English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For February 12/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.february12.22.htm

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

Bible Quotations For today
A bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; not arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled.
Letter to Titus 01/01-09/:”Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that is in accordance with godliness, in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began in due time he revealed his word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Saviour, To Titus, my loyal child in the faith we share: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour. I left you behind in Crete for this reason, that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you: someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious. For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.”’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 11-12/2022
Hochstein Gives Lebanon 4 to 6 Weeks to Respond to Proposal
Chairing Last Meeting as UNIFIL Head, Del Col Urges Lebanon and Israel to 'Build on Progress'
IMF Says More Work Needed for Lebanon Aid Deal
Berri Upset from 'Surprise' Appointments, Asks Finance Minister Not to Sign
AMAL Bloc Rejects How Budget was Passed and New Taxes
Corona - Health Ministry: 6954 new Corona cases, 18 deaths
Rahi tackles developments with US Ambassador
Mikati launches “master plan for Beirut port”: We seek rendering it an attraction for optimal investments
Mawlawi Bans Two Pro-Bahraini Opposition Rallies at Lebanese Hotel
ISG Urges 'Free, Fair and Transparent' Elections in Lebanon
Gas Truck Explodes on Zouk Highway Causing Material Damage
Colombia is tackling the threat of Hezbollah in South America/Alissa Pavia and Joze Pelayo/Al arabiya/February 11/2022
Lebanese must not lose hope despite Hezbollah’s oppression/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/February 10/2022

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 11-12/2022
Canadian Islamic Scholar Bilal Philips: During Operation Desert Storm, We Persuaded 3,000 U.S. Troops In Saudi Arabia To Convert To Islam; We Took Them To Watch Beheadings; Some Would Later Use Their Expertise In The Bosnian
Turkey Reportedly Foils Iranian Plot to Kill Israeli Businessman
Iranian President Says Tehran ‘Never Has Hope’ in Vienna Nuclear Talks
Pentagon: Iran’s Ballistic Missiles Designed for Offensive Purposes
US moves F-16 squadron from Germany to Romania as tension spikes over Ukraine
UK Defense Secretary in Moscow amid Ukraine Tensions
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Could Come at Any Time, Says Blinken
Satellite Images Show New Russian Military Deployments Near Ukraine
US, China Lock Horns over Ukraine at UN
Brussels Accuses Moscow of Trying to Divide Europeans
Israel’s Lapid to Visit Turkey Following Secret Visit by Ushpiz
Arab Party Leader in Israel Rejects 'Apartheid' Label
France To Try Syria's War Criminals
Syria's Main Druze City Sees more Unrest, Calls for Friday Protests
Arab League Urges 'Comprehensive Political Process' to Libya Crisis
U.S.-Allied Kurdish Commander Warns of Growing IS Threat
Iraq PM Commends Role of Germany in Fight against Terrorism
Canada/Minister of Foreign Affairs urges Canadians to leave Ukraine

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 11-12/2022
The Middle East: The US Is All In or All Out/Pete Hoekstra/Gatestone Institute/February 11, 2022
When Russia and Iran Are Your Neighbors/Elias Harfoush/Asharq Al-Awsat/ February 11/2022
Putin’s Game between Friend and Foe/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/ February 11/2022
Question: "How can Jesus be both God and man at the same time?"/GotQuestions.org?/ February 11/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 11-12/2022
Hochstein Gives Lebanon 4 to 6 Weeks to Respond to Proposal
Naharnet/February 11/2022
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein gave Lebanese authorities a deadline of four to six weeks to respond to his suggestions regarding a maritime border dispute with Israel. "There’s no later anymore. This is the later. This is the last minute," Hochstein said, pressuring Lebanon to accept what informed sources considered to be "less than Lebanon's property rights."The sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Friday, that Hochstein offered more than the Hof Line -- a demarcation proposed by Frederic Hof in 2012 -- but less than what Lebanon considers its property rights. According to the sources, Lebanon’s share might expand in zigzag lines within a 1430 kilometer area created by the new demarcation. "There is no return to the Hof Line", al-Akhbar newspaper claimed, considering the Line 23 a foregone conclusion. The daily said it had learned that the negotiations have progressed towards Line 24 or Line 25, with no final agreement yet. Israel and Lebanon had resumed negotiations over their disputed maritime border in 2020 but the process was stalled by Beirut's claim that the map used by the United Nations in the talks needed modifying. Hochstein advised the Lebanese, grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis, to focus on "what you gain" not "what you may lose." Lebanese politicians hope that commercially viable hydrocarbon resources off Lebanon's coast could help lift the debt-ridden country out of its financial crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet's worst in modern times, while Israelis are pushing for speeding up the negotiations to start drilling for gas in the disputed Karish field.

Chairing Last Meeting as UNIFIL Head, Del Col Urges Lebanon and Israel to 'Build on Progress'
Naharnet/February 11/2022
UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col on Friday chaired this year’s first Tripartite meeting with senior Lebanese Army and Israeli army officers in Ras al-Naqoura. It was the outgoing UNIFIL head’s last Tripartite meeting. Addressing both delegations, Del Col reflected on challenges and opportunities he has seen since taking charge of UNIFIL in early August 2018, and on the way forward. “We must all play our part to move from the technical level towards the higher-level goal of a sustainable peace,” he said. “This is my parting challenge to you all.”Del Col said UNIFIL’s open line of communications with the parties remains vital, adding that throughout numerous Blue Line incidents, both the Lebanese and Israeli armies remained engaged, providing UNIFIL time and space for de-escalation. “It is encouraging that you both continued to work closely with UNIFIL throughout each of these incidents to contain the situation and restore stability,” said Del Col. “This demonstrates the critical contribution of our liaison and coordination channels to de-escalate and de-conflict, at the heart of which is our Tripartite forum.” The UNIFIL Head of Mission also called on the parties to resume the technical Blue Line talks, in order to find agreements on a number of the contentious points along the Blue Line, and to use the Tripartite forum to “build on past achievements, and to make progress towards a more stable environment.” Other issues discussed at the meeting included incidents along the Blue Line, airspace violations and serious breaches of the cessation of hostilities in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. Del Col called on the delegations to extend their “usual support” to his successor, Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz of Spain, emphasizing the need to “maintain the same level of commitment, to build on the progress to date and finish those outstanding point which the parties have already agreed on, in line with the expectations of the Security Council.”“I ask that you continue in this vein of openness and dialogue with my successor,” he said. Today’s Tripartite meeting was Del Col’s 26th, out of about 150 held since the end of the 2006 war in south Lebanon. These meetings “have proven essential to manage conflict and build confidence,” UNIFIL said in a statement. “The Tripartite meetings, convened by UNIFIL’s Force Commander, serves as the only forum through which Lebanon and Israel have direct contact,” it added.

IMF Says More Work Needed for Lebanon Aid Deal
Agence France Presse/February 11/2022
After two weeks of talks, the IMF said Friday it has advanced efforts to secure an aid program to help Lebanon overcome its "unprecedented and complex" economic crisis, but more work is needed. The country will need fiscal reforms that ensure it can manage its debt load as well as measures to establish a "credible" currency system, the International Monetary Fund said in a statement at the conclusion of its virtual negotiation mission. "During the mission, progress was made in agreeing on these necessary reform areas, although more work is needed to translate them into concrete policies," IMF team leader Ernesto Ramirez Rigo said. The Washington-based lender launched talks last month to pull the Middle Eastern country out of its deepening economic crisis.In 2020, Lebanon defaulted on its sovereign debt for the first time in its history. Its currency has lost about 90 percent of its value on the black market and four out of five Lebanese now live below the poverty line, according to the United Nations, a situation made worse by triple-digit inflation. Ramirez Rigo said "strong upfront actions will be necessary to start turning the economy around and rebuilding confidence."He also urged that "decisive action by the authorities is needed to tackle the deep-seated problem of corruption."But any program must include a fiscal plan that "allows the government to invest in critically-needed social spending to support the people," he added.IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva last week described the country's situation as "very, very dire" and said that a comprehensive program was required.

Berri Upset from 'Surprise' Appointments, Asks Finance Minister Not to Sign
Naharnet/February 11/2022
Finance Minister Youssef Khalil might not sign two security appointments that were approved during Thursday's Cabinet session in Baabda, as visitors of Ain el-Tineh reportedly said that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was "very upset" by the appointments. Shiite Duo sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Friday, that the Duo considered the appointments as a "backstab."The topic was raised by Defense Minister Maurice Slim in yesterday's session. Amal and Hizbullah's ministers objected because they weren't pre-informed and because the topic was not on the session's agenda.
"Appointments must be made by consensus not by surprise," the sources added, considering that President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Miqati may have agreed in advance without consulting the Duo. Amal and Hizbullah will not boycott upcoming sessions, according to the sources, but they need Aoun's pledge that such a thing will not occur again.Meanwhile a ministerial source told al-Akhbar newspaper that Aoun had asked during Thursday's session the Shiite Duo's ministers to prepare nominations for the Shiite position to be discussed in the next cabinet session on Tuesday. The source revealed that on Thursday night Amal and Hizbullah discussed issuing a joint statement regarding the appointments. Hizbullah preferred to wait, the source added.

AMAL Bloc Rejects How Budget was Passed and New Taxes
Naharnet/February 11/2022
The Development and Liberation bloc of the Amal Movement on Friday stressed its “rejection of the manner in which the state budget was approved” Thursday in Cabinet. In a statement issued after a meeting, the bloc also rejected “that the budget include any new taxes or fees targeting the Lebanese, of whom the vast majority has become under the poverty line.”It also said that it categorically rejects maintaining “the approach of exhausting the state’s finances by giving loans to Electricite du Liban without obtaining electricity and amid the absence of the sector’s regulatory commission and a clear plan by the relevant ministry.”

Corona - Health Ministry: 6954 new Corona cases, 18 deaths
NNA/February 11/2022  
In its daily report on the COVID-19 developments, the Ministry of Public Health announced on Friday the registration of 6954 new infections with the Coronavirus, which raised the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 1006109. The report added that 18 deaths were recorded during the past 24 hours.

Rahi tackles developments with US Ambassador
NNA/February 11/2022 
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, on Friday welcomed in Bkerki, US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, with whom he discussed the current situation. Emphasis was made on the necessity of holding the parliamentary and presidential elections on their set constitutional dates. The Patriarch also thanked Ambassador Shea for her country's constant support for Lebanon to get out of its current crisis, as well as for its support for the Lebanese army.

Mikati launches “master plan for Beirut port”: We seek rendering it an attraction for optimal investments

NNA/February 11/2022 
Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Friday somberly said that Beirut Port explosion constituted “painful moments in Lebanon’s history.”“Its effects will not be erased with the passage of time, no matter how long it takes,” Mikati added.
The PM launched today the "national vision for ports, the master plan for Beirut port, and the new legal framework for the ports sector", at the invitation of Minister of Works, Ali Hamieh, and in cooperation with the World Bank. “The workshop to re-establish Beirut port, rebuild it, and remove the dust of war, remains a national and economic priority. It’s our priority to give people hope in the ability of this country to rise again, especially that this port is the most prominent vital artery in the Mediterranean and to the brotherly Arab depth,” Mikati said. The PM went on to explain that today’s meeting aimed to launch the first practical step in the project to restore and rebuild Beirut Port, through an agreement with the World Bank, and to prepare a study on the new legal identity of the Port of Beirut and its master plan. “What we are about today is preparing for a new law for the ports’ sector, including Beirut Port, to render it an attraction factor for partnership with specialized companies for optimal investment, provided that the state remains the master of decision-making, not to mention have the final say in everything that will happen,” Mikati added.  “We want the Port of Beirut to remain the beacon of this country and its first gateway in cooperation and integration with all the other Lebanese ports,” affirmed Mikati. In his delivered speech, Saroj Kumar Jha, the Regional Director of the Mashreq Department (Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Iran), said that it was a wonderful stage to see Lebanon turning a past page towards a transparent and prosperous future by building a transparent and developed port sector. “This is a strategic matter and provides tremendous opportunities for Lebanon to return as it used to be,” Kumar Jha added.
“I’ve worked through my responsibilities at the World Bank with Iran, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, and I always wondered why some countries failed? It became clear to me that any country fails, not because of culture, history, and geography. What differentiates between a prosperous country and a failing country is good governance and institutions,” maintained Kumar Jha. “The process that we are launching today is related to the ports sector; it seeks finding a new law, a new vision, and the means to reconstruct Beirut Port. The best thing about it is new governance and open and transparent procedures. If we want to reform all sectors of ports, electricity, and water, there must be independent regulatory bodies,” Kumar Jha concluded. In turn, the Minister of Works said: “The new legal framework of the port sector, which we are about to announce its semi-completion in cooperation with the World Bank, is, in our opinion, the pole of attraction - so to speak - for all the investments we look forward to in this facility,” the Minister said.  Hamieh went on to explain that the new framework notes the means to enhance activating investment in all public utilities, taking into account the principle of the partnership prospects between the public and private sectors.  “We are constantly keen on making sure that this never comes close to accepting the abandonment of state assets, in any way,” Hamieh added. “We’re always thankful for the hand of unconditional foreign aid; no matter its size, it will definitely not be sufficient to resurrect Lebanon from its stagnation,” he added, noting that Lebanon will keep mainly relying on its people’s capabilities and energies “in order to cross again to the space of light, in which it has always been shining.”

Mawlawi Bans Two Pro-Bahraini Opposition Rallies at Lebanese Hotel
Naharnet/February 11/2022 
Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi on Thursday announced that he has banned two pro-Bahraini opposition rallies that had been scheduled to be held at a Lebanese hotel. In a statement, Mawlawi said the two events had been scheduled to be held on February 11 and 14 at the al-Saha Hotel near Beirut airport. He added that the two rallies would have “addressed insults to the official Bahraini authorities and the Arab Gulf states” and “therefore would have obstructed the official efforts that are being exerted by the Lebanese state to strengthen ties with the Arab Gulf countries,” especially in light of the latest “Kuwaiti initiative.”The Lebanese state “has committed itself to conducting all measures that prevent verbal or physical harm against the brotherly Arab state,” Mawlawi went on to say, noting that his decision was taken following consultations with Prime Minister Najib Miqati.
He added that he has “addressed two memos to the Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces and the Directorate General of General Security, asking them to immediately inform the hotel’s administration not to host the events for their failing to obtain legal permissions.”
Mawlawi also asked the security agencies to carry out investigations to gather information about “the organizers, the inviters and the invitees.”

ISG Urges 'Free, Fair and Transparent' Elections in Lebanon
Naharnet/February 11/2022
The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG) met in Beirut Friday to review preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections. Echoing the U.N. Security Council press statement on Lebanon of 4 February 2022, and recalling its previous statements, the ISG reiterated its call for “free, fair, transparent and inclusive elections, as scheduled on 15 May 2022.”The ISG noted that while the international community was “deeply committed to and had provided significant financial, material, technical and political support to Lebanon’s electoral process,” the elections are first and foremost “a right and expectation of the people of Lebanon and a sovereign responsibility which is incumbent on the authorities to deliver on.”With the elections just three months away, the ISG urged “expeditious preparatory work respecting the existing legislative framework and the constitutional timelines,” calling on the authorities to “promptly make available all the necessary resources and intensify technical and administrative preparations to ensure the timeliness and integrity of the electoral process.”Specifically, the ISG urged relevant bodies to “allocate the necessary financial resources to hold the elections in Lebanon and abroad, enable the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities and the Supervisory Commission for Elections to be fully functional, and ensure timely organization for the conduct of the diaspora voting.”The ISG also called on all political actors to “engage responsibly and constructively in the electoral process, preserve calm and commit to peaceful elections for the benefit of the country and all the Lebanese people.”Moreover, the ISG called on all political stakeholders to take every possible step to “encourage and ensure the inclusion of women candidates on their electoral lists and strengthen women’s political representation and participation across the board.”The ISG also said that it “continues to stand by Lebanon and its people.”The International Support Group comprises the U.N., the EU, the Arab League and the governments of China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the UK and the U.S. It was launched in September 2013 by the U.N. Secretary-General with former President Michel Suleiman to help mobilize “support and assistance for Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty and state institutions.”

Gas Truck Explodes on Zouk Highway Causing Material Damage
Naharnet/February 11/2022
Cars and houses were damaged when a pickup truck carrying a gas tank caught fire and exploded on the Zouk highway. Media reports said the blast shook buildings in the area and echoed across nearby regions. The flames also reached a residential building near the explosion site as damage to power lines caused a blackout in the area. The incident also caused a severe traffic jam in the area as security forces launched an investigation. MTV meanwhile reported that the truck driver fled the scene before the explosion and was not answering his phone.

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 11-12/2022
أليسا بافيا وجوز بيلايو/العربية: كولومبيا تتصدى لتهديد حزب الله في أمريكا الجنوبية
Colombia is tackling the threat of Hezbollah in South America
Alissa Pavia and Joze Pelayo/Al arabiya/February 11/2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/106273/alissa-pavia-and-joze-pelayo-colombia-is-tackling-the-threat-of-hezbollah-in-south-america-%d8%a3%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%b3%d8%a7-%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%a7-%d9%88%d8%ac%d9%88%d8%b2-%d8%a8%d9%8a%d9%84/

Questions surrounding Hezbollah’s presence in South America resurfaced when a former Israeli official was the target of an assassination attempt in Colombia in November. In a government report addressed to the government, Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad linked the effort to Hezbollah. It was part of a plot to assassinate “a handful of high-profile foreigners,” including US diplomats.
Bogata is worried about Hezbollah’s presence in neighboring countries, particularly in Venezuela, where the group is said to have strong links to the regime. The group’s ties to the Chavista “leader” are central to terrorism and drug trafficking. Colombia has increased its efforts to curb the Iran-backed militia by escalating its anti-Iran rhetoric and cracking down on Hezbollah operatives. Defense Minister Diego Molano has described Iran as an “enemy” common to Israel and Colombia. Hezbollah’s presence in Colombia and South America at large is not a new phenomenon, with its pervasiveness to the US and Israeli national security interests long disputed.
One leader to voice concerns was Israeli President Isaac Herzog during Colombian President Ivan Duque’s state visit to Jerusalem in November. Reports revealed that Duque and Bennett discussed the possibility of cooperating on common security challenges, particularly the Iranian threat.
Venezuela remains a haven for terrorists and organizations with political and financial interests in the region, such as Delnoosh and Varamin, a company owned by the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL). US sanctions were enforced on the company for its alleged role in ballistic missile development. With the UN arms embargo on Iran expired, Caracas and Tehran will sign a 20-year cooperation agreement to expand cooperation. This contract could include exports of a range of military equipment. Hezbollah has always posed as a terrorist threat in the region. The attacks on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and the 1994 AMIA bombing indicate the group’s work. Together, they left 114 people dead and hundreds more wounded. Despite evidence suggesting Hezbollah’s involvement, no one has been held accountable. Critics argue that this lack of accountability emboldens Hezbollah allowing it to grow stronger militarily and politically.
The terrorist group has grown powerful in Lebanon since the civil war in 1990, while the international community remains silent. It is now one of the most influential parties in the Lebanese parliament. Hezbollah’s overseas operations have often reflected domestic politicking in Lebanon and targeted Israel. Since the Beirut Port explosion, Hezbollah has been aware that it has entered a new chapter in Lebanon, where living conditions are poor. Hezbollah’s hands could be tied, but the Iranian-backed group could decide to escalate through violence both in and outside the Middle East should, among other things, the JCPOA talks fail to produce an agreement. As of February 2022, a nuclear deal is getting closer. However, under a potential agreement, Hezbollah may not see any negative fallout; on the contrary, this will likely ease pressure on funds and financial aid to the party coming from Tehran. The recent escalation by the Houthis against the UAE and Saudi Arabia is the latest proof that Iran and its proxies will continue to target innocents to project power against Israel—and now against Gulf countries.
Potentially, another Iran-backed Hezbollah assassination attempt against US or Israeli diplomats and citizens is present. The conditions for another attack similar to the AMIA bombing is not missing from the chessboard either. As a reminder, Hezbollah is turning increasingly anxious amid its impression that other sects are trying to isolate it. The party may well decide to take action overseas to make gains at home with its narrative of being anti-imperialist and the protector against the US and Israel. The current Israeli administration and the US and Colombia should increase counterterrorism cooperation and combat the Iran-Hezbollah threat emanating from Venezuela against its interests and citizens in the region.
President Biden should monitor Hezbollah and the IRGC’s growing presence in the region by expanding the “Iran watcher” program. The move would make it more interregional and closer to the nature of the Iran-Hezbollah threat, which aims to hurt the US and Israeli interests and serve as a sticking point against Washington’s presence in the Arab Gulf states (both financially and strategically). The Biden Administration should release the report that Congress ordered in early 2019 for the State and Treasury Departments to produce on Hezbollah as part of legislation known as the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2018. The Biden Administration should also take coordinated action to limit Hezbollah’s access to financial aid and hard currency from Iran and ramp up designations under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Reaching a nuclear deal in the next few weeks should be accompanied by the US and its allies making sure this does not come at the expense of the Lebanese people. The Biden Administration should continue to push the European Union to list Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization to weaken the group and disrupt its unlawful activities in the continent.

خالد أبو زهرة/ارب نيوز: لا يجب على لبنان أن يفقد الأمل بالرغم من قمع حزب الله
Lebanese must not lose hope despite Hezbollah’s oppression
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/February 10/2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/106280/khaled-abou-zahr-lebanese-must-not-lose-hope-despite-hezbollahs-oppression-%d8%ae%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af-%d8%a3%d8%a8%d9%88-%d8%b2%d9%87%d8%b1%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%a8-%d9%86%d9%8a%d9%88%d8%b2/
I received more criticism than I expected for last week’s column presenting the advantages of federalism for Lebanon. The criticism revolved around two main points. The first was a view that the country needs a complete shift in its political direction, along with a centralized system to bring back order, and federalism would complicate this process. The second critical view was more nuanced and opposed it on the basis that the current situation does not permit positive change and that Lebanon already effectively has a de facto decentralized system. As an example, some areas allow westernized behavior and others forbid it. Some areas even allow the production of chemical weapons, drugs and the launch of missiles.
Both of these views indirectly conclude that, with Hezbollah in control, the main problems facing Lebanon cannot be solved. The judiciary’s independence, the country’s foreign policy and the army’s sovereignty — all of these and much more are decided by Hezbollah and imposed on the state. Hence, for both families of critics, federalism is not the solution. This description of the state of the country is true and I agree with it. I would go so far as to add that Lebanon lives under the occupation and oppression of this group. I would argue that, with Hezbollah in control, there is no rule of law and the group has total immunity to act against the interests of the people.
It is also true that the people of Lebanon cannot do much about it on their own. Those who dare to voice their opposition end up facing threats of violence or even death. We all recognize this, especially as this month marks the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Lokman Slim. We are, in fact, reminded of the situation by death and terror anniversaries every single month of the year. How many have been assassinated for opposing Hezbollah and the Syrian regime? This is why it is important for the Lebanese to keep their voice alive and to keep opposing, in any way they can, the nefarious role Hezbollah plays on the orders of its patrons in Tehran.
It is also important to voice our concerns over the ongoing nuclear deal negotiations that could give Iran more money and resources to assert its control over Lebanon. America is a friend of Lebanon. If you are not convinced of this, then just look at what the US Justice Department has done to bring down the networks of Hezbollah and Iran. It has done more for the country than the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and without costing the Lebanese taxpayer a single lira. And so we need to let the US and the West know that Lebanon will not be helped by pragmatism. Was pragmatism ever the solution when facing the Nazis or other fascists? Was it the answer to any evil force? It is the opposite — evil forces feed off pragmatism and become stronger. Help for Lebanon does not come in the form of a consensus that gives Hezbollah legitimate power. It comes from facing down this evil and forcing it to retreat. The world needs to understand that Hezbollah is not the color of Lebanon, just as the current regime in Iran is not the color of the Middle East.
However, the Lebanese should not wait for international help in order to initiate the idea of change or the idea of a better place for all. It is by uniting around the dream of a new Lebanon that we can start unifying more efficiently to oppose this group and its plans. The reaction of Hezbollah and its allies to the idea of federalism is a good indicator that this is something positive. This is also why, as much as it controls everything, demanding a referendum on federalism makes more sense than just accepting useless legislative elections. It would also be a great way to clarify what federalism is and show how it is more than simple decentralization.
It is by uniting around the dream of a new Lebanon that we can start unifying more efficiently to oppose this group and its plans.
We all know that any transparent referendum or truly free election will not be permitted. We all understand that, for now, Hezbollah will block any positive change. But this does not mean we cannot start dreaming of building something new. We are still allowed to dream of a better future.
Once again, the current situation will not last. History tells us that various external influences take over Lebanese politics and rule over its minorities, only to eventually fade away. But we also need to reevaluate and ask why these influences keep succeeding one another. Why does Lebanon keep living in this vicious circle? It is due to a flawed and imposed political structure that traps the country under the rule of political gangster families. This is exactly what needs to be destroyed and why the dream of a new Lebanon starts with federalism.
So there are two separate questions: How do we overcome the oppression of Hezbollah? And how do we build a new state? Even if change cannot come today, these two challenges feed off each other. If we have nothing to dream about, then we become prisoners of the current situation and this is what Hezbollah and the political families want. If we see that there is hope and a new horizon, then we will find ways to defeat evil and the world will support us.
*Khaled Abou Zahr is CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 11-12/2022
Canadian Islamic Scholar Bilal Philips: During Operation Desert Storm, We Persuaded 3,000 U.S. Troops In Saudi Arabia To Convert To Islam; We Took Them To Watch Beheadings; Some Would Later Use Their Expertise In The Bosnian War (Archival)
MEMRI/February 11, 2022
Canada | Special Dispatch No. 9767
At the "Peace Conference Scandinavia," which was held in Oslo, Norway in March 2010, Canadian Islamic scholar Dr. Bilal Philips, who currently lives in Qatar, delivered a lecture titled "Da'wa in Desert Storm." Philips, who lived in Saudi Arabia in the early 1990s, recounted his proselytization efforts as part of a group of Muslims who preached Islam to U.S. troops deployed to eastern Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Philips elaborated that he had even taken troops to watch public executions and shari'a law punishments. "Some heads were chopped off, some hands were chopped off," he said. According to Philips, 3,000 U.S. troops converted to Islam as a result of these proselytization efforts, which he said were conducted with the consent of U.S. authorities. He then claimed that some of the converted troops moved to Bosnia after being discharged, and lent their military expertise to the Bosnians in the Bosnian War. A video of the 2010 speech was posted on Bilal Philips' official YouTube account on February 6, 2022. According to the description, Peace Conference Scandinavia was held in Oslo on March 27-29, 2010.
To view the clip of Bilal Philips on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
https://www.memri.org/tv/canadian-imam-bilal-philips-preaching-us-troops-desert-storm-converted
During Operation Desert Storm, We Set Up A 'Saudi Arabian Cultural Information Tent' For U.S. Troops, Where An Average Of 20 People A Day Converted To Islam; It Came To Be Known As 'The Conversion Tent'
Bilal Philips: "Desert Storm and 'Da'wa in Desert Storm' addresses a historical incident which took place back in 1991, 19 years ago. So it's history. What is represented was the positive side of a negative incident in the history of the Muslim world.
"The U.S. got together a coalition of Western forces, and itself deposited half a million American soldiers in Saudi Arabia, mainly in the eastern province.
"The troops while preparing for battle or war with Iraq, were looking for ways and means to keep themselves occupied, because the nature of war from the American perspective, when it deposits its troops into any land, then the troops take advantage of the poverty that is in those lands, and they turn segments of the population into dens of prostitution, entertainment, and they deposit, before leaving, a bunch of what they call war babies.
"However, when they came to Saudi Arabia, because Saudi Arabia was not a society which was poor, that could be exploited in that way, the women were not accessible. So, they had to find other ways of keeping troops occupied. So, what that did, what happened from that, is that they were open to uh talks and lectures on Islam.
"The Americans made this possible and an individual by the name of Ali Al-Shahry, who was a sergeant in the Saudi military, he, though he had very little English, used to hang out with the American troops. Staying in their tents, you know, sleeping along with them, chatting, hanging out. For himself, he was learning English and at the same time, trying to give some da'wa to these troops.
"And when he got enough of a group together that showed an interest in wanting to hear something about Islam, with the permission of the American administration, military administration — he came to see me in Riyadh. I was living in Riyadh at the time. And [he] invited me to come and give some talks. So, I went down and began to give lectures and have open forums and discussions with the troops.
"Then the war broke out, so all of that was put on hold, until after the war was over. The war didn't last very long. The Americans then had to process all of these troops out of the country back to the States or back to other bases in different parts of the world. So they chose an area to keep them called Khobar Towers.
"We suggested — myself and some of the other brothers interested in doing da'wa there — suggested that we set up a tent in the middle of all of that, a large tent for da'wa purposes. The American administration accepted it, and we set up this huge tent called... and we put a big sign on it saying: 'Saudi Arabian Cultural Information Tent.' Cultural Information Tent.
"We didn't put on there Islam, because that might scare people, so this was like a cover. Saudi Arabian Cultural Information Tent — large tent. When you first come in, on the left-hand side, we had a huge table with all kinds of books about Saudi Arabia, about the reptiles of Saudi Arabia, the deserts, the history, technology... A variety of bits of pieces of information, very nice books, glossy types, and in the midst of it all we also had little pamphlets on Islam.
"What we did was we took female soldiers, and there were many of them, we took them into Saudi homes... the homes of Saudis who... they studied in the West or whatever. Their wives could speak English, you know, they had some education, etc., and they would enlighten them as to the life of a Muslim woman.
"The tent — though it was originally called the Saudi Arabian Cultural Information Tent — soon the amount of people who were converting to Islam averaged around 20 people a day. In the course of the five and a half months, we had over 3,000 Americans, males and females, accepting Islam.
"So, the tent came to be known as the Conversion Tent. That is the name that they called it commonly, and many of the chaplains — they tried to shut it down. But the American administration felt that this was a means of keeping at least some of the troops occupied, and also they don't end up doing anything crazy... right? As they like to do.
We Took Groups Of U.S. Troops To See Beheadings; "Many Of Them Said: 'You Could Never Feel Anything Like This Back Home'"
"Then we took groups of them to some of the executions, because from time to time, there were executions. Some hands were cut off, some heads were cut off. And it was interesting, because of course, for many of them they never seen anyone actually be executed... so they went there. Of course, they bought popcorn and they came to watch it, eating their popcorn, and somebody's head was chopped off. But at the same time, you know, they could see from that the impact in the society, because we used to take them into the town to buy gold jewelry.
"Many of them said, 'We could never feel anything like this back home.' They were buying gold and wearing gold chains and rings, and you know, bracelets, all these kinds of things. And [they] said: 'We could never do this back home in Chicago, New York, Washington, LA. You wear this kind of stuff — your hand would be chopped off, and they will take that stuff away from you, you know.'
Military Members We Converted To Islam, "Who Originally Had Come To Arabia With The Intention Of Fighting Muslims In Iraq, Ended Up Fighting On Behalf Of Muslims In Bosnia"
"Some of the troops who had come back to the U.S., come out of the military, but were specialists. Groups of them went to Bosnia, because by 1993, the Bosnians Muslims were being slaughtered by the Serbs, and they needed people with specialist skills to train them [and] help them in that fight. So, we had two teams from amongst those who accepted Islam, who went to Bosnia and trained the Bosnians, fought alongside them, married Bosnians, and remained in Bosnia.
"So people who had originally come to Arabia with the intention of fighting Muslims in Iraq ended up fighting on behalf of Muslims in Bosnia, and training and living their lives out as Muslims. So, when I think back to Desert Storm, there are many, many lessons that remain to be learned.
"I hope that inshallah that you all will take some of the lessons from this experience, and utilize those lessons, care in Norway. You have a responsibility to share this message with the people here.
"So you should know that you have been chose by Allah to be here, in order to convey the message of Islam to the people of this land. This is what justifies your presence here."

Turkey Reportedly Foils Iranian Plot to Kill Israeli Businessman
Agence France Presse/Friday, 11 February, 2022
Turkish spies thwarted a plot orchestrated by Iran to kill an Israeli-Turkish businessman based in Istanbul, a pro-government daily reported Friday. Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) discovered a network of nine operatives dubbed an "Iran assassination team" plotting to kill Yair Geller, the Sabah daily reported. Geller has businesses in the aviation-defense industry as well as in technology and software, the daily added. The assassination was supposed to be in retaliation for the killing of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in 2020 which Iran blamed on Israel, Sabah claimed. Turkey at the time condemned Fakhrizadeh's assassination as an act of "terrorism."Sabah's story comes as Turkey seeks a rapprochement with Israel after Ankara ordered out Israel's ambassador over the killing of protestors along the Gaza Strip border in 2018.
Istanbul police launched an operation to detain the nine men "a few days ago," the newspaper said, but the leader of the network is apparently in Iran. Eight have been arrested on charges including "setting up an organization to commit crime" and "being a member of a group set up to commit crime," it added. The men had been watched by MIT agents as they followed Geller at home and at work, collecting information to prepare the assassination, Sabah said. MIT also met with Israel's Mossad spy agency in Ankara to inform them of the plot's next step to kill Geller. He was taken to a "safe house" shortly after, it added. The newspaper even claimed the plot was an attempt to "derail Turkey-Israel relations" after "positive steps were taken" to improve ties. There had been high hopes in Ankara that Israeli President Isaac Herzog would pay an official visit to Turkey this month but it is now expected by Turkey to be in March. Turkey and Iran have historically close economic ties but have found themselves on opposite sides of regional conflicts, including in Syria.

Iranian President Says Tehran ‘Never Has Hope’ in Vienna Nuclear Talks
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 February, 2022
Hardline Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Friday Tehran "never" pins hope on ongoing talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the country's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers. Iran and the United States resumed indirect talks in the Austrian capital on Tuesday after a 10-day break, but envoys gave little away as to whether they were closer to resolving various thorny issues. "We put our hopes on the east, west, north, south of our country and never have any hope in Vienna and New York," Raisi said in a televised speech commemorating the 43rd anniversary of Iran's revolution. Raisi, whose election last June led to a five-month hiatus in the talks, said Iran would rely on its domestic economic potential rather than expect support from overseas and from the nuclear talks with world powers. US President Joe Biden's administration publicly pressured Iran on Wednesday to revive the agreement quickly, saying that it will be impossible to return to the accord if a deal is not struck within weeks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday there was still a long way to go before the deal could be revived. Raisi said: "Our foreign policy is balanced. Looking toward the West has made the country's relations unbalanced, we need to look at all countries and capacities in the world, especially our neighbors." His speech was frequently interrupted by chants of "Death to America" - a trademark slogan of the revolution that toppled the US-backed shah in 1979. The audience also chanted "Death to England" and "Death to Israel." For the second year in a row, Iranians marked the revolution's anniversary by parading vehicles in the streets rather than marching on foot in line with regulations aimed at limiting COVID-19 contagion. State television aired live footage of cars and motorcycles moving through the streets of dozens of cities and towns where, before the pandemic, tens of thousands of people would march for the annual event. In 2018, then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal - designed to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon - and reimposed sanctions in a bid to force Tehran into talks on a broader agreement that would have also addressed its ballistic missile program and support for proxies in the Middle East. Iran responded by breaching many of the deal's restrictions and pushing well beyond them, enriching uranium to close to nuclear bomb-grade and using advanced centrifuges to do it, which has helped it hone its skills in operating those machines. Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday the United States had to make a "political decision" regarding lifting sanctions as Tehran's demand for their full removal to revive the 2015 deal was non-negotiable.

Pentagon: Iran’s Ballistic Missiles Designed for Offensive Purposes
Washington - Hiba al-Qudsi/Friday, 11 February, 2022
A few hours after Iran unveiled a long-range missile, United States Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said its ballistic missile program is designed for offensive purposes. “They (Iranians) are advancing a ballistic missile program that is designed for offensive purposes to inflict harm and damage potentially lethal so on other states, other peoples, and our allies and partners,” he told a press briefing on Wednesday. Kirby deemed their “malign activities” as much more than messages to the US and Israel at the heels of the new round of negotiations in Vienna. “They are destabilizing in the region. They're supporting terrorist groups across the region. They are harassing maritime shipping,” he stressed. Iran unveiled a new domestically-made missile with a range of 1,450 kilometers on Wednesday, state TV reported, a day after Tehran and Washington resumed indirect talks to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal. The missile has high accuracy, is manufactured completely domestically, and can defeat missile shield systems, according to the Revolutionary Guards’ Missile Unit. Kirby told reporters the US has continually watched as Iran has improved their ballistic missile program, adding that it is keenly aware of the regional threats that ballistic missile program poses. “Which is why we are working so hard with allies and partners in the region to be able to counter those kinds of threats and to make sure that we are contributing to their self-defense needs as well,” he added. Iran’s development and proliferation of ballistic missiles poses a threat to the international security and remains a significant nonproliferation challenge, said Deputy Spokesperson of the Department of State Jalina Porter. “We continue to use a variety of nonproliferation tools to prevent and – further advancement of Iran’s missile program and its ability to proliferate technology to others,” she told a press briefing.

US moves F-16 squadron from Germany to Romania as tension spikes over Ukraine
AFP/11 February ,2022
The US military said Friday it was repositioning a squadron of F-16 war planes from Germany to Romania, “to reinforce regional security” in the midst of flaring tensions with Russia over Ukraine. Without specifying how many F-16s were being moved, the command of the US Air Forces in Europe said the planes would arrive Friday at the Romanian air base of Fetesti, less than 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Black Sea, where they will join Italian combat aircraft that are already deployed there. The aircraft and crews will “work closely with allies in the Black Sea region to reinforce regional security during the current tensions caused by Russia’s military build-up near Ukraine,” the US command, which is based in Germany, said in a statement. They will be responsible in particular for protecting NATO airspace in the region close to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. On Thursday, the US Air Force announced the arrival in Britain of B-52 strategic bombers for “long-planned” maneuvers, while the US Navy announced the deployment in the European theater of four destroyers to reinforce the US Sixth Fleet. US President Joe Biden has sent 3,000 US troops to Germany, Poland and Romania to bolster allies on NATO’s eastern flank, as Western states fear a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The move comes as Russia began large-scale military drills in Belarus, right on the border with Ukraine, which is at the center of high tensions between Russia and the West, and as intense diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis appear to be making little headway.

UK Defense Secretary in Moscow amid Ukraine Tensions
Associated Press/Friday, 11 February, 2022
Britain's defense secretary visited Moscow Friday for talks on easing tensions amid massive Russian war games near Ukraine. Ben Wallace's trip comes a day after British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss held talks in Moscow, urging Russia to pull back over 100,000 troops amassed near Ukraine and warning that attacking its neighbor would "have massive consequences and carry severe costs." Russia says it has no plans to invade Ukraine but wants the West to keep Ukraine and other former Soviet countries out of NATO. It also wants NATO to refrain from deploying weapons there and roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe — demands flatly rejected by the West. In an interview Thursday with NBC News, U.S. President Joe Biden repeated his warning that any Americans still in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible. "It's not like we're dealing with a terrorist organization. We're dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It's a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly," he said. Asked whether there were any scenarios that would prompt him to send U.S. troops to Ukraine to rescue Americans, the president said: "There's not. That's a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another."Amid the soaring tensions, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Thursday that the Ukraine crisis has grown into "the most dangerous moment" for Europe in decades.
NATO has stepped up military deployments to bolster its eastern flank, with the U.S. sending troops to Poland and Romania. Russia's troop concentration includes forces deployed on the territory of its ally Belarus for massive joint drills involving firing live ammunition. That entered a decisive phase Thursday and will run through Feb. 20. The Ukrainian capital is located about 75 kilometers (47 miles) south of the Belarus border. Continuing its military buildup near Ukraine, Russia has moved six amphibious assault vessels into the Black Sea, augmenting its capability to land marines on the coast.
Moscow has announced sweeping drills in the Black and Azov seas in the coming days and closed large areas for commercial shipping, drawing a strong protest from Ukraine on Thursday. Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine's Kremlin-friendly leader was driven from office by a popular uprising. Moscow responded by annexing Crimea and then backing a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has killed over 14,000 people. A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany helped halt large-scale battles, but regular skirmishes have continued and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled. The Kremlin has accused Kyiv of sabotaging the agreement, and Ukrainian officials argued in recent weeks that implementing it would hurt their country. Foreign policy advisers from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine held nearly nine hours of talks in Berlin on Thursday to try to revive the stalled agreement but made no progress. Russian representative Dmitry Kozak said Ukraine firmly refused to commit to a dialogue with the rebels on a political settlement, blocking any further movement. Ukrainian envoy Andriy Yermak sounded a more positive note, noting that the parties agreed to continue their discussions and hailed the four-way talks as an "effective and efficient platform."

Russian Invasion of Ukraine Could Come at Any Time, Says Blinken
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 February, 2022
Russia has sent more forces to its border with Ukraine and could launch an invasion at any time, including during the Winter Olympics, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday. He said Washington was continuing to "draw down" its embassy in Ukraine and repeated a State Department call to American citizens in Ukraine to leave the country immediately. "Simply put, we continue to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border," Blinken told a news conference in the Australian city of Melbourne. "As we've said before, we're in a window when an invasion could begin at any time, and to be clear, that includes during the Olympics." Russia, which has more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders, denies Western accusations it may be planning to invade its former Soviet neighbor. The Winter Olympics are being hosted by Beijing until Feb. 20. Britain said on Thursday the "most dangerous moment" in the West's standoff with Moscow appeared imminent, as Russia held military exercises in Belarus and the Black Sea following the buildup of its forces near Ukraine. The US State Department urged Americans in Ukraine to leave immediately because of what it called increased threats of Russian military action and Blinken said Washington would continue to draw down its embassy. "We will continue that process and we've also been very clear that any American citizens who remain in Ukraine should leave now," Blinken said.

Satellite Images Show New Russian Military Deployments Near Ukraine
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 February, 2022
Commercial satellite images published by a private US company show new Russian military deployments at several locations near Ukraine, suggesting that Moscow's force buildup continues amid a flurry of diplomacy aimed at easing the crisis. Russia is holding joint military exercises in ex-Soviet Belarus as well as naval drills in the Black Sea, part of a surge of military activity near Ukraine that has fueled fears of an impending invasion. Russia denies any plans to attack. US-based Maxar Technologies, which has been tracking the buildup of Russian forces for weeks, said images taken on Wednesday and Thursday showed significant new deployments in several locations in annexed Crimea, western Russia and Belarus. The images could not be independently verified by Reuters. In Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, Maxar said it had identified a large new deployment of troops and equipment at Oktyabrskoye airfield north of the city of Simferopol, including 550 troop tents and hundreds of vehicles. New troops and equipment also arrived near Crimea's Novoozernoye, it said, pointing also to a new deployment near the town of Slavne, on the northwest coast of the peninsula. In Belarus, the site of major joint drills, Maxar said it had identified a new deployment of troops, military vehicles and helicopters at Zyabrovka airfield near Gomel, less than 25 km from the border with Ukraine. In a statement sent by email late on Thursday, it said a large deployment of troops and forces had recently arrived at the Kursk training area in western Russia, approximately 110 km to the east of the Ukrainian border. Russia has not disclosed how many troops it has deployed and says it has the right to move forces around on its territory as it sees fit. It insists they pose no external threat.

US, China Lock Horns over Ukraine at UN
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 February, 2022
The US envoy to the United Nations called on Beijing Thursday to encourage Russia "to do the right thing" in the Ukraine crisis -- drawing a sharp response from her Chinese counterpart who accused Washington of fanning tensions. "We would hope that the Chinese would play a role in encouraging the Russians to do the right thing," US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield in an interview on CNN. Fears are high in Western capitals that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine after building up some 100,000 troops around its ex-Soviet neighbor, AFP said. Russia is rejecting those claims, but demanding sweeping security guarantees from NATO and the United States. "The Chinese have expressed a strong concern in the Security Council for protecting the integrity of borders and sovereignty of states," said Thomas-Greenfield. "This is exactly what the Russians are doing – they are threatening the integrity of a border, so for China to deliver that message would be extraordinarily important," she added. China, the United States, and Russia are three of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, with the United Kingdom and France being the remaining two. China's ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, quickly responded to Thomas-Greenfield's comments on Twitter. "Our message is consistent and clear: resolve any differences through diplomacy," he said in a tweet. "Stop hyping up the tension," Zhang wrote without naming anyone in particular. "Russia's legitimate security concerns should be seriously addressed. After a tense meeting at the end of January called by the United States, the UN Security Council is set to meet again on Ukraine next week. Next week's meeting was called by Russia, which wants to discuss the implementation of the Minsk Accords on Ukraine that were signed in 2015.

Brussels Accuses Moscow of Trying to Divide Europeans
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 February, 2022
The European Union on Thursday accused Russia, as the Ukraine crisis churned, of trying to divide EU members by sending letters to individual countries seeking clarification of their stance on a principle of international security. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he had responded to the letters sent by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to several European countries asking them to give their interpretation of the doctrine of indivisible security. Western leaders are engaged in intensive talks with Moscow to try to avert what they see as the threat of Russia invading Ukraine following a massive build-up of Russian forces near their mutual border. Russia has denied plans to attack its neighbor while demanding security guarantees from NATO. Moscow says the concept of indivisible security, enshrined in international treaties, means that the security of one country is inextricably linked to that of another and that an enlargement of the NATO defense alliance to include the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia would automatically threaten Russia. Borrell said he had answered on behalf of the entire European bloc. "The EU has a common foreign and security policy and our aim is to act united on all issues of key common interest. "This includes also coordinating replies to letters, as called for," he said in a statement, saying his move had "unanimous" backing among the EU's 27 members. Lavrov had specifically asked that the countries he approached replied in their own name and not that of the EU. But Borrell insisted it was up to EU members to decide how they wanted to respond. "Only those who are interested in dividing us, would question such a decision," he argued. He said his letter to Lavrov "addresses the issues raised by Minister Lavrov and reiterates the EU's and its member states' offer to continue dialogue with Russia on ways to strengthen the security of all."

Israel’s Lapid to Visit Turkey Following Secret Visit by Ushpiz
Tel Aviv- Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 February, 2022
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will visit Turkey in mid-March to participate in a forum and meet with several senior officials, said a source in Tel Aviv on Friday. The source affirmed that Lapid was officially invited to participate in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which is scheduled to be held between March 11-13. He will meet there with government representatives and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. According to the source, Israeli President Isaac Herzog is expected to arrive in Ankara a few days later. Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry Alon Ushpiz secretly visited Turkey last month, the source added. He met with Ibrahim Kalin, chief adviser and spokesperson to the Turkish president. According to the Ynetnews website, the meeting followed a series of important talks held between Kalin and the Chargé d’Affairs of the Israeli Embassy in Ankara, Irit Lillian. Lillian stated that Kalin played a major role in the release of the Israeli couple, Mordy and Natalie Oknin, last year. Since then, the relationship with him has been enhanced through the embassy in Ankara. Ushpiz's visit to Ankara is the first in six years at the political level by an Israeli official. The Director-General of Foreign Affairs, Yuval Rotem, visited Turkey in 2016 after the suicide bombing in Istanbul that killed three Israeli tourists. Ynet said that the Israeli Foreign Ministry refused to comment on this news. However, well-informed sources confirmed that Ushpiz's visit was in preparation for Lapid and Herzog’s upcoming visits. A Turkish official is expected to visit Israel soon as part of the preparations for the major visit Herzog will make to Ankara, revealed Turkey’s Hurriyet daily newspaper.

Arab Party Leader in Israel Rejects 'Apartheid' Label
Associated Press/ February 11/2022
The head of an Arab party in Israel who made history last year by joining the governing coalition said he would not use the word "apartheid" to describe relations between Jews and Arabs within the country. Amnesty International last week joined two other well-known human rights groups in saying that Israel's policies toward the Palestinians within its borders and in the occupied territories amounts to apartheid. Israel rejects those allegations as antisemitic, saying that, among other things, they ignore the rights and freedoms enjoyed by its Arab citizens."I would not call it apartheid," Mansour Abbas said in response to a question at an online event organized by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a D.C-based think tank. He noted that he was in the coalition and could join the government itself if he wanted to. "I prefer to describe the reality in objective ways," he added, according to the English translation of his remarks, which he delivered in Hebrew. "If there is discrimination in a certain field, then we will say that there is discrimination in that specific field." He did not say whether he thinks the term applies to the occupied West Bank, where more than 2.5 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule alongside nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers with Israeli citizenship. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state. Abbas heads the United Arab List, known in Hebrew as Ra'am, a small Islamist party that gave crucial support to the coalition now governing Israel, which includes parties from across the political spectrum. Arabs make up some 20% of Israel's population of nearly 9.5 million. They have citizenship, including the right to vote, and have a major presence in the medical profession and universities, among other fields. But they face widespread discrimination.
They have close familial ties to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and largely identify with their cause. Historically, they refused to join coalitions and were not invited to do so. The rights groups say Israel only grants citizenship to a minority of the Palestinians under its control in an overarching system designed to ensure a Jewish majority in as much of the Holy Land as possible. Israel views such allegations as an assault on its very existence, saying its policies are designed to ensure the survival and well-being of the world's only Jewish state. Abbas said he's focused on bringing Jews and Arabs together to address social and economic challenges. "I'm usually trying not to be judgmental, I'm not trying to say you're racist or the state is racist, or this is an apartheid state or not an apartheid state," Abbas said. "My role as a political leader is to try to bridge the gaps.

France To Try Syria's War Criminals
Paris - Michel Bou Najem/Asharq Al-Awsat/ February 11/2022
France has made an important step in the fight against impunity for the perpetrators of international crimes committed in Syria and throughout the world. The National Assembly passed a bill to authorize the approval of the international judicial cooperation agreement between the French Government and the United Nations Organization, represented by the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) for Syria. The bill was referred to the Senate for examination. Parliamentary sources ruled out any difficulty in obtaining the approval of the Senate in the next few days, noting that the French Constitution stipulated that in case of disagreement, the last say would go to the National Assembly. The French Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Justice issued a joint statement, which noted that the agreement “will allow information to be transmitted from French courts to the Mechanism (MIII), which is not possible under current law.” “It is thus in keeping with the priority France attaches to the fight against impunity for the perpetrators of international crimes,” it stated. The statement read: “In 2015, the Foreign Ministry reported to the Paris State Prosecutor, on the basis of Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, atrocities likely to have been committed by the Syrian regime... The documents passed on enabled the Paris Prosecutor’s Office to open a preliminary investigation into “crimes against humanity”, relying in particular on photographs taken in military hospitals between 2011 and 2013 by “César”, a Syrian former military photographer. More than 40 investigations and judicial inquiries on Syria are currently underway in France.” It added: “In a ruling of 24 November 2021, the Court of Cassation deemed it necessary for the definition of an offense comparable to that in French law (evidence of “an attack against a civilian population in fulfillment of a concerted plan”) to exist in Syrian law in order to recognize French courts’ extraterritorial competence with regard to international crimes.” The statement noted that the relevant French ministries would closely monitor forthcoming judicial decisions. “Depending on those decisions, our ministries stand ready to swiftly set out the changes, including legislative changes that should be made to enable France to continue resolutely fulfilling its steadfast commitment against impunity for international crimes,” it underlined.


Syria's Main Druze City Sees more Unrest, Calls for Friday Protests
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 February, 2022
Tens of Syrian protesters gathered on Thursday in the mainly Druze city of Sweida to protest against worsening economic conditions and subsidy cuts that came into force last week, residents, activists and local officials said on Thursday. Sporadic rallies have taken place this week in villages around the southwestern city, where protesters blocked roads and dozens rallied in the main square of the city to demand a halt to the cuts in subsidies that followed gasoline price hikes in recent months, Reuters said. "We have been moved by the pain of our people and will continue our peaceful protest until our demands are met," said Hamed Marouf, a protester who had joined the protests since they first began last Thursday. The government says cuts in a once lavish subsidy program to ease the burden on the sanctions-hit country's state finances only affected the wealthiest. But many protesters say the move worsened the plight of ordinary Syrian who survived a decade of devastating war and are now struggling to afford food and basic supplies amid rampant inflation and eroding incomes. Residents blame growing discontent within the ranks of those who stood with President Bashar al Assad during the conflict on rampant corruption and worsening inequalities. Sweida city remained in government hands during the conflict, that has cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced and uprooted millions. Witnesses said hundreds of security forces were seen arriving in buses from Damascus as activists urged people to take to the streets on Friday. "We want to live with dignity," chanted protesters with some carrying banners saying, "There is nothing left for the poor" and waving the Druze community flag. State media made no mention of the protests. A senior presidential advisor, Bouthiana Shaaban, wrote in a leading state-owned newspaper on Monday the pro-democracy protests in 2011 that were violently crushed by security forces and spiraled into the over decade-old conflict were foreign-inspired to wreck the country. Religious elders of the Druze community have said peaceful protests against unfair government measures were justified. Protests are rare in Assad-controlled territory and the Druze minority have long resisted being drawn into the civil war that pits mainly Sunni rebels against Assad's family rule.

Arab League Urges 'Comprehensive Political Process' to Libya Crisis
Cairo - Jamal Gawhar/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 February, 2022
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Thursday stressed the importance of achieving a national consensus in Libya. He expressed concern that the recent developments in the country could lead to "a state of polarization". "Libya's political leaders should work on achieving national consensus and set aside any narrow interests," Aboul Gheit said in a statement. A comprehensive political agreement that ensures national elections aimed at restoring the legitimacy of state institutions is the only way to end the long transitional period and head toward stability, development, and construction, he added. At the same time, he underlined the need to safeguard the stability Libya has been experiencing since the ceasefire agreement was signed. The hope is to reach a national position that is in line with the path to support a political process and implement international and regional pledges, especially those made at both Berlin conferences, he added. The Arab League backs all sincere efforts to maintain the stability of Libya with no foreign intervention, Aboul Gheit stressed. Furthermore, he noted the importance of limiting arms to the official authority alone in the country, unifying the military, security, and economic institutions, and fully supporting any authority in Libya that puts these goals into practice.

U.S.-Allied Kurdish Commander Warns of Growing IS Threat
Associated Press/Friday, 11 February, 2022
The Islamic State is a growing threat to northeast Syria, and the group will again flourish unless immediate action is taken, the Kurdish-led region's security chief said in the wake of last month's deadly prison attack. Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, said immediate security measures were taken to contain active IS sleeper cells, but the group is proving to be a resilient insurgency. The threat remains high, he said, despite the death of the group's leader in a U.S. commando operation last week. "We are surrounded by the Islamic State," Abdi said during a wide-ranging interview with the Associated Press on Thursday night. "We have said this many times. If we don't strive to fight IS now, they will spread again." A tenuous calm has prevailed in northeast Syria since the Jan. 20 attack by IS on Gweiran, or al-Sinaa prison — a Kurdish-run facility in Syria's northeast where over 3,000 militants and juveniles were held. The attack on the prison led to 10 days of fighting between U.S.-backed fighters and IS militants that left nearly 500 people dead. U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters brought the situation under control eventually. Abdi said immediate security measures were taken to contain IS sleeper cells after the assault. Faulty detention centers prone to similar attacks have been emptied, security sweeps are ongoing and curfews limit night-time movements.
But, the threat remains.
Last week, a raid by U.S. commandos led to the death of IS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Qurayshi in the Idlib region in Syria's northwest. Abdi said the SDF had assisted in the operation by facilitating passage and logistics for the U.S., but did not participate with fighters on the ground. "We provided safety and security for personnel who went in, that's all I can say," he said. While the morale of IS may have been temporarily hit by al-Qurayshi's death in the aftermath of the prison attack, Abdi said he did not believe it would lead to the group's decline. "They depend on decentralization," he said, behaving differently depending on local conditions and dynamics. Abdi shared blame for the prison attack — the biggest and bloodiest since IS lost the last sliver of territory it held in 2019, bringing a formal end to it's self-declared "caliphate" over large parts of Syria and Iraq. At least 121 SDF fighters were killed in the battles around the prison that raged for nearly two weeks. "We didn't execute our responsibilities well," Abdi says. The prison, located in Syria's Hassakeh province, was a known threat. Abdi said on two occasions last year the SDF received intelligence that IS sleeper cells were plotting to launch an attack and free their comrades inside. One attack was even thwarted. But not enough operations to root out IS cells were conducted in the areas around the prison, where militants are believed to have been clandestinely plotting the attack for months, he said. "There was intelligence before that they wanted to attack, and we took procedures, but then we failed," he said. But he also said the international community shares the burden, and should assume responsibility for the thousands of foreign nationals in prisons and camps overseen by the SDF, who continue to pose security risks.Searches are being conducted across the 27 detention facilities housing IS detainees to identify security weaknesses. Three prisons have been emptied, their inmates scattered to different facilities. Abdi declined to name the facilities, but said two were close to the Turkish frontier, where bombardment is frequent. Another was found to have similar shortcomings as in Gweiran.

Iraq PM Commends Role of Germany in Fight against Terrorism
Baghdad - Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 11 February, 2022
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi commended on Thursday the role played by Germany in the fight against terrorism. Kadhimi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by telephone on Thursday, discussing security and intelligence coordination in the fight against terrorism, according to a statement by PM’s office. They also tackled bilateral relations between their countries. Kadhimi expressed his hope that “relations between both countries would witness further progress and prosperity.”Scholz hailed Iraq's growing role in the region where it has emerged as mediator in various crises.
He welcomed the economic reforms implemented by Iraq, saying it will boost the opportunities of cooperation between their countries. Among other issues discussed were potential German investment in Iraq, as well as the conditions of Iraqi migrants in Germany, according to the statement.

Canada/Minister of Foreign Affairs urges Canadians to leave Ukraine
February 11, 2022 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement:“As we continue to work closely with our partners and monitor the situation, I urge all Canadians in Ukraine to make the necessary arrangements to leave the country now. “Since February 1, we have been urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Ukraine because of the ongoing Russian threats and the risk of armed conflict. We have also been asking Canadians already in Ukraine to leave while commercial means are still available. Our highest priority remains the safety and security of Canadians.
“Our diplomatic and consular staff remain on the ground and stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadian citizens as required. However, our ability to do so could become severely limited. “Canadians in need of emergency consular assistance can contact the embassy by email at KYIV-Consular@international.gc.ca. At any time, Canadians can also contact Global Affairs Canada’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre by phone at 1 613 996 8885, by email at sos@international.gc.ca or by SMS at 1 613 686 3658. “I also urge all Canadians in Ukraine to sign up with the Government of Canada’s Registration of Canadians Abroad service, so that we can directly notify them of changes to the situation and share crucial information on how we can help them. “Canadians should also frequently check the Travel Advice and Advisories for Ukraine for up-to-date information and advice.”

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 11-12/2022
The Middle East: The US Is All In or All Out
Pete Hoekstra/Gatestone Institute/February 11, 2022
Despite multiple attacks on Abu Dhabi, which include an air base that hosts American military personnel, the current American administration seems unwilling to designate the Houthis as the terrorist organization it is. At the same time, however, it wants to put constraints on the use of weapons the U.S. might sell to the United Arab Emirates, whose civilian population has been targeted by the Houthis... For Yemen, this is no longer acceptable.
While the Biden administration has made clear its desire to restart nuclear talks with Iran, why not try doing it from a position of strength, for instance deterrence? One of the pillars of strength would be presenting a united front against Iran, with our Gulf allies and Israel at its core. Iran recognizes and responds to strength. It also recognizes weakness and responds by taking advantage of it.
It is vitally important the Biden administration stabilize relationships with key U.S. allies in the Middle East before Iran and Russia destabilize them, or it will justly receive the blame for the chaos that will ensue. The Middle East is one area where the U.S. is a dominant power-influencer, and we must make clear to our friends that we will stand by them and to our enemies that they are endangering only themselves.
We are seeing our adversaries exploiting perceived U.S. weakness and lack of resolve in other parts of the world. We cannot let that happen in the Middle East. We must have a long-term, strategic plan that does not rely on hope but instead on determination and strength. Let us go all-in: anything less will be perceived as not being in at all.
The Middle East is one area where the U.S. is a dominant power-influencer, and we must make clear to our friends that we will stand by them and to our enemies that they are endangering only themselves. Pictured: U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Joseph T. Guastella Jr. (left) speaks with Chief Master Sgt. Shawn L. Drinkard at Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi, on January 15, 2020. (USAF photo by Tech. Sgt. Kat Justen)
It is time for the Biden administration to come to terms with the challenging situation in Yemen. It seems that the administration is trying to pick a middle ground, but the Houthis' ongoing terrorist attacks and the massive scale of the humanitarian crisis rules out staying the course of strategic compromise.
Despite multiple attacks on Abu Dhabi, which include an air base that hosts American military personnel, the current administration seems unwilling to designate the Houthis as the terrorist organization it is. At the same time, however, it wants to put constraints on the use of weapons the U.S. might sell to the United Arab Emirates, whose civilian population has been targeted by the Houthis. As so often happens when you fail to identify a clear direction, the status quo is maintained. For Yemen, this is no longer acceptable.
Recently on these pages I argued for the U.S. State Department to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organization. While hopeful, I am not optimistic that the decision will be forthcoming. Even though it is not a strategy, hope, not deterrence, is exactly what the Biden administration seems to be hanging its decision-making on -- hoping the Houthis will stop civilian attacks and hoping the Iranians will help President Joe Biden complete his campaign promise to reenter the disastrous 2015 Obama-era nuclear deal.
Now another big decision is looming on the horizon. Shortly before the end of the Trump administration, the U.S. finalized an agreement with the UAE for $23 billion worth of U.S.-made weapons. The sale included F-35s, the latest drone technology, and other miscellaneous equipment. Recently the UAE suspended finalizing the agreement due to its belief the restrictions being placed on the deal by the U.S. government would infringe on its national sovereignty.
The Biden Administration needs move swiftly to remove these obstacles and enable the arms sale to move forward. While most of the sales of advanced weapons will not happen for several years, it is important to signal to the UAE and other players in the region, most notably Iran, that the relationship between the U.S. and UAE is ironclad. The UAE and its leadership have, unlike Iran, demonstrated strong support for the U.S. and stability in the Middle East by embracing people from other cultures and other religions. The leaders of the UAE, should be recognized and rewarded for it, instead of rewarding countries that call for the death of America and other democracies. Otherwise the message being sent, as the late historian Bernard Lewis wrote, is that it is far better to be America's enemy than its friend.
While the Biden administration has made clear its desire to restart nuclear talks with Iran, why not try doing it from a position of strength, for instance deterrence? One of the pillars of strength would be presenting a united front against Iran, with our Gulf allies and Israel at its core. Iran recognizes and responds to strength. It also recognizes weakness and responds by taking advantage of it.
It is vitally important the Biden administration stabilize relationships with key U.S. allies in the Middle East before Iran and Russia destabilize them, or it will justly receive the blame for the chaos that will ensue. The Middle East is one area where the U.S. is a dominant power-influencer, and we must make clear to our friends that we will stand by them and to our enemies that they are endangering only themselves. Having stood along the Damascus Road and talked with people in this region, I can attest that they have long memories. This is the time to strengthen the modernizing, stabilizing relationships and solidify a foundation that will enable them to survive for decades. The U.S. and its allies can stand strong against Iran, which is not only a disruptive and dangerous player in the region, it also is one of the few countries there forging increasingly strong ties with Russia and China.
As Russia and China challenge America's status as the global superpower -- politically, economically, and militarily -- in Europe with Ukraine, in Asia with Taiwan, India and Japan, and throughout east Asia and Africa with China's Belt and Road Initiative -- now is not the time to open a window of opportunity for them to exploit in the Middle East.
At the moment, the U.S. has a chance effectively to slam the door shut on Russia and China in the Middle East for the foreseeable future. Agreeing to provide the UAE with some of the most advanced, American-made military technology sends a strong signal that the U.S. is fully committed to having a long-term, strategic relationship with a great ally, the UAE. Delaying, or perhaps even potentially having the entire sale collapse, signals the exact opposite.
We are seeing our adversaries exploiting perceived U.S. weakness and lack of resolve in other parts of the world. We cannot let that happen in the Middle East. We must have a long-term, strategic plan that does not rely on hope but instead on determination and strength. Let us go all-in: anything less will be perceived as not being in at all.
*Peter Hoekstra was US Ambassador to the Netherlands during the Trump administration. He served 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the second district of Michigan and served as Chairman and Ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. He is currently Chairman of the Center for Security Policy Board of Advisors.
© 2022 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

When Russia and Iran Are Your Neighbors
Elias Harfoush/Asharq Al-Awsat/ February 11/2022
Nothing is more complicated than distressing neighbors. If they live near your home, you have no choice but to leave, moving to take up residence elsewhere, whatever the cost.
However, what would you do if you lived next to an aggressive country, given that moving your country elsewhere isn’t an option? If you reside in Eastern Europe, for example, you would have countries like Russia and Belarus nearby - countries led by leaders like Putin and Lukashenko, who are obsessively pursuing to export ideologies, revolutions and old delusions of grandeur. Maybe you reside in the Middle East. Next to you is Iran, a country spreading its missiles, the missiles of its “vassals,” and fighters across the region. It is proud of seeking to export its “revolution” to various places of the region.
How could you plan for the future of your country safely? How could you use your economic and scientific capacities to improve the living conditions of your people and not divert your resources to enhance your ability to face this daily threat on your border?
On the surface, it seems far-fetched to compare Russia’s project in Ukraine, Crimea and Donbas with the Iranian project in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. On the surface, it could also be said that one would have to be over the top to find similarities between what Western countries seek to achieve through their attempts to contain Vladimir Putin’s muscle-flexing and what these same countries seek from containing Khamenei and his entourage’s nuclear dreams through the negotiations in Vienna.
Nonetheless, a realistic assessment of these comparisons would inevitably reach the same conclusion, that the West faces the same difficulty with Putin as it does with Iran’s leaders. Western countries seek to avoid confrontation and are pushing in the direction of negotiations, while its rivals on both camps (Iranian and Russian) view as an indication of the West’s weakness, and they build delusions of victory on this assumption.
Putin is following the Western delegations coming to Moscow and desperately trying to invoke sympathy for the Ukrainians, asking him to kindly not invade their territory and satisfy himself with the share he had already taken during his previous invasion. And Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian are following the efforts Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, and Robert Malley are making to conclude an agreement with the Iranians, aiming to persuade them to contain their nuclear activity.
Commenting on that activity, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said it had reached a critical point: describing it with these words: “There’s no other country other than those making nuclear weapons reaching those high levels [of uranium enrichment]!”
Putin knows that Biden, under the pretext that it is not a NATO member, is not prepared to deploy forces to defend Ukraine. Putin also knows that Macron cannot take any useful military steps while drowning in his economic concerns and electoral preparations. Putin knows as well that Boris Johnson is overwhelmed with scandals, having to deal with a new accusation as soon as he addresses a previous one. Meanwhile, the German Chancellor is concerned about his country’s supply of gas, which, if interrupted, would make things colder and frostier in the Alpine villages and the Black Forest.
In short, Ukraine may be a concern for those running television stations because transmitting images of military preparations lures viewers and improves ratings, and it may be an opportunity for politicians to appear like leaders. However, it is not a concern for everyday Europeans, who could hardly locate Ukraine on the map. As for the ongoing negotiations with Iran, Tehran’s leaders are also aware that the Biden administration has made a return to the nuclear deal its top priority in the region, leaving no other options on the table. Thus, we find that the Iranians are the ones setting the terms, as they understand the sense of urgency with which the Biden administration is seeking to conclude an agreement. Among their latest conditions is that Washington ensure that any future administration would abide by the agreement and not reimpose sanctions on Iran as the Trump administration had done (terms no administration has the ability to impose on its successors).
The Americans admit that the negotiations have reached a critical point and that failure to reach an agreement that halts the Iranian nuclear program’s development before the end of February would be futile and render this agreement worthless. The US lead negotiator, Robert Malley, has not shied away from saying that concluding an agreement with Iran is “in Washington’s interest,” without clarifying how Washington and its allies in the region have an interest in Iran maintaining its current capacities.
Since it resumed uranium enrichment three years ago, it has increased purity to 60 percent, which is the purity needed, according to experts, to develop a nuclear bomb. Moreover, the agreement being promised does not address Iran’s missiles and the threats they pose to its neighbors. Even at this stage of the negotiations, Iran has announced the development of surface-to-surface missiles with a 1,450 km range.
Faced with such a state of affairs and such neighbors, countries have no choice but to depend on themselves and their capacities.
The Ukrainians had realized this and began developing their military capabilities after 2014 when Russian forces managed to annex Crimea and invade parts of Eastern Ukraine through their local agents. And the countries of the region neighboring Iran find themselves faced with no choice but to prepare to confront its aggression while simultaneously affirming their desire to establish good relations based on neighborliness and respect for borders. That desire, however, is conditioned on Iran avoiding interference and expressing that same desire for good relations.

Putin’s Game between Friend and Foe
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/ February 11/2022
In his lightning trip to Beijing last week Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a "Strategic Partnership" treaty with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The event coincided with the 20th anniversary of another "Strategic Partnership" deal that he had signed in 2002 with the then US President George W Bush.
So, did the Beijing signature represent a reversal of course in Russian foreign policy that, since Russia’s admission into the G7 club (later G8), had been focused on forging closer ties with the United States?
Putin’s recent behavior, notably his efforts to portray the United States as a barrier to Russia’s global ambitions may indicate such a development. More significantly, what may be seen as Putin’s Ostpolitik comes at a time that China is flexing its muscles against the United States in a good chunk of the Asia-Pacific region. Finally, Putin may see Xi Jinping’s saber-ratting over Taiwan as echoing what he himself is doing over Ukraine.
More importantly, perhaps, does Putin’s Beijing pirouette represent a radical shift of Russia attitude towards China - something that could lead to the emergence of what Thomas Fichy and Jean-Marie Holzinger in their 2013 book, called "A New Mongol Empire" led by China with Russia as its bridgehead to Europe and Iran as its Trojan horse in the Middle East.
However, as far as Russian perception of the world is concerned transforming China from "foe" to "friend" wouldn’t be easy. In Russian perception, as reflected in culture and literature, China, often taken to represent all "Asiatic" peoples including Mongols, Tatars and Nipponese is often seen as the "foe" (vrag) along with Germans, Poles, Swedes and Lithuanians in Europe.
This fear of the "Yellow Peril" is reflected in Russian music, literature and cinema. Boris Pilniak’s "Diary of China", Ivan Goncharev’s "The Fregate Pallas", and Andrei Rogozina’s "A Russian Woman in China" are some examples, not to mention Tchaikovsky’s "The Swan Lake" and Eisenstein’s "Ivan the Awe-inspiring" (Grozny).
As the largest country in the world, Russia has numerous land and sea neighbors from the Arctic to the Caspian Basin and from the Pacific to the Black Sea and has been at war with all of them except one: the United States, a neighbor through Alaska. This is why, ever since he Russians discovered or imagined their America, the United States has often had a positive image in Russian literature and culture. Even the advent of Bolshevism as the standard-bearer of anti-Imperialism did not lead to radical changes in that imagines.
Lenin’s missives to the Politburo after launching his New Economic Policy (NEP) clearly indicate the influence of American styles of management and production methods as he understood or misunderstood them. Lenin and others in the early leadership of the Bolsheviks, including Kamenev and Zinoviev, dreamed of a socialist society that, inspired by the American "can-do" spirit can produce economic prosperity without political freedom, an illusion that has also dominated Chinese politics since Deng Xiaoping.
During the Second World War America was cast as an ally of the Soviet Union. It fed and armed the Red Army to fight the Nazis and, in the process, impressed Russians with America’s unique productive and logistic prowess.
American agricultural machinery reached thousands of kolkhozes, helping increase food production, and stop a repeat of the 1930s famines. American tractors, threshers; combine-harvesters became iconic objects. However, film-maker Pudovgin had to re-shoot several scenes of one of his propaganda features to have the Hammer and Sickle emblem stuck on US-made farm machinery which supposedly made Russian peasants happy thanks to Stalin.
America’s sympathetic image cut across ideological barriers. Communist Ilya Ehrenburg admired America as did anti-Communist Ivan Bunin. Vladimir Nabokov who transformed himself from an old-Russian into an American writer and Edward Limonov, author of "The Russian Poet prefers Tall Negroes" reflected the mixture of grudging admiration and painful envy vis-à-vis their imaginary America.
The only war that Russia fought against the US was the Cold War. But even then the US was never designated as "foe" or "hostis" (vrag or vrazhesky), a label used at different times and contexts, for Germans, Swedes, Poles, Lithuanians, the French and the Chinese. Soviet Cold War propaganda labeled the US "adversary" (protivinik). According to Carl Schmidt’s classification an "adversary" could be transformed into a partner if not a friend whereas a "foe" must be defeated or even eliminated.
It is unlikely that Putin is unaware of the difficulties he faces in trying to transform the US from rival and/or adversary into a mortal foe for his dreamed Russia. He uses a set of bogus claims that won’t stand at closer examination.
The other day in Moscow he told French President Emmanuel Macron that Russia is "concerned about European security" when it is Russia that has assembled a war machine with 120,000 men posed for invading Ukraine.
He also told Macron that Europe needs a framework for ensuring its security. But such a framework already exists in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) of which Russia is a founding member, and not to mention the Helsinki Accords.
Putin’s other claim that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a potential threat to Russia is equally hard to sustain. NATO did nothing when Putin invaded and snatched territory from Georgia and Ukraine or when he militarily intervened in Syria to obtain an aero-naval base on the Mediterranean.
Three other points: First, Russia already has a partnership accord with NATO that, if used effectively, could iron out all discord through consultation and compromise. Next, NATO members account for almost 70 percent of all direct-foreign investment in the Russian economy and provide 80 percent of the market for Russian energy exports. Last year Russia was the largest exporter of crude oil to the United States. Finally, the bulk of Russia’s foreign currency reserves are lodged in banks and financial instructions located in NATO countries.
So, why is Putin playing the drums of war when he knows that he does not have the military and economic stamina and the popular backing at home without which no major conflict could produce victory if such a thing has any meaning these days.
Putin also feigns concern about NATO powers trying to sabotage Russian elections through Russian "Trojan horses" and cyber-attacks. Right now, however, it is he who is fielding an army of over 1,500 lobbyists, including a former German Chancellor, a French and an Austrian former prime ministers, to peddle his bill of goods in NATO countries. May be he craves attention. Or maybe, sensing that his star is no longer rising at home, he is looking for a diversion. Whatever the case, the most prudent thing to do is not to dance to his tune and take part in dramatizing the crisis he has conjured This is why Macron’s dramatic visit to Moscow was a wrong move.

Question: "How can Jesus be both God and man at the same time?"
GotQuestions.org?/ February 11/2022
Answer: The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is both God and man. Many Christians are understandably confused when it comes to understanding how Jesus can be God and man at the same time. How could our divine Creator become a human? Could a first-century Jewish man really be God? While a certain amount of mystery will always accompany this issue, both Scripture and, to a lesser extent, church tradition provide for us important distinctions to help us make sense of this matter.
While previous church councils had deliberated over issues pertaining to the nature of Christ and His relationship to the Father, it was the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) that affirmed that Christ is “the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man.” This statement is not true simply because the council taught it. Rather, the council’s declaration was authoritative only insofar as it aligned with what the Bible teaches on the subject. Scripture is clear that Jesus is God (John 20:28; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8), and it is equally clear that He is truly human (Romans 1:2–4; 1 John 4:2–3). Jesus claimed the divine name (John 8:58) and did things that only God can do (Mark 2:1–12; Luke 7:48–50). But Jesus also displayed the weaknesses and vulnerabilities common to humanity (Luke 19:41; John 19:28).
The belief that Jesus is both God and man is of fundamental importance. The apostle Paul wrote that an affirmation of the divinity of Jesus is required to be saved (Romans 10:9), and the apostle John provided a sober warning that those who deny Christ’s true humanity are promoting the doctrine of antichrist (2 John 1:7).
The Triune God of the Bible has existed and reigned from all eternity, and the second Person of the Trinity, the Son, took on human flesh at a particular point in time (Luke 1:35; Hebrews 1:5). God the Son added a sinless human nature to His eternally existent divine nature. The result was the Incarnation. God the Son became a man (John 1:1, 14). Hebrews 2:17 gives the reason that Jesus had to be both God and man: “He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” The Son of God took on human flesh to provide redemption to those under the law (Galatians 4:4–5).
At no time did Jesus ever cease to be God. Although He was made fully human, there was never a point when He abrogated His divine nature (see Luke 6:5, 8). It is equally true that, after becoming incarnate, the Son has never ceased to be human. As the apostle Paul wrote, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, emphasis added). Jesus is not half-human and half-divine. Rather, He is Theanthropos, the God-man. The Lord Jesus Christ is one eternally divine Person who will forever possess two distinct yet inseparable natures: one divine and one human.