Islamic State Gains Libya Foothold

Egypt is bombing Islamic State targets in its stronghold of Derna

The Islamic State (IS) has wreaked havoc in the Middle East, seizing vast areas of Iraq and Syria and now it is taking advantage of Libya's collapse into anarchy.

It has gained a foothold in key towns and cities in the mostly lawless North African state, prompting Egypt - seeing itself as the bulwark against Islamists in region - to launch air strikes against the group.

Last August I reported on IS in Libya, and in September I reported that IS was popping up all over the place. As limited in numbers as they are I think it will be impossible to stamp them out. There is too much money behind them and the extreme ideology is a literal adherence to the Quran. There may be ebbs and floes in the IS tide, but eventually it will become a tsunami.

After the two war-ravaged Middle Eastern states, IS has launched its most high-profile attacks in Libya, bombing an upmarket hotel in the capital, Tripoli, in January, and releasing a video earlier this month showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians it had kidnapped.

For UK-based Libyan academic, Mohamed Ahdash, the emergence of IS affiliates in Libya is not surprising.

"There is a study which shows that after Saudi Arabia, most of the fighters who went to Syria were from Libya," he told the BBC.

'Magnet for African jihadists'
Libya's UN-backed government believes the fighters are now returning, following a shift in IS thinking to promote local jihad, and are under the command of a Tunisian named Abu Talha.

A fighter of Libya's Fajr Libya group (Libyan Dawn) fires his gun during clashes
in the hill village of Kikla, southwest of Tripoli on 21 October 2014
Libya descended into anarchy after the fall of Col Gaddafi

Libya, analysts say, is an obvious target for IS - it has been chaotic since the overthrow of long-serving ruler Muhammar Gaddafi in a Nato-backed offensive in 2011.

A Libyan woman walks past the rubble of a building in the Mediterranean
 city of Sirte on 13 October 2012. The militants have built a presence in Sirte,
which was heavily bombed during the campaign to oust Gadaffi

There are currently two rivals governments, dozens of groups armed with weapons looted from the former regime's arsenal, and smugglers who roam freely across porous borders in the desert region.

Moreover, Libya is rich in oil and earlier this month, gunmen claiming to represent IS raided a French-run oil facility in al-Mabruk, south of Sirte city, killing at least 11 guards.

Libyan oil is a potentially lucrative source of funding for IS, though it will find it difficult to export it because of the foreign navies patrolling the Mediterranean coast.

Mr Ahdash says Libya has become a magnet for jihadis from other parts of Africa - especially those who fled northern Mali after a French-led military operation recaptured territory from them in 2013.

"They are under one umbrella, but they are very different and very divided. It is difficult to work out who is who," he says.

He says Islamists had a presence in Libya during Col Gaddafi's rule, but they were heavily suppressed.

The late Strongman Col Muammar Gadaffi

So it does not surprise him that they have now gained a foothold in cities like Benghazi, the cradle of the 2011 revolution that overthrew Col Gaddafi, and Derna, the coastal town being targeted by Egypt's military and where the first IS affiliate emerged in October.

But what surprises him, Mr Ahdash says, is that they have secured a presence in Sirte, the birthplace of Col Gaddafi, which had been seen as hostile towards Islamists.

'Aspirational'
He says either foreign jihadists have infiltrated the city or Gaddafi loyalists, including military officers, have joined the militants, just as they did in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was overthrown by US-led forces in 2003.

"I'm worried that could happen in Libya; that there could be a marriage of interest," says Mr Ahdash, pointing out that Ahmed Gaddafi al-Dam, an influential cousin of the former ruler, has publicly hailed IS as "pure".

An image posted online by militants who claim to be part of the Islamic State
group showing them destroying statues in Derna - 1 February 2015

Nevertheless, he does not believe IS or its affiliates have a huge presence in Libya.

"Most Libyans are moderate Muslims, and they hate Daesh," Mr Ahdash told the BBC, referring to the name by which IS is known in the Arab-speaking world.

A Coptic clergyman shows a picture of a man whom he says is one of the
 Egyptian Coptic Christians purportedly murdered by Islamic State (IS)
group militants in Libya. Egypt intervened after its nationals were killed.

Patrick Skinner, a former CIA case officer, is quoted by Foreign Policy magazine as saying that there are an estimated 1,000 to 3,000 fighters loyal to IS in Libya, many of whom acquired combat experience in Iraq and Syria.

IS-linked fighters operate in Tripoli, the south-western region of Fezzan, and the eastern region of Barqa, which includes Benghazi and Derna.

However, Thomas Joscelyn, senior editor of the Long War Journal, says that while IS has grown in Libya, its strength should not be exaggerated.

"These zones are more aspirational than they are real," Mr Joscelyn told Foreign Policy.

Even if IS control in Libya is limited to a few small areas, it still has the potential to make the country's desperate situation even worse, threatening regional stability.

Israeli Election Campaign Takes Mudslinging into the Theater of the Absurd

Israel is so pivotal in the geopolitical climate of the middle east, choosing the right prime minister is critical for the entire world. I sincerely hope and pray that it is not decided by the theater of the absurd.

By ISI LEIBLER
Jerusalem Post

Israeli voters should be considering the issues and debating who is best equipped to lead a nation confronted by extraordinary military, diplomatic, social and religious challenges. Yet what we are witnessing today is probably the most vulgar and demeaning campaign in the country’s history, in which the vast majority of politicians have descended to the lowest levels. The bulk of the media has heightened this by excessively exaggerating, personalizing, distorting and sensationalizing the issues.

Topping the charts for vulgarity have been the obsessive and primitive attacks designed to discredit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by portraying his wife as a resurrected witch from Salem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

This was spearheaded by Meni Naftali, a disgruntled employee who is obviously being promoted by those engaged in the “anyone but Bibi” campaign.

His allegations of “abuse” include claims that Sara Netanyahu reprimanded him over issues such as providing milk in a bag instead of a carton. Oh my goodness, how could she?

The latest accusation, the so-called “Bottlegate” affair, alleged that Sara Netanyahu was “stealing” NIS 1,000 worth of bottle refunds a year, despite the fact that this was clearly a bureaucratic oversight rectified at her own initiative two years ago. Can anyone seriously visualize the Netanyahu family planning to augment their income by an extra 20 shekels a week from bottle refunds? Yet the sickening media obsession with this issue was infinitely more passionate than the shocking Yisrael Beytenu corruption charges.

The Prime Minister’s Office has also been accused of buying too much ice cream and even worse, purchasing higher quality ice cream. And the latest act of purported extravagance was the consumption of a bottle of wine a day, which was dubbed excessive.

We have also had “Bibitours” allegations of accepting disproportionate hospitality on a visit to the UK 10 years ago, an issue which had previously been raised and dismissed.

It is inconceivable that any other Western prime minister and his wife would be subjected to such a defamatory campaign. None of these bizarre accusations would reach the media in another country, much less serve as the main headlines of a number of newspapers day after day.

It clearly represents a concerted conspiracy to divert debate from the real issues and to depict Netanyahu as corrupt and avaricious. The worst feature of this vulgarity is that two newspapers have transformed these non-issues into screaming front-page headlines. Haaretz has a clear political agenda but one would have expected it to concentrate on genuine issues rather than seeking to exploit the lowest forms of populism by stooping to petty character assassination against a candidate and his wife.

But the worst is Yediot Aharonot. Publisher Noni Mozes has demonstrated that he lacks any semblance of moral compass. He has a venomous, histrionic hatred of Netanyahu, exacerbated because the prime minister is supported by Mozes’ principal competitor, Israel Hayom. Mozes has directed his employees to demonize Netanyahu, transforming his front page into a gutter, with ad hominem attack placards against Netanyahu and his wife. Yet the very same paper was shamelessly promoting Ehud Olmert as a future prime minister even after he was formally convicted in court. Yediot’s behavior is a disgrace to the entire Israel media.

I would be surprised if Washington isn't helping fund the opposition parties and even the newspapers. We know Obama hates Bibi, though he may hate all Jews; and John Kerry sees Bibi as the main obstacle to peace in the middle east. He has this hair-brained idea that Hamas actually wants peace. They don't, if they pursue peace at all it's to buy time while they re-stock their arsenal of rockets, and because they just want the borders of Israel rolled back so as to make it easier to invade.

The character assassination is being replicated by most of the political parties as standard electioneering.

But even worse is the effort to gain votes by seeking to discredit Netanyahu even when this conflicts with the national interest and undermines Israel’s global position.

Tzipi Livni

This has been the constant refrain of Isaac Herzog, Tzipi Livni and Yair Lapid, who have blamed Netanyahu rather than Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for the breakdown in negotiations with the Palestinians. They have of course not proposed an alternative approach to the intransigent and duplicitous Palestinian leaders.

Likewise, they have condemned Netanyahu rather than US President Barack Obama for the toxic relationship that prevails between them. They have not said that they would accept Obama’s call for adopting the indefensible borders based on the 1949 armistice lines or accept US demands to freeze construction in the Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem on the grounds that these constitute settlements. Their crass and cynical attacks on Netanyahu’s visit to France were appalling.

But the most irresponsible act was their hysterical condemnation of Netanyahu for having agreed to address US Congress to alert the world of the tremendous dangers inherent in enabling Iran to become a nuclear state. Most Israeli politicians across the political spectrum are cognizant of the fact that Obama and most Western countries are desperate to make a deal with the Iranians, virtually capitulating to their major demands. While a nuclear Iran would pose a nightmarish threat extending ultimately to the entire world, for Israel, a nuclear Iran – which is today openly calling for its annihilation – represents an existential threat.

Under such circumstances, it was utterly irresponsible to accuse Netanyahu of insulting Obama for electoral benefit, and thus justifying the outrageous responses from the Obama administration. It also provides credence to those seeking to exploit Netanyahu’s address to Congress as a means to weaken the bipartisan climate which is of enormous importance to retaining the strong US-Israel relationship.

There are other bizarre aspects to the election. It is almost comical to observe Lapid, head of Yesh Atid, continuously, unashamedly condemning the government – in which he was finance minister – for having failed to confront and reform social and economic anomalies.

Isaac Herzog

Avigdor Liberman’s party, Yisrael Beytenu, has been on a downward spiral since the exposure of the extent of corruption at senior levels. He has been zigzagging, issuing alternating hawkish and dovish sound bites. During the flare-up with Hezbollah at the Syrian border, despite being foreign minister, he highlighted the dysfunctionality of his own government by condemning it for not being tough enough in its response. Realizing that his dovish outbursts have undermined his core support, he has now proclaimed that he would never join a left-wing government, in stark contradiction to what he had been saying a few weeks ago.

Likud as the governing party has been less on the offensive and has sought to debate issues rather than personalities. But it has accused Herzog and Livni of being behind Victory 2015 (V15), a group heavily engaged in lobbying for them, and raising of millions of dollars from abroad, including foreign governments, in contravention of election finance laws. They note that Herzog’s illegal fundraising for Ehud Barak was a scandalous fraud, that was quietly shelved in 1999 after Herzog invoked his right of silence to deter any investigation. Ironically, Livni, who at the time was a member of Likud, led the charge against Herzog in 1999. But then again, Livni, who is at the forefront of the “Bottlegate” brouhaha, was still willing to run with Olmert in the last election even though he was a convicted criminal.

Naftali Bennett, head of Bayit Yehudi, who was until recently riding a crest of popularity, shot himself in the foot by autocratically selecting Eli Ohana, a secular former football star with no serious political credentials, outraging all his party colleagues.

When some of his inner circle accused him of engaging in low-level populism and betraying the ideals of his party and threatening to leave, he was forced to back down.

What is needed in lieu of character assassination and crass populist demagoguery are basic facts to enable the public to assess and vote on the basis of which party can best deal with the following crucial challenges.

They should ask themselves: 

• Who can best handle the military and security challenges facing us? 
• Who is best able to turn the current anti-Israel global tide without making concessions that will undermine our security? 
• Who is best equipped to bring about sorely needed social and economic reforms that will enhance the quality of life for most Israelis? 
• Who is best able to resolve the issues of religion and state as well as be strong enough to resist haredi (ultra-Orthodox) pressure and bring about changes that will peacefully engage more haredim in the workforce and ensure that they share the national burden? 

Most Israelis have misgivings concerning the composition of the party lists they will be supporting.

Yet in our system, the prime minister will be assuming the key policymaking role. The most important question is whether it is Netanyahu or Herzog/Livni who is the most capable to lead our nation over the next challenging years.

One can only hope that despite the shameful media sensationalism, it is the issues – not bottle refunds or ice cream – that will determine how Israelis vote.

The author’s website can be viewed at www.wordfromjerusalem.com

John Kerry's Sappy Press Release on the Death of Saudi King Abdullah

Ezra Lavant
The Sun

When Margaret Thatcher died in 2013, the U.S. sent no senior dignitaries to her funeral. Next to Winston Churchill, Thatcher was the most consequential prime minister the U.K. had in a century, and she was an indispensable ally to the U.S., in the Cold War and the first Gulf War too. But the only representative from Barack Obama’s administration was the local ambassador.

John Kerry and the late King Abdullah

Various retired American officials attended, including Hillary Clinton. But, like Dick Cheney and Henry Kissinger, she was no longer in office. It was an Obama snub.

Just like two weeks ago at the great Paris march in defiance of the Muslim terrorist attacks in that city. Forty-four world leaders attended; Canada sent a cabinet minister. But from the Obama administration: just the local ambassador.

Why? Why did Obama snub the U.K., by some measures the greatest U.S. ally? Why did Obama snub France, America’s first ally?

Contrast those diplomatic slights with the shocking press release issued by John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, upon the death of Saudi Arabia’s dictator, King Abdullah last week.

“This is a sad day. The United States has lost a friend, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, and the world has lost a revered leader,” the press release started.

A revered leader? A theocrat, a fascist, a dictator for life, whose government financially and morally bankrolls Muslim terrorism around the world? A polygamist with an estimated 14 wives, plus countless mistresses? A tyrant whose country still stones to death women for the Shariah crime of being raped; where gays are hanged; and this very week a man was being whipped – 1,000 lashes, 50 lashes at a time to keep him alive enough to receive them all – for the crime of blogging on a website called “Free Saudi Liberals”?

Oh yes. Kerry went on. And on. “King Abdullah was a man of wisdom and vision. I loved my visits with him as a senator and as secretary.... He was so proud of the kingdom’s journey, a brave partner in fighting violent extremism who proved just as important as a proponent of peace… Teresa and I send our condolences to the family of King Abdullah and to the people of Saudi Arabia and the region.”

Saudi Arabia is amongst the least-free countries in the world. Women have few civil rights – not just banned from voting (as is everyone) but banned from driving, banned from even going out without a male “guardian”.

Saudi society can get pretty racist too, living off the avails of millions of foreign indentured workers, often other Muslims, who have no civil rights and are routinely abused. Like China, Saudi Arabia is an enthusiastic practitioner of capital punishment, including by sword. Unlike China, most people executed in Saudi Arabia are foreign workers, including some female housekeepers accused of “witchcraft”.

It is a profoundly sick country, ruled by thousands of “princes” – pampered millionaire layabouts, the mathematical outcome of four generations of polygamous marriages. Most of the princes don’t work – work is for dirty foreigners, who actually operate the oil rigs. The princes’ expertise is how to spend that oil money, whether it’s on foreign prostitutes, foreign race cars or foreign casinos. Those things are “haram” – forbidden under the country’s Shariah law. But that’s the thing about oil money: it buys a lot of hypocrisy.

It also buys plenty of friends in U.S. politics. Not through bribes. But through the promise of a rich retirement. It’s a Saudi custom to donate millions of dollars to U.S. presidents after their term in office, for their presidential libraries, foundations or other retirement make-work projects. It’s the Saudi pension plan for U.S. presidents.

Which would be worse: that Kerry’s grotesque love letter reflects his true feelings, or that it’s just another U.S. politician thinking of his retirement? Maybe a journalist might ask the same of Obama, who has cut short his state visit to India, the world’s biggest democracy, to rush to Saudi Arabia.

Or, perhaps Kerry is just sucking up to President Obama who revered the Saudi King to the point of bowing low to him, even as President of the US, something he would not do to Queen Elizabeth.

Argentine Journalist Flees for His Life After Threats

The first journalist to report on the death of an Argentine state prosecutor, who was investigating the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, arrived in Israel on Sunday after fleeing the South American country.

We reported that story here last week.

Damian Pachter, who also holds Argentine-Israeli citizenship, said he had "quickly" fled Argentina fearing for his life following threats to his security.

"I'm leaving because my life is in danger. My phones are tapped," Pachter, a journalist with the Buenos Aires Herald,  told the website Infobae.

The website carried a photograph of Pachter, wearing a cap and carrying sunglasses, at the airport before he boarded an Aerolineas Argentinas flight.

Damian Pachter arrives in Israel

Telam, an Argentine state-run news agency, reported that the initial flight was bound for neighboring Uruguay.

"I'm going to come back to this country when my sources tell me the conditions have changed. I don't think that will be during this government," Patcher told Infobae.

State prosecutor Alberto Nisman was found dead in his apartment late on January 18, a gunshot wound to his head and a 22 caliber pistol by his side along with a single shell casing.

He had been scheduled to appear before Congress the following day to answer questions about his allegation that President Cristina Fernandez conspired to derail his investigation of the attack.

His death and a storm of conspiracy theories around it have rocked Argentina.

Argentina suspects rogue agents from its own intelligence services were behind Nisman's death.

The government says Nisman's allegations and his death were linked to a power struggle at Argentina's intelligence agency and agents who had recently been fired.

Argentine courts have accused a group of Iranians of planting the 1994 bomb, which killed 85 people.

Nisman had claimed that President Fernandez opened a secret back channel to Iran to cover up Tehran's alleged involvement in the bombing and gain access to Iranian oil needed to help close Argentina's $7 billion per year energy deficit.

Fernandez's government called the accusation absurd. 

Davos, Switzerland: Kerry Urges Plan to Tackle Causes of Terrorism

Keyword here is 'urges' plan. He doesn't have one, but he wants someone to come up with a plan.

US secretary of state tells Davos conference more must be done to tackle extremism

US secretary of state John Kerry leaves the stage after addressing
the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

US secretary of state John Kerry has called for an ambitious international plan to combat the underlying causes of terrorism.

In a lengthy address to the World Economic Forum in Davos which focused on conflict in the Middle East, Pakistan and Africa, Mr Kerry said the threat of terrorism was a global menace, with terrorist groups looking to expand.

“It seems that terrorists are now competing with each other for recruits and perpetrating evermore macabre crimes,” Mr Kerry said.

‘The overt message was equally simple. Growth is up, unemployment is down and we did it by engaging in a constructive northern European manner with the troika.’

“Eliminating the terrorists who confront us today actually only solves part of the problem. We have to do more to avoid an endless cycle of violent extremism, a resupplying on a constant basis. We have to transform the very environment from which these movements emerge.”

And just what do you mean by that? Eliminating extremism from Islam is to eliminate Islam. Just ask Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He also announced he would travel to Nigeria, a country which has been racked by attacked by Islamic militant group Boko Haram.

Terrorism and the need for a collective response to the threat of radical Islam was a central theme of the World Economic Forum in Davos, which finishes today in the Swiss resort.

Addressing delegates on Friday, the Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi said his country had received increased support from Western countries and from Iran in fighting Islamic state.

“I have received quite sizeable (amounts of) ammunition free of charge. And we have been promised deferred payments on some arms sales to Iraq, ” Mr al-Abadi said, referring to Western countries.

Iran had also sent Iraq arms and ammunition without requesting immediate payments, the Iraqi premier said. 

Funny how having a common enemy can bring two former enemies together, like I said yesterday.

Despite tensions between Tehran and Washington, Iran has been aiding Iraq in the fight against Islamic State, though Mr al-Abadi said that no Iranian soldier had fought on Iraqi soil.

The US has been leading air-strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria since September.
The threat of extremist groups was also addressed by French president Francois Hollande in a speech to the World Economic Forum in which he called on the world’s biggest corporates to participate in the fight against terrorism, by taking action against money laundering and trafficking.

Speaking on Friday, President Hollande also highlighted the role that technology and internet companies could play in ensuring that “illegal content” was taken off the web, saying governments could not fight terrorism on their own.

IS Wannabes Suddenly Appear in Pakistan Beheading a Soldier

Jerusalem Post

A group of Pakistani and Afghan militants have beheaded a Pakistani soldier after pledging allegiance to Islamic State, according to a new video released online, copying execution tactics used by the Middle East jihadist group.

In the video, whose authenticity could not immediately be confirmed, a large group of turbaned militants, many on horseback and holding rifles and black IS flags, are seen gathered in an undisclosed forested area.

A militant identified by the SITE intelligence group as former Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid is then seen addressing the crowd to announce pledges of allegiance to IS from leaders of various groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Shahidullah Shahid

"We want to inform you that we have brought together the emirs of 10 groups who want to pledge their allegiance to the Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," he said, referring to the IS leader.

At the end of the 16-minute video a man wearing a helmet, a T-shirt and combat trousers, identified as a Pakistani soldier, is seen being beheaded with a machete.

According to SITE, those present during the execution included both Afghan and Taliban militants but nothing was known about the beheaded soldier or how he was captured.

So, let's see; we have IS popping up in Algeria, Nigeria, Libya, Philippines and now Pakistan. No doubt Afghanistan should be included too. With Iraq and Syria, that make 8 countries with an IS presence, not counting small cells in western countries. Where will they appear next?

Wife of Mayor of Mexican City where 43 Students Were Murdered Sent to Federal Prison

Maria de los Angeles Pineda was transferred to federal prison in western Mexico

The wife of the former mayor of the Mexican city where 43 students went missing has been charged with organised crime and money laundering.

Maria de los Angeles Pineda was transferred to a high security prison to await trial.

She had brothers in a local drug gang that operated in the city, Iguala, in the state of Guerrero, prosecutors say.

They said police handed the students over to the drug gang who then killed them and burnt the bodies.

It is unclear whether the charges against Maria Pineda are related to the students' disappearance.

They went missing in September after clashes with police.

Their disappearance sparked nationwide protests and has rocked the government of President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Prosecutors said that members of the drug gang linked to Maria Pineda had confessed that her husband, ex-mayor Jose Luis Abarca, had ordered the police to crack down on the students to stop them disrupting an event his wife was speaking at.

However a local news magazine said the event was over by the time the students arrived in the town.

The students vanished after the police attacked their buses leaving six people dead.

Investigators said members of the drug gang told them the police had delivered the young men to them.

They then took them to a local landfill, killed them and burned the bodies.

Only one of the students has been positively identified from the charred remains.

Maria Pineda and her husband Jose Abarca were arrested in November in Mexico City.

He was charged with organised crime, kidnapping and murder for events before the disappearance of the students.

Sweden Commits Cultural Suicide by Trashing Parliament

 "Sweden to Opt for Suicide by Immigration?" 

or, How Sweden Trashed Its Parliament

and Embraced National Euthanasia

Daniel Pipes

Woe to anyone in Sweden who dissents from the orthodox view that welcoming large numbers of indigent peoples from such countries as Iraq, Syria, and Somalia is anything but a fine and noble idea. Even to argue against permitting about 1 percent of the existing population to emigrate annually from an alien civilization renders one politically, socially, and even legally beyond the pale. (I know a journalist threatened with arrest for mild dissent on this issue.) To state that there exists a Swedish culture worth preserving meets with puzzlement.

Sweden's Riksdag - Stockholm

And yet, the realities of immigration are apparent for all to see: welfare dependency, violent bigotry against Christians and Jews, and a wide range of social pathologies from unemployment to politically-motivated rape. Accordingly, ever-increasing numbers of Swedes find themselves – despite known hazards – opting out of the consensus and worrying about their country's cultural suicide.

The taboo on such attitudes means that political parties, with only one exception, staunchly support continued immigration. Only the Sweden Democrats (SD) offer an alternative: real efforts to integrate existing immigrants and a 90 percent decrease in future immigration. Despite an unsavory neo-fascist past (not something unique to it, by the way), SD has become increasingly respectable and has been rewarded with electoral success, doubling its parliamentary vote from 3 percent in 2006, to 6 percent in 2010, to 13 percent in 2014. All the Swedes with whom I spoke on a recent visit expect the SD vote to grow further, something recent polls confirm.

The Swedish government has opened the door to Syrian refugees.

If a party or bloc of parties held a large majority in Sweden's unicameral parliament, SD would be virtually irrelevant. But the Riksdag's two blocs are almost equally balanced. Three left-wing parties control 159 of 349 seats, while the "right-wing" (quotation marks to denote that, from an American perspective, it's hardly conservative) Alliance for Sweden, consisting of four parties, has 141 seats. This means that SD, with 49 seats, holds the balance of power.

But SD is deemed anathema, so no party bargains with it to pass legislation, not even indirectly through the media. Both Left and "Right" seek to isolate and discredit it. Nevertheless, SD has played kingmaker on certain crucial legislation, particularly the annual budget. In keeping with its policy to drive from power every government that refuses to reduce immigration, it brought down an Alliance for Sweden government in early 2014. Recent weeks saw a repeat of this scenario, when SD joined the Alliance in opposing the leftist budget, forcing the government to call for elections in March 2015.

Firebombed Mosque in Sweden

But then something remarkable occurred: the two major blocs compromised not only on the current budget, but also on future budgets and power-sharing all the way to 2022. The left and "right" alliances worked out trade-offs so that elections need not take place in March, allowing the Left to rule until 2018, with the "Right" possibly taking over from 2018 until 2022. Not only does this political cartel deprive SD of its pivotal role but, short of winning a majority of parliamentary seats in 2018, it has no meaningful legislative role for the next eight years, during which time the immigration issue is off the table.


This is nothing short of astonishing: to stifle debate over the country's most contentious issue, 86 percent of the parliament joined forces to marginalize the 14 percent that disagrees. The two major blocs diluted their already tepid differences to exclude the insurgent, populist party. Mattias Karlsson, the acting SD leader accurately notes that with this deal, his party has become the only real opposition.

A graphic version of the two major parliamentary
blocs' deal (the blue anemone hepatica flower is
the Sweden Democrats' symbol).

In the long term, however, things look good for SD, which will likely gain from this undemocratic sleight of hand. Swedes, long accustomed to democracy, do not appreciate a backroom arrangement that almost surely nullifies their votes in 2018. They don't like its bullying quality. Nor do they take well to removing a highly controversial issue from consideration. And when the time comes to "throw the bums out," as always it does, the Sweden Democrats will offer the only alternative to the tired, fractious coalition that will have been in power for eight long years – during which time immigration problems will alarm yet more voters.

In other words, this blatant act of suppression is spurring the very debate it is intended to quash. Before too long, the supreme issue of national suicide might actually be discussed.

Mr. Pipes (DanielPipes.org, @DanielPipes) is president of the Middle East Forum. 

ISIS Recruiting Rebel Groups in Southern Syria Near Israeli Border

The war against ISIS is taking a dangerous, perhaps inevitable turn

The terror organization has been keen to expand to southern Syria and the Syrian capital of Damascus. Now it says it has recruited three Syrian rebel groups operating in the south of the country in an area bordering the Israeli occupied Golan Heights — that have switched their loyalties to ISIS.

This switch means that Israel, the U.S.’s closest ally in the Middle East, could be threatened from the southwest by the Egyptian ISIS group of Ansar Bait al-Maqdis in Sinai and by ISIS in southern Syria.

Of course, they have tried attacking Israel from two directions before, even from 3 directions, and Israel still stands. 

The ISIS war is not going well at all for the US-led alliance in Syria. ISIS and al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, are still the dominant rebel groups in the country. The U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army is still not a reliable fighting force.

The three rebel groups that just joined ISIS could make that situation even worse. Two of the groups are small in number, but the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade has hundreds of fighters. The Yarmouk Brigades has been at odds with al-Nusra Front and switched now to join what leaders of all thrwee groups believe is the future of Islam.

“If Israel was attacked by ISIS, America would expect a proportionate response by Israel, which is militarily capable of defending itself,” said Geoffrey Levin, a professor at New York University. “America would counsel against sustained Israeli involvement because it could threaten the tacit alliance between America, Iran, Turkey, and several Arab states against ISIS.”

“More recent reports indicated a closer alliance with [the Islamic State] due to tensions with JN [al-Nusra Front],” said Jasmine Opperman, a researcher at Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium (TRAC). She said al-Nusra attacked the headquarters of the Yarmouk Brigade in southern Syria in early December 2014 following clashes between the two groups.

Al-Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade controlled an area near the Jordan-Israel border in March 2013. That same month, the brigade took as hostages some of the United Nations peacekeeping mission soldiers. Even so, Israel reportedly allowed the brigade to have its wounded fighters treated in Israeli hospitals.

ISIS has been known for launching surprise attacks and opening new battlefronts when it seems to be losing. ISIS also has been criticized by many Arabs and Muslims for not taking its fight to Israel and instead fighting fellow Arabs and Muslims. An attack aimed at Israel may boost ISIS’s popularity in the Arab world and refresh its recruitment and funding efforts.

On the other hand, some of ISIS’s top military commanders were former officers in Saddam Hussein’s army, and they may resort to what Saddam did in the 1991 Gulf War when he attacked Israel with mid-range rockets, hoping to drag the Israelis into a conflict that he was losing.

An Israeli retaliation in 1991 could have jeopardized the U.S-led coalition that then included Arab countries like Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia. The same is true now.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Despite some recent tensions between the countries, Israel remains America’s closest ally in the Middle East. Attacks on Israel by ISIS or affiliated groups could further escalate war in the region, or they could further strain ties between the Obama administration and the Israeli government.

“It would be more likely a sign of desperation, as were Saddam’s attempts to lure Israel into the 1991 war as a way of breaking the Arab coalition against him,” said NYU’s Levin. At that time, continuous pressure from the first Bush administration and the installation of the Patriot anti-rocket system convinced the Israelis to refrain from reacting to Saddam’s attack.

Israel could launch a preemptive attack to destroy or significantly damage these ISIS-affiliated units whether by air or by ground forces. Israel used its advanced air force to launch attacks in Syria several times since the beginning of Syrian civil war in 2011.

Israel Blasts Switzerland for Calling Geneva Convention Meeting

Israel blasted Switzerland on Thursday for calling a special meeting of the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention next week, which is expected to severely censure Israel for its actions in the West Bank and Gaza.

Switzerland, the Depository of the Fourth Geneva Convention, summoned the meeting following a request put forward by the Palestinian Authority after it joined the convention in April, following the breakdown of the US-backed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

The meeting is scheduled for December 17.

UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva

The Fourth Geneva Convention on the Rules of War was adopted in 1949 in a response to Nazi atrocities. It governs actions during war and the treatment of civilians in occupied territories. In addition, it also outlaws the resettlement by an occupying power of its own civilians on territory under its military control.

Since it was adopted, it has met only twice, in 1999 and 2001, both times to deal with Israel.

Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon said that Switzerland, as the depository, is obligated to act in a “neutral and apolitical manner.”

“Switzerland’s decision to convene the convention raises great doubts about its obligation to these principles, while it is giving its hand to the politicization of the Geneva Convention and the laws of war in general,” he said.

Nachshon said convening the meeting is a political step whose sole goal is to use the Fourth Geneva Convention as a platform to blast Israel.

Not only will Israel not participate, he said, but it is rethinking its position on other Swiss initiatives regarding international humanitarian law. Israel, he said, is calling on all countries for whom the Fourth Geneva Convention is important to boycott the meeting.

The US and Australia joined Israel in boycotting the 2001 meeting and are expected to do the same this time as well. Canada is also expected to boycott the meeting.

The decision to convene the meeting was only one piece of bad news Jerusalem received Thursday, the other being the decision by the French Senate to follow the lead of the French parliament’s lower house and recommend the government recognize “Palestine.”

The resolution passed by the slim margin of 153-146.

What set this vote off from other measures that have already passed through the parliaments in Spain, Britain and Ireland, however, is that the French resolution was proposed by the governing party, and not by opposition parties using the measure as a “club” against the governing party.

On the other hand, the first country that may not pass such a resolution is Denmark, which held a debate on the motion on Thursday.

Danish Ambassador Jesper Vahr predicted during a panel discussion at the annual Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference that “the vast majority of the Danish parliament will reject the proposal to recognize the state of Palestine.”

He explained that this would not be because Denmark does not believe in a two-state solution, but, rather, that to do so at this time would not be “fruitful.” He also indicated that he thinks recognition should be done by the EU in unison, rather than by each country unilaterally.

Vahr started a firestorm at the conference when he stated that Israel should be held to a higher standard than the Arab countries. "Because you are one of us" he added. "You wouldn't want to be judged by the same standards as the middle east. You should be judged by European standards."

Caroline B. Glick, the Jerusalem Post’s senior contributing editor, responded angrily. She accused Europe of having "an obsession that Jews have seen from Europeans from the time of Jesus.” 

In 2001, the United Nations Security Council approved a binding resolution that bars UN member states from funding or supporting terrorist organizations, Glick said.

That resolution, she said, has not stopped Europe from “funneling billions of euros into rebuilding terrorist-controlled Gaza.

“This is in contravention of binding international law that you signed onto,” she charged.

"But when it comes to Israel, Europe simply invents international law, Glick said. Europe acts as if it is required by law to sanction Israel for activity over the pre-1967 lines in West Bank settlements and Jerusalem, even though there is no such binding international legislation", she said.

“There is no such binding law. You guys are funding settlements in Western Sahara.

You are funding them directly,” she said. “This is not a double standard. This is a singular standard for Israel. This is not about international law. It is about an obsessive, compulsive need to constantly pick at the Jewish state,” she said.

Aviv Shir-On, the Foreign Ministry’s deputy director- general for Western Europe, said a Danish refusal to pass such a resolution would be “significant.”

Shir-On added, without referencing the Danish parliament, that he finds it odd that even as parliaments in Europe are taking the liberty to debate the recognition of a Palestinian state, “at the same time Europe criticizes the Israeli parliament debating a Jewish state. This is a bit strange and this is what we are trying to explain to our friends in Europe.”

Merkel Condemns Russia 'Interfering' in Eastern Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel:
ties between the two countries have been strained by the Ukraine crisis

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has accused Russia of interfering in the affairs of Eastern European countries seeking closer ties with the EU.

In an interview in Die Welt am Sonntag newspaper (in German), Mrs Merkel said Russia was "creating problems" for Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.

Russia's violation of "the territorial integrity... of Ukraine must not be allowed to stand", she added.

Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine have signed trade deals with the EU.

Russia is suspicious of these association agreements - it is trying to draw republics which were once part of the Soviet Union into its own customs union. Is it suspicion - the old KGB paranoia, or are they afraid these countries might open up to NATO bases putting Russia at risk? Or, is the ambitious Putin trying to rebuild the old empire? Who knows?

Map - EU/ex-USSR - notice Crimea was still part of Ukraine

"Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine are three countries in our eastern neighbourhood that have taken sovereign decisions to sign an association agreement with the EU," Mrs Merkel told Germany's Die Welt am Sonntag.

"Russia is creating problems for all three of these countries," she said, pointing to frozen conflicts in breakaway regions like Trans-Dniester, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as Russian actions in eastern Ukraine.

Last month Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a "strategic partnership" agreement with Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, drawing strong criticism from Nato and the EU.

Correct response
In the interview, Mrs Merkel also accused Moscow of trying to make countries in the western Balkans economically and politically dependent on Russia in order to gain influence there.

She said she was "convinced" that the "common European response to Russia's actions is correct".

The Ukraine crisis began a year ago, when then-President Viktor Yanukovych abandoned an agreement on strengthening trade ties with EU in favour of closer co-operation with Russia.

This decision sparked pro-EU protests in the capital Kiev, eventually toppling Mr Yanukovych in February.

In the weeks that followed, Russia annexed Crimea, in Ukraine's south, and pro-Russian separatists took control of Donetsk and Luhansk, declaring independence.

More than 4,300 people have died and almost one million have been displaced since conflict began in April, the UN says.

The crisis has caused a serious rift between Russia and Ukraine's Western supporters.

Just Who's Side is the White House On?

Obama has lifted sanctions on Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, but he is considering imposing sanctions on our number one ally in the region, Israel. 

“Reports: Obama Mulling Sanctions on Israel,” AP via WFB, December 4, 2014

The Obama administration is refusing to discuss reports that emerged early Thursday claiming that the White House is considering imposing sanctions on Israel for continuing construction on Jewish homes in Jerusalem.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf dodged several questions on Thursday when confronted with reports that the administration had held secret internal meetings to discuss taking action against Israel for its ongoing building in East Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Netanyahu - President Barack Obama
A somewhat less than symbiotic relationship

The classified meetings were reportedly held several weeks ago and included officials from both the State Department and White House, according to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, which first reported on the meetings.

The possibility of sanctioning Israel for its ongoing construction sends a signal that the Obama administration is willing to go further in its denunciations of Israel then any previous White House.

At the same time, the White House is vigorously pushing Congress against passing new sanctions on Iran. This after allowing the Iranians 8 more months to finish building an atomic bomb with which to blow Israel away. Makes you wonder.

When asked to address the reports Thursday afternoon, Harf declined to take a stance.

“I’m obviously not going to comment one way or another on reported internal deliberations,” she said. “We’ve made clear our position on settlement activity publicly and that hasn’t changed.”

Marie Harf - State Department spokeperson

When pressed to address whether the White House has reached a point at which it believes its harsh rhetoric against Israel is not enough, Harf again demurred, stating that she would not “address hypotheticals.”

A White House National Security Council (NSC) official also would not comment on the report when contacted Thursday by the Washington Free Beacon.

News of the supposed meeting leaked to the press though Israeli officials who were apparently apprised of the discussion.

Senior Israeli officials told Haaretz “that White House officials held a classified discussion a few weeks ago about the possibility of taking active measures against the settlements,” according to the report.

The discussion about levying sanctions on Israel reportedly began after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s October meeting at the White House and the subsequent battle between Washington and Jerusalem over settlement construction.

The thought of the White House leveling sanctions on Israel as it works to lessen those already imposed on Iran prompted consternation on Capitol Hill and throughout the pro-Israel world.

One senior congressional aide who works on the issue of Israel expressed shock that a White House could even discuss such action.
“If these reports are true, this would mark a new era of unprecedented hostility from the White House against our strongest ally in the Middle East,” the source said. “It’s impossible not to notice the irony of the administration mulling sanctions on Israel while threatening to veto new sanctions against Iran.”

The White House seems to be treating the Iranians as friends and the Israelis as enemies. For all their apparent efforts to create democracies in the middle east, they appear to be facilitating the destruction of the only one there. How does that make any sense?

Guerrero State Under Attack as Students Still Missing in Mexico

Attack against Guerrero state congress in Chilpancingo
Protesters accuse local politicians of failing to investigate the students' disappearance

Demonstrators in Mexico have attacked the Guerrero state congress in new protests against the government's handling of the disappearance of 43 students in September.

Five vehicles were set alight outside the building in the state capital, Chilpancingo.

The students disappeared in the nearby town of Iguala more than six weeks ago.

Mexican officials say local gang members have confessed to killing the students and burning their bodies.

But remains found nearby have not yet been identified as the missing students.

The students' disappearance has led to weeks of violent protests across the country.

There were violent clashes in several areas of Chilpancingo during the day

Today's attack caused extensive damage to the Guerrero state congress building.

It came after protesters torched the education department's audit office in Chilpancingo during a demonstration called by the teachers' union.

On Tuesday demonstrators in Iguala attacked the regional headquarters of the ruling party (PRI).

Guerrero's Education Department building was also targeted during teachers' union march

The disappearance of the 43 trainee teachers and the links it has revealed between the local authorities and a gang calling itself Guerreros Unidos (United Warriors) have triggered mass protests.

Investigators said that municipal police officers confessed to seizing the students, who had been protesting in Iguala on 26 September, and later handing them over to the gang.

Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca is under arrest on suspicion of ordering police to intercept the students. Iguala's police chief is still on the run.

But residents say they suspect links between the gang and officials reach higher levels than that of the local town council.

Jose Luis Abarca and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, 7 Nov 14
The couple were arrested last week in Mexico City hiding in a slum area

Relatives of the missing are also angry about the way the search for the students has been conducted.

Tests carried out by the Guerrero state authorities suggested the bodies they contained were not those of the students.

But Mexico's Attorney-General Jesus Murillo Karam later said the initial tests may have been flawed.

Attorney-General Jesus Murillo Karam

On 28 October, experts searching the landfill site near the town of Cocula where gang members allegedly killed and burned the students find rubbish bags with human remains.

The charred remains have now been sent to a specialised laboratory in Innsbruck, Austria, for testing. Results are not expected for several weeks.

Putin Lashes out at US, West for Destabilizing World

This could be a case of 'the pot calling the kettle black'. But for what it's worth, here is what Russian President Putin had to say about the US.

Vladimir Putin lashed out at the United States and the West for destabilizing the world order of checks and balances for its own gains. He also accused the West of inflaming the situation in Ukraine and said Russia is not interested in building an empire.

The Russian President delivered a fierce broadside aimed at the United States in a speech for the Valdai Club in Sochi, which is an informal group of scholars. He hit out at Washington for behaving without regard to the rest of the world's interests

“The system of international relations needed some changes, but the USA, who believe they were the winners of the Cold War, have not seen the need for this.” He added that the US has been trying to create the world “for their own gains." The Russian President added that because of this, regional and global security had been weakened.

During his speech, Putin used the Russian version of the Latin phrase, “Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi” (what is allowed for God, is not allowed for cattle,) alluding to the double standards used by Washington.

US sponsoring Islamic extremism
Putin also touched on the issue of the growth of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and also accused the West of, "turning a blind eye," to the encroachment of international terrorism into Russia and Central Asia. Putin believes the US has played a considerable role in sponsoring the growth of Islamic extremism, using the example of Washington's funding of the Mujahidin in the Afghan-Soviet war in the 1980's, which eventually gave birth to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

“It never ceases to amaze me how our partners have been guilty of making the same mistakes time and again. They have in the past sponsored Islamic extremists who were battling against the Soviet Union, which took place in Afghanistan. It was because of this the Taliban and Al-Qaeda was created,” the president added.

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) is the latest terrorist organization, which is destabilizing the world and Putin was scathing of countries that have been helping to fund the Islamist militants by buying cut price oil they are selling.

“Terrorists have been selling oil at really low prices and those countries who have been buying it and then selling it on, are financing terrorism, which will eventually come back to bite them,” the Russian President said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and former Chancellor of Austria Wolfgang Schussel during the final plenary meeting of the 11th session of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi October 24, 2014. (RIA Novosti / Vitaliy Belousov) Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and former Chancellor of Austria Wolfgang Schussel during the final plenary meeting of the 11th session of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi October 24, 2014. (RIA Novosti / Vitaliy Belousov)

Putin all for Nuclear cuts
Relations between Russia and the US have been plummeting for months; however Vladimir Putin accused the US of using the EU to further its own gains against Russia. He hit out at the numerous sanctions that have been imposed on Moscow, saying, "This was a mistake, which has a knock-on effect on everyone."

“The USA, which has implemented sanctions against Russia, is sawing at the branches, upon which they are sitting,” President Putin added.

The reduction of nuclear arsenals was another issue, which was high on the agenda for the Russian President and once again, he was not afraid of having a dig at Washington for their reluctance to cut the number of nuclear missiles. He mentioned that unfortunately many countries see the only way to preserve their sovereignty is, "To make a nuclear bomb."

The reduction in nuclear arsenals was initially proposed by the Obama administration and Putin admitted it had potential, before talks about decreasing weapons stockpiles collapsed.

"Russia has been all for the continuation of talks about the reduction of nuclear arsenals," and according to President Putin, "Moscow is ready for serious talks, but without “double standards."

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the wrap-up session of the 11th Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on 24 October 2014. (RIA Novosti / Vitaliy Belousov) Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the wrap-up session of the 11th Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on 24 October 2014. (RIA Novosti / Vitaliy Belousov)

Genie out of the bottle
Perhaps Putin's harshest criticism was reserved for the West's creation of color revolutions and "controlled chaos," which he a likened to "letting the genie out of the bottle," with particular reference to Ukraine.

"We have been trying to discuss the Ukraine issue with the EU for a long time, but we were told this was none of our business. They then put two countries against each other, which has led to countless destruction of infrastructure. When I asked why did they do this, they just shrug their shoulders and don’t have an answer," Putin added.

President Putin made reference to the ‘Bear’ defending its territory to take a swipe at the US for its continued encroachment towards Russia’s territory. “He is considered the owner of the Taiga, but he, I know for a fact, does not want to go to a different climatic zone, as it is uncomfortable for him there. However, he will not give it to anyone else; I think that this should be clear,” he said.

The Russian President said that there is no truth whatsoever in claims from the West that Russia is interested in empire building and that Moscow is looking to destabilize the world order. With relations between Russia and the West at a very low ebb, Putin also hinted Russia will look to develop allies further afield.

"Russia has made its choice – we want to develop our economy and develop democratic values. Democratic values - seriously? It will never happen as long as the country continues to be run by Oligarchs, and the country will continue to be run by the Oligarchs. 

We work with our counterparts in the Shanghai Cooperation, the BRICS union for example. We want our opinions to be respected likewise. We all need to be cautious to not make hasty and dangerous steps. Some of the players on the global front have forgotten about the need for this," he said in another barb directed at Washington.

More Mass Graves in Mexico near Iguala

Federal police officers have taken over an investigation into a mass grave near the
city of Iguala after accusations of collusion between local police and drug cartels.

The governor of the southern Mexico state where 43 college students disappeared after a confrontation with police said Saturday that some of the bodies recovered from clandestine graves last weekend did not match the missing young people.

Guerrero state Gov. Angel Aguirre did not say if all of the 28 bodies removed by forensic experts had been identified yet. The remains had been severely burned, and experts are conducting DNA tests in an effort to identify the dead.

The governor spoke at a news conference in Iguala, the city where municipal police have been accused of working with a drug gang in the disappearance of the students on Sept. 26.

Aguirre also made no comment about what authorities might have found in other mass graves that were discovered in the same area as the first site on the outskirts of Iguala. That find was announced Thursday by Mexico's attorney general, Jesus Murillo Karam.

26 police officers in custody

Vidulfo Rosales, a lawyer representing families of the missing teachers college students, said he had no information about identification of any of the remains. He said it was regrettable that authorities had not first informed the families before releasing the information.

Aguirre told reporters that no more arrests had been made in the case.

On Thursday, Murillo Karam announced the arrest of four people, raising the total in custody to 34, including 26 Iguala police officers. He said the new suspects had led investigators to four new burial pits near the site where authorities unearthed 28 bodies last weekend.

The 43 students have been missing since two shooting incidents in which police gunfire killed six people and wounded at least 25 in Iguala. Prosecutors alleged that officers rounded up some students after the violence and drove off with them. Police are believed to have turned over the students to a local drug gang that apparently had ties to the family of Iguala's mayor, Jose Luis Abarca, who is a fugitive.