Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 18-19/2024
Militant groups defiant as Israel rapped for ‘cowardly assassination’ in southern Lebanon
Israeli strike kills field commander in elite Hezbollah unit, sources say
Israeli Defense Minister Gallant states during northern border tour: 'Things can escalate in moments'
Hezbollah fighter, Jamaa Islamiya commander, killed in strikes in Tyre and Bekaa
Israel strikes south and east Lebanon as Hezbollah seems to deescalate
Spain, Germany arrest 4 suspected of supplying Hezbollah with drone parts
Report: Hochstein says Bayssari has no chance to become president
Russia's top diplomat says Hezbollah, Iran and Lebanon don't want war with Israel
Syrians in Lebanon mourn children killed in Israeli strike
Shiite Muslims in Lebanon commemorate Ashoura as border tensions rise
Hezbollah mourns Hassan Ali Mhenna after recent Israeli attacks on South Lebanon
Gegea accuses FPM, Hezbollah of 'obstructing change'
Despite Her Dismissal, Ghada Aoun Bans Banker from Leaving Lebanon/Hajjar Plans 'Punitive Measures' Against Ghada Aoun
Lebanon Declares National Mourning for Beirut Blast Anniversary
Bou Habib Calls for Ceasefire and UNSCR 1701 Implementation
Cyprus' Ambassador to Lebanon: Cypriot President pledges support for Lebanese issues in European and international forums

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 18-19/2024
Israeli delegation arrives in Cairo to continue cease-fire talks
Israel’s Knesset Shuns Two-State Solution in Latest US Clash
Israel Considers Letting EU, Palestinians Control Rafah Crossing
Israel bombards central Gaza as tanks advance deeper in Rafah
30 years after attack on Argentina's Jewish center, Milei makes promises. But the anguish remains
Trump family reshapes Republican Party in its own image
Top Dems Think Biden Could Exit Presidential Race This Weekend
Russia says Armenia's warmer ties with NATO risk destabilising wider region
How Iran's Khamenei elevated a little-known moderate to the presidency
These Democratic lawmakers have publicly called for Biden to drop out of the race
US-made Abrams are better than Russia's best tanks in the war, Ukrainian commander says, and it's not even close
Ukraine’s Zelensky to BBC: We have to work with the US

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on July 18-19/2024
A revival of the Iran nuclear deal remains unlikely/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 18, 2024
All of Us Are Entitled to an Opinion About the Race to the White House/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/July 18/2024
Europe vulnerable due to its approach to Ukraine war/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/July 18, 2024
Trump… Is Not Going Anywhere/Jumah Boukleb/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/July 18/2024
Trump… The Story and the Tornado/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/July 18/2024
On Violence and Democracy, Here and There/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/July 18/2024
Israel's Response to Terror/Nils A. Haug/Gatestone Institute/July 18, 2024
Will US Presidential Elections Be Held in November?/Salam Zaatari/This Is Beirut/July 18/2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 18-19/2024
Militant groups defiant as Israel rapped for ‘cowardly assassination’ in southern Lebanon
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News//July 18, 2024
BEIRUT: Israel’s assault on Lebanon extended beyond the southern border area to western Bekaa on Thursday, resulting in at least two deaths in separate attacks. In the morning, an Israeli drone targeted an SUV on the road to the town of Ghazze in western Bekaa, resulting in the death of its driver. The target was identified as Mohammed Hamed Jabara, a leader in Al-Jama’ah Al-Islamiyah, or the Islamic Group. He hailed from the town of Qaraoun in western Bekaa. He was an active militant in the party’s military wing, the Al-Fajr Forces, which is allied with Hezbollah in the confrontation with Israel. According to a source from his hometown, Jabara had previously been pursued by Israel “due to his resistance activities and had faced multiple threats and assassination attempts, which only succeeded now.”
The Al-Fajr Forces described Jabara as “one of their leaders” in an obituary.
Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, also mourned Jabara as “one of their leaders.”In another incident on Thursday morning, an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle on the road to Jbal El-Botm in the Tyre district in the south. The driver tried to escape the drone but was pursued and killed by a missile. He was identified as Hussein Ali Mhanna, a 40-year-old Hezbollah member from Jbal El-Botm. In a third attack, an Israeli drone targeted a car between Hanniyeh and Zibqin, injuring a Hezbollah member and another passenger. The Israeli army conducted a sweep with machine guns toward Wazzani and targeted Chihine with a guided missile. Israeli airstrikes and artillery also hit Aita Al-Shaab, the hills extending between Taoumat Niha and the highlands of Ain Al-Tineh in western Bekaa, without any reported injuries.
The intense Israeli escalation followed Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s threat to “target more settlements if Israel continues targeting civilians.”
The Israeli response was “a message demonstrating the army’s capability to continue killings and its ability to monitor Hezbollah field leaders, and know their identities and type of missions,” said one political observer. In a statement, the Islamic Group held Israel responsible for Jabara’s “cowardly assassination.”The attack “will not deter us from performing our role and duty in defending our land and people in the south, nor from supporting our people in Palestine,” the party said. Hezbollah responded to the Israeli attacks with hostile operations targeting military sites, including “newly installed espionage equipment” on a crane at the Hadab Yarin site. Israeli jets broke the sound barrier over the south more than four times, causing panic and damage to homes, including the partial collapse a roof in the town of Kfar Tebnit. Residents escaped without injury. The military escalation has led to increased casualties in southern Lebanon as Israel pursues an aggressive strategy against Hezbollah. The number of civilian casualties exceeded 107 as of July 14, a report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. Total casualties amounted to 466, including Hezbollah-affiliated military personnel. More than 98,000 people have been internally displaced in southern Lebanon after artillery reached within 12 km of the Blue Line. Almost 98 percent of the displaced hail from the Bint Jbeil, Marjaayoun and Tyre districts, the OCHA report said.
Israeli airstrikes have also reached deep into the country, extending up to 100 km from the Blue Line. The OCHA warned of severe damage to southern Lebanon’s water, electricity and telecommunications infrastructure, and roads.
Maintenance and repair workers have been injured or killed while trying to keep services running for the remaining residents, alongside medics and first responders. “There has also been a noticeable increase in Israeli jets breaking the sound barrier over various Lebanese regions,” the report said, citing the South Council, which is responsible for assessing the damage. Since Oct. 8 last year, about 3,000 housing units have been partially or entirely destroyed. Additionally, 12,000 housing units have been severely damaged, and 20,000 units have sustained minor damage.
The report estimated the economic value of the damage at $1.7 billion.
The South Council reported that the agricultural sector lost 17 million sq. meters of land, mainly as a result of Israeli white phosphorus shelling, with effects that will last for years. Farmers also cannot harvest crops from 12 million sq. meters of land, the council said. The OCHA report said that at least 13 water infrastructure sites had been damaged due to cross-border hostilities, impacting supply for almost 200,000 people in the south and Nabatieh. Water fee collection has fallen to almost zero in the southern and Nabatieh governorates, putting the South Lebanon Water Establishment in a challenging situation. The agricultural sector has been heavily impacted. On July 8, more than 800 farm animals were killed in an Israeli attack on a farm in Jabal Tora, Jezzine. Lebanon’s Agriculture Ministry condemned the attack and called on international intervention to “make those responsible pay and provide aid to farmers.”
According to the report, on July 11, UNIFIL expressed concern “about the high level of tension seen recently and the potential for miscalculations that could lead to a sudden and wider conflict.”The OCHA said that 82 percent of the internally displaced live with host families, while 15 percent rent houses. Another 2 percent have relocated to secondary residences. About 1 percent are housed across 16 shelters. According to the International Organization for Migration, 19 percent of the displaced live in overcrowded conditions. About 33 percent are children, while 34 percent are women and 33 percent men.

Israeli strike kills field commander in elite Hezbollah unit, sources say
Reuters/Thu, July 18, 2024
A field commander in Hezbollah's elite Radwan forces was killed in an Israeli strike on south Lebanon, two security sources said on Thursday, the latest senior member of the group to be killed in months of tit-for-tat fighting with Israel. Habib Maatouk had replaced another commander in the elite unit who was killed earlier this year in an Israeli strike, the security sources said. Maatouk was killed in one of several strikes on the neighbouring border villages of Safad El Batikh and Jmaijmeh, the sources said. After the strikes, 18 wounded people arrived in nearby Tebnin government hospital, two in critical condition, hospital director Mohammed Hamadi told Reuters. Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military offensive in Gaza. The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

Israeli Defense Minister Gallant states during northern border tour: 'Things can escalate in moments'
LBCI/July 18, 2024
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, during a tour on Israel’s northern border, warned that the situation could escalate swiftly and dramatically, shifting from intense activity in the south to a major focus in the north. Gallant assessed the situation with military brigade leaders and municipal heads during his tour of the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Hezbollah fighter, Jamaa Islamiya commander, killed in strikes in Tyre and Bekaa
Naharnet/July 18, 2024
Israeli drones targeted Thursday two cars in east and south Lebanon, killing a Jamaa Islamiya commander in the village of Ghazzeh in Bekaa. The other drone strike targeted a car in Jbal el-Botm in the Tyre district, near Zebqine. "A drone targeted at 6:30 this morning a Dodge pickup on the Ghazzeh road," the National News Agency said Thursday, adding that the strike killed Jamaa Islamiya commander, Mohammad Hamed Jbara from the Bekaa village of Qaroun. Jamaa Islamiya and its armed wing the Fajr Forces in a statement said Jbara, a commander also known as Abu Mahmoud, was killed in a "treacherous Zionist raid" in the Bekaa. Jamaa Islamiya, formed in the 1960s, has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against Israel, including joint operations with Hamas in Lebanon. The Fajr Forces, Jamaa Islamiya's armed wing, was established in 1982 to fight against the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Hamas' armed wing also announced Jbara's death and said he was one of its commanders. The Israeli military said the air force "eliminated" Jbara in a strike on the Bekaa, identifying him as "a Hamas operative in Lebanon".He was "responsible for carrying out terror attacks and missile launches" against Israel, including attacks "coordinated" with Jamaa Islamiya, it said in a statement. In June, an Israeli strike on a vehicle in east Lebanon killed a Jamaa Islamiya leader who Israel's military said supplied weapons to the group and to Hamas. The cross-border violence since October has killed 512 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters -- nine of them from Jamaa Islamiya -- according to an AFP tally, but also including at least 104 civilians. On the Israeli side, 17 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, according to authorities. The exchanges of fire -- mostly between Hezbollah and Israeli forces -- have largely been restricted to the Lebanon-Israel border area, although Israel has repeatedly struck deeper inside Lebanese territory. The violence has raised fears of all-out conflict between the two foes, who last went to war in the summer of 2006.

Israel strikes south and east Lebanon as Hezbollah seems to deescalate
Naharnet/July 18, 2024
Israeli drones targeted Thursday a region between Yater and Zebqine while artillery shelled the outskirts of Yater. Drones had targeted earlier on Thursday two cars in east and south Lebanon, killing a Jamaa Islamiya commander in the village of Ghazzeh in Bekaa, and a Hezbollah fighter in Jbal el-Botm in the Tyre district, near Zebqine. Israeli jets also raided the village of Ain el-Tineh in West Bekaa.Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli army fired machine guns at the border town of al-Wazzani. Artillery had shelled overnight the southern border town of Aita al-Shaab. Israeli strikes seemed to intensify Thursday, although Hezbollah attacks rather decreased. The group targeted Thursday surveillance equipment in the Hadb Yarine post and in Metula in north Israel. On Wednesday Hezbollah carried out only one attack on north Israel in response to a strike that killed 3 Syrian children in Umm Toot. During the past months of border clashes, Hezbollah had carried out around or more than 10 attacks per day, including with advanced weapons. The group seems now to de-escalate as cease-fire talks resume in Cairo. Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on Oct. 7 with the Hamas attack on southern Israel. The group says it would only stop its attacks when a cease-fire is reached in Gaza. Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have killed over 450 people, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also more than 80 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 21 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed since the war in Gaza began. Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the tense Lebanon-Israel frontier have been displaced in the monthslong war.

Spain, Germany arrest 4 suspected of supplying Hezbollah with drone parts
Associated Press/July 18, 2024
Three people were arrested in Spain and one more in Germany on suspicion of belonging to a network that supplied Lebanon's Hezbollah with parts to build kamikaze drones that would have been used in attacks in northern Israel, Spanish authorities said Thursday. The investigation began in Spain when the Guardia Civil detected “suspicious operations” by Spanish companies run by Lebanese nationals involving large quantities of materials and components to manufacture drones capable of carrying explosive charges of several kilograms, the statement said.
Authorities believe Hezbollah may have built several hundred drones with these components. The Spanish companies, as others in Europe and around the world, purchased items including electronic guidance components, propulsion propellers, gasoline engines, more than 200 electric motors and materials for the fuselage, wings and other drone parts, according to investigators. The parts acquired by the network, which has now been dismantled, were identified in drones used by Hezbollah militants in attacks against Israel after the start of the Gaza war, which was triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Since then, Israeli air strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 450 people, mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also more than 80 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 21 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed.

Report: Hochstein says Bayssari has no chance to become president
Naharnet/July 18, 2024
U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein has repeatedly said that General Security acting chief Brig. Gen. Elias Bayssari has “no chance” to be elected president, several prominent politicians have said, according to al-Akhbar newspaper. “Hochstein has recently sent a message to MP Jebran Bassil through a U.S.-based Lebanese figure, asking him to think of a candidate other than Bayssari,” the daily added.

Russia's top diplomat says Hezbollah, Iran and Lebanon don't want war with Israel
Associated Press/July 18, 2024
Russia’s top diplomat has said that Hezbollah, its main backer Iran, and Lebanon’s government do not want “a full-blown war – and there’s a suspicion that some circles in Israel are trying to achieve just that.”Sergey Lavrov told a U.N. news conference Wednesday that Russia is doing “everything possible to calm tensions.” He expressed hope that Western nations make every effort to ensure Israel won’t act on what he says U.S. and European analysts are calling Israel’s “provocative mindsets.”Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire almost every day since the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza last October. The U.S. and the international community have been lobbying for calm, and are hopeful a diplomatic solution will prevent the fighting from spiraling into a wider Middle East war. Should war break out, Israel would face a much more formidable foe in Lebanon than in Gaza. Hezbollah is the Arab world’s most significant paramilitary force with a robust internal structure as well as a sizeable arsenal. Israel sees the group as its most direct threat. Lavrov said Iran’s previous government and new president “reflect a very responsible position that Iran is not interested in escalation.”Without offering names, Lavrov said U.S. and European analysts say “escalation, as the practical developments show, is something which Israel is interested in.” “Hezbollah has been very much restrained in its actions,” Lavrov asserted, and its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah “delivered a number of public statements which reaffirmed that position.”“However, the sentiment is that there’s an attempt to provoke them, and to provoke them into a full-blown engagement,” he said. Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed over 450 people, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also more than 80 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 21 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed since the war in Gaza began.

Syrians in Lebanon mourn children killed in Israeli strike
Agence France Presse/July 18, 2024
When Shaheen Jarkas fled Syria's war for Lebanon, he hoped his family would be safe. Instead, an Israeli strike killed his two young children. "Like every day... the children were spending their day playing," said Jarkas, 55, a farm worker originally from north Syria's Afrin area but now living in the southern border village of Umm Toot. "I heard the sound of a strike" and ran towards it, he said. Jarkas said he found his children, Jean, 10, and Mohammed, seven, "drowning in blood". Lebanese official media said separate Israeli strikes on Tuesday in south Lebanon, including on Umm Toot, killed five Syrians, three of them children, with Hezbollah announcing rocket fire at Israel in retaliation. The Iran-backed group has traded almost daily fire with Israeli forces in support of its ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said on Tuesday that its air force struck "a Hezbollah terrorist cell" in the Yarin area, near Umm Toot, releasing a video of the strike. On Wednesday, the children's bodies, wrapped in what appeared to be bed coverings, were laid out on stretchers as mourners gathered and a sheikh led funerary prayers. Another Syrian agricultural worker in Umm Toot, Mohammed Khalil, 58, said at first he didn't know where exactly the strike had hit. "We ran to check on the children who had been playing," he said, his face gaunt and his hair grey. "We found them dead," with his 12-year-old son Khalil Khalil among them, he said. Around him in Qasimiya in the Tyre district, where the bodies were taken for funerals, people wept, women screamed in grief, and some embraced and consoled each other. "We came as refugees from (Syria) in order to protect our children," he said. "The Israeli government is responsible" for their killing, he added. United Nations children's agency UNICEF on Tuesday called the children's deaths "horrific".Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned on Wednesday that his fighters would hit new targets in Israel if more civilians were killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon. The cross-border violence since October has killed 511 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including at least 104 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, 17 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, according to authorities. The violence, largely restricted to the border area, has raised fears of all-out conflict between the two foes, who last went to war in the summer of 2006.

Shiite Muslims in Lebanon commemorate Ashoura as border tensions rise
Associated Press/July 18, 2024
Shiite Muslims Wednesday in Lebanon and Iraq commemorated Ashoura, marking the 7th-century death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein, that gave birth to their faith, while paying tribute to Palestinians as the Israel-Hamas war entered its 10th month and tensions heightened between Hezbollah and the Israeli military.The rift between Islam's two main sects deepened after Sunnis killed Imam Hussein in battle in the Iraqi city of Karbala, south of Baghdad. It continues to this day to play a key role in shaping the identity of Shiites, who represent over 10% of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims. In the Shiite community, Ashoura is viewed as a symbol of struggle against injustice and tyranny. Participants usually wear black and set up black funeral tents, a sign of mourning, while carrying red flags that represent Hussein's blood. Clerics recount the story of his death as Shiite Muslims cry and beat their chests.
In the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, youth scouts held portraits of the militant group's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr who has been missing since 1978. Thousands attended the procession which paid tribute to hundreds of Hezbollah militants killed in monthslong clashes with the Israeli military in southern Lebanon, many waving the group's yellow flags. Nasrallah previously said that Hezbollah wouldn't hold Ashoura processions in southern Lebanon because of the ongoing clashes. After the outbreak of the war in Gaza on Oct. 7, following Hamas' surprise attack, Hezbollah — an ally of the Palestinian militant group — launched attacks against Israel, killing 17 soldiers and 13 civilians in the last 10 months. Israeli airstrikes on south Lebanon have killed over 450 people. Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the tense Lebanon-Israel border have since been displaced. In a televised address to commemorate Ashoura Wednesday, Nasrallah warned the Israeli military against targeting civilians in Lebanon, saying the group will target new Israeli towns and villages otherwise. "If your tanks came to Lebanon and southern Lebanon ... you won't have any left."Ashoura this year witnessed a rare attack against Shiites commemorating the occasion Monday night in Oman that killed six people and wounded 30. The extremist Islamic State group claimed the attack without providing clear evidence. The group's Aamaq news agency released a video allegedly showing the three attackers opening fire at worshipers at a Shiite mosque in the capital Muscat, a shocking event in the peaceful Sultanate.

Hezbollah mourns Hassan Ali Mhenna after recent Israeli attacks on South Lebanon
LBCI/July 18, 2024
In a recent statement, Hezbollah mourned Hassan Ali Mhenna, also known as "Abu Hadi." Mhenna was from the town of Jbal El Botm in southern Lebanon.On Thursday morning, the area of Jbal El Botm, located in the Tyre District, was targeted by an airstrike, which hit a car with a missile.

Gegea accuses FPM, Hezbollah of 'obstructing change'
Naharnet/July 18, 2024
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused Thursday the so-called Axis of Defiance and the Free Patriotic Movement of obstructing change in Lebanon. The FPM prioritizes its "narrow interests", Geagea charged, adding that the FPM members seek political and personal gains "at the expense of Lebanon's interest.""The real problem lies in the current political class that refuses to acknowledge its mistakes and continues to repeat the same failed policies," Geagea went on to say, blaming the FPM for failing to re-evaluate their political course and their stances. Geagea also criticized the Axis of Defiance for "implicating Lebanon in conflicts that it has nothing to do with."Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel after the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. The group says it would only stop its attacks when a cease-fire is reached in Gaza. Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have killed over 450 people, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also more than 80 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 21 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed since the war in Gaza began. Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the tense Lebanon-Israel frontier have been displaced in the monthslong war.

Despite Her Dismissal, Ghada Aoun Bans Banker from Leaving Lebanon/Hajjar Plans 'Punitive Measures' Against Ghada Aoun
This Is Beirut/July 18, 2024
Despite her dismissal from her post over a month ago, the Public Prosecutor at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal, Judge Ghada Aoun, issued an order on Thursday “banning the Chairman of the Board of Directors of al-Mawarid bank, former minister Marwan Kheireddine, from leaving the country.”The ban came “in connection with the complaint lodged by MP Elias Jarade, lawyers Hassan Bazzi, Pierre al-Haddad, Najib Farhat and their associates against the company, Optimum, and any banker appearing in the investigation.”The Direction of General Security was notified of Aoun’s order; however, its execution is pending the decision of the Interim Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Judge Jamal Hajjar. Aoun was dismissed from her post on June 8, 2024, in a circular issued by Hajjar. The latter had ordered the judicial police, as well as all ministries and public administrations, to no longer comply with Aoun’s instructions, effectively stripping her of her judicial prerogatives.

Lebanon Declares National Mourning for Beirut Blast Anniversary
This Is Beirut/July 18, 2024
The Lebanese government has announced a national day of mourning on Sunday, August 4, 2024, marking the fourth anniversary of the Beirut Port explosion. Flags will fly at half-mast, and radio and TV programs will be adjusted to commemorate this occasion and honor the victims of the blast. The explosion, on August 4, 2020, left a deep impact on the city and the nation, with almost 200 lives lost and thousands injured. The case is still under investigation, and the Lebanese people continue to seek justice and accountability.

Bou Habib Calls for Ceasefire and UNSCR 1701 Implementation
This Is Beirut/July 18, 2024
Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdallah Bou Habib, addressed the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday focusing on the issue at the southern border and in Palestine. He called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the safe return of people on both sides of the border to their villages. In his speech, Bou Habib developed six key points to facilitate the “rapid and safe return of displaced persons to border areas”. Southern Lebanon residents were forced to flee the region after October 7, due to daily Israeli strikes. The minister also insisted on the need for Israel to end land, sea and air violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and its internationally recognized borders. Bou Habib also called on the international community to support the Lebanese government in deploying the Army south of the Litani. He also addressed the issue of the borders between Lebanon and Israel emphasizing the need to respect the internationally recognized borders between both countries drawn in 1923 and confirmed under the armistice agreement of 1949. Bou Habib also reminded that Lebanon had issued a request to renew the mandate of UNIFIL. In his speech, Mr. Bou Habib denounced “the international community’s inability to put an end to the conflict that has persisted since the outbreak of the war in Gaza”. He recalled that “Lebanon rejects any form of war on its territory, which could have negative repercussions not only on the region but also on Europe”. The key to lasting peace lies in the implementation of the two-state solution”, he insisted.

Cyprus' Ambassador to Lebanon: Cypriot President pledges support for Lebanese issues in European and international forums
LBCI/July 18, 2024
Cyprus' Ambassador to Lebanon, Maria Hadjitheodosiou, confirmed that Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides promised to support Lebanon's issues in the European and international forums. She reiterated her country's support for Lebanon's stance on the Syrian refugee issue and noted a growing consensus among European governments regarding this sensitive topic. Ambassador Hadjitheodosiou's remarks came during her visit to the Maronite League upon an invitation from its political committee. The meeting was attended by the League's president Ambassador Khalil Karam several former presidents of the League, members of the executive council, and its political committee.During her visit, the Cypriot ambassador conveyed a verbal message from the Cypriot president to the officials of the Maronite League, affirming the historical and fraternal relationship between Lebanon and Cyprus.
She recalled that his first meeting with Lebanese personalities and entities after his election was with Ambassador Khalil Karam, the president of the League, and members of the accompanying delegation. During this meeting, he pledged to support Lebanon's causes in European forums and international arenas.The ambassador also discussed bilateral relations, regional challenges, and the volatile situation in the Middle East. She presented an overview of the Maronite community in Cyprus and its role in public life and economic development on the island. The discussion during the meeting also addressed the issue of Syrian displacement. She affirmed her country's support for Lebanon's standpoint on the matter and noted a growing consensus among the majority of European governments regarding the issue.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 18-19/2024
Israeli delegation arrives in Cairo to continue cease-fire talks
Associated Press/July 18, 2024
An Israeli delegation has arrived in Egypt to continue cease-fire talks as Israel and Hamas consider the latest proposal, three Egyptian airport officials said. International mediators continue to push Israel and Hamas toward a phased deal that would halt the fighting and free about 120 hostages held by the militant group in Gaza. The Israeli delegation includes six officials, the airport officials said without disclosing identities. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the arrival with the media. Talks between the sides were rattled over the weekend when Israel said it targeted Hamas’ military commander in a massive strike. His status remains unclear. Hamas has said the talks continue. Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has told U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin that such heavy pressure on Hamas had “led to the conditions necessary to achieve an agreement for the return of the hostages.” He gave no further details in a statement from his office.

Israel’s Knesset Shuns Two-State Solution in Latest US Clash
Galit Altstein/Bloomberg/July 18, 2024
Israel’s parliament passed a resolution expressing formal opposition to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, warning that it could serve as a base for terrorist groups.“The Knesset is adamantly opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan river,” the legislature said in the resolution, which was adopted at a sitting in Jerusalem early Thursday with backing from 68 of its 120 members. About three quarters of United Nations members have expressed their support for, or recognition of, Palestinian statehood — with Spain, Norway and Ireland joining the latter category in May. While the prospect of it being able to peacefully co-exist with Israel looks increasingly remote in light of the war raging in the Gaza Strip, some of Israel’s allies say a two-state solution — which has been discussed for decades — is what’s needed to advance peace in the Middle East.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit Washington next week where the Biden administration is expected to urge acceptance of a Palestinian state as the way to bring Arab states into the rebuilding of Gaza and normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. “Our position is a two-state solution,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in New York when asked about the Knesset decision. “That is the only, only future that we see for this region in which Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace. Without that, peace will be nearly impossible to achieve.”The fighting erupted after the Iranian-backed militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Netanyahu says the war is necessary to destroy Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union. Truce talks have dragged on for several weeks, and there is no indication if, or when, they may be concluded. The Knesset’s resolution is a hardening of its previous position agreed earlier this year, which rejected that the notion that a Palestinian state could be declared unilaterally. In 2009, Netanyahu said he’d accept a demilitarized Palestinian state as long as it recognized Israel. Negotiations fell apart and, in recent years, Netanyahu and the Israeli public have stepped away from supporting two states, a sentiment that has strengthened since Oct. 7.

Israel Considers Letting EU, Palestinians Control Rafah Crossing
Donato Paolo Mancini, Dan Williams, Alberto Nardelli and Jennifer Jacobs/Bloomberg/July 18, 2024
Israeli officials are considering transferring control of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing to the European Union and Palestinians, according to people familiar with the matter. Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has scorned the idea of Israel ceding control of the crossing, Israeli officials are in talks with the EU and US about the proposal, said the people. If enacted, it would foreshadow an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas and enable more aid to get into the devastated Palestinian territory, said the people. The negotiations underscore the EU’s renewed diplomatic efforts to relieve some pressure on Palestinian civilians and help stop the war. The bloc has for months called for a truce but had little influence over the Israeli government as it tries to destroy Hamas. Still, Brussels helped run the crossing before 2007, when Hamas took control. Netanyahu has said that whatever Israel does, Hamas won’t be allowed to retake the border. His government also insists on Israel’s troops remaining in the vicinity of the crossing and along the Gaza-Egypt border. The prime minister, who visited Rafah on Thursday, has previously clashed with his generals over the crossing, according to an Israeli official. They are more inclined than Netanyahu — who will have the final say — to reopen it, the official said. The crossing linking Gaza and Egypt has become a key source of tension in recent months between Israel and Palestinian authorities, as well as the Egyptian government. It was the main route for aid going into Gaza before Israeli forces took it over from Hamas in early May, since when it’s been shut. The US, United Nations and Arab states have urged Israel to reopen it to enable more supplies of food, fuel and medicine to get to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Israeli authorities are considering allowing a combined contingent of security-cleared Palestinian officials and the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Rafah, know as EUBAM, to have that role, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could discuss the confidential plans. It’s unclear how close the sides are to finalizing an agreement. Netanyahu’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, while the Israeli defense ministry declined to comment. A spokesperson for the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell Fontelles, said the bloc’s already made clear it wants EUBAM to return to the crossing, though only when necessary arrangements allow it. For that to happen, fighting needs to stop and the issue of who governs Gaza must be solved, the spokesperson said. Netanyahu’s due to meet US President Joe Biden in Washington next week and address Congress, in what will be his first trip outside of Israel since the war began in October. Understanding the Roots of the Israel-Hamas War: QuickTake Israel has long complained about smuggling from Egypt into southern Gaza, including of weapons for Hamas. Since the war started, Netanyahu’s government has said it will take extra steps to eradicate smuggling and destroy the many tunnels running across the border. It sees control of the Rafah crossing and having troops along the border with Egypt as crucial to achieving that. Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US, started the conflict when its fighters swarmed from Gaza into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage. Israel’s offensive of Gaza has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there.

Israel bombards central Gaza as tanks advance deeper in Rafah
REUTERS/July 18, 2024
CAIRO: Israeli forces bombarded the Gaza Strip’s historic refugee camps in the center of the enclave and struck Gaza City in the north on Thursday, killing at least 13 people, and tanks pushed deeper into Rafah in the south, health officials and residents said. One Israeli airstrike killed six people in Zawayda town in central Gaza and two other people were killed in a strike on a house in Bureij camp. An Israeli air strike killed three people in a car in Deir Al-Balah, a city packed with people displaced from elsewhere in Gaza, health officials said. In Gaza City in the north, medics said two Palestinians were killed in another airstrike. The Israeli military said in a statement its forces killed two senior Islamic Jihad commanders in two airstrikes in Gaza City, including one whom it said had taken part in the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that triggered the Gaza war. In Rafah, residents said Israeli tanks advanced deeper in the western side of the city and took position on a hilltop there. The Israeli military said forces located several tunnels and killed several gunmen. The armed wing of militant group Hamas and its allies said they fired mortar bombs at Israeli forces in southwest Rafah on Thursday. More than a million people had sought shelter in Rafah from fighting further north, but most have scattered again since Israel launched an offensive in and around the city in May. The fighting has pushed the 60-bed Red Cross field hospital in Rafah to the brink of capacity, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement on Thursday. “The repeated mass casualty events resulting from the unrelenting hostilities have stretched to breaking point the response capacity of our hospital – and all health facilities in southern Gaza – to care for those with life-threatening injuries,” said William Schomburg, head of the ICRC’s subdelegation in Gaza.
CEASEFIRE EFFORTS STALLED
More than nine months into the war, Palestinian fighters led by Hamas are still able to attack Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs, occasionally firing rocket barrages into Israel. Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas after its militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack, according to Israeli tallies. More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive since then, Gaza health authorities say. On Tuesday, Israel said it had eliminated half of the leadership of Hamas’ military wing and killed or captured about 14,000 fighters since the start of the war. Israel says 326 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza. Hamas doesn’t release figures of casualties among its ranks and said Israel was exaggerating to portray a “fake victory.”Diplomatic efforts by Arab mediators to halt the hostilities, backed by the United States, appear on hold, though all sides say they are open to more talks, including Israel and Hamas. A deal would aim to end the war and release Israeli hostages in Gaza in return for many Palestinians jailed by Israel. Hamas was awaiting an Israeli response to a ceasefire offer drafted by the United States based on ideas announced by President Joe Biden, a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said. “The feeling in Hamas is that (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is stalling and that he might not say anything before he goes to the United States next week,” said the official, who asked not to be named.

30 years after attack on Argentina's Jewish center, Milei makes promises. But the anguish remains
Isabel Debre/BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)/July 18, 2024
On each passing anniversary of the deadly 1994 attack against Argentina's largest Jewish community center, Diana Malamud said she endures a brutal “Groundhog Day.”In her version of the Kafkaesque nightmare that traps her in the same day over and over, presidents repeat the same pledges to seek justice for the car bombing at the center that killed 85 people, including Malamud's architect husband, Andrés, wounded 300 others and profoundly unsettled Jewish communities across the continent.No has ever been convicted for involvement in the bombing, considered among the deadliest antisemitic attacks anywhere since World War II. On Thursday, on the 30th anniversary of the attack, libertarian President Javier Milei — a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” who rode to power on a wave of popular rage against the political establishment — became Argentina's 11th leader to vow renewed efforts to bring the perpetuators to justice. His combative anti-Iran rhetoric, pro-Israel foreign policy and radical state reforms have stirred cautious optimism about his commitment to breaking the time loop. But many remain unconvinced after three decades of an investigation marred by corruption, obfuscation and intrigue. “The years go by, but nothing happens,” said Malamud, 64, a member of Active Memory, a group of victims’ families that has pushed for accountability. “On these anniversaries, the government has these very important announcements that never serve any purpose, and the terrible part is that what we want most seems almost impossible to get.” A memorial siren wailed at the community center, known by its Spanish acronym AMIA, on Thursday at 9:53 a.m., the exact minute the attack occurred 30 years ago, commencing the day of stirring speeches and solemn vigils.
“It's unbelievable that 30 years have passed since that cold morning of 18 July 1994, 30 years without a single person answering for this attack," said the head of AMIA, Amos Linetzky, from the memorial service, his voice rising with frustration as he recounted the decades of wholesale impunity. “Thirty years in which the Argentine state has looked the other way.” Milei was in the audience, a day after taking the rostrum at a conference hosted by the nonprofit World Jewish Congress where he vigorously denounced Iran as “the dark hand” behind deadly militant attacks from Argentina to Israel. Argentine prosecutors have repeatedly blamed Iran for directing the attack and dispatching Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group to execute it — claims denied by Iran. “There is no reasonable person who doubts that sectors of Iran’s fanatical government are behind these atrocities,” Milei said late Wednesday, equating the Hamas militant attack against Israel on Oct. 7 with the AMIA bombing as well as a deadly attack in 1992 on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires.
The president's condemnation of Iran is nothing new, but his hard-line stance is.
His administration has been strikingly vocal in its defense of Israel since the Oct. 7 attacks, vowing to move Argentina’s embassy to contested Jerusalem and supporting the Israeli military’s devastating campaign in Gaza — in contrast to neighboring countries that have pulled ambassadors and even severed ties with Israel. Milei has also professed a profound spiritual connection to Judaism and forged close ties with the Jewish community in Argentina, the biggest in South America. Although Milei hasn't yet converted to Judaism, he studies Torah and regularly consults with a personal rabbi, Shimon Axel Wahnish, who he has appointed as the country’s ambassador to Israel. The dramatic foreign policy shift — after previous Argentine governments attempted to collaborate with Iran to investigate the bombing — has delighted Israel and Jewish advocacy groups. “The thing that’s different, finally, is that there's a new president in Argentina,” said Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee and a former U.S. congressman, praising the “shared values” that he said now unite Argentina, the U.S. and Israel in new ways. “The president of the country speaks with clarity about this issue in a way that resonates."
In his memorial speech, Linetzky from AMIA thanked Milei for designating Hamas as a terrorist organization and pressed him to continue prioritizing the case. In the past week, Milei unveiled the terrorism designation, announced a revamp of the intelligence services and vowed to introduce legislation that would allow for the trial of suspects in absentia. Despite Interpol notices for their arrests, several Lebanese and Iranian citizens accused of involvement in the attack — including Iran's interior minister — remain at large. Last month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held the Argentine state responsible for its failure to prevent the attack and its deliberate efforts to obstruct justice. It ordered the Argentine government to continue its investigations. Members of Active Memory have celebrated the order by the Inter-American court, whose jurisdiction Argentina acknowledges. But they said they have little faith in their government to close the case. "We've seen these gestures made before, but the important thing is to move from gestures and words into concrete action,” said Enrique Greenberg, 53, a member of Active Memory. Argentina's top criminal court earlier this year came out with its first ruling on the case — naming the same Iranian and Lebanese officials that have long been blamed and upholding the convictions, and some acquittals, of judiciary officials accused of engaging in a major cover-up to shield Iran.Active Memory has denounced the sentences as too few and too light. As usual, the group held its own vigil in downtown Buenos Aires at the same time as the AMIA ceremony — the 1.5-kilometer (around a mile) distance between them a product of the bitter divisions that the elusive quest for justice has spawned within Argentina’s Jewish community. There were no government officials at the Active Memory service, where Malamud delivered a tribute similar to the 29 speeches she gave before. Nonetheless, she found herself moved to tears. “As has happened to me so many times, in this square,” she said, “the face of Andrés comes to me like a wink."

Trump family reshapes Republican Party in its own image
AFP/July 19, 2024
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin: For Donald Trump, the campaign to return to the White House is a family affair. His sons Donald Jr. and Eric have been ubiquitous at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, flanking their father at almost all his public appearances. During Trump’s first term in office between 2017 and 2021, they helped him make key decisions, and they now work to ensure the party leadership is comprised of loyal allies. Most recently, their input helped tip Trump toward picking Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate, a new addition to the inner circle. “He couldn’t choose one of his sons or daughters or daughter-in-law, that just wouldn’t work, of course,” Natasha Lindstaedt, a political scientist at the University of Essex, told AFP. “J.D. Vance and Don Jr. are very close. So he chose someone that maybe reminds him of his son or is close to his son,” she said. A notable absence on the campaign trail this year, however, has been former first lady Melania Trump, who has been all but invisible throughout Trump’s rallies and protracted court appearances. In a marked break from precedent, Melania has been largely absent in recent months from her husband’s political life, with the notable exception of a fiery statement after an attempted assassination attempt on him on Saturday. Prior to that, however, she had spoken sparingly and not accompanied her husband during court appearances in a case that saw him convicted of covering up hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had a sexual encounter with the real estate tycoon. “She’s a complete enigma,” Lindstaedt said, adding that the former model did not “play the typical role” of a former first lady. “Although she seemed to share similar views to Trump on a lot of issues, not on all, but on a lot of issues, she has a very conservative world view, she doesn’t seem to care that much what people think and kind of does her own thing.” The rest of Trump’s family has offered the former president a way to soften his image in the aftermath of the recent convictions and other legal woes. His eldest granddaughter, 17-year-old Kai Trump, spoke at the RNC Wednesday night to describe the “very caring and loving” patriarch. “He’s just a normal grandpa, he gives us candy and soda when our parents aren’t looking,” she said. The teenage daughter of Donald Jr. spoke of their shared love of golf, even when the former president tries to psych her out when playing against her. “I don’t let him get to me, but I have to remind him I’m a Trump, too,” she said. Like wagons hitched to their father’s train, Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka have been pulled along to success, along with their friends and families.
Lindstaedt pointed to two examples of Trump spouses achieving power: Eric Trump’s wife Lara Trump, who was recently appointed co-chair of the Republican National Committee, and Ivanka’s husband Jared Kushner, who Trump appointed as an adviser and entrusted with figuring out peace in the Middle East. “Suddenly people who have no expertise, no training, no ethics training, maybe they’re not even going properly through security clearances, are given access to the most powerful positions,” Lindstaedt said. “And we see when this happens in non-democracies and the dictatorships, how it usually goes very badly.”Natalie Koch, who researches geopolitics and authoritarianism at Syracuse University, said Trump’s nepotism is nothing new. “The Trump organization is a family business, but once he took office the first time, and then you could really see that he brought that into the political realm and into the White House,” Koch told AFP. Each of Trump’s children has been entrusted with different duties during this campaign. Don Jr., the eldest at age 46, is a big proponent of his father’s far-right “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) ideology.
Speaking at the Republican National Convention, he extolled the image of his father raising his fist after the assassination attempt last weekend. Ivanka, 42, had played a role in Trump’s administration but has since devoted herself to personal matters. Eric, 40, has doubled down on Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was rigged. At the convention, he appeared with delegates from Florida and claimed — without evidence — that the Democratic Party was planning to win this year’s election fraudulently. Trump’s fourth child, Tiffany, 30, was also in attendance at the Republican National Convention. His youngest child, 18-year-old Barron, whom he had with current wife Melania, appears to take after his mother’s preference for the background, declining to be a delegate from Florida at the convention this year.

Top Dems Think Biden Could Exit Presidential Race This Weekend
Josh Fiallo/Daily Beast/July 18, 2024
Multiple top Democrats believe Joe Biden could bow out of the presidential race as early as this weekend, Axios reported Wednesday, citing “several” anonymous lawmakers. Democrats told the website that Biden, 81, risks wiping out his legacy if he stays the course and is defeated by Donald Trump in a landslide—a once-distant fear that recent polls suggest may soon be reality. Biden has remained defiant publicly, insisting he’s staying the race despite appearing more unsteady than ever in the last three weeks, punctuated by a disaster of a debate performance on June 27 and a COVID-19 diagnosis that has sidelined him from events this week. The president’s campaign denied the Axios report, stating firmly that Biden is “running for reelection” and that “baseless conjecture from anonymous sources isn’t a scoop.”The tipping point came on Wednesday, when Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who has tight connections to powerful party donors and is a close ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, went public and asked Biden to end his campaign for the good of the party. An assassination attempt on Trump briefly cooled down calls for the president to step aside this weekend, but damning polls showing Biden trailing Trump in battleground states and a looming Democratic National Convention have rekindled the party's crisis. Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), are reportedly pushing him to exit the race. If he doesn’t, they’ve signaled that a ticket with Biden at the top could have a catastrophic effect on down-ticket Democratic candidates for Congress. Major donors—starting with George Clooney—have also piled on, publicly and privately urging President Biden to abandon his race to make way for a younger candidate who they believe will fare better in a general election matchup against Trump. One major West Coast donor, as the Daily Beast reported exclusively Wednesday night, even drafted a "victory speech" that Biden could give as a way of bowing out gracefully, preserving his legacy and helping his party defeat Trump, as Biden did in 2020.

Russia says Armenia's warmer ties with NATO risk destabilising wider region
Reuters/Thu, July 18, 2024
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Armenia's tilt towards NATO was a cause for regret and concern, and said Yerevan's actions risked destabilising the wider South Caucasus region. At her regular press briefing, Zakharova said that Armenia's closer relations with the U.S.-led alliance caused "not just regret, but also concern for Armenia's future". She added that Yerevan's shift towards the West risked "destabilising" the South Caucasus, a region in which Russia has traditionally exerted major influence. Yerevan, traditionally Russia's closest regional ally, has stoked warmer ties with the NATO alliance in recent years as its ties with Moscow have become more strained. Armenian officials blame Russia for failing to protect it from long-time rival Azerbaijan, which retook the former breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023.Zakharova said that U.S.-Armenian military exercises, set to conclude on July 24, were also a cause for alarm, especially after Yerevan froze its participation in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) earlier this year.

How Iran's Khamenei elevated a little-known moderate to the presidency
Parisa Hafezi/DUBAI (Reuters)/July 18, 2024
When intelligence officials briefed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in May ahead of a snap presidential election, their report was grim: angered by economic hardship and crackdowns on social freedoms, most Iranians planned to boycott the vote and turnout would only be about 13%.That's when Khamenei decided to plan a carefully orchestrated election, setting the stage for a little-known but trusted moderate, Massoud Pezeshkian, to rise to the presidency in a race that would initially be dominated by hardliners, five people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Khamenei gathered a handful of his most trusted advisers to discuss his plan in at least three meetings in late May at his residence in a fortified compound in Tehran, according to the five people, who are two hardline sources, a top security official and two insiders close to Khamenei's inner circle. The supreme leader was concerned low turnout would damage the clerical establishment's credibility and he ordered those present to find a way to steer the election, said one of the people, who was briefed about the meetings. The election was called after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May. His death upset the plans of many fellow hardliners who wanted him to succeed the 85-year-old Khamenei and triggered a race among hardliners to influence the selection of the next supreme leader. The meetings at Khamenei's residence included a small group of senior officials and security aides, his close ally and adviser Ali Akbar Velayati, as well as two senior commanders of the powerful elite Revolutionary Guards. Khamenei's aim was to preserve the Islamic Republic amid domestic dissent and heightened tensions with the West and Israel over Gaza, exacerbated by the involvement of Tehran's allies Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, according to the five people, who were briefed in detail about what Khamenei said during the meetings regarding his plan and its goals. One of the insiders briefed about the meeting said Khamenei believed Iran needed a president who could appeal to different layers of society, but would not challenge the ruling Shi'ite theocracy.Several names were floated at the second meeting. Khamenei suggested Pezeshkian as a person who could foster unity among those in power, bridge the gap between the clerical establishment and the people, and ensure a smooth selection process for the next supreme leader, two sources said. "It was a flawless plan by the supreme leader ... which guaranteed the survival of the Islamic Republic," said Tehran-based pro-reform analyst Saeed Laylaz. "Pezeshkian will avoid any crisis at home, whether with the nation or the establishment," Laylaz said. "That will allow top leaders to decide about the succession and plan it in a calm atmosphere."Khamenei's office, the public relations office for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Pezeshkian's office could not be reached for comment. Velayati's office declined to comment.
ELECTION ENGINEERING?
The new president is not expected to usher in any major shift on Iran's nuclear or foreign policy, or its support for militias in the region, but he will be closely involved in selecting the successor to Khamenei, who calls the shots on top state matters.
Pezeshkian's mild profile, the sources said, would appease disgruntled Iranians, ensure domestic stability amid mounting foreign pressure, as well as providing Khamenei with a trusted ally in the eventual succession process.
A regional source close to Iranian circles of power said Pezeshkian's election had been "engineered" to defuse tensions after a wave of popular protests sparked by the death in custody of a young woman in 2022 and stricter curbs on social freedoms imposed by Raisi. The initial phase of Khamenei's plan was set in motion when then-lawmaker Pezeshkian - encouraged by pragmatic former officials with links to the supreme leader's office - registered to stand in the June 28 election, two sources said.
They said Pezeshkian was unaware of the behind-the-scenes decisions. One source close to him said he didn't even expect to be approved by the Guardian Council, an unelected vetting body of six clerics and six jurists aligned to Khamenei which has banned many moderate and prominent conservative candidates in the past.
Khamenei's plan was designed to appear fair and democratic, so two prominent hardline candidates, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, were approved by the vetting council, the five people familiar with the matter said. That meant hardliner votes would likely be split between them, making it harder for both to make it to a run-off. Jalili belongs to the ultra-hardline camp of "Paydari", which advocates tougher social restrictions, self-reliance, a hawkish foreign policy - and is believed to have already chosen its candidate to succeed Khamenei, said former Iranian lawmaker Noureddin Pirmoazen, a reformer now based in the United States. A win for Jalili, who opposed the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, would have sent a negative signal to the West as it piles pressure on Tehran over its fast-advancing uranium enrichment programme, three analysts and two diplomats told Reuters. "With the increased likelihood of Donald Trump's return to the White House ... the Islamic Republic needed a moderate figure to keep dialogue with the West open and reduce tensions," said one Western diplomat in the region.
A Guardian Council spokesman said: "It was a transparent and impartial election."
Jalili and Qalibaf could not be reached for comment. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said: "We can't speculate on specific theories of what may have transpired behind the scenes of Iran's recent presidential election. What we can say with certainty is that elections in Iran are neither free nor fair."A White House National Security Council spokesperson did not respond directly to questions about the main points of this story but said Washington had no expectation the elections would lead to fundamental change in Iran's direction or more respect for the human rights of its citizens.
THE DESIRED OUTCOME
Pezeshkian, who is an Azeri ethnic minority, won the first round with a core of voters that analysts said was mostly urban middle class or young - groups widely disillusioned by years of security crackdowns. But voter turnout was just 40%, the lowest for any election in the Islamic Republic, and the election went to a run-off between Pezeshkian and the fervently anti-Western Jalili. Qalibaf, a security hawk, who has echoed the views of Khamenei on every major issue, such as backing the power of Islamic clerics, finished third. Fearing Jalili's antagonistic domestic and foreign policy, many Iranians who voted for Qalibaf, or abstained, went for Pezeshkian in the second round on July 5, bumping up the turnover to almost 50% of Iran's 61 million voters. Ultimately, Khamenei's plan achieved the desired outcome. Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon, backed by reformists, moderate conservatives and ethnic minorities, won with 54% of the votes. "I thank the supreme leader. If it weren't for him, I don't think my name would have easily come out of ballot boxes," Pezeshkian said on state TV. Two sources close to Khamenei said Pezeshkian was referring to an order from the supreme leader to electoral officials to ensure votes were counted properly. The electoral authorities said there were no complaints about vote rigging. Pezeshkian, loyal to Iran's theocratic rule, has pledged to pursue a pragmatic foreign policy, ease tensions over now-stalled talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, and improve prospects for social liberalisation. He has spoken up for the rights of women and ethnic minorities and criticised the establishment's handling of the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman who died in 2022 while in custody for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code.
"They arrest a girl because a few strands of her hair are showing ... and return her dead body to her family," Pezeshkian said in 2022. "This behaviour is unacceptable."However, many analysts are sceptical about whether Pezeshkian can fulfil all his campaign promises as he has publicly stated that he has no intention of confronting Iran's powerful clerics and security hawks.

These Democratic lawmakers have publicly called for Biden to drop out of the race
Bryan Metzger/Business Insider/July 17, 2024
20 of them have done so as of Wednesday, July 17.
Other lawmakers are flatly predicting that Biden will lose to Trump.
President Joe Biden is facing calls to drop out of the presidential race from House Democrats following his disastrous debate performance in June.
It began on Tuesday, July 2, when Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first member of Congress to call for Biden's withdrawal. In a statement, he praised the president's record of accomplishments but said an "authoritarian takeover" would come if former President Donald Trump won.
"Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory — too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now," Doggett said. He later said on NBC that some of his House colleagues privately agreed with him.
That next day, Doggett was joined by Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who told the New York Times that the debate represented an "opportunity to look elsewhere."
he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race," said Grijalva. Both men are in their mid-to-late 70s and represent solidly Democratic seats.
Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts later joined them, telling a local radio affiliate that Biden should "step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump."
On Friday, July 5, shortly before Biden's interview with ABC News was set to air, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois said on MSBNC that Biden should "let someone else do this."
And the following Saturday morning, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota became the first swing-district Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw, saying in a statement that she does "not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump."
Separately, two members of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington — said that they believe Biden will lose to Trump, but did not explicitly call on him to withdraw. Sen. Michael Bennett of Colorado went on CNN to say the same thing.
Golden went as far as to say that he is "OK" with Trump winning, saying he rejects the idea that Trump is a "unique threat to our democracy."
On Wednesday, July 10, Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont became the first Democratic senator to call for Biden to drop out.
And on Thursday, July 11, six more House Democrats called on Biden to step aside, including two who did so immediately after his high-stakes press conference.
If Biden were to step aside, Vice President Kamala Harris is one of several Democratic contenders who could replace him.
Here's a full list of the 19 House Democrats who have publicly called on Biden to drop out:
Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas
Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona
Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts
Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois
Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota
Rep. Adam Smith of Washington
Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey
Rep. Pat Ryan of New York
Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon
Rep. Hillary Scholten of Michigan
Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois
Rep. Ed Case of Hawaii
Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut
Rep. Scott Peters of California
Rep. Eric Sorensen of Illinois
Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado
Rep. Mike Levin of California
Rep. Adam Schiff of California
Read the original article on Business Insider

US-made Abrams are better than Russia's best tanks in the war, Ukrainian commander says, and it's not even close
Jake Epstein/Business Insider/July 18, 2024
Russian vs. Western-made tanks in the Ukraine warScroll back up to restore default view. A Ukrainian M1 Abrams commander said the American tank was better than Russia's best in this war. He said the Abrams was better than Soviet tanks and even the T-90 that Moscow has deployed. Putin touted the T-90M, specifically, as the "world's best tank." Ukraine is operating a small fleet of US-made Abrams tanks, combat-proven vehicles that were built to destroy Russian armor. The war in Ukraine hasn't really featured the kind of tank-on-tank engagements that the M1A1 Abrams was designed to win. And instead of leading massive armored breakthroughs, another function they were built to carry out, these tanks are primarily being used in more of a supporting role. But a Ukrainian tank commander said the Abrams was still a dominant tank on the battlefield — better than the Soviet-era ones Kyiv fielded at the start of the war and even Russia's top and most celebrated tanks. "It's better than T-72, T-62, and even Russian T-90," the commander, who goes by the call sign Zakon, said through a translator during a recent interview with Business Insider from an undisclosed location near the front lines in eastern Ukraine.
The US initially planned to send Ukraine the newer M1A2 variant but decided to send the older M1A1s, tanks that run $10 million a unit, to speed up the delivery process. Kyiv received all 31 Abrams in the fall, and they're now in service with the seasoned 47th Mechanized Brigade. Zakon commands one tank and oversees a crew that consists of a driver, a loader, and a gunner. He said the M1A1, even though it's an older model of the Abrams that has been the main US battle tank for decades, was twice as good as Russia's T-90. "It's like a mouse against a big cat, if we compare these tanks," he told BI this week.
None of Russia's tanks stack up
Russia has fielded multiple variants of the T-90, a main battle tank in service since the early 1990s. The newest — and most technologically advanced — is the T-90M, which Russian President Vladimir Putin once claimed was the "world's best tank."The T-90M is the most sophisticated tank Russia has deployed to Ukraine since Moscow has withheld its T-14 Armata from combat. It has thermal sites, multilayered armor, a sophisticated fire-control system, and electronic-warfare capabilities, among other tools.Though capable, they're not invincible. According to the open-source intelligence site Oryx, Russia has lost at least 100 T-90Ms and more than 50 other T-90 variants. They have fallen victim to Ukraine's small attack drones and armored vehicles. Another sophisticated Russian tank is the T-80BVM, which, according to Oryx, has suffered at least 150 losses. Overall tank losses for the Russian army since the start of the war are estimated to be more than 3,000. Fire erupts from the barrel of a T-90 tank on a scarred battlefield in Ukraine.
A Russian T-90 tank firing in Ukraine.Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
Zakon did not specify T-90 variants when he compared the American-made Abrams with Russian armor. However, Gian Gentile, the associate director of RAND's Arroyo Center and a retired US Army officer with experience in the Abrams, previously told BI that even the T-90M was "inferior" to the Abrams because it's less heavily armored, making it more vulnerable, and has worse technology, particularly the optics and fire-control systems. The Abrams is a powerful machine. It has thick armor, but its gas-turbine engine can get the 60-ton tank up to 45 mph. And its depleted-uranium rounds can pierce holes in enemy armor. "Probably the best thing about it is its speed. It's really quick," Zakon said. "It's easy to get into the fight and get out of the fight." The Abrams hasn't really had a chance to do much of what it was made for in Ukraine, though. Zakon said that more tanks could help Kyiv deliver more of an armored punch, echoing comments made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. "For our tanks, we use them to ensure that our infantry or foot troops can be deployed or that our vehicles or equipment can be deployed where it's necessary," Zakon said. "Unfortunately, we do not use these tanks as breakthrough tanks, but we mostly use them to strengthen and support our positions." M1A1 Abrams tanks needed for training Ukrainian soldiers await offloading in Grafenwoehr, Germany. M1A1 Abrams tanks needed for training Ukrainian soldiers awaiting offloading in Germany.US Army photo by Spc. Christian Carrillo. Though the Abrams is widely recognized as a top tank, the American armor is also not without vulnerabilities and has been a high-profile target for Russian threats such as anti-tank missiles, rocket launchers, and first-person-view drones, which are all over the battlefield. Ukraine has lost as many as 10 Abrams, according to Oryx. In Ukraine, these tanks have been equipped with electronic-warfare capabilities, explosive reactive-armor tiling, and anti-drone protective screens donated by Rinat Akhmetov's Steel Front initiative to help them defend against inbound munitions. Zakon said that the Abrams could take a hit, but he repeatedly said that Ukraine needed more-dynamic systems to protect the tank's exterior and the crew inside. He stressed the importance of having more Abrams Reactive Armor Tiles or the Soviet Kontakt-1, technology that can defend against explosives. "We do need Abrams tanks, we do need people, and, first of all, we do need dynamic protection," Zakon said, adding: "We need them as much as possible."

Ukraine’s Zelensky to BBC: We have to work with the US
REUTERS/July 19, 2024
Zelensky's comments comes as the chances of Trump’s becoming US president looks more certain. Trump's choice of VP, Senator J.D. Vance, has said he "don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other”President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged in an interview published on Thursday that a victory for Donald Trump in the US election in November would be difficult for his country but Ukrainians were prepared. Trump’s choice of Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate has underscored how Washington’s stand on Ukraine, locked in a 28-month-old war with Russia, could change if he won the election. Vance is on record in an interview as saying “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.”Zelensky, speaking to the BBC while attending the European Political Community meeting in London, noted the comment, but added: “Maybe he really doesn’t care, but we have to work with the United States.”Trump’s election, he said in remarks on the BBC website, would be “hard work, but we are hard workers.”The administration of Joe Biden has provided weapons and supplies throughout the conflict, though the flow of assistance was halted for months by disputes within the US Congress. Trump has said during the campaign that, once elected, he would bring the conflict to an end even before taking office by securing a deal at the negotiating table. He said there would have been no conflict at all had he been in office when Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
In other comments to the BBC, Zelensky said Ukraine was thankful for pledges from its partners to supply F-16 fighter jets, most likely this summer, though they had not yet arrived. “It’s been 18 months and the planes have not reached us,” Zelensky told the BBC. The planes, he said, were essential to help Ukrainians resist Russia’s aerial dominance and “unblock the skies.”He said he anticipated no change in Britain’s support for Ukraine, but hoped new Prime Minister Keir Starmer would “become special — speaking about international politics, about defending world security, about the war in Ukraine.”Ukraine, he said, “doesn’t just need a new page, we need power to turn this leaf.”

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on July 18-19/2024
A revival of the Iran nuclear deal remains unlikely
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 18, 2024
Masoud Pezeshkian, the president-elect of Iran, is set to be inaugurated on July 30. His election campaign was marked by significant promises related to foreign policy, aimed at shifting the dynamics of Iran’s international relations. Central to his agenda was the pledge to reengage with the nuclear deal and improve diplomatic ties with the West, including the US. But whether Pezeshkian will be able to achieve these objectives is a matter of considerable debate. The complexities of Iran’s political landscape pose significant challenges to the realization of his foreign policy goals.
One of Pezeshkian’s primary foreign policy promises has been a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear agreement, which was signed in 2015 but fell by the wayside after the US withdrew in 2018. He views it as essential for Iran’s reintegration into the global community. Additionally, he aims to mend and improve relations with Western nations, including the US. However, the feasibility of these promises is contingent on the political will within Iran and the reaction of the international community.
The main objective behind Pezeshkian’s goals is to lift the sanctions that have long crippled Iran’s economy . Sanctions relief is seen as a gateway to numerous benefits, including the full reintegration of the Islamic Republic into the global financial system. Such a reintegration would increase Iran’s global legitimacy, allowing it to engage more freely in international trade and investment. In addition, lifting sanctions would significantly boost Iran’s revenues.
However, Iran’s advancements in its nuclear program have raised serious concerns both regionally and globally. The International Atomic Energy Agency last month issued a stark warning after its inspectors confirmed that Iran had begun feeding uranium gas into advanced centrifuges at its Natanz facility, marking a significant escalation in its enrichment capabilities. These advanced centrifuges enhance the efficiency of uranium enrichment by spinning the uranium gas at exceptionally high speeds. This process allows Iran to enrich uranium to higher levels more quickly, drastically reducing the time required to produce nuclear weapons. Iran has acknowledged enriching uranium to 84 percent, which is perilously close to the 90 percent threshold needed for weapons-grade material. This development has heightened fears of a potential nuclear arms race in the region.
The Biden administration is under considerable pressure, particularly from Republicans, to take decisive action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. This pressure is not solely a matter of foreign policy but also a significant domestic political issue, with various stakeholders influencing the administration’s approach. It is worth noting that, while the nuclear deal involves multiple countries — France, Germany, the UK, Russia, China and the US — the most crucial players in reaching a deal are Tehran and Washington. Historical precedents, such as the agreement reached by the Obama administration with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, demonstrate that political will in both countries is essential for any agreement. However, the current political climates in Iran and the US present formidable obstacles to reviving the deal, despite any mutual interests that may exist. In spite of Pezeshkian’s expressed desire to return to the nuclear deal and the Biden administration’s long-standing support for its revival, the prevailing pressure in both Washington and Tehran opposes such an outcome. Trust between the two governments is at an all-time low. In Washington, the opposition comes mainly from Republicans, who argue that Iran cannot be trusted to comply with any agreement and that sanctions should be maintained or even intensified to curb its regional ambitions. Meanwhile, in Iran, hard-liners, including the senior cadre of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, oppose reengaging with the US. They view the nuclear deal as a potential threat to their ideological and political interests. This entrenched opposition on both sides creates a challenging environment for any diplomatic breakthrough. Iran’s advancements in its nuclear program have raised serious concerns both regionally and globally. Furthermore, the socioeconomic and political conditions have changed since the Rouhani administration. Previously, sanctions were severely affecting Iran, creating an appetite for a nuclear deal. Today, the sanctions are less impactful, diminishing the motivation for a new agreement. During Rouhani’s tenure, the economic strain from sanctions had reached a tipping point, compelling the Iranian leadership to seek relief through diplomacy. However, the Iranian leadership today perceives that the impact of sanctions has been mitigated through various means, reducing the urgency for a deal. Additionally, Iran’s ongoing tensions with Israel have shifted priorities, with a focus on maintaining a strong defensive posture rather than pursuing diplomatic avenues. This change in the internal and external landscapes complicates the possibility of a renewed nuclear agreement under Pezeshkian’s leadership.When discussing improved relations between Iran and the West, it is essential to distinguish between the EU and the US. While better ties with the EU are feasible, improving relations with Washington seems highly unlikely as long as Khamenei remains in power. Opposition to the US is a fundamental principle of the Islamic Republic, rooted in ideological commitments. The EU, on the other hand, has been more open to engagement with Iran, focusing on economic and diplomatic ties that could benefit both sides. In conclusion, despite Pezeshkian's promises, better ties with the US and the revival of the nuclear deal are extremely unlikely. The deep-seated mistrust between the two nations, coupled with the internal political dynamics in both Tehran and Washington, creates a formidable barrier to any meaningful diplomatic progress. As such, the prospects for a major shift in US-Iran relations under Pezeshkian’s presidency remain bleak.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian American political scientist. X: @Dr_Rafizadeh

All of Us Are Entitled to an Opinion About the Race to the White House
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/July 18/2024
If the President of the United States were not a leader who has an impact on all our lives, the physical and mental health of President Joe Biden would not have drawn all the attention it has received, nor would we have heard all this noise or comments.
This reminds me of 1982, when Israeli forces invaded Lebanon, with Washington facilitating their mission with a series of “vetoes” and stances... I had moved to Britain three years earlier.
With great pain and even greater fear for my family's fate, I followed the scenes of the brutal strikes on Beirut, as well as other regions in South Lebanon. I did not know where my family was, aggravating my anxiety... I was not sure if they were in our winter house in the capital Beirut, or if they had managed to reach- despite the danger- our summer house in the mountains. Indeed, an American friend of mine from university was shocked by the answer I gave as we watched the terrifying coverage on TV. When she asked about my family, I told her: "I don't know anything about how they are doing because communications are down.""We are here studying political science and history, living in a democratic country with an advanced legal and governance system. We value rights, justice, accountability, and good governance,” I told her. “You were born and raised in the greatest democracy the world has ever known... and thanks to its democratic system, you can question your government and hold it accountable, unlike me. Today, look at me, your classmate... I don't even know if my kin in Lebanon are alive, and I cannot defend them. I cannot defend them by questioning your government... nor even by questioning my own helpless government!!"
Much to her astonishment, I then went on to add. "Don't you agree, then, that genuine, full democracy means allowing anyone to question any authority that directly affects their life? For example, the president of my republic does not affect your life as an American citizen in any way... whereas your president, Ronald Reagan, affects my life and the lives of all Lebanese people. Accordingly, would it not be fair that we and the other nations of the world be allowed to participate in electing the president of the US?"
With this rhetorical question, the quick conversation ended. We then continued to follow the invasion, the massacres, the political and security changes with regional implications... all the repercussions whose impact we still feel to this day.
Yes, President Biden's mental health is very important, and everyone has the right to discuss it. The same can be said about the legal status and political discourse of his opponent, former- and possibly future president - Donald Trump. The entire world has paid and will continue to pay the price for the results of the American elections- from Palestine and Syria to Ukraine, and from Taiwan to sub-Saharan Africa. If anyone argues that electing the US president is a "sovereign," purely American affair... they are speaking nonsense and are detached from reality.
But how did the political climate in Washington become like this? What are the dynamics that made the octogenarian Biden "indispensable" for the American Democratic Party and the realization of Democratic planners’ "vision”?
Is it conceivable, that in a system as developed as the American political (and electoral) system, no alternative "strategy" had been drawn up for the event that it became clear the candidate had a major flaw, one that has convinced the party base that they are at great risk of losing their bet?
It is strange. In the United States, the "Vice Presidency" is an important position that requires the same qualifications as the president and is elected on the same ticket; parties even seek to politically and geographically "balance" the ticket through the vice presidential candidate, and one of the vice president’s primary responsibility is to preside over Senate sessions. Yet, some ignore this option in proposing solutions.
Here, I recall that when the Democrats chose Biden- an old white man from an eastern state and a long-serving senator in Congress- as their candidate, many of the things that made her different tipped the scales in favor of Kamala Harris. Among other considerations, she was chosen as his running mate because she is a woman of Afro-Asian descent, relatively young, from a western state, and had been a state governor, not a member of Congress. Thus, she "balanced" in various ways!
Before the last race, both parties had successfully "balanced" their tickets through their choice of the vice president. For the Democrats, we have the tickets of John Kennedy - Lyndon Johnson (East/Southwest), Lyndon Johnson - Hubert Humphrey (Southwest/North), Jimmy Carter - Walter Mondale (South/North), and Barack Obama - Joe Biden (North/East). For the Republicans, there were the tickets of Richard Nixon - Spiro Agnew (West/East), Ronald Reagan - George H.W. Bush (West/Northeast then South), and George H.W. Bush - Dan Quayle (Northeast then South/North)... etc.
The point is that if the interests of the various "lobbies" (who effectively determine who becomes the president and vice president before the polls) allow for it, there is nothing to prevent, for example, an effort to "convince" Biden to step aside and have Harris lead the ticket after it is "balanced" by the right candidate for vice president. Of course, some could raise a variety of arguments and numerous objections to this, some of which might be legal. However, I do not expect President Biden's plummeting chances of victory to be part of the controversy.
Moreover, considering the depth of the Democrats' hatred for Donald Trump and their determination to prevent him from returning to the White House, logic dictates that they should "think outside the box." That is, the Democrats should consider exceptional solutions for what is an exceptional problem at both the leadership and grassroots levels!

Europe vulnerable due to its approach to Ukraine war
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/July 18, 2024
With the war in Ukraine raging, Europe and the West find themselves caught in a contradiction. How do they promote and push ahead with their military and defense needs while still staying committed to their environmental, social and governance guidelines? The introduction of ESG and diversity, equity and inclusion goals in Western militaries seemed fine during imbalanced conflicts, but it is now revealing flaws in the NATO-supported Ukraine’s confrontation with Russia.
Moreover, we are noticing European leaders calling for the demise of Russia and absolute support for Ukraine, while at the same time calling for the respect and implementation of even more ESG goals at all levels. This situation puts Europe and the West at risk, as their objectives are linked to escalating the conflict but the necessities implied contradict their ESG narrative. Specifically, military and defense investments are considered as beyond the scope and negative industries. This raises the obvious question: how do they plan to beat Russia as they claim? With team bonding exercises?
The disconnect between European politicians’ speeches and actions makes me wonder if they have a secret weapon or if we are witnessing amateurism, pushing the world into the unknown. The current situation is symbolized in tech investments. A significant debate is taking place about whether to invest in dual-use technologies — those with both military and commercial applications — and the need to distinguish between defense and offensive tech. To me, it feels like playing the violin on the Titanic.
I genuinely see the differentiation between dual-use, defensive tech and offensive as a luxury debate when I read the Sky News headline: “Russia is producing artillery shells around three times faster than Ukraine’s Western allies and for about a quarter of the cost.” If Europe does not reinvest in its military-industrial capacity, then, in the event of an escalation, it is in a precarious situation. Industrial strategies need to be aligned with foreign policies. If not, we are heading for a severe reversal. Moreover, what is a rocket if not a missile? Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
This has reminded us that deterrence when it comes to the military is an important word. And one might ask, with the war in Ukraine, have we not passed this? Russia acted and was not deterred. Is there deterrence on the battlefield? Videos from the trenches in Ukraine show nothing but the repulsiveness and brutality of war. There is no ESG or higher moral values, only blood. And the conflict is escalating. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda are pushing for a stronger attack on Moscow. This is in contrast with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s approach and his visit to Moscow. But if they want to reject negotiations or other strategies such as containment, one might ask how this will be achieved. In which case, should Europe not align actions with statements?
This means increasing the military-industrial capacity, which Russia is doing, and in parallel working on what can be the next real deterrent (which your enemies are also working on). Going back to tech investments, this is where venture capitalists and investors should move forward without hesitation. For now, the only deterrence that is back in play is the nuclear one. And it is being used by Russia. Bluntly, the war in Ukraine has unveiled the West’s ESG goals for the hypocrisy they are. And the political and business leaders who pushed them are now caught up in their contradictions. We all want to live in a better and safer world, but this has been shifted into a political instrument that is doing more harm than good. How can they make aggressive warmongering statements while condemning the development of lethal and powerful weapons? War is a dirty business. It brings blood and corruption and unearths all of humanity’s vices and flaws. Do you want to build a low-emission armored vehicle while your enemy looks at performance?
I was recently asked how I see the conflict evolving. My answer was clear: If the course of action is not reversed, then there is no doubt that we are heading toward an expansion to other European countries. I am once again repeating myself, but the decisions that are being taken are leading us along this path. And so, short of initiatives, Europe had better be ready. If the continent’s leaders plan to do this on US dime and lives, they will be sorely disappointed.
Instead of a Latin saying, I will now use a Sun Tzu quote: “Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.” Yet, today, ESG goals are making Europe and the West not only appear weak but, even worse, their weakness is now apparent. This not only applies to clauses and conditions for military hardware and software, but also to the selection of people in military and defense. Do you want to build a low-emission armored vehicle while your enemy looks at performance? And who do you want on the battlefield?
When I was younger, I played basketball in my school team. As time passed, my teammates grew in height and, let us say, I grew less. And so, there came a time when the gym teacher did not select me for the team. I understood the reason and accepted reality. I was able to put my energy into other activities. This was a school competition and I would say a mediocre one. How can the same not be applicable when showing deterrence and preparing for war? Will Europe be ready in time?
*Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.

Trump… Is Not Going Anywhere
Jumah Boukleb/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/July 18/2024
Traveling on a ship that hardly fits all the people crammed into it, over turbulent waters amid poor weather conditions, one could get used to the seasickness with time, patiently enduring the discomfort. The passenger might even catch the virus of indifference. Suddenly, however, a wild storm hits, and he realizes that the ship could sink and leave everyone on it with no chance of survival. To some, this image may seem fantastical and hyperbolic. They are right, but this image is not far removed from the state of the world today. It might be a good analogy for what happened in Pennsylvania last Saturday, when a man tried to assassinate a former American president and current presidential candidate, during a rally attended by thousands of supporters, making a scene that was watched by the entire globe. We must begin by recognizing that the incident, by any standard, marks a dangerous turning point. It has crossed every red line. It could rattle what some see as stable and others believe is fragile, "American democracy."
Whether we agree or disagree with what the Republican candidate Donald Trump stands for, we all strongly condemn this attempt to take us from a peaceful contest of debate between rivals into a deadly exchange of bullets. Despite behaviors that many find bizarre, undiplomatic, and unacceptable, the attempt to assassinate him is a crime, and his ideas would have survived if he had died. Now, the United States and the American people must fasten their seat belts. The moment shots were fired at candidate Trump, their journey became extremely difficult, and they now have to make it with no maps or compasses. When bullets are fired into a room in broad daylight, they leave no room for peaceful democratic dialogue. America knows this, as it has been caught in this swamp before. The assassination attempt, at this particular time, as the world is being ravaged by terror and conflict and is struggling to hang on to the horns of a reckless bull, suggests that we could now be on a path of no return.
If the assassin had succeeded, the US would now be in an unpredictable and perilous position. However, candidate Trump escaped death at the last moment. The US escaped the prospect of a second civil war, and the world breathed a temporary sigh of relief. Nonetheless, normalcy will not return because former President and presidential candidate Trump survived the assassination attempt. Proceeding as though nothing happened is not tenable, if not absolutely impossible. After Saturday, we should expect a different scenario, the rhetoric and debate between the rival candidates and their supporters will change until the voters head to the polls on November 5, 2024. I believe that Trump, as is his habit, will seek to exploit the incident to rally support, draw larger donations, and widen the gap in support between him and his opponent, President Joe Biden. That is one side of the equation.
On the other side, President Biden will find himself cornered. He will have to make the case for his innocence and prove that he had no role in what happened, assuming he remains in the presidential race and is not pushed aside. American media outlets have reported that candidate Trump's camp blames the incident on President Biden and his team, citing the many hostile statements they have made about Trump. Indeed, they have characterized Trump in unfavorable terms that could encourage anyone thinking of getting rid of him. Candidate Donald Trump may not be acceptable to many, both inside and outside the US. Let us admit that his potential return to the White House is bad news to many Americans and world leaders, but he remains and is here to stay.
Anyone following the campaign understands that Trump’s chances of returning to the White House are increasing by the day. The likelihood of Joe Biden remaining there, on the other hand, is diminishing. His rivals and everyone who hates him would make things easier on themselves if they sought more alternative ways to deal with him and contain his extremism. They must also respect the will of the American voters, who rightfully choose who runs the country for the next four years.

Trump… The Story and the Tornado
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/July 18/2024
Leading the race to the White House is one thing, and booking a prominent place in history is another. History is an eraser that only those who leave unremovable marks can resist. To book a place in history, an American president must write his own story and turn it into a decisive chapter of his country's story. He must be both the hero and the victim in the narrative. We all know the hallmarks of thunderously charismatic figures. He or she must be a leader, not just a president whose appeal wanes once he loses the palace and power.
To be the hero of these stories, you must meet certain conditions. You must have supporters whose faith in you cannot be shaken, no matter how severe the flood of accusations against you. You must haunt your enemies, who constantly stoke the flames of their hatred. Your supporters must see you as a victim if the courts summon you or judges scrutinize your documents and your past. They must see you as the victim when major media outlets hammer away at you and call for a vaccination campaign to protect the country and its people against your "plague," or when writers compete to lay out your mistakes, which are not trivial, and your sins, which are not few.
To meet all the conditions for a story, your time in power must seem to be a turning point that shapes the destinies of nations, countries, and alliances. It must seem like you can unleash storms and fend them off. Like a fighter who is not tempted to retire or withdraw, preferring to fall in the ring over becoming a former president or failed candidate. You must have a talent for stealing the limelight and imposing headlines, even in the newspapers that dream of defiling your corpse. You must have a talent for inspiring reassurance and causing alarm. Your choices must be shrouded in obscurity. You must surprise, astonish, and unsettle a country, a continent, or the global village in its entirety. You must turn your weaknesses into strengths. Turn traps into opportunities to take your enemies out of the race. No one can be certain about what lies in the depths of your soul or the limits of your sympathies and hatreds.
Alarming an aging continent called Europe is no simple feat. Nor is unsettling the Emperor of China. Nor is keeping the "comrade" on the throne in the Kremlin guessing about just how far your gifts can go. Nor is leaving Zelensky overwhelmed with anxiety. Nor is making Iran go back and forth as it decides whether to drink the chalice of engagement or confrontation with the man who ordered General Qassem Soleimani’s assassination, which altered formulas and changed maps.
Trump has a compelling story. He is a skilled conductor who knows how to manipulate his supporters’ emotions. A player who has honed the skill of unsettling his opponents. He is a playmaker with many surprises up his sleeve. A businessman who uses the art of the "deal" to present himself as the remedy America needs, claiming he has the antidote needed to reverse its decline and make it great again. He is not a general who had led armies at a critical juncture, nor a seasoned expert in international affairs and the balance of power. He has catchphrases that rub the wounds of a segment of the American public. The story is only complete if its protagonist is seen as the victim. It must seem like conspiracies are proliferating and converging to prevent this "savior" from accomplishing his mission.
A few weeks ago, Trump received a precious gift. His eighties got the best of Joe Biden, who is adamant about extending his stay in the White House. Nothing is more cruel than a memory lapse broadcast on screen that is seen by an audience and critics thirsty for blood. The Democratic Party is dazed and confused. Can the Trump tornado be stopped by a man who mixes up between Zelensky and Putin? Biden is stubborn. He wants to go down in history as the man who saved the US from the return of a "grave threat" named Donald Trump. He wants to save the world from the spell of populism, erratic politics and policies, and a president who puts more weight behind tweets than fleets and carefully considered policies. A president who is not reluctant to violate norms and conventions, or to turn the tables.
Biden is unlucky. If his memory had only postponed its betrayal until after the elections, the betrayals from within his party and among his friends would not have surfaced. From the holes in his memory, a storm of advice has arisen. It is harsh to demand that an old and stubborn horse pull out of the race. As though one calamity wasn’t enough, he now finds himself facing an even greater and more severe catastrophe.
This is the world of images. Images are faster than missiles, and they are more terrifying. Images invade homes and memories, and they stay there. How can one resist the image of Trump raising his fist, with blood going down his cheek? A young man who "hates Republicans and Trump" has put him on the grand stage and given him the golden opportunity to present himself as the victim. Biden knows that most of those who quickly condemned the assassination attempt were secretly wishing for the demise of the man whom the bullet grazed.
Violence is not an unfamiliar guest to the US. Assassinations have been part of US political life since the beginning. Out of forty-five presidents, four have been assassinated. Natural deaths ended another four terms. Other presidents were the targets of assassination attempts, and plots to eliminate others were thwarted before they could be implemented. It is no exaggeration to say that the world of today fuels people’s propensity for assassination with rumors, doctored images, and the rivers of hatred that flow through social media platforms amid a lack of laws, barriers, and restrictions. Today's world is swimming in hatred. Social media has provided endless opportunities for voicing grievances, but it has also created a vast platform for stoking hatred, revenge, and fanaticism, as well as for distorting images and facts.
America will soon head to the polls, and the world will go with it. The US cannot resign itself from the world, and the world cannot resign itself from the US. The fate of this empire- the economy, fleets, technology, and universities- will shape the future of the global village drowning in fear, poverty, injustice, and the appetites of wounded wolves. The former president stole the spotlight from the football stars. The results of the American "league" are the most critical and dangerous of all. A new chapter in the fascinating story of a tornado named Trump.

On Violence and Democracy, Here and There
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/July 18/2024
The door to reassessments and reflections on violence was opened wide immediately after the failed attempt to assassinate Donald Trump. The history of the United States, as we well know, is brimming with violence, particularly against the "red" indigenous population and the Afro-American “blacks.” It is a place where owning a firearm is a central theme of national politics. TV programs, Hollywood movies, and games can be placed in the same category, to say nothing about the role of social media and fake news, which are not exclusive to the United States. Following the latest assassination attempt, the media reminded us that even American presidents are not out of criminality’s reach. Indeed, the last one to be assassinated was John Kennedy, who was killed in 1963, while Ronald Reagan was the target of the latest presidential assassination attempt in 1981.
Writers and commentators did not forget to discuss the history of populism, of both the right and left, there. Populism’s pocket was reinflated with Trump's election in 2016. Since then, we have seen the notion of "enemies of the people" become a prominent feature of political and cultural exchange. This notion legitimizes violence by tasking the "friends of the people" with cleansing the population of their "enemies." While "the elite" was equated with "enemies of the people" in the eyes of Trump’s supporters, the "white trash" who support Trump were equated with "enemies of the people" in the eyes of those among his detractors who fell under the way of defamatory discourse.
With that, a refrain was repeated in every condemnation of the recent assassination attempt, by both American and European politicians. Assassination and violence, this refrain stressed, are antithetical to democracy, which cannot coexist alongside them, or they reiterated that democracy grants us political means for expressing our disagreements instead...
However, when this refrain is merely echoed rhetorically, it could potentially become a mantra that creates more risks than it wards off. For this reason, various aspects of Western intellectual and cultural life are being revised, from the frameworks and modes of representation to the state of equality and social justice, from foreign policy to military spending, from managing the tension between the nation-state and globalization to the new conditions of technology and isolated labor...
Nonetheless, even as a mantra, democracy remains a standard for governance and assessment, including the assessment of democracy itself. Those who voiced their condemnations of the assassination attempt did not claim that such actions go against “the customs of our people" “Western customs,” “our traditions," “our values,” or "our religion” ... If they had, they would be racist or bordering on racism. Indeed, they have classified the world based on the ways of life and doing politics that people choose and develop, not on inherited traits or traits that are said to be inherited. They thereby draw a theoretical line between democracy and violence that cannot be crossed. In a democratic system, or rather in democratic life, there should be no "enemies of the people" or "friends of the people,” and therefore, no political violence or political crimes either. On the other hand, it is precisely because political violence and crime exist in reality that the democratic system and democratic life are undergoing a major crisis that calls for a remedy. Moreover, because democracy- not nationalism, religion, "our traditions" or "our virtues-" is the foundation upon which this society’s "civilization" stands, violence makes the "civilization" itself severely ill. This interpretation is totally antithetical to the authoritarian, nihilistic, and totalitarian theories that all claim democracy is the disease. This conclusion, in turn, drives the proponents of these theories to shut the public sphere, dissolve political parties, and prohibit divergent opinions. According to this approach, democracy is spared the ordeal by preventing the existence of democracy. However, in this case, violence becomes the foundation of life itself. Worse still, it becomes glorified because it is founded on violence. Killing, fighting, martyrdom, martyrs, assassination, kidnapping, and civil wars of all kinds are the building blocks of our societies. This foundation comes with astonishing audacity in leveling accusations of treason and collaboration against "enemies of the people" who have a different view on matters tied to their lives and deaths.
Here, we could perhaps find an explanation for the astonishing insatiability of violence in our region, with war becoming such a constant feature of our lives that predicting the next one is the only interval between one war and another. This, in turn, is what justifies our peoples’ constant fear of the eruption of new indefatigable violent energies that cannot live without it. We have individual hardships caused by violence, and individuals who groan because of the violence they have endured. Individuals voice their pain by writing articles, appearing on television, or when they are filmed lamenting their tragedies, be it the loss of their children, the destruction of their homes, or their permanent displacement. Despite this, we have no literature that advocates peace, rejects violence, and condemns pain, to say nothing about our lacking any alternative to violence, in the way that Westerners have made democracy an alternative to violence.
Those among us who dare to question this criminal mindset, having already paid the costs for it with their lives and the lives of their children, are honored with the title of cowards.

Israel's Response to Terror
Nils A. Haug/Gatestone Institute/July 18, 2024
Hamas, designated a terror group by Western nations, is an Islamist fundamentalist group whose 1988 Covenant openly supports a Sharia law-based paradisical Caliphate free of non-believers and a world free of Jews (end of Article 7).
Despite Israel's compliance with humanitarian concerns, rules of war, and attempts to avoid Palestinian civilian deaths, the perception remains that Israel should be the one to make concessions for a ceasefire, not Hamas, which should immediately release the hostages it took.
Hamas, like other Islamic groups from a different culture, does not accede to the West's laws of war – this much is clear from their treatment of hostages. Freed hostages tell of "cages, beatings and death threats." Hamas, in violation of the truce agreement, has not permitted the Red Cross to see the hostages. One can imagine how come.
The conflict therefore becomes one between a Western state, ultimately seeking peaceful coexistence and adhering to the ethics of a just war, assaulted by terrorist groups pursuing total conquest and seeming to be driven by an ideology of unquenchable animosity toward "unbelievers."
Most Western leaders apparently desire to divide Israel, even further than it already has been divided, into two sectors: one for the Jews and one for the Palestinians -- all in the name of human rights, social justice, and supposed fair play.
At its core, these proposals are anti-Zionist and in practical effect, anti-Semitic. For a start, more than half the land promised to Jews by the 1917 Balfour Declaration was reallocated by the British authorities to what is now the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordon. Jewish rights to what remains of their historic land is continually denied, along with stupefying proposals that the Jews should be forced to be ruled by the very people desiring their extinction.
What accommodation, however, can there possibly be between two conflicting core narratives, in which one party seeks the ideal of martyrdom -- "We love death as our enemies love life" -- while the other desires to live in peace, without constant threats to its existence?
Israel is not only fighting to prevent long-term future attacks from Gaza, but also to defeat terrorists from overwhelming the Judeo-Christian values that have been achieved over centuries with much sacrifice.
Israel has actually been singled out for implementing "More measures to prevent civilian casualties than any other nation in history."
Israel is the "only country in world," the British journalist Douglas Murray pointed out, "who are never allowed to win a war, which is a reason why wars keep occurring."
US President Joe Biden and his ministers of state try their utmost to impose unacceptable cease-fire agreements upon Israel. Fortunately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "the Churchill of the Middle East," will have none of it. Israel stands firm against prematurely ceasing military action: their ultimate aim is not only to destroy Hamas's military capability and to rescue remaining hostages, but to defeat terror for the future of the Free World.
"It is left to little Israel to make the first stand against radical evil and the new axis of nations dedicated to the demise of the West. With resolve, courage, and dedication, but, alas, with much more sacrifice, Israel will show the way." — Professor Leon R. Kass, aei.org, November 3, 2023.
Despite Israel's compliance with humanitarian concerns, rules of war, and attempts to avoid Palestinian civilian deaths, the perception remains that Israel should be the one to make concessions for a ceasefire, not Hamas, which should immediately release the hostages it took. Hamas, like other Islamic groups from a different culture, does not accede to the West's laws of war – this much is clear from their treatment of hostages. Pictured: A Palestinian man shows a leaflet, with instructions on humanitarian corridors and safe zones, dropped by the Israeli military over Gaza City on November 5, 2023. (Photo by Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images)
Hamas, a so-called liberation movement, was voted into power as the governing party by the Palestinian people of Gaza in 2006. The group immediately engaged in armed conflict with Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority and his Fatah faction, and forcibly removed them from Gaza, including by throwing at least one official off the 15th floor of a building. Hamas also undertook a jihad (holy war) against the neighbouring country of Israel by attempting to kill Israelis or drive them away to take control of the land.
Hamas, designated a terror group by Western nations, is an Islamist fundamentalist group whose 1988 Covenant openly supports a Sharia law-based paradisical Caliphate free of non-believers and a world free of Jews (end of Article 7). Captured non-believers, including Christians, are offered the choice of converting to Islam; being murdered or living among their captors as "dhimmis" – literally, "protected" third-class residents who have to pay protection tax, the jizya, and live under humiliating laws.
"Following the path of Allah means, in the narrowest sense, propagating Islam through holy war," said the renowned philosopher Franz Rosenzweig as early as 1921. His observation highlights the crux of the problem: there are two sets of rules. Jihadists fight according to their holy-war rules while Israelis are restricted to Western rules of a "just war," including, for instance, the Geneva Conventions.
Israel, however, does not act indiscriminately but employs all possible safeguards to prevent or minimize casualties which, under international law, it is obliged to do. "Israel Has Created a New Standard for Urban Warfare. Why Will No One Admit It?" wrote John Spencer, urban warfare specialist and chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point.
Jihadists during a war follow a different code of conduct; Israel, as a democratic nation, is committed to broad principles of just war theory and a restricted use of force wherein every military move is carefully, even obsessively, monitored by Western powers.
These constraints can only compromise Israel's freedom to respond as necessary in a fluid, real-time, permanently hostile environment. As the terrorists are given a pass, it has become increasingly difficult for Israel to hold the high moral ground they actually merit. Despite unprecedented efforts to protect the lives of Gaza's civilians, such as dropping thousands of leaflets and making thousands of telephone calls to warn them to evacuate danger zones while Hamas operatives shot at them to prevent them from leaving, Israel -- which Hamas, with the backing of Iran, savagely attacked on October 7, 2023 -- is still often wrongly seen as the aggressor.
Israel has also been forced to contend with false claims of civilian casualties by Gaza's Ministry of Health – which is run, of course, by Hamas. Despite Israel's compliance with humanitarian concerns, rules of war, and attempts to avoid Palestinian civilian deaths, the perception remains that Israel should be the one to make concessions for a ceasefire, not Hamas, which should immediately release the hostages it took.
Hamas, like other Islamic groups from a different culture, does not accede to the West's laws of war – this much is clear from their treatment of hostages. Freed hostages tell of "cages, beatings and death threats." Hamas, in violation of the truce agreement, has not permitted the Red Cross to see the hostages. One can imagine how come.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of another of Iran's proxies, Hezbollah, has warned Israel of a war conducted "without rules or ceilings." The conflict therefore becomes one between a Western state, ultimately seeking peaceful coexistence and adhering to the ethics of a just war, assaulted by terrorist groups pursuing total conquest and seeming to be driven by an ideology of unquenchable animosity toward "unbelievers." The same intolerance toward people who might prefer a different faith can also be seen in Pakistan, for instance, Indonesia, Iran, Afghanistan, India and throughout much of Africa (here, here and here).
The legitimate home of the Jewish people is Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel). For nearly 4,000 years, love of this land has cemented the Jews' sense of identity, social order and security. In November 2023, Rabbi Leon Weiner Dow declared, "It is we who will define ourselves and our relationship to the land. We do not need to fit your binary categories of ownership." In this way, Dow rejected those who demand that Israel weaken its objective of a sovereign nation, in its own land and earning a complete victory over jihadist fanatics, while refusing to relinquish parts of Israel to Palestinians or anyone else.
In criticising the two-State idea, Rabbi Dow perceived the international community's difficulty in comprehending the deep spiritual ties of the Jewish nation to their ancestral land. Most Western leaders apparently desire to divide Israel, even further than it already has been divided, into two sectors: one for the Jews and one for the Palestinians -- all in the name of human rights, social justice, and supposed fair play.
At its core, these proposals are anti-Zionist and in practical effect, anti-Semitic. For a start, more than half the land promised to Jews by the 1917 Balfour Declaration was reallocated by the British authorities to what is now the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordon. Jewish rights to what remains of their historic land is continually denied, along with stupefying proposals that the Jews should be forced to be ruled by the very people desiring their extinction.
What accommodation, however, can there possibly be between two conflicting core narratives, in which one party seeks the ideal of martyrdom -- "We love death as our enemies love life" -- while the other desires to live in peace, without constant threats to its existence?
Hamas's control of Gaza is a case in point. Led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2005, Israel acquiesced to US and international pressure to expel all Jewish inhabitants from Gaza: the territory was to be handed over to full Palestinian control. This short-sighted compromise of Israel's rights created a security vacuum which gave Hamas and other like-minded jihadists an even greater opportunity to prepare for the total annihilation of their Jewish neighbours. This objective was partially implemented on October 7, 2023, with horrific consequences.
The question also then arose as to what constituted a fitting response by Israel to Hamas's terror attacks on Israel's innocent civilians of all ages, ethnicities, and faiths -- from babies to grandparents with disabilities, Asians and even Muslims on that day. This issue, one of "proportionality," has led to significant complications for Israel in its response to terror.
At the International Court of Justice, for instance – the jurisdiction of which Israel has never recognised – Israel was wrongly found guilty of failing to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza. Genocide clearly has never been Israel's agenda -- which, to the contrary, cannot be said of Hamas, Iran and other allied jihadists. The latter groups force innocent Palestinian citizens into situations in which they could be killed, presumably in the hope that Israel would be blamed, as it usually -- falsely -- is.
Hamas, by contrast, goes out of its way to embed itself within the civilian population, such as dressing like them, to make it impossible to distinguish terrorists from civilians. If civilian deaths occur, Hamas creates local "heroes" – "martyrs" -- and blames Israel -- therefore, the more deaths the better. Civilian deaths, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar explains in a letter dated April 11, 2024, are "necessary sacrifices" to "infuse life into the veins of this nation (Gaza), promoting it to rise to its glory and honor."
Israel is not only fighting to prevent long-term future attacks from Gaza, but also to defeat terrorists from overwhelming the Judeo-Christian values that have been achieved over centuries with much sacrifice. Collateral damage, which invariably leads to the question of proportionality -- how much firepower is needed to achieve a specific military result -- is judged on anticipated outcomes. It is not proportionate, for example, to use a bomb to kill a butterfly. Whenever possible, the possibility of civilian loss is assessed beforehand with the best available intelligence.
Israel has actually been singled out for implementing "More measures to prevent civilian casualties than any other nation in history." If civilian lives might be endangered, Israel will abort an operation. In the congested environment of Gaza, and Hamas resolutely endangering Gazan citizens, collateral damage will inevitably occur. Between intention and outcome concerning lives lost, an important distinction must be made, one that defeats allegations of genocide.
Many Western leaders who have significant Islamic populations in their midst might believe it in their political self-interest to criticize Israel's response despite any validity. Among these leaders constantly and unjustly attacking Israel are those representing various United Nations agencies, the European Union, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Norway's Labour Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, France's President Emmanuel Macron and seemingly anyone in Ireland. Others that come to mind, unfortunately, are US Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
The UK is not much different. In November 2023, Conservative Party Home Secretary Suella Braverman was summarily sacked after expressing the "heretical" opinion that "Britain is at a turning point in our history and faces a threat of radicalisation and extremism in a way not seen for 20 years." In an ethically compromised era, speaking the truth can be a risk, as noted by the American author and former politician Dr. Ron Paul, who concluded that "Truth is treason in an empire of lies."
Despite world leaders proclaiming that the Jewish nation would "Never Again" be subjected to ethnic cleansing, the same leaders compromise Israel's attempts at securing their homeland by calling for a premature ceasefire or cessation in military action, or by imposing restraints purportedly to curtail civilian casualties. They ignore the murderous revelation by Hamas spokesman, Ghazi Hamad, who, on October 24, 2023, vowed, "We must teach Israel a lesson and we will do this again and again. The Al Aqsa Flood attack is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth."
It is this environment of Jew-hate and death threats that confront Israel daily. Meanwhile, the international community "fiddles" while the Middle East "burns," and imposes sanctimonious restraints on Israel's to prevent it from being able to defend itself.
Israel is the "only country in world," the British journalist Douglas Murray pointed out, "who are never allowed to win a war, which is a reason why wars keep occurring."
Biden and his ministers of state try their utmost to impose unacceptable cease-fire agreements upon Israel. Fortunately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "the Churchill of the Middle East," will have none of it. Israel stands firm against prematurely ceasing military action: their ultimate aim is not only to destroy Hamas's military capability and to rescue remaining hostages, but to defeat terror for the future of the Free World.
"It doesn't matter what the gentiles say," David Ben-Gurion remarked. "It only matters what the Jews do."
Israel's survival impacts the survival of Western civilization -- the principles, ethics, and Judeo-Christian values upon which the culture and societies are founded. If these are lost or given away, the alternatives will be devastating for everyone.
As Professor Leon R. Kass put it in November 2023:
"It is left to little Israel to make the first stand against radical evil and the new axis of nations dedicated to the demise of the West. With resolve, courage, and dedication, but, alas, with much more sacrifice, Israel will show the way."
Nils A. Haug is an author and columnist. A Lawyer by profession, he is member of the International Bar Association, the National Association of Scholars, a faculty member at Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. Retired from law, his particular field of interest is political theory interconnected with current events. He holds a Ph.D. in Apologetical Theology. Dr. Haug is author of 'Politics, Law, and Disorder in the Garden of Eden – the Quest for Identity'; and 'Enemies of the Innocent – Life, Truth, and Meaning in a Dark Age.' His work has been published by First Things Journal, The American Mind, Quadrant, Gatestone Institute, National Association of Scholars, Anglican Mainstream, Document Danmark, Jewish News Syndicate, and others.
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Will US Presidential Elections Be Held in November?
Salam Zaatari/This Is Beirut/July 18/2024
I remember not too long ago, when YouTuber and influencer Andrew Tate predicted his arrest, he stated something about some shadow forces that still resonates in my thoughts, he called them “the matrix”. Tate said there are three steps to eliminate an influence that does not go along with hidden agendas or “the matrix” (the world Elites).
“First you get cancelled, then they make up a reason to put you in jail and if that fails, they kill you”. This is exactly what happened with President Trump: everyone ridiculed him for running, then he shocked the political establishment and everyone who voted against him. First they tried to cancel him by character assassination and the Russia Gate, then they prosecuted him and tried to jail him after he lost the second term , and when he decided to run again, they tried to kill him.
In an unprecedented turn of events, Americans were shocked by an assassination attempt on President Donald Trump. This incident has sent ripples through the political landscape, raising questions about the stability of the current administration and its impact on the forthcoming presidential elections. The attempt on Trump’s life has not only intensified the already heated political climate but has also brought to the forefront the numerous scandals and trials that have marred his presidency.
President Joe Biden’s response to the assassination attempt was measured and empathetic. In a national address, Biden condemned the act of violence unequivocally, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the democratic process and the rule of law. He called for unity and urged Americans to come together in this time of crisis, highlighting that violence has no place in political discourse.
Biden’s response was seen as a call to national unity, appealing to both Trump supporters and his own base to uphold democratic values. His measured response was aimed at stabilizing the situation and preventing further polarization.
President Trump has been no stranger to controversy throughout his political career. His administration has been riddled with scandals, ranging from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the impeachment trials, allegations of obstruction of justice, and numerous accusations of financial misconduct. Most recently, Trump has faced legal battles over his business dealings and accusations of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
These scandals and trials have painted a picture of a presidency mired in legal and ethical controversies, which have significantly polarized public opinion. Despite this, Trump has maintained a fervent base of supporters who view him as a champion against the so-called “deep state” and a disruptor of the status quo. The assassination attempt has raised numerous questions about the motivations behind such a drastic action. Was this a politically motivated attack driven by opposition to Trump’s policies and rhetoric? Or was it the act of a lone individual with personal grievances? The timing of the attempt, amidst a contentious election season, adds another layer of complexity to these questions.
Speculation abounds regarding whether the attempt was influenced by the numerous legal battles and scandals surrounding Trump. Some analysts suggest that the heightened rhetoric and divisive nature of Trump’s politics may have contributed to an environment where such an attempt could occur.
Trump’s presidency has been marked by a distinct departure from traditional US foreign policy. His “America First” doctrine, withdrawal from international agreements, and unconventional approach to diplomacy have unsettled many global leaders. Trump’s unpredictability, combined with his willingness to challenge long-standing alliances and norms, has created an aura of uncertainty on the world stage. But later, everyone discovered that it was not chaos, he simply refused to engage in wars and provoke historical enemies. Instead, he met with them and his foreign policies were acceptable to the world but not to the deep state in Washington apparently.
Many in the international and intelligence communities view Trump as a disruptor of the world order, challenging the status quo and upending established geopolitical strategies. His administration’s stance on trade, climate change, and military alliances has often put him at odds with traditional US allies. This fear of Trump’s potential second term stems from concerns about further destabilization of international relations and the global economy.
The assassination attempt has undoubtedly changed the dynamics of the upcoming presidential election. The incident may garner Trump a surge of sympathy and support, potentially boosting his campaign, especially after his response to the incident, one can almost predict his victory, almost. Historically, leaders who survive assassination attempts often experience a rally-around-the-flag effect, where the public unites in support of their leader. And that Historic low angle picture taken with the American flag in the background, minutes after his attempted assassination, is iconic, it expresses a posture of a strong leader , while his opponent, the sitting president, introduces Zelensky as Putin while Zelensky is standing next to him, not to mention “the Robot” walk after every speech.
The assassination attempt would likely generate a significant amount of media coverage, highlighting Trump’s resilience and determination. This could translate into a sympathy vote, with voters feeling a sense of duty to support a president who has faced such adversity.
Obviously some forces want this man out of the picture and they have tried the three steps so far, and failed in all of them.
Democrats would need to develop a compelling counter-narrative that addresses the nation’s concerns while avoiding the appearance of partisanship. This could prove challenging in a highly charged political environment, and President’s Biden gaffes and speeches are not helping, as he has become a cringe-worthy figure to his own party and still refuses to withdraw from the elections, even when the Party demanded it.
The assassination attempt on President Trump has added a new dimension to an already contentious presidential election. It has highlighted the deep divisions within the country and raised critical questions about the role of political violence in modern democracy. While Trump’s path to re-election is fraught with challenges, the sympathy and rallying effect following the attempt on his life could potentially bolster his chances. Ultimately, the election outcome will depend on these dark forces, “the matrix”, and it’s obvious that globalists find a real threat in Trump who’s willing to ignite a civil war if he’s not elected. Nothing is clear so far, but it seems that America is at a historical crossroads, and the question of whether to postpone the elections might arise. The Constitution does not provide a clear mechanism for postponing a presidential election, and any such move would be fraught with legal and political challenges.These are scary times for the USA and the world order that has been challenged.