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By COMPILEDTHE MEDIA LINEMichel Aoun(photo credit: REUTERS)A Turkish-Iraqi war? Al-Sharq al-Awsat, London, November 4 \Relations between Ankara and Baghdad have reached an all-time low.The Turkish Army announced that it will be sending forces to participate in the battle over Mosul’s liberation in the upcoming days. In response, Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi urged the Turks to “mind their own business” and refrain from any intervention.The Iraqis believe that Turkey is trying to topple Shi’ite militias that operate in Iraq. They are accusing the Turkish government of intervening in order to promote its own sectarian goals. Meanwhile, on the Turkish side, there are growing concerns over the possibility of ISIS militants infiltrating Turkish territory.The truth is that Turkey is right. Its fear about terrorism spreading into its side of the border is legitimate and understandable. Ankara never intervened in foreign wars out of sectarian interests – not on Lebanon, not in Syria, and not in Iraq. Its sole purpose is to target Islamic State targets and Kurdish separatists.Ankara is now realizing that it was mistaken for not acting earlier against ISIS, particularly in the regions close to its border. It allowed Iran to take over the political vacuum in the region and establish Shi’ite militias that are quickly spreading through the region. These groups receive orders and funding from Iran and seek to undermine central authority. They operated in Syria and now they are spreading to Iraq, as well.Turkey and Iraq are not seeing eye to eye, and they are headed towards confrontation. The Turks will not stand idly by as Iran takes over their borders. Iraq, meanwhile, will not cooperate with Turkey. A confrontation between the two countries seems somewhat inevitable.– Abd al-Rahman al-RashedWe cannot embrace AounAl-Nahar, Lebanon, November 1Despite the fact that the Lebanese political deadlock has come to an end with the election of President Aoun last week, we have no reason to celebrate.We have been promised that government services will finally return to their normal state of being. We have been told that a new era has come upon Lebanon.We were asked to celebrate the resilience of our country’s democratic institutions. Sadly, I cannot accept such convictions.General Aoun might have been elected through voting, but he was not elected democratically. His party prevented other candidates from competing in the elections, it obstructed real competition, and it threatened us to choose between two bad options: a candidate we do not like, and a continuous political vacuum.Had these elections been truly democratic and free, I would have embraced them. I would have been disappointed by the choice of candidate, but respected the results. This was not the case. The election of Aoun as president is the not the right choice for Lebanon; it is the right choice for certain parties that decided to back him. For all of these reasons we cannot truly celebrate today.Lebanon might have entered a new political era, but this was not a victory for democracy, as some would like us to believe.–Nayla Tawini 11 years after Amman attackAl Ghad -Jordan, Petra news agency November 8This week is the 11th anniversary of the Amman terrorist attack which blasted three hotels in 2005 and led to the deaths of many innocent people. The terrorists took the role of judge and executioner. Jordanians are determined to stay on its current path of defying terror and extremist ideology, strengthening freedom and democracy, despite the feelings of sadness and heartbreak which befell them following the violent attacks. Jordan will not spare any efforts in its struggle against extremism, and will continue to strengthen the dialogue between faiths and cultures, explain the true principles of the Hanifi school of Islam and its tolerant vision in various conferences on these subjects.His Royal Highness Abdullah II has emphasized on more than one occasion that the war on terror, and on the Khawarij (those who rebelled against Caliphate after Muhammad’s death) of our time, is a Muslim war of the highest order to protect our religion and our future. He said we must face this danger head on, describing the terror sweeping over our region as something which knows no borders, doesn’t differentiate between the sexes, and aims to Islam’s image and its message of tolerance.http://www.themedialine.org/
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