English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 29/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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15 آذار/2023

Bible Quotations For today
No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Saint John 03/05-08:”Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 28-29/2023
Patriarch Rai heads to the Vatican ahead of Paris visit
Azour meets leaders in Lebanon, says has 'rescue project'
Safieddine stresses 'consensus' necessary to elect president
Charafeddine to LBCI: A governmental session will be dedicated to Syrian refugee file
UAE releases 10 Lebanese detainees after two-month arrest
Nassar from Deir al-Ahmar: For electing a president as soon as possible, forming a new government based on a reform project
"Renewal" bloc denounces government's decision to place Industry Director General in disposition, while taking no step against BDL Governor
Makhzoumi: Instead of dismissing Salameh, the cabinet deported the lawyers who worked voluntarily to follow up on the money he embezzled abroad
Justice Minister to hold press conference on Tuesday
Nasrallah meets with Iran's national media head
Lebanese Taekwondo delegation partakes in World Championship in Azerbaijan
Hezbollah’s Military Drills Undermine Lebanon’s State Authority

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published May 28-29/2023
Pope, MWL Secretary-General Discuss Means to Confront Religious Extremism
Oman’s FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Sultan Haitham’s Visit to Iran Will Positively Impact Region
Türkiye’s Erdogan Wins 5th Term as President, Extending Rule into 3rd Decade
Saudi Arabia, US Call on Sudanese Army, RSF to Continue Talks to Extend Ceasefire
Putin is terrified of Ukraine’s counteroffensive
Russia launches 'largest drone attack' on Ukrainian capital
Zelensky Thanks Air Defense after Largest Drone Attack on Kyiv in the Invasion
Russia condemns U.S. Senator Graham's comments on the death of Russians
Zelensky proposes imposing sanctions on Iran for 50 years
Russia's being more cautious with its tanks and trying to hide them after heavy losses in battle, but it's shooting itself in the foot
Arab League calls on international community to end Israel’s crimes against Palestinian children
Republicans, Biden reach debt ceiling deal

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 28-29/2023
Today in History: A Christian ‘Mustard Seed’ Delivers Spain from Islamic Tyranny/Raymond Ibrahim/May 28/2023
Gulf region making giant strides in renewable energy race/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/May 28, 2023
'The Official Truth': The End of Free Speech That Will End America/J.B. Shurk/Gatestone Institute./May 28, 2023
What Will the Next Türkiye Look Like?/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/May 28/2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 28-29/2023
Patriarch Rai heads to the Vatican ahead of Paris visit
LBCI/May 28, 2023
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai is heading to the Vatican tomorrow morning, Monday, to meet with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and will then head to Paris in the evening to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday. The Patriarch carries with him the presidential dossier and the atmosphere of consensus that has been achieved, in addition to the file of Syrian refugees.

Azour meets leaders in Lebanon, says has 'rescue project'
Naharnet/May 28, 2023
The Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and ex-minister Jihad Azour has told all parties in Lebanon that he does not want to be a “confrontation president,” a media report said. A confrontation president “would fall at the first test in parliament and I want to be the president who carries a rescue project for the country with everyone’s agreement,” Azour told the Lebanese parties, according to al-Jadeed TV. Azour voiced his remarks during a recent two-day visit to Lebanon in which he met with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, Kataeb Party leader Sami Gemayel, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, ex-PM Fouad Saniora and Speaker Nabih Berri, amid ongoing communication with the Change forces and the Democratic Gathering, al-Jadeed said. And citing "unconfirmed reports," the Progressive Socialist Party's al-Anbaa news portal said Azour also met with MP Mohammed Raad of Hezbollah in Haret Hreik. Al-Jadeed added that during a walk in the garden of the Ain el-Tineh Palace with Berri, the Speaker told Azour that he has “nothing against” him. “But we as a (Shiite) Duo have our natural candidate Suleiman Franjieh and we are clinging to him,” Berri told Azour. “Go find your path,” the Speaker added, according to al-Jadeed.

Safieddine stresses 'consensus' necessary to elect president
Naharnet/May 28, 2023
Senior Hezbollah official Sayyed Hashem Safieddine on Sunday emphasized that “reality obligates that a (new) president can only be reached through consensus.” “Whoever wants to label this as a settlement, understanding or consensus is free to call it what they want, but this is Lebanon and this is the nature of solutions in it,” Safieddine added. “Lebanon must take a decision and select its choices amid the major changes that are taking place in the region. It must come forward to reserve a place in the new equations so that it does not get lost in those equations, whether they come from the region or the world,” the Hezbollah official went on to say.

Charafeddine to LBCI: A governmental session will be dedicated to Syrian refugee file
LBCI/May 28, 2023
Caretaker Minister of Displaced Issam Charafeddine clarified on Sunday that a date will be set for a governmental session dedicated to the Syrian refugee file after the consultative meeting will be held at the Grand Serail specifically for the issue of refugees on June 7th. In an interview on LBCI’s “Nharkom Said” TV show, he pointed out that they have previously prepared a memorandum of understanding with Syria, and now it is necessary to move forward with a protocol and officially send a delegation to Syria. Regarding the Brussels conference, Charafeddine explained that the participation of Caretaker Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Social Affairs, alongside Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, is essential.

UAE releases 10 Lebanese detainees after two-month arrest
Associated Press/May 28, 2023
A group of Lebanese citizens detained in the United Arab Emirates have been released, Lebanon's Foreign Ministry said. Lebanon's ambassador to the UAE notified the ministry of the release of 10 Lebanese detainees who had been arrested there about two months ago, the ministry said in a statement. The release comes after the death earlier this month of a Lebanese man who was detained in the UAE on unknown charges. A committee of family members of Lebanese citizens detained in the UAE alleged in a statement that Ghazi Ezzedine, 55, had died under torture, and rights groups raised concerns about the Emirati government's lack of transparency regarding Ezzedine's case and the linked detentions. Emirati authorities have not commented on the case or on the release of the other detainees. Afif Shouman, head of a group of Lebanese families with relatives detained in the Gulf country, said seven Lebanese citizens remain detained in the UAE, none of whom have been convicted of a crime, and called for their release. UAE authorities have detained dozens of Lebanese, mostly Shiites, in the past over alleged links to the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The UAE, like other Gulf Cooperation Council members, considers Hezbollah a "terrorist" organization. In 2019, the UAE sentenced one Lebanese national to life in prison and two to ten years in prison on charges of links to Hezbollah. Amnesty International said in a statement at the time the trial of the men "failed to meet international fair trial standards," as the evidence included confessions that were "extracted under duress, and the defendants were detained incommunicado for months and denied access to lawyers during interrogation and investigation."

Nassar from Deir al-Ahmar: For electing a president as soon as possible, forming a new government based on a reform project
NNA/May 28, 2023
Caretaker Minister of Tourism, Walid Nassar, called Sunday for "electing a president of the republic as soon as possible, and forming a new government based on a reform project.” He said: “The country and the international community are all waiting for reforms to be carried out in order for this country to persevere, and these constitutional steps must take place in order for institutions to function properly." On the work of the Tourism Ministry, Nassar revealed that "at the international level, the Ministry of Tourism was able to place Lebanon back on the global tourism map, despite the turbulent conditions that the country has been through, especially with some Arab countries.”He added: “During my participation in the Arab summit in Jeddah, I sensed the devotion of the Arab countries for Lebanon...We were also able, thanks to our relations and projects with the international community, to link Lebanon to the European international tourist map...A year ago, Lebanon became a member of the European Council for Cultural Trails. Lebanon's membership number is 35, but it is the first non-European country affiliated with the Council, and Lebanon is part of the connection in these four paths: the Phoenician Road, the Olive Tree Road, the Wine Road, and the Umayyad Road...”The Minister expressed his belief in work continuity, saying: “I will leave this ministry to the minister who will succeed me, and it is important that we have established at the Ministry of Tourism, which is a public sector, a relationship with the private sector in many sustainable projects.” Nassar’s words came during an event held today at the Deir El-Ahmar Women’s Association Center, where a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Ministry of Tourism and the "Management and Marketing of Tourism in the district of Deir al-Ahmar” represented by the region’s Municipalities Union Head, Attorney Jean Fakhry.

"Renewal" bloc denounces government's decision to place Industry Director General in disposition, while taking no step against BDL Governor
NNA/May 28, 2023
Members of the "Renewal" parliamentary bloc (Kutlat Tajadod) denounced, on Sunday, the decision to place the Director General of the Ministry of Industry, Dany Gedeon, in disposition without waiting for the ruling of the Supreme Disciplinary Authority, "just because of his disagreement with the Minister of Industry." The bloc criticized the caretaker government's duality in this regards since it has failed to take any step in the case of Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh, who is facing charges by the French and German judiciary, "which constitutes a dangerous precedent and additional complicity in the path of thwarting accountability and justice."The bloc stressed, in a statement, "the need for Salameh to resign from his post, or to dismiss him if he refuses to do so," calling for "activating the Lebanese investigations into this case, away from obstruction, prevarication, and political interference, in order to protect the rights of the Lebanese, as well as the position of the Banque du Liban, and to safeguard what is left of our financial system and Lebanon's international relations, after the ruling regime has persevered in destroying it at all levels."

Makhzoumi: Instead of dismissing Salameh, the cabinet deported the lawyers who worked voluntarily to follow up on the money he embezzled abroad
NNA/May 28, 2023
MP Fouad Makhzoumi criticized today, on Twitter, the Council of Ministers for failing to take any action in its session held yesterday to dismiss Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, in wake of the two international arrest warrants that were issued against him by both France and Germany.
"Instead, the caretaker government decided to deport the lawyers who worked voluntarily with the Cases Authority to follow up on the issue of funds embezzled by Salameh abroad," Makhzoumi said. He added: "Perhaps the most dangerous thing in this matter is the threat to Lebanon's ability to follow up on the issue of the money withheld by the Europeans, and the possibility of regaining it, and thus losing Lebanon's right in this regard."

Justice Minister to hold press conference on Tuesday
NNA/May 28, 2023
Caretaker Minister of Justice, Judge Henry Khoury, will hold a press conference in his office at the ministry on Tuesday noon. According to a statement issued by his media office, the aim of the conference is to clarify with documents the issue of the legality of the contracts he signed to hire international lawyers to recover Lebanese state funds, following questions about the reasons for his silence on the matter.

Nasrallah meets with Iran's national media head
NNA/May 28, 2023
"Hezbollah" Party Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, received this morning the head of the Radio and Television Corporation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Peyman Jabali, in the presence of Iranian Chargé d'Affaires in Beirut. According to a statement issued by the party's media relations, talks touched on the responsibilities and tasks assumed by the axis of resistance at the media level, the media and political challenges it faces, and how to deal with them as part of the comprehensive resistance approach in the face of occupation and domination.

Lebanese Taekwondo delegation partakes in World Championship in Azerbaijan
NNA/May 28, 2023
Lebanon's Taekwondo national team is participating in the World Taekwondo Championship hosted by the Azerbaijani capital, Baku.
Heading the Lebanese mission is national coach, Grand Master Ralph Harb, with Grand Master Elie Elia as the team coach and 8 players partaking within the national team.

Hezbollah’s Military Drills Undermine Lebanon’s State Authority
For many in Lebanon, the events constituted a blatant disregard for state authority and international law.
Adnan Nasser/The National Interest/May 28/2023
In the days leading up to May 25, the twenty-third anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon, Hezbollah engaged in a series of highly-visible wargames. The demonstration of force included hundreds of fighters with live ammunition and sophisticated weaponry typically used by national armies. Except it was not the Lebanese Armed Forces that carried out the drills but a mere political party with an armed wing. For many in Lebanon, the events constituted a blatant disregard for state authority and international law. The question of what to do about Hezbollah’s weapons is consistently being put on the back burner out of fear of internal unrest. Hezbollah claims it needs its weapons to defend Lebanon from Israel. Yet others say this is nonsense and that the group wants to keep its arms to maintain its impunity from state rule.
his debate has gone on for decades and, indeed, it is nowhere near being resolved. Supporters of Hezbollah cite Israel’s eviction in 2000 as a sign of the Shia group’s justification to keep its guns. One person from the south told The National Interest, “I don’t remember the Lebanese army fighting Israel. Only Hezbollah.” Others remember Hezbollah’s action on May 7, 2008, when the group seized half of Beirut in defiance of the government’s attempt to subdue its telecommunication network, and point to it as an example of why the group cannot be trusted.
Domestic response to Hezbollah’s actions
The politicians and members of various political parties that oppose Hezbollah and advocate for state sovereignty have denounced the military drills. The caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, acknowledged that these maneuvers challenge the government’s role in defending Lebanon, but followed up by stating that the situation is too complicated for the state to act alone. The Lebanese government “rejects any act that infringes on the state’s authority and sovereignty, but the issue of Hezbollah’s arms requires a comprehensive national consensus,” Mikati said.
Some have further questioned the motive and the timing behind Hezbollah’s drills. Najat Saliba, an independent member of parliament, inquired why Hezbollah would display force now if Lebanon and Israel agreed last year not to use violence as part of a negotiated maritime deal. “I would like to ask Hezbollah if this drilling is in line or conflicting with the deal they signed for the maritime border. Didn’t they sign an agreement that they won’t use force? If so, why are they showing off their forces inside Lebanon?” Although it was not a peace agreement, Lebanon and Israel signed a maritime accord in 2022 that was mediated by the Biden administration. Thus, some are interpreting these exercises as Hezbollah’s way of reminding its domestic opponents who wields the real power in Lebanon.
Michel Moawad, a presidential candidate with the highest number of votes in parliament, is regarded as both a reformist and a strong opponent of Hezbollah. Moawad condemned the wargames and expressed that they only make Lebanon’s crisis harder to recover from.
“How can Lebanon get out of the tunnel of collapse, rebuild the state, institutions, and economy, and implement the required reforms while Hezbollah continues with the logic of subjugating the state and violating the constitution and laws of the Lebanese Republic?” Hezbollah regards Moawad as too confrontational and “anti-resistance” because he stands against their strategic goals, even if just symbolically.
However, Moawad is not alone in his thinking. Ashraf Rifi, a retired general of internal security, said he and others from the opposition bloc will continue to support Moawad for president. “We will only elect a president who looks like us and Moawad so far fits that description.” Rifi is a member of parliament who represents the North II list, which is aligned with the Lebanese Forces (LF) party. Like Moawad and Rifi, the LF also has condemned Hezbollah’s moves in the south, while its leaders have said that Hezbollah is an anachronism.
“The days of militias are over,” declared LF party member and former minister Richard Kouyoumjian. “We have a national army with the responsibility of defending the country.” Indeed, it was the era of militias that destroyed Lebanon through the 1970s and 1980s until the signing of the Taif Agreement in 1989. All sides’ militias then relinquished their weapons, and the gradual rebuilding of the Lebanese Armed Forces began. All except for Hezbollah, which was allowed (or tolerated) to continue on as a resistance movement against Israel in the south. But once the Israeli army left, Hezbollah made itself the master of the region and “protector” of the Shia community.
The security situation in the south
The south is where Hezbollah draws its base of internal support, which means that the region must be addressed if the “Hezbollah question” is going to be resolved. One source spoke to TNI about the security situation in the south today: “The south is stable and will be like this for a long time. Unless we face a prompt miscalculation from any side. No one has an interest or is ready to change the rules there. It is not appropriate for any party to have military forces, for many reasons. But Lebanon is in a hostile situation with Israel and has the right to defend its territory, including by resistance, especially when this resistance is legal and legitimate according to the ministerial statements for decades and United Nations Charter.”
It is true that for many in the south, Hezbollah has served their interests by defending them against Israel, whether they were a Hezbollah supporter or not. Like on so many fronts, the Lebanese state must earn the trust of its people of all sects and serve them equally.
What is required now is for a new leader to put the question of Hezbollah’s arms on the table for discussion. This is why Parliament needs to resume its role by becoming the legal representation of the people’s will and electing a new president. But when that will happen is anybody’s guess.
*Adnan Nasser is an independent foreign policy analyst and journalist with a focus on Middle East affairs. Follow him on Twitter @Adnansoutlook29.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/lebanon-watch/hezbollah%E2%80%99s-military-drills-undermine-lebanon%E2%80%99s-state-authority-206504

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 28-29/2023
Pope, MWL Secretary-General Discuss Means to Confront Religious Extremism
Asharq Al Awsat/May 28/2023
Pope Francis received in the Vatican on Sunday Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL) Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa. The extraordinary meeting reflects the efforts carried out by the MWL in bolstering effective dialogue, understanding and positive cooperation between followers of different religions, faiths and cultures. The meeting was held at the Pope’s private residence at Domus Sanctae Marthae. Pope Francis and Sheikh Al-Issa exchanged views on several international issues, most notably building bridges between civilizations and efforts to combat religious and ideological extremism, hatred, marginalization and discrimination.

Oman’s FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Sultan Haitham’s Visit to Iran Will Positively Impact Region
Asharq Al Awsat/May 28/2023
Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq will kick off on Sunday an official two-day visit to Iran, his first since ascending the throne in 2020. He is set to meet with President Ebrahim Raisi and a number of senior officials. The Sultan is traveling at the head of a large delegation that includes the ministers of defense, foreign affairs, economy and investment. The visit is taking place amid a wave of regional reconciliations, the most recent of which was the reinstatement of Syria’s membership in the Arab League and the announcement in March that Saudi Arabia and Iran were reestablishing diplomatic ties. Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the region is embarking on a new positive phase in regional relations. Cooperation and consultations must be deepened in several files and issues to consolidate the new phase, which will no doubt be at the heart of discussions between the leaders, he remarked. He noted that Oman and Iran enjoy historic fraternal relations based on firm principles of trust and mutual respect. The visit stems from the importance the leaderships of both countries place on cooperation and consultations on various regional and international issues. “In Oman, we are hoping that this historic visit will reflect positively on the stability and security of the region and on relations between the region’s neighbors,” the FM stressed. “We will work on ensuring that its outcomes will be felt on the regional and international levels,” he went on to say.

Türkiye’s Erdogan Wins 5th Term as President, Extending Rule into 3rd Decade
Asharq Al Awsat/May 28/2023
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won reelection Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade in a country reeling from high inflation and the aftermath of an earthquake that leveled entire cities. With nearly 99% of ballot boxes opened, unofficial results from competing news agencies showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. In his first comments since the polls closed, Erdogan spoke to supporters on a campaign bus outside his home in Istanbul. "I thank each member of our nation for entrusting me with the responsibility to govern this country once again for the upcoming five years," he said. He ridiculed his challenger for his loss, saying "bye bye bye, Kemal," as supporters booed. "The only winner today is Türkiye," Erdogan said. He promised to work hard for Türkiye’s second century. The country marks its centennial this year. "No one can look down on our nation," he said. Supporters of the divisive populist were celebrating even before the final results arrived, waving Turkish or ruling party flags, and honking car horns, chanting his name and "in the name of God, God is great."With a third term, Erdogan will have an even stronger hand domestically and internationally, and the election results will have implications far beyond Ankara. Türkiye stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO. Erdogan’s government vetoed Sweden’s bid to join NATO and purchased Russian missile-defense systems, which prompted the United States to oust Türkiye from a US-led fighter-jet project. But it also helped broker a crucial deal that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments and averted a global food crisis. Erdogan, who has been at Türkiye’s helm for 20 years, came just short of victory in the first round of elections on May 14. It was the first time he failed to win an election outright, but he made up for it Sunday. His performance came despite crippling inflation and the effects of a devastating earthquake three months ago. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated Erdogan via Twitter for an "unquestionable election victory," and Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani wished the Turkish president success in a tweet. Other congratulations poured in from Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Libya, Algeria, Serbia and Uzbekistan. The two candidates offered sharply different visions of the country's future, and its recent past. Critics blame Erdogan’s unconventional economic policies for skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis. Many also faulted his government for a slow response to the earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in Türkiye. In the mainly Kurdish-populated province of Diyarbakir — one of 11 regions that was hit by the Feb. 6 earthquake — 60-year-old retiree Mustafa Yesil said he voted for "change." "I'm not happy at all with the way this country is going. Let me be clear, if this current administration continues, I don’t see good things for the future," he said. "I see that it will end badly — this administration has to change." Mehmet Yurttas, an Erdogan supporter, disagreed. "I believe that our homeland is at the peak, in a very good condition," the 57-year-old shop owner said. "Our country’s trajectory is very good and it will continue being good." Erdogan has retained the backing of conservative voters who remain devoted to him for lifting Islam’s profile in Türkiye, which was founded on secular principles, and for raising the country’s influence in world politics. Erdogan, 69, could remain in power until 2028. A devout Muslim, he heads the conservative and religious Justice and Development Party, or AKP. Erdogan transformed the presidency from a largely ceremonial role to a powerful office through a narrowly won 2017 referendum that scrapped Türkiye’s parliamentary system of governance. He was the first directly elected president in 2014, and won the 2018 election that ushered in the executive presidency.
The first half of Erdogan’s tenure included reforms that allowed the country to begin talks to join the European Union, and economic growth that lifted many out of poverty. But he later moved to suppress freedoms and the media and concentrated more power in his own hands, especially after a failed coup attempt that Türkiye says was orchestrated by the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement. Erdogan's rival is a soft-mannered former civil servant who has led the pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, since 2010. Kilicdaroglu campaigned on promises to reverse Erdogan’s democratic backsliding, to restore the economy by reverting to more conventional policies, and to improve ties with the West. In a frantic effort to reach out to nationalist voters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu vowed to send back refugees and ruled out peace negotiations with Kurdish militants if he is elected. The defeat for Kilicdaroglu adds to a long list of electoral losses to Erdogan, and puts pressure on him to step down as party chairman. Erdogan’s AKP party and its allies retained a majority of seats in parliament following a legislative election that was also held on May 14. Sunday also marked the 10th anniversary of the start of mass anti-government protests that broke out over plans to uproot trees in Istanbul’s Gezi Park, and became one of the most serious challenges to Erdogan’s government. Erdogan’s response to the protests, in which eight people were convicted for alleged involvement, was a harbinger of a crackdown on civil society and freedom of expression. Following the May 14 vote, international observers pointed to the criminalization of dissemination of false information and online censorship as evidence that Erdogan had an "unjustified advantage." They also said that strong turnout showed the resilience of Turkish democracy.
Erdogan and pro-government media portrayed Kilicdaroglu, who received the backing of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, as colluding with "terrorists" and of supporting what they described as "deviant" rights.

Saudi Arabia, US Call on Sudanese Army, RSF to Continue Talks to Extend Ceasefire
AFP/May 28/2023
Saudi Arabia and the United States called on Saturday the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces to continue discussions to reach agreement on extending the ceasefire that is set to expire on Monday evening. As facilitators of the Agreement on a Short-Term Ceasefire and Humanitarian Arrangements, the Kingdom and the US noted that “while imperfect, an extension nonetheless will facilitate the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people.”“In the absence of an agreement to extend the current ceasefire, it remains incumbent on the parties to adhere to their obligations under the short-term ceasefire and the preceding Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, they stressed.

Putin is terrified of Ukraine’s counteroffensive
Colonel Richard Kemp/The Telegraph/May 28, 2023
Putin is in a panic over the expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, which may already be in its preliminary “battlefield-shaping” stage. He doesn’t know, any more than the rest of us do, when the offensive will be launched, where it will strike or whether it will succeed. What he does know is that if it achieves significant success, his own days might be numbered, with fissures already opening inside the Kremlin and between its most important henchmen. The Russian army’s thinly stretched troops have been preparing strong defensive positions all along the front line to repel an attack or series of attacks, and planning their own spoiling operations. But, aside from the balance of forces, critically important to Ukraine’s success or failure is morale. Putin knows it is fragile among his own troops, many of whom don’t know why they are expected to fight a war they don’t even begin to understand. He knows he has to break the morale of Ukrainian soldiers on the battle line and civilians on the home front. That is why he has recently intensified air attacks on cities and towns. They are intended to kill civilians, destroy infrastructure, disrupt the war economy and make life a misery – both for those in the cities and their relatives at the front.
On Saturday night, Russia launched the largest wave of explosive drone strikes since the full-scale invasion began. Fifty-two of the 54 Iranian-supplied Shahed drones were knocked out of the sky. Forty were aimed at Kyiv, the most intensive barrage targeting the city so far, killing one.
The next day, Kyiv, celebrating the 1,541st anniversary of its founding, was straight back to normal. No mass panic, no serious disruption to life. Putin’s attempts to intimidate the Ukrainian people and their leaders simply don’t work. He tried it first in February last year, expecting Kyiv to fall in a matter of days simply with rocket fire and Russian forces heading towards the capital. Like London in the Blitz and later under Hitler’s rain of V1 and V2 rockets, these Russian war crimes have the opposite effect to what is intended, serving only to harden the people’s will to resist.
Ukrainian soldiers at the front know all about the Russian army’s atrocities against local civilians in areas they have occupied, as well as the industrial-scale kidnapping of thousands of children. Determination to keep the Russians from their doors and thrust them back behind their own border makes these troops fight even harder. One of the most common requests of the West that I have heard in Ukraine, from commanders and soldiers, is that our countries don’t put pressure on their government to make an accommodation with Russia. And no Macron-style off-ramp for Putin.
The Russian president doesn’t want peace talks, either – but for very different reasons. How can he agree to stop a war that has achieved so little at such enormous cost in blood and roubles to his own people? But he does want to hold out the false hope of a ceasefire. It is part of a good cop/bad cop strategy that has just been clumsily articulated by Andrei Kelin, the Russian ambassador to London, who threatened escalation in a “new dimension which we do not need and we do not want”, adding, “we can make peace tomorrow”.
These remarks follow Putin’s characteristically duplicitous words a couple of days ago to the Brazilian president, expressing “the openness of the Russian side to dialogue on the political and diplomatic track, which is still blocked by Kyiv and its Western sponsors”.
The objective is to lure Western governments into appeasing Moscow by pulling back on military support in the hope of peace and the fear of an expanded conflict. Chinese officials may have been put to work, as well, with reports that Li Hui, Beijing’s special representative for Eurasian affairs, has urged European diplomats to end the conflict before it escalates further. As well as recent promises of modern jets for the longer term, Putin is rattled by the continued flow of munitions into Ukraine as it prepares the counteroffensive. That is another reason for the increased frequency of drone attacks against Ukrainian cities – to exhaust air defences and deplete scarce ammo stocks that will be so critical in major offensive operations. Despite Russia’s diplomatic offensive, Western leaders, now acclimatised to Putin’s standard threats, seem to be holding up strongly, for the moment at least. But as well as providing military and economic support, and resisting fake talk of peace negotiations, they need to be more aggressive in helping Ukraine counter the entirety of Putin’s war effort. One way of doing that is to bear down hard on Russia’s Iranian quartermasters, who have played an important role in Putin’s aggression, supplying drones, deploying troops, promising ballistic missiles and helping Moscow evade sanctions. Greater resources should now be applied to interdict drone shipments, as well as harsher economic sanctions against Tehran and setting up a tribunal to deal with aiding and abetting Russian war crimes.
Colonel Richard Kemp is a former British Army officer. He was an infantry battalion commander and saw active duty in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.

Russia launches 'largest drone attack' on Ukrainian capital
Associated Press/May 28/2023
Ukraine's capital was subjected to the largest drone attack since the start of Russia's war, local officials said, as Kyiv prepared to mark the anniversary of its founding on Sunday. At least one person were killed. Russia launched the "most massive attack" on the city overnight Saturday with Iranian-made Shahed drones, said Serhii Popko, a senior Kyiv military official. The attack lasted more than five hours, with air defense reportedly shooting down more than 40 drones. A 41-year-old man was killed and a 35-year-old woman was hospitalized when debris fell on a seven-story nonresidential building and started a fire, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Ukraine's air force said that Saturday night was also record-breaking in terms of Shahed drone attacks across the country. Of the 54 drones launched, 52 were shot down by air defense systems. In the northeastern Kharkiv province, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said a 61-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man were killed in two separate shelling attacks. Kyiv Day marks the anniversary of Kyiv's official founding. The day is usually celebrated with live concerts, street fairs, exhibitions and fireworks. Scaled-back festivities were planned for this year, the city's 1,541st anniversary.
The timing of the drone attacks was likely not coincidental, Ukrainian officials said. "The history of Ukraine is a long-standing irritant for the insecure Russians," Ukraine's chief presidential aide, Andriy Yermak, said on Telegram. "Today, the enemy decided to 'congratulate' the people of Kyiv on Kyiv Day with the help of their deadly UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)," Popko also wrote on the messaging app.

Zelensky Thanks Air Defense after Largest Drone Attack on Kyiv in the Invasion
Reuters/May 28/2023
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday praised his country's air defense forces, after the capital Kyiv saw the largest drone attack since the beginning of the Russian invasion. The overnight attack killed two people and wounded three others. The latest drone attack came as Russia has intensified aerial strikes on the capital this month, and warned the West against escalating the conflict after the United States agreed to greenlight F-16 deliveries. Ukraine said the latest attack in Kyiv was "the most important" of the invasion, with more than forty out of 54 drones targeting the capital. "Every time you shoot down enemy drones and missiles, lives are saved... you are heroes!" Zelensky told his air defense forces on Sunday morning, also thanking rescuers. This was the 14th drone attack on the Ukrainian capital by Russia this month. "People are in shock. There's a lot of damage, the windows were broken, the roof was damaged," said Sergei Movchan, a 50-year-old resident whose house was damaged by debris. Kyiv had been relatively spared since the beginning of the year, but in May its residents have had to live with almost nightly air raid sirens and thundering explosions. "Russians are intimidating us. But I think it's the agony of their regime," Movchan said.
Kyiv a 'symbol'
In Kyiv the air raid alert lasted more than five hours as the attack was carried out in several waves. Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko described the assault as "massive" with drones "arriving from several directions at once". The Kyiv military administration said that "more than 40 Russian drones were destroyed by air defense" systems in the "most important drone attack against the capital since the start of the invasion" in February 2022. Authorities reported that two killed and three others wounded as debris of the downed drones fell in several districts. Sunday was to be celebrated as Kyiv's city day, usually marked by street concerts and celebrations. "Today the enemy decided to 'congratulate' the population on Kyiv Day with the help of their killer drones," the authorities said. Congratulating residents on Kyiv Day, presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said the capital had "stood up" to Russia. "Kyiv, a city of free and brave people, has become a symbol of Ukraine´s unbreakable spirit and the Kremlin´s failed imperial ambitions," Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said.  Ukraine's air force said that "a record" of 54 drones were launched from the regions of Briansk and Krasnodar in Russia, adding that 52 were destroyed.  It said Russia used Shahed drones from Iran, and presdential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak to vow new sanctions against Iran.
'Key ally'
"Tehran has become a key ally of Moscow in this war, deliberately supplying it with weapons for attacks on civilian cities," Podolyak said. This week Zelensky had blasted Tehran's "support for evil" and appealed to the Iranian people. Iran had answered by saying Zelensky's accusation was an attempt to gain the West's military and financial support. After Kyiv long asked for advanced warplanes, the United States on Friday said it would allow Kyiv to acquire F-16 fighter jets, the most sophisticated material yet supplied by the West. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday said Western nations were "playing with fire" by agreeing to supply Ukraine with F-16. Lavrov called the move an "an unacceptable escalation" of the conflict, in a TV interview posted on social media. As the drone war rages, Russia has blamed Ukraine -- and its Western backers -- for increasing artillery and drone attacks on its territory, accusations Kyiv has mostly denied. Most drones target Russian regions bordering Ukraine but they have sometimes reached hundreds of kilometers inside Russia, including a thwarted attack on the Kremlin itself. The past week also saw an unprecedented two-day incursion from Ukraine claimed by two anti-Kremlin groups, with Russia using its air force and artillery to push back the fighters. The reports of attacks come at a time when Kyiv says it is finalizing plans for a counter-offensive to recover lost territory, including the Crimea peninsula which was annexed in 2014.

Russia condemns U.S. Senator Graham's comments on the death of Russians
MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters)/Sun, May 28, 2023
Russia on Sunday condemned U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham for telling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a visit to Kyiv that U.S. support for Ukraine was the best money Washington had ever spent and that "the Russians are dying". At a meeting on Friday, Zelenskiy told Graham that "now we are free". "And the Russians are dying," Graham said, according to a video supplied by the Ukrainian presidential press service. In the next part of the video edit, Graham says with a smile: "It's the best money we've ever spent." The exact chronology of Graham's remarks was unclear from the video supplied by the Ukrainian presidential press service. The Ukrainian president's office did not immediately reply on Sunday to a request for a full transcript of Graham's remarks at the meeting. Russia condemned Graham's comments. "It is difficult to imagine a greater shame for a country than having such senators," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the Shot Telegram channel. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev called Graham, a 67-year-old Republican, an old fool. "The old fool Senator Lindsey Graham said that the United States has never spent money so successfully as on the murder of Russians," said Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev. "He shouldn't have done that." As usual the Russia propaganda machine is hard at work," Graham told Reuters in an emailed statement on Sunday, referring to Medvedev's comments about his Kyiv visit, which he had used to urge Washington to send more weapons to Ukraine. Graham said he had mentioned to Zelenskiy "that Ukraine has adopted the American mantra, 'Live Free or Die.' It has been a good investment by the United States to help liberate Ukraine from Russian war criminals." He added, "Mr. Medvedev, if you want Russians to stop dying in Ukraine, withdraw. Stop the invasion. Stop the war crimes. The truth is that you and (President Vladimir) Putin could care less about Russian soldiers," he said. Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said in Twitter comments on Sunday that the best investment the United States and the West could make was "in a complete and unconditional victory of Ukraine".

Zelensky proposes imposing sanctions on Iran for 50 years
NNA/May 28, 2023
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky presented to the Ukrainian parliament a draft resolution on imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran for a period of 50 years, under the pretext of Iran supplying weapons to Russia, according to "Russia Today". The resolution proposes banning commercial relations, transferring of citizens, exchanging goods and investments in the Iranian economy, as well as withdrawing deposits and investments of Iranian companies and citizens from Ukraine, and prohibiting the transfer of technology and any intellectual property. Earlier, Zelensky called on the Iranian authorities to stop supporting Russia, and the head of the Ukrainian intelligence service, Kirill Budanov, said that "Ukraine can theoretically launch a strike to destroy companies that produce drones in Iran."

Russia's being more cautious with its tanks and trying to hide them after heavy losses in battle, but it's shooting itself in the foot
Ryan Pickrell/Business Insider/May 28, 2023
Heavy Russian tank and armored vehicle losses have led Russia to change its tactics, according to a new report. Russia has faced threats from enemy tanks as well as weapons carried by dismounted infantry. Russia is demonstrating increasing caution with its tanks and also working to hide them. After taking heavy losses, Russian forces are trying out new ways to protect the tanks they have left from Ukrainian missiles, but there's a tradeoff, according to a new report. Russia has lost nearly 2,000 tanks since its armed forces violently invaded Ukraine over a year ago, according to open-source intelligence, a staggering loss that has forced the Russians to be much more cautious with what was once seen as an overpowering force against Ukraine. Unlike the Ukrainian forces, who are adept at anticipating battlefield developments and adapting to threats before they become a problem, Russia is much more reactive and tends to learn lessons the hard way, Jack Watling, a land warfare expert at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute who co-authored the new report with Nick Reynolds, told Insider. The Russians, he said, tend to "run teeth first into the problem" before they start to work on solutions. Only after significant losses did Russia begin changing the way it employs its tanks — masking their vulnerabilities to infrared targeting and limiting their involvement in front-line assaults. The shifts in tactics and force protection are coming at the cost of Russian tank operations, the report titled "Meatgrinder: Russian Tactics in the Second Year of Its Invasion of Ukraine" said, but that may matter less to the Russians if the aim isn't territory but outlasting the Ukrainians.
Why are the Russians changing tank tactics?
Russia's deployed armor force, which consists of both modern and more antiquated systems, has faced threats from other tanks firing anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and rounds and dismounted infantry equipped with anti-tank weaponry like the Javelin guided missile. These weapons have taken a toll.
Tank battles are relatively uncommon compared to other engagements, but in those fights, Russian tanks are well protected by added explosive reactive armor that "has proven highly effective, preventing most anti-tank systems from defeating the tank's armour," the report from Watling and Reynolds said.
The authors interviewed multiple Ukrainian commanders, military analysts, and tank crews, among others, and operators recalled "hitting tanks multiple times with barrel-launched ATGMs without knocking them out." Explosive reactive armor, or ERA, is a kind of boxed armor that can be seen on modern tanks and other armored vehicles that uses explosive force to repel projectiles and protect them from incoming missiles and rounds.
The Russians use this kind of protection extensively.
"It is pretty rare to find a Russian tank that hasn't blasted ERA on every single surface they can conceivably get it on, including somewhere it's really counterproductive," Watling said. "Russian crews get ahold of ERA kits, and they start stacking them up." While ERA is quite effective, the Ukrainians know where the weak points are to one-shot kill a Russian tank, though it's not always easy to get a clean shot off. Key vulnerabilities include points between the turret and the front glacis plate and the tracks, the latter of which can be struck for a "mobility kill" that might compel Russian operators to simply abandon it.
"This is because a tank's mobility is considered the best means of protection against artillery and its survivability is compromised if it is immobilised," the RUSI report said, noting that there have been skirmishes to capture abandoned vehicles in the aftermath. Perhaps a more substantial threat to Russian tanks in Ukraine has been anti-tank guided missiles like the US-made Javelin or Ukrainian Stugna, capable systems with thermal imagers designed to penetrate explosive reactive armor. Over the course of the war, Russia has often exposed its tanks to these threats and others with questionable tactics, such as driving unsupported tank columns straight into Ukrainian ambushes, pushing tanks through minefields, and leaving its tanks sitting out in open fields largely unprotected. A former US Army tanker and Russia expert previously told Insider this is "just dumb." But the Russians do appear to finally be learning from at least some of their mistakes, particularly after the devastation of a naval infantry brigade near Vuhledar, where Russia repeated failed tactics seen around Bucha to horrific effect. The hits Russia's tank force has taken have led Russia to shift to a more cautious approach. How are the Russians changing their tank game?
"The Russian use of armour has evolved significantly during the conflict," the RUSI report said. Russia started the war using armor "to punch into operational depth" as part of its battalion tactical group concept, the report said, but "massive losses" led Russia to use its tanks for "attempts at breakthrough" only when conditions appeared suitable. Now armored thrusts are no longer the norm. "Tanks are very rarely used in this way," the report said, noting these developments reflect Russia's caution. Though Russia has used some its older tanks to support breach operations in urban combat, such as in Bakhmut, tanks are largely being used as artillery and fire support and to raid Ukrainian positions.
While this approach helps reduce losses, it prevents Russia from leveraging the firepower, mobility, and shock factor that tanks bring to the table to deliver breakthroughs and exploit gains on the battlefield, limiting Russia's overall offensive capability. Russia's winter offensive captured very little ground, roughly 870 kilometers from December to May, at the cost of over 100,000 casualties, according to US estimates. Russia has put its dead and wounded figures significantly lower. In their report on shifts in Russian battlefield behavior, Watling and Reynolds noted that the Russians have begun modifying their tanks to hide them from the anti-tank guided missiles that have had a devastating effect on Russian armor, specifically the thermal targeting sensors that spot them.
where higher temperatures are detected.Scott Nelson
Vehicles and defensive positions are being fitted with anti-thermal material. The engine deck and resulting heat plume have been altered, "reducing the reliability" of anti-tank guided missiles, which can use infrared sensors to lock onto a target. And the Russians are changing the times of day they fight.
In trying to conceal its armor from Ukrainian missile systems, Russian forces have found that "fighting at dusk and dawn when the vehicle temperature is most similar to the ambient temperature of the surroundings" is beneficial. As the report notes, this situation is known as thermal crossover, and at those times, the Russian tanks and other armored "vehicles are harder to detect through thermal imagery," making them notably less vulnerable to Javelins and other weapons. Watling and Reynolds write that the Russians have managed to achieve "a significant decrease in the probability of kill from several ATGM types," but it has only done so by " imposing a range of tactical constraints" on its armor, ultimately making its tanks less effective.

Arab League calls on international community to end Israel’s crimes against Palestinian children
Agencies/May 28, 2023
DOHA: The Arab League has called on the international community to intervene to end Israel’s violations against Palestinian children and ensure the protection of their rights and safety. Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Haifa Abu Ghazaleh’s remarks came during her statement at the virtual regional conference on preventing severe crimes against children in armed conflicts, which was co-hosted by Qatar. She emphasized the significance of the conference topic, citing conflicts and humanitarian crises throughout the Arab world that have had a devastating impact on children. She noted the steps countries in the region have taken to address this issue, citing the 18th meeting of the Arab League Committee on Violence against Children and the implementation of its recommendations. The secretary-general said that in order to prevent further violations against Palestinian children and promote justice, the international community must hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable for their actions and ensure that they are prosecuted. Abu Ghazaleh emphasized the importance of upholding national laws and international conventions to ensure the protection of children from violence.

Republicans, Biden reach debt ceiling deal
Agence France Presse/May 28, 2023
U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy announced a deal Saturday to raise the debt ceiling, dragging the United States back from the precipice of default with only a few days to spare. Congress will vote on the deal to extend the government's borrowing authority on Wednesday, just shy of the June 5 "X-date" when the Treasury estimates the government will no longer be able to pay its bills, plunging the world's biggest economy into turmoil. Biden said in a statement that the deal was "good news for the American people, because it prevents what could have been a catastrophic default and would have led to an economic recession, retirement accounts devastated, and millions of jobs lost." McCarthy, who spoke with Biden on Saturday to close the deal, said there was still "a lot of work to do, but I believe this is an agreement in principle that's worthy of the American people."
The Republican speaker added he would consult again with the president on Sunday and oversee final drafting of the bill, and the House would "then be voting on it on Wednesday."
- 'Compromise' -
Raising the debt ceiling -- a legal maneuver that takes place most years without drama -- allows the government to keep borrowing money and remain solvent.
This year, Republicans demanded deep spending cuts -- largely in social spending for the poor -- in return for raising the debt ceiling, saying the time had come for bitter medicine to address the country's mammoth $31 trillion debt. Biden argued that he would not negotiate over spending issues as a condition for raising the debt ceiling, accusing the Republicans of taking the economy hostage. Both sides have now somewhat climbed down. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, the deal includes freeing up the debt ceiling for two years, meaning there will be no need for negotiations in 2024, when the presidential election will be in full swing. The big cuts Republicans wanted are not there, though non-defence spending will remain effectively flat next year, and only rise nominally in 2025, the source said. There will also be new rules for accessing certain federal assistance programs, though the source said the deal protected Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act and student debt relief plan. Biden said "the agreement represents a compromise, which means not everyone gets what they want. That's the responsibility of governing."
- Deadlines -
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had initially warned of a possible default around June 1 if Congress failed to raise the ceiling on borrowing, but gave lawmakers some breathing room on Friday when she updated the deadline to June 5. Even so, the legislation will still have to clear Congress much more quickly than the normal timetable for even the most uncontroversial bills. Under House rules, lawmakers have to be given 72 hours before voting once a bill is presented. And if it passes the House, it will then have to go through the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority. McCarthy is hoping to bring the narrow House majority of 222 Republicans with him, but the deal is likely to face opposition from 35 far-right lawmakers who told him to "hold the line" against compromising on far more sweeping spending cuts. That means a large number of Democrats will have to be persuaded to vote with a reduced number of Republicans -- something that rarely happens on big bills. In a sign of the uphill battle McCarthy might face corralling his party's votes, hardline conservative Representative Lauren Boebert said she would oppose the deal. "Our voters deserve better than this," she said in a tweet on Saturday night. "You can count me as a NO on this deal."The Democrats, meanwhile, may face their own rebellion on the left of the party, which objects to any spending restrictions. Congress was adjourned for an extended holiday weekend but lawmakers will be called back to vote. If a default occurs, the government wouldn't miss loan repayments until mid-June but in the meantime it would likely have to halt $25 billion in social security checks and federal salaries. The battle has been monitored closely by the major ratings agencies, with Morningstar and Fitch both warning that they could opt for a downgrade, even if the crisis is averted. When Barack Obama's administration narrowly averted a default 12 years ago, a ratings downgrade cost taxpayers more than $1 billion in higher interest costs.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 28-29/2023
Today in History: A Christian ‘Mustard Seed’ Delivers Spain from Islamic Tyranny
Raymond Ibrahim/May 28/2023
Today in history, on May 28, 722, an immensely decisive battle between Christians and Muslims took place in Spain—a clash that, as shall be seen, is taking on renewed significance.
Eleven years earlier, in 711, hordes of North African Muslims (“Moors”) “godlessly invaded Spain to destroy it,” to quote from the Chronicle of 754. They did not pass “a place without reducing it, and getting possession of its wealth,” boasted al-Hakam, an early Muslim chronicler, “for Allah Almighty had struck with terror the hearts of the infidels.”
Such terrorism was intentionally cultivated in keeping with the Koran (e.g., 3:151, 8:12). In one instance, the invaders slaughtered, cooked, and ate—Muslim historiography says they only pretended to eat—their Christian captives, prompting hysteria among the people “that the Muslims feed on human flesh,” and thereby “contributing in no small degree to increase the panic of the infidels,” wrote another Muslim chronicler.
Emboldened by their coreligionists’ initial victories in Spain, swarms of Africans “crossed the sea on every vessel or bark they could lay hold of,” the Muslim chronicler continues; they so overwhelmed the peninsula that “the Christians were obliged to shut themselves up in their castles and fortresses, and, quitting the flat country, betake themselves to their mountains.”
By 712, one year after the Islamic invasion, the Muslims had, in the words of the Chronicle of 754, “ruined beautiful cities, burning them with fire; condemned lords and powerful men to the cross; and butchered youths and infants with the sword.” Several other early sources corroborate the devastation and persecution. The oldest account, the Tempore belli, tells of Muslims “sacking Christian temples [churches] and homes, burning the cities of those who resisted, and taking their young women as sexual slaves, all creating an indescribable terror.”
Eventually, Pelagius, better known as Pelayo (685–737), a relative of the last Visigothic king (Roderick) who was killed by the Muslims, fled to the mountains of Asturias in the furthest northwest of Spain, where he “joined himself to as many people as he found hastening to assemble.” There, the Christian fugitives declared Pelayo their new king; and the Kingdom of Asturias—the first Christian kingdom after the Islamic conquest of Spain—was born.
Before long, a large Muslim army was sent to bring these infidel rebels to heal. Oppa, a clergyman now serving the Muslims as a dhimmi, was sent to parley with Pelayo at the mouth of a deep cavern: “If when the entire army of the Goths was assembled, it was unable to sustain the attack of the Ishmaelites [meaning Arabs, during their initial invasions in 711], how much better will you be able to defend yourself on this mountaintop? To me it seems difficult. Rather, heed my warning and recall your soul from this decision, so that you may take advantage of many good things and enjoy the partnership [of the Arabs].”
“I will not associate with the Arabs in friendship nor will I submit to their authority,” Pelayo responded. Then the rebel made a prophecy that would be fulfilled over the course of nearly eight centuries: “Have you not read in the divine scriptures that the church of God is compared to a mustard seed and that it will be raised up again through divine mercy? [Mark 4:30-21]”
The dhimmi affirmed that it was so; continued the fugitive:
Christ is our hope that through this little mountain, which you see, the well-being of Spain and the army of the Gothic people will be restored. . . . Now, therefore, trusting in the mercy of Jesus Christ, I despise this multitude and am not afraid of it. As for the battle with which you threaten us, we have for ourselves an advocate in the presence of the Father, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is capable of liberating us from these few.
Discussions were over. There, at Covadonga — meaning “Cavern of the Lady” — battle commenced on today’s date, May 28, 722, 1,301 years ago. A shower of rocks rained down on the Muslims in the narrow passes, where their numbers counted for nothing and only caused confusion. Afterward, Pelayo and his band of rebels rushed forth from their caves and hiding places and made great slaughter among them; those who fled the carnage were tracked and mowed down by other, now emboldened, mountaineers. In the words of one historian:
A decisive blow was dealt at the Moorish power…. The advancing tide of conquest was stemmed. The Spaniards gathered heart and hope in their darkest hour; and the dream of Moslem invincibility was broken.
Several subsequent Muslim campaigns—jihads—were launched to conquer the Asturian kingdom, and the “Christians of the North scarcely knew the meaning of repose, security, or any of the amenities of life.”
Monument to King Pelayo in Gijón, Spain
Even so, the mustard seed would not perish. “A vital spark was still alive,” Edward Gibbon wrote; “some invincible fugitives preferred a life of poverty and freedom in the Asturian valleys; the hardy mountaineers repulsed the slaves of the caliph.” Moreover, “all who were dissatisfied with Moorish dominion, all who clung to the hope of a Christian revival, all who detested Mahomet,” were drawn to this life of poverty but also freedom.
By the mid-eighth century, the “vital spark” had spread to engulf the entire northwest of the Peninsula; over the following centuries, various kingdoms, whose core identity revolved around Christian defiance to Islam—later manifested as the Reconquista—had evolved from this mustard seed. “Covadonga became the symbol of Christian resistance to Islam and a source of inspiration to those who, in words attributed to Pelayo, would achieve the salus Spanie, the salvation of Spain.”
After several more centuries of brutal warfare, by 1492, the last Muslim-held territory in Spain, Granada, was liberated. And it all came to pass thanks to Pelayo’s Asturian mustard seed, planted nearly eight hundred years earlier at the battle of Covadonga.
Today, history is repeating itself—though only in one direction. Ongoing reports indicate that hordes of seaborne Muslim migrants from North Africa are illegally entering and flooding Spanish territory. In 2020, 23,000 migrants invaded Spain’s Canary Islands, representing a 234 percent increase. In just one day in 2021, some 6,000 North Africans invaded Ceuta “by sea, either swimming or with inflatables, all in a bid to eventually get to mainland Europe.”
Once arriving on Spanish territory, such migrants invariably engage in unsavory and downright criminal behavior, such as gang-rape, and create enclaves, or ribats, where police fear to tread. Violent crimes targeting churches and Christians are especially common.
Earlier this year, for example, a sword-waving Muslim migrant shouting the jihadist war-cry, “Allahu akbar,” attacked two churches, seriously injuring the priest of one, and slaughtering a sacristan of the other.
In other words, North Africa’s Muslim invaders are following the same strategy that led to the Islamic conquest of Christian Spain in the eighth century. The only difference is that those being invaded are not offering a shred of resistance—lest they be called “racist”—not even that of a mustard seed.
All quotes in the above account were excerpted from and are documented in chapters 3 and 6 of the author’s book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West.

Gulf region making giant strides in renewable energy race
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/May 28, 2023
The oil-rich Gulf has become a key player in the growing renewable energy market. This will undoubtedly have a significant positive impact for the future of the region.
While the Gulf is known for its abundance of oil, it is also richly endowed with renewable resources, such as wind and sun. For example, located in the center of the so-called sun belt, Saudi Arabia has great potential to produce power from the sun. Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, which are the three of the largest cities in Saudi Arabia, enjoy an average irradiation of 5.78 kilowatt-hours per sq. meter per day, “which is significantly higher than the global value of 1.36 … The availability of raw materials in Saudi Arabia also contributes to it being considered an ideal location for the use of solar energy,” according to a report by Salah Ud-Din Khan, Irfan Wazeer and Zeyad Almutairi that was published in March.
Renewable energy is not just harvested from the sun and the wind. Some of the other best-known and most common renewable power technologies include biomass (energy produced from living or recently living organisms, such as plants and materials derived from plants), geothermal (thermal energy that comes from the earth), hydroelectricity (energy that is generated from water in motion), and wave and tidal power (energy harvested from the natural rise and fall of ocean waves and tides).
The increasing investment in renewable energy in the Gulf brings several benefits for the region. One of the most important advantages of using renewable energy is that it contributes to saving water. This is critical, as water scarcity is a growing challenge in the Middle East. This is due to the region’s “arid climate and high population growth. Many countries in the region are considered to be among the most water-stressed in the world, with limited freshwater resources and high water demand levels,” according to US nonprofit organization The Water Project.
Other benefits of the growing market in renewable energy in the Gulf include creating more jobs, protecting the environment by reducing carbon dioxide emissions, contributing to better public health, being cost-effective due to the reduction in the cost of energy, requiring less maintenance, and enhancing the reliability and security of the country’s power grid, along with increasing the nation’s energy independence and contributing to cleaner air by reducing air pollution.
One of the most important advantages of using renewable energy is that it contributes to saving water.
Another key benefit linked to investment in renewable energy is economic diversification. In fact, economic diversification has been the goal of all Gulf economies since they began pumping oil out of the ground. Despite the enormous riches “black gold” provides, successive Gulf Cooperation Council governments have rightly long been cognizant of the fact that oil wealth cannot last forever.
Renewable energy also helps reduce fluctuations related to the energy process. If we recall, the COVID-19 pandemic gave us the first glimmer, with prices dipping to unimaginably low levels as lockdowns took hold around the world. This is why the development of domestic, knowledge-based industries has arguably become an urgent economic necessity, rather than a welcome add-on. One can argue that the pandemic pushed the race for economic diversity into a new phase.
The global socioeconomic situation has undoubtedly accelerated the urgency of developing economic diversity in the Gulf. It has also accelerated the turning of visions into reality in places like Abu Dhabi, Manama and Jeddah. Of course, one cannot expect the Gulf states to immediately ditch hydrocarbons altogether. Oil production will continue to provide significant and essential revenue to these governments. However, there appears to be a growing understanding that technologies such as carbon capture and storage need to be developed to keep the oil industry viable in the long term.
The increasing number of projects and initiatives in the Gulf that are linked to renewable energy is very promising. This was acknowledged by the International Renewable Energy Agency, which stated that countries in the GCC have been undertaking “renewable energy projects for more than 30 years. But today a trend for increasingly ambitious projects is being witnessed across the region. These are being supported by renewable energy targets, innovative research and development, and investments across the entire industry value chain. Growing a renewable energy industry in the Gulf will move the world closer to realizing the potential of renewable energy as a fuel source.”
For instance, Saudi Arabia announced in November last year that it would build the largest solar power plant in the world. ACWA Power, a local utilities company, signed an agreement with the Water and Electricity Holding Company, known as Badeel, in order to build the largest single-site solar power plant in the world in Al-Shuaibah, Makkah province. The Kingdom has directed the Public Investment Fund to provide financial assistance for initiatives like this one that are linked to the nation’s Vision 2030 strategy.
Finally, it is important to point out that the Gulf countries are now providing dozens of examples and templates for other oil-dominated economies in the region to work from when it comes to renewable energy. The Gulf nations are showing that their economies of the future will not be about who can pump oil out of the ground most efficiently and rapidly ship it around the world. Rather, they will be about developing world-leading knowledge-based industries that are also able to provide the highly-skilled, innovative jobs that their youthful populations demand.
Without a doubt, Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman have become key players in the growing renewable energy industry and market.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

'The Official Truth': The End of Free Speech That Will End America
J.B. Shurk/Gatestone Institute./May 28, 2023
[M]edia polling from Harvard-Harris showing that Americans hold almost diametrically opposing viewpoints from those that news corporations predominantly broadcast as the official "truth."
Americans have correctly concluded that [with the "Russia Hoax" and suppressing reported influence peddling in Hunter Biden's laptop ] journalists and spies advanced a "fraud" on voters as part of an effort to censor a damaging story and "help Biden win." Nevertheless, The New York Times and The Washington Post have yet to return the Pulitzer Prizes they received for reporting totally discredited "fake news."
"Under the current approach to journalism, it is the New York Times that receives a Pulitzer for a now debunked Russian collusion story rather than the New York Post for a now proven Hunter Biden laptop story." — Professor Jonathan Turley, George Washington University Law School, Twitter, May 15, 2023.
The government apparently took the public's censorship concerns so seriously that it quietly moved on from the collapse of its plans for a "disinformation governance board" within the DHS and proceeded within the space of a month to create a new "disinformation" office known as the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which now operates from within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Although ostensibly geared toward countering information warfare arising from "foreign" threats, one of its principal objectives is to monitor and control "public opinion and behaviors."
As independent journalist Matt Taibbi concludes of the government's resurrected Ministry of Truth: "It's the basic rhetorical trick of the censorship age: raise a fuss about a foreign threat, using it as a battering ram to get everyone from Congress to the tech companies to submit to increased regulation and surveillance. Then, slowly, adjust your aim to domestic targets."
Democrat Senator Michael Bennet has already proposed a bill that would create a Federal Digital Platform Commission with "the authority to promulgate rules, impose civil penalties, hold hearings, conduct investigations, and support research."
Effectively, a small number of unelected commissioners would have de facto power to monitor and police online communication. Should any particular website or platform run afoul of the government's First Amendment Star Chamber, it would immediately place itself within the commission's crosshairs for greater oversight, regulation, and punishment.
Will this new creation become an American KGB, Stasi or CCP — empowered to target half the population for disagreeing with current government policies, promoting "wrongthink," or merely going to church? Will a small secretive body decide which Americans are actually "domestic terrorists" in the making? US Attorney General Merrick Garland has gone after traditional Catholics who attend Latin mass, but why would government suspicions end with the Latin language? When small commissions exist to decide which Americans are the "enemy," there is no telling who will be designated as a "threat" and punished next.
It is not difficult to see the dangers that lie ahead. Now that the government has fully inserted itself into the news and information industry, the criminalization of free speech is a very real threat. This has always been a chief complaint against international institutions such as the World Economic Forum that spend a great deal of time, power, and money promoting the thoughts and opinions of an insular cabal of global leaders, while showing negligible respect for the personal rights and liberties of the billions of ordinary citizens they claim to represent.
If Schwab's online army were not execrable enough, advocates for free speech must also gird themselves for the repercussions of Elon Musk's appointment of Linda Yaccarino, reportedly a "neo-liberal wokeist" with strong WEF affiliations, as the new CEO of Twitter.
In an America now plagued with the stench of official "snitch lines," censorship of certain presidential candidates, widespread online surveillance, a resurrected "disinformation governance board," and increasingly frequent criminal prosecutions targeting Americans who exercise their free speech, the question is not whether what we inaudibly think or say in our sleep will someday be used against us, but rather how soon that day will come unless we stop it.
Now that the government has fully inserted itself into the news and information industry, the criminalization of free speech is a very real threat. (Image source: iStock)
If legacy news corporations fail to report that large majorities of the American public now view their journalistic product as straight-up propaganda, does that make it any less true?
According to a survey by Rasmussen Reports, 59% of likely voters in the United States view the corporate news media as "truly the enemy of the people." This is a majority view, held regardless of race: "58% of whites, 51% of black voters, and 68% of other minorities" — all agree that the mainstream media has become their "enemy."
This scorching indictment of the Fourth Estate piggybacks similar polling from Harvard-Harris showing that Americans hold almost diametrically opposing viewpoints from those that news corporations predominantly broadcast as the official "truth."
Drawing attention to the divergence between the public's perceived reality and the news media's prevailing "narratives," independent journalist Glenn Greenwald dissected the Harvard-Harris poll to highlight just how differently some of the most important issues of the last few years have been understood. While corporate news fixated on purported Trump-Russia collusion since 2016, majorities of Americans now see this story "as a hoax and a fraud."
While the news media hid behind the Intelligence Community's claims that Hunter Biden's potentially incriminating laptop (allegedly containing evidence of his family's influence-peddling) was a product of "Russian disinformation" and consequently enforced an information blackout on the explosive story during the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election, strong majorities of Americans currently believe the laptop's contents are "real." In other words, Americans have correctly concluded that journalists and spies advanced a "fraud" on voters as part of an effort to censor a damaging story and "help Biden win." Nevertheless, The New York Times and The Washington Post have yet to return the Pulitzer Prizes they received for reporting totally discredited "fake news."
Similarly, majorities of Americans suspect that President Joe Biden has used the powers of his various offices to profit from influence-peddling schemes and that the FBI has intentionally refrained from investigating any possible Biden crimes. Huge majorities of Americans, in fact, seem not at all surprised to learn that the FBI has been caught abusing its own powers to influence elections, and are strongly convinced that "sweeping reform" is needed. Likewise, large majorities of Americans have "serious doubts about Biden's mental fitness to be president" and suspect that others behind the scenes are "puppeteers" running the nation.
Few, if any, of these poll results have been widely reported. In a seemingly-authoritarian disconnect with the American people, corporate news media continue to ignore the public's majority opinion and instead "relentlessly advocate" those viewpoints that Americans "reject." When journalists fail to investigate facts and deliberately distort stories so that they fit snugly within preconceived worldviews, reporters act as propagandists.
Constitutional law scholar Jonathan Turley recently asked, "Do we have a de facto state media?" In answering his own question, he notes that the news blackout surrounding congressional investigations into Biden family members who have allegedly received more than ten million dollars in suspicious payments from foreign entities "fits the past standards used to denounce Russian propaganda patterns and practices." After Republican members of Congress traced funds to nine Biden family members "from corrupt figures in Romania, China, and other countries," Turley writes, "The New Republic quickly ran a story headlined 'Republicans Finally Admit They Have No Incriminating Evidence on Joe Biden.'"
Excoriating the news media's penchant for mindlessly embracing stories that hurt former President Donald Trump while simultaneously ignoring stories that might damage President Biden, Turley concludes:
"Under the current approach to journalism, it is the New York Times that receives a Pulitzer for a now debunked Russian collusion story rather than the New York Post for a now proven Hunter Biden laptop story."
Americans now evidently view the major sources for their news and information as part of a larger political machine pushing particular points of view, unconstrained by any ethical obligation to report facts objectively or dispassionately seek truth. That Americans now see the news media in their country as serving a similar role as Pravda did for the Soviet Union's Communist Party is a significant departure from the country's historic embrace of free speech and traditional fondness for a skeptical, adversarial press.
Rather than taking a step back to consider the implications such a shift in public perception will have for America's future stability, some officials appear even more committed to expanding government control over what can be said and debated online. After the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in the wake of public backlash over First Amendment concerns, halted its efforts to construct an official "disinformation governance board" last year, the question remained whether other government attempts to silence or shape online information would rear their head. The wait for that answer did not take long.
The government apparently took the public's censorship concerns so seriously that it quietly moved on from the collapse of its plans for a "disinformation governance board" within the DHS and proceeded within the space of a month to create a new "disinformation" office known as the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which now operates from within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Although ostensibly geared toward countering information warfare arising from "foreign" threats, one of its principal objectives is to monitor and control "public opinion and behaviors."
As independent journalist Matt Taibbi concludes of the government's resurrected Ministry of Truth:
"It's the basic rhetorical trick of the censorship age: raise a fuss about a foreign threat, using it as a battering ram to get everyone from Congress to the tech companies to submit to increased regulation and surveillance. Then, slowly, adjust your aim to domestic targets."
If it were not jarring enough to learn that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has picked up the government's speech police baton right where the DHS set it down, there is ample evidence to suggest that officials are eager to go much further in the near future. Democrat Senator Michael Bennet has already proposed a bill that would create a Federal Digital Platform Commission with "the authority to promulgate rules, impose civil penalties, hold hearings, conduct investigations, and support research."
Filled with "disinformation" specialists empowered to create "enforceable behavioral codes" for online communication — and generously paid for by the Biden Administration with taxpayers' money — the special commission would also "designate 'systemically important digital platforms' subject to extra oversight, reporting, and regulation" requirements. Effectively, a small number of unelected commissioners would have de facto power to monitor and police online communication. Should any particular website or platform run afoul of the government's First Amendment Star Chamber, it would immediately place itself within the commission's crosshairs for greater oversight, regulation, and punishment.
Will this new creation become an American KGB, Stasi or CCP — empowered to target half the population for disagreeing with current government policies, promoting "wrongthink," or merely going to church? Will a small secretive body decide which Americans are actually "domestic terrorists" in the making? US Attorney General Merrick Garland has gone after traditional Catholics who attend Latin mass, but why would government suspicions end with the Latin language? When small commissions exist to decide which Americans are the "enemy," there is no telling who will be designated as a "threat" and punished next.
It is not difficult to see the dangers that lie ahead. Now that the government has fully inserted itself into the news and information industry, the criminalization of free speech is a very real threat. This has always been a chief complaint against international institutions such as the World Economic Forum that spend a great deal of time, power, and money promoting the thoughts and opinions of an insular cabal of global leaders, while showing negligible respect for the personal rights and liberties of the billions of ordinary citizens they claim to represent.
WEF Chairman Klaus Schwab has gone so far as to hire hundreds of thousands of "information warriors" whose mission is to "control the Internet" by "policing social media," eliminating dissent, disrupting the public square, and "covertly seed[ing] support" for the WEF's "Great Reset." If Schwab's online army were not execrable enough, advocates for free speech must also gird themselves for the repercussions of Elon Musk's appointment of Linda Yaccarino, reportedly a "neo-liberal wokeist" with strong WEF affiliations, as the new CEO of Twitter.
Throughout much of the West, unfortunately, free speech has been only weakly protected when those with power find its defense inconvenient or messages a nuisance. It is therefore of little surprise to learn that French authorities are now prosecuting government protesters for "flipping-off" President Emmanuel Macron. It does not seem particularly astonishing that a German man has been sentenced to three years in prison for engaging in "pro-Russian" political speech regarding the war in Ukraine. It also no longer appears shocking to read that UK Technology and Science Secretary Michelle Donelan reportedly seeks to imprison social media executives who fail to censor online speech that the government might subjectively adjudge "harmful." Sadly, as Ireland continues to find new ways to punish citizens for expressing certain points of view, its movement toward criminalizing not just speech but also "hateful" thoughts should have been predictable.
From an American's perspective, these overseas encroachments against free speech — especially within the borders of closely-allied lands — have seemed sinister yet entirely foreign. Now, however, what was once observed from some distance has made its way home; it feels as if a faraway communist enemy has finally stormed America's beaches and come ashore in force.
Not a day seems to go by without some new battlefront opening up in the war on free speech and free thought. The Richard Stengel of the Council on Foreign Relations has been increasingly vocal about the importance of journalists and think tanks to act as "primary provocateurs" and "propagandists" who "have to" manipulate the American population and shape the public's perception of world events. Senator Rand Paul has alleged that the DHS uses at least 12 separate programs to "track what Americans say online," as well as to engage in social media censorship.
As part of its efforts to silence dissenting arguments, the Biden administration is pursuing a policy that would make it unlawful to use data and datasets that reflect accurate information yet lead to "discriminatory outcomes" for "protected classes." In other words, if the data is perceived to be "racist," it must be expunged. At the same time, the Department of Justice has indicted four radical black leftists for having somehow "weaponized" their free speech rights in support of Russian "disinformation." So, objective datasets can be deemed "discriminatory" against minorities, while actual discrimination against minorities' free speech is excused when that speech contradicts official government policy.
Meanwhile, the DHS has been exposed for paying tens of millions of dollars to third-party "anti-terrorism" programs that have not so coincidentally equated Christians, Republicans, and philosophical conservatives to Germany's Nazi Party. Similarly, California Governor Gavin Newsom has set up a Soviet-style "snitch line" that encourages neighbors to report on each other's public or private displays of "hate."
Finally, ABC News proudly admits that it has censored parts of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s interviews because some of his answers include "false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines." Essentially, the corporate news media have deemed Kennedy's viewpoints unworthy of being transmitted and heard, even though the 2024 presidential candidate is running a strong second behind Joe Biden in the Democrat primary, with around 20% support from the electorate.
Taken all together, it is clear that not only has the war on free speech come to America, but also that it is clobbering Americans in a relentless campaign of "shock and awe." And why not? In a litigation battle presently being waged over the federal government's extensive censorship programs, the Biden administration has defended its inherent authority to control Americans' thoughts as an instrumental component of "government infrastructure." What Americans think and believe is openly referred to as part of the nation's "cognitive infrastructure" — as if the Matrix movies were simply reflecting real life.
Today, America's mainstream news corporations are already viewed as processing plants that manufacture political propaganda. That is an unbelievably searing indictment of a once-vibrant free press in the United States. It is also, unfortunately, only the first heavy shoe to drop in the war against free speech. Many Chinese-Americans who survived the Cultural Revolution look around the country today and see similarities everywhere. During that totalitarian "reign of terror," everything a person did was monitored, including what was said while asleep.
In an America now plagued with the stench of official "snitch lines," censorship of certain presidential candidates, widespread online surveillance, a resurrected "disinformation governance board," and increasingly frequent criminal prosecutions targeting Americans who exercise their free speech, the question is not whether what we inaudibly think or say in our sleep will someday be used against us, but rather how soon that day will come unless we stop it. After all, with smartphones, smart TVs, "smart" appliances, video-recording doorbells, and the rise of artificial intelligence, somebody, somewhere is always listening.
*JB Shurk writes about politics and society.
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What Will the Next Türkiye Look Like?
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/May 28/2023
Today, the citizens of Türkiye will vote in the second round of the presidential election. Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the strong favorite, meaning that the region has to deal with a third decade of Erdogan, who is now 69 years old.
Now, the question is which Erdogan will we be dealing with. The region has seen Erdogan undergo several phases. Erdogan the economic success story, then Erdogan the resistance figure backing the Palestinian cause, then the Erdogan who sought to quell all tensions, and then the Erdogan of the Arab Spring, who believed that the region would serve Türkiye through the ascension of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Finally, we saw the Erdogan of reconciliation with the region, first from Saudi Arabia to the UAE, and now Egypt; meanwhile, disputes with the West remain, and after clashing with the Russians over the Syrian revolution, he has begun making overtures to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Each of these phases is very different from the other, and we continue to feel each of their repercussions to this day.
Today, a Turkish phase is upon us. The West, and even more Turkish secularists, believe that outwardly, it looks like other movements of political Islam. In Türkiye, it is seen as neo-Ottomanism, and if this is true, then the proxies of this neo-Ottomanism are the Muslim Brotherhood.
Political Islam, or neo-Ottomanism, which Erdogan chose to symbolize through the Hagia Sophia, lacks the capacity to improve Türkiye’s economy. However, the election results show that ideology is more decisive, as Erdogan remains popular despite the state of the economy and the earthquake.
What matters to us is the impact that all of this will have on the region. Indeed, Türkiye has established a presence and intervened in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Azerbaijan. It also has ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, plays a significant role in the region’s economy, and has relations with Iran and Israel.
All of this comes as the region is trying to focus on what unites it, not what different actors diverge on. The region is now seeking development opportunities, not political polarization. This is a massive shift, and Erdogan excelled economically at first.
If Erdogan had left the scene after making his economic achievement, which turned Türkiye from a state on the decline to a prosperous country, he would have been a symbol of economic rejuvenation and reform, as well as a Brotherhood figure and a symbol of neo-Ottomanism.
What happened happened, and Erdoganism became volatile and turbulent, and this had repercussions for the region as a whole. Thus, the question becomes: What will the next Erdogan look like in his new term? Indeed, Erdogan and his team see this term as the crowning moment of his political life, given his age and the political circumstances.
This issue should certainly preoccupy everyone concerned. It raises political, economic, and of course, security questions. I am talking about the region, where everyone is keen on development and stability. Within Türkiye, questions have started to be asked, and the same is true for the West.
We are interested in examining the state of affairs in Türkiye, and we want to try to predict its future. We want to know what to expect, both the difficulties and the positives that we will see. Indeed, its future will have ramifications for economic, military and political issues in several regions.
Our region is concerned with the Türkiye that will emerge today. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have taken a keen interest for economic and political reasons, as questions remain regarding Turkish-Egyptian relations, the Syrian and Libyan crises, Turkish-Iranian relations, and its ties to Russia, the West, and the US. For now, we have questions, and we must search deeply for answers.