LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 03.2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert: Make straight the way of the Lord
Saint John 01/19-28: This is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, "Who are you?"he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, "I am not the Messiah."So they asked him, "What are you then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."So they said to him, "Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?"He said: "I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert, "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as Isaiah the prophet said."Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?"John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie."This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

"I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert: Make straight the way of the Lord'"
“Prepare a way for the Lord.” Brethren, however far you journey along it... from the very nature of goodness there is no limit to the way along which you travel. And so... the wise and indefatigable traveler... can say to himself each day: “Now I begin”... And how many “go astray in the wilderness”... None of them can yet say: “Now I begin.”For “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.” If the beginning of wisdom, then surely it is also the beginning of the way of goodness... It is this that encourages praise...; it also moves the proud to penance, so that they hear the voice of him crying in the wilderness,ordering the preparation of the way and thus showing how to begin it: “Do penance for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand”...If you are on the way then fear only one thing: lest you leave it, lest you offend the Lord who leads you along it so that he would abandon you to “wander in the way of your own heart”... If you feel that the way is too narrow look forward to the end to which it leads you. If you were to see how everything is to be attained, then you would say without hesitation: "Broad indeed is your command!" If you cannot see so far, believe Isaiah who could...: "Behold," he says, "the redeemed shall walk by this way and the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Sion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain also joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Those who dwell sufficiently on this end I think will not only make the way easier for himself but also grow wings so that he no longer walks but flies... May he who is the track of the runners and the reward of the winners lead and guide you along it: he, Christ Jesus
(Biblical references : Ps 77[76]:11 Vg. 107[106]:4. Pr 1:7. Ps 110[109]:10. Mt 3:2. 4:17. Is 57:1. Mt 7:14. Ps 119[118]:96. Is 35:10)

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on January 02-03/2020
No For Arresting & Imprisoning Dr. Issam Khalefe/Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
The Great Loss of the Journalist Najwa Kassiem/Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
Love Unites Not Enmity/Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
The accused is innocent until proven guilty/Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
France Hopes for a Future Govt. that Meets Aspirations of Lebanese
Lebanon Bankers Threaten New Strike over Safety Concerns
Optimism Reportedly Surges after '6-Hour Diab-Bassil Meeting'
Jumblat Rejects Environment Portfolio, Says Give Social Affairs to 'Caritas'
Geagea: Political Forces Seeking to Name Advisers as Ministers
Lebanon receives Interpol-issued wanted notice for Ghosn: Justice minister
Carlos Ghosn says family played no role in escape from Japan: Statement
Turkey probes how Nissan chief Ghosn fled via Istanbul, detains several
Japanese prosecutors raid Nissan ex-chair Ghosn's Tokyo home
Ghosn Says He Alone Organized His Departure from Japan
Ghosn Escape Sparks Calls to Toughen Japan's Bail System
Lebanese Lawyers Want Ghosn Prosecuted over Israel Trip
Lebanese lawyers file charges against Carlos Ghosn for Israel visits
Lebanon’s Ambassador to Japan denies his embassy helped Carlos Ghosn escape
Presidency Denies Aoun Welcomed Fugitive Ghosn
Carlos Ghosn's Escape: What We Know
Runway to Runaway: Carole Ghosn, Wife of Fugitive Tycoon
Ghosn used one of two French passports to flee: media
Lebanon receives Interpol wanted notice for Nissan ex-chair
Renowned Lebanese senior news anchor Najwa Qassem dies at 51/Tarek Ali Ahmad/Arab News/January 02/2010

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 02-03/2020
Iran not heading to war but not afraid of conflict: IRGC commander
Moderate quake causes limited damage in northeast Iran
Trump Warns Erdogan against 'Foreign Interference' in Libya
Turkey says Trump, Erdogan discussed Libya in phone call
Turkish lawmakers authorize sending troops to fight in Libya
US expects more attacks from Iran-backed groups: Esper
Israeli court declines to rule on Netanyahu’s eligibility
Fatah supporters hold rare Gaza rally
Iraqi protester shot dead as anti-regime rallies continue
Erdogan says up to 250,000 people fleeing from Syria's Idlib towards Turkey
Tunisia's PM-Designate Announces Cabinet
Pompeo Postpones Ukraine Trip after Attack on U.S. Embassy in Iraq

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 02-03/2020
Taqiyya Sunset: Exposing the Darkness Shrouding Islamic Deceit/Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine/January 02/2020
Iran Can No Longer Rely on Shia Militias to Fight its Wars/Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/January 02/2020
US embassy attack was Iran’s way of showing they run Iraq/Michael Pregent/Al Arabiya/January 02/2020
Iranian president under fire over economic woes/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/January 02/2010
No solution in sight for Syrian refugees/Randa Takieddine/Arab News/January 02/2010
World must act to prevent more deadly measles outbreaks/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab News/January 02/2010
Iraq faces a bleak new year/Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/January 02/2010

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on January 02-03/2020
No For Arresting & Imprisoning Dr. Issam Khalefe
Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
The biased judiciary arrest verdict against Dr. Issam Khalefe is an insult and contempt for each and every sovereign, independent, honourable, and free Lebanese citizen. In summary the Lebanese regime officials from top to bottom are corrupt, The country is occupied, The politicians are mere puppets, and the Judiciary is biased and politicized

The Great Loss of the Journalist Najwa Kassiem
Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
The sudden death of the distinguishable journalist and reporter, Najwa Kassim this morning was an extremely sad news. We pray for the eternal rest of her soul and offer our deeply felt condolences to her family and friends. Her death is a great loss of a truly distinguished media talent.

Love Unites Not Enmity
Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
Hizbullah, which is mere hostility and hatred, is striving to unite the Lebanese by force on the principle of enmity, while there is neither unity nor unification except on the basis of love.

The accused is innocent until proven guilty
Elias Bejjani/January 02/2020
Carlos Ghosn is accused, not convicted yet. His case is so complicated and intertwined with international political conflicts. Have mercy on the man and stop stoning him The accused is innocent until proven guilty

France Hopes for a Future Govt. that Meets Aspirations of Lebanese
Naharnet 02/2020
French ambassador to Lebanon, Bruno Foucher urged the formation of a Lebanese government acceptable by the people taking their demands into consideration, the National News Agency reported on Thursday. Foucher, who met with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace, conveyed his country's desire that Lebanon “forms a new government that will respond to the aspirations of the Lebanese at this stage.”The meeting between the two men was held in the presence of caretaker State Minister for Presidency Affairs, Salim Jreissati and the first secretary at the French embassy, Stephanie Salha. Discussions also touched on the situation in Lebanon, and the ongoing efforts to form a new government.

Lebanon Bankers Threaten New Strike over Safety Concerns
Naharnet 02/2020
The Federation of Syndicates of Banks Employees in Lebanon on Thursday warned that it might stage a new strike amid the ongoing protests in the country that have increasingly targeted banks in recent days. In a statement, the federation said “bank branches witnessed organized attacks in late 2019 by individuals claiming to represent the popular protest movement.”“Through their storming of several bank branches, these hooligans sought to tarnish the image of the banking sector… and they breached all the norms of public morals, hurling all kinds of insults and profanes at the employees. They also beat up some colleagues,” the federation added. Describing the incidents as “a direct attack on the banking sector and the national value it represents as well as on the prestige of the state, whose duty is to protect all citizens,” the federation noted that “the state of chaos created by these organized attacks will not alleviate the suffering of depositors.”“Depositors have the right, under the applicable laws, to object against the extraordinary measures that the administrations of banks have temporarily taken to preserve the continuity of the work of the banking sector and to avoid a descent into the unknown,” the federation explained. Accordingly, the federation urged all security agencies to “protect bankers in their places of work against the violations of those who claim to be rebels against corruption and the waste of public funds.”The federation “warns that should security forces fail to deter these hooligans, it will be obliged to take the decision of declaring a new general strike in the banking sector pending the restoration of stability and calm in all places of work and branches across the country,” the statement said. A grinding liquidity crunch has hit Lebanon, where unprecedented protests since October 17 have railed against the political class and a deepening economic crisis. Since September, banks have restricted the amount of dollars that can be withdrawn or transferred abroad. Although no formal policy is in place, most have arbitrarily capped withdrawals at around $1,000 a month, while others have imposed tighter restrictions.
With ordinary depositors bearing the brunt of these measures, bank branches have transformed into arenas of conflict.
Fistfights, shouting and tears abound, as cash-hungry clients haggle tellers to release money trapped under informal capital controls.By trapping dollar savings, banks are increasingly forcing the public to deal with the plummeting Lebanese pound, in what experts are calling a de-facto haircut. The local currency has lost around 30 percent of its value on the unofficial exchange market for the first time since it was pegged to the dollar at 1,500 Lebanese pounds in 1997. The restrictions have sparked panic in debt-ridden Lebanon, where protesters are demanding the removal of a political class they deem incompetent and corrupt. A video circulating on social media shows a customer pulling out an axe in the middle of a bank while he screams at employees who refused to hand him his money.In the northern city of Tripoli, a single soldier struggled to break up a fist fight between a handful of bank employees and a group of angry customers. As demonstrations enter their third month, protesters are also increasingly targeting banks, which they say are robbing people of their hard-earned savings.They have staged impromptu demonstrations inside branches, during the Christmas holidays singing carols to relay their message.

Optimism Reportedly Surges after '6-Hour Diab-Bassil Meeting'
Naharnet 02/2020
Optimism surged Thursday evening regarding the new government following a six-hour meeting between Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, a media report said. “The government is expected to be formed over the next few days and its members will resemble Hassan Diab, which means that they are independent technocrats who have expertise,” unnamed sources told LBCI television. “The government will be a salvation government and it will confront the financial and economic difficulties and the draft government line-up is undergoing final touches,” the sources added, noting that the cabinet will not comprise ministers from the outgoing government. Media reports had earlier said that a final agreement had been reached over the portfolios of Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement while the so-called Druze hurdle was resolved through the selection of a figure that satisfies both the Progressive Socialist Party and MP Talal Arslan, According to MTV, Diab has also found a solution to the interior portfolio obstacle and will name a Sunni judge or lawyer to the post. LBCI meanwhile said that there are assurances that the government will be formed before the end of the week and that it would comprise 18 or 20 ministers. PSP spokesman Saleh Hdaifeh for his part confirmed that “contacts are ongoing” to resolve the Druze obstacle and that a solution might emerge on Thursday afternoon or on Friday.

Jumblat Rejects Environment Portfolio, Says Give Social Affairs to 'Caritas'
Naharnet 02/2020
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Thursday lashed out at proposals to represent the Druze community in the new cabinet with the environment or social affairs ministerial portfolios. “I tell those who are forming the government and I remind that Druze are not in the position of begging for a portfolio,” Jumblat tweeted. “In my name, in the name of all those who represent this dear sect and away from political divisions, we demand equality in the nature of representation, and at least we should have the industry or public works portfolio,” he added. “We reject garbage (environment portfolio) and as for social affairs, gift it to Caritas,” the PSP leader went on to say.

Geagea: Political Forces Seeking to Name Advisers as Ministers

Naharnet 02/2020
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday accused the political forces that are forming the new government of seeking to appoint supposedly technocratic ministers who are “closer to being advisers to these political forces.”“Everything that has been and is still being leaked to the media about the anticipated government line-up is not reassuring at all, whether in terms of the interference of the very political forces who were behind the current crisis in the country or in terms of the feud over portfolios among these forces,” Geagea added in a written statement. “May God protect the Lebanese people in these difficult circumstances, after the forces responsible for them have insisted on their former ugly practices,” the LF leader went on to say. Lebanon is without a cabinet and in the grips of a deepening economic crisis after a two-month-old protest movement forced Saad Hariri to stand down as prime minister on October 29. Anti-government protests continued after Hariri's resignation, while political parties negotiated for weeks before nominating Hassan Diab, a professor and former education minister, to replace him on December 19. Echoing protester demands, Diab promised to form a government of independent experts within six weeks -- in a country where appointing a cabinet can take months. But the majority of protesters are unconvinced by Diab’s promise, decrying his participation as a minister in a previous government deemed corrupt. The support given to him by powerful Shiite movement Hizbullah also angers many protesters and pro-Hariri Sunnis. The 60-year-old Diab, who has a low public profile and styles himself as a technocrat, last month called protester demands legitimate but asked them to give him a chance to form "an exceptional government."

Lebanon receives Interpol-issued wanted notice for Ghosn: Justice minister
The Associated Press, Beirut/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Lebanon’s justice minister said Thursday that Lebanon has received an international wanted notice from Interpol for Nissan’s ex-chair Carlos Ghosn. Albert Serhan told The Associated Press in an interview that the Red Notice for the former automotive titan was received earlier Thursday by the prosecution. Interpol’s so-called Red Notices are requests to law enforcement agencies worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a wanted fugitive. Japanese prosecutors on Thursday raided the Tokyo home of Ghosn after he skipped bail and fled to Lebanon before his trial on financial misconduct charges. Charged in Japan with under-reporting his future compensation and breach of trust, has repeatedly asserted his innocence, saying authorities trumped up charges to prevent a possible fuller merger between Nissan Motor Co. and alliance partner Renault SA.
It is unclear how Ghosn avoided the tight surveillance he was under in Japan and showed up in Lebanon. Ghosn said Tuesday in a statement that he left for Lebanon because he thought the Japanese judicial system was unjust, and he wanted to avoid “political persecution.”Japan does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon.

Carlos Ghosn says family played no role in escape from Japan: Statement

Reuters, Beirut/Thursday, 2 January 2020
The family of former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn played no role in his escape from Japan, Ghosn said in a statement on Thursday, days after his abrupt arrival in Beirut from Tokyo, where he faces trial for alleged financial misconduct. “There has been speculation in the media that my wife Carole, and other members of my family played a role in my departure from Japan. All such speculation is inaccurate and false,” said the statement. “I alone arranged for my departure. My family had no role whatsoever,” it added.

Turkey probes how Nissan chief Ghosn fled via Istanbul, detains several
The Associated Press, Ankara/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Turkish police detained seven people including four pilots on Thursday in an investigation of how ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn touched down in Istanbul as he fled Japan en route to Lebanon, according to broadcaster NTV. Turkey's interior ministry has launched a probe into the transit of Ghosn, who has become Japan's most famous fugitive after revealing on Tuesday he fled to Beirut to escape what he called a “rigged” justice system. People familiar with the matter told Reuters that Ghosn, one of the world's best-known executives, had arrived in Beirut on a private jet from Istanbul on Monday. Hurriyet news website, citing an interior ministry official, said Turkish border police were not notified about Ghosn's arrival, and neither his entry nor exit were registered. The plane arrived at 5:30 am (0230 GMT) Monday at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Hurriyet reported, adding prosecutors ordered the arrests after widening their investigation. The reports could not immediately be confirmed. Lebanon has said that Ghosn entered the country legally and there was no reason to take action against him. Japan does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon. Japanese authorities allowed Ghosn to carry a spare French passport in a locked case while out on bail, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday, shedding some light on how he managed his escape to Lebanon. The businessman, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, was smuggled out of Tokyo by a private security company days ago, the culmination of a plan that was crafted over three months, Reuters has reported. Ghosn, who was charged with under-reporting his future compensation and a breach of trust, has repeatedly asserted his innocence. He says Japanese authorities trumped up the charges to prevent a possible fuller merger between Nissan Motor Co. and alliance partner Renault SA. His 1.5 billion yen ($14 million) bail that Ghosn posted on two separate instances to get out of detention is being revoked.

Japanese prosecutors raid Nissan ex-chair Ghosn's Tokyo home

The Associated Press, Tokyo/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Japanese prosecutors raided the Tokyo home of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn after he skipped bail before a trial on financial misconduct charges and left for Lebanon. Tokyo prosecutors and police did not immediately comment Thursday. Japanese media reported and showed photos of the raid. Government offices are closed this week for the New Year's holidays. It is unclear how Ghosn avoided the tight surveillance he was under in Japan and showed up in Lebanon. Ghosn said Tuesday in a statement that he left for Lebanon because he thought the Japanese judicial system was unjust, and he wanted to avoid “political persecution.” He said he would talk to reporters next week. Japan does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon.Lebanon has said Ghosn entered the country legally, and there was no reason to take action against him. His lawyers in Japan said they had no knowledge of the escape and they had all his passports. Ghosn has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship. Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV, without identifying sources, reported Thursday that Ghosn had two French passports. Earlier Japanese reports said there were no official records in Japan of Ghosn’s departure, but a private jet had left from a regional airport to Turkey. Ghosn, who was charged with under-reporting his future compensation and breach of trust, has repeatedly asserted his innocence, saying authorities trumped up charges to prevent a possible fuller merger between Nissan Motor Co. and alliance partner Renault SA. His 1.5 billion yen ($14 million) bail that Ghosn posted on two separate instances to get out of detention is being revoked.

Ghosn Says He Alone Organized His Departure from Japan
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/Naharnet 02/2020
Former Renault and Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn issued a statement Thursday, his second this week, seeking to distance his Lebanese wife and family from any role in his spectacular escape from Japan to Lebanon. "The allegations in the media that my wife Carole and other members of my family played a role in my departure from Japan are false and misleading. I alone organized my departure. My family played no role," he said. A first post-escape picture of Ghosn has meanwhile emerged, showing him next to his wife and two unidentified female relatives. According to French TV TF1, the photo was taken during a New Year's Eve dinner in Lebanon. Ghosn, who had been under house arrest in Tokyo since April, is believed to be holed up in his central Beirut residence, where visitors file in and out under the scrutiny of TV cameras. Turkey has detained seven people for questioning, including four pilots, over how Ghosn managed to transit through Istanbul as he fled Japan on his way to Lebanon, Turkish news agency DHA reported Thursday. The Turkish interior ministry has opened an investigation into Ghosn's apparent transfer between private jets at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport on Monday. It is focused on two flights, the first a Bombardier labeled TC-TSR flew from Osaka in Japan, landed in Istanbul at 05:15am and parked in a hangar. The second was a private jet to Beirut, a Bombardier Challenger 300 TC-RZA, which left 45 minutes later, according to DHA. The seven detained by police also include two ground personnel and the operations director of a private cargo company, DHA said. According to the Hurriyet newspaper, the Beirut-bound private jet was formerly owned by Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab, convicted in the United States for his alleged role in a scheme to evade sanctions on Iran by trading gold for gas. Ghosn, the former Nissan boss, made a dramatic escape from Japan despite stringent bail conditions, claiming his upcoming trial for financial misconduct was rigged.

Ghosn Escape Sparks Calls to Toughen Japan's Bail System
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
Carlos Ghosn's stunning flight while on bail awaiting trial has vindicated prosecutors who said he should have been kept in custody, and sparked calls to toughen Japan's justice system that critics say is already overly harsh. "I knew it!" was the reaction of a senior Nissan executive cited in the Japanese press upon learning of his former boss's escape to Lebanon to avoid trial in Tokyo. "This is how he proves his innocence? By fleeing abroad?" added the Nissan official quoted in the Asahi Shimbun. "It should be out of the question to grant bail to suspects who deny the accusations against them."A senior prosecutor told the Mainichi Shimbun: "This is what we had predicted" when arguing Ghosn should remain in custody, bemoaning the fact their painstaking evidence gathering was now moot. There were also calls in the media to tighten bail procedures in the wake of the tycoon's escape, which many papers said made a "mockery" of Japan's justice system. "To prevent a repeat of the incident, we should discuss how to cover the weak points of the system, such as setting bail equal to most of the defendants' assets, and GPS monitoring," said the Yomiuri Shimbun. Ghosn's high-profile arrest on multiple charges of financial misconduct threw an international spotlight on Japan's justice system -- widely considered draconian compared with the West. Suspects can be questioned initially for 48 hours, renewable for two periods of 10 days, bringing the time in custody without formal charges to 22 days.Prosecutors often then "re-arrest" a suspect on a slightly different allegation to restart the clock -- which happened several times to Ghosn.
Certain of guilt
When formal charges are eventually pressed, there is a two-month period of pre-trial detention, renewable by one month at a time by appeal to the court.Former prosecutor Yasuyuki Takai told AFP that the system operates in this way so authorities only charge suspects they are absolutely sure are guilty. "Imagine that 30 or 40 percent of people were found not guilty during a trial. The public would ask why so many innocent people were being charged," Takai told AFP, adding that courts have increasingly been granting bail. The Ghosn case, however, "proves that there are easy escape routes for wealthy people with backing who want to flee overseas, no matter how strictly courts impose bail conditions", said Tsunehiko Maeda, a former prosecutor. "We can expect prosecutors to oppose future bail requests much more robustly." Critics including rights groups such as Amnesty International have derided Japan's system as "hostage justice", designed to break morale and force confessions from suspects.
Every move monitored
When safely in Lebanon, Ghosn pressed this point again, saying he "would no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system". However, when pleading for bail in his only public court appearance, Ghosn said he was "looking forward to beginning the process of defending myself against the accusations that have been made against me".One of his lawyers at the time said there was no way a tycoon as famous as Ghosn could escape with the world's media and prosecutors monitoring his every move. "There is no risk that he will run away. He's CEO of French company Renault. He's widely known so it's difficult for him to escape," argued the attorney, Go Kondo. His lead lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, confessed he was "dumbfounded" by news of his flight, but he also said he could "sympathise" with some of Ghosn's comments about the justice system. "I thought it was not unreasonable that Mr. Ghosn has come to feel that way," Hironaka told reporters in Tokyo. "How he was arrested and kept in detention; how they gathered evidence; the way they allowed meetings with Carole (his wife), and how they disclosed evidence. There must have been many areas that were not acceptable in the eyes of Mr. Ghosn."

Lebanese Lawyers Want Ghosn Prosecuted over Israel Trip
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
Lebanese lawyers on Thursday filed a report to the judiciary demanding fugitive auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn be prosecuted over a trip he made to Israel as Renault-Nissan chairman in 2008. Ghosn -- who holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian citizenship -- jumped bail in Tokyo in mysterious circumstances and arrived in his native Lebanon early on Monday. The tycoon had traveled to Israel in 2008 to support a partnership with Shai Agassi, an Israeli entrepreneur who had launched an ill-fated electric vehicle venture called "Project Better Place". Three lawyers "submitted a report to the public prosecutor against businessman Carlos Ghosn for the crime of having entered an enemy country and violated the boycott law," the state news agency reported. They said several contracts had been signed during his January 2008 trip and added that Ghosn had taken part in several economic conferences. "Doing business with Israel is not a matter of opinion -- any normalization is forbidden by law," Hassan Bazzi, one of the lawyers, told AFP. Lebanon is technically still at war with Israel, which occupied the south of the country until 2000, and forbids its citizens from traveling there. Interpol, the international police cooperation body, has issued a "red notice" for Ghosn's arrest in the wake of him fleeing Japan, but Lebanese judicial sources have said he cannot be extradited there. Ghosn stands accused in Japan of deferring part of his salary until after his retirement and concealing this from shareholders, as well as siphoning off millions in Nissan cash for his own purposes. He has denied all charges and has announced a press conference for next week. Ghosn entered Lebanon on a private jet from Turkey using his French passport, according to airport documents seen by AFP. "Where were the public prosecutor and general security when Ghosn visited Lebanon, after he traveled to occupied Palestine and was photographed there?," Bazzi asked. General security is Lebanon's main intelligence agency, which routinely investigates Lebanese citizens suspected of ties with Israel. "Lebanon prosecutes poor people while those who have earned millions by investing with the enemy are treated as national heroes," Bazzi said. In 2017, French-Lebanese filmmaker Ziad Doueiri was arrested and briefly questioned for filming part of his film "The Attack" in Israel.

Lebanese lawyers file charges against Carlos Ghosn for Israel visits
The National/January 03/2020
Under Lebanese law, citizens are not allowed to travel to Israel or have contact with Israelis
Three Lebanese lawyers have filed a request for charges against former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn for entering Israel in breach of domestic law. Mr Ghosn, who holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian passports, arrived in Lebanon this week in mysterious circumstances after fleeing Japan, where he was expected to face trial on financial misconduct charges. The lawyers accuse Mr Ghosn, 65, of signing contracts and attending several high-profile conferences in Israel, Lebanon's National News Agency reported. Lebanese law bars its citizens from visiting Israel or communicating with Israelis. The two countries have never signed a peace treaty nor established diplomatic relations after the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.In 2008, Mr Ghosn, then head of French-Japanese car maker Renault Nissan, met president Shimon Peres and prime minister Ehud Olmert on a visit to Israel to sign a deal for mass-producing electric cars.
At the time, Hezbollah affiliated news website Al Ahed described the visit as “controversial”. The Iran-backed group, which wields considerable political power in Lebanon, fought a 34-day war against Israel in 2006. That did not stop Mr Ghosn from enjoying popular support in Lebanon. In August 2017, he attended a ceremony in Beirut during which the national post office unveiled a stamp with his image. One of the three lawyers, Hassan Bazzi, did not respond to a request for comment from The National asking why he waited 12 years to take legal action against Mr Ghosn. His colleague, Jad Tohme, accused Lebanese politicians of remaining silent in the face of a clear “security breach”, NNA reported. Lebanese authorities are usually swift to move against citizens suspected of breaking the law regarding Israel. In 2017, French-Lebanese filmmaker Ziad Doueiry was briefly detained for shooting part of a 2013 movie in Israel.Lebanese lawyer Ayman Raad, who is not involved in the case, told The National that the general prosecutor is not obliged to go ahead with an investigation.

Lebanon’s Ambassador to Japan denies his embassy helped Carlos Ghosn escape
Arab News/January 03/2010
The Lebanese Ambassador to Japan has strongly denied his embassy was involved in the dramatic escape of Carlos Ghosn in an exclusive statement to Arab News Japan, after widespread accusations in the media. The fugitive former Nissan boss made global headlines with his Hollywood-esque escape from Japan, after somehow slipping past immigration authorities and checkpoints to fly out in a cargo plane to Turkey and finally arriving on New Year’s Eve in Lebanon via private jet. An arrest warrant for Ghosn was issued by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) on Thursday, according to a Lebanese judicial source. Lebanon’s ambassador to Japan, Nidal Yehya, issued a statement to Arab News Japan on Thursday saying: “The Lebanese Embassy in Tokyo is keen to inform Japanese public opinion that the Lebanese embassy had absolutely no relationship or interference with how Carlos Ghosn got out of Japan, and his violation of the conditions for his release on bail. “Rather, the Embassy has always stressed to him that he must abide by all the conditions of his release, as decided by the Criminal Court in Tokyo, in order to ensure his health and to ensure the proper preparation of the defence for the cases brought against him.” Ambassador Yehya spoke out after media reports accused the Embassy of involvement. Yōichi Masuzoe, who served as governor of the Japanese capital from 2014 to 2016, accused the Embassy of misusing its diplomatic privileges. He tweeted to his 161,900 followers: “The immigration system for entry and exit procedures are very strict. There is also special auditing of private jets. “The officials there could not be mistaken in such a situation. I think that the Embassy of Lebanon is involved somehow in the escape of Carlos Ghosn because of the use of diplomatic privileges. “As for Ghosn, he may have fled because he wants the Japanese government to thoroughly clarify the fact.”Masuzoe is a controversial figure in Japanese politics. He was a member of the House of Councillors, the upper house of Japan’s parliament the National Diet, from 2001 to 2013 before being elected as Governor of Tokyo in 2014. But in 2016, he was forced to resign over allegations of misuse of public funds. While an investigation found no criminal behaviour, he faced a vote of no confidence after details emerged of flamboyant spending on hotels, restaurants and travel, and he resigned. The statement followed a day of developments surrounding Carlos Ghosn’s escape. In Tokyo, Japanese prosecutors raided the Tokyo home Ghosn with officers seen entering the property. In Turkey, police detained seven people – four pilots, a cargo company manager and two airport workers – after the interior ministry launched a probe into the transit of ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who after fleeing Japan stopped in Turkey on his way to Lebanon, broadcaster NTV said on Thursday. And, in France junior economy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said the state ‘will not extradite’ Ghosn if he arrives in the country.

Presidency Denies Aoun Welcomed Fugitive Ghosn
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
The Lebanese presidency on Thursday denied reports that President Michel Aoun had welcomed fugitive former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn upon his arrival in the country. The French-Lebanese tycoon, who had been under house arrest in Japan over several counts of financial misconduct, escaped in mysterious circumstances and arrived in Beirut on Monday. Several media outlets reported that he had been greeted by Aoun but a senior presidency official denied the two men had met. "He was not received at the presidency and did not meet the president," the official told AFP. Ghosn flew in from Istanbul on a private jet and has since been reunited with friends and family. Ghosn said he would speak to the media next week. One of his lawyers in Lebanon, Carlos Abou Jaoude, said a date for the press conference had yet to be determined. He entered Lebanon on a French passport, according to airport documents seen by AFP. The public Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the court in Tokyo had allowed Ghosn to keep a second French passport so long as it were kept "in a locked case" with the key held by his lawyers. The exact circumstances of Ghosn's daring escape from Japan, where he had been released on bail in April pending trial after 130 days in prison, remain unclear, though colourful rumours abound. One claim in the Lebanese media is that the auto mogul, who holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian nationalities, was sprung from his Tokyo residence in a musical instrument case -- a story a source in his entourage denied. How Ghosn was able to jump bail has led to a Japanese investigation into what is seen as an embarrassing security lapse.Ghosn stands accused of deferring part of his salary until after his retirement and concealing this from shareholders, as well as syphoning off millions in Nissan cash for his own purposes. Ghosn has repeatedly denied all charges against him, and said that he fled to Lebanon to escape a "rigged" Japanese justice system. Some Lebanese see Ghosn as a symbol of their country's fabled entrepreneurial genius and a proud representative of its vast diaspora.The mood has changed since his November 2018 arrest, however, and, weeks into an unprecedented wave of protests against corruption and nepotism, activists saw his return as another manifestation of privilege and impunity for the super-rich.

Carlos Ghosn's Escape: What We Know
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
From jumping bail in Japan and fleeing to Lebanon to be met with an arrest notice from Interpol, Carlos Ghosn has had a busy three days as a fugitive. Here's what we know about the former Renault-Nissan boss' escape.
Hid in an instrument case
The exact circumstances of his departure from Japan, where he was under house arrest pending trial, are still shrouded in mystery. According to Japan's Kyodo news agency, Ghosn was smuggled out by private security operatives who pretended to be part of a music group for a Christmas party at his residence. Quoting a Lebanese consultant in Tokyo, Kyodo said Ghosn hid in an instrument case before boarding a private jet -- a scenario a member of Ghosn's entourage has denied. Ghosn is believed to have taken a private jet from Kansai Airport in western Japan on December 29, to Istanbul. It is believed that he then flew from there to Beirut.
Turkish investigation
Turkey's interior ministry has opened an investigation into Ghosn's apparent transfer between private jets at an Istanbul airport on Monday.Officials questioned seven people, including four pilots, as part of the probe, news agency DHA reported Thursday. The investigation is focused on two flights. The first, a Bombardier labelled TC-TSR, flew from Osaka in Japan, landed in Istanbul at 5:15 am and parked in a hangar. The second was a private jet to Beirut, a Bombardier Challenger 300 TC-RZA, which left 45 minutes later, according to DHA. Ghosn said in a statement on Thursday that he acted alone without his family's help.
Four passports
There is no emigration data showing Ghosn's departure from Japan but he entered Lebanon on a French passport, according to airport documents seen by AFP. Lebanon said the former car mogul -- who holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian nationalities -- had entered the country "legally" at dawn on Monday. His three passports were held by his Japanese lawyers, to limit the risk of flight. Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that the court in Tokyo had nonetheless allowed Ghosn to keep a second French passport so long as it was kept "in a locked case" with the key held by his lawyers.
'Red notice'
Interpol, the international police cooperation body, has issued a "red notice" for Ghosn's arrest in the wake of him fleeing Japan. However, a Lebanese judicial source told AFP that Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition agreement under which Ghosn could be sent back to Tokyo. Ghosn stands accused in Japan of deferring part of his salary until after his retirement and concealing this from shareholders, as well as siphoning off millions in Nissan cash for his own purposes. His home in France was searched in June as part of a probe into his sumptuous marriage celebrations at the Palace of Versailles in 2016.
And three lawyers in Lebanon submitted a report to the public prosecutor Thursday demanding that the businessman be prosecuted for a trip he made to Israel in 2008. Details of just how he escaped could be clarified on Monday when the former auto executive is to speak to the press in Beirut.

Runway to Runaway: Carole Ghosn, Wife of Fugitive Tycoon
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
Carole Ghosn, who not so long ago was an influential but discreet figure in the New York fashion world, has been thrust into the limelight by her tycoon husband Carlos' arrest and subsequent flight from Japan. The 53-year-old second wife of the former Nissan boss, who like him also has Lebanese citizenship, has vocally led the campaign for her husband's freedom but what role she played in his epic escape remains unclear. Carole was reunited with her husband on Monday after he jumped bail in Japan, where he had been jailed and then held under house arrest over several counts of financial misconduct. Little known in her birth country, the elegant entrepreneur often seen sporting flowing blonde hair spent a big part of her life in the United States. But over the past year, she has criss-crossed the globe, indefatigably spearheading a campaign to clear her husband's name. Carole was not with him on November 19, 2018 when he was dramatically arrested aboard his private jet at a Japanese airport and was shocked to learn the news thousands of kilometers away. She was prevented from seeing her husband during his detention and initially kept largely silent about his case but was ever-present after he was released on bail to a central Tokyo apartment on March 6.
'Traumatized'
The tycoon's wife appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron, complaining in an interview with the newspaper Journal du Dimanche that the silence of French authorities in the case was "deafening." She also contacted the White House and gave a tearful interview to U.S. media in which she said her 65-year-old husband was in poor health, exacerbated by what she described as "mental abuse" while he was detained. "During the month he was free, they tried to live normally, go for walks, eat good meals," said a Tokyo-based friend of the couple. This was in spite of the photographers who camped outside their residence -- to Carole's visible annoyance. The respite was brief and Carlos was rearrested at dawn on April 4 to answer further allegations -- an event that "traumatized" her, according to her friend. In interviews she claimed that prosecutors scoured their 50-square-meter apartment, searched her, took her passport and even accompanied her to the bathroom. "It was a huge trial, among the worst moments of her life," said the couple's French lawyer, Francois Zimeray, who praised her for her "dignity" under pressure. Using another passport, she then left Japan for France but returned a few days later to face questioning and show "she had nothing to hide."Her friend told AFP: "She has decided to fight for her husband because she loves him and she believes in his innocence. She won't leave him because she knows that for him, his defense is the biggest challenge of his life." Media reports gave colorful accounts of Ghosn's escape, spirited out of his home in an instrument case by a former U.S. marine and a private security operative from a Lebanese firm posing as musicians hired for a Christmas party. The former Nissan chairman insisted on Thursday that he had not received help from any government and had organized his escape "alone," denying reports that his wife orchestrated the daring operation.
'Beauty Yachts'
Born in 1966 in Beirut as Carole Nahas, the businesswoman has spent most of her life in the U.S. She holds American nationality along with her three children from her first marriage. Highly educated and successful in her own right, in the 2000s she founded a company selling luxury kaftans.
She met Carlos and the couple fell quickly in love, with Carole providing a calming influence on the impulsive tycoon, according to one friend. They were married in 2016 at the gilded Versailles Palace near Paris in a lavish ceremony that has since caught the attention of authorities amid questions over how the wedding was funded. According to sources close to the case, she is named as president of a company used to buy a luxury yacht that prosecutors suspect was purchased partly with funds diverted from Nissan. Authorities have questioned her over the British Virgin Isles-registered company "Beauty Yachts" but she has not been charged and denies wrongdoing.

Ghosn used one of two French passports to flee: media
AFP, Tokyo/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who fled to Lebanon to avoid a Japanese trial, was carrying one of his two French passports, local media said Thursday, as Japan launched a probe into the embarrassing security lapse. Ghosn, who faces multiple charges of financial misconduct that he denies, won bail in April but with strict conditions, including a bar on overseas travel. His lead lawyer Junichiro Hironaka has said lawyers hold three passports belonging to the international tycoon, who holds French, Brazilian and Lebanese nationalities. But public broadcaster NHK said the court had allowed him to keep a second French passport so long as it were kept “in a locked case” with the key held by his lawyers. There is no emigration data showing Ghosn's departure from Japan but he entered Lebanon on a French passport, NHK said. Prosecutors and police are poised to launch an investigation into the stunning escape, suspecting he departed “in an unlawful manner,” NHK said. Authorities plan to analyze security camera footage from his residence and other places they suspect Ghosn appeared before he fled, NHK said. Police suspect “several” people accompanied him to help him escape, it added. Immediate confirmation of the report was not available. When his defense lawyers were arguing for bail, prosecutors claimed he was a flight risk with powerful connections, but Ghosn himself had said he wanted to be tried to prove his innocence. One of his lawyers also said he was such a famous face that he had no chance to slip away undetected.
Some countries allow people to have two passports of the same nationality, for reasons including if they are travelling to nations in conflict with one another. Meanwhile, France says it will not extradite Ghosn, if he arrives in the country, a French minister said, according to AFP.

Lebanon receives Interpol wanted notice for Nissan ex-chair
Associated Press/January 02/2020
Interpol’s so-called Red Notices are requests to law enforcement agencies worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a wanted fugitive.
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s justice minister said Thursday that Lebanon has received an international wanted notice from Interpol for Nissan’s ex-chair Carlos Ghosn, four days after he fled Japan to Lebanon to evade trial on financial misconduct charges.
Albert Serhan told The Associated Press in an interview that the Red Notice for the former automotive titan was received earlier Thursday by the prosecution, and that Lebanon will do its part. Ghosn, who is Lebanese and also holds French and Brazilian passports, skipped bail before his much-anticipated trial in Japan, which was to start in April. He arrived in Lebanon, his country of origin, on Monday via Turkey and hasn’t been seen in public since. In a statement, he said he had fled to avoid “political persecution.”Authorities have said that he entered legally on a French passport.
Interpol’s so-called Red Notices are requests to law enforcement agencies worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a wanted fugitive. Serhan, the minister, said the Lebanese prosecution “will carry out its duties,” suggesting for the first time that Ghosn may be brought in for questioning. “We are a country of law and respect the law and ... I can confirm that the Lebanese state will implement the law,” he said. “The prosecution will not stay cross-armed regarding this red notice.” He said the prosecution will “carry out its duties” by summoning Ghosn and listening to him and “at a later stage if there are any measures to be taken, then the precautionary measures will be taken.” Serhan added that Lebanon has not received any official extradition request from Japan and that the two countries did not have an extradition treaty, ruling out the possibility that Beirut would hand Ghosn over to Japan. “Mr. Ghosn arrived in Lebanon as any ordinary citizen. ... Lebanese authorities have no security or judiciary charges against him, he entered the border like any other Lebanese using a legal passport,” he said. Ghosn’s sudden arrival in Beirut a few months ahead of his much-anticipated trial shocked Japan and confounded authorities. How he was able to flee Japan, avoiding the tight surveillance he was under, is still a mystery. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said Thursday that Turkish authorities had detained seven people as part of an investigation into how Ghosn fled to Lebanon via Istanbul.
The private DHA news agency reported that those detained are 4 pilots, a cargo company manager and two airport workers.
In Japan, prosecutors on Thursday raided Ghosn’s Tokyo home. Japanese media showed investigators entering the home, which was Ghosn’s third residence in Tokyo since he was first arrested a year ago. Authorities have now searched each one.
Tokyo prosecutors and police did not immediately comment. Government offices in Japan are closed this week for the New Year’s holidays. Ghosn said Tuesday in a statement that he left for Lebanon because he thought the Japanese judicial system was unjust, and he wanted to avoid “political persecution.”
He said he would talk to reporters next week.Lebanon said earlier that Ghosn entered the country legally, and there was no reason to take action against him. Ghosn’s lawyers in Japan said they had no knowledge of the escape and they had all his passports. Ghosn has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV, without identifying sources, reported Thursday that Ghosn had two French passports. Earlier, Japanese reports said there were no official records in Japan of Ghosn’s departure, but a private jet had left from a regional airport to Turkey. The Hurriyet newspaper said the plane carrying Ghosn landed at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport at 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 29. Ghosn was not registered upon landing and was smuggled onboard another plane that left for Lebanon, the paper reported. Ghosn, who was charged in Japan with under-reporting his future compensation and breach of trust, has repeatedly asserted his innocence, saying authorities trumped-up charges to prevent a possible fuller merger between Nissan Motor Co. and alliance partner Renault SA.
The 1.5 billion yen ($14 million) bail that Ghosn posted on two separate instances to get out of detention is being revoked.

Renowned Lebanese senior news anchor Najwa Qassem dies at 51
Tarek Ali Ahmad/Arab News/January 02/2010
The Arab media industry ushered in the new year on a somber note with the sudden passing of one of the titans of the field, Lebanese senior news anchor Najwa Qassem.
Qassem, a journalist known for her intrepid reporting on the Iraq and Lebanese wars, was 51 at the time of her passing and still working with Al Arabiya and Al Hadath News Channels.
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri, who is also owner of Future TV where Qassem began her career, tweeted his condolences, describing her death as “A real and sad shock,” adding that she “shone on the screen as a glowing star.”
Highlights of her broad-reaching career include being named one of the 100 most powerful women in the Arab world by Arabian Business in 2011, as well as Best Female Presenter by the Arab Media Festival in 2006. Her award-winning career began in 1992 with Future TV News Station in Lebanon where she hosted several shows and reported on Israeli military operations against Lebanon and its withdrawal from South Lebanon. Arab News Editor in Chief, Faisal J Abbas worked with Qassem at both Future Television of Lebanon and later at Al Arabiya News channel.
“I have had the honor of knowing Najwa since 1999, and the pleasure of working side by side with her at both Future Television of Lebanon and at Al Arabiya News Channel in Dubai,” Abbas said. “In every place she stepped foot in, Najwa always managed to set new standards in professionalism. She has remained remarkably humble despite having interviewed world leaders and covered two regional wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
“Her professionalism, good soul and incredible sense of humor will be truly missed. My sincere condolences to her family and to all our colleagues in the Arab media industry,” he added. Group TV Director at MBC Ali Jaber, who worked with Qassem at Future TV, said he spoke to her a short time before her death.“She was my first recruit to Future TV. I auditioned her first and it took me just few minutes to conclude that she will reign over the screen…she did ever since, on every screen she appeared on,” Jaber told Arab News, adding: “She was a true journalist and a great friend. We kept in touch until few hours before she died.”In 2003, Qassem moved to Al Arabiya News Channel where she survived a bombing on Al Arabiya’s Baghdad news station while covering the Iraq war - eight of her colleagues were killed in the attack. She reported on the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and on the front lines of the Lebanese-Israeli war in 2006. She hosted several news shows and current affairs bulletins with Al Hadath, having covered elections, conflicts, summits and more. Al Arabiya Senior News Anchor Lara Nabhan recounted fond memories with Qassem where she used to order food for everyone during breaking news segments knowing that her colleagues would not have time to eat.
“She used to always, in particular with me, watch and follow my coverage from home and then call me during the break to give me advice on questions I should have asked as well as praise me for the ones that I did. She was always supportive and helpful, especially when I needed advice on how to approach certain guests, and she would always give me the right angle to go with. Personally, she was very kind and helpful with me and she taught me well,” Nabhan told Arab News.
Tributes have filled social media in the Arab world with words of praise and condolences to Qassem, from those who worked with her to those who grew used to watching her on the news.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 02-03/2020
Iran not heading to war but not afraid of conflict: IRGC commander
Reuters, Dubai/Thursday, 2 January 2020
A top Iranian commander said on Thursday that Iran was not moving towards a war but was not afraid of any conflict, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported after US President Donald Trump said Tehran was behind anti-US protests in Iraq. Trump accused Iran of orchestrating demonstrations at the US embassy in Iraq on Tuesday and said Tehran would be held responsible. Iran has rejected the accusation. “We are not leading the country to war, but we are not afraid of any war and we tell America to speak correctly with the Iranian nation. We have the power to break them several times over and are not worried,” Revolutionary Guards Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami was quoted by Tasnim as saying. Trump had said in a tweet on Tuesday that Iran would be “held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat.” He later said he did not want or foresee a war with Iran.Iran's Army chief Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said on Thursday his forces were ready to confront the "enemy". “Our armed forces ... monitor all moves, and if anyone makes the slightest mistake, they will decisively react, and if the situation heats up, we will show our abilities to the enemy,” Mousavi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday condemned US attacks on Iranian-allied militias in Iraq, blaming the United States for violence in Iran's neighbor. Iran protested on Wednesday to a Swiss envoy, who represents US interests in Tehran, over what it called “warmongering statements” by American officials.

Moderate quake causes limited damage in northeast Iran
Reuters/Thursday, 2 January 2020
An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 shook northeastern Iran on Thursday, but there was little damage and no casualties, state television reported. The quake was centered on an area near Sangan, a town of about 10,000 people near the border with Afghanistan, at a shallow depth of 8 km (5 miles). “Our near-final report is that about 14 villages have had very limited damage,” Morteza Salimi, head of rescue at Iran's Red Crescent, told the television. “There are no casualties and most of the damage is walls collapsing in places where livestock is kept,” he added. Crisscrossed by major fault lines, Iran is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 quake in southeastern Kerman province killed 31,000 people and flattened the ancient city of Bam.

Trump Warns Erdogan against 'Foreign Interference' in Libya
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday warned his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan against any "foreign interference" in Libya, the White House said, after Turkish lawmakers approved a military deployment to shore up the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli. In a telephone call, Trump "pointed out that foreign interference is complicating the situation in Libya," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. The government in Tripoli -- backed by Turkey and Qatar -- has been under sustained attack since April by military strongman General Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Ankara's regional rivals: Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Erdogan has repeatedly accused Russia of sending private mercenaries to support Haftar's forces, though Moscow has denied this. The Turkish leader's office confirmed last Friday that a request for military support had been received from the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Following the vote by lawmakers, it is now up to Erdogan whether to send troops, or if military assistance will take another form.

Turkey says Trump, Erdogan discussed Libya in phone call
Reuters, Ankara/Thursday, 2 January 2020
US President Donald Trump discussed the situation in Libya with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Thursday, Turkey’s presidency said less than an hour after Ankara passed a bill allowing troop deployment to Tripoli. Trump and Erdogan “stressed the importance of diplomacy in resolving regional issues,” the Turkish presidency said. The situation in Syria was also addressed on the call, it added.

Turkish lawmakers authorize sending troops to fight in Libya
The Associated Press, Ankara/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Turkey’s parliament has authorized sending troops to Libya to help the UN-recognized government in Tripoli. Turkish lawmakers voted 325-184 at an emergency session on Thursday in favor of allowing a one-year mandate to deploy troops. There are concerns that Turkish forces could aggravate the conflict in Libya. But Ankara says the deployment may be needed for Turkey to safeguard its interests in Libya and in the eastern Mediterranean. The motion allows the government to decide on the scope, strength and timing of any mission by Turkish troops. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay told state-run Anadolu Agency that Turkey would send “the necessary number (of troops) whenever there is a need.”

US expects more attacks from Iran-backed groups: Esper
Washington, AFP/Thursday, 2 January 2020
The Pentagon warned Thursday that the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah group that stormed the US embassy in Baghdad would carry out more attacks on US facilities -- and would regret it. “The provocative behavior has been out there for months... So do I think they may do something? Yes. And they will likely regret it,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters. “We are prepared to exercise self-defense, and we are prepared to deter further bad behavior from these groups, all of which are sponsored, directed and resourced by Iran.”Esper said there were “some indications out there” that groups may be planning additional attacks, and that the US would respond accordingly. “If we get word of attacks or some type of indication, we will take preemptive action as well to protect American forces, to protect American lives,” he said. The Pentagon ordered hundreds of rapid-response troops to the Gulf region Tuesday after Iraqi protesters stormed the normally highly-protected US embassy compound in Baghdad, breaching its outer wall while chanting “Death to America!” The protestors, many from Kataeb Hezbollah, were angered by weekend air strikes by US forces that killed 25 of their supporters, said by Washington to be retaliation for rocket attacks on December 27 that killed a US civilian contractor. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley said Iran had been behind a “sustained campaign” to provoke the United States since at least October. “We know that the campaign has increased in tempo and intensity,” he said. “We know that the intent of this last attack was in fact to kill American soldiers, sailors and the Marine... 31 rockets aren’t designed as a warning shot. That’s designed to inflict damage and kill.” Esper said the reinforcements, sent to Kuwait, would allow the Pentagon to be prepared “for any contingency.”
“The game has changed and we’re prepared to do what is necessary to defend our personnel, and our interests and our partners in the region,” he said.

Israeli court declines to rule on Netanyahu’s eligibility

The Associated Press, Jerusalem/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Israel’s Supreme Court on Thursday declined to weigh in on whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can return to his post now that he has been indicted, postponing any ruling on his political future until after March elections.A three-judge panel said the question of whether an indicted member of parliament can be tapped to form a government is important, but that it would be premature to decide the issue before the vote. The court had been widely expected to delay any ruling. Judging Netanyahu ineligible would have triggered a major political crisis and exacerbated already strained ties between the government and the judiciary. Netanyahu was indicted in November on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Israeli Cabinet members are required to resign if indicted, but the rule does not apply to the prime minister. He has continued serving as caretaker prime minister after failing to form a government after unprecedented back-to-back elections last year. Netanyahu has dismissed the corruption cases against him as an “attempted coup” and warned against any judicial intervention, saying only the voters can choose the country’s leader.
There are no restrictions on Netanyahu running in the March 2 election — the third in less than a year. But the petition, filed by good government groups, contended that having a prime minister under indictment would constitute a conflict of interest. Others have argued that voters have the right to know before the election if Netanyahu is eligible to be prime minister. The court said that the election campaign period is “a realm of uncertainty” and that it remains to be seen who the president will select to form a government after the March 2 vote. The judges said that in light of the “most sensitive and complicated period the state of Israel is in at this time,” it decided to “act with restraint and moderation” and dismiss the petition for the time being. The court’s decision came the day after Netanyahu announced that he would seek immunity from prosecution, effectively delaying any trial until after a new government is formed.
Netanyahu hopes to win big in March and assemble a 61-seat majority in favor of immunity. But polls predict another split decision that would prolong the country’s political limbo. September’s election left Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party in a virtual tie with the centrist Blue and White, led by former army chief of staff Benny Gantz. Neither was able to assemble a majority with its natural allies, and efforts to form a unity government collapsed in large part because of Netanyahu’s legal woes. Netanyahu, who was re-elected leader of the ruling Likud party last week, has long accused judicial and law enforcement officials of trying to drive him from office. His allies have issued stern warnings against what they call an “activist” court overstepping its authority and a few dozen pro-Netanyahu protesters convened outside the court in Jerusalem. Netanyahu has been in power for more than a decade and is Israel’s longest-serving leader. He is also Israel’s first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime. His predecessor, Ehud Olmert, was forced to resign a decade ago ahead of a corruption indictment that later sent him to prison for 16 months.

Fatah supporters hold rare Gaza rally
AFP, Gaza/Thursday, 2 January 2020
Thousands of supporters of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, which rivals Gaza’s rulers Hamas, held a rare gathering in the enclave on Wednesday to mark the party’s 55th anniversary. Waving yellow Fatah flags, supporters from across the territory gathered in Gaza City to celebrate the movement founded by the late Yasser Arafat. Some held photographs of the two former and current political leaders. West Bank-based Fatah cancelled its anniversary event last year after dozens of its supporters were arrested by Hamas authorities. The interior ministry in Gaza granted permission for Wednesday’s rally to go ahead, according to a Hamas leader. “We consented to holding these festivities on al-Wehda Street for Fatah to champion the unity of the Palestinian people,” he told AFP, requesting anonymity. “It’s a referendum on the public support for Fatah and the leadership of Abu Mazen,” he added, using a common nickname for Abbas. Militant group Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas’s forces in 2007 and the two sides have remained split, with the Palestinian president based in the occupied West Bank. No Palestinian elections have been held since 2006, apart from local polls, but Abbas has recently pushed for a vote. Hamas called for a presidential decree setting the election date, but Abbas said he wants Israel to first guarantee that the vote can take place in east Jerusalem. “We will not accept elections without Jerusalem and without our people... Jerusalem is the capital of our state and it is not up for sale or negotiation,” Abbas said in a speech aired at the rally. Israel occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it, in a move never recognized by the international community. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, but Israel has declared the whole city its undivided capital. Abbas has previously pledged on multiple occasions to hold elections but without any results.

Iraqi protester shot dead as anti-regime rallies continue

AFP, Baghdad/Thursday, 2 January 2020
An Iraqi activist was shot dead overnight in Baghdad, a police source told AFP on Thursday, as anti-government rallies carried on despite a separate day-long siege of the US embassy. The activist, Saadoun al-Luhaybi, was shot in the head in a southwestern neighborhood of the Iraqi capital, the police source said. He had been taking part in youth-led demonstrations rocking Iraq since early October that have demanded the ouster of a governing class seen as corrupt, inept and beholden to Iran. The protesters have occupied Baghdad’s iconic Tahrir Square, just across the river Tigris from the Green Zone, home to government offices, the United Nations headquarters and foreign embassies. On Tuesday, an angry mob marched into the Green Zone and to the US embassy, outraged over American air strikes that killed fighters from the Popular Mobilization Unit (PMU) militias. They besieged the embassy for just over 24 hours, leaving on Wednesday afternoon after an order from the PMU. The anti-government demonstrators who have been taking to the streets for months insist their movement is entirely unrelated to the crowds that besieged and vandalized the American mission. “We’ve got nothing to do with that,” one demonstrator in the southern protest hotspot city of Diwaniyah told AFP. Protesters still occupied the streets in the city, where they have shut down most government offices and schools. They briefly allowed local government offices to reopen to let employees receive their salaries at the end of the year, an AFP correspondent said.

Erdogan says up to 250,000 people fleeing from Syria's Idlib towards Turkey
Reuters, Ankara/Thursday, 2 January 2020
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that up to 250,000 migrants were fleeing from the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib towards Turkey, adding that Ankara was trying to prevent them from crossing its border.Turkey hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees, the largest refugee population in the world. It fears a new wave from Idlib, where up to 3 million Syrians live in the last rebel-held swathe of territory, after Russian and Syrian government forces last month intensified their bombardment of targets in the region. “Right now, 200,000 to 250,000 migrants are moving towards our borders. We are trying to prevent them with some measures, but it's not easy. It's difficult, they are humans too,” Erdogan told a conference in Ankara.

Tunisia's PM-Designate Announces Cabinet
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
Tunisia's prime minister-designate on Thursday unveiled a proposed government composed of independent figures, after months of negotiations between political parties to fill positions failed. The cabinet -- comprised of 28 ministers, most of whom are unknown to the general public, including four women -- still needs to receive parliamentary assent. "I am confident this government will be approved by parliament", said Habib Jemli, designated prime minister by the Islamist inspired Ennahdha party.Ennahdha won 52 seats in a legislative election on October 6 -- more than any other party, but not enough to form a majority in the 217-seat chamber. Jemli on December 23 announced he would form a government of independents due to "frictions" between parties over political appointments, after two months of difficult negotiations that also involved trade unions. He said some parties had demanded conditions for their participation in government, without elaborating.  Jemli then announced several different versions of his proposed government, before a final list was signed by President Kais Saied on Thursday, according to a statement by the presidency.  Said -- a conservative academic with no background in politics -- was elected in a presidential run-off a week after the legislative polls.  The final cabinet list identifies Hedi Guediri, a former head of the Court of Cassation, as justice minister, while the interior ministry was handed to Sofiene Sliti, an ex-spokesman for the public prosecutor. Imed Derouiche, a judge, was chosen to head the defense ministry, while a former ambassador, Khaled Sehili, was handed the foreign ministry. Fadhel Abdelkefi, an ex-finance minister, was selected for the ministry of development and international co-operation. Tarek Dhiab, who won African footballer of the year in 1977, was named minister of youth and sports and popular actor Fathi Hadaoui was given the ministry of culture. Tourism minister Rene Trabelsi is the only member of the former government to have kept his post. The 28-member government also includes 15 ministers of state. Parliament's office is expected to convene on Saturday in order to set a date for the chamber to vote on the new government, according to a statement on Thursday evening. The constitution stipulates that if the prime minister designate fails to receive parliamentary assent for his government, the president will launch talks with political parties and parliamentary blocs to mandate someone else to form an administration.

Pompeo Postpones Ukraine Trip after Attack on U.S. Embassy in Iraq
Agence France Presse/Naharnet 02/2020
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday postponed a trip to Ukraine, the country at the heart of impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, after an attack on the American embassy in Iraq, the State Department announced. Pompeo had been due to travel at week's end to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Cyprus.  But on Tuesday, a mob of pro-Iran demonstrators stormed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad over American airstrikes that killed two dozen paramilitary fighters. Pompeo's travel was pushed back "due to the need for the secretary to be in Washington, DC to continue monitoring the ongoing situation in Iraq and ensure the safety and security of Americans in the Middle East," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus announced. "Secretary Pompeo's trip will be rescheduled in the near future and he looks forward to the visit at that time," she added.
The trip would have made Pompeo the most senior U.S. official to visit Kiev since a scandal erupted in 2019 over a controversial phone call in which Trump allegedly tried to pressure his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to find dirt on Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden. Pompeo, a staunch Trump defender, was set to meet with Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials, Ortagus said Monday when the trip was first announced. But the following day, the embassy in Baghdad was besieged. Demonstrators finally left on Wednesday.
No U.S. personnel were injured in the attack and U.S. officials said they had no plans to evacuate. Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on December 18 and faces trial in the Senate, possibly later this month, though top Democratic and Republican lawmakers are still sparring over how it will be conducted.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 02-03/2020
Taqiyya Sunset: Exposing the Darkness Shrouding Islamic Deceit
Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine/January 02/2020
In “Taqiyyah Sunrise: Shining Light on Contemporary Deception,” published by the Jewish Chronicle on December 19, 2019, Usama Hasan, a board member of the British think tank Quilliam, declares that
This article seeks to clarify the origins, meaning, and application of the concept of taqiyyah. In doing so, my purpose is to minimise its use, as part of a hostile narrative which paints Muslims are [sic] religiously-obligated liars.
Taqiyya is Islamic sanctioned deception. Apologists, such as Hasan, insist that it is limited to preserving one’s life when in danger, while others say its application is much more open-ended and potentially subversive of non-Muslim societies.
The occasion that spurred Hasan to write—and the heart of his argument—appear in this paragraph:
Melanie Phillips is a Times columnist and often appears on the BBC in its TV and radio programmes such as Question Time and The Moral Maze. She also writes for the JC. In her article, “Islamists are not the same as other prisoners,” (The Times, 3 December 2019) she claims that “taqiyya, the command to deceive for Islam … is of fundamental importance in Islam. Practically every Islamic sect agrees to it and practises it.” Her authority? A minor Lebanese academic who is a member of the relatively heterodox Druze sect. This is a bit like deploying Neturei Karta against mainstream Jewish sects, or quoting a Jehovah’s Witness as an authority on the doctrinal content of post-Nicene Christianity.
The “minor Lebanese academic” that Hasan deigns not even name is Dr. Sami Nassib Makarem (1931-2012), a scholar of Arabic and Islam. In 1963, Makarem earned his PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan, where he taught Arabic and specialized in Islamic Studies. Since 1964 till his death he was a professor of Arabic and Islamic thought at the American University of Beirut; from 1975-78, he was director of its Center of Middle Eastern Studies. He published well over twenty books, most of them academic and in the Arabic language.
His 2004 book, Al-Taqiyya fi’l Islam (“Taqiyya in Islam”), is what concerns us here. I first encountered and read it in 2006, while still working at the Library of Congress; later I translated portions of it. Going now through my own copy again—and at 327 pages, with countless references and citations to Islamic/Arabic texts—it is by far the most comprehensive and scholarly treatment on the doctrine of taqiyya known to me. It certainly validates one of its opening statements (which Phillips partially quoted, and which Hasan dismisses out of hand):
Taqiyya is of fundamental importance in Islam. Practically every Islamic sect agrees to it and practices it … We can go so far as to say that the practice of taqiyya is mainstream in Islam, and that those few sects not practicing it diverge from the mainstream … Taqiyya is very prevalent in Islamic politics, especially in the modern era.
Despite Makarem’s credentials, Hasan dismisses him in an ad hominem attack that presents him as “A minor Lebanese academic who is a member of the relatively heterodox Druze sect.” Citing him in regards to mainstream Islam is, for Hasan, “a bit like … quoting a Jehovah’s Witness as an authority on the doctrinal content of post-Nicene Christianity.”
What a silly argument. It’s tantamount to saying that no one but a Sunni can objectively study and write on Sunnism; no one but a Shia can objectively study and write on Shiism; and so on. In reality, many of the world’s greatest authorities have no “innate” connection to their topic; such disconnectedness, if anything, often helps ensure their objectiveness. Up until a few decades ago, for example, if you wanted to know anything about Islamic history, you—and this includes Muslims, who at best knew only hagiography—had to turn to European Orientalists (whose writings tend to remain more learned and objective than their modern day counterparts).
Despite Hasan’s insinuations, Professor Makarem did not approach the topic of taqiyya “as a Druze”—whatever that might mean—but as a scholar, as his book makes clear on every page. Indeed, any notion that he had some sort of axe to grind—for example by pinning taqiyya on other sects but exonerating his own—is dispelled by the fact that his comprehensive treatment also includes the Druze.
Incidentally, and very much unlike Makarem, Usama Hasan has no relevant credentials; his degrees are in the hard sciences (e.g., engineering).
So what we have here is a Muslim man, with no formal credentials on the topic—aside from being a former jihadist whose Saudi-educated father compelled to memorize the Koran in youth—telling us to ignore an actual scholar with formal, academic credentials in Islamic theology, simply because the latter says things (taqiyya/deception is prevalent and mainstream) that present Islam in an unflattering light.
To be sure, Hasan tries to rationalize taqiyya in other ways—including through the usual array of partial truths, partial omissions, generalizations and conflations that I’ve encountered and dismantled many times before (here and here for example)—but it was his flippant dismissal of Makarem that seemed especially disingenuous and in need of addressing.
The overall hollow nature of Hasan’s article is perhaps most evident in how it regularly turns to fake outrage against those who dare mention—and, worse, disseminate knowledge of—taqiyya. A few excerpts follow:
[I]t is disappointing that The Times, one of the most important newspapers in the world, should publish Melanie Phillips [on taqiyya] …
The Times, the JC, the Spectator, and the BBC should be ashamed of promoting someone [Philips] who has made this charge against us [Muslims] for so many years. …
It is outrageous that a respected national newspaper should render the tropes of anti-Muslim hatred mainstream in this manner.
“Disappointing … ashamed … outrageous”: These are words better applied to the deceitful doctrine of taqiyya itself and those who would whitewash it—not those who expose it.
*Raymond Ibrahim, author of Sword and Scimitar and The Al Qaeda Reader, is Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center; Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute; and Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Iran Can No Longer Rely on Shia Militias to Fight its Wars
كون كوغلن/معهد كايستون: لم يعد بمقدور إيران الإتكال على الميليشيات الشيعية لخوض حروبها
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/January 02/2020
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/81964/%d9%83%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%83%d9%88%d8%ba%d9%84%d9%86-%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%87%d8%af-%d9%83%d8%a7%d9%8a%d8%b3%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%84%d9%85-%d9%8a%d8%b9%d8%af-%d8%a8%d9%85%d9%82%d8%af%d9%88%d8%b1-%d8%a5%d9%8a/

The President’s robust response to the recent upsurge in Iranian-sponsored violence in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East certainly appears at odds with the perception that he has no interest in conducting military operations in the Middle East, and that his main objective is to reduce Washington’s military presence in the region ahead of this year’s presidential election contest.
And it should also send a clear signal to Tehran that its reliance on Shia militias to carry out attacks on its behalf will no longer be tolerated.
The intense pressure Iran is facing over its continued meddling in Iraq is the key factor behind the recent upsurge of violence in the Middle East that has resulted in American warplanes carrying out their biggest attack in a decade on Iran-backed militias.
Ever since the ayatollahs came to power more than 40 years ago, they have sought to distract attention away from their domestic unpopularity by getting Iran-backed Shia militias to carry out high profile attacks.
From the devastating car bomb attacks the Iranian-backed Hizbollah militia carried out against American bases in Beirut in the 1980s to the more recent attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil facilities in October 2019, the Iranian regime has repeatedly used its proxy Shia militias to great effect to distract attention away from its domestic travails.
The beauty of this arrangement, so far as the ayatollahs are concerned, is that, by relying on Shia militias to do their dirty work, whether it is firing missiles at Israel or carrying out assassinations in Europe, Tehran is able to deny any involvement in wrongdoing.
No longer. By launching a series of air strikes against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria on Sunday night, the Trump administration has made it abundantly clear that it will no longer tolerate Tehran’s denials of its involvement in attacks against the US and its allies.
Moreover, after Washington accused Iran of being responsible for the subsequent attacks against the US Embassy in Baghdad that followed the air strikes, Tehran is risking a direct military confrontation with the US if it persists with the underhand tactic of employing proxies to carry out attacks on its behalf.
US officials believe the recent upsurge in Iranian-sponsored violence in Iraq has been caused by Iran’s desire to distract attention from the wave of anti-Iran protests that have taken place recently in the country over its continued meddling in the Iraqi government’s affairs.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump certainly left no one in any doubt that he held Tehran directly responsible for the American Embassy attack earlier this week, when hundreds of protesters breached the outer wall of the embassy compound in the heavily fortified green zone.
In a chilling echo of the attack on the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 that resulted in the long-running American hostage crisis, protesters chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”, set fire to a sentry box, pulled security cameras away from walls and hurled projectiles, including Molotov cocktails.
Writing on Twitter shortly after the attack, Mr Trump declared that Iran was responsible for carrying out the attack:
“….Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat…”
Nor has the President been taken in by Iran’s claims that it had nothing to do with last week’s rocket attack against a military base used by American and Iraqi troops on the outskirts of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, in which one American contractor was killed.
The actual attacks were carried out by the Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah, which operates in both Iraq and Syria, and the Pentagon’s military response was directed at destroying a number of the militia’s bases.
Mr Trump, however, has blamed Iran directly for carrying out the Kirkuk attacks, writing, “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will…”
The President’s robust response to the recent upsurge in Iranian-sponsored violence in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East certainly appears at odds with the perception that he has no interest in conducting military operations in the Middle East, and that his main objective is to reduce Washington’s military presence in the region ahead of this year’s presidential election contest.
It should also send a clear signal to Tehran that its reliance on Shia militias to carry out attacks on its behalf will no longer be tolerated.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph’s Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.

US embassy attack was Iran’s way of showing they run Iraq
Michael Pregent/Al Arabiya/January 02/2020
Many Iraqis call Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes “the de-facto Prime Minister of Iraq” even though he is a designated terrorist who commands Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia whose bases were bombed by US warplanes in Iraq and Syria this week.
Two days after that bombing, on New Year’s Eve, al-Mohandes walked into the heavily protected Green Zone in central Baghdad unopposed with a mob of Iran’s proxy militia fighters and set fire to the US Embassy.
The Iraqi government did nothing to stop him.
Al-Mohandes is not only the commander of Kataib Hezbollah, a designated terror group, but also the deputy commander of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) militias and is prominent in the party which has the largest voting bloc in Iraq’s parliament.
During the embassy attack, party faithful from Iran’s other main Iraqi militias – including Badr Corps and Asaib Ahl al-Haq – joined al-Mohandes in having their pictures taken while their mob set fire to the embassy gates. Faleh al-Fayad, Iraq's National Security Advisor, looked on approvingly.
Let’s make something absolutely clear. This mob was not made up of Iraqis who have been protesting against their government in Tahrir Square, or Freedom Square in Arabic. Quite the contrary. These are Iran’s terrorist proxies who have overrun the government in Baghdad and are now ordering the killing of Iraq’s brave young protestors. They are demonstrating that the formal government has no control over them.
Just as Iraqi security forces stepped aside as al-Mohandes and his militias moved on the US embassy gates, they do nothing to protect the unarmed young protestors, who call for the removal of a puppet regime leading Iraq they know answers to Tehran.
Kataib Hezbollah and its allies in the PMU militias have conducted dozens of attacks on Iraqi military bases over the past few months. On Friday they fired 30 rockets at a base near Kirkuk in the north.
This Iraqi airbase is where Americans, at the invitation of Baghdad, advise and assist Iraqi security forces in their fight against ISIS remnants.
But this time, the rockets killed an American and wounded four US service members and several Iraqi security forces.
Instead of condemning Kataib Hezbollah for launching rocket attacks against a joint force of Americans and Iraqi security forces, on December 30 the government of Iraq condemned the United States. Washington’s supposed crime was to defend itself against a terrorist organization that answers to Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and one that Baghdad is either powerless to control or simply beholden to.
Only two weeks earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper had warned Iran to stop these attacks and threatened harsh retribution, not just against Iran’s proxy forces in Iraq, but the “prime actor.”
The US responded to the Kirkuk rocket attack with a bombing raid on five Kataib Hezbollah bases on the border of Iraq and Syria on Sunday. The attack hurt al-Mohandes and Soleimani immensely because those bases are used to move troops and material across the border to Syria, and then to attack Israel.
Let’s call it like it is, the US hit a designated terrorist group – Kataib Hezbollah, a group that terrifies the Iraqi government and its civilians. The current government and its security forces are incapable and unwilling to deal with these militias – and because Baghdad did nothing, the US had no choice but to take action.
In calculating its next move against Iran and its proxies, Washington should urgently re-evaluate the support it provides to the Iraqi government.
There will be more attacks by Tehran’s militias and proxies, and the US needs to be prepared to punish Iran directly by hitting its Revolutionary Guard Corps and Quds Force directly.
The US needs to use its leverage.
The US should warn Baghdad that loan guarantees on $30 billion of “reconstruction” funds – money that will likely fall into the hands of corrupt officials tied to Iran – will end unless Baghdad takes dramatic steps to reform and pushback against Soleimani.
The US should also consider pulling its Advise and Assist, and Train and Equip Programs for the Iraqi security forces as long as Soleimani’s militias have access to US funds, training, equipment and intelligence.
The US should sanction and designate Iraqi Shia leader Hadi al-Amiri and his Badr Organization, as well as PMU Chairman Faleh al-Fayad for their roles in the attack on the US embassy and the killing of innocent unarmed Iraqis. Secretary Pompeo took the first step today by calling al-Amiri an Iranian proxy. More importantly, it is time to go after Soleimani and al-Mohandes – they are enemies of the Iraqi people, the region and the United States.

Iranian president under fire over economic woes
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/January 02/2010
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was once considered among the most popular political figures in Iran. He won the 2013 elections with a landslide victory, taking 50.71 percent of the vote.
The presidential election did not even proceed to the second round as Tehran’s Mayor Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, who finished second, was backed by only 16.56 percent of voters.
In his first term, Rouhani invested a considerable amount of political capital in striking a nuclear deal with six world powers (the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany) and in having sanctions against Iran lifted, including the UN’s four rounds of sanctions and EU and American unilateral sanctions.
The picture looked bright for the president as he also promised ordinary people that the extra revenues would trickle down to them and pledged to improve the economy, people’s living standards, and to provide jobs and equal opportunities, especially for the youth.
Many people also applauded Iran’s improving image and status on the global stage as well as its enhanced ties with the West and the US. That was partially why, in his re-election in 2017, Rouhani also received roughly 51 percent of the vote while his unpopular rival, Ebrahim Raisi, secured approximately 33 percent of support.
Nevertheless, many issues started heading downward after 2017.
A year ago, the Iranian parliament (Majlis) stopped short of impeaching the president. Parliamentarians summoned Rouhani in order to ask him some questions about the nation’s failing economy, the nuclear agreement, and the US’ increasing pressure. Rouhani was the second president of Iran to be summoned by the parliament since 1979.
Later, members of the parliament voted to reject Rouhani’s explanations to four out of five questions. It is likely that Iran will move forward to summon or even impeach Rouhani sooner or later, for the following reasons. The overwhelming majority of Iranian people want a new Iran, free from a political establishment that diverts their wealth and scarce resources toward suppression, missiles and terrorism.
First of all, Iran’s hard-liners, particularly the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the senior cadre of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and conservative lawmakers, are desperately searching for a scapegoat to appease the frustrated public.
Many people in Iran are no longer buying into the regime’s argument that other countries, such as the US or Israel, are the main reasons behind their economic and political woes.
Anger toward the theocratic establishment has reached an unprecedented level. Protests continue to resume despite the brutal crackdowns. Many anti-regime slogans have become the norm; chants include “Death to the dictator,” “Our military brothers, why do you kill your brother?” and “Clerics must get lost.”
And to ensure their hold on power, it has been the modus operandi of the ruling mullahs to often utilize some of their own loyalists or factions as a scapegoat. Secondly, the hard-liners are cognizant of the fact that there exists no risk in summoning or impeaching Rouhani due to the fact that his popularity has significantly subsided.
People are realizing that under Rouhani’s administration, their country is now facing its most severe economic problems since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
Inflation has been rising at an abnormal pace. While an acceptable inflation rate around the world is about 2 percent, Iran’s inflation is rampant and currently hovers over 40 percent. And ordinary people are the ones who are paying the price with skyrocketing costs.
Nafeeseh, a teacher at a high school and a mother of two children, said: “Every day that we buy groceries, the prices of food such as bread, rice and eggs are different from the day before. Prices are constantly going up and it makes it extremely difficult to budget. Within the last year, prices have risen about 70 percent.”
According to official government figures, the unemployment rate is running at around 27 percent among young Iranians and more than 40 percent among those who have university degrees.
Iran has a young population with more than 60 percent under 30 years of age. In some provinces, the unemployment rate is believed to be in excess of 60 percent.
People are also angry at the president due to the fact that Tehran’s regional policy has been no better, with military and missile budgets rising under Rouhani’s administration, leading to an aggressive agenda in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and other hotspots in the region.
It is no wonder that the overwhelming majority of Iranian people want a new Iran, free from a political establishment that diverts their wealth and scarce resources toward suppression, missiles and terrorism.
And that is why the international community has repeatedly heard Iranians chanting, “No to Gaza, no to Lebanon. We sacrifice our lives for Iran,” “Not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life only for Iran,” and “Oil money has been lost, it has all been spent on Palestine.”
As people’s dissatisfaction and anger toward the Iranian regime grows, the hard-liners are attempting to use Rouhani, the regime’s ultimate insider, as a scapegoat to appease the public.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

No solution in sight for Syrian refugees
Randa Takieddine/Arab News/January 02/2010
Every new year brings with it the hope that it will be an improvement on the previous one. But for the 6 million Syrian refugees in nearby countries — mainly Turkey Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq — who fled their country to escape the war that Bashar Assad started against his own people in 2011, there seems little hope that 2020 will bring a solution to their desperate situation.
The present dynamic of the political situation in Syria is not based on the support of the international community through a UN-sponsored political transition, but on a Syrian regime which believes it has won the war and that it has enough support from the Russians, Iranians and Chinese to enable it to reestablish its authority by force without aiming for national reconciliation and or agreeing to share power.
The most recent figures from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), place the number of registered Syrian refugees at 5,671,049. But the total figure is certainly higher because many are not registered. In November 2018, it was reported that around 6.7 million Syrians were refugees. At the moment, there are believed to be more than 3 million in Turkish cities. In Lebanon, around 1 million are living in tent settlements. In Jordan, there are 670,000 — with some 120,000 in Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps. In Iraq, there are 250,000, mostly situated in Kurdistan in the north. And in Egypt there are 130,000.
In Lebanon, whenever President Michel Aoun or his son-in-law Gebran Bassil have traveled outside of the country, they have stressed that the refugees are a heavy burden on the Lebanese economy and asked that they be allowed to return. Aoun has repeatedly claimed that peace has returned to Syria and that the refugees should go back to their country. The UNHCR has made it clear that that cannot happen without guarantees that their return to Syria is voluntary, safe and dignified.
The future, for Syrian refugees, is bleak so long as the international solution for transition in Syria continues to fail.
The Syrian refugees’ situation in Lebanon has been further complicated by the ongoing popular uprising and the disastrous economic situation there. Hundreds of refugees have headed back to Syria since protests broke out, raising the number who have returned over the past two years to around 27,000. That is a tiny percentage of those who remain in a perilous situation in Lebanon, despite assistance from the UNHCR and some private foundations, including Kayani, which has done much for Syrian refugees in collaboration with the American University of Beirut and UNESCO. Aoun and Bassil want them all to return immediately, claiming that Syria is safe now.
A new Lebanese Hezbollah-backed government, with Saad Hariri out, will be keen to take the opportunity to try to normalize relations with Assad and force the refugees to return home. Many of these refugees have been living for nine years just 50-60 km from their hometowns of Hama and Homs. But Assad, an Alawite, does not want them back. He is not interested in Sunnis returning to the country. His main aim is to consolidate his power in Syria and reinforce his influence in Lebanon. Russia claims to have a plan for the return of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, but has done nothing so far.
The bombings by Russian planes and the Syrian regime in Idlib has escalated violence in northeast Syria and displaced more people inside Syria and into neighboring Iraq.
In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to instigate a risky policy of forced return for Syrian refugees in the northeast, pushing them to return to areas where they will likely be unwelcome.
The international community can help those who wish to return by negotiating guarantees of their protection and safety. The UNHCR is already doing this, but it is not working very well.
The future, for Syrian refugees, is bleak so long as the international solution for transition in Syria continues to fail. The only benefit is to Assad and his protectors, the Russians and Iranians.
*Randa Takieddine is a Paris-based Lebanese journalist who headed Al-Hayat’s bureau in France for 30 years. She has covered France’s relations with the Middle East through the terms of four presidents.

World must act to prevent more deadly measles outbreaks
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab News/January 02/2010
As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, measles, a deadly disease, is back because of foolhardy beliefs regarding the requirement for vaccination.
Over the last 10 years, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases have been reported in developed countries around the world. In particular, measles outbreaks have been ongoing in the EU since 2017, with the majority of cases concentrated in Romania and Italy.
Measles has been identified as a powerful indicator of the status of vaccination programs in a region, as outbreaks have been reported to quickly emerge as a result of underlying issues in immunization routines because of local belief systems due to poor educational reach.
It is important to consider the psychological, cultural, social and political causes of vaccine hesitancy and refusal reasons among some populations in rejecting or avoiding treatment programs.
Measles, also known as rubeola, is one of the most contagious infectious diseases, with at least a 90 percent secondary infection rate in susceptible domestic contacts. Despite being considered primarily a childhood illness, measles can affect people of all ages.
The viral illness infected nearly 10 million people in 2018 and killed 140,000, mostly children, as devastating outbreaks hit every region of the world even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine was available.
Today, there are an estimated 21 million unvaccinated infants globally, half of whom are in five countries: Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Although measles vaccination resulted in a 73 percent drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2018 worldwide, in 2018, about 86 percent of the world’s children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services — up from 72 percent in 2000.
Between 2000 and 2018, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 23.2 million deaths, making the vaccine a success in public health goals. So, progress against measles has been made over the past decade but now we are entering a period of time where anti-vaccination sentiment, influenced by quack scientific design, could affect that progress.
Measles and its spread can be controlled on a global level and world health specialists are not the only practitioners focusing their efforts on raising public awareness and delivering vaccines to communities.
But there is a catch that makes measles a health security issue: According to public health specialists, with each cohort of children born to parents who distrust or fear vaccines, the number of people susceptible to the measles virus expands. Simultaneously, there is a growing population of adults who were children in the early days of measles vaccination whose immunity may have worn off. Where these age groups merge is where the transmission spread of the disease becomes confluent.
The phenomena of avoiding vaccination in Western countries is of negative consequence and the implications for public health issues is one of frustration and dismay.
To be sure, measles cases are on the rise globally, including in wealthy nations such as the US and Germany, as some parents shun life-saving vaccines due to extraordinary false theories suggesting links between childhood immunizations and autism, plus other maladies.
The false literature countering such interpretations regarding vaccine against measles is replete with errors in judgment and scientific, fact-driven metrics. That means fake findings, and thus a phenomenon that is being manipulated by well-placed dissemination of the worst form of information warfare: Ignorance.
Consequently, there are infections occurring at increasing rates that are causing cases to pop up and affect wide communities where public health becomes a security issue and ultimately affects society and economy.
In April 2019, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency because of an ongoing measles outbreak. The mandatory immunization extended to anyone who lived, worked or went to school within zip codes assigned to a specific neighborhood in Brooklyn. This example of action by city officials was an important marker of response to an urban disease contagion.
The island nation of Samoa recently experienced a measles disaster that stood out as an example of the illness running amok in a country where vaccination rates were not high enough.
The state was ravaged by the disease that killed 81 people, mostly babies and young children, and affected more than 5,600 others. The Samoan outbreak came from New Zealand, a hub for travel to and from the South Pacific islands, the disease finding a highly susceptible population in Samoa which had far lower vaccination rates than its other island neighbors.
A robust action program saw school closures and travel restrictions among measures to control the outbreak. If there had ever been a test sample of how a geographical area could be infected with a contagion, this was it. There is no doubt that without sustained attention, hard fought gains can easily be lost in the struggle to wipe out measles.
Where children are unvaccinated, outbreaks occur. Because of low coverage nationally or in pockets, multiple regions were hit with large measles outbreaks in 2018, causing many deaths. The conclusion by the World Health Organization’s strategic advisory group of experts on immunization that measles elimination was greatly under threat because of disease resurgence in a number of countries that achieved disease elimination, illustrated the return of the disease as a vector threat.
Given the continuous nature of the disease, modes of transport such as planes can become primary transition belts along with confined spaces including offices and commercial locations. Quickly identifying ill passengers or asking non-invasive questions based on their travel is an important part of mapping disease spread.
Overall, measles and its spread can be controlled on a global level and world health specialists are not the only practitioners focusing their efforts on raising public awareness and delivering vaccines to communities.
The security implications of whole communities becoming infected is one to be taken more seriously, as demonstrated in cases around the globe. Samoa’s six-week state of emergency was a case in point for better understanding responses to future outbreaks.
*Dr. Theodore Karasik is a senior adviser to Gulf State Analytics in Washington, D.C. He is a former RAND Corporation senior political scientist who lived in the UAE for 10 years, focusing on security issues. Twitter: @tkarasik

Iraq faces a bleak new year
Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/January 02/2010
The final days of 2019 were particularly traumatic for Iraq. On Dec. 29, the US launched airstrikes on three targets in Iraq and two in Syria linked with the Iran-affiliated militia Kataib Hezbollah, which is a part of the Shiite militia conglomerate, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). On Dec. 31, there were violent protests outside the US Embassy in Baghdad.
This followed a two-day blockade by youthful protesters — who have been demanding wide-ranging political reform since early October — at an oilfield in Nasiriya, the first time agitators have disrupted oil production.
The three-month-long demonstrations have been a forceful call to reject Iraq’s political “spoils’ system,” which brings together parties in short-term alliances to form governments based on ethnic and sectarian quotas. Ministerial positions, largesse and contracts are divided up among these allies, propagating — the demonstrators claim — a corrupt order that consumes national resources with impunity, without providing the security, services, employment and development the country desperately needs. The demand from those on the streets is to end this corrupt order and instead have direct, constituency-based elections.
The protests have already led to the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Nov. 29, but politicians have been unable to agree on his successor. The names proffered so far are all establishment figures, reflecting the order the youth are railing against.
Further complicating matters, President Barham Salih has announced that he will reject all nominees for prime minister who do not reflect the “characteristics” insisted on by the protesters — independence from existing parties, proximity to the people, a “clean record,” and removed from foreign influences, particularly Iran and the US.
Iraq’s current MPs — themselves products and beneficiaries of the existing order — have no interest in reform. And so, in an attempt to end the protests, they have resorted to intimidation and brute force: Over 450 demonstrators have been killed and several thousand injured in harsh crackdowns, not just by security forces but also by pro-Iranian militias.
The new year does not augur well for Iraq. The protesters have displayed staying power and consistency of both anger and idealism.
Abdul Mahdi was installed as prime minister following an agreement between the two principal Shiite parties in Parliament: Sairoon — led by the populist cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr — and Fatah, the political face of the PMU, backed by Iran. Amid the ongoing protests, Al-Sadr has distanced himself from Fatah and attempted to present himself as being aligned with the demonstrators, something they unceremoniously rejected. Fatah is now anxious to secure a pro-Iran prime minister.
Meanwhile, Iran is convinced that the US is the principal instigator of anti-Iran sentiment among Iraq’s Shiite demonstrators and is utilizing its political and military assets in Iraq to secure its position. It is using pro-Iran militias to confront the demonstrators and to launch rocket attacks on US bases and facilities. US sources said on Dec. 20 that, over the previous five weeks, there had been nine missile attacks on its forces.
These attacks by pro-Iran elements are also a reminder to the agitators on the street of Iran’s firm opposition to any US presence in the country, feeding into the anti-US sentiment that pervades the nation.
This US-Iran proxy conflict included an attack on US military facilities in Kirkuk on Dec. 27 in which a US contractor was killed. This led to the US attacks on Dec. 29 in which 25 militants were killed, which many in Iraq viewed as a violation of the country’s sovereignty.
This sparked an immediate retaliatory attack on the US base in Taji, before the mob attack on the US Embassy on Dec. 31. US President Donald Trump accused Iran of “orchestrating” those attacks, thus setting the stage for a further escalation that could endanger not just Iraq but the wider region.
So the new year does not augur well for Iraq. The protesters have displayed staying power and consistency of both anger and idealism. They have already brought down the prime minister. But they lack a committed cadre, a unifying ideology and any recognized leadership. So while they may overthrow the government, they cannot replace it with one from their own ranks.
In the short term, therefore, we are likely to see Iraq’s politicians effect some cosmetic changes to the order, while keeping the spoils’ system on which they thrive intact. There is talk of the politicians putting up as interim prime minister a popular military leader to instigate some reform in the transition period. If that fails, there are fears of a military coup, but — given the presence of strong militias and the commitment of the people to freedom and democracy — that outcome is very unlikely.
However, the aspirations of the protesters face a bigger challenge — a civil conflict between competing Shiite militia that could also involve a US-Iran military confrontation, something that both sides say they do not want, but appear to be making little effort to avoid.
Iraq will then be the field on which these battles are fought and — following the enduring destruction of two Gulf Wars — the country will be devastated once again.
*Talmiz Ahmad is an author and former Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE. He holds the Ram Sathe Chair for International Studies at the Symbiosis International University, Pune, India.