English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For February 24/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2023/english.february24.23.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
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it
Matthew07/13-27: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 23-24/2023
Annual Martyr's Maya Bashir Gemayel's. Remembrance Day
UK ruling delivers rare victory for Beirut blast victims
Berri calls House Committees to hold joint session upcoming Tuesday
Report: Shea tells Berri US not opposed to Franjieh election
Judge Hamoush charges Salameh, his brother, and his assistant with embezzlement of public funds, money laundering
Bou Saab says Franjieh leading presidential candidate, no US veto on anyone
Lebanese judge charges Riad and Raja Salameh with financial crimes
Report: Mawlawi tasked with finding exit for Ibrahim's extension
Ministerial delegation heads to Ankara to offer condolences to quake-hit Turkey
“Form our energy to our community” a campaign to light up Beirut in collaboration between Rebirth Beirut, Medco & BAU
Bou Saab pays congratulatory visit to Father Michel Jalakh
Rahi meets Lebanese Ambassador to Gabon, new Beirut port chief
Beirut Indictment Chamber refuses to release 16 unauthorized money changers
Lebanese Banks Respond to Mikati's Request to End Strike
Qassem: Hezbollah presidential pick reasonable, party not seeking Salameh extension
Lebanese currency crisis reflects the state of the country/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/February 23, 2023

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 23-24/2023
Death Toll from Türkiye, Syria Quake Tops 47,000
US Deeply Concerned About Violence in Israel, West Bank
U.S. May Release $7 Billion in Frozen Funds to Iran
Iran Acknowledges Accusation it Enriched Uranium to 84%
Israeli Rocket Strike in Damascus Hit Iranian Military Experts
Iran Foreign Minister in Iraq for Security Talks
UN approves resolution calling for Russia to leave Ukraine
In Russia-Ukraine War, More Disastrous Path Could Lie Ahead
British long-range missiles 'could help Ukraine disrupt Russian navy'
Russia Drops Ominous Warning About Attack on Second Country
In Russia-Ukraine war, more disastrous path could lie ahead
Canada to support Iranian temporary residents, citing crackdown on Iran protests
Top Nagorno-Karabakh official sacked as blockade approaches fourth month
Palestinian Oslo accords negotiator Ahmed Qureia dies at 85
Gaza rockets, Israeli strikes follow deadly West Bank raid
Israel: Oman to allow Israeli planes through its airspace

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 23-24/2023
Wahhabism, Colonialism, and Ancient Saudi Arabia/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
ًRehabilitating a War Criminal like Assad is Not an Option/Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/February 23, 2023
The Deification of Jihadist Hate and Violence/Raymond Ibrahim/February 23/2023
No signs of peace on Russia-Ukraine war’s first anniversary as both sides brace for protracted conflict/Nadia Al Faour/Arab News/February 23, 2023
Russia-Ukraine conflict: Europe’s leaders must stop the war out of mercy for their people/Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor/Arab News/February 23, 2023
The long-time alliance between Al-Qaeda and the Iran regime/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/February 23, 2023

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 23-24/2023
Annual Martyr's Maya Bashir Gemayel's. Remembrance Day
February 23/2023
On the 23rd of February 1980, A hundred of meters away from the family’s home in Ashrafieh, a black explosion took away the white innocence and the blond hair of Maya Bashir Gemayel. The explosion was targeting Bachir who missed the ride due to an illness. The one and a half years old Maya saved her father’s life. Her death, although tragic, was a primary motive for Bachir to hold on more to the Lebanese cause in order to make Lebanon a safe and secure environment for children to grow up in.
On this day we remember Maya, all the martyrs and President Bachir, whose only purpose was to create a country where children like Maya can live peacefully and have an abundant life.
We should always remember that all the sacrifices we make, should be aimed, first and foremost, for creating a better future for the new generations.
#BachirGemayel #MayaBachirGemayel #BachirGemayelAcademy #LebanesePresident #Lebanon
https://www.facebook.com/bachirgemayelacademy

UK ruling delivers rare victory for Beirut blast victims
Associated Press/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
The High Court of Justice in London has ruled that SAVARO Ltd is liable toward victims of the Beirut port blast and will have to pay compensations, the Beirut Bar Association Prosecution office said Thursday. On 4 August 2020 , hundreds of tons of explosive ammonium nitrate, typically used in fertilizers, detonated, killing more than 200 people, injuring over 6,000 and damaging large parts of Beirut. Families of the explosion's victims saw the development as a rare step towards justice and against the political intervention that has obstructed the investigative judge leading a probe in Lebanon for over two years.
The ruling in London is an unusual judicial success for the victims' families, members of whom have advocated for an unimpeded national investigation. Some have opted to file lawsuits abroad. The London-registered chemical trading firm, Savaro Ltd., is suspected of having chartered the shipment of the ammonium nitrate in 2013 that ended up in Beirut. Documents show a handful of senior political, judicial and security officials were aware of the substance in the port for years, but did not take decisive action to get rid of it. The Beirut Bar Association, alongside three victims' families, filed a lawsuit against Savaro Ltd. over a year ago. The judgment by the High Court of Justice in London means that the proceedings now move to a “damages phase" of the case that determines the firm's compensation for the families, Camille Abousleiman, one of the lawyers involved in the case, told The Associated Press. Ten months later, a British judge ordered Savaro to disclose the identity of its owner within a deadline.
Head of the Bar Association, Nader Kaspar, considered the ruling a "great achievement" that strengthens the determination of the victims and lawyers to keep searching for the truth. Lawyer Nasri Diab from the Beirut Bar Association Prosecution office and lawyer Kamil Abu Suleiman from the Dechert LLP stressed the importance of the court's decision, "as it is the first judicial decision that named one of those responsible for the blast, which will pave the way for the prosecution of others."“It’s the first time there is an actual judgment on this matter in reputable courts,” Abu Suleiman, also a former Lebanese labor minister, said. The ruling "certainly will open the door for potential justice in courts overseas.”Mariana Foudoulian, whose sister Gaia died in the explosion, called the judgment a “very important step."“Through this judgment, we can try to access more important details,” Foudoulian told the AP. “This does give us some hope.”The civil suit against Savaro Ltd. was filed in August 2021. Soon after, UK authorities blocked the firm's attempts to dissolve the company. It remains unclear who the owner of the company is. The listed owners are agents from a corporate services firm, investigative journalists from Lebanese and international outlets reported. The High Court of Justice in June 2022 ordered the company to reveal its true owners, though the firm never has done so. Elsewhere, the Swiss foundation Accountability Now and some of the victims' families filed a lawsuit in Texas against U.S.-Norwegian geophysical services group TGS, which owns a company that allegedly sub-chartered the ship carrying the ammonium nitrate in 2012. Foundation officials said they hoped it would force the company to disclose communications with other parties being investigated.

Berri calls House Committees to hold joint session upcoming Tuesday
NNA/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Thursday called the parliamentary committees of Finance and Budget, Administration and Justice, Public Health, Labor and Social Affairs, Foreign and Expatriates Affairs, Public Works, Transport, Energy and Water, National Economy, Trade, Industry and Planning, National Defense, Interior and Municipalities, Agriculture, Tourism and Environment, to meet in a joint session at 10:30 am next Tuesday, February 28, to discuss an array of agenda items.

Report: Shea tells Berri US not opposed to Franjieh election
Naharnet/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
Speaker Nabih Berri has recently asked U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea whether her country is against the election as president of Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh, a media report said. “Why would we want to be against him and what if he gets elected?” al-Akhbar newspaper quoted Shea as telling Berri during the Ain el-Tineh meeting. The daily also noted that Shea and her French countrepart Anne Grillo had repeatedly told Lebanese officials that their governments have no candidates for the Lebanese presidency and that they do not intend to engage in nominations. “They also said that the U.S. and French governments are confident that no president elected in Lebanon would be hostile to them so that they take a negative stance on any of those whose names are being circulated,” the newspaper added.

Judge Hamoush charges Salameh, his brother, and his assistant with embezzlement of public funds, money laundering
NNA/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
Beirut Public Prosecutor, Judge Raja Hamoush, has charged Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, his brother Raja, and his assistant Marianne Howayek, with crimes of public funds embezzlement, forgery, illicit enrichment, money laundering, and violation of tax law. Judge Hamoush referred the file and the defendants to the Beirut First Investigative Judge Charbel Bou Samra, demanding that they be interrogated and that the necessary judicial warrants be issued against them.

Bou Saab says Franjieh leading presidential candidate, no US veto on anyone
Naharnet/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh is the leading presidential candidate, Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab claimed Thursday. "Some might not like this," Bou Saab said, in an interview with al-Manar TV, adding that he might vote for Franjieh if the latter needs only one additional vote to be elected as president. "There is a campaign against me because I said I would vote for Franjieh in case he needed my vote," the deputy speaker went on to say. Franjieh, 57, is a former lawmaker and minister close to Hezbollah and a personal friend of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. He heads the Christian Marada movement and, like many of Lebanon's prominent political figures, hails from a storied dynasty. His grandfather and namesake was president when Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war broke out. In 1978, his father, politician Tony Franjieh, along with his mother and sister, were murdered by rival Christian fighters while he was elsewhere in the country. Bou Saab revealed that he had learned during his meetings in Washington that the U.S. has no veto on any candidate and is not nominating anyone for presidency. "Those who are betting on foreign instructions must know that this will not happen," the lawmaker said, adding that he refuses the foreign interference in the election of a president. Franjieh has not officially announced his candidacy, but he told local press he was interested in the position. His name had been touted for the presidency many times before but he never secured enough support to win. Hezbollah and Amal back his candidacy, although Hezbollah's Christian ally the Free Patriotic Movement would not endorse him. Bou Saab, a member of the FPM, has many times differentiated himself from his colleagues in the bloc. He had voted for former Minister Ziad Baroud during the presidential election sessions instead of casting a white ballot like the other FPM MPs.

Lebanese judge charges Riad and Raja Salameh with financial crimes
Associated Press/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
Beirut Attorney General Judge Raja Hamoush on Thursday charged Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, his brother Raja and his assistant Marianne Hoayek with money laundering, public funds embezzlement, tax evasion, forgery and illicit enrichment, the state-run National News Agency said. Hamoush also referred the file and the suspects to Beirut First Examining Magistrate Charbel Abu Samra, demanding that they be interrogated and that the "necessary judicial writs be issued against them."These are the first such charges to have been leveled against Salameh in a Lebanese probe that was launched in 2021 in parallel with investigations overseen by European judges. European investigators intend to question Salameh as part of a probe into his and his brother's affairs, a judicial official told AFP in January. Investigators from France, Germany and Luxembourg had heard witnesses in Beirut in January as part of the case. Salameh and his brother Raja both deny any wrongdoing. A judicial official told The Associated Press that the charges raised Thursday may delay an anticipated, follow-up visit by the European judicial delegation. Just before the announcement, a German Embassy delegation showed up at the Justice Palace in Beirut to meet with Lebanon's chief prosecutor, Ghassan Oueidat. But Oueidat refused to meet with them, citing his work schedule, the official said. No further details were provided and it wasn't immediately clear if Oueidat's action was connected to Hamoush's charges against Salameh, which were announced shortly after. The central bank chief, in office for three decades, is widely blamed for monetary policies that contributed to an unprecedented economic crisis in Lebanon, but he has dismissed such criticism. European investigators also examined the central bank's ties to Forry Associates Ltd, a British Virgin Islands-registered company that listed Raja Salameh as its beneficiary. Forry is suspected of having brokered Lebanese treasury bonds and Eurobonds at a commission, which was then allegedly transferred to Raja Salameh's bank accounts abroad. France, Germany and Luxembourg last March seized assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a move linked to a probe by French investigators into 72-year-old Riad Salameh's personal wealth. Lebanon opened its own probe into Salameh's affairs last year, after the office of Switzerland's top prosecutor requested assistance with an investigation into more than $300 million allegedly embezzled from the central bank with the help of his brother. Since the financial crisis hit Lebanon in late 2019, leaving the country bankrupt, Lebanon's currency has lost more than 95 percent of its value and much of the population has been plunged into poverty.

Report: Mawlawi tasked with finding exit for Ibrahim's extension
Naharnet/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
The issue of extending the term of General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has suffered a “setback,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Thursday. “The same as Speaker Nabih Berri referred the file of extending the term of General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim to the premiership, after failing to hold a legislative session, it seems that caretaker PM Najib Mikati has in turn distanced himself from the file by referring it to caretaker Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi,” the daily said. “The Grand Serail did not witness yesterday any meeting between the premier and a number judges in which suggestions for legal formulas that would allow for extending Ibrahim’s term were supposed to be discussed,” the newspaper added. “The meeting was not held due to the absence of a firm formula that would not be subject to appeals, and accordingly it was decided to refer the matter to Mawlawi in an attempt to find a legal exit,” al-Akhbar said.

Ministerial delegation heads to Ankara to offer condolences to quake-hit Turkey
Naharnet/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
A ministerial delegation traveled to Ankara on Thursday morning to offer condolences to Turkey after the deadly February 6 earthquake. Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamieh will meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and a number of Turkish officials to express Lebanon's support for Turkey. On February 6, Lebanon had sent 20 soldiers from the Army's Engineering Regiment to Turkey to help in the search and rescue efforts, after a 7.8-magnitude quake struck near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is home to around two million people and on the border with Syria. The Cedars-11 team of Lebanese Civil Defense volunteers later traveled to Turkey at its own initiative to search for Lebanese who were missing under the rubble of a destroyed hotel in Antakya. The massive February 6 tremor has left over 46,000 dead in Turkey and Syria — the vast majority in Turkey.

“Form our energy to our community” a campaign to light up Beirut in collaboration between Rebirth Beirut, Medco & BAU
NNA/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
After lighting many streets in Beirut, and recently Ainel Mreisseh – Manara, “Rebirth Beirut” continued the “Let’s Light up Our Community” initiative, which was launched in collaboration with “Medco” back in May 2022 in cooperation with local community and the private sector. The lighting of the surrounding streets of the Beirut Arab University took place on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at 5:00 PM, in the presence of the University President, Dr. Amr Galal El-Adawi, and H.E. Governor of Beirut, Judge Marwan Abboud, in addition to media professionals, students, and activists.
Founder and president of Rebirth Beirut, Mr. Gaby Fernaine, said in his speech during the event:
“Today, all of us are proud to light up the streets of one of the oldest universities in Beirut, which is the Beirut Arab University, founded in 1959 it is a cultural landmark bearing the name of the capital and all its cultural and historical heritage. The aim of our initiative is to confirm once again that Beirut will not drown in darkness.”Fernaine concluded, "There will always be a beacon of hope & light as long as there are people who dream like us and work for Beirut."
University President, Dr. Amr Galal El-Adawi, expressed his pride in participating in this initiative, putting the capabilities of Beirut Arab University at the disposal of Rebirth Beirut, the municipality, the governor, and everyone who strives day after day to illuminate and serve the capital. His Excellency the Governor of Beirut, Judge Marwan Abboud, in his turn, pointed out the importance of this initiative and the role of Beirut Arab University in Tarik al-Jadida, indicating that such initiatives keep Beirut as the capital of culture and life. It is worth mentioning that the “Let’s Light up Our Community " initiative has illuminated 61 streets and 6 main avenues to date, and aims to light up 200 streets by the end of 2023.

Bou Saab pays congratulatory visit to Father Michel Jalakh
NNA/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
Deputy House Speaker, Elias Bou Saab, on Thursday visited Antonine University’s Rector, Father Michel Jalakh, to congratulate him on his appointment as the Secretary of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches in the Vatican. Bou Saab wished Father Jalakh success in his new mission, saying Father Jalakh is the first Maronite and Lebanese to assume such a position.

Rahi meets Lebanese Ambassador to Gabon, new Beirut port chief
NNA/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi on Thursday received the Lebanese Ambassador to Gabon, Aline Younes, with whom he discussed the condition of the Lebanese diaspora in the African nation. Rahi later met with Sri Lanka's new Ambassador to Lebanon, Kapila Jayaweera. He also welcomed in Bkerki the new chief of Beirut Port, Omar Itani.

Beirut Indictment Chamber refuses to release 16 unauthorized money changers
NNA/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
The Beirut Indictment Chamber, chaired by Judge Maher Cheaito, on Thursday refused to release 16 illegal money changers and decided to keep them in custody on charges of money laundering and unauthorized exercise of profession, our correspondent reported.

Lebanese Banks Respond to Mikati's Request to End Strike
Beirut - Youssef Diab/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
The Association of Banks in Lebanon is expected to halt an open-ended strike they began earlier this week after assurances made by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati that no controversial litigation are to be taken against them by the FPM-affiliated judge Ghada Aoun.
On Wednesday, Mikati requested caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi to give directions to the security apparatuses to control any “violations" taken by Aoun in her quest to target some commercial banks. ABL has earlier criticized the moves taken by Aoun against some banks, describing them as “arbitrary.”Lebanon’s banks are expected to resume work either on Friday or early next week. On Tuesday, Lebanon's battered commercial banks closed their doors to customers in protest of a recent court ruling that forced one of the country's largest banks to pay out two of its depositors their trapped savings in cash. ABL lamented how lawsuits presented by non-depositors at banks are taken into consideration. The Association said that lawsuits were made by non-depositors and then presented to “specific non-specialized judges, who are known to have opposed positions against banks.”Akram Azoury, the lawyer for the Association of Banks in Lebanon, told Asharq al-Awsat: “Addressing the current flaw in dealing with the banks is the responsibility of the higher judicial council, the minister of justice and the political authority.”Azoury said that as per law, he has the right to reject any “flawed” judicial order without insulting the judge who had taken that decision. On the “positive” atmospheres that Mikati expects if the banks decide to put their strike on hold in 48 hour, Azouri said: “If PM Mikati is able to address the legal flaw in addressing the banks matter, the strike could end in 48 minutes.”

Qassem: Hezbollah presidential pick reasonable, party not seeking Salameh extension
Naharnet/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has described his party’s undeclared nomination of Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh as “reasonable,” as he denied that Hezbollah backs the extension of Central Bank chief Riad Salameh’s term. “It is true that Hezbollah has a presidential choice which it has not declared, but we tell everyone: let’s discuss together the proposed choices so that we reach a common vision and become on the track of solutions,” Qassem said in an interview with al-Akhbar newspaper. “Hezbollah is one of the clearest in its choice and it considers it a reasonable choice through which the presidential vote can be finalized as soon as possible. On the opposite side, there are blocks that are proposing candidates who cannot win a number of votes more than those provided by those blocs, which are unable of attracting more votes for them,” Qassem added. “The matter requires flexibility and we’re ready to hold discussions with other over their choices. Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and a number of allies have reached a reasonable approach for the president’s identity and we call on others to discuss it to reach a quick result,” Hezbollah’s number two went on to say.
Responding to a question, Qassem said Hezbollah “certainly” prefers to agree with the Free Patriotic Movement over the presidential file while admitting that there is a “crisis” with the former ally.
“The two parties should discuss the future of this understanding, but this is currently suspended pending the presidential election and it might be discussed afterwards,” Qassem added.
Told that the Shiite Duo is being accused of seeking the extension of Salameh’s term, the Hezbollah leader said: “We certainly are not in favor of extending Riad Salameh’s term as central bank governor and we support the continuation of the criminal audit to reach its conclusion after which the official stance on the governor would be announced.”

Lebanese currency crisis reflects the state of the country
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/February 23, 2023
The past weeks have seen the financial situation in Lebanon worsen. The strikes in banks followed by the torching of branches by depositors who have been robbed of their savings were just the tip of the iceberg. Economic experts were all mesmerized by the appearance of a sudden $16 billion line in Banque du Liban’s biweekly disclosure of its balance sheet. This amount appeared to relate to loans to the public sector. All this happened after the massive devaluation of the Lebanese lira earlier this month. The Lebanese people’s trust in their financial and banking system has already been destroyed. Are they about to lose trust in their own currency too?
It is sad that, as countries around the world look to technology to launch digital currencies, Lebanon is in the process of destroying its own. One may wonder if the Lebanese lira is about to disappear altogether. Or at least if the Lebanese will just stop trading in it and move to an all-dollar economy. Just as all the symbols and representations of the state are being destroyed, the legal tender follows the same path. The Lebanese resent it and what it has done to their lives. Gone are the glory days when Beirut would be compared to international financial capitals. Gone are the comparisons to Switzerland.
The Lebanese lira has been, from its establishment until this disastrous day, a symbol of Lebanon’s situation. The lira was introduced during the French Mandate of Lebanon and Syria as a replacement for the French franc. It obviously continued once the country gained its independence. It is also symbolic that the country’s currency was first pegged to the franc before moving on to a dollar peg. This was symbolic of the global geopolitical influences.
Throughout the years, the only constant has been the lira’s loss in value, just like the state has lost its own. From one lira being equivalent to 20 francs at its introduction and $1 buying 3.9 lira in 1961, it went into the abyss. Through crises, civil wars and mismanagement, it was devalued to 1,500 lira to the dollar. It has now reached its lowest value of 15,000 to the dollar. Understandably, trust in the Lebanese legal tender has evaporated, just like it has in the state. This has Lebanese asking why they should keep using it instead of completely reverting to using US dollars in their daily lives.
Just as all the symbols and representations of the state are being destroyed, the legal tender follows the same path
The abandonment of the national currency is a real possibility. The main reason is that Lebanon has become the most remittance-dependent country in the world. Money sent to the country accounted for 53.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2021, according to an international study. With trust disappearing from all institutions, why should relatives change these funds into the decaying Lebanese lira and not decide to trade using dollars? Why would they exchange their money for the local currency beyond payments of government fees if it means losing value on a daily basis?
To put things into perspective, $7.15 billion was sent by hard-working Lebanese to their families in 2021. This has been the average for the past 10 years and is a big part of the amount that disappeared due to the Ponzi scheme that was put in place within the banking system. This banking and financial system has been used to cover the deals between political leaders, as well as for the financial operations of Hezbollah and all Iranian allies. At the same time, Hezbollah uses its own financial system to increase its stranglehold on the country and avoid sanctions.
From the capital flight and corrupt links in Iraq and Iran to subsidizing and smuggling materials into Syria, this was the role of the country’s banking sector: the dirty work. Moreover, it was politically covered. How has the financial hub of the Middle East turned into the hub of chaos, death and destruction? The answer is simple. The extractive and predatory strategy of Syria, which was inherited by Hezbollah and Iran, is responsible for this collapse. Death or corruption was the only choice. As we have seen in South American organized crime movies, it is the famous “Plata o plomo” (silver or lead) that ruled the country. This phrase means either accept a bribe or lose your life.
The opacity of the financial sector, with institutions capable of establishing their own rules and acting without accountability to the people, is similar to the political situation. Therefore, the Lebanese lira will not survive without regaining the trust of the people, which requires a more transparent and clearer approach. There is no doubt this will not happen in the current political landscape, especially as it has been revealed by the US Justice Department that there have been illegal financial operations conducted by Hezbollah.
Without a drastic change in Lebanon, it is not only the currency that will disappear but also the country itself. This change needs to go beyond electing a president or naming a prime minister in order to unlock more International Monetary Fund debt, which will undoubtedly evaporate just like all the funding dedicated to Beirut. This change is about more than reforms or the reorganization of the financial sector, it is about admitting the failures and the disease that plague the country and proceeding with a new political and economic system. There is no other way out.
*Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of Barbicane, a space-focused investment syndication platform. He is the CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 23-24/2023
Death Toll from Türkiye, Syria Quake Tops 47,000
Asharq A-Awsat/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit parts of Türkiye and Syria on Feb. 6 continues to rise as more bodies are retrieved from the rubble of demolished buildings. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck the already battered Turkish province of Hatay this week damaged or demolished more buildings, compounding the devastation. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has raised the number of fatalities in Türkiye from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake to 43,556. The combined death toll in Türkiye and Syria now stands at 47,244. In an interview with state broadcaster TRT late on Wednesday, Soylu said teams were sifting through two buildings in Hatay in search of further bodies. Search operations elsewhere have come to an end, he said. Meanwhile, at least 164,000 buildings have either collapsed or are so damaged that they need to be demolished, said Murat Kurum, Türkiye’s minister for the environment and urbanization. Türkiye will widen an investigation into building contractors suspected of violating safety standards following the earthquake, Soylu said. He added that 564 suspects had been identified so far, with 160 people formally arrested and many more still under investigation. "Our cities will be built in the right places, our children will live in stronger cities. We know what kind of test we are facing, and we will come out of this stronger," he said. The local civil defense in northwestern Syria, known locally as The White Helmets, said Thursday that thousands of children and tens of thousands of families have taken shelter in cars and tents “fearing they would face a repeat of the earthquake.”

US Deeply Concerned About Violence in Israel, West Bank
Washington - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
The State Department said Wednesday that the US is highly concerned by the levels of violence in Israel and the West Bank and feared that the impact of the recent Israeli raid in the West Bank could set back efforts to restore calm. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a press briefing that Washington recognizes “the very real security concerns facing Israel. At the same time, we are deeply concerned by a large number of injuries and the loss of civilian lives.”The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that 11 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others wounded during the Israeli army raid in Nablus in the northern West Bank. The Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad said Israeli troops had surrounded two of its Nablus commanders in a house, triggering a clash that drew in other gunmen. Palestinian sources said the two Islamic Jihad commanders were killed along with another gunman. The fatalities included civilians, among them a 72-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy. The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 66-year-old man who suffered from gas inhalation during the raid died in hospital later on Wednesday. Medical officials said more than 100 Palestinians were wounded.

U.S. May Release $7 Billion in Frozen Funds to Iran
FDD/February 23/2023
Latest Developments
The Biden administration is reportedly conducting indirect negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran for the release of U.S. hostages. In exchange for the prisoners, Washington may free Iranian nationals detained in America and release up to $7 billion in Iranian funds, held in South Korean banks, that are frozen due to U.S. terrorism sanctions. Qatar may facilitate the monetary transfer. The proposed exchange comes as protests resurge throughout Iran and the rial hits an historic low against the U.S. dollar.
Expert Analysis
“Everyone wants to bring home U.S. hostages, but paying a $7 billion ransom to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism will guarantee more U.S. citizens are taken hostage not just by Iran but by other regimes around the world. This is a budget support proposal for a regime that is hunting U.S. citizens, murdering its own people, and helping Russia terrorize Ukrainians.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor
U.S. Previously Linked $7 Billion Hostage Deal to Nuclear Talks
Following a meeting in September 2022 between U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley and South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyundong, Malley tweeted, “We thank the Republic of Korea for their close partnership, including their efforts to help ensure the return of our wrongfully detained citizens in Iran and to reach a deal on JCPOA.” In August 2022, leaked details from nuclear negotiations revealed that the release of $7 billion from South Korea would be the first step taken in a revived nuclear agreement’s sequencing.
A Dangerous Precedent of Paying for Hostages
In 2015, the Obama administration negotiated a similar scheme alongside the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, sending Iran $400 million — the first installment of a $1.7 billion payment — at the same time Tehran released four Americans. Predictably, Iran later took more hostages. Raising the ransom to $7 billion will guarantee even more hostage-taking to come. As Russia comes under increasing sanctions pressure, Moscow may follow Iran’s suit in detaining more U.S. citizens as leverage for negotiating sanctions relief.

Iran Acknowledges Accusation it Enriched Uranium to 84%
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
Iran on Thursday directly acknowledged an accusation attributed to international inspectors that it enriched uranium to 84% purity for the first time, which would put it closer than ever to weapons-grade material. The acknowledgement by a news website linked to the highest reaches of Iran's theocracy renews pressure on the West to address Tehran's program, which had been contained by the 2015 nuclear deal that America unilaterally withdrew from in 2018. Years of attacks across the Middle East have followed, The Associated Press said.
Already Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently regained his country's premiership, is threatening to take military action similar to when Israel previously bombed nuclear programs in Iraq and Syria. But while those attacks saw no war erupt, Iran has an arsenal of ballistic missiles, drones and other weaponry it and its allies already have used in the region. The acknowledgment Thursday came from Iran's Nour News, a website linked to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, overseen by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Nour News separately is sanctioned by Canada for having “participated in gross and systematic human rights violations and perpetuated disinformation activities to justify the Iranian regime’s repression and persecution of its citizens" amid nationwide protests there. The comments by Nour News follow days of muddled comments by Iran not directly acknowledging the accusation by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran had enriched up to 84%. Bloomberg first reported Sunday that inspectors had detected uranium particles enriched up to 84%. The IAEA, a United Nations agency based in Vienna, has not denied the report, saying only “that the IAEA is discussing with Iran the results of recent agency verification activities.”In its comments Thursday, Nour News urged the IAEA to “not fall prey to the seduction of Western countries” and declare that Iran's nuclear program was “completely peaceful.”“It will be clear soon that the IAEA surprising report of discovering 84% enriched uranium particles in Iran’s enrichment facilities was an inspector’s error or was a deliberate action to create political atmospheres against Iran on the eve of the meeting of" its board, Nour News said on Twitter. The board, a group of nations that oversees the IAEA, will meet beginning March 6 in Vienna.
The IAEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday over Nour News' remarks.
It wasn't immediately clear where the 84% enrichment allegedly took place, though the IAEA has said it found two cascades of advanced IR-6 centrifuges at Iran's underground Fordo facility “interconnected in a way that was substantially different from the mode of operation declared by Iran to the agency in November last year.” Iran is known to have been enriching uranium at Fordo up to 60% purity — at level which nonproliferation experts already say has no civilian use for Tehran. Iran also enriches uranium at its Natanz nuclear site. Weapons-grade uranium is enriched up to 90%. While the IAEA's director-general has warned Iran now has enough uranium to produce “several” nuclear bombs if it chooses, it likely would take months more to build a weapon and potentially miniaturize it to put on a missile. The new tensions over Iran's program also take place against the backdrop of a shadow war between Iran and Israel that has spilled out across the wider Middle East. Netanyahu, who long has advocated military action against Iran, mentioned it again in a talk this week. “How do you stop a rogue nation from acquiring nuclear weapons?” Netanyahu rhetorically asked. “You had one that’s called Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. It was stopped by military force, ours. You had a second one that is called Syria that tried to develop nuclear weapons. And it was stopped by a military action, ours.”He added: “A necessary condition, and an often sufficient condition, is credible military action. The longer you wait, the harder that becomes. We’ve waited very long.”

Israeli Rocket Strike in Damascus Hit Iranian Military Experts
Beirut, London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
A rocket attack in Damascus on Sunday that Syria blamed on Israel hit an installation where Iranian officials were meeting to advance programs to develop drone or missile capabilities of Tehran's allies in Syria, sources told Reuters in an exclusive report published on Wednesday. Iran has been a major backer of President Bashar al-Assad during Syria's nearly 12-year conflict. Its support for Damascus and the Lebanese group Hezbollah has drawn regular Israeli air strikes meant to curb Tehran's extraterritorial military power, according to the Reuters report. A source close to the Syrian government with knowledge of Sunday's strike and its target told Reuters it hit a gathering of Syrian and Iranian technical experts in drone manufacturing, though he said no top-level Iranian was killed. “The strike hit the center where they were meeting as well as an apartment in a residential building. One Syrian engineer and one Iranian official - not high-ranking - were killed,” the source told Reuters. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, had reported that the Israeli air strike on Damascus had killed 15 people that included nine Syrians. Three Syrian officers were killed in the strike. The overnight strike cratered a road and wrecked the adjacent 10-story building in the Kafr Sousa district, which is home to senior state officials and Syrian intelligence headquarters, said the Britain-based Observatory. Other missiles overnight hit a warehouse used by pro-regime Iranian and Hezbollah fighters near Damascus, said the Observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria. This rocket strike, along with others that Israel says target infrastructure of Syria's military and its allies, reflect an escalation of what has been a low-intensity conflict aimed at slowing down Iran's growing entrenchment in Syria, according to Israeli military experts. Syrian state media said at the time that Israel had carried out air strikes shortly after midnight on Sunday against several areas of the Syrian capital, causing five deaths and 15 injuries including civilians. An Israeli military official declined to confirm or deny that Israel was behind the attack but said some of the casualties were caused by errant Syrian anti-aircraft fire. The US and Israel have been increasingly concerned about Iran’s drone manufacturing, and the possibility it would pass on those capabilities to regional proxies such as the heavily armed Hezbollah. Last week US forces shot down what they said was an Iranian-made drone flying over a base hosting US personnel in northeastern Syria.

Iran Foreign Minister in Iraq for Security Talks
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 22 February, 2023
Iran's top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held talks with neighboring ally Iraq Wednesday to discuss border security and regional affairs. He noted the slow progress in talks in Vienna with world powers aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, which promised Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for cutting back its nuclear activities. The United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to begin walking back on its commitments under the accord. Negotiations to return to the deal started in 2021 but stalled last year. Iran is ready "to take steps to conclude the negotiations... on the basis of previous discussions and respecting the red lines" defined by Tehran, Amir-Abdollahian said. "But if the American side chooses another path... all options are on the table", he added, without elaborating. His Iraqi counterpart pleaded for a resumption of talks. "It is important for Iraq that the Iranian and American parties reach an agreement", Hussein said. The two ministers also discussed security on their border, after Iran last year bombed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups sheltering in northern Iraq. Tehran accuses Iraq-based Kurdish groups of carrying out attacks in Iran, and of encouraging the months-long protests that erupted after the September 16 death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, following her arrest for an alleged breach of dress rules. Iraq later redeployed border guards to limit tensions. "The Iraqi government has taken a series of measures to protect the frontier, and we agree that certain groups should not be allowed to cross this border," Hussein said.

UN approves resolution calling for Russia to leave Ukraine
AP/February 23, 2023
UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution Thursday that calls for Russia to end hostilities in Ukraine and demands the withdrawal of its forces, sending a strong message on the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion that Moscow’s aggression must end.
The 141-7 vote with 32 abstentions was slightly below the highest vote for the five previous resolutions approved by the 193-member world body since Russia sent troops and tanks across the border into its smaller neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022. The General Assembly has become the most important UN body dealing with Ukraine because the Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, is paralyzed by Russia’s veto power. Its resolutions are not legally binding, unlike Security Council resolutions, but serve as a barometer of world opinion. Foreign ministers and diplomats from more than 75 countries addressed the assembly during two days of debate, with many urging support for the resolution that upholds Ukraine’s territorial integrity, a basic principle of the UN Charter that all countries must subscribe to when they join the world organization. The war has killed tens of thousands on both sides and has reduced entire cities to ruins and its impact has been felt worldwide in higher food and fuel costs and rising inflation. In his own appeal, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said Ukrainians deserve “not only our compassion, but also our support and solidarity.”Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock asked countries that claim “that by arming Ukraine, we are pouring oil into the fire” why Western nations would do that. “The West didn’t want or choose the war and would rather focus all its energy and money on fixing schools, fighting the climate crisis or strengthening social justice,” she told the assembly. “But the truth is: If Russia stops fighting, this war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends.”Venezuela’s deputy ambassador addressed the council on behalf of 16 countries that either voted against or abstained on almost all of five previous resolutions on Ukraine: Belarus, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Laos, Mali, Nicaragua, North Korea, St. Vincent, Syria, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. While other countries focused on Russia’s actions, Deputy Ambassador Joaquín Pérez Ayestarán said Wednesday that all countries without exception “must stringently comply with the United Nations Charter.”He said the countries in his group were against what he called divisive action in the General Assembly, and for “a spirit of compromise.”China’s deputy UN ambassador Dai Bing told the assembly Thursday: “We support Russia and Ukraine in moving toward each other, resuming direct dialogue as soon as possible, bringing their legitimate concerns into the negotiation, setting out feasible options, and giving a chance to an early end of the crisis and the rebuilding of peace.”
“The international community should make joint efforts to facilitate peace talks.”But European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters the aggressor and the victim can’t be put on equal terms, and Ukraine cannot be asked not to defend itself. Unhappily, he said, “Russia has not sent any positive signal of any minimum willingness to work for a peace.”He said “that’s reality” and everyone who went to the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin will continue with his so-called special military operation “until he gets the military objective that he has been unable to get

In Russia-Ukraine War, More Disastrous Path Could Lie Ahead
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
For Russia, it's been a year of bold charges and bombardments, humiliating retreats and grinding sieges. Ukraine has countered with fierce resistance, surprising counteroffensives and unexpected hit-and-run strikes. Now, on the anniversary of Russia's invasion that has killed tens of thousands and reduced cities to ruins, both sides are preparing for a potentially even more disastrous phase that lies ahead, The Associated Press said. Russia recently intensified its push to capture all of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland of the Donbas. Kyiv and its Western allies also say Moscow could try to launch a wider, more ambitious attack elsewhere along the more than 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line. Ukraine is waiting for battle tanks and other new weapons pledged by the West for it to reclaim occupied areas. What's nowhere in sight is a settlement. The Kremlin insists it must include the recognition of the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed illegally in 2014, along with the acceptance of its other territorial gains. Ukraine categorically rejects those demands and rules out any talks until Russia withdraws all forces. While Putin is determined to achieve his goals, Ukraine and its allies are standing firm on preventing Russia from ending up with any of its land. Experts warn that Europe’s largest conflict since World War II could drag on for years, and some fear it could lead to a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.
NEW OFFENSIVES, NEW OBJECTIVES
In recent months, Russian forces have tried to encircle the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut and push deeper into the Donetsk region. Along with fulfilling its goal of capturing the entire Donbas, Moscow aims to wear down Ukrainian forces and prevent them from starting offensives elsewhere. Bakhmut has become an important symbol of tenacity for Ukraine, as well as a way to tie up and destroy the most capable Russian forces. Both sides have used up ammunition at a rate unseen in decades. Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said Russia has poured more troops and weapons into the Donbas and attacked other areas in an apparent bid to distract Ukrainian forces. “Russia currently has the initiative and the advantage on the battlefield,” he said, noting Kyiv's acute shortage of ammunition. Russia has relied on its massive arsenal, and boosted production of weapons and munitions, giving it a significant edge. While Ukrainian and Western intelligence agencies observed that Moscow is running out of precision missiles, it has plenty of old-style weapons. But even though Ukraine and its allies expect a wider Russian offensive beyond the Donbas, it could be a gamble for Moscow, which mobilized 300,000 reservists last fall to bolster its forces. Igor Strelkov, a former Russian security officer who led separatist forces in the Donbas when fighting erupted there in 2014, warned that any big offensive could be disastrous for Russia because its preparation would be impossible to conceal and attackers would face a devastating response. He said an offensive would also raise logistical challenges like those that thwarted Russia's attempt to capture Kyiv at the war's start. “Any large-scale offensive will quickly and inevitably entail very big losses, exhausting the resources accumulated during mobilization,” Strelkov warned. Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at RUSI in London, predicted any Russian offensive would fail, but said it could drain Ukraine’s resources and keep it from preparing its own large-scale counteroffensive. “The big question is how much damage does the Russian offensive do before it runs out of steam, because that will dictate the Ukrainian position,” he said, noting that its aim could be to disrupt Kyiv's ability to stage a counteroffensive. Bronk said Ukraine spent the winter building up its mechanized brigades that had spearheaded autumn counteroffensives in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions and suffered losses. He said Ukraine has a window of opportunity of six to eight months to reclaim more land, noting that Russia could launch another mobilization to recruit up to 500,000 more troops who could be readied for combat after at least six months of training. Zhdanov said Ukraine could launch a new counteroffensive in late April or early May after receiving new Western weapons, including battle tanks. He predicted Ukrainian forces will likely attack from the Zaporizhzhia region to try to reclaim the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk and cut the Russian corridor to Crimea. “If Ukraine reaches the Sea of Azov coast, it will nullify all the Russian gains,” Zhdanov said, turning Putin's victories "to dust.”
STALEMATE IN UKRAINE OR UPHEAVAL IN RUSSIA?
Observers see little prospect for talks. Both sides are "irreconcilable on their current positions,” said Bronk.
Major Ukrainian battlefield successes this summer could fuel "significant political turmoil in Russia, because at that point, Putin’s own position within the leadership becomes very, very difficult to see as tenable,” he said. At the same time, if Ukraine fails to reclaim more territory before Russia builds up its troops, it could lead to a “long-term stalemate and sort of a grinding attritional war that just kind of goes on and on,” Bronk added, playing into Moscow’s plan “to prolong the war and just wait for the West to get exhausted.” Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who served in the past three US administrations, also saw little prospect for a settlement. “The Russians are digging in for the long haul. They have no intention of losing,” she said. “Putin has made it very clear that he’s prepared to sacrifice whatever it takes. His message there is basically saying you can’t possibly counteract me, because I’m willing to do whatever and I’ve got so much more manpower.”Hill said Putin is hoping for Western support for Kyiv to dissolve — "that it goes away and that Ukraine is left exposed, and then that Russia can force Ukraine to capitulate and give up on its territory.”
Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Endowment said Putin continues to believe he can achieve his goals by pressing the campaign.
“For him, the only way he admits it can end is capitulation of Kyiv,” she said.
THE NUCLEAR OPTION
Putin has repeatedly said Russia could use “all available means” to protect its territory, a clear reference to its nuclear arsenal. Moscow’s nuclear doctrine states that it could use those weapons in response to a nuclear strike or an attack with conventional forces threatening “the very existence of the Russian state,” a formulation that offers broad room for interpretation and abrupt escalation. Some Russian hawks urged nuclear strikes on Ukrainian bridges and other key infrastructure to force Kyiv and its allies to accept Moscow’s terms. Bronk said he doesn’t expect Russia to resort to that, arguing it would backfire. “Actually using them generates almost no practical benefits at all and certainly nothing to compensate for all of the costs, both in terms of immediate escalation risk — irradiating things they want to hold on to and be part of — and also pushing away the rest of the world,” he said.
It would be certain to anger China, which doesn’t want the nuclear taboo broken, he added. Hill also noted that Russia got some pushback from China and India, who were worried about Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling. She added that Putin sees nuclear threats as a powerful political tool and will keep issuing them in the hope of forcing the West to withdraw support for Ukraine. “Putin’s just hoping that everybody’s going to blink,” she said. “He’s not going to give up the idea that he could use a battlefield tactical nuclear weapon.”But Hill added: “If he thought he would get the results that he wanted from it, he would use it.”Stanovaya, who has long followed Kremlin decision-making, also said Putin’s nuclear threat is no bluff. If he sees that Ukraine can attack in a way that threatens Russian territory and lead to Moscow's defeat, "I think he would be ready to use nuclear weapons in a way that he can show that it’s a question of survival for Russia,” she said.

British long-range missiles 'could help Ukraine disrupt Russian navy'
Joe Barnes/The Telegraph/Thu, February 23, 2023
British long-range missiles would give Ukraine the ability to disrupt Russian logistical chains and push its naval forces more than 80 miles from the coast, say analysts. As Rishi Sunak urges his Western partners to send longer-range capabilities to Kyiv, discussions are underway in London over whether Harpoon anti-ship missiles or air-to-surface Storm Shadows could be donated to Kyiv. The Prime Minister personally pledged to send long-range missiles to Kyiv when Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, visited London recently, but did not make clear what those would be. Ukraine has been gifted US-made Himars and M270 multi-launch rocket systems with a range of 50 miles. Kyiv’s armed forces have used them to superb effect to force Russian logistics away from the frontline, making it harder for Moscow to supply any advances. But Mr Zelensky has made the delivery of longer-range weapons a priority in order to hit targets even deeper behind enemy lines as part of his conversations with Western leaders. Storm Shadow, the RAF’s long-range cruise missile, would deliver that desired effect. The weapon costs about £2.2 million and can be fired from a fighter jet at targets as far as 350 miles away, although they can be modified to have significantly shorter range. “The Storm Shadow opens up access to a range of logistics targets not least across the south, dramatically complicating the task for Russian air defenders,” said Justin Crump, of Sibylline, an intelligence and geopolitical risk firm. “If nothing else, this will force them further to scatter their supply lines and reconsider how best to defend against the threat.”Ukraine has suggested it could use such a missile to strike Russian targets in occupied Crimea, which some Western governments have privately expressed discomfort at because it could trigger Moscow to escalate the conflict.
Anti-ship missile 'key'
Another long-range weapon in Britain's arsenal that could be headed to Ukraine is the Harpoon. The anti-ship missile could be key in preventing any future amphibious attacks by Russian forces, but also disrupt its Black Sea Fleet from firing their own cruise missiles. Sea-skimming Harpoons cost £1.2 million each and have a range of around 80 miles when used by the Royal Navy, but some suggest that could be extended to 150 miles. Mr Crump said: "It remains remarkable that a nation with at best a limited navy has been able to achieve such maritime effects, and Harpoon will further increase the threat to Russian vessels engaged in Kalibr cruise missile launches from the Black Sea. "This will push Russian surface operations 80 miles offshore - and almost completely close down any potential amphibious operation against Odesa, although that is arguably already a dim and distant memory at this stage."

Russia Drops Ominous Warning About Attack on Second Country
Barbie Latza Nadeau/The Daily Beast/February 23, 2023
Moldova dismissed claims made by Russia’s Defense Ministry on Thursday that Ukraine “saboteurs” were prepping a false flag attack on a pro-Russian breakaway region in the country. The warning, announced on the Russian Defense Ministry’s Telegram account, suggested the troops involved would dress up as Russians. “As a pretext for the invasion, it is planned to stage an alleged offensive of Russian troops from the territory of Transnistria,” the message warned, referring to the pro-Russian breakaway region of Moldova. “To do this, the Ukrainian saboteurs participating in the staged invasion will be dressed in the uniform of the military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.” In the build up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, the Kremlin attempted to stage or mock up a number of incidents in the Luhansk and Donbas regions which they claimed were Ukrainian military actions targeting pro-Russians. Alarmingly for Moldova, it was all just a pretext for their own all-out assault on their neighbor. Top Russian Official Teases ‘the Next Ukraine’ in New Threat. Moldova responded to the alert with its own Telegram message, denying the allegations and calling for restraint. “We call for calm and for information to be received (by the public) from official and credible sources of the Republic of Moldova,” they wrote. “Our institutions cooperate with foreign partners and in the case of threats to the country, the public will be promptly informed.” It is not the first time Moldova, a former Soviet nation which borders Ukraine and European Union member Romania, has been drawn into the conflict. In early February, Russia violated Moldovan air space with an attack missile into Ukraine. And the country’s president warned that the Kremlin was instigating a coup to prevent Moldova from its bid to join the European Union, which Moscow denied. Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu told the Fincancial Times that his country was seeking E.U. sanctions on Russian oligarch Ilan Șor, who they claim is helping Russia wage war on the country. “We don’t see the risk of military scenarios in the immediate future at the Moldovan border, thanks to Ukrainian resistance and resilience. But hybrid subversion, attempted coup d’état, yes, there are risks,” Popescu said. “This oligarch [Șor] is continuing to attack Moldova. We hope the EU will sanction the corrupt individuals waging, together with and on behalf of Russia, hybrid war against the Moldovan government.”This week Russian president Vladimir Putin announced he would be tearing up a 2012 decree between the two nations meant to solve the status of Transnistria, which broke away from Moldova in 1990 with an eye to joining Russia. Moldova fought the separatists in 1992, but then gave in to Russian “peacekeepers” who are still posted in the region. Ukraine president Vlodomyr Zelensky told a security council meeting in Munich last week that it was “obvious” Putin would not stop with Ukraine and that it was working on ways to “strangle” Moldova.

In Russia-Ukraine war, more disastrous path could lie ahead
The Canadian Press/Thu, February 23, 2023
For Russia, it's been a year of bold charges and bombardments, humiliating retreats and grinding sieges. Ukraine has countered with fierce resistance, surprising counteroffensives and unexpected hit-and-run strikes. Now, on the anniversary of Russia's invasion that has killed tens of thousands and reduced cities to ruins, both sides are preparing for a potentially even more disastrous phase that lies ahead. Russia recently intensified its push to capture all of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland of the Donbas. Kyiv and its Western allies also say Moscow could try to launch a wider, more ambitious attack elsewhere along the more than 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line. Ukraine is waiting for battle tanks and other new weapons pledged by the West for it to reclaim occupied areas. What's nowhere in sight is a settlement. The Kremlin insists it must include the recognition of the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed illegally in 2014, along with the acceptance of its other territorial gains. Ukraine categorically rejects those demands and rules out any talks until Russia withdraws all forces. While Putin is determined to achieve his goals, Ukraine and its allies are standing firm on preventing Russia from ending up with any of its land. Experts warn that Europe’s largest conflict since World War II could drag on for years, and some fear it could lead to a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.
NEW OFFENSIVES, NEW OBJECTIVES
In recent months, Russian forces have tried to encircle the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut and push deeper into the Donetsk region. Along with fulfilling its goal of capturing the entire Donbas, Moscow aims to wear down Ukrainian forces and prevent them from starting offensives elsewhere.
Bakhmut has become an important symbol of tenacity for Ukraine, as well as a way to tie up and destroy the most capable Russian forces. Both sides have used up ammunition at a rate unseen in decades. Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said Russia has poured more troops and weapons into the Donbas and attacked other areas in an apparent bid to distract Ukrainian forces. “Russia currently has the initiative and the advantage on the battlefield,” he said, noting Kyiv's acute shortage of ammunition. Russia has relied on its massive arsenal, and boosted production of weapons and munitions, giving it a significant edge. While Ukrainian and Western intelligence agencies observed that Moscow is running out of precision missiles, it has plenty of old-style weapons. But even though Ukraine and its allies expect a wider Russian offensive beyond the Donbas, it could be a gamble for Moscow, which mobilized 300,000 reservists last fall to bolster its forces. Igor Strelkov, a former Russian security officer who led separatist forces in the Donbas when fighting erupted there in 2014, warned that any big offensive could be disastrous for Russia because its preparation would be impossible to conceal and attackers would face a devastating response. He said an offensive would also raise logistical challenges like those that thwarted Russia's attempt to capture Kyiv at the war's start. “Any large-scale offensive will quickly and inevitably entail very big losses, exhausting the resources accumulated during mobilization,” Strelkov warned. Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at RUSI in London, predicted any Russian offensive would fail, but said it could drain Ukraine’s resources and keep it from preparing its own large-scale counteroffensive. “The big question is how much damage does the Russian offensive do before it runs out of steam, because that will dictate the Ukrainian position,” he said, noting that its aim could be to disrupt Kyiv's ability to stage a counteroffensive. Bronk said Ukraine spent the winter building up its mechanized brigades that had spearheaded autumn counteroffensives in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions and suffered losses.
He said Ukraine has a window of opportunity of six to eight months to reclaim more land, noting that Russia could launch another mobilization to recruit up to 500,000 more troops who could be readied for combat after at least six months of training. Zhdanov said Ukraine could launch a new counteroffensive in late April or early May after receiving new Western weapons, including battle tanks. He predicted Ukrainian forces will likely attack from the Zaporizhzhia region to try to reclaim the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk and cut the Russian corridor to Crimea. “If Ukraine reaches the Sea of Azov coast, it will nullify all the Russian gains,” Zhdanov said, turning Putin's victories "to dust.”
STALEMATE IN UKRAINE OR UPHEAVAL IN RUSSIA?
Observers see little prospect for talks. Both sides are "irreconcilable on their current positions,” said Bronk. Major Ukrainian battlefield successes this summer could fuel "significant political turmoil in Russia, because at that point, Putin’s own position within the leadership becomes very, very difficult to see as tenable,” he said. At the same time, if Ukraine fails to reclaim more territory before Russia builds up its troops, it could lead to a “long-term stalemate and sort of a grinding attritional war that just kind of goes on and on,” Bronk added, playing into Moscow’s plan “to prolong the war and just wait for the West to get exhausted.”Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who served in the past three U.S. administrations, also saw little prospect for a settlement. “The Russians are digging in for the long haul. They have no intention of losing,” she said. “Putin has made it very clear that he’s prepared to sacrifice whatever it takes. His message there is basically saying you can’t possibly counteract me, because I’m willing to do whatever and I’ve got so much more manpower.”Hill said Putin is hoping for Western support for Kyiv to dissolve — "that it goes away and that Ukraine is left exposed, and then that Russia can force Ukraine to capitulate and give up on its territory.”Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Endowment said Putin continues to believe he can achieve his goals by pressing the campaign. “For him, the only way he admits it can end is capitulation of Kyiv,” she said.
THE NUCLEAR OPTION
Putin has repeatedly said Russia could use “all available means” to protect its territory, a clear reference to its nuclear arsenal. Moscow’s nuclear doctrine states that it could use those weapons in response to a nuclear strike or an attack with conventional forces threatening “the very existence of the Russian state,” a formulation that offers broad room for interpretation and abrupt escalation. Some Russian hawks urged nuclear strikes on Ukrainian bridges and other key infrastructure to force Kyiv and its allies to accept Moscow’s terms. Bronk said he doesn’t expect Russia to resort to that, arguing it would backfire. “Actually using them generates almost no practical benefits at all and certainly nothing to compensate for all of the costs, both in terms of immediate escalation risk — irradiating things they want to hold on to and be part of — and also pushing away the rest of the world,” he said. It would be certain to anger China, which doesn’t want the nuclear taboo broken, he added. Hill also noted that Russia got some pushback from China and India, who were worried about Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling. She added that Putin sees nuclear threats as a powerful political tool and will keep issuing them in the hope of forcing the West to withdraw support for Ukraine. “Putin’s just hoping that everybody’s going to blink,” she said. “He’s not going to give up the idea that he could use a battlefield tactical nuclear weapon.”But Hill added: “If he thought he would get the results that he wanted from it, he would use it.”Stanovaya, who has long followed Kremlin decision-making, also said Putin’s nuclear threat is no bluff. If he sees that Ukraine can attack in a way that threatens Russian territory and lead to Moscow's defeat, "I think he would be ready to use nuclear weapons in a way that he can show that it’s a question of survival for Russia,” she said.
*Danica Kirka in London, Andrew Katell in New York and Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

Canada to support Iranian temporary residents, citing crackdown on Iran protests
By Kanishka Singh/Reuters/Thu, February 23, 2023
The Canadian government on Thursday announced support for Iranian temporary residents in Canada looking to extend their stay, citing the Iranian government's crackdown on recent protests. "Effective March 1, 2023, these measures will make it easier for Iranians who wish to extend their temporary status in Canada and to move between temporary streams, allowing Iranians to continue studying, working or visiting family by applying for a new permit from inside Canada," the Canadian government said in a statement on Thursday. Nationwide protests erupted in Iran last fall after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody on Sept. 16 last year. Amini was arrested in Tehran by the morality police for flouting the hijab rules, which require women to entirely cover their hair and bodies, and died in custody. Anti-government demonstrations over her death have damaged the Iranian clerical establishment's legitimacy at home and abroad. Many Western states, including Canada, have imposed sanctions following a harsh state crackdown on protests. The Canadian government said an open work permit pathway will be made available for Iranians already in Canada, adding that applications from Iranians in Canada will also be processed on a priority basis. Canada also said it was waiving certain processing fees for Iranians who wish to extend their stay in Canada, and will also waive passport and permanent resident travel document fees for citizens and permanent residents of Canada in Iran who wish to leave. "Canada will not stand idly by in the face of these aggressions as the Iranian regime continues its ongoing human rights violations," Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said on Thursday.

Top Nagorno-Karabakh official sacked as blockade approaches fourth month
TBILISI (Reuters)/By Felix Light/Thu, February 23, 2023
The head of Nagorno-Karabakh's separatist government, Ruben Vardanyan, was removed from office on Thursday, Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported, almost three months into an Azerbaijani blockade of the enclave. It gave no reason for Vardanyan's dismissal, but the billionaire banker, appointed only in November, had clashed with Armenia's prime minister over the role of Russian peacekeepers in the region. Vardanyan had also been criticised by Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians and it broke away from Baku in a war in the early 1990s. Azerbaijan regained much of its lost territory in a six-week conflict in 2020 in which thousands of people were killed. The fighting was ended by a Russia-brokered truce and the dispatch of Russian peacekeepers to the region. Last December, Azerbaijani civilians identifying themselves as environmental activists began blocking the Lachin corridor, the only remaining road connecting the territory to Armenia. Separatist officials have repeatedly warned of a humanitarian disaster unless the road is opened, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly criticised Russia for not doing more to lift the blockade.In January, Vardayan said that "futile" criticism of Moscow's peacekeepers only helped Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan, for its part, has repeatedly described Vardanyan as an obstacle to peace talks. At the recent Munich Security Conference, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Baku was ready to speak to Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenian population, provided Vardanyan depart the enclave. Pashinyan said earlier this month that he had sent Baku a draft of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In a statement announcing Vardanyan's dismissal, Nagorno-Karabakh's 'president', Arayik Harutyunyan, praised the minister's contribution to the territory's government without giving a reason for the sacking. He named Prosecutor General Gurgen Nersisyan as Vardanyan's replacement. Vardanyan had previously been a Russian citizen. President Vladimir Putin granted Vardanyan's request to be stripped of his Russian passport in a decree published in December.

Palestinian Oslo accords negotiator Ahmed Qureia dies at 85
Associated Press/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
Ahmed Qureia, a former Palestinian prime minister and one of the architects of interim peace deals with Israel, has died at age 85. A key player in the 1993 Oslo peace accords, Qureia witnessed the rise of the dream of Palestinian statehood that surged during the negotiations. But he also saw those hopes recede, with the prospect of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict drifting further than ever. Domestically, Qureia was riddled with corruption charges that tainted his reputation. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed Qureia's death on Wednesday. The cause of death was not immediately made public, but Qureia had been ill for some time with a heart condition. "Abu Alaa stood in the lead defending the causes of his home and people," Abbas said in a statement carried by the official Wafa news agency, using Qureia's nickname. Born in 1937 in Abu Dis, suburb of east Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, Qureia joined the Fatah movement in 1968. He rose quickly through the ranks under the leadership of its founder, late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, and became a member of its decision-making body, the Central Committee, in 1989. He was also a member of the PLO Executive Committee.
Qureia headed the Palestinian delegation to Oslo, where intensive talks with Israel led to the peace accords in 1993, which created the Palestinian Authority and set up self-rule areas in the Palestinian territories. During ensuing rounds of negotiations with Israelis, he met all Israeli prime ministers who were in office before 2004, including Yitzhak Rabin, Ariel Sharon, Shimon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Olmert, and U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Peace talks have collapsed in the three decades since the accords. Israel has driven up settlement building in the West Bank, and imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip after the Islamic militant Hamas took power there after it routed forces loyal to Fatah. Violence is again flaring up between the sides, especially in the West Bank. In a 2013 interview with the Associated Press marking two decades since the Oslo agreements, Qureia said that if he knew then what he knows now he wouldn't have agreed to the accords. "With such kinds of blocs of settlements? No. With the closure of Jerusalem? No. Not at all," Qureia said in an interview at his office in the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis. After the establishment of the PA, Qureia won a seat in the first parliamentary elections in 1996 and chaired the Palestinian Legislative Council. After Abbas resigned as the PA's first prime minister in 2003, Arafat replaced him with Qureia. He held the post until 2006, when the militant Hamas group scored a landslide victory in the second Palestinian elections. During his tenure as prime minister, Qureia was the subject of controversy after reports accused his family of having financial interest in a company that sold Egyptian cement to Israel, which the latter used to build the West Bank separation barrier.

Gaza rockets, Israeli strikes follow deadly West Bank raid
Associated Press/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
Palestinian militants in Gaza launched rockets at southern Israel and Israeli aircraft struck targets in the coastal enclave early Thursday after a deadly gun battle with Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank killed 10 Palestinians. The bloodshed extends one of the deadliest periods in years between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, where dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of the year. Palestinian attacks on Israelis in 2023 have killed 11 people. The violence comes in the first weeks of Israel's new far-right government, which has promised to take a tough line against the Palestinians and pledged to ramp up settlement construction on lands Palestinians seek for their future state. Israel was bracing for a retaliation and police were stepping up security in sensitive areas. A day after a raid in January on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank that killed 10 Palestinians, a Palestinian shot and killed seven people outside a synagogue in east Jerusalem. On Thursday, police said security guards at the entrance to a West Bank settlement shot and lightly wounded a woman who police said attempted to stab the guards.
The Israeli military said Palestinian militants fired six rockets from the Gaza Strip toward the country's south early Thursday. The Israeli military said air defenses intercepted five of the rockets, which were fired toward the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. One missile landed in an open field. Israeli aircraft then struck several targets in northern and central Gaza, including a weapons manufacturing site and a military compound belonging to the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza. There were no reports of injuries in Israel or Gaza. Violence in the West Bank often sets off a response from militants in Gaza, although the rocket attacks were not immediately claimed by Palestinian militant groups. Among those killed in Wednesday's raid in Nablus were Palestinian men aged 72 and 61, and a 16-year-old boy, according to health officials. Scores of others were wounded. Various Palestinian militant groups claimed six of the dead as members. There was no immediate word on whether the others belonged to armed groups. Officials also said a 66-year-old man died from tear gas inhalation.
It was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and raised the likelihood of further bloodshed. Israeli police said they were on heightened alert, while the Hamas militant group in Gaza said its patience was "running out." Islamic Jihad, another militant group, vowed to retaliate. In response to the raid, a strike was called across the West Bank and schools, universities and shops all shut down in protest. Schools and universities were shuttered in Gaza. Most shops in east Jerusalem were also closed. Wednesday's four-hour operation left a broad swath of damage in a centuries-old marketplace in Nablus, a city known as a militant stronghold. In one emotional scene, an overwhelmed medic pronounced a man dead, only to notice the lifeless patient was his father. Elsewhere, an amateur video showed two men, apparently unarmed, being shot as they ran in the street.
Israel has been carrying out stepped-up arrest raids of wanted militants in the West Bank since a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel last spring. Israel says the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. But the raids have shown few signs of slowing the violence, and in cases like Wednesday's operation, can raise the likelihood of reprisals.
The Israeli military said it entered Nablus, the West Bank's commercial center, to arrest three militants suspected in previous shooting attacks. The main suspect was wanted in the killing of an Israeli soldier last fall.
The influx of wounded overwhelmed the city's Najah Hospital, said Ahmad Aswad, the head nurse of the cardiology department. In the Old City of Nablus, people stared at the rubble that had been a large home in the centuries-old marketplace. From one end to the other, shops were riddled with bullets. Parked cars were crushed. Blood stained the cement ruins. Furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris. As the bodies were paraded through the crowd on stretchers, thousands of people packed the streets, chanting in support of the militants. Masked men fired into the air.
The fighting comes at a sensitive time, less than two months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new hard-line government took office. It presents an early challenge for Netanyahu, who on top of spiraling violence is also facing waves of protests from Israelis against a plan to overhaul the country's justice system. The government is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for tougher action against Palestinian militants and vowed to entrench Israeli rule in the occupied West Bank. Israeli media have quoted top security officials as expressing concern that this could lead to even more violence as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches. About 60 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Last year, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in those areas, making it the deadliest year there since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group B'Tselem. Some 30 people on the Israeli side were killed in Palestinian attacks. Israel says most of those killed were militants. But youths protesting the raids and others not involved in the confrontations have also been killed. Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.

Israel: Oman to allow Israeli planes through its airspace
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)/Thu, February 23, 2023
Israel's foreign minister said Thursday that the Gulf Arab state of Oman has decided to allow Israeli planes to fly through its airspace. The announcement was another sign of closer ties between Israel and some Arab countries. Oman's Civil Aviation Authority tweeted that it “affirms that the Sultanate’s airspace is open for all carriers that meet the requirements of the Authority for overflying,” without directly mentioning Israel. The move comes on the heels last year of a similar step by Saudi Arabia, and would shorten the flying distance between Israel and Asia. “This is a significant and historic decision for the Israeli economy and Israeli travelers,” said Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who said there had been American involvement in the decision. In Washington, Adrienne Watson, the National Security spokesperson, welcomed Oman's decision, calling it a ‘’historic step'" that completes a process begun last year, during President Joe Biden’s visit to the region “when Saudi Arabia similarly opened its airspace to all civilian planes.”“The United States was pleased to support these efforts through months of quiet diplomatic engagement,” she said. Oman and Israel have had secretive ties for years, which were spotlighted in 2018 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise visit to the country, the first trip of its kind in over 20 years. Still, Oman was not among the four countries to sign normalization deals with Israel in 2020 under U.S-brokered agreements known as the Abraham Accords. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as Morocco and Sudan, all agreed to normalize ties with Israel as part of the deals. The sultanate has long had a low-key role in fostering negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. Oman, which sits on the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, with Saudi Arabia to its north and Iran to its east, also has a long record of being a quiet broker in the region, opting to stay on the sidelines of the rivalry between the two regional powerhouses. Oman has also served as a mediator between the United States and Israel’s arch-rival Iran. Oman hosted the secret talks that eventually led to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and has facilitated the release of prisoners and hostages held by armed groups. Earlier this week, Oman welcomed Syrian President Bashar Assad on his first visit outside Syria since the earthquake there earlier this month.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 23-24/2023
Wahhabism, Colonialism, and Ancient Saudi Arabia
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 23 February, 2023
On Wednesday, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia celebrated its Founding Day. Since that day almost 300 years ago, Saudi Arabia’s long, great history has been filled with moments of prosperity but also moments of state collapse. Because I am an avid history reader, I find that our yesterdays can help us understand our today and predict our tomorrow.
The commemoration of Founding Day inevitably raises several debates: Was the Saudi state a necessity three centuries ago? Is it true it was founded with the aim of fighting polytheism (“shirk” in Arabic)? Has it really never been colonized by major powers? How did it deal with international conflicts?
In 1727, the foundations for a new state were built in the town of Diriyah in the Arab Peninsula, at the time home to dozens of microstates. There had been no central state established since the end of the Rashidun Caliphate. Then came Muhammad bin Saud, successfully eliminating the microstates in independent towns and cities and creating a new, large state.
Fleeing the nearby town of Al Uyaynah, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab sought protection with bin Saud, knowing only he could shield him from harm.
Historically, Sheikh Abd-al-Wahhab played an influential role as a religious reformist and as one of Imam Muhammad bin Saud’s men. However, his biography and role were manipulated in the following eras. Najd and the Arabian Peninsula were portrayed as lands of semi-polytheists of which he was the savior. His biography was recounted with such exaggeration it came close to match the biography of the Prophet (PBUH): his call for oneness, his ostracization and migration from Al Uyaynah to Diriyah, his call for Islam, and the wars he waged in its name.
The version closer to reality, though, is that the Sheikh was a scholar, and the peoples of Najd and the Peninsula were not polytheists.
The glorification of his story aimed not at sanctifying the Sheikh himself, but rather those clerics that came after him. Certain groups exaggerated his story in a bid to bestow upon themselves legitimacy to take or partake in power. The state did not, in fact, extend its authority to the different parts of the Arabian Peninsula until after the passing of Muhammad bin Saud and his successor, Abdulaziz bin Saud. Throughout his rule of four decades, Abdulaziz had not given the Sheikh a role or used his assistance. It was in that period that the state prospered, then it expanded north toward Iraq and Syria under the third King, Saud bin Abdulaziz, becoming the largest Arab state since the Abbasid rule.
With the rise of the extremist movement in the last few decades, a narrative sanctifying the Sheikh and inflating his role prevailed. The extremists prohibited the suggestion of any different narrative. In his Ph.D. dissertation, entitled “The History of Najd Prior to the Wahhabis”, Dr. Uwaidah Metaireek Al-Juhany recounts that period during which Najd was claimed to be a polytheist land. As any dissenting opinion would likely be met with persecution, Al-Juhany requested that the University of Washington hold off the publishing of his dissertation for another five years. He later found a translation of his dissertation was published in Beirut in a book under his name.
In the thesis, which is still deemed an important reference about that era, we discover that the establishment of a central state to unite the dozens of microstates in the fragmented Arabian Peninsula aimed not at spreading Islam, in lands where everyone was Muslim. Instead, the goal was to stop aggressions, looting, and famines in the microstates, mired by conflicts over power and resources, and build a central state instead, as in everywhere else in the world.
What about the three centuries in which, it is said, the state was not spared colonization, unlike the other countries of the region? There may have been no colonization as in the Levant by European armies, but the Ottomans did invade the land for many years. They colonized large parts of it for decades and were either fighting directly or supplying weapons to other parties in Al-Ahsa, Hijaz, the north, and the south. The English were also present, symbolically, directing the forces of the Sharif of Mecca. They were all driven out during the 30 years of unification battles, which, contrary to popular belief, were not only internal battles. Power and balance in international relations were a delicate process, especially in the pre-WWII era. The British and Germans, and to a lesser degree, the Soviets, were competing to bring Saudi Arabia aboard their alliances. Thus, King Abdulaziz, the founder of the third Saudi state, sought to establish a balanced relationship with the major powers, but the British Empire was still the most dominant in the region.
The King gave the oil concessions to the United States, which had no military presence; sought to buy weapons from Hitler's Germany, which were delivered to him through other countries, as well as from Italy; and maintained diplomatic relations with Moscow, which was becoming more preoccupied with its domestic issues under Stalin and did not want to anger Britain, either.

كوك كوغلين/معهد كايتستون: إعادة تأهيل مجرم حرب مثل بشار الأسد ليس خياراً
Rehabilitating a War Criminal like Assad is Not an Option
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/February 23, 2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/116079/116079/
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s offer to ease border restrictions to allow aid agencies better access to areas of northern Syria that were devastated by the recent earthquake is nothing more than a calculated ploy to have the punitive sanctions regime against Damascus eased.
The same pattern of double-dealing is now evident with the Assad regime’s blatant attempt to exploit the humanitarian disaster caused by the earthquake on the Turkey-Syrian border for its own ends.
Instead of easing sanctions against Assad, the Biden administration should be supporting efforts to establish an international war crimes tribunal that will ensure Assad and his henchmen stand trial for their despicable crimes.
Nor is Syria the only rogue Middle Eastern state seeking to exploit the earthquake.
Reports have also emerged that Iran, Syria’s main regional ally, is similarly seeking to take advantage of the humanitarian disaster to expand its military presence in Syria, a policy that is designed to intensify its efforts to threaten neighbouring Israel.
It is reported that Iran is using the earthquake to smuggle convoys of weapons disguised as humanitarian aid for earthquake victims in Syria.
The Biden Administration should not be encouraging them in their duplicity.
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s offer to ease border restrictions to allow aid agencies better access to areas of northern Syria that were devastated by the recent earthquake is nothing more than a calculated ploy to have the punitive sanctions regime against Damascus eased. Pictured: A convoy of trucks from Doctors Without Borders, carrying aid to earthquake victims, enters Syria from Turkey via the al-Hamam border crossing, on February 19, 2023.
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s offer to ease border restrictions to allow aid agencies better access to areas of northern Syria that were devastated by the recent earthquake is nothing more than a calculated ploy to have the punitive sanctions regime against Damascus eased.
During the five decades or so the Assad regime has been in power, one of its less appealing characteristics has been its willingness to exploit any global crisis for its own benefit.
In the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001, for example, Bashar al-Assad tried to improve relations with Washington by offering to help tackle the Al-Qaeda terrorist network that had masterminded the attack.
It later turned out to be an empty gesture, as Damascus soon turned its attention to supporting the numerous jihadi groups formed to carry out terrorist attacks against US forces operating in the Middle East.
The same pattern of double-dealing is now evident with the Assad regime’s blatant attempt to exploit the humanitarian disaster caused by the earthquake on the Turkey-Syrian border for its own ends.
Much of the Syrian area affected by the earthquake lies in rebel-controlled territory or territory formerly controlled by rebels such as Aleppo, which had already suffered extensive devastation as a result of the brutal offensive undertaken by Russia and pro-regime forces during the country’s crushing civil war.
Despite his regime’s best efforts, Assad had no control over most of northern Syria, which has been divided into numerous enclaves controlled by a variety of actors, from the al-Qaeda-linked factions based in the western area around Idlib to the US-backed Kurdish autonomous zone to the east.
As a result, the Assad regime initially proved unwilling to allow aid agencies access, even though they were some of the worst-affected areas from the earthquake.
Then, bowing to international pressure, Damascus suddenly changed its mind last week, and agreed to open several border crossings between Turkey and Syria to allow humanitarian aid to reach the stricken areas.
As with any decision taken by the Assad regime, the opening of the crossing was not done out of any great concern for the victims of the earthquake in rebel-held areas, but more as a calculated political gamble designed to see if Damascus can turn the humanitarian disaster to its own advantage.
At the very least, the disaster has opened the door for a deeper reconciliation between Syria and other Arab states, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, that have shunned the Syrian despot since the start of the civil war. Following the earthquake Assad had his first phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, while Saudi Arabia sent an aircraft carrying relief supplies to Assad-controlled Aleppo.
There have also been contacts between Syria and Turkey, which supported Islamist fighters seeking to overthrow the Assad regime, about opening border crossings to allow UN aid to be moved into Syrian government-controlled areas, raising hopes that Ankara and Damascus can establish a more constructive relationship.
By far the most significant development, though, so far as the Assad regime is concerned, is Washington’s decision to ease sanctions on Syria allowing all transactions related to earthquake relief to be authorised, which would otherwise be blocked by the sanctions.
While US officials insist there are no plans to re-engage with Assad, Damascus will certainly see this gesture as a potential opening in its campaign for international rehabilitation, a move that, if it happened, would amount to an abject betrayal of the Syrian people.
The latest estimates suggest that in excess of 500,000 Syrians died during the country’s decade-long civil war, many as a result of the savage war crimes committed by Assad’s regime, including the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas and the industrial-scale torture and murder of regime opponents.
Instead of easing sanctions against Assad, the Biden administration should be supporting efforts to establish an international war crimes tribunal that will ensure Assad and his henchmen stand trial for their despicable crimes.
Nor is Syria the only rogue Middle Eastern state seeking to exploit the earthquake.
Reports have also emerged that Iran, Syria’s main regional ally, is similarly seeking to take advantage of the humanitarian disaster to expand its military presence in Syria, a policy that is designed to intensify its efforts to threaten neighbouring Israel.
It is reported that Iran is using the earthquake to smuggle convoys of weapons disguised as humanitarian aid for earthquake victims in Syria.
It is a measure of the moral bankruptcy that lies at the heart of rogue regimes such as Syria and Iran that, even in times of disaster, they are willing to exploit the suffering of others in pursuit of their own perverse agendas.
The Biden Administration should not be encouraging them in their duplicity.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph’s Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 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.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19429/rehabilitating-war-criminal-assad

The Deification of Jihadist Hate and Violence
Raymond Ibrahim/February 23/2023
One of the most overlooked aspects of Islamic jihad is its utterly ruthless and destructive nature.
Consider the ongoing slaughter and terrorization of Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo. On Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, Muslim jihadists bombed a Protestant church during a baptism: 14 Christians were blown to pieces and dozens were seriously wounded. From their hospital beds, survivors recalled that evil day:
People were just flying in the air and falling down lifeless—it was a painful Sunday, everyone inside was trying to get his or her way out, but some couldn’t because their legs had gone off. The bomb killed children and their parents. I was traumatized and suffered some pain all over my body, but thank God I survived…. Bibles were in pieces and there was blood all over, and when I checked around me I was in a pool of blood. I lost consciousness. I regained my consciousness in a hospital bed…. I saw my fellow church members covered with blood, while others were crying and wailing in pain… This was done to threaten and reduce the number of Christians, and also to instill fear in the hearts of Christians of attending church services within the province.
During another recent attack in DR Congo, the jihadists sadistically tortured and slaughtered their Christian victims; a nun, Sister Marie-Sylvie Kavuke Vakatsuraki, and another Christian were burned alive.
In attempting to describe all of these atrocities, Bishop Melchizedec Sikuli Paluku of the DR Congo concluded that “There are no words, such is the horror that it surpasses all tolerable limits.”
He is hardly the first person to be at a loss for words in describing jihad’s horrific nature. From the birth of Islam in the seventh century to the present, most of those who lived through or witnessed the aftermath of Islamic “holy war” were also left dumbfounded.
Discussing the Arab conquest of Christian Egypt around 641, John of Nikiu, a contemporary eyewitness, recounted atrocity after atrocity committed by the Muslims against the indigenous Christians (Copts), simply because the invaders deemed “the servants of Christ as enemies of Allah.” His chronicle is so riddled with bloodshed that John simply concludes,
But let us now say no more, for it is impossible to describe the horrors the Muslims committed.
About a century later, the Latin Chronicle of 754 documented how the North African Muslim governor Musa bin Nusayr “invaded Spain to destroy it. He ruined beautiful cities, burning them with fire; condemned lords and powerful men to the cross; and butchered youths and infants with the sword…. He terrorized everyone.” Unable to elaborate, the Chronicle of 754 also concludes in resigned frustration:
Who can relate such perils? Who can enumerate such grievous disasters? Even if every limb were transformed into a tongue, it would be beyond human nature to express the ruin of Spain and its many and great evils.
Three centuries later, after recounting numerous examples of the Islamic terrorization of Armenia at the hands of Turks beginning around 1040—which included the slaughter or enslavement of hundreds of thousands of Christians, and destruction of thousands of churches—the chronicler Matthew of Edessa also threw up his hands in despair:
How to relate here, with a voice stifled by tears, the death of nobles and clergy whose bodies, left without graves, became the prey of carrion beasts, the exodus of women … led with their children into Persian slavery and condemned to an eternal servitude! That was the beginning of the misfortunes of Armenia. So, lend an ear to this melancholy recital.
What to make of all this? Why is the jihad so beyond ruthless? The answer is that Islam, thanks to its founder, Muhammad, deifies violence and bloodlust, in two primary ways.
First, it highly extols those who wage jihad—indeed, none is greater than the “holy warrior.” According to Koran 9:111: “Allah has bought from the believers their lives and worldly goods, and in return has promised them Paradise: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain.” Or, in the words of Muhammad, “Lining up for battle in the path of Allah [jihad] is worthier than 60 years of worship.” Greatest of all is the Muslim who dies fighting for Allah. Islam’s prophet continues:
The martyr is special to Allah. He is forgiven from the first drop of blood [he sheds]. He sees his throne in paradise. . . . Fixed atop his head will be a crown of honor, a ruby that is greater than the world and all it contains. And he will copulate with seventy-two houris [supernatural sex slaves designed to pleasure Allah’s favorites in perpetuity; The Al Qaeda Reader, p.143.]
Second, Islam utterly demonizes and preaches hate against non-Muslims. The Koran disparagingly likens them to cows, apes, swine, dogs, in sum, “the worst of creatures” (see 2:221, 2:65, 5:60, 7:176, 8:55.) So inflamed with hate and bloodlust, once jihadists get their hands on subhuman “infidels,” little wonder the atrocities they commit are so sadistically mindboggling.
In short, all of mankind is predisposed to hate the “other” and commit violence. But whereas religion and reason—think the Sermon on the Mount—have helped temper such inclinations, Islam deified hate and violence.
Such was the “genius” of Muhammad: in the Arabian society he lived in, non-tribal members (the “other”) were free game, to be plundered, enslaved, or killed with impunity. Muhammad took this idea and infused it with a pious rationale. Henceforth there would be only two “tribes” in the world: the umma—which consists of all Muslims—and the “infidels,” who deserve to be plundered, enslaved, or killed with impunity for rejecting Allah.
This explains why other nomadic societies—Turks and Tatars, whose way of life consisted of preying on everyone outside their tribe—also converted to Islam and, under the banner of jihad, continued preying on the other, the infidel, but now as venerated “champions of the faith.”
As Gregory Palamas, an Orthodox clergyman who was taken captive in the fourteenth century, said of the Turks:
They live by the bow, the sword, and debauchery, finding pleasure in taking slaves, devoting themselves to murder, pillage, spoil, and not only do they commit these crimes, but even—what an aberration—they believe that God approves them!
Little has changed. Returning to the ongoing Muslim butchery of Christians in the DR Congo, a survivor recounted: “I heard them. They were shouting in Arabic and Swahili, saying that the kafirs [nonbelievers or infidels] should be killed, all of them, and make Congo an Islamic state. Shoot all of them. Kill all of them, and burn their houses, these notorious Christians.”
Note: Quotes from historic chroniclers were excerpted from and are documented in the author’s book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West.

No signs of peace on Russia-Ukraine war’s first anniversary as both sides brace for protracted conflict
Nadia Al Faour/Arab News/February 23, 2023
DUBAI: Exactly a year ago Russia sent troops over its border into Ukraine’s north, east and south with the aim of quickly encircling the capital, Kyiv, and removing the government of Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said the “special military operation” was intended to “demilitarize” and “denazify” the country to protect ethnic Russians, prevent Kyiv joining NATO, and to keep it in Russia’s sphere of influence.
As it turned out, Russian forces met with stiff resistance from the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian army, who repulsed the advance on the capital and forced entire divisions’ retreat from the cities of Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson in the south.
Twelve months on, the war, which Russian military strategists probably expected to last just a matter of days, has become a bitter stalemate, with the opposing armies dug in along a front line spanning 1,500 km from north to south across the east of Ukraine.
Although Russia has attempted to annex four Ukrainian provinces — Luhansk and Donetsk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to the south — it does not fully control these areas. And as events during the past year have shown, even Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, is vulnerable.
Since Russia launched its “special military operation” on Feb. 24, some 8 million Ukrainians have been displaced across Europe and further afield, while thousands of soldiers have died on both sides. Various Western sources estimate the conflict has caused 150,000 casualties on each side, with Russian military personnel possibly accounting for 150,000 of the deaths.
“Russia wages nineteenth century colonization war tactics in the twenty-first century. It doesn’t work — not the tools, not the ways, and not the cause,” Dmytro Senik, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UAE, told Arab News in advance of the first anniversary of the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
As the war drags on, Moscow has been forced to source weapons and ammunition from sympathetic allies, including Tehran, which is widely believed to be providing to the Russian military the same brand of kamikaze drones that it has used and given to proxy groups in the Middle East.
Many such drones have been used in recent months to attack civilian infrastructure, including power stations and residential apartments in Ukrainian cities.
“As Russia continues to fail on the battlefield, with Russian generals confirming it, they began to target Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and thermal power stations with the purpose of depriving Ukrainians of heat, power supply, and water pumping,” said Senik.
“They claim they came to the ‘rescue.’ But, instead, they are killing and destroying lives. The Russians were intending to freeze us to death, to make our conditions miserable. It goes against Article 2 of the Convention on Genocide. Time and time again, Russia violates international law.”
Speaking of Russian narratives of Nazism, Senik said: “For the Kremlin, every neighboring country which plans its own future of nation-building and does not want to become a colony of a Russian empire, in the view of the Russians, becomes a Nazi.”
For their part, pro-Russia voices have urged the Kremlin to up the ante to achieve the strategic objectives of the war.
After an explosion damaged the Kerch Bridge that connects Russia to Crimea last October, Margarita Simonyan, head of Russia’s state funded RT news channel, wondered aloud on social media what Moscow’s response would be, asking: “And?”
Branding Russia’s actions an illegal act of aggression, the West has imposed layers of sanctions on Kremlin officials, the Russian economy, and its hydrocarbon industry, partly contributing to a global inflation crisis and fuel price spike.
Another damaging consequence of the war was disruption to regional agriculture and Black Sea shipping, which led to fears of a global grain shortage, causing food prices to skyrocket, especially in import-dependent nations of the Middle East and Africa, forcing the UN to intervene as a mediator.
INNUMBERS
• 150,000 Estimated number of military casualties on each side, according to Western sources.
• 21,000 Estimated number of Ukrainian civilians killed or wounded, according to the UN.
• 8m Ukrainians forced to flee since the war broke out, according to the UN refugee agency.
• 5m Ukrainians internally displaced. The same number have reportedly sought refuge in Russia.
• 65,000 Suspected war crimes, according to the EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.
While Ukrainian grain exports resumed last July thanks to a UN-brokered deal between Kyiv and Moscow, some countries had to wait months for their shipments, while others, such as Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Lebanon, have struggled to stabilize the price of bread due to inflation.
Fredrick Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council, has called the war a “wake-up call” for policymakers, one that constitutes an “inflection point in history” when leaders have the chance to make decisions that will have “an outsized influence” on future generations.
However, the West’s involvement in the war, including the supply of weapons, ammunition and, more recently, modern battle tanks to Ukraine, has pushed relations between Moscow and Washington to their lowest ebb since the Cold War.
In a state of the nation address on Tuesday, Putin said his country was suspending the New START treaty — the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty, signed by Russia and the US in 2010 — and was ready to resume nuclear testing. Nevertheless, the Russian foreign ministry has said Moscow will continue to strictly observe the quantitative restrictions and to notify the US of planned test launches of inter-continental ballistic missiles.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, his first to the country since the start of the war, where he pledged Washington’s continued support for Ukraine in a meeting with Zelensky.
Biden also met with NATO and European leaders in the Polish capital Warsaw on Wednesday, with the allies vowing to further “reinforce our deterrence and defense posture across the entire eastern flank from the Baltic to the Black Sea.”
While this was going on, Putin was holding talks with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, who was visiting Moscow after Washington and NATO voiced concern that China could be preparing to supply Russia with weapons — a charge Beijing denies.
“We will not be overwhelmed by threats and pressure from third parties,” Wang said, according to a readout following the meeting, which further quoted him as saying that China is willing to “deepen political trust” and “strengthen strategic coordination” with Russia.
Beijing has sought to position itself as a neutral party in the war, while maintaining close ties with strategic ally Russia. It has said it is “deeply concerned” and that the conflict is “intensifying and even getting out of control.”
Following the meeting, Moscow said Beijing had presented its views on approaches to a “political settlement” in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in New York, the UN General Assembly met on Wednesday with Kyiv and its allies to garner support for a resolution calling for a “just and lasting peace.”
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, described the conflict “an affront to our collective conscience,” calling the anniversary “a grim milestone for the people of Ukraine and for the international community.”
The international community remains divided on the war. In October last year, 143 member states of the General Assembly voted to condemn the annexation of parts of Ukraine. While Russia, Belarus, Syria, and North Korea opposed the motion, India and China were among the 35 states that abstained.
The member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have refrained from expressing support for either side in the conflict, instead calling for diplomacy to end the crisis. But they have supported resolutions calling for respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Since Russia launched its “special military operation” on Feb. 24, some 8 million Ukrainians have been displaced across Europe and further afield. (AFP)
Having acted as go-between in a prisoner swap and maintained ties with all parties to the conflict, the Kingdom remains well placed to act as a mediator between Russia on the one hand and Ukraine and Western countries on the other hand.
Despite the apparent exhaustion on both sides, officials in Kyiv, Washington and other Western capitals fear Russia will use the war’s first anniversary to launch a new offensive with hundreds of thousands of troops to break the stalemate. Senik, however, is unconcerned.
“I don’t think numbers matter. It is about quality not quantity,” he said. “The Russian army was confident but dysfunctional, waging Second World War tactics of using men as cannon fodder. Russia lost more than 20,000 soldiers trying to take the small town of Soledar, a town of 9,000 civilians. Putin does not care about his people.”
In Senik’s view, the Ukrainians are equally prepared to fight on. “For centuries Russia has been trying to eradicate Ukrainian culture. The fight is 300 years old and still ongoing,” he told Arab News.
“We stood up against what was believed to be the second strongest army in the world. We continue to fight and show resilience. We will prevail. And we would rather stay without light and heat but never with Russia.”

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Europe’s leaders must stop the war out of mercy for their people
Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor/Arab News/February 23, 2023
The Russian-Ukrainian war took an abrupt turn this week. In his address to the Russian Federal Assembly on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of using Ukraine to aim at Russia “to transform the local conflict into a global confrontation.” This coincided with the surprise visit paid by US President Joe Biden to Ukraine, before he held talks with the Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw. In response to Putin’s remarks, Biden stood firm on pledging more support to Ukraine.
In the meantime, the pro-Ukraine European countries maintain an intransigent and uncompromising official position, increasing supplies of equipment and cutting-edge military weapons to Ukraine, in addition to the US’ political, moral and logistical support.
One year into the war, Western countries should deal with the crisis from a logical and realistic perspective. They should work toward peace rather than fueling the flames of war, whose ripple effects are spreading far beyond the battlefield to European countries and communities, threatening the safety and security of their citizens.
A report published last week by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research in Germany concluded that the losses incurred by the German economy due to the Ukrainian war would amount to €600 billion ($636 billion) by the end of 2023. The losses per capita are expected to reach €2,000, according to the latest data on Germany’s gross domestic product, in addition to a 40 percent increase in energy prices. If the strongest economy in Europe is sustaining such a high cost because of the war, what will become of the populations of the other European countries?
Therefore, I call on the leaders and heads of the EU states and the UK to reverse course because, if they keep pursuing the same path, it will entail serious risks and devastating consequences for the people and economies of their countries. Do not help fuel a war driven by foreign agendas with costly repercussions for the Ukrainians, and for your peoples and states.
In hindsight, it would have been possible to anticipate matters and implement an international mechanism to find a solution to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis with the least possible damage, sparing the innocent Ukrainian people the state of misery and homelessness they are now suffering. This could be achieved by responding to the concerns of the warring parties and avoiding provocative actions, such as the plan to enlarge NATO by accepting Sweden and Finland as members.
There are no winners in war and the biggest losers are those who engage in conflicts instead of working to put out their flames
It goes without saying that these provocative actions will stir up the anger of the Russian bear, which will spare no effort and use all available means, including strategic and conventional nuclear weapons, to defend what it considers its right to security and sovereignty. Things, as they seem, do not bode well. And if the escalation continues, it will lead to an all-out global nuclear war.
Therefore, I call on the leaders and heads of the EU states and the UK to learn lessons from the negative repercussions of the war on their countries and the world in general. The number of Ukrainians fleeing the war has exceeded 8 million. Europeans are living in panic, with an alarming rise in unemployment rates and skyrocketing prices of basic needs such as fuel, electricity and food.
The European peoples are fortunate because the winter season in Europe has not been as cold as usual. Thus, their needs for heating have diminished, enabling them to spend less money on energy sources whose prices last year soared to unprecedented levels due to Russia cutting its supplies of oil and gas to their countries. Do the leaders not realize that their ultimate responsibility is to ensure a decent and secure life for their people and not to endanger their security? How would they justify to their electoral bases that their people’s fate hinges on the developments on the Russian-Ukrainian front?
Worst of all, are European states ready to engage in a devastating third world war, with dire consequences worldwide? As the war enters its second year, our greatest fear is that it will escalate further and get out of control, with unspeakable repercussions. Then there will be no use crying over spilt milk.
This is an open letter to EU and British leaders. Work for the interests of your people and homelands. Look at their suffering. Stop funding foreign agendas with your money and the assets of your people. Let your priority be to end this war. Invest your best efforts in pursuing reconciliation and agreement between the Russians and Ukrainians, rather than sending arms supplies and boosting one party over the other. Beware of the consequences of going too far in fueling the conflict, as this could backfire and you would be the first to lose, with all the damage it entails.
The European peoples have stood firm out of humanitarian feelings and compassion for others; however, they are reeling under the weight of their miserable economic and living conditions. Will they keep silent while you pursue your absurd policies? A responsible leader must work first and foremost for the interests and comfort of his people. He shall not make his citizens pay the price for his mistakes and adventures.
Today you are putting the interests of others over those of your own countries. Be the pioneers of peace and stand as a strong barrier against those who seek to undermine and destroy you. The conflict’s toll has risen to hundreds of thousands of victims and millions of innocent homeless people, not to mention the destruction, which has exceeded all expectations.
I call on you to work for a sincere and long-term Russian-Ukrainian reconciliation, and I am confident that both parties would welcome this effort. There are no winners in war and the biggest losers are those who engage in conflicts instead of working to put out their flames.
*Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor is a prominent UAE businessman and public figure. He is renowned for his views on international political affairs, his philanthropic activity, and his efforts to promote peace. He has long acted as an unofficial ambassador for his country abroad.

The long-time alliance between Al-Qaeda and the Iran regime
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/February 23, 2023
In spite of the Iranian leaders’ frequent claims that Tehran does not have any links to Al-Qaeda, the relationship between the Islamic Republic and the terrorist group is well-documented and thriving.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian last week dismissed a new link between his government and Al-Qaeda. He denounced the US for publishing a report stating that Saif Al-Adel is based in Iran. Al-Adel, an Egyptian, became the leader of Al-Qaeda following the death of Ayman Al-Zawahiri last July, according to the US State Department. “Our assessment aligns with that of the UN — that Al-Qaeda’s new de facto leader Saif Al-Adel is based in Iran,” a spokesperson pointed out.
A UN report released last week indicated that the fact that the head of Al-Qaeda is based in Iran raises questions that “have a bearing on Al-Qaeda’s ambitions to assert leadership of a global movement in the face of challenges from (Daesh).”
Some scholars, policy analysts or politicians may argue that any relationship between the Islamic Republic and Al-Qaeda is unlikely because the former is Shiite and the latter is Sunni. But it is important to point out that the sectarian differences between Al-Qaeda and the Iranian regime have never been an issue for Iran, as long as the terrorist group helps it accomplish its revolutionary goals, destabilize the region and achieve the mullahs’ ambitions. The Iranian regime is happy to build alliances with non-Shiite states, such as Venezuela and North Korea, or nonstate actors that advance its parochial interests.
The relationship between Al-Qaeda and the Iranian regime dates back to the early 1990s. Tehran viewed the terror group through the prism of political opportunism. From the Iranian leaders’ perspective, Al-Qaeda was an invaluable nonstate terrorist group that could assist with its two main revolutionary principles — anti-Americanism and undermining Saudi Arabia’s interests in the region.
Al-Qaeda owes its prominence as a major terrorist group to its training and support from the Iranian regime and Hezbollah
The Iranian regime came to Al-Qaeda’s aid in the 1990s, when Al-Qaeda was in desperate need of funds and, more importantly, sophisticated tactical and technical training that would enable it to carry out large-scale terrorist attacks. A convergence of interests led to the blossoming of ties. In fact, Osama bin Laden advised his followers to revere the Iranian regime, writing that Iran was the “main artery for funds, personnel and communication” for Al-Qaeda. Three of Iran’s institutions were key to assisting Al-Qaeda and the regime’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, its elite Quds Force and the Ministry of Intelligence.
Several critical pieces of evidence have substantiated the close ties between the Iranian regime and Al-Qaeda. Prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, the Iranian regime allowed Al-Qaeda operatives to cross its territory without visas or passports. Robust evidence, including a federal court ruling, found that “Iran furnished material and direct support” for at least eight of the 9/11 attackers.
Iran provided funds, logistical support and ammunition to Al-Qaeda and sheltered several of its leaders in exchange for attacks on US interests. After 9/11, the Iranian regime continued to support Al-Qaeda in Iraq and other countries with the goal of pushing out any forces that were rivals to Iran.
Finally, more than 400,000 documents were released by the CIA in 2017, disclosing alliances between Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and the Iranian regime. The files confirmed what had been known by several intelligence agencies, courts and experts for a long time. According to the files, Iran offered Al-Qaeda fighters “money and arms and everything they need, and offered them training in Hezbollah camps in Lebanon, in return for striking American interests in Saudi Arabia.”
Al-Qaeda owes its prominence as a major terrorist group to its training and support from the Iranian regime and Hezbollah. This included advice on vehicle bombs, suicide bombs and simultaneous multidimensional attacks on several targets. After acquiring the tactical, technical and bombing expertise, Al-Qaeda carried out its first large-scale attacks in August 1998 — truck bombs at the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing more than 200 people. A US district court found that, before Iran and Hezbollah’s training, Al-Qaeda “did not possess the technical expertise required to carry out the embassy bombings.” They were replicas of Hezbollah attacks in 1983.
Furthermore, the close relationship between Al-Qaeda and the theocratic establishment explains why the terror group has never carried out attacks against the Iranian regime.
In summary, the Iranian regime and Al-Qaeda have had close links for more than three decades. Tehran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism and it funds, arms and trains any terrorist group that advances its revolutionary and ideological agenda, regardless of their religious orientation.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh