Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was born April 28, 1937 and died December 30, 2006. He was the fifth President of Iraq, holding that position from July 16, 1979 until 9 April 2003. He was one of the leading members of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, and afterward, the Baghdad-based Ba’ath Party and its regional organization Ba’ath Party, Iraq Region, which advocated ba’athism, an ideological marriage of Arab nationalism with Arab socialism. (Patricia Ramos, july 2013)

"The national security of America and the security of the world could be attained if the American leaders [..] become rational, if America disengages itself from its evil alliance with Zionism, which has been scheming to exploit the world and plunge it in blood and darkness, by using America and some Western countries.
What the American peoples need mostly is someone who tells them the truth, courageously and honestly as it is.
They don’t need fanfares and cheerleaders, if they want to take a lesson from the (sept. 11) event so as to reach a real awakening, in spite of the enormity of the event that hit America.
But the world, including the rulers of America, should say all this to the American peoples, so as to have the courage to tell the truth and act according to what is right and not what to is wrong and unjust, to undertake their responsibilities in fairness and justice, and by recourse to reason..."

Saddam Hussein, INA 15-9-2002

"The despot thinks he is just as God... What a nadir and mean fate!
The despot, as represented in this age, in our day, imagines he can enslave the people..
But they were born free. They were freed by God’s will through prophets and messengers, to be slaves only to Him and not to anyone of the people." Saddam Hussein, Iraq Daily 4-3-2003

A person with a God Complex may refuse to admit the possibility of their error or failure, even in the face of irrefutable evidence, intractable problems or difficult or impossible tasks.
The person is also highly dogmatic in their views, meaning the person speaks of their personal opinions as though they are unquestionably correct.
Someone with a god complex may exhibit no regard for the conventions and demands of society, and may request special consideration or privileges.

"...To be a human being among human beings, and remain one forever, no matter what misfortunes befall, not to become depressed, and not to falter - this is what life is, herein lies its task." Fyodor Dostoevsky (to his brother Mikhail, Dec. 22, 1849)

“All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action.
Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly.
“Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah and answer your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone." Prophet Muhammad, Last Sermon

“Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you can not retain.” Saadi Shirazi (Persian poet & humanist, born in Shiraz, Iran, c. 1210)

"Holism is the most fundamental discovery of 20th century science. It is a discovery of every science from astrophysics to quantum physics to environmental science to psychology to anthropology.
It is the discovery that the entire universe is an integral whole, and that the basic organizational principle of the universe is the field principle: the universe consists of fields within fields, levels of wholeness and integration that mirror in fundamental ways, and integrate with, the ultimate, cosmic whole...."
"For many thinkers and religious teachers throughout this history, holism was the dominant thought, and the harmony that it implies has most often been understood to encompass cosmic, civilizational, and personal dimensions. Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Lord Krishna, Lao Tzu, and Confucius all give us visions of transformative harmony, a transformative harmony that derives from a deep relation to the holism of the cosmos."

About political holism

Political holism is based on the recognition that "we" are all members of a single whole. There's no "they," even though "we" are not all alike. Because "we" are all part of the whole, and therefore interdependent, we benefit from cooperating with each other. Political holism is a way of thinking about human cultures and nations as interdependent.
Political holists search for solutions other than war to settle international disagreements. Their model of the world is one in which cooperation and negotiation, even with the enemy, even with the weak, promotes political stability more than warfare.
In an overpopulated world with planet-wide environmental problems, the development of weapons of mass destruction has rendered war obsolete as an effective means to resolve disputes.

Political dualists consider political holists unpatriotic for questioning the necessity to defeat "them." In times of impending war, political dualists tend to measure patriotism by the intensity of one's hostility to the country's immediate enemy.
Naturally, they would view as disloyalty any suggestion that the enemy is not evil, any call for cooperation with the enemy, any criticism of one's own country.
To political dualists, cooperation with the enemy means capitulation, relinquishment of the nation's position of dominance.
At its extreme, political dualism is essentially tribalism. (Betty Craige, 16-8-1997)

Desmond Tutu & Ubuntu

"A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, based from a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed."
"We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity." (Ubuntu info)

Mahatma Gandhi stated that the most important battle to fight was overcoming his own demons, fears, and insecurities. Gandhi summarised his beliefs first when he said "God is Truth". He would later change this statement to "Truth is God". (Wikipedia)

To be in the world but not of it
Spirituality ('I am') or Political Islam ('I have')
İbrahim Kalın, Daily Sabah (Turkey), 1-8-2017

In 1945 a batch of ancient documents was discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt. Contained was a manuscript called “The Gospel of Thomas,” a collection of several books of sayings attributed to Jesus. While this gospel is not widely accepted as authentic, it contains some interesting sayings of Jesus that ring true with what we read in the accepted gospels. One of these is a two-word admonishment from Jesus that can change our perspective on life. It is a command from Jesus to “become passersby.” (Logion 42) Passers by…a visitor, a tourist, a temporary resident. This powerful phrase calls to mind the many warnings of Jesus to not hold too tightly to earthly treasures, to not cling to the temporary at the expense of the eternal. “Become passersby.” In two simple words, Jesus lays out a worldview that is diametrically opposed to our modern, selfish, consumer-driven culture. “

The intellectual and moral challenge before us is to be in the world but not of the world.
It is to live in the world in a way that gives its due without either denying its existence or surrendering ourselves to it. It is to fully enjoy life while never losing sight of our ultimate goal in the world
One of the criticisms directed at Islam in the Western religious and Orientalist circles is that Islam is too worldly a religion compared to Christianity. Christian polemicists see Prophet Muhammad, in contrast to Jesus Christ, as too involved in the social and political affairs of the world.
Hence the charge that Islam is not a religion but an ideology.
These assertions are based on erroneous notions and false comparisons. Islam takes an attitude of non-attachment toward the world without denying its existence. The delicate balance is to live in the world in a meaningful way without becoming subservient to it.
We should be asking ourselves all the time: How are we to live in the world in a serious and meaningful manner without surrendering ourselves to it?

One is expected to give this world its due in a proper and joyful way but always remember what Prophet Muhammad said:
Be a stranger (gharib) in this world and never attach yourself to it.
Walk upon this path and enjoy its beauty but know that the ultimate end is not here.

This dual attitude of non-attachment and giving the world its due is an extension of Islam's insistence on following the middle path in all things and avoiding all extremisms.
It was against this background that Islam built one of the most enduring civilizations in human history. Muslims scientists, scholars, artists, rulers, peasants and others sought to cultivate the world in harmony with the order and beauty of the universe. Their great material and scientific achievements never led them to materialism and a worshipping of the world. But they never rejected its reality in a monastic manner either....
The intellectual and moral challenge before us is to be in the world but not of the world.

Read also: I Have, I Rule and I Will Destroy
The Astrological Interpretation of Ahrimanic Evil Forces

The New Axis Of Evil
Neocons Leverage Trump-Hate for More Wars
By Robert Parry, August 5, 2017

The provocative “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act,” which imposes sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea while tying President Trump’s hands in removing those penalties, passed the Congress without a single Democrat voting no.
The only dissenting votes came from three Republican House members – Justin Amash of Michigan, Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky – and from Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky and Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the Senate.
In other words, every Democrat present for the vote adopted the neocon position of escalating tensions with Russia and Iran. The new sanctions appear to close off hopes for a détente with Russia and may torpedo the nuclear agreement with Iran, which would put the bomb-bomb-bomb option back on the table just where the neocons want it...

There can be no doubt that the escalation of sanctions against Russia and Iran will have the effect of escalating geopolitical tensions with those two important countries...
In Iran, hardliners are already telling President Hassan Rouhani, “We told you so” that the U.S. government can’t be trusted in its promise to remove – not increase – sanctions in compliance with the nuclear agreement.
And, Putin, who is actually one of the more pro-Western leaders in Russia, faces attacks from his own hardliners who view him as naïve in thinking that Russia would ever be accepted by the West.
Even relative Kremlin moderates such as Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, are citing Trump’s tail-between-his-legs signing of the sanctions bill as proof that the U.S. establishment has blocked any hope for a détente between Washington and Moscow.

war is peace

Trump: taken hostage by the Pentagon and the military-industrial complex
Sadik Ünay, Daily Sabah (Turkey), August 4, 2017

Trump by now seems to have been taken hostage by the Pentagon and the military-industrial complex that constantly tries to raise the stakes against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Since the imposition of economic sanctions against Russia following the military invasion of Crimea, the tone of anti-Russian rhetoric in U.S. Congress became increasingly harsher.
Despite occasional collaboration in the Syrian war, accusations of Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election and private dealings of some of Trump's close associates with Russians poisoned domestic political debates in the U.S. and totally undermined the policy credibility of the president.
Hence, despite the helpless efforts of Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to resolve the outstanding issues amicably with Putin, U.S. Congress codified the sanctions against Russia on the pretext of "violation of the territorial integrity of the Ukraine and Crimea, brazen cyberattacks and interference in elections and continuing aggression in Syria."
The latest congressional amendment added, "broad new sanctions on key sectors of Russia's economy including mining, metals, shipping and railways" while authorizing "assistance to strengthen democratic institutions and counter disinformation across Central and Eastern European countries that are vulnerable to Russian aggression and interference."

European Union supports Rouhani
Guy Cohen, 05/08/2017

The color pink represents compassion, nurturing and love. It relates to unconditional love and understanding, and the giving and receiving of nurturing. A combination of red and white, pink contains the need for action of red, helping it to achieve the potential for success and insight offered by white. The deeper the pink, the more passion and energy it exhibits. (source)

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini participated in the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
According to Bloomberg, Mogherini's presence expressed the EU's clear and public support for Rouhani's leadership.
In his speech to Iran's parliament, Rouhani said his country will not be the first to violate the nuclear deal, but will also not stand by the deal if other countries violate it.

Iranian officials said the US' new sanctions on the Iranian Republic, and US President Donald Trump's desire to limit international trade with Iran, are in violation of the deal, which was signed in 2015 by representatives of 6 countries.
In a pre-ceremony meeting with Mogherini, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Khonsari said the EU must remain alert to Trump's efforts to "undermine the deal and blame Iran."
In her response, Mogherini promised that the EU would "determinedly" keep the Iran deal, Iran's state-run news agency reported.
The 2015 deal was signed by Iran, Britain, China France, Germany, Russia, and the United States.

US troops fight Al-Qaeda, toegether with Syria, Hizballah, Lebanon
DEBKAfile, August 7, 2017

Israeli diplomats have filed a quiet demarche with Washington over the participation of US special forces in a joint operation with the Syrian, Hizballah and Lebanese armies to clear the Lebanese-Syrian border region of Al Qaeda’s Syrian arm the rebel Nusra Front, which is fighting with ISIS elements.
The operation against the rebel group fighting under the command of Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani, has been divided into three parts.
The first part consisted of a Hizballah assault on Nusra forces holding the Arsal region on both sides of the border at its northern tip. Hizballah was claimed to have fought the enemy singlehanded.
But like all the statements from Washington and Moscow about events in Syria, this one too needed a closer look at the “facts.” It so transpired that Hizballah was backed up by Syrian artillery, while the Lebanese army had the role of cutting off the rebels’ escape routes from the battle ground.
The rebel fighters seeing they were hemmed in on all sides surrendered and agreed to pull out. Over the weekend, therefore, 7,000 rebel fighters, most of them belonging to Nusra, and their families, were evacuated from the border region to the northern Syrian province of Idlib on the Turkish border.

It also turned out that the trilateral Arsal operation had a US dimension. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri visited Washington last week and held talks with President Donald Trump at the White House... Hariri convinced the US president to declare the Nusra Front and all its branches a terrorist organization to be fought in the same way as the Islamic State...
The Americans declared the Nusra network the target of America’s war on terror, even though this distanced the Trump administration from Jerusalem’s position.
Israel contends that the rebel groups holding the Syrian border districts opposite the Golan are defenders of their villages in the Quneitra and Hermon regions. While a small number may also have ties to Nusra, they are insignificant...

Sunday, Aug. 6, the second part of the joint Syrian, Hizballah, Lebanese operation was underway against Nusra -ISIS forces holding positions in the Lebanese towns of Ras Baalbek and al-Fakiya in the northern Beqaa Valley. This time, Lebanese Special Forces went into active combat, along with US Special Forces...
It may be argued that the US military is working directly only with the Lebanese government army. However, the operational plans must have been drawn up together with the Syrian high command in Damascus and Hizballah’s chiefs in Beirut - and, given the latter’s role as Tehran’s proxy, Iranian officers were no doubt part of this round-able planning conference.
Unfolding on the Syrian-Lebanese border region, therefore, is much more than a cleansing operation against an Al Qaeda affiliate; It is the start of a new military alignment, which is ready fight in the third part of the operation, which will focus on the Syrian-Jordanian and Syrian-Israeli borders.
This combination is the outcome of the US-Russian deal to cooperate in Syria... Both powers are determined to impose their agreed ceasefire zones right up to the Golan border, whatever it takes - whether Israel likes it or not.

Ernst Zundel, 1996 Interviewed by an Israeli journalist With an introduction by Ernst Zundel

German Holocaust denier, neo-Nazi Ernst Zundel dead at 78 David Rosenberg, Arutz Sheva, 7/08/2017 One of the world’s most notorious Holocaust deniers and neo-Nazi activists, Ernst Zundel, died this weekend in his home in Bad Wildbad, in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. He was 78 years old. Zundel’s wife, Ingrid Zundel, said that her husband had died of a heart attack, but provided few additional details. A native of Germany, Zundel lived most of his life in Canada, immigrating there in 1958. Zundel remained in Canada until he was deported in 2001 after two failed attempts to secure Canadian citizenship in 1966 and 1994.

In 1977, Zundel helped found Samisdat Publishers, which printed and distributed material denying the Holocaust including British National Front Richard Verrall’s “Did Six Million Really Die? The Truth At Last” pamphlet. Samisdat also published explicitly pro-Nazi material including Zundel’s own pamphlet “The Hitler We Loved and Why”. After being deported from Canada, Zundel illegally immigrated to the US, moving to Tennessee, but was deported from the US back to Canada in 2003. Two years later, Zundel was deported to his native Germany, where he was charged with Holocaust denial and incitement to Holocaust denial. Zundel was convicted in 2007 and sentenced to five years in prison, but was released in 2010. "Zündel is in prison not because his views are unpopular, or because he's a “security risk.” He's in prison because Jewish groups want him there. He's a prisoner because he promotes views that the Jewish-Zionist lobby considers harmful to its interests." "Through his Samisdat publishing house he distributed worldwide a prodigious quantity of books, booklets, leaflets, newsletters, and audio and video cassettes. Simon Wiesenthal, the well-known “Nazi hunter,” has called Zündel the world's number one distributor of allegedly dangerous literature and cassettes." Mark Weber, Institute for Historical Review, 23-9-2003

Bennett: 'Iranian empire is being established - and the US does nothing'
David Rosenberg, Arutz Sheva, 08/08/2017

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) warned that the West is ignoring the greatest threat to global security in its fight against ISIS, trading away long-term strategic security for short-term tactical gains.
In an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal on Monday, Bennett argued that while ISIS had captured the West’s attention, the Tehran regime has been quietly expanding its influence across the region, working to establish radical Shi’ite hegemony over large portions of the Middle East.
“Since its 1979 revolution, Iran has sought to become a dominant world power, capable of instilling Islamic rule on as many people as possible. The Iranian regime finances and supports armed militias in other countries and is the world’s top exporter of terror.”
While ISIS atrocities have sparked outrage, Bennett claims Iran represents a far deadlier long-term threat, one which could extend far beyond the Middle East.
“An essential part of Tehran’s grand strategy is to control a land corridor from Iran to the Mediterranean Sea. Under the cover of Syria’s bloody civil war, Hezbollah is helping to build such a highway. This endangers the entire Western world.” As this “Iranian empire” grows in strength, America and her allies remain focused on combating terrorism, enabling Iran to expand almost unchallenged, Bennett contends.
“The free world has yet to take the first and most important step: declaring that it cannot abide an Iranian empire from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.”

Bennett: Not Iran, but Israel is the regional superpower
124 News, 27-3-2017

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett warns West is ignoring looming Iranian threat, calls for concerted strategic action to block 'Iranian empire'.
The scope for regional peace has broadened as Iran becomes a looming hegemonic force in the Middle East. Bennett insists that Arab countries must work together with Israel to defend against “the real threat,” of Iran.
Currently, Israel is considered a “regional superpower,” with its defense forces, intelligence information, cyber security technology and economy, “Israel is like a lighthouse within a storm,” he added.
“Everyone is looking at Israel to help defend the region against the real threat," of Iran whose dominance would, "risk the entire free world," he warned.
With the threat of a common enemy, Bennett says new countries are willing to engage with Israel, albeit sometimes quietly, in order to thwart the potential perils posed by its middle eastern rival.

Turkey restricts cross-border movement with Syria after area taken by terrorists
Daily Sabah Turkey, 10-8-2017

Turkey is limiting cross-border movement at Bab Al-Hawa (Cilvegözü) crossing with Syria after the area was taken by a terrorist group, Customs Minister Bülent Tüfenkci said Wednesday.
Tüfenkci told reporters that the restrictions were imposed after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants took control of the area.
He noted that restrictions will continue until the terrorist group's control over the area ends and will be imposed on all exports of all goods with the exception of humanitarian aid and food products.
The Cilvegözü border crossing in Turkey's Hatay province is a main crossing into Syria, which shares a lengthy border with Turkey.
The border crossing, near the southern city of Hatay, is located across from the Bab al-Hawa crossing north of Aleppo in Syria.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is consolidating its influence in northern Syria
Mona Alami, Al-Monitor, August 7, 2017

HTS is the political spawn of the former al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. HTS has adopted a plan to expand and consolidate its power in northern Syria.
According to an article on the news site Al-Modon, besides its growing control over Idlib governorate, HTS extended its territorial control in the southern, western and northern regions of Aleppo at the end of July.

HTS now not only controls the center of Idlib governorate, but also the border with Turkey.
Border areas hold both economic and strategic importance for HTS. “They allow the group to secure a continuous revenue stream [through taxes imposed on transit] and it provides it with control over the supply routes that are used by its rivals and so with significant influence over them.”

Another consolidation approach used by the organization is via mergers, tactical alliances, the creation of a local administration and the issuance of fatwas.
Among the prominent brigades that declared allegiance to HTS in the wake of the clashes is the Ibn Taymiyyah Mujahedeen Brigades, which controls various mountainous areas in the northwestern Aleppo countryside near the city of Darat Izza, strategically located close to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units in Afrin...
In addition, the organization has been able to count on local tactical alliances. For instance, the Turkistan Islamic Party fought alongside HTS in the takeover of the town of Jisr al-Shughour. Despite splitting from HTS in the wake of the clashes, the Nureddin Zengi Brigade still applauded the radical group's move to create a civil administration that would govern over the region.
HTS has also extended its dominance over the region’s political scene using fatwas. On May 11, HTS stated its intention to oversee Idlib’s informal money transfer offices. By taking over the informal banking sector, HTS would have leverage over local and international charities and thus the refugee population.

Kissinger pushes Iranophobia, fear of ‘radical empire’ as ISIL declines
By Juan Cole | Aug. 10, 2017

Henry Kissinger at 94 is still misinforming Washington about Iran.
Now he is warning of an “Iranian radical empire” stretching from Tehran to Beirut if Iran is allowed to “fill the vacuum” as ISIL is rolled up– as Jack Moore at Newsweek points out.. Kissinger seems stuck in a Cold War mentality, and still addicted to domino theory, just substituting Khomeinism for Communism.

Kissinger said: “The outside world’s war with Isis can serve as an illustration. Most non-Isis powers—including Shia Iran and the leading Sunni states—agree on the need to destroy it. But which entity is supposed to inherit its territory? A coalition of Sunnis? Or a sphere of influence dominated by Iran? The answer is elusive because Russia and the Nato countries support opposing factions.
If the Isis territory is occupied by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards or Shia forces trained and directed by it, the result could be a territorial belt reaching from Tehran to Beirut, which could mark the emergence of an Iranian radical empire.”

I presume Kissinger thinks the Iranian radicalism here is the ideology of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, or Khomeinism, which holds that clerics should rule society.
If Kissinger is suggesting that we go slow on rolling up ISIL because it is a check on Iran, that is a non-starter. ISIL blew up Paris and Brussels and Istanbul and Damascus and Baghdad, and it simply must be stopped.
-- As for the radical empire idea, first of all, that is ridiculous. Lebanon is a multicultural country where Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shiites and Druze shape politics. Even Hizbullah admits that it isn’t a plausible country for Khomeinism.
-- Most of Syria is dominated by the secular Baath Party. Its alliance with Iran is one of convenience, not ideology. Although the upper echelons of the Baath and the Syrian Arab Army are dominated by the Alwaite Shiite minority, Alawites are esoteric, New Age Shiites without Friday mosque prayers or a seminary-trained clerical establishment. In short, it is the least likely community to support Khomeinism you could imagine. The rest of Syria is Christians, Druze, Kurds and Sunni Muslims– also not likely to be tempted by Twelver Shiite clerical Khomeinism.
-- Although the majority of parliament in Iraq is Twelver Shiite, most Iraqis reject Khomeinism. They do not want clerical rule. Even the chief cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, rejects clerical rule in favor of parliamentary governance. And Shiites in Iraq are not all-powerful. They need the Kurds and Sunni Arabs. Kurds are Sunnis. So 40 percent of Iraq is Sunni or other non-Shiite minority.
So Iran cannot spread a ‘radical empire’ in these countries because their elites would never accept Khomeinist ideology.

As for alliances of convenience, those existed long before ISIL’s take-over of territory in 2014. They are based on national interest and domestic majorities, something a realist like Kissinger should understand.
Kissinger seems unaware of the possibility that al-Qaeda and other Salafi Jihadi groups could fill the vacuum, as it has in Syria’s Idlib province. Would Kissinger really prefer that outcome?

Iraq's oil minister meets Saudi crown prince in Jeddah
Taimur Khan, The National (UAE), August 10, 2017

Iraq’s oil minister met with the Saudi crown prince and other senior officials on Wednesday in Jeddah to discuss Opec’s policies to stabilise oil prices, cooperation in the energy industry and other economic opportunities.
The trip is the latest development in a rapprochement between Riyadh and Baghdad that has gathered significant momentum in recent weeks.
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Khalid Al Falih, who himself was one of the first senior Saudi official to visit Iraq after decades earlier this year, said on Twitter that he and Jabar Al Luaibi had discussed “the importance of uniting the efforts of all countries for market stability.”
The Saudi Press Agency said on Thursday that Mr Al Luaibi met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - who also controls oil policy - that the pair discussed “joint opportunities in the economic fields in general and energy in particular, including the opening of land ports, direct flights and encouraging trade exchange and investments from the Saudi private sector.”

The kingdom is seeking ways to increase its influence in Iraqi politics, including by engaging with Shiite political figures who are themselves looking to balance Iran’s influence and position themselves ahead of parliamentary elections next year.
Baghdad is looking to Saudi and other GCC countries to play a significant part in funding and supporting the physical and economic reconstruction of Sunni Arab areas of Iraq.

IWC: Extremists distort Qur’anic texts
Jamal Dobahi, Saudi Gazette, 11-8-2017

Extremists distort the peaceful messages of Islam to achieve their goal, tweeted IWC (Ideological Warfare Center, supervised by the Ministry of Defense) on its Twitter account, which also posted the correct English translations of some Islamic terms.

One of the tweets said that some have a misconception about the meaning of the Arabic word ‘kafir’ and this has led them to develop the wrong idea about the true Islamic principles and values, which attach great importance to good words.
The Qur’an says: “And speak to people good words” (2:83)
The tweets explained the meaning of the Arabic infinitive noun ‘kufur’, saying that lexical meaning of the word refers in Arabic to the act of covering or hiding something, while its contextual meaning, e.g. in religious contexts, refers to the act of denying and not believing in any religion..

If you do not believe in someone’s religion or do not believe in his opinion, then you are kafir, because you refuse to acknowledge the existence of his religion or refuse to accept his opinion.
Similarly, a Muslim who does not believe in another’s religion can be described as ‘kafir’.
Anyone, Muslim or not, who does not believe in someone else’s religion [or opinion] can be described as ‘kafir’. That is why all approved translation copies of the Qur’an use the word ‘disbeliever’ as equivalent of ‘kafir’.

The real confusion happens when ‘kafir’ is translated wrongly as ‘infidel’ and when the Arabic word ‘torhiboon’, which means ‘threaten’ or 'frighten" , is translated wrongly as ‘terrorize’ in the following Qur’anic text: “And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify your enemies.”

syria - aleppo 2014 - anti-assad rebels

Dr. Theodore Karasik, an international affairs expert, believes the IWC plays an important role in exposing the misleading methods and false allegations of extremists and terrorists, noting that it is important for the center to focus on the Muslim Brotherhood.
Karasik praised the IWC’s efforts to fight terrorism through discussion and discourse, holding Muslim Brotherhood responsible for encouraging young men to carry out suicide bombings and political assassinations.
He stressed the important of the center in educating youth about extremist ideas through different programs that expose the recruitment methods used by terrorists.

Moscow turned the tables on the Middle East,
challenging the West’s policy in the region
Sputnik News, 11-8-2017

Leader of Lebanon's Tawheed Movement, Wiam Wahab called Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti a "Retard". The attack was directed at Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh and Muslim Brotherhood cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi and called on the two to “clean their mouths before talking about Hizbullah's resistance.” (youtube, 8 august 2014)

Russia has made an invaluable contribution to fighting terrorism in the Middle East, according to Wiam al Wahab, former Lebanese minister and leader of the Tawhid Party (Arab Unitarian Party), in a conversation with Sputnik.
"[Terrorism] is a very dangerous phenomenon. It would have ruined the Middle East without Russia’s involvement.
I’d like to say that Russia has contributed a lot to maintain the current fragile balance in the region. Russia helped rescue our region from the terrorists’ embrace of," Wahab told Sputnik Arabic.
He added, "The decision of Russian President [Vladimir Putin] to engage in Syria saved millions of lives in the Middle East."
According to the politician, Moscow turned the tables on the Middle East, challenging the West’s policy in the region. "Without Russia’s involvement the West would have continued to support various militant groups to destabilize the Middle East.
"Russia has portrayed itself as a country ready for peaceful cooperation with any partner while the United States still wants global dominance.
In particular, Washington uses the dollar and the UN Security Council as leverage over Moscow. At the same time, Russia uses its veto right in the UNSC and develops cooperation within BRICS to cut its reliance on dollar," the Lebanese politician said.
Wahab stressed that the Russian-Lebanese relationship has a good potential for growth:
"Russia has reinstated its presence in the Middle East. I think that Moscow will stay in Syria for the long-run. This is why the Lebanese government should focus on developing cooperation with Russia," he said.

The start of 'the revolution'

Shaaban underlines culture’s key role to face conspiracy and rebuild the country
Syrian Arab News Agency, 10 August 2017

Damascus, SANA – Presidential Political and Media Adviser Bouthaina Shaaban stressed the need for establishing specialized research centers with the aim of launching a modern Arab developmental, intellectual project in light of the recent events which took place during the past few years.
Shaaban attended the signing ceremony of the 2nd edition of her book: “Edge of the Abyss.. Homeland Document” as part of the 29th Book Fair’s activities at al-Assad National Library in Damascus.
She underlined the importance of a transparent re-reading of the events to which Syria has passed through.
Shaaban noted that the Book Fair’s main objective is to focus on reading due to its key role in strengthening culture and improving thinking skills to face the conspiracy and begin the reconstruction process of the country.
'The Edge of Abyss – The historical account of the talks between late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and former US President Henry Kissinger" is published by Bisan publishing House in Lebanon and it is available in Arabic and English. It includes 349 pages and consists of 10 chapters and two appendices on the Syrian-US relations following the October Liberation War.

We should read to increase our knowledge,
widen our horizons and discover new worlds.
Ibrahim Kalin, Daily Sabah (Turkey), 12-8-2017

Reading is not limited to reading books (or screens these days). It encompasses other states of existence such as nature, visual arts and music. Just as a book tells us many things, nature also speaks to us. If we have the ears to hear and the eyes to see, nature can teach us profound lessons about beauty, balance and harmony.
Art works can evoke sublime feelings in us so that we can go beyond form to reach meaning. They can also teach things through "shock therapy." Music can be a mentor for those who want to experience meaning beyond words. These are all different forms of reading in our quest to discover ourselves and our place in the great chain of being.
Reading is essentially an act of unveiling and attaining meaning that comes in different forms...
This approach is firmly enshrined in the Islamic tradition. The very first revelation that was sent to Prophet Muhammad was "Iqra!" meaning both "read" and "recite."
This suggests that we read the Quran as a sacred book but also seek to gain insight into the inner nature of things through it.

The Quran urges people to read the signs within their souls and the universe so that they can be better human beings by using their intelligence and appropriating virtues. Those who fail to read in this sense basically accept to live under their true potential to become full human beings.

"A few years ago, I read a great French novel entitled “The Thibaults” (Les Thibault in French) by Roger Martin. Great novels from France, Russia and other countries, where eminent novels have been written, depict realities of life..." Ali Khamenei, 9-5-2005

We should read to increase our knowledge, widen our horizons and discover new worlds. This leads me to one conclusion only: read what is really essential and enduring. Trendy stuff comes and goes. Do not waste your time and taint your mind with them.
Read those authors and books that have shaped human thinking, forced our imagination beyond the average and urged us to be better and more intelligent beings.
Read Plato and Aristotle and do not listen to those who say that it is heavy stuff. Read Marcus Aurelius to see how a philosopher-king struggles with ideals and realities, principles and facts - the same challenges we deal with at various levels every single day. Read St Augustine to understand how a first-rate mind deals with issues of faith and reason.
Read T. S. Eliot and C. S. Lewis to make sense of our modern predicaments.Spend serious time with al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, Ghazali, Suhrawardi, Mulla Sadra and other Muslim thinkers to see how a believing mind can make sense of the world without sacrificing either God or human reason and freedom. Leave your mind and heart to Rumi and Ibn al-Arabi to take you to places of wonder, love and compassion.
Turn to Ibn Jubair, Ibn Battuta and other Muslim travelers to see how Muslim men of learning developed a notion of the global world before the era of modern globalization.
Plunge yourselves into the timeless poetry of Hafiz, Sa'di, Khayyam, Attar, Yunus Emre, Baki, Fuzuli and other poets who sing the songs of divine and human love, wayfaring and companionship.
This list can be expanded to include works from the other great traditions of the world including the Chinese and Indian civilizations.
No matter how wide we throw our net, though, the key to meaningful reading is to read what is essential and do it in a disciplined way.

Read also: Ali Khamenei & The Book of Love and Feeling
From, "Who Is Ali Khamenei?" by Akbar Ganji,
Foreign Affairs, September/October 2013 issue.

Pro-Qaddafi football star welcomed back to Tripoli by Haithem Tajouri Libya Herald, 12-8-2017 Tripoli footballer Mohamed Zubya has returned to Tripoli after six years’ of exile, in large part due to the involvement of militia leader Hathem Tajouri. The capital’s Al-Ittihad team has announced on its Facebook page that Zubya will be rejoining the club after prematurely ending his contract with Tunis’ Esperance Sportive. A supporter of the former Qaddafi regime, Zubya left the country in 2011, first playing for Kuwait’s Al-Arabi club, then being signed up the following year by Belgrade’s FK Partizan. In 2013, he moved to Algeria’s top league club JS Kabylie based in Tizi Ouzou. He then joined Esperance in 2016 but complained of constantly being put on the substitutes’ bench or even left to watch matches from the stand. He was known to want to return to Libya, but his contract with the Tunisian team and his political views worked against him. However, he has a devoted following in Tripoli and it is reported that Tajouri took up his cause, persuading the Tunisians to let him go.

Muammar Gaddafi's Favorite Book In a rare interview with Western journalists in January 1986 Muammar Gaddafi spoke frankly about his life and how he had been misunderstood by the West. Meeting the journalists in his tent he told of how he admired former US Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and of other world leaders he admires like "Egypt's late Gamal Abdul Nasser, India's Mahatma Gandhi, Sun Yat-Sen of China and Italy's Garibaldi and Mazzini." He spoke of his favourite book The Outsider by British author Colin Wilson and others he likes such as Uncle Tom's Cabin and Roots. The Outsider The outsider is the seminal work on alienation, creativity and the modern mind-set. First published over thirty years ago, it made its youthful author England's most controversial intellectual. The Outsider is an individual engaged in an intense self-exploration - a person who lives at the edge, challenges cultural values, and "stands for Truth." Born into a world without perspective, where others simply drift through life, the Outsider creates his own set of rules and lives them in an unsympathetic environment. Wilson illuminates the struggle of those who seek only the transformation of Self but also the transformation of society as a whole. The book is essential for everyone who share's Wilson's conviction that "a new religion is needed." Colin Wilson Quote "Here was I saying, in The Outsider: 'Look, you've got to stop being self-pitying, somehow you Outsiders have got to stop being the miserable Outsiders saying you don't want anything to do with this lousy material world, because if you don't do something about this lousy material world, nobody else will. You yourselves have got to take over and become the leaders'. And this was what I was basically saying in The Outsider."

Netanyahu’s Summer Reading List
by Shiryn Ghermezian, Algemeiner, August 23, 2016

The Hebrew Bible and Alec Ross’ Industries of the Future are among the books that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has been reading this summer.
On his official Facebook page, Netanyahu wrote on Tuesday:

" Even Prime Ministers find time to read. Here is a partial list of my summer reading. Some of these books I am rereading, others I am reading for the first time.
I encourage everyone to read more books. Post your summer reading below. The more wisdom we expose ourselves to, the more we will progress as a civilization.

Other works on Netanyahu’s list were: Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow; World Order by Henry Kissinger; Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World; Exponential Organizations by Salim Ismail; and Samuel Katz’s The Aaronsohn Saga.

Holocaust, Education & a closed information environment
Lawrence Davidson, CounterPunch 14-8-2017

Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel, which this year was on April 24, is a time for remembering the Holocaust and learning its historical lessons. Yet there are two ways of approaching those lessons – one is universal and the other particular.
Most of Israel’s educational system has chosen to forgo the universal message of the need to promote human rights and stand up against oppression wherever it is practiced.
Instead the particularistic message Israeli schoolchildren have always received is that the Jews are eternal victims.
Indeed, “Israel and its strong army are the only things preventing another genocide by non-Jews.”
Very few Israeli educators have dared break with the official point of view [state ideology]. However, those few who have describe a systematic “misuse of the Holocaust [that is] pathological and intended to generate fear and hatred” as an element of “extreme nationalism.”

Flashback 2002: A rifle and a bible - The survival of the tribe Raanan Gissin, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s top adviser and spokesman (2001-2006), says that Ariel Sharon has long been calling for more Jewish text study in the secular schools. Without this foundation, Gissin says, young Israelis “don’t grasp that the Jewish people have lived here continuously for 4,000 years, that we have a right to be here... What they don’t understand is that even when we make compromises in our ancestral homeland for peace, there are places Israel can never give up because they are part and parcel of who we are. That applies to Jerusalem. This is why it is so important to bring the young people to the Kotel, to the tunnels built thousands of years ago under the Kotel.” ... Teaching Jewish heritage isn’t only about building identity. At the risk of sounding racist, its about ensuring the survival of the tribe.” (Interview 2002)

The key to such a process of indoctrination embedded within the educational system is the maintenance of a closed information environment.
Any ideology represents a closed information environment. By definition it narrows reality down to a limited number of perspectives.
Ideology also invites hubris, rationalized by nationality or religion and their accompanying peculiar take on history.
It becomes the goal of an ideologically managed educational system to promote political loyalty and the hubris it seems to justify. The current terminology for this condition is “exceptionalism.”

All of this is a far cry from the way education is idealized...
-- Aristotle: “it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr., “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.”
-- Albert Einstein: “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”

Syrian military conducts awareness-raising campaign
TASS Russian News Agency, August 14, 2017

latakia 2015 construction - aleppo 2013 destruction

The Syrian Defense Ministry is conducting an awareness-raising campaign on returning to civilian life among gunmen of the moderate and irreconcilable opposition in the capital city’s suburb of East Ghouta, where a de-escalation zone was set up nearly a month ago, Syrian General Fauz Mustafa told reporters.

"We can see a teacher and children at school, and here are militants who teach their children how to handle weapons. We ask them what they want their children to be like, like this or like that," the general explained commenting on the visual images prepared by the Syrian Defense Ministry circulated online.
According to Syrian military officials, during the hostilities in East Ghouta, they distributed more than a million leaflets. They also have a loudspeaker mounted on an armored vehicle.
Leaflets were dropped from a helicopter and distributed among civilians heading for East Ghouta through the Russian military police checkpoint located there. It is assumed that local residents some of whose relatives or friends are gunmen can persuade them to surrender.

‘Half of Israel’s kids getting a Third World education’
“The education that Israel provides to its Arabic-speaking children
is below that in many Third World countries."
By Sarah Levi, Jerusalem Post, August 16, 2017

The nation’s primary and secondary students rank among the lowest in the developed world in standardized math, science and reading exams, the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research reported in its “Education Report Card,” released for publication on Wednesday ahead of the new school year. Despite having far more school days than any other developed country, Israel scored among the lowest in core subjects in 2016, according to the OECD.
The “report card,” based on research compiled by Tel Aviv University Prof. Dan Ben-David, found that in a compilation of data put out by the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, and Israel’s National Authority for Educational Measurement and Evaluation from 2015, the average achievement score for Israeli primary students was in the bottom five percentile among 25 OECD countries.
The average score for Israeli students was 291, while the average of Japan, the top scoring country, was 369. “The weakest Israeli pupils score below the weakest pupils in each of the other developed countries,” Ben-Daid said on Tuesday.
“The future ability of these children to attain the skills needed to successfully contend with a global, competitive economy is severely handicapped by the poor level of education that they are receiving today.” [...]

Half of Israel’s students are getting a Third World education, he said, noting that, in addition to the haredi boys, Arab students also are not being provided with the tools and conditions to move ahead.
“Even without the haredi boys, the average score of the remaining Jewish children is below most of the developed countries,” he added. “The education that Israel provides to its Arabic-speaking children is below that in many Third World countries. In fact, Arab Israeli pupils attained a lower score than the average scores in most of the predominantly Muslim countries participating in the exam.”
To prevent a future downward spiral, Ben-David recommends defining a core curriculum that is uniform and mandatory for all students; changing how teachers are chosen, trained and compensated; and reorganizing the Education Ministry.

Iran, Russia, Turkey mark a new turn with $7 billion drilling deal
Press TV, Wed Aug 16, 2017

Turkey’s Unit International which signed a drilling deal last week with Russia's state-owned Zarubezhneft and Iran's Ghadir Investment Holding says the contract is worth $7 billion.
The drilling in Iran will take place at three oil fields estimated to hold 10 billion barrels of reserves and produce 100,000 barrels per day and a large natural gas field with a production capacity of 75 billion cubic meters per day, the company said on Tuesday.
Unit did not name the field but said its reserves are enough to meet Turkey's gas demands for the next 150 years, with the production equal to 1.5 times the 50 billion cubic meters of gas which Turkey imports annually.
The drilling agreement marks a new dawn in cooperation between Iranian, Russian and Turkish companies, reflecting on the rapidly changing geopolitical dynamics in the region.
Over the past two years, Turkey and Russia have climbed down from a collision course over the former’s downing of a Russian bomber in Syria to cooperate on implementing a ceasefire in the Arab country with the help of Iran.
Russia has lifted a trade ban on Turkey, while keeping sanctions on imports of most Western food and drink in place in retaliation for wide-ranging Western sanctions.
Moreover, the fallout in diplomatic relations is widening from the West’s support of Turkish dissidents and Washington’s backing for Kurdish militants in Syria which Ankara views as a security threat.
And with Iran also being under US sanctions, Tehran, Ankara and Moscow might be finding chemistry for an alliance of sorts which explains their first ever joint venture signed in Moscow last Tuesday.

Syrian Investment Agency, Syrian-Chinese Businessmen Council
sign joint work program to promote investment opportunities
Syrian Arab News Agency, 15 August 2017

The Syrian Investment Agency (SIA) and the Syrian-Chinese Businessmen Council signed on Tuesday a joint work program aimed at promoting the investment opportunities available in Syria.
Director General of the SIA Inas al-Umawi said that the program comes to complement the Authority’s efforts in encouraging investments and diversifying and directing them towards the promising sectors and overcoming all bureaucratic obstacles that stand in the way, in addition to adopting regional planning to guide projects in appropriate directions.
She noted to the important and effective role of the Syrian-Chinese Business Council in the development of joint investment and the strengthening of cooperation relations, especially with the imminent launch of the Damascus International Fair, calling on Chinese investors to visit Syria and learn about the investment climate and administrative measures and incentives and seize the opportunity to invest in the country.

The Chinese Ambassador to Syria Qi Qianjin said that the Chinese government has a consistent policy of promoting and developing political, economic and trade relations with Syria, indicating that there is a strong desire on the part of Chinese businessmen to participate in the reconstruction projects in Syria. He expressed confidence that the trade exchange between the two friendly countries will continue to increase along with the increased achievements of the Syrian Arab Army against the armed groups, adding that Chinese businessmen will participate in Damascus International Fair, which will open two days later. He added that the great economic progress in China coincides with the Chinese government’s aspiration to increase the volume of cooperation and investment with the countries of the world, especially Syria, which has not stopped trading with it for the last seven years despite the crisis it is going through, noting that it is his duty to work on “building a bridge between the two peoples and the two governments and expanding the investments between China and Syria.”

Syria Ready to Welcome Guests Participating in Damascus International Fair
Hamda Mustafa, Syria Times, 15 August 2017

DAMASCUS, (ST) Syria is getting ready to welcome delegations from 43 countries participating in the 59th Damascus International fair as preparations for launching this important economic cultural and social event are almost finished including maintenance works, decoration activities and the uploading of goods.
The fair, which is to be held on August 17-26 at Damascus Fairground after a five-year stop because of the terrorist war imposed on the Syrian state and people, has been the Syrian economy's main window to the world since its establishment in 1954.
Re-launching the fair indicates the Syrian economy's recovery. It is a sign that Syria the security situation is getting better in the country thanks to the gains made by the Syrian Arab army and its allies in the fight against terrorist takfiri groups nationwide.
Over decades, the fair achieved great successes that were enough to classify it as the pearl of the Middle East fairs.
It wasn't only a window for the Syrian economy to the world but also a very important economic window for the Arab countries and a means to unify the Arabs even amid their political differences.

According to the Public Establishment for International Fairs and Exhibitions, the countries which are officially participating in the fair through their embassies are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Cuba, Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of India, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Lebanon, State of Palestine, the Russian Federation, the Republic of south Africa , the Republic of Sudan, the Republic of Yemen, the Republic of Abkhazia, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Federative Republic of Brazil, the Sultanate of Oman and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
A collection of independent and private companies from Foreign and Arab countries are also taking part in this event and exhibit their products.

Farmers in a designated de-escalation zone in the Syrian province of Daraa began gathering
what is reported to be the area's first harvest in six years. [Fars News Agency, 17-8-2017]

US: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain Fail to Respect Religious Freedom
Jason Ditz, antiwar.com, August 16, 2017

An annual US State Department report on religious freedom is strongly criticizing key US allies, notably Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, for their lack of religious freedom and admonished Israel to respect its non-Orthodox citizens.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared unusually willing to go after Saudi Arabia and Bahrain about the matter, saying both nations need to stop discriminating against their substantial Shi’ite minorities and embrace a greater degree of religious freedom for all citizens.
Bahrain has struggled mightily with having such a large Shi’ite minority, violently cracking down on protests demanding equal rights and equal protection under the law. In general, Bahrain has presented such unrest as Iranian plots.
Saudi Arabia’s Shi’ite minority is a smaller percentage, but potentially a dangerous one because they live in the nation’s most oil rich areas. Here too, the Saudis see any sign of unrest at their status as second-class citizens as proof of Iranian influence, and are quick to execute demonstrators as “terrorists.”

The US report said the Iranian government "continued to harass, interrogate and arrest Bahais, Christians, Sunni Muslims and other religious minorities and regulated Christian religious practices closely to enforce the prohibition on proselytising."
Tillerson charged that Iran had used "vague apostasy laws" to execute 20 members of religious minorities over the past year.
Iran considers it an unrealistic, baseless, unfounded and biased report which has only been made with the intention of certain political gains," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi hit back on the ministry's website. He said Washington should focus on improving its own record of discrimination, particularly regarding its Muslim population.

Al-Moallem: Egypt’s participation in Damascus International Fair
reflects sincere desire to enhance relations with Syria
Syrian Arab News Agency, 17-1-2017

Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem on Thursday received on Thursday a delegation from the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce which will be participating in Damascus International Fair, headed by Chairman of the Federation Ahmed el-Wakil.
Al-Moallem welcomed the Egyptian delegation, reviewing the historical ties binding the two brotherly people in Syria and Egypt, stressing the importance of developing the economic relations between the two countries.
Al-Moallem briefed the Egyptian delegation on the latest developments in Syria and the Syrian Arab Army’s achievements towards realizing stability to the country as soon as possible, hailing the Syrian people’s resilience and rallying around their leadership.
He pointed out that Syria and Egypt are facing one regionally and internationally-backed common enemy, that is the Takfiri terrorism, which necessitates unifying efforts to eliminate it.

Syrian cargo plane is Benina’s first foreign flight after reopening
Libya Herald, Benghazi, 17 August 2017

For the first time in seven years, a Syrian plane has flown into Benghazi’s Benina airport. The cargo plane initiated what is supposed to be a regular cargo flight between Damascus and Benghazi, although today Syrian officials were also reported on board. The flight is also the first foreign one to Benghazi since the airport closed three years ago during the clashes there.
It is believed to have been promoted by the Russians to help the Assad regime break out of its isolation in the Arab world.
Libya cut diplomatic ties with Syria in the wake of the 2011 revolution.
However, Russia is Syria’s closed friend in the Arab world and (Libyan National Army commander) Khalifa Hafter has been promoting himself as a close ally for Russia. Earlier this week he was in Moscow trying to persuade the Russians to relax the international ban on providing weaponry to Libya.

libya - benghazi 2011 - islamist rebels, burning gaddafi's green book

Lebanon Prepares for Syria's Post-War Construction Windfall
by Naharnet Newsdesk, 17-8-2017

The port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon wants the world to know it's ready for business.
British safety managers are training local hires to operate heavy machinery and Chinese technicians are running diagnostics on two new container cranes that tower over the harbor, just 28 kilometers (18 miles) from the Syrian border.
After six years of civil war in Syria, markets across the Middle East are anticipating a mammoth reconstruction boom that could stimulate billions of dollars in economic activity. Lebanon, as Syria's neighbor, is in prime position to capture a share of that windfall and revive its own sluggish economy.
Battles still rage in Syria's north and east, and in pockets around the capital, Damascus, but the survival of President Bashar Assad's government now appears beyond doubt. That is introducing an element of stability into forecasts not seen since 2011, when the war broke out.
The World Bank estimates the cost to rebuild Syria at $200 billion. For Lebanon, that could be just the stimulus it needs,,
"Lebanon is in front of an opportunity that it needs to take very seriously," said Raya al-Hassan, a former finance minister from northern Lebanon who now directs the Tripoli Special Economic Zone project that's planned to be built adjacent to the port.

Lebanon has officially sought "dissociation" from the Syrian war so as not to fuel rancor among political parties split between those aligned with Damascus and those against it. But there is also an air of inevitability about the re-normalization of relations, as Assad looks, for the short-term at least, to stay on in power.
Syria's chief champion in Lebanon, Hizbullah, which is fighting alongside Assad's forces, evinces little doubt.
"Our national interest is for the border between Lebanon and Syria to be open ... because, tomorrow the routes will open to Iraq and to Jordan and we want to be able to transport Lebanese goods," Hizbullah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said in a speech this week.

Europe and the United States are hesitant to finance the reconstruction projects so long as Assad remains in power. But Russia, China, and Iran, as well as investors in Lebanon and the Middle East, are showing no signs of hesitation.

Syria: HNC opposes local reconciliation deals
Sputnik Russian News Agency, 18-8-2017

The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) supports the idea of establishing local reconciliation committees as they could help achieving the political settlement of the ongoing crisis in Syria, Tarek Ahmad, an SSNP member, told Sputnik on Thursday.
"If they fit with the interests of Syria as a state, these local committees will help. If they are established according to the law, they will be helpful. The Syrian Social Nationalist Party as well as the Syrian government were always very supportive of any steps that may lead to political settlement and national reconciliation," Ahmad said.

On Thursday (17-8), the Russian reconciliation center in Syria proposed to establish local reconciliation committees in Syria’s de-escalation zones comprising members of both government and armed opposition.
The Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) has opposed local reconciliation deals in the country, stating that they should not serve as a substitute for wholesome political settlement.

"It was predictable that they would react this way. This kind of local committees and the process of reconciliation that takes place on the ground take away their jobs.
They do not have any connection with the forces on the ground; they just try to influence the process giving orders from the hotels, from the capitals such as Riyadh, Istanbul or Cairo," Ahmad said.
"When it comes to real work, and I am talking about real work for people on the ground, such as providing them with food and medication, it has been done by the Russians and by the Syrian government.
All what HNC was doing for the last seven years was just words and dreams and plans to divide Syria," Ahmad added.

Wikipedia info: With over 100,000 members the Syrian Social Nationalist Party is the second largest legal political group in Syria after the ruling Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.
In Lebanon, it has been a major secular and highly organised elite party in the political history of the country for over 80 years.
During the course of the Syrian Civil War the party has seen its relevance increasing in Syria, where almost 8000 fighters of the Party's armed branch, the Eagles of the Whirlwind, fights alongside the Syrian Armed Forces against Syrian opposition and the Islamic State.

Trump dumps controversial chief strategist Bannon in latest upheaval
Reuters, 18-8-2017

President Donald Trump on Friday fired chief strategist Stephen Bannon in the latest White House shake-up.
"White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve's last day," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement on Friday. "We are grateful for his service and wish him the best."
Bannon became the latest key figure to abruptly depart a White House that has been chaotic from its first days in power and already has lost a chief of staff, a national security advisor, two communications directors and a chief spokesman.
Trump's presidency also has been dogged by ongoing investigations in Congress and a special counsel named by the Justice Department into potential collusion between his presidential campaign and Russia, something both Trump and Moscow deny.