English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For April 01/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

#elias_bejjani_news
 

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Bible Quotations For today

Jesus Shares His Desciples The Passover Meal: For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 22/01-23./:”The festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present. Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.’They asked him, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for it?’ ‘Listen,’ he said to them, ‘when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters and say to the owner of the house, “The teacher asks you, ‘Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ” He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.’So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!’ Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.
 

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 31-April 01/2021

Elias Bejjani/Visit My LCCC Web site/All That you need to know on Lebanese unfolding news and events in Arabic and English/http://eliasbejjaninews.com/
Signs of COVID-19 Community Outbreak in Lebanon
Iranian Delegation Meets al-Rahi, Urges National Unity
Aoun: Lebanon Reached Stage of Exhaustion over Syrian Refugee Crisis
Aoun, Najm Discuss Need to Accelerate Court Work, Forensic Audit Process
Aoun: I Wish I Inherited My Grandpa's Grove Instead of Becoming President
Report: Berri Dispatches Delegate to Hariri on Govt Initiative
Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it’s time to allow formation of new government
Nasrallah: Serious, Collective Efforts Ongoing to Resolve Govt. Hurdles
UK Chargé d'Affaires Stresses 'Ever More Pressing Need' for New Govt.
Iraqi Health Minister Arrives in Beirut with Medical Aid
Maritime Border Dispute Emerging Between Lebanon, Syria
Judge Completes Questioning of Port Blast Detainees Tomorrow
Ammar Al-Mousawi, Head Of Hizbullah Int'l Relations: We Are In Touch With All European Countries But Two; We Get Many American Requests To Meet With Us, Including By Former Officials/MEMRI/March 31/2021
Article On Hizbullah Website: U.S. Ambassador To Lebanon Dorothy : Shea Is A 'Wicked Witch' And The Representative Of Satan In Beirut/MEMRI/March 31/2021
Lebanon is held hostage by its politicians/David.Gardner/Financial Times/March 31/2021
Traditional Manousheh Leaves Tables in Poverty-Hit Lebanon
Berri Discusses Situation with Ibrahim

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 31-April 01/2021

US calls on China to use its influence for Myanmar military coup accountability
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Iraq’s PM discuss bilateral relations in Riyadh
UN Points to Yemen's Huthis for December Attack on Aden Airport
Lenderking back in US after ‘productive meetings’ on Yemen: State Department
European Union will sanction Iran militia, police, three entities over 2019 protests
U.S. open to discussing wider nuclear deal road map if Iran wishes
Barghouti Forms Separate Electoral List in Blow to Palestinian President
US, Europeans Weigh Sanctions on Lebanese Officials
US Affirms Syrian Regime Has No Access to Humanitarian Aid
Algeria Foils ‘Terrorist Plot’ Targeting Hirak
Blinken Underscores US Support for Political Negotiations on Western Sahara
Gunfire Heard at Indonesian National Police Headquarters in Jakarta
Italy Expels Russians after Spies 'Caught red-Handed'
 

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 31-April 01/2021

From Trump to Biden Monograph: Sunni Jihadism/Thomas Joscelyn/FDD's Long War Journal/March 31/2021
At UN, Blinken Calls for Action on Aid to Syria/David Adesnik/Policy Brief/FDD/March 31/2021
Is Iran Being Turned into a Chinese Gas Station?/Elliott Abrams/National Review/March 31/2021
Yale Fires Psychiatrist for Diagnosing Unseen Patients/Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/March 31/2021
China's Threat to Free Speech in Europe/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/March 31/2021
Rabaa Allah: The Latest of God’s Representatives… So Far!/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 31/2021
Chinese Diplomatic Gains against America/Robert Ford/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 31/2021
White Victims of Muslim Rapists: Who’s the Real ‘Racist’?/Raymond Ibrahim/March 31/2021
Firmly Address Tehran’s Ballistic Behavior/Dr.Walid Phares/Nodern Diplomac/March 31/20211
 

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 31-April 01/2021

Elias Bejjani/Visit My LCCC Web site/All That you need to know on Lebanese unfolding news and events in Arabic and English/http://eliasbejjaninews.com/

Signs of COVID-19 Community Outbreak in Lebanon
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 31 March, 2021
Lebanon could be on the verge of a community outbreak of the COVID-19 virus as the country continues to register a worrying increase in the number of daily infections and deaths. Meanwhile, officials call on the people to register for vaccination amid a low turnout and despite a slow delivery of the shots. Head of the health parliamentary committee, MP Dr. Assem Araji warned that the percentage of positive PCR tests is still very high, at around 18 percent, while the death rate is at an average of 45 daily. “Those numbers indicate that we are witnessing a community outbreak of the pandemic,” he said. Araji hoped that more people would sign up to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, although the company had slowed down its deliveries after its shots had come under scrutiny in Europe. “Lebanon was waiting to receive 93,000 doses of the vaccine, but it only received 33,000,” Araji revealed. Lebanon began its inoculation campaign in mid-February after finalizing a deal for some 2 million doses of the Pfizer shot. The country received more than 220,000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses over the past six weeks with around 175,000 jabs already administered. Last week, 33,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines arrived to the country. Rafik Hariri Hospital Director Firas Abiad published a graph showing the number of COVID-19 deaths in the category of 75 plus age group. He said that fatalities from the pandemic usually happen four weeks after contracting the infection. “The peak in late January and early February is a consequence of gatherings and other activities during the end of last year,” he said, adding that the decline after that peak started before the vaccination drive, which underscores the benefits of restrictions. Abiad also revealed that early in March, two weeks after the start of the vaccination drive, the number of daily deaths had halved. “The vaccines will hopefully help cement these gains,” he said, adding that on Tuesday, three different vaccines were rolled out in Lebanon. “The numbers of those vaccinated will now rise rapidly. But we need to make the right conclusions and not celebrate early. Otherwise, we will repeat old mistakes,” Abiad wrote on his Twitter account.

Iranian Delegation Meets al-Rahi, Urges National Unity
Naharnet/31 March ,2021
An Iranian delegation led by Shiite cleric Hamid Shahriari held talks Wednesday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki. Shahriari is the general secretary of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought. He was named to the post by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “The contemporary historic experience has proved that when the sons of the Lebanese people showed national unity, they managed to defeat the aggression that was practiced against them,” Shahriari said after the talks. “National unity requires the utmost levels of concern and care and it will help Lebanon overcome this difficult, sensitive and critical stage so that it reaches the shore of safety and security,” the cleric added. “Brotherly Lebanon has enough prudence and wisdom to beat all dilemmas,” Shahriari went on to say. He added that the delegation hoped that al-Rahi will manage to “move forward on this path, which can enhance unity and rapprochement among the Lebanese.”

Aoun: Lebanon Reached Stage of Exhaustion over Syrian Refugee Crisis
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 31 March, 2021
Lebanese officials warned on Tuesday that Lebanon is exhausted due to the presence of huge numbers of Syrian refugees on its territories, which has severe impacts on the economy and affects the social fabric. President Michel Aoun said Lebanon, which holds the highest percentage of displaced Syrians in the world, in relation to its population and small area, has reached a stage of exhaustion as a result of negative repercussions of this displacement and the reluctance of countries to provide aid due to economic conditions. During a meeting with the new Representative of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Lebanon, Ayaki Ito, Aoun called for quick action to facilitate the return of displaced Syrians to their country where vast regions have become safe. Aoun’s statements came as Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab was attending Tuesday the fifth Brussels Conference on "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region” via video link.During the conference, Diab said the Syrian refugee presence in Lebanon is temporary and should not be construed under any circumstances as a local integration. The PM said that after ten years of war, the prospect for a political solution is not, regretfully, encouraging, while the various problems of the Syrians and the host communities remain pressing. “The massive Syrian displacement weighs heavily on the economy and already cost our country around $46.5 billion according to the estimate of the Ministry of Finance for the period of 2011-2018,” he said. Diab told the conference that the displacement continues to affect Lebanon’s social fabric. “Therefore, with the actual political status quo and the fallout on Lebanon, we believe that the Lebanese government plan for the gradual return of the displaced Syrians, adopted on July 14, 2020 should be given the opportunity to reach its goal with the assistance of the international community,” Diab said. Speaking at one of the Conference’s panels, Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs and Tourism Ramzi Mcharrafieh cautioned about the social effects that Syrian refugees have on Lebanon. He warned about tension between Syrian refugees and the Lebanese hosting communities over competition on jobs while the country suffers from its worst economic crisis. In a study published in 2018, UNDP found that Lebanese and Syrian refugees compete on 32.8 percent of social services, including water, electricity and education.

Aoun, Najm Discuss Need to Accelerate Court Work, Forensic Audit Process
Naharnet/Wednesday, 31 March, 2021
President Michel Aoun on Wednesday met at Baabda Presidential Palace caretaker Minister of Justice, Marie-Claude Najm, the National News Agency reported on Wednesday. NNA said that discussions focused on the means to speed up the work of courts, the forensic audit process into the Central Bank’s accounts and the state institutions. They also discussed the need to resolve said file and proceed with its implementation, especially at the absence of realistic and legal reasons preventing this.
 

Aoun: I Wish I Inherited My Grandpa's Grove Instead of Becoming President
Naharnet/31 March ,2021
President Michel Aoun has expressed his concern over the threats that Lebanon and even the Lebanese “entity” are facing. In an interview with al-Jadeed TV, Aoun said that his warning in September that Lebanon was headed to “hell” was not a slip of the tongue. “The battle of forensic audit is a battle of breaking free and not a war of liberation, and breaking free is more difficult than liberation,” Aoun answered, when asked about the difference between the 1989-1990 era and the current period. “There will be no going back in this battle. The audit will take place,” the president stressed, slamming his hand on the table. “This task could have been finished in a week. They have been exchanging memos and letters for four months and people are still wondering who does not want the forensic audit,” Aoun lamented, referring to the information requested from the central bank by the Alvarez & Marsal firm through the Finance Ministry. Asked whether he has been “confined” by the presidency after having been described as a “tsunami” following his 2005 return to Lebanon, Aoun said: “I didn’t imagine that I would be this confined. I didn’t expect that this system is this barricaded and immunized. Even at the judiciary, which is the authority we have chosen to fight our battles, it turned out that there are several rings.”“Recently, I told my wife, ‘I wish I inherited my grandpa’s grove instead of becoming president,’” Aoun revealed.
 

Report: Berri Dispatches Delegate to Hariri on Govt Initiative
Naharnet/31 March ,2021
Speaker Nabih Berri has reportedly dispatched a delegate to the Center House in the evening on Tuesday, to explain his initiative to PM-designate Saad Hariri in a bid to ease the government formation deadlock, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday. The daily added that a similar effort towards the Free Patriotic Movement chief, MP Jebran Bassil aims to make the latter visit Berri in Ain el-Tineh, or dispatch a delegate from Ain el-Tineh to visit Bassil. Al-Joumhouria added that the move aims to secure prior agreement between Hariri and Bassi on the titles of the Speaker’s initiative, so that Berri can proceed with it. The Speaker has reportedly told his visitors yesterday that he exchanged a set of ideas in a telephone call with the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, that could steer the cabinet formation crisis out of its deadlock. Media reports said that Berri’s initiative is based on two points: emphasizing that Hariri himself should lead the government and taking into consideration the demands of the various political parties while respecting the principle of specialty in picking the ministers.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it’s time to allow formation of new government
Reuters/31 March ,2021
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Wednesday it was time for politicians to put aside their demands and allow the formation of a new government that can rescue the country from an unprecedented financial crisis. “Everyone must know the country has run out of time,” Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iran-backed movement, said in a televised speech. He said there were “serious, collective efforts” in recent days to ease a political standoff that has obstructed cabinet talks for months.
 

Nasrallah: Serious, Collective Efforts Ongoing to Resolve Govt. Hurdles
Naharnet/31 March ,2021
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah revealed Wednesday that there are “serious and collective efforts” to form a new government in Lebanon. “Do not despair” regarding the government’s formation, Nasrallah added, addressing the Lebanese people in a televised speech. “Everyone knows that the country has exhausted its time, self and spirit,” the Secretary General added. He also said that all parties agree that the gateway for the solution is “the formation of the government.” “It’s about time we sought real solutions for the problems,” he added. Nasrallah also quipped that he would not talk harshly about Saudi Arabia in his speech in order “not to be accused of obstructing the government's formation.” “We must put all things aside and we must quickly resolve the crisis,” he urged.

UK Chargé d'Affaires Stresses 'Ever More Pressing Need' for New Govt.
Naharnet/31 March ,2021
The UK's Chargé d'Affaires in Lebanon, Martin Longden, on Wednesday emphasized "the ever more pressing need" for the formation of a new government in Lebanon. "Agreed with Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab on the ever more pressing need for a new Flag of Lebanon government, capable of reform," Longden tweeted following talks with Diab at the Grand Serail. "But I stressed too that the critical challenges of the moment demanded urgent action by all of those in a position of responsibility," Longden added, in an apparent reference to the role of the caretaker government.
 

Iraqi Health Minister Arrives in Beirut with Medical Aid
Naharnet/31 March ,2021
Iraqi Health Minister Hassan Tamimi arrived Wednesday in Lebanon on an official visit. The National News Agency said Tamimi arrived aboard a plane belonging to Iraqi Airways and carrying medical aid.
He was welcomed at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport by caretaker Heath Minister Hamad Hassan.

Maritime Border Dispute Emerging Between Lebanon, Syria
Beirut - Nazeer Rida/Wednesday, 31 March, 2021
Signs of a new border crisis have emerged between Lebanon and Syria, after the Syrian government signed with a Russian company a contract for oil exploration in the Mediterranean. The block to be explored intersects with Lebanese maritime areas for energy exploration along the northern border. Lebanon set the map of the maritime blocks for oil and gas exploration in its economic waters several years ago. The map highlighted a border dispute with Israel in the South, before Damascus completed its own plan for energy exploration in the Mediterranean, showing an intersection with the Lebanese map. Earlier this month, Syria signed a contract under which it granted a Russian company the exclusive right to explore oil “in the offshore Block No. 1 in the Syrian exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Tartous Governorate, up to the Syrian-Lebanese maritime borders, over an area of 2,250 square kilometers.” The Lebanese authorities did not react to the signing of the contract although the block set for exploration overlaps with the Lebanese areas No.1 and 2 and results in a clear border dispute. Lebanese diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the issue has never been raised in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor a decision has been taken to address Syria on the matter. Lebanese researcher and oil expert Laury Haytayan told Asharq Al-Awsat that the disputed area ranged between 750 and 1,000 square kilometers, saying the Lebanese authorities have not taken any action since the Syrian announcement of the signing of the agreement with Moscow. The maritime border area with Syria has been a point of contention since 2011. Lebanon unilaterally designated border point No.6 in an official document submitted to the United Nations in 2010, re-corrected it in 2011 by fixing point No.7 and subsequently reported it to the UN. Damascus objected to the unilateral Lebanese demarcation of its exclusive economic zone in the north, by sending a protest letter to the United Nations in 2014. Haytayan noted that the recent development “calls for a position on the part of the Lebanese government, by either addressing the Syrian authorities about drilling in a disputed area… or about reaching an agreement over the border demarcation.”

Judge Completes Questioning of Port Blast Detainees Tomorrow
Naharnet/Wednesday, 31 March, 2021
The judicial investigator, Judge Tarek al-Bitar, will complete the interrogation of the detainees in the Beirut Port bombing case tomorrow, LBCI television station reported on Wednesday. The station said that Bitar has also summoned former Defense Minister Yaacoub al-Sarraf for questioning. Sarraf has recently announced possessing “very important” information related to the port bombing, and about the vessel that transported the explosive ammonium nitrates to Beirut’s port. On Tuesday, Bitar questioned the detained Customs chief, Badri Daher, for seven consecutive hours over the explosion. Also last week, he interrogated four detained port officials. They were identified as the port’s Director General Hassan Qureitem, Operations Director Samer Raad, cargo department head and hangars officer Mustafa Farshoukh, and guard chief Mohammed al-Aouf. Bitar has recently replaced Judge Fadi Sawwan, who was removed as lead investigative judge following political pressure and controversy that followed charges that he pressed in the case against caretaker PM Hassan Diab and ex-ministers Ali Hassan Khalil, Ghazi Zoaiter and Youssef Fenianos.

Ammar Al-Mousawi, Head Of Hizbullah Int'l Relations: We Are In Touch With All European Countries But Two; We Get Many American Requests To Meet With Us, Including By Former Officials
MEMRI/March 31/2021
Ammar Al-Mousawi, head of international relations at Hizbullah said that Hizbullah cooperated closely with Russia in Syria, fighting terrorism and preventing the fall of the Al-Assad regime. He made these remarks in an interview with Al-Manar TV (Hizbulah-Lebanon) that aired on March 25, 2021. Al-Mousawi said that when the Russians decided to intervene in Russia, it was a watershed moment. He added that Russia and Hizbullah together defeated the "enterprise" led by the U.S., and the "Friends of Syria Group," which had used terrorism as a tool. Al-Mousawi said: "We had a 90% agreement [with the Russians] when the Syrian issue was discussed." He stated that Russia and Hizbullah cooperate as partners, and "everybody knows" that Hizbullah is present at Hmeimim Air Base, the main Russian base in Syria. Al-Mousawi continued to say that Hizbullah is in touch with all the countries in Europe besides Britain and the Netherlands, and even the Americans have unofficial contacts with them.
To view the clip of Ammar Al-Mousawi on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
"We Have Always... Encouraged The Russian Side To Act In A More Serious Manner To Prevent The Fall Of The Syrian State... We And The Russians Have Had Joint Results... [In] Defeating Terrorism"
Ammar Al-Mousawi: "We all remember that Mr. Mikhail Bogdanov visited Beirut twice, and both times he met Hizbullah's Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, and discussed with him issues of shared interest, or issues that were on the agenda back then. The relations have continued. Everybody knows that in Syria we have had great cooperation in fighting terrorism, and in preventing the fall of the Syrian state.
"We have always – even before Russia entered Syria – encouraged the Russian side to act in a more serious manner to prevent the fall of the Syrian state. I believe that it was a watershed moment when the Russians decided to intervene. We had cooperation in the fighting on the ground. We have fought terrorism side by side. There was coordination and joint forces...
"I believe that we and the Russians have had joint results – very important results that will go down in history. I'm not just talking about defeating terrorism, but also about defeating the enterprise that had used terrorism as a tool. This enterprise was led by the U.S. by means of what was named the 'Friends of Syria Group.'
"We have discussed the issue of Syria as part of a group of issues that were debated. I believe that even if we don't have 100% agreement [with the Russians], we had a 90% agreement when the Syrian issue was discussed.
"We cooperate as partners and everybody knows that we are even present in the Hmeimim Air Base, which is the main base of the Russian military in Syria. This is no secret. Our guiding principle is that what happened in Syria was a victory, and we should work to complete and boost this victory, so that it culminates in political gains.
"Today, There Are Two Or Three Countries In Europe With Which We Have No Contact[;] All The Rest Are In Touch And Meet With Us[;] Some Say 'Brother, Please Forgive Us... We Are Subjected To Pressure...'
"Today, there are two or three countries in Europe with which we have no contact. They designate us as terrorists..."
Interviewer: "Including Britain..."
Al-Mousawi: "We are talking about Britain and the Netherlands. All the rest are in touch and meet with us. They ask to visit us.
"Some of them even say: 'Brother, please forgive us. We are subjected to pressure and we are trying to circumvent that pressure.' Get it? Even the Americans...
"I Am Privy To Many American Requests To Be In Contact With Us... Even If Someone Is A 'Former Official' [He Still] Reports To His Government"
"Ultimately, I am not the only person to be contacted. I am the official contact party, but some people prefer to go elsewhere to be in contact. Perhaps I am privy to this and perhaps not. Generally speaking, I am privy to many American requests to be in contact with us.
"They do not present themselves as officials, but we know that even if someone is a 'former official,' he is still serving his country and his government, and when he is in contact with us, he reports to his government."

Article On Hizbullah Website: U.S. Ambassador To Lebanon Dorothy : Shea Is A 'Wicked Witch' And The Representative Of Satan In Beirut
MEMRI/March 31/2021
In a March 16 article on Hizbullah's website Alahednews.com, Lebanese journalist Layla 'Amasha virulently attacked U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea, describing her as a "wicked witch" and as "the ambassador of Satan in Beirut," who sows division in Lebanon, hatches poisonous plots against its people in the service of Israel, and casts "evil spells" – all this with the help of Lebanese politicians, activists and media figures who do her bidding. 'Amasha added that Shea's efforts are thwarted by the Lebanese resistance, i.e., Hizbullah, which stands like a solid mountain against her, and hoped that Shea will meet the fate of the wicked witches in children's stories, who end up crumbling, shattering or disappearing.
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea (source: lb.usembassy.gov)
The following are translated excerpts from her article.[1]
"Among the images that linger in the minds of [our] youngsters after they watch animated series is the image of the wicked witch who lives in a mysterious castle and spreads evil and destruction wherever she goes. She conspires with anyone who may become an ingredient in her poisonous brews, and surrounds herself with a group of 'slaves' who automatically do her bidding. Sometimes she uses the media to cover her 'charity' activities and broadcast anything that helps to amplify her false spells. Her name changes from one story to the next, but the heinous and evil nature of her actions always serves to expose her identity, even if she dresses like a princess… or plays the role of a good and gentle old woman who hands out shiny red apples filled with poison or distributes masks during the Covid pandemic.
"It is not difficult to recognize the evil witch in the current series of Lebanese local news, for [U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon] Dorothy Shea, who lives in a den of evil in Beit Aaoukar [a town near Beirut where the U.S. embassy is located], is so famous she required no introduction – especially for whoever follows the television channels that constantly air her spells, cover her activity and spread her poison recipes on every media [platform] and in every news report.
"Dorothy Shea is currently directing the destruction of Lebanon with conspicuous activity and with the stubbornness of one who is willing to do anything she can in order to realize the goals of her country, for she has been the official ambassador of Satan in Beirut since 2020. Her predecessors were witches and sorcerers with similar traits, for the U.S. administration is careful to select, as its representatives in the Middle East, people with particular traits, chief among them the ability to sow division and a talent for managing local groups that emulate the Americans and using them to serve the Zionists on various levels.
"Like her predecessors, Shea came up against the mountain of the resistance [i.e., Hizbullah], its political party and its social milieu… This woman is trying with all her might to create even one crack in this multi-layered mountain, so she can return to her country with some achievement [to boast about]…
"The situation is now difficult and there is a deep, profound and clear conflict between two sides: [between] haughtiness and honor, between global arrogance and the growing power of the downtrodden, between the international plan of systematic usurpation and the plan of resistance on all fronts – in short, between the oppressor and the oppressed. Shea, the witch appointed to direct the evil action in Lebanon, had to invent new methods in order to bridge the deep rifts dividing the American [camp] in the region. This is because Israel, America's protégé, armed from head to toe with all the products of the U.S. arms industry, has suffered constant defeats in the conflict with the resistance, which is armed first of all with the truth [and only later] with weapons – that the U.S. is trying to learn about and take away from it by every means… ISIS and barbaric [organizations] like it, which were created by the U.S. and dispatched throughout the region, have also been crushed to pieces by the resistance, turning them into scrap metal – so much so that their manufacturer [the U.S.] no longer knows how to make any use of them.
"In addition, there are now signs that the U.S. political plan in the region is failing, having become an obvious monster that can no longer deceive anyone with shining slogans and false promises… Shea knows all this and more: She knows that the poisonous brews she concocts in Washington and Beirut will find no place on the tables of the region. It cannot be ruled out that she will serve them to those who work for her, hoping to derive some benefit from poisoning them… She knows that the [Lebanese] team she heads, which includes politicians, media figures and activists, is nothing but a gang of failing mercenaries, whom she no doubt despises much more than we do. She knows that the reviews/briefings she presents at various events are nothing but 'movies' nobody wants to show or market, except media outlets that have been paid in advance to do so. She knows that those who welcome her [in Lebanon] will not manage to carry out any of her requests, [for which she] promised them jobs or privileges. She knows that her mission in Beirut, like the other missions of her failing country, are destined to fail.
"Let us return to the image of the wicked witch we remember from the animated children's stories we used to watch so avidly, knowing that the truth would eventually win, of course… As we revisit [these stories], the sound of the witch disappearing and crumbling fills us with a benign joy – [the joy] felt by honest people when they triumph over evil. We cherish these feelings in our memory, remembering the certainty we felt as children that evil would eventually vanish. We will start from [that point], each of us doing what he does best in order to join the story and advance it, even a little, so as to reach the happy end: the sound of the wicked witch falling to pieces!"
[1] Alahednews.com, March 16, 2021.
 

Lebanon is held hostage by its politicians
David.Gardner/Financial Times/March 31/2021
The country hurtles towards collapse as power brokers refuse to form a government
Lebanon could sink like the Titanic, only with no survivors, unless its feuding politicians finally form a government able to deal with its collision of crises.
That is hardly news, one might think. Except it was said by the speaker of parliament, former warlord Nabih Berri, Lebanon’s pivotal powerbroker since the 1975-90 civil war, a pro-Syrian who somehow maintains access in both Iran and the US even now.
Berri, an ally of the Iran-backed Hizbollah paramilitary movement that ultimately holds the whip hand in this sinking Lebanon, was merely echoing remarks by French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in December, who said “Lebanon is the Titanic without the orchestra”.
Although no government is in sight, Berri’s peroration is at least a step up from the rancorous chorus of militiamen in suits, sectarian dynasts, oligarchs and bankers who purport to sail Lebanon, but have spent the past two years yelling at the iceberg to get out of the way.
Berri was addressing a rare session of parliament, an almost toothless body that once went 11 years without passing a budget, but whose perquisites and privileges are such that MPs spend fortunes acquiring seats. On this occasion, it approved expenditure on fuel imports from evaporating dollar reserves and a looted treasury — after the energy ministry warned that almost hourly power cuts would turn into a total blackout within weeks.
Parliament has ostensibly ratified a law demanding repatriation of (some) stolen public funds; but it’s a dead letter since it does not activate any agency to pursue this.
In an extraordinary outburst, Jamil al-Sayyed, a former spy chief, pro-Hizbollah MP and ally of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, said on the steps of the chamber: “What happened in there was a charade; we are lying to ourselves, we are lying to the [donor] nations, and we are lying to you”, the people of Lebanon. General al-Sayyed, who is the feared former head of the General Security directorate, knows the secrets of the state and its puppetmasters.
It is, by now, no secret to anyone that Lebanon is hurtling towards collapse. Already prostrated by a compound financial, fiscal, debt and banking crisis, the coronavirus pandemic and last August’s vast explosion in the port of Beirut have squeezed any remaining life out of the economy.
The local currency has lost 90 per cent of its value. Dollar depositors are locked out of their accounts by an insolvent banking system that lent 70 per cent of its assets to a bankrupt state and central bank that cannot repay. The economy shrank last year by 25 per cent, according to the IMF, and the World Bank reckons 55 per cent of the population is below the poverty line. This year’s contraction is likely to be at least 10 per cent of gross domestic product, but the economy is shrinking too fast to know.
Lebanon has been without a government since the cataclysmic port blast, after its predecessor was toppled by a popular revolt against the entire political class 18 months ago. President Michel Aoun, ageing leader of the largest Christian party backed by Hizbollah, has had 18 fruitless meetings with Saad al-Hariri, prime minister-designate and the son of a slain former premier.
Aoun, influenced by his dauphin son-in-law, Gebran Bassil — who had sanctions imposed on him by the US for corruption and Hizbollah links — insists on an unwieldy cabinet of placemen rather than technocrats, in which they would have veto rights. Lebanon’s power-brokers refuse to engage seriously with IMF bailout plans (they sent four delegations to the opening meeting a year ago).
Donors led by the US, France and the UK are ready to support a government committed to reform. But the political class refuses to form one, fearing exposure of its collective peculation. Hizbollah wants to bide its time and see what emerges from the Biden administration’s attempt to re-engage with Iran. It does not want to jeopardise its valuable Christian alliance, or run any risk to its power.
Aoun, says one official who sees him regularly, “is not ready to make any concessions at all” since Bassil had sanctions imposed on him. Yet “you cannot find a solution to our crisis without the IMF”, he argues. “It is our passport back into the international community and the financial markets.”
An ally of prime minister-designate Hariri puts it even more bleakly: “So they hold the country hostage, saying, ‘Let’s see if we can last a bit longer’ — but nobody knows where the breaking point is.”
david.gardner@ft.com
 

Traditional Manousheh Leaves Tables in Poverty-Hit Lebanon
Agence France Presse/31 March ,2021
Scattering spinach and hot chili onto fluffy flatbread in Lebanon's capital, 54-year-old Abu Shadi bemoans better times before the economic crisis when all Lebanese could afford his simple meals. The veteran baker is famed for his take on Lebanon's manousheh, a circle of freshly baked dough sprinkled with anything from thyme to meat, then folded in half and rolled in paper to go. But Lebanon's worse financial crunch in decades has sent prices soaring, and Abu Shadi says many of his customers of three decades can no longer afford even this modest pastry. "Since I started working at this oven in 1987, it's been nothing but goodness and blessings. But today, all that has gone," he said. On the phone, he warmly receives a stream of orders. He jokes with a customer as he waits for his breakfast, and from inside his shop waves at an acquaintance as they drive by in their car. Looking up from time to time from the flatbreads he heaps with filling, he greets the old and young as they walk by. He hums loudly, only pausing to compliment an elderly lady on blonde hairstyle. But nowadays, Abu Shadi turns down the heat in his oven once he has baked enough manaeesh (plural form of manousheh) to save on gas. Long gone are the days when he fired up the oven at 8:00 am, and did not turn it off till 3:00 pm.
'Rich and poor' -
"The manousheh is both a father and mother to the Lebanese people. It's food for the rich and the poor," he said. "Sadly at the moment, the poor can no longer afford to eat it," he said. Tens of thousands have lost their jobs or a huge part of the income in the financial crunch, which has caused the Lebanese currency to lose more than 85 percent of its value. A manousheh "used to cost between 1,000 to 1,500 pounds ($0.66 to $1), but now it's 5,000." The new price is less than $0.50 at the black market rate for a lucky few with access to dollars, but most Lebanese earn wages in the local currency -- and see that as up to five times the normal price. The baker says that for three decades, customers have streamed in at weekends, ordering up to seven or eight manaeesh to take away for a traditional family breakfast. But over the past few months, those customers have stopped coming altogether. "Manaeesh are now only for the well off," he said. "Whoever earns 30,000 or 40,000 pounds a day is not going to spend 5,000 on a thyme manousheh. They have other expenses." But Abu Shadi has been forced to increase his prices to cover the increasing cost of all supplies from flour and cheese, to the paper he wraps the manousheh in.
- 'Never seen anything like it' -
"We used to live a cushy life, but people's living situations have really slumped," he said. "We've never seen anything like it." But one customer, Mahmoud, says he will continue to buy the bread he has grown to love, "whatever the cost." "Whoever is used to Abu Shadi's manaeesh cannot replace it," he said, between bites of one filled with cheese and meat. Abu Shadi has been helped by the fact that his customers keep coming back. But he says he has not been forced to close like other small bakers since he does the job on his own. "After all this time and effort, I'm only still going because I work for myself," he said.
"The money others pay to their staff, I keep to live off.""I have nothing but my hands and God."

Berri Discusses Situation with Ibrahim
Naharnet/31 March ,2021
Speaker Nabih Berri received in Ain el-Tineh on Wednesday the General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim and talks focused on the security and political situation in Lebanon, media reports said.Ibrahim visited Paris this week at the invitation of his French counterpart. Reports said discussions touched on the delayed formation of a government in Lebanon, in addition to the security developments.
 

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 31-April 01/2021

US calls on China to use its influence for Myanmar military coup accountability
Reuters/31 March ,2021
The US continues to call on China to use its influence to hold to account those responsible for the military coup in Myanmar, the State Department said on Wednesday. State Department spokesman Ned Price made the comment at a regular news briefing. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, detaining her and reimposing military rule after a decade of tentative steps toward democracy.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Iraq’s PM discuss bilateral relations in Riyadh
Tala Michel Issa, Al Arabiya English/31 March ,2021
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held talks in Riyadh to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday. The Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa al-Kadhimi arrived earlier on Wednesday in the Kingdom’s capital city and was received at King Khalid International Airport by the Crown Prince. The purpose of the prime minister’s visit was to discuss the relations between the two countries and establish prospects for further cooperation in the region, Al Arabiya reported.Al- Kadhimi’s visit comes at an important time to discuss and collaborate on social, political and economic issues, Iraqi ambassador to Saudi Arabia Abdulaziz al-Shammari said in a statement to Al Arabiya. The two countries plan to increase border crossings so that more important meetings between businessmen operating in the two countries can be held, the ambassador added.

UN Points to Yemen's Huthis for December Attack on Aden Airport
Agence France Presse/31 March ,2021
A deadly attack on December 30, 2020 on Aden airport in Yemen was carried out with missiles similar to those possessed by Huthi rebels and fired from locations under their control, according to a report submitted to the UN Security Council. The attack killed about 20 people, including the deputy minister of public works, and injured more than 100 people. "Three explosions occurred... minutes after a plane carrying Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, members of his 'unity' cabinet and other senior government officials had landed," the report said. "The airport was hit by three precision-guided, short-distance, surface-to-surface ballistic missiles carrying fragmentation warheads, likely an extended-range version of the Badr-1P missile, which has been part of the Huthi arsenal since 2018." The Huthis on Wednesday rejected the report. "Any report on Yemen... issued without an independent committee is rejected," Huthi political commander Mohammed Ali al-Huthi said Wednesday. He added it "is unrealistic, biased, and lacks credibility". The missiles were an attempt to hit the plane carrying government officials, as well as the VIP lounge, where a press conference had been planned.
They were fired from "facilities were under the control of the Huthi forces at the time of the attacks," said a summary of the confidential investigative report obtained on Tuesday by AFP. A last-minute decision to park the plane further away from the terminal building, as well as a delay in passengers disembarking, prevented further casualties, it said. The southern port city of Aden is Yemen's de facto capital, where the internationally recognised government is based after being routed from Sanaa in the north by Huthi rebels.

Lenderking back in US after ‘productive meetings’ on Yemen: State Department
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/31 March ,2021
US President Joe Biden’s special envoy for Yemen has returned to Washington after his third trip to the Middle East and Gulf region, the State Department said Wednesday. State Department Spokesman Ned Price told reporters that Special Envoy Tim Lenderking is back in the US after “his trip to Riyadh and Muscat.”Lenderking had “productive meetings with senior officials in coordination with the UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths.” Discussions were and continue to be focused on joint international efforts to “promote a lasting ceasefire, political talks, and an inclusive peace agreement,” Price said. Price would not confirm or deny if Lenderking met with officials from the Iran-backed Houthi militia, which continues to launch cross-border attacks at Saudi Arabia and escalates its offensive against government-held areas in Yemen. Saudi Arabia most recently proposed a ceasefire initiative, and it received the backing and support of the international community, including the West and the United Nations. Riyadh also announced on Tuesday that it would provide over $400 million in support for fuel products in Yemen. Price said the US welcomed the announcement.

European Union will sanction Iran militia, police, three entities over 2019 protests
Reuters/31 March ,2021
The European Union will target eight Iranian militia and police commanders and three state entities with sanctions next week over a deadly crackdown in November 2019 by Iranian authorities, three diplomats said on Wednesday. The travel bans and asset freezes will be the first time the EU has imposed sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses since 2013 and are set to be put in place some time next week after the Easter holidays in Europe, the diplomats said. The individuals to be targeted include members of Iran’s hardline Basij militia, who are under the command of the Revolutionary Guards, the most powerful and heavily armed security force in the Islamic Republic. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the EU was planning the sanctions. The bloc declined to comment on Tuesday and Wednesday. Iran has repeatedly rejected accusations by the West of human rights abuses. The Iranian Embassy in Brussels was not immediately available for comment, nor were other Iranian officials. About 1,500 people were killed during less than two weeks of unrest that started on Nov. 15, 2019, according to a toll provided to Reuters by three Iranian interior ministry officials at the time. The United Nations said the total was at least 304. Iran has called the toll given by sources “fake news”. On March 9, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, presented a report saying Tehran used lethal force during the protests and chided it for failing to conduct a proper investigation or for failing to hold anyone accountable.
Nuclear deal
Asked why the bloc had taken so long to process its sanctions response, one EU diplomat involved in the preparations cited the need for strong evidence against those hit with the punitive measures. The bloc has also shied away from angering Iran in the hope of safeguarding a nuclear accord Tehran signed with world powers in 2015. The three diplomats said the sanctions were not linked to efforts to revive the nuclear deal, which the US pulled out of but now seeks to re-join. That deal made it harder for Iran to amass the fissile material needed for a nuclear bomb -- a goal it has long denied -- in return for sanctions relief. After days of protests across Iran in November 2019, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued an order to crackdown on protesters, Reuters reported in December 2019. That order, confirmed by three sources close to the supreme leader’s inner circle and a fourth official, set in motion the bloodiest crackdown on protesters since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. In a statement following publication of the Reuters article, a spokesman for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council described the death toll figure as “fake news,” according to semi-official Tasnim news agency. The United Nations has warned about a deterioration of human rights in Iran. Its March 9 report documented Iran’s high death penalty rate, executions of juveniles, the use torture to coerce confessions and the lawful marriage of girls as young as 10 years old.

U.S. open to discussing wider nuclear deal road map if Iran wishes
John Irish and Arshad Mohammed/PARIS/Reuters/March 31/2021
Efforts to sketch out initial U.S. and Iranian steps to resume compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal have stalled and Western officials believe Iran may now wish to discuss a wider road map to revive the pact, something Washington is willing to do. U.S. President Joe Biden’s aides initially believed Iran, with which they have not had direct discussions, wanted to talk about first steps toward a revival of the agreement that Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, abandoned in 2018. The agreement eased economic sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs to the Iranian nuclear program designed to make it harder to develop an atomic weapon - an ambition Tehran denies. Three Western officials said the Biden administration and Iran had mainly communicated indirectly via European parties to the deal - Britain, France and Germany - and that they believe Iran now wants to discuss a broader plan to return to the pact. “What we had heard was that they were interested first in a series of initial steps, and so we were exchanging ideas on a series of initial steps” said a U.S. official who, like others cited in this story, spoke on condition of anonymity. “It sounds from what we are hearing publicly now, and through other means, that they may be ... not interested in (discussing) initial steps but in a road map for return to full compliance,” he said. “If that’s what Iran wants to talk about, we are happy to talk about it,” the U.S. official added. It is not clear, however, whether that is Iran’s stance. Iran’s nuclear policy is ultimately determined by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who said flatly on March 21 that “the Americans must lift all sanctions” before Tehran would resume compliance. “If sanctions are ... really canceled, we will return to our obligations without any problems,” Khamenei said. “We have a lot of patience and we are not in a hurry.”
‘NOT IN A RUSH’
Biden aides originally said that if Iran resumed compliance, the United States would too - a stance taken to mean Washington wanted Tehran to resume compliance first - but have since made clear that who goes first is not an issue.
While the Biden administration has also sought to project that it is in no hurry, it faces the reality that if there is no progress in April toward reviving the deal, Iranian officials in May will begin intense politicking for the June 18 presidential election. “They are going to get into election period in about a month or so, but that’s not the end of the world for us,” said one Western diplomat. “We are making offers and they are making offers. It’s a slow process, but that’s OK. We’re not in a rush.” Tehran rejected a report in the U.S. publication Politico saying Washington planned this week to put forth a new proposal that would ask Iran to halt work on advanced centrifuges and the enrichment of uranium to 20% purity in return for undefined U.S. sanctions relief. “No proposal is needed for the US to rejoin the JCPOA,” the Iranian mission to the United Nations said on Twitter, referring to the deal formally named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “It only requires a political decision by the US to fully and immediately implement all of its obligations.” It remains unclear whether Iran actually wants to engage, albeit indirectly, with the United States now or whether the supreme leader prefers to wait until after the election. “I think there’s a fair bit of ambivalence from the supreme leader about rushing things,” said Henry Rome of the Eurasia Group. Reporting by John Irish in Paris and Arshad Mohammed in St. Paul, Minnesota; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Mary Milliken and Peter Cooney
 

Barghouti Forms Separate Electoral List in Blow to Palestinian President
Ramallah - Kifah Zboun/Asharq Al-Awsat.
Prominent Fatah member, Marwan al-Barghoutyi, who is imprisoned by Israel, announced the formation of a separate electoral list that will run in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The move is a major blow to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the movement’s leadership.
Barghouti instructed his close associates to form a list consisting of Fatah-based figures who were excluded from the movement’s official list, a Fatah source told Asharq Al-Awsat. Fatah supporters and members were surprised by the extent of the rift within the movement during the list formation process, with several figures venting their outrage on social media. In theory, no one in Fatah could pose a challenge to Abbas, except Barghouti, who is widely popular in the movement, especially among the youth. Upon the announcement, Barghouti’s name dominated the debate among decision-makers in Ramallah, within Fatah and Palestinian and Israeli media, in the streets and on social media. Minister of Civilian Affairs and member of the Fatah Central Committee, Hussein al-Sheikh, who is close to Abbas, was earlier granted approval to visit Barghouti in jail to discuss the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.
Barghouti had previously bid for the presidency in 2005, running against Abbas, before withdrawing from the race. Barghouti, 63, hails from the village of Kobar in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He has been imprisoned by Israel since 2002, serving five life sentences for leading Fatah’s military wing and killing Israelis during the Second Intifada that erupted in 2000. The new list limits the movement’s chances of winning the elections, especially after some former Fatah members, including Nasser al-Kidwa, the 67-year-old nephew of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and Mohammed Dahlan, a former senior Fatah official, have already announced that they would be fielding separate lists.

US, Europeans Weigh Sanctions on Lebanese Officials
Washington - Ali Barada/Wednesday, 31 March, 2021
Western diplomats and international officials told Asharq Al-Awsat that many countries were discussing imposing sanctions on Lebanese officials, including freezing of funds and travel bans, amid “grave concern” about the inability to form a new government that could implement “painful reforms” to save the country. A Western diplomat stressed that all Security Council members were “extremely concerned” about the situation in Lebanon, referring to what he called “structural failure” to form a new government that could implement “painful reform” in the “administration, the financial sector and the economy.” He revealed that sanctions were a constant possibility, which was discussed at many levels across capitals. Asharq Al-Awsat learned that the United States, the European Union and many Arab countries “are seriously studying this option.”“Money is important in Lebanon, so when you freeze the assets of some Lebanese billionaires, they will not like it very much,” said the diplomat, who asked not to be named. He added that the freezing of assets could be more convincing, and “so is the case with imposing a travel ban on Lebanese personalities involved in corruption.” But the diplomat declined to mention the names of the politicians who could be sanctioned. However, the proposed sanctions were not discussed during the recent session of the Security Council on Lebanon, during which the acting UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Najat Rushdi, delivered a briefing on the situation in the country. In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Roshdi said that she urged the Security Council to trust Lebanon’s potential. “Please do not despair of this country, because the potential is there. The situation is an accumulation of problems from the banking system, which may not have had the right management, correct governance and good legislation,” Roshdi told the Security Council. She added: “There are many countries where there are problems of impunity, bad governance, corruption and others. But in those countries, I did not see the same level of capabilities as I saw in Lebanon.”
The Western diplomat pointed to “anger and frustration” among foreign capitals because of “the inaction of the Lebanese leaders, who are taking advantage of the system and not trying to help the Lebanese who are suffering a lot” because of the collapse of the value of their national currency.

US Affirms Syrian Regime Has No Access to Humanitarian Aid
Washington - Muath Alamri/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 31 March, 2021
The United States has stressed that assistance it has pledged for the Syrian crisis is not aimed for reconstruction. It noted that the Syrian regime will have no access to the humanitarian aid, which will be distributed on camps and refugees in neighboring countries as well. In a telephone briefing on Tuesday, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration Richard Albright said the US will “not provide any reconstruction assistance absent progress on the political track.”
“There is no military solution that will bring peace, security, and stability to Syria and the region.” Asharq Al-Awsat asked Albright about the means of maintaining the delivery of the assistance to the people under regime controlled areas or regions where Russia is present and whether the US will contact the regime or have any kind of cooperation to deliver the aid. The UN agencies and the NGOs in Syria operate according to a humanitarian response plan and independently, he responded. “None of our assistance that we provide goes to the Syrian government. It all flows through UN agencies and NGOs and it goes to the people of Syria.”“We watch very closely the issues of access inside of Syria, and we do not allow the Syrian regime, the UN doesn’t allow them, to seize assistance or control where it goes,” he added. “But we do sometimes encourage – encounter difficulty in access, and sometimes the regime does not allow agencies to operate where they feel they need to operate. So that is a challenge that we continue to deal with inside of Syria,” Albright concluded.
He pointed out that US assistance targets more than 12 million Syrians who’ve been forced out of their homes, fleeing the horrific effects of the Assad regime’s destructive campaign. It supports a wide range of humanitarian programs for people affected by the crisis and the communities that host them, such as food, shelter, healthcare, education, and livelihoods. The US assistance also provides protection and assistance for refugees to support them to become self-reliant and to provide services like counseling and other protection programs for the most highly at-risk groups, including children, women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly, he stated. “The United States will continue to be a leader in the humanitarian response and to advocate for unhindered humanitarian access to Syrians regardless of where they live. Renewing and expanding the UN’s authorization for cross-border access to deliver humanitarian aid is essential, he affirmed. Speaking at the fifth Brussels Conference on “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region” on Tuesday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced more than $596 million in new humanitarian assistance to respond to the Syrian crisis. This funding brings the total US government humanitarian assistance to nearly $13 billion since the start of the decade-long crisis, including nearly $141 million in support of the COVID-19 pandemic response in Syria and the region.
The US assistance will benefit many of the estimated 13.4 million Syrians inside Syria in need of humanitarian aid, as well as 5.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He urged other donors to support the Syrian people by increasing their contributions to these efforts.“The Syrian people have faced innumerable atrocities, including Assad regime and Russian airstrikes, forced disappearances, ISIS brutality and chemical weapons attacks,” Blinken said in a statement. “Furthermore, systemic corruption and economic mismanagement at the hands of the Assad regime have exacerbated the dire humanitarian crisis, which has been further compounded by the challenge of COVID-19.”

Algeria Foils ‘Terrorist Plot’ Targeting Hirak
Algiers - Boualem Goumrassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 31 March, 2021
Algerian security forces have foiled a terrorist plot targeting weekly Hirak pro-democracy protests, the judiciary said Tuesday. Security forces neutralized a terrorist network that had planned to booby trap two vehicles in the cities of Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia and detonate them during anti-government rallies, according to a statement from the prosecution. Five suspects were arrested in Tizi Ouzou in connection with a case involving “possession of weapons of war and explosives with an intent to use them in terrorist acts”, the statement added. Security forces seized arms including a pump-action shotgun and a Kalashnikov assault rifle and ammunition, as well as electronic devices and two vehicles. The Hirak protest movement was sparked in February 2019 over then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term in office. The ailing strongman was forced to step down weeks later, but the Hirak continued with demonstrations, demanding a sweeping overhaul of a ruling system in place since Algeria’s independence from France in 1962. Meanwhile, some family members of political detainees took part in the weekly demonstrations of university students. They raised photos of their relatives and demanded their immediate release. Protesters chanted Hirak slogans calling for a “free and democratic Algeria” and “a civil not a military state,” and booed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. They criticized Tebboune’s decision to call for early elections on June 12 in response to the country's political and economic crisis. Tebboune has reached out to the protest movement, while also seeking to neutralize it. “No elections with the mafia gang (in power),” protesters chanted.

Blinken Underscores US Support for Political Negotiations on Western Sahara
Rabat/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 31 March, 2021
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has underscored US support for political negotiations on Western Sahara. His remarks were made on Monday during a virtual meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss US priorities at the United Nations. They focused on the ways in which they can work together to address regional and global challenges and strengthen the foundational principles and values of the UN and the multilateral system, including the protection of human rights and the dignity of every individual no matter their citizenship, ethnicity, religion, gender, or race. Blinken urged the Secretary-General to expedite the appointment of a Personal Envoy. Washington further insisted on its stance to recognize the sovereignty of Morocco over the Sahara. The US Secretary of State welcomed close coordination with the UN regarding the political settlement and the permanent and comprehensive ceasefire in Afghanistan as well as the need to renew and expand cross-border aid delivery in Syria. They discussed efforts in Ethiopia to secure greater humanitarian access across the country, the necessity for Eritrean forces to withdraw from Tigray, and the need for independent, international investigations into human rights abuses, noting the recent travel of Senator Christopher Coons as President Biden’s envoy. Blinken welcomed the new interim Government in Libya, underscored the importance of national elections in December of this year and the need for foreign forces to leave the country. He further pledged full support for UN Special Envoy Jan Kubis and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). They agreed to continue close US-UN coordination on these and other matters.
 

Gunfire Heard at Indonesian National Police Headquarters in Jakarta
Agence France Presse/Wednesday, 31 March, 2021
Gunfire was heard in the compound of Indonesia's national police headquarters Wednesday, local media reported, with images from the scene showing what appeared to be a lone figure being shot. Police did not respond to calls for comment to verify the reports. Images from MetroTV and other major broadcasters showed what appeared to be a lone figure being shot before falling to the ground. The body lay motionless afterward, with the reports calling it an "alleged terror attack". The exchange at the police headquarters in downtown Jakarta comes days after two suicide bombers attacked a cathedral in the city of Makssar on Sulawesi island, injuring about 20 others. The newlywed couple who attacked the church belonged to pro-Islamic State extremist group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), police have said, warning of more possible attacks. Police outposts have been frequent targets of Indonesian extremists in the past.

Italy Expels Russians after Spies 'Caught red-Handed'
Agence France Presse/Wednesday, 31 March, 2021
Italy expelled two Russian officials on Wednesday after an Italian navy captain was allegedly caught red-handed selling secret documents to a Russian military officer. The frigate captain was arrested on spying charges after a "clandestine meeting" with the Russian late on Tuesday in Rome, according to a police statement. Special operations police stopped both men but only the Italian was arrested. He is accused of passing on "confidential documents" in exchange for money. The Russian, an embassy official, avoided custody thanks to diplomatic immunity, police said. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio summoned Russia's ambassador to Rome, Sergey Razov, on Wednesday morning to lodge a formal protest. The diplomat was notified of "the immediate expulsion of the two Russian officials involved in this very serious affair", Di Maio said. According to La Repubblica newspaper, the navy captain worked at the office of Chief of the Defence Staff and had access "to a wide range of documents" concerning both Italian defence and NATO activities. Corriere della Sera newspaper said the captain was paid 5,000 euros ($5,860) in cash by the Russian.
Russian spats
Police said the suspected spy was discovered after long investigations led by Italy's domestic intelligence agency AISI, with support from the Chief of the Defence Staff. La Repubblica said it was the "most serious" incident with Russia since the end of the Cold War, recalling a 1989 incident when Russian and Bulgarian spies were discovered in Italy. Moscow is embroiled in a series of rows with the West, most recently over the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, a move that triggered EU sanctions against senior Russian officials. But Italy is one of the countries within the European Union and NATO with the warmest relations with Russia. Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.  The Russian embassy in Rome confirmed that an official in the office of the military attache was stopped by police on Tuesday, but said it was "inappropriate to comment" in detail. "In any case, we hope that what happened will not affect the bilateral relationship between Russia and Italy," the embassy said. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had the same message. "We don't have information about the reasons for or the circumstances of this detention," he said.
"But in any case, we hope that the very positive and constructive nature of Russian-Italian relations will continue and will be preserved." Bulgaria, an EU and NATO member like Italy, expelled two Russian diplomats last week after six people were arrested, including several defence ministry officials, on suspicion of spying for Russia. Also last week, the Kremlin issued a statement in which Putin bemoaned "the unsatisfactory state of Russia-EU ties", which he blamed on the "unconstructive, often confrontational policies of our partners". Earlier this month, relations between Moscow and Washington sank to a new low after US President Joe Biden called the Russian president a "killer", leading Putin to say: "It takes one to know one."

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 31-April 01/2021

From Trump to Biden Monograph: Sunni Jihadism
Thomas Joscelyn/Senior Fellow and Senior Editor of FDD's Long War Journal/March 31/2021
Current Policy
The Trump administration’s approach to combating Sunni jihadism was marked by deep ambivalence. On the one hand, President Trump vowed to destroy the Islamic State’s territorial caliphate. That mission was successful, as the Sunni jihadists now hold little to no ground throughout Iraq and Syria. Since January 2017, the United States also eliminated a number of senior terrorists, including the Islamic State’s overall leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. On the other hand, the president demonstrated little interest in the other wars waged by Sunni jihadists. His stated goal was to extricate America from its post-9/11 conflicts, whether conditions on the ground merited a withdrawal or not.
Trump’s pledge to end the “endless wars” was a goal at odds with other priorities. Indeed, the Trump administration vowed to prevent the Islamic State from reconstituting its caliphate in Iraq and Syria, but at the same time pledged to withdraw all American forces from both countries.
Trump’s “endless wars” rhetoric was aimed primarily at the war in Afghanistan. On February 29, 2020, the State Department entered into an agreement with the Taliban,1 with the goal of withdrawing all American forces from Afghanistan by April or May of 2021. However, the agreement was an attempt to paper over an American retreat. The Taliban, along with their al-Qaeda allies, remain on the offensive throughout the country and have not demonstrated a desire to lay down their arms or accept the legitimacy of the Afghan government.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Doha, Qatar, on November 21, 2020.
The Trump administration also began to withdraw counterterrorism forces from Africa. The United States has several thousand military personnel stationed on the continent, where they assist partner forces in hunting senior terrorists and preventing the jihadists from capturing ground.2 This presence is divided between two spheres. In East Africa, the United States bolsters the federal Somali government and the African Union Mission in Somalia in an effort to contain al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, and hunt members of the Islamic State’s upstart affiliate. In late 2020, the administration announced that American troops would be redeployed from Somalia to neighboring countries. In West Africa, the United States supports France’s ongoing counterterrorism mission, which began in 2013. The French work with local partner forces in West Africa to track down senior al-Qaeda and Islamic State terrorists throughout the region while preventing the groups from capturing territory.
The Trump administration also continued counterterrorism operations in jihadist hotspots such as Yemen and northwestern Syria, where al-Qaeda figures were regularly targeted with precise drone strikes. The United States thwarted a series of plots hatched by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is headquartered in Yemen and has even targeted the United States on multiple occasions. AQAP successfully executed a terrorist attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola in December 2019, killing three American service members and wounding several others.3
Countering terrorist attacks on the homeland was a priority for the Trump administration. By the end of 2019, the FBI was still investigating “more than 2,000 cases tied to” designated foreign terrorist organizations, hundreds of which involved individuals drawn to the Islamic State caliphate’s call.4 The FBI thwarted numerous Islamic State plots, including those directed by virtual planners – jihadists based in Iraq and Syria who provide online guidance to willing recruits.5
Assessment
The cumulative effect of the Trump administration’s policies from 2017 to the end of 2020 was to contain and disrupt the jihadists. Containment meant that not only did the jihadists lose their would-be caliphate in Iraq and Syria; they were also prevented from forming new states in Afghanistan, Somalia, and West Africa. The administration’s chief success was the dissolution of the Islamic State’s territorial caliphate. Although Trump claims credit for liberating 100 percent of the jihadist state’s territory, the operations in Syria and Iraq were a continuation of his predecessor’s approach. The Islamic State had lost approximately 50 percent of its turf by January 2017.6 The jihadists lost their remaining territory after Trump loosened the U.S. military’s rules of engagement ahead of the battles for Mosul and Raqqa, the caliphate’s would-be capitals.
Trump empowered American allies to fight in the Middle East rather than putting U.S. troops in harm’s way. In Syria, the administration inherited a partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an army of predominantly Kurdish fighters. In Iraq, the administration continued to work with the Iraqi government as well as Peshmerga fighters in Iraqi Kurdistan. While Iraqis conducted most of the fighting, they were backed by small American military deployments. Together, they liberated the remaining territory held by the Islamic State.
Outside of Iraq and Syria, the administration continued to degrade the Islamic State’s so-called provinces. The United States delivered significant blows to the group’s Khorasan (Afghanistan) province (also known as ISIS-K), killing a string of its top leaders and damaging its network. Still, ISIS-K and other Islamic State affiliates remain a threat, periodically launching attacks.
With respect to al-Qaeda, the administration had fewer successes. The United States continued tracking down high-value al-Qaeda personnel around the globe. On August 7, 2020, at the behest of Washington, Israeli assassins took out al-Qaeda’s deputy emir, Abu Muhammad al-Masri, in Tehran.7 Hamza bin Laden, Osama’s heir, was another prominent terrorist to perish in this campaign. Other noteworthy al-Qaeda figures were eliminated in Afghanistan, Mali, Syria, and Yemen. Trump also authorized an increase in airstrikes in Somalia, where American airpower has stymied al-Shabaab’s attempts to gain ground.
Trump’s Afghanistan policy was wildly inconsistent. Long a skeptic of the war, Trump reluctantly agreed to a modest troop increase in August 2017.8 At the time, he argued that victory in Afghanistan was necessary to protect American interests. Just over one year later, Trump reversed course, launching negotiations with the Taliban in an effort to justify a complete withdrawal. The Taliban reportedly agreed to several counterterrorism assurances, including a promise to prevent al-Qaeda from using Afghan soil to plan international attacks. However, there is no reason to think the Taliban will comply. The agreement contains no verification or enforcement mechanisms; the Taliban have repeatedly lied about their relationship with al-Qaeda; and there is ample evidence that the two remain allies. A complete withdrawal from Afghanistan by the spring of 2021, as the deal stipulates, would cement America’s loss in its longest war, turning over most of the country to al-Qaeda’s closest ally. There is much uncertainty regarding the future of America’s counterterrorism campaign. Two successive administrations have attempted to extricate U.S. forces from post-9/11 conflicts. However, Presidents Obama and Trump were mugged by a simple reality: The enemy gets a vote. The Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and other jihadist groups will continue to threaten American interests whether the United States remains committed to the fight or not. The “endless wars” rhetoric obscures this reality, portraying America’s presence overseas as the principal problem. It is irresponsible to assert that America can ignore the Sunni jihadist threat.
Recommendations
Retain a small U.S. military presence in select jihadist hotspots. The days of large-scale counterinsurgency efforts were over well before Trump’s election. The United States ended the Islamic State’s caliphate in Syria with fewer than 2,500 U.S. Special Operations Forces on the ground.9 They backed up more than 60,000 SDF fighters, who sustained the overwhelming majority of the casualties during the heaviest fighting. The U.S. presence in Syria is augmented by several thousand troops in Iraq. Should the United States completely withdraw its forces, the Islamic State will likely enjoy a resurgence, as its members continue to wage guerrilla warfare in both countries.The situation is more complicated in Afghanistan, where America’s allies in the Afghan government have proven incapable. Yet there is little political will in Washington to keep a small contingent of American forces in country. As in Iraq, the United States has not had a large military presence in Afghanistan in nearly a decade. There are currently a few thousand American military personnel in country. Should they be withdrawn by the spring of 2021, it will be a boon for the jihadists not only in Afghanistan but around the globe. America’s defeat will be obvious.
The Islamic State released a photo on May 31, 2018, purportedly showing a 10-person team that assaulted the offices of Afghanistan’s interior ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan, the day prior. (Photo via FDD’s Long War Journal)
Properly define the enemy. The desire to “end” America’s role in the post-9/11 conflicts has led to politicized assessments of the Sunni jihadist threat. The Obama administration dismissed the Islamic State’s predecessor organization as an insignificant local force incapable of threatening the West. That was proven false after the self-declared caliphate’s rise in 2014. Similarly, too many in Washington have played “disconnect the dots” with respect to al-Qaeda, falsely portraying its regional branches as lesser threats and repeatedly declaring the network’s demise to be at hand.
The U.S. government should create objective metrics for assessing the Sunni jihadist threat. Such metrics would be rooted in rigorous assessments of the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and allied groups. Declassified versions of these assessments should be released to the public so that citizens can be better informed.
Expose and sanction state enablers. Neither the Islamic State nor al-Qaeda enjoys state sponsorship the way Hezbollah benefits from the regime in Iran. Nonetheless, both have relied on state enablers, cutting deals with various actors in governments throughout the Middle East and South Asia. Al-Qaeda has long maintained a fundraising network throughout the Gulf States and also reached agreements with officials in Mauritania, Pakistan, and Iran. Turkey has been problematic, often providing a permissive environment for both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. The U.S. government should continue to expose these networks through public statements and sanctions. Ending these relationships is crucially important if the goal is to diminish the Sunni jihadists’ long-term prospects.
Notes
Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by the United States as a state and is known as the Taliban and the United States of America, Doha, February 29, 2020. (https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Agreement-For-Bringing-Peace-to-Afghanistan-02.29.20.pdf)
Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Charlie Savage, and Eric Schmitt, “Pentagon Eyes Africa Drawdown as First Step in Global Troop Shift,” The New York Times, December 24, 2019. (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/24/world/africa/esper-troops-africa-china.html)
U.S. Department of Justice, Press Release, “Attorney General William P. Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray Announce Significant Developments in the Investigation of the Naval Air Station Pensacola Shooting,” May 18, 2020. (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-william-p-barr-and-fbi-director-christopher-wray-announce-significant)
Masood Farivar, “FBI Scrutinizes Over 2,000 Cases Tied to Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” Voice of America, October 31, 2019. (https://www.voanews.com/usa/fbi-scrutinizes-over-2000-cases-tied-foreign-terrorist-organizations)
For an overview of individuals inside the United States who were directed by the Islamic State’s virtual planners, see: Thomas Joscelyn, “The Future of Counterterrorism: Addressing the Evolving Threat to Domestic Security,” Testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, February 28, 2017. (https://docs.house.gov/meetings/hm/hm05/20170228/105637/hhrg-115-hm05-wstate-joscelynt-20170228.pdf)

At UN, Blinken Calls for Action on Aid to Syria
David Adesnik/Policy Brief/FDD/March 31/2021
Secretary of State Antony Blinken personally represented the United States at a UN Security Council briefing on Syria yesterday, where he warned, “The lives of people in Syria depend on getting urgent help. We have to do everything in our power to create ways for that aid to get to them.” Blinken’s comments represent his first extended remarks on Syria during his tenure yet included few specifics regarding how the Biden administration plans to protect the Syrian people from the regime of Bashar al-Assad and its patrons in Moscow and Tehran.
Blinken called on the Security Council to extend its authorization for UN agencies to channel aid into northwest Syria from across the Turkish border, and emphasized the need to reopen two aid crossings shut down previously. Cross-border deliveries, which bypass authorities in Damascus, began in response to the Assad regime’s deliberate blocking of aid for civilians living in rebel-held territory. There are 2.7 million displaced persons in northwest Syria, who are dependent on the UN for food, shelter, medical care, and other forms of aid.
Despite the urgent need to reauthorize cross-border assistance, Blinken declined to identify Russia and China as the parties responsible for restricting aid in the past and threatening now to stop it completely. Instead, the secretary of state framed his remarks as a message to all members of the Council. The obstruction by Beijing and Moscow is no secret, yet Blinken did not identify any sort of leverage the U.S. and the rest of the Council would employ to prevent further vetoes. A hesitation to name those responsible for blocking aid begets the question of whether the administration has a plan to protect the flow of assistance.Blinken also missed an opportunity to underscore the need for an overhaul of the UN’s approach to delivering assistance to areas that are under Assad’s control, unlike the northwest. Since the earliest days of the war, the regime has diverted massive amounts of aid for its own purposes while surveilling and intimidating aid workers. UN agencies have resigned themselves to this abuse. Even an internal assessment found that UN personnel muted their criticism, “presumably in a judgement about access over advocacy.” The result is that funding that Congress appropriated to alleviate civilian suffering instead lines the pockets of the regime. To his credit, Blinken noted how the coronavirus pandemic poses an especially dangerous threat in Syria. “Social distancing is impossible when one is jostling for a spot in a crowded bread line,” he said. “Many Syrians do not even have a reliable supply of clean water and soap to wash their hands.” As part of its global response to the pandemic, the Biden administration has pledged $4 billion to COVAX, an international initiative to provide coronavirus vaccines to Syria and other countries that cannot afford them. Yet there do not appear to be guardrails in place to prevent Assad from diverting the vaccines as he does other multilateral aid.
Lastly, the March 29 Security Council meeting offered an opportunity for Washington to advocate on behalf of the 10,000 displaced Syrians living in the camp at Rukban near the Jordanian border. The camp is safe from the regime’s depredations because it lies within the 55-kilometer deconfliction zone surrounding the U.S. garrison at Tanf. Yet living conditions are dire because Assad blocks UN aid deliveries, a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. While pressuring the regime to stop this obstruction, the administration should ask the Jordanian government to allow aid into Rukban across its border and to allow the UN to re-open the border clinic that served the camp’s residents until last year. The United States could also provide aid itself.
Blinken’s advocacy at the UN helped to elevate the issue of humanitarian aid. The next step for the administration is to lay out exactly how it will alleviate the crisis in Syria.
*David Adesnik is research director and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from David and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow David on Twitter @adesnik. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Is Iran Being Turned into a Chinese Gas Station?
Elliott Abrams/National Review/March 31/2021
On March 27, in a ceremony in Tehran, the foreign ministers of Iran and China signed an agreement for China to invest $400 billion in Iran over 25 years. The New York Times reported on the deal under the headline “China, With $400 Billion Iran Deal, Could Deepen Influence in Mideast” and added this:
Iran did not make the details of the agreement public before the signing, nor did the Chinese government give specifics. But experts said it was largely unchanged from an 18-page draft obtained last year by The New York Times.
That draft detailed $400 billion of Chinese investments to be made in dozens of fields, including banking, telecommunications, ports, railways, health care and information technology, over the next 25 years. In exchange, China would receive a regular — and, according to an Iranian official and an oil trader, heavily discounted — supply of Iranian oil.
I’m dubious. First, this deal was proposed five years ago, in 2016, when Xi Jinping visited Iran. That’s a long time to get to signing — and the terms of the deal have still not been made public. Why not? One theory is that Iran will be selling oil to China at a large discount — large enough to spur resistance and protests in Iran were it to become known. How much will materialize, turning paper into actual commerce, remains to be seen.
Consider the numbers, too. According to the World Bank, total foreign direct investment (FDI) in Iran, from all sources, maxed out in 2017 at $5 billion, but by 2019 had fallen to $1.5 billion. It seems to have fallen further in 2020, to about $1 billion. This agreement with China — $400 billion in 25 years — calls for $16 billion per year from China alone. Does that seem realistic for Iran, a country that has never absorbed more than $5 billion in a single year in FDI from the entire world? There is also good reason to question the notion that China will significantly increase its reliance on Iran for oil: Would China want to rely on a sole, Middle Eastern source rather than diversify its supplies?
There are other ways of evaluating how real the $400 billion figure may be. According to the China Global Investment Tracker produced by the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation, in the 15 years between 2004 and 2019, China invested a total of $182 billion in the United States, or an average of $12 billion a year; $98 billion in Australia, or $6.5 billion per year; and $83 billion in the U.K., or $5.5 billion per year. The numbers are lower for countries such as Brazil, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland. How realistic is it, then, that China will invest more annually in Iran than it does — or has ever done — in any other country in the world?
This is not to suggest that a large economic deal between Iran and China has no meaning. One has to assume that Iran will sell more and more oil to China, defying and undermining U.S. sanctions. And one should also assume that China will increase its investments in Iran, in many sectors of the economy. Among other harmful effects, we should consider how this will affect China’s willingness to discipline Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency for its continuing violations of the JCPOA, the Additional Protocol, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty — violations that bring Iran closer to being able to create a deliverable nuclear weapon.
Finally, one has to wonder about the prospects of Iran selling “heavily discounted” oil to China as its end of the deal, as is suggested in the New York Times report. The regime of the ayatollahs claims that Iran seeks independence and self-determination, comparing its firmness on this subject with the supposed weakness of the Shah. But suppose this deal with China came true. Then Iran would be selling oil cheaply to China, and China would be buying up the whole country. Remember: The maximum amount ever invested in Iran in one year was $5 billion, and under this supposed deal China alone would be investing three times that amount annually for 25 years. At the end of that period, Iran would be a wholly owned subsidiary of China, basically a gas station for the People’s Republic.
Skepticism about all the numbers is very much in order. And for Iranians, information about what has been agreed should be the key goal. Either the amounts are ridiculous and are mostly propaganda designed to boost both the Chinese and Iranian regimes. Or if the amounts are accurate, the regime, suffering under U.S. sanctions, is selling the country to China.
*ELLIOTT ABRAMS is a senior fellow in Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former deputy national-security adviser.

Yale Fires Psychiatrist for Diagnosing Unseen Patients
Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/March 31/2021
"[I]t is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement." — Principles of Medical Ethics, American Psychiatric Association.
[Dr. Bandy] Lee herself has a long history of such unprofessional conduct. She previously diagnosed President Trump, whom I believe she also never met, as being psychotic.
Lee's resort to diagnosis rather than dialogue is a symptom of a much larger problem that faces our divided nation: our unwillingness to debate issues and our willingness to resort to ad hominems and diagnoses instead of reasoned argumentation. Lee is part of that problem, not its solution. So is [Professor Richard] Painter. Shame on them.
Despite her violation of ethical and professional rules, I did not call for Lee to be fired. I simply advised Yale of her actions and asked them to investigate these violations. Yale decided to fire her not because of what I said, but because of what she did.
Lee is now suing Yale and blaming me for having caused her to be fired. She credits me with far more power than I have. I simply exercised my freedom of speech right to correct her falsehoods and to ask Yale to investigate her misuse of her credentials.
Should Yale have fired Dr. Bandy Lee, the psychiatrist who diagnosed someone she had never even seen -- actually me -- as suffering from "psychosis" because of my views on the constitutional rights of President Donald Trump? She claims I caught the psychosis from Trump. Her evidence: that I used a word -- "perfect" -- months before he used it!
Lee has never met me, never examined me, never seen my medical records, never even spoken to anyone close to me.
Yet she was prepared to offer a diagnosis of "psychosis' which she attributed to my being one of President Trump's "followers." (I am a liberal Democrat who did not vote for Trump.)
Indeed, she went even further, diagnosing the severity and spread of "shared psychosis' among "just about all of Donald Trump's followers!"
Nor was she using these psychiatric terms as political metaphors, dangerous as that would be. She literally claimed that all of us were mentally ill and our views should be considered symptom of our illness, rather than as legitimate ideas that simply differed from hers.
Publicly offering "professional opinions" or diagnoses in the absence of a psychiatric examination, is a violation of Principles of Medical Ethics of the American Psychiatric Association.
According to the esteemed organization, "it is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement." This is called the Goldwater Rule because it derives from the irresponsible acts of more than 1,000 psychiatrists diagnosing 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater as psychologically unfit to be president. Goldwater lost and went on to be one of the most productive and respected Senators, exhibiting no symptoms of any mental illness during his long and distinguished career. The psychiatric quacks who misdiagnosed him without ever examining him deserved the professional opprobrium they received. Evidently, Lee learned nothing from this sordid history
On the contrary, Lee herself has a long history of such unprofessional conduct. She previously diagnosed President Trump, whom I believe she also never met, as being psychotic. Then she accused me of having a "shared psychosis" with President Trump, and having "wholly taken on Trump's symptoms by contagion."
Lee's absurd conclusions rest on several factual assumptions that are provably false: first, that I am guilty of sexual misconduct in the Jeffrey Epstein case, despite overwhelming evidence I never even met the woman who has falsely accused me. My accuser has essentially admitted never meeting me in a series of emails and a draft manuscript which she unsuccessfully tried to hide. Despite the overwhelming evidence -- all documented in my book, Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the age of #MeToo -- Lee includes as a factor in her diagnosis, my unwillingness to show "remorse" for something I did not do.
Second, she cited as additional "proof" of my "psychosis" that I expressed "delusional-level impunity," and a "lack of empathy." All this without ever meeting me.
Third, she said that my use of the word "perfect" -- the same word used by Donald Trump in describing his phone call to the Ukrainian president – is evidence of a "shared psychosis." She does not mention I used the word "perfect" in the context of rebutting the false accusations against me and proclaiming, truthfully, that I have never had sex with any woman other than my wife, since the day I met Jeffrey Epstein. I used the word "perfect" in reference to my fidelity during the period in which I was falsely accused, just as someone might say she had a "perfect" attendance record. Moreover, Lee neglects to mention that the interview during which I used the work took place months before President Trump used it to describe his call to the Ukrainian president. I used the word in a television interview in July 2019. Trump used the word in November 2019. I guess Lee believes he caught the contagion from me.
The man who put Lee up to making this false accusation, Professor Richard Painter, recently doubled down. Despite knowing of the actual chronology -- that I used the word before Trump did -- Painter has falsely and maliciously claimed that I "echoed Trump's narcissistic boast," by using the word "perfect." Although he is not a psychiatrist, he is a lawyer who is ethically bound not to the lie or mislead. I challenge him to defend his mendacious claim that I "echoed" Trump -- or to publicly admit he lied.
It is difficult to imagine anyone ever hiring Lee as a forensic psychiatrist to offer an actual diagnosis of a litigant. On cross-examination, she would have to admit that she has diagnosed "just about all of Donald Trump's followers" as having a "shared psychosis." This would likely include jury members and perhaps the judge, along with millions of voters.
If it is difficult to imagine Lee as an effective forensic witness, just try to imagine her as a fair teacher! (It is equally difficult to imagine Painter teaching ethics or honesty to law students!)
Even at Yale, some of Lee's students are likely to be Trump supporters. Would she grade them or diagnose them? Would she prescribe anti-psychotic drugs to students who she believed to be Trump "followers"? Would she refuse to recommend them because of their illness? Would they be entitled to the protection of the Americans with Disabilities Act? Does she teach her students to diagnose their classmates and friends who disagree with them politically, instead of engaging with them?
Lee's resort to diagnosis rather than dialogue is a symptom of a much larger problem that faces our divided nation: our unwillingness to debate issues and our willingness to resort to ad hominems and diagnoses instead of reasoned argumentation. Lee is part of that problem, not its solution. So is Painter. Shame on them.
Despite her violation of ethical and professional rules, I did not call for Lee to be fired. I simply advised Yale of her actions and asked them to investigate these violations. Yale decided to fire her not because of what I said, but because of what she did.
Lee is now suing Yale and blaming me for having caused her to be fired. She credits me with far more power than I have. I simply exercised my freedom of speech right to correct her falsehoods and to ask Yale to investigate her misuse of her credentials. I have also challenged her to debate her conduct in the marketplace of ideas on Zoom. I await her response.
*Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School and author of the book, Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the Age of #MeToo, Skyhorse Publishing, 2019. His new podcast, "The Dershow," can be seen on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. He is the Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2021 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.

China's Threat to Free Speech in Europe
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/March 31/2021
The current standoff is, in essence, about the future of free speech in Europe. If notoriously feckless European officials fail to stand firm in the face of mounting Chinese pressure, Europeans who dare publicly to criticize the CCP in the future can expect to pay an increasingly high personal cost for doing so.
"As long as human rights are being violated, I cannot stay silent. These sanctions prove that China is sensitive to pressure. Let this be an encouragement to all my European colleagues: Speak out!" — Dutch lawmaker Sjoerd Sjoerdsma.
"It is our duty to call out the Chinese government's human rights abuses in Hong Kong and their genocide of the Uighur people. Those of us who live free lives under the rule of law must speak for those who have no voice." — Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith.
"Beijing's strategy is to simply crush and silence any global opposition to its atrocity by inflicting crushingly punitive measures on anyone who speaks out. A very concerning development." — Adrian Zenz, German scholar.
"It is telling that China now responds to even moderate criticism with sanctions, rather than attempting to defend its actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang." — China Research Group.
"For far too long the EU has believed in the illusion of a middle ground." — Lea Dauber, Süddeutsche Zeitung.
"In plain language: Beijing wants to decide who in Europe can talk or write about China." — Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
"Beijing's sanctions against the UK and EU — targeting MPs, academics, even legal groups — show the regime of Xi Jinping will not tolerate dissent from anyone, anywhere." — Sophia Yan, China correspondent for the Telegraph.
"Beijing's message is unmistakable: You must choose. If you want to do business in China, it must be at the expense of American values. You will meticulously ignore the genocide of ethnic and religious minorities inside China's borders; you must disregard that Beijing has reneged on its major promises—including the international treaty guaranteeing a 'high degree of autonomy' for Hong Kong; and you must stop engaging with security-minded officials in your own capital unless it's to lobby them on Beijing's behalf." — Matt Pottinger, former deputy White House national security adviser, Wall Street Journal.
China has imposed sanctions on more than two dozen European and British lawmakers, academics and think tanks. The move comes after the European Union and the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang region.
China contends that its sanctions are tit for tat — morally equivalent retaliation — in response to those imposed by Western countries. This is false. The European sanctions are for crimes against humanity, whereas the Chinese sanctions seek to silence European critics of the Chinese Communist Party.
The current standoff is, in essence, about the future of free speech in Europe. If notoriously feckless European officials fail to stand firm in the face of mounting Chinese pressure, Europeans who dare publicly to criticize the CCP in the future can expect to pay an increasingly high personal cost for doing so.
On March 22, the European Union and the United Kingdom announced (here and here) that they had imposed sanctions on four Chinese officials accused of responsibility for abuses against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, a remote autonomous region in northwestern China.
Human rights experts say at least one million Muslims are being detained in up to 380 internment camps, where they are subject to torture, mass rapes, forced labor and sterilizations. After first denying the existence of the camps, China now says that they provide vocational education and training.
Among those targeted by the EU are Chen Mingguo, director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (XPSB). In its Official Journal, the EU stated:
"As Director of the XPSB, Chen Mingguo holds a key position in Xinjiang's security apparatus and is directly involved in implementing a large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination program targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities. In particular, the XPSB has deployed the 'Integrated Joint Operations Platform' (IJOP), a big data program used to track millions of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region and flag those deemed 'potentially threatening' to be sent to detention camps. Chen Mingguo is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in China, in particular arbitrary detentions and degrading treatment inflicted upon Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities, as well as systematic violations of their freedom of religion or belief."
The EU sanctions, which involve travel bans and asset freezes, conspicuously exclude the top official in Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo, who has been targeted by U.S. sanctions since July 2020. The EU apparently was attempting to show restraint in an effort to forestall an escalation by China.
The Chinese government responded to the EU sanctions within minutes by announcing its own sanctions on 14 European individuals and entities. The individuals and their families are prohibited from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. They and companies and institutions associated with them are also restricted from doing business with China.
Those prohibited from entering China or doing business with it are German politician Reinhard Bütikofer, who chairs the European Parliament's delegation to China, Michael Gahler, Raphaël Glucksmann, Ilhan Kyuchyuk and Miriam Lexmann, all Members of the European Parliament, Sjoerd Wiemer Sjoerdsma of the Dutch Parliament, Samuel Cogolati of the Belgian Parliament, Dovilė Šakalienė of the Seimas of Lithuania, German scholar Adrian Zenz, and Swedish scholar Björn Jerdén.
The ten individuals have publicly criticized the Chinese government for human rights abuses. Sjoerdsma, for instance, recently called for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. Cogolati and Šakalienė have drafted genocide legislation, while Zenz has written extensively on the detention camps in Xinjiang.
China also sanctioned the EU's main foreign policy decision-making body, known as the Political and Security Committee, as well as the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights, the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies, and the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, a Danish think tank founded by former NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
In a March 22 statement, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said:
"The Chinese side urges the EU side to reflect on itself, face squarely the severity of its mistake and redress it. It must stop lecturing others on human rights and interfering in their internal affairs. It must end the hypocritical practice of double standards and stop going further down the wrong path. Otherwise, China will resolutely make further reactions."
A few days later, on March 26, China announced sanctions on nine British individuals and four entities. The individuals include Tom Tugendhat, Iain Duncan Smith, Neil O'Brien, David Alton, Tim Loughton, Nusrat Ghani, Helena Kennedy, Geoffrey Nice, Joanne Nicola Smith Finley. The entities include China Research Group, Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, Uyghur Tribunal and the Essex Court Chambers.
On March 27, China announced additional sanctions on Americans and Canadian individuals and entities. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned Canada and the United States to "stop political manipulation" or "they will get their fingers burnt."
EU-China Investment Deal
The EU sanctions, the first such punitive measure against China since an EU arms embargo was imposed in 1989 after the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy crackdown, appear to indicate that both the EU and the UK plan to follow the United States and pursue a harder line against human rights abuses by the Chinese government.
The bedrock of EU-China relations has always been economic, and European leaders have long been accused of downplaying human rights abuses in China to protect European business interests there.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel recently negotiated a controversial trade deal with China.
The so-called Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), concluded on December 30, was negotiated in great haste. Merkel, facing pressure from both China and German industry, reportedly wanted an agreement at any cost before Germany's six-month EU presidency ended on December 31, 2020.
The lopsided agreement, which ostensibly aims to level the economic and financial playing field by providing European companies with improved access to the Chinese market, actually allows China to continue to restrict investment opportunities for European companies in many strategic sectors.
One week after the deal was signed, China launched a massive crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong.
Now that China has imposed sanctions on European lawmakers, the investment agreement may never see the light of day. "It seems unthinkable that our Parliament would even entertain the idea of ratifying an agreement while its members and one of its committees are under sanctions," said MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a parliamentary point-person for the EU-China deal.
European Responses
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has been strangely silent regarding the Chinese sanctions. Others have been outspoken in their criticism:
"We sanction people who violate human rights, not parliamentarians, as has now been done by the Chinese side," said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. "This is neither comprehensible nor acceptable for us."
After being put on China's sanctions list, Dutch lawmaker Sjoerd Sjoerdsma tweeted:
"As long as human rights are being violated, I cannot stay silent. These sanctions prove that China is sensitive to pressure. Let this be an encouragement to all my European colleagues: Speak out!"
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson invited several of the MPs hit by Chinese sanctions to Downing Street. He tweeted:
"This morning I spoke with some of those who have been shining a light on the gross human rights violations being perpetrated against Uyghur Muslims. I stand firmly with them and the other British citizens sanctioned by China."
Johnson referred to the parliamentarians as "warriors in the fight for free speech" who have his "full-throated support" and expressed bafflement at Beijing's "ridiculous" actions.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab added:
"It speaks volumes that, while the UK joins the international community in sanctioning those responsible for human rights abuses, the Chinese government sanctions its critics. If Beijing wants to credibly rebut claims of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, it should allow the UN high commissioner for human rights full access to verify the truth."
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith tweeted:
"It is our duty to call out the Chinese government's human rights abuses in Hong Kong and their genocide of the Uighur people. Those of us who live free lives under the rule of law must speak for those who have no voice. If that brings the anger of China down upon me the I shall wear that as a badge of honor."
Labour MP Lisa Nandy, in an interview with the BBC, said:
"This is incredibly serious. It's a direct attempt to silence and intimidate those who criticize the actions of the Chinese government. If China thinks that this will silence critics, they are completely mistaken....
"This will only strengthen our resolve to be more vocal and more resolute in calling out and challenging the grotesque human rights abuses that we've seen coming out of Xinjiang and the clampdown on democracy in Hong Kong. We are British Parliamentarians who will not be divided on this. Whatever political tradition we come from, we are first and foremost democrats and we will stand up for those values, especially when they are under attack."
MP Tom Tugendhat, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, in an interview with the BBC, said:
"What we are seeing at the moment is a vulnerable and weak China that has failed in its democratic outreach to states around the region, it has failed to undermine the coalition of countries that are standing up for human rights and it has failed to undermine the connection between the UK, the US and indeed Europe, so what they are doing is lashing out.
"Sadly, this is a sign of weakness and not a sign of strength and a demonstration that President Xi is failing the Chinese people, the Chinese Community Party and, indeed, failing the whole world."
British academic Jo Smith Finley tweeted:
"It seems I am to be sanctioned by the PRC (Chinese) government for speaking the truth about the #Uyghur tragedy in #Xinjiang, and for having a conscience. Well, so be it. I have no regrets for speaking out, and I will not be silenced."
Adrian Zenz, a German scholar subject to Chinese sanctions, tweeted:
"Beijing's strategy on Xinjiang is fundamentally shifting. Their goal is not mainly to erase the evidence, although they do that. It is now also less about denying said evidence, although they still do it. Rather, they now feel untouchable about it all.
"Beijing's strategy is to simply crush and silence any global opposition to its atrocity by inflicting crushingly punitive measures on anyone who speaks out. A very concerning development."
The China Research Group, which was established by a group of Conservative MPs in the UK to promote debate and fresh thinking about how Britain should respond to the rise of China, concluded:
"It is tempting to laugh off this measure as a diplomatic tantrum. But in reality it is profoundly sinister and just serves as a clear demonstration of many of the concerns we have been raising about the direction of China under Xi Jinping. Other mainstream European think tanks have also been sanctioned this week and it is telling that China now responds to even moderate criticism with sanctions, rather than attempting to defend its actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang."
The founder of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said:
"We will never give in to bullying by authoritarian states. Our work to promote freedom, democracy and human rights around the world will continue. China has once again highlighted the urgent need for democracies to unite in stemming the tide of autocracy in our world."
Select Commentary
In an editorial, the Financial Times wrote that the EU's sanctions on China are a sign of Western resolve on China.
"China retaliated against EU sanctions by punishing several parliamentarians, analysts, and Merics, a think-tank on China based in Berlin known for its judicious analysis. It also targeted the committee of 27 member-state ambassadors to the EU who oversee foreign and security policy. Beijing has in recent years used a divide-and-conquer approach with national capitals to undermine a common EU front. With its Xinjiang abuses and overreaction on sanctions, Beijing has managed the rare feat of uniting the EU on a foreign policy issue.
"By targeting critics of its actions and analysts who refuse to toe its line, Beijing has demonstrated its totalitarian mindset. By punishing European Parliament members, it has made it all but impossible for that legislature to ratify the investment agreement. MEPs were already clamoring for more concessions from Beijing, namely the adoption of international standards outlawing forced labor. China will need to make a double retreat to put the deal back on track, which seems unlikely. Having used the investment deal to drive a monetary wedge between Washington and Brussels, Beijing may feel it can dispense with it."
The Guardian, in an editorial, wrote:
"The sanctions have drastically lowered the odds of the European parliament approving the investment deal which China and the EU agreed in December, to US annoyance. Beijing may think the agreement less useful to China than it is to the EU (though many in Europe disagree). But the measures have done more to push Europe towards alignment with the US than anything Joe Biden could have offered, at a time when China is also alienating other players, notably Australia....
"Beijing's delayed response to the UK sanctions suggests it did not anticipate them, perhaps unsurprising when the integrated review suggested we should somehow court trade and investment while also taking a tougher line. But the prime minister and foreign secretary have, rightly, made their support for sanctioned individuals and their concerns about gross human rights violations in Xinjiang clear. Academics and politicians, universities and other institutions, should follow their lead in backing targeted colleagues and bodies. China has made its position plain. So should democratic societies."
Lea Deuber, China correspondent for Süddeutsche Zeitung, wrote:
"In response to European sanctions against those responsible for human rights crimes in Xinjiang, Beijing is sanctioning European politicians, academics and research institutes. The sanctions must not be understood as a threat against individuals. They are an attack on the entire European Union, on its fundamental values ​​and freedom.
"Beijing accuses the EU of questioning China's sovereignty. In reality, the regime is trying to force the European Union to take sides in the dispute between the U.S. and China through violence and manipulation. The escalation must be a wake-up call.
"For far too long the EU has believed in the illusion of a middle ground. With a view to the cruel conduct in Xinjiang, Brussels waited for years, only appealing again and again. Even with the sanctions, Brussels had sought a softened solution, disregarding important Chinese players in the region.
"That must come to an end. Berlin must draw conclusions. At the end of last year, contrary to all warnings, the German government pushed through the investment agreement with China. This still has to be ratified by the EU Parliament. That is now unthinkable."
The Frankfurter Allgemeine, in an article titled, "Anyone Who Does Not Sing Beijing's Song Will be Punished," wrote: "In plain language: Beijing wants to decide who in Europe can talk or write about China."
UK MP Nusrat Ghani, writing for the Spectator, noted:
"There is a positive side to all this. The reaction from the Chinese Communist Party shows that some of the work going on in Parliament is having an effect — and is reaching the ears of those who matter in Beijing. Twelve months ago, the abuse of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang was only whispered about in Parliament. There was no sense that the UK's supply chains might be affected, or that we could bring about real change. Now the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, of which I am a member, has held an inquiry into forced labor in UK value chains, and we have found 'compelling evidence' of Chinese slave labor links to major brands.
"The Chinese authorities should realize that their actions today have laid down a challenge for Parliament. They have essentially told MPs to stop asking questions and to mind their own business. Throughout its history, our Parliament has never much liked that attitude. I can assure the Chinese Communist Party that I and my fellow MPs will continue to shine a light on their activities, and that Parliament — more than ever — stands behind us."
Robin Brandt, Shanghai correspondent for the BBC, wrote:
"China has gone for the people exerting the most pressure on Boris Johnson to be tough on China. It's gone for the people who say 'genocide' has happened in Xinjiang.
"The measures are essentially tokenistic — it's unlikely these people or entities did any business with Chinese firms or people anyway.
"Targeting Neil O'Brien is personal for the UK prime minister. The MP is in charge of leading policy in Downing Street.
"Going after Essex Court Chambers — a group of self-employed barristers — for a legal opinion it reached also shows you how China views an independent judicial system. It doesn't believe in them."
Sophia Yan, China correspondent for the Telegraph, in an analysis, wrote:
"Beijing's sanctions against the UK and EU — targeting MPs, academics, even legal groups — show the regime of Xi Jinping will not tolerate dissent from anyone, anywhere....
"China is flexing its muscles to challenge a rules-based world order set by the West in a campaign to be treated as an equal. It plays well at home.
"But there are genuine questions over whether the show of force is wise. Beijing's behavior is certainly not winning hearts and minds, and instead appears to be doing damage to its international standing.
"Beijing has long bet that most countries would be wooed by lucrative opportunities with the world's second-largest economy.
"How long that will continue to be the case remains to be seen. Britain, for its part, is unlikely to step back from its criticism of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and it's hard to see how China could cool tensions if it wanted to....
"A key test of whether Beijing can get away with throwing its weight around like this will be whether the EU moves to ratify an investment agreement with China. It has been in the works for seven years, but EU officials were expressing doubts even before they were hit with sanctions.
"Whether the deal is approved, renegotiated, or scrapped entirely will send a message to Beijing — either that it can indeed do what it wants, or that it's crossed a line."
Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Matt Pottinger, former deputy White House national security adviser, concluded:
"Beijing's message is unmistakable: You must choose. If you want to do business in China, it must be at the expense of American values. You will meticulously ignore the genocide of ethnic and religious minorities inside China's borders; you must disregard that Beijing has reneged on its major promises—including the international treaty guaranteeing a 'high degree of autonomy' for Hong Kong; and you must stop engaging with security-minded officials in your own capital unless it's to lobby them on Beijing's behalf.
"Another notable element of Beijing's approach is its explicit goal of making the world permanently dependent on China, and exploiting that dependency for political ends. Mr. Xi has issued guidance, institutionalized this month by his rubber-stamp parliament, that he's pursuing a grand strategy of making China independent of high-end imports from industrialized nations while making those nations heavily reliant on China for high-tech supplies and as a market for raw materials. In other words, decoupling is precisely Beijing's strategy—so long as it's on Beijing's terms.
"Even more remarkable, the Communist Party is no longer hiding its reasons for pursuing such a strategy. In a speech Mr. Xi delivered early last year...he said China 'must tighten international production chains' dependence on China' with the aim of 'forming powerful countermeasures and deterrent capabilities.'
"This phrase — 'powerful countermeasures and deterrent capabilities' — is party jargon for offensive leverage. Beijing's grand strategy is to accumulate and exert economic leverage to achieve its political objectives around the world.
"CEOs will find it increasingly difficult to please both Washington and Beijing.... Chinese leaders, as mentioned, are issuing high-decibel warnings that multinationals must abandon such values as the price of doing business in China. Like sailors straddling two boats, American companies are likely to get wet.
"Beijing is trying to engineer victory from the mind of a single leader; free societies like ours harness the human spirit. Therein lies our ultimate advantage. The Communist Party's leaders are right about one thing: American CEOs, their boards and their investors have to decide which side they want to help win."
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
© 2021 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.

Rabaa Allah: The Latest of God’s Representatives… So Far!
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 31/2021
The founding of religious parties is not new, neither in the Arab and Islamic worlds nor anywhere else. In the Arab world, the Muslim Brotherhood was the first of these parties to emerge in 1928. Then, various parties, like the “Hizb ut-Tahrir Alislami” (Islamic Liberation Party), “Al Jamaa Al Islamiyya” (Islamic Group) and “Ibbad al Rahman” (Worshipers of the Merciful) appeared in other Arab countries.
All of these parties avoided mentioning God’s name, though, naturally, they are familiar with the ayyah mentioned in the Quranic surah, Al-Ma’idah: “Behold, it is they, the partisans of God, who shall be victorious!” Even those who adopted one of the “Al Asma Ul Husna” (99 names of God in Islam), such as “al rahman” (the merciful), affirmed that they worship Him without claiming that they represent Him or that He is the leader of their party. In Iran, immediately after the 1979 revolution, an organization called Hezbollah (the party of God) emerged. Its most prominent contribution was tightening the authorities’ grip, with quite a bit of raucous, on universities, students and books. After that, in 1995, another group called Ansar-e Hezbollah (Supporters of the Party of God) was established and became notorious for working for the police and other security apparatuses.
Between these two dates, in the early 1980s, the Lebanese Hezbollah was established in the Iranian embassy in Damascus. What happened next is very well-known. Then came Iraq’s turn. After Iran’s influence there grew, Kataib Hezbollah (Brigades of the Party of God) was established, and Yemen’s turn came too, with the establishment of Ansar Allah (Supporters of God). In any case, the word “supporters” is more modest comparatively.
The Iranians’ generous allocation of godly status is ongoing unimpeded then. Not so long ago, Iraq astounded us with a new name, “Rabaa Allah”- Rabaa could refer to a home, neighborhood, clan or companions. It is, in general, another faction that has associated itself with God, bearing in mind that God, of course, had not been consulted on the matter, just as He had not been consulted when He had been declared the leader of the Iranian and Lebanese parties.
One might say that far from indicating an association with God, these names are derived from jurisprudential traditions that have allowed for titles like “Ayatollah” in addition to his name “Rouhallah” (sign of God and spirit of God respectively). So we can have both of them combined, as had been the case with Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini; this might be a jurists’ right, and only other jurists can debate it with them.
Still, the misuse of God and his name goes very far with Rabaa Allah, which is believed to be run by Kataib Hezbollah, and all of them, at the end of the day, are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces. The PMF’s unequivocal denial that they know Rabaa Allah only strengthens suspicions.
Two reports, one by the German Deutsche Welle and another by BBC Arabic, as well as Iraqi sources, make it clear that the most significant actions taken by Rabaa Allah so have been the following:
- Targeting Hoshyar Zebari, a former foreign minister, and attempting to burn down the Baghdad headquarters of his Kurdistan Democratic Party after he criticized pro-Iranian factions.
- Attacking the US Embassy.
- Attacking Dijlah TV and setting it on fire after accusing it of having “insulted Islam.” The channel, by the way, defines itself like this: Dijlah TV relays the message of a wounded Iraq after sectarian rhetoric crushed all other messages, expanding and inflating until no room was left for those who want to tell the truth.
- Breaking into a hotel massage parlor in the Karrada neighborhood in Baghdad, assaulting the women who work there, breaking everything, chanting sectarian slogans, and breaking stores that sell alcoholic beverages.
- Raising economic demands, like the imposition of an exchange rate of the dollar regardless of the market, with threats of “cutting off ears” if their demands are not met.
- They reached their highest heights a few days ago, with a heavily armed parade in the streets of the capital accompanied by threats to Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and the defiling of his posters. The other person to be insulted and threatened with “his hand being cut off” if he thought of “merely interfering with the resistance” is Ahmed Abu Ragheef because, and this is key, he is tasked with curbing corruption.
How do these people operate?
They launch smear campaigns on social media against their target and then move toward the target in masks over their faces that reveal nothing but their eyes and lips, wearing black dress and a red headband, wielding batons, axes and sharp objects. However, during their big parades, they also drive the streets of Baghdad in large four-by-fours with their weapons and their slogan: “We have no fear or shame.”
They emphasize their “southerness” against other regions, especially the north. They particularly despise the October revolutionaries and resent the flexible independence project that is open to the Arabs and backed by the current prime minister, and they call security forces “Kadhimi’s militia.” On the other hand, many of the Iraqis who want to take their country back call them “Shiite ISIS,” and they don’t hide their disappointment with a blind eye being turned to the factions’ violations, as has been done by security apparatuses that the political authorities have so far been unable to control.
In other words, they are the men who do Iran’s dirtiest work in Iraq. Their major, central mission is preventing the rise of a state, perpetuating social decay, drilling sectarian and ethnic sentiments, and thwarting attempts at fighting corruption and improving Iraq’s ties with its Arab neighbors and the world. The further the homeland becomes from grasp and the more rotten society becomes, the more claims of having God on one’s side and being his exclusive representatives proliferate. This had become a Khomeini tradition.

Chinese Diplomatic Gains against America
Robert Ford/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 31/2021
The second half of March was not successful for American diplomacy. Secretary of State Blinken hosted China’s top two diplomats in Alaska on March 18, and he reminded the world media about American complaints against China, such as Xinjiang and Hong Kong and Chinese threats against Taiwan and Chinese economic pressure against countries like Australia. And then, Joe Biden on March 25 pledged not to allow China to become the leading country in the world.
Biden and Blinken must take this strong position against China because Biden needs votes from Republicans in the Congress for his priorities, such as reform of immigration laws and financing for new infrastructure construction. In addition, both men strongly believe America’s defense of human rights and democracy is vital to American legitimacy in the world.
But the public answer of China’s diplomatic team in Alaska was strong and angry. First, the Chinese reprimanded the Americans for diplomatic protocol violations. New American sanctions on China imposed on March 17 were not an appropriate welcome, the Chinese Foreign Minister emphasized. He pointed to the hypocrisy when Washington complains about Chinese economic pressure while at the same time it often applies sanctions. Chinese Communist Party Director for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi insisted that America is not the spokesman for international public opinion and it should resolve its own domestic problems instead of trying to create new copies of American democracy abroad. Washington should stop its interventions to change regimes, and fix its own human rights failures, for example the problems with America’s black communities.
Above all, Yang stressed that Beijing rejects the American “rules-based world order”. According to China, this order comes from a small number of states only. China chooses to support an international system whose center is the United Nations.
After its slap of the Americans in Alaska, Chinese diplomacy enjoyed another success on March 23 when the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers met and the public remarks of Sergei Lavrov completely resembled the Chinese words in Alaska. Lavrov also praised the United Nations’ appointment of a special investigator who will examine use by states of unilateral economic sanctions; the UN report will surely criticize American sanctions policy.
In my opinion China and Russia want the United Nations at the center of the world system because they both have a veto right in the Security Council and can block any United Nations action they do not like. Syria is an example of how a system under the United Nations handles a conflict.
Chinese diplomacy had more gains after the Russian meeting. China’s foreign minister arrived in Ankara on March 24 and news came of a Chinese investment worth two billion dollars in a road project in Istanbul. It is worth remembering that China provided one billion dollars in foreign exchange financing in 2019 to Turkey’s unstable economy and Turkey needs more investment. While America is criticizing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s human rights violations and threatening more sanctions, China is providing new financing.
Then in Tehran on March 27, the Chinese minister signed a long-term bilateral cooperation agreement that might lead to 400 billion dollars of investment in Iran’s infrastructure. It will bring Iran into China’s huge Belt and Road Initiative. China has also supported the Iranian position that Washington must move first to remove sanctions on Iran to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement.
And still the Chinese are busy. This week the Chinese foreign minister will visit Gulf countries where China has successfully used its Covid vaccine as a diplomatic tool in countries like Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. (America has not exported any vaccine, and the Blinken has not yet visited the Middle East.) In another gesture to the Gulf, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a huge bank that the Chinese government established, will hold its sixth annual conference in Dubai next October.
Chinese success in the Middle East impedes American efforts in the region, especially with Iran. However, American influence will not disappear. After the Chinese minister’s visit to Bahrain the American naval base will remain. Bilateral relations between Washington and Abu Dhabi are good.
What concerns me more is the triangle of Washington-Moscow-Beijing. I am glad Biden invited Russia and China to participate in a conference in April about climate change. The three powers need to find ways to cooperate. To be frank, there are no angels in that triangle. All three states play the tough game of international politics. I am more concerned about the Russia-Chinese alignment against the United States geo-strategically. Russia’s economy is the same size as Italy’s but it is still an important military and cyber power. Henry Kissinger 50 years ago achieved an indirect alliance with China that isolated Moscow in the triangle. Now America’s isolation in the triangle benefits America’s two biggest adversaries and China knows it.

White Victims of Muslim Rapists: Who’s the Real ‘Racist’?
Raymond Ibrahim/March 31/2021
Four Muslim migrants from North Africa gang-raped a 36-year-old woman on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, after she stopped to ask how she could help them. According to the March 3 report,
The alleged victim is believed to have lived on the Canary Islands, whereas the suspects are thought to have arrived only recently on a boat…. [T]hey were given initially government-provided accommodations managed by the Red Cross but later kicked out for breaking the rules. They are then thought to have set up camp in the park where the woman was allegedly attacked after enquiring about their situation. The woman had asked if she could help them with anything, but within ‘a matter of seconds’ this had led to her being assaulted…
This woman, who was described “as either an Irish expat or coming from a Nordic country,” joins countless other European women—especially those “from a Nordic country”—to be raped by Muslim migrants.
Why is this ongoing phenomenon not being checked? One of the reasons revolves around the specter of “racism.” The “woke” establishment tends to see European women accusing Muslim men of raping them through a skeptical light.
For example, in Sweden—the rape capital of Europe—studies continue to reveal that migrants, mostly from North Africa, the Middle East, and Muslim sub-Sahara, account for the overwhelming majority of rapes, as captured by the following headline: “Report: 9 in 10 Gang Rapists In Sweden Have Foreign Origins.”
To neutralize these findings, on March 9, 2021, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (“Brå”) said that “Immigrants’ sharp over-representation in rape statistics may be due to the fact that Swedish women are more likely to report immigrants for rape than they are to report Swedish men.” Stina Holmberg, a research councilor at Brå, elaborated:
It may be that you are more inclined to report something you [a Swedish women] have been exposed to, if the crime was committed by someone you feel more alien to, and who has low social status.
Skepticism for rape reports against non-white males turns to open hostility whenever this issue is forthrightly discussed, as Sarah Champion, a Labor politician and MP for Rotherham (the epicenter of sex grooming), learned last summer, when she was accused of “fanning the flames of racial hatred” and “acting like a neo-fascist murderer.” Her crime? She had dared to assert that “Britain has a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls.” (The same elements that accused Champion of being a “murderer” also, and rather unsurprisingly, characterize the UK’s anti-extremism program, Prevent, as being “built upon a foundation of Islamophobia and racism.”)
Perhaps most telling is an April 220 article, titled, “I was raped by Rotherham grooming gang—now I still face racist abuse online.” In it, a British woman (alias, “Ella”) revealed that her Muslim rapists called her “a white c*nt, a white whore, a white b***h,” during the more than 100 times the Pakistani grooming gang raped her in her youth.
“We need to understand racially and religiously aggravated crime if we are going to prevent it and protect people from it and if we are going to prosecute correctly for it,” Ella said in a recent interview:
Prevention, protection and prosecution—all of them are being hindered because we are neglecting to properly address the religious and racist aspects of grooming gang crimes…. It’s telling them that it’s OK to hate white people.
That there are “racial” and “religious” aspects to the epidemic of Muslims raping European women is an understatement. According to Dr. Taj Hargey, a British imam, Muslim men are taught that women are “second-class citizens, little more than chattels or possessions over whom they have absolute authority.” The imams, moreover, preach a doctrine “that denigrates all women, but treats whites with particular contempt.” Consider a few earlier examples:
Another British woman was trafficked to Morocco where she was prostituted and repeatedly raped by dozens of Muslim men. They “made me believe I was nothing more than a slut, a white whore,” she recollected. “They treated me like a leper, apart from when they wanted sex. I was less than human to them, I was rubbish.”
Another British girl was “passed around like a piece of meat” among Muslim men who abused and raped her between the ages of 12 and 14. Speaking now as an adult, a court heard how she “was raped on a dirty mattress above a takeaway and forced to perform [oral] sex acts in a churchyard,” and how one of her abusers “urinated on her in an act of humiliation” afterwards.
A Muslim man explained to another British woman why he was raping her: “you white women are good at it.”
A Muslim man called a 13-year-old virgin “a little white slag”—British slang for “loose, promiscuous woman”—before raping her.
In Germany, a group of Muslim migrants stalked a 25-year-old woman, hurled “filthy” insults at and taunted her for sex. They too explained their logic—“German girls are just there for sex”—before reaching into her blouse and groping her.
Another Muslim man who almost killed his 25-year-old German victim while raping her—and shouting “Allah!”—afterwards inquired if she liked it.
In Australia, a Muslim cabbie groped and insulted his female passengers, including by saying “All Australian women are sluts and deserve to be raped.”
In Austria, an “Arabic-looking man” approached a 27-year-old woman at a bus stop, pulled down his pants, and “all he could say was sex, sex, sex,” prompting the woman to scream and flee.
In short, there certainly is a “racist” aspect to the rape of European women by migrants—though in reverse: non-white Muslim men tend to see white women as nymphomaniacs that are “hot” for being degraded and abused—a stereotype that, incidentally, stretches back to the very beginnings of Islamic history.
Even so, Ella’s attempts to highlight these “religious and racist aspects” that fueled the abuse she and other European girls and women experienced—that is, her attempt to connect the dots in an effort to help eliminate this phenomenon—led only to “a lot of abuse from far-left extremists, and radical feminist academics,” she said. Such groups “go online and they try to resist anyone they consider to be a Nazi, racist, fascist or white supremacist.”
They don’t care about anti-white racism, because they appear to believe that it doesn’t exist. They have tried to floor me and criticise me continually and this has been going on for a couple of months. They tried to shut me down, shut me up … I’ve never experienced such hate online in my life. They accuse me of ‘advocating for white paedophiles’ and being a ‘sinister demonic entity.’
Such is the price for speaking unpopular truths—especially those that directly challenge the official narrative.

Firmly Address Tehran’s Ballistic Behavior

Dr.Walid Phares/Nodern Diplomac/March 31/20211
The recent change in US administrations has spawned a lively debate about the potential path back to a deal with Iran, especially concerning the latter’s troubling nuclear ambitions. Some argue against reviving the 2015 nuclear deal while others counsel for a swift US return to it. But there is a big problem with an undemanding US revival of the deal. Over the past five years, the regime has displayed extremely disturbing behaviors that endanger the region, Europe, the United States, and the broader international community.
Indeed, Iran’s nuclear escalations and its burgeoning ballistic missiles program are major threats. But much more troubling is Iran’s ballistic behavior.
There are four significant hotspots where the Iranian regime is active. This means any return to the Iran deal cannot exclusively address technical nuclear issues. The geopolitics of the entire region have changed. For instance, in Yemen, Houthi militias control a large segment of a sovereign country, and they are armed by the Iranian regime, including missiles. They are at war with the legitimate government of Yemen, and they have had a terrible record of human rights abuses.
In Iraq, Iran has used its militias to establish control over the entire country, with some exceptions. These militias are not only controlling the government, major parts of the economy or the banks, they are engaged in suppressing the population. In the fall of 2019, hundreds of thousands of young Iraqis from all walks of life took to the streets to demand meaningful reforms. But they were met with lethal force. More than 700 Iraqi citizens of all communities have been killed by pro-Iranian militias.
The Iranian regime’s forces in Syria have brought in radical Shia militias from as far as Afghanistan. More than 700,000 people have been killed in that civil war. Five million Syrians have been displaced.
And, last but not least, in Lebanon, Hezbollah is armed and funded by Tehran, and its secretary general does not shy away from publicly announcing his group’s complete allegiance to the Iranian regime.
So, the Iranian regime is effectively involved in the quasi occupation of four Arab countries. All this means that there cannot be a swift return to an “Iran deal” without addressing the regime’s regional ambitions and destructive meddling, which have resulted in instability for Europeans and American interests alike.
Meanwhile both in European capitals and in Washington, there are major interests that echo calls for a quick return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Absent in their inexplicable haste is any consequential consideration to pressing geopolitical demands.
Proponents of the Iran nuclear deal are eager to do business with Iran. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. But shouldn’t the cost of that decision be soberly evaluated before rushing back in?
Are there not important destabilizing factors that must be urgently addressed, including the deployment of ballistic missiles in the region, the preponderance of Iranian proxies in strategic hotspots, and persistent deadly attacks against Western allies in the region?
So, what should be done?
Any potential discussions with the Iranian regime must take into consideration the security of the Middle East as a whole.
First, regional security and the regime’s behavior must top the list of potential negotiation topics.
Second, the regime’s ballistic missile program should not proceed under the radar. The Houthi-fired missiles targeting Saudi Arabia and its oil facilities are designed and delivered by Iran. The missiles fired against the US and coalition forces in Iraq are also designed and delivered by Iran. And, Iran has deployed missiles in Syria, which are then aimed at Israel. Similarly, the Lebanese Hezbollah has boasted about having thousands of missiles in its arsenal.
Therefore, as an important step toward stability, the international community must ensure that the proliferation of these missiles is stopped, and they are removed from these countries.
Third, it would only be logical to include countries like Saudi Arabia and other impacted governments in the negotiation process because they bear the brunt of Tehran’s malevolence.
And lastly, international community should begin seriously engaging with the Iranian opposition. For the past three years, hundreds of thousands of Iranian citizens have loudly protested the ruling regime and its policies. There is another image of Iran that the world needs to acknowledge and engage. That’s exactly what the US policy is trying to do in Yemen, for example, by engaging both the Houthis and the legal government at the same time.
When dealing with the multilateral and strategic threats emanating from the Iranian regime, it is only natural to engage with the organized Iranian non-violent resistance, including representatives from the Iran protests and exiled leaders, particularly the very active National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and to hear their voices during any negotiation with Tehran.
The Iranian regime will be emboldened to continue its egregious behavior if it senses weakness in the international community’s response. By firmly addressing its ballistic behavior, responsible international actors can harness the strategic domestic and international reserves to curtail Tehran’s threats.