English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For March 24/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised
the God of Israel.
Matthew 15:29-39 /Jesus left there and went along the Sea of
Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to
him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and
laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw
the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind
seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. Jesus called his disciples to him
and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me
three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or
they may collapse on the way.” His disciples answered, “Where could we get
enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”“How many loaves do you
have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”He told the
crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and
when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they
in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples
picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of
those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. After Jesus had
sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.’”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News & Editorials published on March 23-24/2022
Rahi meets Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister, visits Apostolic Nuncio
in Egypt
Al-Rahi Slams Hizbullah for 'Dragging' Lebanon into Many Wars
Aoun attends mass for Lebanon at Saint Charbel Monastery in Rome, returns to
Beirut
After KSA, Kuwait Welcomes Miqati's Call to Mend Lebanon-GCC Ties
Saudi Arabia Welcomes Miqati's 'Positive' Statement
Reports: Saudi, Kuwati Ambassadors to Return to Beirut Soon
Miqati Welcomes Kuwaiti-Saudi Statements, Says 'Cloud Will Pass'
Report: Political Parties to Agree on Deal for Sacking Oueidat and Abboud
Abu Faour: Saudi, Kuwaiti ambassadors to return in Lebanon soon
Berri discusses general situation with Telecoms Minister
Lebanese army chief meets UNIFIL Commander
Mikati: Cloud overshadowing ties with Gulf disappearing
Lebanese president sparks Christian anger by defending Hezbollah at the
Lebanese, Syrian revolts reassessed in light of Ukraine warظNadim Shehadi/Arab
News/March 23/2022
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on March 23-24/2022
US Less Optimistic over Iran Nuclear Deal
US lawmakers call on Blinken not to remove IRGC from terror list
Iran wants more concessions, US says heading to "Plan B' in talks
Iran's FM in Syria to Discuss Ukraine War, Ties with Arabs
US Welcomes Trilateral Summit between Egypt, UAE, Israel
Sharm al-Sheikh three-way summit ushers in new Arab-Israeli alliance
NATO: 7,000 to 15,000 Russian Troops Dead in Ukraine
Biden Seeks New Sanctions, Help for Ukrainians in Europe
Zelensky Slams U.N., Urges Reform in Address to Japan
Russia Accuses U.S. of Hindering Ukraine Talks
Putin Plans to Attend G20 Summit in Indonesia
Poland to Expel 45 Russian Diplomats Accused of Spying
One 'Black Box' Found in China Eastern Plane Crash
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on March 23-24/2022
The death of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) And the urgent need to
reestablish deterrence/Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/March 23/2022
Why the Senate should insist Biden submit his dangerous Iran nuclear deal to a
vote/John R. Bolton/The Washington Post/March 23/2022
"Dark Money" Affecting Elections in Revolutionary Ways/J. Christian Adams/Gatestone
Institute/March 23/2022
Egypt's fatwa institutions cannot ignore overpopulation/Mohamed Abulfadl/The
Arab Weekly/March 23/2022
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News
& Editorials published on March 23-24/2022
Rahi meets Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister, visits
Apostolic Nuncio in Egypt
NNA/March 23/2022
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rah, currently on a visit to
Egypt, on Wednesday received at the Maronite Archdiocese in Cairo, Egyptian
Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs, Ambassador Alaa Moussa, delegated
by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry, being outside the country.
The meeting reportedly focused on the deteriorating conditions in Lebanon and
Egypt's role in helping Lebanon overcome these circumstances and achieve
recovery. Afterwards, Patriarch Rahi visited the Vatican Embassy, where he was
received by the Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt, Nicolas Thévenin, who hosted a lunch
banquet in his honor. The pair discussed the important role of the Holy See
diplomacy in supporting the Lebanese cause.
Al-Rahi Slams Hizbullah for 'Dragging' Lebanon into Many
Wars
Naharnet/March 23/2022
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi slammed Hizbullah Wednesday by accusing the
group of dragging Lebanon into several wars.
"If its weapons are against Israel, why is Hizbullah dragging us into wars in
other places," al-Rahi asked in a TV interview. He added that Lebanon has lost
its health and its neutrality. "Lebanon has always carried a message of
dialogue," al-Rahi said, stressing that it shouldn't become an arena for
conflicts. The reasons behind Lebanon's isolation are known, according to the
Patriarch who proposed restoring Lebanon's neutrality for the interest of the
country. "Neutrality will preserve the country's sovereignty and protect it,"
al-Rahi said, rejecting having "states" within the state in Lebanon. Al-Rahi's
remarks came after al-Akhbar newspaper claimed that the Vatican had asked the
Patriarch to “modify” his rhetoric regarding the relation with Hizbullah. The
Patriarch said he will visit President Michel Aoun as soon as the latter returns
from the Vatican to discuss with him the possibility of holding an international
conference, similar to the Taef accord. Al-Rahi had travelled to Egypt where he
discussed with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the thorny issue of
Hizbullah’s weapons.
Aoun attends mass for Lebanon at Saint Charbel Monastery
in Rome, returns to Beirut
NNA/March 23/2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, concluded his visit to the Holy
See, and returned this morning to Beirut.
The President concluded his visit yesterday evening by attending a mass for
Lebanon in the Saint Charbel monastery of the Lebanese Maronite Order in the
Italian capital, Rome.
The mass was celebrated by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, head of the Congregation
for the Eastern Churches in the Holy See, who stressed that "The land of cedar
has made a gift to the city of Rome and to the Church in it, through that light
that crowns the testimony of Saint Charbel’s life, as has happened so far in
various parts of the world”.
“The people of God find themselves voluntarily drawn to this radical saint
monk’s connection to God, in a way that is full of transparency, so that he
feels that he is his friend, brother, and father, just as it is the case with
Saint Rafqa, whose memory we celebrate liturgically tomorrow” Cardinal Sandri
said. “On this particular evening, and through the presence of His Excellency
the President of the Lebanese Republic, General Michel Aoun, among us, the
believers present with us in this church are united in raising their prayers to
the Lord for the sake of Lebanon, in order to remain faithful to its identity
among the various countries of the Middle East. We especially pray so that
Lebanon gets out of the serious economic and social crisis that has hit it for a
while, and whose danger was compounded by the repercussions resulting from the
explosion of the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020” Cardinal Sandri added.
"Lebanon remains, before anything else, guarded by Holy Mary, especially through
the shrines and churches dedicated to her name, as well as through her raised
statues as a sign of sensual presence for her care as our mother. I am confident
that it is in Harissa, Maghdouche, Zahle and in many other places, the faithful
men and women of the sons of Lebanon will unite with the Holy Father” Sandri
concluded.
President Aoun had arrived at the monastery headquarters in Rome, near the
Basilica of St. John Lateran, around six in the evening, where he was received
at his entrance by: Abbot Nimatallah Al-Hashem, the General Head of the Lebanese
Maronite Order, the Secretary of the Order, Father Michel Abu Taqa, and the
Patriarchal Vicar of the Maronite Church, Archbishop Yohanna Rafeeq Al-Warsha,
Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Catholic Church, Archbishop Flapianos Rami
Kablan, Patriarchal Vicar of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church Archimandrite
Shehadeh Abboud, Patriarchal Vicar of the Armenian Catholic Church, Monsignor
Narek Naomo, Vicar of the Lebanese Maronite Congregation in Rome Father Milad
Tarabay, and Procurator of the Order in Rome, Father Anthony Maroun, the
representative of the Marian Order in Rome, Father Charbel Haddad, the
representative of the Basilian Congregational Saviour, Father Antoine Saad, the
representative of the Association of Lebanese Maronite Missionaries, the public
prosecutor at the Roman Rota Court, Father Anthony Chouifati, and the
representative of the Pontifical Institute Joseph Sakr.
A comprehensive meeting was held with the audience, after which the President
entered the Church of the Kind Mother again to participate in the Divine Liturgy
celebrated by Cardinal Sandri, amid the applause of the audience from officials
and members of the Lebanese community.
And then the liturgy began.
The mass was attended by President Aoun, the Lebanese delegation accompanying
him, Director General of General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim,
Lebanon's Ambassador to the Holy See, Dr. Farid Elias El-Khazen, Lebanon's
Ambassador to Italy, Mira Daher, Lebanon's Consul in Florence Charbel Shbeir and
political and diplomatic figures.
After the Holy Bible was read, Cardinal Sandri delivered the following sermon:
“The monthly celebration that we hold in honor of Saint Charbel still bears
witness to the influx of many believers to this church, thanks to which it
became a spiritual lung for the city of Rome, where believers find in this
monastery belonging to the Lebanese Maronite Order a place where they nourish
their path of faith, through prayer and celebration of the holy mysteries. And
the richness of graces granted by the Lord through the intercession of one of
the most prominent sons of Lebanon and the Maronite Church. This matter leads us
to recognize that the land of cedars made a gift to the city of Rome and to the
Church in it, through that light that crowns the testimony of the life of St.
Charbel, as has happened so far in various parts of the world.
The people of God find themselves voluntarily drawn to this holy monk’s radical
connection with God, in a transparent manner, so that he is his friend, brother,
and father, just as it is the case with Saint Rafqa, whose memory we commemorate
liturgically tomorrow: this is how Saint Charbel, who belongs entirely to God,
gives everyone the feeling that he is close to the community of believers.
And on this particular evening, and through the presence of His Excellency the
President of the Lebanese Republic, General Michel Aoun, among us, the believers
present with us in this church are united in raising their prayers to the Lord
for the sake of Lebanon, in order to remain faithful to its identity among the
various countries of the Middle East, especially for the sake of emerging from
the serious economic and social crisis that has been hitting it for some time,
and the repercussions of the explosion of the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020.
“We are all called to be apostles of Saint Charbel, following above all his
example in listening to the word of the Lord, especially that which the liturgy
brings to us on this day, thus nourishing our journey towards the glorious
Easter, enlightening our hearts in its search for God.
The first word that we heard is from the book of the prophet Daniel, which
mentions the deep supplication of the young Azariah, for his brothers who were
persecuted by King Nebuchadnezzar with the aim of forcing them to deny their
faithfulness to the Lord, and to offer them worship to the statue installed in
the name of the king. Azariah is innocent of the sin of the people, and he who
remained faithful to the Lord called him to the mercy of his people, taking upon
him the sin of all. Thus, the denial of the faith pushed the people of Israel
through the ages to lose their identity, and made them forever in a search for
safety through alliance with the various tyrants of that era, with Egypt on one
side, Assyria on one side, and Babylon on the other. The result was the collapse
of the dream of glory in the human way, in addition to the destruction of the
temple and the captivity of the people.
Today, as a result of the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, and in the face of
the endless tragedy of barbarism in Ukraine for several weeks, we may feel more
than ever, Azaria’s words, which may be a reminder of the state of our beloved
Lebanon today: “We have become the youngest among the nations of the earth, and
now all the earth is offended because of our sin... Do not neglect it for the
sake of that love we have for your name, and do not disavow the oath that exists
between us, and do not forsake your mercy from us. Here we are, at this hour,
walking towards you with all our heart, looking for your face”.
The season of Lent invites us to make a profound examination of conscience, each
of us toward his calling: Who are we before God? Are we faithful to our call? Do
we realize that there is nothing greater than our service in the heart of the
Church and society, which is based on the responsibility that we raise before
the eyes of God and men in devoting it to the service of all, especially the
little ones among us and those who are the poorest?
The Gospel itself puts us at the center of this dimension: by Peter's question
to Christ how many times I must forgive, what teaches us the realistic picture
of Christians who are made up of weak individuals in terms of their constant
need for the mercy of the Lord, and more than individuals who suffer divisions,
and are capable of harm in everyday relations, and consequently need to
reconcile each other. The answer of Christ to Peter, which has become
self-evident: “Not seven times, but seventy times seven,” and accompanied by the
proverb we have heard, requires us to acknowledge the great and free love of the
Lord, through which God loved and forgave us. And if we realize this every day,
we will then be able to consolidate true just relations towards each other and
build a just society” Cardinal Sandri said.
“And if we do the opposite, we will only contribute to the multiplication of
confrontation and disagreements: the tragedy, at which the Lord will ask us,
will be what happens within the Christian community, not only in Lebanon, but
the most dangerous thing is that the beacon raised on a mountain and which is
required to shine in the darkness, becomes then A sign of confusion and
blindness to other sisters and brothers in humanity.
In the night of stoking the misunderstanding of one another in the fraternity,
and the misery of humanity due to sin, Saint Charbel kept the flame of the Lord
lit, illuminating it with the oil of prayer, and by offering and sacrificing
himself. He is today and always helps us to follow in his footsteps” Sandri
added.
“Lebanon remains, before anything else, guarded by Mary, the Most Holy,
especially through the shrines and churches dedicated to her name, as well as
through her raised statues as a sign of sensual presence for her care as our
mother. I am confident that it is in Harissa, Maghdouche, Zahle and in many
other places, the faithful men and women of the sons of Lebanon will unite with
the Holy Father in the absence of the act of consecrating Russia and Ukraine to
the Most Holy Heart of Mary. And if there is a suffering people, like the
Lebanese people, knows how to offer their prayers for another suffering people,
then the Lord will surely pour out his grace on those who supplicate to Him,
because they have proven themselves to be brothers in pain, and will remain more
brothers in peace and reconciliation which we hope will come quickly. Amen”
Sandri concluded.
Word in Honor Record:
President Aoun had written in the monastery's honor register the following word:
“From the highest peak in Lebanon and the East, Charbel carried His Holiness to
the heart of the capital of Catholicism, which reverently rests on the legacy of
the apostles and the testimony of the first martyrs.
My prayer is that the presence of the saint of Lebanon, in the heart of Rome, be
an act of renewed faith in Lebanon, the heart of God, as mentioned in the Bible,
so that he will remain the best intercessor for Lebanon wherever his blessing
befalls.
May his grace be poured upon this monastery, so that it rises, despite the
difficulties, as a beacon of spiritual and cultural radiance in the name of
Lebanon, the homeland of mission and presence”.
Retreat:
A retreat was held between President Aoun and Cardinal Sandri, during which
Sandri briefed the President on his recent visit to Syria, as delegated by Pope
Francis, where he presided over a conference to discuss ways to help the Syrian
people in the difficult circumstances they are going through. The retreat was an
occasion in which President Aoun renewed the Lebanese thanks to Pope Francis for
his constant interest in Lebanon, and presented to Cardinal Sandri the results
of his meeting with the Supreme Pontiff and his meetings with senior officials
in the Holy See.
Dinner:
The mass was followed by a dinner hosted by Abbot Al-Hashem in honor of
President Aoun and the accompanying delegation, in the presence of Cardinal
Sandri.—Presidency Press Office
After KSA, Kuwait Welcomes Miqati's Call to Mend Lebanon-GCC
Ties
Naharnet/March 23/2022
Kuwait's Foreign Ministry has welcomed a statement by Prime Minister Najib
Miqati regarding Lebanon’s desire to repair its ties with the Gulf. "We look
forward to carry on with the constructive measures aiming at restoring the
Lebanon-Gulf ties," the statement said. Saudi Arabia had welcomed earlier on
Tuesday Miqati's statement. Miqati had called for putting an end to “all the
Lebanon-based political, military, security and media activities that harm the
sovereignty, security and stability of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation
Council countries.”He had also underlined Lebanon's “commitment to the articles
of the Kuwaiti initiative.” The Kuwaiti Ministry expressed, in its statement,
Kuwait's keenness on "the stability, safety and prosperity of the brotherly
Lebanese people.”
Saudi Arabia Welcomes Miqati's 'Positive' Statement
Naharnet/March 23/2022
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday welcomed a statement issued by Prime Minister Najib
Miqati regrading Lebanon’s desire to repair its ties with the kingdom and the
other Arab Gulf nations. In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said it
“welcomes the positive points” included in Miqati’s remarks, hoping that will
contribute to “restoring Lebanon’s role and standing in the Arab and
international arenas.”“The kingdom hopes for peace and security in Lebanon and
wishes stability, safety, development and prosperity for the brotherly Lebanese
people,” the Ministry added. In his statement on Monday, Miqati had called for
putting an end to “all the Lebanon-based political, military, security and media
activities that harm the sovereignty, security and stability of Saudi Arabia and
the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.”And stressing that Lebanese authorities
will seek to prevent the smuggling of narcotics to KSA and the Gulf, the premier
added that the government will work on “barring the use of Lebanese financial
and banking channels to conduct any financial transactions that might harm the
security of Saudi Arabia and the GCC countries.”Miqati also underlined
“commitment to the articles of the Kuwaiti initiative.”In October last year,
Saudi Arabia and its allies suspended diplomatic ties with Lebanon after the
airing of comments by then information minister George Kordahi criticizing
Riyadh's military intervention in Yemen. Kordahi resigned in December in a bid
to ease the stand-off.
Reports: Saudi, Kuwati Ambassadors to Return to Beirut Soon
Naharnet/March 23/2022
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari is returning to Beirut soon, media
reports said Wednesday. KSA had recalled Bukhari, following a diplomatic rift
caused by back-then Information Minister George Kordahi who had described the
war in Yemen as an aggression by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The
UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait followed Saudi Arabia by expelling the Lebanese
ambassadors and recalling their diplomats from Beirut. Al-Liwaa newspaper said
that Boukhari had participated in a meeting between the two foreign ministers of
France and KSA that resulted in a $36 million Saudi donation for humanitarian
projects in Lebanon. The daily added that the Kuwaiti ambassador will also
return to Beirut in the upcoming weeks. It said it had learned that Kuwait will
intensify its contacts in the upcoming days in an attempt to restore the
Lebanese-Gulf ties. Kuwait and KSA had welcomed Tuesday a statement issued by
Miqati that expressed Lebanon’s commitment to repair its ties with the Gulf.
Meanwhile al-Akhbar newspaper said that Gulf security leaders had recently
visited Lebanon and discussed with political parties the border demarcation with
Israel, the oil and gas file, and Yemen's war.
Miqati Welcomes Kuwaiti-Saudi Statements, Says 'Cloud Will
Pass'
Naharnet/March 23/2022
Prime Minister Najib Miqati described Wednesday the Lebanese-Gulf rift as a
cloud that will pass. He said at the start of a Cabinet session that the Kuwaiti
and Saudi statements indicate that the "cloud that has engulfed the Lebanon-Gulf
relations will soon dissipate." Miqati stated that "Lebanon and the Gulf states
share a common history and a belief in a common destiny.""We call on the Arabs
to stand by Lebanon," he added. Kuwait and KSA had welcomed Tuesday a statement
issued by Miqati that expressed Lebanon’s commitment to repair its ties with the
Gulf. Meanwhile, media reports said Wednesday that the Saudi and Kuwaiti
ambassadors will return to Beirut in the upcoming weeks. KSA, UAE, Bahrain and
Kuwait had expelled the Lebanese ambassadors and recalled their diplomats from
Beirut last October, after ex Information Minister George Kordahi described the
war in Yemen as an aggression by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, sparking the rift.
Report: Political Parties to Agree on Deal for Sacking
Oueidat and Abboud
Naharnet/March 23/2022
PM Najib Miqati is reportedly seeking to win the approval of Speaker Nabih Berri,
ex-PM Saad Hariri, Hizbullah and Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat
for the sacking of State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat, in order to pave the way
for an “uncertain deal” with President Michel Aoun, Maronite Patriarch Beshara
al-Rahi and Free Patriotic Movement head Jebran Bassil. The deal would also
involve the firing of Higher Judicial Council chief Judge Suheil Abboud, “which
would make everyone a winner," al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday. “The
camp that wants to get rid of Oueidat would win due to the latter’s refusal to
shelve the investigations in the file of the (central bank) governor and the
banks, and the camp that wants to get rid of Abboud would win due to the
latter’s political and presidential ambitions and his role in covering up for
the violations of Beirut port bombing investigative judge Tarek Bitar,” the
daily said. “Miqati’s action this time is motivated by Oueidat’s rebellion in
the file of banks and he enjoys the cover of ex-PM Saad Hariri,” unnamed sources
told al-Akhbar, noting that “there are contacts in this regards that have not
yet reached a conclusion.”The daily for its part said that there is a
“near-final agreement between Berri and Miqati” in this regard, noting that MP
Ali Hassan Khalil had visited the premier several days ago. Al-Akhbar also said
that “Miqati is accusing Oueidat of playing a role in a memo that was sent from
Lebanon to France and consequently to Monaco, which resulted in a judicial
cooperation request related to the file of the properties of the Miqati family
in Monaco.”Informed sources meanwhile told the daily that the consultations are
not expected to lead to a deal, noting that “the outcome of any consultations
with Miqati cannot be predicted because he does not commit to what he says.”
Abu Faour: Saudi, Kuwaiti ambassadors to return in
Lebanon soon
NNA/March 23/2022
MP Wael Abu Faour on Wednesday revealed that the Saudi and Kuwaiti ambassadors
will soon return in Lebanon. In remarks to al-Anbaa news site, the lawmaker
indicated that his meetings with Saudi official in Riyadh touched on the joint
mechanism between Saudi Arabia and France to provide Lebanon's social
institutions with needed aids, in addition to the possible Saudi contribution to
an international fund in support for the Lebanese army and security apparatuses.
Abu Faour added that talks in Saudi Arabia also tackled the means to repair and
develop Lebanon's ties with the Gulf.
"The return of the Arabs to Lebanon is the sole salvation door on the political,
economic, and financial levels," said the "Democratic Gathering" parliamentary
bloc member.
Berri discusses general situation with Telecoms Minister
NNA/March 23/2022
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Wednesday received at the Second Presidency in
Ain El-Tineh, Telecoms Minister, Eng. Johnny Corm, with whom he discussed the
current general situation and the latest developments, in addition to affairs
related to the telecommunications sector.
Lebanese army chief meets UNIFIL Commander
NNA/March 23/2022
Lebanese army chief, General Joseph Aoun, met Wednesday at his Yarze office with
UNIFIL Commander, Major General Aroldo Lazaro Sáenz, who came on a protocol
visit.
The pair reportedly discussed the bilateral cooperation between the military and
the peacekeeping force.
Mikati: Cloud overshadowing ties with Gulf disappearing
NNA/March 23/2022
Prime Minister Najib Mikati told a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the latest
"statements signal that the cloud overshadowing the relations between Lebanon
and the Gulf is disappearing." "What connects Lebanon and its people to their
brothers in the Gulf states is a shared history and faith in a common destiny,"
he said. "We are keen on implementing the provisions of the ministerial
statement, and we call our Arab brothers to stand by Lebanon," he stressed.
Lebanese president sparks Christian anger by defending
Hezbollah at the
Najia Houssari/Arab News/March 23, 2022
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Michel Aoun has sparked Christian anger by defending
Hezbollah during his Vatican visit.
In an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica, Aoun said that Hezbollah’s
weapons had “no influence in any way” on the security situation of the Lebanese
and that “resisting the (Israeli) occupation” was not terrorism. His words led
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi to reiterate his position on the
importance of Lebanon’s neutrality. Lebanon’s top Christian cleric told MTV on
Wednesday that the country was not a ground for conflict and that its interest
lay in neutrality which, he said, maintained its sovereignty and preserved it
from Israel and other hostile elements. There was online anger, with activists
sharing photos of dates and events where Hezbollah’s weapons had been “directed
at Christians and not in their defense.”These included the assassinations of
former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the pilot Samer Hanna, and Hezbollah
opponents Hashem Suleiman and Luqman Slim. The activists cited a military
conflict from May 7, 2008, between Hezbollah militias and pro-government Sunnis
after an 18-month-long political crisis spiraled out of control.
They also mentioned the clashes that erupted in Beirut’s Tayouneh neighborhood
last October between Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, unidentified gunmen, and
the armed forces. Activists said the president’s position at the Vatican did not
represent them and reminded him that Hezbollah was “listed as a terrorist
organization by the nations of the world, including the Arab League and the Gulf
Cooperation Council.”On Wednesday morning, several young people in Tripoli,
mostly Sunnis, wrote anti-Iran slogans on the city’s walls rejecting “Iranian
occupation.” Their actions were documented on video and posted on social media.
Aoun visited the Vatican earlier this week under the slogan “Christians are
well,” causing astonishment, especially in the Maronite Church, with one of its
officials noting that the patriarch had been “constantly warning” in his sermons
about the migration of young Christians and the collapse of sectors and
institutions established by Christians.
The Vatican’s statement was limited to Pope Francis and Aoun’s meeting
highlighting “the grave socio-economic problems the country is experiencing, and
the situation of refugees.”It expressed hope for the global aid reaching
Lebanon, the organization of upcoming legislative elections, and that “the
necessary reforms may contribute to strengthening peaceful co-existence between
the various religious communities” who lived in the land of the cedars. The
statement also stressed the “demand for justice” in the Beirut port explosion
case.
Messages on the platforms of Hezbollah and its supporters tried to imply that
there was a disagreement “between the Vatican and Patriarch Al-Rahi vis-a-vis
Hezbollah.”Former parliamentarian Fadi Karam, secretary of the Strong Republic
Parliamentary bloc, said: “Through his visit to the Vatican and his statements,
Aoun tried to acquit Hezbollah, saying that it protects Christians in Lebanon,
and that is the epitome of fabrication and offense to Lebanon and completely
contradicts the truth.”
He told Arab News: “Hezbollah and Aoun are the ones who led Lebanon to its
collapse and hell, and it is necessary to correct Aoun’s discourse as he is
wrong.”He denied there was any disagreement between the Vatican and Al-Rahi, and
said the Vatican did not approve of Aoun’s discourse and that “it focused in its
closing statement on Lebanon’s identity.”He added: “Aoun tried to exonerate
Hezbollah to allow his son-in-law Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic
Movement, to become the next president in the next parliamentary elections on
May 15.
“That is the visit’s goal. However, Aoun did not succeed in acquitting
Hezbollah, which cannot be done in the first place. His discourse is no longer
heard in either East or the West, nor in the political and financial circles.”
Lebanese, Syrian revolts reassessed in light of Ukraine
war
Nadim Shehadi/Arab News/March 23/2022
In March, we mark the anniversaries of two Middle Eastern revolts that
ultimately failed in achieving their goals: The Syrian revolution, which started
around the 18th of this month in 2011, and the Lebanese March 14 movement of
2005. Both protested against the Syrian regime. One was peaceful and the other
started as such and then turned into a violent civil war. The regime’s allies,
Hezbollah, Iran and Russia, got involved and both revolts were ultimately
defeated. A conversation is now taking place among Syrians and Lebanese,
reevaluating why they failed, and they are reaching opposing conclusions.
The Lebanese blame their March 14 leaders for compromising too much and for
their political realism, while the Syrians blame the leaders of the revolution
for their unrealistic demands and lack of compromise. At the same time,
parallels are being drawn with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with speculation
about its possible repercussions for the region.
One Syrian opposition leader I saw in London told me that, in 2011, they could
have sat with the regime when there were a few hundred dead and the country was
still in one piece. It might have been a mistake for the opposition to refuse
any compromise and to stick to the maximalist demand of regime change. They were
encouraged by the Arab and international support at the time and emboldened by
the US presence next door in Iraq, where one dictator had fallen, while others
had been brought down by similar revolts in the Arab Spring. The same people who
refused dialogue in 2011 are now being pressured to talk to the regime, but to
do so after hundreds of thousands have lost their lives, half the country’s
major cities are in rubble and millions are either internally displaced or
living as refugees in neighboring countries or around the globe. In addition,
the balance of power is not in their favor like it was 11 years ago. They are in
a weak position and their representatives lack credibility. A new generation
tends to see the old leadership of the Syrian revolution as a bunch of corrupt,
ego-driven and powerless losers who benefited financially from foreign support.
They accuse them of bickering among themselves and moving from one five-star
hotel to another, while the rest of the people suffered. Syrian revolutionaries,
struggling to survive in refugee camps or foreign lands, look back at the failed
confrontation, failed opposition and a country that is destroyed and occupied.
The regime also seems to be in a stronger position and is unwilling to
compromise. It has stronger allies, while the protesters’ international support
has waned.
Some are coming to the conclusion that even a very bad deal in 2011 would have
been better than the complete destruction of the country and the destitution
that has been brought upon its people. Others raise concerns that it is too late
to compromise after paying such a high price and that they should stick to their
aspirations of a free society instead of making a deal with a despotic regime.
They are encouraged by the resilience of the people of Ukraine and lament not
having their kind of leader.
A similar conversation about defeat is moving in the opposite direction among
the old March 14 camp in Lebanon. Their revolt was peaceful and successful at
first, but ended up being a failure as the Syrian regime’s allies gained ground.
They managed to avoid confrontation through compromises, but this led to the
collapse of the economy and financial bankruptcy, with Hezbollah gaining
control.
A new generation of revolutionaries are blaming the establishment for the
collapse of the country’s economy and institutions. What was then a culture of
compromise to avoid a new civil war is now seen as corrupt deal-making among an
oligarchic class looking after their own narrow political and financial
interests. The culture of coexistence and power-sharing is seen as dividing the
cake, sharing the spoils and gradually falling under the control of Hezbollah.
There was an outpouring of emotion after the assassination of Rafik Hariri in
2005, with as much as half the Lebanese population out on the streets. Tents
were erected in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square and young activists argued day and
night over the country’s history, the civil war and the political system, while
at the same time rejoicing in their new-found unity of purpose and
congratulating themselves for going beyond sectarian divisions toward a new
secular and united Lebanon.
The dream of national unity was, however, shattered by the emergence of a
pro-Syrian front with sectarian undertones. Confrontation at the time was
unimaginable; it would have been a return to old patterns of conflict, which the
Syrian army claimed to have resolved by occupying the country and imposing
stability. For many years, Syrian control was legitimized by an argument that
the Lebanese would start killing each other if left to their own devices. A
conflict at that time would have vindicated the Syrian regime’s claims. The
obvious choice was to avoid conflict and reach out, compromise and prove to
themselves that their aspirations were not mere illusions.
Several assassinations later, along with a major war with Israel and
interspersed with periods of deadlock and paralysis, the strategy of compromise
persisted and was institutionalized by the Doha Agreement in 2008, after
Hezbollah invaded the capital and showed its military superiority. Even an
electoral victory in 2009 did not alter the equation for long, as a “coup” in
January 2011 turned the tables against the March 14 majority. This was followed
by another period of paralysis, when there was no government, no president and
no parliamentary elections for 29 months.
Parallels are being drawn with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with speculation
about its possible repercussions for the region. The ultimate compromise in 2016
brought Gen. Michel Aoun to the presidency and gave his Hezbollah allies close
to complete control of the country, isolating it from most of its markets in the
Gulf and driving it toward the abyss. Lebanon was hijacked and became a hostage
of the Iranian camp thanks to a series of compromises, leading some people to
think that a political confrontation, even if it had led to violence, would have
been better than the collapse of the country.
All eyes are now on Ukraine after the Russian invasion revived interest in
Syria, where Russia used similar methods. There is hope of Western support for
Ukraine translating into a positive fallout for both Syria and Lebanon. But many
also remember that despotic regimes can have greater staying power than Western
policies or public opinion, and they can emerge looking even stronger if they
survive a revolution. There might also be lessons for Ukraine from both Lebanon
and Syria.
*Nadim Shehadi is a Lebanese economist. Twitter: @Confusezeus
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
March 23-24/2022
US Less Optimistic over Iran Nuclear Deal
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 23 March, 2022
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday that the onus is now
on Iran on whether it is willing to enter into a mutual return to compliance
with the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. A return to the deal remained
uncertain and was not imminent, Price said, despite optimism in recent weeks
that indirect talks between Iran and the United States could soon produce an
agreement. "We are close to a possible deal, but we're not there yet," Price
said on March 16. "We do think the remaining issues can be bridged."US officials
said they thought Tehran would reach an agreement after Sunday's celebration of
Nowruz. But that tone suddenly changed the following day. "I want to be clear
that an agreement is neither imminent nor is it certain," Price said Monday. And
on Tuesday, while refusing to say the talks had reached an impasse, Price said
the United States had contingency plans if a deal could not be reached and
Iran's alleged plans to develop nuclear weapons were not halted. "The onus is on
Tehran to make decisions that it might consider difficult," he told reporters.
"In fact we are preparing equally for scenarios with and without a mutual return
to full implementation of the JCPOA," he said, referring to the formal name of
the 2015 deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The administration of
president Donald Trump unilaterally abrogated the six-party JCPOA in 2018,
accusing Tehran of violating its terms and branding it a weak deal. Experts said
Iran had mostly stuck to the terms, but months after the US pullout, Tehran
began ramping up its nuclear program with activities that would enhance its
ability to build a nuclear weapon. Last April, three months after he took
office, President Joe Biden started new negotiations to revive the 2015
agreement, promising an easing of punishing sanctions in exchange for restoring
JCPOA controls. But the talks have proceeded with the knowledge that Tehran has
already moved much closer to nuclear weapons "breakout," which would render the
JCPOA moot.
US lawmakers call on Blinken not to remove IRGC from terror list
The Times Of Israel/March 23/2022
Some 80 Congress members say it’s ‘unconscionable’ to lift measures against
hardline Iranian militia, which they warn threatens stability in the Middle East
Over 80 Congress members on Tuesday urged the Biden administration not to delist
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terror group, a move it is
thought to be weighing in its bid to return to the nuclear deal with Tehran. In
a letter addressed to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the group — led by
Rep. Scott Franklin (Republican of Florida) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (Republican
of New York) — said they “are united in strong opposition to any move to
legitimize the IRGC’s reckless, destabilizing, and antisemitic actions through
the Middle East.”
“The IRGC continues to actively participate in acts of terror and destabilizing
actions in the region — particularly against one of our closest allies, Israel,”
the letter said. The lawmakers pointed to the hardline Islamic militia as a
chief sponsor of many terror groups, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad,
Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis, adding that its actions have led to “countless
deaths,” including those of over 600 US servicemen during the American
occupation of Iraq. “It is unconscionable that the United States should fail to
exert maximum pressure on an evil and malign organization like the IRGC,” they
said. Reports in recent days have indicated that Iran is demanding the IRGC be
delisted as a condition of its return to the 2015 accord. Former US president
Donald Trump added the Guards to the terror blacklist in 2019, in what was seen
as a largely symbolic move. Nonetheless, its potential removal has deeply
discomfited Israeli leaders. On Friday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid issued a joint statement expressing concern over the
potential move, saying, “Even now, the IRGC terrorist organization is trying to
murder certain Israelis and Americans around the world. Unfortunately, there is
still determination to sign the nuclear deal with Iran at almost any cost –
including saying that the world’s largest terrorist organization is not a
terrorist organization. This is too high a price.”In response, a US official
told The Times of Israel that the US was “prepared to make difficult decisions
to return Iran’s nuclear program to JCPOA limits,” not denying that delisting
the IRGC was potentially on the table.
Iran wants more concessions, US says heading to "Plan B'
in talks
AFP/The Arab Weekly/March 23/2022
US optimism that a deal to restore the 2015 agreement to limit Iran's nuclear
developed has soured, with the State Department warning Tuesday it was headed
towards "Plan B" if Tehran does not budge. Just a week ago Washington officials
were hopeful that an agreement that aimed to halt Iran's march towards nuclear
weapons capability, after almost one year of negotiations, was within reach. "We
are close to a possible deal, but we're not there yet," State Department
spokesman Ned Price said on March 16. "We do think the remaining issues can be
bridged."US officials said they thought Tehran would reach an agreement after
Sunday's celebration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Mood shift
But that tone suddenly changed the following day. "I want to be clear that an
agreement is neither imminent nor is it certain," Price said Monday. And on
Tuesday, while refusing to say the talks had reached an impasse, Price said the
United States had contingency plans if a deal could not be reached and Iran's
alleged plans to develop nuclear weapons were not halted. "The onus is on Tehran
to make decisions that it might consider difficult," Price told reporters. "In
fact we are preparing equally for scenarios with and without a mutual return to
full implementation of the JCPOA," he said, referring to the formal name of the
2015 deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.The administration of
President Donald Trump unilaterally abrogated the six-party JCPOA in 2018,
accusing Tehran of violating its terms and branding it a weak deal. Experts said
Iran had mostly stuck to the terms, but months after the US pullout, the Islamic
republic began ramping up its nuclear programme with activities that would
enhance its ability to build a nuclear weapon. Last April, three months after he
took office, President Joe Biden started new negotiations to revive the 2015
agreement, promising an easing of punishing sanctions in exchange for restoring
JCPOA controls. But the talks have proceeded with the knowledge that Tehran has
already moved much closer to nuclear weapons "breakout," which would render the
JCPOA moot.
Political choices
Tehran is believed to be holding out for two objectives: a guarantee of some
protection if the United States again pulls out from the deal and the removal of
Washington's official "Foreign Terrorist Organisation" designation of its
aggressive arm, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). "We are still
working through a number of difficult issues," Price said, while not confirming
what the specific un-agreed points were. "We know that there has to be a great
deal of urgency and we know that now the onus is on Tehran to make decisions,"
he said. Suggesting that Washington has not given up, Price did say Monday that
it could make concessions. "We are prepared to make difficult decisions to
return Iran's nuclear program to its JCPOA limits," he said. But he also warned
that Washington is conferring with allies on what to do if no deal is reached,
without providing details. "We are preparing ... for a world in which we have a
JCPOA and a world in which we don't. But either way, the president's commitment
to the fact that Iran will never be able to acquire a nuclear weapon, that is
ironclad."
'Walk away'
Yet even as the United States pressures Iran to give in, it is facing challenges
from conservatives domestically against a possible deal. After a briefing
Tuesday from the State Department's main JCPOA negotiator Rob Malley, senior
Republican Senator Jim Risch lashed out. "I'm appalled at the concessions this
administration is considering to placate the Iranian regime," he said, calling
on Biden to "walk away" from the talks. "A deal that provides $90-$130 billion
in sanctions relief, relieves sanctions against Iran's worst terror and human
rights offenders and delists the IRGC does not support our national security
interests," he said. But Democrat Chris Murphy echoed an accommodating line
although acknowledging Iran’s nuclear threat. "The intel on how close Iran is to
a nuclear weapon is chilling, and we have no reason to believe that there's a
pathway other than diplomacy to extend their breakout time," the senator said.
He added that the terror group designation for the IRGC can be dropped because
it "has no practical impact."
Iran's FM in Syria to Discuss Ukraine War, Ties with
Arabs
Associated Press/March 23/2022
The foreign ministers of Iran and Syria, two allies of Russia, will discuss the
war in Ukraine and other developments during a meeting in Damascus on Wednesday,
Syria's foreign minister said. Faisal Mekdad spoke to reporters at Damascus
airport shortly after his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, arrived
for talks with top Syrian officials. Iran is a strong ally of President Bashar
Assad and has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the region to
bolster Syrian government forces against opponents in the 11-year Syrian
conflict. Russia has also supported Assad militarily, turning the tide of the
war in his favor. The Syria war has killed nearly half a million people and
displaced half the country's pre-war population of 23 million. "We will discuss
the huge developments today after Russia's military operation in Ukraine,"
Mekdad said. "We will discuss what is behind that and we will discuss our mutual
stances toward these developments."During his visit, Amir-Abdollahian is also
likely to discuss the latest developments in Iran's negotiations to restore
Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, Assad's visit to the United Arab
Emirates last week, which marked his first to an Arab country since the Syria
war broke out, and meetings of the constitutional committee in Geneva between
the Syrian government and opposition. Amir-Abdollahian said in Farsi that
strategic relations between Iran and Syria are at their best. He later made a
rare comment in Arabic, saying: "We are in the same trench, and we support
Syria's leadership, government and people."Like Iran, Russia a strong ally of
Syria and joined the war in 2015, which helped Assad's forces regain control of
much of the country. Russia has hundreds of troops deployed in Syria and an air
base on the Mediterranean coast. Nuclear negotiations nearly reached completion
earlier this month before Moscow demanded that its trade with Iran be exempted
from Western sanctions over Ukraine, throwing the process into disarray.
Negotiators have yet to reconvene in the Austrian capital, and its unclear
exactly what hurdles lie ahead. Amir-Abdollahian's visit also comes two weeks
after two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard were killed in an Israeli strike
near the capital Damascus. Days later Iran claimed responsibility for a missile
barrage that struck near a sprawling U.S. consulate complex in northern Iraq,
saying it was retaliation for repeated Israeli strikes in Syria. The
Revolutionary Guard said it fired off 12 cruise missiles at what it described as
a "strategic center" of the Israeli spy agency Mossad, a claim denied by Iraqi
officials.
US Welcomes Trilateral Summit between Egypt, UAE, Israel
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 23 March, 2022
The US State Department said it welcomed the trilateral summit on Tuesday
between the leaders of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Israel, who met in
Sharm el-Sheikh for talks on the economic impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
and the growing influence of Iran in the region. State Department spokesperson
Ned Price told reporters that US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley has been
in close consultations with Gulf partners. In their first tripartite meeting,
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The
talks addressed the repercussions of global developments, especially concerning
energy, market stability, and food security. Media and political sources said
that the meeting also included a discussion of Iranian influence.
Sharm al-Sheikh three-way summit ushers in new Arab-Israeli
alliance
AFP/The Arab Weekly/March 23/2022
Arab diplomatic sources in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, described the tripartite
meeting that brought together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Abu Dhabi
Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Israeli Prime Minister
Naftali Bennett, on Monday and Tuesday, in Sharm el-Sheikh, as ushering in the
birth of an Arab-Israeli alliance. They cite common interests and the desire to
work together towards meeting the challenges of economic needs and regional
security, while leaving behind the decades-old legacy of hostility and conflict.
The sources said this de facto tripartite alliance “sends a clear signal to
Saudi Arabia that it may not be able to afford waiting for too long before
drawing the conclusions of the changing realities in the region, as well as the
mixed signals sent by Washington, regarding its commitment to the security
interests of the Arab Gulf states.”The diplomatic sources point out to common
wariness about “ a US desire to accommodate Iran at the risk of unleashing its
hand on more than one level, whether in the race towards nuclear and non-nuclear
armament, or the unrestricted use of oil revenues to purchase arms and threaten
the security of the region.”Egypt's presidency said the three leaders discussed
energy market stability and food security, two acute challenges for Cairo after
Russia's offensive in Ukraine sent wheat and crude oil prices soaring, as well
as international and regional issues. The war prompted Cairo on Monday to
devalue its currency by 14%. Cairo is typically the world's biggest wheat
importer, sourcing most of those imports from Russia and Ukraine. While those
costs are rising sharply, tourism receipts from Russian and Ukrainian visitors
are expected to fall. "We clearly see the strengthening of an axis that offers
another narrative in the Middle East, that we can work together and cooperate on
economic and defence matters," said Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll.
"Israel is committed to build a good partnership with anyone possible against
the radical axis of Iran," he told Kann radio. A statement from Bennett's office
later said simply that the three countries discussed strengthening ties on all
levels in their talks, which began on Monday and stretched into Tuesday.
Regional analysts see the emergence of an expanding Arab-Israeli alliance, as
new Arab countries join the peace process. Besides Egypt and Jordan, this group
of countries includes the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Sudan and Oman. The analysts
point out that the implementation of joint economic, commercial, technological
and investment projects is likely to boost trust between Israel and its Arab
neighbours. They believe the positive impact of any such projects on the living
standards of the region’s population will diminish resistance to normalisation
at the grass root level and pave the way for unprecedented security and military
cooperation towards the shaping of an alliance that many Arab countries feel
they need in the face of rising Iranian and Turkish expansionist ambitions and
their inability to rely on US commitment to ensuring their security.
Disagreement with Washington on both those issues has increased tensions between
the United States and oil-exporting Arab Gulf powers, who fear a resurgent Iran
if it is able to export oil again under a nuclear deal with Washington.
"We have some of the top US allies not happy with the Biden approach," Emirati
political analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdullah said. "For them to stand up together and
for them to speak in one voice, that might resonate." Khaled Okasha, head of the
Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies, said Sisi's meeting with Bennett would
have focused on the impact of the Ukraine conflict, while all three countries
had overlapping views on Iran. The Director of the Egyptian Council for Foreign
Affairs, Ambassador Ezzat Saad, told The Arab Weekly that the Sharm el-Sheikh
meeting took place on the eve of the expected signing of the Iran nuclear deal
as serious efforts are being undertaken to adopt a joint Gulf-Egyptian -Israeli
position rejecting the deal. The expert on Israeli affairs, Ahmed Fouad Anwar,
confirmed to The Arab weekly that Iran was among the main items on the agenda at
al-Sharm el-Sheikh meeting as the participants felt they needed to prepare for
the fallout of the nuclear agreement, which they see as benefiting Tehran and
enabling it to increase its expansion in the region. Egyptian sources told The
Arab Weekly that energy and food security is “the appropriate practical starting
point for cooperation between the three countries at this stage where Cairo is
encouraged to move its cooperation with Israel from the bilateral level to a
more regional framework.” The same sources indicated that the Sharm el-Sheikh
meeting can be interpreted as showing a change in the Egyptian approach towards
regional cooperation projects.“Cairo had not shown much enthusiasm for such
projects when recently floated. Now, under the pressure of the new economic
conditions facing the country, Egypt has no alternative but to pursue such a
course,” they pointed out.
NATO: 7,000 to 15,000 Russian Troops Dead in Ukraine
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 23 March, 2022
NATO estimated on Wednesday that 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been
killed in four weeks of war in Ukraine, where fierce fighting by the country's
fast-moving defenders has denied Moscow the lightning victory it sought. By way
of comparison, Russia lost about 15,000 troops in Afghanistan over 10 years. A
senior NATO military official said the alliance's estimate was based on
information from Ukrainian officials, what Russia has released — intentionally
or not — and intelligence gathered from open sources. The official spoke on
condition of anonymity under ground rules set by NATO. When Russia unleashed its
invasion Feb. 24 in Europe’s biggest offensive since World War II, a swift
toppling of Ukraine’s government seemed likely. But with Wednesday marking four
full weeks of fighting, Moscow is bogged down in a grinding military campaign.
With its ground forces slowed or stopped by hit-and-run Ukrainian units armed
with Western-supplied weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops are
bombarding targets from afar, falling back on the tactics they used in reducing
cities to rubble in Syria and Chechnya. As US President Joe Biden left for
Europe on Wednesday to meet with key allies about possible new sanctions against
Moscow and more military aid to Ukraine, he warned there is a “real threat"
Russia could use chemical weapons. Addressing Japan’s parliament on Wednesday,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said thousands of his people have been
killed, including at least 121 children.
“Our people cannot even adequately bury their murdered relatives, friends and
neighbors. They have to be buried right in the yards of destroyed buildings,
next to the roads,” he said. Still, major Russian objectives remain unfulfilled.
The capital, Kyiv, has been bombarded repeatedly but is not even encircled.
Near-constant shelling and gunfire shook the city Wednesday, with plumes of
black smoke rising from the western outskirts, where the two sides battled for
control of multiple suburbs. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 264 civilians
have been killed in the capital since the war broke out. In the south, the
encircled port city of Mariupol has seen the worst devastation of the war,
enduring weeks of bombardment and, now, street-by-street fighting. But Ukrainian
forces have prevented its fall, thwarting an apparent bid by Moscow to fully
secure a land bridge from Russia to Crimea, seized from Ukraine in 2014.
Zelenskyy said 100,000 civilians remain in a city that had 430,000 people before
the war. Efforts to get desperately needed food and other supplies to those
trapped have often failed. Zelenskyy accused Russian forces of seizing a
humanitarian convoy. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the Russians
were holding captive 11 bus drivers and four rescue workers along with their
vehicles. In their last update, over a week ago, Mariupol officials said at
least 2,300 people had died, but the true toll is probably much higher.
Airstrikes in the past week destroyed a theater and an art school where
civilians were sheltering. In the besieged northern city of Chernihiv, Russian
forces bombed and destroyed a bridge that was used for aid deliveries and
civilian evacuations, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said.
Kateryna Mytkevich, who arrived in Poland after fleeing Chernihiv, wiped away
tears as she spoke about what she had seen. The city is without gas, electricity
or running water, said Mytkevich, 39, and entire neighborhoods have been
destroyed. “I don’t understand why we have such a curse,” she said. Despite
plenty of evidence to the contrary, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted the
military operation is going “strictly in accordance” with plans. The most recent
figure for Ukraine’s military losses came from Zelenskyy on March 12, when he
said that about 1,300 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed in action. The NATO
official said 30,000 to 40,000 Russian soldiers are estimated to have been
killed or wounded. Russia has released very little information on its
casualties, saying March 2 that nearly 500 soldiers had been killed and almost
1,600 wounded.
Ukraine also claims to have killed six Russian generals. Russia acknowledges
just one dead general.
The figures from NATO represent the alliance’s first public estimate of Russian
casualties since the war began. The US government has largely declined to
provide estimates of Russian or Ukrainian casualties, saying available
information is of questionable reliability.
With casualties mounting and quick victory no longer in sight, Russia is having
to work to suppress dissent and shore up morale. It has arrested thousands of
antiwar protesters and cracked down on the media. Also, under a law passed
Wednesday, troops in Ukraine will get the same benefits as veterans of previous
wars, including tax breaks, discounts on utilities and preferential access to
medical treatment. In an apparent reflection of growing divisions in Russia’s
top echelons, Anatoly Chubais has resigned, Peskov told the Interfax news
agency. Chubais, the architect of Russia’s post-Soviet privatization campaign,
had served in a variety of top posts over three decades. His latest role was as
Putin’s envoy to international organizations.
Peskov would not say if Chubais had left the country.
Western officials say Putin's forces are facing serious shortages of food, fuel
and cold weather gear, with soldiers suffering frostbite, while Ukraine's
defenders have been going more on the offensive. Still, Russia’s far stronger,
bigger military has many Western experts warning against overconfidence in
Ukraine’s long-term odds. The Kremlin's practice in past wars has been to grind
down resistance by flattening cities, killing countless civilians and sending
millions fleeing. Talks to end the fighting have continued by video. Zelenskyy
said negotiations with Russia are going “step by step, but they are going
forward.”With no peace, those not yet fighting prepared to do so. “Everything’s
a bestseller these days,” said Zakhar Sluzhalyy, owner of a gun shop in the
western city of Lviv. “We’re defending our land,” he said. “We’re fighting for
our freedom and that of the rest of Europe.”
Biden Seeks New Sanctions, Help for Ukrainians in Europe
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 23 March, 2022
With Europe facing its most precarious future since World War II, President Joe
Biden will huddle with key allies in Brussels and Warsaw this week as the
leaders try to prevent Russia’s war on Ukraine from spiraling into an even
greater catastrophe.
Biden embarks Wednesday on a four-day trip that will test his ability to
navigate the continent’s worst crisis since WWII ended in 1945. There are fears
that Russia could use chemical or nuclear weapons as its invasion becomes bogged
down in the face of logistical problems and fierce Ukrainian resistance.
Humanitarian challenges are growing as well. Millions of refugees have fled the
fighting, mostly by crossing the border into Poland, and the war has jeopardized
Ukraine's wheat and barley harvests, raising the possibility of rising hunger in
impoverished areas around the globe.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said the president would
coordinate with allies on military assistance for Ukraine and new sanctions on
Russia. He added that Biden is working on long-term efforts to boost defenses in
Eastern Europe, where more countries fear Russian aggression. The president is
also aiming to reduce the continent's reliance on Russian energy. “This war will
not end easily or rapidly,” Sullivan told reporters at a White House briefing on
Tuesday. “For the past few months, the West has been united. The president is
traveling to Europe to make sure we stay united.”
Sullivan said Vladimir Putin's references to nuclear weapons at the beginning of
the conflict are “something that we do have to be concerned about,” adding that
Biden would be talking with allies about “potential responses” if the Russian
leader takes that step.
Sullivan's description of Biden's trip was another sign that the crisis is
entering a new and uncertain phase.
After the initial invasion failed to topple Ukraine's government, the war has
become a grinding endeavor for Putin, who is relying on airstrikes and artillery
that are devastating civilian communities. Negotiations between Ukraine and
Russia have not produced a ceasefire or a path to ending the conflict, and the
US continues to rush weapons like anti-tank missiles to Ukrainian forces. The
war's ripple effects are also spreading. Biden warned that Russia could be
planning cyberattacks that would affect US companies, and he spoke to Chinese
President Xi Jinping on Friday to warn him against backing Russia with military
or financial assistance. Meanwhile, a top State Department official visited
India this week shortly after that country decided to purchase more Russian oil.
“This is one of those decisive moments for an American leader that defines their
legacy internationally,” said Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian at New
York University. Biden’s first stop is Brussels, where he’ll attend
back-to-back-to-back meetings. NATO is holding a hastily arranged emergency
summit, where Biden is expected to reiterate his support for Article 5 of the
alliance's charter, which commits all members to collective defense if any are
attacked. “I think the meeting of all heads of state and government in NATO will
provide us with yet another platform to demonstrate our unity, our support to
Ukraine, but also our readiness to protect and defend all NATO allies,” NATO
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “And
by sending that message, we are preventing an escalation of the conflict to a
full-fledged war between NATO and Russia.”Biden will also participate in
meetings of the European Union and the Group of Seven, which includes the
world’s richest democracies.
He’ll then travel to Warsaw on Friday to meet Polish officials to discuss the
enormous humanitarian strain caused by the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Biden is
scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Saturday. Duda, whose
country suffered a brutal Nazi occupation during World War II, compared Russian
actions in Ukraine to Adolf Hitler's infamous SS forces. Visiting Bulgaria on
Tuesday, Duda said Putin's army “is behaving in exactly the same way." He said
he hoped that those responsible for attacks on civilians would be brought before
international courts. Polish leaders have pressed for a Western peacekeeping
mission to intervene in Ukraine, a step that the US and other Western allies
worry could lead to a broadening of the war. The Polish leadership also wants an
increased military presence along NATO's eastern flank. Sullivan said Biden's
trip to Poland is an important opportunity to “meet with a frontline and very
vulnerable ally.” Poland is also host to a growing number of US troops, and
Sullivan suggested Biden may visit them as well. Last week, at NATO’s Brussels
headquarters, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his counterparts weighed
what defenses to set up on the organization’s eastern flank, from Estonia in the
north through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland down to Bulgaria and Romania on the
Black Sea. The aim is to deter Putin from ordering an invasion of any of the 30
allies, not just for the duration of the war in Ukraine but into the future.
Putin has demanded that NATO withdraw its forces on its eastern flank and stop
expanding. Sullivan said that Biden, during his talks in Europe, “will work with
allies on longer-term adjustments to NATO force posture.”Biden's visit to Poland
follows on Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to Warsaw and Bucharest earlier
this month. While Harris was in Poland, Duda called on the Biden administration
to expedite visa procedures for Ukrainians who have family living in the United
States so that they could resettle in the US at least temporarily.
Zelensky Slams U.N., Urges Reform in Address to Japan
Agence France Presse/March 23/2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Japan's parliament Wednesday that
the United Nations had failed over the conflict in his country and reforms were
needed, calling for more pressure on Russia. The international body has been
hamstrung because Russia is a permanent member of its Security Council and has
effectively blocked condemnation or action over its invasion of Ukraine.
"Neither the United Nations nor the UN Security Council have functioned. Reforms
are needed," the Ukrainian leader told lawmakers via videolink. "We need a tool
to preemptively ensure global security. Existing international organizations are
not functioning for this purpose, so we need to develop a new, preemptive tool
that can actually stop invasions," Zelensky added. Japan has marched in lockstep
with Western allies to impose tough sanctions on Russian financial institutions
and officials, as well as Moscow's ally Belarus. It has regularly condemned the
invasion, as well as sabre-rattling over the use of nuclear weapons, and has
offered Ukraine million of dollars in humanitarian aid and other assistance.
Zelensky praised Japan as "the first nation in Asia that started piling pressure
on Russia"."I ask you to continue to impose sanctions," he added. "Let's make
efforts to ensure Russia will want and seek peace. Trade embargoes on Russia
must be introduced to stop the tsunami of the invasion against Ukraine."Zelensky
used the address to Japan, which remains haunted by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear
disaster, to warn of the dangers his country faced from Russian attacks on
nuclear plants and the site of the Chernobyl meltdown. "Atop shattered reactors
are... active processing facilities for nuclear materials. Russia turned that
into a war zone," he said, warning that years would be needed to assess possible
environmental effects of Russia's occupation of Chernobyl. Zelensky also
repeated assertions made by Washington that Russia could be preparing to use
chemical weapons, though he provided no specific evidence. "I'm receiving
reports that Russia is preparing attacks using chemical weapons such as sarin,
just like Syria," he told lawmakers in Tokyo, which was the site of a 1995 sarin
attack by members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult. Seeking to bolster support for his
country, Zelensky has addressed lawmakers around the world -- and will speak to
the French parliament later in the day. He has also been invited to address a
NATO summit on Thursday.
Russia Accuses U.S. of Hindering Ukraine Talks
Agence France Presse/March 23/2022
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday accused the United States of
seeking to hinder Moscow's talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the almost
month-long conflict. "The talks are tough, the Ukrainian side constantly changes
its position. It's hard to avoid the impression that our American colleagues are
holding their hand," Lavrov told students in Moscow. He added that "the
Americans simply see it as disadvantageous for them for this process to finish
swiftly," claiming "they are counting on continuing to pump up Ukraine with
weapons". Lavrov referred to "provocative statements" about Soviet-era MiG
fighter planes -- apparently referring to Poland's offer to send its MiG-29
fighter jets via a US air base, which the U.S. rejected -- and Ukraine's pleas
for sending extra Stinger missiles. The United States "apparently wants to keep
us in a state of military action as long as possible", the Russian minister
said.
Lavrov said that Russia needed to "stand firm". "Western countries want to play
some kind of intermediary role but we have red lines".
Putin Plans to Attend G20 Summit in Indonesia
Agence France Presse/March 23/2022
President Vladimir Putin plans to attend a G20 summit later this year in
Indonesia, Moscow's envoy said Wednesday, dismissing suggestions Russia could be
excluded from the group over the war in Ukraine. A day earlier, the United
States indicated it would consult allies over Russia's membership in
international forums to increase pressure over the invasion of Ukraine, which
has prompted a refugee crisis in Europe and roiled global markets. Russian
Ambassador to Indonesia Lyudmila Vorobieva said G20 host Jakarta had already
invited Putin to the November heads of state summit in Bali. "It will depend on
many things, including the Covid situation that is getting better. But, so far
yes, the intention is [for Putin] to come," she told reporters on Wednesday.
Vorobieva said there have been attempts by Western countries to expel Russia
from world organisations, including the Group of 20 major economies, calling it
a "disproportionate" reaction. Russia, she added, appreciates Indonesia's "firm
position", after Jakarta repeatedly said the forum was for resolving economic
problems. China on Wednesday also dismissed suggestions Russia could be
excluded, saying the country was an "important member" of the G20.
Beijing has provided a level of diplomatic protection as Russia finds itself
increasingly isolated, and its economy tied up by Western sanctions. "The G20 is
the main forum for international economic cooperation," Chinese foreign ministry
spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters. "Russia is an important member, and no
member has the right to expel another country." Indonesia, which currently holds
the rotating presidency of the G20, has said it will keep the November forum
focused on its initial objectives, implying it was planning to keep Russia's
invasion of Ukraine largely off the agenda. "Of course, the expulsion of Russia
from this kind of forum will not help these economic problems to be resolved. On
the contrary, without Russia, it will be difficult," said Vorobieva. "We really
hope that the Indonesian government will not give in to the horrible pressure
that is being applied to not only Indonesia, but so many countries in the world
by the West." White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday
said Washington would consult with allies about Russia's G20 membership. "We
believe that it cannot be business as usual for Russia in international
institutions and in the international community," he told a press briefing.
Russia was previously indefinitely suspended from the smaller Group of Eight
major economies in 2014 over the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The grouping
was renamed the G7.
Poland to Expel 45 Russian Diplomats Accused of Spying
Associated Press/March 23/2022
Poland’s Internal Security Agency says it is expelling 45 Russian intelligence
officers using diplomatic status as cover to stay in country. The agency said
Wednesday it is asking the Foreign Ministry to urgently expel the Russians,
describing them as a danger to Poland’s security. The agency also said it
detained a Polish citizen on suspicion of espionage on behalf of the Russian
secret services. The suspect worked in Warsaw’s registry office and had access
to city archives. “Given the nature of documents kept by those units, the
activity of the suspect posed a threat to both the internal and external
security of Poland,” the agency said in a statement.
One 'Black Box' Found in China Eastern Plane Crash
Associated Press/March 23/2022
A Chinese aviation official said Wednesday that one of the two "black box"
recorders had been found in severely damaged condition, two days after a China
Eastern flight crashed in southern China with 132 people on board. The device is
so damaged that investigators were not able to tell whether it is the flight
data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder, said Mao Yanfeng, the director of
the accident investigation division of the Civil Aviation Authority of China. He
told a news conference that an all-out effort is being made to find the other
black box. Recovering the so-called black boxes — they are usually painted
orange for visibility — is considered key to figuring out what caused the crash.
It wasn't clear if the damage to the recovered one would limit its usefulness.
The search for clues into why a Chinese commercial jetliner dove suddenly and
crashed into a mountain in southern China had been suspended earlier Wednesday
as rain slickened the debris field and filled the red-dirt gash formed by the
plane's fiery impact. Searchers had been using hand tools, drones and sniffer
dogs under rainy conditions to comb the heavily forested slopes for the flight
data and cockpit voice recorders, as well as any human remains. Crews also
worked to pump water from the pit created when the plane hit the ground, but
their efforts were suspended around midmorning because small landslides were
possible on the steep, slick slopes.
The black box was found in the afternoon. The flight data recorder captures
information about the plane's airspeed, altitude, direction up or down, pilot
actions, and performance of all key systems. The cockpit voice recorder captures
sounds including conversations and background engine noise during the flight.
Relatives of passengers began arriving Wednesday at the gate to Lu village just
outside the crash zone, where they, along with reporters on the scene, were
stopped by police and officials who used opened umbrellas to block the view
beyond. One woman was overheard saying her husband, the father of their two
children, had been on board the flight. "I'm just going in there to take a look.
Am I breaking the law?" she said. The woman and a companion were then escorted
away and reporters told to stop filming. Another man, who gave just his surname,
Ding, said his sister-in-law had been on the plane. He said he hoped to visit
the site but had been told little by the authorities. "We're just coming here to
have a look," said Ding, adding, "My heart sank all of a sudden," upon hearing
about the crash. He too was escorted away. China Eastern Flight 5735 was
carrying 123 passengers and nine crew from Kunming in Yunnan province to
Guangzhou, an industrial center on China's southeastern coast, when it crashed
Monday afternoon outside the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi region. All 132
people on board are presumed killed. Investigators say it is too early to
speculate on the cause. The plane went into an unexplained dive an hour after
departure and stopped transmitting data 96 seconds into the fall. An air-traffic
controller tried to contact the pilots several times after seeing the plane's
altitude drop sharply, but got no reply, a grim-faced Zhu Tao, director of the
Office of Aviation Safety at the Civil Aviation Authority of China, said at a
Tuesday evening news conference. "As of now, the rescue has yet to find
survivors," Zhu said. "The public security department has taken control of the
site." China Eastern is headquartered in Shanghai and is one of China's three
largest carriers with more than 600 planes, including 109 Boeing 737-800s.
China's Transport Ministry said China Eastern has grounded all of its 737-800s,
a move that could further disrupt domestic air travel already curtailed because
of the largest COVID-19 outbreak in China since the initial peak in early 2020.
The Boeing 737-800 has been flying since 1998 and has a well-established safety
record. It is an earlier model than the 737 Max, which was grounded worldwide
for nearly two years after deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. Monday's crash was
China's worst in more than a decade. In August 2010, an Embraer ERJ 190-100
operated by Henan Airlines hit the ground short of the runway in the
northeastern city of Yichun and caught fire. It carried 96 people and 44 of them
died. Investigators blamed pilot error.
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on March 23-24/2022
The death of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) And
the urgent need to reestablish deterrence
Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/March 23/2022
Central to America’s Cold War strategy was the principle of MAD — Mutually
Assured Destruction. The idea was to make nuclear warfare a lose-lose
proposition. Whichever side was attacked would retain the capability to
counterattack. Both sides would end up devastated if not annihilated.
I studied MAD in graduate school and considered it sane. I had spent time in the
Soviet Union and concluded that the men in the Kremlin were evil but rational.
They believed that Marxists like themselves were on the right side of history
(to coin a phrase) so there was no need for “adventurism.” And the horrors
Russia had suffered in World War II were still fresh in their memories.
Now, however, President Vladimir Putin rules the roost. He’s no dialectical
materialist. He’s more of a L’etat c’est moi kind of guy. To be fair, he’s not
alone in believing that he’s destined to be the redeemer and czar of Russky Mir,
Russian World, the idealized vision of a revived pan-Russian or even pan-Slavic
empire. Three days after invading Ukraine he put his nuclear forces on alert —
the term he used was “special combat readiness.” He warned the U.S. and other
NATO countries that any attempt to prevent him from pillaging and conquering his
neighbor would result in consequences “such as you have never seen in your
entire history.”Was he threatening to use chemical or tactical nuclear weapons
against Ukrainians? Or cyberattacks against Americans? Or was he saying he won’t
play by MAD rules? We can only guess which means he has established what’s known
as “strategic ambiguity.”
He dares to be so aggressive now because his many past aggressions and
transgressions elicited only feckless responses from the U.S., NATO and the
chimera known as “the international community.”
President Biden, from the moment he moved into the White House, has been eager
to placate Mr. Putin and reluctant to “provoke” him. Last year, he restricted
arms assistance to Ukraine, gave his blessing to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline
(while curbing domestic oil and gas production) and agreed to a five-year
renewal of the 2010 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty despite Russia’s record of
cheating and the fact that the agreement imposes no limits on Mr. Putin’s
shorter-range nuclear weapons — the kind he might use against Ukraine or in a
future war against NATO.
These policies were consistent with those of former President Barack Obama, who
seemed to believe that his magnetic personality coupled with clever diplomacy
could alleviate all tensions with Moscow, Tehran and others.
But back to MAD: One president was uncomfortable relying on it even in Soviet
times. President Ronald Reagan’s plans for high-tech missile defense were
derided by his critics as “Star Wars,” a crazy scheme to “hit a bullet with a
bullet.”
Nevertheless, research and development yielded results during his administration
and the George H.W. Bush administration that followed. In August 2009,
then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bragged that an American “defense
umbrella” would protect the U.S. and its allies from nuclear weapons that North
Korea possessed and that the Islamic Republic of Iran was attempting to acquire.
I had my doubts. So did Ilan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign
Policy Council. We responded by publishing an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal
granting that a “defense umbrella” was a marvelous idea but adding that
America’s was full of holes.
The George W. Bush administration had worked only on missile-defense systems
capable of intercepting a small number of ballistic missiles. There had been no
attempt to build a comprehensive architecture, one that would be capable of
neutralizing a large salvo of nuclear-tipped missiles.
To build that would require much more research, development and funding. But
both the Obama administration and Congress were — at that moment — slashing the
Pentagon’s budget for antimissile systems.
In addition, as part of his “reset” with Russia, Mr. Obama relinquished the Bush
administration’s plan to deploy ground-based radars and interceptors in Poland
and the Czech Republic. That system was intended to defend only against missiles
from the Islamic Republic of Iran, but Mr. Putin charged that it might protect
Americans from his missiles which would violate the MAD doctrine.
On the American left, there were objections to space-based missile defense on
the grounds that such systems would “militarize” space. “This is dead wrong,”
Mr. Berman and I countered. “A space-based missile defense capability would
instead block and destroy weapons that enter the Earth’s orbit on their way to
their targets.”We concluded: “The capability to make Iranian, North Korean, and
other foreign missiles useless has already been developed and field-tested. Only
America has it, and we should deploy it.” We urged the U.S. government to build,
as rapidly as possible, “a comprehensive and impenetrable ‘defense umbrella’ to
protect itself and its allies.”Needless to say, our advice was not taken. Nor
did the Trump administration make missile defense a priority.
Over the weekend, Mr. Putin used a hypersonic ballistic missile to destroy an
underground arms depot in western Ukraine. It was another threatening message to
the U.S. which has not yet fielded its own hypersonic missiles and is very late
in developing defenses against them.
MAD had its day. That day passed. Robust deterrence — a capability based on
overwhelming military power, clear projection of the will to utilize it, coupled
with defense systems that make it much harder for our enemies’ missiles to reach
their intended victims — should have been the highest national security priority
of American leaders from both parties. Instead, we took a holiday from history
and spent a peace dividend. We ought to be correcting those mistakes without
further delay. We’d be mad not to.
• Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies and a columnist for The Washington Times.
Copyright © 2022 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Why the Senate should insist Biden submit his dangerous
Iran nuclear deal to a vote
John R. Bolton/The Washington Post/March 23/2022
John R. Bolton served as national security adviser under President Donald Trump
and is the author of “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir.”
Blind faith, laced with willful ignorance, seasoned by arrogance, is not a
formula for success, as the Biden administration will soon discover. After a
year of humiliating American concessions — including preemptive sanctions relief
— to the planet’s most egregious terrorist state, the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is
rising from the dead. This appeasement will delight Iran, encourage North Korea,
gratify China and Russia, appall Israel and our Arab allies, and endanger the
United States and the world.
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Throughout the negotiations, few administration officials knew key details, and
outsiders only broad outlines. This secrecy wouldn’t have been to deny
adversaries sensitive information, since Iran knew what President Biden’s team
proposed to surrender, but to keep its full extent from the U.S. public. Fear of
an incandescent political reaction against the agreement was well-grounded; it
will erupt shortly, with the announcement of a deal reportedly imminent. At that
moment, the Senate must assert its constitutional rights on treaty-making. The
original 2015 deal was fatally flawed. It ignored clear evidence Iran has always
lied about its nuclear-weapons goals, buttressed later by overwhelming data from
Israel’s stunning 2018 raid on Tehran. It fantasized away Iran’s continuing
strategic intention to obtain nuclear weapons, a deathblow to any real chance to
eliminate nuclear-proliferation threats. Pre-deal negotiations never established
a baseline of Iran’s prior weaponization efforts, and its verification
provisions have been repeatedly exposed as inadequate. Also, far from ignoring
Iran’s continuing terrorist and conventional military threats, the original deal
empowered them by unfreezing assets and undoing sanctions inhibiting Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard capabilities. Most dangerously, Iran received better
treatment than U.S. friends and allies, who must typically renounce uranium
enrichment to receive licenses of American technology for civil purposes. By
allowing Iran to enrich uranium to reactor-grade levels, it is plain physics
that Iran was thereby enabled to do 70 percent of the work required to enrich to
weapons-grade levels.
Assertions about reducing “breakout time” for Iran were childishly inadequate,
only pretending that the United States possessed critical information about the
actual numbers and sophistication of Iran’s centrifuge cascades. Beyond these
flaws, of course, were Iran’s repeated violations, exacerbating the deal’s
deficiencies.
As specifics emerge about the renewed agreement, the picture will inexorably
worsen. One particularly menacing aspect is the concept of “inherent guarantees”
reported by Reuters in February. Tehran demanded assurances that no future U.S.
president would withdraw from the deal, a concession that would be both
unconstitutional and potentially suicidal. Instead, Reuters reported, Iran was
placated by U.S. assurance of “inherent guarantees,” a chilling phrase on which
the coming debate could turn.
To the extent that Biden attempts to constrain his successors, to Iran’s
benefit, he risks his presidency. Handcuffing future presidents to Iran’s
advantage would be unprecedented, and dangerously so, in the history of American
treaty-making. This is not simply a disagreement about the merits of one aspect
of the deal, or the deal itself, but about how much a myopic White House is
willing to endanger the United States simply to finalize a deal. If Biden is
serious about preventing a nuclear Iran, the threat of another U.S. withdrawal
from the nuclear deal provides a powerful, entirely credible deterrent of
Iranian temptations to once again subvert the deal. With the new deal
essentially done, constitutional issues also arise in deciding its proper
status. Under any coherent reading of the Constitution’s Article II treaty
clause, Biden should submit this measure to the Senate as a proposed treaty to
see if “two-thirds of the Senators present concur.”The Senate has watched and
even enabled the erosion of its ratification power for decades, but nothing will
stop or reverse that erosion unless senators decide to fight for the Framers’
intentions. The Iran nuclear agreement, especially in light of the “inherent
guarantees” issue, is the perfect target to vindicate the Senate’s
constitutional responsibilities.
By not sending the deal to the Senate, Biden would flout its treaty role. If
that happens, the Senate should use its constitutional power to withhold advice
and consent on all presidential nominees, both executive and judicial, until
Biden changes his mind.
Such a move by the Senate would focus attention on substantive flaws in the
resurrected nuclear deal and their dangers for future presidents and the country
generally. Article II’s supermajority requirement for treaty-making reflects the
Framers’ firm belief that treaties are exceptional steps for the United States,
very different from ordinary legislation.The tone of this debate need not be
partisan, although in today’s Washington that is far from likely. The Senate may
be 50-50, but Republicans should seize the moment; perhaps there is at least one
Democrat who cares enough about the treaty clause to force the administration to
send over the Iran nuclear deal for a vote. This is a matter of statesmanship,
not politics.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/22/let-senate-vote-on-iran-nuclear-deal/
"Dark Money" Affecting Elections in Revolutionary Ways
J. Christian Adams/Gatestone Institute/March 23/2022
In fact, dark money is being deployed in new and revolutionary ways to affect
our elections.
Dark money refers to money injected into the process from anonymous sources.
Somebody somewhere knows where the money came from, but that information is not
public. Usually, the source is a tightly guarded secret.
Dark money is used to fuel television advertisement campaigns and organizations.
It is used to buy newspaper advertisements and pay the rent at 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt organizations.
Dark money often works like this. A source with deep pockets is interested in an
issue. The issue might be green energy, gun rights, Israel, national defense or
any of hundreds of other issues affecting the American debate. The source wishes
to remain anonymous and wires money to a donor-advised fund. A donor-advised
fund is a non-profit that pools funding and decides how to distribute it. They
are not required to disclose their own donors.
The donor-advised fund then might distribute the money to the ultimate recipient
-- a charity, a foundation or even a traditional media campaign. That's the most
common model for moving "dark money."
But there is even darker dark money. The institutional left has developed models
in the last decade that dispenses with any pretense of charitable purpose. They
essentially create hyper-funded businesses structures whose only purpose it to
spend money on issues. The dark money is even darker because there are utterly
no disclosure requirements from start to finish. Remember, in the previous, more
familiar, charitable example, the ultimate charitable recipient has to disclose
to the IRS the sources of larger donations, even if that information is not
available to the public.
But this darker dark money -- with funding streams wholly outside of the
charitable or tax-exempt world -- faces no disclosure obligations. The owners,
or members in the case of a limited liability corporation, would be liable for
any taxes flowing from net profits. But rest assured, these dark money-fueled
businesses spend every last dime as a business expense, so there might be no tax
liability in the end.
Secretly-funded efforts fueled the American Revolution. The founding of this
country was supported by an 18th Century version of dark money. Anonymous
pamphlets, postings and newspaper columns funded and published without
attribution rallied patriots to take up arms against the King of England.
Anonymity of donors is an important part of the American legacy of liberty, and
in 2021, the Supreme Court, in Americans for Prosperity v. Bonita, recognized
the importance of anonymous donors.
In March 2022, the 65 Project launched a new dark money-funded campaign to
disbar lawyers who work on voter fraud issues or represented President Trump in
post-election litigation. Dark money will fuel an organization filled with
lawyers who will file over one hundred bar complaints against conservative
lawyers. Their self-confessed goal is to shrink the talent pool of lawyers who
are willing to fight for election safeguards.
The 2020 election was characterized by a revolutionary new funding stream in
which private money flowed into government election offices, and the donors told
the government election offices how to run the election. Characterized as "Zuck
Bucks" because the majority of the money came from Facebook founder Mark
Zuckerberg, this money made the difference in 2020. Urban election offices in
Philadelphia, Detroit, Lansing, Phoenix, Atlanta, Milwaukee and Las Vegas were
converted into turnout machines. City officials went door to door collecting
votes, all legally because they were city officials. Ad buys were made on urban
and Spanish-language radio stations. Voting centers were set up inside urban
areas rich in Biden votes. And it was all legal. Zuck Bucks drove Trump's
defeat, while many Republicans were distracted by confusing voting machine
technology. The use of private money -- much of it dark money -- to fuel
election-office policy was the single most revolutionary and effective
characteristic of the 2020 election.
Lastly, no discussion of dark money is complete without mentioning
ballot-harvesting. Because of the unprecedented rush to mail-in voting in 2020,
dark money flowed into structures designed to go out and collect ballots at
voters' homes. I had seen this on a smaller scale when I was a lawyer at the
Department of Justice Voting Section, where politically-connected collectors
would go into minority communities and actually fill in ballots in the voter's
home, and, tragically, with the voter's consent. In 2020, dark money was on the
ground fueling ballot-harvesting on a massive scale. Unless we had video footage
in every home where this occurred, it is impossible to say it was illegal. That
is the problem with ballot-harvesting: it goes on behind closed doors, out of
sight of election officials.
The question is whether opponents of these efforts can be as imaginative, and
whether even a fraction of the funding used in the last two years can be
mustered to stop it.
Dark money has become the most important fuel driving the debate on every single
public issue. In fact, dark money is being deployed in new and revolutionary
ways to affect our elections. (Image source: iStock)
Dark money. The words evoke sinister plots, secret organizations and
conspiracies fit for a James Bond villain. We hear about dark money in politics,
dark money in the elections and dark money supporting a web of organizations
dedicated to undermining the American experiment.
Dark money seems to be everywhere -- and it is.
Dark money has become the most important fuel driving the debate on every single
public issue. In fact, dark money is being deployed in new and revolutionary
ways to affect our elections. Seemingly unlimited streams of philanthropy are
pouring into organizations and mechanisms that just three years ago seemed
fanciful and beyond the wildest imagination of activist strategies.
But what exactly is dark money, and how does it hurt or help? Is dark money good
or bad?
Let's start with some definitions. Dark money refers to money injected into the
process from anonymous sources. Somebody somewhere knows where the money came
from, but that information is not public. Usually, the source is a tightly
guarded secret.
Dark money is used to fuel television advertisement campaigns and organizations.
It is used to buy newspaper advertisements and pay the rent at 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt organizations.
Dark money often works like this. A source with deep pockets is interested in an
issue. The issue might be green energy, gun rights, Israel, national defense or
any of hundreds of other issues affecting the American debate. The source wishes
to remain anonymous and wires money to a donor-advised fund. A donor-advised
fund is a non-profit that pools funding and decides how to distribute it. They
are not required to disclose their own donors.
The donor-advised fund then might distribute the money to the ultimate recipient
-- a charity, a foundation or even a traditional media campaign. That's the most
common model for moving "dark money."
But there is even darker dark money. The institutional left has developed models
in the last decade that dispenses with any pretense of charitable purpose. They
essentially create hyper-funded businesses structures whose only purpose it to
spend money on issues. The dark money is even darker because there are utterly
no disclosure requirements from start to finish. Remember, in the previous, more
familiar, charitable example, the ultimate charitable recipient has to disclose
to the IRS the sources of larger donations, even if that information is not
available to the public.
When the revenue flows to a 501(c)(3), it is a tax-exempt donation (and tax
deductible to the donor), and it usually must be disclosed. When the revenue
flows to a regular business structure, such as a limited liability corporation
or even the money for a cup of coffee at Starbucks, the revenue is taxable but
the sources or revenue need not be itemized to the Internal Revenue Service.
But this darker dark money -- with funding streams wholly outside of the
charitable or tax-exempt world -- faces no disclosure obligations. The owners,
or members in the case of a limited liability corporation, would be liable for
any taxes flowing from net profits. But rest assured, these dark money-fueled
businesses spend every last dime as a business expense, so there might be no tax
liability in the end.
It's all business. And "business is good."
These dark money business models are different from traditional political
spending. Compare dark money to campaign contributions to candidates for federal
election. The source of every cent of hard dollar support given to a candidate
must be disclosed in filings to the Federal Election Commission. Every donor's
name and address must be disclosed. Every dollar spent must be traced to a
vendor or person who spent it.
So is dark money good or bad? The truth is the answer is both, depending on how
dark money is used.
Before you get too uncomfortable with all this secrecy surrounding dark money,
let's travel back to the founding of the United States and recall why anonymous
movements were so important.
Secretly-funded efforts fueled the American Revolution. The founding of this
country was supported by an 18th Century version of dark money. Anonymous
pamphlets, postings and newspaper columns funded and published without
attribution rallied patriots to take up arms against the King of England.
Anonymity of donors is an important part of the American legacy of liberty, and
in 2021, the Supreme Court, in Americans for Prosperity v. Bonita, recognized
the importance of anonymous donors.
Back when the NAACP fought outright racial segregation in court, a favorite
tactic of the segregationist states was to try to find out who the donors were
to the NAACP, in order to intimidate the donors. In a case brought by the NAACP
against Alabama, this fight about donor secrecy went all the way to the Supreme
Court in 1958. Alabama argued that the names of the NAACP donors were relevant
to the case, and the NAACP argued that Alabama just wanted to harass their
donors. The NAACP wanted the names of donors to be kept secret.
The Supreme Court agreed with the NAACP in one of the most important cases
involving issue-oriented philanthropy. The Court ruled that donors could be kept
secret because of the real risk they face of harassment. The Court found that
dark money, even if the Court did not call it dark money, was as important as it
had during the American Revolution. Alabama was blocked from getting the list of
NAACP donors.
The Supreme Court has weighed in on other aspects of dark money. The Court has
repeatedly ruled that money is effectively speech, and protected by the First
Amendment. In Buckely v. Valeo, for example, the Court ruled that the right to
spend money is the same as the First Amendment right to speak, and therefore
struck down as unconstitutional campaign spending limits. While this case
involved federal spending limits imposed on a candidate, the implications for
dark money are obvious: the sky is the limit. Nothing limits the amount of money
that can pour into causes from dark money sources.
So is this good or bad?
Dark money spent through 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations comprises the
vast majority of issue-oriented spending. It dwarfs hard dollar expenditures by
candidates by at least a factor of ten. Naturally, left-wing causes enjoy the
overwhelming numeric advantage in spending. But that is due in part to the fact
that these left-of-center organizations got a decade-long head start in creating
organizations and infrastructures that allowed 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(3) spending.
Conservative groups were slow to catch on compared to the vast networks
established by funding sources like the Open Society Institute, Democracy Fund
and Arabella Advisors, which are but three of the streams of left-wing dark
money.
Dark money is increasingly important because of the organized harassment
campaigns that conservative donors face. When the donations of Betsy DeVos,
former Secretary of Education, and Dan Cathy, the owner of Chick-Fil-A, became
known, organized harassment campaigns were launched
Dark money is now being used in revolutionary ways surrounding our elections.
Here are three new developments:
In March 2022, the 65 Project launched a new dark money-funded campaign to
disbar lawyers who work on voter fraud issues or represented President Trump in
post-election litigation. Dark money will fuel an organization filled with
lawyers who will file over one hundred bar complaints against conservative
lawyers. Their self-confessed goal is to shrink the talent pool of lawyers who
are willing to fight for election safeguards.
The 2020 election was characterized by a revolutionary new funding stream in
which private money flowed into government election offices, and the donors told
the government election offices how to run the election. Characterized as "Zuck
Bucks" because the majority of the money came from Facebook founder Mark
Zuckerberg, this money made the difference in 2020. Urban election offices in
Philadelphia, Detroit, Lansing, Phoenix, Atlanta, Milwaukee and Las Vegas were
converted into turnout machines. City officials went door to door collecting
votes, all legally because they were city officials. Ad buys were made on urban
and Spanish-language radio stations. Voting centers were set up inside urban
areas rich in Biden votes. And it was all legal. Zuck Bucks drove Trump's
defeat, while many Republicans were distracted by confusing voting machine
technology. The use of private money -- much of it dark money -- to fuel
election-office policy was the single most revolutionary and effective
characteristic of the 2020 election.
Lastly, no discussion of dark money is complete without mentioning
ballot-harvesting. Because of the unprecedented rush to mail-in voting in 2020,
dark money flowed into structures designed to go out and collect ballots at
voters' homes. I had seen this on a smaller scale when I was a lawyer at the
Department of Justice Voting Section, where politically-connected collectors
would go into minority communities and actually fill in ballots in the voter's
home, and, tragically, with the voter's consent. In 2020, dark money was on the
ground fueling ballot-harvesting on a massive scale. Unless we had video footage
in every home where this occurred, it is impossible to say it was illegal. That
is the problem with ballot-harvesting: it goes on behind closed doors, out of
sight of election officials.
There are very smart and savvy individuals designing new and revolutionary ways
to affect our elections. In the last two years, they have designed and
implemented revolutionary new structures that affect voting on the ground,
convert government election offices to turnout machines, and scare away anyone
who tries to stop it. None of this is possible without unprecedented flows of
dark money. The question is whether opponents of these efforts can be as
imaginative, and whether even a fraction of the funding used in the last two
years can be mustered to stop it.
*J. Christian Adams is President of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, the
nation's only public interest law firm dedicated exclusively to election
integrity. He is a former Justice Department Voting Section lawyer and is
currently a presidentially appointed commissioner on the United States
Commission on Civil Rights.
© 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.
Egypt's fatwa institutions cannot ignore overpopulation
Mohamed Abulfadl/The Arab Weekly/March 23/2022
Fatwa institutions in the Arab world like to meddle in almost everything. They
do not leave any matter, small or bad, untouched. The one exception may be the
issue of unbridled procreation, to which they often turn a blind eye when they
do not actually encourage it. They fail to take into consideration the fact that
population control guarantees children a sound upbringing and a stable life that
enable them to meet the challenges within their societies nor whether the
unsettling storms could face their countries. The developing food security
crisis around the world since the Ukraine war and its repercussions on many Arab
countries have proven to be one of the bleak illustrations of the failure of the
fatwa institutions. Not to find themselves mired in self-contradiction, members
of these institutions have stayed away from dealing with the crisis after having
long exaggerated the importance of having many children and caused the failure
of family planning and birth control campaigns in their countries. They cannot
suddenly start talking about how demographic growth can compound the food
crisis.
Here is hunger looming on the horizon in some Arab countries. This time around,
it has not been caused by unfair government policies nor natural factors such as
drought or floods. It is instead something people have inflicted upon
themselves. What did the fatwa institutions do about this? I searched Al-Azhar's
positions in Egypt but did not find any of its sheikhs commenting on the crisis.
I expected its arch-rival, Dar al-Ifta, to roll up its sleeves and tell us what
society should be doing to overcome the expected food crisis. But I did not find
a peep there, although Dar al-Ifta has always walked in step with current
politics.
This form of neglect raises questions about the role of the fatwa institutions
and the extent to which they are able to differentiate between what is necessary
and vital from what is frivolous and superficial, even if it tickles people’s
sentiment. They should be able to see the difference between the food crisis and
questions such as what to do about a wife who leaves home without her husband’s
permission or the ruling of the Sharia regarding the wife who rebuffs her
husband’s desire for intimate relationship. Generally, however, ijtihad
(progressive interpretation of the faith) is absent and fatwas falter when a
fundamental issue such as food security comes knocking at the door.
About a month has passed since the Ukraine crisis erupted and its immediate
effect on the food situation has become obvious in Egypt. Still, the religious
scholars have not dared present a useful vision about how to help the government
meet the needs of its citizens and curtail price hikes.
Some sheikhs have urged people not to consume food and drink excessively and to
avoid being profligate in expenses that fulfil one’s desires. But they have
remained silent about unbridled procreation, which is a focal point in matters
of food security.
The increasing pressures of the food crisis in countries that suffer from
overpopulation are ringing an alarm bell over the gap between domestic
production of basic commodities and imports from abroad. These countries face a
dilemma feeding millions of citizens. This requires a clear position by the men
of religion responsible for fatwas. These should not bury their heads in the
sand nor invoke supernatural factors to relieve people’s pain and suffering.
Salvation starts by calling things by their names. The basic rule in life is to
strive and toil then relying on God at the end. It should not be to substitute
reliance on God for human effort to overcome a crisis. Perhaps the food security
emergency could shift the focus of the fatwas from immediate expediency to what
is at stake in the long run. They should be less about accommodating the vanity
of some than about the real national interest in which religion still plays an
important role. People after all are still more drawn to the sheikhs of religion
rather than those of politics. Religious discourse requires calculated audacity
to so as to enter the danger zone instead of ignoring it. Social problems fester
when neglected to a point where governments may be unable to do anything about
them later. Food security is not less important than the national security of
the country as commonly understood. Fatwas can quietly nurture the process of
religious awareness, which can play a key role in addressing both the
overpopulation problem and the current food emergency. Otherwise, the crisis
could spin out of control.