English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For March 04/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that
leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and
narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it
Matthew07/13-27: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is
the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through
it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few
find it.
True and False Prophets.“They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they
are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick
grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears
good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit
is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize
them. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many
will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in
your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will
tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’“Therefore
everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a
wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it
had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and
does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on
sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against
that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials
published on March 03-04/2022
Lebanon Backs Anti-Russia U.N. Resolution as U.S. Reportedly Presses Aoun
Hochstein Sends Written Proposal to Aoun, Berri and Miqati
President Aoun briefed by Deputy PM Al-Shami on course of IMF negotiations
President Aoun briefed by Ambassador Grillo on details of French-Saudi agreement
to help Lebanon, to chair Cabinet session tomorrow afternoon
Mikati inaugurates Beirut’s Arab Book Fair
Mikati holds series of meetings at Grand Serail, Salam says no need to panic
over wheat shortage
Berri calls parliamentary committees for joint meeting upcoming Wednesday, meets
Paraguayan Ambassador, Ministers of Sports, Youth and...
UN-Habitat and CatalyticAction rehabilitate streets and sidewalks in Karantina –
making key health facilities more accessible
Podcast hosted by WINEP’s Matthew Levitt: Hezbollah support networks in America
Interior Ministry Says Impossible to Set Up Voting Megacenters
Key Moments in the Saga of Former Nissan Boss Carlos Ghosn
6-Month Suspended Sentence for Ghosn Aide Kelly in Nissan Trial
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on March 03-04/2022
Pope Francis to visit DR Congo, South Sudan in July
Kyiv, Moscow Agree Corridors to Evacuate Civilians
Zelensky Says if Ukraine Falls, Baltic States 'Next'
Zelensky: 'The end of the world has arrived'
Moscow warns West against further escalations: Report
Putin: Ukraine operation ‘going to plan’, Middle East mercenaries fighting on
ground
Putin Says Russian Military Advance in Ukraine 'Going to Plan'
Canada/Joint statement on Arctic Council cooperation following Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine
Canada and its partners invoke the OSCE Moscow Mechanism to address Russia’s
possible war crimes in Ukraine
Canada announces additional $2 million in funding for humanitarian assistance
for the Philippines
Saudi Arabia and Iran should ‘coexist’, Israel is a ‘potential ally’: Crown
Prince
‘I don’t care’ what Biden thinks of me: Saudi Crown Prince
Titles For The Latest LCCC English
analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on March 03-04/2022
De l’”ensauvagement” à la guerre totale/Charles Elias Chartouni/Mars
04/2022
US unreliability makes regional allies cautious on Ukraine/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Arab
News/March 03/2022
Putin is not crazy and the Russian invasion is not failing. The West’s delusions
about this war – and its failure to understand the enemy – will prevent it from
saving Ukraine/Bill Roggio/Daily Mail/March 03/2022
Mohammed bin Salman on Iran, Israel, US and future of Saudi Arabia: Full
transcript/Al Arabiya English/03 March ,2022
on March 03-04/2022
Lebanon Backs Anti-Russia U.N.
Resolution as U.S. Reportedly Presses Aoun
Naharnet/March 3, 2022
Lebanon was among 141 nations that voted in favor of a U.N. General Assembly
resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, as five
countries rejected it and 35 nations chose to abstain. “The time has come to
stop the Russian war machine and launch dialogue and a diplomatic and peaceful
solution,” Lebanese diplomatic sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper in
remarks published Thursday. “Lebanon took the sound and natural stance by
rejecting war, in harmony with its identity and nature, and it stood by its Arab
brothers, international friends and European partners in confronting the Russian
war on Ukraine,” the sources added. Voicing surprise that “any party would ask
the Lebanese state to have a stance different than the one it has taken,” the
sources wondered if Lebanon’s interest lies in “encouraging military attacks and
invasions.” “If we do this, who will stand by us should Israel re-invade our
territory?” the sources asked. Prior to the U.N. vote, President Michel Aoun had
held a meeting in Baabda with Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Foreign Minister
Abdallah Bou Habib, in which the conferees decided to maintain the stance that
Lebanon had announced on February 24, the daily said. In a statement issued by
the Foreign Ministry on that day, Lebanon had condemned Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine and called on it to “immediately” withdraw its forces. Lebanon’s
decision to vote in favor of the resolution also came after U.S. Under Secretary
of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland held phone talks with President
Aoun which tackled the war in Ukraine. “Washington did not conceal its desire
that Lebanon maintain its previous stance as expressed by its Foreign Ministry,
and to implement it practically by voting in favor of condemning the Russian
invasion of Ukraine at the U.N. General Assembly,” Nidaa al-Watan quoted
informed sources as saying. Nuland warned that Lebanon would be risking “to
waste all the efforts that the United States is exerting to assist Lebanon in
the various fields, whether in the ongoing negotiations with the International
Monetary Fund, the importation of Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity, or the
file of demarcating the sea border with Israel,” the sources added. Only five
nations voted against the U.N. resolution – Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea
and Eritrea. China, India, Iran, Iraq and Algeria were meanwhile among 35
nations that abstained from voting.
Hochstein Sends Written Proposal to Aoun, Berri and
Miqati
Naharnet/March 3, 2022
The lead U.S. mediator in the Lebanon-Israel sea border talks, Amos Hochstein,
has sent a written proposal to President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and
Prime Minister Najib Miqati, several Lebanese newspapers reported on Thursday.
Hochstein’s letter was delivered to Aoun, Berri and Miqati by the U.S.
ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, diplomatic sources told An-Nahar newspaper.
“The letter includes a written demonstration of the proposal that Hochstein had
made verbally regarding the maritime demarcation of the southern border,” the
sources said. “It also includes answers to clarifications that the President had
requested from the U.S. envoy,” the sources added, noting that the letter also
contains an infographic about the demarcation line suggested by Hochstein and
about the Qana field, which is a line based on (Lebanon’s) Line 23.” The
Lebanese leaders will study the written U.S. proposal before offering a unified
answer to it, the sources added.
Health Ministry: 1835 new Corona cases, 10 deaths
NNA/March 3, 2022
In its daily report on the COVID-19 developments, the Ministry of Public Health
announced on Thursday the registration of 1835 new infections with the
Coronavirus, which raised the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date
1074372.
The report added that 10 deaths were recorded during the past 24 hours.
President Aoun briefed by Deputy PM Al-Shami on course
of IMF negotiations
NNA/March 3, 2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, met Deputy Prime Minister, Dr.
Saadeh Al-Shami, this afternoon at the Presidential Palace. Dr. Al-Shami briefed
the President on latest developments concerning negotiations with the
International Monetary Fund. In addition, Dr. Al-Shami stated that he had asked
President Aoun to hold a governmental parliamentary workshop to implement some
of the necessary reforms. Implementing these reforms is a necessary step to
reach an agreement with the IMF, especially since some of the reforms require
Parliament legislation. On the other hand, the Deputy Premier indicated that
catalyzing the work between the government and parliament is necessary to reach
an agreement before the parliamentary elections. -- Presidency Press Office
President Aoun briefed by Ambassador Grillo on details
of French-Saudi agreement to help Lebanon, to chair Cabinet session tomorrow
afternoon
NNA/March 3, 2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, will head a Cabinet session,
tomorrow at 3:00pm. The session is called for by Prime Minister, Najib Mikati,
and will address a 26 item agenda. Among agenda items is an expedited draft law
to extend the mandate of municipal councils. Interior Minister, Judge Bassam
Mawlawi, had presented a study prepared by his ministry, on the mechanism for
accrediting mega polling centers in the 2022 general parliamentary elections.
This presentation will be deliberated in tomorrow’s session, in addition to the
first draft laws for energy conservation and the second for the production of
distributed renewable energy. French Ambassador: The President met French
Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo, today at the Presidential Palace. Recent
developments, Lebanese-French relations, military developments between the
Russian Federation and Ukraine, and Lebanon’s position in yesterday’s United
Nations General Assemblysession, were discussed in the meeting. In addition,
Ambassador Grillo briefed President Aoun the details of the agreement that was
signed between French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, and Saudi Foreign
Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, during their meeting a few days ago in
Paris, to finance several initial humanitarian projects to help the Lebanese
people, especially concerned with providing direct assistance to a number of
hospitals and primary health care centers in Lebanon, raising the level of
health care directed at combating the “Corona” pandemic and some basic
educational facilities, as well as contributing to financing the work of
organizations working to distribute infant formula and food to the most affected
groups. The meeting also tackled the demarcation ofsouthern maritime borders,
and the on-going preparations for holding the parliamentary elections next May.
Family of the late former Minister Jean Obeid: President Aoun received a
delegation from the family of late former minister and MP Jean Obeid. The
delegation included his sons Suleiman, Hala and Badawi, who thanked President
Aoun for honoring their father on the first anniversary of his death and
awarding him the National Cedar Order (Senior Officer Rank) in appreciation of
his contributions in the national fields.-- Presidency Press Office
Mikati inaugurates Beirut’s Arab Book Fair
NNA/March 3, 2022
Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Thursday stressed that "challenges do not
intimidate us, but render us more determined to confront and resolve
difficulties," stressing that "it is not new for Beirut to embrace the Arab
book, as it was and still remains the capital of Arab culture.”Premier Mikati on
Thursday inaugurated the 63rd Beirut’s International Arab Book Fair, at the "Sea
Side Arena" Exhibition Hall, Beirut Waterfront, at the invitation of the Arab
Cultural Club, with the participation of a large number of publishing houses.
The opening ceremony was attended by former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, MP
Mohammed Al-Hajjar, representing former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, and scores
of diplomatic, religious, academic, educational and union dignitaries, and a
number of owners of Lebanese, Arab and foreign publishing houses.
Mikati holds series of meetings at Grand Serail, Salam
says no need to panic over wheat shortage
NNA/March 3, 2022
Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Thursday held a series of ministerial meetings
at the Grand Serail. In this context, the PM met with Minister of Economy and
Trade, Amin Salam, over the country’s food security, especially in light of the
citizens’ mounting fear of a possible scarcity of wheat that’s used to make
bread in Lebanon. However, Salam confirmed to Mikati that Lebanon enjoyed a
sufficient stock of wheat that could last up to a period of one month or a month
and a half. He also affirmed that the Council of Ministers had also granted the
Directorate of Grains and Sugar Beets at the Ministry of Economy approval to
purchase 50,000 tons of wheat from abroad to secure a reserve for an additional
month.
Moreover, Salam expressed hope that citizens wouldn’t panic. “There has been a
very high demand at supermarkets to purchase large quantities of consumables for
storage, but those who purchase more than their needs, forbid others access to
theirs, so please do not panic. Things are in order and the quantities that we
consume in Lebanon are not large compared to neighboring countries. Aid is
present, international support is present, and proper work is being done through
the government and the Ministry of Economy,” Salam added. He then appealed to
merchants and stakeholders to steer clear from price manipulation. “There shall
be no leniency in this matter,” he added. Mikati separately met with Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Abdullah Bou Habib, and then with Minister of
Finance, Youssef Khalil. The Prime Minister also welcomed a delegation
representing the unions of Lebanese farmers, exporters, and representatives of
the Chambers of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in all regions. The
delegation submitted to Mikati a memorandum presenting the sufferings of farmers
in discharging and exporting their products.
Berri calls parliamentary committees for joint meeting upcoming Wednesday, meets
Paraguayan Ambassador, Ministers of Sports, Youth and...
NNA/March 3, 2022
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, called on the parliamentary committees of Finance
and Budget- Administration and Justice - National defense, Interior and
Municipalities - National economy, Trade, Industry and Planning - Public Health,
Labor and Social Affairs - Education, Higher Education and Culture, to hold a
joint session at 10:30 a.m. upcoming Wednesday, March 9, to study several bills
and project laws. On the other hand, Speaker Berri received at the Second
Presidency in Ain El-Tineh, the Paraguayan Ambassador to Lebanon, Fernando
Parisi, where they discussed the general situation and bilateral relations
between the two countries. Speaker Berri also welcomed in Ain El-Tineh Minister
of Youth and Sports, George Kallas, and Minister of Tourism, Walid Nassar, with
discussions reportedly touching on most recent developments and affairs related
to the Ministries of Youth, Sports and Tourism. This afternoon, Berri received
the Secretary-General of Catholic Schools, the Coordinator of the Federation of
Private Educational Institutions, Father Youssef Nasr, at the head of a
delegation from the Federation. The delegation reviewed with the Speaker
educational matters and concerns in light of the current stifling economic
reality in the country.
UN-Habitat and CatalyticAction rehabilitate streets and
sidewalks in Karantina – making key health facilities more accessible
NNA/March 3, 2022
Today, UN-Habitat and CatalyticAction inaugurated a number of innovatively
rehabilitated sidewalks in the neighbourhood of Karantina, close to the Beirut
Governmental Hospital, the National HIV and TB Centre and Karantina Public Park.
The project was implemented in close collaboration with the Municipality of
Beirut.This initiative, funded by the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (Sida) and Fondation de France, focused on making Karantina’s
streets more pedestrian and family friendly by slowing traffic, improving
existing sidewalks, and making the area greener. This was done by creating
pedestrian crossings, building access ramps, a new roundabout, speed bumps, road
markings and planting trees. A new sidewalk was implemented that features a long
concrete bench for people to gather where cars once parked. The design
interventions for this project were guided by a participatory approach ensuring
input from the local community around their needs, visions, and aspirations for
the space. “Beirut was previously known for its public spaces, but with rapid
unplanned urbanization, these spaces have decreased. We must all work to create
new public spaces and revive existing ones, as they are the beating heart of the
city and provide people a space to relax and interact with their neighbours.
These interventions are crucial. We should all join efforts to improve the
quality and increase the number of public spaces in the city, and support the
local community to protect them,” said, Judge Marwan Abboud, Governor of Beirut.
“Applying Build Back Better approaches in Beirut following the tragic 4 August
2020 explosions, is one of Sweden’s priorities. I am happy to see this
intervention that has indeed improved accessibility to two key health facilities
in Karantina, one of which UN-Habitat rehabilitated with our support. This is a
good example of how sidewalks and streets should be designed across Beirut,”
said Christoffer Burnett-Cargill, Counsellor, Head of Development Cooperation,
Embassy of Sweden in Beirut. This initiative is part of UN-Habitat’s wider Sida-funded
project that supported the only National HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) Centre in
Lebanon restart its operations after it was severely damaged by the Beirut Port
explosion. UN-Habitat rehabilitated the Centre inside and out ensuring it
regains structural stability, is easily accessible to the public and uses
renewable energy so it does not rely on the national power grid. “It is
important that the overall mobility of a city takes into consideration the needs
of all users – not only motorized transport. I am delighted to see this small,
yet impactful intervention which has the potential of reviving small pockets of
urban public spaces in Karantina. This initiative complements UN-Habitat’s
rehabilitation of the National HIV and TB Centre and makes the Centre safely
accessible for pedestrians. UN-Habitat works across the country to improve the
quality and increase the number of inclusive and accessible public spaces as
places for dialogue and recreation,” said, Taina Christiansen, Head of
UN-Habitat Lebanon Country Programme.Joana Dabaj, Co-founder and Principal
coordinator of CatalyticAction added “co-designing public spaces that are child
friendly and inclusive is an important approach for a vital city, that is not
only suitable for children to grow up in but for everyone to live in. At
CatalyticAction, we believe that children and their families have the right to
participate in shaping their built environment and develop a sense of belonging
to it especially amidst the multiple crises that Lebanon is going through”. --
UN-Habitat Lebanon
Podcast hosted by WINEP’s Matthew Levitt: Hezbollah support networks in America
FDD/March 3, 2022
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/podcast-breaking-hezbollahs-golden-rule#episode-4-hezbollah-support-networks-in-america
Listen to a podcast series shining a bright light on the global terrorist and
criminal activities that Lebanese Hezbollah would rather keep hidden from view.
Lebanese Hezbollah goes to great lengths to publicize its overt, social, and
political activities and to conceal its covert terrorist, militant, and criminal
pursuits. In the words of one operative, Hezbollah's "Golden Rule" is this: The
Less You Know, the Better.
In this podcast, terrorism scholar Matthew Levitt sets out to break this rule by
shining a bright spotlight on Hezbollah's global terrorist and criminal
activities. Levitt has been following Lebanese Hezbollah for almost three
decades in and out of government. He's written books, given expert testimony,
and literally mapped Hezbollah's worldwide illicit activities in an online
interactive map and timeline.
Listen as Levitt tracks Hezbollah's evolution over the years and its operations
across the globe from Lebanon to Kuwait, across Europe and Asia, then on to the
Western Hemisphere from Buenos Aires to New York. Along the way, he'll speak
with law enforcement officers, intelligence agents, government officials, and
world-class experts from around the globe, each of whom has first-person
confronting Hezbollah and uncovering things the group would much prefer nobody
ever heard about.
Interior Ministry Says Impossible to Set Up Voting
Megacenters
Naharnet/March 3, 2022
The Interior Ministry has confirmed in a study requested by Prime Minister Najib
Miqati that it will be impossible to use voting megacenters in the May 15
parliamentary elections, citing legal, logistic and financial difficulties.
Miqati had requested the study following a letter from President Michel Aoun,
who has described the megacenters plan as necessary. The study says that it will
be impossible to set up the megacenters within the deadlines stipulated by the
current electoral law. It also says that there is a need to introduce legal
amendments amid the presence of logistic and organizational difficulties in
terms of the needed manpower and financial resources. “The time needed to
finalize the preparations is no less than five months,” the study says. It adds
that the project’s total cost would stand at around $5.8 million. The Ministry's
study is expected to be discussed in a Cabinet session that will be held
tomorrow, Friday.
Key Moments in the Saga of Former Nissan Boss Carlos Ghosn
Agence France Presse/March 3, 2022
From his shock detention to an audacious escape from Japan hidden in an
audio-equipment box, the rollercoaster saga of former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn
has grabbed headlines worldwide. As Ghosn's aide Greg Kelly is handed a
six-month suspended jail sentence in Tokyo, here is a run-down of how events
unfolded:
- Nov 2018: Ghosn arrested -
Ghosn and Kelly are arrested on suspicion of financial misconduct on November
19, having arrived in Tokyo on separate private planes. They are accused of
devising a scheme to under-report the salary of Ghosn, then Nissan chief and
head of an alliance between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.
The pair deny wrongdoing. Ghosn is swiftly removed from his role at all three
firms in a stunning fall from grace for one of the world's best-known
businessmen. In December, Ghosn is arrested again on allegations that he
transferred losses from personal financial investments to Nissan. His detention
-- in conditions far removed from his flashy lifestyle -- is extended.
- 2019: Bail, U.S. charges -
Ghosn is granted bail before being arrested again in a dawn raid of his Tokyo
apartment in April on suspicion of having siphoned money for personal ends from
cash transferred by Nissan to a dealership in Oman. He receives bail again but
is banned from leaving Japan and requires court permission to see his wife.
In September, Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa resigns amid allegations that he also
padded his salary. He denies wrongdoing but apologizes. Ghosn and Nissan are
accused by U.S. securities regulators the same month of hiding more than $140
million in Ghosn's expected retirement income from investors.
Dec 2019: Ghosn escapes
Awaiting trial on four financial misconduct charges, Ghosn makes a break for it
on December 29 and flees Japan -- smuggled in an audio-equipment case onto a
private jet. Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian passports, lands in
Beirut, which has no extradition treaty with Japan. A week later, Ghosn says
Nissan colluded with prosecutors to have him arrested because he wanted to
deepen the Japanese firm's alliance with Renault.
He says he fled because he did not believe he would get a fair trial.
- 2020: Kelly trial begins -
Two men accused of helping Ghosn escape -- a former U.S. special forces member
and his son -- are arrested in the United States in May, and are later
extradited to Japan. In September, a long trial against Kelly begins in Tokyo on
a single charge of under-reporting Ghosn's compensation.
Kelly denies wrongdoing while Nissan, on trial as a firm on the same charge,
pleads guilty.
- 2021: Escape accomplices jailed -
French investigators interrogate Ghosn in Lebanon in May, but he is heard as a
witness and would need to be in France to be formally indicted. In July, Michael
and Peter Taylor, the father-son duo who helped Ghosn escape, are jailed for
between 20 months and two years, having apologized at previous hearings.
Meanwhile Turkey jails three pilots and an employee of a small private airline
who helped smuggle Ghosn to Lebanon via Istanbul.
- 2022: Kelly sentenced -
Kelly is handed a six-month jail sentence suspended for three years in Tokyo in
March and Nissan is ordered to pay a fine of 200 million yen ($1.7 million).
Prosecutors had sought two years in prison for Kelly. The verdict means Kelly,
who is American, can leave Japan for the first time in three years.
6-Month Suspended Sentence for Ghosn Aide Kelly in Nissan
Trial
Agence France Presse/March 3, 2022
Former Nissan executive Greg Kelly was handed a six-month suspended sentence on
Thursday by a Tokyo court over allegations he helped disgraced auto tycoon
Carlos Ghosn attempt to conceal income. The 65-year-old American was detained at
the same time as Ghosn in November 2018, but the former Nissan chief jumped bail
and fled to Lebanon the following year, leaving Kelly alone to face charges.
Prosecutors had sought two years in prison for Kelly, accusing him of helping
Ghosn under-report his income to the tune of 9.1 billion yen ($79 million)
between 2010 and 2018. But the court found him not guilty on the charges for the
financial years 2010 to 2016, and guilty for the financial year 2017, handing
down a six-month prison sentence suspended for three years. The American has
always denied the accusations, and the trial has been closely watched in Japan
and abroad, with the US ambassador to Tokyo saying the case was a top priority.
After the hearing, Kelly said he was "extremely surprised and shocked" by the
verdict which his lawyers said they would appeal. "I have consistently acted by
prioritizing the best interests of Nissan, and I absolutely did not take part in
illegal activities," Kelly said in a Japanese-language written statement. "While
the court gave a not-guilty verdict on the greater part of the allegations, I do
not understand why it found me guilty for that one year," he said. "I am
innocent of all charges." Kelly's team had argued the proposed post-retirement
payments were never agreed and there were merely exploratory discussions about a
"legal way" to keep Ghosn in the fold after his tenure and prevent him from
joining a competitor. But judge Kenji Shimizu ruled that by fiscal year 2017
Kelly "was aware that there was an unpaid remuneration and the court recognizes
that there was a conspiracy (between Kelly) with Ghosn and (Nissan executive
Toshiaki) Ohnuma."
- 'A long three years' -
Some have viewed Kelly as little more than a scapegoat in a case that centered
around Ghosn, whose audacious escape hidden in an audio-equipment box in
December 2019 left Japanese prosecutors red-faced. "Kelly was arrested with the
expectation that he could be 'turned' to testify against Ghosn," said Stephen
Givens, a business lawyer in Tokyo who has followed the case. "When Ghosn
escaped to Beirut, the prosecutors were left with a weak, free-standing case
against Kelly," he told AFP. Nissan had pleaded guilty in a separate case, and
was ordered Thursday to pay a fine of 200 million yen ($1.7 million).
Kelly has been in Japan since his detention in 2018 and has been joined in Tokyo
by his wife, who had to enroll in Japanese lessons to secure a visa to stay in
the country. The verdict does mean he should now be able to leave Japan for the
first time in three years, which was welcomed by U.S. ambassador to Tokyo Rahm
Emanuel. "We are relieved that the legal process has concluded, and Mr and Mrs
Kelly can return home," he said in a statement. "While this has been a long
three years for the Kelly family, this chapter has come to an end," he added,
offering no comment on the guilty verdict itself.
Japanese prosecutors have a close to 99 percent conviction rate in cases that go
to trial, though experts said the outcome in Kelly's case was hard to predict
because it was the first of its kind in the country. For his part, Ghosn, who
faced several additional financial misconduct charges, has always insisted he
and Kelly are innocent and that Japanese prosecutors worked to help Nissan push
him out in a "palace coup." "If he's guilty, many Japanese should also be in
prison," he said from Beirut during an online press conference in December.There
has been other fallout from the case, with two Americans who helped Ghosn flee
the country extradited from the U.S. to Japan and sentenced last year to between
20 months and two years in prison.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published on
March 03-04/2022
Pope Francis to visit DR Congo, South Sudan in July
AFP/March 3, 2022
Pope Francis will visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan in
July, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced Thursday. The 85-year-old pontiff
will visit the DRC from July 2 to 5, visiting the capital Kinshasa and Goma in
the eastern province of North Kivu. He will be in South Sudan from July 5 to 7,
visiting the capital Juba, Bruni said in a short statement, without providing
further details. Security is likely to be tight for both legs of the trip, which
the Vatican said had been organised "at the invitation of their respective heads
of state and bishops."
Kyiv, Moscow Agree Corridors to Evacuate Civilians
Agence France Presse/March 3, 2022
Ukraine and Russia agreed to create humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians
on Thursday in a second round of talks since Moscow invaded last week, a top
Ukrainian official said. "The second round of talks is over. Unfortunately,
Ukraine does not have the results it needs yet. There are decisions only on the
organization of humanitarian corridors," Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo
Podolyak said on Twitter.
Zelensky Says if Ukraine Falls, Baltic States 'Next'
Agence France Presse/March 3, 2022
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West on Thursday to increase
military aid to Ukraine, saying Russia would advance on the rest of Europe
otherwise. "If you do not have the power to close the skies, then give me
planes!" Zelensky told a press conference. "If we are no more then, God forbid,
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia will be next," he said, adding: "Believe me." He
called for direct talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying it was "the
only way to stop this war." "We are not attacking Russia and we do not plan to
attack it. What do you want from us? Leave our land," he said, addressing Putin.
"Sit down with me. Just not 30 meters away like with (French President Emmanuel
Macron)," the Ukrainian leader said, referring to Putin receiving world leaders
at a now famous enormously long table. Zelensky -- who just weeks ago sought to
calm Ukrainians over U.S. allegations that Russia was planning to invade his
country -- said: "Nobody thought that in the modern world a man can behave like
a beast."Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine last week. Russia says it
is not targeting civilian areas despite widespread evidence otherwise. Ukraine
on Wednesday said Russian planes hit a school, killing nine people, in the
northern city of Chernihiv. Kyiv says more than 350 civilians have been
killed since Putin launched the invasion.
Zelensky: 'The end of the world has arrived'
Dylan Stableford/yahoo/March 3, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday issued a dire appeal for help
as Russia's attacks across the country intensified. "The end of the world has
arrived," Zelensky said during a televised news conference in Kyiv. Zelensky
appealed to Western leaders who have resisted calls to set up a no-fly zone over
Ukraine. "If you do not have the power to close the skies, then give me planes,"
he said. The Ukrainian leader also called for direct negotiations with Russian
President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gestures as he
speaks during a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday."Good Lord, what do you
want? Leave our land. If you don't want to leave now, sit down with me at the
negotiating table. But not from 30 meters away, like with [French President
Emmanuel] Macron and [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz,” Zelensky said, according
to a translation from journalist Max Seddon, the Financial Times’ Moscow bureau
chief. The “30 meters” line appears to be a reference to the lengthy table Putin
uses for meetings with foreign leaders and his own advisers. “Sit down with me
and talk. What are you afraid of? We're no threat to anyone,” Zelensky added.
His comments came one week after Putin ordered a military invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has since stepped up its assault on key cities after an attempt by its
forces to encircle the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv appeared to stall. A woman
cries outside houses damaged by an airstrike in Gorenka, Ukraine. The New York
Times reported Wednesday that Russian troops had seized Kherson, capturing their
first major Ukrainian city since the start of the invasion. Zelensky's office
denied the report, saying the battle for the port city was ongoing. Battles
continue to rage in other Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv, the two
largest population centers, as outnumbered Ukrainian troops mount a ferocious
response that has been aided by ordinary citizens wielding Molotov cocktails.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations were expected to meet Thursday for a second
round of talks in Belarus, but there appeared to be no end to the invasion in
sight. Zelensky vowed to continue defending the nation while pleading with NATO
countries to help. "If we are no more, then, God forbid, Latvia, Lithuania,
Estonia will be next," he said.
Moscow warns West against further escalations: Report
Reuters/03 March ,2022
Moscow warned the West against further escalating tensions with it, Interfax
news agency quoted Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on
Thursday. Russian officials in recent days have ramped up their rhetoric against
Western powers. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that if
a third World War were to take place, it would involve nuclear weapons and be
destructive, the RIA news agency reported. Lavrov has said that Russia, which
launched what it calls a special military operation against Ukraine last week,
would face a “real danger” if Kyiv acquired nuclear weapons.Lavrov, quoted by
Russian news agencies RIA and TASS on Tuesday, also said Moscow found it
unacceptable that some European countries hosted US nuclear weapons. He was also
quoted as saying that the West must not build military facilities in any
countries of the former Soviet Union. On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir
Putin ordered his defense chiefs to put the country’s “deterrence forces” on
high alert, accusing Western countries of taking “unfriendly” steps against his
country amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has the world’s second-largest
arsenal of nuclear weapons and a huge cache of ballistic missiles which form the
backbone of the country’s deterrence forces.
Putin: Ukraine operation ‘going to plan’, Middle East
mercenaries fighting on ground
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/03 March ,2022
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that his country’s military
operations in Ukraine were going according to plan, and alleged that Ukrainian
forces were using human shields, and that “foreign mercenaries” from the Middle
East were fighting Russian troops on the ground. “I want to say that the special
military operation is going strictly according to schedule, according to plan.
All the tasks that have been set are being successfully resolved,” Putin said in
an address to the Russian Security Council. “We are at war with neo-Nazis.”
Putin alleged that Ukrainian forces were holding foreign citizens hostage and
using human shields, without providing any evidence to back up his claim. “The
fact that we are fighting specifically against neo-Nazis is shown by the very
course of hostilities. Nationalist and neo-Nazi formations, and among them there
are foreign mercenaries, including those from the Middle East, are hiding behind
civilians as a human shield,” Putin said. Putin’s statements come after Russia
invaded Ukraine from three sides in a military campaign that saw hundreds
injured and killed dozens of civilians according to Kyiv’s authorities.
On the Russian side, Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Defense
Ministry, said on Thursday that 498 Russian soldiers were killed and 1,597 were
injured so far. Putin’s address seems aimed at disproving Western governments
and intelligence agencies that Moscow’s campaign is behind schedule and suffered
set backs in the face of unexpected resistance from Kyiv’s forces.
Putin Says Russian Military Advance in Ukraine 'Going to
Plan'
Agence France Presse/03 March ,2
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Moscow's advance in Ukraine
is going "according to plan" and ordered large compensations for Russian
soldiers killed in the invasion. "I want to say that the special military
operation is going strictly according to schedule, according to plan," he said,
opening a meeting with his security council. "We are at war with neo-Nazis," the
Russian leader said, adding: "I will never give up on my conviction that
Russians and Ukrainians are one people." He said Russia's army is fighting
"courageously, like real heroes". He also ordered compensation to be paid to the
families of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine. "Our duty is to support the
families of those who fought for the people of Russia," Putin said. A day
earlier Russia for the first time put a number to its losses in Ukraine, saying
498 of its troops were killed since Putin ordered the invasion last week.
Ukraine says that number is far higher. Russia has said that it does not target
civilian areas in Ukraine, despite widespread evidence otherwise. Putin accused
Ukrainian forces of using civilians as "human shields", saying they were acting
like "fascists". Ukraine said earlier on Thursday that 22 people died when
Russian forces hit residential areas, including school schools and a high-rise
apartment block in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv. Kyiv has said that
at least 350 civilians have been killed since Russia invaded last week.
Canada/Joint statement on Arctic Council
cooperation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
March 3, 2022 –Ottawa, Ontario –Global Affairs Canada
“Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the
United States condemn Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and note the grave
impediments to international cooperation, including in the Arctic, that Russia’s
actions have caused.
“We remain convinced of the enduring value of the Arctic Council for circumpolar
cooperation and reiterate our support for this institution and its work. We hold
a responsibility to the people of the Arctic, including the Indigenous peoples,
who contribute to and benefit from the important work undertaken in the Council.
“The core principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, based on
international law, have long underpinned the work of the Arctic Council, a forum
which Russia currently chairs. In light of Russia’s flagrant violation of these
principles, our representatives will not travel to Russia for meetings of the
Arctic Council. Additionally, our states are temporarily pausing participation
in all meetings of the Council and its subsidiary bodies, pending consideration
of the necessary modalities that can allow us to continue the Council’s
important work in view of the current circumstances."
Canada and its partners invoke the OSCE Moscow
Mechanism to address Russia’s possible war crimes in Ukraine
Thu., Mar. 3 /2022
Canada and its partners invoke the OSCE Moscow Mechanism to address Russia’s
possible war crimes in Ukraine
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the
following statement on Canada’s initiative at the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to establish a mission of experts to address the
human rights and humanitarian impacts of Russia’s invasion and acts of war
against the people of Ukraine:
“Canada, and indeed the world, are witnessing the horrific impacts of President
Putin’s unjustifiable and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s aggression is
violating not only the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine, but
also the security and safety of those who call it home.
“In response to President Putin’s tyrannical decision to invade Ukraine and
commit deplorable acts that have taken hundreds of innocent civilian lives,
including children, and placed countless others in jeopardy, Canada and 44
participating states have invoked the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism.
“With Ukraine’s support, a mission of experts will be convened to establish the
facts and circumstances surrounding Russia’s possible contraventions of its OSCE
commitments and its violations and abuses of international human rights law and
international humanitarian law, including possible war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
“The steps taken today build on Canada’s determination to hold President Putin
accountable, including referring the situation in Ukraine to the International
Criminal Court.
“Canada is unwavering in its support of Ukraine and its brave and resilient
people. We will continue, in lockstep with our allies, to use all available
tools to hold President Putin accountable for his egregious actions.”
Quick Facts
The Moscow Mechanism was adopted in 1991. It complements and strengthens the
Vienna Mechanism.
The Moscow Mechanism provides the option of sending missions of experts to
assist participating States in the resolution of a particular question or
problem relating to the human dimension.
Canada announces additional $2 million in funding for
humanitarian assistance for the Philippines
March 3, 2022 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
Canada remains deeply concerned by the impacts of Super Typhoon Rai—also
referred to as Typhoon Odette—on the Philippines and its people. The typhoon,
which hit the country on December 16 and 17, 2021, was the second-deadliest
disaster of 2021 and caused significant devastation to communities, destroying
homes and infrastructure.
The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and
Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, in
recognizing the scale of the destruction and in response to the renewed appeals
for support from the UN and Canada’s humanitarian partners, today announced that
Canada is providing an additional $2 million in funding for life-saving
humanitarian assistance to the Philippines to help meet the urgent and immediate
needs of the most vulnerable people affected by the typhoon.
Of this amount, the World Food Programme is receiving $1 million in funding for
emergency food assistance and logistics operations and the International
Organization for Migration is receiving $1 million in funding for emergency
shelter operations.
The funding announced today is in addition to the $3 million in funding for
humanitarian assistance announced on December 20, 2021, that Canada provided to
the Philippines; it is also in addition to support delivered through the Canada
Fund for Local Initiatives and to the deployment of a humanitarian expert. The
amount announced today brings Canada’s total response to the disaster to more
than $5 million in funding.
Canada stands in solidarity with the Philippine people as they continue to deal
with the after-effects of this catastrophe.
Quotes
“The crisis is not yet over for those impacted by Super Typhoon Rai. We need to
be there to continue to assist our partners that are on the ground working in
the communities that are still in dire need of relief. Canada will be there for
the Philippines.”
- Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister
responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada
Quick facts
The initial $3 million in funding included a $500,000 contribution to the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies via the
Canadian Red Cross Society, a $700,000 contribution to the Humanitarian
Coalition through the Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund and a $1.8 million
contribution to the World Food Programme.
Saudi Arabia and Iran should ‘coexist’, Israel is a ‘potential ally’: Crown
Prince
Amani Hamad, Al Arabiya English/03 March ,2022
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the Kingdom and Iran are
neighbors that cannot get rid of each other, adding that the solution is
coexistence. “[Iran and Saudi Arabia] are neighbors. Neighbors forever. We
cannot get rid of them, and they can't get rid of us. So it’s better for both of
us to work it out and to look for ways in which we can coexist,” the Crown
Prince said, speaking to The Atlantic in a wide-ranging interview published on
Thursday. Highlighting the four-rounds of negotiation between the two countries,
the Crown Prince said the statements they heard from Iranian leaders were
welcomed in Saudi Arabia. He added that the Kingdom will “continue through the
details of the negotiation” and voiced hope that a position which is good for
both countries and which paves way to a brighter future for both is reached.
Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016, but talks between the two countries
were launched last year hosted by Iraq, as global powers sought to salvage a
nuclear pact with Tehran. Asked about Iran’s nuclear program and whether he is
in favor of reaching a nuclear deal with it, the Crown Prince said that any
country’s possession of a nuclear bomb is “dangerous.”“I believe any country
around the world that has a nuclear bomb, that’s dangerous, regardless if it’s
Iran or any other country. So, we don’t want to see that. And also, we don’t
want to see a weak nuclear deal, because that’s going to end up with the same
conclusion.”The Vienna talks began in April 2021 to bring Iran back into
compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA), and facilitate a US return to the agreement. Washington withdrew
from the deal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, reimposing sweeping
sanctions on Tehran.
Israel a ‘potential ally’
Commenting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and on whether the Kingdom would
follow suit and establish an open and diplomatic relationship with Israel, the
Crown Prince said Saudi Arabia views Israel as a “potential ally,” noting
however that several matters need to be resolved first. “For us, we hope that
the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is solved. We don’t look at
Israel as an enemy, we look to them as a potential ally, with many interests
that we can pursue together. But we have to solve some issues before we get to
that.”The UAE became the first Gulf state to normalize relations with Israel
under a US-brokered normalization agreement, dubbed the “Abraham Accords,” in
2020. Gulf neighbor Bahrain then followed. Saudi media and laws The Crown Prince
also noted that he welcomes the Saudi media’s criticism of the government’s work
because it’s useful. “I believe the Saudi media should criticize the
government’s work, the government’s plans… because that’s healthy.”He added that
“objective writing without any ideological agenda” about Saudi Arabia, whether
it’s by Saudi media or global media, is “super helpful.”Asked about the
Kingdom’s judicial system, the Crown Prince said he acknowledges it is not the
best law in the world, adding, however, that many amendments have been made so
far. “I'm not telling you [our judiciary system] is the best law in the world.
There is a long way to work on it, to change it through the cabinet, executive
power, through the Shura Council. We’ve changed a lot and there is a long way to
go for the rest until [we] reach a high standard globally.”
‘I don’t care’ what Biden thinks of me: Saudi Crown Prince
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/03 March ,2022
“We have a long, historic relationship with the United States. For us in Saudi
Arabia, our aim is to keep it and to strengthen it,” the Crown Prince told
American magazine, The Atlantic. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
said in an interview published Thursday that he does “not care” what US
President Joe Biden thinks of him, but stressed that it was Riyadh’s aim to
maintain strong ties with Washington. “We have a long, historic relationship
with the US. For us in Saudi Arabia, our aim is to keep it and to strengthen
it,” the Crown Prince told American magazine, The Atlantic.
Ties soured between the two countries after Biden targeted Saudi Arabia in his
first foreign policy moves. The US president ended support for “offensive”
operations in Yemen, removed the Iran-backed Houthis from the terror blacklist,
froze arms sales to Riyadh and the UAE, and vowed to “recalibrate” ties with
Saudi Arabia. Biden has since said he was reconsidering designating the Houthis
following their near-daily attacks on Saudi Arabia and recent drone attacks on
Abu Dhabi. The group also continues to refuse to negotiate a political solution
to the yearslong war in Yemen, which involves the Arab coalition led by Saudi
Arabia. Mohammed bin Salman noted political, economic, security, defense, and
trade interests between the two countries. “And we have a huge opportunity to
boost all of these things.” But he said there was a “big possibility” of these
ties being “downgraded.”“If you ask Saudi Arabia, we want to boost it in all
areas,” he added. The crown prince was asked about damaged relations between
Saudi Arabia and the US following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and
its impact on the US president’s opinion of him. “Simply, I don’t care. It’s up
to him to think about the interests of America,” he said in the interview. Asked
what interests the US had in Saudi Arabia, the crown prince said he was not an
American, so it is not his position to speak of American interests. Mohammed bin
Salman pointed to Saudi’s economic growth and Vision 2030.“Where is the
potential in the world today? It’s in Saudi Arabia. And if you want to miss it.
I believe other people in the East are going to be super happy to see,” he said.
Fast-growing country
The crown prince said Saudi Arabia was one of the fastest-growing countries in
the world, with two of the 10 biggest global funds and one of the largest global
cash reserves. “The total Saudi investment in America is $800 billion. In China,
to date, we’ve invested less than $100 billion,” he said. “The American
companies have a huge concentration in Saudi Arabia. We have more than 300,000
Americans in Saudi Arabia, some of them Saudi-American, living in Saudi Arabia,
and it’s growing every day. So, the interest is obvious. Whether you want to win
in Saudi Arabia or lose it in Saudi Arabia, is up to you.”
US influence in Saudi domestic affairs The crown prince was asked about US
influence in internal Saudi affairs and how the US judges its allies by pursuing
policies similar to American interests or ideologies. “Actually, if you try to
pressure us on something that we believe in already, you just make it harder for
us to implement it,” he said. “For example, in Saudi Arabia, is social
development going backward or forward? Just see what’s happened five years, see
what’s happening today, and see what’s going to happen next year," he said,
suggesting a chat with any locals or a visit to Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, he
said socially, the two countries would never be in complete tandem. “We will not
reach 100 percent because we have some beliefs that we respect in Saudi Arabia.
It’s not me. It’s the Saudi people, and it is my duty to respect and to fight
for the Saudi beliefs and for my belief as a Saudi citizen among them.”
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published on
March 03-04/2022
شارل الياس شرتوني: من الهمجية إلى الحرب الشاملة
De l’”ensauvagement” à la guerre totale
Charles Elias Chartouni/Mars 04/2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/106746/charles-elias-chartouni-de-lensauvagement-a-la-guerre-totale-%d8%b4%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%b4%d8%b1%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%86%d9%8a-%d9%85%d9%86/
“Alors je vis monter de la mer une bête qui avait
sept têtes et dix cornes”, Livre de l’Apocalypse 13/1
Les événements tragiques de l‘Ukraine nous mettent en vis à vis avec des
évolutions qui ont commencé depuis deux décennies mais qui prennent désormais du
relief et annoncent l’avènement d’une nouvelle ère totalitaire dont les
composantes ont émergé progressivement au grédes crises géo-politique,
idéologique et culturelle qui ont scandé les trois dernières décennies qui ont
succédées à la fin de la guerre froide, la mort des grands récits, l’éclatement
des consensus idéologiques qui ont prévalu, jusque-là, dans les démocraties
libérales d’Occident, et la restructuration de la division du travail impulsée
par les mutations technologiques et ses incidences économique et géopolitique.
L’irruption brutale du fascisme crypto-soviétique, loin de surprendre, est
métonymique et ne fait que répercuter les échecs cumulés des politiques de
transition dans l‘aire russe et son pourtour immédiat.
La stratégie de la complainte instrumentalisée par Poutine, n’est que le revers
d’une réalité étatique et sociétale déliquescente qui n’a jamais réussi à opérer
des mutations réformistes qui aiderait la Russie post-soviétique à liquider les
effets entropiques de l’ère communiste, redéfinir ses équilibres géopolitiques
moyennant une diplomatie de normalisation et d’intégration aux règles de la
communauté internationale, restructurer les normes de gouvernance au croisement
de l‘État de droit, du règlement négocié des conflits inter-ethniques et
nationaux dans un pays aux héritages impériaux sedimentés, et réorganiser
l’économie à l’aune des mutations technologiques et ses modulations
intersectorielles, celles du monde du travail et de l’éducation.
Il faudrait reprendre ces échecs alternativement pour déconstruire le récit
fallacieux de cet autocrate qui s’abrite derrière des complaintes mensongères,
des menaces géopolitiques fictives (l’état de siège de la Russie), un arsenal
atomique, une économie rentière (énergétique et de production et vente d’armes),
gérée par une coterie d’oligarques cooptés par le grand mafieux (capo di tutti
capi), et une clique militaire corrompue jusqu’à la moelle et secondée par des
formations guerrières de tueurs à gage recyclés dans le travail guerrier(
Kadyrov et ses terroristes islamistes et les mercenaires du groupe Wagner, armée
de l’ombre de Poutine), la mise en remorque du Patriarcat de Moscou malgré les
différends avec le Patriarche Kirill.
- Le prétexte fallacieux du dépeçage des dépouilles de l’empire soviétique
défunt n’est que l’envers d’un rechanvisme"soviétique" qui n’arrive pas à faire
le deuil d’un impérialisme belliqueux, ayant du mal à composer avec les normes
de la civilité internationale et du droit à l’autodétermination.La stratégie de
déstabilisation en cascade suivie en Géorgie (Ossétie, Abkhazie, 2008), Ukraine
(Crimée, Donbass 2014), et Transnistrie (1992) ainsi que les visées impériales
au Moyen Orient (Syrie, 2015), en Lybie (2016), au Mali (2022) et les
projections en cours (Algérie)…, nous renvoient à une nouvelle dynamique de
guerre froide, dépourvue de toutes règles d’arbitrage à la différence de
l’ancienne,et qui explique la logique de l’ensauvagement qui prévaut dans le
conflit ukrainien en cours, et l’ascension aux extrêmes suite à la menace
nucléaire quatre jours après le début de la guerre.
Cette guerre injustifiée à tous égards, ne fait que répercuter les desseins de
cette dictature de voyou qui pourfend les règles du droit international, se
refuse à toute médiation, et enclenche une dynamique de guerre totale qui est
loin de se limiter à l’Ukraine, remet en question la sécurité de l‘UE, cherche à
imposer les règles d’un ordre international alternatif de concert avec une Chine
ambivalente qui exploite le conflit émergeant au cœur de l’Europe afin de
croiser le fer avec les USA, neutraliser l’Europe, et créer les conditions de la
nouvelle guerre froide. La réaction unanime des démocraties occidentales, a
redonné à l’OTAN toute son actualité, sorti l’Allemagne de sa torpeur
stratégique, et rappelé que la paix dont a bénéficié le monde libre depuis 1945,
n’est pas à même de survivre qu’au prix d’une vigilance et une détermination
sans failles.
US unreliability makes regional allies cautious on
Ukraine
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Arab News/March 03/2022
As Europe led the world in denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and imposing
sanctions on Moscow, America followed, while its Middle Eastern allies did not.
Arab countries and Israel voiced concern over war and called for a peaceful
settlement, but fell short of criticizing Russia.
At the UN Security Council, the UAE abstained on the American draft resolution
that denounced Russia’s invasion. The UAE was in no mood for granting America
any favors. Since Yemen’s Houthis struck Abu Dhabi with missiles and explosive
drones weeks ago, it has tried to convince President Joe Biden’s administration
to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organization. Washington has yet to
oblige, reasoning that reclassifying the Houthis might offend Tehran and
obstruct the return to the flawed Iran nuclear deal.
In Cairo on Monday, the Arab League held a meeting, during which deputy foreign
ministers said “respecting international law” was important and pleaded for
“restraint” and “a diplomatic solution,” but did not criticize Russia.
In Israel, dual Russian-Israeli nationals burned their Russian passports at
protests in support of Ukraine. Yet the Israeli government’s position was more
measured. Because America has no influence in Syria, where Iran is trying to
build a military infrastructure with which it can threaten Israel, Tel Aviv has
had to coordinate its strikes on Iranian targets with Russia, and hence has to
maintain a working relationship with Moscow.
In 1991, Israel did not respond to Saddam Hussein’s firing of missiles on
Israeli cities, mainly because Tel Aviv trusted that Washington was in charge.
But now that the US is “pivoting away” from the Middle East, Israel and all
other American allies in the region have to navigate international relations on
their own, including calculating how far they can go against Russia, a regional
player.
America’s Middle Eastern allies do not view Washington as a reliable partner
today, and therefore cannot put all their eggs in the American basket. Instead,
they have been hedging, aware that, when the dust settles, Vladimir Putin will
likely remain the ruler of Russia and will probably outlast Biden and most other
European heads of state. Middle Eastern countries play the long game.
Meanwhile, Washington’s convoluted position on Russia has not helped its
regional allies jump off the fence. Even though Biden announced that Putin has
now become an international pariah, State Department spokesperson Ned Price
added a caveat. “Our relationship with Moscow is very different today than it
was last week or even a few days ago,” Price said in describing how relations
between the two capitals have quickly deteriorated. “At the same time, we have
national security priorities, national security imperatives… (and) some areas in
which the fulfillment of our national security priorities and imperatives
require us to engage, to coexist at some level, with the Russian Federation.”
As long as Russia remains a player, with America’s blessing, no Middle Eastern
capital will see any benefits in getting on Putin’s bad side.
Even though the Biden administration has not yet spelled it out, it is
understood that America’s “national security priorities” mean engaging with
Moscow over Iran’s nuclear program. Biden might have proclaimed Putin a pariah
but, in the Middle East, the Biden administration believes he will remain in the
game.
As long as Russia remains a player, with America’s blessing, no Middle Eastern
capital will see any benefits in getting on Putin’s bad side.
And because America cannot show a steady hand, its leadership has been
compromised. America’s Middle Eastern allies do not look up to Washington for
guidance anymore, but rather see the US as an unreliable partner whose default
reaction to global conflagrations is often appeasement.
Had America’s leadership been bold and assertive, its Middle Eastern allies
might have lined up behind Washington in countering Russia’s belligerent
behavior. Those allies might have found in a global coalition a great tool for
confronting another dictatorship whose behavior is destabilizing their own
region: The Iran regime.
But America’s Middle East allies are aware that Biden’s foreign policy is run by
those who want a nuclear deal with Iran at any price. US allies understand that,
when confronting Iran, they cannot rely on Washington, but only on themselves
and on other powers, including Moscow.
Until America goes back to showing reliable leadership, do not expect its allies
to toe its line.
*Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies, a Washington-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on
national security and foreign policy. Twitter: @hahussain. FDD is a nonpartisan
research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
Putin is not crazy and the Russian invasion is not failing.
The West’s delusions about this war – and its failure to understand the enemy –
will prevent it from saving Ukraine
Bill Roggio/Daily Mail/March 03/2022
Wishful thinking has the upper hand in the battle to shape Western perceptions
of the war in Ukraine.
Sympathy for the outnumbered and outgunned defenders of Kyiv has led to the
exaggeration of Russian setbacks, misunderstanding of Russian strategy, and even
baseless claims from amateur psychoanalysts that Putin has lost his mind.
A more sober analysis shows that Russia may have sought a knockout blow, but
always had well-laid plans for follow-on assaults if its initial moves proved
insufficient. The world has underestimated Putin before and those mistakes have
led, in part, to this tragedy in Ukraine.
We must be clear-eyed now that the war is underway.
Yet even the professionals at the Pentagon are letting sympathy cloud their
judgement. Just two days into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Department of
Defense briefers were quick to claim that failing to take Kyiv in the opening
days of the war amounted to a serious setback.
DoD briefers implied that Russia’s offensive was well behind schedule or had
even failed because the capital had not fallen. But U.S. leaders should have
learned to restrain their hopes after their catastrophic withdrawal from
Afghanistan. Once again, U.S. and Western officials are falling into the trap of
failing to understand the enemy and his objectives.
Allegedly, Putin believed that the Ukrainian government would collapse once
Russian troops crossed the frontier and pushed to Kyiv, and that the operation
has failed because the Ukrainian government remains in place. Putin certainly
hoped for a swift victory, but he clearly was not relying on his opening salvo
as the only plan for success.
Rather, the Russian military was prepared to take the country by force if a
swift decapitation strike fell short.
This kind of plan should be familiar to Americans who remember the 2003 invasion
of Iraq. In the first hours of the war, the U.S. Air Force launched its ‘shock
and awe’ campaign in an attempt to kill Saddam Hussein and other key leaders and
bring down the government. Saddam survived, but the U.S. military was fully
prepared to follow up with a ground assault.
A look at the Russian military offensive demonstrates there was a plan for a
full-scale invasion, which Russia is now executing.
Conventional, mechanized warfare is a time and resource consuming enterprise,
and an operation of this scope isn’t cobbled together in days.
The Russian offensive is taking place on four separate fronts. On a fifth front,
in eastern Ukraine, which Putin declared independent last week, Russian forces
are tying down Ukrainian troops that are needed elsewhere. The bulk of the
Russian forces are advancing southward from Belarus to Kyiv. Russian advance
forces, including air, mobile and reconnaissance troops, have been engaged with
Ukrainian troops outside of Kyiv since the start of the war. A massive column of
Russian troops, estimated at over 40 miles long, is just 20 miles north of Kyiv,
and is likely assembling to surround the capital.
If Russian forces can take Kyiv and push southward to link up with forces on the
Crimean front, thus splitting Ukraine in two, it would be a major blow to the
Zelensky government.
What matters more than a handful of setbacks is that Russian forces have pushed
70 miles into contested terrain in less than a week and are on the outskirts of
the capital.
This is not a sign of a disorganized, poorly assembled, and failed offensive.
The southward push from Belarus to Kyiv is supported by another Russian column,
launched from the east in the vicinity of Kursk.
If this column can link up with Russian troops near Kyiv, it will envelop
Ukrainian forces in most of Chernihiv and Sumy provinces, depriving the
Ukrainian military of much needed soldiers and war material needed elsewhere,
and cutting off the government from two northern provinces.
Further east, Russian forces have launched a broad offensive aimed at Kharkiv,
Ukraine’s second largest city, which is now under siege.
In the south, Russian forces, supported by amphibious assaults from the Sea of
Azov, have poured into Ukraine from Crimea.
On this front, Russian forces have branched out along two main axes, one
northwest along the Pivdennyi Buh River, and another northeast along the coast
and inland towards the Donbas region, which Russia declared independent shortly
before the invasion.
If Russian columns from either southern front can link up with forces further
north, they would cut off many Ukrainian troops from reinforcement—one of the
two columns has already advanced roughly 160 miles. Russian generals have often
chosen to bypass towns and cities that are putting up stiff opposition and
isolating them to deal with later.
There are reports that Russian forces have escalated attacks on civilians,
particularly in Kharkiv.
At the moment, the artillery and rocket attacks there have been limited, perhaps
to send a message to the citizens as a warning of what may come. Putin appears
to want to take Ukraine intact, but will not hesitate to increase the level of
brutality if needed.
The systematic nature of the Russian assault is at odds with speculation that
Putin has lost control of his senses.
Nobody knows for sure, but Putin’s actions appear to be that of a cold and
calculating adversary.
Dismissing his decision to invade Ukraine as a form of madness is effectively an
excuse to ignore Putin’s likely motivations and future actions.
Strategically, Putin’s advance on Ukraine began well over a decade ago, when he
invaded and Balkanized Georgia by recognizing the Kremlin’s puppet regimes in
the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In 2014, Putin occupied and annexed the strategic Ukrainian region of Crimea,
which served as a launchpad for the current invasion.
Putin paid little price for either action.
The United States and Europe imposed limited sanctions but continued to engage
with him on the Iranian nuclear deal and other top issues.
Today, Putin has calculated that taking Ukraine by force is in his and Russia’s
interest. He no doubt anticipated that the West would impose diplomatic and
economic sanctions, which U.S. and European leaders threatened beforehand. Putin
may have miscalculated Ukrainian resistance and the intensity of the West’s
opposition, but it doesn’t mean he is crazy, or didn’t consider the
possibilities and chose to invade regardless.
It remains to be seen if Putin’s plan will succeed or fail, but what is clear is
that there was a plan to invade Ukraine in force, and that plan has been
executed since day one.
Ukrainian troops are putting up a valiant fight facing long odds and difficult
conditions. Russia holds most if not all of the advantages.
It can, and has, attacked Ukraine from three different directions. The Russian
military holds a decided advantage in manpower, as well as air, naval and armor
superiority.
It has vast resources to draw on. While Ukraine has the support of much of the
international community, which is providing weapons, Ukraine is fighting alone.
Believing Russia’s assault is going poorly may make us feel better but is at
odds with the facts. We cannot help Ukraine if we cannot be honest about its
predicament.
*Bill Roggio is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and
editor of FDD’s Long war Journal. From 1991 to 1997, Roggio served as a
signalman and infantryman in the U.S. Army and New Jersey National Guard. Follow
him on Twitter @billroggio. FDD is a nonpartisan research institute focusing on
national security and foreign policy.
Mohammed bin Salman on Iran, Israel, US and future of Saudi
Arabia: Full transcript
Al Arabiya English/03 March ,2022
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the future of the
Kingdom and its economy, as well as foreign policy stances involving Iran,
Israel and the US in a wide-ranging interview with The Atlantic published on
Thursday.
Here is the full transcript:
The Atlantic
I've been coming back here since 2019. Every time it's a little more different,
more modern, more advanced, 2030 gets closer, and it gets a little bit more like
Dubai, even a little bit more like America. Do you think Saudi Arabia will
become less Saudi and more like the rest of the world?
The Crown Prince
We're not trying to be like Dubai or trying to be like America. We are trying to
evolve based on what we have, economic assets and utilizing the potential of the
Saudi people, the culture of Saudi Arabia, our background, and we try to evolve
this way.
We want to add something new to the world. A lot of our projects are unique.
It's Saudi Arabian. So for example, if you look at AlUla, it's uniquely Saudi .
There is no other model like it. If you look, for example, at the project in
Dir'iyyah, which is one of the biggest cultural projects in the world , it's
unique. It is a Nejdi themed cultural heritage project. If you look, for
example, to the old town in Jeddah and the development around it, it's based on
Hijazi tradition. So that's unique. That's Saudi Arabia. And if you look, for
example, to Neom, and The Line, the main city in Neom, that's unique, that's
created and made by Saudi Arabia. It's not a copy of anything elsewhere. It’s
evolving and creating solutions that no one created before. And if you look, for
example, to Qiddiya Riyadh, one of the biggest entertainment/culture/sport
projects in the world, with a size about 300 square kilometers, that's bigger
than the size of some small countries. And you have huge projects of theme
parks, cultural and sport elements , real estate, and all that have been synced
in a way that it's never been done in Orlando, for example, or anyplace in the
world. So we're not copying, we're trying to be innovative. We're trying to use
the capital that we have in PIF, the capital that we have in the government
budget, in an innovative way, based on our culture or based on Saudi innovation.
The Atlantic
But --
The Crown Prince
Just give me an example! This project is a copy of what? Nothing.
The Atlantic
Can you modernize to the point where the Islamic character of Saudi Arabia
becomes weaker?
The Crown Prince
Every country in the world is founded on a set of views and beliefs. For
example, America is based on a foundation of views and beliefs: democracy,
liberty, free economy, etc, etc, etc. And the people are united based on that.
but are all democracies good? Are all democracies functioning Well? Definitely
not.
Our country is founded on a set views and beliefs that are based on Islam, on
tribal culture, Arab culture, and unique attributes to Saudi culture and
beliefs. That's our soul. If we get rid of it, that means the country would
collapse.
The question for us is, how can we put Saudi Arabia on the right path of
development and modernization, not the wrong path? The same question faces
America: How can you put democracy, and free markets, and liberty, on the right
path? Because it could go on the wrong path. So we are not disparaging any of
our beliefs, because that's our soul. The Holy Mosques are in Saudi Arabia and
no one can remove it. We have a responsibility towards the Holy Mosques forever
and we want to put our country on the right path for the sake of our Saudi
people, for the sake of the region, and for the sake of the whole world based on
our belief in peace and coexistence and the need for us to add value to the rest
of the world.
The Atlantic
But I think you would also agree that the way that moderate Islam is being
promoted right now is very, very different from what we would have seen if we
were having a conversation with someone in your position in 1983.
The Crown Prince
I would not use the term "moderate Islam," because this term would make the
extremists and terrorists happy.
The Atlantic
They think that's an insult.
The Crown Prince
It’s good news for them if we use that term. If we say “moderate Islam,” the
suggestion is that we in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries are changing
Islam into something new, which is not true.
We are going back to the real teachings of Islam, the way that the Prophet and
the four Rightly Guided caliphs lived, which was open and peaceful societies.
They had Christians and Jews living under their rule. They taught us to respect
all cultures, all religions, regardless. These teachings of the Prophet and the
four Caliphs – they were perfect. We are going back to the root, to the real
thing. What happened was that the extremists hijacked and changed our religion
into something new for their own interests.
They're trying to make people view Islam their way. And the problem was that
there was no one arguing with them, and no one fighting against them seriously.
So they had the chance to spread all these extremist views, which led to the
creation of the most extreme terrorist groups, both in the Sunni and Shia
worlds.
The Atlantic
People in the religious establishment here said that that this extremism was
largely the result of Muslim Brotherhood influence in the 1960s and the 1970s.
But it also seems clear that there was a lot of Saudi influence, Saudi
conservatism is a real thing.
The Atlantic
Wahhabism.
The Atlantic
So if you say, we're getting rid of this outside Muslim Brotherhood influence,
that's one thing. But how are you dealing with the Saudi component of extremism?
The Crown Prince
The Muslim Brotherhood, the Ikhwan, played a huge role in creating all of this
extremism. They were the bridge that took others to extremism. When you talk to
them, they will not seem to be extremists, but they lead you to extremism. Osama
bin Laden, was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood; al-Zawahiri, used to be a
member of the Muslim Brotherhood; the leader of ISIS, used to be a member of the
Muslim Brotherhood. So the Brotherhood is a pathway. It has been a strong
element in the creation of extremist groups in the past decades. But it's not
all the Muslim Brotherhood. It's a mix of, many things and many events, not only
from the Muslim world, even also from America, for example the invasion of Iraq,
that gave a chance for extremists to propagate their message and rally
followers. It is also true that some extremists in Saudi Arabia, not Muslim
Brotherhood extremists, played a role in this area, especially after 1979
revolution in Iran, and the hijacking of the Holy Mosque in Mecca.
About Wahhabism, I would say that Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab is not a prophet,
he is not an angel. He was just a scholar like many other scholars in who lived
during the first Saudi state, among many political leaders and military leaders.
The problem at that time in the Arabian Peninsula was that Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s
students were the only people who knew how to read and write and history was
written from their perspective. Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab’s writing has been used by
many extremists for their own agendas. But I’m sure that if Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab,
Bin Baz, and others were alive today, they would be among the first people to
fight these extremist ideas and these terrorist groups. The thing is, ISIS
doesn't use as an example any living Saudi religious figures. When they die,
they start to use their words and twist their views out of context.
Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab is not Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has Sunni and Shia, and
among Sunni, you have four schools, and Shia have different schools, and all of
them are represented in number of religious boards. Today, no one can push one
of the schools' views to make it as the only way of seeing religion in Saudi
Arabia. Maybe that took place in some parts of our history due to the events
that I told you about, especially in the 80s, and the 90s, and early 2000s. But
today, we are back on the right track, as I said. We are going back to the
roots, back to pure Islam, to be sure that the soul of Saudi Arabia, based on
Islam, our culture, whether tribal, or urban, is serving the nation, serving the
people, serving the region, serving the whole world, and is leading us to
economic growth. And that's what happened in the past five years. So today, I'm
not saying we might do this. Maybe if we were having an interview in 2016, you
would say I’m making assumptions, and that this is just the analysis of the
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. But we did it. You see it now with your eyes in
Saudi Arabia. Just come and check it out, and watch the videos of Saudi Arabia
six or seven years ago. We did a lot, and there are a few things still to do.
And we are going to work to make them happen.
The Atlantic
In Washington, when we first met, we were talking about guardianship laws and
the pace of change, and you showed me a video on your phone of a group of men
firing their weapons at a wedding. I don't know if you remember.
The Crown Prince
I remember.
The Atlantic
And you said, “See, I have to go at the right speed. I can't go too fast.
Because these guys want a certain speed.” So my question is three years later,
do you feel like you're going faster now? Do you feel like you have huge
opposition from tribal and religious leaders?
The Crown Prince
I believe I showed you that video because you asked me about democracy in Saudi
Arabia.
The Atlantic
Yes.
The Crown Prince
Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, based and founded on that model. And I told you that
beneath the monarchy there is a complex structure of tribal and urban
monarchical system like tribal chiefs and urban leaders. So, I was trying to
give an example of what the semi-tribal monarchy looks like in Saudi Arabia.
The Atlantic
You're saying you can't go too fast.
The Crown Prince
No, I'm saying that I cannot change Saudi Arabia from a monarchy to another type
of system, because it has been based on a monarchy for three hundred years, and
this complex monarchical structure, of thousands of tribal and urban systems
have been a part of how people lived in the past and it is part of a Saudi
Arabia today and its continuation as a monarchy. Among the Saudi royal family,
you have more than 5,000 royals from the House of Al Saud. The members of the
allegiance council among them chose me to protect the interest of the monarchy
that runs this complex structure based on thousands of tribal and semi-tribal
leaders. Changing this system is like betraying the Al Saud, betraying these
thousands of tribal leaders and semi-tribal leaders in Saudi Arabia. But all of
those leaders help make the changes in Saudi Arabia. So I don't think that they
are the people who are slowing change. They are the ones who help me to do more.
The Atlantic
You did tell us last time about how you were listening to the Saudi people,
finding out what their appetite was, what their interests were in change. So it
seems like you're not all the way to the finish line. You haven't quite done all
of the changes that you want to do. How close are you? And how different is the
finish line from what you planned?
The Crown Prince
If I told you that I see the finish line, this would mean that I'm a horrible
leader. The finish line is something distant. You just keep running, and keep
running faster. And keep creating more finish lines and just keep running. Our
aim is to be faster than the rest and achieve more than the rest.
The Atlantic
But is there a limit? Will I be able to do here the same things that I can do
legally in the United States? Or is there some stopping point because it's an
Islamic country?
The Crown Prince
Socially?
The Atlantic
Yes. For example.
The Crown Prince
In Islam, some things are forbidden for Muslims and God specified a punishment
for it, and some other things God didn’t specify a punishment—that means the
judgment is between people and God.
But if you are foreign, Islamic teachings cannot be applied to you. So if you
are a foreign person who's living or traveling in Saudi Arabia, you have all the
right to do whatever you want, based on your beliefs, regardless of what they
are as long as they are in line with the country’s laws.
That's what happened in the Prophet's time and the period of the four Rightly
Guided caliphs. They didn't apply social rules to non-Muslims, regardless of
whether they are citizens, or just traveling in their country.
The Atlantic
The fluency with which you speak about Islamic law is really unique among rulers
of Saudi Arabia. The position that you're taking is a very modern position, but
it's also a very uncommon one among Islamic scholars. So should we in the future
expect rulers of Saudi Arabia to themselves take close personal interest in
questions of Islamic law? In the past, the religious scholars were in control of
this area.
The Crown Prince
In Islamic law, the head of the Islamic establishment is wali al-`amr, the
ruler. So the final ruling is not for the mufti. The final fatwa is for the
King. So the mufti and the Fatwa Board are like advisers to the King, to give
him what they advise. But in Islamic teachings, the ruler, has the final fatwa,
has the bay'a. The final word is for the King of Saudi Arabia. They know that
they can argue – you have to argue, you have to explain yourself, you have to
use evidence, based on Islamic jurisprudence, based in the Prophet's time, based
in the Caliph’s' time, you have to look into the Quran. You have to argue hadith,
until you make your point. And then you have to make sure the people are ready
for it and believe in it. And then the King makes that decision. But just if you
use the power as a King and make the decision, without going through the whole
process, this could create a shock in the street and shock to the people.
The Atlantic
I've heard you speak about the importance of the mutawatir of Hadith, for
example, and this level of discussion of Islamic law is not something we usually
hear from a crown prince or a king.
The Crown Prince
That's the main source of division in the Muslim world, between extremist and
peaceful Muslims. You have tens of thousands of hadith. And, you know, the
massive majority, are not proven and are being used by many people as the way to
justify doing what they are doing. For example, al-Qaida followers, ISIS
followers, they are using Hadith which are very weak, not proven to be true
Hadith, to propagate their ideology.
So, simply put: God and the Quran tell us to follow the Prophet's teachings. And
at the Prophet's time, people were writing down the Quran, and writing down the
Prophet's teachings, so the prophet ordered that his teachings not be written
down to make sure that the main base remains the Quran, so when we go to the
Prophet’s teaching, we have to be very careful. And they are grouped in three
categories.
First, what is called mutawatir. So that means, several people heard it from the
Prophet, a few people heard from those few people, a few people heard [it] from
th[os]e few people. And that has been documented. Those are almost super strong,
and we have to follow them. They are few in number, around 100 hadith.
The second category is what we call the individual Hadith. So, one person heard
it from the Prophet and another person heard it from that person, all the way to
the one who documented it. Or a few people heard it from the Prophet, a few
people heard it from the Prophet, and one person heard it from those few people.
So, if there is a one-person link in the lineage of the Hadith, we call it
one-person hadith. So that one we call ahad. And you should study whether it is
true, whether it goes with the teachings of the Quran, if it goes with the
teachings of mutawatir, and if it goes with the interest of the people. And
based on that, you use it or not.
The third one was called khabar. Someone heard it from the Prophet, etc, etc.,
and among the links are some that are unknown. Those are the tens of thousands
of Hadith, and that you shouldn't use at all, except in one case: if you have
two options, and both of them are very good. And you can use that khabar hadith
in that case, provided that it is in the interest of the people.
So that's what we are trying to identify and publish, to educate the Muslim
world about how do you use Hadith. And I believe that will make a huge
difference. It needs time. We are in the final stages, I think we can put it out
and maybe two years from today. It's just the documenting hadith in the right
way. Because people when they read different books, they do not have the mindset
or the brain or the knowledge to look into the lineage of the hadith and
differentiate between them. We just put it simply: this is proven.
The Atlantic
My question then is, since you're able to talk about this with such fluency and
knowledge, why do you need a Mufti? You can do it yourself.
The Crown Prince
Because the Mufti’s job is to answer the people who ask day-to-day questions,
questions of daily interest. So for example, if someone ate [during] Ramadan and
he wants to know what he should do, did he sin or not, and then he wants to call
someone to give him an answer to that, that should be regulated. So no one can
just say, “I know how to do it” and can answer his question. It has to be
regulated. You have to have certificates from the government. So the ifta' board
and all the people working in that area, that's their goal: to answer the
people's questions about their needs.
The Atlantic
Could I come back to something that you said before? You told a story about the
Prophet himself being very tolerant, looking the other way. It's up to God to
judge a person's sins. But Saudi Arabia uses the death penalty very frequently,
and comes under a lot of criticism for using the death penalty so frequently,
and you have amputation and other punishments dictated by Islamic law. Does all
this mean that you want to get rid of these physical punishments for people's
sins?
The Crown Prince
Well about the death penalty, we got rid of all of it, except for one category,
and this one is written in the Quran, and we cannot do anything about it, even
if we wished to do something, because it is clear teaching in the Quran. If
someone killed someone, another person, the family of that person has the right,
after going to the court, to apply capital punishment, unless they forgive him.
Or if someone threatens the life of many people, that means he has to be
punished by the death penalty. That's a teaching in the Quran. Regardless if I
like it or not, I don't have the power to change it.
The Atlantic
But you can set a tone to encourage more forgiveness.
The Crown Prince
We are doing that. So if you have time, we can take you to all governorates, and
if you go to the headquarters, there is a department just working on that issue.
And if there is a death penalty, it's not carried out right away. It would be
carried out after six months or even one year, to give time to the family of the
victim to cool down, to stop and think. And a high percentage of executions are
canceled based on these kinds of settlements. So we are doing our best in that
area. But we are going to do more about that. The flogging penalty—that's being
cancelled totally in Saudi Arabia. There's nothing. It's been canceled one
hundred percent. The only issue that we’re working on you're trying to close is
to be sure that there is no penalty without a law. And we are working with that.
So there are a few penalties that are up to the discretion of the judge. And now
we are trying to be sure that there is no penalty in Saudi Arabia without a law.
We're talking about that and trying to stop that in the next two to three years.
The Atlantic
A related subject. The CIA, as you know, says that, based on their beliefs and
their study of the situation, that you ordered the killing or capture of
Khashoggi. What is your response to that conclusion?
The Crown Prince
Well, first of all, it’s painful to see any person being killed unrightfully. So
even if a person deserved the death penalty, they would still have to go through
the legal system, and have the right to defend themselves, etc. So what happened
was painful. And we wish that it didn't happen to a Saudi citizen, or to any
person in the whole world. That was a huge failure in the system. And we did our
best to fix the system and to make sure that this doesn't happen again. We also
took actions that any rightful government would take, by moving those people to
investigation and taking them to court. And then the court decided different
punishments for those people, and they are serving these punishments. And that's
what happened when Americans made mistakes in Iraq or Afghanistan or Guantanamo.
You took the right steps, and we did too.
The Atlantic
But you’re saying that you had nothing to do with it.
The Crown Prince
Why would I do it? That's obvious.
The Atlantic
We’ve talked about this before. You said something about this whole incident,
the whole controversy, that it actually hurt you.
The Crown Prince
Definitely, it hurt me a lot. It hurt me and it hurt Saudi Arabia, from a
“feelings” perspective.
The Atlantic
From a “feelings” perspective?
The Crown Prince
We've been blamed. I understand the anger, especially among journalists. I
respect their feelings. But we also have feelings here, pain here. We feel that
we are not treated fairly. I feel, myself, that human rights law wasn’t applied
to me. Article XI of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that any
person is innocent until proven guilty. I didn't get that right. So how can you
talk to me about human rights without treating me according to my Article XI
human rights? That doesn't make sense. So it's a painful feeling, to know that
we've been treated this way. But at the same time, we understand the feelings.
But the biggest question for me is this: That year, almost 70 journalists were
killed, worldwide. Can you name them for me? No? So, thank you very much. Is
this really a feeling for a fellow journalist? Or is this a design against us,
and against me? If it’s really a feeling for a fellow journalist, give me the 70
names of the journalists that were killed that year.
The Atlantic
So why do you think this case got so much attention?
The Crown Prince
Because there are a lot of people who want to be sure that our project, Saudi
Arabia's project today, Vision 2030, fails. But they can’t touch it. It will
never fail. No one in the whole world has the power to make it fail. You can
slow it say by five percent. That's the maximum that you can do. But more than
that—no one can do anything. There are a few groups—I don't want to point
fingers—but anyone with good knowledge can make the link between groups in the
West, and groups in the Middle East, who have interests in seeing us fail.
The Atlantic
You believe that Khashoggi himself was arguing a Muslim Brotherhood argument
against your plans?
The Crown Prince
I never read a full Khashoggi article in my life. Either in a Saudi newspapers
or an American newspaper. What I read is my daily brief. And if there is
something important in the local media, regional media, global media, it comes
up.
Atlantic
So he never bothered you?
The Crown Prince
I never read a full article of his.
The Atlantic
Are you confident that nothing like that will happen again? That is –
The Crown Prince
Well, I’m doing my best to make sure that we have the governance, the right
process and procedure to be sure that things like that don’t happen again.
That’s my commitment. But –
The Atlantic
If, for example, another squad is found, should we be concerned about your
control over –
The Crown Prince
Hopefully not. So I’m trying to do my best at that. You know, we’ve suffered. I
don’t want it to happen again. It was a huge mistake. So we don’t want that to
happen again. We want to be sure that our system is really mature, and nothing
like that could happen again.
The Atlantic
I met Khashoggi one time, just a few weeks before he was killed, and I asked
him, ‘What do you really want? Do you want the overthrow of the House of Saud?’
And his answer to me was ‘No, I think the House of Saud should rule Saudi Arabia
forever.’ And it struck me when he was killed, that someone who is in favor of
the continued rule of the House of Saud, if he is considered an enemy, there
must be many other people who are considered enemies as well. There seems to be
an atmosphere of fear in this country.
The Crown Prince
No, I don’t believe that. In any case, if that’s the way we did things,
Khashoggi would not even be among the top one thousand people on the list. If we
assume for argument’s sake that we were going to go for an operation like that,
it would have been professional and someone on the top of the list.
So why Khashoggi! That was a really a huge mistake. And we don’t believe in that
kind of operations. We don’t believe in any operation outside of the law. We
believe if there’s anyone who committed a crime, or anyone who is dangerous to
Saudi Arabia, or committed a crime in Saudi Arabia, or is dangerous to the rest
of the world, we will take action based on Saudi law, based on international
laws and based on other countries’ laws. And that’s the procedure we did in the
past, and that’s what we are going to do in the future.
The Atlantic
Among other things, this killing of Khashoggi damaged relations with the United
States. What do you want Joe Biden to know about you that he might not know?
Because this incident has –
The Crown Prince
Simply –
The Atlantic
Yeah?
The Crown Prince
I don’t care.
The Atlantic
What do you mean?
The Crown Prince
It’s up to him to think about the interests of America.
The Atlantic
What are the interests of America in Saudi Arabia?
The Crown Prince
Well, I’m not an American, so I don’t know if I have the right to talk about
American interests or not. But I believe that any country in the world has main
pillars of interest: economic interests, and political and security interests.
So that’s the main foundation of the foreign policy of any country. How can I
boost my economy? And how can I maintain my security? And how can I boost my
economic and political ties, to be sure that my country is safe, and to be sure
that my country is growing and having more access to investment and trade, etc.
So I believe that’s the interest of America, to do that.
Saudi Arabia is a G20 country. You can see our position five years ago, it was
almost 20. Today, we are almost 17 among the G20 countries. And we are aiming to
reach a place more advanced than 15 by 2030. For example, in 2021 we aimed to
have 5.9 percent GDP growth, we believe we reached 5.6 for 2021. And that’s
definitely among the top fastest growing countries in the world. Next year, the
whole economy is going to grow by almost 7 percent. And Saudi is not a small
country, it's a G20 country growing fast. So where is the potential in the world
today? It's in Saudi Arabia. And if you want to miss it. I believe other people
in the East are going to be super happy to see—
The Atlantic
What people do you mean?
The Crown Prince
At the same time, you’re trying to push them back. So I kind of don’t understand
that.
The Atlantic
What do you mean,“push them back?”
The Crown Prince
Well, just take it as it is.
The Atlantic
No, but stay on that. I mean, are you comfortable with China in a way that you
haven't been comfortable in the past?
The Crown Prince
We have a long, historic relationship with the United States. For us in Saudi
Arabia, our aim is to keep it and to strengthen it. We have a political
interest, we have economic interests, we have a security interest, we have
defense interests, we have trade interests, we have a lot. It's huge. And we
have a huge opportunity to boost all of these things. And there is also a big
possibility it could be downgraded in many areas. If you ask Saudi Arabia, we
want to boost it in all areas.
You don't have the right to interfere in our internal affairs. That's about us
Saudis, and no one can do a thing about that. If you believe that you have the
right social views values and if they are strong, then you’ll get a win without
pressuring us. Let me give you an example. We didn't get rid of slavery 60 or 70
years ago because we had any pressure. But we had good influences from foreign
countries. Saudi people studied abroad, and American companies, European
companies, different companies, came and worked in Saudi Arabia. And their
influence was strong. We realized that this is wrong and cannot go on and we
changed over time and got rid of it
Pressure doesn’t work. Throughout history, it’s never worked with us. If you
have the right idea, the right way of thinking, just keep doing it. People will
follow if it's the right thing. If it's the wrong thing, then people are going
to follow their own way of thinking. And you have to accept it. So for example,
in Saudi Arabia, we respect your culture in America, we respect your way of
thinking, we respect everything in your country, because it's up to you. We wish
that we would be treated the same. We disagree with many things that you believe
in, but we respect it.
We don't have the right to lecture you in America, regardless if we agree or
disagree with you. The same goes the other way. That said, I don't think that we
as Saudi Arabia have reached the social standard that we are aiming for. Still,
we are going for the areas that we think that we as Saudis are confident in,
based in our culture, on our beliefs in Saudi Arabia.
The Atlantic
Bring this back to China if you could.
The Crown Prince
Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest growing countries in the world. We have two
of the 10 biggest global funds. We have one of the largest global cash reserves.
Saudi Arabia has the ability to provide 12 percent of the world's oil. It is
situated between three main straits; Suez, Hormoz and Bab al-Mandab, it
overlooks the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf in which 27 percent of world trade passes
through. The total Saudi investment in America is $800 billion. In China to date
we’ve invested less than $100 billion. But it seems that things are growing very
fast there. The American companies have a huge concentration in Saudi Arabia. We
have more than 300,000 Americans in Saudi Arabia, some of them Saudi-American,
living in Saudi Arabia, and it's growing every day. So the interest is obvious.
Whether you want to win in Saudi Arabia or lose it in Saudi Arabia, is up to
you.
The Atlantic
If we accept, though, that the United States can't influence Saudi Arabia in
internal affairs –
The Crown Prince
Actually, if you try to pressure us on something that we believe in already, you
just make it harder for us to implement it.
The Atlantic
But America looks at its allies and judges whether those allies are safe
long-term allies according to whether they are pursuing policies that are
similar to American ideology or interests. So if we see fast economic growth
that is not combined with political liberalization, or is combined with the
opposite of political liberalization, we are going to see that it looks much
more like China. That looks much more like Russia. And should we be
uncomfortable?
The Crown Prince
No, no. So, for example, in Saudi Arabia, is social development going backward
or forward? Just see what's happened [in] five years, see what's happening
today, and see what's going to happen next year. It's definitely going forward.
You don’t need an expert to see this. Just do your own research on the internet,
or just make a short trip to Saudi Arabia, and you can see that. Talk to the
locals, any locals among the almost 33 million living in Saudi Arabia, around 20
million of them Saudis, they're going to tell you that. So definitely, socially
we are going in the right direction. Regardless, the end game won’t look like
100 percent of your social standard. Let's say it’s going to be something
between 70 to 80 percent. Where we are today, I will say we are at 50 percent
and there is 20 to 30 percent to go. We will not reach 100 percent because we
have some beliefs that we respect in Saudi Arabia. It's not me. It's the Saudi
people, and it is my duty to respect and to fight for the Saudi beliefs and for
my belief as a Saudi citizen among them.
The Atlantic
You sometimes seem surprised that Americans aren't giving Saudi Arabia more
credit on women's issues.
The Crown Prince
We’re not doing this for credit. We don't care. We do what we do for us as
Saudis. You know, if you look at it from the right angle – well, thank you very
much. If you don't care, it's up to you.
The Atlantic
Constitutional monarchy. Could this be in Saudi's future?
The Crown Prince
No, it won't work. It doesn't work. Saudi Arabia is based on pure monarchy, and
the complex monarchical structure beneath it; Tribal, Urban and the Saudi royal
family, which I represent, and the Saudi people, which I represent, and the King
is the leader of this monarchical structure and he protects their interests. And
they are 13 to 14 million Saudis, among the 20 million Saudis, so I cannot stage
a coup against 14 million citizens.
The Atlantic
Did you ever find the ideas of democracy or even constitutional monarchy
attractive in any way?
The Crown Prince
Well, definitely. There's a lot of ideas that are attractive. Democracy is
attractive, constitutional monarchy is attractive. But it depends on where, and
how, and what the background is. So democracy in America is interesting. It
paved the way for the largest GDP on the planet, it made a great country, it
provided a lot of great things for the whole world. But it was founded and
designed based on the situation that you had, from getting the British out, to
uniting America. So you design your political system, your economical beliefs
and your social beliefs based on a way that fits you the best, and then you
evolve. If you look at America 100 years ago, for example, some social beliefs
then were ridiculous! Even for us in Saudi Arabia, we look at it as ridiculous
but it evolved.
But Saudi Arabia is not an absolute monarchy, in the sense that His Majesty
cannot wake up tomorrow and do whatever he wants. There is a rightful way of
running this country which is the Constitution that states clearly that there
are three branches of power. The executive, which is led by His Majesty as the
prime minister. But the two others are not led by him, but are appointed by him.
There are institutions and processes and procedures. Here’s an example about how
you make a decision. We wanted to allow women to drive in 2015. But we couldn't
do it until 2017. So that shows you that we worked by the book, by the
Constitution, in front of the people. If we run the country randomly, like a
tent, that means the whole economy is going to collapse, that means no one is
going to invest in Saudi Arabia, that even Saudis are not going to believe in
us. We can’t just run it randomly. That’s the Gaddafi way.
The Crown Prince
So the Saudi royal family, it's [from] before 600 years, even before the second
Dir'iyya, as a ruling family. They founded Saudi Arabia before 300 years, and it
collapsed for seven years, [and came] back again, collapsed for 10 years, and
then back again... So we have many lessons. And we've evolved, and the system
[has] evolved. And each generation when they come, they come based in a system
based on those institutional three branches of power. And when a new king comes,
a new crown prince comes, they don't undermine these institutional branches,
because that's the power of Saudi Arabia. That's what makes Saudi Arabia a G20
Country, [with] 12 percent of the world's oil needs, the second largest proven
oil reserves, two of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world, etc. So
what made that [is that] each generation comes, and keeps building on it, and
invest in it and evolve it for the future, as Americans [did] in the past 300
years.
The Atlantic
I've heard some Saudis say that with each generation there are more and more
Royals, and maybe eventually there will be too many, and some should lose the
royal title. Do you think that's a possibility?
The Crown Prince
Go talk to them.
The Atlantic
I know what they will say.
The Crown Prince
In Saudi Arabia, we don't have blue blood. Our way as a royal family, it's to
serve the people. We are part of the people. For example, my mother is not from
a royal family. She’s from a tribal family, from Ajman, from Yam, almost 1
million people in Saudi Arabia. And if you look at the royal family, we have
marriages with non royals, and we are part of them. And we live and are raised
here, and we are part of the Arabian Peninsula. And we've been ruling towns
since history has been written, as Banu Hanifa, even before even Islam. And we
established the first Dir'iyya, unknown when, and then established the second
Dir'iyya 600 years ago, and then we established Saudi Arabia 300 years ago. So
we are part of the people. So no royal has a special right that he can practice
against the people. If he crosses a red line, he's going to be punished like any
person in Saudi Arabia. If you commit a crime, you're going to be punished and
face the law as a person in Saudi Arabia. You're from the royal family. It's a
title that you have to respect. And that's it.
The Atlantic
Let’s talk about the Ritz-Carlton incident then. This became controversial, in
part because you used a fancy hotel as a prison. But on the other hand, Graeme
said something interesting to me. He said, “They could have used a prison, but
they used a luxury hotel.”
The Crown Prince
Yeah. Because it wasn’t arresting people, what happened in the Ritz-Carlton was
about giving them two options. One, we're going to treat you totally by the law.
So, the public prosecution went to prepare the list of charges. And the other
option given to people was to ask them if they wanted the negotiation path. So
almost 95 percent chose the negotiation path. So up to that part they’re not
criminals, we cannot put them in jail. They agreed to stay in the Ritz-Carlton
to negotiate, to close the negotiation. And I believe that almost 90 percent of
the negotiations have been closed. The rest, the ones who refused to negotiate,
they turned to public prosecution based on Saudi law. And a good percentage have
been shown to be innocent people, either through negotiation, or in the courts.
The Atlantic
So the role of the Ritz Carlton was not to eliminate rivals?
The Crown Prince
Rivals don’t exist in the first place to have a need to eliminate them by
putting them in the Ritz Carlton. How can you eliminate people who don’t have
any power to begin with?
It's purely trying to stop a huge problem in Saudi Arabia: that for each budget,
a very big percentage goes to corrupt people. We cannot have the 5.6 non oil GDP
growth, we cannot have 50 percent raising of foreign investment in Saudi Arabia
[in] 2021 if corruption continued, I can't have qualified ministers and
qualified key people working in the government, fighting day or night, working
24 hours, if they don't believe it's a rightful, true path that they are going
on. That will never happen if there's corruption in Saudi Arabia
The Atlantic
How did it come to your mind to do this?
The Crown Prince
It's not me. One of King Salman’s requests at the beginning of 2015 was, “Get
rid of corruption.” The government started collecting and preparing the files
from 2015 to 2017, and to discuss the best course of action. And then the action
was taken by His Majesty.
The Atlantic
Do you think that it helped?
The Crown Prince
Definitely, first that was a strong signal. And then some people thought Saudi
Arabia was, you know, just trying to get the big whales, the good big corrupted
whales. But I believe [by] 2019 to 2020, they understood even if you steal $100,
you're going to pay for it. And a lot of people made that mistake.
The Atlantic
Talk about Qatar for a minute. Your position now is much different than it was
just months ago.
The Crown Prince
It's like a fight in a house.
The Atlantic
A family fight. Is the family fight over?
The Crown Prince
Definitely. It was a fight between brothers. And, you know, definitely they're
going to move on. And definitely, we’re going to be best, best friends. GCC
countries, have the same political systems. We have the same political view 90
percent of the time, let's say. We have the same security dangers, we have the
same economic challenges and opportunities. We have the same society and social
fabric.
So we are like one nation, all of us as GCC countries, and that's what pushed us
to establish GCC and that's what pushes us to work together—because working
together is going to assure our security, is going to assure that our economic
plan is going to succeed, and going to show that our political agenda can also
succeed. Definitely, there's a few differences. And our role is to strengthen
the interests and work out the differences. And that's what's been happening
through the whole story of these two countries.
The Atlantic
Some Saudi citizens think this was a kind of Cold War between the countries.
They were afraid of what might happen to them, or their families, if they spoke
in favor of Qatar. How do you think it feels to them to suddenly see this
warmth, as if the relationship is fixed? It seems like a big change.
The Crown Prince
I don’t want to talk about negative things. We are over it. Today we have
unbelievable, amazing relations with Qatar. Sheikh Tamim [is] an amazing person,
an amazing leader. Same goes for the other GCC leaders. Our aim and focus is on
how to build a great future. We are very, very close. And it's like, we are
better than ever in history.
The Atlantic
The other big question, obviously, is whether you think you have a more positive
relationship with Iran. That's not a family fight. They're not in the GCC.
The Crown Prince
They are neighbors. Neighbors forever. We cannot get rid of them, and they can't
get rid of us. So it's better for both of us to work it out and to look for ways
in which we can coexist. And we had four-rounds of negotiation. We heard
statements from Iranian leaders which we welcome in Saudi Arabia. And we are
going to continue through the details of the negotiation. Hopefully, we can
reach a position that's good for both countries and is going to create a
brighter future for this country and Iran.
The Atlantic
But you’d rather have a nuclear deal than no nuclear deal?
The Crown Prince
Well, I believe any country around the world that has a nuclear bomb—that's
dangerous, regardless if it's Iran or any other country. So we don't want to see
that. And also, we don’t want to see a weak nuclear deal, because that's going
to end up with the same conclusion.
The Atlantic
The Prime Minister of Israel just paid an open visit to Abu Dhabi. Do you think
that Saudi Arabia might follow some of these other Arab nations in having an
open relationship, diplomatic relations with Israel?
The Crown Prince
Well, the agreement between the GCC countries states that no GCC country will
take any action—political, security, economic action—that harms other GCC
countries. And all GCC countries have committed to this. Regardless of that,
each country has independence to do whatever they want, based on their views,
and they have a total right to do whatever they think that's useful for UAE. For
us, we hope that the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is solved.
We don't look at Israel as an enemy, we look to them as a potential ally, with
many interests that we can pursue together. But we have to solve some issues
before we get to that.
The Atlantic
Something that people say about you is that you’re very sensitive to criticism.
It comes out of the Khashoggi killing, but not only Khashoggi. And I know you
don't care what Joe Biden thinks of you. But you're the Crown Prince, this is an
absolute monarchy, you have a lot of power. And people might think, someone in
your position could handle criticism. Do you think you're good at handling
criticism?
The Crown Prince
Well, thank you very much for this question. If I couldn’t handle criticism, I
would not be sitting with you today listening to that question. And the previous
question, and the next question you would ask.
The Atlantic
I'd be in the Ritz Carlton?
The Crown Prince
Well, at least it's a five-star hotel.
What I will say here is that I don’t know where that conclusion comes from. So
if you can use an example, like, why did you react to something the way you did,
then I could answer.
I believe the Saudi media should criticize the government’s work, the
government’s plans, whatever, because that's healthy.
The Atlantic
Do they not do it enough?
The Crown Prince
No, they are doing this in a good way. They are arguing things, they are
spreading thoughts, they are arguing each plan, they are arguing each strategy,
they are arguing each policy by each ministry and that's healthy. [We] need that
because you need the views of many people, for me as Crown Prince of Saudi
Arabia, that's healthy for me—even the global media, West and East, write about
Saudi Arabia, if it's objective writing, without any ideological agenda, that's
super helpful – and healthy. We've learned about a few mistakes from that kind
of writing, that kind of reporting. We get a few ideas from that kind of writing
and reporting. So that's healthy. We need that.
The Atlantic
And you feel like you're getting very honest, direct advice from your advisors.
Not just your brother, Do you feel like you're surrounded by people who are
telling you the truth and giving you straight—
The Crown Prince
Yeah, if I have a yes-man around me, he’s got to be out as soon as possible.
The Atlantic
You like arguing?
The Crown Prince
I definitely like arguing. And also I like to go to work. I believe each
minister in the cabinet, each advisor of the Royal Court, are very capable
people. I'm very lucky to have them. I've been very lucky to bring them on in
the past few years. They have amazing brains, amazing thoughts. They have the
passion of what they believe in, regardless of which sector. They push very hard
to make things happen. And they argue very hard. And then at the end of the day,
you know, we take the actions based on the laws of Saudi Arabia, that will lead
to the interest of the country.
For example, actions in Saudi Arabia in the executive branch are taken by a vote
among the cabinet. It's not the king or the crown prince saying “We've got to do
that.” By the procedures, His Majesty and I, we cannot vote first. We have to be
the last two people who vote so we don't influence the thoughts or the votes of
the ministers. And many ministers vote against my will. They are there and still
doing a lot of great things. And that's what you need in any institution, you
know, company or country.
The Atlantic
Would you have the power to give a pardon or a reduction in punishment? Much
like the state of Kuwait recently did to political prisoners.
The Crown Prince
Yes.
The Atlantic
That's something that's within your capability, and would you consider doing
that?
The Crown Prince
Well, that's not my power. That's in His Majesty's power. The same goes, for
example, for the president of the United States. He has the power to give
political pardons.
For us, you have, let's say, the extreme left and extreme right. So if you give
pardons to one side, then you’ve got to give pardons to some very bad people,
which would take everything backwards in Saudi Arabia.
The Atlantic
So it's a dangerous thing to do at this point?
The Crown Prince
The King wants to defer this to the judiciary. If we have problems, it will be
fixed through improving the quality of the justice system.
The Atlantic
When I've asked Saudis who are the historical figures who the Crown Prince
should be compared to, they said Abdelaziz will be one. But they also mentioned
King Faisal, because King Faisal also was ruling during a time when there was
great danger to the Kingdom, from communists, from Nasserites, etc. But they say
that King Faisal was never as harsh in some of the penalties against dissenters
as you have been. So do you think you're ruling in a time that is even more
dangerous than Faisal's?
The Crown Prince
Well, again, the penalties haven't been made by me. It's made by the judiciary
system of Saudi Arabia based on Saudi law. You know, I'm not defending the Saudi
law, I'm not telling you that it's the best law in the world. There is a long
way to work on it, to change it through the cabinet, executive power, through
the Shura Council in Saudi Arabia, And we've changed a lot and there is a long
way to go for the rest until you reach a high standard globally. But again, it's
not made by me. It's made in the end, the penalties are made by the judiciary.
So we could have different kinds of events at different times. The penalties get
out based on the views of the judge, and based on the Saudi law.
The Atlantic
Maybe I could ask it a different way. This is clearly a time of great promise
for Saudi Arabia. Is it also a time of great danger?
The Crown Prince
Danger of what?
The Atlantic
Danger of political unrest, danger of discontinuity of power? We've been told by
many of your advisors that if the Crown Prince does not succeed, we may have the
Islamic Emirate of Arabia, we may have a true disaster.
The Crown Prince
Yeah. So definitely, His Majesty's duty, and my duty, is to be sure that it's
not about him or about me. Yes, we made changes in a big way in Saudi Arabia. we
learn from each generation's mistakes, and we watch very carefully, and we want
to be sure that they are not repeated. Whatever is happening, whatever projects
in Saudi Arabia, it should be continuous. And the succession should be peaceful,
and continuous. So if you look to the past 100 years, it’s been peaceful. When a
King dies, the crown prince becomes the king, and you have another crown prince,
hopefully a long life for His Majesty.
The Atlantic
So have the people who've been speaking to me been exaggerating when they say
that if Vision 2030 doesn't work out, then there would be a geopolitical
disaster in Saudi Arabia?
The Crown Prince
Well, I can't tell what may happen in this case. Hopefully, we don't think about
it or reach it. We just think of how to proceed and make progress and make
things happen.
The Atlantic
I noticed that there was a change in the rules of allegiance in the Hayat al-Bay'a,
that says that after the sons of Abdelaziz are rulers, after that point, the
Crown Prince cannot come from the same branch as the King.
The Crown Prince
That's right. So I cannot choose Khalid as a crown prince, for example.
The Atlantic
Okay. Nor your children, also –
The Crown Prince
I have to choose from a different branch based on the allegiance council law.
The Atlantic
And how will you make that decision when that time comes?
The Crown Prince
You will be the last person to know about that. This is one of the forbidden
subjects that only we as royals – His Majesty and me and the 34 members of the
Hayat al-Bay'a will talk about. They will give their life before they talk about
any of these issues.
The Atlantic
Do you think there was a way to make any of these reforms without any of the
dramatic measures that you've taken, including the Ritz Carlton, including at
least the perception that people are unable to dissent publicly? Could these
things have happened in a more open, liberal way?
The Crown Prince
I don’t want to argue my case again. But I believe that what we've done in Saudi
Arabia, this was the only way to make it happen. And, you know, sometimes you
have to push in areas where you have to make decisions that have some, let’s
say, side effects and it’s sometimes a decision between bad and worse. And you
have to make these decisions for the sake of the nation.
The Atlantic
When we spoke before, you told us a bit about how you keep your finger on the
pulse of the nation, and you mentioned your appetite for social media. How much
time do you spend on Twitter, Snapchat, and such?
The Crown Prince
You know, on the weekend I don't try to engage. I used to, you know, from 2009
till early 2018, I barely took a weekend off. If I took one weekend in two
months, that would mean I'm lucky. I gained a lot of weight. It was tough. But
since 2018, I started to take weekend vacations. When everything was
established, good people, good governments etc, plans were there and we had just
normal daily work. So on the weekends, vacations, I tried to switch off. Without
that I was going to collapse. And workdays – I work all day. I spend 10, maximum
20 minutes on social media every day.
The Atlantic
But you're looking at Twitter?
The Crown Prince
I look through it all—Twitter, Instagram, you name it, all of it. So I just want
to be sure that my media team knows that I'm searching myself. I read Apple
News. It's amazing, bringing all these newspapers on one application. I love it.
So that's one of the things that I read. A few newspapers in Saudi Arabia,
global newspapers. So on social media, I spend let's say 20 minutes and other
media I spend like half an hour. Mainly when I eat breakfast with my family TV's
on, iPad's on, breakfast is on also. And I just do both or three things at the
same time with the family. Reading the news, watching –
The Atlantic
What do you watch?
The Crown Prince
Well, you know, when I watch movies or series I try to see something outside my
world. For example, House of Cards is not good for me.
The Atlantic
It's like going to work?
The Crown Prince
When you watch it, it's like, you know, you start to think about work. So for
me, it's like Foundation is a good thing to watch. Foundation, it's a new
series. It's unbelievable. Amazing. Game of Thrones, for example. It's great.
The Atlantic
Game of Thrones is also a little bit like work.
The Crown Prince
It’s more fantasy, sci-fi.
The Atlantic
Do you have a favorite Game of Thrones character?
The Crown Prince
Ah, no. So there are many interesting characters, let's say. Very interesting
characters. So that's what makes a really good, interesting story, interesting
argument, interesting characters. It's amazing. But what I'd like to watch is
something outside this world. Fantasy, sci fi, superhero, animation, whatever.
But something Marvel or Japanese animation or whatever. So it's like, just get
me out. So I do that mostly half an hour a day before I sleep. On the weekends,
I like to do sports. Actually I do one day cardio, like one-and-a-half hours. I
don't like to do it in the gym. It's horrible. So I tried to do it by playing a
game. Basketball is my thing for this. For me, I play basketball just for one
reason: soccer, you could get injured. And if you get injured you could stop
exercising for three or four months. So I don't want to get in that basketball
is safe, so you can move a lot for a good amount of time while also playing a
game, and enjoying your time, so that's really good.
The Atlantic
What do you listen to?
The Crown Prince
Well, I don't like the new Arab music. Some of it is good. But mainly the old
music is better. Also, I like to listen to national music from different
countries.
The Atlantic
I mean, we noticed that you're bringing in western entertainment in a way that I
think, 15 years ago, would have been unthinkable.
The Crown Prince
Well, it's part of the quality of life, you know. So when we're trying to
convince talent to come to Saudi Arabia, when we try to keep talent, Saudi
talent, in Saudi Arabia, when we tried to keep Saudi investors in Saudi Arabia,
when we try to convince foreign investors, when we try to reach 100 million
tourists in 2030—which we jumped from 6 million tourists in 2016, to almost 17.5
million tourists in 2019—you have to provide them with all software and
hardware. Software, as in events– sport or culture, music, or whatever it is.
And hardware, as in projects like hotels, theme parks, etc. So you have to bring
the best of the best to be sure that we reach the tourism target, the sports
target, the cultural target. We need to have all of that present, to help
achieve 10 to 15 percent of the Saudi GDP in 2030.
The Atlantic
Do religious leaders ever object to music?
The Crown Prince
Yes, they do that. And they argue that and we argue back. So again, we go back
to this Islamic teachings. So the music, it's an arguable thing in Islam. It's
not something that is agreed on among the Muslims, and they know that. If it is
agreed on among the Muslims, we have a rule among the Prophet's teachings that
say that necessities can remove some of the restrictions –
The Atlantic
Necessities preclude restrictions?
The Crown Prince
Yes, so if I'm going to get the employment rate down, and tourism could create
one million jobs in Saudi Arabia, that means if I can keep $30 billion from
leaving Saudi Arabia, and most of it stays in Saudi Arabia, so Saudis don't
travel as much as they do, that means, I have to do it. They're going to do it
anyway outside of Saudi Arabia. So we have a third thing to say: Choose a lesser
sin rather than a bigger sin.