English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For November 08/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Make My joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves
Letter to the Philippians 02/01-11:”If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 07-08/2021
Amer Fakhoury Foundation Delegation Meets With U.S. Officials in Washington DC
AFF Delegation Discusses Human Rights Violations in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s Heavy Influence on the Country
Al-Rahi Slams 'Some Judges' for 'Impeding Port Probe'
Breakthrough Hopes Low as Arab League Delegation Visits Beirut
Miqati Calls Iraq PM over Assassination Bid as Aoun Deplores Attack
'Cypriot of Lebanese Origin' among 6 to be Tried for Alleged Anti-Israeli Plot
Lebanon among Sponsors of U.N. Draft Condemning Attacks on Journalists
Iran's new policy put to the test in Lebanon and Iraq/Mouafac Harb/The Daily Star/November 07/2021
Amputating Lebanon from the Arab world grants victory to Iran/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/November 08/2021
The European-Biden Partnership Must Stop Its Duplicity and Pretenses/Raghida Dergham/The National/November 07/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 07-08/2021
Biden Seeks Right Balance on Iran Pressure as Talks Resume
Iran Begins Annual War Games ahead of Nuke Talks with West
Iran Urges 'Vigilance' after Drone Attack on Iraqi PM
Iraqi PM survives drone attack on his home, in ‘dramatic escalation’ of tensions
Iraqi PM Survives Assassination Bid with Drones
Iraq PM Kadhemi: Former Spy Chief Facing Uncertain Future
U.S. Condemns Attack on Iraq PM as 'Apparent Act of Terrorism'
Saudi Arabia condemns ‘cowardly terrorist’ act that targeted Iraq’s PM
Arab League delegation meets Sudan’ army chief Burhan, ousted PM Hamdok
Canada withdraws Canadian embassy staff’s dependants and non-essential personnel from Ethiopia
Canada strongly condemns attempted assassination of Iraqi prime minister

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 07-08/2021
The World Food Program and Elon Musk make governments look bad/Omar Al-Ubaydli/Al Arabiya/November 07/2021
Divided America is not noticing Joe Biden's victories/Hussein Ibish/The National/November 07/2021
Harnessing the people’s strength key to Afghanistan’s future/Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/November 08/2021
Turkey toying with idea of new military operation in Syria/Yasar Yakis/Arab News/November 08/2021
Kadhimi must not become another Rafik Hariri/Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/November 08/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 07-08/2021
Amer Fakhoury Foundation Delegation Meets With U.S. Officials in Washington DC
AFF Delegation Discusses Human Rights Violations in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s Heavy Influence on the Country
WASHINGTON, DC/November 07/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/103940/%d8%aa%d8%a7%d8%a8%d8%b9-%d9%85%d8%a4%d8%b3%d9%91%d8%b3%d8%a9-%d8%b9%d8%a7%d9%85%d8%b1-%d9%81%d8%a7%d8%ae%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%aa%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%91%d9%83%d9%87%d8%a7-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a3%d9%85%d9%8a/
Amer Fakhoury Foundation (AFF) visited the US Capitol to discuss human rights violations in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s influence on the government.
The delegation included Fakhoury’s daughters, who co-founded the foundation in his name.
AFF discussed with Ambassador Peterson the violation of human rights under articles 5, 7, and 19 of the universal declaration of human rights.
Throughout these meetings with US government officials, AFF was asked to provide insights to a number of key topics including how the Iran-Hezbollah occupation of Lebanon continues to be core to many of the challenges crippling the physical, societal, and economic safety of Lebanese citizens. AFF was also asked to share further on the details of the physical and mental torture Amer Fakhoury suffered both while in the custody of the Lebanese General Security (LGS) and later while in a military prison. “The linchpin,” one AFF leader shared, “is Hezbollah’s direct involvement, unchallenged influence, and unchecked brutality in both the LGS and military court.”
AFF shared with Congressman Wilson the importance of holding accountable those responsible for the death of Amer Fakhoury. Congressman Wilson extended his full cooperation as the Fakhoury family gets justice for their father. He invited AFF to meet with additional members of congress and share their father’s story. With AFF’s help, legislators are working to drive reviews under the Leahy and Magnitsky Acts as Congress looks at matters of US budgeting for civilian and military aid to Lebanon, accountability, and potential sanctions against Lebanese officials believed culpable or corrupt.
Finally AFF shared the insight of their lawsuit against Iran and stressed the danger of holding an election under the occupation of Iran and the presence of Hezbollah’s militia.
“We look forward to being a part of less torture and the building of a better Lebanon without corrupted officials”
Picture Enclosed: In Washington, AFF met with Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC), Assistant Secretary Ambassador Lisa Peterson from the Department of Human Rights and Labor (DRL), and Deputy Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Gillen from the Special Presidential Envoy for hostages (SPEHA).

Al-Rahi Slams 'Some Judges' for 'Impeding Port Probe'
Naharnet/November 07/2021
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday lamented that "some judges are increasing suspicions over the judiciary by taking part in impeding, suspending or freezing the probe into the port bombing or by questioning the work of the investigative judge."His remarks are apparently targeted against Court of Appeals judge Habib Mezher who on Thursday suspended Judge Tarek Bitar's probe in a controversial move. Mezher is reportedly close to Hizbullah and the Amal Movement, which are both strongly opposed to Bitar's work. "It is a crime when some judges turn the judiciary into partisan and sectarian squares, especially in the port and Ain al-Remmaneh cases," al-Rahi decried in his Sunday Mass sermon. He added: "In the face of the legal violations that we are witnessing, we wonder whether some judges act at the request of some officials, parties and sects." "What's happening regarding the probe into the port bombing is really deplorable: an appeal after an appeal, a recusal request after a recusal request and a suspension after a suspension, as the souls of the martyrs wait, as the families of the martyrs wait and as the world waits," the patriarch went on to say. "Why is there such disregard for the blood of more than 200 victims and 6,000 wounded people, for the destruction of half of Beirut and its suburbs and for the displacement of hundreds of families?" al-Rahi wondered.

Breakthrough Hopes Low as Arab League Delegation Visits Beirut
Naharnet/November 07/2021
An Arab League delegation led by Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki will visit Beirut Monday in a bid to resolve Lebanon's row with the Gulf countries, media reports said. Senior sources meanwhile told the PSP's al-Anbaa news portal that the delegation is not expected to achieve a breakthrough due to "Hizbullah's inflexible stance, which is preventing (Information Minister George) Kordahi from bowing to the desire of (Prime Minister Najib) Miqati," who wants him to resign to "preserve Lebanon's Arab relations." France, which supports Miqati and rejects the government's resignation, has meanwhile failed to ease the stern Saudi and Gulf stance on Lebanon, the sources added. MP Ali Darwish of Miqati's parliamentary bloc for his part told al-Anbaa that "Miqati's behind-the-scenes domestic and foreign contacts" are what led to the Arab League delegation's visit to Lebanon.
The delegation will seek to "lower the levek of tension and start working for a settlement," Darwish added.

Miqati Calls Iraq PM over Assassination Bid as Aoun Deplores Attack
Naharnet/November 07/2021
President Michel Aoun on Sunday condemned the dawn assassination attempt against Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, saying it is targeted against "stability and security in Iraq and the efforts that are being exerted to boost Iraqi national unity."Prime Minister Najib Miqati meanwhile held phone talks with Kadhemi to congratulate him on his safety, wishing Iraq "continous security and stability." Lebanon's Foreign Ministry also said that it strongly condemns the attack.

'Cypriot of Lebanese Origin' among 6 to be Tried for Alleged Anti-Israeli Plot
Agence France Presse/November 07/2021
Six people will stand trial in Cyprus on December 6 for allegedly plotting to attack Israeli businesspeople on the Mediterranean island, police said. The case prompted Israel to accuse Iran of plotting "terror" attacks against its citizens in Cyprus. The six face charges of conspiracy to murder, participation in a criminal organization, terrorism, illegal possession of firearms and circulating fake documents. Although police have not identified the suspects, four are said to be food delivery drivers from Pakistan and a Cypriot of Lebanese origin, according to local media. The case reportedly began with the late September arrest of another suspect, an "Azeri national" hitman according to local media, found with a pistol and silencer in his car. On Friday, a Nicosia district court decided to refer the case to trial before the criminal court next month. The trial is expected to be held behind closed doors for security reasons, and the six will remain in police custody until then. The alleged hitman was arrested on September 27 while crossing from the Turkish occupied north through a Nicosia checkpoint, where police officers intercepted him after being tipped off. Other arrests came in the following weeks after police accessed the main suspect's telecommunications data. A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in early October: "I can clarify on behalf of the security establishment, that this was an act of terror that was orchestrated by Iran against Israeli businesspeople living in Cyprus."Cyprus police chief Stelios Papatheodorou has said there was evidence before the court to prove a plot and a conspiracy to commit crimes in "this serious case.""There is testimony that leads the police to file a criminal prosecution against the suspects," he told reporters.

Lebanon among Sponsors of U.N. Draft Condemning Attacks on Journalists
Associated Press/November 07/2021
A proposed U.N. resolution would "unequivocally" condemn all attacks, reprisals and violence against journalists and media workers and urge governments to take action to end the prevailing impunity and punish these crimes. The draft General Assembly resolution circulated Friday also urges "the immediate and unconditional release of journalists and media workers who have been arbitrarily arrested, arbitrarily detained or taken hostage or who have become victims of enforced disappearances."The resolution was drafted by Greece, France, Austria, Costa Rica and Tunisia, according to U.N. diplomats, and lists 34 co-sponsors including the United Kingdom, Germany and many other European and Latin American countries as well as the Ivory Coast and Lebanon. The United States was not included on the list, but an official at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations told The Associated Press the Biden administration has signed on as a co-sponsor. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly. The draft resolution must first be approved by the General Assembly's human rights committee and it then needs final approval from the 193-member world body. Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they do reflect global opinion. The proposed resolution stresses that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It recognizes the importance of "free, independent, plural and diverse media and access to information, online as well as offline, in building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies." And it acknowledges that journalism is continuously evolving and "contributing to the shaping of public debate."The draft calls on governments to take legal measures to protect journalists and media workers and to "do their utmost" to prevent violence, threats and attacks against them. And it calls on them "to develop and implement effective and transparent legal frameworks and measures for the protection of journalists and media workers and for combating impunity."
It stresses the importance of accountability, first by conducting "impartial, speedy, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, including sexual and gender-based violence against women journalists and media workers in armed conflict and non-conflict situations."The proposed resolution also urges political leaders, public officials, and government authorities "to refrain from denigrating, intimidating or threatening the media, including individual journalists and media workers, or from using misogynist or any discriminatory language towards women journalists, which thereby undermines trust in the credibility of journalists as well as respect for the importance of independent journalism." In addition, the draft would condemn "unequivocally" government actions aimed at disrupting access to information -- or the dissemination of information -- online or offline. This aims "to undermine the work of journalists in informing the public, including through practices such as Internet shutdowns or measures to unduly restrict, block or take down media websites, such as denial of service attacks," it says. The proposed resolution calls on all countries to halt such measures "which cause irreparable harm" to efforts to build inclusive, peaceful and democratic societies. It also calls on governments to ensure that defamation and libel laws are not misused.

Iran's new policy put to the test in Lebanon and Iraq
Mouafac Harb/The Daily Star/November 07/2021
The way Iran will approach the results of the upcoming Iraqi and Lebanese parliamentary elections through their allies will signal whether Tehran will pursue a more assertive foreign policy or a reconciliatory one with Arab and Western capitals.
For years, Iran watchers tried to read between the lines in order to understand the real policies of the spiritual guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds absolute power, and conflicting statements by the official policy of the Islamic Republic articulated by the elected president and his foreign minister. The election of President Ebrahim Raisi, who is close to the spiritual guide and known to be a hard-liner domestically and internationally, will make this distinction between the spiritual guide and the president almost non-existing. So for the first time the game played by Iran to determine who is a moderate and who is a hawk is no longer viable.
This harmony between the presidency and the spiritual guide will shift to the rivalry between the IRCG and the Iranian Intelligence Ministry, Itilaat. Lebanon is known to fall under the direct influence of IRCG's Quds Brigade, while in Iraq Itilaat is more active especially after the assassination of the iconic Quds Brigade leader Gen. Qasem Soleimani in an American raid. Hence, the conflicting signals coming from Tehran to their various proxies and allies in Iraq.
Lebanon is less complicated. Tehran has one trusted ally that complies with the overall Iranian agenda and provides it with a domestic Lebanese external shell that would make Hezbollah appear as a local player defending Lebanese interests. It is obvious that the new Raisi administration wants to consolidate Iranian gains in the region while it is negotiating with Western powers and trying to mend relations with Arab Gulf countries, which are constantly worried by Iranians subversion activities.
In Iraq, Tehran may wish to see a change in the premiership following the parliamentary election this month. Reports coming from Baghdad reveal that Tehran prefers to see a new prime minister closer to its evolving agenda and has already conveyed this message to its close allies. Following the assassination of Soleimani, Itilaat gained more leverage in Baghdad, but with Raisi now on top of the Iranian government, Tehran wants to see a change. Iraqis who maintain good relations with Iran are feeling that the IRCG is reclaiming its influence in Tehran.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah appears to be more public and open about its intentions and pursuing a no-glove attitude. For years, Hezbollah tried to maintain a political posture as a protector and preserving the resistance against Israel. Recently, Hezbollah is meddling in an open manner with domestic politics. The recent expression of dissatisfaction of Judge Tarek Bitar, investigating the Beirut Port explosion, and the import of Iranian fuel into Lebanon are clear signals that Hezbollah is shifting from being influential behind the scenes into telling the world who is calling the shots in Beirut.
Lebanon, who is facing a severe economic crisis, is expected to hold parliamentary elections and embark on tough negotiations with the World Bank and IMF to secure needed loans. In both events Hezbollah has its own views and wants to make sure that the outcome of both processes would not jeopardize its influence in Lebanon. With Washington and NATO out of Afghanistan and the US reducing its military presence in Iraq and the Gulf region, Iran may feel it can negotiate with less pressure from the days when the US military was at its borders.
The looming threat is what Israel sees as an acceptable level of uranium enrichment by Iran. To what extent would Israel be willing to tolerate Iran's nuclear moves before carrying its bombing threat?
The next few months are going to be key in the negotiations between Iran and the Western powers with each side holding tight to its demands and negotiating cards.
Mouafac Harb is a veteran American-Lebanese journalist based in Beirut. He contributes a weekly column in The Daily Star.

Amputating Lebanon from the Arab world grants victory to Iran
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/November 08/2021
The dismissive retort of Lebanon’s ridiculous Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib to GCC proposals for addressing the latest crisis was: “If they just want Hezbollah’s head on a plate, we can’t give them that.” Healso ludicrously blamed Saudi Arabia for Hezbollah flooding the Gulf states with narcotics. Such was BouHabib’s volley of abuse that he may need to serve up his own head on a plate if there is to be any hope of salvaging this shattered relationship.
The logic of abandoning Hezbollah and Lebanon to drown together, as advocated by some Arab opinion leaders, may appear seductive. However, this would be disastrously counterproductive. Gaza was abandoned to Hamas; the economy collapsed and people starved, but Hamas entrenched its monopoly. Gulf states disassociated themselves from post-2003 Iraq, surrendering it to Tehran. Arab abandonment of Syria rendered it a hellish playground for Iranian-Hezbollah-Russian interests. Lebanon would be the cherry on the cake for Iranian dominance of the Arab world. And once it is given away, wresting it back will be no easy feat.
Hezbollah is Tehran’s Trojan horse for colonizing the Arab world. We must dismantle it, not welcome it in. The Houthis in Yemen thrived thanks to Hezbollah training and support. Hezbollah waded through a river of Syrian Arab blood to maintain Tehran’s puppet in power, with Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassim now threatening to send additional Hezbollah forces back to Syria. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is the idol of thousands of bearded Hashd thugs in Iraq — and after their recent electoral wipeout, Tehran wants Hezbollah to play an even more direct role.
The international community is wrong to consider Lebanon in isolation. In the context of escalating stakes in Iran’s game of nuclear brinkmanship, Hezbollah is just one of the cards in Tehran’s efforts to dominate the region, buttressed by nuclear and ballistic weapons. If we are to abandon Lebanon, we may as well go the whole way and recognise Ayatollah Khamenei as Supreme Leader over the entire region.
Iran and Hezbollah made inroads only because of the eclipse of Arab nationalism — the belief that Arabs should stand together locally and on the world stage. From Jerusalem to Sanaa, from Baghdad to Beirut, we should treat every inch of Arab territory as sacrosanct and worth fighting for, particularly when UN institutions, international law and multilateral forums are under sustained attack. Every scrap of territory we relinquish only makes our enemies hungry for more. With the Arab world’s mighty collective resources, the challenges posed by tiny Lebanon and hostile Iranian encroachment should be well within our capabilities. Let’s not rip our own heart out. The Arab world without Beirut — without the Lebanon of Khalil Gibran, Mikhail Naimy, Fairuz — is inconceivable. Generations of Khaleejis flocked to Lebanon and fell in love with the country and its people, which is why so many are blessed with Lebanese mothers! The largely Kuwaiti-owned town of Bhamdoun, near Beirut, is a microcosm of this seamless Lebanese-Khaleej relationship. Generations of Arabs were raised on Lebanese films and TV, art, music, poetry, and boundless creativity.
Lebanon’s cultural renaissance since the civil war was achieved thanks to vast GCC investment. Its economy thrived thanks to millions of Arab visitors every year, with tens of billions of dollars of investment in banking, telecoms, media, infrastructure, culture and the military. Diaspora remittances amount to about $7 billion a year, $2.2 billion from Saudi Arabia alone, and Lebanese assets in Saudi Arabia are worth about $100billion. Eighty percent of Lebanese fruit and vegetable exports went to Saudi Arabia until Nasrallah turned Lebanon into a narco state.
This is not about gratitude, but rather a hard-headed understanding of the foundations of Lebanon’s past and future prosperity. The transformation into an Iranian appendage was always fated to fail. Aside from lavishing funds on Hezbollah, would — or could — Tehran supply the merest fraction of Gulf investment in Lebanon? The trickle of Iranian tourists encouraged by Hezbollah have minuscule spending power compared with their Gulf predecessors.
Other than in Houthi-land, where George Kordahi is hailed a hero (his family must be so proud!) Lebanon’s hapless information minister is a nobody who once had a lucky break via a Saudi TV channel. The problem is infinitely larger than his bigoted views. Virulent anti-Gulf propaganda has been pumped out for decades by Al-Manar and dozens of other Iran-sponsored Beirut media channels. The damage is entirely to Lebanon, cutting off its nose to spite its face in gratuitous self-mutilation against Lebanon’s Arab identity.
GCC political leaders and intellectuals I speak to aren’t so much angry as puzzled and saddened. They have lifelong ties with Lebanon and instinctively desire to help. But how can you assist someone who is destroying themselves and doesn’t want to be rescued?
Lebanon’s criminal leaders are beyond redemption (not just Hezbollah – kullun!), but Lebanon’s citizens — Christian, Shiite, Druze, Sunni — are Arab to the bone. They know where their interests lie. They know what severing ties with the Arab world has cost them. They all have brothers, uncles, sons in Gulf and Arab states, and so retain intimate material and emotional connections to the Arab world.
Lebanon is drowning but it is not lost. Particularly with elections just months away and a vigorous upswell of progressive anti-sectarian independents arising from the 2019 movement, there is everything to play for. Hashd electoral losses in Iraq demonstrate how public anger can be translated into political losses for Iranian proxies. In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s political dominance is wholly reliant upon hollowed-out Christian factions whose support base has cratered.
Lebanese citizens who lost everything are desperately looking for a savior. Arab states can use the elections to toss Lebanon a lifeline. If citizens elect new and non-discredited leaders who can marginalize Hezbollah then the GCC will fully re-engage, while also encouraging international donors such as the IMF to refloat the economy. This is a vision that every patriotic Lebanese citizen can rally around, simultaneously giving them a reason to participate in the democratic process, providing an exit route from their hellish situation, and sweeping aside these ridiculous, hated figures who have dominated Lebanese politics for decades too long. The Lebanese Arab nation today is held hostage, with Hassan Nasrallah pointing a gun to her head. Will the Arab world hasten to Lebanon’s rescue? *Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

The European-Biden Partnership Must Stop Its Duplicity and Pretenses
Raghida Dergham/The National/November 07/2021
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Proudly wearing an Iranian cloak, Europe has enchanted the US president, who has bound himself to the cause of lobbying the continent and NATO behind his vision for transatlantic political and security partnership against myriad major challenges led by China. President Joe Biden is deferring to the scattered leaders of Europe, following their lead instead of them following his, in what is an unusual shift in the dynamic of Euro-American relations. Yet this could be a blip in the long-term relations between the two sides, because it would be difficult to imagine the US sitting in the backseat of a car driven by a continent fragmented in its economy, policy, wealth, and resources. But Europe has lost the moral compass of the values it once claimed to have, seeing its relations with Iran as leverage with the Biden administration. The continent’s main powers have decided their interests are best served by caving to Iran, even as it tramples the sovereignty and dignity of countries of whom Europe claims to be a friend, led by Lebanon. The danger of this European duplicity requires the Vatican to exceptionally intervene and help stop the terrifying political, humanitarian, and legal deterioration in Lebanon, which has fallen into the same Iranian hands that Europe’s leaders are kissing today. Only the Vatican can influence the European powers, President Biden, and even Russia, as well as the Arab countries’ and Lebanon’s powerful actors to rescue the country from Iranian designs, enabled by Russia, China, the US, and Europe all for the sake of the nuclear negotiations.
It is clear now that the P5+1 countries (the US, China, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany) have fully agreed to Iran’s conditions that categorically oppose any discussion of its regional behavior in the Vienna talks seeking to revive the JCPOA. The European powers are still hoping to convince Iran’s leaders to discuss the long-range ballistic missile program, but not the short and intermediate range missiles that they do not care much for. However, the European leaders have no intention to insist on any discussion of Iran’s regional behavior, despite its threat to other countries’ sovereignty.
The moral duplicity of Europe’s leaders has been laid bare in Lebanon, including through their public positions on Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. Ultimately, Tehran is the main force behind Hezbollah’s seizure of the levers of the Lebanese state and its siege upon its judiciary. The verbal concern feigned by Europe or any support expressed by it is nothing but a political lie, as long as the European leaders yield – and convince Washington to yield – to Tehran’s negotiating diktats and blackmail, and insistence on rejecting any linkage between the Vienna nuclear talks and Iran’s regional policies.
On the ground, the European powers and Biden’s team have pledged that neither them nor the Biden administration will compromise on their nuclear priority, that their stances on Iran’s regional policies will not got beyond verbal maligning, and that they will not push back against them as long as the nuclear talks continue. In other words, any deal with Iran will not be exclusively a nuclear deal but will also be a regional deal: As long as the nuclear talks continue – even if they were to last years – the European leaders and the Biden administration will not meddle with Iran’s regional project, no matter the cost, because they have voluntarily become hostage to Iranian extortion.
The Biden administration has agreed to re-launch talks with Iran in Vienna on 29 November. The JCPOA may be revived before the year ends and serve as a farewell present to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her absolute determination to appease Iran for the sake of the deal. The negotiations may accelerate, due to this and Tehran’s need for the sanctions to be lifted and Europe’s rush to benefit from the windfall. Or they may prove thorny and last longer than Biden and his team want them to. But because he is in a rush, Joe Biden may make further concessions, with the encouragement of Merkel, who wants to add this achievement to her legacy as she leaves office by the end of the year.
Mr Biden discussed the Iranian question with his European counterparts in Rome and Glasgow in the past two weeks in light of two key developments: First, the result of US local elections, which carried a message of popular resentment against the Democrats and President Biden, alerting them to the need to refocus their attention on the domestic arena. Subsequently, the administration, already enamored with Europe, has decided the time has come to fully turn the page on the hostility shown by former President Trump to the continent, by caving to European demands instead of pursuing an independent front against Iran. Second, the Biden administration believes that reaching a deal with Iran will give it a precious foreign policy win that will efface its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, otherwise foreign policy developments would continue to greatly damage the president’s agenda.
These trends in the US however are causing resentment not just among Republicans but also Democrats over Joe Biden’s lack of strategic thinking and firm positions and focus on tactical steps. There are concerns that Joe Biden has no opinions of his own and that he is too impressionable, easily influenced by the last person in the room, evidenced by his deference to European pressures. All this suggests there is a serious struggle within the US leadership, where some quarters believe Biden’s surrender to European pressures strengthen Iran’s hands in the nuclear talks and in the region, leaving America at a loss and Iran in a winning position at both levels.
The Biden administration’s appeasement of Iran and the Europeans does not constitute a policy. Rushing to close off the Iranian question without a vision or strategy, while turning a blind eye to Iran’s actions in the region, is a dangerous policy, responsibility for which the Europeans intend to avoid and dump on Washington. In other words, the European powers want to turn the problem into an American-Iranian one, having realized that they are weak and toothless states whose only leverage is the ability to pressure Joe Biden and his administration.
Some in Washington have started to resist the European aggressive lobbying on behalf of Iran, which has exploited the emerging Bidenism, undermining US interests and giving Iran a blank check to assail Arab countries. The US military establishment is not satisfied with the performance of the Biden administration and its tactics yet is unwilling to give the Gulf region on a silver latter to Iran. The Republican Party also has started scrutinizing some of the policies of the Biden administration vis-à-vis the region’s crises, which have given the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hezbollah instruments to dominate countries, such as Lebanon.
Even Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who came to power with Hezbollah’s consent to lead a government dominated by the Lebanese militant party, is fed up of the obstructionism and unilateralism being unleashed on his government from “within”, and is pushing back against “interference by the cabinet in the work of the judiciary” pursued by Hezbollah and Amal, the Shia Duo\. Mikati is a prime minister who cannot even convince a rogue minister to put the national interest above his arrogance, refusing to resign or backtrack on his positions against Saudi Arabia and the UAE, or even his ignorant views on Yemen. George Kordahi has taken the country and government hostage on behalf of Hezbollah and its allies in the Marada Movement and the Syrian regime, exactly because he knows that no European state will object and that the Biden administration will not come to Lebanon’s rescue against Iran. The Biden administration has after all decided that handing over a small country like Lebanon to Iran is an acceptable price to pay for the sake of the deal with Iran. But neither the Biden administration nor the European powers have a right to sacrifice a country for the sake of their policies and interests, or to cover up their weakness and their betrayal of their own values. Let them negotiate with Iran on its nuclear program and reject including Iran’s malign regional activities but they have no authority to enable Iran and its proxies to spread destruction in Lebanon and elsewhere. It is time to expose the direct link between the nuclear negotiations and the blank check given by Europe and the Biden administration to Iran, by adopting cowardly positions to safeguard the Vienna talks, and giving Iran the time it needs to complete its insidious projects. Once again, Lebanon has no savior but the Vatican. Here, we do not mean prayers but a serious initiative towards Washington and the European capitals, even if just to instill a little sense of shame in their policies.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 07-08/2021
Biden Seeks Right Balance on Iran Pressure as Talks Resume
Agence France Presse/November 07/2021
With nuclear talks set to resume this month with Iran, an increasingly skeptical U.S. President Joe Biden is seeking the right balance between threats and incentives to bring Tehran back into compliance with a 2015 deal. Iran has agreed to resume talks on November 29 with world powers after a five-month gap to salvage the agreement in which it promised to scale back nuclear work drastically in return for economic relief. Much has changed since the talks broke off in June, notably Iran's election of an ultraconservative president, Ebrahim Raisi. During the break, Iran has kept pursuing its nuclear work, leading even Western supporters of the 2015 accord to warn that the deal could become useless due to Tehran's advances. "The Biden administration has to walk a fine line between demonstrating to Iran that Tehran will benefit from sanctions relief if the deal is restored, while not giving in to Iranian leverage," said Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association. "The United States cannot reward Iran for continuing to violate the nuclear deal," she said, while adding that the Biden administration also needs to show "concrete and immediate benefits." Biden entered the talks in Vienna -- held indirectly, with Iran refusing direct meetings with U.S. envoy Rob Malley -- in hopes of a quick revival of the agreement from which former president Donald Trump withdrew the United States. Trump slapped sweeping sanctions on Iran, including a unilateral ban on its oil exports, leading Iran to move away from its commitments.
Call for assurances
In one key point of friction, Iran is seeking a lifting of all sanctions while the Biden administration says the only measures on the table are those imposed by Trump over the nuclear program when exiting the deal. But the task is not simple as the Trump administration in its final months duplicated many sanctions on Iran, so measures taken over nuclear work are also in force over other concerns. Iran, for its part, wants a guarantee that the United States will maintain its commitments -- an unlikely promise for Biden, whose rivals in Trump's Republican Party have made no secret that they would shift course if they win back the White House in 2024. Biden, nonetheless, appeared to hint at such a promise in a joint statement Saturday on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Rome with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany -- nations that, along with Russia and China, remain part of the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The three European leaders said they "welcome President Biden's clearly demonstrated commitment to return the US to full compliance with the JCPOA and to stay in full compliance, so long as Iran does the same."Russia's ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, called Biden's pledge "a significant step towards assurances and guarantees Iran is looking for."
- War threats -
But Western nations have increasingly questioned whether Raisi, as well as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, are interested in maintaining the accord and will watch carefully in Vienna to see how Iran negotiates. In a sharp shift in tone last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States had "all options" available as he sat next to Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who openly warned of a military attack. In an opinion piece that drew wide notice, Dennis Ross, a veteran Middle East adviser to Democratic presidents, said that the United States needed to keep the threat of war on the table for successful negotiations. "If the United States wants to reduce the risk of a conflict and give diplomacy a chance to succeed, the Biden administration is going to have to restore Iran's fear of a US reaction and apply pressure far more effectively," he wrote in Foreign Policy. Adam Schiff, a Democrat who heads the House intelligence committee, warned in an appearance this week that Congress could reimpose sanctions if Iran does not budge. Davenport, however, said there was no military solution and that there was fatigue on sanctions, with China unlikely to cut back on its oil purchases from Iran. If Iran will not return to compliance, Biden could instead pursue a short-term deal that includes modest sanctions relief for a freeze on sensitive activities, she said. "The United States has other options, but none of them are good," she said.

Iran Begins Annual War Games ahead of Nuke Talks with West
Associated Press/November 07/2021
Iran's military began its annual war games in a coastal area of the Gulf of Oman, state TV reported Sunday, less than a month before upcoming nuclear talks with the West. The report said navy and air force units as well as ground forces were participating in a more than 1 million square-kilometer area east of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.Nearly 20% of all oil shipping passes through the strait to the Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean. The drill comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. in the wake of former President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal of America from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. State TV said brigades including commandos and airborne infantry deployed for the annual exercise. Fighter jets, helicopters, military transport aircraft, submarines and drones were also expected to take part in the drill. It wasn't immediately clear how long the exercise would last.
Dubbed "Zolfaghar-1400," the war games are aimed at "improving readiness in confronting foreign threats and any possible invasion," state TV said. U.S. officials said last week that Iran had seized a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman last month and was still holding the vessel in its port. Iran offered conflicting accounts of what happened, claiming that elite Revolutionary Guard commandos had thwarted a U.S. seizure of a tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Gulf of Oman and freed the vessel. It aired dramatic footage on state television but did not further explain the incident. The nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, promises Iran economic incentives in exchange for limits on its nuclear program, and is meant to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb. After the U.S. withdrew from the deal in 2018 and restored sanctions on Iran, the Islamic Republic gradually — and publicly — abandoned the deal's limits on its nuclear development. Iran says its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium has reached over 210 kilograms (463 pounds), the latest defiant move ahead of upcoming nuclear talks with the West. Under the historic nuclear deal, Iran was prohibited from enriching uranium above 3.67%. Enriched uranium above 90% can be used for nuclear weapons, though Tehran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. After months of delays, the European Union, Iran and the U.S. announced last week that indirect talks to resuscitate the deal would resume Nov. 29 in Vienna.

Iran Urges 'Vigilance' after Drone Attack on Iraqi PM
Agence France Presse/November 07/2021
Iran on Sunday said it condemned a drone attack targeting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi and urged "vigilance to foil plots aimed at the security and development" of his country. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh directed blame at the United States, which led the 2003 invasion of Iraq and toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, kicking off years of sectarian conflict. "Such incidents are in the interest of those who have violated the stability, security, independence and territorial integrity of Iraq over the past 18 years," said Khatibzadeh. "They have sought to achieve their sinister regional goals by creating terrorist groups that seek to cause sedition," he added. The overnight drone attack, which was not immediately claimed, was the first to target the residence of Kadhemi, in power since May 2020, who was not harmed. It comes at a time when political parties are negotiating to form parliamentary coalitions based on the preliminary results of October 10 legislative elections.

Iraqi PM survives drone attack on his home, in ‘dramatic escalation’ of tensions
The Arab Weekly/November 07/2021
BAGHDAD--Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi survived an assassination attempt with armed drones that targeted his residence early Sunday. The attack was a major escalation amid tensions sparked by the refusal of Iran-backed militias to accept last month’s parliamentary election results.Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said he was unhurt and appealed for “calm and restraint” after the drone attack on his residence. The attack in Baghdad’s Green Zone was the first to target the residence of Kadhimi, who has been in power since May 2020. It came as Iraq’s political parties negotiate alliances over who will run the next government after elections last month. “The assassination attempt is a dramatic escalation, crossing a line in unprecedented fashion that may have violent reverberations,” wrote Ranj Alaaldin, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, in a post on Twitter. That October vote saw the Conquest (Fatah) Alliance, the political arm of the pro-Iran Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary network, suffer a substantial decline in its parliamentary seats, leading the group to denounce the outcome as “fraud”. The big winner, with more than 70 seats according to the initial count, was the movement of Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shia Muslim cleric who campaigned as a nationalist and critic of Iran although not a nemesis of Tehran. No group has yet claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack, which left two bodyguards wounded, according to a security source. Gunfire sounded and smoke was seen rising from the Green Zone area after the strike. Photos issued by Kadhimi’s office showed debris strewn on the ground below a damaged exterior stairway and a door that had been dislodged. In a tweet, Kadhimi called “for calm and restraint on the part of everyone for the good of Iraq”. “My residence has been the target of a cowardly assault. Praise God, I am fine and so are those who work with me,” he then said in a short video shared on social media. His office described the attack as a “failed assassination attempt”.
“Apparent act of terrorism”
The United States, which has around 2,500 troops in the country, said it was “relieved to learn the Prime Minister was unharmed”. “This apparent act of terrorism, which we strongly condemn, was directed at the heart of the Iraqi state,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said. The US had offered assistance to Iraqi security forces investigating the strike, he added in a statement. Iraq’s President Barham Salih, who holds a largely ceremonial role, said the attack “requires a united position in confronting the evil actors trying to mess with this country’s security and the safety of its people. “We cannot accept dragging Iraq into chaos and to a coup against the constitutional system.”A large number of security forces were deployed in and around the Green Zone, which also hosts the US embassy and is frequently targeted by rocket attacks. On October 31, three rockets hit in Mansour, a neighbouring district, without causing any injuries. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) joined Kadhimi’s call for restraint. It said it “strongly encourages all sides to take responsibility for de-escalation and to engage in dialogue to ease political tensions, upholding the national interest of Iraq”.The influential cleric Sadr said the attack was “against Iraq and the Iraqi people”.
Mounting tensions
It came during a period of soaring tensions over the results of the October 10 elections, the fifth since the 2003 US-led invasion ousted dictator Saddam Hussein with the elusive promise of bringing freedom and democracy. Hundreds of Hashed supporters clashed with police on Friday while protesting near the Green Zone to vent their fury over the preliminary result. One protester died of injuries in hospital, according to a security source, while a Hashed source said two demonstrators were killed. Several hundred supporters of pro-Iranian groups returned to the Green Zone on Saturday to protest, and some burned a portrait of the prime minister, whom they called a “criminal”. Some of the leaders of the most powerful militia factions loyal to Iran openly blamed Kadhimi for Friday’s clashes and the protester’s death and issued thinly-veiled threats. “The blood of martyrs will hold you accountable,” said Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, addressing al-Kadhimi at a funeral held for the protester Saturday. “The protesters only had one demand against fraud in elections. Responding like this (with live fire) means you are the first responsible for this fraud.”The pro-Hashed protests are aimed at strengthening its negotiating position during the coalition bargaining process, Iraqi political analyst Ihsan al-Shamari has said. According to initial tallies, the Conquest won around 15 of the 329 seats in parliament, down from the 48 it held previously, which made it the second-largest bloc. Final election results are expected within weeks. Kadhimi brought forward the ballot, originally planned for next year, in a concession to anti-government protests over endemic corruption, the influence of Iran, unemployment and failing public services in the oil-rich but poverty-stricken country. Activists accuse the Hashed’s armed forces — whose 160,000 fighters are now nominally integrated into Iraq’s state security forces — of being beholden to Iran and acting as an instrument of oppression against critics. Other drone attacks in Iraq have occurred over the last few months particularly against American interests. Officials in the United States allege Iran has supplied drones used in attacks by its allies around the Middle East. In late October the Treasury Department sanctioned Brigadier General Saeed Aghajani, who leads the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Command. Kadhimi, 54, was Iraq’s former intelligence chief before becoming prime minister in May last year. He is considered by the pro-Iran militias to be close to the US, and has tried to balance between Iraq’s alliances with both the US and Iran.

Iraqi PM Survives Assassination Bid with Drones
Associated Press/November 07/2021
Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi survived an assassination attempt with armed drones that targeted his residence early Sunday and officials said he was unharmed. The attack was a major escalation amid tensions sparked by the refusal of Iran-backed militias to accept last month's parliamentary election results. Two Iraqi officials told The Associated Press that seven of al-Kadhimi's security guards were injured in the attack with two armed drones which occurred in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone area. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give official statements. "I am fine and among my people. Thank God," the prime minister tweeted shortly after the attack. He called for calm and restraint, "for the sake of Iraq." He later appeared on Iraqi television, seated behind a desk in a white shirt, looking calm and composed. "Cowardly rocket and drone attacks don't build homelands and don't build a future," he said.
In a statement, the government said an explosives-laden drone tried to hit al-Kadhimi's home. Residents of Baghdad heard the sound of an explosion followed by heavy gunfire from the direction of the Green Zone, which houses foreign embassies and government offices. The statement released by state-run media said security forces were "taking the necessary measures in connection with this failed attempt."There was no immediate claim for the attack. It comes amid a stand-off between security forces and pro-Iran Shiite militias whose supporters have been camped outside the Green Zone for nearly a month after they rejected the results of Iraq's parliamentary elections in which they lost around two-thirds of their seats. "The assassination attempt is a dramatic escalation, crossing a line in unprecedented fashion that may have violent reverberations," wrote Ranj Alaaldin, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, in a post on Twitter. Protests turned deadly Friday when the demonstrators tried to enter the Green Zone. Security forces used tear gas and live ammunition. There was an exchange of fire in which one protester affiliated with the militias was killed. Dozens of security forces were injured. Al-Khadimi ordered an investigation to determine what sparked the clashes and who violated orders not to open fire. Some of the leaders of the most powerful militia factions loyal to Iran openly blamed al-Kadhimi for Friday's clashes and the protester's death.
"The blood of martyrs is to hold you accountable," said Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, addressing al-Kadhimi at a funeral held for the protester Saturday. "The protesters only had one demand against fraud in elections. Responding like this (with live fire) means you are the first responsible for this fraud." The funeral was attended by leaders of the mostly Shiite Iran-backed factions who together are known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic. Abu Alaa al-Walae, commander of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, in a tweet apparently addressed to al-Kadhimi that did not name him told him to forget about another term. Al-Kadhimi, 54, was Iraq's former intelligence chief before becoming prime minister in May last year. He is considered by the militias to be close to the U.S., and has tried to balance between Iraq's alliances with both the U.S. and Iran. Prior to the elections, he hosted several rounds of talks between regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia in Baghdad in a bid to ease regional tensions. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's national security council, said indirectly in a tweet Sunday that the United States was behind the attack. The assault on al-Kadhimi "is a new sedition that must be traced back to foreign think tanks, which have brought nothing but insecurity, discord & instability to oppressed Iraqi people through creation & support of terrorist groups & occupation of this country for years," he said. The U.S. strongly denounced the attack.
"This apparent act of terrorism, which we strongly condemn, was directed at the heart of the Iraqi state," said State Department spokesperson Ned Price. "We are in close touch with the Iraqi security forces charged with upholding Iraq's sovereignty and independence and have offered our assistance as they investigate this attack," he added.
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi also condemned the assassination attempt. Writing on Facebook, he called on all sides in Iraq to "calm down, renounce violence and join forces to preserve the country's stability." Saudi Arabia issued a statement of support for stability in Iraq and said it strongly condemned the "cowardly terrorist attack that targeted Iraq's prime minister."The United States, the U.N. Security Council and others have praised the Oct. 10 election, which was mostly violence-free and without major technical glitches.
But following the vote, militia supporters pitched tents near the Green Zone, rejecting the election results and threatening violence unless their demands for a recount were met. The unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud have cast a shadow over the vote. The standoff with the militia supporters has also increased tensions among rival Shiite factions that could spill into violence and threaten Iraq's newfound relative stability. The election was held months ahead of schedule in response to mass protests in late 2019, which saw tens of thousands in Baghdad and predominantly Shiite southern provinces rally against endemic corruption, poor services and unemployment. They also protested against the heavy-handed interference of neighboring Iran in Iraq's affairs through Iran-backed militias. The militias lost some popularity since the 2018 vote, when they made big election gains. Many hold them responsible for suppressing the 2019 protests, and for challenging the state's authority. The biggest gains were made by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who won the largest number of parliament seats, 73 out of 329. While he maintains good relations with Iran, al-Sadr publicly opposes external interference in Iraq's affairs.

Iraq PM Kadhemi: Former Spy Chief Facing Uncertain Future
Agence France Presse/November 07/2021
Iraq's prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi -- who survived an assassination attempt on Sunday -- is a former spy chief and skilled negotiator who faces an uncertain future following last month's legislative elections. Kadhemi, who headed Iraq's National Intelligence Service (INIS), took the reins in May last year after parliament granted his cabinet a vote of confidence, capping weeks of horse-trading over ministerial positions. Born in Baghdad in 1967, he studied law in Iraq but then left for Europe to escape repressive dictator Saddam Hussein, working as an opposition journalist. After the U.S.-led 2003 invasion toppled Hussein, Kadhemi returned to help launch the Iraqi Media Network, archived crimes of the former regime at the Iraqi Memory Foundation and worked as a human rights advocate. But he made an unusual career jump in 2016, when then-PM Haider al-Abadi handpicked him to head the INIS at the height of the war against the Islamic State jihadist group. It was there, sources close to Kadhemi say, that he formed his uniquely close links with top players of key nations including in Washington, London and closer to home. "He's got a pragmatic mindset, relationships with all the key players on the Iraqi scene and good ties with the Americans -- and he was recently able to put his ties to the Iranians back on track," a political source and friend told AFP. The former journalist has a particularly close friendship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In footage from a visit to Riyadh after his appointment, the Saudi royal could be seen warmly embracing Kadhemi. But the clean-shaven man, his closely trimmed hair tinged by white around his ears, has otherwise mostly remained in the shadows.
'Unprecedented' consensus
Kadhemi was first floated as premier in 2018 but political blocs instead opted for Adel Abdel Mahdi -- the caretaker PM who resigned in December 2019 after months of protests, and whom Kadhemi replaced. The intel chief's name began circulating a few months later as President Barham Saleh's preferred candidate, but a political adviser close to the talks told AFP he had hesitated to take the risk. "He did not want to agree unless it was going to be a sure thing," the adviser said, having seen two candidates -- lawmaker Adnan Zurfi and ex-minister Mohammad Allawi -- fail before him. Allawi could not pull together a cabinet by his 30-day deadline while Zurfi dropped his bid under pressure from Shiite parties close to Iran, who saw the lawmaker as worryingly close to Washington. In January 2020, those same factions had accused Kadhemi of being involved in the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad. But Kadhemi worked through the caretaker PM's influential chief of staff Mohammad al-Hashemi to repair ties with Iran and its allies in Iraq, the adviser and a diplomat based in Baghdad told AFP. With pro-Tehran factions on board, the adviser said, Kadhemi scored "an unprecedented Shiite-wide consensus".
'Superb negotiator'
That set Kadhemi up with better chances than the two prior candidates, but he has faced a host of challenges, from the country's ailing economy to the coronavirus. He brought forward elections, originally scheduled for 2022, in response to the anti-government protests over endemic corruption, unemployment and failing public services. But the results of those elections now mean he is facing an uncertain future, with coalition wrangling and accusations of fraud. A figure like Kadhemi could have the right connections to steer Iraq through these crises, observers say.
"Kadhemi is a superb negotiator and an incredibly astute player," said Toby Dodge, head of the London School for Economics' Middle East Centre. But, he cautioned: "Iraq is on borrowed time -- the stakes have gone up much higher."

U.S. Condemns Attack on Iraq PM as 'Apparent Act of Terrorism'
Agence France Presse/November 07/2021
The United States has condemned a drone attack on Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, which it characterized as an "apparent act of terrorism." "We are relieved to learn the prime minister was unharmed. This apparent act of terrorism, which we strongly condemn, was directed at the heart of the Iraqi state," State Department spokesman Ned Price said. "We are in close touch with the Iraqi security forces charged with upholding Iraq's sovereignty and independence and have offered our assistance as they investigate this attack," he added.
Khademi called for calm after the attack on his residence in Baghdad's Green Zone, saying he was unhurt. His office characterized the attack as a "failed assassination attempt."Two security sources earlier confirmed the attack in the heavily guarded Green Zone, which also hosts the U.S. embassy and is frequently targeted by rocket attacks. A large number of security forces were deployed in and around the Zone following the attack, according to a security source. The attack came amid soaring political tensions over the results of October 10 elections. Preliminary results of that poll saw the Conquest (Fatah) Alliance, the political arm of the pro-Iran multi-party Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary network, suffer a substantial decline in its parliamentary seats. The group's supporters have denounced the outcome as "fraud."

Saudi Arabia condemns ‘cowardly terrorist’ act that targeted Iraq’s PM
Reem Krimly, Al Arabiya English/Published: 07 November ,2021
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday condemned the “cowardly terrorist” act that targeted Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, according to a statement. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed Saudi Arabia’s strong condemnation of the cowardly terrorist act that targeted the Iraqi Prime Minister,” the statement said. The Kingdom “affirms that it stands united by Iraq, its government, and its people in confronting all terrorists who are trying in vain to prevent Iraq from restoring its [role], consolidating its security and stability, and enhancing its prosperity and development,” the statement added. Iraq’s Prime Minister was targeted in a “failed assassination attempt” after an explosive-laden drone struck his residence in Baghdad, Iraqi military said early Sunday. Kadhimi said he was unhurt and appealed for “calm and restraint” after a drone attack on his residence early Sunday as political tensions mounted in the country. The attack in Baghdad’s Green Zone was the first to target the residence of Kadhimi, who has been in power since May 2020, and came as Iraq’s political parties wrangle over who will run the next government after elections last month.

Arab League delegation meets Sudan’ army chief Burhan, ousted PM Hamdok
Reuters, Cairo/07 November ,2021
Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met with a delegation of the Arab League, state television reported on Sunday.Sudan state TV gave no further details. The Arab League, which has called for Sudanese parties to stick to the democratic transition after the army took over power last month, had said on Saturday that it would send a high-level delegation to Sudan. The Arab League, which has called for Sudanese parties to stick to the democratic transition after the army took over power last month, had said on Saturday that it would send a high-level delegation to Sudan.
The Arab League delegation latermet ousted Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok for “lengthy talks” on challenges facing the transitional process and efforts to support dialogue, the regional organization said
in a statement.

Canada withdraws Canadian embassy staff’s dependants and non-essential personnel from Ethiopia
Essential staff continues to support Canadians in Ethiopia
November 7, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
Global Affairs Canada today issued the following statement:
“The situation in Ethiopia is rapidly evolving and deteriorating. The safety of Canadians is our highest priority and, as a result, the decision was made to withdraw all the family members of Canadian embassy staff as well as non-essential Canadian employees from Ethiopia.
“We encourage all Canadians in Ethiopia to check our Travel Advice and Advisories often and to register to the Registration of Canadians Abroad.
“Our embassy in Addis Ababa remains open, and our consular officials stand ready to help Canadians in need of emergency assistance. They can be reached at 251 11 317 0000 or by e-mail at consul.addis@international.gc.ca.
“Canadians can also contact Global Affairs Canada’s Emergency Watch and Response Centre 24/7 at:
Phone: 1 613 996 8885
Email: sos@international.gc.ca
SMS: 1-613-686-3658
“Canada stands with all the people of Ethiopia. Documented violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law are deeply concerning. Canada calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to indiscriminate attacks on civilians and humanitarian personnel in northern Ethiopia. Humanitarian access must be guaranteed.”

Canada strongly condemns attempted assassination of Iraqi prime minister
November 7, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement:
“Canada strongly condemns the attempted assassination of Iraq’s Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, on November 7. We are relieved that the prime minister remains in good health. We wish a prompt recovery to those injured.
“Terrorism, violence and other illegal acts have no place in the democratic process. Canada will continue to stand with the Iraqi people and echoes Prime Minister al-Kadhimi’s call for calm and restraint.
“Now is a time for all politicians to demonstrate leadership, engage in dialogue, and find solutions for the good of all Iraqis.”

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 07-08/2021
The World Food Program and Elon Musk make governments look bad
Omar Al-Ubaydli/Al Arabiya/November 07/2021
Last week’s twitter exchange between the World Food Program (WFP) and Elon Musk regarding the cost of addressing world hunger was highly constructive and will help to achieve this goal. The only losers were the governments who look bad because they lack agility and transparency.
When WFP director David Beasley issued a plea to Elon Musk and other billionaires to donate $6 billion to help save the lives of 42 million people, several questions were raised. Has he checked his numbers? Is this a stopgap or permanent solution? Is this just a publicity stunt?
Elon Musk responded that he would be willing to make a large donation if the WFP would present a realistic plan coupled with transparent accounting. After a brief pause, which many interpreted to be an indication of the WFP having its bluff called, Beasley responded with a breakdown of his plan, which specified hunger relief for 42 million people for one year via a combination of cash transfers and in-kind food donations.
Beasley also presented assurances that his organization’s accounts are an open book, as confirmed by the ability of the general public to peruse the accounts from previous years at any time.
While Musk and other billionaires mull over their response, there are several important points to take from this highly constructive exchange.
First, while social media has its drawbacks, two of its most salient virtues were on display: the democratization of mass communication – neither Beasley nor Musk had to navigate an entrenched media establishment with its own interests for them to convey their messages; and the speed of engagement.
A lively debate erupted on the internet over the various issues raised by Beasley’s call, and once you got past the vapid “it’s disgusting that someone could be so rich” comments, there was a lot of useful content. We learned about the complexities of solving world hunger, the nature of problems caused by Covid-19, the type of work that agencies such as the WFP perform, and the oversight that the WFP and other organizations are subject to. Second, the exchange also highlighted the benefits of a competitive environment for charitable contributions. When governments need more money to operate their programs, they raise taxes.
The processes that even the most mature democracies go through are quite slow and result in the existence of only a weak link between what the donor (the taxpayer) wants their money to be spent on, and what the money actually gets spent on when it eventually reaches its target.
While this is partially due to the checks and balances that help limit corruption in modern political systems, the lethargy also reflects the fact that the government has a monopoly on levying taxes, and so it isn’t really in a rush to get things done at all, let alone getting them done properly. Moreover, while financial transparency is generally passable in democracies, in non-democracies, it is completely absent, meaning that taxpayers have well-founded fears of corruption.
In contrast, international agencies frequently rely heavily on private donations from wealthy individuals to carry out their work. These philanthropists have many options when choosing where to donate, and this forces the agencies to be considerably more agile than an average government.
This is illustrated by the speed with which Beasley responded to Musk’s request for an elucidation. In the event that Musk and other billionaires have some follow-up questions, I am confident that they will continue to receive prompt and informative replies.
When facing similar calls for clarity, governments usually provide responses that are slow, unclear, inaccurate, and sometimes even misleading. Consider the US government’s cringeworthy response to questions about the drone attack outside Kabul airport, or tune in to Prime Minister’s Questions in the UK on any week to see empty rhetoric of the highest order.
Moreover, the WFP’s transparency levels are admirable: the financial statements and operational documents are all publicly available, as are the independent evaluation reports and audits. If – through incompetence or otherwise – Beasley messes up the deployment of any significant donation that is forthcoming in the wake of his exchange with Musk, the added transparency afforded by social media will ensure that he and the WFP pay a heavy price in terms of credibility and future ability to attract funds.
The incentives are very sharp, as they should be when one is being entrusted with billions of dollars to address life-threatening problems.
A few days after the first tweet, the matter is yet to be resolved as Musk considers how many Tesla shares to sell. However, it is possible that around five tweets by Beasley and Musk end up doing more to address world hunger than the work of any government.

Divided America is not noticing Joe Biden's victories
Hussein Ibish/The National/November 07/2021
The Democrats may have lost Virginia, but the Biden administration is winning big in Washington
The past week saw both the low point and the high point, in rapid succession, of Joe Biden's still very young presidency. From here on, his fortunes could go either way, but the American leader probably has considerably more going for him than most people think.
It's been a painful summer for Mr Biden. The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan was widely criticised, and he has been plagued by surging inflation and supply chain bottlenecks. Although the pandemic is increasingly under control and the economy seems to be gaining strength despite inflation, many Americans simply don't feel good about where the country is right now.
Angst is pervasive.
In their daily lives, they still see pandemic-related problems with schools, inflation – especially at the gasoline pump – and difficulties in buying many consumer products as a result of supply chain issues. Dissatisfaction reached a crescendo last Tuesday when Terry McAuliffe, a veteran Democrat and former Virginia governor, lost the usually reliably Democratic state to a wealthy Republican upstart, Glenn Youngkin. The defeat was long anticipated, but it still was a stinging rebuke, especially coupled with the difficulty the Democrats had in holding onto the governorship of solidly Democratic New Jersey.
Bitter recriminations ensued, and the media, yet again, was eager to pronounce Mr Biden's presidency dead in the water. He has been the recipient of some of the most pessimistic coverage in recent memory, possibly reflecting an effort by the press to balance its undying hostility to his predecessor, Donald Trump.Yet, Mr Biden and the Democrats did seem to get the message that they had better start delivering, or else.
After months of endless negotiations, which often left the impression that nothing would eventually be accomplished, on Friday the President and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fashioned a remarkable compromise in which progressive Democrats agreed – against all their vows and instincts – to vote for the $1 trillion hard infrastructure bill without simultaneous action on social spending.
Six of the most hard-left Democrats voted against the measure, though. The leftists fear that by supporting the infrastructure bill, they relinquish all their leverage on the also-pending $1.75tn social spending package. Nonetheless, it is a significant and historic achievement. A whopping $110 billion is allocated for roads, bridges and other surface infrastructure. Another $66bn goes to rail, $39bn to public transport, $11bn for transportation safety, and $65bn for broadband access and additional funds for upgrading power lines and the energy grid, and providing clean drinking water. Airports get $25bn and ports $17bn.
This is the largest-ever federal spending on transportation infrastructure, and the most significant spending on hard infrastructure since the construction of the interstate highway system in the 1950s. The scale of the achievement is underscored by the fact that Mr Trump continuously promised major infrastructure development but never even proposed, let alone passed, such a bill. Furthermore, this package delivers on another of Mr Biden's promises: resurrecting bipartisanship. Both in the House and the Senate, where the bill passed in the summer, he managed to secure significant Republican support despite the tendency of most Republicans to try to block almost all his initiatives. Securing such significant spending with no majority in the Senate and only three spare votes in the House is remarkable enough. Doing it with Republican support is even more extraordinary.
Now, progressives will justifiably demand that centrists, with pressure from Mr Biden, Ms Pelosi and others, return the favour and vote for the social spending bill. Despite many reservations, that will probably happen in the House. A vote is scheduled for November 15.
The bigger problem will be in the Senate, where two conservative-leaning Democratic holdouts, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, may be harder to convince. It will be the biggest test yet of Mr Biden's persuasive powers. But the progressives deserve the best effort possible.
Joe Biden will be chasing the support of Senator Kyrsten Sinema, pictured above. Theoretically, this bill ought to be a turning point for the Biden administration and the Democrats. Coupled with the $1.9tn pandemic relief bill passed in March, in less than a year they have managed to pass two major pieces of legislation on behalf of the general public.
Moreover, many of the key sources of widespread anxiety and dismay look set to ease in coming months as the pandemic lifts further, with new treatments and vaccines for children, supply chains begin to open, and labour markets regain their balance.
Indeed, inflation appears to be the only major immediate issue to which they may not have an obvious answer.
If Democrats can pass any version of the social spending bill before the midterms, they will have an enormous set of governance achievements, with virtually no majorities and an extremely polarised environment, to set before the public. There are, however, two major challenges beyond that.
First, Democrats have traditionally been strikingly inept at selling their achievements. Mr Biden, too, has suffered from this phenomenon, with Democrats and the media focusing on conflicts within the party and the difficulties of passing the legislation, not the achievement it means. So, he will have to become a much better salesman, and move attention from the messy sausage-making to the tasty sausages.
A more alarming question runs even deeper. Mr Biden's broad political strategy is based on the idea that Americans really want effective governance, and for politics to deliver improvements in their daily lives. But is that true of enough Americans to prove a winning strategy?
Counterintuitively, given the polarised times and the deep social fissures, there are reasons to suspect that large segments of the American public aren't paying as much attention to what government is doing or isn't doing on practical policies. Many, instead, seem more invested in cultural divides and prefer politics as spectacle – a performative routine based on identity-signalling, trolling, stunts and one-upmanship of the kind Mr Trump has specialised in and which has become the particular stock-in-trade of the Republican Party.
The Democrats may go to the midterms with many significant achievements under their belt but it's possible key American constituencies simply won't care. Those Americans may only respond to tribal affirmations that express their grievances.The more Mr Biden achieves, the more clearly this terrifying possibility will be tested in the 2022 and 2024 elections. So far, governance versus the politics of spectacle is emerging as the biggest contest on those upcoming ballots.

Harnessing the people’s strength key to Afghanistan’s future
Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/November 08/2021
Lyse Doucett, the BBC’s chief international correspondent, last week joined the ranks of those lamenting recent events in Afghanistan with a poignant “Love Letter to Kabul.” The gesture echoed the mood among many that, with the return of the Taliban, the country’s diversity and rich heritage, which had only just been rediscovered, will now be lost once again. However, fading glimmers of a more pluralistic and inclusive Afghan society are not the real tragedy; Afghanistan today is heading toward an economic and humanitarian disaster. With Afghans facing starvation, the fate of Kabul’s movie theaters and rose gardens can wait while a solution to the country’s imminent peril is found.
As the Taliban raised their standard over the presidential palace, Afghans panicked at the sight of fighters still dusty from their rural campaigns taking de facto control of the streets of the capital. Any hope of a rival power base taking hold was also lost as resistance in the Panjshir Valley was swiftly quashed. The Taliban, who went to great lengths to charm the public and reassure international partners that they wished to rule with the Afghan people and not over them, are now showing themselves to be unable to avert an all-out collapse of the country. Just as in the 1990s, the Taliban’s lack of human resources, coupled with the fragility of the Afghan state, are leading to what the UN described last month as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”
Access to education and healthcare have never been high on the Taliban’s list of priorities. The Islamic emirate’s preoccupation with the private lives of Afghans has returned, as the group — which seems to have tempered its views — finds itself locked in a competition for the ownership of fundamentalist Islam with Daesh-Khorasan militants. In the three months since the Taliban regained control of the country, militants have tried the untested government with a spate of attacks aimed at state infrastructure and minorities. With scores of innocent Afghans killed, the Taliban are failing to deliver on the law and order mandate they promised the people.
The Taliban, media savvy through years of competing with successive Afghan governments for the country’s political stage, claim international recognition is critical if they are to secure aid to see off the resurgence of Daesh on their territory. Taliban leaders have warned their international counterparts that, unchecked, militants in the country could become internationally bothersome. However, with the US and others lukewarm about the Taliban and less motivated still toward military cooperation with them, it is more likely that, just as with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban will be unable to restrict the activity of militant groups on Afghan territory.
The Taliban are showing themselves to be unable to avert an all-out collapse of the country.
Until the flight of President Ashraf Ghani, a staggering two-thirds of Afghan gross domestic product came from foreign aid. This valuable resource (much of which was misappropriated) provided the fledgling state with the wherewithal to face the country’s challenges. Since August, however, this has been withheld, with the country’s $9 billion in foreign reserves also frozen as the international community seeks to deprive the Taliban of significant capital (previously, grants from overseas financed three-quarters of Afghan public spending). This situation, coupled with a severe drought and the pandemic, have pushed the economy to the brink of collapse.
An over-reliance on foreign aid has led to the absence of a sustainable economy. And the informal businesses that lived off the black market were dealt a further blow last week, when the Taliban banned the use of foreign currencies. With the onset of the harsh Afghan winter, it is not just the state’s reserves that will freeze: The UN World Food Programme has warned that 22.8 million people — more than half of Afghanistan’s 39 million population — are facing acute food insecurity and are “marching to starvation,” compared to 14 million just two months ago. It estimates that $200 million per month is required to feed those in need — funds the international community is still reluctant to unfreeze as the Taliban have been unconvincing in illustrating their credentials for good governance.
The question of the frozen aid comes amid an International Monetary Fund warning of a 30 percent contraction in the size of the economy by next year. With circumstances set to worsen, a longer-term solution to the country’s problems is required. The Taliban cannot hope to secure international assistance when they continue to fail to protect women and their right to education or to provide the stability required for aid to be distributed. Separately, their governing credentials should not be judged by their ability to unlock aid, but rather to improve the circumstances of Afghans, break the aid curse and build an alternative society to that which the country has known over the last five decades.
Ghani, like Hamid Karzai before him, governed with generous international assistance. However, this stunted the development of Afghanistan, encouraging a system prone to corruption and the misuse of funds. Afghanistan cannot seek to turn a corner until the strength of the people is harnessed to avoid successive humanitarian catastrophes.
*Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator, and an adviser to private clients between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Twitter: @Moulay_Zaid

Turkey toying with idea of new military operation in Syria
Yasar Yakis/Arab News/November 08/2021
Pro-government Turkish media outlets last week reported that preparations are underway for a new set of military operations in Syria. A parliamentary motion to authorize the government to continue sending troops abroad was tabled last month and easily approved.
Previous motions approved a one-year mandate for such operations, but this time it was done for a period of two years. This may be because the government is forecasting harder times ahead, when the mandate may not be renewed as a result of declining public support for the ruling party.
Turkey already has a strong military presence in four areas inside Syria: In the northwestern province of Afrin as a result of Operation Olive Branch; the Operation Euphrates Shield area in Al-Bab; territory to the east of the Euphrates river captured in Operation Peace Spring; and several observation posts in Idlib. It is now eyeing up three more areas: Manbij and Tell Rifaat in Aleppo Governorate, and further land to the east of the Euphrates.
Although Turkey continues to keep its eye on Manbij, there are four parties that would not be happy to see this town occupied by Turkey: The US, Russia, the Syrian government and the Kurds. After the collapse of Daesh’s resistance in Manbij in 2016, Turkey insistently asked the US to expel Kurdish fighters from the town. Washington promised several times to meet Turkey’s request but failed to do so because the leading role in the expulsion of Daesh from the town was played by the Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units, which make up the bulk of the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the US did not want to antagonize them. Turkey threatened to strike the Kurdish fighters in March 2018 but had to refrain because of opposition from both the US and Russia.
The second area where Turkey wants to expand its control is Tell Rifaat, which is also controlled by the Kurdish fighters of the SDF. On Friday last week, the Turkish media published a detailed report about the anti-tank and anti-personnel land mines laid by SDF fighters on the Turkish army’s possible approach routes.
The third area is the corridor along the Turkish-Syrian border east of the Euphrates. Turkey was initially planning to occupy a 40 km-wide corridor, running from Tell Abyad all the way to the Iraqi border, but this met stiff objections from all quarters. The Syrian government said it would fight the Turkish army; NATO offered to patrol the border instead; and then-US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Recep Tayyip Erdogan using a tone unheard of in correspondence between heads of state — “don’t be a fool,” he said in the letter.
Despite Ankara’s preparations, there are reasons to believe that an operation might not be imminent.
Eventually, Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in October 2019 to establish a 30 km-wide safe area between Tell Abyad and Ras Al-Ain, to be patrolled by Syrian and Russian soldiers. The remainder of the corridor was to be reduced to 10 km and jointly patrolled by Turkish and Russian soldiers. This arrangement has worked more or less satisfactorily, but Turkey now wants to occupy two more strategically important points — Ain Issa and Tell Tamr — further to the south, where the Kurdish fighters of the SDF control the oil wells.
Despite these preparations, there are reasons to believe that such a military operation might not be imminent. One is the turbulent relations between Turkey and the US. Erdogan last week held a meeting with US counterpart Joe Biden on the margins of the G20 summit in Rome. The two leaders listed the outstanding issues between them without necessarily trying to sort them out. The only concrete outcome of the meeting was the formation of a joint mechanism to discuss the outstanding issues on a technical level.
On his way back from the summit, Erdogan used a moderate narrative in his briefing with journalists, which suggests he wants to avoid a confrontation with Washington, be it in Syria or anywhere else. Furthermore, the US is heavily pressing Turkey to deactivate the S-400 air defense system it purchased from Russia. The EU is also squeezing Ankara on the Eastern Mediterranean issues.
Another reason for caution is the attitude of the Syrian government. Damascus is on its way to reoccupying its seat in the Arab League. There has also been a thaw in its relations with the Gulf countries and the international community has acquiesced to the idea of Bashar Assad’s continued presidency.
If Turkey does carry out one or more of the military operations that seem to be on the agenda, it will probably be aimed at boosting popular support among the nationalist-minded segments of the electorate ahead of the next general election, which is scheduled for 2023. Governments sometimes make decisions that may contribute to their political survival but are against the national interests of their people.
*Yasar Yakis is a former foreign minister of Turkey and founding member of the ruling AK Party. Twitter: @yakis_yasar

Kadhimi must not become another Rafik Hariri
Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/November 08/2021
Sunday’s attempt to assassinate Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi was deplorable, unacceptable … and entirely predictable.
Since the comprehensive defeat of Iranian-aligned militias and parties at legislative elections in October, it has been clear that the agents of Tehran would react in the way they always do — by trying to kill those they could not defeat at the ballot box.
There is no “smoking gun” yet to incriminate Iran or its stooges over the failed assassination attempt, but it was clearly a product of the template Iran has created for subversion in the region. Anyone who does not comply with its idea of “armageddon,” or who fails to kowtow to the religious mercenaries in Tehran, is marked for elimination. Before the attempt on Kadhimi’s life, several activists — Shiite as well as Sunni — who called for an end to Iranian interference in Iraq were killed.
The people of Iraq have seen through the Iranian gameplan, and understand it only too well. They know that Iran is playing politics in the region, and doing so with Iraqi blood. That is why Tehran’s consulates and missions have been being torched by ordinary Iraqis. The popular movement against Iranian influence in Iraq has gained ground in the past few years, since Iranian agents massacred at least 1,000 peaceful protesters who began demonstrating in October 2019. That further fed anti-Iran sentiment and the anti-Iran movement. This year’s election results provided the most comprehensive proof so far that Iran is now viewed by ordinary Iraqis as a foreign occupying power.
It should not surprise anyone that the attempt to assassinate Kadhimi came just a few hours after he was threatened by Qais Al-Khazali of the pro-Iranian Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq militia; threats typical of Iranian-backed militias’ behavior toward anyone who threatens their hegemony or does not bend to their whims. Kadhimi’s primary aim was — and remains — to restore genuine Iraqi sovereignty. He has appealed to national pride. During his time as prime minister he has taken a clear stand against the militias and has repeatedly talked about not permitting the development of a state within a state. He has not allowed himself to be browbeaten or blackmailed into supporting Iran’s agenda.
Rafik Hariri was a good man who did all the right things; since his murder, Lebanon has lost all hope. Kadhimi is also a good man doing the right things, and with him Iraq actually stands a chance.
Kadhimi opened channels with Iraq’s natural allies in the Arab world. He took the honorable and courageous position of seeking closer ties with Iraq’s Arab neighbors, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In return, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi gave him full support in restoring Iraq’s prominent position in the Arab world. This was, of course, a red flag for the mullahs in Tehran. They want Iraq to be mired in misery and political instability. A weak Iraq is what the mullahs want. They do not want reformers or moderates to succeed.
Kadhimi was targeted on Sunday by three explosives-laden drones. Had two of them not been intercepted, there is every possibility that he would have become another Rafik Hariri, the Lebanese prime minister blown up by Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah operatives for having the temerity to chart an independent path to success and sovereignty for his country. Look at what Iran has done to Lebanon — turned a once thriving nation into an economic basket case and an international pariah that exports drugs, drones and terrorism. Lebanon has become a country where an armed militia is holding the government and the people hostage —the very template Tehran wants to impose on all Arab states.
The international community, and especially the Biden administration in the US, must finally wake up to the sinister Iranian game plan. The world should stop appeasing this monster. What is needed is not mere verbal condemnation, but tangible and robust action. This must be a stark warning to the US president that these are not the kind of people his administration should be trying to sign a deal with.
Without effective sanctions and a clear signal that such reckless behavior will be punished, Iran and its militias will continue to destabilize the region and eliminate any possibility of peace, tolerance and moderation taking root. Now is the time to take a clear stand and let Iran know that its malign meddling stops here, and it stops now.
Rafik Hariri was a good man who did all the right things; since his murder, Lebanon has lost all hope. Kadhimi is also a good man doing the right things, and with him Iraq actually stands a chance. However, he deserves more than the world just crossing its fingers and hoping he escapes every time Tehran’s agents of evil try to end his life.
Faisal J. Abbas is Editor in Chief of Arab News. Twitter: @FaisalJAbbas