English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For November 02/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.november02.21.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons
First Letter to the Corinthians 10/14-24/:”Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?What do I imply then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? ‘All things are lawful’, but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful’, but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage, but that of others..

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 01-02/2021
US senators urge Biden to hit Lebanon’s politicians, Hezbollah with more sanctions
Aoun Continues Consultations with Miqati, Others over KSA Row
Miqati Meets Qatar, Kuwait Leaders ahead of Talks with Macron, Sisi
Reports: Contacts between U.S., EU, Lebanon to Avoid Govt. Collapse
Miqati Receives European, American Support in Glasgow
Reports: KSA Gives Lebanon Ultimatum, Kordhai Resignation May Defuse Crisis
Fate of Kordahi after Row with Gulf Stirs Division
Lebanese FM Invites Saudis for Talks to Ease Row
UAE Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon 'as Soon as Possible'
Yemen Rebels Put up Posters Backing Kordahi
IDF drills for war with Hezbollah as tensions with Iran rise/Ann Ahronheim/Jerusalem Post/November 01/2021
EU refuses to outlaw the entire Hezbollah terrorist entity/Benjamin Weinthal/Jerusalem PostNovember 01/2021
The Daily Star closes down after yearslong financial struggle/L'Orient Today /Abby Sewell,/01 November 2021
Lebanon’s foreign minister invites Saudis for talks to ease row: AFP
Kordahi’s Resignation in Hezbollah’s Hands, Lebanese Govt Won’t Step Down
Lebanon: Popular Movement Rejects Harming Relations with the Gulf
Hezbollah-Saudi crisis deepens and could impact Israel – analysis/Seth Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/November 01/2021
Lebanon … An Accumulation of Disasters and Coups/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 01/2021
George Kordahi personifies the Gulf's waning patience with Lebanon/Ahmed Maher/The National/November 01/2021
Between Riyadh and Beirut/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 01/2021
The Issue Is Bigger Than Qordahi/Salman Al-Dossary/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 01/2021
A Cypriot Lesson to the Lebanese!/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 01/2021
Cannon fodder/Ana Maria Luca/Now Lebanon/November 01/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 01-02/2021
Syrian Regime Deploys Huge Reinforcements to Aleppo Countryside
Egypt Chairs AU Peace, Security Council
UN Mediation Efforts Seek ‘Way Forward’ in Sudan
Bashir-Era Sudanese Ruling Party Head Ghandour Re-Arrested
Houthi Missile Attack on Mosque, Religious School Kills and Injures 29 Civilians in Yemen
Saudi Executes Man for Attempt to Kill Security Forces
Biden raises human rights, S-400 concerns as Erdogan puts good face on talks
Boston mayoral race raises question are Arab-Americans ‘people of colour’
Hopes pinned on domestic, foreign mediations to resolve post-coup impasse in Sudan
Kuwait opposition MPs move to close ranks amid infighting

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 01-02/2021
The Gulf is well-positioned to invest in climate technology/Joseph Dana/The Arab Weekly/November 01/2021
Egypt should be more involved in Sudan/Mohamed Abulfadl/The Arab Weekly/November 01/2021'
Iran’s expansionist misadventures prompt domestic crises/Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/November 01/2021
US president’s skepticism does not bode well for COP26/Frank Kane/Arab News/November 01/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 01-02/2021
US senators urge Biden to hit Lebanon’s politicians, Hezbollah with more sanctions
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/01 November ,2021
“We believe that sanctions work best when they are coordinated internationally and that US sanctions can be brought to bear against those working against democracy, accountability, and reform in Lebanon, especially Hezbollah and its affiliates,” the senators said.
The top-ranking lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called on the Biden administration to develop a sanctions framework to “help Lebanon reform.”In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Senators Bob Menendez and Jim Risch urged the US to follow Europe’s lead after they approved a sanctions regime meant to push Lebanese officials to change their tactics. Last week, the US slapped sanctions on a Lebanese MP and two businessmen for corruption. The two businessmen are allegedly backed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and former Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. Menendez and Risch hailed the latest sanctions but called for more to be done. “The United States has publicly supported international efforts to help Lebanon reform and rebuild its economy in a way that is transparent and supports the Lebanese people; not just entrenched leaders. However, that support requires Lebanon’s political leaders to commit to meaningful structural reforms,” the letter read. They also slammed Iran-backed Hezbollah for blocking government action and reforms from being enacted.
“The United States must make it clear that it continues to stand ready to help the people of Lebanon, not only through the provision on desperately needed assistance but also by ensuring that Lebanese leaders work on behalf of all Lebanese and that they will face accountability if they do not,” the US lawmakers wrote. They reiterated their support for sanctions against Hezbollah and its allies, but they called for a “concerted internationalized effort” to counter the Iranian proxy. “We believe that sanctions work best when they are coordinated internationally and that US sanctions can be brought to bear against those working against democracy, accountability, and reform in Lebanon, especially Hezbollah and its affiliates,” the senators said. “To that end, we urge the administration to take steps to complement the EU’s announced sanctions framework and to work closely with counterparts both in Brussels and in member-state capitals to coordinate sanctions so that Lebanese leaders, including members and supporters of Hezbollah, fully understand the consequences, including the freezing of any assets subject to US jurisdiction, of their behavior.”

Aoun Continues Consultations with Miqati, Others over KSA Row
Naharnet/Monday, 01 November, 2021
President Michel Aoun on Monday was continuing his consultations “to address the repercussions of the decision that has been taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and several Gulf countries which withdrew their ambassadors from Lebanon and asked the Lebanese ambassadors to leave,” the Presidency said. “In this regard, President Aoun held consultations with Prime Minister Najib Miqati, who is taking part in the climate summit in the city of Glasgow, regarding the steps that must be taken to address these developments,” the Presidency added. Miqati briefed the President on “the outcome of the contacts he made with a number of global officials taking part in the summit, which tackled the same subject,” the Presidency said. It added that Aoun “is continuing his consultations in this regard based on the stance that he had announced Saturday, in which he stressed his keenness on establishing the best relations with KSA and the Gulf countries and the need to institutionalize these ties and address any disputes through direct dialogue.”

Miqati Meets Qatar, Kuwait Leaders ahead of Talks with Macron, Sisi
Naharnet/Monday, 01 November, 2021
Prime Minister Najib Miqati met Monday with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and the two discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries. The Qatari leader affirmed that he will dispatch Qatar’s Foreign Minister to Beirut soon to find ways to support Lebanon and to address the Lebanon-Gulf crisis. Miqati also met with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled Al-Sabah and stressed on Lebanon’s keenness on the "firm relation" with the Gulf Cooperation Council nations. For his part, the Kuwaiti PM affirmed his country’s support for Lebanon and its keenness on the unity of the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council. “Lebanon is capable with its wisdom of addressing any problem and it will find all the needed support from Kuwait and the Arab countries,” Sheikh Sabah said. Moreover, Miqati met with Spain’s Prime Minister who affirmed his country’s continuous support for Lebanon through the European group. The head of the European Council also communicated to Miqati the support of the European Union for Lebanon. Miqati also met with the International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva, who confirmed in the meeting the IMF’s will to assist Lebanon through its current crisis.
Miqati is scheduled to meet in the afternoon with French President Emmanuel Macron, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

Reports: Contacts between U.S., EU, Lebanon to Avoid Govt. Collapse
Naharnet/Monday, 01 November, 2021
The U.S. and the leaders of the European Union are in contact with Lebanese officials to avoid the government’s “collapse,” al-Joumhouria said. Informed diplomatic and political sources told al-Joumhouria, in remarks published Monday, that “so far, there are no indications about the government’s or any minister’s resignation.”The sources said the government’s resignation, without completing the needed missions, would be a “negative” step. They questioned the government’s ability to achieve the required tasks. “Some parties are capable of freezing the government’s work, the way Hizbullah and Amal’s ministers did,” the sources added.

Miqati Receives European, American Support in Glasgow
Naharnet/Monday, 01 November, 2021
Prime Minister Najib Miqati received Monday a dose of European and American support, on the sideline of Glasgow U.N. climate summit, al-Jadeed television said. American and European leaders, however, urged Miqati “to preserve stability and to adhere to the government's program.” They also stressed the necessity of addressing the repercussions of the diplomatic Lebanon-Gulf crisis triggered by Information Minister George Kordahi’s statements. Kordahi had said in an interview, a month before he was appointed as a minister in the government of Miqati, that the Huthis were "defending themselves... against an external aggression," sparking angry rebukes from Saudi Arabia and its allies and calls in Lebanon for his resignation. Saudi Arabia gave Lebanon's ambassador 48 hours to leave the country, recalled its envoy from Beirut and suspended all imports from Lebanon. The Saudi foreign ministry said the measures were also taken due to the influence of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbullah. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait were quick to follow suit.

Reports: KSA Gives Lebanon Ultimatum, Kordhai Resignation May Defuse Crisis
Naharnet/Monday, 01 November, 2021
Riyadh has given Lebanon a two-day ultimatum to address the diplomatic crisis or else it will sever ties with Lebanon, media reports said on Monday. “It has been understood that the sacking or resignation of Information Minister George Kordahi would return the relation to the phase that preceded his remarks, which means that Riyadh will maintain its stance on the government and will not offer any assistance to Lebanon,” al-Akhbar newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying. “In the face of the rejection of resignation, Riyadh has clearly started the ‘divorce measures’ with the Lebanese state and all its institutions, and it intends to up the level of the siege through slapping sanctions on Lebanese entities and figures on charges of working against its interests or supporting terror,” the sources added. Other sources said KSA might ask allied parties in Lebanon, such as the Lebanese Forces and al-Mustaqbal Movement, to “resign from parliament” in order to paralyze it along with the government. Progressive Socialist Party sources meanwhile told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that “Hizbullah’s stance is what’s governing Information Minister George Kordahi’s decision on whether to resign or not.”
Quoting ministerial sources, the daily said “efforts are underway to resolve the crisis between Lebanon and the Gulf countries and the solution is likely to be based on Kordahi’s resignation.” At the same time, “there is no inclination for the government’s resignation until now, especially that the international community does not encourage such a step given its negative repercussions on the country,” the sources added.

Fate of Kordahi after Row with Gulf Stirs Division
Associated Press/Monday, 01 November, 2021
The diplomatic row between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia is aggravating divisions in Lebanon, already reeling from an economic meltdown and social tension. Some are pushing for the resignation of the Cabinet minister whose comments sparked the crisis, in order to protect economic and political ties with the Gulf. Others are defending him, describing calls for his removal as extortion. The crisis comes at a tough time for Lebanon, as it grapples with rising poverty and unemployment, the fallout from some of the worst violence in Beirut in years, and calls for major reforms from a divided but entrenched political elite. Many blame the country's leadership for years of corruption and mismanagement. Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said the crisis with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations threatens to undermine the interests of thousands of Lebanese living in those countries, as well as Lebanese businesses that depend on them.
In his Sunday Sermon, he suggested he wants the minister to resign.
"We look forward to the President and the Prime Minister and all those concerned to take a decisive action to remove the explosive fuse threatening the Lebanese-Gulf relations," al-Rahi said. Saudi Arabia was angered by comments from Lebanon's information minister in which he had described the war in Yemen as an aggression by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He called the war "absurd," adding that Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have the right to defend themselves.
George Kordahi, who hosted a game show for years on a Saudi-owned TV station, has refused to apologize, saying his comments meant no offense to the kingdom. The comments were recorded weeks before Kordahi became minister. But Riyadh reacted swiftly once the comments spread online, recalling its ambassador to Lebanon and asking the Lebanese envoy to leave. Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain followed suit. In a further escalation late on Sunday, the Emirates urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately, according to a tweet posted by the official WAM news agency.
The Saudis also banned all Lebanese imports — a major blow to one of Lebanon's largest export markets. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese live and work in the Gulf, sending millions of dollars of remittances back home, where the financial crisis has driven over 50% of the population into poverty. The Lebanese-Saudi Business Council, an association that represents businessmen from both countries warned on Sunday of the crisis' impact on trade and the fortunes of thousands of Lebanese living in the Gulf. "We call on all officials to take the necessary measures to dismiss the information minister who caused an unprecedented crisis with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations," the council said in a statement. Politicians from leading Lebanese parties also called for his removal. But in a sign the crisis is deepening divisions in Lebanon, allies of Hizbullah rallied behind Kordahi, rejecting what they called on Sunday "a frenzied campaign" to remove him. Saudi Arabia sees Hizbullah as an agent of its bitter rival, Iran.
An umbrella group of parties and public figures supporting Hizbullah said the aim of attack on Kordahi is "extorting Lebanon, inciting against the resistance (in reference to Hizbullah) and stirring sedition."
Hizbullah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said Kordahi's resignation won't resolve the crisis. "We won't accept that our country becomes a hostage to the extortion of a sisterly country or a foreign country," he said in comments to the media. Meanwhile, Kordahi told Lebanese TV station al-Jadeed that his resignation is currently not on the table. Lebanese relations with Saudi Arabia have been strained over growing Iranian influence in the small nation, where Riyadh has traditionally been a powerful ally. But the current crisis is the worst rift in years with Gulf nations. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan told the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that the crisis is bigger than Kordahi's comments, and is rooted in Hizbullah's dominance of Lebanese politics. "There is not a crisis between us and Lebanon. There is a crisis in Lebanon because of the domination of Iran's agents on the scene," the foreign minister said. "This is what concerns us and this is what makes dealing with Lebanon futile for the kingdom and Gulf countries." Lebanese officials have sought mediation from Washington with Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Najib Miqati, flew to London, then Glasgow, where he is expected to meet with foreign dignitaries in search for a resolution to the row. Yemen has been convulsed by civil war since 2014, when the Houthis captured the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country's north. That forced the internationally recognized government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015, backed by the United States, to try to restore the government to power. Despite a relentless air campaign and ground fighting, the war has deteriorated largely into a stalemate and spawned the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Both sides are accused of grave human rights violations.

Lebanese FM Invites Saudis for Talks to Ease Row
Agence France Presse/Monday, 01 November, 2021
Lebanon's foreign minister on Monday called for talks with Saudi Arabia to ease a spiraling diplomatic row sparked by remarks made by the Lebanese information minister on the Yemen war. "Lebanon invites Saudi Arabia to engage in dialogue to solve all outstanding problems and not just the latest spat, so that the same crisis is not repeated every time," the minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, told AFP. On Friday, Saudi Arabia gave Lebanon's ambassador 48 hours to leave the country, recalled its envoy from Beirut and suspended all imports from Lebanon. The Saudi foreign ministry said the measures were taken after "insulting" remarks made by a Lebanese minister on the Yemen war, but also due to the influence of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbullah. In an interview recorded in August and aired last week, Information Minister George Kordahi said Iran-backed Huthi rebels were "defending themselves... against an external aggression," by a Saudi-led military coalition. His comments sparked angry rebukes from Saudi Arabia and its allies, worsening diplomatic ties that have weakened significantly in recent years over the growing dominance of Hizbullah which is viewed by the kingdom as a "terrorist" group. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia said dealing with Beirut was "pointless" due to Hizbullah's dominance. But Bou Habib told AFP on Monday that "problems between friendly and brotherly countries can only be resolved through dialogue, communication and trust, and not through imposition." Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse Hizbullah of supporting Huthi rebels who seized the Yemeni capital in 2014. A Saudi-led military coalition that has included the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain intervened to prop up the Yemeni government in 2015. Lebanon's foreign minister said that Hizbullah's activities in the region and beyond can not be checked by the state. "A U.S.-Iranian agreement or a deal between Saudi and Iran can help solve this issue but we can't resolve it by ourselves," Bou Habib said. The diplomatic crisis with the kingdom and its allies is a fresh blow to Lebanon, a country in financial and political turmoil where a fragile government is struggling to secure international aid, namely from wealthy Arab neighbors. Saudi Arabia is Lebanon's third largest export market, accounting for six percent of the country's exports in 2020, worth around $217 million, according to the chamber of commerce.

UAE Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon 'as Soon as Possible'
Agence France Presse/Monday, 01 November, 2021
The UAE has called on its citizens in Lebanon to immediately return home, a day after recalling its diplomats from Beirut over remarks by Information Minister George Kordahi on the Yemen war. "In light of current events... the foreign ministry calls on all its citizens in Lebanon to return to the UAE as soon as possible," it said in a statement. "The ministry has taken all necessary measures to facilitate the return of its citizens," it added. Saudi Arabia on Friday gave Lebanon's ambassador 48 hours to leave the country, recalled its envoy from Beirut and suspended all imports from Lebanon. Bahrain and Kuwait quickly followed suit with similar measures, and the UAE on Saturday recalled its diplomats from Beirut in "solidarity" with Riyadh. The UAE's statement on Sunday came shortly after Kordahi said that resigning was "out of the question". The diplomatic crisis is a fresh blow to Lebanon, a country in financial and political turmoil where a fragile government is struggling to secure international aid, including from wealthy Arab countries.

Yemen Rebels Put up Posters Backing Kordahi
Agence France Presse/Monday, 01 November, 2021
Yemen's Huthi rebels put up posters in support of Information Minister George Kordahi whose criticism of the Saudi-led war in Yemen sparked a diplomatic row between Lebanon and Gulf states. Saudi Arabia has expelled Lebanon's envoy and recalled its ambassador from Beirut, with Bahrain and Kuwait following suit. The UAE later recalled its diplomats from Lebanon in "solidarity" with the kingdom. The minister has won plaudits in rebel-held Sanaa, however. "Yes George, the Yemen war is absurd," said posters bearing his image that the Huthis pasted onto billboards and lamp posts on Sunday. The Huthis also plan to rename a street in Sanaa after Kordahi, according to shopkeepers and media reports in the city. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 to shore up the internationally recognized government a year after the Huthis seized the capital. In an interview aired last Monday but recorded in August, Kordahi said the Huthis were "defending themselves... against external aggression". Kordahi called for an end to the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions. In response, Saudi Arabia also banned Lebanese imports and, along with its Gulf allies, advised its citizens against travel to the crisis-hit country. On Saturday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan blamed the row on the dominance in Lebanon of Iran, which backs Hizbullah. "There is no crisis with Lebanon but a crisis in Lebanon because of Iranian dominance," he told Al-Arabiya television. "Hizbullah's dominance of the political system in Lebanon worries us."

IDF drills for war with Hezbollah as tensions with Iran rise
Ann Ahronheim/Jerusalem Post/November 01/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/103816/jerusalem-post-eu-refuses-to-outlaw-the-entire-hezbollah-terrorist-entity-idf-drills-for-war-with-hezbollah-as-tensions-with-iran-rise-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%aa%d8%ad%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3/
Known as “Even Gazit” or “Hewn Stone,” the operation will see all echelons of Northern Command participate in the drills to improve offensive and defensive capabilities.
As tensions continue to rise with Iran, the Israeli military kicked off a month-long series of exercises simulating war on its northern border with Lebanon, to improve the preparedness of forces against Hezbollah.
Known as “Even Gazit” or “Hewn Stone” the exercises will see all levels of the Northern Command participate in the drills whose goal is to “improve the defensive and offensive capabilities of the IDF against a variety of scenarios,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement.
During the month, there will be drills and divisional exercises that will simulate “multi-front, intensive and drawn-out combat, with conscripted and reservist troops taking part, from all headquarters of the Northern Command, in collaboration with the General Staff directorates, the Ground Forces, Air Force, and Navy,” the statement continued.
Cyber and spectrum along with intelligence bodies will also take part in the drills that will also focus on the integration of all forces as part of the IDF’s “Victory” concept.
It comes alongside a surprise General Staff drill that examines the readiness of reserve forces in the Northern Command to respond to an explosive incident along the border with Lebanon.
During the exercise, calls will be made and text messages sent to reservists, some of whom will be asked to report to their units.
The IDF said that both drills were planned in advance as part of the 2021 training schedule.
The drills are also occurring alongside a major nationwide home front exercise that kicked off yesterday also simulating war against the Shi’ite terror army.
Last week the 401st Armored Division’s 9th Battalion held a two-week-long drill alongside infantry forces from the Nahal and Givati Brigades in the Jordan Valley.
Like the other two drills, it simulated drawn-out combat against Hezbollah in Lebanon and is working on joint maneuvering of forces.
The intensive drill also saw the use of intelligence collection by ground reconnaissance forces and drones in the air as well as support by the Air Force and Artillery batteries.
“We aren’t fighting alone, the power of the IDF means bringing intense firepower wherever needed,” said the Commander of the 9th Battalion, Lt.-Col. Eliezer A. “We want the firepower to get to where we need it to be before we get there.”
The Merkava Mark IV equipped with the Trophy active protection system used by the battalion, “are always in the front,” he said.
The IDF hasn’t conducted a proper ground maneuver in enemy territory since troops entered Gaza in 2009 during Operation Cast Lead. During Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012 and Operation Protective Edge in 2014, the IDF and political leadership chose to rely mainly on the air force, keeping the ground troops and armored corps out of the Strip or in the border area to neutralize Hamas tunnels.
But the military knows that a war in the north will not be able to rely solely on the air force and has therefore been carrying out intensive drills in the northern part of the country simulating war with Hezbollah.
The 9th Battalion took part in the Second Lebanon War, but, Lt.-Col. A said, “a lot has changed since the last time we fought in Lebanon.”
“The 9th battalion fought in the battle of Wadi Saluki and had a lot of casualties,” he said. “The Nahal brigade also fought in Wadi Saluki and the joint cooperation between forces wasn’t as good as it is now...”
The battle of Wadi Saluki was one of the fiercest battles of the Second Lebanon War during the Litani offensive, a few hours before the UN-brokered cease-fire went into effect. Tanks from the 9th Battalion crossed the wadi and Nahal infantrymen had been deployed on the high ground outside Andouriya and Farun to provide cover for the tanks below who were facing fierce Hezbollah resistance.
Twelve IDF troops were killed, eight tankists and four infantrymen and some 80 Hezbollah militants were killed before the ceasefire went into effect in the early morning of August 14th.
Fifteen years later, both sides are learning and improving their battle plans for future confrontations.
“I think that since that battle, one of the main things we’ve learned is how to fight together,” Lt.-Col. A said. “The enemy is learning, but so are we.”

EU refuses to outlaw the entire Hezbollah terrorist entity
Benjamin Weinthal/Jerusalem PostNovember 01/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/103816/jerusalem-post-eu-refuses-to-outlaw-the-entire-hezbollah-terrorist-entity-idf-drills-for-war-with-hezbollah-as-tensions-with-iran-rise-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%aa%d8%ad%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3/
Europe stays mum on terming the Islamic Republic an antisemitic regime
Amid complaints by European Jewish leaders that the European Union does not have a serious plan to fight rising antisemitism on the continent, a spokesman for the EU told The Jerusalem Post that the EU will not ban the entire terrorist movement Hezbollah and declines to say if the Islamic Republic is an antisemitic regime.
When the Post asked about a full ban of Hezbollah, Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission Coordinator on combating Antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, punted the question to her EU superiors.
Peter Stano, EU Spokesperson for Foreign Policy, told the Post that “The military wing of Hezbollah is already on EU terror list. Any changes in the nature and scope of the existing listing are for EU Member States to discuss and decide by unanimity.”
After Hezbollah operatives blew up an Israeli tourist bus in 2012 in Burgas, Bulgaria, murdering five Israelis and their Bulgarian Muslim bus driver, the EU merely proscribed Hezbollah’s military wing.
Hezbollah considers it organization to be a unified movement that cannot be divided into military and political parts. The partial ban sparked Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim Mousawi, in 2013, to reiterate what other top officials of the organization have stated over the years: “Hezbollah is a single, large organization. We have no wings that are separate from one another.”
When asked if the Islamic Republic of Iran—the chief sponsor and strategic ally of Hezbollah—is an antisemitic regime, Stano said that the “EU has been very clear in its condemnation of antisemitism in general and of the calls for destruction of Israel by anyone who comes up with such unacceptable calls.”
The Anti-Defamation League’s CEO ,Jonathan Greenblatt, testified before the House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism in 2020 and said at the hearing that Iran’s regime is the top state-sponsor of Holocaust denial and antisemitism.
Greenblatt wrote in Newsweek in late June that " Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, played a hands-on role in promoting The Protocols as part of a sustained campaign to demonize and delegitimize the Jewish people." The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was "a 19th century forgery by Russian intelligence services...designed to scapegoat Jews for the empire's hardships."
Several reasons why the EU commission won’t declare the Islamic Republic an antisemitic regime might be explained by attempts not to upset the clerical leaders in Tehran in order to reach an agreement on the nation’s nuclear program.
European Union member nations are also animated by Iranian markets and trade deals, including Iran’s vast oil and gas production process.
When questioned if the EU will condemn the Iranian's regime lethal antisemitism and Holocaust denial, the spokesperson said “We do it everytime we are confronted with such remarks, not only in case of Iran.”
Christian Wigand, EU Commission Spokesperson for Justice, told the Post that “The European Commission reaffirms its firm and unequivocal commitment to the global fight against antisemitism. Any form of antisemitism, incitement to hatred and violence is unacceptable and incompatible with the values and aims of the European Union and its Member States. It must be addressed through form action, both at European and national level. These principles are non-negotiable for the European.”
Hezbollah is widely considered a deeply antisemitic terrorist organization because of its terrorism targeting Jews and calls for the elimination of the Jewish state. Germany, Britain, the US, the Netherlands, the Arab League, Japan, Canada and many additional European and Latin American countries have proscribed Hezbollah's entire organizaiton a terrorist entity.
It is an unusual situation when the commissioner to combat antisemitism, Katharina von Schnurbein, declines to deliver her view on whether the EU should outlaw the world’s most deadly antisemitic organization.
She told the Post: “Thank you for your reply. May I refer you to the reply which you received yesterday from the Spokespeoples’ Service of the European Commission (attached). Please send your requests in the future to the colleagues in charge of press queries.”
On October 13, the JTA’s Cnaan Liphshiz reported that “European Union plan to fight antisemitism ‘not serious,” Jewish community leaders say.” The article dealt mainly with the lack of religious freedom for Jews outlined in the EU plan.
The plan is titled “EU Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life (2021-2030).” The 26-page document does not cite Hezbollah or the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran’s regime has conducted surveillance on Jewish and Israeli people and organizastions, planned an assasination and stokes lethal antisemitism across Europe during its annual Al-Quds rallies in European capital. The al-Quds rally promotes the obliteration of the Jewish state.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which was designated by the US as a terrorist organization, paid the Pakistani man, Haider Syed Mustafa, carry out an assassination of a European Jew and monitor Jewish and Israeli organizations and individuals in Germany and France.
In 2017, a German court convicted Mustafa for securing intelligence on the former director of the German-Israel Friendship Society and on a French-Israeli professor from an economic university in Paris. Mustafa was sentenced to four years and three months in prison.
Mustafa spied on French-Israeli business Prof. David Rouach, who teaches at the elite Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris and served as head of the French-Israeli Chamber of Commerce, and, according to German authorities, his actions were “a clear indication of an assassination attempt.”
The US government, under both democratic and republican presidents, has classified Iran’s regime as the world’s worst state-sponsor of terrorism.

The Daily Star closes down after yearslong financial struggle
L'Orient Today / By Abby Sewell, 01 November 2021 20:29
The Daily Star closes down after yearslong financial struggle
In late 2019, The Daily Star published an issue of the newspaper without any news articles to protest the “deteriorating situation” in Lebanon. As of Sunday, the paper has laid off all its staff. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — The long-running Lebanese English-language newspaper The Daily Star has closed up shop after struggling financially for years. Management notified the paper’s staff of the decision on Monday.
Here’s what we know:
• In an email to staff Monday, which was seen by L'Orient Today, editor-in-chief Nadim Ladki wrote, “With a heavy heart, I regret to inform you that a decision has been made to lay off all staff at The Daily Star as of October 31, 2021.” Reached by phone, Ladki declined to comment.
• The Daily Star was first founded in 1952 by Kamel Mrowa, who was then also the owner and editor-in-chief of the pan-Arab Al-Hayat newspaper. The new English-language newspaper was intended “to serve the growing number of expatriates lured by the oil industry” and to “introduce the region to non-Arabic readers” as the paper noted on its website.
• The paper suspended publication twice during the 1975-90 Civil War and relaunched in 1996, during the period of post-war reconstruction. It was briefly closed again in 2009 due to financial difficulties.
• The publication is indirectly owned by the Hariri family, according to the Media Ownership Monitor Lebanon, a project of Reporters Without Borders and the Samir Kassir Foundation.
• Over the years, The Daily Star was a launching pad for many prominent Lebanese and foreign journalists working in the region. However, in recent years, like many Lebanese media companies, it had struggled financially and was known for periodic monthslong delays in paying its staff’s salaries.
• Last year, the paper stopped publishing a print edition, and on Oct. 13 of this year it ceased updating its website. Sources at the paper told L’Orient Today at the time that the suspension was intended to pressure its owners to invest money into saving the publication.

Lebanon’s foreign minister invites Saudis for talks to ease row: AFP
Agence France-Presse / 01 November 2021 16:43
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s foreign minister on Monday called for talks with Saudi Arabia to ease a spiraling diplomatic row sparked by remarks made by the Lebanese information minister on the Yemen war.
“Lebanon invites Saudi Arabia to engage in dialogue to solve all outstanding problems and not just the latest spat, so that the same crisis is not repeated every time,” the minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, told AFP.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia gave Lebanon’s ambassador 48 hours to leave the country, recalled its envoy from Beirut and suspended all imports from Lebanon. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the measures were taken after “insulting” remarks made by a Lebanese minister on the Yemen war, but also due to the influence of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Shiite movement Hezbollah. In an interview recorded in August and aired last week, Information Minister Georges Kurdahi said Iran-backed Houthi rebels were “defending themselves ... against an external aggression,” by a Saudi-led military coalition. His comments sparked angry rebukes from Saudi Arabia and its allies, worsening diplomatic ties that have weakened significantly in recent years over the growing dominance of Hezbollah which is viewed by the kingdom as a terrorist group.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia said dealing with Beirut was “pointless” due to Hezbollah’s dominance. But Bou Habib told AFP on Monday that “problems between friendly and brotherly countries can only be resolved through dialogue, communication and trust, and not through imposition.”Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse Hezbollah of supporting Houthi rebels that seized the Yemeni capital in 2014.
A Saudi-led military coalition that has included the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain intervened to prop up the Yemeni government in 2015.
Lebanon’s foreign minister said that Hezbollah’s activities in the region and beyond can not be checked by the state. “A US-Iranian agreement or a deal between Saudi and Iran can help solve this issue but we can’t resolve it by ourselves,” Bou Habib said. The diplomatic crisis with the kingdom and its allies is a fresh blow to Lebanon, a country in financial and political turmoil where a fragile government is struggling to secure international aid, namely from wealthy Arab neighbors.
Saudi Arabia is Lebanon’s third largest export market, accounting for 6 percent of the country’s exports in 2020, worth around $217 million, according to the chamber of commerce.

Kordahi’s Resignation in Hezbollah’s Hands, Lebanese Govt Won’t Step Down
Beirut - Caroline Akoum/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 01 November, 2021
Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi said on Sunday that his resignation was “out of the question” in wake of the diplomatic row his offensive comments against Saudi Arabia have caused with between Beirut and the Gulf. Sources from the Progressive Socialist Party told Asharq Al-Awsat that Kordahi’s resignation is in the hands of the Iran-backed Hezbollah party. Ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that efforts are underway to reach a solution that would be based on the minister’s resignation. The government, however, will not step down, especially since the international community opposes such a move that would have a negative impact on Lebanon, they explained. As Kordahi told Lebanon’s Al Jadeed television that his resignation was “out of the question”, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah and pro-Hezbollah minister Ali Hamiyeh continued to pour fuel over the fire. Hamiyeh struck a defiant tone, saying Lebanon “would not succumb to blackmail”. “Lebanon’s national sovereignty, independent decision-making and dignity are above all else,” he tweeted. Fadlallah rejected what he described as pressure on Kordahi, whether by the government of foreign powers. He said Kordahi’s resignation would be another sign of “subjugation, offense and indignity.” Deputy head of the Mustaqbal Movement former MP Mustafa Alloush told Asharq Al-Awsat that he does not rule out the possibility that Hezbollah has encouraged Kordahi against resigning. “Hezbollah will be more at ease as the divide between Lebanon and the Gulf widens,” he explained. It is in the party’s interest for this gap to remain, he noted. The party believes that it, along with Iran, can fill this void. Former MP Butros Harb stated that everyone blames the government for this crisis and they are waiting for it to make a move that would resolve. “However, will Iran and its party allow that?” he wondered. In a statement on Sunday, he stressed that he rejects any offense to Saudi Arabia that could in turn jeopardize the livelihoods of the Lebanese people and harm relations, which would negatively impact the higher national interest.
“A minister committed a grave error that led to a crisis in Lebanese-Saudi ties. Everyone knows that it is in Lebanon’s interest to resolve it. The minister’s refusal to resign or apologize to the Kingdom … has deepened the crisis,” he noted. “This crisis demonstrates what we have long been saying: There can be no rise for a Lebanese state as long as Hezbollah possesses illegitimate weapons and continues to control the state’s political and national decisions,” he stressed. “There can be no rise for a Lebanese state as long as its officials, starting from those at the top of political hierarchy, agree to Iran’s hegemony and allow their voices to be usurped in spite of the damage and crises that has led to,” Harb added.

Lebanon: Popular Movement Rejects Harming Relations with the Gulf
Beirut/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 01 November, 2021
The Lebanese authorities are still unable to carry out practical moves to confront the repercussions of the current crisis with the Gulf countries. Ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Prime Minister Najib Mikati would discuss this issue with French President Emmanuel Macron in Scotland, on the sidelines of his participation in the COP26 Climate Summit. Also, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib contacted his Qatari and Omani counterparts, calling for “restraint and work to avoid escalation.”During his phone conversation with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Bou Habib “welcomed and appreciated” all the efforts made to contain the escalation and alleviate the current crisis, stressing “the importance of communication and meeting with all Gulf and Arab brothers.”He also contacted his Omani counterpart, Badr Albusaidi, appreciating the statement issued by the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the current crisis and stressing the “importance of dialogue and understanding, as well as Lebanon’s keenness on the best fraternal relations with its Arab and Gulf brothers.”In the same context, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants welcomed “the statement issued by the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which it expressed its deep regret over the worsening relations between a number of Arab countries and the Republic of Lebanon.”A statement issued by the Lebanese Foreign Ministry called on all sides to “avoid escalation and address differences through dialogue and understanding in a way that preserves the brotherly countries and their peoples’ supreme interests…”It added that Lebanon is keen on maintaining the best relations with its Gulf and Arab brothers. Meanwhile, the country’s political and civil figures continued to condemn statements by Information Minister George Kordahi and his refusal to resign, warning of the repercussions of the crisis at the political and economic levels. Al-Mustqbal MP Hadi Hobeish said that a large part of the Lebanese, who do not agree to any political talk against the Gulf, are paying the price for such stances. For his part, Lebanese Forces Party MP Shawki Daccache considered Kordahi’s resignation a first step to address the diplomatic crisis and preserve Lebanon’s Arab identity.The Lebanese-Saudi Council denounced statements made by Kordahi and other officials who offended Lebanon’s relationship with its Arab surroundings, calling on the government to carry out its work independently, and to dismiss the minister. “If the matter is left without a radical treatment, it will cause severe damage to the supreme interest of the state and the Lebanese, who are looking to strengthen relations with the Arab environment of Lebanon,” the Council warned. The Lebanese Association of Industrialists called for speeding up stances that protect Lebanon and safeguard the interests of its people. “National dignity requires that we explicitly commit ourselves to the interest of Lebanon before any other consideration, no matter how high it is, and that we refrain from engaging in conflicts that do not concern us,” it said.

Hezbollah-Saudi crisis deepens and could impact Israel – analysis
Seth Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/November 01/2021
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Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have expelled Lebanon’s ambassadors in recent days. Hezbollah may see an opening and could increase tensions
A crisis between Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia is growing.
“We are facing a crisis created by one of the countries in the region, which is waging a brutal war against another Arab country,” said Mohammed Raad, head of the Hezbollah faction in the Lebanese parliament.
The regional tensions could also affect Israel. Raad was quoted in Iranian media in recent days. His comments refer to Saudi Arabia’s “hostile” actions against Lebanon. In fact, Riyadh responded to a Lebanese official supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen after Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi had appeared to praise the Houthis. The Hezbollah official said: “One of the ministers of the Lebanese government issued a statement in support of the right of the Yemeni people to protect themselves against the aggressor coalition that has invaded their country, before assuming the post of minister in this government.” Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have expelled Lebanon’s ambassadors in recent days. Lebanon’s president is seeking to heal the rift. Hezbollah may see an opening and could increase tensions. Saudi Arabia wants to harm the “stability” of Lebanon, the official said. In fact, Lebanon is unstable and bankrupt.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud deliver remarks to reporters before meeting at the State Department in Washington, US, October 14, 2021.
Hezbollah claims to be concerned that Riyadh might be making more light of the controversy because of upcoming elections. However, the reality may be that Hezbollah is trying to stoke a controversy to get votes or create a crisis.
Raad said: “Those who are creating a crisis for Lebanon do not want the elections to be held in this country, and they intend to disrupt these elections, and perhaps they realized that the results of the next elections will not be the way they want them to be.”
Thirty years ago, Saudi Arabia was key to the Taif Agreement that ended the Lebanese Civil War. Riyadh is seen as generally supporting the status quo and Sunni politicians in Lebanon, such as Saad Hariri. Hezbollah murdered Hariri’s father, Rafic in 2005.
In recent years, Riyadh has grown tired of backing a Lebanon that continues to be swallowed by Hezbollah. Hezbollah maintains an illegal terrorist army in Lebanon with 150,000 rockets, undermines Lebanon’s foreign policy, conducts its own policies, has its own communications network and in many ways is more powerful than the state.Israel is conducting a national readiness drill this week. Starting Sunday, Home Front Command and the National Emergency Authority (RAHEL) are holding a weeklong drill that simulates a large-scale war in which civilians may be evacuated from northern border communities in response to rocket barrages from Hezbollah, according to reports. It is not clear if Hezbollah will exploit regional tensions in this regard. Hezbollah wants closer ties with the Houthis in Yemen, and Iran is exporting the same technology to Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, such as drones and rockets. The US recently sanctioned key figures in the drone program in Iran. The US also imposed sanctions on Lebanese businessmen and a member of Lebanon’s parliament, Jamil Sayyed. This means regional tensions are entwined and heating up. Iran used drones to attack a ship in the Gulf of Oman in July. A drone attacked the US garrison at Tanf in late October. Hezbollah has increasingly mentioned Yemen in statements. In January, reports said Iran may have sent drones to Yemen. These had a range that could threaten Israel.

Lebanon … An Accumulation of Disasters and Coups
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 01/2021
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The Arabs have become angry with the Lebanese state and they have the right to be. They have for years demanded that it act like a state. For it to defend the rights of its citizens and to deal with brotherly Arab countries based on real interests and Arab agreements and international norms.
The Arabs conveyed their messages through several means, but the answer was always not up to expectations. The reply always sidestepped handling issues at hand or applied temporary solutions. It avoided diagnosing the problem and its actual repercussions and avoided proposing solutions. The hope was for Arab countries, which have always been tolerant of the mistakes committed by the Lebanese or the Lebanese forces, to continue in the same vein no matter how great the offenses.
The Arabs have for years resisted calls to deem Lebanon a hopeless case. They resisted suggestions that they were much better off distancing themselves from it rather than becoming involved in it. They resisted the position that said Lebanon had taken the path of no return and that it had lost its voice, lost its way and the principles that had controlled its internal and foreign life.
The Arabs long resisted the calls to abandon the Lebanese cause because this country had a prestigious reputation and was a unique financial, services, tourist, education and health hub. The prosperous Lebanon did not pose a challenge or threat to any of its brothers. They always treated it like a younger brother and spoiled it like no other. A review of the funds donated by the Gulf Cooperation Council, starting with Saudi Arabia, to Lebanon reveals this truth. Unfortunately, the Lebanese state mismanaged the Arab aid and the Arab and Gulf friendship and goodwill.
World governments have the right to demand that the Lebanese state act like a state. Meaning it should not allow its territories to be a platform to support hostile attacks against other countries. Meaning it should curb the river of drugs that is flowing through its borders and which has become as famous as the Silk Road. Meaning its state officials should act responsibly in line with fraternal Arab relations when they speak of bilateral ties or regional issues.
Obviously, Lebanon was never asked to be subjugated by an Arab country or to echo their stances. It was asked not be hostile or biased against countries that are home to a massive number of its expatriates and that have never hesitated in helping it. The Arabs grew angry when they did not receive a convincing answer to a question or inquiry. They are demanding that the state act like one. They grew angry for the same reason. They call on the state only to realize that it is deaf, illiterate, unhearing and cowardly.
The truth is that in recent years the Lebanese state has turned into a quasi-state or even less. The clownish events that take place every now and then do not change the reality. The Lebanese state has grown rusty and fragmented. It has been hollowed out and swept aside. It has lost its power and its voice that can no longer be found at the government hall, presidential palace or parliament. The Lebanese administration has grown old and judicial and security institutions have lost their authority. They have lost their ability to impose their “authority” and only do so over the weak.
The Arabs address a state that no longer exists as it had in past. A large segment of the Lebanese people do the same. The state has cracked under a series of successive crises and disasters. Rafik Hariri’s assassination was a disaster because it first and foremost targeted Lebanon’s regional and international standing.
The coup against Lebanon’s former regional standing was taking place at the same time as the coup that was happening in Iraq. It is forbidden in both countries for stable rule that is friendly to Arab moderation and the United States to be formed. The May 7, 2008 operation that Hezbollah launched in Beirut and Mount Lebanon was another disaster and coup because it broke the will of Saad Hariri and Walid Jumblatt, the leading Sunni and Druze figures in the country.
The act of subjugating the Christians took a different form. It took place through allowing Michel Aoun to become president as a reward for his stance from the court trying Hariri’s murderers, from the May 7 attack and from the 2006 war. The process of bringing Aoun to the presidential palace itself changed the rules of the political game in Lebanon. Hezbollah put the Lebanese before two worrying choices: Aoun or presidential vacuum. Aoun’s rebellious tendencies encouraged him to gamble with vacuum that he had previously used during the formation of government when he held political life hostage in order secure a significant seat for his son-in-law Gebran Bassil.
Amid the major imbalance of power in Hezbollah’s favor, Saad Hariri, Walid Jumblatt and Samir Geagea had to agree to support Aoun’s election. Aoun did not hesitate to accept the presidency, sealed with the approval of his three rivals, who believed that the general in the palace will only be a shadow of the general who was afflicted with the “palace curse.”
Many believed that Aoun will make up for the acts he made before become president, by taking reasonable stances that would seek to rebuild the Lebanese state. Some were deluded in believing that he would invest his position to restore some balance in the Lebanese state’s favor. The truth is he never really seriously tried to rebel against the weakening of the state. Instead of championing the state, he belatedly tried to wage battles against corruption. He appeared so weak that he could not even close fuel smuggling routes.
After the terrible financial collapse, Aoun returned to settling old scores with Hariri, Geagea and Jumblatt. The political calculations of Mr. President became hostage to the political calculations of his heir.
Clearly, with the fate of the Syrian war becoming evident, Hezbollah no longer feels the need to present gifts to Aoun, who will be associated with the major collapse during his term even if he wasn’t the sole or major player in this fall. Aoun could not, or perhaps he did not even try to, convince Hezbollah that binding Lebanon’s foreign policy and supporting the Houthis was too dangerous a move and more than Lebanon’s ability to contain.
In the past two years, Lebanon was pushed increasingly towards being isolated from the Arab world. This isolation was clear after it steered away from its past solidarity with Arabs and after Iran widened its influence in making Lebanon’s decisions. It was revealed on more than one occasion that the Lebanese decisions were being taken from outside official institutions and that the state’s role was limited to adopting these decisions.
It is therefore, obvious that the current crisis, which has demanded Saudi and Gulf measures, goes beyond offensive remarks made by the Lebanese information minister. It revolves around the difficulty in reasoning with a quasi-state that no longer controls its decisions. It is a state that is sponsoring the major collapse and compounding it as if it is paving the way for the establishment of a Lebanon that does not resemble Lebanon.
The Lebanon of the past was built on openness, diversity, dialogue, moderation, respect and bonds of friendship and interests with brothers and friends. The new rhetoric imposed on Lebanon manipulates phrases and consolidates the language of disasters and coups. Internal coups and external coups. The price Lebanon will have to pay for being forced against its will to join an axis designed by Iran - after it breached four Arab maps - will be very hefty and much greater than its ability to withstand. The figures of Lebanese immigration are frightening and some people are escaping on the “boats of death.” Only a vast Lebanese awakening can avoid the Lebanese the hell of living on an island called Lebanon in the shadow of a quasi-failed and complicit state.

George Kordahi personifies the Gulf's waning patience with Lebanon
Ahmed Maher/The National/November 01/2021
Allies have poured billions into Lebanon over the years. Now they are asking if it has been in vain
AYouTube video circulating widely this week shows Lebanon’s current Information Minister, George Kordhi, expressing great admiration in a 2018 media interview, before he was appointed, for three men: Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leader of Hezbollah, the Shiite political party and militia, Hassan Nasrallah.
“The three men should be man of the year in the Arab world, globally and in Lebanon, respectively. I have no doubt,” said the former popular TV presenter on the Beirut-based pro-Hezbollah channel Al Manar.
To those unfamiliar with his political background, Mr Kordahi seems like a nice, charismatic fellow, and is most famous for hosting the Arabic version of the exciting game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Now, he has sparked a storm that is still gathering against him by defending the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the ongoing war in Yemen in an online media interview published last week. His statements were explosive enough to make Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain recall their diplomats from Beirut, and could potentially put the lid on his political career.
To some degree, Mr Kordahi is seen by critics in Lebanon as an inexperienced or ill-advised politician who is getting the country into unnecessary mischief, as it already struggles to garner regional and international support in the face of an economic crisis that has made its currency all but worthless. Fuel queues stretch for kilometres, and many people receive just two hours a day of electricity from the grid.
But he was also praised for his comments by others, primarily Hezbollah, which followed up with a fierce anti-Saudi polemic and described Mr Kordahi as a “brave and noble man”. “There’s truth,” the Hezbollah statement said, “in what he said about Yemen.”
Hezbollah’s rivals, including the Future Movement of Saad Al Hariri, issued a counter-statement expressing their regret about the escalating crisis, which could corrode the case that Lebanon has been trying to make for strong relations with the Gulf and regional heavyweights like Egypt.
“Hours after Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s statement and his repudiation of the disgraceful speech of Minister of Information George Kordahi against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Hezbollah insists on taking a bellicose stance towards our brotherly countries in the Gulf just to appease its sponsor in Tehran,” the Future Movement’s own statement said.
Surprise, surprise: Mr Kordahi has since tweeted praise for Saudi Arabia, saying that he by no means had bad intentions. But can what’s done be undone? The Houthis have already unfurled a large banner in Sanaa with a portrait of Mr Kordahi and wrote: “Yes George, the Yemen war is a complete mess.”
Mr Kordahi's comments have captured attention across the region. EPA
But there is a larger issue that transcends careless statements made by a minister at this perilous juncture in Lebanon’s history. That is the question of whether or not Lebanon’s cause has lost sympathy and patience in the Gulf, as its chronic and systematic corruption, mismanagement of its economy over the past three decades and misallocation of resources have been an omnipresent fixture on the Arabic and international news recently.
Lebanon’s deadly outbreak of sectarian violence earlier this month – which conjured up images of the 15-year civil war that ended in 1990 with an agreement negotiated in the Saudi city of Taif – threatens to derail the new government’s talks with the International Monetary Fund and foreign creditors before they’ve even begun.
It’s hard to pour billions of dollars into a country over decades to no avail; since successive governments have evidently failed to save Lebanon from one of the worst economic collapses in modern history.
Gulf officials have expressed frustration with the political setup in Lebanon, which has made Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy, the most powerful paramilitary entity in the country.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud said on Saturday that the issue is far broader than Mr Kordahi.
"I think it's important that the government in Lebanon or the Lebanese establishment forges a path forward that frees Lebanon from the current political construct, which reinforces the dominance of Hezbollah," he told Reuters in an interview.
Lebanon’s Gulf neighbours are disturbed by off-putting words from a minister, but their exasperation with the failed system in Lebanon is much deeper. The problems are too many to list and the Lebanese people are pushed to the breaking point.

Between Riyadh and Beirut
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 01/2021
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Lebanon has always been an arena of confrontations; used by the Nasserites for a certain period against the opposite Arab axis. After that, Lebanon came under the control of Palestinian militants who were serving the agenda of the two conflicting Baathist regimes in Syria and Iraq. After Israel expelled them in 1982, Iran infiltrated Lebanon and took control of the country, thus gaining a foothold on the Mediterranean and a front with Israel in the context of their regional rivalry.
In the midst of the decades-long political conflict, Lebanon’s tragedy snowballed and became particularly linked with Hezbollah, which expanded its activities as an Iranian legion and mobile military militia in Iranian conflict areas such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Over the years, and as a result of the increasing dominance of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the middle class shrank, Arab and foreign investors left, talent migrated to the Gulf and to the West, exports, banks and tourism collapsed, more than a million people lost their savings, and conditions and services from electricity to garbage collection deteriorated as a result of international sanctions, mainly by the US Treasury and State Departments under the Caesar Act, as well as the Magnitsky Act and anti-terror laws, against Hezbollah and Lebanon.
Hezbollah also obstructed Lebanon's opportunity to become a gas-rich country by disrupting the file of demarcating the maritime border with Israel.
The Saudi move to withdraw its ambassador came as a result of a drawn-out crisis due to Hezbollah's anti-Saudi activities, as the militia fights in Yemen and leads battles under the guise of experts and technicians. As for the statements of Minister of Information George Kordahi, they do not warrant a response in and of themselves. Riyadh is above being affected by the statements of a minister of no standing in his own country Lebanon. Perils are mounting for Lebanon because Iran has turned it into a battlefront state. Hezbollah militias fight in the region as an Iranian proxy and conduct military and intelligence operations.
Iran has turned Lebanon into a center for running its regional and international battles, as it has assigned Hezbollah a series of tasks to serve its forces in Iraq, and to manage the media campaign of the Houthi militia from inside the southern suburbs, through channels such as Al Masirah television station.
Iran also runs human rights organizations and research centers in order to harness all it can to its benefit. In addition, Hezbollah uses Lebanon as a base for supporting the war in Syria; for training, financing and storage, and the Beirut port explosion happened at its warehouses for storing nitrates used in the war in Syria. Further, Hezbollah has turned Lebanon into a capacious drug farm that exports its produce to "enemy markets."
For the Lebanese, the Saudi government was clear in its statement that it differentiated between the Lebanese people and their government, comparing them to the Yemenis who are not held accountable for the actions of the coup-driven Houthis in Sanaa. As the decision was made to expel the Lebanese ambassador from Saudi Arabia and summon the Saudi ambassador from Beirut, Lebanese singers continued to perform on stages in Riyadh, alongside other international artists.
Amid the darkness in Lebanon, there is little hope of improving Saudi-Lebanese relations in the presence of Hezbollah and its current government, which poses a problem for the Lebanese first and foremost, before anybody else.

The Issue Is Bigger Than Qordahi
Salman Al-Dossary/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 01/2021
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After a long endurance - like ‘the patience of Ayoub’ - Saudi Arabia finally did it and decided to correct its relationship with the captive Lebanese state, summoning its ambassador from Beirut, and asking the Lebanese ambassador to leave Riyadh.
The use of Ayoub’s metaphor came because of repetitive abusive acts over the course of years, which were met by the Kingdom’s patience and hope that these negative stances would be rectified.
However, with all the warnings issued by Riyadh to the successive Lebanese governments, the Saudi patience has gradually started to wear out due to the recurrent negative steps taken by the Lebanese side, towards Saudi Arabia, its policies and its people, along with false promises from the changing governments, which unfortunately confirmed the absence of sincere intentions!
Those, who think that the Saudi decisions were taken in the wake of the statements of Lebanese Minister of Information George Qordahi, are mistaken, despite the fact that any country that is targeted by such aggressive stances has the right to defend its sovereignty.
However, many are aware that Qordahi’s statements are only “the straw that broke the camel’s back”…
In fact, the Lebanese state has turned into a major international crossing for drugs targeting Saudi Arabia, and its successive governments have failed to respond to the Saudi demand to stop the smuggling of drugs via Lebanese exports. Moreover, Hezbollah’s leadership has announced a strategy of enmity with Saudi Arabia through the Lebanese state, in addition to supporting, training and equipping the Houthis… The situation culminated with Lebanese ministers declaring their hostility to Saudi Arabia, including Qordahi, who did not only support the Houthi attacks on Saudi civilian areas, but boldly asserted the rightfulness of his positions, and his refusal to back down from them.
Consequently, after all these repeated hostile stances, is the Saudi government blamed for taking the “minimum” measures to protect its sovereignty, people and interests?!
What prevented Saudi Arabia for years from adopting strong policies in response to the hostile positions of the Lebanese state, is its concern for the Lebanese people, who are crushed by the government of their country.
Saudi concern for the Lebanese people can be demonstrated by not taking any decision against hundreds of thousands of Lebanese working in the Kingdom, even as the Lebanese government - through its Minister of Information - supports attacks on Saudi citizens. Here I can objectively affirm that Saudi Arabia was keener on the Lebanese citizens than the Lebanese government itself.
Moreover, despite the continuous mobilization of many Lebanese media outlets against the Saudi people, and against (the few) Saudi tourists visiting Lebanon, and the attacks that dozens of them have been subjected to, not a single Lebanese has been exposed to any kind of aggression in Saudi Arabia… On the contrary, the Lebanese community there enjoys security and stability, which lack in their homeland…
Why? The answer is simply because Saudi Arabia fully separates between the government and the people. It does not incite against them, as did Hezbollah and the government it is riding…
The best evidence is the statement of the Saudi Foreign Ministry when it affirmed the Saudi keenness on the Lebanese citizens residing in the Kingdom, whom it considers part of the fabric and bond that unites the Saudi people and their Arab brothers. Saudi Arabia did what it should have done long time ago. The ball is now in the court of the remaining Lebanese parties, who must determine where Lebanon’s real interests lie.
They should also try to answer the “Millionaire question”: Is Lebanon destined to remain hijacked by Iran and aggressive to its Arab brothers? If they chose the worn-out response of: “It’s not in our hands”, then they should not expect others to defend their interests more than they do.

A Cypriot Lesson to the Lebanese!
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 01/2021
The 200 kilometers that separate the Lebanese coast and Cyprus is no longer merely distance. It is a hierarchical system that arranges the two countries’ choices.
Let us imagine, for a moment, Cypriot youths deciding to behave as some Lebanese youths do, or the way they say they behave: liberating their island and reuniting it. This task would necessarily imply the expulsion of the Turkish forces stationed in the island’s northeast and defeating the 9,000-man army of Turkish Cypriot volunteers.
Achieving such a task could be considered a very legitimate demand by many, and an argument in favor of this demand could indeed be made. It is their country, and it was split during the Turkish incursion in the mid-1970s. Thus, these youths forming a national resistance front that launches military attacks and continues along that path until the entire country is fully liberated becomes valid and required.
There are more than a couple of political conditions that would potentially help them make the argument: domestically, a far from unsubstantial number of Turkish Cypriots are in favor of reuniting the island, though many are opposed as well. Internationally, Turkey is the only country that recognizes the northern republic, which unilaterally declared its independence in 1983. The rest of the world sees this republic as illegitimate, and many countries have boycotted it, refusing to do business with its airports and seaports, which ended up shutting down. On top of that, Turkey’s economic woes and the declining purchasing power of its currency have constrained Ankara’s ability to help Northern Cyprus, which needs help.
With all of that, we don’t find such youths in Greek Cyprus. There is no front pledging to liberate the rest of the country and declaring that it will pave this path with blood and martyrs.
That is the case although we are not talking about Cypriot Shebaa Farms here, as the north constitutes more than a quarter of the island’s territory and is home to a quarter of its population. And we are not talking about a matter that could be compared to Palestine vis-a-vis Lebanon, as the two Cypruses had been two parts of a single country, and that was the case until the partition.
In all likelihood, several factors are preventing the emergence of such a liberation front and of Cypriot imitators of the Lebanese model. These factors would be contrasted with old concepts regarding national struggle:
Firstly, Greek Cypriots hate war. They do not sing songs or write poems to it, and they do not raise their children on the idea that they should become tomorrow’s martyrs. It is their hatred of war that protects them from themselves and developments that could have negative repercussions for them. It is their hatred of war that has prevented both Cypruses, Greek and Turkish, from being destroyed in one go. They probably prefer to see their country and its democracy develop, as well as enjoying the fruits of its membership in the European Union. For them, these concerns trump those associated with resistance, liberation, and unity.
Secondly, they can live with their island’s peaceful division, so long as their war is a thing of the past. They prefer division accompanied by peace and stability over unity that could potentially lead to open civil strife. Of course, they haven’t abandoned the idea of uniting the island in principle. Rather, they are probably betting on this being realized through changes in public opinion or balances of power… If the island is to be united, that is how this unity would be achieved. If not, they will proceed to enhance the liberated part of the island politically and economically. Avoiding violence and conflict, though, is the priority.
This proclivity is evident in their political landscape, as among the country’s powerful parties, none base their legitimacy on liberation and resistance. The strongest of those parties, the Democratic Rally, supported what was known as the “Annan Plan” for the reunification of Cyprus. That is as far as it has gone. This party’s leadership works on restraining its most extreme voices. The second strongest party, the Progressive Party of Working People- AKEL, which used to be the Communist Party, supports a federal solution, prioritizing good relations with Turkish Cypriots. The third party, the Democratic Party, takes a hard line politically, but its enthusiasm for Europe and the country’s membership in the EU moderate its position. The Democratic Front is the fourth party, and it emerged from a split within the Democratic Party after disputes over the latter not being soft enough. The fifth party is the National Popular Front: a fascist party whose fascism translates into hostility to Turks and Turkish Cypriots, but it doesn’t adopt resistance. In any case, it only won four of Cyprus’s 56 parliamentary seats.
Finally, no foreign actor incites the Greek Cypriots to wage war and liberate their country. Greece doesn’t do so, and neither does the European Union. They don’t hope Cypriots die and Cyprus disappears. The conventional wisdom is that change is realized through pressure, boycotts, and political and economic measures. Destruction is war’s only outcome.
The Greek Cypriots’ stance is not taken from a position of weakness. We recall that China, with its massive size, population and capabilities, has, since 1949, refrained and indeed continues to refrain from “liberating” Taiwan. It had also refrained from annexing Hong Kong before that was realized peacefully through China’s agreement with Britain, which had already committed to handing Hong Kong over to the Chinese mainland. Facing this Chinese model is the Lebanese model (!), which must be strengthening Cypriots’ aversion to resistance and liberation. If ending the “era of defeats” requires ending everything else with it, maybe it would be better to give defeats a try. In contrast, the majority in armed, resisting, impoverished and dark Lebanon no longer aspire to become like further, richer and more advanced countries. That has become impossible. They hope to become like their Island neighbor. Some are thinking of moving there, with the move akin to fleeing. Yes, it is divided and unarmed; it has “surrendered,” but it lives and moves forward.

Cannon fodder
Ana Maria Luca/Now Lebanon/November 01/2021
People have been used as cannon fodder since time immemorial. Whether in battles, or metaphorically, in politics, sacrificing people, sometimes entire countries, has been a norm.
Sometimes, rulers have chosen to sacrifice the few to save the many. Those are the good rulers. Other times, they chose to sacrifice people to fulfill their dreams of power, and these are most rulers.
Cannon fodder is what many Lebanese feel like and have felt for a long time. Caught in regional proxy wars and political conflicts by proxy, in local political skirmishes between factions and leaders, those who do not compromise don’t make it. When Lebanon lost its banking system and the appearance of economic prosperity, it also lost its soft power in the region. If Westerners are still charmed by Lebanon – some for the country’s rich history and culture and others for its “war-torn” reputation, be they victims of orientalism or connected to the country in some way- the usual regional allies seem to have turned their back on Lebanon. But the honest truth is that no one, except maybe a few dreamers, is thinking about human security in the Middle East, including in Lebanon, and this has been the case for centuries. It is all about regional political rivalries, proxies – be they armed groups, politicians, charity organizations. But never about people struggling in poverty, wars and the complete absence of justice. They are only tools for political deals. People are valuable as community, not as individuals. One human life, even 200 human lives, mean nothing in the face of being able to move large groups of gunmen or voters. or both. Justice is the first to fall victim to this manner of political thinking.
A minister’s opinions
In August, television star George Kordahi and presenter of the Arab offshoot of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” aired by Saudi MBC, spoke to Al Jazeera in an interview about….stuff. He told the Qatari channel that he found the Saudi led coalition war on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis unjust. In September, he became Lebanon’s Minister of Information, the de facto spokesman of the newly formed government led by Najib Mikati, at the proposal of the Christian Marada Movement, an ally of Hezbollah. The interview aired last Monday, raising outrage from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf members of the anti-Houthi coalition. Despite calls for Kordahi’s resignation, his supporters dismissed the possibility, saying he had made the statement before he became a minister. It didn’t matter much for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Kuwait. After KSA announced on Friday that they would cut diplomatic ties with Beirut and halt all imports, the other three GCC members followed suit,
UAE repatriating citizens: The UAE on Sunday called on its citizens in Lebanon to immediately return home. Pointless: “There is a crisis in Lebanon with the dominance of Iranian proxies over the scene,” Saudi Prince Faisal bin Farhan told Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya television in an interview on Sunday. “This is what worries us and makes dealing with Lebanon pointless for the kingdom and for, I think, Gulf countries.”
Out of the question: Kordahi said he wouldn’t resign. The former host of the Arab version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” said that he is aware that the current row goes beyond his statements in an interview. He is also in a very tight spot: if he resigns, Hezbollah and Amal ministers also leave the cabinet that took 13 months to put together.
The Houthis’ hero: Kordahi has gained some popularity in Yemen’s rebel-held Sanaa, with the Huthis on Sunday putting up posters in support of the Lebanese minister. “Yes George, the Yemen war is absurd,” said posters bearing his image. The heart of the matter: As far as Lebanese politicians were concerned, Saudi Arabia’s green flag should have a dollar sign as country logo. Since 1991, Saudi Arabia’s government has given Lebanon 1,333,491,713 dollars in loans and grants (mostly grants). That is only the official figure because the Kingdom has also funded many political interests and charities. Unlike Iran, whose money strictly financed its proxy, Hezbollah, Saudi money has contributed in keeping the Lebanese economy afloat for years.
However, currently, Riyadh doesn’t seem to have any interest in paying the bill for Lebanon’s economic troubles, despite many efforts from Beirut to warm up ties. But as far as the Saudi crown is concerned, the Lebanese government is very much Hezbollah controlled, and it has failed to seriously curb drug smuggling to the kingdom, which is basically in the middle of a war against drugs. So far, there hasn’t been solid proof that Hezbollah affiliated groups are smuggling the captagon, but there is some circumstantial evidence – like the Lebanese Army busting some factories in Hezbollah controlled territory, despite not making any arrests and only seizing equipment. Nonetheless, Riyadh has pointed fingers at Hezbollah for the drug smuggling operations.
Beyond political finger-pointing and despite reassurances by politicians and diplomats that Lebanese citizens working and residing in the Gulf states will not be affected by the severing of ties and imports, it’s kind of obvious that there is no way they won’t be. It’s a sort of Brexit. It will turn into a huge mess.
Calling the US for help: Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told journalists on Saturday after a meeting of the ministerial committee on the diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia that he has contacted the US Embassy to participate in the crisis cell, An Nahar reported. US Deputy Chief of Mission Richard Michaels attended the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beirut.
Not many solutions: Lebanon either curbs Iranian influence in state affairs through Hezbollah, or it faces the possibility of isolation. The country’s main economic asset has been its good relations with the Gulf, where an estimated half a million Lebanese reside and work, sending remittances home. Iran, whose economy is also in shambles due to international sanctions, cannot replace Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states as the main regional ally. It cannot open its economy to hundreds of thousands of Lebanese seeking jobs abroad, because it doesn’t have an economy to open.
Luckily for Lebanon: The US diplomats in Beirut, as well as other countries’ diplomats, seem to be very attached to Lebanon and are willing to help it stay afloat – be it negotiating electricity deals or pressuring for fair investigations to continue. (That’s Lebanon’s silver lining for the moment – foreign diplomats apparently love this country more than its politicians actually do.) But the administration in Washington just imposed sanctions on several Lebanese businessmen, and may need convincing that it is worth saving Lebanon in the current conditions.
A probe for a probe
On the one hand, there is the Beirut blast investigation. We have covered its twists and turns heavily since we’ve launched, and the trouble continues, with the head of the investigation, judge Tarek Bitar, trying to pull through many attempts at obstructing his work by various politicians he summoned for questioning. Suspended once more: Bitar had called former PM Hassan Diab for investigation on October 29, but has had to suspend the summons after Diab filed a lawsuit against him claiming he has no authority to question him. Nothing much had the chance to happen in that probe the past week.
But, on the other hand, there is the Tayyouneh clashes investigation.
Charged with murder: Some 68 people were charged with murder and sedition after the October 14 Tayyouneh clashes, which left 7 dead and 32 wounded after anti-Bitar protests by Hezbollah and Amal turned into armed clashes with the Lebanese Army and Christian supporters of Lebanese Forces residing in the area.Another politician misses questioning: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea was called in for questioning at the Ministry of Defense, after Amal and Hezbollah accused him of planning the attack on protesters on October 14. He missed his appointment last Wednesday.
Two probes: Many of the Beirut port blast victims’ families, some of the most vocal ones too, are Christians from Ashrafieh. Some of them are Lebanese Forces supporters from middle class Lebanese neighborhoods. Two of the politicians summoned for investigation by judge Bitar are Amal MPs Ghazi Zeaiter and Ali Hassan Khalil.
In the Tayyouneh clashes, the “martyrs” are Shiite supporters and members of Amal and Hezbollah. The summoned politician is Samir Geagea, leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces.
An attempt at a barter: It was Maronite Patriarch Bechara al Rahi who mentioned “the solution” first, saying that everyone had agreed on it in order to put an end to the government deadlock of the Beirut blast investigation. The “solution” was for former dignitaries to not be investigated by Bitar, but submit to the parliament elected Supreme Council for the Trail of Presidents and Ministers. Yes, Lebanon has had one since March 2019, as part of an initiative by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has been at his post since, to curb graft.
Lebanon +:
The happy side: While most in Lebanon were worrying about the impact of the deteriorating Saudi-Lebanese relations, supporters of Iran and its Lebanese arm Hezbollah celebrated the chaos.
The supporters cheered on as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries cut off relations with Lebanon, likely over the belief that it would leave Iran as the main patron for Lebanon. Following Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud’s interview with CNBC’s Hadley Gamble, where the prince said that part of the reason that this break in relations is occurring because of Hezbollah’s expanding influence, the pro-Iran and Hezbollah crowd saw this as another victory as Hezbollah continues to consolidate power in Lebanon.
Podcasts:
Sarde after Dinner hosted last night Sarah Kaddoura, Palestinian feminist activist based in Lebanon, creator and host of @HakiNasawi. They talked Islamic feminism, Islamic revisionism and possible renaissance, the #metoo movement and honor killings.
Agenda:
On Monday, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, undertakes a fact-finding mission to Lebanon. He is scheduled to stay until November 12 to examine the government’s efforts to alleviate poverty in the country.
Lebanese PM Najib Mikati is in Glasgow at COP26 not to discuss global warming – Lebanon has zero policies and concern for that topic – but to talk about how to save the country from the abyss it’s fallen into.
Until next week, make sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn. We are here, if you have a tip, a concern, an idea or some feedback.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 01-02/2021
Syrian Regime Deploys Huge Reinforcements to Aleppo Countryside
Idlib – Firas Karam/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 01/November, 2021
The Syrian regime forces and Iranian militias pushed massive reinforcements to northeast Aleppo, accompanied by hovering Russian helicopters. Opposition activist Jihad Shihabi said regime forces and Iranian militias sent a large military convoy to the front lines on the axes of Tal Rahal, Tal Zwayan, and Daghlbash, in the vicinity of al-Bab city. The city is under control of Turkish forces and the Syrian National Army factions. Shihabi added that the military reinforcements include Syrian soldiers, militias loyal to Iran, and a large number of tanks, rocket launchers, heavy artillery and military logistical equipment. He added that two Russian helicopters flew overhead amid the deployment. They took off from the al-Assad Military Academy in southern Aleppo and the Kuweires military airbase east of the city. Meanwhile, the Syrian National Army factions continued their military mobilization and combat readiness to launch a military operation against the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Tal Rifaat area northwest of Aleppo. Violent clashes erupted between pro-Turkish factions and the Kurdish factions on the Kafr Khasher front in the northern countryside of Aleppo after Kurdish groups attempted to infiltrate opposition positions in the area. A leader in the armed Syrian opposition factions said that Turkish military bases and forces in the southern and eastern Idlib countrysides are on alert, while new Turkish military reinforcements are dispatched to Banin, al-Bara, al-Naiyrab, and Taftanaz.
Opposition factions in the al-Fateh al-Mubin operations room are also on alert in anticipation of any attack. In recent days, the military forces have sent three large military convoys, of about 230 vehicles, including tanks, heavy artillery, rocket launchers, cars carrying ammunition and cement blocks, through the Kafr Lusin border crossing into Syrian territory. The reinforcements were sent to more than six Turkish military points near Maarat al-Numan and in the vicinity of Saraqib. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that regime forces renewed their ground attack on the de-escalation area with missile and heavy machine gun fire on areas in al-Barah and al-Futirah in Jabal al-Zawiyah in the southern Idlib countryside. No casualties were reported. On Saturday, the Observatory reported that a regime soldier was killed and a child was injured in rocket fire by opposition factions in the Jurin neighborhood. The targeted area hosts Jurin camp, the military base used by regime forces in Sahl al-Ghab in the Hama countryside.

Egypt Chairs AU Peace, Security Council
Cairo - Mohammed Abdo Hasanein/ Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 01 November, 2021
Egypt is exerting all efforts to combat extremism and terrorism during its presidency of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) this November.The AU announced that Egypt will chair the presidency of Peace and Security Council in light of Egypt's "diplomatic successes and efforts to play an effective role in supporting and strengthening the peace and security in the African continent."The Peace Council said that Egypt's efforts would focus on managing disasters in Africa and finding lasting solutions to confront challenges such as terrorism, illegal immigration, and the repercussions of climate change on continental peace and security. The Peace and Security Council is scheduled to discuss the report of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on continental efforts to prevent and combat terrorism. The Council provides an opportunity for members to develop a strategy to enhance efforts to combat terrorism and extremism through its various research and studies centers. The Peace and Security Council is an organ of the African Union for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts and follows the model of the UN Security Council. It has 15 members with equal voting powers, elected by the AU Executive Council and endorsed by the AU Assembly during its ordinary sessions. Egypt holds the membership of the Council for the North African region between 2020 and 2022. Since assuming the presidency in 2019, Cairo has intensified its presence within the institutions of the Union and strengthened its relationship with the countries through initiatives and cooperation agreements covering all fields. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Armed Forces concluded Sunday three training programs delivered to 67 military personnel from 18 African states. The programs were held in collaboration with the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development, affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A ceremony was held Saturday evening to distribute the certificates in the presence of several Egyptian commanders, and African ambassadors, and military attaches. The Head of the Armed Forces Training Authority delivered a speech where he addressed all activities and areas of cooperation that prepared and qualified students from African countries. Assistant to Minister of Defense Major General Medhat al-Nahas delivered a speech asserting Egypt's keenness to concert efforts with African countries and work jointly to boost cooperation and development on the African continent in various fields.

UN Mediation Efforts Seek ‘Way Forward’ in Sudan
Washington, Khartoum, London - Ali Barada,/ Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 01 November, 2021
The UN Special Envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, discussed with dismissed Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok mediation options and a possible "way forward" for Sudan, a day after hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand an end to military rule. Perthes tweeted that he met with Hamdok at his residence, where he remains well but under house arrest. "We discussed options for mediation and the way forward for Sudan. I will continue these efforts with other Sudanese stakeholders."Hamdok has demanded the release of detainees, including party leaders and ministers, and a return to the pre-coup power-sharing arrangement before negotiating further, according to sources. Sources in Khartoum said that a delegation from the African Union (AU), which suspended Sudan's membership, will also begin mediation between the military and civilians. They also indicated that the Sudanese Foreign Ministry expressed its dissatisfaction over recent comments made by the British ambassador in Khartoum, Giles Lever. Lever posted a video critical of the coup led by Burhan, who took the reins of power with force from Hamdok. The British ambassador was part of an international diplomatic delegation that the Sudanese army allowed to meet with Hamdok last week. Following the massive demonstrations that took to the streets of Sudan Saturday, the United States praised the "courage" of millions of Sudanese who peacefully expressed their aspirations for democracy. US President Joe Biden demanded the return of the civilian government to power during his meeting with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi. They also discussed President Tshisekedi's efforts as the AU Chair to promote peace and security in Africa, including the need to resolve the widening crisis in Ethiopia and restore the civilian-led transitional government in Sudan. For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed his country's admiration of the millions of "courageous Sudanese who protested peacefully to express their aspirations for a democratic Sudan on October 30th," referring to the massive demonstrations in the country against the military coup.
"While we commend those members of the security forces who upheld their obligations to respect human rights, we mourn the dozens who were killed or wounded and reiterate our calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners and an end to extrajudicial detention," Blinken tweeted.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the country's military leaders to step back. "We witnessed in Sudan on Saturday the courage of so many people who peacefully protested military rule. The military should take heed. Time to go back to the legitimate constitutional arrangements," Guterres said. He indicated that the reports of violence are alarming, and perpetrators must be brought to justice after the death of at least three people when security forces opened fire on demonstrators in Omdurman on Saturday. US media were particularly interested in the recent events in Sudan, especially since the country has long been on the list of states sponsors of terrorism because of its association with designated terrorist groups that launched attacks against US interests and missions abroad. The Biden administration made efforts that were initiated by former President Donald Trump to remove Sudan from the list and write off billions of dollars in debt. Washington also encouraged international financial and economic institutions to provide incentives to help Sudan through the transitional phase towards elections, democratic governance, and economic prosperity. However, the sudden developments last week disappointed the US and international officials who were looking forward to the army's support of democracy instead of seizing power.

Bashir-Era Sudanese Ruling Party Head Ghandour Re-Arrested
Asharq Al-Awsat/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 01 November, 2021
Ibrahim Ghandour, head of Sudan's disbanded former ruling National Congress Party and a former foreign minister under deposed President Omar al-Bashir, was re-arrested on Monday less than a day after he had been released from jail, according to a source from his family.
The release of Ghandour and several other Bashir allies in recent days, following a military coup last week, had come under criticism from opponents of military rule. Ghandour had previously been detained under orders of a taskforce intended to dismantle and prevent the return of Bashir's three-decade rule, which ended in 2019. He had been released on Sunday night, along with two former intelligence officials under Bashir. Two other Bashir allies, including businessman Abdelbasit Hamza, had also been released on Saturday, judiciary sources said, according to Reuters. Sudan's public prosecutor was also dismissed Sunday night.

Houthi Missile Attack on Mosque, Religious School Kills and Injures 29 Civilians in Yemen
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 01 November, 2021
A Houthi ballistic missile attack on a mosque and a religious school killed and injured 29 civilians, including women and children, in the Yemeni province of Marib, the country’s information minister said in a statement on Twitter on Monday. Two ballistic missiles were used in the attack late on Sunday, Marib governor’s office said in a statement. Fighting between legitimate government forces and the Iran-backed Houthi militias has escalated in recent months. The United Nations says some 10,000 people were displaced in September by fighting in Marib. It is calling for a humanitarian corridor for aid.

Saudi Executes Man for Attempt to Kill Security Forces
Agence France Presse/Monday, 01 November, 2021
Saudi Arabia on Monday executed a man convicted of trying to shoot dead security forces and weapons charges, with alleged links to figures accused of terrorist activities, state media reported. He was executed in Dammam in the Eastern Province, which has seen bouts of unrest since 2011 when mostly Muslim Shiite protesters emboldened by the Arab Spring uprisings took to the streets. The demonstrators demanded an end to what they called discrimination by the Sunni-dominated government, a charge Riyadh denies. The Saudi man who was executed "took part in two shooting operations against security forces with an intent to kill" and "in dealing and possessing weapons," the interior ministry said. He was "linked to people wanted for terrorism-related activities", the ministry added in its statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. Human rights group Amnesty International said in August that at least 40 people were executed between January and July in Saudi Arabia, more than for the whole of 2020. More than 60 people have been executed this year in the kingdom, according to an AFP tally based on official statements.  Saudi Arabia put 184 people to death in 2019, according to Amnesty, which has said it was the highest number recorded in a single year in the country. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia's state-run Human Rights Commission said it had documented 27 executions in 2020, a decrease over the previous year due in part to a moratorium on the death penalty for drug offences.

Biden raises human rights, S-400 concerns as Erdogan puts good face on talks
The Arab Weekly/November 01/2021
ROME--US President Joe Biden told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that his request for F-16 fighter jets had to go through a process in the United States, while Erdogan put a good face in it saying his counterpart was “positive” toward the jet sale. Ties between Ankara and Washington have been strained over a host of issues in recent years, from policy differences in Syria to Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems, human rights and legal matters. The United States has also sanctioned Turkey over the S-400s. Days after the allies narrowly averted a diplomatic crisis over jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala, Biden and Erdogan met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome. Biden also raised the issue of human rights, a US senior administration official told reporters. “President Biden reaffirmed our defence partnership and Turkey’s importance as a NATO Ally, but noted US concerns over Turkey’s possession of the Russian S-400 missile system,” the White House said in a statement after the meeting. The Turkish presidency said the two leaders had agreed to form a joint mechanism to strengthen ties, while a senior Turkish official said the talks were held in “a very positive atmosphere”.
Speaking to reporters in Rome, Erdogan said he reiterated to Biden Turkey’s opposition to US support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG, a US ally in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS) extremist group in northeast Syria but deemed a terrorist group by Ankara. “Undoubtedly, I conveyed to him (Biden) our sadness with the support these terrorist organisations in Syria … are receiving from the United States,” Erdogan said. “I also told him these issues were steps that could damage our solidarity.” Ankara had previously ordered more than 100 F-35 jets, but Washington removed Turkey from the programme after it bought the S-400s. Turkey has called the move unjust and demanded reimbursement for its $1.4 billion payment. Erdogan has said that payment should be used to finance some of Turkey’s request to buy 40 F-16s and nearly 80 modernisation kits, but Washington has said it had made no financing offers to Ankara. Erdogan said he asked Biden for support in getting US lawmakers to back the sale. “While I saw Mr Biden’s positive approach on this matter, another aspect of the issue is the House of Representatives and Senate,” he said. On Saturday, a different US administration official said that Biden would warn Erdogan against “precipitous” actions and that crises should be avoided after the Turkish leader last week threatened to expel ten foreign envoys, including the US envoy, for seeking Kavala’s release. Erdogan withdrew his threat on Monday.

Boston mayoral race raises question are Arab-Americans ‘people of colour’
The Arab Weekly/November 01/2021
BOSTON— Are Tunisian-Americans and more broadly, Arab-Americans, people of colour?The question has been bubbling beneath the surface of Boston’s historic mayoral race, where one of the two candidates, Annissa Essaibi George, has found herself challenged on the campaign trail about her decision to identify as one. On Tuesday, Essaibi George faces off against fellow Boston City councilor and Democrat Michelle Wu, a daughter of Taiwanese immigrants. Whoever wins will be the first woman and first person of colour elected to the city’s top political office.
Essaibi George, a Tunisian-American, who describes herself as Polish-Arab American, acknowledges she has not always identified as a person of colou, in part because Arab Americans do not fit neatly into the boxes Americans are typically asked to check off on official forms, including on the US Census. “We have found ourselves in this weird position where there isn’t a place for us to identify as Arab,” Essaibi George said in a recent interview on GBH News. “It’s unfortunate that Arabs don’t have that proverbial box to check and it is important for the Arab community to be counted, to be seen, to be heard and to be recognised.” She has identified as a person of colour during her years in elected office, Essaibi George said. Essaibi George has frequently talked about the obstacles faced by her father, a Muslim immigrant from Tunisia and the challenges he believed she would also face as his daughter. Her mother, a Catholic, immigrated from Poland. In a city like Boston with its long history of electing white men, particularly of Irish and Italian descent, a girl with an Arab name could never be successful in politics, her father warned, with no chance of becoming mayor.
But the 47-year-old Essaibi George, a lifelong Boston resident and former public school teacher, went on to win an at-large seat on the Boston City Council in 2015 and came in second in a September preliminary election, setting up the head-to-head match with Wu, who won the preliminary. Although she identifies as a person of colour, Essaibi George acknowledges her physical presence, including a heavy Boston accent, allows her a certain amount of privilege as “a woman who can maneuvre in different rooms in different spaces.”
She has also said that while her father’s family came from North Africa, she does not consider herself African-American, a term meant to refer to Black Americans. The question of whether Arab Americans should identify as people of colour extends to the Arab American community itself.
Boxes to check
Nuha E Muntasser, who describes herself as an Muslim Arab American or Muslim Libyan American, said she cringes whenever she has to check the box for “white” instead of being given the option of identifying as North African or Middle Eastern. “I do not identify as white and it’s frustrating when I have to identify as that,” she said. The choice is all the more discouraging because many Arab Americans do not share the same experience as white Americans, she said. That sense of otherness can be even more pronounced among Arab or Muslim American women who wear the hijab, she said. “People like me, we have to prove our Americanness,” said the 26-year-old, who lives in Sudbury, 45 miles west of Boston and serves on the town’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Muntasser also hesitates to call herself a person of colour. “Because I understand the difference of what Black women experience in this country, I am not comfortable with saying I am a person of colour,” she said. The lack of a box to check for Arab Americans can also limit economic opportunities, said former Cambridge City Councilor Nadeem Mazen, an Arab American and an American Muslim. That is particularly relevant when dealing with possible business contracts, especially with the federal government.
“When you’re a minority- or veteran- or women-owned business, that’s important,” Mazen said. “People make a lot of assumptions about which boxes you can check.” Mazen, who lives in Cambridge, said he does not look like a Black person but also is not seen as white, occupying what he described as a kind of moving window. “I don’t go around saying I’m a person of colour or not a person of color, but I know someone like me faces a lot more discrimination than your average upper class white Cambridge resident,” Mazen said. A pivotal moment in the trajectory of the lives of many Arab Americans came with the September 11 attacks, with many still feeling singled out and under suspicion 20 years later. A poll by The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research conducted ahead of this year’s 9/11 anniversary found that 53% of Americans have unfavourable views toward Islam, compared with 42% who have favourable ones. Mohammed Missouri, 38, executive director of Massachusetts-based Jetpac, a nonprofit seeking to build political power among American Muslims, said earlier generations of Arab Americans tended to focus on assimilation rather than leaning into their identity.
“With younger people in the Arab American community, you’re seeing people whose goal is to build actual power and not just power for themselves but for the community at large,” said Missouri, an Arab American. “Younger Arab Americans are very proud of their heritage and see that as integral to their identity as Americans.”Missouri also said that while he is forced to check “white” on Census forms, defined as “all individuals who identify with one or more nationalities or ethnic groups originating in Europe, the Middle East or North Africa”, he does not consider himself white. Whether Arab Americans fall into the broader category as persons of colour is still a matter of debate within the community he said, adding that some “white-passing Arab Americans” prefer to identify as white.
“It’s going to be a fluid conversation we’re going to keep having,” he said. The city’s previous elected mayor, Democrat Marty Walsh, stepped down to become US Secretary of Labour under President Joe Biden. Walsh was replaced on an acting basis by Kim Janey, sworn in March 24 as Boston’s first female and first Black mayor.

Hopes pinned on domestic, foreign mediations to resolve post-coup impasse in Sudan
The Arab Weekly/November 01/2021
KHARTOUM--Sudanese political analysts say domestic and international mediation between civilian politicians and the military may offer the best hope of overcoming the post-coup political crisis and avoiding the country’s slide into chaos. Their optimism has been boosted since ousted Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok expressed conditional readiness to respond favourably to the mediation. Volker Perthes, the UN Special Representative for Sudan met Hamdok on Sunday to discuss options and possible next steps. “We discussed mediation options and the way forward for Sudan,” Perthes said in a Tweet. ‘I will continue these efforts with the stakeholders in Sudan,” he added. Sources close to Hamdok said that he demanded the release of detainees and a return to the power-sharing agreement that existed before the coup. The Sudanese army is said to be counting on the success of the ongoing talks to pressure Hamdok to re-assume the premiership.Well-informed Sudanese sources told The Arab Weekly that the mediation carried out by seven Sudanese public figures pushed for the formation of a General Defence Council headed by Burhan and the appointment of Hamdok as prime minister with technocratic ministers. In addition, there would be a Legislative Council, 40 percent of whom would be young people, along with the formation of a senate as an alternative to the former Sovereignty Council. This would be made up of 100 political, civil and military figures.
Sudanese political sources are optimistic about a settlement which would please the military by removing political parties from government while at the same time as satisfying the demands of youth with the formation of a civilian government indepedent of the military, along with an end to the current emergency measures and the release of prisoners.
Negotiations were taking place while Sudanese anti-coup protesters on Sunday manned barricades in Khartoum, a day after a deadly crackdown on mass rallies, as a defiant civil disobedience campaign against the military takeover entered its seventh day. Tens of thousands turned out across the country for Saturday’s demonstrations, marching against the army’s October 25 power grab, when top General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency and detained Sudan’s civilian leadership. The coup took place two and a half years after a popular uprising ousted the authoritarian Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled Sudan, Africa’s third largest country, for three decades. The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said three protesters were shot dead by security forces in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman on Saturday. Sudanese police denied shooting protesters during the demonstrations, saying on state TV that one policeman sustained a gunshot wound. With Saturday’s deaths, at least 15 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces this week, a health ministry official said, adding that some 245 people were injured on Saturday.
Life came to a near standstill in the capital Khartoum on Sunday. Residents said strikes and security measures were causing paralysis. Banks and most markets were closed, with only a few small stores and stalls open. Judicial sources confirmed the release of Bashir’s former foreign minister Ghandour, as well as former security officials Mohamed Hamed Tabidi and Alshazali Almadih. All three men had been detained on the orders of a task force aiming to dismantle and prevent the return of the Bashir government. The military has been critical of this work. Other Bashir allies, former health minister Mamoun Humeida and businessman Abdalbasit Hamza, have also been released recently, judiciary sources said. Burhan also dismissed the public prosecutor, state TV reported on Sunday. Burhan has relieved several officials, including diplomats, of their posts since an army takeover last week.

Kuwait opposition MPs move to close ranks amid infighting
The Arab Weekly/November 01/2021
KUWAIT CITY--Opposition lawmakers in Kuwait are seeking to close ranks following differences that emerged recently, against the background of rival views on the national dialogue called by the country’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. Lawmakers in Kuwait are also wrangling over elections for a number of permanent parliamentary committees, notably the finance and legislative committees. The opposition ’31 bloc’ is expected to hold a meeting this week to ease tensions among MPs and set out priorities for the next stage. “The squabbling within the 31 bloc is clearly noticeable, but we are trying to reconcile conflicting positions and make room for friendship, especially among reformist MPs,” Member of Parliament Osama al-Shaheen recently tweeted. He expressed his surprise his name had been put forward for membership of the Legislative Committee, saying, “I have nothing to do with that.”
Shaheen explained, “We had previously met in the office of Representative Farz al-Daihani and I told the brothers that I did not want to run for membership in the Legislative Committee, because I have other priorities.”“There are three colleagues who expressed their desire to run. They are Dr Obaid Al-Wasmi, Dr Hamad Rouh Al-Din and Muhannad al-Sayer,” he added. “Initially, I filed a candidacy after I noticed that other MPs were reluctant to run. I wanted to seize the opportunity and join the committee to serve public interest, but as soon as I heard that other colleagues were running, I withdrew my candidacy so as not to affect their chances,” Shaheen said. The opposition ’31 bloc’ lost the majority in the elections for the Legislative Committee, which is the most important committee within the National Assembly, after the withdrawal Shaheen’s candidacy, a move that some considered as “treason,” especially since there was a prior agreement reached in the office of the Secretary of the National Assembly al-Daihani, to nominate four members from the bloc. Observers of Kuwaiti affairs believe that the ‘31 bloc’ faces a difficult test, especially because of sharp differences over participation in the national dialogue. This bloc, some experts said, could disintegrate in view serious disputes among MPs. If that happens, the development will undoubtedly play to the interests of the government. The government, the experts added, wants favourable conditions to pass law and legislation that serve its vision, without having to face a strong opposition or havoc within parliament.

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 01-02/2021
The Gulf is well-positioned to invest in climate technology
Joseph Dana/The Arab Weekly/November 01/2021
Our approach to climate change and curbing carbon emissions is broken. Let’s face it: governments and international organisations have so far failed to alter the trajectory of our warming planet. This isn’t for lack of trying but the sad reality is that governments and international organisations haven’t been able to curb the global market’s appetite for fossil fuels. Yet, there is an obvious and potentially lucrative way out of this mess.
The key to altering this imbalance is through the market itself. The technology underpinning clean and renewable energy is accelerating exponentially, with costs plunging through the floor. As a result of these developments, clean energy will soon be cheaper across every metric than traditional fossil fuels. Since these trends are happening by the forces of the market alone, the best thing that governments can do is meaningfully invest in climate technology infrastructure and companies.
Saudi Arabia’s decision to curb carbon emissions to net-zero by 2060 is welcome news. Still, the real opportunity of the kingdom’s pledge remains unrealised. As one of the world’s leading producers of hydrocarbons, Saudi Arabia wields incredible influence over global carbon emissions through its ability to curtail oil production. A dramatic shift in oil production isn’t realistic because the world is still dependent on fossil fuels. The market won’t allow it at this stage but things are changing fast. When it’s cheaper and easier to get electricity from solar energy and drive an electric car, there won’t be much room left for fossil fuels. Along with other leading countries in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia has a unique opportunity to invest in this future of energy while transforming the regional knowledge economy by following these historic announcements with substantial investments into climate technology.
The path forward is not about simply cutting emissions nor planting trees but committed investment in climate technology. Larry Fink, the CEO of hedge fund Blackrock, recently said that the next 1,000 unicorn startups worth at least $1bn would be involved in climate technology. Moreover, international organisations need to ensure that capital is invested in climate technology in developing nations. Not only is the market exploding, but there is significant room for governments to help direct the energy to emerging and developing nations. Given the Gulf’s strong connections with emerging market countries in Africa, the subcontinent, and Asia, it is perfectly positioned to be an exporter of climate technology.
Clean energy will be universal at some point in the near future and that’s one reason for Fink’s optimism. Current market and technology trends suggest that it could take shape much sooner than we realise. Consider the price of solar energy as an example of how fast the market is changing. Over the last decade, the price of electricity from utility-scale solar projects has dropped by a factor of five. That equates to an 80% price decline. This remarkable drop means that building a new solar plant is cost-competitive with new coal or gas power plants. What’s even more impressive is that costs are falling so fast that they are outpacing forecasts. Solar electricity in 2020 is roughly a quarter the price the International Energy Agency projected in 2010.
The market will render fossil fuels obsolete. The question is how long this shift will take and whether we have the time to wait. The forces are already taking shape as the market is course-correcting through deeper adoption of renewable energy. Just look at the skyrocketing share price of Telsa and the explosion in global electric vehicle sales. There are examples of the shift everywhere. Governments can accelerate this transition with intelligent policy investment in climate technology and (hopefully) stave off dire climate change forecasts.
This is where the Gulf could potentially step in. Leading Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have already laid out ambitious green energy goals. Saudi Arabia plans to build the world’s largest green hydrogen plant powered by wind and solar energy in the city of Neom. Long-term projects are good targets, but smaller-scale investments in startups now can be the catalyst for real change.
With the capital to invest and the ideal conditions for research and development, Gulf states are positioned to support the next generation of climate technology startups. These aren’t limited to renewable energy projects but can focus on agricultural technology, smart city development, and green hydrogen energy. Not only are such investments valuable for the global fight against climate change, but they are critical for building the strength of the region’s knowledge economy. Moreover, the Gulf can export such technology to emerging market countries around the world. When Cape Town, South Africa, nearly ran out of water in 2018, the UAE was close to exporting desalination technology to ease the crisis. That’s a specific example of how the Gulf could spread its climate-related industry across the world.
Government pledges to curb carbon emissions are significant, but they aren’t enough. The industrial revolution and the triumph of resource-hungry capitalism are a big reason we are facing climate challenges. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we need to embrace the mechanism of capitalism to foster real change in the hydrocarbon industry and the transition to renewables.
*Syndication Bureau

Egypt should be more involved in Sudan
Mohamed Abulfadl/The Arab Weekly/November 01/2021'
Some have claimed that Cairo has engineered the latest military coup in Sudan and pushed the army chief, Lieutenant-General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, to move against the civilians within the country’s power structure.Relations between Egypt and Sudan have not seen long periods of stability nor permanent tensions. Between governments in both countries, there were always ups and downs.
Egypt learned, from the lessons of the past and the results of the surprise coup carried out by Omar al-Bashir in 1989, not to put all its eggs in one basket. The unfortunate experience of the relationship with the Bashir regime left a legacy of mutual recriminations.
The Egyptian reaction following Burhan’s coup has been to neither support nor condemn the military’s move. Cairo has stressed the importance of preserving the security and stability of Sudan and exerting self-restraint. Since matters are still not clear in Khartoum and no one yet has the final say in the country, it is in Cairo’s interest to remain open to all the forces in its neighbour, even if it has an undeclared bias towards the military.
Over the course of the two years of Sudan’s transitional authority, Egypt has been keen not to alienate the civilian forces in Khartoum. It saw the risks involved in Cairo being perceived as siding with the army. So, while it kept good ties with Lieutenant General Burhan, the head of the Sovereignty Council, it also maintained close relations with Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok. It did not provide the Bashir regime’s remnants with the ammunition they sought by antagonising the civilians in power. Sudan represents more than just a neighbouring country for Egypt. It is one of the most important players affecting Egypt’s national security interests, considering the common land borders that run for more than a thousand kilometres and the importance of the Red Sea as a strategic waterway and the only route to the Suez Canal. In addition, Sudan is the second downstream country, along with Egypt, among the Nile Basin countries. These intertwined factors have led to the view of Sudan as an indispensable vital space for Egypt.
The value of Sudan increased after the fall of the Bashir regime, as it shifted position in the Renaissance Dam crisis, with Khartoum taking a stance closer to Cairo in the dispute with Ethiopia. This shift spared Egypt the risk of being left alone in the face of the intransigence of the Ethiopian government. Sudan has also reaped gains from the development of its relationship with Egypt, in view of the support that its army received from Cairo in the recent operation to recover the Al-Fashqa area, which had been occupied by Ethiopian forces for some twenty-five years.
Improved relations have also meant closer intelligence cooperation in fighting the extremist movements which pose a threat to both countries.
These factors have meant that in the past Egypt has been able exert significant influence in Sudan. Cairo hence quickened its pace of coordination with the Sudanese, regardless of the role of the military or the civilians in power. Cairo modified its way of dealing with Khartoum and has turned towards expanding cooperation. Sudan was no longer perceived as the chronic security problem that it was during Bashir’s rule. It turned into a strategic asset with multiple political, economic and cultural dimensions.
But if the worldview of Egypt changed, it did not totally change in Sudan. There was still a faction that deliberately questioned Egyptian motives. Whenever an initiative that meant closer cooperation or a mediation bid was presented by Cairo, this faction frowned at the prospect of Egypt’s growing influence, which it saw as a threat to its interests. Egypt tried to overcome such hindrances by institutionalising cooperation and diversifying its partners. Furthermore, Cairo did not get involved in Sudan’s crises.
It is necessary for Egypt to now adopt a more reactive stance at the current juncture in Sudan. It should shed its reluctance and hesitation and offer itself as a neutral mediator to find a solution between the military and civil components in Khartoum. It should bear in mind there are regional players which have already launched their own mediation efforts. Waiting until the turmoil settles down or to continue issuing vague statements will only limit Egypt’s influence in the future.

Iran’s expansionist misadventures prompt domestic crises
Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/November 01/2021
While many still see the traditional benchmarks, such as military and security, as being the primary indicators of a nation’s stature and power, this is no longer the case. Today, other indicators, such as sustainable development, good governance, clean energy, fighting climate change, human development, water security and the building of sustainable communities, are equally important.
The world’s nations — particularly those with significant resources — are now divided into two groups regarding these indicators. The nations in the first group have adopted these progressive indicators and integrated them into their policymaking to build a bright future for their citizens. However, those in the second group have refused to acknowledge these progressive indicators, showing negligence toward human development. Their leaders have embraced colonialist projects rather than pursuing forward-looking policies.
Despite being among the richest nations in the region, Iran has failed to pay any attention to vital issues like alleviating socioeconomic problems or transforming itself into a developmental model for other countries. Iran’s woeful standing is even less excusable when one considers that it ranks fourth globally in terms of proven oil reserves, occupies second place worldwide in terms of natural gas reserves, and has a diverse economy, including industry, agriculture and services.
Rather than allocating its vast wealth to building the nation, Iran’s leadership channels much of it toward financing its expansionist projects, leaving the country economically sanctioned and internationally isolated.
As acknowledged by Iranian politicians and military commanders, Tehran allocates a significant percentage of its wealth to funding loyalist paramilitaries in its spheres of influence to spearhead its unsustainable expansionist project.
Mohammed Ali Jafari, the former head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in 2019 boasted that Iran had a 100,000-strong force in Iraq and had deployed 100,000 fighters to Syria. Meanwhile, the current IRGC chief, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, has previously said that Tehran recruited fighters from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Iraq to fight in Syria. Iran also transfers massive quantities of weapons to its proxy militias in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon, including short-range missiles, ballistic missiles and drones.
A study recently published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies showed that, by the end of 2019, Iran was spending nearly $16 billion per year on its proxy militias in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. The study also indicated that Iran pays an additional $700 million per year to the Lebanese Hezbollah. Meanwhile, the UN has estimated that the average funds Iran allocated to Syria since the beginning of the crisis there in 2011 had reached $6 billion per year at the end of 2020. These figures are estimates as Iran conceals the real numbers, fearing widespread anger and possible uprisings if they were to be disclosed.
Meanwhile, as Iran’s wealth is funneled to support its destructive and destabilizing expansionist projects, the Iranian people struggle to survive. Their government fails to present any sustainable model of development or hope for the future in light of the country’s woeful economic situation, skyrocketing unemployment rates and deteriorating living conditions.
Hamid-Reza Haji Babaee, the chairman of the planning and budget committee in the Iranian parliament, revealed this month that nearly half of Iran’s population is enduring unspeakable economic deprivation, with 40 million of its citizens (from a total population of 79.9 million) needing urgent aid and 35 million having to live without steady incomes. In recent years, the number of people living in abject poverty has risen from 26 million to 30 million. According to remarks made by the inspector of the Supreme Assembly of Workers’ Representatives, half the population now lives below the poverty line. As economic and social stresses increase, so does the divorce rate, which is up 28 percent in the past decade.
The consequences of the horrendous living conditions in Iran are numerous and grave, including high rates of embezzlement and bribery. According to the head of Iran’s economic security force, Mohammed Reza Moghimi, the first six months of 2021 alone saw a 61 percent surge in the number of embezzlement cases registered and a 94 percent increase in the number of people involved compared to the first six months of 2020. The number of bribery cases recorded has risen even more, with a staggering rise of 357 percent compared to 2020.
Meanwhile, suicide rates saw a 4.2 percent increase in 2020 compared to 2019, with a weekly average of 15 citizens attempting suicide, according to the Iranian forensic organization.
Also, the numbers of emigrants and would-be emigrants has continued to rise, with the Iranian Medical Council recently announcing that it has received more than 3,000 requests from doctors seeking to emigrate due to the miserable economic conditions and the lack of hope for any upturn. Dr. Ali Jafarian, a lecturer at Iran’s University of Medical Sciences, warned that, if the current trends continue, a tsunami of emigration will engulf the country’s young people and academics.
If Tehran’s leadership was to direct its efforts and Iran’s vast wealth toward building the nation into a thriving modern state and developing its institutions, Tehran could be an enviable model state. If, instead of sponsoring its proxy militias and parallel armies, it were to pour its wealth into developing the country and empowering its people, while observing the principles of good neighborliness and coexistence, it would enjoy vast popularity among its own citizens. Neighboring countries would also be keen to form partnerships, rather than holding onto the mistrust that has overshadowed their relations with Tehran because of the latter’s sectarian interference in their national affairs.
As Iran’s wealth is funneled to support its destructive and destabilizing overseas projects, the Iranian people struggle to survive.
Iran has chosen a path of heedlessness and has shown utter disregard for all the progressive indicators that could turn it into a model state, while preserving the sovereignty, security and cohesion of neighboring countries.
Despite its expenditure of tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars across the region, Iran has failed to create a sustainable or desirable model in any of the states in its spheres of influence, with the peoples of Iraq and Lebanon — the two most important countries in Iran’s expansionist project — protesting against Tehran and its interference. Iraqi voters, especially in the Shiite-majority southern provinces, also dealt a severe blow to Tehran by refusing to vote for the Iranian-affiliated proxy militias.
Iran’s regional and global role — which has caused the country incalculably vast financial and human losses — is now at a crossroads, with new political equations in play, whose protagonists are citizens rejecting Iranian interference. This could well spark game-changing protests inside Iran against the country’s disastrous misadventures overseas, which have come at the expense of the lives and well-being of the Iranian people.
*Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami is Head of the International Institute for Iranian Studies (Rasanah). Twitter: @mohalsulami

US president’s skepticism does not bode well for COP26
Frank Kane/Arab News/November 01/2021
The world leaders arrived, put their heads together, and gave their speeches at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26. But there is a note of skepticism in Glasgow that threatens to derail any potential deal when the final communique comes to be written at the end of next week.
The skepticism does not come just from the activist protesters who have gathered outside the Scottish Exhibition Centre to voice their concerns about climate change. These mainly young people from European countries have taken an ideological stance that will settle for nothing less than a complete ban on what they regard as evil fossil fuels and will not listen to any other argument that contradicts that position.
It comes also from several people you would expect would know better. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was skeptical about the motivation of some of the countries represented at the event, implying that certain unnamed participants were not being sincere in the targets they have set to combat climate change, in terms of net-zero deadlines and new goals in nationally determined contributions. He did not name names.
President Joe Biden showed no such restraint. In a pre-COP26 briefing to media after the G20 failed to come up with anything meaningful on climate change, the US leader called for more action.
“We’ve made significant progress and more has to be done. But it’s going to require us to continue to focus on what Russia’s not doing, what China’s not doing, what Saudi Arabia’s not doing.”
This cynicism about the motivation of fellow participants at COP26 displays a level of ignorance you would not expect from the “leader of the free world.”
For Saudi Arabia’s part, the Kingdom has committed to the most profound change in energy policy in its history. A target of net-zero by 2060 and big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 are radical moves for the biggest oil exporter in the world.
The US president comes to COP26 with big environmental credentials and a leading role in the campaign to control global warming and mitigate climate change.
The Saudi position is much more nuanced than Biden credits it. Of course, as an economy that derives the vast bulk of its gross domestic product from the oil industry, it has to ensure that hydrocarbon revenue keeps flowing in order to guarantee it has the resources to maintain and advance the living standards of citizens and residents.
It also needs that revenue to fund the transition to cleaner forms of fuels that will play a vital role in the future energy mix of the Kingdom. By 2030, oil will not be used anymore in domestic power production, which instead will be fueled by renewable sources like wind and solar and an equal proportion of natural gas. President Biden should know all this. However, the fact that he too adopted a skeptical stance is not surprising. The Biden administration’s stance on energy matters has been cynical ever since he took office. Indebted to the left wing of the Democrat party, he has pursued an environmentally friendly agenda that has kept the shackles on the domestic US energy sector, especially the oil industry.
Despite crude oil prices nearing the $90-a-barrel mark, US shale producers are still not ramping up production. When Biden calls on OPEC+ to increase oil output to get prices lower, he should put his own house in order first by encouraging the domestic industry to get back some of the production they lost in the great pandemic recession of 2020.
The US president comes to COP26 with big environmental credentials and a leading role in the campaign to control global warming and mitigate climate change. A little less skepticism might persuade the rest of the world to follow his lead.
• Frank Kane is an award-winning business journalist based in Dubai.