LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 20/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 22/01-14/:”Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”For many are called, but few are chosen.”.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 19-20/2019
Hezbollah-backed professor to form new Lebanese government
Lebanese president asks professor to form government
Lebanon’s PM-designate Hassan Diab vows to form government quickly
Hassan Diab Garners 69 Votes in Binding Parliamentary Consultations
Diab Says to Communicate with All Parties, Protesters to Form Govt.
Protesters Rally near Diab's Residence, Block Roads across Lebanon
Hariri Urges Supporters Not to Block Roads, Calls for Calm
Jumblat Criticizes Mustaqbal, LF for Not Naming Nawaf Salam
Lebanon's Deputy Speaker Ferzli gives first nomination for Diab as PM
Report: Khalil Invites IMF for ‘Talks’ on Crisis
Ali Al-Amin Snaps Back at Hezbollah over Iran
German governing parties vote on ban of Lebanon’s Hezbollah in Europe
German Parliament Calls for Full Ban of Hizbullah Activities
Israeli Army Expects Hezbollah Border Infiltration

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 19-20/2019
US to restrict visas for Iranian officials detaining peaceful protesters: Pompeo
US Imposes Sanctions on Iran Judges, Vows to Restrict Visas
Five killed by car bomb in Turkish-controlled Syria region
Political deadlock delays choice of new PM to steer Iraq out of crisis
UN calls for ‘de-escalation’ in Syria’s northwest
UN: Israel has advanced 22,000 housing units in West Bank
Israel strikes Gaza after rocket attack: military
Protest in Support of Palestinian Prisoner on Hunger Strike
Al-Sisi: Egyptian-Saudi relations are a pillar for stability in the region
Defiant Trump Rallies Supporters as House Impeaches Him
Sudan ‘impunity’ for Darfur crimes must end: Rights groups

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 19-20/2019
Two Months of Protests in Lebanon/Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 19/2019
Analysts: Diab Designation Risks to Deepen Sectarian Rift, Block Aid/Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 19/2019
Lebanese President Michel Aoun nominates Hezbollah-backed Hassan Diab as new prime minister/James Haines-Young and Sunniva Rose/December 19/2019
Lebanon: Revolution against Hooligans/Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al Awsat/December 19/2019
Lebanon: Investigate alarming use of force on largely peaceful protests/Amnesty International Web Site/19 December 2019
*Johnson’s Brexit is more ‘Slow Deal’ than ‘No Deal/Therese Raphael/Bloomberg/Thursday, 19 December, 2019
Iraq: The Triad of Army, People, and Marja/Mustafa Fahs/Asharq Al Awsat/Thursday, 19 December, 2019
Turkey's East-West Carpet Trading/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/December 19/2019
Boris Johnson's Victory Heralds a Golden Era in US-UK Relations/Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/December 19/2019
It is time for a new approach to tackling climate change/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/December 20, 2019
Turkey — between NATO, Europe and Russia/Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/December 19/ 2019
Anger grows in Iran over corruption, nepotism and the crazy-rich elite/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/December 19/ 2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 19-20/2019
Hezbollah-backed professor to form new Lebanese government
Associated Press/December 19/2019
Diab, 60, faces the daunting task of forming a government to tackle the country’s worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s president Thursday asked a university professor and former education minister supported by the militant Hezbollah group to form a new government, breaking a weeks-long impasse amid nationwide mass protests against the country’s political elite.
But prime minister-designate Hassan Diab’s efforts to form a government will almost certainly hit snags in a deeply divided country facing its worst economic and financial crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
In his first public address, Diab said he would work quickly to form a government that represents a wide array of people following consultations with political parties and representatives of the protest movement.
Diab said he is committed to a reform plan and described the current situation as “critical and sensitive” and requiring exceptional efforts and collaboration.
“I felt that your uprising represented me,” Diab said, addressing protesters on the streets. “We are facing a national crisis that doesn’t allow for the luxury of personal and political battles but needs national unity.”
President Michel Aoun named Diab prime minister after a day of consultations with lawmakers in which he gained a simple majority of the 128-member parliament. Sixty-nine lawmakers, including the parliamentary bloc of the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal movements, as well as lawmakers affiliated with Aoun, gave him their votes.
Diab, a 60-year-old professor at American University of Beirut, faces the daunting task of forming a government to tackle the crippling financial crisis in one of the most indebted countries of the world.
In Lebanon’s sectarian-based political system, the prime minister has to be from the Sunni Muslim community.
Although gaining the majority of votes, Diab failed to get the support of the country’s major Sunni leaders, including former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. That makes it difficult for him to form an inclusive Cabinet able to gain the international community’s trust and unlock badly needed assistance for the tiny Mediterranean country. Friendly nations, including France, have made clear they will not support Lebanon before a reform-minded Cabinet is formed.
U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale was expected to arrive Thursday in Beirut, the most senior foreign diplomat to visit the country since the crisis. U.S. diplomats have said they support the quick formation of a government that can effectuate reform.
Support from Iran-backed Hezbollah guarantees Diab a thorny path, potentially inviting push-back from Western and Gulf nations that had supported the outgoing Hariri. The Shiite group is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., some Gulf Arab countries and a few Latin American nations. The European Union considers only Hezbollah’s military wing to be a terrorist group.
Following Diab’s appointment, protesters began gathering in central Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square, the epicenter of the protests. They rejected Diab’s appointment and cast him as part of the old class of politicians they are revolting against. Supporters of Hariri also began taking to the streets.
“We want a prime minister from outside the ruling class,” read a banner unfurled in the square.
The leaderless protests have for two months been calling for a government made up of specialists that can work on dealing with the economic crisis. The protests have recently taken a violent turn, with frequent clashes between security forces and protesters. Supporters of Hezbollah and Amal have also attacked the protest camp site in Beirut on several occasions. The most recent came over the weekend when they set fire to cars and pelted security forces with stones and firecrackers for hours.
Diab, who served as education minister in 2011, gained attention after caretaker premier Hariri withdrew his name from consideration following weeks of haggling and deep divisions between the various factions over naming him again. Hariri resigned Oct. 29 in response to the unprecedented mass protests and as an already dire economic crisis quickly deteriorated.
Since then, efforts to agree on a new prime minister and the shape of government kept running into a dead end. Hariri had insisted he would head a Cabinet made up of specialists to deal with the economic and financial crisis — a key demand of the protest movement. The Iran-backed Hezbollah, which initially backed him, demanded a government that includes all major political factions.
On Thursday, Hezbollah said it backed Diab for prime minister and Mohammed Raad, spokesman for the group’s parliamentary bloc, said before the vote the group would cooperate in tackling the political and economic crisis.
Diab served as minister of education from 2011-2014 when Hezbollah and its allies overturned a former Cabinet headed by Hariri at the time.
Diab was in the United Kingdom when Lebanon’s civil war broke out. There, he received undergraduate and graduate degrees in Communications and Computer Engineering from the universities of Leeds Metropolitan, Surrey and Bath.

Lebanese president asks professor to form government
Associated Press/December 19/2019
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s president Thursday asked a university professor and a Hezbollah-backed former minister to form a new government, breaking a weeks-long impasse. Michel Aoun named Hassan Diab as prime minister after a day of consultations with lawmakers in which he gained a simple majority of the 128-member parliament. Sixty-nine lawmakers, including the parliamentary bloc of the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal movements as well as lawmakers affiliated with President Michel Aoun gave him their votes. Diab, 60, faces the daunting task of forming a government to tackle the country’s worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. He also failed to get the support of the country’s major Sunni leaders, including former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, which will make it difficult for him to form a new government. Diab arrived at Baabda palace later Thursday to meet with Aoun who summoned him for the appointment. It was not immediately clear whether the appointment would satisfy people in the streets who have been protesting for over two months, calling for a government made up of specialists.

Lebanon’s PM-designate Hassan Diab vows to form government quickly
Reuters, Beirut/Thursday, 19 December 2019
Lebanon’s newly-named prime minister Hassan Diab vowed on Thursday to form a government quickly that works to pull the country out of economic crisis and reassures people who have protested against the political class for two months. Diab, a little-known academic and former education minister, was designated premier on Thursday with backing from Lebanese Hezbollah and its allies. Support from the Iran-backed group guarantees a thorny path for any candidate, potentially inviting push back from Western and Gulf nations that had supported the outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri. “All our efforts must now focus on stopping the collapse and restoring confidence,” he said from the presidential palace, after meeting with President Michel Aoun, who summoned him for the appointment. Diab, 60, faces the daunting task of forming a government to tackle the crippling financial crisis in one of the most indebted countries of the world. While gaining the majority of the votes, he failed to get the support of the country's major Sunni leaders, including Hariri, which will make it difficult for him to form a new government. Diab, who served as education minister in 2011, gained attention after caretaker prime minister Hariri withdrew his name from consideration following weeks of haggling and deep divisions between the various factions over naming him again. Hariri resigned Oct. 29 in response to unprecedented mass protests against the entire political class while an already dire economic crisis was quickly deteriorating.

Hassan Diab Garners 69 Votes in Binding Parliamentary Consultations
Naharnet/December 19/2019
Lebanese academic and former minister Hassan Diab on Thursday received 69 votes in the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new PM, as former Lebanese ambassador to the U.N. Nawaf Salam received 13 votes and 42 MPs refrained from naming anyone. MP Paula Yacoubian meanwhile named civil society figure Halima Qaaqour. The Presidency later announced that Diab was invited to the Baabda Palace to be "tasked with the formation of the new government."Diab, 60, faces the daunting task of forming a government to tackle the country's worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
A professor of computer engineering, Diab served in the government formed in 2011 when Hizbullah and its allies overturned a former Cabinet headed by Saad Hariri. He was education minister for three years.
The international community has made the formation of a serious, reform-minded government a condition for releasing assistance to the country.
It was not immediately clear whether the appointment would satisfy people in the streets who have been protesting for over two months, calling for a government made up of specialists.
Activists on social media have however blasted Diab, accusing him of corruption, and calls have been made for protesting outside his residence in Beirut's Tallet al-Kkhayat area. Protesters meanwhile blocked the Taalabaya and al-Marj roads in the Bekaa and the al-Beddawi road in the north following the end of the consultations.
Protesters in al-Marj said that they reject the designation of a former minister who belongs to the reviled political class.
Some protesters in Tripoli and Beirut also said that they are opposed to the designation of Diab. The first to arrive at Baabda Palace for consultations with President Michel Aoun was Hariri, who refrained from making any political statement to reporters on his candidate for the prime minister post. He only looked at them and smilingly wished them “happy holidays and good luck.”
Ex-PMs Najib Miqati and Tamam Salam said they did not nominate anyone for the post. “In light of the over two-months political dispute over parliamentary consultations and the drastic economic conditions in Lebanon as a result of mismanagement, I find myself today obliged not to name anyone for the premiership post,” said Salam.
For his part, deputy Speaker MP Elie Ferzli Ferzli said: “I would have preferred to name Hariri for the post, but due to the current difficult circumstances I named Hassan Diab as the next PM.”
Diab, an AUB professor, has emerged on Wednesday as the favorite to be nominated as the next prime minister.
Hariri’s al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc also did not name anyone for the PM post. “As you are all aware we have called for the formation of a technocrat government, and our bloc will name no one for the post,” said MP Samir al-Jisr speaking on behalf of the bloc.
For its part, Hizbullah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc named Hassan Diab for PM. The National Coalition bloc led by MP Farid al-Khazen named Hassan Diab for PM.
“As we have all seen that Hariri decided not to stay as PM, he also did not name anyone for PM. Therefore our bloc has seen it necessary to take action in light of the difficult circumstances and have decided to name a clean and honorable figure, AUB professor Hassan Diab,” announced Khazen after meeting Aoun.
The Democratic Gathering bloc of ex-MP Walid Jumblat named Nawaf Salam for PM. “We surely hope the government is formed as soon as possible to address the current crisis,” said Taymour Walid Jumblat in remarks after meeting Aoun. MP Jean Obeid told reporters that their Independent Center bloc did not name anyone for PM. “We wish the new PM luck,” said Obeid adding that “abstention from naming anyone for PM does not mean abstention from cooperation,” said Obeid.
The parliamentary bloc of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party named Diab. “Discussions touched on the worrisome situation in Lebanon. We are eager to deflate the tense political rhetoric in Lebanon,” said MP Asaad Hardan after meeting with Aoun.
“Proceeding from the will of the Lebanese people who want a change and a new nation. We warn against the return of political alignments. We consider the most appropriate figure to head the new government is Nawaf Salam, the Kataeb bloc said.
The Lebanese Forces bloc and independent MP Fouad Makhzoumi meanwhile did not nominate anyone for the post as the Consultative Gathering bloc and independent MP Jamil al-Sayyed named Diab.
"Sixty days after (the eruption of the popular uprising), some are still seeking ways to split shares," MP George Adwan of the LF said.
"If the mentality and approach do not change, we will not be able to move forward and the country will sink further," Adwan warned.
Al-Sayyed said he voted for Diab seeing as "he is an academic and a technocrat figure and someone who does not belong to the traditional circle of prime ministers."
"But nomination is something and confidence is something else, especially if the government's structure does not meet the demands of the people," al-Sayyed added.
Independent MPs Fouad Makhzoumi, Osama Saad, Chamel Roukoz and Neemat Frem meanwhile refrained from nominating anyone, as independent MP Paula Yacoubian voted for civil society figure Halima Qaaqour and independent MP Nouhad al-Mashnouq voted for Nawaf Salam. "The uprising has the right to have a say in the naming of a premier and the formation of a government," Mashnouq said.
"The nature of the designation indicates that authorities have downplayed the 62 days of popular protests," he warned.
Frem meanwhile warned that the 1943 National Pact of coexistence was not respected in the nomination of Diab.
Later on Thursday, Speaker Nabih Berri's Development and Liberation bloc said it nominated Diab for the PM post in order to "avoid vacuum."
The MPs of the Free Patriotic Movement, the Mountain Guarantee bloc and the bloc of Armenian MPs meanwhile voted for Diab as MP Michel Mouawad voted for Nawaf Salam.
Outgoing PM Saad Hariri on Wednesday said he would not seek to stay on as prime minister.
The consultations for a new cabinet had been postponed twice already.

Diab Says to Communicate with All Parties, Protesters to Form Govt.
Naharnet/December 19/2019
In his first public address on Thursday, Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab said he would work quickly to form a government that represents a wide array of people following consultations with political parties as well as representatives of the protest movement.
He said he is committed to a reform plan and described the current situation as "critical and sensitive" and requiring exceptional efforts and collaboration. “I deeply thank the President and the MPs for their confidence,” Diab said in a statement following a meeting with President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri in Baabda. “I will vigorously work to form the government as soon as possible through communicating with the ex-PMs, blocs, MPs, parties and the protest movement,” he added. “As an independent, I believe that the uprising has corrected the course of the Lebanese political life and I feel that it represents me and the Lebanese won’t allow a return to the pre-October 17 era,” Diab went on to say. Noting that “everyone will be represented in the government,” the PM-designate said “specialists will have the priority.”“I have asked the president to begin the formation consultations on Saturday,” he added.
Speaking later in the day outside his residence, Diab stressed that the upcoming government will not be a "confrontational government."

Protesters Rally near Diab's Residence, Block Roads across Lebanon
Naharnet/December 19/2019
Protesters rejecting the appointment of the academic and ex-minister Hassan Diab as PM-designate on Thursday took to the streets in several regions to denounce the designation.A number of angry young men who said they came from Tariq al-Jedideh rallied outside Diab’s residence in Beirut’s Tallet al-Khayat area.Some of them shouted insults against Diab as others chanted slogans supportive of caretaker PM Saad Hariri. The protesters added that Diab does not enjoy the support of the Sunni community. Other protesters meanwhile blocked the Beirut-South highway in Naameh and Khalde and several key roads in the Bekaa and the North as well as the Qasqas, Sports City and Verdun roads in Beirut. Anti-government protesters were meanwhile gathering in downtown Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli, voicing rejection of Diab’s appointment. Protesters in Bekaa's al-Marj area said that they reject the designation of a former minister who belongs to the reviled political class as premier. Diab's efforts to form a government will almost certainly hit snags in a deeply divided country facing the worst economic and financial crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.
President Michel Aoun named Diab as prime minister after a day of consultations with lawmakers in which he gained a simple majority of the 128-member parliament. In his first public address, Diab said he would work quickly to form a government that represents a wide array of people following consultations with political parties as well as representatives of the protest movement. He said he is committed to a reform plan and described the current situation as "critical and sensitive" and requiring exceptional efforts and collaboration. Diab, 60, faces the daunting task of forming a government to tackle the crippling financial crisis in one of the most indebted countries of the world. While gaining the majority of the votes, he failed to get the support of the country's major Sunni leaders, including caretaker PM Hariri, which will make it difficult for him to form a new government. Support from Hizbullah guarantees a thorny path for any candidate, potentially inviting a push back from Western and Gulf nations that had supported the outgoing Hariri. People on the streets have been protesting for over two months, calling for a government made up of specialists. The leaderless protest movement has differing views on the criteria for the next prime minister. The protests have recently taken a violent turn, with frequent clashes between security forces and protesters.
Supporters of Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement have also attacked the protest camp site in Beirut on several occasions. Diab, who served as education minister in 2011, gained attention after caretaker prime minister Hariri withdrew his name from consideration following weeks of haggling and deep divisions between the various factions over naming him again. Hariri resigned Oct. 29 in response to unprecedented mass protests against the entire political class while an already dire economic crisis was quickly deteriorating.
Since then, efforts to agree on a new prime minister and the shape of government have kept hitting a dead end. Hariri, who is aligned with the West and Gulf countries, has insisted he would head a Cabinet made up of specialists to deal with the economic and financial crisis -- a key demand of the protest movement -- while the Iran-backed Hizbullah, which initially backed him, has demanded a government that includes all major political factions. On Thursday, Hizbullah said it backed Diab for prime minister. Mohammed Raad, the head of the group's parliamentary bloc, said he hoped Diab receives enough votes and for him to "succeed in his national duties," and vowed to cooperate in tackling the current crisis.

Hariri Urges Supporters Not to Block Roads, Calls for Calm
Naharnet/December 19/2019
Caretaker Prime Minister and al-Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri on Thursday urged his supporters not to take to the streets or block roads, in the wake of the appointment of the academic and ex-minister Hassan Diab as PM-designate.“I call on all supporters and enthusiasts to reject any call for taking to the streets or blocking roads,” Hariri tweeted, after his supporters blocked roads in several Lebanese regions and rallied outside Diab’s house in Tallet al-Khayat. “Calm and national responsibility are our priority and the crisis that Lebanon is facing is dangerous and does not allow for any tampering with stability,” Hariri added. Diab served as minister of education from 2011-2014 when Hizbullah and its allies forced the collapse of a former Cabinet headed by Hariri at the time.

Jumblat Criticizes Mustaqbal, LF for Not Naming Nawaf Salam
Naharnet/December 19/2019
Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat took a swipe Thursday at his former March 14 allies al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Lebanese Forces for refraining from voting for Lebanon’s former envoy to the U.N. Nawaf Salam in the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new PM. “It is not strange for the March 8 forces to choose their candidate and succeed in doing so, seeing as they at least have a project,” Jumblat tweeted. “But when the future forces disguised with technocracy, as if they are Sillicon Valley graduates, let down Nawaf Salam out of fear of change, this highlights their futility and bankruptcy,” Jumblat added, in an apparent jab at Mustaqbal and the LF, who did not name anyone for the PM-designate post. Referring to his bloc’s support for Salam, Jumblat said: “We were a minority and will remain so and this is much comfortable.”
Backed by Hizbullah, the AMAL Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement and their allies, the academic and ex-minister Hassan Diab garnered 69 votes in the consultations. Salam meanwhile received 13 votes – 11 from Jumblat’s bloc and those of the MPs Nouhad al-Mashnouq and Michel Mouawad. Forty-two MPs, including those of al-Mustaqbal and the LF, meanwhile did not name any candidate, as MP Paula Yacoubian voted for civil society figure Halima Qaaqour.

Lebanon's Deputy Speaker Ferzli gives first nomination for Diab as PM
Reuters, Beirut/Thursday, 19 December 2019
Lebanon's Deputy Parliament Speaker Elie Ferzli, an ally of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, said on Thursday he had nominated former minister Hassan Diab as prime minister, indicating the Shia group and its allies had agreed on him for the position. President Michel Aoun is due to hold formal consultations with Lebanon's 128 lawmakers on their choice for prime minister throughout the day, and must designate the candidate with the greatest support. Diab emerged as a candidate for the position at the last minute when outgoing Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri withdrew his candidacy for a job that must be filled by a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon's sectarian system. As things stood on Thursday morning, Shia groups Hezbollah and Amal, in addition to Hezbollah's biggest Christian ally, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), will all nominate Diab, three senior sources familiar with each group's position said. With Hezbollah and its political allies holding more than 70 of the seats in parliament, Diab should emerge with the largest amount of support. Hariri's Future Movement will not nominate any candidate for the post of prime minister, Lebanese television station al-Jadeed reported. Hariri resigned on Oct. 29, prompted by protests against a ruling elite accused of overseeing rampant state corruption.

Report: Khalil Invites IMF for ‘Talks’ on Crisis
Naharnet/December 19/2019
Caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil reportedly invited IMF officials for talks on potentials to secure a “safe landing” for a worsening economic crisis in Lebanon, Nidaa al-Watan daily reported on Thursday. Western diplomatic sources said the minister contacted IMF officials and told them “let us talk.” They explained that the aggravating economic and financial crisis and a sharpening dispute between political parties to resolve the government stalemate have made Khalil take that move, according to the daily. The sources said it was necessary to explore prospects for cooperation between the Lebanese state and IMF in a framework that aims to open communication channels between the two to explore opinions and perhaps invite IMF experts to visit Lebanon to assess the situation and suggest studies on ways to secure the ground for "safe landing" of Lebanon’s national economy. Lebanon's economy has been sliding towards default in recent weeks, but the main political parties have so far failed to respond to calls from the street and international partners by forming a credible cabinet capable of undertaking key reforms.

Ali Al-Amin Snaps Back at Hezbollah over Iran
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 19 December, 2019
Anti-Hezbollah Shiite cleric Ali Al-Amin rebuffed accusations of normalization with Israel, saying that recent campaigns against him were the result of his rejection of the Iranian project that Hezbollah was importing to Lebanon and the region. “Treason campaigns against me by Hezbollah are not new and are due to my rejection of the Iranian project they carry to Lebanon and the region,” Amin said during a press conference on Wednesday. The Shiite cleric participated in a conference of religions in Bahrain attended by Jewish clerics from the occupied land, as he said. His participation prompted the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council in Lebanon to take a decision to isolate him from the Jaafari Fatwa department because he “sought to inflame internal strife among the Lebanese, and because of his normalization vision with the occupation.”Hezbollah also denounced the participation of Amin in the forum, which the movement said was attended by “Zionist figures”. It also accused the cleric of seeking to “normalize” ties with Israel. “I took part in the forum without knowing the participants’ names,” Amin said, noting the event was also attended by Lebanon’s ambassador to Bahrain. He stressed that he didn’t hold any meetings with Jewish figures who attended the second day of the conference. “I was not aware of their presence in advance,” he underlined. “I will remain opposed to Hezbollah’s policy of oppression and domination.”The policies of Hezbollah and Amal movement “only bring harm to the Shiite community,” he told reporters. “My disagreement with Hezbollah and Amal is not new, and I will remain supportive of the Lebanese people’s uprising,” Amin added.

German governing parties vote on ban of Lebanon’s Hezbollah in Europe
The Associated Press, Berlin/Thursday, 19 December 2019
German governing parties voted to pass a law to ban the Lebanese Hezbollah group in Europe, saying it should be put on the European Union's terrorist list. Mathias Middelberg, the spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in parliament, said a joint resolution with the junior coalition Social Democrats would be introduced for debate Thursday. “It is unacceptable that Hezbollah is waging a terrorist fight against Israel in the Middle East, which is being financed through worldwide criminal activities, among other things,” he said in a statement.
“In view of Germany's special responsibility toward Israel, we call on the government to ban all activities for Hezbollah in Germany.” At the moment, the EU lists Iran-backed Hezbollah's military wing as a banned terrorist group, but not its political wing, which has been part of Lebanese governments in recent years.

German Parliament Calls for Full Ban of Hizbullah Activities
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 19/2019
Germany's parliament passed a resolution Thursday calling for a national ban on the activities of Hizbullah and for the Lebanese Iran-backed group to be put on the European Union's "terrorist" list.
Mathias Middelberg, the spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in parliament, said the joint resolution was agreed upon with the junior coalition Social Democrats, as well as the opposition Free Democrats.
"It is unacceptable that Hizbullah is waging a terrorist fight against Israel in the Middle East, which is being financed through worldwide criminal activities, among other things," he said in a statement. "In view of Germany's special responsibility toward Israel, we call on the government to ban all activities for Hizbullah in Germany."
The EU now lists IHizbullah's military wing as a banned "terrorist" group, but not its political wing, which has been part of Lebanese governments in recent years.
"The separation between a political and a military arm should be abandoned, and Hizbullah as a whole should be placed on the EU terrorist list," Middelberg said. "This could freeze Hizbullah's funds and assets in Europe more extensively than before."
However, other member nations have opposed broadening the scope of the EU's Hizbullah ban.
The parliamentary resolution in Germany was approved with a majority show of hands by members of Merkel's bloc, the Social Democrats and the Free Democrats. Other parties represented in the German legislature all abstained.
The Left Party said it could not vote for the resolution because adding Hizbullah to the EU terrorist list could complicate relations with Lebanon. Members of the Greens said they agreed with almost all of the resolution but objected to a point that they said could lead to "military intervention" in the Mideast.
Johann Wadephul, a lawmaker with Merkel's Christian Democrats, offered assurance that the resolution's call for measures to reduce the influence of Hizbullah in the region, particularly in Syria, did not foresee military action.
"But we are all called upon to isolate Hizbullah internationally," Wadephul told fellow lawmakers. "They threaten Israel, they threaten the peace process in the Mideast and therefore we must confront Hizbullah."
It was not immediately clear whether the resolution would prompt the government to pursue the ban of Hizbullah's activities. But with the governing parties and most of the opposition on board, such action seemed likely.
Several lawmakers noted that a ban would allow authorities to prevent Hizbullah supporters from staging an annual anti-Israel march in Berlin.
Britain banned Hizbullah in March following moves of other nations, including the Netherlands, the United States and Canada.
The German resolution comes as the U.S. has been increasing its pressure on Hizbullah, placing several sets of sanctions on the group and its regional backer, Iran.
In Berlin, U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell applauded the resolution approved Thursday, saying "we stand ready to support the government's implementation of a ban."
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged that with Hizbullah's ties to Lebanese government "the political reality in Lebanon is complex," but he said "this should not prevent us from exhausting the legal possibilities in Germany to tackle Hizbullah's criminal and terrorist activities."
"Hizbullah denies Israel's right to exist, threatens violence and terror, and continues to massively increase its arsenal of missiles," Maas said.
In Lebanon, Hizbullah was part of caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri's unity Cabinet, which resigned Oct. 29 in response to mass anti-government protests amid a worsening economic crisis.
Israel and Hizbullah fought a month-long war in 2006 that ended in a U.N.-brokered cease-fire. While direct fighting has been rare since then, there has been occasional violence, most recently on Sept. 1 when Hizbullah fired a barrage of anti-tank missiles into Israel and Israel responded with artillery fire.
The barrage was fired in retaliation to an Israeli airstrike inside Syria which Hizbullah said killed two of its members. It also followed an incident in which two Israeli drones crashed in a Hizbullah stronghold in south Beirut.
Israel maintains Hizbullah has amassed an arsenal of some 130,000 rockets and missiles capable of striking virtually anywhere in Israel. More recently, it has accused the group of trying to import or develop guided missiles.
Last December, Israel announced that it had uncovered a network of tunnels that it said Hizbullah was building with the aim of infiltrating and carrying out attacks. Israel said it systematically destroyed the structures.
Hizbullah has not commented on the tunnels, though the U.N. peacekeeping force UNIFIL has said the group violated the 2006 ceasefire.

Israeli Army Expects Hezbollah Border Infiltration
Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 19 December, 2019
An Israeli military official revealed on Wednesday that a drill held on the northern front bordering Lebanon aimed to simulate ways to confront a possible infiltration of Hezbollah members into Israel. The two-day exercise, which concluded on Tuesday, focused on conducting Intelligence, combat and gathering efforts over a possible widespread attack by the Lebanese group. An Israeli army spokesman said that Hezbollah would try to infiltrate and control one or more Israeli villages in any upcoming war with Israel. He said that a commando force could head from the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras to Israeli border towns and could even kidnap soldiers or innocent civilians. “It is true that Hezbollah is currently busy with the protests in Lebanon, however, the Israeli army knows that Hezbollah could rely on tension with Israel to help the party limit the level of tension in Beirut,” he said. The Hebrew-language Channel 7 said the maneuver involved the use of various types of weapons. It quoted an Israeli army spokesman as saying that the maneuver was conducted to face many security and military challenges at the northern front, including how to transfer intelligence and supply during the war. Military correspondent Ron Ben-Yishai said that since 2011 “Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah speaks about invading Galilee. However, Nasrallah does not plan to infiltrate Israeli territories for more than a few kilometers.”For his part, the Israeli army’s Northern Command chief, Amir Baram, said that a strong and disproportionate strike against Hezbollah positions at the border should produce a change in the results of any upcoming war.

Two Months of Protests in Lebanon
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 19/2019
Lebanon has been paralysed by two months of protests demanding an overhaul of the entire political system.
Here is a recap:
'WhatsApp tax' anger
On October 17, the government announces a tax on messaging applications, including WhatsApp. Coming amid a looming economic crisis, many see the plan as a step too far. Thousands take to the streets in Beirut and other cities, some chanting "the people demand the fall of the regime".
The government scraps the tax on messaging applications the same day, but protests continue.
Demos grow
On October 18, thousands of demonstrators representing different sects and political affiliations bring the capital to a standstill. They demand an overhaul of the political system, citing grievances from austerity measures and state corruption to poor infrastructure and regular electricity cuts. The army reopens some highways blocked by protesters and disperses a huge crowd in Beirut with water cannon and tear gas. Dozens are arrested. Demonstrations swell over the following days, with major gatherings in Lebanon's second city Tripoli and other centres.
Reforms announced
On October 21, Prime Minister Saad Hariri announces his government has approved a raft of economic reforms, including halving salaries for lawmakers and ministers. But demonstrators dismiss the new measures as insufficient. On October 25, the powerful Shiite movement Hizbullah -- which with its allies holds a majority in parliament -- tells supporters not to take part in protests. The next day, Hizbullah mobilises counter-rallies, sparking scuffles with anti-government demonstrators.
Government resigns
On the evening of October 29, Hariri submits his resignation and that of his government, prompting celebrations in the streets. President Michel Aoun asks the government to stay on until a new cabinet is formed. Protesters regroup over the coming days, demanding a government of technocrats, independent of traditional political parties divided along sectarian lines. In a television address on November 3, Aoun announces plans to tackle corruption, reform the economy and form a civil government. But thousands of protesters stream back into Beirut's Martyrs' Square, chanting "Revolution!"
Counter-attacks -
On November 24, supporters of Hizbullah and its ally Amal assault anti-government demonstrators in Beirut in their most serious attack on the protest movement to date. Army reinforcements intervene. At least 10 people are injured. The incident prompts the UN Security Council to call for "intensive national dialogue".Over three consecutive nights of violence, 16 people are detained and 51 troops are wounded, the army says on November 27.
Violence intensifies -
On December 12, Hariri appeals for international funding for an emergency rescue package to resolve the crisis. Clashes that erupt late December 14 are the most violent since protests began. Security forces use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators, who demand a government of independent experts and that Hariri not return as premier. Hizbullah and Amal supporters also clash with riot police, who fire tear gas to prevent them breaching barricades near parliament. Dozens are hurt. Dozens more are wounded on December 17, in dawn clashes between security forces and supporters of Hizbullah and Amal.
Hariri not candidate
On December 18, Lebanon increases security around protest centres in central Beirut. Hariri says he will not seek to remain prime minister, on the eve of much-delayed consultations on a new government.

Analysts: Diab Designation Risks to Deepen Sectarian Rift, Block Aid
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 19/2019
Lebanese academic and former minister Hassan Diab received the backing of Hizbullah and looked set Thursday to be named the crisis-wracked country's new prime minister. Caretaker premier Saad Hariri pulled out of the race on Wednesday and his bloc did not nominate any candidate when much-delayed consultations to form a new government got under way at the presidential palace. The nomination of Diab would yield a lopsided government that observers warn could fuel sectarian tensions on the streets and complicate efforts to secure international aid needed to pull Lebanon back from the brink of default. Hariri resigned seven weeks ago under pressure from an unprecedented wave of protests demanding a complete overhaul of the political system, leaving the country without a government to tackle its worst ever economic crisis. Diab, a professor at the American University of Beirut and a former education minister, was endorsed by Hizbullah, which with its allies holds a majority in parliament. President Michel Aoun, a Hizbullah ally, launched the twice delayed official talks to designate a new prime minister on Thursday, meeting with all parliamentary blocs. The talks were opened with a meeting between Aoun and Hariri, whose al-Mustaqbal Movement did not nominate a candidate and is now expected to be excluded from the next government. The 49-year-old prominent Sunni leader had in recent days been seen as the most likely choice to head a technocrat-dominated government, but he announced late Wednesday he was pulling out.“God bless everyone," Hariri said after the meeting.
'The only option'
Lebanon has been ruled by the same political clans and families since the 1975-1990 civil war and protesters have pushed for a technocratic government. Demonstrators of all sectarian backgrounds have been in the streets every day since October 17 to demand the removal of the entire political leadership, seen as corrupt and incompetent. "I have strived to meet their demand for a government of experts, which I saw as the only option to address the serious social and economic crisis our country faces," Hariri said in a statement. But, he added, staunch opposition to his plan for a technocratic government forced him to bow out. More than five hours into the consultations, Diab had earned more nominations than the only other contender, International Criminal Court Judge Nawaf Salam, and looked on course to succeed Hariri. A career academic, he held the education portfolio from 2011 to 2014 in a government formed after Hizbullah brought down a previous Hariri cabinet. The power-sharing system that was enshrined after the end of the civil war means that the prime minister's position should be filled by a member of the Sunni Muslim community. As the leading Sunni representative, the premier is usually backed by the community's main leaders. But Lebanon's heavyweight Sunni politicians stopped short of backing Diab, raising fears that the next government will be polarized and unable to tackle urgent reforms demanded by protesters and the international community.
'Sunni-Shiite schism'
Imad Salamey, a political science professor at the Lebanese American University, said the expected appointment of Diab will only "deepen" Lebanon's crisis. "If Diab is appointed as premier, then the coming government will be dominated by Hizbullah (and its allies) without political cover from Hariri and the Sunnis," he told AFP. "This will drive Lebanon towards a Sunni-Shiite schism and drown the revolution in sectarian discourse," he said. Diab describes himself on his website as "one of the rare technocrat ministers since Lebanon's independence."It remains to be seen how protesters will react to Diab, who is not politically affiliated and largely unknown among the public, although he has been widely criticized on social media and calls have been made for protesting outside his residence in Tallet al-Khayat. Three days after the start of the anti-government protests, he called them a "historic and awe-inspiring scene." "The Lebanese people have united to defend their rights to a free and dignified life," he wrote on Twitter. While the huge crowds that filled the squares of Beirut and other Lebanese cities two months ago have dwindled, the protest movement is still alive and keeping politicians in check. Tensions have been further heightened by the looming bankruptcy of the debt-ridden Lebanese state. A government dominated by Hizbullah, which has been targeted by increasingly biting U.S. sanctions, is unlikely to secure billions of dollars in frozen aid. The Lebanese pound, officially pegged to the U.S. dollar, has lost around 30 percent of its value on the black market, while companies have been paying half-salaries over the past two months as well as laying off employees.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun nominates Hezbollah-backed Hassan Diab as new prime minister
James Haines-Young and Sunniva Rose/December 19/2019
Appointment comes after Saad Hariri's Future Movement confirmed it will not take part in next government
Lebanese academic Hassan Diab, a former minister backed by Hezbollah, accepted the position of prime minister designate on Thursday after President Michel Aoun charged him with forming a new government. The announcement came more than seven weeks after Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned because of nation-wide, anti-government protests that have not stopped. Mr Diab, 60, a little-known professor of electrical engineering at the American University of Beirut, replaces Mr Hariri amid the worst economic crisis since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
The former education minister received 69 votes from Lebanese MPs who met Mr Aoun to tell him of their choice on Monday. Speaking from the presidential palace in Baabda outside Beirut, Mr Diab said he requested that consultations with parties would begin on Saturday to start forming a government, the state-run National News Agency reported.
He is expected to meet with different factions to agree on the composition of the new Cabinet, which he will submit to the president. This process usually takes several months in Lebanon. Lebanon has been rocked since October 17 by nationwide anti-government protests, which pushed Mr Hariri to resign on October 29, collapsing the government. Protesters demand a government of technocrats with no links to politics to save the country from economic collapse. Mr Diab said he was “a specialist and the priority is for specialists", but did not clarify whether his government would include politicians.
He received the backing of parties that made up the largely defunct March 8 movement, including Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and Mr Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement. They have called for an administration of technocrats and politicians, despite the demands of protesters.
Thirteen MPs from parties considered to be more aligned with western countries, such as the Progressive Socialist Party, nominated International Court of Justice judge Nawaf Salam for prime minister.
Forty-two MPs did not offer any name. Among them were three former prime ministers, including Najib Mikati, who led the government when Mr Diab was Education Minister in 2011. Mr Hariri’s Future Movement, the main representative of Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim community, also did not put forward a nomination. Under the country’s constitutional power-sharing system, the prime minister must always be a Sunni.
The Future Movement’s lack of support for Mr Diab puts him in a difficult position. In the past, presidents have been reluctant to select a candidate who does not have the backing of the Sunni community. “This is a big problem because a major component of Lebanese society is not part of the deal,” said Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs. Mr Hariri’s party said “from the beginning” that it would not be part of the next government, Moustapha Allouche, a member of the Future Movement, told The National. Mr Allouche said the 2011 administration of Najib Mikati showed that the new head of government did not need Sunni backing. “What is important now is to form a government that will be judged not on its sectarian content but on its real political and technical content,” he said. Support from Hezbollah and its allies could complicate Mr Diab’s requests for international financial, which is widely expected to resolve the crisis. “This kind of government will isolate Lebanon completely and deepen the economic crisis,” Mr Nader said. Mr Hariri again ruled himself out for the post on Wednesday evening, after a week of tense protests and clashes in Beirut as the two-month mass protest movement against the government continued. He joined the call for an administration of technocrats to work on a mandate of fixing the economic crisis, resolving long-running infrastructure issues and weeding out corruption.

Lebanon: Revolution against Hooligans
Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al Awsat/December 19/2019
Sixty-four days after it started, the revolution of dignity has dominated Lebanese spirit and has changed many traditions after it brought the majority of Lebanese social groups to the streets. These included many who had never thought of the possibility that the time will come where their first daily priority will be going to protest. They leave their houses equipped with a flag and a water bottle, some with masks as modest protection against tear gas, and all of them chanting “All of them means all of them” with female students and women on the frontlines in an attempt to separate security forces and the protest.
Despite the mass oppression suffered by the people and the lowest-income groups being burdened beyond their capacity, after more and more institutions shut down and dismissed their employees and unemployment reaching fifty percent of the working force, the squares have clung onto their enthusiasm and joy, and most importantly, hope. Hope in salvation from the sectarian farm called the state and taking back the civil state, the constitutional, legitimate, fair, and transparent state. This hope enhanced the citizens’ self-confidence, where they discovered that they no longer fear the finger raised against them, threats of civil war, or reproducing sectarian struggles. Since the revolution appeared to people as the most inclusive, powerful, and brightest of all experiences that the country has known. This is especially true after the accusations of foreign funding, treason, and conspiracies with embassies have been proven empty, and after the threats of returning to civil war have receded, with the responsibility of sectarian parties for the crisis becoming apparent. The Secretary-General of Hezbollah on December 13 revealed the regime’s confusion and the general inability to take any steps to confront the collapse, especially the worsening social crisis, he issued the beginning of a new phase in their confrontation of the peaceful revolution. His speech seemed like an order to commence the counter-revolution to take out the peaceful protesters and to end the demonstrations in the streets after he held the revolution responsible for everything the country had gone through, to the point where he claimed that the country was improving before October 16 and that the government was preparing reforms until October 17 suddenly came and interrupted the process.
There is no reason for surprise. Hezbollah seemed confused by the revolution and worried by the mass support the revolution received for its demand for an independent government that is trusted by the Lebanese people and the international community. The need for a government that stops the collapse and provides an independent judiciary to take back the peoples’ rights and sets an electoral law per the constitution that guarantees fair representation. In this context, the revolution snatched international support, as the Paris Conference called for the formation of an independent government that has a clean slate that is trustworthy and capable of implementing reforms. After they failed to hold the binding parliamentary consultations, and Hezbollah fueling hooliganism that was resisted on the 14th and 15th of this month, the response was an even more massive invasion on the 16th and 17th of December, the 15th consecutive invasion, and it reached Beirut, Saida, Nabatieh, Kfar Remen, Baalbek, and Fakha. In short, Nasrallah responded to the Lebanese people by saying, “It is up to me to decide, we will rule you as we please.”
Today, Lebanon is experiencing a vertical division between squares that have united the country and sparked a revolution promising happiness and the richness of diversity. The revolution isolated the political class accused of corruption. It broke stereotypes and boundaries that the sectarian forces wanted to impose on the Lebanese and Lebanon. The revolution is part of a second wave of Arab uprisings in Sudan, Algeria, and Iraq. It is a wave that put a Lebanese majority against the hooliganism of the broken allied forces of the past. That is, despite the strength of the mini-state that has become the fiercest defender of the sectarian regime after October 17 and the side that sponsors the regime and manages it and determines its function, and runs its looting of public funds. It is the protector of the dark economy that loots no less than a third of government revenue.
It is a moment of truth. The revolution’s goal was never to block roads nor to assemble in squares. These are all means that overthrew the government and forced it to cancel all taxes out of its 2020 budget. These are the means that closed down parliament twice, a parliament that betrays the voters’ will, that forced the withdrawal of three candidates for premiership accused of corruption, and proved to everyone that the Lebanese demands could not be met without deconstructing the sectarian regime. In a moment, the revolution put all sectarian forces under accusation: All of them means all of them. Now we see Saad Hariri, who had once promised 900,000 jobs joining Amal movement and Hezbollah duo, repeating his mantra of him being the savior. As for Samir Geagea, who spoke of a revolution that he started a long time ago in the government while confronting the revolution’s union leader Melhem Khalaf, Geagea, who did not leave the political agreement in 2016. Gebran Bassil announced that he had joined the ranks of the revolution after he had presented himself as the creator of governments. Walid Jumblatt is pretending to be outside the formula. All of this a result of the fact that the sectarian regime is starting to waver, as Hezbollah decided to take it upon themselves to return the country to before October 17, deluded that destroying a few tents would allow them to reproduce the government overthrown by the street and reproduce a corrupt regime that will make the majority of people pay for the crisis.
All of this makeup is no longer sufficient to cover the hideousness, despite having militias and other means of violence, they are the weakest because there are no sides that have a plan to save the country while the unemployment crisis plagues the entire country. Starvation is the hallmark of their regime that has forced a substantial number of citizens to take their own lives out of poverty and humiliation. Hezbollah’s missiles will not put money in the ATMs and will not give people back their bank deposits. Their missiles will not provide jobs for the unemployed, reaching 50% of the working force. This is a critical moment in the united political confrontation before they reproduce some agreement that blurs peoples’ vision and maintains the crisis, taking the country into degeneration.

Lebanon: Investigate alarming use of force on largely peaceful protests
Amnesty International Web Site/19 December 2019
The authorities in Lebanon must launch a thorough, independent and effective investigation into last Saturday’s violent crackdown on largely peaceful protesters – the most aggressive since nationwide anti-government demonstrations began two months ago, said Amnesty International today. Anyone found to be responsible for having used force unlawfully, including brutally beating protesters and relentlessly using teargas, must be brought to account through criminal or disciplinary proceedings, as appropriate.
On Sunday 15 December, the Lebanese Caretaker Interior Minister Raya Al-Hassan warned against "infiltrators" seeking to use protests to spark "confrontations" and asked peaceful protesters to leave the area “for their own protection.” She announced an internal "rapid and transparent" investigation into Saturday's violence.
“While the caretaker minister of interior has announced an internal investigation, only an independent criminal investigation by the Public Prosecution can deter future excessive use of force. Otherwise protesters will continue to be unsafe on the streets,” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Research.
“Since the beginning of the protests almost two months ago, security forces have resorted to unnecessary and excessive force against peaceful protesters on a number of occasions. But the unprovoked crackdown we witnessed on Saturday is by far the most virulent we have seen so far.”
Low-level clashes between protesters and security forces took place on the following two evenings, with police using tear gas in response to stone-throwing, water bottles and shooting fireworks by the protesters.
Only an independent criminal investigation by the Public Prosecution can deter future excessive use of force. Otherwise protesters will continue to be unsafe on the streets
Amnesty International staff observed the protests on the ground, spoke to seven eyewitnesses, including two who were wounded, and reviewed video footage and images of teargas being used to disperse demonstrators.
“Teargas canisters were falling one after the other”
On Saturday 14 December 2019 around 6pm, peaceful protesters - including men, women, elderly people and children – gathered outside the parliament in the capital, Beirut. Protesters positioned towards the front consistently told Amnesty International that at around 7pm without any provocation, riot police members barged through the crowd of peaceful protesters in large numbers, alongside men in civilian clothes armed with batons, and started chasing and beating protesters. Within minutes, they began firing extensive rounds of tear gas canisters. Dozens of people were injured as a result of the beatings and the tear gas inhalation.
Having dispersed, protesters were chased almost two kilometers further along the highway by police. One protester, Sara, told the organization: “The teargas was being shot one after the next. At first, four [canisters] at a time, and then they became like fireworks as when we were kids. People were throwing up, others saying drink water, smell onions, vinegar; no one knew what was happening.”
Another activist described to Amnesty International how he woke up the next day still coughing because of the teargas He said: “The amount of teargas was ridiculous. It was like someone shooting with a machinegun. Teargas canisters were falling one after the other.”
According to Amnesty International’s weapons expert, images of teargas cannisters found on Saturday were 56mm CM4 tear gas grenades manufactured by the French company SAE Alsetex in October 2007.
The Lebanese Red Cross told Amnesty they treated 33 cases in the field and transported 10 injured people to hospitals on Saturday night. Cases treated in the field included short breath, vomiting and coughing due to exposure to teargas. The Lebanese Civil Defense said it had treated 72 people for injuries at the scene and taken 20 others to hospital.
Since the beginning of the protests almost two months ago, security forces have resorted to unnecessary and excessive force against peaceful protesters on a number of occasions. But the unprovoked crackdown we witnessed on Saturday is by far the most virulent we have seen so far.
Amnesty International interviewed one of the emergency doctors on call at a nearby hospital attending to injured protesters. He said that approximately 25 injured protesters came in that Saturday night. The types of injuries described were mainly the result of beatings, and included bruises, broken teeth, and cuts that required stitches. One young woman had been beaten and had blood inside her lungs which caused bruises and concussion.
Three people arrived at the emergency room without any identification. According to the doctor: “They said the police took their identification papers and then they beat them up, they were beaten all around their bodies leaving them swollen from head to toe.”
Parliamentary police also dragged a number of protesters inside the square behind the barriers and subjected them to beatings, insults and threats. One injured protester described to Amnesty International how he was protecting other protesters from beatings, when he was taken by riot police behind the barriers. They tied his hands behind his back and beat him for a period of around 20 minutes until he couldn’t stand up. He said “they were beating me there behind the barriers. It’s like Guantanamo inside the Nejmeh Square.
“It is essential that any investigation into this incident, and any other incident that pertains to human rights violations committed by any of the security forces, is conducted in an independent manner and lead to accountability Peaceful protesters have a right to seek justice and redress for what they suffered through this weekend, and the only way they would be able to do so is before an independent court,” said Lynn Maalouf.
Background
Protests in Lebanon have rocked the country since 17 October. Protesters are demanding a complete overhaul of a political class they accuse of being incompetent and corrupt. They have called on the authorities to deal with a stagnant economy, rising prices, high unemployment, dire public services and rampant and systemic corruption.
The protests across Lebanon have been overwhelmingly peaceful and the response from army and security forces has been largely restrained. However, Amnesty International has documented incidents of unlawful and excessive use of force, including in one incident, the use of live ammunition against peaceful protesters. On another occasion an army personnel who had shot into the air, subsequently shot and killed a peaceful protester and father of three. Amnesty International has documented several other human rights violations by the Lebanese authorities including a failure to protect peaceful protesters, arbitrary arrests and torture and ill-treatment.
The events of Saturday resembled the first few days of the protests, when security forces used excessive force to disperse protesters firing huge amounts of tear gas into crowds and chasing protesters down streets and alleys at gunpoint and beating them.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 19-20/2019
US to restrict visas for Iranian officials detaining peaceful protesters: Pompeo
Reuters, Washington/Thursday, 19 December 2019
The United States will restrict visas for current or former Iranian officials who abuse or detain peaceful protests, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday, as Washington ramps up its campaign to pressure on the Islamic Republic. “We’re restricting visas for current or former Iranian officials and individuals responsible for, or complicit in, the abuse, detention or killing of peaceful protesters or for inhibiting their rights to freedom of expression or assembly,” Pompeo said. The unrest in Iran began on Nov. 15 after the Iranian government abruptly raised fuel prices by as much as 200 percent. It spread to more than 100 cities and towns and turned political as young and working-class protesters demanded clerical leaders step down. Washington also announced sanctions on Thursday for two Iranian judges it accused of punishing Iranian citizens and dual nationals for exercising their freedoms of speech and assembly. Pompeo said one of the judges, Abolghassem Salavati, sentenced US citizen Xiyue Wang to 10 years in prison on spying charges. Wang was released earlier this month in a prisoner exchange after being held for three years. “We’re gladdened we won Xiyue’s release, but he should have never been sentenced or jailed in the first place,” Pompeo said. In addition to Salavati, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Mohammad Moghisseh, a judge it said was “notorious for sentencing scores of journalists and internet users to lengthy prison terms."
Both judges have previously been blacklisted by the European Union, according to the Treasury.

US Imposes Sanctions on Iran Judges, Vows to Restrict Visas
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 19 December, 2019
The United States is imposing sanctions on additional senior Iranian officials for human rights abuses and will restrict visas for current or former officials who abuse or detain peaceful protests, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday.The unrest in Iran began on Nov. 15 after the Iranian government abruptly raised fuel prices by as much as 200%. It spread to more than 100 cities and towns and turned political as young and working-class protesters demanded clerical leaders step down. Pompeo denounced the recent violent crackdown by Iranian authorities against the widespread protests, and the Treasury Department on Thursday targeted two top Iranian judges with penalties. Pompeo assailed Iranian officials for “hypocrisy” by depriving citizens, particularly ethnic and religious minorities of their constitutional rights. He said he had redesignated Iran as a “country of particular concern” for religious freedom, a status that adds a layer of potential sanctions against the government. He also said the administration would enact travel bans on officials found to have violated human rights, as well as their families. “The United States has stood, and will stand under President Trump, for the Iranian people,” Pompeo said in a speech at the State Department. “The appeasement of the regime simply will not work.”The sanctions announced by the Treasury Department freeze any assets the two judges may have in US jurisdictions and bar Americans from any transactions with the judges The sanctions will also affect foreigners doing business with the judges, who sit at the top of two branches of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. “Abolghassem Salavati and Mohammad Moghisseh oversaw the Iranian regime’s miscarriage of justice in show trials in which journalists, attorneys, political activists, and members of Iran’s ethnic and religious minority groups were penalized for exercising their freedom of expression and assembly and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, lashes, and even execution,” the department said in a statement. Salavati runs Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court. The statement said he had sentenced so many people to capital punishment that he is nicknamed the “the Judge of Death.” Moghisseh presides over Branch 28 of court, and the statement said he had sentenced numerous artists to lengthy sentences for “collusion against national security and propaganda against the state allegedly found in their artwork."

Five killed by car bomb in Turkish-controlled Syria region
AFP, Ankara/Thursday, 19 December 2019
A car bomb killed five people including three children in the Turkish-controlled region of northern Syria on Thursday, Turkey's defense ministry said. The attack took place in Tal Halaf southwest of Ras al-Ain, which was taken by the Turkish military during its offensive against Kurdish militants in October. It blamed the attack on the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which has ties to the insurgent Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) inside Turkey. “The PKK/YPG terror group continues its treacherous attacks targeting innocent civilians. The child murderers this time detonated a car bomb in a residential area in Tal Halaf southwest of Ras al-Ain, killed five innocent civilians including three children,” the ministry tweeted. Britain-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the attack but gave a lower toll of two, adding that several people were injured. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to establish a “safe zone” in areas seized during the October offensive, and use it to repatriate some of the 3.6 million refugees currently in Turkey.

Political deadlock delays choice of new PM to steer Iraq out of crisis
Reuters, Baghdad/Thursday, 19 December 2019
Iraqi lawmakers said on Thursday that deadlock in parliament was holding up the selection of an interim prime minister, meaning leaders would miss a deadline to name a replacement for Adel Abdul Mahdi and prolong nationwide unrest. More than 450 people, mostly unarmed demonstrators but also some members of the security forces, have been killed since a wave of popular unrest began on Oct. 1. Protesters, most of them young, are demanding an overhaul of a political system they see as profoundly corrupt and keeping most Iraqis in poverty. The protests have shaken the country out of two years of relative calm following the defeat of ISIS insurgents. Infighting between political parties who are clinging onto power has fueled the crisis and threatens to cause more unrest as protesters lose patience. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned last month under pressure from the streets but has remained in office in a caretaker capacity. The constitutional deadline to name a replacement expires on Thursday. President Barham Salih this week asked the largest bloc in parliament to nominate a new premier to form a government. Lawmakers and politicians said Salih could now delay the nomination to Dec. 22, based on a federal court ruling allowing national holidays to be excluded from the run-up to the constitutional deadline. The house failed on Wednesday to pass a new electoral law, a key demand of protesters, which would make elections fairer after each round in recent years has been marred by allegations of fraud. Protesters demand a new electoral law and committee, but also the removal of the entire political class, and a prime minister with no party affiliation.

UN calls for ‘de-escalation’ in Syria’s northwest
AFP, Beirut/Thursday, 19 December 2019
The United Nations on Wednesday condemned a deadly uptick in violence in Syria’s last opposition bastion. Najat Rochdi, senior humanitarian adviser to the UN’s Syria envoy, called for “immediate de-escalation” a day after a war monitor reported that regime air strikes and artillery fire had killed 23 civilians. Rochdi condemned “the recent intensification of hostilities in northwest Syria, in particular aerial bombardments and the reported use of barrel bombs, killing tens of civilians including women and children,” her office said in a statement. The extremist-dominated region of Idlib, which is home to millions of local and displaced civilians, is supposed to be protected by a months-old ceasefire deal to prevent a broad regime offensive, but bombardment has continued. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday about 30 were wounded, including some seriously. An AFP correspondent said strikes continued in the area on Wednesday, and the Observatory reported that four civilians had been killed by bombardment on the area by the regime and its Russian ally. “Despite repeated assurances that warring parties only strike legitimate military targets, attacks on health and education facilities continue,” Rochdi’s statement said. The Damascus regime has repeatedly vowed to take back control of the Idlib region. Pro-government forces launched a blistering offensive against the region in April, killing about 1,000 civilians and displacing more than 400,000 people from their homes. Moscow announced a ceasefire in late August, but strikes and skirmishes have persisted. Syria’s war has killed over 370,000 people and displaced around half the population since beginning in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

UN: Israel has advanced 22,000 housing units in West Bank
The Associated Press, United Nations/Thursday, 19 December 2019
The UN Mideast envoy said Wednesday that Israel advanced or approved plans for over 22,000 housing units in West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem in the three years since the Security Council adopted a resolution condemning settlements in lands the Palestinians want for their future state.
Nickolay Mladenov told the UN Security Council that in addition, Israel issued tenders for some 8,000 housing units since the December 2016 resolution, which also declared that the settlements have “no legal validity.”He said the numbers “should be of serious concern to all those who continue to support the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state alongside Israel.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report to the Security Council circulated Wednesday that the settlements have “no legal effect.” He declared that construction and approvals “must cease immediately and completely.”“The existence and expansion of settlements fuel resentment and hopelessness among the Palestinian population and significantly heighten Israeli-Palestinian tensions,” the UN chief said. “In addition, they continue to undermine the prospects for ending the (Israeli) occupation and achieving the two-state solution by systematically eroding the possibility of establishing a contiguous and viable Palestinian state,” he added. Guterres said he regrets the Trump administration’s announcement on November 18 that it no longer views “the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank” as “per se, inconsistent with international law.”Mladenov was reporting to the council on implementation of the 2016 resolution. The resolution was approved by the council when the United States, in the final weeks of the Obama administration, abstained rather than using its veto to support longtime ally Israel as it had done many times previously. US Ambassador Kelly Craft told the council that she would have vetoed the resolution, which the Trump administration opposes.

Israel strikes Gaza after rocket attack: military
AFP, Jerusalem/Thursday, 19 December 2019
Israeli warplanes attacked an arms plant in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip early Thursday, after Palestinian militants in the enclave fired a rocket at Israel, the army said. “Overnight, a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory,” an English-language army statement read. “In response... fighter jets struck a Hamas weapons manufacturing site in the northern Gaza Strip.”There were no immediate reports of casualties in the overnight rocket attack or the air strike that followed. Later on Thursday, Israeli authorities announced a punitive reduction in the fishing zone off Gaza. COGAT, a unit of Israel's defense ministry, said that in response to the latest rocket fire, “the Gaza Strip fishing zone has been reduced to 10 nautical miles until further notice.” Israel constantly adjusts the fishing zone according to the level of tension around Gaza, sometimes allowing boats to fish up to 15 nautical miles offshore and at others restricting them to six or banning fishing altogether. Last month, Israeli forces assassinated a senior Islamic Jihad leader in the Gaza Strip, sparking a two-day flare-up which killed 36 Palestinians. Islamic Jihad fired around 450 rockets at Israel, many of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system.
Israel has fought three wars with Hamas and allied armed groups in Gaza since 2008.

Protest in Support of Palestinian Prisoner on Hunger Strike
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 19 December, 2019
Dozens of Palestinians protested outside an Israeli military court in the occupied West Bank on Thursday calling for the release of Ahmed Zahran who has been on a partial hunger strike for nearly three months. The protesters carried portraits of Zahran, 42, who was arrested in February and is being held in what is known as administrative detention, under which Israeli authorities can hold detainees for months or years without charge or trial. He is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine that Israel blames for a bombing in a settlement in August that killed a 17-year-old Israeli girl and wounded her brother and father. Zahran has been arrested several times and previously spent 15 years in Israeli prison. Zahran's brother, Adel, says he is taken to a clinic and given nutritional supplements when he faints. Israeli troops dispersed Thursday's protest with sound grenades and tear gas. There were no reports of any injuries. Nearly 5,000 Palestinians are serving time in Israeli prisons, including those convicted by military courts of taking part in attacks against Israelis. An estimated 450 are being held in administrative detention. In a separate development, Israeli police said 18 vehicles were vandalized in an Arab neighborhood of east Jerusalem. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said forensic teams were investigating at the scene in the neighborhood of Halaila, where anti-Arab graffiti was found on walls nearby. Hard-line Israeli settlers have been known to carry out “price tag” attacks against Arab property. The incident comes ten days after vandals slashed the tires of over 160 vehicles and sprayed anti-Arab slogans in a different neighborhood of Jerusalem. Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion condemned that incident as a "hate crime" and called on police “to find the criminals as fast as possible and bring them to justice.”

Al-Sisi: Egyptian-Saudi relations are a pillar for stability in the region
Al Arabiya English/Thursday, 19 December 2019
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt are a pillar for stability in the region, Egyptian President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi on Thursday said, adding that the country looks forward to further developing cooperation with the Kingdom, according to the country's official news agency.
Egyptian state TV earlier reported that al-Sisi received a letter from King Salman reaffirming Saudi Arabia's commitment to continue its cooperation with Egypt.

Defiant Trump Rallies Supporters as House Impeaches Him
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 19/2019
Defiant in the face of a historic rebuke, President Donald Trump labeled his impeachment by the House of Representatives on Wednesday "a suicide march" for the Democratic Partyas he delivered a rambling two-hour rally speech that overlapped the vote.
"Crazy Nancy Pelosi's House Democrats have branded themselves with an eternal mark of shame," Trump told the crowd in battleground Michigan, where he took the stage just minutes before becoming only the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. "It's a disgrace"
It was a dramatic and discordant split-screen moment, with Trump emerging from a mock fireplace like Santa Claus at the Christmas-themed rally as the impeachment debate in Washington played out. It was also Trump's longest rally ever, according to the tracking site Factbase, clocking in at two hours and one minute. As Trump spoke — seemingly unaware for a stretch that the votes had been tallied — the House moved to impeach him on two counts. The first charges him with abuse of power for allegedly pressuring the president of Ukraine to investigate his Democratic rivals while crucial U.S. security aid was being withheld. The second charges him with obstruction of Congress for stonewalling investigative efforts.
Yet there is little chance Trump will be convicted by the Republican-controlled Senate and removed from office — a fact that Trump and his allies have pointed to as they have tried to minimize the votes' significance. Still, Trump clearly was stung by the stain that an "ugly" impeachment will attach to his legacy.
Throughout the rally, Trump unleashed his anger at the Democrats, slammed their effort as "illegal" and accused the party of demonstrating "deep hatred and disdain" for voters.
"After three years of sinister witch hunts, hoaxes, scams, tonight the House Democrats are trying to nullify the ballots of tens of millions of patriotic Americans," Trump said, claiming that it was the Democrats who were "interfering in America's elections" and "subverting American democracy."
Mid-rally, an aide held up a sign notifying Trump of the impeachment vote count and the president announced to the crowd that "every single Republican voted for us. Whoa. Wow, wow. ... And three Democrats voted for us."
During the rally, Trump went after several legislators by name, including Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, whose husband, former Rep. John Dingell, died earlier this year. Trump said Debbie Dingell had thanked him for "A-plus treatment" after her husband's death, telling Trump that if her husband were looking down he would be thrilled.
"I said, 'That's OK. Don't worry about it,'" Trump told the crowd. "Maybe he's looking up. I don't know." Some in the crowd gasped.
Dingell responded by tweet, saying Trump's "hurtful words just made my healing much harder."
Trump spent much of his marathon speech zigzagging between impeachment and unrelated topics, punctuating his remarks with more profanity than usual. He offered an extended riff on U.S. pilots being more attractive than"Top Gun" star Tom Cruise, went after Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg's difficult-to-pronounce last name and reveled — yet again — in his 2016 victory.
And after a day of harsh tweets, Trump at times projected a less-concerned attitude toward what he called "impeachment lite."
"It doesn't really feel like we're being impeached," he said shortly after taking the Christmas tree-adorned stage. Later, he added: "I don't know about you, but I'm having a good time. It's crazy."
At another point, he declared: "I'm not worried. I'm not worried."
Trump also worked to highlight the Republicans who have stood with him, telling the crowd that the Republican Party has "never been so united" and predicting victory in 2020.
Aides had said that Trump would wait until the House had finished voting before speaking at the rally, but he appearing onstage ahead of the votes and promed "the best speech you've ever heard."
Throughout the day, Trump had stared down the impending vote as he has every obstacle in his presidency: by broadcasting his grievances via tweet.
"Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG!" Trump wrote in one of 45 tweets posted before noon. He asked his followers to "Say a PRAYER!"
Trump's urgency appeared to escalate later in the day as he switched to all capital letters: "SUCH ATROCIOUS LIES BY THE RADICAL LEFT, DO NOTHING DEMOCRATS. THIS IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA, AND AN ASSAULT ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!!!!"
As the impeachment debate wore on, Trump aides, including White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, fanned out across Capitol Hill to bolster the president's message that impeachment is helping Republicans and damaging Democrats. Vice President Mike Pence got to Michigan ahead of Trump for a daylong bus tour before the Battle Creek rally.
Serving as a warm-up act at the rally, Pence labeled the impeachment drive "a disgrace" and told the crowd that Democrats were "trying to impeach this president because they know they can't defeat this president."
Pelosi and the Democrats are "having their say tonight," he said, "but the Republican Senate is going to have their say in January."Trump's campaign has experienced a surge in contributions and volunteers during the impeachment inquiry and aides were hoping to raise an additional $2 million Wednesday ahead of the votes.

Sudan ‘impunity’ for Darfur crimes must end: Rights groups
AFP, Nairobi/Thursday, 19 December 2019
Human rights groups have called on Sudan’s transitional government to end the “reign of impunity” for war crimes committed in Darfur, nearly 17 years after the bloody conflict started. Sudan’s new leaders must “seize this momentum to bring to justice those responsible for the crimes committed in Darfur,” the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and other organizations wrote in a report Wednesday. Following anti-government protests that led to the fall of veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April, an agreement between Sudan’s military and protest leaders installed a transitional government tasked with steering the country towards civil rule. The new government has pledged to end conflicts in regions including Darfur, where war between rebels and pro-government forces caused 300,000 deaths and displaced 2.5 million people since 2003, according to United Nations figures. Bashir, who was sentenced to two years’ detention in Sudan for corruption Saturday, is subject to arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Transitional authorities have not authorized Bashir’s extradition to face trial at the ICC. The rights groups blamed the failure to bring Bashir and other suspects to international justice “on a lack of national and regional political will.” Authorities in Khartoum must “not obscure past crimes,” said Arnold Tsunga, Africa director for the International Commission of Jurists and former FIDH vice president.
The report – titled “Will there be Justice for Darfur?” – documented ongoing violence in Sudan, drawing on sources in Darfur and testimony from Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad. Without accountability and reparation for victims, such crimes will continue, the report’s authors wrote, “preventing any real democratic political transition.”

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 19-20/2019
Johnson’s Brexit is more ‘Slow Deal’ than ‘No Deal’
Therese Raphael/Bloomberg/Thursday, 19 December, 2019
The financial markets had a rude awakening on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s first day back at the office. Instead of using his new parliamentary majority to push for an ambitious trading relationship with Europe post-Brexit, Johnson doubled down on his election pledge to rush ahead and complete trade talks next year, suggesting there will be either a bare-bones deal or no deal at all. Either way, that would be bad for the UK economy.
The Brexit deal struck by Johnson in October allows for a one- or two-year extension for more considered trade negotiations; Johnson is waiving that option. Instead, his Withdrawal Agreement Bill to be presented to Parliament on Friday will contain a new provision making it illegal for Britain to request an extension to the current transition period, which runs until the end of 2020.
It may seem odd that a government with an 80-seat majority would tie its own hands when setting out on the country’s most important negotiations in a generation. But Johnson’s move speaks to two domestic audiences: the Leave voters who gave him his majority, and the Brexit ultras in his parliamentary party who still carry weight. Fortunately, he has left himself more wriggle room than might be obvious at first glance.
In order to win over Brexiters, and neutralize Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, Johnson pledged not to extend that initial transition period. He has also indicated that he won’t agree to European Union demands on “level playing field” provisions, which would keep Britain aligned with the bloc on areas such as state aid and social and environmental regulations. He’s sending this electoral base a signal that he’s as good as his word.
To the public, his move says “I know why I’m here.” If his election proved anything, it was that people are tired of Brexit and are less bothered by the terms of exit than how quickly it happens. Johnson is well aware that trust in politicians is extremely low, and that his own reputation for honesty is poor. He doesn’t want to be seen to renege on something that won him the election.
His move also signals to the class of new MPs, especially those from Leave-voting northern England, that they must deliver on Brexit if they’re to hold those seats in future. Ultimately, that will mean finding ways to make the lives of these largely blue-collar voters visibly better, something that Brexit will make much harder. But many British voters appear deaf to the threat of economic damage from quitting the EU: the political imperative is just to get it done.
Sticking to a hard Brexit line also speaks to the parliamentary Tory party’s euroskeptic wing. Johnson’s majority is mighty, but the European Research Group of hard-core Brexiter lawmakers — the ones largely responsible for ending his predecessor Theresa May’s time in office — hasn’t gone away. While Johnson has a “stonking mandate,” as he calls it, a war of attrition around the negotiating table in Brussels could wear on that support.
The New Statesman’s Stephen Bush notes that the former Labour prime minister Tony Blair was dealt a major defeat by his own party at the height of his powers in 1997, and so was Margaret Thatcher in 1986, when 72 MPs voted against her plans to change restrictions on Sunday shop openings. Of course, neither of these votes was on such an historic issue. But Bush’s point — that it only takes 40 angry Brexiter lawmakers to overturn Johnson’s majority — is worth noting.
None of this will be of particular comfort to business, which has promised to be more vocal during the trade talks. Johnson’s stance means that a smaller deal, on a narrower range of trade areas, is in play than company bosses would like. It also makes a damaging no-deal conclusion to the talks more likely — hence the pound’s plunge on Tuesday.
And there’s unlikely to be any certainty until well into 2020. Neither the EU nor the UK have set out clear negotiating objectives nor agreed the sequencing of the talks. A shortened time-frame means plenty of thorny issues — from services to data — probably won’t be tackled. Nor is it clear that negotiators in Brussels will work in quite the same way as during the withdrawal talks. Michel Barnier is still running the discussions, but this is a new European Commission with major reforms and budget talks of its own to worry about. And trade talks offer more opportunity for differences to emerge between EU member states. There are two slim silver linings. First, the worst-case scenario isn’t the economically cataclysmic “No Deal” we worried about for much of 2019. The terms of the divorce are already agreed, EU citizens rights secured and the Irish border question resolved (in a fashion). There have been plenty of preparations by governments and business for extra customs and regulatory checks.
What is more likely is what one might call a “low-deal Brexit” — or even a “slow-deal Brexit” since the first trade deal may agree a few basic areas and leave the door open to forging closer ties on others later. The second reason not to panic is that Brexit deadlines tend to be delayed. Whatever blocks against extending the transition are passed in Parliament, nobody really thinks that the EU and UK governments, if they chose, couldn’t find a way to give themselves more time. It’s been done before.

Iraq: The Triad of Army, People, and Marja
Mustafa Fahs/Asharq Al Awsat/Thursday, 19 December, 2019
Al-Sistani’s meeting with a group of casualties from the Iraqi army has stirred much controversy. In the interim between their visit and announcing that visit many highly calculated and multi-dimensional messages were intended by this Najafi religious authority to the interior and the outside.
In terms of form, this is the second time in history that the top Shiite cleric or Marja, Ali al-Sistani, appears in a recorded video. The first time was after the bombing of Imam al-Hassan al-Askari grave in Samarra in 2006, where he appeared alongside three other major Maraji [plural of Marja] al-Hakim, al-Fayyad, and al-Najafi.
The purpose behind that appearance was to contain any sectarian sedition that the bombing had sparked. In terms of content, this second recording days after Friday’s speech that took place on the second commemoration of the victory over ISIS is a painful blow against the political class and the armed Shiite parties that are responsible for the bloody repression that has taken place since the beginning of the October uprising.
The Marja stated, “What has taken place in the last few days from assassinations and abductions asserts once again the importance of all arms being submitted to the rule of the government, and that there be no armed groups outside the state under any name or title. The stability of the country and maintaining civil peace is dependent on this.”
What is noteworthy in this second recording that took place a few months ago and has been revealed days after the Friday speech is that there was no mention of the Popular Mobilization Forces, knowing that a big part of it was dedicated to remembering the Iraqi people’s sacrifices in the war against ISIS, particularly the official armed forces with a clear and explicit focus on the army.
In the last few years, the Iraqi army has become the only official institution with national approval, which led to it being targeted with plans to weaken and isolate it and to get rid of its leadership through dismissals and marginalization. This happened after it had retrieved a part of its fighting spirit that naturally collided with any plan for dominating Iraqi sovereignty. The street and Marja’s insistence that it is the only legitimate weapon exacerbated its relationship with the leaderships of armed militias. The Marja considered in his speech that, “Today we must reaffirm what has been mentioned in terms of the necessity of professionally building the army and the Iraqi armed forces such that it owes loyalty only to the nation, and that it rises to defend it against any foreign aggression and protects its political system that emanates from popular will within a constitutional and legal framework.”
There is no doubt that Marja’s bias towards the army at this stage does not give it the green light to conduct a military coup, seen by many as the only solution to this political deadlock, and a response to the demands of the protesters who are suffering systematic killing by the regime’s militias. Despite that, Najaf and the Iraqi national elite’s sensitivity, mainly Shiite, is still haunted by fears of military coups and rule that brought horrors to Iraq and established a culture of persecution, assassination, and genocides. However, with the loyalist government continuing to rule and its refusal to implement any reforms, its insistence on killing and terrorizing Iraqis to force them to retreat, not responding to the demands of the street, and the fall of more civilian victims, then the army’s frustration will come out in the open and may push the armed units to announce mutiny against the political leadership under the cover of protecting the protesters and to stop the bloodshed that the political class is insisting on under foreign cover.
In this open confrontation between the regime and the people, some protesters depend on the larger sectors of the army and some of its special forces to intervene, such as the anti-terrorism services, in the right time to protect them against the militias. This is especially true that the Iraqi army has defeated ISIS and became the only institution with national approval. The street still considers General Abdel-Wahab al-Saadi to be the icon for the armed forces and its victories, and the most accepted names to take over the transition government, in addition to the former General of the armed forces, al-Asadi, and the former head of the general intelligence services, Mostafa al-Kadhimi, whose name is being mentioned alongside the two generals as meeting the conditions set by the October uprising.
Consequently, the re-engineering of Iraqi nationalism that began on October 1, now has a spiritual, popular, and institutional cover provided by the triad of Iraqi salvation, the army, the people, and the Marja.

Turkey's East-West Carpet Trading
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/December 19/2019
In addition, Turkey is in talks with Russia to purchase a second batch of the S-400 system, including coproduction and technology transfer options. If the S-400 system is operated in Turkey, Moscow could find a built-in cyber backdoor to spy on NATO assets.
Turkey's Islamist strongman, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said in September that it was unacceptable for Turkey not to have its own nuclear weapons – although Turkey is a signatory to both the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
In 2016, Erdoğan said that Turkey did not need to join the European Union "at all costs" and could instead become part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a security bloc dominated by China, Russia and Central Asian nations
Erdoğan thinks that he can forever benefit from the East-West divide by officially belonging to West but more-than-courting the East. He seems to love playing the Russia card to Americans and the America card to Russians. He should be led to understand that he cannot play this carpet trading game forever.
Turkey's strongman, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, thinks that he can forever benefit from the East-West divide by officially belonging to West but more-than-courting the East. Pictured: Erdoğan meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Sochi, Russia, on November 22, 2017.
While NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, celebrated its 70th anniversary on December 4, these days it is sitting on a different paradigm than it did since its birth in Washington DC in 1949. Three years later, in 1952, Turkey, along with its Aegean rival Greece, became a member.
In the 67 years since its membership, Turkey has moved from being a staunch ally defending Europe's southeast flank in the Cold War to being NATO's unresolved burden.
In nice, Kodak-moment speeches, optimists cite Turkey's unique geography, its airbases, it warehoused American nuclear weapons, its past in the alliance, its strategic presence in the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea, its leverage on Muslim countries, a growing need to "keep the family together" and fear of losing Turkey -- especially to Russia.
Turkey has NATO's second-biggest army, and largest navy (relative to Russia's) without whose presence the Black Sea would be a Russian lake (Romania and Bulgaria, members since 2004, have small navies and air forces.)
"One must acknowledge that Turkey is an important ally," NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the German weekly Bild am Sonntag. "In the fight against ISIL, Turkey has made crucial contributions for physically destroying the so-called caliphate. Furthermore: No other ally is hosting so many Syrian refugees, 3.6 million in total. And no other NATO ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey." "Turkey has been an important ally of that alliance since the mid-1950s," said another optimist, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach of Britain's Royal Air Force, who heads the NATO Military Committee. "That situation has not changed. The geostrategic reasons for Turkey's membership have not changed ... and [it] plays a full role in the NATO command structure."
And according to General David Petraeus, former CIA director, "Turkey is a very, very important country to NATO, it is very geo-strategically important in its positioning and a variety of different ways. It played an important role as a base for our aircraft and other assets in the region, so again I hope this can be resolved."Then, sadly, there are the realities. Turkey in 2010 became the first NATO country to have air exercises with China. In 2013 it selected (then cancelled) a Chinese company to build its first air and anti-missile defense architecture. This year, it replaced the Chinese option with the Russian S-400 batteries. Ankara says it will activate the Russian system in April despite U.S. demands that it not unpack it.
In addition Turkey is in talks with Russia to purchase a second batch of the S-400 system, including co-production and technology transfer options. If the S-400 system is operated in Turkey, Moscow could find a built-in cyber backdoor to spy on NATO assets.
Deeply marginalized member Turkey once again angered its NATO allies, including the United States, when it launched a military offensive into northern Syria on October 9, with most Western countries announcing arms embargoes on Ankara. On October 11, U.S. troops who had not yet cleared out of northeastern Syria came under Turkish artillery fire, and U.S. officers said the assault was no accident. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told the North Atlantic Council chamber that Turkey's operation was "unwarranted" and the latest sign that the Ankara was heading in the wrong direction.
Allies seriously need to defend the free world against the threat of ballistic missiles from rogue regimes such as Iran and North Korea. Turkey has a different take here, too. Halkbank, a Turkish government lender, is facing multi-billion dollar U.S. sanctions for evading sanctions on Iran. In addition, Turkey's Islamist strongman, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said in September that it was unacceptable for Turkey not to have its own nuclear weapons – although Turkey is a signatory to both the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
NATO, though, is not only about a security alliance. Members, notes the preamble to the NATO Treaty, "are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law." In these political criteria, Turkey fails as an ally, as well. "Constitutional changes adopted in 2017 concentrated power in the hands of the president, and worsening electoral conditions have made it increasingly difficult for opposition parties to challenge Erdoğan's control," according to the report, "Freedom in the World 2019," which pronounced Turkey's status "not free."
Turks have a confused mind over their membership in NATO – as do many in the West. According to another report, "Research on Public Perceptions on Turkish Foreign Policy," released by Istanbul's Kadir Has University, 60.8% of Turks favor membership in NATO. The same research found out nevertheless that 81.3% of Turks believe that the biggest (security) threat to Turkey is the United States. In other words, Turks favor Turkish membership in NATO but think NATO's biggest member is also the biggest threat to their country.
In 2016, Erdoğan said that Turkey did not need to join the European Union "at all costs" and could instead become part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a security bloc dominated by China, Russia and Central Asian nations. In 2018, Erdoğan said that if the U.S. continues to "disrespect" Turkey, Ankara will seek "new friends and allies."Erdoğan thinks that he can forever benefit from the East-West divide by officially belonging to West but more-than-courting the East. He seems to love playing the Russia card to Americans and the America card to Russians. He should be led to understand that he cannot play this carpet trading game forever. The question is: Would Turkey, with its unambiguous incompatibility, be admitted as a NATO member today?
*Burak Bekdil, one of Turkey's leading journalists, was recently fired from the country's most noted newspaper after 29 years, for writing in Gatestone what is taking place in Turkey. He is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Boris Johnson's Victory Heralds a Golden Era in US-UK Relations
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/December 19/2019
The US president said a future US-UK trade agreement has "the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative" than any deal that could have been made with the EU.
Compared with the calamitous impact a victory for Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose politics is defined by his visceral anti-Americanism, would have had on transatlantic relations, Mr Johnson's return to Downing Street will have been greeted with enormous relief in the White House, as it means Washington now has a firm ally in London, someone who is committed to breathing new life into the vital and long-standing partnership between Britain and America.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's return to Downing Street means that Washington now has a firm ally in London, someone who is committed to breathing new life into the vital and long-standing partnership between Britain and America. Pictured: Johnson meets with US President Donald Trump on September 24, 2019, at United Nations Headquarters in New York. (Image source: The White House)
Boris Johnson has only been back in Downing Street a few days following his stunning victory in Britain's general election, but there are already early signs that his premiership will preside over a dramatic revival in transatlantic relations not seen since the heyday of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.
First and foremost, the British prime minister has made it abundantly clear that his first priority will be to break the Brexit deadlock that has effectively paralysed British politics, and the country's ability to make its voice heard on the international stage, at the earliest possible opportunity, thus opening the way for a trade deal with Washington.
As a start, Mr Johnson has committed his new government to fulfil its election pledge to complete Britain's withdrawal from the European Union by the end of January. Furthermore, he will enshrine in law his promise that the complicated trade negotiations that are due to take place next year to finalise Britain's future trading relationship with the EU bloc will be completed by the end of 2020.
Critics of Mr Johnson's ambitious programme to free Britain from the EU's shackles and negotiate a new network of global trade deals have argued that completing the process of establishing a new trading framework with the EU will take much longer than a year, especially in view of the EU's notoriously slow approach to completing such transactions. The critics point out, for example, that the Canada-EU trade deal took seven years to negotiate and was 22 years in the making.
By enshrining Britain's ultimate departure date in law, Mr Johnson has effectively silenced those critics, as well as sending a clear declaration of intent to Brussels that Britain aims to complete the withdrawal process by the end of next year, with or without a deal.
The fact, moreover, that Mr Johnson now enjoys a comfortable majority of 80 seats in the newly-constituted House of Commons means that he will no longer be subjected to procedural legislative obstructions from die-hard Remainers, as was very much in evidence during the death throes of the last parliament.
Thus Mr Johnson's reinvigorated Conservative Party finds itself in a position to shape Britain's destiny for the foreseeable future, with rebuilding relations between Washington and London seen as being one of Mr Johnson's first priorities.
During the tenure of Theresa May, Mr Johnson's hapless predecessor as prime minister, relations between Downing Street and the White House became strained, to say the least. As one senior former member of Donald Trump's foreign policy team recently told me, "By the end of Mrs May's premiership relations with the US had fallen to an all-time low".
The first indication of a revival in relations between Washington and London came when Mr Trump was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Mr Johnson on his historic win -- he secured the largest Conservative majority since Mrs Thatcher's third election victory in 1987 -- and immediately promised to strike a "massive" new trade deal with the UK post-Brexit. The US president said a future US-UK trade agreement has "the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative" than any deal that could have been made with the EU.
Indeed, with Mr Johnson assured of being Britain's prime minister for the next five years, and Mr Trump well-placed to secure re-election in next year's presidential election contest, there is every prospect that the two leaders could herald a new golden era of transatlantic relations not seen since the alliance of Mrs Thatcher and US President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.
There will, of course, be numerous political obstacles that will have to be overcome regarding issues where the two men have opposing views, such as the controversial nuclear deal with Iran. While Mr Trump is determined to pressure Tehran with punitive economic sanctions, Mr Johnson still remains committed to working with other European powers, such as France and Germany, to save the nuclear deal.
Yet, compared with the calamitous impact a victory for Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose politics is defined by his visceral anti-Americanism, would have had on transatlantic relations, Mr Johnson's return to Downing Street will have been greeted with enormous relief in the White House, as it means Washington now has a firm ally in London, someone who is committed to breathing new life into the vital and long-standing partnership between Britain and America.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

It is time for a new approach to tackling climate change
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/December 20, 2019
The longest UN climate summit on record finished in Madrid on Sunday. While a compromise deal was agreed, the talks nearly collapsed, underlining that a new way of tackling global warming is needed.
Under the compromise agreement, all countries will submit new climate pledges by the time of the next summit, which is due to be held in November next year in Glasgow, Scotland. However, there were big divisions at the summit. A number of countries, including Australia, the US, Russia, India, China, Canada and Brazil, were criticized by some — including the Alliance of Small Island States, which represents 44 nations — for thwarting the level of ambition needed, in terms of reducing emissions, to achieve the Paris Treaty’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Research published during the discussions showed that global carbon emissions have risen by 4 percent since the Paris targets were agreed in 2015, and that reductions of more than 7 percent a year are needed in the coming decade to stand any chance of hitting the 1.5 C target, which is the limit scientists say is necessary to prevent dangerous, or so-called runaway, climate change.
The lack of progress in Madrid leaves the UK government, as cohost of next year’s summit, with a massive task to lay the groundwork for success.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the “point of no return (on global warming) is no longer over the horizon.” The Glasgow event, which will take place days after next year’s US presidential election, will therefore seek a step-change to strengthen commitments on emissions and turbo-charge the implementation of the Paris accords.
The outcome of the Spanish summit underlines, for a second year after the Polish event in 2018, that the post-2015 international consensus around tackling this issue is under attack by multiple key governments. This threatens to slow the pace of efforts to decarbonize, and it is therefore clear that a different, less “top-down” approach is now needed to tackle global warming.
With a growing number of governments, including the US, Russia, Brazil and Australia, blocking progress, the Madrid event will hopefully prove to be a line in the sand. It is crystal clear that if the necessary action to mitigate the worst effects of climate change is to be undertaken, critics such as Donald Trump, and their views on global warming, need to be faced down.
As the US itself shows, the key to tackling climate change after Paris is increasingly a bottom-up approach. Even within his own country Trump is losing the argument, as the private sector and many state and city governments rapidly push for decarbonization.
Take the examples of former California Gov. Jerry Brown and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who are leading an America’s Pledge group. This has a membership of more than 3,000 US cities, states and businesses that are attempting to deliver a 26 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2025, with the intention of fulfilling the 2015 Paris pledge made by the Obama administration.
What this highlights is the need for broader empowerment of subnational organizations around the world that can help lead on this issue. While the Paris deal is not perfect, one of its key benefits is that it can cater to the flexible, bottom-up approach that is needed here, whereby not only national governments step forward, but also other regional and local players in the public and private sectors.
Madrid underlines yet again the need to accelerate a grassroots approach that allows for more organizations and individuals to play leading roles in the fight.While the wisdom of this might appear obvious, Paris represented a breakthrough from the more rigid top-down approach of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which imposed global, uniform standards. By contrast, Paris created a global architecture for tackling global warming, while fully recognizing that a collective effort right across the economy and society is needed, not only from national governments. Moreover, it also points to the fact that diverse, often decentralized, policies will be required by different types of economies to meet climate commitments, rather than a “one-size-fits all” approach.
That this approach makes good sense is reflected in the diversity of climate measures that countries have started to take in response to global warming. This has been illustrated in reports by the Grantham Institute at the London School of Economics, including one in 2015 that focused on 98 countries plus the EU, which together accounted for 93 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions.
The study identified more than 800 climate-change laws and policies in place around the world, compared with only 54 in 1997. About 50 countries, including the 28 EU members as a bloc, have economy-wide targets to reduce emissions. Together, they account for more than 75 percent of global emissions.
In addition, about 40 states have economy-wide targets for 2020, and 22 have targets beyond then. Moreover, 86 countries have specific targets for renewable energy, energy demand, transportation or land-use, land-use change and forestry. About 80 percent of countries have targets for renewables. This underlines that the best way to tackle climate change is for nations to meet their target commitments in innovative and effective ways that build momentum.
Take overall, Madrid underlines yet again the need to accelerate a grassroots approach that allows for more organizations and individuals to play leading roles in the fight. If countries leverage the flexibility of the Paris framework, the agreement can still deliver on its ambition and become a key foundation stone for future global sustainable development in the 2020s.
*Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

Turkey — between NATO, Europe and Russia
Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/December 19/ 2019
Earlier this week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a conference that Ankara would not cancel the purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense system, whatever the consequences. The US had threatened to impose sanctions if Ankara did not reverse its decision.
From an economic perspective, Turkey has already paid dearly for the decision to purchase the Russian armory: As a NATO member, it had been included in the F-35 program, which not only allowed it to purchase the alliance’s fighter jet, but also included the country in the manufacturing program for the F-35. Turkey will now forgo manufacturing more than 900 parts for the aircraft and any future technology transfer resulting thereof.
Last Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ratcheted up the rhetoric, threatening the closure of the American air force base in Incirlik in southern Turkey in response to possible US sanctions and a Senate resolution labelling the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 as genocide.
Both have aggravated the already strained relationship between the US and Turkey. Incirlik is one of the largest US bases in the Middle East. It accommodates nuclear warheads, and was the point of origin for many sorties by the US air force into Syria to combat Daesh.
Turkey’s geographic position at the crossroads between East and West inherently exposes it to geopolitical frictions. Furthermore, Turkey has been an important member of NATO since 1952, despite historic squabbles with fellow member Greece and an incursion into Cyprus in 1974. As the alliance’s easternmost member, Turkey constitutes the major bulwark against the tensions and military strife in the Middle East.
On one hand, the purchase of the S-400 poses a major dilemma for NATO. One of the key features of the F-35 is its stealth capability. Letting the Russian defense system so close to the newest NATO kit is tantamount to setting the proverbial fox among the pigeons.
On the other hand, Turkey signed the communique of the 70th NATO Summit in London in early December, which declared Russia a major threat to the alliance. Erdogan did so despite NATO’s refusal to declare the Syrian-Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) a terrorist group.
The YPG fought Daesh shoulder to shoulder with several NATO allies, while Ankara protested that the group was allied to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey. The compromise language in the communique included a condemnation of all forms of terrorism.
Turkey is not just important to NATO. It matters a great deal to Europe too. For one, it is a trading partner and a transit nation for oil and gas, via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline from Azerbaijan, the TurkStream pipeline from Russia and the recently inaugurated Trans-Anatolian pipeline from Azerbaijan. The latter has 50 percent of TurkStream’s capacity, and diversifies the Balkans away from total dependence and unreliability of Russian pipeline gas via Ukraine.
Furthermore, the EU signed a deal with Turkey for which the latter would seal its border to Europe to preclude Syrian refugees from embarking on the eastern Balkans refugee route, against €6 billion ($6.67 billion) in transfer payments at the height of the refugee crisis.
Ankara is trying to find accommodation with the powers that be as a matter of survival and territorial integrity.
Turkey has not received all the promised funds due to European criticism about the treatment of journalists and the state of human rights in the country. Turkey is still hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees, which is a strain on its faltering economy.
Ankara felt rebuffed by EU member states when accession talks came to a standstill more than a decade ago. Both sides now seem to understand that Turkish membership of the EU will not be on the cards for a long time to come, if at all. But Europe still needs Turkey and vice versa.
NATO membership has been beneficial to Turkey’s standing and prestige in the world, just as Ankara has been regarded as an important ally when it comes to military unrest in the East and a last line of defense against Russia. The decision to buy the S-400 puts the latter into question from a NATO perspective.
From the Turkish perspective, things look different. Russia has become an important player in the Syrian conflict. While Ankara and Moscow stand on opposite sides when it comes to the Assad regime, it is in Turkey’s interest to get along with the emerging strong foreign power to the south, especially as the cosy relationship between the YPG and several NATO members has long been a thorn in the side of Turkey, which sees Kurdish nationalism as a threat to its territorial integrity.
Former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said before the outbreak of the Syrian conflict that Ankara wanted friendly relations with all its neighbors, which is a good survival tactic in a region as volatile as the Middle East. But developments in Syria put an end to that doctrine. If anything, the region has become more volatile post-Arab Spring.
Alliances are ever shifting, and Turkey is trying to find accommodation with the powers that be as a matter of survival and territorial integrity. Erdogan voices his opinions vociferously and not always to the liking of leaders in the West.
To be fair though, neither did he shy away from confronting President Vladimir Putin when a Russian fighter jet violated Turkish airspace and was shot down in November 2015. That action had serious economic ramifications because Russian tourists stayed away as a consequence. In 2018, Russians constituted the largest contingent of tourists in Turkey.
There is a price to pay for living at the crossroads between East and West, having the Russian bear to the north and bordering a conflict to the south. In a region of ever-shifting alliances, survival skills are important. This may go a long way to understanding Ankara’s decision to purchase the S-400. At the same time, it begs the question as to how sustainable Turkey’s NATO membership is. This is a conundrum with no easy answer.
*Cornelia Meyer is a business consultant, macroeconomist and energy expert. Twitter: @MeyerResources

Anger grows in Iran over corruption, nepotism and the crazy-rich elite
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/December 19/ 2019
Iranian leaders frequently attribute the widespread poverty in their country to external factors, such as the sanctions imposed by the US on Iran’s nuclear program and banking system. But the widespread financial corruption, cronyism and nepotism must be viewed as critical contributors to the high poverty levels.
In fact, instead of blaming the US, many Iranians have started criticizing the regime and are increasingly expressing anger over the stark divide between rich and poor, and the economic inequality between the elite and ordinary people.
It is worth remembering that one of the major reasons behind the Iranian revolution in 1979 was frustration with widespread financial corruption at the top.
“We voted for the Islamic Republic thinking that it would be different from the Shah,” said Golnaz, a senior engineer from Kerman province.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei showed sympathy with the people when he complained more than two decades ago: “(The Shah’s) government was, firstly, corrupt: Financially corrupt, ethically corrupt, and corrupt in administrative affairs. In the financial corruption, it suffices to remind that the Shah himself and his family were involved in most of the major economic transactions of the country. He and his brothers and sisters were among those who accumulated the most personal wealth. In his 16- or 17-year kingdom, Reza Khan accumulated important wealth.”
Many Iranians wonder how the current political establishment is any different from that of the Shah. Financial corruption at the top and across the political spectrum has crippled the country.
For example, Hossein Fereydoun — the brother of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and a member of the Moderation and Development Party who was formerly in charge of the Supreme Leader’s security — was recently caught participating in a large-scale bribery and financial scheme.
In December 2017, Hamid Baghaei, a former vice president and close confident of the former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was indicted on corruption charges, including embezzlement.
In 2018, Ahmad Araqchi — a former deputy governor of the Central Bank and a relative of Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi — and Meysam Khodaei — who was an adviser to Mohammad Nahavandian, Rouhani’s deputy for economic affairs — were exposed for their involvement in a corruption case worth nearly $200 million.
The supreme leader’s own financial empire is known to be worth at least $95 billion.
These are only few examples of things that have sparked anger in Iranian society. Many people are angered by the extravagant lifestyle enjoyed by the children of the elite — or “noble-born” children, known as “aghazadeh” — and their families while ordinary people are struggling to make ends meet so that they can feed their children and send them to school.
The flashy lifestyles of the “aghazadeh” are exposed on the internet. Instagram channels such as Rich Kids of Tehran, for example, features images of the elite flaunting their wealth and lavish lifestyles at home and abroad.
While Iranian leaders criticize the West, it is well known that they send their children to live, work and obtain university degrees in Western countries. A photograph of the granddaughter of the leader of Iran’s Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, showed her in Europe carrying a handbag worth thousands of dollars. There was also a recent public outcry and accusations of cronyism and favoritism linked to Rouhani’s 33-year-old son-in-law, Kambiz Mehdizadeh.
While Iranian leaders criticize the West, it is well known that they send their children to live, work and obtain university degrees in Western countries.
The Iranian elite reportedly keep large amounts of their assets in foreign bank accounts. According to Reuters, leaked reports reveal that Khamenei, his son Mojtaba and other family members keep billions of dollars in overseas banks. Meanwhile Khamenei criticizes the children of the Shah for stealing billions of dollars from the country and accumulating the cash in foreign banks: “Of course, (the Shah’s) children had a wider taste; they loved and gathered every kind of capital. The best proof to that is that when they left the country, billions of dollars of their wealth were accumulated in foreign banks. A political system that was so financially corrupt at its head; look how military-oriented it was and what it did to the people.”
Shadi, an Iranian nurse and mother, said: “Akhonda, the mullahs and the elite now are doing the same thing the Shah did. The Shah’s children and family members fled the country with billions of dollars of the nation’s money and they are living an extremely wealthy and comfortable lifestyle in the US at the expense of the poor in Iran. The children and family members of the current elite are doing the same.”
More than 40 percent of the Iranian population lives below the poverty line, so many are extremely frustrated by the stark rich-poor divide, and the corruption, cronyism and nepotism that is widespread at the top.
While the elite and “aghazadeh” enjoy a life of luxury, and some of them flaunt their wealth on the internet, the overwhelming majority of the people continue to find it extremely difficult to make ends meet.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh