English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  September 10/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
The Parable of the Slaves and the Master who Entrusted them with Different Amounts Of Money to Invest
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 19/11-28/:”As they were listening to this, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. So he said, ‘A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, “Do business with these until I come back.”But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We do not want this man to rule over us.”When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, “Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.” He said to him, “Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.”Then the second came, saying, “Lord, your pound has made five pounds.” He said to him, “And you, rule over five cities.” Then the other came, saying, “Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.” He said to him, “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.” He said to the bystanders, “Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.”(And they said to him, “Lord, he has ten pounds!”) “I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.” ’After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 09-10/2021
KSA, Nigeria Foil Drug Smuggling Bid by 'Hizbullah-Linked Network'
Lebanon's Ration Card Plan Finally Launched
Lebanon to release cash aid to poor families next month
Aoun Again Says Not Seeking 'Blocking One-Third'
FPM Optimistic, Expects Miqati to Form Govt. in 'Coming Hours'
Reports: No Hope for Govt. Formation if FPM Insists on Blocking One-Third
Lebanon Says Will Not Deport Six Detained Syrians‏
L'occupation sournoise/Jean-Marie Kassab/September 09/2021
If Lebanon gets gas from Egypt, Syria will be the biggest winner/The Arab Weekly/September 09/2021
US plans to normalize Syria-Lebanon relations are doomed to fail/Makram Rabah/09 September ,2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 09-10/2021
Will US lose patience over Iran nuclear agreement?
U.S., Germany Press for Iran to Return Soon to Nuclear Talks
Fallen Afghan government’s envoy urges UN pressure on Taliban committing ‘war
As US fails to break impasse with Iran, Qatar rushes to mediate
Israel Pours Troops into West Bank to Hunt Down Prison Fugitives
Pentagon expects al-Qaeda to seek comeback in Afghanistan
Triumphant Taliban Start Putting Policies into Practice
Syrian army enters Deraa under Russian-brokered peace deal
German FM Arrives in Libya to Reopen Country's Embassy
Islamists suffer crushing defeat in Morocco's vote
Electoral alliances test public pulse ahead of Iraq elections
Libya seeks to ease Dbeibeh-provoked tensions with Tunisia

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 09-10/2021
The 9/11, 2001 Twentieth Commemoration and the Unending Saga of Islamic Nihilism/Charles Elias Chartouni/September 09/2021
What Afghanistan Teaches Us About Our Ruling Class/Lee Smith/The Epoch Times/September 09/ 2021
Biden Is Running a Hostage Negotiation With the Taliban/Making concessions now will only encourage terrorism/Saeed Ghasseminejad and Matthew Zweig and Richard Goldberg/Foreign Policy/September 09/2021
9/11: US and Israel learned to stop attacks, but not terrorist groups - analysis/Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/September 09/2021
Taliban’s government includes designated terrorists, ex-Guantanamo detainees/Thomas Joscelyn and Bill Roggio/FDD's Long War Journal/Septemberb 09/2021
Afghan chaos an opportunity for Iranian regime/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/September 09/2021
Twenty years on from 9/11, a grim new era of terror approaches/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/September 09/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 09-10/2021
KSA, Nigeria Foil Drug Smuggling Bid by 'Hizbullah-Linked Network'
Naharnet/September 09/2021
The Saudi and Nigerian interior ministries have thwarted an attempt by a network linked to Lebanon’s Hizbullah to smuggle 451,807 amphetamine tablets into Saudi Arabia, the Saudi ministry said on Thursday. The security spokesman of the Saudi interior ministry, Colonel Talal al-Shalhoub, stated that the drug bust followed “proactive security follow-up of the activities of criminal networks that smuggle drugs into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” The spokesman added that the tablets were supposed to be smuggled into the kingdom by sea from Nigeria after arriving in the African country from Lebanon. Noting that the pills were hidden inside mechanical equipment, Shalhoub said the shipment was seized in Nigeria in coordination with the African country’s authorities.

Lebanon's Ration Card Plan Finally Launched
Naharnet/September 09/2021
Lebanon's long-awaited ration card plan was launched Thursday by caretaker Economy Minister Raoul Nehme and caretaker Social Affairs Minister Ramzi Msharrafiyeh. "The card is away from selectivity, it is not an electoral card and there will be a system for receiving complaints," Msharrafiyeh said at a joint press conference. Payments to beneficiaries will be made in U.S. dollar or its equivalent in Lebanese lira according to the black market rate, the minister added. Nehme for his part said the plan's qualification system would identify the "rich" in Lebanon and not the poor in order to provide support for the needier segments of society. He added that every eligible person will be granted $25 a month and that every family can only benefit from a total of $126 a month. Nehme explained that applications to benefit from the card can be submitted on a dedicated website, daem.impact.gov.lb, or through the ministry’s centers or Lebanon-based NGOs. “Upon approval, we will inform the family’s provider through an SMS and we will carry out home visits to verify some information,” the minister added. “Our objective is to exclude the wealthy and we will ask for ID numbers, passports and bank accounts in order to corroborate all information,” Nehme went on to say. He added that applications can be submitted from September 15 until October 31, adding that those who do not possess ID cards will have a grace period until the end of the year.

Lebanon to release cash aid to poor families next month
The Arab Weekly/September 09/2021
BEIRUT--Lebanon’s government said Tuesday it will start paying cash assistance next month to hundreds of thousands of poor families – in US dollars – as the small nation sinks deeper into its economic crisis. Some 500,000 families will start receiving $20 a month for every family member up to a maximum of six persons, Minister of Tourism and Social Affairs Ramzi Moucharafieh said during a news conference in Beirut. Moucharafieh said the payment will be made in US dollars or the equivalent in Lebanese pounds at the black market rate. Economy and Trade Minister Raoul Nehme said the average payment for every family is expected to be about $93. The move comes at a time when the government is planning to end subsidies on vital products such as fuel and some medicines that is widely expected to increase prices of most products. The plan for payments comes as the Lebanese currency has been on a free fall since the economic meltdown began in October 2019. The payment in US dollars would guarantee that the poor families will be protected in case the pound drops further in the future. The Lebanese pound is trading at about 20,000 to the dollar on the black market while the official rate remains as it was before the crisis at 1,507. The minimum monthly wage in Lebanon remains 675,000 pounds ($34). The plan to end subsidies comes as the foreign currency reserves at the central bank have dropped dangerously low, from $30 billion at the start of the crisis in late 2019, to about $14 billion currently. Moucharafieh said the number of families could be increased to 750,000 when the World Bank makes available a $246 million loan to give cash assistance to 160,000 more families and another program by the social affairs ministry that currently aids 36,000 families. Last month, the government agreed to pay assistance to families, five months after Lebanon’s parliament approved a $246 million loan from the World Bank that would provide assistance for more than 160,000 families. Nehme said any Lebanese citizen can apply adding that people who will be excluded include those who spend more than 90 days outside Lebanon a year and those who have more than $10,000 in their bank account. Lebanon’s crisis left more than half the country’s 6 million people, including a million Syrian refugees, living in poverty. Moucharafieh said the target is to start giving money in October but those who will be accepted later will get the money retroactive as of the beginning of next month.

Aoun Again Says Not Seeking 'Blocking One-Third'
Naharnet/September 09/2021
President Michel Aoun has expressed “dismay” over the ongoing delay in the government formation process, while stressing his “determination” to reach a cabinet line-up despite “the obstacles and demands that arise every now and then.”According to al-Intichar news portal, Aoun also told his visitors that communication between him and PM-designate Najib Miqati has not stopped, “whether directly or through mediators,” noting that he has “offered all the needed facilitations so that the government can be formed.”Criticizing those who accuse him of “clinging to a blocking one-third” share in the government, the President reiterated that he has never demanded it. Separately, Aoun denied that his relation with Army chief General Joseph Aoun has deteriorated as he emphasized that he is not violating the Taef Accord. Aoun also expressed his desire to return to his private residence in Rabieh, “today rather than tomorrow,” but he underlined that he would not do so before the “last day” of his tenure.

FPM Optimistic, Expects Miqati to Form Govt. in 'Coming Hours'
Naharnet/September 09/2021
All the problems obstructing the government formation have been resolved, according to high-level sources in the Free Patriotic Movement. The sources confirmed to al-Akhbar newspaper, in remarks published Thursday, that “there is no longer justification for delaying the government formation.” The sources expected Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati to visit Baabda in the upcoming hours, in order to “put the final touches to the line-up” and “issue the formation decree” of the new government. The FPM sources added that Miqati is determined to form a new government, “unlike former PM Saad Hariri.” The sources also noted that “if the government is not formed very soon, this would mean that something not related to shares and portfolios is obstructing it.” The sources added that the moment of truth is nearing.

Reports: No Hope for Govt. Formation if FPM Insists on Blocking One-Third
Naharnet/September 09/2021
The past hours witnessed many political contacts but no positive progress was achieved concerning the government formation, sources said. Informed sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Thursday, that the discussions have entered a loop of naming candidates for portfolios while the blocking one-third hitch remains unresolved. “It's like we're already in a deliberate time-wasting game,” the sources added. The sources said "if things continue in this direction, there is absolutely no hope for the birth of a government, neither now nor at any other time.”“The government will only be formed if President Michel Aoun and his team stop holding their ground on the blocking third share,” the sources concluded.

Lebanon Says Will Not Deport Six Detained Syrians‏
Agence France Presse/September 09/2021
A top Lebanese intelligence official said Wednesday the country would not deport six Syrians back to their war-torn homeland, after they were detained last month for smuggling themselves across the border. The army reported on August 28 that it had arrested six Syrians for "entering Lebanon illegally" and had referred them to the General Security apparatus. Activists have raised the alarm over their fate, especially after four of them were detained near the Syrian embassy. "General Security will not deport the six Syrians and will work to regularize their legal status," the agency's chief official Abbas Ibrahim told AFP. The six hail from Syria's southern province of Daraa, where regime forces have in recent weeks been pushing to retake every inch of the region from holdout rebels. A brother of one of the detainees told rights group Amnesty International that he had received a call on August 26 to collect his passport at the embassy, then stopped responding to his messages after picking up the document. Amnesty earlier Wednesday warned of "grave risks awaiting them in Syria" if the six were sent back. Its statement came a day after it published a report in which it warned that "no part of Syria is safe to return to". It said dozens of Syrians who had returned home from abroad had been subject to detention, enforced disappearance, torture or rape by Syrian intelligence forces, including children. Lebanon, which is grappling with an economic crisis, says it hosts some 1.5 million Syrians, including more than 850,000 registered as refugees with the United Nations. The Mediterranean country started repatriating Syrian refugees in May 2019 from its soil, in a move that has repeatedly been condemned by human rights groups.

L'occupation sournoise
Jean-Marie Kassab/September 09/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/102230/%d8%ac%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d9%83%d8%b3%d9%91%d8%a7%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%ad%d8%aa%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ae%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%ab-jean-marie-kassab-loccupation-sourn/
Le Liban est occupé par l'Iran. Les Iraniens occupent le Liban. Les Iraniens sont les maîtres absolus du Liban. Le Liban est devenu une province Iranienne. 
Je l'ai répété ci-dessus de plusieurs manières dans une tentative de l'expliquer aux naïfs, aux oublieux, à ceux qui font sourde oreille pour une raison quelconque.
Mais aussi à ceux qui pensent qu'une occupation n'est réelle que s'il y aurait un soldat Iranien à chaque bifurcation. Or l'occupation Iranienne est maléfique et sournoise. Il y a bien sûr les combattants en armes, en dizaines de milliers, soi-disant hezbollahis mais ceux-ci n'interviennent qu'en cas de grabuge majeur. Les plus dangereux étant les collabos placés à la tête de l'Etat.
Si les élections se feront ou pas est spéculatif, personne n'a une boule de cristal. Ce qui est sûr par contre c'est qu'elles se passeront dans quasi huit mois. La question demeure, que restera-t-il du Liban d'ici là ? 
Supposons que le peuple résiste jusque-là, pensez-vous que les élections se feront librement et au profit des âmes libres sachant que si le vote se payait 100 ou 200 dollars aux élections passées, le vote se payera 500, 000 LL avec la famine qui prévaut. Et bravo le nouveau parlement, copie conforme de l'actuel sinon en pire. Le manège maléfique tournera comme si de rien n'était. Pour contrer ça, je le dis à ceux qui parient dessus, il faudra à l'ONU envoyer 100000 soldats pour surveiller ces putains d'élections. 
Sans action décisive rien de bon ne se passera. SOS SOS SOS.
Le Liban est sous occupation Iranienne.

If Lebanon gets gas from Egypt, Syria will be the biggest winner
The Arab Weekly/September 09/2021
While parties in Lebanon and the government of Syria celebrated a plan for pumping Egyptian gas to Lebanon, depicting it as a victory against their imperial enemies, first and foremost America, the plan was in fact American, designed as a “crisis management” measure to help mitigate the effects of a free-falling Lebanon. Controlled by a militia whose endless regional wars have killed economic growth, Lebanon has run out of foreign currency and therefore its imports of basic staples, including fuel, have dwindled to a crisis-inducing level.
Without fuel, electric-power cuts have become endemic. Lebanese households now receive about two hours of electricity a day, thus increasing their reliance on small, private power generators. But these too have to find “fresh dollars” to buy diesel, while their customers settle their bills in the ever-devaluating national currency. Both dollars and diesel have become scarce. Electricity cuts and diesel scarcity now threaten the work of important sectors of the economy, including healthcare. The American University of Beirut, whose hospital has been operating without interruption since 1860, in August issued a dire statement begging for help. The hospital said that without either uninterrupted state electricity or diesel, it would have to shut down vital medical equipment, which would cause the death, within days, of around 100 patients.
It was perhaps this plea that prompted the US embassy in Beirut to work on a plan involving importing gas from Egypt and electricity produced in Jordan with Egyptian gas, in order to avoid impending disaster. Ambassador Dorothy Shea called President Michel Aoun to tell him that her country had a plan and Aoun boasted that the electricity crisis was soon coming to an end.
While details are still scant, the plan’s basic outline is to revive the “Arab Pipeline” that saw Egypt pump gas to Lebanon through Jordan between 2008 and 2010. According to former prime minister Fouad Siniora, Syria received the Egyptian gas in the south and supplied Lebanon from its reserves in the north. Of the dozen power plants in Lebanon, only three of them are powered by gas. All are in the northern town of Deir Ammar and can produce a total of 435 megawatts of power. Shea also said that Washington would facilitate payments to Cairo, on behalf of Beirut, using World Bank assistance funds budgeted for Lebanon. On average, producing one gas-powered megawatt of electricity costs $50 an hour. If Deir Ammar plants operated on a 24-hour basis, Lebanon’s gas bill from Egypt will come up to roughly $200 million a year.
But 435 MW barely cover Lebanon’s electricity needs. Peak demand is estimated at over 3,000 MW. Deir Ammar will therefore supply only 15 percent of Lebanon’s needs, or the equivalent of three-and-a-half hours of electric supply a day, hardly a victory for the country’s ruler, Hezbollah, or its protege, Aoun. But then, better than that tanker full of Iranian fuel supposedly headed ultimately for Lebanese power plants, and how long would that oil last? So a double whammy against Hezbollah. If the plan pans out, Lebanon will produce electricity for the needs of vital sectors, such as hospitals. Second in line will be public facilities, like the airport. Lastly, households might get an extra hour or two of power to the two they now receive. The Lebanese will keep suffering because of electricity cuts, but the US embassy would have at least avoided the shutdown of hospitals.
The American plan for Lebanon’s electricity still faces several hurdles. To start with, the gas has to go through Syria, which gives the Syrian government a say in the whole process. Plans for Jordanian-produced electricity seems now to have been dialed down. But that electricity would also have had to transit through Syria. The reason it is now only a “future” possibility, as the Lebanese energy minister put it, is because the grid in Syria needs repair. Syria, however, is under US sanctions imposed on the Bashar Al-Assad regime. This means that the US plan requires the White House to file a waiver with Congress to suspend parts of the sanctions-imposing Caesar Act. In his recent visit to Beirut, Senator Chris Van Hollen said he and a number of his colleagues were working on ways to allow the Egyptian gas to pass through Syria.
Syrian officials have so far expressed their willingness to facilitate the US plan, even if Damascus does not get a cut. The plan, after all, gives Assad the regional and global recognition he has been desperate for. Once the pipes start pumping, the world will have a vested interest in keeping Al-Assad in place. Over the past half century, the regime has perfected the art of “being useful” to global powers, expecting favors in return. For helping Lebanon with its electricity crisis, Washington will have to grant Assad some recognition and attention, a price the Biden administration seems willing to pay. The American plan will only marginally improve Lebanon’s electricity situation. How much it benefits Al-Assad is immeasurable.
*Copyright: Syndication Bureau

US plans to normalize Syria-Lebanon relations are doomed to fail
Makram Rabah/09 September ,2021
Recent attempts to normalize relations between Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon for the alleged benefit of the Lebanese are not only doomed from the outset, but would consign the region to another bloody repeat of history. The recent visit of a senior Lebanese government delegation to Syria to discuss the details of the US ambassador’s proposal of Lebanon accessing Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity via Syria was seen by many as part the Biden administration’s wish to see these two nations reestablish normal relations while simultaneously empowering Assad against Iranian elements in both Lebanon and Syria – chiefly Hezbollah. Yet, this renewed spirit of empowering Syria’s dictator is a lost cause, as the region under its current state prevents such a scenario from taking place. For over half a century the Assad regime has tyrannically ruled over Syria, first under the ruthless Hafez al-Assad and, since 2000, under his equally bloody yet less shrewd son Bashar.
Lebanon’s relationship with Syria and the Assad regime has always been marred with the latter’s refusal to treat Lebanon as a sovereign nation. Hafez, and later Bashar al-Assad, has seen this small Mediterranean nation as a honey pot, one which they can leverage for their own standing in regional conflicts. After the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri in 2005, Bashar al-Assad saw his hegemony over Lebanon fade, as he was forced to withdraw troops which had virtually occupied Lebanon since 1990 until the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. The US had allowed Syria’s Lebanese operations to continue in 1990, as its interests at the time were limited to Assad joining Operation Desert Storm and forcing former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain out of Kuwait.
The US suggestion to provide Lebanon with both Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity is a last desperate attempt to ensure that Lebanon does not fully collapse. The continuing economic crisis, combined with ongoing smuggling of fuel and essential items to Syria, has brought the country to the brink of disaster, with essential services such as hospitals verging on complete failure. Consequently, the US designed its new plan as a way to provide electricity to the Lebanese without having to give funds to the country’s corrupt political class, and if the price of such a move requires Syrian consent, then so be it.
Naturally, the Lebanese delegation to Damascus was successful in getting the Syrian government’s initial approval, but the ultimate project still hinges on the alignment of a number of factors – mainly the Lebanese political establishment’s refusal to allow such a lucrative sector from being liberated from their control. Coincidentally, the attempt to deliver Egyptian gas to Lebanon had been thwarted in the past by the Assad regime who, upon the request of the Free Patriotic Movement and Lebanese President Michael Aoun’s son-in-law Gebran Bassil, blocked the process.
Ultimately, the Biden administration belief that Bashar al-Assad and his archaic, crumbling dictatorship can push back against Iran and its regional expansionist project is not only wishful thinking, but also exposes a sinister delusional mindset – that the region’s future is better left to murderous criminals like Assad.
Furthermore, the optimism that the Assad regime can stabilize Lebanon and return it to normality obviously disregards the fact that Syria’s Lebanese assets, not to say its lackeys, are no longer in control of Lebanon’s political system. More importantly, Hezbollah, which previously operated in Lebanon under the strict auspices of the Syrian regime, has mutated into a transnational fighting force that is in control of four Arab capitals. Shortly after the Lebanese government delegation returned home, Bashar al-Assad received a huge Lebanese Druze delegation headed by Talal Arslan and Weam Wahab, both insignificant allies of the Syrian dictator. Assad’s insistence of portraying a business-as-usual image does not mask the fact that he is no longer the master of his own fate. No amount of visiting dignitaries can reconstruct his shattered image.
As it stands, the Assad regime is incapable of controlling its own country, and has to share what remains of its so-called sovereignty with an assortment of Iranian militias, the Russian military, Turkish sponsored armed groups and what remains of the Syrian revolution. Giving Assad Lebanon to rule over is not only unrealistic, but a dangerous notion entirely. In the past, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, acting upon the encouragement of the international community, hosted Bashar al-Assad and his wife at Bastille Day celebrations, and honored him by letting him partake in the parade. Now, both French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden wish to repeat Sarkozy’s debacle, using Lebanon as their podium. As it stands, Lebanon and Syria are both a humanitarian catastrophes, and cannot be doled out to either Assad or Iran with the expectation of stability and prosperity. Bashar al-Assad is only fit to deal with the caliber of lightweights such as Arslan and Wahab and the rest of Lebanon’s so-called elite, as this once school yard bully no longer musters the respect or fear of his own people. Assad consigned himself to his own ominous fate once he opened the metaphorical Pandora’s box of allowing Iranian influence into Syria. Now, it’s too late for the Syrian dictator to turn back time.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 09-10/2021
Will US lose patience over Iran nuclear agreement?
The Arab Weekly/September 09/2021
RAMSTEIN, Germany--US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Wednesday that time was running out for Iran to return to a nuclear deal after a scathing report by the UN atomic watchdog and Tehran’s signals that it would take a while to return to talks. The IAEA released a strongly-worded report Tuesday saying monitoring tasks in Iran have been “seriously undermined” after Tehran suspended some of the UN agency’s inspections of its nuclear activities. After ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi took over as new president of the country, Iran had also suggested that talks aimed at reviving the stalled JCPOA were unlikely to resume for two to three months. “I’m not going to put a date on it but we are getting closer to the point at which a strict return to compliance with the JCPOA does not reproduce the benefits that that agreement achieved,” Blinken told reporters in Germany in response to a question on the point at which it would no longer be possible to return to a deal. Germany found the delay signalled by Tehran “far too long”, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. The German minister said he had telephoned his new counterpart in Tehran to get him to “return more swiftly to the negotiating table”. Nevertheless, Maas said Berlin still expects the new Iranian government to continue to support results from negotiations that had taken place so far. Raisi became Iran’s president in early August, taking over from moderate Hassan Rohani, the principal architect on the Iranian side of the 2015 agreement. The 2015 deal offered Iran an easing of Western and UN sanctions in return for tight controls on its nuclear programme, monitored by the UN. In retaliation for former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal three years ago and his subsequent imposition of swingeing sanctions, Iran in effect abandoned most of its commitments under the deal. But Trump’s successor President Joe Biden wants to bring Washington back into the agreement.
Iranian defiance
Iran’s president Raisi said on Wednesday that a “counterproductive” stand by the UN atomic watchdog might impede talks on reviving Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers, after the agency accused Tehran of hindering an inquiry into its past nuclear activities. The International Atomic Energy Agency said in reports to member states on Tuesday that there had been no progress on two central issues: explaining uranium traces found at several old, undeclared sites and getting urgent access to some monitoring equipment so that the IAEA can continue to keep track of parts of Iran’s nuclear programme. “Iran’s serious cooperation with the IAEA shows its will towards transparency in its nuclear activities,” President Ebrahim Raisi said in a phone call with European Council President Charles Michel, according to Iranian state media. “Naturally, in the event of a counterproductive approach at the IAEA, it would not make sense to expect Iran to react constructively. Counterproductive measures are naturally disruptive to the negotiation path also,” Raisi said. While the investigation into the uranium traces has been going on for more than a year, diplomats say the IAEA urgently needs access to the equipment to swap out memory cards so there are no gaps in its observation of activities like the production of parts for centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium. Without such monitoring and so-called continuity of knowledge, Iran could produce and hide unknown quantities of this equipment that could be used to make nuclear weapons or reactor fuel.
Western diplomats have said that a decision on how to respond to the reports has yet to be reached. When asked on Wednesday, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne Claire Legendre criticised Iran’s efforts to develop its nuclear programme, including activities she said did not have a credible civilian justification. “We are in close consultation with our partners as to the response to be provided,” she said. Senior diplomats from France, Britain and Germany will meet on Friday in Paris with the US envoy on Iran to discuss the matter.

U.S., Germany Press for Iran to Return Soon to Nuclear Talks
Associated Press/September 09/2021
The U.S. and Germany on Wednesday stepped up pressure on Iran to return soon to talks on its nuclear program, with Germany's foreign minister saying that a delay of two or three months floated by Tehran is too long. The remaining parties to the 2015 accord with world powers meant to contain Iran's nuclear program held several rounds of talks in Vienna earlier this year on how to bring the U.S. back into the deal and how Iran can return to compliance with its terms. But the last round ended in June and no date has been set for their resumption. Last week, new Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said "the other party understands that it takes two to three months for the new administration to establish and do planning for any sort of decision." German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that that isn't good enough. He said he told Amirabdollahian last week that "two or three months is a time frame that is much too long for us" and called for a quicker return. The U.S. unilaterally pulled out of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump. Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia have tried to preserve the accord, and President Joe Biden has said he is open to rejoining the pact.
Asked whether the delay suggested by Iran is too long for a return to the accord as it stands to be possible, Blinken said: "I'm not going to put a date on it, but we are getting closer to the point at which a strict return to the compliance with the (nuclear deal) does not reproduce the benefits that that agreement achieved." "We've been very clear that the ability to rejoin the (deal), return to mutual compliance, is not indefinite," he added.After the U.S. withdrawal, Iran embarked on a strategy of deliberately violating the deal. That is seen as an attempt to pressure Europe to give Iran incentives to offset the crippling American sanctions re-imposed after the U.S. pullout. On Tuesday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran has continued to increase its stockpile of highly enriched uranium in contravention of the accord. The International Atomic Energy Agency also told member states in its quarterly report that its verification and monitoring activities have been "seriously undermined" since February by Iran's refusal to let inspectors access IAEA monitoring equipment. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned Wednesday that a "nonconstructive" attitude by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog could damage the nuclear talks. The Iranian government's website quoted Raisi as saying that Iran has cooperated with the IAEA, indicating Tehran's willingness to be transparent in its nuclear activities. "It is natural that in the case of a nonconstructive (attitude) in the agency, it is not logical to expect Iran to have a constructive reaction," he said.

Fallen Afghan government’s envoy urges UN pressure on Taliban committing ‘war
AFP/10 September ,2021
Afghanistan's ambassador to the United Nations, part of the Western-backed government that crumbled last month, on Thursday urged the world body to enforce sanctions on the Taliban whom he accused of possible war crimes. Ghulam Isaczai, a US-educated former UN official who was part of ousted president Ashraf Ghani's cabinet, remains the representative of Afghanistan at the world body despite the victorious Taliban's announcement Tuesday of a government. Addressing a Security Council session on his country, Isaczai urged nations not to recognize a Taliban government and to enforce existing UN sanctions on leaders named in the interim cabinet, including restrictions on their international travel. Recent street protests -- dispersed by the fighters who have since banned demonstrations -- are “a strong message to the Taliban that Afghans of all backgrounds and creeds would not accept a totalitarian system imposed on them,” Isaczai said. “I therefore ask you to withhold any recognition of any government in Afghanistan unless it's truly inclusive and formed on the basis of free will of the people,” he said. Any relaxation on travel bans “would be misused for the purpose of gaining international recognition for their new non-inclusive government,” he said. He accused the Taliban of “widespread atrocities” in the Panjshir Valley, the last pocket of resistance in the insurgents' rapid takeover as US troops withdrew. “The Taliban continue to commit human rights violations, possibly war crimes, which have exacerbated the situation,” Isaczai said. “They have performed targeted executions, cut off communication lines and imposed a humanitarian blockade which is preventing food supplies from entering profits.”He said the Taliban were backed by “foreign terrorist fighters and foreign intelligence” -- a likely reference to Pakistan, which clashed with the fallen government and backed the group’s last regime in 1996-2001. The ambassador also joined UN officials in calling for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, which is facing an economic crisis spurred by a cash crunch and sharp inflation just as foreign funding dries up and winter approaches. “While the Taliban are celebrating their victory by shooting their guns in the air on the streets of Kabul, a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding,” he said. Isaczai's outspokenness mirrors that of the UN envoy from Myanmar, Kyaw Moe Tun, who has demanded action against military rulers who seized power in February and unsuccessfully tried to remove him.

As US fails to break impasse with Iran, Qatar rushes to mediate
The Arab Weekly/September 09/2021
LONDON--As the rule of Qatari allies from the Muslim Brotherhood continues to crumble across the Arab region, with the most recent crushing defeat of the Islamist Justice and Development Party in Morocco, the Arab Gulf state is intensifying its diplomatic moves to impress the administration of US President Joe Biden and break a political isolation that may diminish its regional clout in the Middle East and elsewhere. After scoring a diplomatic coup by emerging as a key player both in evacuations and diplomacy on Afghanistan, Qatar seems now to be turning its attention to the Iranian file, with the aim of breaking an impasse over Tehran’s return to a nuclear deal. Iran’s foreign minister met his visiting Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Thursday, state media reported, as Tehran and Washington appear to be at an impasse over the fate of talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal. Iran on Wednesday warned Western states against rebuking it at the International Atomic Energy Agency after the UN atomic watchdog’s latest reports criticised the country, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said time was running out for Iran to revive the deal with world powers.
The Qatari foreign minister was in Tehran days after Blinken visited the Gulf Arab state, which has good ties with Iran. In his talks with Sheikh Mohammed, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian called for boosting trade ties and reiterated Tehran’s support for an Afghan government including all factions, Iranian state media reported, without referring to any talks about the nuclear negotiations. Indirect talks between US President Joe Biden’s administration and Iran on how both countries could return to compliance with the deal have not resumed since President Ebrahim Raisi, an anti-Western hardliner, took office on August 5. In 2017, when the boycott against Qatar threatened the supply of basic goods inside the Gulf state, Iran was the first to send it supplies of basic necessities and commodities, such as vegetables, and open its ports and airspace for Qatari planes and ships. Even if the boycott came to be lifted, Iran is still a close friend to Qatar and Doha wants to position itself as the “number one” mediator in the Middle East between the United States and a number of its enemies or opponents of its policies.

Israel Pours Troops into West Bank to Hunt Down Prison Fugitives
Agence France Presse/September 09/2021
Israel flooded the occupied West Bank with reinforcements on Wednesday in the manhunt for six Palestinians who have been on the run for three days after escaping from a top security prison. The army said in a statement that in order to try to find the men "it has been decided to extend the general closure of Judea and Samaria", Israel's terminology for the West Bank. It said the closure will last until midnight on Friday "subject to a situational assessment". Army chief Aviv Kohavi had decided to "reinforce IDF troops... with combat battalions, observation troops and a number of IDF aircrafts that are observing the area to assist in capturing the security prisoners and thwart terrorist attacks in the region", the statement said. Demonstrations were held in several West Bank towns late Wednesday in support of the fugitives. In Nablus, youths set tires alight during confrontations with Israeli security forces. The Palestinian Red Crescent said 60 protesters were injured by tear gas near Nablus. AFP journalists reported that demonstrations in support of the six fugitives, five of whom are members of the Islamic Jihad, and one from Fatah, the secular movement of president Mahmud Abbas, also took place in Ramallah and in east Jerusalem. Earlier, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said Israeli forces had arrested at least six relatives of the Palestinians who broke out of Gilboa prison in northern Israel, amid protests in support of the escapees. The six staged their jailbreak on Monday through a hole they had dug under a sink in a prison cell, reportedly using a spoon. Israel has deployed drones, road checkpoints and an army mission to Jenin, the flashpoint West Bank home town of many of the men locked up for their roles in attacks on the Jewish state. The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said two brothers of Mahmud Ardah, described in local media as the mastermind behind the breakout, have been arrested. It said four other people -- fellow family member Dr Nidal Ardah, two brothers of Mahmud's cousin and fellow fugitive Mohammad Ardah and the father of Munadel Infeiat, another escapee -- were also taken into custody. Amani Sarahneh, a spokeswoman for the prisoners' group, told AFP that others could also have been arrested, and that some had been only briefly detained. The Israeli army -- which has occupied the West Bank since 1967 -- confirmed that "several arrests were made overnight", without elaborating. "Holding someone in order to coerce a relative to do something is a mafia-style tactic," tweeted Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director for Human Rights Watch. An Israeli injunction is in effect against publishing details of the jailbreak investigation, even as local media report on the scramble to recover from the embarrassing lapse and prevent any possible attack by the fugitives. Those on the run include Zakaria Zubeidi, a former militant leader from Jenin. Gilboa prison -- which opened in 2004 during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising -- is a high security site where hundreds of Palestinians are detained among other inmates. The prison service said all those held at Gilboa over "security offences" were being relocated in case more tunnels have been dug. The prisoners' group reported "tensions" in jails on Wednesday, and a spokeswoman for the Israeli prison authorities told AFP fires had been lit in Ktziot and Ramon jails. "The situation is now under control, the fires have been extinguished," she said. When news of the escape first broke on Monday, many people in the Gaza Strip and in Jenin took to the streets to celebrate.

Pentagon expects al-Qaeda to seek comeback in Afghanistan
The Arab Weekly/September 09/2021
KUWAIT CITY--US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday the al-Qaeda extremist group that used Afghanistan as a staging base to attack United States 20 years ago may attempt to regenerate there following the American withdrawal that has left the Taliban in power. Austin spoke to a small group of reporters in Kuwait City at the conclusion of a four-day tour of Persian Gulf states. He said the United States is prepared to prevent an al-Qaeda comeback in Afghanistan that would threaten the United States. “The whole community is kind of watching to see what happens and whether or not al-Qaeda has the ability to regenerate in Afghanistan,” he said. “The nature of al-Qaeda and (the Islamic State group) is they will always attempt to find space to grow and regenerate, whether it’s there, whether it’s in Somalia or whether it’s in any other ungoverned space. I think that’s the nature of the organisation.” The Taliban had provided al-Qaeda with sanctuary while it ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. The US invaded and overthrew the Taliban after it refused to turn over al-Qaeda leaders following the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States. During the course of the 20-year US war, al-Qaeda was vastly diminished, but questions have arisen about its future prospects with the Taliban back in Kabul. “We put the Taliban on notice that we expect them to not allow that to happen,” Austin said, referring to the possibility of al-Qaeda using Afghanistan as a staging base in the future. In a February 2020 agreement with the Trump administration, Taliban leaders pledged not to support al-Qaeda or other extremist groups that would threaten the United States. But US officials believe the Taliban maintain ties to al-Qaeda and many nations, including Gulf Arab states, are concerned that the Taliban’s return to power could open the door to a resurgence of al-Qaeda influence.
Reassuring Gulf allies
Austin has asserted that the US military is capable of containing al-Qaeda or any other extremist threat to the United States emanating from Afghanistan by using surveillance and strike aircraft based elsewhere, including in the Arabian Gulf. He also has acknowledged that it will be more difficult without US troops and intelligence teams based in Afghanistan. Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken appeared together in Qatar on Tuesday to thank the Gulf state for its help with the transit of tens of thousands of Afghans and others evacuated from Kabul. Blinken also visited an evacuee transit site in Germany and Austin visited Bahrain and Kuwait. Together, the Austin and Blinken trips were meant to reassure Gulf allies that President Joe Biden’s decision to end the US war in Afghanistan in order to focus more on other security challenges like China and Russia, does not foretell an abandonment of US partners in the Middle East. The US military has had a presence in the Gulf for decades, including the Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. Biden has not suggested ending that presence, but he, like the Trump administration before him, has called China the Number One security priority, along with strategic challenges from Russia. Austin, a retired Army general, has a deep network of contacts in the Gulf region based in part on his years commanding US and coalition troops in Iraq and later as head of US Central Command, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East. This week’s trip, however, was his first to the Gulf since taking office in January. Austin had been scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia on Thursday as the final stop on his Gulf tour. But on Wednesday evening his spokesman, John Kirby, announced that the visit had been dropped due to “scheduling issues.” Kirby offered no further explanation but said Austin looked forward to rescheduling. Austin indicated that his visit was postponed at the Saudis’ request. “The Saudis have some scheduling issues; I can’t speak to exactly what they were,” he said. The Saudi stop notably was to happen two days before the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people. Fifteen of the men who hijacked commercial airliners and crashed them into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field on September 11, 2001 were Saudis, as was Osama bin Laden, whose al-Qaeda network plotted the attack from its base in Afghanistan. The attack prompted the US invasion that became a 20-year war in Afghanistan.

Triumphant Taliban Start Putting Policies into Practice
Agence France Presse/September 09/2021
Twenty years since the Taliban's hardline regime was ousted from Kabul, the Islamists are back in power and putting a new political agenda into practice. While promising a more inclusive government, top posts have been handed to veteran leaders who played key roles in their notoriously brutal 1996-2001 rule. Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban's secretive supreme leader, has said the government would "work hard towards upholding Islamic rules and sharia law". While much remains opaque, here is what is known about their policies on key issues so far:
Women's rights
How the all-male leadership treat women is expected to be critical to any resumption of Western economic aid on which the country depends. The Taliban have sought to distance themselves from the harsher policies of old, when half the population was excluded from work and education. Under new rules, women may work "in accordance with the principles of Islam", the Taliban have decreed, without giving further details. Women can also study at university in classrooms that are segregated by sex, but they must wear an abaya robe and niqab covering most of the face.
Under the last regime women were forced to wear the all covering burqa which has only a small mesh window to see from.
Economic crisis
Afghanistan is facing a financial crisis following the takeover, with much of the international aid that had propped up the economy frozen. "The interactions with the international community... are going to continue," chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. "We are going to be working on our natural resources and our resources in order to revitalize our economy." But it remains unclear how the Taliban will find the funds to pay civil servants' salaries -- or to support critical infrastructure to keep the lights on, water running and telecommunications working.
The Taliban's current annual income, much of which is raised from taxation and criminal activities, is estimated to be somewhere between as low as $300 million and as high as $1.5 billion. But while those funds bankrolled a successful insurgency, it is nowhere near meeting the needs of running a nation, experts say.
Freedom of speech
The Taliban say that journalists -- including women -- can continue to work. "We will respect freedom of the press, because media reporting will be useful to society and will be able to help correct the leaders' errors," Mujahid told media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. But Afghan journalists paint a different picture, with many having already fled the country, or in hiding fearing attacks.The Taliban have also banned growing protests against their rule, unless permission had been granted by the justice ministry. Mujahid called on the media "not to cover" the demonstrations. On Wednesday, two Afghan journalists were badly beaten covering one in Kabul.
Culture and sport
During their first stint in power, the Taliban were infamous for their strict interpretation of sharia law, banning music, photography, television, and even children's games such as kite-flying. This time, the Taliban have yet to issue official decrees regarding entertainment and culture. But spokesman Mujahid told the New York Times last month that they were hopeful that Afghans would follow their rules without compulsion. "Music is forbidden in Islam," Mujahid said, adding that "we're hoping that we can persuade people not to do such things, instead of pressuring them."
Many are also wary about the Taliban's approach to historical artifacts and culture, after their 2001 dynamiting of the 1,500-year-old giant Buddha statues at Bamiyan generated international outrage. Earlier this year, the Taliban promised to protect the country's heritage. As for sports, like in the past, only men can play or attend matches. Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy head of the Taliban's cultural commission, said women cannot play."Islam and the Islamic Emirate do not allow women to play cricket or play the kind of sports where they get exposed," he said.
Security and drugs
After crushing the final holdout province of Panjshir last week, the Taliban have warned that "anyone who tries to start an insurgency will be hit hard." They have also said they will battle Islamic State-Khorasan, Afghanistan's branch of the jihadist franchise. As for drugs, the Taliban promise that Afghanistan, the world's leading producer of opium, "will be a narcotics-free country." But many fear that its anti-drug rhetoric -- like other pledges to respect fundamental rights -- are merely a way to paint a more moderate picture in order to secure international recognition.

Syrian army enters Deraa under Russian-brokered peace deal
The Arab Weekly/September 09/2021
AMMAN--Syrian army troops entered Deraa al Balaad, the birthplace of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, for the first time since it lost control over the area a decade ago, residents, the army and former rebels said. Army units set up at least nine checkpoints across the city under a Russian-brokered deal between the army and rebels that was finally agreed this week. Previous compacts had faltered over disagreements over the extent of army control in the area and disarming rebels.The government said state authority was finally established to restore order and security in an area where the first peaceful protests against Assad family rule broke out in 2011 before security forces cracked down and the unrest developed into civil war. Pro-Iran army units had for almost two-month bombarded the area in several failed attempts to take it and laid siege to neighbourhoods that had over 50,000 people, preventing food and medicine from getting through. They also opened a corridor for many civilians to flee. In 2018, Assad’s army, aided by Russian air power and Iranian-backed militias, retook southern Syria, bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to the west. Under a Russian-orchestrated deal then, the Western-backed Deraa rebels handed over heavy weapons but were allowed to continue their own administration of Deraa al Balaad. Moscow also gave guarantees to Israel and the United States in 2018 that it would restrain Iranian-backed militias from expanding their influence in the sensitive border region. After Deraa province surrendered, many residents chose to stay rather than head to remaining rebel-held areas in northern Syria, where tens of thousands of others displaced from recaptured areas have gathered.
Witnesses said dozens of Russian military police took positions in the war-ravaged zone as former rebels and civilians handed over light weapons in centres set up by the army as stipulated by the peace deal. Local officials hope Russia will rein in Iranian-backed local militias whom they say act with impunity and now hold sway in the border area. Many residents have been growing uneasy about Assad’s secret police, who have once more tightened their control and conducted a campaign of arrests has that has sowed widespread fear. Deraa al Balaad and other towns in southern Syria have, since the state regained control of the province, held sporadic protests against Assad’s rule that are rare in areas under state control. “I am devastated. We had become used to being free and we will now return back to living in humiliation,” said Jasem Mahameed, a local elder. Assad’s forces have recaptured about 70% of the country since 2015 and large-scale fighting has subsided in the multi-sided conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, driven millions from their homes, sucked in neighbours and world powers and caused the largest displacement crisis since World War Two.

German FM Arrives in Libya to Reopen Country's Embassy
Associated Press/September 09/2021
Germany's foreign minister arrived in Libya on Thursday to reopen the country's embassy in Tripoli. "Today, we want to show with the reopening that Germany is and will remain a committed partner of Libya," Heiko Maas said upon his arrival in Tripoli. "We want to have a voice in the Libyan capital again."German diplomats left Libya in 2014 due to the country's instability and spiraling violence and worked from neighboring Tunisia. In 2011, a NATO-backed uprising toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi and led to the collapse of order in the North African country. The oil-rich country was long divided between a U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the country's east, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. In April 2019, eastern-based commander Khalifa Hifter and his forces, backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, launched an offensive to try to capture Tripoli. Hifter's 14-month campaign collapsed after Turkey stepped up its military support of the U.N.-backed government with hundreds of troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries. In October, a cease-fire agreement including a demand that all foreign fighters and mercenaries leave Libya within 90 days led to a deal on the elections in December and the transitional government that took office in February. Germany has tried to act as an intermediary between warring parties in Libya in the past. In June, Germany and the United Nations hosted a Libya conference in Berlin on the future of the crisis-ridden country. At the conference, Germany vowed to keep up pressure until all foreign forces have been withdrawn from Libya. On Thursday, Maas praised the country's efforts to reach more stability over the past two years. "Today there's a national unity government, the oil blockade has been ended, and the weapons have mostly been silenced," Maas said, according to a statement from the German Foreign Ministry. He added that "Libya needs continued international engagement to achieve progress for all people in Libya."

Islamists suffer crushing defeat in Morocco's vote
The Arab Weekly/September 09/2021
Morocco’s long-ruling Islamists have suffered a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections to liberal parties, according to provisional results announced early Thursday. The Justice and Development Party (PJD), which headed the ruling coalition for a decade, saw its support collapse from 125 seats in the outgoing assembly to just 12, Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit said during a press briefing following Wednesday’s polls. It was far behind its main liberal rivals, the National Rally of Independents (RNI) and the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), with 97 and 82, respectively, and the centre-right Istiqlal Party with 78 seats in the 395-seat assembly. The RNI, which was a junior member of the governing coalition, is headed by businessman Aziz Akhannouch. And the main opposition PAM was founded by the current royal adviser, Fouad Ali El Himma, in 2008. The Istiqlal (Independence) party, the oldest in Morocco, made a remarkable comeback, adding 32 seats. The magnitude of the Islamists’ defeat was unexpected as, despite the absence of opinion polls that are banned near election time, the media and analysts had believed the PJD would still take first place. Swept to power in the wake of the 2011 uprisings around the Middle East and North Africa, the PJD had hoped to secure a third term leading a ruling coalition. King Mohammed VI OF Morocco will name a prime minister from the party that won the poll to govern the nation of 36 million for the next five years, succeeding Saad-Eddine El Othmani. The final results should be known on Thursday.Turnout was 50.35 percent, according to the interior minister, higher than the 43 percent at the previous legislative polls in 2016, but lower than the 53 percent during the 2015 local elections. But changes to the voting system meant that it was the first time Morocco’s 18 million voters cast ballots in both parliamentary and local elections on the same day, in an effort to boost turnout. On Wednesday evening, the Islamists alleged “serious irregularities,” including “obscene cash handouts” near polling stations and “confusion” on some electoral rolls, with some voters finding they were not listed.
However, the interior minister said voting took place “under normal circumstances” apart from some isolated incidents.

Electoral alliances test public pulse ahead of Iraq elections
The Arab Weekly/September 09/2021
BAGHDAD--Iraq’s Al-Fatah Alliance, which serves as a political umbrella for Shia militias led by the Badr Organisation, announced the name of its candidate to head the next government in the country, prompting an early race for the premiership among Shia forces and political parties ahead of the October 10 parliamentary elections. Al-Fateh Alliance parliament member Naim Al-Aboudi said that Hadi al-Amiri is a frontrunner to head the next government, a position that can only be held by a Shia, according to Iraq’s power-sharing agreement. Amiri heads the Badr Organisation, which was established in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war to fight alongside Iranian forces against the Iraqi army. The head of the Badr Organisation leads the Al-Fateh Alliance, which brings together the majority of the Shia militias that make up the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), particularly those who announced their loyalty to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. “If we get the seats that qualify us to ally with the political blocs, we will participate and we will present our candidate in a clear and unambiguous way. Those who will support us are welcome and those who oppose us can join the opposition,” Aboudi said,
The MP’s statements seemed to be an attempt to take the pulse of the other Shia forces, who have joined the race for the leadership of the next government, at a time when Iraqis are questioning the significance of the elections, which will likely restore the same political forces and faces that have been long accused of corruption and mismanagement. The announcement by Al-Fatah Alliance came after former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi unveiled his ambition to head the next government.
Abadi joined a new alliance with the Wisdom Movement headed by the Shia cleric Ammar al-Hakim. The Wisdom Movement and the head of the Victory Coalition led by Abadi, formed an alliance called the “National State Forces Alliance”, which brings together a number of Shia organisations and personalities.
Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has also joined the electoral race with a new political formation under the name “The Sadrist Bloc,” which unites members of the Sadrist movement who aspire to win the largest share seats that would allow them form the next government. Although the Sadrist movement has not announced its candidate, it is expected the movement will endorse the current Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. The results of the elections, of which Sadr hopes to be the godfather, may not allow Kadhimi to be the star of the next phase, if supporters of the Sadrist movement decide to vote on sectarian grounds, giving their tick to the militias in order to block the victory of secularist figures. As speculation grows over the next shape of Iraqi politics, there is also former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who had voiced his desire to return to the premiership. Although Maliki, also leader of leader of the State of Law coalition and head of the Islamic Dawa Party, has said that he did not ask for his nomination to head the government, he also stated that he had no objection to become the next premier should Shia forces reach a consensus. Maliki’s State of Law coalition has already deployed all of its logistics to improve its chances of winning the October elections, making tempting promises to voters in a heavily-funded campaign. The initial names announced for the premiership reveal that there is an attempt to restore the same old faces, who lost their credibility among Iraqis, leading to massive protests across the country, with demonstrators calling for a reform of the political system and the trial of corrupt figures. Experts mostly agree that the October elections will in fact fail to bring any change to the Iraqi political scene, likely raising the frustration of the protest movement and leading to renewed unrest in the country. Some are even wondering if the next government will be a “militia government,” noting that this scenario has been at the head of concerns of anti-militias groups and political figures, who have not harboured strong ties with militias.

Libya seeks to ease Dbeibeh-provoked tensions with Tunisia
The Arab Weekly/September 09/2021
TUNIS--Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh is trying to escape the predicament he got himself into when he attacked Tunisia and, in statements that were widely described as “reckless”, accused Libya’s neighbour of exporting terrorism. Dbeibeh’s offending statements were in response to fears of terrorist infiltration that were never actually expressed by Tunisian officials. They were however the subject of widespread speculation in Tunisian press and social media, triggered when President Kais Said accused Islamists of targeting him for assassination. Dbeibeh announced on Thursday he will be visiting Tunisia and meeting President Kais Saied, in a move that experts described as an attempt to dispel the tensions that have emerged over the past few days. Neither the Tunisian foreign ministry nor presidency was immediately available to confirm Dbeibeh’s visit. Dbeibeh has recently sought to deny the his comments. However, Tunisia did not officially react to his denial, indicating that Libya’s neighbour is still disturbed by what it sees as insensitive remarks.
Tunisia really is concerned over possible terrorist infiltration from Libya. This followed reports that armed groups were planning to cross the borders to support one party at the expense of another in a constitutional dispute that broke out when President Saied froze parliament and dismissed the government on July 25. Addressing Libya’s eastern-based parliament, Dbeibeh said on Wednesday that accusations had originated with Tunisian and Libyan security services. “We do not accuse the state of Tunisia. Confusion is normal and we respond to any accusation,” he said, adding that he would have lunch with Saied on Thursday. Dbeibeh, observers told The Arab Weekly, changed his position after he realised that pressure on the Tunisian president is not sensible, with Saied demonstrating he is capable of countering any attempt at swaying his political course. Tunisia believes, the observers added, that Dbeibeh’s moves were aimed at pushing Saied to review the measures he had taken on July 25 against the Islamist Ennahda movement. Some political experts have even suggested that Dbeibeh’s actions were dictated by the Turks, who have been trying to leverage the position of their Islamist allies in Tunisia to relieve pressure on them.
In his effort to diffuse the row, Dbeibeh has so far made only an indirect apology to Tunisia. He had also announced a visit to the country, which was later postponed without revealing the reasons. On Thursday, he again announced his intent to visit Libya’s neighbour, without an official invitation. All these moves, observers say, come as Dbeibeh is attempting to diffuse tensions, especially after he found out that Saied’s recent measures have the support of major countries, unready to let Tunisia head towards the unknown. In late August, comments attributed to Dbeibeh sparked massive anger in Tunisia and prompted a Libyan request to visit Tunisia before sending a delegation led by Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush. In late Agust, Dbeibeh said in a televised speech, “There are neighbouring countries that are accusing us of terrorism” while the threat of terrorism on Libya’s soil originated from the inflow of terrorists from “neighbouring countries.” He did not name the countries in question. “Libya fought terrorism in Sirte and everywhere. Libyans are a free people and we cannot accept being accused of terrorism,” he added.
He also pointed out that he had dispatched a “high-level delegation” to Tunisia to reach an understanding with Tunisian authorities about the issue and dispel “these strange accusations.” The Libyan delegation, headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Najla Mangoush and Minister of Interior Khaled Mazen reportedly discussed with their Tunisian counterparts the prospects of reopening the borders between Libya and Tunisia. The Tunisian-Libyan borders had been closed for several weeks by Libyan authorities because of COVID-19 concerns. In late August, the Libyan government decided it was time to reopen the border but the Tunisians referred the issue to its pandemic scientific committee. There has been speculation the Tunisian authorities were also thinking about security risks at the border.
On August 26, Tunisian media confirmed the authorities had issued a list including the names of leading figures from the Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood who are banned from entering Tunisia. The list is said to include the President of the Libyan High Council of State Khalid al-Mishri and former Mufti Al-Sadiq al-Ghariani. Analysts speculate that President Saied could be trying to prevent coordination between Tunisian and Libyan Islamists. Mishri is, for instance, known for his close ties to Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Ennahda Movement. During a meeting with his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra in Algiers, Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi had condemned Dbeibeh’s comments and expressed Tunisia’s “astonishment” and “rejection” of such accusations. “Our country is likewise targeted by terrorism and can in no way be a base for its export to Libya,” Jerandi said. Leaked contents of a letter from the Libyan Interior Minister Khaled Ahmed Mazen to Libyan security and judiciary officials, called on them in late August to take the necessary security precautions to thwart any terrorist act after warnings about an impending threat. Mazen referred to a cable from Interpol Tunisia stating that about 100 terrorists at the Al-Wattiya air base, close to the Tunisian border and the region of Ben Guerdane, intended to infiltrate Tunisia. Following these reports Tunisia tightened its security and military presence on its south-eastern border. Tunisia has been open to Libya during most of the latter’s decade of instability since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi. It alsot hosts numerous diplomatic and aid missions focused on Libya.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials published on September 09-10/2021
شارل الياس شرتوني: إحياء ذكرى الحادي عشر من سبتمبر 2001 والملحمة الإسلامية للعدمية التي لا تنتهي
The 9/11, 2001 Twentieth Commemoration and the Unending Saga of Islamic Nihilism
Charles Elias Chartouni/September 09/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/102213/charles-elias-chartouni-the-9-11-2001-twentieth-commemoration-and-the-unending-saga-of-islamic-nihilism-%d8%b4%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%b4%d8%b1%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%86%d9%8a/
October 1995, Walid Phares invites me to teach a class about the Arab-Israeli conflict at the University of Miami senior program. It coincided with a talk given by a self appointed “imam of Orlando” who came to offer an outlook on the life of a Muslim community, which turned out to be a litany of threats to the Americans highlighted by his catchword “we are going to chop off heads”. Appalled, the puzzled audience couldn’t make sense of this enumeration of menaces and its compulsive repetition. Being part of the audience, I decided to postpone my seminar and dedicate my assigned lecture to the deconstruction of the discourse and the setting of its coordinates. Obviously, I was able to identify the locutor (a delinquent political refugee who belonged to the Abou Mehjen group at the Palestinian camp of Ain al Helweh in Saida), but still I was disturbed by the statement and its innuendos. On the 9/11 2001, while watching the daily news on CNN, I was flabbergasted when I saw the hijacked planes hitting, one after the other, the towers, which immediately reminded me of the “chopping off heads” of the “imam of Orlando”, and I said to myself, “this was no metaphor, it was meant”.
Twenty years after, the Terrorist maelstrom is still in course, the tropes of Islamic radicalism are prevalent in the Muslim world, the crisis of Islamic societies and polities has not yet ended its circonvolutions, and the imploding geopolitics have set enduring trajectories that are putting at stake international peace, and the likelihood of a virtuous cycle of systemic reforms and Nation-State building. Most of the Arab and Middle Eastern conflicts are still simmering, while criminal dictatorships are restored (Syria), State reconstruction is tentative (Irak, Syria, Lybia, Yemen), systemic reforms held back and deliberately disrupted by oligarchs, shadowy political arrangements (Algeria and the FIS, Authoritarianism vs. religious totalitarianism, Tunisia and the brittleness of reformist coalitions), and the ambiguities of oil dictatorships insofar as promoting systemic reforms and bankrolling Islamic radicalism, in its quietist and Terrorist modulations. The rise of al Qaida, ISIS, and the predominance of the Islamist tropes, rather than being dispelled by the unleashed violence and its destructive effects, is still nurturing radicalism and compromising the chances of strategic normalization, geopolitical stabilization, democratization, and societal liberalization.
The defeat of the terrorist groups have not yet ushered the reconstruction of religious, political and societal matrices as a prelude to political reformism and effective Nation-State building. The withdrawal of the United States and its allies, after twenty years of tentative Nation-State building in different geopolitical settings, was relayed right after, by renascent totalitarianism, revived geopolitical rivalries and the perpetuation of the systemic entropies which have prevailed over the Afghan, Syrian, Iraqi, Yemeni and Lybian wastelands. The disillusionment was not late setting in, and was readily validated by the systemic deadlocks set by Taliban and corollaries, their professional ineptitude and inability to run modern State institutions in spite of official statements. The rehearsal of the Islamic totalitarian mantra is the counterpart of a failed modernity and its manifold foreclosures, and the inability to extricate oneself from the contradictions of a self defeating dystopia.
The US and Western democracies had to pay their toll in terms of terrorist attacks, massive migration, failed attempts at geopolitical stabilization and structural reforms, whereas the main strategic quandaries are still in place. On the other hand, the Shiite world is piloting under the Iranian Islamic Republic the corollary subversive strategy, in contradistinction, with the vagrant Sunnite Terrorism, its colliding power politics and clashing agendas. The parenthesis of the 9/11 2001 has not yet been bracketed and is unlikely to unravel unless a new cycle of systemic reforms relays the destructive dystopia and its tenacious delusions.

What Afghanistan Teaches Us About Our Ruling Class
Lee Smith/The Epoch Times/September 09/ 2021
With our political and military establishment spending twenty years waging war in the mountains of central Asia, Americans now know that the old saying about Afghanistan and imperial ambition is a lie. A great nation with a keen pride in its own identity and the destiny defined by it doesn’t risk blood and treasure to convince primitive tribes to adopt its style of governance. Only a failing power that has lost all sense of what once made rivals shrink would spend the lives of its young men and women to plant its flag on a pile of inconsequential rocks. Afghanistan is not the graveyard of empires. Rather, it is where failing regimes go to be euthanized.
The Soviet Union was already crumbling when Leonid Brezhnev sent troops to prop up a Communist regime in 1979. Months after Mikhail Gorbachev withdrew the last Soviet soldier in February 1989, the Berlin Wall was toppled. Russia survived and so will America. It is only the end of our ruling class, the curators of the new world order—globalism—that rose with the end of the Cold War. The impending collapse of this deracinated elite, like that of the Soviet Union, has simply been accelerated by its loss in Afghanistan.
It was not inevitable that what began in the wake of the Sept. 11 as an act of retribution would end in a theatre of self-pity. With lower Manhattan still smoking, Americans entrusted their political and military leadership with their safety and continued prosperity. Many of the most high-spirited among us offered America their service and some gave their lives.
But as the leadership class foundered in Afghanistan—Osama Bin Laden had escaped, Afghan democracy proved to be a fantasy, neither its army nor national police force could stand on its own, and so on—it saw that the failures prolonging the war in fact created opportunities for personal advancement. They used Afghanistan as a financial instrument to launder their spoils and purchase the power and prestige that are naturally owed victors. Like all habitual losers, America’s ruling class escapes the shame and humiliation it merits by forcing others to bear responsibility for the crimes it alone committed.
And that’s the context in which to understand the massive airlift for which the Joe Biden administration keeps congratulating itself. Never mind the thousands of Americans sent to their death for no strategic purpose and the trillions of U.S. taxpayer money wasted on the fantasy of turning Afghanistan into a democratic state. The message is: We’re good guys—we’re rescuing Afghans from the clutches of the Taliban.
The ruling class’ phony atonement comes at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer. No one knows how many Afghans will be coming to the United States. Tens of thousands have been settled already, with others reportedly on their way, totaling according to some reports around 120,000. Government sources say that after refugees start bringing over family still in Afghanistan the final tally will likely reach a quarter of a million, maybe more.
The resettlement abuses the generosity of Americans, most of whom don’t understand that the Afghans sent to their communities are not the Afghans who helped Americans. The media, local political, social, and religious organizations have misled them to believe these are the interpreters and others who assisted US troops and other agencies. But according to reports, the Biden team left many of those Afghans behind. So, who are these people?
No one really knows. The problem is not that they are unvetted but that they are unvettable. The biometric information collected by U.S. authorities—and has now reportedly fallen into the hands of the Taliban—documented the Afghans who worked for them. Those among the warring tribesmen who opposed the U.S.-led coalition are undocumented, unless they are so notorious for shooting at Americans that they wound up on terror lists. Those Afghans are known. There are also records of those who committed crimes during earlier stays in Western countries and were deported. As for the rest, they pushed their way into Kabul airport, forced their way on to planes and now they’re here.
Gen. HR McMaster famously showed Donald Trump a 1970s photograph of young Kabul women in miniskirts to dissuade him from withdrawing forces. Trump’s advisor was trying to show that just underneath the country’s primitive violence was an open-minded and liberal core just waiting to be liberated.
But the type of people in those pictures are not part of this wave of Afghan migrants because all those open-minded and liberal Afghans left for the West years ago. The people coming now are poor and illiterate. They support strict Islamic law. Some of the tribal elders brought child brides with them. That is normal in traditional Afghan culture. So is raping young boys, which the Afghans call “bacha bazi.”
These Afghans can hardly be expected to assimilate American values and norms. And yet in one significant respect, these Afghans were shaped by their recent experience with Americans. The two-decade-long occupation trained them to be dependent on U.S. handouts. Thus, it is not entirely accurate to say the Afghans are fleeing the Taliban. Rather, they are following their source of income.
In this light, it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for Hamed Ahmadi, the 28-year-old Afghan refugee who tweeted out a picture of the meager meal he and other immigrants were served when arriving at Fort Bliss. Many commentators called him an ingrate, but see it from his perspective. He was eight when American forces landed. The only world he knows is the one in which the Americans give you money just so you won’t take up arms against them. The way he sees it, the Americans have no choice but to keep paying.

Biden Is Running a Hostage Negotiation With the Taliban/Making concessions now will only encourage terrorism.
Saeed Ghasseminejad and Matthew Zweig and Richard Goldberg/Foreign Policy/September 09/2021
In late August, CIA director William Burns met with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul, presumably to negotiate the evacuation of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies. For all intents and purposes, the Biden administration is running a hostage negotiation with a terrorist organization. The question for policymakers: What is U.S. President Joe Biden offering to pay now that the last remaining U.S. forces have withdrawn?
Thousands of U.S. and other Western citizens, along with their Afghan allies, remain trapped in Taliban-controlled territory in the wake of Biden’s decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from the bases and airfields that could have been used to protect and evacuate them. These stranded individuals are wholly dependent on the Taliban’s cooperation to enter and depart Kabul and other airports.
The prospect of thousands of U.S. and allied hostages remaining in Afghanistan without U.S. military assistance leaves the United States and its fellow democracies vulnerable to extortion. International recognition as Afghanistan’s legitimate government will be the Taliban’s critical first step toward gaining additional concessions and resources, such as direct economic assistance. Official recognition would, in turn, likely help the Taliban achieve another demand: access to hard currency, including Afghan government assets that have been blocked by the United States and others.
Afghanistan’s reserve assets, estimated at around $9 billion, are mostly parked in the United States. The Taliban face two obstacles in getting their hands on these funds. First, the United States does not recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as the country’s legitimate government—and, therefore, owner of these assets. Second, the Taliban are designated a terrorist entity by the U.S. Treasury Department, as are many of the group’s leaders. For now, the bulk of Afghanistan’s reserves remain frozen at the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Funds held and distributed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) offer another potential source of hard currency for the Taliban. As part of the IMF response to the global economic crisis triggered by COVID-19, Afghanistan was scheduled to receive $455 million in assistance this month. IMF officials have suspended this transfer and also blocked access to other IMF resources, such as special drawing rights. Obviously, the Taliban are keen to get their hands on these funds.
The Taliban likely have other diplomatic and economic demands. The group hopes to be officially recognized as Afghanistan’s representative to the United Nations General Assembly, a key source of legitimacy they were denied when they ruled Afghanistan before 2001. The Taliban will also demand the removal of U.N. and U.S. sanctions that could impede commercial relationships with the rest of the world.
Biden may be tempted to pay the Taliban’s racket, if only to keep Afghanistan out of the headlines going into the 2022 midterm elections.
China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar already appear willing to help the Taliban avoid international pariah status. For his part, Biden has not taken recognition or the release of funds off the table, perhaps naively believing such incentives will induce good behavior by the Taliban. In the president’s mind, the Taliban are grappling with what he called an “existential crisis” about whether or not they want to be internationally isolated. The State Department told reporters that the administration would consider a carrot-and-stick approach.
Biden may be tempted to pay the Taliban’s racket, if only to keep Afghanistan out of the headlines going into the 2022 midterm elections. But appeasing a terrorist organization allied with al Qaeda would be a catastrophic mistake that endangers U.S. national security.
The Taliban maintained close ties to al Qaeda both before and after the 9/11 attacks. For example, one of the Taliban’s deputy emirs, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is a long-standing al Qaeda ally and the head of the Haqqani network, the Taliban’s most sophisticated and experienced faction. Since regaining power, the Taliban have already freed thousands of al Qaeda and Islamic State prisoners and appointed former al Qaeda-linked commanders and Guantánamo Bay detainees to key government posts. The U.S. military is now warning that al Qaeda’s operational capabilities are rapidly regrowing. Given the relationship between the Taliban and al Qaeda, a de facto trade of cash for hostages could end up financing future terrorist attacks against Americans.
Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are already demanding that the Biden administration reveal all details of its negotiations with the Taliban since the fall of Kabul. This would provide much-needed transparency and accountability to any quid pro quo being offered to the Taliban.
But Congress should not stop there. It should also prohibit the release of any funds to the Taliban through the Federal Reserve, IMF, or other international organizations Washington has leverage over. In addition, Congress should pass legislation barring recognition of a Taliban-led government, including by the United Nations, and dramatically expanding U.S. financial sanctions to target the Taliban government’s central bank and economic sectors.
The administration, for its part, should not capitulate to the Taliban’s demands; it should make clear that any attempt to impede the continued departure of U.S. citizens, other Westerners, or Afghan allies will be met with force.
The Trump administration’s decision to negotiate with the Taliban and undermine the Afghan government was wrong. Biden’s decision to leave Afghanistan was even worse—and his withdrawal process has been a disaster. Doubling down by caving to Taliban extortion will not prevent the group from helping al Qaeda launch terrorist attacks against the United States. It will guarantee they will.
Saeed Ghasseminejad is a senior financial economics advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Twitter: @Sghasseminejad. Matthew Zweig is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Twitter: @MatthewZweig1. Richard Goldberg is a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He served on Capitol Hill, on the U.S. National Security Council, and as the governor of Illinois’s chief of staff. Twitter: @rich_goldberg. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

9/11: US and Israel learned to stop attacks, but not terrorist groups - analysis
Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/September 09/2021
Twenty years after 9/11, the lessons of that day are still inconclusive. It was traumatizing for a generation.
It was just after midnight when two Border Police officers on guard duty at a base near Kibbutz Bahan in central Israel were fired upon. According to the Foreign Ministry’s subsequent report, “Corporal Tzachi David and St.-Sgt. Andrei Zledkin were killed in the attack, both shot in the head as they patrolled inside the security fence of the base near the entrance gate; another officer was wounded. The terrorists apparently fled into nearby Palestinian villages in the area of Tulkarm.”
It was 12:15 a.m. on September 11 in Israel. In the United States it was still the day before.
Eight hours later, at 7:59 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 with 81 passengers and 11 crew aboard took off from Boston. Five hijackers were on the plane. At 8:14, United Airlines Flight 175 left Boston as well, with another five hijackers among the 56 passengers.
Flight 11 would hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m., beginning the day of tragedy that has become known as 9/11.
Israel was already reeling from terror attacks. Its citizens had been killed daily for a year since the Second Intifada began in September 2000. On September 9, 2001, for instance, Ya’akov Hatzav, 42, of Hamra in the Jordan Valley, and Sima Franko, 24, of Beit She’an, a kindergarten teacher, were killed in a shooting attack 300 meters south of Adam junction in the Jordan Valley. Later that day, Dr. Yigal Goldstein, 47, of Jerusalem, Morel Derfler, 45, of Mevaseret Zion, and Sgt. Daniel Yifrah, 19, of Jerusalem, were killed and some 90 injured, most lightly, in a suicide bombing near the Nahariya train station, according to the Foreign Ministry, which keeps a tally of terror attacks.
The September 11 terror attacks appeared to shock the US into the realization that terrorism was no longer a law enforcement issue. There had been debates during the al-Qaeda attacks against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in the 1990s and the USS Cole bombing in 2000 off Yemen, that the US could approach terror threats using the FBI and law enforcement. While the US had ostensibly been fighting terrorism since the 1980s, it didn’t have a cohesive policy on going after terror groups.
It’s hard to remember now, but after 9/11 some of the reactions in the US and among critics abroad was that America “deserved” the terror attacks and that this was “blowback” for US “imperialism.” The caricature of American “imperialism” is interesting to think about because the US had only been a global superpower for 10 years by 9/11, from president George H.W. Bush’s famous speech about a “new world order” in 1990.
“We stand today at a unique and extraordinary moment,” Bush told a joint session of Congress on the striking date of September 11, 1990. “The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward a historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective – a new world order – can emerge: a new era – freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice, and more secure in the quest for peace. An era in which the nations of the world, East and West, North and South, can prosper and live in harmony.”
Bush’s policy, putting in place a rules-based international world order that embraced liberal and democratic values, was important for the 1990s. The US in that era was involved in humanitarian interventions, such as Haiti and Somalia. The US was also involved in muscling its way into Panama in 1989 and later in bombing campaigns in the Balkans. This was the “empire” some referred to. Even in the US, right-wing voices like Pat Buchanan were advocating a more isolationist policy, “a republic, not an empire,” they said. And on the Left, the same critique was clear, from those like Noam Chomsky. Anger over the Clinton administration’s humanitarian interventions and claims of “nation-building” or “global policeman” policies gone awry led president George W. Bush to take a reticent view of the US role in the world being projected through armed power.
In the immediate wake of 9/11 these critical voices emerged protesting an attack on the Taliban, claiming Osama bin Laden could be “apprehended” somehow. They advocated speaking to the Taliban, not invading and causing what some alleged would be a “famine.” Indeed, on September 20, 2011, Oxfam warned that “nearly 3 million people across Afghanistan are facing severe food shortages as a result of drought... as it called on donor governments to act now before the crisis becomes a catastrophe.” It was unclear if this “famine” had emerged as a talking point to discourage the looming US invasion.
The US went into Afghanistan to fight alongside the Northern Alliance, a group that was resisting the Taliban. The head of the alliance, Ahmad Shah Massoud, had been killed on September 9 in a terror attack by al-Qaeda. At the time it had seemed like a coincidence that the main opposition leader to Taliban rule should be killed two days before 9/11. In retrospect it doesn’t look like coincidence, but rather al-Qaeda cleaning house like the scene in The Godfather when Don Corleone orders the killing of all his enemies. Bin Laden expected to destroy the last opposition to its role in Afghanistan, and take down the United States at the same time.
Massoud was already a well-known figure among writers who covered Afghanistan. He was also well-known inside the US government. The film Path to 9/11 would show how FBI counterterrorism expert John P. O’Neill and the CIA wanted to work with Massoud against bin Laden. The film shows what became a subsequent theme in US policy on Afghanistan: the way in which US allies like Pakistan were playing both sides, backing the Taliban and probably hosting groups like al-Qaeda, while working with the US. Even after 9/11, countries like Pakistan would continue to keep a finger in Afghanistan. Bin Laden would eventually be hunted down in Pakistan, likely being sheltered by the regime there.
WHAT WE learned after 9/11 was that the US embarked on a wide-ranging global war on terror, but the US never really sought to eradicate all terror groups. Instead the question of what constituted a “terror” group would constantly change. Israel likely thought that the US joining the war on terror would mean US sympathy for what Israel was facing. However, deeply ingrained views in the West that portray the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as sui generis mean that terror groups like Hamas were seen as different than al-Qaeda. Iranian-backed groups like Hezbollah have also been seen consistently as different.
There were some consolation prizes for Israel. Warnings about the growing role of jihadist violence and groups likened to the Muslim Brotherhood led some European countries to start to want to learn from Israel’s experience. Where European countries had once portrayed terror attacks like the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre as something done just to “Israelis,” soon after 9/11 there would be a series of jihadist attacks in Europe, from the Madrid bombings in 2004 to the 2005 London bombings and to the attacks the following decade in Paris and elsewhere.
However, it’s not clear what lessons were learned in the end from Israel’s experience. Israel never completely defeated terror groups; it merely walled Hamas off in Gaza, and pounded Hezbollah in 2006 until both Hezbollah and Israel appeared tired of fighting. Meanwhile, the US didn’t learn the lessons of Israel’s counter-insurgency challenges, and went into Iraq in 2003 without a plan of how to get out.
What the US found in Iraq was what Israel found in Lebanon in 1982, initial success followed by a decade of war. America tried different strategies, such as counter-insurgency and counterterrorism. Eventually the US even moved through the “surge” to what it called the “by, with and through” strategy, which put most of the focus on local forces doing the work. While that worked in eastern Syria against ISIS, it failed miserably in Afghanistan, and the Afghan government collapsed in a week of fighting in August 2021. The Iraqi army was only able to defeat ISIS because of the mobilization of Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi Shi’ites, backed by pro-Iranian militias.
Twenty years after 9/11, the lessons of that day are still inconclusive. It was traumatizing for a generation. Today a new generation must manage a world left behind by America’s attempt to impose its will on countries and then Washington’s decision to retreat from those same countries, such as Afghanistan.
In the long-term wake of the attacks it appears US adversaries such as China, Russia and Turkey are rising, and US friends are weaker than in the past. The Taliban have won in Afghanistan. An al-Qaeda offshoot now controls Idlib province in Syria and is backed quietly by Turkey. That means that the same extremists the US once fought are now appearing to get the red carpet from Moscow to Doha.
On a purely security front, the US and its allies, including Israel, have learned the lesson of how to stop most terror attacks, but they haven’t learned how to defeat terrorist groups.

Taliban’s government includes designated terrorists, ex-Guantanamo detainees
Thomas Joscelyn and Bill Roggio/FDD's Long War Journal/Septemberb 09/2021
The Taliban has announced the formation of an “interim government” to rule over Afghanistan. The Taliban’s regime will be known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. This is entirely unsurprising. The first emirate was toppled during the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001. The jihadis, members of both the Taliban and al Qaeda, waged jihad for the next two decades in order to resurrect it. The Taliban was clear about its political goal all along.
Many of the newly appointed leaders in the Islamic Emirate are actually old Taliban leaders. More than a dozen of them were first sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in early 2001. Some new faces have joined them.
Brief profiles for 22 of the Taliban men who will govern under the emirate are offered below. This list does not include all of the figures appointed to lead. FDD’s Long War Journal will likely add to this list in the future. Many of the Taliban leaders discussed below have either current or historical ties to al Qaeda. Indeed, some of them worked closely with al Qaeda throughout their careers. Some them are U.S.-designated terrorists.
Five of the newly-appointed Taliban leaders were once held at the detention facility in Guantánamo, but exchanged for Bowe Bergdahl in 2014. They are discussed at the end of this analysis.
Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is the current “Emir of the Faithful,” or top leader of the Taliban. He has served as the Taliban’s emir since 2016. At some point during the jihad against the Soviets, Akhundzada reportedly fought within the ranks of the Hezb-e-Islami group led by the mujahideen commander Yunus Khalis. After the Taliban took over most of Afghanistan, ruling from 1996 to 2001, Akhundzada was a religious scholar, judge and head of the judiciary branch.
As the top judicial figure, Akhundzada issued fatwas, or religious decrees, justifying all aspects of the Taliban’s operations, including suicide attacks. His son, Hafiz Abdul Rahman, killed himself in a suicide attack against Afghan forces in Helmand province in 2017. Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of al Qaeda, swore allegiance to Akhundzada in 2016. The Taliban’s “Emir of the Faithful” has never disavowed Zawahiri’s oath.
Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund is the acting head of state. Akhund was a close compatriot of Mullah Omar. During the Taliban’s first regime from 1996 to 2001, Akhund served as the governor of Kandahar, foreign minister, and first deputy of the Taliban’s council of ministers.
On behalf of the Taliban’s senior leadership, Akhund refused to turn over Osama bin Laden after al Qaeda carried out the August 1998 U.S. embassy bombings — the deadliest attack by bin Laden’s network prior to 9/11. “We will never give up Osama at any price,” Akhund said, after the U.N. threatened to impose sanctions if bin Laden wasn’t handed over. Akhund was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in Jan. 2001. As of 2009, Akhund was one of the Taliban’s “most effective” insurgent commanders. He was also member of the Taliban’s supreme council.
Taliban-linked social media accounts have shared multiple images of Akhund in recent days, including photos of him meeting with other senior Taliban officials. One image can be seen on the right.
Sirajuddin Haqqani is the acting interior minister. In that role, he will likely have great power within the Taliban’s newly resurrected Islamic Emirate. Indeed, Sirajuddin issued guidance to the Taliban’s commissions and judges as the jihadists took over the country this year.
Sirajuddin is the son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, who served as a commander in Yunus Khalis’s Hezb-e-Islami group, but became more widely known as a notorious powerbroker in the region. Jalaluddin was the founder of the so-called Haqqani Network, which is an integral part of the Taliban. The Haqqanis have benefited from the support of Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment.
In Oct. 2001, Jalaluddin was appointed the head of the Taliban’s military forces. In that role, he helped Osama bin Laden escape the American manhunt in late 2001, while also publicly defending the al Qaeda founder. Indeed, Jalaluddin was one of bin Laden’s first benefactors and helped incubate al Qaeda in the Haqqanis’ own camps in eastern Afghanistan during the 1980s. Al Qaeda issued a glowing eulogy for Jalaluddin after the Taliban announced his death in 2018, and continued to honor him in the months that followed.
Sirajuddin Haqqani issued orders concerning how to govern as the Taliban conquered Afghanistan.
Years before Jalaluddin’s demise, Sirajuddin inherited the leadership of the Haqqanis’ network. He has overseen it for much of the past two decades. At the same time, Sirajuddin quickly rose up the Taliban’s ranks, serving as one of two deputy emirs to Akhundzada since 2016, as well as the head of the Taliban’s Miramshah Shura.
Sirajuddin has worked closely with Al Qaeda throughout his career, so much so that it is often difficult to tell the Haqqanis and al Qaeda apart. A team of experts working for the United Nations Security Council recently reported that Sirajuddin may even be a member of al Qaeda’s “wider” leadership. Regardless, there is no question that Sirajuddin is an al Qaeda man. The Haqqanis main media arm has even celebrated the unbroken bond between the Taliban and al Qaeda. And al Qaeda’s general command has referred to Sirajuddin and Akhundzada as “our emirs in the Islamic emirate.” The U.S. government has listed Sirajuddin as a specially designated global terrorist, offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his capture and prosecution.
Mullah Yaqoub is the acting defense minister. He is the son of Mullah Omar, the founder and first emir of the Taliban. Omar repeatedly refused to hand over Osama bin Laden to the U.S. both before and after the 9/11 hijackings.
Alongside Sirajuddin Haqqani, Yaqoub has served as one of the Taliban’s two deputy emirs since 2016. Yaqoub was also named as the group’s military commander. Yaqoub previously served as a member of the Quetta Shura and the military commander of 15 provinces.
In a recent video blaming America for the 9/11 hijackings, Yaqoub openly praised the Taliban’s suicide squads, saying they will continue to play a leading role in the defense of the Islamic Emirate. The Taliban did not previously release pictures showing Yaqoub’s face, but some images (including the one on the right and others) were shared via social media within the last day.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is the acting first deputy head of state. Baradar cofounded the Taliban with Mullah Omar, and served at the most senior levels within the Taliban between 1996 and 2001, including as deputy minister of defense. The Trump administration negotiated Baradar’s release from prison in Pakistan, where he was detained for approximately eight years, in order to give negotiations between the two sides the appearance of gravitas. Baradar then headed the Taliban’s delegation in Doha, Qatar and secured the deal that led to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. That agreement paved the way for the Taliban to seize control of the country. Baradar was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in Feb. 2001.
Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi is the acting second deputy head of state. He was a key member of the Taliban’s Doha delegation, which secured America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Abdul Salam has playing a leading role in the Taliban’s diplomatic efforts with China and other powers since the fall of Kabul. He was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in Feb. 2001, as he served as the deputy minister of education for the Taliban at the time. Years later, beginning in 2007, the Taliban named him its shadow governor for Jawzjan province. He was also “believed to be involved in drug trafficking,” according to the U.N.
Khalil al Rahman Haqqani is the acting minister of refugees. He has played a leading diplomatic role in Kabul since it fell, accepting pledges of loyalty to the newly restored Islamic Emirate from various parties. Flanked by arm guards, Khalil was also seen preaching in the Pol-e Khishti Mosque, the largest mosque in Kabul. Khalil is a brother of Jalaluddin Haqqani and the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani. He has served as a key fundraiser, financier, and operational commander for the Haqqani Network.
When the U.S. Treasury Department designated Khalil as a terrorist in 2011, it noted that he “acted on behalf of” al Qaeda’s military, or “Shadow Army,” in Afghanistan. In 2002, when the U.S. was hunting Osama bin Laden, Khalil deployed men “to reinforce al Qaeda elements in Paktia Province, Afghanistan.” The U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture and prosecution. It is likely that at least some of al Qaeda’s personnel are considered “refugees” in Afghanistan, meaning they will be included in Khalil Haqqani’s portfolio.
Mullah Abdul Manan Omari is the acting minister of public works. Omari is a brother of Mullah Omar and uncle to Mullah Yaqoub. In 2016, he was named the head of the Taliban’s preaching and guidance commission, which was tasked with spreading “the goals of Islamic Emirate,” while countering the “illegality and aims of the invaders and their stooges,” meaning the Afghan government. He served as a member of the Taliban’s negotiating team in Doha, Qatar.
Mullah Taj Mir Jawad is the acting first deputy of intelligence. Jawad was a leader in what the U.S. military used to refer to as the Kabul Attack Network, which pooled fighters and resources from the Taliban, Al Qaeda, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Jihad Union, the Turkistan Islamic Party, and Hizb-I-Islami Gulbuddin in order to conduct attacks in and around Kabul. The network extended into Logar, Wardak, Nangarhar, Kapisa, Ghazni, and Zabul Provinces. Jawad is a leader within the Haqqani Network. In his new role, Jawad will work with Abdul Haq Wasiq, an ex-Guantanamo detainee discussed below.
Qari Fasihuddin is the acting chief of army staff. An ethnic Tajik, Fasihuddin commanded the Taliban’s forces in northern Afghanistan during the group’s final conquest in the spring and summer of 2021. He also led Taliban troops during the recent offensive in the Panjshir Valley.
The former Afghan Ministry of Defense claimed that Fasihuddin was killed in Sept. 2019, but that wasn’t true
Fasihuddin has served as the deputy head of the Taliban’s military commission. He has ties to foreign jihadist groups such as the Turkistan Islamic Party and Jamaat Ansarullah, a Tajik terrorist organization. Fasihuddin was the Taliban’s shadow governor for Badakhshan province. After the province fell in the summer of 2021, he put Jamaat Ansarullah in command of five districts.
Maulvi Abdul Hakim Sharia is the acting minister of justice. FDD’s Long War Journal assesses that this may be the same person as Maulvi Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai, who was the Taliban’s shadow justice minister and negotiator for the group in Doha, Qatar. He is reportedly close to the Taliban’s emir, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and studied at the Darul Uloom Haqqani, a Deobandi seminary that is often referred to as the “University of Jihad.”
Najibullah Haqqani is the acting minister of communications. He was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in Feb. 2001. During the Taliban’s first regime, he was the deputy minister of finance. He was the Taliban’s military commander for Kunar province as of June 2008 and worked as the shadow governor for Laghman province as of 2010.
Abdul Baqi Haqqani is the acting minister of higher education. During Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, he served in various positions, including as governor of Khost and Paktika provinces, and vice minister of information and culture. He was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council and the European Union for activities on behalf of the Taliban both prior to and after 9/11.
Mullah Hamidullah Akhundzada is the acting minister of aviation and transport. He was sanctioned by the U. N. Security Council in Jan. 2001 for serving as the head of Ariana Afghan Airlines during Taliban’s first rule.
A Taliban-linked account shared this image of Abdul Latif Mansoor.
Mullah Abdul Latif Mansoor is the acting minister of water and power. He was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in Jan. 2001, due to his role as the Taliban’s minister of agriculture.
He went on to fill a number of other positions, including as a “member of the Taliban Supreme Council and Head of the Council’s Political Commission as at 2009.” He was the Taliban’s shadow governor for Nangarhar province in 2009 and “a senior Taliban commander in eastern Afghanistan” one year later.
Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Amir Khan Muttaqi is the acting minister of foreign affairs. Muttaqi was a member of the Taliban’s negotiating team in Doha, Qatar. Muttaqi was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in Jan. 2001 for his role as the Taliban’s minister of education.
Muttaqi was the Taliban’s minister of information and culture during the pre-Oct. 2001 regime and also chief negotiator with the U.N. Muttaqi later held a seat on a Taliban regional council, as well as the Taliban’s supreme council.
Maulvi Noor Mohammad Saqib is the acting minister of hajj and religious affairs. Saqib was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in Jan. 2001 for his role as the chief justice of the Taliban’s supreme court. He studied at the Darul Uloom Haqqani, a Deobandi seminary that is often referred to as the “University of Jihad.” He has also been a member of the Taliban’s supreme council and head of the religious committee, “which acts as a judiciary branch of the Taliban.”
Ex-Guantanamo detainees hold senior positions within the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate
In May 2014, the Obama administration agreed to exchange five Guantánamo detainees for Bowe Bergdahl, an American soldier who was captured and held by the Haqqani Network after deserting his post. The Taliban continued to tout the exchange as a key “achievement” long after the fact.
President Obama’s own Guantanamo Review Task Force had previously assessed that all five Taliban leaders should be held pursuant to the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), as it was too risky to transfer them.
All five men now hold key positions in the Taliban’s regime. Four of them were appointed to senior posts in the Taliban’s hierarchy, while the fifth was reportedly named the governor of Khost province.
Intelligence cited by U.N. Security Council and Joint Task Force – Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO), which oversees the detention facility in Cuba, ties all five Taliban figures to al Qaeda prior to 9/11. JTF-GTMO assessed that each of the five men was a “high” risk detainee, and “likely to pose a threat to the U.S., its interests, and allies.” At least four of the five were sanctioned by the U.N. in early 2001. The biographical information below comes from the U.N. Security Council’s sanctions pages, leaked JTF-GTMO threat assessments, or other identified sources.
Abdul Haq Wasiq is the acting director of intelligence. Wasiq was the deputy minister of security (intelligence) during the Taliban’s first regime. He was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in Jan. 2001.
The U.N. reported that Wasiq was a “local commander” in Nimroz and Kandahar provinces before being promoted to deputy director general of intelligence prior to 9/11. In that capacity, according to the U.N., Wasiq “was in charge of handling relations with al Qaeda-related foreign fighters and their training camps in Afghanistan.”
Wasiq’s al Qaeda ties were also documented by JTF-GTMO’s analysts. U.S. military-intelligence officials found that Wasiq “utilized his office to support al Qaeda and to assist Taliban personnel elude capture” in late 2001. Wasiq also “arranged for al Qaeda personnel to train Taliban intelligence staff in intelligence methods.”
A recent photo of Muhammad Fazl, via a Taliban-linked account..
Mohammad Fazl is the deputy defense minister. Fazl had the same role, or a similar one, in the Taliban’s first regime. He was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in Feb. 2001. At the time, Fazl was the Taliban’s deputy chief of army staff.
Fazl was a “close associate” of Mullah Omar and “helped him to establish the Taliban government.” The U.N. found that Fazl “was at the Al-Farouq training camp established by al Qaeda.” Fazl “had knowledge that the Taliban provided assistance to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan…in the form of financial, weapons and logistical support in exchange for providing the Taliban with soldiers.” The IMU worked closely with al Qaeda at the time. Fazl also commanded a fighting force “of approximately 3,000 Taliban front-line troops in the Takhar Province in October 2001.”
According to JTF-GTMO, Fazl had “operational associations with significant al Qaeda and other extremist personnel.” Fazl allegedly conspired with Abdul al-Iraqi, one of Osama bin Laden’s chief lieutenants and the head of al Qaeda’s Arab 055 Brigade, to “coordinate an attack” on the Northern Alliance following the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud in Sept. 2001.
Khairullah Khairkhwa is the acting minister for information and culture. Khairkhwa was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in Jan. 2001. At the time, he was the Taliban’s governor for Herat Province. He had also served as the governor Kabul province, the minister of internal affairs, and spokesperson during the Taliban’s first regime.
According to JTF-GTMO, Khairkhwa was a close confidante of Mullah Omar prior to 9/11. JTF-GTMO also cited intelligence linking Khairkhwa to Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s camps in Herat. In June 2011, a Washington D.C. district court denied Khairkhwa’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, based in large part on his admitted role in brokering a post-9/11 deal with the Iranian government. As a result of the talks mediated by Khairkhwa, the Iranians agreed to support the Taliban’s jihad against the U.S. in Afghanistan.
Noorullah Noori is the acting minister of borders and tribal affairs. Noori was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in Jan. 2001. At the time, he was both the Taliban’s governor of the Balkh Province, as well as the “Head of the Northern Zone of the Taliban regime.”
According to JTF-GTMO, Noori was a “senior Taliban military commander” prior to his detention. Noori allegedly “fought alongside al Qaeda as a Taliban military general, against the Northern Alliance” and also “hosted al Qaeda commanders.” Along with Mohammad Fazl (below), Noori was suspected of committing “war crimes,” “including the murder of thousands of Shiite Muslims” prior to the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
Mohammad Nabi Omari wasn’t named to the senior staff of the Taliban’s regime, but he was reportedly appointed the new governor of Khost province. He has longstanding ties to the Haqqani Network and attended talks in Doha on its behalf.
Prior to this time in U.S. custody, according to JTF-GTMO, Omari “was a senior Taliban official who served in multiple leadership roles.” Omari was allegedly a “member of a joint al Qaeda/Taliban” cell in Khost “and was involved in attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces.” He was also a “close associate” of Jalaluddin Haqqani and worked with the Haqqani Network.
Omari’s son, Abdul Haq, was killed during fighting in Khost province in July. Like his father, Abdul Haq reportedly fought for the Haqqani Network. The Taliban celebrated Abdul Haq’s “martyrdom” in a statement on Voice of Jihad, noting that the group’s leaders, including Akhundzada, were willing to lose their sons in their campaign to conquer Afghanistan. The Taliban had a point.
*Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal. Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.
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Afghan chaos an opportunity for Iranian regime
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/September 09/2021
Chaos and instability in any country are invariably seen by the Iranian regime as an opportunity to interfere in the domestic affairs of that nation, expanding its influence and strengthening its defiance.
It is currently Iran’s neighbor Afghanistan that is freefalling into chaos. Unfortunately, Tehran sees this through the prism of political opportunism rather than humanitarianism. That is why Iranian leaders have applauded the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw US forces from the country. Former Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif characterized the US withdrawal as a positive action, while President Ebrahim Raisi described it as a defeat for Washington’s Middle East policy that “must become an opportunity.”
Iran’s leaders will most likely pursue the same strategy they used in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq during the civil wars and instability in those countries. In the four decades since its establishment, the Iranian regime has become masterful at setting up powerful Shiite proxy groups in countries facing conflict or civil war.
In Lebanon, Tehran played a key role in the establishment of Hezbollah in 1982. Since then, Iran’s financial, military, intelligence and logistical assistance have been crucial as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its elite Quds Force transformed the militant group into one of Iran’s most important and powerful proxies.While Iran denies supporting Hezbollah militarily or financially, Hassan Nasrallah, the group’s leader, has admitted that it receives full support from Tehran. “We are open about the fact that Hezbollah’s budget, its income, its expenses, everything it eats and drinks, its weapons and rockets, come from Iran,” he said in 2016.
In Iraq, during the years of civil strife following the US invasion of 2003, the Iranian regime helped develop proxy militias and, later, sponsored the Popular Mobilization Units — a conglomerate of more than 40 militias. After making the Iraqi militias work under one banner, Tehran pushed the Iraqi government into recognizing these units as one legitimate group, incorporating them into state apparatuses and allocating wages and ammunition to them. Through this approach, the Iranian regime is putting the financial burden on Iraqi taxpayers.
During the Syrian civil war, the Iranian regime strengthened its coalition of Shiite militias in the country, some of which came from Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Lebanon.
In Afghanistan, Tehran has used Afghan fighters from various militant groups formed during the Iran-Iraq War. But it was not until the Syrian civil war that the Iranian regime set up its first Afghan militia group, known as the Fatemiyoun Brigade or Hezbollah Afghanistan. The Fatemiyoun Brigade was made up of Afghan refugees living in Iran and Syria, including some that were facing criminal charges or deportation. Fighters were trained in Iran, given a salary of $800 per month and promised citizenship. There are about 3 million Afghan refugees, mostly Shiites, in Iran. The Iranian regime has become masterful at setting up powerful Shiite proxy groups in countries facing conflict or civil war.
The Iranian regime has even recruited child soldiers for the Fatemiyoun Brigade. According to Human Rights Watch, Iran’s IRGC recruited “Afghan immigrant children living in Iran to fight in Syria.” Children as young as 14 have fought for the Fatemiyoun Brigade in the Syrian conflict alongside government forces. Under international law, recruiting children under the age of 15 to take part in hostilities is a war crime. In 2019, the US designated the militia as a terrorist organization.
Iran’s modus operandi is based on exploiting religion and using sectarianism as a powerful tool to gain power and further the regime’s parochial, religious and political ambitions.
In Afghanistan, the Tehran regime will attempt to expand its influence by using the same model as in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq — setting up proxies and militia groups to act on its behalf.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Twenty years on from 9/11, a grim new era of terror approaches
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/September 09/2021
The events of 9/11 did not emerge from nowhere. We were forewarned by Al-Qaeda’s embassy bombings in East Africa just three years previously. The murderers of Al-Qaeda were the product of the hundred battlefields that preceded them. When America began funding Afghan extremists during the 1980s in the context of Cold War superpower confrontations, these scattered seeds would eventually coalesce into Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. When Arthur Balfour, at the stroke of a pen, resolved to dispossess the entire Palestinian nation, the bitter fruits of his promise fermented into a plethora of radical tendencies that would still be fueling anger, grief and hatred more than a century later; not least among Jewish terrorist groups like Irgun, Lehi and Kach.
Extremism breeds extremism: Far-right tendencies fuel extreme-left retaliation. The shah’s pro-American dictatorship was supplanted by Khomeinist theocracy. Russian-sponsored Latin American communists waged war with CIA-backed reactionaries. The chaos and mass dislocations arising from the Syria conflict helped fuel far-right populist tendencies throughout the Western world, reaching their logical extremes in the floridly Trumpist delusions of QAnon.
Bush’s “war on terror” could only cultivate infinitely nastier mutations of terrorism: Osama bin Laden’s calculated economy of terror gave way to Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi’s frenzy of slaughter, which gave birth to Daesh’s carnivals of carnage.
Insanity breeds insanity: Al-Qaeda’s devastating lightning strikes against the heart of American governance empowered a cabal of far-right neoconservatives, who until then were regarded as “crazies” even by those within their own political party. Neocon imperialism in Iraq brought down a dictator who Donald Rumsfeld not long before had fawned over. The murderous tyranny of Saddam Hussein was soon to be replaced by the paramilitary hegemony of Tehran. And it would not be long before the ayatollahs resolved that the entire region was there for the taking.
Chaos breeds chaos: Following Joe Biden’s capitulation, the speed at which Afghanistan fell under Taliban control was nothing short of miraculous. Why should the Taliban now compromise? Their victory came so easily and suddenly that it bore a sense of inevitability.
Al-Qaeda has long been in the doldrums under the ailing and uncharismatic Ayman Al-Zawahiri. The Taliban’s lightning conquests are undisputedly the greatest boost for global terrorism since 9/11. Terrorist franchises across Africa and Asia are readying themselves to surf a tsunami of renewed momentum, funding, recruitment, and militant zeal. Many commentators who should know better are now touting the Taliban as America’s best hope in fighting Daesh-Khorasan, the group that murdered more than 100 people in the recent Kabul airport bombing. Yet the Taliban then came out and denounced subsequent US airstrikes against Daesh-Khorasan. Many Daesh personnel are defectors from the Taliban, and the Taliban recently released thousands of Daesh fighters from prisons. Using terrorists to fight terrorists is no recipe for success.
We witnessed a comparable lurch in the balance of power in Iraq in mid-2014, when a rag-tag band of Daesh militants confronted an Iraqi army in Mosul many times their size, with infinitely superior US-supplied weaponry. But instead of standing and fighting, Iraq’s corrupt and incompetent military leaders fled and the mighty Iraqi army disintegrated.
Just like in Afghanistan, Iraq’s army under Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki was rotten from the top down. The vile sectarian climate created by Al-Maliki’s style of governance acted like rocket fuel for cultivating radicalization. Between 2012 and 2014, Daesh mushroomed from only about 700 fighters to more than 30,000 recruits. Over the following two years, Daesh perpetrated 143 attacks across 29 countries, killing more than 2,000 people.
For more than 20 years, there has been an inseparable symbiosis between Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Al-Qaeda today remains deeply embedded within the Taliban. There are more Al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan today than there were before 9/11. Al-Qaeda’s second in command, Abu Muhsin Al-Masri, was killed in Ghazni province last October. The Al-Qaeda-linked Sirajuddin Haqqani — one of the world’s most wanted men — has emerged as a principal Taliban powerbroker in Kabul.
According to a recent UN report, prior to the US withdrawal, Al-Qaeda was present in about half of Afghan provinces. The report concluded that the two movements were “closely aligned and show no indication of breaking ties.” Al-Qaeda functions as the Taliban’s force multiplier, with its fighting, communications and intelligence skills. The Taliban hosted and sheltered Bin Laden, despite immense pressure to evict him. America may abandon its allies without a second thought, but the Taliban’s connections to Al-Qaeda run deep.
Biden’s argument that the West can have an “over the horizon” grip on terrorism in Central Asia after retreating from Afghanistan is ridiculous. Regions like the Hindu Kush were almost impossible to police, even with tens of thousands of coalition troops inside Afghanistan. The Biden administration may boast technological innovations that they could not have dreamed of in 2001, but it certainly does not possess the superhuman powers that would be required to contain extremist expansion within a region where it no longer even enjoys a foothold.
Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal was perfectly timed to allow Al-Qaeda and the Taliban to be celebrating their surge back into power just at the moment when Americans commemorate the appalling events of 9/11. Once again, terrorist training camps will throw open their gates and radicalized fighters will flood in via Afghanistan’s porous borders, while the outward flow of opium will be sufficiently lucrative to fund all the world’s insurgencies ten times over.
The Taliban’s lightning conquests are undisputedly the greatest boost for global terrorism since 9/11.
Stupidity breeds stupidity: Today we are entering yet another new era for globalized terrorism. Western political leaders must stop shortsightedly worrying about the richly deserved domestic political fallout from their Afghan debacle and prepare to confront the oncoming inferno.
We are in this mess because these leaders learned precisely nothing from 9/11. The brutal consequences of worldwide wars against terrorism merely nurture new generations of terrorists.
Tragedy breeds tragedy, which breeds tyranny: Terrorism is born among the multitudinous horrors of refugee camps in Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan — among damaged, angry youths with nothing to lose.
Victory against terrorism can never come through building bigger walls or invading fragile states. The real war on terror is a war against poverty, intolerance and chronic instability.
Virtue breeds virtue. Justice breeds justice. Hope breeds hope.
*Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.