LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 18/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For today
Curing the centurion’s Slave Miracle
Luke 07/01-10/: “After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the
people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued
highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent
some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came
to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy of having you do
this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for
us. ’And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the
centurion sent friends to say to him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am
not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come
to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a
man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he
goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the
slave does it.’ When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the
crowd that followed him, he said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found
such faith.’When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the
slave in good health.”Titles For The Latest English
LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News & Editorials published on March 17-18/2020
Judge in Lebanon Appeals Order to Release Amer Fakhoury
Lebanon military court orders Lebanese-American be released
Judge of Urgent Matters in Nabatieh orders 2-month travel ban against Fakhoury
Judge Khoury asks military tribunal to quash verdict ruling Amer Fakhoury's
release
Amal Movement rejects Amer Fakhoury's release decision
Hasan: 120 Coronavirus Cases in Lebanon, Only 3 Not Traced
Report Says Fakhoury to Leave Lebanon despite Travel Ban on Him
Jumblat: Fakhoury's Release a 'Dose of Poison' for Presidency
Cabinet Sets Up Virus Fund, Diab Says Measures Result is Good
Wazni, ABL Agree on Opening Some Branches of Banks
Diab, Lazarini Discuss Help for Lebanon to Confront Coronavirus
Berri tackles general situation with Italian ambassador
Rahi meets Kubis
Diab chairs ministerial committee meeting on household solid waste
Abdel Samad quoting Diab after Cabinet session: Coronavirus tops our priorities
Shreim salutes every Lebanese who self-isolated, contributed to limiting virus
spread
Finance Ministry creates donation accounts for the combat of coronavirus
Minister of Tourism: Closure of institutions and restaurants extended
Riots rock overcrowded Lebanon prisons over coronavirus fears/Al Jazeera/March17/2020
Coronavirus leads to drop in air pollution/Ryme Alhussayni/Annahar/March 17/2020
Hezbollah fears IMF conditions could reignite Lebanon’s uprising/David DaoudAl
Arabiya/March 17/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
March 17-18/2020
Spanish forces linked to the US-led
coalition fighting the Islamic State group, as well as NATO training forces, are
present in Besmaya.
Trump Changes Tone, Gets Real on Virus Threat
White House Seeks $850B Economic Stimulus amid Virus Crisis
France Vows 45 Billion Euros for Economic 'War' on Coronavirus
Spain Logs nearly 2,000 New Cases, as Infections Top 11,000
K's Queen Elizabeth cancels parties, heads to Windsor Castle over coronavirus
WHO urges Europe to take 'boldest' actions against COVID-19 epidemic
France could nationalize big companies if necessary: finance minister
All UEFA club and national team competitions 'on hold'
Euro 2020 championship postponed over coronavirus - UEFA
Iran reports 135 new virus deaths, raising total to 988
Saudi Halts Prayers in Mosques over Coronavirus
Rockets Hit Iraq Base Hosting Foreign Troops
Iraq President Names Adnan al-Zurfi as PM
Egypt, Ethiopia Step Up Diplomatic Efforts to Ensure International Support
Markets Need to See the Government Panic
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on March 17-18/2020
Attacks in Iraq underscore need for indirect fire protection capability/Bradley
Bowman/Behnam Ben Taleblu/FDD/March 17/2020
The United States is still too reliant on oil/Varsha Koduvayur/CNN
Business/March 17/2020
China's Real Disease: Not Coronavirus/Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/March
17/2020
Coronavirus: Europe's 'Open Borders' System Faces Collapse/Soeren Kern/Gatestone
Institute/March 17/2020
Iran sees global health, economic crises as an opportunity/Aluwaisheg/Arab
News/March 17, 2020
Erdogan determined to achieve goals in Syria despite setbacks/Talmiz Ahmad/Arab
News/March 17, 2020Abdel Aziz
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials
published on March 17-18/2020
Judge in Lebanon Appeals Order to Release
Amer Fakhoury
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 17 March, 2020
A Lebanese military judge Tuesday appealed a verdict by the military tribunal
that ordered the release of Amer Fakhoury held since September on charges of
working for the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army militia two decades ago,
state-run National News Agency said. Judge Ghassan Khoury asked the Military
Court of Appeals to strike down an earlier ruling in favor of Fakhoury and issue
an arrest warrant against him. He asked that Fakhoury be put on trial again on
charges of kidnapping, torturing and detaining Lebanese citizens as well as
"killing and attempting to kill others," according to NNA. On Monday, Fakhoury
was ordered released because more than 10 years had passed since he allegedly
tortured prisoners at a jail run by the so-called South Lebanon Army. Some local
media reported that Fakhoury was released but there was no official
confirmation. Later on Tuesday, a judge of urgent matters in the southern town
of Nabatiyeh issued a ruling preventing Fakhoury from leaving Lebanon for two
months. Judge Ahmad Mezher's decision came after a request filed by former
inmates. Fakhoury, 57, is a former SLA member who became a US citizen last year,
and is now a restaurant owner in Dover, New Hampshire. His case has been closely
followed in his home state of New Hampshire, where US Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and
other officials have called for imposing sanctions on Lebanon to pressure Beirut
to release him. Tuesday's appeal came after an outcry in Lebanon over the
verdict that ordered him released, including harsh criticism from by the
Hezbollah party that said the verdict to release Fakhoury came after "American
pressures and threats." Riots also broke out in one of the country's main
prisons by detainees who demanded to be freed following the verdict against
Fakhoury. Fakhoury has not been attending questioning sessions in Lebanon over
the past few months after being hospitalized with stage 4 lymphoma cancer.
Fakhoury has been jailed since Sept. 12 after returning to Lebanon on vacation
to visit family. Lebanon's intelligence service said he confessed during
questioning to being a warden at Khiam Prison, which was run by the SLA during
Israel's 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon. Human rights groups have
described the prison as a center for torture. Fakhoury's family and lawyer,
however, say he had no direct contact with inmates and was never involved in any
interrogation or torture.
Lebanon and Israel have been officially at war since Israel´s creation in 1948.
Lebanon bans its citizens from traveling to Israel or having contact with
Israelis. Fakhoury's lawyer and family say he fled Lebanon in 2001 through
Israel and eventually to the United States because of death threats he and many
other SLA members received for collaborating with Israel. In February, Fakhoury
was charged by a military judge with the murder and torture of inmates at Khiam
Prison. Hundreds of former Lebanese members of the SLA militia had fled to
Israel, fearing reprisals if they remained in Lebanon. Others stayed and faced
trial, receiving lenient sentences.
Lebanon military court orders Lebanese-American be released
Bassam Mroue/AP/March 17/2020
BEIRUT (AP) — A military tribunal in Beirut on Monday ordered the release of a
Lebanese-American held in the country for nearly six months on charges of
working for an Israeli-backed militia two decades ago, Lebanon’s state-run news
agency said. Amer Fakhoury was ordered released because more than 10 years had
passed since he allegedly tortured prisoners at a jail run by the so-called
South Lebanon Army, the National News Agency said. Fakhoury, 57, is is a former
SLA member who became a U.S. citizen last year, and is now a restaurant owner in
Dover, New Hampshire. His case has been closely followed in his home state of
New Hampshire, where U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and other officials have called
for imposing sanctions on Lebanon to pressure Beirut to release him. Fakhoury
has not been attending questioning sessions in Lebanon over the past few months,
after being hospitalized with stage 4 lymphoma. It was not immediately clear if
he will be set free, as he’s facing another case filed by former prisoners who
say they were tortured by him. Over the weekend, the Fakhoury family placed a
sign on their restaurant’s door saying they anticipate reopening by early or
mid-April, Seacoastonline.com reported. “We are excited to serve you again!” the
sign read. The statement was attributed to Fakhoury and his wife, Micheline.
Fakhoury has been jailed since Sept. 12 after returning to Lebanon on vacation
to visit family. Lebanon’s intelligence service said he confessed during
questioning to being a warden at Khiam Prison, which was run by the SLA during
Israel’s 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon. Human rights groups have
described the prison as a center for torture. Fakhoury’s family and lawyer,
however, say he had no direct contact with inmates and was never involved in any
interrogation or torture.
Lebanon and Israel have been officially at war since Israel’s creation in 1948.
Lebanon bans it citizens from traveling to Israel or having contact with
Israelis. His lawyer and family say he fled Lebanon in 2001 through Israel and
eventually to the United States because of death threats he and many other SLA
members received after Israel ended its occupation of Lebanon in 2000. In
February, Fakhoury was charged by a military investigative judge with the murder
and torture of inmates at Khiam Prison. Hundreds of former Lebanese members of
the SLA militia had fled to Israel, fearing reprisals if they remained in
Lebanon. Others stayed and faced trial, receiving lenient sentences.
*Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack contributed from Concord, N.H.
Judge of Urgent Matters in Nabatieh orders 2-month travel
ban against Fakhoury
NNA/March 17/2020
Judge of Urgent Matters in Nabatiyeh, Ahmed Mezher, issued a judicial decision
today, which forbids Israeli collaborator Amer Al-Fakhoury from traveling
outside the Lebanese territory by air, sea, or land for a period of two months.
Judge Khoury asks military tribunal to quash verdict ruling
Amer Fakhoury's release
NNA/March 17/2020
State commissioner to the military tribunal, Judge Ghassan Khoury, has asked the
cassation court to quash the verdict ruling the release of Amer Fakhoury, former
head of the Israeli enemy-linked prison of Khiam, National News Agency
correspondent reported on Tuesday.
Judge Khoury also requested an arrest warrant against Fakhoury, in addition to
his retrial for charges of torture, kidnapping and killing of scores of Lebanese
citizens in Khiam jail.
Amal Movement rejects Amer Fakhoury's release decision
NNA/March 17/2020
Amal Movement sternly rejected the military tribunal's verdict to release
collaborator Amer Fakhoury, vowing to stand in the face of the decision. "The
release of Fakhoury is a decision we reject, and we shall face it -- just like
the entire Lebanese people -- as it does not resemble Lebanon," Amal said in a
statement.
Hasan: 120 Coronavirus Cases in Lebanon, Only 3 Not Traced
Naharnet/March 17/2020
Health Minister Hamad Hasan announced Monday evening that Lebanon’s coronavirus
infections tally now stands at 120, noting that only three cases have not been
traced to a source. In an interview on LBCI TV, the minister added that eighty
percent of the 120 infected people “do not have symptoms.”“The virus has spread
in a limited manner in some Lebanese regions and this reflects people’s
awareness,” Hasan said. Noting that it is still early to take a decision on
ending the academic year, the minister said the country is “facing a tough test”
but “will succeed in managing the coronavirus crisis.”Lebanon went into lockdown
Monday after the government announced a two-week state of “general mobilization”
over the crisis and ordered the closure of public and private institutions as
well as the country’s airport and land and sea ports of entry. Out of the 120
infected people, only three have so far died.
Report Says Fakhoury to Leave Lebanon despite Travel Ban on
Him
Associated Press/Naharnet/March 17/2020
A Lebanese military judge Tuesday appealed a verdict by the military tribunal
that ordered the release of a Lebanese-American held since September on charges
of working for the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army militia two decades ago,
state-run National News Agency said.
Judge Ghassan Khoury asked the Military Court of Appeals to strike down an
earlier ruling in favor of Amer Fakhoury and issue an arrest warrant against
him. He asked that Fakhoury be put on trial again on charges of kidnapping,
torturing and detaining Lebanese citizens as well as "killing and attempting to
kill others," according to NNA. On Monday, Fakhoury was ordered released because
more than 10 years had passed since he allegedly tortured prisoners at a jail
run by the SLA. Some local media reported that Fakhoury was released but there
was no official confirmation.
Later on Tuesday, a judge of urgent matters in the southern town of Nabatiyeh
issued a ruling preventing Fakhoury from leaving Lebanon for two months. Judge
Ahmed Mezher's decision came after a request filed by former inmates. LBCI TV
meanwhile reported that a private jet will arrive in Beirut from Athens before
midnight to transfer Fakhoury. Fakhoury, 57, is a former SLA member who became a
U.S. citizen last year, and is now a restaurant owner in Dover, New Hampshire.
His case has been closely followed in his home state of New Hampshire, where
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and other officials have called for imposing sanctions
on Lebanon to pressure Beirut to release him. Tuesday's appeal came after an
outcry in Lebanon over the verdict that ordered him released, including harsh
criticism from Hizbullah, which said the verdict to release Fakhoury came after
"American pressures and threats." "This is a sad day for Lebanon and justice,"
Hizbullah said in a statement adding that the reputation of Lebanon's judiciary
was at stake. Riots also broke out in the country's main prison in Roumieh by
detainees who demanded to be freed following the verdict against Fakhoury.
Fakhoury has not been attending questioning sessions in Lebanon over the past
few months after being hospitalized with stage 4 lymphoma cancer. Over the
weekend, the Fakhoury family placed a sign on their restaurant's door saying
they anticipate reopening by early or mid-April, Seacoastonline.com reported.
Fakhoury has been jailed since Sept. 12 after returning to Lebanon on vacation
to visit family. Lebanon's intelligence services said he confessed during
questioning to being a warden at Khiam Prison, which was run by the SLA during
Israel's 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon.
Human rights groups have described the prison as a center for torture.
Fakhoury's family and lawyer, however, say he had no direct contact with inmates
and was never involved in any interrogation or torture.
Lebanon and Israel have been officially at war since Israel's creation in 1948.
Lebanon bans its citizens from traveling to Israel or having contact with
Israelis. Fakhoury's lawyer and family say he fled Lebanon in 2001 through
Israel and eventually to the United States because of death threats he and many
other SLA members received after Israel ended its occupation of Lebanon in 2000.
In February, Fakhoury was charged by a military judge with the murder and
torture of inmates at Khiam Prison. Hundreds of former Lebanese members of the
SLA militia had fled to Israel, fearing reprisals if they remained in Lebanon.
Others stayed and faced trial, receiving lenient sentences.
Jumblat: Fakhoury's Release a 'Dose of Poison' for
Presidency
Naharnet/March 17/2020
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Tuesday criticized the
Military Court’s decision to release Lebanese-American national Amer Fakhoury,
describing it as a “dose of poison for the Presidency.” “Amid the peak of the
health and economic crises, the dual loyalty devil’s advocate at the center of
decision-making finds an edict to release the collaborator Amer Fakhoury,”
Jumblat tweeted. “What is the use of all the judicial appointments and the talk
about the judiciary’s independence, with my appreciation for the head of the
Higher Judicial Council and the judges who tried the collaborator. It is a dose
of poison for the Presidency,” Jumblat added. A military judge on Tuesday
appealed the verdict that ordered the release of Fakhoury, who had been held
since September on charges of working for the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army
militia two decades ago, state-run National News Agency said.
Judge Ghassan Khoury asked the Military Court of Appeals to strike down an
earlier ruling in favor of Fakhoury and issue an arrest warrant against him. He
asked that Fakhoury be put on trial again on charges of kidnapping, torturing
and detaining Lebanese citizens as well as "killing and attempting to kill
others," according to NNA. On Monday, Fakhoury was ordered released because more
than 10 years had passed since he allegedly tortured prisoners at a jail run by
the SLA. Some local media reported that Fakhoury was released but there was no
official confirmation. A judge imposed a travel ban on him on Tuesday. Fakhoury,
57, is a former SLA member who became a U.S. citizen last year, and is now a
restaurant owner in Dover, New Hampshire. His case has been closely followed in
his home state of New Hampshire, where U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and other
officials have called for imposing sanctions on Lebanon to pressure Beirut to
release him. Tuesday's appeal came after an outcry in Lebanon over the verdict
that ordered him released, including harsh criticism from Hizbullah, which said
the verdict to release Fakhoury came after "American pressures and threats."
Fakhoury has not been attending questioning sessions in Lebanon over the past
few months after being hospitalized with stage 4 lymphoma cancer. Fakhoury has
been jailed since Sept. 12 after returning to Lebanon on vacation to visit
family. Lebanon's intelligence services said he confessed during questioning to
being a warden at Khiam Prison, which was run by the SLA during Israel's 18-year
occupation of southern Lebanon.
Cabinet Sets Up Virus Fund, Diab Says Measures Result is
Good
Naharnet/March 17/2020
The Cabinet on Tuesday agreed to set up a special fund for donations aimed at
confronting coronavirus, as Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the outcome of the
preventative measures has been good. “Crises cells will be created by
municipalities and municipal unions to cater to people’s needs and the Economy
Ministry will monitor prices for any hikes and will take the necessary
measures,” Information Minister Manal Abdul Samad announced after a Cabinet
session. “PM Hassan Diab stressed that the government is performing its duties
as to protecting the Lebanese and is working to limit the spread of coronavirus,”
Abdul Samad added. “He emphasized that the outcome of the measures has been good
and that the general mobilization decision has been met with relief and
response,” the minister went on to say. The Cabinet also approved an urgent bill
aimed at pardoning convicts who finished their jail terms but are still in
prison for failure to pay penalties. The government was expected to discuss
monetary and economic matters during its session, al-Joumhouria daily reported
on Tuesday. Ministerial sources told the daily that ministers would address the
issue of Eurobonds after Lebanon's decision to default on their payment.
“Lebanon is negotiating with creditors and the feedback is turning positive,”
said the sources, adding “it will have a positive impact on the government’s
approach to restructure its debt.” Earlier in March, Lebanon suspended payment
of $1.2 billion in loans, marking the crisis-hit country's first-ever default on
its sovereign debt amid ongoing popular unrest. The default marked a new chapter
in Lebanon's economic crisis and could have severe repercussions on country,
risking legal action by lenders that could further aggravate and push Lebanon’s
economy toward financial collapse.
Wazni, ABL Agree on Opening Some Branches of Banks
Naharnet/March 17/2020
Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni and the Association of Banks on Tuesday agreed to
keep some branches of banks open throughout Lebanon’s lockdown over the
coronavirus crisis, following a series of statements and counter-statements. A
statement issued by the Finance Ministry said the branches would open as of
Wednesday and that an agreement was reached on “organizing work shifts and
carrying out the necessary measures to facilitate banking services in order to
cater to the needs of the people during these difficult and critical
circumstances.”“Each bank will announce a list of the branches involved with the
decision, in addition to the continuation of the Call Center services and
securing cash via ATMs,” the statement said.“ABL has stressed its commitment to
the Cabinet decision on general mobilization in addition to preserving the
health of clients and employees,” it added. Banks will also abide by the
decision on preventing crowding while providing essential banking services, the
statement said.
Diab, Lazarini Discuss Help for Lebanon to Confront
Coronavirus
Naharnet/March 17/2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab held talks at the Grand Serail on Tuesday with United
Nations Resident Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Lebanon Philip Lazarini.
Talks between the two men focused on the work of the UN organizations in Lebanon
and the existing coordination with various state institutions, in addition to
the possibility of providing assistance to Lebanon to confront the coronavirus.
Berri tackles general situation with Italian ambassador
NNA/March 17/2020
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, met this Tuesday at his Ain Tineh residence with the
new Italian Ambassador to Lebanon, Nicoletta Bombardier, with whom he discussed
the general situation and the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Rahi meets Kubis
NNA/March 17/2020
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Rahi met Tuesday in Bkerki with UN Special
Coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubis, with whom he discussed the current general
situation on the local and regional scenes, especially amid the outbreak of the
novel coronavirus.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Kubis highlighted the necessity of
mobilization at all levels to control the spread of the disease, stressing on
the role of the government, the political sides and the international community.
Rahi had earlier held talks with Italian Ambassador to Lebanon, Nicoletta
Bombardiere.
Diab chairs ministerial committee meeting on household
solid waste
NNA/March 17/2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab chaired the meeting of the inter-ministerial
committee in charge of the household solid waste dossier. Ministers of Interior
Mohammad Fahmi, Environment Damianos Kattar, Public Works and Transportation
Michel Najjar, and Industry Imad Hoballah attended the meeting. ---Grand Serail
Press Office
Abdel Samad quoting Diab after Cabinet session: Coronavirus
tops our priorities
NNA/March 17/2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab highlighted that the recent coronavirus development
tops our priorities, adding that the Government is carrying out its duties to
protect the Lebanese without negligence, and working to limit the spread of this
virus; and the results are so far positive.
He then mentioned that the feedback has also been positive towards the general
mobilization decision made on Sunday, and stressed on the importance of
following-up around the clock any development in this framework. Talks also
touched on the Corona Committee’s work, its means to link it to the National
Operation Room for Disaster Management at the Grand Serail, and the need to
monitor the affairs of all Lebanese abroad and communicate with their respective
families. A special fund for donations from Lebanese and non-Lebanese has been
created in order to face the coronavirus, and the Government calls every person,
whether in Lebanon or abroad, to contribute to this fund during these difficult
times. The Minister of Public Health will also submit on Thursday a list of all
public and private hospitals that are equipped to receive the diagnosed cases,
as well as quarantine places, and the State will take in charge the patients who
are not covered, and reiterates the importance that insurance companies bear
their responsibilities in covering their clients. The Ministry of Health will
equally establish a 24-hour shift schedule for doctors, dentists and pharmacies
in each region. It has also been agreed upon to create crisis cells in all
municipalities and municipal unions to secure the priorities in people's needs.
In order to prevent some traders from taking advantage of this crisis, the
Ministry of Economy will monitor price increases, take strict measures in this
framework, and work on reducing the prices of sterilizers and disinfectants.
The Cabinet reminded that Lebanese will be affected by the current situation,
especially the poor families, who work on a daily basis to secure their
livelihood, as the country is going through an exceptional situation. Means to
help those people have been examined.
An urgent draft law to exempt prisoners who have served their sentences in terms
of the fine imposed on them has been agreed, as well as a draft law to postpone
the legal, contractual, and judicial deadlines, from October 18 2019 until June
30 2020. In education, the Cabinet discussed distance learning, with the
cooperation of the Ministries of Education, Telecommunications, and Information,
through national TV (Tele Liban) and private television stations, in addition to
adding Lebanese educational institutions websites on the white list for users of
both mobile network companies and the Ministry of Telecommunications network.
Finally, the Cabinet discussed the financial situation and the urgent draft law
to organize and set exceptional and temporary controls on bank operations and
services. -- Presidency of the Council of Ministers
Shreim salutes every Lebanese who self-isolated,
contributed to limiting virus spread
NNA/March 17/2020
Minister of the Displaced, Ghada Shreim, tweeted: "Not all things are negative.
There are many positive matters that we need to shed light on. The picture is
clear: coronavirus infection rate in Lebanon is steady! Greetings to every
Lebanese who stayed at home, and thus contributed to limiting the spread of the
virus. Let us keep adhering to the procedures, and God willing we will soon rise
victorious."
Finance Ministry creates donation accounts for the combat
of coronavirus
NNA/March 17/2020
The Ministry of Finance has created donation accounts for the combat Coronavirus,
in Lebanese pounds and in foreign currencies.
Minister of Tourism: Closure of institutions and
restaurants extended
NNA/March 17/2020
The media office of Minister of Tourism, Ramzi Msharrafieh, announced in a
statement that, in the wake of the recent decisions taken by the Council of
Ministers at its meeting on Sunday, March 15, 2020 at Baabda Palace, it has been
decided to extend the closure of institutions and restaurants until Sunday,
March 29, 2020 inclusive. The decision highlighted the necessity of allowing
delivery service, provided that it respects food safety procedures.
Municipalities and unions were instructed not to take discretionary decisions,
in contravention of the decisions issued by the competent authorities.
Riots rock overcrowded Lebanon prisons over coronavirus
fears
Al Jazeera/March17/2020
Inmates in Lebanon's cramped prison facilities demand temporary release for fear
of COVID-19 spreading among them.
Beirut, Lebanon - Riots erupted in at least two overcrowded Lebanese prisons as
inmates demanded to be released over fears the country's growing coronavirus
outbreak will spread rapidly among them.
Lebanon has so far confirmed 120 cases and three deaths from COVID-19, the novel
coronavirus that has led to an unprecedented global shutdown. The total number
of cases worldwide is nearing 200,000 with more than 7,600 deaths.
Lebanon announced a partial lockdown over the weekend with all nonessential
businesses closed and streets emptying out, just like in many other countries
hit by the pandemic.
Now, the country's prison population is asking to be released, even if for a
temporary amount of time. Videos shared with Al Jazeera by a family member of an
inmate, in addition to others circulated on social media, show prisoners in the
Roumieh and Zahle jails, two of Lebanon's largest prisons, staging protests and
chanting slogans demanding an amnesty.
Other videos showed them attempting to break down doors and setting fires, with
black smoke filling a large cell.
At least two videos from Roumieh prison on Monday night show bloodied inmates
bearing large wounds - one near the neck, another near the hip. In the video,
inmates say the wounds are a result of live fire by security forces.
"Look at what the state is doing to us," men shout as they attempt to dress a
wound on one of the inmates.
An Internal Security Forces (ISF) source, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because he was not permitted to comment on the matter, confirmed that two
inmates had been wounded, but said rubber bullets had been deployed, rather than
live fire.
"There was large-scale rioting, fires and breaking doors and destruction of
equipment, a really big riot. So security forces intervened," the source told Al
Jazeera, adding the situation was now "stable".
A family member of an inmate at the Zahle prison, who spoke on condition of
anonymity for fear of reprisal, said an imprisoned relative had taken part in a
protest and hunger strike that began on Monday, in order to demand an amnesty.
The family member said dozens of inmates were now on a hunger strike.
Years-old demands
Prisoners and their families in Lebanon have long demanded an amnesty law be
passed to release thousands who were jailed for petty crimes including drug use
and possession, in addition to alleged involvement with hardline groups.
Lebanon's political establishment has long promised an amnesty law would be
endorsed, but successive governments have failed to come through, and prisons
have witnessed recurring hunger strikes and riots by inmates. Prime Minister
Hassan Diab's government has committed to endorsing such a bill, though it is
unclear who exactly would be included.
"Their situation is really dire, there are people with medical conditions in
there," the family member told Al Jazeera.
Despite the difficult conditions, the ISF source said precautions were being
taken and "all our efforts are focused on protecting the prisons from
coronavirus". Only one person from each inmate's family could now visit, the
source said, and prisons are being regularly disinfected.
'Cramped and unsanitary'
Lebanon has long struggled with overcrowding at its detention centres, with
about 10,000 inmates distributed among 25 prisons and 261 jails, most of which
are very small, according to statistics gathered by the Beirut Bar Association
last year.
More than 700 lawyers visited the country's prisons in December to assess
conditions and found them cramped and unsanitary, according to a subsequent
report.
In addition, hundreds of inmates have been held for long periods of time without
being sentenced, while others served their time but were unable to leave because
they could not pay fines.
Melhem Khalaf, the head of the Beirut Bar Association, told local publication
The Legal Agenda on Tuesday the association secured the release of about 80
prisoners by paying their fines since late last year, while 120 such cases still
remained.
The association also provided free legal aid to 180 detainees whose cases were
stalled because they did not have lawyers, while 120 more still required help,
Khalaf said.
Coronavirus leads to drop in air pollution
Ryme Alhussayni/Annahar/March 17/2020
As for Lebanon, satellites specialized in monitoring air pollution, and
specifically NO2, displaced a decrease in gas emissions for an average of 30
days, from February 16th until March 17th.
BEIRUT: In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, people around the world
bunkered down at home. Once busy streets turned empty and silent in the midst of
a temporary shutdown of industrial activities. A drop in air travel. Falling
demand for oil. These kind of disruptions had one startling result: a decline of
greenhouse gas emissions. NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) pollution
monitoring satellites, revealed images that show a decline in air pollution. The
study measured the air’s concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a gas produced
from combustion, primarily from cars, trucks, buses, power plants, and
industrial sources. During the Chinese New Year holiday period, there are lower
levels of NO2, as many businesses and factories close in celebration of Lunar
New Year. However, between January and February 2020, NO2 levels were 10 to 30%
lower than average, as per experts.
Lebanon imposes strict measures in response to coronavirus outbreak
According to NASA scientists, the reduction in NO2 pollution first appeared near
Wuhan, then spread across the country, to eventually reaching Italy and some
other countries as millions of people have been quarantined. As for Lebanon,
satellites specialized in monitoring air pollution, and specifically NO2,
displayed a decrease in gas emissions for an average of 30 days, from February
16th until March 17th. “We started noticing decreases in nitrogen dioxide levels
and a decrease in its geographical area due to the countrywide closure and the
limitation of movement, a good sign so far,” said George Mitri, Director of land
and natural resources program at the Institute of the Environment at Balamand
University. “The outbreak forced people to implement measures that should have
been taken a long time ago; we should have declared an environmental emergency
state so that we would at least redeem a climate balance,” Paul Abi Rached,
President of Lebanon Ecomovement, told Annahar. Abi Rached argued that the time
needed to overcome this crisis will ”remind people globally, that their
lifestyle and their consumption is wrong.”"They will learn a lesson", he said.
Lebanon had declared on Sunday a state of "public health emergency" to deal with
the spread of the virus, as Lebanon has only a total of 12,555 beds, including
2,026 beds in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Schools have already shut down across
the country, as well as movie theaters, gyms, and restaurants. As for Lebanon's
airport, it will be shut down from March 18 until March 29.
Hezbollah fears IMF conditions could reignite Lebanon’s
uprising
David DaoudAl Arabiya/March 17/2020
Slowly, but surely, Lebanon is heading toward inevitable economic collapse.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s newly minted government has asked the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) to help avert or forestall this crisis. Yet Diab’s ally
Hezbollah has distanced itself from the prime minister. Though the group has
deemed mere IMF advice acceptable, it is objecting to any “IMF guardianship”
over Lebanon’s economy. One of Hezbollah‘s fears – even if not explicitly stated
as such – is that IMF-imposed austerity measures would reignite the protest
movement which it worked so hard to break, and plunge the country into chaos
that would threaten the group’s growth. The Party of God thus wants Lebanon to
achieve the bare minimum of stability, walking a careful balance between state
paralysis and state prosperity.
Lebanon’s Economic Vulnerability
Hezbollah‘s fears aren’t entirely unfounded. Lebanon’s debt-to-GDP ratio has
surpassed 150 percent, and is one of the world’s highest. The value of its
national currency – the lira – has plunged from 1500 Lebanese lira to 2600
Lebanese lira against the US dollar. Banks are rationing dollars, setting
increasingly stringent capital controls on withdrawals of the US currency.
Lebanon’s international credit rating is on a downward trajectory, with its
recent – and unprecedented – default on its $1.2 billion Eurobond payment moving
the country’s credit ratings closer to junk bond status.
Judging from past experiences, like Greece and Egypt, in such conditions the IMF
is likely to impose painful measures that would impact Lebanon’s populace –
particularly the lower socio-economic classes – to steer the economy toward
recovery. A likely scenario would include a mandatory budgetary deficit
reduction, resulting in an increase in taxes, including hiking the value-added
tax, cuts to public sector salaries, as well as pensions and welfare funds.
This would heighten Lebanon’s already-deteriorating employment rates and poverty
levels, compounding its critical economic situation.
During the last week of November 2019, ten percent of companies had temporarily
or permanently ceased operations, a third had reduced employee salaries by 40
percent, and more than 160,000 have lost their jobs, putting unemployment at 35
percent. According to Prime Minister Diab, 40 percent of Lebanese citizens would
soon find themselves below the poverty line. Basic costs of living, like
essential foodstuffs, have risen sharply due to the lira’s worsening exchange
rate – a problem which would only be exacerbated if the IMF decides to float the
Lebanese currency.
Under normal circumstances, the Lebanese might be willing to endure further
hardship on the path to economic recovery. But the country is already beset by a
public crisis of confidence in government, and Diab lacks the legitimacy to
impose the necessary austerity conditions on the population.
There’s also no guarantee that these measures would even work. Lebanon has few
avenues for recovery. Lacking a production sector, Lebanon has long been
dependent on tourism and banking for revenue. But tourism – largely from Gulf
states and Lebanese expatriates – has dried up, owing to a lack of real tourism
infrastructure, chronic political instability, tensions with the Gulf, and the
coronavirus pandemic. Lebanon’s banking sector has also lost its appeal, in
light of US sanctions on Lebanese financial institutions cooperating with
Hezbollah.
Hezbollah’s Calculus
Hezbollah is acutely aware of these factors, including Diab’s unpopularity,
having foisted him – along with its allies Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement
– as prime minister upon an unwilling Lebanese public in January. Such a
government imposing restrictive measures, particularly impacting society’s
poorer rungs, could replicate the conditions that caused Lebanon’s October 17
protests and reignite the waning uprising on a massive scale. This would bring
about renewed paralysis, which could plausibly devolve into chaos and violence.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, is desperate for stability, and the last thing it needs is
chaos or paralysis at home. The group is currently facing a very delicate
situation, due to several regional and international factors. US sanctions on
Hezbollah and its patron Iran have limited some of the group’s funding, and the
strike that killed former Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani earlier this
year put Tehran further on the defensive. Additional countries – including Latin
American nations and the United Kingdom – are following the American lead on
Hezbollah and restricting its activities. The group remains deeply entrenched in
Syria – a situation that won’t change anytime soon, as evidenced by recent
Turkish strikes in Idlib – and is spread thin across the region, particularly in
Yemen and Iraq.
In fact, this fear that the paralysis brought on by the October 17 uprising
would catalyze economic collapse and sow chaos is what motivated Hezbollah’s
vociferous opposition to the protest movement. That’s why, despite claiming to
be the party of the downtrodden, its Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah refused
to support the protests and banned his followers from joining them. “If our
supporters go into the streets, they won’t leave, and this will last for months
and years,” he said.
That’s also why, when the protests wouldn’t fade away, Hezbollah refused to join
the uprising because it wanted the protests to quickly fade away. When the
protesters stubbornly wouldn’t, the group began treating them as a threat to
their own position in the Lebanese political system. Hezbollah alternated
between propaganda, harassment, and even violence – even though, as a whole,
they didn’t target the group, posed little risk of siphoning away its support
base, or call for its disarmament.
When that failed, the group simply opted for pushing through the formation of a
government, dropping several critical demands – including the return of Saad
Hariri to the premiership, and its refusal of a purely technocratic government.
After this hard-won struggle to install a government, the group is simply
unwilling to run the risk of taking any action that could derail the cabinet’s
activities or lead to its forced resignation.
Hezbollah doesn’t wish to see a prosperous Lebanon emerge. Such an outcome could
create credible competitors to its state-within-a-state and the patronage system
through which it attracts many Lebanese Shia. At the same time, it wants to
avoid total paralysis, realizing this could precipitate the country’s economic
collapse and widespread instability, which would stymie or reverse the group’s
growth. Thus, the Party of God continues to walk a political tightrope to
preserve stability at all costs.
*David Daoud is a research analyst on Lebanon and Hezbollah at United Against
Nuclear Iran (UANI). Follow him at @Davidadaoud
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on March 17-18/2020
Spanish forces linked to the US-led
coalition fighting the Islamic State group, as well as NATO training forces, are
present in Besmaya.
The last week has seen a renewed spike in rockets hitting Iraqi bases hosting
foreign forces, with three coalition troops killed on March 11 in a similar
attack on the Taji airbase, which was hit again on March 14. Since late
October, there have been 24 rocket attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad or bases
where foreign troops are deployed, killing a total of three American military
personnel, one British soldier and one Iraqi soldier. No attacks have been
claimed but Washington has blamed Kataeb Hezbollah, a hardline faction in the
Hashed al-Shaabi -- a military network incorporated into the Iraqi state.
The US has long insisted Baghdad should do more to reign in such factions and
prevent them from targeting American troops and diplomats. But Washington took a
much tougher line in December after a US contractor was killed in a rocket
attack, launching retaliatory air strikes against Kataeb Hezbollah. The
faction's supporters then surrounded and briefly stormed the US embassy. Days
later, Washington killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Hashed deputy
chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a drone strike on Baghdad. Outraged, Iran
launched cruise missiles at the largest Iraqi base hosting US troops and the
Iraqi parliament voted to oust all foreign forces from the country. The
parliamentary vote has yet to be implemented by a government.
Trump Changes Tone, Gets Real on Virus Threat
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 17/2020
He called on the country to come together. He warned of pain to come. And he
deferred to the nation's public health experts while at least momentarily
putting aside petty squabbling. After weeks of trying to play down the risk
posed by the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump struck a new, more
urgent tone Monday as he delivered a sobering message to Americans grappling
with a new reality that will dramatically alter their lives for months to come.
Trump's more somber tone came as he addressed the public at a White House
briefing and made a direct appeal to all Americans to do their part to halt the
pandemic's spread. Gone were Trump's "do as I say, not as I do" handshakes that
had continued even after health experts admonished people to avoid contact and
practice social distancing. Also gone was the rosy talk aimed, in part, at
propping up reeling financial markets.
The shift was informed in part by a growing realization within the West Wing
that the coronavirus crisis is an existential threat to Trump's presidency,
endangering his reelection and his legacy. Trump has told advisers that he now
believes the virus will be a significant general election issue and he took note
of the clear-eyed, somber tone used by his likely general election foe, Joe
Biden, in Sunday's Democratic debate. But by Tuesday, the president had returned
to lashing out on Twitter at his critics.
With reports from Italy growing grimmer, U.S. cases surging and America's
economy in shock, Trump has also received a series of alarming briefings in
recent days that have included dire projections about how many Americans could
be infected if drastic action isn't taken. He also has watched the dramatic
escalation of precautions within the White House complex, where officials are
now screening everyone who enters the building after Trump unknowingly
interacted with at least three people who have since tested positive for the
virus. Already, both his press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, and his outgoing
acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, are isolating themselves at home after
coming into direct or indirect contact with those who have COVID-19.
And so it was that on Monday, Trump matter-of-factly outlined the government's
newest recommendations, including urging all older Americans and those with
chronic health conditions to stay home. All Americans were advised to avoid
gatherings of more than 10 people.
Trump repeatedly deferred to the public health professionals on stage with him
to offer specifics and answer follow-up questions, and he acknowledged the
disquieting reality that the economy may well be careening toward recession and
that Americans' lives will likely be impacted for far longer than most people
have even begun to process.
"If we do a really good job, people are talking about July, August, something
like that," he told reporters who filled every other seat in the briefing room
in an attempt to practice social distancing.
National crises are times of testing for presidents, and after days of shrinking
from the urgency, Trump approached the moment with newfound gravity. For all of
that, though, Trump was still Trump. He said he would award himself a
10-out-of-10 rating. And on Twitter, he was still needling a longtime political
foe, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has called for a more assertive federal
response.
On Tuesday, he added Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to that list after she
criticized Trump for saying governors should work through their own supply
chains to get ventilators and other needed medical equipment instead of relying
on the federal government to get it for them.
"Failing Michigan Governor must work harder and be much more proactive," Trump
tweeted Tuesday. "We are pushing her to get the job done. I stand with
Michigan!"
He followed up minutes later with: "Federal Government is working very well with
the Governors and State officials. Good things will happen! #KILLTHEVIRUS." As
recently as Saturday, Trump had said, despite all evidence to the contrary, that
the country had "tremendous control" of the virus, even as cases soared, local
governments were shutting down schools, and doctors were warning of an impending
health catastrophe. He reframed that comment Monday, saying he'd been referring
to his government's handling of the crisis and not the virus itself.
"It's not under control for any place in the world," he acknowledged. Trump for
weeks had taken his upbeat cues from a network of outside advisers who told him
the media and Democrats were hyping the threat. But he has also heard from
allies who have urged him to bolster his response and change his tone, including
some Republicans on Capitol Hill who feared they had been personally exposed to
the virus.
Jared Kushner, the president's influential son-in-law and senior adviser, who
has recently taken a more active role in the administration's response, has
privately compared the virus to a "war" that could imperil the nation's economy
and population, according to two White House officials and Republicans close to
the West Wing who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to discuss private conversations. The pandemic's impact could rival
that of World War II, he has said, requiring a national effort.
Trump, who has always viewed himself as his best spokesman, has also expressed
frustration in recent weeks that Vice President Mike Pence, whom he appointed to
lead the White House task force, has been too robotic when he speaks at White
House briefings.
But while he often chides his press aides for failing to adequately defend him,
Trump himself has stumbled in his recent public remarks. He immediately
recognized that he had erred during his Oval Office address to the nation last
week when he made several misstatements that later had to be corrected. And
while the stock market soared during the Rose Garden address he delivered the
following day to try to repair the damage, the White House again was forced to
play cleanup when it turned out that some of the developments he'd announced had
been dramatically overstated.
Trump had hoped the markets would rise again Monday after the Federal Reserve's
announcement the previous day that it would slash interest rates, and he was
rattled when they collapsed instead. Hoping to turn the tide, he told aides he
wanted to speak at Monday's 3:30 p.m. press briefing — the same late afternoon
time slot as Friday's Rose Garden news conference.
But this time, instead of a spike in the market, the Dow Jones continued to
plummet as he spoke, dipped even further after the president admitted, for the
first time, that the nation may be heading for a recession. While Trump's
changes in tones are often fleeting, White House officials and allies saw
Monday's more measured approach as evidence the president was coming to grips
with the magnitude of the challenges ahead for the nation and his presidency.
Americans — many struggling to work from home while juggling childcare, or
facing job losses — needed to hear directly from their commander in chief
exactly what they are in for, said Trump's former communication strategist Jason
Miller. Still, few expected Trump's more measured approach to last or to erase
past missteps. Said Princeton presidential historian Julian Zelizer: "I'm not
sure a change in tone makes up for a kind of complete lack of leadership that
the country has seen in the first few weeks of this crisis."
White House Seeks $850B Economic Stimulus amid Virus Crisis
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 17/2020
The White House is proposing a roughly $850 billion economic rescue package
Tuesday amid the coronavirus outbreak, a sweeping stimulus for businesses and
taxpayers amid unseen since the Great Recession of 2008. Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin planned to outline the package to Senate Republicans at a private
lunch, with officials aiming to have Congress approve it this week.Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, opening the Senate on Tuesday morning, promised
swift action. "The Senate will not adjourn until we have passed significant and
bold new steps above and beyond what the House has passed to help our strong
nation and our strong underlying economy weather this storm," McConnell said.
Bigger than the 2008 bank bailout or the 2009 recovery act, the White House
proposal aims to provide relief for small businesses, $50 billion for the
airline industry and include a massive tax cut for wage-earners.
Two people familiar with the request described it to The Associated Press on the
condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. The
White House hopes the measure will pass quickly, possibly this week, an enormous
political undertaking as the administration scrambled to contain the economic
fallout of the severe disruptions to American life from the outbreak. White
House officials offered senators a preliminary briefing late Monday at the
Capitol, saying they want the plan approved by Congress as soon as possible,
suggesting in a matter of days. "ASAP," White House economic adviser Larry
Kudlow said late Monday. "There's an urgency."
The rush to inject cash and resources into the economy is an effort unlike any
since the 2008 economic crisis, with political and economic interventions and
eye-popping sums to try to protect Americans from the health and financial
fallout. "We've got a lot of work to do from here," Mnuchin told reporters late
Monday. The new proposal is beyond the House 's estimated $100 billion aid
package of sick pay, emergency food aid and free virus testing that was approved
over the weekend and is pending before the Senate. Now Congress will be rushing
to pass to two — a massive, sweeping response to the virus outbreak that is
rewriting America's way of life.Muscling the aid will test Congress and the
White House at a pivotal moment in the crisis and in an election year when the
two parties have vastly different outlooks on the best way to prop up the
economy and help Americans. Senate Democrats have proposed their own $750
billion package — boosting hospital capacity and unemployment checks for the
suddenly jobless — with deep negotiations to come.
"We will need big, bold, urgent federal action to deal with this crisis," Senate
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday in announcing Democrats' plan.
Schumer will meet with Senate Democrats on a conference call to outline their
proposal. All sides — the House, Senate and White House — agree more federal
resources are needed to handle what's coming. At the start of the month,
Congress approved $8.3 billion in initial aid. Trump quickly signed into law the
measure, which provided federal agencies money for vaccines, tests and potential
treatments, and funding to help state and local governments respond to the
threat.With an urgency unseen since the Great Recession, Congress is rushing to
develop a sweeping economic lifeline for American households and businesses
suddenly capsized by the coronavirus outbreak.
During the recession, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, passed
in February of that year, had an initial price tag of $787 billion which was
revised later to $831 billion. That was under Barack Obama. The Tarp passed in
the fall of 2008 to help troubled banks had a pricetag of $700 billion. It was
put together by the George W. Bush Administration, and provided money for the
auto bailouts for General Motors and Chrysler and all of that money for the
banks and the auto companies was paid back.
Now, Republicans often reluctant to spend federal dollars did not flinch at the
head-spinning number, as a roster of America's big and small industries —
airlines, hotels, retailers — lined up for aid.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, called for sending $1,000 to every adult American. The
president conveyed that lawmakers should "not be impeded by the price tag," said
Eric Ueland, the White House legislative director. Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell said he wants a "comprehensive" approach with "significant steps" for
the economy, particularly Main Street businesses. He opened the Senate on Monday
with a message to Americans: "The Senate stands with you."
The days ahead will test whether Congress can quickly respond to the crisis.
Industries representing a broad swath of the economy are seeking help in
withstanding the fallout as schools close and Americans are being told to stay
inside, skip nonessential travel and avoid gatherings with 10 people or more.
That means no dining out, no boarding planes, no shopping the malls as a great
national shutdown sparks business closures, layoffs and lost paychecks for
rents, mortgages and everyday needs. The nation's largest business organization,
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, asked the Trump administration and Congress on
Monday to act rapidly to help companies have access to cash and avert a
"potentially devastating" hit to the economy.
The request from the U.S. airlines alone could easily top $50 billion, according
to Airlines for America, the trade group representing the carriers. "We're going
to back the airlines 100%," Trump said at a White House briefing. "We've told
the airlines we're going to help them."
In a letter to Trump and congressional leaders, the Chamber of Commerce called
for legislation including a three-month cancellation of the taxes companies pay
to support Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance. "No family and
no business should go bankrupt just because of the temporary disruption in
income caused by the coronavirus," said the chamber's CEO, Thomas J. Donohue.
The nation's governors were also calling on Congress to swiftly bring economic
aid, particularly for the unemployment insurance system to help displaced
workers, and fast. "We need a better response from the federal government," said
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, a Democrat. "I am out of patience."
Pulling together the new package will challenge the basic logistics of governing
as Congress itself struggled to adapt to the new normal.
House Democrats were told on a conference call they won't be recalled to
Washington until the next package is ready for action, according to people
familiar with the call but unauthorized to discuss it and granted anonymity. The
100-member Senate convened for an evening vote — a potentially stunning sight in
the new era of social distancing. While different authorities around the country
have issued conflicting advice, the Trump administration said at a Monday news
conference that Americans should not gather in groups of more than 10 people
over the next 15 days.
The No. 2 Senate Democratic leader, Dick Durbin of Illinois, counting the number
of senators on the floor, questioned what example they were setting. He urged
swift passage of the House package. "What are we waiting for?" he asked. Despite
Trump's robust support, a handful of Republicans said they wanted to make
changes in the House-passed measure. "It doesn't go far enough," said Sen. Tom
Cotton, R-Ark.
In addition, the National Federation of Independent Business, which counts
hundreds of thousands of small-business members, initially opposed it. 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. According to the World Health
Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those
with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
France Vows 45 Billion Euros for Economic 'War' on
Coronavirus
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 17/2020
France on Tuesday pledged tens of billions of euros in financial aid and mooted
the nationalization of large companies to wage an "economic and financial war"
on the coronavirus which has sent most of the country's workforce into lockdown.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced a 45-billion euro ($50-billion) aid
package to help businesses and employees cope with the escalating health crisis
and brace for a recession. "This war will require us to mobilize all our
forces," the minister said, and warned the fight "will be lengthy, it will be
violent." "I will not hesitate to use any means at my disposal to protect large
French enterprises," added Le Maire -- citing capital injections, stake
purchases, and even "nationalization if necessary." The government said France's
national debt will exceed 100 percent of GDP this year, well above the European
Union's guideline of no more than 60 percent.
And GDP will contract by an estimated one percent, a dramatic reversal on
pre-virus projections of 1.3-percent growth for 2020. Budget Minister Gerald
Darmanin told daily financial newspaper Les Echos the public deficit will likely
grow to 3.9 percent of GDP. The government had hoped to shrink it to 2.2
percent. The economic hit of the coronavirus, which saw the government confine
most residents to their homes starting Tuesday and closing all non-essential
businesses, comes hot on the heels of a damaging public transport strike which
lasted weeks and hurt the earnings of small businesses in particular.
Solidarity fund
Le Maire said the new aid package will include 32 billion euros for cancelled or
deferred taxes and social charges of companies plunged into difficulty by the
unprecedented health crisis. Paying the salaries of people forced to give up
work under the containment measures will cost another 8.5 billion over two
months. "If we put this much money on the table it is to aid (the economy) to
restart quickly" once the outbreak recedes, said the minister. Several companies
have already warned of tough times ahead. Air France said Monday it would slash
flight capacity by 70-90 percent over the next two months and expected its
financial situation to be "badly impacted". Carmakers Renault and PSA
Peugeot-Citroen, and tiremaker Michelin have closed factories in France, and
Airbus has suspended some production in Europe -- now the epicenter of the
epidemic that started in China. For small- and micro-businesses and
self-employed entrepreneurs, Le Maire said two billion euros would be set aside
in a "solidarity fund" to help those that lose 70 percent of their turnover
between March 2019 and March 2020. France's markets regulator on Tuesday banned
short-selling in 92 stocks for the day in a bid to tame the fierce volatility on
financial markets as nervous investors try to assess the virus' economic toll.
Targeted were stocks that were especially hard hit when a global sell-off saw
Wall Street plunge nearly 13 percent on Monday. Short-selling involves borrowing
shares to sell them, effectively betting their price will fall so they can be
bought back cheaper, allowing the investor to pocket the difference. The
practice can put immense downward pressure on prices at times when buyer
interest is virtually non-existent.
Le Maire said he was prepared to impose a short-selling ban of up to a month if
necessary.
Spain Logs nearly 2,000 New Cases, as Infections Top 11,000
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 17/2020
Spain on Tuesday confirmed nearly 2,000 new cases of COVID-19, sending the total
spiralling past 11,000, with 491 deaths, the health ministry said. Spain is the
fourth worst-hit country in the world after China, Italy and Iran, with numbers
rising rapidly despite an unprecedented national lockdown, with the government
ordering its 46 million population to stay home. Over the past 24 hours, the
number of people infected rose by 1,987, hiking the overall total to 11,178, the
ministry's emergencies coordinator Fernando Simon said.
At the same time, the number of people who had recovered from the virus stood at
1,098, he said. But an update released by the ministry shortly afterwards
revised down the figure to 1,028, giving a recovery rate of just over 9 percent.
Madrid is by far the worst-hit area, accounting for 4,871 cases, or 43 percent
of the total infections in Spain. It has also counted 355 deaths, fully 72.3
percent of the total number who have died in Spain since the start of the
epidemic.
K's Queen Elizabeth cancels parties, heads to Windsor
Castle over coronavirus
Reuters/March 17/2020
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth canceled her annual garden parties and will leave
London for Windsor Castle earlier than planned because of the coronavirus
outbreak, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday. The 93-year-old monarch will carry
out a number of small duties at Buckingham Palace in the next few days before
she heads to Windsor, west of London, on Thursday - a week earlier than
scheduled. She will remain there beyond the Easter period, the palace said. “In
consultation with the Medical Household and government, a number of public
events with large numbers of people due to have been attended by the queen, and
other members of the royal family, in the coming months will be canceled or
postponed,” the palace said in a statement. The decision comes a day after
Britain ordered a shut down of social life. Among the canceled royal events will
be the annual Maundy Service at Windsor next month and three garden parties that
were to be staged at Buckingham Palace in May. Decisions on whether a planned
state visit by the Emperor of Japan should go ahead will be made later.
WHO urges Europe to take 'boldest' actions against COVID-19
epidemic
Reuters/March 17/2020
Every country in Europe should be taking the “boldest” actions possible to try
to halt or slow the epidemic of COVID-19 disease caused by the new coronavirus,
the World Health Organization’s European director said on Tuesday.
Speaking after an online meeting of health ministry representatives from across
the region, Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, said he was “very
pleased” to see Britain stepping up its recommendations for social distancing,
and urged all countries to work together and learn from each other.
“Europe is the epicenter of the first pandemic of coronavirus and every country,
with no exceptions, needs to take their boldest actions to stop or slow the
virus spread,” Kluge said during an online news briefing for media. Britain
toughened its approach to the outbreak on Monday with moves to close down social
life in the world’s fifth largest economy and advice to those over 70 with
underlying health problems that they should self-isolate. Italy, Spain, France,
Germany and others have imposed severe lockdowns. “These are unprecedented
times,” Kluge said. “It is important that countries work together, learn from
each other and harmonize the efforts.” Kluge, whose WHO regional office covers
53 countries from Iceland to Uzbekistan, noted that the COVID-19 outbreak is
progressing at different speeds in different countries.
He said this was due to on demographics and other factors, and meant that,
broadly, countries were able to be classified in one of four scenarios or states
of the outbreak: One - no case; Two - first case; Three - first cluster; Four -
first evidence of community transmission.
“Some of our member states are in scenario 2 and 3, many are in 3 and 4,” Kluge
said. “The basic actions in each scenario are the same, but the emphasis changes
depending on which transmission scenario a country is in.”Kluge added that
experience of China and others shows that “when put in place quickly and
effectively”, testing and contact tracing combined with social distancing
measures and community mobilization “can prevent infections and save lives”. -
France could nationalize big companies if necessary:
finance minister
Reuters/March 17/2020
The French government is prepared to use all means to support big companies
suffering in financial market turmoil, including nationalization if necessary,
the finance minister said on Tuesday. Bruno Le Maire’s remarks are the strongest
indication yet that Paris is ready to pull out all the stops to steady the
country’s biggest companies amid the turbulence unleashed by the coronavirus
pandemic.“I won’t hesitate to use all means available to protect big French
companies,” he said on a conference call with journalists. “That can be done by
recapitalization, that can be done by taking a stake, I can even use the term
nationalization if necessary,” Le Maire added, without saying which companies
could be treated as a priority. Le Maire also welcomed a decision by France’s
financial markets authority to ban short-selling during trading on Tuesday on 92
French stocks and said the measure could be extended up to a month if necessary.
The ban includes some of France’s best known companies such as bank BNP Paribas
(BNPP.PA), carmaker Renault (RENA.PA), and airline Air France KLM (AIRF.PA),
which have all suffered steep losses on equity markets in recent days.Earlier,
Le Maire told RTL radio that the government was mobilizing 45 billion euros ($46
billion) in crisis measures to help companies stay afloat through the virus
outbreak, consisting in large part of tax and payroll charge deferrals.
Meanwhile, the government has also pledged to guarantee up to 300 billion euros
in total of new loans to companies, which could reduce banks’ potential exposure
to loan losses.Le Maire said the government would shortly present a budget bill
to reflect the new economic reality created by the outbreak, and which would be
based on a provisional forecast for a 1% contraction in gross domestic product
this year.
All UEFA club and national team competitions 'on hold'
Reuters/March 17/2020
UEFA has put all club and national team competitions for men and women "on hold
until further notice", European football's governing body said in a statement on
Tuesday. The decision puts a halt to the current Champions League and Europa
League matches. "The UEFA EURO 2020 play-off matches and international
friendlies, scheduled for the end of March, will now be played in the
international window at the start of June, subject to a review of the
situation," said the body--
Euro 2020 championship postponed over coronavirus - UEFA
Reuters/March 17/2020
Football's 2020 European Championship has been postponed for a year as the world
fights to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Norwegian and Swedish FAs
said on Tuesday. "Postponed until 11/6- 11/7 2021. Will get back to you after
the meeting," Swedish FA chairman Karl-Erik Nilsson said in a message to Reuters
during a UEFA videoconference call. The Norwegian FA tweeted the news from its
official account. UEFA, who is yet to confirm the decision, was under pressure
to push back the tournament to give suspended domestic leagues time to be
completed. European soccer's governing body was holding a video conference with
all 55 of its affiliated national football federations and representatives of
clubs, leagues and players. The decision will go before UEFA's Executive
Committee to be rubber-stamped later on Tuesday. It is the first time in the
competition's history that the final stages have been postponed. The decision to
put back the 24-team tournament follows football, like numerous other sports,
being brought to a virtual standstill by the coronavirus outbreak.
Iran reports 135 new virus deaths, raising total to 988
AFP/March 17/2020
Iran announced on Tuesday another 135 deaths from the novel coronavirus,
bringing the overall toll to 988 in one of the world's worst-hit countries.
"Reports by more than 56 laboratories indicated that we have had 1,178 new
confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in the past 24 hours," health ministry
spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in a televised news conference. "This brings
the total number of confirmed cases to 16,169 as of today noon," he added.
Jahanpour also said 5,389 people who were infected had been discharged from
hospitals "with general good health".
The official reiterated calls for Iranians to stay at home during the outbreak
and asked them to report possible symptoms on a ministry website. The website
identifies the individual using their national identity number and asks if they
have symptoms such as coughing or fever.-
Saudi Halts Prayers in Mosques over Coronavirus
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 17/2020
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday suspended prayers inside all its mosques except the
holiest two sites in Islam as it steps up efforts to contain the new coronavirus,
state media reported. Mosques will be temporarily shut for the five daily
Islamic prayers as well as the weekly Friday prayers, the official Saudi Press
Agency said, citing the council of senior scholars -- the kingdom's highest
religious body. It said mosques would continue to issue the ritual call to
prayer. The decision seeks to direct worshipers to pray at home but does not
affect prayers in Mecca's Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, it
added.
The announcement risks riling fringe hardliners, for whom religion trumps health
considerations. Saudi Arabia has reported 171 coronavirus cases but no deaths so
far. The Arab world's biggest economy has shut down cinemas, malls and
restaurants, halted flights and suspended the year-round umrah pilgrimage in a
bid to contain the deadly virus. More than 1,000 cases of the virus have been
recorded so far across the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Qatar, which has the GCC's highest toll of 442 cases but no deaths, on Tuesday
ordered the indefinite closure of banks and all shops except pharmacies and food
retailers. It has already shuttered mosques, banned the entry of non-citizens
and ordered the closure of bars, cinemas and schools while suspending football
matches and other sporting events. Authorities urged people not to leave home
without urgent cause and to avoid all gatherings, but stopped short of the
blanket lockdowns seen in Kuwait and Saudi. On Monday, Bahrain's health ministry
said a woman had died from the coronavirus, the GCC's first death from the
COVID-19 illness. The government there has said it will pay electricity bills on
behalf of individuals and companies for three months starting April. In Jordan,
where 36 cases of coronavirus have been recorded, authorities have asked people
"not to leave their homes except in cases of absolute necessity." Only
supermarkets, bakeries and pharmacies remain open, and the army has been
deployed to help enforce the measures.
Rockets Hit Iraq Base Hosting Foreign Troops
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 17/2020
A pair of rockets hit an Iraqi base hosting US-led coalition and NATO troops,
Iraq's military said Tuesday, the third attack on installations hosting foreign
forces inside a week. The rockets slammed into the Besmaya base south of
Baghdad late Monday night, a statement by the military said, making no mention
of casualties.
Iraq President Names Adnan al-Zurfi as PM
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 17 March, 2020
Iraqi President Barham Salih designated Adnan al-Zurfi, a former regional
governor with little national political profile, as prime minister, tasked with
forming a government within 30 days in a bid to overcome months of unrest and
political deadlock. Zurfi, who served as governor of the predominantly Shiite
Najaf province during the US occupation after the fall of Saddam Hussein, is
head of the small Nasr parliamentary group of former prime minister Haidar al-Abadi.
Lawmakers told Reuters that Salih had named Zurfi only after larger rival Shiite
political parties failed to decide on a successor to Adel Abdul Mahdi, who
resigned in November during mass unrest in which hundreds of people died. Iraqis
have been protesting for months against an elite they accuse of depriving them
of basic services such as power supplies or decent hospitals despite the
country's oil wealth.
Zurfi, who lived in the United States as a refugee in the 1990s after fleeing
Saddam, is seen as a comparatively secular figure in a country long dominated by
sectarian parties. He now has to win the confidence of parliament for his new
cabinet, a difficult task as major Iranian-backed groups objected to his
nomination. "Zurfi will face tough resistance inside parliament and he will need
a miracle to pass his government," a Shiite lawmaker told Reuters on condition
of anonymity. If Zurfi can secure parliamentary approval for his cabinet, he
would run the country until early elections can be held. He is the second
politician Salih has tapped to try to form a government since Adel Mahdi
announced his resignation. On Feb. 1, Salih named Mohammed Allawi as prime
minister-designate, but he withdrew candidacy for the post a month later,
accusing political parties of obstructing him.
Egypt, Ethiopia Step Up Diplomatic Efforts to Ensure
International Support
Cairo - Mohammed Abdo Hasanein/Asharq Al Awsat/March 17/2020
The Egyptian-Ethiopian conflict over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)
is witnessing a fierce competition over which country can garner more
international support. Cairo and Addis Ababa began sending diplomatic envoys to
various countries, following the stalled negotiations that took place under the
auspices of the United States and the World Bank. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh
Shoukry begins an African tour Tuesday to deliver a message from President Abdel
Fattah el-Sisi to his African Counterparts. The tour will begin in Burundi and
include: South Africa, Tanzania, Democratic Congo, South Sudan, Niger, and
Rwanda. For its part, Addis Ababa pushed senior diplomatic delegations to Europe
and Africa, a move that Shoukry described as "having no impact". The conflict
escalated between the two countries after Ethiopia refused to attend a meeting
in Washington, at the end of February, which was dedicated to conclude a final
agreement regarding the rules for filling and operating the Dam. Ethiopia
further announced its decision to fill the dam in July. Egypt responded by
intensifying its diplomatic moves to ensure international support for its stance
rejecting any “unilateral” measure that could alter its water share. Cairo
reiterated the importance of reaching a solution that preserves the interests of
all parties, by pressing Addis Ababa to sign the US-sponsored agreement and
discouraging it from taking any unilateral action, which will have serious
security implications, according to Shoukry. The FM stressed that his country
relies on the Arab states' position that ensures its security, pointing out that
EU countries are aware of the seriousness of Ethiopia’s intransigence in the
negotiations which could result in rising tensions in the Horn of Africa.
Shoukry reiterated that his country’s position is fair and Egyptians deserve to
reach results that protect their water interests. There are no direct
communications between Egypt and Ethiopia since negotiations faltered, according
to Shoukry, who confirmed Cairo is contacting its Arab partners and the US as
the sponsor of the negotiations. Egyptian Ambassador Gamal Bayoumi told Asharq
Al-Awsat that his country continues with its political movement, backed by the
international law, to compel Ethiopia to honor its previous pledge in not
harming Egypt’s water security.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian community in Washington organized a protest in front of
the White House and the World Bank to urge the US administration along with the
international community to exert more efforts to protect Egypt's water rights.
Protesters presented a "comprehensive assessment" on the effects of GERD on
Egypt, citing Egypt’s dry climate and water resources, 97 percent of which comes
from the Nile River. Ethiopia says the construction of the dam, which costs
about $4 billion, is necessary to supply the country with electricity. Addis
Ababa also launched a series of diplomatic activities and visits to clarify its
position on the negotiations. Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde held talks
with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi. The two leaders discussed a
wide range of bilateral and multilateral subjects including the challenges
facing the Nile River basin. She also met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni
who reiterated the importance of ensuring the equitable and sustainable use of
the River Nile waters. Museveni emphasized the need to urgently convene a summit
of the Nile Basin Commission so that the Heads of State conduct discussions on
the issue of the Nile. Over the past few days, Ethiopia began sending high-level
delegations to different countries to inform them of its position on the
Renaissance Dam. It also plans to send a high-level delegation to the United
States and other countries for a similar mission.
Markets Need to See the Government Panic
Jim Bianco/Asharq Al Awsat/March 17/2020
It seems hard to believe but it was only 16 days ago that the US stock market
was at record highs. It has since fallen more than 25%, marking the fastest time
between a new high and a bear market in history. The old record was set in 1929,
when it took 42 days over the course of September and October of that year to
drop into a bear market. It is never good when the market is breaking a record
set in 1929! Ironically, it’s a lack of panic over the expanding coronavirus
pandemic that is driving the selloff. The declines are being compounded by
government officials who still refer to Covid-19 as “just the flu.” More
specifically, this is President Donald Trump’s problem, for he thinks this way
and believes there has been a giant over-reaction. That attitude came across in
his Oval Office address Wednesday night.
The problem is that the too many, including the government, have prioritized the
economy and stock market over life. Hitting quarterly numbers are more important
than slowing the rate of infections. The market collapse is a signal that this
is the wrong approach and, if not reversed now, will end badly. In other words,
to stop the rout in markets, start protecting the health care system and making
sure it doesn’t get overwhelmed even though it likely means a painful economic
stop in the developed world. Markets are pricing in this inevitability.
That starts with making sure there’s enough hospital beds to accommodate the
sick. The US only has about 2.8 such beds per 1,000 people, according to Dr. Liz
Specht, the Associate Director of Science & Technology at the Good Food
Institute. About 65% of those beds are occupied at any given time. She goes on
to explain that if the virus is allowed to continue to double every six days in
the US, as it has other countries, the US will run out of available hospital
beds to treat the truly sick, which amounts to about 10% to 15% of all
infections, in May.
So, the market is saying that it is imperative that the government institutes
protective measures to slow the spread enough that the health care system can
handle what is sure to be an increased caseload. This means canceling mass
gatherings such as sporting events, social distancing, travel and public
transportation restrictions, as well as widespread business and school closures.
Quarantines may also be necessary. One of the more underappreciated developments
concerning China’s efforts to slow the growth in virus infections there to zero
is that the harsh measures implemented caused tremendous economic,
psychological, and emotional damage on the country. Even now, there is concern
the virus has only been suppressed, and not eliminated, which is leading to
reluctance to fully restart the economy. And even when that happens, China may
be left with enough long-term damage that will make returning to a pre-virus
economy tough to recapture. Economists are now debating about whether the shape
of the looming US economic recession and recovery will look more like a “V,”
“W,” “U,” or “L.” The betting now is on a “V,” which implies a short recession
and rapid recovery. But if anger and a new call for the de-globalization of
supply chains takes hold, that hoped for “V” could quickly become an “L.” This
what the equity markets seem to be signaling with its rapid plunge. If hospitals
become overrun and physicians are forced to decide who to save and who to let
die, the outcry will be a “cultural of greed” that prioritized the economy and
stock market over life. This will make investing a painful endeavor for years to
come. If, however, everyone that needs a hospital bed gets one, then the lasting
damage will be mitigated, and the market has a much better chance to recover to
the old highs.
Although markets are clearly pricing both a decline corporate earnings and a
contraction in gross domestic product, their real worry is long-term damage from
a poorly constructed response that continues to place economics over life.
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on March 17-18/2020
Attacks in Iraq underscore need for indirect fire
protection capability
Bradley Bowman/Behnam Ben Taleblu/FDD/March 17/2020
U.S. troops in Iraq were once again in the line of fire last week without
sufficient capability to defend themselves. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander
of U.S. Central Command, confirmed on Friday that U.S. troops at Camp Taji,
Iraq, did not have a necessary system to intercept rockets during the March 11
attack by an Iran-backed militia that killed three coalition service members.
This fact highlights the clear vulnerability of deployed U.S. troops in Iraq to
indirect fire. It also underscores the need to both deploy, without delay,
existing defense capabilities and to expeditiously develop the next generation
of indirect fire protection capability, or IFPC.
According to Gen. McKenzie, Kata’ib Hezbollah — an Iran-backed Shiite militia
also known as KH that operates in both Iraq and Syria — attempted to launch 33
rockets at U.S. troops at Camp Taji last week. After three misfired, 30 were
launched with roughly a third to half of them landing in Camp Taji — killing an
American soldier and airman, as well as a British medic. McKenzie called the
attack by the Iranian proxy a “large strike” with the “intent to produce a lot
of casualties.”
To deter future attacks, the next day the U.S. struck five KH locations that
McKenzie called “advanced conventional weapons storage units.” CENTCOM believes
the facilities and any weapons they contained were “effectively destroyed.”
KH was placed on the U.S. State Department’s foreign terrorist organization list
in 2009, making it the first Iran-backed Shiite militia in Iraq to be designated
as an FTO. Both the organization and its leader are subject to U.S. terrorism
sanctions.
During Friday’s press conference, McKenzie acknowledged that there was no
counter-rocket, artillery, mortar system in place at Camp Taji to protect U.S.
troops. McKenzie noted that the C-RAM system often focuses on protecting Patriot
missile defense batteries from close-in threats, but acknowledged that C-RAM
systems can also protect personnel from the kind of 107mm rockets used by KH.
Due to an insufficient supply of such systems, however, U.S. troops are deployed
around the world in dangerous locations without such protection. In these
instances, U.S. military personnel rely on advance warning of incoming fire to
scramble to bunkers or other protective shelters. The fact that the demand for
such systems exceeds supply requires the Pentagon and combatant commands to
deploy them to the areas in most need of protection.
This broader dilemma was on display more than two months ago when Tehran
launched a ballistic missile attack at U.S. troops on two different Iraqi bases.
Instead of rockets, Tehran fired 16 short-range ballistic missiles in the Jan. 8
attack. Thankfully no Americans were killed, but dozens sustained injuries.
The Pentagon had decided to deploy its finite inventory of Patriot missile
defense batteries to other locations deemed a higher priority. Consequently,
U.S. military forces in Iraq lacked the means to intercept ballistic missiles.
Patriots can intercept ballistic missiles, but they cannot intercept 107mm
rockets like C-RAM systems can. Nonetheless, McKenzie confirmed that the
Pentagon is moving Patriots into Iraq, likely to be accompanied by C-RAM
systems. But McKenzie hastened to add that it would be “some days” before those
systems are in position and operational.
The belated decision to deploy Patriots to Iraq suggests that CENTCOM believes
additional Iranian ballistic missile attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq are
possible. Rocket attacks by Iran’s proxies are certainly continuing. Indeed,
American troops at Camp Taji suffered another rocket attack on March 13, with
three service members sustaining injuries.
These threats demonstrate the importance of the Army’s efforts to develop and
field a new generation of IFPC. Army Futures Command says the new system will
defend against rockets, artillery and mortars, as well as subsonic cruise
missiles and many types of unmanned aerial systems.
The Army seeks a system that can provide “360-degree protection of critical
fixed and semi-fixed assets” by engaging these threats simultaneously, according
to Army Futures Command. The Army plans to have a “shoot-off” for the new
systems in the third quarter of fiscal 2021, followed by vendor selection in the
fourth quarter of FY21. If all goes well, the Army hopes to field an initial
capability by the fourth quarter of FY23.
In the meantime, U.S. troops in Iraq cannot wait. If Washington is going to ask
U.S. service members to deploy in harm’s way in Iraq or anywhere else, the
Pentagon must ensure they have sufficient means to defend themselves. Given the
persistent threat from Iran and its terrorist proxies, the deployment of
Patriots and C-RAM systems to Iraq would represent a step in the right
direction.
*Bradley Bowan is the senior director for the Center on Military and Political
Power with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Behnam Ben Taleblu
is a senior fellow.
The United States is still too reliant on oil
Varsha Koduvayur/CNN Business/March 17/2020
Oil prices have been cratering in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s decision to ramp up
production and offer customers a discount for its crude. A decade ago, that
would have been welcome news for the United States. But now, as the US oil
industry grows — transforming the United States into one of the top exporters —
the crash in prices threatens to cause as much pain as relief. This underscores
an important dynamic: The United States continues to remain too reliant on oil.
Saudi Arabia’s decision to open its taps comes after talks with OPEC and
non-OPEC producers, led by Russia, collapsed last week. Prices had already been
sliding dangerously as coronavirus fears battered global demand for oil. Then
Saudi Arabia escalated things when it slashed the price of its exports by $6 to
$8 per barrel and announced it will also increase production by 2.5 million
barrels per day by April 1. Brent crude, the international benchmark oil price,
fell by more than 9% last week to $45.27 a barrel when OPEC and non-OPEC members
failed to agree on a deal. And the day after Saudi Arabia announced its price
war, US crude prices toppled to $31.13 per barrel, notching its worst one-day
loss since 1991.
While the global decline in oil prices will certainly cause pain for both Saudi
Arabia and Russia, its impact on US oil producers, especially many of the
smaller shale producers, could be especially severe. Even major companies like
Chevron and Exxon saw their stocks fall, while Occidental Petroleum — which took
on significant debt to acquire a different US producer in 2019 — announced a
major cut to its dividend.
The Trump administration is surely sympathetic to the plight of US shale
producers suffering from decisions made in Saudi Arabia and Russia — both of
whom would like nothing better than to see their US competitors go under.
President Trump has made promoting America’s new-found energy independence a
major priority, and his vitriol against OPEC is well-known. It wouldn’t be
surprising if the White House sought federal aid for shale companies buffeted by
the price fallout.
While such a move would be welcome amongst hurting shale producers and the tens
of thousands of people that the industry employs, it would be a stopgap measure,
at best. The shale revolution has been good for America, but it has only reduced
— not ended — our reliance on foreign producers. As Riyadh and Moscow just
demonstrated, authoritarian regimes overseas still have the capability to wield
the oil weapon against the United States, albeit with low prices now instead of
high prices.
If the United States really wants to attain energy independence, becoming a net
exporter of oil isn’t enough. What America needs is a comprehensive vision for
energy security, one that goes beyond fossil fuel independence.
This plan should entail sustained investment in alternative fuel sources and
technologies, such as ethanol and electricity, as well as policies to promote a
competitive marketplace for such fuels that can break gasoline’s near monopoly
on the US transportation sector. A robust market for alternative fuels will
buttress US companies and consumers from potentially destabilizing oil market
fluctuations driven by hostile foreign powers.
An American vision for true energy independence should also prioritize
increasing ownership of electric vehicles and enact policies that would
incentivize this, including giving subsidies or indexing tax credits for
electric vehicles. Government funding for R&D efforts at electric-vehicle
companies would also provide EV manufacturers, like Tesla or Lucid Motors,
additional resources to design more cost-effective models that will be
accessible to a larger segment of the population. In tandem, the government must
invest in building a national, well-connected charging infrastructure network
that will operationalize extended EV usage. Investments to improve battery
storage technology and reduce replacement costs will further encourage consumers
to adopt electric vehicles.
The dynamics of America’s reliance on oil may have changed. We are no longer
totally beholden to hostile foreign producers for vital energy imports, but
these producers’ actions have ripple effects on global markets that continue to
hurt us. If the United States really wants to be energy independent, it must
look toward preparing for a post-oil future.
*Varsha Koduvayur is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies, where she focuses on the Gulf. The opinions expressed in this
commentary are her own.
China's Real Disease: Not Coronavirus
Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/March 17/2020
Beijing has, according to President Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro, already
nationalized one American factory making medical masks. Moreover, Fox Business
Network's Maria Bartiromo on air repeatedly said the Chinese forced at least one
ship carrying masks, gloves, and other protective gear to the United States to
return to China.
Trump's optimism is not shared in Beijing.... China, using the epidemic as an
excuse, is now pushing to change the agreement by deferring its purchase
obligations, the heart of the arrangement as far as the U.S. is concerned.
Xi Jinping, after all, knew about the coronavirus epidemic long before he signed
the deal in the White House. In February, he said he had chaired a meeting of
the Party's Politburo Standing Committee on January 7 in which he issued orders
to contain the epidemic. Xi's knowledge of the outbreak on January 15 and his
push for relief now, therefore, makes him look cynical. In all probability, he
had no intention of honoring his side of the bargain from the beginning.
Americans — and the Chinese people, who are now demanding fundamental political
change — realize that the real disease is communism.
China, as we now know, allowed the coronavirus to spread for six weeks in
December and January before President Xi Jinping publicly acknowledged the
disease. So, it is no surprise that Americans — and the Chinese people, who are
now demanding fundamental political change — realize that the real disease is
communism. Pictured: Communist Party "community volunteers" secure the entrance
of a residential area as they take the temperature of a man on a street in
Beijing, China on February 23, 2020.
Last July, five American analysts who have been consistently wrong told us
"China is not an enemy."
Actually, this time they were technically right. China's communism is not an
enemy. It is the enemy.
After the coronavirus pandemic subsides, Americans should not forget Beijing's
malicious campaign against their country.
For more than a month, the central government's foreign ministry and the
Communist Party's Global Times have been trying to tar the Trump administration.
The campaign culminated in a series of tweets from rising Beijing star Zhao
Lijian, foreign ministry spokesman and deputy director general of the ministry's
Information Department.
On March 12, in a tweet, he accused U.S. officials of being "immoral." Hours
before, he had tweeted that "patient zero" was in the U.S. and suggested that
the U.S. Army had "brought the epidemic to Wuhan" -- intimating that America was
conducting germ warfare.
Also that day, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, Zhao's boss, twisted
testimony of Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, to try to show that the coronavirus outbreak had started in America.
President Donald J. Trump, in his Rose Garden press conference the next day,
March 13, downplayed the overtly hostile messages. He first noted his
conversations with Chinese ruler Xi Jinping and then said, referring to Chinese
leaders, "they know where it came from."
Actually, it is worse if Chinese officials in fact knew where the coronavirus
originated. In this case, these officials, by going out of their way to blame
the U.S., were demonstrating once again the inherent hostility of their system
to America.
Unfortunately, Beijing cannot be deterred. The U.S. State Department on March 13
summoned Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai to protest the foreign ministry's
disinformation campaign. Despite the warning, the Chinese ambassador to South
Africa, Lin Songtian, on March 16 continued to promote the coronavirus-not-originated-in-China
theory, with a tweet.
From here, it looks as if relations are only going to deteriorate. For one
thing, Beijing's official Xinhua News Agency has been threatening to cut off
"medical supplies," "plunging" America into a "mighty sea of coronavirus."
Beijing has, according to Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro, already
nationalized one American factory making medical masks. Moreover, Fox Business
Network's Maria Bartiromo on air repeatedly said the Chinese forced at least one
ship carrying masks, gloves, and other protective gear to the United States to
return to China.
Beijing's threat to cut off supplies and harm Americans will only encourage the
U.S. to cut trade with China, or, more precisely, to not allow trade to return
to pre-coronavirus levels. Reducing commerce, some believe, is the only
long-term solution for the U.S. as Chinese communists have tried to use their
central role as a manufacturer to spread totalitarianism and advance other
geopolitical goals anathema to the Western democracies.
The cutting of links will still leave trade at high levels, at least at first.
Nonetheless, the large volume of commerce, often called the "ballast" of China-U.S.
ties, probably will not stabilize relations.
"Does trade increase or decrease the likelihood of conflict?" Samuel Huntington,
the late Harvard political scientist, asked in The Clash of Civilizations and
the Remaking of World Order. "The assumption that it reduces the probability of
war between nations is, at a minimum, not proven, and much evidence exists to
the contrary."
High levels of trade did not prevent the First World War, he pointed out in that
landmark book. As Huntington, building on the work of others, noted, what is
important is expectation. "Economic interdependence fosters peace," he wrote,
"only 'when states expect that high trade levels will continue into the
foreseeable future.'" If, however, trade partners "do not expect high levels of
interdependence to continue, war is likely to result."
Trump expects trade between the two nations to increase, saying on March 13 that
China will be buying $250 billion more products pursuant to the Phase One trade
deal signed January 15. Beijing in that agreement generally promised within a
two-year period to increase purchases of U.S. goods and services by $200 billion
over 2017 levels.
Trump's optimism is not shared in Beijing, however. China, using the epidemic as
an excuse, is now pushing to change the agreement by deferring its purchase
obligations, the heart of the arrangement as far as the U.S. is concerned.
The Global Times notes that the pandemic inhibits Chinese demand for American
goods, but that is not necessarily a good reason for relief from the terms of
the deal.
Why not? Xi Jinping, after all, knew about the coronavirus epidemic long before
he authorized the signing of the deal in the White House. In February, he said
he had chaired a meeting of the Party's Politburo Standing Committee on January
7 in which he issued orders to contain the epidemic. Xi's knowledge of the
outbreak on January 15 and his push for relief now, therefore, makes him look
cynical. In all probability, he had no intention of honoring his side of the
bargain from the beginning. Recall that Xi broke his September 2015 pledges to
former President Barack Obama not to militarize China's artificial islands and
not to hack America for commercial purposes.
In any event, this year Sino-U.S. trade will almost certainly decline. Such a
delinking would be in line with Trump's stated desire to bring manufacturing
back home.
The president has evidently been thinking about these matters for a long time.
On July 21, 2017, for instance, he issued his Executive Order on Assessing and
Strengthening the Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and Supply Chain
Resiliency of the United States. The Defense Industrial Base study, as it is
known, exposed American vulnerabilities and led to actions to encourage
manufacturing to return home. Trump can now use his sweeping powers granted
under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to continue this
essential process.
Of course, war does not inevitably result when countries "delink," "decouple,"
or "disengage" their economies. Yet China and the U.S. are also moving apart as
Americans become wary of an increasingly belligerent Chinese state, one that
already has demonstrated that it has, for instance, little reluctance to injure
Americans. China, as we now know, allowed the coronavirus to spread for six
weeks in December and January before Xi publicly acknowledged the disease. So,
it is no surprise that Americans — and the Chinese people, who are now demanding
fundamental political change — realize that the real disease is communism.
Coronavirus proves that for America and the Free World, China's communism is the
enemy -- the one that really counts.
*Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China and a Gatestone
Institute Distinguished Senior Fellow
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Coronavirus: Europe's 'Open Borders' System Faces Collapse
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/March 17/2020
"Merkel knows that the instruction to close the border, in general to take
consistent national measures to protect her own citizens, would be tantamount to
her own declaration of political bankruptcy." — Ferdinand Knauss, commentator on
the German blog Tichys Einblick, March 16, 2020.
"Merkel is now fighting. But as always in her chancellorship, she is not
fighting for her country and its citizens, for which she is responsible. She is
fighting for her power, for her legacy. When the citizens come to understand
this, the corona crisis will have been Merkel's last fight in the political
arena." — Ferdinand Knauss, March 16, 2020.
In a March 13 press conference, the president of Italy's hard-hit Veneto region,
Luca Zaia, said that Europe's borderless zone was "disappearing as we speak." He
noted that the stringent border controls imposed by Austria shows that Schengen
"no longer exists and will be remembered in the history books."
As a growing number of countries close their borders to fight the coronavirus
pandemic, the European system of open internal borders — a cornerstone of
European integration — is on the brink of collapse. Pictured: German policemen
speak to people at the border crossing to France on March 16, 2020 in Kehl,
Germany.
As a growing number of countries close their borders to fight the coronavirus
pandemic, the European system of open internal borders — a cornerstone of
European integration — is on the brink of collapse.
The so-called Schengen Area, which comprises 26 European countries, entered into
effect in 1995 and abolishes the need for passports and other types of control
at mutual borders. It is a key practical and symbolic achievement of European
integration and is now falling apart.
In a move packed with political significance, Germany, the largest and most
powerful country in the European Union, on March 16 introduced controls on its
borders with Austria, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland after it
registered 1,000 new cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in just one
day.
Anyone without a valid reason to travel, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer
said, would be turned away at the borders. Travelers with symptoms of COVID-19
would be refused entry as well. German citizens and anyone with a residence
permit, however, will be allowed to reenter Germany.
"Protecting our population also requires measures to reduce the risk of
infection from global travel," Seehofer said. "We are dealing with a very
aggressive and fast-spreading virus. We will have to deal with it for months. As
long as there is no European solution, you have to act in the interest of your
own people."
The decision to impose border controls represents a major reversal by the German
government. Just a few days earlier, on March 11, German Chancellor Angela
Merkel said, "In Germany, we believe that border closings are not the answer to
fight the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic." Her sentiment was echoed later that
day by German Health Minister Jens Spahn, who stated, "We are not going to get
rid of the virus by closing our borders. The virus is already with us and we
have to get used to the idea."
On March 15, the German newspaper Bild reported that Merkel was still blocking
all attempts by members of her cabinet to impose border controls. The
infighting, however, had cost Germany valuable time in trying to contain the
spread of the virus.
Writing for the influential German blog Tichys Einblick, commentator Ferdinand
Knauss, explained that Merkel was blocking border controls because the dogma of
open borders is an ideological pillar of Merkelism:
"In the face of the corona crisis, there were apparently discussions in the
Federal Government about what most of our neighboring countries had long since
done: consistent protective measures at the borders. Several of our neighboring
countries — Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria — have largely closed their
borders. In most countries, people from at-risk areas are strictly controlled
upon entry. Not in Germany. You do not have to guess very long who prevents
this. Only the Chancellor can do that. But why is she doing it?
"In that fateful year of 2015, the 'open borders' became a conditio sine qua non
[indispensable condition] for the continuation of Merkelism. That is why the
dogma must be maintained. Merkel knows that the instruction to close the border,
in general to take consistent national measures to protect her own citizens,
would be tantamount to her own declaration of political bankruptcy.
"So, as citizens become aware of the threat and their demand for protection
increases, the corona crisis also becomes a crisis of Merkelism. It already is,
as Merkel's rejection of border protection measures shows. One of the decisive
questions will be how the media, which are still largely loyal to Merkel, and
the political and social establishment weigh in: The morality of openness to the
world versus the protection from threats. The greater and more painful the risk
of corona, the harder it will be to neglect the need for protection.
"Merkel is now fighting. But as always in her chancellorship, she is not
fighting for her country and its citizens, for which she is responsible. She is
fighting for her power, for her legacy. When the citizens come to understand
this, the corona crisis will have been Merkel's last fight in the political
arena."
Merkel's stance had left Germany increasingly isolated, as a growing number of
Schengen countries have introduced border controls:
Austria. On March 10, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced controls along the
border with Italy and a ban on the entry of most travelers from there. Kurz
said, "The utmost priority is to prevent the spread and thus the importing of
the illness into our society. There is therefore a ban on entry for people from
Italy into Austria, with the exception of people who have a doctor's note
certifying that they are healthy." Interior Minister Karl Nehammer also
announced a ban on all air or rail travel to Italy.
Slovenia. On March 11, Health Minister Ales Sabeder stated that the government
had closed some border crossings with Italy and started making health checks at
those remaining open in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus. He said
that citizens would only be able to cross the border in six places while all
other roads that crossed the border would be closed. Normally more than 20
crossings are open. Passenger train transport between the two countries has also
been stopped and most bus companies have canceled routes to Italy. Sabeder said
that foreigners with Slovenian residence permits would be allowed to enter
Slovenia if they had a certificate that they have tested negative for
coronavirus during the previous three days.
Poland. On March 13, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that, as of
March 15, only Polish citizens or people with a Polish residence permit would be
allowed to enter the country. Everyone returning home from abroad would be
quarantined for 14 days. All international inbound passenger flights or trains
are banned, but freight transport is not affected. "The state will not abandon
its citizens," Morawiecki said. "In the current situation, however, we cannot
allow ourselves to keep borders open to foreigners."
Switzerland. On March 13, the Swiss government reimposed border controls with
other European countries. Switzerland, although not a member of the European
Union, is part of the Schengen zone. Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said
that travel restrictions from Italy were aimed at preventing Italian patients
from seeking access to Swiss hospitals. Asylum seekers were also subject to the
restrictions. Swiss citizens, holders of a resident permit as well as
cross-border workers and people transiting through Switzerland are still allowed
to enter the country.
Denmark. On March 14, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen imposed border controls
on all traffic by air, land and sea until at least April 13. Danish citizens are
allowed to enter but any non-Dane without a valid reason for travel will be
denied entry. "We stand on uncharted territory," Frederiksen said. "We are in a
situation that looks nothing like what any of us have experienced before. It is
going to cost us all. If we do not do this, we risk that the costs, human,
health and financial, will be far, far greater."
Hungary. On March 16, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that, effective
immediately, all passenger traffic into Hungary would be halted and only
Hungarian citizens allowed to enter the country. Previously, the government had
imposed controls on the country's borders with Austria and Slovenia. All train
travel was halted between Hungary and Croatia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
Spain. On March 16, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska decreed the
reestablishment of controls at all land borders. Only Spanish citizens, people
with Spanish residency and cross-border workers will be allowed to enter
national territory by land. The measure does not affect the transport of goods.
The Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia, in a bid to
combat the spread of the coronavirus, also imposed border controls. Other
European countries that are not part of the Schengen system, including Albania,
Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and the Republic of North Macedonia also introduced
border controls.
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, which advised its citizens to avoid travelling
abroad, described the current state of affairs:
"The situation at the land borders of European countries is constantly and
drastically changing, which makes it impossible to travel to or from Bulgaria
with all modes of transport.
"With regard to the prevention of the spread of the coronavirus, there is almost
no country in Europe that has not at the moment introduced restrictive measures
— border closures or separate border crossing points, enhanced border controls,
shutdown of flights, closure of airports."
The break-down of Europe's system of open borders has been met with anger by
those in favor of European integration. During a March 13 press conference in
Brussels, Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, the
administrative arm of the European Union, warned member states not unilaterally
to close their borders:
"The Single Market has to function. It is not good when Member States take
unilateral action. Because it always causes a domino effect. And that prevents
the urgently needed equipment from reaching patients, from reaching hospitals
and the medical personnel. Ultimately, it amounts to reintroducing internal
borders at a time when solidarity between Member States is needed."
In a desperate effort to save the Schengen system, Von der Leyen on March 16
proposed a 30-day entry ban into the European Union. The idea apparently was
that if the EU's borders were closed to the outside world, individual member
states would not have to close theirs.
Ironically, just a few days earlier, Von der Leyen had condemned the March 11
decision by U.S. President Donald J. Trump to impose a 30-day ban on continental
Europeans traveling to the United States. "The European Union failed to take the
same precautions and restrict travel from China and other hotspots," Trump said.
"As a result, a large number of new clusters in the United States were seeded by
travelers from Europe."
On March 12, Von der Leyen issued an angry statement:
"The Coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent and it
requires cooperation rather than unilateral action.
"The European Union disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a
travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation."
Von der Leyen now says that she will present the EU heads of state with a
proposal to ban "unnecessary trips" to the Union. The entry ban would initially
be for 30 days but could be extended if necessary. "The fewer trips there are,
the more we can contain the virus," she said.
Anja Krüger, the pro-EU business editor for the German newspaper Tagesspiegel,
noted:
"It is breathtaking how the borders in Europe are closed in the wake of the
corona crisis, how one country after another seals itself off. The pandemic
shows how fragile the European Union is....
"After the pandemic subsides, will everything be the same as before, as if
nothing had happened? The question is how far the corona crisis is capable of an
ad hoc destruction of a slowly growing European awareness among the people in
the EU member countries over the years.
"Much will depend on how the crisis is managed. However, the fact that the
return to nationalism was carried out quickly and firmly will arouse desires
among opponents of European unification. What goes once, goes again and again."
In a March 13 press conference, the president of Italy's hard-hit Veneto region,
Luca Zaia, said that Europe's borderless zone was "disappearing as we speak." He
noted that the stringent border controls imposed by Austria shows that Schengen
"no longer exists and will be remembered in the history books."
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Iran sees global health, economic crises as an opportunity
Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg/Arab News/March 17, 2020
The world is in the grip of twin health and financial crises. The World Health
Organization has declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. The rapid
spread of the disease has challenged world leaders and stretched health capacity
to the limit in many countries. In their attempts to reduce the health risks,
countries have drastically curtailed economic activity, making a global
recession almost certain. Oil exporters are facing an additional crisis, with
falling oil prices due to shrinking demand and the failure to reach agreement on
production cuts. Comparable reductions in government revenues are expected to
add to the economic woes.
However, Iranian hard-liners are focused on escalation against the US and its
allies, taking advantage of the world’s preoccupation with the emerging health
and economic problems.
How Iran allowed the coronavirus to spread before taking measures to contain it
exposed deep problems in its political system and the dangers of clerical
control of governmental decisions. Some clerics dismissed fears of contagion,
claiming that frequenting religious sites and engaging in sacred rituals
immunized visitors from the disease. This approach, together with a fragile
health system, led to Iran becoming the first center of the disease outside
China.
Tehran cynically encouraged citizens from neighboring countries to visit crowded
religious sites in Iran without safeguards. It waived the stamping of passports
to hide the fact that visitors had been to Iran, which made it difficult to
screen travelers upon their return. It appears now that a majority of the
infections detected in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries involved people
who had visited Iran.
Adding to the confusion, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei hinted that the US
was behind the spread of the disease. Last week, he instructed the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to establish a “medical base” to prevent the
spread of the disease. The next day, he tweeted in English: “Since there is some
evidence that this may be a ‘#BiologicalAttack,’ the establishment of this base
in the armed forces for confronting the #Coronavirus may also be regarded as a
biological defense exercise.” IRGC head Maj. Gen. Mohammed Salami speculated on
March 5 that the global coronavirus outbreak might be a “US biological warfare
attack on China.” Others said that coronavirus in Iran was an American
biological attack aimed at the “resistance axis,” i.e., Iran and its regional
allies.
Some see the disease in apocalyptic terms. On Sunday, Ali Reza Benahyan, a
cleric close to Khamenei, said that the coronavirus spread was a certain sign of
the approaching return of Al-Mahdi. The worse the conditions get, the closer we
are to his reappearance, he told Tasnim News Agency.
While most people ridicule such pronouncements, many average citizens probably
believed them. The denial of a scientific basis for the contagion accounts for
the reluctance of some of those affected to declare themselves as such or to
seek help, explaining in part the disease’s rapid spread in Iran and the
difficulties GCC countries initially faced in detecting it in travelers from
Iran.
Cynically, the IRGC saw in the epidemic an opportunity to accelerate the
implementation of its designs in the region. This has been evident in Iraq and
Yemen over the past few weeks.
In late February, Kata’ib Hezbollah, the Iranian-allied militia in Iraq, chose
Abu Fadak, aka Abdul-Aziz Al-Mohammadawi, to succeed Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, who
was killed in the US drone attack that targeted Qassem Soleimani in January. His
choice indicated a harder line toward the US and its allies. Abu Fadak was
previously in charge of intelligence at Kata’ib Hezbollah, managing its close
affiliation with the IRGC. He was also responsible for coordinating the
relationships between the Iran-allied militias in Iraq and Hezbollah of Lebanon
and the Syrian regime. He is believed to have visited Yemen to assist the
Houthis in their fight against the Yemeni government. Abu Fadak is also believed
to have close contacts with Iran-allied groups in Bahrain, organizing their
trips to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
Abu Fadak wasted no time in carrying out Iran’s plans to drive American troops
out of Iraq. His group is believed to be behind a number of recent attacks
against US interests in Iraq. On March 11, a rocket attack on the Camp Taji
base, north of Baghdad, which is used by the global anti-Daesh coalition, killed
two Americans and one member of Britain’s armed forces, while injuring 14
others. Then, on Saturday, more than two dozen rockets were fired at the same
base, wounding three Americans and two Iraqis.
Tehran cynically encouraged citizens from neighboring countries to visit crowded
religious sites in Iran without safeguards.
In Yemen, the Iran-allied Houthis have reopened several fronts in a bid to drive
government forces out. They attacked several targets in the Nehm Mountains near
Sanaa, and in the Al-Jawf and Dhale provinces. In the process, the Houthis made
the humanitarian crisis in the country worse. While the UN and coalition
countries, led by Saudi Arabia, are trying to improve the humanitarian
situation, the Houthis are exasperating the UN’s patience. They have hoarded aid
intended for the needy, sold it on the black market at exorbitant prices, and
frequently denied the UN access to food stores established by the organization
itself. The new attacks have displaced tens of thousands of Yemenis, who have
fled to government-controlled areas. The Houthis appear to follow the same
pattern as Iran in terms of disregard for human lives in their pursuit for
political and military gain.
It appears, then, that Iran’s hard-line officials have not seen the need during
these difficult times to de-escalate and reach out to their neighbors and the
international community. Instead, they have found it to be an opportunity to
pursue their quixotic ambitions to dominate the region, while Iran itself is in
the grips of a devastating disease and facing a deepening economic crisis that
could lead to its bankruptcy.
*Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the Gulf Cooperation Council’s assistant
secretary-general for political affairs and negotiation, and a columnist for
Arab News. The views expressed in this piece are personal and do not necessarily
represent those of the GCC. Twitter: @abuhamad1
Erdogan determined to achieve goals in Syria despite setbacks
Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/March 17, 2020
The last fortnight has been particularly trying for Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. At the end of February, his troops in the Idlib area were
subjected to heavy bombardment by Russian-backed Syrian forces, in which about
40 soldiers were killed. Erdogan responded by dispatching several thousand
troops to the Idlib front.
Here, they came face-to-face with Syrian government forces, which, with Moscow’s
help, have been steadily expanding their control over the Idlib countryside.
Turkey’s observation posts on the north-south M5 highway from Aleppo to Damascus
were completely surrounded by Syrian forces. Direct conflict between Turkey and
Syria thus became a distinct possibility.
Desperate to obtain domestic support after the soldiers’ deaths, Erdogan
announced on March 1 that “Operation Spring Shield” had been launched against
Syria and that heavy losses had been inflicted on Bashar Assad’s forces — over
2,000 soldiers, including three generals, killed and more than 100 tanks
destroyed, along with several air defense systems. These claims were later
rejected by the Russians as gross exaggerations.
To avoid further escalation, what Erdogan desperately needed in early March was
a quick cease-fire arranged by Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is because
the president’s Idlib policy enjoys little domestic support and further Turkish
casualties would only increase opposition at home. Putin invited Erdogan to
Moscow on March 5, when they finalized an “additional protocol” to the 2018
Sochi agreement, with a cease-fire coming into effect that night. The details of
the agreement were finalized between the Russian and Turkish defense ministers
in Ankara last Friday.
The agreement provides for a security corridor of six kilometers either side of
a portion of the east-west M4 highway near Idlib, which is being patrolled
jointly by Russian and Turkish personnel. This is very far from Erdogan’s demand
that Syrian forces go back to their lines of September 2018, thus relinquishing
the 2,000 square kilometers they have since occupied in their operations against
the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA).
The agreement also makes no mention of the M5 highway, which will remain under
Syrian control and provide the government with a valuable economic lifeline.
Turkish observation posts are expected to be quietly dismantled.
It is also silent on the fate of the extremist fighters, mainly from Hayat
Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which are said to be holed up in Idlib. Under the Sochi
agreement, Turkey had agreed to separate the “moderates” from the extremists and
then initiate military action against the latter. Instead, Erdogan decided to
co-opt HTS militants into the SNA by declaring them to be moderates. The refusal
of the HTS elements to accept the Turkish game plan has been at the heart of the
Russian-Turkish differences in Syria, which nearly culminated in conflict
between them in early March. Now, Turkey will have to implement its commitments
under the Sochi agreement and join Syria and Russia in war against the HTS and
other radicals in Idlib.
Still, Erdogan does not seem to have accepted the setbacks his Idlib policies
have suffered. He is attempting to strengthen his hand by getting support from
the EU and the US, both of which he has scorned, while expanding political,
economic and defense ties with Russia.
He is seeking to get the EU onto his side in Syria by encouraging the Syrian
refugees in Turkey to cross over into Greece. He is thus deliberately creating a
refugee crisis for Europe and is now demanding greater financial support if he
is to keep the refugees in Turkey. So far, EU leaders have shown no enthusiasm
for Erdogan’s attempts to intimidate them into supporting him.
To placate the US, he has asked that the supply of Patriot missile systems be
revived. This supply had been blocked by the Americans when Turkey opted to buy
the S-400 missile system from Russia. Erdogan recently told Turkish journalists
that the US could be “softening” its position, but he was quickly disabused by
the US Department of Defense, which said that the Patriots would only be
supplied if the S-400 system was returned to Russia. This is unlikely: The S-400
system has been tested in Turkey and is likely to be pressed into service next
month.
So far, EU leaders have shown no enthusiasm for Erdogan’s attempts to intimidate
them into supporting him.
Finally, Erdogan has attempted to obtain domestic backing for his Syria policy
by bringing in the Kurds — a useful target for Turkish public opinion. He
recently revealed to the Turkish media his proposal to Putin to deprive the
Syrian Kurds of their control of the oil fields at Qamishli and Deir Ezzor and
use the money from oil sales to fund construction projects in Syria by Turkish
companies. He added that Trump would be withdrawing US troops from the oil
fields, thus facilitating the Turkish plan. Turkish commentators believe this
proposal is far-fetched and unlikely to find favor with Syria, the Kurds or the
US. But it does reveal Erdogan’s intention to pursue his policies in Syria
despite the serious setbacks he has suffered. The cease-fire agreement is
expected to have a very short life.
*Talmiz Ahmad is an author and former Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman
and the UAE. He holds the Ram Sathe Chair for International Studies at the
Symbiosis International University, in Pune, India.