English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 12/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.september12.22.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
When you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 17/05-10/:’The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you. ‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”?Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” ’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 11-12/2022
 Lebanon Seeks to Contain Fallout from Amendment to UN Peacekeepers’ Mission
Patriarch Al-Rahi: We expect the citizens who believe in Lebanon to stand in solidarity until the formation of a new government and the election of a new president
Al-Rahi voices conditional support for naming alternate judge in port case
Archbishop Aoudi: It is painful and shameful to obstruct the work of the authentic investigator in the bombing of the port and the arrival of a reserve.
'A necessity': Lebanon's forced conversion to solar
IDF Evaluates Chance of War With Hezbollah in Near Future
Al-Rahi supports Aoun in his prayers to end his term for the good of Lebanon
Families of Beirut Port Victims, Martyrs: We will be on the lookout for any judge daring to take over the case & he will bear the unfortunate...
Finance Ministry says draft decree on Court of Cassation Chamber appointments retrieved about a month ago from Finance Ministry, forwarded to...
Change MPs: Tomorrow is the first round of meetings for the Lebanonization of the presidential elections
MoPH: 260 new Corona cases, 1 death
Preparatory meeting for 'Lebanese-French Businessmen Conference' next May

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 11-12/2022
'Reunited for granny': UK papers hail William and Harry truce
Queen Elizabeth II begins solemn final journey
Kyiv says recapture of Izyum district 'ongoing' in east Ukraine
Israel PM Heads to Berlin for Fresh Pitch against Iran Deal
Syrian Refugees in Türkiye Plan Caravan to Reach EU
With Help from Hezbollah, Syrian Officers Arrested for ‘Collaborating with Israel’
2 Senior ISIS Members Killed in Iraqi Strikes on Hamrin Mountains
US Congress Delegation Visits Sudan’s Darfur
Death Toll from Migrant Shipwreck off Tunisia Rises to 11

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 11-12/2022
‘These Attacks Have Racist, Religious Motives’: The Persecution of Christians, July 2022/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute./September 11/2022
This Is Iran/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/September, 11/2022
Passing of Queen Balmoral Symbolizes Scotland’s Belonging to the UK/Camelia Entekhabifard/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/September, 11/2022
The Ukraine War’s Decisive Season/Ross Douthat/The New York Times/September, 11/2022
West must act on Iranian regime’s cyberattacks/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/September 11/ 2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 11-12/2022
Lebanon Seeks to Contain Fallout from Amendment to UN Peacekeepers’ Mission
Beirut - Nazeer Rida/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
Lebanese authorities sought to contain the fallout of the amendments introduced to the mission of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) that is deployed in the country’s South, a Hezbollah stronghold. At the request of the Lebanese government, the UN Security Council extended UNIFIL’s mandate for another year on August 31, with the adoption of Resolution 2650, but for the first time since 2006, it amended the mission of the peacekeeping force.“The Council reiterates that UNIFIL does not require prior authorization or permission from anyone to undertake its mandated tasks, and that it is allowed to conduct its operations independently,” said UNIFIL.
“It calls on the parties to guarantee UNIFIL’s freedom of movement, including by allowing announced and unannounced patrols. The Council condemns the harassment and intimidation of UNIFIL personnel, as well as the use of disinformation campaigns against peacekeepers,” it added. The rules of engagement in place since 2006 have stipulated that the Lebanese army accompany UNIFIL patrols in its areas of operation. The peacekeepers had been harassed and attacked by citizens in the past for allegedly taking photos of some locations and because their patrols had veered off their usual path.
Lebanese authorities have always sought to extend the UNIFIL mission without amendments. The position was reiterated by President Michel Aoun in June when he called on the Security Council to extend the peacekeepers’ term for another year. He hailed at the time UNIFIL’s “vital” and “positive” role in maintaining regional and even international security. The amendments therefore, came as a surprise to Lebanese authorities.
Ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanon had “turned the Security Council’s attention to” the negative impact of the move, “which may lead to clashes between the residents of the South and the peacekeepers.” Lebanon has long sought to avoid such clashes by making sure that the army accompanies UNIFIL patrols, they added, remarking however that it has not approached the Council and UNIFIL command over the amendments. Nothing is being prepared to that end either, they said, stressing the need for coordination and cooperation with the army. UNIFIL carries out around 430 patrols a day. Soldiers are not always at hand to accompany the patrols. The incidents that have broken out between locals and the peacekeepers have almost always taken place whenever the army has been absent. Locally, officials are trying to contain the fallout from the amendments.
The caretaker government has spoken to the UNIFIL command about the issue. Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said on Friday: “We agreed with the command that the amendments will not lead to changes in the rules of engagement.”
Defense Minister Maurice Slim met with UNIFIL commander Aroldo Lázaro on Thursday. Slim underscored the coordination between UNIFIL and the army in line with resolutions 425, 426 and 1701.He stressed the need to maintain the coordination and cooperation between the two sides to “preserve calm and stability in the South.” Meanwhile, Hezbollah slammed the changes. Hezbollah official and Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s representative in Lebanon, Mohammed Yazbek condemned the amendments. “This is a dangerous development that turns the peacekeeping force into an occupying one,” he warned. He also claimed that the amendments allow the peacekeepers to protect Israel and “spy on the people and resistance [Hezbollah].”

Patriarch Al-Rahi: We expect the citizens who believe in Lebanon to stand in solidarity until the formation of a new government and the election of a new president
In his homely today Patriach Al Rahi stressed that The value of repentance lies in its means of changing the course of life, at the level of thought and action. Values renew man from within, purify his memory, and make him turn the page of the past. Repentance is an essential virtue of living. Values are required in the small family as well as in the large one. Meanwhile values are required at the level of the political community and the national family. It is not possible to live in an atmosphere of hatred, maliciousness, accusations and abuse at the level of political parties and blocs, as is happening today, with regret. Such an atmosphere poisons life among the citizens, and without them being sprads this poison. Our tragedy in Lebanon is that many people do not admit and do not regret their mistakes and sins, so we live in a “sin structure”. This reality led to the disruption of constitutional life and institutions.
Therefore, we do not remain silent, but rather refuse:
We do not remain silent, but rather reject the paralysis of the country.
We do not remain silent. Rather, we refuse to suspend the constitutions.
We are not silent, but rather refuse to prevent the formation of a government.
We are not silent, but rather we refuse to prevent the election of a new President of the Republic.
We do not remain silent, but rather reject the imposition of a presidential vacancy.
We do not remain silent, but rather reject the lawlessness of the presidency.
We do not remain silent. Rather, we refuse to finish off the state of Lebanon, its features, its model, and its mission in this East and in the world.
We expect the loyal citizens who believe in Lebanon to join us in rejecting these heresies, and to stand in solidarity until the formation of a new government, and the election of a new president for the republic before the 31st of next October, who will be a president from the independent national environment and an inclusive president.
It is unfortunate that the Lebanese have reached a state of distrust, which has begun to question every intention, even if sincere, and to a state of politicization that sees every decision or measure politicized. These two situations lead to disruption.
This is the case today between the families of the Beirut port bombing victims and the Minister of Justice. It is a conflict justified by the two states of distrust and politicization, and it leads to obstruction, and expressing an opinion, even if it is objective, has become doomed to skepticism and politicization.
It is known that the investigative judge, Tariq Al-Bitar, is fixed in his position and holds the file of the investigation into the bombing of the port by law, but he is handcuffed due to the refusal of the Minister of Finance to sign the judicial formations decree, which obstructs the appointment of the heads of the cassation chambers who constitute the general body of the Court of Cassation, so this can restore the judicial life with which it is related The work of the investigative judge. This is the main issue whose solution will allow Judge Al-Bitar to return to his work.
As for the issue that the Minister of Justice raises with the Supreme Judicial Council unanimously, and does not affect the authority of Judge Bitar, it is related to the treatment of detainees who have been in custody for more than two years, and they are entitled to be released under Article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. But Judge Al-Bitar cannot issue any decision in this regard because of his handcuffing.
We suggest hearing the opinion of the former heads of the Supreme Judicial Council on this issue, in order to resolve it on the one hand, and reassure the families of the victims of the port bombing on the other hand. Justice and fairness remain preserved.
We ask God to cast His lights on everyone so that we may live in tranquility and peace. To him be glory and thanks forever, Amen.

Al-Rahi voices conditional support for naming alternate judge in port case
Naharnet/September 11/2022
Maronite Patriarch Beshra al-Rahi appeared Sunday to back a controversial move to name an alternate judge in the Beirut port blast case.
“It is unfortunate that the Lebanese have reached a state of mistrust and politicization, which is what’s happening today between the families of victims of the Beirut port bombing and caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon. “The investigative judge in the case, Tarek Bitar, is staying in his post and is in charge of the investigation file, but he is handcuffed due to the finance minister’s refusal to sign the decree of judicial appointments,” the patriarch noted. He added that the proposal to name an alternate judge “does not at all affect the jurisdiction of Judge Bitar” and is “related to the file of those who have been detained for more than two years.” “We suggest hearing the opinion of the former heads of the Higher Judicial Council regarding the case, in order to settle it and reassure the families of the victims,” al-Rahi went on to say. Turning to the presidential file, al-Rahi lamented the “atmosphere of grudges” among the political parties and blocs. “We will not remain silent. We reject the paralyzing of the country, suspension of the constitution, preventing the formation of a government and blocking the election of a new president. We reject the imposition of a presidential vacuum, the violation of the position of the Presidency, and the destruction of the state of Lebanon and its special characteristics in the Levant and in this world,” al-Rahi said. He added: “We are waiting for the loyal citizens to share our rejection and to demand, before October 31, for Lebanon to have a government and a president from the national independent environment -- a unifying president.”

Archbishop Aoudi: It is painful and shameful to obstruct the work of the authentic investigator in the bombing of the port and the arrival of a reserve.
LCCC/September 11/2022
Archbishop Aoudi in his homely today stated that: "In the midst of the crises that afflictd our country, one after the other, the people's cross has grown very large, and it is no longer able to bear, except that faith in God and hope for a better tomorrow may help ease the burden. But will a better tomorrow come, in the shadow of people who are  only concerned with narrow calculations, preferring to drag the country and people into a bottomless abyss, instead of relinquishing their interests? The government was not formed for goals and reasons, and if the intentions were described, it would have been formed a long time ago. They have not yet called for a presidential election session, despite the start of the constitutional deadline. It is strange that everyone is talking about a vacancy in the presidency as if it happened, instead of working hard to conduct the election and secure a natural transfer of power at the time specified in the constitution. He added, "The initiative launched by the so-called change MPs representatives deserves to be met by every MP who is keen to carry out his duty and to save the country. Concerted efforts are a duty, and the implementation of the constitution is the first duty, and the Parliament and its president must do their duty, regardless of the circumstances and obstacles. A republic for which a president would be elected. Therefore, everyone must exercise prudence, wisdom and a sense of responsibility. Good intentions alone are not enough, as are promises and sweet talk. Actions are required at the level of difficult circumstances, meeting, dialogue and decision, away from interests and connections.
He continued, "Here, we ask: Is the session to elect a president suspended until a name is agreed upon? And if that is not done, do we throw the country into the unknown? Isn't it better for someone who sees in himself the competence and the ability to assume responsibility to announce his candidacy, vision and program, and the competition is conducted in a spirit of high democracy? Is there any harm in the presence of several candidates? Let the MPs elect whom they are convinced of his program and his competence and consider him worthy to bear responsibility in these circumstance, and let their election be according to their conscience, not according to dictates and interests. What is required is concerted efforts to save Lebanon.. The presence of a president and an effective government is not a luxury but a necessity. All concerned must abandon their interests, selfishness, grudges, and everything that hinders the fulfillment of entitlements. Revenge is small and not worthy of adults who are preoccupied with major issues instead of wasting time with burns. And time is no longer available because we are at the bottom of the bottom, and despair has invaded the souls, and the resources have become scarce, and the means of living have narrowed until the Lebanese citizen is venturing with himself and his family and wading in the midst of the sea, preferring the unknown to living without dignity. Disrupt is consuming the weak, and where the presence of God is completely absent.
"Here, we reiterate the necessity of revealing the truth about the bombing of the port and not disrupting the investigation to obliterate the truth. Instead of appointing an alternate investigator, is it not better to facilitate the work of the original judge? It is painful and shameful to obstruct the work of the original judge and then to bring a response. More than two years have passed since the bombing that killed people and the spirit of the capital, and the truth has not yet emerged? This is very strange "
He concluded: "Under the yoke of the sufferings of our people, we must remember the words of  Apostle Paul: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). How did Christ strengthen us? No one, not even Satan, can control us."

'A necessity': Lebanon's forced conversion to solar
Agence France Presse/September 11/2022
Thanks to solar energy, residents of the northern Lebanese village of Toula are finally able to enjoy ice cream again -- a treat in a sun-baked country plagued by power cuts. Lebanon's economy collapsed in 2019 after decades of corruption and mismanagement, leaving the state unable to provide electricity for more than an hour or two per day. Last winter, the mountain village of Toula barely had three hours of daily generator-driven electricity. Solar power now helps keep the lights on for 17 hours, an engineer working on the alternative energy project said. "For two years the kids have been asking for ice cream, now it's finally time," said Toula mini-market owner Jacqueline Younes, beaming."We are waiting for our first order of ice cream to arrive." While many Lebanese rely on costly generators for electricity, a growing number of homes, companies and state institutions are turning to solar -- not out of environmental concern, but because it's their only option. Solar panels dot rooftops and parking lots, powering entire villages -- and even Beirut's only functioning traffic lights, thanks to a local NGO. "Solar energy is no longer an alternative, it's a necessity. If we hadn't installed panels, the village wouldn't have any electricity," said engineer Elie Gereige, standing beside a sea of panels on a hilltop overlooking Toula. Gereige is part of a team of volunteers who raised more than $100,000 from Toula expatriates to build a solar farm with 185 panels installed on church land. They worked with the municipality to feed the village generator with solar energy, cutting down on fuel costs while powering the entire community.
$1.4 million for power
An hour's drive south of Toula, a branch of Spinneys supermarket is also installing panels in the parking lot and rooftop to slash its generator bills. "I think we will save around half of our energy costs in Jbeil due to solar panels," said Hassan Ezzeldine, chairman of Gray Mackenzie Retail Lebanon, which owns Spinneys. The company spends between $800,000 and $1.4 million a month on electricity for its chain of supermarkets, he said, to power generators that run on diesel round-the-clock. "The cost of generators today is dramatic. It's a disaster." His company has considered turning to solar energy for years, but after the crisis "we thought... it's something we needed to do, and we needed to do it immediately," he said. Private individuals are also turning to solar to cut down on generator bills, setting up panels and batteries on balconies and rooftops. Homemaker Zeina Sayegh installed solar power for around $6,000 for her Beirut apartment last summer, when the state lifted most petrol subsidies. She was the only one in the building with panels. This year, nine neighbors have joined her, covering the roof with metal bars connecting dozens of panels. She has switched completely to solar, limiting power consumption at night. But she has non-stop electricity in the summertime -- a rare luxury. "I'm more comfortable this way. I feel I'm in control of the electricity and not the other way around," she said.
Expensive switch -
In a country where poverty is rampant and bank depositors with savings are locked out of their accounts, installing solar power is expensive. Many Lebanese have resorted to selling a car, jewelry or a plot of land to finance the switch. Before Lebanon's economy collapsed, only a few companies offered solar power installation services. But high demand has opened the door "for anyone to start selling solar systems," said Antoine Skayem of solar power company Free Energy. Demand from cash-strapped municipalities has soared, he said. But they are vulnerable to political meddling and patronage.

IDF Evaluates Chance of War With Hezbollah in Near Future
Time Of Israel/JNS/September 11, 2022
Hezbollah is losing support in Lebanon and Nasrallah could choose war “to exit his trap,” according to the document.
(JNS) An intelligence report produced by the Israel Defense Forces’ Northern command has assessed that there is a reasonable risk of an armed clash between Israel and Hezbollah in the near future, Israeli media reported on Saturday.
Hezbollah has become corrupt, and is losing support as it faces harsh criticism in Lebanon, the report states, according to Channel 12. The terror organization’s leadership is also losing control over the actions of its armed operatives in the field, the report continues. Following the January 2020 assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in a United States drone strike in Baghdad, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been increasingly isolated, and the Iranian Hezbollah Syria axis has weakened. In light of the above, Hezbollah is attempting to secure credit for a future Israeli-Lebanese maritime gas deal. However, the report warned that Nasrallah could still seek to exit his “trap” by sparking a war. Whoever replaces Nasrallah will likely be weaker than him but also more dangerous, the report added. Meanwhile, the US mediator in the Israeli-Lebanese maritime talks, Amos Hochstein, is scheduled to visit Doha, Qatar, and a Qatari firm has expressed readiness to explore gas in Lebanese exclusive economic water, Lebanese television station MTV reported on Friday. Hochstein concluded a speedy trip to Lebanon on Friday, saying the two sides had made “good progress” in the talks but that “more work needs to be done” to reach an agreement, the UAE-based The National said on Friday. Hochstein met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to discuss the status of the talks. “I think we’re making good progress,” said Hochstein following his meeting with Lebanon’s president. “I’m very hopeful we can reach an agreement.” Hochstein was expected to relay the Israeli response to Lebanese conditions for the maritime border on Friday, the report said.

Al-Rahi supports Aoun in his prayers to end his term for the good of Lebanon
NNA/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, presided over a festive Mass in the shrine of St. Rafqa for the intention of peace in Lebanon. "If in Lebanon we have difficulties and we cannot negotiate and live with trust, having caution and fear of one another, it is required that we hear the word of God, who alone enlightens, guides and comforts us and opens the way for us," said the Patriarch in his sermon. Rahi added: "We pray for Lebanon, and for His Excellency the President of the Republic and his aides, so that we may hear the words of God, as we cannot remain in this state of chaos in life and social relations, a state of disruption, as if the main goal has become for us to disrupt everything.""What is this greatness and ability to stop and disrupt everything, so who is in the interest of this obstruction? Is it in the interest of Lebanon, the state, the people?," the Patriarch asked. He wished the representative of the President of the Republic to convey his peace to the President of the country, and to assure him that "we support him with our prayers in order to continue the march and end his mandate as it should for the good of Lebanon and its people in light of the difficult things we are living in, and we all rise above all the problems."

Families of Beirut Port Victims, Martyrs: We will be on the lookout for any judge daring to take over the case & he will bear the unfortunate...
NNA/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
The families of the victims and martyrs of the Beirut Port blast denounced, in a statement today, the "false accusations" attributed to them by the caretaker Minister of Justice, Henry Khoury.
"We are not the ones dealing with embassies to seek help from here or there, and we are not the ones who travel with security convoys, escorts and luxury cars, and we are not the ones who sell the blood of our victims..." the statement said in response to Minister Khoury, demanding an “apology for his unfair and groundless words.”Addressing the Supreme Judicial Council that approved the “suspicious proposal by the Minister of Justice," the victims’ families asked: "Where is the conscience and where is the oath? Does the law change according to political tendencies and personal goals? How can a new judge look into the case of the detainees and leave that of the victims, martyrs, wounded and harmed...and even the entire homeland?" The victims’ families demanded politicians to keep their hands off the judiciary and refrain from putting pressure on people of conscience to change their convictions, “because the truth is the master of situations and the authentic judge is the master of his case.”They urged politicians not to circumvent the law, stressing that they will be on the lookout for any judge who will dare to take over the Beirut port dossier, “and he will bear the unfortunate consequences.”

Finance Ministry says draft decree on Court of Cassation Chamber appointments retrieved about a month ago from Finance Ministry, forwarded to...
NNA/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
The Finance Ministry’s press office issued a statement on Sunday, in which it clarified that “the draft decree on appointing the Chambers of the Court of Cassation was retrieved about a month ago from the Ministry of Finance based on a letter from the Ministry of Justice, in order to refer it to the competent judicial references for certain corrections.”“This was done via the Presidency of the Council of Ministers," the statement added.

Change MPs: Tomorrow is the first round of meetings for the Lebanonization of the presidential elections
NNA/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
The "Forces of Change" parliamentary bloc announced in a statement that they will start the first round of meetings tomorrow, Monday, which includes all parliamentary blocs and independent representatives to explain their presidential initiative's goals.
"In continuation of the presidential initiative that we launched as the "Forces of Change" bloc of deputies, we will start tomorrow, Monday, the first round of meetings, which includes all parliamentary blocs and independent representatives to explain the goals of the initiative and listen to their points of view with the aim of reaching the Lebanonization of merit by showing national responsibility and agreeing on a rescue path that begins with the presidential election through a rescuer president who is able to reach Baabda according to national standards and in implementation of the constitution," the statement read. The Change MPs also announced that the meeting with the political blocs will conclude next Saturday, before moving to the second round of meetings the following week.

MoPH: 260 new Corona cases, 1 death
NNA/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
The Ministry of Public Health announced in its daily report on COVID-19 developments, that 260 new Coronavirus infections were registered on Sunday, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 1,212,668.
The report added that one death case was recorded during the past 24 hours

Preparatory meeting for 'Lebanese-French Businessmen Conference' next May
NNA/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
“The Sunday Cultural Gathering” hosted the President of the Lebanese-French Businessmen Association [HALFA] in France, Antoine Mnassah, and the Secretary General of the Gathering, Dr. Adnan al-Bakri, in a work dialogue session entitled, “Talented expatriates in search for ways to secure work for the younger generations”, in preparation for the conference that will be held in Lebanon next May in Tripoli, in which interested individuals, researchers and businessmen from expatriate countries will participate to discuss ways to advance the city of Tripoli al-Fayhaa at all levels.
The dialogue session was held at the headquarters of the "Saba Zreik Cultural Foundation" in Tripoli, attended by former MP Misbah al-Ahdab, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Tripoli Toufik Dabboussi, Vice President of Beirut Arab University’s Tripoli Branch, Professor Khaled al-Baghdadi, and several other dignitaries. In his word during the session, Mnassah said: “Our meeting today is the result of a decision taken by young expatriates as a result of the pain they feel towards the conditions experienced by their brothers residing in this country, and also to limit the brain drain and those hardships and sufferings caused by migration across the sea, and how can we extend a helping hand and cooperate with universities to empower residents to stand on their feet and perform useful work for themselves and their families, and we are fully prepared to support them."
"We are all living those tragedies that we see through the travel of the Tripoli’s citizens across the sea abroad, and the dangers, woes and hardships they incur. Therefore, we saw it a duty to secure for these young people work and professions that contribute to providing a healthy and dignified life for them and their families, and to reduce these unsafe migrations,” he affirmed. The dialogue session included discussions between the attendees and the lecturers addressing all issues at stake, especially with regards to preparing for the expatriate conference that will be held in May 2024, and its expected positive repercussions on Lebanon and the Lebanese.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 11-12/2022
'Reunited for granny': UK papers hail William and Harry truce
Agence France Presse/September 11/2022
Britain's newspapers on Sunday hoped for royal reconciliation as their front pages were dedicated to the surprise reunion of estranged princes William and Harry, along with their wives Kate and Meghan. Pictures of the quartet putting aside their differences to look at floral tributes to Queen Elizabeth II outside her former Windsor Castle residence were splashed across the covers of many of the nation's Sunday papers. "Reunited for granny," read the Mirror's headline, while the Telegraph ran with "Reunited in sorrow" and the Sun with "All 4 One". Despite the truce, relations still appeared to be frosty, with the Times headline reading "Warring Windsors' awkward truce to honor the Queen." "In death, the Queen appeared to do the impossible by bringing brothers William and Harry back together," said Sun columnist and royal expert Ingrid Seward. "When they emerged from the same vehicle for a walkabout in Windsor, accompanied by their wives, a nation held its breath. "It is quite possible that emotions will be running so high the brothers could become friends again," she added. The Mail's Sarah Vine said that the reunion "will have gladdened the hearts of millions."
"Will it last? We must pray it does," she added, calling on Harry to drop plans to publish his autobiography. "It is time now for forgiveness, to put all those things to one side and find a way forward together," she wrote. While there was optimism among some papers, the Sunday Times said that "although the brothers put on a show of unity at Windsor, it is understood that the camps required extended negotiations behind the scenes beforehand, delaying their arrival for the walkabout by 45 minutes." The Sun also cautioned that "it is understood past wounds haven't fully healed, and the walkabout was more a temporary truce." The Sunday Telegraph described the move as "a knockout PR blow intended to stop 10 days of national mourning being overshadowed by tales of the on-going rift between the royal brothers." It praised William for offering an "olive branch", saying the prince had "created his very own 'cometh the hour, cometh the man' moment."However, it warned that "while the joint appearance will undoubtedly begin a healing process for the once-inseparable siblings, there is no denying that the road to peace is not without its potential potholes."

Queen Elizabeth II begins solemn final journey
Agence France Presse/September 11/2022
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II embarks on her final journey on Sunday with thousands of her mourning subjects expected to line her coffin's route from the Scottish retreat where she died. The solemn departure of the queen's oak casket from Balmoral Castle for Edinburgh marks the start of an odyssey of national mourning culminating in her state funeral in London on September 19. Her journey begins a day after her son Charles III was formally proclaimed king, and after her warring grandsons William and Harry, and their wives Kate and Meghan, briefly reunited for a walkabout. A hearse carrying the coffin of Britain's longest-serving monarch will make a six-hour journey through Scottish towns before arriving in Edinburgh, where it will rest for two days so people can pay tribute. The king himself will then travel to Edinburgh on Monday for a prayer service, before the body of the queen, who died at Balmoral on Thursday aged 96, is flown to the capital on Tuesday. She will then lie in state for four days in an event expected to draw at least a million people, ahead of a funeral set to be watched worldwide and draw numerous heads of state. "We are living in history right now," said Laura Burns, 49, who was planning to try to see the queen's coffin passing in Edinburgh after coming to the city because her son is starting at university. "It's a very respectful atmosphere," she told AFP.
Show of unity
While Charles' accession has pushed Britain into what newspapers have called the new "Carolean" era, Britain and the royal family are still coming to terms with the end of the Elizabethan age. Prince William broke his silence with an emotional tribute to his beloved "Grannie" on Saturday. "She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life," said William, who has now become the Prince of Wales. But the queen's death also brought a surprise show of unity from William, 40, and his younger brother Harry, 37, when they emerged with their wives to speak to well-wishers outside Windsor Castle, near London. The sight of the two couples who have barely seen each other since 2020, together -- even if they separated to speak and shake hands with different sides of the cheering crowds -- will likely spark rumors of a reconciliation. Pictures of the four were splashed on the covers of Sunday's newspapers. "Reunited for granny," read the Sunday Mirror's headline, while the Telegraph ran with "Reunited in sorrow" and the Sun with "All 4 One". The Sunday Times focused on the apparent frostiness, with the headline: "Warring Windsors' awkward truce to honor the Queen". Senior royals including the queen's children, Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward and their families also inspected flowers outside Balmoral, where they have remained since the queen's death. The queen's coffin, draped with a Scottish Royal Standard and floral wreath, has been kept in Balmoral's ballroom and will be carried to her hearse by six estate gamekeepers.
'Many, many people' -
The symbolism of the queen's last journey will be heavy for a nation that has strong royal connections -- but where there is a strong Scottish independence movement intent on severing the centuries-old union with the United Kingdom. Rehearsals for the historic event began before dawn, with the cortege set leave at 10:00 am (0900 GMT) before weaving through Aberdeen and Dundee and reaching Edinburgh at 4:00 pm. Dedicated viewing points are being set up along the route, although mourners will be asked not to throw flowers at the convoy as it passes. "We anticipate many, many people will be keen to pay their respects," First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said. The queen's coffin will be taken to the Holyroodhouse Palace, the monarch's official residence in Scotland, where it will rest for a day. King Charles and other royals will on Monday take part in a procession to convey her coffin along Edinburgh's Royal Mile to St Giles' Cathedral. The following day the coffin will be flown by Royal Air Force jet to Northolt airfield near London, and driven to Buckingham Palace. Then, on Wednesday, it will be moved to Westminster Hall to lie in state. King Charles will also visit Northern Ireland and Wales in a show of national unity, accompanied by British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was only appointed by the late queen on Tuesday. He has seen his popularity recover since Diana's death in a 1997 car crash, but he takes the throne at a moment of deep anxiety in Britain over the spiraling cost of living and international instability caused by the war in Ukraine.
'Inspiring example' -
Charles vowed at the formal Accession Council at St James's Palace on Saturday that he would "strive to follow the inspiring example I have been set" by his mother during her "lifetime of service". The centuries-old tradition was televised live for the first time, featuring a fanfare of trumpets and a court official wearing a feathered hat to declare him king from a palace balcony. Thousands of people have gathered outside Buckingham Palace and other royal residences in recent days to lay flowers and messages of condolence, or simply to experience history in the making. But officials expect far more people to pay their respects while the queen lies in state, before the televised funeral service at Westminster Abbey opposite. The funeral for the queen -- who came to the throne aged just 25 in 1952 -- will be attended by national leaders including US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and possibly Japanese Emperor Naruhito. Her record 70 years on the throne were a constant during a turbulent time for Britain, from a world of post-war deprivation and the loss of its empire, to more recent traumas like the coronavirus pandemic. Charles's coronation, an elaborate ritual steeped in tradition and history, will take place in the same historic surroundings of Westminster Abbey, as it has for centuries, on a date to be fixed.

Kyiv says recapture of Izyum district 'ongoing' in east Ukraine
Agence France Presse/September 11/2022
Ukraine said Sunday its forces were working to wrest control of towns and villages around the strategic hub of Izyum from Russian troops as part of a sweeping counter-offensive in the country's east. "Our forces entered Kupiansk. The liberation of settlements in the Kupiansk and Izyum districts of the Kharkiv region is ongoing," the Ukrainian military said in a general battlefield update Sunday, 200 days into Russia's invasion. A Ukrainian push to dislodge Russian forces has seen at least 30 towns and villages in the eastern Kharkiv region retaken by Kyiv's army. The military said in its update Sunday that Ukraine captured about 2,000 square kilometers (772 square miles) from Moscow's forces in recent days. Russia first said it was reinforcing the Kharkiv region but on Saturday announced it was pulling back troops to the Donetsk region further south.

Israel PM Heads to Berlin for Fresh Pitch against Iran Deal
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid was headed to Germany Sunday in his latest diplomatic effort to persuade Western powers to ditch their tattered nuclear deal with the Jewish state's arch nemesis Iran. Israel has long opposed a revival of the 2015 accord, which has been moribund since then US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and reimposed biting sanctions on Tehran. Momentum that built towards a restored agreement last month appears to have slowed, after the three European nations that are party to the agreement -- Germany, France and Britain -- on Saturday raised "serious doubts" about Iran's sincerity in restoring the deal. Meeting his cabinet before flying to Berlin, Lapid thanked these three powers for the "strong position" they had voiced in a tripartite statement on Saturday. The European parties charged that Tehran "has chosen not to seize this critical diplomatic opportunity", adding that "instead, Iran continues to escalate its nuclear program way beyond any plausible civilian justification". Iran's foreign ministry criticized those comments as "unconstructive." Lapid told his cabinet that "Israel is conducting a successful diplomatic campaign to stop the nuclear agreement and prevent the lifting of sanctions on Iran. "It is not over yet," he added. "There is still a long way to go, but there are encouraging signs."An Israeli diplomatic official, who requested anonymity, told AFP that Iran will be the focus of the talks when the delegation lands in Berlin.
"It's important to continue to coordinate positions and to influence the European position. Germany has an important role in this," the official said. Lapid, who was traveling with senior security officials, is scheduled to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier before returning to Israel late Monday. The 2015 agreement, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, gave Iran sanctions relief in return for restricting its nuclear program. Negotiations underway in Vienna since April 2021 have sought to restore the agreement, by lifting the sanctions on Tehran and pushing Iran to fully honor its prior nuclear commitments. Israel insists Iran would use revenue from sanctions relief to bolster allied groups capable of attacking Israelis, notably the Hezbollah party in Lebanon, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two key Palestinian militant organizations. Last month, the European Union, which acts as the mediator of the nuclear talks, put forward a "final" draft of the agreement. Iran and the US then took turns to respond to the text, with Washington saying on Friday that Tehran's reply was a step "backwards". Lapid, whose late father survived the Holocaust, is also traveling with a delegation of survivors who will join him and Scholz on a visit to Wannsee, site of a 1942 conference where top Nazi officials finalized plans to send Jews to death camps.

Syrian Refugees in Türkiye Plan Caravan to Reach EU
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
A group of Syrian refugees in Türkiye is planning to form a caravan to reach the European Union, organizers said Saturday. Plans are being drawn up online via a Telegram channel, set up six days ago and followed by almost 70,000 people. Organizers are calling on people to bring sleeping bags, tents, life jackets, water, canned food and first aid kits. "We will announce it when it's time to go," one organizer, a 46-year-old refugee who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP. Some of the organizers already lived in the EU, he added. Organizers say the caravan will be split into groups of up to 50 people, each led by a supervisor. "We have been in Türkiye for 10 years," read one message posted on the channel by an administrator. "We are protected... but Western countries must share the burden."There are 3.7 million Syrian refugees officially living in Türkiye. Syria's civil war, which began with a brutal crackdown of anti-government protests in 2011, has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes. Many Syrian refugees in Türkiye fear being sent back, especially after a recent shift in Türkiye's stance towards Damascus. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is preparing to send back one million Syrian refugees on a voluntary basis. In February and March 2020, tens of thousands of migrants approached the land border between Türkiye and Greece, after Erdogan threatened to keep the borders with Europe open.

With Help from Hezbollah, Syrian Officers Arrested for ‘Collaborating with Israel’
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
The Syrian air and military intelligence kicked off a wide wave of arrests against regime officers in Damascus and Aleppo on charges of “collaborating with hostile parties”, revealed the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The crackdown was launched in early September. Sources said dozens of the detained were held on charges of collaborating with and sending coordinates over to Israel, which had recently struck airports in Aleppo and Damascus. The detained include officers from the air defense and others in the military units that are active at the two airports. Others were held in Masyaf and Tartus. The arrests were made with the help of the Lebanese Hezbollah party, whose intelligence agents are active in Syria. Some of the detained were released after interrogation. Twenty-seven remain held. Director of the Observatory, Rami Abdulrahman, said that out of the 27 detainees, eleven hold the rank of officer. Sources added that civilians were also targeted in the crackdown. The Observatory confirmed the arrest of 15 people in wake of an Israeli raid on an airport on August 31. Some have since been released. Israel launched a missile attack on Tuesday night targeting Aleppo’s airport for the second time in a week and all flights were diverted to the capital Damascus. The strike tore large craters in three spots on the facility’s runway, satellite images analyzed Thursday by The Associated Press show. Israel also launched airstrikes at Aleppo airport last week, damaging its runway and, according to the Observatory, a warehouse that likely stored a shipment of Iranian rockets. Last week’s strike tore a hole in the runway and also damaged a structure close to the military side of the airfield, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed. On June 10, Israeli airstrikes that struck Damascus International Airport caused significant damage to infrastructure and runways and rendered the main runway unserviceable. The airport opened two weeks later following renovation work. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations. Israel has acknowledged, however, that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.

2 Senior ISIS Members Killed in Iraqi Strikes on Hamrin Mountains
Baghdad/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
Two senior ISIS commanders were killed in an Iraqi air strike in the Hamrin Mountain range, in the Salah al-Din province, announced the Iraqi Security Media Cell (SMC) on Saturday. The operation was carried out based on intelligence information provided by the Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency (FIIA) at the Ministry of Interior to the Iraqi Air Force. ISIS hideouts were destroyed in the operation. Terrorists Mohammed Rashid Jassim, known as Abu Hudhaifa, and Abu Fatima Askari, were killed in the attack. The statement said Abu Fatima is the commander of ISIS in the Salah al-Din province. He was considered to be one of the most dangerous terrorists for his operations against security forces and civilians in recent years. In a related development, the SMC announced the killing of four terrorists on the banks of Hamrin Lake in the Diyala province. Three of the terrorists were killed in two air strikes while the fourth was killed during clashes with security forces. The forces also destroyed three motorcycles, a number of explosive devices, explosive material, and two terrorist hideouts. Asked whether ISIS was still a threat in Iraq, head of the Center for Strategic Studies Dr. Moataz Mohieddin told Asharq Al-Awsat the organization suffered setbacks with the killing of its leaders Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi. It has since plunged into chaos. None of the ensuing leaders enjoyed the same leadership skills as the slain ones, he added. The majority of the militants have sought refuge in mountains and caves to hide from operations carried out by Iraqi security forces, which are backed up by US intelligence and Turkish forces, he added.

US Congress Delegation Visits Sudan’s Darfur
Khartoum - Mohammed Amin Yassin/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
US ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey arrived in North Darfur on Saturday at the head of a Congress delegation. This was the first visit by an American ambassador to the Sudanese region since tensions between Khartoum and Washington led to their lowering of diplomatic representation in the 1990s. The delegation is set to meet with refugees in displacement camps, members of international organizations, civil society leaders and political forces. Godfrey was received at El Fasher airport by the governor of North Darfur State, Nimr Mohamed Abdul-Rahman, and several members of the local government. He held a closed-door meeting with the governor – a member of the armed groups that signed the Juba peace agreement - upon his arrival. Godfrey assumed his duties in Sudan in August. He pledged that he would visit all parts of the country to become acquainted with its people and culture. On Saturday, he said his visit to El Fasher aims to witness firsthand the situation in Darfur and the implementation of the Juba peace agreement. His visit aims to discuss developing bilateral relations between the US and Sudan and the possibility of Washington playing a greater role in bolstering stability and security in the country.

Death Toll from Migrant Shipwreck off Tunisia Rises to 11
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 11 September, 2022
The death toll from a migrant shipwreck off Tunisia last week has risen to 11, most of them Tunisians, as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, TAP state news agency said on Sunday. It added that five more bodies were recovered on Saturday night by Coast Guard and Navy units as part of a search operation for migrants who went missing in the wake of a shipwreck off Chebba, Mahdia, on Sept 6. The coastguard rescued 14 migrants who had been on the overcrowded boat, which sank off Chebba town in Mahdia region. Twelve others are still missing as nearly 37 had been on board. The boat set off from El Awabed coast in Sfax region. The coastline of Sfax has become a major departure point for people fleeing poverty in Africa and the Middle East for a chance at a better life in Europe.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 11-12/2022
قائمة بحوادث اضطهاد المسيحيين خلال شهر تموز/2022/اعتداءات خلفيتها عنصرية ودينية
‘These Attacks Have Racist, Religious Motives’: The Persecution of Christians, July 2022
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute./September 11/2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/111852/%d9%82%d8%a7%d8%a6%d9%85%d8%a9-%d8%a8%d8%ad%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%ab-%d8%a7%d8%b6%d8%b7%d9%87%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%b4%d9%87/
After raping a Christian woman, her Muslim employer told her and her family—both still not over the shock—to get back to work. — Pakistan.
“The scale of killings, displacement and wanton destruction of property by these Fulani jihadist militia only buttresses the now revealed agenda to depopulate Christian communities in Nigeria and take over lands. Tellingly, the government in power in Nigeria at the moment continues to do nothing about these persistent attacks, save to give laughable reasons like ‘climate change’ or that some Muslims too are sometimes killed in attacks by so-called bandits.” — Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, Independent Catholic News, July 19, 2022, Nigeria.
On July 4, a Christian mechanic [Ashfaq Masih, 34] who had been imprisoned for the last five years while awaiting trial under a false accusation of allegedly insulting the Muslim prophet Muhammad, was sentenced to death by hanging in a Pakistani court. — churchinchains.ie, July 19 2022, Pakistan.
“I told the real story to a police officer but he did not record my version but conducted investigation ex-parte.” — Ashfaq Masih, churchinchains.ie, July 7, 2022, Pakistan.
“The judges are aware that such cases are made to punish and settle personal grudges with the opponents, especially against the Christians…. Masih’s case was very clear—the shop owner wanted him out and Naveed was a business rival who implicated him in a false blasphemy case. He is innocent and has already spent five years in prison for a crime he never committed.” — Nasir Saeed, Director of the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement, claas.org.uk, July 7, 2022, Pakistan.
On July 4, Ashfaq Masih, a Christian mechanic who had been imprisoned for the last five years while awaiting trial under a false accusation of allegedly insulting the Muslim prophet Muhammad, was sentenced to death by hanging in a Pakistani court. (Image source: iStock)
The following are among the abuses Muslims inflicted on Christians throughout the month of July 2022:
The Muslim Abuse and Rape of Christian Women in Pakistan
After raping a Christian woman, her Muslim employer told her and her family—both still not over the shock—to get back to work. Rimsha Riaz, 18, and several others of her Christian household worked at a glass crushing company, where they were described as “hard-working loyal employees for Haji Ali Akbar, a successful Muslim businessman.” On July 6, after a tiring shift, as the family was preparing to go home, a supervisor told Rimsha to go to Akbar’s office for some extra paid work. Her mother and brothers returned home; Rimsha arrived an hour later, visibly distressed. When her mother pressed her as to what was wrong, the 18-year-old broke into tears and said she was raped by Akbar at gunpoint. In her own words:
“In his office, Mr. Akbar pulled out his pistol [and] threatened to kill me if I did not do what he wanted. He then started raping me. I cried out as loud as I could but no-one came to help. After he finished with me, Mr. Akbar put the pistol to my ear and threatened to kill my brothers and other family members, if I dared to tell anyone.
The mother instructed the rest of the family never to go back to work for Akbar, but also “did not go to police, because Christian families are generally frightened of them, and expect little justice.” Less than two days later, however, Akbar, accompanied by four armed men, came pounding on the Christian household’s door with the butt of his gun and shouting for them to “open the door or face dire consequences.” Fearful of the threats, one of Rimsha’s brothers opened the door, at which point Akbar began to revile the family, including by yelling:
“How dare you leave my factory without my permission? You filthy Chooras [dirty Christians]. I will kill you if you remain absent tomorrow—and make sure you bring the girl.”
According to the report:
“The whole family was left terrified and when he left the family began discussing what they should do. While they were planning what to do, Rimsha, who was very distressed, fainted and collapsed on the floor. Her brother Arslan took her to District Headquarters Hospital, Gujranwala where she received treatment and a diagnosis confirmed she had been raped.”
The family eventually reported the rape to police, who arrested Akbar. However, because the family is sure that he will eventually be released and that the arrest was only for show, they have since relocated.
“Unfortunately for Rimsha who was engaged to be married, her fiancé has now broken the engagement on discovering the rape incident. Rimsha is visibly traumatized and depressed.”
Discussing this incident, Juliet Chowdhry of the British Asian Christian Association, said:
“Rimsha is a Christian women in a country where her status makes her vulnerable. The fact that the rapist employer felt he could force Rimsha and her family to return to work after such an ordeal, is an illustration of the weak standing of Christians.”
In another incident, according to a July 6 report, yet another Christian girl was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and “married” to a Muslim man. Problems began for Meerab Palous, 15, when Gulnaz, a female Muslim neighbor and friend of the family, “gave Meerab a glass of water mixed with drugs and sleeping pills. When the Christian girl fell asleep, she called her half-brother Muhammad Asif and they took her away.” Around midnight, the girl’s parents awoke and began frantically searching for their daughter. Neighbors informed them that “they had seen Gulnaz, Muhammad and another person loading her into a car unconscious.” Before long, Gulnaz’s Muslim family contacted the Christians and informed them that “Meerab must convert to Islam and marry Muhammad Asif.” Shocked by this betrayal, the parents ran to local police, but they “refused to register their complaint.”
Meanwhile, the Muslim family went to a Faisalabad court where they presented two fake documents, a conversion certificate and a marriage certificate, which claimed that the girl had voluntarily converted to Islam and married Muhammad. The documents further falsified Meerab’s age, saying she was 18.
The Muslim Slaughter of Christians
Burkina Faso: On Sunday, July 3, Muslim terrorists entered a Christian village and surrounded a church, where they murdered at least 22 people. Discussing it and others attacks on Christians in recent months, Dr. Caroline Hull, National Director of Aid to the Church in Need (UK), said:
“Across all of Africa—particularly the Sahel region where Burkina Faso is—jihadism is growing and, with that, Christian persecution. Christians are murdered, people are abducted, women are raped and treated terribly…. “It is heart-breaking …. The international community needs to keep a close eye on this new epicentre of terrorism because left unchecked it could become incredibly disruptive, not just to Africa but to the rest of the world too.”
According to a July 22 report, Catholic churches and parishes are especially under assault:
“An explosion of Islamist terrorism in Burkina Faso has left one diocese in a dire situation, with parishes directly attacked and forced to close down, and priests unable to minister to 95 percent of their flock…. Terrorists in the West African country have attacked five of the diocese’s 16 parishes, which then had to close, while in seven other parishes, ministry is restricted to the main church because terrorists control land routes and have destroyed telephone communication networks.”
More moderate Muslim elements, while allowing for Christian worship, have taken it upon themselves to “correct” Christian teaching and conduct. As one report explains:
“In many parts of [the diocese of] Fada N’Gourma, Islamist sermons have become common and other religious practices are forbidden, while in other areas, Catholic services are permitted, but jihadists enter the chapels to ensure that men and women are seated separately.”
Nigeria: Among other atrocities Muslims committed against Christians are the following:
According to a July 19 report, “At least 68 Christians have been killed—with many more abducted or displaced—in the last two months,” in just one Nigerian region, Benue State. Discussing this situation, Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe, of Makurdi diocese, Benue State, said:
“The scale of killings, displacement and wanton destruction of property by these Fulani jihadist militia only buttresses the now revealed agenda to depopulate Christian communities in Nigeria and take over lands. Tellingly, the government in power in Nigeria at the moment continues to do nothing about these persistent attacks, save to give laughable reasons like ‘climate change’ or that some Muslims too are sometimes killed in attacks by so-called bandits.”
Ten days before the report appeared, Muslims had killed five Christians in a separate region, Plateau State. Also in Plateau, after the report appeared, on July 31, Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed seven Christians, including four children.
According to another report on July 7, “gunmen” shot a Christian pastor and his two sons; the sons died. The terrorists also abducted the pastor’s 13-year-old daughter.
The Muslim Slaughter of Apostates & Preachers in Uganda
On Sunday, July 3, three Muslim men slaughtered a former Muslim who converted to Christianity, apparently in part because he was leading other Muslims to Christ. Simolya Latifu, 47, had just left a Christian worship center building in the evening when other Christian witnesses heard wailing and cries for help coming from near a swamp: “The killers were condemning him for converting Muslims to Christianity,” said one witness. “We hid ourselves in a thick bush.”
“‘We saw Buyinza cut him on the head with a sword, and thereafter they left,’ said the witness, unidentified for security reasons. ‘We remained there for about 30 minutes, and then we took courage and slowly went to see the slain man and discovered that he worshipped with us at Christ Discipleship Worship Center.'”
After converting to Christianity in 2019, Simolya publicly spoke about his experiences as a Muslim in churches, angering many Muslims. After police arrested, Ali Buyinza, the man responsible for striking him on the head with a sword, he told police:
“We warned him to come back to our religion and gave him several opportunities, but he turned a deaf ear—we’re proud of killing him.”
In another incident, on July 29, Muslims murdered an evangelist in his home. A week earlier, Sozi Odongo, 45, an open air preacher, who often compared and contrasted the Koran and the Bible, received a message from Nasuru Ongom, a Muslim cleric: “Please stop preaching to our people using the holy Koran, or else you risk your life.” On the evening of his murder, Odongo, his wife, Stella, and their four children were having dinner when they heard what sounding like a large mob approaching their home. “We heard them talk in the Arabic language and wondered what could be the matter,” Kilo said. “They then arrived and knocked at the door.” The wife and children fled to another room, as Odongo opened the door, at which point the assailants lunged at him and began beating him:
“He screamed while mentioning the name of Nasuru, saying, ‘Leave me Nasuru, Nasuru, Nasuru, please don’t kill me, just tell your colleagues to leave me.’ Then I heard a loud hit, and thereafter no more screaming.”
After the mob had left, when the wife and children emerged from hiding, they found Odongu lying in a pool of blood, with deep gashes to his neck and head.
Finally on July 10, a Christian man died of wounds he had received from Muslims. Earlier, on July 6, Robert Bwenje had accompanied Assistant Pastor Ambrose Mugisha of Elim Pentecostal Church to an open-air debate about Christianity and Islam. After the debates, eight Muslims converted to Christianity. “This angered the Muslims, but they could not attack us because we had tight security from the police,” Ambrose later said. As Ambrose and Robert were returning home, Muslims ambushed them: “We saw men dressed in Islamic attire coming from the bush in different directions and shouting ‘Allah akbar, Allah akbar [Allah is the greatest].'”
The Muslims began by seizing the two Christians’ books. “They removed the Koran and then burned the rest of the books, including the Bibles, and then beat us with sticks,” said the assistant pastor. One of the men struck and cut him on the head but Ambrose “jumped into the water and managed to swim and cross to the other side.” Passersby found him bleeding and rescued him. His companion, Robert, was found in worse condition. Both men were brought to a hospital, where, days later, Robert succumbed to his wounds.
Muslim Attacks on Christian Churches and Cemeteries
Syria: During an inauguration celebration on Sunday, July 24, an Islamic terror group fired rockets at a newly constructed church, known as the Little Hagia Sophia, in the predominantly-Greek Orthodox city of al-Suqaylabiyah. Of the many Christians who gathered to celebrate the opening of the new church, two were killed and about a dozen seriously wounded. This newly constructed church was supposed to be a defiant response to the Erdoğan regime’s slap in the face of millions of especially Orthodox Christians, when he transformed the Hagia Sophia basilica in Istanbul—which was originally built, and for a thousand years functioned, as a Christian cathedral—into a trophy mosque again. Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the Muslim terrorist group behind the Sunday church bombing, is believed to be backed by Turkey. According to one report:
“Although designated a terrorist organization by the Turkish government in 2018, in recent years the relationship between Turkey and HTS [Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham] has dramatically shifted. HTS has fought alongside the Turkish-backed and funded Syrian National Army (SNA) and several Turkish military outposts have been constructed inside HTS-controlled Edleb.”
Turkey: An ancient Christian cemetery and its human remains were found desecrated. In the words of one report:
“Assyrian tombs over a thousand years old destroyed and desecrated, bones of the dead and other sacred objects thrown outside. This [is the] latest, worrying episode of intolerance against a Christian place in Turkey.”
The report adds that the location of the cemetery, in Mardin, where the “Christians made the bitter discovery,” is itself “the scene of intolerance episodes in the recent past,” a reference to the Ottoman genocide of Christians in the region. June 29, the date of this desecration, also appears to have been deliberately chosen by the desecrators to affront Christians:
“Eyewitnesses recount that the cemetery chapel, dedicated to the two apostles [Peter and Paul] that the Church celebrates on 29 June, the day of the attack, was built in 1967 within a burial ground that contains tombs dating back even to the first millennium. Every year, the local community—made up of Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac Christians—visits the tombs on the feast day to pray and perform votive rites in front of the saints and the tombs of their ancestors. The discovery of the desecrated tombs aroused sorrow and despair within the Christian community….”
About two weeks later, on July 15, a Jewish cemetery in Istanbul was also desecrated. According to one report:
“The vandals desecrated 81 graves, some excavated and opened, strewing the area with bones and broken stones. Those responsible for the attack were under 18, acting on orders of a gang of adults.”
Discussing this incident, Garo Paylan, an Armenian lawmaker tweeted,
“The fact that the attack on the Jewish cemetery was carried out by children aged between 11 and 13 does not alleviate the situation; it aggravates it. Who and what mentality have filled those children with hatred towards Jews?”
Similarly, David Vergili, a Syriac-Assyrian journalist, said:
“In the past two months, the graves of Syriac and Jewish communities in Turkey have been attacked and destroyed. The graves and holy places of the Armenian community have also experienced similar attacks before. These incidents and especially the attacks on the sacred places, graves and values of non-Muslim communities are not new and they constitute hate crimes. These attacks have racist, religious motives and mostly target groups that are not part of the Turkish-Islamic ideology. These attacks have been happening for years and there has been no improvement in the way the government responds to them. Given the past trauma of and attacks against the Christian and Jewish communities as well as the Turkish government’s denial of its own crimes, it is obvious that even the dead are affected by these violations. The hatred and humiliating discourse towards minority groups in Turkey manifest themselves as direct attacks on minority groups. Not only the living non-Muslim minority communities, but also their sacred places and their dead are not fully recognized and respected by large segments of the society and the government/state of Turkey.”
Spain: On July 21, a Muslim migrant from Morocco barged into a Catholic cathedral and began shouting Islamic slogans, including: “Allahu akbar [Allah is the greatest]! He is the only true god! Yours is false and you are a bunch of infidels!” The invader then hurled a copy of the Koran toward the assembled congregation, before abruptly leaving. When police arrived at the scene, the migrant insulted them as well, and tried to flee, but was apprehended and placed into custody.
France: On Sunday, July 24, a Muslim man interrupted evening mass at the Saint-Germain church. He began shouting, hurling insults, and, as some later described, acted as if he was “possessed.” A parishioner recalls:
“He called us hypocrites. He said we were f**king Christians. He said we were fooling him….. He was shouting a lot of abuse. He accused the church of being racist when he had come to pray like a Muslim. He shouted: Satan has entered me! We have to sacrifice some of them… I don’t want to hear the priest’s words. He also said that he was the second son of God because his blood was the blood of Jesus. All this was done by lashing out and spitting.”
In response, and because many Christians were terrified and the children crying, another Christian present walked to and asked the Muslim to leave, at which point the invader head-butted him in the face, knocking out two of his teeth. Others then acted fast and subdued the Muslim until police arrived.
Uganda: On Sunday, June 26, Muslims attacked and demolished a church building and severely beat its pastor. Three days earlier, Pastor Baingana James, 48, had received a phone call from a Muslim sheikh ordering him to leave the region and “to return to Islam seven Muslims who had converted to Christianity …. We therefore want to warn you to leave the place within two days, if not we are coming to destroy your home and church.” Then, on the morning of the attack, while Pastor James was conducting Sunday service, a Muslim mob, led by the sheikh in question, barged into the church. According to James:
“They started beating us, including mothers who were breastfeeding and youths, while shouting in four languages—English, Luganda, Swahili and Arabic—and ordering us to stop the service and leave immediately. As we were struggling to go out in serious panic and tension while others were with serious injuries, they started breaking and pulling down the building.”
General Muslim Abuse of Christians
Egypt: A Muslim man stabbed an elderly Christian man “multiple times” and his son. According to the report,
“Joseph Israel, 70, was sitting outside his shop in the Omrania district (near Giza pyramids area) in the early morning of 28 July when a man approached him and stabbed him multiple times. When Israel’s son, Emil, rushed to help him, he was stabbed too. Both men were rushed to hospital with critical injuries. Ahmad Mohamed Salah, 43, was detained in connection with the attacks pending police investigations.”
Israel received “at least 30 stitches where he was stabbed in his neck,” said his son after being released from the hospital. Emil also said that the attacker had attended a nearby mosque earlier that day, and then “walked up to my father who was sitting outside the shop and started stabbing him with a knife, shouting “Allah Akbar. When I ran outside to try and stop the attack on my father, Ahmad started stabbing me with the knife as well.” The Christians were apparently targeted for running a shop that sells liquor. Six years earlier, “Some armed masked men broke in after midnight, took money and destroyed the bottles of alcohol,” Emil said. The report continues:
“Alcohol is regarded as ‘haram’ [illegal, or forbidden] by Muslims, and those selling or consuming it are looked down upon or sometimes even threatened. In January 2017 a Copt was killed in Alexandria as he sat in front of his liquor store…. Emil and his father had never met Ahmad before, Emil said. However, Christians who live in the nearby area of El Plastic told a local source he is a supporter of the outlawed Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement and refuses to buy from Christian-owned shops. Ahmad’s family, meanwhile, have told the police and prosecutors that he is suffering from a mental illness. Such a defense often is used, and when successful, results in the minimum possible sentence.”
Pakistan: On July 4, a Christian mechanic who had been imprisoned for the last five years while awaiting trial under a false accusation of allegedly insulting the Muslim prophet Muhammad, was sentenced to death by hanging in a Pakistani court. Five years earlier, on June 5, 2017, Ashfaq Masih, 34, had gotten into a quarrel with Muhammad Naveen, a rival who had established a mechanics’ workshop near Masih’s. According to Masih’s not guilty plea, Muhammad “was jealous because my business was running better,” and, after their altercation, “threatened me with dire consequences.” On the following day, June 6, according to Masih:
“Muhammad Irfan came to my shop for wheel balancing for his motorbike. I balanced the wheel and demanded my amount of labour as settled between us. Muhammad Irfan refused to give me money and said, ‘I am a follower of Peer Fakhir [a Muslim ascetic] and don’t ask for money from me.’ I told him that I am a believer in Jesus Christ and I don’t believe in Peer Fakhir and please give me my labour.”
At that point, Muhammad Irfan went—or perhaps returned—to the rival shop of Muhammad Naveed, and, moments later, a Muslim mob had formed around the Christian’s shop. As Masih explained:
“They both made conspiracy against me and lodged a false FIR [First Incident Report] against me. I told the real story to a police officer but he did not record my version but conducted investigation ex-parte. I neither uttered any derogatory word against Prophet Muhammad nor can think about it.”
Along with rival shop owner Muhammad Naveed, Muhammad Irfan, the complainant, also got two other Muslims — Muhammad Nawaz and Muhammad Tahir — to lie and tell police that they “heard Masih say derogatory words against the Muslim prophet,” even though none of them was present during the altercation between Irfan and Masih. Masih was charged under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s penal code, which states:
“Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.”
Discussing this ruling, Nasir Saeed, the director of the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement, a charity that supports persecuted Christians in Pakistan, said the judgement was “very sad but expected.” He added:
“The judges are aware that such cases are made to punish and settle personal grudges with the opponents, especially against the Christians…. Masih’s case was very clear—the shop owner wanted him out and Naveed was a business rival who implicated him in a false blasphemy case. He is innocent and has already spent five years in prison for a crime he never committed.”
**Raymond Ibrahim, author of the new book, Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
**About this Series
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, persecution of Christians by extremists is growing. The report posits that such persecution is not random but rather systematic, and takes place irrespective of language, ethnicity, or location. It includes incidents that take place during, or are reported on, any given month.
© 2022 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

This Is Iran
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/September, 11/2022
We have been hearing talk that Iran will cooperate ever since the term of US President Barack Obama.In the region, we have been hearing these remarks since the time of Hashemi and Rafsanjani, and now the Europeans and American administration are repeating them. Of course, none of this cooperation has been achieved. But let us talk now of Iran of the past week, not of decades or years.
The American administration and West were awaiting the Iranian response to the negotiations over its nuclear deal. Tehran made its response in what the US and West described as a “step backwards.”On Saturday, France, Britain and Germany (E3) vented their frustration at its demand in talks to revive its 2015 nuclear deal that the UN nuclear watchdog close a probe into uranium particles found at three sites, adding that it was jeopardizing the talks.“This latest demand raises serious doubts as to Iran's intentions and commitment to a successful outcome on the JCPoA,” the three countries said in a statement, referring to the deal's full name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “Iran's position contradicts its legally binding obligations and jeopardizes prospects of restoring the JCPoA,” they added.
“Given Iran’s failure to conclude the deal on the table, we will consult, alongside international partners, on how best to address Iran’s continued nuclear escalation and lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding its NPT (non-proliferation treaty) safeguards agreement,” the E3 said.
On Wednesday, Albania severed diplomatic ties with Iran after it carried out a cyber-attack against Tirana, prompting condemnation from NATO. “We strongly condemn such malicious cyber activities designed to destabilize and harm the security of an ally, and disrupt the daily lives of citizens,” it said. On Friday, prosecutors in Germany announced the largest heroin bust in the country that can be traced back to Iran. Four people were detained, with police confiscating some 700 kilograms as part of an operation against a gang smuggling narcotics from Iran.
Well, this has been the news from Iran in the past week. We haven’t even spoken about what it has been doing in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon or Yemen or about its actions in the Gulf and other waters, such as seizing vessels and threatening marine navigation.
This is Iran in just a single week. This is the Iran that the West, led by Obama, had been hoping for some form of cooperation with and for Tehran to show some openness.
Obama specifically used to say that Iran’s critics were the same parties that would rush to war. This is the Iran that neighbors us, that has been exporting terrorism and ruining our region for some four decades. In spite of all the false talk about Iran’s desire to cooperate and negotiate and display some openness, this is Iran in just one week!

Passing of Queen Balmoral Symbolizes Scotland’s Belonging to the UK
Camelia Entekhabifard/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/September, 11/2022
On Friday, the world lost one of the wisest personalities in contemporary history. Elizabeth II, Queen of Britain, passed away at the age of 96 in Scotland’s Balmoral Castle, only a day after she had confirmed Lizz Truss as the new prime minister. During her seventy years of reign over Britain and Commonwealth realms, she proved tireless, determined, strong and effective.
The most important legacy of this history-making woman is safeguarding the crown of United Kingdom so that it has kept its influence and credence despite the separation of crown from politics and its ceremonial rule.
As a symbol of unison and national unity of Britain, the institution of monarchy has been able to safeguard the crown despite many oppositions and this was done with the foresight evident in the policies that the late Queen adopted during the 70 years of her reign. Given the separation of politics from the crown in Britain, it was the important and intangible presence of the Queen that could lead to amazing consequences in politics.
Her latest decision, to stay the past seven months in Balmoral, is amongst her last acts of wisdom. In a referendum in 2014, 55 percent of people in Scotland voted to remain in the UK. The government of Nicola Sturgeon has asked London for a new referendum in October 2023, based on a vote of the Scottish parliament, and Boris Johnson had opposed this during his premiership. There is now a legal debate in Britain’s Supreme Court: can the Scottish parliament independently vote to hold a referendum on independence?
The presence of Queen in Scotland and her passing away there (as opposed to England) shows her heartfelt love for the country and her attempt to win the favor of its people and continue the unity of these two lands.
Queen’s funeral will begin from Scotland. Based on the documents signed by her son, Britain’s new King Charles III, the day of the funeral will be a public holiday in Scotland and registered in the calendar of the country.
The queen’s reign of seventy years has also had many challenges: From the end of the second world war and dawn of an era of reconstruction and new times for modern history of Europe and the world to events that heavily influenced the royal family and the crown and threatened it with collapse. There was the controversial divorce of Princess Diana, Queen’s daughter-in-law, and revelations about the relationship of crown prince, Charles, with a woman who was married to someone else. When Diana died, many considered this a suspicious death and a conspiracy of the royal family.
Charles then married Camilla, a divorcee who wasn’t popular at all and whom many considered to be the reason for the failure of Charles’s marriage to Diana. This led to more threats to Charles's status and less popularity for the royal family.
The Queen acted with wisdom and planning. Her giving of titles, her consideration of public feelings and her participation (or lack thereof) in events were all due to planning and her sensitivity to the keeping of an institution that had been, since the 18th century, amongst the biggest and most influential royal institutions in the world.
The meaningful presence of Britain’s royal family, now the only important royal family in the world, has long been a topic of attention for the world.
When William, Charles’s eldest son, married Catherine Middleton, a middle class girl who wasn’t from the nobility, this was an important sign of the Queen accepting that the old and noble family must be brought up to date.
In the 21st century, nobility needed transformation and reform too so that it could keep its connections with people and society.
She even picked royal titles with precision and while remaining sensitive to public sensations and newcomers to the family. Charles’s new wife never became Princess of Wales and, so long as the Queen was alive, had the lower rank of Duchess. A few months ago, Queen Elizabeth II said she solemnly hoped that the Duchess of Cornwall could become Queen Consort when Charles became king.
To keep respect for Camila, William’s wife, Catherine too became a Duchess.
Catherine Middleton was the first non-noble who officially married a man who was to become Prince of Wales and heir to the throne.
Millions around the world watched this historic marriage and hundreds of thousands came to London for this happy occasion.
These events helped the growth of tourism industry, increased public income and helped keep alive the history and something that the people of Britain could be proud of.
After that, for the first time in the royal family, a person of color married an important member of the royal family: Meghan Markle, an American divorcee with an African-American mother and a white father married Harry, fifth in the line to inherit the British throne. Meghan and Harry’s marriage also had its difficulties. In a TV interview, Meghan accused the royal family of racism and humiliation of herself and her son due to their mixed race. In the West today, the topics of race and sexual orientation have the potential for causing big legal and civic problems.
Raising such contemporary accusations against a family that has ruled Britain and many other realms since the 18th century is a challenge.
Through the policy she adopted toward this young couple, Elizabeth II was able to control and manage provoked feelings in the British state and amongst the general public. For this 96-year-old woman, the interests of monarchy and people of Britain were one and the same. Elizabeth had been born in the midst of the transformation of British Empire into a union of commonwealth countries. The lands under the domination and colonialism and sovereignty of Britain became independent, one after the other, and left UK’s sovereignty or mandatory oversight.
When she assumed her reign in 1952, the monarch of Britain was also head of state for a few independent countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
During the 1960s and 70s, decolonization escalated in Africa and more than 20 countries became independent from Britain. In the same time period, the occupying forces of the British army started negotiations with the Shah of Iran about evacuation of Iran’s occupied islands (Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abumusa) and holding an independence referendum for Bahrain.
The Sheikdoms on the southern coast of the Arabian Gulf also went on to join their seven emirates together and form a new country, the United Arab Emirates.
The British occupying forces evacuated the three islands of Iran and the Lion and Sun flag of the Iranians was now furled over the islands, as the Iranian army moved in.
As the new Middle East got formed in the late 1960s and borders between Iraq, Syria Lebanon, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, and Israel were established, this was all part of a policy that Iranians regarded as being driven by ‘the old fox of colonialism.’
After seventy years of rule by Elizabeth II, her 72-year-old son, Charles, became king on September 10. Public welcoming of the ceremonial assumption of kinghood by Charles, in the style of the 18th century, once more led to public interest in the monarchy. In Britain, monarchy acts as an institution that brings unity, honor and identity for the nation. Queen Elizabeth II played a remarkable role in fostering a feeling of nationalism and pride in Britain and in Commonwealth realms.
Another turning point in the Queen’s life was her prediction of her own death being near and her purposeful residing in Scotland’s Balmoral Castle; an act that showed her compatriots and her successor that unity will bring national sovereignty and power. She died in Scotland; as if to declare that Scotland was part of Britain.

The Ukraine War’s Decisive Season
Ross Douthat/The New York Times/September, 11/2022
The summer of war in Ukraine, while brutal for soldiers and civilians on the front lines, has been experienced from afar as a stalemate, depressing enough in its grinding sameness to slip out of American headlines for a time.
The autumn and winter will be different, supplying answers to the two questions that will determine the war’s duration. First, how much territory can Ukraine liberate from Russian occupation? Second, how grim and desperate will the European winter be with normal Russian energy supplies cut off, and what political consequences will follow?
We are at the beginning of both stories. The long-promised Ukrainian counteroffensive is finally underway — at one end of the front line, a sudden and dramatic thrust eastward from around Ukrainian-held Kharkiv, and at the other a slower advance toward occupied Kherson, Russia’s only major beachhead west of the Dnipro River. The Kharkiv offensive has seemingly thrown the occupiers into disarray, liberating important towns and territories and sowing dismay and fury on the Russian side.
At the same time the Russian answer to Ukrainian courage and Western armaments is about to take full effect. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline is shut down, Europe’s leader are scrambling to prepare for a potential $2 trillion surge in energy costs, and everyone is trying to predict the consequences — from a shallow recession to a “full stop” that threatens deindustrialization, from stiff-upper-lip support for Ukraine to populist rebellion. In wartime there is a dynamic relationship between events on the front and the political situation behind the lines. Some Western pessimists, conditioned by years of elite failure, expect the European home front to be the crucial theater, the place where hawkish hubris generates domestic rebellion against an open-ended commitment to Ukraine.
This is certainly Vladimir Putin’s hope, but my guess is that the interaction will run the other way — that events on the battlefield will be decisive, determining how the war is experienced politically in Germany, France or the Britain of King Charles III.
If Ukraine continues to make military progress, if outright Russian defeat seems within reach, Europe will be able to endure its winter of discontent without an antiwar rebellion. On the other hand, if Ukrainian advances stall out and the war seems destined for a multiyear stalemate, then the Western political establishment will be forced to push harder for peace, or else find itself pushed out from below.
There were already good reasons to hope for progress before the apparent Ukrainian breakthroughs. Although Putin’s government seems to be weathering the sanctions, Moscow is unwilling or unable to launch a general mobilization, it has obvious difficulties with munitions and morale, and the traditional Russian advantage in winter combat doesn’t apply to a situation where it’s the Russians themselves who are the invading power. So it’s plausible to imagine a positive military-political feedback loop, where consistent Ukrainian gains shore up European resolve and carry the de facto alliance through the winter into a better 2023. But there is a range of scenarios within this hoped-for future, and each present dilemmas where realism and pessimism may be as important as optimism and resolve.
In the best-case military scenario, where the Russians end up retreating pell-mell from the current front lines, the danger is that desperation might push Moscow toward nuclear brinkmanship — especially given the Russian strategic posture that envisions using tactical nuclear weapons to reverse battlefield defeats. As the United States learned to its cost in the Korean War, when our push to the Yalu River reaped an unexpected Chinese intervention, the question of how far a victorious army should push is not an easy one, and whether in Crimea or the Donbas, there may be a line that’s perilous to cross.
Alternatively, there is a scenario where a Ukrainian counteroffensive goes some distance but still stalls out well short of the prewar lines of control. For instance, the Ukrainians might push the Russians back to the Dnipro, liberating Kherson, but find themselves unable to reclaim territory on the east side of the river. In that kind of situation, with victories followed by a return to stalemate, the arguments for seeking a cease-fire would be strengthened — not out of any optimism about Moscow as a partner in peace, but to keep Western support on a sustainable and balanced footing, and to give Ukraine space for economic and demographic recovery. Throughout the war, the immediate policies of Ukraine hawks have been mostly vindicated even as their long-term strategy has remained more doubtful. This is likely to be the season where that gap closes, where the speculative becomes reality, and we learn more about what war in the longer term will mean. In which case we should hope both for rapid Ukrainian advances, and for wisdom, care and caution to accompany any victories they may win.

West must act on Iranian regime’s cyberattacks
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/September 11/ 2022
The Iranian regime’s employment of its newest mode of terrorism — cyberwarfare — is escalating and should not be underestimated by the international community, particularly the Western powers.
In some incidents, cyberwarfare could potentially have more severe consequences than military action due to the fact it can take control of or disrupt an entire nation’s infrastructure. It can affect public services, hospitals, transportation, the internet, municipal or governmental institutions, the energy sector, steal people’s private information and be used to take control of a country’s missiles, drones and military intelligence, command structure and communications.
The increasing dangers of this modern-day threat has been highlighted by several high-level officials. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last year warned that cyberattacks “can be as damaging and as dangerous” as an armed attack and are “as serious as any other attack on a NATO ally.” And Dan Coats, a former director of US national intelligence, stressed in 2018: “Our adversaries, as well as the other malign actors, are using cyber and other instruments of power to shape societies and markets, international rules and institutions, and international hotspots to their advantage.”
One of the most effective ways to counter the Iranian regime’s rising cyberterrorism is for governments to send a strong message to Tehran, as Albania did last week.
As a result of the Iranian regime’s cyberattack against Albania in July, Tirana severed diplomatic relations with Tehran and ordered Iranian diplomats and embassy staff to leave the country within 24 hours. Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a video statement: “The in-depth investigation provided us with indisputable evidence that the cyberattack against our country was orchestrated and sponsored by Iran through the engagement of four groups that enacted the aggression.”
Rama added: “The government has decided with immediate effect to end diplomatic relations with Iran. This extreme response... is fully proportionate to the gravity and risk of the cyberattack that threatened to paralyze public services, erase digital systems and hack into state records, steal government intranet electronic communication and stir chaos and insecurity in the country.”
It is critical for NATO to take proportionate and similar actions against the Iranian regime as a result of one of its members coming under attack.
If NATO and its leading members remain silent, the theocratic establishment will be emboldened.
If NATO and its leading members remain silent and continue to negotiate with the Iranian regime in order to revive the nuclear deal — appeasing the Iranian leaders and lifting sanctions on Tehran as a result — the theocratic establishment will be emboldened and empowered to target more Western governments with its cyberattacks.
The US imposing sanctions on the Iranian Intelligence Ministry on Friday was a step in the right direction, but it is far from adequate. The US and other powers must target and sanction the Iranian organizations and politicians who are in charge of the regime’s cyberwarfare program and its financing.
Instead of launching direct wars, which would put the hold on power of the ruling clerics in danger, the Iranian regime has been increasingly reliant on cyberwarfare, which is less costly and sometimes gives Tehran the advantage of remaining anonymous. After all, the regime’s modus operandi has long been to use asymmetrical warfare, such as by deploying third parties, such as its militias, proxies and terror groups, to achieve its goals.
This is not the first time the Iranian regime has launched a major cyberattack against another country. The regime has a history of launching such attacks against foreign nations and organizations that it views as rivals. For example, several intelligence agencies and officials in 2017 revealed that a group of Iranian hackers, known as Cadelle and Chafer, had carried out damaging cyberattacks against Saudi Arabia.
Iran’s cyberwarfare program is most likely run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which will undoubtedly be the beneficiary of Iran’s new nuclear deal if it goes ahead. As the Israeli-based Institute for National Security Studies has said: “The IRGC clearly makes the country one of the best and most advanced nations when it comes to cyberwarfare. In a case of escalation between Iran and the West, Iran will likely aim to launch a cyberattack against critical infrastructures in the US and its allies, (targeting) energy infrastructure, financial institutions and transportation systems.”
In a nutshell, it is time for the international community to end the Iranian regime’s impunity when it comes to its increasing number of cyberattacks against other nations.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh