Excerpts: US action re ISIS. U.N.Filipino contingent in Golan withdrawn.
ISIS recruiting in Canada. Abbas :swiftly resume peace talks.
Davutoglu:architect of Turkey's foreign policy. Iran opens nuclear fuel
plant. Vatican says youth go to IS for money August 23, 2014

+++SOURCE: Al Arabiya 23 Aug.’13:”U.S.ready to ‘take action’ against ISIS in
Syria,Agence France Presse
SUBJECT::US action re ISIS

QUOTE:”The White House said it was ready to “take action” against ISIS in
Syria if Americans are threatened.”

EXCERPT:The White House said it was ready to “take action” against any
threat to America as it indicated serious consideration of U.S. military
strikes against Islamic militants in Syria.

The Pentagon has warned of the dangers of the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria group and said operations against it in Syria may be needed, after
weeks of air strikes have slowed the advance of the Sunni militant group in
Iraq and as the West reeled from the grisly killing of American journalist
James Foley.

The White House also said late Friday[22 Aug.] that air strikes in Syria may
be necessary, as deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes agreed that
“any strategy to deal with the ISIS organization has to deal with both sides
of the border, Iraq and Syria.”

“If we see plotting against Americans, we see a threat to the U.S. emanating
from anywhere, we stand ready to take action against that threat,” Rhodes
added.. . .

+++SOURCE: Al Arabiya News 23 Aug.’14:”Philippines to repatriate U.N. troops
in Golan, Liberia.”,Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: U.N. Filopino contingent in Golan withrawn

EXCERPTS:The Philippines said Saturday[23 Aug.] it will repatriate over 400
of its troops serving as U.N. peacekeepers in the Golan Heights and Liberia
amid security threats and concerns over the Ebola virus.. . .

"The 331-strong Filipino contingent serving as part of the United Nations
Disengagement Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights will be repatriated at the
end of their tour of duty in October," the statement said.

. . .Last year the Philippines also considered pulling its Golan
peacekeepers out after 25 of them were kidnapped but later freed by Syrian
rebels in two separate incidents.

A Filipino soldier was also wounded by a wayward shell last year.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino later agreed to a U.N. request to keep
the Filipinos in the Golan after receiving pledges that they would be given
more equipment to protect themselves.


+++SOURCE: AlArabiya News 23Aug.’14:”Imam receives death threat, says ISIS
recruiting in Canada”, Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:ISIS recruiting in Canada
QUOTE:”Syed Soharwardy, founder of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada,
called for intensifying the fight against ISIS. (Courtesy: metronews.ca) “

FULL TEXT:A Canadian imam known for his pacifist sermons warned Friday[22
Aug.] that Islamist militant group ISIS was actively recruiting in Canada
and said one member issued him a death threat.

Syed Soharwardy, founder of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC),
called on Canadian and Western authorities to intensify the fight against
Islamist militant movements.

"Absolutely I am convinced that this recruitment is going on right here in
this country, under our noses, in our universities, in our colleges, in the
places of worship, in our community," he told CBC public television.

Soharwardy added that a Muslim man from Ottawa who was fighting with ISIS in
Mosul in northern Iraq had sent him a death threat on Facebook.

"He was condemning me for condemning ISIS, and he was saying that 'You are a
deviant imam and your version of Islam is not the right version,'"
Soharwardy said, using another acronym by which ISIS is known.

The Calgary-based imam said such threats were nothing new.

"I get death threats from everybody," he said, adding that "just last month
I had a death threat posted on a website."

In February, intelligence services said at least 130 Canadians were fighting
with ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

"Three Calgarian young fellows died in Iraq and Syria fighting for ISIS. One
of them was very known to me," he said.

"These people are brainwashing people here in this country," he added.

Soharwardy also began a 48-hour hunger strike "to create awareness about the
dangerous nature of ISIS" and pay homage to American journalist James Foley,
who was executed by his jihadist captors in a video released Tuesday by
ISIS.

ISIS declared itself a "caliphate" in late June and has since added a swath
of northern Iraq to territory it already held in eastern Syria. The move has
prompted a U.S. campaign of air raids backing regional Kurdish and Iraqi
forces fighting ISIS in the country's north.


+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 23 Aug ‘144:”Palestinian president calls for swift
resumption of Gaza peace talks” ,Reuters
SUBJECT: Abbas calls for swift resumption of peace talks

FULL TEXT:CAIRO - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Saturday[23
Aug.] for a swift resumption of the Cairo-mediated talks between Israel and
the Palestinians that failed last week to put an end to the Gaza crisis.

"My main goal is for the truce talks to resume in Egypt as soon as possible
to avoid more casualties and sacrifices," Abbas told a news conference after
meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. — Reuters


+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 23 Aug.’14::”Davutoglu: The architect of Turkey’s
foreign policy”, by Al Arabiya

SUBJECT: Davutoglu: architect of Turkey’s foreign policy

QUOTE:Dovutaglu who will be Turkey’s next prime minister is a loyal ally of
incoming presdent Erdogan and the chief architect of an assertive but
increasingly controversial foreign policy”
FULL TEXT:Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who will be Turkey’s next prime
minister, is a loyal ally of incoming president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the
chief architect of an assertive but increasingly controversial foreign
policy.

Davutoglu was named by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) as its
sole candidate to be new leader and prime minister to replace Erdogan. He
will take office on Aug. 28.

He will be just the third prime minister since the AKP came to power in 2002
after outgoing President Abdullah Gul and Erdogan, who has been premier
since 2003.

Davutoglu’s mild-mannered and smiling demeanor belies his abilities as a
tough negotiator and strategic thinker, who has been at the heart of
government since Erdogan first came to power.

His foreign policy defined Ankara as a regional power broker but Davutoglu,
55, has come under fire in recent months over Turkey’s increasing diplomatic
isolation.

After an academic career as a professor of international relations,
Davutoglu became one of Erdogan’s top advisors in 2003, the year Erdogan
took the post of prime minister.

He was promoted to foreign minister in 2009 and since then has overseen
Turkish policy on the string of crises which exploded since the Arab Spring,
including the Syria conflict.

Zero to multiple problems

Encouraged by Erdogan, who has always pushed for Turkey to become a world
power, Davutoglu has sought a pivotal role for the country as a mediator in
conflicts in the Middle East.

This new policy was not always welcomed and sparked accusations that the
Islamic-rooted government is promoting “neo-Ottomanism” and even
“pan-Islamism” in seeking to restore Turkish influence throughout the former
Ottoman Empire. He was listed in Foreign Policy magazine as one of the “Top
100 Global Thinkers of 2010” for repositioning Turkey as a “central” country
and dismissing post-Cold War cliches of a bridge country between East and
West.

He has rejected accusations that the country — a NATO member and a candidate
for European Union membership — is shifting away from the West, arguing
instead for an integrated foreign policy.

“Turkey cannot prioritize its relations with the East or the West,” he once
said.

Davutoglu has advocated a policy of “zero problems” with neighboring
countries and embarked on fence-mending efforts with Armenia, with whom
Turkey has no diplomatic ties.

But the Arab Spring shattered this policy, leaving Turkey with a myriad of
problems with neighbors.

Relations with Egypt strained following Ankara’s support for ousted Islamist
president Mohamed Morsi and disputes with Israel reached new heights in the
wake of the Gaza assaults, making any rapprochement unthinkable in the
medium term.

Turkey now has no ambassadors in three key regional states — Egypt, Israel
and Syria.

With the West worried about authoritarian tendencies in Turkey, relations
with the United States have cooled and momentum towards eventual EU
membership has been lost.

‘Strategic depth’

Even Davutoglu, a pious Muslim, has now on occasion dropped his smiling
demeanor to make comments reminiscent of Erdogan’s own outbursts.

“Apparently, some are asking us to be impartial! Some also ask to stay away
from the Middle East ‘swamp.’ For us, what they call a swamp is the center
of sacred revelation!” he said to cheers in an impassioned speech during
Ramadan in July.

“With the will of God, we’ll hold up a huge torch of civilization in the
Middle East.”

A fluent speaker of English, German and Arabic, Davutoglu was born in Konya,
one of Turkey’s religiously most conservative provinces and a bedrock of
support for the ruling AKP.

Davutoglu, married with four children, dedicates time to his family outside
of work although he is also known to share Erdogan’s passion for football.

“We like very much driving by car. Ahmet Bey drives himself. We sing songs
with the children,” his wife Sare, a doctor, said in an 2011 interview.

“I can say the only thing he likes doing at home is to open boxes of books
and arrange them,” she added.

He has also published influential books on international politics. His own
vision for Turkey is summarized in his book “Strategic Depth”, seen as the
key theoretical work on current Turkish foreign policy. — Al Arabiya News


+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon)23 Aug.’14:”Iran Opens Nuclear Fuel Plant”,
Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: Iran opens nuclear fuel plant
FULL TEXT:Iran has opened a uranium dioxide factory that will produce fuel
for civilian nuclear plants, the head of its atomic energy agency announced
Saturday[ 23 Aug.].

Ali Akbar Salehi said the factory in Esfahan, central Iran, which produce
uranium dioxide enriched to a level of less than 5 percent was opened in
keeping with an agreement between Tehran and world powers.

Its main use would be for the Bushehr nuclear reactor in southern Iran, he
said, quoted by state news agency IRNA, .

"Under the agreement with the P5+1 which came into effect in January, we are
to transform a part of the enriched uranium to less than five percent
oxide," said Salehi.

The deal with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus
Germany -- known as P5+1 -- calls for a scaling back of Iran's controversial
nuclear program in return for a partial lifting of Western sanctions.

The target date for a final deal has been put back to November 24.

By August 25, Tehran must also respond to the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) on decade-old allegations of past nuclear weapons research.

Tehran denies it wants nuclear weapons, insisting it is pursuing atomic
energy purely for peaceful purposes.

While some differences have been reconciled, disagreements remain over how
much uranium Iran would be allowed to enrich and on the lifting of
international economic sanctions.

A new round of talks between Tehran and the P5+1 is expected before the U.N.
General Assembly starts on September 16.



+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 23 Aug.’14:”Lack of Prospects, Financial Lure
Pushing Youth to IS, Says the Vatican”, Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: Vatican says youth to ISLAMIC STATE for money
EXCERPT: Young Syrians are gravitating towards the radical Islamic State due
to a lack of prospects and the lure of financial support more than
"ideological conviction", the pope's Syria envoy said Saturday[23 Aug.].

IS militants, which have been active in the Syrian conflict for several
years, have made headlines in recent months after grabbing large swathes of
northern Iraq and declaring a caliphate spanning the territory they hold in
both countries.

They have struck fear into neighbours and countries further afield as they
massacre Christians and opponents, put the severed heads of their victims on
display, indoctrinate young children and implement strict Sharia law
wherever they go.. . .

Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA