MUST-READS

• GCC+4
  Analyzing the emergence of the GCC+4 against ISIS

  First, the GCC+4 is to develop a multi-prong approach to soft power options to break ISIS’s logistical chains in manpower and finance as well as to develop counter-narratives to negate the group’s capabilities and messaging. Stronger border controls around ISIS are in the planning process, key funders are being targeted and to be arrested or at least harassed into submission to the law, and an information campaign is being developed to debunk ISIS’s perversion of Islam including that of other extremists such as al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. The GCC+4 seek to enlist clerics and opinion-shapers to neuter ISIS’s social media campaign with more than just denouncements, but with well thought out arguments up to and including the issue of several fatwa throughout the course of operations. A united stand by the moderate Sunni community is a key aspect that is required to begin now.

  • Al-Monitor - Turkey abstains on US coalition against Islamic State
• Camel Fashion
  The latest compression-suit technology comes to camel racing and beauty contests

  A skin-tight fit for a camel, however, has its own difficulties – after six months of research, the design is still a work in progress. While race horses have a sleek and streamlined uniformity, race camels are too lumpy for a one-size-fits-all suit. It’s not just the variability in hump size, but hump placements that ­matters.

• Gaza
  Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes in Gaza

  Human Rights Watch accused Israel of committing war crimes by attacking three U.N.-run schools in the Gaza Strip in fighting in July and August, killing Palestinian civilians who had sheltered there. The New York-based group issued a report on Thursday that it described as the first in-depth documentation of the incidents, which took place during a 50-day conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants that ended in a ceasefire on Aug. 26.

  • New Yorker - Friends of Israel
  • NYT - Opinion: A War of Choice in Gaza
  • NY Review of Books - Opinion: Failure in Gaza
• U.S.-Saudi
  Joint Statement: Foreign Minister Prince Saud & Secretary of State Kerry

  Another important item that we discussed today is the importance of being clear in our plans and policies and to share responsibilities – this, in addition to being serious and continuous in our action to eliminate and wipe out all these terrorist organizations.

  • Politico - The deal that upended Washington's September
• Saudi Entrepreneurs
  Young entrepreneurs become the toast of Saudi Arabia

  Young entrepreneurs were recognized at the prestigious Injaz-Saudi Arabia awards at Jeddah Hilton Tuesday night. The competition was launched in 2010 and attended annually by winners from all over the Kingdom. This year’s competition focused on preparing Saudi youths as the future leaders of the entrepreneurship world and involved 691 schools from more than 50 cities around the country.

• Iran Negotiations
  Ahead of talks, Iran says West must drop ‘illogical’ nuclear demands

  Iran said world powers should abandon their "illogical demands" over its nuclear program, ahead of talks on Thursday to try to bridge wide differences in positions and end the decade-old dispute by late November. Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, one of Iran's chief negotiators, was speaking before a meeting in Vienna with senior officials from the three European members of the group of six world powers involved in the negotiations with Tehran.

• Israel-Palestine
  Israeli troops kill Palestinian during West Bank

  Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian on Wednesday during a raid on a West Bank refugee camp, Palestinian medics and the Israeli military said.

• Iraq and IS
  Kerry in Iraq to congratulate new premier, build alliance against Islamic State

  Kerry met with new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other senior officials. His visit is timed to precede President Obama’s speech Wednesday evening laying out a multi-pronged plan to confront militants who have seized large swaths of Iraqi and Syrian territory with stunning speed and battlefield prowess.

  • NPR - Obama To Push Military Campaign Against Islamic State Militants
  • Center for American Progress - Defeating ISIS: An Integrated Strategy to Advance Middle East Stability
  • The Hill - ISIS is spreading, experts warn
  • Defense News - Republican Leaders Want Clear Islamic State Plan from Obama
  • BBC News - John Kerry says world cannot watch IS evil spread
• Algosaibi
  Saudi’s Algosaibi Makes Restructuring Moves

  Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers, a Saudi Arabian conglomerate that defaulted on its debts almost five years ago amid allegations of fraud, said a steering committee has been formed in a bid to advance its $6 billion restructuring.

• Saudi Arabia and Iran
  Iran and Saudi Arabia: Detente on the Horizon?

  After all, sabotage is the policy instrument of choice of the hardline faction in Tehran when it sets its mind to defending the status quo. For a brief moment, the hawks seemed hell-bent on sabotaging Rouhani’s Saudi initiative. The day Abdollahian arrived in Riyadh, Fars News—the mouthpiece of the IRGC—reported that an alleged Israeli drone shot down over Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility had been launched from a base in Saudi Arabia.

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