English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For February 11/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2023/english.february11.23.htm
News Bulletin Achieves
Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006
Click On The Below Link To Join
Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group so you get the LCCC Daily A/E Bulletins every
day
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FPF0N7lE5S484LNaSm0MjW
اضغط على الرابط في أعلى للإنضمام
لكروب Eliasbejjaninews
whatsapp group وذلك لإستلام
نشراتي العربية والإنكليزية اليومية بانتظام
Bible Quotations For today
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love
your neighbour and hate your enemy.”But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray
for those who persecute you
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint
Matthew 05/43-48:”‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your
neighbour and hate your enemy.”But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven;
for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what
reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet
only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even
the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is
perfect.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 10-11/2023
Salameh denies links to CTEX and Forry Associates
Lebanon: central bank governor Riad Salameh to step down this year...Banque Du
Liban chief faces numerous investigations over accusations of corruption
Archbishop Audi discusses general situation with UN’s Wronecka, meets MP Hasbani
US Ambassador visits Foreign Minister, lauds Lebanese support to quake-hit Syria
and Turkey
Statement of delegation of EU to Lebanon on country’s current situation
Ministers of Environment, Public Works welcome back Lebanese rescue mission at
1:00 pm
Lebanese rescue mission arrives at Beirut airport
Report: Al-Rahi to explore Shiite Duo's stance before calling for Christian
meeting
Geagea slams FPM over decision to attend legislative session
EU urges new president in Lebanon and fair probe into port blast
Armed clash erupts in Beirut's Aisha Bakkar area
Bassil says Lebanese consensus obligatory for electing president
Clash between owners of power generators in Aisha Bakkar leaves two injured
The LIC Newsletter/A Message from the President
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February
10-11/2023
6-year-old and 20-year-old killed in ramming attack in Jerusalem
Erdogan admits quake rescue effort not as quick as hoped
Quake-hit Syria approves aid delivery to rebel-held areas
Rescues in Turkiye offer moments of relief in quake aftermath
In earthquake-shattered Antakya, darkness only brings more fear
US Sanctions Nine Entities of ‘Critical Role’ in Iranian Petrochemicals,
Petroleum Trade
Iran Releases 7 Women Activists from Prison
US Announces $85 Mn Aid, Sanctions Relief for Quake-hit Türkiye and Syria
New French Envoy Demands Release of Citizens in Talks with Iran's President
Iran Accuses Mir-Hossein Mousavi of ‘Collaborating’ with People's Mojahedin
Iran exiled opposition figures in talks to unite against government
Tehran Blames Western ‘Conspiracies’ for Nuclear Deal Disruption
Iran Says It Arrests Those behind Attack on Military Site, Blames Israeli
‘Mercenaries’
Sisi Values Saudi Arabia's Stances towards Egypt
Missiles Target Ukraine's Cities as Russian Forces Advance in East and South
EU Agrees Tougher Rules for Irregular Migrants
Ukrainian troops equipped with devastating HIMARS are waiting for US targeting
data before firing on Russian forces, officials say
Putin launches major Ukraine offensive with hail of missiles
Ex-British Army Chief Shares Bleak Prediction For How Long Ukraine War Will Last
US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast
Titles For
The Latest
English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 10-11/2023
‘Moderate’ or ‘Radical’: Will the Real Islam Please Stand Up?/Raymond
Ibrahim/Friday, 10 February, 2023
The Middle East and the struggle between tolerance and terror - opinion/Stewart
Weiss/Jerusalem Post/February 10/2023
Pakistani Taliban: The Most Powerful Anti-State Actor in the Country/Lawrence A.
Franklin/Gatestone Institute/February 10, 2023
Neo-Totalitarianism, Terrorism and Criminality/Charles Elias Chartouni/February
10, 2023
Syria earthquake: Are sanctions obstructing the delivery of aid to Syria?/Sean
Mathews/Middle East Eye/February 10/2023
Syria: The War Has Not Ended/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/Asharq Al-Awsat/February
10/2023
Question: “Why does God allow natural disasters?”/GotQuestions.org?)/Fri,
February 10, 2023
Bahrain Reveals Visit by Israel’s Top General/Simon Henderson/The Washington
Institute.
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February 10-11/2023
Salameh denies links to CTEX and Forry Associates
Naharnet/February 10, 2023
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on Friday defended himself anew in the face
of a host of accusations. “The lawsuits targeted against me are unfounded and I
have submitted audited official documents,” Salameh said in an interview with
Asharq TV. Commenting on the recent U.S. sanctions on the CTEX money exchange
company and its owner Hassan Moukalled, who allegedly facilitated Hezbollah
activities, Salameh noted that the company was granted a license “in line with
the Lebanese laws.”“This license came after the request was studied by central
bank authorities and this company was established in the U.S. and the UAE,”
Salameh added, noting that no “special relation” links him to it. “The work of
the CTEX company and the other companies is to sell dollars to the central bank
and not the opposite and we emphasize that this process has nothing to do
whatsoever with Hezbollah’s financing,” the governor went on to say. “These
operations are documented at the central bank and the documents prove the source
of the dollars, and after the U.S. sanctions resolution was issued we suspended
the company and confiscated the funds,” Salameh added. Asked about Forry
Associates Ltd -- a British Virgin Islands-registered company that lists
Salameh’s brother Raja as its owner and is suspected of having brokered Lebanese
treasury bonds and Eurobonds at a commission – the governor said that “no single
dollar from the central bank’s money was paid to Forry.”“I have nothing to do
with this company and some took advantage of my brother’s work at the company to
target me,” Salameh added, noting that “all documents are present at the
judiciary.”Salameh also noted that Lebanon’s economy grew by 2% in 2022,
attributing the progress to “the initiatives that were taken by the central bank
through providing liquidity to the markets.”
Lebanon: central bank governor Riad Salameh to
step down this year...Banque Du Liban chief faces numerous investigations over
accusations of corruption
The National/February 10/2023
Lebanon’s embattled central bank governor Riad Salameh, who has faced multiple
accusations of plundering state coffers, has said he is ready to step down from
his 30-year stint in the role when his fifth term ends this year. One of
Lebanon’s most controversial figures, Mr Salameh was at one point heralded for
keeping the country’s banking sector afloat — but is now one of the key figures
blamed for Lebanon’s economic collapse that first became apparent in 2019, one
of the worst in modern history. He also is facing several European and Lebanese
investigations over alleged corruption and illicit enrichment. Among the
accusations are that he embezzled $330 million from the central bank through a
contract he signed with Forry Associates, a financial services company run by
his brother, Raja. “For me, the decision is that at the end of my term, I will
turn a page in my life and leave the central bank,” Riad Salameh said in an
interview with Al Sharq TV. He also rejected any links to Forry Associates, a
company registered in the British Virgin Islands. “Not a single dollar of BDL [Banque
Du Liban] funds has been paid to Forry Associated Ltd. I have no connection with
that company,” Mr Salameh said. “Some have exploited my brother's position in
this company to target me,” he said, adding that “the cases launched against me
have no real foundation”. Last month, investigators from Germany, Luxembourg and
France travelled to Lebanon as part of their probe into the alleged embezzlement
related to Forry. They questioned around a dozen witnesses, including senior
officials at the BDL and prominent bankers. According to reports, the
investigators will return to Lebanon at the beginning of March for a second
round of questioning, which will include the Salameh brothers. The economic
crisis has been blamed on decades of corruption and mismanagement in Lebanon’s
elite. Accusations have been levelled at Mr Salameh, the central bank and the
wider banking sector. The local currency has lost more than 95 per cent of its
value, and inflation has soared but without wages being able to keep up. Much of
the population is now in poverty, with widespread shortages of basic essentials,
including clean water, electricity and medicines.
Archbishop Audi discusses general situation with UN’s Wronecka, meets MP Hasbani
NNA/February 10, 2023
Beirut Greek Orthodox Archbishop, Elias Audi, on Friday welcomed United Nations
Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka. Discussions reportedly touched
on the current general situation and the difficulties that Lebanon is going
through.
Archbishop Audi also met with MP Ghassan Hasbani, over an array of national
matters.
US Ambassador visits Foreign Minister, lauds
Lebanese support to quake-hit Syria and Turkey
NNA/February 10, 2023
Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Dr. Abdullah Bou Habib, on
Friday welcomed US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea. Talks between the pair
reportedly focused on the most recent developments, including the steps taken by
Lebanon in the wake of the devastating earthquake that jolted Turkey and Syria,
especially in terms of opening Rafic Hariri International Airport, and all the
Lebanese ports, to facilitate the transportation of aid en route to Syria, in
addition to sending Lebanese search and rescue missions to help those affected
by the earthquake.
For her part, Ambassador Shea lauded "these steps" and stressed "the importance
of delivering humanitarian aid to the affected areas and people."
Statement of delegation of EU to Lebanon on
country’s current situation
NNA/February 10, 2023
The Delegation of the European Union issues the following statement together
with the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland to
Lebanon: The undersigned are gravely concerned about the current situation in
Lebanon. We urge all stakeholders to respect the independence of the judiciary,
refrain from all acts of interference and allow a fair and transparent judicial
investigation into the Beirut port blast. The right to know and accountability
are two pillars of rule of law. We call on the Parliament to urgently elect a
President who will unite the Lebanese people in the national interest, as a
first step to restore the ability of the Lebanese state institutions to make
decisions, both on the administrative and political level. Holding the municipal
elections according to schedule is essential to secure functioning state
institutions. We reiterate our call on all stakeholders to act responsibly for
the full implementation of the prior actions agreed with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), and our readiness to support Lebanon on a path towards
macro-economic and financial stability and growth, which requires structural
reforms. The 2023 state budget needs to address the devaluation of the salaries
of civil servants, to allow them to continue their work, to the benefit of the
Lebanese people.
Ministers of Environment, Public Works welcome back Lebanese rescue mission at
1:00 pm
NNA/February 10, 2023
Caretaker Minister of Environment, Dr. Nasser Yassin, Caretaker Minister of
Public Works and Transportation, Dr. Ali Hamieh, and the Secretary General of
the Senior Defense Council, Major General Mohammad Mustafa, will be receiving at
1:00 pm on Friday the Lebanese mission that had been dispatched to Turkey to
partake in the ongoing search and rescue operations in the states affected by
the devastating earthquake. The reception will take place at Rafic Hariri
International Airport’s Saloon of Honor in Beirut, as a token of appreciation
for the efforts exerted by the Lebanese mission in its humanitarian task.
Lebanese rescue mission arrives at Beirut airport
NNA/February 10, 2023
The Lebanese mission that had been dispatched to Turkey to partake in the
ongoing search and rescue operations in the Turkish areas affected by the
devastating earthquake, has arrived at Rafic Hariri International Airport in
Beirut. The mission included members of the Army's Engineering Regiment, the
Lebanese Red Cross and the Beirut Fire Brigade. Welcoming the mission at the
Airport’s Saloon of Honor were Caretaker Minister of Environment, Dr. Nasser
Yassin, Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Dr. Ali Hamieh,
Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Baris Ulusoy, Director General of Civil
Aviation, Engineer Fadi El-Hassan, the Secretary General of the Senior Defense
Council, Major General Mohammad Mustafa, and Beirut Airport security chief,
Brigadier General Fadi Kfoury. The mission was also welcomed at the airport by
officers from the Airport security service, a delegation of officers from the
Ministry of Defense, the Secretary General of the Lebanese Red Cross, Georges
Kettaneh, the Governor of Beirut Judge Marwan Abboud, and a delegation from the
Beirut Fire Brigade. In his word, Ambassador Ulusoy thanked the Lebanese people
for "their support and standing by the Turkish people in this catastrophe that
befell Turkey in the aftermath of the earthquake," expressing his gratitude "to
the people who expressed their solidarity and sympathy with Turkey in these
painful circumstances." The Turkish Ambassador thanked "all the Lebanese for
standing by the Turkish people, which Turkey will not forget," as he said.
Report: Al-Rahi to explore Shiite Duo's stance before calling for Christian
meeting
Naharnet/February 10, 2023
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi will not invite Christian MPs to a meeting in
Bkikri before confirming the “outcome and effectiveness” of such a move, sources
informed on al-Rahi’s efforts said. “He is inclined to first discuss the issue
with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, to determine whether he and Hezbollah would
positively receive any inter-Christian agreement,” the sources added, in remarks
to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper published Friday. Hezbollah had recently sent
negative indications in this regard, when its deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem
said that “any rules not stipulated by the constitution are not binding for
anyone” and that Hezbollah would not abide by “interpretations tailored to fit
those who cannot achieve their choices through the constitution.”Asharq al-Awsat
added that the names of many presidential candidates have been discussed in
Bkirki, such as Jihad Azour, Naji al-Bustani, Ziad Baroud, Fares Boueiz, Salah
Honein and others.
Geagea slams FPM over decision to attend legislative session
Naharnet/February 10, 2023
Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea on Friday blasted the Free Patriotic Movement
over its reported decision to attend a legislative session that Speaker Nabih
Berri intends to call for. “If reports turn out to be true that the FPM intends
to attend a legislative session that Speaker Nabih Berri is inclined to call for
early next week, this would mean that the FPM has not settled for the damages
that it has inflicted on the Lebanese, topped by Christians, over the past six
years,” Geagea said in a statement. “It turned their days into nights and their
lives into hell, and now it is insisting to pursue them and disturb their lives,
all for a handful of posts,” the LF leader added. “FPM chief MP Jebran Bassil
had attacked the government throughout the past months, seeing as it was meeting
in the absence of a president, whereas the constitution granted this government
the possibility to meet in emergency and urgent situations,” Geagea reminded.
“Today we see him preparing himself to take part in a legislative session not
allowed by the constitution, which considers that during presidential vacuum
parliament turns into an electoral body pending the election of a new
president,” the LF leader added. He accordingly accused the FPM of lacking
“reason and proper behavior.”
EU urges new president in Lebanon and fair probe into port blast
Naharnet/February 10, 2023
The Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon together with the diplomatic
missions of the EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland have announced that
they are “gravely concerned” about the current situation in Lebanon. “We urge
all stakeholders to respect the independence of the judiciary, refrain from all
acts of interference and allow a fair and transparent judicial investigation
into the Beirut port blast. The right to know and accountability are two pillars
of rule of law,” they said in a joint statement. “We call on the Parliament to
urgently elect a President who will unite the Lebanese people in the national
interest, as a first step to restore the ability of the Lebanese state
institutions to make decisions, both on the administrative and political level,”
the statement said. It added that holding the municipal elections according to
schedule is essential to secure functioning state institutions. Economically,
the statement called on all stakeholders to “act responsibly for the full
implementation of the prior actions agreed with the International Monetary Fund
(IMF),” stressing readiness to “support Lebanon on a path towards macro-economic
and financial stability and growth, which requires structural reforms.”
“The 2023 state budget needs to address the devaluation of the salaries of civil
servants, to allow them to continue their work, to the benefit of the Lebanese
people,” the statement added.
Armed clash erupts in Beirut's Aisha Bakkar area
Naharnet/February 10, 2023
An armed clash broke out Friday afternoon near the Child And Mother Welfare
Hospital and the al-Qassar Mosque in Beirut’s Aisha Bakkar, the state-run
National News Agency reported. NNA said the clash erupted between owners of
neighborhood power generators in the area following a similar clash that took
place two days ago. The clash left two people wounded according to the agency.
Witnesses in the nearby Verdun area told Naharnet that they heard heavy gunfire
during the incident.
Bassil says Lebanese consensus obligatory for
electing president
Naharnet/February 10, 2023
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Thursday stressed that the
presidential election is “a national juncture and not only Christian or
Maronite.”“We are obliged to agree, especially if we want it to take place in
line with the constitution and the needed quorum,” Bassil added, following a
meeting with Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East John X Yazigi.
“We want to reach a salvation program and a president who would also implement
this program,” Bassil added.
Clash between owners of power generators in Aisha
Bakkar leaves two injured
NNA/February 10, 2023
National News Agency Correspondent reported that the gunfire, which was heard
this afternoon in Beirut’s Aisha Bakkar area, near the Child and Mother Welfare
Hospital and the Al-Qassar Mosque in Beirut, came against the backdrop of the
row that took place two days ago between a number of owners of power generators
in the area. The clash renewed this afternoon, leaving two people wounded.
The LIC Newsletter/A Message from the President
February 10/2023
Friends,
Lebanese Parliament remains deadlocked and unable to fill the presidential
vacancy after months of deliberation and discussion. Despite weekly sessions,
members of the reformist and sovereigntist factions have failed to coalesce
behind a single candidate while Hezbollah and its resistance coalition have been
casting blank ballots and leaving the session to cause a loss of quorum.
Hezbollah and its allies have also called for bypassing the normal electoral
process and beginning negotiations between various parliamentary blocs under a
so-called “dialogue,” in contradiction of the Lebanese constitution.
Transfer of power in a democracy like Lebanon should be peaceful and orderly,
and not subject to the whims and desires of illiberal groups. This continued
presidential vacancy threatens to accelerate the collapse of already affected
state institutions and continue to prolong the pain felt by all Lebanese
citizens.
To break the gridlock and fill this vacancy, the reformists and sovereigntists
must increase effective consultations among themselves to put forward a single,
clear choice. This candidate needs an open path to salvage Lebanon, return it to
prominence in the Arab and international communities, and address the tragedies
suffered by the Lebanese people: tragedies caused by the absence of governance
for the people and the continued domination of the mafia-militia alliance.
The Speaker of the Parliament needs to perform his constitutionally set duties
and keep the presidential election session open by preventing a loss of quorum
caused by the departure of certain MPs. Lebanon is in desperate need of
leaders—a President, Speaker, Prime Minister, and overall government—who are
committed to its sovereignty, proper governance for all Lebanese people,
structural and long-lasting reforms, and the fight against corruption.
Last May, the Lebanese people sent a clear message by electing reformists and
sovereigntists to Parliament. It is the duty of those elected to follow through
on their commitments and provide real, lasting results for the Lebanese people.
For Lebanon,
Dr. Joseph Gebeily
President
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on February 10-11/2023
6-year-old
and 20-year-old killed in ramming attack in Jerusalem
Jerusalem Post /February 10/2023
An off-duty police officer and other officers who arrived at the scene quickly
after the attack shot the terrorist.
A 6-year-old child and a man in his 20s were killed and five others were injured
in a terrorist ramming attack near the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem on Friday
afternoon.
The terrorist, identified as Hossein Karaka, a 31-year-old resident of the
Isawiya neighborhood of east Jerusalem, rammed into a bus stop at the entrance
to the Ramot neighborhood. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided shortly
after the attack to seal and demolish Karaka's home, expressing his condolences
to the families of the victims. "I conducted a security situation assessment and
ordered security forces reinforced, arrests made and to act immediately to seal
the terrorist's house and demolish it. Our answer to terrorism is to strike it
with all our might and deepen our grip on our country even more." An off-duty
police officer and other officers who arrived at the scene quickly after the
attack shot the terrorist. "This is a very difficult scene, a terrorist who
violently crashed into a bus station where there were many families," said ZAKA
member Dovi Weinstern. "When I arrived there I saw a lot of commotion, difficult
images of people and children dressed in Shabbat clothes lying near the station
suffering from serious injuries, cries for help from all sides.""Once again we
are dealing with a serious incident of injury to innocents, a brutal attack on
Friday afternoon against civilians who were waiting at a bus stop." National
Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived at the scene shortly after the attack,
saying "There are no events more difficult than these. I thank the prime
minister for adopting my policy to seal the house as quickly as possible. I also
ordered the police to place checkpoints around Isawiya and to stop each vehicle,
to check each car." Ben-Gvir added that he wanted to implement a full lockdown
on the Isawiya neighborhood, but was unable to due to legal questions
surrounding such a decision. The minister additionally stated that he wants to
advance the death penalty for terrorists and plans to advance a law next week
allowing police to search houses without warrants. "Enough with the approach
that 'if we do something we'll make them angry.' Enough! There are terrorist
attacks now." President Isaac Herzog responded to the attack on Friday
afternoon, stating "A moment before the start of Shabbat our hearts ache with
terrible pain after a despicable terrorist took the lives of a small boy and a
young man in a ramming attack in Jerusalem. Together with all the people of
Israel, I feel the pain of the families and pray for the healing of the wounded.
Shabbat is a cry and healing is near to come. I want to strengthen the security
forces that work resolutely to protect the citizens of Israel." Jerusalem Mayor
Moshe Lion thanked security forces for their work in investigating the incident,
adding "The heart aches in front of the difficult sights. A despicable terrorist
takes the lives of innocent children and adults just because they are Jewish.
This is another event that points to a tense period that requires vigilance."
After the attack, the Jerusalem municipality decided to increase protective
measures at bus stations in the city.bThe Eran association, which provides
emotional aid, announced that it was reinforcing its phone and internet hotlines
in order to provide help for those needing it. European Union Ambassador to
Israel Dimiter Tzantchev responded to the attack on Friday afternoon, tweeting
"Horrified & saddened by another terror attack in East Jerusalem, which already
killed a 6 years old child and a young man. The EU strongly and unequivocally
condemns terrorism. Our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and
wishes for speedy recovery to the injured."
Erdogan admits quake rescue effort not as
quick as hoped
Agence France Presse/February 10, 2023
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted for the first time Friday that
his government's search and rescue effort from this week's devastating
earthquake did not go as quickly as hoped. Erdogan has
faced criticism from the quake's survivors about an insufficient number of
rescuers and humanitarian aid being delivered in the first days of Turkey's
biggest disaster in nearly a century. The death toll
from Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor has surpassed 22,000 across southeastern
Turkey and parts of Syria. Nearly 19,000 of those
deaths happened in Turkey.
Erdogan repeated an earlier admission that there had been "shortcomings" in his
government's response. But he appeared to go one step
further by conceding that his teams could have responded more quickly.
"So many buildings were damaged that unfortunately, we were not able to
speed up our interventions as quickly as we had desired," Erdogan said during a
visit to the hard-hit southern city of Adiyaman. He
said rescuers had been slowed by a winter storm over the area that had made some
roads impassable. "Moreover, most public workers who
would have conducted the first intervention and organisation were themselves
under the collapsed buildings," Erdogan said. He added that Turkey had now
gathered "perhaps the world's largest search and rescue team" comprised of
141,000 across 10 affected provinces. The Turkish
leader also fired back at his critics heading into a crunch election the
government plans for May 14. Secular opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu this
week blamed the huge number of buildings that toppled in the tremor and its
aftershock on state-connected "profiteers" who were not following proper
construction codes. Erdogan called out "opportunists
who want to turn this pain into their political gain." He also promised to
rebuild the damaged region within a year.
Quake-hit Syria approves aid delivery to
rebel-held areas
Agence France Presse/February 10, 2023
The Syrian government said on Friday it had approved the delivery of
humanitarian aid to areas outside its control in the quake-hit rebel-held
northwest of the country. "The Council of Ministers approves... the delivery of
humanitarian aid to all parts of the Syrian Arab Republic," a cabinet statement
said.ى It added that aid distribution should be supervised by the International
Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent with U.N. help. Monday's
massive quake killed more than 22,700 people in Turkey and Syria, in one of the
region's worst disasters in a century. The United Nations routinely delivers aid
to rebel-held areas, either from neighbouring Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa
crossing or directly across the front line from government-held areas. Some four
million people in the rebel-held northwest rely on humanitarian aid but there
have been no aid deliveries from government-controlled areas in three weeks.
Only two aid convoys have reached the region this week from Turkey, where
authorities are engaged in an even bigger quake relief operation of their own.
U.N. chief Antonio Guterres urged the Security Council on Thursday to
authorise the opening of additional crossings on the Turkey-Syria border for the
delivery of U.N. aid to quake victims in rebel areas.
Rescues in Turkiye offer moments of relief in
quake aftermath
AP/February 10, 2023
ISKENDERUN, Turkiye: Rescuers pulled several people alive from the shattered
remnants of buildings on Friday, some who survived more than 100 hours trapped
under crushed concrete in the bitter cold after a catastrophic earthquake
slammed Turkiye and Syria, killing more than 22,000.
The survivors included six relatives who huddled in a small pocket under the
rubble, a teenager who drank his own urine to slake his thirst, and a 4-year-old
boy offered a jelly bean to calm him down as he was shimmied out.
But the flurry of dramatic rescues — some broadcast live on Turkish television —
could not obscure the overwhelming devastation of what Turkiye’s president
called one of the greatest disasters in his nation’s history. Entire
neighborhoods of high-rise buildings have been reduced to twisted metal,
pulverized concrete and exposed wires, and the magnitude 7.8 quake has already
killed more people than Japan’s Fukushima earthquake and tsunami, with many more
bodies undoubtedly yet to be recovered and counted.
Four days after the earthquake hammered a sprawling border region that is home
to more than 13.5 million people, relatives wept and chanted as rescuers pulled
17-year-old Adnan Muhammed Korkut from a basement in Turkiye’s Gaziantep, near
the quake’s epicenter. He had been trapped there for 94 hours, forced to drink
his own urine to survive.
“Thank God you arrived,” he said, embracing his mother and others who leaned
down to kiss and hug him as he was being loaded into an ambulance. For one of
the rescuers, identified only as Yasemin, Adnan’s survival hit home hard.
“I have a son just like you,” she told him after giving him a warm hug. “I swear
to you, I have not slept for four days. ... I was trying to get you out.”In
Adiyaman, meanwhile, rescue crews pulled 4-year-old Yagiz Komsu from the debris
of his home, 105 hours after the quake struck. They later managed to rescue his
mother, Ayfer Komsu, who survived with a fractured rib, according the HaberTurk
television, which broadcast the rescue live. The crowd was asked not to cheer or
applaud to avoid scaring the child, who was given a jelly bean, the station
reported.
Elsewhere, HaberTurk television said rescuers had identified nine people trapped
inside the remains of a high-rise apartment block in Iskenderun and pulled out
six of them, including a woman who waved at onlookers as she was being carried
away on a stretcher. The crowd shouted: “God is Great!” after she was brought
out. The building was only 600 feet (200 meters) from the Mediterranean Sea and
narrowly avoided being flooded when the massive earthquake sent water surging
into the city center.
There were still more stories: A married couple was pulled from the rubble in
Iskenderun after spending 109 hours buried in a small crevice. A German team
said it worked for more than 50 hours to free a woman from the rubble of a house
in Kirikhan. In the hard-hit city of Kahramanmaras, two teenage sisters were
saved, and video of the operation showed one emergency worker playing a pop song
on his smartphone to distract them.
And the work continued: One trapped woman could be heard speaking to a team
trying to dig her out in video broadcast by HaberTurk television. She told her
would-be rescuers that she had given up hope of being found — and prayed to be
put to sleep because she was so cold. The station did not say where the
operation was taking place. Even though experts say trapped people can live for
a week or more, the chances of finding survivors are dimming.
The rescues Friday provided fleeting moments of joy and relief amid the misery
and hardship gripping the shattered region where morgues and cemeteries are
overwhelmed and bodies lie wrapped in blankets, rugs and tarps in the streets of
some cities.
In Kahramanmaras, a sports hall served as a makeshift morgue to accommodate and
identify bodies.
Temperatures remain below freezing across the large region, and many people have
no place to shelter. The Turkish government has distributed millions of hot
meals, as well as tents and blankets, but was still struggling to reach many
people in need.
Some in Turkiye have complained that the government was slow to respond, a
perception that could hurt Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he faces a
tough battle for reelection in May.
The disaster compounded suffering in a region beset by Syria’s 12-year civil
war, which has displaced millions of people within the country and left them
dependent on aid and sent millions more seeking refuge in Turkiye.
The ongoing conflict has isolated many areas of Syria and complicated efforts to
get aid in. The UN said the first earthquake-related aid convoy crossed from
Turkiye into northwestern Syria on Friday — a day after an aid shipment planned
before the disaster arrived.
The trucks managed to navigate a route that had been obstructed for days by
debris.
Syrian President Bashar Assad and his wife, Asmaa, visited survivors at the
Aleppo University Hospital, Syrian state media reported — the leader’s first
public appearance in an affected area of the country since the disaster. He then
visited rescuers in one of the hardest-hit areas in the city.
Aleppo has been scarred by years of heavy bombardment and shelling — much of it
by the forces of Assad and his ally, Russia — and it was among the cities most
devastated by the earthquake.
Also Friday, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has been
waging a separatist insurgency in Turkiye’s mainly-Kurdish southeast, including
some of the affected areas, said it was declaring a cease-fire.
Meanwhile, Turkiye’s conflict with Kurdish militants in Syria, linked to the PKK,
has further complicated the delivery of aid to the region. On Thursday, Kurdish
officials in Syria said that Turkish-backed Syrian rebels had blocked an aid
convoy destined for earthquake victims.
Turkiye’s disaster management agency said more than 19,300 people had been
confirmed killed in the disaster so far in Turkiye, with more than 77,000
injured.
More than 3,300 have been confirmed killed in Syria, bringing the total number
of dead to more than 22,000. The bodies of more than 700 Syrians killed in
Turkiye have been repatriated since Monday for burial, Syrian opposition
official Mazen Alloush told The Associated Press on Friday.
Some 12,000 buildings in Turkiye have either collapsed or sustained serious
damage, according to Turkiye’s minister of environment and urban planning, Murat
Kurum.
Engineers suggested that the scale of the devastation is partly explained by lax
enforcement of building codes, which some have warned for years would make them
vulnerable to earthquakes.
Mustafa Turan counted 248 collapsed buildings between the airport and the center
of Adiyaman after he rushed to his hometown from Istanbul following the quake.
The journalist said Friday that 15 of his relatives had been killed, and scores
of people were sleeping outside or in tents. “At night, about 4 a.m., it got so
cold that our drinking water froze,” he said.
In earthquake-shattered Antakya, darkness only
brings more fear
Nada Maucourant Atallah/Antakya, Turkey/The National/February 10/2023
With only fires and searchlights to provide respite from the encroaching
darkness, residents struggle to rest
In any city, night time offers a different perspective. Street lights come on
and streets take a different shape. But in the ruined city of Antakya, the
darkness brings only terror. The city in Turkey's southern Hatay region is among
the worst hit by the powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Turkey and
Syria on Monday, killing more than 22,000. The scale of the destruction seems to
belong to an apocalypse movie. Buildings have collapsed in ways that seem to
defy the laws of physics, creating odd, ghoulish shapes. Some look like a
crushed accordion, while others have crumbled into a thousand pieces. A house
alarmingly leans on one side; a few metres away, another completely seemingly
fallen over as if it has tripped over the street. None of the building in
Antakya are habitable: even the standing ones are totally empty, cut off from
electricity and water.
Before the earthquake struck, the city was a bustling place of safety for
hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing civil war just 12 miles away in Syria.
Known as Antioch in ancient times, the city is a melting pot of cultures, food
and languages, but today its residents sleep in the open air or makeshift camps.
As darkness falls, the lack of light sources and suspended ochre dust create a
surreal feeling. Traffic is chaotic; highly damaged roads are filled with cars,
buses, and ambulances whose wailing sirens relentlessly pierce through the
noises of rescues in progress. Only sporadic fires light up the pitch-black
city, releasing an acrid stench which stays with you for hours after. Around
those fires huddle those made homeless by the disaster, dressed in thick
clothing to fend off the worst of the freezing temperatures. Countless families
have yet leave the city, sleeping in their cars or even directly on the ground
in lieu of any safe accommodation. The streets are also full of volunteers.
Enshe, 27, came all the way from Istanbul to take part in the emergency
assistance. Sat around a fire with his friends. “Antakya was such a beautiful
city and now there is nothing left, people have nowhere to stay,” he said. “I
don’t care about sleeping”, he said, adding he plans to stay at least a week as
the glances at friends sleeping under a blanket next to the fire.” Sleep might
be tough to come by even if he wanted to get his head down. “I’ve never seen
that many dead bodies,” he said solemnly. Esin, 27, another volunteer, says
there are “no words” to describe the situation. “It breaks my heart, only
helping people will allow me to think of something else”. The only other
meaningful source of light comes from rescue missions, spending sleepless nights
to recover bodies days after the disaster. The hope of finding anyone alive is
dwindling.
At one search site of a collapsed five floor building, rescuers told The
National that found only a dead body this day, a 9 year old girl. Under a
violent light, the crane is pursuing its work, hoping for a miracle.
US Sanctions Nine Entities of ‘Critical Role’ in Iranian Petrochemicals,
Petroleum Trade
Washington – Ali Barada/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 10
February, 2023
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on nine entities it accused of
playing a critical role in the production of petrochemicals and petroleum.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the latest sanctions
were part of “continued efforts to enforce US sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and
petrochemical trade and disrupt Iran’s efforts to circumvent sanctions.”The
Department of the Treasury said in a statement that it is designating six
Iran-based companies involved in the sale and distribution of petrochemicals.
Among the Iranian companies targeted were petrochemical producer Amir Kabir
Petrochemical Co. (AKPC), its subsidiary Simorgh Petrochemical Co. and four
subsidiaries of previously sanctioned Marun Petrochemical Co. Among the
companies sanctioned are Laleh Petrochemical Company, Marun Tadbir Tina Company,
Marun Sepehr Ofogh Company, and Marun Supplemental Industries Company, owned by
Marun Petrochemical Company, which was previously designated for providing
material support to Triliance. The Treasury Department is also designating two
Singapore-based entities, Asia Fuel PTE. Ltd. and Unicious Energy PTE. Ltd.,
which have facilitated Triliance’s sale of petroleum products to customers in
East Asia. The Treasury Department is designating Malaysia-based Sense Shipping
and Trading SDN. BHD., a front company that has facilitated the shipment of tens
of thousands of metric tons of petrochemicals for Triliance. “Today’s action
demonstrates our continued efforts to enforce US sanctions on Iran’s petroleum
and petrochemical trade and disrupt Iran’s efforts to circumvent sanctions," the
statement stressed. "The United States remains focused on targeting Tehran’s
sources of illicit revenue, and will continue to enforce its sanctions against
those who wittingly facilitate this trade," Treasury Under Secretary for
Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in the statement.
Iran Releases 7 Women
Activists from Prison
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 10 February, 2023
Iran has released several prominent women activists and journalists from a
prison in Tehran, campaigners said Thursday, with a video showing them defiantly
chanting pro-protest slogans outside the jail, according to AFP. Media based
outside Iran said a total of seven women were released, while Iran continues to
press a crackdown against protests that erupted in September. Those released
included Saba Kord Afshari, held since 2019 after she campaigned against the
obligatory hijab for women, and prominent photographer Alieh Motalebzadeh whose
latest stint in jail began in April last year, the reports said.
After being released, they chanted the slogan of the protest movement "Woman,
Life, Freedom" and "down with oppressors worldwide," according to a video posted
by Motalebzadeh on her Twitter account. The Dublin-based rights group Front Line
Defenders said Kord Afshari and Motalebzadeh "have played a pivotal role in the
women's rights movement and have been unjustly in prison in the past
years."Others released include Fariba Asadi, Parastoo Moini, Zahra Safaei,
Gelareh Abbasi, and Sahereh Hossein, all campaigners who in some cases had been
serving years-long sentences. Earlier this week, Iran released young protester
Armita Abbasi, whose case prompted international concern after she was arrested
in October over protests in the city of Karaj outside Tehran. Abbasi was rushed
to the hospital after being raped during her detention, according to leaks from
that hospital, CNN said in a November report. The Iranian authorities denied
these accusations. It was not clear if the releases were linked to an
announcement by the office of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he had
agreed to pardon a large number of convicts, including those detained over the
protests. Rights activists have urged skepticism over the announcements, noting
that many prominent figures remain in jail and activists continue to be
arrested. "Khamenei's hypocritical pardon doesn't change anything," said Mahmood
Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group,
describing the move as propaganda. Iranian authorities have arrested thousands
since nationwide protests broke out following the September 16, 2022, death in
custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly breaching the
country's strict dress rules for women. Women still detained include
prize-winning rights defender Narges Mohammadi, the two journalists who helped
expose the Amini case, Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, as well as
foreigners including German national Nahid Taghavi and French academic Fariba
Adelkhah.
US Announces $85 Mn Aid,
Sanctions Relief for Quake-hit Türkiye and Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 10 February, 2023
The United States on Thursday announced an initial $85 million aid package to
help Türkiye and Syria recover from the devastating earthquake, while also
granting a temporary relief of some Damascus-related sanctions. The
7.8-magnitude quake struck early Monday near the Turkish-Syrian border, and by
Friday morning the death toll in both countries topped 21,000. Search efforts
persist but chances of finding survivors are dimming, AFP said. The US Agency
for International Development said the funding will go to partners on the ground
"to deliver urgently needed aid for millions of people", including through food,
shelter and emergency health services. The funding will also support safe
drinking water and sanitation to prevent the outbreak of disease, USAID said in
a statement. The announcement comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken
earlier Thursday spoke by telephone with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu to discuss the NATO ally's needs. "We are proud to join the global
efforts to help Türkiye just as Türkiye has so often contributed its own
humanitarian rescue experts to so many other countries in the past," State
Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters as he described the call.
The Treasury Department later announced a temporary lifting of some
Syria-related sanctions, hoping to ensure that aid moves as quick as possible to
those affected. The move "authorizes for 180 days all transactions related to
earthquake relief that would be otherwise prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions
Regulations," the department said in a statement. It stated however that US
sanctions programs "already contain robust exemptions for humanitarian efforts."
The United States has sent rescue teams to Türkiye and has contributed concrete
breakers, generators, water purification systems and helicopters, officials said
Thursday. USAID said rescue teams were focused on badly hit Adiyaman -- a city
in southeastern Türkiye -- seeking survivors with dogs, cameras and listening
devices. Following major damage to roads and bridges, the US military has sent
Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters to transfer supplies, it said.
'Allow aid in' Assistance in Syria is going through local partners as the
United States refuses to deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, from whom
Washington demands accountability over abuses during the brutal civil war. "We
call on the Assad regime to immediately allow aid in through all border
crossings; allow the distribution of aid to all affected areas; and to let
humanitarians access all people in Syria who are in need, without exception,"
Blinken said in a statement Thursday evening. An aid convoy earlier Thursday
reached rebel-held northwestern Syria for the first time since the earthquake,
going through the only open border crossing -- Bab al-Hawa on the Turkish side.
Russia, the key international backer of Assad, has wielded its veto power at the
UN Security Council to stop other crossings and authorize Bab al-Hawa only six
months at a time as it tries to promote the sovereignty of the Damascus
government. As of Friday morning, the death toll from Monday's earthquake topped
21,000 in Türkiye and Syria.
New French Envoy Demands Release of Citizens in
Talks with Iran's President
London, Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 10 February, 2023
France's new envoy to Iran told President Ebrahim Raisi that Tehran had to
immediately release seven French nationals detained in the country, the foreign
ministry said after the envoy handed his credentials to the Iranian leader this
week. Nicolas Roche was pictured this week in a local media meeting Raisi with
the state news agency IRNA saying that the Iranian president had criticized
France's Islamophobia and that Roche had been mandated to lift misunderstandings
in relations. Ties between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent months
with Tehran detaining seven French nationals in what Paris has said are
arbitrary arrests that are equivalent to state hostage-taking. Describing the
policy as "reprehensible", Deputy foreign ministry spokesman Francois Delmas
said that by continuing to hold its citizens, Iran's relations with France and
Europe could only worsen. He said the new ambassador had made it clear to Raisi
that the French citizens should be released immediately and that the conditions
they were being held in were unacceptable. Paris is particularly concerned by
the condition of Franco-Irish citizen Bernard Phelan and French citizen Benjamin
Briere, who last week began a hunger strike, according to a statement from the
family. Delmas said Paris was holding Tehran responsible for their health and
demanded that Phelan be provided urgent medical care, which he was still being
denied. In recent years, Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens
of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and
security. groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other
countries through such arrests. Iran, which does not recognize dual nationality,
denies taking prisoners to gain diplomatic leverage.
Iran Accuses Mir-Hossein Mousavi of ‘Collaborating’
with People's Mojahedin
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 10 February, 2023
The Iranian authorities said on Friday that the reformist opposition leader Mir-Hossein
Mousavi, who called for bypassing Iran by drafting a new constitution, is
affiliated with the opposition People's Mojahedin Organization, according to
Mizan agency. The news agency, affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, quoted an
informed security official who described Mousavi's latest statement as a "direct
copy" of the Organization's rhetoric. He noted "reliable information" that
Ardeshir Amir Arjomand has gradually instructed Mousavi to overcome the approach
of the late Supreme Leader Khomeini, the system, and the constitution. Amir
Arjomand is a Paris-based political activist who runs the Kalima website and is
Mousavi's adviser. The source noted that the transition could be seen gradually
in Mousavi's statements. Mizan agency accused Mousavi's advisor of direct
association with People's Mojahedin through one of his brothers, Bassem, who
heads the Organization's representative office in Strasbourg. Mousavi was prime
minister in Iran during the 1980s before the post was abolished. During that
time, the country witnessed a campaign of arrests and executions against
opposition politicians. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei implicitly criticized those
trying to raise issues such as generational differences in Iran, calling on
Iranian officials to unite. Khamenei's reference to generational difference was
after the speech of former reformist President Mohammad Khatami last Monday, in
which he touched on the difference between the current generation and the
generation of the revolution and reform (1997-2005). Khatami's speech included
an implicit response to his ally, Mousavi, who described the structure and
unsustainable basic system as a "major crisis" in a country facing many crises.
He urged Mousavi to draft a new constitution that respects all orientations and
society segments. Khatami saw reforms as possible by returning to the current
constitution, rejecting calls for the regime's overthrow. Kayhan newspaper,
affiliated with the office of the Supreme Leader, and Javan daily, affiliated
with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), attacked Khatami and Mousavi
because of their statements. Javan accused the two leaders of pursuing the
"carrot and stick" strategy with the regime, while Kayhan doubted the relations
of the two men with the revolution and the government.
Iran exiled opposition figures in talks to
unite against government
DUBAI (Reuters)/Fri, February 10, 2023
Eight Iranian exiled dissident figures discussed ways of uniting a fragmented
opposition on Friday, amid pro-government events marking the anniversary of the
1979 Islamic revolution inside the country. Iran was rocked by nationwide unrest
following the death in police custody of a young Iranian Kurdish woman in
September after she was detained for flouting a strict Islamic dress code for
women. The protests are among the strongest challenges to the Islamic Republic
since the revolution.
"The Islamic Republic has survived because of our differences and we should put
our differences aside until we come to the polling booth," Nobel laureate Shirin
Ebadi said in a video message to the prominent opposition figures' gathering at
Georgetown University in Washington. U.S.-based women's rights advocate Masih
Alinejad said: "We must agree on principles based on the declaration of human
rights, on eliminating discrimination, and principles that every Iranian can see
themselves in, and that depict the end of oppression."Alinejad expressed hope
that an agreement on the opposition's principles could be reached by the end of
2023. Asked why there was only one Kurdish leader among the eight, Reza Pahlavi,
the exiled son of the toppled Shah of Iran, said: "You don't need to wait for an
invitation in order to participate... This is a free bus!" Iran's opposition has
long been split in numerous factions, both at home and abroad, including
monarchists, republicans, leftists and organisations grouping ethnic minorities
including Kurds, Baluchis and Arabs. Meanwhile Iranian state media showed
fireworks as part of state-sponsored celebrations, and people chanting the
Islamic rallying cry "Allahu Akbar! (God is Greatest!)". But many could be heard
shouting "Death to the dictator!" on videos posted on social media. A video
purported to be from Tehran's Afsariyeh district showed distant fireworks while
protesters could be heard shouting "Death to the Islamic Republic". Similar
social media videos, which Reuters could not verify independently, carried
anti-government slogans shouted from windows and rooftops by protesters who had
stayed home in several cities. Separately authorities on Friday released
hunger-striking jailed dissident Farhad Meysami, a week after supporters warned
that he risked dying for protesting against the compulsory wearing of the hijab.
The release was part of an amnesty marking the revolution's anniversary.
Tehran Blames Western ‘Conspiracies’ for Nuclear
Deal Disruption
London – Tehran – Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 10 February, 2023 -
Tehran accused the United States and its Western allies of “interfering in
Iran’s internal affairs,” with the aim of disrupting the revival of the 2015
nuclear deal. Addressing the representatives of diplomatic missions in Tehran,
as part of the celebrations marking the anniversary of the 1979 revolution,
Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said that the “US and the European trio are
stuck in delusion and have made a mistake in the calculations.”He also accused
America and its allies of “conspiring” against the Iranian regime, in view of
“the progress achieved by the Iranian nation despite the unjust sanctions.”
Raisi’s statements came as his government received strong criticism from Iranian
parties, in particular the ultra-conservative camp, because of its failure to
implement its economic and foreign policy promises, especially the lifting of
sanctions and the revival of the nuclear agreement. Iran was in fact counting on
the prospect of a harsh winter in Europe – which is facing an energy crisis due
to the lack of gas supplies from Russia - to get a better deal. However, the gas
shortage crisis reared its head inside Iran, as temperatures dropped to record
levels. For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
criticized the European troika, the United States, and the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), stressing that his country “continues to cooperate with
the IAEA.” In a video message sent on the occasion of the anniversary of the
1979 revolution, he said: “Despite the obstacles and breach of covenants by
America and the European trio (France, Germany and Britain), we are still
committed to our international pledges.”He added: “Iran’s cooperation with the
IAEA continues, and we insist on technical cooperation and the Agency’s
dissociation from political and selective orientations.”
Iran Says It Arrests Those behind Attack on Military
Site, Blames Israeli ‘Mercenaries’
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 10 February, 2023
Iran's security forces have arrested the "main perpetrators" of a drone attack
on a military site in the central city of Isfahan, in which Israeli
"mercenaries" were involved, state media reported on Friday. Iran has blamed
Israel for the Jan. 29 drone attack, vowing revenge for what appeared to be the
latest episode in a long-running covert war. The attack came amid tension
between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear activity and its supply of arms
- including long-range "suicide drones" - for Russia's war in Ukraine, as well
as months of anti-government demonstrations at home. "The main perpetrators of
the unsuccessful attempt to sabotage a Defense Ministry industrial center in
Isfahan..., have been identified and arrested," the state news agency IRNA said.
"So far, the involvement of mercenaries of the ...Zionist regime (Israel) in
that act has been proven." Arch-foe Israel has long said it is willing to strike
Iranian targets if diplomacy fails to curb Tehran's nuclear or missile programs,
but does not comment on specific incidents. "Due to the ongoing interrogations
of the accused who are in custody, additional information will be published at
the appropriate time," said a statement issued by Iran's security agencies. Iran
has accused Israel in the past of planning attacks using agents inside Iranian
territory. In July, Tehran said it had arrested a sabotage team of Kurdish
militants working for Israel who planned to blow up a "sensitive" defense
industry center in Isfahan. Several nuclear sites are located in Isfahan
province, including Natanz, the centerpiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment
program, which Iran accuses Israel of sabotaging in 2021. There have been a
number of explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial
sites in recent years.
Sisi Values Saudi Arabia's Stances towards Egypt
Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 10 February, 2023
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Friday affirmed his appreciation of
Saudi Arabia's positions towards Egypt, stressing his refusal to succumb to
sedition or offend "our brothers."Sisi responded to media reports that addressed
lately the relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, stressing the need to
"write to improve and strengthen relations between Egypt and brotherly
countries, not the opposite." Speaking at the opening of the second phase of
Silo Foods, a food industrial complex in Sadat City, the President recalled his
policy since assuming power about eight years ago, stressing that Egypt
maintained good relations with everyone, pointing out that it is a path adopted
in times of crises and disagreements. "We must also not forget the support our
brothers have given us," said Sisi, adding that what is being said in Egyptian
social media sites and even in some newspaper articles about "relations with our
brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or any other country is inappropriate."
Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries provided extensive financial and oil support to
Egypt during the periods that followed the transitions and protests in 2011 and
2013, which Sisi referred to on several occasions. "If it was not for the
support of the Gulf, the state would not have been complete," Sisi had said in
earlier statements. The President called on Egyptians not to be led by malicious
websites that aim at creating sedition and driving a wedge between Egypt and its
brothers. Egypt is keen on maintaining good relations with its brothers, noting
that even during the Grand Renaissance Ethiopian Dam (GERD) crisis, the Egyptian
state did not issue any offensive statements or behavior. Addressing the impact
of the economic crisis on commodities in the market, Sisi stressed that the
state would continue to provide a strategic stockpile of essential items,
despite the difficult economic conditions and the high cost. He also discussed
the population increase in the country, saying that during the past forty years,
the population dramatically increased without implementing the necessary
projects to meet that increase. Sisi explained that Egypt needs $100 billion
over seven years to bridge the import gap, which amounts to about $30 billion,
pointing out that the state is ready to provide all necessary facilities. The
government announced plans to sell stakes in at least 32 companies, including
three prominent banks and energy companies. He also announced that the
government was ready to put more companies on the stock exchange market or into
partnership with the private sector, which can contribute positively after
achieving the main production goals of these companies.
Missiles Target Ukraine's Cities as Russian
Forces Advance in East and South
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 10 February, 2023
Russia launched a wave of attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure in the cities of
Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia on Friday morning as Ukrainian officials said a
long-awaited Russian offensive was under way in the east. At least 17 missiles
hit the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia in an hour, acting mayor Anatolii
Kurtiev said, and the state grid operator said high-voltage facilities across
the country had been hit and electricity supplies shut down, Reuters reported.
Russia has repeatedly struck civilian infrastructure far from the front lines
over the last four months, leaving millions of Ukrainians in major cities
without power, heat or water for days at a time in the middle of winter. Air
raid sirens blared across the country during the morning rush hour and local
officials urged weary civilians to heed them and take shelter. Kyiv's city
administration said air defenses were working as explosions were heard in the
capital.
Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Synehubov reported about 10 explosions and said
power had been cut in some areas. Critical infrastructure was also hit in
Khmelnitskyi in the west and the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine,
regional officials said. Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian
television that Ukrainian air defenses had shot down five of seven drones and
five out of six Kaliber missiles. However, the air force also said Russia had
launched 35 S-300 missiles, which Ukraine's air defenses are unable to shoot
down, at the Kharkiv and Zaporizhizhia regions.
ANNIVERSARY APPROACHES
Ukraine has been bracing itself for a new Russian offensive in the belief that,
after months of reverses, President Vladimir Putin wants to be able to tout a
battlefield success before the anniversary of the invasion he launched on Feb.
24. Russia's main focus has been the town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk
province, a region whose capture has been one of Moscow's declared priorities
since the start of the war. After months of static artillery battles that have
become known to both sides as the "meat grinder", Russian forces, including the
Wagner private army which has recruited tens of thousands of convicts with a
promise of pardons, have finally begun to encircle the town. Britain's Defense
Ministry said Wagner forces appeared to have advanced two to three km around the
north of Bakhmut since Tuesday - a remarkably rapid push in a battle where front
lines have barely moved for months. It said they were now threatening the main
western access road to Bakhmut, a now largely deserted town with a pre-war
population of about 70,000, although Ukrainian officials said their supply lines
had not been cut. While Wagner has bolstered its numbers with prisoners,
Russia's regular army is now able to deploy many of the 300,000 or more men
enlisted in a forced mobilization late last year. Britain also said Russian
forces had made some advances near Vuhledar, a strategically important
Ukrainian-held bastion at the intersection of the southern and eastern fronts.
The British report said the limited Russian gains there had most likely come at
a high cost in inexperienced units, including at least 30 Russian armored
vehicles abandoned in one failed assault. Reuters could not verify the
battlefield reports. Asked on Ukrainian television if he agreed that the Russian
offensive had already begun, Pavlo Krylenko, governor of the Donetsk region,
said on Thursday: "Yes, definitely."
COUNTEROFFENSIVE TO COME?
Ukraine has made clear it plans its own major counteroffensive in the coming
months to reclaim more of the roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory that
Russia occupies. But it appears likely to wait until it has received at least
some of the main battle tanks and longer-range missiles that the United States,
Germany and other NATO allies have promised. Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskiy on Thursday night met Polish President Andrzej Duda to brief him about
his tour to London, Paris and Brussels to ask for more weaponry, notably fighter
planes. None of the leaders he met gave any public undertaking that they were
ready to offer the jets, a step certain to be seen in Moscow as further evidence
of direct Western involvement in the war. Britain promised to help train
Ukrainian pilots to fly NATO jets but stopped short of offering to provide them.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he did not rule out sending combat
aircraft to Ukraine at some point but that, in the short term, artillery would
be more use to Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy suggested that he had,
however, received some form of commitments on planes. "Europe will be with us
until our victory. I've heard it from a number of European leaders...about the
readiness to give us the necessary weapons and support, including the aircraft,"
he told a news conference after attending a European Union summit in Brussels.
EU Agrees Tougher Rules for Irregular Migrants
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 10 February, 2023
EU leaders have agreed tougher rules aimed at making it easier to expel
asylum-seekers whose refugee applications are denied, European Commission chief
Ursula von der Leyen said Friday. The measures are a response to increasing
European concern over rising irregular immigration that has become a hot-button
issue in several member countries, AFP said. That problem is "a European
challenge that requires a European response," EU leaders said in a final
document at the end of a 16-hour summit looking at that and other topics. The
low numbers of failed asylum-seekers being returned to their home countries is a
central preoccupation for the European Union. The bloc is already hosting
millions of refugees from conflicts in Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan, while
facing asylum claims from citizens of safer countries such as Bangladesh,
Türkiye and Tunisia, many of whom end up being deemed economic migrants
ineligible for asylum. Von der Leyen said "pilot projects" relying on the EU's
border patrol, asylum and police cooperation agencies would look to instill
"fast and fair asylum procedures" at the bloc's external borders. The EU leaders
called on the commission "to immediately mobilize substantial EU funds" to
reinforce that external border with "protection capabilities and infrastructure,
means of surveillance, including aerial surveillance, and equipment," according
to the summit document. That decision came after some EU countries, notably
Austria, had pushed the commission to pay for reinforced fences designed to keep
irregular migrants crossing from neighboring non-EU nations such as Türkiye. Von
der Leyen has repeatedly said EU funds would not pay for fences. But EU
officials and diplomats pointed out that, if Brussels paid for cameras, watch
towers and other infrastructure along the external border, that would free up
countries to pour their national budgets into paying for fences. The summit also
reached agreement on a "principle" under which one EU country can use a court
decision in another EU member state to return an irregular migrant to their home
country. That would try to prevent "asylum shopping" whereby migrants go to a
different country to apply to stay after being turned down in an initial one.
The EU leaders also agreed "to increase the use of the safe-country concepts"
that will open the way to the bloc formulating a common list, von der Leyen
said.
Ukrainian troops equipped with devastating
HIMARS are waiting for US targeting data before firing on Russian forces,
officials say
Chris Panella,Jake Epstein/Business Insider/February 10, 2023
Ukrainian troops usually won't fire their HIMARS without targeting data from the
US, officials said.
The US-provided HIMARS have been a key weapon for Ukrainian forces throughout
the war.
Ukraine has repeatedly asked for longer-range missiles to make the weapons more
deadly.
The Ukrainian military almost never fires the US-provided High Mobility
Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that have devastated Russian forces unless
they receive targeting data from the US, The Washington Post reported, citing
Ukrainian officials.
According to a senior Ukrainian official who spoke to the Post, the targeting
process often involves Ukrainian forces identifying a Russian target, requesting
more accurate coordinates from US partners, and then waiting to receive said
coordinates.
The official said that the US doesn't always send coordinates. In that case,
they said, Ukraine holds its fire. As the report explained, Ukraine can still
launch HIMARS attacks without US coordinates, but the country is reluctant to
waste ammunition by potentially missing the target. The Department of Defense
did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on report detailing
US involvement in Ukrainian military operations. HIMARS have been key to
Ukraine's success in its fight against the Russian full-scale invasion, which
began nearly a year ago. The launchers arrived on the battlefield in the early
summer of 2022, and Ukraine quickly began firing its GPS-guided rockets at
Russian sites like ammunition depots and command posts, causing significant
damage and wreaking havoc on Russian logistics. Kyiv's forces also leveraged the
much-celebrated weapons to help Ukraine liberate territory around the southern
Kherson region during a major counteroffensive push. In one particular
noteworthy incident from earlier this year, Ukrainian troops used their HIMARS
to carry out a deadly strike on Russian positions in the eastern occupied city
of Makiivka. The attack left scores of Russian troops dead and triggered
widespread criticism of Moscow's military leadership. While these rockets
have been useful to Ukraine, the country is still requesting long-range US-made
Army Tactical Missiles Systems (ATACMS) that would make the HIMARS even more
lethal with an extended range. Ukraine originally asked for the 190-mile range
missiles in May 2022. Several US allies that border Russia — like Poland and
Estonia — have also sought to obtain this longer-range capacity. The Biden
administration has so far refused to send these missiles to Ukraine out of
concern that they could be used to strike targets within Russia, potentially
triggering a harsh response from Moscow. One senior Ukrainian official who spoke
with The Washington Post explained that if Kyiv received ATACMS, it would still
rely on US strike guidance like it does with HIMARS. "You're controlling every
shot anyway," the official said, "so when you say, 'We're afraid that you're
going to use it for some other purposes,' well, we can't do it even if we want
to."
Putin launches major Ukraine offensive with hail of
missiles
Joe Barnes/The Telegraph/February 10, 2023
Listen to a panel of the Telegraph's experts analyse Russia's latest attack on
our daily podcast, "Ukraine: The Latest".
Russia has launched its heaviest bombardment on southern Ukraine since the start
of the war, as officials warned Moscow's major offensive had "definitely"
started. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russian forces had fired missiles from TU-95
strategic bombers and Iranian-built kamikaze drones at multiple targets across
the country. Moscow also launched 35 S-300 missiles, usually used for air
defence, at ground targets, Yuriy Ignat, Ukraine’s Air Force spokesman, added.
The missile attack on Ukraine was the 14th mass strike, which since October have
mainly been focused on the country’s energy network. The latest strikes came
after Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, returned from a mini-European
tour of London, Paris and Brussels, where he urged allies to deliver long-range
missiles and fighter jets to bolster his military's defences.
“Arms for Ukraine – the best way to stop Russian arrogance,” Andriy Yermak, his
chief of staff, said after the attacks.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser, wrote on social media that Russia's
“intention is the same: mass destruction and killing. Enough talk and political
hesitation."
More than 70 missiles and Iranian-built kamikaze drones were fired at multiple
targets across the country, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
A group of young students were spotted huddled around their teacher in a Kyiv
metro station as the capital’s terrified residents went underground to wait out
the bombardment.
The strikes coincided with the launch of a major Russian offensive that Kyiv
predicted would take place before the first anniversary of the full-scale
invasion, Ukrainians officials said.
Intelligence officers in Kyiv have published details of what they believe to be
an attempt by Russia to capture the remaining unoccupied parts of the Donbas, as
well as target Zaporizhzhia in the south. Pavlo Krylenk, governor of Donetsk,
said the offensive had "definitely" started.
Serhii Haidai, Luhansk's governor, told Ukrainian Radio NV: "Over the past week
to 10 days, the frequency of shelling has increased. The daily number of attacks
has increased. In real terms, this is part of the full-scale offensive planned
by the Russians."
Russia is thought to be scoring incremental gains on the battlefield as it
closes in on the key city of Bakhmut.
However, their forces likely lost dozens of armoured vehicles during a failed
attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Vuhledar, British intelligence said on
Friday.
Vuhledar, a Ukrainian-held bastion at the strategic intersection between the
eastern and southern front lines, has seen some of the bloodiest fighting of the
war as Russia continues a relentless assault on the eastern front.
"Russian troops likely fled and abandoned at least 30 mostly intact armoured
vehicles in a single incident after a failed assault," Britain's defence
ministry said in a daily briefing.
It was not possible to immediately verify the report. Russia's defence ministry
has not commented on the report but it says military operations near Vuhledar
and the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine - which Russia has been trying to
encircle - are progressing well. Its forces have been making clear, if gradual,
advances in the area in the past month, notably capturing the salt-mining town
of Soledar to Bakhmut's north.
Russian military bloggers, often highly critical of the performance of the
country's military top brass in Ukraine, have also spoken of the reported losses
in Vuhledar. One said on Thursday that 31 armoured vehicles had been destroyed
by Ukrainian drones after being sent in without the cover of artillery,
reposting pictures from a Ukrainian Telegram channel that shares photos from the
combat zone.
"Thirty-one armoured vehicles of the 155th Separate Guards Marine Brigade from
the Russian Pacific Fleet were destroyed during an assault on Vuhledar," the
Moscow Calling military blogger said.
Grey Zone, the semi-official Telegram channel of the Wagner mercenary group,
said in a post that "a disaster is unfolding around Vuhledar, and it is
unfolding again and again".
As the anniversary of Russia's invasion approaches on Feb 24, Kyiv says Moscow
has sacrificed wave upon wave of soldiers and mercenaries in a pointless assault
to notch up territorial gains in the region. As Russia launched its missile
attacks on Friday explosions rang out in Kyiv as an air raid alert was declared
throughout the war-torn country. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's commander in
chief, said two Russian Kalibr cruise missiles launched from the Black Sea
crossed Moldovan and Romanian airspace before flying back into Ukraine. He
claimed Ukraine’s air defence systems could have downed the Russian weapons but
opted not to in order not to risk hitting residents in the neighbouring
countries.
As air raid alerts went off four times in Kyiv on Friday some rushed to shelter
but many others seemed apathetic about yet another wave of missiles. When the
first siren went off around the capital at around 4am on Friday, only about a
dozen people sought shelter in the bomb-proof station under Maidan Nezalezhnosti,
the city’s central square. There is a sense of grim, unflappable determination
in the city. Many say they only run to a shelter if they hear a blast somewhere
in the city.
Later, when sirens rang out at 8.30am, 1pm, and 4.30pm, many people carried on
strolling through the city’s streets, puffing on cigarettes in the crisp
sunshine.
Kyiv is well defended by anti-missile systems and the Vitaliy Klitschko, the
city's mayor, said that Ukrainian air defences shot down 10 missiles on Friday.
Debris from these rockets fell in the southern Holosiiv district, reportedly
damaging a house and two cars. “There is damage to electrical networks. There
are no casualties. Energy workers are working to restore networks," Mr Klitschko
said. “Air defence working massively in Kyiv,” Lesia Vasylenko, a Ukrainian MP
wrote on Twitter, “Apart from that the city is extra quiet, as if before a
storm.”
Two cars, a house and power grids were damaged by the debris of one rocket in
the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv.
The southern city of Zaporizhzhia came under its heaviest bombardment since the
start of the war almost a year ago, Anatolii Kurtiev, secretary of the city
council, said. He claimed the city had been struck 17 times in one hour during
the aerial bombardment.
Maksym Marchenko, regional governor of the southern region of Odesa, said:
“Enemy aviation is in the air and ships which can carry Kalibr missiles are in
the sea. The enemy launched the missiles. The air alert will be long.”
Ex-British Army Chief Shares Bleak Prediction
For How Long Ukraine War Will Last
Kate Nicholson/HuffPost UK/February 10, 2023
General Sir Nick Carter when he was the Chief of Defence Staff
The Ukraine war could last for another two or three years, according to
predictions from the former chief of the UK’s defence staff.
Sir Nick Carter, who stepped down as the head of the British Armed Forces in
November 2021 shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, was
discussing the brutal war on Tonight with Andrew Marr on LBC on Thursday. Asked
when the war will end, Carter replied: “No time soon.
“I fear we could be having this conversation at the two-year and potentially the
three-year anniversary.”
He explained: “I’m not sure that either side has either got the combat power or
the capability to do anything particularly decisive on the battlefield.
“I mean, I think we’ll see the lines, ebb and flow, and maybe quite significant
distances over the course of the next few months. But whether or not that is
decisive enough to bring either party to the table, I doubt.”
Presenter Marr then asked if the West could cope with another two years of war.
Nato allies have been supplying Ukraine with weapons and support (without
directly being involved in the conflict), and at the same time facing an energy
crisis induced by the conflict.
Ukrainian citizens take shelter inside a metro station during a rocket attack in
Kyiv, Ukraine on February 10, 2023.
Carter replied: “I hope so, because I think this is very much about Ukraine at
the tip of the spear of trying to defeat Russian imperialism.
“And I think if we don’t win this one, I worry about what Mr Putin would do
next… I think all the former Soviet territories will be wondering at the moment
whether any of them are safe.”
Kyiv has repeatedly said that it is holding back Moscow on behalf of Europe.
Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24 last year, meaning it is two weeks
until the one-year anniversary when Russia is expected to launch a renewed, and
symbolic, offensive.
Amid speculation that the Russian president might become more unpredictable if
the war continues not to go his way, Carter explained: “What we’ve learned over
the last year is that he’s obviously a rational actor.
“I think that’s what most people would have deduced from his behaviour up until
now.”
However, he added: “I do think that the worry that Western leaders have got is
they don’t want to do something that appears to be so escalatory that it causes
Mr Putin to make a move that is very dangerous in relation to Nato.”
Nato members have been careful not to be directly involved in the war so as not
to draw Putin’s aggression further West, and possibly trigger a nuclear standoff
between countries – or even World War 3.
Carter also suggested that Russia’s aggression should have been clear to the
West for years.
“I think that if we had listened to what Mr Putin said, at Munich in 2007, when
he railed against Nato enlargement, and he railed against US power and the use
of US power.
“And then we looked at all of the events that occurred from the cyber-attack on
Estonia, the invasion of Georgia in 2008, Crimea, I think we probably would have
spotted that he had imperialist tendencies.”
US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast
WASHINGTON (AP)/Fri, February 10, 2023
A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the coast of
Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.
The object was flying at about 40,000 feet and posed a “reasonable threat” to
the safety of civilian flights, said John Kirby, White House National Security
Council spokesman. He described the object as roughly the size of a small car
and said it was shot down near the U.S.-Canada border. It was the second time in
a week U.S. officials had downed some type of flying object over the U.S. On
Saturday fighter jets fired a missile into a suspected Chinese spy balloon off
the coast of South Carolina. There were few answers about the object, and the
White House drew distinctions between the two episodes. Kirby said it wasn't yet
known who owned it, and he did not say it was a balloon. Officials also couldn't
say if there was any surveillance equipment on it. Kirby didn't know yet where
it came from or what its purpose was. Still, it posed enough of a concern that
U.S. officials felt it best to knock it out of the sky. “We’re going to remain
vigilant about our airspace," Kirby said. "The president takes his obligations
to protect our national security interests as paramount." Kirby said fighter
pilots visually examining the object ascertained it was not manned. The
president was briefed on the presence of the object Thursday evening after two
fighter jets surveilled it. The object fell into frigid waters and officials
expected they could recover debris faster than from last week's massive balloon.
The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese
spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites
across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a
civilian craft and threatened repercussions. Biden issued the order but had
wanted the balloon downed even earlier. He was advised that the best time for
the operation would be when it was over water. Military officials determined
that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an
undue risk to people on the ground. The balloon was part of a large surveillance
program that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon has
said. China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and
criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of
international practice.”
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on February 10-11/2023
‘Moderate’ or ‘Radical’: Will the Real Islam Please Stand Up?
Raymond Ibrahim/Friday, 10 February, 2023
https://www.raymondibrahim.com/2023/02/09/moderate-or-radical-will-the-real-islam-please-stand-up/
Muslims continue insisting that one of the West’s favorite dichotomies—radical
vs moderate Islam—is a myth.
A Muslim cleric recently devoted an entire sermon making this point. Uploaded
onto YouTube on Oct. 16, 2022, Sheikh Yunus Kathradas, a Canadian imam, made
several assertions (in both Arabic and English) that contradict what every
person living in the West has been repeatedly told since September 11, 2001—that
the true face of Islam is “moderate” and upholds the same values prized by the
West; whereas those who distort and/or selfishly seek to exploit Islam are
“radical” and do not represent Islam.
Throughout his sermon, Sheikh Kathradas repeatedly emphasized that the
moderate/radical dichotomy is an outrageous fiction made up and employed by
Islam’s enemies (the West) as well as ignorant or hypocritical Muslims.
He also correctly defined Islam as submission to Allah, and the enforcement and
upholding of his rules—as enshrined in sharia—which tend to be black and white,
and, therefore, afford little wiggle room for moderate or radical
“interpretations.”
The sheikh cited jihad as an example: “Allah in the Koran commands that jihad be
established, and the prophet Muhammad commands that jihad be established.”
Period: waging jihad is, therefore, neither a radical nor moderate endeavor; it
is merely the submission to and upholding of the commandments of Allah.
In this context, and as Kathradas stressed, anyone who accuses any part of
Islam—or accuses those Muslims who sincerely implement it—of being “radical,” is
ultimately accusing Allah himself of being “radical.”
Kathradas is, of course, hardly the first Muslim to argue against the much
cherished concept of moderate Islam. In late 2017, Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan famously said, “Islam cannot be either ‘moderate’ or ‘not
moderate.’ Islam can only be one thing”—that is, Islam can only be what it
teaches, that and nothing more or less.
What, then, are these teachings that are not open to debate—that are not open to
being “moderated” or “radicalized”?
An Arabic-language article published in 2011 offers perspective. Titled (in
translation) “The Truth about the Moderate Muslim as Seen by the West and its
Muslim Followers,” its author, Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim Khadr, begins predictably
enough:
Islamic researchers are agreed that what the West and its followers call
“moderate Islam” and “moderate Muslims” is simply a slur against Islam and
Muslims, a distortion of Islam, a rift among Muslims, a spark to ignite war
among them. They also see that the division of Islam into “moderate Islam” and
“radical Islam” has no basis in Islam—neither in its doctrines and rulings, nor
in its understandings or reality.
Khadr goes on to note the many ways that moderates and radicals differ. For
instance, radicals (“true Muslims”) aid and support fellow Muslims, especially
those committed to jihad, whereas moderates (“false Muslims”) ally with and help
Western nations.
Among the more important distinctions made in Khadr’s article are the following
(translated verbatim). Keep in mind that “radicals” here means “true Muslims,”
whereas “moderates” means “false Muslims”:
Radicals want the caliphate to return; moderates reject the caliphate.
Radicals want to apply Sharia (Islamic law); moderates reject the application of
Sharia.
Radicals reject the idea of renewal and reform, seeing it as a way to conform
Islam to Western culture; moderates accept it.
Radicals accept the duty of waging jihad in the path of Allah; moderates reject
it.
Radicals reject any criticism whatsoever of Islam; moderates welcome it on the
basis of freedom of speech.
Radicals accept those laws that punish whoever insults or leaves the religion
[apostates]; moderates recoil from these laws.
Radicals respond to any insult against Islam or the prophet Muhammad—peace and
blessings upon him—with great violence and anger; moderates respond calmly and
peacefully on the basis of freedom of expression.
Radicals respect and reverence every deed and every word of the prophet—peace be
upon him—in the hadith; moderates do not.
Radicals oppose democracy; moderates accept it.
Radicals see the people of the book [Jews and Christians] as dhimmis
[second-class “citizens”]; moderates oppose this.
Radicals reject the idea that non-Muslim minorities should have equality or
authority over Muslims; moderates accept it.
Radicals reject the idea that men and women are equal; moderates accept it,
according to Western views.
Radicals oppose the idea of religious freedom and apostasy from Islam; moderates
agree to it.
Radicals desire to see Islam reign supreme; moderates oppose this.
Radicals place the Koran over the constitution; moderates reject this.
Radicals reject the idea of religious equality because Allah’s true religion is
Islam; moderates accept it.
Radicals embrace the wearing of hijabs and niqabs; moderates reject it.
Radicals accept killing young girls that commit adultery or otherwise besmirch
their family’s honor; moderates reject this.
Radicals reject the status of women today and think it should be like the status
of women in the time of the prophet; moderates reject that women should be as in
the time of the prophet.
Radicals vehemently reject that women should have the freedom to choose
partners; moderates accept that she can choose a boyfriend without marriage.
Radicals agree to clitorectimis; moderates reject it.
Radicals reject the so-called war on terror and see it as a war on Islam;
moderates accept it.
Radicals support jihadi groups; moderates reject them.
Radicals reject the terms Islamic terrorism or Islamic fascism; moderates accept
them.
Radicals reject universal human rights, including the right to be homosexual;
moderates accept it.
Radicals reject the idea of allying with the West’s moderates support it.
Radicals oppose secularism; moderates support it.
The list is much longer, and includes: that moderates believe religion has no
role in public life, while radicals want it to govern society; that moderates
rely on rationalism, while radicals take the text of the Koran and hadith
literally; that the first place of loyalty for moderates is the state,
irrespective of religion—Khadr marvels that the moderate “finds hatred for
non-Muslims as unacceptable”—whereas the radical’s loyalty is to Islam, a
reference to the Islamic doctrine of Loyalty and Enmity.
Khadr’s conclusion is that, to most Muslims, “moderate Muslims” are those
Muslims who do not oppose but rather aid the West and its way of life, whereas
everything “radicals” accept is based on traditional and correct Islamic views.
If true—and disturbing polls certainly lend credence to Khadr’s assertions—the
West may need to, but likely will not, rethink one of its most cherished ideas:
that true Islam is moderate, and only a few “radicals” distort it.
The Middle East and the struggle between tolerance and
terror - opinion
Stewart Weiss/Jerusalem Post/February 10/2023
Just as there should be no shame whatsoever in seeking new friends, there must
be no hesitation at all in striking at old foes.
I have just returned from Morocco, where my wife Susie and I enjoyed a marvelous
tour of the country as we helped staff a group sponsored by Joey Freudmann and
Ophir Tours. This trip follows closely upon the heels of our recent journey to
Dubai – also an Ophir Tour program – and so we have now visited two of the
Muslim countries that recently finalized diplomatic relations with the State of
Israel.
We Jews recite a blessing thanking God “for the miracles we encounter every
day,” and this surely is one of them. While it is true that contacts between
Israel and the Emirates have long been an open secret – our daughter went on
business trips to Dubai years ago with a large Israeli contingent, all of them
traveling on foreign passports – now the gates have opened wide, and Israelis
are warmly and openly welcomed.
In Dubai, there are kosher restaurants and hotels, synagogues, and even a
Holocaust museum. As Rabbi Dr Elie Abadie, head of the Jewish Council of the
Emirates, told us, “Dubai may very well be the only place on Earth where you can
walk down the street wearing an ‘I Love Israel’ T-shirt and waving an Israeli
flag, and no one will say one negative word to you.”
Morocco, for its part, has a long and exalted relationship with the Jewish
people. Jews first went to Morocco as early as 70 CE, after the destruction of
the Second Temple, and many thousands were later given refuge there during the
Inquisition, when Spain and Portugal brutally expelled their own Jewish
populations.
As many as 350,000 Jews lived in Morocco, and that community’s aliyah is the
second largest, after that of the Soviet Union. Despite pressure from the Arab
League, King Hassan II – who ruled from 1961-1999 – fostered good relations with
his own Jewish subjects, as well as with Israel, even encouraging Egypt’s Anwar
Sadat to take the dramatic step of officially recognizing the Jewish state.
One of the things that struck me the most during my visit was seeing the Magen
David – the Star of David that is the symbol of Israel – prominently displayed
not only on the 110 synagogues restored by Morocco but also on numerous examples
of Moroccan art; from beautiful ceramic plates to silver and fine jewelry.
Morocco also boasts the only Jewish museum in the Arab world, in Casablanca, and
as many as 50,000 Jews visit Morocco annually, many of them former residents who
fondly recall their years spent there.
The courageous attitudes of Israel's new Muslim allies
We should not underestimate either the courageous attitude displayed by these
countries, nor the opportunity these relationships present. If we can
demonstrate that our nations can rise above the long-term animosity and
intransigence of the larger Muslim world, we can create a model that offers hope
rather than hate, respect rather than rejection.
The Abraham Accords, fashioned by US president Donald Trump, ambassador David
Friedman, envoy Jared Kushner and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will
hopefully be a turning point in our history and a sublime light in the darkness.
WHICH BRINGS us to the subject of terrorism. Last week’s brutal murder of seven
Jews emerging from Shabbat services (can you imagine world reaction if seven
Muslims had been killed coming out of mosque on Friday?!) brought home the sad
reality that changes in government do not necessarily translate into changes in
anti-Jewish violence. Despite the aggressive rhetoric of the new coalition –
which promises a much tougher stance on the purveyors of terror – the proof lies
in the statistics that are to follow.
Terrorism is excruciatingly difficult to combat when you are dealing with an
enemy that has no regard for the lives of its own people. If we seek out the
perpetrators and eliminate them – often with an unavoidable, significant amount
of collateral damage – then the terror leaders will use that to both glorify the
martyred shahidim and foment even more anger and animosity toward us. But if we
reduce our pressure on them and simply absorb our suffering, then we show
weakness that will only encourage even more attacks on us.
It is, sad to say, a win-win for the bad guys and a lose-lose for us.
But I am glad to see that some progress may be forthcoming in our war with evil.
The headlines say that monies paid to terrorists and their families by the
criminal Palestinian Authority in their “pay for slay” doctrine will not only be
deducted from Palestinian taxes but actually given to victims of terror.
I have written more than once about the bluff that has accompanied the
government’s well-intentioned response to the PA’s policy. Rather than actually
taking the money out of Palestinian pockets, we only froze the payments, holding
them in escrow until the Palestinians finally stop the terror. And, to make
matters even worse, we “lent” – there’s a euphemism for you, if ever there was
one – hundreds of millions of shekels to the beleaguered PA, more than making up
for what was withheld from them.
If now that money can truly be handed over to the thousands of Israeli victims
and their families killed or wounded over the years, that would indeed be
progress. It would also signal a turn-around for the government, which has
shamefully resisted efforts by victims to collect on numerous judgments against
the Palestinians, on the premise of “better the devil you know than the devil
you don’t know.” While virtually all the suits against the PA have resulted in
favorable decisions, little – if any – actual money ends up in the pockets of
those who suffered. The days of letting the killers off the hook must end and,
certainly, suitcases filled with millions of Qatari dollars must never again be
handed over to the enemy as previous Netanyahu administrations shamefully did.
I am also gratified to hear the pledge now being made – is it policy or just
publicity? – that jailed terrorists will no longer enjoy a comfy, cushy life
behind bars, complete with cable TV, college degrees and smuggled sperm for
future terrorists. Prison is meant to be a punishment, not a privilege, and if
this makes them upset, well, that’s a bonus. And if this government likes making
new laws, how about establishing and applying the sentence of “life with no
chance of parole” to the terrorists, which will prevent another disastrous
prisoner release, as in the Shalit fiasco.
“I’ve come to realize that not every Arab or Muslim wants to kill me.”
Susie, the wife of Stewart Weiss
At the end of both our Dubai and Moroccan tours, Susie perhaps summed it up best
when she said, “I’ve come to realize that not every Arab or Muslim wants to kill
me.” I agree with her. And so, as challenging as it may be, we have to extend a
friendly, open hand to those seeking peace, while at the same time brandishing a
powerful fist to those who would harm us.
Just as there should be no shame whatsoever in seeking new friends, there must
be no hesitation at all in striking at old foes.
*The writer is director of the Jewish Outreach Center of Ra’anana. jocmtv@netvision.net.il
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-731119?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Two+killed+in+Jerusalem+terror+attack%2C+several+injured&utm_campaign=February+10%2C+2023
Pakistani Taliban: The Most Powerful
Anti-State Actor in the Country
Lawrence A. Franklin/Gatestone Institute/February 10, 2023
Commander Noor Wali Mehsud, the head of Pakistan's most formidable terrorist
network, Tehreek-e-Taliban, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, recently
threatened to assassinate Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Foreign Minister
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the leaders of Pakistan's coalition government.
When the Taliban ended its ceasefire, substantive details of the talks were
leaked to the Pakistani media, revealed the startling concessions that the
government appeared about to make to the Taliban.
It appears that the government was prepared to grant many of the Taliban's
demands: to release hundreds of terrorist prisoners, withdraw tens of thousands
of soldiers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and to institute shari'a law in
the province's Malakand region.
US National Security Advisor Ned Price laughably urged Afghan Taliban leaders to
live up to their pledge not to permit Afghanistan's territory to be used as a
launching pad to threaten other countries. Good luck with that.
Pakistani analysts and journalists predict that the Pakistani Taliban is
becoming the most potent threat to the state and that Pakistan faces a bleak
year ahead in 2023.
Pakistani analysts and journalists predict that the Pakistani Taliban is
becoming the most potent threat to the state and that Pakistan faces a bleak
year ahead in 2023. Pictured: The funeral of six policemen who were ambushed and
killed by Pakistani Taliban terrorists in Lakki Marwat district, northwest
Pakistan, on November 16, 2022.
Commander Noor Wali Mehsud, the head of Pakistan's most formidable terrorist
network, Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, recently
threatened to assassinate Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Foreign Minister
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the leaders of Pakistan's coalition government.
Sharif heads the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), the larger party in the
coalition. Zardari runs the smaller partner, the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP).
On December 31, 2022, Mehsud informed Sharif and Zardari in separate letters
that they would be killed if the government did not halt its US-inspired war
against the Pakistani Taliban terrorists.
By late 2022, Pakistani Taliban troop concentrations were seen massing in the
country's northwest region of Waziristan. During December 1-15, they launched 30
attacks on police, soldiers and intelligence officers. An analyst at the
Pakistan Centre of Research and Security Studies remarked that due to the
Taliban attacks, December 2022 was the bloodiest month in a decade.
Pakistan's National Counterterrorism Authority criticized fruitless peace talks
as having given the Taliban the opportunity to regroup and infiltrate from their
remote rural redoubts to points closer to urban centers.
The Pakistani Taliban's most recent terrorist attack on the police was launched
perpetrated by a suicide bomber on January 30 at a mosque inside a defense
facility in Peshawar -- the capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Province. The blast killed at least 100 people, mostly policemen, who had
gathered for evening prayers.
In November, negotiations with the Taliban initiated by the previous government,
under Prime Minister Imran Khan, collapsed. When the Taliban ended its
ceasefire, substantive details of the talks were leaked to the Pakistani media,
revealed the startling concessions that the government appeared about to make to
the Taliban.
It appears that the government was prepared to grant many of the Taliban's
demands: to release hundreds of terrorist prisoners, withdraw tens of thousands
of soldiers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and to institute shari'a law in
the province's Malakand region. The alleged concessions that the Pakistan
government was willing to proffer in exchange for a pledge by the Taliban to
halt additional attacks on state authorities and soldiers ignited considerable
pushback from Pakistanis. This was true especially in the northwest Swat
District, where citizens suffered under terrorists from 2003 through 2014.
According to a report from August 2022:
"For many, [the Taliban's] reappearance heralds a return of the TTP's oppressive
control when targeted assassinations, bomb attacks, extortion, and harassment
dominated daily life...."
Protests in Swat, a prime center of Pakistan's tourist industry, were also
ignited by the reappearance of Taliban operatives who had engaged in past
extortion rackets against local businesses.
"[M]embers of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) knocked on his door last
month. The militants have returned to the province amid a stalled peace deal
with Islamabad in drawn-out negotiations that began late last year.
"'Ignore this at your peril,' Khan says of a key message in the threatening
WhatsApp texts he received last month. It demanded that he pay more than
$100,000 in extortion money or prepare to be attacked."
When the Taliban pushed for even more concessions, the government refused to
allow Taliban prisoners to be released and pardoned if they agreed to
permanently lay down their weapons.
In the months leading up to the April 2022 peace talks, the surprisingly
resilient Pakistani Army had effectively defeated the Taliban. When most of the
Taliban terrorists then moved across the border into Afghanistan, the Pakistan
government increased pressure on Afghanistan's Taliban regime -- comfortably
entrenched in Kabul since the Biden Administration's disastrous pullout in the
summer of 2021 -- no longer to give sanctuary to the Pakistani Taliban, their
ethnic Pushtun cousins.
The Afghan regime has so far resisted the pleas of Pakistan's government. While
Pakistan wields significant influence in Afghanistan due to Pakistan's high
level support for the Afghan Taliban's 20-year war against NATO coalition
troops, the Afghan regime in Kabul is not cooperating with Pakistani authorities
to restrain activities of the Pakistani Taliban.
US National Security Advisor Ned Price laughably urged Afghan Taliban leaders to
live up to their pledge not to permit Afghanistan's territory to be used as a
launching pad to threaten other countries. Good luck with that.
Dr. Asfandyar Mir, and expert in South Asian terrorism, suggested that the
Afghan Taliban's grant of asylum and patronage to the Pakistani Taliban will
continue despite outside pressure.
Pakistani analysts and journalists predict that the Pakistani Taliban is
becoming the most potent threat to the state.
Renowned Pakistani journalist and researcher Saleem Mehsud predicts that
Pakistan faces a bleak year ahead in 2023.
The Taliban goal of installing an Islamist shari'a regime in Pakistan may have
rendered any future negotiations between the parties meaningless.
Abdul Saeed, a South Asia terrorism specialist at West Point, remarked that
there is little chance of a renewal of peace talks in the foreseeable future. He
also claims that the Pakistani Taliban has emerged as the most powerful
anti-state actor in the country and is now comparable to the Afghan Taliban in
Afghanistan.
*Dr. Lawrence A. Franklin was the Iran Desk Officer for Secretary of Defense
Rumsfeld. He also served on active duty with the U.S. Army and as a Colonel in
the Air Force Reserve.
© 2023 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.
Neo-Totalitarianism, Terrorism and Criminality
Charles Elias Chartouni/February 10, 2023
الاستبداد الجديد والإرهاب والجريمة/ شارل الياس شارتوني/
10 شباط/ 2023
The watching of the French documentary on Hezbollah, "Hezbollah the Forbidden
Inquiry", brought me back to the paradigm that guided me through and through
while analyzing Post-Cold War conflicts: the continuum between totalitarianism,
terrorism and criminality. The unfolding political events in Russia, Iran,
Venezuela, Nicaragua, Turkey, China, Lebanon…, testify to the veracity of this
observation and allow us to understand the interlocking dynamics and their
interfaces. Whatever might be the idiosyncrasies and the structural features of
the actors (States, Criminal and Terrorist Organizations…), they all partake of
the same pattern of intersected politics, criminality and terrorism.
The Russian State is a parody of Statehood, not only on account of its
nomothetic and constitutional deficiencies, but since it failed to uphold the
least requisits of institutional autonomy, and muted into a simulacrum
instrumentalized by a fake Czar who impersonates the avatar of an absolute
dictator mingled with a mafia boss who runs a bankrupted empire, as if it were a
personal fiefdom and a wasteland made available to his predatory instincts. So
is Venezuela and Nicaragua, which shelter behind the rhetoric of debunked
Bolshevism to justify the cruelty of tropical caudillismo, and the oligarchic
plundering of wealth by a coterie of charlatans living off the bluffs of
Castrism and Guevarism and their humbug. Whereas the Iranian regime features the
typical playbook of an Islamic revolution inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood
motto “Islam is the solution”, that turns out to be the living refutation of an
ideological fallacy and its flaunted promises. It developed into a murderous
religious dictatorship, the engine of political and strategic destabilization
throughout an imploding Middle East, and the epitome of a failed Islamic
modernity. The Turkish case illustrates the enduring intellectual and strategic
cleavages between the Neo-Ottoman pan-Islamic imperialism, and the aspiring
secular and liberal democracy. The ambivalence of the Islamic Neo-Ottomanisn and
its opportunist alliances has to come to an end, at a time when its
ethno-political cleavages are resurfacing, repression is doubling down, and the
Liberal-Islamic divides are coming to the forefront of political life. The
Chinese Communist party has a hard time with political liberalization and
abiding by Human Rights, aligning State led Capitalism to the norms of a working
democracy, and renouncing its resuscitated imperial hubris. The sabotaging of
international institutions and consensuses are running against his paradoxical
endeavor to join the global economic mainstream, while trying to escape its
regulations. As for Lebanon, it typifies the downfall of the only pluralistic
and liberal democracy in the Arab world, deliberately destroyed by the avatars
of Arab Nationalism, Third World leftisms, Political Islam and their political
and nihilistic modulations.
The chances of democratic change in these different case studies are slight, as
long as these dynamics did not enter a self defeating stage, did not implode,
and are not contained, let alone destroyed. The war in Ukraine unveiled the
structural weaknesses of a corrupt Russian autocracy, its military flaws, crimes
against humanity, inherent terrorism, nuclear blackmailing and restiveness
towards international arbitration. The tropical leftisms with their ideological
fallacies yielded cumulative failures in every respect, and muted into open
wastelands hijacked by drug cartels, criminal gangs and terrorists joint
venturing.The Iranian regime and its fascist replicas in Lebanon, are part of an
inchoate political reality partaking of the same characteristics, and trying to
force its way amidst the rubble of an unraveling Arab Middle East, with no other
alternative but ideological fallacies, feckless governance, and State terrorism.
What’s striking is their common strive to create an international counter-order
through opportunistic alliances, coalesce destructive synergies, safeguard their
wastelands and promote criminal and terrorist joint venturing. They are
determined to destroy the Post Cold War era, its normative embedding,
international governance and consensuses, exemplified in domestic repression
(Russia, China, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Lebanon…),
geopolitical destabilization (Ukraine, Central America, Southern American rims,
Middle Eastern seams, European limes and South East Asia), and promotion of
international criminality and terrorism. Liberals and liberal democracies are
confronted with overlapping challenges at the intersection of domestic and
international politics: Containment and ultimate defeat of the imperial
outbursts of the Russian, Chinese and Iranian regimes, destruction of the
platforms of international criminality and terrorism, debunking of radical
ideologies, and support of liberal and democratic reforms all across
geopolitical spectrums. The rising tide of fascism and totalitarianism echoes
earlier times in the twentieth century, when democracies were late crushing the
unleashed beast and narrowing its realms
Syria earthquake: Are sanctions obstructing the delivery of aid to Syria?
Sean Mathews/Middle East Eye/February 10/2023
The crisis has triggered debate over the impact of sanctions on providing aid to
Syria, but experts say sanctions are low on the list of obstacles hampering it.
As the death count from a series of deadly earthquakes that struck Syria and
Turkey continues to rise, a debate is emerging over whether western sanctions on
Syria are hampering aid to the war-torn country. Syria has been wracked by
conflict since the 2011 Arab spring protests, when the government of Bashar al-Assad
responded with violence against a popular uprising against his rule.
Assad managed to turn the tide of the war thanks to Russian and Iranian backing,
but Syria's economy has been decimated in the process. The country is struggling
with crippling fuel shortages and stringent sanctions - around 90 percent of the
population lives below the poverty line. The bulk of the country is under the
control of Damascus, US-backed Kurdish forces hold the northeast, and the
northwest - home to about four million internally displaced persons and the
hardest hit by the earthquakes - is controlled by rebel groups, including Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham, designated a terrorist organisation by the US, UN and EU. “It's
important to remember there are two sets of sanctions involved here, both on the
Assad regime and Tahrir al-sham (HTS),” Aron Lund, a fellow at Century
International, told Middle East Eye.
“Both sets of sanctions cause some form of trouble for humanitarian situations,
and they always have,” he added.
Because of the devastation of the quakes, some aid organisations, including the
Damascus-based Syrian Arab Red Crescent, have called for sanctions to be lifted
on the Assad government.
Damascus has also upped its rhetoric, calling for sanctions to be removed. On
Tuesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said that sanctions on Syria have
“made the disaster all the worse”.
But many analysts say the situation is far more complex.
Politics of aid “There is no relationship between the West’s punitive sanctions
on the Assad regime and the delivery of humanitarian aid - none whatsoever,”
Charles Lister, director of the Syrian programme at the Middle East Institute,
told MEE. “The fact that this has become a subject of discussion is precisely
what the regime wants - to expand the conversation to include its normalisation,”
he added.
Aid into northwest Syria has indeed moved at a trickle compared to assistance
into southeast Turkey, a region that was also the traditional staging ground for
humanitarian groups working in rebel-held Syria. The rebel Syrian National Army
in the northwest of the country is backed by Turkey. The only border crossing
used by the UN to transport assistance into Syria was damaged by the disaster
and just reopened on Thursday. Ironically, international aid has actually been
moving into Syria, but into government-controlled territory. Damascus has
received aid from Russia, the UAE, Iran, Algeria, and Iraq.
According to Lister, it is “imminently set” to receive additional aid from the
UN, European Union, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, among others. The UN operates in
government-controlled parts of Syria, and according to Lister, receives 91
percent of its funds from sanctioning entities, like the US and EU.
Blame game
A report released in October found "systemic" corruption in UN humanitarian aid
to Syria, with individuals accused of human rights abuses benefiting from
procurement contracts with the international body. Humanitarian aid to Syria is
technically exempt from sanctions. However, Lund, from Century International,
said that in practice, a lack of clarity on what is permissible can delay the
aid process. “Good luck trying to find a bank that will let you wire money to
Syria,” he said. At the same time, Syria’s internal dynamics complicate the
situation, Lund added. The country's long history of corruption has been
turbocharged by the war, so that most major businesses are in some way
controlled by government insiders, who are themselves under sanctions. “Even
though there are very clear humanitarian exemptions, in practice a lot of
humanitarian work relies on the surrounding economy and private companies to
deliver goods and services,” Lund said. But Khalifa from ICG says “sanctions
come late in the list” of what is delaying the quake aid response.
She says a lack of infrastructure as a result of Syrian and Russian carpet
bombing, the financial crisis in neighbouring Lebanon, and widespread corruption
in Damascus are probably greater hindrances than any specific western sanctions.
Reasserting authority
The Syrian government has also ruled out allowing aid to travel directly to
rebel-controlled areas. Four cross-border aid points established by the UN in
2014 have gradually been closed by Damascus and its Russian backer, leaving Bab
al-Hawa as the only remaining option. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on
Thursday urged Assad to open all border crossings into Syria and UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres pushed for greater aid access into Syria, referring to
the closed border crossings. Damascus claims aid moving into the country outside
of territory it controls is a violation of Syrian sovereignty. Bassam Sabbagh,
Syria’s UN ambassador, said on Monday that all aid should be channelled via
Damascus. “What we should really be asking though, is why hasn’t any disaster
relief reached the opposition-held northwest? Because the regime is impeding
it,” Lister said. The current crisis presents an opportunity for Assad to assert
his authority in Syria and ramp up efforts aimed at regional normalisation.
President Assad is gradually being welcomed back into the regional fold. He
visited the UAE last year and has spoken with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. He has
also been courted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Following the
quake, he received a call from Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the
first official exchange between the two leaders. On Thursday, Tunisia's
president Kais Saeid said his country would strengthen diplomatic ties with
Syria.
*Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of
the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this
content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can
be found here.
Syria: The War Has Not Ended
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/Asharq Al-Awsat/February 10/2023
Since 2019 when the Syrian tragedy appeared to have reached its denouement a
succession of erroneous analyses, mainly by the powers involved, has prevented
the development of a strategy to restore the war-torn nation to a semblance of
normality. The first error was the belief that the war had ended.
Russian propaganda spoke of “another triumph” for Vladimir Putin with supposed a
remake of his success in “defeating the Chechen Islamic terrorists.” In Syria,
Putin was re-fighting the war in Chechnya as he is now fighting the Second World
War in Ukraine. But since defeat is an orphan and victory has a thousand
fathers, despite President Barack Obama’s decision to do nothing, the US, too,
claimed victory in having brought Syria “back from the brink”.
The leadership in the Islamic Republic in Iran, too, boasted to have won in
Syria. The mullahs designated Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani as the “greatest
military commander in Islamic history” and claimed he saved Syria from Sunni
terrorists and helped President Bashar al-Assad avoid the fate of Libyan leader
Muammar al-Kaddafi.
Another claimant to victory was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who
managed to milk the European Union cow to the tune of $5 billion while seizing
control of enough Syrian oilfields and mines to ensure a steady income from what
amounts to international robbery. Claims of victory notwithstanding, some of us
saw that the war for the future of Syria was far from over. There was a lull;
but war is a situation with political, socio-cultural, and geopolitical aspects
not just a sequence of battles. The 100-Year War in Europe didn’t consist of
everyday battles for a whole century. The idea that war had ended led to a
second mistake: the belief that a United Nations mission could bring “all sides”
together in Swiss luxury hotels and persuade them to kiss and forget. When that
stratagem, too, failed, a third error took shape.
The idea this time was to let the “main players” that is to say Russia, Türkiye,
and Iran, involved in the Syrian psycho-drama, write a new constitution for the
failed state and persuade everyone to sing from the same hymn sheet. Very
quickly, however, the trio was downsized to two: Russia and Türkiye with Iranian
mullahs left out in the cold dreaming of the Islamic Republic in Damascus.
However, by 2021 that gambit too had failed, allowing another error of judgment
to take shape.
This time, analysts and policymakers claimed that the best way out of the
quagmire would be to prop up what was left of the Assad regime and gradually
build a new Syrian state around it. Today, many capitals, including Paris,
Moscow, Ankara, and Tehran, present that erroneous belief as their “Syrian
policy” while Washington seems content with sticking to its “Kurdish” enclave
and letting others stew in their juice. However, that scheme has also failed.
Despite pumping billions into Bashar al-Assad’s coffers, including $140 million
in payments to his entourage by the United Nations, and at least $4 billion in
“oil on credit” from Iran, not to mention earnings from allegedly smuggling
drugs, the Assad outfit does not seem remotely interested in any state-building
scheme. According to best estimates 90 percent of the population, in areas
nominally controlled by Assad, has fallen below the poverty line. In those
areas, roughly a quarter of what was known in colonial times as “useful Syria”,
more than 50 percent of basic infrastructure is still in ruins. Worse still, in
some areas, even the semblance of law and order created by anti-Assad armed
groups has disappeared.
Deraa, for example, is now known as the “wild south” while Sweida maintains an
air of normality thanks to Druze armed groups. A sign that the pro-Assad faction
isn’t interested or is unable to embark on a state-building strategy is provided
by the 4th Armored Division, the elite force led by Bashar’s brother Maher al-Assad.
It has steadily seized control of humanitarian aid provided by the United
Nations and numerous Western NGOs. Its biggest recent scoop is the control of
shipments of grain that Russia steals from Ukraine for channeling to the Levant
in partnership with Türkiye.
The economic situation in regime-controlled areas is even direr than in areas
controlled by Türkiye and its allies, the US and its Kurdish allies, Russia and
its Wagner mercenaries, not to mention Iran and its Afghan, Iraqi, and Pakistani
“defenders of the shrine.” The latest blow to Assad’s position has come from
Tehran. Faced with a deepening economic crisis of their own, the mullahs have
decided to end their “oil on credit” scheme. Last October they announced that an
oil tanker touching the Syrian coast under that scheme would be the last. In the
future, Damascus would have to pay in advance. They also announced that the
sweetheart oil price of $35 per barrel was doubled to $75. Whichever way one
looks, Syria is still at war; it is a running wound that infects large chunks of
the Middle East, the eastern Mediterranean, and beyond.
With every day that passes the task of rebuilding Syria as a normal state
becomes harder. And, yet, there is no sign that powers capable of making a
difference are willing or able to develop a strategy for healing that wound. The
fact that Ukraine is now the flavor of the day is partly responsible for Syria
being neglected. However, the main reason may be the Biden administration’s
obsession with making a deal with Tehran in the hope that it would smooth the
way for normalization in Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.
Like it or not the US is still the only power capable of mobilizing
international and regional diplomatic, economic, and military support to tackle
the Herculean task of restoring Syria to a semblance of statehood as the Clinton
administration, massively helped by the EU and NATO, did in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Syria may no longer be front-page news. But even relegated to inside pages its
sinking into the status of “ungoverned territory” poses a threat to regional and
international stability and peace.
Question: “Why does God allow natural disasters?”
GotQuestions.org?)/Fri, February 10, 2023
Answer: Why does God allow earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis,
typhoons, cyclones, mudslides, wildfires, and other natural disasters? Tragedies
like the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria cause many people to question God’s
goodness. It is distressing that natural disasters are often termed “acts of
God” while no “credit” is given to God for years, decades, or even centuries of
peaceful weather. God created the whole universe and the laws of nature (Genesis
1:1). Most natural disasters are a result of these laws at work. Hurricanes,
typhoons, and tornados are the results of divergent weather patterns colliding.
Earthquakes are the result of the earth’s plate structure shifting. A tsunami is
caused by an underwater earthquake.
The Bible proclaims that Jesus Christ holds all of nature together (Colossians
1:16-17). Could God prevent natural disasters? Absolutely! Does God sometimes
influence the weather? Yes, as we see in Deuteronomy 11:17 and James 5:17.
Numbers 16:30-34 shows us that God sometimes causes natural disasters as a
judgment against sin. The book of Revelation describes many events which could
definitely be described as natural disasters (Revelation chapters 6, 8, and 16).
Is every natural disaster a punishment from God? Absolutely not.
In much the same way that God allows evil people to commit evil acts, God allows
the earth to reflect the consequences sin has had on creation. Romans 8:19-21
tells us, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be
revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice,
but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself
will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious
freedom of the children of God.” The fall of humanity into sin had effects on
everything, including the world we inhabit. Everything in creation is subject to
“frustration” and “decay.” Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters just
as it is the cause of death, disease, and suffering.
We can understand why natural disasters occur. What we do not understand is why
God allows them to occur. Why did God allow a tsunami to kill over 225,000
people in Asia? Why does God allow hurricanes to destroy the homes of thousands
of people? For one thing, such events shake our confidence in this life and
force us to think about eternity. Churches are usually filled after disasters as
people realize how tenuous their lives really are and how life can be taken away
in an instant. What we do know is this: God is good! Many amazing miracles
occurred during the course of natural disasters that prevented even greater loss
of life. Natural disasters cause millions of people to reevaluate their
priorities in life. Hundreds of millions of dollars in aid is sent to help the
people who are suffering. Christian ministries have the opportunity to help,
minister, counsel, pray, and lead people to saving faith in Christ! God can, and
does, bring great good out of terrible tragedies (Romans 8:28).
For Further Study: An Act of God?: Answers to Tough Questions About God’s Role
in Natural Disasters by Erwin Lutzer
More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for
Free!
Bahrain Reveals Visit by Israel’s Top General
Simon Henderson/The Washington Institute.
The meeting highlights the continuing U.S.-led focus on the Iranian threat and
the underlying strength of the Abraham Accords.
This week, new Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevy
attended a U.S. Central Command regional security conference in the Gulf island
state of Bahrain. Yet his attendance did not come to light until a local
Arabic-language newspaper reported on a subsequent meeting with Prime Minister
Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, where a photograph of the crown prince chatting
with U.S. Army general Michael Kurilla also showed General Halevy in civilian
clothing two chairs away. The Israeli media—which had not reported on the trip
previously, whether out of ignorance or because of a gag order—then leapt on the
story, revealing that Halevy had flown to Bahrain directly through Jordanian and
Saudi airspace.
This was the general’s first foreign trip since being appointed as chief of
staff last month. His predecessor, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, visited Bahrain at
least once, as did former defense minister Benny Gantz in February 2022 and
President Isaac Herzog in December. Coming so soon after the major Juniper Oak
military exercise, which involved U.S. and Israeli aircraft and ships, this
week’s meeting suggests an increasingly solid and advanced relationship.
Why Bahrain allowed news of the meeting to emerge can only be guessed at. Local
media is firmly influenced if not controlled by the government, so the leak was
almost certainly deliberate. This suggests that Bahraini officials are proud of
their relationship with Israel and not particularly concerned about the latest
uptick in tensions in the West Bank. The leak may also have been Manama’s way of
boosting the relationship’s profile, which pales in comparison to Israel’s ties
with the United Arab Emirates. Although both states signed onto the Abraham
Accords in 2020, the UAE’s normalization efforts have included far deeper trade
and tourism cooperation alongside their security ties.
On the domestic level, the visit shows the high profile of Crown Prince Salman,
whose military standing is often overshadowed by two other members of the
Khalifa royal family: Field Marshal Khalifa bin Ahmed, commander-in-chief of the
armed forces, and Maj. Gen. Nasser bin Hamad, head of the Royal Guard and
Salman’s younger half-brother. Both are regarded as hardliners against Iran and
tough on dissent by Bahrain’s Shia Muslim majority, hundreds of whom remain
detained without trial by the Sunni-ruled government. (Indeed, President
Herzog’s recent trip prompted a Shia demonstration in Manama.)
The next move on the Gulf chessboard may be a hostile reaction from Iran, which
once viewed Bahrain as one of its provinces and whose Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps released a photo this week showing a missile with the message “Death
to Israel” in (misspelled) Hebrew. One hopes that Washington has anticipated any
such reaction and prepared for it.
*Simon Henderson is the Baker Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on
Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute.