LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 22/12

Bible Quotation for today/Humility
Sirach 3/17- My child, be humble in everything you do, and people will appreciate it more than gifts. The greater you become, the more humble you should be; then the Lord will be pleased with you. The Lord's power is great, and he is honored by those who are humble. Don't try to understand things that are too hard for you, or investigate matters that are beyond your power to know. Concentrate on the Law, which has been given to you. You do not need to know about things which the Lord has not revealed, so don't concern yourself with them. After all, what has been shown to you is beyond human power to understand. Many people have been misled by their own opinions; their wrong ideas have warped their judgment. Stubbornness will get you into trouble at the end. If you live dangerously, it will kill you. A stubborn person will be burdened down with troubles. Sinners go on adding one sin to another. There is no cure for the troubles that arrogant people have; wickedness has taken deep root in them. Intelligent people will learn from proverbs and parables. They listen well because they want to learn.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Lebanon: Another Syrian governorate/By Emad El Din Adeeb/August 21/12
U.S. Distorts Nigerian Jihad on Christians/by Raymond Ibrahim/August 21/12
Will the masculinity of weapons defeat the femininity of peace in Syria/By: Yara Nseir /Now Lebanon/August 21/12
Iranian islands of influence/By: Tony Badran/Now Lebanon/August 21/12

Christian girl arrested for alleged blasphemy
Reuters /21 August 12
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/video/gruelling-swim-164800005.html?_esi=1&pb_list=884e13b0-580f-4464-9acd-ea4577b097e7
Authorities in this slum in Pakistan have arrested a Christian girl named Rishma for alleged blasphemy. Details about the girl vary. Some witnesses say Rishma, who's between 12 and 16 years of age, has Down's syndrome. The landlord of the Rishma's family home said his nephew saw her throwing out trash that included burnt portions of the Koran. The landlord said soon after the incident, people began to protest and demanded she be arrested. A spokesperson for the Pakistan Minorities Alliance said Christians, who make up 4 percent of Pakistan's population, have been especially concerned. (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) SPOKESMAN OF ALL PAKISTAN MINORITIES ALLIANCE, SHAMUN GILL, SAYING: "There is no doubt that minorities, especially Christians, feel very insecure." Blasphemy carries the death penalty under Pakistani law. Although opponents of the law say that becuase convictions hinge on witness testimony, they are often linked to personal vendettas.
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U.S. seizes $150 mnl in Hezbollah-linked funds: officials
August 21, 2012 /The Daily Star
NEW YORK: U.S. authorities Monday announced the seizure of $150 million allegedly linked to a scheme by Hezbollah to launder proceeds from drug trafficking and other crimes.
The money came from a U.S. bank account used by the Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank to conduct U.S. currency transactions, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief Michele Leonhart said.Washington considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization. “As we alleged last year, the Lebanese Canadian Bank played a key role in facilitating money laundering for Hezbollah-controlled organizations across the globe,” Leonhart said in a statement. A December 2011 money laundering and forfeiture complaint filed in a U.S. federal court in New York targeted the LCB and two other Lebanese financial institutions with alleged ties to Hezbollah. U.S. prosecutors then alleged that the LCB, the Hassan Ayash Exchange Company and Ellissa Holding wired funds from Lebanon to the United States to buy used cars, which were then sent to West Africa. “Cash from the sale of the cars, along with proceeds of narcotics trafficking, were then funneled to Lebanon through Hezbollah-controlled money laundering channels,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said at the time.At the time, Hezbollah refuted the charges, saying they were “another attempt to tarnish the image of the resistance in Lebanon.” “Our relentless pursuit of global criminal networks showed that the U.S. banking system was exploited to launder drug trafficking funds through West Africa and into Lebanon,” Leonhart said Monday. “DEA and our partners are attacking these groups and their financial infrastructure, while establishing clear links between drug trafficking proceeds and terrorist funding,” she said.
Bharara said: “We will use every resource at our disposal to separate terrorists and narco-traffickers, and the banks that work with them, from their illicit funds.”

US authorities freeze funds wired by Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank; say banking institution 'plays key role in facilitating money laundering for Hezbollah'
AFP Published: 08.21.12, 00:10 / Israel Business
US authorities on Monday announced the seizure of $150 million allegedly linked to a scheme by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to launder proceeds from drug trafficking and other crimes.
The money came from a US bank account used by the Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank (LCB) to conduct US currency transactions, US Attorney Preet Bharara and US Drug Enforcement Administration chief Michele Leonhart said. Washington considers the Shiite militant group a terrorist organization.
"As we alleged last year, the Lebanese Canadian Bank played a key role in facilitating money laundering for Hezbollah controlled organizations across the globe," Leonhart said in a statement.
A December 2011 money laundering and forfeiture complaint filed in US federal court in New York targeted the Lebanese Canadian Bank and two other Lebanese financial institutions with alleged ties to Hezbollah. US prosecutors then alleged that the LCB, the Hassan Ayash Exchange Company and Ellissa Holding wired funds from Lebanon to the United States to buy used cars, which were then sent to West Africa. "Cash from the sale of the cars, along with proceeds of narcotics trafficking, were then funneled to Lebanon through Hezbollah-controlled money laundering channels," the US Attorney's office said at the time. At the time, Hezbollah refuted the charges, saying they were "another attempt to tarnish the image of the resistance in Lebanon."
"Our relentless pursuit of global criminal networks showed that the US banking system was exploited to launder drug trafficking funds through West Africa and into Lebanon," Leonhart said Monday.
"DEA and our partners are attacking these groups and their financial infrastructure, while establishing clear links between drug trafficking proceeds and terrorist funding," she said. Bharara said: "We will use every resource at our disposal to separate terrorists and narco-traffickers, and the banks that work with them, from their illicit funds, even those hidden in foreign accounts."

Popemobile en route to Beirut for papal visit
August 21, 2012/The Daily Star
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Lebanon next month will go ahead as scheduled, the Vatican said Monday, despite tensions in the country linked to the raging conflict in Syria.
“The preparations for the visit are going ahead without any uncertainty on the part of the Vatican,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said. Lombardi cited as evidence that the Sept. 14-16 trip would go ahead the fact that the pope’s special car – the “popemobile” – was on its way to Beirut. Lebanon has been battling to contain an eruption of violence triggered by events in neighboring Syria, including a spate of mass kidnappings that recalled the dark days of the country’s own civil war. Several oil-rich Gulf countries have ordered their nationals to leave the country in the face of threats, particularly against Saudis and Qataris whose governments are staunch opponents of the Syrian regime. Turkey and the United States have also warned of possible attacks against their citizens.
Pope Benedict XVI is expected to bring a message of peace for the Middle East on his three-day trip. The 85-year-old German pontiff is set to meet with various religious leaders in multifaith Lebanon and emphasize in particular the need for peaceful coexistence between Christian and Muslim communities.

Facebook drops Hezbollah and al-Manar TV pages
Asharq Al-Awsa/Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat- According to Lebanese media reports, social networking website Facebook has deleted all pages relating to Hezbollah, as well as the official page of al-Manar, a television station affiliated to the party, following a decision from the website’s management to stop any activities linked to the group. This is in line with the resolutions of the US government to prevent companies operating on its territory from dealing with entities who appear on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.
The Lebanese Daily Star newspaper quoted Frederic Wolens, a Facebook spokesman, as saying that this move comes within the framework of the rights and obligations of the website to not allow content that “incites violence”, and that in order to assist in making decisions in this regard, it was necessary to use the terrorism list issued by the US State Department. Because Hezbollah is on that list, its page had to be removed from Facebook in accordance with US resolutions. This also applied to al-Manar television station, and its official Facebook page was no longer accessible as of Thursday.
This move came after both Apple and Google removed al-Manar’s mobile applications from their respective stores - “Google Play” and “itunes” - last month, in a move that was warmly received by the Anti-Defamation League, an NGO seeking to combat anti-Semitism, which had sent a letter to both organizations requesting them to remove the applications.
In addition to Apple, Google and Facebook, al-Manar also has accounts on YouTube and Twitter. However, both these websites have so far not given any indication that they will prevent Hezbollah or its affiliates from using their services. It is noteworthy that the US has increased pressure on Hezbollah in recent weeks and has applied new financial sanctions because of its ongoing connections and communications with the Syrian regime.

Damascus set to retaliate for Samaha arrest with own summons
August 21/2012 By Hussein Abdallah/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Syria is expected to summon 30 Lebanese officials on suspicion of funding and supporting anti-regime armed groups, reports said Monday, several days after President Michel Sleiman demanded that Syrian President Bashar Assad clarify his stance on a recently uncovered terrorist plot in Lebanon.
Damascus has repeatedly claimed that opponents of the Syrian regime in Lebanon are aiding the rebels leading the 17-month uprising against Assad.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah officials refused to comment on Sleiman’s remarks, amid reports that the group has privately expressed dismay at the president’s recent position.
“We have decided not to comment on this issue,” Hezbollah MP Nawwar al-Sahili told The Daily Star Monday.
Former Information Minister Michel Samaha was charged last week in a terror plot intended to undermine Lebanon’s security. Samaha allegedly possessed several explosive devices. Also charged was a high-ranking Syrian army official. Sleiman has expressed hope that Assad was not involved in the plot.
“I hope with all my heart that no Syrian officials have anything to do with these explosives and that [the plot] was orchestrated by unofficial elements,” Sleiman said in remarks published by local newspapers Sunday. In his confession to the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch shortly after his arrest on Aug. 10, Samaha said Assad wanted bomb attacks in Lebanon, according to sources.
Sleiman said Assad has not yet called him about Samaha’s arrest.
“I expect [Assad] to call me, but he has not yet,” he said. “When Syria made accusations against 33 Lebanese officials in the near past, I contacted President Assad to inquire about the issue. Today, there is a Lebanese accusation against a senior Syrian official and I expect the president to call and explain the situation.”
Lebanon’s judicial authorities have accused Syrian Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk of having links to the terror plot.
Nevertheless, Sleiman described his relationship with Assad as “good and open.”
Sleiman confirmed that he saw the explosives allegedly transported by Samaha from Syria to Lebanon “with my own eyes.”
“I was shocked at what I saw, and thank God these explosives did not explode.”
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television and Sky News Arabia said Monday that Syria’s judicial authorities were expected to issue summons for 30 Lebanese officials on suspicion of funding and supporting armed groups in Syria. No further details were given, but the move could be a response to the charges pressed against Mamlouk.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea praised Sleiman’s position Monday and described it as “honorable.”
Geagea urged Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati to take further action by recalling Lebanon’s ambassador to Damascus and asking Syria’s ambassador to Lebanon to leave the country.
Geagea, a key opposition leader, said Lebanon should file an official complaint against the Syrian regime to the Arab League and the United Nations Security Council.
Meanwhile, Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat told The Daily Star Monday the Lebanese government “is completely absent when it comes to pointing the finger at Syria’s role in Samaha’s plot.”
“The president’s position shows he is concerned about defending Lebanon’s sovereignty, but the big question remains: Where is the government in all that?” Fatfat said, criticizing Mikati for “not doing anything” in response to a “violation of the country’s sovereignty.”
“This proves that the government is run by the Syrian regime and [Hezbollah leader Sayyed] Hasan Nasrallah,” Fatfat added.
The Mikati government was formed in June 2011, several months after the March 8 coalition toppled a national unity government headed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. March 8 ministers resigned from Hariri’s government, thus stripping it of the necessary quorum required for any Cabinet to stay in office. The resignation was prompted by differences with Hariri and the March 14 coalition over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which later accused Hezbollah members of being behind the 2005 assassination of late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Hezbollah and its allies managed to bring Mikati into office with the help of Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt.

Deadly clashes in north Lebanon heighten Syria contagion fears
August 21, 2012/By Misbah al-Ali/The Daily Star
TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad fought gunbattles in Lebanon's second largest city which left two dead and wounded 40 in another alarming sign that the fragile country is being sucked into the Syrian crisis.
At least 10 Lebanese soldiers were among those wounded in the fighting that broke out Monday night in the port city of Tripoli.
The First Intervention Force Regiment, an army unit comprising jeeps, trucks and armored personnel carriers was forced to retreat Tuesday afternoon after coming under a hail of machinegun fire and rocket-propelled grenade attacks after it had tried to intervene to subdue the violence, security sources told The Daily Star.
Clashes then intensified between the anti-Assad Sunni stronghold of Bab al-Tabbaneh and the Alawite-dominated pro-Assad Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods after the army battalion's pullout. The army maintained a scarce presence in the vicinity, according to security sources.
The violence came less than a week after Lebanon was jolted by a wave of kidnappings of scores of Syrians and two Turkish nationals by the Meqdad clan and other groups in a bid to exchange them for 12 Lebanese held hostage by rebels in Syria. One Meqdad member was recently kidnapped by Syrian rebels in Damascus and 11 Lebanese pilgrims were abducted in May.
The kidnappings have brought back memories of the darkest days of Lebanon's 1975-90 Civil War and put the country on the brink of total choas.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati commented on the ongoing fighting in his hometown Tuesday, accusing “several parties” of seeking to draw Lebanon into neighboring conflicts.
“We have long warned against slipping into the smoldering fire surrounding Lebanon but it is clear that there are several parties who seek to involve Lebanon in the conflict,” Mikati said in a statement.
“We call upon residents of Tripoli not to allow anyone to drag them into battles that only produce murder, devastation and destruction or to be used as ammunition for the battles of others,” he added.
Mikati also said he asked the Army and security forces to use all their capabilities to stop the clashes.
Lebanon's stability has been under the spotlight since Syria's 17-month-old uprising intensified at the start of this year, steadily raising tensions between the two deeply divided political camps of the pro-Assad March 8 and pro-opposition March 14 coalition.
Security sources told The Daily Star that a Lebanese Army battalion deployed in Bab al-Tabanneh around midday Tuesday and responded to the sources of fire.
But the battalion came under heavy machinegun and RPG fire, prompting it to pull out less than half an hour after deployment, the sources added.
A Lebanese Army communiqué said that five soldiers were wounded Monday evening when their positions and patrols came under fire.
Another five, including an officer, were injured Tuesday morning when a military outpost was targeted with a hand grenade, the Army said.
It added that Lebanese troops were in pursuit of the gunmen and had confiscated several machine guns, ammunition and hand grenades during house raids.
“We are living through a real battle,” Youssef al-Sheikh, a barber in Jabal Mohsen told The Daily Star by telephone.
“We are surrounded. No resident can leave Jabal Mohsen under the heavy clashes,” he said, pointing out that locals normally flee to Syria or the northern province of Akkar.
As with Sheikh's barbershop, other businesses in the heart of Jabal Mohsen remained open Tuesday, as battles were concentrated on the demarcation lines between the two neighborhoods.
Walid al-Ali, a 50-year-old who lives with his wife and disabled mother in Bab al-Tabbaneh said the streets and alleyways were full of gunmen.
“Two people were killed in front of me just now,” said Ali, his voice shaking as he spoke to The Daily Star by telephone.
“Many people have been fleeing to safer areas since early morning [Tuesday],” Ali ssaid, adding that while Bab al-Tabbaneh was not surrounded, he could not leave due his mother's health.
The security sources said that after a brief lull overnight, the fighting began again with sporadic gunfire at around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, intensifying a few hours later with exchanges of machinegun fire and RPGs between the rival neighborhoods, breaking a fragile cease-fire enforced by the Army.
The sources said two have been killed in the violence, including an 18-year-old man who was gunned down Tuesday. Also, 20-year-old Sarah Hussein was killed when she was trying to flee the violence and fell down an elevator shaft.

President Michel Sleiman: judiciary should crack down on kidnappers in Lebanon
August 21, 2012/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman asked judicial authorities Tuesday to issue warrants against kidnappers in Lebanon, condemning the retaliatory abduction of Turkish and Syrian nationals after a Lebanese was taken hostage in Syria. According to his press office, Sleiman phoned judiciary and security officials “stressing on the need for concerned judicial authorities to immediately work and issue warrants in the case of the kidnappings” and other security incidents that have taken place over the past few days. The president “condemned the kidnapping of Syrians and Turks by Lebanese sides for swapping purposes.” Sleiman is referring to the armed Meqdad clan who kidnapped over 20 Syrians as well as a Turkish national in retaliation to the abduction of one of their own family members in Damascus by Syrian rebels who claim he is a Hezbollah sniper.
Other Syrian nationals were also kidnapped by al-Mukthtar al-Thaqafi organization last week, demanding the release of the 11 Lebanese who were snatched in Syria two months ago.
Sleiman urged security officials to work on releasing those kidnapped in Lebanon.
He also said such retaliatory kidnappings would not contribute to the resolution of the case but only complicated the issue further and obstructed diplomatic efforts aimed at releasing them, as well as damaging Lebanon's reputation and image.
“Sleiman rejected the events seen by Lebanese in the last few days, saying they acted as a provocation, a challenge to the state and as harmful to Lebanon's relationship with its sisterly and friendly states,” his press office added. Many countries, including the United States, have called on their citizens to take extra precautionary measures during their travels to Lebanon while some Gulf countries have issued travel advisories. Last Friday, Kuwait evacuated most of its nationals from Lebanon.
Sleiman also asked the National Audiovisual Council to carry out its duty in controlling what he described as the “media chaos,” referring to conflicting media reports last week about the fate of the 11 Shiite pilgrims. Some reports indicated that four of the hostages had been killed in Syrian army airstrikes in Aleppo, where the 11 were being held, however French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius informed Speaker Nabih Berri Saturday that all 11 are alive and well.
He expressed regret that the kidnapped Lebanese were not able to spend the Eid al-Fitr Holiday with their relatives, urging leaders of friendly influential states to exert efforts for their release.

Lebanon, Turkey working to locate hostages after Azaz shelling
August 21, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said that Lebanon is working with Turkey to identify where the 11 kidnapped Lebanese are now being held after the Syrian army shelled the city they were held in. “We are working with the Turkish side to determine the new location for the kidnapped and looking into means to communicate with the captors,” Charbel told As-Safir. Charbel was in Ankara last week to follow up on the case of the 11 Shiite pilgrims who were kidnapped after crossing into Syria from Turkey on May 22 after visiting Iran on pilgrimage.
His visit came after Lebanon’s Cabinet formed an emergency ministerial committee to investigate the fate of the pilgrims.
Reports surfaced earlier this month that four of the pilgrims were killed in an air strike by the Syrian army in the Aleppo district of Azaz where they were being held by Syrian rebels.
However, French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius said Saturday that all 11 Lebanese were alive and well.
In his interview with the local daily, Charbel said he would return to Turkey later in the week, praising the work by Turkish officials in working to resolve this case.
“At the moment we are working to collect new information, after the captors' group was broken up due to the shelling of Azaz," he said. Charbel declined to specify a deadline for a resolution of the issue.
Also Monday, Turkey's ambassador to Lebanon, Inan Ozyildiz, met with Charbel. The two discussed details of the minister's latest visit to Turkey and his meetings with Turkish officials, including security representatives. For his part, Ozyildiz praised the Lebanese government's handling of the case, thanking Charbel his efforts for helping to resolve what he described as a humanitarian case, as it affects the Lebanese-Turkish relations, according to Charbel's press office.
The two agreed to coordinate and remain in contact to resolve the issue.

Tripoli clashes kill two, injure over 30
August 21, 2012 /Clashes in the northern city of Tripoli have so far killed two people and injured over 30 others, the National News Agency reported.
Lebanese citizens Sara Hussein and Ahmad Hassan Hammoud were killed by gunfire during clashes between the mainly Sunni district of Bab al-Tabbaneh and the largely Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen, the report added. The report added that 30 people were injured, including nine soldiers. Lebanese army troops were responding to sources of gunfire, the report also said, adding that a B7 shell landed near an army vehicle in Syria Street. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is fighting an increasingly bloody 17-month uprising against his regime, hails from the Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. The revolt in Syria has exacerbated tensions in Lebanon, which lived under three decades of Syrian hegemony and remains deeply divided between supporters and opponents of Damascus.
-NOW Lebanon

Will the masculinity of weapons defeat the femininity of peace in Syria?
Yara Nseir /Now Lebanon/, August 21, 2012
Edleb countryside – Anyone visiting the northwestern Syrian city of Saraqeb these days is bound to notice the graffiti that says “the Revolution is female.” Any observer is also bound to notice large groups of men – both armed and unarmed – wandering around. There are men going about their business or manning Free Syrian Army checkpoints, but no women at all.
The graffiti thus seems to be at odds with the general context, and prompts one to look for the role of women today in a revolution that was characterized right from the start by noticeable female participation. Khaled, a university student who left the town of Mareh and recently volunteered in the FSA’s ranks, said that “women are still present among us. Women are cooking for us and others are washing our clothes. All women support the Free Syrian Army.”
When I ask him about women’s role apart from supporting military action, he answers that this is war and that women have no place in it.
In the “liberated” territory, which is ruled by weapons, women’s role seems limited to supporting men, as women are all but absent from protests, which are already of rare occurrence. Coordination committees, media centers, army barracks, local police forces and cadres of the self-administration authority created by local residents are of a predominantly masculine character. I look for women in Saraqeb, Bansh, Atma and Telaada and the answer always comes as follows: Women belong in houses and the streets are for men, it is war.
Many media reports addressed the role of women in the popular movement and were frequently published from the start of the revolution until recently. These reports highlighted the essential role played by Syrian women in most regions, which included organizing protests and taking part in them, organizing communication and media action in general, as well as taking part in relief and humanitarian action. This role was clearly manifested in major cities, but it was also apparent – though not as obvious – in the countryside and the most marginalized of regions. Female Syrian activists operating inside the country and abroad left a female mark in supporting the revolt on both the peaceful and military levels. Newsrooms, revolutionary action on social media platforms, civil and political gatherings and media forums seemed filled with a female presence, and women succeeded in imposing themselves as men’s equals. Why is the image of liberated Syria so different from Syria under the revolution then?
War imposes its daily rhythm on the vast stretches of countryside. Shells and mortar rounds are still hitting the self-declared liberated regions, which are also crossed by strangers and military convoys heading from the south toward Aleppo. Everyone is always on the alert and weapons are people’s sole companions. This is concomitant with Islamic undertones, which may fall short – in most cases – of reaching the point of extremism. However, Islamic Sharia and eastern societal traditions stipulate that women belong at home, working to complement men’s activities. The growing mix of religion and weapons in Syria is increasingly pushing women into the background.
Upon coming to the countryside, one generally expects a different situation, as women there are more present because of their extensive participation in farming activities and since women are more organically blended into rural society. The situation today is wholly different and utterly male-dominated. Not only are women ruled out, but they are also subjected to extensive tutelage. Inas, 16, says: “Our participation in daily protests was originally undesirable. Therefore, we used to organize our own protests as women. We were active and efficient but our presence on the streets has lately become undesirable and we were told to remain home.” Inas and her family live in a village in the Edleb countryside. She is often criticized by neighbors and relatives for the fact that she is not yet veiled. When she came out on the balcony to welcome us, she put on a light scarf and said laughingly: “I am trying to dampen the anger around us, and I don’t know how long my father will be able to resist against his social milieu.”Inas has two older sisters, both of whom are veiled university students. The whole family has a remarkable musical talent led by the father, himself a musician. We spend the evening at their home while all four of them perform songs of their own writing. The amount of wonderful talent buried in this remote countryside is amazing. It seems naïve, therefore, to ask about whether they sang in protests. Indeed, the voice of women, which once resonated loudly in protests, is once again a liability. This is due to the prevailing excessive amount of violence and to authority derived from religion, which perceives women as mere means to wash and cook for its free army.
In the absence of “state” authority, the power of fathers and civil society once again reigns supreme against a backdrop of a reality that cannot be overlooked. Accordingly, will women in this new Syria be capable of confronting the masculine occupation? Only the future will tell.

Iranian islands of influence
Tony Badran/Now Lebanon/
President of Iraqi Kurdistan Masoud Barzani brokered an agreement between rival Syrian Kurdish parties to prevent infighting while the Kurds consolidate their gains in Syria. (AFP photo)
At a Pentagon news conference on Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that Iran is building and training a militia to buttress the Assad regime in Syria. As the Syrian war drags on and the prospects of the country fragmenting increase, it’s become clear that the Alawistan option—a consolidated Alawite enclave protected by an Iranian-sponsored sectarian militia—will be the main avenue for maintaining Tehran’s influence.
However, alongside this primary option, Iran will also be on the lookout for other openings to maintain its foothold elsewhere in the country. The unleashing of Syria’s centrifugal forces, and their problematic interactions with their surroundings, affords Iran the potential to exploit contradictions and cultivate another pocket of influence in the Kurdish areas.
It's now been widely reported that, as the Assad regime moved to concentrate its forces in the two largest cities of Damascus and Aleppo, it withdrew from several other areas, including the Kurdish regions. In late July, a number of Kurdish cities, from Efrin in the northwest to Qamishli in the northeast, were declared free of any regime security presence.
Stepping in to fill the vacuum has been the Kurdish National Council (KNC) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD). The KNC is a coalition of the main Kurdish parties, formed under the aegis of Masoud Barzani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan. The PYD, meanwhile, is the Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)—the militant group that once enjoyed the support of the Assad regime in its war against Turkey.
Relations between these two groups have been tense, and by June they had reached boiling levels. On July 11, Barzani managed to broker an agreement between these rival Syrian Kurdish parties. Among other things, the agreement established a joint Supreme Council to manage the Kurdish areas. But more generally, the agreement is meant to prevent—or at least postpone—infighting while the Kurds consolidate their gains as the Syrian regime retreats.
Over the last year, however, the Assad regime has deliberately allowed and facilitated the PYD’s drive to strengthen its position in the Kurdish areas over and against other parties, especially those more amenable to working with Turkey. This was an opportunistic convergence of interests. For Assad, entrenching a staunch enemy of Turkey in the border region was a useful tactic. The PKK and its Syrian affiliate are not invested in the Assad regime, but they took advantage of the opening to attempt to solidify their primacy on the Syrian Kurdish scene.
In this context, Barzani’s recent revelation that Syrian Kurdish fighters were being trained in Iraqi Kurdistan is, at one level, a flexing of muscles against the PKK and its Syrian branch. For Barzani, projecting power in Syrian Kurdistan is an important way to shore up his position as the preeminent figure in Kurdish politics around the region. Moreover, the Kurdish president has been pursuing a complex, strategic relationship with the Turks. He cannot allow for the PKK to threaten either objective.
On the one hand, brokering the agreement between the PYD—the PKK’s Syrian affiliate—and the KNC would suggest that Barzani attempted to position himself as a mediator between Turkey and the PKK. On the other hand, the Kurdish leader made clear where he stood with regard to his strategic partnership with Turkey. Following a meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister in Irbil at the beginning of the month, the two issued a joint statement stressing that “any attempt by any extremist group or organization to exploit the power vacuum [in Syria] will be considered a common threat and should be settled jointly”—a clear reference to the PKK.
Barzani, in other words, is trying to box in the PKK’s Syrian affiliate. However, his power play and his budding strategic relationship with Turkey are bound to create a desire for a counterbalancing influence. This is where Iran comes in.
Tehran already has some friends among Barzani’s rivals in Iraq. In addition, the conflict in Syria has also shown that Iran and the PKK can find room to work together. Iran’s capture and release of PKK chief Murat Karayılan last summer was seen by Turkey as an Iranian message that it could find common cause with the PKK against Ankara. As recently as last week, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister made comments implying that a recent surge in PKK terror attacks in Turkey’s southeast has the backing of Iran, and that the PKK was infiltrating Turkey from Iranian soil.
Rivalry between Kurdish groups and its interaction with regional power politics suggest that the current intra-Kurdish agreement will not hold down the road. Facing pressure from Barzani and his local allies, and the threat of Turkish military incursions, the PKK’s Syrian branch could turn to Iran for support.
What’s more, the Kurdish areas in Syria are not contiguous and it may very well end up that the PKK affiliate and the pro-Barzani parties control different areas, thereby creating a Kurdish subset of the broader Syrian civil war. This brings into focus the kind of fragmentation we might potentially see in Syria, which could in turn afford Iran additional islands of influence in northern Syria, aside from the Alawite region.
While Syria’s fragmentation is not, per se, a primary concern for the US, eliminating Tehran’s ability to project power in that country is. Syria is fracturing, and Iran will look for any opening, including exploiting the situation in the Kurdish region. Washington, meanwhile, currently has no policy to address this scenario.
*Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He tweets @AcrossTheBay.

The Daily Star/Lebanon's Arabic press digest - Aug. 21, 2012
August 21, 2012
The Daily Star
Lebanon's Arabic press digest.
Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Tuesday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
Al-Mustaqbal
Geagea urges Sleiman, Mikati to inform Syrian ambassador that he is not welcome
Bashar [Assad] sheltering from Lebanese judiciary by issuing hilarious warrants
Several developments in the past hours suggest that the Syrian regims and its allies seeks to exhaust Lebanon via chaos and lawlessness – be it through the continued kidnappings of Syrian nationals and Turkish citizens or by renewed clashes in Tripoli.
Pending follow-up in the Mamlouk-Samaha terror case, a significant yet hilarious step was taken by the bloody Syrian regime.
Al-Manar television quoted Damascus’ General Prosecutor as saying that Syrian judicial authorities are preparing to issue warrants for a number of Lebanese officials on charges of supplying armed groups with weapons and providing shelter for them.
This also came after President Michel Sleiman’s recent stance in which he urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to call him for clarifications regarding accusations against Syrian security officials in the Samaha case.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday described Sleiman’s position as “honorable.”
Geagea called on Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati to inform the Syrian ambassador that he is a “persona non grata in Lebanon.”
Al-Anwar
Girl killed, 8 wounded in Tripoli clashes ...overnight attempt to block Masnaa road
With the end of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, clashes renewed in Tripoli Monday evening, leaving one girl killed and eight people wounded.
This reflects the government’s impotence in resolving longstanding security and political issues.
Meanwhile, the interior minister is expected to brief a ministerial committee – formed by Cabinet to tackle the case of 11 Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria – on the outcome of his visit to Turkey.
Meanwhile, political sources said that the opposition would resume its campaign against the Mikati government, focusing on Cabinet’s failure to address the hostages’ and security issues and its slow action in regards to issuing warrants in former Information Minister Michel Samaha’s case.
In the Bekaa, several residents from the town of Majdal Anjar called through on citizens (through loudspeakers) to gather on the international highway that links Majdal Anjar with Masnaa to protest against the arrest by the Lebanese Army of a number of wanted men.
Reports spoke of arrests of several Lebanese and Syrian citizens who provide medical assistance to the Syrian opposition in the same area. The reports also talked about the confiscation of a warehouse full of intravenous injections.
Ad-Diyar
Charbel, Ibrahim to Turkey Friday
Turkish hostage's health bad
Interior Minister: [Lebanese hostages’] issue is security-related and delicate
No solution yet to the issue of kidnapped Lebanese in Syria. Sources close to Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told Ad-Diyar that the issue is security-related and things are dealt with confidentially and delicately.
The sources said Charbel plans another visit to Turkey Friday along with head of the General Security Abbas Ibrahim.
Charbel will meet Tuesday with the Turkish ambassador. Also Tuesday, the ministerial committee on the hostages will meet at the interior ministry.
Meanwhile, spokesman for the Meqdad clan said members of the Meqdad family have been subjected to blackmail via SMS text messages with the aim of kidnapping them after luring them to certain areas.
Sheikh Abbas Zogheib, spokesman for the families of the 11 Lebanese hostages, for his part, warned of imminent action against countries who have supported the kidnapping.

Murder of Copts Begins After Genocide Call
by Raymond Ibrahim • Aug 20, 2012/
Cross-posted from Jihad Watch
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/2012/08/murder-of-copts-begins-after-genocide-call
Hours after leaflets from Egypt's jihadi organizations were distributed promising to "reward" any Muslim who kills any Christian Copt in Egypt, specifically naming several regions including Asyut, a report recently appeared concerning the random killing of a Christian store-owner.
According to reporter Menna Magdi, writing in a report published August 14 and titled "The serial killing of Copts has begun in Asyut," unidentified men stormed a shoe-store, murdering the Christian owner, Refaat Eskander early in the morning. The son of the slain Copt said the murderers took advantage of the fact that his father was alone in the store at the time, adding that his father had no known quarrels with anyone. Only one witness saw one of the assassins as they fled the scene, who was dressed in Salafi attire.
Also, Coptic Solidarity reports that the "Christian Copts in Upper Egypt are under attack, hours after a call for their eradication appeared in the form of leaflets calling on Muslims to kill Copts, specifically naming regions of Upper Egypt." The report tells of how Christians are being beat, their businesses set on fire, and their properties plundered, even as their attackers declare that "any Christian who dares to leave his house will be killed." As usual, police appear only after all the damage has been done and the terrorists have fled with their booty.

Canada Concerned over Arrest of Young Pakistani Girl
August 20, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:
“I am deeply troubled by reports that a young girl with developmental disabilities has been arrested for alleged blasphemy in Pakistan and that her family faces threats of violence.
“Canada is concerned about the safety of the girl, her family and their community. We have learned that local religious leaders are working together with authorities to calm the situation. We urge Pakistan’s political and religious leaders to continue to cooperate to protect the family and community.
“Canada strongly condemns any act of religious persecution. We urge Pakistan’s government to ensure equal rights for all Pakistanis, including members of minority communities.”

U.S. Distorts Nigerian Jihad on Christians
by Raymond Ibrahim
Originally published by the Gatestone Institute
August 20, 2012
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/12156/us-distorts-nigerian-jihad-on-christians
While the Obama administration continues to say that the Islamic group Boko Haram's jihad against Nigeria's Christians—which has seen countless churches destroyed, and thousands of Christians killed— has nothing to do with religion, the group once again made clear that it is all about religion. According to a recent report:
In an online video released last week, the militant Muslim group Boko Haram demanded that Nigeria's Christian president either convert to Islam, or resign. [Boko] Haram head Abubakar Shekau told President Goodluck Jonathan to "repent and forsake Christianity," otherwise Shekau's followers would continue their violent campaign...
Boko Haram's leader, flanked by armed jihadis, calls on Nigeria's president to "repent and forsake Christianity."
Indeed, despite the fact that the Obama administration has agreed to spend $600 million in a USAID initiative launched to ascertain the "true causes" behind Boko Haram's murderous bloodlust, it was clear from the very beginning that the group and other Muslims were enraged that Nigeria was being led by a Christian, President Goodluck Jonathan, even though he won elections "by a landslide."
Writing back in April 2011, Nigerian analyst Peter Run said:
The current wave of riots was triggered by the Independent National Election Commission's (INEC) announcement on Monday [April 18, 2011] that the incumbent President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, won in the initial round of ballot counts. That there were riots in the largely Muslim inhabited northern states where the defeat of the Muslim candidate Muhammadu Buhari was [deemed] intolerable was unsurprising…. Now they are angry despite experts and observers concurring that this is the fairest and most independent election in recent Nigerian history.
Once again, then, reality is easily ascertained—at root, Boko Haram's terror campaign is entirely motivated by religion—even as the Obama administration refuses to designate the group as a terrorist organization, spends millions of U.S. tax dollars on superfluous initiatives (or diversions), and pressures the Nigerian president to make concessions, including building more mosques, the very structures where Muslims are radicalized and recruited to Boko Haram's jihad.

Fresh kidnappings of Syrians in Lebanon
August 20, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Two Syrian nationals have been kidnapped and two more are missing and believed to be kidnapped, with the incidents having taken place in various parts of Lebanon.
Security sources said Rahaf Hasan Mashhadani informed police in Baalbek that masked men snatched her husband, Mohammad Mashhadani, after midnight as he stood outside their home in Bidnayel, east Lebanon. Rafah said four men were involved in the kidnapping of her 30-year-old husband, who hails from the city of Idlib, northwest Syria. Security forces have launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the kidnapping. In a similar incident, Syrian national Aisha Abdel-Razzaq informed police that unknown individuals in a four-wheel drive kidnapped her husband, Ibrahim Ahmad al-Yehya, 27, from the Beirut southern suburb of Mraijeh Sunday afternoon. She said the kidnappers took Ibrahim to an unknown destination after threatening his life.
Police also received a report that two Syrian men – Jumaa al-Hajij and Mohammad Masoud – went missing in Hay al-Seryan, in the Ashrafieh district of Beirut, Sunday. Security sources told The Daily Star Monday the two are feared to have been kidnapped by unidentified men in a four-wheel drive. The fresh abductions could not immediately be linked to the Meqdad clan, which recently announced it had suspended its revenge kidnappings to give diplomacy a chance. The Meqdads claim that they are holding more than 20 Syrian nationals in addition to a Turkish citizen in an effort to swap them for kinsman Hassan Meqdad. The Free Syrian Army kidnapped Hassan in Damascus last week. Several abductions of Syrians and others have taken place in Lebanon recently, fueling fears that the conflict in Syria is spilling over into Lebanon.

Sami Gemayel: Halt abductions so as to avert civil war
August 20, 2012/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Kataeb MP Sami Gemayel warned Monday that Lebanon could slide into civil war should the government fail to confront the recent spate of kidnappings. “I hope that what we are seeing today is not a prelude to a new war in Lebanon,” Gemayel told France 24 television channel. “If the government fails to carry out its constitutional obligations – protecting the Lebanese, ensuring stability, putting an end to violations of the law and preventing the attendant use of arms, a new Lebanon war is inevitable,” Gemayel said. The state-run National News Agency published his interview Monday.
Gemayel’s remarks were in reference to last week’s wave of kidnappings of Syrian nationals in Lebanon by the Shiite Meqdad clan in an effort to swap them for its relative, Hassan Meqdad, who was recently kidnapped in Damascus. The Free Syrian Army kidnapped Meqdad, accusing him of being a Hezbollah member.
“There is no such thing as the ‘military wing of the Meqdad family’ and it could not exist because in the southern suburbs no one can move about with such an amount of arms and commit [kidnappings] without the support of Hezbollah or the Amal Movement,” Gemayel said.“Do the Amal Movement and Hezbollah agree to this performance?” he asked.
Maher Meqdad, spokesperson of the Meqdad clan, has referred to the large family's armed elements as the clan's "military wing." Several heavily armed and masked men have appeared in video footage of the Meqdads and their hostages, as well as press conferences held by the clan.Separately, Gemayel slammed the Taif Accord, which ended the 1975-90 Lebanese Civil War.
“The importance of the Taif agreement is that it silenced the guns and stopped the war in Lebanon, but for us it is not an agreement that can ensure stability in Lebanon,” he said.
“So long as there are weapons outside state control and so long as those weapons are used as a means of political pressure, it is not possible for us to have real democracy; this is reflected today in the internal Lebanese arena by armed and masked men holding press conferences,” Gemayel complained.
He accused the Lebanese government of negotiating with the gunmen “instead of trying to enforce the law.”
“The country has become hostage to a political group in Lebanon called Hezbollah."
He also criticized the government for not providing the Lebanese Army with political cover.
“As long as the government, which Hezbollah is part of, does not give the Lebanese Army the green light to strike with an iron fist to enforce law and order over all Lebanese territory, the military’s role will remain completely compromised.”

Two Hamas spies arrested among PA chairman’s personal guards
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report August 20, 2012/Two agents of Hamas’ Ezz e-Din Qassam military arm were able to penetrate the handpicked security force guarding Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and spy on him for some years, debkafile’s exclusive intelligence sources report. They were finally uncovered and arrested Sunday, Aug. 19. The realization that they had been passing Abbas’s closest secrets to their Hamas controllers for a long period of time deeply shocked American and Israeli as well as Palestinian security services. The two detained men, planted under cover among the Palestinian leader’s 170-strong personal guard, are under intense interrogation with certain Western and Arab agencies attending. Abbas has ordered a total blackout on the affair.
American and Israeli security experts now fear that all six Palestinian national security force battalions, numbering 4,000 members, may be riddled with Hamas undercover agents and an unknown number of sleeper cells awaiting orders to spring into action.
A high-ranking Western official told debkafile’s sources Monday on condition of anonymity that all of Abbas’ most confidential political, intelligence and financial moves and private communications with Arab, Israeli and Western personalities must be accounted an open book to Hamas.
The radical Hamas which rules the Gaza Strip is a bitter rival of Abbas’s Fatah-led administration in Ramallah.
So far, Hamas has kept the information gathered by its spies to itself, dropping no more than crumbs to fellow Arab contacts, some of them Egyptian.
debkafile’s counter-terror sources find the affair extremely troubling.
Western agencies, especially American and British personnel, took responsibility for selecting and screening the candidates hired for service with Palestinian national security battalions. They were chosen for their trustworthiness as the Palestinian Authority’s protectors against the hostile penetration of violent entities, especially those linked to Iran, Syria, Hizballah and Islamist radical groups. The interviewees most scrupulously examined were applicants for Mahmoud Abbas’s personal guard. It is now clear that the two Hamas spies were able to hoodwink all the agencies involved in selecting them. The entire Palestinian force is now suspect.

Muqtada al-Sadr denies interfering in Syria
By Ma'ad Fayad/London, Asharq Al-Awsat - An official in the Sadr movement’s foreign relations office has stressed to Asharq Al-Awsat that its leader, “Muqtada al-Sadr’s approach – and that of his group – is clearly not to interfere in the internal affairs of any state”, adding that “we believe it is the right of the people to decide what they want”.
Speaking to Asharq al-Awsat in London yesterday, Haidar al-Yasiri, public relations officer for the Sadrist foreign relations office, said that: “the Sadrist movement does not support regimes, rather it supports the Arab people”, pointing out that “the trend stood by the people in the Arab Spring uprisings and will not stand with any president or any regime, and therefore it is only the people that determine the trend’s interests”.
These statements come against the backdrop of news leaks reported through Arab media outlets and websites, quoting “sources close” to al-Sadr revealing that Iranian fighters are crossing into Syria via Iraq. Al-Yasiri denied such news, stating: “it is worthwhile here to point out that no one operates under the name of “sources close” to Muqtada al-Sadr, instead there is a spokesman for the cleric, namely Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi”. He noted that “when the trend speaks it uses explicit and declared names and no source can speak in the name of the trend or its leaders without declaring their name, unless they are members of the trend’s liberal bloc in parliament, or operating through Al-Sadr Online”.
The public relations officer went on to say that “the Sadr movement has nothing to hide and the Iraqi, Arab and global public are well aware of Muqtada al-Sadr’s honesty in putting forth the facts without equivocation, and the same goes for members of the trend. Usually, al-Sadr puts forth his views in direct response to questions or media statements. We do not know where these “close sources” came from and if we did, the trend would challenge them through its leader and declare a stance against them”. Al-Yasiri stressed that “the trend stands against interfering in the internal affairs of Arab countries, so how could we know that thousands of Iranian fighters have crossed Iraq into Syria and that some of them have received training in Iraq, according to the news reported in the press?”
Al-Yasiri explained that al-Sadr “does not hide any facts from the people. He recently published his recount of the meetings in Erbil in which he participated. He wrote under the title ‘the noble goal of visiting Erbil’, and revealed secrets that no one else would have known about if he had chosen to keep them secret”.
Al-Yasiri stressed that “the Arab region is undergoing transformations that could have adverse effects on the people of the region if they are not dealt with in a positive spirit, away from inciting sectarianism, which the Sadrist movement stands against and confronts whenever it comes close to plaguing the Iraqis. It is well known that the trend and its leader do not get dragged into sectarian conflicts, which only the innocent victims pay for”. Al-Yasiri went on to say: “we in the Sadr movement’s foreign relations office are moving constantly and working hard to converge views between the Arab states and the countries of the region, irrespective of any sectarian orientations. We are all Muslims and hence we share the blood of our brothers, and that link to our brothers in the Gulf, Jordan, Syria or any other Arab country remains the most profound and entrenched”. He called for “greater accuracy and credibility in the news, so as not to deceive the public with rumors that only have negative effects”.

Lebanon: Another Syrian governorate!
By Emad El Din Adeeb/Asharq Alawsat
It is important not to overlook what is happening Lebanon today, where the situation is escalating and intensifying in a manner that goes beyond the usual “war of words”.
During recent days a selection of events and facts have come to light, all seeking to bring about a state of chaos and deliberate confusion in the country, and they can be summed up as follows:
1. The increase in kidnappings and exchanged abductions, most recently carried out by members of the Mekdad family.
2. A branch of Lebanon’s security services obtaining facts and evidence of a major plot aiming to trigger a series of bombings to create sectarian strife in Lebanon. This later became known as the case of former minister Michel Samaha, who is said to have confessed to receiving instructions from Syrian security leaders to carry out these operations.
3. The rising rate of threatening remarks exchanged amongst political forces, the latest of which being Hassan Nasrallah’s statements about the political intensification taking place in the country, stressing that Hezbollah believes the situation in Lebanon is out of control, and that everyone should assume their responsibilities.
4. The failure of the national dialogue sessions - which were held recently in the President’s summer residence on Mount Lebanon, with three political forces unable to attend citing travel impracticalities - to alleviate the internal tension currently sweeping through the country.
5. The increasing movement of displaced Syrian families across the border into Lebanon.
All this prompted the US Embassy in Beirut to warn its citizens of security risks and potential kidnappings, and also prompted France to move quickly through its Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who visited Lebanon and Turkey and confirmed his country’s strong fears regarding the alarming transmission of violence from Syria to Lebanon, which has been ongoing for some time.
The veteran French diplomat has touched the very nerve that threatens Lebanon, namely the transition – or perhaps expansion – of the tensioned scene from Syria to Lebanon, whereby the two opposing sides; the Syrian regime versus the Free Syrian Army, could incorporate other powers such as Hezbollah against the Sunni forces in the north of Lebanon.
This catastrophic scenario would be based on the premise that the fire is already burning so why not extend the flames to everyone?!
The real problem is that the regime in Syria no longer has red lines restricting its movements; it no longer has regional or international political considerations to take into account when it makes decisions. In short, there are no moral scruples preventing the regime from using fighter planes against its own people, and no political deterrents preventing it from expanding the scene of conflict to incorporate other countries.
In short again, nothing matters now for this bloodthirsty regime except buying another day in the sun, whatever the cost and regardless of the expansion of the tragedy!

U.S. Distorts Nigerian Jihad on Christians
by Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute
August 20, 2012
http://www.meforum.org/3307/nigerian-jihad-christians
While the Obama administration continues to say that the Islamic group Boko Haram's jihad against Nigeria's Christians—which has seen countless churches destroyed, and thousands of Christians killed— has nothing to do with religion, the group once again made clear that it is all about religion. According to a recent report:
In an online video released last week, the militant Muslim group Boko Haram demanded that Nigeria's Christian president either convert to Islam, or resign. [Boko] Haram head Abubakar Shekau told President Goodluck Jonathan to "repent and forsake Christianity," otherwise Shekau's followers would continue their violent campaign...
Indeed, despite the fact that the Obama administration has agreed to spend $600 million in a USAID initiative launched to ascertain the "true causes" behind Boko Haram's murderous bloodlust, it was clear from the very beginning that the group and other Muslims were enraged that Nigeria was being led by a Christian, President Goodluck Jonathan, even though he won elections "by a landslide."
Writing back in April 2011, Nigerian analyst Peter Run said:
The current wave of riots was triggered by the Independent National Election Commission's (INEC) announcement on Monday [April 18, 2011] that the incumbent President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, won in the initial round of ballot counts. That there were riots in the largely Muslim inhabited northern states where the defeat of the Muslim candidate Muhammadu Buhari was [deemed] intolerable was unsurprising…. Now they are angry despite experts and observers concurring that this is the fairest and most independent election in recent Nigerian history.
Once again, then, reality is easily ascertained—at root, Boko Haram's terror campaign is entirely motivated by religion—even as the Obama administration refuses to designate the group as a terrorist organization, spends millions of U.S. tax dollars on superfluous initiatives (or diversions), and pressures the Nigerian president to make concessions, including building more mosques, the very structures where Muslims are radicalized and recruited to Boko Haram's jihad.
*Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.