LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 27/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 13/10-17/:”Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on September 26-27/2019
Cabinet Plans Cost-Cuts in Public Administrations
Israel Intensifies Measures along Border
Beirut Pride is at The Palace Beirut
Hariri Pays Tribute to Chirac
Clerics Force Cancellation of Beirut Gay Pride Opening
Syrian-Lebanese Champion of Refugee Rights Wins Rafto Prize
5G Network Now Available at Beirut Airport
Hariri meets Salameh
Berri meets Karami, Palestinian Ambassador

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 26-27/2019
Pentagon to send radar, Patriot missiles to bolster Saudi defenses
IAEA: Iran Commits New Breach of Nuclear Deal
Raisi Slams Rouhani Following European Condemnation over Aramco Attack
Beijing Slams US for Slapping New Sanctions on Chinese Entities over Iran
Egypt Calls for Holding Erdogan Accountable over Terrorism, Targeting of Kurds
Barham Saleh Rejects Attack on Saudi Arabia
Israel Warns Citizens Not to Travel to 46 Countries
Astana Format Countries Facilitate Syria Constitutional Committee 1st Session
Prospects of War and Chances for Peace Dominate UN Speeches
Saudi Crown Prince Hosts Iraq PM for Talks on Oil Attacks
U.S. sanctions firm it says provides jet fuel to Russia in Syria

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 26-27/2019
Sweden Spinning out of Control/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/September 26/2019
Denying Jerusalem's Jewish History Despite Archaeological Evidence/Lawrence A. Franklin/Gatestone Institute/September 26/2019
Abqaiq Attack: The End of a Lie/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/September 26/2019
China’s Economic Slowdown Won’t Restore US Manufacturing Jobs/Noah Smith/Bloomberg View/September 26/2019
Five ways to respond to Iran regime’s aggression/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/September 27/2019
Jacques Chirac — Arab world’s fast friend in Europe/Ranvir S. Nayar/Arab News/September 27/2019
Little hope for a warming of frosty EU-Russia ties/Joschka Fischer/Arab News/September 27/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on September 26-27/2019
Cabinet Plans Cost-Cuts in Public Administrations
Naharnet/September 26/2019
Following the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail, the Minister of Information Jamal Jarrah read the following information:
The Council of Ministers continued discussing the budget items. We have entered in detail in the budgets of some ministries and completed some. Tomorrow we will hold another meeting at four in the afternoon. However, the most important decisions taken today were: to ask the Minister of Finance, in coordination with the Ministers of Energy, Water and Communications, to prepare a general vision aimed at saving the cost of electricity and communications in official administrations and public institutions. The second decision was to ask the Minister of State for Administrative Reform, in coordination with the Minister of State for Technological Affairs, to prepare a general vision aimed at unifying the use and maintenance of information systems used in public administrations and institutions.The third decision was to ask the Minister of Finance to prepare a general vision aiming at reducing the cost of cleaning and consumer goods in public departments and institutions.The Minister of Labor suggested adding items to the draft budget in the following topics:
-Settle the situation of illegal foreign workers who entered Lebanon legally.
- Allow the Ministry of Labor to issue work permits to temporary foreign workers, i.e. those who work temporarily, especially in agricultural seasons.
On the subject of compiling schools, the Minister of Education and Higher Education was tasked to complete this file, and he compiled until now 35 schools, that each have less than fifty students. He should also compile teachers’ academies so that each governorate will have one academy for training the teachers of elementary levels in public schools. These are the most important decisions taken by the Council of Ministers, and another meeting will be held tomorrow at four pm.

Israel Intensifies Measures along Border
Naharnet/September 26/2019
Israeli warplanes conducted “intensive” overflights on Thursday hovering at a medium altitude over Nabatieh and Iqlim al-Tuffah, the National News Agency reported. Later in the day, NNA said the Israeli army set up “modern machine guns used to fire 40mm small bombs at the border line between Shebaa Farms and Ghajar.”The machine guns are equipped with day and night self-control vision, it said.

Beirut Pride is at The Palace Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon /September 26/2019
Upon the announcement of the Opening Night of Beirut Pride 2019 at The Palace, religious institutions called for the cancellation of the concert, linking it to the promotion of same-sex marriage and associating it to debauchery and immorality. Security authorities contacted the administration of The Palace, and multiple parties issued statements, threatening with violence against the theater and against the participants in the concert, in addition to anonymous threats that targeted the theatre management. Under pressure from the street, the management of The Palace is unable to produce the concert next Saturday. We thank the performers and The Palace for their perseverance, and the opening evening of Beirut Pride 2019 is suspended until further notice.

Hariri Pays Tribute to Chirac
Naharnet/September 26/2019
Prime Minister Saad Hariri mourned on Thursday the death of French ex-President Jacque Chirac. “Today, the world lost one of France's greatest men and an outstanding figure who played distinctive roles in leading Europe,” said Hariri in a statement. He said Chirac has died after “writing a long history of achievements attested to by our Arab and Lebanese issues. He stood by the Palestinian people and backed Lebanon in defense of its freedom, independence and sovereignty.”“I personally lost a dear friend who was a soul mate of martyred Premier Rafik Hariri and a big brother for my family,” said the PM. Jacques Chirac died on Thursday at the age of 86. He was a charismatic giant of French post-war politics whose popular touch gave him enduring appeal to voters, even after a conviction for graft.

Clerics Force Cancellation of Beirut Gay Pride Opening
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 26/2019
The opening concert of Beirut gay pride week was cancelled under pressure from religious institutions in Lebanon, organisers said. Members of the LGBT community enjoy comparatively more freedom in Lebanon than in most other Middle East countries but still have no rights and face constant harassment. The first gay pride event in Beirut was held in 2017 but consisted mostly of conferences and workshops, whereas the opening of this year's edition was due to be a concert at the capital's best known venues. "Religious institutions called for the cancellation of the concert, linking it to the promotion of same-sex marriage and associating it to debauchery and immorality," Beirut Pride said in a statement late Wednesday. Organisers said the entire schedule of events was suspended until further notice. Beirut Pride said that the management of the theatre that had been due to host the opening party had received anonymous threats. The former grand mufti of Lebanon, the country's top religious official, had issued a statement urging the authorities to stop the Beirut pride events. Last year's edition was also suspended after one of the organisers was briefly arrested. In July, a top Lebanese music festival cancelled a concert by Mashrou' Leila, which is arguably the country's best-known band and whose lead singer is openly gay. Clerics had called for the cancellation of the concert in Byblos because some of the group's songs were deemed offensive to Christians.

Syrian-Lebanese Champion of Refugee Rights Wins Rafto Prize
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 26/2019
Syrian-Lebanese economist Rouba Mhaissen won Norway's Rafto Prize on Thursday for her work defending the rights of refugees and migrants, the Rafto Foundation said. Mhaissen, 31, is the founder and director of SDAID, an organisation that has since 2011 helped Syrians displaced by the war in their country and living as refugees in Lebanon. "Rouba Mhaissen has contributed locally to improving the lives of people living as refugees in Lebanon in ways that protect their dignity and right to self-determination," the Rafto Foundation said in a statement. Lebanon, which has four million inhabitants, says it has welcomed between 1.5 to 2 million Syrians, including one million listed as UN refugees, often living in precarious conditions. In August, Amnesty International accused the country of "forcibly deporting" nearly 2,500 Syrians refugees back to their war-torn homeland. Mhaissen is "a vocal and courageous front figure, speaking out against mounting pressure for the forced return of Syrian refugees, using insights and documentation of the experiences of those that have returned," the Rafto Foundation said. The $20,000 (18,270-euro) prize will be formally presented to her at a ceremony in Bergen, in western Norway, on November 3. Named after the late Norwegian human rights activist Thorolf Rafto, four past winners of the prize (Aung San Suu Kyi, Jose Ramos-Horta, Kim Dae-Jung and Shirin Ebadi) went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize, which is also awarded in Norway. The Nobel laureate for 2019 will be announced on October 11.

5G Network Now Available at Beirut Airport
Naharnet/September 26/2019
Lebanon launched its mobile 5G network service at the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport on Thursday. “Beirut’s airport is the first in the region to provide 5G service for its passengers,” said Telecommunications Minister Mohammed Choucair from the airport where he announced the news.
Choucair thanked all parties collaborating to take this move, he said: “We thank the General Manager of OGERO and the Middle East Airlines. We hope to see an improvement not only at the airport but throughout Lebanon.”For his part, Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos said: “Everything is on the application that we launched in collaboration with Ogero to facilitate the travel of passengers.”“The service will be available for all passengers,” he noted.

Hariri meets Salameh
NNA - Thu 26 Sep 2019
Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, received Thursday at the Grand Serail Governor of Lebanon's Central Bank, Riyad Salameh, with whom he discussed the current financial and monetary situation in the country.

Berri meets Karami, Palestinian Ambassador
NNA - Thu 26 Sep 2019
Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, met Thursday at his Ain-el-Tineh residence, with MP Faisal Karami, with whom he discussed the current general situation, and the financial and economic condition in the country. Berri later welcomed Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ashraf Dabbour, with talks featuring high on the situation of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 26-27/2019
Pentagon to send radar, Patriot missiles to bolster Saudi defenses
News Agencies/September 26/2019
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon said on Thursday it plans to send four radar systems, a battery of Patriot missiles and about two hundred support personnel to bolster Saudi Arabia’s defenses after the largest-ever attack on the Kingdom’s oil facilities this month. The deployment details clarify the Pentagon’s Friday announcement about US plans to deploy more forces to Saudi Arabia after the Sept. 14 attack on the world’s biggest crude oil processing facility, which Washington has blamed on Iran. In a statement, the US military said it was also putting additional capabilities on “prepare to deploy orders,” meaning they could be mobilized more quickly in a crisis. These include two additional Patriot missile batteries and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD. Military leaders have been working since last week to decide how to respond to what US officials call an unprecedented Iranian attack on Saudi oil facilities. The four Sentinel radar systems and the Patriot battery are designed to provide better surveillance across northern Saudi Arabia, in what officials have said are the first steps to help the Kingdom protect itself against Iranian attacks. The Kingdom’s defenses are focused on the south to protect the country from attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen.

IAEA: Iran Commits New Breach of Nuclear Deal
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 26 September, 2019
Iran has committed a further breach of its nuclear deal with major powers by enriching uranium with advanced centrifuges, and plans to install more of those advanced machines than previously announced, a UN nuclear watchdog report showed on Thursday. "On 25 September 2019, the Agency verified that all of the (centrifuge) cascades already installed in R&D lines 2 and 3 ... were accumulating, or had been prepared to accumulate, enriched uranium," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in the report to member states obtained by Reuters. Iran is breaching the restrictions of its landmark nuclear deal with major powers step by step in response to US sanctions imposed on it since Washington pulled out of the agreement last year. The deal only allows Iran to accumulate enriched uranium with its first-generation IR-1 centrifuges.Iran informed the agency in a letter dated Sept. 25 that it is reconfiguring its enrichment setup to add clusters of centrifuges including a 164-machine cascade of IR-6s, the IAEA said. In its last update on Iran's nuclear activities this month the IAEA, which is policing the nuclear deal, said Tehran had begun installing more advanced centrifuges - models other than the IR-1 that are only supposed to be used for research - and was moving towards enriching uranium with them.

Raisi Slams Rouhani Following European Condemnation over Aramco Attack
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 26 September, 2019
Head of the Iranian judiciary Ebrahim Raisi slammed Wednesday President Hassan Rouhani for shaking hands with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron following a European statement holding Iran responsible for Aramco attacks. Raisi’s comments were made after Iranian websites circulated photos of the handshake following two meetings between Rouhani and Macron in the UN corridors to mediate between Tehran and Washington. Raisi accused his former rival in the presidential elections of resorting to foreigners to solve Iran’s problems before denouncing Rouhani’s economic management.
“If reforming the tax system and government subsidies don’t solve all the country’s problems, at least it would lessen concerns on budget shortage,” he said. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami, for his part, implicitly refused to negotiate Iran’s regional role.
“Our power is extending from the east of the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, and it is pursuing the enemy at any point,” Salami stressed. He said his country is no longer afraid of confrontation with major powers. “We have reached the limits of non-fear of major powers,” he said, adding that “our strength is unknown and unexpected by enemies.”“We don’t want to create chaos, but we will face the anarchists.”Salami tried to distance his forces from being responsible of Aramco attacks, saying “if we take a step, we will announce it with courage. Didn't we declare it when we dropped the Drone?” “Our power has grown so much that when Houthis carry out any act, the enemies think it is Iran,” noting that the Houthi militias is a “branch of the power of revolution.”Britain, Germany and France backed the US and blamed Iran on Monday for an attack on Saudi oil facilities, urging Tehran to agree to new talks with world powers on its nuclear and missile programs and regional security issues. Salami said that the European statement is “intense” and represents an attempt to “exploit the UN to wage a psychological warfare against us.”He warned the “enemies” of “taking an action that could lead to discharging our accumulated power” and urged them to be very accurate in their decisions, according to the government agency, ISNA.

Beijing Slams US for Slapping New Sanctions on Chinese Entities over Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 26 September, 2019
The United States is imposing new sanctions on certain Chinese entities and people who it accuses of knowingly transferring oil from Iran in violation of Washington's curbs on Tehran, drawing China’s criticism. The US Treasury Department announced that it is slapping sanctions on five Chinese nationals and six entities, including two Cosco Shipping Corporation subsidiaries. "And we are telling China, and all nations: know that we will sanction every violation," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday at a conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
China's foreign ministry criticized the move on Thursday. "We always oppose the so-called long arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions," said Geng Shuang, a ministry spokesman. "We also oppose the bullying practice of the US," he added. China's cooperation with Iran is legitimate and legal and should be respected and protected, Geng said, adding: "We urge the US to correct its wrongdoing." "The more Iran lashes out the greater our pressure will and should be," Pompeo said. "That path forward begins now with two new actions." He said Washington was also ramping up efforts to educate countries on the risks of doing business with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps entities and that it will punish those who continue to engage with them in violation of sanctions. In a speech to the annual gathering of world leaders on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump promised to keep trying to squeeze Iran's economy with sanctions until Tehran agrees to give up what Washington says is a pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Egypt Calls for Holding Erdogan Accountable over Terrorism, Targeting of Kurds
Reuters//Thursday, 26 September, 2019
In a sharp statement, Cairo made several accusations against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, urging the international community to “hold him accountable” for what the Egyptian Foreign Ministry called “all of his crimes”. The statement, released on Wednesday by Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesman, Ahmed Hafez, said that Erdogan was supporting terrorism, arming extremists and deliberately targeting the Kurds. It also listed human rights violations in Turkey under Erdogan’s leadership, including thousands held as political prisoners, the suspicious deaths of dozens of detainees due to torture or inhuman prison conditions, and the closure of thousands of universities and educational institutions. Hafez said that Erdogan “claimed to defend the values of justice in his speech, but at the core showed feelings of hatred and spite toward Egypt and its people who have nothing but appreciation for the people of Turkey.”His remarks came in response to Erdogan’s speech during the UN General Assembly meetings, in which he raised doubts on Mohammed Morsi’s death in court last June. Cairo and Ankara have reduced their diplomatic relations since 2013 because of the Turkish president’s position against the June 30 Revolution that toppled the rule of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, after widespread public protests against his continued rule. In the wake of a number of statements that Egypt considered “hostile”, Cairo decided to withdraw its ambassador from Ankara and expel the Turkish ambassador.Hafez emphasized that Erdogan’s statements were a “desperate attempt to steer attention away from his deteriorating regime and the successive losses he is suffering.

Barham Saleh Rejects Attack on Saudi Arabia
New York - Ali Barada/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 26 September, 2019
Iraqi President Barham Saleh described the targeting of oil and other facilities in Saudi Arabia as a “severely alarming development,” stressing that Iraq’s security was “intricately tied to that of the Gulf.”Warning that the repercussions of the attack could be “disastrous”, Saleh called for a solution based on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the countries and added that the regional situation was “dangerous and portends catastrophic consequences.”The Iraqi president was speaking on the second day of the high-level meetings of the 74th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On the situation in Iraq, he noted that his country was about to embark on important positive endeavors. “There are positive turns in Iraq which we have not seen previously, with a bright future ahead,” he remarked. Saleh emphasized that stability in Iraq was “valuable and important”. “We must not take it lightly. Rather, we must work on entrenching it. And we expect our neighbors and the international community not to make Iraq pay for their own disagreements and conflicts,” he said. Asserting the importance of the military victory over ISIS, he warned that there were still “terrorist remnants that are trying to reorganize themselves.”The Iraqi president went on to say that international and regional agreement was important for the continued stability of his country and for combating extremist and terrorist ideologies. “But the most important task required right now is that of reforms in order to secure good governance for our citizens, to combat corruption and to offer work opportunities for our youth,” he stressed.

Israel Warns Citizens Not to Travel to 46 Countries
Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 26 September, 2019
The Counter-Terrorism Bureau at the Israeli Prime Minister's Office has issued a statement banning Israeli Jews from accessing six countries and warning them from entering 40 other countries around the world -- Turkey comes on top of them.
The bureau justifies this decision with threats of intentions and plots by terrorist organizations against Jews. There are members operating under the Islamic jihad plotting to target Jews. ISIS, al-Qaeda, Lebanese Hezbollah, and other Iranian militias admitted this, according to the statement. There are 40 countries that Jews are urged not to be present in, including Egypt’s Sinai and all Arab states. However, they were classified based on the danger level with Sinai in the lead followed by Turkey, Jordan then some African countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Niger, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. In Asia, countries which Israeli jews are urged to abstain from entering are: Thailand (south), Philippine (north), Kashmir and all countries surrounding Iran (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and the Arabian Gulf countries). The warning extended to Western Europe countries as well but in a lesser degree, with affirmation that ISIS and Hezbollah intend to carry out terrorist attacks against Jews specifically. The intelligence calls on Jews to refrain from revealing their identity, boasting and checking in on the social network.

Astana Format Countries Facilitate Syria Constitutional Committee 1st Session
London - Damascus - Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 26 September, 2019
Astana Format countries, which include Russia, Turkey and Iran, agreed to partake in the first Syria Constitutional Committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. This was announced in a joint press release for Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and Iranian FM Mohammed Javad Zarif. The three had met on the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly session. The joint statement welcomed the completion of the Committee’s formation process, and unanimous agreement on applying the rules of procedure prepared by the Astana Format countries in coordination with UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen. Guarantor states (Russia, Turkey and Iran) affirm the strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria, and stress the need for all parties to abide by these principles," the statement said.
It also reiterated the three countries’ determination to support the Committee’s work. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Monday the creation of the constitutional Committee on Syria that will include members of Bashar al-Assad's government and opposition representatives.
The announcement came a week after Guterres said an agreement was reached concerning "the composition of the Committee". This is part of the efforts to end the civil war which broke out in 2011. The Committee, whose members have sparked disagreements between Damascus and the United Nations for months, consists of 150 members-- 50 were chosen by Damascus, 50 by the opposition, and 50 by the UN. EU foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini backed the UN chief on the announcement of the Committee's formation. “After eight years of conflict, the announcement made by the UN Secretary General on an agreement on the formation of the Constitutional Committee in the framework of UNSCR 2254 and the Geneva process is a long awaited welcome news that gives back hope to the Syrians,” she said. “The EU has consistently affirmed that any sustainable solution to the conflict requires a genuine political transition in line with UNSCR 2254 and the 2012 Geneva Communique, negotiated by the Syrian parties within the UN-led Geneva process. The UN Special Envoy has the full support of the European Union in his continued efforts.”“We look forward to the inaugural meeting of the Constitutional Committee at the earliest possible opportunity and expect that this should represent the start of a process ultimately leading to peace that Syrians so clearly need and deserve,” she added.

Prospects of War and Chances for Peace Dominate UN Speeches
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 26/2019
Prospects for war and peace from the Middle East to Europe, Africa and Latin America dominated the second day of the annual gathering of world leaders Wednesday, reflecting the complex global landscape where conflicts persist and terrorism is spreading. Iran remained foremost on everyone's mind, as leaders echoed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' warning that above all, the world faces "the alarming possibility of armed conflict in the Gulf" with consequences "the world cannot afford."The recent attack on key Saudi oil installations — which the U.S., France, Britain and Germany blame on Iran — has exacerbated the threat. Iran denies responsibility and its president, Hassan Rouhani, made no mention of the Saudi strikes in his address to the General Assembly where he declared: "The Middle East is burning in the flames of war, bloodshed, aggression, occupation and religious and sectarian fanaticism and extremism."Rouhani blamed the United States for fueling conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan, and said Iran will never negotiate with the Trump administration as long as "the harshest sanctions in history" remain in place.
Rouhani urged American troops to leave invited countries around the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to join a new collective security coalition based on two key principles: non-aggression and non-interference. Iraqi President Barham Saleh, whose country is squeezed between powerful regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, told the assembly he will not let Iraq become a battlefield for other nations' conflicts to play out.
He called the attacks in Saudi Arabia a dangerous development, but also stressed that: "Iraq will not be a launching pad for aggression against any of our neighboring countries."Saleh bemoaned that Iraq has long been unstable but struck a positive note, saying his country was emerging from years of conflict and looking toward economic development. Lebanon's President Michel Aoun called the Middle East "the constant flashpoint where temperature rises or drops but never cools down and our people always pay the price, with their security, stability, peace, economy and even demographic diversity."He appealed to world leaders to help spur the safe and voluntary return of hundreds of thousands of Syrians who fled their country's eight-year war, saying their presence in tiny Lebanon has exacerbated its economic crisis. In a highly anticipated speech, Ukraine's new president Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the global gathering for the first time amid a fast-escalating scandal involving a phone call between him and U.S. President Donald Trump. He made no mention of if, focusing instead on the horrors of war and his country's ongoing conflict with Russia.
Ukraine and Russia have been locked in a bitter standoff since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and threw its weight behind separatists in eastern Ukraine. Hopes for a solution to the separatist conflict, which has claimed more than 13,000 lives, were revived after Zelenskiy's election in April.
Ukraine seeks to "secure peace in a civilized manner," Zelenskiy told the assembly.
He called on world leaders on to help resolve the war, saying: "Every leader shares responsibility for the destiny not only of their country but of the whole world." Addressing the situation in Colombia, where a 2016 cease-fire agreement ended more than a half century of conflict between the government and the country's largest rebel group, President Ivan Duque told the assembly that "peace with legality is firmly being built."He hailed the work of 29 economic development projects involving nearly 2,000 former combatants with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and lauded the commitment of 13,000 former guerrillas to the peace process. But he accused neighboring Venezuela of offering a safe haven for "criminal groups and narco-terrorists" belonging to a smaller Colombian rebel group, the National Liberation Army, that has not signed a peace agreement.
With a copy in his hand, Duque said he will give the General Assembly a 128-page dossier which he said has "authoritative and overwhelming" proof that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government is aiding terrorist groups plotting against Colombia.Turning to one of Africa's nastiest conflicts in the Central African Republic which has been wracked by interreligious and intercommunal fighting since 2013, the country's president touted the signing of a peace agreement between the government and 14 armed groups in February.
President Faustin Archange Touadera said the situation "remains fragile in spite of some genuine progress" in extending government authority throughout the country and reforming the security and defense sectors.
"Armed groups continue to be supplied with weapons and ammunition through illicit routes," he said, urging the total lifting of a U.N. arms embargo that was eased earlier this month. Looking more broadly at the world, Touadera said, "as long as one of our member states is not at peace, the entire community of nations is affected."He added: "The challenge that we face as leaders is to have the courage to dare, to dare to question ourselves, to find innovative, efficient and effective solutions, to build peace and stability and to create a robust foundation for sustainable development."

Saudi Crown Prince Hosts Iraq PM for Talks on Oil Attacks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 26/2019
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hosted Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi for talks on Wednesday focused on attacks on the kingdom's oil infrastructure, which Washington has blamed on Iran. "The meeting dealt with regional developments, particularly the sabotage attacks on Saudi Aramco plants in Abqaiq and Khurais, stressing Iraqi keenness on the security and stability of the kingdom," the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The September 14 attacks on state oil giant Aramco, which initially halved the kingdom's crude output and sent global energy markets into a tailspin, have escalated regional tensions. Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed responsibility for the strikes, but the US says the attacks involved cruise missiles from Iran and amounted to "an act of war". Baghdad, caught between its two main allies -- Tehran and Washington -- has denied any link to the attacks amid reports that the assault was launched from Iraq.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also said there was no evidence the attacks were launched from Iraq. Mahdi's expression of solidarity with Saudi Arabia comes amid a steady warming of ties between Baghdad and Riyadh after decades of strain. Iraqi Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban separately held talks Wednesday with his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, SPA reported. The Gulf powerhouse severed relations and closed its border with its northern neighbour after late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait.But a flurry of visits between the two countries in recent months has indicated a thawing of ties as Riyadh seeks to counter Iran's strong presence in Iraqi politics.

U.S. sanctions firm it says provides jet fuel to Russia in Syria
NNA/Reuters/Thu 26 Sep 2019
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a firm it said was participating in a scheme to avoid U.S. sanctions while helping provide jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria. The U.S. Treasury Department said the newly sanctioned firm, Maritime Assistance LLC, was operating as a front company for OJSC Sovfracht, a company the United States had previously sanctioned in relation to operations in Ukraine. The Treasury also targeted three individuals it said were tied to Sovfracht, freezing any assets they may hold in the United States and barring Americans from dealing with them. Five ships were also designated as “blocked property” of previously sanctioned Russian firm Transpetrochart, which Washington alleges provides support to Sovfracht. The United States accuses Sovfracht of being behind a sanctions-evasion conspiracy to make payments and facilitate the transfer of supplies of jet fuel to Russian forces operating in Syria in support of the government of President Bashar al-Assad..

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 25-26/2019
Sweden Spinning out of Control
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/September 26/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14819/sweden-crime
German
From the beginning of 2019 to the end of July, there were 120 bombings in Sweden, according to police statistics.
In Uppsala alone, a picturesque Swedish university town, where 80% of girls do not feel safe in the city center, four rapes or attempted rapes took place in early August within four days.
"Stop the rapes – you are letting the women down.... That women do not have the same opportunity to move freely in the streets and squares without having to worry about being exposed to crime, is a serious restriction on women's freedom and self-determination". — Josefin Malmqvist, member of parliament for the Moderate Party; Aftonbladet, August 24, 2019.
In the southern Swedish city of Landskrona -- a place of roughly 35,000 inhabitants -- since December 2018, there have been seven explosions or bombings. In August, the entrance to Landskrona's city hall (pictured) was blown up. (Image source: Mrkommun/Wikimedia Commons)
"Löfven, you have lost control of Sweden," the leader of the largest opposition party, the center-right Moderate Party, Ulf Kristersson, recently wrote in an article in the daily newspaper Aftonbladet, in which he criticized Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven for failing to solve some of Sweden's biggest problems. According to Kristersson:
"Two areas that we [the Moderate Party] highly prioritize are law and order and integration. Because Sweden's biggest problems are there now.
"Last year, 306 shootings occurred and 45 people were shot dead. According to the police, the number of people killed has doubled since 2014. During the same period, the number of people who have been subjected to sexual abuse has tripled according to BRÅ [the Swedish Crime Prevention Council]...
"Concrete reforms are necessary. We have proposed them - the Social Democrats say no...
At the same time, we have an integration crisis: More than half of all the unemployed are born outside of Sweden. In our exclusion areas, [utanförskapsområden] there are schools where not even half of the students pass all subjects... Many children born in Sweden hardly speak Swedish, and there is extensive repression [in the name of] honor culture. Here too we have called for reforms, but the Social Democrats say no.
"Integration and immigration are connected. Therefore, a long-term and strict immigration policy is required. Temporary residence permits and requirements of financial self-sufficiency for family reunification should be the main rule.
"Requirements for knowledge of Swedish and financial self-sufficiency [should be conditions] for a permanent residence permit."
Kristersson's criticism demonstrates that the political mainstream in Sweden is fully cognizant of the country's fundamental problems. This criticism is especially significant coming from the Moderate Party: Kristersson's predecessor, Frederik Reinfeldt, who was prime minister of Sweden from 2006 to 2014 and chairman of the Moderate Party from 2003 to 2015, did not share these concerns. In 2014, Reinfeldt urged Swedes to "Open your hearts" to the refugees of the world.
"Now I ask the Swedish people to be patient with this. To have solidarity with the outside world... In the long run we create a better world in this way... It will cost money, we will not be able to afford so much else, but [these are] really people who are fleeing for their lives."
Kristersson, unlike the current Swedish government, appears to have woken up to the realities of Sweden.
One of the realities, according to the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) -- the state authority for community protection and preparedness -- is that terrorism is now a threat everywhere in Sweden, and therefore even smaller municipalities need to be prepared for terrorist acts to occur.
"First of all," said Jonas Eriksson, who is responsible for security in the public environment at MSB, "you have to be aware that this can happen in smaller cities... Then you have to think about what is in the municipality that can be vulnerable and sensitive." The statement came after police intercepted a potential terrorist act in the city of Östersund in August. The suspect was trying to drive into a crowd and run people over, according to Aftonbladet. He is also being investigated for links to Rakhmat Akilov, a terrorist who was convicted of killing five people by plowing a truck into a department store in central Stockholm in April 2017.
From the beginning of 2019 to the end of July, there were 120 bombings in Sweden, according to police statistics. The figure represents an increase of 45% over the same period last year, when 83 bombings took place. The south of Sweden has been particularly badly hit, with 44 bombings. "At present, one can only really speculate on the reasons why. We have an increased problem with crime and exclusion," said Petra Stenkula, chief investigator at Police Region south. "It is possible that the supply of dynamite is good, whereas the supply is somewhat more limited when it comes to weapons today compared to before."
In the southern Swedish city of Landskrona alone -- a place of roughly 35,000 inhabitants -- since December 2018, there have been seven explosions or bombings. In August, the entrance to Landskrona's city hall was blown up.
"Those who do this want to disrupt organized society; we will not let that happen", said municipal council member Torkild Strandberg from the Liberal Party.
In August, another city in the south of Sweden, Linköping, experienced its second blast this year. Police found an object that they suspected was explosives. When it was destroyed by the national bomb protection squad, a powerful explosion occurred. It destroyed a police storehouse and damaged several other buildings. In early June, also in Linköping, an explosion blasted through a residential building. Miraculously, no one was killed, but 20 people were wounded. The police suspect that the incident was gang-related.
The constant insecurity that these incidents produce means that the demand for security guards and other security services has dramatically increased. Both private companies and municipalities have been asking to hire more security guards. According to Hans Tjernström, press manager at the Swedish Trade Association, an average grocery store spends around 600,000 kronor ($62,000) per year on guards and other items that have to do with security. According to a security industry source, over the next three years, security companies will need to recruit 5,300 more employees.
Rape and sexual assault also continue apace. In Uppsala alone, a picturesque Swedish university town, where 80% of girls do not feel safe in the city center, four rapes or attempted rapes took place in early August within four days. In Stockholm, two rapes occurred during the "We are Stockholm" youth festival in August, in addition to about a dozen other sexual offenses. At the "Piteå Dances and Laughs" summer festival in Piteå, another rape, involving ten men, took place.
In a recent op-ed in Aftonbladet, a member of parliament for the Moderate Party, Josefin Malmqvist, appealed to Morgan Johansson, who serves as Minister of Justice and Minister for Migration Policy, to "Stop the rapes – you are letting the women down." In her article, Malmqvist wrote:
"Exposure to sexual crimes has risen sharply during Morgan Johansson's (S) time as Minister of Justice: for the third consecutive year, the number of reported rapes in 2018 increased to 20 reported rapes per day. So far this year, the number of reported rapes has increased by 14 percent... In Sweden -- one of the world's most equal countries -- women's freedom is diminishing. That women do not have the same opportunity to move freely in the streets and squares without having to worry about being exposed to crime, is a serious restriction on women's freedom and self-determination. While more women are reporting sexual offenses, the rate of resolved rapes is still frighteningly low. A review of the rapes reported in recent years shows that only 5 out of 100 reported rapes lead to conviction."
She concluded: "Now is the time to stop talking and start acting. The Moderate Party and the Christian Democrats' budget raised funding for the police, but more needs to be done. In May 2018, a majority in Parliament approved the Moderate Party's motion to tighten the penalty for rape. Since then, nothing has happened. It is high time for the Minister of Justice (S) to begin acting for Sweden's women."
Another population group that has been suffering under the lack of law and order in Sweden is children. According to BRÅ, there has been a significant increase in robberies against young people in recent years. In just a few years, the number of reports of robberies against people under 18 has significantly increased, from 1,084 reported robberies in 2015 to 1,896 in 2018 -- an increase of 75%. There have already been 1,247 reports of robberies against young people in 2019 so far. According to Sven Granath, a criminologist with the Swedish police, the increase in robberies against young people could be because it has become harder to rob older people or to steal from shops. "It has become harder and then they go after a group that cannot protect itself as well. They also have what other youths want, such as mopeds, phones and jewelry" said Granath.
It would appear that Prime Minister Löfven has indeed lost control of Sweden.
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 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.

Denying Jerusalem's Jewish History Despite Archaeological Evidence
Lawrence A. Franklin/Gatestone Institute/September 26/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14909/jerusalem-jewish-history
As has been true with previous archaeological discoveries in Israel, however, this one is unlikely to put a dent in the long-term international campaign to delegitimize the Jewish state by rewriting and distorting its history, even by renaming the Jewish sites Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem to "Bilal ibn Rabah mosque" (it was never a mosque) and Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs the Ibrahimi Mosque.
"Rewriting the history of the Land of Israel in order to deny Israel's right to exist is central to Palestinian Authority (PA) policy. Long before it started the PA terror campaign (the 'Intifada,' 2000-2005), the PA was fighting a history war – erasing Jewish history and replacing it with a fabricated Palestinian history." — Palestinian Media Watch.
Where Palestinian propaganda is concerned, however, none of the above [documentation or archeological evidence] appears to matter.
The City of David Foundation recently delivered a major blow to the effort to erase Judaism's 3,000-year ties to Jerusalem. On September 9, the foundation's leading archaeologist announced the discovery of a 2,600-year-old royal seal, found near the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, which bears the name (in Hebrew) of Adenyahu, a son of King David mentioned in the biblical Book of Kings. (Image source: Eliyahu Yanai/City of David Foundation)
The City of David Foundation recently delivered a major blow to the Arab effort to erase Judaism's 3,000-year ties to Jerusalem. On September 9, the foundation's leading archaeologist, Eli Shukron, announced the discovery of a 2,600-year-old royal seal, found near the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, which bears the name (in Hebrew) of Adenyahu, a son of King David mentioned in the biblical Book of Kings.
As has been true with previous archaeological discoveries in Israel, however, this one is unlikely to put a dent in the long-term international campaign to delegitimize the Jewish state by rewriting and distorting its history, even by renaming the Jewish sites Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem to "Bilal ibn Rabah mosque" (it was never a mosque) and Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs the Ibrahimi Mosque.
This international campaign of delegitimization, moreover, far predates the establishment of the modern Jewish state.
The ancient Romans tried to strip the area of it Jewish identity to make it more Roman by renaming Judea "Syria Palaestina."
Later, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, the fifth caliph of the Umayyad dynasty of Syria -- who ruled during the late 7th century -- employed the tactic of delegitimizing both Judaism and Christianity by constructing the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, atop the biblical spot where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac -- also the site of the twice-destroyed Jewish Temples. The famous Western Wall, a retaining structure of the Temple Mount, is all that remains of their existence.
In contemporary times, a version of this tactic of revisionist history was attempted by the late PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, who -- during the US-brokered Palestinian-Israeli peace talks at Camp David in 2000 -- tried to assert that the first and second Jewish temples were not erected in Jerusalem, but rather miles away in Nablus.
That episode followed a staggering report, three years earlier, by the Palestinian Ministry of Information, according to which no archaeological excavations in Jerusalem had supposedly ever unearthed Jewish artifacts.
According to extensive research by Palestinian Media Watch, however:
Rewriting the history of the Land of Israel in order to deny Israel's right to exist is central to Palestinian Authority (PA) policy. Long before it started the PA terror campaign (the "Intifada," 2000-2005), the PA was fighting a history war – erasing Jewish history and replacing it with a fabricated Palestinian history. This rewriting has two central goals:
1- Erase the Jewish nation's 3,000 year history in the Land of Israel;
2- Invent ancient Palestinian, Muslim and Arab histories in the land.
The goal of this historical revision as a political strategy was first expressed publicly at a conference of Palestinian historians in 1998, when rewriting history was linked to the political goal of denying Israel's right to exist:
"Dr. Yussuf Alzamili [Chairman History Department, Khan Yunis Educational College] called on all universities and colleges to write the history of Palestine and to guard it, and not to enable the [foreign] implants and enemies to distort it or to legitimize the existence of Jews on this land... [History lecturer Abu Amar] clarified that there is no connection between the ancient generation of Jews and the new generation." [Al-Ayyam, Dec. 4, 1998]
Erasing Jewish history in the land of Israel is followed by the PA's invention of ancient and modern histories that support its political ideology and claim to the land of Israel. The Holocaust and other aspects of Jewish history are alternately denied, downplayed or distorted. Another distortion is to hide from Palestinians that Jesus was a Jew who lived in the Land of Judea/Israel. PA leaders repeatedly define Jesus as a Palestinian who preached Islam, thus denying not only Jewish history, but also the history and legitimacy of Christianity.
The cumulative effect of this concerted effort has been both counter-factual and unfortunate. Already in 2006, the World Heritage Site Committee of the United Nations Economic, Social, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed a resolution referring to the Temple Mount -- the holiest site in Judaism -- solely by its Arabic, Islamic name, al-Haram al-Sharif.
Nonetheless, extensive documentation from antiquity and countless archaeological finds continue to confirm both Judaism's ties to Jerusalem and the Jewish people's millennia-old presence in the land of Israel.
Foremost among the findings that provide proof of ancient writings about the Jews and Jerusalem -- apart from the Bible, much of which is magnificently displayed by the new excavation of the City of David – are the written histories by Josephus Flavius (37-100 AD), The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, and the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. There are also extraordinary excavations by the Israeli archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazor, who in 2012 unearthed a Solomon-era wall and other related sites. This followed and preceded many other discoveries, such as a wide street filled remnants of shops and tunnels, as noted in the New Testament, that runs near the Western Wall.
Where Palestinian propaganda is concerned, however, none of the above appears to matter. During the very week in early September that the City of David Foundation revealed the ancient Hebrew seal found near the Western Wall, Dr. Ghassan Weshah, the head of the History and Archaeology Department at the Islamic University of Gaza, told the Gaza news service Felesteen:
"One of the biggest lies of the Zionists with regard to the Al-Aqsa Mosque is that it was built on the ruins of the Temple, which was destroyed on August 21, 586 BCE. This is a false statement. There is no other building under the Al-Aqsa Mosque."
If statements such as Weshah's were not taken seriously by members of the international community, they would be dismissed as the propaganda tools they are by the reams of irrefutable scientific evidence to the contrary. It is thus incumbent on all honest academics to be vigilant and determined about setting the record straight.
*Dr. Lawrence A. Franklin was the Iran Desk Officer for Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. He also served on active duty with the U.S. Army and as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve.
© 2019 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.

Abqaiq Attack: The End of a Lie
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/September 26/2019
A lot has been said about the dual attack that targeted Saudi oil installations in Abqaiq and Khurais.This is something natural and expected; not only because the Gulf’s oil is vital for the global economy, to which the attack was some kind of a ‘message’, but also because those behind it had threatened such attacks more than once.
Such threats came from Tehran, the decision-making Iranian capital, and sometimes, from its henchmen and puppets in the Arab lands that it boasts of controlling. Indeed, just after that, Iran’s Yemeni puppets claimed responsibility according to a ‘scenario’ of testing the reaction.
Moreover, the new aggression is part of a continuous escalation since Iran began to sabotage then hijack oil tankers, in a clear two-fold message to the world:
First, that it is now the dominant force in the Gulf region despite the presence of Western fleets, as well as foreign bases there. Second, that it is not worried a bit about any reaction against its escalation. In fact, it wants its enemies to know that it desires confrontation that would end with a result similar to the JCPOA’s; i.e. giving it a free hand to dominate the Arab Middle East.
No doubt, President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the JCPOA – signed jointly by the Barack Obama administration, the major European powers, and Russia – was a setback for Tehran. However, even with the US sanctions that followed, it remained what it really is, just a setback.Actually, it is a setback that Tehran seems quite confident would overcome; especially in the light of the following:
1- There is divergence of interests between the European powers and Trump’s Washington; thus, Tehran feels that it is more than capable of shaking the Western ‘alliance’, more so, it makes costlier any future military confrontation.
2- Russia continues to be in partnership with Iran, at least as a means to trouble and blackmail the US whenever and wherever possible. Added to this, is the Chinese dimension; bearing in mind that future Chinese-Iranian joint business projects reach tens of billions of US dollars.
3- Iran has already managed to neutralize Turkey in what looked like an inevitable confrontation between the two neighbors at a certain period during the Syrian conflict. The Iranians have benefited significantly from Ankara’s U-turn towards them following Washington’s active support of Kurdish secessionist aspirations, and Moscow’s pressures on the Turkish leadership and later pulling it to its ‘camp’ in the aftermath of the downing of the Russian fighter above the Turkish-Syrian border in 2015. Finally, yet most importantly, Iran has managed its coalition with some Sunni political Islam movements, like Hamas, even as it was fighting against radical Sunni groups inside Syria!
4- Tehran has exploited skillfully the division and confusion within the Arab world. It has managed to succeed even in the Gulf, and made inroads with some Arab regimes who are willing to normalize relations with Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria although it has turned Syria into a base for Iranian expansion.
5- Tehran realizes that the Israeli strategic and political ‘establishment’ is not unhappy with Iran’s destructive role in the region. With loud rhetoric and fiery slogans aside, and given the ‘real’ Israeli position towards the Syrian regime, Tehran knows that what it is perpetrating in Syria since 2011- including, sectarian displacement - serves Israeli and Western strategic aims.
All the factors above have encouraged the Tehran leadership to go further in implementing the political side of its nuclear strategy. It is imposing its political and economic hegemony over its Arab ‘neighbors’ and turning them into subservient satellites, and transforming their political regimes into copies of its own system based on the twin pillars of ‘The Supreme Guide’ and his IRGC (The Revolutionary Guards). This was underlined recently by the Friday sermon of the Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Imam of the holy city of Mashhad, when he said: “Iran’s domain is now larger than its geographical area… Iran today is not only Iran within its geographic borders; the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq is Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon is Iran, Houthis in Yemen is Iran, the National Defense Forces militia in Syria is Iran, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Palestine are Iran…”.
Here and now, the whole world faces an unquestionable reality. Any talk of “changing the Iranian regime’s behavior” is ludicrous; and the insistence of some European leaders to gamble on such change, let alone expecting Moscow and Beijing to drop a blackmailing card against Washington, is worse, more dangerous and more ludicrous.
The result of such a gamble has been what we have seen in Abqaiq and Khurais!
Therefore, despite the centrality of Saudi Arabia’s national will, and the Gulf and Arab security and strategic interests, the threat of the Iranian challenge goes beyond the Gulf and the Arab World. The whole world has to deal, not only with militaristic regime that encourages and instigates, but also with a future arrogant nuclear power that threatens to control the world’s largest energy reserves.
We are now at that juncture; and any reluctance in adequately confronting that challenge means acquiesce and handing over the region to Tehran, regardless of the untold reaction such a policy would have.
No one in the Arab Middle East is drumming up war, least of all the Gulf Arab countries; because conventional wisdom dictates containment as a first step, followed by deterrence. However, it is no more possible that the world continues to delude itself about “the need to avoid pushing the region into war’!
The stark truth is that we are already there. Real wars are being fought, destroying countries, tearing up societies, displacing millions, and sowing the seeds of hatred and deep historical grudges. What is required is ending these wars, and defeating those fueling them.

China’s Economic Slowdown Won’t Restore US Manufacturing Jobs
Noah Smith/Bloomberg View/September 26/2019
In the early 2000s, American writer Gore Vidal visited China. Witnessing the astonishing pace of urban development there, Vidal declared that “the mandate of heaven has passed from us and come home.” But what happens when the mandate passes on again?
Since the turn of the century, China’s increasing economic dominance has certainly seemed like a mandate of heaven. As one US manufacturing sector after was gutted by the so-called China Shock, American workers watched their jobs vanish. Some economists pointed to trade with China as the main reason for labor’s falling share of national income in the US.
But much has changed since the early 2000s. China isn't the invincible juggernaut it once was. According to the consulting firm Oxford Economics, China’s unit labor costs -- basically, wages adjusted for productivity -- were about a quarter of the US's back in 2003. Now, they’re almost equal.
There are several reasons for the change. The first, of course, is President Donald Trump’s trade war -- tariffs have made Chinese goods less competitive, and the uncertainty about what additional tariffs he might impose creates costs for anyone thinking of sourcing from China. But the erosion of Chinese competitiveness predates Trump. Wages have been rising steadily for years.
This trend isn’t likely to reverse anytime soon. China no longer has a pool of cheap rural labor that it can bring into the cities to keep manufacturing costs low. Its working-age population is shrinking by millions of people every year, with even larger drops to come.
If productivity were keeping pace with wage growth, China’s competitive position would be secure. But productivity has been sluggish since the Great Recession.
In other words, the competitive threat from China seems to be receding, at least as far as US workers are concerned. China’s industrial champions in the technology and automotive industries might still offer competition to American companies, but they’ll have to compete on innovation rather than costs.
Does this mean American workers will start to see their pay grow more rapidly? Perhaps. My Bloomberg Opinion colleague Karl Smith believes that the recent rise in wages as a share of gross domestic product could be the harbinger of a new trend of increasing labor compensation and falling inequality.
Smith notes that the recent rise in wages has benefited workers in the lower part of the distribution as much as those at the top.
These are certainly encouraging signs, but it would be premature to conclude that waning Chinese competition has anything to do with the modest wage recovery. An obvious alternative explanation is that the pay gains are just a result of the longest economic expansion since World War II. Wages also rose as a share of GDP in the 1990s, only to resume their downward slide after the boom was over.
There’s actually evidence that the recent modest rise in wages has little to do with reshoring manufacturing activity from China. The ratio of US manufacturing imports to domestic manufacturing output has risen, not fallen, in recent years.
The US is just shifting imports from China to other countries, mostly in Asia. Meanwhile, US manufacturing employment has increased, but only modestly.
Another reason for caution is that economists are far from certain that Chinese competition was a major factor in US wage stagnation. Other explanations include the decline of unions, a pro-business tilt in US regulation, and technological changes that made it cheap to replace workers with machines. Meanwhile, the same theories that predicted Chinese competition would make US wages fall fail to explain why Chinese wages also increased more slowly than overall GDP during much of the early 2000s.
It might be that Chinese competition provided American workers with their stiffest competition in the past, but technology will prove to be the challenge in the future. Manufacturing might make its way back to US shores, only to be dominated by robots, shunting many of the remaining manufacturing workers into the lower-paid, less unionized service sector.
Still, there are some reasons to think that China’s slowing economy might pay dividends for US workers. A cooling of Chinese consumption growth, together with the trade war, will probably make multinational companies less eager to do business in China. They could then shift their focus back to the US market, building offices and other facilities and increasing demand for domestic labor. Also, a Chinese slowdown could prompt international financial capital to flow back into the US, boosting investment and raise wages, albeit at the risk of fueling an asset bubble.
So beleaguered American workers will just have to wait and see whether the China slowdown and waning competition will boost their paychecks. But instead of simply waiting and praying that the storm has passed, the US should be looking at ways to shift national income back toward labor.

Five ways to respond to Iran regime’s aggression
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/September 27/2019
There seems to be no end to the Iranian regime’s aggression and belligerence domestically, regionally and globally. The leaders of Iran are making it clear they will remain defiant as they insist on pursuing the regime’s dark hegemonic ambitions in the Middle East.
Just in the last few months, Tehran has been directly or indirectly involved in attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, striking Saudi Arabia’s oil plants, and taking hostages. In addition, both the hard-liners and the so-called moderates appear to be on the same page.
What options are available to effectively respond to the theocratic establishment? Some politicians and policy analysts may recommend appeasing Tehran in order to confront it. But any informed approach that aims to combat Iran’s regional ambitions should not to be anchored in pursuing appeasement policies toward the ruling mullahs. The appeasement route was tried for eight years by the Obama administration and it failed. We can see the consequences of this approach, with the Iranian-armed Houthis continuing to cause death and destruction in Yemen, and Hezbollah operating in large swaths of Syrian territory.
Instead of appeasing Iran, five policies must be carried out simultaneously. The first is to weaken the Iranian regime’s ability to carry out asymmetric warfare. Tehran mostly wields its power through its enhanced capabilities in conducting asymmetric warfare using its proxies, terror and militia groups. Therefore it follows that, if Iran’s proxies and militia groups are targeted and weakened, Tehran loses a significant amount of its geopolitical, strategic and military leverage.
In order to accomplish this objective, it is very important for the US to work with its regional allies, such as Israel. Tel Aviv has been steadily expanding its military campaign against Iranian-linked targets in the region. This included carrying out a series of airstrikes in Syria and northern Baghdad last month. In addition, the US can work more closely with Saudi Arabia to target the Houthis.
The second policy is for the US to broaden and step up its “maximum pressure” policy. One of the reasons that the Iranian leaders have been enraged is the fact that this campaign is working. The latest Iranian actions against shipping and Saudi Arabia are the desperate acts of a regime whose funding sources for regional destabilization are drying up. The appeasement route was tried for eight years by the Obama administration and it failed.
The sanctions have imposed significant pressure on the ruling clerics, to such an extent that the Iranian leaders have been cutting funding to their proxies. For instance, Tehran has found it extremely difficult to ship oil to Syria in the last year, and many of Iran’s militants are not getting their salaries or benefits.
Additional economic sanctions must be more precise and targeted. In other words, the financial channels through which funds flow into the Islamic Republic’s treasury must be disrupted. This includes further squeezing the regime’s main revenue — oil exports — and detecting the fictitious and shell companies Iran uses to carry out its illicit financial activities.
The US and its allies can also target specific individuals and institutions that are engaged in supporting terror groups, advancing Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and committing crimes against humanity abroad. For instance, Washington could impose sanctions on Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence. In addition, governments can utilize the International Criminal Court, the UN, Amnesty International and other human rights organizations to hold the Iranian regime accountable.
Third, through its economic leverage, the US must persuade its Western allies to cut diplomatic relations with the Iranian regime. Tehran not only gains critical legitimacy by maintaining ties with world powers, but the regime has also been shown to use its embassies and consulates in foreign nations as an extended wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Intelligence in order to carry out espionage or acts of terror. A series of assassination and terrorist plots across Europe and North America, some successful and others not, have been traced back to Tehran in recent years.
Fourth, the US and its allies need to more forcefully and publicly announce their support for the overwhelming majority of the Iranian people, who seek to set up a democratic system of governance in Iran. Domestic unrest has long lain beneath the surface as Iranians, enduring a sluggish economy and falling living standards, see billions of dollars go abroad to Tehran’s network of proxies. Fifth, the Iranian regime should be made to understand that there is a powerful and united military force ready to deter and respond to its aggression. If Tehran believes that its destabilizing military adventurism will not trigger a military response, the ruling mullahs will more likely continue to increase their belligerent policies.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Jacques Chirac — Arab world’s fast friend in Europe
Ranvir S. Nayar/Arab News/September 27/2019
In the death of Jacques Chirac, the two-time President of France, the Arab world has lost a dear friend. Even before he took charge of France, Chirac had long been in love with the region and had developed strong and long-lasting relationships with all the rulers in the region — from Kings Fahd and Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to President Hosni Mobarak, Sheikh Zayed of the UAE and Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
One of the stellar moments for which Chirac would be remembered took place in Old Jerusalem on Oct. 22, 1996 when the French President, on a visit, publicly lashed out at the Israeli security chief asking him whether he should go back to his plane. This enraged statement spoke volumes about Chirac and his beliefs regarding the Middle East and notably the Palestinian cause, of which he remained a strong supporter all through his public life, before, during and even after his presidency.
Earlier the same year, during a speech in Cairo in April, Chirac had reintroduced vigor to the French policy to the Arab world in general, but Palestine in particular. There were three key reasons behind Chirac’s focus on the Middle East that became accentuated early in his first term. One of the factors was a political vacuum in the Western leadership due to presidential elections in the US. Another was that Chirac was trying to get France to regain some of its old glory and its historic ties with the region through his renewed interest in the Arab world and his numerous visits to the region. No wonder, Yasser Arafat referred to him as “Doctor Chirac” and the closest friend that he had in Europe, or indeed the entire Western world.
One of the landmark policies and decisions that would mark Chirac’s second term and indeed French policy in the Middle East was his rejection of the US-led invasion of Iraq in the second Gulf War against Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Unlike his British counterpart, Prime Minister Tony Blair, who merrily joined the misplaced campaign against “weapons of mass destruction” that Saddam was supposed to have possessed, Chirac firmly led the opposition to an intervention in Iraq. It proved immensely popular in France and indeed the rest of Europe, in sharp contrast with Blair, whose legacy was dragged in mud for taking Britain into the war.
Even today, writers in the European press, marking his obituary, refer to him as the “President who said no to war in Iraq.”
The former French President, who died on Thursday in Paris, was one of the most reliable friends for the entire Arab world.
Though Chirac justified his decision to stay away from the war in an address to the nation, saying that France remained certain that the disarmament of Iraq could be attained by peaceful methods and that France opposed the war on the principles of sovereignty and independence, some observers did recollect a famous photograph of Saddam and Chirac, both dressed in white jackets, at the French nuclear reactor of Cadarache.
The photograph, from 1974, showed the extent of French collaboration with Iraq in the development of its nuclear technology.
Chirac also played a key role in modulating the policies of the EU towards the Middle East and especially its consistent support to the Palestinian cause and the two-state solution. Besides Iraq, Chirac also played an important role in the EU policy toward Iran, one of cautious engagement with the regime, in sharp contrast with the policy of the current US President Donald Trump.
On March 5, 2006, just before he hung up his presidential boots, Chirac became the first leader of the western world to address the Majlis in Saudi Arabia, during his state visit to the country.
He used the occasion to salute the slew of political reforms being introduced by his friend, King Abdullah, notably the broader suffrage in municipal elections as well as several economic reforms that the regime had begun. Chirac had also always stood by Saudi Arabia and had encouraged the country to keep on playing its role as a leader of the Arab world and especially to lead the battle against the growing menace of terrorism.
Today, in his death, the Arab world has lost a close and reliable friend, notably at a time when the situation in the Middle East remains particularly volatile and the rest of the world, especially the West, remains immersed in its domestic challenges. Can the incumbent French President Macron step into the shoes of this giant and rebuild the same level of engagement with the region?
• Ranvir S. Nayar is the editor of Media India Group, a global platform based in Europe and India that encompasses publishing, communication and consultation services.

Little hope for a warming of frosty EU-Russia ties
Joschka Fischer/Arab News/September 27/2019
Although the EU and Russia are part of the same landmass, they don’t have all that much in common. In fact, Russians have yet to decide where their country resides in the world. The bulk of its territory is in Asia, but more than 70 percent of its people live west of the Ural Mountains. Russians have no interest in associating themselves with East Asia or the Islamic south, so their only choice is to go it alone or orient themselves toward Europe.
But going it alone is risky. Russia is a nuclear-armed colossus, yet it is declining demographically, economically and technologically. The country still earns its living by exporting fossil fuels and other commodities, which is hardly sufficient for maintaining superpower status in the 21st century. It is increasingly at risk of becoming a junior partner to China.
The only alternative, then, is Europe. But both sides are prisoners of their respective histories. Memories of oppressive rule under the czars and the Soviets remain raw in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland and the Baltics, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea and military campaign in Eastern Ukraine have reinforced distrust of Russia across the region.
Russia’s relationship with the rest of Europe is also determined by its history. Reeling from the Soviet collapse throughout the 1990s, Russia has adopted a 19th-century mentality since Putin first came to power in 2000. The Russian elite, harking back to the czarist period before the Bolshevik Revolution, regards their country as a European great power — even a hegemonic one in the case of Eastern Europe — which pits it directly against the EU.
The EU’s raison d’etre is to transcend zones of influence in Europe, because that is the only way to prevent a return of the power struggles and catastrophic wars that culminated in the first half of the 20th century. And yet Russia is simply too large to be integrated into the EU (indeed, it is unclear who would be integrating with whom).
The real threat in the eyes of the Russian oligarchy is the EU and its promotion of democracy and the rule of law.
Even if that were not the case, Russia — or at least its leadership — does not share the EU’s values. In addition to championing democracy, judicial independence and the rule of law, the EU has renounced any revision of borders by force. While geographic proximity demands that Russia and the EU manage their relationship in as mutually advantageous a manner as possible, the Kremlin’s ongoing war in Ukraine’s Donbas region makes this all but impossible.
Nonetheless, French President Emmanuel Macron has made renewed efforts to improve EU-Russian relations, not least by meeting with Putin in the run-up to the G7 summit in Biarritz last month. In Macron’s view, it is not in Europe’s interest to drive Russia further into China’s arms, or to stand by and watch the ongoing disintegration of US-Russian arms control treaties. With respect to arms control, American and European interests are not the same, and today’s US administration cares little about Europe or its views on any given issue.
But Macron’s efforts raise many questions. For starters, it isn’t obvious what role Europe could play in renewing the global arms control regime. Without the US, Europe has little to offer Russia on the issue of intermediate-range missiles. It would be stuck in the position of trying to convince two unwilling parties to reach a new agreement. And that doesn’t even account for China, which has also developed an intermediate-range missile capacity.
Europe does have something to offer Russia economically. But improving economic relations is simply impossible without verifiable progress in the implementation of the Minsk Protocol to end the conflict in Donbas. It is unclear if Putin would be ready for that.
But the real problem between Russia and the EU is the issue of democracy. Putin and the Russian oligarchy’s greatest fear is that Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan revolution could be replicated on Moscow’s Red Square. The Kremlin does not blame NATO for that possibility; it blames the EU. Anti-NATO rhetoric is a tried and true propaganda trope that exploits many Russians’ ingrained fear of a Cold War bogeyman. But the real threat in the eyes of the Russian oligarchy is the EU and its promotion of democracy and the rule of law.
The Russian and European systems are fundamentally incompatible, representing contradictory values and vastly different approaches to foreign and domestic policy. In the 19th century, czarist Russia was the leader of the “Holy Alliance,” a reactionary bulwark against the bourgeois revolutions sweeping Europe. This dynamic was reversed under the Bolsheviks after 1917, when Russia became the cradle of revolution. But, under Joseph Stalin, it returned to pursuing essentially the same aims as the czars, particularly when it came to crushing independence movements in Central and Eastern Europe.
Putin’s regime has followed a similar trajectory, retreating to the 19th century, allying with the Orthodox Church and launching attacks on the “decadent West,” with tirades against homosexuality and liberalism. The Kremlin’s active support for illiberal, nationalist forces in Europe and the US is just one part of this larger picture.
As desirable as an improvement in relations between the EU and Russia would be, it will come neither quickly nor easily. On the main questions of Ukraine and democracy, Europe can scarcely give an inch.
*Joschka Fischer, Germany’s foreign minister and vice chancellor from 1998 to 2005, was a leader of the German Green Party for almost 20 years. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2019. www.project-syndicate.org