English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For December 16/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.december16.22.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and
brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death
Second Letter to the Corinthians 07/02-10/:”Make
room in your hearts for us; we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we
have taken advantage of no one. I do not say this to condemn you, for I said
before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. I often
boast about you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with consolation; I am
overjoyed in all our affliction. For even when we came into Macedonia, our
bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way disputes without and
fears within. But God, who consoles the downcast, consoled us by the arrival of
Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was
consoled about you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for
me, so that I rejoiced still more. For even if I made you sorry with my letter,
I do not regret it (though I did regret it, for I see that I grieved you with
that letter, though only briefly). Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved,
but because your grief led to repentance; for you felt a godly grief, so that
you were not harmed in any way by us. For godly grief produces a repentance that
leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on December
15-16/2022/
Hezbollah assassinates in cold blood a UNIFIL soldier in southern
Lebanon/Elias Bejjani/December 16/2022
Another soldier left in serious condition when troops came under fire on way to
Beirut/Jamie Prentis/Holly Johnston/The National/December 15/2022
UN peacekeeper killed after attack in southern Lebanon/ABC News/ABBY SEWELL and
KAREEM CHEHAYEB/December 15, 2022
Berri deplores 'unfortunate' UNIFIL incident, lauds historic ties
Safa urges not to involve Hezbollah in UNIFIL incident
Mikati condemns 'painful' attack on UNIFIL
Agence France Presse/Associated Press
Berri sends message of condolence to his Irish counterpart: Ill-fated and
deplorable incident
Lebanese Army regrets death of Irish peacekeeper, says UNIFIL’s sacrifices
deeply appreciated
UN’s Wronecka calls for thorough investigation to determine facts of tragic
death of Irish UNIFIL peacekeeper
Minister of Defense offers condolences to UNIFIL’s Head of Mission after death
of Irish peacekeeper
Mawlawi: Aggression against peacekeeping forces will not pass without
accountability
Geagea condemns attack on Irish battalion operating within UNIFIL
Hezbollah officials, Maronite League head urge end to presidential void
Vote sessions 'become a farce' as MPs fail again to elect president
Mikati pushes for agreement to end presidential void: No voice is louder than
that of aching citizens
Lebanese Maronite Religious Leader Patriarch Bechara Boutros Raï: Since All
Domestic Solutions Have Failed, The Internationalization Of The Lebanese Issue
Is Inevitable/MEMRI/ December 15/2022
EU Supports Reforms, Governance in Lebanon
Israeli Military Chief Says Israel behind Strike on Iranian Truck Convoy in
Syria
Iranian arms smuggling to Lebanon could potentially create regional crisis
-analysis/Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem/December 15/2022
What Aoun and Bassil could not understand/Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab
Weekly/December 15/2022
Noun and Fares who each lost a sibling in Beirut blast plan to marry
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on December
15-16/2022
Israeli Soldiers Shoot Dead Drug Smuggler Near Egypt Border
UN council ousts Iran from UN commission backing women
Biden gives Iranian thugs a pass
Ministry: Iranian Oil Minister Stable after Heart Attack
Iran Detains 47 Male, Female Journalists
IAEA Delegation to Visit Tehran Soon
Congress to Establish Task Force to Monitor Iran's Nuclear Program
Iran Sentences Belgian Aid Worker to 28 Years in Prison
EU approves new sanctions against Russia over Ukraine war
Russia warns 'consequences' if US missiles sent to Ukraine
Titles For The
Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on December
15-16/2022
To some Republicans, Donald Trump still trumps the Democrats/Bernard
Goldberg/The Hill/December 15/2022
Developing a mastery of irregular warfare/Lt. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, Col.
David Maxwel, Col. Hy Rothstein, Daniel Egel/The Hill/December 15/2022
Extremist ideologies are proliferating/Clifford D. May/The Washington
Times/December 15/2022
on December
15-16/2022
Hezbollah assassinates in cold blood
a UNIFIL soldier in southern Lebanon
Elias Bejjani/December 16/2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/114102/elias-bejjani-hezbollah-assassinates-in-cold-blood-a-unifil-soldier-in-southern-lebanon/
The young and innocent UNIFIl, soldier, Pierre
Deny, 23 years old, from Newton County in north-west Ireland, is the latest
Hezbollah victim in southern Lebanon. The victim's car was ambushed by civilian
Hezbollah gunmen in the town of Al-Aqibiya near Sarafand. For camouflage and
deception, Hezbollah calls these terrorist" the people.. Also in the attack
Another soldier, (Shane Karni, aged 22) was seriously wounded.
We offer our heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim, to the Irish
government, to the friendly Irish people, to the UNIFIL forces, and we pray for
the quick recovery of the wounded soldiers
It is worth mentioning, that the terrorist armed Hezbollah, that occupies
Lebanon, is completely affiliated to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and
blindly carries out its orders.
Meanwhile, it has carried, and do carry out dozens of horrible criminal acts of
murder, assassination, smuggling, and money-laundering operations etc, inside
Lebanon and in many other countries all over the globe. So far it has escaped
accountability, in regards to all the crimes it committed because the Lebanese
judiciary did not investigate these crimes, due to the fact that it is
politicized, terrorized and under Hezbollah's mere hegemony.
In this context, the so called "people" by Hezbollah have attacked the UNIFIL
forces many times, and they have not been held accountable, because of the
influence, occupation and terrorism of Hezbollah, who is on the lists of
terrorism in dozens of countries.
It is a Must to change the rules of engagement related to the authorities of the
UNIFIL forces, operating in southern Lebanon. The UNIFIL needs to be put legally
under the seventh international clause, so that these peace keeping forces can
at least protect their soldiers, and deter Hezbollah’s blatant and brazen
attacks, otherwise the need for their presence is negated, as they are in their
current situation, hostages to Hezbollah, crippled, and unable to carry out it
tasks related to the implementation of UN Resolution No. 1701.
In analysis, and based on many previous similar Hezbollah bloody attacks on
UNIFIL forces operating in southern Lebanon, the main aim is often, Iranian
fiery messages to Western countries, the United Nations, and the European
countries. It is most likely, that yesterday's bloody message was related to the
stances of the European countries and USA, in regards to the stumbles the
nuclear deal is going through.
Definitely, the investigation into this new crime will not lead to any results,
as was the case with all the Hezbollah crimes. A good example is the Hezbollah's
explosion of the port of Beirut, and the obstruction of the investigation by
force and terrorism. Another example, is Hezbollah's assassination of Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri, where the assassins are seen by Hezbollah as saints, and
still on the run despite their conviction by the Special Court For Lebanon.
In conclusion, there will be no solutions in Lebanon, big or small, at any
level, and in any field, as long as the Persian and terrorist Hezbollah occupies
the country, controls its decision making process, and by force appointing its
officials and rulers.
The solution: Putting Lebanon under the seventh UN clause, declaring it a failed
and rogue country, and implementing by force all the UN resolutions (Armistice
Agreement, 1559, 1701, and 1680), otherwise the occupation will continue and
every thing will get worse.
Another soldier left in serious condition when troops
came under fire on way to Beirut
Jamie Prentis/Holly Johnston/The National/December 15/2022
An Irish soldier with the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon was shot and killed
and another seriously wounded when unidentified assailants opened fire at a
passing convoy late on Wednesday. Two other Irish soldiers were injured in the
incident at the village of Al Aqbieh, southern Lebanon, when the peacekeepers
were travelling to Beirut ― but not on a road typically used by Unifil to go to
the capital. Official confirmation over what caused the death of the soldier
remains unclear, because the vehicle crashed either during, or following the
gunfire. But a Lebanese judicial source later told AFP that the peacekeeper was
killed by a bullet to the head when seven projectiles pierced the vehicle. “Last
night, a peacekeeper was killed and three others were injured in the village of
Al Aqbieh near Sarafan, which is just outside Unifil’s area of operations and
not far from the highway,” said Andrea Tenenti of the UN Peacekeeping Force in
Lebanon (Unifil), on Thursday. The Irish Defence Forces named the soldier who
was killed as Private Sean Rooney, 23, from Newtowncunningham in County Donegal,
north-west Ireland. He had joined the Defence Forces in 2019, serving in the
27th Infantry Battalion, based in Dundalk, County Louth, north-east Ireland.
Fellow peacekeeper Private Shane Kearney, 22, is in a serious condition, the
military said on Thursday.Unifil said it has launched an investigation into the
incident. “At the moment, details are sparse and conflicting,” Mr Tenenti said.
“But we are looking into the circumstances that led to this incident.”“This
happened just outside our area of operations, we only use these roads to go to
Beirut and to the airport and that's what the two vehicles were doing,” he said.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group and political party that has a major
presence in Al Aqbieh and in many parts of the country, on Thursday denied its
involvement in the death of Pvt Rooney. A senior security official for the
group, Wafic Safa, told Reuters the party offered its condolences following the
“unintentional incident that took place between the residents of Al Aqbieh and
individuals from the Irish unit.” Media aligned with Hezbollah reported that the
attack occurred after a dispute over the convoy's route, which led to gunfire
causing the vehicle to crash as it attempted to speed away.
On Thursday morning Lebanese Army soldiers stood near a cordoned off area on one
of the main roads leading through the coastal town of Al Aqbieh. Onlookers were
prevented from taking photos by the Lebanese Army. They were accompanied by a
handful of Unifil soldiers, some taking pictures perhaps for evidence, and jeeps
marked as Military Police. A group of locals observed as a Lebanese Army truck
sought to wrench the beaten-up Unifil vehicle from the ground. With smashed
windows and lying on its left side, the vehicle was eventually pulled on to four
wheels.
It is not known how the Unifil vehicle ended up in Al Aqbieh, a large village
located nearby but not directly on the highway linking southern Lebanon with
Beirut. The vehicle was lying on its side on a small side street leading off one
of Al Aqbieh’s main roads. According to the Irish Defence Forces, “a convoy of
two armoured utility vehicles carrying eight personnel travelling to Beirut came
under small arms fire”. The vehicles were “surrounded by a hostile mob” while
conducting routine transportation after shots were fired, Irish Minister for
Defence Simon Coveney said. He said the families of the soldiers involved had
been informed overnight, adding that it was the first Irish death on a
peacekeeping mission for about two decades. “Four personnel were taken to Raee
Hospital, near Sidon, as a result of the incident. One soldier was pronounced
dead on arrival at the hospital and another has undergone surgery and is in a
serious condition,” the Irish forces said. Two other soldiers are being treated
for minor injuries. A medical officer from the 121st Infantry Battalion is with
the soldiers at the hospital. Irish President Michael Higgins expressed his
“deepest sorrow” over the death. “As a people, we take great pride in our
unbroken record of peacekeeping with the United Nations,” he said.“However, we
must never forget the dangers that come with this work or how the members of our
Defence Forces serving on peacekeeping missions abroad risk their lives every
day in order to build and maintain peace in conflict zones across the world.”
Mr Coveney, who is in New York for a UN Security Council meeting, said he would
meet Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday to discuss the incident. He
said he had learnt of the “serious incident” with a “profound sadness and a deep
sense of shock”.
“At this time I want to express, on behalf of everyone in Ireland, our utmost
sorrow at the loss of a young man serving his country and the United Nations
overseas,” said Mr Coveney. “To his family I want to say sorry for their
heartbreak and loss.”
He said he would return to Ireland this evening “to discuss the loss of our
peacekeeper and the full investigation that must now follow”. The 121st Infantry
Battalion, made up of 333 Irish soldiers, was deployed to south Lebanon last
month. They are part of a unit also containing Maltese, Polish and Hungarian
personnel. About 13,000 UN peacekeepers are stationed in Lebanon, where the
interim force has managed a ceasefire with Israel. More than 300 soldiers
serving with Unifil have lost their lives since 1978. Forty-eight of those were
Irish.
The last time peacekeepers were killed in an attack was when three Colombian and
three Spanish soldiers in the international force were hit by a bomb blast
between Marjayoun and Khaim in southern Lebanon in June 2007.
In 2011, six Italian soldiers were injured when their vehicle hit a roadside
bomb near Sidon. Soldiers of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
patrol a road in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila along the border
with Israel on August 29, 2019. The Lebanese army opened fire on Israeli drones
in south Lebanon Wednesday in a rare incident as tensions mount between the
neighbours. This came days after Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, with which
Israel has fought several wars, accused the Jewish state of carrying out a drone
attack Sunday on its Beirut stronghold. / AFP / Mahmoud ZAYYAT
UN peacekeeper killed after attack in southern Lebanon
ABC News/ABBY SEWELL and KAREEM CHEHAYEB/December 15, 2022
An Irish U.N. peacekeeper has been killed and several others were wounded when
unidentified attackers fired at a convoy in southern Lebanon.
An Irish U.N. peacekeeper was killed and several others were wounded when
unidentified attackers opened fire on a convoy in southern Lebanon, Irish and
Lebanese military officials said Thursday.
The Irish Defense Forces said in a statement that a pair of armored vehicles
carrying eight Irish UNIFIL peacekeeping troops was fired on as they drove
north, toward Beirut on Wednesday night from the town of Al-Aqbiya.
The Irish military identified the killed peacekeeper as Pvt. Seán Rooney of
Newtwoncunningham, Ireland. It noted that one of the three wounded soldiers was
in serious condition. It did not identify the assailants.
UNIFIL confirmed that one peacekeeper was killed and three were wounded but did
not share further details.
“Our thoughts are also with the local civilians who may have been injured or
frightened during the incident,” UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said, adding
that “details are sparse and conflicting.” Tenenti added that UNIFIL is
coordinating with the Lebanese military and trying to “determine exactly what
happened.”A person familiar with the investigation said that the armored vehicle
carrying the peacekeepers had rolled over while trying to escape the scene after
locals began shooting. Local residents were angered and became aggressive when
two UNIFIL armored vehicles, which were heading to the Beirut airport, took a
detour through Al-Aqbiya, which is not part of the area under UNIFIL’s mandate,
the person said. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly
and therefore spoke on condition of anonymity.
A security official said seven bullets were fired at the vehicle, including the
bullet that killed the Irish peacekeeper. The official spoke anonymously in line
with regulations.
Lebanon's Foreign Ministry condemned the incident, while the office of Lebanese
caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati issued a statement calling for an
investigation.
Mikati “praised the sacrifices that UNIFIL forces made to maintain peace in the
south, which reflects stability for the people of the region and Lebanon in
general,” the statement said. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin expressed his
condolences in a statement on Twitter.
“It is a reminder that our peacekeepers serve in dangerous circumstances, at all
times, in the cause of peace," he said.
Cell phone videos circulated online show one of the two UNIFIL vehicles speeding
to leave the area while it was shot at. Some residents were visible filming the
incident. Another video showed the vehicle had rolled over after crashing into
the aluminum shutters of a building, with a wounded peacekeeper on the ground
beside it.
Al-Manar TV, run by Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, claimed that a UNIFIL
vehicle had “run over” a group of residents who had gathered to watch the World
Cup semi-final match between Morocco and France. A Hezbollah spokesperson
contacted by The Associated Press declined to comment on peacekeeper's death
“until we have all the data.”
At the U.N. headquarters in New York ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting,
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said 23-year-old Rooney was in one of
the two armored vehicles left the Irish base camp for Beirut, each with four
personnel.
“The vehicles, for whatever reason, got separated, and then one of the vehicles
was surrounded by what I can only describe as a mob, who were very aggressive
towards the vehicles,” Coveney said. “Shots were fired, and unfortunately, one
of our personnel lost his life” and three Irish soldiers were wounded.
“We will demand the truth in relation to what happened here,” Coveney said,
adding that he has spoken to Lebanese officials on Thursday and received
assurances about fill cooperation in the investigation.
He said Ireland has participated in UNIFIL for decades and its last fatality was
20 years ago.
Confrontations between residents in southern Lebanon and UNIFIL troops are not
uncommon. In January, unknown perpetrators attacked Irish peacekeepers in the
southern town of Bint Jbeil, vandalizing their vehicles and stealing items. The
residents accused them of taking photographs of residential homes, though the
U.N. mission denied this.
UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern
Lebanon after a 1978 invasion. The U.N. expanded its mission following the 2006
war between Israel and Hezbollah group, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along
the Lebanon-Israel border to help the Lebanese military extend its authority
into the country’s south for the first time in decades. That resolution also
called for a full cessation of Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities, which has not
happened.
*Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to
this report.
*This story has been corrected to show that the shooting happened on Wednesday
night, not Tuesday.
Irish UN Peacekeeper Killed in Lebanon
Dublin - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon announced in a statement on
Thursday that one of its Irish soldier was killed in Lebanon after a convoy of
two armored utility vehicles carrying eight personnel traveling to Beirut came
under small arms fire. The UNIFIL said it was coordinating with the Lebanese
armed forces and have launched an investigation into the killing of the soldier
on Wednesday. A soldier was killed and another was seriously injured and
underwent surgery, while two other soldiers were treated for mild injuries.
Media reports said that residents of the southern town of al-Aqbiyah, just
outside UNIFIL’s area of operations in south Lebanon, have confronted the UNIFIL
convoy for taking a different route than the agreed and usual one they usually
do. Youths of the area have reportedly followed the convoy which took the
seaside road instead of taking the highway, which drew their suspicions. They
reportedly blocked the convoy’s way. Gunfire shots were heard. "At the moment,
details are sparse and conflicting," the UNIFIL said in a statement.
Berri deplores 'unfortunate' UNIFIL incident, lauds
historic ties
Naharnet/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri sent Thursday a message of condolence to his
Irish counterpart and to UNIFIL head Aroldo Lázaro, after an Irish soldier of
the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon was killed and three were wounded
as their convoy came under fire. "With great sorrow and great sadness, we
learned the news of the soldier's death," Berri told Seán Ó Fearghaíl, as he
strongly condemned the "unfortunate" incident. Berri added that the incident
will not disturb the historic and deep relation between "the Lebanese in general
and the southerners in particular" and the Irish contingent, stressing the
"friendship and cooperation" between Lebanon and the UNIFIL in the interest of
security and stability in the region. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the
Foreign Ministry and the Free Patriotic Movement had also condemned the
incident, while Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa said that the incident was
"unintentional".
Safa urges not to involve Hezbollah in UNIFIL incident
Naharnet/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Hezbollah coordination and liaison officer Wafiq Safa urged Thursday not to
involve Hezbollah in an attack that killed an Irish member of the UN
peacekeeping force and wounded three others. Safa told LBCI that the incident
was unintentional, sending his condolences for UNIFIL and wishing recovery to
the three wounded members. "An Irish UNIFIL vehicle had taken a road not
normally used by the U.N. force," Safa said, adding that another vehicle that
had taken the international highway that the UNIFIL vehicles usually take was
not attacked. Safa demanded to let security forces investigate the incident.
Mikati condemns 'painful' attack on UNIFIL
Agence France Presse/Associated Press
The Foreign Ministry and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned
Thursday an attack on a UNIFIL convoy in southern Lebanon. Mikati expressed his
"deep regret" after an Irish UNIFIL member was killed and three others were
wounded near the village of Al-Aqbiya after their convoy came under fire. Mikati
called the attack a "painful incident" and underlined the "need to carry out the
necessary inquiries to determine its circumstances and prevent its repetition".
U.N peacekeeping force UNIFIL said it had opened an investigation. The vehicle
had been blocked by villagers after it took a road along the Mediterranean coast
not normally used by the U.N. force. Witnesses said they had heard gunfire and
the driver had appeared to lose control of the vehicle as the convoy attempted
to leave the area. “Our thoughts are also with the local civilians who may have
been injured or frightened during the incident,” UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea
Tenenti said, adding that “details are sparse and conflicting.” Tenenti added
that UNIFIL is coordinating with the military and trying to “determine exactly
what happened.”Mikati praised "the sacrifices that UNIFIL forces made to
maintain peace in the south, which reflects stability for the people of the
region and Lebanon in general."
Berri sends message of condolence to his Irish counterpart:
Ill-fated and deplorable incident
NNA/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Thursday sent a message of condolence to his
Irish counterpart, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, which stated: ‘’With great sorrow and
grief, we followed up on and learned the news of the death of one of the
peacekeepers of your country's battalion operating within UNIFIL in southern
Lebanon, and the wounding of three others in an ill-fated and deplorable
incident by all standards. On behalf of the Parliament and the Lebanese people,
I extend my deepest condolences to you and to the friendly Irish people, the
late peacekeeper’s family and his comrades, and I wish those wounded a speedy
recovery, affirming that such a passing incident will not disturb the historical
and deep relationship between the Lebanese, in general, and the southerners, in
particular, with the Irish contingent, which extends for more than three decades
of friendship and cooperation for the security and stability in the region.”
Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Thursday contacted UNIFIL Commander, Major
General Aroldo Lazaro, and offered his deepest condolences to the UNIFIL command
and the Irish battalion after the death of one of its peacekeepers, wishing the
wounded a speedy recovery.
Lebanese Army regrets death of Irish peacekeeper, says UNIFIL’s sacrifices
deeply appreciated
NNA/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
The Lebanese Army Command on Thursday offered condolences to UNIFIL upon the
death of one of its Irish peacekeepers, wishing those wounded a speedy recovery.
A statement shared by the Lebanese Army on its Twitter account said, “The Army
Command expresses its deep condolences upon the loss of one member of the Irish
unit operating within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and wishes his
three wounded comrades a speedy recovery. These soldiers, like the rest of their
comrades, are an example of devotion to duty, and their sacrifices are deeply
appreciated by the Lebanese military and citizens alike.”
UN’s Wronecka calls for thorough investigation to determine
facts of tragic death of Irish UNIFIL peacekeeper
NNA/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Ms. Joanna Wronecka, on Thursday
said via Twitter, “I am deeply saddened by the death of an Irish UNIFIL
peacekeeper. Heartfelt condolences to his family, to the UNIFIL Head of Mission,
and to all the peacekeepers in south Lebanon, wishing the injured a speedy
recovery. A quick and thorough investigation to determine the facts of this
tragic incident is crucial.”
Minister of Defense offers condolences to UNIFIL’s Head of
Mission after death of Irish peacekeeper
NNA/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Caretaker Minister of National Defense, Maurice Sleem, on Thursday contacted by
phone UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander, Major General Aroldo Lázaro,
expressing his "deep regret for the painful incident that occurred with an Irish
UNIFIL patrol in the Aaqbiyeh vicinity of south Lebanon last night.”
Sleem offered his heartfelt condolences on the death of an Irish peacekeeper,
wishing "a speedy recovery for those injured."
“The investigation that has been launched will clarify the circumstances that
have led to this painful incident,” Sleem added.
Mawlawi: Aggression against peacekeeping forces will not
pass without accountability
NNA/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Judge Bassam Mawlawi, on
Thursday said via his Twitter account: "Aggression against members of the
peacekeeping forces will not pass without accountability. Preserving their
safety is a duty based on our absolute belief in the importance of implementing
international resolutions. Safeguarding legitimacy is a national responsibility.
The uncontrolled weapon is an infringement on the national and international
legitimacy.”
Geagea condemns attack on Irish battalion operating within
UNIFIL
NNA/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Lebanese Forces Party Leader, Samir Geagea, on Thursday issued the following
statement: “I extend my condolences to the family of the martyr Irish
peacekeeper, and to the Irish state, and I wish a speedy recovery for those
injured. As I denounce the blatant attack on the soldiers of the Irish
battalion, I wonder is this the reward for the countries that have sent their
sons to help consecrate stability in our country? The Lebanese government must
keep pace with the concerned security and judicial apparatuses for a full,
transparent and accurate investigation of the incident, and to come out as soon
as possible with clear results and take all necessary measures to ensure that
similar incidents do not recur in the future.”
Hezbollah officials, Maronite League head urge end to
presidential void
Naharnet/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Hezbollah’s “Christian relations” official Mohammed Saeed al-Khansa and
Hezbollah official Abdullah Zaiour met Thursday with Maronite League chief
Khalil Karam at the League’s headquarters. Congratulating Karam over his
election as the new head of the League and offering Christmas and New Year
greetings, the two Hezbollah officials held a lengthy discussion with Karam over
the situation in Lebanon. And in a statement, the two parties stressed “the need
to fill the presidential vacuum and elect a president,” while agreeing to “work
for the sake of quickly returning the displaced Syrians to their country after
the situations stabilized there.” There was also “mutual keenness on rejecting
all naturalization schemes, addressing the economic crisis and curbing the
emigration of Lebanese youths.”The two parties also agreed to maintain
communication between each other.
Vote sessions 'become a farce' as MPs fail
again to elect president
Naharnet/December 15, 2022
Lebanon's divided parliament failed to elect a new president Thursday for a
tenth time, despite the damage the political deadlock is doing to efforts to
bail out its bankrupt economy. Parliament is split between supporters of
Hezbollah and its opponents, neither of whom have a clear majority. High
tensions had recently arisen between Hezbollah and its ally the Free Patriotic
Movement over a cabinet session that the FPM boycotted and Hezbollah attended.
The two have also failed to agree on a presidential candidate. Hezbollah
opponent Michel Moawad, who is seen as close to the United States, won the
support of 38 MPs but again fell well short of the required majority. Only 109
of parliament's 128 lawmakers showed up for the vote. Some MPs wrote in mock
choices for the vacant presidency, with one vote cast for Martin Luther King and
another that said "it has become a farce." Thirty seven blank votes were cast
and 8 MPs voted for prominent historian and academic Issam khalifeh. Two MPs
voted for former Minister Ziad Baroud, two for ex-MP Salah Honein, and one for
former Customs chief Shafiq Merhi. Speaker Nabih Berri left after the first
round of voting and did not call for an upcoming session. Berri wanted to turn
today's session into a parliamentary dialogue but the blocs did not agree to
such a move, especially the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement.
Mikati pushes for agreement to end presidential void: No
voice is louder than that of aching citizens
NNA/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Thursday regretted the lingering
presidential vacuum and the raging disagreements between political parties over
the presidential election. “Faced with this sad reality, the governments finds
itself constitutionally, nationally, and morally obligated to continue its work
to manage state affairs and to address and resolve urgent files,” Mikati said in
an address he gave during the launch of the "Lebanese National Framework for the
General Pre-University Education Curriculum" at the Grand Serail. “We call on
everyone to keep this issue away from political conflicts and sectarian
considerations. (…) Let's agree on what unites people and deal with the pressing
issues in a spirit of responsibility, away from stubbornness, arrogance, and
attempts to take the country hostage to political considerations,” Mikati added.
“No voice is louder than that of aching citizens,” the PM concluded.
Lebanese Maronite Religious Leader Patriarch Bechara
Boutros Raï: Since All Domestic Solutions Have Failed, The Internationalization
Of The Lebanese Issue Is Inevitable
MEMRI/ December 15/2022
The Internet - "Newsgate on YouTube"
Lebanese Maronite religious leader Bechara Boutros Raï, the Patriarch of Antioch
and All of the East, said in a December 11, 2022 public address that was posted
on the Newsgate YouTube channel that the Lebanese people must approach the U.N.
and the global superpowers and ask them to "save Lebanon before it is too late."
He said: "The internationalization of the Lebanese issue is inevitable, after
all the domestic solutions have failed." Raï added that the same elements that
are foiling domestic solutions oppose the internationalization of the Lebanese
issue. He criticized the Lebanese parliament for failing to elect a president,
saying this means that the members of the parliament do not want to elect a
president or are unqualified to do so. Raï also said that they are "undermining
the very existence of the Lebanese Republic." For more about Bechara Boutros Raï,
see MEMRI TV Clips Nos. 8724 and 8769.
Patriarch Bechara Boutros Raï: "Is the goal behind this shameful behavior to do
away with Lebanon's uniqueness, values, and order? Has a premeditated decision
been made to destroy Lebanon, and to build – on its ruins – a quasi state that
does not belong to its people, to its history, or to its environment?
"How do the MPs look at themselves in the mirror, when they have convened nine
times without electing a president for the country? This means that they do not
want to elect a president, or that they are not qualified to elect a president.
Therefore, they are undermining the very existence of the Lebanese Republic, and
losing the trust of the people, as well as the respect of Arab and friendly
countries that are striving to save Lebanon. "Are the parliamentary sessions, as
they are today, designed to lead the people and the world into believing that
they are indeed convening to elect a president, while they are deceiving and
misleading them? "Therefore, [the Lebanese] must approach the United Nations and
the superpowers so that they save Lebanon before it is too late. The
internationalization of the Lebanese issue is inevitable, after all the domestic
solutions have failed. It should be noted that the people who foil the domestic
solutions are the same people who object to the internationalization.
EU Supports Reforms, Governance in Lebanon
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
The European Union (EU) allocated this year 229 million euros to reinforce much
needed reforms and economic development in Lebanon. It identified several
priorities for this new financial package. “The European Union continues to
support Lebanon and its people during challenging socio-economic conditions,”
the EU delegation to Lebanon said in a statement on Wednesday, affirming that it
remains a committed partner of the country. It pointed out that the first
priority is to enhance good governance and support reforms. The EU said it will
“assist Lebanon in implementing reforms related to public administration
focusing on integrity, transparency, and accountability, in line with the
opportunities identified by the recent International Monetary Fund Staff-Level
Agreement.” “Our assistance will target civil service reform, public financial
management reform and access to public information,” said the EU in a statement.
The EU will also work with state and civil society actors to empower Lebanese
women and contribute to gender equality. Being committed to supporting Lebanon
on its reform agenda, the EU will further support the implementation of
legislation to protect women from all forms of violence. Moreover, the statement
said: “Under the priority of promoting a green and sustainable recovery, the EU
will support Lebanon's green agenda and transition to renewable energy,” adding
that it will fund energy efficiency equipment in public sector buildings and
contribute to a more efficient provision of public services. “The EU will also
focus on increasing the competitiveness of Lebanese industries, in particular
the agro-food sector, by fostering entrepreneurship, innovation and technology
transfers for sustainable energy solutions.”The EU stressed that it will
continue to provide significant assistance to vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian
refugees and help them access much needed essential services in social
protection, education, health, and water provision. Meanwhile, British
Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell announced a 13 million pounds commitment to
support the Lebanese Armed Forces’ (LAF) resilience from 2022 till 2025 in a
memorandum of understanding signed with LAF Commander in Chief General Joseph
Aoun.
Israeli Military Chief Says Israel behind Strike on Iranian
Truck Convoy in Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Israel's military chief of staff strongly suggested on Wednesday that Israel was
behind a strike on a truck convoy in Syria last month, giving a rare glimpse of
Israel's shadow war against Iran and its proxies across the region. Lt. Gen.
Aviv Kochavi said Israeli military and intelligence capabilities made it
possible to strike specific targets that pose a threat, The Associated Press
said.
Without those capabilities, he said, a recent strike would not have been
possible. "We could have not known a few weeks ago about the Syrian convoy
passing from Iraq to Syria. We could have not known what was in it, and we could
have not known that out of 25 trucks, that was the truck. Truck No. 8 is the
truck with the weapons," Kochavi told a conference at a university north of Tel
Aviv.
He said such missions are often complicated by heavy anti-aircraft fire. “They
need to attack. They need to strike. They need to return,” he said, adding:
“They need to make sure in some of the attacks that they don't kill whoever
shouldn't be killed.”
Israeli leaders have in the past acknowledged striking hundreds of targets in
Syria and elsewhere in what it says is a campaign to thwart Iranian attempts to
smuggle weapons to proxies like Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group or to destroy
weapons caches. But such a specific reference to a particular strike is rare. As
a policy, the military does not comment on suspected Israeli strikes beyond its
borders or outside of the Gaza Strip. The November strike Kochavi referred to
hit tanker trucks carrying fuel and other trucks carrying weapons for the
militias in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour, according to the
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor. It
added that at least 14 people, most of them militiamen, were killed in the
strike.
The strike, along the border with Iraq, targeted Iran-backed militiamen, Syrian
opposition activists said at the time. Some of those killed in the attack were
Iranian nationals, according to two paramilitary officers in Iraq. At the time,
Israel declined to comment on the strike.
Kochavi said Israel's actions in the region had “totally disrupted” Iran's
desire to entrench itself militarily along Israel's border. He said they've
prevented Iran from placing hundreds of surface-to-surface and surface-to-air
missiles in Syria and Lebanon as well as tens of thousands of militiamen in the
area, as well as the creation of a Syrian arm of Hezbollah. Iran is a main
backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad and has sent thousands of Iran-backed
fighters to help Syrian troops during the country’s 11-year civil war. Both Iran
and Assad’s government are also allied with Hezbollah, which has fought
alongside Assad’s forces in the war. Israel considers Iran to be its chief enemy
and has warned against what it views as its hostile activities in the region.
Iranian arms smuggling to Lebanon could potentially create
regional crisis -analysis
Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem/December 15/2022
Iran has trafficked weapons to Hezbollah for decades, improving its missile and
drone programs. This has been a source of tension between Israel and the
terrorist group.
Iranian arms smuggling to Hezbollah may be shifting course and could potentially
create a crisis in Lebanon. Recent reports have indicated there is a focus on
Iranian arms shipments to Beirut, or potential ones.
Iran has trafficked weapons to Hezbollah for decades, improving its missile and
drone programs. This has been a source of tension between Israel and the
terrorist group.
Jerusalem has acted to prevent Iranian entrenchment in Syria over the last
decade during the Syrian civil war. This is called the “war between the wars
campaign.” However, Lebanon is generally seen as separate from Iran’s use of
Syria as a conduit, meaning that once weapons enter Lebanon, they have sort of
reached a get-out-of-jail-free space.
On Saturday December 10, Asharq al-Awsat, a London-based Arab newspaper, said in
a report widely quoted in the region that “Israel raised threats on Saturday of
plans to bomb the Beirut airport if the terminal gets used as an Iranian weapons
smuggling route, in a situation similar to what it did in Syria.”
“Israel raised threats on Saturday of plans to bomb the Beirut airport if the
terminal gets used as an Iranian weapons smuggling route, in a situation similar
to what it did in Syria.”
Asharq al-Awsat
The report said that “Israeli political sources in Tel Aviv said that Israel was
aware of a report broadcast by the ‘Al-Arabiya Channel’ about Iran's plans to
use a new smuggling corridor for its weapons through Beirut after the failure of
the Damascus corridor. The sources said that Israel is investigating Tehran’s
attempt to smuggle weapons through civilian flights to Beirut Airport.”
Lebanese Hezbollah terror leader Hassan Nasrallah is focused on shifting the
Iranian arms shipments that usually go across Syria, according to the report.
Iran uses Iraq and Syria as a corridor for weapons trafficking and basing of
weapons. It has provided drones to militias in these countries and based drones
at places like the T-4 base in Syria. It even flew a drone from T-4 into Israeli
airspace in 2018, which Israel shot down.
In 2021, Iran launched a drone from Iraq at Israel during the May hostilities
between Israel and Hamas. The Islamic Republic has now begun launching drones
directly from Iran to threaten the Jewish state. Tehran also used a drone from
Chabahar to strike a commercial ship in mid-November, which it apparently
believed was Israeli-owned.
THE OVERALL pattern is clear. Iran backs Hezbollah, Hezbollah intervened in the
Syrian civil war in 2012 to support the Syrian regime, and Iran backs the Syrian
regime. It also backs militias and key political leaders and parties in Iraq.
Tehran moves ballistic missiles and drones to Iraq and also to Syria and
Lebanon. It has also helped Hezbollah with its precision-guided munitions
industry. This is a major threat to Israel because such munitions can target
strategic infrastructure in mass attacks.
In July, Hezbollah sent drones to target a gas rig off the coast of Israel. This
was a major warning that Hezbollah wanted to strike at economic interests off
the coast.
In October, on the eve of Israel’s elections, Jerusalem and Beirut agreed to a
maritime demarcation deal that gave in to most of Lebanon’s demands. Hezbollah
and Iran have characterized the deal as a win for the terrorist group, Hezbollah
now believes it can dictate to Israel.
The deal may also bring in Qatari investment, enabling Qatar to play a role in
southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based, and also in Gaza where Doha has sent
funds over the last few years.
The Alma Research and Education Center
Now the issue of Iranian weapons trafficking to Lebanon is back in the
spotlight. The Alma Research and Education Center, founded by Lt. Col. (Res.)
Sarit Zehavi and devoted to examining Israel's security challenges on the
northern border, recently put out several tweets about Iranian issues.
One issue Alma has examined is the pilots of Iran’s Mahan Air “who have the
potential to be involved in unit 190's weapon components smuggling to
Syria/Lebanon in the past year. We have photos and additional information about
them which we will begin to publish soon with the full report.” Unit 190 is a
part of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.
I’m no scientist but an “amorphous” psilocybin could be a viable competition to
crystalline psilocybin molecules.
Sponsored by FinanceFunneled
THE ALMA center has also asked “how many Shahed 136/Mahajar 6 UAV parts can fit
in your 41 planes' luggage compartment and be smuggled to Damascus/Beirut
airport for Hezbollah (assuming a fully booked flight with passengers with
carry-ons only?)” This claim appears to indicate that Iran may be using Mahan
Air to move munitions. The Shahed 136 drone is the same type that Iran has
supplied to Russia.
Another series of tweets by Alma focuses on Beirut International Airport and how
“direct flights from Iran to [the Lebanese capital] have been taking place for
years and two Iranian airlines maintain a regular flight route to this day.”
In 2019, the IDF exposed the identities of three senior officers in the IRGC and
accused them of being “involved in Hezbollah’s attempt to develop and acquire
precision-guided missiles in Lebanon.” In August of that year, Hezbollah also
accused Israel of an attempted drone attack in Beirut. In September 2020, the
military also revealed details of Hezbollah missile sites in the Lebanese
capital.
The Jerusalem Post reported last week that “the IRGC-affiliated Meraj Airlines
has begun flights to Beirut in recent days, raising concerns that Iran could use
the flights to transfer weapons directly to Hezbollah in Lebanon instead of
using Damascus.”
Hezbollah appears to be setting its sights not only on direct receipt of Iranian
weapons via Beirut, but also wants to improve its air defenses.
Assaf Orion wrote at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in July that,
“in response to such efforts, Israel has reportedly struck air defense systems
destined for transfer to Hezbollah throughout Syria’s civil war next door,
including Russian-made SA-8 and SA-17 batteries as well as Iranian systems
deployed to Syria. After a drone strike hit Hezbollah targets in Beirut in
August 2019, Nasrallah vowed to shoot Israeli UAVs out of Lebanon’s skies.”
Nasrallah has boasted that Hezbollah’s air defenses have reduced Israel’s air
activity over Lebanon.
Israel-Lebanon maritime deal
WITH THE maritime deal signed, the tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon come at a
complex time. Not only was the deal supposed to bring more peace and stability,
with the chance for Lebanon to explore for natural gas and help solve its
economic troubles, but the deal came on the eve of Israel’s elections.
Is Hezbollah hoping to exploit the fact that Israel is waiting for a new
government to be formed, to push tensions? Or is Hezbollah truly suffering due
to the campaign between the wars?
Iran has to juggle a lot of issues at the moment. It wants to threaten shipping
in the Gulf of Oman using drones, it wants to smuggle rocket fuel to the Houthis
in Yemen, it wants to continue to send drones to Russia, and it wants to support
groups in Iraq and Syria. It also has used those groups to target US forces in
Syria and also to target Israel.
This means Iran may be having trouble with priorities of which terror group to
give funds and weapons to. The Post reported this week that “Iran has stopped
channeling funds to a number of Palestinian factions, the Palestinian newspaper
Al-Quds revealed on Sunday.” At the same time, it appears that there are a large
number of illegal weapons being smuggled into the West Bank. Is Iran behind the
smuggling?
What is Tehran’s goal with Hezbollah in Lebanon? Does it want to give it better
air defenses? In April 2018, reports said that Iran tried to move its 3rd
Khordad air defense system to the T-4 base. The system was hit by an airstrike
when it arrived. Since then, reports have indicated Iran wanted to move more
systems to Syria, similar to either the S-300 or less sophisticated systems.
Russia has been increasing its military alliance with Iran in recent months and
this could involve technology and defense transfers, which could impact Iran’s
calculations about Lebanon and Hezbollah and make it more reckless in supplying
the terrorist group.
The maritime deal will also potentially create restraint by Israel in terms of
confronting Hezbollah’s arms imports.
What Aoun and Bassil could not understand
Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weekly/December 15/2022
Whoever allows himself to demarcate the maritime borders between Lebanon and
Israel will not hesitate to impose a president on the Lebanese. This is an
equation that Aoun and his son-in-law could not fathom, and they never will.
Protesters burn a poster of then-Lebanese foreign minister Gebran Bassil during
a demonstration on the highway that links the capital Beirut to the northern
city of Tripoli, on October 26, 2019, in a protest against tax increases and
official corruption.
One of the funniest things happening in Lebanon today is the objection of the
Michel Aoun-Gebran Bassil duo to Hezbollah’s refusal to make Bassil president.
There is no need for much analysis to come to the conclusion that Hezbollah's
need for Najib Mikati and his government is much greater than its need for
someone like the former son-in-law of the President of the Republic.
In the end, Aoun and Bassil have discovered that Hezbollah, which is nothing but
a brigade in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, has its own agenda. This is also at a
time that the Islamic Republic finds itself in an unenviable position after the
popular uprising that erupted on September 16 putting the fate of the theocratic
regime at risk. What Hezbollah knows is that there is no place for Bassil other
than being under Iran’s protection, even if Tehran has squeezed both him and
Aoun like an orange.
Iran needed a Christian cover for Hezbollah and the illegal weapons it wields.
It brought Aoun to the position of president of Lebanon ten years after the
signing of the Mar Mikhael agreement on February 6, 2006. It was Hassan
Nasrallah and Aoun who signed the document consecrating yet another crime
against Lebanon. Once again, Prime Minister Mikati, who was finally able to
secure a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, managed to score a
point against Aoun and Bassil after he refused to form a government that met
their needs.
The former presidential duo aspired to play a role in the transitional period
that Lebanon is going through. The duo failed however to blackmail Mikati, who
knows exactly who rules Lebanon and has mastered the game of manoeuvring and
everything related to it, whether locally, regionally or internationally.
Aoun and Bassil did not realise, from the outset, that there was no political
place in this transitional period with its presidential vacuum, save for
Hezbollah, which was quietly working to change the equation within the
parliament through legal appeals. The party finally managed to bring into
parliament two loyal deputies from the north. It is likely that it will also
bring in two additional MPs from another region to strengthen the majority it
holds in the parliament.
The former presidential duo has not adjusted to not being in the Baabda Palace.
Aoun and his son-in-law cannot believe it. The Aoun era has ended, but the
Hezbollah era that had created and nurtured the Aoun era in the first place has
not ended. It was the Hezbollah era which had secured for the duo the needed
cover to engage in corrupt practices in their wildest forms … as illustrated by
electricity, failed dam projects and other issues. Perhaps, the most important
fact that Aoun and Bassil did not grasp was that Lebanon is under Iranian
occupation while the role of Christians in Lebanon has greatly diminished,
making Hezbollah the political party that decides who is to be the next
president. In exchange for Hezbollah’s support, Michel Aoun committed himself to
preventing an international investigation into a crime of the magnitude of the
Beirut port blast.
There are no longer any rights for Christians in Lebanon. These rights vanished
the moment the Mar Mikhael document was signed. Christians no longer have a
mission, thanks to the former President of the Republic and his son-in-law,
other than covering for Hezbollah’s weapons, that is, for Iranian occupation.
There is no purpose in complaining after Aoun and his son-in-law demeaned
Christians, starting with choosing the worst of them to be deputies or
ministers.
The Christian community’s ignorance was among the reasons that led to the loss
of Lebanon. There is an internal reality today that cannot be overcome without a
change in the regional balance of power. This is what Mikati knows before anyone
else.
Lebanon without a president imposed by Iran is better than a Lebanon with such a
president. During the past six years, Aoun and Bassil took Lebanon to the point
of no return. The fate of Lebanon is finally in the hands of Iran. It was Tehran
which allowed the maritime border demarcation with Israel. Whoever allows
himself to demarcate the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel will not
hesitate to impose a president on the Lebanese. This is an equation that Aoun
and his son-in-law could not fathom, and they never will.
Noun and Fares who each lost a sibling in Beirut blast
plan to marry
Naharnet/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
William Noun and Maria Fares met during a moment of grief two years ago after
each of them lost a sibling in Beirut's massive port blast. Their shared pain
developed into a bittersweet love story: Earlier this month Noun proposed to
Fares and she said yes. Noun's late brother, Joe, and Fares' late sister, Sahar,
were both firefighters who rushed to the port on the evening of Aug. 4, 2020
after a fire broke out in one of the warehouses. Sahar Fares was a paramedic
with the force. Upon their arrival, hundreds of tons of improperly stored
ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers, exploded. The
blast killed Joe Noun and Sahar Fares, along with eight fellow firefighters and
more than 200 others in the areas surrounding the port. Its huge shockwaves
wreaked damage across the Lebanese capital. In December 2020, some family
members of the port blast victims were undergoing psychological therapy when
Maria Fares caught William Noun's attention. They had never met before the death
of their siblings, even though the two firefighters worked together and were
friends. William, a restaurant owner, and Maria, a marketing manager at a
clothing company, later met on several occasions during protests and gatherings
by families of port blast victims. After knowing each other for a while, Noun
started sending signals earlier this year to Fares that he is attracted to her
and got a positive response. "We wish that the explosion never happened, and I
wish we met on a different occasion in which our siblings were with us," Noun
told The Associated Press Wednesday at the fire station where his brother used
to work. The fire station, which is few hundred meters (yards) from the port, is
decorated with giant posters of the late 10 firefighters, nine men and one
woman, who were killed while on duty Aug. 4, 2020.
Fares said that she has been sharing her memories of her sister with Noun, and
he tells her about his late brother. Fares' sister was engaged and preparing for
her wedding. Noun's brother had planned to move to the U.S. but later decided to
stay in Lebanon. The port blast tragically cut short their lives. "We used to
cry together as we spoke (about them) and both of us used to feel there is
someone missing in our lives," Fares said. In September, Noun and Fares were
having dinner in a mountain village with friends who had also lost loved ones in
the port blast when he decided to openly express his feelings and that he saw a
future together with her. On Sunday, he formally proposed to her and she
accepted while with friends in the mountain village of Mechmech, northeast of
Beirut. The couple, who are both 28, plan to get married next summer and hope to
have children and name them after their late siblings if they have a daughter
and a son. "The natural thing would have been that Joe would have been the best
man and Maria's sister the best woman," Noun said about their late siblings.
Their engagement comes a year after the investigation into the causes of the
explosion has been blocked by Lebanon's entrenched political class. Many blame
the government's longtime corruption and mismanagement for the tragedy, but the
Lebanese elite's decades-old lock on power has ensured they are untouchable.
Tarek Bitar, the judge leading the investigation, charged four former senior
government officials with intentional killing and negligence that led to the
deaths of dozens of people. He also charged several top security officials in
the case. However, Bitar's investigation has been suspended since last December
after being legally challenged by politicians he had charged. Noun and Fares vow
that they will keep fighting for justice no matter how long it takes to know
what caused the blast and who was behind it. Noun is an outspoken critic of
politicians and has no plans to change until accountability is implemented. "We
will not sit aside. We are doing all we can to know the truth and achieve
justice," Fares said.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on December
15-16/2022.”
Israeli Soldiers Shoot Dead Drug Smuggler Near Egypt Border
Tel Aviv – Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Israeli soldiers on Wednesday shot dead a person who was trying to smuggle drugs
into Israel from Egypt, the Israeli army said. The soldiers were dispatched
after spotting suspects in two separate locations on the border and then opened
fire, the army added in a statement, without elaborating. The border between
Egypt and Israel stretches some 255 kilometers, making it difficult for security
patrols to fully stop smugglers. Drug smuggling attempts along the Israel-Egypt
border have become a nearly weekly occ Israeli soldiers on Wednesday shot dead a
person who was trying to smuggle drugs into Israel from Egypt, the Israeli army
said. The soldiers were dispatched after spotting suspects in two separate
locations on the border and then opened fire, the army added in a statement,
without elaborating. The border between Egypt and Israel stretches some 255
kilometers, making it difficult for security patrols to fully stop smugglers.
Drug smuggling attempts along the Israel-Egypt border have become a nearly
weekly occurrence.
UN council ousts Iran from UN commission backing women
Associated Press/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
The U.N. Economic and Social Council has voted to immediately oust Iran from the
U.N.'s premiere global body fighting for gender equality because of its
systematic violation of the rights of women and girls, a decision the United
States hailed as "historic" and Iran claimed was based on "fabricated
allegations."
The U.S.-sponsored resolution was sparked by Iran's ongoing brutal crackdown on
peaceful protesters who took to the streets in September after the death of a
22-year-old woman taken into custody by the morality police. At least 488 people
have been killed since the demonstrations began, according to Human Rights
Activists in Iran, a group that's been monitoring the protests, while another
18,200 people have been detained by authorities. The vote in the 54-member
council known as ECOSOC to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of
Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term was 29-8 with 16 abstentions. U.S.
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield called the vote "historic," the first-ever
ouster of a commission member and "the right thing to do.""I think we sent a
strong message to the Iranian government and we sent a strong message to Iranian
women," she told reporters after the vote. Before the vote, Thomas-Greenfield
cited the death of Mahsa Amini who was accused of wearing her headscarf
improperly by the morality police; the solitary confinement of two women
reporters who told her story; and the young women and girls who have been killed
or disappeared for speaking out along with thousands of protesters reportedly
detained and tortured.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the vote shows a growing
consensus among the United States and its allies and partners around the world
that Iran must be held accountable for "atrocities" such as the recent
"horrifying executions" of protesters in Tehran. Established in 1946, the
Commission on the Status of Women plays a leading role in promoting women's
rights, documenting the reality of women's lives around the world and shaping
global standards to empower women and achieve gender equality. Its 45 members,
from all regions of the world, are elected for four-year terms by the Economic
and Social Council. Iran was elected from the Asian region with 43 votes. Before
Wednesday's vote, Iran's U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani accused the United
States of using its "longstanding hostility toward the Iranian people" under
"the guise of human rights" to remove Iran from the commission. He then cited
efforts by the U.S. and its allies to topple "multiple legitimate governments,"
implying that it is also trying to topple Iran's. Iravani said the U.S.
resolution would impede the advancement of Iranian women who he said are
"strong, dynamic, self-sufficient and intelligent" participants in the country's
economic, social and political life.
He called the U.S. resolution "illegal" because the Commission on the Status of
Women has no rules on terminating an elected member and warned that it might
"create a dangerous precedent with far-reaching consequences."After the vote,
Iran's deputy ambassador Zahra Ershadi categorically rejected the resolution and
what she called "the baseless and fabricated allegations" made against Iran. She
insisted the government protects women's rights, "condemns any politicization of
women's rights, and rejects all falsehoods and accusations made in particular by
the U.S. and certain EU members in this meeting."
Russia opposed the resolution and before the vote its deputy ambassador, Gennady
Kuzmin, accused the U.S. and its allies of deciding "to pressure their political
opponents, trying to discredit them, and at the same time purge the U.N.
Commission on the Status of Women (of) a sovereign and influential player."
He proposed that ECOSOC should ask for a U.N. legal opinion before the council
took action on the resolution on whether a vote was in accordance with U.N. and
ECOSOC procedures. Under ECOSOC rules, such a request requires 24 hours advance
notice in writing, and a vote was called on waiving the 24-hour rule. ECOSOC
voted 12-26 with 11 abstentions against waiving the 24-hour rule. So after
several more speeches, ECOSOC voted on the U.S. resolution and approved it. The
resolution expresses "serious concern" over Iran's actions since September "to
continuously undermine and increasingly suppress the human rights of women and
girls, including the right to freedom of expression and opinion, often with the
use of excessive force, by administering policies flagrantly contrary to the
human rights of women and girls and to the mandate of the Commission on the
Status of Women, as well as through the use of lethal force resulting in the
deaths of peaceful protesters, including women and girls."Thomas-Greenfield, the
U.S. ambassador, said in an interview after the vote that U.S. legal experts
determined that the U.S. resolution was within ECOSOC rules. "It's significant
in the sense that it sends a message to the government of Iran that what you're
doing is unacceptable to the world -- we're not going to stand by and buy it,"
she said. "Iran said in the meeting that these were antics by the U.S.
government, but we got 29 people to support this one effort to show that the
world was behind the people and the women in particular in Iran,"
Thomas-Greenfield said.
Biden gives Iranian thugs a pass
Editorial by Washington Examiner/December 15, 2022
Unsatisfied with beating and molesting them on the streets, Iran has started
executing its young citizens over their desperate human rights protests.
Majidreza Rahnavard, 23, was only the latest to be hanged this week for what the
theocrats declared was his "enmity against God." Reports suggest that his family
was not even forewarned of the execution, instead being told matter-of-factly,
"We have killed your son and buried his body in Behesht-e Reza cemetery" — this
from a regime that pretends it serves God with humility and honor. Of course,
such callous disdain for human life is a defining facet of the Islamic Republic
of Iran. But it says much about the courage of Iranians and their desire for
freedom that so many continue to protest even as Tehran's terror escalates.
These latest protests were sparked by the September killing of a young woman,
Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained for supposedly wearing her hijab head
covering improperly. But the fundamental complaint of these protesters is a
simple and enduring one — namely, that they are led by geriatric theocrats who
have no regard for anything but their own retention of corrupted power.
IRANIAN PROTESTERS NEED OUR SUPPORT
Unfortunately, the leader of the free world doesn't appear terribly concerned
with this enduring injustice. Just as President Joe Biden has turned a blind eye
to Iran's escalating global assassination campaign, the president appears loath
to confront Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's grotesque domestic repression. The clearest
example of Biden's weakness is his refusal to formally suspend nuclear talks
with Iran. Even though Iran has made a mockery of the talks to restore the
flawed 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear accord, and even though
the Biden administration has repeatedly insisted time is running out to agree to
a new deal, Biden is keeping alive the opportunity for talks. It's a huge
mistake. The restoration of the JCPOA would provide Iran's leaders with a vast
influx of new investment and foreign capital. Instead of flirting with giving
the theocrats a new lifeline, Biden should state that as long as Iran continues
to massacre its own people and plot the murder of Americans abroad, only
sanctions will follow. Even with sanctions specific to the latest protests,
however, the Biden administration is falling short. Although the administration
has sanctioned people involved in the repression, it has not yet introduced
major new sanctions to further restrict Iranian energy exports and foreign
capital holdings. Were Biden truly serious about imposing significant costs on
Khamenei's regime, Washington could make it far harder for the regime to pay its
security forces and thus retain its means of repression. The Biden
administration's belated provision of additional internet access to Iranians is
another example of its weakness. That internet provision pales in comparison to
what the Trump administration provided. At a basic moral level, it's clear that
the White House and State Department remain reluctant to speak out in plain
terms against Khamenei's thugs and the grave injustice they are perpetrating.
The tentative equivocation and technical language that has defined Biden's and
Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statements is telling. It reflects the
administration's discomfort over the protests and its fear of agitating Iran's
leaders in responding to them. It's embarrassing and deeply hypocritical.
Compare, for example, the Biden administration's abundant domestic
virtue-signaling on transgenderism with its unwillingness to stand up for women
who were being beaten to death in the streets. The Biden administration needs to
wake up. What's happening in Iran is neither morally complex nor fraught with
political risk for the United States. Biden must take a stronger stand for basic
American values. If not, his administration should abandon any pretense that its
Iran policy is anything greater than appeasement.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/biden-gives-iranian-thugs-a-pass
Ministry: Iranian Oil Minister Stable after Heart Attack
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
The Iranian oil minister is in a stable condition after a heart attack on
Thursday, the oil ministry said in a statement reported by the official IRNA
news agency. "Javad Owji, the minister of oil, was admitted to a public hospital
in Tehran following a heart attack which occurred on the sidelines of a
government meeting and was caused by heavy work pressures," the statement said.
"After necessary measures were taken by the medical staff, the minister's
condition is currently stable."
Iran Detains 47 Male, Female Journalists
Tehran, London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Iran has imprisoned an “unprecedented” large number of male and female
journalists since protests broke out in September over the death in custody of
22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for breaching the country's strict
dress code. At least 34 new journalists joined 13 others who were previously
detained. Iran’s protest crackdown has helped push the number of journalists
imprisoned worldwide to a record high of 533 in 2022, according to a report by
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published Wednesday. More than half are jailed
in just five countries: China, which remains “the world’s biggest jailer of
journalists” with 110, followed by Myanmar (62), Iran (47), Vietnam (39) and
Belarus (31). “Dictatorial and authoritarian regimes are filling their prisons
faster than ever by jailing journalists,” said Christophe Deloire, RSF
Secretary-General, in a statement. “This new record in the number of detained
journalists confirms the pressing and urgent need to resist these unscrupulous
governments and to extend our active solidarity to all those who embody the
ideal of journalistic freedom, independence and pluralism.”Iran is the only
country that was not part of the list last year, said RSF, which has been
publishing the annual tally since 1995. The number of women journalists in
prison is also at an all-time high worldwide, rising from 60 to 78 since 2021,
largely due to greater numbers entering the profession. It highlighted the cases
of Iranians Nilufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi -- among 15 female journalists
arrested during the protests -- who drew attention to the death of Amini and now
face a potential death penalty. It is “indicative of the Iranian authorities'
desire to systematically reduce women to silence,” RSF said. The NGO awarded its
Prize for Courage on Monday to one of their members, Narges Mohammadi, who has
been repeatedly imprisoned over the past decade. RSF also noted that it has
registered a sharp increase in media repression in Russia since its invasion of
Ukraine.
IAEA Delegation to Visit Tehran Soon
Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Iran said Wednesday that officials from the UN nuclear watchdog would visit the
country in the coming days to resolve the “ambiguities” over claims of secret
activities. The United Nations Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
has for months been calling on Iran to explain the presence of nuclear material
at three undeclared sites. The issue has frustrated efforts to revive the 2015
nuclear deal that has been on life support since the United States unilaterally
withdrew from it in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump. “Agency officials
will visit Tehran in the coming days,” Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic
Energy Organization of Iran, told reporters in Tehran. “Our interactions with
the agency are ongoing, and we hope that we can make effective progress with the
agency in order to resolve the obstacles and ambiguities and take a step
forward,” he added. An IAEA delegation had planned to travel to Tehran last
month, but the visit did not take place after the agency’s board of governors
deplored Iran’s lack of cooperation in providing “technically credible” answers.
As a result, the agency said it was unable to guarantee the authenticity and
integrity of Iran’s nuclear program. On Friday, Eslami said traces of enriched
uranium found in Iran were brought into the country from abroad.
Congress to Establish Task Force to Monitor Iran's Nuclear Program
Washington - Rana Abtar/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
The US Congress approved the inclusion of provisions from the Iran Nuclear
Weapons Capability Monitoring Act of 2022, with bipartisan support to establish
a State Department-led joint task force to monitor and regularly provide reports
to Congress regarding Iran's nuclear weapons and missile capabilities, in the
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The lawmakers approved the bill
noting that the task force shall submit a detailed report to the appropriate
congressional committees every four months, including accurate information on
the uranium enrichment program, the storage of nuclear materials, armament, and
the missile program, that would pose a threat to US targets. The bill has been
included in next year's defense budget to be approved by Congress this week,
ensuring decisive approval. Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Bob Menendez welcomed the law's inclusion in the defense budget, saying the
inclusion of the legislation to better track Iran's nuclear efforts in the NDAA
is an important step forward as the US continues to look for creative ways to
address Iran's illicit nuclear program fully. The senator stressed the
importance of the project, noting that its approval would contribute to boosting
efforts to prevent Tehran from becoming a nuclear weapons state and potentially
igniting a nuclear arms race in the most dangerous tinderbox in the world.For
his part, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called on the US government to stay
"focused on monitoring Iranian nuclear ambitions." Graham said the extra
monitoring would make it harder for Iran to break out in a nuclear fashion.
Project details
The draft requires the Secretary of State to form a task force that includes
officials from the State Department, Intelligence, and the Ministry of Energy,
specialized in monitoring Iran's nuclear program, provided that it submits an
immediate report to Congress within 72 hours of the receipt of intelligence on
the development in the nuclear weapons capabilities. The bill requires the
administration to submit an annual "comprehensive plan for engaging with allies
and regional partners" in all relevant multilateral fora to address such nuclear
weapons and missile activities. It must also include a description of a
coordinated whole-of-government approach to use political, economic, and
security-related tools to address such activities. The unclassified portion of
the report required shall be made available to the public on an internet website
of the Department of State. The bill clearly stated that Congress should push
for any necessary steps to ensure that the Iranian Republic does not develop a
nuclear weapons capability, referring to the military option that the
administration did not rule out in its recent statements. The lawmakers' request
is not limited to Iran only but extends to its regional agents and destabilizing
activities to provide Congress with a clear picture of Iran's malign activities
at the domestic and international levels. It also includes drone development
activities and details of the United States' efforts to counter Iran's political
and military influence.
Iran Sentences Belgian Aid Worker to 28 Years in Prison
Brussels - Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
The Iranian authorities sentenced Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele to 28
years in prison, according to a spokesman for his family. Vandecasteele, 41, was
arrested in Iran at the end of February and was once held in Evin prison over
"fabricated series of crimes" on suspicion of espionage. Belgium and
Vandecasteele's family stresses that he is innocent and is the "victim of the
shady international game," insisting that he is being held only as a hostage in
Tehran's efforts to pressure Belgium to release an Iranian agent convicted of
terrorism.
"The family is devastated," family spokesman Olivier Van Steirtegem told AFP
after the government informed them of the news. "Can you imagine? If there's no
solution, he could stay in prison until 2050. He'll be almost 70," said the
spokesman, urging Belgium to find a way to revive a prisoner swap treaty.
Van Steirtegem said that Vandecasteele's family had been invited to meet
Belgium's Prime Minister Alexandre de Croo and several ministers. Justice
Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne received a call from his Iranian counterpart
communicating the court's verdict, but that they had no details on the charges.
Last week, Belgium's Constitutional Court suspended the controversial treaty,
pending a final ruling on its legality within three months. Opponents of the
Iranian government rejected the deal, which they say is "tailor-made" to allow
the release of Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat sentenced to 20 years in
prison after an Antwerp court found him guilty of delivering explosives to a
couple from Belgium who intended to travel to Paris to target a meeting of the
Iranian exiled opposition.
EU approves new sanctions against Russia over Ukraine
war
BRUSSELS (AP)/Thu, December 15, 2022
The European Union said Thursday it approved a new package of sanctions aimed at
ramping up pressure on Russia for its war in Ukraine. The package, whose details
had not been revealed, was approved after days of deliberations during a meeting
of the 27-nation bloc's ambassadors in Brussels while EU leaders held a summit
nearby. The Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU
Council, said the package would be confirmed by written procedure Friday. No
last-minute issues were expected before details would be published in the bloc's
legal records. “These sanctions, we know they are efficient," French President
Emmanuel Macron said, adding that the punitive measures should be complemented
with financial, military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. “They are gradually
making an impact, including on Russia's capacity to produce and regenerate its
weapons."
The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, last week proposed travel
bans and asset freezes on almost 200 more Russian officials and military
officers as part of the new round of measures. It was unclear whether the
proposals had been changed during negotiations among member countries. The
targets of the latest recommended sanctions included government ministers,
lawmakers, regional governors and political parties. The EU Commission also
wanted to hit the Russian defense industry and more Russian banks and to impose
export controls and restrictions on products like chemicals, nerve agents,
electronics and IT components that could be used by the armed forces. EU
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also proposed “to ban the direct
exports of drone engines to Russia and the export to any third countries, such
as Iran, which could supply drones to Russia.” In addition, the European
Commission recommended that EU members take action against Russia’s energy and
mining sectors, including with a ban on new mining investments, and that they
move to take more Russian TV stations off the air in Europe. “We are further
raising pressure on the Russian leadership,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
In addition to sanctions on various entities, banks and individuals, including
Putin and members of his family, the EU previously approved an embargo on coal
and seaborne oil imports in close concert with Western allies.
Russia warns 'consequences' if US missiles sent to
Ukraine
Associated Press/Thursday, 15 December, 2022
Russia's Foreign Ministry warned Thursday that if the United States confirms
reports that it plans to deliver sophisticated air defense missiles to Ukraine,
it would be "another provocative move by the U.S." that could prompt a response
from Moscow.
Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a weekly briefing Thursday that
"the U.S. has effectively become a party" to the war in Ukraine, following
reports that it will provide Kyiv with Patriot surface-to-air missiles, the most
advanced the West has yet provided to help Ukraine's military repel Russian
aerial attacks.Zakharova added that growing amounts of U.S. military assistance,
including the transfer of such sophisticated weapons, "would mean even broader
involvement of military personnel in the hostilities and could entail possible
consequences." She did not specify what the consequences might be. U.S.
officials said Tuesday that Washington was poised to approve sending a Patriot
missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian
leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian
missiles that have crippled much of the country's vital infrastructure. An
official announcement is expected soon. A Patriot battery can need as many as 90
troops to operate and maintain it, and for months the U.S. was reluctant to
provide the complex system because sending forces into Ukraine to operate it is
a non-starter for the administration of President Joe Biden.
Yet concerns remain that even without the presence of U.S. servicemen to train
Ukrainians on how to use the system, deployment of the missiles could provoke
Russia or risk that a fired projectile could end up hitting inside Russia,
further escalating the conflict.
Even before reports emerged on the delivery of Patriot systems, Dmitry Medvedev,
deputy head of Russia's Security Council which is chaired by President Vladimir
Putin, warned that if Patriots enter Ukraine "along with NATO personnel, they
will immediately become a legitimate target for our armed forces."
Asked Wednesday whether the Kremlin backs that threat, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov answered yes, but added in a conference call with reporters that he would
refrain from more detailed comment until the U.S. officially announces the
Patriot delivery to Ukraine.
White House and Pentagon leaders have said consistently that providing Ukraine
with additional air defenses is a priority, and Patriot missiles have been under
consideration for some time. Officials said that as the winter closed in and the
Russian bombardment of civilian infrastructure escalated, that consideration
took on increased priority. Ukraine's electricity provider said Thursday that
the country's energy system was suffering a "significant deficit of
electricity," and that emergency shutdowns had been applied in some areas of the
country as temperatures hover around or below freezing.
The state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo warned in a statement on Facebook that
damage caused to energy infrastructure by Russian attacks is being compounded by
harsh weather conditions, including snow, ice and strong winds. Maximum
temperatures in the capital Kyiv were forecast to barely go above freezing
headed into the weekend, with even colder weather expected early next week.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, wrote on
Telegram that the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was left completely without
power following Russian shelling on Thursday, adding that two people were known
to have been killed in the attacks. Heavy shelling of a critical infrastructure
facility in the city's Korabelny district was still underway as of around 1 p.m.
local time, and Russian shells had hit 100 meters (yards) from the regional
administration building, he said.
As Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure continued to knock out power
around the country on Wednesday and Thursday, seven civilians were killed and a
further 19 wounded, according to a Thursday report from the Ukrainian
president's office.
The head of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province, Pavlo Kyrylenko, reported
Thursday that Russian strikes the previous day had killed two civilians and
injured seven. Kremlin-backed authorities in the region, which was illegally
annexed by Moscow in September, announced that Russia had taken control of 80%
of the city of Marinka, seen as critical to Ukrainian hopes of retaking the
regional capital, Donetsk. Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed acting regional
head, told Russian state TV that "fighting is ongoing in high-rise buildings."
In Avdiivka, some 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Russian-held Donetsk city,
there were two airstrikes overnight Wednesday, and a residential area came under
rocket fire Thursday morning. Periodic artillery fire in Vuhledar, located to
the southwest of Donetsk, damaged three houses. West of Donetsk, the city of
Kurakhove and two villages came under fire, with one house damaged.
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on December
15-16/2022
To some Republicans, Donald Trump still trumps the Democrats
Bernard Goldberg/The Hill/December 15/2022
Former President Donald Trump announces a third run for president as he speaks
at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 15, 2022.
My liberal friends, if I even need to tell you, despise Donald Trump. Not
exactly breaking news. But a growing number of my conservative friends also wish
he’d just go away. They like his policies, they tell me, but they’re
experiencing something akin to a change of heart. In plain English, they no
longer like him.
Yet, more than a few Republicans have said that if he’s the GOP nominee for
president in 2024, they’ll vote for him again. That tells you all you need to
know about how much they loathe what the Democratic Party has become — which, to
them, is a collection of hyper-sensitive woke progressives who care more about
pronouns than the surge in violent crime, and who tell themselves that the mess
along our southern border is a story invented by Fox News. They see Democrats as
caring all right, but caring about all the wrong things.
In other words, they view the Democratic Party — to use the phrase pollsters use
— as not caring about people like me. And so, when you think like that, Donald
Trump isn’t such a bogeyman after all.
Except, he is. And not only because the one thing he seems to be good at is
losing. He cost Republicans the House in 2018, the presidency in 2020, the
Senate in January 2021, and the Senate runoff in December 2022. As for that “red
wave” Republicans were predicting for November’s midterms, it never happened —
largely because Trump endorsed more than a few really bad candidates simply
because they said nice things about him, and almost all of them lost unless they
ran in deep-red states.
The bigger reason that a growing number of Republicans are questioning their
ties to Trump is that he clearly lacks the character it takes to be president of
the United States — and he has proven that over and over again.
So, what does Trump have to do for people like my conservative friends to
finally say, “I’ve had enough”? Is dining with Nazi sympathizers enough? How
about calling for “the termination of all rules … even those found in the
Constitution”? Does that cross a line for Republicans?
Here’s what he recently wrote on Truth Social: “So, with the revelation of
MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech
Companies, the DNC & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election
Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW
ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination
of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.
Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent
Elections!” He also wrote: “UNPRECEDENTED FRAUD REQUIRES UNPRECEDENTED CURE!”
Alcoholics have their enablers, their supposed friends who don’t have the
courage to say “Stop!” Trump also has enablers; unfortunately, they still
comprise a sizable chunk of the Republican Party. Some supporters like his
combative nature, his take-no-prisoners approach to politics. Some buy into his
delusions about stolen elections. And some, like my friends, just see him as
better than what the other team has to offer.
Yes, there are plenty of reasons Republicans should run as fast as they can from
what the Democratic Party has become, but running toward Donald Trump isn’t the
answer.
There likely will be plenty of thoughtful Republicans who will challenge Trump
in the 2024 primaries, and who will give my friends a real choice: a candidate
with conservative values who won’t drive the crazy train all the way to
Loserville, one who won’t alienate moderate voters and give the Democrats
another victory.
It’s not 2018 or 2020 anymore. After all the reporting of his role in the Jan.
6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, it’s no longer enough for Republicans to fall back
on what they said before about how they “like his policies.” It’s not about
Trump’s policies — not now, anyway. It’s about Donald Trump.
Before 2024, he may do something even wilder than everything he has done so far,
something that will bring him down for good. Maybe he’ll invite Kanye West and
Nick Fuentes to Mar-a-Lago for a Fourth of July picnic. You never know. But I’m
not betting on Trump doing himself in. That’s up to my conservative friends and
millions of other conservatives who think the way they do. They’re the only ones
who can make sure Trump never sees the inside of the Oval Office again.
The question Republicans dare not ask: Will Trump drop out of the 2024
presidential race early?
The Meadows texts must have George Washington turning in his grave
I sense that things are changing, that old friends are drifting away from him.
And a new poll seems to back up my suspicions. The USA Today/Suffolk University
poll finds that 61 percent of Republicans and independents who lean Republican
want someone other than Trump — but a candidate who embraces Trump’s policies —
to win the GOP nomination. But 31 percent still want Trump to be the GOP nominee
in 2024.
So, there’s hope. Still, 31 percent is a lot — and in a crowded field, that’s
probably enough to win Trump the GOP nomination. As long as so many Republicans
stick by him, we all may be stuck with him.
*Bernard Goldberg is an Emmy and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University
award-winning writer and journalist. He was a correspondent with HBO’s “Real
Sports with Bryant Gumbel” for 22 years and previously worked as a reporter for
CBS News and as an analyst for Fox News. He is the author of five books and
publishes exclusive weekly columns, audio commentaries and Q&As on his Substack
page. Follow him on Twitter @BernardGoldberg.
Developing a mastery of irregular warfare
Lt. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, Col. David Maxwel, Col. Hy Rothstein, Daniel Egel/The
Hill/December 15/2022
The U.S. military has failed to master irregular warfare above the tactical
level.
This is not a new problem, and it is one that has been recognized by leaders at
the most senior echelons of government. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated
this perhaps most clearly when he admonished the Department of Defense (DOD) in
his 2008 National Defense Strategy to “display a mastery of irregular warfare
comparable to that which we possess in conventional combat.”
A lack of focus on this form of warfare within the DOD may be to blame.
Secretary Gates characterized this challenge in his memoir as the “military
services’ preoccupation with planning, equipping, and training for future major
wars with other nation-states, while assigning lesser priority to current
conflicts and all other forms of conflict, such as irregular or asymmetric war.”
Previous efforts to address this challenge have struggled to gain purchase. The
most noteworthy failure, perhaps, was that highlighted by Sens. Sam Nunn, John
Warner, Edward M. Kennedy, and William S. Cohen in a 1989 letter to National
Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft. In this letter, the senators highlighted their
concern with “deficiencies in U.S. capabilities to engage effectively” in
irregular warfare (which they referred to by the then-popular term low-intensity
conflict) and that the “Executive Branch has blocked meaningful implementation”
of the reforms related to low intensity conflict mandated in the 1987 Nunn-Cohen
Amendment that resulted in the formation of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).
More recently, the 2020 Irregular Warfare Annex to the National Defense Strategy
emphasized the need to institutionalize irregular warfare “as a core competency
with sufficient, enduring capabilities to advance national security objectives
across the spectrum of competition and conflict,” and detailed a plan for doing
so. However, it too, seems to have failed: Irregular warfare is only referenced
twice (and in passing) in the 2022 National Defense Strategy, and the
intellectually adjacent concept of the “gray zone” is used only to describe
adversary approaches. This apparent failure is highlighted by the fact that
draft language for the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act once again
restates the need for the “institutionalization of irregular warfare as a core
competency of the DOD.”
Developing a mastery of irregular warfare may be no small feat. History has
shown that the U.S. military relies on the use of conventional force in almost
all conflicts, seeking victory through attrition or annihilation of an
adversary. In contrast, success in irregular warfare requires approaches that
are informed by the enemy and the population around him, their attitudes,
beliefs, frustrations, and the geopolitical periphery.
The momentum created by U.S. Congress in authorizing the creation of an
Irregular Warfare Functional Center (IWFC) — which we documented previously —
offers a unique opportunity at a pivotal moment in U.S. history to develop this
mastery. The dual focus of the IWFC in (1) advancing knowledge and understanding
of irregular warfare and (2) educating the joint force on the application of
irregular warfare could address two of the major challenges that have impeded
efforts to develop this mastery. However, we fear that the recent decision to
establish this center within the security cooperation enterprise, even
initially, could limit the potential of this opportunity.
We believe that there are two steps that the DOD could consider if it hopes to
build on this momentum and develop the mastery of irregular warfare that the
United States needs:
Consolidate the development of irregular warfare knowledge and irregular warfare
education within the DOD: In 1986, the U.S. Congress mandated that USSOCOM would
be responsible for “developing strategy, doctrine, and tactics” and “conducting
specialized courses of instruction” for many of the core components of irregular
warfare – specifying that USSOCOM would be responsible for strategic
reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, civil affairs,
psychological operations, and counterterrorism among other activities. Thus,
while it may be appropriate for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to be
involved in activities that involve working with allies and partners, it seems
problematic that its new center purports to be the “central mechanism for
developing the Department of Defense’s (DOD) irregular warfare knowledge and
advancing the Department’s understanding of irregular warfare concepts and
doctrine.” Consolidating the development of irregular warfare knowledge and
education within USSOCOM by making USSOCOM the executive agent for this newly
established Irregular Warfare Center could enhance efforts within the DOD to
develop this mastery of irregular warfare.
Ensure that the IWFC is partnered with one or more premier academic research
institutions: Historically, formal partnerships with America’s world-class
universities have been critical in attracting the brightest minds and developing
the foundational understanding necessary for the DOD to respond effectively to
emergent national security challenges. This is true of both the physical
sciences that underlie U.S. conventional supremacy, but also the social sciences
that are at the heart of irregular warfare. Further, the Congressional language
that authorized the IWFC directed the DOD to evaluate whether “universities and
other academic and research institutions” could reduce the costs of implementing
the IWFC.
Several of America’s best universities have already signaled an interest and
willingness to commit resources to support the IWFC in defense of the nation.
Partnering with one or more of these universities could meet the Congressional
intent of reducing the costs of executing the IWFC while giving the DOD access
to the brightest minds and educators as it seeks to develop this mastery of
irregular warfare.
*Lt. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland (Ret.) is an adjunct researcher at the nonprofit,
nonpartisan RAND Corporation and a senior mentor to the Army War College.
*Col. David Maxwell (Ret.) is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies and the Global Peace Foundation and a senior advisor to the Center
for Asia Pacific Strategy.
*Col. Hy Rothstein (Ret.) is a recently retired faculty member of the Naval
Postgraduate School.
*Daniel Egel is a senior economist at RAND.
Extremist ideologies are proliferating
Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/December 15/2022
Extremist ideologies are proliferating, and it has become taboo in what we used
to call polite society to criticize ideas that, not long ago, would have been
seen as shockingly beyond the pale. These developments should worry us, no?
Start in Germany where, last week, more than 3,000 police launched dawn raids at
150 sites – including a barracks of the KSK, Germany’s special forces command –
to foil a plot to overthrow the government.
German federal prosecutor Peter Frank said the plotters embraced “the QAnon
ideology.”
QAnon is a made-in-America, far-right movement that helped inspire the riot at
the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Its arcane ideology has spread to other
countries.
According to Mr. Frank, the plotters also adhere to “various narratives of the
Reichsburger ideology” – the belief that the Third Reich, the empire declared by
Hitler, still exists and that the Federal Republic of Germany is illegitimate.
In the broader Middle East, those who call themselves jihadists are no less
determined to restore a bygone empire. Following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,
Americans understood the dangers posed by such ideologues and set out to destroy
al Qaeda and its host, the Taliban.
Twenty years later, President Biden abandoned that mission – in just about the
most chaotic and shameful way imaginable. He bragged that he was ending a
“forever war” but there were then just 2,500 American troops assisting and
training Afghan forces. For comparison, we have more than 28,000 troops
stationed in South Korea. And more than 25,000 troops were deployed to the U.S.
Capitol following Jan. 6.
Okay, but at least al Qaeda is no longer a threat, right? Not exactly. As Bill
Roggio, editor of FDD’s Long War Journal has documented, the “Taliban’s claim
that al Qaeda has no presence in Afghanistan is false.” Are you confident that
our spies know what the terrorists are up to?
A regime with a related ideology (or theology) rules Iran and continues to make
progress toward a nuclear weapons capability. Mr. Biden continues to offer the
regime riches if it will just make haste more slowly. The regime continues to
decline the offer.
Not long ago almost everyone believed that the People’s Republic of China, as it
became wealthier, would moderate. But Xi Jinping, whose role models are Stalin
and Mao, is now China’s commander in chief. He plans to replace the U.S. as
leader of what we persist in calling “the international community” – giving
Communism the final victory. He has made clear that peaceful means may not be
sufficient to reach his goal.
Similarly, when the Soviet Union collapsed, it was widely assumed that Russia
would become more European. Instead, Vladimir Putin has embraced a despotic,
ultranationalist and neo-imperialist ideology. The brutal war against Ukraine is
the most visible result.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch – or rather back at Mar-a-Lago – Donald Trump dined
with Kanye West whose weltanschauung is not unlike that of the Reichsburgers. On
Alex Jones’ radio show a few days later, he expressed them succinctly: “Every
human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially
Hitler.” He added that he does “not like the word ‘evil’ next to Nazis” and “I
also love Nazis.”
Joining Ye (as he prefers to be called) and Mr. Trump at the table was
24-year-old alt-right provocateur Nick Fuentes who has said he supports “Czar
Putin” and the Russian war to “liberate Ukraine from the Great Satan and from
the evil empire in the world which is the United States.”
I’m not suggesting that Mr. Trump agrees with such views. I am suggesting he
demonstrated abysmally poor judgment by breaking bread with these extremist
whackadoodles.
Finally, let me point out that President Biden is championing a variety of
extreme positions including those of the ideology known as Wokeism.
Take his administration’s refusal to even attempt to provide security along the
southern border. Such purposeful inaction is applauded by Amnesty and other
globalist groups that “condemn any policies and practices that undermine the
rights of people on the move.”
Another example: The Biden administration is now instructing the U.S. military
to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Burdening the military with this mission
will have zero impact on climate change. That’s indisputable. Chinese, Russian,
Iranian, and North Korean generals must be amused.
At the same time, Mr. Biden is easing sanctions for oil production on Venezuelan
dictator Nicolás Maduro, whose ideology, Chavismo, has ruined his formerly
wealthy and democratic nation.
We’ll conclude with the peculiar case of Sam Brinton, a deputy assistant
secretary in the Department of Energy. I’d venture to say he was not hired
because he is uniquely qualified, but rather so that Mr. Biden could “make
history” by checking one more “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) box.
Mr. Brinton often dresses as a woman (more or less) and lectures about puppy
role-playing sexual fetishes, adults who like to wear diapers and pretend
they’re babies, as well as bondage and other forms of degradation.
In recent months, Mr. Brinton has twice been accused of stealing women’s luggage
from baggage carousels at airports. An arrest warrant for grand larceny has been
issued for him.
House Republicans last week demanded his resignation. “It is simply not possible
for an individual to represent American values and simultaneously violate the
felony laws of the land,” they wrote in a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer
Granholm.
No mention was made of the beyond-the-fringe brand of gender-identity ideology
Mr. Brinton both represents and promotes. To even call attention to such
extremism is now taboo – though I guess it’s a taboo I’ve just broken.
*Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD) and a columnist for the Washington Times. Follow him on
Twitter @CliffordDMay. FDD is a nonpartisan research institute focusing on
national security and foreign policy.