Egypt

Egyptian court upholds Sinai militants' death sentence

Al Ahram

Adel Habara could lodge a second appeal against the death sentence 

 

Sinai-based militant Adel Habara (Photo: Al-Ahram)

The terrorism department of an Egyptian criminal court upheld on Tuesday the ruling to sentence to death the Sinai-based militant Adel Habara and five others on charges of being members of a jihadi group.

The court ordered the release of one defendant named Mohamed Al-Maghawry.

The court sentenced the seven defendants to death in May 2015. Two were present at court on Tuesday, including Habara, while the rest were sentenced in absentia.

Tuesday's verdict came following an appeal by two defendants.

The court sent its preliminary death sentence against the defendants to the country's Grand Mufti on 24 February. The senior Muslim cleric is required by Egyptian law to give a consultative, and he approved the sentence.

Meanwhile, the defendants have the right to appeal for the second time at the Court of Cassation against the death sentence.

If that appeal is accepted, the Court of Cassation will be in charge of the trial.

The prosecution charged the convicted of "joining a jihadi group that aims to overthrow the government and target the army and police, possessing explosives, having connections with the Islamic State group, and receiving funds from foreign parties to achieve this goal."

Habara and the other defendants were arrested in Egypt's Sharqiya governorate, northeast of Cairo, in September 2013 in possession of ammunition and explosive devices.
This is the second death sentence that the Sinai militant Habara has received.

In December a Cairo criminal court confirmed death sentences against Habara and six others for carrying out an execution-style killing of policemen in an ambush in August 2013. Some 25 soldiers were killed in the attack.

Habara, who hit the headlines over his involvement in the attack, is also accused of involvement in another major militant attack in Rafah against the Egyptian army in August 2012, which left 16 soldiers dead.

He is also accused of involvement in other militant operations against security forces.

A large number Islamists have been sentenced to death in similar cases over the past year. The latest was a preliminary death sentence to ousted president Mohamed Morsi and 105 other defendants in the trial known in the Egyptian media as the Natroun jailbreak case.

via english.ahram.org.eg

Syria's Bashar al-Assad looks like clear winner of U.S.-Russia duel at United Nation

CBC News

If anyone is feeling more comfortable after the duelling speeches by the leaders of Russia and the United States at the United Nations on Monday, it would be the man sitting in the presidential palace in Damascus.

Bashar al-Assad's position as Syria's leader seems more secure, as he's being talked about as part of the solution to end the war in Syria that has claimed at least a quarter of a million lives.

President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama once again highlighted the difficulty of solving the Syrian crisis.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and U.S. President Barack Obama address the UN General Assembly on Monday.

The line from the United States and its allies, including France, is still that Assad has to go.

But it's been watered down.

Obama backed away from the insistence that the Syrian dictator cannot be a part of any political solution to end the war.

He stood before the UN General Assembly Monday and branded Assad a "tyrant." But then he added: "Realism also requires a managed transition away from Assad and to a new leader."

"Managed transition" clearly opens the door to Assad's inclusion in the political process, which bolsters his regime and gives it legitimacy as he clings to power, after a number of military setbacks that have depleted the forces that fight for him.

Putin told the UN that turning away from Assad in the battle against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) would be "an enormous mistake."

More skin in game

He chastised those calling for Assad's ouster, saying: "They aren't citizens of Syria, and so should not be involved in choosing the leadership of the another country."

Russia has more skin in the game now, after sending warplanes, tanks and soldiers to a key regime airbase in northwestern Syria. The move is widely seen as an attempt to prop up Assad after the losses his forces have suffered recently.

Some Syria watchers, however, say that while the Russians continue to offer their support publicly, behind the scenes Moscow may in fact be open to a political transition that will see Assad go, but on terms more favourable to the Russians. 

Syria's opposition has always maintained it won't negotiate a transition while Assad remains president.

"He has killed too many of his own people," Noura al-Ameer, a top figure in the National Coalition of Syria, recently told CBC News.

Assad leads in killing

While much of the focus of the conflict in Syria remains on ISIS, it is the forces of president Assad who have killed by far the most civilians.

This year, according the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the regime is responsible for 7,894 civilian deaths, compared with 1,131 attributed to ISIS.

In Canada, there was no mention of Assad by the three party leaders in Monday  night's foreign policy discussion organized by the Munk Debates.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said in 2013 that Canada wants to see Assad "depart power."

Since then, Canadian fighter and support aircraft have joined the U.S.-led mission against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. They are, by default, on the same side as Assad in the fight against the so-called Islamic State.

That uncomfortable reality perhaps helps explain why no wanted to mention Assad, who these days seems a little more secure in that presidential palace.

via www.cbc.ca

Putin: Syria's Only Hope

Politico Magazine, by Vali Nasr

Russia’s daring intervention in Syria is not just a rude shock for Washington, but could also be a strategic game-changer for the Middle East, especially if it helps end the Syrian civil war.

Putin’s maneuver at first glance looks like a desperate gamble to save the Assad regime. Military intervention could stabilize Assad for a time, but critics think Russia ultimately risks a repetition of the Afghan debacle when jihadi fighters bested Russian military might. Those naysayers should keep in in mind that for Putin, as he made it clear in his speech before the United Nations, the alternative to involvement may be an embarrassing defeat for Assad that empowers Islamic extremism. And that Russia is much better positioned than America to stop the bloodshed Syria.

No matter how this ends, for now Russia has changed the dynamics of the Syria crisis and opened up new possibilities. The crisis is no longer about Iran, which was increasingly on its heels defending Assad while also fighting ISIL in Iraq. By stepping forward as Assad’s principal prop and forging an axis against ISIL (consisting of Iran, Iraq and Syria), Russia has put fighting Islamic extremism rather than “Iranian mischief” center stage in regional politics. For many in the West, the preoccupation will be Russia’s role in the Middle East, not the aftermath of the Iranian nuclear deal. 

Russian intervention is also a direct challenge to Turkey’s and Persian Gulf monarchies’ support for Assad’s opposition. Back in 2012 King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia showed his displeasure for Russian support of the Assad regime by purportedly hanging up the telephone on President Dmitri Medvedev. But it does not appear that Russia is too worried about how Turkey or the Arab world might react to its latest military endeavor. After the nuclear deal, Arab monarchies, unhappy with Washington, have deemed it necessary to build ties with Moscow. Unlike the United States, Russia does not have to choose between Iran and its Arab rivals; it has been able to stay close to Iran while strengthening ties with Persian Gulf monarchies.

The United States has from the outset been reluctant to get involved in the Syrian debacle. Its support for opposition to Assad has been ineffective and so have its attempts at finding a diplomatic solution. By contrast, or perhaps as a consequence, there is now recognition across the board that Russia is central to an end game in Syria.

Secretary Kerry is renewing his bid for a diplomatic solution to Syria, but it is Russia, not the United States, that is shaping the situation on the ground to compel diplomacy. In the four years of civil war, the United States has rebuffed calls to arm the rebels, establish a no fly zone or enforce its own red lines for use of chemical weapons. America’s impact on the civil war has been minimal. Russia, by contrast, has rmed Assad’s military and now taken charge of defending the regime. It is clear to all stakeholders that the key to the resolution of the war is Moscow.

Washington’s ability to get regional actors to compromise on Syria is also hampered by domestic considerations. The political environments in both the United States and Iran preclude serious talks over regional issues, let alone the meaningful give and take that would make diplomacy possible. Iran’s Supreme Leader has said that for now talks with the United States will go no further than the nuclear deal, and the Obama administration speaks of containment rather than engagement when it comes to Iran’s regional role. The implementation of the nuclear deal will cast a shadow on all discussions over Syria, and even if Washington were to manage a breakthrough with Tehran, it is bound to face opposition from Israel, Persian Gulf monarchies and Congress.

Moscow is better situated to move Iran, Turkey and the Persian Gulf monarchies toward compromise. Secretary Kerry brought Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel Jubair together last month in Qatar to discuss Syria. But Russia has been pursuing more direct bilateral talks. The list of dignitaries who have visited Moscow in recent months is long: Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Revolutionary Guards’ Qods Force Commander Qasim Suleimani, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Nayef, Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, UAE’s Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Zayed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan. After Muhammad Bin Salman returned from Moscow, Putin arranged for him to meet Assad's intelligence chief, Ali Mamluk, in Jeddah. As Putin has ramped up his defense of Assad, Russia has been speaking to the biggest regional actors.

This diplomatic outreach has already had tangible effects. Just last week, after visiting Moscow, Erdogan changed his position and accepted that Assad could be part of a political solution to end the civil war. It must be clear to Erdogan and the Persian Gulf monarchies that Putin will not let Assad fall. These nations also run the risk of confrontation with Russia if they continue supporting anti-Assad forces. Nor do Turkey and Israel want to see prolonged Russian military presence next door. Israel would not be able to hit at Hezbollah and Iranian targets at will, and Turkey wouldn’t be able to react to the Kurdish challenge as freely it has thus far. The best course of action, these states could conclude, is to agree to a diplomatic solution that would send Russian forces home.

This could create a path out of the current impasse in Syria, which would be welcome news in not just countries around Syria but also in Europe where the swelter of war-weary refugees is posing humanitarian and security challenges. But it raises fresh questions about Russia’s challenge to the United States and the world order. The Obama administration’s critics fear Russia’s power play could establish Moscow’s primacy in Middle Eastern affairs and embolden Russia elsewhere in the world. The vacuum Russia is filling, critics say, is the one left by American insouciance. 

Syria certainly confirms worries about Russia’s outsized ambitions in the Middle East and beyond. It should also give us pause when we hear that Moscow is chastened by international pressure and out of options or that Putin has no strategy. But for now the focus is whether Russia shows its mettle in ending the war in Syria. The long-term repercussions of Russia’s aggression are a debate for another day.

via www.politico.com

Egypt’s gas find sets Mediterranean geopolitics on fire

Global Risk Insights, by Alex Damiano (read on here)

The recent natural gas find in Egypt ensures the country’s energy security, but also alters the energy and geopolitical dynamics in the eastern Mediterranean.

Over the past few years, the discoveries of hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean have quietly led to strategic realignment among the regions actors, including Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey and Greece.

The question now is whether ENI’s Zohr field discovery in Egypt will improve cooperation, or heighten competition, among eastern Mediterranean gas producers.

Following discoveries in 2009 and 2010 by Texan Noble Energy, Israel laid claim to the Tamar field, holding 10 trillion cubic feet (tcf), and the Leviathan field, holding 22 tcf. The finds ensure Israel’s energy security for some time; however, delays due to political wrangling have meant that a gas plan has yet to be established and exportation unrealized.

In 2011, the Aphrodite field in off the coast of Cyprus was discovered and estimated to hold about 4 tcf. For a country dependent on services and tourism, this was a welcome opportunity for energy security and diversification.

The Zohr gas find will likely scuttle Cypriot and Israeli plans to sell offshore gas to Egypt, less than a year after both signed preliminary agreements to do so. The Zohr field is the largest ever in the Mediterranean at 30tcf, with a total capacity potential estimated at 30 billion cubic meters (bcm). An additional 2-3 bcm is expected to cover domestic consumption.

Before the 2011 uprising, Egypt was a net exporter of natural gas, supplying the likes of Israel, but has shifted to a net importer in recent years due to rising consumption and depleted natural gas output. Aside from ensuring Egypt’s energy security, the discovery could turn Egypt into a regional natural gas hub.

Geopolitics at Sea

The hydrocarbons bonanza has led to closer cooperation in the Mediterranean. Multiple partnerships have emerged including Israel-Cyprus-Greece, Egypt-Israel-Cyprus and Cyprus-Greece-Egypt, all enhancing energy and security ties through agreements and joint naval exercises.

Indeed, in 2014, Cyprus, Egypt, and Greece held a tripartite summit meeting, culminating in the signing of the Cairo Declaration, enhancing cooperation on multiple fronts, such as energy, security, tourism, and economic development.

Apart from common interests in economic development and regional security, these actors all share poor relations with Turkey. Once strong partners, Israel-Turkey relations soured after the 2010 Mavi Marmara Gaza flotilla raid incident.

Egypt-Turkey relations deteriorated following the military ousting of former President Morsi, given the political and ideological relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and Turkey’s leading AKP party.

Israeli-Egyptian relations have improved since Morsi’s departure as the new regime and Jerusalem both seek to contain radical Islam.

Turkish apprehension of an eastern Mediterranean gas hub between Israel and Cyprus has increased, given their own ambitions to become a transit hub to Europe. Indeed, Turkey ramped up naval exercises and in 2014 sent their own exploration vessel, Barbaros, to disputed waters, accompanied by Turkish warships.

Any sort of gun boat diplomacy should be deterred, however, given the improving relationship between Egypt, Cyprus, and Israel with Russia. Russia has conducted multiple naval exercises in the Mediterranean, as well, and has cooperation agreement with Cyprus to use its port and bases in cases of emergency.

All about transit

With their significant natural gas finds, Egypt, Cyprus, and Israel all look to become net energy exporters, while Turkey and Greece want to benefit as conduits for the European market. So, post Zohr field discovery, what options remain?

The easiest and cheapest option for both Cyprus and Israel is to create a pipeline to Turkey, which would act as a transit hub to reach the European export market. To date, politics have precluded this as a solution to the Cyprus conflict as a prerequisite, while any pipeline from Israeli fields would have to pass through Cyprus’ EEZ.

However, the gas finds have catalyzed unification efforts on the island, as the latest rounds of talksbetween the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot leaders look promising. And Israel will continue to seek ways to normalize relations with Turkey.

Given Turkey’s domestic turmoil and Syrian involvement, President Erdogan could divert attention and score a quick win here. In this scenario, Turkey can improve relations with its neighbors, establish itself as an energy transit hub, and remove obstacles to further European integration.

Continue reading here. 

via globalriskinsights.com

Russia Checks Western Lies on Syria: Information Clearing House

Information Clearing House, by Finian Cunningham

September 25, 2015 "Information Clearing House" - "Sputnik "-You have to hand it to Russia. In recent weeks, one move after another by Moscow over the Syrian crisis could be accompanied by the audible word “check”, leaving Washington and its minions grappling with disorientation about how to respond to the Russian moves.

At the heart of the West’s disorientation what is being exposed is its glaring criminal deceptions over Syria.

This week, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zahkarova probed the Western rationale towards Syria with this incisive proposition.

She said that if Washington insists that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should stand down, then the United States government should henceforth remove its signature from the 2012 Geneva Communiqué. The same logical ultimatum applies to Britain and France.

That communiqué, signed three years ago by international governments, as well as the United Nations, European Union and Arab League, clearly states that “the political future of Syria must be determined by the Syrian people themselves”.

The binding document had followed lengthy negotiations between Russia, China and the Western powers, and it was signed in Geneva in the summer of 2012 under the auspices of then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Hillary Clinton was the US Secretary of State at the time.

Nowhere in the Geneva accord is it mentioned that Syria’s Assad should relinquish power.

It merely endorses a political process of dialogue among Syrian parties, the outcome of which is to be mandated by the Syrian people. In fact, two years after the communiqué was signed the Syrian people voted by a huge majority to re-elect Assad as the country’s leader.

Yet Western powers continue to assert that Assad “has to go”.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel this week appeared to break the Western ranks when she said that Bashar al-Assad must be part of the political negotiations to solve the Syrian conflict.

Nevertheless, Washington, Britain and France remain implacable in their insistence that the Syrian president has to stand down. In other words, these Western powers are unilaterally demanding regime change in spite of the fact that they signed up to the Geneva Communiqué, which makes no such stipulation. With typical unreasonable arrogance, Washington and its allies appoint themselves to over-ride the sovereign right of the Syrian nation.

Last week, while in London, Clinton’s successor John Kerry repeated the American demand that “Assad must go”. Speaking alongside his British counterpart Philip Hammond, Kerry said he was open to talks with Russia on the Syrian crisis, but that the bottom-line for Washington and London was that the Syrian leader had to vacate office.

“We’re prepared to negotiate. Is Assad prepared to negotiate, really negotiate? Is Russia prepared to bring him to the table?” said Kerry.

The New York Times elucidated further Washington’s intentions. It reported: “[American] officials indicated that the larger goal was to draw the Russians into a political process that would ultimately replace Syria’s government of President Bashar al-Assad, a longtime ally of the Kremlin.”

Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokesman, has subsequently nailed that Western lie on Syria. If Washington insists on Assad’s removal, then the US government should repudiate the Geneva Communiqué. “Otherwise,” said Zakharova, “the US is deceiving everybody.” Check!

This follows the move earlier this month when Russia placed its support full square behind the Assad government. Moscow has delivered military aid to Damascus in line with legal bilateral agreements.

Russian President Vladimir Putin explained that the Syrian government is the primary offensive force against the terrorist networks tearing Syria apart.

Therefore, if Washington and its Western allies claim to be fighting against terrorism in Syria, then they should have no objection to Russia’s support for the government in Damascus. Check!

Again, the Russian move deftly exposes another Western deception.

Since Moscow beefed up its military support for Syria, Washington, London and Paris have been reeling from their own contradictions. The West says it is alarmed that Moscow is “shoring up the Assad regime”.

But if these powers were genuinely in the business of “degrading and defeating” the so-called Islamic State and other jihadist terror groups, then why should they be alarmed by Russia supporting the principal force – the Syrian government – in the battle against the terrorists?

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointed out that the West’s logic is “upside-down”. He has also commented that the West’s “anti-terror” coalition bombing Syria and Iraq does not appear to be genuine in its ostensible aims. After a year of US-led air strikes on Syria and Iraq, the terror groups seem to be stronger than ever.

Clearly, the West’s “anti-terror” strategy is ineffective, suggesting that the real aim of the West is to further weaken the Syrian state.

Scrabbling around to find some cover for its naked upside-down logic, Washington, London and Paris are now saying that they fear that Russia’s military intervention in Syria “may lead to an escalation of the conflict” or to a clash with the US-led coalition.

John Kerry and his Western counterparts have even resorted to this oxymoron. Kerry said the “root cause” of the refugee crisis assailing Europe is the “conflict in Syria” and that is, in his view, further “rationale” for the removal of President Assad. How convoluted can you get?

The four-year-old conflict in Syria is so obviously the driver for millions of Syrian refugees. But the “root cause” that Kerry so deceptively misplaces is the criminal covert war of regime change that Washington has launched on that country, along with the collusion of Britain, France, Turkey and the Gulf Arab dictatorships of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

That US-led regime-change war has involved unleashing thousands of terrorist mercenaries on Syria. It’s a well-worn American strategy played time and again in different parts of world down through the decades. Ukraine and Yemen are two other current case studies of Washington’s covert state-sponsored terrorism. Fiendishly, Western propaganda in the form of “Western news journalism” helps to mask what should be transparent criminality committed by Washington and its so-called allies and clients.

Deciphering the West’s lies and deceptions is not always an easy task.

But thanks to Russia’s logical policy, the West’s lies in Syria are at last being nailed. We might even say “Checkmated!”

via www.informationclearinghouse.info

Ottawa revokes citizenship of Zakaria Amara, mastermind behind Toronto 18 plot

CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Saturday, September 26, 2015 12:28PM EDT

 

 

The Islamic extremist who masterminded a terrorist plot to bomb Parliament and several buildings in the heart of downtown Toronto has become the first Canadian in history to have their citizenship revoked under Bill C-24, a controversial Conservative measure passed last spring. The new law gives the government the power to strip a dual citizen of their Canadian citizenship if they commit a serious crime. At a campaign stop in Regina Saturday, Conservative candidate Jason Kenney confirmed that Zakaria Amara, a Jordanian-Canadian and member of the so-called Toronto 18, has been be formally stripped of his Canadian citizenship. 

 

The Islamic extremist who masterminded a terrorist plot to bomb Parliament and several buildings in the heart of downtown Toronto has become the first Canadian in history to have their citizenship revoked under Bill C-24, a controversial Conservative measure passed last spring.

The new law gives the government the power to strip a dual citizen of their Canadian citizenship if they commit a serious crime.

At a campaign stop in Regina Saturday, Conservative candidate Jason Kenney confirmed that Zakaria Amara, a Jordanian-Canadian and member of the so-called Toronto 18, has been be formally stripped of his Canadian citizenship.

“He expressed violent disloyalty for this country – hatred for Canada -- and in so doing, through that conviction, he effectively renounced his own Canadian citizenship,” said Kenney, who is minister of defence.

CTV News has learned that at least three other convicted terrorists are now in the process of having their Canadian citizenships revoked.

The decision to revoke Amara’s citizenship has spurred outcry from rival politicians and Canadian law experts, with some suggesting the ruling is unconstitutional and sets a dangerous legal precedent.

Amara was sentenced to life in prison in 2010 with no chance of parole until 2016 for his role in plotting a series of terrorist attacks with the Toronto 18. Part of the group’s aim was to draw Canadian troops out of Afghanistan and detonate bombs in U-Haul rental trucks in downtown Toronto, according to an agreed upon statement of facts from the case’s Crown lawyer, Ione Jaffe.

The Toronto 18 also harboured plans to attack nuclear power plants, RCMP headquarters and eventually target the Sears Tower in Chicago or the UN headquarters in New York City, according to court records.

Police thwarted the plot – dubbed the “Battle of Toronto” – in a sweeping series of arrests, which included Amara, in 2006.

Deportation plan underway

Amara was a dual citizen of Canada and Jordan. Now that his Canadian citizenship has been revoked, a plan has been set in motion to deport him back to the Middle Eastern country.

However, he will not be deported until his time has been served, the government confirmed. He is currently behind bars in a Quebec prison and is eligible for parole in 2016.

Deporting the convicted terrorist is a move that Amara’s lawyer has denounced as “not in the best interest of Canada.”

“It’s counterproductive, it’s unsafe and it flies in the face of our entire prison system,” Anser Farooq told CTV News.

Setting a legal precedent

Amara likely won’t garner much pity over his lost citizenship, but Canadians should be alarmed by the law’s potential consequences, says Joel Sandaluk, an immigration and citizenship lawyer.

“The day that we sacrifice a lot of our legal values and legal precedents to fear, to demands for greater security, we lose track of who we are as Canadians, of who we are as a people,” Sandaluk told CTV News Channel on Saturday. “And that’s an incredibly dangerous thing.”

Sandaluk acknowledged that Amara is precisely the type of criminal the law was written to target. But he said questions linger about who the law could affect in the future.

“What about the next person, and the next person after that?” he said.

“One of the things we’ve all seen over the years is that, a lot of times, anti-terrorism law can cause abuses -- people who weren’t necessarily intended to be caught in this kind of legislation can be caught, and the consequences are profoundly serious, they’re life-changing.”

He added that the law is “drafted broadly enough” that it could create unintended consequences.

“Terrorism itself is not necessarily a clearly defined concept. And how this law may be changed or distorted over the coming years or decades is impossible to predict with any degree of certainty,” he said.

Sandaluk suggested that if Amara’s revocation is not challenged in court, one of the upcoming revocations likely will be.

“This piece of legislation is brand new and untested. How the courts handle it, to be perfectly honest, remains to be seen.”

Human rights lawyer David Matas said the decision is another instance of the Harper government drafting a law that is open to Charter challenges.

“We’ve seen with this government a lot of Charter vulnerable legislation, and they’ve been losing Charter cases all the time, and this might be one of those examples,” Matas said.

NDP, Liberals pledge repeal 

The landmark revocation comes about three weeks before Canadians head to the polls on Oct. 19. Opposition parties have challenged the premise of Bill C-24. Tom Mulcair says the NDP would repeal the law, and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau reiterated Friday that his party would do the same.

“Under a Liberal government there will be no two-tier citizenship,” Trudeau told supporters Friday. “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.”

NDP candidate Andrew Thomson accused the Conservatives of playing politics on the matter.

“What we need to be careful of is that we are not stripping Canadian citizens of their rights simply because of the Conservatives’ interest in playing politics on this issue,” Thomson said.

via www.ctvnews.ca

Russia's Putin Just Sent Fighter Jets To Iraq To Destroy ISIS Sending Obama A Message That In The Middle East "PUTIN IS BOSS"

Shoebat.com, by Walid Shoebat

The Iranian-Russian alliance, which wants total control of Iraq and Syria will push Russian hegemony over the Middle East as Russia sent military forces now to Iraq. “They are popping up everywhere” says one senior U.S. official describing the arrival of Russian military personnel in Baghdad, Iraq.

The situation is heating up as Russia is now getting militarily involved not jut in Syria, but also in Iraq.

Undetected by radar, the Russians were able to move 24 attack jets (12 Sukhoi Su-25 “Frogfoot” and a dozen Sukhoi Su-24 “Fencer” attack aircraft) in “tight formations” under the “steady stream” of the large Russian An-124 cargo planes that have been ferrying supplies from bases in Russia through Iran before traveling into Iraq.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin did his move just prior to the planned meeting between him and President Obama in New York Monday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Obama administration has voiced concern regarding Russia’s involvement, at least in Syria.

Putin as it seems has President Obama in check since he is thwarting Obama’s plans as the United States has publicly expressed alarm since Russia-supported Syrian loyalists could clash with U.S.-backed rebel groups. Direct Russian intervention in Syria will help break Russia out of isolation and will force Washington to begin direct military-to-military talks with the Russians on Syria.

Putin as it seems is challenging President Obama and has fostered ties with the governments in both Syria and Iraq and now has moved his chips in both nations sending a message to Obama that Putin is boss.  The situation sends a blow to President Obama’s plan since four years after President Barack Obama’s August 2011 ultimatum that the Syrian president must go, now Russia’s involvement and world leaders descending on New York for the United Nations General Assembly will send the message that Assad can stay.

But the situation is not only an alarm bell to the U.S., besides challenging the U.S., the interference of Russia in Syria and Iraq what is now a recognized fighting force will provoke the Muslim world, and bring back memories of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

To understand more on Russia’s involvement read Are Gog And Magog Marching On Israel As We See Russia Deploying Its Military Might In Syria?

via shoebat.com

Egypt keen to participate effectively in UN General Assembly: Presidency

Ahram Online

El-Sisi is expected to give a speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday, addressing topics including political and economic developments in Egypt

File Photo: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, of Egypt, addresses the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014 (Photo: AP)

Egypt will present its views on various issues during President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's visit to the UN General Assembly, said presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef, who added that the country is keen on participating fully in Assembly activities.

Youssef said in press statements in New York that El-Sisi is set to meet with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in the Palestinian occupied territories.

The spokesman also stressed that Egypt maintains its position that a political solution is needed for the Syrian crisis in order to stop the bloodshed and maintain the unity of the country.

Youssef pointed out that the Syrian issue will be a main focus of El-Sisi's speech at the General Assembly. He also stressed that Egyptian-US relations are of strategic importance and that the two countries are keen on working together for progress in the coming period.

He did not, however, confirm whether El-Sisi will meet with his US counterpart Barack Obama.

The spokesman described the relations between the two countries as "excellent" and that they have been witnessing "positive development".

El-Sisi is expected address in his speech on Friday topics including political and economic developments in Egypt, as well as Cairo’s position on regional issues in the Middle East, according to government spokesperson Hossam El-Qawish.

via english.ahram.org.eg

صلاة العيد النساء و الرجال معآ في صف واحد

Unbelievable—don't think it was planned either. 

 

Egypt's War on Terrorism Bears Fruit

Gatestone Institute, by Khaled Abu Toameh. Read on here. 

Egypt began this week flooding smuggling tunnels along their border with the Gaza Strip with water from the Mediterranean Sea -- a move being condemned by Hamas and other Palestinian factions as a "disturbing nightmare."

The Egyptian army's move is another sign of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's determination to destroy the tunnels that were used to smuggle weapons, people and merchandise from Sinai to the Gaza Strip and the other way around.

This act is also a sign of Sisi's resolve to pursue his military campaign against Islamist terror groups that are waging war against the Egyptian authorities in Sinai. The Egyptians are convinced that Hamas and other Palestinian groups have been providing aid to the terror groups in Sinai.

Since the beginning of the year, dozens of Egyptian soldiers and police officers have been killed in a spate of terror attacks launched by Islamist groups in Sinai.

Earlier this week, Egypt's Interior Ministry announced that terrorists shot dead an Egyptian general in Sinai. In another similar shooting a few days earlier, a terror group killed General Khaled Kamel Osman.

The decision to pump water into the smuggling tunnels is seen as a severe blow not only to the terror groups in Sinai, but also to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian factions inside the Gaza Strip.

Seawater covers parts of the ground where Egypt has been pumping water into smuggling tunnels along the border with Gaza. (Image source: Al Jazeera video screenshot)

Judging from the reaction of the Palestinian groups, it is clear that they are in a state of hysteria as they see their tunnels collapsing one after the other.

In a statement published in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian groups, including Hamas, denounced the flooding of the tunnels as a "disturbing nightmare" for the Palestinians. The factions appealed to the Egyptian authorities to "stop this despicable crime against the Palestinian people and their environment."

"The Palestinian people are surprised by the Egyptian move, which will tighten the blockade on the Gaza Strip, destroy vast areas of agricultural land and harm those living near the border (with Egypt)," the statement said.

Initially, Hamas leaders did not take the reports about flooding the tunnels seriously. Some Hamas leaders, in fact, first thought that these were rumors designed to scare them and other Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip.

But when Hamas leaders woke up on September 13 to discover that the Egyptians had begun pumping water into the smuggling tunnels, they could not believe what they were seeing.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri announced that his movement asked the Egyptians to stop flooding the tunnels with seawater. "We hope that the Egyptians will comply with our demand," Abu Zuhri said. "This measure is completely unacceptable and poses a threat to many families living alongside the border."

Sources in the Gaza Strip noted this week that the Egyptian move has thus far proven to be effective and successful. They said that since being flooded with water, several tunnels have collapsed.

via www.gatestoneinstitute.org