English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 01/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
”Let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love
First Letter of John 04/07-21/:”Let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.”
 

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 01/2020

The Conflict In Lebanon Is An Existential Confrontation between Death and Life Cultures/Elias Bejjani/August 30/2020
Macron Lands in Beirut, Says Lebanese and French are 'Brothers'
Macron Starts Lebanon Trip by Meeting Fairuz
Fairuz: The Arab World's Most Celebrated Living Voice
Macron says he will ensure new PM will implement reform in Lebanon
New PM-designate Vows to Swiftly Form Reform-Oriented Govt
Mustafa Adib, Lebanon's New PM-designate
Lebanon: From Deadly Explosion to New PM
Adib Visits Gemmayzeh after Designation, Confronted by Residents, Activists
Beirut residents unconvinced by Lebanon’s new prime minister-designate
Sawwan Issues 5 New Arrest Warrants over Beirut Blast
'Who Was That?': PM-Designate Inspects Blast-Hit Beirut District
Berri Urges Change to Lebanon's Sectarian System
Lebanon Loses Defender of Heritage Architecture Lady Cochrane
EU Delivers Additional Emergency Assistance to Lebanon
Lebanon: Founded 100 Years Ago as Greater Lebanon
Turning 100: Lebanon, a Nation Branded by Upheaval, Crises
Lebanon to Mark Dismal Centenary amid Fears for Survival
World Bank: Lebanon Blast Caused Damage Up to $4.6 Billion
STL to Hold 2nd Status Conference in Hamadeh-Murr-Hawi Case
MTV Banned from Covering Consultations at Baabda
Arab world’s 1st women-only motorbike taxi launched by mother-daughter duo in Lebanon

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 30-31/2020

Iran says to fight U.S. suit to seize $1.7 billion held by Deutsche Boerse unit
UAE-Israel deal will not come at expense of Palestinian cause: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince
Direct flights from UAE to Israel possible by end of 2020: Israeli spokesperson
Israeli strikes on military targets south of Damascus kill five fighters: Report
US vetoes UN resolution on foreign militants, including detainees in Syria, Iraq
Sixth phase of Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indian citizens from Gulf begins
Venezuela’s Maduro pardons more than 100 opposition lawmakers
 

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 01/2020

Hamas Proxy Launches Incendiary Balloons at Israel, Again/Joe Truzman/David May/FDD's Long War Journal/August 31/2020
Iran and Turkey sing from the same sheet of music against Israel-UAE rapprochement/Behnam Ben Taleblu/Aykan Erdemir/The Hill/August 31/2020
Lessons for the Pacific From The European Deterrence Initiative/Bradley Bowman/Maj Scott D. Adamson/Breaking Defense/August 31/2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 01/2020
The Conflict In Lebanon Is An Existential Confrontation between Death and Life Cultures
*Hezbollah is a devastating cancer that is systematically devouring Lebanon and every thing that is Lebanese piece by piece in all domains and on all levels.
Elias Bejjani/August 30/2020
الصراع الوجودي في لبنان هو بين ثقافتي الموت والحياة. حزب الله الإرهابي هو ثقافة الموت وباقي كل اللبنانيين هم ثقافة الحياة
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/89957/elias-bejjani-the-conflict-in-lebanon-is-an-existential-confrontation-between-death-and-life-cultures/
The main and core current conflict in the Iranian occupied Lebanon is an extremely and dire serious existential confrontation between two cultures and two educations.
The Life education-culture on one side, and the death education-culture on the other side.
The majority of the Lebanese people from all walks of live, all religious denominations, all ethnicities and all Lebanese multi-cultural fabrics adore the life education-culture and adore it, while the Iranian Terrorist-Jihadist Hezbollah is trying by all means of terrorism and barbarism to force on Lebanon and on its peace loving people the Iranian Mullahs’ death education-culture life style.
This is why Hezbollah is alienated, rejected, feared and hated by the majority of the Lebanese people who adore life and want to live and let everybody else do so.
Practicality and in actuality Hezbollah is a devastating cancer that is systematically devouring Lebanon and every thing that is Lebanese piece by piece in all domains and on all levels.
Hezbollah does not only occupy Lebanon and is dragging by force and intimidation its Multi-cultural people to the stone ages, but at the same time is literally kidnapping its own Muslim Shiite Lebanese community and taking it as a hostage through jihad doctrinarian, fanaticism, hatred and war mentality.
Therefore this terrorist Iranian armed Jihadist Militia does not represent the Lebanese Shiite community, and most importantly is not from the Lebanese ethnically diversified social fabric.
In conclusion, Hezbollah is an existential threat to Lebanon’s people in almost every domain including identity, history, lifestyle, future, civilization, peace, stability and relations with each and every country in the entire world.

Macron Lands in Beirut, Says Lebanese and French are 'Brothers'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/2020
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beirut Monday for his second visit since a deadly explosion on August 4 shook the nation and fueled a drive for political change. Macron, who first flew to Beirut only two days after the blast, arrived at 9 pm (1800 GMT) for a two-day visit that will include a ceremony marking the centenary of Greater Lebanon. He was welcomed at the airport by President Michel Aoun and an official Lebanese delegation. In an Arabic-language tweet posted as Macron's plane touched down in Beirut, the French leader said: "I tell the Lebanese that they are like brothers to the French. Here I am returning to Beirut to demonstrate the developments regarding the urgent aid and to work together on preparing the appropriate circumstances for reconstruction and stability." Speaking to reporters, Macron called for the swift formation of a government to lead crisis-hit Lebanon, following the designation of a new prime minister. He said a new line-up should be agreed "as soon as possible" to rescue the country, which is reeling from the deadly August 4 port explosion, an economic collapse and the coronavirus pandemic.

Macron Starts Lebanon Trip by Meeting Fairuz
Associated Press/Naharnet/August 31/2020
French President Emmanuel Macron returned to Lebanon on Monday, a country in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, for a two-day visit and a schedule packed with events and political talks aimed at charting a way out for the country.
But his first meeting wasn't with the new prime minister-designate appointed hours earlier, nor with the country's feuding politicians or civil society activists. Macron instead chose to see Lebanon's No. 1 diva Fairuz, a national symbol and one of the rare figures in Lebanon beloved and respected across the country.
The reclusive singer, arguably the most well-known and respected in the Arab world, is now 86 years old and has rarely been seen in public in recent years. But many Lebanese still start their day listening to her songs -- usually with a good dose of nostalgia -- and continue to see her as a unifying figure in a country plagued with conflict.
The meeting with Fairuz is a personal gesture from Macron, whose deep engagement with Lebanon has been denounced by his critics as a neocolonialist foray into a former French protectorate. Macron's defenders, however, including Beirut residents enraged at their own leaders, have praised him for visiting gutted neighborhoods in the wake of the Aug. 4 explosion that tore through their capital. Following his arrival at Beirut airport Monday night, Macron went straight to visit Fairuz at her home in Rabieh, north of Beirut, away from the media upon her request. A few activists picketed Macron on his way in, holding banners urging him to reject the new prime minister-designate appointed hours earlier. Many Lebanese expressed envy on social media that Macron will get to see Fairuz. Her songs accompanied the Lebanese during 15 years of civil war that ended in 1990 and continue to provide solace in difficult times. Her song, "Li Beirut," or "For Beirut," has repeatedly provided the soundtrack for a grieving nation, most recently following the explosion. Macron was the first foreign leader to visit Lebanon -- he came two days after the explosion -- walking through the devastated streets of Beirut when no Lebanese official did. He promised to return Sept. 1, to take part in events marking Lebanon's centennial. Upon leaving Lebanon several weeks ago, he tweeted in Arabic: "I love you Lebanon," the words of a famous Fairuz song.
Macron's visit to Fairuz on Monday night was received with mixed feelings, with some Lebanese activists praising it as a snub and a message for Lebanon's leaders, while others described it as a meaningless gesture. Macron is also planning to plant a cedar tree marking 100 years of Lebanese nationhood.
"I honestly don't see the point of the French president's visit to Fairuz, nor the celebratory title of Lebanon's 100th anniversary. Seriously, we have more pressuring issues to worry about and Lebanese really don't want to be celebrating," wrote journalist Luna Safwan on Twitter.
Another journalist, Nadim Koteich, wrote that the Fairuz visit and the Cedar planting are an unwelcome "cliche." Fairuz, whose real name is Nohad Haddad, is a well known figure in France. She has had several concerts in the country, including at the Olympia concert venue in 1979, where she sang "Paris, Oh Flower of Freedom," and in one of Paris' biggest concert halls, the Bercy Palace, in 1988.

Fairuz: The Arab World's Most Celebrated Living Voice
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/2020
The Arab world's last living music legend Fairuz, who French president Emmanuel Macron is to visit Monday in Beirut, is a rare symbol of national unity in crisis-hit Lebanon. Since the death of Egyptian diva Umm Kulthum in 1975, no Arab singer has been so profoundly venerated as 85-year-old Fairuz -- a stage name that means "turquoise" in Arabic. For decades, she captivated audiences everywhere from her native Beirut to Las Vegas, including the grand Olympia in Paris and the Royal Albert Hall in London. She has sung of love, Lebanon and the Palestinian cause, in ballads that have revolutionised Middle Eastern music. Fairuz is "certainly one of the greatest Arab singers of the 20th century," expert in Middle Eastern music Virginia Danielson told the New York Times in 1999. When she sang, she appeared as if in a trance: eyes glazed over, expression stoic, small smiles flashing quickly across her face. "If you look at my face while I am singing, you will see that I am not there, I am not in the place," she told the New York Times in a rare interview. "I feel art is like prayer."Fairuz has been dubbed "our ambassador to the stars" by her compatriots -- not just for her celestial voice, but because she is a rare symbol of unity for a country bitterly divided by a 15-year civil war.
- 'I love you, oh Lebanon' -
Born Nouhad Haddad in 1934 to a working class Christian family, she studied at the national music conservatory as a teenager. During her time with the Lebanese state radio choir, composer Halim al-Roumi nicknamed her Fairuz and introduced her to composer Assi Rahbani, whom she married in 1955. Fairuz, Assi, and his brother Mansour revolutionised traditional Arabic music by merging classical Western, Russian and Latin elements with eastern rhythms and a modern orchestra. Fairuz shot to fame after her first performance at the Baalbeck International Festival in 1957. Her reign as the queen of Arabic music was partly thanks to her championing the Palestinian cause, including "Sanarjaou Yawman" or "We Shall Return One Day", an elegy to Palestinians exiled by the creation of Israel in 1948. The star is an immortal icon in her native Lebanon. Many of her most popular songs are nostalgic odes to pastoral times. Others are poems by the likes of Lebanese legends Gibran Khalil Gibran and Said Aql that are set to music. She has largely disappeared from public life in recent years, but her soaring voice remains ubiquitous, blaring every morning from radios in street cafes and taxis. "When you look at Lebanon now, you see that it bears no resemblance to the Lebanon I sing about, so when we miss it, we look for it through the songs," the diva told the New York Times. Fairuz also won national acclaim for remaining in Lebanon throughout the country's civil war from 1975 to 1990, and for refusing to side with one faction over anothe. Tens of thousands of people swarmed her first post-war concert, in 1994 in Beirut's downtown. "I love you, oh Lebanon, my country, I love you. Your north, your south, your valley, I love you," she croons in one of her most well-known songs.
- Political, family controversies -
Fairuz is famously protective of her personal life.
"When she wants to, she can be really funny. She's also a distinguished chef. Very humble, she loves serving her guests herself," journalist Doha Chams, her press officer, told AFP. But she hates "the invasion of her private life".Fairuz had four children with husband Assi Rahbani, who died in 1986.
Their daughter Layal died at a young age of a brain haemorrhage, their son Hali is disabled, and Rima, the youngest, films and produces her mother's concerts. Her eldest son, Ziad, followed in the footsteps of his father and uncle as a musician and composer. Fairuz worked closely with Ziad -- known as a troubled, but talented artist -- to compose songs with a jazz influence.The Lebanese star's recent past has been marked by a string of family and political controversies. In 2008, when Lebanese political factions were fiercely divided over support for the regime in neighbouring Syria, Fairuz performed in Damascus. Two years later, the Lebanese judiciary prevented her from singing tunes co-written by the Rahbani brothers without the authorisation of the sons of her brother-in-law Mansour. Fairuz spent several years without new material until 2017, when her daughter Rima produced her last album, "Bibali".

Macron says he will ensure new PM will implement reform in Lebanon
Reuters, Beirut/Tuesday 01 September 2020
France’s President Emmanuel Macron said he would press for reforms aimed at dragging Lebanon out of a financial abyss as he began a visit to Beirut hours after Lebanese leaders named diplomat Mustapha Adib new PM on Monday under French pressure. With its economy in deep crisis, a swathe of Beirut in tatters following a huge explosion on August 4, and sectarian tensions rising, Lebanon is facing the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-90 civil war. Macron was met at the airport by President Michel Aoun as the French leader made his second visit in less than a month. “So President, it’s been a busy day, hasn’t it,” Macron told Aoun. Macron told reporters said he wanted to “ensure that the government that is formed will implement the necessary reforms.”Foreign donors say Lebanon must tackle corruption and waste before they release financial support.
Senior Lebanese officials said Macron’s mediation was essential in securing agreement on a new prime minister in the 48 hours before consensus emerged on Adib, the former ambassador to Germany. Politicians had been deadlocked last week. “The opportunity for our country is small and the mission I have accepted is based on all the political forces acknowledging that,” said Adib, who won the support of nearly all Lebanon’s main parties in consultations hosted by Aoun.
“There is no time for talk and promises ... It’s the time to work with everyone’s cooperation,” he said. He called for the formation of a government of competent specialists in record time, an immediate start to reforms and a deal with the International Monetary Fund. Lebanon’s talks with the IMF have been stalled since July. “We welcome the nomination of a new prime minister and hope that a new government will be formed shortly with a mandate to implement the policies and reforms that Lebanon needs to address the current crisis and restore sustainable growth,” an IMF spokesperson told Reuters.
Under pressure
Adib, who has a doctorate in law and political science, later visited areas hardest hit by the explosion that killed some 190 people and injured 6,500.
The explosion, in which volatile chemicals stored unsafely for years detonated, led to the resignation of the previous government, now acting as caretaker.
Since October, the financial crisis has sunk Lebanon’s currency, locked savers out of deposits held by a paralyzed banking system and fueled poverty. The root cause is decades of corruption and waste overseen by a political elite.
Macron’s visit coincides with Lebanon’s centenary, at a time of profound doubts that it has a future as a viable state under the sway of former warlords and sectarian leaders loyal to different regional masters, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Macron made a series of phone calls to Lebanese leaders at the weekend that were vital to securing consensus on Adib.
“It was the pressure of his calls to everyone, the pressure of his coming to Lebanon, the pressure of everyone not wanting to upset him,” a senior Lebanese politician said. A French presidency source said Macron was demanding “a government of mission, clean, efficient, able to implement the necessary reforms in Lebanon”. Macron said on Friday that the exceptional moment facing Lebanon led him to increase pressure. “France has convinced its European and American partners and a good part of the regional partners that we are honest brokers,” he said. Adib’s name surfaced on Sunday when he was nominated by former PMs, including Saad al-Hariri who heads the biggest Sunni Muslim party. Under the Lebanese system, the post of premier must go to a Sunni.
Hariri’s Future Movement and the powerful Iranian-backed Shi’ite party Hezbollah were among those nominating him. With Hariri’s backing, Adib will enjoy more support than Hassan Diab’s outgoing government, nominated by Hezbollah and its allies which together have a parliamentary majority.

New PM-designate Vows to Swiftly Form Reform-Oriented Govt
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/Naharnet/August 31/2020
Lebanese prime minister-designate Mustafa Adib vowed Monday to swiftly launch a reformist government and seek international financial assistance after the Beirut blast deepened a political and economic crisis.
In a televised speech after his nomination, Lebanon's former ambassador to Germany said there is "a need to form a government in record time and to begin implementing reforms immediately, starting with an agreement with the International Monetary Fund".

Mustafa Adib, Lebanon's New PM-designate
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/2020
Mustafa Adib, a little-known diplomat who was nominated to become Lebanon's new prime minister Monday, faces the nearly impossible challenge of embodying change after being picked by the political establishment. Adib has been Lebanon's ambassador to Germany since 2013 and his name only emerged on Sunday to replace Hassan Diab, whose government resigned in the aftermath of the deadly August 4 blast at Beirut port. The 48-year-old was born in the northern city of Tripoli and is a Sunni Muslim, making him eligible to become prime minister under Lebanon's sectarian-based power-sharing system. His biography on the Berlin embassy website presents him as an academic who holds a PhD in political science. It says he has conducted "research and expert work in the areas of both human and state security, parliamentary oversight of the security sector, decentralisation and local democracy, and electoral laws".
From 2000 to 2004, he served as an advisor to Najib Mikati, a billionaire and former prime minister who backed his nomination on Monday. In 2011, then-prime minister Mikati appointed Adib as his chief of cabinet. Former premiers Saad Hariri and Fouad Siniora also threw their weight behind Adib after two other candidates were reportedly rejected by the dominant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and its political allies. His appointment came on the day French President Emmanuel Macron was due to arrive for another landmark visit.
An acquaintance of Adib from Tripoli who asked not to be named described him as "calm, courteous and diplomatic". "He is not a man of confrontation and does not take strong stances, but avoids problems and strives to solve them diplomatically with a view to consolidating his relationship with different sides," the acquaintance said. Opposition groups representing the protest movement that erupted last year to demand the wholesale removal of a political class seen as corrupt and incompetent rejected Adib's nomination before it was even confirmed. Activists on social media were quick to compare Adib to Diab, who had promised to lead Lebanon's first government of technocrats when he took office in January but showed no ability to break from his political sponsors.
Lebanon Rises Up -- Germany, a Facebook page representing Lebanese activists in Germany, told AFP that Adib was a product of the past and could not embody change. "We see no change for the better in Ambassador Mustafa Adib being named, as he is subject to the quota system in place in Lebanon," the group said in a statement. It claimed that Adib himself, who was not a career diplomat when he was appointed to Berlin seven years ago by a Mikati government, owed his job to the former prime minister and to Lebanon's sectarian quotas.

Lebanon: From Deadly Explosion to New PM
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/2020
From the deadly explosion at Beirut's port on August 4 to Monday's nomination of a new prime minister, here is a snapshot of developments in crisis-hit Lebanon as French President Emmanuel Macron prepares to visit.
- Devastation -
On August 4, a massive explosion destroys much of Beirut's port and devastates swathes of the capital. The detonation was caused by a fire in a warehouse, which Lebanese authorities acknowledge held tons of ammonium nitrate for the past six years. The huge explosion leaves at least 190 dead, more than 6,500 injured and nearly 300,000 homeless, according to the latest official toll.
The tragedy strikes a country that has for months been mired in its worst economic crisis in decades, marked by an unprecedented depreciation of its currency, hyperinflation, massive layoffs and drastic banking restrictions.
- 'Apocalyptic situation' -
The next day Beirut wakes up in a state of shock, with residents looking for the missing, tending to the wounded and searching gutted buildings for pets and belongings. It is an "apocalyptic situation," says Beirut governor Marwan Aboud. A state of emergency is declared. International aid starts to flood in.
- France's Macron weighs in -
On August 6, Macron arrives in Beirut, staying for several hours and walking through the devastated neighborhood of Gemmayzeh. His visit is praised by many Lebanese angry at their own leaders, whom they accuse of corruption and incompetence. Macron calls for an international probe and for the "deep changes" the Lebanese population has been demanding for months. President Michel Aoun the next day rejects any international probe, saying a missile or negligence could have been responsible for the disaster.
- Protests -
On August 8, three lawmakers from the opposition Kataeb Party resign, bringing the number of MPs who had stepped down in the wake of the blast to five.
Thousands of Lebanese call for vengeance against their leaders over the explosion. Clashes erupt between security forces, using tear gas and rubber bullets, and protesters. Demonstrators storm a series of ministries and the banking association, occupying the foreign ministry for several hours.
- International aid -
On August 9, the international community pledges 252.7 million euros (around $300 million) in emergency aid at a conference over video jointly organized by France and the United Nations. The international community promises to stand by Lebanon, but demands that its aid be directly distributed to the population and that a transparent probe be carried out.
- Government resigns -
On August 10, Prime Minister Hassan Diab announces the resignation of his government, after the departure of several members of his cabinet under pressure from the street. Demonstrators again take to the streets of Beirut and clash with security forces.
- Confessional system criticized -
On August 28, Macron points to the "constraints of a confessional system" in the country where political posts are allocated by sect. He says this had led to "a situation where there is hardly any (political) renewal and where there is almost an impossibility of carrying out reforms." "If we let Lebanon go... it will be civil war," he warns. Two days later, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, chief of the powerful Iran-backed Shiite movement Hizbullah, says his group is "open" to a French proposal for a new political pact for Lebanon.
Aoun calls for the proclamation of a non-confessional "civil state" during a televised address to mark Tuesday's centenary of the Lebanese state.
- New Prime Minister -
On August 31, diplomat Mustafa Adib is named as Lebanon's new premier. He vows to carry out reforms demanded by the international community and to conclude an accord with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri calls for change to the country's confessional political system and says the port disaster revealed "the total collapse of the political and economic system's structure."

Adib Visits Gemmayzeh after Designation, Confronted by Residents, Activists
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/Naharnet/August 31/2020
In his first move after being appointed as Lebanon’s premier-designate, Mustafa Adib visited the historic neighborhood of Gemmayzeh, one of the areas hardest-hit by the catastrophic Beirut port explosion. Donning an immaculate white shirt, tie and medical face mask, Adib tried to chat with residents -- something which no other senior Lebanese politician has done. Outgoing ministers Marie-Claude Najm and Tarek al-Majzoub had tried to inspect the area days after the blast but were chased away by residents and activists.French President Emmanuel Macron had toured the area two days after the disaster where he received a savior’s welcome. Macron is due to return later on Monday to Lebanon and is expected to renew his calls for a radical overhaul of the country's complex, sectarian political system. "There are no words to express this frightening scene," Adib said. The reaction was mixed, with some chanting "Revolution, revolution!" and demanding to know how he can be an independent prime minister when he was chosen by political parties. "We want the truth, and if you are not going to work for the truth, then we don't want any of you," a man told Adib as the ambassador walked among the people, surrounded by a handful of guards. "I want your trust," the PM-designate told a resident. The PM-designate also met with volunteers spearheading relief efforts in the blast-hit district, telling them he wanted the state to work with them in rebuilding Beirut. Adib said he wanted to form a government in record time so that the investigation into the blast can be faster. He later went into his car and sped off, as some chanted "Adib is one of them!" in reference to the ruling class.

Beirut residents unconvinced by Lebanon’s new prime minister-designate
Sahar Houri, Al Arabiya English/Monday 31 August 2020
As parliamentary blocs voted for a new premier Monday to form Lebanon’s new government amid the worst crises the country has ever faced, people in Beirut were uninterested by the lawmakers’ unfamiliar choice. Mustapha Adib was designated as prime minister with 90 votes out of a 128-member parliament during constitutionally binding parliamentary consultations with President Michel Aoun. Adib has served as Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany since 2013, is relatively unknown to the Lebanese people. “We do not know anything about him … All parliamentary blocs named him, but they’re just trying to find a solution” for the inactive government, Malek Ta’an, a resident of Beirut, told Al Arabiya English. Former premier Hassan Diab announced his government’s resignation on Aug. 10 following a deadly explosion caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that was carelessly stored for years inside a warehouse at the Port of Beirut. The blast killed over 190 people, injured thousands of others and left about 300,000 homeless.Diab’s government has served in a caretaker capacity since.
“Hassan Diab’s government is going to be better than the one [Adib] will form … If someone [like Adib] was designated during the normal times, he could achieve something. But now, nothing is normal when it comes to security or the economic and political situations,” Ta’an added. Lebanon is currently facing its worst economic and financial crises amid increasing numbers of coronavirus cases.
To address the country’s dire situation, Adib vowed to swiftly form a government of “specialists” and implement necessary reforms required to unlock international aid. France has long pushed for reforms pledged by Lebanon at 2018’s CEDRE donor conference in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron also sought international aid for Lebanon following the Aug. 4 explosion. Many residents believed Adib’s designation was due to Macron’s pressure, who arrived in Beirut Monday night for his second visit to the country since the blast.
“I do not know much about him, but I have heard that he is close to Macron,” Sara Barazi, a resident of Furn al-Shubbak, said. Barazi said she did not expect political parties to designate someone unknown to most of the population.
“I would have supported the designation of Nawaf Salam … But since [political leaders] have not changed, nothing will change in the government. They will not allow change,” she told Al Arabiya English. Salam, a judge at the International Court of Justice and former Lebanese ambassador to the United Nations, obtained 16 votes during consultations.
Sentiments of faithlessness in the state were also echoed by Amr Ashqar, another resident of Beirut. “We do not trust this political class … They all agreed to designate [Adib] … But at the end of the day, the decision is in the hands of the people,” Ashqar said. Other residents believed that Adib should be given a chance. M.A., a resident of Beirut’s southern suburbs who refused to disclose his full name, said the people must give Adib a chance to see what his plan is for the country. “We have to wait and see what he will do to address the economic, security and political situations. We must see … who he will choose as ministers and whether he will choose competent people or not. We cannot know yet,” M.A. said. While expressing her surprise of Adib’s designation, Nada Chanouha said she would give Adib a chance “since he has been already designated.”
“All eyes are on him now, so he has to be very careful … People will not give too many chances as they did in the past. People will revolt against him after the first mistake,” Chanouha, a Beirut resident, told Al Arabiya English.
People opposed to Monday’s consultations and Adib’s designation demonstrated Monday night outside the residence of prominent Lebanese singer Fairouz as Macron visited her following his arrival in Beirut. The protesters held signs that said, “No cabinet by or with the murderers,” in English and French.

Sawwan Issues 5 New Arrest Warrants over Beirut Blast
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/2020
A Lebanese judge leading the probe into Beirut's deadly port blast issued new arrest warrants on Monday for two officials and three Syrian workers, a judicial source said. "Investigating judge Fadi Sawwan interrogated director of land and maritime transport, Abdel Hafiz Kaissi, and director of the port, Mohammed al-Mawla... then issued arrest warrants against them," the source said. He then questioned and issued arrest warrants for three detained Syrian workers who had allegedly carried out welding at the port's warehouse number 12, hours before the explosion, the source added. The move brings to 21 the number of people arrested in Lebanon's probe into the monster blast at Beirut's port on August 4 that killed at least 190 people, wounded thousands and ravaged swathes of the city. Hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate had been stored unsafely in the warehouse for at least six years, it emerged after the explosion, sparking widespread outrage over alleged official negligence that many said was to blame for the blast. Sawwan was expected to question four more port officials on Tuesday, the source said. It remains unclear what exactly sparked the explosion. Security sources have suggested welding work could have started a fire that triggered the blast, but some observers have rejected this as a theory pushed by the authorities. Lebanese officials have refused an international investigation into the country's worst peace-time disaster, but the Lebanese probe is being aided by foreign experts, including from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. France, which counted among the dead several of its citizens, has launched its own inquiry.

'Who Was That?': PM-Designate Inspects Blast-Hit Beirut District
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/2020
When Lebanon's new premier-designate Mustafa Adib went for a surprise stroll through Beirut's disaster zone Monday, he shook hands, chatted with baffled passers-by, then earned hostile shouts of "revolution". In a country traumatized by the massive August 4 explosion and worn down by political turmoil and economic pain, the brief encounter between the new PM and the people signaled the difficulties ahead for Adib. In the capital's blast-ravaged Gemmayzeh neighborhood, most residents did not immediately recognize the man in a pressed white shirt and dark tie who had come down to greet and comfort them.
But they soon realized their clean-cut visitor, a former diplomat sporting neatly trimmed grey hair and surrounded by a small entourage, was none other than their brand new prime minister. "Who's that? A Canadian minister?" one security guard asked as Lebanon's 48-year-old former ambassador to Germany walked past, before it dawned on him: "Is it Adib?"Strolling along a road flanked by gutted and half-collapsed buildings, Adib was the first top Lebanese politician to visit the devastated district since the massive blast at the nearby port. His surprise walk came over three weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron had been cheered by crowds there. The French leader drew angry crowds who blamed official neglect and corruption for the blast that killed at least 188 people, wounded thousands and wrecked homes and businesses in much of the city. Almost a month after Lebanon's greatest peacetime disaster, it was Adib's turn.
- 'I'm one of you' -
The incoming premier entered a grocery shop, a butcher's and a laundromat. He shook hands with the owner of a restaurant. The windows of many buildings he passed had been blown to smithereens in the explosion. Someone asked for a picture with Adib, others whipped out their mobile phones for a memento.
On either side of the road, volunteers were still busy after spending weeks carting off rubble and bringing food and water to the most needy, filling in for a largely absent state. Adib approached a stand making Lebanese flat breads and was handed one covered in dried oregano and sesame seeds.
A few steps away, he greeted another group of volunteers mapping out the blighted neighborhood. "Who was that?" one asked after Adib left. After learning who had just walked by, another quipped: "Tell him we've finished all the hard work. It's too late."But Adib pressed on, rolling up his sleeves.
"I will do everything in my capacity" to help, he told a passerby, speaking through a pale blue surgical mask to protect him against the coronavirus."I came immediately. Nobody knows about it. I came to say I want your trust," he said. "I am one of you. We must work together."
- 'Our children are dead' -
After the prime minister visited his shop, butcher Tony Kiyame said: "It's positive. He's the first to come down to see people and speak to them. "But we need action, not words."Nearby, pharmacist Paul Sakr was not remotely impressed. "For a whole month, we saw no one," said the man who has lived in the area for 35 years. "Now he's been named, and he's down here for a publicity stunt."Outside the damaged headquarters of the state electricity company -- a symbol of official waste and the state's inability to fix power cuts in three decades since the civil war -- tension mounted. "Revolution, revolution," volunteers cried out in unison, in front of the huge concrete carcass with shattered windows. "Free revolutionaries, we will continue on our path," they sang, in a typical chant of the cross-sectarian street movement that has denounced Lebanon's political class for almost a year. A woman approached Adib and cried: "We don't want you. Our children are dead."As Lebanon's incoming prime minister stepped back into a black Mercedes, one activist slammed a hand down on the boot and another kicked its door, before the vehicle slowly drove away.

Berri Urges Change to Lebanon's Sectarian System
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/2020
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday called for change to the country's confessional political system in the aftermath of the explosion at Beirut's port, blamed on official negligence and corruption. "The most dangerous thing that the port disaster revealed... is the total collapse of the political and economic system's structure," Berri said shortly after Mustafa Adib was named prime minister-designate. "Therefore, there must be a change to this confessional system, which is the cause of all ills," Berri added. He reiterated that Lebanon should establish a "civil state," adding that there should be a non-sectarian electoral law based on turning Lebanon into a single electorate. "I warn against continuing the current political performance, because it creates a fertile ground for waking up the dormant demons of the terrorist cells which are seeking opportunities to tamper with unity and civil peace," Berri went on to say.
He also warned that "this time our fear for Lebanon comes from internal and not external factors."Turning to the issue of the government, the Speaker called for the quick formation of "a strong government that gathers competencies and possesses a reformist rescue program that would be implemented within a specific timeframe." "It should have a clear vision on how to rebuild what has been destroyed and it should immediately begin with the necessary reforms," he stated. Describing the Beirut port disaster as a "tragedy" that affected entire Lebanon and entire "humanity," Berri said the probe into the case should proceed "without delay nor rush. "Let the judiciary seek technical assistance from any party on the condition of preserving sovereignty," he added.

Lebanon Loses Defender of Heritage Architecture Lady Cochrane
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/2020
A veteran advocate of the arts and Lebanon's cultural heritage, Yvonne Sursock Cochrane died Monday aged 98, four weeks after the devastating Beirut blast in which she was injured. Born into a wealthy Greek Orthodox family -- famed for their Sursock Museum -- and married to an Irish nobleman, Lady Cochrane died on the eve of the centenary of Lebanon, friends and family said on Facebook. As head of the Association for the Protection of the Sites and Ancient Homes of Lebanon (APSAD), she devoted her life to the preservation of her country's rich architectural heritage. She had labeled the capital's chaotic and profit-driven reconstruction after its devastating 1975-1990 civil war as little more than an "archaeological massacre". "Beirut, once a joy of the Mediterranean, has been turned into a junkyard," she said of the decade that followed the war.
But she voiced confidence that Beirut would once again become "the garden of the Middle East".The massive blast at Beirut port on August 4 hurled her several meters from the terrace where was taking afternoon tea with friends, leaving her with cuts and bruises. The explosion ripped through swathes of the city, killing at least 188 people and injuring more than 6,500 others. Her listed Ottoman mansion with gardens looking down onto the sea was left in near ruins, like many architectural marvels, including the Sursock Museum, converted from a house donated by Lady Cochrane's uncle.
"We shall rebuild," she vowed afterwards. The death of a woman esteemed as "the memory of Lebanon" stirred outpourings of grief and nostalgia on social media. "A grand figure of the Lebanon of old is gone. A page has turned on a certain refined, cultivated and cosmopolitan Lebanon," Marlene Kanaan wrote on Facebook.

EU Delivers Additional Emergency Assistance to Lebanon
Naharnet/August 31/2020
A second European Union (EU) Humanitarian Air bridge flight lands in Beirut on Monday, delivering 12 tons of essential humanitarian supplies and medical equipment, including a mobile hospital and face masks. “The transportation cost of the flight is fully covered by the EU, while the cargo was provided by the Spanish authorities, the Philips Foundation and the University of Antwerp,” the EU Delegation to Lebanon said in a statement. Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management, said: “The EU continues to support Lebanon with the most needed assistance. We delivered 29 tons of essential supplies since the explosion, as well as over EUR 64 million in emergency funding. My gratitude goes to all European countries and our partners on the ground who have shown their solidarity with Lebanon at this difficult time by offering crucial support.”
The material delivered Monday will help the most vulnerable with medical needs following the explosion at the Beirut port and the intensifying coronavirus pandemic. “This is a second Humanitarian Air Bridge organized by the EU, following the first one on 13 August,” the EU Delegation said in a statement.
The devastating explosion in the capital Beirut on August 4 put an additional strain on the Lebanese health system, which was already under heavy pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the immediate aftermath of the blast, 20 European countries offered specialized search and rescue assistance, chemical assessment and medical teams as well as medical equipment and other assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. On August 13, a first EU Humanitarian Air bridge flight delivered over 17 tons of humanitarian supplies, medicines and medical equipment. In addition to the in kind assistance, the EU has mobilized more than EUR 64 million for first emergency needs, medical support and equipment, and protection of critical infrastructure.“These funds will also help respond to the most pressing humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable inhabitants of Beirut impacted by the devastating explosions,” the EU Delegation said.

Lebanon: Founded 100 Years Ago as Greater Lebanon
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/2020
A century ago France created Greater Lebanon, the foundation for the modern-day state of Lebanon which is now mired in a deep political and economic crisis.
- Greater Lebanon -
In 1916, the secret Sykes-Picot accords divides up zones of influence in the Middle East. France runs Lebanon and Syria, Britain takes charge of Iraq, Jordan and Palestine. A conference in San Remo in 1920 hands Britain and France mandates to run the remains of the Ottoman Empire. That year, on September 1 at a ceremony in Beirut, France proclaims the birth of Greater Lebanon.
- Independence -
Twenty-three years later, on November 22, 1943, the country becomes independent. A "national pact" lays out a power-sharing agreement between Christians and Muslims that is still in place today. But it will carry the seeds of internal conflict fueled by the interference of foreign powers.
- Civil strife -
A five-month civil war breaks out in 1958 when Muslims, backed by Egypt and Syria, take up arms against the pro-Western regime of president Camille Chamoun. Chamoun appeals to the United States for help and Washington sends troops to suppress the revolt. Successful, they leave Lebanon three months later.
- Palestinians take root -
After the Arab defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War, the first Palestinian bases are established in south Lebanon on the border with Israel and Syria.
In 1969, Lebanon legalizes the armed Palestinian presence on its soil under the Cairo Accord. Following the bloody Black September clashes in Jordan in 1970, Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) retreats to Lebanon.
- Civil war -
In 1975, a 15-year-long civil war begins with Christian militias battling Palestinians, who are backed by leftists and Muslim forces.
The following year the Syrian army intervenes, with U.S. approval, after an appeal by embattled Christian forces. In 1982, Israel invades and besieges Beirut. Arafat and 11,000 Palestinian fighters evacuate the capital. In September that year, a Christian militia massacres at least 1,000 people in the Palestinian camps of Sabra and Shatila in Beirut. The war ends in 1990. More than 150,000 people were killed in the conflict and 17,000 went missing.
- Syrian domination -
Syria's military and political presence is cemented in a 1991 treaty between Damascus and Beirut. Israel maintains its occupation of southern Lebanon, withdrawing only in 2000, following armed resistance spearheaded by Hizbullah.
In 2005, former prime minister Rafik Hariri is killed in a bombing attack in Beirut along with 21 others. Those opposed to Syria blame Damascus, which denies any role. Mass demonstrations lead to all Syrian troops withdrawing from Lebanon the same year, ending a 29-year deployment.
- Israel vs Hizbullah -
In 2006, a conflict breaks out between Israeli forces and Lebanon's powerful Shiite movement Hizbullah, founded in 1982 during the civil war with support from Iran. The unrest follows Hizbullah's capture of two Israeli soldiers from the southern Lebanon border area. The devastating 34-day war costs Lebanon around 1,200 lives, mostly civilians.
- Syria war -
In 2013, two years after the start of Syria's civil war, Hizbullah says it has intervened in support of the Damascus government. Syria's conflict entrenches Lebanon's divided political blocs.
- Anti-regime unrest -
In 2019 protests break out, sparked by a government plan to tax online phone calls made via apps. The unrest turns into a nationwide revolt involving hundreds of thousands of people cutting across sectarian lines, against the perceived ineptitude and corruption of the ruling class. On August 4, 2020, a deadly explosion in the port of Beirut ravages entire neighborhoods of the capital, further battering a country living through its worst economic crisis for decades.

Turning 100: Lebanon, a Nation Branded by Upheaval, Crises
Associated Press/Naharnet/August 31/2020
It was a century ago on Sept. 1, 1920, that a French general, Henri Gouraud, stood on the porch of a Beirut palace surrounded by local politicians and religious leaders and declared the State of Greater Lebanon — the precursor of the modern state of Lebanon. The current French president, Emmanuel Macron, is visiting Lebanon to mark the occasion, 100 years later. But the mood could not be more somber. Lebanon has been hit by a series of catastrophes, including a financial crash. On Aug. 4, a massive explosion at Beirut's port killed at least 190 people and injured thousands — the culmination of decades of accumulated crises, endemic corruption and mismanagement by an entrenched ruling class. Facing potential bankruptcy and total collapse, many Lebanese are marking the centennial with a feeling that their experiment as a nation has failed and questioning their willingness to stay in the crisis-riddled country. "I am 53 years old and I don't feel I had one stable year in this country," said prominent Lebanese writer Alexandre Najjar. Like others from his generation, Najjar lived through the 1975-1990 civil war, when Beirut's name became synonymous with hostages, car bombings and chaos.
He was a teenager when Israel invaded Beirut in the summer of 1982, imposing a suffocating siege of the capital for three months, and a young man when Christian militias turned their guns on each other in 1989. When former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a massive Beirut truck bombing in 2005, Najjar was in his late 30s. The following year, Israel and Hizbullah engaged in a month-long war. In between, countless other conflicts, bouts of sectarian fighting and other disasters plagued one generation after another, leading to waves of Lebanese emigration. But the Aug. 4 explosion, says Najjar, was the "peak of a failed state" — proof that authorities cannot even provide basic public safety.
It wasn't supposed to be that way.
Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Lebanon fell under the French mandate, starting in 1920. France governed for 23 years until the country gained independence as the Lebanese Republic.
Home to 18 different religious sects, it was hailed as a model of pluralism and coexistence. The nation settled on an unwritten sectarian arrangement, initially seen as the guarantee of stability but which many Lebanese now consider a curse: the president would always be Christian, the prime minister Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker Shiite Muslim, with other posts similarly divvied up. In the 1950s, under pro-Western President Camille Chamoun, the economy flourished thanks to booming tourism and cash from oil-rich Arab nations. But his presidency ended with the outbreak of Lebanon's first civil war in 1958, which lasted for several months and saw U.S. troops land to help Chamoun. Lebanon saw its heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s, but then fell into disaster in 1975, with the start of the 15-year civil war that killed nearly 150,000 people, eventually pitting Lebanon's sects against each other. Syrian troops moved in, and Israel invaded twice — once in 1978, then again in 1982, in an assault that forced late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his fighters to leave Lebanon. U.S. interests were repeatedly attacked, most notably two bombings of the American Embassy and the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. service members, the deadliest attack on the Marines since the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. On the same day, 58 French paratroopers were killed by a second attacker who struck their installation in Beirut.
Israel's 1982 invasion and the attacks on the Americans marked the rise of what later became the militant group Hizbullah. After the civil war ended in 1990, the Iranian-backed Shiite militia was the only one allowed to keep its weapons because it was fighting Israeli occupation forces in southern Lebanon. When Israel withdrew from the south in 2000, Hizbullah kept its powerful fighting force, depicting itself as Lebanon's defender. It fought Israeli forces to a draw in 2006, and tensions remain high along the border.
Today, Hizbullah and its allies, led by President Michel Aoun, dominate Lebanese politics and control a majority in parliament.
But the Lebanese are deeply divided over Hizbullah. While many in the Shiite community are fiercely loyal to the group, and many non-Shiites sympathize with its anti-Israel stance, others increasingly see it as imposing Iran's will on the country. Many civil war-era warlords today head political factions, holding onto posts for themselves or their families and controlling powerful local business interests. The factions pass out positions in government ministries and public institutions to followers or carve out business sectors for them, ensuring their backing. Corruption has soared over the past two decades, and the sectarian-based patronage system has left Lebanon with crumbling infrastructure, a bloated public sector and one of the world's highest debt ratios, at 170% of GDP — topped by a ruling class that amassed fortunes.
Last October, nationwide protests erupted over the worsening economy, and the financial juggling act that had been the basis of Lebanon's prosperity since 1990 collapsed into the most severe economic crisis of the country's modern history, made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.
"Lebanon is in its worst period over the past 100 years," said legislator Marwan Hamadeh. "We are in the worst stage, economically, politically and even when it comes to national unity." "We are currently occupied by Iran and its missiles," added Hamadeh, who was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in 2004 that he blames on Hizbullah. Historian Johnny Mezher says that to solve its problems, Lebanon could start by adopting a law that boosts national identity rather than loyalty to one's sect and helps ensure qualifications determine who gets state posts, rather than sectarian connections. "Religious figures should be prevented from meddling in politics," he said. Even after seven decades of Lebanese independence, France still wields strong influence on the tiny Mediterranean nation.
Two days after the port blast — with Lebanese leaders totally absent — Macron visited Beirut and toured one of the most heavily damaged neighborhoods to a hero's welcome, with some chanting "Vive La France."
More than 60,000 signed a petition to place Lebanon under French mandate for 10 years, an idea Macron firmly dismissed. "It's up to you to write your history," he told the crowds. On his return trip, Macron will plant a tree in Beirut on Tuesday to mark the centenary and meet with Lebanese officials to push them toward forming a government and enacting reforms. "There is no doubt we were expecting the 100th anniversary to be different. We did not expect this year to be catastrophic to this level," said Najjar, who is a lawyer, poet and author of about 30 books in French, including one that tells the story of Beirut during the 20th Century. "There is still hope," he said. "We have hit rock bottom and things cannot get worse."

Lebanon to Mark Dismal Centenary amid Fears for Survival
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 31/2020
Mourning the Beirut blast disaster, ruined by economic meltdown and hostage to a dysfunctional political system, Lebanon marks its centenary Tuesday unsure whether it will survive as a state. There will be no ceremony to commemorate 100 years since French mandate authorities on September 1, 1920 proclaimed the creation of Greater Lebanon incorporating mainly Muslim former Ottoman regions. Instead, French President Emmanuel Macron will return to the same iconic Ottoman-era building where it was declared to meet representatives of a political class desperately clinging on to its privileges to convince them to accept essential reforms to save the country. "This is the greatest crisis Lebanon has ever witnessed," said 87-year-old Rose Ghulam, whose home was destroyed by the massive August 4 explosion at Beirut's port. "It's even worse than the war" that rocked Lebanon from 1975 to 1990, she said. "Our leaders have no conscience. They're not honest. How can they possibly rebuild our homes? They all need to be replaced," said the former school teacher, who was born under French mandate. The massive explosion of a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate at the port killed at least 190 people, wounded thousands and sowed destruction across large parts of the capital. For many Lebanese who have taken to the streets since October 2019 to protest what they view as the corruption and incompetence of the political class, it was a point of no return.
- 'Breaking point' -
Political leaders, who were aware the explosive ammonium nitrate was being stored at the port, have refused to claim responsibility and have instead been seen to be passing the buck. Lebanon's civil society says the blast is just the latest in a long line of official failings. The protest movement accuses the political class of having failed, in the three decades since the civil war, to build a functioning state and implement the rule of law. "Today the political system is at the end of its tether," said Lebanese academic Karim El Mufti. Though Lebanon flourished in the 1960s, its history has largely been a succession of political crises punctuated by rounds of violence. Now its worst economic crisis in decades has doubled poverty to more than half the population in just several months, and is chipping away at the middle class. "We've reached breaking point," said Mufti, a political science and international law professor.Although he dismissed the likelihood of civil war, Mufti said he expected the country to "disintegrate.""Everybody says that we can't continue like this, even political actors, but they are trapped. This system acts like a mouse trap."One of the key culprits, he said, was Lebanon's deep-rooted political sectarianism, under which the top state and government posts are divided up between its myriad religious sects. This system, inherited from the Ottoman era, was supposed to be scrapped under the 1989 Taef Accord that ended the civil war, but never was. Instead it has been pushed to extremes, leading to political deadlock and rendering impossible even the naming of lower-ranking bureaucrats without the accord of politicians from all religious communities.
"Lebanon risks disappearing," Mufti said, echoing similar warnings from France.
- 'Minutes to midnight' -
Deeply fragmented, Lebanon has long been a proxy battleground, most recently being caught in a tug-of-war between the United States and Iran. Lebanese historian Dima de Clerck said that throughout Lebanon's history "foreign interference has always existed, and we have a culture of heightened cronyism.""We are not a unified people, we always need a foreign sponsor to fight the internal enemy."As an example, she pointed to "the absence of a national collective memory to the benefit of those memories upheld by the different sectarian groups."This explains why, until now, "we don't have unified history books" in schools, she said, and Lebanese children are educated through the lens of their community instead. But for many, the multi-confessional street movement since last October has given birth to a national sentiment that transcends political or religious affiliations. Mufti said Lebanon needed "a new social contract."
"But no one holds the keys to this -- not the political parties, not the various opposition movements, nor the international community," he said. Emilie Sueur, co-editor-in-chief of Lebanese newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour, warned that action is needed before it was too late. "It is just several minutes to midnight on the clock of the end of Lebanon. But it is not midnight yet."

World Bank: Lebanon Blast Caused Damage Up to $4.6 Billion
Associated Press/Naharnet/August 31/2020
The massive explosion in Beirut earlier this month that killed and injured thousands of people has caused up to $4.6 billion in physical damage, the World Bank said in a report released Monday. The Aug. 4 blast was caused by the explosion of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut since 2014. The blast killed 190 people, injured more than 6,000, left nearly 300,000 people homeless, destroyed much of the port and damaged entire neighborhoods. The blast was the most destructive single incident in Lebanon's history with thousands of buildings, including residential homes, hospitals, schools and museums suffering considerable damage. "This tragedy comes at a terrible time as Lebanon battles deep economic and social crises, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic," said the report prepared by the World Bank in cooperation with the United Nations and European Union.
Lebanon is mired in the country's worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history. It defaulted on paying back its debt for the first time ever in March. Lebanon's debt stands at about 170% of GDP. The World Bank said the overall damage incurred as a result of the explosion is in the range of $3.8 billion and $4.6 billion. It added that in the social sectors, housing and culture are the most affected, enduring substantial damage totaling between $1.9 billion and $2.3 billion and $1 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively.
The World Bank also estimated economic activity losses to range between $2.9 billion and 3.5 billion. The public sector reconstruction and recovery needs for 2020-2021 are estimated in the range of $1.8 billion and $2.2 billion, with $760 million needed before the end of the year. The report added that international aid and private investment will be essential for comprehensive recovery and reconstruction. The governor of Beirut, Marwan Abboud, earlier estimated the losses caused by the blast to stand between $10 billion and $15 billion.
Also on Monday, Judicial Investigator Judge Fadi Sawwan, who is leading the investigation into the port blast, issued two arrest warrants against the director of maritime transport at the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation and a senior port official, state-run National News agency reported.
The new arrest warrants bring the total number of people detained in the case to 21, most of them port or customs officials.

STL to Hold 2nd Status Conference in Hamadeh-Murr-Hawi Case
Naharnet/August 31/2020
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s Pre Trial Judge, Daniel Fransen, will hold a second Status Conference on 16 September 2020 in the case of the attacks on Lebanese politicians Marwan Hamadeh, Elias Murr and George Hawi, the STL said on Monday. "The hearing aims at reviewing the status of the Ayyash case and ensuring the expeditious preparation for trial, through an exchange between the Prosecution, Defense and Legal Representatives of the Victims," it said in a statement. "In a scheduling order issued today, the Pre-Trial Judge states that the hearing will begin at 10 AM (C.E.T.) The Status Conference will be public; however, the Judge might decide to go into closed session during the course of the hearing if confidential matters need to be discussed," the court added. The first status conference in the Ayyash case took place on 22 July 2020.  Hizbullah member Salim Ayyash has been indicted by the court over alleged involvement in the three attacks -- which resulted in the death of Hawi and the injury of Hamadeh and Murr. nEarlier this month, the STL found Ayyash guilty in the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri as it acquitted three other Hizbullah members. The four were tried in absentia and Hizbullah has vowed that they will never be arrested while dimissing the court as a hostile plot.

MTV Banned from Covering Consultations at Baabda
Naharnet/August 31/2020
MTV television station announced on Monday that it was banned from covering the parliamentary consultations held at Baabda Presidential Palace to name a new PM for Lebanon. MTV reporter, Nakhle Odaime, expressed his regret at the presidential palace’s decision to prevent him from covering consultations, saying, "I am surprised and shocked ... for the first time I am prevented from carrying out my journalistic duty in a public place and not in an institution." The Presidential Palace issued a statement on the matter saying that MTV “station has launched verbal attacks at the President and stripped his official character, naming him without his official title, and went on insulting him and making inappropriate epithets against him.”The statement said the Presidential Palace made “several efforts to make the TV station reconsider its inappropriate manner but without yielding,” noting that by audiovisual media law, the station’s behavior can be “punishable.” Calls to boycott and block the channel have increased recently by pro-Free Patriotic Movement figures, mainly after its strong opposing stance regarding the performance of former PM Hassan Diab’s government and the presidential term of President Michel Aoun. The station did not hesitate to launch a sharp attack and direct harsh criticism of the President after the deadly colossal bombing of the port of Beirut, describing the President as “Mr. Aoun.” The TV station established in 1991, was closed in 2002 by a court order charging that its broadcasts violated a ban on political propaganda and harmed relations with Syria. It resumed broadcast in 2009. Activists and journalists on social media, condemned Baabda’s ban of MTV. Al-Jadeed channel news director Maryam al-Bassam said in a tweet that banning MTV from entering Baabda is an act of “piracy.”

Arab world’s 1st women-only motorbike taxi launched by mother-daughter duo in Lebanon
Bassam Zaazaa, Al Arabiya English/Monday 31 August 2020
A Lebanese mother and her daughter have become the first in the Arab world to provide women-only motorbike taxi to help females commute cheaply, safely and swiftly.Rana Karazi, a mother of two, lost her job at a security company in December 2019 amid Lebanon’s rapid economic downfall. Needing to provide for her family, she started Moto Taxi by Rana to earn money and provide a service to Lebanese women. As the country’s ongoing economic and financial crisis set in, many have switched into survival mode. At the end of 2019, 45 percent of Lebanon was living below the poverty line, the World Bank estimated. Today, and in the wake of the devastating August 4 explosion at the Beirut port, that number has likely risen. The recently out of work Karazi received a call from a busy friend a few months ago saying she would pay Karazi to drive her child to and from where the child needed to be.
The trip sparked Karazi’s business idea. “I drove her child back and forth and she paid me money. When I completed my mission, I told to myself why I don’t make private business out of that transport service,” Karazi told Al Arabiya English. A mother of 20-year-old Carine and a younger brother, 39-year-old Karazi explains that she mastered the art of driving a motorcycle at the age of 35. “In the few months, my daughter and I took to social media [Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp groups] to promote our business... As our client list grew bigger, I had to train Carine how to drive a motorcycle and she became my partner,” said Rana, who lives in Beirut’s Tareeq Al Jdeede area. Karazi said she’s now had to hire a third driver to meet demand.
“We have proven to be a great success within three months. The coming days our schedule is nearly full that I had to ask my neighbor to join my team,” she said. Having studied travel and tourism, the single-mother said she now has a fleet of two motorcycles that requires constant maintenance and services aside from daily expenses. She pays around 25,000 Lebanese pounds ($17 at the official exchange rate, which has now slipped dramatically) for oil changes for each motorcycle monthly, and the daily fuel cost is around 4,000 pounds. The mother-daughter duo charges 3,000 pounds per trip, which is around the price a standard shared taxi ride would cost in Lebanon. As Lebanon’s economy continues to contract, and political turmoil escalates, the shortage of dollars in the country continues to put pressure on the exchange rate and the value of the dollar has fluctuated for a year.
Along with the country’s uncertainties, catastrophic economic situation and COVID-19 health hazards, Karazi said she has seen the number of clients rise in the past few months.
“Life has become more expensive and less safe. That was one of the major reasons why female clients have trusted me more. It’s reasonable for families to send daughters, wives, sisters on a motor-taxi since it is cheaper, faster, easier and healthier – especially amid fears of contracting coronavirus. Passengers nowadays refrain from using car taxis to avoid interacting with drivers meanwhile on a motorbike, it is less risky as the passenger wears a facemask and gloves,” she said. She explained that her daughter, who is a college student, has been handling social media campaigns, advertisements and inquiries. Karazi is proud that she and her daughter are believed to have become the first in the Arab world to provide this kind of transport service. In Bangladesh, Thailand, and Indonesia similar services have cropped up. “I also feel self-assured that the public entrusts me for the safety of their wives, sisters and daughters, especially when they contact us to drive them around Beirut and its outskirts,” she said stressing that her open-minded and modern family has been fully supportive. Karazi hopes to expand her business very soon.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 01/2020
Iran says to fight U.S. suit to seize $1.7 billion held by Deutsche Boerse unit
DUBAI (Reuters)/August 31/2020
- Iran’s central bank said on Saturday it was taking legal steps to counter a lawsuit filed in a U.S. court by creditors seeking to seize $1.7 billion of its assets held by Deutsche Boerse’s (DB1Gn.DE) Clearstream unit.
The German stock exchange operator said earlier the creditors had filed the suit in a New York court seeking to require Clearstream to surrender assets that allegedly belong to Iran’s central bank. It said the clearing house considers the claims to be unfounded and will take steps to defeat them.
Amir Hossein Tayyebi Fard, a deputy governor of the Iranian central bank, said in a statement: “After repeated legal defeats in Luxembourg, the U.S. plaintiffs are seeking legal action in U.S. courts against Clearstream. Serious legal action is also underway to counter these measures.”
Tayyebi Fard did not give details of the bank’s legal measures to prevent a seizure of the assets which he said were worth $1.7 billion, according to the statement posted on the bank’s website.
U.S. authorities have targeted Luxembourg-based Clearstream for years in an investigation over whether it violated U.S. money laundering and Iran sanction laws. Deutsche Boerse has denied wrongdoing.
In 2019, a Luxembourg court refused to enforce a U.S. ruling that would have helped families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks claim Iranian assets held with Clearstream.
In 2012, a New York court found there was evidence to show that Iran provided “material support and resources to al Qaeda for acts of terrorism”. The militant group carried out the hijacked plane attacks on New York and Washington.
That court awarded the plaintiffs damages of over $7 billion. Iran denies any links to Al Qaeda or any involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by Clelia Oziel

UAE-Israel deal will not come at expense of Palestinian cause: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/Monday 31 August 2020
The recent agreement between the UAE and Israel will not come at the expense of the Palestinian cause, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said Monday. The Crown Prince said the UAE was the Palestinians' “second nation,” adding that the UAE was committed to the creation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. “Peace is a strategic choice, but not at the expense of the Palestinian cause,” he was quoted as saying by Al Arabiya. The UAE and Israel agreed to normalize ties last month, with the UAE opening up diplomatic and commercial relations with Israel in exchange for the Israeli government halting its annexation of Palestinian land. A joint statement released Monday between the UAE and Israel, and the US, which mediated the agreement, called the new deal “a courageous step towards a more stable, integrated and prosperous Middle East.”

Direct flights from UAE to Israel possible by end of 2020: Israeli spokesperson
Emily Judd, Al Arabiya English/Monday 31 August 2020
Direct flights from the UAE to Israel are likely to be set up by the end of 2020, an Israeli official told Al Arabiya English on Monday.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if by the end of 2020 there will be direct flights between Israel and the UAE,” Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lior Haiat told Al Arabiya English.
“By the end of 2020, there is a possibility,” he added. The remarks came shortly after the first direct flight from Israel to the UAE made history Monday, with US and Israeli officials on board including White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, and Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat. The process of direct flights for civilians is likely to start “in a few weeks,” according to Haiat. This would follow an official signing ceremony of the peace agreement between the UAE and Israel, in Washington DC.
“Hopefully just after the signing, the process will begin,” Haiat said.The UAE and Israel announced a historic bilateral agreement on August 13 and bilateral talks between the country’s leaders and ministers have taken off since.
On Monday, Israeli representatives from the fields of finance, health, tourism, investment, foreign policy, diplomacy, tourism, and culture arrived as part of the US-Israeli delegation. The delegation members are meeting face-to-face with Emirati representatives to discuss future collaborations in the various fields.
Bilateral talks On Tuesday defense ministers of the UAE and Israel discussed peace and stability in the Middle East during a phone call on Tuesday, state news agency WAM reported. “Both ministers expressed their conviction that this accord will enhance the chances of peace and stability in the region as it represents a positive step in this direction,” WAM reported. A day earlier, health ministers of the two countries discussed collaboration in the healthcare field, especially the coronavirus pandemic, in a phone call. UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed bilateral cooperation with Yossi Cohen, head of Israel's foreign intelligence, the Mossad on August 18. It was the first known in-person meeting of Israeli and Emirati officials since the agreement was announced.

Israeli strikes on military targets south of Damascus kill five fighters: Report
AFP/Tuesday 01 September 2020
Israeli strikes on military targets south of the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday killed two soldiers and three allied fighters, a war monitor said.
State news agency SANA said “the Zionist enemy carried out a strike... on some of our military positions south of Damascus and our air defenses confronted them” late on Monday. “The Israeli attack led to two martyrs being killed and seven soldiers being wounded,” the source said, adding the fire had came from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said another three non-Syrian fighters were also killed. It said the missiles targeted positions of pro-government Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and allied Syrian fighters southwest of Damascus and in the southern province of Daraa. Israel has carried out hundreds of raids in Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011, against Tehran-aligned Hezbollah and Iranian forces supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as government forces. The Israeli army rarely acknowledges the strikes, but said that on August 3 it had used fighter jets, attack helicopters and other warplanes to hit Syrian military targets in southern Syria. Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday warned the group would kill an Israeli soldier for each of its fighters slain by the Jewish state, after one of its combatants was killed in an Israeli strike in Syria on July 20.Nasrallah on Sunday said a “decisive decision” had been taken but that Hezbollah was “not in a hurry.”His statement came after a series of incidents on the Lebanese-Israeli frontier. Israel said on Wednesday it had launched air strikes against Hezbollah observation posts in Lebanon after shots were fired from across the border. Hezbollah also announced the previous weekend it had brought down an Israeli drone flying over the border. Hezbollah has fought several wars against Israel, though a ceasefire has largely held since 2006 and a UN peacekeeping force patrols along the Lebanese-Israeli frontier. Syria’s war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions from their homes since it started with the repression of anti-government protests.

US vetoes UN resolution on foreign militants, including detainees in Syria, Iraq
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/Monday 31 August 2020
The United States Monday vetoed a UN resolution on the fate of foreign militants which failed to include a call for their repatriation, diplomats said. Drafted by Indonesia -- a non-permanent member of the Security Council -- the text drew support from 14 members, with the United States the only one to vote against.It stopped short of calling for fighters to be repatriated to their countries of origin -- as sought by the United States but opposed by European nations.Instead, the text encouraged UN member states to work to reinsert ex-fighters -- thousands of whom are detained in Syria and Iraq -- into society, once they have served any possible jail time, and to provide particular support for their families. US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft criticized Indonesia’s resolution “supposedly designed to reinforce international action on counterterrorism” as “worse than no resolution at all.”She added: “Terrorist fighters and their families are easily ignored if they are someone else’s problem. But I tell you now, and I say this with absolute conviction – failing to address head on the importance of repatriation will inevitably perpetuate the problem of terrorism.”
Read more: UK wins bid for Supreme Court to hear ISIS bride case
*With AFP

Sixth phase of Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indian citizens from Gulf begins
N.P. Krishna Kumar, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday 01 September 2020
The sixth phase of special flights to repatriate Indian citizens from the Gulf and other locations worldwide will commence on September 1, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM). This was stated by the Anurag Srivastava, Spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in New Delhi on Monday. “Phase VI of Vande Bharat Mission is scheduled to begin on September 1. Based on an assessment of demand by our Missions/Posts abroad, flights are being scheduled by Air India Group and private carriers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Air India on Monday announced its tentative schedule for Vande Bharat Phase VI repatriation flights from Dubai, Bahrain and Jeddah from September 1 till October 24.Air India Express announced its tentative schedule from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait for the entire month of September. Vande Bharat Mission is the name which the Indian government has given for a massive, worldwide airlift of Indian citizens wishing to return home following disruptions caused by the outbreak of coronavirus.
Providing confirmed figures as of August 26, Srivastava said: “More than 1.2 million Indians stranded abroad have been repatriated by different modes under the Vande Bharat Mission. Flights have been added for repatriation from Kuwait. In addition, the number of flights from other GCC countries has been further augmented.”Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Minister for Civil Aviation, said that negotiations on air travel arrangements with 18 more countries are ongoing which when it comes to fruition will “benefit stranded Indians and nationals of these countries.”

Venezuela’s Maduro pardons more than 100 opposition lawmakers
AFP/Tuesday 01 September 2020
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday pardoned more than 100 lawmakers and associates of opposition leader Juan Guaido “in the interests of promoting national reconciliation,” the government said.
Guaido’s assistant Roberto Marrero and lawmakers Gilber Caro and Renzo Prieto were amongst the names read out by Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez live on state television. The presidential decree “comes into force from its publication” after which the courts “must implement immediate measures to liberate the persons mentioned,” said Rodriguez.Amongst those featuring on the list of 110 people was opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara, who fled to the Chilean embassy the capital Caracas in 2017 after leading anti-government protests that left 125 people dead. The Supreme Court - which has been accused of pandering to the regime - then ordered that he be denied the freedom to leave the country. Another person pardoned is Henry Ramos Allup, the head of the Democratic Action party that is the oldest in Venezuela. As well as those detained, the order includes those with outstanding judicial cases, including opposition lawmakers living in exile. The announcement came a day after Maduro claimed to be supporting measures to bring “reconciliation” and “deep dialogue” in the deeply polarized South American country ahead of December legislative elections. Guaido and leading opposition figures have already vowed to boycott that election over a lack of transparency after the Supreme Court appointed election officials - a role that should have been conducted by the opposition-controlled legislature.
 

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 01/2020

Hamas Proxy Launches Incendiary Balloons at Israel, Again
Joe Truzman/David May/FDD's Long War Journal/August 31/2020
The Hamas proxy Humat al-Aqsa (HAA) published a video this week claiming responsibility for sending incendiary balloons into Israel from Gaza. HAA openly acknowledges its arson attacks as part of a campaign to terrorize Israeli civilians and cause fires across the border.
The attacks marked a resumption of incendiary balloon attacks after a six-month hiatus. The renewed attacks caused 161 fires in Israel between August 22 and August 26. In response, Israel has deployed Lahav Or, a laser system designed to counter incendiary balloons, which reportedly has a 90 percent success rate in the limited areas it can cover.
With Hamas’ approval, HAA and other militant groups reportedly resumed the attacks to pressure Israel to improve conditions in the Gaza Strip. Hamas seeks to extend Gaza’s fishing zone from 15 to 20 nautical miles, relax the blockade on the Gaza Strip, and increase work permits for Gazans to enter Israel. Israel has maintained severe restrictions on the coastal enclave following Hamas’ violent takeover of Gaza in 2007.
Palestinians in Gaza first deployed explosive balloons in April 2018 under the cover of the “March of Return” protests. That year, the incendiary devices sparked approximately 2,000 fires and destroyed about 8,400 acres of land in southern Israel. Additionally, between January 2019 and shortly after the 2019 June ceasefire agreement, Israel reported an average of two arson attacks per day.
In January and February 2020, Hamas violated its ceasefire and ordered the renewal of incendiary and explosive-laden balloons by militant groups, including HAA. It is unlikely that HAA or others would carry out these operations without explicit approval from Hamas. In fact, HAA boasted of its role in the arson campaign, publishing a video in February featuring men holding a banner with the group’s logo and name, filling condoms with helium, and sending them into Israel.
According to Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, Fathi Hamad, a senior Hamas official subject to U.S. sanctions, established and funded HAA in 2006. As a Hamas proxy, HAA enables Gaza’s rulers to carry out terrorist attacks while maintaining plausible deniability.
Since its founding, HAA has carried out a range of attacks. HAA promotional videos show its fighters launching rockets and mortars against Israel. In one video, a fighter in a ghillie suit aims his .50 caliber sniper rifle at Israeli soldiers.
In May 2019, HAA fighter Imad Muhammad Nasir was killed by the Israel Defense Forces in the northern Gaza strip as he was firing mortars at Israel. In January 2020, HAA reported on social media that it had lost 13 “martyred” fighters.
In keeping with Washington’s commitment to designating violent groups that perpetrate terrorism against civilian populations, and in light of the overwhelming evidence of HAA’s terrorist activities, the U.S. government should sanction HAA.
*Joe Truzman is an analyst and contributor at the Long War Journal (LWJ), a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD),
*David May is a research analyst and contributor to FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). For more analysis from Joe, David, LWJ, and CMPP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Joe and David on Twitter @Jtruzmah and @DavidSamuelMay. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CMPP and @LongWarJournal. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Iran and Turkey sing from the same sheet of music against Israel-UAE rapprochement
Behnam Ben Taleblu/Aykan Erdemir/The Hill/August 31/2020
“The bowl that’s hotter than the soup” is a popular Persian expression describing a person more invested in others’ affairs than a source of authority on those affairs. It is also a fitting idiom for today’s Middle East, particularly Turkey and Iran, which are two majority Muslim but non-Arab powers that strongly condemned the latest iteration of Arab-Israeli peace: a U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
What makes their condemnation ironic, is that while in 2020 the UAE became the third Arab country to recognize Israel — after Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) — Turkey and Iran were, long ago, the first (1949) and second (1950) majority Muslim nations, respectively, to establish relations with the Jewish state. Ankara’s convergence with Tehran, both in terms of policy and rhetoric, is a reflection of the tectonic shifts that are reconfiguring alliances in the broader Middle East by bringing Israel and select Arab states closer together.
Although Turkey and Iran have competed over regional hegemony for centuries, more recently, they have exhibited a willingness to “compartmentalize” their rivalry and make the most of any tactical convergence — be it through sanctions-busting or anti-Kurdish policies, for example. The engine behind this convergence has been the same: Islamist state capture, first via a popular revolution in Iran (1979) and then using the ballot box in Turkey (2002). Its results have led to a more robust assault against the U.S.-led world order, as well as a nosedive in relations with Israel and other U.S. partners in the Middle East. The ascendancy of political Islam in Iran and Turkey also helps explain why their leaders champion rivals to the United States and its regional partners, and in effect, style themselves as “supporters” of the Palestinian and other rejectionist causes.
On cue, Iranian officials framed the agreement as “a betrayal to the Islamic Ummah [nation],” and as a “treacherous action.” But while military support for Palestinian rejectionist groups animates political elites, it appears to have little support among the population. Slogans from protests dating back to 2009 (and until present) reveal a desire for a foreign policy less obsessed with Israel and a government more attentive to domestic needs. A 36-year-old Iranian single-mother whom Reuters recently quoted best encapsulates this sentiment: “I don’t care about the Palestinian cause, I don’t care about regional politics. I care about my family,” she said.
Such sentiment matters not, though, for the Kayhan newspaper, whose editor-in-chief is reportedly a confidant of Iran’s Supreme Leader and a cheerleader for hardline policies. In response to the deal, Kayhan’s front-page headline claimed that the UAE was now, “a legitimate target for the Resistance.” Further elaborating that this was the third Arab “betrayal” of the Palestinians (noting Egypt and Jordan’s accords with Israel), Kayhan worryingly noted that the Emirates was the “first Arab state in the Persian Gulf area” to make peace.
Iran has always seen the UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as jurisdictions ripe for hedging against America. For instance, despite the centrality of the Gulf to Washington’s maximum pressure campaign, Tehran continued to use front companies located in the Emirates to help bust sanctions, sometimes even openly, as in the case of petrochemical sales. Another example was the escalation on full display last summer by Iran, first in the maritime domain, and then against a U.S. drone. The recipient of these signals? The UAE, which as noted in The Washington Post, despite being called “little Sparta,” was withdrawing troops in Yemen (where Iran-backed Houthis are fighting) and commencing a maritime security dialogue with Tehran. The cherry on the sundae was Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s use of an Arabic proverb at the UN General Assembly last year to warn the GCC against seeking external security guarantees.
Seen in this light, the peace agreement reads as a failure of Iran’s intimidation policy. Nevertheless, the regime is doubling down. Its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned of “a dangerous future for… the residents of the glass palace,” alluding to Emirati security as fragile, while a hardline clerical association cautioned that the UAE would bear the “cost” of this move. Tehran has not been afraid to back these words with deeds, and recently detained a UAE vessel.
For Ankara’s part, their foreign ministry issued a statement condemning the deal, using a tone reminiscent of the Islamic Republic. Ankara accused the UAE of attempting “to present its betrayal to the Palestinian cause as an act of altruism” and vowed, “The history and the conscience of the people in the region will never forget or forgive this hypocritical act.” Three days later Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his intention of “suspending diplomatic ties with the Abu Dhabi leadership or pulling back our ambassador.”
Although the Palestinian cause was central to the Turkish government’s rhetoric, Ankara’s reaction to the UAE has more to do with Erdogan’s deepening rivalry with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), who has emerged as the leader of the anti-Muslim Brotherhood camp in the region. A columnist in Turkey’s pro-government Daily Sabah claimed that Abu Dhabi’s “decision to normalize relations with Israel is not directed at Iran” but stems from the UAE’s desire “to build a concrete axis against Turkey and Qatar.”
Indeed, Erdogan, who acts as the leading patron of the Muslim Brotherhood globally, sees MBZ as the key culprit for the Brotherhood’s reversal of fortunes across the Arab world. Turkey’s Islamists believe that an MBZ-led alliance in the Gulf has been behind all calamities befalling Turkey from the failed coup attempt in 2016 and the devaluation of the Turkish currency to the armed insurgency of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
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Analysts have often pointed a finger to political Islam as a culprit for the lack of relations between Israel and majority Muslim states. Ironically, the respective Islamist ambitions of majority-Sunni Turkey and majority-Shiite Iran, and their growing ability to act in unison to simultaneously challenge the U.S.-led world order, traditional Arab monarchies, and Israel, has complicated that analysis.
It is true that the promise of win-win relations in business, technology, intelligence, and security continues to pull Israel and Arab states towards one another. But the push factor from Islamists in Ankara and Tehran appear to have been the magic touch with the UAE — and possibly others waiting to happen.
*Behnam Ben Taleblu is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (@FDD) think-tank in Washington, D.C.,
*Aykan Erdemir, a former Turkish Parliamentarian, is the senior director of the Turkey program.

Lessons for the Pacific From The European Deterrence Initiative
Bradley Bowman/Maj Scott D. Adamson/Breaking Defense/August 31/2020
Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” While Franklin was certainly not thinking of national security policy, the United States would be wise to apply the principle to deterring aggression from Beijing.
Leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees appear poised to do just that by establishing a Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) in the forthcoming fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The Pentagon should consider lessons from a similar effort in Europe, sparked when the U.S. failed to apply Franklin’s principle before Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine and illegal annexation of Crimea. Distracted elsewhere and confused regarding Putin’s intensions, Washington allowed the military deterrence of Moscow in eastern Europe to atrophy. Putin saw his opportunity and sprang into action.
Following Moscow’s aggression in Crimea and fighting in eastern Ukraine, the United States belatedly created the European Reassurance Initiative, later called the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI). According to testimony in February from Gen. Tod Wolters, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, EDI has increased “forward-stationed and rotational forces,” funded exercises and training, built partner capacity, and improved prepositioned stocks and vital military infrastructure.
EDI, Wolters says, has been “critical to our deterrence and posture successes.”
That is exactly what the United States must do without delay in the Indo-Pacific.
Some in the Pentagon are concerned that a PDI might reduce the Department of Defense’s flexibility, but it is past time to substantively align U.S. budgets and programs with rhetoric regarding the importance of the Pacific. As Rep. Mac Thornberry, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, has said: “It is time to put our money where our mouth is.”
To do that effectively in the Pacific, three lessons from Europe are particularly instructive. The first is: waste no time in getting started. Before Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine, Washington dithered and ignored warning signs. Russia’s 2008 invasion and occupation of large portions of Georgia, as well as subsequent military reforms, should have set off alarms.
The United States must not make the same mistake when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party’s activities in the Indo-Pacific.
The warning signs regarding the CCP are already manifest in Hong Kong, along the border with India, in the South China Sea, and in the seas and skies surrounding Taiwan. The top U.S. military officer in the Indo-Pacific has warned that the U.S. military balance of power with China continues to become “more unfavorable.”
Washington should not wait for Beijing to invade Taiwan or attack U.S. vessels in the South China Sea to get ready.
Washington also should not delay because building the kind of deterrence referenced by General Wolters takes time. Finite budgets and industry capacity contribute to protracted timelines when procuring necessary stocks of pre-positioned equipment.
Similarly, the need for defense cooperation agreement negotiations, host nation approvals, and contractor capacity extends the duration required to build necessary infrastructure. In the case of the EDI, only a handful of the more than 70 authorized EDI military construction projects have been completed since the program began in 2015. These frequent delays are exacerbated when military construction funds are diverted to other projects.
There is no reason to believe that PDI won’t take years as well. Washington should not expect that it can reverse decades of neglect in the Indo-Pacific with one or two annual appropriations.
That brings us to EDI’s second lesson for a similar effort in the Pacific.
Congress has authorized and funded EDI using the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account. OCO was originally intended to fund short-term expenses associated with post-9/11 conflicts. But the continued use of OCO for major multi-year initiatives represents a ploy to bypass budget limits associated with the base budget. This approach comes at a cost in terms of program predictability, prioritization, and assessment.
Largely stemming from OCO’s one-year term, versus the base budget’s five-year outlook, the abridged planning cycle curbs valuable program oversight performed by Congress, undercuts messaging to allies and adversaries, and hinders the Pentagon’s ability to measure progress as part of the regular planning, programming, budgeting, and execution (PPBE) process.
Admittedly, funding the PDI through the base budget will require Congress to actually establish priorities and pursue bipartisan consensus. That is exactly what is required to ensure the PDI’s long-term success.
A third lesson learned from EDI is the importance of investing in less glamorous but vital capabilities, those related to infrastructure and logistics. To deter additional Russian aggression in eastern Europe, the U.S. has used EDI to invest in airfields and other infrastructure necessary to transport and support combat forces. In his February testimony, Wolters suggested those critical investments have been essential in building credible U.S. deterrence.
That is exactly what the U.S. and its partners in the Indo-Pacific need to do to deter and defeat Beijing’s aggression. A recent report by Indo-Pacific Command emphasizes the role of infrastructure in “distributing forward-deployed forces across the breadth and depth of the battle space.” That will require investment in the first and second island chains to facilitate the survival, mobility, dispersal, and lethality of U.S. forces.
High profile weapons systems built in the districts and states of well-positioned members of Congress will always get the political support they need. But the PDI is crucial because it will ensure that the vital supporting infrastructure required in the Pacific also has the needed political support.
As Washington moves to create a PDI, there is much to learn from the experience in Europe. If Washington applies those lessons appropriately, Americans can finally reap the benefits of Franklin’s sage advice.
*Bradley Bowman is senior director for the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
*Maj. Scott Adamson is a visiting military analyst. Views expressed or implied in this commentary are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Air Force or any other U.S. government agency. Follow Bradley on Twitter @Brad_L_Bowman.