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Iran Vows Nuclear Retaliation for U.S. Breach of Deal

December 14, 2016

Iran Vows Nuclear Retaliation for U.S. Breach of Deal, Washington Free Beacon, , December 14, 2016

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks in a news briefing after his meeting with his Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor at the Saadabad palace in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani  (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

“But the Obama administration counted on Iran waiting until the next president before revealing the game, and the Iranians sprung the trap early,” the source added. “So now the administration will do everything it can to look the other way and get through the next few weeks, so they can blame the inevitable collapse on Trump.”

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Senior Iranian officials vowed on Wednesday to continue moving forward with nuclear weapons work and other banned activities as retaliation against the United States for breaching last year’s nuclear accord, according to reports in the country’s state-controlled media.

Iranian leaders instructed the country’s atomic energy organization to move forward with sensitive nuclear work, including the construction of nuclear-powered ships and submarines.

Further provocative actions will be announced in the coming days, according to these Iranian leaders, who described the country’s actions as revenge for recent moves by the U.S. Congress to extend sanctions on Iran, a move the Islamic Republic claims is a breach of the nuclear deal.

Iran’s latest moves have not elicited concern from Obama administration officials, who continue to pursue a series of measures meant to decrease international pressure on Tehran and provide it with greater financial resources.

“Considering that the US administration has ignored and delayed compliance with its undertakings under the [nuclear agreement] and given the recent extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) that had already been declared as a violation of the nuclear deal by the Islamic Republic of Iran… the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran is ordered to develop the country’s peaceful nuclear program within the framework of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s international undertakings as defined in the following missions,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote in a letter Tuesday to the country’s top nuclear agency.

Iran will move forward with a “plan for designing and building propulsion systems to be used in marine transportation in cooperation with scientific and research centers,” according to Rouhani’s letter.

It also will engage in the “production of fuel for nuclear propulsion systems,” Rouhani wrote.

This is the first in a range of responses planned by Tehran, according to Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The renewed nuclear work is “the first but not the last measures to be taken by Iran,” Velayati was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Iran’s announcement did not draw a sharp response from Obama administration officials, who declined to say whether the nuclear work would constitute a breach of the deal.

“This announcement itself does not constitute a violation,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “I think there’s a lot we just don’t know. I mean, this announcement just got made. There’s a lot we don’t know about it and what it means. And so I think we’d have to reserve some judgment here about the degree to which this could present any kind of problem.”

Kirby expressed faith in international nuclear inspectors, telling reporters that they would likely catch a breach of the deal.

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser and expert of rogue regimes, told the Washington Free Beacon that Iran is using the renewal of sanctions as an excuse to ramp up its illicit research activities

“The JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], which they have never officially signed, was a gift made possible by Obama’s ego and Kerry’s naiveté,” Rubin said. “If they disagree with the United States, they can follow a legal process to pursue that but the fact that they are having a temper tantrum shows their insincerity. Especially because no new sanctions have been applied to Iran. After all, the U.S. president can waive any sanctions so long as Iran complies with its commitments.”

One senior foreign policy consultant who has worked with Republican and Democratic offices in Congress on the issue told the Free Beacon that Iran always planned to breach the deal once it received promised economic relief.

“The Iran deal was deliberately structured to prevent American leaders from pressuring Iran. Kerry and his Iranian counterparts wrote the deal so that Iran would get most of the benefits immediately, so that they could blackmail American lawmakers by threatening to costlessly walk away, which is exactly what they’re doing,” the source said.

“But the Obama administration counted on Iran waiting until the next president before revealing the game, and the Iranians sprung the trap early,” the source added. “So now the administration will do everything it can to look the other way and get through the next few weeks, so they can blame the inevitable collapse on Trump.”

Categories: Iran - sanctions, Iran - sanctions relief, Iran nuke inspections, Iran scam, Iranian nukes, Iranian Threats, Obama and Iran scam, Trump and Iran scam
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The worst-case scenario for the Electoral College vote

December 14, 2016

The worst-case scenario for the Electoral College vote, Israel National News, Mark Langfan, December 14, 2016

Dear President-Elect Trump,

Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

The best scenario is the Electoral College votes the 270 electors or more for you, and you take the oath of office on Inauguration Day.  Great, wonderful.

And, what’s the worst? The worst is that under Obama’s artificial CIA claim that the Russians hacked us to win the election, Obama invokes martial law under NSPD-51.  NSPD-51 is the worst.   Google it.  Or, google, https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html.

What’s NSPD-51? It stands for “National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/NSPD 51, HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/HSPD-20.”  NSPD-51 is an executive order first signed by George Bush in the wake of the 9/11 attacks which “gave” the President of the United the authority to declare martial law. I put “gave” in quotes because it is only a Presidential Executive Order.  It’s not a “law” or a “constitutional” provision, and it may no longer be valid.  However, Obama re-upped NSPD-51, and apparently re-signed an expansive and secret version that was never really published in full.

NSPD-51, in essence, says the President can unilaterally declare martial law if he deems a “catastrophic emergency” has taken place.  And “Catastrophic Emergency” means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions;”

Let’s boil this sentence down to its legal bare-bones: A “Catastrophic Emergency” means any incident, regardless of location, that results in . . . disruption severely affecting the U.S. population or government functions.

What was the real reason for the “leak” to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal of  the “secret” CIA report that “concluded” that Russia, America’s greatest enemy, hacked into the DNC and fed the e-mails into the American media for 2 months before the election so as to win the election for Donald Trump. Just to capture a 24-hour news cycle?  Maybe.

What if the CIA “Russian Hacking Wins for Trump” finding was released so as to lay a false “fake news” ‘factual’ predicate basis for Obama to invoke NSPD-51.  If true, would such a cyber-war event constitute an “incident, regardless of location, that results in . . . disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, . . . or government functions?”  The alleged Russian sneak cyber-attack caused greater “harm” to the United States than the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, they could claim.  Forget the fact that the FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency don’t agree with the CIA.  Who knows what level of intelligence finding a President needs to invoke NSPD-51.

In short, instead of tweeting up a storm, I would be lawyering-up a storm to file preliminary injunctions against President Obama and the CIA to prevent any actions with respect to either the Electoral College or under NSPD-51.

Obama may not intend to watch his 8 years of work erased so easily.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

Best regards,

Mark Langfan

Categories: 2016 elections, Electoral College, Executive order, Obama and Russian hacking, President Elect Trump
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Trump’s team is on point

December 14, 2016

Trump’s team is on point, Israel Hayom, Boaz Bismuth, December 14, 2016

(Please see also, Trump picked Tillerson for tough new Iran policy. — DM)

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, comes from outside the State Department, just like Colin Powell did under former U.S. President George W. Bush. There is one thing that should be noted, however: starting Jan. 20, both the U.S. president and the secretary of state will be outsiders, without political or diplomatic backgrounds. Get ready for changes and Washington-style inventions, like moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

Tillerson comes to the State Department with 40 years’ experience in a multinational company, ExxonMobil. For the past decade, Tillerson, who knows the world, has served as head of the company. It’s hard to say that an inexperienced person has been appointed secretary of state. Even Henry Kissinger had less international experience than Tillerson when he was appointed to the role, unless you count the number of foreign students he taught at Harvard.

Some will say that the appointment of Tillerson is problematic, especially for Israel: first of all, because of his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin; secondly, because of his close ties with the Gulf states; and third, because the former candidates for Trump’s secretary of state (former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, John Bolton, and even former Governor Mitt Romney) are considered more pro-Israel.

Let’s start with Russia: Tillerson might be a Putin favorite, but we can also assume this means he will always find a sympathetic ear at the Kremlin. What’s bad about that? The Obama administration sought to improve ties with Russia and was even responsible for a reboot in relations between Washington and Moscow. That reboot was so “successful” that at times we thought that Russia had resurrected the Soviet Union. We can assume that when Tillerson is in charge at the State Department, things will change. We can also assume that the president-elect and Tillerson will support the removal of sanctions currently in place against the Russians. Offered honey that sweet, the Russian bear will become much less irritable, and might continue strengthening ties with Israel.

Moving on to the Gulf states: Tillerson has worked for oil giants, so it’s obvious that he was in close contact with the Sunni Arab producers. The Gulf states, which like Iran about as much as Israel does, will explain to him that Tehran is a danger, not an opportunity. He’ll hear exactly the same thing in Jerusalem.

What tipped the scales in his favor, for Trump, was the fact that Tillerson knows how to close deals. Unlike former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he won’t fly around the world just to try to move things along; he will get on a plane to solve problems. And possibly even help the movers get the embassy equipment from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. A new president, a new team, a new age.

Categories: Gulf states, Israel, Putin, Putin and Israel, Rex Tillerson, Russia, Secretary of State
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Trump picked Tillerson for tough new Iran policy

December 14, 2016

Trump picked Tillerson for tough new Iran policy, DEBKAfile, December 14, 2016

rex-tillerson-putin

Rex Tillerson, Chairman an CEO of Exxon Mobil, was named this week as the next administration’s Secretary of State to execute the tough foreign policies charted by president-elect Donald Trump, including his decision to stiffen the nuclear accord signed with Iran as soon as he moves into the White House on Jan. 20.

DEBKAfile reports this exclusively from New York and its intelligence sources.

While campaigning for the presidency, Trump called the accord “the worst deal” ever.

According to our sources, a special team is already working on revisions of the accord which the US and five other global powers concluded with Iran in 2015 in the hope of retarding Iran’s nuclear weapons program by a decade.

As new president, Trump will issue Tehran with a unilateral demand to accept those revisions as pre-condition for the continuation of relations between the US and Iran. He does not intend consulting America’s co-signers, Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France, or asking them for their endorsement of the revamped accord.

The teams preparing the Trump administration’s Iran policy were put in place last week by Tillerson and designated national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.

No members of the incumbent NSC, State Department, Pentagon or Treasury, who managed the Obama administration’s Iran policy, was invited to take part. The teams were instead chosen from among scientists, military leaders and intelligence officials who opposed the nuclear accord with Iran.

Also attached were former administration officials hired by Exxon for their extensive knowledge of Iran’s oil trade and their close ties with oil circles in the Gulf Emirates, which like Israel, fought hard to pre-empt the nuclear deal with Iran.

Our sources have also learned that if Iran rejects the revised accord, the president elect has a list of new economic sanctions drawn up which are a lot tougher than the sanctions regime imposed by the Bush and Obama administrations.

The incoming president will have a fight on his hands to get the Tillerson appointment through the Senate in the face of objections raised by Republican lawmakers over his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, Trump hopes to turn those ties to his advantage. He trusts that Tillerson is just the man to sell the new administration’s Iran policies to the Russian president.

Read more about Trump’s plans for his secretary of state in the coming issue of DEBKA Weekly (for subscribers) out on Friday. Dec. 16, 2016.

Categories: Iran - sanctions, Iran scam, President Elect Trump, Putin, Rex Tillerson, Russia, Russia and Iran, Secretary of State
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Briefing the Electoral College on ‘Russian hacks’

December 14, 2016

Briefing the Electoral College on ‘Russian hacks’, American Thinker, David Zukerman, December 14, 2016

Last week, writing for this blog about a faithless elector, I cited the passage from Federalist No. 68 (attributed to Alexander Hamilton) noting that the members of the Electoral College were bound by the Constitution to meet in their individual states. I had no idea that that very limitation would be relevant to the curious call by some electors for an intelligence briefing, a call endorsed by John Podesta, Clinton campaign chairman — as I learned from the lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal, December 13.

For present purpose, I would call to the attention of Mr. Podesta and all Anti- and Never-Trumpers wherever they might be, the opening line of the Twelfth Amendment of the United States Constitution: “The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President….” Federalist No. 68 makes it clear that the aim of the Founders was to keep the lid on “tumult and disorder” at a convocation of the Electoral College. But a section of Federalist No. 68 that I did not think required quoting, previously, also makes it clear that the aim of the Founders, in keeping the members of the Electoral College confined to their separate states, was to reduce as much as humanly possible “cabal, intrigue, and corruption,” described in No. 68 as “[t]hese most deadly adversaries of republican government….”

How, then, would the proponents of intelligence briefings for the electors propose such briefings take place? Clearly, the spirit of the Twelfth Amendment would prevent an Electoral College briefing for all electors meeting in one place. Should there, then be briefings in the separate states, plus the District of Columbia? Who would conduct the briefings? Would intelligence briefings under the auspices of the national government be consistent with the state basis of the Electoral College? And wouldn’t all electors need to have security clearances for intelligence briefings? Surely, the briefings could not be held under the lax rules approach of the HIllary Clinton e-mails. Or would the briefings solely consist of readings from vague and unsubstantiated articles published in the Trump-resisting New York Times?

The moral I infer from all the commotion about the alleged (fake news?) shadow cast by Russia over the recent presidential campaign is simply this: never underestimate the left’s penchant for what Federalist No. 68 called “cabal, intrigue, and corruption” for purpose of undoing “republican [lower-case ‘r’] government.”

There is, also, an observation in Federalist No. 41 (attributed to James Madison) that seems worth noting in the present context: “A bad cause seldom fails to betray itself.”

 

Categories: 2016 elections, Electoral College, President Elect Trump, President Reject Clinton, Russian hacking, States
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A Dumpster of Despicables

December 14, 2016

A Dumpster of Despicables, PJ Media, David Solway, December 13, 2016

hillary_dummies_book_article_grid_5-11-16-2-sized-770x415xc

The situation in Canada, while not as dire as it is or has been in the U.S., is perhaps more dispiriting because we have no Donald Trump or Steve Bannon or Rudy Giuliani on the political horizon. Instead, we have the pro-Islamic, terrorist-hugging, debt-mongering, UNRWA-subsidizing, university drop-out, gynocentric, Castro-loving Justin Trudeau leading the country toward the proverbial cliff.

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Hillary Clinton’s remark that Trump voters were a “basket of deplorables” has now entered the almanac of infamy, as she herself is in process of doing. I know many such deplorables in the rural Ontario community where I make my home: farmers, cattle breeders, shop keepers, machinists, marina operators, truck drivers, carpenters, house painters, restaurateurs, tradesmen, unpretentious people who vote conservative, who are reliable neighbors, and whose children are not afraid of honest work. (The children of deplorables must be deplorables, too, which renders Hillary’s slur even more unconscionable.) In fact, these kids are an impressive lot, many of them apprentices in their fathers’ businesses and many enrolled in music classes in the local schools or taking private lessons, perhaps to become budding graduates of Toby Keith’s Honky Tonk U.

So all in all, I’m delighted to be living in a hotbed of deplorables, good people who would have voted Trump had they been Americans. They are largely scornful of our preening nonentity PM Justin Trudeau and Ontario’s cadaverous Liberal premier, the stridently feminist, LGBTQ-boosting, pro-abortion, anti-family, cap-and-trade carbon taxer, self-promoting, donor-hungry, economically illiterate social justice warrior, and Hillary mini-me Kathleen Wynne, currently escorting Bill 28 through parliament. The bill redefines the family as a contractual rather than a natural institution, involving up to four adult “parents,” a logical extension of such rulings as the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court Obergefell v. Hodges landmark case resulting in the legal redefinition of marriage.

Of course, Canada boasts a rapidly expanding doofus brigade, of which the majority of our politicos, our morally defective media, and our urban Liberals are charter members. We seem in this country, and particularly in this province—call it the SRO, the Socialist Republic of Ontario—to be approaching the condition that prevails in many parts of the U.S.

But we still have a ways to go to match the dumpster of despicables that currently flourishes there, including the aforementioned Hillary, the outgoing president and his administration of “old, plump, dull frauds” (to quote Bruce Walker), a media and academic sewer overflowing with cultural Marxist subversives, a student generation who would rewrite the American Constitution if they were able to compose a grammatical sentence, entitled minorities demanding reparations and government grants, left-liberal SocProgs, and a clan of plutocrats financing every seditious organization in sight. These are people who prove the point that you can have everything and have nothing. For if you have no historical awareness, no self-scrutiny, no strength of character, and no moral substance, then indeed you have nothing—except the power to wreak harm and convulse a nation. This is as good a definition of a “despicable” as I can come up with.

I imagine a photo of American despicables posing amiably together say, Hillary, Bill, John Podesta, George Soros, Barack Obama, Michael Moore and Harry Reid, to choose at random as depraved and injurious a group of political trash as one might find in the national dumpster. The dumpster is vast enough to contain a motley crew who adhere to a septicemic ideology that would transform the nation from a bread basket into a basket case by any means available, inculcating hatred of a long and reasonably successful republican tradition, generating contempt for the productive backbone of the country, spreading pervasive disinformation, and fomenting racial discord and acts of outright violence. The dumpster of despicables should be emptied as waste disposal via legislative measures and policy initiatives by an administration representing the real people, aka the basket of deplorables. One way or another, the despicables can no longer be allowed to manipulate the levers of power if the country is ever to get back on track.

The situation in Canada, while not as dire as it is or has been in the U.S., is perhaps more dispiriting because we have no Donald Trump or Steve Bannon or Rudy Giuliani on the political horizon. Instead, we have the pro-Islamic, terrorist-hugging, debt-mongering, UNRWA-subsidizing, university drop-out, gynocentric, Castro-loving Justin Trudeau leading the country toward the proverbial cliff.

Provincially we are no better off. Over the last several election cycles, featuring four successive Liberal governments under Dalton McGuinty—the Pinocchio of Canadian politics—and the hapless Wynne, Ontario has devolved from the manufacturing center and economic engine of the country into a have-not province, crushed under a gargantuan load of debt, bristling with dysfunctional and exorbitant wind turbines and collapsing under the highest energy bills in Canada—consumers are billed even for not using electricity—funding the costliest kangaroo court in the nation (the so-called Social Justice Tribunal), and dependent upon federal transfer payments to make ends not quite meet—California North. We are observing in our corner of the world what a Hillary presidency would have looked like, completing the devastation that Obama began. It takes a special despicable-type talent to drive a prosperous and stable province, state, or country into the ground.

The point was emphatically made by the just-released Ontario auditor general’s report, revealing the machinations of one of the most corrupt and incompetent provincial administrations in the history of the country. It reads like a Monty Python skit, depicting a government selling dead parrots to the electorate at prohibitive cost. Its tenders and oversight are so demented that a pedestrian bridge was built partly upside-down. Clearly, upside-down is what despicables do best.

There have always been secession movements percolating in Canada, most notably in Quebec, as well as in Alberta—as we also find in Texas. I would suggest it is high time for southern Ontario, where the deplorables flourish, to consider the option, as did many in pre-Trump Texas. If that is the only way to get rid of the dumpster of despicables, I would be all for it. The U.S. still has a chance under Trump. Canada has no chance under Trudeau nor does the SRO under the ridiculous and inept Kathleen Wynne. It’s time to start the clean-up.

Categories: 2016 elections, Canada, Canadian politics, Clinton's despicables, Obama's America, President Elect Trump, Trudeau, Trump's America, Trump's deplorables
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Former ‘Al-Sharq Al-Awsat’ Editor ‘Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed: ‘Which Muslims Are Against Trump?’

December 14, 2016

Former ‘Al-Sharq Al-Awsat’ Editor ‘Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed: ‘Which Muslims Are Against Trump?’ MEMRI, December 14, 2016

In his December 13, 2016 column in Al-Arabiya, titled “Which Muslims Are Against Trump?” senior Saudi journalist ‘Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, former editor of the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat and also former director of Al-Arabiya TV, expressed satisfaction that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is putting together an administration that is aware of the Iranian danger. It is “Iran, Al-Qaeda, and Islamic groups like the Muslim Brotherhood” that object to Trump’s choice of top officials, and that seek to depict him as anti-Muslim, he wrote, adding that the Muslim Brotherhood was angered by Trump’s friendly stance towards Egyptian President Al-Sisi. He underlined that Trump’s national security advisor pick, Lt.-Gen. Michael Flynn, is only saying “what we ourselves say – that there is a dangerous virus inside Islamic society called extremism.”

The following is his column, in the original English: [1]

al-rashedAl-Rashed (source: Alarabiya.net)

“We must understand the motives behind the groups that launch incitement campaigns against the new American administration. Iran knows that two of the appointed generals know it through expertise and personal experience. ISIS knows that the phase of truce will end with President Barack Obama’s exit. The Muslim Brotherhood, which enjoyed Obama’s support and bet on Clinton’s election as president, is now before a new phase that may not be in its interest.

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“Extremist powers in our region have declared war against President-elect Donald Trump under the excuse that he has a project to fight Islam and Muslims. They are trying to incite around one billion Muslims against the new U.S. administration and against the U.S. Those performing this task are doing so through religious and media platforms affiliated with extremist Islamic parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian regime.

“Is Trump really hostile to Muslims in general? Do his secretaries of state [sic] really have hostile stances against Islam as a religion?

“Ever since Trump announced the appointments of major secretaries of state [sic], many in our region spoke out against them, claiming Washington was willing to launch war on one billion Muslims. General James Mattis, whom Trump chose as secretary of defense, has in fact clearly and frankly voiced hostility – but against terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda. He also has frank stances against what Iran is doing in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

“General Michael Flynn, Trump’s new national security advisor, has also made outspoken speeches against extremist Islamic groups. Many have used these speeches to indicate that he is hostile against Islam and Muslims. Truth be told, what General Flynn said is what we ourselves say, that there is a dangerous virus inside Islamic society called extremism that has killed Muslims and threatened them everywhere and harmed them more than it even harmed the West and followers of other religions.

“The ‘Dangerous Disease’

“Doesn’t this dangerous disease exist in Muslims’ societies across the world? It certainly exists. Look at what happened in Turkey and Egypt during the past few days and what had happened in Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Jordan. Hideous crimes were committed by extremist groups – the same ones which Flynn and Mattis call for confronting. Mike Pompeo, whom Trump chose to manage the most important foreign security institution, the CIA, has the same opinions about the necessity of confronting extremism and he’s aware of Iran’s sabotaging role in the region and the world.

“If we realize that those who are angered by these three appointments are Iran, Al-Qaeda, and Islamic groups, like the Muslim Brotherhood, we can understand that the problem is not in Trump’s choices, but in these men’s project to confront terrorism which the former parties sponsor or at least benefit from. The majority of Islamic countries agree with these state secretaries’ proposals and vision of the crisis that threatens the entire world. We, as Muslims, have for a decade and half now been engaged in a war against extremism and extremists, as an ideology and groups, and want the world to differentiate between Muslims and not put them all in one category and to stand with the majority of peaceful Muslims against this evil minority. It’s in our interest to deter regimes like Iran that supports terrorist groups, be it Sunni or Shi’ite, and allies with them and engages in regional wars under dishonest slogans such as defending Islam or standing against the West.

“We understand that Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the elections angered the Muslim Brotherhood. What fueled the latter’s anger was how Trump received Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi in New York earlier this year. It’s on this basis that they try to picture Trump’s administration as racist and as an enemy of Islam and Muslims. They want to establish a popular bloc that exerts pressure to confront the new American government in order to intimidate it and force it to alter its stances and they are doing so by entrenching themselves behind Islam and Muslims.

“Iran’s Leadership Of Extremists

“However, the Muslim Brotherhood must realize that we don’t agree with them and don’t care about their aspirations for power and don’t want to stand with them. At the same time, we support any government in the world that’s willing to ally with us against extremism and terrorism as this has always been our desire, even before Trump entered the political arena. These groups must realize the threat of media, political and religious incitation against Trump and the West and how it will cause new waves of violence under false justifications.

“For 40 years now, Iran has led extremist groups, whether armed or politicized or Sunni or Shiite, in Lebanon, Palestine and the Gulf, and it continues to do so. It’s currently guilty when it comes to Iraq and the sectarian chaos across it and it’s responsible for the rivers of blood in Syria. It’s for the first time that we see Washington officials who realize the facts on the ground and frankly declare that they will not accept blackmail or keep silent over extremist and terrorist regimes’ and groups’ practices.

“We must understand the motives behind the groups that launch incitement campaigns against the new American administration. Iran knows that two of the appointed generals know it through expertise and personal experience. ISIS knows that the phase of truce will end with President Barack Obama’s exit. The Muslim Brotherhood, which enjoyed Obama’s support and bet on Clinton’s election as president, is now before a new phase that may not be in its interest.

“These are the reasons behind the anger and quick judgments against the new American administration, and they reflect the stance of all three groups, i.e. Iran, ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood, and those who sympathize with them. Meanwhile, the majority of Islamic countries will be very happy if he who arrives to the White House desires to fight extremism and terrorism.”

 

[1] English.alarabiya.net, December 13, 2016.

Categories: President Elect Trump, Trump administration, Trump and Iran, Trump and Iran scam, Trump and Islam, Trump and Islamists
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‘Big priority’ moving US embassy to Jerusalem, Trump aide says – American Politics

December 14, 2016

Source: ‘Big priority’ moving US embassy to Jerusalem, Trump aide says – American Politics – Jerusalem Post

“That is very big priority for this president-elect, Donald Trump,” Kellyanne Conway said on a conservative radio talk show.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump. (photo credit:REUTERS)

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump is eager to move America’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move deferred repeatedly by presidents of all political stripes, one of his top aides said on Monday.

“That is very big priority for this president-elect, Donald Trump,” Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s former campaign manager currently serving as a senior adviser, said on a conservative radio talk show. “As president-elect, I’ve heard him repeat it several times privately, if not publicly.”

Indeed, throughout his campaign for the presidency, Trump repeatedly said he would move the US Embassy if elected – a political promise frequently made that has never held. Longstanding US policy is to treat the status of Jerusalem as an issue to be settled in final-status negotiations with the Palestinians.

“It is something that our friend in Israel, a great friend in the Middle East, would appreciate and something that a lot of Jewish Americans have expressed their preference for,” Conway said. “It is a great move. It is an easy move to do based on how much he talked about that in the debates and in the sound bites.” (Israel looks forward to working with Trump, says Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer)

Just ten days ago, however, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman questioned whether it would be wise for Trump to prioritize moving America’s embassy upon taking office.

“It would be a mistake to take the embassy as a focal point,” Liberman told the Saban Forum, listing a host of other critical issues – the stability of the Palestinian Authority and threats from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran among them – as far more pertinent.

On Sunday, in an interview with Fox News, Trump said he hopes that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, can “make peace in the Middle East.” With a background in real estate and working with Safeguard Property Management, Kushner helped run Trump’s unlikely presidential campaign, but has no foreign policy experience as of yet.

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Israel Walks the Walk

December 14, 2016

Source: Israel Walks the Walk | Frontpage Mag

Israel demonstrates its resolve to thwart weapons transfers to Iran’s terror proxy.

December 14, 2016
Ari Lieberman
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Last week, Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, announced that Israel was working tirelessly to thwart Iranian weapons transfers to Hezbollah via Syria. For the first time, Lieberman hinted that in addition to sophisticated weaponry, Hezbollah was seeking to acquire WMDs. The defense minister also noted that Israel would operate to preserve its interests “without taking other circumstances or restrictions into account.” Presumably, this means that regardless of the prospects of Hezbollah-Iranian retaliation or the presence of a Russian anti-aircraft umbrella, Israel will continue to act when its interests are threatened.

Lieberman’s tough talk followed a series of Israeli strikes against military targets within Syria. The first targeted a Hezbollah weapons convoy travelling along the Beirut-Damascus highway while a second strike hit a Syrian military compound just outside Damascus  housing elements of Syria’s 4th Armored Division. A third attack on December 7 targeted Mezzeh Air Base in western Damascus. A number of secondary explosions occurred following the attack indicating direct hits.

Assad’s propaganda outlet, Sana, as well as the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen TV channel blamed Israel for the Mezzeh attack though the former claimed the strike was carried out with surface-to-surface missiles while the latter alleged that it was executed by fighter jets flying over “Lebanese airspace.”

Following the attacks, Arab media reported that Russia had warned Hezbollah, and by extension Iran, not to retaliate. Russia’s interest in Syria is to ensure the survival of its air and naval facilities centered in or near Latakia and Tartus. Putin has no interest in needlessly antagonizing the Israelis and any form of Iranian or Hezbollah retaliation serves no Russian purpose and may in fact, undermine Moscow’s goals.

Hezbollah was quick to deny the Arab media reports terming them “incorrect and completely invented.” Despite the fact that Hezbollah uses principally Russian weapons and is wholly subservient to Iranian interests, it continues to maintain the façade of an independent, indigenous “resistance” organization. That is why Arab media reports of Russian warnings to the terror group provoked an immediate temperamental response but it is likely that those media reports were accurate.

In Syria, Putin pulls the strings and but for Moscow’s intervention, Assad’s position would be extremely precarious. It is therefore likely that Russia put the kibosh on any thought of Hezbollah retaliation as that kind of action would antagonize Israel and run counter to Russian interests.

On Sunday, in a 60 Minutes interview with Leslie Stahl, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu classified Israel’s relations with Russia as “amicable.” That description might be bit of an understatement. At a recent conference hosted by the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russia’s envoy to the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov termed relations between Moscow and Jerusalem “at their highest point ever.”

This diplomatic accomplishment can be directly attributed to Netanyahu’s relentless international effort to broaden and deepen Israel’s relations with non-traditional allies. Though the United States will never be supplanted as Israel’s most important ally, eight years of Obama have taught Israel that it cannot rely solely on the United States for backing.

To that end, Israel, under Netanyahu’s stewardship, sought diplomatic breakthroughs with other nations and that effort has paid high dividends, especially with respect to Russia-Israel relations. Because of those efforts, Israel can now freely operate when necessary in Syria to preserve its interests despite the deployment of sizable Russian forces in theater. Both sides maintain political and military liaisons that are in constant communication to prevent mishaps. In addition, Arab media reports confirm speculation that Russia has placed a leash around the necks of Iran and its Shia proxy.

Notwithstanding Russian constraints on Hezbollah and the organization’s deep involvement in Syria’s quagmire, the terror group is constantly looking for ways to strike at Israel in a manner that does not break the rules of the game. Its cells operate in Europe, Africa, Latin America, South-East Asia and the Asian sub-continent, looking for weak points and ways to create mischief.  The 2012 Burgas bus bombing, in which six civilians were murdered on Bulgarian soil, represents a good example of the type of response we can expect from the Iranian proxy group.

In addition, last week, the Israeli military released an illustrative map demonstrating the extent to which Hezbollah has transformed South Lebanon into one giant ammunition dump and embedded itself within the civilian population in blatant violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. Flush with Iranian cash, in part received from the Obama administration during a ransom exchange, Hezbollah pays impoverished residents of South Lebanon to store their munitions in their homes.

The IDF has identified over 10,000 structures and underground munitions silos constructed by Hezbollah in or near civilian areas. Such a deliberate undertaking which makes use of human shields constitutes a war crime. But Hezbollah does not feel constrained by meaningless U.N. resolutions that are more bark than bite. Israel for its part will not be constrained by Hezbollah’s cynical exploitation of the civilian population. In the next war, it is highly likely that Lebanon’s civilian population will pay a steep price and the blame will rest squarely with Iran and Hezbollah.

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David Brock Says Hillary Clinton Was ‘Poorly Advised’ By Her Campaign

December 14, 2016

David Brock Says Hillary Clinton Was ‘Poorly Advised’ By Her Campaign, Daily Caller, Chuck Ross, December 13, 2016

Notably, Brock did not blame FBI director James Comey or Russian cyber attacks for Clinton’s loss, as have some campaign veterans.

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David Brock, the former conservative journalist turned Democratic operative, says that Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump, in part, because she was “poorly advised” by her campaign.

Brock, who heads the group Media Matters and operated the pro-Clinton super PAC Correct the Record, offered that candid assessment and others in a podcast interview with Politico’s Glenn Thrush.

In addition to slamming Clinton’s professional campaign hands, Brock acknowledged that his own sister voted for Donald Trump. He also blasted the media over its coverage of the campaign, calling the press “animals.”

Notably, Brock did not blame FBI director James Comey or Russian cyber attacks for Clinton’s loss, as have some campaign veterans.

“I say she was poorly advised,” Brock told Thrush of Clinton. “There was a slow-motion swift boating of Hillary Clinton in ’15. I know you think Democrats would have learned from ’04, but no.”

“What could one have done?” the operative continued, adding that “the lesson of the swift boating thing was to lean in.”

Brock was a prominent figure throughout the campaign. He appeared often on TV to defend Clinton over the various scandals that plagued her candidacy. During those appearances he refused, often to the exasperation of his hosts, to acknowledge that Clinton did anything wrong by using a private email server as secretary of state.

“She should have just said, in my opinion, ‘This was allowed,’” Brock told Thrush. “I wouldn’t have apologized. Once you apologize, then the press wants you to get down on your knees and say you’re sorry. They are not appeasable. Trump apologized for nothing, including the horrible tape, right? No apology.”

Brock also took aim at the Clinton campaign’s digital operations and at what he said was a lack of a strategy to combat Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Brock, who rose to prominence in the 1990s with a series of anti-Bill Clinton stories for The American Spectator, said he talked to the former president in January or February about the need to beef up the campaign’s online operations.

“I talked to him about the fact that the campaign had no discernable online strategy,” Brock told Thrush. “I said, ‘There’s something wrong in the digital operation because it’s not connecting. Sanders is connecting.’ They were slow to realize Sanders was connecting. And I said, ‘Something has to be done.’ And so nothing was done.”

Brock begrudgingly tipped his hat to the Trump campaign for its handling of the release of an “Access Hollywood” tape from 2005 in which Trump was heard speaking in vulgar terms about women. The campaign’s efforts to paint the comments as benign locker room banter worked on his own sister, Brock admitted.

“My sister voted for Donald Trump and her response was, ‘It was locker room talk,’” Brock said. “So it worked. My sister got the talking point, OK?”

But he also took a shot at the media for, he says, allowing Trump to shape coverage of him.

“Donald Trump intimidated the press and bullied the press. I’m not saying you have to intimidate and bully, but you have to be tough,” he said. “The press are animals and they need to be treated that way.”

He also acknowledged that Democrats’ position is bleak.

“We’re in a bad situation, the Democratic Party,” Brock said. “Hillary Clinton’s loss has exposed the lack of Democratic power in this country at all levels.”

“But we won the popular vote; we ought to act like it,” he added. “And so I think the strategy is — it’s pretty simple. The strategy is to keep Trump unpopular and let me tell you why we need to keep him unpopular.”

 

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