LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 21/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you
Saint Luke 10/08-12/:”Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town”.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on August 20-21/2019
Lebanon Mourns the Sudden Death Of Antoin Al Koury Harb
Aoun Not Informed about US Sanctions against Lebanese Christian Figures
Brazil to Label 'Hezbollah' a Terrorist Organization
Presidency: Defense Strategy Needs New Approach, Consensual Atmospher
Report: Cabinet to Meet in Beiteddine amid S&P Downgrade Concerns
Hariri: US Sanctions Have Specific Approach, Sectarianism Affecting Waste Solutions
Hariri Returns to Beirut, Opens Second Airport Expansion Phase
Berri: 'Deal of the Century' an attempt to liquidate Palestinian Cause
Hariri inaugurates new measures at Airport: The government will work hard in the coming days
Hariri chairs meeting of ministerial committee tasked with waste dossier
Arslan participates in 'Strong Lebanon' meeting, calls for serious security plan in Mount Lebanon
Two Lebanese convicted over acquiring Israeli enemy nation
Bassil Vows to Continue Botched Mt. Lebanon Visit
Mustaqbal Slams Those who 'Opened Fire' at Hariri's U.S. Visit
PSP Says ‘No Dispute...Only Political Differences’ with FPM

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 20-21/2019
US says it has blocked billions of dollars from reaching Iran and its proxies
Hook: US sanctions deny Iran the revenue it needs to fund its proxies
US Secretary of State Pompeo: Release of Iranian tanker ‘unfortunate’
Greece Says Has Had No Request from Iranian Oil Tanker to Dock
Blasts hit militia group position near Iraq’s Balad air base: Security sources
Russian-Turkish air dogfight over North Syria narrowly avoided. Erdogan defies Putin
Anti-Assad fighters withdraw from Khan Sheikhoun: Syrian observatory
Turkey says it will not move military observation post in Syria
Syria regime forces enter Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, sources say
Anti-Assad Fighters Withdraw from Key Area in Northwest Syria
China Warns on IS Revival in Syria'
Egypt Says Security Forces Kill 11 Militants in Sinai
U.N.'s Yemen Envoy Warns of Threat of Partition
Algeria Protest Movement Marks Six Months, at an Impasse
U.S. Taliban Negotiator Returning to Doha for More Talks
Italy PM Says to Resign as Political Crisis Comes to a Head

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 20-21/2019
Lebanon Mourns the Sudden Death Of Antoin Al Koury Harb/Elias Bejjani/LCCC/August 20/2019
Hariri inaugurates new measures at Airport: The government will work hard in the coming days/NNA/Tuesday 20 August/2019
Russian-Turkish air dogfight over North Syria narrowly avoided. Erdogan defies Putin/DEBKAfile/August 20/2019
Denmark: How to Deal with Integration/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/August 20/2019
Tourism Is Eating the World/Noah Smith/Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/2019
Houthi Attacks and Iranian Threats Poised to Escalate/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/2019
The Most Important Brexiter Isn’t Boris Johnson/Therese Raphael/Bloomberg/August 20/2019
Pentagon’s $10 Billion Brain Is Frozen by a Contracting Scandal/James Stavridis/Bloomberg/August 20/2019
The Battle of Yarmuk: ISIS’s Blueprint for Terror/Raymond Ibrahim/August 20/2019

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 20-21/2019
Lebanon Mourns the Sudden Death Of Antoin Al Koury Harb
Elias Bejjani/LCCC/August 20/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/77697/%d8%a7%d8%b3%d9%83%d9%86%d8%af%d8%b1-%d8%ae%d8%b4%d8%a7%d8%b4%d9%88-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%86%d9%87%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d8%a3%d9%86%d8%b7%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ae%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%ad%d8%b1%d8%a8/
Lebanon was saddened yesterday by the surprising and unexpected death of the well known patriotic and nationalist, Mr. Antoine Al Khoury Harb. Harb's sudden death was due to an acute lung infection according to the hospital statement, while earlier some websites had attributed the death to food poisoning. Harb was one of the FPM founders and courageous activists and he had been jailed several times during the Syrian occupation era. Initially he was an active member in the Guardians of the Cedars party headed and founded by Etian Saqer/Abu Arz. Harb resigned from the FPM party after Mr. Jobran Bassil was appointed its president in 2015. We offer his family and friends our deepest heartily felt condolences and pray  that his soul rest in peace in the Godly heaven mansions.

Aoun Not Informed about US Sanctions against Lebanese Christian Figures
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 20 August, 2019
Lebanese President Michel Aoun denied on Monday having been informed about US sanctions against Christian figures close to Hezbollah.  “We have not been notified about this matter,” he told a meeting with the press at his summer residence in Deir al-Qamar. He added he did not look into the comments delivered by Prime Minister Saad Hariri from Washington last week, defending his son-in-law Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, who heads the Free Patriotic Movement. Regarding claims that the US had urged him to dismiss Bassil, he remarked: “I will not dismiss Bassil or any other human being. He is the head of a political party and head of the largest parliamentary bloc.” He acknowledged that some senior officials had called on him to exert pressure on the minister regarding some political affairs and “my answer has always been ‘go to him and talk to him about it’.”On the 2020 state budget, Aoun stressed the need to have the budget be issued by December 31 at the latest, hoping there will be no delay. He also denied that Lebanon had come under any sort of US pressure to achieve reconciliation over Qabr Shamoun incident and to resolve the country’s financial issues. Last June, two bodyguards of State Minister for the Displaced Saleh al-Gharib, who is close to Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, were killed when his convoy came under fire in Qabr Shamoun, sparking a cabinet crisis that ended only a few days ago. “Neither the US interfered, nor is it in our nature to yield to pressure,” he added. Concerning political reforms and whether the Taef Accord will be fully implemented during his term, he said that he was working on respecting the constitution. “Some parties are accustomed to violating the constitution and depriving others of their rights. When I try to fix things, they say the constitution is being violated. Some are used to many bad habits, so it takes time to fix everything,” he added.

Brazil to Label 'Hezbollah' a Terrorist Organization
Washington - Elie Youssef/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 20 August, 2019
Brazilian officials are considering designating "Hezbollah" as a terrorist organization, following Argentina and Paraguay, Bloomberg reported on Monday. It said the idea is part of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s efforts to forge stronger ties with US President Donald Trump, with whom he also seeks a trade deal. It also fits into the world-view of Brazil’s right-wing president and his inner circle. If it approves the decision, Brazil would follow the footsteps of Argentina, which last month officially designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and ordered the freezing of its assets in the country. According to the Bloomberg report, officials are reviewing their options to move forward with the idea, which is being discussed at the highest government levels but does not have across-the-board support, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. It said the idea would not be easily implemented due to the particularities of Brazilian law, added the officials, requesting anonymity because the discussion isn’t public. The move could strain relations with Iran, a Hezbollah ally which imports $2.5 billion of Brazilian products per year and displeases Brazil’s influential Lebanese community. The government also worries it could make the country a target of terrorism, said one of the sources. Other sources predicted that the decision could be announced before Bolsonaro visits the region in October. Contacted by Bloomberg, Brazil’s foreign ministry said it doesn’t consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization and has no plans to change its status for now. The president’s office, the justice ministry and the federal police, responsible for enforcement of anti-terror laws, declined to comment. During last year’s presidential campaign, Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo, who may become the Brazilian ambassador to the US, already advocated a strong stance against Hezbollah, and Hamas noted Bloomberg.

Presidency: Defense Strategy Needs New Approach, Consensual Atmosphere
Naharnet/August 20/2019
The Presidency on Tuesday said that the remarks voiced Monday by President Michel Aoun over the national defense strategy were “misinterpreted” by some media outlets and news websites. “The military developments in the region neighboring Lebanon over the past years require a new approach for the issue of the defense strategy that would take into consideration these developments, especially after world powers and terrorist groups intervened in the wars that several countries that neighbor Lebanon witnessed, which created changes in the goals and strategies,” the Presidency said, explaining Aoun’s remarks. “The President is committed to the stances he had announced over the issue of the defense strategy and the need to discuss it in a consensual atmosphere,” the Presidency added in a statement.

Report: Cabinet to Meet in Beiteddine amid S&P Downgrade Concerns
Naharnet/August 20/2019
An agreement was reached between senior officials to call the Cabinet for a meeting on Thursday at the summer presidency residence in Beiteddine to discuss the latest political and economic developments, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday. It said preparations are underway between Director General of the Presidential Palace and the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers to arrange the agenda that will be circulated to the ministers today, added the newspaper. President Aoun moved last week to Beiteddine. After around a one-month government deadlock over the Qabrshmoun incident, the Cabinet is expected to restore its activity to face a new economic challenge. According to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Standard & Poor's Global Ratings could downgrade Lebanon’s sovereign ranking to CCC on Friday, “increasing the risk of its sovereign bonds." Analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note last week that "the continued deterioration in Lebanon's foreign liquidity suggests a possible downgrade to the CCC ranking.” Goldman Sachs said the recent political tensions threaten to disrupt Lebanon’s economic agenda and reduce investor appetite, cutting forecast for economic growth this year to 1 percent from 2.2 percent.

Hariri: US Sanctions Have Specific Approach, Sectarianism Affecting Waste Solutions
Naharnet/August 20/2019
In light of reports about possible US sanctions on allies of Hizbullah, Prime Minister Saad Hariri said the US sanctions are “clear in their approach” and that Lebanon’s ties with the US treasury are “good.”“I am not the one who sets the US sanctions and Washington is very clear in its approach,” said Hariri replying to reporters at Beirut airport shortly after landing in Beirut returning from the US. Hariri also opened the second expansion phase at the terminal as soon as he arrived. The PM expressed hope that no sanctions are imposed on Lebanese officials. Reports emerged lately that the US could impose sanctions on Christian allies of Hizbullah in reported reference to the Free Patriotic Movement. On concerns regarding an expected credit rating report about Lebanon, the PM said: “We have been working on this and we have done our duty significantly. The 2019 budget was good in numbers and we have to complete the 2020 budget before the constitutional deadlines which gives a good impression to the rating authorities.” On the waste crisis and the foul odor emanating near the airport, Hariri angrily said: “You all know that the odor is the result of the Ghadir river not the Costa Brava landfill.”He said Lebanon has a serious problem where sectarianism affects waste management solutions, “Muslim areas are not ready to receive trash from Christian area and vice versa,” he said.

Hariri Returns to Beirut, Opens Second Airport Expansion Phase
Naharnet/August 20/2019
Prime Minister Saad Hariri opened on Tuesday the second expansion phase of the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut in a move to ease congestion at the airport. The PM inaugurated the phase as soon as he landed in Beirut returning from a visit to the United States. Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan, Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos accompanied Hariri in the opening. Hariri told reporters after the opening that “improvements are aimed at easing the procedures for passengers which we have been working on for a while now.” The new phase aimed at easing congestion, at the only operational commercial airport in the country, installed six new scanners to the two current ones in the departures area. The first phase in July installed baggage scanners and 12 General Security counters to the 22 currently in the departures area.

Berri: 'Deal of the Century' an attempt to liquidate Palestinian Cause
NNA/Tuesday 20 August/2019
Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, met Tuesday at his Ain-el-Tineh residence, with a delegation of Amal Movement's students in Iranian universities. "The lack of unity, losing direction towards the real conflict with the enemy, and the inability to segregate enemies from friends might undermine all the achievements that we have made thus far," Berri told his guests. "Unfortunately, this is what is happening now with the 'century of the deal,' which is, in a nutshell, a blatant attempt to liquidate the Palestinian Cause," he added. Berri later met with Iraqi Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Bandar al-Ameri, who came on a farewell visit upon the end of his diplomatic mission in Beirut. The Speaker also received Head of the Banking Control Commission of Lebanon, Samir Hammoud, with whom he discussed the current financial and economic situation in the country. Berri later met with MPs Mohammad Raad and Ali Ammar accompanied by Hezbollah's candidate to the parliamentary byelections in Tyre district, Hassan Ezzeddine.

Hariri inaugurates new measures at Airport: The government will work hard in the coming days
NNA/Tuesday 20 August/2019
The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri deplored the populist logic adopted by some in dealing with the garbage file, pointing out that this is not the way to solve this problem.
He said: "We are all concerned and all regions should cooperate and tolerate each other," adding that the government will work hard in the coming days.
Hariri said that the government will work with the concerned ministers to facilitate the travel of citizens from and to Rafic Hariri International Airport and will take all the necessary measures to achieve this goal.
Hariri’s words came as he inspected the progress of the expansion works in Rafic Hariri International Airport, which are expected to be completed in two weeks.
He made the tour shortly after arriving to Beirut coming from the United States.
The Ministers of Information Jamal Jarrah, Public Works and Transport Youssef Fenianos, Tourism Avedis Guidanian, Economy Mansour Bteish, and Interior Rayya al-Hassan, the Chairman of the public works parliamentary committee Nazih Najm, former MP Ghazi Youssef, the Director General of Civil Aviation Mohamad Chehabeddine, the Director General of the Internal Security Forces Major General Imad Osman, the Chairman of Middle East Airlines Mohamed Al Hout, the Head of the Airport Fadi Al Hassan, the Chairman of the High Relief Committee Major General Mohamed Kheir, the Airport Security Commander Brigadier Georges Doumit, the Head of General Security at the Airport Brigadier General Walid Aoun, the Commander of the Internal Security Forces at the airport Colonel Ali Taha, the Head of the Customs Authority at the Airport Samer Dia, the Vice President of the airport Yousef Tannous, Hariri’s advisor Fadi Fawaz, Marwan Kobrosli of Dar Al Handasah, in addition to administrative and security officials at the airport accompanied him.
Hariri, the Ministers and the airport officials inspected the ongoing work and the new procedures taken to facilitate movement in the airport.
After that, Hariri held a press conference at the General Directorate of Civil Aviation, where he said: "I wanted to inspect the expansion works to facilitate the entry and exit of travelers. We have been working on this for a while and I know that the travelers using Rafic Hariri Airport are suffering from this problem. I also wanted to inspect the progress made at the inspection points. We, as a government still have a lot to do, whether the ministry of public works, the ministry of interior and all the concerned ministries, so that the traveler can use the airport more easily. Unfortunately there was a delay that resulted in losses. We must spend money on the airport, which brings us a large income, especially in the field of maintenance. We must work to develop the airport in light of the expected increase in the number of passengers. I thank all the concerned ministers for the work they are doing, and I urge them to do more because the Lebanese citizen will hold us accountable and we have to respect his opinion and provide his needs. The government will work hard in the coming days, Things are back to normal and even better."
Question: After your meetings with American officials, are there US sanctions on people close to Hezbollah, especially Christian ministers?
Hariri: First, I am not the one who determines the US sanctions. These are some of the accusations I have been hearing of since the beginning but I do not think this will happen. The US administration is very clear in its approach to this issue, and the sanctions it imposes on some states, figures, institutions or associations are clear. Is Lebanon targeted? We have a very good relation with the US Treasury Department and we are following it closely. I went there and so did the Association of Banks and a parliamentary delegation. Everyone followed up this issue and I think it will not happen, but I cannot confirm it.
Question: There will be a new ranking for Lebanon on the 23rd of this month. Is there a fear of downgrading Lebanon’s raking?
Hariri: We have been working on the subject of ranking for some time, whether me personally, or the President, the Minister of Finance or the Minister of Economy. I think we did a good job. The figures of the 2019 budget were good and now we are working to finish the 2020 budget within the constitutional deadlines. This gives the impression to the international financial institutions that Lebanon is serious. Our problem in the past was that we said something and did another. But now we are showing the institutions that what we carry out our promises, whether in the laws, budgets or the figures we want to reach. So I hope things will be positive.
Question: What is your response to the negative campaign on the positive results of your visit to Washington?
Hariri: This is normal in Lebanon and anyone who does a positive thing is met with negativity.
Question: Were your statements on Walid Jumblatt misinterpreted and did you announce a new position in Washington?
Hariri: I want to be clear on this issue. Anyone who touches any political party touches us. The question was: Is there a physical threat on Walid Jumblatt and I said that anyone who threatens him personally and physically threatens us all as political parties. I think that any politician would give the same answer to this question.
Question: Did you smell the garbage when you arrived at Beirut airport and is there a solution to the waste crisis?
Hariri: First this is the smell of the Ghadir station, and we are establishing a station there. This is known by all the Lebanese. I talked in the United States about the issue of waste. I will say it clearly: The Muslim is not ready to accept the waste of the Christian and vice versa. Isn’t this a racist logic? You in the media should make awareness campaigns. Everyone is being populist. All the Lebanese, whether Christians or Muslims, are concerned and all regions should cooperate and help each other. Are we supposed to build an electricity plant for Sunnis, another one for Shiites and another one for Maronites? We should be ashamed of the way we are dealing with this issue.
To go back to the airport issue, there is a new system that is being put so the airport can become like the airports of Europe and the countries you visit. When these systems are installed, those working on these systems should be trained to work on them and this needs time. Unfortunately there were political disputes but now these disputes ended and we will continue the work. We must speed up the work and this is why I came to the airport to follow up this issue personally. -------PM Press Office

Hariri chairs meeting of ministerial committee tasked with waste dossier
NNA/Tuesday 20 August/2019
Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, chaired Tuesday at the Grand Serail a meeting for the ministerial committee tasked with the waste dossier. The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani and Ministers Ali Hassan Khalil, Youssef Fenianos, Nada Boustani, Raya Hassan, Fadi Jreissati, Akram Shehayev and May Chidiac, in addition to Head of the Council for Development and Reconstruction, Nabil Jisr, and a number of experts and advisors. Hariri had earlier met with Lebanon's Ambassador to Ghana, Maher Kheir.

Arslan participates in 'Strong Lebanon' meeting, calls for serious security plan in Mount Lebanon
NNA/Tuesday 20 August/2019
Head of the Lebanese Democratic Party, MP Talal Arslan, on Tuesday renewed calls to adopt a serious security plan to clinch stability in the Mount Lebanon region. "During Baabda meeting, we highlighted the importance of devising a serious security plan for the Mount to clinch security and stability in this region," Arslan told reporters following his participation in the "Strong Lebanon" bloc's weekly meeting. "Baabda meeting is the first step in the political course, but we still need several steps to achieve real partnership in Mount Lebanon," he said.
"The Mount's particularity lies within coexistence and partnership, and we are keen on cooperation with everybody," he added.
Arslan also hoped that the page of security tension had been turned, stressing that state must shoulder its responsibilities and implement the recommendations of Baabda meeting.

Two Lebanese convicted over acquiring Israeli enemy nationality
NNA/Tuesday 20 August/2019
The military court, chaired by General Gerges Tahoum, on Tuesday convicted two Lebanese, Abdellatif Hammoud and Hoda Shaaban, over collaboration with the Israeli enemy and the acquisition of the Israeli nationality. Both were sentenced to ten-year imprisonment with hard labor.

Bassil Vows to Continue Botched Mt. Lebanon Visit
Naharnet/August 20/2019
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Tuesday promised to continue a botched visit to the Chouf and Aley districts which was marred by a deadly incident in the town of Qabrshmoun. “We regret what happened in Mt. Lebanon and we regret the time we wasted until we scored a victory for the approach of the state,” Bassil said after the weekly meeting of the Strong Lebanon bloc. “The judicial course will continue and we want justice, equality and the approach of the law, and we have all offered sacrifices due to the country’s situation,” Bassil added. “We will make a second visit to Mount Lebanon and we insist on continuing the visit that was cut short to Chouf and Khalde with a spirit of love and partnership,” Bassil went on to say. Supporters of the Progressive Socialist Party had blocked roads during Bassil’s recent visit to the Aley and Chouf districts to prevent him from touring the region. The road-blocking protests later escalated into an armed clash between PSP supporters and the bodyguards of State Minister for Refugee Affairs Saleh al-Gharib whose convoy was passing in the town of Qabrshmoun, which left two bodyguards dead and two other people wounded. The incident forced Bassil to cut short his tour. Separately, the FPM chief called for an “economic state of emergency” and an “economic dialogue table that would be binding for everyone.” “We cannot approach the 2020 state budget in the same way the 2019 budget was approached,” he warned. As for the upcoming administrative appointments, Bassil said: “Our choice is clear on a comprehensive civil state and until the realization of this choice, we will not give up full parity (between Christians and Muslims).”

Mustaqbal Slams Those who 'Opened Fire' at Hariri's U.S. Visit
Naharnet/August 20/2019
Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday lashed out at parties who “opened fire” at Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s visit to Washington, as it called for resuming dialogue over a national defense strategy. “The bloc condemns some stances and hypotheses that accompanied the Washington visit and approached it based on partisan calculations and narrow wishes,” Mustaqbal said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting. “The prime minister’s missions will not be subject to any local or foreign agendas other than the agenda of the Lebanese state’s higher interests,” the bloc stressed. “Instead of rushing to open fire at the Washington visit, the circles of skepticism, obstruction and incitement should have paid attention to the positivities that serve Lebanon’s interest, which were mentioned by the U.S. secretary of state and the chief of the World Bank, who lauded the encouraging remarks he heard from PM Hariri and announced the Bank’s commitment to supporting Lebanon’s growth and economic rise,” Mustaqbal added. Separately, the bloc said that the issue of the national defense strategy should be a “permanent item on the agenda of national dialogue meetings." “In this regard, it will be in the national interest to send positive messages to Lebanon’s partners and friends that reiterate the state’s commitment to strengthening legitimate institutions and protecting the lines of support that are earmarked for the Lebanese army and security institutions,” Mustaqbal added.

PSP Says ‘No Dispute...Only Political Differences’ with FPM
Naharnet/August 20/2019
Progressive Socialist Party MP Bilal Abdullah stressed there was “no sharp dispute” with the Free Patriotic Movement, but only some “political differences over some files.” “No need to launch a reconciliation with the FPM. President Michel Aoun (FPM founder) has affirmed the Mountain Reconciliation -- between the Druze and Christians,” said Abdullah. The MP emphasized that contacts are constant between PSP and FPM deputies and ministers. On Monday, Aoun pledged developmental projects for the Chouf and Aley regions as he stressed the importance of Christian-Druze unity there. His move came after a deadly incident in a town in Aley that sparked tension between the two. On the economic situation in Lebanon, Abdullah said that launching the “economic wheel” is essential for Lebanon. “The solution starts with a minimum of national awareness and rise above clientelism and selfishness,” he said, adding “it would be a problem if we do not have the will to launch the economic wheel in the country.”

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 20-21/2019
US says it has blocked billions of dollars from reaching Iran and its proxies
Arab News/August 20/2019
LONDON: The US has blocked billions of dollars from reaching Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a senior State Department official said Tuesday. The elite force, which spearheads Tehran’s aggressive regional policies, has been the chief target of wide-ranging sanctions from the Trump administration.  It has been blamed for a number of attacks on international shipping in or near the Strait of Hormuz in recent months as tensions have escalated between Iran and both its Arab and Western rivals.  In a briefing on Middle East security, Brian Hook, the US Special Representative for Iran, said the regime and its proxies are weaker today than when Donald Trump took office. Hook said Iran’s military budget went down 10 percent during the first year of his administration and 28 percent during the second year. That included a 17 percent cut for the IRGC and its foreign wing the Quds Force, he said.
“We are telling Iran that it is not acceptable to provide lethal assistance on a regular basis to terrorist organizations,” Hook said. Responding to questions about US attempts to halt the release of an Iranian oil tanker from Gibraltar, Hook said as long as Iran was moving illicit oil around the world to fund its terrorist operations it is important to do something about it. “This regime, unlike most regime’s in the world, uses oil revenue to support terrorism and to fund terrorist organizations and to fund its missile program,” Hook said He was speaking ahead of an address to the UN Security Council by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo focussed on Iran.Pompeo told MSNBC earlier that the US had removed nearly 2.7 million barrels of Iranian oil from global markets as a result of Washington's decision to reimpose sanctions on all purchases of Iran's crude. He said the move had denied “Iran the wealth to create their terror campaign around the world, and we have managed to keep the oil markets fully supplied.”The US started ramping up sanctions on Iran after withdrawing last year from an international accord to limit Tehran’s nuclear program.*With Reuters

Hook: US sanctions deny Iran the revenue it needs to fund its proxies
Staff writer, Al Arabiya/EnglishTuesday, 20 August 2019
The United States envoy on Iran, Brian Hook, said on Tuesday that sanctions have denied the Iranian regime the revenues it needs to fund Tehran’s proxies in the Middle East. “We have worked with partners in the region to deny Iran the revenue that it needs to run its foreign policy and to fund its proxies,” Hook told reporters during a press briefing at the New York Foreign Press Center. “We have prevented billions of dollars from reaching the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian Treasury … Iran used to transfer $700 million to Hezbollah annually,” Hook said. Comments made by Washington’s special representative on Iran came as Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is expected to visit Paris and meet with his counterpart and the French president on Friday. Responding to US sanctions – as well as perceived inaction by European partners to counter the measures – Iran announced in May it would stop observing restrictions on its stocks of enriched uranium and heavy water agreed under the deal. Responding to a question on Zarif, Hook cast doubt on Iran’s claim of self-defense and described the Iranian foreign minister’s statements as falsehoods. “You will often hear Iran Foreign Minister Zarif say that their policies are meant to be in self-defense. It is hard for me to understand how the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism is entitled to a claim of self-defense,” Hook said.

US Secretary of State Pompeo: Release of Iranian tanker ‘unfortunate’
Reuters, Washington/Tuesday, 20 August 2019
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a television interview on Monday that it was unfortunate an Iranian oil tanker detained off Gibraltar had been allowed to leave. “It’s unfortunate that that happened,” Pompeo told Fox News Channel. He added that if Iran is successful in making profit from the tanker’s oil cargo, its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will have “more money, more wealth, more resources to continue their terror campaign.”Earlier on Monday, a State Department official said that the United States has conveyed its “strong position” to the Greek government about an Iranian tanker that sailed for Greece on Monday after it was freed from detention off Gibraltar and Washington says is carrying oil to Syria. Any efforts to assist the tanker could be considered as providing material support to a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, which has immigration and potential criminal consequences, the official said. The official said the tanker was assisting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the United States has designated as a terrorist organization, by transporting oil to Syria. The official said the United States had conveyed its “strong position” to the Greek government, as well as to all ports in the Mediterranean about facilitating the tanker.On Monday, marine tracking data showed that the Iranian tanker held by Gibraltar since July after being the center of a diplomatic dispute has left port, and is heading to the Greek island of Kalamata, and was scheduled to arrive next Sunday.
British Royal Marines seized the vessel in Gibraltar in July on suspicion that it was carrying oil to Syria, a close ally of Iran, in violation of European Union sanctions.

Greece Says Has Had No Request from Iranian Oil Tanker to Dock
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 20 August, 2019
Greece said on Tuesday it had not had a request for an oil tanker at the center of a row between Iran and the US to dock at one of its ports, as Washington warned Greece against helping the vessel. The Adrian Darya 1 — formerly the Grace 1 — left Gibraltar on August 18. Ship-tracking data on Tuesday showed the vessel was heading towards the Greek port of Kalamata on the southern coast of the Peloponnese and was scheduled to arrive on August 26. “The vessel is cruising at low speed and there is still no formal announcement that it will arrive at Kalamata. The Merchant Marine Ministry is monitoring the matter along with Greece’s Foreign Ministry,” a shipping ministry spokesman said, according to Reuters. The ship was released from detention off Gibraltar after a five-week standoff over whether it was carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. Soon after the detention order was lifted, a US federal court ordered the seizure of the vessel on different grounds, but that petition was rejected by Gibraltar. Tehran said any US move to seize the vessel again would have “heavy consequences”. Earlier, the United States said it had conveyed its “strong position” to the Greek government over the tanker, which is carrying about 2 million barrels of oil. The issue will be a major foreign policy test for Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a pro-western conservative elected in July. Any efforts to assist the tanker could be construed as providing material support to a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, which has immigration and potential criminal consequences, a US State Department official said. A Greek diplomatic source cited by the state Athens News Agency said the country was in communication with the United States on the matter, but did not say what Greece would do. “(The US) position on the specific issue is known and has been communicated not only to Greece but other states and ports in the Mediterranean.” It is standard practice for a vessel to give notice 48 hours before docking at a port, Greek officials said. It was unclear where the ship might head if Greece refused it permission to dock. Cyprus, further east, has bitter experience from seizing Iranian products destined for Syria; munitions it confiscated exploded in 2011, causing the island’s worst peace-time disaster. Washington wants the tanker detained on the grounds that it had links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, which it has designated a terrorist organization. European Union nations ban oil sales to Syria and the United States has sanctions on Iranian oil sales.

Blasts hit militia group position near Iraq’s Balad air base: Security sources
Reuters, Tikrit/Tuesday, 20 August 2019
Several blasts hit a position held by Iraqi Shiite paramilitaries next to Balad air base north of Baghdad on Tuesday, an Iraqi military official and a source in a paramilitary group said. Balad base hosts US forces and contractors and is located about 80 km north of Baghdad. An Iraqi Shiite militia group, which is backed by Iran, is stationed nearby. The military official said the intended target of the blasts was the militia's position near the base. The paramilitary source said his group's weapons depot was specifically targeted by an aerial bombardment. The US-led coalition could not immediately be reached for comment. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Witnesses said the explosions caused stored rockets to fly into nearby orchards and into Balad base itself.

Russian-Turkish air dogfight over North Syria narrowly avoided. Erdogan defies Putin
DEBKAfile/August 20/2019
As the Syrian army advanced against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham rebel forces in the key southern Idlib town of Khan Sheikhoun, Turkish Air Force F-16 fighters on Tuesday, Aug. 20 flew over the battle scene, causing Russian Su-35 fighters at the Khmeimim air base near Latakia to scramble in response. They warned the Turkish pilots to withdraw or else be shot down. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the Russians accompanied their ultimatum by positioning the S-300 and S-400 air defense batteries deployed at the base at the ready. A short time later, when the Turkish air crews saw the Russian Su-35s flying alongside, they turned tail and left Syrian air space. Western military sources tracking the fighting in Idlib believe that, although the Turkish pilots were told to break contact with their Russian pursuers on Tuesday, they may try again if the rebel force supported by Ankara falls back under the Russian-backed Syrian government offensive. The danger of a direct Turkish-Russian air engagement is therefore likely to recur. The last Turkish-Syrian aerial showdown occurred four years ago when, on Nov. 25, 2015, a Turkish F-16 fighter downed a Russian Su-24M strike plane over northern Syria. The crisis in Russian-Turkish relations lasted for several months. Our sources stress that Turkish President Recep Erdogan is evidently determined at all costs to thwart the Syrian-Russian drive in Idlib, so much as that he is willing to take on President Vladimir Putin in head-on operations to achieve his ends.
A colonel from a Syrian rebel faction confirmed that fighters from a Turkish-backed rebel force have joined the defense of Khan Sheikhoun. Our sources identify this force as a Turkman militia which fights under Turkish officers. According to earlier reports, a Syrian government air strike failed to stop a Turkish convoy heading to the northern Syrian town of Morek. The convoy is reported to have included about 50 armored vehicles, at least five of which were tanks.

Anti-Assad fighters withdraw from Khan Sheikhoun: Syrian observatory
Agencies/Tuesday, 20 August 2019
Anti-Assad fighters withdrew from the town of Khan Sheikhoun, and villages and towns in the northern Hama province after government troops advanced in the area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday. Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, had advanced into the town of Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib late on Monday. The town had been in rebel hands since 2014. The opposition's territorial foothold in the neighboring Hama province dates back to the earliest days of the eight-year-long conflict. The withdrawal means an important Turkish observation point in the town of Morek is effectively surrounded by regime forces, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. Meanwhile, the Syrian extremist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said rebel fighters had redeployed in the southern part of the town of Khan Sheikhoun and still controlled towns in adjoining area of Hama province. “After ferocious bombardment by the criminal enemy forces ... the mujahideen last night repositioned in the south of Khan Sheikhoun town with the southern part still under the control of the mujahideen,” the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group said in a statement distributed on its Telegram channel.

Turkey says it will not move military observation post in Syria
Reuters/Tuesday, 20 August 2019
Turkey will not move the military observation post in northwest Syria that a Turkish convoy was trying to reach when it came under attack during an offensive by the Syrian army, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday. An airstrike on the Turkish military convoy on Monday killed three civilians as it was heading south towards the observation point, Turkey’s defense ministry said. “Right now we don’t have an intention such as moving this elsewhere,” Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara. “It will carry on with its mission,” he said, adding that necessary security and military measures were being taken. The observation point was one of 12 set up by Turkey in northwest Syria under an agreement with Russia and Iran aimed at reducing fighting in Syria’s northwest. Moscow and Tehran strongly support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, while Turkey backs some rebel fighters in the region.
Cavusoglu said Turkey was in contact with Russia “at every level” following Monday’s incident to implement a ceasefire in the Idlib region of northwest Syria. “We will do whatever is necessary for the security of our own soldiers and observation posts,” he added. Syrian government forces stepped up military operations in the area four months ago. The offensive has killed hundreds of people and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee towards the Turkish border. Turkey fears the fighting will trigger a further influx of Syrian refugees, 3.6 million of whom already live in Turkey. The Turkish Defense Ministry said the convoy which came under attack on Monday had been sent to keep open supply routes and ensure the safety of the observation post, which could become cut off by the latest Syrian army offensive. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said Syrian rebels had withdrawn from several positions in the last 24 hours. Those who had stayed behind in the area had gathered at the Turkish military position in the town of Morek, it said.

Syria regime forces enter Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, sources say
Reuters, Beirut/Tuesday, 20 August 2019
Syrian army troops and their allies entered Khan Sheikhoun in northwest Syria, advancing against militants in the town where ground battles raged on Monday night, a monitor and an opposition source said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitoring group, said the army seized the town’s northern and eastern districts. The source, from one of the opposition factions there, said pro-government forces entered only part of the town and militants were waging fierce battles to fend them off. Earlier on Monday, Syrian state media said that a Turkish convoy loaded with munitions crossed into northwest Syria, to help insurgents fighting a government advance in the town of Khan Sheikhoun.

Anti-Assad Fighters Withdraw from Key Area in Northwest Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 20/2019
Jihadists and allied rebels withdrew from a key area of northwestern Syria Tuesday as President Bashar al-Assad's forces pressed an offensive against the jihadist-run Idlib region, a war monitor said. The town of Khan Sheikhun on the region's southern edge has been a key goal for the government as it lies on the main highway through Idlib province connecting the capital Damascus with second city Aleppo. After eight years of civil war, the Idlib region on the border with Turkey is the last major stronghold of opposition to the Russia-backed Damascus government. Since January, it has been administered by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is led by jihadists from Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate. The region of some three million people was supposed to be protected by a buffer zone deal signed last year by Moscow and rebel backer Ankara, but government and Russian forces have subjected it to heavy bombardment since late April, killing more than 860 civilians. And in recent weeks, regime forces have inched forward, nibbling away at the southern edges of the bastion. In the early hours of Tuesday, anti-Assad fighters pulled back from Khan Sheikun and the countryside to its south, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The withdrawal means an important Turkish observation point in the nearby town of Morek as well as a string of surrounding villages are effectively surrounded by government forces, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. All roads leading out of the area are either controlled by government forces or within range of their guns, he said. But an HTS spokesman denied its forces had withdrawn from the countryside around Morek, saying they had regrouped in the south of Khan Sheikhun after heavy bombardment.
'Clear warning'
Khan Sheikhun -- which has been emptied of its residents in the face of the air strikes and shelling of recent months -- lies on the main Damascus-Aleppo highway, which has long been a key government objective. On Monday, a Turkish military convoy of around 50 armoured vehicles crossed the border into Idlib and headed south along the highway. The deployment drew condemnation from Damascus while Ankara alleged an air strike had targeted its troops. The convoy was at a standstill just north of Khan Sheikhun on Tuesday, after government forces cut the road on into the town. An AFP correspondent said air strikes and machine gunfire from government helicopters peppered the road leading north to the town of Maaret al-Noman on Tuesday. Pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said Monday morning's strike targeted a rebel vehicle scouting the road in front of the Turkish convoy.
"The Syrian army in its own way sent a clear message to the Turkish regime by forcing convoys sent by Ankara to help the terrorists in Khan Sheikhun to come to a halt," it said. It was a "clear warning against any Turkish attempt to resuscitate the terrorists".The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011. Successive rounds of UN-backed peace talks have failed to stem the bloodshed, and in recent years been overshadowed by a parallel negotiations track led by Russia and Turkey, dubbed the Astana process.
'Pressure Turkey'?
Under the September deal, Turkish troops were to monitor a planned buffer zone around Idlib after jihadists had withdrawn from it -- but the pullout failed to materialise. Analyst Sam Heller said the government's latest advance had shown Turkish monitoring points might complicate its recapture of territory, but could not prevent it. "It's not yet clear what Damascus and Moscow will do next," said the expert with the International Crisis Group think-tank. It is unclear "if they will seize the opportunity to take more areas, or stop to consolidate their new positions and put some pressure on Ankara" to implement its side of the buffer zone deal, he told AFP. Fellow analyst Samuel Ramani said the government's accusation of Turkish support for its opponents could provide a "pretext for further Syrian army incursions". "It allows Damascus to make Turkey, not the Syrian army, appear like the chief violators of the deconfliction agreement," he told AFP. But "for Russia, holding the Astana coalition together is a chief priority," he said. Aid organisations have warned repeatedly that any large-scale government offensive to retake Idlib would spark one of the worst humanitarian crises of the war.

China Warns on IS Revival in Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 20/2019
China's Syria envoy said Tuesday that "terrorist organisations" including the Islamic State group are being revived in the war-ravaged country, urging the international community not to ignore the "early warning" signs. Xie Xiaoyan, Beijing's pointman for the Syrian conflict, made the comments after meeting in Geneva with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir O. Pedersen. "There is now a danger of terrorist organisations like ISIS being revived," Xie told reporters, using another acronym for IS.  "The international community should pay attention." IS overran large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a "caliphate" there, but offensives in both countries reclaimed the territory. Xie's Geneva visit came as concern mounts over a possible major offensive by President Bashar al-Assad's forces on Idlib, a jihadist-run area in the northwest which is the last major opposition stronghold in Syria. The UN has warned that an assault on Idlib could trigger a humanitarian catastrophe.  Idlib has for several years served as a reception zone for those escaping government advances elsewhere in the country, who now number in their hundreds of thousands. Today they have nowhere to run in case of a full assault on Idlib. Asked about Beijing's position on a prospective of such an assault and the humanitarian fallout, Xie described the issue as "very complicated". "We all know that this is the last stronghold of some of the terrorist organisations... so this is an issue that needs to be dealt with," he said. "The fight against terrorism is not finished yet."
Since January, Idlib has been administered by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is led by jihadists from Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate.

Egypt Says Security Forces Kill 11 Militants in Sinai
Reuters, Washington/Tuesday, 20 August 2019
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Tuesday that ISIS militants are gaining strength in some areas but said the terrorist group’s capacity to conduct attacks has been diminished. “It’s complicated. There are certainly places where ISIS is more powerful today than they were three or four years ago,” Pompeo said in an interview with CBS “This Morning.” But he said the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate is gone and its attack capability has been made much more difficult. The group claimed responsibility for a wedding suicide attack that killed 63 people and wounded 182 on Saturday in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
Egyptian security forces killed 11 militants in the restive North Sinai region, the interior ministry said Tuesday, 18 months into an operation against an Islamic State group affiliate based there. The "terrorist elements", armed with weapons and explosives, were killed in a shootout during a raid on their hideout near a police station in the provincial capital El-Arish, the ministry said in a statement. According to intelligence from the national security department, the militants used the hideout as "a base to launch their hostile operations," it added. Egypt has for years been fighting an insurgency in North Sinai, which escalated following the military's 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi following mass protests. Since then, hundreds of police officers and soldiers have been killed in jihadist attacks. In February 2018, the army launched a nationwide operation against the militants, focusing mainly on North Sinai. Some 650 militants and around 45 soldiers have been killed since, according to a tally based on statements by the armed forces. No independently verified death toll is available and the region is largely cut off to journalists. However the Egyptian government has recently begun organizing occasional media visits, closely supervised by the military.

U.N.'s Yemen Envoy Warns of Threat of Partition
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 20/2019
The U.N.'s special envoy to Yemen warned Tuesday that the war-ravaged country faced the prospect of breaking apart unless an agreement ending the decades-long conflict is found urgently. Martin Griffiths told the U.N. Security Council that there is "no time to lose" in brokering a peace deal to bring the fighting to a close."The fragmentation of Yemen is becoming a stronger and more pressing threat," the British diplomat said via videolink from Jordan. "The stakes are becoming too high for the future of Yemen, the Yemeni people and the wider region. Yemen cannot wait," he added. Griffiths comments came as Yemeni separatists drove government troops out of two military camps in deadly clashes in Abyan province Tuesday, reinforcing their presence in the south after they seized the de facto capital Aden. Griffiths condemned the recent takeover of Aden by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in clashes that reflected the independence ambitions of southern Yemen and left around 40 people dead. "We certainly cannot underestimate the risks that these events pose for the future of the country," Griffiths told delegates. "No country can tolerate the stresses of internal conflict indefinitely," he added saying the war must be brought to an end "swiftly and peacefully."The separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) and government forces have been fighting the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels in a years-long war that has pushed the country to the brink of famine. A spike in tensions between the two has constrained their cooperation in the fight against the Huthis, however. The conflict has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people and displaced around 3.3 million since 2015. Two-thirds of the population -- about 20 million people -- require humanitarian support, according to the United Nations. South Yemen was a separate state until it merged with the north in 1990. Four years later, an armed secession bid ended in occupation by northern forces, giving rise to resentments which persist to this day. A Saudi-led military coalition, which has backed pro-government forces against the Huthi rebels since 2015, sent a delegation to Aden last week to discuss the new front in the crisis. In his address Tuesday, Griffiths welcomed efforts by Saudi Arabia to convene a dialogue in Jeddah to discuss the current situation and resolve its difficulties.

Algeria Protest Movement Marks Six Months, at an Impasse
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 20/2019
Algerians launched an unprecedented protest movement in February, filling the streets of cities across the country and forcing the president out of office. Six months later, the movement is still going strong in the face of unyielding powers. The progress already made is "irreversible", said Said Salhi, vice president of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights and a prominent figure in the protest movement."The Algerian people cannot go back," he said.
What's been achieved?
The Algerian protesters have "already accomplished more than many observers expected", according to the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) think tank. The greatest feat was the resignation on April 2 of president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in power for 20 years, whose bid for a fifth term had sparked the protests. In addition, several "widely disliked" regime officials and businessmen, long suspected of corruption though considered untouchable, are now behind bars. Since Bouteflika stepped down, the movement has pushed for a complete overhaul of the political system. The high command of the army, weakened under the former leader, has meanwhile gained prominence. The country's leadership is now being challenged by a society that has realised its collective strength, experts say, and rediscovered the freedom of expression it was long deprived of. "Freedom of speech, even within state institutions" is one of the "undeniable benefits", Algerian academic Mohamed Hennad said. Louisa Dris-Ait Hamadouche, professor of political science at the University of Algiers, pointed to "the realisation of what is now politically unacceptable" among Algerians. She also noted "the rise in aspirations to a new level... (and) the awareness of the power of mobilisation."The movement has led to an end of the "usual divisions" between generations or men and women, she added.
What do Algerians want?
For weeks now the situation in the country has appeared to be in deadlock. "Government efforts to placate the public through small, largely symbolic actions... have only fuelled demand for more comprehensive change," the ISS said. For powerful army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, the "fundamental demands" of the movement have been "entirely" satisfied. On August 2 he "categorically" rejected pre-conditions to launching talks with protesters, who have continued to call for his resignation and that of other Bouteflika-era insiders. Authorities have rebuffed the call for total reform of the state, arguing presidential polls are the only way forward. Elections planned for July 4 were postponed, after the only two candidates -- both little-known -- were rejected. Demonstrators remain opposed to polls organised before broader political changes, and have so far maintained a united front. Algerians would "reject an election that leads to the reproduction of the system", Dris-Ait Hamadouche said. In an effort to garner support for an election, an ad hoc advisory body was established to set the conditions. But it has struggled to establish legitimacy and is the subject of vitriol at weekly Friday protests.
What's next?
The ISS and other experts say what will happen next is unclear. The "uncertainty is exacerbated by a worsening stand-off between the protest movement and the government", the ISS said. For Hennad, "the outcome (of the crisis) will depend on several factors and unforseen events that we have no control over". But for now, he said the movement shows no sign of losing steam. In the face of leaders' "stubbornness", he would not rule out protesters using other methods such as acts of civil disobedience or strikes. "Civil disobedience is coming!" demonstrators shouted at rallies earlier this month in Algiers. A large security presence has accompanied protests, but few anticipate the brutal intervention by the army seen in previous decades. Salhi said the protest movement was determined to keep up the pressure as it seeks a "negotiated solution". "We do not want chaos and the collapse of the state. We want a transition. We want a break with the old system," he said.

U.S. Taliban Negotiator Returning to Doha for More Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 20/2019
U.S. diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad is heading to Doha, Qatar on Tuesday for more talks with the Taliban as signs of a possible Afghanistan peace deal emerge, the State Department announced. After talks in Doha, Khalilzad will travel to Kabul where he "will consult with the leadership of the Afghan government on the peace process and encourage full preparation for intra-Afghan negotiations," the department said.

Italy PM Says to Resign as Political Crisis Comes to a Head
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 20/2019
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Tuesday he would resign, lashing out at far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for pursuing his own interests by pulling the plug on the government coalition.
"I'm ending this government experience here... I will go to the president of the republic (Sergio Mattarella) to inform him of my resignation", after a Senate debate, Conte said after an almost hour-long speech to the chamber. "It is irresponsible to initiate a government crisis," Conte said after Salvini began his efforts to bring down the government in the hope of snap elections he sees will make him premier. Conte was speaking following a week of fallout from Salvini's decision to back out of the alliance between his League party and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement on August 8, plunging the eurozone's third-largest economy into political turmoil. After Conte announced his intention to resign, Senate speaker Elisabette Casellati told Salvini to leave the government bench and join his party's Senators, where Salvini said: "Thank you, finally, I would do it all again.""The Italians vote with their heads and hearts," Salvini said, invoking the Virgin Mary to "protect the Italian people" and repeating his call for snap elections while also making a final appeal to M5S. "If you want to cut the number of parliamentarians and then go to elections, we're there. If we are to draw up a courageous budget, we there," he said. Caught on the back foot, Salvini last week made the surprise offer to back a key M5S proposal to cut the number of lawmakers from 950 to 605, but only if new elections were then swiftly held. "Making citizens vote is the essence of democracy, asking them to vote every year is irresponsible," Conte said as League senators booed and hissed. "I heard you calling for 'full powers' and invoke (demonstrations in) the piazzas to support you, which worries me," Conte said. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in 1922 assumed so-called full powers to govern the country at his whim. A small group of protesters heckled League senators as they arrived at the Senate. "Get out, buffoons, get out mafia," the protesters shouted, prompting a League senator to wave his middle finger at them. Other protesters held banners reading "I'm with Salvini".
The end of the 14-month-old government opens the way for Mattarella to begin consultations with political parties, with a range of options available. A snap election, the forming of a new coalition without holding a new vote and, although unlikely, the continuation of the current government, would all be considered. As leader of the far-right League, Salvini has proudly promoted his nationalist, anti-immigrant agenda and his blunt attacks against migrants, gay marriage and Islam have helped his party soar in opinion polls.
Debt-laden economy
The political crisis has raised concerns about the Italian economy, whose debt ratio at 132 percent of gross domestic product is the second-biggest in the eurozone after Greece. Since the unwieldy government was formed in June 2018, uncertainty under the coalition has cost the country an extra five billion euros ($5.54 billion) in interest on its debt. Salvini's plan for a snap election -- more than three years early -- had envisioned a vote in October followed by him being crowned as prime minister. According to opinion polls, the League could form a coalition with the anti-immigration, anti-LGBT Brothers of Italy, and possibly Silvio Berlusconi's center-right Forza Italia. But a bid by his rivals to put aside their differences and forge an alliance could derail Salvini's plan, with a coalition between M5S and the opposition center-left Democratic Party (PD) being discussed. While there is bad blood between the two parties, M5S is languishing in the polls and wants to avoid an early election. A PD-M5S coalition could lead to the opposite of what Salvini intended -- with him out of government altogether instead of being its sole leader.
'Untrustworthy traitor'
According to some analysts, Conte could also stay on as premier while trying to form an alliance with PD. M5S leader Luigi Di Maio sent an open letter on Tuesday calling for Conte to take this option, describing him as a "rare pearl, a servant of the nation that Italy cannot lose."
Salvini has been furious at the idea of being squeezed out by a M5S-PD alliance, saying he would get his supporters to "peacefully take to the streets" if it came about, although he made no mention of this call in the Senate. But M5S founder, the comedian Beppe Grillo, has rejected talk of reconciliation with Salvini, whom he reportedly described as an "untrustworthy traitor."

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 20-21/2019
Denmark: How to Deal with Integration?
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/August 20/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14563/denmark-immigration-integration
How does a society deal with religious institutions that profess values which are the very opposite of the value system of the Western society in which they live?
"When I was in high school, there were around 50,000 people with a non-Western background in Denmark. Today, there are almost half a million. In one generation, our country has changed". — Lars Løkke Rasmussen, then prime minister of Denmark, January 1, 2019.
The Integration Barometer -- which measures the degree of assimilation in the municipality among young people with a non-Western background -- showed that almost one third of 18-29 year-olds (31%) believe that "religious and cultural laws must be adhered to, even though they may be contrary to [Danish] law". The issue, then, is whether these young people believe that Islamic sharia law should take precedence over Danish law.... In addition, the number of youths who view democracy in a positive light has fallen from 86% in 2016 to 79% in 2018.
It recently came to light... that a committee under the government's Ministry of Church Affairs, which is responsible for formally approving mosques in Denmark, has been handing out approvals for them without knowing "whether they [the mosques] were ruled from abroad, whether women's rights were suppressed, or there were other problematic conditions". Formal approval of a mosque means that the mosque becomes eligible for tax benefits and is permitted to bring foreign preachers to Denmark on a special visa.
When the association behind the mosque [asked]... to be approved as a religious community, it had in its statutes a provision saying it operated under the supervision of Iran's 'Supreme Leader', Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. At first, this news was a matter of concern for the Ministry of Church Affairs, but then Ahlul Bait simply rewrote its statutes and the ministry gave its approval.
In his New Year's speech on January 1, 2019, Denmark's then prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, mentioned that religious parallel societies constitute a problem and that immigrants need to learn to "put secular laws over religious ones".
Earlier this year, in his New Year's speech, Denmark's prime minister at the time, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, mentioned that religious parallel societies constitute a problem and that immigrants need to learn to "put secular laws over religious ones".
What, however, if, in the community involved, there seems no desire to do that?
"When I was in high school", Rasmussen continued "there were around 50,000 people with a non-Western background in Denmark. Today, there are almost half a million. In one generation, our country has changed".
Just how great are the problems was revealed in a recent survey, Integrations Barometer 2018, published by the municipality of Copenhagen. The Integration Barometer -- which measures the degree of integration in the municipality among young people with a non-Western background -- showed that almost one third of 18-29 year-olds (31%) believe that "religious and cultural laws must be adhered to, even though they may be contrary to [Danish] law".[1] The issue, then, is whether these young people believe that Islamic sharia law should take precedence over Danish law. The statistic represents an increase from 2016, when a similar survey showed that 24% wanted sharia law. In addition, the number of youths who view democracy in a positive light has fallen from 86% in 2016 to 79% in 2018[2].
"It worries me a lot that an increasing number of young Copenhageners do not support our democracy", said Cecilia Lonning-Skovgaard, Copenhagen's Mayor of Integration and Employment, to TV 2 Lorry.
"I also think that it shows a general tendency for young people to question democracy, and that there are some environments in a big city like Copenhagen that draw the young people into another direction and try to influence them in a bad way".
Those "environments" may have been unwittingly helped on their way by the Danish authorities themselves.
It recently came to light, for instance, that a committee under the government's Ministry of Church Affairs, which is responsible for formally approving mosques[3] in Denmark, was handing out approvals for them without knowing "whether they [the mosques] were governed from abroad, whether women's rights were suppressed, or there were other problematic conditions". Formal approval of a mosque means that the mosque becomes eligible for tax benefits and is permitted to bring foreign preachers to Denmark on a special visa.
The Imam Ali Mosque, which opened in 2015 and is the largest in Denmark – it was built with 2 minarets 32 meters tall and with room for 1,500 people, at a cost of 80 million Danish kroner ($1,800,000; 1,600,000 euros) -- has been at the center of the debate. The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten recently revealed that, when, in 2002 the association behind the mosque, Ahlul Bait, asked to be approved as a religious community, it had in its statutes a provision saying it operated under the supervision of Iran's 'Supreme Leader', Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. At first, this news was a matter of concern for the Ministry of Church Affairs, but then Ahlul Bait simply rewrote its statutes and the ministry gave its approval.
One former member of the committee, law professor Jens Elo Rytter, who served on it from 2013 to 2017, left it in protest. "I sat with a clear feeling that the associations had just made their paperwork so that the formalities were in order. But in reality we had no way of knowing what really happened" he told Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
"In fact," said the committee's long-standing president, Professor Emeritus Armin W. Geertz, "we often saw that passages were deleted, and we simply had the feeling that some of the organizations only changed their statutes to make them fit our requirements." He emphasized that he also left the committee because the Ministry of Church Affairs would not impose a legal requirement officially recognizing that communities must comply with the principles of equality and democracy in their associations.
The Minister of Church and Culture, Mette Bock, told Jyllands-Posten that the Law on Religious Communities, which was amended in 2017, contains new requirements for transparency. Among other conditions, officially recognized religious communities must now submit annual financial statements.
This new requirement, however, might be an instance of too little, too late. Recently, the Imam Ali Mosque refused to distance itself from an Iranian imam, Mansour Leghaei, who for years was associated with it, and preached there, but in 2018, was prohibited entry into Denmark for two years: he had written on a Shia Muslim website that men beating their wives and children could be justified and that marital rape does not constitute rape.
The leader of the Imam Ali Mosque, Mohammad Khani, responded, "He has never called for breaking the law in Denmark, or called for violence".
In 2016, Denmark introduced various initiatives against religious preachers who sought to "undermine Danish laws and values and who support parallel legal systems". One of those initiatives criminalized speech in Danish mosques that condones violence and rape. "This," said the Minister of Church and Culture, Bertel Haarder, at the time, "will have an impact on what people put up with from their religious leaders."
What Haarder apparently failed to consider was that "people" might not disagree with their "religious leaders" and would therefore be happy to "put up" with sermons and teachings that in fact actually do go against Danish laws and values.
In response to a parliamentary question about the refusal of the Imam Ali Mosque to distance itself from the sermons endorsing marital violence and marital rape, the Minister for Immigration and Integration Inger Støjberg, said:
"I have said on several occasions that I would like to see that there were mosques that were closed in Denmark, namely mosques that are driven by a world view that is just so distant from the Danish [world view], as this case... shows. But the problem with that... [is] where do these people go? Do we have more control over them here than we have if they run a mosque from a backyard or basement? We cannot shut them down for their views [holdninger] That is why I think that one of the best ways must be to get the donations [to the mosques] under control... I could wish that there were mosques that were closed here in Denmark. The problem is just what the next step is, whether the views will still thrive. I am concerned that they will."
The Imam Ali Mosque's refusal to distance itself from the problematic imam, exemplifies the difficulties with which Western societies are struggling: How does a society deal with religious institutions that profess values, which are the very opposite of the value system of the Western society in which they live? How does one deal with the influence that they wield on the people who follow their recommendations? And how, in turn, does one deal with this influence on the West?
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
[1] Integrationsbarometer 2018 p 14.
[2] Ibid., p 13
[3] In 2006, there were 115 mosques in all of Denmark. By the end of 2017, that number had increased to approximately 170 mosques in total -- an increase of nearly 50% in little more than a decade. It is unclear, how many of those mosques have been formally approved by the Ministry of Church Affairs.
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Tourism Is Eating the World
Noah Smith/Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/2019
In 1953, mountaineers Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary made the first confirmed summiting of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. Recently, Everest has grown so popular that photos are surfacing showing huge lines of climbers waiting to surmount that same peak. On rarefied ground where once only Norgay and Hillary tread, now climbers are dying because of overcrowding. A less dramatic version of this scene is being played out around the world -- for both good and ill. The number of international tourist arrivals has been increasing more or less exponentially since the mid-20th century, and totaled about 1.4 billion in 2018. Europe has seen the biggest share, but the Asia-Pacific region is growing fast. This growth has been driven by a confluence of factors. Most obviously, disposable incomes have grown around the world, with China’s gains being especially impressive in recent years. People are living longer and having fewer children, giving them the time and freedom to travel more. Areas that were once off-limits, now are accessible as the world has generally become a more peaceful and open since the end of the Cold War.
Technology has also played a key role. Air travel is cheap and ubiquitous. Tickets, hotels, tours and local transportation can now be booked online. The internet has also given the masses information about the world's tourist destinations, from Japanese hot springs to Iceland's glaciers. Recently, Google Maps has made it much easier to find one’s way around a strange country, translation apps have made foreign-language communication less daunting, Uber offers easy transportation in many international cities and Airbnb has expanded the range of available accommodations.
Tourism is big business for the countries that manage to attract hordes of visitors. Direct receipts from tourism totaled $1.6 trillion in 2017, or 2% of the entire world economy.
The World Travel and Tourism council estimates that the amount of economic activity attributable to the sector is much larger, reaching $8.8 trillion in 2018, and supporting as much as 10% of all jobs on the planet.
But tourism has a down side as well. As the Everest example shows, travel to the most popular destinations is subject to what economists call congestion externalities -- when you go to a famous place, your presence makes the experience just a little less convenient and comfortable for everyone else. Multiply that effect by the millions, and the world’s tourists are crowding each other out of a good time. I felt this myself when I recently went to Golden Gai, a district that used to be one of Tokyo’s hidden gems, and found that it was packed with Western and Chinese tourists.
For cities, the experience can be even more harrowing. Even as tourist dollars flow into the coffers of local businesses, mobs of travelers strain infrastructure that was never built to handle so many human bodies. If a city tries to accommodate the inflow by building large amounts of new infrastructure, those streets and trains will sit empty during the off season, or if the city loses its tourist appeal. Travelers can be accommodated with Airbnb, but this can push up rents for locals. Logistically, it’s simply inefficient for every location in the world to always be prepared to house, feed and transport many more people than actually live there.These problems are only going to get worse, as more countries in Asia, Africa and elsewhere join the ranks of developed countries. The new middle classes of India, Bangladesh and Indonesia are going to want their chance to see the Swiss Alps, the canals of Venice and the lights of Times Square.
Unfortunately, there will come a point where over-tourism makes travel both logistically inconvenient and much less enjoyable for everyone. The problem can be ameliorated by spreading tourists around to less crowded destinations, as Japan is trying to do. Some destinations, like Amsterdam, are cutting back on advertising and self-promotion. But eventually there will be no choice but to start charging tourists a fee.
A few places are already trying this. Venice will soon start charging people to come to the city for day trips. New Zealand has introduced a tourist tax. Various other European countries and cities have implemented or plan to implement taxes on hotels and other overnight accommodation. This is a simple application of congestion pricing, the textbook economics solution to the problem of overcrowding.
The inevitable rise of congestion pricing will be bad news for the emerging global middle class. It means that the dream of cheap globetrotting will never be for everyone -- at least, not if you want to go to famous places. Trips to premium destinations such as Venice will eventually become things only the well-off can afford. There will be more tourists than in the age before air travel and the internet, but tourism may never become as ubiquitous a middle-class luxury as sliced bread or automobiles.The world is big, but it isn’t big enough to be everyone’s personal playground.

Houthi Attacks and Iranian Threats Poised to Escalate
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/August 20/2019
On Saturday, 10 explosive drones targeted the Shaybah oil field and a refinery in eastern Saudi Arabia. Were they launched from Yemen, as claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi militia… or from somewhere else, as last time, when investigations revealed that the drones were launched by Iranian militias in Iraq? Were they Chinese, as was the case with some previous aircraft … or Iranian? These questions will be answered once the ongoing investigations are complete.
However, the political and military aspects may be ambiguous. In two separate reports published by Forbes magazine and Bloomberg News agency, it is believed that these attacks did not, and will not, affect oil production or Saudi Arabia’s export capacity; hence, the impact on oil prices and on the oil market is limited, and its influence on Saudi capabilities is ineffective. So, if the attack was meant to politically pressure Saudi Arabia or the US, it has failed.
When I asked a military leader about the changes in Houthi tactics — now that they are resorting to drone attacks, he told me that the main weapon used by the Houthi militia to target Saudi Arabia was ballistic missiles. However, due to the numerous air raids that targeted their warehouses, ongoing pursuit operations, and counter-confrontations, they are now resorting to drones; which are often destroyed before they reach their targets. These drones are being used for propaganda reasons, even if they do hit their targets; but can neither achieve any kind of victory nor change the course of the war.
Furthermore, the death toll among the Houthi militia is soaring but, like most Iranian militias, Al-Qaeda and Daesh, they are known for their wanton disregard for the sanctity of human life and for religiously promoting human sacrifices. Front-line fighting has now moved to their stronghold of Sa’dah, near the Saudi border, where they have lost a large number of their leaders, most notably Ibrahim Al-Houthi, the brother of their commander; thus, increasing the political pressure on them.
On the other hand, we cannot overlook the Iranian oil tanker drama. The Grace 1, carrying 2 million barrels of oil bound for Syria, sailed round the Cape of Good Hope to avoid being discovered. The Iranian tanker was seized in Gibraltar and held for six weeks, but the UK was forced to free it after Iranian forces seized a British-flagged tanker in Omani waters.
The tanker incident may seem a losing battle, which is partially true, but Iran is facing bigger problems by transporting oil. Numerous marine service companies have announced the withdrawal of their registry flag from vessels linked to Iran, the latest of which being the Merchant Marine from Panama’s Maritime Authority. Iran was then forced to raise its flag and change the name of the Grace 1 while it was still in custody.
Iran will not concede easily, but will soon tire of war waged against it. We will surely see more attempts to intimidate the world, as it did with Britain, which is actually an extension of four decades of Iranian strategy that has made military activities the pillar of its foreign policy, above all internal and external considerations.
Years of virtual international inaction toward Iran’s aggression have encouraged its military expansion, and its threats to the region and the whole world with nuclear weapons, terrorist operations, control of maritime corridors and launching integrated wars.
So far, Washington is determined to continue exercising considerable pressure on the regime in Tehran. This is a policy unique in its scope and consistency that can, if continued with the same determination, change the behavior of the Supreme Guide’s state for the first time since the Mullah’s seized power in the late 1970s. This means that we have to get used to and face escalating Houthi attacks and expect further Iranian threats against ships, or even worse.
All countries of the region are concerned with the confrontation, particularly the Gulf countries, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, as well as Israel.

The Most Important Brexiter Isn’t Boris Johnson
Therese Raphael/Bloomberg/August 20/2019
In the highly entertaining Channel 4 drama about the 2016 referendum campaign “Brexit: The Uncivil War,” Benedict Cumberbatch, playing the mastermind of the Vote Leave campaign, is sometimes found crouched in the narrow pantry where he retreats to think. It’s not hard to picture the real Dominic Cummings doing just that.Cummings is no mere political curiosity. Though unelected and without a seat at the cabinet table, he is UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s most important adviser. A master of the focus group and the targeted digital ad, he will play a critical role in any early election or second referendum on Brexit.
The Johnson-Cummings pairing could be largely a matter of short-term expedience. Johnson wants a proven hand to carry out his “do or die” October 31 Brexit pledge and win an election. But it could also be about something beyond Brexit. At the heart of the new government are two ambitious men possessed by a sense of history, some would say grandiosity, and an appetite for taking big gambles.
For Cummings, Brexit is a means to a greater end: a complete overhaul of the machinery of government. This might have been started long ago, but Margaret Thatcher, that icon of the British right, didn’t go far enough in Cummings’s view. She shied away from reforming the civil service, whose inefficiencies Cummings finds maddening. He wants to finish the job he started with Vote Leave by using insights from the world of computing, physics, warfare and sport. If he stays beyond Brexit, Cummings will have to prove his ideas aren’t some Utopian vision.
But there’s a paradox: The political upheaval caused by Brexit may have opened the door to change, but the chaos of a no-deal Brexit could make the very reforms he seeks impossible to implement.
Cummings cannot be confused with your garden variety no-deal Brexiter. He notes in one of his many, lengthy blog posts that he is “not a Tory libertarian, ‘populist,’ or anything else.” That explains his deep disdain for the “narcissist-delusional” group of hard-core Brexiters in the party. For them, leaving the EU is an ideological necessity and a mark of tribal loyalty. He isn’t one of that tribe, or any tribe. He even went so far, in a twitter exchange in 2017, as to say the referendum may have been a mistake.
Most political advisers operate in the shadows, but Cummings is the subject of an endless stream of profiles; in a country that worships eccentricity, he is a journalistic gift that keeps on giving. He also invites inspection. His wide-ranging, occasionally breathless writings provide a dizzying tour of the innovators, historical figures, athletes and scientists who have informed his thinking. His political philosophy incorporates insights from Prussian Otto von Bismarck, interface design wizard Bret Victor, physicist and computer scientist Michael Nielsen, T.S. Eliot and many more.
To imagine a Cummings-led takeover of the British state, visualize a room resembling a NASA launch control center in which Bismarck is huddled with, say, a crack team of designers and coders on loan from Apple. Bismarck, the “blood and iron” chancellor who distrusted democracy, is important. Cummings also singles out for praise the Chinese Communist Party for its “use of proven systems management techniques for integrating principles of effective action to predict and manage complex systems at large scale.”
For the cadres of civil servants orbiting Downing Street, some might find Cummings’s own verdict of their world makes for uncomfortable reading: “Critical institutions (including the senior civil service and the parties) are programmed to fight to stay dysfunctional, they fight to stay closed and avoid learning about high performance, they fight to exclude the most able people.”
His writings reveal strong views on education reform (he has written controversially that policy-makers too easily discount the role of genetics in achievement), immigration (doesn’t like the low-skilled type) and European agricultural subsidies (thinks them absurd although apparently a farm he co-owns benefits handsomely from them).
We don’t know much about what he thinks is the right fiscal policy in an ultra-low interest rate borderline recessionary environment. He’s said little about whether US-style regulations necessary for a trade agreement are an acceptable substitute for EU-style rules.
Indeed, policy specifics seem less important to Cummings than design problems and engineering effective decision-making systems in government. He’s a big fan of the OODA loop, the decision-making cycle developed by the late military strategist and Air Force fighter pilot John Boyd. The sequence – observe, orient, design and act – enables the practitioner, originally fighter pilots, to stay one step ahead of their opponents, constantly taking in new information and using it.
Doing the OODA loop well requires clear-eyed awareness of your own blind spots, something Cummings sometimes seems to lack. In his blogging days, he would occasionally respond to reader comments. But when readers questioned whether his views smacked of Utopianism, or asked for a few examples of where changes he proposes had been road-tested in government, he didn’t reply.
Held in contempt of parliament earlier this year, he appears bent on undermining elected lawmakers by persuading his boss to ignore constitutional convention in pursuing a no-deal Brexit.
His opponents, particularly on the left, paint him as self-important, hypocritical and a caricature of the mad genius rather than the real thing. After former Attorney General and anti-Brexit lawmaker Dominic Grieve said he was arrogant and didn’t understand the British constitution, Cummings snidely replied, “we’ll see what he’s right about.”
For now, though, it’s Johnson’s confidence that gives Cummings’s ideas wings. If he helps deliver Brexit and win an election that will no doubt secure him a sainthood among Brexiters. He reportedly postponed a surgery to join the government until the end of October, so who knows how long he’ll stick around.

Pentagon’s $10 Billion Brain Is Frozen by a Contracting Scandal
James Stavridis/Bloomberg/August 20/2019
In the latest twist in the fraught competition for the Department of Defense’s $10 billion cloud-computing project, the Pentagon Inspector General’s Office announced a new investigation into whether there have been improprieties or corruption in the contracting process thus far. This probe, described to me as a very significant undertaking by Pentagon insiders, will complement a review already being conducted by new Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
The cloud project is formally known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure or, in a nod to “Star Wars” geeks, JEDI. It would provide a single managerial system and a single repository for storage of the department’s incomprehensibly vast data streams. As the controversy hit, the contract was reportedly about to be awarded, with the final competitors being Amazon Web Services Inc (the heavy, heavy favorite) and Microsoft Corp.
The twin investigations were spurred by pressure from three sources: disgruntled competitors who felt they were out of the running; Congressional actors representing districts and states from where those competitors have a presence; and the Oval Office itself. President Donald Trump said in mid-July that he intended to review the JEDI contracting after receiving “tremendous complaints” about the process from “some of the great companies in the world,” including IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle – each of which bid on the JEDI contract.
None of this, other than direct interference by the commander in chief, is particularly out of the ordinary for big defense acquisitions, given the byzantine procurement process in the Pentagon. As a newly selected one-star rear admiral in 2000, I was assigned to manage a complex agency-wide telecommunications contract that included creating a new constellation of satellites. By the time it was finally awarded, I had long transferred out of the Pentagon. And in 2013, as I was a grizzled four-star Admiral about to finish up my career, I was still wondering why the satellite constellation wasn’t yet fully operational. The short answer is that at the nexus of big money, political influence and uncertain technology, delays are a certainty.
All of this begs the questions of why the US military is pursuing this system, and how it can be brought on line rapidly – by whomever eventually wins the contract.
JEDI will be an absolutely vital part of America’s future warfighting capability, especially in the increasingly complex new 5G environment. At heart, the vast cloud would allow a much more efficient information-technology system, replacing the hodgepodge of thousands of hand-tooled, inefficient networks that exist today. This is especially critical for the military, where so many personnel transfer every two to three years, often taking with them a hands-on knowledge of an individual network or complex of software. For a vast organization like the Department of Defense -- the largest “company” in the world – JEDI’s efficiency at scale will be crucial to optimizing expensive resources and operating efficiently.
It’s not just about efficiency, though: JEDI should vastly improve resiliency and security. Instead of individual networks and organizations backing up their information locally, everything is stored in a much more defendable cloud structure - just as your personal data and photographs likely exist in the Microsoft or Apple Inc clouds today. The data can be seamlessly transferred, even in the intense crucible of combat. Cybersecurity experts tell us that there is great strength in reducing the number of individual portals that can be attacked and overcome; streamlining and unifying the defenses of the entire department make sense. This reduction of “threat surfaces” is crucial.
Finally, from an operator’s perspective, there is great allure in one-stop shopping to stream data (a sort of military Netflix,), to record and store it, to create simple systems to “patch” software, and to build an infrastructure that permits constant monitoring of the entire department’s networks. Lieutenant General Jack Shanahan, head of the Pentagon’s Artificial Intelligence Center, commented recently on the operational capabilities necessary for the emerging era of great power competition, with China in particular.
“Imagine the speed of operations in a fight in the Pacific, where you just do not have time to figure out, ‘How do I get my data, clean my data, move it from point A to point B.’” Shanahan said. “If I’m a warfighter, I want as much data as you could possibly give me. Let my algorithms sort through it at machine speed. It’s really hard for me to do that without an enterprise cloud solution.” His comments were echoed by the department’s chief information officer, Dana Deasy, in a rare on-the-record co-briefing to the press they held last week.
In order to move quickly to find efficiencies, create new resiliency, and provide a single point of contact for all IT operations, the Department of Defense needs to thoroughly but quickly complete these investigations. If there are real instances of malfeasance, they should be uncovered and the perpetrators punished forthwith. Frankly, Secretary Esper has an unattractive set of options, including starting the competition over; pressing forward to award despite the external pressure; or searching for some middle ground that may satisfy nobody. Whether he can power through all the sand in the gears here will be the first test of his leadership abilities, and will be among the most important he will face.
In the likely scenario that all this smoke reveals not much fire but rather disgruntled competitors and political angst (and a strong component of anti-Amazon influence from the White House, where Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos is despised), Esper should press through to a contract award as soon as is legally appropriate. Warfighting in the 21st century will be “brain on brain” combat, and a large, singular cloud structure is the gray matter the US military needs.

The Battle of Yarmuk: ISIS’s Blueprint for Terror
Raymond Ibrahim/August 20/2019
Today in history, on August 20, 636, one of the most consequential battles between Islam and the West took place, that of Yarmuk. Not only did it decide whether the Arabian creed thrives or dies; it became a chief source of inspiration and instruction for jihadis throughout the centuries, right down to the Islamic State, or “ISIS.”
And yet, very few in the West are even aware of this encounter’s existence—much less how it motivates ISIS. As such, and in what follows, a detailed examination is offered.
The story begins, perhaps unsurprisingly, with the prophet of Islam. Four years before the battle, in 632, Muhammad had died. During his lifetime, he had managed to rally the Arabs under the banner of Islam. On his death, some tribes that sought to break away remained Muslim but refused to pay taxes, or zakat, to the caliph, Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s successor. Branding them all apostates, the caliph initiated the Ridda (“apostasy”) Wars, which saw tens of thousands of Arabs beheaded, crucified, or burned alive. In 633, these wars were over; in 634, so was the life of Abu Bakr. It would fall to the second caliph, Omar bin al-Khattab (r. 634–44), to direct the full might of the once feuding Arabs — now one tribe, one umma — against “the infidel.”
Almost instantly, thousands of Arabs flooded into Christian Syria, slaughtering and pillaging. According to Muslim historians, this was done in the name of jihad — to spread Allah’s rule on earth. Emperor Heraclius, who had just experienced a decade of war against the Persians, proceeded to muster his legions and direct them to Syria, to quash these latest upstarts. Roman forces engaged the invaders in at least two significant battles, Ajnadayn (in modern-day Israel, in 634) and Marj al-Saffar (south of Damascus, 635). But “by Allah’s help,” writes Muslim chronicler al-Baladhuri (d. 892), “the enemies of Allah were routed and shattered into pieces, a great many being slaughtered.”
Heraclius had no intention of forsaking Syria, for centuries an integral part of the Roman Empire. He had recently recovered it from the Persians and was not about to abandon it to the despised Saracens, So, by spring 636, the emperor had managed to raise a large multiethnic army, recruited from all over Christendom, according to al-Waqidi (747–823), a Muslim chronicler and the author of Futuh al-Sham, the only detailed (though often suspect) account of the Arab conquest of Syria. (Unless otherwise indicated, all direct quotes that follow are from Futuh and translated by me.) Some 30,000 Christian fighters began their march south. Muslim forces, numbering approximately 24,000 — with women, slaves, children, camels, and tents in tow — withdrew from their recently conquered territories and congregated by the banks of the Yarmuk River in Syria. The landscape was dominated by two ravines, one along the Yarmuk and the other along the Wadi Ruqqad, each with a vertical drop of 100 to 200 feet — a deadly prospect for anyone fleeing in haste.
The Arabs dispatched a hurried message to Caliph Omar, complaining that “the dog of the Romans, Heraclius, has called on us all who bear the cross, and they have come against us like a swarm of locusts.” Given that “to see Christendom fall” was Omar’s “delight,” to quote from the Shahnameh, that “his meat was their humiliation,” and that “his very breathing was their destruction,” reinforcements were forthcoming.
Heraclius appointed Vahan, an Armenian and a hero of the Persian Wars, as supreme commander of his united forces. The supreme leader of the Arabs was Abu Ubaida, but Khalid bin al-Walid, whom Muhammad had dubbed the “Sword of Allah,” commanded thousands of horsemen and camel riders behind the infantry and influenced military decisions.
Before battle, Vahan and Khalid met under a flag of truce to negotiate. The Armenian commander began by diplomatically blaming Arabia’s harsh conditions and impoverished economy for giving the Arabs no choice but to raid Roman lands. Accordingly, the empire was pleased to provide them with food and coin on condition that they return home. “It was not hunger that brought us here,” Khalid responded coolly, “but we Arabs are in the habit of drinking blood, and we are told the blood of the Romans is the sweetest of its kind, so we came to shed your blood and drink it.
Vahan’s diplomatic mask instantly dropped and he launched into a tirade against the insolent Arab: “So, we thought you came seeking what your brethren always sought” — plunder, extortion, or mercenary work. “But, alas, we were wrong. You came killing men, enslaving women, plundering wealth, destroying buildings, and seeking to drive us from our own lands.” Better people had tried to do the same but always ended up defeated, added Vahan in reference to the recent Persian Wars, before continuing:
As for you, there is no lower and more despicable people — wretched, impoverished Bedouins. . . . You commit injustices in your own nation and now ours. . . . What havoc you have created! You ride horses not your own and wear clothes not your own. You pleasure yourselves with the young white girls of Rome and enslave them. You eat food not your own, and fill your hands with gold, silver, and valuable goods [not your own]. Now we find you with all our possessions and the plunder you took from our coreligionists — and we leave it all to you, neither asking for its return nor rebuking you. All we ask is that you leave our lands. But if you refuse, we will annihilate you!
The Sword of Allah was not impressed. He began reciting the Koran and talking about one Muhammad. Vahan listened in quiet exasperation. Khalid proceeded to call on the Christian general to proclaim the shahada and thereby embrace Islam, in exchange for peace, adding: “You must also pray, pay zakat, perform hajj at the sacred house [in Mecca], wage jihad against those who refuse Allah, . . . befriend those who befriend Allah and oppose those who oppose Allah,” a reference to the divisive doctrine of al-wala’ wa al-bara’. “If you refuse, there can only be war between us. . . . And you will face men who love death as you love life.”
“Do what you like,” responded Vahan. “We will never forsake our religion or pay you jizya.” Negotiations were over.
Things came to a head, quite literally, when 8,000 marching Muslims appeared before the Roman camp carrying the severed heads of 4,000 Christians atop their spears. These were the remains of 5,000 reinforcements who had come from Amman to join the main army at Yarmuk. The Muslims had ambushed and slaughtered them. Then, as resounding cries of “Allahu akbar” filled the Muslim camp, those Muslims standing behind the remaining 1,000 Christian captives knocked them over and proceeded to carve off their heads before the eyes of their co-religionists, whom Arabic sources describe as looking on in “utter bewilderment.”
So it would be war. On the eve of battle, writes historian A. I. Akram, “the Muslims spent the night in prayer and recitation of the Quran, and reminded each other of the two blessings that awaited them: either victory and life or martyrdom and paradise.”
No such titillation awaited the Christians. They were fighting for life, family, and faith. During his pre-battle speech, Vahan explained that “these Arabs who stand before you seek to . . . enslave your children and women.” Another general warned the men to fight hard or else the Arabs “shall conquer your lands and ravish your women.” Such fears were not unwarranted. Even as the Romans were kneeling in pre-battle prayer, Arab general Abu Sufyan was prancing on his war steed, waving his spear, and exhorting the Muslims to “jihad in the way of Allah,” so that they might seize the Christians’ “lands and cities, and enslave their children and women.”
The battle took place over the course of six days. (For a much more detailed examination of Yarmuk and its consequences, see my Master’s thesis, The Battle of Yarmuk: An Assessment of the Immediate Factors behind the Islamic Conquests, 2002.) The Roman forces initially broke through the Muslim lines and, according to colorful Muslim sources, would have routed the Arabs if not for their women. Prior to battle, Abu Sufyan had told these female Arabs that, although “the prophet said women are lacking in brains and religion” (a reference to a hadith), they could still help by striking “in the face with stones and tent poles” any Arab men who retreated from the battle to camp. The women were urged to persist until the men returned to battle “in shame.”
Sure enough, whenever broken ranks of Muslims fell back, Arab women hurled stones at them, struck them, and their horses and camels, with poles, taunting them: “May Allah curse those who run from the enemy! Do you wish to give us to the Christians? . . . If you do not kill, then you are not our men.” Abu Sufyan’s wife, Hind, is said to have fought the advancing Romans while screaming “Cut the extremities [i.e., phalluses] of the uncircumcised ones!” On witnessing her boldness, the Arab men are said to have turned and driven back the advancing Romans to their original position.
On the fourth day, the Muslims managed to reverse the tables and advance against a broken line of retreating Christians. No women were present to chastise the retreating Romans, and a multitude of archers unleashed volley after volley on the rushing Arabs. “The arrows rained down on the Muslims. . . . All one could hear was ‘Ah! My eye!’ In heavy confusion, they grabbed hold of their reins and retreated.” Some 700 Muslims lost an eye on that day.
Concerning the sixth and final day of battle, Muslim sources make much of the heavy infantry of the Roman army’s right flank, referring to its soldiers as the “mightiest.” These warriors reportedly tied themselves together with chains, as a show of determination, and swore by “Christ and the Cross” to fight to the last man. (The Arabs may have mistaken the remarkably tight Roman phalanx for fetters.) Even Khalid expressed concern at their show of determination. He ordered the Muslims at the center and left of the Arab army to bog down the Christians, while he led thousands of horsemen and camel-fighters round to the Roman left faction, which had become separated from its cavalry (possibly during an attempt at one of the complicated “mixed formation” maneuvers recommended in the Strategikon, a Byzantine military manual).
To make matters worse, a dust storm — something Arabs were accustomed to, their opponents less so — erupted around this time and caused mass chaos. The Romans’ large numbers proved counterproductive under such crowded and chaotic conditions. Now the fiercest and most desperate fighting of the war ensued. Everywhere, steel clashed, men yelled, horses neighed, camels bellowed, and sand blew in the face of the confused mass. Unable to maneuver, most of the Roman cavalry, carrying along a protesting Vahan, broke off and withdrew to the north.
Realizing that they were alone, the Christian infantry, including the “chained men,” maintained formation and withdrew westward, to the only space open to them. They were soon trapped between an Islamic hammer and anvil: A crescent of Arabs spreading from north to south continued closing in on them from the east, while a semicircle of the Wadi Ruqqad’s precipitous ravines lay before the Christians to the west. (Khalid had already captured the only bridge across the wadi.)
As darkness descended on this volatile corner of the world, the final phase of war played out on the evening of August 20. The Arabs, whose night vision was honed by desert life, charged the trapped Romans, who, according to al-Waqidi and other Muslim historians, fought valiantly. The historian Antonio Santosuosso writes:
[S]oon the terrain echoed with the terrifying din of Muslim shouts and battle cries. Shadows suddenly changed into blades that penetrated flesh. The wind brought the cries of comrades as the enemy stealthily penetrated the ranks among the infernal noise of cymbals, drums, and battle cries. It must have been even more terrifying because they had not expected the Muslims to attack by dark.
Muslim cavalrymen continued pressing on the crowded and blinded Roman infantry, using the hooves and knees of their steeds to knock down the wearied fighters. Pushed finally to the edge of the ravine, rank after rank of the remaining forces of the imperial army, including all of the “chained men,” fell down the steep precipices to their death. Other soldiers knelt, uttered a prayer, made the sign of the cross, and waited for the onrushing Muslims to strike them down. No prisoners were taken on that day. “The Byzantine army, which Heraclius had spent a year of immense exertion to collect, had entirely ceased to exist,” writes British lieutenant-general and historian John Bagot Glubb. “There was no withdrawal, no rearguard action, no nucleus of survivors. There was nothing left.”
As the moon filled the night sky and the victors stripped the slain, cries of “Allahu akbar!” and “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger” rang throughout the Yarmuk valley.
Following this decisive Muslim victory, the way was left wide open for the domino-like Arab conquests of the seventh century. “Such a revolution had never been,” remarks historian Hilaire Belloc. “No earlier attack had been so sudden, so violent, or so permanently successful. Within a score of years from the first assault in 634 [at the Battle of Ajnadayn], the Christian Levant had gone: Syria, the cradle of the Faith, and Egypt with Alexandria, the mighty Christian See.”
Without the power of hindsight afforded to historians living more than a millennium after the fact, even Anastasius of Sinai, who witnessed Muslim forces overrun his Egyptian homeland four years after Yarmuk, testified to the decisiveness of the battle by referring to it as “the first terrible and incurable fall of the Roman army.” “I am speaking of the bloodshed at Yarmuk, . . . after which occurred the capture and burning of the cities of Palestine, even Caesarea and Jerusalem. After the destruction of Egypt there followed the enslavement and incurable devastation of the Mediterranean lands and islands.”
Indeed, mere decades after Yarmuk, all ancient Christian lands between Greater Syria to the east and Mauretania (encompassing parts of present-day Algeria and Morocco) to the west — nearly 4,000 miles — had been conquered by Islam. Put differently: Two-thirds of Christendom’s original, older, and wealthier territory was permanently swallowed up by the scimitar of jihad. (Eventually, and thanks to the later Turks, “Muslim armies conquered three-quarters of the Christian world,” to quote historian Thomas Madden.)
But unlike the Germanic barbarians who invaded and conquered Europe in the preceding centuries, only to assimilate into the Christian religion, culture, and civilization and adopt its languages, Latin and Greek, the Arabs imposed their creed and language onto the conquered peoples so that, whereas the “Arabs” were once limited to the Arabian Peninsula, today the “Arab world” consists of some 22 nations across the Middle East and North Africa.
This would not be the case, and the world would have developed in a radically different way, had the Eastern Roman Empire defeated the invaders and sent them reeling back to Arabia. Little wonder that historians such as Francesco Gabrieli hold that “the battle of the Yarmuk had, without doubt, more important consequences than almost any other in all world history.”
It bears noting that if most Westerners today are ignorant of that encounter and its ramifications, they are even more oblivious as to how Yarmuk continues to serve as a model of inspiration for modern-day jihadis (who, we are regularly informed, are “psychotic criminals” who have “nothing to do with Islam”). As the alert reader may have noticed, the continuity between the words and deeds of the Islamic State (ISIS) and those of its predecessors from nearly 1,400 years ago are eerily similar. This of course is intentional. When ISIS proclaims that “American blood is best and we will taste it soon,” or “We love death as you love life,” or “We will break your crosses and enslave your women,” they are quoting verbatim — and thereby placing themselves in the footsteps of — Khalid bin al-Walid and his companions, the original Islamic conquerors of Syria.
Similarly, ISIS’s black flag is intentionally patterned after Khalid’s black flag. Its invocation of the houris, Islam’s celestial sex-slaves promised to martyrs, is based on anecdotes of Muslims dying by the Yarmuk River and being welcomed into paradise by the houris. And the choreographed ritual slaughter of “infidels,” most infamously of 21 Coptic Christians on the shores of Libya, is patterned after the ritual slaughter of 1,000 captured Roman soldiers on the eve of the Battle of Yarmuk.
Here, then, is a reminder that, when it comes to the military history of Islam and the West, the lessons imparted are far from academic and have relevance to this day — at least for, and understanding the mindset of, the jihadis.
Note: The above account is excerpted from Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West — a book that CAIR and its Islamist allies did everything they could to prevent the U.S. Army War College from learning about.