English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 03/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews21/english.july03.21.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006

Bible Quotations For today
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
Second Letter to the Corinthians 11/18.22-30/:”Since many boast according to human standards, I will also boast. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman I am a better one: with far greater labours, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death. Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 02-03/2021
MoPH: 210 new coronavirus infections, four deaths
Health Minister: Three positive Delta cases in Lebanon
Pope holds day of prayer for peace in Lebanon
Pope Francis urges Lebanese leaders to shun partisanship
Day of meditation and prayer for Lebanon: Three closed sessions and a final ecumenical prayer for peace
Rep. Luria Introduces Bill to Combat Hezbollah’s Influence in Lebanese Military
Pope Urges 'Peace, Hope' at Talks with Lebanese Christian Clerics
Aoun: Lebanese Awaiting Pope to Announce Lebanon’s Resurrection
Bitar Prosecutes Diab and ex-Ministers, Officers over Port Blast
Judge investigating Beirut port blast targets top officials in Lebanon
Hassan Khalil, Zoueiter: We are ready to appear immediately before investigator
Army Chief to Tripolitans: Your Pain is Our Pain
Hassan Confirms Arrival of Delta Variant in Lebanon
Presidency of Council of Ministers: 500,000 euros to finance STL “is a donation”
US Ambassador’s Remarks Celebrating 244th Anniversary of Independence
Key Dates in the Carlos Ghosn Saga
What would the collapse of Lebanon’s army mean?
Amal-Hezbollah alliance in Lebanon is weaker than advertised/Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/July 02/2021
Lebanon cannot change without a decentralized political system/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/July 01/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 02-03/2021
US drops sanctions on three Iranians, says move unrelated to nuclear talks
IDF on alert in the South after latest round of Hamas clashes
Complete Afghan Withdrawal Imminent as Last U.S. Troops Leave Bagram
Russia Posts Record Coronavirus Deaths for Fourth Day Running
UN-backed Libya talks fail to reach consensus on elections
Biden says ‘no’ final withdrawal of US troops in next few days
Iraq struggles with widespread power outages amid scorching temperatures
All US, NATO troops left Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base: Official
US Treasury sanctions 22 individuals linked to Myanmar military in response to coup

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 02-03/2021
Iran’s president-elect Ebrahim Raisi should face crimes against humanity probe/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 02/2021
What Will Post-Revolutionary Iran Look Like?/Michael Rubin/National Interest/July 02/2021
Question: "What are the most famous/important questions in the Bible?"/GotQuestions.org/July 02/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 02-03/2021
MoPH: 210 new coronavirus infections, four deaths
NNA/July 02/2021
Lebanon has recorded 210 new coronavirus cases and four deaths in the last 24 hours, as reported by the Ministry of Public Health on Friday.

Health Minister: Three positive Delta cases in Lebanon
NNA/July 02/2021
Caretaker Minister of Public Health, Dr. Hamad Hassan, on Friday said that three cases have tested positive for “Delta” virus in Lebanon. He urged citizens, during a vaccination campaign in Dhour El Choueir area, to rush to vaccination centers “because it is the only way to ensure protection, in addition to the required preventive measures.”He finally stressed that the “epidemiological surveillance program” at the Ministry of Public Health was endeavoring to identify the source of these cases.

Pope holds day of prayer for peace in Lebanon
Rosabel Crean/The Tablet/July 02/2021
Pope Francis has held a day of reflection and prayer for Lebanon in the Vatican with the heads of the country’s Christian churches, as the Middle Eastern nation sinks under the weight of multiple crises. Speaking yesterday, at the end of the day during closing prayers at St Peter’s Basilica, Francis urged the country's leaders to come together and put aside sectarian differences: “I would reiterate how essential it is that those in power choose finally and decisively to work for true peace and not for their own interests.” The church leaders had gathered in Rome for a day of prayers, mass, and discussions to reflect, garner hope and address the plight of Lebanon’s people. The head of the Maronite Catholic Church in Lebanon, Patriarch Bechara Boutrous al Rai led a delegation of ten senior leaders from the Maronite, Melchite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syrian Orthodox and Protestant Churches of Lebanon.
During the summit, Francis repeated his wish to visit Lebanon, but the chance of a trip before the end of the year has receded in light of the country’s fragile state and governmental inaction.  Lebanon is undergoing the worst economic depression in its modern history which has plummeted the country of six million, a third of whom are Christians, into a state of poverty, hunger and unemployment. Government inaction in the face of the downturn has caused severe fuel, medicine, electricity and food shortages in recent weeks, with desperate citizens taking to the streets in angry protests threatening a social implosion. “Let there be an end to the few profiting from the sufferings of many! No more letting half-truths continue to frustrate people’s aspirations,” Francis said addressing the political paralysis, while describing the Lebanese as “disillusioned and weary.” The day-long meeting between Francis and the clergymen demonstrates the Vatican’s special interest in Lebanon, which is the only Arab country with a Christian head of state, President Michel Aoun. Under Lebanon’s power sharing agreement drawn up at the end of the 19975-1990 Civil War, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim and the President a Maronite Catholic. However, the ruling class's failure to agree on a new government led by former prime minister Saad Hariri, has left the stricken country without a government since August 2020, pushing its people closer to the brink. As such, Aoun and Hariri, who have been bickering over cabinet seats are hoping that Thursday’s meeting in the Vatican will offer some unity and relief. Patriarch Rai, who has been attempting to mediate between the two leaders, said in his Sunday sermon that the meeting with the Holy See would be important to bolster Lebanon’s Christian-Muslim alliance: ”We do not go to the Vatican carrying Christians alone, but all Lebanese...We carry the cause of Lebanon as the cause of freedom, dialogue and Christian-Islamic coexistence.”

Pope Francis urges Lebanese leaders to shun partisanship
Najia Houssari/Arab News/July 02/2021
BEIRUT: Pope Francis has called on Lebanon’s leaders to put aside partisan interests and work to restore peace and stability in the crisis-hit country.
The pontiff made the appeal at the end of a day-long summit with Lebanese Christian leaders in the Vatican on Thursday. Earlier Francis welcomed the Christian patriarchs for a day of prayer amid growing fears over the threat posed by Lebanon’s economic and financial collapse, coupled with an 11-month political deadlock over the formation of a new government. “I would reiterate how essential it is that those in power choose finally and decisively to work for true peace and not for their own interests,” Francis said. “Let there be an end to the few profiting from the sufferings of many. No more letting half-truths continue to frustrate people’s aspirations,” he said during a closing prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica. Away from the media, the pontiff held three closed sessions with heads of the Lebanese churches to discuss ways out of Lebanon’s “dangerous crisis.”
Lebanese Christians, as well as Muslims, are facing the worst economic collapse in the modern history of the country.
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said that he hoped “the Vatican meeting will be crowned with success in inviting all Lebanese to protect their coexistence, and for Lebanon to be blessed with the pope’s visit as promised.”The pope repeated his wish on Thursday to visit Lebanon.
A survey by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) found that “more than 30 percent of children in Lebanon went to bed hungry last month” amid worsening poverty in the country.“Successive crises have put families and children in Lebanon in deplorable conditions,” it claimed.
UNICEF’s Lebanon representative, Yuki Muko, said: “The number of families struggling to survive is increasing.” Families were forced to cut back on meals, send their children to work, marry off their underage daughters or sell their belongings, she said.
Muko warned: “Lebanon cannot bear seeing children deprived of nutrition, forced to leave their schools, suffering from poor and fragile health, or facing aggression, violence and abuse.”
According to UNICEF’s survey, 77 percent of families “do not have enough food or money for essentials.”It added: “The figure increases to 99 percent for Syrian families, while 60 percent of families are buying food by leaving bills unpaid or by borrowing money.”
The survey also found that 30 percent of Lebanese children have no access to primary healthcare, while 76 percent of families have been badly hit by the steep increase in the price of medicines. An uneasy calm prevailed in Tripoli on Thursday after huge protests erupted a day earlier amid claims that a child had died after power to his oxygen supply device was shut down. Activists on social media circulated a video of young people calling for President Michel Aoun’s resignation, and chanting that they are “fed up with starvation and humiliation.”
Energy and Water Minister Raymond Ghajar’s office said in a statement that Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun had agreed to lend the ministry diesel from army reserves to power electricity generators until credits are opened for diesel ships and their shipments unloaded.
More than 2.5 million liters of diesel will be distributed in Tripoli, the statement said.
Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, Grand Mufti of Lebanon, warned protesters against attacking troops or security forces after soldiers were hit by chairs and stones thrown by demonstrators.
The Future Movement, which views Tripoli as its bastion, said that the army needed support to save the city from “chaos and destruction.” Motorists continued to queue outside gas stations on Thursday as fuel supplies ran low, while van and bus drivers cut off the international highway near Baalbek in protest at the price and scarcity of fuel oil.

Day of meditation and prayer for Lebanon: Three closed sessions and a final ecumenical prayer for peace
NNA/July 01/ 2021
Pope Francis greeted at the house of Saint Martha in the Vatican the Lebanese delegation attending the "Day of Meditation and Prayer for Lebanon," which His Holiness had called for in a speech on May 30. In a statement, the Pope said he "would meet at the Vatican on July 1 with the leaders of Christian groups in Lebanon, for a day of reflection on the alarming situation in the country, to pray together for the gift of peace and stability." "The Holy Pontiff (…) prays for a more peaceful future for this beloved country," the statement said. Attendees walked from the house of Saint Martha to Saint Peter's Basilica, where they paused for prayer. This "Day of Meditation and Prayer for Lebanon" includes three closed sessions at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. "His Holiness Pope Francis, in a speech he addressed after the Angelus prayer last Tuesday, (…) called upon everyone to unite spiritually and pray for Lebanon to rise from the dangerous crisis it is facing, and show to the world its true image of peace and hope," the statement read.

Rep. Luria Introduces Bill to Combat Hezbollah’s Influence in Lebanese Military
June 29, 2021 Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Congresswoman Elaine Luria today introduced the Strategic Lebanon Security Reporting Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at pressuring the Lebanese government to disarm paramilitary groups within its borders, including Hezbollah — a terrorist organization — and Iranian proxy militia. Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY-1) joined Congresswoman Luria in introducing the measure.
“Having been to the Israeli-Lebanese border, I’ve seen the rockets aimed at Israel and I understand the importance of curbing Hezbollah’s presence and impact in Lebanon,” said Congresswoman Elaine Luria. “Hezbollah will not stop their pursuit of destroying Israel. I introduced this bill to strengthen the international effort to prevent Hezbollah and other terrorist paramilitary groups within Lebanon’s borders from freely amassing arms and posing significant security risks to our closest Middle East allies.”
“Like Hamas, Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy that is an imminent and constant threat to our greatest ally in the region, Israel. The United States cannot sit idly by as Hezbollah continues to exert influence within the Lebanese Armed Forces and amass military resources as it seeks to destroy Israel. We must make it clear to our allies and adversaries in the Middle East and throughout the world that the US stands shoulder to shoulder with Israel and considers its safety a top international priority,” said Congressman Lee Zeldin.
According to recent reports, Hezbollah and Hamas have coordinated terroristic activities against Israel in Gaza in May. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 calls on the Lebanese government to disarm all paramilitary groups in the country, including Hezbollah, so only the Lebanese state had weapons. Unfortunately, Lebanon has not been able to fulfill this resolution, as Hezbollah has amassed an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles – all aimed at Israel – while spending millions of dollars developing underground tunnels that also pose a lethal risk to innocent civilians. Hezbollah continues exploiting challenges plaguing Lebanon, including daily blackouts, fuel shortages, and a deep-seated civic crisis.
The Strategic Lebanon Security Reporting Act requires the Department of State to put together a strategy that improves Lebanon’s ability to implement Resolution 1701, encourages Lebanon’s cooperation with international peacekeeping missions on the border of Israel and Lebanon, and utilizes U.S.-Lebanon diplomatic engagement to prevent the building of cross-border tunnels into Israel and weapons factories inside Lebanon.
Since taking office, Congresswoman Elaine Luria has consistently worked to combat Hezbollah and defend Israel. In 2019, she sent a letter to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres urging an international effort to defend Israel, limit Hezbollah, and bolster existing UN capabilities to fight terrorism in the Middle East. Congresswoman Luria also co-introduced the Countering Hezbollah in Lebanon’s Military Act of 2019, which would require the Secretary of State to outline a strategy stop the smuggling of arms and related materials into Lebanon used by Hezbollah to attack Israel.
Congresswoman Elaine Luria represents Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee, where she is the committee’s Vice Chair, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, where she serves as Chair of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, and the House Committee on Homeland Security.
https://luria.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-luria-introduces-bill-combat-hezbollah-s-influence-lebanese-military

Pope Urges 'Peace, Hope' at Talks with Lebanese Christian Clerics
Agence France Presse/July 01/2021
Pope Francis has called for peace and hope for Lebanon's "disillusioned and weary people" as he met with 10 Christian leaders from a nation caught in an economic and political crisis. The all-day talks were sparked by the clerics' "deep concern for Lebanon," said Francis, adding the Middle Eastern country is "very close to my heart and which I wish to visit. "In these woeful times, we want to affirm with all our strength that Lebanon is, and must remain, a project of peace," said the 84-year-old Argentine pontiff. "Its vocation is to be a land of tolerance and pluralism, an oasis of fraternity where different religions and confessions meet." The pope has repeatedly offered prayers for the people of Lebanon, which plunged into crisis after a huge blast in Beirut killed more than 200 people and ravaged swathes of the city last year.The "disillusioned and weary Lebanese people" were in need of "certainty, hope and peace," he said. "Stop using Lebanon and the Middle East for outside interests and profits," he added. A visit by Francis to Lebanon could possibly come later this year or early in 2022, preferably after a new government takes over, according to Paul Richard Gallagher, the pope's de facto foreign minister. Maronite patriarchal vicar Samir Mazloum told AFP ahead of the meeting that one focus was emigration of young people and the impact of the crisis on schools, hospitals, families and food security. Currently "50 to 60 percent of our young people live abroad, there are only old people and children left," he lamented, underscoring high unemployment and the collapse in the value of the local currency. Among those attending the Vatican meeting was Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, who has spoken out against corruption among Lebanese politicians. Meeting with the pope "will be an important step to help Lebanon remain the home of the Christian-Muslim partnership," he told the French language daily L'Orient-Le Jour. Lebanon recognizes 18 official religious sects and its 128 parliamentary seats are divided equally between Muslims and Christians.

Aoun: Lebanese Awaiting Pope to Announce Lebanon’s Resurrection
Naharnet/July 01/2021
President Michel Aoun expressed on Friday his deep gratitude to Pope Francis for the day of prayer and meditation for Lebanon. He affirmed that the Lebanese of all sects have great respect for the Holy See and will respond to the Pope’s call to save their treasured homeland. Aoun added that the Lebanese, who “have been working together to revive their well-deserved homeland and preserve their national unity,” are waiting for the visit of His Holiness to Lebanon, and for “a resurrection” of the country.

Bitar Prosecutes Diab and ex-Ministers, Officers over Port Blast
Associated Press/July 01/2021
The Lebanese judge leading the investigation into last year's massive explosion at Beirut's port announced Friday he intends to pursue senior politicians and former and current security chiefs in the case, and requested permission for their prosecution, state media reported. The move -- two days before the 11-month anniversary of the horrific blast -- was praised by families of the victims and survivors as a bold step by Bitar, whose predecessor was removed following legal challenges by two former ministers he had accused of negligence that led to the explosion. Judge Tarek Bitar confirmed charges filed by his predecessor against outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab and summoned him for questioning, National News Agency reported. He did not set a date. Bitar also asked the government and the interior ministry for permission to question two of Lebanon's most prominent security chiefs -- the head of General Security Directorate, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, and the head of State Security, Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba. Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi later announced that he would grant Bitar the permission to prosecute Ibrahim seeing as the request "respects all the legal norms."Separately, he asked parliament to lift immunity for two legislators who were charged by his predecessor, and a former interior minister -- Nouhad al-Mashnouq. Bitar also filed charges against former army commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji and former head of military intelligence Brig. Gen. Camille Daher, as well as two other retired intelligence generals, and said he will also be pursuing judges. Nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers that had been improperly stored in the port for years, exploded on Aug. 4, killing 211 people, injuring more than 6,000 and devastating nearby neighborhoods. The blast was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded and was the most destructive single incident in Lebanon's troubled history.
William Noon, whose brother, Joe, a firefighter, was killed while extinguishing the massive fire that led to the port blast, said Bitar was starting to deliver on his promises. "Today I felt that there is hope and that we are going somewhere," he told The Associated Press, adding that the charges filed by Bitar were similar to those of his predecessor, an indication that those persons were apparently to blame. Noon, however, said he expected interference from politicians, adding that the families plan to take to the streets if Bitar is not allowed to carry on with his work.
"Judge Tarek Bitar has taken a very courageous decision," wrote Lebanese lawyer and activist Nizar Saghieh on Twitter. "He is opening again the battle of (lifting) immunities against influential people." It was not immediately clear if Diab would accept to be questioned by Bitar, after declining to be interrogated by the former prosecutor, Fadi Sawwan, last December. In an interview with the AP late last year, Diab, who had resigned following the explosion, said he was being singled out and charged while others knew more, calling it "diabolical." He formally asked parliament to lift immunity of three lawmakers: former Finance Minster Ali Hassan Khalil, former Minister of Public Works Ghazi Zoaiter and former Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq. He also asked the Bar Association for permission to question former Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos.
NNA said they will be questioned over possible intentional crimes of killing and negligence. Families of the victims and survivors of the blast have accused the ruling political class of corruption and negligence that led to the explosion of ammonium nitrates. Ali Hassan Khalil and Zoaiter are members of the bloc of Lebanon's powerful Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and along with Fenianos are strong allies of Hizbullah. Bitar was named to lead the investigation in February after Sawwan was removed following legal challenges by senior officials he had accused of negligence that led to the blast. In mid-April, Bitar ordered the release of six people, including security officers, who had been detained for months. Among those released was an officer who had written a detailed warning to top officials prior to the explosion about the dangers of the material stored at the port. On Friday, he also ordered the release of General Security officer Major Daoud Fayyad and the engineer Nayla al-Hajj.

Judge investigating Beirut port blast targets top officials in Lebanon
AFP/02 July ,2021
A judge investigating last year's devastating port explosion in Lebanon's capital said Friday he had summoned the outgoing prime minister and taken steps towards indicting several former ministers and security officials. Hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded on the dockside of Beirut port on August 4 last year, killing more than 200 people, injuring thousands and ravaging swathes of the capital. It emerged afterwards that officials had known about the explosive substance being stored unsafely at the port for years. The slow pace of the investigation has sparked outrage at home and fueled distrust among international donors. Tarek Bitar in February became the second judge to probe the explosion following a court order removing his predecessor, who had issued charges against prime minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers over the blast. Bitar on Friday told a small group of journalists, including one from AFP, that he had summoned Diab, who is still indicted in the case. He said he had also taken steps towards charging four former ministers -- ex-finance minister Ali Hasan Khalil, former public works ministers Ghazi Zeaiter and Yousef Fenianos, and ex-interior minister Nouhad Machnouk. Bitar said he would be looking at possible charges of "probable intent to murder" and "negligence", as the officials "did not take measures to avert the risk of an explosion." Bitar's predecessor, Fadi Sawwan, had in December last year charged Diab, Khalil, Fenianos and Zaiter with "negligence and causing death to hundreds". But Khalil and Zaiter managed to get a court to remove Sawwan in February, arguing that the indictment of a lawmaker needed parliament clearance. Bitar said he has requested that parliament lift the immunity of lawmakers Khalil, Zeaiter and Machnouk. He has approached the Beirut Bar Association for permission to indict Khalil and Zeaiter, and the Tripoli Bar Association to be able to charge Fenianos, as all three are lawyers. He also said he had taken steps towards prosecuting several former high-ranking military officials, including ex-army chief Jean Kahwaji. Bitar said he had requested the permission of the outgoing interior minister to proceed with charges against top intelligence official Abbas Ibrahim. Diab already testified before Sawwan in September. He resigned after the blast, but has remained in a caretaker capacity as the divided political class has since failed to name a new government to help lift the country out of an ever-deepening economic crisis.

Hassan Khalil, Zoueiter: We are ready to appear immediately before investigator
NNA/02 July ,2021
MPs Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zoueiter, on Friday said in response to Beirut Port blast investigator’s request for the parliament’s permission to question them that they were “ready to appear before the judge immediately, even before the permission is requested, to help uncover the truth and steer clear from responsibility for this crime.”

Army Chief to Tripolitans: Your Pain is Our Pain
Naharnet/July 01/2021
“The security of the city is our duty” and “your pain is our pain,” these were the words of Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun to Tripoli’s residents, as he visited the city on Friday. Aoun affirmed that "it is not allowed for anyone to harm the security of the city, whoever they may be," adding that “all of us are responsible for maintaining the stability of the city.” He added that tampering with stability will not be tolerated, assuring the people of Tripoli that “there will be no leniency.”

Hassan Confirms Arrival of Delta Variant in Lebanon
Naharnet/July 01/2021
Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan on Friday confirmed the presence in the country of three cases of the highly-contagious Delta variant of coronavirus.
Hassan also advised citizens and residents above 30 who opted not to take the AstraZeneca jab to take any available vaccine. Vaccination is “the only way for protection, in addition to the precautionary measures,” the minister stressed.
The minister voiced his remarks during a vaccination campaign in the Dhour al-Shweir area alongside MP Elias Bou Saab.

Presidency of Council of Ministers: 500,000 euros to finance STL “is a donation”
NNA/July 01/2021
The General Directorate of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers issued the following statement: Some media outlets circulated news stating that the Lebanese government had paid 500,000 euros from Lebanon's share in financing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. In fact, this amount is a donation that will be allocated for this purpose, after His Excellency Premier Hassan Diab had repeatedly informed United Nations Secretary-General and STL Presidency, since the beginning of 2021, that Lebanon would not be able to pay its contribution to finance the Tribunal. The payment of this donation was accompanied by a request from STL to set a timetable and a detailed plan for the conclusion of its tasks.—PM Press Office

US Ambassador’s Remarks Celebrating 244th Anniversary of Independence
NNA/July 01/2021 
The Embassy of the United States of America celebrated the 244th Anniversary of Independence with a reception yesterday held in honor of students in the 2020-21 cohort of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study program (YES). Following is the text of U.S. Ambassador Dorothy C. Shea’s remarks.
“Good evening, everyone. Her Excellency Ghada Shreem, joining us virtually representing His Excellency President Michel Aoun; Mr. Ali Hamdan, virtually representing the President of the Chamber of Deputies; Her Excellency Shreem, also virtually representing His Excellency the President of the Council of Ministers Hassan Diab; other distinguished guests; and friends:  I would like to begin my remarks today by addressing our guests of honor, the 2020-2021 Youth Exchange and Study—or YES—program participants. We are proud to have you joining us from all over Lebanon. And we are delighted to celebrate this special event with you. Welcome! The past year has been extremely difficult for everyone, and we share in the disappointment that we know you all feel because the global pandemic made it impossible for you to travel to the United States. But I don’t want to focus on that disappointment.
Instead, I want to congratulate you for your adaptability, maturity, and motivation. Because of COVID-19, I guess we all learned to embrace the virtual world; as YES students, you did that and more – figuring out how to glean enriching experiences out of less-than-optimal circumstances. And you did this amid real hardships, such as your country’s spiraling economic crisis and the horrific blast at the Port of Beirut. In doing so, you exhibited the very qualities that led us to select you as “ambassadors” of Lebanon.
I am confident that YES was not your one-and-only chance to travel to the United States. I imagine that YES is just the first step in your journey. I look forward to seeing your names on lists of applicants for the many other programs we offer, be it UGRAD, Fulbright, Techgirls, Between the Lines, or the Humphrey program, to name just a few. For the record, YES is probably my favorite exchange program. Let’s not tell the other alumni, though. Oh wait… maybe they’re watching us virtually…. Hello, everyone joining us via Zoom! (wave) Thank you for dialing in! I’m also a fan of all our other exchange programs! On a serious note, the reason why I care so much about YES is because of my personal connection to the late Senator Richard Lugar, one of the namesakes of this program. I had the distinct honor of working for Senator Lugar on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I learned a great deal about diplomacy and foreign policy from this great statesman. And I consider you all to be a part of his legacy.
Senator Lugar’s commitment to democracy and education spurred him to invest in the next generation of leaders through this program. He once said, “There are no shortcuts to victory. We must commit ourselves to the slow, painstaking work of foreign policy day by day, and year by year.”
He didn’t just speak these words; he lived them – throughout his distinguished career. As I ponder his words, I would add that there are also no shortcuts to genuine democracy. It is hard work. Democracy has to be strong enough to withstand challenges. That is the beauty of the “checks and balances” in the U.S. political system. When Americans celebrate our independence, we reflect on the heritage of our founding documents, which define the key principles of our democracy. Our Constitution lays out our core values and beliefs, as well as our aspirations. In this respect, we are a work in progress. We have been, and we continue to evolve in our effort to form “a more perfect union,” and we still have a long way to go. And in this, perhaps, our best trait is our capacity for self-criticism. I often encourage my Lebanese colleagues to try to adopt that spirit of self-criticism. Because if we don’t recognize flaws in and around us, how can we hope to correct them?
So, let us acknowledge that, without any shortcuts to democracy, much work remains for all of us, both here in Lebanon and in the United States. Back home, for example, we are still searching for ways to realize the equality and equity that are laid out in our Declaration of Independence.
Here in Lebanon, as we approach the sad anniversary of the port blast, we join you in calling for accountability and closure, first and foremost for the victims, but more broadly for everyone who wants to turn the page on the old way of doing business. We also join you in looking forward to next year’s elections – in some ways the ultimate form of accountability to the public. May the year ahead see responsible steps forward to lead Lebanon out of the multiple crises it is confronting, and toward the prosperity its people deserve and the potential that this country represents.
So let’s take on this challenge together. The government and people of the United States has made clear our commitment to the people of Lebanon. And I now look to you to make your own commitment. I encourage you to find ways to be the “ambassadors” and leaders that we know you are. Take steps to advance what is right. This is the spirit that we celebrate on our Independence Day. Where there is a will, there is a way. And remember, we are in this together.”

Key Dates in the Carlos Ghosn Saga
Agence France Presse/July 01/2021
From his shock detention to an audacious escape from Japan, the rollercoaster saga of former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn made headlines around the world. As Tokyo prosecutors call for nearly three years' jail for two American men accused of helping Ghosn flee, here are the key dates to know:
November 2018: Ghosn arrested
Ghosn and his aide Greg Kelly are arrested on suspicion of financial misconduct on November 19, after arriving in Tokyo on separate private planes. They are accused of devising a scheme to under-report the salary of Ghosn -- then Nissan chief and head of an alliance between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. The pair deny wrongdoing. Ghosn is swiftly removed from his role at all three firms in a stunning fall from grace for one of the world's best-known businessmen.
December 2018: More allegations
Ghosn and Kelly are charged with under-reporting Ghosn's salary between 2010 and 2015, then are immediately rearrested on allegations of under-reporting up to 2018.
On December 21, Ghosn is arrested again on fresh allegations that he transferred losses from personal financial investments to Nissan. His detention, in conditions far removed from his flashy lifestyle, is extended.
March 2019: Bail for Ghosn
Ghosn attends his first court hearing in January, insisting the accusations are "meritless and unsubstantiated". His first bail request is denied, and on January 11 two new charges of financial misconduct are filed against him. The disgraced tycoon tells AFP from prison that his detention would "not be normal in any other democracy".On March 5, the court approves Ghosn's third request for bail, set at one billion yen ($9 million).
April 2019: Rearrest, bailed again -
Ghosn is rearrested in a dawn raid of his Tokyo apartment in April.
Authorities hit him with a charge of aggravated breach of trust, alleging he siphoned money for personal ends from cash transferred from Nissan to a dealership in Oman.
On April 25, the court grants Ghosn a second bail of $4.5 million. He is banned from leaving Japan and requires court permission to see his wife.
September 2019: US charges -
On September 9, Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa resigns amid allegations that he also padded his salary. He denies wrongdoing but apologizes.
Ghosn and Nissan are accused by US securities regulators of hiding more than $140 million in his expected retirement income from investors. Ghosn is fined $1 million, and Nissan says it will pay $15 million.
December 2019: Ghosn jumps bail -
Just before New Year's Eve, Ghosn gives authorities in Japan the slip, hiding in an audio equipment case to flee on a private plane. He eventually lands in Lebanon, which does not have an extradition treaty with Japan. A week later, Ghosn says Nissan colluded with prosecutors to have him arrested because he wanted to deepen the Japanese firm's alliance with Renault. He says he fled because he did not believe he would get a fair trial.
- 2020: Accomplices held, Kelly on trial -
Two men accused of helping Ghosn flee Japan -- former U.S. special forces member Michael Taylor and his son Peter -- are arrested in the United States in May.
In September, a U.S. judge rules extradition proceedings can move forward, as the trial against Kelly begins in Tokyo on a single charge of under-reporting Ghosn's compensation. Kelly denies wrongdoing and pleads not guilty, while Nissan, on trial as a firm on the same charge, pleads guilty.
June 2021: Taylors on trial -
Michael and Peter Taylor lose their battle against extradition and are handed over to Japanese prosecutors, landing in the country in March. The pair appear in a Tokyo court for the first time on June 14. They face up to three years in prison if convicted.
On July 2, prosecutors call for a sentence of two years, 10 months for Michael Taylor, and two years, six months for Peter.

What would the collapse of Lebanon’s army mean?
Anchal Vohra/Al Jazeera/July 02/2021
Beirut, Lebanon – A Lebanese air force chopper flies over a blurry landscape of green fields and snow-peaked mountains, promising the tourists a view of the Levantine country from above. The image posted on the armed forces’ website leaves out the seaside and is a poorly taken shot that fails to capture the sprawling beauty of the tiny country on the Mediterranean Sea. The idea, however, is ingenious and much-needed at such desperate times. Each ride would cost just $150, but the payment must be made in cash. Dollars are scarce in a country that is fast depleting its reserves since the economic crisis exacerbated in 2019. The money is meant to help the cash-strapped institution pay its soldiers, one with the civilians in their penury and struggling to make ends meet. As Lebanon’s currency plummeted, losing 95 percent of its value last month, the Lebanese armed forces, too, were affected.
The institution roughly employs more than 80,000 men, most of whom earned the equivalent of $800 a month but now take home between $70-$90. That is far from what they need to buy food, pay for commute, educate their children, and for healthcare. Sami Nader, a Lebanese political analyst, said jungle law would prevail if the forces were not helped immediately. “With just $2-$3 that they earn a day, the soldiers are unable to cover transportation costs. How are they expected to guard the borders and keep the peace within?” Nader asked. “All the ingredients of civil strife are there. If we don’t have a functioning army it will be total chaos.”
Moral authority
Since the end of a 15-year-long bloody civil war in 1990, the Lebanese armed forces have trodden carefully and effectively between the country’s many sects and kept the peace internally. They have maintained calm on a volatile border with Israel since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia that opposes Israel. They have also had to navigate a balance of power with Hezbollah, often seen as a challenger to them. They guarded Lebanon’s borders against the armed group ISIL (ISIS) as it expanded in neighbouring countries and contained the threat of Jabhat al-Nusra – a former affiliate of al-Qaeda that emerged on the scene in the Syrian conflict. Moreover, it is the only institution in Lebanon that is respected by the Lebanese people and exerts some sort of moral authority when the political class is deeply despised for its corruption and inefficiency. A gaping hole in their pockets has caused panic among the highest levels of the hierarchy about how to feed their men and support their families so they can continue to guard the country’s many troubled frontiers. The armed forces might collapse if not supported, warned the Lebanese army chief Joseph Aoun in a video posted on Twitter. “How can a soldier support a family with a salary that does not exceed $90?” he asked. “Where are we going? What are you waiting for? What do you plan to do? We have warned more than once of the danger of the situation,” Aoun exhorted the political class to abandon their indifference to the plight of people and come up with a plan.
‘Possible disintegration’
The ruling elite, however, has paid no heed and continued to squabble over cabinet posts halting the formation of a government needed to negotiate the rescue package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Late last month, Aoun rushed to France to rally support from the international community and save the armed forces.“The Lebanese army chief apprised us of the problem and we are very worried about the possible disintegration of Lebanon’s army,” a French diplomatic source told Al Jazeera. “France has started to help with food rations, medicines, and basic equipment but a lot more is needed. We tried to mobilise international partners in the conference.” More than 20 countries participated in the conference in Paris in mid-June but they did not reveal details of how exactly they intended to support the Lebanese armed forces. The international community fears if the armed forces were to disintegrate, local sectarian militias would rise in a country ripe to catapult into complete chaos. Lebanon has been an oasis of stability in the region grappling with myriad conflicts and the last outpost of the refugees from war-torn countries fleeing to Europe. The survival of the Lebanese army is essential to avoid another wave of migration to Europe and a bulwark in any future confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel.
‘We need cash’
Elias Farhat, a retired Lebanese general, said the army needs cash support and not just aid. “Paris didn’t mention cash money, they don’t allow cash to be given in foreign aid and only help with materials – ammunition, etc,” said the general. “What we need is cash. If a soldier earns 70 or 80 or 90 dollars then what would be his morals? If you can add $100-$200 to his salary so he can at least survive, then it would be much better. We have about 80,000 plus soldiers in the army and they are all nearly broke. They need at least $100 for a soldier a month in cash aid.”Otherwise, he warned, most soldiers might leave the forces. “Many are thinking about finding another job to find a living. Others want to leave the country.”At the start of the year, the numbers witnessed a steep fall, at least 3,000 less than previously reported. The United States has offered an additional $15m in aid to Lebanon’s military for 2021 following a conference in May between chief Aoun and senior State Department and defence officials. But it is still a trickle of the billions the US hands out to Israel yearly. Lebanon’s armed forces have sent an SOS to world powers – “Help us before it’s too late.”

Amal-Hezbollah alliance in Lebanon is weaker than advertised
Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/July 02/2021
Frenemy is perhaps the best term to describe the cordial yet turbulent relationship of Lebanon’s leading Shia parties, whose long-term alliance is constantly being tested by the countries abysmal political collapse and ongoing economic crisis.
The Amal Movement, led by the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, the Arab world’s longest-serving speaker, and Hezbollah, Iran’s Lebanese militia, have been allies as early as the 1990s, yet their alliance has been viewed by many as merely a marriage of convenience brought about by realpolitik and by the fact that both sides are forced to cooperate to maintain their hegemony over the Lebanon’s Shia community. The recent political altercation between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Amal Movement over stalling in the formation of a government saw Hezbollah yet again forced to publicly defend its ally Amal, and to openly rebuke and alienate its Christian ally Gebran Bassil, the son-in-law of president Michael Aoun. Bassil, always aspiring to replace his father-in-law as the next president, has on various occasions deliberately challenged Berri and went out of his way accuse him of being responsible for the country’s endemic corruption, going as far as to call upon Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah to arbitrate on the matter. Nasrallah was quick to disappoint Bassil, refusing to be placed in the awkward position of criticizing Berri and further empowering Bassil – whose appetite for becoming president is only matched by his corruption, something that earned him a designation as a corrupt politician and sanctions by the United States based on the Magnitsky Act.
In reality however, Amal and Hezbollah’s relationship is volatile not because of Bassil’s unwavering attitude to neutralize his adversaries, but rather because Amal and its huge Shia support base have seen their role marginalized by the highhanded and unrestrained manner in which Hezbollah has exposed the Lebanese political system. The traditional archaic clientelist system had previously allowed Berri to cater to his supporters, but times have changed, making this system no longer feasible given Lebanon’s horrible collapse.
Thousands of Amal supporters in Lebanon’s overcrowded bureaucracy have seen their salaries plummet to less than $90, not to mention the disappearance of life-savings seized by the banks. Thus, most of these Amal supporters look towards Hezbollah and their Maronite ally Bassil as the real reason for the collapse of this delicate corrupt system they have benefited from for so long.
Moreover, members of Amal are equally enraged by the fact that their supposed allies, at least those who are employed by Hezbollah as fighters and support staff, get paid in fresh dollars which they receive from Iran and their criminal activities – such as the smuggling rings they operate into Syria. Through these smuggling operations, Hezbollah not only makes millions of dollars of illegal money, but in fact siphons subsidized products, which are paid for with Lebanese tax-payers money, including gasoline and other essentials, such as medicine and food.
Equally, within Hezbollah support bases and with its junior cadre, Amal is looked upon as the epitome of corruption. For these Hezbollah zealots, Amal, having been in power since 1990, shared in the spoils of war, as well as a peace time economy, making it morally unacceptable to continue to defend Berri and Amal. This sentiment has spilled over on social media more than once and has forced Hezbollah’s senior leadership to issue directives banning such rhetoric. Equally, this anti-corruption mindset also refutes Hezbollah’s alliance with Bassil and the Free Patriotic Movement who are seen as no better than Amal and the entire Lebanese political establishment. These young voices inside Hezbollah are nevertheless checked by the senior military command, which sees in its alliance with Bassil and President Aoun a much-needed Christian cover, one which allows it to claim legitimacy for its Iranian arms.
Essentially the alliance of Amal and Hezbollah is based on mutual interests, yet with the erosion of the Lebanese state and all its resources, the lifeline of Amal is no longer there, and thus if Berri and his party refuse to break ranks with Iran’s militia they will be committing political and economic suicide. Furthermore, an aging Nabeh Berri will not be around forever, and thus Amal’s aspiring leadership will have to try to make a play to replace him – sooner than later. The fallout from such a move will have direct repercussions on their alliance with Hezbollah. Naturally, Hezbollah will then try to win over Amal’s support base – especially those who were born after 1990 and thus were not party to the violent conflict between the two sides during the Lebanese civil war between 1975-1990.
The Amal-Hezbollah nexus perfectly sums up the essence of Lebanon’s problem: Where a corrupt sectarian body, such as Amal, takes advantage of the protection provided to it by its control of the state, as well as its alliance with Hezbollah’s illegitimate weapons. As powerful as this Faustian partnership might seem at first, it remains an anomaly which Lebanon’s ongoing crisis will shatter, leaving everyone with the only the rational choice: Demand Hezbollah to disarm so that the Lebanese can start building a modern state.

خالد أبو ظهر: لا يمكن للبنان أن يتغير بدون نظام سياسي لامركزي
Lebanon cannot change without a decentralized political system
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/July 01/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/100230/%d8%ae%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af-%d8%a3%d8%a8%d9%88-%d8%b8%d9%87%d8%b1-%d9%84%d8%a7-%d9%8a%d9%85%d9%83%d9%86-%d9%84%d9%84%d8%a8%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a3%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%aa%d8%ba%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d8%a8%d8%af/
Quickly reading through three key headlines about Lebanon makes you understand where the country stands and who is really in control. The first related to this week’s visit by a Hamas delegation, which concluded with a press briefing thanking President Michel Aoun for his support to the Palestinian people and stating that Palestinian camps were a factor in the stability of the country. The second was the detaining by Hezbollah of two foreign journalists reporting on Lebanon’s fuel crisis. And the third was the leader of Hezbollah’s parliamentary group, Mohammed Raad, criticizing “those who continue to argue as the queues lengthen in front of gas stations, hospitals.”
This is exactly why I have been warning against the voices within the opposition that have downgraded their criticism or demands to the removal of the “corrupt political elite,” or what they call “the ruling mafia.” This is simply because they have been, as we can now clearly see, making the case for Hezbollah’s own narrative and shielding the group from accountability. Indeed, for Hezbollah, the resistance and its people — as they refer to themselves — are above this petty bickering between greedy politicians. However, in their narrative they disregard the fact that they are the real cause of the deadlock, as they have set up the political landscape in a way that gives them oversight and control over state affairs without being responsible for the decisions taken.
As we can easily link the country’s situation to regional affairs, Hezbollah will not budge while Iran is renegotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal. Tehran sees the geopolitical balance moving to its advantage in the coming year. Therefore, the suggestion of imposing sanctions on Lebanese politicians while Hezbollah will soon benefit from the lifting of sanctions against Iran will not change much in the political and economic situation in Lebanon. It is something that should be done to punish them for their nefarious role, but we must not expect it to change anything.
There is, nevertheless, a sad truth about the current situation; one that will not make people happy when it is stated. We mostly describe Lebanese as good and helpful people, and this is true. But when we describe the current situation, we describe them as being innocent victims that have done nothing to deserve such punishment. But is this the truth? Are the Lebanese innocent or are they part of this corruption?
I will start to answer with one of the main crises the country is facing, which is the collapse of the banking system and the evaporation of people’s deposits. Many years ago, I remember warning a Lebanese friend of the risks of these high-return accounts, as it was clear the biggest part of the borrowing was allocated to the Lebanese state, which would eventually be unable to repay its debt for obvious reasons. He ignored my comments. And so, as we were recently discussing the terrible situation, I could not help but tell him that agreeing to deposit one’s hard-earned money for high interest rates that were unavailable anywhere else in the world was more like accepting a bribe than being caught in a Ponzi scheme. Most Lebanese knew this all along and were expecting the international community to bail the state (and them) out at some point.
We need to break the current system, which is consistently and ruthlessly used and abused by occupation forces.
If we continue down the Banque du Liban route, another small indication is Circular 331, which was established in 2013 to empower the startup ecosystem in the country. I think many would be surprised if a forensic audit was carried out into the processes and allocations of the funding and the partnerships created for these investments. It would show that the Lebanese upper and middle classes were accomplices of what today they call the political mafia. In fact, very few chose to resist and oppose it. Those who did do not live in Lebanon.
The fact is that this ruling clan structure — that has been exploited by occupation forces — offers protection to its people and is reassuring. The Lebanese have been living with it for generations. In Lebanon, you can probably get away with any crime if you have the right protection, simply because your political leader can offset it within negotiations with other leaders and bypass the justice system. I do not know whether Carlos Ghosn or Ziad Takieddine are innocent or guilty, but the fact they are able to avoid international justice in Lebanon is an indication of how things work in the country.
We can trace this thought process to how elections are conducted and the purchase of votes by various candidates. When I was once discussing with a friend the deficit of political vision and Hezbollah’s role in elections, he bluntly stopped me by stating: “In Lebanon’s elections, you have a lira, you are worth a lira.” In other words, corruption is part of the political system. In that sense, I am confident that politicians who are preparing for next year’s parliamentary elections are quite satisfied that they will be able to buy their votes for much less than in the last elections due to the devaluation of the Lebanese currency. This was also true during the Syrian occupation, and it has continued with Hezbollah.
We need to recognize this if we want to bring true and positive change to the country. The political structure empowers trade-offs and compromises between confessional groups at the cost of the rule of law. The reality is that we need to break this system, which is consistently and ruthlessly used and abused by occupation forces. The only solution I can see for Lebanon is a decentralized political system, if not a full shift toward a federation. There are signs of hope, such as this week’s victory for independent opposition groups in the Order of Engineers and Architects elections, as well as in student elections and the lawyers’ syndicate. We need these voices to push for the right agenda, which is structural change.
Whether we want to recognize it or not, we are still tribes. We are still stuck with blood and soil. The formation of a government to unlock international help will only be a palliative solution that will cost the Lebanese people even more and plunge the country into more debt and incertitude. So the only way to save the country is to break the capacity of the occupation forces to push fear and empower an inter-confessional trade-off system. We urgently need to give more power to the regions and municipalities on every level, including legislative, judicial and executive. Lebanon cannot and will never change until a decentralized political system is put forward. It is time to recognize our own faults and ills to stop the occupying forces using the country to hide in plain sight.
• Khaled Abou Zahr is CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 02-03/2021
US drops sanctions on three Iranians, says move unrelated to nuclear talks
Reuters/02 July ,2021
The US Treasury said on Friday it removed sanctions on three Iranians but said this did not reflect a change in its sanctions policy toward Iran and had nothing to do with talks on restoring US and Iranian compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The Treasury said it had determined Behzad Ferdows, Mehrzad Ferdows and Mohammad Reza Dezfulian should no longer be blocked under Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters. The order froze their US assets and barred US persons from dealing with them. All three were also subject to secondary sanctions, meaning non-US persons who dealt with them risked themselves being sanctioned and cut off from the US market. A Treasury spokesperson stressed that the US decision to drop the three from its list of Specially Designated Nationals who are subject to certain US sanctions had nothing to do with indirect talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). “These delistings do not reflect any change in US government sanctions policy towards Iran. They have nothing to do with ongoing JCPOA negotiations in Vienna,” the spokesperson said on condition of anonymity. Iran and the United States have been holding indirect talks in Vienna on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers that imposed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting international sanctions.

IDF on alert in the South after latest round of Hamas clashes
Anna Ahronheim/Jerusalem Post/July 02/2021
MILITARY AFFAIRS: A month and a half after Guardian of the Walls, it’s back to ‘normal’ for the IDF on the Gaza border. A month and a half after Operation Guardian of the Walls, the border between Israel and Gaza is quiet but tense. The stores and roads are open once again, and bomb shelters in the South are no longer where residents spend the majority of the day. Schools and day camps are also once again taking children to southern Israel for excursions. The Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings have also reopened, with fuel and humanitarian aid passing through into the Hamas-run blockaded coastal enclave. But the IDF and Hamas are already preparing for the next round of fighting, something many believe is not far off. “The atmosphere is quiet but tense,” Lt.-Col. Dori Saar, commander of the 53rd Armored Battalion, told The Jerusalem Post from atop the observation post at the IDF’s maritime barrier with Gaza.In the distance was Gaza City, and several hundred meters away dozens of Gazans were in the sea, finding respite from the summer sun. “We see that Hamas is not trying to challenge us at the moment, but we are always watching them. They are trying to keep the peace right now but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t working against us. Right now they are deterred. They didn’t expect what the IDF did during the operation,” Saar said.
Despite the relative quiet the South has seen since the end of the operation, dozens of incendiary and explosive balloons have been launched toward southern Israel. In return, the army has struck Hamas targets. Hamas has repeatedly threatened that it would restart hostilities over any controversial incidents in Jerusalem, while Israel has vowed that it would treat incendiary balloons like rocket attacks. But the strikes were a relatively restrained response. The military is not looking to enter into another round of fighting, nor are the terrorist groups looking for a confrontation with the IDF.
Since the Great March of Return demonstrations began in 2018, several rounds of clashes between the IDF and terror groups have taken place, all of them ending without any tangible solution. Over 4,000 rockets and mortars were fired toward Israel during Operation Guardian of the Walls, killing 11 civilians and one soldier. Israeli strikes against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad killed at least 256 Palestinians. Saar and his battalion were deployed to the Gaza vicinity when the night disturbances by Gazans on the fence began – a month before the fighting broke out.
“There was that twist that only happens with Gaza,” he said, explaining that there was also a barrage of 36 rockets several days before the fighting began.
The night disturbances and the rockets were the beginning, and when Hamas fired rockets toward Jerusalem and an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) toward a civilian jeep outside Sderot, “that crossed a redline for us,” Saar said. Though the operation was mainly an air campaign, the 11 days of fighting saw unprecedented cooperation between forces, with the tank corps, infantry, intelligence, navy and air force working together to carry out missions against the terror groups. “We all spoke the same language on the same system,” he said, “and that’s what made this operation successful. ‘Together we win’ is the motto of our battalion, and I really believe that if we work together, the synergy will allow us to win. “When the ground forces and air force work together to close a circle against targets quickly, you accomplish a lot,” Saar added. “Close the circle quickly is the name of the game. Those who are quicker win.”
During the fighting, Hamas attempted to carry out attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, including a cross-border raid, as well as overwhelm the Iron Dome missile defense system with massive rocket salvos. But the IDF was able to thwart most attacks planned by the group, hitting tunnels with operatives inside heading toward Israel as well as taking out several ATGM cells, leaving only a few Kornets in the hands of Hamas and PIJ.
Standing on top of one of the battalion’s newest Mark IV Merkava tanks, Saar told the Post that his battalion alone struck around 70 targets in the Strip, including ATGM cells, launchers, tunnel infrastructure and more. The strikes were all done with the tanks still in Israeli territory.
Israel’s new fence with Gaza, which includes an underground barrier, will stretch along the entire border, along with the maritime border wall. It has a system of advanced sensor and monitoring devices to detect tunnel-digging and is combined with a six-meter high above-ground fence similar to the one on the Israeli-Egyptian border. Since construction on it began in 2017, a good amount of work has been finished but the small yet important details are still to be completed. According to Saar, the wall and all of the sensors connected to it have been completely finished in his sector.
But, he cautioned, “Hamas can technically try to cross the fence. And they warned that they would try to cross it. But in my opinion, and it’s only my opinion, Hamas operatives were afraid.”
Both the IDF and Hamas claim to have won the battle, with the Israeli military stating it destroyed the terrorist group’s underground tunnel network as well as having killed senior operatives, some of the key figures in the group’s missile program. And while the terror group has downplayed the damage to its military infrastructure, Saar believes the group did not accomplish anything during the fighting, and operatives have lost motivation, leading the group to recruit teenagers with their summer camps. “In the 11 days of fighting, what military accomplishment did they achieve? Nothing, zero. Yes, they killed civilians and one soldier, but that’s their target. They knew that they couldn’t stand up to the IDF,” he said. According to him, Israel’s strikes on the tunnel infrastructure – both in urban areas like Gaza City and in open areas closer to the fence – have led the operatives to fear for their strategic asset.
But, Hamas was able to fire hundreds of rockets toward Israel in the first few days of fighting, effectively overwhelming the Iron Dome protecting Ashkelon, which at the same time experienced a malfunction. Two women were killed in that barrage when rockets slammed into residential areas.
With the IDF’s new wall and the military’s aerial dominance and intelligence superiority, “it’s a good question as to what they might use in the next operation.”According to Saar, “it doesn’t matter when the next operation will be. We are always preparing for another round. If we have to enter Gaza we will, and we will inflict a lot of damage to them. Of course, there will be casualties, but Hamas will feel our strength.”

Complete Afghan Withdrawal Imminent as Last U.S. Troops Leave Bagram
Agence France Presse/July 02/2021
All U.S. and NATO troops have left the biggest air base in Afghanistan, a U.S. defense official told AFP Friday, signaling the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from the country was imminent after two decades of war. Bagram Air Base served as the linchpin for U.S.-led operations in the rugged country, where the long war against the Taliban and their al-Qaida allies started in 2001 following the September 11 attacks. "All coalition forces are off Bagram," said the official -- who asked not to be identified -- without specifying when the last foreign troops left the base, 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the capital Kabul. He did not say when it would be officially handed over to Afghan forces, but ministry of defense spokesman Rohullah Ahmadzai said government authorities were "fully prepared" to take over the base. The Taliban said it welcomed and supported the latest phase of the troop pullout. "Their full withdrawal will pave the way for Afghans to decide about their future between themselves," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. The U.S. military and NATO are in the final stages of winding up involvement in Afghanistan, bringing home an unspecified number of remaining troops by a deadline of September 11. The Taliban have launched relentless offensives across Afghanistan in the past two months, gobbling up dozens of districts as Afghan security forces have largely consolidated their power in the country's major urban areas.The ability of Afghan forces to maintain control of Bagram airfield will likely prove pivotal to maintaining security in Kabul and keeping pressure on the Taliban. The exit of foreign forces from Bagram base "symbolizes that Afghanistan is alone, abandoned, and left to defend itself against the Taliban's onslaught," said Australia-based Afghanistan expert Nishank Motwani. "Having reached home, Americans and allied forces will now watch what they fought so hard to build over 20 years burn down from afar and knowing that the Afghan men and women they fought with risk losing everything."
'A lot of insecurity'
Media reports say the Pentagon will probably retain about 600 U.S. troops in Afghanistan to guard the vast US diplomatic compound in Kabul. Residents from Bagram said security will only deteriorate with the exit of foreign forces.
"The situation is already chaotic... there is a lot of insecurity and the government does not have (enough) weapons and equipment," Matiullah, who owns a footwear shop in Bagram bazaar, told AFP. "Since they started the withdrawal, the situation has got worse. There is no work... there is no business," said Fazal Karim, a bicycle mechanic. Over the years the mini-city has been visited by hundreds of thousands of U.S. and NATO service members and contractors. At one point it boasted swimming pools, cinemas and spas -- and even a boardwalk featuring fast-food outlets such as Burger King and Pizza Hut. The base also housed a prison that held thousands of Taliban and jihadist inmates. Bagram was built by the United States for its Afghan ally during the Cold War in the 1950s as a bulwark against the Soviet Union in the north. Ironically, it became the staging point for the Soviet invasion of the country in 1979, and the Red Army expanded it significantly during its near-decade-long occupation. When Moscow pulled out, Bagram became central to the raging civil war -- it was reported that at one point the Taliban controlled one end of the three-kilometer (two-mile) runway and the opposition Northern Alliance the other.
In recent months, Bagram has come under rocket barrages claimed by the jihadist Islamic State, stirring fears that militants are already eyeing the base for future attacks. As of May 2021, there were about 9,500 foreign troops in Afghanistan, of which U.S. troops made up the largest contingent of 2,500. So far Germany and Italy have both confirmed the full withdrawal of their contingents.

Russia Posts Record Coronavirus Deaths for Fourth Day Running
Agence France Presse/July 02/2021
Russia on Friday reported 679 coronavirus deaths, a record number of pandemic-related fatalities over a 24-four period for the fourth day in a row, a government tally showed. Russia, the fifth worst-hit country in the world, is battling a surging outbreak driven by the highly infectious Delta variant and worsened by a lagging vaccination drive.

UN-backed Libya talks fail to reach consensus on elections
Reuters/03 July ,2021
UN-sponsored talks aimed at paving the way for elections in Libya in late December failed to find common ground, the deputy of the United Nations mission in Libya said on Friday night after weeklong talks near Geneva. Raisedon Zenenga, assistant secretary-general and mission coordinator of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), called on participants to pursue the effort, describing the talks as “heated debate” marked by threats of walk outs. “The people of Libya will certainly feel let down as they still aspire to the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights in presidential and parliamentary elections on 24 December,” Zenenga told the closing session. “This does not bode well for the credibility and future relevance of the LPDF (Libyan Political Dialogue Forum),” he said. “I encourage you to continue to consult among yourselves to pursue a workable compromise and cement what unites you.”The talks, held at a hotel about 15 kilometers from Geneva, had been extended into a fifth day on Friday with delegates struggling to agree. They had been expected to establish the constitutional basis for presidential and parliamentary elections by July 1. But delegates and UN officials said they could not agree among themselves on several proposals circulating, prompting organizers to extend the talks originally planned to last four days. The elections would be a critical step in international efforts to bring stability to Libya, which has been in turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. A UN-led peace process brought a ceasefire last summer after fighting between rival factions paused and then a unity government was formed.The talks in Switzerland follow an international conference in Berlin last week. The United Nations envoy for Libya, Jan Kubis, said on Monday that leaving Switzerland without a decision this week was “not an option” given the timeframe. On Thursday, Kubis described that day’s session as “difficult” and urged delegates to refrain from “disrespectful behavior and personal attacks”, without elaborating. LPDF member Elham Saudi told Reuters on Friday: “This is not the outcome that many of us had hoped for but it is the better outcome given the options that were on the table and UNSMIL’s leadership’s inability to keep the talks on track.”“This only delays the battle, but does not resolve the issue,” she said. “Let us remember the interests of Libya and Libyans who deserve elections.”A formal ceasefire was agreed in October and the next month the participants in the UN peace dialogue set a date for elections and agreed to create a new interim government. However, major risks persist with many armed groups holding power on the ground.

Biden says ‘no’ final withdrawal of US troops in next few days
Reuters/02 July ,2021
US President Joe Biden on Friday said the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is “on track” but it will not be completed within the next few days. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Biden said that some US forces will still be in Afghanistan in September as part of a “rational drawdown with our allies.”Biden in April set the deadline for completion of the pullout from America’s longest conflict as the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al Qaeda on the United States that prompted the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Biden’s comments came hours after the last American troops left Bagram Air Field, which served as the main US military base in the country, leaving behind a piece of the World Trade Center buried there two decades ago. The departure of US-led forces, fierce fighting that has seen Taliban advances around the country and stalled peace talks have fueled fears that Afghanistan is on a path to all-out civil war that could restore the insurgents to power. Biden said he is concerned that President Ashraf Ghani’s beleaguered government deal with “internal issues” in order to “generate the kind of support they need nationwide.”

Iraq struggles with widespread power outages amid scorching temperatures
The Associated Press, Baghdad/02 July ,2021
A widespread power outage hit Iraq on Friday as temperatures reached scorching levels, affecting even affluent areas in the capital and stirring concerns of widespread unrest. Iraq’s grid was generating just over 4,000 Megawatts according to Ministry of Electricity data on Friday morning, less than the 20,000 MW the grid generates on average. The cuts have impacted Baghdad and southern provinces in particular. Local channels reported that the outage was due to the cutting of a major power line — known as a 400 KV — between Baghdad and the southern province of Babylon.
A ministry official said the reason was not immediately known, but that it could have been because the line was overloaded, or an act of sabotage. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. Total shutdowns can occur when Iraq’s electricity network is working at maximum capacity. Defects in the transmission network and distribution capacity also contribute to outages. High temperatures can also impact the distribution lines. The last time a nation-wide outage was seen was five years ago. The outage struck wealthier neighborhoods of Baghdad, where some residents typically enjoy 24 hours of electricity. Water pumps, which rely on electricity, stopped working in many areas, impeding access to water. “If this isn’t resolved quickly it will have catastrophic effects as everything stops working,” tweeted Iraq-based researcher Sajad Jiyad. Power outages routinely fuel protests in Iraq. Poor government service delivery and rampant corruption was a driver of mass anti-government demonstrations across Iraq in 2019. Iran recently cut crucial electricity exports to Iraq this week, which can amount to nearly a third of Iraq’s supply in the peak summer months. Iraq’s Electricity Minister Majed Hantoush also recently resigned, citing political and popular pressure.

All US, NATO troops left Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base: Official
AFP, Kabul/02 July ,2021
All US and NATO troops have left Bagram Air Base, a US defense official told AFP Friday, signaling the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan was imminent. “All coalition forces are off Bagram,” the official – who asked not to be identified – said without specifying when the last US and NATO troops left the base, 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Kabul. He did not say when the base will be officially handed over to Afghan forces. The US military and NATO are in the final stages of winding up 20 years of military involvement in Afghanistan, bringing home the remaining troops by a deadline of September 11. The Taliban have launched relentless offensives across Afghanistan in the past two months, gobbling up dozens of districts as Afghan security forces have largely consolidated their power in the vicinity of the country’s major urban areas. The ability of Afghan forces to maintain control over the vital Bagram airfield will likely prove pivotal to maintaining security in the nearby capital Kabul and keeping pressure on the Taliban. For decades, the base served as the linchpin for US strategic operations in the rugged country, where the long war against the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies was fought with airstrikes and resupply missions stemming from the airfield. Over the years, the mini-city has been visited by hundreds of thousands of US and NATO service members and contractors.

US Treasury sanctions 22 individuals linked to Myanmar military in response to coup
Reuters/02 July ,2021
The United States on Friday slapped fresh sanctions on 22 individuals including four Myanmar government ministers in response to the February military coup and attacks against the country’s pro-democracy movement. In a two-pronged action, the Treasury and Commerce Departments announced the punishments as part of Washington’s continued response to the overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the new sanctions were levied “in response to the brutal campaign of violence perpetrated by the Burmese military regime and to continue imposing costs in connection with the military coup.”The sanctions do not target the Myanmar people, but are aimed at pressuring the military to “immediately restore Burma’s path to democracy,” Blinken said. The sanctions target Myanmar’s minister of information Chit Naing, minister for investment Aung Naing Oo, labor and immigration minister Myint Kyaing, and Thet Thet Khine, the minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement. Three members of the powerful State Administrative Council were also hit with sanctions, as were 15 spouses and adult children of officials, in an expansion of US punishments imposed in February, March and May following the coup. Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, said in a statement the action demonstrates Washington “will continue to impose increasing costs on Burma’s military and promote accountability for those responsible for the military coup and ongoing violence.” The Commerce Department meanwhile slapped sanctions on four business entities: King Royal Technologies Co., which provides satellite communications services supporting the military; and Wanbao Mining and its two subsidiaries, which have revenue-sharing agreements with a company that helps fund the country’s defense ministry.

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 02-03/2021
Iran’s president-elect Ebrahim Raisi should face crimes against humanity probe
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 02/2021
د . ماجد رفي زاده/ مطلوب التحقيق مع الرئيس الإيراني المنتخب إبراهيم رئيسي في جرائم ارتكبها ضد الإنسانية
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/100222/dr-majid-rafizadeh-irans-president-elect-ebrahim-raisi-should-face-crimes-against-humanity-probe-%d8%af-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%af-%d8%b1%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%87-%d9%85%d8%b7/
The Iranian regime succeeded in hand-picking Ebrahim Raisi to be the next president. This is a significant blow to the people of Iran, who have been struggling for four decades to establish a democratic system of governance that ensures the rule of law, the freedoms of speech, press and assembly, and respect for human rights in the country. Raisi is no regular politician. He is known as “The Butcher” for his role on the “Death Commission” in the 1980s.
The Iranian regime succeeded in hand-picking Ebrahim Raisi to be the next president. This is a significant blow to the people of Iran, who have been struggling for four decades to establish a democratic system of governance that ensures the rule of law, the freedoms of speech, press and assembly, and respect for human rights in the country. Raisi is no regular politician. He is known as “The Butcher” for his role on the “Death Commission” in the 1980s.
Many Iranian people truly despise him for his bloody history. After his orchestrated victory in last month’s election, Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard issued an important statement regarding his background. She said: “That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran. In 2018, our organization documented how Ebrahim Raisi had been a member of the ‘death commission’ which forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in secret thousands of political dissidents in Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran in 1988.
The circumstances surrounding the fate of the victims and the whereabouts of their bodies are, to this day, systematically concealed by the Iranian authorities, amounting to ongoing crimes against humanity.”The president-elect’s crimes against humanity and his role in the massacre of tens of thousands of political prisoners should not be disregarded or underestimated. In a matter of about two months, nearly 30,000 political prisoners, some of whom participated in the 1979 revolution that led to the clergy’s rise to power, were executed in a hasty manner.
Raisi’s role in the massacre of tens of thousands of political prisoners should not be disregarded or underestimated.
In one of the largest mass purges of dissidents in history, some political prisoners were lined up before a firing squad and others were executed by hanging. There were no trials and many did not know they were going to be killed until a few minutes before their execution. Those who died were buried in mass graves without their families being informed of their fate or their whereabouts.
This event shocked the nation and many families still do not know where their loved ones are buried. Girls, pregnant women and children were among those who were executed. Women were reportedly raped in front of their husbands or brothers. The late Hussein-Ali Montazeri — one of the founding fathers of the regime, as well as a human rights activist, a theologian and the designated successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini until the very last moments of Khomeini’s life — wrote in his memoir: “Many of those who were being arrested… were girls and they were executing them on charges of waging war on God. I told the judiciary officials and Evin officials and others… that they must not execute girls. I told judges not to write death sentences for girls. This is what I said. But they perverted my words and quoted me as saying: ‘Don’t execute girls. First marry them for one night and then execute them.’”
What is also shocking is that Raisi is proud of his role in the mass executions. When asked about it, he said he should actually be applauded for his actions. “Everything I’ve done in my time of holding office has been to defend human rights. If a legal expert, a judge or a prosecutor has defended the rights of people and the security of the society, he must be lauded and encouraged for preserving the security of people against assaults and threats,” he said. Another member of the so-called Death Commission, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, echoed that message when he boasted that he was proud to “carry out God’s will” and claimed he had not lost sleep over what he did. Raisi is an extremely dangerous man. It is also worth noting that he was the head of Iran’s judiciary when about 1,500 people, including teenagers and hundreds of women, were killed and many more arrested, imprisoned and tortured during the 2019 protests.
It is incumbent on the UN and the West to open a formal investigation into Raisi’s actions and bring him to justice. • Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. He serves on the boards of the Harvard International Review, the Harvard International Relations Council and the US-Middle East Chamber for Commerce and Business. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

What Will Post-Revolutionary Iran Look Like?
Michael Rubin/National Interest/July 02/2021
It would be foolish to believe that the Islamic Republic is permanent. What might Iran become should the Islamic Republic fail?
Iran’s 42-year-old Islamic Republic is facing an existential test. Transition looms as Iranians discuss what might occur after the death of 82-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iran’s dictator for more than three decades. The importance of hardline Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi’s election to the presidency rests both in Khamenei’s efforts to preserve a revolutionary atmosphere and in the advantage the presidency gives Raisi should a vacuum suddenly occur at the top. Khamenei, after all, was president when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini died and moved quickly to succeed him.
The coming succession may not go as smoothly because Khamenei lacks the religious credentials and charisma that Khomeini enjoyed. Shortly before his 1989 death, Khomeini signaled that Khamenei should follow him as supreme leader. Even those who disliked Khomeini politically respected his religious credentials and revolutionary importance. Nor did they mind Khamenei: The Islamic Republic was already faction-ridden, but most senior Iranian officials saw Khamenei as weak and colorless, a good compromise. The Assembly of Experts, the clerical body charged with selecting a new leader, essentially became a rubber stamp.
Khamenei, however, had greater ambitions. In 1994, Khamenei tried to assert the same religious credentials as Khomeini but faced widespread rejection and ridicule. He never recovered his stature; he based subsequent rule more on force than intellectual persuasion. This means that upon Khamenei’s death, his influence will evaporate; no one need fear him.
Raisi may now seem a likely successor, but much could go wrong. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could derail his efforts. Other candidates—Mojtaba Khamenei, for example—could throw a wrench into the gears. Compromises might require a council of leadership rather than an individual creating a new dynamic of factionalism at the top. Iranians of all persuasions, meanwhile, could use the temporary vacuum left by Khamenei’s death to demand an end to the Islamic Republic.
Raisi, himself, could prove the catalyst to the Islamic Republic’s undoing. He is a true believer. Those who heard him speak during a February 2021 reception at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad described a firebrand revolutionary reminiscent of a 1920s Lenin. Should he double down on cultural revolution even before Khamenei’s death, he could unleash a spark that could spiral out of control. Regardless, it would be foolish to believe that the Islamic Republic is permanent. What might Iran become should the Islamic Republic fail?
While there is wishful thinking among the Iranian émigré population, there is little likelihood that Iran will become a thriving, pro-Western democracy. Consider the possible scenarios:
- Military Dictatorship: The Revolutionary Guards now control up to 40 percent of Iran’s economy, monopolize weaponry, and are well-positioned to fill any vacuum. A military dictatorship might not make Iran an ally akin to Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s Egypt, however. To assume the Revolutionary Guards will easily shed their ideology is projection. The Revolutionary Guards have indoctrinated some of their senior leaders from the ages of nine or ten years old when they entered after-school programs sponsored by the paramilitary Basij. Their rhetoric may sound far-fetched and conspiratorial to the West and cosmopolitan Iranians, but no one should underestimate the impact of a generation of brainwashing.
-Civil War: At almost every moment of central government weakness, ethnic and sectarian minorities along Iran’s borders have risen in rebellion. While many Iranian studies scholars accept that Iran, despite its ethnic mosaic, is a cohesive whole because its identity as an entity predates the rise of the ethno-nationalist state, other scholars—most notably Azerbaijan expert Brenda Shaffer—argue that ethnic identities are more pronounced and corrosive to the Iranian whole than many acknowledge. If Shaffer is right, then Iran may face a serious challenge to its integrity upon Khamenei’s death or during a sustained uprising. The Revolutionary Guards may counter this. Remember, Reza Khan—the father of the ousted shah—gained fame and eventually the throne for his role in putting down rebellions in the late 1910s and early 1920s. Add into the mix the reality that neighboring states might seek to stir the pot, as the Saudis allegedly did with Jundallah and the Baluchis, and the result may be several years of insurgency and civil conflict.
-Civilian Transition: When Khomeini led the revolution, he united Iranians against the shah, but was vague about what might come next: He promised an Islamic democracy but never defined it until too late. Many Iranians complain that what emerged was neither. Still, while some realists suggest democracy is unattainable in the Middle East (Tunisia, Israel, and Iraq’s experience aside), Iran could also become an exception. Iranians do not view democracy as some Western imposition, but rather have their own indigenous experience with a constitutional revolution in the first decade of the twentieth century. The shah’s son, meanwhile, remains a more potent symbol than many outsiders realize; I have seen Iranians from inside the country come across the former crown prince unexpectedly and react with kneels, tears, and hugs. Restoration of the monarchy, however, is unlikely although the crown prince could have an important role as a unifying force chairing a new constitutional convention.
Regardless of the scenario, no Western official should expect post-Revolutionary Iran to be pro-West. The 1953 coup against Mohammed Mosaddegh is a red herring: not only was Mosaddegh constitutionally in the wrong and himself seeking to stage a coup, but also ignoring the U.S. occupation of part of Iran just seven years earlier is bizarre. Still, perception means more than reality, and four decades of anti-Americanism demonization impacts mindset. Anti-Americanism is real for other reasons, especially given the abuses and degradations Iranians suffered in the 1960s and 1970s. Greedy Western politicians tying themselves to the Mujahedin al-Khalq make perceptions of America worse among ordinary Iranians given that organization’s embrace of Saddam and the terrorism in which it engaged inside Iran.
Other history matters. While colonial powers—the United Kingdom and Russia—never formally colonized Iran, they did victimize and humiliate it. As a result, Iranians are paranoid about the intentions of outside powers, especially in the West. Intellectual history is also important. Khomeini’s revolution succeeded because it tied together not only Islamists but also xenophobes and leftists. In 1962, for example, Jalal Al-e Ahmad penned a hugely influential book Gharbzadegi, often translated into English as Westoxification, in which he argued that Western influence poisoned Iranian culture and eroded its potential. In effect, it claimed that the key to Iranian greatness was extricating the West from Iran, not unlike an Iranian nationalist equivalent of Muslim Brotherhood theoretician Sayyid Qutb’s Milestones. Ali Shariati, meanwhile, successfully melded Islamism with socialism and Third Worldism. Shariati died young and under mysterious circumstances, but his ideas still permeate Iranian political thinking.
The Islamic Republic’s demise should be a U.S. goal—it certainly is an Iranian one. While Iranians do not seek intervention, the goal of any U.S. administration should be to do nothing that would preserve the revolutionary system. Still, it is crucial to approach Iran’s transition with realism rather than a Pollyannaish notion of a pro-Western public waiting to embrace America. Iranians eventually will win their democracy, but it will be a long transition colored by history with a prickliness that will make French and Turkish nationalism seem easy-going.
*Michael Rubin is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, where he specializes in Iran, Turkey, and the broader Middle East. He also regularly teaches classes at sea about Middle East conflicts, culture, terrorism, and the Horn of Africa to deployed U.S. Navy and Marine units.

Question: "What are the most famous/important questions in the Bible?"
GotQuestions.org/July 02/2021
Answer: There are many, many questions in the Bible. It is difficult to give a precise number because ancient Hebrew and Koine Greek did not use punctuation—we can’t just pull out the Dead Sea Scrolls and count the question marks! Often, it is difficult to know if a sentence is truly intended to be a question. But Bible scholars estimate that there are approximately 3,300 questions in the Bible.
This list of questions in the Bible is definitely not complete. It is simply a survey of some of the most famous and important questions in the Bible.
“Did God really say . . . ?” (Genesis 3:1)
This is the first question in the Bible and also the first instance of someone questioning God’s Word. Satan tempts Eve to doubt God’s Word. Eve responds by adding to God’s Word: “And you must not touch it.” God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree. He did not say not to touch the tree or its fruit. Adam and Eve respond to Satan’s question by disobeying God’s Word. It went downhill from there, and it all started with a little question.
“Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9)
This is the first question asked by God in the Bible. Of course, God knew exactly where Adam and Eve were physically located. The question was for their benefit. God was essentially asking, “You disobeyed me; how is that working out for you? Did things turn out like you wanted or how I predicted?” The question also shows the heart of God, which is the heart of a shepherd seeking out the lost lambs in order to bring them into the fold. Jesus would later come “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)
This was Cain’s question in response to God’s question of where Abel was. Beyond the fact that Cain had just murdered his brother, Cain was expressing the feeling we all have when we do not want to care about or look after other people. Are we our brother’s keeper? Yes, we are. Does this mean we have to know where they are and what they are doing 24/7? No. But, we should be invested enough in other people to notice when something seems to be out of place. We should care enough to intervene, if necessary.
“Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25)
Yes, the Judge of the earth always does right. Abraham asked this question in his appeal to God to spare the righteous and protect them from judgment. If something God does seems unjust, then we are misunderstanding it. When we question God’s justice, it is because our sense of justice is warped. When we say, “I do not understand how a good and just God can allow such-and-such a thing,” it is because we do not correctly understand what it means to be a good and just God. Many people think they have a better understanding of justice than God.
“Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9)
The entire book of Job resounds with this question from Job’s wife. Through it all, Job did maintain his integrity. Job’s “friends” repeatedly say, “Job, you must have done something really bad for God to do this to you.” God rebukes Job’s friends for attacking Job and for presuming on God’s sovereign will. Then God rebukes Job by reminding him that only God is perfect in all His ways. Included in God’s presentation of His greatness are many questions: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” (Job 38:4).
“If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14, ESV)
Barring the return of Christ in our lifetimes, we will all die someday. Is there life after death? Everyone wonders about this question at some point. Yes, there is life after death, and everyone will experience it. It is simply a matter of where we will exist. Do all paths lead to God? In a way, yes. We will all stand before God after we die (Hebrews 9:27). No matter what path a man takes, he will meet God after death. “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2).
“How can a young person stay on the path of purity?” (Psalm 119:9)
The answer: by living according to God’s Word. When we “hide” God’s Word in our hearts, the Word keeps us from sin (Psalm 119:11). The Bible does not tell us everything. It does not contain the answer to every question. But the Bible does tell us everything we need to know to live the Christian life (2 Peter 1:3). God’s Word tells us our purpose and instructs us how to fulfill that purpose. The Bible gives us the means and the end. God’s Word is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8)
The correct answer is spoken by Isaiah: “Here am I. Send me!” Far too often, our answer is, “Here am I—but send someone else.” Isaiah 6:8 is a popular verse to use in connection with international missions. But, in context, God was not asking for someone to travel to the other side of the planet. God was asking for someone to deliver His message to the Israelites. God wanted Isaiah to declare the truth to the people he rubbed shoulders with every day, his own people, his family, his neighbors, his friends.
“Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21)
Forgiveness is tough. Peter’s suggestion of seven-fold forgiveness probably seemed, to him, to be superbly gracious. Jesus’ answer showed how feeble our forgiveness usually is. We are to forgive because God has forgiven us of so much more (Colossians 3:13). We forgive not because a person deserves it. “Deserve” has nothing to do with grace. We forgive because it’s the right thing to do. That person might not deserve our forgiveness but neither did we deserve God’s, and yet God forgave us anyway.
“What shall I do then with Jesus?” (Matthew 27:22)
This was Pilate’s question to the crowd gathered at Jesus’ trial. Their answer: “Crucify Him!” Their shout a few days earlier had been different: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9). It is amazing how unfulfilled expectations and a little peer pressure can change public opinion. In first-century Jerusalem, people who had an errant view of Jesus and His mission rejected Him; so, today, people who come to the Christian faith with an errant understanding of who Christ is will eventually turn away. We must make sure we accurately present who Jesus is and what Christianity is all about when we share our faith.
“Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15)
This question, from Jesus, is one of the most important that a person will ever answer. For most people, He is a good teacher. For some He is a prophet. For others He is a legend. Peter’s answer, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” is the correct answer (Matthew 16:16). C. S. Lewis addresses the issue of the various understandings of who Jesus is in his book Mere Christianity:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36)
If the cost is one’s soul, then whatever is gained—even the whole world—is good for nothing. Sadly, “nothing” is what the vast majority of people strive after—the things of this world. To lose one’s soul has two meanings. First, the more obvious meaning is that one loses his soul for eternity, experiencing eternal death in hell. However, seeking to gain the whole world will also cause you to lose your soul in a different way, during this life. You will never experience the abundant life that is available through Jesus Christ (John 10:10). Solomon gave himself over to pleasure and denied himself nothing, yet he said, “Everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained” (Ecclesiastes 2:10–11).
“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18) and “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30)
It is interesting to see the very different responses of Jesus and Paul to what was essentially the same question. Jesus, knowing the self-righteous mindset of the rich young ruler, told him to obey the commandments. The man only thought he was righteous; Jesus knew that materialism and greed were preventing the man from truly seeking salvation. The man first needed to understand that he was a sinner in need of a Savior. Paul, recognizing that the Philippian jailer was ready to be saved, declared, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” The jailer believed, and his family followed him in accepting Jesus as Savior. So, recognizing where a person is at in his or her spiritual journey can impact how we answer someone’s questions and change the starting point in our presentation of the gospel.
“How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” (John 3:4)
This question came from Nicodemus when Jesus told him that he needed to be born again. People today still misunderstand what being born again means. Most everyone understands that being born again is not a reference to a second physical birth. However, most fail to understand the full implication of the term. Becoming a Christian—becoming born again—is beginning an entirely new life. It is moving from a state of spiritual death to a state of spiritual life (John 5:24). It is becoming a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Being born again is not adding something to your existing life; it is radically replacing your existing life.
“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” (Romans 6:1)
We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8). When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, all of our sins are forgiven and we are guaranteed eternal life in heaven. Salvation is God’s gift of grace. Does this mean that a Christian can live however he or she wants and still be saved? Yes. But a true Christian will not live “however he or she wants.” A Christian has a new Master and does not serve himself any more. A Christian will grow spiritually, progressively, in the new life God has given him. Grace is not a license to sin. Willful, unrepentant sin in a person’s life makes a mockery of grace and calls into question that person’s salvation (1 John 3:6). Yes, there are times of failure and rebellion in a Christian’s life. And, no, sinless perfection is not possible this side of glory. But the Christian is to live out of gratitude for God’s grace, not take advantage of God’s grace. The balance is found in Jesus’ words to the woman taken in adultery. After refusing to condemn her, He said, “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11).
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
Children of God will face opposition in this world (John 15:18). The devil and his demons oppose us. Many people in the world oppose us. The philosophies, values, and priorities of the world stand against us. In terms of our earthly lives, we can be overcome, defeated, even killed. But, in terms of eternity, God has promised that we will overcome (1 John 5:4). What is the worst thing that could possibly happen to us in this world? Death. For those who are born of God, what happens after death? Eternity in the most glorious place imaginable.
There are many other great questions in the Bible: questions from seekers, questions from scoffers, questions from discouraged believers, and questions from God. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, but be ready to accept God’s answer when it comes.