English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 31/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 25/31-46/:”‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 30-31/2021
The Lebanese government does not represent the majority of the Lebanese people/Guila Fakhoury/October 30/2021
US urges diplomatic channels to remain open after Lebanon-Gulf crisis
Arab League Head Urges Aoun, Miqati to Take 'Steps' to Ease KSA Row
Kuwait Expels Lebanon Envoy, Recalls Own Ambassador
Reports: U.S., France Urge Miqati Not to Resign
Bahrain Expels Lebanese Ambassador as Aoun, Miqati Move to Contain Crisis with KSA
UAE Withdraws Diplomats from Lebanon, Aoun Urges 'Treaties' with KSA
Franjieh: Kordhai Offered to Resign but I Refused, Lebanese in Gulf 'Not Refugees'
Lebanon Crisis Cell Meets on KSA Row in Presence of U.S. Envoy
Kordahi Meets al-Rahi who Reportedly Advises Him to Resign
Lebanon says government can’t afford to resign as Saudi rift widens
Lebanon’s FM sees possible breakthrough in diplomatic spat sparked by pro-Houthi minister
Saudi foreign minister says crisis with Lebanon has its origins in Hezbollah dominance
UAE withdraws diplomats from Lebanon ‘in solidarity’ with Saudi Arabia
Que Cordahi ou le gouvernement démissionnent ou pas./Jean-Marie Kassab/Octobre 30/2021
Le paradoxe fatal./Jean-Marie Kassab/Octobre 30/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 30-31/2021
US, European leaders express ‘grave, growing concern’ over Iran
G20 leaders endorse tax deal, pledge more vaccines for the poor
Israel Missile Wounds Two Soldiers near Damascus
U.S., European Leaders Express 'Grave, Growing Concern' over Iran
World Leaders to Talk Climate, Economy, Vaccines at G20
An Israeli missile strike killed five pro-Iran militiamen near Damascus on Saturday
Hurdles face Turkey’s acquisition of F16s after F35 deal cancellation
Turkey’s Lake Tuz dries up, highlights impact of climate change
US targets Iran’s drone programme with sanctions ahead of talks
UN Security Council calls for Western Sahara talks, renews mission
Sudan braces for ‘million-strong’ march against bloody coup

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 30-31/2021
The EU's Dangerous Policy Towards Iran's Mullahs/ Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/October 30/2021
To support global climate efforts, start by supporting your local mayor/Mike Bloomberg,/Arab News/October 30/2021
Can the nations of the Middle East navigate this make-or-break decade?/Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/October 30/2021
Russia-Israel green light on Syria puts Hezbollah in a corner/Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/October 30/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 30-31/2021
The Lebanese government does not represent the majority of the Lebanese people
Guila Fakhoury/October 30/2021
As the situation in Lebanon unfolds, ambassadors from Kuwait, Saudi, and Bahrain have left Lebanon.  The relation between Lebanon and the Arab countries is deteriorating. This is not surprising as Hezbollah’s main goal is to isolate Lebanon. As we mentioned many times, the Lebanese government cannot do anything without the ok of Iran and Hezbollah. Lebanon is occupied by Iran and this is made very clear by the recent developments. We will not stop fighting to kick Iran out of Lebanon, the Lebanese government does not represent the majority of the Lebanese people. We will continue to raise our voices in Washington and with our legislators to fight for a better Lebanon.

US urges diplomatic channels to remain open after Lebanon-Gulf crisis
Joseph Haboush & Rawad Taha, Al Arabiya English/30 October ,2021
The US on Saturday urged all diplomatic channels remain open between Beirut and the Gulf after several countries expelled Lebanese diplomats due to critical comments about Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by Lebanon’s Information Minister George Kordahi.
“We urge that all diplomatic channels remain open between the parties to ensure meaningful dialogue on the pressing issues facing Lebanon,” a State Department spokesperson told Al Arabiya English in the first public US response on the matter. The State Department official noted that Washington’s charge d’affaires in Beirut met with Lebanon’s foreign minister on Saturday to discuss the recent developments. The number two US diplomat in Beirut also took part in a crisis group meeting, which was made up of Lebanese officials. On Friday, Riyadh ordered the immediate halt to all Lebanese imports. The decision followed “the insulting statements” made during an interview given by Lebanon’s Information Minister George Kordahi before he became a minister. The row over critical comments made by Lebanese Information Minister Kordahi about the Arab Coalition military intervention in Yemen threw the government into a new crisis amid calls for Kordahi’s resignation. Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE followed suit by asking the top Lebanese diplomats in their countries to leave. Separately, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Saturday the latest crisis with Lebanon was due to the dominance of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the political scene in Lebanon was weakening state institutions “in a way that makes Lebanon continue to process in a direction against the interests of the people of Lebanon.”

Arab League Head Urges Aoun, Miqati to Take 'Steps' to Ease KSA Row
Associated Press/October 30/2021
Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit on Saturday expressed concerns about the deterioration in ties between Lebanon and several Gulf countries over statements made by Information Minister George Kordahi. Abul Gheit said the crisis caused by Kordahi's comments has led to a "great setback" to Lebanon's relationship with the Gulf countries. He urged Lebanon's president and prime minister to take "necessary steps" to ease the tension, especially with Saudi Arabia. He did not elaborate which steps should be taken. Abul Gheit also called on Gulf officials to review measures that could have negative consequences on Lebanon's already battered economy. Kordahi has described the war in Yemen as an aggression by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He added that the war in Yemen is "absurd" and must stop because he is opposed to wars between Arabs. Yemen has been convulsed by civil war since 2014, when the Iran-backed Huthi rebels captured the capital, Sanaa, and much of the north of the country. That forced the internationally recognized government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015, backed by the United States, to try to restore the government to power. Despite a relentless air campaign and ground fighting, the war has deteriorated largely into a stalemate and spawned the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Kuwait Expels Lebanon Envoy, Recalls Own Ambassador
Agence France Presse/October 30/2021
Kuwait has recalled its ambassador from Beirut and has given the Lebanese envoy 48 hours to leave the emirate, the Kuwaiti foreign ministry said Saturday, quoted by state news agency KUNA. "Kuwait recalls Amb. in Beirut, asks Lebanese envoy to leave country in 48 hours," the ministry said in a brief statement carried by KUNA. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain made similar moves on Friday after Lebanon's Information Minister George Kordahi criticized the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition backs the internationally recognized government.
Kuwait's foreign ministry said the expulsion and recall was based on the "failure" of the Lebanese government to "address the unacceptable and reprehensible statements against the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rest" of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
The GCC is a six-member regional body that includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar. Kuwait's decision was also based on "the failure of the Government of the Lebanese Republic to take the necessary measures to deter the continuous and increasing smuggling operations of the scourge of drugs to Kuwait and the rest of the GCC," the ministry added. The comments on smuggling also echo Riyadh's line, which extended to Saudi Arabia on Friday imposing a suspension on all imports from Lebanon. The United Arab Emirates meanwhile has summoned Lebanon's ambassador over Kordahi's comments. Kordahi said in a television interview that Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels were "defending themselves... against an external aggression," adding that "homes, villages, funerals and weddings were being bombed" by the coalition. In the interview -- filmed in August but aired on Monday -- he also called the seven-year war in Yemen "futile" and said it was "time for it to end."

Reports: U.S., France Urge Miqati Not to Resign
Naharnet/October 30/2021
Washington and Paris have contacted Prime Minister Najib Miqati in the wake of the diplomatic crisis with KSA to urge him "not to resign," media reports said on Saturday. The U.S. and France, however, told Miqati that "it is necessary to address the new problem with Saudi Arabia," al-Akhbar newspaper reported. Quoting "sources linked to the Saudi regime," al-Akhbar added that "Riyadh wants to topple Najib Miqati's government."Hizbullah has meanwhile told Miqati, according to the daily, that "any effort to sack the information minister in Cabinet would lead to the resignation of Hizbullah's ministers."
"Attempts were made to press ex-MP Suleiman Franjieh, seeing as he had named Kordahi to his post, but the Marada chief refused to press the minister into resignation, telling him that he would back his stance no matter what it would be," al-Akhbar added. MTV meanwhile said that several government officials have called Arab officials asking them to give them some time to "secure Kordahi's resignation or else the entire government would resign." Pro-Hizbullah journalist Salem Zahran for his part said that a phone call took place between Miqati and Kordahi and that the latter told the premier that he will not resign because he "did nothing wrong.""The government was on the brink of collapse if it wasn't for a phone call between Beirut and the Elysee, which gave a sruvival dose to the government," Zahran added. "The French said that they will intervene to find some sort of settlement in Lebanon," he added.
He also said that "Hizbullah will not leave Kordahi alone" and that "the government's survival hinges on its premier's resilience."

Bahrain Expels Lebanese Ambassador as Aoun, Miqati Move to Contain Crisis with KSA
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/October 30/2021
Bahrain has ordered the Lebanese ambassador to the kingdom to leave the country within 48 hours, shortly after Saudi Arabia made a similar move and halted Lebanese imports in response to Information Minister Georges Kordahi’s remarks about Yemen’s war.
President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Miqati meanwhile discussed the Saudi decision and asked Kordahi to take the "appropriate decision," an apparent call for him to resign in hopes it will ease the tension. Miqati's office said he discussed the situation with Aoun before calling Kordahi and asking him to take "the appropriate decision for the sake of national interests."Miqati expressed regret for the Saudi move and urged the kingdom to review its decision. Miqati added that his government "categorically rejects" anything that harms the "deep brotherly relations" with Saudi Arabia. "We are deeply sorry for the kingdom's decision and hope that it will reconsider. As for us, we will continue to work to solve what needs to be solved," he said. Miqati said earlier that Kordahi's comments do not represent the government's opinion, reiterating that the minister spoke before taking his post last month.
Kordahi, a former TV show host, made the comments on a TV program before he was chosen for the post in September. Kordahi is close to the Marada Movement, an ally of Iran-backed Hizbullah. Kordahi held a news conference in Beirut this week refusing to apologize for the interview, which he said was broadcast Aug. 5. He added that since becoming a minister, he abides by the government's policy of not expressing his opinion. "We should not continue to be subjected to blackmail in Lebanon by anyone whether they are countries, ambassadors or individuals," Kordahi said, adding that he has no plans to resign from the post over his comments. Saudi Arabia says Hizbullah is helping Yemen's Huthi rebels. Both Hizbullah and the Huthis are backed by Iran, and consider themselves part of the so-called axis of resistance that includes the Syrian government and powerful Shiite militias in Iraq.
Saudi Arabia has been a major supporter of Lebanon, but the kingdom has also been locked in a regional struggle with Iran, the main ally of Hizbullah. Tension between the two regional powerhouses have often spilled into a deadlock in decision-making in Lebanese politics. Saudi Arabia is among the Gulf countries that imposed sanctions on Hizbullah. Saudi Arabia lists Hizbullah as a “terrorist” organization. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon have been tense in recent months over what the kingdom says Hizbullah's control of the small country.
Kordahi said in a television interview that the Iran-backed Huthi rebels were "defending themselves... against an external aggression," adding that "homes, villages, funerals and weddings were being bombed" by the Saudi-led coalition. In the interview -- filmed in August but aired on Monday -- he also called the seven-year war in Yemen "futile" and said it was "time for it to end."On Tuesday, the Lebanese government said that Kordahi's statements were "rejected and did not reflect the position of the government," adding that the interview in question took place before Kordahi was appointed to the cabinet in September.
Yemen's civil war began in 2014 when the Huthis gained control of the capital Sanaa, prompting Saudi-led forces to intervene to prop up the government the following year. Tens of thousands of people -- most of them civilians -- have died and millions have been displaced, in what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Rights groups have harshly criticized the coalition for civilian casualties in its aerial bombardment. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia announced it was suspending fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon, saying shipments were being used for drug smuggling and accusing Beirut of inaction. And in May, Lebanon's foreign minister Charbel Wehbe stepped down and was swiftly replaced after comments he made irked Saudi Arabia.

UAE Withdraws Diplomats from Lebanon, Aoun Urges 'Treaties' with KSA
Associated Press/October 30/2021
The United Arab Emirates said Saturday that it would withdraw its diplomats from Lebanon in solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
It also said Emiratis would be "prevented" from traveling to Lebanon. Travel bans have happened previously to Lebanon over politics in the past. The move comes as the Arab League chief expressed concerns about the deterioration of ties between Lebanon and the Gulf countries over statements made by Information Minister George Kordahi regarding the war in Yemen. According to Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Prime Minister Najib Miqati, who is in Scotland, will discuss the crisis with foreign dignitaries. President Michel Aoun said in a statement Saturday that Lebanon wants the best relations with Saudi Arabia and its neighbors. In a statement, Aoun called for “institutionalizing and consolidating these relations through signing bilateral treaties between the two countries.”He added that “it is necessary for communication between the two countries to be at the level that Lebanon aspires for in its relations with the kingdom and the rest of the Gulf countries.”On Friday night, Miqati and Aoun discussed the Saudi decision and asked Kordahi to make the "appropriate decision," an apparent call for him to resign in hopes it will ease the tension. Kordahi, a former TV show host, made the comments on a TV program before he was chosen for the post in September. Kordahi is close to the Marada Movement, an ally of Iran-backed Hizbullah. The Lebanese minister's comments saw Saudi Arabia announce Friday that it was recalling its ambassador and it gave Beirut's envoy 48 hours to leave Riyadh. His words have also sparked calls for him to resign or be sacked. "Enough with catastrophies. Sack this minister who will destroy our relations with the Arab Gulf before it is too late," Lebanon's Druze leader Walid Jumblat said on Twitter.

Franjieh: Kordhai Offered to Resign but I Refused, Lebanese in Gulf 'Not Refugees'
Naharnet /October 30/2021
Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh on Saturday defended Information Minister Georges Kordahi after KSA, Kuwait and Bahrain expelled the Lebanese ambassadors in protest at his remarks over the Yemen war. "Minister Kordahi's remarks reflected his opinion 20 days before he knew he'd become minister. He has proposed to me that he offer his resignation from Bkirki or Baabda, but I refused because he did not make a mistake,” Franjieh said, after talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki. “I did not name Georges Kordahi to offer him as a sacrifice to anyone,” Franjieh added, noting that his movement will not name a successor to Kordahi if he resigns or gets forced to quit. He however pointed out that he would respect Kordahi’s final decision. “Our (positive) stance on Saudi Arabia and the UAE is clear and it stems from a conviction,” he noted, while stressing that his Movement does not “deal with inferiority with anyone.”“We tell those saying that the Lebanese people will bear the impact of Kordahi’s statement that they are exaggerating,” Franjieh added. “We’ve seen an adulation party for the past two days but we don’t belong to those who run after positions, seeing as we want to leave dignity to our children,” he went on to say. Noting that “Lebanese expats give foreign countries more than what they take,” Franjieh stressed that the Lebanese in the Gulf “are not refugees.” Asked about his chances of becoming president after Kordahi’s remarks, the Marada leader said: “What Georges Kordahi said is nothing compared to what the incumbent presidents has said about Saudi Arabia, petrodollar and other issues.”

Lebanon Crisis Cell Meets on KSA Row in Presence of U.S. Envoy
Naharnet /October 30/2021
Five Lebanese ministers and Presidency secretary general Antoine Choucair on Saturday held a crisis cell meeting over the diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. The meeting was held at the Foreign Ministry at Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s request. The meeting was attended by the ministers Abbas al-Halabi (Education), Amin Salam (Economy), Youssef Khalil (Finance), Abdallah Bou Habib (Foreign Affairs) and Bassam al-Mawlawi (Interior). Speaking after the meeting, Halabi said "governmental work is ongoing and the country can't be left with no government in light of the crises that we are going through." "Our hope is big that we will be able to reach a solution to this crisis soon," Halabi added. "The issue is being addressed and we're before a few hours that separate us from a solution to the crisis' repercussions," the minister went on to say, calling for "opening the doors of dialogue, because this is the only way to resolve all problems." Bou Habib for his part said he invited U.S. Embassy Deputy Head of Mission Richard Michaels to the meeting "because the Americans are capable of addressing the current crisis."He also said that the countries that Miqati has talked to have told him "not to think of resignation," adding that "the crisis cell will continue to hold meetings."Bou Habib had announced overnight that the cell’s “main mission” would be to “mend the rift in order to overcome the latest regrettable dispute.”“We believe that what is happening is a problem and not a crisis with the brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries, and that it can be resolved and overcome through honest and brotherly dialogue for the sake of the interest of our friendly countries,” Bou Habib said. “Be confident that Lebanon is extremely keen on keeping communication and rapprochement channels open with Saudi Arabia and its Gulf brothers, and it insists on restoring the best relations that are based on everything that brings us together and makes us close,” the minister added. Saudi Arabia on Friday ordered the Lebanese ambassador to the kingdom to leave the country within 48 hours and stopped all imports from Lebanon, a response to comments by Lebanese Information Minister Georges Kordahi who described the war in Yemen as Saudi "aggression." Kordahi made the remarks in a TV interview recorded around one month prior to him becoming minister. Hours later, the Kingdom of Bahrain ordered the Lebanese ambassador to leave the country within two days for the same reason, amid reports that all Gulf countries intend to expel the Lebanese ambassadors and to impose political and economic sanctions on Lebanon.

Kordahi Meets al-Rahi who Reportedly Advises Him to Resign
Naharnet/October 30/2021
Embattled Information Minister George Kordahi on Saturday visited Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki and left without making a statement, amid a diplomatic storm sparked by his remarks on Yemen’s war. Asked upon his arrival whether he intends to resign, Kordahi told reporters that he would wait to “see what the patriarch wants.” MTV meanwhile reported that the two men “evaluated the resignation decision and what’s better for the country,” noting that al-Rahi might have advised Kordahi to resign. “Al-Rahi insisted in his meeting with Kordahi on adopting neutrality in Lebanon’s relations with the neighboring countries,” Bkirki sources told MTV. Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh, who named Kordahi to be a minister in the new government, had also met with al-Rahi earlier in the day. Speaking after the talks, Franjieh revealed that Kordahi had suggested to announce his resignation from Bkirki or Baabda. “I refused because he did not make any mistake. Still I am with any decision he takes,” Franjieh added. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates on Saturday followed the Saudis and Bahrainis with punishable measures against Lebanon, increasing pressure on the small, crisis-hit country badly in need of foreign assistance to help it ease a crippling economic and financial crisis. On Saturday afternoon, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari flew home after he was recalled by his government, according to airport officials in Beirut. Bukhari's departure came a day after Saudi Arabia ordered Lebanon's ambassador to Riyadh to leave within 48 hours and banned all imports from Lebanon. On a TV program filmed in August and aired this week, Kordahi had described the war in Yemen as an “aggression” by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He called the war "absurd," saying it must stop because he is opposed to wars between Arabs. The program was recorded around a month before Kordahi became minister.

Lebanon says government can’t afford to resign as Saudi rift widens
Reuters/October 30, 2021
BEIRUT: Lebanon's government cannot afford to resign over a growing diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states, a member of a Lebanese crisis group of ministers said on Saturday following a near three-hour meeting over the widening rift. "The country cannot be left without a government," due to other pressing matters, and would continue to work to resolve the rift, Education Minister Abbas Halabi said after the meeting. The row over critical comments made by Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi about the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen had spurred calls by some top politicians for Kordahi's resignation, while others opposed the move.Saudi Arabia expelled Lebanon's envoy and banned all Lebanese imports on Friday, and Bahrain and Kuwait followed suit, giving the top Lebanese diplomats 48 hours to exit.

Lebanon’s FM sees possible breakthrough in diplomatic spat sparked by pro-Houthi minister
Najia Hossari/Arab news/October 30/2021
Marada Movement joins Hezbollah and Amal in insisting George Kordahi should not resign over interview remarks
BEIRUT: Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib on Saturday expressed optimism that the diplomatic crisis triggered by the country's information minister would soon be resolved.
George Kordahi's statement — that Yemen's Houthis were only defending themselves — did not sit well with Saudi Arabia as well as Yemen's legitimate government and their allies, who have been fighting the Iran-backed militia since 2015. The militia seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and other provinces from the UN-recognized government in 2014, prompting Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to organize a coalition to contain the threat. Since then, the Houthis had been launching ballistic missiles, rockets and armed drones against civilian targets in Saudi Arabia.
As the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement came to Kordahi's defense, the crisis worsened on Saturday, with Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE recalling their ambassadors from Lebanon in solidarity with Saudi Arabia. They also ordered Lebanon’s ambassadors to leave their countries within 48 hours. Habib’s committee, tasked by Prime Minister Najib Mikati to resolve the crisis, failed to reach a way out of the scandal during the closed meeting it held on Saturday apparently due to objections by the Marada Movement, to which Kordahi is affiliated.
Richard Michaels, deputy head of the US mission in Lebanon, joined the meeting at Bou Habib’s request but left the meeting half an hour later.
Mikati had asked Kordahi to resign on Friday night, but Marada Movement head Suleiman Frangieh objected.
“If I were to serve my personal and political interest, I would encourage Kordahi to resign as he has offered to submit his resignation at the Baabda Palace and in the Maronite Patriarchate, but I refused because my conscience does not allow me to ask this of a minister who did not make a mistake, but simply gave his opinion in a free country before he was appointed,” he said. Frangieh added: “We have a firm conviction of wanting excellent relations with the Arab countries. Our position regarding Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other Gulf countries is clear.”
He refused to “sacrifice” Kordahi for anyone, saying that if the minister were to resign or be fired then the movement would not name a replacement. Nonetheless, Habib mentioned a possible breakthrough in the coming hours. He also pointed to the participation of the US in resolving the crisis. “I was the one who invited the American diplomat to join the meeting because the Americans can help in asking Saudi Arabia to find a way out,” he said. Habib dismissed Frangieh’s comments as “political opinions that have nothing to do with our meeting, and we are working technically to solve the crisis.”US State Department spokesman Samuel Warberg told the Lebanese Al-Jadeed TV station: “The US urges the Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and countries in the region to communicate with the Lebanese government.
He said the US government was working with the international community to secure support for the Lebanese government. “We are waiting to see transparency and accountability on the government’s part,” he added.
‘Adding fuel to the fire’
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed his “deep concern and regret over the rapid deterioration in Lebanese-Gulf relations, especially at a time when efforts were made to restore positive ties to help Lebanon overcome the challenges it is facing.”
He said the Lebanese should have handled the crisis caused by Kordahi’s comments “more carefully, instead of adding fuel to the fire.”
Lebanese officials have tried to contain the diplomatic crisis, amid Hezbollah’s insistence that Kordahi should not resign under the pretext of “preserving Lebanese sovereignty and national dignity,” according to a party statement. This position was reiterated by a number of Hezbollah MPs on Saturday. “Hezbollah and the Amal movement could make their ministers resign from the government if Kordahi were to do so,” the Al Markazia news agency reported.
Former Lebanese Prime Ministers Fouad Siniora, Saad Hariri and Tammam Salam denounced “Kordahi’s positions that violate the Arab, diplomatic and moral principles and norms.”
They demanded that he immediately submit his resignation, as his ministerial position now posed “a threat to Lebanese-Arab relations and to Lebanon’s interest.”
They stressed the policy of disassociation they had adopted and warned against “joining the axis led by Iran in the region.”
They said Hezbollah had been interfering and playing a destructive role since its involvement in Arab crises and wars, not to mention its involvement in the Yemen war waged by Iran against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. Hariri criticized “the reckless ideas in the name of sovereignty that lead Lebanon to an unprecedented Arab isolation, the price of which the Lebanese people are paying.”He said: “The responsibility, first and foremost, in this regard lies with Hezbollah, and its professed hostility toward the Arabs and the Arab Gulf states.”Hariri said: “You want a state with sovereignty and national dignity, so remove Iran’s wing from Lebanon, put an end to arrogant policies and stop threatening the Lebanese with an army that outnumbers the state’s army and its security and military institutions.”
Hezbollah rules
Kataeb Party head Samy Gemayel believed Kordahi’s comments were “proof” of how the country’s political forces had “surrendered” to Hezbollah, allowing it to take over the presidency, government and parliament. The diplomatic crisis between Lebanon and the Arab Gulf states coincides with one related to Lebanese exports to the Gulf, following the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying the Kingdom had banned all Lebanese imports. According to statistics from the Lebanese Association of Agriculture, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries import 173,300 tons or 55.4 percent of Lebanon’s total exports of vegetables and fruits. This means Lebanon will lose $92 million annually under this ban, which is the equivalent of $250,000 per day. Lebanese economic bodies have criticized “the misfortunes that unexpectedly come upon Lebanon, at a time when the Lebanese are suffering in various aspects of their lives and were waiting for an initiative from the government to pull Lebanon out of the gutter, not ruin Lebanese relations with the Gulf states that have constituted a strategic economic lever for Lebanon over the years.”

Saudi foreign minister says crisis with Lebanon has its origins in Hezbollah dominance
Reuters/October 30, 2021
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Saturday the latest crisis with Lebanon has its origins in a Lebanese political setup that reinforces the dominance of the Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group and continues to allow endemic instability. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries expelled Lebanese envoys in a diplomatic spat that risks adding to Lebanon's economic crisis, following critical comments about the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen by Lebanon's Information Minister George Kordahi. "I think the issue is far broader than the current situation," Prince Faisal bin Farhan told Reuters in a phone interview. "I think it's important that the government in Lebanon or the Lebanese establishment forges a path forward that frees Lebanon from the current political construct, which reinforces the dominance of Hezbollah."He said this setup "is weakening state institutions within Lebanon, in a way that makes Lebanon continue to process in a direction against the interests of the people of Lebanon." The row has triggered calls by some Lebanese politicians for the resignation of Kordahi, while others opposed such a move, which could undermine the government as a whole. "We have no opinion about the government in Lebanon. We have no opinion as to whether it stays or goes, this is up to the Lebanese people," the minister, speaking from Rome where he was attending the G20 summit, said. Kordahi has been publicly backed by Hezbollah and has declined to apologise or resign over the comments.

UAE withdraws diplomats from Lebanon ‘in solidarity’ with Saudi Arabia
Arab News/October 30, 2021
DUBAI: The UAE announced the withdrawal of its diplomats from Lebanon in solidarity with Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The country also banned its citizens from travelling to Lebanon after offensive comments by the country’s information minister sparked controversy. A video of George Kordahi saying that the Iran-aligned Houthis were defending themselves and calling the war in Yemen “futile” emerged on Tuesday. Kordahi also described the war as a Saudi “aggression.”The Emirati decision came in light of the unacceptable approach by some Lebanese officials towards Saudi Arabia, Emirates News Agency reported. On Friday, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Lebanon for consultations and requested the departure of Lebanon's envoy to the Kingdom, giving him 48 hours to leave. A few hours later, Bahrain also gave the Lebanese ambassador to the country 48 hours to leave. Kuwait followed suit on Saturday and summoned its ambassador to Lebanon for consultations and requested the departure of Lebanon’s charge d’affaires within 48 hours. Kuwait said the decision came in response to “Lebanon’s insistence on making negative statements and its reluctance to handle unacceptable and condemnable positions against Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.”Qatar denounced Kordahi’s statements, a statement from the media office of the Qatari foreign ministry said on Saturday. Qatar also called on the Lebanese government to take urgent measures to rebuild bridges between “brotherly nations,” and dismissed Kordahi's comments as “irresponsible.”

Que Cordahi ou le gouvernement démissionnent ou pas.
Jean-Marie Kassab/Octobre 30/2021
That is not the question. Les dégats sont là: énormes et pour l'instant irréparables.
The real question is : Qu' a pu dire ou faire Cordahi au sein du gouvernement pour que l'Arabie réagisse si violement et en concert avec les pays du Golfe.
On n'agit pas avec autant de détermination pour des propos tenus durant une entrevue stupide.
Les Saudiens sont sûrement au courant de quelque chose de grave au delà de l'interview. Les Saudiens on su. Cordahi n'est qu'un pion à la solde de Bashar et de l'occupant mais il s'exprime en leurs noms et transmet leurs dessins. Le Hezb l'a d'ailleurs félicité pour ses propos.
J'ai dernièrement maintenu et répété que la crise va en s'amplifiant et s'intensifier à un rythme rapide et dangereux
Ce qui se passe en est un épisode.
La Résistance doit être prête. La Résistance Libanaise doit être forte.Regroupons nous tous tout autour. Les temps sont durs. Les temps sont mauvais, mais nous nous en sortirons avec du courage et la volonté de gagner.
Vive la Résistance Libanaise.
Vivent les Libanais établis au Golfe, un des poumons qui maintiennent le Liban en vie.
Vive le Liban.

Le paradoxe fatal.
Jean-Marie Kassab/Octobre 30/2021
Je ne sais pas si les élections auront lieu ou pas? sauf que tout le monde en parle et les désire. Sincèrement ou non est une autre paire de manche.
Trois issues en perspective:
1/echec des candidats souverains et triomphe des collabos Iraniens.
2/ triomphe des souverains et echec en face.
3/ résultats mitigés.
Le pays est sous le contróle TOTAL du camps Iranien. Directement ou indirectement ( by proxy). La liste des évenements qui prouve ceci est trop longue. Ils possèdent des armes à profusion ( voir attaque récente contre Ain Remmaneh). Les trois présidences sont à eux. Je continue???
Scenario 1: Iraniens et consorts achèvent et consolident leur contrôle du pays.
Scenario 2:Iraniens et consorts achèvent et consolident leur contrôle du pays.(Puisqu'ils controlent tout et que toute action parlementaire sera etouffée s' il le faut par la violence , attentats inclus). Ils flingueront quelques deputés pour apprendre aux autres à se taire. Et je vois déjà ça. Ces beaux révolutionnaires n'ont même pas pu engendrer un chef, sûrement par peur , alors de là à leur pousser des couilles au parlement? Trop tard. Et même s'il en pousserait, l ' iranien saura les émasculer.
Même et comme j'écris à cette heure, le Liban traverse la plus grave crise diplomatique de son histoire et je n'entends qu'un silence effrayant et ne vois que des blagues sur les groupes watsapistes.
Scenario 3: bordel total. Iraniens et consorts achèvent et consolident leur contrôle du pays tranquillement.
Le scenario 2 par contre comporte un élement paradoxal et fatal: Comme tout prête à dire que ce parlement, même s' il sera très souverain , sera incapable de tenir tête au deux brigades Iraniennes ( Hezb et Amal) prêtes à tout pour régner, la décéption populaire sera sans égal et mortelle. Pire que ça : la communauté internationale , mise devant ce fait accompli , baissera les bras à jamais.
Les arguments de souveraineté seront désuets et inutiles. Le monde entier dira que ce qui se passe est la volonté du peuple Libanais.
Pour cela je vous dis:
Rejoignez la Résistance Libanaise et expulsez les avec la pointe de vos baîonnettes. Au plus tôt et tout de suite.
Vive la Résistance Libanaise.
Vive le Liban

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 30-31/2021
US, European leaders express ‘grave, growing concern’ over Iran
AFP/30 October ,2021
The leaders of the United States, Germany, France, and Britain on Saturday expressed their “grave and growing concern” at Iran’s nuclear activities, after a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit. “We are convinced that it remains possible to quickly reach and implement an understanding on return to full compliance,” they said in a joint statement. “This will only be possible if Iran changes course.” Earlier this week, Tehran said it would resume talks with world powers in November on reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program, following a five-month gap. Iran held six rounds of indirect negotiations in Vienna with President Joe Biden’s administration on returning to the agreement, but talks went on hiatus in June as a new hardline government took office in Tehran. After the meeting in Rome, US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson “agreed that continued Iranian nuclear advances and obstacles to the IAEA’s work will jeopardize the possibility of a return to the JCPOA”. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is supposed to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities. In a joint statement, the leaders said they were determined “to ensure that Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon.”They said they shared a “grave and growing concern that, while Iran halted negotiations on a return to the JCPOA since June, it has accelerated the pace of provocative nuclear steps, such as the production of highly enriched uranium and enriched uranium metal.” “Iran has no credible civilian need for either measure, but both are important to nuclear weapons programs,” the statement said. The accord between Iran and six world powers to find a long-term solution to the crisis over its controversial nuclear program has been moribund since former US president Donald Trump walked out in May 2018 and imposed sweeping sanctions. Biden, his successor, has said he is ready to re-enter the agreement so long as Iran also returns to full compliance by rolling back nuclear activities that it undertook in response to Trump’s sanctions.

G20 leaders endorse tax deal, pledge more vaccines for the poor
Reuters/October 30/2021
Many of the G20 leaders, including US President Joe Biden, will fly straight to Glasgow for the start on Monday of the United Nation's climate summit
Historic minimum tax accord for big business endorsed
ROME: Leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies endorsed on Saturday a global minimum tax aimed at stopping big business from hiding profits in tax havens, and also agreed to get more COVID vaccines to poorer nations. Attending their first in-person summit in two years, G20 leaders broadly backed calls to extend debt relief for impoverished countries and pledged to vaccinate 70 percent of the world’s population against COVID-19 by mid-2022. Italy, hosting the gathering in Rome, put health and the economy at the top of the agenda for the first day of the meeting, with the more difficult climate discussions set for Sunday. Underscoring the way the coronavirus crisis has up-ended the world, doctors in white coats and Red Cross workers joined the leaders for their traditional “family” photograph — a tribute to the sacrifices and efforts of medics across the globe.
Addressing the opening of the meeting, being held in a steel and glass convention centre, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said governments had to work together to face up to the formidable challenges facing their peoples. “From the pandemic, to climate change, to fair and equitable taxation, going it alone is simply not an option,” Draghi said. The corporate tax deal was hailed as a evidence of renewed multilateral coordination, with major corporations facing a minimum 15 percent tax wherever they operate from 2023 to prevent them from shielding their profits in off-shore entities. “This is more than just a tax deal — it’s diplomacy reshaping our global economy and delivering for our people,” US President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter. Like many of the other G20 leaders in Italy, Biden will fly straight to Glasgow on Sunday for the UN’s climate summit, known as COP26, which is seen as crucial to addressing the threat of rising temperatures. The G20 bloc, which includes Brazil, China, India, Germany and the United States, accounts for an estimated 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but hopes the Rome meeting might pave the way to success in Scotland have dimmed considerably. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin both decided to follow events only via video link and diplomats looking to seal a meaningful accord said both countries, as well as India, were resisting ambitious new climate goals. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged the G20 and COP26 talks would be difficult, but warned that without courageous action, world civilization could collapse as swiftly as the ancient Roman empire, ushering in a new Dark Age. “It’s going to be very, very tough to get the agreement we need,” he told reporters, standing next to the ruins of the Colosseum amphitheater — a symbol of once mighty Rome.
A draft communique seen by Reuters said G20 countries will step up their efforts to limit global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius — the level scientists have said is necessary to avoid disastrous new climate patterns. The document also acknowledges that current national plans on how to curb harmful emissions will have to be strengthened, but offered little detail on how this should be done. Additionally, the leaders are set to pledge to halt financing of overseas coal-fired power generation by the end of this year, and to “do our utmost” to stop building new coal power plants before the end of the 2030s. Apparently relishing in-person diplomacy after months of relative isolation, the leaders held numerous meetings on the sidelines, including discussions between the US, Britain, Germany and France on Iran's nuclear program. “It is great to see all of you here, after a difficult few years for the global community,” Draghi said, catching the largely upbeat mood amongst those present.

Israel Missile Wounds Two Soldiers near Damascus
Agence France Presse/October 30/2021
An Israeli missile strike wounded two Syrian soldiers near Damascus on Saturday, the official SANA news agency reported after explosions were heard in the Syrian capital. "The Israeli enemy fired a salvo of surface-to-surface missiles from northern occupied Palestine targeting positions near Damascus," SANA said, quoting an unnamed military official. "Our anti-aircraft defenses were activated and were able to hit some of the enemy missiles," the source said, adding that the attack wounded two soldiers and caused damage. AFP correspondents in Damascus heard multiple explosions at around midday. Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out air strikes inside Syria, mostly targeting Syrian government troops as well as allied Iranian and Lebanese Hizbullah forces. It is rare for Israel to carry out strikes on Syrian targets during daylight hours. The Israeli military rarely acknowledges individual strikes but has said repeatedly that it will not allow Syria to become a stronghold of its arch-foe Iran. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Saturday's raid destroyed arms and ammunition depots belonging to Iranian forces and allied militias in Qudsaya and Dimas. Israel has targeted these positions in the past. On October 14, an Israeli air strike on Iranian positions in central Syria killed nine fighters allied to the Syrian government.

U.S., European Leaders Express 'Grave, Growing Concern' over Iran
Agence France Presse/October 30/2021
The leaders of the United States, Germany, France and Britain on Saturday expressed their "grave and growing concern" at Iran's nuclear activities, after a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
"We are convinced that it remains possible to quickly reach and implement an understanding on return to full compliance," they said in a joint statement, adding: "This will only be possible if Iran changes course."

World Leaders to Talk Climate, Economy, Vaccines at G20
Agence France Presse/October 30/2021
Climate change and the relaunch of the global economy will top the G20 agenda as leaders of the world's most advanced nations meet Saturday, the first in-person gathering since the pandemic. Looming over the two-day talks in Rome is pressure to make headway on tackling global warming, ahead of the key COP26 summit kicking off in Glasgow Monday. The stakes are high, with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warning G20 leaders Friday to show "more ambition and more action" and overcome mistrust in order to advance climate goals. "We are still on time to put things on track, and I think the G20 meeting is the opportunity to do that," Guterres said. Security was tight in Rome as U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in the Italian capital anxious to turn a page from the tumultuous Trump years and show that American leadership on the world stage is restored.
Yet the Democrat faces a credibility test as his own signature climate policy -- part of a sweeping economic package -- is held up amid infighting within his party in Congress. Absent from the G20 will be Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping, who plan to attend by video link. Summit host Mario Draghi, the Italian prime minister, has called for a "G20 commitment on the need to limit the rise in temperatures to 1.5 degrees" above pre-industrial levels, the most ambitious target outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. On Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson -- the host of the U.N. talks next week -- gave a dire warning of what could happen if the world failed. "We are not going to stop global warming in Rome or in this meeting in COP," he told reporters aboard his plane to Rome. "The most we can hope to do is slow the increase." Humanity, Johnson warned, can regress "at extraordinary speed". "You saw that with the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, and I'm afraid to say that it's true today unless we get this right in tackling climate change."
Complicating the task for the G20 will be disparities between top world powers on tackling global warming. China, the world's biggest polluter and responsible for more than a quarter of all carbon emissions, has been accused of sidestepping calls to stop building new coal-fired power plants. A new plan submitted by Beijing to the UN ahead of COP26 fell short of environmentalists' expectations, with a target date of 2060 to reach carbon neutrality. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, meanwhile, has steadfastly demanded that his country be paid for protecting its share of the Amazon.The world's biggest rainforest is seen as a vital resource to combat climate change for its ability to absorb fossil fuel emissions.
Taxing global players
A surer bet for concrete progress at the G20 involves taxation, as the group is expected to endorse the 15 percent minimum international tax rate on multinational companies after nearly 140 countries reached an OECD-brokered deal. The move seeks to end tax optimization, in which global corporations -- including big U.S. tech firms like Apple and Google parent Alphabet -- shelter profits in countries with low-tax systems. The OECD says a 15 percent global minimum corporate tax rate could add $150 billion annually to global tax revenues.
G20 finance ministers gave their backing to the tax overhaul in July.  Although no new pledges are expected on Covid-19 vaccines at the G20, a press release from a Friday meeting of G20 finance and health ministers stated that members would "take steps to help boost the supply of vaccines and essential medical products and inputs in developing countries and remove relevant supply and financing constraints." A security force of over 5,000 police and soldiers has been mobilized for the summit, according to the interior ministry, and several demonstrations are expected. The summit is being held away from the city center, after violent clashes erupted earlier this month between protesters and police over the extension of Italy's coronavirus pass to all workplaces.

An Israeli missile strike killed five pro-Iran militiamen near Damascus on Saturday
Agence France Presse/October 30/2021
An Israeli missile strike killed five pro-Iran militiamen near Damascus on Saturday, a war monitor said, while state media said two Syrian soldiers were wounded in the attack. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike "destroyed a Hizbullah and Iranian weapons and ammunition" convoy heading towards Lebanon. At least five pro-Iranian fighters were killed and several wounded, said the war monitor. Earlier state news agency SANA, quoting a military source, said two Syrian soldiers were wounded after explosions were heard in the Syrian capital. "The Israeli enemy fired a salvo of surface-to-surface missiles from northern occupied Palestine targeting positions near Damascus," SANA said. "Our anti-aircraft defenses were activated and were able to hit some of the enemy missiles," the source said, adding that the attack wounded two soldiers and caused damage. AFP correspondents in Damascus heard multiple explosions at around midday. Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out air strikes inside Syria, mostly targeting Syrian government troops as well as allied Iranian and Lebanese Hizbullah forces. It is rare for Israel to carry out strikes on Syrian targets during daylight hours. The Israeli military rarely acknowledges individual strikes but has said repeatedly that it will not allow Syria to become a stronghold of its arch-foe Iran. On October 14, an Israeli air strike on Iranian positions in central Syria killed nine fighters allied to the Syrian government.

Hurdles face Turkey’s acquisition of F16s after F35 deal cancellation
The Arab Weekly/October 30/202
WASHINGTON--The United States is discussing Turkey’s request to buy F-16 fighters after a deal for more advanced F-35s was scrapped due to Ankara’s purchase of a Russian missile system, officials said. But the same objections that had blocked Ankara’s acquisition of the F-35s are dogging its new request. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on October 17 that Ankara wants to buy the cheaper F-16s using the $1.4 billion it allotted for the cancelled F-35 deal. But one US official said that any possible F-16 order could face the same issue that forced the cancellation of the F-35s: Turkey’s decision to buy an S-400 missile system from Russia. The S-400, used to track and shoot down attacking aircraft, was seen as a threat to the F-35 joint strike fighter program adopted in several NATO countries. US defense officials met in Ankara Wednesday with Turkish counterparts to resolve remaining issues from the F-35 program, and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke Thursday with Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar, saying in a statement that the Pentagon recognised “Turkey’s military modernisation needs.”The F-16 request could be discussed when US President Joe Biden meets with Erdogan on the sidelines of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow which begins on Sunday.
Russian intelligence platform
According to Turkish media, the country wants to buy 40 F-16s and kits to upgrade 80 warplanes in its current fleet. In 2002 Turkey joined several other NATO allies who agreed to buy the F-35, and five years later reached a deal to participate in its production, an agreement worth potentially billions of dollars to Turkish industry. But just as the United States was preparing to deliver the first two of 100 aircraft planned for the Turkish air force, in 2017 Ankara announced it was buying an S-400 battery. One week after the Turkish ministry of defence received the first delivery of S-400 components in July 2019, Washington announced the cancellation of Turkey’s F-35 programme. US officials said the presence of the S-400 would allow the Russians — NATO’s primary adversary — to collect information on the aircraft’s crucial stealth capabilities. “Turkey cannot field a Russian intelligence collection platform in proximity to where the F-35 program makes, repairs, and houses the F-35,” said Pentagon Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition Ellen Lord at the time. Five months later, Washington slapped sanctions on Turkey’s Presidency of Defence Industries, which is in charge of defence technology imports, for violating US sanctions on Russia.
“Ageing” air force
The decision left Turkey with an air force in need of rejuvenation, said Aykan Erdemir, head of the Turkey programme at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies think tank. “Turkey definitely needs modern fighters to replace its ageing fleet,” Erdemir told AFP. “Hence, this alternative path of procurement would be crucial,” he said, referring to the F-16. In broaching the F-16 idea, Erdogan hinted that he could turn to Russia for fighter jets if spurned by the United States. But it’s not clear if that would sway Washington. “We’ve urged Turkey at every level and opportunity not to retain the S-400 system and refrain from purchasing any additional Russian military equipment,” Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said at the beginning of October after Erdogan held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Opposition in Congress
Any military sales would have to be approved by the US Congress, where anti-Turkish sentiment is strong because of Erdogan’s record on human rights. Echoing pressure that helped lead to the F-35 cancellation, on Monday a group of 11 lawmakers in the US Congress wrote a letter to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken objecting to any F-16 sale. “We cannot afford to compromise our national security by sending US-manufactured aircraft to a treaty ally which continues to behave like an adversary,” they said.  why I think Washington and other European capitals are eyeing the 2023 election, hoping that that could be a way out,” he said, referring to Turkish elections.

Turkey’s Lake Tuz dries up, highlights impact of climate change
The Arab Weekly/October 30/202
KONYA, Turkey— For centuries, Lake Tuz in central Turkey has hosted huge colonies of flamingos that migrate and breed there when the weather is warm, feeding on algae in the lake’s shallow waters. This summer, however, a heart-wrenching scene replaced the usual splendid sunset images of the birds captured by wildlife photographer Fahri Tunc. Carcasses of flamingo hatchlings and adults scattered across the cracked, dried-up lake bed. The 1,665 square kilometre lake — Turkey’s second-largest lake and home to several bird species — has entirely receded this year. Experts say Lake Tuz (Salt Lake in Turkish) is a victim of climate change-induced drought, which has hit the region hard, and decades of harmful agricultural policies that exhausted the underground water supply. “There were about 5,000 young flamingos. They all perished because there was no water,” said Tunc, who also heads the regional branch of the Turkish environmental group Doga Dernegi. “It was an incredibly bad scene. It’s not something I can erase from my life. I hope I do not come across such a scene again.”Several other lakes across Turkey have similarly dried up or have receded to alarming levels, affected by low precipitation and unsustainable irrigation practices. Climate experts warn that the entire Mediterranean basin, which includes Turkey, is particularly at risk of severe drought and desertification. In Lake Van, Turkey’s largest lake, located in the country’s east, fishing boats no longer could approach a dock last week after the water fell to unusual levels, HaberTurk television reported. ”(We have) rising temperatures and decreasing rain, and on the other side, the water needs for irrigation in agriculture,” said Levent Kurnaz, a scientist at Bogazici University’s Center for Climate Change and Policy Studies. “It’s a bad situation all over Turkey at the moment.”A study based on satellite imagery conducted by Turkey’s Ege University shows that water levels at Lake Tuz started to drop beginning in 2000, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency. The lake completely receded this year due to rising temperatures, intensified evaporation and insufficient rain, according to the study. The study also noted a sharp decline in underground water levels around Lake Tuz, a hypersaline lake that straddles the Turkish provinces of Ankara, Konya and Aksaray. The Konya basin in central Anatolia, which includes Lake Tuz, was once known as Turkey’s breadbasket. Farms in the region have turned to growing profitable but water-intensive crops such as corn, sugar-beet and alfalfa, which have drained groundwater supplies, photographer Tunc said. Farmers have dug thousands of unlicensed wells while streams feeding the lake have dried up or been diverted, he said.
Environmental groups say poor government agricultural policies play a significant role in the deterioration of Turkey’s lakes.
“If you don’t pay them enough money, the farmers, they will plant whatever is water intensive and will make money for them. And if you just tell them it’s not allowed, then they won’t vote for you in the next election,” Kurnaz said. The overuse of groundwater is also making the region more susceptible to the formation of sinkholes. Dozens of such depressions have been discovered around Konya’s Karapinar district, including one that Associated Press journalists saw next to a newly harvested alfalfa field. Tunc, 46, a native of Aksaray, is saddened by the thought that he won’t be able to enjoy the flamingos with his 7-month-old son like he did with his 21-year-old son. He remains hopeful, however, that Lake Tuz may replenish itself, if the government stops the water-intensive agriculture.
Kurnaz, the climate scientist, is less optimistic.
“They keep telling people that they shouldn’t use groundwater for this agriculture and people are not listening. There are about 120,000 unlicensed wells in the region, and everybody is pumping out water as if that water will last forever,” Kurnaz said. “But if you are on a flat place, it can rain as much as you want and it won’t replenish the groundwater in a short time. It takes maybe thousands of years in central Anatolia to replenish the underground water table,” he added. The drought and flamingo deaths at Lake Tuz were just one of a series of ecological disasters to strike Turkey this summer, believed to be partly due to climate change. In July, wildfires devastated swaths of forests along Turkey’s southern coast, killing eight people and forcing thousands to flee. Parts of the country’s northern Black Sea coast were struck by floods that killed 82 people. Earlier, a layer of sea mucilage, blamed on soaring temperatures and poor waste management, covered the Sea of Marmara, threatening marine life. Although Turkey was among the first countries to sign the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the country held off ratifying it until this month as it sought to be reclassified as a developing country instead of a developed one to avoid harsher emission reduction targets. Turkish lawmakers issued a declaration rejecting the status of developed country at the same time they ratified the climate agreement. In the town of Eskil, near the shores of Lake Tuz, farmer Cengiz Erkol, 54, checked the irrigation system on his field growing animal feed. “The waters aren’t running as strong and abundant as they used to,” he said. “I have four children. The future doesn’t look good. Each year is worse than the previous year.”

US targets Iran’s drone programme with sanctions ahead of talks
The Arab Weekly/October 30/202
WASHINGTON- The US Treasury hit Iran’s drone programme with sanctions on Friday, boosting pressure on Tehran ahead of the reopening of negotiations on the country’s nuclear programme. The Treasury said lethal unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been used to attack US forces and international shipping in the Gulf region. The drones have also been supplied to Hezbollah, Hamas, and Yemen’s Houthis, and have additionally been seen in Ethiopia, “where the escalating crisis threatens to destabilise the broader region,” the US Treasury said. The sanctions singled out Brigadier General Saeed Aghajani, who leads the Revolutionary Guards’ UAV Command. The Treasury said that Aghajani was behind a 2019 drone attack on an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia as well as the July 29, 2021 attack on a commercial ship off the coast of Oman that saw two crewman killed.
Also named to the sanctions blacklist were two companies, Kimia Part Sivan and Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar, which provide components for and help develop the armed UAVs of the Revolutionary Guards. “Iran’s proliferation of UAVs across the region threatens international peace and stability,” US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. “Treasury will continue to hold Iran accountable for its irresponsible and violent acts,” he said. The sanctions came nine days after an attack on a US military base in Al-Tanf, Syria that involved drones. The Pentagon has not identified the source of that incident, which did not cause any injuries, but says generally that Iran has provided drones for such attacks around the region. “We have seen these kinds of attacks in the past from — from Shia militia groups, which we know are backed and supported by Iran,” Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby said on Monday. The sanctions were also announced just two days after Iran said it will resume talks with world powers in November on reviving a nuclear deal. Tehran’s announcement was met by scepticism in Washington which suspects Iran of accelerating the enrichment process within its nuclear programme. That tentative commitment by Iran came after a five-month gap which saw mounting warnings that international patience was wearing thin with Tehran. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the sanctions showed the “contradictory behaviour” of President Joe Biden’s administration.
“An administration that wants to return to nuclear negotiations is following the same methods of (former president Donald) Trump. By imposing sanctions, it is sending a message that does not inspire any confidence at all,” he said.

UN Security Council calls for Western Sahara talks, renews mission
The Arab Weekly/October 30/202
UNITED NATIONS--The UN Security Council on Friday called on all sides to resume negotiations toward a solution in Western Sahara as it renewed a UN mission in the disputed territory for one year. The resolution was spearheaded by the United States, which under former president Donald Trump recognised Morocco’s claim to the territory as it persuaded the kingdom to normalise relations with Israel. The resolution — which does not recognise Moroccan sovereignty — passed the Security Council with abstentions from Tunisia and Russia.
Call to resume negotiations
Weeks after the appointment of a new UN envoy on Western Sahara, veteran diplomat Staffan de Mistura, the resolution called for “the parties” to resume negotiations “without preconditions and in good faith” in search of a “just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution.”The resolution calls for a goal of “self-determination of the people of Western Sahara,” a phrase that diplomats said was added by the United States at the behest of Russia, which could have vetoed the text. The resolution also “reaffirms the need for full respect” of a ceasefire that collapsed last year. Algeria backs the separatist Polisario Front and in August broke off relations with Morocco, which controls nearly 80 percent of the arid and sparsely populated territory controlled by Spain until 1975. Roundtable talks were last held in early 2019 that brought together the Polisario and Morocco as well as Algeria. But Algeria earlier this month voiced its “formal and irreversible rejection” of talks in roundtable format. The Polisario sees itself as a liberation movement that should negotiate directly with Rabat. But Rabat considers the Polisario an Algerian proxy.
Reactions to the new resolution
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita welcomed the text Friday, saying it “specifies the real parties to the conflict by calling for Algeria to take part responsibly and constructively.”The Polisario’s UN envoy Sidi Omar tweeted that “there will be no new ceasefire as long as Morocco persists in its attempts to forcibly impose a colonial fait accompli in the Occupied Territories of the Sahrawi Republic.”France’s UN envoy, Nicolas de Riviere, said that the UN peacekeeping mission, known as MINURSO, remained vital in uncertain security conditions. “More than ever since the breaking of the ceasefire, this operation plays an essential role in limiting the risks of an escalation and in bringing stability in the region,” he said. Kenya, the current president of the Security Council, voiced hope that the UN mission could eventually organise a referendum, saying it was the right of every nation that was formerly colonized. “We must be honest and admit that this goal is being obscured and frustrated,” the Kenyan mission said in a statement. MINURSO was established by the Security Council in 1991 with an aim of establishing a referendum between independence and joining Morocco.

Sudan braces for ‘million-strong’ march against bloody coup
AFP/October 30, 2021
KHARTOUM: Sudanese anti-coup protesters plan to flood the streets Saturday to demonstrate against a military takeover that has derailed the country’s transition to civilian rule and triggered deadly clashes. The military on Monday detained Sudan’s civilian leadership, dissolved the government and declared a state of emergency, leading to a chorus of international condemnation. Street protests erupted against the coup, triggering a crackdown by the security forces that has left dead at least eight demonstrators and wounded around 170. Despite the bloodshed, the protesters remain defiant, with organizers hoping to stage a “million-strong” march against the military’s power grab on Saturday. “We will not be ruled by the military. That is the message we will convey” at the protests, said Sudanese rights activist Tahani Abbas. “The military forces are bloody and unjust and we are anticipating what is about to happen on the streets,” Abbas said. “But we are no longer afraid.”Monday’s takeover was led by General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan — Sudan’s de facto leader since the 2019 ouster of longtime autocrat Omar Al-Bashir after huge youth-led protests. Several pro-democracy activists have been arrested.
On the eve of Saturday’s rallies, a US official put the death toll at between 20 and 30, adding the protests would be a “real test” of the intentions of Sudan’s military. “We call on the security forces to refrain from any and all violence against protesters and to fully respect the citizens’ right to demonstrate peacefully,” the official in Washington said on condition of anonymity. Phone lines were largely down by Saturday morning, as security forces deployed in large numbers on the streets and blocked bridges connecting the capital, Khartoum, with neighboring cities.Security forces set up random checkpoints on main roads, randomly frisking passers-by and searching cars. Britain’s special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Robert Fairweather urged Sudan’s security forces to “respect freedom and right of expression” for protesters. “Peaceful protest is a fundamental democratic right. The security services and their leaders will bear responsibility for any violence toward any protesters,” he said on Twitter. Sudan has been led since August 2019 by a civilian-military ruling council, alongside Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s government, as part of the now stalled transition to full civilian rule. Hamdok himself was briefly detained before he was released and placed under effective house arrest. Other civilian leaders and ministers are still being held. Days of unrest have rocked Khartoum and other cities. Protesters have barricaded roads with rocks, debris and burning tires. Shops have largely been shuttered, and government employees have refused to work as part of a campaign of civil disobedience. “The Sudanese people are determined to... win back the gains of the December 2018 revolution” against Bashir, said Abdelgelil Al-Basha from the capital’s twin city of Omdurman. Burhan, a senior general under Bashir’s three decades of iron-fisted rule, has insisted the military takeover “was not a coup” but only meant to “rectify the course of the Sudanese transition.” The move triggered a wave of international condemnation and several punitive measures, with the World Bank and the United States freezing aid — a heavy blow to a country already mired in a dire economic crisis. US President Joe Biden has called the coup a “grave setback,” while the African Union has suspended Sudan’s membership for the “unconstitutional” takeover. On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the military to show restraint as he reaffirmed his “strong condemnation” of the coup. “People must be allowed to demonstrate peacefully,” Guterres said. Monday’s power grab was the latest coup to hit impoverished Sudan, which has enjoyed only rare democratic interludes since independence in 1956 and spent decades riven by civil war.

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 30-31/2021
The EU's Dangerous Policy Towards Iran's Mullahs
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/October 30/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/103782/103782/
The EU also made many concessions to Iran, such as agreeing to include in the nuclear deal sunset clauses enabling the mullahs soon to have as many nuclear weapons as they like.
Meanwhile, the EU, which never stops moralizing to other countries about how they should be conducting themselves, has turned a blind eye to credible reports regarding Iran's continually violating the nuclear deal as well as pursuing clandestine nuclear activities. By February 2016, Iran had already exceeded its threshold for heavy water for the second time.
At the same time, when it comes to terrorism, members of the EU have been among the main targets of Iran's terrorist plots. The Iranian regime has been implicated in a series of assassinations, seizing European hostages and other hostile acts across Europe....
The EU might also do well to see how Iran's military adventurism in the region has escalated -- and will continue to escalate unless it is stopped.
If Iran acquires nuclear capability, it will no longer even have to use terrorism or hostage-taking -- or even its new bombs -- to blackmail Europe: the mere threat of using one should be sufficient.
Will the EU please wake up in time and alter its dangerous policy towards Iran?
The EU also made many concessions to Iran, such as agreeing to include in the nuclear deal sunset clauses enabling the mullahs soon to have as many nuclear weapons as they like. (Image source: iStock)
For almost six years since the 2015 "nuclear deal," the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was reached, the European Union has been appeasing Iran's ruling mullahs. What the EU fails to see is that that its soft policy towards the mullahs has been a total disaster and dangerous.
Right after the "nuclear deal" was reached -- which by the way the Iranian regime never signed -- the EU, alongside the Obama administration, lifted nearly all its economic sanctions. It was a gift that helped the Iranian regime to reintegrate into the global financial system. The EU also made many concessions to Iran, such as agreeing to include in the nuclear deal sunset clauses enabling the mullahs soon to have as many nuclear weapons as they like.
Germany and France appeared to be among the first in a hurry to rekindle business with the ruling mullahs of Iran. Right after the half-signed nuclear deal, the Western half, Germany's former Economic Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, together with a business delegation from Siemens, Linde, Mercedes and Volkswagen, visited Iran, and many large European companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Eni began their plans to do business with Iran. Since then, as nearly 30 Iranian banks reconnected to SWIFT, trade between the EU and Iran has increased almost 43%.
Meanwhile, the EU, which never stops moralizing to other countries about how they should be conducting themselves, has turned a blind eye to credible reports regarding Iran's continually violating the nuclear deal as well as pursuing clandestine nuclear activities. By February 2016, Iran had already exceeded its threshold for heavy water for the second time. A year after the nuclear deal, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, revealed in its annual report that the Iranian government has pursued a "clandestine" path during the nuclear agreement to obtain illicit nuclear technology and equipment from German companies "at what is, even by international standards, a quantitatively high level." The intelligence report also stated that "it is safe to expect that Iran will continue its intensive procurement activities in Germany using clandestine methods to achieve its objectives."
After that, the US, one of the key players in the nuclear deal, withdrew from it under the Trump administration and re-imposed sanctions. The EU, however, Washington's old transatlantic ally, parted ways with its Western partner in favor of the mullahs. The EU declined to re-impose sanctions on Iran, then set about keeping business with it alive. Three European governments -- Germany, France and the UK -- created a mechanism, the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), based in Paris and designed primarily to circumvent US sanctions. "We're making clear," Germany's former Foreign Minister Heiko Maas admitted, "that we didn't just talk about keeping the nuclear deal with Iran alive, but now we're creating a possibility to conduct business transactions."
What has been the outcome of the EU's appeasement of the mullahs of Iran? Business for Europe. Iran's leaders, in the meantime, are now closer than ever to obtaining nuclear weapons. The theocratic establishment is presently close to having enough enriched uranium to refine and build at least one nuclear bomb, requiring only about 1000 kg of uranium enriched at just 5%.
At the same time, when it comes to terrorism, members of the EU have been among the main targets of Iran's terrorist plots. The Iranian regime has been implicated in a series of assassinations, seizing European hostages and other hostile acts across Europe, some successful, others not, that have been traced back to Tehran. European officials were able to foil a terrorist attack targeting a large "Free Iran" convention in Paris, that was attended in June 2018 by many high-level speakers, including former US House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird. In 2020, in Belgium, one of Iran's active diplomats, the Iranian Assadollah Assadi, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for trying to plant a bomb.
The EU might also do well to see how Iran's military adventurism in the Middle East has escalated -- and will continue to escalate unless it is stopped. Since the EU began appeasing the Iranian regime, the region has witnessed more Houthi rocket attacks at civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, the deployment of thousands of Hezbollah foot soldiers in Syria, and the bombardment of Israel by Iranian-funded Hamas rockets.
Are profit and business really more important to the EU than stopping what the US Department of State refers to as the "world's worst state sponsor of terrorism" from having nuclear weapons? Does the EU continue to appease the mullahs because it believes that an emboldened and nuclear-armed Iran is not going to be a threat to the EU, but only to other countries in the region such as Israel and Saudi Arabia? Since 2015, the EU has met the ruling mullahs of Iran with appeasement, kindness and flexibility every step of the way. This has only empowered the Iranian regime and brought it closer to becoming a nuclear state. The EU might recall what Winston Churchill famously warned against: "Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last. All of them hope that the storm will pass before their turn comes to be devoured. But I fear -- I fear greatly -- the storm will not pass."
If Iran acquires nuclear capability, it will no longer even have to use terrorism or hostage-taking -- or even its new bombs -- to blackmail Europe: the mere threat of using one should be sufficient.
Will the EU please wake up in time and alter its dangerous policy towards Iran?
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US foreign policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
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To support global climate efforts, start by supporting your local mayor
Mike Bloomberg,/Arab News/October 30/2021
During this year’s UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, which begins on Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland, much of the attention will be on what national governments can do to cut emissions more quickly and uphold a previous commitment to provide $100 billion annually in climate finance for low- and middle-income countries.These are critical issues. But there is another group of leaders whose actions are also essential to the efforts to tackle climate change, and who together are showing what is possible: the world’s mayors.
In fact, pledging more support for, and partnerships with, the cities that are pursuing climate adaptation and mitigation is one of the most important steps that national governments can take at COP26.
As home to a growing majority of the world’s population, cities are responsible for about three-quarters of global energy use and 70 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. Fortunately, mayors have considerable authority with which to address the biggest sources of those emissions, not least transportation and the energy use of buildings.
Mayors also have powerful incentives to act. Toxic air pollution from burning fossil fuels is often concentrated in cities, causing illness and premature deaths, and local governments are often the first line of defense against natural disasters.
Moreover, interventions such as enhancing public transport, creating more parks and green spaces, improving the energy efficiency of buildings, and replacing fossil fuels with clean power can make an immediate and measurable difference in the lives of city inhabitants.
Since 2017, we have been working together through the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, an alliance that now includes more than 11,000 cities that are collectively home to more than one billion people.
Mike Bloomberg & Frans Timmermans
Mayors and city leaders have proven that they are willing and able to lead. In Italy, Milan is converting its entire public-transport fleet to electric power. In the US, Pittsburgh is enacting a plan to run 100 percent on renewable energy. Accra in Ghana is on track to cut emissions by more than 25 percent this decade, even as its population continues to grow. Lima in Peru will plant two million trees by 2022. In South Korea, Seoul is providing low-interest loans for zero-energy buildings. Quezon City in the Philippines responded to the pandemic with an emergency employment program that puts people to work protecting and restoring the environment. And in Malaysia, Putrajaya is switching to solar energy as the default option for all official buildings. But cities cannot save the planet alone. Now more than ever, they need support. The economic devastation of the pandemic has hit cities particularly hard, decimating municipal budgets. City leaders know that fighting climate change and driving a green economic recovery go hand in hand, because the same measures that reduce carbon dioxide emissions also spur growth, generate jobs and create conditions that attract new residents and businesses.
The more we do to support cities, the faster our progress will be against both the climate crisis and COVID-19.
Since 2017, we have been working together through the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, an alliance that now includes more than 11,000 cities that are collectively home to more than one billion people. Each of these cities has made a bold commitment to cut emissions and adapt to climate change — and, through the alliance, they are sharing strategies and solutions. While international climate negotiations are often hindered by conflicts about who should be doing more, cities are working together with a spirit of common purpose and shared destiny. They are collaborating because they understand the benefits of collective action. For its part, the Global Covenant enables cities to access resources — including technical assistance to identify opportunities and design innovative projects, as well as funding from a wide range of partners — to help them do more, faster. The alliance also gives cities a way to speak together as one, advocating policies that can help them aim even higher and continue leading the way on climate change.
In recognition of the work cities have been leading, the Global Covenant won the second annual Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. The prize money will be used to provide direct support to help acutely vulnerable African cities respond to the climate crisis in ways that also support their economic recoveries from the pandemic. We will share lessons learned through the global network, encouraging cities across Africa and around the world to take similar steps.
National governments have strong reasons to help their cities in this respect. Cities, after all, generate three-quarters of global gross domestic product. They are engines of economic mobility, industry and technological innovation. Strong and thriving cities make for strong and thriving countries – and smart municipal climate action helps all city residents live better, healthier lives. As COP26 begins, cities collectively offer the best reason for hope in the battle against climate change. They are ready to do more, and the Global Covenant, the European Commission and Bloomberg Philanthropies stand ready to help them. We will continue to cultivate widespread public support and engagement, unlock new funding, and offer tools to help cities deliver bolder and even more ambitious climate solutions.
But Global Covenant cities and their one billion inhabitants are also calling out for more support from national governments. When one billion people speak with one voice, leaders should listen. COP26 is a chance for world leaders to show that they are.
• Mike Bloomberg, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for climate ambition and solutions, and Frans Timmermans, the executive vice-president of the European Commission, are co-chairs of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy.

Can the nations of the Middle East navigate this make-or-break decade?
Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/October 30/2021
Contrary to numerous forecasts, the world’s emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic was never going to be a smooth transition back to pre-pandemic normality. Instead, energy crunches, supply-chain disruptions, chip shortages and the persistent threat of a rebound in cases of infection are threatening to throw the world into a tailspin.
As a result, the global climate-change agenda is at even greater risk, as it is premised on the world’s economies transitioning to renewables with as little disruption as possible.
However, suppose existing crises — such as global supply chains not recovering until 2022 or regular air travel not resuming for another half-decade — continue to complicate post-pandemic recoveries. In that case, it will imperil shared goals at a time when greater ambitions and bolder actions are needed.
The region and the rest of the world must not relent. Instead, we should view the current crises as an affirmation of the need to build resilience into supply chains, energy transitions and economic transformations, and foster deeper cooperation against common threats to preempt future global crises.
For all its challenges and vulnerabilities, the Middle East and North Africa region lies at the epicenter of these latest developments, given its unique geographic location, a monopoly on maritime choke points, fossil fuel endowments, sun-rich deserts, and relatively young populations, to list but a few.
However, tapping into this potential will require a different kind of leadership and engagement, given the deluge of complications — man-made or otherwise — that are pushing the world closer to the brink.
Previous governments and Arab-world societies had the relative luxury of postponing critical interventions for fear of upending longstanding social contracts built on tenuous compromises between disparate demographics, interests and influences. However, the landscapes in any future post-COVID-19 scenarios have shifted dramatically, hampering much-needed recoveries.
Improved public health is proving especially important for ensuring the sustainability of post-pandemic recoveries in economies that have lost nearly $200 billion since 2019.
It has also forced a major rethink of accepted modes of solving intractable woes. The undeniable truth is that the region can neither delay responses nor gamble with the odds that the challenges of today are merely brief flare-ups rather than era-defining moments.
As a result, the questions and answers should not focus on when the negative impacts in this make-or-break decade will occur — they have already manifested. Instead, governments, key decision-makers and stakeholders in the Arab world must narrow their priorities to focus on how and what is attainable in the near term. Knee-jerk implementations of whole-of-society interventions that take several years to mature and deliver on their intended objectives will only exacerbate existing problems.
For instance, the pandemic-induced rush to strengthen social safety nets might have extended lifelines to the most vulnerable in COVID-sensitive sectors, but adding more unplanned expenditure to already strained public budgets crowds out other priorities to improve the quality of, and access to, essential public services such as healthcare and education.
Improved public health is proving especially important for ensuring the sustainability of post-pandemic recoveries in economies that have lost nearly $200 billion since 2019.
These kinds of uncomfortable trade offs also appear in plans to boost job-creating private-sector opportunities by loading the scales in favor of local talent over the region’s traditional dependence on expatriates or foreign expertise. On paper, it could help to reduce the region’s dismal youth unemployment figures, and even placate a surging populist movement sparked by a breakdown in the global consensus on labor, trade and investment as countries increasingly look inward.
Surging populism and nationalism are a serious concern given the region’s history of ceaseless conflicts, rivalries and geopolitical tensions, often fueled by cross-border sectarian allegiances that tend to be stronger than national ones.
Setting aside the obvious political and social ramifications, however, a mass exodus of talent will reduce the competitiveness of the region’s economies and the ability of governments to leverage large expatriate populations to attract foreign direct investment inflows at a very sensitive time. After all, the region will need the expertise, and substantial human capital, to achieve planned reductions in fossil-fuel dependence, while boosting productivity and accelerating transformations to build domestic resilience to external shocks without sparking recessions.
Unfortunately, the region cannot hope to achieve such grand ambitions without revitalizing anemic private sectors that have been hobbled by archaic restrictions and constant undercutting by the preference of governments for insulating inefficient, and often corrupt, state enterprises. An empowered private sector is essential to unlocking the vast potential of disruptive innovations and breakthrough technologies, which require agile players untethered by a legacy of maladaptive thinking or practices.
If the region is to catch up with the pace of change in the rest of the world, governments must no longer resist or ignore the global economy’s wholehearted embrace of disruptive innovation as a driver of growth. Even without major policies, “change” has come and will continue to accelerate, creating new opportunities for agile entrepreneurs while undermining the business models of those resistant to that change.
Governments can facilitate these transformations by incentivizing the creation of new technologies and adopting innovative practices in the public sector and institutions, insulating entire societies from the worst shocks by being highly adaptive to change.
Unlike most other parts of the world, the Middle East is well positioned to reap a demographic dividend from its large youth population, should governments make the right interventions to accelerate the pace of innovation, attract investment and foster growth.
However, such ambitions need precise timing because the faster the world or the region innovates, the more likely it is for automation to wipe out traditional professions and completely redefine the concept of “work” in the future. If that is already a certainty, then a probable solution is investing in delivering high-quality education with revamped curricula to prepare students for a highly digitized world.
However, previous attempts at improving education standards have led to another headache for governments in the Arab world, where thousands of young people graduate from tertiary education each year, only to struggle to find jobs that match their skill sets and academic levels.
Worse yet, this growing problem not only compounds existing unemployment challenges, but will also be challenging to address given the current climate. Governments are, after all, faced with the difficult balancing act of keeping economies afloat by borrowing more. However, this has put pressure on future spending priorities when substantial funding is needed to meet climate goals, accelerate energy transitions, and lead whole-of-nation transformations.
The road that lies ahead is fraught with complex, often contradictory challenges that are difficult for even the most technocratic governments to navigate without risking an implosion at home or becoming prey to nefarious external interests.
Additionally, the longer it takes to address the day-to-day struggles of citizens, the more likely disillusionment and distrust will set in, making it even harder to implement even the most urgent of interventions. Where the public’s trust has dwindled, stagnant economies and an exodus of investors await.
Alternatively, where governments are held in some esteem, which helps maintain social cohesion and deliver an often elusive sense of security, the struggle lies in guaranteeing continued progress amid the current onslaught of external shocks.
• Hafed Al-Ghwell is a senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Institute at the John Hopkins University School of Advanced and International Studies.

Russia-Israel green light on Syria puts Hezbollah in a corner
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/October 30/2021
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a “superb”, “productive” and “substantive” meeting, as described by the two leaders in Sochi on Oct. 22. Apparently, Russia gave Israel the green light to bomb Hezbollah in Syria. The group is in a precarious position at home as more factions speak out against it and the investigation into the Beirut port explosion goes ahead.
How will Hezbollah handle an assault in Syria and how will Syrian President Bashar Assad respond? Assad has not made any compromises so far and has been playing to both the Russian and Iranian camps. However, he might be forced to choose between the two and to compromise on some of his positions.
The Russians went to Syria in 2015 on an invitation from Assad. First, they did not want to lose their foothold into the Mediterranean and they also saw an opportunity to assert themselves in the region. Putin had said that the dismantling of the Soviet Union was a “genuine tragedy.” Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia has lost its role in world affairs. However, Syria was the opportunity to reemerge on the global stage.
Putin had a clear plan for Syria. In the reconciliation the Russians orchestrated, opposition fighters had the option of either accepting Assad or boarding the green buses for Idlib. The plan was to de-escalate by separating the regime and the opposition in two distinct areas and then brokering a deal.
Things were not as simple as that. Six years after their entry into the war, the Russians are still unable to enforce any solution. Of course, the Turkish incursion in 2016 and what followed made their task even more complicated. The Russians found themselves in the “quagmire” that then US leader Barack Obama warned of.
It was difficult for them to forge a solution as planned for Syria since they were unable to force Assad to make any compromises. Assad has been skillfully playing the Russians against the Iranians. Russia has put pressure on Assad to compromise, including pressuring him to give amnesty to draft dodgers in order to facilitate the return of refugees, and has been involved in the constitutional committee in Geneva to ensure a settlement that can bring the different factions to the same table.
However, the Iranians have no interest in the Geneva process and do not want Assad to make any compromises. Although both countries support Assad, they have diverging goals. Russia wants stability in Syria in order to stop bleeding costs and to start recouping its investments. For Iran stability is not as important as keeping Assad in place and maintaining the links to Hezbollah.
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia has lost its role in world affairs. However, Syria was the opportunity to reemerge on the global stage.
Nevertheless, the Russians cannot give up on their ally and risk losing their prestige in the region and their reputation as a reliable ally. The Russians also were shocked when they went to Syria to see the terrible state of the Syrian Arab army. This adds another complication for Moscow. With a weak army, a change of political configuration might result in the collapse of the system.
At the end, inside the regime, Assad remains a consensual figure. Even today, with all their efforts to prop up the army, only two divisions have structure and order. The rest are more like gangs headed by warlords. The army has no centralized and cohesive control or command over all its divisions. The two divisions are the 25th Special Mission Forces Division headed by Suhail Al-Hasan, who takes orders from the Russians, and the 4th Armored Division headed by Maher Assad. who is loyal to Iran.
Although the Russians believe that Assad is on their side, they know deep down that he is not able or willing to compromise with the opposition. This recently pushed the Russian representative to the Geneva talks to criticize Damascus for blocking the last round of negotiations. This criticism came at the same time as the meeting between the two leaders. The Russian have been trying to get the Iranians out of Syria and vice versa. In this case, Israel could be doing Russia a favor. However, it is important now to see how Assad will react.
The question is, can he afford to put his fate in the hands of the Russians, who might be willing negotiate on his head and who know there will be no real solution as long as he is there? Will he accept becoming a figurehead? Will he agree to relinquish power and accept a settlement? Also, if he caves in and chooses the Russian camp, and turns his back on Iran and its proxy, what will be the position of Hezbollah? How will Hassan Nasrallah — who has told his followers repeatedly that the fight in Syria is existential — explain Assad’s betrayal? How can Nasrallah justify the deaths of hundreds of fighters on Syrian soil?
Iran cannot afford to have Assad defecting. It cannot afford to have the supply line to Hezbollah cut, and the armed group cannot lose face among his constituency, especially now that many factions are turning against the group in Lebanon. A defection by Assad will unmask the futility of the sacrifices Hezbollah pushed his followers to make. Though Assad has a better deal with the Iranians, who are less likely to put pressure on him, he is a survivor and it is doubtful that he will choose a losing team. It has yet to be seen where the Israeli strikes in Syria will drive Iran and its proxy Hezbollah.
• Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese NGO focused on Track II. She is also an affiliate scholar with the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut.