Libya

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 06/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
First Letter to the Thessalonians 05/01-11/:”Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, ‘There is peace and security’, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then, let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 05-06/2019
Rainfall Floods Poorly Maintained Lebanon Roads
Protesters Block Roads, Close Schools as Uprising Enters Day 50
Aoun Urges Fast Govt. Formation, Restoration of Confidence
Miqati Says His Bloc to Vote for Hariri, Not Khatib
Nadim Gemayel to Boycott PM Consultations
Geagea Says Proposed Govt. Nothing but 'One-Sided Govt.
Israeli Army Says Hizbullah Undeterred despite Recent Setbacks
Filipino Workers Flock to Leave Crisis-Hit Lebanon
Climate, Not Conflict, Drove Many Syrian Refugees to Lebanon
Suicide Deaths Rise in Lebanon’s Stricken Economy
Lebanese Parliamentary Consultations Begin Monday as Khatib’s Nomination Comes into Question
Rebuttal of Sarkis Naoum's column
Amin Gemayel meets Cypriot President in Nicosia

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 05-06/2019
Brian Hook: Iranian forces may have killed more than 1,000 protesters
Turkey to host new summit to tackle Syria conflict
Iran moving short-range missiles into Iraq: NYTimes report
Russia suspends project with Iran due to uranium enrichment
Large numbers protest in Iraq’s Tahrir Square as politicians discuss future
Iran moving short-range missiles into Iraq: NYTimes report
Khamenei orders Iran unrest victims treated as ‘martyrs’
Arab Meeting in Cairo Reviews Nuclear Dangers of Israel, Iran
First G20 Meetings Kick Off In Riyadh
US Denies Claim it is Sending 14,000 More Troops for Mideast
Iran Issues Travel Advisory after its Consulate in Najaf is Torched
Palestinians in Jerusalem Accused of Plotting with ISIS
Israeli Army Accuses Arrested Birzeit University Students of Plotting Attacks
Yemeni Deputy PM to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Await Implementation of Rest of Riyadh Accord
Haftar Slams Maritime Agreement between Turkey, GNA, Urges UN Intervention
US to Exchange Ambassadors with Sudan, Ending 23-Year Gap
Pompeo brings Iran pressure campaign to Morocco as US mulls Middle East troop boost
Trump Says Iran Crackdown 'Brutal' and 'Horrible'

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 05-06/2019
Lebanese security forces re-open all blocked roads/Joanne Serrieh, Al Arabiya/December 05/2019
Lebanon protests are dividing the country’s struggling media/Adèle Surprenant/Al Arabiya/December 05/2019
After this week’s suicides, Lebanese NGOs offer assistance/Perla Kantarjian/Annahar/December 05/2019
Milking Iraq and Lebanon for Iran’s benefit/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arab News/December 05/2019
Lebanon's Daily Star employees on strike, citing unpaid salaries/Leila Molana-Allen/Al Jazeera/December 05/2019
Rafik Hariri was a nation-builder – his legacy must not be tarnished/Basem Shabb/The National/December 05/2019
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire Suggests Sanctions on Lebanese Officials over Amer Fakhoury/Associated Press/Naharnet/December 05/2019
*Iranians Have Broken Barrier of Fear with their Protests/Huda al-Husseini/Asharq Al Awsat/December 05/2019
A European Army? It’ll Never Happen/Andreas Kluth/Bloomberg/December 05/2019
Iran reinforces Bushehr, Abu Musa, as Netanyahu & Pompeo talk in Lisbon/DEBKAfile/December 05/2019
Macron’s wake-up call to the US/Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/December 05/2019
European nations empowering Iran’s malign activities/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/December 05/2019
Europe must act as though NATO is already dead/Joschka Fischer/Arab News/December 05/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 05-06/2019
Rainfall Floods Poorly Maintained Lebanon Roads
Naharnet/December 05/2019
Heavy rainfall flooded many of Lebanon’s badly maintained roads, stranding citizens in their cars and adding misery and suffering to their daily life conditions amid a burgeoning economic crisis unprecedented in the country’s history. Most of the roads have been rendered impassable by heavy rain. Several roads south of the capital mainly in Jiyeh, al-Naameh and Khaldeh all the way to the airport road were flooding with water. Cars were seen washed away. The National News Agency said the northern international highway in al-Biddawi, north of Beirut, was also rendered impassable. Students on their way back home were stuck for hours in school buses. Some had to take the walk back home with assistance. For Lebanese, the scene of flooded streets is nothing new, given poor maintenance, corruption and mismanagement. Only some of the few reasons that drove people to the streets in massive protests ongoing since October 17. In the southern town of Nabatieh and Iqlim al-Tuffah, rainfall transformed the roads into swamps and lakes, said NNA, due to clogged sewage and waterways. Incident response staff were nowhere to be seen. Lebanon has been swept with anti-government nationwide protests since October 17 against mismanagement and corruption, with Lebanese demanding an overhaul of the entire political class.

Protesters Block Roads, Close Schools as Uprising Enters Day 50
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 05/2019
Setting a date for the binding parliamentary consultations has not appeased protests against corruption and mismanagement in Lebanon as protesters blocked several roads and closed schools on Thursday keeping up the flame of 50 days of protests that witnessed suicides linked to a deteriorating economic crisis.In the northern city of Tripoli, university students skipped classes and blocked a major highway linking Tripoli to el-Koura. The main square in Tripoli, al-Nour, remains blocked since the protests began on October 17. In the southern city of Sidon, angry students and protesters disrupted traffic at the city’s main square before marching towards public institutions and banks to force them to close. They also marched to schools to close them down calling on students to join the protest. Other roads in north of Beirut were blocked with burning tires including a highway near Casino du Liban. On Wednesday, the presidency announced that consultations to name a new prime minister will begin Monday, more than a month after a wave of protests led Prime Minister Saad Hariri to resign. But protesters have already began rallying against the potential candidate for the job, saying he is too close to the political elite they have been calling on to step down. In a stark reflection of the deepening economic crisis, Danny Abi Haidar, in his 40s shot himself to death Wednesday with a bird rifle when he became despondent over salary cuts in recent weeks, according to his family. Many private companies have resorted to reducing staff or slashing their pay to deal with rising inflation and liquidity crunch. Protesters, already mobilized against the name floated as a potential successor for resigned Prime Minister Saad Hariri, gathered in central Beirut on Wednesday to mourn Abi Haidar’s death. The protesters say Samir Khatib, named as a possible prime minister and a prominent contractor, is close to the political elite they have been protesting since Oct. 17. Hundreds of protesters blocked in towns in the Bekaa valley in the east on Wednesday in rallies against Khatib. Lebanon’s armed forces said it arrested 16 protesters following scuffles to break up road blocks.

Aoun Urges Fast Govt. Formation, Restoration of Confidence
Naharnet/December 05/2019
President Michel Aoun on Thursday hoped the new government “will be formed as soon as possible so that it starts addressing the problems that need urgent care and attention.”Aoun added that the new government should “restore confidence between the state and citizens.”“The priorities of the new government will be achieving the necessary reforms in the various sectors, continuing the process of fighting corruption, and rectifying the flaws in the work of state institutions,” the president went on to say. The Presidency on Wednesday announced that the binding parliamentary consultations to name a PM-designate will be held on Monday. Saad Hariri had tendered his government’s resignation on October 29, bowing to pressure from massive and unprecedented popular protests that erupted on October 17. Aoun refrained from calling for immediate consultations to name a replacement, arguing that prior consensus was needed on the shape of the new government amid the extraordinary situations in the country. Protesters had demanded the formation of an independent technocrat government but media reports have said that the ruling political forces have agreed to form a techno-political cabinet led by prominent contractor Samir Khatib. Quoting Hizbullah and AMAL Movement sources, MTV reported Wednesday that a final agreement has been reached on Khatib's nomination. The sources added that they are "very optimistic," saying that the new government could be formed "before Christmas" and that "only the distribution of some portfolios remains pending."

Miqati Says His Bloc to Vote for Hariri, Not Khatib
Naharnet/December 05/2019
Ex-PM and Tripoli MP Najib Miqati on Thursday announced that his four-member parliamentary bloc had decided to vote for caretaker PM Saad Hariri in the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier. Hariri should “continue the mission that he has been leading since the presidential settlement three years ago, because we are not in a period that allows experiments,” Miqati said in an interview with Al-Arabiya’s al-Hadath television. Asked whether the bloc might nominate Samir Khatib, Miqati said: “Khatib possesses capabilities that should be respected, but the capability to shoulder burdens in these political circumstances is something else, seeing as the current period is difficult.”He also added that other candidate “might emerge,” noting that “an extraordinary government is needed to rescue the country.”

Nadim Gemayel to Boycott PM Consultations
Naharnet/December 05/2019
MP Nadim Gemayel of the Kataeb Party on Thursday announced that he will boycott the binding parliamentary consultations for naming a PM-designate that have been scheduled for Monday. “Since the beginning of the revolution, I have witnessed with all Lebanese how much officials, topped by the president of the republic, have failed to truly heed the demands and spirit of the revolution,” Gemayel tweeted. “Then we witnessed the farce of preparing for the binding parliamentary consultations. Accordingly, there is no point in taking part in these consultations, seeing as I’m not used to blind approval of decisions and charades,” the MP added. The ruling political parties have reportedly reached consensus on nominating the contractor Samir Khatib for the PM post. President Michel Aoun had refrained from immediately calling for official consultations, arguing that prior agreement was needed on the candidate and on the shape of the new government due to the extraordinary circumstances in the country.

Geagea Says Proposed Govt. Nothing but 'One-Sided Govt.'
Naharnet/December 05/2019
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday noted that the proposed techno-political government is “nothing but a one-sided government.”“The techno-political government that the ruling forces are proposing today is nothing but a one-sided government, seeing as its technocrats are mere fronts for the same political forces who have pushed people inside and outside Lebanon to lose confidence in the country,” Geagea said after a meeting for the Strong Republic bloc. “What’s needed today is a government that works according to scientific and economic backgrounds and with a new approach characterized with integrity, competence, objectivity and impartiality, which would restore the lost confidence in Lebanon,” the LF leader added. Warning that Lebanon has become “in the middle of the storm of financial and economic collapse,” Geagea called for “an immediate revival operation and a mighty, revolutionary salvation plan that draws inspiration from the revolution and its spirit and meets its demands, away from the approach of obstinacy and the distribution of shares.” Saad Hariri had tendered his government’s resignation on October 29, bowing to pressure from massive and unprecedented popular protests that erupted on October 17.Protesters had demanded the formation of an independent technocrat government but media reports have said that the ruling political forces have agreed to form a techno-political cabinet led by prominent contractor Samir Khatib.The Presidency has meanwhile scheduled the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new PM for Monday.

Israeli Army Says Hizbullah Undeterred despite Recent Setbacks
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 05/2019
A year after uncovering a network of cross-border Hizbullah tunnels, the Israeli military said Thursday that the Lebanese Iran-backed group has beefed up its presence along the volatile frontier. Israeli military officials said that neither the destruction of the tunnels, nor the current political crisis in Lebanon, have weakened the group's desire to prepare for renewed conflict with Israel. "We have a very serious enemy," said Colonel Roy Levy, the Israeli military's Northern Border Brigade commander, during a tour of the area Thursday. He said Hizbullah's main focus is to entrench itself along the border area and "plan to attack us."Israel and Hizbullah fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a U.N.-brokered cease-fire. While direct fighting has been rare since then, there has been occasional violence, most recently on Sept. 1 when Hizbullah fired a barrage of anti-tank missiles into Israel in response to an airstrike in Syria that killed two of its operatives. Israel responded with artillery fire. Israel also has acknowledged carrying out scores of airstrikes in Syria, many of them believed to have been aimed at Iranian weapons shipments bound for Hizbullah. Israel considers Hizbullah to be its most immediate threat, saying the group has amassed an arsenal of some 130,000 rockets and missiles capable of striking virtually anywhere in Israel. More recently, it has accused the group of trying to import or develop guided missiles. Last December, Israel announced that it had uncovered a network of tunnels that it said Hizbullah was building with the aim of infiltrating and carrying out attacks. Over several months, it systematically destroyed the structures. In recent years, Israel has accused Hizbullah of taking over houses in southern Lebanese border villages to hide soldiers, ammunition, cameras and intelligence-gathering equipment. Levy pointed across the tree-lined frontier to several small shacks that he said were Hizbullah positions, just a few hundred meters away from Israeli residents. "Civilians, farmers, children drive here every day," he said. In addition to the loss of its tunnels, Hizbullah has suffered other setbacks in recent months. Its patron Iran, suffering from U.S. sanctions, is being rocked by mass demonstrations in which over 200 people have reportedly been killed. Lebanon has also experienced nationwide protests over the past two months against widespread corruption and mismanagement. Some of that anger has been directed toward Hizbullah, which is now seen as part of the ruling class that has wrecked the country's economy. But Levy said he has seen no changes in the group's behavior. "They have a lot of cameras, a lot of forces along the border, camouflaged," he said.

Filipino Workers Flock to Leave Crisis-Hit Lebanon
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 05/2019
Hundreds of Filipinos, most of them female domestic workers, flocked to their embassy in Lebanon Thursday to sign up for free repatriation from the crisis-hit country. The embassy issued a statement linking its offer of a free ticket home to Lebanon's free-falling economy. "More than 1,000 Filipinos, mostly women with some children in tow, arrived in droves to the Philippine embassy in Beirut to register for free mass repatriation scheduled in February next year," a statement said. An estimated quarter of a million domestic workers live in Lebanon, in conditions that have repeatedly been condemned by their countries of origin and rights group. A sponsorship system known as "kafala" leaves maids, nannies and carers outside the remit of Lebanon's labor law, and at the mercy of their employers. Cases of abuses are reported regularly, with workers often unable to obtain their rights or even flee because all their money and travel documents are held by their employers. Hailing mostly from the Philippines, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, some make as little as $150 a month. The Lebanese pound's tumbling value on the black market in recent weeks has led many employers to pay their domestic workers in the local currency. Others have been fired by employers who can no longer afford their services, leaving foreign workers stranded in Lebanon with no income. The embassy statement said that some workers "have recently lost jobs and income opportunities during these trying times in Lebanon."
Mohanna Ishak, a lawyer with the KAFA NGO that assists domestic workers, said that the severe economic downturn risked leading to more abuses. "The financial and psychological stress the Lebanese are under risks have repercussions on domestic workers," she said, adding that their salaries may go unpaid or they could face "more verbal and physical violence." Lebanon has been rocked by seven weeks of an unprecedented protest movement demanding an end to corruption and the wholesale removal of the current political elite. The campaign to abolish the "kafala" system has been widely supported by protesters.

Climate, Not Conflict, Drove Many Syrian Refugees to Lebanon
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 05/2019
Hundreds of Filipinos, most of them female domestic People who fled Syria in recent years are often viewed as war refugees because of the violence that has engulfed much of the country since 2011. But those from the northern and northeastern parts of Syria may more accurately be viewed as climate refugees, fleeing not a worsening conflict but an increasingly severe drought. I have been studying various aspects of water and food security in the Middle East for a long time. Now I have begun a new project studying the social and economic conditions needed to repatriate rural refugees to the farming communities in Syria. My recent interviews with Syrian refugees who now live in Lebanon reveal that climate is a major obstacle for many people when they consider returning to their homeland. In Syria, most farming relies on rain, not irrigation, which makes it vulnerable to climate change. Many refugees from the Raqqa region tell a similar story: As one told me, "The land has been giving less and less."The reason, they told me, is that it rains far less than it used to when they were young farmers, and rainfall is less predictable.
Increasing drought
Historically, northern Syria has been a productive agricultural area, making up part of the fabled Fertile Crescent of the Middle East, where humans first began farming around 9,000 B.C. An estimated 75 percent of Syria's wheat production is in northern and northeastern parts of the country: Al Haksa, Ar-Raqqa, Aleppo and Dayr Az Zawr provinces. In general, precipitation is highest in the coastal areas in the west of the country and along the Turkish border to the north. Usually, there is enough rain to support rain-fed farming and pastureland for sheep and goat herders. Rainfall decreases farther east and south in the country. In the last few centuries, the country's drought cycle has become more frequent, from having a drought once every 55 years, to every 27 years, to every 13. Now, droughts happen every seven or eight years. The poorest peasants of the Raqqa region are hit the hardest because they do not have many assets to sell in times of drought – nor any surplus grains to save for the next planting season.
People start to move
There is not a direct, immediate relationship between changing climate and the drive to migrate. The climate can change slowly, and people don't usually respond instantly when circumstances shift. Thousands of Syrians have been leaving northern and northeastern parts of the country over the past 20 years or so. As the severe drought of 2006 to 2011 hit, the number of emigrants rose. A 2011 study found that Syrian households had lost 19.5% of their income as a result of droughts and other environmental factors – and that rain-dependent farmers were hit harder than farmers who relied on irrigation. The vast majority of Syrians who left northern and northeastern Syria are farmers and unskilled workers. Many of them were drawn, on a permanent or seasonal basis, to the Bekaa Valley, a large agricultural area in eastern Lebanon. The valley enjoys a moderate Mediterranean climate.
A rise in refugees
In 2011, before the Syrian civil war broke out, up to one million Syrians were believed to be working in Lebanon. When the violence started, those established settlers drew in relatives and neighbors. Official numbers say there are close to a million Syrian refugees also in Lebanon now, in addition to the million workers there before the war. The Lebanese government and U.N. officials believe the actual number is closer to one and a half million refugees. That means Syrians make up over one-quarter of Lebanon's population. In my recent interviews with Syrian refugees in the Bekaa Valley, I learned why they had left their homes and what it might take for them to be ready to go back. The refugees I spoke with came from farming backgrounds. Many were from the city of Raqqa and nearby villages.
A few, especially those from southwestern Syria, spoke of bumper crops and routine farming challenges like varying harvests and the costs of seeds, fertilizer and livestock fodder. However, farmers who came from northern and northeast areas such as Raqqa and nearby towns and villages were almost unanimous in describing how hard farming had become over the last 20 years. The refugees attributed this to government agriculture policies that changed in the face of drought. The Syrian government reduced the amount of land that could be planted with cotton and sugar beets, water-intensive crops that earn farmers a lot of income. The government tried to boost farmers' income by selling drought-resistant cotton seeds and sprinkler systems, which conserve water and boost yields. However, refugees told me, farmers were already financially squeezed from lower yields due to the drought. Most were small-scale farmers, or didn't own the land they worked, so they could not earn enough to purchase the technology.
Heading home?
Many refugees told me that even if their home region became physically safe to return to, they would not go back. They feared they would be unable to eke out a living from the increasingly arid land. If they did return, they would also be faced with needing to repair war-damaged wells and irrigation canals and restore services from veterinary experts and farmers' suppliers, who were driven away by war. Almost all of this infrastructure remains unrepaired.
Together, the drought and the war's destruction mean it's unlikely that many of these refugees will leave Lebanon anytime soon – if at all. The Syrian civil war may end one day, but the land's problems will remain.
[ Like what you've read? Want more? Sign up for The Conversation's daily newsletter. ] This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: http://theconversation.com/climate-not-conflict-drove-many-syrian-refugees-to-lebanon-127681.

Suicide Deaths Rise in Lebanon’s Stricken Economy
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 05/2019
Suicide deaths are rising in Lebanon as the country grapples with an unprecedented economic crisis raising suicide deaths to three on Thursday. Nazih Aoun, 56, from the southern town of Tebnin, put his life to an end on Thursday “because he has been unable to find a job for while,” the National News Agency reported. Aoun is the third Lebanese to commit suicide over dire economic conditions and an unprecedented financial crisis. On Wednesday, a man in his 40s shot himself to death with a bird rifle when he became despondent over salary cuts in recent weeks. On Sunday, Naji Fliti, a 40-year-old father of two, committed suicide outside his home in the eastern border town of Arsal because he could not pay outstanding medical bills for his cancer-stricken wife. An unprecedented anti-government protest movement has gripped Lebanon since October 17, fueled in part by deteriorating living conditions. The World Bank has warned of an impending recession that may see the number of people living in poverty climb from a third to half of the population. Unemployment, already above 30 percent for young people, would also go up, it said. Prime Minister Saad Hariri's cabinet resigned two weeks into the protest movement, bowing to popular pressure. But the country's deeply divided political class has yet to form a new cabinet, frustrating demonstrators who have remained mobilized.

Lebanese Parliamentary Consultations Begin Monday as Khatib’s Nomination Comes into Question
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 5 December, 2019
A recent agreement on the nomination of Engineer Samir al-Khatib for the premiership was further complicated by a controversy between the country’s former prime ministers and President Michel Aoun over constitutional powers, and renewed protests in the street. Although the Baabda Palace announced that the binding parliamentary consultations would be held on Monday, political sources noted that solutions were only “written on paper” and not approved by politicians, pointing that delaying the consultations for additional four days was an indication of complications. The political sources said that the initial consensus on Khatib was still open to all possibilities, adding that the positive atmosphere could be dissipated by two factors: the renewal of street protests and doubts surrounding the composition of the new government, “which looks so similar to the old cabinet, with some minor alteration.”
Meanwhile, a Lebanese ministerial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri was still supportive of Khatib’s nomination to head the new government. They added that Hariri would name experts to assume portfolios in the cabinet, out of his conviction that the current stage required a government of technocrats to create a “positive shock”, meet the demands of the street and salvage the economy. The source said that Hariri’s recent meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri’s political aide, caretaker Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, and Hezbollah Secretary General’s political assistant Hussein Khalil was “positive.” Well-informed sources said that the government would be composed of 24 ministers, including five Sunnis and five Shiites, two Druze ministers, five Maronites, four Orthodox, two Catholics and one Armenian.
They added that the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) would not participate in the government as a political party, but would name one non-partisan Druze figure to assume a key ministry. The other Druze seat will go to the civil movement, according to the sources. The Shiite seats will be shared by the Amal Movement and Hezbollah, while Hariri would nominate a Sunni professional to take over a portfolio. Two Sunni seats will go to the civil movement, in addition to the prime minister, while a fifth Sunni figure remains unresolved. As for the Christian seats, the quota of Lebanese Forces (three ministers) will go to the civil movement, which will name its own figures, the sources said.

Rebuttal of Sarkis Naoum's column
NNA/December 05/2019
The Press Office of Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri issued the following: In his column published in An-Nahar newspaper yesterday, journalist Sarkis Naoum said that caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri "contacted his friend since college in Georgetown, the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir, and asked him to convey his greetings to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and to ask for his guidance and positions. The Prince's response, through Jubeir, was: The Crown Prince is fine and greets you. He tells you that when you were with him and told him about your candidacy or your intention to nominate Michel Aoun for the presidency, he objected. You then replied that you would vote for Aoun and that you would be responsible for the results. Now you have to bear the consequences of this stance." Hariri's Press office underscores that this phone call did not take place, and that everything in the alleged imagined dialogue is totally untrue.

Amin Gemayel meets Cypriot President in Nicosia
NNA/December 05/2019
Former President Amin Gemayel met in Nicosia with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, who called on his host to "use his international and regional relations with a view to reducing tensions and converging views so as to spare the Middle East further disasters, especially as this region has become strategic par excellence on the background of the discovery of oil and gas wells, which triggers the major powers."The Cypriot president urged "creating an atmosphere of understanding to enable countries to invest in this wealth and use it in raising the standard of living of peoples and in establishing economic, cultural and social development."

Lebanese security forces re-open all blocked roads
Joanne Serrieh, Al Arabiya/December 05/2019
The security forces have succeeded in opening all the blocked roads across Lebanon, according to an Al Arabiya correspondent. Clashes and road blocks continued into Thursday morning in various parts of Lebanon as the protests near their 50th day. Earlier in the south, demonstrators blocked the main entrance to Nabatieh’s vehicle registration department and demanded it be shut down, reported the NNA. Employees and demonstrators clashed when the employees refused to disrupt the business and interests of the citizens. Meanwhile in Sidon, a group of protesters, mostly school students, marched from Elia Square to public facilities to shut them down, starting with Electricite du Liban, telecommunications company Ogero as well as a number of banks, while another group headed to the public market of Sidon to close the shops. Shop owners re-opened their shops after closing for two hours at the request of the protesters. Others held demonstrations in front of the Lebanese University and the LIU in order to interrupt their studies and encourage the others to join the demonstrations. There were also major traffic delays in downtown Beirut due to the Ring Bridge being blocked by demonstrators once again Thursday morning. It was later opened by anti-riot police. Many clashes have taken place in this area since the start of the demonstrations, including clashes when Lebanon's Hezbollah and Amal supporters attacked protesters. Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun called on Wednesday for binding parliamentary consultations to designate a new prime minister to take place on Monday. According to Al Arabiya sources, it is expected that the protests will continue and possibly escalate due to people objecting the nomination of Samir Khatib for the prime minister position. Lebanon has been in political deadlock since Saad Hariri resigned as prime minister in late October.

Lebanon protests are dividing the country’s struggling media
Adèle Surprenant/Al Arabiya/December 05/2019
The ongoing protests in Lebanon have divided the country’s media along new lines and placed further stress on an already struggling industry – but also offered opportunities for new platforms to emerge. “One camp supports the revolution, and the other still conveys the narrative of the ruling power,” said Matthieu Karam, the head of the web journalism department at the Beirut-based French-language publication L’Orient-le Jour. This is a new dividing line in the country’s media landscape, which previously reflected the divide that emerged in 2005: between the March 14 Alliance, which opposes Syria’s interference in the country, and the pro-Syrian March 8 Alliance, made up of Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement of current President Michel Aoun. “The fracture line [in Lebanese media since the protests began] is less clear, as we can now see a firm opposition between the media outlets that support the revolution and those that are completely opposed,” explained Ayman Mhanna, Executive Director of the Samir Kassir Foundation, named after the Lebanese journalist and intellectual that was assassinated in 2005. News channel like MTV, LBCI and New TV have embraced editorial lines that clearly support the protesters, while media outlets like the Hezbollah-led al-Manar or al-Akhbar have expressed their support for the government. While some journalists have been able to criticize the political elite while working for elite-controlled media, others have been forced to resign. Al-Akhbar in fact saw two of its journalists resign in the first weeks of the protests on account of the paper’s position on the nationwide social movement.
Media struggling
As Lebanon remains in political deadlock and nears economic crisis, the media is also struggling. Since October 17, journalists have been working over-time, but advertising revenue has been dropping drastically, leaving the actors of the industry under stress. The financial pressure has already cost the jobs of 300 employees from Future TV, former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri’s channel – inherited by his son, Saad Hariri – that closed in mid-September due to economic reasons. Earlier this year, Hariri already had to let go of his newspaper al-Mustaqbal. This closure is seen as a reflection of the unsustainability of the current media model, which has resulted in unpaid salaries, increasing dependence on unpaid interns, and the dismissal of staff. Outlets such as The Daily Star have experienced high numbers of resignations, with many of the remaining staff striking on Wednesday, December 5, in protest against months of late pay checks. A staff member on strike told Al Arabiya English that, “what broke the camel’s back really was the dismissal of [their] colleague Benjamin Redd, quite abruptly in a way that [they] felt was unjustified.” In a Twitter post, Redd announced that he was let go on December 4 due to his implication in the “[organization of] a strike because workers are owed up to half a year‘s salary — despite the paper being owned by Lebanon‘s billionaire [former] prime minister [Saad Hariri].”
Journalists have also been the target of several attacks since the beginning of the uprising. The Samir Kassir Foundation’s Center for Media and Cultural Freedom has reported cases of online harassment or damages on vehicles and buildings owned by media enterprises, raising the question of journalists’ security in the coverage of the protests.
Journalists have also been harassed in the streets, as was the case with MTV staff members Joyce Akki and Christian Abi Nader, who got their cameras broken by protesters in downtown Beirut during the first days of the protests.
Challenging elite control
While traditional Lebanese media may be struggling, new forms of grassroots journalism have sprung up in line with the protests challenge to the status quo. Traditionally, political elites have controlled the media in Lebanon, a process with roots in the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990). “[The wartime government gave] licenses to media outlets created by militias, militias who then converted into political parties and controlled the post-war political arena in Lebanon,” explained Mhanna. As the law does not prevent any MPs or Ministers from holding shares in media, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders – which ranks Lebanon 100 out of 180 for press freedom – estimates that 78.4 percent of the media outlets are politically affiliated. From that number, a quarter are directly owned by active politicians. But the protests have encouraged grassroots journalists to produce their own platforms.
On November 28 the first edition of the 17 Teshreen newspaper was published. Named after the October 17 Revolution, the print was created with the aim of “documenting the experiences and achievements of the Lebanese street,” according to its director, Bashir Abu Zeid.
In his first editorial, the young director also claims that the initiative was financed solely by donations collected during the protests - a rare feat in a country where the media’s economic structure is based on private ownership or donations from either political leaders or their parties. Already existing outlets such as Megaphone, Daraj and Raseef22 also saw their popularity rose, giving some commentators optimism about the future of Lebanese media. “These protests strongly helped independent, progressive and secular media, especially online publications,” said Mhanna, who sees hope in the new platforms. As protesters continue to voice their anger on social media, these new channels of communication might become “the reference for all the young revolutionaries that don’t recognizes themselves in the traditional media treatment,” he added.

After this week’s suicides, Lebanese NGOs offer assistance
Perla Kantarjian/Annahar/December 05/2019
In these times of distress, many Lebanese NGO’s and sympathetic groups are offering their services and assistance to alleviate any pain or difficulty their homeland’s community members may be going through.
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s ongoing economic and political turmoil is taking its toll on the mental health of its citizens, many of whom are losing their jobs and facing overwhelming financial and psychological troubles on a daily basis.
Within less than five days, the culmination of a variety of factors has led four of Lebanon’s citizens to die of suicide.
On Thursday, Nazih Aoun ended his life in Tebnine, South Lebanon, a day after Dany Abou Haidar, a man in his early 40s, shot himself in the Sin El Fil area in public; and Antonio Tannous, an Internal Security Force member from the Akkar area, was found dead with his rifle next to him.
On Wednesday, two men attempted suicide, one by jumping off the roof of his building in Saida, and another by setting himself on fire in Akkar.
On Sunday, Naji Al Fleity, a father of two, hung himself in his home in the Ersal area. Suicide prevention marches took place on Wednesday, where people carried posters that say "how many more suicides do you need?" directed at government officials.
In these times of distress, many Lebanese NGO’s and sympathetic groups are offering their services and assistance to alleviate any pain or difficulty their homeland’s community members may be going through.
Lea Zeinoun, Executive Director of “Embrace” told Annahar: “Mental illness has a twofold nature: one caused by biological circumstances and another by environmental surroundings, and 90% of suicides are caused by people with mental illnesses.”
“Embrace” is a local NGO, founded in 2013, dedicated to raising awareness on mental health in Lebanon and who launched the first national and emotional support and suicide prevention helpline in Lebanon.
“Within the last three hours, we have received over 25 calls expressing feelings of anxiety and distress, and four of which exhibited suicidal thoughts,” Zeinoun said, explaining that the enormous amount of stress that Lebanese citizens are currently going through might “add on the mental illness of a person and lead to suicide if left untreated.”
She continued: “When we receive calls on the suicide prevention hotline, we firstly tell our callers that politics and the economy affect our lives indirectly and directly and cause feelings of uncertainty, and it’s very normal to feel uncertain.”
“We advise them to pace themselves in times likes this in order to cope with the uncertainty and stress,” Zeinoun said, explaining that “there’s a certain amount of news the average human can tolerate, and taking a break from them is important, especially with the fake news being circulated.”
With the ongoing financial crisis, many Lebanese are struggling to provide food for their families. Maya Terro, co-founder and Executive Director at FoodBlessed, a pioneering national hunger-relief and food rescue initiative founded in 2012, told Annahar that “anyone in need can come to one of our soup kitchens and have a free meal any time they feel the need to. What’s ours is theirs. No questions asked."
FoodBlessed keeps an updated record of all of its soup kitchen regulars who receive food assistance packages every couple of months, and not just over the holidays.
“The list is always updated,” Terro said, “Some names we already know and are our regulars, others are referred to us. This being said, anyone in need is welcomed.”
FoodBlessed’s volunteers are currently launching their Christmas food drive and are asking community members to help them collect food items for those in need, which are then packaged and distributed across Lebanon.
In the words of Ghida Husseini, counseling psychologist and managing partner at Metanoia, the stress and trauma center in the Middle East, “There are many factors that are at play for people who commit suicide.”
Husseini explained that “it’s not unusual for suicide rates to increase during times of crisis. People who are already suffering may find themselves more trapped, and revert to ending their life for the pain to stop.”
“However,” she continued, “I encourage anyone who might be suffering to seek help, there’s always a way out. I also encourage the people around friends and relatives in distress to help and listen to any suicidal reflection, since offering the needed support may save their lives.”
For anyone in need of psychological or physiological assistance, Annahar has gathered a list of local NGOs and groups who can help:
- Embrace’s suicide prevention hotline (12pm-2am): 1564
- Restart (NGO for specialized mental health services) : Tripoli +961 06 411 451 - Beirut +961 01 291 066
- FoodBlessed (NGO dedicated to hunger-relief): +961 70 159 337
- 4-A-Cause (NGO that collects fund for a variety of causes, currently dedicated to hunger-relief): cynthia@blackhowl.org
- Himaya (NGO dedicated to fighting child-abuse in Lebanon): himaya@himaya.org
- ABAAD (Resource Center for Gender Equality):
• Al Dar, emergency safe sheltering for women and girl survivors or at-risk of violence, emergency line (24/7): +96176060602
• Women and Girls Safe Spaces, legal, psychosocial, referral, holistic services, safe line (24/7): +96181788178
• Men Centre, support for men who have issues with aggressive behavior or masculinities, (M-F, 9:00-17:00): +96171283820
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all victims of suicide.

Milking Iraq and Lebanon for Iran’s benefit
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arab News/December 05/2019
Protests in Basra, Beirut and elsewhere thwart Iran’s most important political plan, which is building a regional market under its control.
The uprisings are a development that the leaders in Tehran did not anticipate, as they had regarded Iraq and Lebanon as subordinate states, whose task was to host a land corridor linking Tehran to Beirut. The Iranian plan, however, is falling apart in Iraq and shrinking in Lebanon as a result of the hostile protests against it. This was reinforced by protests against the regime that erupted simultaneously in all Iranian cities.
The market plan was mentioned in a speech delivered by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. In his speech, he revealed the plan to exploit the Iraqi market by linking it to Syria and Lebanon through the so-called Iranian land corridor.
In his televised speech last month, Nasrallah said: “What is the opportunity? It is Iraq. Iraq is a big and rich country. We have one problem. How would Lebanon’s agricultural products reach Iraq? How would the Lebanese industrial production reach Iraq? What would all this lead to? It will reactivate the agriculture sector, revive the factories, open a horizon for new factories. What does all this depend on? Well, since we cannot export by sea and do not export potatoes to Iraq by air, our products must be exported by land, depending on one step: That the Lebanese government agrees with the Syrian government (to have a land link) between the crossings from Lebanon to the Al-Bukamal border crossing (between Syria and Iraq). The Americans have worked day and night to prevent the opening of the latter. One of the reasons for the (US) outrage against the Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, is his insistence on opening the Al-Bukamal border crossing with Syria. Take it from me, and I know the details, the Americans have not spared any means of pressure or threat to prevent the opening of the Al-Bukamal crossing. The ‘excuse/lie’ is that, through the Al-Bukamal crossing, missiles will pass to Lebanon.”
This is what Nasrallah said, and we realize that the escalation of the Syrian war has been taking place in unison with a project of Iranian domination by armed force in three countries — Iraq, Syria and Lebanon — with an action plan to control all their markets.
In his speech, Nasrallah focused on the Iraqi border crossing with Syria because it is, indeed, the gateway for the militias and missiles of the Iranian project, in addition to potatoes and other goods. The Iranian regime is unable to transport these militias and missiles by air or sea, and has discovered that using distant sea lanes via the Atlantic Ocean was an expensive and dangerous operation.
What about Nasrallah’s trade integration?
The idea is not new. Before the Iranian intervention, Lebanon used to export agricultural and industrial products to the Iraqi and Gulf markets; but Hezbollah has destroyed Lebanon’s economy and stability by insisting on keeping its weapons.
Nasrallah focused on the Iraqi border crossing with Syria because it is the gateway to the Iranian project. Iran now intends to create its own regional economies that will bolster its political influence and war effort in the region; not to create independent economies that help the people of the countries concerned and strengthen their governments. In Lebanon itself, Hezbollah has filled its south and northeast with hashish farms and drug factories, imposed exorbitant tariffs and excluded those who disagreed with it from the market; leading to mounting hostility against it in areas such as Baalbek-Hermel.
In fact, Lebanon has lived for a decade-and-a-half under the almost total domination of Hezbollah. The result is the current deterioration of people’s living conditions, a shrinking economy, and widespread corruption.
Like the Lebanese, the Iraqi people, led by Shiites, have revolted too: Demanding decent living standards, and refusing to be a “cash cow” for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its militias.
*Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a veteran columnist. He is the former general manager of Al Arabiya news channel, and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat. Twitter: @aalrashed

Lebanon's Daily Star employees on strike, citing unpaid salaries
Leila Molana-Allen/Al Jazeera/December 05/2019
Over a dozen members of staff at English-language daily do not go to work after not being paid for months.
Beirut, Lebanon - Members of staff at Lebanon's The Daily Star newspaper have gone on strike, saying salaries had gone unpaid for months.
More than a dozen reporters and editors at the English-language daily did not go to work on Thursday. Some said they had not been paid in nearly six months despite working full-time.
"First it was a week, then two, then a month," said Timour Azhari, a reporter at The Daily Star and one of those on strike. "Then suddenly we went for two or three months without anything."
"We've had promises saying the money is coming, we’re working on getting the money… but in the end, we have no money," he said. "So we've been pressuring, we've been holding meetings, we've been asking, sending emails. But generally we felt that our demands were not getting through."
Employees last week had warned management of the impending strike, submitting a document asking for one month's salary to be paid by Wednesday, and for a schedule to be drawn up for the rest of the outstanding payments. The newspaper's editor said it was unable to meet these demands.
"Yes, we have a cashflow problem; yes, salaries have been somewhat delayed, that of course is true," Editor-in-Chief Nadim Ladki told Al Jazeera.
"We are doing as much as we can to resolve the situation. But, as you know, the newspaper industry around the globe is facing challenges, so we are part of that." Ladki said employees could ask the company accountant to pay small sums in emergency circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Staffers said this system helped them to survive this long, with one likening the process to asking employees to "beg for our salaries".
Previous promises to pay wages soon had gone unfulfilled due to Lebanon's anti-government protests, which have been ongoing for six weeks, having disrupted the banking system and driven down advertising sales, Ladki said.
"I'm not saying the staff are not within their rights to demand the full amount, and of course this is the duty of the paper. But there are circumstances that have really not helped us."
'You're fired'
As staffers met on Wednesday afternoon to decide whether or not to proceed with the strike, long-time employee Benjamin Redd received an email from management telling him it was his last day at the newspaper: He was being let go due to financial constraints.
"At the end of my shift I got an email basically saying you're fired, get out, don't come back … on the eve of the strike," Redd said.
"I don't believe it was just a financial decision. The timing is very convenient."
The consensus among staff was that Redd had been fired for appearing to lead calls for a strike, according to Azhari, who submitted his resignation on Thursday, citing Redd's dismissal.
"Management seemed to think that he had taken on a leading role, which I must stress is not true," he said. "It really was democratically by consensus, with all staff members, but somehow they got the impression that he was leading it and he was fired for that."Staff said if management had intended firing Redd to dampen calls for a strike, it had the opposite effect.
"[It] was the trigger for a lot of the people who went on strike today, because it came very much out of the blue, and it appeared to be in response to Ben's role in helping organise this action," said one current staffer taking part in the strike, who asked to remain anonymous as they feared jeopardising their job following Redd's dismissal.
"We just weren't convinced that it was done in good faith."
"It was a clear tactic of intimidation coming from upper management … and I received that message as a clear threat," said another. Ladki insisted Redd was let go solely for financial reasons, but acknowledged that the timing was unfortunate. "Ben was on a high salary and high expenses … so the idea was that for his salary, I can get three or four younger journalists, that was the decision," Ladki said. "The timing looked very bad, yes."
Several staffers at The Daily Star confirmed to Al Jazeera on Thursday that they had resigned or planned to do so imminently. One said they had been thinking about leaving over the pay issue, but Redd's firing "was the last straw".
Tens of employees have left the newspaper in recent months thanks to payment issues, leaving it severely understaffed.
The Daily Star is almost entirely owned by the family of Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Saad Hariri. Employees of several media companies owned by the family have consistently gone unpaid. In September, Hariri announced the suspension of operations at Future TV, once one of Lebanon's most-high profile channels, citing financial difficulties. At the time, the majority of the station's 380 staff had been on a weeks-long strike after going unpaid for months

Rafik Hariri was a nation-builder – his legacy must not be tarnished
Basem Shabb/The National/December 05/2019
Historians looking back at his rule will describe him as a patriot who had his country's best interests at heart
Lebanon is undergoing the worst economic crisis in its history, and protesters have filled the streets of its cities and towns since October. Rampant corruption, mismanagement and a lack of job opportunities are at the root of the uprising. Protests initially opposed a new tax on Whatsapp, the popular messaging application, before quickly taking a political turn, with demonstrators demanding an end to corruption and sectarianism - as well as the departure of the entire political class.
In response, Shia political outfit Hezbollah and its allies - which effectively dominate Lebanese government - have orchestrated an assault on the legacy of the late Rafik Hariri, who as prime minister in the 1990s and 2000s, helped build an economically liberal Lebanon. They have blamed him for the current economic collapse, 14 years after he was assassinated.
Rafik Hariri's critics could not be farther from the truth. However, before talking about his legacy as a nation-builder, it is important to provide the political context that the country finds itself in.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has been allied to the Free Patriotic Movement, or FPM, founded by Lebanese president Michel Aoun and headed by his son-in-law, Lebanon’s foreign minister Gebran Bassil since 2006. A decade later, Mr Aoun became president and the alliance gained a majority in parliament and inside the council of ministers. For Hezbollah, this was an ideal arrangement. The FPM provided a broad Christian cover to the terrorist organisation, while rapprochement between the FPM and the now former prime minister Saad Hariri, the son of Rafik, served to appease the West and Gulf allies, understandably worried about the rise to power of an Iranian proxy.
All three major players in Mr Aoun’s unity government ignored the signs of a battered economy on the verge of collapse. A strong sense of entitlement prevailed. With Hezbollah dominating government, foreign investment dwindled, especially after the group provoked a month-long war with Israel in 2006. Tourists who used to flock from the Arab world by the thousands stopped visiting Lebanon, depriving the country of an important source of revenue, which Beirut relied on heavily during Rafik Hariri’s time in office.
In recent years, banks have applied skyrocketing interest rates to attract money to the cash-strapped country, where endemic corruption and poor governance have emptied the coffers of the state and plagued the economy.
While Hezbollah and the FPM have blamed the economic policies of the senior Hariri for the country’s financial woes, these parties have failed to acknowledge their own responsibility in precipitating Lebanon’s economic demise. Hezbollah’s Iranian backing, for instance, has made Lebanon the target of US sanctions against Tehran, which were by default extended to entities dealing with the proxy. The banking sector took a toll, with Jammal Trust Bank having had to close down in September for its dealings with the group. A few years ago, it was the Lebanese Canadian Bank that was under strain after the US accused it of laundering money for Hezbollah. Not only did ordinary civilians with no relation to the terror group lose their jobs, as a result of it, but the banking sector had also been tarnished.
Hezbollah and its allies have added further strain on the economy by delaying the formation of a new government. The junior Hariri and his cabinet bowed to protesters’ demands and resigned in October but Mr Aoun has yet to name a successor to form a technocratic government - a key demand made by the protesters. Hezbollah and the FPM insist on a shared technocratic-political government, an alternative that is refused by both the protest movement as well as Saad Hariri. This impasse has precipitated the country’s economic problems. In the past few weeks alone, the private sector suffered tremendous losses with many businesses halving their employees’ salaries for lack of revenues. The currency lose one-third of its value against the US dollar.
Returning to the issue about Rafik Hariri's legacy, one must remember that he had a vision for an economically liberal Lebanon, closely allied with the West and fellow Arab countries, especially in the Gulf. The sound business acumen of the self-made billionaire gained the trust of Arab and European nations who invested in Lebanon after the 15-year civil war came to an end in 1990. Today, Beirut has failed to convince its allies to invest in a country unable to manage its resources properly, or to prevent funds from being siphoned off by corrupt officials.
I am confident that historians looking back at Rafik Hariri’s reign will describe him as a patriot who worked hard to end the civil war
I am confident that historians looking back at Rafik Hariri’s reign will describe him as a patriot who worked hard to end the war, paving the way for reconciliation and just representation with the so-called Taif Agreement. Signed in 1989 in Saudi Arabia, the deal that effectively ended the war focused on a power-sharing solution between the country’s three main religious groups. From then on, Lebanon’s president was to always going to be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister would be a Sunni and the speaker of parliament a Shia. In addition to his political achievements, the late Hariri oversaw an unprecedented period of growth in post-war Lebanon and had his country’s best interests at heart.
The restoration of downtown Beirut, entirely rebuilt after the war, was to be the jewel crowning Rafik Hariri’s achievements. The neighbourhood was supposed to revitalise the local economy and become a tourist destination. Its vacant shops and deserted alleys have now become silent witnesses to the end of an era. Years from today, we will recall Rafik Hariri’s time as prime minister as many Lebanese now recall Camille Shamoun’s presidency: a golden age of prosperity.
*Dr Basem Shabb is a former member of parliament in Lebanon

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire Suggests Sanctions on Lebanese Officials over Amer Fakhoury
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 05/2019
Amer Fakhoury -- a Lebanese-American man jailed in Lebanon since September over collaboration with Israel accusations -- is very ill, and if he dies there, then Lebanon should be subject to sanctions, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire has said.
Shaheen, who was addressing a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in Washington, said Fakhoury has been “illegally” detained since Sept. 12. The 57-year-old Fakhoury, who owns a restaurant in Dover, New Hampshire, went to visit family in Lebanon on vacation -- his first trip back in nearly 20 years.
"I think his health is very critical and we do not want a situation where he dies in Lebanese custody," the Democratic senator testified during a hearing on Lebanon and Iraq. She said sanctions should include ones that would make any involved officials and their family members ineligible for entry into the United States. Joey Hood, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, said the U.S. Embassy team in Beirut visited Fakhoury on Wednesday. "There are grave concerns about the process and the way he's being treated," he said. "But we are making this our absolute highest priority at the embassy and here at the State Department."
Shaheen said, "I think this is a very serious situation that has not been taken seriously by the officials of the Lebanese government, and they need to be on notice that we are looking very carefully and closely at what they're doing." Fakhoury's family said doctors have told them his condition is life threatening. In addition to an infection and bleeding disorder, doctors believe he's developed an aggressive form of lymphoma. "We need to get him out of Lebanon as soon as possible to be treated," his lawyer, Celine Atallah, said from Lebanon in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Thursday.
Atallah said it remains unclear why he's being held. Fakhoury, however, was once a member of the former Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army militia. He also worked at a former prison described by human rights groups as a center for torture.
His lawyer and family insist he had no direct contact with prisoners and never abused anyone, and there was never an abuse allegation against him. Shaheen entered into the record a document provided by Atallah that she said indicates "that he's not the individual that the Lebanese and Hizbullah-liked papers allege him to be."
The articles described Fakhoury as "the Butcher of Khiam," accusing him of torture and murder at the former Khiam Prison in Lebanon. The document said Fakhoury was assigned to the prison from 1989 to 1996 and that he never was involved in the interrogation or torture of prisoners. It also says he fled Lebanon in 2001 through Israel and eventually to the United States, because of "credible" death threats he and other SLA members received after Israel ended its occupation of Lebanon in 2000. The prison and the SLA were "investigated and documented exhaustively" by journalists, international organizations, agencies of the Lebanese government and others, according to the document. It also showed a 1996 charge of collaborating with Israel against Fakhoury was dropped in 2018. The document shows Fakhoury decided to return to Lebanon after receiving written confirmation in August 2018 from the Lebanese government that there were no accusations against him in Lebanon. Also, a senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs official encouraged Fakhoury, during an event in Boston in September 2018, to "come back to Lebanon."Lebanon is in the middle of an unprecedented economic and political crisis amid nearly 50 days of nationwide protests. The anti-government protests led to the prime minister's resignation last month. Given the current instability in Lebanon, it was unclear who could address Fakhoury's case."This is their opportunity to do the right thing," Atallah said, "and to show the world the democracy they've been striving for now."

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 05-06/2019
Brian Hook: Iranian forces may have killed more than 1,000 protesters
ReutersThursday, 5 December 2019
US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook says Iranian security forces may have killed more than 1,000 people since protests over gasoline price hikes started in mid-November.

Turkey to host new summit to tackle Syria conflict
AFP, Ankara/Thursday, 5 December 2019
Turkey will host a summit on Syria in February with the leaders of France, Germany and Britain amid ongoing tensions over the conflict, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in comments published Thursday. It follows their meeting on Tuesday in London on the sidelines of the NATO summit. Deep differences remain over Turkey’s offensive in October against Kurdish militants in northern Syrian, who had been a key ally for the West against the ISIS. That triggered a bitter verbal exchange between Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the NATO summit. But Macron said their four-way meeting had helped “clear up misunderstandings” despite the continuing refusal by Western powers to label Syrian Kurdish militants as terrorists. “We agreed that we would do this four-way summit at least once a year. The second summit will be in Istanbul in February,” Erdogan said, according to state news agency Anadolu. He criticized the insistence of the three leaders on when Turkey would leave northern Syria. “We said to them, ‘What is your business there? Do you have a border?’ No. ‘Are you harassed by any fire?’ No. ‘Are there attacks?’ No.” Russian President Vladimir Putin is also due to visit Istanbul on January 8, with Syria and energy issues on the agenda.

Large numbers protest in Iraq’s Tahrir Square as politicians discuss future
Al Arabiya English/Thursday, 5 December 2019
Large numbers of protesters have been reported entering Baghdad’s Tahrir Square as protests continue in the country, according to Iraqi TV. Demonstrations which began in early October have continued to engulf much of Baghdad and the south, resulting in the resignation of Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi. Politicians are currently discussing the formation of a new government. According to parliamentary sources, the political blocs and the country’s legal committee are still discussing the legislation around new elections.

Iran moving short-range missiles into Iraq: NYTimes report
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/Thursday, 5 December 2019
Iran is using the current upheaval in Iraq to secretly move and stockpile short-range ballistic missiles in its neighboring country, the New York Times reports citing US intelligence and military officials. “Intelligence officials would not discuss the precise model of ballistic missile Iran has sneaked into Iraq. But short-range missiles have a range of just over 600 miles, meaning that one fired from the outskirts of Baghdad could strike Jerusalem,” the New York Times said in its report. Both Iraq and Iran have seen widespread protests in recent weeks. Two US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Wednesday there was intelligence over the past month indicating that Iran was moving forces and weapons in the region. It was not clear what specifically Iran was looking to do with the movements, they added. One of the officials said that part of the concern was Iranian activity inside Iraq, which is experiencing anti-government protests. The New York Times and Reuters report come after Al Arabiya sources confirmed late last week that Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Quds Force, was present in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad after Iraq’s cabinet approved Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi’s resignation. (With Reuters)

Khamenei orders Iran unrest victims treated as ‘martyrs’
AFP, Tehran/Thursday, 5 December 2019
Iran’s supreme leader has agreed that people killed in nationwide unrest last month who had no role in fomenting it should be treated as “martyrs” with their families compensated. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was responding to a report on the protests made by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, his official website said Wednesday. He ordered that its recommendations “be implemented as soon as possible.”Demonstrations erupted in Iran on November 15 against a surprise hike in petrol prices by as much as 200 percent. Iran has yet to give overall figures for the number of people killed or arrested when security forces moved in to quell the unrest that saw buildings torched and shops looted.

Arab Meeting in Cairo Reviews Nuclear Dangers of Israel, Iran
Cairo - Sawsan Abou Hussein/Al Arabiya English/Thursday, 5 December 2019
The 55th meeting of the Arab Senior Officials Committee on Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) discussed in Cairo on Wednesday nuclear dangers posed by Israel and Iran. The current meeting, held at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, is chaired by Iraq and attended by representatives of foreign ministries of the Arab League member-states. For two days, the Committee will discuss a number of topics pertaining to nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction, in addition to armament in the region. Participants will also evaluate the work of the 63rd session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, held in Vienna last September, in addition to an item on the dangers of the Iranian Bushehr nuclear reactor. The Director of the Arab League's Department of Disarmament and Regional Security, Fadi Hanna Ashaia, said in a statement that the meeting would also evaluate the work of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction, which was held in New York last month, upon a UN General Assembly resolution. “The Arab strategic position is to free the Middle East from nuclear weapons, support the right of states to peaceful use of nuclear energy and any efforts to denuclearize the Middle East,” he said.

First G20 Meetings Kick Off In Riyadh
Riyadh - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 5 December, 2019
Saudi Arabia hosted on Wednesday the first G20 meeting, after it assumed the presidency of the world’s most economically powerful group of nations. The number of meetings is set to reach about 140, in addition to workshops, conferences and forums on the sidelines. Saudi Arabia has been a founding member of this group since its inception nearly 20 years ago, in addition to being the only Arab member. Fahd Al-Mubarak, minister of state and a member of the Saudi Council of Ministers, said that the meeting on Wednesday will be followed by sessions bringing together representatives of finance ministries and of central bank governors. Al-Mubarak said that there will be 80 meetings of government representatives and 60 meetings of civil society organizations, in addition to conferences, workshops and forums. These meetings are part of a series that will go on until the G20 summit is held in November 2020. The Saudi presidency will focus on three aims: Empowering people through improving working conditions, safeguarding the planet by fostering collective efforts on food and water security, climate, energy and the environment, and long-term strategies to share the benefits of innovation and technological advancement. “Based on Saudi Vision 2030, we have set three main themes, namely, human empowerment, protection of the environment and climate, and strategies to foster innovation and industrial intelligence,” he noted.

US Denies Claim it is Sending 14,000 More Troops for Mideast
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 5 December, 2019
The Pentagon on Wednesday denied a report that the United States was weighing sending up to 14,000 more troops to the Middle East in the face of a perceived threat from Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported that the possible deployment would include "dozens" more ships and double the number of troops added to the US force in the region since the beginning of this year, citing unnamed US officials. The paper said President Donald Trump could make a decision on the troop boost as early as this month. But the Pentagon disputed the accuracy of the report. "To be clear, the reporting is wrong. The US is not considering sending 14,000 additional troops to the Middle East," spokeswoman Alyssa Farah tweeted. The region has seen a series of attacks on shipping vessels and a drone and missile attack on Saudi oil installations in September blamed on Iran. Washington has already ratcheted up its military presence in the Gulf and expanded economic sanctions on Tehran, elevating tensions across the region. In mid-November the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln sailed through the Strait of Hormuz in a show of force aimed at reassuring allies worried about the Iran threat. In October Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced that two fighter squadrons and additional missile defense batteries were being sent to Saudi Arabia, for a total of about 3,000 new troops. Earlier Wednesday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the country was willing to return to the negotiating table over its nuclear program if the United States first drops sanctions, which have hampered the country's economy and may have contributed to recent domestic turmoil sparked by fuel price hikes. Speaking at a defense conference in Manama, Bahrain on November 23, General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, said the US does not have all the resources it needs to cover the Middle East region. "There is a lot of water to cover. Simply put, we don't have sufficient resources to be where we want to be in the right numbers all the time," he told the annual Manama Dialogue on regional security.

Iran Issues Travel Advisory after its Consulate in Najaf is Torched
Baghdad - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 5 December, 2019
Iran urged its citizens against heading to protest sites in Iraq after demonstrators torched its country’s consulate in Najaf city earlier this week. It marks the third time the building was set on fire by angry protesters. Anti-government protest demanding the overhaul of the entire political class erupted in Iraq in October. They accuse the entire ruling elite of being inept, corrupt and beholden to foreign powers. Security forces have cracked down on the movement, leaving more than 420 people dead. The movement is Iraq's biggest since the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein and installed a democratic system in the oil-rich but poverty-plagued nation. The demonstrators have vented their anger at neighboring Iran, which is seen to wield huge influence in Iraq.

Palestinians in Jerusalem Accused of Plotting with ISIS
Jerusalem - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 5 December, 2019
Israeli police said Wednesday they had arrested two Arabs from eastern Jerusalem suspected of plotting with the ISIS group to attack Jerusalem. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP that Ahmed Jaabis, 21, and Bassel Abidat, 19, were charged on Sunday with membership in ISIS.
He said they planned to carry out an attack in Jerusalem on Israeli independence day - which falls in April next year - when there are large public gatherings of Jews. A police statement said "concrete intelligence" directed undercover officers disguised as Arabs to homes in the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood Jerusalem where they arrested the men. The raid took place in October but was only publicized on Wednesday. "The accused are members of the ISIS terror organization," said the police statement, quoting from the charge sheet. "The accused discussed the possibility of carrying out murderous terror attacks at various sites in the city of Jerusalem or at army bases in the Jordan Valley area with the aim of killing as many Jews as possible in the name of ISIS," it added. They allegedly discussed acquiring firearms or, if that could not be done, of carrying out stabbings. Abidat was accused of trying to join ISIS forces in the Egyptian Sinai peninsula but the police said he was prevented from crossing the Jordan-Egypt border by Jordanian frontier guards. Dozens of suspects, mostly Israeli Arabs, have been arrested in recent years for allegedly fighting for extremist organizations abroad or for involvement in activities inspired by such groups. Israeli Arabs are the descendants of the Palestinians who remained on their land when Israel was founded in 1948, representing about 17.5% of nearly 9 million Israelis. Most Palestinians in Jerusalem hold a residency card.

Israeli Army Accuses Arrested Birzeit University Students of Plotting Attacks
Ramallah – Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 5 December, 2019
The Israel army, with the help of the Shin Bet, arrested a number of Hamas activists from the Palestinian Birzeit University who were allegedly recruited to gather intelligence information and conduct attacks that the military labeled as "sabotage," "The IDF, in cooperation with security forces, arrested a number of activists who were recruited for acts of sabotage. ... It was found that [their activities] were focused on gathering intelligence data on targets [that they were supposed to attack] and conduct sabotage operations, including producing explosive materials," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a statement Wednesday. He added that the recent arrest proved "how Hamas is using Birzeit University for subversive purposes."Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has been locked in a protracted on-and-off conflict with Israel, which continues to refuse to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity. In the past few months, the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, has repeatedly declared foiling attacks and arresting cells, as well as Iranian and Hamas spy networks. Last month, the Shin Bet revealed that it had foiled more than 450 “major operations” over the past year in the West Bank.
Shin Bet head Nadav Argaman told reporters that the agency maintains close cooperation with other Israeli apparatuses and counterparts worldwide.

Yemeni Deputy PM to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Await Implementation of Rest of Riyadh Accord
Riyadh - Abdulhadi Habtor/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 5 December, 2019
A senior Yemeni official said that construction, development and reconstruction efforts are ongoing in liberated areas, taking place at a strong and accelerated pace about a month after the signing of the Riyadh Agreement between the internationally-recognized government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC). “Things are going well in the liberated areas, especially Hadramout governorate,” Salem Al Khanbashi, Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister, told Asharq Al-Awsat. "Things are going well in Hadramout. Stable security, development, construction and reconstruction are going strong and we have launched a lot of different projects," Khanbashi said. Asked about new developments regarding the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement, he replied: “We are waiting about the implementation of the rest of the items in the coming days. Things will come. We are optimistic.”
“We have had many visits to government buildings with the governor of Hadramout and opened many service and development projects that will improve people's lives,” the official said, pointing out to the restoration of centers and headquarters destroyed by al-Qaeda back in 2015.
Khanbashi also referred to the reopening of Al-Rayyan International Airport, located in Hadramout’s capital, Mukalla, after nearly five years of being shuttered by war and terrorism. He noted that the number of flights will increase to facilitate the travel of Yemenis and their return from abroad.
The first Yemeni flight landed at the airport last week and was inbound from Cairo, Egypt, carrying dozens of Yemeni passengers.

Haftar Slams Maritime Agreement between Turkey, GNA, Urges UN Intervention
Cairo, Ankara – Khaled Mahmoud, Mohammed Nabil Helmi and Saeed Abdulrazek/Thursday, 5 December, 2019
He urged the United Nations Security Council to intervene to “confront and thwart Turkish plots that are aimed at restoring its destructive influence in the region.” In a statement, he described the GNA as “brain dead”, saying it does not enjoy the mandate to sign such agreements, therefore, rendering them null and void. Moreover, he deemed the Turkey-GNA accord as an “act of aggression that threatens international peace and security and marine navigation”. “Turkey has become a direct threat to the interests of the Libyan people,” Haftar warned. Meanwhile, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez announced Wednesday that Ankara will soon begin oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, in line with the deal signed with the GNA. The accord has thwarted attempts to eliminate Turkey from the eastern Mediterranean, he added, stressing that it adheres to international maritime law.
The accord between Turkey and the GNA, which mapped out a sea area between the two countries, was signed on November 27. It has drawn criticism from Egypt, Tunisia, Greece, Cyprus and Europe. Egypt dismissed the deal as “illegal” as did Cyprus, while Greece has said any such accord would be geographically absurd because it ignored the presence of the Greek island of Crete between the coasts of Turkey and Libya. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry kicked off on Wednesday a visit to Italy to attend a forum on the Mediterranean.
Egyptian experts and diplomats told Asharq Al-Awsat that the minister will discuss the latest Turkish escalation at the event. Former aide to the Egyptian foreign minister Hussein Hreidy told Asharq Al-Awsat that Turkey’s attempt to explore oil and gas in Egypt’s territorial waters would be deemed a violation against the country. Cairo will take the necessary measures in line with the UN Charter to counter such a move, he stated. The accord between Turkey and the GNA must be approved by parliament and presented to the UN, he continued.

US to Exchange Ambassadors with Sudan, Ending 23-Year Gap
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 4 December, 2019
The United States and Sudan plan to begin exchanging ambassadors again after a 23-year gap, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday in the latest sign of warming relations between the two countries. Relations between Washington and Khartoum have improved since the overthrow in April of then-President Omar al-Bashir and the formation of a civilian transitional government in August. The announcement that the two countries would begin the process of exchanging ambassadors again came during Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's first visit to Washington on Wednesday. "This decision is a meaningful step forward in strengthening the US-Sudan bilateral relationship, particularly as the civilian-led transitional government works to implement the vast reforms under the political agreement and constitutional declaration of August 17, 2019," Pompeo said in a statement praising Hamdok. Hamdok has "demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with armed opposition groups, established a commission of inquiry to investigate violence against protestors, and committed to holding democratic elections at the end of the 39-month transition period," Pompeo said.
Hamdok, a British-educated former diplomat and UN official, is the first Sudanese leader to visit Washington since 1985. However, he had a low-key welcome, meeting the State Department number-three, David Hale, as well as lawmakers. Both Pompeo and President Donald Trump were away on foreign travel. Washington and Khartoum had been at odds for decades. The US government added Sudan to its list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1993 over allegations that Bashir's government was supporting terrorist groups, a designation that makes Sudan technically ineligible for debt relief and financing from the IMF and World Bank. But last month, a senior State Department official said Washington may remove Sudan from the list and that the two countries no longer have an adversarial relationship. US officials, while voicing sympathy for Sudan's appeals, say that removal is a legal process that will take time. Congress needs to approve such a removal. Months of demonstrations over price hikes for fuel and bread and cash shortages led to an uprising against Bashir, who was toppled by the military in April. Sudan's transitional government was formed in August and it agreed with the United States that it could start engaging with international institutions while still on a list of countries deemed sponsors of terrorism.

Pompeo brings Iran pressure campaign to Morocco as US mulls Middle East troop boost
The National/December 05/2019
Pentagon officials said between 5,000 and 7,000 additional troops could head to the region
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita meets with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his visit to Rabat, Morocco on Thursday. Reuters
The United States and Morocco discussed efforts to isolate Iran, officials said, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo paid a visit to the kingdom on Thursday. Mr Pompeo had been due to have an audience with King Mohammed VI but the meeting was dropped, apparently after the top US diplomat extended a visit to Lisbon to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But Mr Pompeo, the highest-ranking US official to visit Morocco since the election of President Donald Trump, said he saw progress on his half-day visit.
"We have a great relationship between our two countries," Mr Pompeo said. "We make our people safer in each of our two countries."
Mr Pompeo met his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita to discuss the "threat" posed by Iran's attempts to "broaden its regional influence", as well as the conflicts in Libya and unrest across the Sahel region, Mr Bourita said in a statement. Both Morocco and the United States have had tense relations with Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution toppled the pro-Western shah, who was close to the palace in Rabat. The high-level meeting came as the US said it was considering deploying fresh forces to counter Iran, with an official saying some 5,000 to 7,000 troops could head to the region.
Testifying before Congress, John Rood, the under secretary of defence for policy, said that the United States was "observing Iran's behaviour with concern". "We're continuing to look at that threat picture and have the ability to dynamically adjust our force posture," Mr Rood told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
A US official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Defence Secretary Mark Esper was considering plans to move between 5,000 and 7,000 troops to the Middle East. The official did not confirm where the troops would be sent, or in what timeframe, but said that the deployment would be due to frustrations with Iranian-linked groups' attacks on US assets.Under questioning, Mr Rood denied a report by The Wall Street Journal that the United States was considering sending 14,000 more troops - equivalent to the number sent over the past six months. Mr Esper also denied the 14,000 figure in a phone call with Senator Jim Inhofe, the chairman of the committee, Pentagon spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said. Tensions between Iran and the US have risen sharply since President Trump last year pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal and imposed sweeping sanctions, including trying to block all its oil exports.
In September, the United States said Iran was responsible for attacks on the major Abqaiq oil processing centre in Saudi Arabia.
The United States has also been alarmed by an uptick in attacks on bases in Iraq, where major demonstrations triggered by economic discontent have also targeted Iran's clerical regime and its overwhelming influence in its Shiite-majority neighbour. "We're lucky no one has been killed. There is a spike in rocket attacks," another US official said. "It's clearly not ISIS. Everything is going in the right direction and it's the right range," the official said, contrasting Iranian capabilities with those of the extremist group. Among the incidents, five rockets hit the Al Asad Air Base on Tuesday, just four days after US Vice President Mike Pence visited US troops there. And on Thursday, two mortar shells landed inside Iraq’s Balad air base, which hosts US forces and contractors. No casualties were reported from the attack on the base, located about 80km north of Baghdad. Iran denied involvement in the September attack on Saudi oil facilities, which was claimed by Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi rebels. The heightened tensions come as Iran itself has faced major protests, set off by a sharp hike in gas prices.

Trump Says Iran Crackdown 'Brutal' and 'Horrible'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 05/2019
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday called a crackdown on demonstrations in Iran "brutal" and said the United States would react "strongly" to any threat from Iran to its interests in the region. "They're killing a lot of people and they're arresting thousands of their own citizens in a brutal crackdown," Trump said at a meeting with U.N. diplomats at the White House. Calling it a "horrible situation," Trump warned that any new threat from Iran "will be met very strongly."

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 05-06/2019
Iranians Have Broken Barrier of Fear with their Protests
Huda al-Husseini/Asharq Al Awsat/December 05/2019
The Iranian protests’ most important achievement is that it let the regime know that the barrier of fear has been broken. These sporadic protests first started in Iraq, spread to Lebanon and led to the prime ministers in both countries resigning. It then reached the streets of Tehran with vigor.
A decision taken by three municipalities around three weeks ago to raise the price of one liter of fuel by 5,000 rials and to institute a monthly ration system for fuel, pushed tens of thousands of Iranians to take to the streets. These widespread and spontaneous protests that were first considered financial protests quickly turned into protests against the regime that invests Iranian money to consecrate Iran’s regional influence at the expense of their people.
Last week, Hezbollah in Lebanon spread videos on social media of their members, counting the millions of dollars that reached them from Iran, estimated at around 75 million. They also circulated a video of one of their members driving a car full of dollars with a photo of the Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on the windscreen of the car, listening to a pro-Iran Iraqi song. Nasrallah had said in one of his speeches that the dollar crisis in Lebanon would not impact his fighters, as Iran is a bank that does not go bankrupt, and consequently, Hezbollah will not suffer financially at all. It is not unusual that the most prominent chant in the Iranian protests was “Death to the dictator,” and this worried the regime even more.
The protests broke out in dozens of cities across Iran, including the main cities, Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan. The protesters were armed with frustration with the previously failed demonstrations, attacking security forces, blocking streets and burning hundreds of gas stations, banks, Basij bases, religious teaching centers and the photos of senior officials in the regime. This despair, frustration, and a deep hatred for the regime that was expressed by Iranians fueled the protests and made them more substantial and extensive.
According to several news agencies, around 100,000 people took part in the protests, and despite that, the level of violence that they faced exceeded that which they met during the 2018 protests. This made these protests the most important and widespread since 2009. It appears as if the more prepared the Iranian people become to overthrow the regime, the more violent and extreme in suppressing the protests and demonstrations the regime becomes, whatever the cost. Whenever the protests escalate, the regime tries to appease the people.
However, actions speak larger than words. As is usual for any dictatorship that claims not to see what is happening on the street, President Hassan Rouhani announced that the Iranian nation has been able to overcome the challenge set by the protests and a government spokesperson told Iranians that the rise in fuel prices would not be approved until March 2020.
During the days that followed, the tone changed. Regime officials started making public statements about the gruesomeness of what was going on and the danger it posed on the regime. In reality, there were reports that the prices of bread and milk would rise very soon, and the prospects of deteriorating economic situation in Iran did not look good.
Whether new economic policies were imposed or not, and whether the protests did pose a real threat to the regime or not, something has definitely changed in Iranian society. The barrier of fear was broken. The wall that forces one to control oneself from joining civil demonstrations has now been broken, The readiness of Iranian people to clash with security forces means one thing: They are no longer afraid of taking to the streets.
A regime taking exceptional measures, such as open fire, is usually reserved for very severe events. Security forces were deployed all over the country, including Revolutionary Guards, who led the operations alongside the security forces, the internal security forces, the Basij and the Ministry of Interior. Seven thousand people were detained as part of efforts to suppress the demonstrations, and several aspects of daily life were affected, including shutting down schools and universities, postponing sports events, shutting down the metro lines and imposing a curfew.
An internet and telephone blackout was also imposed to make organizing protesters more difficult. This was a measure of last resort, taken despite the repercussions to its public image and damage it had on the economy. Also, even after the government claimed that it had lifted the internet ban, many Iranians said that access was minimal, especially for websites and telecommunication networks. Despite this extreme measure being criticized by many, including an official objection by 11 members of the Consultative Assembly, the internet ban was crucial to allowing the regime to suppress the demonstrations in just one week.
The Iranian people, nevertheless, continued to voice their battle cry. Video clips and images of protesters found their way to the world and informed it of how widespread the protests against the regime were and the violence they were met with. Amnesty International announced that 143 protesters were killed during the protests but did not talk about the mass murder in Mahshahr, where the Revolutionary Guards surrounded the area and killed between 40 and 100 peaceful demonstrators that had taken refuge in a sugar cane plantation. It is said that the bodies were burned.
The regime tried to downplay the number of people killed, but a high-ranking Iranian official in the Ministry of Interior confirmed the death of 218 people. While the demonstrations did not spiral out of control, the large number of casualties may be an indication that the security forces were surprised by the severity of the events and the extent of the rage on the street.
The protests may have receded, but neither the regime nor the people should undermine the importance of this public uprising. The rage that was expressed in these recent events indicates that the Iranian people are growing more and more repulsed by the regime, even if the latter found crooked solutions to quell the general frustration. The truth is, it is impossible for there to be a real economic solution, or a way to improve quality of life, as long as Iran continues to use Qasem Soleimani’s Quds Force to consecrate its influence in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon.
Although, its behavior during the last few years indicates the regime may have begun to understand the current sensitivities of the people, it may try to preserve its strong image to prevent demonstrators, even when it is actually weaker than it appears. This will push people to take to the streets again and to wage a war of endurance against the regime. Although Iranians have started to realize that there will be no peace in Iran or the Middle East if the illegitimate regime that occupies their country is not overthrown, it is not clear who will prevail.

A European Army? It’ll Never Happen
Andreas Kluth/Bloomberg/December 05/2019
As NATO allies gather near London, existential questions hover in the air above the swanky Grove Hotel: How long will we be around as an alliance? Do we still look united enough to deter aggressors? And can a “European army” spring up to supplement, perhaps even replace, our transatlantic league?
The short answer to that last question is no. Tragically, there won’t be a European army soon, or ever. European leaders should admit that honestly, and all members the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, above all the Americans, should accept that they’d better do their level best to dispel doubts about the alliance. The reality is that, for the foreseeable future, NATO is the only credible military shield Europe has.
The main culprit for this new anxiety is of course US President Donald Trump, whose “transactional” attitude toward NATO has spooked Europeans. He’s right to criticize cheapskates such as Germany for skimping on their military spending. But he’s irresponsible to imply that America’s commitment to Article 5 — which states that an attack against one member state is an attack against all — may be conditional. The main purpose of alliances is deterrence, and that requires unconditional assurances.
A second culprit, if you ask central Europeans, is French President Emmanuel Macron. It was his recent musing about NATO’s “brain death” and the brittleness of Article 5 that caused the current hand-wringing. That’s not because he said something wrong. It’s because, as French president, he shouldn’t have spoken so clearly. That’s certainly what German Chancellor Angela Merkel seems to feel. She even told Macron that she’s sick of having “to glue together the cups you have broken so that we can then sit down and have a cup of tea together.” Strong tea for a pair that prefers to be seen cuddling.
And yet Merkel, like Macron, is also on record calling for Europeans to wean themselves from the US by creating “a real, true European army.” Those two ideas go together: The only theoretical answer to less American protection is more European self-defense.
That dream is as old as the European project. There were plans for a European army in 1952, drawn up by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. This was before postwar Germany was allowed to have soldiers again. West Germany’s parliament ratified the idea, but France’s nixed it, which led to the founding of a West German army in 1955, embedded into NATO. European integration followed an economic rather than a military path.
The complications that caused that stillbirth linger. The nations in what is now the European Union still care about their sovereignty, which is expressed above all in the decision to send young soldiers into harm’s way. They also have different interests. The French are busy in their former African colonies. The Poles and Balts feel most threatened by Russia. Germany, caring not a whit about all that, is merrily building itself a second gas pipeline to Russia, circumventing the eastern EU.
Member states also have dissonant historical traditions, which make integration into one command hierarchy almost impossible. Postcolonial France considers military action a legitimate tool of foreign policy, and its president has ample powers to direct its army. Germany, still atoning for World War II, disavows military interventionism. Unlike France, it has a “parliamentary army,” which must get explicit approval from the Bundestag to do anything. Would a French president patiently wait for the German legislature before deciding whether to shoot at little green men speaking Russian in an Estonian forest? Would 27 states cede that decision to Brussels?
The fundamental problem, as Jan Techau of the German Marshall Fund puts it, is distrust: The French and Germans don’t fully trust each other, the Italians trust neither of them, the Germans don’t even trust themselves, Warsaw distrusts Berlin, Bucharest and Budapest distrust each other, people in the Balkans don’t trust anybody, and so forth. That’s why Macron is seen in central Europe as a neo-Gaullist. When he talks about “strategic autonomy” or “European sovereignty,” he seems mainly to be eager for France, the EU’s only nuclear power after Brexit, to lead Europe, snubbing its nose at the US and accommodating Russia. To advance that vision, he’s sponsored a fledgling alliance called the “European Intervention Initiative,” which is part of neither NATO nor the EU. Needless to say, the EU’s eastern members would much prefer to keep relying on the US.
All this helps explain why the EU’s new push for a “defense union” is not actually about integrating armies, but about creating a common market for weapons procurement. How very European. Exhibit A is a European Defense Fund, which will have 13 billion euros ($14.3 billion) to plow into weapons research. Exhibit B is a bureaucracy called PESCO, which aims to coordinate building and buying corvettes, helicopters, drones, and the like across the EU.
A common defense market is a good idea. But confusing markets with might is exactly the sort of pusillanimity that drives Macron crazy, and amuses Russian President Vladimir Putin. The biggest danger is that it might one day also tempt Putin or his ilk to test the West. They wouldn’t need to launch an all-out strike; a good dose of hybrid warfare might suffice to divide Europe. That, at least, is the upshot of scenario games now being played by think tanks. For the sake of peace, let everyone in the Grove Hotel this week remember what’s at stake.

Iran reinforces Bushehr, Abu Musa, as Netanyahu & Pompeo talk in Lisbon
DEBKAfile/December 05/2019
Iran has poured reinforcements armed with missiles and air defense weapons into Bushehr on its central Gulf shore and the offshore island of Abu Musa, DEBKAfile’s military sources report. In Lisbon, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, Dec. 4, discussed the threats coming from Iran, as US officials reported increasing intelligence of potential Iranian aggression.
Addressing reporters, Pompeo hailed US-Israeli bipartisan relationship against Iran’s “destabilizing influence in the region,” while Netanyahu noted: “Iran is increasing its aggression as we speak. We are actively engaged in encountering that aggression,” he said.
As they spoke, unidentified aircraft struck a large Iranian weapons depot and base holding forces of the Revolutionary Guards’ Al Qods, Iraqi militias and Hizballah, near the Syrian-Iraqi border town of Abu Kamal. The nearby border crossing serves Tehran as a land corridor for transporting advanced weapons to Hizballah and other allies. Foreign sources report that this base has been repeatedly attacked by Israel in the past.
Our military sources note it just so happens that whenever the Israeli prime minister an US Secretary of State get together, an Iranian military target is usually is attacked either before, during or after their meeting.
Another of Iran’s arms routes to its proxies ran into trouble on Wednesday, when a US Navy destroyer for the first time intercepted a stateless ship in the Gulf of Oman found to be carrying a “significant amount of advanced missile components,” evidently being smuggled from Iran to the Yemeni Houthi insurgents. Tehran halted those consignments some months ago, our sources reported; this incident indicates they have been resumed.
At the same time, DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose Iran is heavily ramping up its military strength at Bushehr on its Gulf coast, including a large supply of ballistic missiles – in apparent expectation of an American attack or counterattack. Last week, the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group entered the Gulf from the Arabian Sea and docked at Bahrain opposite central Iran.
Also reinforced in the last few days is the strategic Iranian island of Abu Musa, the site of a large IRGC military command post. This island is situated opposite the United Arab Emirates and the Strait of Hormuz. The reinforcements had come with large array of missiles, including sea-to-sea, surface and air defense batteries. US intelligence officials also refer to “a possible Iranian arsenal” in Iraq (as DEBKAfile has more than once reported). It was said to contain short-range missiles with a range of nearly 1,000km, close enough to reach Israel from Baghdad’s outskirts.
US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy John Rood said on Wednesday that there are indications that Iranian “aggression” could take place in the future amid “aggravating relations between Tehran and Washington.” Other US officials spoke of “consistent intelligence in several weeks” indicating a possible Iranian threat against US forces and interests in the Middle East. They referred to movements of Iranian troops and weapons that “could be put in place for a potential attack if ordered by the regime.”

Macron’s wake-up call to the US
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/December 05/2019
US President Donald Trump clashed with his French counterpart Emanuel Macron during the NATO summit in the UK this week. Macron described the alliance as “brain dead” last month because of the US’ lack of commitment. Trump replied that the French president’s comments were nasty and that he has been “very disrespectful,” but Macron stood by his words.
Though Macron’s words may have been harsh on the White House as the US still portrays itself as the world’s superpower, the reality is that America is not acting as such. The US is facing a difficult trade-off: It wants to keep its leading role in the world, yet — at the same time — it seeks to disengage from world affairs. Trump has adopted the Ronald Reagan slogan “Make America Great Again.” Nevertheless, unlike Reagan, who pursued an active, even an interventionist, foreign policy, the current administration has a very hands-off approach. The main question is how America can be “great” or “first” if it is less engaged and less relevant in world affairs.
The hands-off approach started with the previous administration. The pillars of US foreign policy, such as its role in the Middle East, seemed shaky. Barack Obama declared that he was more interested in middle-class America then in the Middle East. The current trend is to disengage. Though the Trump administration is conducting the disengagement in an abrasive manner, this policy is only a continuation of the previous administration. This approach might look very logical: It is better for the administration to focus on domestic issues and it is better for the US to put its own house in order instead of trying to put other countries’ houses in order. However, in the real world, this logic does not play out. The prosperity the US enjoys comes, in large part, from its relations with the world. The oil concessions and arms deals the US signed were granted for economic as well as for geopolitical reasons.
The US wants to position itself as a superpower, yet at the same time it wants minimum engagement with the world. There is a duality between the US’ behavior and the appearance it wants to project
We see the US wanting to maintain the image of supremacy and leadership without really exercising it. On the military front, the current administration has invested heavily. It has dedicated a budget of $738 billionfor 2020, even as it is disengaging from the world militarily. In Syria, it left the northeast as a playing field for the Russians, the Turks and the Assad regime. Trump says he wanted to bring those “boys” back home, referring to American soldiers. But bring them home to do what? The soldiers in the US military chose the military as their career. They seek to deploy to advance professionally. In this case, the US seeks to promote its image as a military superpower, but in practice it is not acting as one.
This duality is shaking allies’ confidence in the US. How can it maintain its alliances if it is not perceived as reliable? How can the US be trusted if it is no longer available to come to its partners’ aid when they need it? Macron’s “brain dead” comment did not come out of nowhere. It came as a result of European frustration with American isolationism.
The US wants to position itself as a superpower, yet at the same time it wants minimum engagement with the world.
In addition to this duality, America’s allies do not see an overall strategy binding Washington’s foreign policy. The perceived lack of strategy and the adoption of transactional foreign policies do not inspire trust and push allies to hedge their bets. The Arab Gulf, for example, has been seeking to diversify its pool of alliances by looking into deepening relations with Russia and China. In recent years, China and the Arab Gulf states have exchanged several high-profile state visits and increased bilateral trade and strategic cooperation. Billion dollar deals are being awarded to the Chinese, including a $28 billioncooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. As for Russia, the Gulf seems to be happy to embrace its influence. During Vladimir Putin’s visit to the region in October, cooperation agreements valued at $2 billion in Saudi Arabia and $1.3 billionin the UAE were signed. Russian company Lukoil was also awarded a 5 percent stake in Abu Dhabi’s Ghasha gas field. This is the first time a Russian company has gained an upstream contract in the UAE. The Trump administration is accusing the current world order of not benefiting the US. However, an alternative world order headed by its competitors would definitely not benefit America.
Trump should not feel offended by Macron’s remarks; they were not insulting or disrespectful, but merely a wake-up call. The US needs to make strategic choices. If it wants to maintain its leading position, it has to pay a price. It has to be in the game for the long run; it needs to think strategically. On the other hand, the US can always choose to be like Canada — a country whose citizens enjoy high standards of living; in fact the bestin the world in terms of quality of life. However, Canada has no influence over world affairs. It does not claim world leadership or seek it. What will be the US’ choice? As events unfold and as America’s competitors cooperate and collude to weaken it, the US will soon have to make this hard choice.
*Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She holds a PhD in politics from the University of Exeter and is an affiliated scholar with the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut.

European nations empowering Iran’s malign activities
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/December 05/2019
European nations are stepping up their efforts to appease the Iranian leaders. Last week, six more countries — Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden — declaredin a joint statement that they would be joining the mechanism called the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX).
INSTEX was set up by three European governments — Germany, France and the UK — with the main objective being to help the Islamic Republic and the EU bypass sanctions imposed by the US Department of the Treasury on the Iranian regime. The US sanctions target a wide range of Iran’s industries and sectors, including the banking system, oil exports and currency transactions.
The EU’s policy toward the Islamic Republic is misinformed and could bring about severe repercussions for several reasons. First of all, European leaders, who seem to never tire of sanctimoniously posturing on behalf of human rights, are now pursuing appeasement policies with a government that has recently carried out a violent crackdown against its own people. More than 100 were killed and thousands arrested in the wake of widespread protests last month.
Several Europe-based human rights groups even told the EU and the international community of the lethal force the Iranian regime has been deploying against civilians. For example, Amnesty International stated: “Verified video footage, eyewitness testimony from people on the ground and information gathered from human rights activists outside Iran reveal a harrowing pattern of unlawful killings by Iranian security forces, which have used excessive and lethal force to crush largely peaceful protests in more than 100 cities across Iran.”
It has become the regime’s modus operandi to resort to the most violent methods available — such as shooting at demonstrators — once protests erupt. This was also documented by Amnesty, whose regional research and advocacy director Philip Luther warned: “The frequency and persistence of lethal force used against peaceful protesters in these and previous mass protests, as well as the systematic impunity for security forces who kill protesters, raise serious fears that the intentional lethal use of firearms to crush protests has become a matter of state policy.”
By appeasing the Islamic Republic right after the regime brutally cracked down on protesters, the EU is empowering and emboldening Iran’s leaders. The European nations are sending a message to Tehran that there will be no consequences or punishment for the regime’s egregious human rights violations.
Secondly, aside from disregarding the regime’s suppressive domestic policy, the EU also appears to be turning a blind eye to Iran’s malignant foreign policy. The Iranian regime continues its efforts to smuggleweapons and providemilitary, financial, intelligence and advisory assistance to proxies such as the Houthis, Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite militias, Kata’ib Hezbollah, Hamas and other designated terrorist groups.
Where does the extra revenue that the EU is attempting to provide to Tehran through trade go? One thing is clear: Tehran spendsabout a billion dollars a year on arming and training these militant groups, which serve Iran’s interests outside of its borders. This sum has contributed to a greater capability for Houthi rocket launches at civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, the deploymentof thousands of Hezbollah foot soldiers in Syria, and the regular bombardment of southern Israel with Hamas rockets bankrolled by Iran.
Finally, by joining INSTEX the European nations are disregarding Tehran’s nuclear defiance. Iran has recently become more aggressive in pursuing its nuclear ambitions, as it has breachedthe 300-kilogram limit on enriched uranium, spun more centrifuges and enriched uranium at a higher level, among several other actions. These moves are a blatant violation of the 2015 nuclear deal and are contrary to the shared international desire — except for the ruling mullahs of Iran — to de-escalate regional tensions.
By appeasing the Islamic Republic right after the regime brutally cracked down on protesters, the EU is empowering and emboldening Iran’s leaders.
It comes as a shock that, although Iran has clearly breached the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmedas much, the response from Europe is more appeasement. Federica Mogherini, the former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, in June reiterated that the EU’s focus remainedto “keep the agreement in place.”
This development is exactly what the Iranian regime was hoping for. Tehran has been blackmailingthe EU to provide it with the financial means that would enable it to skirt the US sanctions. Before the latest batch of European nations joined INSTEX, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatenedthat, if the EU did not assist his government, it would further violate the terms of the nuclear deal. Rouhani stated: “If Europeans can purchase our oil or pre-purchase it and we can have access to our money, that will ease the situation and we can fully implement the deal... otherwise we will take our third step.”
By joining INSTEX, European countries are enriching and empowering the Iranian regime to brutally suppress its population and more forcefully continue its terror activities abroad.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Europe must act as though NATO is already dead
Joschka Fischer/Arab News/December 05/2019
Despite having been written off numerous times, NATO survives. But another fox has entered the hen house, and it has met with the typical European response to danger: Furious cackling and an explosion of feathers.
The fox in question is French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently describedNATO as experiencing a kind of “brain death.” One need not approve of that choice of words — or of Macron’s new passion for dialoguewith Russian President Vladimir Putin (I, for one, do not) — to recognize the thrust of his argument. A profound change in US strategic priorities under President Donald Trump demands that Europeans revisit long-held assumptions about their collective defense.
This is not the first time that NATO has seemed to be on its last legs. Many had arrived at the same conclusion before 2014, when the alliance had little to focus on beyond the mission in Afghanistan. When Russia annexed Crimea and brought war to Eastern Ukraine, it breathed new life into NATO.
Then came Trump, whose administration has pulled the rug out from under Europe’s feet, abandoned American leadership within the rules-based international system, and pursued a nationalist, protectionist and unilateralist foreign policy. Trump has declaredNATO “obsolete.”
The result is that Europe must fend for itself for the first time since the end of the Second World War. Yet, after so many years of strategic dependence on the US, Europe is unprepared — not just materially but psychologically — for today’s harsh geopolitical realities. Nowhere is this truer than in Germany.
NATO’s future is more uncertain now than at any time in its history. Immediately after 1989, few doubted that the alliance would still be around 20 years later. Today, however, questions about its future emanate from not just Washington, but Paris too. NATO’s survival can no longer be taken for granted, and Europeans cannot wait 20 years to figure out what should come after it.
Between America’s nationalist turn, China’s growing assertiveness and the ongoing digital revolution, Europe has no choice but to become a power in its own right. In this respect, Macron has hit the nail on the head. But Europeans should not harbor any illusions about what defense autonomy will require. For the EU, which has only ever seen itself as an economic rather than a military power, it implies a deep rupture with the status quo.
To be sure, NATO still exists and there are still US troops deployed in Europe. But the operative word is “still.” Now that traditional institutions and transatlantic security commitments have been cast into doubt, the alliance’s unraveling has become less a matter of “if” and more of “when.” When will Trump finally decide that it’s time to call the whole thing off? For Europeans, it would be the height of folly to sit back and wait for the fateful tweet to arrive.
Macron understands this, whereas Germany, in typical fashion, is paying mere lip service to its old commitments, promising to increase its defense spending but making little real headway. Macron understands that the rupture in Europe’s defense following a withdrawal of US troops would be far more severe than many seem to expect. It would unfold not as some gradual, barely noticeable transition, but as a sudden break.
If Europe wants to prevent or at least delay that outcome, it must make substantial investments in its military and expand its own capabilities on a massive scale. In other words, it must act as if the break has already happened.
For Europeans, it would be the height of folly to sit back and wait for the fateful tweet to arrive.
For much of its modern history, Europe has had to deal with two challenges: A turbulent center (Germany) and an unprotected eastern flank (Russia and now China), which has always been open in geopolitical terms. Since its founding, NATO has served as a solution to both of these problems.
As one looks farther east within NATO and the EU, one encounters ever-greater security fears among member states. This is not surprising, given these countries’ geographic proximity to Russia and long history of being on the receiving end of Russian imperialism, manifested most recently in Russia’s armed annexation of Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine. For these countries — starting with Poland and the Baltic states — America’s integration in European defense through NATO is indispensable.
Given the geopolitical risks on Europe’s eastern flank, NATO provides a necessary form of insurance and even fosters solidarity and unity within the EU by requiring that each member contributes its fair share to the greater good. Trump’s nationalist shift under the slogan of “America First” has suddenly forced Europe to confront the question of its own sovereignty, which means becoming an independent technological power with the ability to act decisively as a united front. The EU never would have done so of its own volition. Trump, whatever his intent, is forcing Europe to reinvent itself. To preserve NATO, the EU must act as if the alliance was already gone.
*Joschka Fischer, Germany’s foreign minister and vice chancellor from 1998 to 2005, was a leader of the German Green Party for almost 20 years. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2019