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

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Bible Quotations For today
When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 14/22-33: “Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 13-14/2022
Aoun slams electoral money that is 'coming from abroad'
Without Hariri, Lebanon's Sunnis leaderless ahead of vote
Bassil: Those who vote for LF would be voting for Daesh and Israel
Bassil backs peace with Israel, says won't go to Syria as presidential hopeful
Geagea hits back at 'corrupt, liar and crook' Bassil
Nasrallah urges voting against those 'conspiring against resistance, Lebanon future'
Saniora urges Lebanese to vote against 'silencers, explosives'
Franjieh says elections to decide Lebanon's 'strategic choice'
Lebanese activists launch mock 'lollar' currency
Protests in Lebanon denounce Abu Akleh's killing for third day
Lebanon vote seen as last chance in crisis-plagued nation
Israeli soldier dies from wounds following raid near Jenin
Lebanon's Grand Mufti Meets GCC Ambassadors, Compares Elections Boycott to Surrender
Lebanon’s ‘useless’ election will be neither free nor fair/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/ Asia Times/May 13, 2022
This is Lebanon’s make or break election/Sami Moubayed/Gulf News/ May 13, 2022
Lebanese Election and the Broken Oar/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 13/2022
Lebanon to deploy 75,000 troops on eve of crucial poll/Najia Houssari/Arab News/May 13/2022

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 13-14/2022
UAE's long-ailing leader Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed passes away
EU Says Talks with Iran ‘Positive Enough’ to Reopen Nuclear Negotiations
Iran, Qatar Link 'Regional Dialogue' to Nuclear Deal
Iran Arrests at Least 22 Protesting Staple Food Price Hikes
Iran Raises Prices of Food Staples, Stirring Panic
American-made Javelin and Stinger missiles are heading to Ukraine. At least 20 members of Congress personally invest in the defense contractors behind them.
Turkey opposes NATO membership for Finland, Sweden
Swedish policy review says joining NATO would reduce conflict risk
US Senate Passes Legislation to Support Sudan’s Democratic Aspirations
Israeli soldier dies from wounds following raid near Jenin
Israeli forces attack mourners carrying Abu Akleh's coffin
Israel Resumes Raids in West Bank Area Where Journalist Was Killed
Joint Statement of foreign ministers on increased restrictions on the human rights of Afghan women and girls

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 13-14/2022
Germany Is Rising Above History to Support Ukraine/Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg/May 13/2022
UK: New Plan to Tackle Illegal Immigration/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute./May 13, 2022
The Timing of Biden’s Visit to Israel/Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 13/2022
The Power of Lies in an Age of Political Fiction/Frank Bruni/The New York Times/May 13/2022
Biden Should Press WHO to Suspend Russia/Richard Goldberg/Policy Brief/May 13/2022
Question: "Why are there so many different Christian interpretations?"/GotQuestions.org?/May 13/2022
Biden’s Middle East policy is pragmatic but incomplete/Maria Maalouf /Arab News/May 13/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 13-14/2022
Aoun slams electoral money that is 'coming from abroad'
Naharnet/Friday, 13 May, 2022
President Michel Aoun on Friday lamented that “some of the money that is being paid in the electoral juncture is coming from abroad,” adding that he is “betting on voters’ awareness and their rejection of being commodities that can be bought and sold.”“There are candidates who are exploiting the difficult economic and social circumstances and paying money to appropriate the choice of voters, which should be free of any restraints,” Aoun told a delegation from the European observer mission that will monitor Sunday’s elections. He added that after the elections “a new government will be formed to continue the reformist steps that were launched by the current government.”In another meeting with the ‘Our Money is For Us’ association, Aoun vowed to “keep fighting” for citizens’ rights and to “combat corruption” until the last moment of his tenure.“I hope the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund will lead to positive results that would lay the appropriate foundations for repairing the financial and economic situations in the country,” the President went on to say.

Without Hariri, Lebanon's Sunnis leaderless ahead of vote
Agence France Presse/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Lebanon's Sunni Muslim community is gearing up for Sunday's parliamentary polls without strong leadership for the first time in decades after former premier Saad Hariri stepped down from political life. In a country where government posts and parliamentary seats are distributed along sectarian lines, Lebanon's Sunni community has long served as a major political force. Months ahead of the May 15 vote, Hariri announced his retreat from political life, leaving his constituents without a preeminent Sunni figure while the country grapples with an unprecedented financial crisis. His al-Mustaqbal Movement in March said it would boycott the election, a move that experts believe could empower political rivals, mainly the Iran-backed Hizbullah. "Traditional Sunni leaders, including former premiers, are mobilizing... to prevent Hizbullah from taking advantage" of the political void, said Karim Bitar, an international relations professor at the University of Saint Joseph in Lebanon. Al-Mustaqbal Movement, Lebanon's biggest Sunni-led party, currently has 18 lawmakers in the 128-member parliament, which makes it one of the largest blocs. Its decision to boycott polls has created internal rifts. One former deputy, Mustafa Alloush, relinquished his party membership so he can challenge Hizbullah in the elections."When we withdraw from the scene, we give our adversaries a chance," he told AFP, advocating for a unified front to thwart Hizbullah's growing dominance.
Saudi rift
Hariri was thrust into the political limelight following the 2005 assassination of his father Rafik, also an ex-prime minister. In the wake of the tragedy, Hariri played a major role in mass demonstrations that ended a 30-year Syrian military presence in Lebanon. He was at the helm of the pro-Western "March 14" bloc that won a parliamentary majority in 2009 but unraveled not long after. During the last vote, in 2018, Hariri's bloc lost nearly a third of its parliamentary seats. Many attributed the three-time premier's waning popularity to his conciliatory approach towards Hizbullah, which angered allies, including Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has long pushed for a more aggressive policy towards the Iran-backed group which is Lebanon's main political and military force. "There is no doubt that to avoid a civil war I had to compromise," Hariri said in January. "This worry guided all my steps, made me lose my personal fortune, as well as some friends abroad and many allies."In November 2017, Hariri stepped down as prime minister while in Riyadh, prompting accusations that the kingdom was holding him against his will. French President Emmanuel Macron had to intervene to secure Hariri's return to Lebanon from where the Sunni leader then rescinded his resignation.
Sunni divisions
The Hariri family has been a mainstay of Lebanon's political scene since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war and rarely absent from elections. They are not the only prominent Sunni figures missing from this year's campaign. Ex-prime ministers Fouad Saniora and Tammam Salam have also stayed out of the electoral race, amid calls for a boycott. Saniora is however backing an electoral list in Beirut and candidates in other districts. Dar al-Fatwa, the country's top Sunni religious authority, has warned of the dangers of abstention. Current Prime Minister Najib Miqati, whose post is held by a Sunni under a longtime convention, encouraged his fellow Sunnis to cast ballots. Bitar sees "the re-emergence of several Sunni poles" and said various actors "will seek to fill the void while waiting for a possible return of Saudi influence and Saad Hariri."In Beirut's Tariq al-Jedideh neighborhood, a Mustaqbal Movement stronghold, giant portraits of Hariri lined the sides of the road. Banners called on residents to boycott the election, but not everyone was convinced. "We are going to vote because we do not accept that other parties take advantage of the situation," a 60-year-old man who gave his name as Ahmed, said, referring to Hizbullah. Another resident, Anwar Ali Beyrouti, said "the division of the Sunni camp serves the interests of Hizbullah," adding that the Shiite party would be "the only one benefiting."

Bassil: Those who vote for LF would be voting for Daesh and Israel
Naharnet/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has launched a vehement verbal attack on the Lebanese Forces and its leader Samir Geagea, during an electoral rally in the Keserwan-Jbeil district. “I’ve heard them repeatedly saying that those who vote for the FPM would be voting for Hizbullah, what a joke! In turn I tell you that those who vote for the LF would be voting for Daesh and for Israel and its regional allies,” Bassil charged. “Samir Geagea has never ceased being a part of the Israeli scheme in Lebanon. Israel occupied our land and destroyed our country several times and Israel is, until today, still obstructing our extraction of our oil and gas. Israel aggresses against us every day in air and at sea and it has left half a million Palestinian refugees on our land,” the FPM chief added. “Israel -- which has never wanted anything good for Lebanon and is seeking to undermine stability – once handles Geagea directly, like in the days of war, and another indirectly, like today, through its regional allies, who are giving him the money and handling him,” Bassil went on to say.

Bassil backs peace with Israel, says won't go to Syria as presidential hopeful
Naharnet/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Friday said anew that he is in favor of “peace with Israel,” while adding that such a peace would have its “conditions.”“I would like to see us reaching peace with Israel and Hizbullah does not agree with me in this issue,” Bassil said in an interview on LBCI television, a few hours before electoral silence begins for Sunday’s parliamentary elections. “We must reach peace but peace has its condition,” he added. Asked about visiting Syria “as a presidential candidate,” Bassil said such a scenario is not on the table. As for the post-elections period, the FPM chief said: “We must have two courses -- the first is the formation of a government and the election of a president, and the second is real dialogue about the issue of the system, including decentralization, the defense strategy and halting the collapse.”Separately, Bassil said the FPM holds Speaker Nabih Berri “largely responsible for everything that happened to the presidential tenure” of President Michel Aoun.

Geagea hits back at 'corrupt, liar and crook' Bassil
Naharnet/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday snapped back at Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil over his latest remarks against the LF, a few hours before the country enters electoral silence for Sunday’s parliamentary elections. “On what did Jebran Bassil rely to say that those voting for the LF would be voting for the Israeli enemy and Daesh? He is not relying on anything but his sick mentality,” Geagea said in an interview on Lebanon’s MTV. “Jebran Bassil is a corrupt, liar and crook and we’re relying on facts, whereas what is he depending on when he accuses us?” the LF leader added. “The corrupts and liars are the FPM and Hizbullah has a project that is bigger than Lebanon,” Geagea wen on to say. He pointed out that the main issue in the country today is “treating the disease” and “this disease is Hizbullah.”“Based on this, I say that anyone voting for Hizbullah, the FPM and their allies would be voting for the extension of the situation that we are living in,” Geagea added. He also charged that “intentionally or unintentionally, Hizbullah, the FPM and their allies are destroying the country.”“An opposition force that is capable of confronting this destructive scheme for the country must be formed,” Geagea urged.

Nasrallah urges voting against those 'conspiring against resistance, Lebanon future'
Naharnet/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday called on supporters to vote Sunday against “those conspiring against the resistance and its arms.”“Voting on election day will be a message to all those conspiring against the resistance and its arms and against the future of the Lebanese,” Nasrallah said in a televised address during Hizbullah’s electoral rally in the Bekaa. “Through their accusations, slurs and financial policies, some bet over the past years on turning the resistance's people against it,” Nasrallah said. “Through its bombardment of your villages and towns, Israel wanted you to abandon the resistance and its arms, but today the bombardment is political, journalistic, economic and financial,” Nasrallah added. “Today we are in a new political battle and those behind it are announcing that they are targeting the resistance. I ask the people of the Bekaa about their response against all those who are conspiring against the resistance and its arms,” Hizbullah’s leader urged. Moreover, Nasrallah accused “some Christian parties” of supporting the jihadist groups that had been entrenched in the outskirts of the eastern border region. “What were the stances of some other political forces, which today are talking about freedom, sovereignty and independence,” he asked. “They prevented the Lebanese Army from confronting the takfiri groups, although it had the will to do so,” Nasrallah charged. “These forces supported the armed groups -- Daesh and al-Nusra -- through all means,” he added. Addressing Bekaa’s Christians, Nasrallah said: “Some Christian parties bet on the armed terrorist groups because they considered you to be collateral damage in the global war on Syria.” Moreover, Nasrallah called for voting for Hizbullah and its weapons instead of supporting “those who offered weapons” to the eastern border armed groups that might have killed the region’s residents and “enslaved their women.”Separately, Nasrallah said his party “will work in the new parliament and government on the file of restoring Lebanese-Syrian ties.”Lashing out at ex-PM Fouad Saniora, who is backing an electoral list in Beirut and candidates in various regions, Hizbullah accused the former premier – without naming him -- of being responsible for “the disappearance of $11 billion and for the economic policies that led to the current crises.” Yet “he's saying that the road to salvation begins with liberating the state from Hizbullah,” Nasrallah added. Addressing those opposed to Hizbullah’s weapons, Nasrallah said: “The arms of the resistance didn't prevent anyone from reforming electricity and building dams and they weren't behind the tragic financial policies.”

Saniora urges Lebanese to vote against 'silencers, explosives'
Naharnet/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Ex-PM Fouad Saniora has called on the Lebanese to vote for a “strong state” and against “gun silencers and explosives,” in an apparent jab at Hizbullah, a few days ahead of the May 15 parliamentary elections. “We are building and they are destroying and sabotaging. We are the ones who want Lebanon to be Arab, sovereign and independent in words and deeds,” Saniora said at a press conference. “To topple the statelet and get rid of the hegemony of illegal arms over the country and military, security, judicial, legislative and executive institutions and over their decisions and directions, we call on you to take part heavily in these elections, and to vote for a strong state governed by the constitution and laws, not by the barrels of rifles, silencers and explosives,” the former premier added. He is backing one of the main electoral lists in Beirut’s second district and several candidates in a number of regions, despite a decision by al-Mustaqbal Movement not to get involved in the elections. Noting that “Hizbullah’s project contradicts with political and national realism and with the law of nature,” Saniora addressed Lebanese and Arab Shiites as “our people.”“You are our Shiites and our people,” he said. “We engaged in joint struggles to achieve the rise of Lebanon, a country for all its sons without discrimination. We stood together and defended Lebanon’s independence, sovereignty and Arabism for long decades. We confronted and together withstood the Israeli occupation and together we fought the Israeli tanks across Lebanon,” Saniora added.

Franjieh says elections to decide Lebanon's 'strategic choice'
Naharnet/Friday, 13 May, 2022
The May 15 parliamentary elections come amid a “delicate situation” and will decide Lebanon’s “strategic choice” in the coming period, Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh has said. “Our choice is known and clear and we’ve been engaged in the battle of choices for the past 30 years. We have not changed and we will not change,” Franjieh said in an interview on al-Mayadeen TV. Noting that the country’s unprecedented economic and financial crisis is “the result of accumulations and is not recent,” Franjieh said he does not consider Hizbullah’s arms to be “the reason.”“The resistance is what’s protecting all our gains today and we are in favor of the army protecting the country when there is a defense strategy agreed on by everyone,” the Marada leader added. Pointing out that “nothing confirms the presence of a relation between the Lebanese Forces party and Israel and nothing guarantees that it doesn’t exist,” Franjieh stressed that “dialogue with Hizbullah is necessary and is the right path to reassure everyone.”As for the relation with the Free Patriotic Movement, Franjieh said he is ready to “sit with the FPM, discuss all issues and start a new chapter.”“We might or might not agree,” he added. As for the presidential race, Franjieh reminded that he has said that he wouldn’t run in the presidential election without the support of his “allies.” “I don’t consider the entire ruling authorities to be corrupt and I don’t consider the entire revolution to be honest. If all the honest people meet, they can achieve change,” the Marada leader added. “The positive atmosphere that we have created in the region (of Zgharta) has led to openness and our region is a model for democracy in Lebanon… Lebanon is the country of diversity and no one can change its image,” Franjieh went on to say.

Lebanese activists launch mock 'lollar' currency
Agence France Presse/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Lebanese activists Friday rolled out mock banknotes featuring paintings of a gutted central bank or the Beirut port explosion to denounce high-level corruption that has helped to wreck the country. The collapse of the Lebanese pound and frozen bank accounts have left Lebanon with a confusing currency system, with a multitude of exchange rates applying to various situations in daily life. The dollars stuck in accounts that citizens can only withdraw in Lebanese pounds at a fraction of their original value are known locally as "lollars". With parliamentary elections two days away, the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA) decided to take the joke to the streets, with a stunt encouraging people to use "lollars" for the day. The "monetary disobedience" campaign, entitled "Currency of Corruption", encourages people to print their own "funny money" at home and try to use it as a means of raising awareness. "We will not adapt to this mockery anymore, we are #NotPayingThePrice," the LTA said in a statement unveiling the campaign and its hashtag. The mock banknotes feature paintings by acclaimed Lebanon-based artist Tom Young depicting calamities that have hit Lebanon in recent years, from the deadly August 2020 port blast to forest fires, solid waste pollution and shortages. On one of Beirut's main squares Friday, organizers installed a fake ATM from which passers-by could withdraw "lollars". LTA communications officer Hazar Assi said the campaign was aimed at reminding voters that their current plight was to blame on the country's corrupt hereditary leaders. "When people vote, they should make a choice based on accountability and rejecting the corruption that is affecting all of our lives," she said. Lebanon's traditional sectarian parties will seek extend their stranglehold on power in parliamentary elections on Sunday but a new generation of independent candidates are hoping for a breakthrough.

Protests in Lebanon denounce Abu Akleh's killing for third day
Naharnet/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Protestors in Lebanon denounced the killing of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh for the third day. Lebanese and Palestinians gathered Friday in Tyre, after a candlelight vigil took place last night outside the United Nations ESCWA building in Beirut. On Wednesday, Lebanese journalists also protested in front of the United Nations headquarters in Beirut. They held portraits of Abu Akleh and placards that said "Occupation will not make us silent and crimes do not go unpunished with time."Abu Akleh, 51, a prominent figure in the Arabic news service of Al-Jazeera channel, was shot dead on 11 May during a confrontation between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians in the West Bank city of Jenin. Recent days have seen an outpouring of grief from across the Palestinian territories and the wider Arab world over the death of Abu Akleh who spent a quarter century covering the harsh realities of life under Israeli military rule, which is well into its sixth decade with no end in sight.

Lebanon vote seen as last chance in crisis-plagued nation
Associated Press/Friday, 13 May, 2022
In households across Lebanon, it's likely that one or more family members are planning to emigrate -- if they can get a passport. Demand is high but the bankrupt government has not paid the company contracted to issue or renew the documents. Lebanese spend their days at the banks, waiting to see what meager amounts they will be allowed to withdraw for the month. They install batteries and solar panels at great cost so their family can survive the humid summer months without electricity from the grid. They hunt for medicine and fuel, and worry about securing the next meal for their kids.It's an economic meltdown and Sunday's parliament elections are seen as a last chance to reverse course and punish the current crop of politicians who have driven the small nation into the ground. Instead, a widespread sense of apathy and pessimism prevails, with most observers agreeing the vote is unlikely to make much difference.
"Who should I vote for? Those who stole my money, plundered the country and exploded Beirut? Or those nobodies who cannot agree on anything?" said Samir Fahd, a schoolteacher whose once comfortable income of about $3,400 a month is now worth the equivalent of $200. On election day, he will stay at home, he says. The vote is the first since Lebanon's implosion started in October 2019, triggering widespread anti-government protests against a corrupt ruling class that has been in place since the country's 15-year civil war ended in 1990.It is also the first election since the August 2020 massive explosion at  Beirut's port that killed more than 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed parts of Lebanon's capital. The blast, widely blamed on negligence, was set off by hundreds of tons of poorly stored ammonium nitrate that ignited in a port warehouse after a fire broke out at the facility.
Nearly two years later, there are still no answers as to what caused the highly explosive material to ignite, or why it had been stored there for years. A judicial investigation has been suspended for months, amid a deluge of legal challenges by politicians seeking to block the probe.
Today, huge billboards and posters of candidates line the highway along the still-wrecked harbor -- a jarring sign how political parties still throw money around while the country is bankrupt. At least two of the politicians wanted in connection with the blast investigation are running for parliament.
Michel Murr, son of a former defense minister and grandson of a longtime powerful member of parliament and minister, is also running for a seat in the assembly -- though he acknowledged the seeming futility of the election. He said he didn't release an electoral program because he did not want to "deceive people by telling them I will do this and that" -- promises he might not be able to keep. "It seems almost impossible to imagine Lebanon voting for more of the same -- and yet that appears to be the likeliest outcome," wrote Sam Heller, a Beirut-based analyst and fellow at Century International.
Fahd, the schoolteacher, believes it is futile to expect change in a system based on sectarianism and large-scale patronage that he said is "administered by an entrenched mafia."
"Elections don't change anything, it's all a joke and they are all coming back whether we like it or not," said the 54-year-old. While he's staying home, he said other members of his family plan to vote for the Lebanese Forces, a right-wing Christian party from the civil war believed to be receiving financial backing from Saudi Arabia. Some believe the party is the most capable of standing up to the Shiite Hizbullah group, which dominates politics in Lebanon. Hizbullah holds the current parliamentary majority along with its allies, including the Lebanese Forces' rival Christian faction founded by President Michel Aoun -- the Free Patriotic Movement.
Heavily armed and backed by Iran, Hizbullah is expected to retain or possibly boost that majority in Sunday's vote, likely benefiting from a vacuum on the Sunni leadership scene after former Prime Minister Saad Hariri bowed out of politics last year. Many have traditionally chosen candidates based on family, sectarian or regional ties, and are wary of newcomers they fear would be powerless to stand up to entrenched politicians. Lebanese parties have long relied on a system that encourages voters to cast ballots in return for favors and individual benefits. Political parties offer protection, assistance, medical services and other needs -- if you vote for them. "They have the material resources they need to dispense patronage and mobilize voters. And those voters, amid Lebanon's economic collapse, are likely even more dependent on politicians' clientelist largesse to survive," Heller wrote. Many argue that people should vote for anyone outside the current ruling clique if there is to be any hope for change and recovery in Lebanon. "What more should they do to us before we all vote against them??" posted Paul Naggear, father of one of the youngest victims of the Beirut port blast.
Lebanon's demise has been staggering. In just two and a half years, the majority of the once middle-income population has been plunged into poverty, the national currency collapsed, and foreign reserves have run dry. The World Bank has described the crisis as among the world's worst in over a century. Tens of thousands have left the country, including nurses, professors, doctors and engineers. Last month, dozens of people drowned at sea after a boat carrying about 60 migrants capsized off the coast."Today the country stands as a 'failing state'," Olivier De Schutter, the U.N.'s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said in a report published this week, after he visited Lebanon. He added that the country's "political leadership is completely out of touch with reality."Many people say they are sick of the political class but don't see an alternative.
"People are in survival mode and that concern takes precedence over any other concern," said Maha Yahya, director of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center. There is no serious opposition capable of drawing a roadmap for deliverance.
"This might explain why many will vote for the same political class," she said, adding that the election may bring some changes in some parliamentary seats -- but not the kind of change people really need. Some of the newly formed political advocacy groups have been trying to convince people to believe in the process and vote. "It's not a very difficult choice, we are dying a slow death," said Diana Meneem, a candidate from the Kulluna Irada advocacy group, speaking on a recent podcast. "This time, give someone new a chance."

Israeli soldier dies from wounds following raid near Jenin
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/Friday, 13 May, 2022
An Israeli soldier died from wounds suffered on Friday during a raid near the flashpoint city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said. "Today we lost a real hero, Noam Raz -- a brave (army) fighter ... (during a) complex and sensitive operation against terrorists", Bennett said in a statement. Israeli troops had pushed into Jenin early Friday. An Associated Press photographer heard heavy gunfire and explosions, and said Israeli troops had surrounded a home. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 13 Palestinians were hospitalized after being wounded in the fighting, including one who was shot in the stomach. The Israeli military tweeted that Palestinians opened fire when its forces went in to arrest suspected militants.

Lebanon's Grand Mufti Meets GCC Ambassadors, Compares Elections Boycott to Surrender
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Lebanon's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian compared on Thursday a boycott of the upcoming parliamentary elections to "surrender". "We do not want to hand Lebanon over to the enemies of Arabism," he declared during a meeting with ambassadors of the Gulf Cooperation Council to Beirut. The elections are set for Sunday. "The elections and their victors will set Lebanon's path and its relations with its Arab brothers and friends," continued Derian. The GCC delegation, which met Derian at Dar al-Fatwa in Beirut, included Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Bukhari, Kuwaiti Ambassador Abdel Aal al-Qenai and Qatari Ambassador Ibrahim al-Sahlawi. Qenai said after the meeting that the talks were an opportunity to discuss the situation in Lebanon and its ties with the Gulf. "We expressed to the Grand Mufti our support for him and everything that falls in the interest of this brotherly country," he stressed. A statement from Dar al-Fatwa said the gatherers hoped that the "elections would be transparent and that they would reflect the aspirations and hopes of the Lebanese people." "A negative view of the elections does not build a nation, rather it paves the way for others to fill the vacuum and determine the Arab identity of Lebanon and its people," they warned. "The ambassadors urge the Lebanese to prioritize their national interest above all else and to take part in the elections" so that figures "who should preserve Lebanon, its sovereignty, freedom, independence and territorial integrity are elected to office."Derian, for his part, underscored the "excellent" fraternal relations shared between Lebanon and Gulf states and their wise leaderships. "Lebanon is at a critical juncture that demands united ranks and the bolstering of Lebanese relations with the Gulf, fraternal Arab countries and friendly nations in way that will benefit Lebanon and the Lebanese people, who are suffering from the state's shortcomings in addressing their economic and living concerns," he continued. Sunday's elections are a significant chapter in Lebanon's history, he declared. "We have urged the people to take part, not to boycott the polls," he stated, adding that no official has called for a boycott. "Elections are a religious and national duty that should not be underestimated. The victors would be chosen through the Lebanese people's free democratic will," said Derian.

Lebanon’s ‘useless’ election will be neither free nor fair
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/ Asia Times/May 13, 2022
Hezbollah coercion has occurred in the weeks and months leading up to this Sunday’s vote
It’s election season in Lebanon. Millions will head to the ballot box on May 15 to choose their parliamentarians, who will in turn elect a new president before October. International voting monitors are scheduled to observe election day and will likely report that the voting went smoothly.
What they will miss, however, is the Hezbollah coercion that has occurred in the weeks and months leading up to the vote. Abbas Jawhari, a Shia cleric from the country’s Baalbek district, is running on a platform that emphasizes sovereignty and disbanding the pro-Iran Hezbollah militia. His “State Building” ticket also aligns with calls from the Vatican and Maronite Christian Patriarch Bechara Rai, that Lebanon should follow a policy of regional neutrality.
Lebanon has not conducted a census since 1932. However, before every election, the Interior Ministry posts lists of eligible voters, showing their religious affiliations. At 30% of the electorate, Sunnis are the biggest bloc, with Shiites just slightly less, and then Christians, at 28%. Minorities account for about 12% of the vote, with the Druze being the biggest minority at around 10%. Hezbollah has swept to victory in Baalbek in every election since 1992. But in 2018, the pro-Iran Shia militia lost 8% of the vote there (and two of 10 seats) in the district. With the country in economic free-fall since 2019, and popular anger growing, any Shia rival poses a threat to the status quo. That’s why the militia, fearful of further losses in parliament, has been harassing candidates like Jawhari.
For instance, last month Jawhari was campaigning in the town of Khodor, near Baalbek, when he was met with Hezbollah intimidation. Standing at a podium, the sheikh was saying, “We’re going to elect freely, no one can dictate to us …” as machine-gun fire erupted, forcing him to take refuge with his security detail. Days later, three candidates from Jawhari’s ticket ended their campaigns. One of them, Rifaat al-Masri, said, “We are the children of a resistance family … proud of arms trained at our Zionist and Takfirist enemies.”He added, confirming speculation that his withdrawal came under pressure from Hezbollah, that “as long as the Israeli enemy persists with its aggression against Lebanon, we stand with the resistance.” Building on the premise that warring with Israel was Lebanon’s top priority, Masri concluded: “This election is useless.”
Masri’s comments came shortly after political developments showed that Lebanon’s problems are only getting deeper and more complicated.
The World Bank reported that it was delaying funding for the import of Egyptian gas, a US-backed plan that would pump supplies through Jordan and Syria to help Lebanon generate desperately needed electricity. A staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund, dangling US$3 billion in aid if Lebanon applied already agreed reforms, also looks doomed, given Beirut’s inability to stand up to the rampant corruption of the ruling oligarchs. Given these developments it seems that Masri is right. If, despite all of Lebanon’s misery, Hezbollah can force the debate to be narrowly about warring with Israel, then the election will indeed be a wasted opportunity.  In non-Shia districts, competition between pro-Hezbollah, non-Shia oligarchs and non-partisan candidates seems to be fairer. In the predominantly Maronite town of Beth Anya, Patriarch Rai sponsored a meeting that called for Lebanon’s neutrality. Half a dozen US congressional members delivered recorded speeches calling for peace between Lebanon and Israel and to reintegrate their country into the regional and global economy.
Uncharacteristically, Hezbollah and its media let the meeting proceed without interference. The militia was clearly trying to spare its Maronite allies – such as President Michel Aoun’s son-in-law and aspiring successor, Gebran Bassil – the embarrassment of having to side with Hezbollah and against the Maronite religious leadership. Through coercion that started last year with the assassination of Shiite political activist Lokman Slim, Hezbollah thinks that it can keep the Shiites under its thumb. Meanwhile, non-Shia oligarchs have either been threatened into submission by earlier acts of violence – such as the killing of Sunni prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 – or rewarded with government seats (such as Aoun becoming president), or pacified by corruption.
When the Lebanese go to the polls this Sunday, global organizations will report on a ballot that the West will likely see as free and fair. But Hezbollah will already have twisted enough arms before election day to keep things going the way it wants, producing an election that will not be free and fair and more useless than productive.
*This article was provided by Syndication Bureau, which holds copyright.

This is Lebanon’s make or break election
Sami Moubayed/Gulf News/ May 13, 2022
How would the country continue to survive if its coffers continue to remain empty?
By end of this month, Lebanon will have a new parliament. Elections are planned for May 15, 2022, yet they probably will result in no real change within the Chamber of Deputies. Once the new chamber is inaugurated, Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government will automatically resign, in accordance with Article 69 of the Lebanese Constitution. A new government has to be formed before President Michel Aoun’s term ends in October, which might be easier said than done, due to bickering of the Lebanese political class. It can take weeks and months, possibly a year, for any premier to form a government, and if one is not ready by October, then no presidential election will happen. But more dangerously, if there is no cabinet, then Lebanon won’t be able to fulfil any of the reforms required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), outlined last April as a precondition to obtain a $3 billion loan.
Among other things, the IMF is asking Lebanon to float its exchange rate, monitor government spending, revamp the electricity sector, combat corruption in the public sector, and introduce one law for capital control and another for banking secrecy. Lebanon would also be required to reschedule its debt to international creditors, after famously defaulting in March 2020.
The financial crisis
And even then, the loan still needs to be signed off by the IMF Board. At first glance, these conditions may seem far easier than the ones set forth by international donors in France back in April 2018, which included clipping the wings of Hezbollah and empowering the Lebanese Army in exchange for $11 billion. A closer look, however, shows that they are not. When it comes down to details, however, how can Lebanon liberate its currency without triggering a major hike in prices? Food and fuel expenses are already on the rise, due to the Ukraine War. Ninety-six per cent of the country’s wheat comes from Ukraine, and with no end in sight on that front, the crisis can drag well into the autumn or early winter, jeopardising the food basket of ordinary Lebanese, who are already hovering on the edge of poverty. Their razor-thin savings have already dried up, and their money remains locked up at banks, completely inaccessible since late 2019.
Rebuilding the country
Additionally, Lebanon has raised none of the money required to rebuild Beirut, nearly two years after the infamous port explosion that killed over 200 civilians and tore down half the city. According to the World Bank, that alone will cost anywhere between $3.8-4.6 billion.
The Lebanese government simply cannot raise taxes on an impoverished population, nor can it rely on donations from Saudi Arabia, so long as Hezbollah remains in control of the country. It also cannot expect revenue from tourism, once considered the pride and joy of a country formerly known as “Switzerland of the Middle East.”President Michel Aoun would love to see the loan materialise, however, in order to end his presidency with a rare positive achievement. A success story would do him well, and serve the interests of his son-in-law Gibran Bassil, who hopes to succeed him next October.
Najib Mikati would also welcome the loan, using it to market himself for a fourth round at the premiership. In accordance with the IMF conditions, the Mikati government has already approved a capital control draft law, setting terms for bank withdrawals: up to $1,000 or its equivalent in Lebanese pounds. The law still doesn’t say when and how depositor money will be restored to its rightful owners, however, and it still needs approval of the outgoing parliament, before its mandate ends on May 21.
But even then, there are plenty of “what ifs” that apply to Lebanon. What if any of the major political parties, like Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) refuse to recognise results of the May 15 elections? The FPM is poised for a major defeat at the polls, blamed for all the economic woes associated with the Aoun era.If their present bloc of 29 MPs is slashed in half — which is very likely — then they might take to the streets or at best, take the matter to court. What if Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces (LF) clash during the elections, like they did last October? Back then, six people were killed, and more might die if there is a security breakdown.
And even if none of that happens, how will Najib Mikati — or anybody else — manage to form a government that accommodates all the rival parties? Saad Al Hariri and his Future Movement have boycotted elections, meaning that with no parliamentary bloc, they won’t receive a share of government seats. Who will represent Sunnis in their absence? And whoever does, will Hariri accept him/them?He is already at daggers-end with all those trying to replace him at the helm of Sunni politics, whether its Sunnis affiliated with Hezbollah or former members of his Future Movement, now rallied around his former friend and ex-prime minister Fouad Siniora. And if the FPM ends up with a tiny parliamentary bloc, will it be entitled to join a new government? If it is left out, will Gibran Bassil take defeat lightly? Or will he fight to remain relevant, ahead of the presidential elections?
The answers to all these questions are rooted in politics, without real consideration of the economic challenges facing the country. A better question would be: how would Lebanon — as a state — continue to survive if its coffers remain empty?
*Sami Moubayed is a Syrian historian and former Carnegie scholar. He is also author of Under the Black Flag: At the frontier of the New Jihad.

Lebanese Election and the Broken Oar
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 13/2022 
A general election in Lebanon is bound to be news if only because it is years overdue.
But what is it for?
Is it a step towards the exit from the maze of misery and terror that the Lebanese have endured for years or a step deeper into it?
The Tehran media see the Lebanese election as “a referendum on the Resistance” and expect a resounding endorsement of the role that the Islamic Republic “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei has scripted for Lebanon and tried to impose through a branch of his Hezbollah in alliance with the breakaway Maronite faction led by President Michel Aoun.
To win that referendum, Tehran last month wrote a $25 million cheque in “ extra help” for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
More money was raised through a number of concerts in the Islamic Republic mullahs where also invited “the believers” to dig into their pockets to help Hezbollah and its allies in all Lebanese communities secure “a glaring victory” (fath al-mobin). Nasrallah was portrayed as a caricature of Khamenei who is himself a caricature of the late Khomeini.
In contrast, Najib Miqati, the ephemeral Prime Minister in place, hopes that the election would persuade the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to sign its promised cheque of $5 billion in “emergency aid”. For his part, President Aoun, a caricature of General De Gaulle in reduced size, dreams of founding a dynasty through his ebullient son-in-law with support from Tehran.
Some optimists, including a few novices who have entered the mud-hole as candidates, talk of “new opportunities” that would allow Lebanon to redesign its economy by putting Beirut under international management, turning Lebanon into a regional transport and trade hub by building a railway between Beirut and the Bekaa Valley and, having secured support from IMF and the World Bank, return to the good old days when tiny Lebanon was a magnet for regional and international investment.
Many analysts, however, dismiss the whole thing as an exercise in futility that is bound to deepen the maze and keep it populated by the same ghouls and ghosts that have plunged over 70 percent of the Lebanese into poverty. In other words, we are going to have a political version of “Last Year in Marienbad” in which the same events are repeated ad infinitum.
According to them, we are certain to get the same cast of characters: Nabih Berri, who has been Speaker of Parliament for more than half of Lebanon’s existence, is sure to be back in his soiled seat.
The Druze chief, Walid Jumblatt, will retain his role as a weathervane, while the Sunni community will continue its downward spiral in germs of political influence and power.
So, should one dismiss the whole thing as the above-mentioned analysts do?
The IMF cheque is likely to turn out to be as imaginary as the promissory note of $11 billion was in 2018 if only because forming a new government is likely to take even longer. Pie-in-the-sky projects such as reviving the Beirut port, building a railway hub, and removing Bank of Lebanon from the life-support machine may never go beyond after-dinner talks.
Lebanon’s problem is fundamentally geopolitical in the sense that those who hold the reins of power regard the country either as a bunker or a glacis where the interest of outside powers trump those of the nation-state.
Worse still, those who exercise power have proved their utter incompetence, not to mention their corruption, for almost two decades. Hezbollah, which claims a veto-power on all key appointments and issues, has proved incapable of even ensuring security in its main support base in southern Beirut which is n ow dubbed as “the Shiite wild west” where even the rare Iranian tourists are advised not to venture without “proper protection.”
To Lebanon’s geopolitical problem we have to add the systemic de-institutionalization carried out by Hezbollah for decades. This means that all normal state institutions have been turned into hollow shells, while real decision-making is centralized in Khamenei’s office in Tehran.
To complicate matters further, we now have Bashar al-Assad, the bloodied-but-unbowed ruler of Damascus, who seeks a return to the Lebanese scene albeit as second violin to Iranian mullahs. In a lightning visit to Tehran, he tried to get a nod from Khamenei for one of Syria’s former lieges as the next Lebanese president.
A bleak prospect?
Yes, indeed. Nevertheless, even a bad election is less bad than no election. The fact that so many new faces, including women and young new political activists, have entered the ring is encouraging, although few are likely to slip through to victory.
More importantly, the Lebanese ruling elite know that they have lost whatever legitimacy they had in political and confessional terms.
Despite the grim prospect, despair is not warranted.
The 2019 popular uprising has sown seeds and that are bound to grow in time.
In both geopolitical and economic terms, Lebanon remains a valuable piece of real estate on the Mediterranean. Various Arab despots tried to turn it into a bunker for their dark designs or a beach for their capricious sorties. All failed while Lebanon succeeded in shaking them off and regaining control of its destiny.
There is no reason why the same pattern of release from oppression cannot be repeated in time, downsizing this election into a footnote in history.
The bigger picture in the region does not favor Lebanon’s oppressors. The Khomeinist regime is plunging into what could turn out to be a fatal political and economic crisis. With Russia bogged down in the Ukraine quagmire, the Assad clan’s dream of returning to Lebanon as a big player may turn out as a nightmare for them.
Regardless of the results, likely to be “ arranged”, Sunday’s election may yet turn out to be a referendum on resistance, the resistance of the Lebanese people against forces that try to de-Lebanize their country.
As daring seafarers, the ancient Phoenicians, ancestors of the Lebanese, knew how to weather the biggest storms while always keeping alive the hope of return to the coast of Tyre. The ancient Phoenician seafarer had a prayer as his talisman: “Oh, Goddess of Tyre, Mother of Carthage! I surrender my oar!”
The Goddess always received the broken oar and gave the seafarer a new one to safely continue his voyage home against the storms.

Lebanon to deploy 75,000 troops on eve of crucial poll
Najia Houssari/Arab News/May 13/2022
Religious leaders urge people to vote as turnout tipped to be major factor
BEIRUT: More than 75,000 troops and security personnel will be deployed at polling stations and key sites around Lebanon from late on Saturday on the eve of crucial parliamentary elections in the country. Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi announced the large-scale deployment after meeting with military commanders overseeing security arrangements for Sunday’s poll. More than 3.6 million people are expected to cast their votes in 15 electoral districts around Lebanon, according to interior ministry estimates. Friday was the final day of campaigning for the candidates’ electoral machines, with party leaders and the political forces supporting electoral lists seeking to convince hesitant voters to take part in the elections.
BACKGROUND
Friday was the final day of campaigning for the candidates’ electoral machines, with party leaders and the political forces supporting electoral lists seeking to convince hesitant voters to take part in the elections. Mawlawi said that security chiefs will work with generator owners to ensure electoral stations have power on polling day. The election is expected to redraw Lebanon’s political map after years of political and social upheaval, with a new president and the approval of a recovery plan to rescue the country from its severe economic crisis. Electoral messaging reached a peak before a moratorium on campaigning entered into force from midnight on Friday until the ballot boxes are sealed late on Sunday. Amid persistent calls for an election boycott, religious leaders used their Friday sermons to urge Lebanese people to exercise their right to vote.Gebran Bassil, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement and the main ally of Hezbollah, said in his live appearances and on social media that “voting for the Lebanese Forces lists equals voting for Israel and its regional allies.”The Lebanese Forces candidates and leaders said that “whoever votes for the Free Patriotic Movement is, in fact, voting for Hezbollah.”Electoral expert Walid Fakhreddin told Arab News that voter turnout will be a major factor in the election. “There’s a desire for change in people that was somehow positively received by the Lebanese Forces, the Phalanges Party, the Progressive Socialist Party and the Amal Movement,” he said.
Fakhreddin said the elections “have a high number of disruptive elements, and the Friday sermons were an attempt to change the stance of boycotters.”However, he added that “people make up their minds in the last 15 minutes and we have to expect some tactical voting.”Former prime minister Fouad Siniora, who is sponsoring an electoral campaign in Beirut and candidates in other regions, warned that the outlook for Lebanon would be “harsh and bitter” without serious reforms starting with the parliament.
“This compels every Lebanese to contribute positively to changing the situation, and building a strong state with its exclusively legitimate and official institutions and agencies,” he said. “It also compels them to steer clear from drowning in the vortex of personal considerations and sectarianism, and to focus on the interests of Lebanon and its citizens.” Siniora said that electoral lists he had partnered with in many regions had been targeted by a distortion campaign intended to discredit and divert the attention of Lebanese from the fundamental issues facing the country. “We want Lebanon to preserve its Arab identity, and remain free and independent,” he said. “We don’t want to keep repeating statements intended to blind us from the catastrophic project that would put Lebanon under the Iranian domination through Hezbollah and its weapons.”Siniora believes that “we are running under a poisoned electoral law. However, participating heavily in the polls will counter the fall of Lebanon resulting from the domination of Hezbollah and its allied sectarian parties on the state, its departments, institutions and agencies.” In parallel with the election preparations, Maj-Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, director general of the General Directorate of General Security, inaugurated a new GSS center at the Syrian border point of Mutrabeh. The new crossing will mean the closure of 18 illegal border points used by Lebanese living in Syria to enter Lebanon, he said. Ibrahim said that 25 Lebanese towns overlapping Syria and home to 10,000 people will also benefit from a more direct link.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 13-14/2022
UAE's long-ailing leader Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed passes away
Agence France Presse/Friday, 13 May, 2022
The United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan died aged 73 on Friday, state media said, after battling illness for several years. The president of the oil-rich Gulf state, who was rarely seen in public, is likely to be replaced by his half-brother, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, who was already seen as the UAE's de facto ruler. "The Ministry of Presidential Affairs has mourned to the UAE people, Arab and Islamic nations and the world the death of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan," the official WAM news agency tweeted. The ministry announced 40 days of mourning, with flags at half-mast from Friday and work suspended in the public and private sectors for the first three days. Sheikh Khalifa took over as the UAE's second president in November 2004, succeeding his father as the 16th ruler of Abu Dhabi, the richest of the federation's seven emirates. He has rarely been seen in public since 2014, when he had surgery following a stroke, although he has continued to issue rulings. The cause of death was not immediately released. The UAE, a former British protectorate that was founded in 1971, has gone from desert outpost to booming state in its short history, fuelled by its oil wealth and Dubai's rise as a trading and financial center. The Arab world's second-biggest economy behind Saudi Arabia has also begun to wield growing political influence, filling a space ceded by traditional powers such as Egypt, Iraq and Syria. The country of some 10 million also joined military campaigns in Libya and Yemen and broke ranks with much of the Arab world to establish ties with Israel in 2020.
Frail figure
The bearded Sheikh Khalifa had cut a frail figure on his occasional public appearances, while his half-brother hosted world leaders and led diplomatic forays abroad. "The Emirates has lost its virtuous son and leader of the 'stage of empowerment' and the trustee of its blessed journey," Mohammed bin Zayed tweeted on Friday. "His stances, achievements, wisdom, generosity and initiatives are in every corner of the nation... Khalifa bin Zayed, my brother... may God have mercy on you and grant you access to paradise."Sheikh Khalifa, who had no formal higher education, led the UAE as Dubai emerged as a tourism and trade hub and Abu Dhabi pumped oil as a key OPEC player.He came to the rescue of Dubai when it was hit by the global financial crisis in 2009, extending a multi-billion-dollar lifeline to the debt-laden emirate. Dubai's ruler, UAE vice president Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, said the country was mourning "with hearts filled with sadness."The U.S. mission to Abu Dhabi called Sheikh Khalifa "a true friend of the United States," while Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani also offered their condolences.

EU Says Talks with Iran ‘Positive Enough’ to Reopen Nuclear Negotiations
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 13 May, 2022
The EU's foreign policy chief said on Friday that he believed there had been enough progress during consultations between his envoy and Iranian officials in Tehran this week to relaunch nuclear negotiations after two months of deadlock. Talks to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers have been on hold since March, chiefly over Tehran's insistence that Washington remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps from the US list of designated terrorist organizations. Speaking as talks coordinator Enrique Mora arrived back in Europe, Josep Borrell said Iran's response had been "positive enough" after Mora had delivered a message that things could not continue as they were. "These things can not be resolved overnight," Borrell told reporters at a G7 foreign ministers meeting in northern Germany. "Let's say the negotiations were blocked and they have been de-blocked and that means there is the prospective of reaching a final agreement." The broad outline of the deal that aims to revive the accord which restrains Iran's nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions was essentially agreed in March. However, it has since been thrown into disarray after last-minute Russian demands and the dispute over the US Foreign Terrorist Organization list. Western officials are largely losing hope that it can be resurrected, sources familiar with the matter have said, forcing them to weigh how to limit Iran's atomic program even as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has divided the big powers. "It has gone better than expected - the negotiations were stalled, and now they have been reopened," Borrell said. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Mora’s trip had been "an opportunity to focus on initiatives to resolve the remaining issues". "A good and reliable agreement is within reach if the United States makes a political decision and adheres to its commitments," he said. A French diplomatic source said on Thursday he saw little chance of the United States agreeing to remove Iran's elite security force from its list of foreign terrorist organizations any time soon. Mora has been in Tehran this week in what has been described as the last chance to salvage the 2015 accord, which then US President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018. Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia are also parties to the accord. In a bizarre incident, Mora and his team were held at Frankfurt airport for several hours on return from the Iranian capital on Friday. "We were kept separated. Refusal to give any explanation for what seems a violation of the Vienna Convention," he said on Twitter. Germany authorities did not immediately comment. Iran's official IRNA news agency alleged, without evidence, that Israel was behind the incident. "What has happened in Frankfurt has to do with opposition to the progress in the nuclear talks ... The Zionist lobby has influence in the German security apparatus," it said.

Iran, Qatar Link 'Regional Dialogue' to Nuclear Deal
Doha - Merza al-Khuwaldi/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Qatar and Iran have stressed their determination to resolve differences in the region through dialogue. The two countries also underlined the importance of reaching an agreement in the nuclear negotiations between the international community and Tehran. The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, held talks on Thursday with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, before he met with the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Qatar’s Emiri Diwan said Sheikh Tamim and Raisi discussed political, economic and commercial relations, in addition to boosting prospects for bilateral cooperation in the sectors of tourism, investment, transport and communications. The talks also touched on a number of regional and international files, especially the latest developments in the region. Khamenei’s official website quoted the senior cleric as saying that the region’s problems “will be resolved through dialogue without the interference of foreign parties.”He added that the “strength and stability of the Iranian-Qatari ties are in the interest of the two countries,” but noted that bilateral economic relations were very modest and must be doubled. On the political level, Khamenei pointed to the presence of a “basis for exchanging views,” expressing his hope that the visit of the Emir of Qatar would constitute a “new starting point for strengthening cooperation.” For his part, Raisi said Iran was convinced that regional files could be resolved without foreign and western interference. “The visit of the Emir of Qatar will be a turning point in the level of relations between our two countries,” he stated. Commenting on the nuclear talks in Vienna, Sheikh Tamim said: “We look positively at the Vienna negotiations and see that the only solution to any dispute lies through dialogue and peaceful means.” “We are pushing forward, God willing, all parties,” with the aim of reaching an understanding that is “fair to all,” he added. While Iranian media portrayed the meeting as evidence of Iran’s expansion of its relations with countries in the region, a source told Reuters on Sunday that the emir’s visit aims to bring the parties to the Iranian nuclear agreement to a common ground.
Citing a source, Reuters reported that Sheikh Tamim will visit Iran before traveling to Germany, Britain and other European states to discuss efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. The source added the emir’s trip aimed at bringing parties to the Iran nuclear agreement to a “new middle ground.”In turn, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stressed support for reaching an agreement on the outstanding issues in the Iranian nuclear negotiations. The Qatari foreign minister stressed that the Emir of Qatar’s talks in Tehran “focused on establishing stability in the region and engaging into a regional dialogue.”Talks in Vienna reached an impasse over Tehran’s insistence that Washington remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps from the US Foreign Terrorist Organization list. In Europe and Britain, Sheikh Tamim will discuss energy security, as Qatar and Iran possess respectively the first and second largest natural gas reserves in the world.

Iran Arrests at Least 22 Protesting Staple Food Price Hikes
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Iranian authorities have arrested at least 22 demonstrators who had been protesting sudden price hikes of subsidized staple foods in two southern cities, state media reported early Friday. The arrests follow Iran's announcement this week that the cost of cooking oil, chicken, eggs and milk would rise by as much as 300%, as food prices surge across the region due to global supply chain snarls and Russia’s invasion of major food exporter Ukraine. The state-run IRNA news agency reported that 15 people were arrested overnight in the southwestern city of Dezful in Khuzestan province, as well as seven others in the city of Yasuj in Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad Province in the south. The report also said that 200 people had gathered in another city in Khuzestan province - Andimeshk - where one firefighter was injured after demonstrators threw stones at police and firefighters. The situation had calmed in all areas by Friday, IRNA added. Before the demonstrations, advocacy group NetBlocks.org said that Internet disruptions were reported across the country as the government braced for possible unrest. Footage widely circulating on social media showed several other protests in Khuzestan, with some turning violent with protesters burning tires in the street and police firing tear gas to disperse them. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the videos' authenticity. Iran imports half of its cooking oil from Ukraine, where fighting has kept many farmers from the fields, and almost half of its wheat from Russia. Smuggling of Iran’s highly subsidized bread into neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan has spiked as hunger spreads across the region. Drought is already ravaging Iran’s economy, and Western sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program have caused additional difficulties. Inflation has soared to nearly 40%, its highest level since 1994. Youth unemployment also remains high. Some 30% of Iranian households live below the poverty line according to Iran’s Statistics Center. Memories of Iran’s fuel price hike in November 2019 also remain fresh. Then, widespread protests - the most violent since the creation of the republic in 1979 - rocked the country.

Iran Raises Prices of Food Staples, Stirring Panic
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Iran abruptly raised prices as much as 300% for a variety of staples such as cooking oil, chicken, eggs and milk on Thursday. Scores of alarmed Iranians waited in long lines to snatch up bundles of food and emptied supermarket shelves across the country in the hours before the price hike took effect. Panicked shoppers raided stores and stuffed basic goods into large plastic bags, according to footage shared widely on social media. Lines in Tehran snaked out of grocery stores late Wednesday. On Thursday, Iran’s currency dropped to a low of 300,000 rial to the dollar. Internet disruptions were reported across Iran as the government braced for possible unrest. Protests appeared to spring up in the remote and impoverished south, according to videos shared online. The Associated Press said the scenes revealed not only deep anxiety gripping the country and frustration with Iran's leaders, but also underscored the staggering economic and political challenges facing them. Food prices across the Middle East have surged due to global supply chain snarls and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which both export many essentials. Iran imports half of its cooking oil from Ukraine, where fighting has kept many farmers from the fields. Drought is already ravaging Iran's economy. Western sanctions over Iran's nuclear deal have caused additional difficulties. Inflation has soared to nearly 40%, the highest level since 1994. Youth unemployment also remains high. Some 30% of Iranian households are below the poverty line, reports Iran's Statistics Center. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has promised to create jobs, lift sanctions and rescue the economy, but talks to revive Iran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers remain deadlocked. Iranian families have seen their purchasing power rapidly diminish.

American-made Javelin and Stinger missiles are heading to Ukraine. At least 20 members of Congress personally invest in the defense contractors behind them.
Kimberly Leonard/ Business Insider/May 13/2022
Defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon manufacture weapons that are heading to Ukraine. At least 19 members of Congress or their spouses hold stock in these companies.
Some lawmakers sit on congressional committees that regulate defense policy.
Some members of Congress stand to personally profit off Russia's war on Ukraine.
At least 19 federal lawmakers or their spouses hold stock in Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin, which manufacture the weapons Western allies are sending Ukraine to fight Russian invaders, according to an Insider analysis of federal financial records. The stock holdings by members of Congress come as the US is preparing to send billions of dollars in defense aid to Ukraine. Both companies' stock — especially that of Lockheed Martin — have risen since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Among the weapons the US and NATO members have dispatched to Ukraine are the so-called "fire and forget" Javelin and Stinger missiles that troops carry on their shoulders during battle. The joint Raytheon/Lockheed Martin-made Javelin missile is touted as "the world's premier shoulder-fired anti-armor system" capable of destroying battle tanks.
Raytheon's Stinger missiles are designed to shoot down helicopters and other low-flying aircraft. Raytheon advertises the Stinger as "rapidly deployed by ground troops" and credited with "more than 270 fixed- and rotary-wing intercepts." Among those investing in the defense contractors is Republican Rep. John Rutherford of Florida who purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of Raytheon stock on February 24 — the day Russia invaded Ukraine.
Rutherford sits on the House Appropriations Committee that's in charge of federal government spending. In that role he serves on the subcommittee for Homeland Security as well as the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies subcommittee.
"What we're seeing in Ukraine is the tragic consequence of an evil & aggressive dictatorship," Rutherford tweeted on February 24. "Putin invaded a sovereign nation for no legitimate reason, & he must be held accountable. The U.S. and our allies must impose the maximum possible sanctions & leave nothing off the table." Rutherford's office did not return Insider's requests for comment. Rutherford's office previously said the congressman's stocks are managed by a third party.
Another Republican, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Lockheed Martin shares on February 22. Two days after her purchase, Greene wrote in a Twitter thread: "War is big business to our leaders." In a statement to Insider, Greene said her investment advisor made the purchase and noted it was only one among several other new purchases. But her critics seized on the trade as emblematic of what they consider an endemic problem in Congress: lawmakers personally buying and selling stock in ways that could conflict with their official responsibilities and position of public trust.
"Add this to the list of why members of Congress should never be allowed to trade stocks," quipped Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota on Twitter, sharing a subtweet that showed Greene's financial disclosure document.
Some members long held stock in the companies, others traded recently
Other federal lawmakers have traded stock in the defense contractors in recent weeks. Republican Rep. Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee and her husband made three separate Raytheon trades worth up to $15,000 and Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel of Florida sold up to $15,000 in Lockheed Martin stock but retained shares in the company.
All trades happened in January — close to when the Wall Street Journal reported that the United States permitted Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to dispatch the Javelin and Stinger missiles to Ukraine. Representatives for Frankel and Harshbarger did not respond to Insider's request for comment. Harshbarger has previously violated the 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act, by reporting trades made by her financial advisor past a federally mandated deadline. More than a dozen other members of Congress or their families hold similar investments at a time when President Joe Biden approved a $350 million Ukraine military aid package last week. The US government is also poised to deliver another $6.5 billion for defense purposes in Ukraine as part of a new spending package heading to the president's desk. CNN reported that the US and other NATO members have so far sent Ukraine 17,000 anti-tank missiles and 2,000 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. Most lawmakers who hold shares in Raytheon and Lockheed Martin did not reply to Insider's request for comment. The list includes:
Sen. Deb Fischer, a Republican of Nebraska, inherited between $50,001 to $100,000 in Lockheed Martin stock from her mother after she died on December 26, 2021. Fischer is the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.
Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat of Colorado, held between $100,001 and $250,000 in Raytheon shares, according to his most recent annual disclosure.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat of Rhode Island, held $15,001 to $50,000 in Lockheed Martin stock. He also held between $50,001 and $100,000 in stock in United Technologies, which was acquired by Raytheon.
Thomas Daffron, a former longtime Hill chief of staff and the husband of Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, held between $15,000 and $50,000 in stock United Technologies, which was acquired by Raytheon. Annie Clark, Collins' spokeswoman, said he first acquired United Technologies at least as far back as 2014, before the Raytheon acquisition. "Tom Daffron has no involvement in the purchase or sale of any of the stocks in his diversified portfolio," she said. "These investment decisions are made solely by a third-party advisor." Clark also added that the senator herself does not own any stocks.
Abigail Perlman Blunt, a lobbyist for Kraft Heinz who is also the wife of retiring Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, held between $100,001 and $250,000 in Lockheed Martin shares.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican of West Virginia, held between $1,001 and $15,000 in Lockheed Martin stock, her annual disclosures indicate. Her husband, Charlie Capito, who previously worked in finance, held between $1,001 and $15,000 in United Technologies, now acquired by Raytheon.
Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat of Michigan, held between $1,001 and $15,000 in Raytheon stock. Peters chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee as well as the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Martha Stacy, the wife of Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, held between $1,001 and $15,000 in Raytheon stocks and between $1,001 and $15,000 in Lockheed Martin stocks. Carper serves on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. His spokeswoman, Rachel Levitan, said the couple has "always been careful to ensure that their financial investments are handled separately by a financial advisor who makes decisions and transactions independently." She added that Carper "fully supports ongoing conversations in Congress on how to strengthen the legislation and improve transparency and accountability for our elected officials."
John Axne, the husband of Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne of Iowa who operates a digital design firm, sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Lockheed Martin shares twice in February but still appears to hold stock in the company. Axne previously violated the STOCK Act through failing to properly report trades.
Rep. Kevin Hern, a Republican of Oklahoma who built his wealth through McDonald's franchises, traded both Raytheon and Lockheed Martin stock throughout 2021. He most recently purchased shares of between $1,001 and $15,000 in both Raytheon and Lockheed Martin in December, documents show. Representatives for Hern, who has past STOCK Act violations, didn't reply to Insider's most recent inquiry but previously said a financial advisor manages the trades and that Hern "does not have any input or control over stock purchases."
Rep. Fred Upton, a Republican of Michigan who is retiring after his term ends in 2022, held between $1,001 and $15,000 in Raytheon shares.
Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat of Tennessee, held between $15,001 to $50,000 in Raytheon stock.
Rep. John Curtis, a Republican of Utah, purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 in Raytheon shares in June 2021. He also held Lockheed Martin stock but public disclosures appear to show that he sold it in November 2021. His office did not reply to questions over whether he still held shares in the company.
Rep. David Price, a Democrat of North Carolina, held between $15,001 and $50,000 in United Technologies which was then acquired by Raytheon.
Rep. Dwight Evans, a Democrat of Pennsylvania, held between $1,001 and $15,000 in United Technologies which was acquired by Raytheon stock and in May 2021 he purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 in Lockheed Martin stock.
Margaret Kirkpatrick, who is married to Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and retired from her role as general counsel for NW Natural Gas, held up to $15,000 in Raytheon shares as part of her retirement portfolio.
Additional members of Congress appear to have shed their shares in recent months.
They include Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee's Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. Documents appear to show Wittman sold his shares in Lockheed Martin in January of this year. His office did not respond to Insider's most recent inquiry but previously said that a financial advisor has "all control" of his investments.
Insider previously reported that Wittman was among at least 15 lawmakers who both invest in the stock of defense contractors and hold powerful positions on a pair of House and Senate committees that control US military policy.
Together, these 15 lawmakers' defense contractor investments were worth up to nearly $1 million at the end of 2020.
Another lawmaker who appears to have sold stock in defense contractors this year was Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican of Alabama. It wasn't immediately clear from available financial filings whether he still retained any stock in the companies. His office didn't respond to Insider's request for comment on whether he still holds the shares but previously said outside advisors manage the senator's investments.
Tuberville, who sits on the armed services committee, violated the federal STOCK Act last year by disclosing nearly 130 stock trades weeks or months late.
Tuberville isn't alone in violating the STOCK Act — more than 1 in 10 members of Congress have done so, Insider's Conflicted Congress investigation found.
In March alone, Insider found Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York, Republican Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, and Whitehouse to each be in violation of the STOCK Act's disclosure provisions.
Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat of Virginia, introduced the TRUST in Congress Act, which would require all members of Congress put certain investment assets in a blind trust.
Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat of Virginia, introduced the bipartisan TRUST in Congress Act, which would require all members of Congress put certain investment assets in a blind trust.Win McNamee/Getty Images
Congress is considering a stock trading ban
No law prohibits lawmakers from sitting on congressional committees, writing legislation, or voting on bills that might affect them financially.
But momentum is growing for banning lawmakers from trading stocks altogether. A House hearing was set for March 16 to explore the matter, although it didn't take place as scheduled because Committee on House Administration Chairperson Zoe Lofgren contracted COVID-19. A new date hasn't yet been set.
Numerous federal policymakers have defense contractors in their states and districts, who call up lawmakers as the defense spending bills are being drafted to warn that people will lose jobs if defense funding decreases. The latest spending bill making its way through Congress represents another victory for the industry as it includes $782 billion in defense spending, a 5.6% increase over last year. Government watchdog organizations say investments like those in defense contractors muddle lawmakers' decision making abilities and reduce public trust in government officials.
Political action committees linked to defense contractors are among the largest political donors in the United States. Defense contractors likewise spend millions of dollars lobbying the federal government to prod elected officials, shape policy, and win lucrative government contracts. During 2021, Raytheon spent nearly $15.4 million on federal lobbying efforts while Lockheed Martin spent more than $14.4 million, according to federal records compiled by nonpartisan research organization OpenSecrets. "This is a case study in why there is a lot of concern around congressional stock trading," said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, government affairs manager at the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight.
The investments indicate that war isn't only profitable for defense contractors "but members of congress who invest," he added. POGO supports a ban on members' trading individual stocks.
"The easiest way to clear all this up and make the scandal not exist is to have clear, straightforward restrictions and have them apply to everybody," Hedtler-Gaudette said.
This article was originally published March 11, 2022, and updated to include new information made available about members of Congress purchasing or otherwise acquiring defense contractor stock.

Turkey opposes NATO membership for Finland, Sweden
AFP/May 14, 2022
Turkey has long accused Nordic countries, especially Sweden which has a strong Turkish immigrant community, of harboring extremist Kurdish groups as well as supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based preacher wanted over a failed 2016 coup
ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkey did not have a “positive opinion” on Finland and Sweden joining NATO, throwing up a potential obstacle for the nations’ membership bid.
The leader of NATO-member Turkey spoke ahead of expected confirmations from the Nordic nations on Sunday that they will apply to join the Western military alliance. Erdogan accused both countries of harboring “terrorist organisations” in his unfavourable assessment of the membership bids.
“We do not have a positive opinion,” Erdogan told journalists after Friday prayers in Istanbul. “Scandinavian countries are like a guesthouse for terror organizations,” he said. Turkey has long accused Nordic countries, especially Sweden which has a strong Turkish immigrant community, of harboring extremist Kurdish groups as well as supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based preacher wanted over a failed 2016 coup.
BACKGROUND
Turkey has long accused Nordic countries, especially Sweden which has a strong Turkish immigrant community, of harboring extremist Kurdish groups as well as supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based preacher wanted over a failed 2016 coup. Erdogan cited a “mistake” made by Turkey’s former rulers who okayed Greece’s NATO membership in 1952. “We, as Turkey, do not want to make a second mistake on this issue,” he said.Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has swung political and public opinion in Finland and Sweden in favor of membership as a deterrent against Russian aggression. Both countries have long cooperated with NATO, and are expected to be able to join the alliance quickly. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly said they would be welcomed “with open arms.”Turkey’s “not positive” response is the first dissenting voice against the two Nordic countries’ NATO prospects. Sweden’s and Finland’s foreign ministers responded on Friday by saying they were hoping to meet their Turkish counterpart in Berlin at an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Saturday.“We will then have the opportunity to discuss a potential Swedish NATO application,” Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde said in a statement to AFP, also noting that the “Turkish government had not delivered this type of message directly to us.” Speaking at a Helsinki press conference, Finland’s Peeka Haavisto also said he hoped to meet with Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during the weekend to “continue our discussion.”Stockholm and Helsinki have cranked up their international contacts to seek support for their potential bids. Once a country has decided to apply for NATO membership, the 30 members of the alliance must agree unanimously to extend a formal invitation, which is followed by membership negotiations. The final approval could then take place at a NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June. The 30 member states would then have to ratify the decision. Turkey, which enjoys good relations with Kyiv and Moscow, has been keen to play a mediating role to end the conflict and has offered to host a leaders’ summit. Ankara has supplied Ukraine with combat drones, but has shied away from slapping sanctions on Russia alongside Western allies. Turkey’s position on Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership risks making it look like the “Hungary of the EU,” said Washington Institute fellow Soner Cagaptay. Pro-Russia Hungary often breaks from its EU colleagues on a broad range of issues, including rule of law and human rights. Cagaptay said Ankara should have negotiated its terror-related concerns behind closed doors with the two countries. “The fact that this is done publicly is going to hurt Ankara’s image significantly,” he said. Erdogan’s comments may also raise tensions with France, whose President Emmanuel Macron has said that NATO was undergoing “brain death” partly due to Turkey’s behaviour. Macron has made clear he supports Finland’s bid.Finnish President Sauli Niinisto spoke with Erdogan in April as part of consultations for its NATO bid. “I thanked President Erdogan for his efforts for peace in Ukraine. Turkey supports Finland’s objectives,” he tweeted at the time.

Swedish policy review says joining NATO would reduce conflict risk
Reuters/13 May 2022
STOCKHOLM: Swedish membership in NATO would have a stabilizing effect and would benefit countries around the Baltic sea, Foreign Minister Ann Linde said on Friday, the day after neighbour Finland committed to applying to join the 30-nation alliance. "Swedish NATO membership would raise the threshold for military conflicts and thus have a conflict-preventing effect in northern Europe," Linde told reporters when presenting a parliament report on security. Sweden is widely expected to follow Finland's lead and Stockholm could apply for NATO membership as early as Monday.

US Senate Passes Legislation to Support Sudan’s Democratic Aspirations
Rana Abtar - Washington/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 13 May, 2022
The US Senate has unanimously passed legislation condemning the October 25, 2021 coup in Sudan.
All council members voted in favor of the bill, with little or no objection when it was introduced for voting in Congress on Wednesday. According to the non-binding legislation’s text, Congress stands with the people of Sudan in their democratic aspirations. It called for Sudan’s military junta to “immediately release all civilian government officials, civil society members, and other individuals detained in connection with the coup.” It underscored the need to ensure that security forces respect the right to peaceful protest and hold those who used excessive force and committed other abuses accountable in a transparent, credible process. It further urged the military council to cease all attempts to change the civilian composition of the cabinet, Sovereign Council, and other government bodies and called on junta leaders to return immediately to the rule of law as set forth by the transitional constitution.The legislation also called on the Secretary of State to immediately identify coup leaders, their accomplices, and enablers for consideration for targeted sanctions and coordinate with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and other Federal Government agencies to pause all non-humanitarian bilateral assistance to Sudan until the restoration of the transitional constitutional order. It called on international partners to join the United States' efforts to impose targeted sanctions on the junta and other accomplices to the coup, monitor, discourage and deter any effort by external parties to support the junta. It stressed the need to suspend Sudan’s participation in all regional multilateral organizations until Sudan is returned to constitutional rule under the transitional constitution.

Israeli soldier dies from wounds following raid near Jenin
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/Friday, 13 May, 2022
An Israeli soldier died from wounds suffered on Friday during a raid near the flashpoint city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said. "Today we lost a real hero, Noam Raz -- a brave (army) fighter ... (during a) complex and sensitive operation against terrorists", Bennett said in a statement. Israeli troops had pushed into Jenin early Friday. An Associated Press photographer heard heavy gunfire and explosions, and said Israeli troops had surrounded a home. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 13 Palestinians were hospitalized after being wounded in the fighting, including one who was shot in the stomach. The Israeli military tweeted that Palestinians opened fire when its forces went in to arrest suspected militants.

Israeli forces attack mourners carrying Abu Akleh's coffin
Agence France Presse/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Thousands of people packed Jerusalem's tense Old City on Friday for the burial of veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, after Israeli police stormed the start of the funeral procession. Israel and the Palestinians have traded blame over the fatal shooting of the Palestinian-American on Wednesday during an Israeli raid in the flashpoint city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank. An Israeli officer was killed during a fresh shootout with Palestinian gunmen near Jenin on Friday. The Israeli army said an interim investigation could not determine who fired the bullet that killed Abu Akleh, noting that stray Palestinian gunfire or Israeli sniper fire aimed at militants were both possible causes. Al Jazeera has said Israel killed her "deliberately" and "in cold blood."Abu Akleh, a Christian, was a hugely revered Palestinian reporter and her funeral in her native Jerusalem drew massive crowds. As her body left St. Joseph's hospital in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, Israeli police stormed the crowds who were hoisting Palestinian flags. The Jewish state forbids public displays of Palestinian flags and routinely intervenes against those who parade them at demonstrations or protests. TV images showed Abu Akleh's coffin nearly falling to the ground as Israeli police grabbed the flags from the crowd around the procession outside the hospital. Police said they had warned the crowd to stop "nationalistic" songs and were forced to act as "violent rioters (were) trying to disrupt the proper course of the funeral."Prominent Palestinian figure Hanan Ashrawi said the raid on pallbearers showed Israel's "inhumanity."Abu Akleh's body was then transferred by vehicle to Jerusalem's Old City where, after a short church service, it moved towards the cemetery on Mt. Zion. Thousands of Palestinian mourners attempted to follow the coffin towards the cemetery just outside the walled Old City.Police briefly attempted to prevent the crowd from passing through the iconic Jaffa gate, but ultimately relented, allowing thousands to stream towards the graveside, and did not intervene as Palestinian flags were waved during the march, AFP reporters said.
There was a tense calm in the city as crowds dispersed following Abu Akleh's burial.
'Sister of all Palestinians' -
Roads were closed along the route of the procession as Israel bolstered security to "ensure the funeral takes place safely and without violence that could endanger participants or others", an Israeli police spokeswoman said. In a sign of Abu Akleh's prominence, she was given what was described as a full state memorial on Thursday at Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's compound in Ramallah before being transferred to Jerusalem. "Her voice entered every home, and her loss is a wound in our hearts," said mourner Hadil Hamdan. The United States, European Union and United Nations have backed calls for a full investigation into Abu Akleh's killing. Israel has publicly called for a joint probe and stressed the need for Palestinian authorities to hand over the fatal bullet for forensic examination, but the Palestinian Authority has rejected holding a joint probe with Israel. PA official Hussein Al-Sheikh said the Palestinian "investigation would be completed independently". Grief over her killing spilled beyond the Palestinian territories, with protests erupting in Turkey, Sudan and elsewhere. She "was the sister of all Palestinians," her brother Antoun Abu Akleh told AFP.
Fresh violence
Fresh violence erupted on Friday in the West Bank, including a raid and clashes around the Jenin refugee camp. The Israeli officer killed was identified as Noam Raz, a 47 year old father of six. Police said he was wounded "during a shootout with armed terrorists," and later died. The Palestinian health ministry said 13 Palestinians were wounded in the clashes, one of them seriously. An AFP photographer said Israeli forces had surrounded the home of a suspect, besieging two men inside and firing anti-tank grenades at the house in an effort to flush them out. In a separate incident near Ramallah, soldiers "identified a suspect throwing a brick at an Israeli car and trying to open its doors near Beit El" settlement, the army said, adding that soldiers shot and wounded him. Tensions were already running high after a wave of anti-Israeli attacks that have killed at least 18 people since March 22, including an Arab-Israeli police officer and two Ukrainians. A total of 31 Palestinians and three Israeli Arabs have died during the same period, according to an AFP tally, among them perpetrators of attacks and those killed by Israeli security forces in West Bank operations.

Israel Resumes Raids in West Bank Area Where Journalist Was Killed
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 13 May, 2022
Israeli forces resumed raids in the occupied West Bank area of Jenin on Friday, where a prominent Palestinian journalist was shot dead this week, wounding at least four people, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said its forces were conducting counter-terrorism activities on the outskirts of Jenin, where Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed on Wednesday. Her funeral procession in the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday is expected to draw thousands. The death of Abu Akleh, who had covered Palestinian affairs and the Middle East for over two decades at the Qatar-based news channel, seemed likely to add fuel to a surging conflict. Hundreds of Israeli officers were to be deployed in the area of the funeral to ensure it proceeds without confrontations, a spokesman said. Residents in the area of Jenin said Israeli forces fired a projectile towards a home near Jenin on Friday in an apparent effort to arrest suspects inside. Palestine TV footage showed black plumes of smoke rising from the house. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Abu Akleh's death has drawn widespread condemnation. Video footage from the moments after she was wounded showed Abu Akleh, 51, wearing a blue vest marked "Press". She suffered a gunshot wound to the head while covering clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants in Jenin. At least two of her colleagues who were with her said they had come under Israeli sniper fire.Israel, which has voiced regret at Abu Akleh's death, said that the fatal shot may have been fired by a Palestinian gunman. While launching its own probe, it has also proposed a joint investigation with the Palestinians, asking them to provide the bullet for examination. The Palestinians have rejected the Israeli request, describing Abu Akleh's killing as an assassination by Israeli forces. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday said Israel was fully responsible and called for an international investigation. Israel has stepped up raids amid deadly attacks in Israel. Since March, Palestinians and members of Israel's Arab minority have killed 18 people, including three police officers and a security guard, in attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have mostly targeted civilians. Some of the assailants have come from the Jenin area. The Israeli arrest raids in the West Bank have often sparked clashes and have brought the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or armed civilians since the beginning of the year to at least 42. The casualties include armed members of militant groups, lone assailants and bystanders.

Joint Statement of foreign ministers on increased restrictions on the human rights of Afghan women and girls
May 13, 2022 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
Joint statement with:
Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, United States
“Afghan women and girls make enormous contributions to their country. Achieving peace, stability and economic development requires their equal participation in shaping Afghanistan’s future.
“We remain deeply concerned by the continued restrictions on girls’ access to education in Afghanistan, and call on the Taliban to respect the right to education and adhere to their commitments to reopen schools for all female students.
“We are deeply disappointed about escalating restrictions imposed by the Taliban that impact the human rights of Afghan women.
“The Taliban’s directive that women and girls must cover themselves in public and leave home only in cases of necessity, and with a man restricts their universal and inalienable human rights. We deplore that family members could be punished to enforce compliance with these restrictions.
“Afghan women should be free to choose how they express themselves in accordance with their faith and have the right to move freely in society.
“The international community cannot consider these recent directives as isolated decisions. The Taliban have taken other actions that limit the human rights of women and girls.
“These include their rights to education, work and freedom of movement, opinion and expression through restrictions on unaccompanied travel, participation in the workforce and ability to express themselves openly.
“These decisions contradict repeated Taliban assurances to respect and protect the human rights of all Afghans.
“All Afghans should be able to enjoy their fundamental human rights. These rights are indivisible and inalienable, expressed in international human rights law and endorsed by all members of the United Nations.
“We call on the Taliban to reconsider decisions which constrain the right of women and girls to make their own choices, gain an education, work and participate equally in society.
“We will continue to judge the Taliban on their actions, not their words.”

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 13-14/2022
Germany Is Rising Above History to Support Ukraine
Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg/May 13/2022
Compared with the vocal and lavish support Ukraine has received from the US and the UK, that of Germany seems lukewarm, almost reluctant, especially to Ukrainians themselves. The moderation may be morally questionable, but it makes historical and political sense. Both Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the country he leads are already way out of their comfort zone. Yet notwithstanding these mental constraints, Germany has made clear its stance against Russian aggression.
Scholz is among the few Western leaders who haven’t visited Kyiv since Russian troops retreated from its outskirts. Though Scholz finally agreed to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine, his decision intensified an impassioned public debate, in which open letters to the chancellor flew back and forth — there is still no clear majority in favor of the deliveries or against them. Some major public intellectuals, notably the philosopher Juergen Habermas, have weighed in against the “moral blackmail” of the fervent pro-Ukrainian camp, making the case for a “compromise” to end the war and arguing that supplying weapons to Ukraine will only multiply suffering.
The German establishment has not seriously considered an embargo on Russian gas, which fuels much of the German economy, even though some of the nation’s top economic experts have argued that the fallout wouldn’t hurt as much as the Covid-19 restrictions did. As other European nations have stopped gas imports from Russia, the Nord Stream pipeline to Greifswald has been Russia’s biggest and most reliable export channel.
Ukrainians sense and deplore the lack of German enthusiasm. No Ukrainian streets are being named after Scholz, in contrast to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. No German flags wave at Ukrainian rallies next to the flags of the nation’s biggest supporters. On the social networks, Ukrainians were indignant when the Berlin police banned Ukrainian flags at war memorials on May 9, along with Russian flags.
A lingering diplomatic spat has followed Kyiv’s snub to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was told not to visit because of his role in trying to negotiate the previous compromise between Russia and Ukraine in 2014 and 2015. Authority-respecting Germans are slow to forget the insult that Andrij Melnyk, the combative Ukrainian ambassador, tossed at Scholz for refusing to go after the president had been disinvited: “Beleidigte Leberwurst” — literally, “an offended liver sausage,” someone who sulks childishly. “Olaf Scholz is no sausage, he is the chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,” Wolfgang Kubicki, a vice president of the German parliament, defended the Social Democratic Party’s leader.
Melnyk, characteristically, has refused to apologize. He has been haranguing SPD politicians about their earlier softness on Russia for weeks, and some of them — notably former vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel — have been ready with some angry retorts. “Tanks and missiles cannot be a long-term replacement” for diplomacy, Gabriel told the ambassador.
One might get the impression that, despite an outpouring of sympathy for Ukrainian refugees among ordinary German citizens, their country, the land of Never Again, doesn’t really want Ukraine to win its just war against Vladimir Putin’s invading armies.
And yet in reality, it indisputably does. “Putin may not and will not win the war,” Scholz has declared. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, currently the most popular cabinet member, has traveled to Kyiv and said clearly that she wants and expects Putin to fail. Even Gabriel has said that, as a result of the Ukraine war, Russia will be “reduced to a shadow of its former self.”
Rather, the German elite — and many ordinary Germans — recognize that Russia will still be there in some form, no matter the war’s outcome, and Germany will have to maintain a relationship with it, if only because of its size, the indestructible business and cultural ties and the 2.2 million people in Germany itself who speak Russian as their first language. If you’re a German Atlanticist hoping that the military misadventure and the war crimes committed in the war’s course will lead to Russia’s breakup and lasting humiliation, you’re on the wrong side of the Atlantic for the consequences.
Germans know that a heavily wounded Russia makes an extremely uncomfortable, vengeful neighbor. During World War I, Germany helped the Russian revolution along, even arranging safe passage home from Swiss exile for Vladimir Lenin and his group of Bolsheviks; it was rewarded with the 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which saw Russia lose 34% of its population and much of its colonial empire, including a large chunk of Ukraine. That didn’t help Germany win that war — or the one after it, in which the Soviet Union clawed back most of what it had lost, and more.
The unpredictability of a Russia beaten, wounded, dismembered, economically stressed, mismanaged and wracked by ressentiment was something German leaders feared as the Soviet Union fell apart. Newly declassified German foreign policy documents from 1991 show that Chancellor Helmut Kohl sought to convince even the Baltic states to delay seeking full independence from the Soviet Union — even as Germany pressed Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to refrain from violence in trying to hold them back. Even just a few months before the Soviet Union finally fell apart, Kohl insisted it would be a “catastrophe” and anyone who wanted it was an “ass.” As the breakup of Yugoslavia dissolved into bloody chaos, the same horrors unfolding on a much grander scale in the former Soviet Union were easy to imagine; the German leadership even offered to help Gorbachev persuade Ukraine to join some kind of post-Soviet confederation of states, led from Moscow.
Perhaps Kohl and Hans-Dietrich Genscher, his foreign minister, were nearsighted fools then, clinging to the reality they knew, too fearful for grand visions of an end of history. But they had good sources in Russia. During a 1991 conversation, Eduard Shevardnadze, then no longer Soviet foreign minister but not yet president of Georgia, told Genscher, according to a newly declassified readout, that
“if the Soviet Union is destroyed, everything achieved in the last few years would be ruined. Yeltsin probably wouldn’t demand the return of Crimea. But it was possible to imagine a different, fascistic fuehrer could demand it.”
Both Genscher and Kohl were in their sixties when Shevardnadze made that prediction — and both lived to see it come true in 2014. What’s happening now is only the nightmarish sequel. The German elite cannot but wonder if a humiliating Russian defeat in the Ukraine war would not be what Versailles was for post-World War I Germany — the catalyst for an even more disastrous resurgence of nationalism, imperialism, fascism.
Given all this history — and the by now ingrained belief among Germans that violence solves nothing in the long term — Scholz’s unmistakably pro-Ukrainian stance is already more than one could expect from someone with his party background and in his precarious position. Germany has already delivered significant quantities of weapons, and it is preparing to send howitzers, tanks and antiaircraft installations. It’s working with Slovakia and the Czech Republic to replace the Soviet-made weapons these countries are sending to Ukraine. By no means is the Scholz cabinet sitting on the fence: Unlike French President Emmanuel Macron, Scholz and his ministers have not even attempted to mediate the conflict or find any kind of compromise. Instead, they’ve made clear that they’re working toward a Ukrainian military victory. That in itself is uncharacteristically brave, perhaps even foolhardy: There is no apparent plan for dealing with a post-war Russia. That bridge will need to be crossed at some point — but not now, not yet.

UK: New Plan to Tackle Illegal Immigration
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute./May 13, 2022
The plan to outsource the processing of asylum applications overseas — if it survives legal challenges that are certain to come from human rights groups and the European Court of Human Rights — could become a model for other European countries seeking to crack down on illegal immigration.
The legal basis for the plan is enshrined in a new Nationality and Borders Act 2022 approved by Parliament on April 28. The new law, which integrates changes to British immigration law, includes offshoring asylum — processing claims at overseas facilities — and making it a criminal offense to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally.
"Access to the UK's asylum system should be based on need, not on the ability to pay people smugglers.... If you illegally enter the UK via a safe country in which you could have claimed asylum, you are not seeking refuge from imminent peril — as is the intended purpose of the asylum system — but are picking the UK as a preferred destination over others." — New Plan for Immigration, UK Home Office.
"We cannot sustain a parallel illegal system.... We can't ask the British taxpayer to write a blank cheque to cover the costs of anyone who might want to come and live here.... Nor is it fair on those who are seeking to come here legally, if others can just bypass the system. It's a striking fact that around seven out of ten of those arriving in small boats last year were men under 40, paying people smugglers to queue jump and taking up our capacity to help genuine women and child refugees." — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, April 14, 2022.
"We can no longer accept the status quo. People are dying and the global migration crisis requires new ways to find new partnerships and to find new solutions." — British Home Secretary Priti Patel, April 14, 2022.
The British government has announced a new plan to fight illegal immigration by giving some migrants seeking asylum in the United Kingdom a one-way ticket to Rwanda to have their applications processed in the East African country. Pictured: Illegal migrants arrive at Dover port after being picked up in the English Channel by the UK Border Force on April 14, 2022.
The British government has announced a new plan to fight illegal immigration by giving some migrants seeking asylum in the United Kingdom a one-way ticket to Rwanda to have their applications processed in the East African country.
The five-year pilot project, aimed at deterring migrants from crossing the English Channel, will initially focus on single males arriving illegally to the UK on boats or trucks.
The plan to outsource the processing of asylum applications overseas — if it survives legal challenges that are certain to come from human rights groups and the European Court of Human Rights — could become a model for other European countries seeking to crack down on illegal immigration.
Denmark, frustrated by the European Union's dysfunctional migration and asylum system, recently announced that it, too, is seeking to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda.
On April 14, the United Kingdom and Rwanda announced the so-called Asylum Partnership Arrangement in which Rwanda commits to receive asylum seekers from the United Kingdom and to process their claims for asylum through the Rwanda domestic asylum system.
If, at the end of that process, Rwanda decides to grant asylum, migrants would have long-term accommodation in Rwanda, where they would be entitled to full protection under Rwandan law, equal access to employment and enrollment in healthcare and social welfare. Those who are not granted asylum in Rwanda would be deported back to their country of origin.
The legal basis for the plan is enshrined in a new Nationality and Borders Act 2022 approved by Parliament on April 28. The new law, which integrates changes to British immigration law, includes offshoring asylum — processing claims at overseas facilities — and making it a criminal offense to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally.
The British government's "New Plan for Immigration," published on March 29, states that the overall objective is to deter illegal entry into the UK by quickly deporting those who have no right to be there:
"Access to the UK's asylum system should be based on need, not on the ability to pay people smugglers.
"If you illegally enter the UK via a safe country in which you could have claimed asylum, you are not seeking refuge from imminent peril — as is the intended purpose of the asylum system — but are picking the UK as a preferred destination over others."
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in an April 14 speech, said that the £120 million (€140 million; $150 million) project would "save countless lives" from human trafficking:
"Since 2015 we have offered a place to over 185,000 men, women and children seeking refuge, more than the entire population of Sunderland and more than any other similar resettlement schemes in Europe.
"This includes almost 100,000 British Nationals Overseas threatened by draconian security laws in Hong Kong, 20,000 through our Syrian scheme, 13,000 from Afghanistan and to whom we owe debts of honor, and around 50,000 Ukrainians....
"It is controlled immigration, through safe and legal routes, which enables us to make generous offers of sanctuary while managing the inevitable pressures on our public services such that we can give all those who come here the support they need to rebuild their lives, to integrate and to thrive.
"But the quid pro quo for this generosity is that we cannot sustain a parallel illegal system.
"Our compassion may be infinite, but our capacity to help people is not.
"We can't ask the British taxpayer to write a blank cheque to cover the costs of anyone who might want to come and live here.
"Uncontrolled immigration creates unmanageable demands on our NHS and our welfare state, it overstretches our local schools, our housing and public transport, and creates unsustainable pressure to build on precious green spaces.
"Nor is it fair on those who are seeking to come here legally, if others can just bypass the system.
"It's a striking fact that around seven out of ten of those arriving in small boats last year were men under 40, paying people smugglers to queue jump and taking up our capacity to help genuine women and child refugees.
"This is particularly perverse as those attempting crossings, are not directly fleeing imminent peril as is the intended purpose of our asylum system.
"They have passed through manifestly safe countries, including many in Europe, where they could — and should — have claimed asylum.
"It is this rank unfairness of a system that can be exploited by gangs, which risks eroding public support for the whole concept of asylum.
"The British people voted several times to control our borders, not to close them, but to control them....
"So from today, our new Migration and Economic Development Partnership will mean that anyone entering the UK illegally — as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1st — may now be relocated to Rwanda.
"This innovative approach — driven by our shared humanitarian impulse and made possible by Brexit freedoms — will provide safe and legal routes for asylum, while disrupting the business model of the gangs, because it means that economic migrants taking advantage of the asylum system will not get to stay in the UK, while those in genuine need will be properly protected, including with access to legal services on arrival in Rwanda, and given the opportunity to build a new life in that dynamic country, supported by the funding we are providing.
"The deal we have done is uncapped and Rwanda will have the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead.
"And let's be clear, Rwanda is one of the safest countries in the world, globally recognized for its record on welcoming and integrating migrants....
"There are currently 80 million displaced people in the world, many in failed states where governments can't meet their aspirations....
"The answer cannot be for the UK to become the haven for all of them.
"That is a call for open borders by the back door, a political argument masquerading as a humanitarian policy....
"We simply cannot have a policy of saying anyone who wants to live here can do so.
"We've got to be able to control who comes into this country and the terms on which they remain."
Home Secretary Priti Patel added:
"We have agreed that people who enter the UK illegally will be considered for relocation to Rwanda to have their asylum claim decided.
"And those who are resettled will be given support, including up to five years of training to help with integration, accommodation, and healthcare, so that they can resettle and thrive.
"This agreement fully complies with all international and national law, and as part of this ground-breaking agreement, the UK is making a substantial investment in the economic development of Rwanda....
"This agreement illustrates that we can no longer accept the status quo. People are dying and the global migration crisis requires new ways to find new partnerships and to find new solutions."
The move comes amid a surge in illegal immigration to the UK. In 2021, 28,526 migrants were known to have arrived in the UK via small boats, according to Home Office statistics. This was up from 8,466 in 2020, 1,843 in 2019 and 299 in 2018.
More than 7,000 migrants have arrived in the UK on small boats during the first four months of 2022. With warmer spring and summer temperatures, British authorities are expecting the arrival of more than 1,000 migrants a day in coming weeks and months.
Human rights groups have criticized the agreement with Rwanda. British Red Cross executive director Zoe Abrams said she was "profoundly concerned" about the scheme and cautioned that "the financial and human cost will be considerable." Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, described the government's plan as "cruel and nasty" and said it would "do little" to deter people from coming to the UK.
Johnson said his government was expecting legal challenges to the plan:
"We are confident that our new Migration Partnership is fully compliant with our international legal obligations, but nevertheless we expect this will be challenged in the courts, and if this country is seen as a soft touch for illegal migration by some of our partners, it is precisely because we have such a formidable army of politically motivated lawyers who for years who have made it their business to thwart removals and frustrate the government."
Meanwhile, the Danish government is also in talks to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda. In an April 20 interview with Reuters, Danish Immigration Minister Mattias Tesfaye said a deal would aim to "ensure a more dignified approach than the criminal network of human traffickers that characterizes migration across the Mediterranean today."
A deal with Rwanda would make Denmark the first European Union member state to outsource asylum processing to third countries. European officials have said that relocating migrants outside Europe is "not possible" under EU law, but Denmark, due to an opt-out, is exempt from some EU rules, including asylum standards.
In June 2021, the Danish Parliament passed a new law that would allow the government to deport asylum seekers to countries outside of the European Union to have their cases considered abroad. The legislation was widely seen as a first step toward moving the country's asylum screening process beyond Danish borders.
In April 2021, Tesfaye, a Social Democrat and the son of an Ethiopian immigrant, signed a "Memorandum of Understanding" with Rwanda regarding cooperation on asylum and migration issues. The document raised speculation that Denmark wants to transfer migrants to the East African country, which has a tradition of hosting refugees. The memorandum spelled out the Danish government's long-term objective:
"Denmark is committed to finding new and sustainable solutions to the present migration and refugee challenges that affect countries of origin, transit and destination. The current asylum system is unfair and unethical by incentivizing children, women and men to embark on dangerous journeys along the migratory routes, while human traffickers earn fortunes.
"There is a need to finding new ways of addressing the migration challenges by promoting a fairer and more humane asylum system based on a comprehensive approach. This includes addressing the root causes of irregular migration, providing more and better protection of refugees in the regions of conflict and increasing assistance to host nations, countries of origin and transit — along the migratory routes — in order to improve border management, strengthen asylum systems and fight human smuggling. "It is also the vision of the Danish Government that the processing of asylum applications should take place outside of the EU in order to break the negative incentive structure of the present asylum system." Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that she is determined to reduce the number of asylum approvals:
"Our goal is zero asylum seekers. We cannot promise zero asylum seekers, but we can establish the vision for a new asylum system, and then do what we can to implement it. We must be careful that not too many people come to our country, otherwise our social cohesion cannot exist. It is already being challenged."
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
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The Timing of Biden’s Visit to Israel
Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 13/2022
*Former Egyptian Ambassador and Senior UN official.
US President Biden has accepted an invitation to visit Israel in the near future, probably before the end of June. This would be his first visit to Israel and the region since he has taken office in January 2021.
From the outset of the Biden administration, it was obvious that the Middle East was not going to be a priority. The prevailing wisdom was that none of the conflicts that afflict the region, in particular the Palestinian-Israeli and Syria, is ripe for a solution. US policy in the Middle East would therefore focus on de-escalation and reviving the JCPOA (the 2015 Iran nuclear deal). Therefore, there is no need to demonstrate active engagement that usually comes with expectations associated with a presidential visit. Devoting time and energy to what is perceived as the insoluble problems in the Middle East would divert resources away from the goal of stopping the ascendency of the United States main strategic competitor: China.
Since the 1970’s every US president visited during his tenure the region. The timing of each visit was influenced by different factors.
This time round the timing is influenced by a number of factors, but especially the lower priority accorded by the US to the region and the discomfort felt by many Arab countries, particularly in the Gulf, towards the Biden administration.
But it is also noteworthy that the visit is happening against the background of two important developments: the attempt at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the crisis in Ukraine.
While the hopes for reviving the JCPOA appear to be receding, there is still a possibility that an arrangement may be found to overcome the remaining problems - which are largely political and not technical - that have so far prevented an agreement. A visit by the US president at this juncture would help assuage the concerns of Israel, and for that matter the GCC countries, if a deal ultimately materializes.
Also the crisis in Ukraine provides an opportunity for the US to shore up the strained and somewhat edgy relations with some Arab countries and, thus the rationale behind giving a regional dimension to the visit. Apparently Washington is interested in using President Biden’s visit to hold a summit for some of the regional countries that have relations with Israel. But probably Tel Aviv is even more keen on such a summit for a variety of reasons, including to lock in the process it hopes to have launched at the Negev meeting last March.
At the meeting the Israeli foreign minister, Lapid, used the opportunity to announce the inauguration of what he described as a new Middle East regional security architecture “…based on progress, technology, religious tolerance, security and intelligence cooperation,… and intimidates and deters our common enemies, first and foremost Iran and its proxies”.
In essence a military arrangement in the guise of a security system designed to counter Iran in different ways, apparently including a regional air-defense system which Israel has been advocating recently. The latter is a proposition raised by the then commander of CENTCOM General McKenzie on a trip to the region last February where he endorsed “an integrated approach to air and missile defense as a means to collective security in the region.”
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Israeli vision for a regional security system appears to have the endorsement of the US. Arab countries that participated in the Negev meeting have been mostly circumspect. GCC countries are understandably concerned about Iranian policies in the region, but at the same time they have been engaged in bilateral talks with Tehran. So entering into a politico-military arrangement against Tehran, at least at this stage, may not be in the cards. At least until the situation with respect to the JCPOA is clarified and results of the bilateral talks become apparent.
I have always maintained that the Arab countries’ interest lies in a comprehensive and inclusive regional security architecture. Comprehensive meaning that it has, military, political, human rights and economic dimensions. Inclusive in the sense that it includes all states in the region, Arab and non-Arabs, and is not directed against any one party. This will require a flexible and gradual process that allows countries to join the process at different times and on different issues. Ultimately the process should be steered into one similar to the one that produced the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe OSCE (my article of 17 April ).
It is obvious that the US pivot to Asia policy, has diverted Washington’s attention away from both Europe and the Middle East. With the crisis in Ukraine, however, the US has come to realize the importance of not only retaining but shoring up its traditional alliances and friendships around the world. Nowhere is this more urgent than in Europe and the Middle East. In Europe to prove that the US continues to retain the leadership of the West. As to the Middle East, and particularly in the wake of the debacle of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Washington needs to prove that it remains a reliable ally and friend that is interested in playing a role in ensuring the security and stability of the region. This assumes added importance given what appears to be Washington’s intent to engage in a prolonged confrontation with Russia and possibly China.
Moreover, given that the Biden administration has taken the political decision to use and build upon the Abraham Accords to bring a greater measure of stability to the region, a regional summit involving the Arab states that have relations with Israel would be helpful. The summit can also be used to underline the administration’s declared commitment to solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict according to the two-state formula. What emerges in tangible terms is immaterial. In politics, form and perception is often more important than reality and achieving tangible outcomes.
In short, both Washington and Tel Aviv have a vested interest in holding such a summit. The question is: do the concerned Arab countries see any virtue in such a meeting?
The only possible virtue for the Arab participants is that it will be an opportunity to express directly to the US president their concerns and apprehensions, not only with respect to the regional security environment - including with regard to the policies of Iran, Turkey and Israel - but also concerning the ramifications of the Ukraine crisis.
Beyond that would be wandering into dangerous territory. The concerned Arab states need to avoid being locked in a regional security process before they consult amongst themselves. They need to adopt a comprehensive and inclusive approach to Middle East security. This requires a process of consultations to identify the common threats, agreement on what kind of a security architecture would safeguard their interests and, agree on how to cooperate amongst themselves in establishing mechanisms that would enhance their negotiating power vis a vis the other regional states that will ultimately be part of the regional security architecture.

The Power of Lies in an Age of Political Fiction
Frank Bruni/The New York Times/May 13/2022
Imelda Marcos’s sandals lived better than I did.
I just discovered that. I was reacquainting myself with that whole sordid history — with the unfathomable extravagance that she and her dictator husband, Ferdinand, indulged in before they were run out of the Philippines in 1986 — and found an article on Medium that said that her hundreds upon hundreds of shoes occupied a closet of 1,500 square feet. That’s larger than the Manhattan apartment that I called home until last July. I should have been an espadrille.
She personified greed. Ferdinand, who ruled the Philippines for more than two decades, epitomized authoritarianism and kleptocracy. The couple pilfered an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion from the country. And now their son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., better known as Bongbong, is poised to become its next president. In the election in the Philippines on Monday, he won in a landslide.
He and his supporters made that happen not by renouncing his parents’ legacy. They instead embraced it — or, rather, reimagined the Marcoses’ reign as some misunderstood and underappreciated Golden Age. They used social media to disseminate and amplify that gaudy lie. And the strategy worked.
To the most shameless fabulists go the spoils. It’s Vladimir Putin’s credo. Donald Trump’s, too. (I could add Tucker Carlson, but enough about him.)
Mendacity is as old as time. Propaganda is as old as language. But things feel different — more dangerous — now. The mendacity has a faster metabolism. The propaganda has more outlets, with fewer filters. And for all our inventions, all our advancements, we humans seem more partial than ever to convenient fantasy over thorny truth.
That wasn’t the only dynamic at play in the Philippines. Bongbong Marcos fashioned himself — and was perceived by many — as a pragmatist focused on quality-of-life issues. He talked about jobs, infrastructure, prosperity.
But the apple nonetheless had to flatter and redeem the tree, so some selective storytelling was in order. One of his campaign slogans, “Together we will rise again,” suggested that a return to the Philippines’ past was in order.
“In the Philippines, a Flourishing Ecosystem for Political Lies,” read the headline on an article in The Times just before the election that explained the forces propelling Marcos toward victory.
Supporters of his spread YouTube videos that lied about where his family’s wealth had come from, and they “flooded Facebook with false news about his opponents,” according to the Times article, written by Camille Elemia.
The Philippines is hardly some outlier. Putin’s successful (so far) plan for maintaining adequate domestic support for the invasion of Ukraine is the relentless peddling of a spectacularly false narrative in which godless Western nations and Ukrainian Nazis plot to smother Mother Russia.
And the same day that the Philippine election was held, The Times published a guest essay by the journalist Ted Genoways about Charles Herbster, a Trump-endorsed candidate for Nebraska governor with a rococo take on current events that, according to Genoways’s essay, went “something like this:”
The coronavirus was manufactured in a lab in China and released into the United States in early 2020 by “illegals” from Mexico who were also smuggling Chinese-made fentanyl across the border. One of the smugglers, he said, had enough fentanyl in a single backpack to kill the entire population of Nebraska and South Dakota. The goal of this two-pronged attack, he explained, was to create a panic, stoked by Facebook and $400 million of Mark Zuckerberg’s money, to justify allowing voting by mail. Then, through unspecified means, the Chinese government used those mail-in ballots to steal the election.
The head spins. The heart sinks.
Perhaps there’s hope to be wrung from the fact that Herbster lost in the Republican primary in Nebraska on Tuesday. Then again, he came within four percentage points of the winner, Jim Pillen, despite the fact that eight women had accused Herbster of groping them.
He disputed the truth of those accusations, but then his relationship with truth is tenuous. Which is perhaps just another way of saying that he’s a man of his times.
For the Love of Sentences
A swerve this week! I’m devoting this section to sentences from just four recent articles, all in The Times, because each had multiple nominated passages and emerged as an outsize reader favorite.
I’ll save prose from other articles for next week.
First up: Maureen Dowd’s column on the Supreme Court. Many of you absolutely loved it, but you cited different highlights, including this one: “Samuel Alito’s antediluvian draft opinion is the Puritans’ greatest victory since they expelled Roger Williams from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.” At another point, Maureen wrote that it’s “outrageous that five unelected, unaccountable and relatively unknown political operatives masquerading as impartial jurists can so profoundly alter our lives.”
She also noted that Chief Justice John Roberts “has lost control of a lost-its-marbles majority,” adding: “To borrow an image from the great Mary McGrory, Roberts seems like a small man trying to walk a large dog. At this point, he can’t even see the end of the leash.” (Thanks to Ricca Slone of Chicago, Sarah Charlock of Newport News, Va., and Mark Weinberg of Wilmington, Del., among many others, for nominating Maureen’s sentences.)
Another newsletter-reader favorite from the past week was Joe Drape’s vivid account of Rich Strike’s against-all-odds win in the Kentucky Derby. (If you haven’t seen the aerial view of the thoroughbred’s late burst into the lead, here’s a tweet of the footage from NBC Sports that’s well worth watching.)
Joe described that burst, jockeyed by Sonny Leon, this way: “Leon started guiding his horse through the pack, zigzagging like someone late for work on a busy Manhattan sidewalk.” Joe also savored the sweetness of a triumph by a contender whose trappings and patronage were less gilded than those of his equine rivals: “Thoroughbred races have increasingly surrendered to the sheikhs and princes, the hedge fund wizards and industrialists, the fat cats who could plunder their vaults and pay whatever it took to secure a regally bred horse who, they hoped, could run a hole in the wind.” (Jeanie Camp, San Diego, and Pete Browne, Kansas City, Mo., among others)
Ticking off the surprising victories in Real Madrid’s magical soccer season, Rory Smith mentioned the “comeback against the glittering array of Instagram influencers arranged in the vague shape of a team by Paris St.-Germain.” (Charles Kelley, Alexandria, Va., and Sheila Bourke Tagliavia, Perugia, Italy, among others)In that same article, Rory wrote that it’s not “too florid, too ethereal, to suggest that Real Madrid does not so much beat teams at soccer as overwhelm them by harnessing some elemental force.” He went on to add, “At times, it resembles a form of alchemy, the transformation of a succession of base metals — a smattering of garlanded veterans, a couple of raw hopefuls, a coach with an expressive eyebrow and an easy charm, a team with no recognizable, cogent plan beyond a pervasive sense of its own destiny — into something precious.” (Paul Oliver, Washington, D.C., and Eugene Hunt, North Andover, Mass.)
Finally, Jeff Maurer’s guest essay about what he perceives to be the Democratic Party’s “image problem” focused on Democrats’ vulnerability to certain negative criticism about student loan forgiveness.
“Republicans,” he wrote, “will portray us as fancy little Fauntleroys ensconced in our twee nursery of upper-middle-class desires, deaf to the needs of the struggling masses.” He hypothesized: “The case study will be some tragic dweeb who took out $400,000 in loans to get a Ph.D. in intersectional puppet theory from Cosa Nostra Online College and who wrote his dissertation about how ‘Fraggle Rock’ is an allegory for the Franco-Prussian War.”
And he ended his lament with a plea to party leaders that they not “let the notion that Democrats are singularly focused on the needs of pampered, navel-gazing pipsqueaks who won’t drink coffee brewed using fewer than 26 steps be indelibly burned into people’s brains.” (Consuelo López-Morillas, Bloomington, Ind., and Roy Christianson of Madison, Wis., who wrote that he was going to nominate multiple sentences from Maureen’s column, “but there were so many good ones I gave up, fearing massive hand cramping would ensue.”)
On a Personal Note
On Sunday morning I had the honor of delivering the commencement speech at my undergraduate alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The previous afternoon, I dropped by the stadium in which the event would take place so I could size up the lectern and the teleprompters. Given my compromised eyesight, I wanted to be sure that I could see the scrolling text and that the lectern’s surface was big enough to hold a printed copy of the speech, just in case.
It was a quick chore, tucked into a chaotic day, and I approached it in a businesslike fashion. But as I stood on the stage, gazing out at the seats and at various insignia evocative of my college years, I had to set my jaw and close my eyes to hold back tears. I was suddenly a dam on the verge of breaking. And I indeed broke, 10 minutes later, back in my car. That’s also when I understood the surge of emotion.
I was something of a mess in college. Not on the outside, and not by the usual yardsticks, which are crude ones: I got excellent grades. I wrote frequently for Carolina’s principal student newspaper and was one of its top editors for a while. I landed good summer internships. I was on a path.
But I was often terrified that it would lead nowhere. Or, rather, that I’d stumble badly before I got much further along. My insides were always roiling, and my brain was frequently on fire with doubts about my ability, worries about my stability and a puerile anger about the lack of any assurances in this life. How was I supposed to stay calm in the face of so much uncertainty? I didn’t stride, lope or sprint into my future. I tiptoed toward it, not trusting it for a second.
All of that came back to me in the empty stadium. I remembered it keenly. And when I put that state of mind next to where I was standing, and why I was standing there, and what that meant about how the years had in fact played out — well, I was overwhelmed. I felt foolish for having been such a pessimist. I felt ashamed about the narcissistic component of my dark self-obsession at the time.
But my tears, I soon realized, reflected something else: a mixture of profound gratitude and enormous relief. My nerve-frazzling future was now, three and a half decades later, my richly satisfying past. While there’d been rough patches in my journey from there to here, they’d proved survivable, and the disappointments had paled beside the delights. While I still wasn’t striding — that’s just not in my nature — I also wasn’t tiptoeing, nor was I trembling.
I didn’t share that, not in so many words, with the students I addressed on Sunday. I had different remarks prepared. (If you’re interested, you can read them here, on my website.) But to all the young people who are just finishing one chapter and beginning the next one, I would say:
The unpredictability of what happens next is no curse or taunt. It’s just life, ever maddening, ever mysterious. If you’re frightened, you’re not alone, and a shortfall of confidence is no harbinger of doom. Shoulders back. Chin forward.
You’ll be tripped up by unforeseen obstacles and setbacks. But you’ll also trip across unanticipated bounty and blessings. You’ll quite possibly find yourself someday in a place and role you never expected. You’ll be moved by that.
And you’ll realize that the journey to that point was all the more interesting for its refusal to be scripted, and for its absence of any firm guarantees.

Biden Should Press WHO to Suspend Russia
Richard Goldberg/Policy Brief/May 13/2022
The member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region overwhelmingly passed a resolution on May 10 condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with 43 votes in favor and only Russia, Belarus, and Tajikistan opposed. The vote advances the Biden administration’s efforts to isolate Russia within international organizations yet imposes no meaningful consequences on Russia for its aggression.
Ukraine and 37 other members of the WHO European Region proposed the resolution, titled “WHA75: Health emergency in Ukraine and neighbouring countries, stemming from the Russian Federation’s aggression.” “WHA75” refers to the 75th meeting of the World Health Assembly — the annual gathering of WHO member states — which will take place in Geneva from May 22 through May 28. The assembly may consider additional measures against Russia.
The European Region resolution, which follows condemnations by the UN General Assembly on March 2 and March 24 and the UN Human Rights Council on March 4, expresses strong concern “over the ongoing health emergency in Ukraine and neighbouring countries triggered by the unprovoked and unjustified military aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.” Lacking binding authority, the resolution then urges the WHO to relocate outside of Russia its European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases. The resolution also calls on the WHO not to hold regional meetings in Russia until the Russian military withdraws beyond Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders.
While the resolution demonstrates European support for Ukraine, it stopped short of urging perhaps the most important steps the WHO could take: removing Russia from the WHO Executive Board and suspending Moscow’s voting rights within the organization. The WHA is likely to consider additional Russia-related measures later this month, but neither the United States nor its allies have announced specific plans.
Under Article 7 of the WHO Constitution, the WHA has the authority to suspend a member’s voting rights if it “fails to meet its financial obligations to the Organization or in other exceptional circumstances.” The WHO Constitution does not explicitly assign authority to remove a country from the Executive Board, though Ukraine has contended the WHA retains the authority to do so. These moves would add to Moscow’s international isolation following its suspension from the UN Human Rights Council and the UN World Tourism Organization.
Some WHO members have expressed concern that isolating Russia at the WHO could upend technical cooperation and information exchanges related to the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health priorities. Yet voting rights and service on the WHO Executive Board are political privileges. Their denial should not interfere with technical programs or information exchanges.
As part of its commitment to isolate Russia within international organizations, the Biden administration should lead a multilateral campaign to suspend Moscow’s voting rights at the WHO. It should also work with key allies to support Ukraine’s contention that the WHA can vote to remove Russia from the WHO Executive Board.Should the administration fail in achieving either result, Congress should consider, as a last resort, conditioning a percentage of U.S. funding for the WHO on the suspension of Russia’s voting rights and its removal from the Executive Board.
*Richard Goldberg is a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he directs its International Organizations Program. Iselin Brady is an international organizations research intern at FDD. For more analysis from the authors and the International Organizations Program, please subscribe HERE. Follow Richard on Twitter at @rich_goldberg. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.

Question: "Why are there so many different Christian interpretations?"
GotQuestions.org?/May 13/2022
Answer: Scripture says there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). This passage emphasizes the unity that should exist in the body of Christ as we are indwelt by “one Spirit” (verse 4). In verse 3, Paul makes an appeal to humility, meekness, patience, and love—all of which are necessary to preserve unity. According to 1 Corinthians 2:10-13, the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God (verse 11), which He reveals (verse 10) and teaches (verse 13) to those whom He indwells. This activity of the Holy Spirit is called illumination.
In a perfect world, every believer would dutifully study the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15) in prayerful dependence upon the Holy Spirit’s illumination. As can be clearly seen, this is not a perfect world. Not everyone who possesses the Holy Spirit actually listens to the Holy Spirit. There are Christians who grieve Him (Ephesians 4:30). Ask any educator—even the best classroom teacher has his share of wayward students who seem to resist learning, no matter what the teacher does. So, one reason different people have different interpretations of the Bible is simply that some do not listen to the Teacher—the Holy Spirit. Following are some other reasons for the wide divergence of beliefs among those who teach the Bible.
1. Unbelief. The fact is that many who claim to be Christians have never been born again. They wear the label of “Christian,” but there has been no true change of heart. Many who do not even believe the Bible to be true presume to teach it. They claim to speak for God yet live in a state of unbelief. Most false interpretations of Scripture come from such sources.
It is impossible for an unbeliever to correctly interpret Scripture. “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). An unsaved man cannot understand the truth of the Bible. He has no illumination. Further, even being a pastor or theologian does not guarantee one’s salvation.
An example of the chaos created by unbelief is found in John 12:28-29. Jesus prays to the Father, saying, “Father, glorify your name.” The Father responds with an audible voice from heaven, which everyone nearby hears. Notice, however, the difference in interpretation: “The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.” Everyone heard the same thing—an intelligible statement from heaven—yet everyone heard what he wanted to hear.
2. Lack of training. The apostle Peter warns against those who misinterpret the Scriptures. He attributes their spurious teachings in part to the fact that they are “ignorant” (2 Peter 3:16). Timothy is told to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). There is no shortcut to proper biblical interpretation; we are constrained to study.
3. Poor hermeneutics. Much error has been promoted because of a simple failure to apply good hermeneutics (the science of interpreting Scripture). Taking a verse out of its immediate context can do great damage to the intent of the verse. Ignoring the wider context of the chapter and book, or failing to understand the historical/cultural context will also lead to problems.
4. Ignorance of the whole Word of God. Apollos was a powerful and eloquent preacher, but he only knew the baptism of John. He was ignorant of Jesus and His provision of salvation, so his message was incomplete. Aquila and Priscilla took him aside and “explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:24-28). After that, Apollos preached Jesus Christ. Some groups and individuals today have an incomplete message because they concentrate on certain passages to the exclusion of others. They fail to compare Scripture with Scripture.
5. Selfishness and pride. Sad to say, many interpretations of the Bible are based on an individual’s own personal biases and pet doctrines. Some people see an opportunity for personal advancement by promoting a “new perspective” on Scripture. (See the description of false teachers in Jude’s epistle.)
6. Failure to mature. When Christians are not maturing as they should, their handling of the Word of God is affected. “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly” (1 Corinthians 3:2-3). An immature Christian is not ready for the “meat” of God’s Word. Note that the proof of the Corinthians’ carnality is a division in their church (verse 4).
7. Undue emphasis on tradition. Some churches claim to believe the Bible, but their interpretation is always filtered through the established traditions of their church. Where tradition and the teaching of the Bible are in conflict, tradition is given precedence. This effectively negates the authority of the Word and grants supremacy to the church leadership.
On the essentials, the Bible is abundantly clear. There is nothing ambiguous about the deity of Christ, the reality of heaven and hell, and salvation by grace through faith. On some issues of less importance, however, the teaching of Scripture is less clear, and this naturally leads to different interpretations. For example, we have no direct biblical command governing the frequency of communion or the style of music to use. Honest, sincere Christians can have differing interpretations of the passages concerning these peripheral issues.
The important thing is to be dogmatic where Scripture is and to avoid being dogmatic where Scripture is not. Churches should strive to follow the model of the early church in Jerusalem: “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). There was unity in the early church because they were steadfast in the apostles’ doctrine. There will be unity in the church again when we get back to the apostles’ doctrine and forego the other doctrines, fads, and gimmicks that have crept into the church.

Biden’s Middle East policy is pragmatic but incomplete
Maria Maalouf /Arab News/May 13/2022
US President Joe Biden’s Middle East policy is based on pragmatism. He does not want to have a comprehensive Middle East strategy or a long rivalry in the region with either Russia or China. This philosophical orientation gives American diplomacy a great deal of flexibility.
The danger of such a foreign policy, however, is that pragmatism can be a goal in itself. Yet Biden and his senior advisers are still considerate of the historical and political factors that are key elements in the power game in the Middle East. For instance, the president is personally not endeared to the government of Egypt as far as its human rights policies are concerned, but he does not want a total breakdown in the relationship between his country and Cairo. However, it is certainly taking his team of foreign policy advisers a long time to formulate a coherent policy toward Egypt.
Gradually, the Biden administration is paying more attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It fears a total confrontation between the Israeli government and the Palestinian people, particularly over Al-Haram Al-Sharif. It is also working very hard to avoid another war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. In this regard, it appreciates Egypt’s role in mediating and preempting any armed strife, especially the role of Cairo’s security forces in upholding its mediatory role. At the same time, Biden has been outspoken against the policies of detention and torture practiced by Egypt’s security apparatus.
The problem for Biden is that his Middle East policy is effectively admitting that many of the moves made by the administration of Donald Trump were correct. For example, during his presidential election campaign in 2020, Biden criticized Trump’s decision to withdraw American military forces from Syria, saying it allowed Russia to increase its influence. Since coming to power, however, he has not increased the size of the US military presence in the country.
The problem for Biden is that his Middle East policy is effectively admitting that many of the moves made by Trump were correct
In Yemen, meanwhile, Biden cannot end the war quickly. He underestimated the opposition to his early decision to remove the Houthis from the US’ list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. There could be a degree of hidden guilt among many of his top foreign policy bureaucrats that removing the Houthis’ terrorist designation was a huge mistake. The difficulty lies in the administration’s inability to find a political exit for itself so that it can once again label the Houthis as a terror group.
Lebanon represents another political dilemma for the Biden administration. It is slowly recognizing the existential threat that Hezbollah poses to the country, but it has never criticized the group in public. The only criticism of Hezbollah came from US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea, who called for a fair and transparent election process. It is now dawning on the officials in the Biden administration that Hezbollah is the group that will destroy Lebanon if the country succeeds in holding a fair election. This was a policy adopted by the Trump administration and Biden criticized it at the time. However, he cannot reverse it.
Biden can still float the idea of a partnership, especially with Saudi Arabia and Egypt. At least such an approach would enlist their help in resolving a few aspects of the tinderbox situation between the Israelis and the Palestinians. This way, he will also not alienate them from the traditional outline of American diplomacy in the Middle East, which has continued for more than seven decades. Furthermore, he can achieve limited cooperation with both Russia and China to help stabilize the situation between the Palestinians and the Israelis and also to cultivate a modicum of political order in Syria.
Finally, if Biden is pragmatic enough to admit that Trump was right on the Houthis’ terrorist designation and on Hezbollah, he can gain political support from the Republicans. Therefore, Biden’s success in terms of his Middle East strategy depends on him building a working relationship between the Democrats and the Republicans, which would allow him to implement successful policies, especially against ruthless terror groups.
• Maria Maalouf is a Lebanese journalist, broadcaster, publisher and writer. She has a master’s degree in political sociology from the University of Lyon. Twitter: @bilarakib