English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For February 17/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

#elias_bejjani_news
 

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Bible Quotations For today

Those who have never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall understand.
Letter to the Romans 15/14-21: “I myself feel confident about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. Nevertheless, on some points I have written to you rather boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good news of Christ. Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, ‘Those who have never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall understand.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 16- 17/2021

Elias Bejjani/Visit My LCCC Web site/All That you need to know on Lebanese unfolding news and events in Arabic and English/http://eliasbejjaninews.com/
What Are The Religious Concepts Of The Ash Monday/Elias Bejjani/February 15/2021
Ministry of Health: 2723 new infections, 55 deaths
535,000 People Registered to Get the Vaccine to Date
Russia 'Ready' to Donate Sputnik V Covid Vaccine to Lebanon
Rahi welcomes French ambassador
President Aoun meets Abou Zeid, MP Bou Saab
Nasrallah Warns against Chapter 7, Criticizes Hariri’s 'Insistence' on 18-Seat Govt.
Nasrallah plays innocent, denies Hezbollah’s role in Lokman Slim’s assassination
If you attack our cities, we will attack yours,’ Hezbollah’s Nasrallah tells Israel
FPM Bloc Says Hariri Trying to 'Marginalize President'
Khalde Druze Meeting Warns against 'Unfair' Govt. Share
Lebanese Foreign Ministry condemns terrorist attack on Erbil airport
MPs Voice Objections on World Bank Loan Deal Referred by Aoun, Diab
Mustaqbal MP Says Hariri ‘Determined’ to Form Govt
Bassil meets Spanish, Brazilian ambassadors over an array of matters
Lebanon and ambitions of Iran/Kadry El Haggar/Daily News Egypt/February 16/ 2021
Former Lebanese MP Misbah Al-Ahdab: Lebanon Was Taken Over by the Mafia of Hizbullah, Aoun; It Is Not My Republic Anymore/MEMRI/February 16, 2021
Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon Three Times More Likely to Die with COVID-19
Many fear Slim’s slaying could imperil freedoms in Lebanon/Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/February 16/221

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 16- 17/2021

US calls on Houthis to halt all military operations in Yemen,
UN Slams Deadly Iraq Rocket Attack as 'Reckless'
Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia Claims Rocket Attack On Erbil Base Killed Senior U.S. Officers, Says More Attacks Will Follow If Kurdistan Leadership Continues To Host U.S. Forces, Allow Turkish Military Incursion
US Urges Houthis to Stop Attacks on Saudi Arabia, Engage in Peace Process
Iraqi Militia Leader Nasser Al-Shammari: The Iranian Axis Is On The Rise While The Broken Doomed American Axis Is Declining; Iranian-Backed Groups Responsible For Driving Out American Occupation Forces From Iraq
Friday Sermon In Shiraz, Iran By Khamenei's Representative Lotfollah Dezhkam: New Negotiations? In Your Dreams! Your Warships Will Sink One By One Before Iran Agrees To That
Iran could deploy 200 missiles in Iraq to attack Israel
Israel asks Russia for humanitarian assistance in Syria/Emergency cabinet meeting shrouded in mystery
Israel Moves to Buy F-35 Jets, KC-46 Refueling Planes, Munitions
Path to diplomacy is open right now,’ top US diplomat tells Iran
Iran Armed Forces Slams Spy Chief over Scientist's Murder
Erdogan Says Turkey Will Expand Operations against Kurdish Militants
North Korea 'Tried to Hack' Pfizer for Vaccine Info
 

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 16- 17/2021

Why Joe Biden Faces a Difficult Balancing Act in Burma/Craig Singleton/The National Interest/February 16/2021
Taking a closer look at Israel’s weapons wish list/Bradley Bowman and Jacob Nagel/FDD/February 16/2021
Lords of War/Ahmed Nagi/Carnegie MEC/February 16, 2021
Houthis Step Up Attacks after Removal from Terror List/Seth J. Frantzman/The Jerusalem Post/February 16/ 2021
Palestinians: What Real Education Means/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/February 16/2021
Biden’s Yemen policy needs urgent rethink/Maria Maalouf/Arab News/February 16/2021
 

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 16- 17/2021

Elias Bejjani/Visit My LCCC Web site/All That you need to know on Lebanese unfolding news and events in Arabic and English/http://eliasbejjaninews.com/

What Are The Religious Concepts Of The Ash Monday
Elias Bejjani/February 15/2021
مفاهيم اثنين الرماد الإيمانية

http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/72716/elias-bejjani-what-is-the-ash-monday/

Ash Monday is the first day of Lent and It is a moveable feast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God.
On The Ash Monday the priest ceremonially marks with wet ashes on the worshippers’ foreheads a visible cross while saying “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return (genesis03/19)”.
Worshippers are reminded of their sinfulness and mortality and thus, implicitly, of their need to repent in time.
Ash Monday (Greek: Καθαρά Δευτέρα), is also known as Clean and Pure Monday.
The common term for this day, refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods.
Our Maronite Catholic Church is notable amongst the Eastern rites employing the use of ashes on this day.
(In the Western Catholic Churches this day falls on Wednesday and accordingly it is called the “Ash Wednesday”)
Ash Monday is a Christian holy day of prayer, fasting, contemplating of transgressions and repentance.
Ash Monday is a reminder that we should begin Lent with good intentions and a desire to clean our spiritual house. It is a day of strict fasting including abstinence not only from meat but from eggs and dairy products as well.
Liturgically, Ash Monday—and thus Lent itself—begins on the preceding (Sunday) night, at a special service called Forgiveness Vespers, which culminates with the Ceremony of Mutual Forgiveness, at which all present will bow down before one another and ask forgiveness. In this way, the faithful begin Lent with a clean conscience, with forgiveness, and with renewed Christian love.
The entire first week of Great Lent is often referred to as “Clean Week”, and it is customary to go to Confession during this week, and to clean the house thoroughly.
The Holy Bible stresses the conduct of humility and not bragging for not only during the fasting period, but every day and around the clock.
It is worth mentioning that Ashes were used in ancient times to express grief. When Tamar was raped by her half-brother, “she sprinkled ashes on her head, tore her robe, and with her face buried in her hands went away crying” (2 Samuel 13:19).
Examples of the Ash practices among Jews are found in several other books of the Bible, including Numbers 19:9, 19:17, Jonah 3:6, Book of Esther 4:1, and Hebrews 9:13.
Jesus is quoted as speaking of the Ash practice in Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:13: “If the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”

Ministry of Health: 2723 new infections, 55 deaths
NNA/February 16/ 2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced 2723 new coronavirus infection cases, which brings the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 34,3584.
55 deaths have been registered over the past 24 hours.

535,000 People Registered to Get the Vaccine to Date
Associated Press/February 16/ 2021
Since Lebanon launched its inoculation campaign against Covid-19 virus on Sunday, around “535,000 individuals” have registered to get the vaccine, said Ali Romani, IT Project Manager at the Ministry of Health and programmer of the vaccination platform. The number of registration is reportedly considered low compared to a country of over 6 million, including more than 1 million refugees. But Romani added that the media coverage and vigilance campaigns encouraging people to get the vaccine, "the drive is gathering momentum." Lebanon launched an electronic platform for citizens and residents wishing to receive the coronavirus vaccine. Lebanon administered Sunday its first jabs of COVID-19 vaccine, with an intensive care unit physician and a well-known 93-year-old comedian becoming the first to receive Pfizer-BioNTech doses. Lebanon launched its inoculation campaign a day after receiving the first batch of the vaccine — 28,500 doses from Brussels, near where Pfizer has a manufacturing facility. More were expected to arrive in the coming weeks. The rollout will be monitored by the World Bank and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to ensure safe handling and fair and equitable access for all Lebanese. Lebanon is in the midst of a surge in coronavirus cases. It has registered about 340,861 cases with 4,037 deaths since its first confirmed case last February.

Russia 'Ready' to Donate Sputnik V Covid Vaccine to Lebanon
Naharnet/February 16/ 2021
Russia reportedly expressed willingness to provide Lebanon with donations of its Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, MP Amal Abou Zeid told President Michel Aoun on Tuesday said the National News Agency. Aoun had received Abou Zeid who briefed the President on his latest visit to Moscow where he met Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov, NNA said. Discussions highlighted the general situation in Lebanon including the health conditions amid the outbreak of coronavirus. Abou Zeid said the Russian side expressed willingness to offer a donation of its Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine to Lebanon. Discussions with Bogdanov also highlighted the general political situation in Lebanon and the government formation impasse, added the Agency.

Rahi welcomes French ambassador
NNA/February 16/ 2021
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Rahi, received this Tuesday at the Bkirki Patriarchate the French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo.
 

President Aoun meets Abou Zeid, MP Bou Saab
NNA/February 16/ 2021 
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, met MP Elias Bou Saab, today at the Presidential Palace, and discussed with him current political and Governmental developments. MP Bou Saab stated that he had wished the President to work, during the remainder of the Presidential term, to achieve to basic matters: “Firstly, to proceed to the end in forensic audit, and secondly to organize a dialogue table to address the implementation of what remains of the Taif accord, so that Lebanon would become an actual civil state which affirms its Arab identity on one hand, and applies extensive administrative decentralization on the other, as well as neutralizing Lebanon from regional conflicts”. In addition, MP Bou Saab tackled the issue of forming the Government, indicating “I heard PM Hariri say that he is ready to suggest to the President three of four names to be named as Interior Minister, in contravention to the norms and traditions which were adopted especially after Taif. President Hrawi, may God have mercy on his soul, as well as President Emile Lahoud and President Michel Suleiman have named interior Ministers without anyone suggesting names on them, which indicates that PM Hariri intends to adopt a new criterion in forming Governments, and this is what President Aoun will never accept”. “On the other hand, we have seen a positive response from PM Hariri’s stances, which is his call to move away from sectarian rhetoric, especially during work on forming the new Government. We encourage that and we also encourage seeking realistic solution to the current governmental crisis” Bou Saab added. Moreover, MP Bou Saab briefed President Aoun on the steps he had adopted to help fight Corona virus, especially in Metn region, and noted that “His Excellency, the President, is following-up these measures with interest and care, and perhaps what has been achieved is the model of expanded administrative decentralization that remains the appropriate solution to our Lebanese reality”.
The meeting also addressed needs of Metn region.
Former MP Abou Zeid:
The President also received MP, Amal Bou Zeid, who briefed him on the results of his recent visit to the Russian capital, Moscow. Abou Zeid also briefed President Aoun on the talks which he had held with Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, which addressed the Lebanese general situation, and the issue of the Russian Sputnik vaccine, where Russia expressed readiness to donate this vaccine to Lebanon. Moreover, Abou Zeid said that the discussion he held, with Mr. Bogdanov, also tackled the internal political situation in general, and the governmental situation in particular, especially in light of the inaccurate information attributed to the Russian leadership. ---Presidency Press Office

Nasrallah Warns against Chapter 7, Criticizes Hariri’s 'Insistence' on 18-Seat Govt.
Naharnet/February 16/ 2021
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday defended President Michel in connection with the row over the formation of the new government while criticizing PM-designate Saad Hariri’s “insistence” on the putting together of an 18-seat government. In a televised speech commemorating Hizbullah’s slain leaders, Nasrallah stressed that suggestions linking the government's formation to Iran's nuclear file are "repetitive and of no value." “I don't think that anyone wants the government not to be formed, it is in everyone's interest to see this thing happen, and it is unacceptable to await the foreign powers,” Nasrallah added. “Holding only the President responsible is unfair,” he said. “We understand the PM-designate’s stance on the ‘blocking one-third’ but we don’t understand his insistence on the interior portfolio and on the 18 ministers,” Nasrallah went on to say. Separately, Nasrallah said calls in Lebanon for a U.N. resolution under Chapter 7 should no government be formed are “condemned.”“Such talk is a call for war and chaos and let no one take this issue lightly,” Nasrallah cautioned. He explained that internationalization “harms Lebanon, complicates its issues and contradicts with sovereignty.”
“It might be a cover for a new occupation and it can open the door wide to the naturalization scheme that is rejected by Palestinian refugees and the Lebanese people,” he warned. Noting that there is no problem in seeking the help of friendly countries, Nasrallah pointed out that internationalization “will not resolve our problems but will rather aggravate them.”“Proposing this idea is aimed at relying on foreign powers” to confront domestic parties, Nasrallah charged. Turning to the recent assassination of prominent anti-Hizbullah activist and researcher Lokman Slim, which some parties have blamed on Hizbullah, Nasrallah described the accusations as “frail and silly.”“Profanity and insults reflect the ethical and psychological content of those who launch them and they reflect weakness and impotence,” he said. “I tell this choir that this will not affect us and I call on the supporters of the resistance not to respond in kind,” he added.
“Every accused is innocent until proven guilty, according to laws and norms, except in Lebanon, where we have a group that says that Hizbullah is guilty and convicted until proven innocent,” Nasrallah lamented. He added that the allegations are a “systematic and premeditated campaign that is being orchestrated by black rooms.”“We have documents to prove this issue,” he said. “I thank the supporters of the resistance and the journalists and politicians who expressed their opinions, defended the resistance and refuted the frail and silly accusations,” Nasrallah added. As for the tensions with Israel, Hizbullah’s leader addressed a warning to the chief of staff of the Israeli army. “You can do whatever you want and we also can do whatever we want,” Nasrallah said. “We are not seeking a confrontation -- although certainly we won’t forget the blood of our martyrs -- but we are not seeking a confrontation or a war,” Nasrallah said. “But should a confrontation take place, we will engage in it, and if you impose a war we will fight that war, but I clearly say that if you hit our cities we will hit your cities, and if you hit our villages we will hit your settlements,” he added. “I warn that even the game of ‘a few days of fighting’ will be a dangerous game for the Israelis. No one can guarantee that such a game will not descend into an all-out and major war,” Nasrallah went on to say. “Should war erupt, there is no need for the Israelis to make bravados -- the domestic front in the enemy’s entity will witness events unseen since the rise of this entity in 1948. Therefore, enough with the playing with fire and let the enemy know its limits. The era in which it used to launch threats and people would bow and keep silent is over,” Hizbullah’s leader warned.

Nasrallah plays innocent, denies Hezbollah’s role in Lokman Slim’s assassination
Reuters/17 February ,2021
Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday dismissed accusations of any links between the group and the killing of researcher and activist Lokman Slim. “Any incident that happens in your area then you are accused until the opposite is proven? Is this something that is practiced in the whole wide world? Where else is this logic present?” Nasrallah said in a televised speech. Activist Lokman Slim was shot and found dead in his car in south Lebanon earlier in February, marking the first killing of a high-profile activist in years.He was a critic of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. His sister has suggested he was murdered because of those views. Hezbollah has previously condemned the killing. A filmmaker and publisher, Slim had spoken out against what he called Hezbollah’s intimidation tactics and attempts to monopolize Lebanese politics. Nasrallah was also critical on Tuesday about blame pointed at the group for involvement in the Aug. 4 Beirut blast that killed 200 people. “Hezbollah is guilty until proven otherwise - what kind of a rule is that? ...Beirut port - you, Hezbollah, blew up Beirut port until the truth about the explosion is revealed,” he said. The judicial investigation into the blast is still under way in Lebanon with judge Fadi Sawan having charged caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, whose cabinet quit after the blast, and three former ministers with negligence. Sawan is due to interrogate one of the three former ministers, Youssef Finianos, a Hezbollah ally sanctioned by the US for his links to the group that Washington considers a terrorist organization. “Our information says that the technical investigation ended and the army sent it to the judge...we asked that day the army and internal security to reveal the results of that investigation ....we are repeating our call for this and we insist on it.” The explosion, one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history, added further strains to a country struggling with its worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. It was caused by a massive quantity of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely for years.

If you attack our cities, we will attack yours,’ Hezbollah’s Nasrallah tells Israel
Reuters/16 February
Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel on Tuesday against intimidation, alluding to Israeli combat drills that took place earlier this month, warning any attack would be reciprocated.“We are not looking for a confrontation, but we don’t leave the blood of our martyrs. If a confrontation happens we will respond to it ... if you attack our cities we will attack yours,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech. The Israeli Defense Forces held large scale exercises along the northern border with Lebanon on Feb. 9-10. They said at the time the exercise would examine lessons learnt from operational activities that took place along the Lebanese border over the summer and prepare troops for a variety of scenarios including readiness for “combat days.”“I want to also warn that these threats we are hearing in recent days - combat days and what not - I want to warn that this game of combat days is a dangerous one,” Nasrallah said. “No one can guarantee it would not lead to war.”Israel’s air force also said on Monday it began a “surprise exercise” to improve combat readiness along the country’s northern border to last until Wednesday.

FPM Bloc Says Hariri Trying to 'Marginalize President'
Naharnet/February 16/ 2021
The Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc on Tuesday called on PM-designate Saad Hariri to “return to the spirit of the National Pact,” warning that “the marginalization of the President” does not serve “Lebanon’s unity.” Noting that it wants “the formation of a reformist and balanced government comprise of capable specialists as soon as possible,” the bloc asked the Lebanese if it is the right time to “marginalize the president constitutionally.” In a statement issued after its weekly e-meeting, the bloc also warned that “the marginalization of what the President represents in the process of forming the executive authority” will not serve “Lebanon’s unity” nor “the Lebanese who are longing for a government that would resolve the accumulating crises.” It added that it has offered “everything that can facilitate the formation of the new government, even to the extent of non-participation.” “Every accusation that the President is seeking the blocking one-third is a baseless accusation behind which there is those who want to practice the policy of elimination and return to an era in which the president of the republic used to be an aggrieved and weak partner in authority’s hierarchy,” the bloc went on to say.
“This era is gone forever and if there is an intention for partnership, the solution will immediately emerge,” Strong Lebanon added. “If the elimination process continues, this will mean that there is someone who wants to prolong the crisis for unknown motives,” it warned.

Khalde Druze Meeting Warns against 'Unfair' Govt. Share
Naharnet/February 16/ 2021
A broad meeting was held Tuesday at MP Talal Arslan’s residence in Khalde to discuss the affairs of the Druze community and the controversy over the Druze share in the new government. In addition to Arslan, the meeting was attended by Arab Tawhid Party chief Wiam Wahhab, Syrian Social National Party leader Wael al-Hasaniyeh, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Nasreddine al-Gharib, caretaker Social Affairs and Tourim Minister Ramzi al-Msharrafiyeh, ex-ministers Marwan Kheireddine and Saleh al-Gharib, and a number of spiritual leaders and members of political parties. In a statement issued after the meeting and recited by ex-minister Gharib, the conferees blasted what they called “a blatant attack on the right of founding sect of the Lebanese entity though unfairness in its representation in the government.” “Some are insisting on this by giving the excuse that it will be a government of specialists, while in fact it will have nothing to do with the principle of specialty or the National Pact,” the statement said. “We see it as a spiteful government par excellence that is aimed at curtailing the representation of Druze through eliminating the Druze political diversity whose history predates Lebanon by hundreds of years,” the statement added.
“This is an attack that is rejected in form and content and our stance on it will not change,” the conferees emphasized. In this regard, the conferees said they “highly appreciate the stance of President Michel Aoun and his backing for this right,” calling on him to “carry on with it and cling to the implementation of the constitution” and not to allow “the marginalization of the Druze community and its right to fair representation.” The conferees also urged Speaker Nabih Berri, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and “all the patriotic figures of this country” not to “tolerate any tampering with the delicate political balances in Mount Lebanon.” The current controversy is revolving around whether Druze should get one seat in an 18-seat cabinet or two seats in a 20-seat cabinet.
 

Lebanese Foreign Ministry condemns terrorist attack on Erbil airport
NNA/February 16/ 2021
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants condemned, in a statement this Tuesday, "the terrorist attack that targeted Erbil airport, killing one person and wounding others," denouncing the targeting of "innocent civilians and civilian facilities and destabilizing the sisterly Republic of Iraq," and calling for "adherence to and respect for all international laws and conventions and humanitarian laws."The ministry reiterated Lebanon's "full solidarity with the Republic of Iraq, and its concern for its security and stability," offering its heartfelt condolences to the victim's families and wishing a speedy recovery to the wounded.

MPs Voice Objections on World Bank Loan Deal Referred by Aoun, Diab
Naharnet/February 16/ 2021
The finance, health, labor and social affairs parliamentary committees held a joint session Tuesday to study a draft law for signing a loan treaty with the World Bank aimed at financing an emergency plan for the support of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable families.
During the session, several blocs voiced reservations over the manner in which the draft law was referred to parliament -- through an extraordinary approval from President Michel Aoun and caretaker PM Hassan Diab instead of being approved in a cabinet meeting. Several lawmakers described the move as a constitutional violation. “Constitutionally speaking, we consider that Cabinet should have convened to approve (the draft law) while taking into account all constitutional conditions,” MP Ali Fayyad of Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc told reporters. “This is an international treaty, to be assumed by the person authorized by the President, but Cabinet has to ratify this treaty before submitting it to parliament,” Fayyad added. MP Mohammed al-Hajjar of al-Mustaqbal bloc meanwhile commented on the discrepancy between the dollar exchange rate that the treaty mentions and the actual exchange rate on the black market, demanding that the Finance Ministry and the central bank explain where the surplus will go. MP Alain Aoun of the Strong Lebanon bloc lamented that there is a proposed loan agreement without a “comprehensive plan.” “Where is the plan for rationalizing subsidies?” Aoun asked, addressing the caretaker government. MP Hadi Abu al-Hosn of the Democratic Gathering bloc meanwhile reminded that the Gathering had proposed a complete plan for rationalizing subsidization.

Mustaqbal MP Says Hariri ‘Determined’ to Form Govt
Naharnet/February 16/ 2021
Al-Mustaqbal Movement MP Mohammed Hajjar said Tuesday that PM-designate Saad Hariri “is determined to have a government formed” in Lebanon, despite a volley of words between him and the team of the Presidency that disappointed many about a close lineup. “PM-designate Saad Hariri does not want any escalation, rather it was necessary to directly tell the Lebanese people the facts after the accusations, slanders, and even myths by (MP Jebran) Bassil's team and the Free Patriotic Movement,” Hajjar told VDL (100.5) radio station. Hajjar said parties should sit together to discuss and present the observations that Hariri made during his meetings with President Michel Aoun on the government formation. On whether Hizbullah support’s Aoun’s demands to get a blocking one-third powers in the new cabinet, Hajjar said: “Hizbullah is Aoun’s ally. But by logic, the government should be formed of nonpartisan experts. They can always resort to the Parliament if they disagree, they have the majority and can topple the government or refrain from giving it their confidence vote.”
“Hariri is determined to form a government,” he stressed.
 

Bassil meets Spanish, Brazilian ambassadors over an array of matters
NNA/February 16/ 2021
Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader, Gebran Bassil, on Tuesday received the Spanish Ambassador to Lebanon, Jose Maria Ferre. As per a statement by the FPM’s central media committee, it said that discussions touched on the bilateral relations, forensic audit, and the European Union’s assistance to Lebanon in its endeavor to uncover the truth of money smuggled and transferred abroad contrary to principles. Bassil also met with Brazilian Ambassador to Lebanon, Hermano Telles Ribeiro, with whom he discussed the bilateral relations and the Lebanese Diaspora in Brazil.
 

Lebanon and ambitions of Iran
Kadry El Haggar/Daily News Egypt/February 16/ 2021
The recent state of confusion in Lebanese foreign policy will certainly have unfortunate consequences in the coming days, especially after the pro-Iranian Shi’a party, Hezbollah, placed its upper hand on this brotherly Arab country.
This meant it became the first in control of it, specifically after the Beirut Port incident and the grinding economic crisis that the country is going through. The Lebanese people have now begun to feel the danger of this matter, as a result of the increase in Iranian influence in the Lebanese territories.
They can also see the almost complete control of this party, and thus Tehran, over most of the political currents in the country, including the Free Patriotic Movement led by Lebanese President Michel Aoun.
Observers of the situation in Lebanon find that Iran is trying, with full force and on the largest scale, to market the Lebanese crisis. It is doing so by promoting and spreading lies through its media trumpets in Tehran and Beirut, in a cheap attempt to inflame discord in the Lebanese street and create a state of tension.
Iran is trying, through an elaborate scheme, to hijack Lebanon, and it is already on the verge of success in isolating it from its Arab surroundings, as it did before with Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. It comes in addition to its desperate attempts to strike the stability of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in general, and in particular Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, through its allies with the Shi’a communities in these countries.
Lebanon will certainly pay the price for Tehran’s mistakes and ambitions in the region, and the coming days may bring unsuspecting news to it, as it is led by Iran, which dreams of building a Persian empire at the expense of the countries of the region.
Lebanon is suffering a lot, as a result of the grinding economic situation it is going through, as the situation has become dangerous, and foreshadows a new civil war. Beirut is currently living, unfortunately, in an atmosphere similar to the period that preceded the civil war which broke out in 1975 and lasted for more than 15 years. It seems to everyone that Iran wants to play with the Lebanon card. Although it supports and nourishes terrorism, Iran is seeking to fight Saudi Arabia on more than one front, to harass and exhaust the kingdom by using some neighbouring countries.
Some may ask why Lebanon is weak in front of Iran, and how it is a country that is easy for everyone to penetrate. For the answer, we must know that the main and most important political party that moves things inside this country is Hezbollah, which has succeeded in controlling the ruling regime inside Lebanon, including President Michel Aoun. This is in addition to the political, sectarian, and religious divisions, and regional and international interventions, which are moving the various Lebanese factions and sects, even if this move is against the higher interest of the country.
Regrettably, “belonging” is no longer to the homeland, but a sect or faction, whether from outside the home or from within it. Perhaps this is the real problem of Lebanon, which we hope that its effects and consequences will not worsen, affecting the security of this sister Arab country and the stability of its people.
*By Kadry El Haggar, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Al-Gomhoria newspaper and director of the Alexandria Festival of Francophone Cinema

Former Lebanese MP Misbah Al-Ahdab: Lebanon Was Taken Over by the Mafia of Hizbullah, Aoun; It Is Not My Republic Anymore
MEMRI/February 16, 2021
Source: Al-Jadeed TV (Lebanon)
Former Lebanese MP Misbah Al-Ahdab said that Lebanon is controlled by Hizbullah, and it does not protect its citizens or serve their interests. He made these remarks in an interview that aired on Al-Jadeed TV (Lebanon) on February 9, 2021. Al-Ahdab said that Hizbullah smuggles Lebanese subsidized goods into Syria, and President Michel Aoun is not concerned with the interests of the Lebanese people because he is busy grooming his son-in-law to take his position. He said that he does not consider Lebanon to be his republic but a republic controlled by Hizbullah, Aoun, and the March 14 Alliance, which also only serves its own interests. Ahdab lamented that Lebanon has been "taken over by a mafia."
Interviewer: "Does Hizbullah run the country today?"
Misbah Al-Ahdab: "Who else? Me?"
Interviewer: "What about Michel Aoun?"
Al-Ahdab: "He is busy grooming his son-in-law to take his place."
Interviewer: "But isn't he the President of the Republic today?"
Al-Ahdab: "He is."
Interviewer: "He is the president of your republic..."
Al-Ahdab: "No."
Interviewer: "What do you mean 'no'?"
Al-Ahdab: "This republic is not mine."
Interviewer: "So whose republic is it?"
Al-Ahdab: "Everybody knows whose republic this is. When this republic wants to guard trucks, it orders its soldiers to guard them. These trucks are loaded with subsidized goods [being smuggled into Syria]. Have I and all the Lebanese paid for these goods, only so they can be taken to support the neighboring Syrian regime? No, I have a problem with that. I am not saying that we should fight the Syrian regime, but we should not be rallied up on its behalf either."
Interviewer: "You are accusing Hizbullah..."
Al-Ahdab: "Hizbullah and Aoun, as well as the March 14 Alliance, who turned a blind eye for the sake of their own interests. This country does not protect Lebanese citizens. Rather, it protects the regional coalition of minorities, which is blowing up Lebanon."
Interviewer: "So today, you are telling me on live TV that Michel Aoun is not the president of your republic."
Al-Ahdab: "As far as I am concerned, this is not my republic."
Interviewer: "What would you call it?"
Al-Ahdab: "Brother, this country was taken over by a mafia."

Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon Three Times More Likely to Die with COVID-19
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 16 February, 2021
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are three times more likely to die with COVID-19 than the population as a whole, according to UN figures that highlight the pandemic’s outsized impact on the community. An estimated 207,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon after being driven from their homes or fleeing the conflict surrounding Israel’s 1948 creation, the vast majority in cramped camps where social distancing is impossible. In the year since Lebanon registered its first case, about 5,800 have been infected with the coronavirus and about 200 of them have died, said a spokeswoman for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. That is three times the COVID-19 mortality rate for the country as a whole of just over 1%. Most Palestinians who died after contracting the disease in Lebanon had health conditions such as cardiac or pulmonary issues, which are aggravated by poverty and conditions in the camps, said UNWRA spokeswoman Hoda Samra. Cramped living conditions and the need to go out to work meant Palestinian refugees were more likely to be exposed to the virus, she added. “Vulnerable communities tend to have poorer baseline health conditions, hence more co-morbidities and chronic health conditions,” said Joelle Abi Rached, an associate researcher at Sciences Po University in Paris. Lebanese authorities bar Palestinians from obtaining Lebanese nationality or working in many skilled professions, so the refugees largely make a living doing low-paid labor in construction and crafts, or as street vendors. “The focus here is on the economic elements — people go out because they can’t afford to go stay home,” Samra told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. She said the total number of infections among Palestinians was likely higher given that only those suspected to have been exposed to confirmed COVID-19 cases were tested. Lebanon, which kicked off its inoculation program on Sunday, has said it will vaccinate Palestinian and Syrian refugees along with the rest of the population. The total number of doses Lebanon has ordered so far would cover about half its population of more than six million, including at least a million Syrian refugees, who have also been hard hit by the pandemic. Nine out of 10 were living in extreme poverty last year, according to the United Nations. Lebanon has been hammered over the past year by an acute financial crisis and a massive explosion in the capital, as well as facing one of the region’s highest coronavirus infection rates. But there are concerns about vaccine take-up. By Tuesday, only about 540,00 people had registered for vaccination, of whom about 6,200 were Palestinians and 5,300 were Syrians, according to government data.“There is a lack of encouragement to take the vaccine that I think applies to many communities in Lebanon,” Samra said.
 

Many fear Slim’s slaying could imperil freedoms in Lebanon
Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/February 16/221
سمر قعدي/الإسبوع العربي: كثيرون في لبنان يتخوفون من أن قتل لقمان سليم سيعرض الحريات للخطر
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/96109/samar-kadi-the-arab-weekly-many-fear-slims-slaying-could-imperil-freedoms-in-lebanon-%d8%b3%d9%85%d8%b1-%d9%82%d8%b9%d8%af%d9%8a-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%b3%d8%a8%d9%88%d8%b9/
BEIRUT--Following the murder of staunch Hezbollah critic and Shia activist Lokman Slim on February 4, many like-minded journalists, activists and intellectuals fear Lebanon has entered a new phase of spiraling tensions that could be marred by similar assassinations.
Slim’s killing in Hezbollah-dominated south Lebanon broke a pause in political assassinations that had targeted anti-Syrian and anti-Hezbollah figures after Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon in 2005. The majority of those killings took place between 2005 and 2008.
“Lokman’s slaying could mark a transition from a phase that did not witness assassinations to another where such actions are becoming blunt and bold,” said Ali al Amin, a Shia journalist and Hezbollah opponent.
“It could mean that the voices which Lokman Slim represented or mirrored inside and outside the Shia community, should be more cautious, vigilant and apprehensive about a possible series of assassinations.”
Al Amin maintained that acts of violence were linked to the general atmosphere of institutional collapse in the Lebanese body politic.
“The deterioration of the political and economic situation in the country and in the security and military institutions make us dread more assassinations in the future as blunt as Lokman’s assassination,” he said.
“Naturally, any voice that opposes Hezbollah would be subject to dangers and intimidation. I fear we are entering a phase of security chaos during which anything could happen,” Al Amine added.
A journalist, political analyst and activist known as one of the leading Shia voices critical of Hezbollah, Slim was regularly attacked in media loyal to the powerful group. He was often criticised by Hezbollah supporters for being instrumentalised by the United States and said he had received death threats more than once.
Pro-Hezbollah circles have alleged that Slim was killed in a Hezbollah stronghold in order to smear the Iran-backed group.
Mona Fayyad, a university professor and outspoken Shia critic of Hezbollah, disputed what she called attempts to “exonerate” the powerful party.
“Lokman was kidnapped openly at a road checkpoint, he was held for hours and his body was found many kilometers away from where he was snatched… Is it possible that all this happened without the knowledge of Hezbollah which has cameras everywhere and monitors every movement in such a high security area?” Fayyad asked.
“This is a question addressed to Hezbollah. They should give answers to acquit themselves,” she said.
“They cannot escape accusations and blame. Hassan Nasrallah (Hezbollah chief) boasts that he knows what’s happening in as far as Haifa … How come he was not aware of things happening in south Lebanon. Logic says there is one party responsible for the killing and that is Hezbollah… If not, it means that Hezbollah’s security apparatus has been seriously infiltrated,” Fayyad said.
According to Fayyad, Hezbollah has drawn up a hit list in which Slim figured.
“They have updated this list to include more targets not only in the Shia community but on the national level. We have all been threatened be it on social media or through the insults made publicly, but if they think that they can silence me or repress freedom of expression by resorting to such means I can assure you they are wrong,” Fayyad said.
“The killing in (mainly Shia-inhabited) south Lebanon is a message aimed at intimidating Hezbollah critics in the Shia community. It also carries a message from Iran to the Americans which says you don’t want Hezbollah in the government but Hezbollah controls the country,” she added.
Lebanon has been run by an ineffective caretaker government since August. Divisions among Lebanon’s sectarian leadership have hampered attempts to form a new cabinet by Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, leading to growing dissent, anger and grief amid a deepening economic and financial crisis.
Activists, writers and intellectuals are increasingly apprehensive that media freedoms and freedom of expression are at risk. Many said they saw Slim’s assassination as an attempt to silence dissent.
“Let the authorities go and find the murderer immediately, otherwise they are as criminal as those who gunned down Lokman,” one Twitter user said.
Most Lebanese have little or no trust in the judiciary and fear Slim’s killing will not be resolved and further assassinations will not be thwarted as long as the real perpetrators are not exposed and punished.
“We have witnessed many political assassinations in the past that went unpunished. We all know there is no justice and there is no transparency in inquiries,” Al Amin said.
“Today every opinionated person in Lebanon who has different views than theirs (Hezbollah’s) has fears. But we have no choice but to express ourselves although the chaos besetting the country today may very well be the perfect environment for more assassinations,” Al Amin added.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 16- 17/2021

US calls on Houthis to halt all military operations in Yemen,
Arab News/February 16/ 2021
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis resumed an offensive to seize Marib earlier this month
UN “very alarmed” by Houthi assault, says it could endanger millions of civilians
LONDON: The US urged Yemen’s Houthi militia on Tuesday to halt their advance on the government-held city of Marib and take part in international efforts to find a political solution to the violence in the country. “The Houthis’ assault on Marib is the action of a group not committed to peace or to ending the war afflicting the people of Yemen,” the State Department said. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) estimates that around one million Yemenis have sought refuge in Marib during the six-year war to escape Houthi violence. The Iran-backed Houthi militia resumed an offensive to seize the strategic oil-rich Marib earlier this month. The city is 120 kilometers east of Yemen’s capital Sanaa, which was seized by the Iran-backed militia in 2014.“This assault will only increase the number of internally displaced persons and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, already home to the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe,” the State Department said. If the Houthis were serious about a negotiated political solution to the crisis, then “they must cease all military advances and refrain from other destabilizing and potentially lethal actions, including cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia,” the statement added. The Houthi militia has launched a series of drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia this month, including an attack on Abha airport that damaged a commercial aircraft.
Earlier on Tuesday, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock said the Houthi offensive threatens to displace hundreds of thousands and complicates a renewed diplomatic push to end the war. “An assault on the city would put two million civilians at risk, with hundreds of thousands potentially forced to flee — with unimaginable humanitarian consequences,” Lowcock said. UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths has said the resumption of Houthi hostilities near Marib was extremely concerning at a time of renewed diplomatic momentum. The US special envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking said Washington was “very aggressively” using back channels to communicate with the Houthi militia. Lenderking told a State Department press briefing that the US is working to energize international diplomatic efforts with its Gulf partners, the UN and others, to create the right conditions for a cease-fire and to push the parties toward a negotiated settlement to end the war. He said he visited Riyadh last week and met with the Saudi leadership and UN envoy Griffiths, as well as Yemen’s president and foreign minister. During talks with Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Lenderking discussed a drone attack on Abha airport in southern Saudi Arabia which led to a passenger plane being set on fire. They had lengthy discussions on what could have happened had there been people onboard the aircraft. “Attacks against Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport and civilian infrastructure by the Houthis are not the actions of a group that claim they want peace, and they must stop,” he said. Lenderking added that the US is not going to allow Saudi Arabia to be “target practice” and that the Kingdom needs to have the ability to defend itself. “Unless and until Yemen’s Houthis change their reprehensible behavior their leaders will remain under significant US and international pressure.”He also said Iran must stop its lethal support for the Houthi militia and called on Tehran and other “stakeholders and those with a say in the issue to rally around and support our efforts.”“We maintain that a political solution that brings the parties together is the only way to bring lasting peace to Yemen and lasting relief to the people of Yemen,” he said. (With Reuters)

UN Slams Deadly Iraq Rocket Attack as 'Reckless'
Agence France Presse//February 16, 2021
The United Nations warned Tuesday Iraq could spin out of control after a rocket attack on the Kurdish regional capital Arbil killed a foreign contractor and wounded several Iraqis and foreigners.  The attack late Monday was the first time in nearly two months that Western military or diplomatic installations have been targeted in Iraq after a series of similar incidents blamed on pro-Iranian Shiite factions last year. The United Nations' top representative in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, slammed the attack on Tuesday morning. "Such heinous, reckless acts pose grave threats to stability," she posted on Twitter, calling for "restraint" and cooperation between Baghdad and Arbil on a probe. On Monday evening, more than a dozen 107mm rockets -- the same size used in attacks in Baghdad -- were fired from around eight kilometres (five miles) west of Arbil. They appeared to be targeted at a military complex in Arbil airport that hosts foreign troops deployed as part of a US-led coalition helping Iraq fight jihadists since 2014. But they struck all over the northwest of the city, including residential neighbourhoods where they wounded five civilians, the Arbil health directorate told AFP. Coalition spokesman Wayne Marotto said three rockets hit Arbil airport, killing one foreign civilian contractor who is not an American national. Another nine people were wounded, including eight civilian contractors and one US soldier, he said. Arbil airport remained closed to all flights on Tuesday morning as authorities assessed the damage, its director Ahmad Hoshyar told AFP.
US 'outraged'
Late Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was "outraged" by the attack and pledged US support in holding those responsible to account. "I have reached out to Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to discuss the incident and to pledge our support for all efforts to investigate and hold accountable those responsible," he said. Barzani had earlier condemned the attack "in the strongest terms," while Iraqi President Barham Saleh called it a "dangerous escalation and a criminal terrorist act". Western military and diplomatic facilities have been targeted by dozens of rockets and roadside bombs since late 2019, but most of the attacks have been on Baghdad, not Arbil. Several of the attacks have been deadly, with both foreign and Iraqi personnel killed. Iraqi and US security officials have blamed hardline pro-Iran factions, including Kataeb Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, who are both vehemently opposed to the US presence in Iraq. Late Monday, a shadowy group calling itself Awliyaa al-Dam (Guardians of Blood) said it carried out the attack but security officials have told AFP they believe it to be a front group for those same prominent pro-Iran factions. Authorities have struggled to hold them to account. Last year, an attempt by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi to arrest more than a dozen members of Kataeb Hezbollah accused of rocket attacks ended in the swift release of all but one of the fighters.
Instead, then US president Donald Trump ordered several rounds of bombing raids on Kataeb Hezbollah in response to the deaths of US service members.
Troop drawdown -
Before leaving office in January, Trump had threatened that any further fatal attacks would prompt a mass bombing campaign, with Iraqi sources telling AFP that more than 100 sites would be targeted.  Iraqi and even US officials have told AFP in recent weeks that it was not clear whether the new administration under President Joe Biden would pursue the same "tripwire."Since Iraq declared victory against the Islamic State group in late 2017, the coalition presence has been reduced to fewer than 3,500 troops, 2,500 of them American. Most are concentrated at the military complex at Arbil airport, a coalition source told AFP. Arbil has been targeted very rarely, although Iranian forces fired missiles at the same airport in January last year, a few days after Washington assassinated prominent Iranian general Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad airport. Both Iran and hardline Iraqi armed groups have repeatedly pledged to take revenge for Soleimani's killing. The same groups have recently vowed to boost their military activity in the Kurdistan region, ostensibly against a Turkish incursion.
 

Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia Claims Rocket Attack On Erbil Base Killed Senior U.S. Officers, Says More Attacks Will Follow If Kurdistan Leadership Continues To Host U.S. Forces, Allow Turkish Military Incursion
MEMRI/February 16, 2021
On February 16, 2021, Saraya Awlia' Al-Dam (The Guardian of Blood Brigades), an Iran-backed militia in Iraq, issued a statement on its Telegram channel highlighting the reasons behind the group's rocket attack, carried out on February 15, which targeted a military base housing U.S. forces in Erbil, northern Iraq. The statement suggested that further attacks may be carried out in the Kurdistan region if the regional government continues to cooperate with U.S. forces and continues to allow Turkish military activity within Iraq's borders.[1]
Earlier, Telegram channels affiliated with Saraya Awlia' Al-Dam shared a statement issued by the group claiming that its fighters fired 24 missiles on Al-Harir military base in Erbil. It added that the missiles were launched only seven kilometers away from the base.[2]
The newly-founded militia, which is believed to be a front group affiliated with Shi'ite militias in Iraq, has previously claimed responsibility for several IED attacks on U.S. logistical supply convoys in southern Iraq. The group's follow-up statement claimed that this time, its fighters chose to launch an attack from the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq attack because they wanted to signal to U.S. forces that they are within the group's reach.
The statement further explained that the attack was intended as a warning for the Kurdistan regional government for providing a haven for the U.S. "occupier," and facilitating the Turkish "occupation" of northern Iraq, referring to Turkish military activity against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraqi territory.[3]
The February 16 statement reads: "When we decided to use the lands of Iraq's Kurdistan to target the U.S. occupation yesterday, we wanted to convey the following [messages]:
"1- The U.S. occupation [forces] will not be safe, even if they move their bases to [an area under the control] of an agent government [i.e., the Kurdistan regional government] that welcomes them as an occupier in our own land [i.e., northern Iraq.]
"2- We wanted to tell some Kurdish politicians that they are following the wrong path. If you do not straighten up, we will make sure you will with our rockets, which we are still storing in Kurdistan, and particularly in Erbil.
"3- You, the Kurdish leaders, continue to welcome the Turkish occupation of the land of Iraq. Mr. Masoud Barazni is the original godfather of the Turkish occupation and invasion of our beloved Iraq.
"4- We stress that the civilians and military members of our Kurdish people are our brothers and are dear to us. We shall not target anyone other than U.S., Turkish, and Israeli bases.
"5- As we wander the streets and alleys of Erbil, and live Erbil's houses and hotels, we are not thinking of targeting anyone. We urge our people and our brothers in the security forces to stay away from U.S., Turkish, and Israeli bases.
"6- The attempt to undermine the significance of the painful blows we struck yesterday is part of a pattern that is often adhered to by enemy's media and its proxies. The truth is that our rockets killed U.S. senior officers and soldiers yesterday, and that the buildings and storage structures for the occupier's aircrafts were turned to wreckage, even though some did not explode until the early hours of the morning.
"7- The kind of rockets we used, and the way they were launched, terrorized the occupier yesterday, to the extent that [U.S. forces] could not identify the location of the launch site until Saraya Awlia' Al-Dam announced the location and the details of the operation, in a statement issued earlier.
"8- Erbil International Airport will remain permanently safe. We shall not target it, even though doing so would be much easier for us."
The statement concluded by paying tribute to slain IRGC Quds Force Commander Qassim Soleimani and PMU Commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhadis, and by pledging to continue to avenge their killing in a U.S. drone strike until the U.S. is ousted from Iraq.
[1] Telegram, AwliaAldam, February 16, 2021.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM report, Iraqi Group Loyal to Iran Claims Responsibility For Rockets Fired At U.S. Base in Erbil, Iraq, February 16, 2021.
[3] See MEMRI JTTM report, Pro-Iranian Shi'ite Militias In Iraq: We Will Attack The Turkish Forces If They Continue To Operate In Northern Iraq, February 15, 2021.

US Urges Houthis to Stop Attacks on Saudi Arabia, Engage in Peace Process
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 16 February, 2021
The United States on Tuesday urged the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen to halt an offensive on the government-held city of Marib and join international efforts to find a political solution to the more than six-year conflict. The fighting in Marib threatens to complicate the administration of US President Joe Biden’s new drive to intensify diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. State Department spokesman Ned Price called on the Houthis to halt the Marib attack, cease all military operations, end cross-border strikes on Saudi Arabia and participate in a UN-led peace process. “The Houthis’ assault on Marib is the action of a group not committed to peace or to ending the war afflicting the people of Yemen,” Price said in a statement. The assault will only worsen the world’s most serious humanitarian catastrophe, he said, noting that a UN agency estimates that Marib hosts about 1 million people displaced from other areas by fighting. “Marib is controlled by the legitimate government of Yemen,” he said. “This assault will only increase the number of internally displaced persons and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.” He urged the Houthis to “constructively participate” in the UN-led peace process and “engage seriously” with the recently appointed US special envoy for Yemen, Timothy Lenderking. Biden appointed the veteran US diplomat as part of his new approach to ending the war. Since Biden launched the policy, however, the Houthis have pressed the assault on Marib and persisted with cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia. “The time to end this conflict is now,” Price said. “There is no military solution.”The United States on Tuesday also revoked the foreign terrorist organization and specially designated global terrorist designations of the Houthis, imposed by the Trump administration on its last full day in office.

Iraqi Militia Leader Nasser Al-Shammari: The Iranian Axis Is On The Rise While The Broken Doomed American Axis Is Declining; Iranian-Backed Groups Responsible For Driving Out American Occupation Forces From Iraq
MEMRI/February 16, 2021
Source: Press TV (Iran)
Deputy secretary-general of the Iraqi Hizbullah Al-Nujaba Movement Nasser Al-Shammari said that the "broken doomed" axis led by America is on a decline. He made these remarks in an interview with the English language official Iranian Press TV (Iran) that was aired on February 9, 2021. Al-Shammari said that Israel used the slogan "from the Nile to the Euphrates" to make territorial gains in its conflicts against Arab countries, however, since the Islamic Republic was established, the Iranian establishment and the IRGC supplied the resistance movements with weapons that have forced Israel to be in retreat ever since. Al-Shammari said that the American "fake and forged" democracy is under scrutiny and claimed that half the Americans are accused of terrorism, refused to accept elections results and attempted to orchestrate a coup. He said that this has led to the American axis's decline and to a rise in the Iranian-led axis, proof of which is Iranian-backed factions driving out “American occupation forces” from Iraq. For more about Al-Shammari, see MEMRI TV clips Nos. 8350, 8148, 8140, and 7681.
Nasser Al-Shammari: "Since the birth of Iran's Islamic Revolution, the enemy has been retreating. Israel's major slogan is: 'From the Nile to the Euphrates.' When the [Israeli] regime used the slogan in every confrontation with Arab countries in the region, it would steal and occupy more territory. Ever since the founding of the Islamic Republic, the [Iranian] establishment and the brothers in the IRGC have been supporting, arming, and training resistance movements. As a result, Israel, since the inception [of the Islamic Republic], has been in retreat.
"The resistance movements are present [in the region] and have achieved great victories. Perhaps the clearest example is the American occupation forces fleeing Iraq.
"The Americans themselves admitted that 80% of their military losses in Iraq came from what they called 'armed groups backed by Iran.'
"The goal [of Iranian-backed movements] at the current stage is to wipe out the entire American military presence in the region, to avenge all the terrorist acts that the U.S. forces have committed, and it will be a base for the arrival of our Hidden Imam.
"The Yemeni [Houthi] resistance is the one that changes the map of political confrontations. Today, the Yemeni resistance targets Saudi Arabia's interests deep inside the kingdom and threatens Israeli interests. Today, all are convinced that for those waging war on Yemen, there is no benefit.
"Today, we see that the democracy that America has always promoted and used as a pretext to invade and intervene in regions across the globe, is fake and forged and under scrutiny even inside the U.S. According to their own official, around half of the American people are accused of terrorism, have rejected their democratic results and were trying to orchestrate a coup. The axis led by the Islamic Republic is on the rise and has constant victories, this is while the American axis, day after day, is a broken doomed one, primarily because the slogans they have been promoting and selling have become unconvincing even in their own country."
 

Friday Sermon In Shiraz, Iran By Khamenei's Representative Lotfollah Dezhkam: New Negotiations? In Your Dreams! Your Warships Will Sink One By One Before Iran Agrees To That

MEMRI/February 16, 2021
Source: Fars TV (Iran)
Khamenei's Representative in Fars Province Lotfollah Dezhkam said that the Iranians stand by their word, and unlike the American, English, and German "non-men," Iran abided by the JCPOA. He made his remarks in a Friday sermon, delivered in Shiraz, Iran and aired on Fars TV (Iran) on February 5, 2021. The worshippers in the mosque responded to this by chanting: "Death to America!" repeatedly. Dezhkam continued to say that these countries now want to start new negotiations, but this will only happen "in their dreams." He said that there would be no negotiations this time around, and their warships would sink one after the other in the ocean. Lotfollah Dezhkam: "It is the honorable and proud Iranian nation that stands by its word. Wherever this nation has signed a contract, it stood by its word. It is you American, English, French, and German non-men who signed [the JCPOA] and did not abide by it."
Audience: "Death to America! Death to America! Death to America! Death to America!" Dezhkam: "Then they say that they want to start new negotiations. We say to them: in your dreams! There will be no negotiations this time. This time it will be your warships that will sink in the ocean one after the other."

Iran could deploy 200 missiles in Iraq to attack Israel

The Jerusalem Post/February 16/ 2021
Iranian rationale for missile deployment in Iraq: Launch against Israel to prevent direct IDF retaliation against targets in Iran territory
With tensions rising with Iran, Israel is concerned that the Islamic Republic could deploy up to 200 long-range missiles in Iraq that could be used to attack the Jewish state. Iran is already believed to have hundreds of missiles that can reach Israel.
While the chances of a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran are deemed low, heightened tensions in the North amid the possibility of a confrontation in Syria or Lebanon, could also draw Iran to retaliate.
The rationale for Iran to deploy missiles in Iraq and launch them from there against Israel would be to try and prevent a direct IDF retaliation against targets within Iranian territory.
Israel has reportedly upped its attacks against Iranian infrastructure in Syria in recent weeks. On Monday morning, Israeli Air Force aircraft reportedly struck targets near Damascus, the second such strike within a week.
The airstrike came just as a surprise military drill covering Israel’s entire northern region was announced. Dubbed "Vered Hagalil", the massive aerial drill, which started on Monday, was launched to help prepare the IAF for a future war with Hezbollah.
Israel does not currently believe that Hezbollah is interested in a new war, but military intelligence is of the opinion that there is a relatively high chance for a “few days of combat” between the IDF and the Iranian-backed guerilla organization.
This is believed to be the result of the group’s failure to avenge the killing of one of its operatives last summer in an airstrike in Syria, attributed to the IAF. An illustration of this was seen two weeks ago when Hezbollah fired a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli drone patrolling southern Lebanon. Had the drone been hit, Israeli officials said that the IDF would have been ordered to respond aggressively.
During the Vered Hagalil exercise, increased numbers of fighter jets and helicopters are expected to be noticed across the country, and a number of explosions may be heard in northern Israel. The exercise is said to end on Wednesday.
The Vered Hagalil exercise simulates combat scenarios in the northern front, and will test all components in the IAF's core missions, including maintaining aerial superiority, protecting the country's skies, as well as attacking and gathering intelligence.

Israel asks Russia for humanitarian assistance in Syria/Emergency cabinet meeting shrouded in mystery
The Jerusalem Post/February 16/ 2021
Israeli officials have asked Russia to help facilitate a humanitarian issue in Syria, according to multiple media reports, as the government held a brief emergency meeting on Tuesday evening, the contents of which have been withheld.
Ministers met after a week in which there was an unusual amount of communication between Israeli and Russian officials. The level of secrecy was unusual high. Political disagreements between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, which have prevented the holding of many government meetings recently, were cast aside in this instance due to the significant nature of the matter under discussion. It’s unclear what type of humanitarian assistance Israel has sought from Russia in Syria. Russia-Israel talks about Syria have typically focused on the coordination of IDF aerial activity to root out Iranian military entrenchment. Last week, Netanyahu, Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi all spoke with their Russian counterparts. The Prime Minister’s Office last week issued a statement on Netanyahu’s conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“They discussed regional issues and the continued coordination between Israel and Russia regarding security developments in the region,” the PMO said. Gantz spoke with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. According to Gantz’ office they discussed “security challenges in the Middle East generally, and Syria in particular.” His office added that “Gantz and Shoigu agreed to continue the dialogue between Russia and Israel to ensure troop safety, and affirmed the importance of taking steps to ease humanitarian conditions on the ground.” Ashkenazi spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In addition, in Moscow last week, Israel’s Ambassador Alexander Ben Zvi met with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Col.-Gen. Alexander Fomin, according to Russia's Defense Ministry. It said that the two had spoken of “Russia-Israel cooperation” and that they also discussed “key aspects of the situation in the Middle East.” On Tuesday, Ben Zvi met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. According to Russia's Foreign Ministry, the two men discussed "key regional problems with an emphasis on the prospects for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement." Other issues on the bilateral agenda were also raised, the ministry said. Simultaneously last week, the website of the English language Arabic paper, Asharq Al-Awsat, reported that the Russian military had searched for the remains of Israeli soldiers in a cemetery near a Palestinian refugee camp south of Damascus.
The article speculated that the Russian military searched for the remains of solders Tzvi Feldman and Yehuda Katz, who have been missing since the 1982 battle of Sultan Yacoub, which took place in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. One the eve of the April 2019 election, Russia helped Israel locate the remains of IDF Sgt. Zachary Baumel, who also went missing during that battle. His body was flown back to Israel and buried at Jerusalem’s Mt. Herzl military cemetery.

Israel Moves to Buy F-35 Jets, KC-46 Refueling Planes, Munitions
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 16 February, 2021
An Israeli ministerial committee approved the purchase of new jets, aircraft and munitions from US companies, an Israeli official said on Tuesday, in a deal that would be worth billions of dollars. “A ministerial procurement committee has approved the purchase of a new F-35 squadron, four new refueling planes, and a large quantity of munitions,” the official said on condition of anonymity to discuss matters still under negotiation. It would be the first Foreign Military Sale to Israel announced under the new administration of President Joe Biden. Since sales take months to process, the genesis of the deals likely dates back to the Trump Administration. Israel has been considering the purchase of KC-46 refueling planes made by Boeing Co for some time and has also been eyeing an additional squadron of 24 or 25 F-35s, which are made by Lockheed Martin.
Although the Israelis have approved the purchase, the US Congress requires notification of major weapons sales before a contract can be signed.

Path to diplomacy is open right now,’ top US diplomat tells Iran
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/Published: 16 February ,2021
The top US diplomat Tuesday extended an olive branch to Tehran on Tuesday, telling Iran that “the path to diplomacy is open right now.”“The path to diplomacy is open right now. Iran is still a ways away from being in compliance. So we’ll have to see what it does,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during an interview with National Public Radio (NPR). Blinken said the US policy was still that Iran must not be allowed to get a nuclear weapon. When asked how the US could stop Iran from getting such a weapon, Blinken brought up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and said that it was “very effective” in preventing Iran from producing the materials needed. Although Blinken said it was “very unfortunate” that former President Donald Trump’s administration pulled out of the 2015 deal brokered by Barack Obama, the secretary of state admitted other issues needed to be included in a new deal.
Asked why Iran should trust America’s word and sign another deal with Washington, Blinken said Iran needed to return to compliance with the JCPOA first. “We need to work on an agreement that’s longer and stronger than the original one. And we also need to engage other issues that were not part of the original negotiation that are deeply problematic for us and for other countries around the world: Iran’s ballistic missile program, its destabilizing actions in country after country,” he said. Blinken was asked if there were any moves underway to reopen direct diplomacy with Iran, to which he issued an ambiguous response: “At present, the president’s been very clear publicly, repeatedly, about where we stand. And we’ll see what, if any, reaction Iran has to that.”He did not rule out direct diplomacy with Iran in the future.“Well, at some point, presumably, if there’s going to be any engagement on this, that would have to require diplomacy. That’s what we’re in the business

Iran Armed Forces Slams Spy Chief over Scientist's Murder
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 16 February, 2021
Iran's armed forces Tuesday slammed the intelligence minister for alleging one of its members was involved in a nuclear scientist's killing, and said the suspect had been ejected from the force years ago. The suspect was a trainee in the Iranian year beginning in March 2014 and "dismissed the same year due to moral issues and addiction", the armed forces general staff said in a statement carried by the IRNA state news agency. The individual had "never been officially recruited" and as a civilian "would fall under the jurisdiction of the intelligence ministry" for monitoring, it said, in a rare public row between a security service and the military in the country. Top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was travelling on a highway outside Tehran accompanied by a security detail on November 27 when he came under machine-gun fire, according to Iranian authorities.
Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said in an interview with state television on February 8 that a member of the armed forces "carried out the first preparations" for the killing, and that it was not possible for his ministry "to keep watch over the armed forces".In response, the armed forces said it expected Alavi "to be more careful in his remarks to the media" so as not to serve the interests of Iran's enemies and safeguard "the dignity of the armed forces" and his ministry. On Sunday, the minister was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying the suspect was an "ex-member of the armed forces" and had left Iran before the assassination. According to Iranian authorities, Fakhrizadeh was a deputy defense minister and carried out work on "nuclear defense". Iran's Revolutionary Guards said a satellite-controlled gun with "artificial intelligence" was used in the attack, which Tehran blamed on its arch foe Israel.
Israel did not react to the accusation but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in 2018 that Fakhrizadeh headed a secret nuclear arms program, whose existence Iran has repeatedly denied.

Erdogan Says Turkey Will Expand Operations against Kurdish Militants
Asharq Al-AwsatTuesday, 16 February, 2021
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday Turkey will expand its cross-border operations against Kurdish militants after 13 captured Turks were killed in northern Iraq. Turkey said on Sunday militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) killed the captives, including police and military personnel, as it was carrying out a military operation against the group. Erdogan also repeated Ankara's complaint that it had not received enough international solidarity. "Whether you speak up or not, we know our duty. We will not give the terrorists a chance," Erdogan told supporters from his AK Party in the Black Sea province of Trabzon. "We will expand our operations into areas where threats are still dense," he added. "We will stay in the areas we secure as long as necessary to prevent similar attacks again." The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union, has waged a decades-old insurgency in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. In the past two years, Turkey has launched several cross-border operations to fight the PKK in northern Iraq, where the group has its stronghold in the Qandil mountains. On Monday, the United States told Ankara that it blamed the PKK for killing the 13 Turks, after Turkey called an earlier US statement on the killings "a joke" and summoned the US ambassador. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, briefing parliament on the operation after opposition parties criticized the government for failing to rescue the Turks, said the offensive was launched without ground support due to the harsh conditions in the mountainous region.
 

North Korea 'Tried to Hack' Pfizer for Vaccine Info
Agence France Presse/Tuesday, 16 February, 2021
North Korean hackers tried to break into the computer systems of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in a search for information on a coronavirus vaccine and treatment technology, South Korea's spy agency said Tuesday, according to reports. The impoverished, nuclear-armed North has been under self-imposed isolation since closing its borders in January last year to try to protect itself from the virus that first emerged in neighbouring China and has gone on to sweep the world, killing more than two million people. Leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly insisted that the country has had no coronavirus cases, although outside experts doubt those assertions. And the closure has added to the pressure on its tottering economy from international sanctions imposed over its banned weapons systems, increasing the urgency for Pyongyang to find a way to deal with the disease. Seoul's National Intelligence Service "briefed us that North Korea tried to obtain technology involving the Covid vaccine and treatment by using cyberwarfare to hack into Pfizer", MP Ha Tae-keung told reporters after a hearing behind closed doors. North Korea is known to operate an army of thousands of well-trained hackers who have attacked firms, institutions and researchers in the South and elsewhere. Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, developed jointly with Germany's BioNTech, began winning approval from authorities late last year. It is based on technology that uses the synthetic version of a molecule called "messenger RNA" to hack into human cells and effectively turn them into vaccine-making factories. Pfizer says it expects to potentially deliver up to 2 billion doses in 2021. The company's South Korean office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by AFP.
 

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 16- 17/2021

Why Joe Biden Faces a Difficult Balancing Act in Burma
Craig Singleton/The National Interest/February 16/2021
Already China is vying for influence and hopes to take advantage of the situation.
As is typical for a new administration’s first month in office, a foreign policy crisis is already upon us: a military take-over in Burma. This Indo-Pacific test will likely determine not only democracy’s fate in Burma, but whether the new administration’s read of the region is compatible with its nascent counter-China strategy.
By most accounts, the world was caught off-guard by the Burmese armed forces’ detention of the country’s State Counselor and democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. These illegal detentions were the result of the military’s displeasure with last November’s election in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) resoundingly defeated nearly every military-backed candidate. After detaining Suu Kyi and her lieutenants, the Burmese military went about employing an all-too-familiar playbook. Within hours, the military assumed control over domestic television stations and cut off nearly all international media. At the same time, internet and phone services were disrupted and many financial institutions were forced to close, in a situation reminiscent of previous upheavals in the country. With a curfew now in effect, the Burmese military has succeeded in curtailing Burma’s slow march towards democracy without firing a single shot.
As news of the crisis reached Washington, the U.S. Department of State and White House referred to the situation as a “coup” and announced sanctions against members of Burma’s military. Meanwhile, China released a more measured statement, noting that Beijing was in the process of “understanding the situation” and remained hopeful that “all sides in Myanmar appropriately handle their differences under the constitution and legal framework and safeguard political and social stability.” For their part, Burma’s neighbors all issued hands-off declarations consistent with their long-standing policies of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
While the political situation in Burma remains fluid, the United States’ strong initial response to the crisis may jeopardize the likelihood that it could be asked to mediate a potential settlement between Burma’s military and the NLD. Ultimately, a successful response to this crisis must take into account the United States’ relative lack of economic and political leverage over Burma, as well as the fact that Burma’s military leaders are unlikely to respond favorably to any language which borders on ultimatum. What’s more, while U.S. sanctions may have proven useful in inducing democratic reform in Burma in the past, China is all but certain to ignore such sanctions under the guise of preventing a humanitarian crisis on its border.
To that end, there may still be time for the United States to re-assess its strategy and promote a constructive path towards dialogue, in effect allowing both sides to air their grievances. Such a diplomatic framework would also provide the new administration with an opportunity to better synchronize its messaging with other Indo-Pacific allies, many of which are hesitant to embrace sanctions or any other steps which could push Burma closer to Beijing.
Meanwhile, China is carefully pursuing its own great-power strategy, one that plays to its relative strengths and long-term objectives, including its efforts to reduce U.S. influence throughout Southeast Asia. Beijing, with Moscow’s backing, has already blocked a draft United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the situation in Burma while reiterating its interest in finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Beijing’s approach is rooted in two key realities. First, apart from a popular uprising, which at present appears unlikely, China understands that Suu Kyi has almost no leverage over her captors. Second, China rightly assesses that the last thing most Burmese citizens want is for the situation to devolve into violence, having already lived through decades of trauma at the hands of their military captors.
Thus, Beijing’s focus on promoting dialogue, whether genuine or not, all but assures that China will play a key role in determining Burma’s future regardless of whether the military junta remains in power. If influence is the name of the Indo-Pacific game, then China is smart to rack up as many wins as possible by playing the part of the region’s chief diplomat, even if it continues to engage in other provocative acts in and around its near abroad.
In a possible worst-case scenario for the United States, Burma’s military leaders, under pressure from new U.S. sanctions, could strengthen their economic ties to China, which could lead to a significant increase in China’s hold over the country. Such measures might include the potential establishment of a Chinese military base in Burma, providing China with a powerful platform to project into the Indian Ocean and police vital sea lanes in the area. Meanwhile, the United States may find it difficult to reverse its initial sanctions threats, as well as build a de-escalatory ladder which provides Burma’s military with a face-saving way out of the crisis.
Sanctions can no doubt be an incredibly powerful tool of diplomacy, but they are at their most effective when wielded at the right time and in the right manner. The same can be said for public messaging to our friends and foes alike. This incident in Burma is further proof the United States and its allies will need to think carefully about when and how to use both when competing in China’s backyard.
*Craig Singleton, a national security expert and former U.S. diplomat, is an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he also contributes to FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) and China Program. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
 

Taking a closer look at Israel’s weapons wish list
Bradley Bowman and Jacob Nagel/FDD/February 16/2021
Eyeing Iran and its terrorist proxies in Syria and Lebanon, Israel’s Cabinet approved on Feb. 7 an Israeli Air Force request to use U.S. foreign military financing and loans to fund approximately $9 billion worth of U.S. military aircraft and weapons. Jerusalem’s decision initiates a process intended to culminate in the Air Force’s acquisition of new American fighter aircraft, air refuelers and helicopters. These purchases would help address vital Israeli military requirements and support efforts to maintain its qualitative military edge over any potential regional adversary.
Under the approved plan, Israel will use both existing funding mechanisms and new loans. The former will come from annual foreign military financing Washington provided pursuant to a 2016 U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding.
The decision was delayed due to disagreements over whether it’d be prudent to fund part of the purchases with loans. Israel’s Finance Ministry reportedly opposed the plan. However, motivated by growing threats from Iran and its terrorist proxies, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi supported the decision.
Still, the recent decision does not provide approval for any specific aircraft or quantities of aircraft. The move simply represents the first step in the Israeli acquisition process. The IAF will now present its recommendations regarding specific fighters, aerial refuelers and helicopters.
In the case of fighters, Israel is considering both the F-35 and the F-15EX. Like the U.S. Air Force, the Israeli Air Force sees value in mixing the complementary capabilities of the two aircraft. Israel has purchased two squadrons of F-35s and would like more. That is because the F-35 is the world’s most advanced multirole fighter, combining exceptional sensor and network capabilities with advanced technologies that make it difficult to detect.
The Air Force has reportedly used its F-35I Adir variant to strike Iranian targets in Syria and has flown it over Lebanon and other areas. Israel is combating Iranian efforts both to establish another front against Israel in Syria, and to funnel precision-guided munition parts and technology through Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon. As Iran acquires more advanced anti-aircraft capabilities and potentially advances its nuclear program further, the F-35′s cutting-edge capabilities will become even more important.
Notwithstanding the F-35′s exceptional capabilities, Israel seeks to improve the capabilities of its F-15 fleet. The Air Force is interested in acquiring an Israeli version of the F-15EX — dubbed the F-15IA — and upgrading some of its older F-15Is. Taking into account maintenance and sustainment costs as well as other factors, the F-15 aircraft costs less per flight hour than the F-35.
The F-15EX also has much greater capacity for carrying munitions. The F-15EX can carry roughly 30,000 pounds of weapons, whereas the F-35 can carry 5,000 pounds internally and has up to 18,000 pounds of total payload capacity when using external stations.
The F-35 can carry four to six missiles internally without increasing the aircraft’s radar signature, and has additional carriage capacity when stealth is not required. By comparison, the F-15EX can carry up to 12 external missiles. In addition, relative to the F-35, Israel expects that it would have more leeway to tailor the F-15EX’s software and hardware to Jerusalem’s unique needs. That could include Israel’s own electronic warfare, communication, missile and avionics packages.
The complementary F-35 and F-15EX capabilities and features make Israel highly likely to move forward with plans to procure one squadron of each aircraft, starting with the F-35. The goal is to increase the Air Force’s capability and capacity.
When it comes to air refuelers, Israel currently uses modified and antiquated Boeing 707s. Accordingly, the Air Force sees an urgent need to purchase about six KC-46s. This purchase would provide additional refueling capacity and capability, extending the range of Air Force fighters to address threats farther from Israel. For conflicts closer to home, the refuelers would increase the time Air Force fighters can loiter above potential targets.
The Air Force is also eager to replace its aging helicopter fleet. The service wants the new helicopter to provide traditional utility vertical lift capabilities, agilely maneuvering conventional ground forces and equipment in conflict zones while also supporting special operations forces and recovering downed pilots.
The Boeing CH-47F and the Sikorsky CH-53K are leading candidates. The Boeing option offers proven capabilities and a lower procurement price tag. Sikorsky’s option, however, would offer three engines per helicopter for improved safety and performance as well as more external lift capability. But the CH-53K’s benefits would come at the cost of fewer helicopters and likely higher maintenance costs.
Depending on a number of factors, the Air Force may also seek to procure the V-22 Osprey in order to extend the range and speed of Israel’s vertical lift capabilities for special missions.
Regardless of Jerusalem’s final decisions, these aircraft acquisitions will strengthen the American military innovation and industrial base, augment the interoperability of U.S. and Israeli military forces, and enhance Israel’s edge over any potential regional adversary.
Given the growing threat from Iran and the extended procurement timelines for these aircraft, there is no more time to waste.
*Bradley Bowman is the senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He previously served as a national security adviser in the Senate and as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot. Retired Brig. Gen. Jacob Nagel is a visiting senior fellow at FDD and a visiting professor at the Technion Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. He previously served in the Israel Defense Forces and in the acting roles of national security adviser to the Israeli prime minister and chief of the National Security Council. Follow Bradley on Twitter @Brad_L_Bowman. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Lords of War
Ahmed Nagi/Carnegie MEC/February 16, 2021
There are several reasons for why the Houthis have no incentive to reach a peace agreement in Yemen.
The new U.S. administration’s policy to end the war in Yemen represents an important milestone in the six-year conflict. President Joe Biden has announced the end of U.S. support for the military operations of the Saudi-led coalition and a more active U.S. role in efforts to end the country’s war. In light of this, he has appointed Timothy Lenderking, a former deputy assistant secretary of state, as his special envoy to Yemen.
However, it remains unclear how the United States will be able to push the Iranian-backed Ansar Allah, better known as the Houthis, to enter into a peace deal. This is also a key challenge facing the United Nations special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, and it will continue to hinder peace efforts. The Houthis’ priority today is to make more gains, not to engage in power-sharing deals. The group’s purported willingness to make peace appears to be only a tactical step.
The Houthis have benefited from the U.S. policy changes in three ways. First, these represent a victory for the Houthis by undermining the interests of its leading adversaries. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in 2015 with ten countries. Today, Saudi Arabia finds itself alone. Second, the Houthis will benefit from the accompanying diplomacy of the United States. This coincides with the reversal of the U.S. designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, as this would have impeded the mission of the U.S. special envoy.
And third, the Houthis will likely accelerate the pace of the war to take advantage of the fact that the Saudis will probably decrease their military operations because of the suspension of U.S. air support. This will create an incentive for the Houthis to expand in the Yemeni interior, into areas bordering where the group is now deployed. This includes Yemen’s west coast, Ma’rib, Jawf, and Shabwa, among other areas. It’s notable that following the U.S. decisions, the Houthis resumed their attacks on Ma’rib, a governorate that hosts more than 2 million internally displaced persons and where the human rights situation is deteriorating. Many areas will probably face similar Houthi attacks in the coming weeks.
There are several major challenges for reaching a peace agreement. First, the Houthis have no motivation to join a political process and share power with other Yemeni parties, given that today they control most areas in northern Yemen. Based on their vision of a solution, the Houthis are trying to position themselves as the country’s sole representatives. They do not want to engage in a process that would deny them a dominant role in internal Yemeni affairs.
This trend has been reinforced by the dynamics that have taken place in the past few years, which have favored the Houthis. The anti-Houthi coalition in general has been deeply divided, with its members and local allies often working at cross-purposes. This has greatly weakened, among others, the internationally recognized Yemeni government of President ‘Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Consequently, the Houthis have had no reason to accept agreements that they signed in the past, such as the Peace and National Partnership Agreement of September 2014. The Houthi approach is reinforced by an ideological conviction that they must reestablish the Zaydi Imamate, which was replaced by a republic in 1962, and that bestows on them a right to govern Yemen.
A second challenge is the Houthis’ growing military capabilities, which make the group much less likely to embrace the compromises that a settlement would entail. The capture of Yemeni military stocks by the Houthis at the end of 2014 allowed them to engage in large-scale military action. The fact that Iran has also supplied them with advanced weapons, like the Houthis’ ability to recruit extensively in the areas under their control, has hardened a perception that the group has no real need to surrender anything.
There is also a structural problem in the Houthi movement. It views itself as a military entity rather than a political movement. The Houthis seem to be convinced that arms bring greater gains than negotiations. The balance of power may prove them right. There appears to be no force in Yemen today that can deter the Houthis as the policies pursued by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the infighting among Yemeni factions, have encouraged the group to be ambitious. The Saudi-backed Hadi government, for example, has been at bitter odds with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, while the Houthis remain strong and unified. In such a context, it makes little sense for the group to pursue peace negotiations when it can simply divide and conquer.
A third challenge is that those who want to push the Houthis into peace talks have few means of pressure to do so. As a nonstate entity, the Houthis are indifferent to international sanctions or criticism. The UN special envoy is trying to talk to Iranian officials and make use of their leverage with the Houthis. However, Tehran’s influence over the group is inseparable from its broader interests in Yemen and the region. Therefore, what is required to end the conflict cannot be separated from the course of U.S.-Iranian talks, if they occur.
It is important to also underline that the Iranian wing in the Houthi movement has increasingly becoming the dominant one in the last three years. Therefore, any solution in Yemen will almost certainly be linked to Iran’s multiple agendas in the region. Not surprisingly perhaps, the task of persuading the Houthis to give up its military track and negotiate a political resolution is somewhat reminiscent of the efforts to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear program.
All this does not mean that the Houthis will not engage in peace talks. On the contrary, they may pursue negotiations while maintaining the momentum of their military actions on the ground. This has been the Houthi approach since 2014. Following the Stockholm Agreement, which helped to contain the battles in the coastal city of Hodeida, battles continued to rage in northern Yemen.
In wanting to encourage the Houthis to engage in negotiations, many international actors have condoned their systematic attacks against their domestic opponents. Yet rather than enhance the chances of a settlement, such actions have made the situation worse, exacerbating the humanitarian situation. In this environment the possibility of a peace agreement has diminished, making the task of the United Nations and United States envoys extremely difficult.
 

Houthis Step Up Attacks after Removal from Terror List
Seth J. Frantzman/The Jerusalem Post/February 16/ 2021
On February 5, the Houthi leadership in the mountains of Yemen read welcome news from Washington that they would soon be removed from a list of foreign terrorist organizations.
They had just been put on the list by the Trump administration.
Because of their designation as "terrorists," it made it difficult to deliver humanitarian aid through areas they control, so the US wanted to make them not terrorists. For the Houthi leadership and their Iranian backers, this meant a new round of attacks and that a military offensive would be planned.
The 10 days since the announced removal have seen almost daily Houthi drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and increased fighting in Yemen. It comes as the US has also said although it supports Riyadh's right to self-defense, it will no longer back an offensive war in Yemen.
This was not a surprise as the Biden team was known to be critical of Saudi Arabia and sympathetic to Yemen. Yemen is divided between the Iranian-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed government that controls Aden and some other areas.
Since 2015, there has been an escalating war. The UAE ended its participation alongside Saudi Arabia. Riyadh does not know how to extricate itself. The Houthis have effective drones and ballistic missiles supplied by Iranian technical advice.
It appears that the Houthis have been unleashing a major drone offensive ever since the US indicated it will delist the group, according to reports from Saudi Arabia and the region.
On February 7, reports indicated that Riyadh intercepted four Houthi drones. On February 8, US Central Command said it would continue to support Riyadh defending itself. On February 9, more drones were intercepted by Saudi Arabia. On February 10, the Houthis said they targeted Abha Airport in southern Saudi Arabia, near Yemen. On February 11, another interception of a Houthi attack was reported.
On February 12, in the wake of the US finally taking them off the list, more reports of attacks on Abha and King Khalid Air Base in Saudi Arabia were reported.
"The attack by an explosive-laden drone was the fourth such incident involving the Iran-backed Houthis in southern Saudi Arabia in as many days," a local media outlet reported.
The growing attacks by drones are not entirely unique. In 2019, there were also large numbers of drone attacks. These attacks grew in sophistication.
The Houthis use what is called a Qasef drone, sometimes also called Qasef 2K, which is similar to Iran's Ababil drone. It is thought to have a range of more than 150 km. The drone is more like a German V-1 rocket in that it is packed with explosives and flies into its target using preset coordinates and a gyroscope.
The gyroscopes from the Qasef 1 were found and documented, linking them to other Iranian drones that have turned up in places as far away as Sudan and Afghanistan and parts of drones that have been intercepted. Gyroscopes link them to the Ababil-3 and the Shahed-123 Iranian drones. These are V10 and V9 gyroscopes.
In mid-January, aerial photos showed a previously never seen or documented "Shahed-136" in Yemen, Newsweek reported. This was a flying-wing design linked perhaps to Iran's attempt to reverse engineer the RQ-170 Sentinel that it shot down in 2011.
Iran copied the US drone and made the Saegheh-2 and Shahed-171 Simorgh drones. One of these types penetrated Israeli airspace in February 2018, flown from Syria's T-4 base. Israel shot it down.
The use of drones by the Houthis has threatened Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It is not known if Iran's drones can reach Israel from Yemen, but concerns in the past have raised this possibility.
Since the Houthis learned they are being taken off the US terrorist list, they appear to have increased their attacks. It is not clear if this is to goad the US or Saudi Arabia into an increased military campaign or is a kind of celebration.
*Seth J. Frantzman is a Ginsburg-Milstein Writing Fellow at the Middle East Forum and senior Middle East correspondent at The Jerusalem Post.

Palestinians: What Real Education Means
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/February 16/2021
The result of the 2006 election showed that a majority of Palestinians fully supported Hamas's call for ending corruption in the Palestinian Authority, imposing Islamic law and, most importantly, continuing the armed struggle against Israel.
Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist. It seeks to replace Israel with an Islamic state.
Palestinians did not buy Fatah's talk about ending corruption: they saw how Fatah's leaders had enriched themselves after the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, thanks to hundreds of millions of dollars that were lavished on them without a shred of accountability by the US, the European Union and other Western donors.
The reason that Fatah, unlike Hamas, did not talk about the "liberation of all of Palestine" or promise to launch an armed struggle against Israel is because its leaders were afraid that the US and EU would halt financial aid to the Palestinians.
Any Palestinian, like Fayyad, who runs in the election on a platform that talks about peace and coexistence with Israel will lose.
Real education starts at home, not necessarily in the classroom.... Palestinian leaders need to tell their people that Israel has the right to exist. They need to tell their people that peace and normalization is good not only for Israel, but also for the Palestinians. They need to tell their people that cooperation with Israel is better than boycotts.
Under the current circumstances, in which anti-Israel sentiments are at an extreme high, one wonders whether it is a good idea to proceed with the plan to hold new elections. They are certain only to strengthen the radical camp among Palestinians even further.
The next election for the Palestinian Legislative Council is scheduled for May 15, 2021. Hamas won the last elections in 2006. Under the current circumstances, in which anti-Israel sentiments are at an extreme high, one wonders whether it is a good idea to proceed with the plan to hold new elections. They are certain only to strengthen the radical camp among Palestinians even further. (Photo by Zharan Hammad/Getty Images)
The last Palestinian parliamentary election, held on January 25, 2006, resulted in a victory for Hamas, the Islamist movement controlling the Gaza Strip. The next parliamentary election is scheduled to take place on May 15, 2021, although the parliament, known as the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) was elected for a four-year term.
The Hamas victory in 2006 triggered a bitter dispute with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, effectively paralyzing the PLC and creating two separate mini-states for the Palestinians -- one in the West Bank and another in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas won the 2006 vote mainly because its candidates ran as part of a list named Change and Reform Bloc.
The slogan of the list was: "Islam is the solution; one hand builds, the other resists." The Hamas list, in its election program, promised to combat all forms of corruption and "make Islamic law [sharia] the main source of legislation in Palestine." The Hamas list, in addition, pledged to "use all methods, including armed resistance" against Israel.
Because of these promises, Hamas won 74 of the 132 seats of the PLC. Its rivals in Fatah received 45 seats.
The result of the 2006 election showed that a majority of Palestinians fully supported Hamas's call for ending corruption in the Palestinian Authority, imposing Islamic law and, most importantly, continuing the armed struggle against Israel.
Hamas justified its decision to participate in that election by arguing that it was in the context of the Islamist group's "comprehensive program to liberate Palestine."
The winning message Hamas sent to Palestinians back then was: Our participation in the election does not mean that we recognize the Oslo Accords and Israel's right to exist. This is just one step toward achieving our goal of liberating all of Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist. It boycotted the first parliamentary election in 1996 on the pretext that the vote was being held under the umbrella of the Oslo Accords, signed three years earlier between the PLO and Israel.
Hamas remains opposed to the Oslo Accords because it does not believe in any peace process with Israel. After all, how can Hamas accept any peace process when its charter openly calls for the annihilation of Israel?
The political program of Fatah also promised to "completely end all forms of corruption and abuse of power." Fatah, however, did not promise to launch an "armed resistance" against Israel or impose Islamic law "as a main source of legislation in Palestine."
Palestinians did not buy Fatah's talk about ending corruption: they saw how Fatah's leaders had enriched themselves after the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, thanks to hundreds of millions of dollars that were lavished on them without a shred of accountability by the US, the European Union and other Western donors.
Although Fatah used harsh anti-Israel rhetoric in its election program, many Palestinians nevertheless preferred Hamas. The reason that Fatah, unlike Hamas, did not talk about the "liberation of all of Palestine" or promise to launch an armed struggle against Israel is because its leaders were afraid that the US and EU would halt financial aid to the Palestinians.
All Fatah said back then was that the Palestinians were "entitled to resist the occupation in accordance with international conventions."
Again, vague talk about anti-Israel "resistance" was not sufficient to convince a majority of Palestinians to vote for Fatah. Had Fatah specifically mentioned "armed resistance" in its election program, it would have succeeded in attracting the support of more voters.
Another list that contested the 2006 election was named Third Way. The list was headed by Salam Fayyad, who has a PhD in economics from the University of Texas at Austin. Fayyad's list won only 2.41% of the vote in the 2006 PLC election. Fayyad went on to serve as Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority from 2007 to 2013.
Why did the Third Way yield little success? Unlike most of the candidates on the Fatah and Hamas lists, Fayyad was not involved in anti-Israel terror activities; mainly, he never spent a day in an Israeli prison. As far as many Palestinians are concerned, it is more important if one graduates from an Israeli prison than from the University of Texas at Austin.
Fayyad's election program focused on the need to "end security anarchy and the chaos of weapons, build strong and professional security forces and implement a reform plan" in PA institutions.
Fayyad, in other words, promised to dismantle the armed gangs and militias roaming the Palestinian streets and make sure that the Palestinian security forces operate in accordance with the law. Evidently, these promises did not appeal to the overwhelming majority of the Palestinians.
Palestinians who did not vote for Fayyad's Third Way list were actually saying that they oppose the disarmament of the armed groups of Fatah and Hamas.
If Fayyad chooses to run in the May 22 parliamentary election with the same message, it is unlikely that he will receive many more votes than he got in 2006. Indeed, it is entirely possible that he will receive fewer votes than he did then. Any Palestinian, like Fayyad, who runs in the election on a platform that talks about peace and coexistence with Israel will lose.
How can any candidate who runs on a ticket that promotes normalization and peace with Israel win at a time when Palestinians are being radicalized against Israel (by their leaders) on a daily basis? How can any candidate who did not spend time in Israeli prison win at a time when Palestinian security prisoners are being glorified by Palestinian leaders as "heroes"?
Can any candidate stand in the center of Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinians, and talk about promoting peace and normalization with Israel? Any candidate who did so would be lucky if he or she was not denounced as a traitor – or worse.
The only way to climb out of this cesspool is through education. Real education starts at home, not necessarily in the classroom. Real education starts with what parents communicate to their children. Real education starts with what a child sees and hears in his or her home environment. Real education starts with what leaders and the media tell the children.
The daily anti-Israel incitement in the media, mosques and rhetoric of Palestinian leaders explains why there is no room for people like Fayyad in the Palestinian political discourse.
Palestinian leaders need to tell their people that Israel has the right to exist. They need to tell their people that peace and normalization is good not only for Israel, but also for the Palestinians. They need to tell their people that cooperation with Israel is better than boycotts.
Calling Israel the "Zionist Entity" or the "State of Occupation" serves only to further delegitimize Israel and demonize Jews.
Calling for all forms of resistance against Israel makes it impossible for advocates of peace and non-violence to win a Palestinian election. Proclamations by Fatah and Hamas that call for prosecuting Israelis for "war crimes" mean that most Palestinians will vote for any list that promises war, not peace, with Israel. The only candidates who are likely to win an election are those who incite violence against Israel.
Under the current circumstances, in which anti-Israel sentiments are at an extreme high, one wonders whether it is a good idea to proceed with the plan to hold new elections. They are certain only to strengthen the radical camp among Palestinians even further.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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Biden’s Yemen policy needs urgent rethink
Maria Maalouf/Arab News/February 16/2021
ماريا معلوف/ارب نيوز: سياسة الرئيس بيدين اليمنية بحاجة إلى اعادة تفكير
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/96114/maria-maalouf-arab-news-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%a7-%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%88%d9%81-%d8%a3%d8%b1%d8%a8-%d9%86%d9%8a%d9%88%d8%b2-%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b1%d8%a6%d9%8a%d8%b3/

The series of events that took place during the third full week of the life of the Biden administration last week was very unfortunate. It began with the US government’s announcement that it would remove the Houthis from its list of terrorist organizations and was followed by the subsequent attack by that group on Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport, as well as speculation over what the pro-Iran political adviser Robert Malley will do to harmonize American-Iranian relations.
These wrong steps are dangerous elements in what appears to be a very troublesome approach by the White House toward Iran and Yemen. At the outset, it is very important for President Joe Biden and his Middle East team to recognize the limits of their reconciliatory attitude toward the Houthis and Iran. Neither of them wants American concessions — they desire an American defeat.
The attack against the civilian airport in Abha last Wednesday was so ferocious that it caused a fire on a civilian airplane. The official Houthi television channel Al-Masirah announced that four pilotless Samad-3 and Qasef 2-K military airplanes were able to accurately hit military targets inside the premises of the airport.
What Biden does not understand about the Houthis is their organizational abilities, which are characteristic of their terror practices, and their ability to trigger an instant crisis if they see a retreat from America on how to confront them. Worse, the language used in the announcement of the removal of the group from the official US terror list was nothing but illusionary. The White House stated: “The revocations are intended to ensure that relevant US policies do not impede assistance to those already suffering what has been called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. By focusing on alleviating the humanitarian situation in Yemen, we hope the Yemeni parties can also focus on engaging in dialogue.”
Here lies the gravest mistake of the Biden administration in regard to Yemen. The statement ignored who is actually causing the humanitarian disaster in Yemen. The Houthis are the main culprits in bringing Yemen to this nadir of human living conditions.
David Beasley, the executive director of the UN’s World Food Programme, told the Security Council in 2019 that the Houthis were preventing food shipments reaching the needy by confiscating them. Other reports from international monitors have described how the Houthis spoiled food packages to prevent them reaching the Yemeni people. This discouraged many donor countries from sending food aid to Yemen.
Meanwhile, Malley’s role could turn the whole Iran file into a suspicious doctrine of anti-Gulf Arab references, written with naivety to appease Tehran and its system of organized terror. In the New York Times, journalist Michael Crowley described Biden’s new envoy to Iran as “a well-known advocate for engaging with groups and governments — including, over the years, Hamas, Hezbollah and President Bashar Assad of Syria — widely considered enemies of the United States and Israel and, by some, morally off limits for contact.”
Biden seems to be willing to listen to “moralizing” speeches by Malley on the need to “rebalance” America’s relations with the Arab Gulf states so as not to shun Iran as a pariah state.
The Houthis are the main culprits in bringing Yemen to this nadir of human living conditions.
It could be a ruinous situation for world peace and regional stability when a new US administration mortgages its future in the Middle East on placating a terror group. It is the least productive foreign policy perspective when US presidential advisers are advocates for rogue states and regimes that are political outcasts. These wrong policies did not originate in the transition period, as Donald Trump was trying to remain president for a second term, but they are the strongly held beliefs of many members of the Democratic Party foreign policy establishment. Hence, it will be difficult to change their faulty views soon, unless they are proven wrong.
There is still a chance for Biden to rethink the idea that Yemen’s civil war will only be terminated by assigning a role for the Houthis in the future of the country. Sadly, more terrorist acts similar to what has been happening in Saudi Arabia cannot be ruled out. If America under Biden is not willing to stand up to Houthi terror, the Arab Gulf states will have no choice but to undertake the strategic task of eliminating the Houthis themselves.
*Maria Maalouf is a Lebanese journalist, broadcaster, publisher, and writer. She holds an MA in Political Sociology from the University of Lyon. Twitter: @bilarakib