LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 03.2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert: Make
straight the way of the Lord
Saint John 01/19-28: This is the testimony of John. When the Jews
from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, "Who are you?"he
admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, "I am not the Messiah."So they asked
him, "What are you then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the
Prophet?" He answered, "No."So they said to him, "Who are you, so we can give an
answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?"He said: "I
am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert, "Make straight the way of the
Lord,"' as Isaiah the prophet said."Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked
him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the
Prophet?"John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you
whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I
am not worthy to untie."This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John
was baptizing.
"I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert: Make straight
the way of the Lord'"
“Prepare a way for the Lord.” Brethren, however far you journey along it... from
the very nature of goodness there is no limit to the way along which you travel.
And so... the wise and indefatigable traveler... can say to himself each day:
“Now I begin”... And how many “go astray in the wilderness”... None of them can
yet say: “Now I begin.”For “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.” If
the beginning of wisdom, then surely it is also the beginning of the way of
goodness... It is this that encourages praise...; it also moves the proud to
penance, so that they hear the voice of him crying in the wilderness,ordering
the preparation of the way and thus showing how to begin it: “Do penance for the
kingdom of heaven is close at hand”...If you are on the way then fear only one
thing: lest you leave it, lest you offend the Lord who leads you along it so
that he would abandon you to “wander in the way of your own heart”... If you
feel that the way is too narrow look forward to the end to which it leads you.
If you were to see how everything is to be attained, then you would say without
hesitation: "Broad indeed is your command!" If you cannot see so far, believe
Isaiah who could...: "Behold," he says, "the redeemed shall walk by this way and
the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Sion with singing; everlasting
joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain also joy and gladness, and
sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Those who dwell sufficiently on this end I
think will not only make the way easier for himself but also grow wings so that
he no longer walks but flies... May he who is the track of the runners and the
reward of the winners lead and guide you along it: he, Christ Jesus
(Biblical references : Ps 77[76]:11 Vg. 107[106]:4. Pr 1:7. Ps 110[109]:10. Mt
3:2. 4:17. Is 57:1. Mt 7:14. Ps 119[118]:96. Is 35:10)
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News published on January 02-03/2020
No For Arresting & Imprisoning Dr. Issam Khalefe/Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
The Great Loss of the Journalist Najwa Kassiem/Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
Love Unites Not Enmity/Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
The accused is innocent until proven guilty/Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
France Hopes for a Future Govt. that Meets Aspirations of Lebanese
Lebanon Bankers Threaten New Strike over Safety Concerns
Optimism Reportedly Surges after '6-Hour Diab-Bassil Meeting'
Jumblat Rejects Environment Portfolio, Says Give Social Affairs to 'Caritas'
Geagea: Political Forces Seeking to Name Advisers as Ministers
Lebanon receives Interpol-issued wanted notice for Ghosn: Justice minister
Carlos Ghosn says family played no role in escape from Japan: Statement
Turkey probes how Nissan chief Ghosn fled via Istanbul, detains several
Japanese prosecutors raid Nissan ex-chair Ghosn's Tokyo home
Ghosn Says He Alone Organized His Departure from Japan
Ghosn Escape Sparks Calls to Toughen Japan's Bail System
Lebanese Lawyers Want Ghosn Prosecuted over Israel Trip
Lebanese lawyers file charges against Carlos Ghosn for Israel visits
Lebanon’s Ambassador to Japan denies his embassy helped Carlos Ghosn escape
Presidency Denies Aoun Welcomed Fugitive Ghosn
Carlos Ghosn's Escape: What We Know
Runway to Runaway: Carole Ghosn, Wife of Fugitive Tycoon
Ghosn used one of two French passports to flee: media
Lebanon receives Interpol wanted notice for Nissan ex-chair
Renowned Lebanese senior news anchor Najwa Qassem dies at 51/Tarek Ali
Ahmad/Arab News/January 02/2010
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
January 02-03/2020
Iran not heading to war but not afraid of conflict: IRGC commander
Moderate quake causes limited damage in northeast Iran
Trump Warns Erdogan against 'Foreign Interference' in Libya
Turkey says Trump, Erdogan discussed Libya in phone call
Turkish lawmakers authorize sending troops to fight in Libya
US expects more attacks from Iran-backed groups: Esper
Israeli court declines to rule on Netanyahu’s eligibility
Fatah supporters hold rare Gaza rally
Iraqi protester shot dead as anti-regime rallies continue
Erdogan says up to 250,000 people fleeing from Syria's Idlib towards Turkey
Tunisia's PM-Designate Announces Cabinet
Pompeo Postpones Ukraine Trip after Attack on U.S. Embassy in Iraq
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on January 02-03/2020
Taqiyya Sunset: Exposing the Darkness Shrouding Islamic Deceit/Raymond
Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine/January 02/2020
Iran Can No Longer Rely on Shia Militias to Fight its Wars/Con Coughlin/Gatestone
Institute/January 02/2020
US embassy attack was Iran’s way of showing they run Iraq/Michael Pregent/Al
Arabiya/January 02/2020
Iranian president under fire over economic woes/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab
News/January 02/2010
No solution in sight for Syrian refugees/Randa Takieddine/Arab News/January
02/2010
World must act to prevent more deadly measles outbreaks/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab
News/January 02/2010
Iraq faces a bleak new year/Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/January 02/2010
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News published on January 02-03/2020
No For Arresting & Imprisoning Dr. Issam
Khalefe
Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
The biased judiciary arrest verdict against Dr. Issam Khalefe is an insult and
contempt for each and every sovereign, independent, honourable, and free
Lebanese citizen. In summary the Lebanese regime officials from top to bottom
are corrupt, The country is occupied, The politicians are mere puppets, and the
Judiciary is biased and politicized
The Great Loss of the Journalist Najwa
Kassiem
Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
The sudden death of the distinguishable journalist and reporter, Najwa Kassim
this morning was an extremely sad news. We pray for the eternal rest of her soul
and offer our deeply felt condolences to her family and friends. Her death is a
great loss of a truly distinguished media talent.
Love Unites Not Enmity
Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
Hizbullah, which is mere hostility and hatred, is striving to unite the Lebanese
by force on the principle of enmity, while there is neither unity nor
unification except on the basis of love.
The accused is innocent until proven guilty
Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
Carlos Ghosn is accused, not convicted yet. His case is so complicated and
intertwined with international political conflicts. Have mercy on the man and
stop stoning him The accused is innocent until proven guilty
France Hopes for a Future Govt. that Meets Aspirations of
Lebanese
Naharnet 02/2020
French ambassador to Lebanon, Bruno Foucher urged the formation of a Lebanese
government acceptable by the people taking their demands into consideration, the
National News Agency reported on Thursday. Foucher, who met with President
Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace, conveyed his country's desire that Lebanon “forms
a new government that will respond to the aspirations of the Lebanese at this
stage.”The meeting between the two men was held in the presence of caretaker
State Minister for Presidency Affairs, Salim Jreissati and the first secretary
at the French embassy, Stephanie Salha. Discussions also touched on the
situation in Lebanon, and the ongoing efforts to form a new government.
Lebanon Bankers Threaten New Strike over Safety Concerns
Naharnet 02/2020
The Federation of Syndicates of Banks Employees in Lebanon on Thursday warned
that it might stage a new strike amid the ongoing protests in the country that
have increasingly targeted banks in recent days. In a statement, the federation
said “bank branches witnessed organized attacks in late 2019 by individuals
claiming to represent the popular protest movement.”“Through their storming of
several bank branches, these hooligans sought to tarnish the image of the
banking sector… and they breached all the norms of public morals, hurling all
kinds of insults and profanes at the employees. They also beat up some
colleagues,” the federation added. Describing the incidents as “a direct attack
on the banking sector and the national value it represents as well as on the
prestige of the state, whose duty is to protect all citizens,” the federation
noted that “the state of chaos created by these organized attacks will not
alleviate the suffering of depositors.”“Depositors have the right, under the
applicable laws, to object against the extraordinary measures that the
administrations of banks have temporarily taken to preserve the continuity of
the work of the banking sector and to avoid a descent into the unknown,” the
federation explained. Accordingly, the federation urged all security agencies to
“protect bankers in their places of work against the violations of those who
claim to be rebels against corruption and the waste of public funds.”The
federation “warns that should security forces fail to deter these hooligans, it
will be obliged to take the decision of declaring a new general strike in the
banking sector pending the restoration of stability and calm in all places of
work and branches across the country,” the statement said. A grinding liquidity
crunch has hit Lebanon, where unprecedented protests since October 17 have
railed against the political class and a deepening economic crisis. Since
September, banks have restricted the amount of dollars that can be withdrawn or
transferred abroad. Although no formal policy is in place, most have arbitrarily
capped withdrawals at around $1,000 a month, while others have imposed tighter
restrictions.
With ordinary depositors bearing the brunt of these measures, bank branches have
transformed into arenas of conflict.
Fistfights, shouting and tears abound, as cash-hungry clients haggle tellers to
release money trapped under informal capital controls.By trapping dollar
savings, banks are increasingly forcing the public to deal with the plummeting
Lebanese pound, in what experts are calling a de-facto haircut. The local
currency has lost around 30 percent of its value on the unofficial exchange
market for the first time since it was pegged to the dollar at 1,500 Lebanese
pounds in 1997. The restrictions have sparked panic in debt-ridden Lebanon,
where protesters are demanding the removal of a political class they deem
incompetent and corrupt. A video circulating on social media shows a customer
pulling out an axe in the middle of a bank while he screams at employees who
refused to hand him his money.In the northern city of Tripoli, a single soldier
struggled to break up a fist fight between a handful of bank employees and a
group of angry customers. As demonstrations enter their third month, protesters
are also increasingly targeting banks, which they say are robbing people of
their hard-earned savings.They have staged impromptu demonstrations inside
branches, during the Christmas holidays singing carols to relay their message.
Optimism Reportedly Surges after '6-Hour Diab-Bassil
Meeting'
Naharnet 02/2020
Optimism surged Thursday evening regarding the new government following a
six-hour meeting between Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab and Free Patriotic
Movement chief Jebran Bassil, a media report said. “The government is expected
to be formed over the next few days and its members will resemble Hassan Diab,
which means that they are independent technocrats who have expertise,” unnamed
sources told LBCI television. “The government will be a salvation government and
it will confront the financial and economic difficulties and the draft
government line-up is undergoing final touches,” the sources added, noting that
the cabinet will not comprise ministers from the outgoing government. Media
reports had earlier said that a final agreement had been reached over the
portfolios of Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement while the so-called Druze hurdle
was resolved through the selection of a figure that satisfies both the
Progressive Socialist Party and MP Talal Arslan, According to MTV, Diab has also
found a solution to the interior portfolio obstacle and will name a Sunni judge
or lawyer to the post. LBCI meanwhile said that there are assurances that the
government will be formed before the end of the week and that it would comprise
18 or 20 ministers. PSP spokesman Saleh Hdaifeh for his part confirmed that
“contacts are ongoing” to resolve the Druze obstacle and that a solution might
emerge on Thursday afternoon or on Friday.
Jumblat Rejects Environment Portfolio, Says Give Social
Affairs to 'Caritas'
Naharnet 02/2020
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Thursday lashed out at
proposals to represent the Druze community in the new cabinet with the
environment or social affairs ministerial portfolios. “I tell those who are
forming the government and I remind that Druze are not in the position of
begging for a portfolio,” Jumblat tweeted. “In my name, in the name of all those
who represent this dear sect and away from political divisions, we demand
equality in the nature of representation, and at least we should have the
industry or public works portfolio,” he added. “We reject garbage (environment
portfolio) and as for social affairs, gift it to Caritas,” the PSP leader went
on to say.
Geagea: Political Forces Seeking to Name Advisers as Ministers
Naharnet 02/2020
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday accused the political forces
that are forming the new government of seeking to appoint supposedly
technocratic ministers who are “closer to being advisers to these political
forces.”“Everything that has been and is still being leaked to the media about
the anticipated government line-up is not reassuring at all, whether in terms of
the interference of the very political forces who were behind the current crisis
in the country or in terms of the feud over portfolios among these forces,”
Geagea added in a written statement. “May God protect the Lebanese people in
these difficult circumstances, after the forces responsible for them have
insisted on their former ugly practices,” the LF leader went on to say. Lebanon
is without a cabinet and in the grips of a deepening economic crisis after a
two-month-old protest movement forced Saad Hariri to stand down as prime
minister on October 29. Anti-government protests continued after Hariri's
resignation, while political parties negotiated for weeks before nominating
Hassan Diab, a professor and former education minister, to replace him on
December 19. Echoing protester demands, Diab promised to form a government of
independent experts within six weeks -- in a country where appointing a cabinet
can take months. But the majority of protesters are unconvinced by Diab’s
promise, decrying his participation as a minister in a previous government
deemed corrupt. The support given to him by powerful Shiite movement Hizbullah
also angers many protesters and pro-Hariri Sunnis. The 60-year-old Diab, who has
a low public profile and styles himself as a technocrat, last month called
protester demands legitimate but asked them to give him a chance to form "an
exceptional government."
Lebanon receives Interpol-issued wanted notice for Ghosn:
Justice minister
The Associated Press, Beirut/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Lebanon’s justice minister said Thursday that Lebanon has received an
international wanted notice from Interpol for Nissan’s ex-chair Carlos Ghosn.
Albert Serhan told The Associated Press in an interview that the Red Notice for
the former automotive titan was received earlier Thursday by the prosecution.
Interpol’s so-called Red Notices are requests to law enforcement agencies
worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a wanted fugitive. Japanese
prosecutors on Thursday raided the Tokyo home of Ghosn after he skipped bail and
fled to Lebanon before his trial on financial misconduct charges. Charged in
Japan with under-reporting his future compensation and breach of trust, has
repeatedly asserted his innocence, saying authorities trumped up charges to
prevent a possible fuller merger between Nissan Motor Co. and alliance partner
Renault SA.
It is unclear how Ghosn avoided the tight surveillance he was under in Japan and
showed up in Lebanon. Ghosn said Tuesday in a statement that he left for Lebanon
because he thought the Japanese judicial system was unjust, and he wanted to
avoid “political persecution.”Japan does not have an extradition treaty with
Lebanon.
Carlos Ghosn says family played no role in escape from Japan: Statement
Reuters, Beirut/Thursday, 2 January 2020
The family of former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn played no role in his escape from
Japan, Ghosn said in a statement on Thursday, days after his abrupt arrival in
Beirut from Tokyo, where he faces trial for alleged financial misconduct. “There
has been speculation in the media that my wife Carole, and other members of my
family played a role in my departure from Japan. All such speculation is
inaccurate and false,” said the statement. “I alone arranged for my departure.
My family had no role whatsoever,” it added.
Turkey probes how Nissan chief Ghosn fled via Istanbul,
detains several
The Associated Press, Ankara/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Turkish police detained seven people including four pilots on Thursday in an
investigation of how ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn touched down in Istanbul as
he fled Japan en route to Lebanon, according to broadcaster NTV. Turkey's
interior ministry has launched a probe into the transit of Ghosn, who has become
Japan's most famous fugitive after revealing on Tuesday he fled to Beirut to
escape what he called a “rigged” justice system. People familiar with the matter
told Reuters that Ghosn, one of the world's best-known executives, had arrived
in Beirut on a private jet from Istanbul on Monday. Hurriyet news website,
citing an interior ministry official, said Turkish border police were not
notified about Ghosn's arrival, and neither his entry nor exit were registered.
The plane arrived at 5:30 am (0230 GMT) Monday at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport,
Hurriyet reported, adding prosecutors ordered the arrests after widening their
investigation. The reports could not immediately be confirmed. Lebanon has said
that Ghosn entered the country legally and there was no reason to take action
against him. Japan does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon. Japanese
authorities allowed Ghosn to carry a spare French passport in a locked case
while out on bail, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday, shedding some light
on how he managed his escape to Lebanon. The businessman, who holds French,
Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, was smuggled out of Tokyo by a private
security company days ago, the culmination of a plan that was crafted over three
months, Reuters has reported. Ghosn, who was charged with under-reporting his
future compensation and a breach of trust, has repeatedly asserted his
innocence. He says Japanese authorities trumped up the charges to prevent a
possible fuller merger between Nissan Motor Co. and alliance partner Renault SA.
His 1.5 billion yen ($14 million) bail that Ghosn posted on two separate
instances to get out of detention is being revoked.
Japanese prosecutors raid Nissan ex-chair Ghosn's Tokyo home
The Associated Press, Tokyo/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Japanese prosecutors raided the Tokyo home of former Nissan Chairman Carlos
Ghosn after he skipped bail before a trial on financial misconduct charges and
left for Lebanon. Tokyo prosecutors and police did not immediately comment
Thursday. Japanese media reported and showed photos of the raid. Government
offices are closed this week for the New Year's holidays. It is unclear how
Ghosn avoided the tight surveillance he was under in Japan and showed up in
Lebanon. Ghosn said Tuesday in a statement that he left for Lebanon because he
thought the Japanese judicial system was unjust, and he wanted to avoid
“political persecution.” He said he would talk to reporters next week. Japan
does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon.Lebanon has said Ghosn entered
the country legally, and there was no reason to take action against him. His
lawyers in Japan said they had no knowledge of the escape and they had all his
passports. Ghosn has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship. Japanese public
broadcaster NHK TV, without identifying sources, reported Thursday that Ghosn
had two French passports. Earlier Japanese reports said there were no official
records in Japan of Ghosn’s departure, but a private jet had left from a
regional airport to Turkey. Ghosn, who was charged with under-reporting his
future compensation and breach of trust, has repeatedly asserted his innocence,
saying authorities trumped up charges to prevent a possible fuller merger
between Nissan Motor Co. and alliance partner Renault SA. His 1.5 billion yen
($14 million) bail that Ghosn posted on two separate instances to get out of
detention is being revoked.
Ghosn Says He Alone Organized His Departure from Japan
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/Naharnet 02/2020
Former Renault and Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn issued a statement Thursday, his
second this week, seeking to distance his Lebanese wife and family from any role
in his spectacular escape from Japan to Lebanon. "The allegations in the media
that my wife Carole and other members of my family played a role in my departure
from Japan are false and misleading. I alone organized my departure. My family
played no role," he said. A first post-escape picture of Ghosn has meanwhile
emerged, showing him next to his wife and two unidentified female relatives.
According to French TV TF1, the photo was taken during a New Year's Eve dinner
in Lebanon. Ghosn, who had been under house arrest in Tokyo since April, is
believed to be holed up in his central Beirut residence, where visitors file in
and out under the scrutiny of TV cameras. Turkey has detained seven people for
questioning, including four pilots, over how Ghosn managed to transit through
Istanbul as he fled Japan on his way to Lebanon, Turkish news agency DHA
reported Thursday. The Turkish interior ministry has opened an investigation
into Ghosn's apparent transfer between private jets at Istanbul's Ataturk
Airport on Monday. It is focused on two flights, the first a Bombardier labeled
TC-TSR flew from Osaka in Japan, landed in Istanbul at 05:15am and parked in a
hangar. The second was a private jet to Beirut, a Bombardier Challenger 300
TC-RZA, which left 45 minutes later, according to DHA. The seven detained by
police also include two ground personnel and the operations director of a
private cargo company, DHA said. According to the Hurriyet newspaper, the
Beirut-bound private jet was formerly owned by Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza
Zarrab, convicted in the United States for his alleged role in a scheme to evade
sanctions on Iran by trading gold for gas. Ghosn, the former Nissan boss, made a
dramatic escape from Japan despite stringent bail conditions, claiming his
upcoming trial for financial misconduct was rigged.
Ghosn Escape Sparks Calls to Toughen Japan's Bail System
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
Carlos Ghosn's stunning flight while on bail awaiting trial has vindicated
prosecutors who said he should have been kept in custody, and sparked calls to
toughen Japan's justice system that critics say is already overly harsh. "I knew
it!" was the reaction of a senior Nissan executive cited in the Japanese press
upon learning of his former boss's escape to Lebanon to avoid trial in Tokyo.
"This is how he proves his innocence? By fleeing abroad?" added the Nissan
official quoted in the Asahi Shimbun. "It should be out of the question to grant
bail to suspects who deny the accusations against them."A senior prosecutor told
the Mainichi Shimbun: "This is what we had predicted" when arguing Ghosn should
remain in custody, bemoaning the fact their painstaking evidence gathering was
now moot. There were also calls in the media to tighten bail procedures in the
wake of the tycoon's escape, which many papers said made a "mockery" of Japan's
justice system. "To prevent a repeat of the incident, we should discuss how to
cover the weak points of the system, such as setting bail equal to most of the
defendants' assets, and GPS monitoring," said the Yomiuri Shimbun. Ghosn's
high-profile arrest on multiple charges of financial misconduct threw an
international spotlight on Japan's justice system -- widely considered draconian
compared with the West. Suspects can be questioned initially for 48 hours,
renewable for two periods of 10 days, bringing the time in custody without
formal charges to 22 days.Prosecutors often then "re-arrest" a suspect on a
slightly different allegation to restart the clock -- which happened several
times to Ghosn.
Certain of guilt
When formal charges are eventually pressed, there is a two-month period of
pre-trial detention, renewable by one month at a time by appeal to the
court.Former prosecutor Yasuyuki Takai told AFP that the system operates in this
way so authorities only charge suspects they are absolutely sure are guilty.
"Imagine that 30 or 40 percent of people were found not guilty during a trial.
The public would ask why so many innocent people were being charged," Takai told
AFP, adding that courts have increasingly been granting bail. The Ghosn case,
however, "proves that there are easy escape routes for wealthy people with
backing who want to flee overseas, no matter how strictly courts impose bail
conditions", said Tsunehiko Maeda, a former prosecutor. "We can expect
prosecutors to oppose future bail requests much more robustly." Critics
including rights groups such as Amnesty International have derided Japan's
system as "hostage justice", designed to break morale and force confessions from
suspects.
Every move monitored
When safely in Lebanon, Ghosn pressed this point again, saying he "would no
longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system". However, when
pleading for bail in his only public court appearance, Ghosn said he was
"looking forward to beginning the process of defending myself against the
accusations that have been made against me".One of his lawyers at the time said
there was no way a tycoon as famous as Ghosn could escape with the world's media
and prosecutors monitoring his every move. "There is no risk that he will run
away. He's CEO of French company Renault. He's widely known so it's difficult
for him to escape," argued the attorney, Go Kondo. His lead lawyer, Junichiro
Hironaka, confessed he was "dumbfounded" by news of his flight, but he also said
he could "sympathise" with some of Ghosn's comments about the justice system. "I
thought it was not unreasonable that Mr. Ghosn has come to feel that way,"
Hironaka told reporters in Tokyo. "How he was arrested and kept in detention;
how they gathered evidence; the way they allowed meetings with Carole (his
wife), and how they disclosed evidence. There must have been many areas that
were not acceptable in the eyes of Mr. Ghosn."
Lebanese Lawyers Want Ghosn Prosecuted over Israel Trip
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
Lebanese lawyers on Thursday filed a report to the judiciary demanding fugitive
auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn be prosecuted over a trip he made to Israel as
Renault-Nissan chairman in 2008. Ghosn -- who holds Lebanese, French and
Brazilian citizenship -- jumped bail in Tokyo in mysterious circumstances and
arrived in his native Lebanon early on Monday. The tycoon had traveled to Israel
in 2008 to support a partnership with Shai Agassi, an Israeli entrepreneur who
had launched an ill-fated electric vehicle venture called "Project Better
Place". Three lawyers "submitted a report to the public prosecutor against
businessman Carlos Ghosn for the crime of having entered an enemy country and
violated the boycott law," the state news agency reported. They said several
contracts had been signed during his January 2008 trip and added that Ghosn had
taken part in several economic conferences. "Doing business with Israel is not a
matter of opinion -- any normalization is forbidden by law," Hassan Bazzi, one
of the lawyers, told AFP. Lebanon is technically still at war with Israel, which
occupied the south of the country until 2000, and forbids its citizens from
traveling there. Interpol, the international police cooperation body, has issued
a "red notice" for Ghosn's arrest in the wake of him fleeing Japan, but Lebanese
judicial sources have said he cannot be extradited there. Ghosn stands accused
in Japan of deferring part of his salary until after his retirement and
concealing this from shareholders, as well as siphoning off millions in Nissan
cash for his own purposes. He has denied all charges and has announced a press
conference for next week. Ghosn entered Lebanon on a private jet from Turkey
using his French passport, according to airport documents seen by AFP. "Where
were the public prosecutor and general security when Ghosn visited Lebanon,
after he traveled to occupied Palestine and was photographed there?," Bazzi
asked. General security is Lebanon's main intelligence agency, which routinely
investigates Lebanese citizens suspected of ties with Israel. "Lebanon
prosecutes poor people while those who have earned millions by investing with
the enemy are treated as national heroes," Bazzi said. In 2017, French-Lebanese
filmmaker Ziad Doueiri was arrested and briefly questioned for filming part of
his film "The Attack" in Israel.
Lebanese lawyers file charges against Carlos Ghosn for
Israel visits
The National/January 03/2020
Under Lebanese law, citizens are not allowed to travel to Israel or have contact
with Israelis
Three Lebanese lawyers have filed a request for charges against former Nissan
chairman Carlos Ghosn for entering Israel in breach of domestic law. Mr Ghosn,
who holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian passports, arrived in Lebanon this week
in mysterious circumstances after fleeing Japan, where he was expected to face
trial on financial misconduct charges. The lawyers accuse Mr Ghosn, 65, of
signing contracts and attending several high-profile conferences in Israel,
Lebanon's National News Agency reported. Lebanese law bars its citizens from
visiting Israel or communicating with Israelis. The two countries have never
signed a peace treaty nor established diplomatic relations after the
Arab-Israeli war of 1948.In 2008, Mr Ghosn, then head of French-Japanese car
maker Renault Nissan, met president Shimon Peres and prime minister Ehud Olmert
on a visit to Israel to sign a deal for mass-producing electric cars.
At the time, Hezbollah affiliated news website Al Ahed described the visit as
“controversial”. The Iran-backed group, which wields considerable political
power in Lebanon, fought a 34-day war against Israel in 2006. That did not stop
Mr Ghosn from enjoying popular support in Lebanon. In August 2017, he attended a
ceremony in Beirut during which the national post office unveiled a stamp with
his image. One of the three lawyers, Hassan Bazzi, did not respond to a request
for comment from The National asking why he waited 12 years to take legal action
against Mr Ghosn. His colleague, Jad Tohme, accused Lebanese politicians of
remaining silent in the face of a clear “security breach”, NNA reported.
Lebanese authorities are usually swift to move against citizens suspected of
breaking the law regarding Israel. In 2017, French-Lebanese filmmaker Ziad
Doueiry was briefly detained for shooting part of a 2013 movie in
Israel.Lebanese lawyer Ayman Raad, who is not involved in the case, told The
National that the general prosecutor is not obliged to go ahead with an
investigation.
Lebanon’s Ambassador to Japan denies his embassy helped
Carlos Ghosn escape
Arab News/January 03/2010
The Lebanese Ambassador to Japan has strongly denied his embassy was involved in
the dramatic escape of Carlos Ghosn in an exclusive statement to Arab News
Japan, after widespread accusations in the media. The fugitive former Nissan
boss made global headlines with his Hollywood-esque escape from Japan, after
somehow slipping past immigration authorities and checkpoints to fly out in a
cargo plane to Turkey and finally arriving on New Year’s Eve in Lebanon via
private jet. An arrest warrant for Ghosn was issued by the International
Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) on Thursday, according to a Lebanese
judicial source. Lebanon’s ambassador to Japan, Nidal Yehya, issued a statement
to Arab News Japan on Thursday saying: “The Lebanese Embassy in Tokyo is keen to
inform Japanese public opinion that the Lebanese embassy had absolutely no
relationship or interference with how Carlos Ghosn got out of Japan, and his
violation of the conditions for his release on bail. “Rather, the Embassy has
always stressed to him that he must abide by all the conditions of his release,
as decided by the Criminal Court in Tokyo, in order to ensure his health and to
ensure the proper preparation of the defence for the cases brought against him.”
Ambassador Yehya spoke out after media reports accused the Embassy of
involvement. Yōichi Masuzoe, who served as governor of the Japanese capital from
2014 to 2016, accused the Embassy of misusing its diplomatic privileges. He
tweeted to his 161,900 followers: “The immigration system for entry and exit
procedures are very strict. There is also special auditing of private jets. “The
officials there could not be mistaken in such a situation. I think that the
Embassy of Lebanon is involved somehow in the escape of Carlos Ghosn because of
the use of diplomatic privileges. “As for Ghosn, he may have fled because he
wants the Japanese government to thoroughly clarify the fact.”Masuzoe is a
controversial figure in Japanese politics. He was a member of the House of
Councillors, the upper house of Japan’s parliament the National Diet, from 2001
to 2013 before being elected as Governor of Tokyo in 2014. But in 2016, he was
forced to resign over allegations of misuse of public funds. While an
investigation found no criminal behaviour, he faced a vote of no confidence
after details emerged of flamboyant spending on hotels, restaurants and travel,
and he resigned. The statement followed a day of developments surrounding Carlos
Ghosn’s escape. In Tokyo, Japanese prosecutors raided the Tokyo home Ghosn with
officers seen entering the property. In Turkey, police detained seven people –
four pilots, a cargo company manager and two airport workers – after the
interior ministry launched a probe into the transit of ousted Nissan boss Carlos
Ghosn, who after fleeing Japan stopped in Turkey on his way to Lebanon,
broadcaster NTV said on Thursday. And, in France junior economy minister Agnes
Pannier-Runacher said the state ‘will not extradite’ Ghosn if he arrives in the
country.
Presidency Denies Aoun Welcomed Fugitive Ghosn
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
The Lebanese presidency on Thursday denied reports that President Michel Aoun
had welcomed fugitive former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn upon his arrival in the
country. The French-Lebanese tycoon, who had been under house arrest in Japan
over several counts of financial misconduct, escaped in mysterious circumstances
and arrived in Beirut on Monday. Several media outlets reported that he had been
greeted by Aoun but a senior presidency official denied the two men had met. "He
was not received at the presidency and did not meet the president," the official
told AFP. Ghosn flew in from Istanbul on a private jet and has since been
reunited with friends and family. Ghosn said he would speak to the media next
week. One of his lawyers in Lebanon, Carlos Abou Jaoude, said a date for the
press conference had yet to be determined. He entered Lebanon on a French
passport, according to airport documents seen by AFP. The public Japanese
broadcaster NHK reported that the court in Tokyo had allowed Ghosn to keep a
second French passport so long as it were kept "in a locked case" with the key
held by his lawyers. The exact circumstances of Ghosn's daring escape from
Japan, where he had been released on bail in April pending trial after 130 days
in prison, remain unclear, though colourful rumours abound. One claim in the
Lebanese media is that the auto mogul, who holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian
nationalities, was sprung from his Tokyo residence in a musical instrument case
-- a story a source in his entourage denied. How Ghosn was able to jump bail has
led to a Japanese investigation into what is seen as an embarrassing security
lapse.Ghosn stands accused of deferring part of his salary until after his
retirement and concealing this from shareholders, as well as syphoning off
millions in Nissan cash for his own purposes. Ghosn has repeatedly denied all
charges against him, and said that he fled to Lebanon to escape a "rigged"
Japanese justice system. Some Lebanese see Ghosn as a symbol of their country's
fabled entrepreneurial genius and a proud representative of its vast
diaspora.The mood has changed since his November 2018 arrest, however, and,
weeks into an unprecedented wave of protests against corruption and nepotism,
activists saw his return as another manifestation of privilege and impunity for
the super-rich.
Carlos Ghosn's Escape: What We Know
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
From jumping bail in Japan and fleeing to Lebanon to be met with an arrest
notice from Interpol, Carlos Ghosn has had a busy three days as a fugitive.
Here's what we know about the former Renault-Nissan boss' escape.
Hid in an instrument case
The exact circumstances of his departure from Japan, where he was under house
arrest pending trial, are still shrouded in mystery. According to Japan's Kyodo
news agency, Ghosn was smuggled out by private security operatives who pretended
to be part of a music group for a Christmas party at his residence. Quoting a
Lebanese consultant in Tokyo, Kyodo said Ghosn hid in an instrument case before
boarding a private jet -- a scenario a member of Ghosn's entourage has denied.
Ghosn is believed to have taken a private jet from Kansai Airport in western
Japan on December 29, to Istanbul. It is believed that he then flew from there
to Beirut.
Turkish investigation
Turkey's interior ministry has opened an investigation into Ghosn's apparent
transfer between private jets at an Istanbul airport on Monday.Officials
questioned seven people, including four pilots, as part of the probe, news
agency DHA reported Thursday. The investigation is focused on two flights. The
first, a Bombardier labelled TC-TSR, flew from Osaka in Japan, landed in
Istanbul at 5:15 am and parked in a hangar. The second was a private jet to
Beirut, a Bombardier Challenger 300 TC-RZA, which left 45 minutes later,
according to DHA. Ghosn said in a statement on Thursday that he acted alone
without his family's help.
Four passports
There is no emigration data showing Ghosn's departure from Japan but he entered
Lebanon on a French passport, according to airport documents seen by AFP.
Lebanon said the former car mogul -- who holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian
nationalities -- had entered the country "legally" at dawn on Monday. His three
passports were held by his Japanese lawyers, to limit the risk of flight.
Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the court in Tokyo had nonetheless
allowed Ghosn to keep a second French passport so long as it was kept "in a
locked case" with the key held by his lawyers.
'Red notice'
Interpol, the international police cooperation body, has issued a "red notice"
for Ghosn's arrest in the wake of him fleeing Japan. However, a Lebanese
judicial source told AFP that Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition
agreement under which Ghosn could be sent back to Tokyo. Ghosn stands accused in
Japan of deferring part of his salary until after his retirement and concealing
this from shareholders, as well as siphoning off millions in Nissan cash for his
own purposes. His home in France was searched in June as part of a probe into
his sumptuous marriage celebrations at the Palace of Versailles in 2016.
And three lawyers in Lebanon submitted a report to the public prosecutor
Thursday demanding that the businessman be prosecuted for a trip he made to
Israel in 2008. Details of just how he escaped could be clarified on Monday when
the former auto executive is to speak to the press in Beirut.
Runway to Runaway: Carole Ghosn, Wife of Fugitive Tycoon
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
Carole Ghosn, who not so long ago was an influential but discreet figure in the
New York fashion world, has been thrust into the limelight by her tycoon husband
Carlos' arrest and subsequent flight from Japan. The 53-year-old second wife of
the former Nissan boss, who like him also has Lebanese citizenship, has vocally
led the campaign for her husband's freedom but what role she played in his epic
escape remains unclear. Carole was reunited with her husband on Monday after he
jumped bail in Japan, where he had been jailed and then held under house arrest
over several counts of financial misconduct. Little known in her birth country,
the elegant entrepreneur often seen sporting flowing blonde hair spent a big
part of her life in the United States. But over the past year, she has
criss-crossed the globe, indefatigably spearheading a campaign to clear her
husband's name. Carole was not with him on November 19, 2018 when he was
dramatically arrested aboard his private jet at a Japanese airport and was
shocked to learn the news thousands of kilometers away. She was prevented from
seeing her husband during his detention and initially kept largely silent about
his case but was ever-present after he was released on bail to a central Tokyo
apartment on March 6.
'Traumatized'
The tycoon's wife appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron, complaining in
an interview with the newspaper Journal du Dimanche that the silence of French
authorities in the case was "deafening." She also contacted the White House and
gave a tearful interview to U.S. media in which she said her 65-year-old husband
was in poor health, exacerbated by what she described as "mental abuse" while he
was detained. "During the month he was free, they tried to live normally, go for
walks, eat good meals," said a Tokyo-based friend of the couple. This was in
spite of the photographers who camped outside their residence -- to Carole's
visible annoyance. The respite was brief and Carlos was rearrested at dawn on
April 4 to answer further allegations -- an event that "traumatized" her,
according to her friend. In interviews she claimed that prosecutors scoured
their 50-square-meter apartment, searched her, took her passport and even
accompanied her to the bathroom. "It was a huge trial, among the worst moments
of her life," said the couple's French lawyer, Francois Zimeray, who praised her
for her "dignity" under pressure. Using another passport, she then left Japan
for France but returned a few days later to face questioning and show "she had
nothing to hide."Her friend told AFP: "She has decided to fight for her husband
because she loves him and she believes in his innocence. She won't leave him
because she knows that for him, his defense is the biggest challenge of his
life." Media reports gave colorful accounts of Ghosn's escape, spirited out of
his home in an instrument case by a former U.S. marine and a private security
operative from a Lebanese firm posing as musicians hired for a Christmas party.
The former Nissan chairman insisted on Thursday that he had not received help
from any government and had organized his escape "alone," denying reports that
his wife orchestrated the daring operation.
'Beauty Yachts'
Born in 1966 in Beirut as Carole Nahas, the businesswoman has spent most of her
life in the U.S. She holds American nationality along with her three children
from her first marriage. Highly educated and successful in her own right, in the
2000s she founded a company selling luxury kaftans.
She met Carlos and the couple fell quickly in love, with Carole providing a
calming influence on the impulsive tycoon, according to one friend. They were
married in 2016 at the gilded Versailles Palace near Paris in a lavish ceremony
that has since caught the attention of authorities amid questions over how the
wedding was funded. According to sources close to the case, she is named as
president of a company used to buy a luxury yacht that prosecutors suspect was
purchased partly with funds diverted from Nissan. Authorities have questioned
her over the British Virgin Isles-registered company "Beauty Yachts" but she has
not been charged and denies wrongdoing.
Ghosn used one of two French passports to flee: media
AFP, Tokyo/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who fled to Lebanon to avoid a Japanese trial,
was carrying one of his two French passports, local media said Thursday, as
Japan launched a probe into the embarrassing security lapse. Ghosn, who faces
multiple charges of financial misconduct that he denies, won bail in April but
with strict conditions, including a bar on overseas travel. His lead lawyer
Junichiro Hironaka has said lawyers hold three passports belonging to the
international tycoon, who holds French, Brazilian and Lebanese nationalities.
But public broadcaster NHK said the court had allowed him to keep a second
French passport so long as it were kept “in a locked case” with the key held by
his lawyers. There is no emigration data showing Ghosn's departure from Japan
but he entered Lebanon on a French passport, NHK said. Prosecutors and police
are poised to launch an investigation into the stunning escape, suspecting he
departed “in an unlawful manner,” NHK said. Authorities plan to analyze security
camera footage from his residence and other places they suspect Ghosn appeared
before he fled, NHK said. Police suspect “several” people accompanied him to
help him escape, it added. Immediate confirmation of the report was not
available. When his defense lawyers were arguing for bail, prosecutors claimed
he was a flight risk with powerful connections, but Ghosn himself had said he
wanted to be tried to prove his innocence. One of his lawyers also said he was
such a famous face that he had no chance to slip away undetected.
Some countries allow people to have two passports of the same nationality, for
reasons including if they are travelling to nations in conflict with one
another. Meanwhile, France says it will not extradite Ghosn, if he arrives in
the country, a French minister said, according to AFP.
Lebanon receives Interpol wanted notice for Nissan ex-chair
Associated Press/January 02/2020
Interpol’s so-called Red Notices are requests to law enforcement agencies
worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a wanted fugitive.
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s justice minister said Thursday that Lebanon has received an
international wanted notice from Interpol for Nissan’s ex-chair Carlos Ghosn,
four days after he fled Japan to Lebanon to evade trial on financial misconduct
charges.
Albert Serhan told The Associated Press in an interview that the Red Notice for
the former automotive titan was received earlier Thursday by the prosecution,
and that Lebanon will do its part. Ghosn, who is Lebanese and also holds French
and Brazilian passports, skipped bail before his much-anticipated trial in
Japan, which was to start in April. He arrived in Lebanon, his country of
origin, on Monday via Turkey and hasn’t been seen in public since. In a
statement, he said he had fled to avoid “political persecution.”Authorities have
said that he entered legally on a French passport.
Interpol’s so-called Red Notices are requests to law enforcement agencies
worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a wanted fugitive. Serhan,
the minister, said the Lebanese prosecution “will carry out its duties,”
suggesting for the first time that Ghosn may be brought in for questioning. “We
are a country of law and respect the law and ... I can confirm that the Lebanese
state will implement the law,” he said. “The prosecution will not stay
cross-armed regarding this red notice.” He said the prosecution will “carry out
its duties” by summoning Ghosn and listening to him and “at a later stage if
there are any measures to be taken, then the precautionary measures will be
taken.” Serhan added that Lebanon has not received any official extradition
request from Japan and that the two countries did not have an extradition
treaty, ruling out the possibility that Beirut would hand Ghosn over to Japan.
“Mr. Ghosn arrived in Lebanon as any ordinary citizen. ... Lebanese authorities
have no security or judiciary charges against him, he entered the border like
any other Lebanese using a legal passport,” he said. Ghosn’s sudden arrival in
Beirut a few months ahead of his much-anticipated trial shocked Japan and
confounded authorities. How he was able to flee Japan, avoiding the tight
surveillance he was under, is still a mystery. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency
said Thursday that Turkish authorities had detained seven people as part of an
investigation into how Ghosn fled to Lebanon via Istanbul.
The private DHA news agency reported that those detained are 4 pilots, a cargo
company manager and two airport workers.
In Japan, prosecutors on Thursday raided Ghosn’s Tokyo home. Japanese media
showed investigators entering the home, which was Ghosn’s third residence in
Tokyo since he was first arrested a year ago. Authorities have now searched each
one.
Tokyo prosecutors and police did not immediately comment. Government offices in
Japan are closed this week for the New Year’s holidays. Ghosn said Tuesday in a
statement that he left for Lebanon because he thought the Japanese judicial
system was unjust, and he wanted to avoid “political persecution.”
He said he would talk to reporters next week.Lebanon said earlier that Ghosn
entered the country legally, and there was no reason to take action against him.
Ghosn’s lawyers in Japan said they had no knowledge of the escape and they had
all his passports. Ghosn has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV, without identifying sources, reported
Thursday that Ghosn had two French passports. Earlier, Japanese reports said
there were no official records in Japan of Ghosn’s departure, but a private jet
had left from a regional airport to Turkey. The Hurriyet newspaper said the
plane carrying Ghosn landed at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport at 5:30 a.m. on Dec.
29. Ghosn was not registered upon landing and was smuggled onboard another plane
that left for Lebanon, the paper reported. Ghosn, who was charged in Japan with
under-reporting his future compensation and breach of trust, has repeatedly
asserted his innocence, saying authorities trumped-up charges to prevent a
possible fuller merger between Nissan Motor Co. and alliance partner Renault SA.
The 1.5 billion yen ($14 million) bail that Ghosn posted on two separate
instances to get out of detention is being revoked.
Renowned Lebanese senior news anchor Najwa Qassem dies at
51
Tarek Ali Ahmad/Arab News/January 02/2010
The Arab media industry ushered in the new year on a somber note with the sudden
passing of one of the titans of the field, Lebanese senior news anchor Najwa
Qassem.
Qassem, a journalist known for her intrepid reporting on the Iraq and Lebanese
wars, was 51 at the time of her passing and still working with Al Arabiya and Al
Hadath News Channels.
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri, who is also owner of Future TV
where Qassem began her career, tweeted his condolences, describing her death as
“A real and sad shock,” adding that she “shone on the screen as a glowing star.”
Highlights of her broad-reaching career include being named one of the 100 most
powerful women in the Arab world by Arabian Business in 2011, as well as Best
Female Presenter by the Arab Media Festival in 2006. Her award-winning career
began in 1992 with Future TV News Station in Lebanon where she hosted several
shows and reported on Israeli military operations against Lebanon and its
withdrawal from South Lebanon. Arab News Editor in Chief, Faisal J Abbas worked
with Qassem at both Future Television of Lebanon and later at Al Arabiya News
channel.
“I have had the honor of knowing Najwa since 1999, and the pleasure of working
side by side with her at both Future Television of Lebanon and at Al Arabiya
News Channel in Dubai,” Abbas said. “In every place she stepped foot in, Najwa
always managed to set new standards in professionalism. She has remained
remarkably humble despite having interviewed world leaders and covered two
regional wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
“Her professionalism, good soul and incredible sense of humor will be truly
missed. My sincere condolences to her family and to all our colleagues in the
Arab media industry,” he added. Group TV Director at MBC Ali Jaber, who worked
with Qassem at Future TV, said he spoke to her a short time before her
death.“She was my first recruit to Future TV. I auditioned her first and it took
me just few minutes to conclude that she will reign over the screen…she did ever
since, on every screen she appeared on,” Jaber told Arab News, adding: “She was
a true journalist and a great friend. We kept in touch until few hours before
she died.”In 2003, Qassem moved to Al Arabiya News Channel where she survived a
bombing on Al Arabiya’s Baghdad news station while covering the Iraq war - eight
of her colleagues were killed in the attack. She reported on the 2005
assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and on the front lines of
the Lebanese-Israeli war in 2006. She hosted several news shows and current
affairs bulletins with Al Hadath, having covered elections, conflicts, summits
and more. Al Arabiya Senior News Anchor Lara Nabhan recounted fond memories with
Qassem where she used to order food for everyone during breaking news segments
knowing that her colleagues would not have time to eat.
“She used to always, in particular with me, watch and follow my coverage from
home and then call me during the break to give me advice on questions I should
have asked as well as praise me for the ones that I did. She was always
supportive and helpful, especially when I needed advice on how to approach
certain guests, and she would always give me the right angle to go with.
Personally, she was very kind and helpful with me and she taught me well,”
Nabhan told Arab News.
Tributes have filled social media in the Arab world with words of praise and
condolences to Qassem, from those who worked with her to those who grew used to
watching her on the news.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on January 02-03/2020
Iran not heading to war but not afraid of conflict: IRGC
commander
Reuters, Dubai/Thursday, 2 January 2020
A top Iranian commander said on Thursday that Iran was not moving towards a war
but was not afraid of any conflict, the semi-official Tasnim news agency
reported after US President Donald Trump said Tehran was behind anti-US protests
in Iraq. Trump accused Iran of orchestrating demonstrations at the US embassy in
Iraq on Tuesday and said Tehran would be held responsible. Iran has rejected the
accusation. “We are not leading the country to war, but we are not afraid of any
war and we tell America to speak correctly with the Iranian nation. We have the
power to break them several times over and are not worried,” Revolutionary
Guards Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami was quoted by Tasnim as
saying. Trump had said in a tweet on Tuesday that Iran would be “held fully
responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They
will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat.” He later said
he did not want or foresee a war with Iran.Iran's Army chief Major General
Abdolrahim Mousavi said on Thursday his forces were ready to confront the
"enemy". “Our armed forces ... monitor all moves, and if anyone makes the
slightest mistake, they will decisively react, and if the situation heats up, we
will show our abilities to the enemy,” Mousavi was quoted as saying by state
broadcaster IRIB. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday condemned
US attacks on Iranian-allied militias in Iraq, blaming the United States for
violence in Iran's neighbor. Iran protested on Wednesday to a Swiss envoy, who
represents US interests in Tehran, over what it called “warmongering statements”
by American officials.
Moderate quake causes limited damage in northeast Iran
Reuters/Thursday, 2 January 2020
An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 shook northeastern Iran on Thursday, but there
was little damage and no casualties, state television reported. The quake was
centered on an area near Sangan, a town of about 10,000 people near the border
with Afghanistan, at a shallow depth of 8 km (5 miles). “Our near-final report
is that about 14 villages have had very limited damage,” Morteza Salimi, head of
rescue at Iran's Red Crescent, told the television. “There are no casualties and
most of the damage is walls collapsing in places where livestock is kept,” he
added. Crisscrossed by major fault lines, Iran is one of the most
earthquake-prone countries in the world. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 quake in
southeastern Kerman province killed 31,000 people and flattened the ancient city
of Bam.
Trump Warns Erdogan against 'Foreign Interference' in Libya
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday warned his Turkish counterpart Recep
Tayyip Erdogan against any "foreign interference" in Libya, the White House
said, after Turkish lawmakers approved a military deployment to shore up the
U.N.-backed government in Tripoli. In a telephone call, Trump "pointed out that
foreign interference is complicating the situation in Libya," White House
spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. The government in Tripoli -- backed
by Turkey and Qatar -- has been under sustained attack since April by military
strongman General Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Ankara's regional rivals:
Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Erdogan has repeatedly accused
Russia of sending private mercenaries to support Haftar's forces, though Moscow
has denied this. The Turkish leader's office confirmed last Friday that a
request for military support had been received from the Tripoli-based Government
of National Accord (GNA). Following the vote by lawmakers, it is now up to
Erdogan whether to send troops, or if military assistance will take another
form.
Turkey says Trump, Erdogan discussed Libya in phone call
Reuters, Ankara/Thursday, 2 January 2020
US President Donald Trump discussed the situation in Libya with his Turkish
counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Thursday, Turkey’s
presidency said less than an hour after Ankara passed a bill allowing troop
deployment to Tripoli. Trump and Erdogan “stressed the importance of diplomacy
in resolving regional issues,” the Turkish presidency said. The situation in
Syria was also addressed on the call, it added.
Turkish lawmakers authorize sending troops to fight in
Libya
The Associated Press, Ankara/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Turkey’s parliament has authorized sending troops to Libya to help the
UN-recognized government in Tripoli. Turkish lawmakers voted 325-184 at an
emergency session on Thursday in favor of allowing a one-year mandate to deploy
troops. There are concerns that Turkish forces could aggravate the conflict in
Libya. But Ankara says the deployment may be needed for Turkey to safeguard its
interests in Libya and in the eastern Mediterranean. The motion allows the
government to decide on the scope, strength and timing of any mission by Turkish
troops. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay told state-run Anadolu Agency that
Turkey would send “the necessary number (of troops) whenever there is a need.”
US expects more attacks from Iran-backed groups: Esper
Washington, AFP/Thursday, 2 January 2020
The Pentagon warned Thursday that the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah group that
stormed the US embassy in Baghdad would carry out more attacks on US facilities
-- and would regret it. “The provocative behavior has been out there for
months... So do I think they may do something? Yes. And they will likely regret
it,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters. “We are prepared to exercise
self-defense, and we are prepared to deter further bad behavior from these
groups, all of which are sponsored, directed and resourced by Iran.”Esper said
there were “some indications out there” that groups may be planning additional
attacks, and that the US would respond accordingly. “If we get word of attacks
or some type of indication, we will take preemptive action as well to protect
American forces, to protect American lives,” he said. The Pentagon ordered
hundreds of rapid-response troops to the Gulf region Tuesday after Iraqi
protesters stormed the normally highly-protected US embassy compound in Baghdad,
breaching its outer wall while chanting “Death to America!” The protestors, many
from Kataeb Hezbollah, were angered by weekend air strikes by US forces that
killed 25 of their supporters, said by Washington to be retaliation for rocket
attacks on December 27 that killed a US civilian contractor. Joint Chiefs
Chairman General Mark Milley said Iran had been behind a “sustained campaign” to
provoke the United States since at least October. “We know that the campaign has
increased in tempo and intensity,” he said. “We know that the intent of this
last attack was in fact to kill American soldiers, sailors and the Marine... 31
rockets aren’t designed as a warning shot. That’s designed to inflict damage and
kill.” Esper said the reinforcements, sent to Kuwait, would allow the Pentagon
to be prepared “for any contingency.”
“The game has changed and we’re prepared to do what is necessary to defend our
personnel, and our interests and our partners in the region,” he said.
Israeli court declines to rule on Netanyahu’s eligibility
The Associated Press, Jerusalem/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Israel’s Supreme Court on Thursday declined to weigh in on whether Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can return to his post now that he has been
indicted, postponing any ruling on his political future until after March
elections.A three-judge panel said the question of whether an indicted member of
parliament can be tapped to form a government is important, but that it would be
premature to decide the issue before the vote. The court had been widely
expected to delay any ruling. Judging Netanyahu ineligible would have triggered
a major political crisis and exacerbated already strained ties between the
government and the judiciary. Netanyahu was indicted in November on charges of
bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Israeli Cabinet members are required to
resign if indicted, but the rule does not apply to the prime minister. He has
continued serving as caretaker prime minister after failing to form a government
after unprecedented back-to-back elections last year. Netanyahu has dismissed
the corruption cases against him as an “attempted coup” and warned against any
judicial intervention, saying only the voters can choose the country’s leader.
There are no restrictions on Netanyahu running in the March 2 election — the
third in less than a year. But the petition, filed by good government groups,
contended that having a prime minister under indictment would constitute a
conflict of interest. Others have argued that voters have the right to know
before the election if Netanyahu is eligible to be prime minister. The court
said that the election campaign period is “a realm of uncertainty” and that it
remains to be seen who the president will select to form a government after the
March 2 vote. The judges said that in light of the “most sensitive and
complicated period the state of Israel is in at this time,” it decided to “act
with restraint and moderation” and dismiss the petition for the time being. The
court’s decision came the day after Netanyahu announced that he would seek
immunity from prosecution, effectively delaying any trial until after a new
government is formed.
Netanyahu hopes to win big in March and assemble a 61-seat majority in favor of
immunity. But polls predict another split decision that would prolong the
country’s political limbo. September’s election left Netanyahu’s right-wing
Likud party in a virtual tie with the centrist Blue and White, led by former
army chief of staff Benny Gantz. Neither was able to assemble a majority with
its natural allies, and efforts to form a unity government collapsed in large
part because of Netanyahu’s legal woes. Netanyahu, who was re-elected leader of
the ruling Likud party last week, has long accused judicial and law enforcement
officials of trying to drive him from office. His allies have issued stern
warnings against what they call an “activist” court overstepping its authority
and a few dozen pro-Netanyahu protesters convened outside the court in
Jerusalem. Netanyahu has been in power for more than a decade and is Israel’s
longest-serving leader. He is also Israel’s first sitting prime minister to be
charged with a crime. His predecessor, Ehud Olmert, was forced to resign a
decade ago ahead of a corruption indictment that later sent him to prison for 16
months.
Fatah supporters hold rare Gaza rally
AFP, Gaza/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Thousands of supporters of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement,
which rivals Gaza’s rulers Hamas, held a rare gathering in the enclave on
Wednesday to mark the party’s 55th anniversary. Waving yellow Fatah flags,
supporters from across the territory gathered in Gaza City to celebrate the
movement founded by the late Yasser Arafat. Some held photographs of the two
former and current political leaders. West Bank-based Fatah cancelled its
anniversary event last year after dozens of its supporters were arrested by
Hamas authorities. The interior ministry in Gaza granted permission for
Wednesday’s rally to go ahead, according to a Hamas leader. “We consented to
holding these festivities on al-Wehda Street for Fatah to champion the unity of
the Palestinian people,” he told AFP, requesting anonymity. “It’s a referendum
on the public support for Fatah and the leadership of Abu Mazen,” he added,
using a common nickname for Abbas. Militant group Hamas seized control of Gaza
from Abbas’s forces in 2007 and the two sides have remained split, with the
Palestinian president based in the occupied West Bank. No Palestinian elections
have been held since 2006, apart from local polls, but Abbas has recently pushed
for a vote. Hamas called for a presidential decree setting the election date,
but Abbas said he wants Israel to first guarantee that the vote can take place
in east Jerusalem. “We will not accept elections without Jerusalem and without
our people... Jerusalem is the capital of our state and it is not up for sale or
negotiation,” Abbas said in a speech aired at the rally. Israel occupied east
Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it, in a move never recognized by the
international community. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of
their future state, but Israel has declared the whole city its undivided
capital. Abbas has previously pledged on multiple occasions to hold elections
but without any results.
Iraqi protester shot dead as anti-regime rallies continue
AFP, Baghdad/Thursday, 2 January 2020
An Iraqi activist was shot dead overnight in Baghdad, a police source told AFP
on Thursday, as anti-government rallies carried on despite a separate day-long
siege of the US embassy. The activist, Saadoun al-Luhaybi, was shot in the head
in a southwestern neighborhood of the Iraqi capital, the police source said. He
had been taking part in youth-led demonstrations rocking Iraq since early
October that have demanded the ouster of a governing class seen as corrupt,
inept and beholden to Iran. The protesters have occupied Baghdad’s iconic Tahrir
Square, just across the river Tigris from the Green Zone, home to government
offices, the United Nations headquarters and foreign embassies. On Tuesday, an
angry mob marched into the Green Zone and to the US embassy, outraged over
American air strikes that killed fighters from the Popular Mobilization Unit (PMU)
militias. They besieged the embassy for just over 24 hours, leaving on Wednesday
afternoon after an order from the PMU. The anti-government demonstrators who
have been taking to the streets for months insist their movement is entirely
unrelated to the crowds that besieged and vandalized the American mission.
“We’ve got nothing to do with that,” one demonstrator in the southern protest
hotspot city of Diwaniyah told AFP. Protesters still occupied the streets in the
city, where they have shut down most government offices and schools. They
briefly allowed local government offices to reopen to let employees receive
their salaries at the end of the year, an AFP correspondent said.
Erdogan says up to 250,000 people fleeing from Syria's
Idlib towards Turkey
Reuters, Ankara/Thursday, 2 January 2020
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that up to 250,000 migrants were
fleeing from the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib towards Turkey, adding that
Ankara was trying to prevent them from crossing its border.Turkey hosts some 3.7
million Syrian refugees, the largest refugee population in the world. It fears a
new wave from Idlib, where up to 3 million Syrians live in the last rebel-held
swathe of territory, after Russian and Syrian government forces last month
intensified their bombardment of targets in the region. “Right now, 200,000 to
250,000 migrants are moving towards our borders. We are trying to prevent them
with some measures, but it's not easy. It's difficult, they are humans too,”
Erdogan told a conference in Ankara.
Tunisia's PM-Designate Announces Cabinet
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
Tunisia's prime minister-designate on Thursday unveiled a proposed government
composed of independent figures, after months of negotiations between political
parties to fill positions failed. The cabinet -- comprised of 28 ministers, most
of whom are unknown to the general public, including four women -- still needs
to receive parliamentary assent. "I am confident this government will be
approved by parliament", said Habib Jemli, designated prime minister by the
Islamist inspired Ennahdha party.Ennahdha won 52 seats in a legislative election
on October 6 -- more than any other party, but not enough to form a majority in
the 217-seat chamber. Jemli on December 23 announced he would form a government
of independents due to "frictions" between parties over political appointments,
after two months of difficult negotiations that also involved trade unions. He
said some parties had demanded conditions for their participation in government,
without elaborating. Jemli then announced several different versions of
his proposed government, before a final list was signed by President Kais Saied
on Thursday, according to a statement by the presidency. Said -- a
conservative academic with no background in politics -- was elected in a
presidential run-off a week after the legislative polls. The final cabinet
list identifies Hedi Guediri, a former head of the Court of Cassation, as
justice minister, while the interior ministry was handed to Sofiene Sliti, an
ex-spokesman for the public prosecutor. Imed Derouiche, a judge, was chosen to
head the defense ministry, while a former ambassador, Khaled Sehili, was handed
the foreign ministry. Fadhel Abdelkefi, an ex-finance minister, was selected for
the ministry of development and international co-operation. Tarek Dhiab, who won
African footballer of the year in 1977, was named minister of youth and sports
and popular actor Fathi Hadaoui was given the ministry of culture. Tourism
minister Rene Trabelsi is the only member of the former government to have kept
his post. The 28-member government also includes 15 ministers of state.
Parliament's office is expected to convene on Saturday in order to set a date
for the chamber to vote on the new government, according to a statement on
Thursday evening. The constitution stipulates that if the prime minister
designate fails to receive parliamentary assent for his government, the
president will launch talks with political parties and parliamentary blocs to
mandate someone else to form an administration.
Pompeo Postpones Ukraine Trip after Attack on U.S. Embassy
in Iraq
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday postponed a trip to Ukraine,
the country at the heart of impeachment proceedings against President Donald
Trump, after an attack on the American embassy in Iraq, the State Department
announced. Pompeo had been due to travel at week's end to Ukraine, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Cyprus. But on Tuesday, a mob of pro-Iran
demonstrators stormed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad over American airstrikes that
killed two dozen paramilitary fighters. Pompeo's travel was pushed back "due to
the need for the secretary to be in Washington, DC to continue monitoring the
ongoing situation in Iraq and ensure the safety and security of Americans in the
Middle East," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus announced. "Secretary
Pompeo's trip will be rescheduled in the near future and he looks forward to the
visit at that time," she added.
The trip would have made Pompeo the most senior U.S. official to visit Kiev
since a scandal erupted in 2019 over a controversial phone call in which Trump
allegedly tried to pressure his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to find
dirt on Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden. Pompeo, a staunch Trump
defender, was set to meet with Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials,
Ortagus said Monday when the trip was first announced. But the following day,
the embassy in Baghdad was besieged. Demonstrators finally left on Wednesday.
No U.S. personnel were injured in the attack and U.S. officials said they had no
plans to evacuate. Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives for
abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on December 18 and faces trial in the
Senate, possibly later this month, though top Democratic and Republican
lawmakers are still sparring over how it will be conducted.
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on January 02-03/2020
Taqiyya Sunset: Exposing the Darkness Shrouding Islamic
Deceit
Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine/January 02/2020
In “Taqiyyah Sunrise: Shining Light on Contemporary Deception,” published by the
Jewish Chronicle on December 19, 2019, Usama Hasan, a board member of the
British think tank Quilliam, declares that
This article seeks to clarify the origins, meaning, and application of the
concept of taqiyyah. In doing so, my purpose is to minimise its use, as part of
a hostile narrative which paints Muslims are [sic] religiously-obligated liars.
Taqiyya is Islamic sanctioned deception. Apologists, such as Hasan, insist that
it is limited to preserving one’s life when in danger, while others say its
application is much more open-ended and potentially subversive of non-Muslim
societies.
The occasion that spurred Hasan to write—and the heart of his argument—appear in
this paragraph:
Melanie Phillips is a Times columnist and often appears on the BBC in its TV and
radio programmes such as Question Time and The Moral Maze. She also writes for
the JC. In her article, “Islamists are not the same as other prisoners,” (The
Times, 3 December 2019) she claims that “taqiyya, the command to deceive for
Islam … is of fundamental importance in Islam. Practically every Islamic sect
agrees to it and practises it.” Her authority? A minor Lebanese academic who is
a member of the relatively heterodox Druze sect. This is a bit like deploying
Neturei Karta against mainstream Jewish sects, or quoting a Jehovah’s Witness as
an authority on the doctrinal content of post-Nicene Christianity.
The “minor Lebanese academic” that Hasan deigns not even name is Dr. Sami Nassib
Makarem (1931-2012), a scholar of Arabic and Islam. In 1963, Makarem earned his
PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan, where he taught
Arabic and specialized in Islamic Studies. Since 1964 till his death he was a
professor of Arabic and Islamic thought at the American University of Beirut;
from 1975-78, he was director of its Center of Middle Eastern Studies. He
published well over twenty books, most of them academic and in the Arabic
language.
His 2004 book, Al-Taqiyya fi’l Islam (“Taqiyya in Islam”), is what concerns us
here. I first encountered and read it in 2006, while still working at the
Library of Congress; later I translated portions of it. Going now through my own
copy again—and at 327 pages, with countless references and citations to
Islamic/Arabic texts—it is by far the most comprehensive and scholarly treatment
on the doctrine of taqiyya known to me. It certainly validates one of its
opening statements (which Phillips partially quoted, and which Hasan dismisses
out of hand):
Taqiyya is of fundamental importance in Islam. Practically every Islamic sect
agrees to it and practices it … We can go so far as to say that the practice of
taqiyya is mainstream in Islam, and that those few sects not practicing it
diverge from the mainstream … Taqiyya is very prevalent in Islamic politics,
especially in the modern era.
Despite Makarem’s credentials, Hasan dismisses him in an ad hominem attack that
presents him as “A minor Lebanese academic who is a member of the relatively
heterodox Druze sect.” Citing him in regards to mainstream Islam is, for Hasan,
“a bit like … quoting a Jehovah’s Witness as an authority on the doctrinal
content of post-Nicene Christianity.”
What a silly argument. It’s tantamount to saying that no one but a Sunni can
objectively study and write on Sunnism; no one but a Shia can objectively study
and write on Shiism; and so on. In reality, many of the world’s greatest
authorities have no “innate” connection to their topic; such disconnectedness,
if anything, often helps ensure their objectiveness. Up until a few decades ago,
for example, if you wanted to know anything about Islamic history, you—and this
includes Muslims, who at best knew only hagiography—had to turn to European
Orientalists (whose writings tend to remain more learned and objective than
their modern day counterparts).
Despite Hasan’s insinuations, Professor Makarem did not approach the topic of
taqiyya “as a Druze”—whatever that might mean—but as a scholar, as his book
makes clear on every page. Indeed, any notion that he had some sort of axe to
grind—for example by pinning taqiyya on other sects but exonerating his own—is
dispelled by the fact that his comprehensive treatment also includes the Druze.
Incidentally, and very much unlike Makarem, Usama Hasan has no relevant
credentials; his degrees are in the hard sciences (e.g., engineering).
So what we have here is a Muslim man, with no formal credentials on the
topic—aside from being a former jihadist whose Saudi-educated father compelled
to memorize the Koran in youth—telling us to ignore an actual scholar with
formal, academic credentials in Islamic theology, simply because the latter says
things (taqiyya/deception is prevalent and mainstream) that present Islam in an
unflattering light.
To be sure, Hasan tries to rationalize taqiyya in other ways—including through
the usual array of partial truths, partial omissions, generalizations and
conflations that I’ve encountered and dismantled many times before (here and
here for example)—but it was his flippant dismissal of Makarem that seemed
especially disingenuous and in need of addressing.
The overall hollow nature of Hasan’s article is perhaps most evident in how it
regularly turns to fake outrage against those who dare mention—and, worse,
disseminate knowledge of—taqiyya. A few excerpts follow:
[I]t is disappointing that The Times, one of the most important newspapers in
the world, should publish Melanie Phillips [on taqiyya] …
The Times, the JC, the Spectator, and the BBC should be ashamed of promoting
someone [Philips] who has made this charge against us [Muslims] for so many
years. …
It is outrageous that a respected national newspaper should render the tropes of
anti-Muslim hatred mainstream in this manner.
“Disappointing … ashamed … outrageous”: These are words better applied to the
deceitful doctrine of taqiyya itself and those who would whitewash it—not those
who expose it.
*Raymond Ibrahim, author of Sword and Scimitar and The Al Qaeda Reader, is
Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center; Distinguished Senior
Fellow at the Gatestone Institute; and Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the
Middle East Forum.
Iran Can No Longer Rely on Shia Militias to Fight its Wars
كون كوغلن/معهد كايستون: لم يعد بمقدور إيران الإتكال على الميليشيات الشيعية لخوض
حروبها
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/January 02/2020
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/81964/%d9%83%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%83%d9%88%d8%ba%d9%84%d9%86-%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%87%d8%af-%d9%83%d8%a7%d9%8a%d8%b3%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%84%d9%85-%d9%8a%d8%b9%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%85%d9%82%d8%af%d9%88%d8%b1-%d8%a5%d9%8a/
The President’s robust response to the recent upsurge in Iranian-sponsored
violence in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East certainly appears at odds with
the perception that he has no interest in conducting military operations in the
Middle East, and that his main objective is to reduce Washington’s military
presence in the region ahead of this year’s presidential election contest.
And it should also send a clear signal to Tehran that its reliance on Shia
militias to carry out attacks on its behalf will no longer be tolerated.
The intense pressure Iran is facing over its continued meddling in Iraq is the
key factor behind the recent upsurge of violence in the Middle East that has
resulted in American warplanes carrying out their biggest attack in a decade on
Iran-backed militias.
Ever since the ayatollahs came to power more than 40 years ago, they have sought
to distract attention away from their domestic unpopularity by getting
Iran-backed Shia militias to carry out high profile attacks.
From the devastating car bomb attacks the Iranian-backed Hizbollah militia
carried out against American bases in Beirut in the 1980s to the more recent
attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil facilities in October 2019, the Iranian
regime has repeatedly used its proxy Shia militias to great effect to distract
attention away from its domestic travails.
The beauty of this arrangement, so far as the ayatollahs are concerned, is that,
by relying on Shia militias to do their dirty work, whether it is firing
missiles at Israel or carrying out assassinations in Europe, Tehran is able to
deny any involvement in wrongdoing.
No longer. By launching a series of air strikes against Iranian-backed militias
in Iraq and Syria on Sunday night, the Trump administration has made it
abundantly clear that it will no longer tolerate Tehran’s denials of its
involvement in attacks against the US and its allies.
Moreover, after Washington accused Iran of being responsible for the subsequent
attacks against the US Embassy in Baghdad that followed the air strikes, Tehran
is risking a direct military confrontation with the US if it persists with the
underhand tactic of employing proxies to carry out attacks on its behalf.
US officials believe the recent upsurge in Iranian-sponsored violence in Iraq
has been caused by Iran’s desire to distract attention from the wave of
anti-Iran protests that have taken place recently in the country over its
continued meddling in the Iraqi government’s affairs.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump certainly left no one in any doubt that he held
Tehran directly responsible for the American Embassy attack earlier this week,
when hundreds of protesters breached the outer wall of the embassy compound in
the heavily fortified green zone.
In a chilling echo of the attack on the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 that
resulted in the long-running American hostage crisis, protesters chanting “Death
to America” and “Death to Israel”, set fire to a sentry box, pulled security
cameras away from walls and hurled projectiles, including Molotov cocktails.
Writing on Twitter shortly after the attack, Mr Trump declared that Iran was
responsible for carrying out the attack:
“….Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at
any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it
is a Threat…”
Nor has the President been taken in by Iran’s claims that it had nothing to do
with last week’s rocket attack against a military base used by American and
Iraqi troops on the outskirts of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, in which one American
contractor was killed.
The actual attacks were carried out by the Iranian-backed militia Kataib
Hezbollah, which operates in both Iraq and Syria, and the Pentagon’s military
response was directed at destroying a number of the militia’s bases.
Mr Trump, however, has blamed Iran directly for carrying out the Kirkuk attacks,
writing, “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly
responded, and always will…”
The President’s robust response to the recent upsurge in Iranian-sponsored
violence in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East certainly appears at odds with
the perception that he has no interest in conducting military operations in the
Middle East, and that his main objective is to reduce Washington’s military
presence in the region ahead of this year’s presidential election contest.
It should also send a clear signal to Tehran that its reliance on Shia militias
to carry out attacks on its behalf will no longer be tolerated.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph’s Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a
Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
US embassy attack was Iran’s way of showing they run Iraq
Michael Pregent/Al Arabiya/January 02/2020
Many Iraqis call Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes “the de-facto Prime Minister of Iraq”
even though he is a designated terrorist who commands Kataib Hezbollah, an
Iranian-backed militia whose bases were bombed by US warplanes in Iraq and Syria
this week.
Two days after that bombing, on New Year’s Eve, al-Mohandes walked into the
heavily protected Green Zone in central Baghdad unopposed with a mob of Iran’s
proxy militia fighters and set fire to the US Embassy.
The Iraqi government did nothing to stop him.
Al-Mohandes is not only the commander of Kataib Hezbollah, a designated terror
group, but also the deputy commander of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization
Units (PMU) militias and is prominent in the party which has the largest voting
bloc in Iraq’s parliament.
During the embassy attack, party faithful from Iran’s other main Iraqi militias
– including Badr Corps and Asaib Ahl al-Haq – joined al-Mohandes in having their
pictures taken while their mob set fire to the embassy gates. Faleh al-Fayad,
Iraq's National Security Advisor, looked on approvingly.
Let’s make something absolutely clear. This mob was not made up of Iraqis who
have been protesting against their government in Tahrir Square, or Freedom
Square in Arabic. Quite the contrary. These are Iran’s terrorist proxies who
have overrun the government in Baghdad and are now ordering the killing of
Iraq’s brave young protestors. They are demonstrating that the formal government
has no control over them.
Just as Iraqi security forces stepped aside as al-Mohandes and his militias
moved on the US embassy gates, they do nothing to protect the unarmed young
protestors, who call for the removal of a puppet regime leading Iraq they know
answers to Tehran.
Kataib Hezbollah and its allies in the PMU militias have conducted dozens of
attacks on Iraqi military bases over the past few months. On Friday they fired
30 rockets at a base near Kirkuk in the north.
This Iraqi airbase is where Americans, at the invitation of Baghdad, advise and
assist Iraqi security forces in their fight against ISIS remnants.
But this time, the rockets killed an American and wounded four US service
members and several Iraqi security forces.
Instead of condemning Kataib Hezbollah for launching rocket attacks against a
joint force of Americans and Iraqi security forces, on December 30 the
government of Iraq condemned the United States. Washington’s supposed crime was
to defend itself against a terrorist organization that answers to Qassem
Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and one that
Baghdad is either powerless to control or simply beholden to.
Only two weeks earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Defense
Secretary Mark Esper had warned Iran to stop these attacks and threatened harsh
retribution, not just against Iran’s proxy forces in Iraq, but the “prime
actor.”
The US responded to the Kirkuk rocket attack with a bombing raid on five Kataib
Hezbollah bases on the border of Iraq and Syria on Sunday. The attack hurt al-Mohandes
and Soleimani immensely because those bases are used to move troops and material
across the border to Syria, and then to attack Israel.
Let’s call it like it is, the US hit a designated terrorist group – Kataib
Hezbollah, a group that terrifies the Iraqi government and its civilians. The
current government and its security forces are incapable and unwilling to deal
with these militias – and because Baghdad did nothing, the US had no choice but
to take action.
In calculating its next move against Iran and its proxies, Washington should
urgently re-evaluate the support it provides to the Iraqi government.
There will be more attacks by Tehran’s militias and proxies, and the US needs to
be prepared to punish Iran directly by hitting its Revolutionary Guard Corps and
Quds Force directly.
The US needs to use its leverage.
The US should warn Baghdad that loan guarantees on $30 billion of
“reconstruction” funds – money that will likely fall into the hands of corrupt
officials tied to Iran – will end unless Baghdad takes dramatic steps to reform
and pushback against Soleimani.
The US should also consider pulling its Advise and Assist, and Train and Equip
Programs for the Iraqi security forces as long as Soleimani’s militias have
access to US funds, training, equipment and intelligence.
The US should sanction and designate Iraqi Shia leader Hadi al-Amiri and his
Badr Organization, as well as PMU Chairman Faleh al-Fayad for their roles in the
attack on the US embassy and the killing of innocent unarmed Iraqis. Secretary
Pompeo took the first step today by calling al-Amiri an Iranian proxy. More
importantly, it is time to go after Soleimani and al-Mohandes – they are enemies
of the Iraqi people, the region and the United States.
Iranian president under fire over economic woes
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/January 02/2010
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was once considered among the most popular
political figures in Iran. He won the 2013 elections with a landslide victory,
taking 50.71 percent of the vote.
The presidential election did not even proceed to the second round as Tehran’s
Mayor Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, who finished second, was backed by only 16.56
percent of voters.
In his first term, Rouhani invested a considerable amount of political capital
in striking a nuclear deal with six world powers (the US, Russia, China,
Britain, France and Germany) and in having sanctions against Iran lifted,
including the UN’s four rounds of sanctions and EU and American unilateral
sanctions.
The picture looked bright for the president as he also promised ordinary people
that the extra revenues would trickle down to them and pledged to improve the
economy, people’s living standards, and to provide jobs and equal opportunities,
especially for the youth.
Many people also applauded Iran’s improving image and status on the global stage
as well as its enhanced ties with the West and the US. That was partially why,
in his re-election in 2017, Rouhani also received roughly 51 percent of the vote
while his unpopular rival, Ebrahim Raisi, secured approximately 33 percent of
support.
Nevertheless, many issues started heading downward after 2017.
A year ago, the Iranian parliament (Majlis) stopped short of impeaching the
president. Parliamentarians summoned Rouhani in order to ask him some questions
about the nation’s failing economy, the nuclear agreement, and the US’
increasing pressure. Rouhani was the second president of Iran to be summoned by
the parliament since 1979.
Later, members of the parliament voted to reject Rouhani’s explanations to four
out of five questions. It is likely that Iran will move forward to summon or
even impeach Rouhani sooner or later, for the following reasons. The
overwhelming majority of Iranian people want a new Iran, free from a political
establishment that diverts their wealth and scarce resources toward suppression,
missiles and terrorism.
First of all, Iran’s hard-liners, particularly the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, the senior cadre of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
and conservative lawmakers, are desperately searching for a scapegoat to appease
the frustrated public.
Many people in Iran are no longer buying into the regime’s argument that other
countries, such as the US or Israel, are the main reasons behind their economic
and political woes.
Anger toward the theocratic establishment has reached an unprecedented level.
Protests continue to resume despite the brutal crackdowns. Many anti-regime
slogans have become the norm; chants include “Death to the dictator,” “Our
military brothers, why do you kill your brother?” and “Clerics must get lost.”
And to ensure their hold on power, it has been the modus operandi of the ruling
mullahs to often utilize some of their own loyalists or factions as a scapegoat.
Secondly, the hard-liners are cognizant of the fact that there exists no risk in
summoning or impeaching Rouhani due to the fact that his popularity has
significantly subsided.
People are realizing that under Rouhani’s administration, their country is now
facing its most severe economic problems since the establishment of the Islamic
Republic in 1979.
Inflation has been rising at an abnormal pace. While an acceptable inflation
rate around the world is about 2 percent, Iran’s inflation is rampant and
currently hovers over 40 percent. And ordinary people are the ones who are
paying the price with skyrocketing costs.
Nafeeseh, a teacher at a high school and a mother of two children, said: “Every
day that we buy groceries, the prices of food such as bread, rice and eggs are
different from the day before. Prices are constantly going up and it makes it
extremely difficult to budget. Within the last year, prices have risen about 70
percent.”
According to official government figures, the unemployment rate is running at
around 27 percent among young Iranians and more than 40 percent among those who
have university degrees.
Iran has a young population with more than 60 percent under 30 years of age. In
some provinces, the unemployment rate is believed to be in excess of 60 percent.
People are also angry at the president due to the fact that Tehran’s regional
policy has been no better, with military and missile budgets rising under
Rouhani’s administration, leading to an aggressive agenda in Syria, Yemen, Iraq,
and other hotspots in the region.
It is no wonder that the overwhelming majority of Iranian people want a new
Iran, free from a political establishment that diverts their wealth and scarce
resources toward suppression, missiles and terrorism.
And that is why the international community has repeatedly heard Iranians
chanting, “No to Gaza, no to Lebanon. We sacrifice our lives for Iran,” “Not
Gaza, not Lebanon, my life only for Iran,” and “Oil money has been lost, it has
all been spent on Palestine.”
As people’s dissatisfaction and anger toward the Iranian regime grows, the
hard-liners are attempting to use Rouhani, the regime’s ultimate insider, as a
scapegoat to appease the public.
*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
No solution in sight for Syrian refugees
Randa Takieddine/Arab News/January 02/2010
Every new year brings with it the hope that it will be an improvement on the
previous one. But for the 6 million Syrian refugees in nearby countries — mainly
Turkey Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq — who fled their country to escape the war that
Bashar Assad started against his own people in 2011, there seems little hope
that 2020 will bring a solution to their desperate situation.
The present dynamic of the political situation in Syria is not based on the
support of the international community through a UN-sponsored political
transition, but on a Syrian regime which believes it has won the war and that it
has enough support from the Russians, Iranians and Chinese to enable it to
reestablish its authority by force without aiming for national reconciliation
and or agreeing to share power.
The most recent figures from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
place the number of registered Syrian refugees at 5,671,049. But the total
figure is certainly higher because many are not registered. In November 2018, it
was reported that around 6.7 million Syrians were refugees. At the moment, there
are believed to be more than 3 million in Turkish cities. In Lebanon, around 1
million are living in tent settlements. In Jordan, there are 670,000 — with some
120,000 in Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps. In Iraq, there are 250,000, mostly
situated in Kurdistan in the north. And in Egypt there are 130,000.
In Lebanon, whenever President Michel Aoun or his son-in-law Gebran Bassil have
traveled outside of the country, they have stressed that the refugees are a
heavy burden on the Lebanese economy and asked that they be allowed to return.
Aoun has repeatedly claimed that peace has returned to Syria and that the
refugees should go back to their country. The UNHCR has made it clear that that
cannot happen without guarantees that their return to Syria is voluntary, safe
and dignified.
The future, for Syrian refugees, is bleak so long as the international solution
for transition in Syria continues to fail.
The Syrian refugees’ situation in Lebanon has been further complicated by the
ongoing popular uprising and the disastrous economic situation there. Hundreds
of refugees have headed back to Syria since protests broke out, raising the
number who have returned over the past two years to around 27,000. That is a
tiny percentage of those who remain in a perilous situation in Lebanon, despite
assistance from the UNHCR and some private foundations, including Kayani, which
has done much for Syrian refugees in collaboration with the American University
of Beirut and UNESCO. Aoun and Bassil want them all to return immediately,
claiming that Syria is safe now.
A new Lebanese Hezbollah-backed government, with Saad Hariri out, will be keen
to take the opportunity to try to normalize relations with Assad and force the
refugees to return home. Many of these refugees have been living for nine years
just 50-60 km from their hometowns of Hama and Homs. But Assad, an Alawite, does
not want them back. He is not interested in Sunnis returning to the country. His
main aim is to consolidate his power in Syria and reinforce his influence in
Lebanon. Russia claims to have a plan for the return of Syrian refugees in
Lebanon, but has done nothing so far.
The bombings by Russian planes and the Syrian regime in Idlib has escalated
violence in northeast Syria and displaced more people inside Syria and into
neighboring Iraq.
In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to instigate a risky policy of
forced return for Syrian refugees in the northeast, pushing them to return to
areas where they will likely be unwelcome.
The international community can help those who wish to return by negotiating
guarantees of their protection and safety. The UNHCR is already doing this, but
it is not working very well.
The future, for Syrian refugees, is bleak so long as the international solution
for transition in Syria continues to fail. The only benefit is to Assad and his
protectors, the Russians and Iranians.
*Randa Takieddine is a Paris-based Lebanese journalist who headed Al-Hayat’s
bureau in France for 30 years. She has covered France’s relations with the
Middle East through the terms of four presidents.
World must act to prevent more deadly measles outbreaks
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab News/January 02/2010
As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, measles, a deadly disease, is
back because of foolhardy beliefs regarding the requirement for vaccination.
Over the last 10 years, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases have been
reported in developed countries around the world. In particular, measles
outbreaks have been ongoing in the EU since 2017, with the majority of cases
concentrated in Romania and Italy.
Measles has been identified as a powerful indicator of the status of vaccination
programs in a region, as outbreaks have been reported to quickly emerge as a
result of underlying issues in immunization routines because of local belief
systems due to poor educational reach.
It is important to consider the psychological, cultural, social and political
causes of vaccine hesitancy and refusal reasons among some populations in
rejecting or avoiding treatment programs.
Measles, also known as rubeola, is one of the most contagious infectious
diseases, with at least a 90 percent secondary infection rate in susceptible
domestic contacts. Despite being considered primarily a childhood illness,
measles can affect people of all ages.
The viral illness infected nearly 10 million people in 2018 and killed 140,000,
mostly children, as devastating outbreaks hit every region of the world even
though a safe and cost-effective vaccine was available.
Today, there are an estimated 21 million unvaccinated infants globally, half of
whom are in five countries: Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Although measles vaccination resulted in a 73 percent drop in measles deaths
between 2000 and 2018 worldwide, in 2018, about 86 percent of the world’s
children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through
routine health services — up from 72 percent in 2000.
Between 2000 and 2018, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 23.2 million
deaths, making the vaccine a success in public health goals. So, progress
against measles has been made over the past decade but now we are entering a
period of time where anti-vaccination sentiment, influenced by quack scientific
design, could affect that progress.
Measles and its spread can be controlled on a global level and world health
specialists are not the only practitioners focusing their efforts on raising
public awareness and delivering vaccines to communities.
But there is a catch that makes measles a health security issue: According to
public health specialists, with each cohort of children born to parents who
distrust or fear vaccines, the number of people susceptible to the measles virus
expands. Simultaneously, there is a growing population of adults who were
children in the early days of measles vaccination whose immunity may have worn
off. Where these age groups merge is where the transmission spread of the
disease becomes confluent.
The phenomena of avoiding vaccination in Western countries is of negative
consequence and the implications for public health issues is one of frustration
and dismay.
To be sure, measles cases are on the rise globally, including in wealthy nations
such as the US and Germany, as some parents shun life-saving vaccines due to
extraordinary false theories suggesting links between childhood immunizations
and autism, plus other maladies.
The false literature countering such interpretations regarding vaccine against
measles is replete with errors in judgment and scientific, fact-driven metrics.
That means fake findings, and thus a phenomenon that is being manipulated by
well-placed dissemination of the worst form of information warfare: Ignorance.
Consequently, there are infections occurring at increasing rates that are
causing cases to pop up and affect wide communities where public health becomes
a security issue and ultimately affects society and economy.
In April 2019, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency
because of an ongoing measles outbreak. The mandatory immunization extended to
anyone who lived, worked or went to school within zip codes assigned to a
specific neighborhood in Brooklyn. This example of action by city officials was
an important marker of response to an urban disease contagion.
The island nation of Samoa recently experienced a measles disaster that stood
out as an example of the illness running amok in a country where vaccination
rates were not high enough.
The state was ravaged by the disease that killed 81 people, mostly babies and
young children, and affected more than 5,600 others. The Samoan outbreak came
from New Zealand, a hub for travel to and from the South Pacific islands, the
disease finding a highly susceptible population in Samoa which had far lower
vaccination rates than its other island neighbors.
A robust action program saw school closures and travel restrictions among
measures to control the outbreak. If there had ever been a test sample of how a
geographical area could be infected with a contagion, this was it. There is no
doubt that without sustained attention, hard fought gains can easily be lost in
the struggle to wipe out measles.
Where children are unvaccinated, outbreaks occur. Because of low coverage
nationally or in pockets, multiple regions were hit with large measles outbreaks
in 2018, causing many deaths. The conclusion by the World Health Organization’s
strategic advisory group of experts on immunization that measles elimination was
greatly under threat because of disease resurgence in a number of countries that
achieved disease elimination, illustrated the return of the disease as a vector
threat.
Given the continuous nature of the disease, modes of transport such as planes
can become primary transition belts along with confined spaces including offices
and commercial locations. Quickly identifying ill passengers or asking
non-invasive questions based on their travel is an important part of mapping
disease spread.
Overall, measles and its spread can be controlled on a global level and world
health specialists are not the only practitioners focusing their efforts on
raising public awareness and delivering vaccines to communities.
The security implications of whole communities becoming infected is one to be
taken more seriously, as demonstrated in cases around the globe. Samoa’s
six-week state of emergency was a case in point for better understanding
responses to future outbreaks.
*Dr. Theodore Karasik is a senior adviser to Gulf State Analytics in Washington,
D.C. He is a former RAND Corporation senior political scientist who lived in the
UAE for 10 years, focusing on security issues. Twitter: @tkarasik
Iraq faces a bleak new year
Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/January 02/2010
The final days of 2019 were particularly traumatic for Iraq. On Dec. 29, the US
launched airstrikes on three targets in Iraq and two in Syria linked with the
Iran-affiliated militia Kataib Hezbollah, which is a part of the Shiite militia
conglomerate, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). On Dec. 31, there were
violent protests outside the US Embassy in Baghdad.
This followed a two-day blockade by youthful protesters — who have been
demanding wide-ranging political reform since early October — at an oilfield in
Nasiriya, the first time agitators have disrupted oil production.
The three-month-long demonstrations have been a forceful call to reject Iraq’s
political “spoils’ system,” which brings together parties in short-term
alliances to form governments based on ethnic and sectarian quotas. Ministerial
positions, largesse and contracts are divided up among these allies, propagating
— the demonstrators claim — a corrupt order that consumes national resources
with impunity, without providing the security, services, employment and
development the country desperately needs. The demand from those on the streets
is to end this corrupt order and instead have direct, constituency-based
elections.
The protests have already led to the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul
Mahdi on Nov. 29, but politicians have been unable to agree on his successor.
The names proffered so far are all establishment figures, reflecting the order
the youth are railing against.
Further complicating matters, President Barham Salih has announced that he will
reject all nominees for prime minister who do not reflect the “characteristics”
insisted on by the protesters — independence from existing parties, proximity to
the people, a “clean record,” and removed from foreign influences, particularly
Iran and the US.
Iraq’s current MPs — themselves products and beneficiaries of the existing order
— have no interest in reform. And so, in an attempt to end the protests, they
have resorted to intimidation and brute force: Over 450 demonstrators have been
killed and several thousand injured in harsh crackdowns, not just by security
forces but also by pro-Iranian militias.
The new year does not augur well for Iraq. The protesters have displayed staying
power and consistency of both anger and idealism.
Abdul Mahdi was installed as prime minister following an agreement between the
two principal Shiite parties in Parliament: Sairoon — led by the populist cleric
Muqtada Al-Sadr — and Fatah, the political face of the PMU, backed by Iran. Amid
the ongoing protests, Al-Sadr has distanced himself from Fatah and attempted to
present himself as being aligned with the demonstrators, something they
unceremoniously rejected. Fatah is now anxious to secure a pro-Iran prime
minister.
Meanwhile, Iran is convinced that the US is the principal instigator of
anti-Iran sentiment among Iraq’s Shiite demonstrators and is utilizing its
political and military assets in Iraq to secure its position. It is using
pro-Iran militias to confront the demonstrators and to launch rocket attacks on
US bases and facilities. US sources said on Dec. 20 that, over the previous five
weeks, there had been nine missile attacks on its forces.
These attacks by pro-Iran elements are also a reminder to the agitators on the
street of Iran’s firm opposition to any US presence in the country, feeding into
the anti-US sentiment that pervades the nation.
This US-Iran proxy conflict included an attack on US military facilities in
Kirkuk on Dec. 27 in which a US contractor was killed. This led to the US
attacks on Dec. 29 in which 25 militants were killed, which many in Iraq viewed
as a violation of the country’s sovereignty.
This sparked an immediate retaliatory attack on the US base in Taji, before the
mob attack on the US Embassy on Dec. 31. US President Donald Trump accused Iran
of “orchestrating” those attacks, thus setting the stage for a further
escalation that could endanger not just Iraq but the wider region.
So the new year does not augur well for Iraq. The protesters have displayed
staying power and consistency of both anger and idealism. They have already
brought down the prime minister. But they lack a committed cadre, a unifying
ideology and any recognized leadership. So while they may overthrow the
government, they cannot replace it with one from their own ranks.
In the short term, therefore, we are likely to see Iraq’s politicians effect
some cosmetic changes to the order, while keeping the spoils’ system on which
they thrive intact. There is talk of the politicians putting up as interim prime
minister a popular military leader to instigate some reform in the transition
period. If that fails, there are fears of a military coup, but — given the
presence of strong militias and the commitment of the people to freedom and
democracy — that outcome is very unlikely.
However, the aspirations of the protesters face a bigger challenge — a civil
conflict between competing Shiite militia that could also involve a US-Iran
military confrontation, something that both sides say they do not want, but
appear to be making little effort to avoid.
Iraq will then be the field on which these battles are fought and — following
the enduring destruction of two Gulf Wars — the country will be devastated once
again.
*Talmiz Ahmad is an author and former Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman
and the UAE. He holds the Ram Sathe Chair for International Studies at the
Symbiosis International University, Pune, India.