LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 11/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day
Second Letter of Peter 03/01-09/:”This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour spoken through your apostles. First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’ They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgement and destruction of the godless. But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on November 10-11/2019
Protests widen in Lebanon, turn into major political-financial crisis
The Sunday of Determination marking the 25th day of the Lebanese uprising
Lebanon: Cabinet Talks in Stalemate as Hezbollah Rejects Being Forced Into Concessions
Raad Says Hizbullah Won’t be Intimidated by 'Fabricated Battles'
Hezbollah says its ‘arms won’t be twisted’ as crisis deepens
Protesters Flood Lebanon Squares on 'Sunday of Insistence'
Reports: Hariri to Agree to Techno-Political Govt., Consultations Wednesday
Bassil Warns against Amnesty Law that would Strengthen 'Crime'
Salameh to Hold Press Conference Monday
Thousands keep up street pressure on Lebanon’s political class
Former Hezbollah Chief Accuses Khamenei of ‘Protecting’ Corruption in Iraq, Lebanon

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 10-11/2019
Iran Rejects Reports of IAEA Finding Traces of Uranium at Unnamed Site
Iran, Russia launch new phase of nuclear power reactor construction
Protests erupt in Ahwaz after popular dissident poet dies in Iranian hospital
Iran Says Discovers New Oilfield with 53 Billion Barrels of Crude
Iran begins building second nuclear power reactor at Bushehr: Report
UAE Calls on Iran to Hold Dialogue with World Powers, Gulf States
Three killed in Iraq’s Nassiriya after forces open fire on protesters
UN urges Iraqi officials to prosecute those behind ‘use of excessive force’
Amnesty International Condemns ‘Lethal Force’ against Iraq Protesters
French ISIS Suspects Want to Go Home, and ‘Go on with My Life’
Blast in Iraq injures five Italian soldiers: Italian military
Top General: 500-600 US Troops to Stay in Syria
Russian air strikes kill 7 civilians in northwestern Syria: Report
SDF Commander Warns from ‘Demographic Change’ East of Euphrates
Farmers Blocked as Israel-Jordan Enclave Deal Expires
Lands leased by Israel in 1994 peace accord returned to Jordan
Jordan’s King Abdullah announces ‘full sovereignty’ over lands leased by Israel
Israeli Cabinet OKs hard-liner Bennett as defense minister
Israeli Study Suggests Accommodation with Hamas Rather than Escalation
President Trump to confront Turkey about buying Russian defense system

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 10-11/2019
Interview With Amin Maalouf reflects on unrest in Lebanon and beyond/Javier Hernandez/The Arab Weekly/November 10/2019
My message to the Lebanese: Stay strong and you will triumph/Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor/Arab News/November 10, 2019
Lebanon needs an emergency reform kit/Makram Rabah/The Arab Weekly/November 10/2019
‘Solution’ for Lebanon near as protests continues/Najla Houssari/Arab News.November 10/2019
Lebanese banks urge calm amid financial crisis and protests/Officials said there was no concern about solvency/The National/November 10/2019
Lebanese face fuel shortage as troubles mount/Sunniva Rose/The National/November 10/2019
Regional Uphaval Leave Iran's Shiite Crescent On Shaky Ground/Charles Bybelezer/The Media Line/Jerusalem Post/November 09/2019
Women of Lebanon stand at vanguard of popular protests/Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/November 10/2019
A Mine in the Lebanese National Project/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/November, 10/2019
Question: "What is the full armor of God?"
GotQuestions.org?“/November 11/2019
Too Many to Count”: The Global Persecution of Christians/
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/November 11/2019
Iraq’s Last Cure Is to Cut off Iran/Salman Al-Dossary/Asharq Al-Awsat/November, 10/2019
Abdul Mahdi is selling Iraqis’ dreams to Iran/The National/November 10/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on November 10-11/2019
Protests widen in Lebanon, turn into major political-financial crisis
The Arab Weekly/November 10/2019
Beirut - Young protesters swelled the ranks of demonstrators in Lebanon as the essentially peaceful movement morphed into a major political and financial crisis in the severely debt-strapped country. Thousands of students took to the streets in Lebanon but demonstrations remained peaceful despite attempts by militants affiliated with pro-Iran Shia groups Hezbollah and Amal to disrupt them. Students blocked traffic in Beirut and demanded the removal of the political class and its sectarian-based power-sharing system. After blocking roads for days, protesters switched to preventing access to institutions accused of mismanagement and corruption.
The youth unemployment rate stands at more than 30% in Lebanon. There has been no apparent progress made since Saad Hariri resigned as prime minister but Hariri did meet with Lebanese President Michel Aoun on November 7. Lebanese protesters’ grievances initially focused on poor infrastructure and public services but quickly grew into an unprecedented nationwide push to drive out an elite they accuse of ruling the country like a cartel for decades. Some protesters were critical of the country’s sectarian arrangements that underlie its political system and patronage ramifications. Leadership positions in the state are distributed among Maronite Christian, Sunni Muslim and Shia Muslim representatives. In addition to party affiliation, sectarian considerations also affect access to jobs and social privileges. The issue sets protesters against most of the ruling class. “When you ask for the dismantling of the political sectarian system… you’re basically asking the current political elite to commit group suicide. They’re not going to do that,” Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre, told the Associated Press. The young people “want basic, fundamental rights and for them they really have nothing to lose,” she said. “They recognise that this system hasn’t worked for their parents; it is not working for them.” Faced with a serious power vacuum, Aoun has yet to formally start the process of consulting with politicians to nominate a new prime minister. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Hariri insisted he be nominated again as prime minister, saying this was “for the good of Lebanon.”
The cabinet has stayed on in a caretaker capacity but efforts to form a new lineup seem to have stalled. Hariri said his resignation was a response to the demands of protesters, who want a government devoid of politicians accused of corruption. Both Aoun and Berri are allies of Hezbollah, which has not said which candidate it backs to head the next government. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has accused foreign powers of instigating the unrest. Political actors in Lebanon expressed scepticism about the outcome of the talks. Leading Druze politician Walid Jumblatt took aim at Hariri and Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who is also Aoun’s son-in-law, writing on Twitter that, despite the protests and social and economic dangers, the two “were meeting on how to improve and beautify” a political deal they struck in 2016.
Amine Gemayel, whose Kataeb Party was not part of the outgoing cabinet, said the main players had not understood the depth of the protest movement. “I don’t see any change in the behaviour of any of the main actors after everything that happened,” he told Reuters.
There are concerns the situation could lead to a major economic crisis. Gemayel said Lebanon was near “a huge monetary and financial collapse.” The protests led to a 2-week closure of banks. Although financial institutions reopened November 1, restrictions on international transfers and withdrawals of hard currency created new concerns. Capital inflows vital to financing Lebanon’s state budget and trade deficits have been slowing for years, contributing to a scarcity of foreign currency and the emergence of a black market for the Lebanese pound.
Addressing one of the demands of the protesters, prosecutors are investigating allegations of corruption among senior officials. Former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was questioned November 7 regarding how $11 billion in state funds was spent while he was in power from 2005-09. On November 6, the World Bank warned that a failure to quickly form a Lebanese government that meets protesters’ demands could lead to an even sharper economic downturn.

The Sunday of Determination marking the 25th day of the Lebanese uprising
Tala Ramadan/Annahar/November 10/2019
Even though the government announced an emergency reform package, the protests have continued to grip Lebanon and protesters continue to demonstrate against the ruling class.
BEIRUT: For the 25th day, students, teachers, mothers, and professionals mobilized in ever-greater numbers, making demands that are both specific and broad all around Lebanon this Sunday. Even though the government announced an emergency reform package, the protests have continued to grip Lebanon and protesters continue to demonstrate against the ruling class. Secularism march, mothers demanding for their right to pass their nationality to their children, and students protesting for a better future, made their ways to Beirut’s Riad Al Soloh Square to reach a wider audience. Some parents made sure to engage their children in the political activism, "I want my children to take part in this revolution, and I want them to grow in a better Lebanon," Razane Naccache told Annahar. During morning hours, several protests took place around different locations around Lebanon. Zaytouna Bay was packed with citizens who took the grounds and gathered for a picnic, where they had a traditional Lebanese breakfast as a new type of protesting against the illegal acquisition of coastal properties and to reclaim it as a public space. A protester in Riad El Solh told Annahar, “we won’t stop protesting until we overthrow the whole current political figures.” In parallel, other protesters also gathered outside Kleiyat airport, which has not started operating yet, demanding for its reopening as it could be of a facility of high importance for the region. The highlight of the Sunday of Determination is the “Revolutionary Court” which was installed in the Riad Al Solh Square where actors mocked a trial for public figures who have allegedly taken money from the public funds. Jessica, another protester, told Annahar that the movement that is currently taking place is crucial to fight all the corruption in the country. The scene in Tripoli is still witnessing crowds protesting in the thousands. In the southern coastal city of Saida, protesters also gathered to keep their voices high enough to show that nothing will shut their momentum down. Lebanon has been swept by 25 days of protests against a political class accused of corruption, mismanagement of state finances and pushing the country toward an economic collapse unseen since the 1975-90 civil war.

Lebanon: Cabinet Talks in Stalemate as Hezbollah Rejects Being Forced Into Concessions
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 10 November, 2019
Talks among Lebanon’s political parties to agree on a new government are still deadlocked, three senior sources said on Sunday, as Hezbollah indicated it would not be forced into concessions.
The latest failure to break Lebanon's political impasse will worsen pressures on an economy gripped by a deep crisis. Since reopening a week ago, commercial banks have been seeking to stave off capital flight by blocking most transfers abroad and imposing curbs on hard-currency withdrawals, though the central bank has announced no formal capital controls. A big part of Lebanon's economic crisis stems from a slowdown of capital inflows which has led to a scarcity of US dollars and spawned a black market where the Lebanese pound has weakened below its official pegged rate. A meeting on Saturday evening between caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri and senior officials from Hezbollah and its ally Amal movement failed to yield any breakthrough towards forming the new cabinet, the sources said. "The crisis is deepening," one source familiar with Hariri's position said. A senior source familiar with the view of Hezbollah and Amal said: "Nothing has changed. So far the road is completely blocked." A third senior source said the situation was still deadlocked. Hariri resigned on Oct. 29 in the face of unprecedented protests fuelled by poverty, joblessness and lack of basic services like electricity.
Hariri wants to lead a technocratic government devoid of other politicians, while Amal, Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement, which has been founded by President Michel Aoun and is now led by his son-in-law caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, want a government mixing technocrats and politicians.
The source familiar with Hariri's views has said he believes a cabinet composed of both technocrats and politicians would not be able to secure Western assistance and would also anger protesters who want to see a change of leadership. Hariri reiterated his position in the meeting with caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil of Amal and top Hezbollah official Hussein Khalil, the senior source familiar with Hezbollah and Amal's view said. Both Hezbollah and Amal communicated their view – that Hariri should return as premier of a new 'technopolitical' cabinet -- at the meeting. Hariri said he would only agree to head a technocratic cabinet. "Practically, what he wants is a government devoid of Hezbollah," the senior source said. "After 10 days have passed, matters must be decided."The source familiar with Hariri's position said he believed Hezbollah, Amal and the FPM were seeking the inclusion in the cabinet of politicians rejected by the protesters. These include Bassil. "If these faces return to government we will have pushed the street to return to protest in a greater way," the source familiar with Hariri's position said. In a statement apparently referring to the deadlock and to Hezbollah's loss of fighters in various conflicts, the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad, said: "Our arms will not be twisted nor can we be neutralized from achieving the goals of the martyrs."

Raad Says Hizbullah Won’t be Intimidated by 'Fabricated Battles'
Naharnet/November 10/2019
The head of Hizbullah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad on Sunday stressed that his party “cannot be strong-armed” and that “fabricated battles” linked to the ongoing popular uprising in the country will not deviate Hizbullah’s attention from its main objectives. “We cannot be strong-armed and neither partial concerns nor fabricated battles imposed by others every now and then can derail us from the course of fulfilling martyrs’ goals,” Raad said at a ceremony marking Hizbullah’s ‘Martyr Day’ in Nabatiyeh. “Martyrs are the ones who created the sovereign atmosphere in which every change or reform seeker and every anti-corruption protester can be active,” Raad added. “We share the goal of combating corruption, lifting immunity off corrupts and recovering stolen funds… with all the honest people who rose up and took to the streets… but we want others to respect our experience and realize that their movement is within the atmosphere provided to them by our martyrs, mujahideen and heroes,” Raad went on to say. The Hizbullah lawmaker also warned the protest movement against “launching arbitrary accusations” or “hurling insults against icons, especially those related to the leadership of the purest, most honorable and noblest people.” “We want to combat corruption, we respect others’ experience and we are keen on the success of their experience, and we warn them that someone might infiltrate their movement to take them into a course that would plunge the country into the wishes of the enemies,” Raad added.

Hezbollah says its ‘arms won’t be twisted’ as crisis deepens
Reuters, Beirut/Sunday, 10 November 2019
Political talks to agree an urgently needed Lebanese government are still deadlocked, three senior sources said on Sunday, as the Shia group Hezbollah indicated it would not be forced into concessions. The latest failure to break Lebanon’s political impasse will worsen pressures on an economy gripped by its deepest crisis since the 1975-90 civil war, amid protests against a political establishment widely regarded as corrupt and inept. Since reopening a week ago, commercial banks have been seeking to stave off capital flight by blocking most transfers abroad and imposing curbs on hard-currency withdrawals, though the central bank has announced no formal capital controls. A big part of Lebanon’s economic crisis stems from a slowdown of capital inflows which has led to a scarcity of US dollars and spawned a black market where the Lebanese pound has weakened below its official pegged rate.
A meeting on Saturday evening between caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri and senior officials from Hezbollah and its Shia ally Amal Movement failed to yield any breakthrough towards forming the new cabinet, the sources said.
“The crisis is deepening,” one source familiar with Hariri’s position said. A senior source familiar with the view of Hezbollah and Amal said: “Nothing has changed. So far the road is completely blocked.” A third senior source said the situation was still deadlocked. Hariri quit on October 29 in the face of unprecedented protests fueled by poverty, joblessness and lack of basic services like electricity. Hariri wants to lead a technocratic government devoid of other politicians, while Amal, Hezbollah and its Christian ally the Free Patriotic Movement want a government mixing technocrats and politicians.
‘Nothing has changed’
The source familiar with Hariri’s views has said he believes a cabinet composed of both technocrats and politicians would not be able to secure Western assistance and would also anger protesters who want to see a change of leadership. Hariri reiterated his position in the meeting with caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil of Amal and top Hezbollah official Hussein Khalil, the senior source familiar with Hezbollah and Amal’s view said. Both Hezbollah and Amal communicated their view - that Hariri should return as premier of a new ‘technopolitical’ cabinet - at the meeting. Hariri said he would only agree to head a technocratic cabinet. “Practically, what he wants is a government devoid of Hezbollah,” the senior source said. “After 10 days have passed, matters must be decided.”The source familiar with Hariri’s position said he believed Hezbollah, Amal and the FPM were seeking the inclusion in the cabinet of politicians rejected by the protesters. These include FPM leader Gebran Bassil, foreign minister in the outgoing cabinet and a son-in-law of President Michel Aoun. “If these faces return to government we will have pushed the street to return to protest in a greater way,” the source familiar with Hariri’s position said. One dollar was buying 1,800 pounds or more on Friday compared to 1,740 on Thursday, two market sources said. The pegged rate is 1,507.5 pounds. In a statement apparently referring to the deadlock and to Hezbollah’s loss of fighters in various conflicts, Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammad Raad said: “Our arms will not be twisted nor can we be neutralised from achieving the goals of the martyrs.”Lebanon’s highest Christian authority urged the president to hasten the appointment of a prime minister and the formation of a government that meets protesters’ demands. “The country’s situation cannot withstand another day of delays,” Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai said.

Protesters Flood Lebanon Squares on 'Sunday of Insistence'
Naharnet/November 10/2019
Protesters rallied Sunday in downtown Beirut and across the country to press for their demands, as Lebanon’s unprecedented popular uprising entered its 25th day. In the morning, protesters had organized a “Lebanese breakfast” at the privately-run Zaitunay Bay promenade to stress that the area is public and not private property and to call for an end to seaside property violations. Sunday’s protests were held under the slogan “Sunday of Insistence”.Grievances driving Lebanon's protests range from power cuts and poor social security to alleged state corruption. The government yielded to popular pressure and stepped down last month, with the World Bank urging the quick formation of a new cabinet to prevent the economy from deteriorating further. Protesters on Sunday denounced the ongoing delay in setting a date for the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier.
President Michel Aoun has argued that the delay is necessary to secure consensus over the shape of the new government amid the critical situations in the country.

Reports: Hariri to Agree to Techno-Political Govt., Consultations Wednesday
Naharnet/November 10/2019
Caretaker Saad Hariri is inclined to agree to proposals to form a 22-member techno-political government led by him and the binding parliamentary consultations will likely be held Wednesday, media reports said. The reports follow a meeting at the Center House between Hariri, Speaker Nabih Berri’s aide Ali Hassan Khalil and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s assistant Hussein Khalil. The conferees “discussed the governmental situation and its various details without reaching a final agreement in this regard, but they agreed that each party would give its answers by Monday at the latest,” MTV reported Sunday. “Things are expected to be settled prior to the televised address of Hizbullah’s secretary-general, which is scheduled for tomorrow,” MTV added. “Hariri delved into details with his two guests and seemed to be cautious, but he rejected to name any premiership candidate other than him when asked by one of his guests, which was considered as an indication that he will accept to form the government himself,” the TV network added. “Discussions touched on forming a 22-minister techno-political government and Hariri will give his final answer in the coming hours, with the possibility of holding a new tripartite meeting or a bilateral meeting between Hariri and Minister Khalil,” MTV said. The domestic efforts have coincided with a series of external contacts, especially between an Arab country and Tehran, with the aim of “speeding up the formation of the government and sparing Lebanon any security deterioration.”An envoy from French President Emmanuel Macron is meanwhile scheduled to arrive in Lebanon Tuesday to push in the same direction.“The consultations will begin Wednesday should Hariri’s response be positive,” MTV added.

Bassil Warns against Amnesty Law that would Strengthen 'Crime'
Naharnet/November 10/2019
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Jebran Bassil on Sunday warned against approving an amnesty law that would “consolidate the strength of crime.” “As if we haven’t learned from the amnesty laws that were approved after the war, which eliminated the principle of accountability and opened the doors wide to corruption,” Bassil tweeted. “Today the people are calling for putting on trial every suspect and holding accountable every wrongdoer and we support the harshening of penalties and approving anti-corruption laws,” Bassil added. “Instead of consolidating the strength of crime, we must consolidate the strength of the judiciary,” he said. Parliament is scheduled to discuss a general amnesty draft law on Tuesday. MP Yassine Jaber has announced that those accused of financial crimes cannot benefit from the proposed law.

Salameh to Hold Press Conference Monday
Naharnet/November 10/2019
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh is scheduled to hold a press conference Monday at 12:30 pm, the National News Agency said. The press conference at the central bank will tackle “the central bank’s stance on the issues pertaining to banking services ahead of the normal resumption of banking operations on Tuesday,” NNA said. Lebanese bankers and officials tried to calm a worried public Saturday, telling them that all deposits are guaranteed and "there is no need for panic."The country's financial troubles have worsened since nationwide protests -- initially against new taxes -- snowballed into calls for the entire political elite to step down. Banks reopened Nov. 1 after a two-week closure amid the protests. But depositors have rushed to withdraw their money in recent days, while the country's various lenders have imposed varying capital controls that differ from bank to bank. The announcement by Salim Sfeir, chairman of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, came after a two-hour meeting between President Michel Aoun, several caretaker Cabinet ministers and top banking officials in search of solutions for Lebanon's deepening financial and economic crisis.

Thousands keep up street pressure on Lebanon’s political class
AFP/Monday, 11 November 2019
Thousands protested on Sunday across Lebanon against the ruling class for a fourth consecutive week, as they await a new cabinet two weeks after demonstrations forced the premier to resign. The country has since October 17 been swept by an unprecedented cross-sectarian protest movement against the entire political establishment, which is widely seen as irretrievably corrupt and unable to deal with a deepening economic crisis. The protests triggered Prime Minister Saad Hariri to tender the resignation of his government on October 29, but he remains in a caretaker capacity and maneuverings are still ongoing to form a new cabinet. Dubbed “Sunday of Determination”, the day was marked by huge rallies in several cities from the afternoon onwards. From the capital Beirut to Sidon and Tyre in the south up to Tripoli in the north, the ranks of protesters on the streets swelled from the early evening.
Brandishing Lebanese national flags, the protesters demanded that the formation of a new government be accelerated. They once again insisted any incoming cabinet be comprised of technocrats and be independent of established political parties. “We will not leave the streets before our demands are totally satisfied!” shouted one young protester into the microphone of a local broadcaster. “We are more determined than ever,” she insisted. Since Hariri resigned, political bargaining has stumbled over the shape of a new government. Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah, is on Monday due to deliver a televised speech. He has in recent weeks dismissed the ongoing demand from the streets that the next government be formed of technocrats. Meanwhile, fears of a banking crisis have risen among residents. Banks were closed during the first two weeks of the protests, and while now reopened, they have put significant restrictions on withdrawals and conversions of Lebanese pounds into dollars.

Former Hezbollah Chief Accuses Khamenei of ‘Protecting’ Corruption in Iraq, Lebanon
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 10 November, 2019
Former Hezbollah Secretary General Sobhi al-Tufaily attacked Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, accusing him of being the “greatest protector” of corruption in Iraq and Lebanon. In a video circulated on social media, Tufaily asked: “Isn’t it shameful to accuse those who are complaining of oppression of being agents of foreign countries?”“Are those killed on the streets agents? You claim to be the leader of Muslims, not just Iranians. Does such a leader accept to kill the hungry and protect the corrupt and the criminals?”“No less than 250 people were killed and 11,000 wounded. Those who killed them are your gunmen. Your gunmen in Lebanon have also killed us,” continued Tufaily. “Just yesterday, your gang killed unarmed innocents and burned their tents,” he said of attacks against Iraqi protesters. On Lebanon, he said: “Thieves have been robbing it since 1972 and your group has been supporting them. They have filled the country with corruption.” “Does our religion teach us to be dirty, corrupt and murderous thieves?”“What do you call the money that you have spent in Syria,” Tufaily added.
*

Amin Maalouf reflects on unrest in Lebanon and beyond
Javier Hernandez/The Arab Weekly/November 10/2019
“I am convinced that there are not many differences between the aspirations of the Arab world and those of the Western world," said Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf.
Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf talked about his latest book “Le naufrage des civilisations” (“The Shipwreck of Civilisations”) October 23 in Madrid. At the Arab House Foundation, Maalouf met with the editorial team of Altair website, discussing what could lead the ship of humanity to sink. The article was translated and republished by Al Jadid.
Altair Website (AW): You have always insisted on the need to build bridges between cultures, especially between the two shores of the Mediterranean. Do you think this is still possible in this age of nationalism, xenophobia, racism and individualism? Is this really possible?
Amin Maalouf (AM): “I think that when populism, xenophobia and racism emerge, there is often a reason to that and it is necessary to address this issue. When people have xenophobic and racist behaviours, they’re definitely afraid of something. It’s not enough to simply tell them ‘Don’t be afraid’ but we must first understand why they’re afraid to be able to address this reason.”
AW: You’ve lived in different Arab countries with a Muslim majority. Do you think these Islamic countries really recognise the need to face the challenges of modernity? Does the fact that a political system compatible with the present age has not yet been designed to make us believe that Islam is contrary to the secular rationality of modern culture?
AM: “People have the same concerns, whether they are living in Beirut, Algiers, Madrid or Bogota. People ask about the same thing. They have the same deep aspirations. They want to have a better life, have more dignity and to evolve in an environment that allows them to develop their own faculties.
“I am convinced that there are not many differences between the aspirations of the Arab world and those of the Western world.”
AW: There is discontent and anger all over the streets of Lebanon, your country of origin. What can you tell us about the current situation there?
AM: “The protests started quite some time ago, triggered mainly by the difficult living conditions facing the Lebanese. For several years, the citizens had to endure frequent power outages and sometimes shortages of essential products such as bread and medicine. Even access to drinking water is becoming difficult.
“In Lebanon, people suffer a lot from this situation. In recent weeks, a new tax on the use of WhatsApp fuelled a collective outcry that led people to take to the streets to protest.
“I do not know where the demonstrations will lead or how long they will last, because Lebanon’s political system, despite its corrupt practices, is so strong and entrenched that it is difficult to remove or overthrow. I don’t know what the protesters will be able to achieve but their intentions are certainly very laudable and legitimate.”
AW: A similar situation is evolving in Algeria, in the so-called popular movement. Do you think that the Algerian people will eventually get their demands for a free democracy?
AM: “Not just in Algeria, which is going through something like this. There have been a lot of interesting developments in recent months in other countries, such as in Sudan, where the popular protests led to real change.
“I don’t know what will happen in the future but, at the moment, a government that is acceptable to the Sudanese people seems to have been elected and has a new perspective on the future so we will have to wait and see.
“The same is happening in Iraq, even though the protests in that country were more violent. They were the result of the popular distrust of the political system there. The situation in Iraq is somewhat similar to that in Lebanon because, although the political system in Iraq is not strong enough, it will still be difficult to replace because it is based on the balance of power between the various factions in the country. It’ll be extremely difficult to replace such a system and, so far, no radical change has taken place.”
AW: To complete the tour of the region, it is necessary to consider tensions in the Gulf region. What is the effect of conflicts between countries in the region on people in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Syria, Turkey, et cetera?
AM: “What is happening now is a conflict between different nations. Certainly, Iran is a regional power with a huge influence on many of its neighbours — Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Yemen — and its rivals in the region cannot match it. Saudi Arabia, for example, is a rich country but it does not have the same effect (on the region) and its army is not equivalent to Iran’s.
“Iran is traditionally an important player in the region. So, if the United States withdraws from the region, which seems to be happening today, then the Iranians could gain greater influence in the region. However, the economy remains their biggest weakness because they are vulnerable to embargoes and sanctions and these have had a negative effect on them lately.”
*The article is published by permission of Al Jadid culture magazine.

My message to the Lebanese: Stay strong and you will triumph
Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor/Arab News/November 10, 2019
Lebanon has always been close to my heart, and today I am proud to stand with those Lebanese who are protesting against the criminal political class that has bled the country’s coffers dry and stifled opportunities for generations. They have shown that they will no longer be played for fools.
As long as I can remember, Lebanon’s government has been in the strangulating grip of sectarian mafia bosses protected by armed militias that are obliged to pretend allegiance to the Iranian-funded godfather Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary general, in order to maintain their vast wealth and power. But their gravy train is poised to crash and burn.
Lebanon’s youth has woken up to the deceit of these slick-talking peddlers of fake hope, who together have led the nation down a road to ruin. The veil has dropped from their eyes. They can no longer be fooled by political dynasties or those with weighty overseas bank accounts living securely behind the walls of hilltop palaces.
I salute each one of you who has courageously taken to the streets in a peaceful bid to overthrow a government stuffed with inept, corrupt dinosaurs whose only interest is self-interest. These same tired faces have been vying for a piece of the pie since the end of the civil war in 1990 and, if left to them, their sons would inherit their mantle. Fat-cat politicians in Lebanon do not see their role as a patriotic duty to serve the nation and its people, but rather a lucrative job for life.
On their watch, youth unemployment has reached the untenable level of 40 percent, forcing graduates to seek greener pastures abroad. There is zero economic growth and the country’s debt burden, which exceeds 150 percent of gross domestic product, is unsustainable. Adding to people’s woes are regular electricity cuts, severe shortages in water and medicines, and mountains of rotting garbage disfiguring the landscape.
Watching good-natured, fiesta-like gatherings, where Lebanese of all ages and religious persuasions stand shoulder-to-shoulder, speaking with one voice under the cedar flag, is inspirational and portends the demise of sectarianism — the cause of so much enmity and violence.
Fat-cat politicians do not see their role as a patriotic duty to serve the nation and its people, but rather a lucrative job for life.
Hezbollah’s attack dogs were unleashed into the crowds as a disruptive force, but were called off once their efforts were met with strong resistance. Supporters of President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, which is allied with Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, called for Aoun to remain in office. Nasrallah initially ordered the government to remain in place while warning of an impending civil war. Such scare tactics only served to harden the protesters’ resolve.
Societal divisions have been greatly exacerbated by a sectarian political system that was bequeathed by the French colonial mandate and reaffirmed by the Taif Agreement, which sealed the end of the civil war by ensuring political representation is shared among the various sects that make up Lebanon’s rich religious tapestry.
This ill-conceived system is not only a recipe for disunity; it often translates to the best man or woman for the job being excluded solely due to their faith. Lebanon needs more than a new government, it needs a complete overhaul of its political system. The new system should allow for candidates to be chosen according to their merit, not their religion — and that is what the good Lebanese people are now demanding.
The people insist on a government that represents them and is chosen by them. So far, they have succeeded in unseating the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who, after a last-ditch attempt at promising reforms, resigned. Bravo to the people. You did it.
That said, danger still lurks on the horizon. Hariri now leads a caretaker Cabinet and, according to the Daily Star, he is willing to once again head a government on condition that it includes technocrats qualified to stave off economic collapse. He is the leader who, upon his resignation, said he had reached “a dead end.” In that case, he should be sufficiently dignified to announce his permanent retirement. Hariri should walk into the sunset together with his colleagues — failures all.
My message to the Lebanese is this: Please do not allow the current leadership to derail your demands using the “collapse of the economy” or “the devaluation of the Lebanese pound” as warning flags. If the old guard had any decency, it would heed your wishes and move aside to make room for qualified fresh faces with innovative ideas, who would be able to restore confidence and thus attract much-needed investment.
Do not permit those glued to their chairs for decades to slow down the creation of a new government to a snail’s pace in the hope you will return to a state of political slumber. Keep up the good fight for your rights and your future while there is momentum. Do not be mesmerized by master hypnotists out to lull you into a false sense of security. This is your chance. Grab it.
Last but not least, avoid placing your trust in any foreign nation because they do not have your best interests at heart. The idea of heroes on white horses riding in to save the day is nothing more than an illusion. All are out for their own benefit, so do not be tempted to exchange one set of masters for another. The only way to save your beloved Lebanon is to take matters into your own hands. Stay strong and determined and, with the grace of God, you will be triumphant.
*Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor is a prominent UAE businessman and public figure. He is renowned for his views on international political affairs, his philanthropic activity, and his efforts to promote peace. He has long acted as an unofficial ambassador for his country abroad. Twitter: @KhalafAlHabtoor

Lebanon needs an emergency reform kit
Makram Rabah/The Arab Weekly/November 10/2019
Nearly a month has elapsed since the outbreak of the Lebanese Revolution, which took millions across Lebanon and the diaspora to revolt against a political class that they supported and repeatedly voted into office.
The political and economic shutdown in Lebanon, however, led many demonstrators to reconsider their choices and heed threats of the ruling elite whose scare tactics include violent intimidation and warnings of economic ruin.
Lebanon’s economy has seen better days but years of imprudent economic policies, coupled with a hysterical clientelist system and bad governance, led the state to the brink of bankruptcy. The Lebanese political class has shown an unwillingness to admit that the impasse is not merely an economic crisis but a problem that speaks to the crux of the Lebanese political system, which, to most Lebanese, has simply expired.
Adding insult to injury, a few days before resigning, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri introduced his government’s economic reform plan, which was utterly rejected by the Lebanese because it refrained from including real political reforms and merely proposed to spend more money to — hopefully — jump-start the ailing economy.
The audacity of the politicians is fathomless as they claim that they can consider $7 billion of electricity sector projects, in merely two weeks and with two days to report it to cabinet — something experts assert is impossible.
If this was not enough, project bids would be supervised by the Public Procurement Management Administration and with a tender document drafted by the Ministry of Energy and Water while the consultant is appointed by a grant given by one of the expected bidders, all flagrant breaches of government operating procedures.
The ruling establishment wants to use the revolt and the fear of economic collapse to make themselves richer and channel the $11 billion from the CEDRE aid conference to their own coffers. The people on the streets and those watching the revolt at home know that the people in power are incapable and unwilling to reform their ways and thus this standoff will not end soon. Faced with this predicament, the only way to prevent the looming meltdown of the Lebanese economy is for street demonstrators to stand strong, not falter and to refuse to negotiate with any form of authority unless the ruling elite introduces required economic and political reforms.
Judicial reform should be at the top of any government platform. The Lebanese state disregards the sacred constitutional principle of separation of powers. The judiciary should appoint its own judges and the executive branch must refrain from meddling in the justice system.
Reform should also reach the security and law enforcement sectors, which should be purged from the clientelist appointment system that prevents their neutrality and makes them tools of the establishment, rather than guardians of the constitution.
Anti-corruption legislation should be enacted to protect whistle-blowers and set a mechanism for the recovery of stolen assets and, more important, amend laws to allow cabinet ministers to face the regular justice system rather than extraordinary tribunals, which do not ensure justice and accountability.
On the more practical economic level, simple emergency measures are urgently needed to alleviate rather than salvage the situation.
There should be the implementation of temporary capital controls on money transfers. While capital control might be a departure from Lebanon’s liberal economy, it is a bitter pill the Lebanese must swallow — and fast. Second, negotiate with the Lebanese banks that own the majority (53.8%) of total debt and convince them to lower interest rates and to restructure the debts. Lebanese banks must accept an increase in taxes over their profits. The tax stands at 10% and must be increased to allow the state more revenues and to avoid passing more direct taxes on to the less-privileged classes.
Third, there should be negotiations with the Lebanese armed forces over Regulation 3, which multiplies military service years and thus costs the Lebanese billions of dollars in end-of-service pensions. Fourth, a law for public bids should be passed to increase transparency and break the hegemony of the cartels that clinch most state contracts. These measures might fall short of the more ambitious aspirations of the Lebanese uprising but, for the immediate future, this emergency kit could give Lebanon a fighting chance and perhaps place Lebanon closer to recovery.
*Makram Rabah is a lecturer at the American University of Beirut, Department of History. He is the author of A Campus at War: Student Politics at the American University of Beirut, 1967-1975.

‘Solution’ for Lebanon near as protests continues
Najla Houssari/Arab News.November 10/2019
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Saad Hariri, is set to announce on Monday “positive signs of a solution to the issue of government formation in Lebanon, unless sudden developments occur.”
That is according to Mustafa Alloush, a member of the political bureau of the Future Movement, whose comments came after Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) MP Ibrahim Kanaan suggested FPM was convinced of the formation of “a government of technocrats.”
Ali Bazzi, of the Liberation and Development Bloc headed by Speaker Nabih Berri, stressed: “The coming hours will be critical in breaking the state of political stagnation, and the Amal Movement is helping to overcome obstacles and is open to facilitating the formation of a government that serves this country.”
These latest developments come as protests in Lebanon enter their 25th day — protests that have already forced Hariri’s government to step down.
FASTFACTS
Activists in the civil movement have stepped up their social media campaigns to call for people to join a sit-in.
Public affairs expert Walid Fakhreddine said that some parties were trying to hold the protesters responsible for the deterioration of the currency exchange rate.
Activists in the civil movement have stepped up their social media campaigns to call for people to join a sit-in on Sunday. With the value of the US dollar reaching 2,000 Lebanese lira on the black market, salaries have fallen by 25 percent, and purchase value has fallen by 35-40 percent, which has fueled discontent.Public affairs expert Walid Fakhreddine told Arab News that some parties were trying to hold the protesters responsible for the deterioration of the exchange rate. “This is not a new attack technique; it is globally deployed where there are revolutions, but it is ineffective,” he added.
“There are discussions and dialogues between activists in the squares every evening, and some people tried to disrupt one of the discussions in which (the actor) Ziad Itani and I were involved,” he continued.
“Someone tried to stop Ziad Itani from speaking. One of them attacked me and hit me on my head. Then the same person tried to break the microphone Ziad was using. The third time, they attacked us and began to beat us. The security forces intervened and took the attackers aside. Phone calls took place and the aggressors were allowed to go free.
“What happened is not the first of its kind, as incidents of disruption, repression and assault on protesters are frequent in Beirut, Nabatieh and Tire.
“Everyone in this corrupt government participates in these operations because they are annoyed by the people, so they are trying to thwart their movement. They do not know that the Lebanese people are devising many methods to continue the movement, which has reached the stage of no turning back.”
Fakhreddine revealed that bank employees had joined the movement in the street and complained that the government had left them to face the dollar crisis alone. He referred to a draft prepared by MPs on the amnesty days ago to be approved next Tuesday. He said: “It is a booby-trapped draft because it prevents trials for all cases involving administrative and financial corruption.” Itani said the attack against him was against the backdrop of a lawsuit he has filed in court against those involved in his arrest for allegations of communicating with Israel, of which he was found innocent.
“When someone came to me in the square, he told me that it is enough that you went to Tripoli, and it seems that my words bothered them. I said that sedition and sectarianism are forbidden, and that this is the revolution of the poor. I was threatened, and the threat was acted upon in Beirut,” he told Arab News.
“They want to silence me, but I will continue to prosecute those who did me an injustice.”In a recent report, Human Rights Watch called on the Lebanese authorities to take all possible measures to protect peaceful demonstrators and refrain from using force to disperse peaceful gatherings.

Lebanese banks urge calm amid financial crisis and protests/Officials said there was no concern about solvency
The National/November 10/2019
Lebanese bankers and government officials tried to calm a worried public on Saturday amid the country's major financial crisis, telling them that all deposits are guaranteed and "there is no need for panic."
The country's financial troubles have worsened since nationwide protests - initially against new taxes - snowballed into calls for the entire political elite to step down. Banks reopened November 1 after a two-week closure amid the protests. But depositors have rushed to withdraw their money in recent days, while the country's various lenders have imposed varying capital controls that differ from bank to bank.
The announcement by Salim Sfeir, chairman of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, came after a two-hour meeting between President Michel Aoun, several Cabinet ministers and top banking officials in search of solutions for Lebanon's deepening financial and economic crisis.
"Depositors' money is being preserved. What is happening is not an issue related to solvency, and therefore there is no need for panic," Mr Sfeir said. "People should calm down. People should withdraw enough to meet their needs, not everything they have."
Mr Sfeir added that those who attended the meeting have asked the central bank's governor, Riad Salameh, to continue taking the necessary measures "to preserve the safety of cash and economic stability." He added that small depositors will be given priority when they come to withdraw money.
Mr Aoun's office said the meeting was attended by the ministers of economy and finance, as well as the central bank governor, the head of the banks' association and top officials from the country's largest lenders.
Lebanon, one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world, was already dealing with a severe fiscal crisis before the protests began, one rooted in years of heavy borrowing and expensive patronage networks run by entrenched political parties. The Lebanese pound is trading at up to 1,900 to the dollar on the black market, a devaluation of nearly to 30 per cent from the official rate.
Banks in Lebanon were closed Saturday for an extra day amid deepening turmoil and public anxiety over liquidity. Monday is a holiday to mark the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, and banks are scheduled to resume normal work on Tuesday. The financial crisis has worsened since Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned his government on October 29 meeting a key demand by the protesters. No date has been yet set by Mr Aoun for consultations with heads of parliamentary blocs to name a new premier.
Protesters are demanding a government made up of technocrats that would immediately get to work on the necessary reforms to address the economy. Politicians are divided among other things over whether the new Cabinet should be made up of experts only or include politicians. The World Bank on Friday urged Lebanon to form a new Cabinet "within a week" to prevent further degradation and loss of confidence in its economy, warning of grave risks to the country's stability.Lebanon's top Sunni cleric, Sheikh Abul-Latif Daryan, repeated his call Saturday for forming a new government of "national salvation" that would work to enact reforms.

Lebanese face fuel shortage as troubles mount
Sunniva Rose/The National/November 10/2019
Retailers stay shut over increased costs caused by restricted availability of foreign currency
Many petrol stations across Lebanon have closed after owners said they would not order more fuel because of restricted access to US dollars. The shortage comes with a financial crisis that has driven more than three weeks of mass protests. In Beirut, several petrol stations were closed on Saturday while others rationed their sales, state-run National News Agency reported. One driver said he had to go to several places to fill his tank. Most stations in the northern province of Akkar were closed, causing a rush at those that were still open. “The petrol crisis in Akkar has started to pose a threat to daily movement in the province,” the NNA reported.
Shortages also prompted fuel stations in the southern city of Tyre to close on Sunday. In the eastern Bekaa region, some fuel station owners illegally increased prices by 25 per cent. The price of fuel is fixed every week by the Energy Ministry and varies with oil prices.
On Thursday, the unions of petrol station owners and fuel tanker operators said they would sell their stock but would not order more because of the extra costs brought on by the scarcity of US dollars. One fuel importer told The National that the country’s fuel stocks would run out in 10 days if imports stopped completely. “There is a shortage. We are selling less than the demand,” he said.
A representative of the association of Lebanese petroleum importing companies did not respond to a request for comment.
Like most Lebanese businesses, petrol station owners must pay importers in dollars but sell locally to their clients in Lebanese pounds. Since this summer, they have been forced to exchange their dollars on the black market, where the exchange rate is about 10 per cent higher than the official rate, because the central bank has restricted access. Combined with regional instability, Lebanon’s struggling economy has caused cashflow to the country to dry up. After petrol station owners went on a one-day strike late September, the government promised that the central bank would guarantee their access to dollars at the official exchange rate.
This arrangement was also extended to medicine and wheat imports. But petrol station owners said on Thursday that in practice, the central bank only guaranteed 85 per cent of their demand for dollars, obliging them to buy the rest on the black market. The fuel importer and Sami Brax, head of the union of petrol stations, said they did not know why the central bank was not providing their full dollar requirement. The fuel shortage has caused an open dispute between petrol station owners, fuel importers and the Energy Ministry. Station owners say the ministry is blaming them for the crisis while not keeping its promises to support them. They have also criticised importers for insisting on being paid fully in dollars rather than accept 15 per cent in Lebanese pounds. Despite the petrol stations refusing to buy more stock, importers said they would keep bringing fuel in. On Saturday, Lebanon’s eight fuel importers said four of them were receiving shipments. This means that petrol stations run directly by importing companies will keep selling fuel but those operating as franchises might not, the importer said.
He estimated that only a fifth of petrol stations are run by importers.
The importer said only a few of his colleagues had been able to open letters of credit with their banks to secure their imports, one of the conditions imposed by the government to receive dollars at the official exchange rate. Through the letter of credit, the local bank guaranteed payment should the importer default, but it first must be confirmed by an international bank accepted by the fuel supplier. Lebanese banks are having trouble obtaining this confirmation as the country sinks deeper into a financial crisis, the importer said. On Thursday, international rating agency Moody’s downgraded Lebanon’s three largest banks further into junk territory, two days after lowering Lebanon’s sovereign rating, saying the increased likelihood of a debt rescheduling it would classify as a default. Lebanon’s financial troubles sparked mass protests on October 17, forcing Prime Minister Saad Hariri to resign on October 29.
The country has been without a government since, further weakening the international community’s trust in its finances. “I managed to open two letters of credit but I do not know if I will be able to do it again,” the importer said. However, he was optimistic that the government would find a solution after President Michel Aoun, the central bank governor and the head of the Lebanese association of banks met on Saturday to address the financial crisis. “They must find a solution,” he said. “I think the issue will be resolved.”

Regional Uphaval Leave Iran's Shiite Crescent On Shaky Ground
Charles Bybelezer/The Media Line/Jerusalem Post/November 09/2019
Tehran’s attempt to carve out contiguous territorial corridor toward Mediterranean appears to be in jeopardy
Geopolitical earthquakes caused by civil unrest are risking fractures in the foundations of the “Shi’ite Crescent,” a contiguous land bridge Iran has carved out across Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon by investing tens of billions of dollars of political and military capital.
With its ability to project dominance throughout the Middle East already significantly hampered by US economic sanctions, mass protests partially fueled by anger over Iranian interventionism in at least two of those countries have thrown a wrench in the Islamic Republic’s expansionism.
In Lebanon, where religion-based enmity sparked a civil war from 1975 to 1990, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets, demanding an end to the decades-long corrupt power structure that reserves the presidency for a Maronite Christian, the premiership for a Sunni Muslim and the position of parliament speaker for a Shi’ite. While the turmoil forced the resignation of prime minister Saad al-Hariri, many Sunnis are directing their ire primarily at Hezbollah, Iran’s terror proxy, which is an integral, if not the most dominant, component of the system targeted by the unrest.
While rampant cronyism and mismanagement in Beirut is perhaps the primary reason for the decimation of the economy, Hezbollah is viewed as making matters worse through its involvement in the Syrian civil war and the resulting influx of some 1 million refugees into Lebanon. These individuals have few prospects and are widely considered a further burden on inadequate civil services and a crumbling infrastructure.
Any weakening of Hezbollah’s status would, by extension, diminish Iran’s manipulation of internal Lebanese policy.
“The movement in Lebanon started over corruption, but when Iran directed Hezbollah to begin crushing the protests, the people realized that the issue is bigger,” Tom Harb, co-director of the American Mideast Coalition for Democracy, told The Media Line.
“Hezbollah could try to deflect attention away from the situation by screaming at Israel or Arab nations,” he said, before adding that growing instability has severely limited the options of Iran and its proxies.
In Baghdad, the situation is more acute – and dire. Mass protests, initially precipitated by a demand for better access to basic staples like fresh water and electricity, quickly turned violent, with the civilian death toll currently closing in on 300. Scores of those dead were reportedly killed by members of the Popular Mobilization Forces, an amalgamation of Shi’ite paramilitary organizations. Although some have been officially incorporated into the Iraqi army, they retain close ties to, and often act at the directive of, Iran.
Fury over Tehran’s perceived influence over the Iraqi government was manifest in this week’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Karbala, a holy city to which millions of Shi’ites make annual pilgrimages, not unlike the yearly Hajj undertaken by Sunnis to Mecca.
Perhaps not lost on the rioters is that a battle in Karbala between opposing Muslim factions in 680 AD was a major catalyst to the split between the primary, and still competing, sects of Islam. Indeed, many analysts view this ongoing Sunni-Shi’ite divide as the central factor contributing to instability in the Middle East.
“Iraq is the crown jewel of Iran’s imperialist activities – the country means everything when you consider the depth of Tehran’s penetration there,” Prof. Uzi Rabi, director of Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies and a senior researcher at its Center for Iranian Studies, told The Media Line.
“Tehran is afraid that Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, who is sort of an Iranian protégé, could be toppled,” Rabi said, “which would be viewed as a major victory for the protesters” and a huge blow to the Islamic Republic.
Rabi highlighted one element of the Iraqi demonstrations that he believes is being overlooked, noting that the classical rivalry between Sunnis and Shi’ites is being compounded by internal discord within the Shi’ite population itself.
“Some, including [Grand Ayatollah Ali] al-Sistani, [the spiritual leader of Iraq’s Shi’ites], are putting pressure on the government to remove Baghdad from Tehran’s orbit,” another development that would lead to a reduction of Iranian influence, he said.
Rabi thus envisions Tehran “doubling down on its efforts, because having bargaining chips all over the Middle East is essential to the regime’s survival.” In his estimation, the mullahs will do whatever is necessary to preserve their assets by continuing to “test the waters,” which will likely result in additional flare-ups with rivals.
Syria could be a perfect test case for this hypothesis, where conflict erupted when the Sunni-majority population – backed by the likes of Saudi Arabia – revolted against the Assad regime, whose elites are mainly Alawite, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam. This prompted Iran, which considers itself the vanguard of Shi’ite Islam, to provide Damascus with crucial military hardware, boots on the ground and the tactical knowhow to overcome opposition fighters.
Tehran went so far as to import to Syria tens of thousands of Shi’ite mercenaries from Central Asia and the Far East with a view not only to ensuring Assad’s ongoing rule, and thus Iran’s dominance over Syria, but also to change the country’s demographic composition.
Nevertheless, Iran’s stranglehold on Syria, a crucial hub of the “Shi’ite Crescent,” may be waning. Russia has emerged as the major power broker since intervening militarily in support of Assad in 2015. Notably, Moscow is weary of Islamic extremism after being targeted in recent years by Muslim terrorists residing in the restive Northern Caucasus.
Tehran’s grip has been further loosened by the cross-border incursion into northeastern Syria by Sunni Turkish forces, and by virtue of the American troop presence in adjacent areas. The United States is also keeping soldiers at the al-Tanf base, which is strategically located near the border-crossing with Iraq.
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy’s Harb also noted that Tehran may have suffered a major setback in Yemen, where for half a decade, its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has provided material support to Shi’ite Houthi rebels in their war against the internationally recognized government, which itself is backed by a Saudi-led coalition of Sunni states.
This week, Yemen’s government – which in 2014 was forced out of the capital Sanaa by the Houthis – signed a power-sharing agreement with the Southern Transitional Council, a separatist group backed by the United Arab Emirates. The reconciliation’s ostensible aim is to halt infighting and thereby allow efforts to be redirected back toward reestablishing control over areas in northern Yemen that are still under the control of the rebels.
Then there is Israel, which over the past two years has struck hundreds of Iranian military sites in Syria, greatly impinging on the Islamic Republic’s ability to establish a permanent infrastructure and use the prevailing chaos there as cover to smuggle advanced weaponry to its Hezbollah underling.
All of this is occurring against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Gulf.
Over the summer, Iran was accused of perpetrating numerous attacks on commercial oil tankers transiting vital waterways. In September, a two-pronged strike by cruise missiles and drones against critical Saudi oil infrastructure temporarily cut the kingdom’s output by half. Despite Iran’s denial, Riyadh, Washington and several European capitals blamed Tehran, placing a brighter spotlight on the actions of the IRGC and making it more difficult for its elite Quds Force to conduct operations abroad.
The mullahs may also come to regret downing a US drone over international airspace near the Strait of Hormuz, a move that prompted President Donald Trump to direct the Pentagon to deploy additional military personnel to the region.
Finally, Iran has significantly upped its nuclear activities since announcing that it would be decreasing its commitments to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, from which the US withdrew in May 2018.
Tehran has reportedly increased tenfold its daily production of low-enriched uranium, and this month unveiled new, advanced centrifuges into which it has begun to inject uranium gas. These measures almost undoubtedly will strengthen the resolve of the Islamic Republic’s adversaries to counter the mullahs’ potential dash to the bomb.
It is worth noting that some historians believe Iran’s conceptualization of nuclearization was shaped in the 1980s during its brutal war with Iraq, which claimed the lives of some one million people on both sides. The Ayatollahs’ inability to vanquish Saddam Hussein – a Sunni ruling over a majority Shi’ite country and possessing non-conventional weapons – may have convinced them that achieving a nuclear capability would be a prerequisite to actualizing the goal of the 1979 revolution, which is to export and impose their radical interpretation of Islam throughout the Middle East and beyond.
While a confluence of factors has created shock waves in virtually every point along the territorial route stretching from Tehran to the Mediterranean, Iranian leaders nevertheless remain strategically adept, committed to their ideology and, perhaps most significantly, willing to employ ruthless and destructive measures – including against restive segments of their own population – in order to realize their ambitions.
This has caused actors in the Sunni Muslim world to begin pushing back more strongly against this potentiality. But given their military limitations, how ironic it would be if “Big Satan” – the predominantly Christian United States – and “Little Satan” – the predominantly Jewish state – were ultimately responsible for inflicting the coup de grace that ended the Iranian regime’s dream of establishing a Shi’ite caliphate.
https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Regional-upheavals-leave-Irans-Shiite-Crescent-on-shaky-ground-607312

Women of Lebanon stand at vanguard of popular protests
Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/November 10/2019
BEIRUT - During the three weeks of a largely peaceful anti-government revolt in Lebanon, women have been playing a leading role to assert their equal civic rights while acting as a buffer zone to protect the protests from falling into violence.
Since the start of the protests October 17, the “women front line” of rows of female shields has prevented friction and clashes between protesters and riot police and army troops.
“We have organised a female chain encircling the protesters outside the government seat in Riad al Solh Square. Even when police tried to break the chain, we would reinforce our rows and slow them down until they give up. We also prevented men protesters from taking the front row or trying to attack the police,” said activist Darine Dandashly.
Female protesters were instrumental in blocking roads and main arteries, blockades that have brought the country to a halt. Dandashly was at the Ring Road in Beirut when police tried to reopen it by force.
“We were sitting on the asphalt right in the middle of the road and I heard a police officer telling his superior, ‘We cannot open the road. It is blocked by two rows of women’,” Dandashly said.
The female revolutionaries were defiant when protesters were attacked by followers of Iran-backed Hezbollah and Shia Amal Movement.
“I was filming the raid when one of the attackers assailed me and tried to break my phone. I continued filming because I felt that it was my only weapon against them. The courage and nerve that women showed in confronting the thugs was amazing,” Dandashly said.
Aside from the common demands they had with all the Lebanese protesters, including the formation of a technocrat government and early elections, participating women had additional requests they communicated loudly and clearly.
A protest march November 3 by feminist NGOs drew a large crowd of female demonstrators chanting: “The revolution is a woman” and “She is coming to tear down the patriarchal system.”
“The prominent role played by women in the protests should not come as a surprise. Lebanese women have long been active in the country’s civil society,” said Halime Kaakour, an activist and professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at the Lebanese University.
Kaakour contends that the protest movement has been powered by civil society organisations in which women are a majority.
“In Lebanon you have the largest number of women activists in the region. It is not strange at all to find them at the heart of protest movements. They were there in the protests of 2015 and today they are crucial in maintaining the peaceful character of the protests,” she said.
“Studies show that the more women are omnipresent the less violence there is. There is no peace without the participation of women.”
Lebanese women have legitimate reasons to fight the sectarian system of governance that protesters wish to topple. “They are calling for the establishment of a civil state that would grant them all their rights and eliminate discriminatory laws that do them injustice,” Kaakour said
Lebanon has 15 personal status laws for the country’s recognised confessions and all of them discriminate against women. Autonomous religious courts administer the laws and make it more difficult for women than for men to divorce and get custody of their children.
Lebanon’s nationality law denies citizenship to the children and spouses of Lebanese women married to foreigners but not to the foreign spouses and children of Lebanese men. Reforming the law has been a demand of local women’s rights groups for decades.
As they assert their role in the demonstrations, women are redefining their role in Lebanon. Mothers have been going to the protests with their young children to, they say, instil in them a sense of national unity in a country often characterised by its divisions.
People of all ages and sects have gathered daily to demand better services, a crackdown on corruption and the wholesale removal of a ruling class they accuse of having ruled Lebanon like a cartel for decades. School and university students have forced the closure of their establishments and marched across the country to increase pressure for the formation of an independent government of technocrats that protesters are demanding to help overcome the country’s acute economic and financial crisis. “The youth from both sexes are the main driving force behind the revolt because they are fully aware of their rights,” Kaakour said. “They have progressive thinking that is way ahead of the political elite and the obsolete system. They are telling the leaders you don’t resemble us, you don’t represent us and you should go.”

A Mine in the Lebanese National Project
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/November, 10/2019
For three weeks and counting, Lebanon has been rocked with a historic event: Vast segments of the population, especially the youth and women, have been marching forward towards building the new foundations of the nation. This project is veering away from sectarianism and sects and focusing on more important issues.
First: They are looking at the economy and ways to distribute the wealth in a way that boosts production and productive sectors and combats waste, looting and corruption. They are seeking to break the banks’ grip on the economy and create job opportunities and stem the immigration of the youth.
Second: They are seeking to modernize the political system and democratize it in order to open the door wide for more people to benefit from the democratic process. This must inevitably take place through an electoral law that steers clear from sectarian representation. The most important factor at this point must be the independence of the judiciary, which should achieve justice away from violent reprisals and political interests.
The judiciary has never been such the focus of attention in Lebanon as it is today.
Third: Introducing major changes that recognize the aspirations of the youth, most notably in regards to gender and generational equality. They are also seeking to raise awareness about refugees and foreign workers, away from discrimination.
The youth have a major role to play because they have never experienced war, but instead inherited its repercussions. Their worldliness beyond their country’s borders has developed in them a strong contempt for sectarianism and clientelism that is rampant in Lebanon. In contrast, banal political leaders have worked on deepening difference between those who cause disasters and those who promise to resolve them. This all came to head when the youth realized that nothing lies ahead for them in Lebanon except despair.
The protesters have been peaceful because they are less ideologized than their defeated predecessor generations. They have steered clear of garbled and vague language and gone straight to the point in voicing their demands and airing their complaints. With these traits, the youths laid bare the political system, revised all of its aspects and placed the traditional politicians in the accused dock.
The revolution has overcome many obstacles. The greatest however, still lies ahead. It is like a mine planted by the sectarian forces. This great project cannot succeed, let alone grow, without those who have abandoned their sectarianism turning to other sects. The departure, whether voluntary or forced, is a major mine because it can stand as a hurdle towards progressing to new issues.
In other words, a return to the March 8 and 14 camps or any other vertical divide between sects or sectarian alliances will spell the end of this great project. The revolution has so far succeeded in avoiding this trap because it has set socio-economic concerns as a priority and because the leaders of the March 8 and 14 camps have been the targets of their anger. This success has been also possible because protesters from all sects and regions have joined the demonstrations.
Hezbollah was the party that planted this mine in the national project on behalf of all other sectarian forces. It has prevented a major sect from joining through ideological influence and use of force. The “Shiite” revolt in Iraq and the siege against Iran were additional reasons for adopting this approach.
The developments in Nabatieh, Kfar Ramman, Tyre, Bint Jbeil and the Ring bridge have demonstrated that this revolution can neutralize Hezbollah’s weapons. This is a demand for any practical politics in countries like Lebanon. It has also become clear that Hezbollah’s weapons cannot neutralize the revolution. The revolt, according to the party, has started to snowball and it must be stopped before it continues to get bigger.
The party is an expert at circumventing change: 2005 witnessed the national independence agenda and an end to hegemony over security agencies. In 2006, the party abducted two Israeli soldiers bringing about the July war.
The Aounist movement could not do the same thing with its Christian sect. It appeared weak with nothing to offer its people. The Baabda demonstration in support of President Michel Aoun was the most it could achieve and below the required level to break up the revolt or divide it into two opposing camps.
Hezbollah, therefore, assumed the mission to extract the Shiites from the revolution. To those hesitating it asked: “Why should we become dispersed while they are gathering?”
This mine may or may not explode violently with or without the collapse of the economy.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 10-11/2019
Iran Rejects Reports of IAEA Finding Traces of Uranium at Unnamed Site
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 10 November, 2019
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday rejected as a “trap” reports that the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, found traces of uranium at an Iranian site that Israel called a “secret atomic warehouse”. Two months after Reuters first reported that samples taken at the site had shown traces of uranium, the IAEA on Wednesday told member states at a closed-door briefing that it had found uranium traces at a site in Iran it did not name, but diplomats at the meeting said it was clearly the same place. “The Zionist regime and Israel are attempting to re-open ... this file,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in remarks carried on state television. “We have announced that this is a trap,” Mousavi said. “Hopefully the IAEA will maintain its vigilance.”The IAEA confirmed to member states that the traces from samples taken in February were of uranium that was processed but not enriched, and that the explanations provided by Iran so far did not hold water, diplomats said. In 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vehemently opposed Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, called on the IAEA to visit the site immediately, saying it had housed 15 kg of unspecified radioactive material that had since been removed.

Iran, Russia launch new phase of nuclear power reactor construction
AFP, Bushehr/Sunday, 10 November 2019
Tehran and Moscow inaugurated on Sunday a new phase of construction for a second reactor at Iran’s sole nuclear power plant in Bushehr on the Arabian Gulf coast. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), and deputy chief of Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom, Alexander Lokshin, launched the new stage at a ceremony where concrete was poured for the reactor base.The reactor is one of two officially under construction since 2017 at the Bushehr site that is around 750 kilometers (460 miles) south of Tehran.
The landmark 2015 nuclear deal Iran signed with six major powers, including Russia, placed restrictions on the sort of nuclear reactor Tehran could develop and its production of nuclear fuel but it did not require Iran to halt its use of nuclear energy for power generation.
“In a long term vision until 2027-2028, when these projects are finished, we will have 3,000 megawatts of nuclear plant-generated electricity,” Salehi said at the ceremony. The Islamic republic has been seeking to reduce its reliance on oil and gas through the development of nuclear power facilities.
Russia built the existing 1,000 megawatt reactor at Bushehr that came online in September 2011 and is expected to undertake construction of a third in future, according to the AEOI. As part of the 2015 agreement, Moscow provides Tehran with the fuel it needs for its electricity-generating nuclear reactors.
Intended to guarantee that Iran’s long-controversial nuclear program would never be used for military purposes, the survival of the deal has been under threat since the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in May 2018, re-imposing biting sanctions. In response to the sanctions, which deprive Iran of anticipated benefits from the deal, Tehran began walking back on its commitments from May this year.

Protests erupt in Ahwaz after popular dissident poet dies in Iranian hospital
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/Monday, 11 November 2019
Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in the city of Ahwaz after Hassan Heydari, a young popular dissident poet, died in hospital under suspicious conditions a month after his arrest by Iranian authorities. Videos on social media showed hundreds of protesters gathering in the streets on Sunday evening after news that Heydari had died in Shafa hospital in Ahwaz, the capital of Iran’s Khuzestan province. Radio Farda, the Iranian outlet of the US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reported that Heydari was initially arrested by the regime last year but had been recently released on bail.
According to several Ahwazi activists on Twitter, protesters believe that Heydari was poisoned by the regime’s intelligence ministry during his last arrest.

Iran Says Discovers New Oilfield with 53 Billion Barrels of Crude
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 10 November, 2019
President Hassan Rouhani revealed on Sunday that Iran has discovered a new oilfield in the southwest of the country that has the potential to boost its reserves by about a third. “Workers and the exploration arm of the National Iranian Oil Company ...have found an oilfield with 53 billion barrels of reserves,” Rouhani said in a televised speech in the central city of Yazd. The field stretches over 2,400 sq kilometers in the oil-rich Khuzestan province, he added. Iran had an estimated 157 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves in January 2018, the EIA website said. Since withdrawing from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, the United States has reimposed sanctions to strangle its vital oil trade.

Iran begins building second nuclear power reactor at Bushehr: Report
The Associated Press, Tehran/Sunday, 10 November 2019
Iran’s state TV is reporting that construction has begun on a second nuclear power reactor at its Bushehr plant amid heightened tensions over Tehran’s collapsing nuclear deal with world powers. “Nuclear power provides reliable electricity... and each power plant saves us 11 million barrels of oil or $660 million per year,” Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said in a televised ceremony. Authorities began pouring concrete for the base of the reactor on Sunday in the presence of journalists in Bushehr, some 700 kilometers (440 miles) south from Iran’s capital, Tehran. Bushehr relies on 4.5 percent enriched uranium, which Iran is producing in violation of its 2015 nuclear deal. That violation and others come after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord over a year ago. Bushehr’s first reactor came online in 2011 with the help of Russia. This new reactor similarly will be built with Russian help.The US plans to allow Russian, Chinese and European companies to continue work at Iranian nuclear facilities to make it harder for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, two sources familiar with the matter said in late October.

UAE Calls on Iran to Hold Dialogue with World Powers, Gulf States
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 10 November, 2019
United Arab Emirates State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Gargash called on Iran on Sunday to the negotiating table with world powers and Gulf countries to seek a new deal that would deescalate regional tensions. “Further escalation at this point serves no one and we strongly believe that there is room for collective diplomacy to succeed,” he said in a speech in Abu Dhabi. He warned against a “false choice” between war and the “flawed” atomic deal. Tensions in the Gulf have risen since attacks on oil tankers in a vital global shipping lane this summer, including off the UAE coast, and a major assault on Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, Washington and Europe have blamed Iran. The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on Iran since pulling out of the pact as part of its “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran. On Thursday, Iran said it had resumed uranium enrichment at its Fordow nuclear site, stepping further away from its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers after the United States pulled out of it. Gargash said new talks with Iran should not just deal with the nuclear issue but also address concerns over its ballistic missile program and regional interventions through proxy groups. These topics mean regional countries would need to be involved in the discussions, he said at an annual strategic debate in the UAE capital. “I believe there could be a path to a deal with Iran that all parties might soon be ready to embark on. It will be long, and patience and courage will be required,” Gargash said. It was important that the international community be on the same page, especially the United States and European Union countries, as well as regional states, he added. Washington says it hopes the sanctions, which are aimed at halting all Iranian oil exports, will force Iran into negotiations to reach a wider deal.

Three killed in Iraq’s Nassiriya after forces open fire on protesters
Reuters/Monday, 11 November 2019
Security forces opened fire on protesters in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya on Sunday, killing at least three people, police and medics said. Protesters had gathered on a bridge in the city, and security forces used live ammunition to disperse them, the sources said. More than 100 others were wounded in clashes in the city, they added. The incident comes after security forces fired tear gas at anti-government protesters in Baghdad on Sunday injuring at least 22 people, police and medical sources said, a day after they pushed demonstrations back towards one main square in the Iraqi capital.
One person died in hospital of wounds sustained in clashes the previous day, the sources said. Security forces on Saturday pushed protesters back from bridges they had sought to control during the week.

UN urges Iraqi officials to prosecute those behind ‘use of excessive force’
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 10 November 2019
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has released a list of recommendations that includes a call to prosecute those responsible for the use of excessive force on protesters and an investigation into cases of abductions. The list released on Sunday also called for the immediate release of all peaceful demonstrators detained since October 1 and for authorities to stop targeting protests with the use of excessive force. The final immediate recommendation urged authorities to “publicly call for all regional and international parties not to interfere in Iraq’s internal affairs” and to “respect its sovereignty”.
Representatives of UNAMI, including the agency’s Special Representative Jeanine Hennis, have been in Iraq on a fact-finding mission in recent days. The report comes as Iraqi security forces fired tear gas at anti-government protesters in Baghdad on Sunday injuring at least 22 people, police and medical sources told Reuters, a day after they pushed demonstrations back towards one main square in the Iraqi capital. Several videos shared on Twitter showed a number of young men blocking a road in the Kut Abdollah district south of Ahwaz with burning tires and chanting slogans against the Iranian regime. One popular chant that could be heard in several videos show protesters shouting, “we will retake Ahwaz”.Heydari’s death comes just a day after Iranian authorities arrested Saeed Bawi after a video emerged of him shouting pro-Arab slogans at a football match in Foolad Arena stadium last week.
The Arab minority population in southwestern Iran has long claimed that they face discrimination from the central government in Tehran. Last year, Ahwaz and other cities across the Khuzestan province took part in mass country-wide protests. At the time, Amnesty International said authorities arrested and held incommunicado more than 7,000 “protesters, students, journalists, environmental activists, workers, and human rights defenders, including lawyers, women’s rights activists, minority rights activists, and trade unionists,” in what they dubbed the “Year of Shame” for Iran.

Amnesty International Condemns ‘Lethal Force’ against Iraq Protesters
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 10 November, 2019
Iraqi security forces put up concrete barriers in central Baghdad Sunday, trying to hamper and block protesters' movements a day after forcefully clearing three flashpoint bridges in a security operation that killed six anti-government protesters and left more than 100 wounded. Since the unrest began last month, more than 260 protesters have been killed by security forces who have used live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas in an effort to quell the protests. Amnesty International called it a "bloodbath" and said Iraqi authorities should immediately rein in security forces."The government of Iraq has a duty to protect its people's right to life, as well as to gather and express their views. This bloodbath must stop now," said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Director. The statement called on authorities to end the "unlawful use of lethal force" and said those responsible for it must be brought to justice. The United Nations warned of a spreading "climate of fear" and its top official in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said it was receiving "daily reports of killings, kidnappings, arbitrary arrests, beatings and intimidation of protesters".
University students in Diwaniyah were able to gather for a protest, but police blocked school children from walking out of class to join.
Those in Hillah and Kut had more success, with government offices and schools still shuttered.
The widening security crackdown reflects government intransigence and narrowing options for protesters who have been on the streets of Baghdad and the mainly Shiite south's cities for weeks. Authorities shut down internet access and blocked social media sites several times amid the demonstrations.
The leaderless, economically driven protests are targeting Iraq's entire political class and calling for the overhaul of the sectarian system established after the 2003 US-led invasion. More immediately, they are calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's government, who has held the post for just over a year. He has refused to step down. "All government promises of reforms or investigations ring hollow while security forces continue to shoot and kill protesters," Morayef added. On Sunday, security forces closed roads near the Khilani Square with one-meter high concrete barriers, trying to block protesters from reaching Baghdad's landmark Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests, and the Sanak bridge. In the southern city of Nasiriyah, security and medical officials said 31 people were injured in confrontations outside the education directorate as security forces tear-gassed protesters trying to block employees from reaching the building in the city center. Among those wounded were two school students, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
On Saturday, Iraqi security forces killed six anti-government protesters and wounded more than 100 others, pushing them back from three flashpoint bridges in central Baghdad, medical and security officials said. The Iraqi officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The deaths occurred as the protests intensified in the afternoon, when demonstrators tried to reach the three bridges spanning the Tigris River to the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of government. Protesters have tried to force their way across on an almost daily basis.
The demonstrators complain of widespread corruption, lack of job opportunities and poor basic services, including regular power cuts, despite Iraq's vast oil reserves. They have rejected government proposals for limited economic reforms, and instead called on the country's political leadership to resign, including Adel Abdul Mahdi. "We consider the peaceful protests of our people as among the most important events since 2003," Abdul Mahdi said in a statement Saturday that vowed to meet the protesters' demands for wide-ranging reforms.
He added that electoral reforms would be put forward soon along with "an important government reshuffle" in response to the protests against the sectarian system imposed in 2003, though the statement didn't provide further details.

French ISIS Suspects Want to Go Home, and ‘Go on with My Life’
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 10 November, 2019
Three French women who escaped from a camp for suspected extremists in northern Syria say they want to go home and face whatever legal action France requires over their alleged links to the ISIS group. The three, interviewed in Syria's Suluk town, controlled by Syrian opposition factions backed by Turkey, said they had fled during the chaos of Turkey's incursion into Syria last month and turned themselves over to Turkish forces in hopes of returning home, reported Reuters. The women, who declined to give their names, suggested they were prepared to go France for the sake of their children, adding that conditions in the camp in Ain Issa, run by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), had been very hard. The women gave no details of their life before detention. They are believed to be among the wives and children of former ISIS fighters killed or detained after the extremist group was expelled from its strongholds in Iraq and Syria. Ankara’s unilateral offensive angered Washington and Turkey’s main European NATO allies, who fear a return of ISIS in the region. European countries are especially concerned about foreign ISIS fighters and adult relatives returning to Europe. France has said citizens who joined the militant group, which operated in both Syria and Iraq, should be tried near where crimes were committed. However Turkey says it will start repatriating ISIS detainees to their own countries on Monday, sending them back even if their citizenships have been revoked. The women's preferred destination was France. "We want to go back for our children to go on with their lives," said one of the women, who like the others wore the niqab or full face veil. "I’ve been here for five years and I want to go back and go on with my life, go back to the time I lost. That's it.”A second woman said she wanted to return to France "quickly" and whatever the French courts decided was "not a problem". Their lives in the detention had been difficult. "Children got sick very quickly. There was not much to eat," she said. "I want to go back to France with my son, (who is) 2-12 years old."A third woman said: "We have no problems with a ruling in France. It is for that reason that we handed ourselves over to the Turks, to go back to our country." Turkey launched an offensive into northeastern Syria against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) last month following a decision by US President Donald Trump to withdraw troops from the region. The move prompted widespread concern over the fate of ISIS prisoners in the region. The YPG is the main element of the SDF, which has been a leading US ally in beating back ISIS in the region. It has kept thousands of extremists in jails across northeastern Syria.

Blast in Iraq injures five Italian soldiers: Italian military
Reuters/Sunday, 10 November 2019
An explosion in Iraq has injured five Italian soldiers, three of them seriously, the Italian military said on Sunday. The military said an improvised explosive devise detonated as a team of Italian special forces passed close by. The wounded men were evacuated to safety by US helicopters and none of them are believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries. The group were in Iraq as part of an international mentoring and training mission, which is helping local forces who are battling ISIS, the military said. “Our men were training Iraqi security forces engaged in fighting ISIS,” Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said.
“I am following the situation with sorrow and apprehension,” he wrote on Twitter. The military did not say where the incident happened, but the AdnKronos news agency said the attack took place near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. The blast happened three days before the 16th anniversary of a suicide attack in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya, which killed 18 Italian servicemen, an Italian civilian and nine Iraqi civilians.

Top General: 500-600 US Troops to Stay in Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 10 November, 2019
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, said Sunday about 500 or 600 US troops will remain in Syria to counter ISIS militants. President Donald Trump recently approved an expanded military mission to secure oil fields across eastern Syria. His decision locked hundreds of US troops into a more complicated presence in Syria despite his pledge to bring them home. Milley told ABC's "This Week" that pressure must be maintained on ISIS militants still in the region. "There are still ISIS fighters in the region. And unless pressure is maintained, unless attention is maintained on that group, then there is a very real possibility that conditions could be set for a reemergence of ISIS," he said in his first interview since taking his role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "If I do my math and I look at the new troops going in and those going out, it could be more than 700 who remain," said "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz. Milley responded: "Well, there'll be less than a thousand for sure, and probably in the 500-ish frame, maybe six. But it's in, that it's in, that area. But we're not gonna go into specific numbers because we're still going through the analysis right now."It's unclear whether Milley's prediction of keeping 500 to 600 American troops there includes the roughly 200 who are at the al-Tanf garrison in southern Syria.

Russian air strikes kill 7 civilians in northwestern Syria: Report
AFP, Beirut/Sunday, 10 November 2019
Air strikes by Syrian regime ally Russia on Sunday killed seven civilians, including three children, in an anti-government bastion in northwestern Syria, a war monitor reported. Eight others were wounded in the raids and some of them are in a “critical” condition, said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. The air strikes -- the third wave by Russian aircraft in eight days on northwestern Syria -- struck the village of Kafr Ruma in the extremist-run enclave of Idlib, the Observatory said. The Idlib region, which is home to some three million people including many displaced by Syria’s eight-year civil war, is controlled by the country’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces launched a blistering military campaign against Idlib in April, killing around 1,000 civilians and displacing more than 400,000 people from their homes. A ceasefire announced by Russia has largely held since late August, although the Observatory says dozens of civilians have been killed in sporadic bombardment since then. Last month Assad said Idlib was standing in the way of an end to the civil war that has ravaged his country through most of the current decade. Syria’s war has killed 370,000 people and displaced millions from their homes since beginning in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-Assad protests.

SDF Commander Warns from ‘Demographic Change’ East of Euphrates
Qamishli - Kamal Sheikho/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 10 November, 2019
Commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi has rejected what he called “the policies of demographic change in northeast Syria.” His comment came as an SDF statement said the latest Turkish military operations had displaced 30,000 civilians from their areas of origin east of the Euphrates River. “An area of 1,100 square kilometers was occupied, including 56 villages and farms in the north of Ain Issa, east of Kobani, east of Ras al-Ain and Tal Tamer’s northwest,” Abdi tweeted. He said the Turkish occupation forces and their extremist factions continued to violate the ceasefire agreement. The Turks and their militant proxies continue to attack northeast Syria and seize more territory every hour. After the ceasefire agreement with US officials, 182 of our comrades and dozens of civilians were killed and 30,000 civilians were displaced, the SDF commander noted.
In another tweet, Abdi said that the SDF has complied with all the obligations of the ceasefire agreement, with the aim of protecting its people from killing and displacement. "Our successful counterterrorism program and joint operations have been resumed to ensure the defeat of ISIS and we are now protecting oil fields with US forces," he said. SDF forces confirmed pulling out their fighters from a 32-kilometer- deep zone along the Turkish border. This week, Abdi warned from the policies of genocide and ethnic cleansing conducted by Turkey and its proxies. “There are efforts by Turkey to achieve its demographic change goals in northeast Syria through international organizations. The UN head's willingness to form a team to study the proposal and engage in discussions with Turkish authorities on the issue is deeply worrying and dangerous,” Abdi wrote in a tweet. He demanded the US-led Coalition, Russia and the US to fulfill their commitments and prevent demographic change in Serekaniye and Tel Abyad, to implement the deal brokered by American officials and ensure that people return to their land without being subjected to atrocities and abduction. Last Friday, co-chair of the Foreign Relations Commission of the SDF Abdulkarim Omar said Turkish forces used “internationally banned weapons” in northern Syria against “more than 30 civilians, including children.

Farmers Blocked as Israel-Jordan Enclave Deal Expires
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 10 November, 2019
Israelis were prevented from entering Jordanian border enclaves on Sunday after a deal allowing farmers to work land there expired, 25 years after a peace treaty. Since the two countries signed the deal in 1994, Jordan has allowed Israeli farmers access to the territories of Ghumar in the north and Baqura in the south under a renewable 25-year arrangement. In October last year however, Jordan's King Abdullah said his country had notified Israel that it wants them back. An AFP journalist in northern Israel on Sunday said the yellow gate to a bridge over the river dividing the two countries, long the portal for Israeli farmers to access Baqura, was locked. Baqura, known in Hebrew as Naharayim, lines on a spit of land where the Jordan and Yarmuk rivers meet. Ghumar, deep in the Negev desert south of the Dead Sea, is known in Hebrew as Tzofar. The lands have been privately owned by Israeli entities for decades, but the 1994 deal saw the kingdom retain sovereignty there. Israel's relations with Amman been increasingly strained. Opinion polls have repeatedly found that the peace treaty with Israel is overwhelmingly opposed by Jordanians, more than half of whom are of Palestinian origin.
In 2017, an Israeli embassy security guard in Amman killed two Jordanians. Three years earlier, an Israeli soldier at a border crossing killed a Jordanian judge he deemed a threat. Just last month, Amman recalled its ambassador from Israel over the prolonged detention without trial in Israel of two Jordanians. The ambassador returned after the two were released.

Lands leased by Israel in 1994 peace accord returned to Jordan
AP/Sunday, 10 November 2019
AMMAN — Jordan's king announced Sunday that two pieces of land leased by Israel would be returned to the "full sovereignty" of Jordan as the two countries marked a chilly 25th anniversary of their landmark peace agreement.
Israel has controlled the agricultural lands for over 70 years and had been permitted to lease the areas under the 1994 peace agreement, with the assumption that the arrangement would be extended once again. Even amid mistrust and a looming deadline, Israel was hoping a solution could be found. But King Abdullah II's announcement to parliament seemed to put an end to that and Jordan is set to reclaim full control of the areas this week. "I announce the end of the annex of the two areas, Ghumar and Al-Baqoura, in the peace treaty and impose our full sovereignty on every inch of them," he said.
It marked a new blow to relations that began with great optimism but have steadily deteriorated. Following up on a historic interim peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians a year earlier, Israel's then-prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin and the late King Hussein of Jordan signed a peace agreement on Oct. 26, 1994 with President Bill Clinton in attendance and all three leaders delivered moving speeches promising warm relations and a better future. It was only the second peace deal between Israel and an Arab country, following Egypt.
The accord remains a vital strategic asset for both countries, who maintain tight security cooperation and joint economic projects. But with little progress toward a Palestinian state, the close contact hasn't trickled down to the average citizen — especially in Jordan, where most people have Palestinian roots. Israeli policies in east Jerusalem, where Jordan has custodial rights over Muslim holy sites, have also raised tensions. Last year, Jordan chose not to renew a clause of the peace treaty that granted Israel use of two enclaves inside Jordanian territory, called Tsofar and Naharayim in Hebrew.
Naharayim, located along the Jordan River in northern Israel, has become a popular tourist site. It includes a small park and picnic area, the ruins of a historic power station and the "Island of Peace," where Israelis can briefly enter Jordanian territory without having to show their passports.
The site has a painful history. In 1997, a Jordanian soldier opened fire at an Israeli crowd, killing seven schoolgirls on a class trip. After the shooting, King Hussein traveled to Israel to ask forgiveness from the girls' families. Twenty years after his death, Hussein remains a beloved figure in Israel for what was seen as a courageous act.

Jordan’s King Abdullah announces ‘full sovereignty’ over lands leased by Israel
The Associated Press, Amman/Sunday, 10 November 2019
Jordan’s king on Sunday announced “full sovereignty” over two pieces of land leased by Israel, ending a 25-year arrangement spelled out in the countries’ landmark peace agreement. King Abdullah II said in a speech to the government’s new Cabinet on Sunday that Jordan would end the “annex of the two areas, Ghumar and Al-Baqoura, in the peace treaty and impose our full sovereignty on every inch of them.”Israel, which has controlled the lands for over 70 years, had been permitted to lease the areas under the 1994 peace agreement. One of the areas, a popular visitors’ site in northern Israel, is known in Hebrew as the “Peace Island.”But with relations cool, Abdullah announced earlier this year that he would end the lease. Israelis were prevented from entering Jordanian border enclaves on Sunday after a deal allowing farmers to work the land there expired. Just last month, Amman recalled its ambassador from Israel over the prolonged detention without trial in Israel of two Jordanians. The ambassador returned after the two were released.

Israeli Cabinet OKs hard-liner Bennett as defense minister
The Associated Press, Jerusalem/Sunday, 10 November 2019
The Israeli Cabinet has approved hard-line politician Naftali Bennett as defense minister in the country’s caretaker government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Bennett, with whom he has a rocky relationship, last week. Netanyahu appears to be trying to shore up support among his right-wing base. He’s hoping to block attempts by his chief rival, Benny Gantz, to form Israel’s next government. The Cabinet voted Sunday for Bennett to become defense minister until a permanent government takes hold. Gantz is in the process of trying to cobble together a majority coalition after inconclusive elections in September. Netanyahu had the first try at forming a government, but failed. Bennett, who leads the New Right party, has demanded tougher military action against Palestinian group Hamas.

Israeli Study Suggests Accommodation with Hamas Rather than Escalation
Jerusalem - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 10 November, 2019
An Israeli study published by Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) suggested there are three scenarios for Israel to deal the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, with the best option lying in accommodating with it. According to the study prepared by the two Israeli researchers, Kobi Michael and Yohanan Tzoreff, the first scenario is the continuation of the status quo with neither escalation nor calm and with escalation followed by calm. The second scenario, they said, is a gradual military escalation against Hamas, leading to comprehensive war. While the third is a broader and longer-term accommodation with Hamas. The study concluded that the chances of understanding and settlement between Israel and Hamas are the most likely, pointing out that Israel faces a serious dilemma regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip, especially the behavior it is supposed to adopt towards Hamas.
“Although it (Israel) seeks to provide calm in the Strip by reaching a settlement with Hamas in return for easing the siege there, this settlement requires that Hamas retain the ability to govern and restrain factions seeking to foil prospects for calm,” the study noted. Practically, Israel does not seek to end Hamas’ rule in Gaza, but wants it to continue since this prolongs the division with the West Bank and Fatah. However, the problem lies in the movement’s ongoing development of its military capabilities. “These indicators raise the following question: Does the weakening of Hamas serve Israel as a prelude to the Palestinian Authority’s return to Gaza Strip?” asked Tzoreff. It is doubtful the PA will try to regain control of the Strip as long as there is no political breakthrough in relations with Israel and since such a move would be perceived as enabled by Israeli aggression, he remarked. The PA had previously rejected such proposals “to overthrow Hamas and return to the Strip.”Hamas in turn, is facing its own dilemma in regards to fulfilling the civic responsibilities of governance in Gaza and in combating Israel. It has sought to open channels of communication with regional and international countries to explain its contradictory stance that refuses to recognize Israel and is yet not opposed to striking agreements with it.

President Trump to confront Turkey about buying Russian defense system
The Associated Press, New York/Sunday, 10 November 2019
President Donald Trump’s national security adviser says Trump will confront Turkey’s leader about his decision to buy a Russian air defense system when they meet Wednesday at the White House. Robert O’Brien tells CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the US is “very upset” about Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 system. O’Brien says if the NATO ally doesn’t get rid of that system, Turkey will likely face US sanctions. He says that’s a message Trump will deliver to Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The US says the S-400 is not compatible with NATO forces, could compromise the F-35 fighter jet program and aid Russian intelligence. The Trump administration removed Turkey from the F-35 program in July. Trump is to meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 10-11/2019
Question: "What is the full armor of God?"
GotQuestions.org?
Answer: The phrase “full armor of God” comes from Ephesians 6:13-17: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Ephesians 6:12 clearly indicates that the conflict with Satan is spiritual, and therefore no tangible weapons can be effectively employed against him and his minions. We are not given a list of specific tactics Satan will use. However, the passage is quite clear that when we follow all the instructions faithfully, we will be able to stand, and we will have victory regardless of Satan’s strategy.
The first element of our armor is truth (verse 14). This is easy to understand, since Satan is said to be the “father of lies” (John 8:44). Deception is high on the list of things God considers to be an abomination. A “lying tongue” is one of the things He describes as “detestable to Him” (Proverbs 6:16-17). We are therefore exhorted to put on truth for our own sanctification and deliverance, as well as for the benefit of those to whom we witness.
Also in verse 14, we are told to put on the breastplate of righteousness. A breastplate shielded a warrior’s vital organs from blows that would otherwise be fatal. This righteousness is not works of righteousness done by men. Rather, this is the righteousness of Christ, imputed by God and received by faith, which guards our hearts against the accusations and charges of Satan and secures our innermost being from his attacks.
Verse 15 speaks of the preparation of the feet for spiritual conflict. In warfare, sometimes an enemy places dangerous obstacles in the path of advancing soldiers. The idea of the preparation of the gospel of peace as footwear suggests what we need to advance into Satan's territory, aware that there will be traps, with the message of grace so essential to winning souls to Christ. Satan has many obstacles placed in the path to halt the propagation of the gospel.
The shield of faith spoken of in verse 16 makes Satan's sowing of doubt about the faithfulness of God and His Word ineffective. Our faith—of which Christ is “the author and perfecter” (Hebrews 12:2)— is like a golden shield, precious, solid, and substantial.
The helmet of salvation in verse 17 is protection for the head, keeping viable a critical part of the body. We could say that our way of thinking needs preservation. The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has laid hold of the sure gospel hope of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine or give way to Satan’s temptations. The unsaved person has no hope of warding off the blows of false doctrine because he is without the helmet of salvation and his mind is incapable of discerning between spiritual truth and spiritual deception.
Verse 17 interprets itself as to the meaning of the sword of the Spirit—it is the Word of God. While all the other pieces of spiritual armor are defensive in nature, the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God. It speaks of the holiness and power of the Word of God. A greater spiritual weapon is not conceivable. In Jesus' temptations in the desert, the Word of God was always His overpowering response to Satan. What a blessing that the same Word is available to us!
In verse 18, we are told to pray in the Spirit (that is, with the mind of Christ, with His heart and His priorities) in addition to wearing the full armor of God. We cannot neglect prayer, as it is the means by which we draw spiritual strength from God. Without prayer, without reliance upon God, our efforts at spiritual warfare are empty and futile. The full armor of God—truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer—are the tools God has given us, through which we can be spiritually victorious, overcoming Satan’s attacks and temptations.

“Too Many to Count”: The Global Persecution of Christians
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/November 11/2019
Today is International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (known by the acronym IDOP). Initiated over 20 years ago by the World Evangelical Alliance, 100,000 congregations around the world and millions of Christians participate on this day.
“This November let us unite in prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters,” IDOP said in a brief video that highlights a few examples of recent persecution, including the Easter Sunday church bombings in Sri Lanka and the ongoing slaughter of Christians by Islamic groups in Nigeria and increasingly Burkina Faso.
Discussing this day’s significance, Vernon Brewer, the CEO and founder of World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization, wrote:
It’s easy to go about our lives and forget that in places like Nigeria, Iran and North Korea being a Christian can often lead to death. After all, for the most part, persecution for our faith isn’t something most of us face… But I can’t forget the believers I’ve met in Iraq, China or at the North Korean border. I can’t forget their scars or their haunted eyes and horrific stories… The more I travel, the more I see that in many countries Christian persecution is worse than ever before.
Statistics bear out this grim assertion: “4,136 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons,” noted Open Doors USA in its World Watch List 2019. “On average, that’s 11 Christians killed every day for their faith.” Additionally, “2,625 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced and imprisoned” and “1,266 churches or Christian buildings were attacked.”
The report further asserts that a whopping 245 million Christians around the world are currently suffering from persecution. In other words, “1 in 9 Christians experience high levels of persecution worldwide.”
Typically women fare worse: “In many places, they experience a ‘double persecution’— one for being a Christian and one for being a woman.” As for specific numbers: “At least six women every day are raped, sexually harassed or forced into marriage to a Muslim man under the threat of death for their Christian faith…”
A separate study led by Rev. Philip Mounstephen, the Bishop of Truro, and published earlier this year, states that “Evidence shows not only the geographic spread of anti-Christian persecution, but also its increasing severity. In some regions, the level and nature of persecution is arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide, according to that adopted by the UN.”
After studying the bishop’s detailed report, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt concluded that the persecution of Christians is “near genocide levels.”
Both studies make clear that the majority of persecution occurs in the Muslim world. In seven of the top ten worst nations, “the primary cause of persecution is Islamic oppression,” notes Open Doors. Additionally, 38 of the 50 nations that persecute Christians the most are Muslim majority.
The Bishop of Truro’s report gives specifics:
“The persecution of Christians is perhaps at its most virulent in the region of the birthplace of Christianity—the Middle East & North Africa.”
“Christianity now faces the possibility of being wiped-out in parts of the Middle East where its roots go back furthest. In Palestine, Christian numbers are below 1.5 percent; in Syria the Christian population has declined from 1.7 million in 2011 to below 450,000 and in Iraq, Christian numbers have slumped from 1.5 million before 2003 to below 120,000 today.”
“In countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia the situation of Christians and other minorities has reached an alarming stage.”
“[T]here is mass violence which regularly expresses itself through the bombing of churches, as has been the case in countries such as Egypt, Pakistan, and Indonesia.”
“The single-greatest threat to Christians [in Nigeria] … came from Islamist militant group Boko Haram, with US intelligence reports in 2015 suggesting that 200,000 Christians were at risk of being killed… Those worst affected included Christian women and girls ‘abducted, and forced to convert, enter forced marriages, sexual abuse and torture.’”
“An intent to erase all evidence of the Christian presence [in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, north-east Nigeria and the Philippines] was made plain by the removal of crosses, the destruction of Church buildings and other Church symbols. The killing and abduction of clergy represented a direct attack on the Church’s structure and leadership.”
Outside the Muslim world the persecution of Christians is getting significantly worse, particularly in North Korea, where “never-ending pressure and violence” is directed against Christians; in India, for the first time in modern history Christians are experiencing “extreme persecution.”
In the end, numbers and statistics will never suffice to capture the magnitude of the problem. “Too many to count, too many unknown,” states the video by International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church: “All because they bear the name of Jesus.”

Iraq’s Last Cure Is to Cut off Iran
Salman Al-Dossary/Asharq Al-Awsat/November, 10/2019
The political scene in Iraq, since its creation in 1921, has been different than that in any other Arab country. From an overthrown monarchy to the republican system under Abd al-Karim Qasim to the Baath party’s power grab in 1968, which remained until the US invasion in 2003, Iraqis have strived to attain a better life.
Iraqis, after 2003, finally reached a model they saw fit to govern in their own country, even if it was a form of consensual democracy focused on sectarian and national divisions.
Regardless if Iraqis are satisfied with their governing system or not, and despite protesters demanding the deposition of the incumbent regime, the main issue with Iraq is not the system, but the level to which Iran has wittingly exported its revolution to the country and secured interference in its internal affairs.
The Iranians had doubled their gains after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. On the one hand, they got rid of an arch rival, and on the other, they benefited from forces that make up Iraq’s deep state, allowing them to grow increasingly influential in the Middle Eastern country.
Just like in demonstrations that swept Lebanon, Iran considered itself the main target of the protests blooming in Iraq. Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, has gone as far as accusing Iraqi protesters of belonging to ISIS!
Major general Mohammad Bagheri, a military commander currently serving at the most senior military position in Iran, has claimed that enemies stand to gain from the waves of protests in Lebanon and Iraq.
A year ago, demonstrators attacked the Iranian consulate in Basra, chanting the famous slogan, “Iran out out.” It is no secret that Iranian influence had spread across all political classes.
Even major Iranian companies linked to the Revolutionary Guards have become part of the Iraqi economic fabric and put their interests above the Iraqi national interests. Trade between the two countries, which share a common border of 1,400 kilometers, is growing, whereby Iraq is considered Iran's largest market for non-oil exports.
This level of Iranian interference is enough to foster endless corruption in Iraq.
Iraq, since 2003, has seen parties rise and fall out of power, many governments and successive elections.
The one constant next to the corruption was the Iranian interference, proving it to be the only factor that is supposed to change if Iraqis want to turn their misery around. Any other change will serve as a palliative and useless remedy rather than tackling the root of the problem.
The real cure for Iraq is to cut off all Iranian intervention. Otherwise, it will increase economic, political and social losses for Iraqis, and eventually suppress demonstrations.
Indeed, as Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi said, the mullahs' influence is hundreds of times more dangerous than the atomic bomb.

Abdul Mahdi is selling Iraqis’ dreams to Iran
The National/November 10/2019
With protesters undeterred by state violence and the government inflexible, there is a stalemate
The violence against protesters in Iraq has now reached a tragic low. In just six weeks of demonstrations, more than 300 people have been killed and 15,000 more have been injured, according to the Independent High Commission for Human Rights of Iraq (IHCHR).
Those on the streets are protesting against unemployment, poor basic services, widespread corruption, militias controlling many parts of the country and an inefficient political elite, many of whom are puppeteered by Iran. Demonstrators have called for prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to step down and for an overhaul of the sectarian-based political system established after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. But their demands for a better tomorrow have been met with brutal repression at home, and large indifference abroad. Security forces and state-sponsored militias have attempted to run people over, used live ammunition and snipers to kill unarmed civilians and fatally shot protesters in the head with tear-gas canisters. Prime minister Abdul Mahdi has promised that those operating outside of the law will be prosecuted, but his vague statement is of no comfort to those who are still being killed and injured by his very own government. Instead of engaging in a peaceful dialogue with protesters, the government has extended its crackdown on the rights of Iraqis, after a host of reforms promised by Mr Abdul Mahdi failed to appease protesters. In addition to the widespread use of violence, authorities have resorted to censorship, blocking the transmission of a satirical TV show and limiting access to the internet for the past week. But these desperate attempts to quash dissent will not solve the crisis, nor will they intimidate Iraqis into submission.
Protesters are undeterred by the bloodshed and the Iraqi government unwilling to change its ways, leading the country into an impasse
This has only succeeded in highlighting the failures of the Iraqi political system and its inability to look after the very people it is supposed to protect. Protesters are undeterred by the bloodshed and the Iraqi government unwilling to change its ways, leading the country into an impasse.
While the responsibility for the current situation lies with the Iraqi state, repression and corruption has been empowered by Iran’s nefarious interference in the country’s affairs, an issue which protesters have risen up against. There are reports that the Popular Mobilisation Front (PMF), an umbrella of mostly Iran-backed militia who once helped liberate Iraq from the rule of ISIS but now act as proxies for Tehran, have actively participated in the deadly crackdown against protesters. Their political wing has also played a nefarious role in the stalemate between protesters and the government. When demonstrations first erupted in October, Islamist Shia political parties were divided. Populist cleric Muqtada Al Sadr who heads Sairoun, the largest coalition in parliament, threw his weight behind the protests and joined the call for Mr Abdul Mahdi to step down and Iran’s influence to be curbed. Mr Al Sadr had sought to convince Hadi Al Amiri of the Fatah Alliance, a coalition representing the PMF that is also the second largest in parliament, to join forces with him in demanding Mr Abdul Mahdi’s resignation.
But he has refused to do so and now, both groups seem to have rallied around the Iran-aligned premier after a series of meetings led by Major General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force, an elite unit that oversees Tehran’s proxies and allies. This leaves people on the streets deprived of representation from the very parliament they voted for, as the IRGC decides their fate behind closed doors. Iraq is OPEC’s second biggest producer, but its oil wealth is lost on most Iraqis, one in five of whom live below the poverty line. The people of Iraq have every right to demand a better life. This goal is not out of reach, nor is it too much to ask. It is the responsibility of Mr Abdul Mahdi and his government to stand up for their people, end the bloodshed and refuse that the hopes and dreams of Iraqis be sold out to Tehran’s powerlust or corrupt officials.