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Excerpts:Trump’s intentions re Radical Islamic Terrorism. Settler
Excerpts:Trump’s intentions re Radical Islamic Terrorism. Settler homes.
Signs of Iran feeling US policy shift. Hamas rejects Palestinian calendar
for elections. King briefs media on need for realistic awareness February
07, 2017
+++SOURCE: Naharnet(Lebanon) 7 Feb.’17:”Trump vows US, Allies Will Defeat
Radical Islamic Terrorism”, by Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:Trump’s intentions re Radical Islamic Terrorism
FULL TEXT:President Donald Trump vowed Monday[6 Feb] that America and its
allies would defeat the “forces of death” and keep radical jihadists from
gaining a foothold ]n U.S. soil, but did not offer details about his
strategy to defeat the Islamic State group.
In his first visit to U.S. Central Command — responsible for an area that
includes the Middle East and Central Asia — Trump also did not say whether
he would scrap parts of the anti-IS mission in Iraq and Syria undertaken by
his predecessor Barack Obama.
“Today, we deliver a message in one very unified voice to these forces of
death and destruction — America and its allies will defeat you. We will
defeat them,” he told about 300 military personnel at MacDill Air Force Base
in Tampa, Florida.
“We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism. And we will not allow to it take
root in our country,” Trump added. “Freedom, security and justice will
prevail.”
He accused Islamic State fighters of leading a “campaign of genocide,
committing atrocities across the world,” and promised an unspecified
“historic financial investment” in the U.S. military.
“Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they
did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all
across Europe,” added the president.
He claimed that the “very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report” on
certain attacks, without offering any corroborating evidence to back up his
allegation.
“They have their reasons,” he said, without explaining further.
- 30-day review -
Trump made fighting “radical Islamic terrorism” a central plank of his
election campaign, and the issue is emerging as the organizing principle of
his foreign and domestic policies.
Centcom plays a key role in Operation Inherent Resolve — the U.S.-led
mission to “degrade and defeat” IS. A total of 17,861 strikes have been
launched across northern Syria and Iraq since August 2016 under the mission.
In late January, the president ordered generals to begin a 30-day review of
the U.S. strategy to defeat IS.
Trump visited Centcom as he made his way back to Washington following a
three-day break at his Mar-a-Lago estate in southern Florida.
Apart from seizing territory and declaring a caliphate, IS has claimed
responsibility for attacks in Africa, Europe, the United States, Southeast
Asia and across the Middle East.
It’s seen as having influenced attackers in San Bernardino, California who
killed 14 people in December 2015, and the attacker of an Orlando nightclub
who left 49 dead in June last year.
- Work with Russia? -
Trump used potential cooperation in the fight against the fighters as a
reason to embrace Russia and has tried to implement an order banning
refugees and nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the
United States.
The ban has spurred an unprecedented battle with the courts. On Sunday,
Trump tried to pin the blame for future attacks on the federal judge who has
temporarily blocked his executive order.
“Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If
something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!” Trump
said.
He did not offer evidence for the suggestion that would-be terrorists are
flocking to the country.
Most experts express more concern about Americans becoming radicalized and
carrying out IS-inspired attacks, rather than the group dispatching
clandestine agents around the world.
- Taking the fight to IS -
The contours of Trump’s policy to fight the Islamic State group abroad are
still coming into focus, after less than three weeks on the job.
His call for a review of the anti-IS campaign included any “recommended
changes to any United States rules of engagement.”
That could foreshadow a tougher approach, but it is one that some experts
warn could fuel radicalization.
During Trump’s first days in office, U.S. special forces carried out a raid
against al-Qaida in Yemen that resulted in the death of one U.S. soldier, 14
jihadists and as many as 16 civilians.
Trump also called for the “identification of new coalition partners” — a
likely nod toward Russia.
Moscow has deployed aircraft, naval assets and troops to Syria, but has so
far trained its fire on rebels with the aim of propping up Bashar Assad’s
regime.
After substantial territorial gains, IS is now on the back foot, struggling
to hold onto the Iraqi city of Mosul and with its “capital” in Raqa under
threat.
But the battle is approaching a fork in the road.
Trump has reportedly shelved Obama’s plans for taking Raqa with the help of
Kurdish forces and must soon decide how to proceed.
+++SOURCE:Al Arabiya News 7 Feb.’17:”Settler homes on private Palestinian
land legalized”,by Reuters
SUBJECT: Settler homes
QUOTE:”The legislation has been condemned by Palestinians as a blow to their
hopes of statehood. (AFP)”
Reuters, Jerusalem Tuesday, 7 February 2017
FULL TEXT:Israel passed a law on Monday[6 Feb.] retroactively legalizing
about 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the
occupied West Bank, a measure that has drawn international concern.
The legislation has been condemned by Palestinians as a blow to their hopes
of statehood. But its passage may only be largely symbolic as it contravenes
Israeli Supreme Court rulings on property rights. Israel’s attorney-general
has said it is unconstitutional and that he will not defend it at the
Supreme Court.
Though the legislation, passed by a vote of 60 to 52, was backed by Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, it has raised tensions
in the government. A White House official said that, given the new law is
expected to face challenges in Israeli courts, the Trump administration
“will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling.”
The Hague:Political sources have said Netanyahu privately opposes the bill
over concerns it could provide grounds for prosecution by the International
Criminal Court in The Hague. The White House official, speaking on condition
of anonymity, said Washington would oppose any such international legal
action.
But the far-right Jewish Home party, a member of the coalition looking to
draw voters from the traditional base of Netanyahu’s Likud, pushed for the
legislation after the forced evacuation of 330 settlers last week from an
outpost built on private Palestinian land.
With Netanyahu under police investigation on suspicion of abuse of office,
an allegation he denies, Likud has been slipping in opinion polls. Opposing
the law would have risked alienating his supporters and ceding ground to
Jewish Home. Last-minute appeals this week by Netanyahu to postpone the vote
until after he meets US President Donald Trump in Washington on Feb 15, were
refused by Jewish Home, political sources said.
In London, where he met Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday, Netanyahu told
Israeli reporters he did not want to delay the vote and that he sought only
to update Washington ahead of time – which he said he did. Israeli officials
did contact their US counterparts at the “staff level,” the White House
official said. Netanyahu himself did not attend the vote because he was on a
plane back from London when it was held.
“Black flag”:Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, the main Palestinian political umbrella body, said in a
statement that the law gave settlers a green light to “embark on a land
grab”. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist, racist
coalition government are deliberately breaking the law and destroying the
very foundations of the two-state solution and the chances for peace and
stability,” Ashrawi said.
The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay
Mladenov said in a statement that the law “will have far reaching legal
consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli
peace”.
“We are voting tonight on the connection between the Jewish people to its
land. This entire land is ours,” Likud minister Ofir Akunis told parliament.
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union said a black flag hung
over the “insane law that threatens to destroy Israeli democracy”.
+++SOURCE: Al Arabiya 7 Feb.’17:”Analysis: Iran feeling US policy shift
after Obama, by Heshmat Alavi
SUBJECT:Signs of Iran feeling US policy shift
QUOTE:”There are signs of the Iranian regime establishment being caught off
guard after trekking into uncharted Trump waters. (AP)”
FULL TEXT:Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, known to lead a regime based
on a mantra of “Death to America,” has been cautiously silent ever since US
President Donald Trump took the helm in the White House.
With a recent medium-range ballistic missile test launch backfiring
severely, both politically and substantially–the vessel exploded during
reentry into Earth’s orbit–the regime leader, who has the final word on all
national security and foreign affairs, is maintaining a low profile.
The new White House lashed back with a series of measures Tehran has not
been used to, especially after enjoying eight years of the Obama
administration’s highly flawed appeasement policy.
Tensions escalated last week following Iran’s missile test confirmation,
triggering US National Security Advisor Michael Flynn using his first public
appearance to lash back a staunch warning, placing Tehran “on notice.” Trump
has been very active, to say the least, taking to Twitter and warning Iran
about the high contrast between he and his predecessor. “Iran is playing
with fire – they don’t appreciate how “kind” President Obama was to them.
Not me!
And his administration wasted no time before the weekend by slapping a new
slate of economic sanctions targeting 25 Iranian individuals and entities
involved in Iran’s missile program, while suggesting the possibility of more
to come. “President Donald Trump’s press secretary suggested Friday
afternoon that more sanctions, and even military action, could be on the
way,” reports indicate.
Khamenei’s silence:And to add insult to injury, US Defense Secretary James
Mattis, in his first foreign visit, labelled Iran as the world’s “biggest
state sponsor of terrorism.”
Despite Fridays’ traditionally providing a platform for senior Iranian
officials to voice positions over foreign affairs and pump back the spirit
lost among their dwindling social base, Khamenei remained silent. And this
is a time where his Revolutionary Guards and paramilitary Basijis are in
most need of his so-called guidance.
These are all signs of the Iranian regime establishment being caught off
guard after trekking into uncharted Trump waters. With its ballistic missile
Tehran was actually testing the new Trump administration. The mullahs are
now highly regretting such a poorly calculated measure.
Interesting is the fact that the pro-appeasement camp is continuing their
old tactics of warning how Iran may do this and that. “…terrorist attacks
against Americans, attacks by Shiite militias against the thousands of
American troops in Iraq, or pressure on the Iraqi government to deny the
United States access to the bases where it trains Iraqi security forces,”
wrote Philip Gordon in The New York Times. Gordon was Obama’s White House
coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region from 2013
to 2015.
After leaving the entire region in mayhem by handing Iraq over to Iran in a
silver plate and cowardly failing to take any meaningful measure against
Syrian dictator Bashar Assad after declaring a so-called chemical attack
“red line”, any individual in any way even merely affiliated to the Obama
Doctrine is not in any position to make any comment about how the new White
House should blueprint its Middle East policy.
The golden era:Iran understands very well that the Obama “golden era”, as
one figure close to former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
put it, is over. And the recent saga, from Tehran’s January 29th missile
test to the sanctions imposed by the Trump White House on February 3rd,
forecasts stormy weather conditions for the mullahs.
As the Trump administration weighs various measures vis-à-vis Iran, there
are a few issues worth keeping in mind. The past 16 years have proven that
foreign military intervention and an appeasement/engagement/rapprochement
approach have failed miserably. And yet, there is a third option for the US
to consider: standing alongside the Iranian people in their struggle to
establish freedom and democracy in their country.
Considering its significant role in domestic crackdown, foreign military
intervention and most significantly the involvement in Syria, and Iran’s
nuclear program and ballistic missile drive, the first and very effective
step forward in this roadmap is to blacklist Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
(IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
To this end, all deals and trade with IRGC-affiliated companies will be
banned, as proposed by Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, President of
the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
Welcoming the new US sanctions on Iran, the NCRI is an alliance of dissident
organs, including the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK),
best known for first blowing the whistle on Tehran’s clandestine nuclear
weapons program.
After Obama turned its back on the Iranian people back in 2009 and sold them
out to the mullahs’, the Trump administration placing the IRGC in its
crosshairs sends a message to the Iranian people that this new
administration stands shoulder to shoulder in their efforts to be free.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do
not reflect Al Arabiya English’s point-of-view.
_________________________
Heshmat Alavi is a political and rights activist. His writing focuses on
Iran, ranging from human rights violations, social crackdown, the regime’s
support for terrorism and meddling in foreign countries, and the
controversial nuclear program. He tweets at @HeshmatAlavi & blogs at
IranCommentary.
+++SOURCE:Jordan Times 7 Feb.’17:” Palestinians set vote timetable despite
Hamas rejection”.by Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:Hamas rejects Palestinian calendar for elections
RAMALLAH, Palestine — The Palestinian electoral commission announced on
Monday[6 Feb] a calendar for delayed municipal elections, despite Gaza
rulers Hamas rejecting them.
The commission said on its website that voter registration would end on 25
February, while registration of candidates will take place for 10 days from
March 28.
The Palestinian Authority said last month that vote will be held on May 13th
simultaneously in the Gaza Strip and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank,
which the PA controls.
But Hamas movement which runs Gaza has criticised the plans and said that
the new timetable “strengthens divisions”.
The rival parties have not contested an election since 2006 parliamentary
polls, which Hamas won — sparking a conflict that led to near civil war in
Gaza the following year.
Hamas boycotted the most recent municipal elections in 2012, which took
place only in the West Bank.
Last year a timetable was agreed for elections in both territories, but they
collapsed amid political squabbling and the elections were delayed.
Multiple attempts at political reconciliation between the two sides have
failed, though both express willingness to continue working towards it.
The inability of the Palestinian movements to overcome their divisions is
seen as a major obstacle to progress towards ending the nearly 70-year
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
+++SOURCE:Jordan Times 7 Feb.’17:”We have to be realistic and aware of
challenges — King”,by JT
SUBJECT:King briefs media on need for realistic awareness;
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on [6 Feb]Monday met with columnists and
media figures for a conversation focused on local, regional and
international developments, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
During the meeting, held at Al Husseiniya Palace, His Majesty spoke about
his latest visit to the US and his meeting with President Donald Trump,
several senior officials and lawmakers, describing the visit as “successful”.
He expressed optimism that the Jordanian-US relationship will be enhanced,
noting that the US side stressed the importance of supporting Jordan’s role
in the region over the coming years as it continues to rise to challenges .
The King said that the meetings he held with US officials and legislators
were useful, noting that President Trump has invited him for an official
visit soon.
He noted that the meetings focused on regional developments, especially the
Syrian crisis. The peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis
and the possible repercussions of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem were
discussed, the King said , adding that the US administration respects Jordan’s
stance in dealing with various challenges.
The King said that Jordan, invited by Russia, has joined the Atana
conference on Syria as an observer, highlighting the Russian role in solving
the Syrian crisis with international cooperation
He said that he is optimistic about a new era of positive Russian-US
relations.
King Abdullah stressed the importance of having the ceasefire in place in
southern Syria as that would ensure security, as parties are working for a
political solution based on the Geneva conferences and efforts are under way
to eradicate terrorist groups such as Daesh.
The need to eliminate the khawarij (outlaws of Islam) goes beyond Syria and
Iraq, the King said, calling anew for a holistic strategy to counter
terrorism all over the world. He added that the fight against terror is not
only a military one, but is also an ideological, cultural and media war.
As Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban” dominates international headlines, His
Majesty said that western countries should avoid policies that would
marginalise Muslim expatriates and communities.
He also stressed the importance of resolving the Palestinian issue, as what
happens in Palestine and Jerusalem could play into the hands of terrorist
recruiters and provoke Muslims around the world.
On local affairs, His Majesty said that Jordan’s resilience lies in the
cohesion of its internal front and understanding security, economic and
social challenges, which must be confronted by all Jordanians, adding that
Jordan can overcome those challenges.
The King expressed his confidence in the Jordan Armed Forces- Arab Army, the
security agencies and the Jordanian people’s vigilance, adding that work is
ongoing to upgrade the capacity of the army and the security agencies.
Many of the domestic economic challenges are caused by regional crises, he
said, stressing the ability of the Kingdom to deal with them through the
creation of new opportunities, such as finding new markets for Jordanian
exports and building on promising sectors.
In light of the economic challenges, the King said he had directed the
government to protect low- and medium-income Jordanians, noting that the
government is working to implement economic correction programmes to reduce
public debt despite challenges and the slow growth.
During the meeting, King Abdullah asserted the state’s will to combat
corruption at all levels, adding that it is not possible to criticise
favouritism in theory and practice it in real life, and that he has directed
the government to take the necessary measures towards that end.
The meeting also addressed the role of the media in dealing with national
issues, where the King stressed the importance of professional, objective
and responsible media that disseminates clear and accurate information, in
addition to the media’s role in entrenching the value of moderation and
challenging extremist ideologies.
The upcoming Arab summit, to be hosted by Jordan in March, will see the
Syrian crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and Jerusalem on the
top of its agenda, King Abdullah said.
His Majesty praised ties with Saudi Arabia, highlighting his relationship
with Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad
Bin Salman.
He expressed his enthusiasm for King Salman’s visit to Jordan next month,
which will enhance bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields.
As for Iraq, the Monarch said that building a strong, prosperous, stable and
unified Iraq is a necessity for the region, noting that the Jordanian role
is appreciated by all Iraqis.
=============
Sue Lerner – Associate., IMRA
Source: http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=72142
