LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 08/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
If God is for us, who can be against us? He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things
Romans 08/28-38/:”28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.‡ Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified. What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things? Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Even as it is written, “For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 07-08/2019
Israel Says Found New Hizbullah Tunnel on Border
Berri Says His Bloc to Vote for Khatib
'Laugh at What's Hurting You': Lebanon Cartoonists Stir Debate
Lebanon protesters launch campaign against harassment
Hariri Asks More Nations to Help Fight Economic Crisis
Lebanon: Khatib to Be Named PM, Difficulties to Face Cabinet Birth
Batroun civic movement inaugurates the "Revolutionists' House" on the highway's western route
Man attempts suicide at Riad El Solh Square
Mouawad says he will name Nawwaf Salam for Premiership
Hasbani: We still rely on the right decision by the President of the Republic
Jumblatt marking his late father's birth anniversary: We will not enter a government that has overthrown the constitutional foundations
Alain Aoun: There are differences in opinions within the Bloc in terms of naming alKhatib
Two nuns released following arrest for alleged children trafficking
Lebanon´s Journalists Suffer Abuse, Threats in Covering Unrest

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 07-08/2019
Defense Secretary: US Military Has Enough Capability in Mideast for Now
Iraq Death Toll Rises as Armed Drone Targets Sadr’s Home
Iraq Protesters Turn Out in Defiance after Baghdad Attack
Armed Drone Targets Home of Iraq Cleric Sadr
US Says it Has ‘Other Tools' to Stop Iran's ‘Malicious Behavior’
European Powers Delay Sanctions Blow to Iran
Airstrikes Kill at Least 19 Civilians in Northwest Syria: Monitor
Egypt Calls for ‘Firm Collective Procedures’ to Combat ‘Terrorist Groups’
US ends non-response for Iranian attacks. Iran deploys Bavar-373 missiles in Syria

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 07-08/2019
Lebanon PM widens plea to secure food imports/Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 07/2019
Milking Iraq and Lebanon for Iran’s Benefit/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 07/2019
Lebanon and the Monster of Bankruptcy/Rajeh Khoury/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 07/2019
NAYA| Speak up, survivors, it’s time/Fatima Dia/Annahar/December 07/2019
Rafik Hariri's biggest legacy: giving Lebanese protesters courage/Michael Karam/The National/December 07/2019
Beirut Chants Festival: A revolutionary Christmas concert/Sandra Abdelbaki/Annahar/December 07/2019
*US ends non-response for Iranian attacks. Iran deploys Bavar-373 missiles in Syria/DEBKAfile/December 07/2019
Impeaching Trump for Obstructing Congress Would Harm Checks and Balances/Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/December 07/2019
Bread and Personal Freedoms/Amel Moussa/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 07/2019
The challenge of non-state actors and stand-off weapons/Timothy Wright/IISS/December 07/2019
1,000 Iranians killed: when will the world finally take a stance against Tehran?/The National/December 07/2019
Why NATO is a long way from being obsolete/Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/December 07/2019
‘Get Brexit Done’ is just more misleading Boris bluster/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/December 07/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 07-08/2019
Israel Says Found New Hizbullah Tunnel on Border
Naharnet/December 07/2019
The Israeli army said it found a new cross-border tunnel dug by Hizbullah on the Lebanese-Israeli border, noting that the party had “strengthened its presence along the border area a year after discovering a network of its tunnels,” media reports said on Saturday. Israeli official Roy Levy, the Northern Border Brigade commander, was quoted as saying that “the tunnel goes as deep as 18 meters and approximately one kilometer long.”Levy said the tunnel inside has “electricity, rooms and water,” noting its depth is equivalent to the length of a building consisting of 20 floors.”

Berri Says His Bloc to Vote for Khatib
Naharnet/December 07/2019
Speaker Nabih Berri asserted the need for an “emergency” government to help Lebanon out of the crisis, noting that his Liberation and Development Parliamentary Bloc will vote for the leading candidate for the post of Prime Minister, Samir Khatib, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.
“I was initially set to name PM Saad Hariri or any figure he supports to lead the new government. But since he backs engineer Samir Khatib, my bloc and I will name Khatib,” at the binding parliamentary consultations with the President, Berri told the daily. “The real rescue for Lebanon takes place through the civil state,” added the Speaker. He also affirmed determination of the Parliament to approve the 2020 state budget before Christmas, “the Finance and Budget committee is set to finish the budget draft no later than next week,” he said.

'Laugh at What's Hurting You': Lebanon Cartoonists Stir Debate
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 07/2019
On the edges of a protest in Lebanon's capital, 24-year-old cartoonist Mohamad Nohad Alameddine bites through sticky tape and plasters one of his political sketches to a side wall. "I haven't been able to work with newspapers, so instead I come down and stick them up in the street," says the unemployed artist, who graduated this year with a master's degree in press cartoons. Until this autumn, Alameddine had been poking fun at his country's political and economic ills in sketches he posted online. But from October 17, anti-government protests swept across the country, giving him a broader audience as protesters denounced the very same issues he had been drawing all along. In public spaces, he and friends stuck up gags about failing electricity and trash management plans, as well as sketches mocking a political class perceived as corrupt. In one cartoon, a skinny man stripped down to his underpants stands in front of a leader carried in on a gilded throne. "We want your underwear to pay back the debt," says the moustachioed politician, clutching a lit cigar. Now in the grips of a dollar liquidity crunch, Lebanon is staggering under a public debt of $86 billion. Wherever there was a protest, "I'd go down and stick up a related cartoon," says Alameddine, who signs his drawings as Nougature. "A lot of people encouraged me." In late October, the government stepped down, but a deeply divided political class has yet to form a new one.
Inspiration everywhere
Last month, Alameddine drew his same long-nosed politician clutching the leg of his throne. "Don't worry my love, I'd never leave you," says the character he has called President Nazeeh, dressed in a rabbit-themed pyjama onesie.
Alameddine says the fictional leader is his way of criticising the traditional ruling class without naming names. "President Nazeeh headed a militia in the civil war and then became a political figure" after the 1975-1990 conflict, he says.
"We see how he deals with people, what he does under the table, what he says in public, how he manages corruption rings -- but in a funny way," he says. "In the end you want to laugh at what's hurting you." On the other side of Beirut, 31-year-old Bernard Hage pens away at his digital drawing board, trying out his latest idea for a cartoon. He says he gladly swapped a career in advertising for the arts several years ago, including drawing a stream of jokes under the name The Art of Boo. In May, months before the anti-graft street movement, he drew a group of men in suits sitting in the lotus position in yoga class. "Very good. Now exhale, keep ignoring the crisis," their leotard-clad instructor says. Hage says inspiration is everywhere in Lebanon, "whether you're in a taxi, at the vegetable shop or at the barber."But the recent outburst of popular anger has amplified debate. "I found my place in the revolution," says the satirical artist, who regularly posts on social media and draws once a week for a local newspaper."My role is to keep the conversation going, shed light on issues."
Emigrate? -
To celebrate one month since the protests began, he drew a vision for the country 10 years from now, featuring "things we'd like to hear in the near future". On a page spread in French-language newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour, he imagined a world with smooth public transport and no daily electricity cuts. "Daddy, what's a dijoncteur?" one girl asks, using the French word for the circuit breaker that trips before power outages. A stick figure clings to a pole in a subway, as a voice overhead calls out the next stop in central Beirut. "Change here for line 1&4. Mind the gap," it says. To avoid offending anyone, Hage says he rarely names political leaders, and depicts them all across the board as besuited figures with little bellies poking out. "I discovered there's a big gap between my generation and my parents' generation," he says. "They lived through the war, saw death and were terrified by it -- and it's not easy for them to leave that behind," or call out their traditional leaders, he says. But he says it is time to put the younger generation in charge to fix the country's mounting woes -- a polluted environment, a crashing economy, and high youth unemployment. Otherwise, the cartoonist -- also a musician and occasional writer -- says he will follow his peers and emigrate. "I'm learning German because, if this doesn't work out, I will leave and not come back."

Lebanon protesters launch campaign against harassment
Zeina Khodr/Arab News/December 07/2019
As anti-establishment protesters call for an end to corruption, women too are fighting a system that they blame for sexual assaults.
Lebanese anti-political establishment protesters have been calling for an end to the sectarian power-sharing system, which they blame for corruption and mismanagement. Women too are fighting to change that system they say has been unjust to them. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Beirut, where the protest movement has given them a new platform to raise their voices against sectarian politics, harassment and sexual assaults.

Hariri Asks More Nations to Help Fight Economic Crisis
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 07/2019
Outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Saturday asked another group of foreign allies to secure credit lines for imports to aid Lebanon’s stricken economy, after sending a similar message a day earlier asking Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France, China, Russia, Italy and the United States. Hariri, in a statement issued by his media office, openly asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to help Lebanon secure credit lines for imports as part of his efforts to ease the liquidity crisis and secure food stuff and raw materials. Lebanon’s dollar-starved economy faces an import crisis after weeks of political and economic turmoil. The appeal was part of an effort "to address a liquidity crisis and secure basic imports" and was critical to preserving food security, the statement said. Since October 17, Lebanon has been rocked by anti-government protests that triggered a protracted lockdown and prompted the cabinet to resign. Political paralysis amid the ongoing demonstrations has aggravated a dollar liquidity crisis that since September has seen banks limit dollar withdrawals and transfers. With banks failing to provide sufficient dollars, the greenback is selling for more than 2,000 Lebanese pounds on the parallel market for the first time since it was officially pegged at 1,507 in 1997. Importers of fuel, medicines and wheat warn of shortages if the situation persists. Petrol station owners have already staged strikes, and hospitals have threatened to stop admitting patients, fuelling public panic. To ease the crisis, the central bank said in October it would facilitate access to dollars at the official rate for importers of fuel, wheat and medicine. Other sectors have struggled to obtain hard currency for imports however, with banks capping dollar withdrawals at $500 (450 euros) a week. President Michel Aoun said on Friday the economy and finance would be among the main priorities of the next government, which is yet to be appointed. The formation of a new cabinet, the embattled president said, would encourage donors to unlock an $11 billion (10 billion euro) aid package pledged at a conference dubbed CEDRE held in Paris in April 2018. Parliamentary consultations to select the cabinet are scheduled to start on Monday. Even before protests began, economic growth had stalled following repeated political deadlocks in recent years. The economic malaise was also compounded by the war in neighbouring Syria. Public debt has reached more than $86 billion, over 150 percent of GDP, according to the finance ministry. The World Bank has warned of an impending recession that may see the proportion of people living in poverty climb from a third to half the population. Unemployment, already above 30 per cent for young people, would also increase, it has said. In the span of a week over 60 companies notified the labour ministry of plans to lay off employees, caretaker minister Camille Abousleiman told LBC television on Friday. The union of restaurant and bar owners has said that 265 establishments have closed since the protests began in early October, and warned that this figure could rise to 465 by the end of the year.

Lebanon: Khatib to Be Named PM, Difficulties to Face Cabinet Birth
Beirut- Mohammed Shokair/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 7 December, 2019
The postponement of the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new prime minister until Monday has raised doubts over difficulties to form the upcoming cabinet, amid reports that the initial aim was to market for a new candidate, namely Beirut MP Fouad Makhzoumi.
The latter has held extensive talks in Beirut and headed on Saturday to Rome, where caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil is participating in an international conference. On the other hand, ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that businessman Samir Khatib remained the only consensual figure to form the new government, unless escalatory measures by protesters lead to the re-postponement of Monday’s consultations. The sources underlined that caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri would support the nomination of Khatib. They stressed that Hariri wanted “to get the country out of the vicious circle,” adding: “The major crises that Lebanon is going through are in need of a government that is able to provide solutions, even in stages, and that the extension of the caretaker government means taking the country into a deadly vacuum.”But Khatib’s appointment will not be as easy as it looks. Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s bloc insists on naming Hariri, while the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb parties reject any politically-impregnated government, out of their conviction that only a technocrat cabinet would meet the demands of the street and save the country from a further deterioration of the economic situation. Other parliamentary blocs and independents are yet to announce their position, while Taymour Jumblatt’s Democratic Gathering is likely to support Khatib, despite its implicit sympathy with the street movement. As for the Shiite duo, represented by Hezbollah and Amal movement, it would support the candidacy of Khatib, unless emerging developments before the completion of the consultations reshuffled the papers. The two parties would have preferred Hariri to assume the premiership, due to several considerations, including the good harmony between them under the caretaker government. However, the appointment of the new prime minister is only the first step in a much-complicated phase to agree on the new government lineup, in light of the protesters’ rejection of any “despised” figures and the premier’s ability to discard those persons.

Batroun civic movement inaugurates the "Revolutionists' House" on the highway's western route
NNA/December 07/2019
Participants in the protest movement in Batroun celebrated this evening the opening of the "House of the Revolutionists" in the Batroun area on the western route of the highway in Kafar-abida, with the aim of bringing Batroun back to the revolution map, as the "revolution fist" was raised in the presence of members of the Akkar civil movement. "It is the home of all and it is the house of education and knowledge," said Fadi Muzaya in his inaugural word, stating that daily meetings will take place in the evening between seven and ten o'clock, according to a schedule to be announced later. Journalist Asaad Bishara, in turn, called for a minute of silence for the lives of the martyrs of the October 17 Revolution, followed by brief words by Dr. Raymond Mitri and Economist Rock Mhanna that focused on the popular movement and its goals, in addition to the economic situation in Lebanon. The opening ceremony concluded with a series of national songs presented by artist Peter Boutros.

Man attempts suicide at Riad El Solh Square
NNA/December 07/2019
A man in his mid-fifties attempted to commit suicide at Riad al-Solh Square in Downtown Beirut this evening, by pouring gasoline on his body and then setting himself on fire, NNA correspondent reported. Protesters in the Square hurried to throw blankets on the man to save him, after which he was rushed by the Lebanese Red Cross to Geitaoui Hospital for medical treatment, where it was reported that he suffered moderate burns to his legs. The man was threatening since the morning hours to burn himself, until he decided to carry out his threat this evening, NNA correspondent indicated.

Mouawad says he will name Nawwaf Salam for Premiership
NNA/December 07/2019
"Independence Movement" Head, MP Michel Mouawad, announced in a statement Saturday that he will be naming Ambassador Nawwaf Salam to head the next government during the binding parliamentary consultations called for by His Excellency President Michel Aoun on Monday.
"Based on my conviction, the prelude to Lebanon's rescue begins with forming a government that is able to restore confidence, reconciliation and reform," he said. "With full respect for Engineer Samir al-Khatib, who does not bear any personal responsibility for what is going on, it is clearly evident that his name does not meet the required popular support, and will not secure the necessary positive shock neither to the Lebanese street nor to the financial and economic markets," Mouawad explained. "Hence, he will not be able to reconcile the Lebanese with their institutions, a necessary prerequisite for restoring confidence and social stability," he added. Mouawad considered that the "soon-to-be-formed" cabinet currently under political deliberation constitutes a faded version of the previous government, and therefore will not be capable of carrying out any reform and rescue operations, nor will it be able to reconcile Lebanon with the Arab and international community in order to ask them to contribute to the required rescue process. He, thus, concluded by reiterating the need for forming a mini-government of specialists who will restore the confidence of the Lebanese in their constitutional institutions and have the support of political forces on the basis of solid national understanding, in addition to reconciling Lebanon with the Arab and international societies.

Hasbani: We still rely on the right decision by the President of the Republic
NNA/December 07/2019
Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani said Saturday in an interview with "Orient Radio Station" that hopes are still pinned on the right decision to be adopted by the President of the Republic, while remaining alert towards those who try to exploit this post for personal gains.
Hasbani hoped that the President's decisions would stem from his personal faith and conviction, and not from the fragmented or false data reaching him. "The revolution until now is taking its right course" he said, adding that "populism is harmful to the values that the people demand in the squares, so awareness is necessary."Hasbani urged protesters to give attention to the root cause of the problem that has accumulated the state's debts. He regretted that the Lebanese citizens, who have suffered and paid a lot, are the ones still required to shoulder the burden of the defect caused by the governing authority that has led to the accumulated debts. Over Monday's binding consultations, Hasbani disclosed that "the Lebanese Forces Party is inclined not to nominate a prime minister to form the government," while hoping that "the work of the people on the street will bear fruit to recreate Lebanon's spirit and independence."
"We are very late in addressing the financial and economic conditions, and the plan of action to get out of the existing reality has become more complicated today," deemed Hasbani. "We must start by creating stability in the financial and monetary situation, and by restoring confidence and forming a government of independent specialists, one whose decisions are firm and strict, and by adopting giant temporary measures," he corroborated. "We need an exceptional government," he stressed, pointing to an international decision not to interfere with Lebanon's decision. "However, there is a decision not to allow for Lebanon's collapse," Hasbani underlined.

Jumblatt marking his late father's birth anniversary: We will not enter a government that has overthrown the constitutional foundations
NNA/December 07/2019
Progressive Socialist Party Chief, Walid Jumblatt, stressed Saturday that "there is no solution except through forming a government that is in line with the principles of the Taif and the Constitution." "We do not want to enter a government that has undermined the constitutional foundations, as practiced by some till this moment," he said. "We are going through an extraordinary period of difficulties and challenges, and more dire times still await us...We have no solution except through social solidarity, mutual support and a duly formed government according to the Taif and the Constitution," he reiterated.
Jumblatt's words came on the birth anniversary of his martyr father, Kamal Jumblatt, during a commemorative stand near his shrine in Al-Mukhtara today, where thousands of citizens and supporters from the mountain and other regions gathered to pay tribute to the memory of the late Druze leader as accustomed every year. "We remind those who call for regime change that Kamal Jumblatt was the first to call for such change, and fought corruption when he brought down the symbol of corruption in 1952 in the White Revolution," recalled Jumblatt. He added: "Kamal Jumblatt was the first to confront the Syrian regime's aggression against Lebanon and was assassinated by them, and he was the first to call for secularism with the Lebanese national movement.""The march continues, and we will pursue it no matter the odds and arrows from here and there...We do not care, for the march continues," Jumblatt underlined. "As I mentioned before, we are going through very trying times, and I am ready in the Party to provide all possible support in order to ensure our steadfastness and survival," vowed the PSP Chief.

Alain Aoun: There are differences in opinions within the Bloc in terms of naming alKhatib
NNA/December 07/2019
MP Alain Aoun pointed Saturday to the differences in perspectives within his Parliamentary Bloc regarding the naming of Samir al-Khatib as the new prime minister, noting that the prevailing approach is to allow the Bloc members their liberty in this respect. "What is required is the formation of the government in order for the country to emerge from its crisis," emphasized Aoun in an interview with "Voice of Lebanon" Station. "We need to set a horizon to overcome the current economic and financial crisis," he reiterated. Aoun highlighted the need to invest time for additional consultations at this stage.

Two nuns released following arrest for alleged children trafficking
NNA /December 07/2019
Two nuns were released Saturday after being arrested Friday night for refusing to execute a judicial order to hand over minors from an organization to the security forces, NNA resporter said.

Lebanon´s Journalists Suffer Abuse, Threats in Covering Unrest
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 7 December, 2019
Lebanese journalists are facing threats and wide-ranging harassment in their work - including verbal insults and physical attacks, even death threats - while reporting on nearly 50 days of anti-government protests, despite Lebanon´s reputation as a haven for free speech in a troubled region.
Nationwide demonstrations erupted on Oct. 17 over a plunging economy. They quickly grew into calls for sweeping aside Lebanon´s entire ruling elite. Local media outlets - some of which represent the sectarian interests protesters are looking to overthrow - are now largely seen as pro- or anti-protests, with some journalists feeling pressured to leave their workplaces over disagreements about media coverage. The deteriorating situation for journalists in Lebanon comes despite its decades-old reputation for being an island of free press. Amid Lebanon´s divided politics, media staff have usually had wide range to freely express their opinions.
The acts of harassment began early in the protests. MTV television reporter Nawal Berry was attacked in central Beirut in the first days of the demonstrations by supporters of the militant group Hezbollah and its allies. They smashed the camera, robbed the microphone she was holding, spat on her and kicked her in the leg. "How is it possible that a journalist today goes to report and gets subjected to beating and humiliation? Where are we? Lebanon is the country of freedoms and democracy," Berry told The Associated Press.
Outlets like MTV are widely seen as backing protesters´ demands that Lebanon´s sectarian political system be completely overturned to end decades of corruption and mismanagement.
Rival TV stations and newspapers portray the unrest - which led to the Cabinet´s resignation over a month ago - as playing into the hands of alleged plots to undermine Hezbollah and its allies. Many of those outlets are run by Hezbollah, President Michel Aoun´s Free Patriotic Movement, and the Amal Movement of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. These media regularly blast protesters for closing roads and using other civil disobedience tactics, describing them as "bandits."
For Berry, the media environment worsened as the unrest continued. On the night of Nov. 24, while she was covering clashes between protesters and Hezbollah and Amal supporters on a central road in Beirut, supporters of the Shiite groups chased her into a building. She hid there until police came and escorted her out. "I was doing my job and will continue to do so. I have passed through worse periods and was able to overcome them," said Berry, who added she is taking a short break from working because of what she passed through recently.
Hezbollah supporters also targeted Dima Sadek, who resigned last month as an anchorwoman at LBC TV. She blamed Hezbollah supporters for robbing her smartphone while she was filming protests, and said the harassment was followed by insulting and threatening phone calls to her mother, who suffered a stroke as a result of the stress. "I have taken a decision (to be part of the protests) and I am following it. I have been waiting for this moment all my life and I have always been against the political, sectarian, and corrupt system in Lebanon," said Sadek, a harsh critic of Hezbollah, adding that she has been subjected to cyberbullying for the past four years.
"I know very well that this will have repercussions on my personal and professional life. I will go to the end no matter what the price is," Sadek said shortly after taking part in a demonstration in central Beirut.
Protesters have also targeted journalists reporting with what are seen as pro-government outlets. OTV station workers briefly removed their logos from equipment while covering on the demonstrations to avoid verbal and physical abuse. The station is run by supporters of Aoun´s FPM.
"The protest movement has turned our lives upside down," said OTV journalist Rima Hamdan, who during one of her reports slapped a man on his hand after he pointed his middle finger at her. She said the station´s logo "is our identity even though sometimes we had to remove it for our own safety."
Television reporters with Hezbollah´s Al-Manar and Amal´s NBN channels were also attacked in a town near Beirut, when they were covering the closure of the highway linking the capital city with southern Lebanon by protesters. In a video, an NBN correspondent is seen being attacked, while troops and policemen stand nearby without intervening.
"This happens a lot in Lebanon because some media organizations are politicized. No one sees media organizations as they are but sees them as representing the political group that owns them," said Ayman Mhanna, director of the Beirut-based media watchdog group SKeyes.
"The biggest problem regarding these violations is that there is no punishment," Mhanna said. Authorities usually fail to act even when they identify those behind attacks on journalists, he added. Coverage of the protests also led to several journalists resigning from one of Lebanon´s most prominent newspapers, Al-Akhbar, which is seen as close to Hezbollah, and the pan-Arab TV station Al-Mayadeen, which aligns closely with the policies of Iran, Syria, and Venezuela.
Joy Slim, who quit as culture writer at Al-Akhbar after more than five years, said she did so after being "disappointed" with the daily´s coverage of the demonstrations. She released a video widely circulated on social media that ridiculed those who accuse the protesters of being American agents.
Sami Kleib, a prominent Lebanese journalist with a wide following around the Middle East, resigned from Al-Mayadeen last month. He said the reason behind his move was that he was "closer to the people than the authorities."
"The Lebanese media is similar to politics in Lebanon where there is division between two axes: One that supports the idea of conspiracy theory, and another that fully backs the protest movement with its advantages and disadvantages," Kleib said.

Lebanon PM widens plea to secure food imports
Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 07/2019
Hariri calls on UK, Spain, Germany for help over acute ‘liquidity shortage’
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Saturday added Germany, Britain and Spain to the list of countries he has asked for help securing imports of food and raw materials amid an acute dollar shortage. The Lebanese leader’s appeal to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez follows an earlier plea to Saudi Arabia, France, Russia, Turkey, the US, China and Egypt. Lebanon’s call for help highlights the dire state of its economy, which is plunging deeper into recession with warnings by the World Bank of “increasing economic and financial pressures.” Hariri has called on “friendly countries” to help “address the liquidity shortage, and provide credits for imports to preserve food security and provide raw materials for production.”
The year-long financial crisis in the country has been made worse by strict bank limits on dollar withdrawals and transfers abroad.
Widespread civil unrest and anti-corruption protests directed at the authorities led to the resignation of the government 40 days ago. With no agreement on a replacement PM, the country has been in a state of political deadlock for more than a month.It is not clear whether parliamentary consultations on Monday will lead to the appointment of a new PM following disagreement between President Michel Aoun and Hezbollah, which want a techno-political government, and Hariri, who wants a government of experts. Activists on Saturday highlighted the country’s growing economic woes by organizing donations in front of the central bank to help the needy.
The economic stagnation can be felt in Beirut markets, with dozens of shops closed and supermarket shelves lying empty as people prepare for the holiday season. More than 260 food establishments have been forced to close in the past two months, according to a management syndicate, with the number expected to rise to 465 by the end of the month. “The crisis is not recent,” said Tony Eid, head of the Beirut Traders Association. “Lebanon is witnessing a lack of liquidity among banks and consumers, and recent developments have aggravated the crisis. “Hundreds of establishments, including clothing stores and restaurants, are closing, while major importers are struggling to import from abroad,” he said.
“Lebanon is sick and is being treated with painkillers with no signs of early recovery.” Pierre Achkar, head of the Hotel Owners Association, said that the hotels occupancy rate outside Beirut is “zero,” while it ranges between 7 and 12 percent in the capital. “This is the sector’s worst crisis in its modern history,” he added. “Beirut was trying to restore its importance before the crisis, but with reduced banking facilities, we cannot expect tourists to come to Lebanon,” he said. “We are working on a campaign to encourage tourism, but we still have no hotel reservations, which means they have booked somewhere else.”
Achkar said that hotels had shut down 80 percent of their operations, closing some floors and restaurants, in a bid to stay afloat. Meanwhile, Kamil Abu Suleiman, the caretaker government’s labor minister, formed an emergency committee to oversee legal disputes following collective dismissals.
The ministry considered that “any dismissal carried out without its permission is considered an arbitrary dismissal,” he said. “All those who fall victim to such measures and do not receive their legal compensation should consult the ministry.”

Milking Iraq and Lebanon for Iran’s Benefit
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 07/2019
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.
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.

Lebanon and the Monster of Bankruptcy
Rajeh Khoury/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 07/2019
Last Wednesday, President Michel Aoun announced that parliamentary consultations would take place on Monday, thereby deferring them for five more days, 34 days after the government resigned, and 47 days after the revolution began. This happened after the end of the third meeting between Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, the latter representing the Shiite duo that has been insisting for two weeks on rejecting the proposed name of Samir Khatib for Prime Minister. All of this took place before Dany Abu Haidar, a Lebanese citizen, who took his own life because of poverty and inability to support his family, was buried.
What will have changed between last Wednesday and this Monday?
Nothing at the level of the regime and the government formation facing an economic crisis that has ushered a stage of bankruptcy and collapse. There is no clear path for either the appointment of Samir Khatib nor for the return of Saad Hariri after the political settlement that led to Michel Aoun’s presidential election collapsed. The uprising, which rejects a non-technocratic government and the inclusion of the same politicians who bankrupted the country, adds to this.
So, where can we go from here?
It is not enough to talk about an economic path that leads to panic, if not to hell, after the capital control measures taken that limited cash withdrawals from banks to USD300 per week and prevented transfers overseas, and after the valid fears of ‘haircuts’ on deposits.
It is not enough to talk about a political path that leads to more complications, especially after the bickering between Aoun and the former PMs who have repeatedly accused him of disregarding the constitution and trying to return to a time before the Taef Agreement. These accusations were launched after the President had been appointing ministers before choosing their PM. In response to popular demands to abide by the constitution, it was stated that “The President is using his constitutional rights by binding the consultations to a designation of a PM and the formation of a new government to prevent the country from descending into a prolonged vacuum.”
The dispute around this continued after the alliance between Aoun and the Shite duo, upon Hariri’s insistence on the formation of a technocratic government to meet the demands of the uprising, attempted to convince Hariri to commit political suicide. They pushed him to support Mohammad Safadi’s candidacy, then Samir Khatib, announce his support in a written statement, get the approval of the Mufti, the former PMs, and to take part in this government.
After Hariri rejected the temptations and pressures to head a techno-political government which would maintain Hezbollah’s dominance in political decision-making in the executive authority, it became clear that the alliance between Aoun and the Shiite duo, i.e., Hezbollah and Amal Movement, insist on having him for several reasons. First, he is economically useful, as he can work on reactivating the CEDRE Conference aid. Second, he is a local and regional Sunni power, which is important, especially during these difficult times when Hezbollah is subjected to severe foreign pressure, sanctions, and is classified as a terrorist organization by the US. Third, his approval of a techno-political government would help Hezbollah overcome the uprising and quell the protests it has produced from Tyre and Nabatieh to Baalbeck. This is especially important as it is happening in parallel with violent disturbances in Iran and Iraq; in the latter, the protesters set fire to the Iranian Consulate three times in Najaf while chanting, “Iran out out” despite the violent repression that they faced.
Before Aoun announced Monday as the date for the parliamentary consultations, the exchanges between him and the former PMs were heated. In a statement released by former PMs Fouad Siniora, Tammam Salam, and Najib Miqati, they said, “We are alarmed by the serious violation of the Taef Agreement in its letter and spirit, and we are alarmed by the assault on the parliamentary authority to designate a PM through binding parliamentary consultations conducted by the President and the assault on the authority of the designated PM by naming what is being called a possible PM.”
Aoun responded with a statement that repeated what he has been saying for the last month. He claims the consultations that he is doing are not a violation of the constitution and the Taef accord. He accused the former PMs of not realizing the negative consequences of accelerating consultations on the country’s general situation and national unity.
All of this comes after Hariri’s statement last week, where he explicitly accused Aoun of chronically denying the gravity of the situation the country is in. That is in terms of the popular uprising and its legitimate demands to form a technocratic government, the crippling economic crisis that has put the country on the brink of collapse, and the attempts to accuse him of discarding candidates for premiership other than him. In light of these irresponsible practices, he responded to Aoun’s famous slogan that he clung to and kept the country in presidential vacuum for two and a half years “either me or no one” with the slogan “Not me, but someone else”!
The uprising has been heightened after the number of suicides due to poverty has increased. It has rejected Samir Khatib’s candidacy raising the slogan “All of them means all of them”, which is being chanted now in Iraq.
This implies the necessity of overthrowing the entire corrupt political elite. The regime and the Shiite duo have presented a new slogan in opposition, “All of us means all of us in government.” This is related to what Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad had announced about there being no alternative to a national unity government, i.e., duplicating the current cabinet, other than remaining under a caretaker government for a very long time. This means rejecting all of the uprising’s demands and maintaining the regime which rebels accuse of being corrupt and plundering public funds, at a time where Lebanon has entered real bankruptcy and the threat of complete collapse.
Last Thursday, Siniora commented on Samir Khatib’s candidacy, saying “This man’s character and his ethics are one thing, but his suitability for this exceptional stage is something else.” When asked whether he would possibly name him in the consultations, he answered, “It is only possible to predict what a reasonable person would do, as for others, that is something else.” This implies that whoever is reasonable will not name Khatib.
This leads to a very confusing question:
What crisis will birth a government? Will it emerge out of a resolution of the dispute between the Sunni politicians and the alliance between Aoun and the Shiite duo? Or will come after the revolution is quashed so that a techno-political government is formed despite the widespread outrage stemming from the series of suicides that have taken place recently, such as George Zreik burning himself alive for not being able to pay his daughter’s school fees, Naji Fliti hanging himself for not being able to buy a LBP1,000 thyme manoushe for his daughter, Dany Abou Haidar taking his own life last Wednesday for not being able to support his family, and a fourth citizen committing suicide on Thursday after another citizen tried to burn himself alive in Akkar because of financial pressure?
The upcoming dates assigned for consultations are the last hope for Hariri’s approval. Still, it appears that the parliamentary alliance between Aoun and the Shiite duo, which includes 42 MPs, will be maintained until the end of the consultations in order to guarantee that Aoun remains in charge and push for a government that serves the interests of that alliance.
But what do we do with the revolution and the rebels? How do we confront the monster of bankruptcy in a country where citizens take their own lives because they are unable to buy a manoushe? How do we confront it in a country where people rush to withdraw USD300 while TV channels compete to uncover scandals of theft and plunder, a country whose debt has reached USD100 billion while the amount that has been looted by politicians, stored in offshore European banks, exceeds USD320 billion?

NAYA| Speak up, survivors, it’s time
Fatima Dia/Annahar/December 07/2019
Today's march demanded a safer environment and adopted a grander and more humane social perspective regarding survivors, specifically by shifting the social tendency in Lebanese culture to blame the survivor to blaming the perpetrator.
BEIRUT: People took to Hamra streets in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault, protesting against gender-based-violence on December 7. Holding banners, and chanting empowering slogans, the people marched from Bliss street to Riad el Solh.
The ongoing revolution in Lebanon has opened doorways for several discussions to take place openly. At the frontlines, the protest against sexual assault and harassment aims to remove the stigma behind these topics, and encourage survivors to speak up and pinpoint violators in order to create safer environments.
“This case of Marwan Habib is just the beginning, a guy will think a thousand times before touching a girl now,” said Noura, one of the protesters. “The most important thing is that people don’t remain silent anymore. This revolution was an opportunity for people to talk more. If you want me to count the times [a woman has been harassed]...I swear you can’t count.”
Based on a report by the Internal Security Forces from 2017, one out four women in Lebanon is subjected to sexual harassment. Six percent of Lebanese people know at least one person who has been sexually assaulted, and yet only 24 percent of the victims report the assault. In addition, 49 percent of sexual assault cases are from within the family. According to ISF, from December 2016 till the end of 2017, there was an average of 13 women reporting sexual assault cases per month.
“This protest is very important because it will give a public awareness about the struggles of women. I hope it’ll make a change if we do protests continuously,” Nay Hnein, another protester, told Annahar.
A study carried by HarassTracker in 2018 found that most men, as well as generally older women, typically blame the women who were harassed. This is one of the issues today’s protest tackled.
A video ABAAD uploaded to its Facebook page in 2017, where an actress, dressed in a skirt and a tight shirt, acted the part of a woman who had been raped, disclosed the regularity with which survivors are blamed rather than the perpetrators.
“I’m here because I want to feel safe at night,” Petra Rafeh told Annahar. “I have the right to even go to clubs and pubs and feel safe there too.”
HarassTracker’s study also found that there is a general lack of understanding of what sexual harassment or assault encompass. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines sexual harassment as "the uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature,” whereas sexual assault is defined as “sexual contact that usually involves force upon a person without their consent, or is inflected upon a person who is incapable of giving consent, or who places the assailant in a position of trust or authority.”
Within the Lebanese legislation, women and girls are protected under the law from domestic violence. Article 522, which allowed foe exoneration by marriage to the rapist, was removed in 2017; but according to a UN report of the legislation in Lebanon, there are some cases where exoneration by marriage is still allowed. In addition, there are no concrete laws that protect women from sexual harassment; the Labour Code, for example, doesn’t prohibit workplace sexual harassment. Protesters on the street today are not only showing support to survivors, but fighting measures that are structurally harmful to women.
“Women’s fight against the system is the same fight against the government,” said Julia, another protester on the street. “It’s one patriarchal misogynist system that puts us all in danger.”
Today's march demanded a safer environment and adopted a grander and more humane social perspective regarding survivors, specifically by shifting the social tendency in Lebanese culture to blame the survivor to blaming the perpetrator.
“Collectively, we encourage each other. One voice doesn’t do much, but the more voices join, the stronger you become, and the more people will grow braver to talk,” said Noura.
Manal Makkieh contributed to this article.
Welcome to "NAYA," the newest addition to Annahar’s coverage. This section aims at fortifying Lebanese women’s voices by highlighting their talents, challenges, innovations, and women’s empowerment. We will also be reporting on the world of work, family, style, health, and culture. NAYA is devoted to women of all generations-NAYA Editor, Sally Farhat: Sally.farhat@annahar.com.lb

Rafik Hariri's biggest legacy: giving Lebanese protesters courage
Michael Karam/The National/December 07/2019
A man with good intentions and a bold vision, the late prime minister's assassination sparked the Cedar Revolution that has set the template for today's uprising
In February 1992, I arrived in Lebanon to begin a new life. The civil war had ended a year earlier, and I figured we could grow together – Lebanon and I – even if the economy was in freefall. The Lebanese pound was 900 to the dollar (16 years earlier, it had been 2.25) and by May it hit 1,621. There were riots on the streets of Beirut and then prime minister Omar Karami’s woeful government resigned. His successor Rachid Solh lasted five months, during which time the currency value slipped to an all-time low of 2,500 pounds to the dollar and the path was clear for Rafik Hariri to take center-stage and rescue the country with his vision of a tolerant and prosperous Lebanon. Over the next 13 years, until he and 21 others were killed by a roadside bomb outside the Hotel St Georges, Mr Hariri bestrode Lebanese politics. But for those of us who witnessed him riding into town, it is hard to underestimate the optimism we all felt. He offered the hope of peace and prosperity after a decade and a half of bloodshed and misery.
Mr Hariri was a man who had made his Croesus-like fortune delivering construction projects to deadline in Saudi Arabia. He had a significant role negotiating the 1989 Taif Agreement that ended the war and quietly educated hundreds of underprivileged Lebanese by providing university scholarships. Now, he was set to take centre-stage and use his network contacts – prime ministers, presidents, billionaires and kings – to help him rebuild Lebanon and restore its reputation as a glamorous entrepot.
While the Lebanese pound levelled out and even clawed back some of its value against the dollar, Mr Hariri told us he had a plan. Imagine that. Lebanon with a plan. Horizon 2000 was based on rebuilding Beirut, quite literally out of the rubble, as a gleaming new capital, a shopfront for foreign investment and tourism. His was a policy of “build it and they will come” but Mr Hariri borrowed heavily, betting on a regional peace deal and foreign inflows.
After the September 11 attacks, Arab tourists, who found themselves personae non-grata in much of the West, sought sanctuary in the new Beirut. Alamy
It nearly worked. After the September 11 attacks, Arab tourists, who found themselves personae non-grata in much of the West, sought sanctuary in the new Beirut, a city where they were welcomed; that spoke their language and where, for a price, their every need was catered to. And for a while the cash registers rang. Mr Hariri's plan was to co-opt the former war lords and the Syrians, who ran Lebanon, while he got on with the job of fixing things, hoping that wealth and prosperity would keep everything on an even keel.
His long-time ally and friend, former prime minister Fouad Siniora, is currently in the spotlight as investigations begin into the plague of embezzlement that has brought the country to its knees. But the rest of the political class was no less skilled at siphoning off state funds, usually through the ministries, to sustain their patronage network and fill their coffers. Mr Hariri? He just wanted to get the job done.
Mr Hariri was a man with good intentions, boundless energy and a bold vision. He also inadvertently helped create a climate of corruption which sowed the seeds for Lebanon’s current crisis. But to judge him through the lens of today’s frustrations is to forget that he also guaranteed Lebanon’s existence, saving its unique identity from an even more catastrophic abyss. An intriguing parlour game is to ask what would have happened had Rafik Hariri never been born. What would downtown Beirut look like today? Who else had the clout to drag us out of the post-war quagmire? Had he not existed, progress would have been even slower and more painful. His death, alongside his economic wingman – the talented, trusted (and clean) Bassil Fleihan – sparked the Cedar Revolution. It fell short of its aims but it gave this current crop of protesters the courage to know they can effect change. And that might be his biggest legacy.
*Michael Karam is a UK-based freelance writer. He was the founding editor of Now Lebanon

Beirut Chants Festival: A revolutionary Christmas concert
Sandra Abdelbaki/Annahar/December 07/2019
This year’s Christmas spirit was intertwined with a revolutionary one.
BEIRUT: For two hours on a Friday night, people took a short break from the hustle of the current situation to indulge in a peaceful, yet revolutionary music performance. As a patriotic move around the holidays, an ensemble from the Balamand University Choir and Reem Deeb, Soprano, holder of two doctorates of Music, and a university Music Lecturer, presented a unique musical performance as part of Beirut Chants Festival’s 12th edition at the Assembly Hall of the American University of Beirut. The founder of Beirut Chants this year wanted to unite the Lebanese people through music and chants of coexistence and peace. This year’s Christmas spirit was intertwined with a revolutionary one. In order to fulfill the two spirits, the choice of songs during the performance ranged between those two ends. Songs such as “Salam” by Dr. Riad Sarkis, MD, “Rejoice Greatly” by G. F. Handel, and “O Holy Night” by A.Adam were performed. “This year, I wanted to do this performance elegantly in my way. It’s my way of delivering peace and hope in this Christmas,” said Deeb. To her, a revolution spirit was reflected through her peaceful music performance. Goodwill and peace were the two messages she portrayed throughout the night.
What people didn’t expect, however, was a surprise song that sparked the performance and granted Beirut respect and honor in times of the revolution. For the first time this year, Deeb and Dr. Riad Sarkis prepared a surprise anthem that sounded as a perfect contribution for today’s situation.
“It was definitely a surprise, not a single person knew about it, not even the event planners,” said Deeb. From the youngest child to the oldest senior, the audience was thrilled by the impact of this anthem as the performance came to an end.
“The surprise anthem was definitely something I did not expect, yet it was a beautiful addition to this festival, especially in times of hopelessness,” said an AUB student who attended the performance. Performers also included Gina Matta Razzouk as the Ensemble director, Ignace Bteich as the pianist, Matta Matta as the Ensemble Accompanist, and Charbel Mansour as Ensemble pianist. Ensemble members included Dana Jazzar, Tatiana Metry, Karim Moutraji, WassimWehbe, Aline Saba, and Jacky Jabbour.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 07-08/2019
Defense Secretary: US Military Has Enough Capability in Mideast for Now
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 7 December, 2019
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Friday he believed the US military had sufficient capability in the Middle East for now to deter conflict, dismissing a media report that a major troop increase was under consideration amid tension with Iran. Esper, speaking to a small group of reporters, did not rule out rotations of forces or even minor increases in the future. "But nothing in terms of the numbers – 14,000 - it's just a completely false report," Esper said as he flew to California for a defense forum at the Reagan Library. "Every commander wants more and more capabilities, wherever they are. But right now we believe we have sufficient capability in the theater to deter what we've needed to deter,” Reuters quoted him as saying. He added that he regularly reviews requests but stressed that "right now, there is no 14,000 person request to deploy forces." Esper's remarks on the issue were the most extensive since the Pentagon on Wednesday strongly denied a Wall Street Journal report that the United States was considering sending as many as 14,000 additional troops to the region. The United States has dispatched about 14,000 additional troops to the Middle East since May, backed by bombers and air defense personnel, to deter what Washington calls provocative Iranian behavior.

Iraq Death Toll Rises as Armed Drone Targets Sadr’s Home
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 7 December, 2019
Iraqi officials raised on Saturday the death toll to 25 protesters killed and over 130 wounded, after a bloody night of attacks by unknown gunmen that targeted anti-government demonstrators in Baghdad. The attack on Friday was among the deadliest since Oct. 1, when thousands of Iraqis took to the streets calling for sweeping political reforms and the end of Iran's influence in Iraqi affairs. Security forces regularly use live rounds and tear gas to disperse the demonstrations, leading to heavy casualties. The gunfire continued until the early hours of Saturday morning. The assailants first unleashed the deadly assault on Baghdad's Khilani Square and Sinak Bridge, driving through the areas that are the epicenter of the popular uprising, The Associated Press reported. Protesters said the electricity in the square was cut, creating chaos as they ran from the bullets and took cover in nearby mosques and streets.
The attack led to the burning of a car park that demonstrators had converted into a base for their sit-in, while surrounding buildings in the square were pockmarked with bullet holes. On Saturday, protesters raised a bloodied white flag as they sought to return to the scene. One protester was seen collecting the spent cartridges and held out at least a dozen. The growing protests came as a drone dropped a bomb on the home of Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr in the city of Najaf early Saturday but he was not in the country, sources within his party told Agence France Presse. Sadr has backed the anti-government rallies, sending his supporters into the streets of the capital overnight to "protect protesters.”

Iraq Protesters Turn Out in Defiance after Baghdad Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 07/2019
Iraqi protesters defiantly turned out on Saturday across the country's south and in the capital, where a dozen people were killed in an overnight attack by unidentified gunmen. The assailants briefly ousted demonstrators from a building they had occupied for weeks in Baghdad, despite the presence of security forces nearby who did not intervene. The panicked protesters rushed out into the street, sending out calls through social media for people to come to their main gathering place in Tahrir Square. Before dawn on Saturday, hundreds had arrived. "I came after the incident and there were tons of people in Tahrir and by Al-Sinek," a nearby bridge, one demonstrator told AFP, adding he was shocked by the lax security measures. "The police were there but didn't even search me," he said. Many of the new arrivals were suspected to be members of Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades), the paramilitary group headed by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr. Sadr has backed the protests, but many demonstrators who were proud of their movement's relative political independence have been wary of his support.  A source within Saraya told AFP one of its own members had died in the overnight clash, and that more unarmed members had been sent to Tahrir "to protect protesters." The demonstrator said he saw men in Tahrir carrying sticks and wearing cargo vests with makeshift fire bombs packed inside them. Further south in Nasiriyah, the usual rallies swelled with crowds upset over the previous night's developments in Baghdad, an AFP correspondent said.
"We are coming in solidarity with Baghdad," one said. Security forces were also deployed in Nasiriyah, where protests have continued despite an attempted crackdown last week that left more than two dozen dead. In Diwaniyah, another protest hotspot, thousands turned out early on Saturday but security forces, too, spread across the streets in larger numbers. The overnight bloodshed rattled protesters, who had feared a spiral into chaos after supporters of the Hashed al-Shaabi security force flooded Tahrir on Thursday. They worried such a show of force could set up a confrontation between the Hashed and others in the square. Around 440 people have died and 20,000 have been wounded since anti-government rallies erupted on October 1 in Baghdad and the Shiite-majority south.

Armed Drone Targets Home of Iraq Cleric Sadr
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 07/2019
A drone dropped a bomb on the home of Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr in the shrine city of Najaf early Saturday but he was not in the country, sources within his party told AFP. Sadr has backed the anti-government rallies rocking Iraq, sending his supporters into the streets of the capital overnight to "protect protesters" after unidentified gunmen attacked a protest camp.

US Says it Has ‘Other Tools' to Stop Iran's ‘Malicious Behavior’
New York - Ali Barada/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 7 December, 2019
US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft warned Iran on Friday that the Trump administration will keep up its maximum pressure campaign and use “other tools” if Tehran continues its “malicious behavior.” Speaking at a news conference in New York to mark the US presidency of the UN Security Council for December, the diplomat hailed the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, saying she was encouraged by the Riyadh Agreement struck in November. “We hope that that’s going to take us one step closer” to a “political solution to the conflict” in Yemen. “On December the 12th, we’re going to turn our attention to Yemen, which has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis amid the ongoing conflict,” said Craft. “Millions of Yemeni women, children, and men depend on humanitarian assistance specially facilitated by the World Food Program.”“We need to be very, very cognitive of the fact that Iran is once again backing the Houthi rebels which are not allowing the World Food Program to have access to the very people that we’re trying to help,” she added. Craft also told reporters that the Council will meet on December 19 for a briefing focused on the nonproliferation challenges posed by Iran. “This will be an important opportunity for the Council to demonstrate its commitment to enforcing Resolution 2231, especially given Iran’s continued action and direct violations of the terms of this resolution,” she said. She referred to Iran’s continuous meddling in Yemen, Syria, and other areas in the Middle East. “We must hold them accountable,” said Craft. Asked by Asharq Al-Awsat about the role of Hezbollah in using coercive force against peaceful protesters in Lebanon, the ambassador said: “Iran is a bad actor.”“We are taking this very serious, and there are other tools that we will use against Iran if they continue this malicious behavior,” she added.

European Powers Delay Sanctions Blow to Iran
Vienna - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 7 December, 2019
World powers pressured Iran on Friday to reverse recent atomic activities that violate the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, but stopped short of deciding on whether to proceed with a move that could see the case brought before the UN Security Council and a “snapback” of sanctions that had been lifted under the accord. The Vienna meeting came amid heightened friction between Iran and the West. Tehran has rolled back its commitments under the deal in response to Washington's withdrawal last year and reimposition of sanctions that have crippled its economy. With Tehran angry over a lack of European protection from US sanctions, there appears scant scope for compromise. The Europeans and Iran clashed on Thursday over the Iranian ballistic missile program before senior diplomats from the remaining parties to the deal - Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia - met Iranian officials in Vienna on Friday to assess the state of the nuclear agreement. Fu Cong, director general of the Department of Arms Control of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters after the meeting that China had argued against invoking the so-called dispute resolution mechanism of the agreement. “Iran has made it very clear that all the actions are reversible and that they are ready to come back to full compliance,” he told reporters. Tehran's violations — all announced in advance and verified by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors — have been an attempt to pressure the other world powers involved to offer new economic incentives to offset the effect of the American sanctions. Iran has previously suggested it would walk back those activities if it receives the economic incentives it needs. Following the meeting, Iranian representative Abbas Araghchi told reporters that he thought the world powers "are interested to find practical solutions so they can continue their economic cooperation with Iran." “We see that seriousness amongst these countries, but of course there are problems and obstacles in the way,” he said. The European nations involved have threatened that they could invoke the dispute resolution mechanism, which can be triggered by any party to the JCPOA, if Iran does not comply. That mechanism is a month-long process, which could lead to the matter being brought before the UN Security Council and could result in the eventual "snapback" of sanctions that had been lifted under the deal.

Airstrikes Kill at Least 19 Civilians in Northwest Syria: Monitor
London- Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 7 December, 2019
Syrian regime and Russian airstrikes on Saturday killed 19 civilians, eight of them children, in the country's last major opposition bastion, a war monitor said. The air raids in the militant-run northwestern region of Idlib also wounded several others, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Airstrikes by regime ally Russia killed four civilians including a child in the village of Al-Bara in the south of the region, the Observatory said. Rescue workers picked through the rubble of a two-story home whose concrete roof had collapsed, AFP reported. Rescuers carried away the body of a victim wrapped in a blanket on a stretcher. Russian raids also killed nine civilians including three children in the nearby village of Balyun, the Observatory said. Crude barrel bombs dropped by government helicopters killed five civilians including three children in the village of Abadeeta, also in the same area. In the southeast of the embattled region, a raid by a regime aircraft killed another child in the village of Bajghas, the Observatory said. The Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, says it determines the provenance of an airstrike by looking at flight patterns and the aircraft and munitions involved. The Idlib region, which is home to some three million people including many displaced by Syria's civil war, is controlled by the country's former Al-Qaeda affiliate. The Damascus regime has repeatedly vowed to take back control of Idlib. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched a blistering military campaign against the region in April, killing around 1,000 civilians and displacing more than 400,000 people from their homes. A ceasefire announced by Moscow has largely held since late August. But the Observatory says deadly bombardment and skirmishes have persisted, with more than 200 civilians killed in the region since the deal. Syria's war has killed over 370,000 people and displaced millions from their homes since beginning in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-Assad protests.

Egypt Calls for ‘Firm Collective Procedures’ to Combat ‘Terrorist Groups’
Cairo- Waleed Abdurrahman/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 7 December, 2019
Egypt has called for "strong and collective measures to confront all terrorist organizations, and hold all those who provide them with support and a safe haven" to account. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that terrorism is one of the main threats against peace, stability and development efforts. which requires firm procedures to combat terrorist groups, with the need not to limit the confrontation to ISIS and Al Qaeda only, but rather target all groups that adopt extremist ideology. In another context, the FM stressed that communication is important in order to reach comprehensive political settlements for the crises in the region. He hailed, in this regard, the Palestinian cause and the necessity of reaching a final and fair solution that includes establishing a Palestinian state. These statements were made during Shoukry's speech at the Rome Med 2019 on Friday, showcasing Egypt’s vision towards the situation in the Middle East. Shoukry stressed the central role Egypt plays in support of stability in the region. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said that Shoukry started the dialogue session by expressing his delight to take part in the fifth edition of the conference. In a statement published Friday on Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Facebook page, Hafez said that Shoukry expressed concern over the challenges in the Mediterranean Sea and stressed the importance of dedicated work to reach a comprehensive settlement regarding Libya. He outlined the negative impact of the signing of the two memoranda of understanding on military cooperation and sovereignty over maritime jurisdictions between the Libyan Prime Minister and Turkey, as it is inconsistent with the Skhirat agreement. Shoukry also discussed Egypt’s foreign policy and its keenness to build balanced ties with international partners.

US ends non-response for Iranian attacks. Iran deploys Bavar-373 missiles in Syria
DEBKAfile/December 07/2019
This time, US forces pushed back immediately after Iraqi Shiite militias lobbed five rockets into the big Ain Al-Assad airbase in western Iraq. On Tuesday, Dec. 3, American aircraft attacked their base in the Iranian Al Qods Brigades military compound near Abu Kamal on the Syrian-Iraqi border and destroyed their rocket launchers. By this operation, Washington signaled Tehran that the posture of non-response to Iranian aggression, prevailing up to and including Iran’s cruise missile/drone assault on Saudi oil on Sept. 14, was over. Henceforth, the US would respond with force for every attack by Iranian or pro-Iranian forces on US or allied targets in the Middle East. For the first time, US aircraft conducted a direct strike against one of the Iranian Al Qods military facilities in Syria, that were targeted hitherto solely by the Israeli air force. This contest has therefore undergone a radical change. From now on, both the US and Israel air forces may respond to Iranian provocations, while Tehran may also start hitting back when its forces are attacked.Iran has meanwhile boosted its military footprint in Syria. Russian and Syrian sources report that Iran has deployed an advanced Bavar-373 air defense system, at the big Syrian T-4 air base east of Homs. This system has a range of 250km and its radar commands a 350km radius. A new Iranian defense umbrella now covers all eastern Syria, including the border with Iraq, Deir ez-Zour and the al Qods and Iraqi militias based there.
Western military sources define Bavar-373 as a hybrid developed from the technology of the Russian S-300 and S-400 air defense systems. It is capable of detecting and intercepting cruise missiles and advanced stealth planes such as the US F-35 and F-22 which serve the US and Israel air forces.
DEBKAfile’s military sources note that since T-4 is an important base for Russian aircraft and gunships, Tehran would have needed permission from the Russian command in Syria before positioning the Bavar-737 there. No confirmation is available from Moscow on this deployment.
Israeli special forces meanwhile traveled to Cyprus this week for the IDF’s fourth exercise in three years of fighting in rocky, mountainous terrain similar to that in Lebanon and Syria. Soldiers of the elite Egoz, Maglan and Duvdevan units of the IDF’s Commando Brigade took part in the exercise, together with the air force’s transport helicopter squadrons, a squadron of drones, the search-and-rescue 669 Unit, and an air squadron simulating enemy aircraft.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 07-08/2019
Impeaching Trump for Obstructing Congress Would Harm Checks and Balances
Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/December 07/2019
The president, as head of the executive branch, is entitled to challenge in court legislative subpoenas that demand material that may be subject to claims of privilege. He is also entitled to insist that the legislature obtain a court order before the executive branch complies. That is how checks and balances work.
Even if the president were wrong in challenging these subpoenas, his being wrong would not come close to being an impeachable offense. What do the Democratic experts claim it is? Treason? Bribery? A high crime? A high misdemeanor? It is none of the above and is, therefore, not a basis for impeachment.
For Congress to impeach President Trump for abuse of Congress would be an abuse of power by Congress. So despite the partisan opinions of the Democratic academic experts, Congress should not include abuse of Congress among its list of impeachable offenses. Nor should it include any counts that do not fit the specified Constitutional criteria. Since the evidence adduced thus far fails to establish treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, Congress should not vote to impeach. If it does vote to do so along party lines, it will be acting unconstitutionally and placing itself above the supreme law of the land.
Congress is not above the law. It cannot simply ignore the words of the Constitution even if a majority of its members want to impeach the president. Pictured: Members of the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing on December 4, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Among the grounds for impeachment being considered by the House Judiciary Committee is that President Trump obstructed Congress by refusing to have members of the executive branch comply with Congressional subpoenas without orders of the court. This ground was given the imprimatur of the academic experts who testified for the Democrats. These experts, however, were not only wrong; their opinions pose a real danger to civil liberties and checks and balances. Moreover, it is highly questionable that these experts would have said that citizens must always comply with Congressional subpoenas without a judicial order if the political shoe were on the other foot.
I came of age during the McCarthy era, when Congressional committees issued subpoenas to suspected Communists, fellow travelers and lawyers who represented left wing radicals. Civil libertarians challenged these subpoenas in court, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. But no liberal accused them of doing anything wrong by refusing to comply with Congressional subpoenas until and unless a court ordered them to comply. Now, however, anti-Trumpers are demanding impeachment for what they would have praised during the McCarthy era.
In the context of legislative subpoenas to members of the executive branch, there are reasons for concern in addition to those based on the civil liberties of ordinary citizens. There is the separation of powers and checks and balances. Unlike in parliamentary democracies, in which the legislative branch is superior to the executive and judicial branches, under our system, all three branches are co-equal and designed to check the excesses of each other. As Alexander Hamilton wrote in The Federalist Papers, the judicial branch gets to decide whether actions of the other branches comport with the Constitution. If they do not, they are void, because the constitution is the supreme law of the land.
The president, as head of the executive branch, is entitled to challenge in court legislative subpoenas that demand material that may be subject to claims of privilege. He is also entitled to insist that the legislature obtain a court order before the executive branch complies. That is how checks and balances work. The president should not be impeached because he takes seriously our system of checks and balances.
Even if the president were wrong in challenging these subpoenas, his being wrong would not come close to being an impeachable offense. What do the Democratic experts claim it is? Treason? Bribery? A high crime? A high misdemeanor? It is none of the above and is, therefore, not a basis for impeachment. President Andrew Johnson was impeached for refusing to comply with a statute enacted by congress which he believed was unconstitutional. Not only do many historians and legal scholars believe that was a wrongful impeachment, but the Supreme Court agreed with Johnson that the statute he violated was unconstitutional. Johnson was narrowly acquitted by the Senate, but his impeachment by the house was an abuse of power, because he had not committed any of the criteria for impeachment specified in the constitution.
Congress is not above the law. It cannot simply ignore the words of the Constitution even if a majority of its members want to impeach the president. For Congress to impeach President Trump for abuse of Congress would be an abuse of power by Congress.
So despite the partisan opinions of the Democratic academic experts, Congress should not include abuse of Congress among its list of impeachable offenses. Nor should it include any counts that do not fit the specified Constitutional criteria. Since the evidence adduced thus far fails to establish treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, Congress should not vote to impeach. If it does vote to do so along party lines, it will be acting unconstitutionally and placing itself above the supreme law of the land.
*Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law Emeritus at Harvard Law School and author of The Case Against the Democratic House Impeaching Trump, Skyhorse Publishing, 2019, and Guilt by Accusation, Skyhorse publishing, 2019.
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Bread and Personal Freedoms
Amel Moussa/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 07/2019
This Tuesday happens to be Human Rights Day. As we know, in principle and theory, almost everyone defends human rights, in practice, however, not as often.
We would like to approach this occasion by contemplating the status of human rights in the Arab and Islamic world, admitting from the outset that it differs from one country to another.
It is worth noting that the issue of human rights involves themes of the rights-based intellectual modernity dating back to the era of the French revolution and the moral and intellectual dimension that it represented. It is a fruit of modernity that was spread by the achievements of the scientific movement during the industrial revolution in England. Therefore, the first stage of modern thought on human rights was specifically focused on what is called in law public freedoms. The world has yet to move to the struggle for personal freedoms. Of course, there is a structured relationship between public freedoms and personal freedoms, in that public freedoms pave the way for personal freedoms.
What we notice is that struggles for human rights are in conflict with the hegemony of institutions to achieve a better status for the individual and to limit its determinism and authority that renders every individual dependent on it. The term for such an individual in sociology is ‘social agent’.
Moving from a sociological discourse of social agent to social actor, and what changes that entailed in the relationship between the individual and social institutions, cannot be seen as an accomplishment already achieved, but as a process in itself that has several stages.
In our societies, we are still in the phase of defending a better status for the individual and searching for means to reduce the domination of institutions. This has coincided with attempts to consecrate public freedoms, the freedoms of groups, the basic unit of which being the individual. In other words, the idea that the individual is the primary social actor in its basic unit needs time to infiltrate mentalities and practices. I think, nevertheless, that strides have been made in that regard, despite all of the current shortcomings.
It would be unfair to marginalize the human rights movement that has been ongoing since the sixties in Arab countries and has gained more momentum in the last few years. It has become clear to everyone that the issue of human rights is inevitable and is the condition for international relations between the major powers and developing countries. In fact, trade deals and dealing with international monetary institutions have become conditioned on agreements on human rights and social and political development.
At the same time, however, and for the sake of being objective once again, we find that the human rights movement, especially the calls made by some figures among the Arab elite in terms of dedicatedly pursuing personal freedoms without limits, has stumbled on many obstacles.
It may seem at first that these hindrances against an honest discussion on personal freedoms are primarily cultural and are ultimately related to culture and the principle of cultural specificity. We would argue, however, that the importance of the cultural is less than it appears to be. The economic problems and hindrances to development in the majority of Arab and Islamic countries are what rendered the human rights struggle laden with difficulties and met with indifference. What place is there for calling for personal freedoms while people are suffering from extreme poverty and unemployment?
Despite the importance of calls for human rights, the insistence of some intellectuals on personal freedoms and their focus on culturally shocking rights has created some distance between them and the frustrated youth suffering from economic violence and limited opportunities. This focus on issues that seem to the unemployed and impoverished as luxuries, rather than motivating discussion and dialogue is actually provocative.
Consequently, we think that bread stands as a real barrier against the development of a culture of freedoms in our countries and a critique of a valuable critique of our culture. This clearly means that any enlightenment in the domain of freedoms and cultural critique will have a short reach or will be rejected as long as our countries do not find a path towards economic development. The hungry do not listen, the frustrated do not get excited, and the marginalized do not care. All that they want is to object. Therefore, the solution to the problem of bread and its modern equivalents that allow for a dignified life is a central condition for any projects for cultural change and Arab human rights by whoever advocates it. This material analysis may be validly contested by many. Still, experience enriches thought and makes its bearers aware of strategies that could help relay ideas without necessarily ceasing to struggle for them.

The challenge of non-state actors and stand-off weapons
Timothy Wright/IISS/December 07/2019
The proliferation of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and uninhabited aerial vehicles to non-state actors in the Middle East represents a future challenge for national militaries, explores Timothy Wright.
Ongoing wars in the Middle East are setting a worrying precedent, revealing a proliferation in the region not only of ballistic missiles, but also cruise missiles and improvised stand-off munitions in the form of low-cost uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs). Iranian ballistic- and cruise-missile technology has been ‘supplied’ to Ansarullah in Yemen, while Iranian-sourced weapons in Hizbullah arms depots in Syria continue to be attacked by the Israeli Air Force.
The latest round of Israeli airstrikes against alleged Iranian missile depots in Syria and recurrent missile attacks by the Houthis against a variety of targets in southern Saudi Arabia underscore the extent of the proliferation of precision-guided missiles and associated missile technology to non-state actors in the Middle East.
Ansarullah and Hizbullah
Ansarullah’s use of ballistic and cruise missiles and UAVs – the latter deployed as improvised stand-off munitions – is an attempt to begin to offset the Saudi-led coalition’s air power in Yemen’s civil war. The group’s ability to strike back, however limited, has propaganda value in this regard.
Ansarullah has therefore claimed that its missile attacks against Saudi targets have demonstrated the defensive weaknesses of the kingdom despite its status as the world’s third-largest defence spender. Ansarullah has showcased a subsonic cruise missile, the Quds-1, UAVs and short-range ballistic missiles, some emblazoned ‘Made in Yemen’, to accentuate the group’s claimed indigenous missile-production capabilities and ability to strike a variety of targets in southern Arabia by different means. The majority of these weapons are almost certainly Iranian in origin.
Ansarullah’s missile arsenal and capabilities have developed in part along the contours of the civil war in Yemen. Early attacks in 2015 typically utilised captured Yemeni equipment, such as Soviet-made 9K79 Tochka (SS-21 Scarab) and 9K72 Elbrus (SS-1C Scud B) short-range ballistic missiles. The group has also used anti-ship cruise missiles, likely including the Chinese-made C-802 (CH-SS-N-6), against the maritime forces of the United States and United Arab Emirates.
More recently and most notably, the group claimed responsibility for the coordinated drone and cruise-missile attack against two Saudi Aramco plants in September 2019. This claim lacks credibility, with the US and Saudi Arabia pointing the finger at Tehran. Considering the ranges to the targets and the level of coordination that would be required, the attack would appear to have needed greater capabilities than Ansarullah possesses. That said, Ansarullah’s launches of ballistic missiles on trajectories towards Riyadh – well beyond the ranges of systems known to be in Yemen’s arsenal – have fuelled reports that longer-range missiles have been smuggled to the group.
Since 2006, Hizbullah’s arsenal has expanded from roughly 15,000 rockets to perhaps as many as around 120,000. Hizbullah’s initial arsenal consisted of unguided short-range rockets, but this has now grown in sophistication to include the Fateh-110, a short-range ballistic missile. The latter has inertial guidance, greatly reducing the inaccuracy of the missile when compared to the earlier rockets. The group has also received anti-ship missiles from Iran.
Hizbullah’s approach is to try to impose costs on Israel’s civilian population in any conflict as one counter to Israeli military action. During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hizbullah fired an assortment of nearly 4,000 rockets at Israel – a six-fold increase from the number of rocket attacks during the 1996 conflict – killing 44 civilians.
Consequences
If this is the start of the proliferation of cruise missiles to non-state actors, then it represents a notable change in their capabilities and a future challenge for national militaries. The attack against the Saudi Aramco plants in September 2019 demonstrated the vulnerability of facilities that lack dedicated defence systems, and the potential physical and reputational damages incurred from a successful targeting.
Aware of this threat, in a conflict scenario states will likely prioritise the destruction of these systems prior to launch, as well as associated storage and manufacture sites. This could strain aerial reconnaissance and targeting capabilities and cause civilian casualties if these sites are located in urban areas. Expected targeting also raises a ‘use it or lose it’ dilemma for both state and non-state actors, which may further drive escalatory conflict dynamics.
In addition, the potential growth in capability and scale of the missile inventories of some non-state actors – both acquired and improvised – adds to the challenge of creating effective integrated missile defence.
This analysis originally featured on the IISS Military Balance+, the online database that provides indispensable information and analysis for users in government, the armed forces, the private sector, academia, the media and more. Customise, view, compare and download data instantly, anywhere, anytime. The Military Balance+ includes data on ballistic and cruise missiles and UAVs by type in armed forces worldwide.

1,000 Iranians killed: when will the world finally take a stance against Tehran?
The National/December 07/2019
As well as stoking chaos abroad, Tehran has the blood of its own citizens on its hands
It took the Iranian regime just three weeks to murder more than 1,000 protesters, including children, and arrest 7,000 more, according to Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran. In the south-western city of Mahshahr alone, Mr Hook said he had video footage proving that at least 100 Iranians were killed at the hands of the very security forces that are supposed to protect them.
These figures are all the more worrying as they are impossible to verify. Amnesty International estimates that more than 200 Iranians have been killed since the start of demonstrations last month, while The New York Times believes that as many as 450 people have perished in the clampdown. Not only has the state turned its arms against its own people, it has done all that is in its power to muffle civilian voices, and keep them from resounding across the world. The government has resorted to draconian measures such as cutting off internet service in a country of 80 million people an attempt to stop the spread of information about protesters, their demands and the brutality with which they have been met. As a result, the demonstrators have gone largely under the radar and little is known of the scale of the damage inflicted on the people.
Authorities have blamed the violence on thugs and rioters sponsored by the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia. These conspiracy theories have failed to convince anyone, when all evidence shows that, on the contrary, it is the Iranian people who are rising up against their leaders.
People started taking to the streets on November 15 to protest against a hike in fuel prices, which spiralled into a movement demanding political change. Demonstrators chanted “Death to the dictator” while other slogans urged authorities to stop investing in militant groups abroad and focus on improving the living standards of their own people.
The Iranian economy is reeling under sanctions since Donald Trump, the US president, last year unilaterally opted out of the flawed nuclear deal that had been signed in 2015. The weight of the sanctions have taken a toll on the country’s middle-class and poor as the regime refuses to return to the negotiating table to discuss a solution. The Iranian people are the first to pay for this failure in diplomacy and are understandably angered that a nation with immense oil and gas wealth is unable to provide for their most basic needs.
The regime has already helped oppress protests in neighbouring Iraq before cracking down on its home-grown protest movement. One day after protests erupted in Iraq, Qassem Soleimani of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps met with top Iraqi security officials in Baghdad.
The regime will spare no afterthought for the lives lost in Iraq and Iran
The day after his visit, more than 100 people were killed at the hands of security forces and Iran-backed militias operating in the country. Violence has yet to subside as nearly 500 Iraqis have been killed since the onset of the protests in October. It is no surprise that the Iranian regime would replicate the crackdown it initiated in Iraq, unleashing untold violence on its people.
But in the age of the internet and social media, the regime can no longer hide its crimes from the world. Its leaders speak of spearheading noble causes, such as resisting oppression in Lebanon, freeing Iraq of ISIS and liberating Palestine, but now the truth has come out. This rhetoric has only ever been a web of lies to justify its dominance over fragile neighbouring states and hold on to power at home. The regime will spare no afterthought for the lives lost in Iraq and Iran. It is our collective duty to make sure that their stifled voices do not go unheard and that the regime is held accountable for the repression.

Why NATO is a long way from being obsolete
Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/December 07/2019
Seven decades since it was founded, NATO is the world’s oldest and most successful military alliance, and the largest contributor to long-term global stability. However, it has come under intense criticism, particularly as the US seeks to spread the risks and costs of global security and overseas interventions.
The alliance’s traditional adversaries have evolved their tactics away from mass military deployments on foreign soil toward more asymmetric warfare — cyber-attacks, influence trafficking and destabilizing operations. Their alarming effectiveness has not only led to greater public mistrust in crucial democratic processes such as elections, it also appears to have caught the world’s most powerful military alliance flat footed.
However, while US President Donald Trump’s refusal to reaffirm NATO’s Article 5 commitment to mutual defense and his threats of America’s actual withdrawal may make for eye-catching headlines and punditry about discord and disarray, there is simply no political will or public clamor for any NATO member to pull out, let alone the US. In fact, most Americans believe NATO does too little — suggesting that the argument is not that the alliance is obsolete, but that more could be done, just with less American money.
NATO’s importance extends far beyond merely deterring to the aggressive expansionism of decades past. Moreover, too much attention is paid to individual entities, instead of the symbiotic group of organizations that have been instrumental in maintaining a semblance of global peace.
The stability that NATO guarantees is crucial to the work of the Bretton Woods institutions, which in turn are responsible for securing global economic stability and growth. This should make it possible for member states to comfortably set aside at least 2 per cent of their GDP for defense without de-funding crucial domestic programs. NATO also generates myriad benefits beyond just mutual defense; it has come to define long-term stability and generational assurance for governments to balance military readiness with the other needs of the state.
What is apparent is the need for an “evolved” NATO; evolved in the sense that traditional confrontation and deterrence will simply not work in the face of increasingly complex threats to global stability.
Some of the criticism levelled against the alliance is warranted — and fractious summits such as the most recent one in London do not inspire confidence in its determination to confront challenges posed by Russia and China, or mount an effective defense against what the organization calls “hybrid threats” — but none of it takes away from NATO’s enormous potential to carry more of the traditional American burden of being the world’s policeman.
What is apparent is the need for an “evolved” NATO; evolved in the sense that traditional confrontation and deterrence will simply not work in the face of increasingly complex threats to global stability. There is little incentive these days for adversaries to amass troops and weaponry for full-scale invasions when the cost of doing so is far greater than any value that may be obtained from the capture of new territory. Russia is still reeling from a raft of sanctions imposed after its occupation of Crimea, and the US-China trade war has revealed that even the East Asian juggernaut has a soft underbelly.
An evolved strategy would employ non-military hard power (with soft power overtures), while maintaining the lethal capability to fight a hot war if necessary. An increase in expenditure by $130 billion would address the latter. For the former, there must be consensus and an unshakeable resolve within NATO and its partners, from Asia and Oceania to South America, to employ sanctions, trade embargoes and the global isolation of offenders. In this way, a simple rebuke by NATO, given the potential economic cost, would be enough to deter most aggressors.
It would also give teeth to digital initiatives aimed at curbing trafficking, money laundering, terrorism financing and global crime using cryptocurrencies on the “dark web.” There has been a failure to monitor and police these activities, despite the availability of resources, funding and capabilities to do so.
In the end, there are far more justifications for NATO’s existence than there are credible arguments for its termination; it is impossible to envision a safe world without it. However, the West’s traditional adversaries have evolved. Instead of nuclear weapons and regime change, we now have disinformation, mailed fists and support for insurgent elements. NATO will survive the Trump administration, but there are valid points to the White House’s criticisms, which should spur the organization toward an evolution in its capabilities, building on 70 years of successes and crucial lessons from failures. The world would be far better off if more nations took responsibility for its collective stability, rather than relying solely on America’s shoulders — which, while broad, are not invulnerable to corrosive influence.
*Hafed Al-Ghwell is a non-resident senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Institute at the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He is also senior adviser at the international economic consultancy Maxwell Stamp and at the geopolitical risk advisory firm Oxford Analytica, a member of the Strategic Advisory Solutions International Group in Washington DC and a former adviser to the board of the World Bank Group. Twitter:

‘Get Brexit Done’ is just more misleading Boris bluster
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/December 07/2019
Seven decades since it was founded, NATO is the wo
As the UK votes in parliamentary elections on Thursday, EU leaders will be holding their last summit of the year. Brexit is not formally on the agenda, but European capitals are keenly awaiting the election result as a pointer to Britain’s departure. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s campaign slogan is “Get Brexit Done,” and he asserts that the election therefore amounts to a choice between stability provided by the Tories, and the chaos of an anti-Conservative coalition and a new EU referendum.
This mantra is as misleading as it is simplistic. Leaving the EU next month would only be the start of new negotiations on topics from transport and fisheries to financial services and data transfer, which will represent a new order of complexity. The transition phase proposed from Feb. 1 to the end of 2020 is therefore not likely to be nearly long enough — despite claims to the contrary by Johnson and other leading Tory politicians; Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid remarkably said on Thursday there was “not a single doubt in my mind” that a final comprehensive deal could be “agreed within months, and we can get it through Parliament in 2020.”
The enormous odds against this are why some European politicians, such as Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, have proposed a five-year transition period. The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has said a “bare bones” agreement may be the best that can be hoped for in less than a year.
If the reality of no-deal dawns in about a year’s time, Brussels and London would almost certainly have to return to the negotiating table, with a new set of incentives and considerable urgency.
The reason time is tight is that Brussels is not allowed by law to conduct formal discussions on a new trade deal until the UK has ratified a withdrawal agreement, when the EU can approve a joint, next-phase negotiating mandate. That could take weeks, meaning formal discussions may not begin until spring; and because a deal would have to be ratified, negotiations realistically need to be completed by autumn.
Nevertheless, few in London or Brussels are prepared to talk openly about a transition extension. Johnson has made it a central election pledge not to extend the end-2020 deadline because many of his Brexiteer allies are opposed to continuing significant payments to the EU, regardless of the benefits.
This threatens a new “cliff edge” and, in effect, the renewed threat of a no-deal Brexit. Indeed Javid refused to rule this out, threatening a re-run of the political and economic uncertainties of 2019.
If the reality of no-deal dawns in about a year’s time, Brussels and London would almost certainly have to return to the negotiating table, with a new set of incentives and considerable urgency.
Outside a transition period, the negotiating process for a final, comprehensive deal could become significantly more difficult, with the same trade-offs as before, including free movement of people versus the scope of access to the European Single Market, but with added time pressure if the UK economy is hurting more than that of the EU. Another factor that may make a final, comprehensive deal significantly more difficult is that it would require EU unanimity, so just one objecting state could veto it.
Johnson’s “Get Brexit Done” mantra is therefore a huge distortion of the truth. Far from Brexit being complete by Jan. 31, detailed negotiations would follow that will shape UK and international politics for years to come.
*Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics