English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For August 14/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.august14.22.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.’"
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12/10-12/:"And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.’"

Titels For English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 13-14/2022
Bassil following a closed meeting with Al-Rahi in Al-Diman: First & foremost characteristic of President of the Republic is...
Al-Rahi from "Our Lady of Qannoubine” Monastery on Eve of Assumption Day: We ask Virgin Mary to watch over us
Report: Hochstein dismisses 'baseless' reports on demarcation talks
Israel says proposal offered to Lebanon 'constructive' and can lead to solution
Macron voices support for Rushdie as Johnson 'appalled' by attack
Middle East Clean Energy conference to be held in Beirut on Sep. 7-9
Background of Rushdie attacker sheds light on Khomeini sympathizers in US
Salman Rushdie's attacker is American of Lebanese descent
Lebanon on precipice of positive change: US task force head/Yay Hanania/Arab News/August 13/2022
Beirut bank hostage-taker: necessity made him a villain, instead he became a national hero/Nada Homsi/Arab News/August 13/2022
Jumblatt to Hezbollah: Lebanon’s President Should be Accepted by All Sides

Titles For LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 13-14/2022
Bolton to Asharq Al-Awsat: Negotiations with Tehran behind Delay in Revealing Assassination Plot
Activists Accuse Iran of Responsibility for Rushdie Attack
Iran Willing to Accept EU Proposal If It Provides Tehran with 'Guarantees'
NY Man Indicted for Having Rifle outside Home of Iranian Journalist
Israel-Germany Diplomatic Crisis Worsens
Sadr Calls for Saving Iraq from Occupation, Terrorism, Corruption
Washington, Damascus Keep Contact to Secure Release of Abducted Journalist
Hundreds Linked to ISIS Transferred From Syria to Iraq
Houthis Threaten to End Truce Ahead of Grundberg's Security Council Briefing
US Seeks to Extend Yemeni Truce for 3rd Time
Two Tunisian Soldiers Wounded In Clashes with Armed Militants
Egypt Appoints 13 New Ministers in Cabinet Reshuffle

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 13-14/2022
Question: “Why should I believe the Bible?”/GotQuestions.org/August 13, 2022
A Deal Will Not Stop the Mullahs from Going Nuclear/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/August 13, 2022
Pharma Overpromised on Antidepressants/Faye Flam/Bloomberg/August, 13/2022
Why Trump Is Weakening/Ross Douthat/Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times/August, 13/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 13-14/2022
Bassil following a closed meeting with Al-Rahi in Al-Diman: First & foremost characteristic of President of the Republic is...
NNA/Saturday, 13 August, 2022  
Free Patriotic Movement Chief, MP Gebran Bassil, stressed Saturday on the factor of “representation” as being the foremost characteristic of the future president of the republic. “The position of the president is linked to his powers and characteristics, particularly his representation,” he said, emphasizing that “the first and most important factor is his real and natural representation, i.e. his actual representation of the people,” which is embodied by a parliamentary bloc and a ministerial bloc that supports him and increases the strength of his powers and position. “Without this, the president would lose much of this power,” deemed Bassil. His words came following his visit to Al-Diman this afternoon, where he held a two-hour closed meeting with Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, touching on the latest developments prevailing in the country. Bassil continued to stress that "the president of the republic must be part of his environment and its conscience, and a good representative of it,” while emphasizing that “he is the president of all the Lebanese, so he must enjoy the endorsement of the majority of the Lebanese.” “The decision on this issue must be in the first place with the actual representatives, and this is an occasion for Bkirki to take any possible initiative and we support it in carrying out its endeavors,” the MP went on. “Today, as you know, is the season of specifications, with the bazaar on specifications including the future president’s character, patriotism, humanity, competence, understanding, knowledge...as well as his concept of the state and the state’s monetary and financial economy in this circumstance and his ability to communicate abroad and internally,” Bassil continued. “However, the first and foremost characteristic, I would even say the last and most important, is representation; otherwise, why democracy or the elections?” he reiterated. He underlined that his Movement is against any “vacuum” and pledged to work against it. “Unfortunately, the presidential elections will not bring about the required change just as the parliamentary elections did not bring the required major change, but it must happen...This entitlement is a duty even if it will not bring change in the lives of citizens...Yet, it must occur on time,” Bassil underscored. Over the new cabinet formation, Bassil emphasized the dire need for a government in wake of the extraordinary crisis the country is witnessing, and the need for having a minimum guarantee so that vacuum does not occur, and so that the required reforms are implemented.

Al-Rahi from "Our Lady of Qannoubine” Monastery on Eve of Assumption Day: We ask Virgin Mary to watch over us
NNA/Saturday, 13 August, 2022  
On the eve of the "Assumption of the Virgin Mary", Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi walked "in the footsteps of the saints" to the Monastery of “Our Lady of Qannoubine” in the Holy Valley, accompanied by senior religious clerics and prominent dignitaries and officials. The Patriarch was welcomed at the Monastery amidst ringing church bells, where he was received by the General Head of the Antonine Nuns, Sisters Nazha Khoury, the Monastery's members and Mayor of Qannoubine Tony Khattar, alongside a crowd of believers. In his religious sermon while presiding over Mass dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Patriarch al-Rahi prayed for her “intercession to watch over us in the midst of the waves and strong winds, and in the heart of all hardships.”“Mary must not be forgotten, as she is the morning star and companion on the way to bring us to safety harbor,” he said, hoping that this occasion will carry blessings to all.

Report: Hochstein dismisses 'baseless' reports on demarcation talks
Naharnet/Saturday, 13 August, 2022  
The team following up on the sea border negotiations in Lebanon has heard from U.S. mediator Amon Hochstein “a categorical refutation of everything that has been circulated in the Lebanese, Arab and even Israeli media outlets” in recent days, al-Jadeed TV said on Saturday. A Lebanese news website had recently published a report claiming that a negative atmosphere is engulfing the negotiations and that Hochstein had heard an Israeli rejection of the latest Lebanese proposal. “Hochstein has told Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab that these reports are fake news and baseless,” al-Jadeed added.

Israel says proposal offered to Lebanon 'constructive' and can lead to solution
Naharnet/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
Israeli Energy Minister Karen Elharrar hss said that the Israeli proposal submitted to Lebanon to solve the sea border dispute is “good, constructive and moves towards a solution.” According to the English-language website of Israeli daily Israel Hayom, Elharrar thinks that the crisis between Israel and Lebanon will be resolved, and that the latest incident involving Hezbollah drones "won't lead to an escalation of tension.""We submitted a new proposal, which I think is a good one. It's a proposal that will make Lebanon a gas producer, which is an event. This is a country with a deep economic crisis, an insane energy crisis – people there have three or four hours of electricity a day. This could change their situation," Elharrar told Israel Hayom. Told that it "will take years" before Lebanon becomes a gas-producing country, Elharrar said: "It will take years in any case. But it's the difference between remaining in the current crappy situation, or a better future. If I were in charge of Lebanon, I'd go with the better future."Elharrar also rejected accusations by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah that Israel is trying to "hurt Lebanon and strip it of its rights.""We can try to look for where we're being screwed, and we can come to negotiations willingly, like Israel did. In the end, they have a big interest in it. This is a golden opportunity to solve the dispute over the maritime border, and Lebanon can come out of it with energy at a time of a global energy crisis. The proposal we submitted is good, constructive, and moves toward a solution. I really hope the other side understands that," she added. Told that some in Israel are saying that Israel has bowed to Hezbollah's "pressure and threats" and could end up ceding "territory that is worth money," Elharrar said: "Hezbollah always makes threats, it's nothing new. We are in negotiations with the government of Lebanon, and no other entity. In the end, the goal is to end the dispute over the maritime border. I think that it's in Lebanon's interests, too, as well as the entire region. Stability in the region is positive for everybody."
Asked whether the Lebanese government has the ability to reach a deal, the Israeli minister said "there's a reason the negotiations are being mediated by the Americans." And asked whether a transition government in Israel can decide on a matter as important as the maritime border with Lebanon, Elharrar said: "This is an issue of major importance that influences Israel's security, economy, and energy, and has been under discussion for over a decade by the governments of Israel. If conditions are right for a deal that will protect Israeli interests, it would be a mistake to let the opportunity pass just because of the election. Of course everything will be done in coordination with the legal branch."

Macron voices support for Rushdie as Johnson 'appalled' by attack
Agence France Presse/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron said his country stood with Salman Rushdie Friday as the British author underwent surgery after being stabbed at a literary event in the United States. "For 33 years, Salman Rushdie has embodied freedom and the fight against obscurantism... His battle is ours, a universal one. More than ever today, we stand by his side," he said on Twitter.UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his part said he was "appalled" by the stabbing. "Appalled that Sir Salman Rushdie has been stabbed while exercising a right we should never cease to defend," tweeted Johnson. "Right now my thoughts are with his loved ones. We are all hoping he is okay."

Middle East Clean Energy conference to be held in Beirut on Sep. 7-9
Naharnet/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
EDUCITY & Beirut Expo have announced that Middle East Clean Energy, the premiere renewable and sustainable energy trade fair and conference in Lebanon and the wider Levant, will be held in Beirut on September 7-9, 2022. Middle East Clean Energy 2022 is organized in response to an unprecedented rise in demand for modern equipment and technologies that leverage renewable energy in Lebanon and the region. In 2021 alone in Lebanon, despite its crisis, customers spent $800 million on clean energy solutions. Middle East Clean Energy aims to connect stakeholders with their clients, promote new technologies, increase awareness among the public, educate the audience about clean energy solutions, and provide customers with a variety of options to choose the best deal. Middle East Clean Energy is an annual trade fair & conference committed to accelerating clean energy and clean technologies in the entire Levant. Policymakers, academics, analysts, investors, and CEOs will be there to drive innovation and raise business. “This is a real opportunity for everyone to get to know more about the clean energy sector and meet industry leaders in order to accelerate the region's goal for clean, secure, and sustainable energy,” a press release said. Middle East Clean Energy is a free to attend exhibition with “a very rich and intense conference program,” the press release added. Middle East Clean Energy will be held on September 7 till 9, 2022, from 3 PM till 9 PM in Le Yacht Club, Beirut, Lebanon.

Background of Rushdie attacker sheds light on Khomeini sympathizers in US
Ray Hanania and Ephrem Kossaify and Oubai Shahbandar/Arab News/August 13/2022
CHICAGO / NEW YORK / WASHINGTON, DC: Hadi Matar, the 24-year-old New Jersey suspect charged with attempted murder over a vicious knife attack on author Salman Rushdie on Friday, is believed to have been motivated by pro-Iranian regime sympathies and the death fatwa placed on the novelist in 1989 by the late Ayatollah Khomeini. Rushdie was speaking at a literary festival in upstate New York when Matar rushed onto the stage and stabbed the prize-winning author multiple times, including in the face, arm and abdomen, police allege.
The suspect had a pass to attend the literary conference hosted by the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, according to police.
Hospital officials said that Rushdie, 75, is likely to lose an eye as a result of the attack.
The celebrated author suffered nerve damage to one arm, a serious injury to his liver and is on a ventilator.
Although police officials investigating the attack have not speculated on Matar’s motives, or possible official or unofficial ties to extremist pro-Iranian groups, many experts linked the incident to Iran’s longstanding, extremist terrorist agenda.
Matar’s Facebook cover page, which was widely shared on social media, shows the suspect is a follower of the Tehran regime’s hard-line agenda. The page includes images of Khomeini, the regime’s founder, and current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, leaving no doubt about Matar’s indoctrination and sympathies with the Iranian regime.
“The attack on Salman Rushdie by a reportedly pro-Khomenei individual would seem to qualify as an act of terrorism. The documented threats to Americans by Iran are certainly terrorism,” Norman Roule, an adviser to the United Against Nuclear Iran coalition, based in Washington, posted on Twitter.
“How would we have responded if these were AQ-related attacks? Why the difference?”Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Washington-based Arab Center, a think tank focusing on US foreign policy in the Middle East, told Arab News that pockets of pro-Iranian activists exist in the US, but usually stay under the radar.Jahshan said that he believed Matar might be a “lone wolf” motivated by the Iranian regime’s longstanding fatwa, and rhetoric against Rushdie and other Western officials, but is surprised the attack was carried out now. “One would think, after so many years, this fatwa issued by Iran and supported by many in the region, including in Lebanon, has somewhat dissipated, diminished, if you will, in intensity and in emotional attachment to it,” Jahshan told Arab News.
The fatwa against Rushdie was tempered in 1998 after Khomeini’s death, with the Iranian leader’s successors saying they no longer supported calls for Rushdie’s killing. But the fatwa was never officially revoked.
Jahshan said that the fatwa still holds relevance for some who continue to support Iran. “I'm certainly not surprised that there are people who still take these things seriously. Support (for) terror attacks against civilians for political reasons have diminished in many parts of the world, but they continue to exist at least on the individual level,” he said. “So the fact that it’s an individual who doesn’t seem to be tied to any particular organization or set-up, whether in this country or outside, is not surprising. That’s the fad right now. That’s a common trend. But, again, one has to wait for the investigation to proceed and see what connections they might come up with after the investigation.”
Immediately after the attack, pro-Iranian and pro-Hezbollah social media feeds lit up with praise for the alleged assailant, but many were later removed. The IranArabic Twitter account with more than 90,000 followers called Matar a “Lebanese hero who stabbed Satan Salman Rushdie, author of 'The Satanic Verses,' in which he insulted the Prophet of guidance and mercy, the Messenger of God, Muhammad.”Some activists in Detroit, where Lebanese Shiites and support for Hezbollah are strong, said they are not surprised by the attack, adding that pro-Iranian activism there is often high profile, but also that they feared speaking out publicly because of fears for their safety. “People are afraid to speak out here in Detroit against Iran or Hezbollah,” one Detroit activist said, asking not to be identified. The FBI issued an alert in 2020 warning of possible terrorism from pro-Iranian sympathizers and agents in the US after the drone assassination of Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s Quds Force and responsible for a series of violent terrorist attacks against anti-Iran regime dissidents. The attack on Rushdie comes after the US Justice Department revealed a plot to assassinate former US National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Shahram Poursafi, identified by US officials as a member of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, is currently wanted by the FBI on charges related to the murder-for-hire plot.
Matar was born in the US, but may not have escaped the extremist indoctrination that many young people, and even children, are forced to go through in pro-Iranian Hezbollah strongholds. Exporting the extremist ideology of the Iranian "revolution" is a key goal of its proxies in the Middle East.
But they seem to have also established a presence in the American heartland as well.
Analysts discovered this summer that a pro-Iran mosque in Houston was forcing young children to take part in chants called “Salam Farmande,” or “Hello Commander” in Farsi. The ceremony, which has been posted on social media, closely mirrors Iranian and Hezbollah indoctrination intended to instill total loyalty to Khamenei. In a recent report published by the Middle East Forum, a think tank that monitors extremism, Adrian Calamel, an analyst specializing in the Middle East and terrorism, said that the song is part of the recruitment drive for the Iranian regime.
“It’s enlisting the children to be the next generation of martyrs,” he said. “The song itself says, ‘we are ready to die for the commander.’”Calamel warns that Shiite mosques similar to the one in Houston are centers of Iranian influence in the US.
“Al-Qaeda can’t set up these centers, Daesh can’t set up these centers, but Iran can,” he said. It is unclear how Matar was radicalized, but clearly there is a broader trend of political and religious indoctrination that is being pushed by sympathizers of Iran’s brand of religious extremism that justify and encourage attacks like the one against Rushdie.

Salman Rushdie's attacker is American of Lebanese descent
Associated Press/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
The man who stabbed the author Salman Rushdie in New York state, Hadi Matar, was born in the U.S. to Lebanese parents who emigrated from the southern border town of Yaroun, the town’s mayor, Ali Tehfe, told The Associated Press and Lebanese media outlets.
“He has never visited Lebanon,” Tehfe added. U.S. police said Matar, 24, hails from Fairview, New Jersey. He was awaiting arraignment following his arrest at the Chautauqua Institution, a nonprofit education and retreat center where Rushdie was scheduled to speak. Matar was born a decade after Rushdie’s "The Satanic Verses" first was published. The motive for the attack was unclear, State Police Maj. Eugene Staniszewski said. Rushdie, whose novel "The Satanic Verses" drew death threats from Iran's leader in the 1980s, was stabbed in the neck and abdomen on Friday by Matar, who rushed the stage as the author was about to give a lecture in western New York. A bloodied Rushdie, 75, was flown to a hospital and underwent surgery. His agent, Andrew Wylie, said the writer was on a ventilator Friday evening, with a damaged liver, severed nerves in his arm and an eye he was likely to lose. Rushdie's 1988 novel was viewed as blasphemous by many Muslims, who saw a character as an insult to the Prophet Muhammad, among other objections. The book was banned in Iran, where the late leader Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a 1989 fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie's death.
Iran's theocratic government and its state-run media assigned no rationale for Friday's assault. In Tehran, some Iranians interviewed Saturday by the AP praised the attack on an author they believe tarnished the Islamic faith, while others worried it would further isolate their country.
An AP reporter witnessed the attacker confront Rushdie on stage and stab or punch him 10 to 15 times as the author was being introduced. Dr. Martin Haskell, a physician who was among those who rushed to help, described Rushdie's wounds as "serious but recoverable."
Event moderator Henry Reese, 73, a co-founder of an organization that offers residencies to writers facing persecution, was also attacked. Reese suffered a facial injury and was treated and released from a hospital, police said. He and Rushdie had planned to discuss the United States as a refuge for writers and other artists in exile.
A state trooper and a county sheriff's deputy were assigned to Rushdie's lecture, and state police said the trooper made the arrest. But after the attack, some longtime visitors to the center questioned why there wasn't tighter security for the event, given the decades of threats against Rushdie and a bounty on his head offering more than $3 million to anyone who killed him. Matar, like other visitors, had obtained a pass to enter the Chautauqua Institution's 750-acre grounds, Michael Hill, the institution's president, said. The suspect's attorney, public defender Nathaniel Barone, said he was still gathering information and declined to comment. Matar's home was blocked off by authorities. Rabbi Charles Savenor was among the roughly 2,500 people in the audience for Rushdie's appearance. The assailant ran onto the platform "and started pounding on Mr. Rushdie. At first you're like, 'What's going on?' And then it became abundantly clear in a few seconds that he was being beaten," Savenor said. He said the attack lasted about 20 seconds. Another spectator, Kathleen James, said the attacker was dressed in black, with a black mask. "We thought perhaps it was part of a stunt to show that there's still a lot of controversy around this author. But it became evident in a few seconds" that it wasn't, she said. Amid gasps, spectators were ushered out of the outdoor amphitheater.
The stabbing reverberated from the tranquil town of Chautauqua to the United Nations, which issued a statement expressing U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' horror and stressing that free expression and opinion should not be met with violence. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday's attack, which led an evening news bulletin on Iranian state television. From the White House, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan described the attack as "reprehensible" and said the Biden administration wished Rushdie a quick recovery.
"This act of violence is appalling," Sullivan said in a statement. "We are thankful to good citizens and first responders for helping Mr. Rushdie so quickly after the attack and to law enforcement for its swift and effective work, which is ongoing."
Rushdie has been a prominent spokesman for free expression and liberal causes, and the literary world recoiled at what Ian McEwan, a novelist and Rushdie's friend, described as "an assault on freedom of thought and speech.""Salman has been an inspirational defender of persecuted writers and journalists across the world," McEwan said in a statement. "He is a fiery and generous spirit, a man of immense talent and courage and he will not be deterred."
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said the organization didn't know of any comparable act of violence against a literary writer in the U.S. Rushdie was once president of the group, which advocates for writers and free expression. After the publication of "The Satanic Verses," often-violent protests erupted across the Muslim world against Rushdie, who was born in India to a Muslim family. At least 45 people were killed in riots over the book, including 12 people in Rushdie's hometown of Mumbai. In 1991, a Japanese translator of the book was stabbed to death and an Italian translator survived a knife attack. In 1993, the book's Norwegian publisher was shot three times and survived. Khomeini died the same year he issued the fatwa calling for Rushdie's death. Iran's current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, never issued a fatwa of his own withdrawing the edict, though Iran in recent years hasn't focused on the writer. The death threats and bounty led Rushdie to go into hiding under a British government protection program, which included a round-the-clock armed guard. Rushdie emerged after nine years of seclusion and cautiously resumed more public appearances, maintaining his outspoken criticism of religious extremism overall.
In 2012, Rushdie published a memoir, "Joseph Anton," about the fatwa. The title came from the pseudonym Rushdie used while in hiding. He said during a New York talk the same year the memoir came out that terrorism was really the art of fear. "The only way you can defeat it is by deciding not to be afraid," he said. Anti-Rushdie sentiment has lingered long after Khomeini's decree. The Index on Censorship, an organization promoting free expression, said money was raised to boost the reward for his killing as recently as 2016. An AP journalist who went to the Tehran office of the 15 Khordad Foundation, which put up the millions for the bounty on Rushdie, found it closed Friday night on the Iranian weekend. No one answered calls to its listed telephone number. Rushdie rose to prominence with his Booker Prize-winning 1981 novel "Midnight's Children," but his name became known around the world after "The Satanic Verses."
Widely regarded as one of Britain's finest living writers, Rushdie was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2008 and earlier this year was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honor, a royal accolade for people who have made a major contribution to the arts, science or public life. Organizers of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which opens Saturday in Scotland and is one of the world's largest literary gatherings, are encouraging guest authors to read a sentence from Rushdie's work at the start of their events. "We are inspired by his courage and are thinking of him at this difficult time," festival director Nick Barley said. "This tragedy is a painful reminder of the fragility of things we hold dear and a call to action: We won't be intimidated by those who would use violence rather than words."The Chautauqua Institution, about 55 miles (89 kilometers) southwest of Buffalo in a rural corner of New York, has served for more than a century as a place for reflection and spiritual guidance. Visitors don't pass through metal detectors or undergo bag checks. Most people leave the doors to their century-old cottages unlocked at night. The center is known for its summertime lecture series, where Rushdie has spoken before. At an evening vigil, a few hundred residents and visitors gathered for prayer, music and a long moment of silence. "Hate can't win," one man shouted.

Lebanon on precipice of positive change: US task force head
Yay Hanania/Arab News/August 13/2022
Corrupt leaders, Israeli and Palestinian peace are key issues, says Edward M. Gabriel
‘Beirut and Tel Aviv pact can access oil and gas in Mediterranean’
CHICAGO: Lebanon will be on the precipice of change if its people end government corruption, and Israelis and Palestinians reach a peace agreement, the head of the American Task Force on Lebanon said Wednesday. Ambassador Edward M. Gabriel, president and CEO of the ATFL, who was recently appointed to the board of the US Institute of Peace, told Arab News there are many issues that need resolution to change regional dynamics and significantly reduce tensions. But that change is possible. Gabriel, who just returned from an ATFL mission to Lebanon, said that if the Israelis and Palestinians find peace, Hezbollah would lay down its arms and become more of a political party rather than remain as one of the toughest militias to successfully stand up to Israel’s regional military presence.
“Hezbollah is a political party and they are part of the fabric of the country whether some people like it or not. The question is, they need to put down their arms and make sure they operate as a political entity in Lebanon and not continue their terrorism across the region,” Gabriel explained. “Hezbollah has said that when there is peace between Israel and the Palestinians, there is no need for them to have arms. I met with the Shia mufti recently and he actually reiterated that belief. And I asked him, at what point do you see them putting down their arms, and he said exactly those words you seem to indicate.”
During an appearance on The Ray Hanania Show, Gabriel said there are other factors at play besides Hezbollah’s military strength and engagement in terrorism. They include Lebanon resolving its maritime disputes with Israel and ending the corruption of the Lebanese government in order to qualify for financial support from the International Monetary Fund.
“One thing has come up is a negotiation between Lebanon and Israel, two enemies that are trying to settle their maritime border dispute. We were encouraged that they were moving in the right direction there, and if they do it will send a great new signal that Lebanon can work with some of the tough characters in the region and find simple solutions,” Gabriel said. Resolving the maritime issues between Israel and Lebanon can open access to huge pockets of oil and gas that lie underneath the Mediterranean Sea, he said.
“Lebanon has two problems. One is corruption and the other is Hezbollah having arms. You can’t have a country where you have a militia that can push itself around in the region over the heads of the Lebanese Armed Forces. Thank God the Lebanese Armed Forces are becoming much stronger. What they were 10 years ago and what they are today makes a big difference. No, I don’t see this as mainly a regional problem anymore. The Lebanese Armed Forces are protecting the borders and the sovereignty of the country pretty well. They have got more work to do,” Gabriel said.
“What this comes down to is a parliament that will tell the corrupt leaders enough is enough, you are out. We are going to vote for reforms and change and we are going to implement those through a good governance structure to make change. Those are two issues causing the problem today. The IMF program, the International Monetary Fund program, is a possible solution out if they react to it and pass the needed legislation in the next two months just before a presidential election. The parliament will have something to say about that. Will they elect a president that is reform oriented or will the same old guys elect the same old guys.”Gabriel said the election results from May 2022 which weakened Hezbollah’s hold on parliament, offers a path to achieving greater reforms and rebuilding the nation’s shattered economy.
“Recent statistics put Lebanon in the bottom four of the worst (performing on the) economic (front of) countries in the world. Just a couple of decades ago — a decade ago — it was in the upper third of countries on the income scale. The World Bank says it is one of the worst economic disasters since 1850, possibly one of the worst three disasters. We have a lot to be concerned about,” Gabriel said.
“We met with the top leadership of the country, with a tough message. And that was you are in charge of a country that right now is going off the cliff. It is going to be a beggar state by next year and you will be responsible for this unless you can do something in the coming months to stave off the impending disaster.”But he said that the reformers must find a way to come together in strength to bring change in the November presidential elections. “Reform candidates, the opposition candidates, the change candidates took away the majority, away from Hezbollah and its allies. So there seems to be a movement there by a progressive group of parliamentarians that want to make change. Now, that is a long way to go but these phenomenal people who care about their country are doing their best under the circumstances. There is regional pressure on Lebanon,” Gabriel said, noting increased tensions and rhetoric between Israel and Hezbollah recently.
“But that’s making an excuse. Quite frankly, the reason why Lebanon is what it is, is because of corruption. There is massive amount of corruption in the country and it really has to come to a halt if there is ever to be any progress. The International Monetary Fund is come in with a proposal accepted by the government so far. But the government has to implement a number of reforms that will reduce corruption and address the needs of the people, so we will see how that happens.”
But Israel has to realize that it has major decisions to make regarding regional peace and find another alternative to violence against Palestinians, he said. “Israel has to come to realize on Gaza and the Palestinian issue, they can have a one-state solution or a two-state solution. But to have a two-state solution they have got to enter into good faith conversations with Palestine to find a win-win solution. Otherwise they are going to get a one-state solution which more and more people are moving towards,” Gabriel said.
“And right now the one-state solution would have the Palestinian people over 50 percent of the population. So, it really is in Israel’s best interests to think how they are operating in the Palestinian arena. Having said that, terrorism by Hamas doesn’t help the situation. Right now, they need quiet in the region and now that Israel has a partner to talk to. Both of them have to come to grips with this for a win-win solution.”Gabriel said he believes that despite some challenges, President Joe Biden offers the best route toward building up the Middle East, noting the US leader has spent much time addressing the region.
The Ray Hanania Show is broadcast live every Wednesday at 5 p.m. Eastern EST on WNZK AM 690 radio in Greater Detroit including parts of Ohio, and WDMV AM 700 radio in Washington D.C. including parts of Virginia and Maryland. The show is rebroadcast on Thursdays at 7 a.m. in Detroit on WNZK AM 690 and in Chicago at 12 noon on WNWI AM 1080. You can listen to the radio show’s podcast by visiting ArabNews.com/rayradioshow.
* An earlier version of this story mischaracterized comments and opinions of Ambassador Edward M. Gabriel saying Hezbollah could become a “postive force” in the country. Those characterizations of his comments have been deleted.

Beirut bank hostage-taker: necessity made him a villain, instead he became a national hero
Nada Homsi/Arab News/August 13/2022
After seven hours, Bassam Hussein, who took several hostages and held up a bank in Lebanon, surrendered on Thursday evening — but not before he successfully negotiated the withdrawal of $35,000 from his own account. A judge on Friday ordered that he remain behind bars, despite promises from security forces that he would not be detained, his lawyer and family members said. It was not clear on what charges he was detained, the lawyer added. The armed man had taken at least six hostages — customers and employees — in a Federal Bank of Lebanon branch in Beirut, threatening to kill them and self-immolate if he did not receive his money. In a scene typical of hostage situations, negotiators and security forces could be seen standing outside the bank entrance throughout the lengthy hold-up, while Mr Hussein's family as well as the families of the hostages anxiously looked on. Lebanon's maritime border offers a case study of missed opportunities
Lebanon Federal Bank staff hostage drama in Hamra ends with support for perpetrator
But on the other side of the police cordon, dozens of demonstrators gathered — not to condemn Mr Hussein, but to support him and to protest against Lebanon’s banking system. Speakers blared music and supporters chanted, “We are all Bassam!” and “Down with the rule of the banks!”
The show of popular support for Mr Hussein came as Lebanon's population grows increasingly desperate four years into a dire financial crisis that the World Bank says is one of the worst the modern world has ever seen. Intensifying widespread financial difficulties are the informal capital controls imposed by commercial banks in late 2019, limiting withdrawals of hard currency. Banks have severely limited the amount of dollars depositors are able to withdraw, otherwise only allowing withdrawals to be made in vastly devalued Lebanese pounds.
This effectively means people can only take out their own money at a fraction of its value. Since the small nation’s economy collapsed in 2019, the local currency has plummeted more than 90 per cent and inflation has soared exponentially, making everyday life essentially unaffordable for many Lebanese.
Public institutions are on the verge of imploding and the state is unable to maintain even basic services such as electricity and water. More than three quarters of Lebanon's population has been plunged below the poverty line, according to the UN. Family members and supporters blocked a road on Friday morning to protest against Mr Hussein's detention, saying that it breached an agreement reached on Thursday to end the standoff. Mr Hussein surrendered after being assured by negotiators that he would undergo a routine investigation and then be released, his brother, Atef, told The National.
“We don’t know when he’ll get out. We’re not able to communicate with him, and we don’t know what the charge against him is,” he said.
Beirut bank hostage situation comes to end after apparent partial payout
Atef helped to talk his brother into surrendering and left the scene with him in a white government vehicle on Thursday night. “They told us ‘he will not be detained and will go home with you’, but that he should first stop by the branch,” Atef said, referring to the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces. He explained the ISF had assured him it would be a routine investigation.
But as of Friday night, Mr Hussein was still in detention.
“I regret ever telling my brother to get out of the bank without taking the full amount of his savings first,” Atef told The National. Throughout the stand-off, Mr Hussein had demanded that his savings — $210,000 — be returned to him in full.
“The amount he managed to take out doesn't even cover his debts,” his brother said. “But what was the solution, to keep the hostage crisis going?”Fouad Debs, co-founder of the Lebanese Depositor’s Union and one of the lawyers representing Mr Hussein, confirmed the hostage-taker had been detained without a clear charge. The $35,000 he was able to withdraw is reportedly now with his family and in a safe place, Mr Debs said. But that amount is not nearly enough to cover his disabled father’s hospital stay and treatment, which was the driving factor behind his decision to hold up the bank, Mr Debs and and family members said. “He had to take a loan for $6,000 for his [dad’s] hospitalisation when our own money is sitting in the bank,” Atef told The National. Locked out of the majority of their savings, many Lebanese have been forced to incur debt, with withdrawal limits hampering their ability to pay off arrears such as hospital visits or school tuition. Reports of patients being turned away from hospitals — in some cases dying at the entrance — are not infrequent. In demanding his own money, Mr Hussein has become emblematic of the nation’s disenfranchised population. Lebanon's financial collapse is widely blamed on its political leaders, many of them ex-warlords and holdovers from the country's 15-year civil war. Before the economic crash, Mr Hussein had sold his own as well as his family’s home and placed the proceeds in his bank account before the informal nationwide capital controls were imposed. In addition, siblings in Australia had transferred considerable sums of money into the account so that Mr Hussein could purchase property on their behalf.
Mr Debs emphasised that the hostage-taker’s demands were not illegal.
“He was demanding his own money after he tried to get it through legal means and was repeatedly denied until he took justice into his own hands,” Mr Debs said. He added that Mr Hussein did not demonstrate any violence, despite two reports of two shots being fired early on in the stand-off.
The Lebanese Depositor’s Union was formed in 2019 to protect the rights of depositors, advocate a fair and comprehensive financial recovery plan, and seek accountability for the economic crisis.
“It's them who have brought the country to where we are ,” Mr Debs said, referring to Lebanon's leaders. “This country didn't collapse — they collapsed it. They, the political authorities and the banking authority, should be held responsible for it. “They're what's leading to people to doing what Bassam did. In the end, he did what he had to do and it’s a clear reaction to their actions.”One of the hostages taken by Mr Hussein was the branch manager of the Federal Bank, Hassan Halawi. Mr Halawi said he did not enjoy being a hostage, but would not press charges against the hostage taker.
"What can I say? It's his right. But this isn't the way. A small mistake could have ended our lives."Mr Hussein had frequently butted heads with Mr Halawi in recent weeks while being denied the withdrawal of small quantities of money, his lawyer told The National.
But Mr Halawi maintained that the bank treated Mr Hussein the same as all customers, and "in accordance with our internal procedures."
Earlier this year, another hold-up took place at a bank in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa valley. Coffee shop owner Abdullah Assai threatened to immolate himself and his hostages unless he could withdraw his savings. He surrendered after withdrawing $50,000 of his own money, which he handed to his wife before being arrested. Mr Assai was detained for a total of 16 days before being released after paying a fine. Mr Debs told The National he was surprised that there have not been more bank hold-ups in the last three years.Such incidents should help put pressure on Lebanon's political leadership and its banks — who have consistently butted heads over who should absorb the brunt of losses — to enact a financial recovery plan, he said. "We cannot keep going like this." But Atef said his biggest priority now was getting his brother out of detention. “The real thieves are out there, free, while he’s in jail. They stole from us, and my brother is in jail.”

Jumblatt to Hezbollah: Lebanon’s President Should be Accepted by All Sides
Beirut - Mohamed Choucair/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
The head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, and political advisor to Hezbollah's Secretary General Hussein Khalil have discussed several problems facing Lebanon, mainly the upcoming presidential elections. The meeting was attended by PSP officials MP Wael Abu Faour and former Minister Ghazi al-Aridi, and top Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa. Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that discussions focused on their differences over Hezbollah's weapons and Lebanon’s defense strategy. According to the sources, the meeting also reviewed the presidential elections, but no candidates were discussed. They instead addressed Jumblatt's rejection to support a candidate backed by Hezbollah. They pointed out that Jumblatt called for electing a president who is not provocative and is accepted by all political parties. The sources quoted Khalil as saying that Hezbollah seeks to form a new government and elect the president on time after Jumblatt warned that the country cannot afford a presidential vacuum. The term of President Michel Aoun will end in October 2022. During Thursday’s meeting, the PSP chief addressed the issue of Hezbollah sending drones over the Karish field and asked whether it was an Iranian message to improve the terms of its negotiations on its nuclear program. Hezbollah said in July it had sent three unarmed drones towards the Israeli Mediterranean gas rig, which the Israeli military said it had intercepted. Khalil stressed that Iran does not need drones to improve its position and that the unmanned aircraft aimed to improve Lebanon's position in the US-mediated negotiations with Israel on the maritime border demarcation. The sources noted that Jumblatt asked about the possibility of a new war, and Khalil explained that if Israel continues to deprive Lebanon of its right, all options are on the table. The head of the PSP asserted that Lebanon could not afford a new war, especially in light of the deteriorating economic conditions.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 13-14/2022
Bolton to Asharq Al-Awsat: Negotiations with Tehran behind Delay in Revealing Assassination Plot
Washington - Rana Abtar/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton said that President Joe Biden’s administration has delayed announcing an Iranian plot to assassinate him due to the nuclear negotiations with Tehran. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Bolton said that the current US administration has suspended the unveiling of the scheme, pending the indirect US-Iranian talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. He also criticized Biden administration’s supplicatory approach to revive the nuclear agreement, describing it as a grave mistake for the United States and its friends and allies in the Middle East.
The Department of Justice charged Iranian Shahram Poursafi, 45, with plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump’s national security advisor. Poursafi tried to arrange the killing of Bolton in retaliation for the January 2020 US airstrike that killed Iran’s top commander, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, according to court documents. Bolton strongly condemned the US administration’s policy towards Iran, warning against separating the nuclear agreement from Tehran’s support for terrorism. He noted in this regard that Iran’s nuclear weapons program and its terrorist capabilities were two sides of the same coin. The former US security advisor considered that Biden’s policy would send a message of weakness to Iran, which Tehran would exploit in its favor. Regarding the details of the assassination plot, he said that he was not surprised when he heard that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was among the targets of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, pointing to other names on the list, including former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Commander of the US Central Command Kenneth McKenzie. Bolton, on the other hand, expressed his gratitude to Biden for allowing members of the Secret Service to be assigned to protect him. He said the FBI warned him in the spring of 2020 of potential threats against his life.

Activists Accuse Iran of Responsibility for Rushdie Attack
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
Iran's rulers bear responsibility for the attack against the British writer Salman Rushdie as the Islamic republic never repudiated a 1989 order issued by its founder calling for the novelist to be killed, activists and opponents charged Saturday. While the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini over Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses" has for some time not been part of daily discourse in Iran, the clerical leadership under his successor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also did nothing to indicate it no longer stood and on occasions underlined the decree was still valid. The multiple stabbing of Rushdie at an event in New York comes at an intensely sensitive time for Iran, as it considers an offer by world powers to revive the 2015 deal on its nuclear program which would ease sanctions that have battered the economy. During a period of relative thaw between Tehran and the West under former president Mohammad Khatami, ex-foreign minister Kamal Kharazi had in 1998 pledged that Iran would not take steps to endanger the life of Rushdie, who for years was in hiding. But an answer posted to a question on Khamenei's website Khamenei.ir in February 2017 said that the fatwa was still valid. "Answer: The decree is as Imam Khomeini issued," it said. The @khamenei_ir Twitter account, which repeats Khamenei's views and activists have repeatedly said should be suspended, in 2019 posted that the fatwa was "solid and irrevocable". Activists also insist that a bounty of over 3 million dollars for Rushdie's life offered by Iran's 15 Khordad Foundation remains on offer. “Whether today's assassination attempt was ordered directly by Tehran or not, it is almost certainly the result of 30 years of the regime's incitement to violence against this celebrated author," said the Washington-based National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI).
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an opposition group outlawed in Iran, said that the attack had taken place at the "instigation" of Khomeini's fatwa, AFP reported. “Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the clerical regime had always vowed to implement this anti-Islamic fatwa in the past 34 years," it said in a statement. New York state police identified the suspected attacker as Hadi Matar, 24, adding the motive for the stabbing remains unclear. He was detained in the immediate aftermath. Commentators pointed to a Facebook account belonging to a man named Hadi Matar littered with images of the Iranian leadership which was deactivated in the hours after the attack. There was no immediate confirmation it belonged to the attacker. The Islamic republic has a record throughout its history of seeking to eliminate opponents outside its borders and is now accused also of abducting foreign-based dissidents and hauling them back to Iran for trial and possible execution. Alinejad, who was previously the target of a plot to abduct her from New York by speedboat back to Iran via Venezuela, is now in a safe house after a man with a AK-47 was found outside her residence. "There's been a fatwa on Salman Rushdie from Khomeini since 1989 and the Islamic Republic of Iran never backed off the fatwa. @khamenei_ir repeated it on Twitter as well. Now Islamic Republic promoters are praising the assassination and threaten me with the same fate as Salman Rushdie," said Alinejad. In its news report about the attack, the official IRNA news agency described Rushdie as the "apostate author" of "The Satanic Verses" and recalled the fatwa. The daily Kayhan, whose editor is appointed by Khamenei, hailed the attacker as "this courageous and duty-conscious man... who tore the neck of the enemy of God with a knife."

Iran Willing to Accept EU Proposal If It Provides Tehran with 'Guarantees'
Washington - Ali Barada/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
Iran is reviewing the European proposal to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and might agree to it if they assure the issues of safeguards, sanctions, and guarantees, Iranian media quoted an unidentified Iranian diplomat. Iran is seeking guarantees that no future US president will withdraw from the agreement, as former President Donald Trump did in 2018, and restored harsh US sanctions on Iran. Western diplomats pointed out that US President Joe Biden may not be able to provide such assurances because the nuclear agreement is just a political understanding and not a legally binding treaty.
On Friday, Kazem Seddiqi said in his prayer sermon that Tehran insisted on obtaining verifiable guarantees that US sanctions would be lifted after the agreement was revived. "We insist on getting the necessary guarantees, the lifting of sanctions and verification, and if this is achieved, then our negotiating team will tell the people that sanctions have been lifted thanks to your resistance and power," Seddiqi said during Friday prayers, according to state TV. On Monday, the European Union said it had submitted a "final" text after four days of indirect talks between US and Iranian officials in Vienna. A senior EU official said no further changes could be made to the text, which has been under negotiation for 15 months, adding that he expected a final decision from the parties within "very, very few weeks."Iranian officials said they would convey their "additional views and considerations" to the Union coordinating the talks after consultations in Tehran. For its part, the US administration confirmed Thursday evening that it is ready to "immediately conclude and implement the deal" to the nuclear agreement with Tehran if Iran dropped its additional demands that go beyond the agreement signed in 2015, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). US State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel briefed reporters in Washington on the latest developments related to the Vienna talks. Patel noted that the US administration, along with "our allies and partners, are preparing equally for scenarios with and without a mutual return to the full implementation of the JCPOA." Reviving the 2015 agreement seemed imminent in March, but the 11-month indirect talks between Iran and the US in Vienna faltered because Tehran insisted that Washington remove the Revolutionary Guards from the US list of foreign terrorist organizations. Under the 2015 deal, Iran limited its uranium enrichment program, which may be a pathway to obtaining nuclear weapons, in return for sanction relief. Tehran insists it only wants nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. On Wednesday, the US accused an IRGC member of plotting to assassinate Trump's national security adviser John Bolton, but Washington said it did not believe the charges should affect nuclear talks with Tehran.

Iran Calls on the US to Adopt 'Realistic, Pragmatic' Approach
London - Asharq Al-Awsat//Saturday, 13 August, 2022
The process of examining the ideas proposed by the European Union coordinator started immediately after the return of the Iranian negotiating delegation from Vienna, reported Nour News. The website, affiliated with Iran's Supreme National Security Council, indicated that immediately after the return of the Iranian negotiating delegation from Vienna, the process of examining the ideas proposed by the EU coordinator is ongoing at the expert level. It also noted that no high-level meeting has yet been held in Tehran to review the ideas of the coordinator, and according to the usual procedure, after the completion of the expert review process. The final assessment will present the preliminary results to the appropriate decision-making levels. Iranian media quoted Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying that Iran had sent a message to the US through European officials. In a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Abdollahian said: "We hope that the American side creates the situation for agreeing on the final text by adopting a realistic and pragmatic approach toward the rightful and legal demands of Iran." A statement from the Foreign Ministry said that Cavusoglu expressed his hope that the negotiations would end soon, achieving the rights of the Iranian people and the common interests of all parties. Meanwhile, Iranian state television quoted Russia's representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, as saying there is a possibility of rewriting the 2015 nuclear agreement, stressing the need to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue sooner or later. Ulyanov wondered whether the text announced by the EU is "final," noting that some amendments had been done to the deal in March before the negotiations faltered. The diplomat reiterated Russia's support for the Iranian position in the negotiations. He said that all parties must be satisfied with the final text, especially Iran, saying Tehran is a victim of the US' maximum pressure policy and has the right to express its positions. "If Iran wants to make changes in the text, it will have our support." Notably, major media websites in Iran protested the final text submitted by the European Union (EU) at the end of the round of Vienna negotiations to revive the nuclear agreement. "Kayhan" newspaper, which is closely affiliated to the cleric-led country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said that the EU's proposal for brokering a deal is "catastrophic" and "damaging," adding that talks "have yet to yield a result that Iran wants." Nournews website said the EU as the coordinator of the talks lacked the authority to “present its proposals as the final text.” The vice-chairman of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Ibrahim Azizi, said that the Commission has yet to receive any final text or draft from the negotiations. "The final text must provide for our national interests and the strategic goals of the regime," said Azizi, adding that the Iranian Foreign Minister and his deputy will attend a meeting for the National Security parliamentary committee.

NY Man Indicted for Having Rifle outside Home of Iranian Journalist
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
A New York man has been indicted on charges he possessed a loaded AK-47 rifle outside the home of an Iranian-American journalist and rights activist, court records showed on Friday. The defendant, Khalid Mehdiyev, spent two days in late July outside the Brooklyn home of journalist Masih Alinejad, and once tried opening the door, an FBI agent wrote in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court. A lawyer for Mehdiyev declined to comment. Alinejad has been a critic of Iran's headcovering laws and has promoted videos of women violating the laws to her millions of social media followers. Last year she was the target of what US prosecutors called a Tehran-backed kidnapping plot. Mehdiyev was indicted on Thursday for possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Prosecutors are also seeking to have Mehdiyev forfeit the gun and the ammunition.
Last year, prosecutors charged four Iranians they alleged to have been intelligence operatives with plotting to kidnap Alinejad. Tehran has dismissed allegations of government involvement as "baseless."According to a criminal complaint, after being arrested for running a stop sign, Mehdiyev told investigators that the AK-47 was his and that he was in Brooklyn "looking for someone."Mehdiyev then asked for a lawyer and stopped answering questions, the complaint said.

Israel-Germany Diplomatic Crisis Worsens
Tel Aviv/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
The diplomatic crisis between Israel and Germany has worsened in the wake of Berlin government’s rejection to pay huge additional compensation to the families of the athletes killed during an attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Families of the 11 Israeli athletes who were killed in a Palestinian attack at the Munich Olympics said they will boycott a memorial ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the attack due to a dispute with the German government over compensation. Diplomatic sources in Tel Aviv said Steffen Seibert, Germany’s new ambassador to Israel, is making last-minute efforts to settle differences, but no progress has been made so far in this regard.
Seibert, the long-time spokesman of former chancellor Angela Merkel, tried to create a positive atmosphere by holding a press conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday to declare solidarity with Israel against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's rockets and Hamas' detention of two Israeli soldiers. However, Ankie Spitzer, spokesperson for the families, requested “a public apology” from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, for the country's “mistakes” and “mishandling” during the hostage crisis. The families of those killed also request Germany to “open all the archives about the terror attack” and offer “just compensation” to them. While Germany has apologized for mishandling the response to the attack and opened previously sealed archives, relatives of the victims said the amount of compensation offered by the government so far is “an insult.” The German government said Friday it regrets plans by families of the killed Israeli to boycott the ceremony next month and said it was prepared to continue talks on further compensation. On Sept. 5, 1972, during the 20th Olympic Games, eight gunmen from the Palestinian Liberation Organization splinter group “Black September” raided the Israeli team’s quarters in the Olympic village in Munich, Germany. They killed an Israeli weightlifter and a wrestling coach almost immediately, took nine others hostage and demanded the release of 236 prisoners held in Israel. Later at Fuerstenfeldbruck military airfield near Munich, from where the gunmen were hoping to leave Germany, police opened fire and a gunfight erupted. All nine hostages were killed, and five of the gunmen and a policeman also died. Immediately after the massacre, Germany made payments to the relatives of the victims amounting to about 4.19 million marks (about two million euros), and in 2002, the surviving relatives received another three million euros. German media report that the government is prepared to double that amount, while relatives are seeking more compensation.

Sadr Calls for Saving Iraq from Occupation, Terrorism, Corruption
Baghdad/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist Movement in Iraq, has unleashed a show of popular force driven by slogans of dissolving the parliament, holding early elections, and discrediting the legitimacy of authorities that took over the country after the ouster of President Saddam Hussein in 2003. While followers of the religious scholar held protests in support of his demands for the judiciary to dissolve the parliament, the rival Coordination Framework launched rallies calling for preserving the state’s prestige and backing legitimate authorities.
The result was that Iraq has been rocked by demonstrations that are not only gripping its capital, Baghdad, but also other provinces.
Sadr, in a tweet, called Coordination Framework followers to support the Sadrist Movement’s call for the dissolution of parliament, early elections and the fight against corruption. “According to my understanding, we and the Coordination Framework’s followers are in agreement about the existence of corruption and its pervasiveness in the country,” said Sadr according to a statement released by his office on Friday. Addressing Coordination Framework supporters, Sadr said that his movement was also rallying for their sake, adding that Iraq has fallen captive to occupation, terrorism, and corruption. “Let your demonstrations be a victory for reform, not a victory for the prestige of the state and the governments that ruled without any benefit for Iraq,” added Sadr. “Do you not want your dignity, freedom, security, sustenance, safety and well-being, as we demand?!”“Generally. Our hands are extended to you, the followers of the Coordination Framework, not its leaders, to try to fix what has been corrupted,” concluded the Shiite scholar.

Washington, Damascus Keep Contact to Secure Release of Abducted Journalist
Washington/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
President Joe Biden’s administration has had direct engagements with the Syrian government in an effort to secure the release of detained American Austin Tice, with no progress made, US media revealed on Friday. In a statement earlier this week marking the 10-year anniversary of Tice’s captivity, Biden affirmed that the United States “knows with certainty that he has been held by the Syrian government.” “We have repeatedly asked the government of Syria to work with us so that we can bring Austin home,” Biden said, calling on Damascus to end this and help bring him home. “There is no higher priority in my administration than the recovery and return of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,” Biden added. Tice, who served in the US Marine Corps, was a freelance photojournalist working for Agence France Presse, McClatchy News, The Washington Post, CBS and other news organizations when he disappeared after being detained at a checkpoint near Damascus on August 14, 2012. Thirty-one years old at the time he was captured, Tice appeared blindfolded in the custody of an unidentified group of armed men in a video a month later but there has been little news since. McClatchy Newspaper, to which Tice was reporting while covering the revolution against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, said Biden asked to meet with Austin's parents, Debra and Mark Tice, in the White House on May 2. He briefed them on the latest developments in his administration's efforts and contacts with the Assad government to secure their son’s release, the newspaper reported. It said that the latest direct engagement between the two sides took place in January, but it failed to secure a meeting with the abducted. Biden also explained for the parents his policy in Syria, which he hopes will provide an incentive for Assad to get involved in this case, the report stated. He further indicated that he lifted US sanctions against entities in northern Syria, yet couldn’t achieve a breakthrough. A meeting between the Syrians and a high-level American official also took place during Donald Trump’s presidency. In August 2020, White House aide Kash Patel and special envoy for hostage affairs Roger Carstens were dispatched to Damascus to negotiate Tice’s release. However, Syrian officials made the withdrawal of all US troops from the country a precondition for further talks. The newspaper said that US-Syrian contacts are held directly or indirectly, and some are via e-mail, noting that one of the back channels through which the communication takes place is the Director General of the Lebanese General Security Agency, Major General Abbas Ibrahim.

Hundreds Linked to ISIS Transferred From Syria to Iraq
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
Syria's autonomous Kurdish region transferred to the Iraqi government more than 600 relatives of ISIS group members who were detained at the notorious Al-Hol camp, a monitor said Friday. It is the fourth operation of its kind this year from the camp, which lies less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from the Iraqi border. In the latest transfer, around "620 people, relatives of ISIS members, left Al-Hol", coordinated between the camp administration and the Iraqi government, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement. The men, women and children belonged to 150 families and left the camp on Thursday, an official in the Kurdish administration told AFP. Thousands of foreign extremists joined ISIS as fighters, often bringing their wives and children to live in the "caliphate" declared by the group across swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. Kurdish-led forces backed by a US-led coalition dislodged the militants from their last scrap of territory in Syria in 2019. Kurdish authorities have repeatedly called on countries to repatriate their citizens from crowded displaced camps, of which Al-Hol is Syria's largest. More than 100 people, including many women, were murdered in Al-Hol over an 18-month period, the United Nations said in June, calling for camp residents to be returned home.But nations have mostly received them only sporadically, fearing security threats and a domestic political backlash. The first repatriation of Iraqi families from Al-Hol, involving around 300 people, took place in May last year. Iraq should repatriate 500 families in total from Al-Hol this year, the official Iraqi New Agency announced on Wednesday. In addition to the returned family members, the Iraqi government also received this week about 50 Iraqi ISIS fighters and leaders who were detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces, according to the Observatory. The SDF spearheaded the fight against ISIS in Syria with the support of the US-led coalition. In early June, Iraq repatriated another 50 Iraqi ISIS fighters who were detained by Kurdish forces. They were among 3,500 Iraqis held in Syrian Kurdish prisons, a senior military official said at the time. In April, a senior Iraqi security official said the Al-Hol camp is a security threat and should be dismantled. It houses around 55,000 people, the United Nations reported in June.

Houthis Threaten to End Truce Ahead of Grundberg's Security Council Briefing
Aden - Ali Rabih/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
The Houthi militias threatened they would not agree to extending the humanitarian and military truce again without obtaining economic gains. This came as UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg is scheduled to appear before the Security Council on Monday for the monthly briefing.
Houthi spokesman Mohammad Felita warned in an interview with an Iranian channel that the chances of extending the truce might be the last if a mechanism for paying employees' salaries is not found in the militia-controlled areas. He claimed that a comprehensive ceasefire would not be implemented if the humanitarian issues were not resolved, noting that the coalition to support legitimacy should end its support for legitimate government. Felita threatened the return of clashes, warning that the militias would target oil facilities and ports in the liberated areas seeking to pressure the legitimacy to share oil and gas proceeds. The spokesman confirmed that the group would continue to mobilize its forces to confront any development. Meanwhile, the Yemeni Minister of Information, Muammar al-Eryani, accused Houthis of escalating the situation and prolonging the blockade on Taiz. Eryani asserted during his meeting with US Ambassador Stephen Fagin that Iran's support of the militias contributes to undermining the truce and obstructing peace efforts. The Minister reiterated the government's adherence to peace based on the three references, noting that the Yemeni political leadership made many concessions to ensure the success of the truce. He explained that the government implemented all its obligations under the ceasefire terms, accusing the militias of reneging on their commitments and refusing to end the siege of Taiz. Eryani noted that Houthis were indifferent to the suffering of citizens in Taiz, increased the recruitment of children, and used Hodeidah port revenues to mobilize fighters and weapons. He warned against the Houthi militia's exploitation of the truce to organize its ranks and launch a new round of military escalation, stressing the need to exert real international pressure on the militias to force them to engage in good faith in efforts to calm and establish peace. He condemned the Iranian role in his country, saying it undermines truce efforts, uses the Houthi militia as a tool to destabilize Yemen, undermines regional security and stability, and threatens the safety of ships. The US administration's decision to remove the Houthi militia from the lists of terrorism did not contribute to advancing calm efforts, said the Minister, noting that the militia escalated its military operations and aggressive approach. He called on the US administration and the international community to pressure the Houthi militia, reclassify it as a terrorist group, prosecute its leaders, and bring them to trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Minister accused the militias of violating human rights, recalling their displacement of minorities such as Bahais and Jews and journalists' continued kidnapping and torture.The Yemeni government is working to end the war, establish sustainable peace, build a safe country for all Yemeni, and enhance confidence with neighboring countries, the region, and the world said the Minister. Eryani stressed that peace would only be achieved by disarming the Houthi militia's medium and heavy weapons, stopping the smuggling of Iranian weapons, targeting the region, and threatening international interests.

US Seeks to Extend Yemeni Truce for 3rd Time
Washington - Heba El Koudsy/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
US special envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking headed to the region to visit Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the UAE starting August 11 within the US efforts to help maintain the UN-mediated Yemeni truce. Lenderking's mission will focus on expanding the truce's benefits to all Yemenis and pave the way for a permanent ceasefire and an inclusive, durable Yemeni-led resolution to the conflict. The envoy's team also wants to ensure the truce extension for the third time. The deal is being drafted by the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and his staff. Lenderking's visit comes a month after US President Joe Biden visited Saudi Arabia. Before his departure, Lenderking told CNBC that the US is a vital partner to Saudi Arabia and the region's countries. "The major message that the president brought to the region is that the United States is not going anywhere," Lenderking said. He noted that diplomatic visits by other global powers to the region were expected but said that the US had asserted its commitment to the region. A few days ago, the US envoy called on Yemenis to build on the UN-sponsored truce extension and reach a permanent agreement to end the eight-year conflict in Yemen. Earlier, Lenderking met with the Yemeni ambassador in Washington, Mohammad al-Hadhrami, to discuss maintaining the truce amid fears of escalation of clashes in the Shabwa region, which could undermine efforts to maintain the ceasefire and impede peace efforts. The truce, extended for the third time, from August 2 until October 2, was described as fragile. The Houthi group did not abide by the provisions of the ceasefire, which include reducing military escalation and the entry of oil derivatives through Hodeidah port and opening Sanaa airport and crossings. The United States and European countries support ​​extending the UN armistice for six months to a year and stopping all Houthi attacks.

Two Tunisian Soldiers Wounded In Clashes with Armed Militants
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
Two Tunisian soldiers were wounded on Friday in an exchange of fire with suspected extremists during a military operation in a mountainous region of the south, the defense ministry said. The shootout happened at Mount Salloum near the town of Kasserine close to the border with Algeria, where militants operate, local media reported. "There was an exchange of fire between soldiers and a group of militants in the Kasserine area," defense ministry spokesman Mohamed Zekri told AFP. "There were wounded among the terrorists who fled," he said, adding that two soldiers were slightly wounded. The most recent similar clash was in March when suspected extremists opened fire on a national guard barracks in the city of Kairouan, some 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of Kasserine. After the 2011 revolution, Tunisia saw a boom in militant groups which launched attacks that killed dozens of tourists -- notably at the seaside resort of Sousse and at the Bardo National Museum in the capital -- as well as security personnel. In March 2016, an assault on security positions in Ben Guerdane near the border with Libya killed 13 members of the security forces and seven civilians.At least 55 militants were also killed and dozens arrested. Authorities said they have made significant progress in the fight against "terrorism", with no attack on that scale having taken place since.

Egypt Appoints 13 New Ministers in Cabinet Reshuffle
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 13 August, 2022
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced a Cabinet reshuffle Saturday to develop the government’s performance. The Cabinet shake-up, which was approved by parliament in an emergency session, affected 13 portfolios, including health, education, culture, local development and irrigation ministries. Also included in the reshuffle was the tourism portfolio. The changes, however, didn’t affect key ministries including foreign, finance, defense and the interior, which is responsible for the police force.Sisi said the shake-up came in consultation with Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly. He said in a Facebook post that the changes aimed at “developing the governmental performance in some important files ... which contribute to protecting the state’s interests and capabilities.”

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 13-14/2022
Question: “Why should I believe the Bible?”
GotQuestions.org/August 13, 2022
Answer: The Bible makes claims about the creation of the universe, the nature of the God who created the universe and reigns supremely over it, and the fate of mankind. If these claims are true, then the Bible is the most important book in the history of mankind. If the Bible is true, then it holds the answers to life’s biggest questions: “From where did I come?” “Why am I here?” and “What happens to me when I die?” The importance of the Bible’s message demands it receive fair consideration, and the truthfulness of its message is observable, testable, and able to withstand scrutiny.
The writers of the Bible claim that the Bible is God’s very Word. The apostle Paul writes that “all Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). That is to say, all the words recorded in the original writing of Scripture originated from the mouth of God before ever reaching the minds and pens of the biblical writers. The apostle Peter also writes that “prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). The phrase “carried along” is indicative of a sail being propelled by the wind. That is, the writing of Scripture was directed by the Holy Spirit. The Bible does not originate with man and is, then, a product of God and carries the authority of God.
At this point, it is important not to let circular reasoning become the justification for believing the Bible. We cannot say that one should believe the Bible simply because the Bible says it should be believed. If, however, the truth claims of the Bible are found true whenever it is possible to test their veracity or are proved true during historical and scientific discovery, then the internal claims of the Bible’s own trustworthiness are more compelling. The internal evidence works in tandem with the external.
The internal evidence of Scripture’s veracity provides many compelling arguments for why one should believe the Bible. First, the unique message of the Bible sets it apart from other religious texts. The Bible, for instance, teaches that mankind is inherently evil and deserving of eternal death. If man were responsible for the content of the Bible, the view of humanity would not be so dark—we tend to make ourselves look good. The Bible also teaches that humans can do nothing of themselves to remedy their natural state. This, too, goes against human pride.
The unity of the biblical message is further reason for why one should believe the Bible. The Bible was written over a period of approximately 1,550 years, with at least 40 human writers, most of whom did not know each other and were from varying backgrounds (king, fisherman, tax collector, shepherd, etc.). The Bible was written in various environments (desert, prison, royal court, etc.). Three different languages were used to write the Bible, and, despite covering controversial subjects, it carries one harmonious message. The circumstances surrounding the writing of the Bible would seem to guarantee its fallibility, and, yet, the message from Genesis to Revelation is uncannily consistent.
Another reason why one should believe the Bible is its accuracy. The Bible should not be confused with a science textbook, but that does not mean that the Bible does not speak to issues that are scientific in nature. The water cycle was described in Scripture centuries before it was a scientific discovery. In some cases science and the Bible have seemed to be at odds with each other. Yet, when science has advanced, the scientific theories have proved wrong and the Bible proved right. For example, it used to be standard medical practice to bleed patients as a cure for illness. Many people died because of excessive blood loss. Now medical professionals know that bloodletting as a cure for most diseases is counterproductive. The Bible always taught that “the life of a creature is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11).
The Bible’s truth claims concerning world history have also been substantiated. Skeptics used to criticize the Bible for its mention of the Hittite people (e.g., 2 Kings 7:6). The lack of any archaeological evidence to support the existence of a Hittite culture was often cited as a rebuttal against Scripture. In 1876, however, archaeologists discovered evidence of the Hittite nation, and by the early 20th century the vastness of the Hittite nation and its influence in the ancient world was common knowledge. The scientific and historical accuracy of the Bible is important evidence of the Bible’s trustworthiness, but the Bible also contains fulfilled prophecies. Some of the biblical writers made claims about future events centuries in advance. If any one of the events predicted had occurred, it would be astounding. But the Bible contains many, many prophecies. Some of the predictions were fulfilled in a short amount of time (Abraham and Sarah had a son, Peter denied Jesus three times, Paul was a witness for Jesus in Rome, etc.). Other predictions were fulfilled hundreds of years later. The 300 messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus could not have reasonably been fulfilled by one person unless some greater power was involved. Specific prophecies like Jesus’ birthplace, activities, manner of death, and resurrection demonstrate the preternatural accuracy of Scripture.
When it is put to the test, the Bible is proved true in every area. Its truth extends to the spiritual, as well. That means that when the Bible says the Hittite nation existed, then we can believe that there were Hittites, and when the Bible teaches that “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23) and the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), then we need to believe that, too. And, when the Bible tells us that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) and that “whoever believes in [Jesus] shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16), then we can and should believe that, also.

A Deal Will Not Stop the Mullahs from Going Nuclear
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/August 13, 2022
When the regime's television host asked him about the video showing concrete being poured into the Arak reactor's pipes to block them, Ali Akbar Salehi, former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran responded: "[N]ot the pipes you see here. We had purchased similar pipes, but I couldn't announce it at that time.... We needed to be smart." — Iran Focus, August 2, 2022.
In addition, during the deal, several reports, later proven to be accurate, warned that Iran was conducting secret nuclear activities.
Now, thanks to the Biden administration's focus on reviving the nuclear deal... the Iranian regime bought time by dragging out the negotiations long enough to reach the nuclear threshold.
Regrettably, it looks as though the Biden administration and Europe -- through their endless concessions and a staggering lack of deterrence -- are still trying to force-feed the world a hostile Iran, armed with nuclear weapons.
One can only assume that the Biden administration is hoping to bribe the mullahs with up to a trillion dollars just not to bomb Israel while he is still president. Meaning that afterwards would be splendid?
Not only are deals such as the Biden or Obama nuclear deal failing to halt the predatory regime of Iran from advancing its nuclear program and possessing nuclear weapons, it actually facilitates Iran's going nuclear by legitimizing its weapons.
Believing that the ruling mullahs of Iran will halt their nuclear advancement with a deal is laughable. The 2015 nuclear deal required that the core of the Arak nuclear reactor would be filled with concrete and disabled. When asked about the video showing concrete being poured into the reactor's pipes to block them, Ali Akbar Salehi, former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran responded: "[N]ot the pipes you see here. We had purchased similar pipes, but I couldn't announce it at that time.... We needed to be smart." Pictured: Salehi delivers a speech at the Bushehr power plant, on November 10, 2019.
The Biden administration has spent all its political capital to resurrect the nuclear deal -- presumably to perpetuate the idea that a nuclear agreement with the Iranian regime will stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, believing that the ruling mullahs of Iran will halt their nuclear advancement with a deal is laughable.
The Iranian regime has even boasted about its shrewd policy of deceiving and misleading the international community during the previous nuclear deal. One of terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, for instance, was that the core of the Arak nuclear reactor would be filled with concrete and disabled. Iran, according to the country's Fars news agency, claimed that it had poured in the concrete and destroyed the reactor core. The US State Department, during the Obama-Biden administration, confirmed the move as well.
Later, however, Ali Akbar Salehi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, openly admitted in an interview on Iran state television that the government had not complied with this requirement; instead, it had misled the international community: "For three years we have been saying we did not pour cement into the Arak heavy water reactor." When the regime's television host asked him about the video showing concrete being poured into the Arak reactor's pipes, Salehi responded:
"[N]ot the pipes you see here. We had purchased similar pipes, but I couldn't announce it at that time. Only one person knows so in Iran, the highest senior official. No one else knew. We needed to be smart. In addition, to not destroy the bridges behind us, we needed to also be building bridges, so that if we needed to return, we could return faster."
Other instances of deception include the detection of radioactive particles in Turquz Abad during the 2015 nuclear deal, and Iran's reluctance to answer simple questions posed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about Tehran's undeclared and secret facilities. In addition, during the deal, several reports, later proven to be accurate, warned that Iran was conducting secret nuclear activities. For example, Israel's then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pointed out in his speech to the UN General Assembly in 2018 that Iran had a "secret atomic warehouse for storing massive amounts of equipment and material from Iran's secret nuclear weapons program."
At the same time, two non-partisan organizations based in Washington, DC -- the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) -- have released detailed reports about the fact that was Iran had undeclared clandestine nuclear facilities during the nuclear deal.
The Iranian regime was also supposed to restrict the amount of specific nuclear materials it possesses during the nuclear deal. According to a report by the IAEA, however, the ruling mullahs violated the deal by holding more heavy water, used for the production of nuclear weapons.
Now, thanks to the Biden administration's focus on reviving the nuclear deal and their apparent inability to see anything beyond the nuclear deal, the Iranian regime has bought time by dragging out the negotiations long enough to reach the nuclear threshold. Several high-ranking Iranian officials, including Iran's atomic energy chief, are currently bragging that the Islamic Republic has the ability to build a nuclear bomb. The Institute for Science and International Security released a study confirming this:
"Iran has enough enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6) in the form of near 20 and 60 percent enriched uranium to produce enough weapon-grade uranium, taken here as 25 kg, for a single nuclear weapon in as little as three weeks. It could do so without using any of its stock of uranium enriched up to 5 percent as feedstock. The growth of Iran's stocks of near 20 and 60 percent enriched uranium has dangerously reduced breakout timelines."
Regrettably, it looks as though the Biden administration and Europe -- through their endless concessions and a staggering lack of deterrence -- are still trying to force-feed the world a hostile Iran, armed with nuclear weapons.
The mullahs rule over a country that the US Department of State has repeatedly called the world's top, leading or foremost sponsor of state terrorism (such as here, here and here).
One can only assume that the Biden administration is hoping to bribe the mullahs with up to a trillion dollars not to bomb Israel while he is still president. Meaning that afterwards would be splendid?
Not only are deals such as the Biden or Obama nuclear deal failing to halt the predatory regime of Iran from advancing its nuclear program and possessing nuclear weapons, it actually facilitates Iran's going nuclear by legitimizing its weapons.
r. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2022 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Pharma Overpromised on Antidepressants
Faye Flam/Bloomberg/August, 13/2022
The most popular depression drugs taken by millions don’t work by fixing an “imbalance of the brain’s neurotransmitters,” as many drug advertisements claim or imply. That’s because depression isn’t caused by a chemical imbalance, according to a new analysis published in Molecular Psychiatry. That doesn’t necessarily mean people should stop taking these drugs, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Another new study used clinical data to show they can still help some depressed people.
But getting a clear understanding of how and when these drugs work matters because they are extremely popular. An extensive survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that more than 13% of Americans over 18 reported having taken SSRIs between 2015 and 2018.
The analysis aimed at debunking the chemical imbalance theory was led by Joanna Moncrieff, a psychiatry professor at University College London. She’s been a longtime skeptic about SSRIs, as she expressed in her book “The Myth of the Chemical Cure.”
Some psychiatrists have responded that the drugs might work some other way. Christopher Davey of the University of Melbourne, writing in the Conversation, pointed out that this so-called serotonin theory is more of an advertising pitch than a scientific paradigm. It’s used to sell drugs on television, but most thoughtful people in the field recognize that depression is a complex condition with psychological as well as biological roots. The only way to know how the drugs might work is to look closely at controlled clinical trials. As it turns out, the other paper published around the same time, this one in the British Medical Journal, did a deep examination of the clinical data. The author team, headed by scientists at the US. Food and Drug Administration, combined the results of 232 different trials comparing SSRIs with placebos for patients with depression. This way, they had something equivalent to a giant trial with more than 73,000 patients. What they found was that the drugs did work better than placebos — but only in about 15% of the patients.
One telling observation about the drug trial data is that the placebo effect is enormous. About two-thirds of all the patients in the placebo arm got better. Those on the drugs were only slightly more likely to improve and the magnitude of their improvement was a little better than those in the placebo arms. The power of the placebo effect could help explain the reason so many patients experience relief from the drugs. One of the study authors is Irving Kirsch, the associate director of the center for placebo studies at Harvard Medical School. He says that there’s a difference between the placebo effect and a placebo response in a specific trial. The placebo effect is a psychological phenomenon in which the perception of being treated makes people feel better. The effect has been measured even when people know they’re taking a sugar pill. But the placebo response in a drug trial can also include recoveries that happen on their own. Depression symptoms sometimes fluctuate, so people may have felt better whether they got any treatment at all. In the study compiling the clinical data, Kirsch said he believes the people in the placebo arm probably got better through a combination of unaided improvement and the placebo effect. Loss of hope is part of depression, and getting a placebo can lift people’s hopes. The reason the FDA approved SSRI drugs in the first place was that clinical trials showed a modest difference between the drugs and placebos. What remained unknown, until now, was whether this modest benefit showed up because most people getting the drugs got a very small improvement or whether the effect was more substantial but only happened in a small subset of patients.
The new analysis shows it was the latter — the benefits beyond placebo were concentrated in just 15% of patients. Maybe depression has different causes depending on the patient. While the drug companies and those who favor drugs sometimes compare depression to diabetes and the drugs to insulin, some cases might work more like injuries that heal over time. Others may act like different diseases altogether. If a patient is suffering from depression, it’s reasonable for a doctor to prescribe an antidepressant knowing it’s been helpful in 15% of patients, even if it’s not yet clear how it works. The possibility that the majority of patients are feeling better through an illusion raises big ethical questions. Would some of that benefit go away if people didn’t have overblown expectations for these drugs?
Kirsch says he’s concerned that the benefits of SSRIs are often short-lived. The drugs aren’t getting at the root of the problem — especially for 85% of patients. Some might get more lasting improvement from other treatments, including therapy.
So these new papers, taken together, show it’s too soon to throw out all the SSRIs, but it’s beyond time to throw out some of the most deceptive drug advertising. The television commercials pushing the chemical imbalance theory should, at the very least, come with an additional warning: The following message was something we made up to sell more of our drugs. We have no idea whether it’s true.

Why Trump Is Weakening
Ross Douthat/Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times/August, 13/2022
In Donald Trump’s quest to sustain his dominance over the Republican Party, his claim to have been robbed of victory in 2020 has been a crucial talisman, lending him powers denied to previous defeated presidential candidates. By insisting that he was cheated out of victory, Trump fashioned himself into a king-in-exile rather than a loser — an Arthur betrayed by the Mordreds of his own party, waiting in the Avalon of Mar-a-Lago to make his prophesied return.
As with many forms of dark Trumpian brilliance, though, the former president is not exactly in conscious control of this strategy. He intuited rather than calculated his way to its effectiveness, and he seems too invested in its central conceit — the absolute righteousness of his “Stop the Steal” campaign — to modulate when it begins to reap diminishing returns.
That’s a big part of why 2022 hasn’t been a particularly good year for Trump’s 2024 ambitions. Across 2021, he bent important parts of the G.O.P. back to his will, but in recent months his powers have been ebbing — and for the same reason, his narrative of dispossession, that they were initially so strong.
While Ron DeSantis, his strongest potential rival, has been throwing himself in front of almost every issue that Republican primary voters care about, Trump has marinated in grievance, narrowed his inner circle, and continued to badger Republican officials about undoing the last election. While DeSantis has been selling himself as the scourge of liberalism, the former president has been selling himself mostly as the scourge of Brian Kemp, Liz Cheney and Mike Pence.
Judging by early primary polling, the DeSantis strategy is working at the Trump strategy’s expense. The governor is effectively tied with the former president in recent polls of New Hampshire and Michigan, and leading him easily in Florida — which is DeSantis’s home state, yes, but now Trump’s as well.
These early numbers don’t prove that Trump can be beaten. But they strongly suggest that if his case for 2024 is only that he was robbed in 2020, it won’t be enough to achieve a restoration.
This is not because the majority of Republicans have had their minds changed by the Jan. 6 committee, or suddenly decided that actually Joe Biden won fair and square. But the committee has probably played some role in bleeding Trump’s strength, by keeping him pinned to the 2020 election and its aftermath, giving him an extra reason to obsess about enemies and traitors and giving his more lukewarm Republican supporters a constant reminder of where the Trump experience ended up. By lukewarm supporters, I mean those Republicans who would be inclined to answer no if a pollster asked them if the 2020 election was fairly won, but who would also reject the conceit — as a majority of Republicans did in a Quinnipiac poll earlier this year — that Mike Pence could have legitimately done as Trump wished on Jan. 6.
That’s a crucial distinction, because in my experience as well as in public polling, there are lots of conservatives who retain a general sense that Biden’s victory wasn’t fair without being committed to John Eastman’s cockamamie plans to force a constitutional crisis. In the same way, there are lots of conservatives who sympathize in a general way with the Jan. 6 protests while believing that they were essentially peaceful and that any rioting was the work of F.B.I. plants or outside agitators — which is deluded, but still quite different from actively wishing for a mob-led coup d’état.
So to the extent that Trump is stuck litigating his own disgraceful conduct before and during the riot, a rival like DeSantis doesn’t need the lukewarm Trump supporter to believe everything the Jan. 6 committee reports. He just needs that supporter to regard Jan. 6 as an embarrassment and Trump’s behavior as feckless — while presenting himself as the candidate who can own the libs but also turn the page.
A counterargument, raised on Friday by New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait, is that so long as those lukewarm supporters still believe the 2020 election was unfair, Trump will have a trump card over any rival — because if you believe a steal happened, “you are perfectly rational to select a candidate who will acknowledge the crime and do everything to prevent it from reoccurring.” But it seems just as possible for the lukewarm supporter to decide that if Trump’s response to being robbed was to first just let it happen and then ask his vice president to wave a magic wand on his behalf, then maybe he’s not the right guy to take on the Democratic machine next time. There is more than one way, in other words, for Republican voters to decide that the former president is a loser. The stolen-election narrative has protected him from the simplest consequence of his defeat. But it doesn’t prevent the stench of failure from rising from his well-worn grievances, his whine of disappointment and complaint.