Excerpts:U.N.Security Council condemns Athens attack on Israel Embassy. US
'got it wrong' on the Middle East. Armed groups threaten Lebanon December
14, 2014

+++SOURCE: Al Arabiya News 14 Dec.’14:”U.N. stresses need to catch attackers
of Israel embassy”,Staff Writer with Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: U.N. Security Council condemns Athens attack on Israel Embassy
FULL TEXT:The U.N. Security Council on Saturday[13 Dec.] condemned the
night-time gun attack on the Israeli embassy in Athens and urged for the
need to catch the perpetrators, Agence France-Presse reported.

In a unanimous statement, the 15-member council “condemned in the strongest
terms the terrorist attack against the Embassy of Israel in Athens, Greece,
on 12 December, involving dozens of shots fired at the Embassy building, and
underlined the need to bring its perpetrators to justice.”

Greek police have said a far-left group was likely responsible for Friday’s[12
Dec.] attack, which saw the building sprayed with gunfire but no one hurt.

A police source in Athens said two Kalashnikovs used in the attack were used
in a similar assault on the residence of the German ambassador last December
by the far-left People’s Fighter Group.

Meanwhile, the Security Council also hailed the Greek government’s swift
investigation and “reaffirmed that terrorism, in all its forms and
manifestations, constitutes one of the most serious threats to peace and
security.

“Any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their
motivations, whenever and by whomsoever committed,” it added.

The Israeli government blamed the attack on a “hate campaign” by Palestinian
authorities over the death of a Palestinian official in a confrontation with
Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on Wednesday[10Dec.].

+++SOURCE:Al Arabiya News 14 Dec.’14:”(Political analyst)Fukuyama:U.S. ‘got
it wrong’on the Middle East”,By Eman El-Shenawi
SUBJECT: US ‘got it wrong’ on the Middle East
QUOTE:”Fukuyama (L) - best known for his 1992 book “The End of History” and
the “Last Man” – spoke at a panel discussion hosted by Al Arabiya News
Channel General Manager Dr. Adel Al-Toraifi ”
FULL TEXT: The U.S. has made the mistake of believing Middle Eastern states
“can’t get their acts together” without American help, U.S. political
scientist Francis Fukuyama said during a session at the Arab Strategy Forum
in Dubai on Sunday[14 Dec.].

Because of this belief, the U.S. has sought to intervene in Middle Eastern
states in turmoil without allowing internal institutional institutions to
solidify, the top academic said.

Fukuyama - best known for his 1992 book “The End of History” and the “Last
Man” – spoke at a panel discussion hosted by Al Arabiya News Channel General
Manager Dr. Adel Al-Toraifi on the Middle East’s upcoming challenges and
changes in 2015.

“The Americans need to understand that before you introduce democracy and
the rule of law to limit power in foreign countries, you need to create
power” within weak states, Fukuyama said.

“Cogently, Obama has argued that no state in this region is going to get its
act together in terms of state building and creating a coherent political
unit that can deploy a monopoly of legitimate power if the United States
plays too large a role in this region.

“This was a mistake that American foreign policy has made over and over
again; If the U.S. military is working with an ally, the temptation is to do
the job for them. This mistake has been made in Afghanistan, Iraq and even
in Vietnam. ”


‘Overplayed threat’
Fukuyama said the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group,
believed to hold about a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in its
self-styled caliphate, has been largely “overplayed” by the U.S. government
and the media.

ISIS is believed to hold about a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in its
self-styled caliphate. (File: Reuters)

The U.S. has led a coalition of Arab and European countries to strike Iraq
and Syria militant targets since August.

“I do not believe ISIS is a long-term powerful geopolitical actor in this
region. The reason it appears powerful is because everyone around it is
weak. ISIS has no overt supporters on the outside, geographically it is not
in a favorable position in the deserts of Syria and Iraq.

“It has access to oil resources but cannot sell them legally and I believe
it has grown so rapidly that it has become more vulnerable to air power,”
Fukuyama added.

On Friday[12 Dec.], the U.S. Congress authorized a massive U.S. annual
defense policy bill which included $5 billion in emergency funding for
military operations and training for Iraqi and Syrian forces fighting ISIS,
as President Barack Obama had requested.

‘Islam not an obstacle’
When asked about this surge in radical Islam in the Middle East, Fukuyama
said he was “not convinced religion or Islam is an obstacle to democracy” in
the region.

UAE-based political commentator Sultan al-Qassemi commended Fukuyama for
noting the West “should not do all the work in eliminating the threat of
ISIS.”

On the sidelines of the Forum, Qassemi told Al Arabiya News: “Without
building the institutions that ultimately combat the militants, the region
will not be able to face up to the challenges that ISIS present.

“Yes, the U.S. should help, but it should also be the regional states that
take a front seat in the fight. If not, this will be a recurring problem.
ISIS’ power comes because the regional states are weak,” Qassemi added.

Launched in 2001, the Forum focuses on foreseeing the future and gaining a
deeper understanding of major political and financial issues that affect the
Arab world and the international community. Previous distinguished speakers
include former U.S. president Bill Clinton and former prime minister of
Lebanon, the late Rafik Hariri

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 14 Dec.’14:”Report:Syrian Armed Groups Ready
to Advance into Lebanon through Arsal”,by Naharnet News Desk
SUBJECT: Armed groups threaten Lebanon
QUOTE:” ‘The armed men can easily recruit around 2,000 fighters from Syria’s
southern Daara province”
FULL TEXT:Syrian armed gunmen are planning to open a front in Lebanon by
invading the northeastern border town of Arsal and advancing into al-Qaa,
Ras Baalbek and other nearby villages.

According to the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Siyassah, the al-Qaida-affiliate
al-Nusra Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the Free Syrian
Army have been entrenched for the past two months and a half on the
mountains overseeing the Lebanese Bekaa on the porous Syrian-Lebanese
border.

The daily quoted a security figure close to a Mustaqbal Movement official in
the Bekaa as saying: “ The armed men can easily recruit around two thousand
fighters from Syria's southern Daraa province.”

In December, six Lebanese troops were killed and a soldier was injured as
militants staged an ambush against an army patrol in the outskirts of the
town of Ras Baalbek on Syria's border.

The clashes came in light of a report published in the British Telegraph
newspaper that a British team had saved Ras Baalbek from a "massacre" by
advancing Islamic State (IS) militants through constructing a network of
military watchtowers in the town.

In recent months, Syria-based IS and al-Nusra Front fighters have fought
several battles with Hizbullah and the Lebanese and Syrian armies in the
border region.

IS and Nusra militants briefly overran the northeastern border town of Arsal
in early August. They abducted a number of troops and policemen as they
withdrew from the town.

Four hostages have already been killed by the two groups, and the country
has been on edge for months over the fate of the remaining soldiers and
policemen.

LebanonPoliticsSyria

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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA