English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For November 20/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.november20.21.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 08/51-55: “Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.’The Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.”Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, “He is our God”, though you do not know him. But I know him; if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 19-20/2021
All Earthly Riches Remain On Earth/Elias Bejjani/November 17/2021
Lebanese PM to meet Pope in Vatican, Lebanese diplomat says
Lebanese President Balks at March Polls amid Economic Meltdown
Aoun Says ‘No Alliance’ with Hizbullah, Direct Talks Only Solution for Gulf Row
Aoun: Elections to Show Who Wants to Rescue Country, Who Doesn't
Aoun Says No Elections in March
Miqati Meets Aoun, Says Cabinet to Re-Convene Soon
Bassil: It's Necessary to Differentiate between Stances of Lebanon, Hizbullah
Qassem Calls for 'Addressing Reasons' behind Govt. Meetings Suspension
‘People will be harmed’ as Lebanon’s cash-strapped government cuts medicine subsidies
Salameh Hands Miqati Auditing Report on His Personal Accounts
Kordahi Says Staying in His Post is the 'Sacrifice', Not His Resignation
Hundreds' of Fake Lebanese Degrees Sold to Iraqis
39 Asylum-Seeking Palestinians Stranded in Barcelona Airport
Lebanon: Central Bank Governor Hands Audit of His Accounts to PM
Lebanon PM Says He Will Call Cabinet to Meet Soon
On Hezbollah’s Lebanese Identity/Elias Harfoush/Asharq Al Awsat/Friday, 19 November, 2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 19-20/2021
Agence France Presse/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Iranian Farmers Protest, Demand Water be Released from Dam
Time shrinking for Iran nuclear deal, US envoy warns
Top US defense official to make ‘very clear’ Washington’s commitment to Middle East
Iraq's Sadr Says he Is Dissolving Armed Faction Loyal to him
Palestinians from Jerusalem Say Settlers Slashed Car Tires
Egypt, Qatar Agree to Supply Fuel, Building Materials to Gaza
Britain Bans Hamas as Terrorist Organization
US Congress Pressures Biden Administration to Sanction Sudan Military Leaders
Turkey Releases Detained Syrian Singer Omar Souleyman
FDA authorizes Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna boosters for all adults
CDC vaccine advisers vote to recommend Covid-19 boosters for all adults
House Democrats pass Biden's social safety net expansion

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 19-20/2021
Question: "What should be the focus of Christians on Thanksgiving?"/GotQuestions.org?/November 19/2021
Can Assad ever stand up to Iran?/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/November 19/2021
Wounds With a Russian Knife in Them/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/November, 19/2021
Inflation Is Making the SALT Deduction Less Sweet/Alexis Leondis /Bloomberg/November, 19/2021
Doing away with the Mufti in Syria/The Arab Weekly/November 19/2021
The reality behind Iran’s nuclear choices — and ours/Richard Haass/Arab News/November 19, 2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 19-20/2021
All Earthly Riches Remain On Earth/الياس بجاني: كل ثروات الأرض تبقى عليها
Elias Bejjani/November 17/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/14935/elias-bejjaniall-earthly-riches-remain-on-earth%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%a8%d8%ac%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d9%83%d9%84-%d8%ab%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d8%b1%d8%b6-%d8%aa%d8%a8/
In a bid for us to live in peace, harmony, love, actual faithو and true transparency, we are always strongly required to keep remembering seriously, with great gratitude and sincerity, that all what we have and own, including our lives, are generous gifts from Almighty God.
At the same time, we are ought to keep in mind, that we have a holy and Godly obligation to share these gifts with others, especially with those who are in need of what we have.
If every one of us commits himself to this great concept of love and sharing ,and frees himself from selfishness, hatred and grudges, then there will be no wars, and no one shall be left hungry, isolated, persecuted, sad, abandoned or downtrodden.
We need to be always fully aware that our life on this mortal earth is so short, so transient, and so unpredictable.
Due to the solid fact that we do not know when Almighty God will decide to reclaim back our soul (our life), we are supposed to be always ready to face Him on the Day Of Judgment with our deeds, and our deeply rooted faith.
Not even one individual, no matter rich or poor, strong or weak, sick or healthy, righteous or evil, educated or illiterate, white or black, young or elderly, that has left this mortal world was able to carry with him any earthly riches.
When we pass away, we can only and only carry with us our deeds. Based on these deeds, be good or bad, and not on the earthly riches we will face the Day of Judgment.
Definitely it is our choice to either hold on to the earthly riches, or to the good deeds, and accordingly carry the consequences.
Accordingly the choice for the eternity fate, be in Hell or Heaven is in our hands. Let us be wise and take the right choice before it is too late.
In conclusion all earthly riches remain on the earth, and we only carry with us our deeds for the Day of Judgment

Lebanese PM to meet Pope in Vatican, Lebanese diplomat says
Arab News/November 19/2021
ROME: Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati will visit the Vatican on Wednesday to meet the Pope, the Ambassador of Lebanon to the Vatican, Farid Elias Al-Khazen, has announced. In an interview with the Italian newsagency Nova the diplomat said that Mikati’s visit “is necessary to discuss both bilateral issues and about some international themes.” The Vatican Press office has not confirmed the report. The Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Msgr. Paul Richard Gallagher, is due to visit Lebanon before Christmas. Pope Francis has repeatedly said he thinks a lot about Lebanon and its people. On Aug. 4, on the first anniversary of the huge blast in Beirut that killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage, he said he had a “great” desire to visit Lebanon. On that occasion he said that many in Lebanon had lost “even the illusion of living,” and urged donors to help that country “on a path of resurrection.”He called for “concrete gestures, not just words.”“Dear Lebanese, my desire to come to visit you is great. And I will not tire of praying for you so that Lebanon returns to being a message of brotherhood, a message of peace for all of the Middle East,” Pope Francis had said.

Lebanese President Balks at March Polls amid Economic Meltdown
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Friday he would not sign any authorization for legislative elections to take place in March, adding to doubts about when the vote can be held amid economic and political meltdown. Aoun told the Al Akhbar newspaper the early date for elections, approved by parliament in October, would deprive thousands of voters from reaching the voting age of 21. Snowy weather in March would also mean voters could face difficulties reaching polling stations through blocked mountain roads, he said. The planned March 27 election date would give Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government even less time to try to secure an IMF recovery plan. "I will not agree to legislative elections except on one of two dates, May 8 or May 15," Aoun was quoted as saying by the paper. Aoun had previously refused to sign a law passed by parliament bringing forward the election to March and sent it back to the legislature, which once again adopted it. Gebran Bassil, the leader of Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and his son-in-law, withdrew with his parliamentary bloc from that parliamentary session in October when the date was approved again. The FPM this week presented a legal complaint to the constitutional council disputing the date of the election and the proposed election law. Lebanon's financial crisis, which the World Bank labeled one of the deepest depressions of modern history, has been compounded by political deadlock and a row over the probe into last year's Beirut port blast that killed more than 200 people. The currency has lost 90% of its value and three-quarters of the population have been propelled into poverty. Shortages of basic goods such as fuel and medicines have made daily life a struggle.

Aoun Says ‘No Alliance’ with Hizbullah, Direct Talks Only Solution for Gulf Row
Naharnet/Friday, 19 November, 2021
President Michel Aoun has said that he shares with Hizbullah “an understanding not an alliance.”“Hizbullah respects three main rules: Resolution 1701 (that ended the 2006 war), domestic stability and avoiding any harassment to the ambassadors of countries that designated Hizbullah as a terrorist organization, such as the Americans, British, Germans and Arab countries,” Aoun told al-Akhbar newspaper. He added that there is no disagreement between him and Saudi Arabia. “It was the first country I visited when I was elected for presidency in 2017,” Aoun said, adding that he hadn’t received any negative signs from KSA. “The crisis began when the relation between Saudi Arabia and ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri deteriorated, and now a statement by Information Minister George Kordahi started a new crisis.”The President told al-Akhbar that he prefers that Kordahi take the decision to resign over the option of sacking him. Aoun said that he wants the best relations with KSA, and these relations shouldn’t be affected by one person, such as Hariri or Kordahi. He added that there are no mediators between Lebanon and KSA now, and that the only solution is “direct talks.”“We are silently working on it and we hope we will reach a positive outcome,” Aoun revealed. Aoun also disagrees with Hizbullah concerning the lead investigator into Beirut’s port blast. He told the newspaper that he strongly stands with the separation of powers. “We don’t have the right to interfere in a matter that is not within our competence. The judge has an authority that would hold him accountable if he makes a mistake, it’s not our responsibility,” he said.

Aoun: Elections to Show Who Wants to Rescue Country, Who Doesn't
Naharnet/Friday, 19 November, 2021
President Michel Aoun on Friday stressed that he will “continue to work for Lebanon’s rise from the multiple difficulties and tough circumstances that it is going through.”“I hope the last year of my tenure will witness the beginning of real revival and recovery,” Aoun said. Lamenting that “the harsh circumstances have stripped Independence Day of its joy,” the President stressed that “the will is present to rebuild all that has been destroyed.”“Lebanon always seeks the best relations with the Arab countries, especially the Arab Gulf nations, and we hope to witness a swift solution for what led to a problem with them,” Aoun added, noting that “it is important to keep the interests of the Lebanese people safe from harm.”
“Despite the negative issues that we encountered, we will not despair and we will emerge stronger, and the outcome of the upcoming elections will show who wants to continue on the path of salvation and who wants to oppose that,” the President went on to say.

Aoun Says No Elections in March
Naharnet/Friday, 19 November, 2021
President Michel Aoun has said that he won’t sign a decree that reschedules the parliamentary elections for March 27. “If I receive it, I will return it for reevaluation,” Aoun said. Aoun told al-Akhbar newspaper that he will not approve that the elections take place on any other dates than May 8 and May 15. “No one can impose a decree on the president,” he added. “The elections have never been held in Lebanon before May or June,” Aoun said, adding that the weather in March might deprive thousands of Lebanese from voting. Aoun said he is relying on the Constitutional Council’s evaluation of the appeal filed Wednesday by the Strong Lebanon parliamentary bloc. He said that the Parliament’s recommendation to reschedule the elections is non-binding to the government, the Interior Minister and the Constitutional Council. “The right thing to do is to respect the Constitution that gives the president the right to ask the Cabinet to reevaluate its decisions. They say I am a dictator for committing to my constitutional rights,” Aoun said. Aoun affirmed that there will be no extension to Parliament’s term. “There won’t be a president after me that represents no one,” Aoun said. “I am afraid some want a presidential void; I will not hand over (the presidency) to the void,” Aoun concluded.

Miqati Meets Aoun, Says Cabinet to Re-Convene Soon
Naharnet/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Prime Minister Najib Miqati told President Michel Aoun Friday that he will soon call for a Cabinet session and that things will return to normalcy. For its part, the Presidency said that Aoun has been briefed by Miqati on the work of the ministerial panels and that "it has been decided to resume Cabinet sessions soon." MP Ali Darwish, member of Miqati’s bloc, also told al-Jadeed TV that “it has been agreed that the Cabinet will convene,” adding that “it will be productive and positive,” and that “we need to prioritize people's needs.” On another note, Miqati said in a statement Friday that “the situation is very difficult,” promising that next week, needy families can start registering for the ration card to get a monthly cash assistance. He added that shortly Lebanon will get 10 hours of electricity daily and that “it is not the right time to consider selling off any state assets.”

Bassil: It's Necessary to Differentiate between Stances of Lebanon, Hizbullah
Naharnet/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has called for “differentiating” between the stances of the Lebanese state and Hizbullah, noting that he had “repeatedly” expressed his “opposition to Hizbullah’s stances” during his tenure as foreign minister. “Holding us the Lebanese responsible for stance of a Lebanese party aggravates the problem… and failing to differentiate between Hizbullah and the FPM is another problem,” Bassil added, in an interview with Kuwait’s al-Qabas newspaper. “The issue carries injustice and targeting against us. Yes, we have an understanding with Hizbullah, but we do not agree on all things. Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah repeatedly said that he (his party) went to Syria and other places without taking anyone’s approval, and this is a point of contention with him,” Bassil said. He added: “We agree with Hizbullah in its war against the Israeli enemy and terrorism, and we disagree over other topics that do not serve Lebanon’s interest. I frankly say that I do not know the magnitude of Hizbullah’s intervention in Yemen, and I believe that Iran can act in Yemen without needing Hizbullah.”

Qassem Calls for 'Addressing Reasons' behind Govt. Meetings Suspension
Naharnet/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Friday said that his party “backs the resumption of the Lebanese government’s meetings.”He, however, added that the government should only meet after “addressing the reasons that led to the meetings’ suspension.”A political dispute over the conduct of port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar has paralyzed the government since October 14, with Hizbullah and the Amal Movement pushing for his removal. Turning to the judicial developments, Qassem said “the judicial scene in Lebanon is unhealthy.”“It’s not related to an incident nor to a judge. It has to do with a full judicial system that is intertwining in an unusual way,” Hizbullah number two said. “There must be a reevaluation and a solution, or else the judicial situation will remain unhealthy,” he warned.

‘People will be harmed’ as Lebanon’s cash-strapped government cuts medicine subsidies
Reuters/18 November ,2021
Christine, a 28-year-old nurse in the Lebanese army, used to spend about a quarter of her salary on life-saving medication for her parents who both have severe heart conditions. She was able to manage until Lebanon’s cash-strapped government this week cut back subsidies on medicines. Now, she says the price tag will eat up her entire wage and that of her 65-year-old father, who works a night-time security job. “No family can afford this,” she told Reuters, using only her first name due to regulations barring army personnel from speaking to the media. “The government...came (to power) to save the country but are leaving us not just to our fate, but to our slow and painful death.”Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s cabinet, which took office in September, has rolled back subsidies on basic goods including fuel and now medication, but has failed to provide an increasingly impoverished population with a social safety net.
Lebanon’s economic meltdown, driven by endemic state corruption, waste and mismanagement, has been dubbed one of the worst in the world: three quarters of the population now suffer from poverty according to the United Nations. But a UN poverty expert said last week that Lebanese officials were in a “fantasy land” and had no sense of urgency to ease the crisis. Health Minister Firass Abiad told Reuters a range of subsidies remained in place for many medicines, including the most expensive and crucial medications, and people could find some free drugs at primary healthcare centers. Abiad lamented the absence of a government safety net as “a crime” but said the subsidy move was based on financial necessity and would lead to drugs missing for months to become available within two weeks. “This is the first time someone is trying to find realistic solutions that are sustainable,” he said.
‘People will be harmed a lot’
Overall, medical subsidies have now been reduced from $120 million per month to about $35 million, said Assem Araji, head of parliament’s health committee. He said the change was “worrying” and “people are going to be harmed. Harmed a lot”. The hike hit medications crucial for chronic diseases, such as insulin, which has increased in price fourfold from about 180,000 Lebanese pounds ($120 at the official rate or about $8 on the black market) to 730,000 pounds – meaning it now costs more than the monthly minimum wage. “People are having episodes of high blood sugar that take them to the edge of death,” pharmacist Ali Hawilo said of insulin shortages. Several Beirut pharmacists said that they had not yet seen an increase in supply of medicines and they worry that most people may be unable to buy them. Rabih Chaar, manager at Chaar Pharmacy, said a female customer had a panic attack in his shop this week when she couldn’t find crucial medicine for a mental illness. “Soon there will be more medicine, but people won’t be able to afford it,” he said, as customers entered his pharmacy with lists of drugs only for resigned staff to tell them they had almost none of the products in stock.
Some customers, upon being quoted the new prices, turned away or asked for alternatives. Hussein Sheikh, a 75-year-old chauffeur, said he had to borrow money from his boss to afford medication for his chronic asthma after the price jumped from 37,000 pounds to 126,000.
“There is no greater theft than this,” he said. “No one says anything, and no one seems to be concerned.”

Salameh Hands Miqati Auditing Report on His Personal Accounts
Naharnet/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on Friday met with Prime Minister Najib Miqati and said he handed him “a report prepared by the BDO, Semaan, Gholam & Co auditing company.”“The report was prepared at my request and it includes an auditing of my personal bank accounts and the accounts that have been mentioned in the press for the past year and a half and are the subject of judicial investigations,” Salameh said after the meeting. “I handed the report based on the principle of transparency, and so that he be in possession of verified information that proves that no funds had entered into the central bank from operations related to the Forry Associates company, and that I have not personally benefitted from any funds from the central bank,” the governor added. “My accounts at the bank are totally separate from the central bank’s accounts,” Salameh went on to say. He added: “This issue has nothing to do at all with the rest of the matters, whether the forensic audit or judicial investigations, and this report will be submitted inside and outside Lebanon where there are judicial lawsuits.”

Kordahi Says Staying in His Post is the 'Sacrifice', Not His Resignation
Naharnet/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Information Minister George Kordahi has stressed that remaining in his post is the “sacrifice,” not his resignation. Speaking to al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Friday, Kordahi said he is “open to any solutions that would achieve the national interest.”“I’m willing to leave the information ministry immediately if that would lead to a breakthrough in the Lebanese-Gulf ties, but everyone now knows that the current problem surpasses me and is related to the Saudi stance on Hizbullah’s role in Lebanon and the region, as Riyadh itself has announced several times,” Kordahi added. “The choice of sacking me must not be raised, because I’m not clinging to my post. I call for the government as a whole to discuss the choice that must be taken. If I find that the majority of my colleagues want my resignation, I will submit it immediately and with good will, especially that I’ve discovered that ministerial work in these difficult circumstances and amid the state’s bankruptcy is grueling and difficult,” the minister went on to say. He added: “Sometimes I feel that I have nothing to offer the information ministry’s employees except for consoling, whereas some of them get paid the minimum wage and some have not been paid for around four months, in addition to the fact that my ambition to develop state television and radio is facing the obstacle of the lack of funds.”“That’s why remaining in my post, not my departure, is the sacrifice,” Kordahi stated. He added that he will not be an obstacle in the way of “any acceptable and fair solution.”“I understand the concerns of the Lebanese, both residents and expats, and I do not accept to represent a threat to their interests,” he emphasized. Kordahi also hailed the behavior of his allies “who are like mountains.”“I laud the stance of President Michel Aoun, who has refused to respond to requests from inside and outside the country asking him to press me to resign,” the minister added.

Hundreds' of Fake Lebanese Degrees Sold to Iraqis
Agence France Presse/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Iraq has summoned its cultural attaché in Beirut for an investigation into the alleged sale of "hundreds" of fake Lebanese university degrees to Iraqis, including MPs. "At least three private Lebanese universities are implicated," an Iraqi academic source, who requested to remain anonymous, told AFP. Lebanese authorities have also launched an investigation into degrees sold to Iraqis enrolled in remote learning courses, the source said. Several MPs and high-ranking officials paid to obtain master's or doctorate degrees, particularly in religious subjects, according to another Iraqi official who also requested anonymity.
The fake degrees, numbering in their hundreds, cost "between $5,000 for a master's degree and $10,000 for a PhD", the official added. Higher education degrees are often a prerequisite for coveted government posts in Iraq. The cultural attaché, Hashem al-Shammari, has been summoned to Baghdad, higher education ministry spokesman Haidar al-Aboudi told AFP. According to Lebanese media reports, the Islamic University of Lebanon -- affiliated with the country's Supreme Islamic Shia Council -- has sacked its president and four department heads over the scandal. Lebanon has 36 private universities, including prestigious institutions such as the American University of Beirut. It also has many institutions with religious affiliations authorized by the government after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

39 Asylum-Seeking Palestinians Stranded in Barcelona Airport
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 November, 2021
A group of 39 Palestinians was waiting in a restricted area of the Barcelona airport for a fifth day Friday after they refused to board their flight during a stopover because they wanted to request asylum in Spain, the country’s authorities said. Their flight on Monday departed from Cairo and had the Ecuadorean capital, Quito, as its final destination, with scheduled stopovers in Spain’s second-largest city and Bogotá, in Colombia, a spokeswoman with the Spanish government’s delegation in the northeastern Catalonia region said, The Associated Press reported. Barcelona is the regional capital of Catalonia. The group refused to continue their flight and have been taken care of with food and assistance in police facilities at the airport, said the spokeswoman, who wasn’t authorized to be identified by name in media reports. She said all of them carried Lebanese passports.
Spanish authorities are “processing” their asylum request, the spokeswoman said, adding that in the meantime the group hasn’t arrested and they are “free to continue with their trip.”Spain’s Interior Ministry, which oversees the office for asylum applications and the customs checkpoints at airports, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lebanon: Central Bank Governor Hands Audit of His Accounts to PM
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh has handed an audit of his personal accounts to Prime Minister Najib Mikati, according to a tweet by the cabinet's official Twitter account on Friday. Salameh said on Wednesday that he had ordered an audit of his investments after increased scrutiny in the media and several judicial probes. The cabinet’s tweets quoted Salameh as saying there was no relation between this move and a separate forensic audit of the central bank itself. International management consultancy Alvarez & Marsal began the audit of the bank in October, a condition for Lebanon to secure foreign aid amid its financial meltdown. “The forensic audit is moving ahead. What I did was a personal initiative from me … to refute all we hear and read, all the rumors,” Salameh was quoted in the tweets as saying, adding that he will hand over his report to judicial authorities abroad as well. Salameh, governor for nearly three decades, has faced increased scrutiny of his tenure since the financial system collapsed two years ago, plunging Lebanon into what the World Bank has called one of world history’s sharpest depressions. He is being investigated by authorities in at least three European countries, including a Swiss inquiry over alleged money laundering at the central bank involving $300 million in gains by a company owned by his brother. He denies wrongdoing.

Lebanon PM Says He Will Call Cabinet to Meet Soon
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday he will call for a cabinet meeting soon after more than a month of political paralysis. The Premier, who met Lebanese President Michel Aoun earlier on Friday, pointed out that the country was going through a “difficult and dangerous” phase.“It is a miracle that the Lebanese citizen hasn’t lost patience yet,” Mikati told a meeting with the labor union, adding that the country could no longer afford to spend on subsidies of vital goods. Lebanon is in the throes of an economic meltdown described by the World Bank as one of the deepest depressions of modern times. The local currency has lost 90 percent of its value and three quarters of its population is in poverty. The cabinet is focused on re-starting talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unlock much needed foreign aid. It has been in political paralysis since Oct. 12, amid a row over the lead investigator of the August 4, 2020’s deadly Beirut port blast disrupted a meeting. Mikati had said he would not call for another cabinet meeting until a framework for a solution over the matter was reached.

On Hezbollah’s Lebanese Identity
Elias Harfoush/Asharq Al Awsat/Friday, 19 November, 2021
When the issue of the need to confront the extensive role that Hezbollah plays both at home and in the region is raised, a clearly harmful matter impacting internal stability and Lebanon having normal relations with its neighbors and the rest of the world, one hears: this is a Lebanese party whose members are Lebanese. It has representatives in the government and parliament; what can we do about it? This answer is not only given by Hezbollah’s allies; many of its rivals have adopted it as well, despite knowing the nature of the party and truth about its identity, priorities and interests. They nonetheless cajoled its leadership for personal gains and electoral interests at various stages. Subsequently, over the years, they felt the viciousness of its policies and were faced with the negative role it plays in paralyzing the country and toppling governments, through self-made rules they imposed on everyone, among which is the “blocking third,” which it exploited to ensure the dominance of its interests over the interests of the state, opposing the majority of both ministers and deputies. The most recent manifestation of this policy in Hezbollah’s actions today is against the lead investigator into the Beirut port blast, and how it is preventing Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government from convening before “removing” Judge Tarek Bitar; that is, before it carries out the threat made by a Hezbollah security official during his “historic” visit to the Palace of Justice in Beirut.
Speaking of Hezbollah’s identity as a Lebanese party, the way parties are usually identified as: British, French, Indian, or even Iranian parties, needs some reflection and a lot of bravery for its assessment to see if this description matches the reality of the policies Hezbollah adopts in Lebanon, which is supposedly “its country”. We start with a legal issue regarding Hezbollah’s right to engage in political activity in Lebanon. We know that establishing any party, or even an association, in Lebanon requires the Ministry of Interior’s authorization. Does Hezbollah have one? Better yet, has it even thought of obtaining or seen a reason to justify seeking one given that it sees itself as above the law? It grants deeds of innocence and certificates of “the most honorable of people,” to those who enjoy its favor while granting accusations of treason to those who anger it by speaking out loud against its policies, with the ensuing threat to their interests, and in known cases to their lives as well. The second matter regards Hezbollah’s ideological commitments and source of funding. Here, we should admit that the party is honest about both. Its commitment to Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurists) and the fact that it has imported the Iranian system of governance does not scare the party; in fact, Hezbollah is proud of this commitment. As for the question of funding, the party’s secretary-general has declared, on several occasions, “his party’s money, its fighters’ gear, their food and drink, and the funds it needs for its projects” come from Iran. Can we imagine that, in any other country in the world, a party explicitly announces its affiliation to a foreign country so transparently and is left free to engage in politics?
The other matter, which is not less critical, regards the contradictions between Hezbollah’s domestic and foreign interests and the Lebanese state’s interests. Usually, all parties work to further their country and citizens’ interests, refraining from taking any actions that threaten the country’s stability and security. This is a legal matter that governs any party’s activities. When any party breaks this law, it becomes vulnerable to being questioned and banned from taking part in political life.
In Hezbollah’s case, the incidents of it taking actions that undermined Lebanon’s security and the country and its people’s interests, the most recent of which is the ongoing crisis with the Gulf states, are too many to count. We recall the July 2006 war with Israel, which Hezbollah instigated by kidnapping two Israeli soldiers. Israel retaliated with a sweeping attack that caused many human losses and left immense destruction in its wake, as well as severely damaging the country’s economy and infrastructure. At the end of it all, Hezbollah’s secretary-general declared that he would not have launched the war if he had known the destructive outcome it would have. Despite this recognition, the party was not held accountable in any way after the damages that the war had inflicted on Lebanon. All of that came under the pretext that it is a “resistance” party, though the fact is that there was no longer any justification for the maintenance of its arsenal after Israel’s withdrawal in 2000, especially that the Shebaa Farms’ status is contested between Lebanon and Syria, not Israel. Damascus must recognize that it is Lebanese territory, as the United Nations has told the Lebanese authorities on several occasions.
The fact that Hezbollah’s members carry Lebanese ID cards is not a sufficient reason for allowing it to engage in politics freely in this country. We know that many parties around the world are banned despite their members being nationals. The most prominent example is the Nazi Party, which is banned in Germany although there are those who support Nazi ideology and fascism in that country and others. The same applies to many other countries, where they forbid partisan activity that undermines the country’s interests or when it is clear that those running these parties are linked to foreign countries, even allies.
In Iran itself, Hezbollah’s exclusive sponsor, the authorities have banned political activity that opposes the Velayat-e Faqih system of governance or calls for the reinstatement of the Shah’s regime. Those who oppose the current Iranian system are either dead, in prison or in exile.
However, we are talking about Lebanon, and I am not so naive as to think that opening the discussion on Hezbollah and its loyalties is possible. The party’s dominance of the county’s politics has become so strong that it is impossible to call for debate or opposition. The crises Lebanon is facing today are among the direct outcomes of that domination.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 19-20/2021
Biden to Transfer Power to VP while Under Anesthesia for Colonoscopy
Agence France Presse/Friday, 19 November, 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden will transfer power to Vice President Kamala Harris during the "brief" time Friday he is under anesthesia for a colonoscopy as part of a regular health check, the White House said.
"President Biden will transfer power to the vice president for the brief period of time when he is under anesthesia. The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

Iranian Farmers Protest, Demand Water be Released from Dam
Naharnet/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Thousands of farmers in central Iran joined a protest on Friday demanding authorities open a dam to relieve drought-stricken areas, state TV reported. Several prominent actors and athletes have taken part in the peaceful demonstrations in the city of Isfahan, urging the government to intervene to aid famers increasingly suffering from droughts that have worsened over the years. The demonstrations began earlier this month. Crowds marched alongside the banks of the city's once-famed but now dry Zayanderud River, chanting "Farmers! Farmers! We support you!" and "Give Esfahan a chance to breathe!" The country's top vice-president, Mohamad Mokhber, later gave a brief statement to state TV, saying that meetings were being held over the issue and "we are seriously trying to solve the water problem ... especially for Isfahan." Drought has been a problem for Iran for some 30 years, but it has worsened over the past decade, according to the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization. The Iran Meteorological Organization says that an estimated 97% of the country now faces some level of drought. The farming area around Isfahan was once well supplied by the Zayanderud, but nearby factories have increasingly drawn on it over the years. The river once flowed under historic bridges in Isfahan's city center, but is now a barren strip of dirt. In 2012, farmers clashed with police in a town in Isfahan province, breaking a water pipe that diverted some 50 million cubic meters of water a year to a neighboring province. Similar protests have continued sporadically since then, and the government at one point paid around $250 to each family hit by the crisis.

Time shrinking for Iran nuclear deal, US envoy warns
AFP/19 November ,2021
The US envoy for Iran warned Friday that Tehran was approaching the point of no return for reviving a nuclear deal after it boosted its stocks of enriched uranium before talks resume this month. Robert Malley said Iran risked making it “impossible” to gain any benefit from resuming the agreement, which has been on hold since then President Donald Trump walked away in 2018. This week, with Iran set for talks with world powers in Vienna on November 29, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had again increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. “The time will come if Iran continues at this pace with the advancements they’ve made, (it) will make it impossible even if we were going to go back to the JCPOA to recapture the benefits,” Malley told the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was the agreement struck in 2015 under which Iran agreed to clear limits on its nuclear activities in return for an easing of sanctions. “Iran’s advances are spreading alarm across the region... that’s what’s making the clock tick faster and making all of us say that the time is short for a return to the JCPOA,” Malley said. On Wednesday, the US and its Gulf Arab allies accused Iran of causing a nuclear crisis and destabilizing the region with its ballistic missile program and support for armed militias. Malley said the US shared a “commonality of purpose” with rivals Russia and China “because we want to avoid that crisis, all of us, the crisis that would be sparked if Iran continues on its current path”. “And I want to be clear, because there’s no ambiguity about what they seem to be doing now, which is to drag their feet on the nuclear talks and accelerate the progress in their nuclear program.”The US envoy said he was not encouraged by the statements from the new Iranian government of President Ebrahim Raisi, which earlier on Friday accused Washington of conducting a “propaganda campaign” against the country. “If they stick to their public pronouncements, unfortunately we’re not headed in the right direction... but let’s wait to see what happens,” he said, pledging that President Joe Biden would honor a revived deal. “Our intent, our clear intent in coming back into the deal is to stick with the deal because we don’t want to see a nuclear crisis,” Malley said. Iran had reacted angrily to a US pledge to take its Gulf Arab allies’ interests into account in any revived nuclear deal with their archrival.
“The US government, which is responsible for the current situation after withdrawing from the nuclear deal, is once again trying to provoke a crisis,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh charged.

Top US defense official to make ‘very clear’ Washington’s commitment to Middle East
Joseph Haboush & Pierre Ghanem, Al Arabiya English/19 November ,2021
The top US defense official will make “very clear” that Washington remains committed to the Middle East and its strategic partnership with countries in the region, the Pentagon said.Speaking ahead of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s trip to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, a senior defense official told reporters that ties with Middle East countries were more than a US force presence. “This is a strategic partnership, and it is more than a US force presence… US commitment is more than posture,” the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. Austin will highlight that the US still has “tens of thousands” of forces on many bases across the region, including Bahrain. “More broadly, he will talk about our efforts to keep US forces in Iraq and Syria where ISIS no longer holds territory but is not defeated. Our resolve to maintain forces there is part of our mission to help them fight ISIS,” the official said. The US defense secretary is also planning to lay out the different threats that the US and regional countries share in common.
Iran
This includes the use of drones by Iran and Tehran’s malign activities at sea. “He [Austin] will call for more cooperation, more sharing of defense, more engagement on a multilateral level to challenge and address… the challenges of the 21st century,” the official said. There will not be any new agreements on specific mechanisms to deal with Iran or confront its malign activity, but confronting Iran is more than pushing back on Iranian force, the official said. “It requires whole of government partnerships in the Middle East.”Citing multiple US officials currently in the region to consult on Iran, the senior defense official said “there is an intense desire to discuss Iran and other issues.”
Iraq
Washington has no plans to leave Iraq, and its commitment to remain in the country was based on an agreement that troops would advise and assist Iraqi troops. The combat troops would no longer be present in Iraq by the end of the year, and “we are on track being faithful to that commitment and will adhere to it.”However, the official said, Iraqis still require support from the US and advice on how to counter ISIS and no changes or requests have been made. “Now, I think there are certain spoilers and adversaries who are going to exploit this and attempt to make it something different,” the official said about Iran-backed militias. “The US forces are there to advise and assist the Iraqi security forces; they will not be there for a combat role. It means that US forces are still going to be there next year. This is an evolution in mission,” the official said.
Lebanon
The official praised the Lebanese Armed Forces for continuing to carry out their duties “despite the unbelievable pressure of the situation there.” “They are under extreme distress, unable to provide for families, yet still going to work and providing humanity response,” the official said, adding that what the LAF commander Gen. Joseph Aoun heard during his recent trip to Washington was that the US would continue to support him and the LAF. Asked if the US was considering helping pay the salaries of Lebanese soldiers, the official said: “I cannot answer that; he asked for support.”
UAE: F-35s and Syria
Echoing recent comments by another senior US official, the senior defense official said there was no timeframe for the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to the UAE. “It’s a mutual decision for the timeframe. That’s just how it works.” Adding that the UAE must make certain decisions to advance the sale, the official noted that the UAE had heard “from us both publicly and privately … that we are committed to the sale. “The US is committed to going forward with the F-35 sale.”As for UAE efforts to normalize ties with Syria and the Assad regime, the official said the US had no plans for rapprochement. “The Assad regime has been able to regain territory with the help of Russia and Iran. When our strategic partners reengage, they will need to consider who is benefiting from that engagement,” the official told reporters. Asked if the US would relay its position, the official said the UAE already knew Washington’s position.“We think our partners should share a vision with us in a stable, sovereign, secure Syria with a regime that doesn’t drop chemical weapons or torture its citizens to death.”

Iraq's Sadr Says he Is Dissolving Armed Faction Loyal to him
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Friday he was dissolving the Promised Day Brigade, an armed faction loyal to him, and closing its headquarters, according to a statement published on his Twitter page. On Thursday, Sadr urged paramilitary groups to purge what he called undisciplined members, and said non-state armed groups should hand in their weapons. Iranian-backed Shiite militias have been accused of an attempt to kill outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi with armed drones on Nov. 7. Iranian-backed Shiite militias have been accused of an attempt to kill outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi with armed drones on Nov. 7.

Palestinians from Jerusalem Say Settlers Slashed Car Tires
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Vandals slashed the tires on nearly a dozen Palestinian-owned vehicles overnight in a tense Jerusalem neighborhood where Jewish settlers have been waging a decades-long legal battle to evict Palestinians, residents said Friday. CCTV footage shows three hooded men entering a fenced-off area of Sheikh Jarrah before stabbing the tires of parked cars. It was unclear who was responsible, but recent weeks have seen an escalation in settler violence toward Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Israeli police did not immediately respond to a request for comment, The Associated Press reported. Two weeks ago, four Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah rejected a settlement floated by the Israeli Supreme Court that would delay their eviction for the next 15 years. Protests and clashes over the threatened evictions helped spark the 11-day Gaza war in May.
None of the 11 cars whose tires were deflated were owned by the four Palestinian families, according to residents. Sheikh Jarrah is in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized by most of the international community, and it considers the entire city its capital. It has portrayed the legal battle in Sheikh Jarrah as a local real-estate dispute.
The Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of a future state that includes the West Bank and Gaza, where Israel withdrew forces in 2005. They say the settlers, with backing from the state, are trying to drive them out of the city and change its identity.

Egypt, Qatar Agree to Supply Fuel, Building Materials to Gaza
Ramallah – Ashar Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Qatar and Egypt have signed agreements to supply fuel and basic building materials to the Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources familiar with the matter told Asharq Al-Awsat that the agreement will help address the salary crisis for Hamas government employees. The announcement was made in Oslo by Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi,Qatar's minister of state for foreign affairs, during a ministerial meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), the international donor group for Palestinians. Muraikhi affirmed that the joint collaborative efforts will contribute to improving living conditions in Gaza. Muraikhi underlined the importance of the current understandings for facilitating the movement of travelers through Rafah border crossing and communication among all parties to calm the situation in the region. The State of Qatar is working with various international community parties to reach a just solution that achieves peace and security in the sisterly State of Palestine, he added. Qatar has been keen to provide many financial grants, humanitarian support projects and urgent relief interventions to improve the humanitarian, economic and development situation of the Palestinian people, Muraikhi noted. “This constituted a key factor in improving living conditions, especially in the Gaza Strip, where the total amount provided has amounted to more than $1.5 billion, allocated for health education, housing, industry and agriculture sectors, as well as infrastructure projects, roads, and buildings.”
In August, Israel agreed with Qatar and the United Nations on a mechanism to transfer aid from the Gulf State to Gaza, boosting prospects for relief in the Palestinian enclave after it was devastated in an Israel-Hamas conflict.

Britain Bans Hamas as Terrorist Organization
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 November, 2021
Britain's interior minister Priti Patel on Friday said she had banned the Palestinian group Hamas in a move that brings the UK's stance on Gaza's rulers in line with the United States and the European Union. "Hamas has significant terrorist capability, including access to extensive and sophisticated weaponry, as well as terrorist training facilities," Patel said in a statement. "That is why today I have acted to proscribe Hamas in its entirety." The organization will be banned under the Terrorism Act and that anyone expressing support for Hamas, flying its flag or arranging meetings for the organization would be in breach of the law, the interior ministry confirmed. Patel is expected to present the change to parliament next week. Hamas has political and military wings. Founded in 1987, it opposes the existence of Israel and peace talks, instead advocating "armed resistance" against Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Until now Britain had banned only its military arm - the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Hamas political official Sami Abu Zuhri said Britain's move showed "absolute bias toward the Israeli occupation and is a submission to Israeli blackmail and dictations.""Resisting occupation by all available means, including armed resistance, is a right granted to people under occupation as stated by the international law," said Hamas in a separate statement. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett welcomed the decision, saying in a Twitter post: "Hamas is a terrorist organization, simply put. The 'political arm' enables its military activity." Hamas and Israel clashed most recently in a deadly 11-day conflict in May. 'Strengthening ties' Interior minister Patel was forced to resign as Britain's international development secretary in 2017 after she failed to disclose meetings with senior Israeli officials during a private holiday to the country, including then-opposition leader Yair Lapid. Lapid, now Israel's foreign minister, hailed the decision on Hamas as "part of strengthening ties with Britain."Hamas is on the US list of designated foreign terrorist organizations. The European Union also deems it a terrorist movement. Based in Gaza, Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, defeating its nationalist rival Fatah. It seized military control of Gaza the following year.

US Congress Pressures Biden Administration to Sanction Sudan Military Leaders
Washington - Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 November, 2021
US Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a statement after reports of Sudanese protesters being shot by security forces and dozens reportedly dying. He slammed Sudanese military leaders, urging the White House to hold them “accountable for their atrocities.”Thousands of Sudanese took to the streets to demonstrate against the military junta, led by Sudan’s Army General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. "On October 25, the military junta violated a political agreement and seized power from a civilian-led transitional government, upending Sudan’s historic, yet fragile transition to democracy," Risch's statement read. “The Congress has spoken clearly to the military junta, the Sudanese people and the US administration that the only acceptable remedy to this tragic counter-revolutionary action is to restore the transitional government under the leadership of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok,” Risch stressed. He condemned the violence and killing of dozens of peaceful protesters by Sudanese security forces, noting that it is just one in a series of tragic incidents at the hands of Sudanese military leaders. These developments “further prove they cannot, and should not, be trusted with the responsibility of protecting and governing the people of Sudan.”He concluded by clearly hinting at the need to impose sanctions on these leaders. “From the genocide in Darfur to the coup on October 25, and now today’s killings, it is past time for the United States to hold Sudan’s military leaders accountable for their atrocities.”Earlier this month, the Republican and Democratic leaderships in Congress put forward a draft resolution condemning Sudan’s coup and calling for sanctions against army leaders. The bill was presented by Democratic Senator Bob Menendez and Risch, in cooperation with Representatives Gregory Meeks and Mike McCaul, and expresses US support for the Sudanese people and their democratic aspirations. It also recognizes Hamdok and members of his cabinet as the constitutional leaders of the Sudanese transitional government and calls on the military council to release all civilian officials and other people arrested during or after the “coup.” The draft also requires the international community to impose sanctions on the army and coup partners and suspend Sudan’s membership in all international organizations until the transitional government returns under civilian leadership.
Lawmakers have repeatedly criticized the administration’s position on the events in Sudan and are pushing to expedite the discussion of the bill. "The draft is a top priority for the committee, and it will be presented as soon as its members finish considering some of the already submitted files," a Senate Foreign Relations Committee source told Asharq Al-Awsat. Congress members hope the bill sends a critical message to the administration that there is a rare partisan consensus to punish those responsible for breaching the constitutional document and obstructing the transitional process.

Turkey Releases Detained Syrian Singer Omar Souleyman
Agence France Presse/November 19/2021
Celebrated Syrian singer Omar Souleyman was released Friday after being detained on a "terrorist propaganda" charge in southeast Turkey, his lawyer told AFP. "Omar Souleyman was released at 10:00 am (0700 GMT)," his lawyer Resit Tuna said. Souleyman was detained on Wednesday in the southern Turkish city of Sanliurfa, where he has been running a bakery since escaping Syria's civil war which began in 2011. Police questioned Souleyman over reported claims he had ties to the People's Protection Units, which Turkey says is the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. He was in custody for 24 hours at a police station in Sanliurfa, a province 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Syrian border, before being taken on Thursday to a shelter serving as a detention center for people due to be deported from Turkey, Tuna said. Sanliurfa governor's office was not able to immediately confirm the singer's release when contacted by AFP. Souleyman has won international recognition for his melodic mix of dance and folk music, collaborating with artists such as Bjork and the Blur's frontman Damon Albarn.

FDA authorizes Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna boosters for all adults
CNN/November 19/2021
The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized boosters of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for all adults, the companies said. The agency expanded emergency use authorization for booster doses of both the mRNA vaccines beyond who was eligible previously; boosters had been authorized for anyone 65 and older who was vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least six months ago and for certain adults at high risk of infection or of severe disease.

CDC vaccine advisers vote to recommend Covid-19 boosters for all adults
CNN/November 19/2021
Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously, 11-0, Friday to recommend booster doses of Pfizer/BioNTech's and Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine for all adults in the United States -- everyone 18 and older -- six months after they finish their first two doses. The vote follows the US Food and Drug Administration's decision earlier Friday to authorize boosters of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for all adults.

House Democrats pass Biden's social safety net expansion
CNN/November 19/2021
House Democrats have voted to pass President Joe Biden's sweeping $1.9 trillion social safety net expansion legislation, a victory for the party even as the legislation faces a tough road ahead in the Senate.
The vote took place on Friday morning after House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy stalled an effort to vote Thursday evening by delivering a record-breaking marathon floor speech overnight.

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 19-20/2021
Question: "What should be the focus of Christians on Thanksgiving?"
GotQuestions.org?/November 19/2021
Answer: The original thanksgiving celebration was held by the Pilgrim settlers in Massachusetts during their second winter in America in December, 1621. The first winter had killed 44 of the original 102 colonists. At one point their daily food ration was down to five kernels of corn apiece, but then an unexpected trading vessel arrived, swapping them beaver pelts for grain, providing for their severe need. The next summer’s crop brought hope, and Governor William Bradford decreed that December 13, 1621, be set aside as a day of feasting and prayer to show the gratitude of the colonists that they were still alive.
These Pilgrims, seeking religious freedom and opportunity in America, gave thanks to God for His provision for them in helping them find 20 acres of cleared land, for the fact that there were no hostile Native Americans in that area, for their newfound religious freedom, and for God’s provision of an interpreter to the Native Americans in Squanto. Along with the feasting and games involving the colonists and more than 80 Native Americans (who added to the feast by bringing wild turkeys and venison), prayers, sermons, and songs of praise were important in the celebration. Three days were spent in feasting and prayer.
From that time forward, Thanksgiving has been celebrated as a day to give thanks to God for His gracious and sufficient provision. President Abraham Lincoln officially set aside the last Thursday of November, in 1863, “as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father.” In 1941, Congress ruled that after 1941, the fourth Thursday of November be observed as Thanksgiving Day and be a legal holiday.
Scripturally, we find things related to the issue of thanksgiving nearly from cover to cover. Individuals offered up sacrifices out of gratitude in the book of Genesis. The Israelites sang a song of thanksgiving as they were delivered from Pharaoh’s army after the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15). Later, the Mosaic Law set aside three times each year when the Israelites were to gather together. All three of these times [Unleavened Bread (also called the Feast of the Passover) (Exodus 12:15-20), Harvest or Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-21), and the Feast of Ingathering or Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-36)] involved remembering God’s provision and grace. Harvest and Tabernacles took place specifically in relation to God’s provision in the harvest of various fruit trees and crops. The book of Psalms is packed full of songs of thanksgiving, both for God’s grace to the Israelite people as a whole through His mighty deeds, as well as for His individual graces to each of us.
In the New Testament, there are repeated admonitions to give thanks to God. Thanksgiving is to always be a part of our prayers. Some of the most remembered passages on the giving of thanks are the following:
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6).
"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men" (1 Timothy 2:1).
Of all of God’s gifts, the greatest one He has given is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. On the cross of Calvary, Jesus paid our sin debt, so a holy and just Judge could forgive us our sins and give us eternal life as a free gift. This gift is available to those who will call on Christ to save them from their sin in simple but sincere faith (John 3:16; Romans 3:19-26; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:13; Ephesians 2:8-10). For this gift of His Son, the gift which meets our greatest need, the Apostle Paul says, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).
We, like the Pilgrims, have a choice. In life there will always be those things that we can complain about (the Pilgrims had lost many loved ones), but there will also be much to be thankful for. As our society becomes increasingly secular, the actual “giving of thanks to God” during our annual Thanksgiving holiday is being overlooked, leaving only the feasting. May God grant that He may find us grateful every day for all of His gifts, spiritual and material. God is good, and every good gift comes from Him (James 1:17). For those who know Christ, God also works everything together for good, even events we would not necessarily consider good (Romans 8:28-30). May He find us to be His grateful children.

Can Assad ever stand up to Iran?
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/November 19/2021
Syrian autocrat is too weak to influence events, if he abandons Iran, he dies.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed visited Damascus and met with Syrian President Bashar Assad, inaugurating a seemingly a new Gulf Countries Council (GCC) policy of peeling Assad away from Iran. In 2010, before Assad had been substantially weakened by a decade of civil war, Saudi Arabia led a similar effort. It led nowhere and there is no reason to believe that the UAE’s push today will bear fruit.
The alliance between Syria and Iran dates back to 1980. Late Syrian President Hafez Assad, Bashar’s father, was locked in a bitter rivalry with his Iraqi counterpart Saddam Hussein. When war broke out between Iraq and Iran. Assad took Tehran’s side and an alliance start emerging.
Hafez Assad was not an ideologue but a savvy politician who understood that small countries with meager resources, like Syria, could only leverage their position by making themselves useful to bigger powers. Whenever big powers raced to win him over, he hiked his prices and sold to the highest bidder.
In 1987, Iran launched its last ditch, major offensive, against the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Gulf countries were frightened that the fall of Basra would open the way for Islamic Iran to invade them. GCC threw its lot behind Saddam, providing him with immense financial and diplomatic support.
Iran also needed allies, especially among the Arabs, to justify its attack on an Arab city. Assad was Tehran’s closest friend. However, instead of offering his help, Assad delivered a speech playing up Arab unity and ordered his troops in Beirut to storm Hezbollah’s headquarters and kill a dozen militants. Assad won favor with the West and Gulf countries, while Iran was still desperate for his friendship.
In in the midst of it Iraqi quagmire, Iran deployed its diplomats to Damascus to reason with Assad. After keeping them waiting for days, Assad finally met the Iranians and dictated his terms. Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, can only operate with permission from Assad. From then on, whenever Assad wanted to blackmail the West, he would let Hezbollah attack Israel and spread global terrorism. American envoys would visit Damascus begging for Assad’s help, which he would offer only after securing concessions to his liking.
Papa Assad became a regional player who punched much higher than his weight. The son, however, did not inherit such talent. Instead of maintaining the balance between rival powers, Assad threw himself in Iran’s arms. His first loss was his ejection from Lebanon, which passed to Hezbollah’s hands. His second loss cost him Syria. Bashar Assad still could not figure it out. Instead of seeking balance, he sought Iranian, and later Russian, military intervention.
After years of losses, Iran’s Hezbollah and Russian air power reversed Assad’s losses. But help was not free. It cost Assad his sovereignty. Hezbollah never handed back to Assad the territory it won back from his opponents. Russia, for its part, rarely consults with Assad and often decides on his behalf.
Since a truce was brokered in 1974 with Israel, Assad the father made himself useful to Israel by keeping his southern border calm. Assad the son, however, lost control over this territory, first to the armed Syrian opposition and later to Hezbollah and Iran. Assad’s retreat forced Israel to conduct its own policing of the Syrian south, striking from the air to prevent Iran from building a military infrastructure with which it can threaten the Jewish state. Whenever Israel strikes, Assad watches, his media issues press statements promising retaliation.
Assad is weak and barely governs beyond his presidential palace in Damascus and his Alawite pocket in the north. Even among the Alawites, Moscow has recruited its people for when Assad turns against Russia, if ever.
Similarly, Hezbollah has become so entrenched inside Syria, including in Damascus, that if Assad ever tries to switch sides and join Iran’s rivals, the GCC, Tehran can kill the Syrian dictator.
Iran has a proven record in eliminating former friends and allies, In 2005, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri was killed. A UN tribunal indicted top Hezbollah leaders on charges of his assassination. In 2017, after years of alliance with former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh against the Yemeni government and its GCC supporters, Iran’s proxy militia in Yemen killed Saleh while he was on his way to the part of the country free from Iranian control.
In Iraq, after having received support for his premiership and visited Tehran where he met Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi survived an assassination attempt. Reuters quoted sources from pro-Iran Irqqi militias claiming responsibility.
Assad is too weak to influence the course of events in Syria. Even if he were to revolt against his Iranian sponsors, he would probably not survive to see the outcome. The Syrian autocrat knows this, and for this reason all that he has offered so far has been leaks about his presumed “unhappiness” with Iranian control of his territory. It is unlikely that Assad will go any further.

Wounds With a Russian Knife in Them
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/November, 19/2021
It was supposed to be a five-year «breathing space» in which two belligerent neighbors would resolve their disputes and shape a durable peace with help from their big altruistic neighbor.
And yet, just months after the “good news” was spread by all concerned, Armenia and (former Soviet republic) Azerbaijan have reignited their border war in Transcaucasia with Russian troops keeping a low profile.
Vladimir Putin had hailed the ceasefire that his emissaries had negotiated as “a great achievement” and a sign that Russia, if given a chance, would act as peacemaker not the troublemaker that the European Union claims.
The duel in Transcaucasia may appear too insignificant and too remote to merit special attention by the broader outside world. The dispute over the tiny enclave of High Qarabagh would look too exotic to merit special attention.
The “interim solution” imposed by Russia denies Azerbaijan control of the enclave while preventing its ethnic Armenian population to develop working state structures. In other words, the wound remains open with a Russian knife in it that could be turned anytime Moscow wished.
At the same time, the “interim solution” makes both regimes in Baku and Yerevan dependent on Russian power for at least the next five years. It also keeps Turkey out, thus depriving Azerbaijan of a powerful regional ally. On the opposite side, Armenia is deprived of an opportunity to seek meaningful support from potentially sympathetic powers in Europe and North America. Moscow also benefits from its new military presence in the region by gaining control of borders with the Islamic Republic in Iran.
Is the “situation” as developed in Transcaucasia a model of Russian behavior in the international arena?
Several examples could be cited in support of a “yes” answer.
In Ukraine, having annexed Crimea, Putin is careful about the dosage of his support for secessionists in Donetsk. He wants them strong enough to keep Ukraine in a state of tension but not too strong to create a full-fledged breakaway state.
Putin is playing a similar game in Moldova by supporting ethnic Russian secessionists up to a point but not to the extent that could enable them declare full independence.
Russia’s relation with Georgia is also shaped by a variation on the same theme. Having formally annexed South Ossetia, Moscow still maintains a military presence in Abkhazia, another chunk of Georgian territory seized in 2008 while casting itself as an honest broker in a quest for “a permanent solution”.Moscow has seized the opportunity by the US withdrawal from Afghanistan to beef up its own military presence in neighboring Tajikistan, ostensibly to cope with a potential threat from the Taliban across the border. This is meant to keep the Taliban on their best behavior for fear of facing Russia as an active adversary. At the same time, it casts President Imam Ali Rahman’s regime in Dushanbe a Russian protégé. In the past few weeks, Moscow has used the Taliban bogeyman to strengthen military “cooperation” with Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan as well.
By keeping all those nations in a state of crisis with their neighbors, Putin achieves one of his two geostrategic goals: preventing NATO expansion to Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Because no country in conflict with its neighbors would be allowed to join the US-led coalition, it is important for Russia to keep all those wounds open with his knife in them. Putin’s second geostrategic goal is to throw a lasso around the European Union and, wherever possible, encourage defection by some of its members.
The proximity pressure exercised against the Baltic Republic is part of that strategy which is also being tested by using Belorussia as a surrogate to knock holes in the EU’s outer borders with hordes of immigrants recruited in the Middle East. Russian activism in Syria and Libya, and its strange alliance with Egypt in the Libyan theatre, are also calculated to exert pressure on the EU which, Putin believes, is in a weak position caused by Brexit and the five-years of uncertainty that the United States has experienced under Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
At another level, the openly pro-Russian path taken by the Khomeinist leadership in Tehran gives Putin another card to play with minimum, not to say zero, actual political and/or economic investment by Russia.
The message is that without acknowledging Russian leadership stature there could be no peace and stability in the Mediterranean, central and eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.
With the US behaving strangely for the past five years or so and the EU crippled by Brexit, the Western democracies have not been able to develop a coherent analysis of the Russian challenge let alone shape a policy to deal with it. Sending a small number of American or British troops to the Baltic republics and Poland may provide some beguiling TV news footage while huffing and puffing about sanctions could be seen as a sign of confusion rather than a strategy to stand against a de-stabilizing power. One problem is that many Western analysts pretend that in dealing with the Russian challenge the choice is limited to the full-scale cold war that could morph into military confrontation or appeasement of the kind that Angela Merkel preached right to the end of her term as Germany’s Chancellor.
Rethinking strategy for dealing with Russia needs to consider a number of issues including internal developments that, while tactically beneficial to Putin and Putinism may be detrimental to it. Today, Putin does not face a credible internal opposition because no one has succeeded in developing a credible alternative to his narrative. By putting too many chips on Alexander Navalny, Western powers have indicated support for another version of Russian nationalism of which Putin claims to be the original version.
One school of thoughts in Western policy-making circles is to let Putin choke on the morsels such as Syria, Libya, Islamic Republic in Iran, Donetsk, Transcaucasia and Byelorussia that he has bitten but cannot chew let alone digest. That may sound clever in pseudo-Machiavellian terms but could be disastrous in terms of big power politics. Despite several signals by Russia indicating its fear of a rising and aggressive China, the issue has received little attention from the US and EU. Bringing Russia in from cold and preparing for a smooth end to decades of Putinism remains one f the biggest challenges that Western democracies face today.

Inflation Is Making the SALT Deduction Less Sweet
Alexis Leondis /Bloomberg/November, 19/2021
As Democrats haggle over the future of the controversial state and local tax deduction, it’s worth remembering that the current cap of $10,000 isn’t adjusted for inflation. That was by design when Republicans rewrote the tax rules in 2017 and removed what had previously been an unlimited SALT deduction. And it wasn’t a novel move; there are other deductions and credits in the tax code that don’t take inflation into account. For example, the deduction taxpayers are allowed to take for the mortgage interest they pay is also capped at a non-inflation-adjusted amount for debt up to $750,000. And the amount of stock losses a taxpayer can deduct against ordinary income has been set at $3,000 for at least four decades. In an environment of higher-than-expected inflation, the deductions and credits that aren’t inflation-indexed become less attractive as their value declines.
By contrast, the standard deduction, which is a flat amount taxpayers take to reduce their taxable income rather than itemizing individual deductions such as SALT and mortgage interest, adjusts for inflation every year. With prices rising at the fastest rate in three decades, it just had its biggest jump in several years. In 2022, married couples get a standard deduction of $25,900, up from $25,100 this year.
The Internal Revenue Service updates these figures annually, along with the income thresholds for tax brackets and other deductions and credits, according to set formulas.
Republicans nearly doubled the standard deduction in 2017, which is why an estimated 90% of taxpayers take it compared to 70% before the change. If Democrats end up leaving the $10,000 cap in place, more taxpayers in high-tax states are likely to start using it if inflation continues. That’s the target audience for the benefit Democrats are trying to give them by shrinking the SALT-deduction limit.

Doing away with the Mufti in Syria
The Arab Weekly/November 19/2021
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has abolished the position of Grand Mufti of the Republic, which was held until recently by Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun.
The main task of issuing fatwas has now been conferred on a council established by the regime under the name of “Scientific Jurisprudence Council” made up of a number of sects and minorities including representatives of Sunni Muslims.
This step could appear to some to be an Ataturk-like measure intended to force the secularisation of the state, had it not been for the Iranian factor, which is conspicuous in Syria. Tehran has pursued a systematic programme proselytising the Shia doctrine wherever Shia militias walked in Syria. Ironically, Mufti Hassoun was one of the most ardent advocates of this programme, which eventually led to his removal.
The Mufti’s position was never intended for the Sunnis alone. Rather, it carried a symbolic value for the whole Muslim faith. Among its tasks was the regulation of the affairs of all sects without discrimination. The position was subject to an election in which senior Muslim scholars took part .
Since the Baath came to power and transformed the nature of the state, the Grand Mufti has wielded little power. He could not take decisions independently from the state or the government. But the position still had a significant impact on the structure and balance of society.
The high standing of the Mufti was very much valued by all Syrians. The scholarly turban maintained its status and prestige, even after the regime started using the fatwas for political control until the office reached its current shape after seventeen years under Hassoun.
Assad is trying to change the religious landscape by destroying the symbolic significance of the position of Grand Mufti.
He thinks that by striking at the centrality of the fatwa system and fragmenting it beyond recognition, he can steer the leadership of society away from the power of the turban. He is in reality creating a more risky vacuum rendering the majority vulnerable to dangerous currents that are still out there.
Re-engineering religious life in Syria is a project on which many players are working. They do not necessarily share the same vision even if they are military allies. The Russians, the Iranians and the Assad regime have different views reflecting their interests.
The Russians have often expressed their concern about the role of Syria’s Sunnis, as set out by high-ranking officials in recent years, such as former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who said in an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt that Sunni Muslims must be prevented from coming to power in Syria lest they “start killing Alawites.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s statements also angered the Arab world and prompted the then-Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdul Latif al-Zayani to put out a statement criticising the Russian senior official for saying that “states in the region are applying pressure to establish a Sunni regime in Syria. And we will not allow that”. The Iranians feel they cannot advance their project in Syria without removing the Sunni Islamic factor from the equation.
Assad prefers the Scientific Jurisprudence Council that he has created because it is a new national religious leadership that simply listens and obeys. Experts believe that the fatwas issued by this council will not be what Syrian Sunnis want, since their representatives will be just members of a multi-sectarian body. The whole issue of the majority is hence completely eliminated and removed from Assad’s concerns. It is now to be replaced by what some call “the jurisprudence of reality”, which will seek to find solutions according to the consensus within the council’s narrow circle. It will do so in line with the interests of its members and not based on their weight and scope of representation within Syrian society.
All of this is likely to lead to a radical change in terms of Syrian identity, both in its Arabic and Islamic dimensions amid the general confusion of the opposition and regime elites. This will mean the end of Syria as we know it in terms of the make-up of the state and society, as has already occurred in Iraq in the face of a deafening Arab and Muslim silence.

The reality behind Iran’s nuclear choices — and ours
Richard Haass/Arab News/November 19, 2021
Negotiations between Iran and the US on Tehran’s nuclear activities are set to resume in Vienna on Nov. 29. But while many will welcome this development, they should bear in mind that the talks are unlikely to succeed. And even if they do, any agreement will not resolve Iran’s push for regional primacy — or for nuclear weapons. First, some history. In 2015, Iran and the US, along with China, France, Germany, Russia, the EU and UK, entered into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, an agreement that reduced Iran’s stockpile of uranium, the level to which it could enrich its uranium and the number of centrifuges it could operate. Extensive international inspections were put in place. Iran pledged never to develop nuclear weapons.
Experts estimated that these arrangements meant Iran would need up to a year to produce nuclear weapons if it chose to do so and that inspectors would likely catch it in the process. Most of the constraints central to the 2015 accord, however, included “sunset” provisions, meaning they expire over a 10 to 15-year period. Once those restrictions disappeared, Iran would need considerably less time to develop a full-fledged nuclear weapons program. Still, billions of dollars of Iranian funds were unfrozen following the signing of the nuclear deal, and Iran was given considerable relief from extensive economic sanctions.
Iran chose to comply with the JCPOA. Nevertheless, three years later, in 2018, President Donald Trump unilaterally exited the accord, describing it as “horrible” and “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the US has ever entered.” He then imposed a new set of draconian sanctions.
Shortly afterwards, Iran moved to keep international inspectors at a distance and steadily edged closer to being in a position to produce nuclear weapons. There is strong evidence that it has enriched sufficient uranium to near the level one or more weapons would require.
Under President Joe Biden, the US has expressed its desire to re-enter the pact (negotiated while Biden was vice president) and has urged Iran to do the same. With a new president of its own — Ebrahim Raisi — in place, Iran has declared its readiness to do so, but only if the Trump-era sanctions are first rescinded. If the negotiations lead both sides back into the JCPOA, it would buy close to a decade of limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting many, but not all, of the economic sanctions.
But there are problems with this scenario. First, lifting sanctions would make it easier for Iran to acquire financial resources that would allow it to do more of what it is already doing to undermine stability in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and elsewhere in the region. Such activity was not restrained by the 2015 accord.
Lifting sanctions would make it easier for Iran to acquire financial resources that would allow it to do more of what it is already doing to undermine stability in the region.
Second, there is no reason to believe that Iran would ever sign on to a “longer, stronger” nuclear deal (a JCPOA 2.0) that places more severe constraints on its nuclear program for a longer period. Nor is there reason to believe that Iran a decade hence will be fundamentally different in its political makeup or in what it seeks. This brings us to another flaw with reviving the nuclear deal: Iran could re-enter the 2015 agreement and, while complying with it, accelerate production of ballistic missiles (not covered by the pact) and, after 2030, dramatically expand its stockpile of enriched uranium.
In addition, Iran could carry out relevant weapons development in hidden locations that would build on what it has learned in the past few years — activity that could augment the quality and quantity of any nuclear weapons should it decide to pursue them.
The question is not if, but when, we reach this juncture: In months if the negotiations fail, or in less than a decade if they succeed. An Iran allowed to field nuclear weapons or get close to such a point, becoming a threshold nuclear-weapons country, would likely be even more aggressive in its efforts to shape the region in its image. At the same time, an Iran with nuclear weapons, or the capacity to produce them in days or weeks, could prompt one or more of its neighbors to follow suit. It would put a conflict-riven region on a hair trigger.
The alternative is to replace formal diplomacy with something less formal. Call it tacit diplomacy or arms control without agreements. The US and other concerned governments, including Israel, would communicate to Iran the limits to their tolerance regarding its nuclear capacity.
If Iran were to cross these quantitative or qualitative red lines, it would pay a substantial price. In addition to increased sanctions, it could expect cyber as well as conventional military attacks on nuclear facilities and possibly targets of economic and military value.
This course also would not be without risks and costs. There is no guarantee that such attacks would succeed, given that Iran could and would go to great lengths to protect important elements of its nuclear program and reconstitute them if necessary. And Iran would also have the option to retaliate with a range of instruments and against targets of its own choosing throughout the region and the world.
All of this implies difficult choices for the US. Biden and his successors might have to consider participating in or condoning attacks on Iran. They might also need to pledge that the US would retaliate against any Iranian threat or use of nuclear weapons, much as the US does for its allies in Europe and Asia against Russia and China.
Both Trump and Biden made clear their desire to reduce US military involvement in the Middle East. Because of Iran, making good on this aim looks increasingly unlikely.
*Richard Haass is President of the Council on Foreign Relations. Copyright: Project Syndicate