Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 09-10/2024
Video & Text/Elias Bejjani/Iranian Hezbollah and the Dhimmitude in the approaches of Geagea, Habashi, Riachi and Jabour...You ar lost and confusing all the Lebanese people
Israel’s Hezbollah problem could outlast its war in Gaza
Dating apps confused by military GPS jamming could explain why Lebanon's citizens are suddenly being matched with Israelis

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published March 09-10/2024
Pope Francis: Ukraine should have the courage of the 'white flag,' negotiate end of war with Russia
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 30,960
Gaza talks mediators pushing to secure truce, Israel says
Biden’s frustration growing with Netanyahu over Gaza
Erdogan says Turkiye firmly backs Hamas leaders
Ship carrying aid for Gaza expected to depart Cyprus this weekend
UNRWA: Sweden and Canada resume funding for UN agency for Palestinian refugees
Another top donor says it will resume funding the UN agency for Palestinians as Gaza hunger grows
UNRWA chief 'cautiously optimistic' some donors will resume funding soon
US-led marine coalition foils ‘large-scale’ Houthi drone attack in Red Sea
Poland's foreign minister says the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine is 'not unthinkable'
As a fifth term for Vladimir Putin looms, Russia is stepping up its war on its own people
Russian oligarch went to Moscow in effort to broker complex prisoner exchange that included Navalny, sources say
Armenia is considering seeking EU membership, foreign minister says

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources March 09-10/2024
Iranian Regime's Sham 'Elections': Perpetuating the Deception/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 9, 2024
Netanyahu is a survivor, but his problems are stacking up/Wyre Davies - BBC Middle East correspondent/ March 09/ 2024
External perceptions of the next US presidential election/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab News/March 09, 2024
A tale of two Benjamins, only one of whom Biden wants to deal with/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/March 09, 2024
Biden… State of the Union or Campaign Speech?/Emile Ameen/Asharq Al Awsat/March 09/2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published March 09-10/2024
Video & Text/Elias Bejjani/Iranian Hezbollah and the Dhimmitude in the approaches of Geagea, Habashi, Riachi and Jabour...You ar lost and confusing all the Lebanese people
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQxIXp6N2-8
All that is required of the Lebanese Forces Party at the leadership level, and with regard to Hezbollah’s situation, is for them to say publicly, frankly, without ambiguity, and without subservience and surrender, to say in their media appearances, approaches, speeches, and positions what Hezbollah says about itself, its affiliation, and its Persian project. Clear and courageous stances are required, "If you do not and unable stand against Hezbollah, home". Enough Is Enough.
March 09/2024

Israel’s Hezbollah problem could outlast its war in Gaza
Brad Dress/The Hill./ March 09/2024
When Israel’s war on Hamas ends, its conflict with Iran-backed militias may rage on.
Israeli officials are increasingly concerned with the constant artillery and rocket fire at the northern border with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants and have said they will fight to push the group back from bordering territory. While the risk of all-out war is not imminent, the clash with Hezbollah is driving up the long-term stakes in the Middle East. Israel wants to eventually return its residents to the north, and it can’t do that with Iran-backed militants posing a constant threat near the border. Hezbollah is unlikely to agree to any hard concessions, setting up an impasse for diplomatic solutions — and fertile ground for military provocations. “We’re inching closer to a war. So far, the two parties have been careful not to do something that would unravel everything and lead to an all-out war,” said Asher Kaufman, a professor and Middle East expert at the University of Notre Dame. “But at the same time, it’s very clear that both sides are engaged in cross border exchange that makes it riskier, more dangerous and more prone to an all-out war.”Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, has been stepping up the rhetoric on Lebanon in the past month, warning that his forces will continue fighting to secure the north even if the war against Palestinian militant group Hamas is resolved.
“We are committed to the diplomatic process, however Hezbollah’s aggression is bringing us closer to a critical point in decision-making regarding military activities in Lebanon,” Gallant said in a statement this week.
Gallant delivered the statement after he met with Amos Hochstein, a senior Biden administration adviser and U.S. envoy who has worked to little avail to resolve the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in the north.The U.S. is in a tight spot on the Lebanon conflict as it supports Israel but does not want to see fighting spiral out of control, seeking to contain the war to Gaza. Washington moved naval ships into the eastern Mediterranean to deter any aggression shortly after Hamas launched its terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7.While Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire over the border almost daily since the war began, the U.S. says the war in Gaza is still largely contained to the coastal territory.
But efforts from Hochstein to ease the conflict in the north have struggled to achieve results, and the Biden administration’s limited ability to restrain Israel’s military has been highlighted by its actions in Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed. Still, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said other Israeli officials have indicated they prefer a diplomatic solution over war with Hezbollah.
“We do not want to see either side escalate the conflict in the north, and in fact, we are going to continue to pursue a diplomatic resolution of that conflict,” Miller said at a briefing in February. Jonathan Spyer, director of research at the Middle East Forum, said the U.S. has leverage over Israel but described the north as a vexing problem. “I would not discount or underestimate the importance from an Israeli point of view of changing [the] arrangement on the border,” he said. “So the question is whether U.S.-led diplomacy has a chance of achieving that [peacefully], but it does seem to me to be quite problematic.”Israel has signaled a war against Hamas could last all year, and ongoing negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release deal appear to be at an impasse.
When the dust settles in Gaza — even if that brings a reduction in hostilities with Hezbollah — Israel will have to next contend with its northern border, where tens of thousands of residents have evacuated from to escape the gunfire and shelling.
For Israel, returning to the status quo before Oct. 7 is unacceptable.
“It’s clear that Israel sees Hezbollah as a serious threat,” said Kaufman from the University of Notre Dame. “Perhaps even almost an existential threat.”
Israel has fought in Lebanon before, including a 2006 conflict that damaged Hezbollah, though Israeli troops also failed to achieve a victory. Both Iran and Hezbollah are likely trying to prevent a wider conflict, considering Tehran views its Lebanese militia group as one of its prized proxies and would not want to risk losing it in a war. And Israel likely does not want a full-scale war anytime soon after Gaza, which has led to international condemnation.
While analysts don’t see a ground war breaking out anytime soon, they anticipate that at some point, a larger conflict is inevitable. Hanin Ghaddar, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said both sides want to “breathe and prepare for the next big war.”“The next big war is not really a war between Israel, the next big war will probably involve all other Iranian proxies in the region,” she said. “And that’s something that Israel needs to prepare for, and they need time [and …] this is not something that Iran wants to start now.”Resolving the tensions in the meantime will be tricky. The first step to reach any slowdown in fighting is a cease-fire in Gaza.Israel has forced Hezbollah fighters away from the border with firepower, but it will likely seek a political agreement to ensure they can’t return.
“They want to maintain this border as a tool of pressure on Israel,” said Spyer from the Middle East Forum, referring to Iran, who noted that’s “precisely the opposite of what Israel wants.”“Israel wants the border to cease to be a tool of pressure on their communities on the border,” Spyer added. “There is a direct conflict, a direct contradiction of objectives here.”Any negotiations could see renewed calls to abide by United Nations security resolution 1701, which calls for a demilitarized zone between a line of withdrawal called the Blue Line and the Litani River, and non-Hezbollah Lebanese security forces deployed in the south. The Israel-Lebanon border conflict has been active since Oct. 8, when Hezbollah entered the fray to support Hamas following its deadly surprise attacks that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel. Since then, Hezbollah has acknowledged the deaths of more than 200 of its fighters and 50 civilians, while Israel says it has lost nine soldiers and 10 civilians. Gallant, the Israeli defense minister, has long pushed for greater action in the north against Hezbollah, but there may not be full support among other officials in Israel. Mike Makovsky, the president of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likely wants to avoid a multi-front conflict. “He’d rather work out something temporarily, at least with Hezbollah,” Makovsky said. “I’m not sure there’s complete unity in the war cabinet on this issue.”

Dating apps confused by military GPS jamming could explain why Lebanon's citizens are suddenly being matched with Israelis
Alia Shoaib/Business Insider/March 9, 2024
The confusion comes amid heightened tensions and conflict between Israel and Lebanon. Lebanese citizens are barred from having any type of contact with Israelis. Dating apps confused by GPS signal jamming are being blamed for matching Israeli citizens with people in Lebanon, its neighboring country that it is currently in conflict with. People in Israel and Lebanon have taken to social media to express confusion that their dating app feeds are now filled with people from the other country, the UAE-owned newspaper The National reported. Following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, tensions escalated in the region, with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Israeli army conducting strikes with drones, missiles, and artillery. Tensions were high between the countries even before the latest conflict, and Lebanese citizens have been barred from having any contact with Israelis for years.
A Lebanese dating app user said the Israeli profiles were 'gorgeous'
Some have explained that the reason for the dating app confusion is Israel's military use of GPS jamming to prevent attacks coming from Lebanon, which might confuse phones into thinking the users are located elsewhere. "This is affecting not only dating apps but also different applications that have access to GPS to identify the user's location," Abed Al Kataya, a media program manager at a digital rights organization in Beirut, told The National. "Interfering with GPS also endangers civilian and commercial maritime and aerial traffic, potentially causing navigation failures," he said. Israeli profiles accounted for 60-62% of the total on Tinder in Lebanon in February, according to the Lebanese newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour. "Since the war started, I mostly see Israelis on the app — I barely use it anymore," said Beirut resident Maher, per The National. People in Israel are reporting a similar problem, with a reservist soldier taking to Facebook to express confusion that many of his recent dating app matches are based in Lebanon. The soldier joked that if Israel decided to go after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, he hoped he would be sent to the country to meet his new matches, according to The National. "I've been in the reserves for quite some time," he wrote. "But if the army decides to get that maniac in the north, I request that my country calls me to arms once more." Another Lebanese dating app user, Omar, said that while he has previously seen the occasional Israeli profile, the volume has recently increased. Per The National, he said about the Israeli profiles: "I keep seeing them, and they're absolutely gorgeous, but I can't do anything because we're divided by an apartheid wall and a genocidal army that doesn't take too well to Arabs."

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published March 09-10/2024
Pope Francis: Ukraine should have the courage of the 'white flag,' negotiate end of war with Russia
ROME (AP)/Sat, March 9, 2024
Pope Francis said in an interview that Ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with Russia and not be ashamed to sit at the same table to carry out peace talks. The pope made his appeal during an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, which was partially released on Saturday. “I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates,” Francis said, adding that talks should take place with the help of international powers. Ukraine remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said multiple times the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the country which has been invaded. Russia is gaining momentum on the battlefield in the war now in its third year and Ukraine is running low on ammunition. Meanwhile, some of Ukraine’s allies in the West are delicately raising the prospect of sending troops. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Saturday that Francis picked up the “white flag” term that had been used by the interviewer. He issued a statement of clarification after the pope’s “white flag” comments sparked criticism that he was siding with Russia in the conflict. Throughout the war, Francis has tried to maintain the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic neutrality, but that has often been accompanied by apparent sympathy with the Russian rationale for invading Ukraine, such as when he noted that NATO was “barking at Russia’s door” with its eastward expansion. Francis said in the RSI interview that “the word negotiate is a courageous word.”"When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate,” he said. “Negotiations are never a surrender.”The pope also reminded people that some countries have offered to act as mediators in the conflict. “Today, for example, in the war in Ukraine, there are many who want to mediate,” he said. “Turkey has offered itself for this. And others. Do not be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse."Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — whose NATO-member country has sought to balance its close relations with both Ukraine and Russia — has offered during a visit Friday from Zelenskyy to host a peace summit between the two countries.

Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 30,960
AFP/March 09, 2024
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Saturday at least 30,960 people have been killed in the territory during more than five months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants. The latest toll includes 82 fatalities over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 72,524 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war began on October 7 when Hamas militants attacked Israel.

Gaza talks mediators pushing to secure truce, Israel says
REUTERS/March 09, 2024
CAIRO/RAFAH, Gaza: Efforts to secure a deal on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza are ongoing, Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad said on Saturday, despite dimming hopes for a truce during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Mossad chief David Barnea met on Friday with his US counterpart William Burns to promote a deal that would see hostages released, Mossad said in a statement distributed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. “Contacts and cooperation with the mediators continue all the time in an effort to narrow the gaps and reach agreements,” Mossad said. Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rules the Palestinian enclave, have traded blame over the apparent deadlock in talks in the run-up to Ramadan, which begins on or around March 10. A Hamas source told Reuters the group’s delegation was “unlikely” to make another visit to Cairo over the weekend for talks. Egypt, the United States and Qatar have been mediating truce negotiations since January. The last deal led to a week-long pause in fighting in November during which Hamas released more than 100 hostages and Israel freed about three times as many Palestinian prisoners. Hamas blames Israel for the impasse in negotiations for a longer ceasefire and the release of 134 hostages believed still held in Gaza — saying it refuses to give guarantees to end the war or pull its forces from the enclave. Mossad said Hamas was digging its heels in and aiming for violence in the region to spiral during Ramadan. Israeli officials have said that the war will end only with the defeat of Hamas, whose demands Netanyahu has called “delusional.” In a statement on Saturday marking Ramadan, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh vowed the Palestinians would continue to fight Israel “until they regain freedom and independence.”Five months into Israel’s air and ground assault on Gaza, health authorities there say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more bodies are feared buried under rubble. The war was triggered by an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. In Tel Aviv, thousands of Israelis attended twin weekly rallies. At an anti-government protest, some demonstrators blocked a highway and were dragged away by police. The other was led by families of hostages who called for their loved ones’ release. “The pain and anger are still running through my blood,” said Agam Goldstein, a teenager freed from Gaza with her mother and two brothers in November, addressing the hostage rally. “But I must put them aside and turn to you, Hamas — If you have any humanity left in you, release the hostages.”
RAFAH
Stepping up pressure on the last area of Gaza it has not yet invaded with ground forces, Israel struck one of the largest residential towers in the southern city of Rafah. The 12-floor building was damaged in the strike, and residents said dozens of families were made homeless, though no casualties were reported. Israel’s military said the block was being used by Hamas to plan attacks on Israelis. One of the 300 residents of the tower, located near the border with Egypt, told Reuters Israel gave them a 30-minute warning to flee the building at night. “People were startled, running down the stairs, some fell, it was chaos. People left their belongings and money,” said Mohammad Al-Nabrees, adding that among those who tripped down the stairs during the panicked evacuation was a friend’s pregnant wife. The strike raised alarm among residents of a wider Israeli assault on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are sheltering. Hamas on Saturday named four Israeli hostages as having died in Israeli strikes in the enclave, though it offered no evidence. The Israeli military, which declined to comment, has previously said such videos by Hamas were psychological warfare. Israel’s offensive has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian catastrophe. Much of the coastal enclave is reduced to rubble and most of its population is displaced, with the UN warning of disease and starvation. The death toll from malnutrition and dehydration has risen to 25 in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Qidra, the spokesman of Gaza’s health ministry said, including three children who died of dehydration and malnutrition at the northern Al Shifa Hospital overnight. A ship laden with relief supplies for Gaza was preparing on Saturday to leave Cyprus. The European Commission has said a maritime aid corridor between Cyprus and Gaza could start operating as early as this weekend in a pilot project run by an international charity and financed by the United Arab Emirates.

Biden’s frustration growing with Netanyahu over Gaza
AP/March 09, 2024
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden’s frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to mount, with the Democrat captured on a hot mic saying that he and the Israeli leader will need to have a “come to Jesus meeting.”The comments by Biden came as he spoke with Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, on the floor of the House chamber following the State of the Union address. In the exchange, Bennet congratulates Biden on his speech and urges the president to keep pressing Netanyahu on growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were also part of the brief conversation. Biden then responds using Netanyahu’s nickname, saying, “I told him, Bibi, and don’t repeat this, but you and I are going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting.” An aide to the president standing nearby then speaks quietly into the president’s ear, appearing to alert Biden that microphones remained on as he worked the room. “I’m on a hot mic here,” Biden says after being alerted. “Good. That’s good.” The president on Friday acknowledged the comments, lightheartedly poking at reporters that they were “eavesdropping” on his conversation. Asked if he thought Netanyahu should be doing more to alleviate the humanitarian suffering, Biden responded, “Yes, he does.”A widening humanitarian crisis across Gaza and tight Israeli control of aid trucks have left virtually the entire population desperately short of food, according to the United Nations. Officials have been warning for months that Israel’s siege and offensive were pushing the Palestinian territory into famine. Biden has become increasingly public about his frustration with the Netanyahu government’s unwillingness to open more land crossings for critically needed aid to make its way into Gaza. In his address, he called on the Israelis to do more to alleviate the suffering even as they try to eliminate Hamas. “To Israel, I say this humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip,” Biden said. The president announced that the US military would help establish a temporary pier aimed at boosting the amount of aid getting into the territory. Last week, the US military began air dropping aid into Gaza.Biden said the temporary pier, “will enable a massive increase in humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza.”Later on Friday, Biden at a campaign stop in suburban Philadelphia said the prospects of forging an extended ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas before the start of Ramadan is “looking tough.” Ramadan is expected to begin on Sunday. Biden also said he was worried about violence spreading to East Jerusalem. Clashes have erupted during Ramadan in recent years between Palestinians and Israeli security forces around Jerusalem’s Old City, home to major religious sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims and the emotional epicenter of the Middle East conflict.

Erdogan says Turkiye firmly backs Hamas leaders
AFP/March 09, 2024
ANKARAA: Turkish President Recep Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Ankara “firmly backs” Palestinian militant group Hamas. “No-one can make us qualify Hamas as a terrorist organization,” he said in a speech in Istanbul. “Turkiye is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them.” Erdogan has been one of the most virulent critics of Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, which began after an October 7 attack by Hamas in Israel that claimed at least 1,160 lives, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures. Israel has responded with a relentless ground and air offensive that the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said has killed at least 30,878 people in the besieged Palestinian enclave, mostly women and children. Erdogan has called Israel a “terrorist state” and accused it of conducting a “genocide” in Gaza.

Ship carrying aid for Gaza expected to depart Cyprus this weekend
Filip Timotija/The Hill./March 9, 2024 at 1:02 p.m. EST
A ship carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza is expected to depart a port in Cyprus on Saturday, bringing more help to the area devastated by Israel’s military operations. The ship, belonging to Spain’s Open Arms aid group, would use a sea corridor launched by international donors to supply Gaza with more humanitarian aid as the population faces increasing warnings of famine. The ship is waiting for World Central Kitchen’s (WCK) permission to depart the Larnaca port, according to the Associated Press. WCK is a U.S. charity led by celebrity chef José Andrés. Open Arms’ ship is normally tasked with saving migrants at sea. The mission is part of a broader push from organizations and countries to increase the influx of help into Gaza as the humanitarian crisis worsens. The U.S. government is also utilizing Cyprus to distribute help to the region. During his Thursday State of the Union, President Biden announced he is tasking the U.S. military to spearhead the construction of a port along the coast of Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea. The port would receive larger ships carrying food and other supplies. Although the project will take a number of weeks to plan and execute, according to U.S. officials, it will not require any U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza. Israel acknowledged the new corridor, but cautioned that it would need to meet “Israeli” standards. “The Cypriot initiative will allow the increase of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, after a security check according to Israeli standards,” a spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry, Lior Haiat, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Five people were killed on Friday after an aid airdrop malfunctioned, hitting multiple homes. The airdrops from the U.S. were announced last Friday and the first one was completed last Saturday, delivering 38,000 meals.

UNRWA: Sweden and Canada resume funding for UN agency for Palestinian refugees
Lipika Pelham - BBC News/March 9, 2024
Sweden and Canada have said they will resume aid payments to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. They were among 16 countries that paused funds after Israel accused at least 12 UNRWA staff of involvement in the 7 October attack by Hamas. The UN is investigating, and France's foreign minister is leading a review. Sweden said on Saturday it would send 200 million kronor (£15m; $19m) initially, after UNRWA agreed to more checks on its spending and staff. "The government has allocated 400 million kronor to UNRWA for the year 2024. Today's decision concerns a first payment of 200 million kronor," it said in a statement. It comes after Canada said on Friday that it would re-start funding for UNRWA while investigations into the agency's staff continue. On 7 October, Hamas gunmen stormed across Gaza's border into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. In response, Israel launched a campaign of air strikes and a ground invasion of the territory. More than 30,900 people have since been killed in Gaza, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says, and the amount of aid reaching civilians has plummeted. The UN has warned that a quarter of the Strip's population is on the brink of famine and children are starving to death. UNRWA is the biggest UN agency operating in Gaza. It provides healthcare, education and other humanitarian aid, and employs about 13,000 people there. Its chief Philippe Lazzarini said he was "cautiously optimistic" donors would start funding it again within weeks. He said the agency was "at risk of death" after major donor countries suspended funding following allegations in late January that a number of staff members were involved in the 7 October attack. Within days, Mr Lazzarini said an investigation was being carried out, and "to protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance" these staff members had been sacked. "What is at stake is the fate of the Palestinians today in Gaza in the short term who are going through an absolutely unprecedented humanitarian crisis," Mr Lazzarini said. The European Commission said earlier this month that it would release €50m in UNRWA funding. Sweden is the fourth largest contributor to the agency's budget, and Canada the 11th largest, 2022 data shows. Canada's decision was announced in a statement on Friday by the country's Minister of International Development, Ahmed Hussen. He said it was made so that "more can be done to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians", and "in recognition of the robust investigative process under way". The Canadian Armed Forces will also donate about 300 cargo parachutes to Jordan, so they can be used to airdrop supplies into Gaza.
Why food airdrops into Gaza are controversial
Key UN Gaza aid agency runs into diplomatic storm
On Friday the EU, UK, US and others said they planned to open a sea route to Gaza to deliver aid that could begin operating this weekend. Meanwhile an internal draft document compiled by UNRWA and seen by the BBC has detailed widespread abuse of Palestinians, including UNRWA employees who were released into Gaza from Israeli detention. In the document, former detainees describe an extensive range of ill-treatment. It says: "Agency staff members have been subject to threats and coercion by the Israeli authorities while in detention, and pressured to make false statements against the Agency, including that the Agency has affiliations with Hamas and that UNRWA staff members took part in the 7 October 2023 atrocities." In a statement provided to the BBC, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) rejected specific allegations and said: "The mistreatment of detainees during their time in detention or whilst under interrogation violates IDF values and contravenes IDF and is therefore absolutely prohibited."

Another top donor says it will resume funding the UN agency for Palestinians as Gaza hunger grows
JERUSALEM (AP)/March 9, 2024
Another top donor to the U.N. agency aiding Palestinians said Saturday that it would resume funding, weeks after more than a dozen countries halted hundreds of millions of dollars in support in response to Israeli allegations against the organization.
Sweden's reversal came as a ship bearing tons of humanitarian aid was making preparations to leave Cyprus for Gaza after international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory facing widespread hunger after five months of war. Sweden's decision followed similar ones by the European Union and Canada as the U.N. agency known as UNRWA warns that it could collapse and leave Gaza's already desperate population of more than 2 million people with even less medical and other assistance. “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is devastating and the needs are acute,” development minister Johan Forssell said in Sweden's announcement, adding that UNRWA had agreed to increased transparency and stricter oversight and controls. Sweden will give UNRWA half of the $38 million funding it promised for this year, with more to come. Israel had accused 12 of UNRWA's thousands of employees of participating in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage. Countries including the United States quickly suspended funding to UNRWA worth about $450 million, almost half its budget for the year. The U.N. has launched investigations, and UNRWA has been agreeing to outside audits to win back donor support.
On the eve of Ramadan, hungry Gaza residents scrambled for packages of food supplies dropped by U.S. and Jordanian military planes — a method of delivery that humanitarian groups have called deeply inadequate compared to deliveries by ground. But the daily number of aid trucks entering Gaza since the war has been far below the 500 that entered before Oct. 7 because of Israeli restrictions and security issues. People dashed through devastated neighborhoods of Gaza City as the parachuting aid descended. “I have orphans, I want to feed them!” one woman cried. “The issue of aid is brutal and no one accepts it,” said another resident, Momen Mahra, claiming that most of the airdropped aid falls into the sea. “We want better methods.”The U.S. military said that its planes on Saturday airdropped more than 41,000 “meal equivalents" and 23,000 bottles of water into northern Gaza, the hardest part of the enclave to access. The Health Ministry in Gaza said that two more people, including a 2-month-old infant, had died as a result of malnutrition, raising the total number of people who died from hunger to 25. Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said the toll included only people brought to hospitals. Overall, the ministry said, at least 30,878 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. It doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tallies, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and its figures from previous wars have largely matched those of the U.N. and independent experts. The opening of the sea delivery corridor, along with the airdrops, showed increasing frustration with Gaza's humanitarian crisis and a new international willingness to work around Israeli restrictions. The sea corridor is backed by the EU together with the United States, the United Arab Emirates and other involved countries, and the European Commission has said that U.N. agencies and the Red Cross will also play a role.
The ship belonging to Spain’s Open Arms aid group was expected to make a pilot voyage to test the corridor as early as this weekend. The ship has been waiting at Cyprus’s port of Larnaca for permission. Israel has said it welcomed the maritime corridor, but cautioned that it would need security checks. Open Arms founder Oscar Camps told The Associated Press that the ship pulling a barge with 200 tons of rice and flour would take two to three days to arrive at an undisclosed location where the group World Central Kitchen was constructing a pier to receive it. The group has 60 food kitchens throughout Gaza to distribute aid, he said. U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a plan to build a temporary pier in Gaza to help deliver aid, underscoring how the U.S. has to go around Israel, its main Middle East ally and the top recipient of U.S. military aid. Israel accuses Hamas of commandeering some aid deliveries.
United States officials said it will likely be weeks before the Gaza pier is operational. The executive director of the U.S. arm of medical charity Doctors Without Borders, Avril Benoit, in a statement criticized the U.S. plan as a “glaring distraction from the real problem: Israel's indiscriminate and disproportionate military campaign and punishing siege." Sigrid Kaag, the U.N. senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, has said air and sea deliveries can't make up for a shortage of supply routes on land. Meanwhile, efforts to reach a cease-fire before Ramadan appeared stalled. Hamas said Thursday that its delegation had left Cairo until next week. International mediators had hoped to alleviate some of the immediate crisis with a six-week cease-fire, which would have seen Hamas release some of the Israeli hostages it's holding, Israel release some Palestinian prisoners and aid groups be given access for a major influx of assistance into Gaza. Palestinian militants are believed to be holding around 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others captured during the Oct. 7 attack. Several dozen hostages were freed in a weeklong November truce.

UNRWA chief 'cautiously optimistic' some donors will resume funding soon
Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber/GENEVA (Reuters/March 9, 2024
The head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency said he was cautiously optimistic some donors would start funding it again within weeks, warning it was "at risk of death" after Israel alleged some of its staff took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. An independent review of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been launched under French former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, and her final report is expected to be published next month. "I am cautiously optimistic that within the next few weeks, and also following the publication of Catherine Colonna's report, a number of donors will return," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in an interview with Swiss broadcaster RTS that was aired on Saturday. Lazzarini told RTS that UNRWA was at "risk of death, at risk of dismantlement".Colonna, whose work on the review began in mid-February, said on Saturday she would visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Amman next week. UNRWA, which provides aid and essential services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and across the region, has been in crisis since Israel accused 12 of its 13,000 staff in Gaza of involvement in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Palestinian enclave. The allegations prompted several countries, including the United States, to pause funding. Canada and Sweden announced this week they were resuming their funding the agency, which Israel described as a "serious mistake".
"The return to funding UNRWA will not change the fact that the organization is part of the problem and will not be part of the solution in the Gaza Strip," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. When the allegations emerged, UNRWA fired some staff members, saying it acted to protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, and an independent internal U.N. investigation was launched. UNRWA said some employees released into Gaza from Israeli detention reported having been pressured by Israeli authorities into falsely stating that staff took part in the Oct. 7 attack, according to a report by the agency dated February. "What is at stake is the fate of the Palestinians today in Gaza in the short term who are going through an absolutely unprecedented humanitarian crisis," Lazzarini told RTS. UNRWA runs schools, clinics and other social services in Gaza, and distributes humanitarian aid. The U.N. has said some 3,000 members of staff are still working to deliver aid in the enclave, where it says 576,000 people - one quarter of the population - are a step away from famine. "The agency I currently manage is the only agency that delivers public services to Palestinian refugees," Lazzarini said. "We are the quasi-ministry of education, of primary health. If we were to get rid of such a body, who would bring back the million of girls and boys who are traumatised in the Gaza Strip today back to a learning environment?"

US-led marine coalition foils ‘large-scale’ Houthi drone attack in Red Sea
SAEED AL-BATATI/Arab News/March 09, 2024
AL-MUKALLA: A maritime coalition led by the US in the Red Sea foiled a major drone attack by the Houthis on Saturday as the Yemeni militia claimed to have fired dozens of drones and ballistic missiles at commercial and navy ships. The US Central Command said that its navy ships, warplanes and others from allied countries shot down 15 drones fired by the Houthis in Yemen at commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea, accusing the militia of endangering international maritime navigation in the strategic shipping channel. The French military also said that its warships and aircraft shot down four drones launched by the Houthis on Saturday targeting the EU maritime operation in the Gulf of Aden. In Sanaa, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said that their naval and drone forces launched a “number” of missiles at the “US-owned” cargo ship Propel Fortune, as well as 37 drones at US Navy vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Houthis claim that their missile and drone assaults against US ships are both in support of the Palestinian people and vengeance for US and UK bombings on regions under their control in Yemen. According to information about the targeted ship on www.marinetraffic.com, which provides data on ship movements and whereabouts, the bulk carrier is sailing under the flag of Singapore and left India’s Dhamra Port on Feb. 25 to an undisclosed location, posting a “No connect to Israel” message on the website to avoid being targeted by the Houthis. Since November, Iran-backed Houthis have seized a commercial ship and launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and remotely operated and explosive-laden boats, against foreign commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden. The Houthis claim that their strikes are intended to push Israel to release supplies of water, food and medicine into the besieged Gaza Strip in Palestine. However, many Yemenis believe that the Houthis are attacking ships to win the hearts and minds of Yemenis who are outraged by Israeli military operations in Gaza, to divert attention away from their failure to address public services or pay public employees in areas under their control, and to prepare for attacks against their opponents in Yemen. Tawfeeq Al-Sharjabi, Yemen’s water and environment minister, and a member of the Yemen government’s crisis cell tasked with dealing with the sunk MV Rubymar ship in the Red Sea, told Arab News that an oil spill expert from the UN team would assist in the rescue of the ship after arriving in Aden on Saturday and that the remaining four members of the same team would arrive in the coming days. “When the remaining specialists arrive, which is anticipated within a few days, they will meet with the government’s ship crisis management cell to go over the emergency response plan and commence field landing and inspection,” Al-Sharjabi said. On March 2, the Belize-flagged and Lebanese-operated ship sank in the Red Sea, carrying more than 21,000 tons of ammonium phosphate-sulfate NPS fertilizer and more than 200 tons of gasoline, almost two weeks after being severely damaged by Houthi missiles. The ship has raised concerns about an impending environmental calamity in the Red Sea, prompting the Yemeni authorities to request international aid in retrieving the ship. On Saturday, hundreds of people, including fishermen, organized a demonstration in the Red Sea Khokha region to condemn Houthi assaults on ships in the Red Sea and to urge for the rescue of the sinking ship. The demonstrators held banners accusing the Houthis of harming Red Sea security and nautical life, as well as threatening their livelihoods.
“The targeting of commercial ships damaged us, the fishermen, not Israel,” read one of the posters. “Thousands of fishermen’s families face famine due to the Rubymar ship’s sinking,” said another.

Poland's foreign minister says the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine is 'not unthinkable'
WARSAW, Poland (AP)/March 9, 2024
Poland's foreign minister says the presence of NATO forces “is not unthinkable” and that he appreciates the French president for not ruling out that idea. Radek Sikorski made the observation during a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of Poland's accession to NATO in the Polish parliament Friday, and the Foreign Ministry tweeted the comments later in English.They reflect a larger European debate over how to help Ukraine as Russia has gained some momentum on the battlefield and Kyiv is running low on ammunition. The U.S. Congress is withholding aid that Ukraine says it critically needs to hold off the Russians, putting more pressure on Europe to respond to the war that has shattered peace on the continent. Last month French President Emmanuel Macron said the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine could not be ruled out, a comment that broke a taboo among allies and prompted an outcry from other leaders. French officials later sought to clarify Macron’s remarks and tamp down the backlash, while insisting on the need to send a clear signal to Russia that it cannot win its war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has warned that if NATO sends combat troops, a direct conflict between the alliance and Russia would be inevitable. Russian President Vladimir Putin said such a move would risk a global nuclear conflict. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk was among those European leaders who initially ruled out sending troops to Ukraine after Macron's remarks, saying: “Poland does not plan to send its troops to the territory of Ukraine." But less than two weeks later Sikorski struck a different tone. “The presence of #NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable," he said, according to the Foreign Ministry's tweet. He said he appreciated Macron's initiative “because it is about Putin being afraid, not us being afraid of Putin.”
Sikorski's remark is part of a broader shift to align with Macron's position, wrote Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. “The issue of sending European forces to help Ukraine was never one to be dismissed — it was always a possibility,” O'Brien wrote in an email analysis sent to subscribers Saturday. “In fact it has become more of one as the USA has stepped back and withdrawn aid. Europe is now faced with a terrible dilemma — watching Ukraine potentially run out of ammunition, or stepping in and helping Ukraine more directly.”Polish President Andrzej Duda and Tusk will travel to Washington for a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, a visit the Poles hope they can use to spur the United States to do more to help Ukraine. Poland is a member of NATO along the alliance's eastern flank, with Ukraine across its eastern border. The country has been under Russian control in the past, and fears run high that if Russia wins in Ukraine, it could next target other countries in a region that Moscow views as its sphere of interest.

As a fifth term for Vladimir Putin looms, Russia is stepping up its war on its own people
Clare Sebastian, CNN/March 9, 2024
On February 26, one of Russia’s longest-serving human rights activists stood up at the end of his trial in a Moscow court and offered his uncensored verdict on Russian democracy. “The state in our country is once again controlling not only social, political and economic life, but is now claiming full control over culture, scientific thought, and is inserting itself in private life. It’s becoming all-pervasive,” said Oleg Orlov, a 70-year-old who was on trial for “discrediting the army.”Powerful voices like Orlov’s are becoming a rarity in Russia, where high-profile opponents to President Vladimir Putin and his ruling elite are now mostly either in exile, in prison, or dead. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 accelerated a process already two decades in the making — the erosion of democratic freedoms, media independence and civil society at home. With the war now in its third year, and Putin set to be re-installed for a fifth term in a tightly-controlled election next week, there are signs that this process is picking up speed once again. Orlov, co-founder and co-chair of Memorial, a Nobel Prize-winning human rights organization set up in the Soviet Union’s twilight years, knew he had nothing to lose.
The day after his speech in court, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Discrediting the army is just one of several new offenses added to Russia’s penal code since the invasion of Ukraine. Orlov’s so-called crime was committed just over a year earlier, when he published an article in a French online newspaper titled “They Wanted Fascism, They Got It.” After his sentencing, Amnesty International called him a “prisoner of conscience” and called for his immediate release. Russian human rights group OVD-Info says more than 260 people are currently serving jail terms in the country for crimes related to taking an anti-war stance. The group has recorded almost 20,000 detentions, and while most of those were at the beginning of the war, there is still a steady stream. They’re not large numbers in a country of 140 million people, said OVD-Info lawyer and analyst Darya Korolenko, but just enough to make for an effective deterrent.
And it’s not just known opposition figures or activists who are being targeted.
“They will imprison old people, they will imprison people who have disabilities. They will imprison people with children, women with children,” Korolenko told CNN. “They just want everyone to be silent.” The wartime censorship laws — discrediting the army, or the more serious offense of knowingly spreading “false” information about the army — have turned social media into a minefield. Platforms are closely monitored by the FSB, which acts as Russia’s secret service, said Konstantin Eggert, an exiled Russian journalist who was among many added to Russia’s ever-growing list of “foreign agents” last year. He believes the grip on social media will tighten further. “The war finally allowed Putin and his crowd to introduce a uniform ideology in Russia, which they always dreamt of introducing, but they could not do it because they were supposed to play democracy,” he said in an interview with CNN. “They do not have to hide anymore what they really want.” Evgeniya Mayboroda, a pensioner in her early 70s from Shakhty, a town less than 50 km (around 30 miles) from the Ukrainian border, found herself unable to conform to that uniform ideology. According to OVD-Info, she was arrested and fined in early 2023 for alleged anti-war social media posts.
In January, she was jailed for five and a half years for spreading “false” information about the army. Russian independent news outlet Mediazona reported she was convicted after two reposts on VKontakte — Russia’s version of Facebook — including one about Russian troop deaths.
In this climate, old practices are creeping in, like Soviet-style denunciations. In early February, 67-year-old Moscow pediatrician Nadezhda Buyanova was accused by a young patient’s mother of calling her husband — who had recently been killed in the war — a “legitimate target for Ukraine.”
The woman filed an official report and Buyanova was arrested, her modest Moscow apartment ransacked by police. Russia’s powerful investigative committee ordered a criminal case be opened on charges of spreading false information about the army. Buyanova, who denies the charges, is out on bail, but is now suing to try to get her job back. “The climate is fed by the mainstream media that everyone is a spy and a traitor, foreign agent, everyone wants to destroy Russia, destroy your home,” said Korolenko. “People fear that they will lose what they care about. So they try to protect this.”
‘Deeper and deeper into this darkness’
With mainstream Russian media now entirely state-controlled, the authorities are targeting other forms of expression — the arts, literature and culture. Orlov argued in his courtroom speech that this is yet more proof of Russia “sinking deeper and deeper into this darkness” at an ever-quickening pace.
He listed evidence from the last four months alone, including: the branding of the LGBTQ movement as extremist, new rules prohibiting students at Moscow’s prestigious Higher School of Economics from citing people on Russia’s growing list of “foreign agents” in their work, and the effective banning of many modern authors. One of those authors is Grigory Chkhartishvili, who goes by the pen name Boris Akunin. One of Russia’s most popular modern literary figures, a master of the historical detective genre, he’s been living in exile since 2014 — but that has not insulated him from Russia’s crackdown. In December, Akunin was added to Russia’s “terrorist and extremist list” for allegedly justifying extremism and spreading false information about the Russian army.
Despite Akunin’s regular public criticism of Putin and the war, that move was apparently triggered by what he sees as an orchestrated setup — a prank call by Russians posing as Ukrainians, later posted online, in which he was tricked into expressing his opposition to the war and his willingness to help Ukraine.
In response, his main publisher in Russia announced it would not be releasing new copies of his books, and a major network of bookstores pulled them off its shelves. In January, Akunin was labeled a foreign agent, and in early February a Moscow court issued an arrest warrant for him for allegedly justifying terrorism and spreading false information about the Russian army. In an interview with CNN, Akunin suggested he was targeted because of his wide readership, and the Russian state’s desire to take control of the “more or less uncontrolled” literary sector ahead of the upcoming presidential election. “The Russia that I remember was not like this,” he said. “It was a troubled, chaotic democracy, an interesting country where a lot of things were happening. Now, it has become totally Kafkaesque, Orwellian.”For many in Russia’s disparate dissident community, the death of Alexey Navalny, Putin’s most prominent critic, was the last stop on the country’s journey back to authoritarianism. Akunin said he believes it is clear evidence the Kremlin is no longer even trying to hide the lengths it will go to stamp out dissent. “By killing Alexey Navalny, they lost … the last chance of trying to pretend that they were decent, law abiding,” he told CNN. The Kremlin has called accusations Russian authorities were behind Navalny’s death “unfounded.”
Russia did not make the mass arrests or carry out a violent crackdown at Navalny’s funeral last week, as many of the activist’s supporters had feared, but no one should be fooled by that, said Andrei Soldatov, a Russian investigative journalist and expert on the Russian intelligence services.
Borrowing an effective tool from the days of Covid-19 regulations, he said, Russian authorities simply relied on surveillance from Moscow’s many facial recognition cameras, as well as plainclothes officers from the Center for Combating Extremism, a unit of Russia’s interior ministry.
Arrests of those who laid flowers at makeshift memorials and attended Navalny’s funeral have continued for days after the event, and in one case, according to OVD-Info, a Moscow resident arrested on March 5 was told he had been spotted on security camera footage. “It makes sense because you do not create a picture of a huge crush or huge attack on protesters,” but it still has a “chilling effect,” Soldatov told CNN. Soldatov said this is this reaction stems from an official paranoia in Putin’s Russia, an “an incessant obsession with the fragility of the state,” fueled by history and made worse by the war in Ukraine, as well as the impending election. It all goes back to the “two historical traumas of 1917 and 1991,” he said — the Bolshevik revolution and the collapse of the USSR. “They don’t understand why two Russian empires basically collapsed for no apparent reason,” he said. “So everything you can do to prevent this is justifiable.” In his final words to the Moscow court, Orlov echoed that sentiment. “The authorities are even at war with the deceased Navalny,” he said. “They fear him, even when he is dead.”

Russian oligarch went to Moscow in effort to broker complex prisoner exchange that included Navalny, sources say
Sebastian Shukla, Alex Marquardt and Tim Lister, CNN/March 9, 2024
A multi-country prisoner exchange that might have freed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was being discussed and progressing when he died last month, multiple sources have told CNN, and included the direct involvement of a Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich.
A two-year stop-start process exploring options to secure the release of Navalny began to accelerate when Abramovich visited Moscow in recent months, two of the sources said. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had also embraced early efforts to win Navalny’s freedom, according to several sources.Abramovich, who is sanctioned in the West and spends much of his time in the United Arab Emirates, met a US official as ideas for the complex exchange involving as many as seven people took shape, according to one source close to the process. Abramovich has kept a connection with the Kremlin since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and was instrumental in early efforts at negotiating an end to the conflict. One source familiar with Abramovich’s movements said that he had traveled to Moscow to meet with officials at the Kremlin. CNN has been unable to confirm independently when Abramovich went to Moscow, nor reports in independent Russian media on Friday that he met Russian President Vladimir Putin hours before the prison authorities announced that Navalny had died at a penal colony in Siberia on February 16. However, a source close to Navalny’s team told CNN that on the evening of February 15 they had received word that a message had been delivered to Putin. In what form though, they were unable to say. A key aide to Navalny, Maria Pevchikh, said soon after he died that Abramovich had become involved in exploring a deal, and had “delivered the proposal to swap Navalny” to the Kremlin. She added that he was acting as “an informal negotiator in communication with American and European officials.”The source familiar with Abramovich’s involvement said he was “flabbergasted” to hear that Navalny had died even as he pursued the exchange. On February 27, 11 days after Navalny’s death, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov side-stepped questions about Abramovich’s involvement. Asked whether he knew whether Abramovich had discussed a prisoner swap with Putin, he said: “You can ask Abramovich’s representatives. This is not a question to us.”One Western diplomat told CNN last week that on a scale of one to 10, the prospects of a swap had “reached seven or eight” by the time Navalny died at the IK-3 prison colony. Even so, the proposal was still at an informal stage, according to several sources familiar with the process, and a deal did not appear imminent. “The offer can only be made once it’s been accepted informally. That’s how it works in these negotiations,” he said. A US official concurred, telling CNN: “There was no formal offer extended to Russia at the time of Navalny’s death.”
“Navalny’s release was not imminent before his sudden death,” the official added.
An Aspen meeting
Back in the summer of 2022, Hillary Clinton was approached by Christo Grozev, who has worked with the Navalny team for several years, at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado. According to someone familiar with the meeting, Clinton told Grozev that she had followed his work with Navalny, which included revealing the identities of the FSB team that had poisoned Navalny. Clinton said she had also seen the documentary that Grozev helped to make about Navalny. The documentary, which won an Academy Award, was partly based on an investigation into Navalny’s poisoning in August 2020 by CNN and the independent investigative group Bellingcat. Grozev told CNN that Clinton agreed to reach out to officials in the Biden administration with an idea: exchanging Navalny for a Russian linked to the security service, the FSB, who had been convicted of murder in Berlin. Another name discussed was Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. (Bout was subsequently freed by the US in December 2022 in exchange for American basketball star Brittney Griner, held in a prison colony in Russia after being convicted of cannabis possession.)
Clinton “initially passed on the message” to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Grozev told CNN. A source confirmed Clinton had reached out to Sullivan. The National Security Council declined to comment.
Navalny adviser Pevchikh also said the Russian convicted of murdering a Chechen dissident in Berlin in 2019 was included in a proposed deal. Pevchikh said that “in early February, Putin was offered to exchange Vadim Krasikov, a killer and an FSB officer who is serving a sentence for murder in Berlin, for two American citizens and Alexey Navalny.”German prosecutors said that Krasikov was sent by the Russian security services with a false identity to carry out the killing. He was sentenced to life in prison after his conviction in a Berlin court. The Kremlin denied that he had been working on behalf of the state. But without naming Krasikov, Putin last month floated the idea of securing the release of a Russian “patriot” who he said was serving a life sentence for “liquidating a bandit” in Europe. Speaking to Tucker Carlson in Moscow, Putin implied the deal would be in exchange for the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been charged with espionage in Russia. The final framework of the proposed deal is unclear, but an individual close to the Navalny team said that an expanded proposal included the possible release of both Gershkovich and another American imprisoned in Russia, Paul Whelan, in addition to Navalny. “We had to find a way to package the German asset [Krasikov] into an American negotiation,” the source close to the Navalny team said. The Russians had initially proposed that a German-Russian dual citizen held in Russia on espionage charges be exchanged for Krasikov, an offer flatly refused by the Germans. It became a complex triangular arrangement, he said. “It had to be explained to the Americans that the only way for them to get Whelan and Gershkovich is if the Russians get Krasikov. But the Germans would only hand over Krasikov in exchange for Navalny.”“The German government was very serious about it,” the Western diplomat told CNN last week. But the diplomat added that it was unlikely the Russians would have agreed to trade three valuable prisoners - Navalny, Gershkovich and Whelan – for one – Krasikov - and would have wanted to expand the deal. “There are other places bad Russians are. The question was how to get everybody aligned, so various ideas were being thrown around,” the diplomat added. “You have to be creative.”Another Russian who could be included is Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, an alleged Russian spy who has been charged by the US Department of Justice with fraud and other crimes and is being held in Brazil. Russian and American extradition requests have been declined by Brazilian authorities. Getting the message to Putin was one of the greatest challenges, the individual close to the Navalny team told CNN. “There was a lot of interest at mid-level, but whenever it got to ‘Oh, who’s going to tell Putin?’ people chickened out.” Abramovich, according to multiple sources, did not chicken out. But exactly when and how he delivered the informal proposal to the Kremlin, or to President Putin himself, is still not confirmed. Ultimately, the process did not move swiftly enough to save Navalny. And his aides remain convinced that Putin ordered the killing of the opposition leader, a claim the Kremlin denies. This story has been updated to include further comment from a US official.

Armenia is considering seeking EU membership, foreign minister says
(Reuters) /Updated Sat, March 9, 2024
Armenia is considering applying for European Union membership, foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Friday, as it seeks to forge closer ties with the West in the face of tensions with traditional ally Russia. "Many new opportunities are largely being discussed in Armenia nowadays and that will not be a secret if I say that includes membership in the European Union," Mirzoyan said in an interview with Turkey's TRT World television station. He was speaking on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in the Turkish city of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast. Since coming to power in a 2018 revolution, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has deepened Armenia's ties with Europe and the United States, repeatedly drawing the ire of traditional ally Russia. Yerevan has repeatedly said that its alliance with Moscow does not stretch to the war in Ukraine, while Pashinyan has accused Russia of seeking to undermine his government. Armenia also accuses Russia of failing to defend it against long-standing rival Azerbaijan, which has drawn closer to Moscow in recent years.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published March 09-10/2024
Iranian Regime's Sham 'Elections': Perpetuating the Deception
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 9, 2024
Iran's so-called "elections" stand out as a grotesque parody of democracy. Yet... the mainstream Western media persistently mislabel these charades as "elections," thereby bestowing legitimacy upon a regime entrenched in authoritarianism and dictatorship.
For decades, Iranians have endured oppression, censorship, and violence at the hands of a regime that masquerades as a legitimate government while trampling on their basic rights. To dismiss their struggle by equating their aspirations for freedom with a sham electoral spectacle is to disregard the sacrifices made by countless activists, journalists and ordinary citizens who dare to dream of a better future.
It sends a dangerous message to the Iranian people and to the world at large: that autocracy masquerading as democracy is acceptable, and that tyranny can cloak itself in the trappings of legitimacy.
Now, as the Iranian regime is about to realize its dream of obtaining nuclear weapons, does anyone think that a government that treats its own people so brutally will treat its neighbors any better?
Iran's sham "elections" are nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to legitimize authoritarian rule. By mislabeling these orchestrated spectacles as elections, mainstream Western media perpetuate the regime's propaganda and undermine the struggle for democracy within Iran. It is time to call out this charade for what it is and lend our voices to the chorus demanding true democracy and freedom for the Iranian people.
It is time to strip away the facade and expose Iran's sham for what it truly is: a farce engineered to maintain the ruling elite. (Photo by Ali Najafi/AFP via Getty Images)
In the annals of political theater, Iran's so-called "elections" stand out as a grotesque parody of democracy. Yet, despite the blatant manipulation and lack of genuine choice, the mainstream Western media persistently mislabel these charades as "elections," thereby bestowing legitimacy upon a regime entrenched in authoritarianism and dictatorship.
It is time to strip away the facade and expose Iran's sham for what it truly is: a farce engineered to maintain the ruling elite. They seem determined to keep ruling over a citizenship that has demonstrated time and again that it does not want them.
The New York Times, CNN, and other influential media outlets, as well as many Western politicians, are complicit in perpetuating this deception by referring to Iran's rigged processes as "elections." Such misnomers not only distort reality but also lend unwarranted credibility to a system designed to crush dissent and consolidate power in the hands of a few.
Labeling Iran's rigged process as an "election" not only misleads the international community but also deeply insults the Iranian people, many of whom bravely risk their lives in the quest for genuine democracy. For decades, Iranians have endured oppression, censorship and violence at the hands of a regime that masquerades as a legitimate government while trampling on their basic rights. To dismiss their struggle by equating their aspirations for freedom with a sham electoral spectacle is to disregard the sacrifices made by countless activists, journalists and ordinary citizens who dare to dream of a better future. Calling this charade an election not only delegitimizes their fight for democracy but also serves to embolden the very regime they seek to overthrow.
Let us dissect the mechanics of Iran's electoral masquerade. Before a candidate's name even graces the ballot, they must pass the litmus test of approval by the Guardian Council. This unelected body, composed of 12 members, wields disproportionate power in vetting candidates, ensuring that only those sanctioned by the regime's inner circle, including anti-American and anti-Semitic people, are permitted to participate.
The composition of the Guardian Council itself reeks of institutionalized bias and manipulation. Of its 12 members, six are handpicked directly by the individual whom the media refer to as Iran's "Supreme Leader," but whom I call the Supreme Dictator, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's de facto ruler. This gives Khamenei unchecked authority to shape the council according to his whims and desires. The remaining six members are nominated by the head of the Sharia judicial system, a position also appointed by none other than the Supreme Leader himself. The result? A stacked deck, where dissenting voices are systematically silenced, and the illusion of choice is maintained under the guise of democracy.
To call this rigged selection process an "election" is an insult to the principles of genuine democratic governance. It is akin to labeling a staged performance as spontaneous theater, or a puppet show as a display of free will. Iran's regime orchestrates this elaborate charade not to uphold the will of the people but to perpetuate its grip on power and stifle any opposition.
The consequences of this sham extend far beyond Iran's borders; By legitimizing these fake elections, Western media, perhaps inadvertently, bolster the regime's oppressive tactics and undermine the struggle for democracy and human rights within Iran. It sends a dangerous message to the Iranian people and to the world at large: that autocracy masquerading as democracy is acceptable, and that tyranny can cloak itself in the trappings of legitimacy.
Moreover, the international community's failure to condemn Iran's electoral farce only emboldens the regime to further entrench its authoritarian rule. Without robust sanctions, scrutiny and condemnation, the regime faces no meaningful repercussions for its blatant disregard for democratic norms and human rights.
Now, as the Iranian regime is about to realize its dream of obtaining nuclear weapons, does anyone think that a government that treats its own people so brutally will treat its neighbors any better?
It is time for Western media and the global community to speak the truth and loudly reject the false narrative of Iran's "elections." Instead of perpetuating the illusion of choice, let us shine a spotlight on the regime's repressive tactics and stand in solidarity with the Iranian people who yearn for genuine democracy and freedom. Iran's sham "elections" are nothing more than a thinly-veiled attempt to legitimize authoritarian rule. By mislabeling these orchestrated spectacles as elections, mainstream Western media perpetuate the regime's propaganda and undermine the struggle for democracy within Iran. It is time to call out this charade for what it is and lend our voices to the chorus demanding true democracy and freedom for the Iranian people.
Anything less would be a betrayal of our shared values and a tacit endorsement of tyranny. It is time to honor the courage and resilience of the Iranian people by refusing to whitewash the regime's tyranny with deceptive language and, instead, standing in solidarity with their quest for genuine democracy and human rights.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Netanyahu is a survivor, but his problems are stacking up
Wyre Davies - BBC Middle East correspondent/ March 09/ 2024
"How many more deaths and disasters will Israel endure under Netanyahu's watch?" ran a headline in an Israeli newspaper this week.
The piece in Haaretz followed a report that held the Israeli prime minister and other senior figures in his administration personally responsible for failures over a stampede that led to the death of 45 people at a Jewish religious festival in 2021.
The newspaper, which is frequently critical of the prime minister, pointed out that Mr Netanyahu did not respond directly to the report. Instead, his Likud party suggested that the commission investigating the disaster was itself politically motivated.
Commentators across the political divide saw a parallel between the Mount Meron disaster and the 7 October attacks by Hamas, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage - specifically Mr Netanyahu's refusal to accept responsibility.
It comes at a time when opinion polls do not make good reading for the prime minister. While he has insisted that "absolute victory" is the only option to end the war, a poll last month by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) found that a majority of both Jewish (51%) and Arab Israelis (77.5%) said there is a low likelihood of achieving his aim to eliminate Hamas. One survey, conducted back in November by Bar Ilan University, suggested that fewer than 4% of Israelis trusted Mr Netanyahu's decision-making over the war in Gaza. While confidence in Mr Netanyahu is low, most Israelis have consistently supported the war in Gaza. The IDI's Tamar Herman sees no contradiction in the suggestion that while most Israelis support the conflict and are less supportive of a future Palestinian state, they're still mistrustful of Mr Netanyahu. He spearheaded unpopular judicial reforms before the Hamas attacks, and then "lost his security credentials after 7 October", Mr Herman said. The lack of progress in releasing the remaining hostages is also a source of criticism. Last weekend, thousands of relatives of the hostages and their supporters ended a four-day march outside his official residence in Jerusalem.
"Our government must ensure, above all else, that they come home, said Yair Mozes, whose 79-year-old father Gadi was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. "This is the only humane thing that can happen."Mr Netanyahu says they are a priority, but his decision to not send a delegation to ceasefire talks in Cairo this week was met with derision in parts of the Israeli media. With the hide of a rhinoceros and an absolute conviction in the justness of his cause, Mr Netanyahu dug in even deeper this week.
He reiterated that troops would eventually launch an assault on the southern city of Rafah, where an estimated 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. More than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and much of the territory has been destroyed by Israeli shelling. With more signs of a famine looming, international pressure has only grown.
A belligerent Mr Netanyahu told a military graduation ceremony this week that that the military "will continue to operate against all of Hamas's battalions".
"There is international pressure, and it is increasing," he said, "but it is precisely when the international pressure increases that we must close ranks among ourselves."
Mr Netanyahu was said to be livid this week when Benny Gantz, his arch-political rival and member of the unity war cabinet, set off on an unannounced and unsanctioned trip to visit key allies in Washington DC and London.
Mr Gantz is a former army general and chief of staff, and leads the more centrist National Unity party. If an election were to be held today, polls suggest Mr Gantz would secure enough votes in the 120-seat Knesset to form a coalition government and unseat Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some of Mr Gantz's appeal is simply that he is not Benjamin Netanyahu. He's a centrist and pragmatist who stands by Israel's military objectives. The openness with which he was received by senior US and UK officials was widely interpreted back home in Israel as a snub to Mr Netanyahu.
Others have criticised Mr Gantz, describing him as a "political parking lot". Transport minister Miri Regev, a Netanyahu ally, said Mr Gantz's visit looked like "some kind of subversion, like he's working behind the prime minister's back".
Mr Netanyahu is a seasoned political survivor. Both his critics and supporters say he will do almost anything to stay in power and keep his government together.
But his slim coalition relies on controversial far-right ministers and religious parties to keep afloat, and it is under strain. In return for their support, the groups insist on financial concessions and the right of Orthodox Jews who are religious students to be exempt from military service. In a country where military service is universal, that has always been a contentious issue. But with Israeli soldiers being killed on active duty in Gaza, it's a policy coming under increasing pressure. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant - also seen as a possible replacement for Mr Netanyahu - is known to be actively seeking to overturn the policy.
And the former head of the Shin Bet internal security service, Nadav Argaman, told a security conference in Tel Aviv this week: "An Israeli citizen is someone who serves the state as it determines, meaning either military service or national service."
Mr Netanyahu cannot be all things to all people. When the war ends, there will be an inquiry into the events of 7 October, and who knew what, when. Mr Netanyahu will come under intense scrutiny over what warnings his government was given and his subsequent response. If any findings are highly critical of his role, as many observers think they will be, he may not be able to dismiss them as easily as he dealt with this week's Mount Meron report.

External perceptions of the next US presidential election
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab News/March 09, 2024
There is no doubt that foreign observers are looking at the US and wondering what will come next. On the foreign front, both Russia and Gaza are key vectors of further international attention. Having just completed Super Tuesday, the US is moving toward its presidential election in November 2024. What type of America will international observers see, as both foreign policy challenges and internal discontent and political jockeying continue? First, a quick notation: Although a new Trump administration is a possibility, there are still many legal steps that could derail former President Donald Trump’s candidacy, but not stop his political machine or base from operating. So, the prospect of President Joe Biden winning also brings with it many pros and cons. Both leaders are seen as being at a unique stage of their older life. Some in Washington feel that at the end of the day Biden and the Democrats will win because of Trump’s criminal convictions and doubts over his financial affairs. To be sure, outside observers see American society is divided across a number of different planes that are becoming more complex and creating very sharp divisions. Never has there been such breakdown in family and personal relationships, especially between generations. Polarization runs rampant in the halls of the US Congress all the way down to what’s left of the family dinner table.
Four years ago, in the run-up to the presidential election, there were predictions of major problems on a US local or regional level. Trump-era laws help to complicate local politics, such as abortion, in the US, and the current administration seems to counterbalance gender identity and, consequently, there are urban and state divides over halting current trend lines in these two issues and others. Here polarization takes a whole new level of stress as a factor in the inability to communicate on key policy questions. Issues regarding Texas stand as a case in point. Many outside observers view this behavior as “strange” for America. The international scene is no less divisive for the US presidential election. A major war in Europe and the tragedy of Palestine and Israel means that US domestic issues will become highly inflamed via rhetoric and information warfare. American universities are exploding from the hatred that is rising, affecting the quality of the education received. Universities today are not learning environments but incubators of narrative hatred. We are seeing now in universities and in workplaces across the US greater divisions leading to major lawsuits, and dismissals of university personnel and suspension of students.
American universities are exploding from the hatred that is rising, affecting the quality of the education received.
Naturally, many are looking at the possibility of Trump returning to office based on the fact that Biden has fudged America’s foreign policy to the point of failure at a key moment in regional history in the Middle East. Outside observers note this moment frequently in their analyzes, and many different actors are expanding their influence, such as Iran. Concepts such as strategic failure begin to arise and the discourse regarding what is ongoing with America and what will come next.
Consequently there are two key questions: Is a Trump administration really going to restore Washington’s wrecked moral standing? Do outside observers see Trump as better suited to fix regional issues because of previous and ongoing relationships? The answer is not easy. Policymakers and stakeholders who were observing the situation in Washington are increasingly seeing the pluses of a change in administration and would welcome it because continuation of the current phase and what comes next with both Russia and Gaza is a key determinant.
On top of this break in continuity between the administrations is how the next leader will deal with accusations of human rights violations and genocide. How a new Trump administration would use this as a potential political tool is an interesting question. A rules-based order does not seem to be on the cards, so how will the International Court of Justice contend with such an America? The next administration, whether Biden or Trump, is going to have to deal with the legalities surrounding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and radical settler actions as well as accusations against US government officials.
The presidential election is also showing to the rest of the world that the US has no fresh blood for a political renewal or thinking. Many joke about the Soviet-like nature of the age of America’s leaders, and they do have a point. But Trump would be more willing to use a hammer instead of Biden’s light touch on major policy issues. That fact makes some foreign observers curious, and nervous, about what comes next from the US. A US election is supposed to be a renewal. Current events preclude more immediate credibility problems. What the morning of Nov. 6, 2024 brings will be seen in the following years.
• Dr. Theodore Karasik is a senior adviser to Gulf State Analytics in Washington D.C.
X: @KarasikTheodore

A tale of two Benjamins, only one of whom Biden wants to deal with
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/March 09, 2024
This is a tale of two Benjamins and one US administration. The first is Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister; the other is Benjamin (Benny) Gantz, a member of the war Cabinet, yet a political rival of the prime minister. To put it plainly, President Biden and his administration can’t wait to see the back of the first Benjamin, that is Netanyahu, and in this they have joined the majority of Israelis, who share the same sentiment.
From once being a political celebrity in Washington, Netanyahu has become a cause for concern, especially since at the beginning of last year he formed his populist, ultranationalist coalition, mainly to ensure his own political survival. Since then, he has been banished from Washington, becoming persona non grata in the White House. His extremely irresponsible and brutal behavior since the onset of the war with Hamas only enhanced that sentiment.
In his place, the Biden administration was looking for a “responsible adult” in the government, hence they turned to the second Benjamin: Enter Benny Gantz, whose National Party leads the opinion polls by a large margin and who arrived in Washington this week. Breaking with protocol, the White House had invited him to visit Washington for talks with the most senior members of the administration short of the president himself, but including Vice President Kamala Harris, while neither side consulted Netanyahu, let alone asked for his approval.
It took nearly five months for Washington to take this decision, an unusual one in the world of diplomacy, especially between close allies, but an inevitable expression of exasperation at the policies of the Israeli government before and after Oct. 7. In the final analysis, Israel under Netanyahu has switched from being a strategic ally of the US to being a burden that is not only directly endangering America’s national interests, but negatively affecting its domestic politics, threatening regional and international stability, becoming detrimental to the very survival of Israel itself.
From the outset of the sixth Netanyahu government, Biden was deeply perturbed by its assault on the democratic system and especially on the judiciary. Hence the US president refused to meet with Netanyahu for the first nine months of the current Israeli government, again a rarity in relations between the two countries. When a meeting eventually took place, last September, it was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly — there was no much-coveted visit to the White House for the Israeli prime minister. It was an uneasy meeting, during which Biden made it clear that what bonds the two countries is their shared democratic values. This can be seen only as a coded warning to Netanyahu that straying from these values risks the special relationship between the two administrations.
Washington is under no illusion that should Gantz become Israel’s prime minister, the path toward serious negotiations on a two-state solution will not be easy, painless, or rapidly established. Yet, at this point, this is their best bet, gambling on a centrist candidate who responds to reason, has no ulterior motive, and whose considerations, unlike those of his rival Netanyahu, are not dominated by either a corruption trial or an increasingly megalomaniac and general detachment from reality.
At this point, with less than a year until the US presidential election, it is far from guaranteed that Biden will win a second term, but after more than 150 days of the war in Gaza, there is a rethink taking place as to whether Israel can be regarded as a strategic asset beyond America’s commitment to the long-term security and well-being of Israel. However, as it stands, the Biden administration is becoming increasingly alarmed and annoyed that Netanyahu is treating the alliance as a one-way street in which the tail wags the dog, and is doing his best to sabotage any chance of a post-war Israeli-Palestinian peace, and more generally the security and geopolitical architecture of the region as envisaged by Washington.
The Biden administration is becoming increasingly annoyed that Netanyahu is treating the alliance as a one-way street.
Biden must also feel a strong sense of personal betrayal. Since Oct. 7 he has stuck his neck out in support of Israel, and in a manner which might cost him the presidency come November. His administration has not shied away from blocking UN Security Council resolutions calling for at least a humanitarian truce, although they are calling for a ceasefire elsewhere beyond the halls of the UN. Moreover, the US has been supporting the continuation of Israel’s military campaign, even while most of the world opposes it in the face of the horrific images of the mass killing of Palestinians and the desperate humanitarian situation that has brought Gazans to the point of starvation. America’s ongoing support for Israel can only be deeply damaging for its reputation and standing in the region.
The “gratitude” that the Netanyahu government has shown is in the form of bluntly ignoring US requests for it to define its war aims beyond the open-ended and unachievable one of the “total destruction of Hamas” with no timeline or operational plan. From his first visit to Israel after the Hamas attack, Biden has urged Israel to learn from his own country’s mistakes in the aftermath of 9/11, in addition to his caution that democracies must conduct war in accordance with international law, which means with proportionality.
However, five months into this war, and with more than 30,000 Palestinians killed and most of the Gaza Strip becoming uninhabitable, it is obvious that Israel has failed to heed this advice. Israel has continued throughout to ignore US requests to allow for humanitarian pauses, to present a workable plan for the day after — not the one that Netanyahu recently presented that has no partners and no chance to become a reality — and to play ball with the plan Washington is putting together with regional powers that will lead to a peace with the Palestinians based on a two state-solution.
The invitation of Gantz to Washington for high-level discussions was a clear message about who Washington thinks should be in power in Israel and who the US is looking forward to doing business with. Kamala Harris’ recent speech calling for an immediate truce, and laying the blame for the mere trickle of humanitarian aid to the Strip squarely with Israel, was Washington taking the gloves off by publicly rebuking Israel’s conduct of the war. Parting with Netanyahu and his dangerous government might take longer than is desirable, but the Biden administration has now made it very clear that by not hastening its demise, Israel is in danger of losing the support of its biggest and most important ally, something it cannot afford to let happen.
• Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa Program at international affairs think tank Chatham House.
X: @YMekelberg

Biden… State of the Union or Campaign Speech?
Emile Ameen/Asharq Al Awsat/March 09/2024
It might be too early to assess how Americans see the State of the Union address that President Biden delivered last Thursday evening. However, many had the first question after his speech was over: "Did he just give a speech on the State of the Union, or was it a campaign speech he hopes can help him add another four years to his time in the White House?" In the coming days, it will become clear whether Americans’ opinions of the president have changed or not. Once again, he had a slip of the tongue. He said that medicine prices in Russia are lower than they are in America. That might actually be true, despite Biden's intentions to suggest otherwise. On the eve of the speech, polls indicated that 6 out of every 10 Americans, more than half, were not confident in Biden's mental capabilities, rising from January, when it was 5 in 10. The question here, after this speech, during which the Republicans (both the representatives and senators) disregarded political tact, everyone is asking: "Did Biden evade a Republican trap, or did he fall into it?" One thing is for sure, this speech was personal. He confronted his rivals and, astonishingly, almost equated Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin. He mentioned Trump twelve times, referring to him as "my predecessor" without ever naming him. He compared Trump and his position with those of former Republican President Ronald Reagan and his stance on Gorbachev’s Soviet Union. Traditionally, the State of the Union address is a national occasion during which the president goes over the conditions of the American empire. The president is expected to rise above partisanship for this speech, prioritizing the overall interest of the Republic and the common good of all its citizens. Here, we can say conclusively that Biden failed to present an image of a president who stands at an equal distance from all Americans, exhibiting clear Democratic favoritism. This critique was perhaps best expressed by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who said the president was not at his best and was excessively emotional.
Biden's shouting will not boost his popularity. Indeed, several psychologists believe that he was trying to conceal deep-seated fears, and his advisors insisted he stick to the script. Was the speech conciliatory and forgiving towards the rest of the world, in the segment in which he was supposed to outline his country's foreign policy? Affirming that the US still feels superior to the rest of the world, he began with Russia. He made his intentions clear to Tsar Putin: "We will not walk away from Ukraine... We will not bow." Biden almost gave Putin, who is about to begin a new term, a guarantee of victory by reiterating the intentions that the US harbors for the Russian Federation, especially with his appeal to Congress to facilitate aid to Zelensky's government, which amounts to nearly sixty billion dollars, pouring more fuel on the fire that has been burning for two years.
From the perspective of China, the US president spoke like an arrogant imperialist. The president underscored Washington’s opposition to China's "unfair" economic practices and that it would defend peace and stability on the Taiwan Strait. He also asserted that Washington is now in a stronger position to win in any competition against China or any other country. This suggests that the logic of the "American Century," laid by the neoconservatives in the 1990s, lives on and remains deeply rooted. All presidents, whether Democratic or Republican, believe in it.
One very intriguing segment of his speech addressed the idea of a temporary port being set up by the American army on the coast of Gaza, through which large ships carrying food, water, and medicine could deliver goods into the Strip.
This plan is vague. Despite its humanitarian dimension, it gives Washington a military foothold on the coast of Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea. In one way or another, it is an American logistical deployment station that could support Israel, and indeed it does so in both the present and future. With the escalation against Hamas seemingly imminent, the role that US forces will play remains vague - regardless of Biden's assurances that they will not make their way on the ground in Gaza, especially since Netanyahu got his way and there has been no ceasefire.
Domestic issues were not addressed as extensively as expected. Despite Biden trying to argue that the US economy was reaching new heights, we see discord between the federal government he leads and the state governments. This discord is particularly apparent in Texas, where a civil war is almost about to erupt for a second time in American history. Many were disgruntled by Biden's attempts to intimidate the American people, warning that "Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today."Biden's words were a clear allusion to his archrival Trump, who is slowly winning his party’s nomination, and whom some polls show would beat Biden by two points in the upcoming presidential election in November. He also did not forget to remind us of the scenes in front of Congress on January 6, 2021, in a clear attempt to pit Americans against the former president. It is clear that Biden failed to deliver a charismatic speech like the speeches of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Reagan. That justifies the decline in his administration’s domestic approval ratings, especially after Washington lost much of its regional and international influence, becoming a less reliable ally to friends and a less feared enemy to foes. Biden did not present a clear message about what he would do in his second term. As the Tsar takes more from Ukraine by the day, Europe is losing its confidence in Uncle Sam, and many are losing their confidence in Washington.
In conclusion, the American dream was nowhere to be seen in Biden’s State of the Union address, which was excessively partisan and bitterly acrimonious.