English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For November 26/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.”
Letter to the Galatians 04/01-07/:”My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 25-26/2020

Ministry of Health: 1636 new coronavirus cases, 16 deaths
Al-Rahi Meets Aoun, Says Govt. Can't be 'Formed in Installments'
Shea Urges Reforms and 'Empowered Government' in Lebanon
Bassil's media office: No point in responding again to US Ambassador, Foreign Ministry ought to remind her to respect diplomatic principles
President Aoun discusses conditions of Justice Ministry with Minister Najem
Aoun: No International Assistance for Lebanon without Forensic Audit
Report: UAE Suspends New Visas to Lebanon, 12 Countries
Judge Wants Ministers Investigated over Port Blast
ISG Urges New Lebanese Govt Capable of Enacting Reforms
Jumblat Warns Using Obligatory Reserves Would Bring Total Collapse
FPM, LF Slam Proposed Electoral Law as Bid to 'Change Political System'
UNIFIL Joins NCLW in Marking Int'l Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Development and Liberation Bloc pushes for swift formation of specialized government based on French initiative
Families of Lebanese students abroad visit the Grand Serail
Embassy of Iraq in Beirut: We handed Lebanon a flour donation without interfering in storage and distribution mechanisms
Berri informed about Constitutional Council's decision
Relatives of port explosion victims protest outside Parliament
Lebanon’s central bank may lower obligatory reserves threshold: Source
Stress, worry and pain have soared in Lebanon, finds Negative Experience Index
End the political deadlock, support group tells Beirut/Najia Housari/Arab News/November 25/2020
For Lebanon's bank, independence should be central

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 25-26/2020

UAE-Israel: Nobel Peace Prize nominations for Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Netanyahu
Pompeo on transition process: We'll make it work
Twenty one pro-Turkish fighters killed in northern Syria
Syria reports Israeli air strikes
8 pro-Iran fighters dead in airstrikes in Syria
US to sanction entities linked to Iran's missile program
Supreme leader dismisses talks as Iran looks to post-Trump future
Iran’s parliament demands construction of heavy water reactor
Iranian-Swedish scientist detained in Iran facing imminent execution, warns wife
Iran releases Australian-British academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert in prisoner swap
Will Trump attack Iran? The IDF prepares
US President Trump pardons Michael Flynn, jailed for lying to FBI about Russia

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 25-26/2020

Getting Erdogan’s Turkey Right: Reflections on Ambassador Jeffrey’s Exit Interview/Aykan Erdemir/FDD/November 25/2020
Iran’s close connections to Al-Qaeda should surprise no one/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/November 25/2020
Do not expect substantive shifts in policy on Arab issues/Ray Hanania/Arab News/November 25/2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 25-26/2020

Ministry of Health: 1636 new coronavirus cases, 16 deaths
NNA/25 November ,2020 
The Ministry of Public Health announced 1636 new coronavirus cases, which raises the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 120300.
16 deaths have been registered over the past 24 hours.

Al-Rahi Meets Aoun, Says Govt. Can't be 'Formed in Installments'
Naharnet/25 November ,2020
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday held talks with President Michel Aoun at the Baabda Palace, ahead of a trip to the Vatican. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, al-Rahi said the government must carry on with the forensic audit of the central bank’s accounts despite the announced withdrawal of New York-based firm Alvarez & Marsal. “The audit must also involve all ministries and state institutions, starting by the central bank, in order to expose corruption. The investigation should not stop and should continue despite the withdrawal of the company tasked with carrying out this task,” the patriarch added. As for the stalled cabinet formation process, al-Rahi pointed out that the government “cannot be formed in installments.”“The constitution stipulates that the PM-designate should finalize the cabinet line-up before meeting with the president to finalize it together. Accordingly, the government’s formation cannot happen in installments: one piece today, another piece afterwards and another piece later,” the patriarch added.

Shea Urges Reforms and 'Empowered Government' in Lebanon
Naharnet/25 November ,2020
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea on Wednesday stressed that Lebanon “urgently needs reforms.”“By that I mean implementation of serious and far-reaching reforms to get the economy back on track,” Shea said in a virtual seminar organized by the Beirut Institute think tank. “Lebanon needs to have an empowered government,” she urged, decrying that “the stalled government formation process prevents the undertaking of real reforms, some of which would generate much-needed revenues that are so desperately needed to meet the basic needs of Lebanon’s citizens.” “I don’t detect a sense of urgency on the part of Lebanon’s political leaders,” Shea lamented. As for the recent U.S. sanctions on Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, the ambassador said the move “represents just one example” of how Washington is “promoting accountability and more importantly standing with the Lebanese people.”Asked whether more Lebanese politicians would be sanctioned in the near future, Shea declined to confirm or deny media reports in this regard but said that “there are a number of files that had been looked at in Washington, that continue to be looked at by those who are specialists in reviewing the applicability of our sanctions.”''

Bassil's media office: No point in responding again to US Ambassador, Foreign Ministry ought to remind her to respect diplomatic principles
NNA/25 November ,2020
The media office of Head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, issued the following statement: "There is no point in responding, again, to the US ambassador so long as she repeats herself without providing any proof on accusing the president of the Free Patriotic Movement of corruption, and as long as the Lebanese state does not receive any file containing information, documents, or validations thereon. We thus call on the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to remind the US ambassador of the need to respect diplomatic principles and not interfere in the internal affairs of Lebanon, especially in terms of [launching] deplorable attacks on the representatives of the Lebanese people."

President Aoun discusses conditions of Justice Ministry with Minister Najem
NNA/25 November ,2020 
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, asserted that the message which he sent to the Parliament, yesterday, through the Parliament Speaker, on the subject of forensic audit in Central Bank accounts is “Completely independent of political disputes and conflicts, whether formal or profound, because its goal is to address a great national tragedy, since without solving the problem of forensic audit it is impossible to agree neither with the countries willing to help Lebanon, nor with the International Monetary Fund, or similar financial institutions”. President Aoun’s stances came while meeting the Justice Minister in the Caretaker Government, Maria-Claude Najem, today at the Presidential Palace. During the meeting, the President stated that the issue of forensic audit is a national cause par excellence and it is the best way out of the crisis which we are living. The President also called on the media to understand this fact and respond to the successive calls which he addressed, most recent of which was the independence speech, in order to deal with this sensitive file with a sense responsibility imposed by the supreme national interest.
In addition, Minister Najem deliberated, with President Aoun, the conditions of her Ministry and the need to work on achieving forensic audit through all available methods, to reach the desired goal.—Presidency Press Office

Aoun: No International Assistance for Lebanon without Forensic Audit
Naharnet/25 November ,2020
President Michel Aoun assured on Wednesday that his request for parliament intervention to enable a forensic audit into the Central Bank’s accounts is “distant from any political conflicts,” the Presidency press office quoted Aoun in a tweet. “The letter to parliament on forensic audit is completely independent from political conflicts because it is aimed at addressing a major national tragedy,” Aoun said during a meeting with caretaker Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm. The President indicated that “without solving the issue of forensic audit, Lebanon can not agree with countries wishing to assist it, nor with the IMF or any similar financial body.”“It is a national matter by excellence, and it’s the best way to steer out of the crisis,” added the President, urging media outlets to handle this issue “responsibly.” Media reports said that reaching out for a parliament intervention, Aoun -- founder of the Free Patriotic Movement-- seeks to retaliate against Speaker Nabih Berri’s call for a parliament meeting to discuss a new electoral law held Wednesday. The two Christian parties, the FPM and Lebanese Forces, criticized the timing of Berri’s call. They said it came "inappropriately at a time when the country is in deep crisis."

Report: UAE Suspends New Visas to Lebanon, 12 Countries
Naharnet/25 November ,2020
A document reportedly issued by a government group in the Emirates revealed that UAE authorities have temporarily suspended issuing visas to citizens of 13 countries, most of which are Muslim-majority countries, including Lebanon, Iran and Syria, Sputnik news agency said Wednesday.
The document indicated that a circular from the Immigration Department came into effect on November 18, added the agency. It indicated that “issuance of work or visit visas are pending for individuals outside the UAE from 13 countries, including Lebanon, Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen, until further notice.”The suspension, which includes Algeria, Kenya, Iraq, Pakistan, Tunisia and Turkey would not apply to already issued visas, it added. nOther media reports said the suspension will be applied for a specific period of time and that it came over security concerns.

Judge Wants Ministers Investigated over Port Blast
Agence France Presse/25 November ,2020
The judge leading Lebanon's probe into the deadly Beirut port blast wants three members of the cabinet investigated over their possible responsibility in the disaster, a judicial source said Tuesday. On August 4, the explosion of hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands, and ravaged large parts of the capital. The government resigned in the wake of the explosion, but has remained in a caretaker capacity as talks drag on to form a new one. Judge Fadi Sawwan in a letter asked parliament to investigate public works and transportation minister Michel Najjar, finance minister Ghazi Wazni, and justice minister Marie-Claude Najm, the judicial source said. He also requested it probe the role of several former ministers who held the same positions in the previous three cabinets. The letter to the legislative chamber came after Sawan's own investigations raised "certain suspicions about the responsibility of those ministers and their failure towards addressing the presence of the ammonium nitrate at the port", the source said. The matter is being referred to the parliament as it is the seat of a specialised higher council able to prosecute ministers. Lebanese officials have rejected an international probe, despite demands both from home and abroad for an impartial investigation. A local probe has so far arrested 25 people as part of the ongoing probe, including top port and customs officials. Experts from France and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation took part in the preliminary investigation. Judicial sources previously told AFP that Lebanon had received the report from the American experts, but was still expecting another from France. The Beirut Bar Association has handed the public prosecutor hundreds of criminal complaints from victims of the explosion.

ISG Urges New Lebanese Govt Capable of Enacting Reforms
Naharnet/25 November ,2020
The International Support Group for Lebanon voiced concern on Wednesday over the aggravating social and economic crisis in the country, lamenting a lack of progress in forming a government capable of enacting urgent reforms to confront the growing concerns of the Lebanese, media reports said.
The group reiterated the need for political leaders to “quickly, without any more delay” to agree on forming a government. It urged the caretaker government of PM Hassan Diab, and Lebanon’s lawmakers to fully implement their responsibilities through all available legislative steps to alleviate the economic pressures facing Lebanese families and businesses.The group welcomed France's intention to hold an international conference in December for humanitarian aid and early recovery to support the Lebanese people, under a co-chairmanship with the United Nations.

Jumblat Warns Using Obligatory Reserves Would Bring Total Collapse
Naharnet/25 November ,2020
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Wednesday warned against spending from the central bank’s obligatory foreign exchange reserves. “Away from political disagreement, I once again call on (caretaker) PM (Hassan) Diab to take essential decisions towards rationalizing expenditure, supporting citizens directly with the help of the World Bank and halting the subsidization of traders, because using the obligatory reserves would be a prelude to an all-out collapse,” Jumblat tweeted. “Stop the ministerial, electoral, regional and international bets that subject Lebanon to the threat of obliteration,” the PSP leader warned. An official source had earlier told Reuters that the central bank is studying lowering the threshold for obligatory foreign exchange reserves in order to continue subsidizing key imports next year.

FPM, LF Slam Proposed Electoral Law as Bid to 'Change Political System'
Naharnet/25 November ,2020
Lawmakers from the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces on Wednesday rejected a proposed electoral law and described it as an “attempt to change the political system.”“What is proposed is not related to changing the electoral law but rather to changing the political system in Lebanon,” MP Georges Adwan of the LF-led Strong Republic bloc said after a meeting for the joint parliamentary committees.
“The timing of proposing a change to the political system is not sound, and when we raise this issue we must take into consideration that we are a pluralistic country containing components whose presence and proper representation should be respected,” Adwan added.
He also noted that the current electoral law, under which the 2018 polls were held, is “the first law in 30 years that largely achieves correct and effective representation.” MP Alain Aoun of the FPM-led Strong Lebanon bloc meanwhile said the discussions were “calm, profound and responsible.”
“The debate should acknowledge the presence of an electoral law that is in effect and we are before a suggestion that tackles constitutional issues and a change to the political system,” Aoun added.
He also said that he suggested referring the issue of the electoral law to a national dialogue conference because it would be “the appropriate place to discuss it.”MP Ali Fayyad of Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc for his part said that “nothing prevents discussing some of the electoral law’s weak points.”
“We have some technical remarks and we prefer electoral districts that are confessionally mixed,” he added. “There is no need to discuss the issue of the electoral law in a tense manner and we don’t mind keeping the current law,” Fayyad went on to say. MP Qassem Hashem of Speaker Nabih Berri’s Development and Liberation bloc meanwhile said that his bloc has proposed “a modern electoral law.” “The current law is not the best and what’s important is to reach a civil state through the electoral law,” Hashem added.
The draft law submitted by the bloc calls for turning Lebanon into a single electoral district under a full proportional representation system and without so-called preferential votes. The current law, which allowed the FPM and the LF to boost their representation in parliament, is based on proportional representation, 15 electoral districts and two preferential votes per electoral ballot.

UNIFIL Joins NCLW in Marking Int'l Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Naharnet/25 November ,2020
UNIFIL on Wednesday joined the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) in marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence at the Mission’s headquarters in Naqoura. Speaking at a ceremony, attended by NCLW President Claudine Aoun and other dignitaries, UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col said the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe social and economic impact in the communities and deepened the existing inequalities, including gender inequality.
“The pandemic has also increased, globally, the levels of domestic and sex and gender-based violence to unprecedented levels," he said. “More than ever, women and girls need protection and security.” The UNIFIL head also commended NCLW and Claudine Aoun for adopting Lebanon’s National Action Plan to implement the landmark Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. “UNIFIL is proud to support you in your efforts and work with you for a better future for the Lebanese women and girls,” he added. Del Col said UNIFIL has been working with the Social Development Centers and “South Lebanon Sex and Gender-Based Violence Working Groups in the Mission’s area of operations to prevent and respond to incidents of violence. They are doing this by creating safe spaces for victimized women, and by engaging first responders in socio-psychological training."“Violence against women and girls is malice that we as humanity should persevere to eliminate NOW. UNIFIL is committed to the U.N Secretary-General’s UNiTE campaign to End Violence against Women by 2030.” he said. “Protection, security and economic growth of women and girls is at the center of the U.N. for a more peaceful and prosperous world that leaves no one behind.”The global observance for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, under the theme “Orange the World: Unite to End Violence Against Women,” is part of an initiative launched in 2008 and known as the UNiTE campaign to end violence against women and girls. It aims to raise public awareness around the issue as well as increase both policymaking and resources on the issue.

Development and Liberation Bloc pushes for swift formation of specialized government based on French initiative
NNA/25 November ,2020
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Wednesday chaired the Development and Liberation Bloc's regular meeting, which took stock of "the dangerous repercussions that threaten Lebanon in its existence due to the aggravated financial, economic, living, security and health crises, not to mention the political, security, and military transformations in the region."The bloc affirmed that the only national measure that could spare Lebanon all of these repercussions and dangers was to speed up the formation of a specialized government, in accordance with the French initiative.
Moreover, the bloc said that it was surprised by what it described as "unjustified and unprecedented systematic sectarian mobilization campaigns" against the electoral law proposal, which had been submitted by the representatives of the bloc more than a year ago, and which calls for the election of Senate members. "In this context, the bloc affirms its openness to any constructive discussion, away from the provocative populist rhetoric, in order to reach a modern electoral law that secures fair representation and shifts Lebanon from the logic of sectarianism to the logic of a modern civil state," the bloc added.

Families of Lebanese students abroad visit the Grand Serail
NNA/25 November ,2020
Caretaker Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, has mandated PCM’s Secretary-General, Judge Mahmoud Makie, and PM Advisor, Khodor Taleb, to receive today at the Grand Serail, a delegation of families of Lebanese students abroad. The delegation inquired about the mechanism of implementing the law related to requiring banks to disburse ten thousand USD for Lebanese students abroad, and called for the issuance of the relevant implementation decrees. Makie and Taleb promised the delegation to follow up on the file with the relevant official authorities.—PM Press Office

Embassy of Iraq in Beirut: We handed Lebanon a flour donation without interfering in storage and distribution mechanisms
NNA/25 November ,2020
The Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Beirut on Wednesday issued a statement making clear that it had coordinated the delivery of a flour donation to the brotherly Lebanese people by handing it over to the Lebanese official authorities without any interference in the storage and distribution mechanisms.
Upon receival, the Iraqi donation was stored in Beirut's Sports City; however, some sides have claimed that a huge amount of the donated flour was damaged after rainwater flooded the storage area.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's Ministry of Economy and Trade on Wednesday announced in a statement that it has published a copy of the results of the tested Iraqi flour donation samples, after having been conducted by the Industrial Research Institute - Central Laboratory of Grain, Flour, and Bread.
"The samples of flour were taken from the Iraqi donation that has been stored in the warehouses of Beirut's Sports City; they have been taken from different spots, according to the established rules. All of the tested samples have proven to be in compliance with health and nutritional standards, contrary to all rumors," the Ministry of Economy's statement read.
"Every statement contrary to these official, independent, and reliable documents aims to create confusion and comes within the framework of unjustified incitement. The Ministry of Economy and Trade affirms its responsibility and keenness on food safety and hopes that the media will seek facts from its own sources instead of being drawn into groundless slanders," the statement added.

Berri informed about Constitutional Council's decision
NNA/25 November ,2020
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, has been informed about the decision of the Constitutional Council on an appeal for the invalidation of two articles 14 and 15 of Law 192/220, on water. The decision also includes the annulment of two paragraphs "1 and 5" of article 15 and terminates the effects of the dissolution of the law.

Relatives of port explosion victims protest outside Parliament
NNA/25 November ,2020
The relatives of Beirut port explosion victims on Wednesday organized a sit-in in the surroundings of the House of Parliament, in protest against "the system which should assume responsibility for the disaster."
The protesters have called for an honest and transparent probe, noting that otherwise they will "respond later with positions that cross the homeland's border."
 

Lebanon’s central bank may lower obligatory reserves threshold: Source
Reuters/25 November ,2020
Lebanon’s central bank is studying lowering the threshold for obligatory foreign exchange reserves in order to continue subsidizing key imports next year, as critically low reserves dwindle, an official source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh met relevant ministers in Lebanon’s caretaker government on Tuesday and one option under discussion is lowering the required reserve ratio from 15 percent to around 12 percent or 10 percent, the source told Reuters. Foreign exchange reserves currently stand at some $17.9 billion with only $800 million left for subsidizing fuel, wheat and medicine imports until the end of 2020, the source added. Salameh did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment on the discussions or on reserves. On Aug. 27 he put foreign currency reserves at $19.5 billion and obligatory reserves at $17.5 billion. “Starting 2021 you need a plan,” the source said. “There will be a series of meetings. One option is lowering the reserves ratio from 15 percent to 12 percent or 10 percent, along with rationalizing subsidies spending. There is no decision yet.” Crushed by a mountain of debt, Lebanon is facing its worst crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war, ravaging the currency and sending prices soaring. There has been no progress in talks to form a new cabinet after the current government resigned in August following a massive explosion in the port of Beirut. Many Lebanese have been plunged into poverty and are increasingly reliant on subsidized food. Reducing subsidies risks adding to public anger in a nation that was convulsed by protests as the financial crisis came to a head in October 2019. As dollar inflows have dried up, the central bank has provided foreign currency for fuel, wheat and medicine imports at an official peg of 1,507.5 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, well below the street rate that was above 8,000 on Wednesday. The source said some items had already been removed from the subsidized food basket. The meetings would discuss the possibility of raising fuel prices, the source said, adding that imports of medical equipment and vital medicine would continue. Lowering the threshold for obligatory foreign exchange reserves could also be a sensitive issue, as it will draw on hard currency deposits parked by local lenders at the bank. Domestic banks have frozen savers out of their dollar deposits and largely blocked transfers abroad under informal capital controls since late last year due to crisis that prompted a sovereign debt default.

Stress, worry and pain have soared in Lebanon, finds Negative Experience Index
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/25 November ,2020
Lebanese adults experienced high levels of stress and a harsher “emotional whiplash” than any other country between 2018 and 2019, according to a recent global report on negative experiences. “No other country in the world saw negative experiences skyrocket across the board as much as Lebanon. The country’s Negative Experience Index score rose from 30 in 2018 to 48 in 2019 as political and economic turmoil gripped Lebanon,” Gallup’s Negative Experience Index said. The number of Lebanese that experienced sadness more than doubled from 19 percent to 40 percent, the report said. “Nearly twice as many were angry in 2019 as in 2018. Levels of stress, worry and pain also soared to record levels in 2019.” According to the report, the only country with worse “thriving percentages” than Lebanon was Afghanistan, which had no one rate their lives well enough to be considered as thriving.
Protests, Beirut blast, economic struggle
The year 2019 saw unprecedented anti-government protests across Lebanon and was the beginning of one of the worst financial and economic crises in the country’s history. The Lebanese pound began to tumble and has been in a free-fall ever since. Scores for this year have not been released for the Gallup poll, but the coronavirus pandemic and Aug. 4 Beirut blast will surely have more of a negative impact on numbers than last year. Scores of young adults and families have emigrated, seeking a better and more stable future. Economic sanctions by the US against Hezbollah allies for corruption have also hit the country’s banking sector and left investors skeptical of Lebanon’s outlook. In March, Lebanon defaulted on its Eurobond debt for the first time in history, which saw major credit rating agencies downgrade its bonds to junk for the first time in almost 20 years. “The percentage of Lebanese adults experiencing enjoyment, laughing or smiling a lot, or feeling well-rested suffered double-digit decreases,” Gallup’s report said of 2019. “Lebanese adults’ ratings of their lives in general also dropped to a historic low in 2019, as hundreds of thousands of protesters demanded the complete overhaul of the country’s political system. Just 4 percent of Lebanese rated their lives positively enough to be considered ‘thriving’ - the worst score in Gallup’s record for the country and one of the worst ratings in the world in 2019.”

End the political deadlock, support group tells Beirut
Najia Housari/Arab News/November 25/2020
BEIRUT: The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG) has voiced its dismay over delays in the formation of a government in the crisis-racked country and called on Lebanese authorities to implement urgent reforms.
In a statement on Wednesday directed at Lebanon’s leaders, the group warned that as the political stalemate in the country drags on, “the social and economic crisis is getting worse.”
The ISG called on Hassan Diab’s caretaker government to “fully implement its immediate responsibilities,” adding that the “overriding need is for Lebanon’s political leaders to agree to form a government with the capacity and will to implement necessary reforms without further delay.”
Pragmatic legislative steps are needed to alleviate the “economic stress faced by Lebanese families and businesses,” it said.
The ISG was launched in 2013, and includes the UN, along with China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Britain and the US, the EU and the Arab League. In its statement, the group welcomed France’s plan to hold an international conference in support of the Lebanese people by the early December. The forum will be co-chaired by the UN. However, the summit “did not detract from the urgent need for government formation and reforms,” it said. On Wednesday, Reuters quoted “an official source” who claimed that Lebanon’s central bank is considering reducing the level of mandatory foreign exchange reserves in order to continue supporting basic imports next year, with the already low reserves dwindling. According to the source, Riad Salameh, the central bank governor, met with ministers in the caretaker government on Tuesday to discuss cutting the mandatory reserve ratio from 15 percent to 12 percent or even 10 percent. Foreign exchange reserves are currently about $17.9 billion, leaving only $800 million to support imports of fuel, wheat and medicine until the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Lebanese political leaders are seeking to shift blame for the parliamentary deadlock in a dispute illustrated by the exchange of accusatory letters between Nabih Berri’s parliamentary bloc and President Michel Aoun. Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, tweeted on Wednesday: “We are in a vicious circle under the slogan of conditions, counter-conditions, names and counter-names, electoral and presidential bids, and flimsy regional bets, amid a tremendous change in the region.” At a meeting of the joint parliamentary committees on Wednesday to discuss a draft law for the parliamentary elections, representatives of the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces party voiced their objections, claiming the project presented by the Berri parliamentary bloc “fuels the political, sectarian and doctrinal divide because it is based on the idea that Lebanon is one electoral constituency.”
Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan said that “what is being discussed today is a change in the political system, not just an electoral law.”
The Lebanese Parliament is due to hold a plenary session on Friday to discuss a letter sent by Aoun “to enable the state to conduct a forensic accounting audit of the Bank of Lebanon’s accounts.”Alvarez & Marsal, which was carrying out a forensic audit of the central bank’s accounts, said last week it was halting the investigation because it was not being given the information needed to carry out the task. The company’s decision came after the central bank invoked a banking secrecy law to prevent disclosure of information. Aoun had insisted on the forensic audit “so that Lebanon is not seen as a rogue or failed state in the eyes of the international community.”Families of the victims of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion staging a sit-in near the parliament building demanded “a decree equating our martyrs with the martyrs of the army.” Bereaved mothers, some carrying pictures of children killed in the blast, accused former and current heads of state of being responsible for the explosion. Mohammed Choucair, head of the Lebanese Economic Organizations, said that Lebanese authorities “are dealing with this devastating event as if it were a normal accident.”He said that “the only way to save Lebanon and rebuild Beirut is to form a capable and productive government that responds to the aspirations of the citizens.”

For Lebanon's bank, independence should be central
The National/November 25/2020
This week, on the occasion of its Independence Day, Lebanon’s people were reminded of the significance of independence in the integrity of a country’s politics. Scandals continue to lay bare the country’s malaise, including recently at Lebanon’s central bank.
Alvarez & Marsal, the auditing firm tasked with looking into the bank’s records, last week terminated their contract. Lebanon’s outgoing finance minister told The National this happened because the firm was not being given the access it needed. Many view this as an attempt to protect a corrupt cadre in the Lebanese elite. It is another blow to the country’s recovery after a devastating year. A third-party audit of the once-independent bank is a condition for Lebanon securing desperately needed international financial aid. Beyond the immediate need for aid, a non-politicised central bank is important in any country’s stability. In modern economies like Lebanon, they should contain independent experts that set a country’s monetary policy. While politicians still continue to design the general direction of an economic plan, independent central banks determine and implement specific policies.
Modern economies have favoured independent central banks since the late 20th century. Extracting them from politics prevented leaders manipulating monetary policy, which was both destabilising and unethical, especially in the run up to elections.
It is not just in Lebanon that the independence of central banks has been tested. For Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his country’s central bank has served as a scapegoat for government failure, particularly as it struggles through today’s difficult economic environment and the impacts of economic mismanagement. To bring it in-line, Mr Erdogan issued a decree in 2018 allowing him to appoint its leadership. Unsurprisingly, before elections in 2019, the bank approved a well-timed $2 billion package to keep the lira afloat. In Britain, pro-Brexit politician Jacob Rees-Mogg called the former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, who is from Canada, an “enemy of Brexit” and a “failed second-tier Canadian politician”, after Mr Carney warned Brexit might cause a technical recession. In the US, the world has become used to President Donald Trump frequently firing off tweets criticising Federal Reserve forecasts, policies and staff.
In India, opposition politicians have levelled accusations that the government pressured the central bank in New Delhi for funds to encourage poor rural Indians to vote. In South Africa, the central bank is under intense political pressure to increase rate cuts in response to the pandemic.
Even in New Zealand’s thriving liberal democracy, some politicians are asserting themselves on issues previously entirely reserved for the central bank, as pressure builds in the country’s post-pandemic response. The record of central banks has not been perfect. Policy has sometimes been over cautious, hampering the pace of growth. Forecasts have been, on occasion, too pessimistic and, of course, not enough was done to prevent the 2008 financial crisis. But their gradual politicisation in the long term benefits very few. Even in Turkey, figures like the country’s new finance minister are now adopting a strikingly emollient line, ordering officials at the central bank to do “what the law says”. Perhaps an abandonment of the independence of institutions is beginning to backfire. It does not help that the effects of irresponsible monetary policy can take years to manifest. By this stage, there is a risk it will be too late to undo damage. Stable and confident central banks are an ingredient to stable and confident countries. It is an ingredient in short supply in Lebanon, and so it was unsurprising that the atmosphere there during this year’s Independence Day was less than celebratory. Policymakers in Beirut, and elsewhere around the world, must be careful that independence does not apply only to leaders liberating themselves from accountability.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 25-26/2020

UAE-Israel: Nobel Peace Prize nominations for Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Netanyahu
Emily Judd/Al Arabiya English/25 November ,2020
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for spearheading the normalization of relations between the UAE and Israel. Nobel laureate Lord David Trimble, who was awarded the prize in 1998 for his work in promoting peace in Northern Ireland, nominated the two leaders on Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement to Al Arabiya English.The winners of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize are set to be announced next October. The UAE and Israel first announced they would normalize relations on August 13. The peace agreement, known as the Abraham Accords was made official at a trilateral signing ceremony with Gulf country Bahrain at the White House in September. The UAE and Bahrain are the third and fourth Arab states, respectively, to make peace with Israel following Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. Just over one month after the signing ceremony, Sudan announced it will follow suit. US President Donald Trump has said that there are “other countries lined up” in the Middle East to make peace with Israel. Trump, who brokered the Abraham Accords, has already been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. Norwegian lawmaker Christian Tybring-Gjedde put forward Trump’s name on September 9. “It is for his contribution to peace between Israel and the UAE. It is a unique deal,” Tybring-Gjedde told Reuters at the time. Calls for all three leaders to receive the prize
Experts and media personalities previously called for the Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded to all three US, UAE, and Israeli leaders for their accomplishment of the historic agreement. Middle East expert Ghanem Nuseibeh said at the time of the announcement that the honor should be granted to all three leaders. “They all deserve it,” Nuseibeh said in a post on Twitter. US media personality Eric Bolling posted a photo of the three leaders on Twitter with the caption: “A Nobel Prize in 3…2…1?”Netanyahu’s son Yair tweeted that the three leaders should receive the Nobel Peace Prize “for bringing the first peace agreement in the Middle East since 1994.”

Pompeo on transition process: We'll make it work

Arutz Sheva/November 25/2020
Secretary of State says State Department has begun the transition process to the Biden administration.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News in an interview on Tuesday that the State Department has begun the transition process."Today we began the process to see what the GSA's decision was, and will do everything that's required by law. We'll make this work," Pompeo said, referring to the General Services Administration, the federal agency that must sign off on presidential transitions, which on Monday authorized President-elect Joe Biden to formally begin the hand-over. Pompeo added that he has not yet spoken to Tony Blinken, who has been nominated by Biden to serve as Secretary of State. The interview came after the White House gave formal approval for Biden to receive the President's Daily Brief, a collection of classified intelligence reports prepared for the President. The decision means Biden will have access to the latest intelligence about major national security threats around the globe. Despite the GSA notice, President Donald Trump has denied that authorization for preparing the transition to a Biden administration represented a concession of defeat. “What does GSA being allowed to preliminarily work with the Dems have to do with continuing to pursue our various cases on what will go down as the most corrupt election in American political history? We are moving full speed ahead. Will never concede to fake ballots & ‘Dominion,’” Trump tweeted on Monday night.

Twenty one pro-Turkish fighters killed in northern Syria
The Arab Weekly/November 25/2020
DAMASCUS - Twenty-nine people were killed Tuesday by explosives in three separate incidents in parts of north Syria along the border with Turkey, a war monitor said. There was no immediate link between the two car bombings near Al-Bab and in Afrin that killed a total of eight people, or the incident that claimed 21 lives in a minefield. Syria’s civil war has evolved into a complex conflict involving world powers and jihadists since it started with the repression of anti-government protests in 2011. In the north of the country, Turkey and its Syrian proxies control several pockets of territory following three military incursions since 2016 against the ISIS and Kurdish fighters. In north Syria, a group of pro-Turkey militants and mercenaries were killed overnight near the town of Ain Issa when they walked into a minefield laid by Kurdish-led forces, the monitor said.
They were among around 30 Turkey-backed combatants who had been trying to sneak into Muallaq village after sending in drones to bombard it, said the Observatory. But they became ensnared in a minefield laid by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), killing 21 and wounding the rest.
UN humanitarian official Mark Cutts deplored “another horrific car-bomb in Al-Bab today with more civilian casualties”.
“Car-bombs remain a deadly scourge in Syria,” he tweeted.
The Observatory said the Al-Bab bomb was “likely” planted by an ISIS sleeper cell. Al-Bab was one of the western-most strongholds of the territorial “caliphate” that ISIS in 2014 declared in Syria and neighbouring Iraq. The US-backed SDF seized the last scrap of that territorial proto-state from the jihadists in eastern Syria in March last year. But the extremist group continues to carry out attacks through a network of sleeper cells operating in some regions it used to control. Last year, Turkish soldiers and their Syrian proxies seized a 120-kilometre stretch of land from Kurdish fighters on the Syrian side of the border.
Since then, pro-Ankara militants and mercenaries have been stationed to the north of Ain Issa, and sporadic skirmishes have broken out between them and SDF.Syria’s civil war has killed more than 380,000 people since March 2011.
— Car bombs —
In another incident, explosives planted in the car of a police chief on the outskirts of Al-Bab detonated and killed him, two other policemen and two civilians, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Nineteen people were wounded, the Britain-based monitor added.
In the town of Afrin, a car bomb went off near a bakery, killing three people and wounding 16 others. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either blast. There have been a string of attacks in Al-Bab since its capture by Turkish troops from ISIS in 2017. Several have also hit Afrin, which Turkey and its Syrian proxies seized from Kurdish fighters in 2018.

Syria reports Israeli air strikes
Arutz Sheva/November 25/2020
Syrian media report Israeli air strikes near Quneitra and Damascus. No injuries reported. Syrian media reported Israeli air strikes on several targets in the country on Tuesday night. The attacks reportedly took place in the southern Quneitra area and in Jabal Mana', southeast of the capital Damascus. Syrian television reported that the country’s air defense systems were activated and intercepted targets. A military source in Syria said there were no casualties in the attack and that only damage was caused. Last week, IDF fighter jets attacked military targets in Syria belonging to the Iranian Quds Force and the Syrian army. The attack was carried out in response to the placement of explosives near the border fence with Syria in Israeli territory, by a Syrian squad operating under Iranian guidance.

8 pro-Iran fighters dead in airstrikes in Syria

Arutz Sheva/November 25/2020
Airstrikes attributed to Israel against pro-Iranian targets in Syria leave 8 dead, including Hezbollah terrorists. At least eight people were killed in airstrikes in Syria overnight, a Syrian monitor group reported Wednesday morning. According to a report by the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, eight people, all foreign combatants, were killed Tuesday night in bombings attributed to the Israeli Air Force. The dead were members of militias and terrorist groups loyal to Iran, the report said, including the Hezbollah terrorist organization. All eight of the causalities were said to be foreign nationals. The airstrikes took place just before midnight, and targeted pro-Iranian forces in the southern Quneitra area and in Jabal Mana', southeast of the capital Damascus. One of the targets struck was a military center in Ruhaina, on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, operated by a pro-Iranian group known as the Syrian Resistance for the Liberation of the Golan. Other targets included a missile depot in Jabal Mana’, which was destroyed in the strikes, as were vehicles used by the Syrian Resistance for the Liberation of the Golan in Ruhania near the border with Israel. Last week, IDF fighter jets attacked military targets in Syria belonging to the Iranian Quds Force and the Syrian army. The attack was carried out in response to the placement of explosives near the border fence with Syria in Israeli territory, by a Syrian squad operating under Iranian guidance.

US to sanction entities linked to Iran's missile program
Arab News/November 25/2020
WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday will impose Iran-related sanctions on four entities, US Special Envoy for Iran Elliott Abrams said, accusing the entities in China and Russia of activities promoting Iran's missile program. Abrams warned that Washington would continue to apply pressure on Iran, with sanctions expected over the coming weeks and through December and January related to arms, weapons of mass destruction and human rights. "We will have next week, and the week after, and the week after - all through December and January, there will be sanctions that deal with arms, that deal with weapons of mass destruction, that deal with human rights. ... So this will continue on for another couple of months, right until the end," Abrams said during a virtual Beirut Institute event. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have risen since Trump two years ago abandoned the 2015 Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and restored harsh economic sanctions designed to force Tehran into a wider negotiation on curbing its nuclear program, development of ballistic missiles and support for regional proxy forces. President-elect Joe Biden, set to take office on Jan. 20, has said he will return the United States to the nuclear deal, if Iran resumes compliance. Abrams on Wednesday said it would be wrong to assume that a new administration could reverse Iran policy like switching a light and that negotiations to return to the Iran nuclear deal would take many months.

Supreme leader dismisses talks as Iran looks to post-Trump future
DUBAI (Reuters)/November 25/2020
- Iran’s supreme leader dismissed the prospect of new negotiations with the West on Tuesday, even as the Tehran government spoke optimistically about the return of foreign companies in “the absence of Trump” and his sanctions. President-elect Joe Biden’s victory has raised the possibility that the United States could rejoin a deal Iran reached with world powers in 2015, under which sanctions were lifted in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme. President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018, and Tehran responded by scaling down its compliance.
Biden’s staff says the former vice president aims to restore the deal provided that Iran again abides by it. But diplomats and analysts have also said this was unlikely to happen overnight, as the adversaries would both want additional commitments.
Washington wants Iran to curb missile programmes which are not covered by the nuclear deal, and reduce its interventions in the Middle East. Iran has long said it will not negotiate over missiles, and no talks can begin unless Washington returns to the nuclear agreement and lifts sanctions unconditionally.
In remarks reported by state television on Tuesday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed scepticism about the entire project of negotiating with the West. “We once tried the path of having the sanctions lifted and negotiated several years, but this got us nowhere,” he said.
“They interfere in regional affairs, they tell us not to intervene. And while Britain and France have nuclear missiles, they tell us not to have missiles. What does it have to do with you? You should first correct yourselves.”
Khamenei has long criticised negotiations with the West. Nevertheless, he gave his ultimate blessing to the nuclear agreement when it was reached.
COMPANIES WILL RETURN, SPOKESMAN SAYS
The U.S. sanctions restored under Trump have since hit Iran’s economy hard, undermining pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani’s argument that opening the country up to the world would improve the quality of life.
Government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Tuesday that foreign companies were already preparing to return.
“Recently, contacts about opening offices and the presence of foreign companies in Iran have increased,” Rabiei told a news conference that was streamed live on a government website.
“Certainly, with the... lifting of the oppressive sanctions and the absence of Trump, the presence of foreign companies and a willingness to invest in Iran will increase.” A European diplomat said companies were still wary of a lack of transparency in Iran and that Biden lifting sanctions would not be enough to lure them back. “There’s just no benefit for a major company to play around in a market with so little financial transparency. No compliance officer is going to sanction such a move.”
*Reporting by Dubai newsroom; additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Editing by Nick Macfie

Iran’s parliament demands construction of heavy water reactor
The Times Of ISreal/Agencies/November 25/2020
In defiance of international sanctions on nuclear program and amid European criticism, bill also calls for operating metal uranium production plant.
Iran’s parliament on Tuesday passed a bill requiring the country’s atomic agency to build a new heavy water reactor and operate a metal uranium production plant as part of efforts to challenge international sanctions on its nuclear program, state media reported.
The parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission spokesman, Abolfazl Amouei, was quoted by various Iranian news outlets as saying the bill was officially called “Strategic Action to Lift Sanctions.” He said the law requires the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to redesign and optimize a new 40-megawatt heavy water reactor in Arak within four months. Since US President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers and began imposing crushing economic sanctions on Tehran, the Islamic Republic has retaliated by producing more and more highly enriched fissile material in violation of the agreement, getting closer and closer to a bomb, while still leaving room for a return to negotiations. The UN’s atomic watchdog agency said earlier this month that Iran continues to increase its stockpile of low-enriched uranium far beyond the limits set in the accord and to enrich it to a greater purity than permitted. German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Andrea Sasse said this week that Iran was systematically violating the accord, ahead of a meeting between the German, French and British foreign ministers on the matters.
US President-elect Joe Biden has said he hopes to return the US to the accord, under which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Biden has argued that Trump’s withdrawal from the deal signaled to American allies that the US could not be trusted to stick to agreements and that while the accord may not have been perfect, it had been effective at blocking Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon. Taking a step back from the brink, Iran’s foreign minister said last week that Tehran was willing to return to the deal if Biden lifts sanctions on Iran after entering the White House.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned against reengaging with Iran on the nuclear deal, saying, “There can be no going back to the previous nuclear agreement. We must stick to an uncompromising policy of ensuring that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons.”
His comments echoed his bitter opposition to the deal when it was being negotiated by the Obama administration, and contrast starkly with Biden’s pledge to “rejoin” the accord.

Iranian-Swedish scientist detained in Iran facing imminent execution, warns wife
Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya English/Published: 25 November ,2020 GST
Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian scientist under arrest in Iran on espionage charges since 2016, is facing imminent execution, his wife warned on Tuesday. Swedish media cited Vida Mehrannia as saying Djalili had told her in a short phone call Tuesday morning that he is going to be executed soon.
Mehrannia added her husband told her authorities plan to transfer him from Tehran’s Evin prison to Rajaei-Shahr prison in the city of Karaj “in the next few days” to enforce the death sentence on him. Djalali, a medical doctor and lecturer at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, was arrested on espionage charges in April 2016 while visiting Iran to attend a scientific conference. He was sentenced to death the following year. In December 2017, Iran’s state television aired Djalali’s alleged confessions to working with the Israeli Mossad. Djalali and his family deny the charges and have said the 49-year-old scientist was pressured into making false confessions. Following the reports, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde tweeted that she had spoken to her Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif about Djalali. “Sweden condemns the death penalty and works to ensure that the verdict against Djalali is not enforced,” Linde wrote on Twitter. In response, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said: “Unfortunately, the Swedish authorities’ information on the situation of Mr. Ahmadreza Djalali, who is in prison due to security crimes, is incomplete and incorrect.” “As Foreign Minister Zarif explained to Ms. Linde, Iran’s judiciary is independent and any meddling in the issuance or execution of judicial rulings is unacceptable,” state media quoted Khatibzadeh as saying late on Tuesday. A number of dual and foreign nationals are currently under arrest in Iran besides Djalali. Critics of the Iranian regime accuse Tehran of arresting foreign nationals on trumped-up charges and using them as hostages to try to win concessions from other countries.

Iran releases Australian-British academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert in prisoner swap
Yaghoub Fazeli/Al Arabiya English/Published: 25 November ,2020
Iran has released Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an Australian-British academic jailed in Iran for espionage, in exchange for the release of three Iranians detained abroad, the official IRIB news agency reported on Wednesday.
Iran has exchanged “Zionist spy” Moore-Gilbert with three Iranians who were arrested abroad for violating sanctions on Iran, IRIB said. IRIB did not say in which country the three Iranians, who it described as “economic activists,” were detained. Moore-Gilbert was arrested in Iran in 2018 and had been serving a 10-year sentence on espionage charges, which she rejects.

Will Trump attack Iran? The IDF prepares
Arutz Sheva/November 25/2020
Political echelon instructs military to be prepared for scenario in which President Trump strikes Iran in his last days in office. The political echelon has instructed the IDF to prepare for a scenario of US action against Iran before the departure of President Donald Trump from the White House in January. Senior Israeli officials involved in the matter told Walla's political correspondent Barak Ravid that the political echelon's directive to the military did not come because of information or an estimate that the Trump administration would act against Iran, but more because of the sensitive period in the weeks leading up to the January 20 change of government in Washington. Defense Minister Benny Gantz has spoken twice in the past two weeks with Acting US Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. These talks dealt with the Iranian issue, the situation in Syria and the security memorandum of understanding between Israel and the United States. According to the Walla report, if the Trump administration acts against Iran, Israel is expected to receive advance warning of the action. However, due to the great uncertainty, the army has been instructed to ensure that Israel's defense systems are ready for any scenario which may arise from a US attack on Iran. Israel fears that in the event of an American attack, the Iranians may retaliate by attacking Israel through the pro-Iranian militias in Syria or the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon.

US President Trump pardons Michael Flynn, jailed for lying to FBI about Russia
Joseph Haboush/Al Arabiya English/Published: 25 November ,2020
US President Donald Trump Wednesday pardoned his former national security adviser, who was convicted during the Russia investigation connected to Trump’s 2016 election campaign. “It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!” Trump tweeted. It had been reported earlier this week that the US president would make the move before his term ends. Flynn was one of the senior Trump associates convicted after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI for his communication with Russia. Trump himself has repeatedly spoken warmly about Flynn, even though special counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors once praised him as a model cooperator in their probe into ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign. The pardon is the final step in a case defined by twists and turns over the last year after the Justice Department abruptly move to dismiss the case, insisting that Flynn should have never been interviewed by the FBI in the first place. The pardon spares Flynn the possibility of any prison sentence, which Sullivan could potentially have imposed had he ultimately decided to reject the Justice Department’s dismissal request. That request was made in May after a review of the case by a federal prosecutor from St. Louis who had been specially appointed by Attorney General William Barr. Flynn acknowledged lying during the FBI interview by saying he had not discussed with the then-Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, sanctions that had just been imposed on Russia for election interference by the outgoing Obama administration. During that conversation, Flynn urged Kislyak for Russia to be “even-keeled” in response to the punitive measures and assured him “we can have a better conversation” about relations between the two countries after Trump became president.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 25-26/2020

Getting Erdogan’s Turkey Right: Reflections on Ambassador Jeffrey’s Exit Interview
Aykan Erdemir/FDD/November 25/2020
In a recent exit interview with Defense One, Ambassador James F. Jeffrey, the outgoing special representative for Syria engagement, asserted that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey poses challenges to the United States not because of his iron-fisted rule, but because Turkey’s democratic system forces him to compromise with some unsavory partners. A closer look at Erdogan’s political career, however, proves Jeffrey wrong: Erdogan intensified his anti-Western policies following his unprecedented consolidation of power and his dismantling of any restraints on his arbitrary rule.
In the interview, part of which was posted in a Twitter thread by Defense One’s Senior National Security Correspondent Katie Bo Williams, Jeffrey rates Turkey as “the most difficult” of the “A-level” problems facing projected President-elect Joe Biden. The retiring U.S. envoy recognizes that Erdogan “is a particularly difficult diplomatic partner,” but then dissents from the widespread global skepticism of Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian and belligerent leader: “One of the arguments is, [Erdogan] can’t be an ally because [Turkey is] not a democracy. Frankly, he would be easier to deal with if he wasn’t the leader of a democratic country because he needs enough votes in parliament and that means has to collect some of them [from people] considerably more nationalistic and extreme than he is to stay in power.”
These contrarian arguments – coming from a senior career diplomat with in-depth experience in the Middle East and the Balkans, including ambassadorial posts in Turkey, Iraq, and Albania – merit close attention. What Jeffrey gets right is that Erdogan’s dwindling political fortunes – corruption probes into his family and cronies, splits with his tactical allies, and betrayal by his former-ally-turned-archnemesis Fethullah Gülen – have ultimately pushed the Turkish president into an alliance with Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Action Party as well as other ultranationalist figures in the country’s security establishment.
Jeffrey errs, however, in assuming that Erdogan would have remained a reasonably cooperative ally if he did not have to share power and thus compromise with others in Turkey’s political spectrum. Such an assumption would have been valid if Erdogan had a positive track record as an ally before cutting a deal with the far right.
Yet Erdogan’s actions between 2010 and 2014, at the height of his power, with a comfortable majority in parliament and full control over Turkey’s courts and media, disprove Jeffrey’s proposition. In May 2010, Erdogan signed 17 agreements with the Kremlin, awarding Turkey’s first nuclear reactor power plant project to Russia and furthering plans for a pipeline from Russia. In January 2012, there were reports that Turkey replaced Iran as the largest donor to Hamas. In September 2013, despite warnings from the United States and other NATO allies, Ankara agreed to a $4 billion deal to buy an air defense system from a sanctioned Chinese company. In December 2013, a graft probe exposed Erdogan and his ministers for helping Iran evade U.S. nuclear sanctions to the tune of $20 billion – the biggest sanctions-evasion scheme in recent history – by offering Halkbank, Turkey’s second-largest public lender, majority-owned by the Turkish government, to the service of Tehran’s ringleaders.
What explains Erdogan’s increasingly rogue behavior is not his need to share power with others in what Jeffrey considers to be a “democratic country,” but precisely Erdogan’s systematic dismantling of democratic institutions. Since his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) rose to power in 2002, Erdogan has consolidated his rule by sidelining any rivals who pose a threat within his party and eliminating all checks and balances in the country.
The more Erdogan has eroded Turkey’s separation of powers by amassing executive, legislative, and judicial powers in the office of the presidency, the more aggressive and reckless he has become. Erdogan’s tactical turn to the far right has resulted in a particularly toxic mix of Islamism and ultranationalism, but he was already on a crash course with the West long before that.
Jeffrey is not alone in misreading Erdogan’s core values and ambitions. As late as the mass protests that rocked the AKP government in 2013 and the brutal crackdown that followed, then-President Barack Obama regarded Erdogan as a moderate Muslim democrat and a potential role model for Muslim leaders. It is hard to judge Obama when millions of Turkish citizens, including liberals, Kurds, and religious minorities, as well as EU officials, also mistook Erdogan for a well-meaning reformer as late as 2013. What is more difficult to understand is that more than seven years after a global recognition of Erdogan’s dark trajectory, Jeffrey still predicates Erdogan’s rogue behavior on his need to share power as “the leader of a democratic country.”
It is important to remember that Erdogan has taken nearly two decades to monopolize power by eroding all the institutional restraints in one of the most democratic and secular Muslim-majority polities in the world. He has also been busy with his social engineering to craft a more radical public that would back his aggressive policies, putting Ankara on a crash course with its NATO allies. To assume that an unrestrained Erdogan would not have turned to China, Iran, and Russia or harbored Hamas and other jihadist organizations would be a misreading not only of Turkey’s recent history, but also of Erdogan’s ambitions, which he frequently lays out in the open.
*Aykan Erdemir is a former member of the Turkish parliament and senior director of the Turkey Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Aykan and the Turkey Program, please subscribe HERE. Follow Aykan on Twitter at @aykan_erdemir. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Iran’s close connections to Al-Qaeda should surprise no one
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/November 25/2020
According to a recent report in The New York Times, which cited information from intelligence officials, Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, also known as Abu Mohammed Al-Masri, is dead. He was reportedly gunned down, at the behest of the US, by two Israeli operatives in the streets of Tehran on Aug. 7 along with his daughter, the widow of former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s son, Hamza.
Al-Masri, who would more than likely have been the successor to Al-Qaeda’s current leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, was accused of taking part in the bombings of two US embassies in Africa in 1998. Iranian authorities attempted to cover up his death because they do not want it to be known that they have any links to Al-Qaeda. Tehran also wants to maintain its narrative, and misconception, that Iran’s Shiite government is an enemy of Sunni extremist groups.
Some people were surprised that Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command was living in Iran. However, the country’s connections to the terrorist organization should not come as a surprise to anyone, for several reasons. Even though the regime is known to sponsor, support and arm Shiite militias and terror groups, it has a long history of forming alliances with nonreligious or extremist Sunni groups with which it shares common strategic interests. Iran’s links with the communist regimes of North Korea and Venezuela are prominent examples.
Iran and Al-Qaeda share several common interests. Tehran is attracted to the organization because they both view America as their main enemy, and the group has carried out several successful terrorist attacks against the US. Al-Qaeda is also a threat to Gulf states which Iran views as regional rivals. The theocratic Iranian establishment most likely provided Al-Masri with the resources to carry out his campaigns against the US and Gulf states.
In addition, Al-Qaeda’s modus operandi is anchored in efforts to destabilize the region and create chaos, which is a ripe environment that the Iranian regime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies and militia groups can exploit and prosper from.
The US government has targeted the IRGC with sanctions and designated it as a foreign terrorist organization. “The IRGC actively participates in, finances and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft,” said US President Donald Trump. “The IRGC is the Iranian government’s primary means of directing and implementing its global terrorist campaign.”
Al-Qaeda also provides the Iranian authorities with the opportunity to increase their military presence and influence in other countries, such as Iraq, on the pretext of fighting against terrorist groups. This is why Al-Qaeda has carried out attacks in many countries but has never targeted Iran.
More importantly, there exists an abundance of evidence linking Iran to Al-Qaeda. A former spokesman for the IRGC, Said Qasemi, shared a surprising revelation when he stated that the Iranian government sent agents to Bosnia and Herzegovina to train Al-Qaeda members. He added that Tehran’s operatives hid their identity by posing as humanitarian workers for Iran’s Red Crescent. Another Iranian official, Hossein Allahkaram, who is believed to be one of the operatives sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina, confirmed this, saying: “There used to be an Al-Qaeda branch in Bosnia and Herzegovina … They were connected to us in a number of ways. Even though they were training within their own base, when they engaged in weapons training they joined us in various activities.”
In addition, a trove of 470,000 documents released by the CIA in late 2017 pointed to close ties between the Iranian regime and Al-Qaeda. The terror group’s former leader, Osama bin Laden, advised his followers to respect the Iranian government and wrote that Iran was the organization’s “main artery for funds, personnel and communication.”
Three Iranian institutions have long been instrumental in helping Al-Qaeda: The IRGC, its elite Quds Force and the Intelligence Ministry.
For more sophisticated training, Al-Qaeda members traveled to Lebanon. According to the documents, Iran provided them with “money and arms and everything they need, and offered them training in Hezbollah camps in Lebanon, in return for striking American interests in Saudi Arabia.”
It is likely that three Iranian institutions have long been instrumental in helping Al-Qaeda: The IRGC, its elite Quds Force and the Intelligence Ministry.
Iran was also implicated in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, before which Tehran allowed Al-Qaeda operatives to travel through the country without visas or passports. Robust evidence, including a US federal court ruling, suggests that “Iran furnished material and direct support for the 9/11 terrorists.” Eight of the hijackers passed through Iran before coming to the US. Tehran provided funding, logistical support and ammunition to Al-Qaeda leaders, and sheltered several of them, in exchange for attacks on US interests. The evidence proves Iran’s alliance and friendship with Al-Qaeda, and is indisputable.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Do not expect substantive shifts in policy on Arab issues
Ray Hanania/Arab News/November 25/2020
If there is one thing we will remember about outgoing Secretary of State Michael Pompeo it is that he wore his heart on his sleeve. His “in-your-face” attitude and a tendency not to hold back fueled concerns among many Arab activist groups about his long-term goals.
When Pompeo spoke, there was no risk of misunderstanding how he felt about an issue. He never held back in expressing his strong feelings about the leadership of Iran, for example, nor did he mute his gushing support for Israel’s government.
His successor is expected to adopt a different style, one that might make it easier to advance US foreign policy goals. President-elect Joe Biden has said he will nominate Tony Blinken, a pro-Israel liberal, to serve as the new secretary of state. This is not surprising, considering that Blinken, who served as a National Security Council staffer under President Bill Clinton, was Biden’s spokesman on foreign policy during the final months of the election campaign.
Arabs wondering how Washington’s approach to the Middle East might change under Biden need not wonder too long if they recognize that the differences between Pompeo and Blinken come down not to matters of policy but to process.
Blinken will pursue almost all of the same goals as Pompeo but will do so in a less outlandish fashion that is more subtle, more nuanced and more considerate of opinions in the Arab world. But the end result will basically be the same, regardless of Biden’s six-page “Agenda for the Arab American Community,” which is on his official website.
One thing we know for sure, from Biden’s campaign speeches and by reading that agenda, is that Blinken will design for the new president a softer approach to Iran that is less combative. That shift will not be welcomed by a moderate Arab world that, rightly, views Iran as an extremist threat.
We also know that Blinken will be a strong champion of Israel. He might not have openly advocated for many of the policies Trump rammed through during the final two years of his administration, but Blinken supports many of them. In fact, some might argue that his appointment heralds a pro-Israel policy that is much stronger than Trump’s but more subtle in its approach.
Blinken believes the US Embassy belongs in Jerusalem, not in Tel Aviv, and he has no plans to change that. This recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was a given under prior administrations. The only reason the embassy was not moved there until Trump came along was fear that it might upset the apple cart and cause serious problems in the Middle East. Trump proved that assumption to be wrong in 2018 when he ordered the relocation of the embassy. But he did not do it to appease the Israelis or Jewish voters in the US — he did it to reinforce his popularity among Evangelical Christians, a significant voter base.
Arabs might point to Biden’s agenda for Arab Americans in much the same way they pointed to the “Cairo speech” given by former President Barack Obama in 2009. But the truth is that when you carefully read them both, they hold out the hope of a more pleasant environment while offering little in the way of real substance to achieve it.
In other words, telling Arabs that they cared about them was more than enough to gain their support, without having to actually do anything. For all of the bluster of Obama’s Cairo speech, it was heavy in pleasing rhetoric but light in terms of significant policy change.
Both Biden and Obama have spoken in strong terms about respecting the civil rights of Muslims. Obama proposed a new beginning in the relationship between the US and Muslims around the world, based upon mutual interests and mutual respect. Specifically, he vowed that his administration would seek a more comprehensive engagement with Muslim-majority countries.
As a result, Arabs — who were and are often the target of discriminatory policies — were willing to believe that things could change not only in terms of human rights, but in terms of policy decisions affecting the Middle East.
As we know, that did not really happen during the Obama administration. The hopes and dreams of Arabs that were fueled by his speech did not translate into changes that improved the everyday lives of the people of the Middle East or addressed ways of ending the conflicts there.
Arabs are making the same mistake by allowing an infatuation with Biden’s agenda to fuel a belief that somehow he will advance the cause of establishing a Palestinian state. If anything, his promises only set Arabs up for another major disappointment. He cannot meet the expectations of Arabs or appease them because his own party, the Democrats, have defined the American policies that support Israel.
Condemning Israel’s settlements, which Obama often did, is not the same as punishing a regime for expanding illegal settlements built on land stolen from Christian and Muslim Palestinians.
Obama did not take any real action to punish Israel for anything, except perhaps on one occasion when he refused to veto a UN Security Council resolution critical of Israel. It is easy to forget that in December 2016, he abstained from blocking a resolution that condemned Israel for its illegal settlement activity. He faced criticism for failing to prevent approval of the resolution, but in truth it did not matter because it achieved nothing other than adding more empty words to a book that is filled with worthless rhetoric condemning Israel’s actions. Months before allowing the resolution to pass, Obama approved the largest military aid package in Israel’s history, worth $38 billion. Telling Arabs that they cared about them was more than enough to gain their support, without having to actually do anything.
Israelis might not have liked the fact that Obama failed to act in the UN in defense of their illegal settlement policies, but it is not the same as implementing policies with consequences for settlement expansion. No consequences were imposed, so the resolution was nothing more than an empty gesture.
Our weakness as Arabs is that we are often too emotional. We are easily swayed by beautiful words — which is one reason why we love poetry, I suppose. Allowing feelings of euphoria to create a false sense of hope and justice when we face substantive challenges, such as the Palestinian cause, is a flaw we should prepare to experience once again. Other than some sympathetic words, do not expect much in the way of substantive policy changes from the new administration in Washington when it comes to issues such as Palestine or punishing Israel for military abuses during its occupation of the West Bank.
*Ray Hanania is an award-winning former Chicago City Hall political reporter and columnist. He can be reached on his personal website at www.Hanania.com. Twitter: @RayHanania