LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 24/2019

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
The Parable of the Lost Son
Luke15/11-32/Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on March 23-24/2019
Values That We Can We Learn From “The Lost Son” Parable
Almighty God Is Love And Love is Forgiveness
Moody's: Outlook for Lebanese Banks Stable
Pompeo, Army Chief convene: The Lebanese army is a strategic partner in the fight against terrorism
Pompeo visits Aoudeh: A wonderful visit to a wonderful friend
Pompeo Warns Lebanon Is at Risk Because of Iranian Ambitions
Hariri meets with Mayor of Val d'Isere
Bassil, Atallah tour Upper Chouf, Deir AlQamar regions
Hariri: We can learn from the new generation
Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel Says Confiscation of Decision-Making Power Is Jeopardizing
Report: Dispute between Central Bank and Private Banks ‘Freezes’ Housing Loans
Rifi Lashes Out at Bassil: ‘Don’t Think You’re Smart’
Kouyoumjian stresses on fighting corruption, stopping waste expenditure, practicing austerity to overcome the current stage
Jabak from Bneshii: Health care does not belong to a party, any imposed sanctions will affect all Lebanese
Franjieh: Pompeo's visit ended before it began
Saba Calls for Serious and Deep Dialogue in Lebanon
US hits Iran with new sanctions while Pompeo visits Lebanon
Pompeo at odds with Lebanese officials over Hezbollah

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 23-24/2019
Twin Blasts at Afghan Ceremony Kill at Least Three, Wound 30
Accepting Golan Annexation, Trump Risks New Precedents
White House: ISIS Totally Eliminated in Syria
Macron Says IS Defeat Removes 'Significant Threat' to France
Syria Devastated by War Since 2011
Syria Force Takes IS Bastion, 'Caliphate' Wiped Out
ISIS defeated in last Syria enclave, US-backed SDF says
SDF Commander: Time to target sleeper cells following ISIS’s territorial defeat
Israel strikes Gaza over bomb balloons
French Police Out in Force to Prevent 'Yellow Vest' Violence
Mueller on Friday submitted his report on Russia's suspected role in the 2016 presidential election
Security tops agenda as Iraqi PM visits Egypt in first foreign trip

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 23-24/2019
Values That We Can We Learn From “The Lost Son” Parable/Elias Bejjani/March 24/19
Almighty God Is Love And Love is Forgiveness/ Elias Bejjani/March 23/19
US hits Iran with new sanctions while Pompeo visits Lebanon/Associated Press/March 23/2019
Pompeo at odds with Lebanese officials over Hezbollah/Associated Press/March 23/ 2019
Analysis/Trump’s Golan Tweet Brings U.S. Back to Syria Through the Back Door/Zvi Bar'el/Haaretz/March 23/19
US boosts forces in Iraq/Syria, backing recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Golan/DEBKAfile/March 23/2019
Recognizing Golan Heights as Israeli is a gift for Assad, Iran/Bassam Barabandi/Al Arabiya/March 23/19

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on March 23-24/2019
Values That We Can We Learn From “The Lost Son” Parable
Elias Bejjani/March 24/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73276/elias-bejjani-values-that-we-can-we-learn-from-the-lost-son-parable/
In our Maronite Catholic Church’s rite, on the Fourth Lent Sunday we recall and cite the biblical Lost Son’s parable that is known also as The Prodigal Son. (Lost Son) This impulsive, selfish and thoughtless son, as the parable tells us, fell prey to evil’s temptation and decided to take his share of his father’s inheritance and leave the parental dwelling.
He travelled to a far-away city where he indulged badly in all evil conducts of pleasure and corruption until he lost all his money and became penniless. He experienced severe poverty, starvation, humiliation and loneliness.
In the midst of his dire hardships he felt nostalgic, came back to his senses and decided with great self confidence to return back to his father’s house, kneel on his feet and ask him for forgiveness.
On his return his loving and kind father received him with rejoice, open arms, accepted his repentance, and happily forgave him all his misdeeds. Because of his sincere repentance his Father gave him back all his privileges as a son.
This parable is a road map for repentance and forgiveness. It shows us how much Almighty God our Father loves us, we His children and how He is always ready with open arms and willing to forgive our sins and trespasses when we come back to our senses, recognize right from wrong, admit our weaknesses and wrongdoings, eagerly and freely return to Him and with faith and repentance ask for His forgiveness.
Asking Almighty God for what ever we need is exactly what the Holy Bible instructs us to do when encountering all kinds of doubt, weaknesses, stumbling, hard times, sickness, loneliness, persecution, injustice etc.
Matthew 07/07&08: “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened”
All what we have to do is to pray and to ask Him with faith, self confidence and humility and He will respond.
Matthew 21/22: “All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
We are not left alone at any time, especially when in trouble, no matter how far we distance ourselves from God and disobey His Holy bible. He is a Father, a loving, caring and forgiving Father.
What is definite is that in spite of our foolishness, stupidity, ignorance, defiance and ingratitude He never ever abandons us or gives up on our salvation. He loves us because we His are children.
He happily sent His only begotten son to be tortured, humiliated and crucified in a bid to absolve our original sin.’
God carries our burdens and helps us to fight all kinds of Evil temptations.
Matthew11/28-30: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
God is waiting for our repentance, let us run to Him and ask for forgiveness before it is too late

Almighty God Is Love And Love is Forgiveness
 Elias Bejjani/March 23/19
 http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73241/elias-bejjani-almighty-god-is-love-and-love-is-forgiveness/
 Jesus Christ taught us in "The Lord's Prayer" that we are ought as believers to forgive all those who harm us, so that He forgives us for our sins.  (forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors).
 Jesus Christ told us that if any person has been offerings his sacrifices in front of the altar and remembered there that he is still in conflict with anyone, he is required to stop this holy ritual and go first to reconcile with whom he has the conflict and then return to complete the offering ritual.
 "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift". Matthew 05/23-24)
 The Holy Bible emphasizes in dozens of its verses that faith without deeds has no meaning or value.  ("As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead".-James 02/26)
 Hence, any person who can not, and does not seek to forgive others, Almighty God  shall not forgive him his sins.
 In this context all prayers without  practical and actual deeds are biblically futile.
 This means that no matter how strong and genuine prayers are, they remain not complete without deeds.
 In this realm, the hateful person who can not forgive, and who holds on to grudges and contemplates revenge is a person who does not comprehend or understand the act of forgiveness.
 Such a person does not know what is love, and accordingly he does not know Almighty God, Who is mere LOVE.
 Let us pray with reverence to Almighty God that every human being is blessed with the grace of forgiveness in a bid to realize in both his mind and heart that God is Love and is Forgiveness.

Moody's: Outlook for Lebanese Banks Stable
Kataeb.org/ Saturday 23rd March 2019/Moody's Investors Service on Friday said that the outlook for Lebanon's banking system is stable, attributing this to expectations of deposit inflows and slightly increased economic growth.
The new government, formed in January, provides some respite from months of investor and depositor uncertainty,” said Alexios Philippides, AVP analyst at Moody’s. “We believe that despite a recent slowdown in deposit growth, inflows will be sufficient to allow banks to finance the government and the economy, provided that the new government implements reforms to bolster confidence.”The rating agency noted that the operating conditions for banks will remain challenging in the next 12 to 18 months, adding that the outcome of this period will be dependent of the government's ability to implement fiscal and economic reforms. "Failure to implement reforms will further compound recent pressures, and wide fiscal and current account deficits will be key structural issues in the interim," the report warned. Moody's pointed out that Lebanese banks’ profitability would be under pressure because of higher funding costs, subdued new business and higher provisioning charges, from low levels. “They will seek to mitigate these challenges through cost control and growth abroad. Political developments affecting the pace of economic reform and depositor confidence are a key risk for Lebanese banks. The banks’ large sovereign exposure remains their main source of financial risk,” the agency said. It also expected annual deposit inflows to pick up to around $6.5 billion in 2019, from $5.6 billion in 2018, provided the new government is able to implement reforms to shore up confidence. “Capital flight remains a key risk for banks and the sovereign." “Lebanon’s financial system maintains substantial foreign liquidity against this risk, which has been centralized at the Central Bank,” the report noted. “We expect continued pressure on banks’ loan quality, driven by several years of subpar economic growth, high interest rates and a struggling real-estate sector." “We expect banking sector equity-to-total assets to remain at 8 percent for 2019. “We have raised our risk weights to reflect the recent sovereign downgrade to Caa1, which will lower our adjusted risk-weighted capital ratios,” the report said.

Pompeo, Army Chief convene: The Lebanese army is a strategic partner in the fight against terrorism
Sat 23 Mar 2019/NNA - Lebanese Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, met this evening with US Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mike Pompeo, accompanied by his wife Suzan, his Assistant for Middle East Affairs David Hill, and his Acting Assistant David Satterfield, in the presence of US Ambassador Elizabeth Richard. Pompeo assured Aoun of the United States "continued support for the Lebanese army, a strategic partner in the fight against terrorism." In turn, Aoun thanked the American side for "trusting the Lebanese Army and standing by its side in confronting terrorism and ensuring stability."

Pompeo visits Aoudeh: A wonderful visit to a wonderful friend
Sat 23 Mar 2019/NNA - Beirut Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Aoudeh met this afternoon at the headquarters of the Archdiocese in Ashrafieh with US State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Mike Pompeo, and his wife Suzan, accompanied by US Ambassador Elizabeth Richard. Discussions touched on the general situation and the latest developments in Lebanon and the region. Following the one hour and a quarter meeting, Pompeo said: "It was a wonderful visit to a wonderful friend," noting that he knew Archbishop Aoudeh personally for a long time. In an issued statement by the Archdiocese, it indicated that talks centered on "matters relating to the Orthodox Church and the Antioch Parish in Wichita, Kansas, since Ms. Pompeo belonged to the Orthodox Church and was in close relationship with its Parish." The statement also disclosed that the wife of the Secretary of State visited on Friday St. George Cathedral and its underground museum, as well as the Church of St. Demetrius in Achrafieh, and the Library of Hope that holds religious books and Byzantine icons. Moreover, the Archdiocese statement indicated that Pompeo and his wife had visited the Diocese in November 2015 and participated in the Divine Mass presided over by Archbishop Aoudeh at the Church of Baron Antonius and Porphyry in the House of the Archbishopric.

Pompeo Warns Lebanon Is at Risk Because of Iranian Ambitions
Kataeb.org/ Saturday 23rd March 2019/U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that Lebanon is at risk because Iran is seeking to seize control over it, saying that the country is in jeopardy due to Tehran's ambitions.
“It’s at risk because the Ayatollah Khamenei and Qasem Soleimani and the Islamic Republic of Iran want to take over this country; they want to control this state; they want access to the Mediterranean; they want power and influence here," Pompeo said in an interview with Sky News Arabia during his two-day visit to Lebanon. "The people of Lebanon deserve better than that, they want something different from that, and America is prepared to help. I think the world is prepared to help,” Pompeo stressed. The U.S. official hailed Lebanon as a great nation with a proud history, noting that one of the things that he loves about it is its enormous religious diversity, and the people of all stripes. “It’s a beacon of democracy throughout the world," he said. “My trip here was to talk to leaders from every group and every religion to share with them that America is prepared to help continue to achieve the great, diverse, wonderful, rambunctious place that Lebanon is, and that they should know they need not succumb to the efforts of Hezbollah and Iran and Hassan Nasrallah,” Pompeo stressed. When asked about the Lebanese prime minister and the Lebanese president’s different perspective on Hezbollah, Pompeo rebuffed the claim. “I don't think that's true. I think that's false. President Aoun, the foreign minister, they both understand the need for Lebanese freedom, democracy, independence, sovereignty. They want those things for their people too. They live here," he said. "Indeed, each of them told me that. They said, Mr. Secretary, we want that more than you do because we live here,” he added.
“They are just as determined as I am, and I appreciate that, I welcome that. I’m glad that they are working towards the same ends that America hopes for the Lebanese people." "Hezbollah and Iran present an enormous threat to the people in the region, and we’re going to use the tools we have available to achieve outcomes that I know every nation, every leader as I travel the Middle East, is supportive of what it is we’re trying to achieve," he pledged. Pompeo affirmed his country's determination to confront Iran’s malign activities which are spread everywhere.
“The United States is going to pursue it, whether that’s in South America, whether that’s in the Middle East. Wherever we find it, we are going to give it a push back," he assured. "We want good things for the Iranian people, and their leadership has betrayed them. They have destroyed a once-proud nation and an economy that is now a wreck – not because of anything the world did but because of an enormous mismanagement of the theocracy,” he said. “They’re running a revolutionary effort around the Middle East, creating havoc here in Lebanon and all around the Middle East."“Our efforts will be everywhere. Our efforts will be intense. Our objective is noble: to help the Iranian people successfully retake the leadership and the governance of their own nation in the way I know they so richly deserve,” he emphasized.

Hariri meets with Mayor of Val d'Isere
Sat 23 Mar 2019/NNA - Prime Minister Saad Hariri received this evening at the "House of Center" the Mayor of the French Val d'Isere region, Mark Boyer, accompanied by a French mission and Lebanese skier, Cristina Amid Baroudi. The delegation briefed the Prime Minister on the exchange program between the municipalities of Val d'Isere and Bsharre, in terms of sports, tourism and development, which would enable each town to benefit from the experiences of the other.

Bassil, Atallah tour Upper Chouf, Deir AlQamar regions
Sat 23 Mar 2019/Atallah: To strengthen and immunize the return, close all Displaced Ministry files NNA - Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Minister, Gebran Bassil, toured Saturday a number of villages and towns in the Upper Chouf region, where Christian victims fell during the Lebanese civil war events, especially on March 16, 1977. Accompanied by Displaced Minister Ghassan Attallah and MP Mario Aoun, Bassil began his tour from the town of Mazra'at El-Chouf, where a reception was held in their honor in the courtyard of St. George Church followed by a Mass service. They later had stopovers in the towns of Maasser El-Chouf, Botmeh, Barouk, Kfarnabrakh and Deir El-Qamar, where they visited several churches, attended Mass services and laid floral wreaths at the church entrances in the presence of crowds of supporters. While Bassil did not make any statement, Atallah said: "As a Minister of the Displaced, this tour was inevitably necessary forty two years after the painful events that took place following the assassination of Martyr Kamal Jumblatt with people living peacefully in their towns in the Upper Chouf." "This step is to strengthen and fortify the return, and thus help us close all files in the Ministry," he corroborated, adding, "We expect two historic words by leader Walid Jumblatt and the President of the Republic during the Mass of Repentance and Forgiveness in Deir Al-Qamar."

Hariri: We can learn from the new generation
Sat 23 Mar 2019/NNA - Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, said that he cares about the youth and about providing jobs for them, and hoped that they will be part of the change that will take place in the future. He added: "Our goal is to make the country advance and I believe that we can learn from the new generation with new ideas."Hariri's words came this morning as he addressed the participants in the "Serail Creativity Hub Design Competition" at the Grand Serail cross vault, in the presence of the Head of Business Environment and Innovation at the Prime Minister's office, Yasmina el-Khoury.
He said that this area of the Grand Serail will be open to the public to raise the ideas of young people, and will become a beacon of innovation and a focal point for major discussions between the public and private sectors. Hariri told the participants: "Consider this your place and we hope to remain in contact with you to listen to your ideas and achieve your ambitions." "We are on the right track. The government wants to carry out reforms in all sectors, but achieving this in Lebanon is not easy, as not all parties have the same agenda for this. We have the will to change, and the disagreements taking place today are between those who want this change and those who do not want it. There is resistance to change, but hopefully we can achieve it with you," the Prime Minister went on. Hariri pointed out that CEDRE will be launched this year, and there will be many projects for the youth, in infrastructure, technology and other sectors, and there will be more stability in the country and more tourists. He said that he is optimistic, adding that CEDRE aims to increase economic growth to provide job opportunities for the youth in all sectors, noting that the more we increase the growth rate, the more jobs we can create. {PM Press Office}

Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel Says Confiscation of Decision-Making Power Is Jeopardizing
Kataeb.org/ Saturday 23rd March 2019/Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel said that the U.S. as well as all the Arab and European countries that have always supported Lebanon are now issuing threats and warnings because a certain faction has tightened its grip over the country and dragged it into a whole new positioning. “We’ve repeatedly warned that this would disrupt ties with most countries, and that is exactly what's currently happening,” Gemayel said during an event held in Bickfaya to pay tribute to partisans who have been members of the Kataeb party for more than 50 years.
“Some want to seize control of the country and confiscate its decision-making power. We are still present and raising our voices for sovereignty and independence because there is a faction that managed, thanks to foreign weapons and funds, to impose its will on all the Lebanese,” Gemayel noted.
“There are people who ask why we have chosen to join the opposition ranks, and, what is more dangerous, find a justification for everything just to hide their surrender," he said. "There are none so blind as those who will not see." “How can we not see that a faction was behind shutting down the Parliament for two and a half years in order to force the election of a certain candidate for president? How can we not see that a faction imposed the election law that it wants so that it gets the majority of seats in the Parliament? How can we not see that a faction set conditions to form the government?"Turning to the Syrian refugee crisis, Gemayel said that those who are today using this issue for political outbidding by demanding their return are the same ones who were in power when the influx began and 1.5 million refugees accessed Lebanon between 2011 and 2013. "Back then, we suggested the establishment of border refugee camps to prevent them from spreading across the country and limit their presence in one area. They refused this proposal, thus causing the refugees to become uncontrollably everywhere."“We ask those who are proposing to sit down for talks with the Syrian regime to find a solution: Will Syrian President Bachar Assad bring back the refugees just to do the Lebanese a favor? Will this problem be solved just by communicating with him?"“It is time that other countries bear the burden with us. If they are incapable of repatriating the refugees, then they should assume their responsibility by resettling because the situation in Lebanon cannot be kept unchanged,” Gemayel concluded.

Report: Dispute between Central Bank and Private Banks ‘Freezes’ Housing Loans
Naharnet/March 23/19/The implementation of a circular issued by Banque du Liban (BDL) on supporting housing loans has not yet begun, although it was issued two months ago, Saudi Asharq al-Awsat reported Saturday. According to the daily, the reasons were attributed to differences between the Central Bank and private banks -responsible for implementation- over interest rates, the parallel value of amounts paid in foreign currency at the Banque du Liban, and beliefs that the amounts allocated for housing loans are not enough for the Lebanese market.
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh issued a circular in January related to the reactivation of subsidizing housing loan program in 2019. In 2018, the Lebanese Public Corporation for Housing (PCH) declared on July 8 that housing loans requests are to be rejected starting July 9th due to lack of funds.
The suspension of the subsidized loans has impacted the country’s real estate sector and thousands of loan applicants. BDL regularly finances the housing loans through the PCH. Although the BDL circular was issued after political and economic demands at high levels to stabilize social security, the implementation did not begin, amid official silence on the file, said the newspaper. The government has not addressed the issue since its formation on January 31.

Rifi Lashes Out at Bassil: ‘Don’t Think You’re Smart’
Naharnet/March 23/19/Firebrand Major General Ashraf Rifi, who served as justice minister and Internal Security Forces chief accused on Saturday the Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil of taking “Iranian” money as he “dared” him of lifting secrecy off his bank accounts. In an interview with Liberal Lebanon radio, Rifi accused Bassil of “taking Iranian money for his own group from boxes labeled as Iranian Red Crescent,” he also challenged him “to lift the secrecy from his bank accounts.” Rifi continued to lash out at Bassil saying “he will never be satisfied,” and that “he is going to destroy the (presidential) term (of his father-in-law President Michel Aoun) because of his corruption, racism and non-patriotism.”On the presidential settlement that brought Aoun to the post of presidency, Rifi said “it was costly and would cost the country very much.”On mended ties with Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the former minister stated: “I did not change my political convictions, and I don't mind to meet with PM Hariri anywhere he chooses. The current phase requires restoration of hope to the public of March 14 camp because there is an appropriate regional atmosphere.”Addressing Bassil again, Rifi said: “The Lebanese are not stupid and do not think you are smart. President Aoun has taken part of the Christians into Syria and Iran and the situation today is favorable for all of us to unite.”

Kouyoumjian stresses on fighting corruption, stopping waste expenditure, practicing austerity to overcome the current stage
Sat 23 Mar 2019/NNA - Minister of Social Affairs, Richard Kouyoumjian, highlighted Saturday the pressing need to combat corruption, put a limit to waste expenditure and resort to austerity as important measures for Lebanon to overcome the current phase. He revealed that the Lebanese Forces Party is marching in this direction. Kouyoumjian's words came during his word at the luncheon banquet held in his honor by MP Ziad Hawat following his tour in the city of Byblos this afternoon. He expressed his pleasure and pride to visit the city of Byblos "because of its national heritage, tourism and development role," commending the "spirit of coexistence that characterized this city throughout the ages, especially as it maintained its citizens' mutual living despite the dire conditions witnessed in the homeland."Kouyoumjian pointed to "a complete survey carried out by his Ministry to activate and develop all social affairs centers across Lebanon, in order to be model centers capable of serving citizens effectively in all their needs."He deemed the progress and improvement witnessed in the city of Byblos as a source of motivation and an incentive for all other Lebanese cities to follow at the development, tourism and social levels.

Jabak from Bneshii: Health care does not belong to a party, any imposed sanctions will affect all Lebanese
Franjieh: Pompeo's visit ended before it began
NNA - Public Health Minister, Jamil Jabak, stressed Saturday that the health sector does not belong to any party in the country, and therefore any sanctions imposed on it would affect all the Lebanese.
Jabak's words came in response to a question on the visit of US State Secretary Mike Pompeo to Lebanon, following his meeting this evening with Al-Maradah Movement Chief, Sleiman Franjieh, at his residence in Bneshii, the last stopover in Jabak's tour today accompanied by his ministerial delegation.
Talks during the encounter touched on the importance of health care for citizens, people's daily affairs, the unity of Lebanon and the cohesion of its citizens in light of current developments. Jabak indicated that they tackled citizens' vital living and social requirements, stressing full cooperation with Franjieh to contribute to the development of the North region due to its urgent needs, especially in the medical and health sectors. For his part, Franjieh welcomed Jabak's visit, confirming that they both share the same national responsibility, political affiliation and strive to serve the Lebanese people, especially in underprivileged areas like the North region. Commenting on Pompeo's visit to Lebanon, Franjieh said: "In my opinion, the visit ended before it started, because we read the positions in the press before we heard them directly from him [Pompeo], and this is America's perspective...I salute the President of the Republic for his position herein, as well as the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose stances were at the level of national responsibility...and we say this is Lebanon!"Over the issue of US sanctions on Lebanon, Franjieh deemed that "we might or might not be sanctioned...hence, it is important that Lebanon be united and solid in the face of pressures so that the settlement would not be the expense of the Lebanese."

Saba Calls for Serious and Deep Dialogue in Lebanon
Kataeb.org/ Saturday 23rd March 2019/Kataeb politburo member Charles Saba on Saturday urged officials to engage in a serious and deep dialogue that would revolve around three problematic issues facing Lebanon. In an interview on Voice of Lebanon radio station, Saba stressed the need to discuss the country's political system, ways of building a productive government, as well as a defense strategy that would deal with Hezbollah's arms and a foreign policy that shields Lebanon. “We must seek to launch a serious dialogue on how to build a strong and fair State,” Saba said. “The current government has been built on a settlement, not on a solid basis. It should have been established on a clear dialogue that addresses major problematic issues, such as the Syrian refugee crisis and Hezbollah,” he explained. “Unfortunately, instead of having a united government, officials are once again proving their inadequacy in facing challenges, and engaging in a thorough political dialogue to devise a diplomatic plan that addresses the problems we are experiencing."Saba warned of economic risks facing Lebanon, saying that there is a real danger threatening the country's financial and economic situation. The Kataeb official criticized the electricity plan proposed by the Energy Ministry, saying that it is similar to that proposed in 2010 when it comes to long-term proposals. “Who will be in charge of the book of conditions set in tenders? Who will launch the tenders? What are the amendments that must be introduced to the conditons?” he asked. "All of this points are not mentioned in the plan."Saba suggested that a new EDL board would be appointed and a regulatory body would be formed to oversee the electricity sector. He also called for implementing Law 462 which stipulates involving private companies in the production, distribution and bills collection processes.

US hits Iran with new sanctions while Pompeo visits Lebanon
أسوشيتد برس: الولايات المتحدة تفرض عقوبات جديدة على لبنان فيما كان بومبيو يزور لبنان
Associated Press/March 23/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73256/a-ppompeo-at-odds-with-lebanese-officials-over-hezbollah-us-hits-iran-with-new-sanctions-while-pompeo-visits-lebanon-%d8%a7%d8%b3%d9%88%d8%b4%d9%8a%d8%aa%d8%af-%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%b3-%d8%a8%d9%88%d9%85/
The U.S., however, pulled out of the agreement last year, saying it was fatally flawed and allowed Iran to gradually begin advanced atomic work over time.
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration hit Iran with new sanctions on Friday while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was denouncing Iran’s growing influence on a visit to Lebanon.
The Treasury Department said the sanctions target 31 Iranian scientists, technicians and companies affiliated with Iran’s Organization for Defense Innovation and Research, which had been at the forefront of the country’s former nuclear weapons program. Officials said those targeted continue to work in Iran’s defense sector and form a core of experts who could reconstitute that program. Fourteen people, including the head of the organization, and 17 subsidiary operations are covered by the sanctions.
The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from any transactions with them. But, officials say the move will also make those targeted “radioactive internationally” by making people of any nationality who do business with them subject to U.S. penalties under so-called secondary sanctions. U.S. secondary sanctions apply to foreign businesses and individuals and can include fines, loss of presence in the American economy, asset freezes and travel bans. Officials said the threat of such sanctions will significantly limit the ability of those designated to travel outside of Iran, participate in research conferences or be hired for other jobs.
Pompeo repudiates Obama Mideast policy, takes aim at Iran
“Individuals working for Iran’s proliferation-related programs — including scientists, procurement agents, and technical experts — should be aware of the reputational and financial risk they expose themselves to by working for Iran’s nuclear program,” the State Department said in a statement.
The move is unusual because the sanctions are not being imposed based on what those targeted are currently doing. Instead, they were imposed because of their past work on nuclear weapons development and the potential that they would be at the forefront of any Iranian attempt to restart that program. Iran pledged not to resume atomic weapons work under the 2015 nuclear deal and the U.N.’s atomic watchdog says Iran continues to comply with the agreement. The U.S., however, pulled out of the agreement last year, saying it was fatally flawed and allowed Iran to gradually begin advanced atomic work over time. The Trump administration has re-imposed U.S. sanctions that were eased under the terms of the deal and is continuing to impose new ones as part a pressure campaign to force Iran to renegotiate the agreement. Officials said the decision to move ahead with the sanctions was in part based on Israel’s recovery of what it and the U.S. call a “secret archive” of documents from Iran that they say shows Iran deliberately preserved and stored its early nuclear weapons work, known as the “Amad plan,” with the intent to someday resume development of a bomb. “As the world has learned from the recently-discovered secret Iranian nuclear archive — which revealed the names of some of the individuals sanctioned today — unanswered questions remain regarding Iran’s undisclosed past nuclear-related activities under the Amad plan, including activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile,” the State Department said in a statement. The announcement came as Pompeo was in Beirut warning Lebanese officials to curb the influence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. He says Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and should not be allowed to set policies or wield power despite its presence in Lebanon’s parliament and government.

Pompeo at odds with Lebanese officials over Hezbollah
أسوشيتد برس: بومبيو على تناقض مع الرسميين اللبنانيين حول حزب الله
Associated Press/March 23/ 2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73256/a-ppompeo-at-odds-with-lebanese-officials-over-hezbollah-us-hits-iran-with-new-sanctions-while-pompeo-visits-lebanon-%d8%a7%d8%b3%d9%88%d8%b4%d9%8a%d8%aa%d8%af-%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%b3-%d8%a8%d9%88%d9%85/
The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from any transactions with them.
BEIRUT: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday blasted Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which he vowed the U.S. would continue to pressure, and called on the Lebanese people to stand up to the Iran-backed militant group he said was “committed to spreading destruction.”
His harsh comments in Beirut were in strong contrast to those of Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil who minutes earlier, while standing next to Pompeo, insisted that Hezbollah is “a Lebanese group that is not a terrorist organization and was elected by the people.”
Pompeo, however, warned that “the Lebanese people face a choice: Bravely move forward or allow the dark ambitions of Iran and Hezbollah to dictate your future.”
He added that the U.S. would continue using “all peaceful means” to curb Hezbollah and Iran’s influence.
Pompeo highlighted U.S. concerns about Hezbollah’s “destabilizing activities” in Lebanon and the region in talks his with Lebanese leaders, amid strong regional condemnation of President Donald Trump’s declaration that it’s time the U.S. recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The abrupt pronouncement on the Golan Heights was likely to cloud Pompeo’s two-day visit during which he met with top officials, including some who are aligned with the Iran- and Syria-allied militant Hezbollah.
The visit is the last leg of a Mideast tour that took Pompeo to Kuwait and Israel, where he lauded warm ties with Israel, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on at least three separate occasions and promised to step up pressure on Iran.
From Israel, Pompeo’s plane travelled through Cypriot airspace, as Lebanon, which is technically in a state of war with Israel, bans direct flights from Israel. Once on the ground, Pompeo was taken to the Interior Ministry for a brief meeting with Raya El-Hassan, who was named earlier this year as the Arab world’s first female minister in charge of security. Pompeo also met with Lebanon’s powerful Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, before heading for a working lunch with Prime Minister Saad Hariri followed by a meeting with President Michel Aoun. The State Department’s deputy spokesman, Robert Palladino, said Pompeo highlighted in the meetings U.S. concerns about Hezbollah’s “destabilizing activities in Lebanon and the region” as well as the need to maintain calm along the border between Lebanon and Israel. In his Lebanon visit, Pompeo hopes to step up pressure on the Shiite Hezbollah group, but could face resistance even from America’s local allies, who fear that pushing too hard could trigger a backlash and endanger the tiny country’s fragile peace. Hezbollah wields more power than ever in parliament and the government.
Aoun’s office said the president told Pompeo that the country’s priority is to preserve national unity and peace adding that “Hezbollah is a Lebanese party that has a popular base representing one of the main (religious) sects in the country.”
Pompeo later met with Bassil, the foreign minister. He, as well as Aoun and Berri, are close Hezbollah allies, while Hariri is a close Western ally who has been reluctant to confront Hezbollah.
“How does stockpiling tens of thousands of missiles in Lebanon territory for use against Israel make this country stronger?” asked Pompeo, referring to Hezbollah’s arsenal that the group boasts can strike any part of Israel.
“Hezbollah and its illegitimate militia put the entire country on the front lines of Iran’s misguided proxy campaign,” Pompeo added.
He said that Washington would continue to use “all peaceful means possible” to pressure Hezbollah, an apparent reference to the sanctions that the U.S. has imposed over the years and are drying up the militant group’s finances. Pompeo referred to comments made by Hezbollah’s leader earlier this month in which he urged supporters to donate money to the group.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV aired the comments made by Bassil live, but cut back to normal programming once Pompeo began reading his statement. President Aoun, speaking to Russian journalists ahead of a visit to Moscow later this month, said that the sanctions imposed on Hezbollah, Iran and Syria are negatively impacting the already fragile Lebanese economy. “The negative effect of the sanctions on Hezbollah is hitting all Lebanese people as well as Lebanese banks,” he said in remarks released later on Friday. Earlier this week, Pompeo had said “we’ll spend a lot of time talking with the Lebanese government about how we can help them disconnect from the threat that Iran and Hezbollah present.”“Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. You ask how tough I am going to be? It is a terrorist organization. Period. Full stop,” Pompeo said in Jerusalem on Thursday. Pompeo’s visit to Lebanon came as the Trump administration hit Iran with new sanctions on Friday. The Treasury Department said the sanctions target 31 Iranian scientists, technicians and companies affiliated with Iran’s Organization for Defense Innovation and Research, which had been at the forefront of the country’s former nuclear weapons program. Officials said those targeted continue to work in Iran’s defense sector and form a core of experts who could reconstitute that program. Fourteen people, including the head of the organization and 17 subsidiary operations are covered by the sanctions.
The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from any transactions with them. Trump’s statement about the Golan Heights on Thursday is a major shift in American policy. For some time, the administration has been considering recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the strategic highlands, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967. In a tweet that appeared to catch many by surprise, Trump said the time had come for the United States to take the step.The U.S. will be the first country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, which the rest of the international community regards as territory occupied by Israel whose status should be determined by negotiations between Israel and Syria. Syria, Iran and Turkey on Friday strongly denounced Trump’s statement.

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on March 23-24/2019
Twin Blasts at Afghan Ceremony Kill at Least Three, Wound 30
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 23/19/At least three people were killed and 30 wounded in twin explosions inside a stadium hosting an agricultural show in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said. The blasts happened in Lashkar Gah, the capital of volatile Helmand province, as people marked Farmers' Day as part of Persian New Year celebrations, provincial governor spokesman Omar Zhwak told AFP. People had put their agricultural products on display in the city's main stadium when the explosions happened, said witness Omidullah Zaheer."First a small explosion happened inside a tent in the stadium. People started to run towards the gates, when a second blast hit the crowd," he told AFP. "I saw some wounded people taken out of the stadium," he said. Zhwak said the casualties from the second blast had been minimal as people fled the area after the first. Among the wounded were the deputy governor, deputy head of the provincial council, head of the information and the heads of the culture and agricultural departments. "I am fine," governor Mohammad Yasin, who was also present, told AFP. "But three people were killed and 31 wounded in the blasts," he added, giving a slightly higher injury toll than a statement issued by his office. He blamed the Taliban for the attack. Neither the Taliban nor any other group immediately claimed the blasts, which came two days after multiple blasts in Kabul killed six people and wounded over 20 others during the Persian New Year celebrations in a Shiite area. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul.

Accepting Golan Annexation, Trump Risks New Precedents
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 23/19/US President Donald Trump is again breaking diplomatic norms in backing Israel's capture of the Golan Heights, with experts warning that he risks justifying expansionism by other countries.
Israel conquered the Golan from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and annexed it in 1981, but until now, the international community has not accepted the move, hoping the territory could serve as a bargaining chip in a future peace deal between the countries. But Trump on Thursday turned to Twitter for the abrupt diplomatic turnaround, saying that after 52 years, "it is time for the United States to fully recognize" Israeli sovereignty. The move -- which came as Trump's ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, faces elections -- has caused dismay even among US allies, with France and Britain both saying that they still considered the Golan Heights to be "occupied" by Israel. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, feared the consequences of walking away from UN Security Council Resolution 242, adopted after the Six-Day War, which stressed the "inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war.""This is the most fundamental principle of international order and was the basis of US opposition to Saddam's conquest of Kuwait and Putin's of Crimea," he said, referring to the 1991 Gulf War in which a US-led coalition freed Kuwait and Russia's 2014 seizure of the Ukrainian peninsula. It is not the first time that the real-estate mogul turned president has brazenly dismissed international conventions. In December 2017, he recognized passionately contested Jerusalem as Israel's capital, fulfilling a major goal for the Jewish state.
Law of the 'jungle'
Sweden's former foreign minister Carl Bildt said that Trump was returning to the law of the "jungle.""This is a catastrophic departure from the very basis of international law. Kremlin will applaud and apply the same principle to Crimea. Beijing will applaud and apply to South China Sea," Bildt tweeted. Syria and its ally Iran expectedly denounced Trump's move. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- fearful of a breakup of Syria under which Kurds could seek independence -- said that Trump has created a "new crisis" and called for intervention by the Organization of the Islamic Conference
But allies also worried about the implications. France's foreign ministry said in a statement that recognizing Israeli sovereignty "would be contrary to international law, in particular the obligation for states not to recognize an illegal situation."
Steven Cook, an expert on the Middle East at the Council on Foreign Relations, in an article in Foreign Policy questioned the need to shake up the status quo, saying that US recognition only triggered fresh opposition to Israel's longstanding control of the Golan, where 20,000 settlers live.
"In reality, there is no need for the recognition. Israel is in Golan for its own reasons, and nothing the Trump administration decides will change that," he wrote. Ilan Goldenberg of the Center for a New American Security said that Trump's decision "stirs a hornet's nest that didn't need stirring.""Also, it makes it quite hard for the US to continue to contest Russia's annexation of Crimea under the principle that taking territory by force is illegal. We now have no leg to stand on and the Russians will use it," he tweeted.
"So why do it? Because this is awesome for Bibi's politics," he said, using Netanyahu's nickname.

White House: ISIS Totally Eliminated in Syria
Kataeb.org/ Saturday 23rd March 2019/The White House announced on Friday that ISIS has lost all of its territory in Syria, as per assurances made by the Pentagon. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan had briefed President Donald Trump as he was travelling to Florida on Air Force One. "The territorial caliphate has been 100% eliminated in Syria," she said. On Saturday, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) declared victory in the last battle against ISIS in Baghouz, bringing an end to the so-called caliphate. "Syrian Democratic Forces declare total elimination of so-called caliphate and 100% territorial defeat of ISIS. On this unique day, we commemorate thousands of martyrs whose efforts made the victory possible," SDF spokesman, Mustafa Bali, wrote on Twitter.

Macron Says IS Defeat Removes 'Significant Threat' to France
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 23/19/French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday that the fall of the last bastion held by Islamic State jihadists in Syria removed a source of potential terror attacks against France by fighters based in the so-called "caliphate". "A significant threat to our country" has been "eliminated", Macron said on Twitter, while warning that "the threat remains and the fight against terrorist groups must continue."

Syria Devastated by War Since 2011
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 23/19/Since 2011 Syria has been ravaged by a war which has killed 370,000 people and displaced millions. Here are some key facts about the country ruled since 2000 by President Bashar al-Assad.
Devastating conflict
Syria's civil war was sparked by the Assad regime's bloody repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests. It has since spiralled into a complex conflict involving rebels, jihadists and foreign powers. Opposition fighters and jihadists overran large parts of the country in the first years of war. But since Russia's military intervened by Assad's side in 2015, the regime has notched up a series of victories against them. The government is also backed by Iran and the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. By late 2018, the regime was back in control of nearly two-thirds of the country. The fighting has forced more than half of Syria's pre-war population of 23 million to flee their homes. More than six million Syrians have been displaced inside their country, the United Nations says. More than five million have fled abroad, mostly to neighbouring Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, its says. Tens of thousands of Syrians have been arrested, abducted or listed as missing.
Economy in tatters
The war is estimated to have set Syria's economy back by three decades, destroying infrastructure and paralysing the production of electricity and oil. Whole areas and towns lie in ruins. Its industry has been shattered and exports fell by 92 percent between 2011 and 2015, dropping from $7.9 billion to $631 million in value, according to the World Bank.In August 2018, the United Nations estimated the cost of war damage at $400 billion (345 billion euros). According to the World Food Programme, some 6.5 million people in Syria are suffering from lack of food.
Independent since 1946
From 1516, Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire. When the empire was dismantled after defeat in World War I, Syria was placed under a French mandate. The country gained independence in April 1946. In March 1949, the first of several coups took place, leading to a period of political instability. In February 1958, Syria and Egypt merged to form the short-lived United Arab Republic (UAR), which Damascus left in 1961.
Assads in power
In March 1963, the socialist Arab Baath party came to power, after a military putsch, and enforced martial law. The defence minister, General Hafez al-Assad, seized power in November 1970. Four months later, he became the first Syrian head of state from the minority Alawite community, a branch of Shiite Islam which makes up around 10 percent of the population of mainly Sunni Muslim Syria. In February 1982, the regime clamped down on an Islamist insurgency in the central town of Hama. For around a month, it was gripped by rioting and a crackdown by an elite paramilitary force commanded by Assad's brother, Rifaat, that left thousands dead. In 2000, on the death of his father, Bashar al-Assad was named president after an election in which he was the sole candidate.
War with Israel
Syria is officially in a state of war with Israel, which since 1967 has occupied most of Syria's Golan Heights, annexing it in 1981. Since the start of the conflict in Syria, Israel has carried out numerous air raids against Assad's regime and also against his allies, Iran and Hezbollah.
Lebanon  The Syrian army entered Lebanon on June 1, 1976, one year into its civil war, at the request of the Christians who were losing the battle against Palestinian and Muslim forces. Two years later, it turned against the Christians, going on to hold two-thirds of Lebanese territory and become for nearly 30 years the main foreign power-broker, with thousands of troops in the country. It was forced to withdraw its deployment after the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, which some linked to Damascus.
Heritage in danger
Syria's extraordinary archeological heritage has been a victim of the war and also of theft and looting, with the jihadist Islamic State group ravaging numerous sites. UNESCO has six Syrian sites on its list of endangered heritage, including Aleppo, Damascus, the ancient desert town of Palmyra, and the Crusader fortress near Homs known as Crac des Chevaliers.

Syria Force Takes IS Bastion, 'Caliphate' Wiped Out
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 23/19/Kurdish-led forces pronounced the death of the Islamic State group's nearly five-year-old "caliphate" Saturday after flushing out diehard jihadists from their very last bastion in eastern Syria.
Fighters of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces raised their yellow flag in Baghouz, the remote riverside village where diehard jihadists of a variety of nationalities made a desperate, dramatic last stand. The SDF's victory capped a six-month operation in which it took heavy casualties and will go down as a symbolic date in a war that changed the face of the region and spurred a spate of global terror attacks. "Syrian Democratic Forces declare total elimination of so-called caliphate and 100 percent territorial defeat of ISIS," spokesman Mustefa Bali said in a statement, using another acronym for IS. In Al-Omar, an oil field used as the main SDF staging base for the final phase of the assault, fighters in their best fatigues laid down their weapons and broke into song and dance. The state proclaimed in mid-2014 by fugitive IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi started collapsing in 2017 when parallel offensives in Iraq and Syria wrested back its main hubs Mosul and Raqa. The nearly five years of fighting against the most brutal jihadist group in modern history left thousand-year-old cities in ruins and populations homeless.
Foreigners last
The territory administered by the remnants of IS continued to shrink month after month and in September 2018 the SDF launched a final offensive on the last dregs of the "caliphate" in its Euphrates Valley strongholds. US President Donald Trump, whose country has led an international miliary coalition against IS since September 2014, jumped the gun on announcing the end of jihadist territorial rule on multiple occasions. SDF fighters last week expelled the last IS fighters who refused to surrender from an encampment on the edge of Baghouz and have since been hunting down a few survivors hiding on the reedy banks of the Euphrates. "Those who lasted the longest were mostly foreigners... Tunisians, Moroccans, Egyptians," Hisham Harun, a 21-year-old Kurdish fighter, told AFP shortly after the SDF's yellow flag was raised. Around him, the former jihadist encampment was littered with bullet-riddled truck carcasses, discarded suicide belts and the torn tents where the caliphate's last families sheltered for weeks. Kurdish officers and aid groups were flummoxed by the number of people who had remained holed up in the last IS redoubt of Baghouz, a small village even few Syrians had ever heard of until this year.
As SDF forces pummelled IS positions and US warplanes dropped huge payloads on the riverside village, tens of thousands of people fled over a rocky hill and trudged through the plains in biblical scenes.
Aid emergency
For weeks, the ghostly figures of the caliphate's last denizens hobbled out of the besieged village, famished, often wounded but sometimes still defiantly proclaiming their support for IS. The Kurdish-led force and foreign intelligence screened more than 60,000 people since January, around 10 percent of them jihadists turning themselves in. Most of the people evacuated from the smouldering ruins of Baghouz in recent days were relatives of IS members who now fill overcrowded camps further north in Syria's Kurdish-controlled region. The biggest of them, Al-Hol, is now struggling to host 74,000 people, including at least 25,000 school-aged children. Among them are thousands of foreigners from France, Russia, Belgium and 40-plus countries that are in most cases unwilling to take them back. "The needs are huge and the camp is overwhelmed," Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday upon returning from a five-day visit to Syria.
Still a threat
While the SDF taking Baghouz marks the end of the IS "caliphate", the jihadists still retain a presence in eastern Syria's vast Badia desert. They also have hideouts in parts of Iraq as well as sleeper cells capable of carrying out the kind of deadly guerrilla insurgency that accompanied the rise of the Islamic State group. IS fighters who escaped the shrinking rump of the "caliphate" in time and reorganised their group are already re-establishing their former sanctuaries in Iraq. Even the Pentagon has warned in a recent report that the absence of sustained counterterrorism pressure on IS would allow the jihadists to reclaim some territorial control within months. John Spencer, a scholar at the Modern War Institute at West Point, warned that while the geographic caliphate had been dismantled, IS was far from defeated. IS "is a terrorist organisation, all they have to do is put down their weapons and try to blend in with the population and just escape," he told AFP. "They're not gone, and they're not going to be gone."

ISIS defeated in last Syria enclave, US-backed SDF says
Reuters, Beirut/Saturday, 23 March 2019/ISIS has been defeated at its final shred of territory of Baghouz in Syria, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Saturday, declaring the end of its self-declared “caliphate” that once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria.
The SDF declared the “total elimination of (the) so-called caliphate,” Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office, wrote on Twitter. “Baghouz has been liberated. The military victory against Daesh has been accomplished,” he wrote. The SDF has been battling to capture Baghouz at the Iraqi border for weeks. Daesh is an Arabic acronym for ISIS. “We renew our pledge to continue the war and to pursue their remnants until their complete elimination,” he wrote. The defeat of ISIS in Baghouz ends the group’s grip over the extremist quasi-state straddling Syria and Iraq that it had declared in 2014.

SDF Commander: Time to target sleeper cells following ISIS’s territorial defeat
Staff writer, Al Arabiya/Saturday, 23 March 2019/ISIS’s territorial defeat now begins a new phase in operations against the extremist group, which will target sleeper cells, according to a top Syrian Kurdish Commander. Speaking at a press conference held on Saturday following ISIS’s defeat in Syria by US-backed Syrian forces, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazloum Kobane, said that the focus of upcoming military operations in the extremists’ former heartland would be the elimination of sleeper cells “which are a great threat to our region and the whole world.”ISIS’s territorial defeat comes after a six-month operation which resulted in the death of more than 630 civilians, according to a monitoring group. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that during the months-long operations, 209 children and 157 women were killed – some of which were relatives of the extremist group. The operation had also cost the lives of 730 SDF fighters, while 1,600 extremists were killed. Following Saturday’s defeat, the US-led coalition congratulated the Syrian people and the SDF, adding that the SDF had made great sacrifices in eliminating ISIS. However, the coalition said “the fight is not over.” The coalition also stressed on the importance of supporting the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 to end the conflict in Syria, as well as quoted US President Donald Trump as he stressed on the importance of continuing the work to ensure the total elimination of ISIS. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May described the fall of the last bastion held by ISIS as a “historic milestone,” as she paid tribute to British forces and coalition partners.
“The liberation of the last (ISIS-held) territory is a historic milestone that would not have been possible without their commitment, professionalism, and courage,” she said in a statement. The US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces launched their offensive against the extremists’ last bastions in the Euphrates Valley on September 10, taking town after town before finally announcing victory in the village of Baghouz on Saturday.

Israel strikes Gaza over bomb balloons
AFP, Jerusalem/Saturday, 23 March 2019/The Israeli military said Saturday it launched airstrikes against two groups of Palestinians in Gaza, after they allegedly flew balloons rigged with explosives into Israel. “Troops identified a terrorist squad which launched explosive balloons into Israeli territory from the southern Gaza Strip. In response, an Israel Defense Forces aircraft fired towards the terrorists.”A subsequent statement said that an aircraft fired at “an additional terrorist squad” which also launched explosive balloons from southern Gaza. The military did not say if the targets were hit, but a Palestinian security source said that two people were wounded in the first attack. He did not know the extent of their injuries. Gazans regularly launch kites and balloons carrying explosive or incendiary devices into neighboring Israel, causing extensive damage to farmland and some harm to residential buildings. Israel has vowed to retaliate for every incident. At least 257 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since weekly border protests began nearly a year ago. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed over the same period.
On Friday the Gaza health ministry said that two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in two separate border clashes. The Israeli army did not comment on the deaths but said “approximately 9,500 rioters and demonstrators” gathered in various locations, “hurling explosive devices, hard objects and rocks” at troops. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya is calling for a mass turnout for border protests scheduled for the first anniversary of the demonstrations, on March 30. Israel and Hamas, which has controlled the blockaded Gaza Strip for over a decade, have fought three wars since 2008.

French Police Out in Force to Prevent 'Yellow Vest' Violence
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 23/19/Thousands of police fanned out across central Paris and other French cities Saturday ahead of planned "yellow vest" protests, with the government vowing to prevent a repeat of the rioting and looting seen in the capital last week. Authorities have banned demonstrations in a large area in the west of the city, including the Champs-Elysees, the scene of last week's rampage by hundreds of black-clad agitators. Dozens of police vehicles, including armoured trucks and water cannons, encircled the Arc de Triomphe at the top of the iconic avenue, with officers searching people's bags and patrolling in front of boarded-up storefronts. At the opposite end of the avenue access was completely blocked to the Place de la Concorde, near the presidential palace and the National Assembly, and two drones were flying over the capital to help officers track any protesters' movements. Yellow vest organisers had called on social media for protests elsewhere in Paris, including the Trocadero square in front of the Eiffel Tower at the Place de la Republique, though both areas were calm early Saturday.
But banks and other businesses remained shut in several parts of the city, their windows protected with planks of wood, and some schools had cancelled Saturday classes in anticipation of further violence. Protest bans were also in effect in the centres of Toulouse, Bordeaux, Dijon, Rennes and the southern city of Nice, where Chinese President Xi Jinping is to meet his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron this weekend. Macron is under pressure to avoid a repeat of last week's sacking of the Champs-Elysees, where over 100 shops were damaged, looted or set alight during seven hours of rioting by mainly masked, black-clad protesters. The government has redeployed soldiers from its Sentinelle anti-terror force to guard public buildings on Saturday, freeing up the 6,000 deployed police in Paris to tackle any flare-ups of violence. The move has drawn fierce criticism from opposition parties, who have accused the government of playing with fire. On social media, several "yellow vest" leaders urged caution for Saturday, warning demonstrators against appearing to countenance the violence by far-left or far-right infiltrators. In a YouTube post, truck driver Eric Drouet called on protesters not to try to return to the Champs-Elysees. "It's a very, very bad idea. You know what image they're trying to create of us," he said, predicting a "quiet Saturday".
'Zero tolerance'
Macron's government drew fierce criticism over its handling of last week's protests, when police appeared to hang back during the wave of rioting and vandalism that swept the Champs-Elysees. Analysts say the authorities may have been reluctant to engage the rioters after the dozens of injuries sustained by participants in previous protests. But this week officials vowed "zero tolerance" for more violence. "He needs to show the world that the government has a handle on the country and on the capital," said Sylvian, the leader of a team of repair workers still clearing away debris on the avenue on Friday. The Paris police chief was fired over his handling of the violence, which saw dozens of windows shattered by people hurling paving stones and wielding hammers and other makeshift weapons. The protests began in rural France on November 17 over fuel tax increases and quickly ballooned into a full-scale anti-government rebellion that two months of public policy debates have failed to defuse. In recent weeks, the protesters' numbers have dwindled, falling from 282,000 nationwide on the first Saturday to just 32,000 last week, according to official estimates. But those still on the streets appear more determined than ever to make their presence felt. In a Facebook video this week, Maxime Nicolle one of the movement's figureheads, explained the periodic rioting in Paris and other cities as the result of "40 years of being beaten psychologically and financially" by successive governments. "It's a bit as if a battered woman beats up her boyfriend and you say she's the violent one," he said. The violence has cost the protesters much of the public support they enjoyed early in the movement, which seeks higher taxes on the rich and a greater say for ordinary people in the running of the country. Some 53 percent of respondents said they either supported or felt a degree of sympathy towards the movement, down eight points in a week, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Mueller on Friday submitted his report on Russia's suspected role in the 2016 presidential election
Kataeb.org/ Saturday 23rd March 2019/Saturday 23rd March 2019/U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday submitted his report on Russia's suspected role in the 2016 presidential election, the Justice Department announced. Mueller handed the report to Attorney General William Barr, who will now write his own report based on the investigation findings, and send it to the Congress. “I am reviewing the report and anticipate that I may be in a position to advise you of the special counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend,” Barr said in his letter the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary committees. "Separately, I intend to consult with Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Special Counsel Mueller to determine what other information from the report can be released to Congress and the public consistent with the law, including the Special Counsel regulations, and the Department’s long-standing practices and policies."Since 2017, Mueller had been probing whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia in a bid to sway the election in his favor, and whether the elected president later unlawfully attempted to hinder the investigation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer demanded that the full report would be disclosed to the public, adding that Barr must not give Trump, his lawyers or his staff any ‘sneak preview’ of the findings or evidence.

Security tops agenda as Iraqi PM visits Egypt in first foreign trip
Reuters, Cairo/Saturday, 23 March 2019/Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi sought Egypt’s support for efforts to tackle extremist militants in the region during a visit to Cairo on Saturday, his first trip abroad since taking office in October. After meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Abdul Mahdi highlighted “the importance of drying up the sources of terrorism” and said “cooperation between Egypt and Iraq will be essential for this matter,” according to an official statement.His comments came as US-backed forces said they had captured ISIS’s last shred of territory in eastern Syria at Baghouz, ending its territorial rule over a self-proclaimed caliphate straddling Syria and Iraq after years of fighting. Though the defeat ends the group’s grip over the extremist quasi-state that it declared in 2014, it remains a threat. Some ISIS fighters still hold out in Syria’s remote central desert and in Iraqi cities they have slipped into the shadows, staging sudden shootings or kidnappings and awaiting a chance to rise again. The United States thinks the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is in Iraq. Defeating militants in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and restoring security after years of unrest has been a key promise of Sisi, the general-turned-president who came to power a year after the military overthrew President Mohammed Mursi in 2013. Egypt has fought an insurgency waged by an ISIS affiliate in North Sinai since 2013, where hundreds of members of the security forces have been killed.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 23-24/2019
Analysis/Trump’s Golan Tweet Brings U.S. Back to Syria Through the Back Door
زفي برئيل/هآرتس: تغريدة ترامب عن الإعتراف بإسرائيلية الجولان ادخلت أميركا إلى سوريا من الباب الخلفي
Zvi Bar'el/Haaretz/March 23/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73247/zvi-barel-haaretz-trumps-golan-tweet-brings-u-s-back-to-syria-through-the-back-door-%d8%b2%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%a6%d9%8a%d9%84-%d9%87%d8%a2%d8%b1%d8%aa%d8%b3-%d8%aa%d8%ba%d8%b1/
More than just crude intervention in the April 9 election, Trump’s promise to recognize Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights is a slap in the face to Putin, and a show of force against Iran.
The panic over a cyberattack swinging the Israeli election now seems less relevant after U.S. President Donald Trump’s use of the unsophisticated weapon known as Twitter. His announcement about the need to “fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights” and his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled for next week represent crude intervention in the Israeli election campaign – without providing anything to bolster national security or change the military situation.
The recognition doesn’t cancel the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement between Syria and Israel after the Yom Kippur War. It won’t block the Iranian military build-up in Syria and won’t enable broader freedom of action for Israeli military operations, even with the existing coordination with Moscow.
After Israel overcame the crisis of the Americans’ recognition of Jerusalem as its capital and the transfer of the U.S. Embassy there, the Golan recognition will bring condemnations from the European Union, Russia, Turkey, Iran and Arab countries. But it’s doubtful this will lead to practical responses such as Russian sanctions against Israel, similar to the sanctions the Americans and Europeans imposed on Russia after its annexation of Crimea five years ago or the punishment Europe imposed on Turkey after its invasion of Cyprus 45 years ago.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made clear in October that any change in the Golan’s status outside a UN Security Council resolution would be considered a violation of existing agreements. But Lavrov avoided saying whether or how Russia would respond if the Golan’s status were changed because of a unilateral American decision.
Three months earlier, during the Donald Trump-Vladimir Putin press conference in Helsinki, Putin said that after “the terrorists are routed in southwest Syria, in the so-called southern zone, the situation in the Golan Heights should be brought into full conformity with the 1974 agreement on the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces. This will make it possible to bring tranquillity to the Golan Heights and restore the cease-fire between the Syrian Arab Republic and the State of Israel.”
As Putin put it, Trump “devoted special attention to this issue today. I would like to emphasize that Russia has a stake in this course of events and will adhere to exactly this position. This will constitute a step toward establishing a just and durable peace on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 338.”
Putin’s comments at the time, as today, sounded more like a dream than policy. They make clear that Russia views the Separation of Forces Agreement as the only possible strategy. So last August the patrols by UN observers were partly restored, Russia built six observation bases along the Syrian side of the demilitarized zone and announced this week that as far as Russia was concerned, the UN observers could return to full operations.
Trump’s announcement shouldn’t change this strategy because Russia, which doesn’t recognize the annexation of the Golan, has an interest in keeping the Israeli-Syrian border quiet. This goal requires Russia to block any Iranian attempt to deploy its forces near the border and in doing so justify an Israeli military intervention in southern Syria.
At the same time, Trump’s announcement is a slap in the face for Putin and a show of force against Iran – and against Syrian President Bashar Assad too – because it brings the United States back into the Syrian arena through the back door. Trump has proved that even if he’s not involved in the fighting in Syria and won’t be involved in the Russian-led diplomatic process to end the civil war, he can still strike back in ways that directly harm Syrian sovereignty.
Leading Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are expected to condemn Trump’s declaration, but unlike the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital – which shook the Muslim world because of the religious sensitivities – the Golan isn’t a universal holy site but only Syrian territory that needs to be liberated, from their point of view. In that sense, it's like the other territories that Israel took in 1967. But the Golan isn’t very high on the Arab or Muslim agenda.
Revenge all around
At the end of the month, the leaders of the Arab countries will gather for their annual summit in Tunisia; it will of course include a harsh condemnation of the American decision. And it will emphasize their opposition to the annexation of the Golan – but as far as they’re concerned the American declaration is a bit of revenge against Assad for massacring his own people.
At the same time, the revenge is a bit bitter because it’s coming from an American president who did nothing to help the people of Syria and is even willing to accept Assad as the country’s next president. And mostly, it serves Israel.
The question now is the extent Trump’s earth-shattering tweet jibes with the peace plan he’s crafting and that he’s expected to announce after Israel’s April 9 election. The technique for setting Trump’s unilateral policy, which aims to shake up the world order as if it were just a hobby, could actually deter the partners essential for his Deal of the Century – or at least put them under a threat that means “accept it or I’ll establish facts on the ground.” This isn’t exactly the style that encourages dialogue or negotiations.
In the assessment of the Palestinians and their supporters, Trump’s pattern of decision-making – such as the unilateral recognition of Jerusalem and the soon-expected recognition of the annexation of the Golan – could develop into a strategy for the West Bank and lead to American recognition of future annexations without consideration for the Palestinian, Arab or European positions.
Identifying such a strategy for Trump, back in the matter of Jerusalem, is one of the main factors behind Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ refusal to negotiate with the Americans so as not to grant legitimacy to what he considers an Israeli-American plan that he’ll be asked to rubber-stamp.
Not only the Palestinians will have to decide how to treat the peace plan: Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia will have to give their opinion on whether they’re willing to support a plan produced by a U.S. president who annexes Arab territory to Israel without asking them first, or build a wall that makes clear the limits to his freedom of action.
For now, this is a theoretical question because Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi aren’t exactly in a position to challenge the president of the United States. For one of them, Trump is still his only defender in the world, while the other needs the economic support of the United States and the military backing of Israel.

US boosts forces in Iraq/Syria, backing recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Golan
DEBKAfile/March 23/2019
Exclusive: The US has continued to buttress its military presence in E. Syria and W. Iraq in six bases, since the buildup was first reported by DEBKAfile on March 9. On March 20, President Donald Trump confirmed the decision to leave 400 US troops in Syria – 200 in the north and 200 at Al Tanf on the Jordanian border. (He did not speak about 200 on the Israeli border, as widely reported.) Two days earlier, Gen. Joseph Danford, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, denied a Wall Street Journal report that the US planned to leave 1,000 soldiers in Syria, while unnamed US military sources spoke of 1,500 American troops that would remain in North Syria.
DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources have sorted out the conflicting reports and can confirm that the US has substantially boosted its military strength in both countries and distributed the strength among six bases:
Three are located in Iraq. For the first time since ISIS was defeated there in early 2016, US Marines have been posted to a base near the Iraqi town of Ramadi, capital of the western governorate of Anbar and 1110km from Baghdad. (See attached map.).
Reinforcements have also reached the US K1 military base near Kirkuk. Earlier this year, the US army converted this facility into its main depot for the intake of American troops and equipment withdrawn from Syria. Since the withdrawal has wound down, K1 has been built up for controlling the northern sector of the Iraqi-Syrian border from Iraqi Kurdistan.
The third US base consolidated in Iraq this week was the big Ayn al-Asad Airbase (which President Trump visited last Christmas).
A glance at the attached map reveals that by dint of their newly-reinforced and deployed strength, US forces in Iraq are able to afford the American Middle East command full control of central, western and northern Iraq.
The US bases augmented in Syria this month are located in three regions:
The southern Al Tanf base, just 24km west of the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraq border junction, has been strengthened with additional Marine and artillery forces.
Al Raqqa, the Islamic State’s stronghold in Syria until its ouster by US-backed Kurdish forces in 2017, is the second base.
And the third is the US air base at Remelin northeast of Hasakeh, the Syrian Kurds’ political center.
The six bases are focal points of US military command control of around 1,500 sq.km of territory between Ramadi in central Iraq, up to Hasakeh in northern Syria, and down south to Al Tanf. This wedge of land is bisected down the center by the Iraqi-Syria border.
The new US military deployment in Syria and Iraq gives substance to President Trump’s statement that the time has come to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan. Most significantly, it is a high impediment for the plan hatched between Tehran and the Assad regime to go forward without delay for the establishment of an Iranian land bridge to the Mediterranean after first reopening the Iraqi-Syrian border. Iranian, Syrian and Iraqi generals began planning this project when they met on March 18 in Damascus.

Recognizing Golan Heights as Israeli is a gift for Assad, Iran
Bassam Barabandi/Al Arabiya/March 23/19
In recent weeks, the legal status of the Golan Heights – Syrian territory annexed by Israel in 1981 but recognized as occupied by the world community – has come under renewed focus. Republicans in both chambers of Congress have introduced bills endorsing Israeli control. A State Department human rights report this month referred to the Golan as “occupied” rather than “controlled” for the first time. One Republican senator, Lindsay Graham, even visited the Golan in what looked like an endorsement of Israel’s annexation. Many supporters of these moves paint them as a blow to the Assad regime and Iran.
As supporters of the Syrian revolution who have sounded the alarm on Iranian expansion for years, we disagree. The Assad regime currently faces several challenges, but the recent focus on the Golan risks playing into its hands. Despite conquering several opposition areas last year, Assad and his Iranian and Russian allies are struggling to consolidate control. Protests continue in Daraa, the birthplace of the revolution, while anti-Assad sentiment simmers beneath the surface in nearby Sweida.
Even in loyalist areas, poor economic conditions are fuelling discontent. These conditions are the result of Assad’s destruction of infrastructure through air raids and sieges of civilian areas, which forced Syria’s brightest minds to flee while his government’s corruption strangles remaining economic opportunities. For years, Assad propaganda told loyalists that conditions would improve once Western and Gulf-backed “terrorists” were defeated. Now that Assad has regained military control, these communities are starting to see through the mirage.
These factors could become a real threat to Assad, but the focus on the Golan is the wrong strategy. Throwing attention onto the Golan now will gift Assad with a new bogeyman to shore up support among loyalists. In the low-information environment that prevails in loyalist areas due to media restrictions, it matters little that recent moves are highly symbolic and have little practical import; Assad’s propaganda is already shifting gears to present American sanctions on his inner circle as the cause of the economic crisis. The US government’s new focus on the Golan will make this lie more believable.
Iranian expansion efforts will also get a boost. Iran constantly claims, both to Syrians and to the world, that its intervention against the Syrian revolution is ultimately for the sake of fighting Israel. The prospect of Israeli control over the Golan will therefore create new incentives and a political cover for Iran to expand its existing dangerous activities in Syria, including the construction of missile bases, most recently in Safita close to the Lebanese border, and its planned rail line to glue together its “land bridge” through the Syrian Desert.
American efforts to change the status of the Golan will therefore only galvanize Iran and do little to ameliorate Iranian expansion.
A better way to fight both Iran and Assad while mobilizing global and regional support is to create a safe zone in southern Syria with backing from the United Nations General Assembly, based on the legal principle of a global “Responsibility to Protect” civilians. Some 670,000 Syrian refugees now reside in Jordan, which faces mounting economic strains as a result. Like Jordan and Lebanon, the UN seeks a formula for safe refugee returns, and many refugees themselves want to go home. The problem is that they cannot return to their homes while Assad and Iran-backed militias hold sway.
Assad regime security services are liable to hunt down returning refugees, either to arrest them for prior opposition activities or to forcibly conscript them. Iran also wants the refugees to stay away, and has deployed population displacement as a core strategy in the greater Homs and Damascus regions to consolidate control. Russia has failed to fundamentally disrupt this strategy, as evidenced by Israeli revelations last week of a new clandestine Hezbollah unit in southwest Syria. International assistance is direly needed to help Syrian refugees return safely.
Syrian refugees, after all, have a fundamental right to return safely to their homes, without fear of security force harassment. A safe zone would help fulfill these rights while stabilizing neighboring states and providing a new avenue to rebuild Syria without feeding into Iranian expansion or Assad's crony corruption. The large-scale return of refugees to a southern safe zone would also frustrate Iranian plans to alter the demographics in that part of Syria. This would be a major defeat for Iran and Assad, one far more concrete and lasting than symbolic measures over the Golan.
With Assad seemingly entrenched in power, it is easy to give up hope on a broader solution and look toward piecemeal or symbolic victories. American opponents of Iran and Assad would do better to seek concrete and durable means to contain Iranian expansion and benefit the Syrian people.
**This article was co-written by Shlomo Bolts, who is a Policy and Advocacy Officer at the Syrian-American Council (SAC). Bassam Barabandi is a native of Deir Azzour, Syria. He has worked in the diplomatic civil service of the Syrian government for 14 years. He was the first secretary at the Embassy of Syria in Washington DC, the head of political affairs at the Syrian Embassy in Beijing, China, and held a post at the Syrian Government’s UN mission in New York City. Barabandi left the Syrian Embassy in Washington in the summer of 2013 and co-founded PDC. He tweets @BassamPDC.