Suu Kyi Must Lead Real Peace Process By Syed Munir Khasru: New Age Islam's Selection, 16 September 2017
New Age Islam Edit Bureau
16 September 2017
• Suu Kyi Must Lead Real Peace Process
By Syed Munir Khasru
• Myanmar Should Stop the Ethnic Cleansing Of Rohingya
By Marghoob Saleem Butt
• Is Al-Qaeda Looking To Come Back With Hamza Bin Laden At Helm?
By Huda Al-Husseini
• Parsons Green Stirred, But Stoical As Terror Strikes London Yet Again
By Rupert Wright
• Why Iran’s Plan In Syria Will Fail
By Amir Taheri
• Lies, Politics And Iran-Qatar Axis
By Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi
• Abdel Malek Threatens Us with ‘Fresh’ Missiles
By Mashari Althaydi
• Intelligence Cell In Saudi Arabia
By Salman Al-Dosary
Compiled By New Age Islam Edit Bureau
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Suu Kyi Must Lead Real Peace Process
By Syed Munir Khasru
September 15, 2017
What Myanmar needs today is a genuine peace process that recognises the ethnic and religious components of the Rohingya crisis
Myanmar is in crisis. The Rohingya - a Muslim ethnic minority group in a predominantly Buddhist country - are under attack by the military, with many fleeing for their lives. This escalating conflict is threatening to undermine Myanmar's ongoing democratic transition - and to tarnish irrevocably the reputation of the country's de facto leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
For decades, Myanmar's government has refused to recognize the Rohingya - who comprise around 2% of the country's population of over 50 million - as a legitimate ethnic minority, denying them citizenship and even the most basic rights as inhabitants. But it was just last month that systematic discrimination escalated into ethnic cleansing, with security forces responding to attacks on police posts and an army camp by Rohingya militants by launching an assault on all Rohingya people.
So far, Myanmar has confirmed 400 deaths, though United Nations officials put the toll closer to 1,000. Moreover, upwards of 300,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh. Several thousand more Rohingya are waiting at the border, awaiting permission to enter the country.
For a Bangladesh already reeling from seasonal flooding, managing the inflow of refugees has proved a momentous challenge. Makeshift camps are overcrowded, lacking in basic resources, and vulnerable to natural disasters; already, a cyclone has destroyed some camps. Other surrounding countries, including India, Thailand, and Malaysia, are also feeling the effects of the Rohingya's plight.
Far from moving to stop this humanitarian crisis, Suu Kyi's government has exacerbated it. This represents a tragic departure for Suu Kyi, who previously won international acclaim - and a Nobel Peace Prize - for her role in the fight for democracy in Myanmar. The rise to power of her National League for Democracy in 2015 marked the end of 50 years of military rule in the country formerly known as Burma, and seemed to herald a new era, in which the human rights of all inhabitants would be respected and protected.
Amid the violence against the Rohingya, faith in Myanmar's transition from military dictatorship to democracy is rapidly deteriorating. The military, which holds 25% of the seats in parliament, has already blocked Suu Kyi from becoming president, and, along with Myanmar's nationalists, it continues to constrain her authority. Now, the military is actively persecuting and even murdering members of one of the country's largest ethnic and religious minority groups, in what the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, has rightly called "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing" - all for political reasons.
Buddhist nationalism has lately been gaining traction among many Burmese, fueling hatred and violence toward the Muslim Rohingya. Suu Kyi did appoint a commission, led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to figure out how to address the divisions between the Rohingya and Buddhists in Rakhine State, where most Rohingya live. But her goal appeared to be simply to buy time, though she probably also hoped that Annan would find a way to resolve her dilemma.
Of course, that was impossible. Instead, the commission called for the immediate establishment by Suu Kyi's government of a clear, transparent, and efficient strategy and timeline for the citizenship verification process.
What Myanmar needs today is a genuine peace process that recognises the ethnic and religious components of the Rohingya crisis. Suu Kyi, who was praised by the Nobel Committee in 1991 as "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless," should be the person to lead such a process. Yes, her power is severely limited, as she has no authority whatsoever over the military. Yet her moral authority, which once proved powerful enough to bend the military to her will, is not entirely depleted.
To wield that authority effectively, Suu Kyi must be willing to take a political risk. To be sure, as delicate as the political order is in Myanmar, there is no gridlock that obviates an agenda for progress in achieving peace. But a peace process will require Suu Kyi to stand up to Myanmar's generals, as she has done in the past, reminding them of the enormous benefits they have reaped from the political transition and convincing them that it is not in their interest to jeopardize the democratization process.
Suu Kyi said in her Nobel Peace Prize lecture in 2012, "to be forgotten, is to die a little." She must not allow the Rohingya to be driven out and forgotten. Her task is to give power to the powerless and bring peace to Myanmar. - Syed Munir Khasru, Chairman of the Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance (IPAG), an international think tank, led the team that prepared the "Policy Brief on Global Migration Governance" for the 2017 G20 Summit in Germany.
Source: khaleejtimes.com/editorials-columns/suu-kyi-must-lead-real-peace-process
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Myanmar Should Stop the Ethnic Cleansing Of Rohingya
By Marghoob Saleem Butt
15 September 2017
Amid a genocidal campaign against Rohingya Muslims, officials in Myanmar have the gall to claim that the Rohingya are burning their own villages, attacking security forces and committing extremist acts. These claims are vehemently denied by the Rohingya and squarely contested by the international community, with evidence of systematic persecution by Myanmar’s security forces and vigilante groups.
The UN says more than 300,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, amid reports of Myanmar laying mines along the border between the two countries, seriously hampering their ability to return to their homeland. Myanmar refuses to accept them, and has taken numerous steps since 1962 to deprive Rohingya of their civil and political rights, including citizenship rights.
Malala Yousafzai, Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama have joined the growing uproar against this systematic persecution. They have called on Aung San Suu Kyi, fellow Nobel laureate and Myanmar’s state counsellor, to take decisive action to curb the unrelenting violence and peacefully resolve the crisis. Let us hope such calls will find receptive ears.
Myanmar’s government is using indiscriminate military force. Recent operations, including attacks on Rohingya villages and ill treatment of civilians — including torture, rape and extrajudicial killings — are a matter of grave concern for the international community, in particular Muslims worldwide.
Far less threatening problems have been discussed at the UN Security Council, so what is stopping it from addressing what the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) terms a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”? May good sense prevail soon. The Security Council should shoulder its primary responsibility of maintaining global peace and security.
What is particularly worrying is that some countries are shielding Myanmar in UN forums. India has gone to the extent of supporting the violent crackdown and deporting Rohingya refugees. This has been widely criticized by Indian and international human rights organizations. Based on its international obligations, “India cannot carry out collective expulsions, or return people to a place where they risk torture or other serious violations,” said the UNHCR.
Despite this, there has been worldwide condemnation of Myanmar. Religious, political and civil society leaders have called for immediate international action to alleviate the suffering of Rohingya refugees, and have stressed the need to pressure Myanmar to uphold its obligation to ensure the rights and security of all its people, including the Rohingya.
Member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have also taken a firm stand. During their recent summit in Astana, OIC leaders urged Myanmar to honor its obligations under international law and human rights covenants; to stop discrimination against and displacement of Rohingya; and to facilitate their return.
They also urged Myanmar to allow the OIC to open an office in Yangon to provide humanitarian aid to all victims of violence. This could open channels of communication that could help resolve the crisis peacefully.
The OIC joined UN calls for Myanmar to implement the recommendations of the International Advisory Commission on Rakhine State regarding citizenship, freedom of movement, humanitarian and media access, education, health care, development and reconciliation, among other things.
Myanmar must understand that resolving this crisis is in its own best interest. Violence begets violence. Only a comprehensive dialogue and reconciliation process based on universal human rights values, infrastructure development and community engagement will bring lasting peace, which we all want to see in a country headed by a Nobel laureate.
Source: arabnews.com/node/1161771/columns
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Is Al-Qaeda Looking To Come Back With Hamza Bin Laden At Helm?
By Huda al-Husseini
15 September 2017
With the collapse of ISIS militia, its alleged state on the 16th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Hamza bin Laden emerges as the qualified person to reunite the extremist movements. He was one of the favorite sons for Osama bin Laden, the founder of al Qaeda, and the most supportive for the terrorist acts among his brothers.
According to a report published by the Counter Terrorism Center, Hamza is in his late 20s.. He was seven when Omar al-Bashir's regime in Sudan was subjected to Arab and international pressure and al-Qaeda was expelled from its territory, so Osama and his followers went to Afghanistan, where they were welcomed and provided with a safe shelter.
Soon it was apparent that Hamza was his father’s favorite son. He appeared in publicity videos alongside with his father, and hwas trained with al-Qaeda fighters and gave strong speeches. But his time with his father was nearing an end. After the September 11 attacks, and after the killing of the Afghani leader Ahmed Shah Masood, Bin Laden ordered his wives and youngest sons to leave Kandahar, since this headquarter had previously been attacked, and it would be attacked again after this operation. He asked them to go to Jalalabad, 350 kilometers north-east of Afghanistan.
Bidding Goodbye
In November 2001, on a hill south of Jalalabad, bin Laden bid goodbye to three of his young children, gave each of them a rosary and ordered them to preserve their faith. Then he went to the Tora Bora caves.
Hamza was one of the three children, and disappeared till he reappeared two years ago as the most likely to reunite the cracked movement, to lead al-Qaeda to a future which “will be more violent than the past,” according to the report.
As he headed for Tora Bora, Bin Laden ordered his family to travel eastward inside Pakistan's borders, as al-Qaeda were safe there. Activists such as Khalid al-Sheikh Mohammed (now held at Guantanamo), have lived long and freely in Karachi, and where Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was kidnapped and slaughtered.
But the September 11 attacks changed everthing. General Pervez Musharraf, the prime minister then, became an enthusiastic supporter of US efforts against al-Qaeda and Taliban.
Having a narrow range of risky choices, al-Qaeda, including the Bin Laden family, decided to leave Pakistan and seek refuge in Iran. Saif al-Adl, the former Egyptian soldier and the central figure in al-Qaeda was there, and out of fear that the organization would slip out of their fingers, the Iranian authorities began to set up a trap to force all the organization’s activists and their families to get inside Iran.
According to the Counter Terrorism Center report, Hamza and his mother have been held in a series of military facilities in the Tehran for years. In captivity, Hamza married the daughter of one of his teachers, the former military commander of al-Qaeda, Abu Muhammad al-Masri, and his wife gave birth to a son, and was named Osama, and a daughter, named Kaiyria.
But Hamza was still looking forward to follow his father’s path. In 2010, in return for the release of an Iranian diplomat from Pakistani tribes, Hamza, his family, his mother and his two brothers, Osman and Mohammad, were released and they left Iran and headed for Waziristan, where al-Qaeda groups live protected by armed Pakistani groups.
When the father knew that Hamza was released, he tried to send him to Qatar, on the grounds that it would be difficult for the US to request from Qatar to hand him over, as a 14year-old boy, but Mahmoud or Atiya Abdel Rahman, Bin Laden’s chief of staff, opposed the idea on the grounds that Qatar is a US ally and might hand over Hamza to the Americans.
Journey to Abbottabad
Osama was in Abbottabad (the place where he was killed). He ordered his sons Osman, Muhammad and Khaled to go to Peshawar and ordered Hamza to come to Abbottabad.
Mahmoud, the chief of staff, set the plan. In April 2011, Hamza and his family travelled south through Baluchistan. He has to endure a circular journey because it was safer than going to Abbottabad directly through the Khyber Pass.
In Baluchistan, Hamza had to meet Azmari, the Al-Qaeda confidante who would arrange the journey through Karachi, then by air or train to Peshawar, where Hamza would meet one of al-Qaeda men who will secure his arrival to Abbottabad. The plan was under way, but could not be executed as within weeks Osama bin Laden was killed.
On The Global Terror List
Hamza disappeared until August 2015, when Ayman al-Zawahri, (who was supposed to be the leader of the militia), sent a letter presenting ‘A Lion’ from the lion’s den - hinting about the name ‘Osama’ which means ‘Lion’.
Hamza then called on militants to take the battle from Kabul, Baghdad and Gaza to Washington, London, Paris and Tel Aviv.
Then other messages appeared in May, July and August 2016. Earlier, in January 2016, the US State Department had added Hamza on the list of global terrorists, to which he responded through two other letters in May 2016.
The report says, surprisingly Hamza asked his followers not to travel to the fields of war within the Islamic world but rather, wherever they are they should attack targets in the West and Russia: “I know that the imposing punishment on the Jews and the Crusaders has the most harmful and fierce impact on the enemies”.
In his May 2012 letter, he said: “Jerusalem is the bride and our blood is her dowry”. But this should not be taken as evidence that al-Qaeda was about to attack Israel. It should be noted that Osama bin Laden was skeptical about this issue, and admitted to his assistants that al-Qaeda’s rhetoric about Palestine was “nothing more than a fuss aimed at encouraging public support in the Arab world.”
Now, as ISIS continues to collapse, many of its followers will be looking for new paths to continue fighting. It should be noted that Hamza, in all his recent messages, as opposed to the other al-Qaeda leaders, did not criticize ISIS at all, and ISIS on its part has not criticized him as well.
There are many supporters of ISIS condemning the “al-Qaeda of al-Zawahiri,” but are impressed with Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda founder, which, according to the report, is the best proof that Hamza could be reuniting figure.
What helps Hamza is that al-Zawahri does not have charisma and is not liked by many militants, and ISIS is on top of them.
Call For More Attacks
While al-Zawahri’s messages were mostly limited to verbal threats to the United States, if Hamza took over, the verbal threats might change, if we admitted that his messages were calling for more attacks inside the US territory.
Would Hamza’s future be the same as the report described and expected for him?
Would other militant followers pledge for him?
Would the country he resides in allow him to go beyond addressing messages?
Would the countries fighting terrorism, accept Hamza’s movement?
Would history repeats itself, and the son will repeat what the father did and thus meet the same end?
The report considers that Hamza is emerging, which should make the decision- makers in the West a well as in the Islamic world worried.
Source: english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2017/09/15/Is-al-Qaeda-looking-to-come-back-with-Hamza-bin-Laden-at-the-helm.html
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Parsons Green Stirred, But Stoical As Terror Strikes London Yet Again
By Rupert Wright
16 September 2017
It was during the peak of the school run on Friday that a plastic Lidl bag caught fire in a Tube train packed with commuters at Parsons Green in Fulham.
It is a largely residential part of west London, where people tend to live by default rather than by choice. Many of the inhabitants would rather be in Chelsea or Kensington, but the houses here, as well as being smaller, are also cheaper.
It is a place where people go when they first marry to settle down and have babies, or drive through on the way out of London toward the countryside. Nothing much happens in Fulham; even the football fans are well behaved as their team makes its way serenely down the divisions.
But all of a sudden in rush hour yesterday, the young mothers pushing their prams were all pointing upward, copied by their young charges crying “helicopter, helicopter.”
Then the scared and scarred commuters started coming out of the London Underground station, some of them screaming. They congregated on Parsons Green, best known as the site of a pub called The White Horse.
Ambulances came screeching down the roads, and a small part of the capital ground to a standstill. Homes within the immediate vicinity were evacuated. Armed police emerged from a large vehicle that looked rather like a caravan. A crowd gathered behind the police cordon, then wandered off when it seemed like nothing else was happening.
Less than half a mile, or another Tube stop away, the locals in the Shot Espresso cafe in Jerdan Place were continuing as if nothing major had happened, except a little local drama to spice up their day. The helicopters were still visible, but less audible.
“Bring me my regular comfort in times of crisis,” said a regular customer to the barista. “A large flat white coffee please, Mike.”
Outside people sat in the sunshine, until the sun was covered by a large black cloud. Then the rumour went around that a man had rushed into a school with a knife; the Fulham Road was closed to traffic, except for police cars and more ambulances.
When a tourist walking by dropped a suitcase, it made a noise like a gun going off; a few people jumped in their seats, but otherwise the mood was calm.
Back at Parsons Green there were residents offering cups of tea to the startled commuters, many of whom had decided to take this particular Friday off.
There were also the parents of children at Kensington Preparatory School, who had been told to gather there to collect their youngsters.
There was a little anger, some resentment, but mainly resignation. By 6 p.m., there was nobody there except lots of police and a number of film crews.
There was a slight scuffle between rival TV channels, who each thought the other had a better view, but otherwise all was calm. Overhead the helicopters had left, to be replaced by planes queuing up to land at Heathrow airport.
There is no other way to get around the UK capital on a crowded Friday, so before long everybody was using the Tube again, hurrying underground and looking a little more intently at anybody with a backpack, and especially anyone with a Lidl bag.
The irony is that Lidl is a cut-price supermarket, a long way from the aspirational Fulham dwellers, who would rather be seen in Waitrose or Marks & Spencer.
A small indignity, perhaps, but one the residents and commuters on the District Line will bear with the same stoicism that accompanies any terrorist incident in London.
Source: arabnews.com/node/1162011/columns
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Why Iran’s Plan in Syria Will Fail
By Amir Taheri
15 September 2017
For the past week or so, Iranian official media and social networks have been abuzz with anecdotes woven around a football match in Tehran between Iran and Syria, and the light it might shed on a complicated relationship.
According to most accounts, a group of Syrians flown in by special charter to cheer their national squad in its bid for a place in the World Cup in Moscow staged an anti-Iran demonstration in the stadium. The Syrian contingent included young ladies who refused to wear the Iranian-style hijab.
Their presence in the stadium highlighted the fact that no Iranian woman is allowed to attend a football match after a religious edict by the country’s supreme leader that women watching young men running around with bare legs might cause “undue excitement.”
The Syrian fans seized the opportunity to unleash a torrent of venom against Iran and its people. If videos posted online are a clue, the Syrians used words and expressions that are not fit to print. That provoked an equally abusive torrent from Iranians on social media, and a debate over their country’s role in the Syrian tragedy. “What are we doing there?” was a question repeatedly posed.
The initial answer provided by the authorities was that Iran is fighting in Syria to prevent the fall of the Assad regime, which had been an ally during the war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the 1980s, and is now a member of the Iran-led “axis of resistance.” That answer failed to convince many people, even within the Iranian regime’s base.
Then another reason was cited: Iran is fighting in Syria to prevent the destruction of Shiite holy shrines. Official media published lists of such shrines, sometimes with photos. That too was challenged, as more than 90 percent of Syrian “Shiite holy sites” turned out to be burial places of Sunni Muslim theologians and scholars.
The latest and current justification cited by Tehran for its role in Syria, which means helping Assad kill more Syrians, is that Iran needs secure land access to the Lebanese border where, thanks to Hezbollah, it sets the agenda. The Syrian part of that dream corridor, which must pass through a long sliver of Iraqi territory, skirts the fertile plains to the south of Damascus.
Hence the idea of a deal with Turkey with Russia’s blessing. Under the deal, Iran will station troops in a “de-escalation zone” south of Damascus, while Turkey will seize control of a chunk of Syrian territory in Idlib province. The putative deal is supposed to receive an official facade during talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, under UN auspices.
If put into practice, Moscow’s “de-escalation” project will freeze the division of Syria into five segments, with Russia, Turkey and Iran dominating three, and the US and its Kurdish and Arab allies present in the other two. The scheme may end, or at least tone down, the fighting for a while, but it risks leading to the destruction of Syria as a unified nation-state. It is doomed to fail.
From what I know of Syria, which I have observed and visited since 1970, despite almost seven years of tragedy, the sense of “Syrian-ness” is still strong enough to frustrate putative imperial appetites. In that context, Iran has even less chance of succeeding than Turkey or Russia. In Idlib, Turkey has the advantage of territorial contiguity with Syria, a fact that facilitates logistics and permits significant military intervention to pursue political ambitions.
Also, Ankara has close ties with some elements in Iraqi Kurdistan, and could use them to influence at least a segment of Syrian Kurds to accept the “de-escalation zone” as the least bad option. The presence of small groups of Turkmen and Turko-Circassian minorities in the area is an additional boon for Ankara.
Russia is also in a better position than Iran to secure a piece of the Syrian cake. Thanks to its monopoly of firepower in Syrian airspace, Russia’s air force can be used in support of any design on the ground. Much of Moscow’s piece of the cake is by the Mediterranean, easily supplied and defended by its navy. And a majority of the local population, having adopted an ambiguous posture toward the Assad regime, might prefer Russian domination to Iranian.
Iran has none of those advantages. Syria is not Lebanon, where Shiites — a third of the population — have always looked to Iran as a protector. At various times, notably in the heydays of pan-Arabism under the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Iran under the shah was seen even by Lebanese Christians as a counterbalancing force.
Iran’s presence and influence in Lebanon date back to the early stages of the Safavid dynasty more than 500 years ago, with close family ties, especially among the clergy and traditional business families.
Tehran’s attempts to cast Syrian Alawites as almost Shiites, and thus deserving protection, have failed. Not a single ayatollah has agreed to cancel the countless historical religious edicts that castigate Alawites as “heretics” or crypto-Zoroastrians. This means that unlike Lebanon, where at least part of the Shiite community is sympathetic to Iran under any regime, in Syria today Tehran lacks a local popular base.
Iranian Gen. Hussein Hamadani, killed in action in Syria, admitted as much in an interview he granted weeks before his death. In it, he revealed that even Assad supporters within the Syrian Army and Baath Party were hostile to Iran’s presence in Syria. “The way we think, the way we live is abhorrent to them,” Hamadani said.
In a recent TV interview, Assad indirectly echoed that sentiment. “We look east to Russia,” he said. No mention of Iran. Empire-building is not easy, especially when you have neither the military power nor the religious and cultural charisma needed to win native support. Iran is bound to learn that, unfortunately, the hard way.
Source: arabnews.com/node/1161781/columns
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Lies, Politics and Iran-Qatar Axis
By Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi
15 September 2017
It is hard to understand someone if he doesn’t understand himself. It gets worse when that someone is a government with multiple heads and decision process speaking with many tongues and sending conflicting messages. Worse, their speech has no relations with their actions.
So you may accept what is offered in private conversation, or even public forum, only to find the very same day that those offers are fake. Promises are made to be broken, agreements are signed to be violated, and commitment, no matter how many guarantors and witnesses, cannot be trusted for even 24 hours.
Iran, Russia, and all those in between, are famous for such tactics. Al-Houthi in Yemen, for example, signed many agreements with the Yemeni government in two decades, but broke them all. They agree with you in a night negotiation session, but the next morning they will have the opposite stand. You would be excused to think they have a collective amnesia, but it is more of a culture.
Guns for Hire
They used to be guns for hire, with zero principles or conscious — there is no honor among thieves. So, with no regret or need for explanation they turned against their ally, ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who gave them the keys to all of Yemen, and put his loyalists in the army and tribes at their service
Iran, the mothership of this culture, is infamous for its contradictory statements, and unreliable commitments. Recently we heard different stands toward Saudi Arabia from different people. There are those who thank Saudi Arabia for a successful and safe Haj, for instance, and those who complain that we didn’t allow them political demonstration. Some threaten us with ballistic missiles that would burn all our oil fields and cities (except Makkah and Madinah!) and others wonder why would we doubt their peaceful intentions!
Not just different officials say different things, sometimes the same person would send contradictory messages. Take President Rouhani and his team for example. During the last couple of weeks, we dealt with accusations that Saudi Arabia is sponsoring all its own enemies! — Daesh (the so-called Islamic State), Al-Qaeda, etc. Days later, they extended their hands of brotherhood and friendship, calling for cooperation and good relations.
In the meanwhile, their terrorist and espionage cells are found in Saudi Arabia and the Iranian-made scuds are fired from Yemen toward our cities and towns, including Makkah. No wonder why it is so hard to understand their real positions and intentions—unless one reads their constitution, ideology and culture.
Qatar is another example of double-talk and multiple positions. During private conversations and indoor meetings, they present a totally different position than in public. They managed to draw a picture for themselves in the public mind, and hate to change it.
Reflecting Reality
The problem is, the picture doesn’t reflect reality. While their public image is of a small country, but with strong, principled government, the truth is far from that beauty. It is more of scheming politicians that would cross any principle, heavenly or earthly, to realize their self interests. It doesn't matter how many die, and how much destruction their neighbors and world would suffer, as long as they get their share of fame and influence. Lies become a way of life; and cheating rules the game.
In their latest episode, Emir Tamim called Prince Muhammad Bin Salman to express his desire to solve the crisis once and for all. He showed his willingness to meet with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, to discuss the details of the 13 demands. Prince Muhammad welcomed the gesture and promised to discuss it with the other three partners.
Few minutes later, the Qatari News Agency and Al Jazeera news channel reported a different story. According to their version, it was a call requested by President Trump to discuss ways to unite our GCC front, during which the Emir agreed to a meeting of envoys to discuss ways to restart dialogue. So we are back to square one. No agreement. No acceptance of the conditions. And no summit. Just low-level discussion of how to talk!
I believe Qatar has a big problem — not knowing what they want. Unless they make up their mind, they won’t stop playing games and changing their stand so frequently. Saudi Arabia is right to demand a clear and stated position before we go forward! With Iran and company, any less is pointless!
Source: english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2017/09/15/Lies-politics-and-Iran-Qatar-axis.html
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Abdel Malek Threatens USwith ‘Fresh’ Missiles
By Mashari Althaydi
15 September 2017
Every day passes on the ‘Decisive Storm’ operation launching proves that it was the most important foreign military political decision taken by Saudi Arabia and its most influential Gulf partner, the UAE.
Some had doubts; others attacked the Arab-Islamic alliance for confronting the Houthi militias and their tottering alley Saleh. They strangely ignore that the Houthi is an ‘organic’ part of the Iranian Khomeini Revolutionary Guards.
Al-Houthi overlooking the Jazan, Najran and South Dhahran, and its missiles, which are imported from Iran’s factories, hit Khamis Mushayt, Abha, Sabiya, Taif an area close to Mecca!
Today, while the Iran’s claw is in Yemen, Abdel Malek al-Houthi, forcibly subdue the sick man Ali Abdullah Saleh, and arrogantly threatens the UAE and Saudi Arabia in an unprecedented escalating manner.
We do not know why the Houthi is that much confident – same as the Qatari rulers, but every disease has its medicine that cures it – except foolishness which sickens he who tries to cure it.
Abdel Malek al-Houthi with a Khomeini trance, said in his speech which was broadcast in Al-Maseera Channel: “UAE came in the range of our missiles”, announcing that they made a “successful” missile experiment which he “claimed” would reach Abu Dhabi.
Blatant Imitation
In a blatant imitation of his Lebanese role model - Hassan Nasrallah - Abdel Malek said: “The missile force was able to accomplish the post-Riyadh phase.”
Do you remember Nasrallah’s speech about Haifa and post-Haifa?!
“If they want to secure their oil ships, then they should not invade Hodeidah,” Abdel-Malek said with megalomania, addressing Riyadh.
It might be considered that the Houthi is making vain threats, to cover the dissent with the Congress Party and Saleh, or to bury the anger among the Yemeni people after three years of the coup. But it is necessary to seriously consider this speech, uproot the Khomeini claw from Yemen, and killing, or the anticipated al-Imam al-Zaidi comes back to Maran caves.
What the son of Saada said, would turn out to be disaster for him and for the Khomeini project in Yemen?
Yes, there are obstacles, of which the campaign of the international organizations which was invaded by al-Houthi and the Khomeinists, but this is a matter of destiny, and the “brother” has reached the very point of deterioration.
For anyone who questions the legitimacy of the objectives of the Arab alliance, now Abdel-Malek al-Houthi gives the crystal clear reason that the mission must be accomplished no matter how much the costs are. “The time is in our favour, therefore, we are not in a hurry,” said Mohammed bin Salman in his television interview, past May.
It is said that, “If ants had wings…. Then its end is close”.
Source: english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2017/09/15/Abdel-Malek-threatens-us-with-fresh-missiles-.html
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Intelligence Cell in Saudi Arabia
By Salman al-Dosary
15 September 2017
The year 2010 was a turning point in Saudi Arabia. That year saw the spark of the so-called “Arab Spring”, the riots in Awamiya, which later turned into terrorist acts before they too faded and came to end, and Saudis began using the most popular social networking site in the Kingdom, Twitter.
From 2010 onward, internal and external parties realized the importance of the site and attempted in any way possible to control the Saudi Twitter, which has become a remarkable phenomenon in the world as social media is considered a powerful mean through which one can, negatively or positively, influence tweeters.
Thus, it wasn’t surprising to discover later that this account, which is followed by hundreds of thousands of users, did not operate from Saudi Arabia, but from Turkey, or those who participate in local discussions and tweet through organized cells located outside the Kingdom. It appeared that the greatest hashtags related to domestic issues originated from abroad.
Within this context, Saudi Arabia suddenly found itself at a different stage compared to those preceding it where its people found an outlet where they can express their views freely and without any censorship.
The new platform gave rise to new celebrities and also revived old ones, who date back from the cassette tape era. These figures have a long history of contributing to the suspicious activities and through this platform, they found the means to, unfortunately, create incitement on the street, hit national cohesion and try to create chaos in any way under several labels.
The ‘Reform’ Agenda
There is no doubt that the best description that these people hid behind to market their agendas is “reform.” Of course, no one asks since when reform has been achieved through inciting a revolution, for example, or creating a violent public opinion on all issues. Or, how can reform be achieved through challenging and doubting the credibility of all state institutions?
On Monday, an official source said that Saudi Arabia’s Presidency of the State Security was able to uncover and monitor the intelligence activities of a group of people who worked for external parties against the security of the Kingdom and its interests. “The cell worked to disturb the interests, methodology, capabilities and social safety of the Kingdom in order to stir up sedition and destabilize national unity.”
In my opinion, it is significant that the majority of the names of the members of the intelligence cell did not surprise any of the observers. The only real surprise was the delay in holding them accountable and bringing them to trial because their impact, harm and incitement was known to all.
Of course, no country that accepts that someone use his fame, status or means of communication, such as Twitter, to incite civil peace. The Saudi government gave them many chances, hoping that they would desist from trying to impose their agendas and sense the danger of their scheming.
However, they did not get the message and continued to pursue their agendas and contacts with sides working on fragmenting Saudi society from within. They continued to strike national unity for long years, in means that appear to be gentle, but were extremely volatile in reality.
Under Trial
Notably, the Saudi security services have evidence and proof that condemn the members of the intelligence cell when they are brought to trial. The issue, as some people argue, is not because of their peaceful views, as they claim, since there are thousands of Saudis who have their own views that are inconsistent with the general policy of the Kingdom, yet no one has come near them for a simple reason: they did not promote their views in a dangerous and chaotic way, and they did not use these views to harm their country and its citizens.
I recall that I once asked a senior Saudi security official about the measures taken in case someone incited against the country or if someone has stances that are contrary to the state’s. He answered: “We do not care what people say or what they think. We do not hold people accountable for their opinions and stances as long as they do not turn into harmful acts that affect the people’s security.”
In all the countries there are destabilizing forces that deal with foreign countries for several purposes. This is the nature of good and evil in humans. Saudi Arabia also has one of these destabilizing forces and states are responsible before their people to prevent these forces from causing instability regardless of their excuses, whether they are religious or social, to carry out their heinous acts.
Source: english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2017/09/15/Intelligence-cell-in-Saudi-Arabia.html
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/middle-east-press/suu-kyi-lead-real-peace/d/112542