LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 15/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
The Prodigal Son Parable
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 15/11-32/:”The Lord Jesus says: ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.
So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ “So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe the best one and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate. ‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.”Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!”Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” ’
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Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 14-15/2020
93 coronavirus cases in Lebanon
Health Ministry: Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rises to 93
Coronavirus: UAE suspends flights to Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Syria
Lebanon Closes Border Crossings with Syria over Coronavirus Concerns
Lebanon Purchases Medical Supplies As Cases Hit 93
US Ambassador to Beirut: Washington Backs Protesters’ Legitimate Demands
Geagea Vows to Sue Lebanese PM if Govt. Fails to Take Needed Measures against Coronavirus
Lebanon: Controversy Surrounds Nationalization Decree
Exposure to Lebanese credits: Ashmore fund suffers $1 bln net outflow
Saudi Embassy reduces its working hours, effective Monday
Nehme urges food and consumer supply traders not to take advantage of prevailing circumstances
Interior Minister’s Press Office denies news of transferring corona infected patients to the Faculty of Information’s building in Wata al-Msaitbeh
Series of meetings at the Government Serail tackle raising level of preparedness
Aoun to address the Lebanese at the beginning of the cabinet’s session tomorrow
Ezzeddine contacts Abdel-Samad to follow up on the issue of distance learning
First Lebanese national joins the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
Bassil launches a campaign to confront Corona virus: A collective responsibility, state of emergency inevitable
Al-Tabsh: Corona is not a disgrace!
Arslan: With awareness and responsibility we can cross this phase
Abdullah: The Lebanese individual and his safety is the main issue
Economic crisis may pave way for reforms to Lebanon's sponsorship system/Abby Sewell, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 14 March 2020
Restaurants and public life in Lebanon suffer amid new coronavirus measures/Michal Kranz/Al Arabiya English/March 14/2020
Lebanon's Hezbollah won't oppose IMF aid under 'reasonable conditions': chief/The New Arab & agencies/March 14/2020
Lebanon to declare emergency after a severe storm

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 14-15/2020
Iran Says Virus Death Toll Reaches 611
Iran Reports 97 New Virus Deaths, Taking Total to 611
Online users ridicule Iran plastic cover-up of Soleimani statue in northern Iran
Syria Death Toll 384,0000 after 9 Years of War
Rocket Attack Hits Iraq Base Housing Coalition Troops
Iraq's Protesters Struggle to Keep Waning Movement Going
US Declares Emergency as New Virus Epicenter Europe Locks Down
How to Clean the Bundle of Germs That Is Your Phone

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 14-15/2020
After Everything That Has Happened, What Are Iran’s Choices?/Zuhair Al-Harthi/Asharq Al Awsat/March 14/2020
European Union: Closing the Borders?/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/March 14/2020
Iranians suffer from regime’s malpractice on coronavirus/Saeed Ghasseminejad and Alireza Nader/Al Arabiya English/March 14/2020
Is Iran behind Rocket Attack that Killed US-led Coalition Forces in Iraq?/Seth Frantzman/The Jerusalem Post/March 14/2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 14-15/2020
93 coronavirus cases in Lebanon
Perla Kantarjian/Annahar/March 14/2020
BEIRUT: According to a statement issued Saturday noon by the Ministry of Public Health, the tally of coronavirus cases in Lebanon increased to 93. The number entails the patients who underwent lab tests and tested positive, and was confirmed by the Rafic Hariri University Hospital as well as numerous others. The statement also said that tests were conducted on all suspected people who arrived from countries with the COVID-19 outbreak, and whoever came in contact with them. Additionally, the ministry urged the Lebanese citizens to abide by all the demanded precautions issued by the concerned authorities and leave their homes only if and when absolutely necessary. Also on Saturday, the United Arab Emirates suspended flights to and from Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq, to prevent the spread of the COVID-19, which was declared a world pandemic by the World Health Organization on Wednesday. On Sunday, the Council of Ministers in Lebanon will hold an emergency session to look into the latest developments and required procedures to restrict the spread of the coronavirus. The emergency session will be followed by a Supreme Defense Council meeting.

Health Ministry: Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rises to 93
NNANNA/Saturday, March 14/2020
As of March 14, 2020 at noon, the total number of coronavirus cases in Lebanon has risen to 93, the Health Ministry announced Saturday in a statement. The lab tests include patients diagnosed at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital and a number of other university hospitals, the Ministry’s statement said.The Health Ministry also reminded citizens to remain at home and not to go out “unless absolutely necessary.”

Coronavirus: UAE suspends flights to Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Syria
Tamara Abueish, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 14 March 2020T
The UAE will suspend flights to Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey as of March 17 as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Saturday. “The decision to suspend flights to the four countries came after the General Authority of Civil Aviation in the country evaluated the global situation,” the authority said in a statement. The UAE has confirmed 85 cases of the deadly coronavirus. The UAE also announced on Saturday restrictions on visas as additional measures to contain the virus. Since the outbreak, the country has temporarily shut schools and universities, ordered bars and night clubs to close, and closed several tourist attractions.

Lebanon Closes Border Crossings with Syria over Coronavirus Concerns
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 14 March, 2020
The Lebanese government decided on Friday to close all border crossings with Syria for a week starting next Monday as part of preventive measures to face the coronavirus outbreak. The Lebanese Health Ministry said that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases is 77, including those diagnosed at the Rafic Hariri University Hospital, and other university hospitals. Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Lebanese authorities informed Syria about a decision to close border crossings as part of a series of measures taken in the past week to fight the virus. “The decision would go into effect starting Monday to allow the Lebanese living abroad to travel to Lebanon by land,” the sources said. Lebanon has stopped all flights between Italy, South Korea, Iran and China for a week. It banned the entry of passengers from France, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Germany, Spain and the UK. The source confirmed that tight measures were also imposed on illegal border crossings with Syria after the military and security forces set up earth mounds and observation towers. Lebanese officials on Friday held meetings with representatives of international NGOs concerned with the Syrian refugees to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak at the overcrowded camps. “Following talks, they agreed to quickly establish two field hospitals in the Bekaa valley and the north where Syrian refugees have a high presence,” the sources added. Similar talks have been held with Palestinian officials to discuss preventive measures at the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon. “The government’s measures to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus across Lebanon is considered an unofficial state of emergency,” thee sources explained. Several parties have criticized the government for not announcing a nationwide state of emergency to limit the spread of the virus despite the rising number of infections. Asharq Al-Awsat learned that international companies have informed their employees to work from home.

Lebanon Purchases Medical Supplies As Cases Hit 93
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 14 March, 2020
The Governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh, has asked all Lebanese banks to give priority to transfers aimed at purchasing medical supplies and equipment to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, as confirmed cases reached 93 on Saturday. Lebanon is grappling with an acute hard currency crunch that has led commercial banks to impose strict controls on the withdrawal and transfer of dollars abroad, restrictions that have hit imports even for critical goods. Health officials have warned that Lebanon’s deep financial crisis raises serious questions about its ability to contain a coronavirus outbreak if cases rapidly increase, amid looming shortages for even basic essentials like masks and gloves. Salameh "asked that all Lebanese banks give priority to transfers for the purchase of medical supplies and equipment for combating coronavirus,” the statement said. The Ministry of Health announced a case among its employees in the central administration, who had been in contact with one of their diagnosed relatives. The ministry said it was taking the necessary procedures to isolate the employee, identify contacts outside and inside the ministry, collect samples, and put those who had direct contact with the patient in quarantine. Meanwhile, Education Minister Tarek al-Majzoub ordered the extension of schools and universities closure. In a statement, the minister announced on Friday that the schools and universities across Lebanon would remain closed nationwide in order to ensure the safety of the educational sector. While Friday prayers in mosques across Lebanon were suspended in implementation of the preventive instructions to reduce gatherings, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai stressed that caution was very necessary, urging everyone to stay home, and not go out except when absolutely needed. The national committee to follow up on the preventive measures and procedures for coronavirus, after its meeting on Friday, required all private hospitals of category (A) to be equipped to receive coronavirus patients within a period of one week, in line with the plan of the Ministry of Public Health. The government on Wednesday announced heightened countermeasures including a ban on flights from virus-hit countries and the closure of restaurants, malls, and many public venues. Lebanon’s banks said they will shut on Saturday in order to take steps to sanitize branches.

US Ambassador to Beirut: Washington Backs Protesters’ Legitimate Demands
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 14 March, 2020
US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea has said that Washington backs the “legitimate demands” of anti-government protesters. The diplomat met on Friday Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab in a protocol visit at the start of her new mission. “The United States continues to back the protesters’ legitimate demands for economic opportunity, accountability, and transparency. Only by meeting those demands can Lebanon initiate the difficult process of restoring international confidence,” she said in a statement released by the embassy. She expressed honor to serve as the US ambassador to Lebanon and lauded the Lebanese people for their hospitality, resilience, diversity, and entrepreneurship. Shea said she discussed with Diab “the strength and potential of the US partnership with Lebanon, and our shared stake in a Lebanon that is stable, secure, and sovereign. This is a partnership that is vitally important not only to both of our countries, but to all of the countries in the region.” The Lebanese people “have rightly called for reform, an end to corruption, and the imposition of effective policies necessary to extricate Lebanon from its unprecedented economic crisis,” stated the ambassador. A wave of protests erupted last October against the country's ruling elite, forcing the resignation of PM Saad Hariri. Diab has pledged that his new government would work to address protester demands and try to tackle Lebanon’s economic and financial strains. Shea said Friday that the US seeks a “bright future for the Lebanese people, who deserve a stable, secure, sovereign, and prosperous country.” “We stand with the Lebanese people in encouraging their government to effect real change in its policies, and to chart a course that will earn the confidence of those it means to govern – and, in doing so, secure the support of the international community,” she added.

Geagea Vows to Sue Lebanese PM if Govt. Fails to Take Needed Measures against Coronavirus
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 14 March, 2020
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea threatened on Friday to sue Prime Minister Hassan Diab if the government fails to take the necessary measures to counter the coronavirus outbreak in the country. In a televised address, he said Lebanon was one of the countries most at risk from the new virus. “It is not an example in how to fight the virus, but it is in the top half of the countries that are affected by the outbreak,” he added. “The government has not taken all required precautions,” he continued. He have the example how the first diagnosed patient had arrived to Lebanon onboard a plane carrying 200 passengers, all of whom went home. “We know that the incubation period of the virus can last up to 21 days,” Geagea remarked. The government has failed to limit the spread of the virus, he charged, saying it should have shut land, air and sea borders. The entire country must be put on lockdown because it lacks sufficient medical equipment and medicine to treat patients, he warned. The government should have taken preventative, not treatment measures, he went on to say. “If the situation persists and the government fails to assume its duties, then we will sue the prime minister and health minister,” Geagea said. Lebanon has registered 93 cases of the virus. Former deputy PM Ghassan Hasbani said the government appears to be basing its decisions on political considerations, citing its hesitation in halting flights from Iran. The government has been late in taking precautions, he added. The cabinet on Friday decided to shut Lebanon’s border with Syria starting Monday in order to prevent the spread of the disease. Syrian authorities have been informed of the closure, which will last one week.

Lebanon: Controversy Surrounds Nationalization Decree
Beirut- Youssef Diab/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 14 March, 2020
The Lebanese Presidency denied information circulated by activists on social media, talking about the issuance of a new naturalization decree for a number of people of foreign and Arab nationalities. The Presidency confirmed that the new decree was for “the restoration of nationality for people of Lebanese descent.”The restoration of citizenship decree included 423 people, mostly from Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Egypt, Uruguay, and South Africa. A decree issued in the Official Gazette circulated on social media, including the names of hundreds of naturalized persons, has sparked confusion, as it comes after the naturalization decree issued in May 2018, which included Syrians, Palestinians, Jordanians, Iraqis, and other citizens from Western countries. The Information Office in the Lebanese Presidency denied the reports, stressing that President Michel Aoun has issued a decree to restore the citizenship for a number of people of Lebanese origins. “This news is false, fabricated, and deliberately promoted for well-known reasons,” an official statement said. “Restoring citizenship decrees, published in the latest issue of the Official Gazette and reported by various media outlets, pertain to individuals residing abroad and of Lebanese descent. These decrees are issued according to Law No. 41 (24/11/2015), which defines the conditions for regaining Lebanese citizenship,” the statement added. The media office of Minister of Interior Mohamed Fahmi also responded to the reports, saying in a statement: “Some have circulated on social media a list of names published in the Official Gazette, claiming it was part of a new naturalization decree.”“The media office of Minister Fahmi is keen to clarify that the Minister has not filed any new decrees for naturalization since he assumed his duties as Minister of Interior and that the aforementioned names fall within decrees to restore Lebanese citizenship to those who deserve it, as per Law 41 of 2015,” it added.

Exposure to Lebanese credits: Ashmore fund suffers $1 bln net outflow
Reuters, Beirut/March 14/2020
An emerging debt fund run by investment manager Ashmore Group loaded with securities from troubled Argentina, Lebanon and Ecuador has been hit by net investor outflows of more than $1 billion since August, according to Morningstar data.
Net returns of the Ashmore SICAV Emerging Markets Short Duration Fund, which has net assets of $5.1 billion, are down 20.3 percent in the year to date, compared to a 3.5 percent loss for the benchmark JPMorgan EMBI Global index, Refinitiv data shows.
$318 million left in three months
Around $318 million left the fund in February after monthly outflows in August, October and November. Between the end of last month and February last year, the fund had net inflows of $1.04 billion, the Morningstar data showed. Since August, net outflows totaled $1.1 billion. The reason is likely heavy exposure to troubled credits -nearly a quarter of the fund is invested in Argentina and Lebanon, up from around 8 percent from the same period in 2019, according to Refinitv data from the end of January, as the emerging markets specialist bought up bonds hammered by last year's financial turmoil in those countries. Ashmore, which in total has about $100 billion assets under management, declined to comment. But it last month defended the short duration fund's strategy, saying it was designed to take account of bouts of volatility in high-yielding emerging markets. It was too soon to judge the success of its " “dislocation” rades on Lebanon and Argentina, it argued. Among the fund's holdings is a Lebanese $1.2 billion Eurobond which matured on Monday and will not be repaid. That issue has lost nearly half its value in the past week. Lebanon declared on Saturday it could not continue servicing debt. Argentine bonds have also fallen, and economy minister Martin Guzman said this week the country will need “substantial relief” as it restructures nearly $70 billion in debt with international bondholders. The fund's largest weighting of 15 per cent is in Ecuador, the data showed. While Ecuador has not defaulted, it is reeling after huge unrest last year and the recent oil price collapse; its sovereign bonds have tumbled around 50 per cent this year.

Saudi Embassy reduces its working hours, effective Monday
NNA/Saturday, March 14/2020
The Saudi Embassy in Beirut announced, in a statement on Saturday, that "in accordance with the preventive and precautionary measures recommended by the competent health authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as part of its determined efforts to control the Corona virus and prevent its spread, and out of concern to protect the health of the Embassy staff, its visitors and those who benefit from its services, it was decided to reduce official working hours temporarily, starting Monday, March 16, to be from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m."

Nehme urges food and consumer supply traders not to take advantage of prevailing circumstances
NNA/Saturday, March 14/2020
Economy and Trade Minister Raoul Nehme met Saturday with suppliers, supermarkets and food and consumer shops owners, and asked them to increase their working hours temporarily, while taking precautionary measures, to enable citizens to purchase their needs and mitigate mass gatherings to limit the spread of the Corona virus.Nehme also urged them to “demonstrate national and social responsibility, and not to take advantage of the current exceptional circumstances by raising prices unjustifiably.”The Minister was, in turn, reassured by suppliers during the meeting that food and consumer items are available abundance and will not be cut off from the market; hence, there is no need for citizens to rush to buy goods more than needed.

Interior Minister’s Press Office denies news of transferring corona infected patients to the Faculty of Information’s building in Wata al-Msaitbeh
NNA/Saturday, March 14/2020
The Press Office of the Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Mohamed Fahmy, denied in an issued statement Saturday, the recent circulated news about “the transfer of a number of patients infected with corona virus from the city’s southern suburb to the Faculty of Information’s building in the area of Wata al-Msaitbeh, amidst an armed presence.”The statement explained that the video attached to the circulated news belongs to a previous popular movement in one of the Lebanese regions, adding that the presence of a number of people in the Faculty of Information’s building premises in Wata al-Msaitbeh is due to the fact that, after suspecting the infection an engineer in the Engineering Syndicate’s branch in Dbayeh, the Syndicate urged all engineers in said branch to come to the Engineering Syndicate’s headquarters, adjacent to the Faculty of Information in Wata al-Msaitbeh area, to undergo the necessary tests to ensure their safety.

Series of meetings at the Government Serail tackle raising level of preparedness
NNA/Saturday, March 14/2020
Several meetings were held on Saturday at the Grand Serail to follow up the procedures and measures related to the prevention from Corona virus. Bakery owners unions, supermarkets and distributors unions, water distributors and industrialists, health sector, army and security forces, insurance companies, and agricultural unions respectively partook in those meetings, under the supervision of the Prime Minister Hassan Diab, and with the presence of Ministers of Defense Zeina Akar, Interior Mohammad Fahmi, Economy Raoul Nehme, Industry Imad Hoballah, and Labor Lamia Yammine, in addition to the corona virus committee members, General Mahmoud Al-Asmar and PM Consultant for Health Affairs, Dr. Petra Khoury. Discussions touched on adopting required measures, respecting the recommendations of the Ministry of Public Health, and taking all necessary precautions in terms of hygiene and health practices. {PM Diab’s Press Office}

Aoun to address the Lebanese at the beginning of the cabinet’s session tomorrow
NNANNA/Saturday, March 14/2020
At the start of the cabinet’s meeting at Baabda President Palace tomorrow afternoon, the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, is expected to address the Lebanese on the developments related to combating the Corona pandemic and the measures that will be adopted in this respect.

Ezzeddine contacts Abdel-Samad to follow up on the issue of distance learning
NNA/Saturday, March 14/2020
As a follow-up on the issue of securing distance learning service for Lebanese students, Women and Child Committee Chair, Deputy Enaya Ezzeddine, contacted Saturday the Minister of Information, Dr. Manal Abdel-Samad Najd, briefing her out the outcome of her meeting with Education Minister Tariq al-Majzoub, where the idea of allocating TV hours for educational programs was raised. Ezzeddine relayed Abdel-Samad’s great welcome of this initiative, expressing the readiness of the Ministry of Information to place all its capabilities into rendering this project a success. The MP had called for according the issue of distance learning a high priority, so that students do not waste their time while staying at home. "These sensitive conditions can be an occasion to transform the threat into an opportunity by creating the platform to integrate technology in educational curricula and learning methods, especially in public education,” Ezzeddine asserted.

First Lebanese national joins the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
NNA/Saturday, March 14/2020
The European Academy of Sciences and Arts chose the Head of the Neuroscience Research Center at the Lebanese University, Professor Youssef Fares, to join its cadre, thus becoming the first Lebanese doctor among its members, and officially honored by the Academy during a ceremony held in Salzburg, Austria. The Academy, a European non-governmental and non-profit medical association based in Austria, is home to a group of members who are the most distinguished scientists, artists and business experts, among them Nobel Prize winners, who are elected in recognition of their outstanding achievements in science, arts and governance. The selection of Fares by the Academy denotes a global recognition for his leadership in neurosurgery, and according to its criteria "his outstanding contributions have led to advances in neuroscience, the development of health care institutions, and the building of bridges between Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean". Fares is the founding Director of the Center for Neuroscience Research at the Lebanese University, Chairman and Director General of Al-Zahra University Hospital, and he is currently the founding President of the Lebanese Society for Spine Surgery and the editor of the leading journal, “Surgical Neurology International”. Fares has more than a hundred researches and studies published in international scientific journals, and has reaped a number of honoring awards in recognition of his academic, research and medical work.

Bassil launches a campaign to confront Corona virus: A collective responsibility, state of emergency inevitable
NNA/Saturday, March 14/2020
Free Patriotic Movement Chief, MP Gebran Bassil, launched Saturday a campaign to confront the Corona virus spread, in a word on the occasion March 14th commemoration, following an online meeting by the FPM National Council to approve its political paper and budget, while adhering to safety standards and preventive measures. “Our role is to confront, not to watch, for we are not spectators, but people of action. Our duty is to contribute to drawing a road map for rescue, implementing it and putting our potentials into place,” Bassil said.
He added: “The Lebanese are known for their toughness, for no matter what the difficulties, we managed to overcome them as a fortified, more healthy society…but our responsibility this time is different….Our responsibility for ourselves and others, our responsibility for everything that is around us and those who live with us at home and in our society and our homeland, is to protect ourselves and others. It is a collective and national responsibility par excellence!"
“Today we remain in our place, not only for our sake but also for the sake of others. We work in the Movement and contribute to the continuation of life, so that we can give the example that the student is able to stay home and study through e-learning…and the worker is sometimes able to stay in his safe place and work from afar…Yet there is a group of people who are forced, due to the nature of their work or their incentive to help others, to be in constant mobility and contact with patients and those infected with the virus, which is an example of courage and dedication, and hats off to them in respect, especially those working in the health sector, including doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and volunteers in the Lebanese Red Cross and others,” Bassil went on.
He stressed that "infection and disease are not a disgrace. We are all exposed, including our family members. Hence, reporting symptoms and undergoing the necessary laboratory examination and self-quarantine when necessary, remain a duty towards our society and our country."
“We stand behind the state in managing this crisis, and we adhere to its guidelines and support any decision it takes because the epidemiological situation is worrisome, and we are on the verge of reaching an epidemic widespread, with the possibility of exceeding the medical capabilities to care for critical cases, so it seems that a general quarantine decision is inevitable, i.e. declaring a state of emergency, even if painful, to save the largest number of precious lives,” Bassil underlined.
“Crises are a test for humanity, and we are people of confrontation, and not of fleeing or standing idle…This time, confrontation lies in prevention and protection in order to preserve Lebanon and fortify the immunity of our society. Today, we meet electronically to show solidarity with each other and with our society and our state. We meet to confront and resist the spread of the epidemic, and we are all confident that together, through our solidarity, we will defeat this epidemic and any other threat to Lebanon," Bassil concluded.

Al-Tabsh: Corona is not a disgrace!
NNA/Saturday, March 14/2020
MP Rola al-Tabash deemed via her Twitter account today that “Corona virus is not a shame,” adding, "As a result of the wrong approach, the patient of corona and his family are feeling guilty and fearful, which is pushing citizens to ignore the symptoms that may appear and hide them from the doctor…”“Corona is not a defect, but rather the defect lies in concealing symptoms and exposing oneself and the surrounding to infection….I call for social solidarity, the key to cordoning off and limiting the virus!” Tabsh underscored.

Arslan: With awareness and responsibility we can cross this phase
NNA/Saturday, March 14/2020
Lebanese Democratic Party Head, MP Talal Arslan, tweeted Saturday on the Corona virus issue, saying: "We are each responsible today, just as the state, the government and the relevant ministries…We are required to observe home quarantine to limit the spread of the Corona virus, and to adhere to all the preventive instructions issued by the Ministry of Public Health and those concerned...Through awareness and a sense of responsibility we can cross this critical stage…#Stay home!"

Abdullah: The Lebanese individual and his safety is the main issue
NNA/Saturday, March 14/2020 
MP Bilal Abdullah tweeted Saturday on the required measures regarding the Corona virus, saying: "Awaiting the government's decisions over measures to tackle the Corona epidemic, we are all called upon to stay in our homes, not to mix, and practice voluntary quarantine when necessary...The Lebanese individual and his safety is the issue today. Let us leave all our differences, contradictions and struggles....and work together as one hand!

Economic crisis may pave way for reforms to Lebanon's sponsorship system
Abby Sewell, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 14 March 2020
Reforms to Lebanon’s “kafala” sponsorship system for importing migrant domestic workers from Africa and Asia have long been sought by advocates who say the current system is rife with human rights violations.
Over the past year, the reform efforts have found high-level support in the Labor Ministry. Now, with the country’s economic crisis shrinking the purchasing power of Lebanon’s lower and middle classes, some experts say the time is ripe for “dismantling” the system.
A coalition including human rights groups, government officials, migrant workers, and employers, as well as representatives of the embassies of the workers’ countries, gathered this week in Beirut to discuss changes the Ministry of Labor is considering making to the standard work contract for foreign domestic workers, who currently number about 250,000 in Lebanon. The new proposed contract aims to give the workers greater protections and could be a step toward more sweeping legislative changes that would give domestic workers the same legal rights as any other employees in the country.
“This will be quite a change in the way Lebanese employ domestic workers,” Ryszard Cholewinski, senior migration specialist with the International Labour Organization (ILO), which has been coordinating a working group studying potential reforms, told Al Arabiya English. “It will not be a popular reform with everyone, but we also feel that in this time of crisis – not just economic but political – this is also an opportunity to put in place much needed reform.”
While details of the new contract are still being negotiated, as currently proposed, it would address “what have been some of the most abusive elements around the kafala sponsorship system when it comes to domestic workers,” Cholewinski said. For instance, the proposed contract explicitly forbids the common practices of employers confiscating workers’ passports and not allowing them to leave the house on mandated one day off per week. The new contract also increases domestic workers’ mandated annual leave from six days to 15.
And perhaps most important, it will include a clause allowing either the employee or the employer to terminate employment at a month’s notice, which is “very much a step forward when it comes to…addressing issues around forced labor and trafficking,” Cholewinski said. The exact conditions of termination are still being negotiated.
Under the current contract, workers only have the right to terminate the contract if they're not paid for three months, if the employer or a family member physically or sexually abused them and it's officially investigated and proven, or if the employer forces them to work a job that they weren't contracted to do.
At the request of former Labor Minister Camille Abousleiman in April of 2018, the ILO convened a working group to recommend measures that could be taken by the ministry to improve protections for migrant workers. While more sweeping changes – such as removing the language that exempts domestic workers from Lebanon’s labor law – would require approval by Parliament, the Labor Minister can act administratively to change the standard contract. The formation of the working group predated the mass protests that have swept across Lebanon since October and the country’s ongoing economic crisis, but the crisis has added a new urgency to the matter. As Human Rights Watch noted in a recent report, many domestic workers have reported that their salaries have been slashed or gone unpaid as their employers have lost their own jobs or received reduced payments.
Even those who are still receiving payment have seen the real value of their already-low wages decrease as Lebanon’s currency has undergone a de facto devaluation. For instance, a worker who gets 300,000 Lebanese lira a month – the equivalent of $200 at the official exchange rate – now gets as little as $120 at the black-market rate.
Speaking at the meeting convened to discuss the proposed changes, Ghassan Dibeh, chair of the department of economics at the Lebanese American University said that the economic crisis is also likely to bring about a major decrease in demand for live-in domestic workers, given that many of the families who previously employed them are from the now-struggling middle and lower classes. “I think the current economic crisis will bring about the end of the kafala system,” Dibeh said. “Its origin is economic, and its end will be economic.”
Indeed, Ali Amine, president of the Syndicate of Recruitment Agencies in Lebanon, told the group that the number of foreign domestic workers coming to Lebanon had dropped off steeply since 2018. Current Labor Minister Lamia Yammine attended the opening session of this week’s meeting on the proposed reforms, where she told the group that “Lebanon has been and will remain an active member in the international rights system” and is committed to protecting “the rights of all the workers on Lebanese soil, without discrimination.” Yammine declined to be interviewed for this piece.
Some of the workers themselves said they are hopeful that real reforms may finally be made. “Eleven years I’ve been working on this,” said Malani Kandaarachige, a migrant worker from Sri Lanka who is one of the founders of the Alliance of Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon. “We’re tired.”
Kandaarachige said she hopes the workers will be given meaningful input in the final contract. “We want our voice as domestic workers, not for someone to give us something to read or somebody to handle us,” she said. “We are the ones facing the problems.”
Meriam Prado of the Philippines, also a founding member of the alliance, said it’s the first time she has seen serious movement on reforms to the kafala system. “There’s a lot of discussion to do, but we’re hoping for the best,” she said.

Restaurants and public life in Lebanon suffer amid new coronavirus measures
Michal Kranz/Al Arabiya English/March 14/2020
As the coronavirus case count in Lebanon climbed to 77 and state authorities registered three deaths, Lebanese authorities closed restaurants, entertainment centers and other public spaces last week.
State authorities had publicly admitted they had been unable to contain the spread of the virus domestically, and along with the country’s syndicate of restaurants announced Wednesday that establishments would close in the country currently in the throngs of economic crisis.
“The stores are all closed, there aren’t people in the street, there is no work,” Mehdi Wehbe, an employee at a clothing store in west Beirut that had remained open, told Al Arabiya English. “They are trying to suspend employees because the companies aren’t paying.”
Already hard-hit by multiple economic and fiscal crises over the last six months, businesses in Lebanon have seen their fortunes decline further as a result of the new measures to stop the spread of COVID-19, the medical term for the new coronavirus. In Beirut’s popular shopping districts and nightlife hubs, cafes, bars, and stores have been forced to close, and those that have remained open have suffered losses as street life has nearly ground to a halt.
Some corporate employees have been unable to go to work, and shop owners stated that many in the industry won’t be able to make ends meet in the case of prolonged national paralysis.
“We in Lebanon in 2006 had a war, and we didn’t see this type of crisis,” Mohammad al-Sibaai, a perfume vendor in Beirut’s Hamra area, told Al Arabiya English. “It’s not a joke — there is death.”
In Hamra, Gemmayzeh, Mar Mikhael, and other previously-bustling popular Beirut neighborhoods, stores, and businesses with seating or public gathering spaces were shuttered, and street activity was markedly lower than usual. The popular Barbar Restaurant, which has two locations in Beirut that are usually open for 24 hours a day and had operated throughout the Lebanese Civil War, had also been forced to close, reportedly with pressure from tourism police.
Some small shops and eateries continued to operate, but with precautionary measures in place.
“We don't [come into] contact with people, just by delivery,” Ahmad Itani, a shop owner in the Verdun area, told Al Arabiya English. “It's better and more comfortable for them.”
Like many others, al-Sibaai lamented that the outbreak of COVID-19 added another layer of adversity in a country that had already been dealing with an economic downturn.
Paul Eid, the manager of Mexican restaurant Taco de Madre in Mar Mikhael, told Al Arabiya English that the virus outbreak has caused him to lose money.
“This affects us a lot because we lose a lot of customers, even when it comes to delivery,” Eid said. “They are afraid to order. We are losing a lot of income.”
Others lamented similar problems.
Tony Saab, a shop owner in Mar Mikhael, told Al Arabiya English that while the owners of establishments in previously popular areas understand the necessity of the new social distancing measures, they cannot hold out for long.
“Because of corona, [business owners in the area] say it’s no problem if this lasts to the end of the month,” Saab said. “But they have a problem if it goes longer, because there is rent to pay.”
Another casualty of the new circumstances in the country has been social life. Al-Sibaai, the perfume vendor, said he has started avoiding large gatherings, and Renata Harb, an employee at a telecommunications aggregator who has started working from home because of virus fears, said she doesn’t socialize much with people anymore. “I'm not worried for myself because you're always worried for the older people, and my grandma lives with us,” Harb told Al Arabiya English. “I'm visiting my friends right now but that's it. We're not going out at all.”
Despite the difficulties facing them however, some businesses are taking steps to limit the spread of the virus as much as possible. Disinfection procedures have taken place at currently-closed establishments. Some supermarkets, like Olive and Cheese Fakhani in Verdun, have asked employees to wear masks and gloves while working and have placed sanitizers throughout the market.
“We do all we can to keep our stocks fully loaded to be able to serve the Lebanese people,” Khaled Itani, the branch manager of the supermarket, told Al Arabiya English. “We’re being the impact we want to see in the society that we live in basically.”
While many of the stores that remain open provide the bare essentials, some businesses, like the Plan Bey gallery in Mar Mikhael, have held out amid the widespread closures.
“Since all the museums are closed, we are trying to keep this place [open] for the tourists to show them another perspective of Beirut,” gallery manager Ahmad Haidar, who said he cleans the shop every thirty minutes, told Al Arabiya English. “This place is not crowded by people so for now we are safe.”

Lebanon's Hezbollah won't oppose IMF aid under 'reasonable conditions': chief
The New Arab & agencies/March 14/2020
Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement, which has strongly opposed foreign interference in the country's crisis-hit economy, said on Friday it could accept Beirut receiving an International Monetary Fund financial rescue package under "reasonable conditions". "Any help within reasonable conditions, there's no problem with it in principle," the Shia movement's chief Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address. But he warned that "Lebanon must not fall under anybody's trusteeship or hand over its financial and economic administration" to outside parties. One of the most indebted countries in the world, Lebanon has been rocked by a months-long political and financial crisis. The country's pound has tumbled in value and banks have imposed strict limits on dollar withdrawals amid a strangulating liquidity crunch and mass protests against the political class.
Lebanon said last week it would default on its Eurobond debt for the first time, saying that was the only way to shore up its foreign currency reserves. Banking experts have called for an IMF rescue package, saying it would secure desperately-needed international assistance and reassure creditors. But the powerful Shia movement Hezbollah, which along with its allies holds a majority in parliament, has opposed such moves. It has rejected conditions and "ready-made recipes" which global bodies could impose, warning against what it called "foreign guardianship" over the economy. Hezbollah is backed by Iran, whose arch foe the United States has a virtual veto on IMF decisions. The IMF on Thursday urged Lebanon to quickly implement reforms to stabilise the economy. "Given the severity of economic conditions in Lebanon, it's important that the government designs and implements promptly a comprehensive package of reforms to effectively address the economic challenges and improve Lebanon's economic prospects," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters. While the country has not requested aid from the Washington-based crisis lender, "We stand ready... to assist the authorities in those efforts." Lebanon's debt burden is now equivalent to nearly 170 percent of its gross domestic product. Despite a series of crises, the country had never before defaulted, but in recent months it has grappled with its worst economic turmoil since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Lebanon to declare emergency after a severe storm
Arab News/March 14/2020
BEIRUT: Lebanese people experienced terror on Thursday night when a severe storm ravaged mountain and coastal regions, uprooted trees, caused floods and destroyed cars, refugee tents and public statues.
Several flights were diverted to Larnaca and Antalya airports after strong winds made landings at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport impossible.
The frightening weather conditions came on top of the novel coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Social media users described their experience as they stayed at home in line with the government’s directives aimed at limiting the spread of the virus. “Lebanon is flying” was the second most trending hashtag after “Stay home”. Users switched from mocking the situation to sensing its gravity.
“Here comes nature’s wrath after the unemployment, dollar, Eurobonds, banks and imported coronavirus crises. The night of strong easterly winds uprooted trees, damaged buildings and affected people. Disasters, disasters and the greatest disaster of all is the dark horizons. May God protect what is left of Lebanon,” tweeted former minister, Akram Chehayeb. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has exceeded 80, and includes an employee of the Ministry of Health. “The infected employee works in the Ministry’s central administration. The virus was transmitted to her by one of her relatives,” the Ministry of Health announced, noting that “we are taking all the necessary measures to isolate her, identify those who were in contact with her inside and outside of the Ministry and make sure they self-quarantine at home.”
“A civil or public health emergency might be announced. The people should expect an increase of 20 cases in a single day in Lebanon,” said the Health Minister, Hamad Hassan. He denied the claims that the Ministry is concealing the actual number of cases.
60 hospital beds have been prepared at Rafik Hariri University Hospital (RHUH), which is dedicated to coronavirus-infected patients, to handle the expected increase in cases. The head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, blamed the government for the worsening situation, noting that “the government should adopt a so-called ‘automatic quarantine’ after failing to close air, land and sea crossings and take the necessary measures to prevent the spread of the virus.”
The Association of Banks in Lebanon announced that banks will be closed for sterilization from Saturday, while the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Tarek Al-Majzoub, extended the closure of schools and universities for an additional week. This decision will be accompanied by efforts to set up emergency programs to finish the educational curricula and make up for the lost lessons. Worshipers stayed away from Friday prayers out of fear of transmission.
The storm caused great damage as it uprooted pine and oak trees along the roads of Mount Lebanon, broke the windows of homes and shops, destroyed parked cars, flooded roads, sent bricks flying from the roofs of houses and caused a power cut when some electricity poles fell, which also disconnected cellphone lines in the affected areas. The 120 kilometers per hour winds destroyed highway billboards and crops, which doubled the losses of farmers who are already struggling.
Some post-storm tweets considered that Friday the 13th and the destruction of a statue of Mary in the storm were very bad signs.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 14-15/2020
Iran Says Virus Death Toll Reaches 611
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 14 March, 2020
The new coronavirus outbreak has killed another 97 people in Iran, pushing the death toll in the country to 611 amid 12,729 confirmed cases, Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said Saturday. Iran is suffering from the worst outbreak in the Middle East. The virus has also infected a number of senior officials there. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus in a matter of weeks, but the outbreak has caused more than 5,000 deaths worldwide. Jahanpour told a televised news conference on Saturday that more than 4,300 of those with confirmed infections had recovered so far. Tehran province had the highest number of new cases with 347, followed by Isfahan with 155 and the northern region of Alborz with 134. "Naturally, the number of confirmed cases will increase" even more as Iran steps up its laboratory sampling and tests, he said.

Iran Reports 97 New Virus Deaths, Taking Total to 611
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 14/2020
Iran said on Saturday that the novel coronavirus has claimed 97 more lives, raising the country's total to 611, as the number of confirmed cases jumped again. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said that "1,365 fresh cases have been added to the number of confirmed infections in the past 24 hours", bringing the total to 12,729. Jahanpour told a televised news conference that more than 4,300 of those with confirmed infections had recovered so far. Tehran province had the highest number of new cases with 347, followed by Isfahan with 155 and the northern region of Alborz with 134. "Naturally, the number of confirmed cases will increase" even more as Iran steps up its laboratory sampling and tests, he said. The outbreak in Iran is one of the deadliest outside of China, where the disease originated. But Tehran's markets were still crowded despite calls for people to stay at home, with many shopping ahead of the country's New Year holidays which start on March 20. The ministry said Friday that the average age of those who died was 67. The youngest was a three-year-old leukaemia sufferer and the oldest 91. Four times as many men as women died from the novel coronavirus. But in some of Iran's provinces alcohol poisoning was killing even more people than the virus. At least 92 have died from drinking methanol after rumours circulated that it can help to cure or protect from the virus, and the number has been on the rise for the past few days.
'Big nightmare'
Iran is also preparing for its traditional fire festival, or Chaharshanbe Soori, held annually on the last Wednesday evening before the spring holiday of Nowrouz. Iranians traditionally jump over fires and light fireworks to celebrate the event, with many suffering burns and being hospitalised. The interior ministry has ordered firefighters and medical services to be on the alert, but the head of a hospital specialising in the treatment of burns suggested the government ban the ceremony amid the virus outbreak. "People suffering burns while the coronavirus is out there is a big nightmare," Mostafa Dehmardei, head of Tehran's Motahari hospital, told semi-official news agency ISNA. Several politicians and officials, both sitting and former, have been infected with the new coronavirus, and some have died from the illness. The latest suspected case of infection was Ali Akbar Velayati, who advises Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on foreign policy. Iran's official coronavirus committee also held its meeting chaired by President Hassan Rouhani on Friday via videoconference. Pictures of the meeting that have been released show ministers with masks tuning in from their offices. The foreign ministry on Friday thanked other countries for sending aid in the form of cash and medical equipment to combat the outbreak. The government and people of Iran would "never forget their friends" at a time of hardship, spokesman Abbas Mousavi tweeted. He thanked Azerbaijan, Britain, China, France, Germany, Japan, Qatar, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Iran said Thursday that it has sought immediate financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund to help it fight the virus, in what would be its first such loan in decades.

Online users ridicule Iran plastic cover-up of Soleimani statue in northern Iran
Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya EnglishSaturday, 14 March 2020
Authorities in northern Iran covered up with plastic a recently unveiled statue of slain military commander Qassem Soleimani after it was subject to ridicule on social media. Iran unveiled a seven-meter-long statue of Soleimani in the northern city of Bandar Anzali in Gilan province last week. Some social media users shared images of the statue on Twitter, expressing anger at the regime’s willingness to spend resources on building the statue to commemorate the general, who was killed in US airstrikes in Iraq on January 3, rather than on medical resources to combat the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
The statue was also subject to ridicule by Iranian social media users, prompting authorities to eventually cover up the statue.New images of the statue shared online show the statue covered up in plastic. “I have a lot of requests for Soleimani statues from Lebanon and Syria, but I decided to install this statue in Gilan,” sculptor Rasoul Babaei had told the semi-official YJC news agency following the unveiling of the statue. Babaei said he had started working on the statue a few days after Soleimani was killed.

Syria Death Toll 384,0000 after 9 Years of War
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 14 March, 2020
At least 384,000 people have died in Syria, including more than 116,000 civilians, since the war began in March 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday. Sparked by deadly repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests, the conflict has since turned into a complicated war involving opposition factions, militant groups and foreign powers. As the war enters its 10th year, the regime of Bashar al-Assad now controls more than 70 percent of Syrian territory, thanks to the military support of its allies Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah. The conflict is the "worst man-made disaster since World War II," the United Nations human rights chief declared in 2017. Idlib was one of the first provinces to join the uprisings against Assad, and is now the last to remain in opposition hands. Despite a ceasefire agreed on March 6 between Turkey and Russia, few believe the Syrian regime will back off its plans to eventually retake the province.

Rocket Attack Hits Iraq Base Housing Coalition Troops
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 14 March, 2020
A barrage of rockets hit a base housing US and other coalition troops north of Baghdad, just days after a similar attack killed two American troops and a British soldier.There was no immediate word on casualties at Camp Taji. Iraq's military said that 33 Katyusha rockets had been launched on the base. The military found seven rocket launchers and 24 unused rockets in the nearby Abu Izam area, it said in a statement, and promised to arrest those responsible. Iraqi security officials said some rockets struck the coalition quarters while others fell on a runway used by Iraqi forces. The attack was unusual because it occurred during the day. Previous assaults on military bases housing US troops typically occurred overnight. It was the 23rd such attack since late October on installations across Iraq where American troops and diplomats are based, with the latest rounds growing deadlier. The earlier attack against Camp Taji on Wednesday prompted American airstrikes Friday against what US officials said were mainly weapons facilities belonging to Kataib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia group believed to be responsible. However, Iraq's military said those airstrikes killed five security force members and a civilian.

Iraq's Protesters Struggle to Keep Waning Movement Going
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 14 March, 2020
At the once-bustling hub of the largest anti-government protest movement in Iraq's modern history, crowds have dwindled, and donation boxes have sprouted up. Loudspeakers resound with calls by activists for funds to keep their hard-fought revolution alive.
The six-month-old movement has faced one setback after another, from the shifting positions of a mercurial Shiite cleric to an apathetic political class and, now, fears over an outbreak of the coronavirus that Iraq´s decrepit health system has struggled to contain, with nearly 93 confirmed cases and nine deaths.
Where once Baghdad´s Tahrir Square had seen thousands every day, now only a few hundred protesters turn up. Morale has been dampened among young Iraqis who first took to the streets on Oct. 1 to decry rampant government corruption, poor services, and unemployment.
Protesters have found it difficult to revive the strength of their leaderless movement after scoring victories early on, like pressuring lawmakers to pass a key electoral reform bill and forcing former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi to step down. Assassinations, abductions, and threats targeting prominent protesters have contributed to blunting the momentum. A looming economic crisis linked to the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing political dysfunction could eventually bring a new jolt that inspires Iraqis back to the streets. But for the moment, the movement is looking at what went wrong.
The difficulties of recent months caused the poles of authority among protesters to shift from the capital to the south, while some say shunning any form of central leadership was a mistake.
In Tahrir Square, a group of young men recently shared a hookah pipe under a tarp by a tunnel replete with the wall art of their revolution. Together, they embodied the spirit that first brought many into Iraq´s central squares to protest.
Marwan Ali, 23, had attended university to study communication but could only find work as a barber after graduation. Mohammed Abbas, 19, didn't bother pursuing a higher education, convinced it wouldn't secure a job. So in October he picked up a banner and joined the movement.
Hussein al-Hind, 22, was a teenager when he heeded a call by Iraq's top Shiite cleric to take up arms and defeat the ISIS group with what would later become the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces. He soon became disenchanted as his one-time war heroes joined the ranks of the political class by running in the May 2018 election. The young men have also suffered the violence that has met the movement. Hind showed off two bullet wounds from clashes with riot police; Abbas was detained by police for three days early on in the demonstrations; Ali's family has received messages from unknown groups threatening his life. Now, the future of their hard-fought protest movement depends on the ability of these youth to keep to the streets.
When the conversation turned to the state of their movement, Marwan Ali took a moment's pause. "We are disappointed," he said. Asked why he was still coming to Tahrir, he said, "This isn't about the homeland anymore, we are here for the blood of our martyrs." Over 500 people have been killed since October under fire by security forces who have used live ammunition, tear gas, and recently pellet guns to disperse crowds.
In nearby Khilani Square, clashes still rage between a core group of protesters and security, with at least two demonstrators dead last week. The movement was dealt a blow in January after radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who also heads a major political bloc, withdrew support after elites selected a prime minister candidate he backed, Mohammed Allawi. Sadr's reversal instilled a climate of fear in the square as militiamen affiliated with his group, which once protected protest sites, intimidated demonstrators who refused to back Allawi, activists said. Allawi has since withdrawn from the post.
"We were tools in Sadr's game," said Kamal Jaban, an activist. It was an eventuality that activists said they wanted to avoid when Sadr's followers first joined the movement. As early as November, protesters bristled at the question of leadership and were quick to diminish the credibility of those making claims of authority over them. They tore down stages built by political parties in protest plazas, fearing the fate of previous grassroots movements that fizzled out when co-opted by political actors. Three months since, protesters said in hindsight the lack of core leadership had hobbled their movement, enabling figures like Sadr to do exactly what they had feared. "There is no one to represent us, put pressure on the government," said Ali, under the tarp in Tahrir. Sadr's move also diminished Tahrir Square´s status as the central voice of the movement. Activists started looking to Haboubi Square in the southern city of Nasiriya for orders. Nasiriya's protesters have been resilient against infiltration by political parties, partly due to support from local tribes. In hindsight, said Ali, this weakened the movement. "Tahrir Square became tainted with Sadr supporters," he explained. "At first Nasiriya was listening to us, now we listen to them."
It was Nasiriya that gave political elites a deadline to make progress on protester demands, prompting an escalation in demonstrations across the country. Later, calls from the southern city led protesters in Baghdad to block the strategic Mohammed al-Qassim highway. When Haboubi Square raised the image of activist Alaa Rikabi as their choice for prime minister, Tahrir did the same. Other protesters said fatigue from months on the street was taking a toll as donations for food and supplies were running short and temperatures dropped over the winter.
"Weak turnout was expected some time ago because the protesters who have been here for five months are tired, sleeping in cold and far from work, their families, and school," said Murtada Emad, a protester and university student at Babil College of Basic Education. "I left school, but my family is pressuring me to go back."By February, protesters were marginalized as political bickering over Allawi's government formation ignored the core demands of the street. Allawi withdrew as prime minister-designate on March 1 after failing to secure parliamentary support for his Cabinet. Back in Tahrir, Ali Jumaili, 22, said all hope was not lost. "Every day, I sit on the sidewalk with my friends and weep because of the weakening demonstrations," he said. "The revolution will repeat itself with more vigor in the future."

US Declares Emergency as New Virus Epicenter Europe Locks Down
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 14/2020
US President Donald Trump declared a national state of emergency as the World Health Organization named Europe the new epicenter of the coronavirus, with countries sealing borders, shutting schools and canceling events in a frenzied attempt to slow the ballooning pandemic.
Wall Street stocks rallied Friday as financial markets endured a rollercoaster ride after a week of spectacular losses triggered by fears that the deadly outbreak will lead to a global recession. "To unleash the full power of the federal government, I'm officially declaring a national emergency," Trump said, announcing $50 billion in federal funds to battle the contagion. The measure came as infections and deaths soared in Europe, with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying the continent now had "more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China." He described it as a "tragic milestone", and warned it was impossible to say when the virus would peak globally. The overall death toll jumped to more than 5,000, including nearly 1,500 in Europe, with total infections topping 140,000 internationally, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.
Italy, Spain as well as Iran -- which have emerged as virus hotspots -- all clocked a dramatic rise in cases and fatalities in the past 24 hours, while infections were reported in Kenya and Ethiopia, the first in east Africa. Venezuela declared a "state of alert" after confirming its first two cases, and Colombia closed its border with Venezuela and restricted the entry of foreigners who have been to Europe and Asia in the last 14 days. Governments have been pushing through tough restrictions to contain the spread of the disease and unveiling big-bang emergency funding plans to try to limit the economic damage.
Trump said the US would buy large quantities of crude oil for strategic reserves and waived student loan interest during the crisis, stressing that the "next eight weeks were critical."The US House of Representatives early Saturday overwhelmingly passed a virus relief package for Americans hit by the outbreak. Leaders of the G7, the world's richest economies, will hold an extraordinary summit via videoconference on Monday to discuss the pandemic. The virus has torn up the sporting and cultural calendar, with top-flight events from Broadway to English Premier League football scrapped. The outbreak reached new heights with several public figures from Hollywood actors to politicians and even the Canadian first lady catching the infection.
Worst in a century
COVID-19, which first emerged in China in December, has spread relentlessly around the world even as cases in Asia have levelled out in recent days. South Korea, once grappling with the largest outbreak outside China, saw newly recovered patients exceed fresh infections for the first time and the lowest number of new cases for three weeks. China this week claimed "the peak" of the pandemic had passed its shores although it still has the biggest overall number of deaths and infections. Beijing reported just 11 infections on Saturday, and for first time since the start of the outbreak the majority of them were imported cases from overseas. Italy, the hardest-hit country in Europe, recorded its highest one-day toll with 250 deaths over the past 24 hours, while Spain declared a state of alert after its infections raced past 3,000. A raft of European countries shut their borders to foreigners, closed non-essential businesses, restaurants and hotels and museums, and banned public gatherings. France, the world's most visited country, closed the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre over what President Emmanuel Macron called "the worst health crisis in France in a century." The new measures came after Trump this week banned all travelers from mainland Europe for 30 days, prompting a swift rebuke from Brussels which is scrambling to shore up the EU economy. US schools are closing across the country and an increasing number of Americans are staying home, while Louisiana became the first state to postpone its Democratic presidential primary and airlines announced further steps to ground planes. The Pentagon banned all its military and civilian personnel from domestic travel from Monday to help stop the spread of the virus. Asian stocks tumbled in volatile business following the worst day on Wall Street since the crash of 1987 as traders scrambled to sell, wiping trillions off market valuations. The Dow closed up 9.4 percent following Trump's emergency measures. Trudeau in quarantine  The virus is weighing heavily on daily life. Shops, squares and cafes normally packed with people are deserted in Italy, which has imposed nationwide lockdown measures never-before-seen in peacetime. The illness is sparing no-one. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he was in self-imposed quarantine after his wife tested positive, the day after Hollywood star Tom Hanks said he and his wife were infected. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said Friday he had tested negative after a top aide was confirmed infected.  The virus has cut a swathe through sporting events and put a major question mark over the Tokyo Olympics, with Trump saying "maybe they postpone it for a year", sparking furious denials from Japan. In Britain, where the government's softly-softly strategy has raised some eyebrows, Queen Elizabeth II has put off engagements, and local elections planned for May have been cancelled. With authorities warning large gatherings should be avoided, entertainment venues such as Disneyland have been closed and the lucrative Indian Premier League cricket competition postponed.

How to Clean the Bundle of Germs That Is Your Phone
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 14 March, 2020
You're washing your hands countless times a day to try to ward off the coronavirus. You should also wash that extension of your hand and breeding ground for germs - your phone. Tests done by scientists show that the virus can live for two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends cleaning all "high-touch" surfaces daily, including phones, keyboards, and tablet computers. But cleaning your phone improperly can damage it. You want to avoid getting moisture inside it or scratching the surface. Don't spray cleaners directly on the phone, don't dunk it in cleaning solutions, don't spray it with compressed-air devices used to clean keyboards and avoid rubbing it with abrasive materials. Instead, start by turning off the phone and unplugging all cables. Your phone shouldn't be charging as you clean. You can use Clorox wipes or wipes with 70% alcohol, which you can get at the drugstore, to wipe down your phone. Apple, which has cautioned against using household cleaners on its phones, says to do that "gently." AT&T has further recommended wringing out disinfectant wipes before using them on a phone. You can also use soft cloths to clean the phone, like a microfiber cleaning cloth or the cloths used to clean camera lenses or your glasses. Google says you can dip the cloth in soap and water, as long as you're careful not to get moisture in the phone. AT&T says paper towels work, too. You can spray them with disinfectant. Again, don't spray the phone itself. Samsung, the world's biggest phone manufacturer, says it's offering a free phone-sanitizing service involving UV light inside US. Samsung stores and service centers. It will expand to other countries in the next few weeks. The phone-cleaning step is one of many measures public-health authorities are recommending to try to slow the spread of the virus, which has infected 137,000 people worldwide. More than 5,000 have died. Most patients have only mild or moderate symptoms, but the elderly and people with existing health conditions are particularly vulnerable.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 14-15/2020
After Everything That Has Happened, What Are Iran’s Choices?
Zuhair Al-Harthi/Asharq Al Awsat/March 14/2020
It is not for the sake of criminalization saying that Tehran has angered the world with the manner in which it intervened in the affairs of neighboring countries, planting sleeper cells and funding terrorism. All of these are dangerous matters that have dragged it to confront painful choices. Iran has not left a single illegitimate practice that it has not adopted. The most recent among these practices was its irresponsible behavior as it facilitated the entry of Saudi citizens into the country without stamping their passports as the new Coronavirus was spreading. This has posed a serious threat to the health of citizens and residents of the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia was right when it described Iran’s actions as “undermining of international efforts to fight the virus” and that consequently “Iran is directly responsible for the spread of the virus”. News published earlier also confirmed Iran’s aggressive policy, as it prevented international inspectors from entering two sites suspected of conducting nuclear activity. We need only to rewind a little to remember when it provoked neighboring countries by criminal piracy, planting landmines, confiscating cargo ships, and disrupting maritime navigation which is vital to the global economy. Despite this, the international community did not lift a finger, including the international institution responsible for protecting it. A realistic reading of what is happening in the area would conclude that Iran is the one who dragged the region to where it is today with its aggressive behaviors and practices that go against the principles of international law. Iran’s chronic dilemma is in empowering its ideological vision over its national interest. This has been the case since the Iranian revolution succeeded in February 1979, at exporting its revolution, even if in different forms. The regime started favoring security and military affairs over internal affairs, including its miserable economy, erratically growing population, and the deterioration of its educational system and society.
We respect the Iranian people and the Shiite sect, but we reject the Mulla-system. Intervening in the affairs of others through sectarian vision, movements, parties, and elements, seeking a larger role and influence in those countries. Every once in a while, we hear Iranian officials talking about the importance of cooperation and shared values between religions, brethren, and neighbors, only to later see that those were only words, a PR stunt as it were, that culminates in no action. The Iranian political mentality is expansionist and leans towards escalation and creating crises. Some Arab leftists call for dialogue with Iran to spite the Kingdom, and despite their awareness of what is really going on, I would like to remind them that Iran is part of the problem, not the solution. It is one of the sides in the regional conflict and does not want peace. How else would it impose its opinion in conflicts and disputes that would not have existed without its direct meddling? Years ago, Rafsanjani accused people in his country of being responsible for the deterioration of relations between Riyadh and Tehran, saying that they undermined what he had done to improve those relations. That statement redeemed the Gulf countries from responsibility and put Iran in a precarious position.
If we look at history we would see that Tehran’s escalations with the Gulf are systematic, with the exception of the Khatimist era that witnessed some improvements to the Gulf-Iranian relations. Iran creates enemies in order to delude their people that it is in a defensive position, protecting its rights, always depicting itself as a target extorted by other countries. It consequently justifies repressing any protests or demonstrations internally as no voice is louder than the voice of battle. This is exactly what happened.
Saudi Arabia was and still is a political and ideological fear for Iran and its conservatives. They have consequently used several means in order to suffocate the Kingdom and have tried very hard to put pressure on and negatively influence it, knowing that their expansionist strategy would not succeed so long as Saudi Arabia represents the voice of moderation and balanced discourse and is influential in the area and the world.
What are the choices before the Iranian regime so long as it is aware that it cannot resist Washington’s strategy and military capabilities? The answer is clear: it must succumb to the just American and international demands in regards to its nuclear program and ballistic missiles, cease its interventions in other countries, and stop funding terrorism.
If Tehran remains intransigent, the sanctions will be implemented very strictly and would lead to an unprecedented economic disaster. Despite this, whoever listens to Iranians' statements sees that they have yet to let go of their arrogance. Iran may succumb to the storm, but this will not save it from facing difficult days ahead. The choice of war will always be on the table, even if nobody wanted it. Iran knows that it would be the biggest loser if that were to happen, as everybody knows who is more militarily powerful. Tehran’s behavior is political suicide, and it has to succumb to reality and change its aggressive behavior. It has to realize that it cannot change this state of affair if it does not use the state instead of the revolution.

European Union: Closing the Borders?
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/March 14/2020
Even Germany is unwilling to take any of the migrants shuttled by Erdogan to the Greek-Turkish border.
"I thank Greece for being our European 'aspida' [the Greek word for shield]." — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, March 3, 2020.
The "solidarity" with Greece expressed by leading EU representatives seems to have come from having no alternatives other than relying on Greece to struggle with the situation.
Even if the EU manages to resolve its issues with Erdogan, which is doubtful and bound to be only temporary, Europe's fundamental problem will remain: As long as migrants think that a better future awaits them in Europe, the welfare states, which have shown themselves extremely accommodating in receiving migrants and granting them all sorts of social rights, can continue expecting migrants to try breaching Europe's borders.
Since February 27, Turkish officials have sent busloads of migrants -- predominantly young men from Afghanistan and Iran, according to several reports -- to Turkey's border with Greece. Pictured: Masked migrants throw rocks at Greek border guards along the fence at Pazarkulke border crossing in Edirne, Turkey, on March 7, 2020.
On February 27, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made good on his many threats to send millions of migrants and refugees to Europe, despite a 2016 deal between Europe and Turkey to hold them. Apparently seeking to make Europe experience the full force of his intentions, Turkish officials sent busloads of migrants -- predominantly young men from Afghanistan and Iran, according to several reports -- to Turkey's border with Greece.
"We prepared a plan with our colleagues and we are committed to arranging free buses for the refugees in Bolu towards the border town of Edirne," said Tanju Özcan, the mayor of Bolu, a town in northern Turkey, 550 kilometers from the border with Greece. "Refugees willing to go to Edirne can apply to the Bolu municipality and its branches. We are ready to assure the transport whatever the number [of refugees]."
In November, Erdogan had also threatened to release ISIS prisoners into Europe. Whether the migrants Erdogan sent to the border with Greece at the end of February currently include terrorists is not known. Migrating terrorists, research has shown, are a serious issue that seems to receive only scant attention in Europe.
In contrast to the migrant crisis of 2015, which saw more than a million migrants and refugees cross into Europe through Greece -- as well as other frontline European nations -- the current Greek government, which came into power in July 2019, has made it clear that its borders are closed.
"Welcome in Greece are only those we choose. Those who are not welcome will be returned. We will permanently shut the door to illegal human traffickers, to those who want to enter even though they are not entitled to asylum," said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in November.
Even Germany is unwilling to take any of the migrants shuttled by Erdogan to the Greek-Turkish border. "I understand that Turkey is facing a very big challenge regarding Idlib," German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated.
"Still, for me it's unacceptable that he – President Erdogan and his government – is not expressing this dissatisfaction in a dialogue with us as the European Union, but rather on the back of the refugees. For me, that's not the way to go forward."
"We must not allow refugees to be turned into pawns for geopolitical interests," announced German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. "No matter who tries, they must reckon with our resistance."
"Don't go to the border. The border is not open. If someone tells you that you can go because the border is open... that is not true" the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, reportedly said. He also noted that the European Union "will take all measures, in accordance with EU rules and International law, to make full respect of the integrity of its borders".
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, actually thanked Greece for being Europe's "shield":
"This border is not only a Greek border but it is also a European border. And I stand here today as a European at your side," she told the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
"Turkey is not an enemy and people are not just means to reach a goal. We would all do well to remember both in the days to come. I thank Greece for being our European 'aspida' [the Greek word for shield]."
"As we have shown yesterday," the European Commission's vice-president for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, told reporters, "when Europe is tested, we are able to prove that we can hold the line and that our unity will prevail."
On the face of it, the EU response appears to be a dramatic departure from the kind of talk that EU representatives normally present to the world on the topic of migration. As recently as on the UN's International Migrants Day -- which takes place every year on December 18 -- the European Commission released a statement according to which:
"On International Migrants Day, we stand strong in our unequivocal commitment to respect and protect the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants [bold in original] as well as to ensure that migration takes place in a safe, orderly and well-managed way... Openness and solidarity are core values of the European Union".
Is it possible that even the highest functioning bureaucrats of the European Union have realized that Europe -- or at the very least Greece -- has reached its limit?
Probably not. As the chaotic situation on the border between Turkey and Greece indicates, the EU does not have anything resembling a coherent migration policy in place. This situation persists despite the fact that it has been five years since Europe experienced its worst migration scenario in modern times, and even though Erdogan has been threatening Europe with opening his borders for years. Rather, the "solidarity" with Greece expressed by leading EU representatives seems to have come from having no alternatives other than relying on Greece to struggle with the situation. Greece has asked the EU to send aid from Frontex - the European Border and Coast Guard Agency -- to launch a rapid border intervention at its sea borders in the Aegean. Frontex has agreed and will ask the EU member states to provide personnel and equipment.
The only "policy" in place appears to be the one enshrined in the Dublin Regulation. According to it, the responsibility usually falls on the first EU member state in which asylum seekers set foot. The regulation, in the words of the former Greek Foreign Minister Georgios Katrougalos, "...brings all the weight of the crisis to the frontline countries of the European Union".
EU member states are currently debating how to stop Erdogan from increasing the pressure on the Greek border and generating a migrant crisis comparable in size to the one in 2015. Whatever the EU decides on this matter, it will only amount to crisis management. Even if the EU manages to resolve its issues with Erdogan, which is doubtful and bound to be only temporary, Europe's fundamental problem will remain:
As long as migrants think that a better future awaits them in Europe, the welfare states, which have shown themselves extremely accommodating in receiving migrants and granting them all sorts of social rights, can continue expecting migrants to try breaching Europe's borders. International initiatives such as the UN's International Migrants Day and the UN Global Migration compact, which praise migration as necessary and beneficial, certainly do nothing to dissuade migrants from trying. Expect the current migrant crisis to repeat itself many times over in the years to come.
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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Iranians suffer from regime’s malpractice on coronavirus
Saeed Ghasseminejad and Alireza Nader/Al Arabiya English/March 14/2020
The Islamist regime in Tehran has set off a coronavirus bomb on its own territory. The official death toll leaped to 611 on Friday, yet other assessments indicate that close to 2,000 Iranians may already have died. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and his surrogates have blamed the United States and its sanctions for the crisis, while the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) pointed his finger at “Americans’ biological warfare.” Yet responsibility for the epidemic in Iran belongs above all to the regime, whose deception and failure is inflicting terrible suffering on the people of Iran while posing a new kind of threat to international security.
Authorities knew that coronavirus had arrived in Iran by the end of January, according to documents published by one whistleblower. Similar reports had surfaced even earlier on social media, yet the regime rejected such claims, persecuted their sources, and threatened to flog and imprison those who spread rumors. The regime should have immediately banned travel between Iran and China. Yet in late February, Mahan Air – a carrier the US sanctioned for its role in IRGC terrorism – was still operating flights to China. While hiding the news of the first infections from Iranians, the ruling clerics sent 3 million facemasks to China. State media reported on Beijing’s gratitude and said Tehran was ready to send even more medical aid. Now there is a shortage of masks in Iran, even among healthcare workers. Responsible leaders would have prepared the healthcare system for an emergency while mobilizing manufacturers to mass produce masks and other medical goods.
The regime should have informed the public immediately of the threat to its health yet chose to put politics first by trying to assemble massive crowds to chant “Death to America” on the 41st anniversary of the Islamic revolution on February 11. An even greater priority was to facilitate high turnout for parliamentary elections on February 21. Turnout was the lowest ever, since the public has become wise to the charade of voting, yet enough people congregated at polling places to create health risks the regime could easily have prevented.
The city of Qom, a center of learning and pilgrimage destination for Shia Muslims, became the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran, though the origins of the virus in Qom are not quite clear. The presence of hundreds of Chinese clerics in the seminaries was one possible reason. On February 19, the regime acknowledged two deaths from coronavirus in Qom, its first admission of fatalities, yet it opposed calls to quarantine the city.
Five days later, at a press conference that has come to symbolize the regime’s exercise in denial, Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi mocked quarantines as a relic of the pre-World War I era, comparing them “to the plague, cholera, stuff like that.” Harirchi sweated heavily during his remarks and admitted the next day that he himself had coronavirus. Dozens of senior officials now have the virus or have died from the virus, including four members of the cabinet.
The failure to quarantine Qom helped the virus to spread while demonstrating the leadership’s rigid commitment to its religious ideology. Seyed Mohammad Saeedi, the representative in Qom of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and custodian of the Masumeh Shrine, said the city and its religious centers were a “place of healing” and opposed any effort to shut them down. Large gatherings for religious services continued.
Even after it acknowledged the presence of coronavirus, the regime downplayed its deadliness. The regime used state broadcasting to understate the depth or outbreak and the severity of the threat. In one segment, a television host compared the virus to a cold and claimed she probably had caught it two weeks earlier but fully recovered.
The combination of denial and downplaying prevented preparation for what was to come. Hospitals lacked the necessary protective equipment, and the public faced a shortage of disinfectants and alcohol, as well as the aforementioned masks. Unlike China, Tehran failed to close non-essential businesses across the country and quarantine Qom and other infected cities and regions. Instead, Iranians from infection centers like Qom and Tehran have fled to northern provinces like Mazandaran and Gilan, leading to mass outbreaks and even horrific reports of mass burials of infected victims in cities like Rasht.
Most of the regime’s efforts to deflect blame from its own malpractice involve the usual reliance on conspiracy theories and anti-Semitism. Neither the US nor “Zionist elements” are engaged in bio-terrorism. Yet Western media often say the suggestion that US sanctions prevented a more effective response to the crisis is credible. Our research shows, however, that sanctions have not had any clear effect on Iranian pharmaceutical imports, despite causing an overall plunge in foreign trade. The American and Swiss governments even set up a special financial channel to facilitate commerce in food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods. Iran also rejected American offers of medical assistance.
The international community should awaken to the Islamic Republic as a critical public health and safety threat. The regime in Iran isn’t just dangerous because of its nuclear program; its failure to react to coronavirus has risked global public health. Yet much of the world, especially Europe, sees the issue of Iran through the false and binary choice of “war” or “engagement.” The coronavirus pandemic in Iran is yet another warning call to a world mostly asleep to the real threat of the Islamic Republic.
*Saeed Ghasseminejad is a senior Iran and financial economics advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he also contributes to FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP) and Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). Follow Saeed on Twitter @SGhasseminejad.
*Alireza Nader is founder and CEO of New Iran, a non-profit and non-partisan advocacy organization in Washington.

Is Iran behind Rocket Attack that Killed US-led Coalition Forces in Iraq?
Seth Frantzman/The Jerusalem Post/March 14/2020
Two Americans were reportedly killed on Wednesday evening when more than a dozen katyusha-style rockets hit the Taji base in Iraq where US-led Coalition troops are based. It brings to four the number of Americans killed in a week. Two US Marines were killed fighting ISIS earlier this week. However the attack on Wednesday has all the finger prints of an Iranian-backed militia attack.
The US-led Coalition said that 15 small rockets had hit Camp Taji base at 7:35pm and that assessments were ongoing.
According to Jennifer Griffin at Fox News, two Americans and one British soldier were killed when 15 katyusha rockets struck the base at 7:52 in the evening. ISIS does not have the capability to fire so many rockets. The rocket attack is similar to an attack in December that killed a US contractor near K-1 base north of Kirkuk. That attack was carried out Kataib Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian militia in Iraq.
Kataib Hezbollah was responsible for a similar rocket attack that killed a US contractor in December.
The US struck five Kataib Hezbollah targets in response. That cycle of airstrikes led to a protest at the US embassy and the US killing IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani and Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Mahdi al-MUhandis on January 3.
US-Iran tensions have risen over the last year. In October and November there were around a dozen rocket attacks on bases with US troops and on the Green Zone. Since the January 3 airstrike Iran carried out a ballistic missile attack on Ayn al-Assad base in Iraq, wounding more than 100 Americans who suffered cuncussions.
The US had announced this week that it was seeking to deploy air defense against missile attacks to Iraq. It has been attempting to do so since January but bureaucratic hurdles have prevented the deployment. CENTCOM head General Kenneth McKenzie was in Iraq on February 4 to request deployment of the air defense systems and said on Tuesday that air defense was on the way to Iraq.
There are roughly 5,000 US personnel in Iraq at a half a dozen major installations.
There are some 5,000 US personnel in Iraq at a half a dozen major installations. Some 1,000 are at Ayn al-Assad with others at Camp Taji, Balad, Erbil, Baghdad and smaller posts such as Q-West. Patriot missiles will not necessarily help against the smaller rocket attacks, such as 107 mm rockets, that have been fired in the past. Mortars have also been used to harass bases such as Balad Air Force base.
Iran's Press TV boasted about the attack on Camp Taji, noting it was also targeted on January 14. The Press TV report likely links Iran to the attack as Iran appears to have received information about the number of katyusha rockets fired. Iran says that as dozen rockets were fired. In recent weeks pro-Iranian groups have threatened the US in Iraq.
Nasral Shammari, spokesman for Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba has posted videos claiming that US soldiers are in the groups sights. Nujaba is an IRGC-linked organization and has been sanctioned by the US. The US has also sanctioned figures linked to Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and other pro-Iranian groups.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has slammed Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Badr Organization, one of the most powerful pro-Iranian paramilitaries in Iraq. Amiri, Abu Mahdi and other members of the pro-Iranian Popular Mobilization Units of militias were all part of the storming of the US embassy compound in December. The PMU is the umbrella group that includes all the pro-Iranian militias that are alleged to have fired rockets in the past.
The PMU is also part of the Iraqi Security Forces since 2018 when it was officially incorporated. A serious of airstrikes, which Iraq blamed on Israel, targeted PMU munitions warehouses in July and August 2019. In addition reports in 2018 and in December 2019 claimed that Iran has transferred ballistic missiles to PMU warehouses. Groups like Kataib Hezbollah play a key role in transferring Iranian munitions via Al-Qaim to Syria and onwards to Hezbollah.
After Abu Mahdi was killed in January the Iranian regime tasked Hezbollah in Lebanon with uniting the PMU in Iraq. Hezbollah sent Mohammed al-Kawtharani to Iraq in January to carry out Iran's orders. Kartharani is from Najaf. He is close to Muqtada al-Sadr and also has worked with Amiri and others. A meeting in January in Qom with members of the PMU and Sadr also sought to cement an anti-American agenda.
It is known that Sadr returned from Qom in February due to the coronavirus outbreak. Iran sent the head of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani this week to help coordinate Iraqi activities and the removal of US forces. He held high-level meetings with political leaders, including Amiri. He said the countdown to the removal of US forces had begun, echoing sentiments expressed by Nujaba head Akram al-Kaabi in February. Shamkhani's visit may be seen as a curtain raiser for the recent attack on US troops on March 11.
A US response to the killing is expected. The US has responded in the past after the December casualty. Iran government media's boast that "a dozen US-led Coalition" members were injured appears to implicate Iranian groups. Stars and Stripes and other media have reported the casualty figures of two Americans and one British personnel.
*Seth Frantzman, a Middle East Forum writing fellow, is the author of After ISIS: America, Iran and the Struggle for the Middle East (2019), op-ed editor of The Jerusalem Post, and founder of the Middle East Center for Reporting & Analysis.