English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For November 22/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.november22.22.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
for I am gentle and humble in heart
Matthew 11/25-30: “‘I thank you, Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the
intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your
gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one
knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and
anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ‘Come to me, all you that are
weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on November
21-22/2022
Lebanon Is Totally Occupied by Iran, and its Mercenary Local Terrorist
Proxy, Hezbollah/Elias Bejjani/November 22/2022
Day military parade for national security reasons
Macron to discuss Lebanon with Biden; Bassil didn't propose solution
World Food Program donates $5 billion to Lebanon
Joint parliamentary committees resume debate over capital control law
Berri meets Vice Minister of International Department of Communist Party of
China, receives independence congratulatory cable form his Russian...
Mikati: World Food Program has allocated USD 5 billion and 400 million to
Lebanon over next three years
Lebanese Army Commander delivers “Order of the Day” marking Lebanon’s 79th
Independence Day
Depositor storms “Al-Baraka” Bank in Al-Malla street, Beirut
Wahhab says Hezbollah has begun 'dialogue' with army chief
Reports: FPM rejects govt. session to fund World Cup broadcasting
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on November
21-22/2022
US intel says Iran agreed to help Russia build more drones to use in
Ukraine even as the Kremlin has denied it, report says
Iran’s World Cup Team Remained Silent During Their National Anthem
Women's protests overshadow Iran's World Cup loss
Iran says taking retaliatory measures for IAEA resolution
Kremlin: No talk of new round of mobilisation
U.S. monitoring alleged executions in Ukraine, says war crimes envoy
Europe wakes up to a new need to defend itself
Ukrainian refugees embrace peace and quiet in Canada as war rages on
Ukraine says 'torture' sites found in Kherson
Ukraine: Civilians should leave liberated areas this winter
Israel PM-designate Benjamin Netanyahu wins defamation suit against predecessor
Palestinians: Israeli forces kill man in West Bank
Rocket fire from Syria kills three on Turkish border
Erdogan threatens ground operation into Syria
Egyptian-Turkish leaders seal improvement in bilateral ties with handshake
Titles For The
Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on November
21-22/2022
Qatar's Double Game: Funding Islamists While Pretending to Be America's
Ally/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/November 21, 2022
Islam’s Elexir — Camel Urine — Back in the News/Raymond Ibrahim/November 21,
2022
Who Runs the World? Ants./Farhad Manjoo/The New York Times/November, 21/2022
American Democracy Rights itself and Regains its Balance/Sam Menassa/Asharq Al
Awsat/November, 21/2022
Poland strike highlights the need for quick end to Ukraine war/Chris Doyle/Arab
News/November 21/2022
The West is waking up to the Iranian threat — now what?/Baria Alamuddin/Arab
News/November 21/2022
November
21-22/2022
Lebanon Is Totally Occupied by Iran, and its Mercenary Local Terrorist Proxy,
Hezbollah
Elias Bejjani/November 22/2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/113551/113551/
We, the Lebanese people in Lebanon, and the Diaspora, are
supposed to celebrate today, our country's independence day, but sadly we are
not able to do so because, Lebanon, the land of the Holy Cedars, and 7000 years
deeply rooted glory, holiness and history is an occupied, impoverished, and
oppressed country by all means.
The stone age savage occupier, is the terrorist Iranian mercenary criminal and
armed proxy, the Hezbollah militia.
This terrorist armed militia controls totally Lebanon's decision making process
on all levels, and in all domains, including its borders with both Syrian and
Israel, as well as the peace and war one.
Meanwhile the majority of the Lebanese officials, if not all, as well as the
politicians are mere corrupted mercenaries appointed by Hezbollah, and like
puppets carry its wishes and orders.
The USA and all other democratic countries can help Lebanon and the Lebanese
people in reclaiming back their confiscated independence, and stolen country
through a strong, loud and official stance in practically and not only
rhetorically supporting the immediate implementation of the three UN resolutions
that addresses Lebanon's crisis: the armistice agreement, 1559 and 1701.
The Lebanese people after all these years of bloody, destructive, evil and
savage occupation, are unable on their own to liberate their country, without a
real and clear practical military and political support from the UN, and all the
democratic countries..
We call on the Free World to Help liberate Lebanon, before
it is too late.
In conclusion, Lebanon and the Lebanese people are kidnapped by the notorious
Iranian Mullah's rogue-pariah regime, and by its terrorist local mercenary
militia, Hezbollah.
The Lebanese and their country are taken hostages, oppressed, persecuted,
deprived of basic life needs and impoverished.
May Almighty God bless and safeguard Lebanon, and grant its oppressed people the
faith, perseverance, power and will to stay tall as their Holy Cedars, and keep
on struggling to reclaim it back from both, Hezbollah and its Iranian terrorist
masters.
Day military parade for national security reasons
Najia Houssari/November 21/2022
BEIRUT: Lebanon will on Tuesday ditch its traditional military parade for 79th
Independence Day celebrations due to the continued presidential vacuum in the
country. Army chiefs said the decision had been made with the “national
interest” in mind and to maintain “security and stability.”
Addressing troops on Monday, army commander, Gen. Joseph Aoun, said: “Our
country is going through exceptional circumstances that require everyone,
officials, and citizens, to be aware, wise, responsible, and cooperate for the
sake of the supreme national interest while waiting for the political situation
to be rectified and order to be restored. “Independence is the fruit of the
honorable struggle waged by the Lebanese, just as it is the fruit of the fateful
challenges they faced and overcame with their unity and determination, leading
to building a homeland on solid foundations, so we must preserve and protect
it.”He pointed out that the recent maritime border demarcation agreement between
Lebanon and Israel had been “an important step” toward the nation’s recovery and
an investment in its natural wealth. “This achievement needs state institutions
to protect and accompany it, for the benefit of the country and the Lebanese.
“Amid the presidential vacuum and the prevailing political tensions, maintaining
security and stability remains our top priority. We will not allow any violation
or destabilization of civil peace for certain objectives. “Our mission was and
will remain to preserve Lebanon, its people, and its land,” Aoun added.
The general praised soldiers for their discipline during the country’s ongoing
economic crisis. “You have maintained your morals in dealing with all the events
and incidents that our country has experienced. With your oath and vigilance,
you protected Lebanon and will continue to protect it until the last drop of
blood.”He said the army would continue to coordinate with the UN Interim Force
in Lebanon to maintain stability in the south.
“The confidence of the Lebanese and the international community have in you is
proof of the importance of your role, so do not weaken in the face of dangers,
and do not tire of campaigns of profiteering and false accusations,” he added.
In February, Aoun warned that soldiers were suffering from the same economic
hardships as Lebanese civilians, and he directly criticized the political
leadership for its inability to address the situation. Arab and other countries
have since donated food and medical aid for Lebanon’s military personnel. Also
addressing the military, Director General of General Security Maj. Gen. Abbas
Ibrahim said Lebanon had never experienced such levels of sectarianism and
regionalism, along with the ruination of state institutions. “We need to be
ready for what might happen, especially as we are responsible before the
Lebanese to preserve and protect the homeland,” he added. Ibrahim noted that
states were not based on individual guarantees, but on constitutional
institutions and a commitment to apply laws.
Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba, director general of State Security, told troops: “Power
vacuum does not at all mean a security vacuum. Our top priority is to protect
the country from the Israeli enemy, terrorism, and corruption.”Lebanon’s Grand
Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian urged MPs, “to take an initiative on the
occasion of Independence Day by agreeing to elect a new president who has the
characteristics that remind us of the independence leaders who fought and
sacrificed for their homeland. “The situation in Lebanon will not be corrected
except by electing a president, forming a government, and restoring
Lebanese-Arab relations, especially with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation
Council. Otherwise, we are only wasting time.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, and following the Beirut port explosion,
Lebanon stopped holding the Nov. 22 Independence Day military parade on the
capital’s waterfront. In 2021, a symbolic military parade was held at the army
headquarters in the Yarzeh region, in the presence of former President Michel
Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
The economic crisis in Lebanon has placed unprecedented pressure on the
operational capabilities of the army, leaving soldiers with low morale and
minimal pay, while political tensions have continued to mount, and crime and
poverty rates have soared. Ministers in the caretaker government on Monday laid
wreaths on the tombs of the independence leaders. As the Lebanese flag flew at
half-mast over the presidential palace, schoolchildren also celebrated Flag Day,
which falls the day before Independence Day.
Macron to discuss Lebanon with Biden; Bassil didn't propose
solution
Naharnet/November 21/2022
French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the Lebanese file with his U.S.
counterpart Joe Biden during an upcoming visit to Washington that will take
place in two weeks from now, a senior French source said. Asked whether Free
Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil had proposed any solution for the
presidential election crisis during his latest visit to Paris, the source told
Annahar newspaper that Bassil did not suggest any exit.
The source also said that there will not be any French-sponsored conference,
noting that Macron had been “criticized by everyone” following his visits to
Lebanon in the wake of the Beirut port blast.
World Food Program donates $5 billion to Lebanon
Naharnet/November 21/2022
The United Nations World Food Program has agreed to disburse $5 billion in aid
of Lebanon over the next 3 years, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said
Monday. He added that an agreement has been reached with the WFP to increase the
number of Lebanese benefiting from the organization's food assistance. Currently
70% of those who benefit from the WFP aid are Syrians and 30% are Lebanese,
Mikati said after a meeting with WFP Lebanon Country Director Abdallah Alwardat
at the Grand Serail. Lebanon has a population of roughly 6 million people, among
them over 1 million Syrian refugees who fled the war-torn country over the past
decade. The WFP once allocated $700 million in food assistance to Lebanon every
year, and scaled that up to $1.3 billion in 2022. Now, it has earmarked $5.4
billion for the next three years, increasing its annual food assistance budget
by $500 million. The new budget will allow the WFP to feed about 2 million
people, split evenly between Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese. “Food
prices in Lebanon are 16 times higher than they were in October 2019 before the
onset of the current deep financial crisis,” WFP spokesperson Rasha Abou Dargham
told The Associated Press. "Families’ incomes are not enough to keep up with
skyrocketing food and other basic needs prices."The WFP delivers food parcels to
families and works with farmers and small businesses, but also works with the
Lebanese government to execute an emergency cash-assistance program to
vulnerable Lebanese families currently funded by a World Bank loan. Earlier this
month, the United States announced it will give the crisis-battered country
$80.5 million in aid for food assistance and solar-powered pumping stations. The
World Bank in May approved a $150 million loan to stabilize bread prices in
Lebanon.
Joint parliamentary committees resume debate over capital
control law
Naharnet/November 21/2022
Depositors and activists rallied Monday near Parliament to protest a capital
control law as joint parliamentary committees discussed it today. The committees
had convened last week to discuss the law, completing six clauses. They decided
to resume the talks today, Monday. On Monday, the committees completed eleven
clauses, Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said, adding that the discussion will
resume next week during two sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. Bou Saab said
that the most important clause will be discussed during next week's session.
It's about forming a special committee to supervise the implementation of the
capital control law. The adoption of a capital control law is one of the reforms
requested by the International Monetary Fund to financially help crisis-hit
Lebanon, but some MPs consider it unfair to the depositors. Depositors
considered the law as "a veiled amnesty law" for "the thieves of public and
private money."Since October 2019, banks have been imposing informal capital
controls, barring depositors from reaching into their dollar accounts, as well
as stopping transfers, amid a severe financial crisis. Free Patriotic Movement
chief Jebran Bassil considered last week that some banks are still making
"selective" transfers overseas because the capital control law hasn't been
approved yet. The capital control law will impose official restrictions on
transfers and withdrawals. In the past months, many armed depositors have
stormed banks demanding funds from their locked savings account. The majority
needed their money for urgent medical bills. Also on Monday, a depositor called
Hussein Ramadan stormed a bank in Beirut's al-Malla area. Bou Saab voiced his
support for the depositors. "I am one of them," he said. "We are here to take a
decision that will protect their rights," he added. Last Tuesday, Hezbollah MP
Ali Fayyad said that it is possible to make drastic amendments to the law and
that his bloc will defend the depositors' rights. Lebanese Forces MP Georges
Adwan also said that his bloc will defend the depositors' right, as he voiced
support for the capital control law.
Berri meets Vice Minister of International Department of
Communist Party of China, receives independence congratulatory cable form his
Russian...
NNA/November 21/2022
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Monday said on the occasion of Lebanon’s 79th
Independence Day: “In order for independence not to turn into a memory,
independence must remain a way of life and a daily act of one unified national
will regarding all titles related to the livelihood of the state, its
institutions and its people in terms of freedom, dignity, security and
stability.”On the other hand, Speaker Berri received, at the second presidency
in Ain El-Tineh, Russian Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Rudakov, who handed
the Speaker a congratulatory letter on the occasion of Lebanon’s Independence
Day, from the Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. The visit was an
occasion during which they discussed the current general situation in Lebanon
and the region and the bilateral relations, especially the legislative
cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries. Speaker Berri also
received the Vice Minister of the International Department of the Chinese
Communist party Central Committee Qian Hongshan, and the accompanying
delegation, in the presence of Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon, Qian Minjian.
Discussions reportedly touched on the current general situation in Lebanon and
the region and the bilateral relations between the two countries. This
afternoon, Speaker Berri welcomed the President of the Hariri Foundation for
Sustainable Human Development, Bahia Hariri, with whom he discussed the latest
developments and an array of developmental affairs. On the occasion of Lebanon’s
Independence Day, Berri received congratulatory cables from the Speaker of the
House of Commons of Canada, Anthony Rota, and the Speaker of the Senate of
Canada, George Furey.
Mikati: World Food Program has allocated USD 5 billion and
400 million to Lebanon over next three years
NNA/November 21/2022
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Monday said that the World Food
Program’s Executive Board has decided during its last meeting in Rome to
allocate “USD 5 billion and 400 million to Lebanon over the next three years”,
with a promise that “food products will be entirely purchased from Lebanon.”
Mikati's words came in the wake of a meeting he held today with WFP Director in
Lebanon, Dr. Abdullah Al-Wardat. For his part, Al-Wardat said that he had
informed Mikati about the WFP Executive Board’s approval of the WFP project in
Lebanon for the years 2023-2025. “This project will provide and will continue to
provide emergency aid, as well as in-kind and cash assistance to the
beneficiaries of this program,” Al-Wardat said, noting that the number of
beneficiaries will increase. “The program will continue to provide cash
assistance to a number of refugees; we are talking about one million Syrian
refugees and one million Lebanese who will benefit from this project,” he added.
“The program will also continue to provide assistance to school students who
benefit from the school feeding program,” explained Al-Wardat, noting that the
current number of students is approximately 73,000 students. “The new project
aims to reach 150,000 students,” he added. “We will continue to provide
technical support to the relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Social
Affairs (….). As for the farmers' support project, we seek to enhance food
security in Lebanon, which is a top priority; we’re all aware that local
production is not sufficient for local needs, as Lebanon relies on importing
between 80 and 90 percent of its wheat consumption. This project requires the
delivery of in-kind, technical and cash assistance to a number of farmers, with
special focus on cultivating wheat to increase local production,” Al-Wardat
added. Mikati separately had an audience with Housing Bank General Manager,
Antoine Habib, with whom he discussed the Arab Fund loan that has been allocated
to the bank. Later during the day, Mikati welcomed the Ambassador of Armenia to
Lebanon, Vahagn Atabekian, with whom he discussed bilateral relations. Mikati
also welcomed a delegation representing the Syndicate of Vegetable Traders in
Tripoli.
Lebanese Army Commander delivers “Order of the Day” marking
Lebanon’s 79th Independence Day
NNA/November 21/2022
The following is Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun’s Order of the Day
marking Lebanon’s 79th Independence Day:
“Fellow troops,
As the 79th Independence Day is upon us, our country is going through
exceptional circumstances that require awareness, wisdom, and responsibility
from everyone, both officials and citizens, as well as cooperation for the
higher national interest while we wait for the rectification of the political
situation and the restoration of institutional organization. Independence is the
fruit of the honorable struggles of the Lebanese, and the fateful challenges
they faced and overcame with their unity and determination to build a nation on
solid foundations, a nation we must preserve and protect.
Fellow troops,
The completion of the maritime delimitation file represents a glimmer of hope
for our country, and an important step towards its recovery from its current
crisis by investing an essential part of its natural wealth. This achievement
requires state institutions to protect and keep pace with it, for the interest
of the nation and the Lebanese. In the meantime, as Lebanon enters the phase of
presidential vacancy and faces increased political tensions, maintaining
security and stability remains our highest priority. We shall not allow any
breach of civil peace or destabilization of the situation for any purposes. Our
mission has been and will remain to preserve Lebanon, its people, and its land.
Fellow troops,
You keep proving day after day that you are a rare example among the armies of
the world. Rarely had an army faced such challenges within a few years and
remained at the highest levels of readiness, discipline, dedication, and
commitment. You courageously and silently faced all the campaigns of deceit
despite the economic and living conditions you are going through, and
professionally dealt with all the events and incidents our country has
witnessed. With your oath and vigilance, you have protected Lebanon and will
continue to do so till the last drop of blood in your veins. All that in
parallel with your primary mission to confront the Israeli enemy and its greed
on one hand, and terrorism and its subversive maneuvers on the other. With your
sights set on the border as on the inside, you continue to implement your
missions in the south, in cooperation and coordination with the UNIFIL, to
maintain its stability.
Fellow troops,
Armies are built for tough times. Lebanon's power and unity are derived from
your strength. Know that the confidence of the Lebanese and the international
community in you is telling proof of the importance of your role. Therefore, do
not weaken in the face of dangers, and do not be intimidated by campaigns of
victimization and false accusations. On the anniversary of our nation's
independence, we renew our commitment to protect and defend our oath. This
country has endured many challenges and wars throughout its history and has
always risen above them due to all its people’s refusal to surrender, and its
army’s commitment to the values of honor, sacrifice and loyalty.”
Depositor storms “Al-Baraka” Bank in Al-Malla street,
Beirut
NNA/November 21/2022
A depositor stormed “Al-Baraka” Bank’s branch in Al-Malla street, Beirut, our
reporter said on Monday
Wahhab says Hezbollah has begun 'dialogue' with army chief
Naharnet/November 21/2022
Dialogue between Hezbollah and Army chief General Joseph Aoun has started, Arab
Tawhid Party chief Wiam Wahhab said overnight. The “dialogue” began with a
meeting last week in Yarze between Aoun and Hezbollah Coordination and Liaison
Officer Wafiq Safa, Wahhab told MTV, noting that the meeting was of a “political
and not security nature.”“Hezbollah will not abandon Marada Movement chief
Suleiman Franjieh unless he himself rejects to nominate himself and we are
before three options: Franjieh’s withdrawal, (Free Patriotic Movement chief
Jebran) Bassil’s endorsement of him, or the election of the army chief under a
U.S.-Iranian agreement through the French,” Wahhab added. Wahhab also praised
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. “LF chief Samir Geagea is acting as a
statesman and a man of institutions, especially as to his stance on the session
and quorum, and dealing with him should not remain based exclusively on his
past,” Wahhab added, noting that Geagea is “closer to a settlement with Franjieh
than Bassil.”“Hezbollah has not switched to Plan B and it is still backing
Franjieh, but it does not want to break Bassilm and Franjieh can for example be
elected president without Bassil’s votes should he win Saudi Arabia’s approval,”
Wahhab went on to say. He added: “I believe that Bassil has not become convinced
yet that his presidential chances are inexistent and that the U.S. sanctions are
not the obstacle in the way of his election but rather domestic
circumstances.”“He must use his votes in the right place before it’s too late,”
Wahhab added. Al-Jadeed TV later reported, quoting unnamed sources, that
describing the meeting as “political,” especially as to the presidential vote
issue, is “inaccurate.”The TV network added that the meeting took place on
Wednesday and was one of the “periodic meetings that gather Aoun and Safa, which
are mainly aimed at security coordination.”“The joint security affairs in
addition to the various domestic and foreign political approaches were
discussed, without delving into any development related to the presidential
affair in particular,” al-Jadeed said.
Reports: FPM rejects govt. session to fund World Cup
broadcasting
Naharnet/November 21/2022
The Free Patriotic Movement has rejected the possibility of holding any
caretaker cabinet session to officially approve a contract with Qatar to enable
Tele Liban to broadcast the FIFA World Cup matches, media reports said. “Qatar
has agreed to sign the contract with Lebanon on the condition of paying the
required sum of money, estimated at $4-5 million,” al-Liwaa newspaper reported
Monday. A cabinet session is required to approve the contract, the daily added.
FPM sources meanwhile described the inclination to hold such a session as “an
attack on the constitution and the National Pact,” warning that it would
represent a “provocation.”
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on November
21-22/2022
US intel says Iran agreed to help Russia build more drones
to use in Ukraine even as the Kremlin has denied it, report says
Taiyler Simone Mitchell/Business Insider/November 21/2022
Iran has agreed to help Russia with attack drone production, according to The
Washington Post.
Russia has not officially confirmed that drones it has used in Ukraine were
Iranian. A Russian defense advisor was caught on a hot mic last month saying "we
all know the drones are Iranian."Iran has agreed to aid Russia with unmanned attack drones for its ongoing war in
Ukraine, according to a report by The Washington Post that cited unnamed US
officials.
Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine has persisted since February, despite Russian
forces retreating from areas in the southern in recent weeks. Over the course of
the last nine months, reports of war crimes, including rape and torture, against
Ukrainian civilians have surfaced, with suicide drones being used to spread
"terror and chaos," experts have said. Russia has used more than 400
Iranian-made drones in its war against Ukraine, according to The Post. While
Russia has not officially confirmed the allegations that its using Iranian
drones, Ruslan Pukhov, an advisor to Russia's defense ministry, seemingly
mistakenly said it on air in October. "You know the expression, 'we all have an
asshole but we don't use the word?' We all know the drones are Iranian, but the
government has not admitted to it," Pukhov told the Russian Business Channel.
According to The Post, the countries will start production within the coming
months, swapping needed information — like "designs and key components" — on the
drones in the interim.The Iranian-designed drones will be produced inside of
Russia, a tactic Iran is using in hopes to avoid sanctions and to be seen as
neutral, according to the report. "It is proceeding quickly from decision-making
to implementation," an unnamed official told The Post. "It is moving fast and it
has lot of steam." Iran previously denied supplying the drones to Russia, but
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said earlier this month that
Iran did send drones to Russia "before the Ukraine war."As The New York Times
noted, Russia and Iran may have formed an alliance in an effort to resist
sanctions by the West, specifically the US. National Security Council
spokesperson Adrienne Watson told The Washington Post: "Iran and Russia can lie
to the world, but they can't hide the facts: Tehran is helping kill Ukrainian
civilians through the provision of weapons and assisting Russia in its
operations. It's another sign of how isolated both Iran and Russia are."
Iran’s World Cup Team Remained Silent During Their
National Anthem
Astha Rajvanshi/Time/November 21, 2022
During the opening match against England at the FIFA World Cup on Monday, Iran’s
national men’s soccer team chose not to sing their national anthem in an
apparent show of support for the ongoing protests back home. All 11 starting
players stood silent while the Iranian anthem played inside the Khalifa
International Stadium in Qatar. The nationwide protests against Iran’s clerical
leaders, which were sparked by the alleged killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by
the country’s “morality police,” are now entering their third month. Since the
protests began, 17,451 protesters have been detained and 426 have been killed,
according to the latest figures by the Human Rights Activists News Agency, or
HRANA. Many protesters speculated whether players representing IR Iran, or the
Islamic Republic of Iran, would use the event as a platform to show solidarity
with the movement. On Sunday, defender Ehsan Hajsafi, who plays for AEK Athens,
was the first member to speak out in support of the protests. “We have to accept
the conditions in our country are not right and our people are not happy,”
Hajsafi said at a news conference. “We are here but it does not mean we should
not be their voice or we should not respect them.”
“They should know that we are with them,” he continued, referring to the
protesters. “And we support them. And we sympathize with them regarding the
conditions.”
Fans of the team in Qatar told the BBC they are there to support “real Iranian
people,” and not the national team. They also planned to boo their national
anthem, which they said did not represent “real Iranian people.”Other Iranian
sporting teams have also expressed their support with acts of defiance, or by
not signing the national anthem. These include an Iranian archer who removed her
headscarf following a tournament in Tehran; Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi, who
competed without a headscarf in South Korea; and the national water polo team,
which chose not to sing the national anthem at the Asian Water Polo
Championships last week. According to state news agencies, Iran’s deputy sports
minister Maryam Kazemipour said that some Iranian female athletes had acted
against Islamic norms and apologized for their actions. And an Iranian cleric in
the northwestern city of Urmia called for the punishment of athletes who refrain
from singing the anthem, referring to the men’s water polo team, during Friday
prayers. The Iranian regime has executed several athletes for expressing
political dissent in the past. In 2020, Iran executed 27-year-old champion
wrestler Navid Afkari after accusing the athlete of killing a security guard
during anti-government protests in 2018 (a charge rejected by Afkari’s family).
The execution drew widespread condemnation, including from the United States and
the European Union. During the late 1980s, when Iran executed thousands of
political prisoners, the captain of Iran’s women’s national volleyball team
Foruzan Abdi was also arrested on charges of supporting the opposition group and
sentenced to five years in prison. Abdi was not released after she completed her
sentence, and in the summer of 1988, she was hanged in Tehran’s notorious Evin
prison. Several Iranian female athletes have chosen to leave the country over
the years. Just last year, Iranian female handball player Shaghayegh Bapiri
defected to Spain. In 2020, Kimia Alizadeh, the only woman from Iran to win an
Olympic medal, defected as well. And Soheila Farahani, a former Iranian national
volleyball player, fled to California seven years ago after her sexuality came
under scrutiny. “I felt if I don’t run from the country right now I would be put
in jail or executed,” Farahani told TIME.
Women's protests overshadow Iran's World Cup loss
DOHA, Qatar (AP)/November 21, 2022
Iran’s players didn’t sing their national anthem and didn’t celebrate their
goals. In the stands, many Iranian fans showed solidarity with the protest
movement that has roiled the country for months. Iran’s World Cup opener Monday
against England was not just about soccer, but the political struggles gripping
the Islamic Republic. And for some Iranian women, barred from attending men’s
soccer matches at home, it was a precious first chance to see the national team
live. “Do you know how painful it is to be the biggest football fan and never go
to a match in 34 years?” said Afsani, a 34-year-old beekeeper from Tehran, who
traveled to Qatar to watch the men's team for the first time. She said she wept
when she entered the Khalifa International Stadium. Like other Iran fans, Afsani
declined to give her last name for fear of government reprisals. Iran lost 6-2
to a superior England team, but the result wasn't the most important to Mayram,
a 35-year-old Tehran resident who also watched her first soccer match live. She
was disappointed that the players didn’t show more overt solidarity with the
protests at home. “You have girls being killed in the street,” she said. “It’s
hard to say but this is not a happy occasion. It is really sad.”
Iran is competing in the World Cup amid a violent crackdown on a major women’s
protest movement that has resulted in the deaths of at least 419 people,
according Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the
protests.
The unrest was spurred by the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the
custody of the country’s morality police. It first focused on the state-mandated
hijab, or headscarf, for women, but has since morphed into one of the most
serious threats to the Islamic Republic since the chaotic years following its
founding. Many Iran fans in Doha wore T-shirts and waved signs with the mantra
of the uprising — “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Others wore jerseys bearing the names
of female protesters killed by Iranian security forces in recent weeks. In the
22nd minute of the match — a reference to Amini's age when she died — some fans
chanted her name, though the refrain quickly faded out and was replaced by “Iran."Other
fans dressed in conservative black chadors and hijabs in the color of the
Iranian flag cheered loudly for their national team. Many of them declined to
speak about the political situation, saying it was not relevant to them. Before
international matches, Iran's players usually sing the national anthem with the
right hands on their heart. On Monday they stood silently, their arms draped
around each other's shoulders, prompting Iran’s state TV to cut from a close-up
of the players’ faces to a wide shot of the pitch. During the match, the players
didn't celebrate their two goals, something that has become common in Iranian
league matches since the protests began.
The question of whether to root for the national team has divided Iranians. Many
now view support for the Iranian team as a betrayal of the young women and men
who have risked their lives in the streets. “The protest movement has
overshadowed the football,” said Kamran, a linguistics professor who lives in
the verdant northern province of Mazandaran. “I want Iran to lose these three
games.”Others insist the national team, which includes players who have spoken
out on social media in solidarity with the protests, is representative of the
country’s people and not its ruling Shiite clerics. The team’s star forward,
Sardar Azmoun, has been vocal about the protests online. He was on the bench
during the match, to the dismay of fans who said they were looking to him to
make a gesture of protest on the pitch. Two former soccer stars have even been
arrested for backing the movement. Ali Jassim, a 14-year-old Iranian fan, said
he was sure the political crisis was affecting the team’s performance, as
England went up 3-0 at half-time. “I don’t know how they can focus in a stadium
full of so many people who want them to fail, ” he said. The Iranian government
has tried to encourage citizens to support their team against Iran’s traditional
enemies. Iran plays the United States on Nov. 29 — a contentious showdown that
last occurred at the 1998 World Cup in France. Observers note that the players
are likely facing government pressure not to side with the protests. Already,
Iranian athletes have drawn enormous scrutiny. When Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi
competed in South Korea without wearing her country’s mandatory headscarf, she
became a lighting rod of the protest movement. “At the end of the day, I want
the players to achieve their dreams,” said Mariam, a 27-year-old sports fan and
international relations student who traveled to Doha from Tehran to watch her
first men's soccer match live. “It’s not their fault our society is so
polarized.” Mariam said a big achievement for the women protesting at home would
be the right to choose whether to wear the hijab. “But after that, women will go
for their right to be in stadiums,” she said.
Iran says taking retaliatory measures for IAEA
resolution
Agence France Presse/November 21, 2022
Iran has said it is taking retaliatory measures against the International Atomic
Energy Agency over a resolution criticizing Tehran's lack of cooperation with
the nuclear watchdog. The United States, Britain, France and Germany had on
Thursday brought the motion adopted by the U.N. agency -- the second of its kind
within six months. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani announced a
response in comments Sunday night. "In response to the recent action of three
European countries and the United States in the adoption of a resolution against
Iran, some initial measures have been decided by the Atomic Energy Organisation
of Iran," he said. "The implementation of these measures was realized today in
the presence of IAEA inspectors in the Natanz and Fordo enrichment complexes,"
he added, without specifying what the measures were. He also hinted at the
likelihood that the IAEA delegation's next visit to Iran would be cancelled.
"The IAEA delegation's trip to Tehran was approved in the framework of the deal
with the agency," Kanani said, adding however that "Iran's next steps will be
taken in accordance with the new conditions". He nonetheless also said that "the
Islamic republic of Iran is always prepared to respond in the appropriate manner
to the actions of Western parties when they return to their commitments".
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had on Saturday condemned the
resolution, accusing the four countries of trying to exert "maximum pressure" on
Tehran amid two months of nationwide protests in the Islamic republic. The
resolution came amid an impasse over undeclared uranian particles in Iran, and
as talks seeking to revive Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers have
stalled. The agreement Iran reached with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia
and the United States gave Tehran relief from sanctions in return for guarantees
it could not develop or acquire an atomic weapon. The deal collapsed after
Washington's unilateral withdrawal in 2018 under then president Donald Trump.
Kremlin: No talk of new round of mobilisation
MOSCOW (Reuters)/November 21, 2022
The Kremlin said on Monday it was not discussing calling up more Russian
soldiers to fight in Ukraine through a second round of mobilisation. Russia
called up more than 300,000 reservists to support what it calls its "special
military operation" in Ukraine in a controversial mobilisation drive launched in
September. The move prompted hundreds of thousands of Russian men to flee the
country to avoid being conscripted, and sparked the largest anti-Kremlin
protests across the country since Moscow sent in its troops in February.
President Vladimir Putin said he had ended the mobilisation drive at the end of
October, but has not revoked an official decree which provides the legal basis
for the draft - a decision which has caused concern among some who say the
Kremlin is keeping its options open for a future round of call-ups. Asked by
reporters if Russia was planning a new round of mobilisation, Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov said: "I can't speak for the defence ministry, but there are no
discussions in the Kremlin about this."
U.S. monitoring alleged executions in Ukraine, says war
crimes envoy
Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk/Reuters/November 21, 2022
Washington's envoy for war crimes said on Monday the United States was
monitoring allegations of Ukrainian forces summarily executing Russian troops,
and said all parties should face consequences if they commit abuses in the
conflict. Russia's defense ministry on Friday cited videos circulating on social
media that allegedly showed Ukrainian soldiers executing Russian prisoners of
war. "We are obviously tracking that quite closely," Beth Van Schaack, the U.S.
ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, told reporters during a
telephone briefing. "It's really important to emphasize that the laws of war
apply to all parties equally: both the aggressor state and the defender state
and this is in equal measure," she said, adding that "all parties to the
conflict must abide by international law or face the consequences." The videos
show what appear to be Russian soldiers lying on the ground after apparently
surrendering. Then automatic gunf Russia has been accused of numerous war crimes
since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, including by operating a
system of so-called filtration camps to move Ukrainians in occupied areas into
Russia. Russia has denied the allegations and accused Ukraine and its backers in
the West of fabricating the
claims. Van Schaack said the scale of criminality exhibited by Russian forces
was "enormous" compared to the allegations against Ukrainian troops, and noted
that the two sides responded differently when allegations of atrocities surface.
"Russia inevitably responds with propaganda, denial, mis- and dis-information,
whereas Ukrainian authorities have generally acknowledged abuses and have
denounced them and have pledged to investigate them."
one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s toughest critics and the
leader of a political resistance movement that presented the Kremlin with its
first genuine threat in decades, but locked away in solitary confinement in a
remote penal colony, dissident Alexei Navalny simply craves a pair of winter
boots.
“It's been weeks since the whole colony switched to winter clothes, and my evil
prison guards are brazenly not giving me my winter boots,” Navalny wrote Monday
on Twitter, explaining that the lack of winter clothes was intended to deepen
his punishment. “My exercise yard is an ice-covered concrete well smaller than
my cell. See if you can walk in it in fall boots. But you have to walk. It's the
only 1.5 hours of fresh air you can get,” he wrote, describing the difficulty of
obtaining proper medical care, should he fall ill, and the overall lack of
adequate sustenance. “The prison administration is torturing and killing Alexei
Navalny on the orders of Kremlin,” Anna Veduta, a vice president at Navalny’s
Anti-Corruption Foundation, told Yahoo News. “They kill him slowly, making his
life less and less bearable. His client-attorney privilege is waived, he’s in
solitary confinement forever now, he’s deprived of family visits and now they
are trying to freeze him to death.”News of Navalny’s latest struggle comes as
U.S. authorities continue to look for ways to secure the release of Brittney
Griner, an American professional basketball player who was arrested at a Russian
airport earlier this year after cannabis cartridges were found in her luggage.
Griner was shipped to a penal colony earlier this month.
Conditions in such colonies can often resemble those of a Soviet-era gulag more
than that of a Western institution. “They are crushing the prisoner as an
individual and calling it the betterment of a person. That is the main aim,” a
former Russian prison official told Reuters recently. Navalny returned to Russia
in early 2021 after a sojourn in Germany, where he recuperated from an attempt
by the Kremlin to poison him the previous August. As expected, the Russian
authorities arrested him as soon as his airplane touched down in Moscow,
effectively turning him into a living martyr.
His position became even more poignant after Russia invaded Ukraine, turning the
46-year-old father of two into a lonely voice of opposition. Merely referring to
what the Kremlin insists is a “special operation” as a war is now considered a
crime. One of the war’s few other prominent critics, Vladimir Kara-Murza, is
also behind bars. Most others have gone quiet or fled to the West, making
Navalny’s decision to return to Russia — where he knew he would face punishment
and perhaps death — all the more courageous. “They are afraid of you,” Navalny
said in the midst of court proceedings last year. He was eventually sentenced to
two-and-a-half years on fraud charges that Western observers universally
regarded as illegitimate. He then faced new charges earlier this year, which
added nine years to his prison sentence.
Navalny began serving his term at IK-2, a penal colony relatively close to
Moscow, allowing for regular visits from his attorneys. But in June he was moved
to the much more remote — and brutal — IK-6. Since then, he has been subject to
frequent periods of isolation culminating, last week, in what he described was a
potentially permanent move to an isolation cell. Dissent is effectively
forbidden in Russia, and Putin’s opponents have been shot, defenestrated or
killed in prison. So far, Navalny’s international reputation appears to have
kept him alive, but it is not clear how much longer he can hold out, especially
with Russia’s notoriously harsh winter already under way. Temperatures in
Melekhovo, where IK-6 is located, are expected to reach a high of 30 degrees
Fahrenheit on Tuesday. Russian authorities were subjecting Navalny to
psychological torture, said European Union spokesman for external affairs Peter
Stano. He called on prison officials to “stop these unjustified measures. They
are accountable for his life and health.”Navalny continues to tweet through his
representatives in the West, detailing the increasingly inhumane conditions to
which he is subject in long threads often infected with a gallows humor — a
favorite Russian coping strategy during the long, grim decades of Soviet
privation. “If you’re alive and well and out there, you’re doing fine,” he wrote
the final message of his thread about the lack of proper footwear. “Finish your
pumpkin latte and go do something to bring Russia closer to freedom.”
Europe wakes up to a new need to defend itself
Reuters/November 21/2022
STORY: Europe is waking up to a new need to defend itself since Russia invaded
Ukraine. But the NATO alliance is not ready, some military experts say. If NATO
forces ever wanted to transport their tanks, trucks and supplies by rail to
reinforce an active eastern frontline, this might be one of their first big
logistical challenges. It’s one that slowed down this exercise for almost a full
day. "It's well documented the fact that when you go from Poland into Lithuania,
you still have to change to a different gauge because Lithuania, Latvia and
Estonia are still on the old Russian gauge rail, as is Ukraine and Georgia. So
this adds additional steps." Ben Hodges commanded the U.S. Army in Europe until
2018. He’s been sounding the alarm about the bloc’s patchy infrastructure for
years. "What we have learned from Russia's war against Ukraine is we've been
reminded actually that war is a test of will and it's a test of logistics. We do
not have enough transport capacity or infrastructure that enables the rapid
movement of NATO forces across Europe. The Deutsche Bahn, which all of us depend
on, specifically DB cargo has enough rail cars to move one and a half armored
brigades simultaneously at one time, that's it."
After 25 years of fighting military conflicts abroad, Hodges says NATO suddenly
needs to show it can respond to a threat anywhere along its own borders. The
potholed roads of the bloc’s eastern members could present another obstacle to
rapid deployment.
Motorways account for only 5% of Romania’s network – and 28% of its roads are
just gravel and dirt. That's according to the National Statistics Board. "We've
also discovered through exercises over the last few years that the further east
you go, it becomes more difficult because the infrastructure is not as robust or
redundant. The bridges that can hold a modern Abrams tank or Leopard or British
Challenger - not many bridges can sustain that sort of weight."The EU has
allocated 1.6 billion euros – about $1.64 billion – to military mobility
projects up to 2027. Hodges calls that sum "inadequate."Poland meanwhile, which
fears it could be the next target of Russian aggression, is working hard to
improve its infrastructure. A $6 billion high-speed rail track is slated to
connect Warsaw with the Baltic capitals by 2030. Although only $1.2 billion has
been allocated so far. It’s part of a much bigger $36 billion effort by Poland
to improve civilian and military mobility across central Europe, known as the
Solidarity Transport Hub. Hundreds of miles of railways and expressways and new
bridges are planned. That development at least is welcomed by the former U.S.
Army commander. "I think there's a heightened sense of urgency because of ...
We've all been awakened now by the threat of what Russia is doing. And this is
not an academic thing, or just a debating topic now, this is real. So I actually
am optimistic. I would like to see us having moved a lot faster."
Ukrainian refugees embrace peace and quiet in Canada as
war rages on
OTTAWA/The Canadian Press/November 21, 2022
Inna Fomina is keeping a watchful eye on her one-year-old son Adrian as he plays
in peaceful contentment on a carpet at an improvised space in western Ottawa.
Less than two months after mother and son arrived in Canada after the war in
Ukraine forced them to flee, she's been savouring the peace and quiet of her new
home. Fomina is visiting the café and drop-in centre, which was opened by the
local Canadian Ukrainian community to help refugees like her. "It's another
planet here," she said with a smile. "Everything is so big: houses, cars." Her
story is one of horror and displacement, but also one of hope and resilience.The
young mother has moved around frequently in recent months. She's originally from
Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, on the banks of the Dnipro River. The city
suffered heavy bombardment from Russian forces. While she fled the bombs with
her son, her husband remained behind and continues to work in the IT field. As a
fighting-age man, he can't leave. Fomina never believed war was truly possible
until the moment it began in February, she told The Canadian Press. "My father
joked about it," she said. But one morning, at 6 a.m., she got the call from her
mother-in-law: Kharkiv was under attack.
"I thought it would only last a few days," she said. She was wrong. Her parents'
village was partially destroyed. They fled. Fomina and her family briefly lived
in an apartment with then two-month-old Adrian, but she ultimately decided to
flee her bombed city and seek refuge in Canada. "We were going to have to start
from zero one day," she said. Her journey began with a trip to western Ukraine,
then a 32-hour bus ride from Lviv to Lyon, in France. The reason for that trip,
she said, was to fulfill the complex criteria needed for admittance to Canada.
That included submitting biometric data, which she said could not be
accomplished from Ukraine or Poland. It took her six months to get the proper
paperwork before she was able to make the move to Canada at the beginning of
October. Fomina and her son are living in a small apartment and receiving help
from the network of Ukrainian Canadians who opened the café. She's hoping for a
job in the computer science field. One recent day, the café was presenting a
documentary on the Ukrainian resistance, in association with the Ukrainian
Embassy in Ottawa. Sitting at the bar was Borys Syrskyj, a 69-year-old retired
soldier. He wanted to enlist in Ukraine, but was refused because of his age.
Now, he volunteers at the café.Some six million Ukrainians have fled to
neighbouring Poland, according to Anton Struwe, another volunteer. Some chose to
stay there, while many others have left, or planned to. The groups helping the
refugees in Canada have their hands full: the newcomers need food, housing,
furniture, jobs, schools and more.At the café, a doctor who went to Ukraine in
the spring to help the wounded stops by to offer his services to the newcomers
who need a consultation. A worker takes down his name for future reference.
"Every pair of hands can help," Syrskyj says.
Ukraine says 'torture' sites found in Kherson
Agence France Presse/November 21, 2022
Ukraine said Monday that it had discovered four Russian torture sites in its
southern city of Kherson, which Moscow's forces quit this month leaving behind a
trail of misery and destruction. The Kremlin meanwhile vowed to track down and
punish those it said were responsible for the "brutal" murder of nearly a dozen
Russian servicemen who were allegedly surrendering to Kyiv. Russian defense
officials made the "difficult" decision earlier this month to retreat from
Kherson city, the only regional capital Moscow's forces had won after nearly
nine months of fighting in Ukraine. Kyiv accused the withdrawing forces of
rendering useless key infrastructure including water and electricity stations in
Kherson, whose loss is a strategic and symbolic blow for the Kremlin. But on
Monday, Kyiv also said Moscow had run a network of torture sites in the city,
building on claims that Russian authorities had perpetrated abuses on a
"horrific" scale there. "Together with police officers and experts,
(prosecutors) conducted inspections of four premises where, during the capture
of the city, the occupiers illegally detained people and brutally tortured
them," the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said in a statement. Russian
forces had also set up "pseudo-law enforcement agencies" at detention centers in
Kherson as well as in a police station, prosecutors said in a statement.
- 'Horrific' torture -
The remains of rubber truncheons, a wooden bat and "a device with which the
occupiers tortured civilians with electricity" were found, prosecutors statement
said. Russian authorities also left behind paperwork documenting the
administration of the detention sites, its office added. The allegations are
just the latest from Kyiv against Russian troops, who have been accused of
running similar abuse operations in places like Izyium in east Ukraine and near
Kyiv. In both those places, Russian troops were forced back by Ukrainian
counter-attacks and the recent recapture of Kherson is just the latest in a
string of bruising defeats for Moscow. Last week Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro
Lubynets said Russian forces were responsible for "horrific" torture in Kherson,
saying dozens were abused in detention and more were killed. And AFP spoke last
week to a Kherson resident who said he spent weeks in detention where he was
beaten and electrocuted by Russian and pro-Russian forces. But the Kremlin has
also come forward recently with allegations of abuses perpetrated by Ukrainian
troops, and on Monday vowed to hold responsible people they accused of killing
Russian troops trying to surrender. "Without a doubt, Russia will itself search
for those who committed this crime. They must be found and punished," Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
- 'Methodical murder' -
He was referring to video footage that began circulating on social media last
week and which Moscow claims is compelling evidence that Kyiv's troops murdered
nearly a dozen Russian soldiers in east Ukraine. The Russian defense ministry
said last week that the videos showed the "deliberate and methodical" killing of
over 10 servicemen. Ukraine has denied that its forces had killed prisoners of
war, saying the soldiers were shot following a false surrender. The UN said last
week it had been made aware of the videos and was looking into them. A report it
released earlier last week said there were credible allegations of abuses
committed by both sides. Russia's Human Rights Council said the alleged
executions took place in Makiivka, a village in the eastern Lugansk region,
which the Ukrainian army said it had recaptured last week.
Ukraine: Civilians should leave liberated areas this
winter
Associated Press/November 21, 2022
Ukrainian authorities have started evacuating civilians from recently-liberated
areas of the southern Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, fearing that Russian damage
to the infrastructure and the lack of heat, power and water is too severe for
people to endure the upcoming winter, officials said Monday. The evacuations
come as rolling blackouts plague most of the country. Residents of the two
southern regions, which have been shelled for months by Russian forces, have
been advised to move to safer areas in the central and and western parts of the
country, said Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
The government will provide "transportation, accommodation, medical care," she
said. The evacuations come more than a week after Ukraine retook the city of
Kherson, which is on the western bank of the Dnieper River, and areas around it.
The liberation marked a major battlefield gain for Ukraine, but the evacuations
now highlight the difficulties the country is facing following heavy Russian
shelling of its power infrastructure as freezing weather sets in.Ukraine is
known for its brutal winter weather, and snow has already covered Kyiv, the
capital, and other cities. Russia has set up defense lines along the eastern
bank of the Dnieper River, fearing that Ukrainian forces would push deeper into
the region. In the weeks before Ukraine's successful counteroffensive, it
encouraged and helped tens of thousands of Kherson city residents to evacuate to
Russian-held areas.
On Monday, Russian-installed authorities in the Kherson region also urged
residents to evacuate an area on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River that
Moscow now controls. Officials cited a high level of military fighting in the
Kakhovskiy district as they asked residents to go to evacuation points.
Since Ukraine retook the city of Kherson just over a week ago, Russia has
pounded Ukraine's power grid and other infrastructure from the air, causing
widespread blackouts and leaving millions of Ukrainians without heat, power or
water. To cope with the power shortages, four-hour or longer power outages were
scheduled Monday in 15 of Ukraine's 27 regions, according to Volodymyr Kudrytsky,
the head of Ukraine's state grid operator, Ukrenergo. More than 40% of the
country's energy facilities have been damaged by Russian missile strikes in
recent weeks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday called on NATO
nations and allies to recognize Russia as a terrorist state, saying that
Russia's shelling of energy supplies was tantamount "to the use of a weapon of
mass destruction." Zelenskyy also urged even stricter sanctions against Russia
and appealed for more air defense aid for Ukraine. "The terrorist state needs to
see that they do not stand a chance," he told NATO's 68th Parliamentary Assembly
meeting in Madrid in a video address.
On Sunday, powerful explosions from shelling shook Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia
region, the site of Europe's largest nuclear power plant. The International
Atomtic Energy Agency, the global nuclear watchdog, called for "urgent measures
to help prevent a nuclear accident" in the Russian-occupied facility.
Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other for the shelling that came after weeks of
relative calm. The area has been the site of fighting ever since Russian forces
occupied the plant soon after their Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, sparking fears
of a nuclear accident. On Monday, Russia's nuclear plant operator, Rosatom,
conceded that there is a risk of a nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia power
plant. Rosatom head Alexei Likhachyov said the company held talks with the IAEA
overnight, and again blamed Kyiv for the situation. "Apparently, Kyiv considers
a small nuclear incident acceptable," said Likhachyov, "Everything must be done
so that no one even thinks about encroaching on the safety of the nuclear power
plant."There was no immediate Ukrainian reaction to Likhachyov's comments.
In fighting elsewhere, at least four civilians were killed and eight more were
wounded in Ukraine over the past 24 hours, deputy head of the country's
presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said Monday. A Russian missile strike in
the northeast Kharkiv region on Sunday night killed one person and left two more
wounded, according to Kharkiv's governor. The strike hit a residential building
in the village of Shevchenkove, killing a 38-year-old woman. One person was
wounded overnight in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where Russian forces shelled the
city of Nikopol and areas around it, Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko said. Nikopol
lies across the river from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. In the eastern
Donetsk region, which is partially controlled by Moscow, Russian forces shelled
14 towns and villages, the region's Ukrainian governor said. Heavy fighting was
ongoing near the Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut, where a school was damaged by
shelling. In Makiivka, which is under Russian control, an oil depot was hit and
caught fire, local Moscow-installed authorities said. Russian-installed
authorities said more than 105,000 people in the province's capital, Donetsk,
were left without electricity on Monday after Ukrainian shelling damaged power
lines. One person was killed by the shelling, officials said, and 59 miners were
trapped underground after power was cut off to four coal mines in the city.In
the neighboring Luhansk region, most of which is under Russian control, the
Ukrainian army is advancing towards the key cities of Kreminna and Svatove,
where the Russians have set up a line of defense, according to Luhansk's
Ukrainian Gov. Serhiy Haidai. "There are successes and the Ukrainian army is
moving very slowly, but it will be much more difficult for Russians to defend
themselves after Svatove and Kreminna (are retaken)," Haidai told Ukrainian
television.
Israel PM-designate Benjamin Netanyahu wins defamation
suit against predecessor
Reuters/November 21, 2022
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu won a defamation
suit on Monday against a predecessor who had alleged that he, his wife and his
son were mentally ill, with the court deeming the remarks a bid to harm
Netanyahu’s political career. Netanyahu’s lawyer hailed the ruling as “the
shattering of another libel” — an allusion to his client’s assertion of
innocence in three graft trials that overshadowed his last term as premier and
are complicating his efforts to retake power. Ehud Olmert, who served as
centrist premier between 2006 and 2009, made the observations in a TV interview
last year shortly before the conservative Netanyahu, then heading a caretaker
government, was toppled by an alliance of cross-partisan rivals. Having placed
first in Israel’s Nov. 1 election, Netanyahu now looks set to form a hard-right
new coalition government after more mainstream parties boycotted him due to his
legal troubles. Tel Aviv Magistrates’ Court ruled that Olmert’s portrayal of
Netanyahu, his wife Sara and son Yair had exposed them to “hate, ridicule or
degradation” and that the defendant had not substantiated the remarks with a
proper medical assessment. While voicing hope that mental illness “will one day
be regarded like any other illness,” the court ordered Olmert to pay the
Netanyahus $17,850 (62,000 shekels) in compensation. They had originally sought
837,000 shekels. “An attempt by a public figure to influence the political
outcome of a a democratic process cannot be viewed as ‘intent to cause harm’ in
the sense of warranting multiple sums in damages,” the 26-page ruling said of
the reduced award. In his recent memoir “Bibi: My Story,” Netanyahu describes
Sara as a trusted adviser on policy and his “rock” in times of trouble. He deems
Yair, a prominent rightist commentator on social media, a “sharp-witted observer
of the political scene.”Olmert’s lawyer said he might appeal against the
decision.
Palestinians: Israeli forces kill man in West Bank
Associated Press/November 21, 2022
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Monday that Israeli forces shot and killed
a young man near the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. The ministry said in a
statement that the man died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Palestinian media
identified the man as 18-year-old Mahmoud al-Saadi.
The Israeli army said it carried out arrest raids across the West Bank on
Monday. It said its soldiers apprehended three suspects. During an arrest in
Burqin, a town near Jenin, it said its troops came under fire, and shot back. It
said its troops confirmed a hit. The violence was the latest in a wave of
Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem that has killed
more than 130 Palestinians this year, making 2022 the deadliest since 2006.
Israel says its almost nightly arrest raids in the West Bank — which began after
Palestinian attacks killed 19 Israelis last spring — are needed to dismantle
militant networks at a time when Palestinian security forces are unable or
unwilling to do so. The Palestinians say the raids undermine their security
forces and are aimed at cementing Israel's open-ended 55-year occupation of
lands they want for their hoped-for state. Hundreds of Palestinians have been
rounded up in such raids, with many placed in so-called administrative
detention, which allows Israel to hold them without trial or charge. Israel
captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, and has since maintained a
military occupation over the territory and settled more than 500,000 people
there. The Palestinians seek the territory, along with the Gaza Strip and east
Jerusalem, for their hoped-for independent state.
Rocket fire from Syria kills three on Turkish border
Agence France Presse/November 21, 2022
Rockets fired from Syria towards Turkey's border town of Karkamis on Monday
killed three people, including a child, and wounded six, Turkey's interior
minister said. "Three of our citizens lost their lives. One of them is a child,
another a teacher," Suleyman Soylu said on live television, vowing a "strong
response". Interior Minister Mahmut Ozer said that 10 people had been wounded as
a result of the strikes. The governor of the southeaster Gaziantep province,
Davut Gul, earlier said that two people had been killed. According to the
Anadolu official press agency, the strikes hit a high school and two houses as
well as a truck near the border crossing that links Karkamis to the Syrian town
of Jarablus. Images on Anadolu showed shattered windows at a school and a truck
in flames. On Sunday, rockets fired from Syria wounded six policemen and two
soldiers when they struck a border crossing.
Turkey on Sunday carried out air strikes against the bases of outlawed Kurdish
militants across northern Syria and Iraq, which it said were being used to
launch "terrorist" attacks on Turkish soil. The overnight raids in northern and
northeastern Syria killed at least 31 people, said the British-based monitoring
group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. They were mainly against
positions held by Syrian Kurdish forces. The offensive, codenamed Operation
Claw-Sword, comes a week after a blast in central Istanbul killed six people and
wounded 81, an attack Turkey has blamed on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The PKK has waged a bloody insurgency there for decades and is designated a
terror group by Ankara and its Western allies. But it has denied involvement in
the Istanbul explosion.
Erdogan threatens ground operation into Syria
Agence France Presse/November 21, 2022
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday threatened to launch a ground
operation into Syria after cross-border air strikes on Kurdish positions and
deadly fire on Turkey. "There is no question that this operation be limited to
only an aerial operation," Erdogan told reporters on a flight home from Qatar
after attending the opening of the World Cup. The Turkish leader has threatened
a new military operation into northern Syria since May. Overnight, Turkey hit
dozens of targets in northern Syria as well as northern Iraq, a week after an
Istanbul bomb attack killed six people and which Ankara blamed on the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK). Kurdish groups and authorities have denied responsibility
for the November 13 bombing, which also wounded 81 people, and which revived
bitter memories of a wave of attacks in Turkey between 2015 and 2017. Rocket
fire from Syrian territory on Monday killed at least three people, including a
child, in Turkey's border town of Karkamis, said interior minister Suleyman
Soylu. Soylu vowed a "strong response." "Competent authorities, our defense
ministry and chief of staff will together decide the level of force that should
be used by our ground forces," Erdogan said."We have already warned that we will
make those who violate our territory pay."
Funerals
Turkey's raids, mainly targeting positions held by Kurdish forces in northern
and northeastern Syria, killed at least 35 people and wounded 70 others,
according to the British-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights (SOHR). Ankara said the targeted Kurdish bases were being used to launch
"terrorist" attacks on Turkish soil. On Monday, thousands of people gathered to
bury 11 people who died in Al-Malikiyah in Syria's far northeast, including a
journalist working for a Kurdish news agency, with the caskets draped in
red-white-and-green Kurdish flags. "We urge the world, all those who care about
human rights and the great powers" to press Turkey to stop its strikes that
"target us with planes and drones", a mourner named Shaaban, 58, told AFP during
the funerals. In Berlin, the German foreign ministry urged Turkey to "react
proportionally and to respect international law", adding that "civilians at all
times must be protected." SOHR said Kurdish fighters and Syrian soldiers bore
the brunt of the casualties during the attacks in the areas of Raka and Hassake
in the northeast and Aleppo in the north. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic
Forces (SDF), among those attacked, said Turkey launched new air strikes on
Monday. The strikes also targeted PKK bases in mountainous northern Iraq and
bases of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, the Turkish
defense ministry said.The PKK has waged a bloody insurgency for decades and is
designated a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.
'70 planes and drones'
Ankara considers the YPG to be a PKK-affiliated terror group.
Erdogan said "70 planes and drones" that "penetrated 140 kilometers (87 miles)
into northern Iraq and 20 kilometers into northern Syria" carried out the the
weekend strikes. An SDF spokesperson told AFP that Turkish airplanes launched
fresh strikes on Monday near Kobani. The SOHR confirmed the strikes. The SDF
said a regime forces' position was hit. On Monday, there was artillery exchange
between Turkish forces backed by Syrian proxies and the SDF, according to an AFP
correspondent. Erdogan said he had had "no discussion" with either U.S.
President Joe Biden or Russian President Vladimir Putin "on the subject of the
operation."Turkey's latest military push could create problems for its complex
relations with its Western allies -- particularly the United States, which has
relied mostly on Syrian Kurdish militia forces in its fight against IS jihadists.
Turkey has often accused Washington of supplying Kurdish forces with weapons.
Russia for its part backs pro-Damascus militia in the region. Between 2016 and
2019, Turkey launched three large-scale operations in northern Syria against
Kurdish groups.
Egyptian-Turkish leaders seal improvement in bilateral
ties with handshake
Arab News/November 21/2022
CAIRO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his Egyptian counterpart
Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for the first time on the sidelines of the inauguration of
the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In what has been described as a historic moment,
the two presidents shook hands with each other, with Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad standing next to them. Although neither side has commented on the meeting,
the picture showing the two presidents smiling and shaking hands prior to the
opening ceremony — published on the official website of the Turkish presidency —
has been widely shared.
Al-Qahera News Channel reported as urgent news that a tripartite summit was held
between the leaders of Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye. Erdogan also briefly met with
other leaders, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King
Abdullah, for a handshake and talks, according to Turkiye’s Anadolu Agency.
Turkiye has been making efforts to warm ties with Egypt since last year.
Relations between Egypt and Turkiye became strained in 2013 with the overthrow
of late President Mohammed Mursi, who was supported by Erdogan’s administration
at the time. Ties were further made tense as a result of the turmoil in Libya,
which borders Egypt to the west. A dispute also arose in 2019 when Turkiye and
the Libyan Government of National Accord signed a memorandum of understanding in
November on sovereignty over maritime areas in the Mediterranean. Turkiye was
supporting the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, whose legitimacy was
contested by the Libyan parliament. In October, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding for oil and gas
exploration in the territorial waters of Libya by joint Turkish-Libyan
companies. Egypt and Greece have rejected the MoU. Cairo and Ankara undertook
two rounds of exploratory negotiations last year, led by the deputy foreign
ministers of Egypt and Turkiye, in an effort to boost ties. Egypt’s Foreign
Minister Sameh Shoukry stated last month that the two exploratory meetings gave
“us the chance to voice our concerns over the regional conditions.”At the same
time, Shoukry said that the course of talks with Turkiye had not resumed because
there had been no change in the framework of its practices.El-Sisi was in Doha
to attend the World Cup ceremony at the request of Qatar’s emir, according to
the presidency’s spokesperson.
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on November
21-22/2022
Qatar's Double Game: Funding Islamists While
Pretending to Be America's Ally
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/November 21, 2022
Hamas leaders [who have relocated to Doha]... are using Qatar as a base for
calling for the destruction of Israel. Yet this does not seem to bother the
rulers of Qatar or its allies in the West, including the US.
This is the same Qatar whose leaders claim that they condemn all acts of
terrorism and violent extremism.
It is disquieting, to say the least, that a county that hosts the leadership of
a Palestinian group that carried out thousands of terror attacks against Israel
is talking about Qatar's desire to help eliminate terrorism and extremism.
It is also disquieting that Qatar... continues to pour millions of dollars into
the Gaza Strip, thereby emboldening Hamas, whose leaders and charter champion
violence and call for the destruction of Israel.
Haniyeh is not the only Hamas leader living under the patronage of Qatar.
Several other Hamas leaders, including Khaled Mashaal, Hussam Badran, Izzat al-Risheq
and Sami Khater, have also been welcomed to move their offices and homes to the
Gulf state.
In addition to hosting the Hamas leaders and their families, Qatar has been
providing millions of dollars to Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip....
[T]he Qatari aid indirectly helps Hamas to hold on to power. Qatar's beneficence
exempts Hamas from its responsibilities towards the Palestinians living under
its rule in the Gaza Strip and allows the terror group instead to direct its
resources and energies towards building tunnels to attack Israel and
manufacturing weapons, including rockets, in preparation for their next war to
try to destroy Israel.
The Hamas leaders have often been criticized by Palestinians and other Arabs for
leading comfortable lives in Qatar while calling on their people in the Gaza
Strip to continue the jihad (holy war) against Israel.
Qatar, however, evidently cares nothing about the interests of ordinary
Palestinians, such as boosting their economy and improving their living
conditions. What it cares about is embracing the leaders of Hamas to make Qatar
appear to the Arabs and Muslims as the main supporter of the Palestinian
"resistance" – a euphemism for the "armed struggle" against Israel.
In spite of Qaradawi's public support for terrorism and inflammatory rhetoric,
the Qataris continued to host him and many of his followers, as well as the
leaders of Hamas -- in this way turning the emirate into a center for spreading
global jihad and terrorism.
It is this detrimental role that, in 2017, prompted four Arab countries -- Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt -- to break diplomatic
relations with Qatar. The four countries also barred Qatari citizens and closed
all their borders to Qatar.
The Saudis accused Qatar of "embracing various terrorist and sectarian groups
aimed at destabilizing the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood group, Daesh
(ISIS) and Al-Qaeda..." — Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, DC, June 5, 2017.
Qatar has long hosted the largest US airbase in the Middle East, but Qatar is
not hosting the base out of love for the Americans. Rather, it is a way of
distracting attention from its support for the Muslim Brotherhood and other
extremist groups.
Qatar might even have convinced some Americans that it is doing the US a favor
by allowing the airbase to be there. How comfortable it must be to export
terrorism while having the protection of the US military right on your own soil.
Qatar, however, is no friend of the US or its Arab allies. In fact, Qatar's
endorsement of global jihad remains a source of intense concern for many Arabs,
who are asking when the US will wake up and see how the Qataris have been using
their wealth to subvert America by showering it with gifts, including financial
contributions to US universities and think-tanks.
As long as Qatar continues to fund and host the Hamas leadership, and as long as
it continues to use Al-Jazeera to encourage jihad and extremism, the only real
game that the emirate is playing, apart from the World Cup, is one of
successfully deceiving the Americans.
Hamas leaders are using Qatar as a base for calling for the destruction of
Israel. Yet this does not seem to bother the rulers of Qatar or its allies in
the West, including the US. This is the same Qatar whose leaders claim that they
condemn all acts of terrorism and violent extremism. Pictured: Hamas political
bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh addresses a rally in Doha, Qatar on May 15, 2021.
(Photo by Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)
A recent meeting in Doha, Qatar, between the Palestinian group, Hamas, and
Afghanistan's Taliban, has served as yet another reminder of Qatar's double game
of harboring and sponsoring Islamic extremists while simultaneously pretending
to be an ally of the US and other Western countries.
This meeting, which took place on October 26, was attended by Hamas leader
Ismail Haniyeh who, together with several officials from that Islamist group,
relocated from the Gaza Strip to Qatar over the past few years.
Last year, Haniyeh, now based in Doha, was quick to telephone Taliban leaders to
"congratulate" them on the "defeat of the American occupation of Afghanistan."
Haniyeh said that Hamas sees the US withdrawal from Afghanistan as a prelude for
the elimination of "all forces on injustice," especially Israel.
Undoubtedly, every word that comes out of the mouth of Hamas leaders has to be
approved by the rulers of Qatar. If these rulers did not want the Hamas leaders
to incite violence against Israel and the US, they would have told them to be
quiet a long time ago.
Hamas leaders, in short, are using Qatar as a base for calling for the
destruction of Israel. Yet this does not seem to bother the rulers of Qatar or
its allies in the West, including the US.
This is the same Qatar whose leaders claim that they condemn all acts of
terrorism and violent extremism. Recently, the Qatari Ambassador to Spain,
Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Hamar reiterated Qatar's "keenness to harness modern
knowledge and all possible tools to eliminate the scourge of terrorism and
violent extremism conducive to terrorism."
In keeping with the double game, it is clear that the Qatari ambassador's words
were directed to foreign, and not Arab, audiences.
It is disquieting, to say the least, that a county that hosts the leadership of
a Palestinian group that carried out thousands of terror attacks against Israel
is talking about Qatar's desire to help eliminate terrorism and extremism.
It is also disquieting that Qatar is making financial contributions to the
United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office to prevent terrorist attacks, protect
vulnerable targets, and help to recover from terrorist attacks, while it
continues to pour millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip, thereby emboldening
Hamas, whose leaders and charter champion violence and call for the destruction
of Israel.
Haniyeh is not the only Hamas leader living under the patronage of Qatar.
Several other Hamas leaders, including Khaled Mashaal, Hussam Badran, Izzat al-Risheq
and Sami Khater, have also been welcomed to move their offices and homes to the
Gulf state.
In addition to hosting the Hamas leaders and their families, Qatar has been
providing millions of dollars to Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Although most of the funds go to impoverished families, the Qatari aid
indirectly helps Hamas to hold on to power. Qatar's beneficence exempts Hamas
from its responsibilities towards the Palestinians living under its rule in the
Gaza Strip and allows the terror group instead to direct its resources and
energies towards building tunnels to attack Israel and manufacturing weapons,
including rockets, in preparation for their next war to try to destroy Israel.
The Hamas leaders have often been criticized by Palestinians and other Arabs for
leading comfortable lives in Qatar while calling on their people in the Gaza
Strip to continue the jihad (holy war) against Israel.
Qatar, however, evidently cares nothing about the interests of ordinary
Palestinians, such as boosting their economy and improving their living
conditions. What it cares about is embracing the leaders of Hamas to make Qatar
appear to the Arabs and Muslims as the main supporter of the Palestinian
"resistance" – a euphemism for the "armed struggle" against Israel.
The presence of the Hamas leaders in Qatar does not surprise those who are
familiar with the Gulf state's history of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, of
which Hamas is an offshoot.
For several decades, Qatar warmly embraced the late Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an
Egyptian scholar who headed the radical Islamic organization World Association
of Muslim Scholars. Through this organization, he concentrated and coordinated
the activity of radical Islamic scholars around the world, many of them members
of the Muslim Brotherhood. According to a report by the Meir Amit Intelligence
and Terrorism Information Center:
"Qaradawi is mainly known as the key figure in shaping the concept of violent
jihad and the one who allowed carrying out terror attacks, including suicide
bombings, against Israeli citizens, the US forces in Iraq, and some of the Arab
regimes.... Due to Qaradawi's attitude toward violent jihad, he was banned from
entering several countries. In 1999, he was banned from entering the US. In
2009, he was banned from entering Britain due to his support of suicide bombings
in Israel. Between the years 2013-2018, he was placed on the Interpol wanted
list at the request of Egyptian police."
In spite of Qaradawi's public support for terrorism and inflammatory rhetoric,
the Qataris continued to host him and many of his followers, as well as the
leaders of Hamas -- in this way turning the emirate into a center for spreading
global jihad and terrorism.
The Qataris own the Al-Jazeera TV network, whose Arabic channel has long been
described as a platform for the Muslim Brotherhood and as a vehicle for the
indefensible. Throughout the Iraq War, "Gruesome images of dead Western soldiers
were broadcast. Suicide bombings were described as 'paradise operations' by the
channels hosts and terrorist activities were presented as acts of 'resistance.'"
Qaradawi "would broadcast sermons to 60 million viewers and describe the
Holocaust as a 'divine punishment,' which he hoped would be repeated."
While Al Jazeera demands "press freedom," according to Akhtam Suliman, their
former Berlin correspondent, it "is an entirely state-owned network, whose
'reporting is precisely aligned with Qatari foreign policy.'"
Qatar's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim is reported to have
confirmed that Al-Jazeera is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Jazeera's
Arabic channel is also known for its rabid anti-Israel and anti-US tone, as well
as its incitement against several Arab heads of state and regimes who have long
been considered America's traditional and loyal allies in the Arab world.
It is this detrimental role that, in 2017, prompted four Arab countries -- Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt -- to break diplomatic
relations with Qatar. The four countries also barred Qatari citizens and closed
all their borders to Qatar. According to the official Saudi Press Agency, the
kingdom broke ties with Qatar "to protect its national security from the dangers
of terrorism and extremism."
The Saudis accused Qatar of:
"... embracing various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the
region, including the Muslim Brotherhood group, Daesh (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda,
constantly promoting the literature and plans of these groups through its media,
supporting the activities of the Iranian-backed terrorist groups in the
governorate of Qatif in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, its continued financing,
adopting and sheltering of extremists who seek to undermine the stability and
unity at home and abroad, and using the media to fuel the internal strife."
The same year, the four Arab countries placed 59 individuals and 12
organizations based in, or funded by, Qatar on a terrorist list. The list
included Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
Qatar has long hosted the largest US airbase in the Middle East; however, Qatar
is not hosting the base out of love for the Americans, but as a way of
distracting attention from its support for the Muslim Brotherhood and other
extremist groups.
Qatar might even have convinced some Americans that it is doing the US a favor
by allowing the US airbase to be there. How comfortable it must be to export
terrorism while having the protection of the US military right on your own soil.
Notably, the presence of the military base on its soil has not stopped Qatar
from pursuing its anti-Israel and anti-US rhetoric and encouraging global jihad
and extremism.
"Incitement against the US on Al-Jazeera through the years has not been limited
to numerous examples of disinformation or hate speech, but to actual calls for
terrorism inside it," according to a report by the Middle East Media Research
Institute (MEMRI).
"When Al-Jazeera gave full coverage to a 2009 speech by prominent Kuwaiti
Islamist academic and politician Dr. Abdullah Al-Nafisi... he not only presented
criticism of US foreign policy... but also promoted the idea of terrorism inside
the US either through anthrax or by targeting nuclear power plants."
It was Al-Jazeera that built up Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden as an Arab and
Muslim leader. In July 2001, an Al-Jazeera host praised him as the "slender Bin
Laden who has made the greatest power in history [the US] shudder at the sound
of his name."
Al-Jazeera has provided a platform for Islamist clerics who incite violence
against Jews and Americans. "We will conquer the world," said one of the
clerics, Ahmad Al-Baghdadi, "so that 'There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is
the Prophet of Allah' will be triumphant over the domes of Moscow, Washington
and Paris... we will annihilate America."
In July 2021, the US State Department launched an investigation into alleged
Qatari support for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Ahead of the World Cup in Doha, the Qataris exerted tremendous efforts to
beautify their image in world public opinion and conceal their long-time role in
sheltering terrorists and encouraging terrorism and extremism.
Because of the World Cup in Doha, Qatar has been playing nice to the West as
part of its effort to continue deceiving the Americans and others into thinking
that the Qataris are contributing to security and stability in the Middle East.
Qatar, however, is no friend of the US or its Arab allies. In fact, Qatar's
endorsement of global jihad remains a source of intense concern for many Arabs,
who are asking when the US will wake up and see how the Qataris have been using
their wealth to subvert America by showering it with gifts, including financial
contributions to US universities and think-tanks.
As long as Qatar continues to fund and host the Hamas leadership, and as long as
it continues to use Al-Jazeera to encourage jihad and extremism, the only real
game that the emirate is playing, apart from the World Cup, is one of
successfully deceiving the Americans.
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
© 2022 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Islam’s Elexir — Camel Urine — Back in the News
Raymond Ibrahim/November 21, 2022
The Muslim notion that drinking camel urine is a cure-all for any number of
ailments is back in the news again.
According to a Nov. 5, 2022 Arabic-language report, “a professor of physiology
at the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University in Egypt, Amal Qanawi, is
recommending the consumption of camel urine due to its many [salutary]
benefits.” In her own words, “Many researches have been conducted on camel urine
and its many benefits have been established by scientific experiment.”
What is this all about? Are Muslims on the cutting edge of medicinal
discoveries, proudly proclaiming the findings of science, irrespective of how
“gross” they may otherwise strike the layman?
Actually, and as usual and with everything Islamic, the drinking of camel urine
is traced back to the highly un-scientific prophet of Islam, Muhammad. According
to canonical hadiths or traditions, the prophet medicinally prescribed the
ingestion of dromedary urine for any number of ailments.
This is unsurprising considering that even Muhammad’s own urine—which some of
his followers eagerly drank—was and continues to be considered a great and
salutary blessing, one that further safeguards against the fires of hell.
For faithful Muslims, because urine drinking—in this case, camels’—was
recommended by the prophet, it must remain applicable, regardless of what
“science” says on the matter. Such is the totalitarian nature of Islamic law, or
sharia, which treats, not just the Koran, but canonical hadiths as sacred and
not to be questioned.
As another Muslim cleric who recommended the ingestion of camel urine explained,
“You can always do research later. Science is not the criteria to determine
whether you should believe in the Hadith or not. If Hadith is authentic, [in
this case, hadith dealing with drinking camel urine] we believe in it
irrespective of whether science believes in it or not.”
This is why the professor of physiology at the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams
University in Egypt, Amal Qanawi, is far from the first Muslim to recommend
camel urine.
Most notably, in 2020, it was even recommended as an elixir for what was then
presented as the plague to end all mankind—coronavirus.
Then, an “Islamic medicine specialist” and director of a religious-scientific
institution in Iran called on his countrymen to drink camel urine as the “best
cure” for coronavirus and other ailments.
Mehdi Sabili, who is affiliated with the Iranian regime, uploaded a video on his
Instagram account extolling the virtues of dromedary urine on April 19, 2020.
The video also depicted him drinking a glass of freshly procured camel
urine—which he enthused was best drunk “fresh and warm”—and calling on fellow
Iranians to do the same three times a day for three days (i.e., nine full
glasses).
Needless to say, such forms of “sharia medicine”—for instance, by “inserting
velvet oil into the anus” to combat coronavirus, which has led to casualties—do
not have a great track record. In Iran alone, a coronavirus patient who was told
by a cleric to smell roses as a cure died soon thereafter; and the son of a
prominent ayatollah confessed that his father died because he trusted so-called
“Islamic medicine specialists.”
Indeed, and rather ironically, it appears that drinking camel urine was directly
linked to an earlier Covid outbreak. In 2012, only Saudi Arabia—the home of
Islam and its holy cities—was plagued by another form of coronavirus (MERS-CoV,
aka “Camel Flu”). A whopping 40% of the more than one thousand Saudis who
contracted it died. One of its main causes, which even the World Health
Organization (WHO) strongly warned against, was the drinking of camel urine.
Even so, the examples of Muslims insisting on the salutary effects of drinking
camel urine are legion. Back in 2012, Dr. Zaghlul al-Naggar, a prominent Islamic
thinker and Chairman of Egypt’s Committee of Scientific Notions in the Koran,
revealed on a live television show that a medical center in Marsa Matrouh,
Egypt, even specialized in treating people with camel urine—all in accord with
the prophet’s advice. When another guest challenged al-Naggar, saying that urine
is where all the body’s toxins are carried out—“so, shall we drink it for
health?”—the representative of “Islamic science” responded with arrogance: “I am
older than you and more learned than you: you are not going to teach me; I will
teach generations of people like you.”
A few months later, in late 2012, a video appeared showing men collecting camel
urine in buckets and giving it to people who, in the narrator’s words, are
“looking to be healed from influenza, diabetes, infectious diseases,
infertility.” Several women were shown drinking the camel urine—and doing all
they could to keep it down without vomiting. The Egyptian narrator concluded by
saying he is not airing this video to mock or disgust but to determine “whether
we are moving forward, or whether we are moving backwards.”
Happily, there certainly is push back against “moving backwards” among Muslims
themselves. Even the most recent recommendation by Dr. Amal Qanawi, from the
highly respected Ain Shams University, came in response to another Arab doctor
from Jordan, Ali al-Saudi, who on his social media had warned against consuming
camel urine—the supposed health benefits of which he called “a fabrication,”
which could lead to the deaths of those who believe it. When Dr. Qanawi
intervened to argue otherwise, al-Saudi responded by saying, “Don’t trouble
yourself and cause the rest of the world to laugh at us some more.”
Alas, for the Muslim world, if the prophet said it, Muslims will do it—prompting
the rest of the world to laugh, and cry.
Who Runs the World? Ants.
Farhad Manjoo/The New York Times/November, 21/2022
In September, scientists at the University of Hong Kong published the most
complete census of ants ever assembled. The numbers are so big as to seem made
up. The study estimated that there are at least 20 quadrillion — that is,
20,000,000,000,000,000 — ants on Earth. That’s about 2.5 million ants for every
human being. And because the study relied on a conservative estimate for ants
that live in trees and did not include subterranean ants, the census is almost
certainly an undercount. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually turns out to be
an order of magnitude higher,” Sabine Nooten, an author of the study, told The
Times. The numbers floored me. Like perhaps every kid, I went through a period
of intense childhood obsession with ants, spending endless summer afternoons in
the backyard observing the mystery and majesty of ant life — how unbelievably
many there were, how elegantly they organized themselves, how terrifically busy
they all seemed. What has always beguiled me about ants is how their
similarities to humanity — they live in societies, they’ve all got jobs, they
endure arduous daily commutes to work — are offset by incomprehensible alienness.
So much of ant life makes no sense to us: There’s the abject selflessness, the
subsuming of the individual to the collective. There’s the absence of any
leadership or coordination, their lives dictated by instinct and algorithm, out
of which emerges collective intelligence. There’s the way they navigate and
communicate through chemical signals, creating road signs from pheromones and
never getting stuck in traffic jams.
But the quadrillion ant census got me thinking about ants in a way I hadn’t
before — as a social species not just remarkably different from our own but one
that is in many ways unquestionably superior.
Ants, I keep thinking, are an example for humanity to emulate. Over tens of
millions of years of evolution, ants have figured out how to become
astonishingly numerous without depleting the world around them. Indeed, just the
opposite is true: Because they provide so many important functions to their
habitats, they are “the little things that run the world,” as the great
sociobiologist and ant enthusiast E.O. Wilson once wrote about ants and other
invertebrates.
It is natural, as a human, to slip into thinking of our species as somehow
special. By many objective measures, though, ants are far more consequential to
life on Earth than we are. Wilson pointed out that if people were to disappear,
little about the world would change for the worse; if ants and other
invertebrates did, nearly everything would suffer. Ants aerate soil, transport
seeds and aid in decomposition; their mounds serve as dense nutrient oases that
are a foundation for a wide range of life.
Given their centrality to life on the planet, not to mention their teeming
populations, shouldn’t we think more highly of ants? They are among the most
sophisticated and successful life-forms ever to crawl the earth.
Humans are, of course, smarter and bigger than ants, and in the past 300,000
years or so of our species’ reign, we have conquered the planet and commandeered
its resources to a degree perhaps unmatched in the history of life. But compared
with those of ants and other social insects — bees, termites and some wasps —
our record is a hilarious blip.
Ants have been around for 140 million years. They are a dominant feature — often
some of the primary ecosystem engineers — of nearly every land-based ecosystem
on Earth. And they are the true inventors of what we think of as several
quintessentially human endeavors.
Ants have been farming for at least 60 million years. Leafcutter ants, for
instance, forage for vegetation, which they use to grow crops of a fungus that
they have domesticated for their exclusive use. Other ants maintain herds of
aphids that feed on the sap of plants; the ants then “milk” the aphids of their
sugar-rich secretions. Ants are also master architects, formidable warriors that
can also maintain peace through strength and even engage in compromise and a
kind of democracy.
Ants aren’t always good neighbors. But even when they’re ecologically
destructive, they have much to teach us about cooperation. Over the past century
or so, the Argentine ant, an invasive species that hitched rides with humans to
spread from South America to much of the rest of the world, has dominated the
globe by forming a surprising and perhaps evolutionarily novel organizational
structure — the supercolony.
These are massive colonies of ants in which individuals mix freely among
different nests spread across huge distances. The ants do so because, in their
adaptation to their new lands, they dramatically reduced their aggressiveness,
allowing for much bigger collectives. One supercolony of Argentine ants spans
nearly 4,000 miles from Italy to Spain. It is “the largest cooperative unit ever
recorded,” to quote one study.
This sort of social flexibility is a key part of ants’ success. It’s hard to
imagine that in a few million years, humans will still be among the planet’s
dominant life-forms. Ants, though? Their antics are sure to endure.
In a paper published this year, the ecologists Catherine Parr and Tom Bishop
suggested that even climate change, our species’ great stain on the planet,
might not prove a great calamity to ants, whose social structure will allow them
to “ride out environmental changes to a much greater degree than solitary
organisms.”Which, really, is no surprise. Ants were here before us, and they are
likely to long outlast us. They run the place. We’re just visiting.
American Democracy Rights itself and Regains its Balance
Sam Menassa/Asharq Al Awsat/November, 21/2022
President Joe Biden performed better than expected in the Midterms, which
pollsters had predicted Democrats would lose.
Despite the failures of his first two years in office, with the country in an
economic downturn, inflation rising to 8 percent, and fuel prices increasing.
And the economy weighs heavily on the minds of the American electorate.
We can add dangerous foreign policy missteps, like the disappointing withdrawal
from Afghanistan, the timing of which was not justified. Biden also failed to
revive the nuclear agreement with Iran, which he had promised to do on the
campaign trail, and has been lax with it.
He has also been aloof regarding the events in Iraq and, earlier in his term,
Taiwan as well. Moreover, relations with Middle East allies have grown cold, if
not tense, especially with the Gulf states, but even Israel, because of the
negotiations in Vienna.
However, Biden’s firmness in dealing with Moscow in its war against Ukraine, the
way in which he created a spirit of solidarity within NATO and empowered the
alliance, and the firm actions he has taken against China, especially regarding
Taiwan later in his term, all tilted the scales in his favor despite his failed
policies and misguided decisions.
Biden achieved electoral success by ignoring the advice of economists, who told
him not to help aggrieved families. He also took steps to modernize America’s
infrastructure rather than just talk about it. He worked to cap the price of
insulin for the elderly and pursued big pharmaceutical companies that had been
evading taxes despite making billions in profits, and he canceled the student
debt of 40 million Americans.
Despite global inflation, the US administration’s policies helped contain the
rise in prices, and it created jobs with decent pay, with the unemployment rate
at 3.7 percent and the economy growing. These policies allowed him to prevent
the Republican “red wave” that had been expected.
In this context, we have to mention that one thing that marked these elections
was that voters often chose the candidate rather than the party. This led to
many of former President Donald Trump’s candidates losing after he failed to put
the interests of the party ahead of his own in choosing whom to support in the
primaries. Abortion was also crucial to the Democrats’ success in this election,
as it is one of the major faultlines of the divide in American society.
Alongside other contentious social issues, it reinforced the fears of broad
segments of American society - independents, Republicans, and of course,
Democrats - regarding the future of democracy and the rights considered sacred
in the US.
Indeed, Trump often raised skepticism regarding government institutions during
his term, especially security agencies and the integrity of the elections, and
he resorted to armed violence, as seen in the attack on the Capitol.
Americans know that living standards are strongly tied to democracy, individual
rights, and trust in institutions. Trumpist candidates insisting that the 2020
elections were rigged was perhaps among the reasons for the results. They
reiterated these claims when the Midterm results were released. When it became
apparent that Katie Hobbs would beat Republican candidate Kari Lake, the latter
refused to acknowledge the result and admit defeat.
All of this made American voters apprehensive about the prospect of candidates
pushing Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud being elected to office,
especially since dozens of them refused to pledge to respect the results,
preemptively shedding doubt on the integrity of the US electoral system.
The American people have shown that they can defeat extremism, be it from the
Democratic left or the Republican right.
We also have to add that Trump unintentionally contributed to the disappointing
and worrying results for Republicans. This could push many of them to replace
him as head of the party, as they have to see him as an impediment to the
revival of the party after he lost the White House, the two chambers of
Congress, and now the Senate, since the 2016 presidential race.
In fact, many within the party are keen on removing him despite the threats this
poses, as Trump will likely refuse to go down without putting up a costly fight.
He has confirmed that he will run for president in 2024, disregarding the
Republicans, who warned against his negative impact on the party and blamed him
for Biden’s success in the Midterms. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ 20-point
victory in Florida and the substantial number of seats won by moderate
Republican Governors opposed to Trump demonstrated that conservative values and
a humane approach to education, immigration and social issues are not mutually
exclusive. This kind of conservatism appeals to broad segments of independents.
It would win over many of the moderates, especially independent and suburban
voters, whom the Republicans lost by large margins in 2022, by exploiting the
weaknesses of the hard left without scaring off those in the middle. The first
lesson to derive from these results is that America fixes itself, and so the
apprehensions of those who enjoy self-flagellation were assuaged, and those
cheering for the downfall of the US went quiet.
Every time the United States undergoes turbulent times - from the racial unrest
and assassinations of the 1960s, to the anti-Vietnam War protest movement of the
1970s, the 2001 attack on the Twin Towers in New York, the economic recession
and real estate collapse of 2008, and the domestic turmoil seen during Trump’s
term - it comes out the other side. This is especially true for the attack on
the Capitol that followed Trump and his supporters’ refusal to accept the
presidential election results. That day, Mike Pence and other Republicans
contained these dangerous threats.
The second lesson is that domestic issues will always matter more to American
voters than foreign policy, regardless of how prominent it becomes. In this
context, the Democrats’ fears for democracy were crucial to their victory over
Trump.
This does not mean that US society is not divided, but it is a positive sign in
terms of reducing this polarization. It could perhaps allow the Republican Party
to get its traditionalist spirit back and enhance DeSantis’ chances of becoming
the preferred candidate among Republican voters and leaders who have grown weary
of Trump’s populism and control.
The third lesson is that betting on America’s contradictions opening the door to
furthering foreign actors’ interests is misguided. It also shows that leaders
should not see disputes with US presidents or officials at a particular juncture
or regarding particular topics to amount to a dispute with the US, its role, and
its values. Indeed, following this course could have irreversible repercussions.
Individuals leave, and administrations change. However, the US remains, to this
day, the largest, strongest and most prominent force in the world despite all of
its mistakes and flaws.
Poland strike highlights the need for quick end to Ukraine
war
Chris Doyle/Arab News/November 21/2022
When missiles landed in southeastern Poland last week, killing two people just
four miles from the border with Ukraine, there was a moment of collective panic;
of fear that NATO could be dragged directly into the war if Russia was held
responsible and Poland triggered Article 5, the self-defense clause that states
that an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all members.
It happened on a day that saw a major Russian barrage of more than 90 missiles
into Ukraine. Kyiv claimed the missiles originated from Russia, but NATO
concluded it was likely a Ukrainian air defense missile, perhaps a Russian-made
S-300. Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary-general, said: “This is not
Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility, as it continues its
illegal war against Ukraine.”
Calm heads prevailed in the end. But will this always be the case? It would have
been all too easy for there to have been a hasty response, as many in the media
were pushing for.
Ukraine still points the finger at Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky said
that his top military commanders had assured him “it was not our missile and not
our missile strike” that was the cause of the incident. In a video call to the
G20, Zelensky claimed this was “a true statement brought by Russia for the G20
Summit.”
Some still speculate that NATO is not willing to publish the truth about the
strike for fear of an escalation with Russia. What if Poland was able to invoke
Article 5 and push them all toward war with Moscow?
The missile tragedy is just one reminder of how dangerous the Russia-Ukraine war
is. Over the last nine months, we have had tacit threats of nuclear weapons,
dangerous military activity around nuclear power plants and major attacks on
civilian infrastructure. The global economy has been battered. Key foodstuffs
such as grain and sunflower oil have been in short supply. What more is in
store?
Both sides look to the winter for change. Will this be the time that a
negotiated outcome can be devised? Ukraine may still harbor ambitions of pushing
the Russian forces further back, since it recaptured the province of Kharkiv in
September and has now retaken Kherson, forcing the Russian troops to the east of
the Dnieper river. Russia may be expecting Ukraine’s backers to lose heart as
the winter kicks in, gas supplies become stretched and inflation soars.
Ukrainian commanders are wary of any move toward a ceasefire as it would give
Russia’s forces a major opportunity to recharge their batteries and regroup.
Many wonder if President Vladimir Putin will be willing and able to present
serious, viable proposals for talks. He is a proud leader at the head of a proud
nation. He will feel humiliated at losing Kherson and Kharkiv, which are part of
the four areas Putin formally annexed for Russia just two months ago. He had
also barely recovered from the Oct. 8 attack on the Kerch Bridge that links
Crimea to Russia.
Zelensky also has to be careful to not get carried away. Ukrainian forces have
fought bravely, inflicting painful reverses on their Russian foes. Their losses
have been huge, with both sides thought to have lost more than 100,000 troops.
Millions have become refugees or been displaced. At present, Russia is targeting
the Ukrainian electricity grid and power networks, as it has other areas of
Ukraine’s infrastructure. It will be a freezing, even lethal winter for many.
It would have been all too easy for there to have been a hasty response, as many
in the media were pushing for.
The Ukrainian president also cannot count on eternal Western support. Economic
distress and impatience will, and in fact already are, kicking in. The war
effort requires constant supplies of weaponry and armaments. The incoming leader
of the House of Representatives in the US is adamant the era of blank American
checks cannot be guaranteed. Many European states may also be keener to boost
their own defense spending.
But Russia is a big beast. An all-out victory, if possible, would come at a
colossal price and how long would it last? A wounded Russia would nurse huge
resentment. At one point, Zelensky ruled out any negotiations with Russia while
Putin is in power, but is this realistic? Zelensky’s latest position on talks
did not mention a veto on talking with Putin. This is wise. His demands have
escalated from insisting on the withdrawal of Russian forces from the
territories taken in February this year to including Crimea and the Donbas.
Zelensky, like Putin, will have to take careful stock of public opinion,
balancing a keen desire to end the war and recover with the ambition of
reasserting full independence over all of his country’s territory. How much does
he really expect to get from Russia in terms of compensation? He may want
Russian leaders to be tried for war crimes, but again this seems a long way off.
The G20 Summit in Bali gave some indications of the diplomatic climate. Putin
did not attend. The majority were opposed to Russian aggression, but China,
India and South Africa have adopted more neutral positions and have not imposed
sanctions. Others may be candidates for a brokering role, such as Turkiye,
Indonesia and even Mexico. Turkiye tried earlier in the conflict. Many still
wonder if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can influence his Russian counterpart
to pull back his forces.
The summit’s closing statement was a clear condemnation, deploring “in the
strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and
demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of
Ukraine.” From the outset, Russian leaders have been surprised by the near-unity
of European and other powers against them.
This war has gone on too long. It cannot be allowed to become a war without end,
permanently crushing the global economy and keeping the world in a state of
heightened insecurity. On the ground, it may be inching Ukraine’s way at
present, but sadly it can all too easily escalate, as the missile strike in
Poland showed. Major powers must not get complacent. This is why finding an
elegant and effective exit is vital. It must respect Ukraine’s sovereign rights
but somehow without rewarding the invader, while providing reassurance to
Russians who are fearful of NATO and EU expansion.
*Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, in
London. Twitter: @Doylech
The West is waking up to the Iranian threat — now what?
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/November 21/2022
During last week’s Manama Dialogue, I was struck by some unusually strident
statements from Western officials regarding the geopolitical threat emanating
from Iran.
Comments from the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen,
deserve quoting at length. She said: “Several Gulf countries have been warning
for years about the risk that Iran feeds rogue nations around the world with
drones. It took us too long to understand a very simple fact that while we work
to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, we must also focus on other
forms of weapons proliferation, from drones to ballistic missiles. It is a
security risk, not just for the Middle East but for us all.”These remarkable
comments tacitly acknowledge how the West systematically chose to ignore
warnings about Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs, and the threat posed
by Iran-sponsored region-wide paramilitary armies.
What has changed is that, in recent weeks, Iranian drones and missiles have been
used to annihilate the power facilities and civilian infrastructure of a
European state, Ukraine. Alongside the significant casualties, tens of millions
of people are likely to go without heating and electricity over the winter
period as a direct result of Iranian weapons programs.
As US Undersecretary of State for Defense Colin Kahl reminded audiences in
Bahrain: Iran’s nuclear activities are now “at their most advanced state ever.”
Tehran has been allowed to build up its arsenal of weapons and distribute these
to its proxies “despite years of sanctions.” Iranian drones and missiles have
been used to attack Gulf shipping — in recent days including missile strikes
against an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman.
Hundreds of Iranian-made missiles have attacked economic and civilian targets
throughout the Arabian Peninsula. Iranian munitions and militias killed tens of
thousands of innocent Yemenis and Syrians. Von der Leyen warned that Iran and
Russia were jointly undermining the rules of the global order, adding: “Where
does this end, if left unchallenged? History shows that this is a recipe for
perpetual war. It is a recipe for arms races and the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction.”
We have a right to know whether or not the West possesses any actual strategy
for confronting Tehran
Iran possesses by far the largest programs in drones and ballistic and cruise
missiles in the region. Experts worry that the lessons Iran learns from seeing
these weapons used in anger against civilians in Ukraine will allow it to
increase their accuracy and lethality.
In Bahrain, US National Security Council official Brett McGurk described a “sea
change in how the world looks at Iran” in recent weeks. “Iranian-supplied
weapons threaten the entire region,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly
told the Manama Dialogue — as if revealing a hidden truth that his government
had only just discovered. He added: “The regime has resorted to selling Russia
the armed drones that are killing civilians in Ukraine.” Full marks for stating
the obvious — but what will the consequences be for Tehran’s theocracy? Without
just criticizing for the sake of criticizing, we have a right to know whether or
not the West possesses any actual strategy for confronting Tehran.
In questions I posed to European officials — including Finnish and German
foreign affairs ministers — about specific action that could be taken, there was
notable evasiveness, beyond recent sanctions against Iranian officials involved
in the violent repression of protesters. The German minister talked about
increasing sanctions, yet this is a regime that thrives on confrontation and
isolation. Sanctions against the legitimate oil sector have only enriched the
regime by allowing entities like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to
monopolize the smuggling of oil, drugs, weapons and the full spectrum of other
goods.
The export of weapons from Iran violates international sanctions, so the
international community is obliged to take action to prevent such movement of
arms, including potential measures such as controls on non-civilian flights
between Iran and Russia or the indictment of both states for war crimes.
European states could furthermore downgrade or halt diplomatic ties with Iran or
halt flights and commercial activities.
In defiance of all expectations, protests have continued throughout Iran after
more than two months. If anything, the unrest is becoming more violent and
entrenched, with several hundred killed, including at least 58 children.
Some 15,000 people have been arrested and several of these have already been
sentenced to death — yet this has scarcely deterred the courageous protesters,
who will settle for nothing less than toppling the regime. Hard-liners like
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami have encouraged the widespread use of the death penalty,
demanding that the judiciary acts “against all these criminals.”
After a shooting incident in Iran’s southwestern town of Izeh, a fake statement
was circulated that sought to implicate Daesh in the incident, in what appears
to be a part of calculated efforts by the regime to discredit protesters and
portray them as terrorists and extremists. Similar efforts have been made to
undermine protesters in Kurdish regions. In reality, the only terrorists and
extremists are the ones charged with running the country.
I asked several Western officials why the international community was not doing
more to support the protesters and, in many cases, the response was that this
would allow the regime to claim that the uprising was foreign-backed. Yet the
regime is constantly alleging this anyway, so what difference would this make?
Now that Western officials are beginning to acknowledge the threat that Iran
poses, their goal should not merely be behavior change. There have now been two
decades of consolidated diplomatic efforts to halt the regime’s military nuclear
program, and what has this achieved? The mullahs’ regime is on the cusp of
building atom bombs, negotiations have broken down altogether and cooperation
with the International Atomic Energy Agency has virtually ceased.
A big problem is that, despite all the effusive Western pledges of “partnership”
on show in Manama, the repeated breaking of commitments has severely damaged the
trust of Gulf states. Actions, not words, is the only way this can change. Among
such examples of tangible action were initiatives discussed in Manama by Gen.
Michael Kurilla, commander of US Central Command. Kurilla talked about the
planned deployment of a fleet of more than 100 unmanned marine vessels to patrol
the seas, as well as a pilot program for targeting enemy drones.
Does the West really believe that Tehran will stop selling missiles and drones
to Russia when this regime has a record of exporting weapons to militants,
insurgents and pariah regimes throughout Africa and Asia? It likewise beggars
the imagination to think how Iran’s military sector will invest this huge cash
windfall from the Russians and other clients.
The West should fully commit to the objective of toppling this criminal,
terrorist regime. The region, the world and the Iranians themselves will not
know stability as long as these brutal theocrats remain in power.
It is heartening to hear senior Western officials beginning to acknowledge this
reality. Now enough of the empty rhetoric. What are they actually going to do
about it?
*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.