy is obvious:
It’s the natural counterpart to fake populism. Mr. Trump won overwhelming
support from white working-class voters, who believed that he was on their
side. Yet his real policy agenda, aside from the looming trade war, is
standard-issue modern Republicanism: huge tax cuts for billionaires and savage
cuts to public programs, including those essential to many Trump voters.
So what can Mr. Trump do to keep the scam going? The answer is,
showy but trivial interventions that can be spun as saving a few jobs here or
there. Substantively, this will never amount to more than a rounding error in a
giant nation. But it may well work as a P.R. strategy, at least for a while.
Bear in mind that corporations have every incentive to go along with the spin.
Suppose that you’re a C.E.O. who wants to curry favor
with the new administration. One thing you can do, of course, is steer business
to Trump hotels and other businesses. But another thing you can do is help
generate Trump-friendly headlines.Keeping a few
hundred jobs in America for a couple of years is a pretty cheap form of
campaign contribution; pretending that the administration persuaded you to add
some jobs you actually would have added anyway is even cheaper. Still, none of
this would work without the complicity of the news media. And I’m not talking
about “fake news,” as big a problem as that is becoming; I’m talking about
respectable, mainstream news coverage.
Sorry, folks, but headlines that repeat Trump claims about jobs saved, without
conveying the essential fakeness of those claims, are
a betrayal of journalism. This is true even if, as often happens, the articles
eventually, quite a few paragraphs in, get around to debunking the hype: many
if not most readers will take the headline as validation of the claim. And it’s
even worse if headlines inspired by fake policy crowd out coverage of real
policy.
It is, I suppose, possible that fake policy will
eventually produce a media backlash — that news organizations will begin
treating stunts like the Carrier episode with the ridicule they deserve. But
nothing we’ve seen so far inspires optimism.
Arabs amid Uprisings
Ghassan Charbel/Al Arabiya/January 10/17
For years now, Arabs have been going through
consequent uprisings, on which they can’t cast a blind eye since it is on their
land or near it, and affects the security and stability of their states and
people. Matter of the fact is that the
Indeed, the Iranian project instills fears of
disrupting historical balances among the main components of the regions,
especially after the Iranian winds managed to infiltrate into the national
fabric of more than a state.
The
Obama’s policy towards the Kurd, and lack of the
“Put
Trump Seems to Keep Siding with
David Ignatius/The Washington Post/January 10/17
Watching National Intelligence Director James R. Clapper Jr., a gruff, 50-year
veteran of the spy world, answer congressional questions Thursday, you couldn’t
help wondering whether perhaps this time President-elect Donald Trump has met
his match.
To recall a quip made years ago by a prominent
The showdown between Clapper and Trump over allegations of Russian hacking will
shape public perceptions of the next president in the two weeks before his
inauguration. We’ll learn more about what Russian hackers did during the 2016
campaign. We’ll also learn more about Trump and whether he will bring his Russophilia into the White House.
After this week’s briefings of Trump and President Obama, the real circus will
come next week, when members of Congress receive their own classified reports.
Democrats would be wise if they kept their mouths shut and let GOP Sens. John
McCain (
Trump’s post-election line on Russian hacking has been to blame
The standard response of a president-elect to any allegation of foreign
meddling in the
Weirdest of all was Trump’s embrace this week of Julian Assange,
the WikiLeaks founder and a person many U.S.
officials, Republican and Democratic, see as having damaged U.S. national
security by leaking classified documents about nearly every area of foreign
policy.
When Assange sought to pooh-pooh
Then, in one of those “who, me?” reversals that are a Trump specialty, he
tweeted Thursday: “The dishonest media likes saying that I am in Agreement with
Julian Assange — wrong. I simply state what he states . . . The media lies to make it look like
I am against ‘Intelligence’ when in fact I am a big fan!”
We’ll soon see how supportive of
This sort of information fog is precisely what
Anyone who thinks that the Russian hacking charges are simply an attempt to
belittle or discredit Trump should study
Exclusive: US Jerusalem embassy – only
foundations
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 10, 2017
Exclusive to debkafile: The appointment of Donald
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, 35, as senior adviser in the future White
House on Middle East affairs is part of a broader plan taking shape in the
president-elect’s transition team for bringing forward a resolution of the
Israel-Palestinian dispute. This plan has not yet jelled into concrete policy,
but is still a set of ideas under consideration by the team’s insiders, in the
light of Trump’s comments past and present.
On Nov 22, the president elect said that Kushner “could be very helpful” in reconciling
the longstanding dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians. “He would be
very good at it” and “He knows the region.”
He also said: Many people said “you can’t do it. I disagree. I think I have
reason to believe I can do it.”
The incoming
This week, Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas warned that transferring the embassy would be
tantamount to a
Those dire warnings went without response from the president elect and his
designated secretary of state. However, they appear to have had some effect. debkafile’s exclusive sources
report that the transition team is examining a number of proposals, one of
which is to make a start on clearing the ground at the future site of the
The
Another idea is to conduct a cornerstone-laying ceremony at the site – and then
suspend construction. The Palestinians would have to reciprocate by calling off
their international campaign for vilifying and delegitimizing the State of
Israel at the UN as well as in world capitals. Construction of the
Our sources report that the embassy transfer is just one item on a broad
program President-elect Trump is putting together on the Israeli-Palestinian
dispute, including its territorial aspects.
Important details of this plan - and more - will be revealed exclusively in the
coming issue of DEBKA Weekly (for subscribers) out next Friday, Jan. 13.
The difference journalists can make in conflict zones
Raed Omari/Al Arabiya/January 10/17
Media rights group Reporters Without Borders’ latest
report says that 58 journalists were killed across the world in 2016 in the
line of duty. In its annual report, the France-based press freedom group says
that 19 and 10 journalists were killed in war-torn Syria and Afghanistan respectively,
followed by nine in Mexico and five in Iraq. That the number of journalists
killed in 2016 is fewer than the 67 in 2015 is attributed to the fact that many
of them avoided conflict-ridden countries, mainly
The RSF 2016 report, and several such reports, suggest
an alarming prospect for journalists that even full-fledged democracies are
failing to observe and address. The first is the disinclination to report from
war-torn countries because of the lack of protection. This means that the truth
is not being reported from places where truth needs to emerge. With little
being done to protect journalists, one can conclude that deliberate attempts
are being made to silence them as happened frequently during the 1960s, 70s and
the 80s.
The fear or inability of journalists to report from dangerous territories has given
rise to what we call “citizen journalists” in conflict-torn countries, like
In countries like
International law
We have reached this stage because of the international community’s failure to
protect journalists by drafting strict laws that hold any party hurting or
harassing them accountable. Journalists need a UN body to protect them and
ensure their safety in war zones. This lies at the heart of international human
rights that guarantee peoples’ right to knowledge. While it is true that the
international humanitarian law provides journalists with protection as
“citizens” but there are only two explicit references to media personnel in
Article A (4) of the Third Geneva Convention and Article 79 of Additional
Protocol I, which stipulate that that journalists are entitled to all rights
and protections granted to civilians in international armed conflicts.
According to legal experts, the same remains true in non-international armed
conflicts by virtue of customary international law.
Absence of professional journalists in
Since June 2014, when
Emboldened by
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/January
10/17
The Syrian civil war is all but concluded. And the result must be described as
a complete success for Vladimir Putin. No other party in the conflict can claim
to have gained as much from the conflict as Putin has. Not even President Assad
himself. And President Putin has every intention to capitalize on this success.
By all accounts, it seems he now intends to use the momentum gained in
In
Redeployment?
What is more, this will likely happen now because two other circumstances have
aligned in Haftar’s favor.
First, Putin now has leeway to redeploy forces from
In the
The oil fields
Indeed, the only ways in which the conflict in Libya might endure longer than
this year is either if the Pentagon manages to wrest some operational
independence from President Trump and decides that it is worth preventing
Russia from claiming the prize of Libyan oil fields – a scenario that is really
quite remote; or, if Putin decides that maintaining a state of instability in
that region is more beneficial to Russian interests than a swift resolution of
the conflict. And this last scenario is the one to watch. Putin has benefited
immensely from the way in which the wave of refugees from
Four more years for Assad in power
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/January 10/17
During discussions over a political solution to end
the war in
The Syrians know well that aggreeing to let the
regime stay for four more years means that the opposition has sold them, that
all the promises which were made to them have been forgotten and that more than
500,000 Syrians have been sacrificed and millions have been displaced and will
not return home
The Russian proposal for Assad to temporarily stay in power is in fact a life sentence.
The opposition must realize that if it accepts it, it will have to completely
give up everything and accept to go back to how it was before the 2011
revolution. It must not dream to achieve any of the demands it had made and
must understand that all the promises of a hybrid government, constitutional
guarantees and independent laws of provinces will be worthless later.
Respecting the constitution
If promises of international guarantees that the
upcoming years will be a phase of reconciliation, rectification and transition
of power are honest - though they’re impossible to believe - then I expect
moderate opposition forces to accept them because their aim was not to destroy
the country and the state but to achieve peaceful change. When the revolution
erupted, it was peaceful and it was as such for several months as people only
voiced their opposition of the regime through protesting, holding banners and
singing. Their calls for a peaceful transition were different than the
revolutions in
This will mean ending the moderate opposition and empowering the extremist
opposition - that is actually as bad as the regime - which rejects negotiations.
The opposition bears a huge responsibility on the level of bearing the results
of what it’s currently negotiating and what it will sign later. No one will
believe it was deceived because the solution of holding elections was once
proposed. The elections were held in the midst of destruction and Assad won 89%
of the votes. Most of the murder and destruction occurred after these elections
which the regime claimed that more than 10 million people participated in them.
We know that at the time, it would’ve been impossible for even two million to
participate. This deception will happen again. Given the condition to keep the
regime in power in order to end the war, it will be easier for the Syrians to
accept dividing the country and granting the president a state where he
guarantees the majority of votes from his sect without needing to forge them.
Each party can happily live in its state without war and without any regime
imposed on it. However even this bad divisions’ project is rejected by
**This article was first published in Asharq Al-Awsat on Jan 10, 2017.
How Putin Unmasked Erdogan's
Tough Guy Show
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone
Institute/January 10/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9693/putin-erdogan-unmasked
There was only leader who knew in which language to
talk to Erdogan: Vladimir Putin. In November 2015,
two Turkish F-16 jets shot down a Russian Su-24.
Erdogan panicked. He sent envoy after envoy to
normalize ties with
Erdogan's balancing act has been successful because
his Western counterparts were too naïve in deciphering him and his real
political motives. He keeps fighting until the end, so long as he does not
perceive or face any imminent major political or economic threat to his rule.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, until a few years ago, could astonish. Now
the pattern of his primary political strategy boringly repeats itself.
The pattern started in 2009 with Erdogan's shocking
tirade against then Israeli President Shimon Peres. "When it comes to
killing," Erdogan told Peres at the Davos meeting, "You know very well how to kill."
In the following years, that romantic neighbourhood-bully behaviour against
major powers added to his popularity at home -- in addition to the anti-Zionist
rhetoric and Jew-bashing that boosted his popularity both at home and on the
The target "tyrant" did not have to be non-Muslim. "Dictator Sisi" -- his reference to
Crowds vowed to march to war after him if he decided the mighty Turkish army
should reach the gates of
They cheered and cheered. In the personality of Erdogan,
they were going to find the lost soul of their great imperial past. Erdogan, a smart politician, knew very well that even the
talk of reverting back to "our glorious days" would suffice to
mobilize "victory-hungry" masses behind him. You did not have to
start the Third War to satisfy their thirst and convert it into votes.
This explains why Erdogan in later years diverted his
empty, inflammatory rhetoric to the ailing European Union (EU). His -- and his
cabinet ministers' -- rhetoric regarding the EU looked (and still looks) quite
"Duterte-ish" -- ready to push people out
of helicopters. That can be hardly surprising. This is what the "average
Turk" wants to hear: The tough, brave guy challenging the world's major
Western powers.
The same holds true for the
Sir, the Turks are accusing the
So boring, with all possible turns of speech, writing and
press releases of spokespersons' cliché replies that never make it into big
headlines. On December 28, for instance, Erdogan
said he has evidence that U.S.-led coalition forces gave support to terrorist
groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Syrian
Kurdish forces. A
"The
So dry. So insufficient.
In
In July 2016, Erdogan apologized for downing a Russian
plane, and in August he went to
Erdogan's balancing act has been successful not
because the Russians are fools. It has been successful because his Western
counterparts were too naïve in deciphering him and his real political motives.
There is something brave and cunning about Erdogan.
He keeps fighting until the end, so long as he does not perceive or face any
imminent major political or economic threat to his rule. He would, however,
immediately change sides if the path he is on is potentially a costly one -- as
in how Putin "reshaped" Erdogan.
**Burak Bekdil, one of
Turkey's leading journalists, was just fired from Turkey's leading newspaper
after 29 years, for writing what was taking place in Turkey for Gatestone.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The
articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of
Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced,
copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.
Palestinians: Glorifying Mass Murderers
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone
Institute/January 10/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9743/palestinians-glorifying-murderers
The murderous legacy and personality of Yahya Ayyash, a Hamas mass murderer who masterminded a wave of
suicide bombings, are being glorified not only by his Hamas supporters, but
also by the "moderate" Western-funded Palestinian Authority (PA),
headed by Mahmoud Abbas.
Ayyash won his reputation on the murdering and
maiming of hundreds of Israelis, most of them innocent civilians. Had he fought
for peace and coexistence, Ayyash would have been
condemned as a "traitor" and gone down in history as a
"defeatist" and "surrenderist."
"The mosque that produced the mujahed [warrior] Ayyash is continuing to produce heroes." – Sheikh Yusef al-Qaradawi,
spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.
It is in these mosques that Ayyash was taught that
Islam permits people like him to build bombs and dispatch suicide bombers to
blow up buses. It is also in these mosques where he was taught that devout
Muslims are best engaged in spilling Jewish blood.
Children and youths who attend prayers at these mosques are being fed the same
hate-speech rhetoric that their hero Ayyash was exposed
to in his childhood. Hence it is no surprise that the mosques in the
Thus, despite Fatah's double-talk about a two-state solution and
"peace" with
The voices of the Palestinians who reject this education for wholesale
slaughter are being marginalized by the European leaders doing business with
the still-wealthy members of the Arab elite who fund these imams and these
mosques.
These European leaders wrongly image that if they get rid of
Palestinian youths are being urged to follow in the footsteps of Yahya Ayyash, a Hamas mass
murderer who masterminded a wave of suicide bombings that killed and wounded
hundreds of Israelis. Ayyash's expertise in
manufacturing explosive devices earned him the nickname "The
Engineer" and turned him into a hero in the eyes of many Palestinians. The
bomb-maker was killed by Israeli security forces on January 5, 1996, thereby
ending one of the bloodiest chapters of Palestinian terrorism against
Two decades later, this arch-terrorist is still being revered as a hero and
martyr. His murderous legacy and personality are being glorified not only by
his Hamas supporters, but also by the "moderate" Western-funded
Palestinian Authority (PA), headed by Mahmoud Abbas.
A few years ago, the PA decided to honor Ayyash by naming a street in Ramallah after him. The street
sign was posted in Ramallah, the headquarters of the PA where Abbas lives and works, and reads:
"Yahya Ayyash,
1966-1996, born in
This week, Palestinians took to social media to glorify the arch-terrorist
further, depicting him as a role model and urging youths to follow in his
footsteps.
On Twitter, for instance, they launched a hashtag
entitled, "Be Like Ayyash."
The campaign encourages Palestinian youths to admire the bomb-maker and endorse
his "jihad" (holy war) against
Unsurprisingly, the social media campaign has attracted the attention of
thousands of Palestinians and Arabs, who heaped praise on the Hamas bomb-maker-turned-icon.
Ayyash won his reputation on the murdering and
maiming of hundreds of Israelis, most of them innocent civilians. Had he fought
for peace and coexistence, Ayyash would have been
condemned as a "traitor" and gone down in history as a "defeatist"
and "surrenderist."
This Palestinian "engineer" is not being glorified because he used
his expertise to help improve the lives of Palestinians. He is being lauded
because he used the education he received to build bombs and dispatch suicide
bombers to kill Israelis.
One activist hailed Ayyash as "The Master of Men
and the Moon of Palestine." He added: "We are proud of you, Hawk of Iz ad-Din al-Qassam!"
Another activist posted: "Oh history take note – the engineer of
Here is what another Palestinian had to say about the mass-murderer: "Yahya Ayyash is an idea, and
ideas do not die. Although the resistance in the Gaza Strip has developed its
weapons, the bombing of a bus has a special flavor!"
An image recently posted to Twitter glorifying Yahya Ayyash, a Hamas mass
murderer who masterminded a wave of suicide bombings that killed and wounded
hundreds of Israelis. The image shows Ayyash's face
superimposed over an Israeli bus that was blown up by a Palestinian suicide
bomber in the 1990's.
Sheikh Yusef al-Qaradawi,
Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, joined the chorus of
terror glorifiers by offering his own post commemorating the anniversary of the
death of Ayyash. "Yahya
Ayyash did not die," wrote the leading Islamic
scholar, considered the spiritual father of Muslim Brotherhood. "He is
alive in the conscience of all
Sheikh al-Qaradawi is right in two important ways.
The first of these is that Ayyash was indeed
"produced" by a mosque. Those close to Ayyash
describe him as a devout Muslim who used to spend much of his time in mosques,
where he was undoubtedly exposed to anti-Semitic hate-speech and indoctrination
at the hands of preachers and imams.
It is in these mosques that Ayyash was taught that
Islam permits people like him to build bombs and dispatch suicide bombers to
blow up buses. It is also in these mosques where he was taught that devout
Muslims are best engaged in spilling Jewish blood.
Al-Qaradawi is also right when he says that the
mosques are continuing to produce "heroes." This is true because incitement
and anti-Semitism remains a main theme of the Friday prayer sermons. Children
and youths who attend prayers at these mosques are being fed the same
hate-speech rhetoric that their hero Ayyash was
exposed to in his childhood. Hence it is no surprise that the mosques in the
"Ayyash was only 29 years old, but he became a
legend that instilled fear in the hearts of the Zionists," remarked
another social media activist. "He was transformed into an exemplary
engineer inspiring new generations."
Hamas leaders, for their part, chose to celebrate the anniversary of the death
of their terrorist by voicing hope that Palestinian youths would look at him as
their role model and follow in his footsteps. "The students of Yahya Ayyash are the hope of the
Palestinians," said Hamas spokesman Hussam Badran. He said that Ayyash
continues to serve as an inspiration for youths who wish to join the jihad
against
That Ayyash was a Hamas member has not prevented the
rival Fatah faction headed by Mahmoud Abbas from joining the campaign of glorification.
True, Hamas and Fatah are rivals and they despise each other. But when it comes
to murdering Israelis, they wholeheartedly agree. In truth, Fatah would have
preferred if Ayyash had been one of its own. Had that been so Fatah would have been able to boast (instead of
Hamas) of the "heroic" attacks engineered by the beloved terrorist.
Still, in the eyes of Fatah, this Hamas arch-terrorist is a hero because he
killed and wounded hundreds of Israelis. On one of its Facebook
pages, Fatah had these words to say about Ayyash:
"The revolutionaries never die; Fatah pledges to remain committed to the
martyrs and the path of Yasser Arafat."
Thus, despite Fatah's double-talk about a two-state solution and
"peace" with
Some would argue that the absence of education for peace with
Their voices are being marginalized by many European leaders comfortably doing
business with the still-wealthy members of the Arab and Muslim elite who fund
those imams and mosques. These European leaders wrongly image that if they get
rid of
For anyone who treasures freedom – including many Arabs and Muslims who do not
want to live under terrorist Islamic dictatorships but are strong-armed from
speaking out - the United Nations is now poisonous place. It has been taken
over by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) -- 56 Islamic countries
plus
*Bassam Tawil is a scholar
based in the
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The
articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of
Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced,
copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone
Institute.
Extremism Under Sisi
By Khalil al-Anani/Foreign
Affairs/January 08/17
His Repressive Policies Have Worsened the Problem
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/10/khalil-al-ananiforeign-affairs-extremism-under-sisi/
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2017-01-08/extremism-under-sisi
Anyone seeking evidence of creeping Islamist radicalization in Egypt under
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s repressive regime
need look no further than the bombing of the Coptic Orthodox church in Cairo on
December 10. The attack, for which the Islamic State (also known as ISIS)
claimed responsibility, killed 25 and wounded around 50. The suspected suicide
bomber, 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafiq
Mohamed Moustafa, had been arrested in 2014 by
Although political and social scientists have extensively debated the causality
between state repression and radicalization, there is ample evidence that the
two are correlated in the cases of
Sisi’s unprecedented repression of peaceful and
nonviolent opposition has created a fertile environment for extremists and
radical ideologies. Most of the attacks since Sisi
took power have been carried out by Wilayat Sinai,
Sisi’s unprecedented repression of peaceful and
nonviolent opposition has created a fertile environment for extremists and
radical ideologies. Other disenchanted Islamists have formed their own
insurgency groups and networks that target government officials, institutions,
and supporters. Over the past three years, a dozen radical and violent groups
and networks have risen and grown, among them Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt), the Molotov Movement, and Liwaa al-Thawra (Revolution’s
Brigade Movement). These groups use different tactics such as regrouping and
changing their names to avoid regime repression and fight back against the
crackdown, and they have proved significantly savvy and costly to the Sisi regime.
Unlike Wilayat Sinai, whose extremist ideology many
Islamists in
Although there are no official numbers of how many people have been radicalized
or have joined these new movements, the steady pace of sophisticated
attacks—which reached 100 per month according to some reports—suggests
that the problem will continue to haunt the regime. Furthermore, unlike the
classical radical groups of the 1970s and 1980s, such as Jamaat
al-Islamiyya and Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which had
hierarchal organizations, disciplined structures, and strict chains of command
and leadership, most of these new bodies are opaque and nimble, which is
necessary to outmaneuver the regime.
A STRATEGY THAT BREEDS TERROR
Sisi’s counterextremism
strategy has proved not only useless but counterproductive. Several accounts
refer to the increase in radicalization among young Islamists thanks to his
tactics. Two former Islamists interviewed by the author underscored the gloomy
reality. One of them, who spent 11 months in a local prison without standing
trial, describes the conditions as “ideal for recruiting and indoctrinating
young Islamists by extremists.” The other recalls an 18-year-old man who was
recruited by extremists while he was in prison for illegally protesting against
the regime and eventually stopped meeting his parents during prison visits,
calling them “infidels.” Similar anecdotes and conclusions have been presented
by both Egyptian and foreign media.
According to a report published last April by the privately owned Al-Shorouk newspaper, the notorious Egyptian prison of Tora has become “a governmental center for recruiting
Islamists into Daesh [ISIS].” Security forces and the
prison’s administration not only are aware of the problem but also facilitate
it by allowing mingling and interaction between extremists and newcomers.
According to one of the interviewees, this tactic helps the regime to portray
all prisoners as “terrorists” and justify their imprisonment.
Sisi’s fight against terrorism thus fuels more
terrorism while also playing into his extremist opponents’ narrative that the
regime encourages radicalism in order to justify its repressive policies. With
thousands of Islamists now imprisoned, extremists will surely be able to
attract and recruit hundreds more.
To be sure,
The majority of young Egyptians who toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011
want free speech and jobs. They want better lives. Most of them have become
bitter and marginalized under Sisi’s rule, which
plays into the hands of radicals and extremists.
The impact of Sisi’s authoritarian policies goes
beyond
Analysis: Syria shatters Obama’s Middle
East legacy
Joyce Karam/Arab News/January 10/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/10/joyce-karamarab-news-analysis-syria-shatters-obamas-middle-east-legacy/
WASHINGTON, DC: As he takes the stage to deliver his farewell speech from
Chicago in a few hours, do not expect US President Barack Obama to delve into
his Middle East accomplishments, partly because in the view of experts they are
either non-existent, drowned by chaos or greatly diminished. US experts who
closely watched Obama’s rhetoric fall apart in the region, or served in his
administration and saw first-hand how indecision and half-measures created an
unprecedented void and chaos, tell Arab News that Syria is the epicenter of his administration’s train wreck in the Middle
East.
The “leading from behind” doctrine
Even before the Arab Spring started in 2011, Obama’s larger doctrine for
the Middle East and North Africa was defined by the “US stepping back so others
can step in,” and doing so “regional actors can rise to the occasion and take
responsibility,” said Shadi Hamid,
a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. The “leading from
behind” approach shaped the early thinking of the Obama administration by
prioritizing the withdrawal from Iraq, cutting civil society aid programs to
Egypt, allowing the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to take a lead role in
Yemen, and later leading to Russia’s intervention in Syria.
There was a small caveat that the Obama team missed: This approach
“doesn’t work in the Middle East,” said Hamid,
because “the
From Syria to Brexit and Trump
Hamid, the author of “Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping
the World,” links the crisis in Syria to an “undermined liberal order” across
Europe, and a wave of instability that has shaken not just the country’s neighbors but also the UK, Germany and France. “
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than half of
The influx into Europe, coupled with the rise of Daesh
during Obama’s second term, has translated into fear and a rapid spike in
identity politics across the Continent and the
Prioritizing the
However, the nuclear deal did little to nothing to slow
But beyond the humanitarian suffering, it is also the geopolitical
implications of the