A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 27-28/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 72th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
December 28/2019
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 27-28/2019
Basil is a Mere Hezbollah Governing Tool/Elias Bejjani/December 26/2019
Aoun, Diab discuss government formation
Rahi receives wellwishers on holy festive season
Hizbullah Delegation Visits Bkirki: Country Needs Govt. of Specialists
Hariri, Khalil Refrain from Signing Decree Promoting Brigadier Generals
France Urges ‘Effective Government’ in Lebanon
Report: Diab Urged to ‘Decelerate’ Formation Efforts
As Poverty Deepens, Lebanon Protesters Step in to Help
Lebanese Protest Bank Policies amid Severe Crisis
Jumblatt: Stop thinking of mortgaging natural resources, privatization
Bou Saab meets army chief of staff, Beirut governor
Report: Govt. Won’t be Formed before Year’s End
Hassan Hands Prison Improvement Reports to Khalaf
Lebanese newspapers’ headlines for December 27, 2019
Strange object with Hebrew writings on it found on Nehme beach
The United States Can Offer the People of Lebanon and Iraq Something Tehran Can’t/Dennis Ross and Dana Stroul/Foreign Policy/December 27/2019
Lebanon’s Latest Moves Show the Effectiveness of Targeted International Pressure/Hanin Ghaddar/The Washington Institute//December 27/2019
Enemies of Lebanon (3 of 3): The Clergy/Elie Aoun/December 27/2019
Details Of The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 27-28/2019
Basil is a Mere Hezbollah Governing Tool
Elias Bejjani/December 26/2019
All those Lebanese politicians, activists and even citizens who attack and criticize Mr. Jobran Basil and portray him as a decision-maker are actually Dhimmitudes, hypocrites and fear to name Hezbollah, who occupies and runs the country and totally controls its rulers including Mr. Basil who is an opportunist, power seeker and a mere governing tool no more no less. Lebanon is an occupied country
Aoun, Diab discuss government formation
NNA/December 27/2019
The President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, received this afternoon, at Baabda Palace, the Prime Minister-designate, Dr. Hassan Diab, who briefed him on the latest developments related to the process of government formation.
PM Diab left afterwards without making any statement.
Earlier, President Aoun met the Caretaker Minister of National Defense, Elias Bou Saab, and discussed with him the general developments in the country, and the issue of promotions of army officers.
After the meeting, Minister Bou Saab said: “I would like to begin by extending congratulations to the Lebanese army and its officers on the occasion of Christmas and New Year, and with a heartfelt greeting for each soldier and officer, deployed on the borders and inside the cities.
I would like to greet them, and say that this greeting is in the name of the entire Lebanese people, despite all what is being said and heard. We know that the soldier or the officer who sacrifices himself is making this sacrifice so that we all remain here. The seventieth days that have passed are the biggest evidence of the need for the readiness of the Lebanese army, its officers and soldiers.
You remember that when we were discussing the budget, there was talk about measure No. 3, and how it should be dealt with. At that time I refused even to discuss the issue of this measure in the Cabinet, and I said that this issue should be discussed with the leadership and the Supreme Defense Council, and this is a decision that belongs to Defense. Imagine if we had then changed this measure, while today we want the army to be alert 24/24. From that, we have to know that the military has its own characteristics.
Why am I talking about this topic as an introduction? Because today, at the end of 2019, we have reached promotions due to the Lebanese army officers at various levels, from first Lieutenant to the rank of brigadier General.
Yesterday, the registration tables were signed for 598 officers from the Lebanese army, from the rank of first lieutenant to the rank of colonel. And I expect that the decrees of this matter will proceed in a correct way, without problems. But we have a problem related to the promotion of colonels to the rank of brigadier general. There are 181 colonels nominated to become Generals. The Military Council met and approved the promotion of 126 out of 181. But we knew that this decision would face the problem of issuing a decree, meaning that the decree may not be issued by 126 Generals.
In the cabinet when we were discussing the budget, we talked about reducing the number of Generals, but this reduction is when the annual promotion to the rank of General compared to the hierarchy of the army, not by depriving those who deserve promotion. And this does not mean also that if no one is promoted this year, then you will not. The upgrade takes place next year, so the initiative was to communicate with Prime Minister Hariri and inform him that the number of promotions for this year that can be reduced by 126, while preserving the right of those who are not promoted to next year or the next year. Some consider, and I regret to say that, that there is a defect in the sectarian balance in these promotions: I am a secular person and I know that the thinking of His Excellency the President is aware, specifically the military establishment should not be where the thinking of this kind are, but the country is governed by such decisions, which also affect the political life.
In one of my meetings with Speaker Berri, I hoped that secular thinking would withdraw from all aspects of the Lebanese state, reaching a civilian state, which is the best solution. This also includes all the successful people in the Civil Service Council, the forestry guards, and every person who has succeeded in employment and injustice due to sectarianism. I am speaking these words specifically from the Baabda Palace, hoping that we will reach the day when the civil state will be realized, and that the thinking of the new Government will be in this direction.
Therefore, I discussed the issue of promotions with His Excellency, and informed him of the options in front of me, knowing that I was not able to communicate directly with Prime Minister Hariri in a meeting, but rather I spoke to him on the phone, so that we could offer a solution to this issue. We still have three days before the end of the year, and if it ends without signing the registration list for promotions, all these officers who deserve to be promoted will lose the opportunity to become Generals.
As for reform in the military, this issue is very necessary. We cannot talk about reform in Lebanon without thinking about reform in the military institutions. From the first day I spoke with the army commander and implemented practical decrees in this regard, five of which are ready, and two of them are still on the military council.
These application decrees, added to them the army hierarchy according to the Defense Law, then we have the specific numbers required, and thus we continue to work in the House of Representatives or through the committees or through the President to take a step by step towards reform if it is in the military institution or outside it, and this is the thinking of the army commander also. Therefore, there should be more cooperation in the next stage to go in this direction, because reform is a march that extends for years forward.”–Presidential Press Office
Rahi receives wellwishers on holy festive season
NNA/December 27/2019
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rahi on Friday received wellwishers on the occasion of the holiday festive season.
In this framework, Patriarch Rahi received a delegation of Hezbollah, led by Mount Lebanon and the North Official Sheikh Mohammed Amro, who said that they came to extend greetings to the Patriarch on the holy season. On emerging, Sheikh Amro said that the Party supports a government comprised of competent specialist candidates who enjoy integrity and loyalty to the nation and whose concern is to save the country and its economy. In reply to a question, Sheikh Amro said it was early to speak about names for the ministerial portfolios. On the other hand, Patriarch Rahi met with Chairman of the International Federation of Arab Bankers, Dr. Joseph Torbey, who hoped a new government would be swiftly formed to address the current financial and economic situation. The Patriarch also met with Lebanon’s Amabssador to Saudi Arabia, Fawzi Kabbara, at the top of a delegation of the Lebanese Business and Investment Council and Lebanese businessmen in tSaudi Arabia. Among Patriarch Rahi’s itinerant visitors for today had been the Armenian Catholic Church Patriarch, Gregorios Boutros XX, Vice Speaker Elie Firzli, and former Minister Jihad Azour.
Hizbullah Delegation Visits Bkirki: Country Needs Govt. of Specialists
Naharnet/December 27/2019
Hizbullah said on Friday the party is looking forward to the formation of a government of “specialists”, noting that it tried to “rename” PM Saad Hariri as premier but he refused. “The upcoming government has our support and we hope it saves the country because it is going to include competent scientific, administrative and political figures,” said Hizbullah Sheikh Mohammed Amro leading a delegation to Bkirki to extend well-wishes to Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Christmas Day. “The government must include specialists in order to garner the parliament’s approval, and to be able to carry out its work in light of regional and international complications,” said Amro, noting that Hizbullah did not suggest yet any name for the cabinet, “we are waiting for the designated premier (Hassan Diab) to contact us.”Amro said the party “worked hard” for the re-designation of outgoing PM Saad Hariri as PM but he withdrew. Hariri had praised Diab as “competent and a clean” figure he added. The new government “will not be one-sided and will serve Lebanon and its economy,” he said.
Hariri, Khalil Refrain from Signing Decree Promoting Brigadier Generals
Naharnet/December 27/2019
Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday signed decrees promoting armed forces officers. A statement issued by Hariri’s office said he signed “all the decrees on the promotion of officers as sent to him by the Army Command.”LBCI television said the decrees include officers of the rank colonel and below. According to media reports, Hariri and caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil have refrained from signing a decree on the promotion of brigadier generals because the number of Christian officers in it is higher than that of the Muslim officers.
“Khalil’s office rejected to receive the decree under the excuse that the minister was not present, which means that the decree on the promotion of brigadier generals was not received by Hariri’s office,” the reports said.
France Urges ‘Effective Government’ in Lebanon
Naharnet/December 27/2019
France on Friday called for the formation of an “effective government” in Lebanon that can take “swift decisions.”
“Since December 19, the International Support Group for Lebanon, which convened in Paris, has highlighted the need to form a new government to implement all the measures and reforms in Lebanon, especially those pertaining to the economic affairs,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement. “The ISG is ready to help Lebanon and accompany it on this path,” it added.
And reiterating that it is up to the Lebanese to decide the shape of the upcoming government, the French foreign ministry said Paris hopes Lebanon will form “an effective government that can help it take swift decisions that meet the demands of the Lebanese people.”
Engineering professor and ex-education minister Hassan Diab was on December 19 tasked with forming a new government. He replaces outgoing PM Saad Hariri, who quit in late October in the face of mass protests against the entire political class and amid a dire economic and financial crisis. Diab, a self-styled technocrat, has vowed to form a cabinet of independent experts within six weeks.
Report: Diab Urged to ‘Decelerate’ Formation Efforts
Naharnet/December 27/2019
President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri reportedly asked Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab to “decelerate” his efforts to form a new government after “sensing his eagerness to form it within days,” the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat daily reported on Friday. Sources of the two presidencies told the daily that a number of reasons triggered Aoun and Berri’s request. One of which is that the names proposed in a list presented by Diab to allocate seats in the new cabinet are “unknown” to the two. Aoun and Berri believe that more “information” is needed about the candidates suggested including their “resume, experience and the quality of specialization,” according to the sources. They added that Aoun and Berri had asked the PM-designate about the “parties” who insinuated the names he had chosen, and that they were “not convinced with his answer.” They reportedly “agreed with him to discuss the list and proposed portfolios with officials in order to garner the parliament’s confidence in his government.” The sources said the names suggested to allocate certain ministerial portfolios that circulated in media outlets “led to harsh rhetoric between the affected political parties including Aoun on one hand and outgoing PM Saad Hariri on the other.”Baabda and Ain el-Tineh sources told Asharq al-Awsat that “the agreement is to have a cabinet consisting of 18 cabinet seats, 12 to be allocated for men and 6 for women ministers.”The names must get the approval of all parties which requires some time, hence Diab’s visit to Ain el-Tineh yesterday, they said.
As Poverty Deepens, Lebanon Protesters Step in to Help
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 27/2019
With volunteer kitchens, makeshift clinics and donation centres, Lebanon’s protesters are helping their compatriots survive the worst economic crisis since the civil war by offering services many can no longer afford. “Our goal is to create a state of social solidary among all segments of society,” said Wael Kasab, a volunteer at an open-air kitchen in the southern city of Sidon. Across the country, protest encampments are bustling with volunteers trying to fill in for an absent state and cash-strapped charities that have closed their doors or reduced their activities in recent months due to deteriorating economic conditions. Their efforts come amid warnings by the World Bank of an impending recession that may see the proportion of people living in poverty climb from a third to half the population. In Sidon’s main protest camp, volunteers scoop rice and stew onto plastic plates. They register names of people in need of medical care to refer them to a clinic for free treatment. Under a plastic tent, Zeinab Najem arranges clothes on a metal rack as a group of women peruse a collection of thick winter jackets. Najem said she first started the donation centre with only 10 items of clothing, but now her tent “looks like a store”. “There are many people in need,” she told AFP.
‘Scared of coming days’
A few metres (feet) away from Sidon’s protest camp, charity groups have set up a kitchen that serves free meals to around 100 people per day. Sitting at a plastic table in the restaurant, Abu Ahmad eyes a tin tray filled with stuffed courgettes, salad and rice. “I cannot afford to buy my own food,” said the 83-year-old. “I will be full today… but I’m scared of the coming days.”Lebanon, rocked by two months of anti-government protests and a political deadlock, faces its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. A liquidity crunch has pushed Lebanese banks to impose capital controls on US dollar accounts, capping withdrawals at around $1,000 a month. As a result, the value of the Lebanese pound against the dollar has dropped by around 30 percent on the unofficial market, leading prices to rise. The faltering economy has also pushed many companies into bankruptcy, while others have laid off staff and slashed salaries. In the northern city of Tripoli, where more than 50 percent of the population lives in poverty, the effects of the crisis are stark. The volunteer kitchen in the main protest camp there serves around 2,500 meals a day to long queues of hungry people flocking from all corners of the country’s second city. Stores near the encampment are empty of clients, while shop owners sit idly outside.
‘No other solution’ –
To help small businesses survive the crisis, a group of volunteers collected 7 million Lebanese pounds (around $4,500 based on the official exchange rate) in donations. They used the money to buy 130 food baskets consisting of rice, sugar, lentils, flour and oil, said Sara al-Sharif, who started the project.
The food was purchased from around 30 stores in Tripoli’s poorest district to help boost business, she said. Had it not been for that initiative, grocery store owner Damal Saqr, 50, said he would have closed shop. “I was on the verge of closing down… because of inflation and the (de facto) devaluation of the Lebanese pound.” He said that his daily earnings do not exceed $12, barely enough to cover the $500 he needs every month to cover rent for his home and store. “I can’t afford to buy goods for the store anymore,” he said. In Beirut’s main protest camp, volunteers dressed in neon-yellow vests pack the back of a truck with piles of donated food. Near the main central bank building in the capital, cardboard boxes and rubbish bags filled with donations line the sidewalk. Protesters there chant against the ruling class as they distribute clothes, blankets and mattresses to the needy. “It is our national duty to mobilise and help each other,” said Sarah Assi, a volunteer. “We have no other solution.”
Lebanese Protest Bank Policies amid Severe Crisis
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 27/2019
Dozens of protesters staged a sit-in outside the central bank and the Lebanese Banks’ Association building Thursday to protest the banks’ policies amid unprecedented capital controls. The protesters called on citizens to stop paying their loans and taxes and demanded that loan payments be rescheduled after amending interest rates. Banks have imposed weekly limits on withdrawals of U.S. dollars amid a shortage in liquidity and as the country grapples with its worst economic and financial crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. The country has been without an active government since ongoing mass protests forced the resignation of Premier Saad Hariri on Oct. 29. Meanwhile, layoffs are increasing, salary cuts have become the norm and prices are quickly rising. Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh told reporters Thursday the bank would investigate all bank transfers that took place in 2019, referring to recent reports that senior politicians were allowed to transfer money abroad even as they imposed unprecedented restrictions on transfers and withdrawals by rank-and-file depositors. “We hope the country improves so the economy can improve,” Salameh said, without commenting directly on the controls imposed by the banks, which many experts say are illegal.
Jumblatt: Stop thinking of mortgaging natural resources, privatization
NNA/December 27/2019
Progressive Socialist Party leader, Walid Jumblatt, on Friday appealed to the Lebanese via his twitter account to stop wagering on the country’s natural resources and privatization.
“Growing wheat and other grains is only the first step en route to resilience and the adoption of a cooperative productive economic pattern instead of the previous ‘service economy’ that has come to an end,” Jumblatt tweeted. “Contrary to the ruling business mindset, the protection of agriculture and industry is essential. Stop thinking of mortgaging natural resources or even privatization,” Jumblatt added, reminding of foreign countries’ reform recommendations to Lebanon “first and foremost.”
Bou Saab meets army chief of staff, Beirut governor
NNA/December 27/2019
Caretaker Defense Minister, Elias Bou Saab, on Friday received Army Chief-of-Staff, Major General Amin El-Erem, member of the Military Council Major General Elias Shamieh, and the President of the Military Court Brigadier General Hussein Abdullah, along with an accompanying military delegation. Talks reportedly touched on an array of issues pertaining to the military institution. Minister Bou Saab also met with Beirut Governor Judge Ziad Shbib, who well-wished him on the holy season.
Report: Govt. Won’t be Formed before Year’s End
Naharnet/December 27/2019
The new government will be formed in 2020, a source close to President Michel Aoun said Friday, shortly after a meeting between the President and Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab. “The names are not ready until the moment,” the source told Turkey’s official news agency Anadolu. “The government won’t be formed over the next two days and it will likely be formed after the New Year holiday,” the source added. The source also revealed that Aoun and Diab discussed “the (ministerial) portfolios and their distribution in addition to the idea of merging some of them.” Engineering professor and ex-education minister Diab replaces outgoing PM Saad Hariri, who quit in late October in the face of mass protests against the entire political class. Diab, a self-styled technocrat, has vowed to form a cabinet of independent experts within six weeks.
Hassan Hands Prison Improvement Reports to Khalaf
Naharnet/December 27/2019
Caretaker Minister of Interior Raya el-Hassan on Friday handed two prison improvement reports to newly elected head of Beirut Bar Association, Melhem Khalaf. The first report includes the requests of prisoners, and the second is a roadmap for the transfer of prisons from the principle of reserving freedoms to the principle of qualifying detention, said the National News Agency. “Prisons in Lebanon suffer from a reality that is far from the standards we wish to represent; if we want to reflect a beautiful image about Lebanon, we must improve the status of prisoners,” the Interior Minister said. For his part, Khalaf stressed the importance of responsibly performing state tasks, even when in a caretaking status. “In our capacity as the bar association, we will request details on the latest judicial procedure of every detainee, and we will request the full cooperation of the judiciary,” he added.
Lebanese newspapers’ headlines for December 27, 2019
NNA/December 27/2019
ANNAHAR: Salameh: Bank accounts in USD will not be transferred to LBP
AL-JOUMHOURIA: Diab undergoes confrontation with Sunnis… political interventions
Al-Akhbar: Hariri opts for sectarian mobilization
Shiite couple refuses conditions
Diab: Formation of cabinet delayed
Al-Anbaa: Efforts underway to announce cabinet on Monday
Berri calls for emergency rescue cabinet
THE DAILY STAR: Diab scrambles to form Cabinet ahead of New Year
No huge transfers abroad since October: bankers
Strange object with Hebrew writings on it found on Nehme beach
NNA/December 27/2019
A strange body with writings in Hebrew on it had been found washed up on the shore in Nehme, National News Agency correspondent reported on Friday. Security forces rushed to the scene to inspect the object, believed to be a buoy that had clipped off of an Israeli enemy vessel.
The object is now in the custody of the Lebanese army.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 27-28/2019
The United States Can Offer the People of Lebanon and Iraq Something Tehran Can’t
Dennis Ross and Dana Stroul/Foreign Policy/December 27/2019
Congress should offer conditional aid that forces Beirut and Baghdad to respond to their citizens’ grievances, many of which stem from Iranian-sponsored sectarianism, corruption, and violence.
Protests and upheaval are sweeping Iraq and Lebanon. The wrath of demonstrators in the streets is being directed against their own political classes and at Iran’s government. Citizens in Lebanon and Iraq are not only fed up with economic mismanagement, ineffective governance, and entrenched corruption of political elites at home, they also directly link their dismal situation to Tehran’s corrupting influence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s exploitation of their countries to fund and arm militias unaccountable to their countries.
Taken together with the extensive riots in Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump sees these developments as proof that his administration’s so-called maximum pressure policy of squeezing the Iranian economy is working. Not surprisingly, the administration is now determined to double down on its sanctions policy, convinced this will force Tehran to capitulate and seek negotiations with a new willingness to concede on the regime’s nuclear program and regional behavior. The administration’s critics doubt this policy will work—believing that it will simply back the Iranian government into a corner, prompting it to escalate conflict in the region rather than surrender.
Lamentably, neither the administration nor its critics have put cogent proposals on the table for how to respond to developments in Iraq and Lebanon. For the administration, offering rhetorical support to the Iraqi and Lebanese publics and calling on their security services to stop their abuses reflect the limits of what it believes can be done. Its critics may be even more passive, fearing increased U.S. engagement will detract from the anti-Iran focus or, even worse, exacerbate the situation in either country given the Trump administration’s record of clumsy policy execution.
The irony is that neither the administration nor its critics appear to believe that meaningful, sustainable change in Iraq and Lebanon is possible—even though this is exactly what the protesters are demanding. The resignations of the Iraqi and Lebanese prime ministers—Adil Abdul-Mahdi and Saad Hariri—are largely meaningless. Political elites in both capitals are more focused on horse-trading posts in the next governments rather than offering bold political and economic reform proposals in response to the protests.
The next iteration of governments in Beirut and Baghdad are likely to preserve the system of elite capture that sustains itself by brokering power along sectarian lines. Protesters in both countries recognize their leaders’ narrow focus on self-preservation; they are not appeased and appear motivated to keep coming out to the streets in objection.
The hesitancy and skepticism of the Trump administration and its critics alike no doubt result from the United States’ own dismal experiences in trying to incentivize change in the Middle East. While both Republican and Democratic administrations have fallen short in encouraging systemic reform in the Middle East, Iran by contrast appeared to be on a roll in recent years. Tehran took advantage of U.S. missteps and power vacuums in the region to extend influence and coercive means far beyond Iran’s borders.
Now, Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, refers to Syria and Lebanon as Iran’s “forward defense.” Iran executed its strategy using both hard and soft power, moving precision-guided weapons into areas where governments do not maintain a monopoly on the use of force in both Syria and Iraq; training and deploying Shiite militias in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen at minimal cost to Tehran; and complementing these military tools with soft-power inducements tailored to local contexts such as sectarian manipulation, real estate purchases, tribal payoffs, commercial contracts, and provision of services—all designed to prey on weak governments, vulnerable leaders, and needy populations.
The net result: Iran seemingly gained strangleholds over leaders and governments in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, and it realized its goal of dictating policies and embedding proxies (Hezbollah, the Badr Organization, Asaib Ahl al-Haq) within government institutions for long-term influence. Taking stock of this strategic picture, U.S. policymakers spoke boldly in public about the need for Iran to pull back but never proposed an effective and properly funded strategy to achieve that objective.
But the recent, widespread backlash against corrupt, weak governments and abusive security forces unaccountable to Lebanese and Iraqi citizens suggests that the Iranian gains may not be so enduring and may even have produced a contagion effect in Iran itself. Certainly, the Iranian regime’s draconian response to the unrest in at least 20 cities—a response that led to the deaths of more than 300 people and arrests of more than 7,000—suggests that the regime feels vulnerable and pressured to preempt the spread of the protests. If so, the United States should not assume that Iran’s regional position is so strong and entrenched that there is little Washington can do to push back.
The fact that significant Shiite constituencies in both Iraq and Lebanon are very much a part of demonstrations against sectarian rule and Iran’s heavy hand speaks volumes about Iran’s vulnerabilities and the difficulty of sustaining its regional position. Moreover, Iran’s soft-power strategy—leveraging Shiite sectarian ties in Arab-majority areas to gain influence via cultural, religious, media, and economic projects—seems to have dissipated as its brand is now publicly associated with corruption, unaccountable leaders, unrepresentative governance, economic mismanagement, abusive security forces, and violent responses to protesters. Iran has overreached and overextended, and Iran’s leaders have not offered Lebanese or Iraqi citizens anything meaningful—and their own brutal domestic crackdown on Iranian protesters further diminishes their appeal.
Iran has few tools or resources at its disposal at the moment—especially with its economy being squeezed and mismanaged—so the United States should be able to compete more effectively. Certainly, it is time to go beyond the Trump administration’s preferred foreign-policy tool of using sanctions to address every malign Iranian activity—whether it be illicit nuclear activities, support for terrorism, or human rights abuses. At the same time, sanctions are not the most effective tool available to U.S. policymakers in response to protests calling for an end to corruption, broken economies, and unaccountable leaders.
U.S. policy should now focus on distinguishing what Washington can offer the region and differentiating the U.S. brand from Iran’s bankrupt and violence-riddled vision. If the administration is unwilling or unable to galvanize domestic bipartisan support for such a policy shift, it is time for Congress to step up to the plate. Surely members on both sides of the aisle remain committed to a stable region, pushing back on Iran, and supporting meaningful political, economic, and security sector reform.
One option is to offer strategic partnerships with the Lebanese and Iraqi people through legislative action: an updated U.S.-Iraqi partnership that deepens commitments already made in the 2008 Strategic Framework Agreement and a new U.S.-Lebanon compact that sets forth a road map for bilateral engagement beyond Washington’s stale focus on the Lebanese Armed Forces. Congressional action is necessary because it cements a time horizon not tied to presidential election timelines and sends a credible signal to a region wary of the sharp swings and mixed messages of U.S. administrations.
The offer by Congress to build these partnerships should be conditioned on leaders and governments in both Iraq and Lebanon going beyond rhetorical support and pledges to taking concrete actions that meaningfully respond to the demands of the protesters. What Congress can offer is not simply funding or verbal support but a framework for partnership that responds to the calls of the protesters. Legislation should include public reporting requirements on benchmarks for reform as well as an assessment of their actual implementation. Funding and assistance should be on the table, especially for supporting reform in civilian ministries.
The good news is that the United States actually has the technical expertise and international relationships, especially working with allies and credible nongovernmental organizations, to assist in tackling corruption, fostering the rule of law, restoring services, offering training, developing infrastructure, and stimulating economic growth. Collectively, U.S. partnership offers the possibility of meaningful scientific, educational, commercial, and technological exchanges. This is what protesters want, and this is what Washington can meaningfully offer.
Iran offers none of these things. The United States now has a window of opportunity to present what Iran cannot: a sense of possibility to Iraqi and Lebanese publics hungry for real change, who are unlikely to rest until they have it.
*Dennis Ross is the William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute and former U.S. envoy to the Middle East. Dana Stroul, the Institute’s Kassen Fellow, previously served as a senior staff member with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Lebanon’s Latest Moves Show the Effectiveness of Targeted International Pressure
Hanin Ghaddar/The Washington Institute//December 27/2019
By uniting behind the message that financial aid and punishment will be tied to specific courses of action, the United States, France, and the UN may finally be able to push Beirut into establishing a reform-minded government.
Since caretaker prime minister Saad Hariri resigned in October, the process of forming a new Lebanese government has become more complicated. Street protests continue amid increased violence by security institutions, while the country’s dominant political actor—the widely designated terrorist organization Hezbollah—is still insisting on a government headed by Hariri and favorable to its interests. Yet three important events took place last week that could change that plan and break the deadlock.
First, the International Support Group for Lebanon (ISGL), co-chaired by France and the United Nations, met in Paris and explicitly stated that the international community will not help Lebanon financially until a new government is formed—specifically, one “that will have the capacity and credibility to deliver the necessary substantive policy package of economic reforms, and that will be committed to dissociate the country from regional tensions and crisis.” Although there was no mention of who should—or should not—head this government, the consensus on reform was clear. The international community had already pledged to help Lebanon at the CEDRE conference in April 2018 on condition of reforms that never materialized. That is why a simple bailout will not happen until a credible government forms.
Second, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned three more Hezbollah financiers: Lebanon-based Nazem Said Ahmad and his companies, accused of laundering large sums of money for the group; Congo-based Saleh Assi, accused of laundering money through Ahmad’s diamond business and supporting another sanctioned financier; and Lebanon-based accountant Tony Saab, accused of providing support to Assi. Notably, Saab is a Christian who recently told Lebanese media that he admires Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, head of the Hezbollah-allied Christian-majority party the Free Patriotic Movement.
Third, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs David Hale announced that he will visit Lebanon this week. The trip is the highest-level U.S. visit since protests broke out on October 17 and forced the government to resign.
These developments have pushed Lebanon’s political class toward several important realizations that may alter their actions going forward:
The international community has firmly sided with the protestors and will not provide financial assistance if the establishment refuses reform.
U.S. sanctions may expand to include Christian allies of Hezbollah, a prospect that Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker confirmed in interviews last week with Al-Arabiya and An-Nahar.
The United States will not endorse Bassil’s role in any new government—a message that was unmistakably conveyed to both him and Hezbollah when Hale indicated he would meet with most Lebanese decisionmakers except Bassil.
THE HARIRI QUESTION
Although international rejection of Bassil’s presence in the next government is now clear to Lebanese officials, they are still uncertain about Hariri’s status. In negotiating his nomination to succeed himself as prime minister, Hariri has insisted that he is the only one who can save the economy from collapse. He has also promised two key Hezbollah opponents—the Christian party “Lebanese Forces” and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt—that he will form a government composed exclusively of independent technocrats. Yet this formula comes with several complications. First, the international community may not be united in supporting Hariri’s candidacy given his repeated kowtowing to Hezbollah. Second, the protest movement still refuses to accept him as prime minister and promises to continue demonstrating, even if that means toppling the next government. The protestors have proven resilient against violent reprisals by the Internal Security Forces (ISF) and Hezbollah thugs, and they are expected to grow in number as the economy deteriorates. Third, both major Christian parties have refused to nominate Hariri, further delaying negotiations. The Lebanese Forces stated on December 16 that they will not name him as their candidate, and Bassil declared the same last week when he announced he will not join the next government. Fourth, Hezbollah leaders seemingly favor Hariri’s candidacy because they believe he can be used for international cover while remaining vulnerable to pressure from the group and its allies. Accordingly, Hariri will not be able to fulfill his pledge of forming an independent, wholly technocratic government, as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made clear in a December 13 speech.
HEZBOLLAH’S DILEMMA
Bassil’s decision to stay out of the next government resulted from recent meetings with Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa and other officials, who pushed him in that direction. Bassil seemingly realized that he has become a liability, and that Hariri is now more important to the group.
But Hezbollah no doubt approached the decision gingerly. Dropping Bassil will isolate the group from the Christian community—a major compromise that shows it is under tremendous pressure and may be squeezed into further concessions. Indeed, the group’s internal and regional challenges are legion:
Continued U.S. sanctions on Hezbollah’s main patron, Iran, have amplified the group’s own financial crisis. The Lebanese state is on the verge of economic collapse and possible bankruptcy, preventing Hezbollah from making full use of that alternative resource.
Recent protests in Iraq constitute a challenge to Iran and its local proxies there, which could eventually affect Hezbollah. The group’s violence against protestors and insistence on protecting corrupt politicians have led many citizens to lose faith in its supposed role as the defender of Lebanon and the enemy of injustice. Even Shia citizens are joining the rest of the country in mass protests, threatening the group’s ability to win seats in parliament and access state institutions. Hezbollah realizes that these challenges will only become more difficult if the protests continue, so it has decided to begin compromising (albeit as minimally as possible) instead of losing power involuntarily. In this sense, Bassil’s removal shows that consistent, united pressure at home and abroad can produce significant shifts.
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Lebanon’s economic situation is expected to worsen, so last week’s Paris meeting was probably the first of many. It is also becoming clear that Hariri cannot lead the next government. Even if he manages to secure Christian votes for his nomination, he will only be able to form a government that has Hezbollah’s blessing—and therefore fails to gain the trust of the street or the international community. Some alternative candidates are being floated by protestors and parliamentary opposition groups, including Nawaf Salam, Lebanon’s former representative to the UN and currently a judge at the International Court of Justice. Another suggested name is IMF economist Rand Ghayad. Again, Hezbollah prefers Hariri over these and other alternatives. But if the United States and Europe make clear that he is not acceptable, the group might consider another compromise instead of risking total Lebanese bankruptcy and the resultant loss of influence over state institutions. Washington should therefore prepare sanctions against additional Hezbollah allies and corrupt politicians. At the moment, President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabil Berri hold the keys to real change in Lebanon, in terms of approving the next government and holding early parliamentary elections based on a new electoral law. Yet they do not feel pressured enough to change their behavior or let go of power—on the contrary, Berri has been using his supporters to crack down on protestors with no consequences. Now is the perfect time for sanctions against his party, Amal, as well as members and businessmen associated with Bassil’s Free Patriotic Movement. Meanwhile, Washington should keep pushing the Lebanese Armed Forces to protect protestors and sack all units and officers committing violations against them. Europe has significant leverage on this front as well, particularly France. The ISF units attacking protestors in downtown Beirut have long received training and equipment from European countries—including the same French-made tear gas grenades used against demonstrators. Paris and other capitals should make clear that their equipment must not be used against peaceful protestors.
Finally, many Lebanese politicians hold dual nationality and bank accounts in Europe, leaving them vulnerable to warnings that their personal interests may be targeted. Without the threat of such personal consequences, the current political class will not yield power.
*Hanin Ghaddar is the Friedmann Visiting Fellow in The Washington Institute’s Geduld Program on Arab Politics.
Enemies of Lebanon (3 of 3): The Clergy
Elie Aoun/December 27/2019
ايلي عون: اعداء لبنان (الجزء الثالث).رجال الدين
In the 1920s, the Soviet premier Joseph Stalin gave orders to infiltrate Catholic seminaries by young communist agents who have “neither faith nor morals.”
A number of the 1920s infiltrators (many of whom were practicing homosexuals) achieved stature and influence at various levels of leadership within the Catholic church and began affecting change in theological arenas, as well as introducing “new philosophies or approaches” to the church’s teachings. In the 1960s and 1970s, they began to recruit the next generation of young seminarians who were very much like them – homosexuals and social activists with an emphasis on socialism. The intent was for the new recruits to take over once the original infiltrators had died.
The new group (not necessarily communist agents as the original group) was imputed with socialist ideas as well as homosexualism, or willing to turn a blind eye to it among the clergy. In the meantime, many good men were blocked from getting into seminaries, or eventually from getting ordained.
This brief background clarifies the status of what the church institution is going through today. At least half of its clergy are poorly formed in the faith, and the laities are suffering as a consequence.
When we speak against “the clergy,” we do not mean all clergymen and we are not opposing the “church” but the infiltrators within its institution.
By acknowledging this reality (that the church has been infiltrated), we better understand why certain clergymen are morally bankrupt, theologically twisted, and politically socialist/Marxist/unpatriotic.
Those clergy (with “no faith and morals” as Stalin envisioned it) exert their influence to support politicians of their own kind. Being morally corrupt, they protect political corruption (and most likely are beneficiaries of it).
The enemies of religion know that the best way to undermine a community is by infiltrating its clergy – because the clergy are the least suspected. That is what has happened. The church and the community are being destroyed from within – while many good hearted Christians are blindly serving the institution that is actually destroying them.
The Muslim clergy have similar dilemma. From Tehran to the southern suburbs of Beirut, there are those who see more glory in leading people to their destruction than to pursue policies that would elevate them.
Unknown for many people, one of the largest embassies in the Vatican is that of Iran, and the most important Iranian ambassador is the one to the Vatican. What takes place between these two entities is worth the work of an investigative journalist.
The dominant politics of the clergy can be summarized in two terms (both of which are unpatriotic): (1) globalism and (2) open-borders (Arabs and Africans into Europe; Mexicans into the U.S., and various refugees into Lebanon).
Recently, Pope Francis called for migrants to be integrated into society. This explains the Catholic social justice programs to assist refugees to settle in the host countries. The so-called Catholic social justice movement is barely distinguishable (at least in principle) from the communist manifesto.
The Pope also said that nationalism is an “attitude of isolation.” He ridiculed those who say “Us first. We … We …”, saying that “these are frightening thoughts.” In other words, to say “America first” or “Lebanon first” would be a frightening thought.
The Pope claims that nationalism is a reminder of Hitler. However, Hitler was not a nationalist, but a globalist. He deceptively used nationalist slogans in his quest towards regional and global domination.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/08/09/pope-francis-again-warns-against-nationalism-says-recent-speeches-sound-like-hitler/
Pope Francis again warns against nationalism, says recent speeches sound like ‘Hitler in 1934’ – The Washington Post
Pope Francis called for a united Europe in an interview published by Italian daily La Stampa on Friday, saying recent political rhetoric has echoed that of Nazi Germany. “I am concerned because …
www.washingtonpost.com
According to a Cardinal (who was quoted in the 1980s), one reason for the deteriorating situation of Lebanese Christians is Vatican politics. When the Vatican is infiltrated with a communist ideology and homosexuals, it becomes understandable why the cause of Christians is suffering — not only in Lebanon but also other parts of the Arab region and globally. In my humble opinion, the solution is not to simply attack those who are our enemies. Instead, it is to know the truth, to speak it so that it can be a guide to others, and then to focus on what we can do as individuals – what positive achievements we can accomplish for ourselves and our country.
