English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For April 16/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today

Jesus expels out Merchants From The Temple
John 02/13-25: “The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money-changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, ‘Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a market-place!’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’ The Jews then said to him, ‘What sign can you show us for doing this?’Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’The Jews then said, ‘This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?’But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 15-16/2021

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/

An expatriate Lebanese resolution Draft for the salvation of Lebanon is gaining local, regional and international acceptance
U.S. Warns of Punitive Actions for Lebanese Blocking Reforms
Hale: Hizbullah Preventing Establishment of Peaceful State in Lebanon
Aoun Demands Israel Halt Offshore Gas Exploration in Disputed Area
Hale Meets Diab, Relays Concerns over Govt Delay
Putin, Hariri Stress Need to Form Govt. as Soon as Possible
Hariri Discusses Govt. Formation Difficulties with Russian PM
Bitar Orders Release of 6 Detained over Port Blast
Arslan Rejects Bitar's Decision to Keep Fayyad Detained
Ghajar Says Smuggling to Syria behind Gasoline Shortage Crisis
Lebanese Doctor's Drive to Curb Covid with Sniffer Dogs
Report: Intelligence Says ‘Hizbullah’ May Attack US Interests in Region

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 15-16/2021

US Department Of State/OPCW Charges Syrian Regime with Chemical Weapons Attack
Failures of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in spotlight even as rhetoric escalates
U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Moscow, Expels 10 Russian Diplomats
Russia Says Response to U.S. Sanctions 'Inevitable'
Russia Says Iran Talks 'Positive' despite Enrichment, Sabotage
Israel to Scrap Outdoor Mask Mandate from Sunday
Turkish Delegation to Visit Egypt in May for 'Normalisation' Talks
Greek, Turkish Ministers Clash at Press Conference
Syria Devalues Pound after Sacking Central Bank Governor
Iraqi Civilian Killed in Baghdad Blast
UK Summons Russian Ambassador over 'Malign Activity'
Canada/Statement on SolarWinds Cyber Compromise

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 15-16/2021

Muslims in the West Are to Serve as Islam’s “Eye,” Says Fatwa/Raymond Ibrahim/April 15/2021
Ex-Mossad chief Efraim Halevy on Iran, Hamas and Israel’s political crisis/David Brinn/Jerusalem Post/April 15/2021
How Palestinian Leaders Treat Their Refugees/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/April 15/2021
The Arrogance of Power/Nael Shama/Carnegie MEC/April 15/2021
Biden’s bad deals/Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/April 15/2021
Iran’s problems after the Natanz attack/Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weekly/April 15/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 15-16/2021

An expatriate Lebanese resolution Draft for the salvation of Lebanon is gaining local, regional and international acceptance
Expatriate sources/April 16, 2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/97919/%d9%85%d8%b4%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%b9-%d9%82%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d8%ba%d8%aa%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a8%d9%8a-%d8%af%d9%88%d9%84%d9%8a-%d9%84%d8%ae%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%b5-%d9%84%d8%a8%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%8a%d9%84/
We learned today from reliable expatriate Lebanese sources that actual and serious discussions began few days ago in international and regional decision-making centers, specifically the US State Department, the UN Security Council, a number of European countries, and the Arab League with An expatriate Lebanese resolution draft that calls for the salvation of Lebanon.
A reliable media source who preferred to be anonymous at the present time told us that this distinctive and comprehensive resolution draft was thoroughly prepared by a number of Lebanese-expatriate organizations outside the well-known traditional Lebanese parties and politicians’ network.
The activities of these organizations is kept up till now away from the media spotlight, while at the same time has strongly gained the tacit approval of one of the supreme Lebanese authorities.
The resolution is mainly based on the internationalization of the Lebanese crisis via the United Nations that is called upon to enforce its direct management through a salvation government in Lebanon, suspension of the current Lebanese constitution, temporary cessation of the all political parties’ activities, while basic administrative and urgent reforms are executed
It also stipulates that a complete disarmament of all illegal weapons is performed including those f Hezbollah, due to the fact that they are undermining the Lebanese state sovereignty and hindering the state’s free decision making tools.
Experts who reviewed the resolution draft believe that leaving the issue of weapons to the international administration would put an end to the fighting between the Lebanese over it.
In parallel to these steps, the implementation of this resolution allows the emergence of Lebanese intellectuals, professionals and expatriates, who are, qualified, competent, honest, and capable to observe the implementation of all changes required in a bid to save Lebanon and ensure the advancement of its people.
According to the meager information leaked, the resolution calls for a radical review of the current Lebanese constitution, which would lead to the consecration of the procedural, legislative and judicial powers completely separated from each other, making them effective and immune to the whims of politicians and their interferences.
The resolution concludes with defining a new system of governments in Lebanon, under the dome of a Lebanese Parliament that is free from all foreign interferences.
A free and fair parliamentary election follows to achieve effective representation of all the various segments and groups of Lebanese societies.
The parliamentary elections will take place only after the disarmament of all illegal weapons, provided that it guarantees a system that will be adopted in the future and will secure the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon. A system that will ensure distancing and neutralizing Lebanon from all regional conflicts and regional wars that have always controlled its fate and threatened its existence.
While this resolution draft was well received by the Lebanese and Western officials who reviewed it, they considered that the chances of it being adopted by the international decision-making circles are high, especially since the current possibility of forming a Lebanese government is at its lowest level.
In summary, the on going lack of solutions to the exacerbating Lebanese crisis makes this resolution draft the only salvation card in circulation at the present time due to the completeness of its components and the clarity of the rescue paths that it defines.

U.S. Warns of Punitive Actions for Lebanese Blocking Reforms
Associated Press/April 15/2021
A senior U.S. official warned Thursday that Lebanese politicians who continue to block reforms in the crisis-hit country could face punitive actions by Washington and its allies. U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs David Hale did not provide details on the nature of the potential actions. But appeared to refer to reports that the United States and its allies may impose sanctions on Lebanese politicians in order to force them to end a monthslong political deadlock and start badly needed reforms to fight corruption. Political bickering has delayed the formation of a new Cabinet as the country sinks deeper into its worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history. The economic crisis is the gravest threat to Lebanon's stability since the 15-year civil war ended in 1990. The outgoing government resigned last August, following a massive explosion at Beirut's port that killed 211 people, injured more than 6,000 and damaged entire neighborhoods in the capital. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has failed to form a new government since he was named for the post in October. Hariri has been insisting on forming a Cabinet of experts whose main job will be to get Lebanon out of its paralyzing economic crisis. Other groups, including the powerful Iran-backed Hizbullah, insist on a mixed Cabinet of politicians and experts. "Those who continue to obstruct progress on the reform agenda jeopardize their relationship with the United States and our partners and open themselves up to punitive actions," Hale said after meeting President Michel Aoun Thursday morning. "Today there's been very little progress but its not too late," Hale said, adding that Washington has long called for Lebanon's leaders to show sufficient flexibility to form a government that "is willing and capable to reversing the collapse that is underway."He added that the U.S. and the international community are ready to help, saying that "the time to form a government, not block it, is now. The time to build a government is now. The time for comprehensive reform is now."The local currency has been in free fall since late 2019, losing around 90 percent of its value. The government defaulted on its foreign debt last year and nearly half the population has been pushed into poverty and unemployment. Speaking about indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program that began earlier this month, Hale said a future deal will be "in our interests and in the interest of regional stability."He added that "America will not abandon our interests and our friends here in Lebanon."Hale also said that the U.S. stands ready to facilitate indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel over their maritime border.

Hale: Hizbullah Preventing Establishment of Peaceful State in Lebanon
Naharnet/April 15/2021 
Visiting U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, David Hale, met President Michel Aoun in Baabda on Thursday after which he told reporters that Hizbullah’s Iran-financed illegal activities prevent the establishment of a peaceful state in Lebanon, and urged for a quick formation of a government. The U.S. embassy in Beirut released Hale’s statement from Baabda: I came to Lebanon at the request of Secretary Blinken to underscore the Biden Administration’s continued commitment to the Lebanese people and our shared desire for stability and prosperity in Lebanon. Over the past three days, I have met with many Lebanese leaders to discuss the prolonged political gridlock and deteriorating economic conditions here.  The Lebanese people are clearly suffering.  They’re suffering because Lebanese leaders have failed to meet their responsibility to put the country’s interests first and to address the mounting socio-economic problems. People have lost their life savings, can no longer access basic health care, and struggle to feed their families. I visited Lebanon in December 2019 and again in August 2020. I heard then an unmistakable call for change from Lebanese from all backgrounds. These demands are universal: for transparency, accountability, and an end to the endemic corruption and mismanagement that have caused such hardship. If these demands had been met, Lebanon would be on the road to fulfilling its tremendous potential. Yet today, there has been very little progress. But it’s not too late.
We have long called for Lebanon’s leaders to show sufficient flexibility to form a government that is willing and capable of reversing the collapse under way. The time to build a government, not block it, is now. The time to build a government is now. The time for comprehensive reform is now. And America and the international community are ready to help.  But we can’t help, as I said yesterday, without a Lebanese partner.
Those who continue to obstruct progress on the reform agenda jeopardize their relationship with the United States and our partners and open themselves up to punitive actions. Those who facilitate progress can be assured of our strong support. Hizballah’s accumulation of dangerous weapons, smuggling, and other illicit and corrupt activities undermine legitimate state institutions. They rob the Lebanese of the ability to build a peaceful and prosperous country. And it’s Iran that is fueling and financing this challenge to the state and this distortion of Lebanese political life.
This brings me to America’s renewed negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. A mutual return to compliance with the Iran nuclear deal is in our interest and in the interest of regional stability, but it would only be the beginning of our work. As we address the other elements of Iran’s destabilizing behavior, America will not abandon our interests and our friends here in Lebanon. Finally, I’d like to reiterate, as I did today, that America stands ready to facilitate negotiations on the maritime boundary between Lebanon and Israel on the basis on which we initiated these discussions. These negotiations have potential to unlock significant economic benefits for Lebanon. And this is all the more critical against the backdrop of the severe economic crisis the country is facing. As needed, international experts can be brought in to help inform all of us.

Aoun Demands Israel Halt Offshore Gas Exploration in Disputed Area
Agence France Presse/April 15/2021
President Michel Aoun on Thursday demanded Israel halt all exploration in an offshore gas field on Lebanon's southern border, as part of an ongoing dispute over a shared sea frontier. Lebanon and Israel, which are still technically at war, last year took part in indirect U.S.-brokered talks to discuss demarcation to clear the way for offshore oil and gas exploration. But those talks stalled after Lebanon demanded a larger area, including part of the Karish gas field, where Israel has given a Greek firm rights for exploration. "Lebanon is within its rights to evolve its position according to its interest and as suitable under international law," Aoun told visiting United States envoy David Hale. Aoun "demanded international experts... draw the line according to international law," the presidency said in a statement. He also called for a "commitment to not carrying out any oil or gas activities and not starting any exploration in the Karish field and its adjacent waters" until the matter was settled. The talks last year were supposed to discuss a Lebanese demand for 860 square kilometers of territory in the disputed maritime area, according to a map sent to the United Nations in 2011. But Lebanon then said the map was based on erroneous calculations and demanded 1,430 square kilometers more territory further south, including part of Karish. Lebanon's caretaker public works minister this week signed a decree to make official Lebanon's demand for the larger area. Aoun still has to sign it before Lebanon sends it to the U.N. to make its new demand official. For his part, Hale on Thursday said the U.S. was ready to continue brokering Israel-Lebanon talks "on the basis on which we initiated these discussions," appearing to reject the Lebanese move towards demanding a larger area.

Hale Meets Diab, Relays Concerns over Govt Delay
Naharnet/April 15/2021
Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab met with visiting US envoy David Hale at the Grand Serail, the National News Agency reported on Thursday. Hale relayed “the US administrations’ concerns over the delayed formation of a new government in Lebanon,” said NNA. Discussions also touched on the economic and social situation in the country, said the agency. For his part, Diab stressed the country’s need for a "government to address Lebanon’s crises, and initiate reforms, based on the plan drawn up by his government.” Hale was accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea, and assistants Daniel Newman and Benjamin Ambori, in the presence of advisor to Diab, Ambassador Jebran Soufan.

Putin, Hariri Stress Need to Form Govt. as Soon as Possible
Naharnet/April 15/2021 
The Kremlin announced that a telephone conversation had taken place between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, who is on a working visit to Moscow, Hariri’s press office said on Thursday. The Kremlin statement stated that Hariri briefed Putin on the internal developments in Lebanon, as well as on the initial measures for forming the new government and overcoming the economic crisis. The Russian side affirmed Russia's support of Lebanon's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Discussions have also highlighted pressing regional issues and the willingness of the two sides to jointly work in order to create appropriate conditions for the return of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The statement added that the two sides discussed a number of joint cooperation issues, stressing the need to strengthen economic and trade relations, and to activate contacts between the competent bodies in the field of combating coronavirus, including supplying Lebanon with Russian vaccines. The Kremlin’s statement concluded that the Russian President extended congratulations to Prime Minister Saad Hariri and all Lebanese Muslims on the onset of the blessed month of Ramadan. A statement issued by Hariri's press office said the conferees "stressed the need to form the new government as soon as possible."They also discussed "paving the way for Russian firms to invest in Lebanon and Lebanese companies to invest in Russia."

Hariri Discusses Govt. Formation Difficulties with Russian PM
Naharnet/April 15/2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri held talks Thursday in Moscow with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. A statement issued by Hariri’s press office said the discussions tackled “the latest developments in Lebanon and the region and the bilateral ties between the two countries.”
According to the statement, Mishustin stressed readiness to develop the relations in all fields in the coming period in a manner that serves the interests of the two peoples. Hariri for his part said that “the difficulty of the situation now lies in the formation of a government of specialists so that we carry out all the needed reforms.” “But until we form the government and conduct the necessary reforms, we want you to know that we desire to see all Russian companies coming to Lebanon to invest in its facilities -- in electricity, the ports, roads or anything related to infrastructure,” the PM-designate added.

Bitar Orders Release of 6 Detained over Port Blast
Associated Press/April 15/2021
The judge leading the investigation into last year's massive blast at Beirut's port, Tarek al-Bitar, on Thursday ordered the release of six people, including security officers, who had been detained for months, the National News Agency reported. It was not immediately clear what triggered the release of the men, who include an officer who had written a detailed warning to top officials prior to the explosion about the dangers of the material stored at the port. Nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrates, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers that had been improperly stored in the port for years, exploded on Aug. 4, killing 211 people, wounding more than 6,000 and damaging nearby neighborhoods. Bitar was named to lead the investigation in February after his predecessor was removed following legal challenges by two former Cabinet ministers he had accused of negligence. NNA said Bitar ordered the release of the six including Maj. Joseph Naddaf of the State Security department and Maj. Charbel Fawaz of the General Security Directorate. The four others are customs and port employees. The six will be banned from traveling outside Lebanon, according to a judicial official, speaking on condition of anonymity to follow regulations. The official added that 19 people are still being held in the case. Among those who are still held are the head of the customs department and his predecessor as well as the port's director general. In a July 20 report, State Security warned that one of the doors of the warehouse where the material had been stored was separated from the wall enough to allow anyone to enter and steal the ammonium nitrate. The report that was sent to President Michel Aoun and then-Prime Minister Hassan Diab warned that thieves could steal the material to make explosives. Or, it said, the mass of material could cause an explosion "that would practically destroy the port."Holding Naddaf for months had angered some in Lebanon especially that his report two weeks before the blast was a clear warning of the dangers. The Beirut port explosion has been one of the most traumatic national experiences the Lebanese have faced and families of those killed are skeptical that any investigation into the explosion can be transparent and independent in a country where a culture of impunity has prevailed for decades.

Arslan Rejects Bitar's Decision to Keep Fayyad Detained
Naharnet/April 15/2021
Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan on Thursday criticized Judge Tarek al-Bitar’s decision to keep General Security Major Dawoud Fayyad in detention in the Beirut port blast case.“Ever since Judge Bitar was appointed as investigative judge into the Beirut port blast case, I committed myself not to talk about the case and the arbitrary detention of officers, to give him a chance to look into the investigations and the file’s details and out of our confidence in his integrity,” Arslan said in a tweet. “Today he released detained officers (Joseph) al-Naddaf and (Charbel) Fawwaz and others while keeping the officer Dawoud Fayyad in custody under the excuse of waiting to know more details about the jurisdiction of General Security, as we have learned,” Arslan added. He accordingly emphasized that keeping Fayyad in detention despite his “certain innocence” and “performance of his role to the fullest” is totally rejected. Earlier in the day, Bitar ordered the release of six detainees – including Naddaf of the State Security department and Fawaz of General Security. The four others are customs and port employees. The six will be banned from traveling outside Lebanon, according to a judicial official. The official added that 19 people are still being held in the case. Among those who are still held are the head of the customs department and his predecessor as well as the port's director general.
Bitar’s move comes after lawyers for the 25 detainees filed requests for their release.

Ghajar Says Smuggling to Syria behind Gasoline Shortage Crisis
Naharnet/April 15/2021 
Caretaker Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar announced Thursday that smuggling to Syria is behind Lebanon’s gasoline shortage crisis. “We demonstrated the reasons of the gasoline crisis, and it turned out to us that the main reason for the current scarcity is the smuggling to outside Lebanon due to the difference in prices between Lebanon and Syria,” Ghajar said after a meeting on the crisis that was chaired by Caretaker PM Hassan Diab. “The price of 20 liters of gasoline in Lebanon is LBP 40,000 while the official price in Syria is 140,000 Syrian pounds,” Ghajar added. “The demand for gasoline in the Syrian market is pushing Lebanese smugglers to smuggle gasoline to Syria to achieve hefty gains, knowing that this substance is subsidized by the Lebanese state for Lebanese citizens,” the minister went on to say. He added that the solution lies in “controlling the price of this substance,” noting that “subsidization won’t be lifted before approving ration cards as part of the rationalization plan.” Addressing citizens, Ghajar said there is no need to hoard gasoline, because the government “will not lift subsidization in the near future.” He also called on the army and security forces to “boost inspection on the official and unofficial borders to curb smuggling.”

Lebanese Doctor's Drive to Curb Covid with Sniffer Dogs
Agence France Presse/April 15/2021
Lebanese doctor Riad Sarkis says he can help curb Covid-19 globally. As he speaks inside Beirut airport, one of his secret weapons is wagging its tail next to him. Specifically trained sniffer dogs can detect Covid in a person in a few seconds, including in very early stages when a PCR test would yield a negative result. "Man's best friend" doesn't even begin to describe how Dr Sarkis views dogs, which he argues can save more human lives than ever before by stopping the spread of the pandemic. "The day we build a machine with an electronic nose that amplifies smells 10,000 times, then we can replace the dogs. For now, we need them," Sarkis says.The effusive professor, who splits his time and work between France and Lebanon, has temporarily sidelined his passions for music and poetry to stay on a war footing against the pandemic that has brought the world to a standstill. A digestive system surgery professor and oncologist, Sarkis had spent 12 years researching how dogs could help detect cancer and increase chances of early treatment. "When Covid appeared, I thought why not try. And it worked," he recounts.
Almost infallible

Research was conducted with France's Maisons-Alfort veterinary school, a leading institution founded in the 18th century, and various labs and universities. The results were staggering: the hyper-sensitive snouts of trained sniffer dogs were almost infallible. "PCR tests have a margin of error that can reach 30 percent. With dogs, it's less than five percent," he says.Each dog can process hundreds of samples every day, the only wages they need are biscuits or rubber toys and they deliver results on the spot. The technique is not intended to replace PCR testing but has been rolled out in a number of international airports such as Dubai, Helsinki and Sydney. At a training facility provided by Bank Audi in Beirut, Rox and Sky, an Alsatian and a Malinois, are being trained by dog handler Carlo Selman. "These dogs are a gift from God to combat Covid," he says, as Sky wiggles in excitement ahead of a new exercise. Replicating the set-up at an airport terminal, a partition shields the dogs from the testing area, where passengers are ushered into booths. The underarm sweat sample is collected by the passengers, who are generally only too happy not to have a swab drilled into their nostrils.
Other uses -
The cotton pad is dropped in a glass container, which is in turn placed at the small end of cones that flare open on the other side of the partition. Pacing down the row of cones on their handlers' leash, the dogs poke their muzzles in each one. If a sample is positive, they stop and sit in front of it, waiting for their treat. Sniffer dogs with K9 unit experience in explosives or drugs detection can be trained in weeks. Sarkis explains that the accuracy and speed of the dogs' testing skills should be a key to stemming the spread of the Covid pandemic. "By the time a passenger carrying Covid gets PCR results, he has entered the country and very often the damage is done," he says. Dogs can detect Covid at a very early stage, which allows for the isolation of asymptomatic people who would otherwise be unwittingly spreading the virus. The use of dogs is not limited to airports and Sarkis hopes to spread the technique to a wide range of occasions and locations. The speed of canine screening could make it an attractive option for buildings and events hosting large numbers of visitors, such as theatres and weddings. The use of dogs for Covid detection is also a milestone in scientific research, Sarkis said. "It's a fantastic innovation because it's the first time we're able to demonstrate that a virus gives off specific scents," he said. "This technique will be implemented with a lot of pathologies in the future," he predicts. "Unfortunately, we should expect pathologies that could be even worse than Covid."

Report: Intelligence Says ‘Hizbullah’ May Attack US Interests in Region
Naharnet/April 15/2021 
In the annual risk assessment report for 2021 prepared by the US intelligence services, it said that “Hizbullah” may attack the US interests in the region, Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Thursday. The intelligence report dedicates a paragraph in its report to warn of the danger that entities such as "ISIS", "al-Qaida" and "Hizbullah" emanate to US interests, calling for the need to continue pressuring them. It said that “Hizbullah” is seeking to develop “its terrorist capabilities to push the United States out of the region,” and warned "that Hizbullah may launch attacks against the interests of the United States and its allies.”“We expect Hizbullah, in coordination with Iran and other armed Shiite groups, to continue developing its terrorist capabilities as a means of deterrence and a retaliatory option against its opponents," added the report.Hizbullah retains the ability to "target US interests, directly or indirectly, inside and outside Lebanon, and to a lesser extent inside the United States,” the US intelligence report concluded.
 

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 15-16/2021

US Department Of State/OPCW Charges Syrian Regime with Chemical Weapons Attack
PRESS STATEMENT
NED PRICE, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON
APRIL 14, 2021
On April 12, 2021, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) released its second report attributing yet another chemical weapons attack in Syria to the Assad regime. The IIT report concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe that on February 4, 2018, in Saraqib, Syria, the Syrian Arab Air Force dropped a cylinder containing chlorine, which dispersed over a large area. This act imposed deliberate and unconscionable suffering on Syrian victims. This latest finding should come as a surprise to no one. The Assad regime is responsible for innumerable atrocities, some of which rise to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The regime has consistently responded with death and destruction to calls by the Syrian people for reform and change. These well-documented atrocities include the use of chemical weapons, and this most recent report follows the first from IIT last year that attributed three other chemical weapons attacks to the Assad regime. The United States concurs with the OPCW’s conclusions cited in this report and continues to assess that the Assad regime retains sufficient chemicals to use sarin, to produce and deploy chlorine munitions, and to develop new chemical weapons. Despite the OPCW’s efforts to induce Syria to adhere to its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 2118, the Assad regime continues to ignore calls from the international community to fully disclose and verifiably destroy its chemical weapons program. The OPCW report is but the latest reminder of Assad’s flagrant repudiation of the rule of law. The United States supports the impartial and independent work of the OPCW, particularly the IIT Fact-Finding Mission and Declaration Assessment Team. We applaud the OPCW’s leadership and Technical Secretariat for the professional manner in which they carry out their mission. To be clear, no amount of disinformation, conspiracy theories or distortion of the facts by the regime or its enablers can argue away Assad’s crimes. The United States condemns the use of chemical weapons, by anyone, anywhere at any time. The use of chemical weapons by any state or non-state actor presents an unacceptable security threat to all states and cannot occur with impunity. All responsible nations must stand in solidarity against the deployment of chemical weapons by preserving the global norm against such use; and we must be ready to hold the Assad regime, and anyone who chooses to use these horrific weapons, accountable.
 

Failures of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in spotlight even as rhetoric escalates
The Arab Weekly/April 15/2021
LONDON - The recent sabotage at Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility has put the spotlight on the successive security failures of the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) but it has given a boost to hard-line narrative with Iran’s ruling establishment.
The setbacks of the IRGC could not be missed by the public despite the Guards’ huge clout and intimidating power at home. Just over a year ago they shot down a Ukrainian commercial airliner, killing 176 people. Their forces failed to stop both an earlier attack at Iran’s Natanz facility and the assassination of a top scientist who had started a military nuclear programme decades earlier. Meanwhile, their floating base in the Red Sea off Yemen was hit by an explosion. Then on Sunday, the nuclear facility, of which the Revolutionary Guards are the chief protector, experienced a blackout that damaged some of its centrifuges. Israel is widely believed to have carried out the sabotage that caused the outage, though it has not claimed it. In the wake of the attack, Iran announced Tuesday it would begin enriching uranium to 60% purity, the highest level its programme has ever reached. That was a signal that the Guards and their radical alliances’ defence was going to be an escalation of Iran’s positions in the nuclear issue. The weekend attack at Natanz was initially described only as a blackout in the electrical grid feeding above-ground workshops and underground enrichment halls — but later Iranian officials began calling it an attack. Alireza Zakani, the hard-line head of the Iranian parliament’s research centre, referred to “several thousand centrifuges damaged and destroyed” in a state TV interview. However, no other official has offered that figure and no images of the aftermath have been released. Despite its threatening retaliation rhetoric, Tehran has not offered much of a response besides suspected limited strikes in its shadow naval skirmishes with Israel. None of its moves has had the spectacular impact of the blows which Iran and its guards have themselves received so far.
— Cracks in the wall —
No criticism of the Guards has been noted in Iran. The IRGC is not known for its tolerance of voices pointing out its shortcomings. The force created after its 1979 Islamic Revolution has an extensive intelligence apparatus rivalling those of Iran’s civilian government — and it is brutal in its clampdown on dissent. Former detainees at Tehran’s Evin prison describe the Guard as running an entire wing of the jail housing politically sensitive prisoners. Local journalists can face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment for their work. But there are cracks emerging in the wall of silence. Around the edges, criticism is beginning to leak out. Eshaq Jahangiri, President Hassan Rouhani’s top vice-president and a reformist, lamented that “nobody is ready to be responsible” for what happened at Natanz in remarks that appeared aimed at the Guard. “Which body is responsible to identify and prevent the country’s enemies from doing something in the country? Has anyone ever been held accountable, or been held responsible or reprimanded, for what the biggest enemy of this country is doing here?” Jahangiri asked in a video shared widely on social media. Separately quoted by the hard-line newspaper Kayhan, Jahangiri added: “People need to know what the resources, credibility and prestige of the country are being spent on.”
That is another apparent dig at the Guards, whose business interests through construction and other industries reach into the billions of dollars. The exact scope of all its holdings remains unclear, though experts’ estimates run from 15% to as much as 40% of Iran’s overall economy.
This new willingness to point the finger — however carefully — in the direction of the Guards may in part be due to the upcoming June presidential election.
Rouhani, whose administration struck a 2015 nuclear deal that brought Iran relief on sanctions, cannot run again due to constitutional term limits. That has created a potential free-for-all filing period for candidates when it opens in May. Within Iran, candidates exist on a political spectrum that broadly includes hard-liners who want to expand Iran’s nuclear programme and confront the world, relative moderates who hold onto the status quo and so-called reformists who want to change the theocracy from within. Those calling for radical change find themselves blocked from even running for office by Iran’s constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council.
A soldier has yet to serve as Iran’s top civilian leader since the Islamic Revolution, in part because of the initial suspicion that its conventional military forces remained loyal to the toppled shah. However, a line of former Guard leaders have begun raising their profiles ahead of the vote, and many may try to run.
They include Mohsen Rezaei, an outspoken former top commander; Hossein Dehghan, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; Rostam Ghasemi, a former oil minister; and Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament known for his support of a bloody crackdown on students in 1999.
A younger generation of Guard leaders is in the mix as well, led by Saeed Mohammad, who once headed the Guard’s powerful Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters that is one of Iran’s biggest business conglomerates.
The debate over how much power the Guards should wield in Iran’s politics is as old as the Islamic Republic itself. Yet the force has been able to portray itself as the country’s defender through mass media on Iranian state television. Private local channels don’t exist.
— Rhetorical escalation —
Not totally unrelated to the forthcoming electoral contest, Iran’s political narrative since the Natanz fiasco is clearly hardening by the day. Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday dismissed initial offers at talks in Vienna to save Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal as “not worth looking at”.
The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in the Islamic Republic, came after a day that saw Iran’s president similarly ratchet up pressure over the accord.
European powers meanwhile warned Tehran in a formal round of negotiations that its actions were “particularly regrettable” and “dangerous.”
The talks already have been thrown into disarray by the weekend attack on Iran’s main Natanz nuclear enrichment site suspected to have been carried out by Israel. Tehran retaliated by announcing it would enrich uranium up to 60% — higher than it ever has before but still lower than weapons-grade levels of 90%.
“The offers they provide are usually arrogant and humiliating (and) are not worth looking at,” the 81-year-old Khamenei said in an address marking the first day of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Iran.
He also criticized the US and warned that time could be running out.
“The talks shouldn’t become talks of attrition,” Khamenei said. “They shouldn’t be in a way that parties drag on and prolong the talks. This is harmful to the country.”
Speaking to his Cabinet, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the first-generation IR-1 centrifuges that were damaged in Sunday’s attack would be replaced by advanced IR-6 centrifuges that enrich uranium much faster.
Rouhani used harsh words: “60% enrichment is an answer to your evilness. … We cut off both of your hands, one with IR-6 centrifuges and another one with 60%.”
Rouhani also accused Israel of being behind the Natanz attack and threatened to retaliate.
“Apparently this is a crime by the Zionists. If the Zionists take an action against our nation, we will respond,” he said, without elaborating.
Analysts believe waving the finger at Israel is the Iranian leaders’ best bet for rallying support at home. But the leaderships multiple failures in preventing or responding to the successive security setbacks could make the Iranian public’s reaction less predictable.

U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Moscow, Expels 10 Russian Diplomats
Agence France Presse/April 15/2021
The United States announced sanctions against Russia on Thursday and the expulsion of 10 diplomats in retaliation for what Washington says is the Kremlin's U.S. election interference, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity. President Joe Biden ordered a widening of restrictions on U.S. banks trading in Russian government debt, expelled 10 diplomats who include alleged spies, and sanctioned 32 individuals alleged to have tried to meddle in the 2020 presidential election, the White House said. Biden's executive order "sends a signal that the United States will impose costs in a strategic and economically impactful manner on Russia if it continues or escalates its destabilizing international action," the White House said in a statement. The U.S. barrage came the same week as Biden offered to meet President Vladimir Putin for their first face-to-face talks, suggesting that the summit could take place in a third country. The Kremlin gave an initially positive response to the idea but said Thursday that sanctions would not "help."After the White House unveiled its measures, the Russian foreign ministry said a response was "inevitable." "The United States is not ready to come to terms with the objective reality that there is a multipolar world that excludes American hegemony," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. The latest tension comes against a backdrop of longterm anger in Washington at Russian election meddling and worries both in the United States and its European allies over Russia's recent troop build up on the border of Ukraine. The imprisonment of Alexei Navalny, who is effectively the last open political opponent to Putin, has further spiked concerns in the West.
- NATO backs up U.S. -
The White House statement listed in first place Moscow's "efforts to undermine the conduct of free and fair democratic elections and democratic institutions in the United States and its allies and partners." This referred to allegations that Russian intelligence agencies mounted persistent disinformation and dirty tricks campaigns during the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, in part to help Donald Trump's candidacy. The White House said the sanctions likewise respond to "malicious cyber activities against the United States and its allies and partners," referring to the massive so-called SolarWinds hack of U.S. government computer systems last year. The statement also called out Russia's extraterritorial "targeting" of dissidents and journalists and undermining of security in countries important to U.S. national security. In addition, the Department of Treasury, together with the European Union, Australia, Britain and Canada, sanctioned eight individuals and entities associated with Russia's occupation of Crimea in Ukraine. In Brussels, the NATO military alliance said US allies "support and stand in solidarity with the United States, following its 15 April announcement of actions to respond to Russia's destabilizing activities."
NATO members cited a "sustained pattern" of Russian hostility. "We call on Russia to cease immediately its destabilizing behavior, and to uphold its international obligations," they said.

Russia Says Response to U.S. Sanctions 'Inevitable'
Agence France Presse/April 15/2021
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that a Russian response to new U.S. sanctions was "inevitable" and that the ministry had summoned U.S. ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan. The United States earlier Thursday announced economic sanctions against Russia and the expulsion of 10 diplomats in retaliation for alleged election interference, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity. "The United States is not ready to come to terms with the objective reality that there is a multipolar world that excludes American hegemony," Zakharova said in televised remarks. "We have repeatedly warned the United States about the consequences of its hostile steps, which dangerously increase the degree of confrontation between our countries.""A response to sanctions is inevitable," she added. Zakharova also said that Russia's foreign ministry had summoned U.S. ambassador Sullivan for a conversation that she said "will be difficult for the American side."The sanctions come after tensions soared in recent weeks, with Russia massing troops on its border with Ukraine and Kiev's Western allies calling on Moscow to back down. Ties had already plunged last month when U.S. President Joe Biden agreed with a description of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "killer." "Washington must realize that it will have to pay for the degradation of bilateral relations," Zakharova said Thursday.  "The responsibility for what is happening lies entirely with the United States."Relations have been in free fall since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and fighting erupted between Kiev's forces and pro-Russia separatists in the east. The United States has in the years since slapped Russia with a series of sanctions including over the alleged hacking of its 2016 presidential elections and the recent jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Russia Says Iran Talks 'Positive' despite Enrichment, Sabotage
Naharnet/April 15/2021 
Russia said Thursday that the latest talks in Vienna to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal were positive despite fresh tensions, with Tehran preparing to ramp up uranium enrichment in response to an attack on a facility it blamed on arch-foe Israel. The latest round of negotiations took place between diplomats over roughly two hours on Thursday afternoon, with Russia's ambassador to the U.N. in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov tweeting afterwards that the "general impression is positive."He added Thursday's talks "will be followed by a number of informal meetings in different formats, including at expert level."
The talks comprised delegations from the remaining parties to the deal -- Germany, France, Britain, China, Russia and Iran. An European diplomat had told AFP in advance of the meeting that Iran's announcement that it would enrich uranium up to 60 percent "puts pressure on everyone."
The move would take Iran closer to the 90 percent purity level needed for use in a nuclear weapon. EU external affairs spokesperson Peter Stano described the announcement as "extremely worrisome from a nuclear non-proliferation point of view." "There is no credible or plausible civilian justification for such a decision," Stano told reporters. Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani re-stated the country's long-standing position that "we are not seeking to obtain the atomic bomb", saying it was a "mistake" for Europe and the United States to express concern that Iran could "enrich to 90 percent in one go."Tehran says the enrichment move is a response to Israel's "nuclear terrorism" after an explosion on Sunday knocked out power at its Natanz enrichment plant. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement, but public radio reports in the country said it was a sabotage operation by the Mossad spy agency, citing unnamed intelligence sources. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Wednesday that Washington was taking the "provocative announcement" on enrichment from Iran "very seriously." "I have to tell you the step calls into question Iran's seriousness with regard to the nuclear talks," Blinken told reporters in Brussels. But events of the past few days have also "reminded both parties that the status quo is a lose-lose situation", and have "added urgency" to the talks, said Ali Vaez, Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group think tank. "It is clear that the more the diplomatic process drags on, the higher the risk that it gets derailed by saboteurs and those acting in bad faith," Vaez added.
- U.S. 'open-eyed' -
Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal has been disintegrating since U.S. President Donald Trump dramatically withdrew from it in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, prompting Iran to retaliate by exceeding its agreed limits on nuclear activity. The Biden administration, while agreeing on the JCPOA's value, has stressed that it is waiting for Iran to first roll back steps away from compliance that it took to protest Trump's sanctions. An American delegation is attending the talks "indirectly," staying at a separate hotel. Washington is "very open-eyed about how this will be a long process," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday. "It's happening through indirect discussions, but we still feel that it is a step forward."
- 'Dangerous spiral' -
In the meantime, the European diplomat said that Tehran is reducing its "breakout time" -- the time needed to acquire the fissile material necessary for the manufacture of a bomb. Under the JCPOA, Iran had committed to keep enrichment limited to 3.67 percent, though it stepped this up to 20 percent in January. The U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency said its inspectors visited the site at Natanz for "verification and monitoring activities" on Wednesday, and that Iran had "almost completed preparations" to enrich uranium to 60 percent purity. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Natanz attack had unleashed a "dangerous spiral" and warned Biden the situation could only be contained by lifting the sanctions Trump imposed. "It was unrealistic to expect Iran not to respond to such a humiliating attack at the heart of its nuclear program," the ICG's Vaez said. "But the only thing that in the past two decades has effectively curtailed Iran's nuclear program has been diplomacy, not sanctions or sabotage."

Israel to Scrap Outdoor Mask Mandate from Sunday
Agence France Presse/April 15/2021
Israelis will no longer have to wear masks outdoors starting from Sunday as the number of virus infections plummets, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said. "The rate of infection in Israel is very low thanks to the successful vaccine campaign in Israel, and therefore it is possible to ease (restrictions)," Edelstein said in a statement Thursday. He said however that masks will still be required indoors. With close to five million people -- more than half the population of 9.3 million -- vaccinated, Israel continues its world-beating campaign that sent coronavirus infection rates down. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu obtained millions of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in part by agreeing to share with Pfizer medical data on the product's impact. The vaccines have transformed life in Israel. In mid-January the country had a peak of some 10,000 new infections a day but the rate is now about 200 cases a day. The rate of new infections has remained low even after in-person learning resumed and restrictions were loosened on bars, restaurants and indoor gatherings. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla was a guest of honor at a government ceremony Wednesday evening marking Israel's 73rd year of independence. "Together we are demonstrating that through mass vaccinations we can defeat the Covid-19 pandemic and save lives," Bourla said in a video address. Throughout the festivities marking independence day, thousands of people held barbecues, lounged on beaches and celebrated at parties, often without masks. On Wednesday, Israel announced a plan to allow vaccinated foreign tourists to return in groups beginning May 23, more than a year after closing its borders to most tourists to prevent the spread of the virus. Israel's easing of restrictions stands in contrast to the occupied West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip, where infection rates remain high and vaccinations are low. Rights groups say Israel must supply vaccines to the 4.8 million Palestinians living there, but Israel says Palestinians must obtain their own shots.

Turkish Delegation to Visit Egypt in May for 'Normalisation' Talks
Agence France Presse/April 15/2021
A Turkish delegation will visit Egypt next month as part of Ankara's efforts to mend ties, the foreign minister said on Thursday. "Egypt invited a delegation from Turkey. The delegation will go in early May," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the private NTV broadcaster. "We will discuss openly how to normalise relations." Turkey and Egypt froze ties after the 2013 overthrow of ex-Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who forged close ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. That year, both countries expelled each others' ambassadors and Cairo had then declared the Turkish envoy "persona non grata." But Turkish officials last month said Ankara had established the first diplomatic contacts with Cairo since 2013 as part of wider efforts to repair relations with other Middle Eastern rivals. Cavusoglu on Thursday said the first delegation talks would be at the level of deputy foreign ministers, ahead of a contact between the ministers. "I hope we will all together further improve relations," he said.

Greek, Turkish Ministers Clash at Press Conference
Agence France Presse/April 15/2021
The foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey on Wednesday exchanged accusations on a wide range of issues during a volatile press conference at the end of their first meeting in over a year. The meeting between Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias was ostensibly designed to show the two uneasy NATO neighbors trying to put aside their differences after a year of complex disputes. The two countries teetered on the edge of all-out war when their gunboats collided while shadowing each other during a Turkish push into disputed eastern Mediterranean waters last August.
The press conference opened with conciliatory remarks from Cavusoglu in which he praised "the very positive dialogue" they just held in the Turkish capital. But Dendias used his opening remarks to rattle off a series of longstanding complaints about Turkey -- from its search from natural gas in contested waters to its treatment of the Greek Orthodox minority and the sides' ongoing dispute about migrants. "Greece's position is clear and this is not the first time you have heard it," Dendias told Cavusoglu during a particularly heated moment in the 35-minute press conference. "If you heavily accuse my country and people before the press, I have to be in a position to respond to that," Cavusoglu replied. "If you want to continue our tensions, we can," Cavusoglu said.
 

Syria Devalues Pound after Sacking Central Bank Governor
Agence France Presse/April 15/2021
Syria's central bank devalued the pound on Thursday, bringing the currency's official exchange rate closer to the black market rate, two days after the government sacked its governor. The pound was now officially valued at 2,512 to the US dollar from around 1,250 previously, central bank data showed. The black market rate is more than 3,000 to the greenback. The move means the Syrian currency has officially shed more than 98 percent of its value since the start of the country's civil war in 2011. It follows the government's decision to dismiss central bank governor Hazem Karfoul on Tuesday after a three-year tenure that coincided with a severe economic crisis. The pound stood at 47 pounds to the dollar before the conflict. Syria last devalued the pound in June 2020, giving in to weeks of depreciation on the black market as new US sanctions took effect. The country's war-battered economy is now reeling from the knock-on effects of a financial crisis in neighbouring Lebanon that has stemmed the flow of dollars into government-held areas. President Bashar al-Assad's government also blames Western sanctions against Syria for the economic crisis. The economic crunch has plunged millions into food insecurity nationwide, as food has over the years become 33 times more expensive than before the war, UN figures show.

Iraqi Civilian Killed in Baghdad Blast
Agence France Presse/April 15/2021
An explosion killed at least one civilian on Thursday at a marketplace in Baghdad's densely populated majority-Shiite Sadr City, the army said, without saying who or what caused it. Iraqi authorities are usually quick to announce "terrorist" acts, often blaming the Islamic State group which has continued to carry out attacks despite its territorial defeat in late 2017. But despite reports on social media of a car bomb, the authorities did not immediately confirm that Thursday's blast was an attack. The military did however say that 12 people were wounded as well as the civilian killed.
An AFP photographer in Sadr City saw burned motorbikes and several charred cars. Dozens of police and soldiers were deployed, blocking a major street through the district.

UK Summons Russian Ambassador over 'Malign Activity'
Agence France Presse/April 15/2021
Britain on Thursday said it had summoned the Russian ambassador in the UK to express its deep concern at what it called Moscow's "pattern of malign activity."The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said that included "cyber intrusions, interference in democratic processes, and the build-up of military forces near the Ukrainian border and in illegally annexed Crimea."It came on the same day the United States announced sanctions and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats in retaliation for what Washington says was the Kremlin's US election interference, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity. The British government said it "made clear the UK's support for the actions announced by President Biden" as Russia's top envoy in London was summoned to see FCDO Permanent Under Secretary Philip Barton. "He set out the UK assessment that the Russian Intelligence Services were behind the SolarWinds compromise," a FCDO spokesperson said in a statement, referring to a hack last year that cybersecurity experts and Western nations blame on Russia. "He informed the Ambassador that the UK will continue to work with our allies to call out and counter malign operations by the Russian Intelligence Services." Barton also stated Britain's concern at the recent build up of Russian military forces near the Ukrainian border and in Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014, the spokesperson added. "These activities are threatening and destabilizing. "Russia needs to cease its provocations and de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations."

Canada/Statement on SolarWinds Cyber Compromise
April 15, 2021 – Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence, today issued the following statement:
“Today, Canada joins the United States and international partners in voicing our concerns related to a Russian cyber-espionage campaign that exploited the SolarWinds Orion platform.
“We learned in December 2020 that a highly skilled cyber-actor compromised the networks of thousands of SolarWinds customers, including over a hundred Canadian entities, by installing malware through program updates. This allowed the actor to target a smaller subset of those victims with additional malware for cyber-espionage purposes. This compromise has forced third parties to conduct costly mitigation activities and may have undermined public confidence in downloading software updates.
“Although no known Canadian entities have been exploited to date, the investigation continues. It will likely be years before the full extent of the compromises caused by this campaign are known.
“Canada assesses that APT29, also named ‘The Dukes’ or ‘Cozy Bear’ was responsible for this activity, and almost certainly operates as part of Russian Intelligence Services (SVR).
“This activity is concerning given other Russian state-sponsored actors’ history of disruptive and destabilizing cyber activities. We are voicing our concern to highlight the importance of strengthening our country’s cyber security.
“Cyber security is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges countries face. Canadians must trust that they can safely work and live online. A free, open, and secure cyberspace is critical to Canada’s economy, social activity, democracy and national security.
“We are committed to working diligently with the United States, close partners and allies to foster stability in cyberspace and promote Canadians’ safety and security.”
Previous Russian Cyber Threat Activity
“In recent years, Canada has repeatedly called out Russia’s disregard for agreed-upon norms on state behaviour in cyberspace, specifically Russian malicious cyber activity targeting COVID-19 vaccine development in Canada, the UK and US; the NotPetya global cyber outbreaks; and a cyber campaign that interfered with Georgia’s democratic process.”

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 15-16/2021

Muslims in the West Are to Serve as Islam’s “Eye,” Says Fatwa
Raymond Ibrahim/April 15/2021
Not only are Muslims living in the West supposed to hate their “infidel” host nations and neighbors; they are supposed to spy on them by serving as Islam’s “eye” on the West.
As discussed here, numerous online fatwas—that is, decrees written by authoritative Muslim scholars (ulema), appearing on respected Islamic websites—insist that Islamic law (shari‘a) requires Muslims living in the West to maintain “enmity and hatred” for their new homeland and its inhabitants. This applies equally to migrant refugees; they are duty bound to hate and be disloyal to those nations welcoming them in and providing them with free food, shelter, and healthcare—so say the learned sheikhs of Islam.
Another fatwa, authored by the late Sheikh Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymeen—deemed a “giant of conservative Islam”—offers more precise, and disturbing, conditions for any Muslim who lives in the West.
Published by the well-regarded Muslim website, IslamWay.net, and titled in translation (all translations in this article my own), “What Is the Ruling for Living in the Lands of Infidels,” it, too, states that, along with “preserving and upholding his Islam,” the “first condition” for any Muslim who lives among non-Muslims is that he/she has “enmity and hatred for the infidels, staying far from their loyalty and love—for loyalty and love for them contradicts the faith.”
Next the fatwa states the first reason any Muslim should ever willingly move to the West: to wage jihad—which belongs in the “lands of the infidels”—but in this case, by way of da‘wa, or proselytizing. In the words of the fatwa: He resides to call [da‘wa] and entice [non-Muslims] to Islam, for this is a form of jihad, which is a communal obligation for those capable of it…. [Moreover] da‘wa to Islam is one of the obligations of the religion.
In other words, just as violent jihad is meant to bring infidels under Muslim rule, so too is da‘wa a form of jihad, as it too brings infidels under Muslim rule (albeit willingly, and therefore at a much lower success rate than the sure and preferable method of violent jihad).
To spy on non-Muslims is the second reason given to legitimize Muslims living in the West:
He resides [there] to study the conditions of the infidels and to learn what they are about concerning their corruption of doctrine, false worship, loose morals, and chaotic condition. [Then] he warns the [Muslim] people against being deceived by them and shows to their admirers the truth of their condition. This sort of residency is another form of jihad … for the corruption of the infidels is evidence of the righteousness of Islam.
Then comes this:ةSuch a one lives in the lands of the infidels to be an eye for the Muslims. The fatwa continues by saying that Muhammad himself promoted installing spies among non-Muslims. It cites the battle of the Trench, when the prophet sent a Muslim man (Hudhaifa bin al-Yaman) to feign friendship to and dwell among their infidel enemies, while reporting back and exposing their true condition to Muhammad—sensitive information that enabled the prophet eventually to subjugate them.
At any rate, such is what Muslims are being openly taught (at least in Arabic and other Islamic languages). Rather than giving something back to those Western nations taking them in and providing them with free benefits—even by simply being good and law abiding citizens—Muslims willingly residing in the West are exhorted to hate, disavow, cajole, and spy on their benefactors, always for Islam’s benefit.
Incidentally, it is worth mentioning that the same big tech companies that are busy censoring whoever contradicts their approved narrative, have no problem giving a platform for such hate-filled and subversive talk to spread. Apple, as one example, offers an app for IslamWay—this website that calls on Muslims to hate and spy on non-Muslims. And why not, since few in the West can decipher what the Arabic says, even as millions of Muslims are radicalized by it.

Ex-Mossad chief Efraim Halevy on Iran, Hamas and Israel’s political crisis
David Brinn/Jerusalem Post/April 15/2021
ديفيد برين/جيروزاليم بوست: رئيس الموساد السابق إفرايم هاليفي يتحدث عن إيران وحماس والأزمة السياسية الإسرائيلية
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/97902/97902/

Halevy should know something about difficult situations. Since arriving as a teenager to Israel in the year of its birth, 1948, he’s been involved in some of the country’s most earthshaking events.
Like the rest of Israel, Efraim Halevy has spent most of the last year with his wife Hadassah in their Tel Aviv home while sitting out the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s been a challenging year in many ways, but we seem to have come out of it quite well, in the final analysis,” the 86-year-old former director of the Mossad told The Jerusalem Post in a pre-Independence Day interview on Zoom.
“We were isolated much of the time, since we’re not as young as many others. But we’ve learned over the years to manage in situations that are even more difficult.”
Halevy should know something about difficult situations. Since arriving as a teenager to Israel in the year of its birth, 1948, he’s been involved in some of the country’s most earthshaking events.
Joining the Mossad in 1961 after being recruited by then the agency’s deputy head David Kimche, Halevy worked his way up the ranks in Tevel, the Mossad’s foreign liaison unit. In 1970, he was posted to Washington as Tevel’s representative, where he developed a lasting bond with Israel’s then-ambassador to the United States Yitzhak Rabin.
Halevy served as the Mossad’s deputy director from 1990 to 1995. During that time, Rabin, at that point prime minister, asked him to play a pivotal role in sensitive negotiations with King Hussein that eventually led to Israel’s peace agreement with Jordan.
After leaving the agency and becoming the Israeli envoy to the EU in 1996, Halevy was brought back to help resolve the crisis with Jordan in 1997 after the botched assassination attempt of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. The next year, at age 63, after the resignation of Danny Yatom, he was appointed the director of the Mossad, where he served until his retirement in 2002.
Since then, Halevy has written books and remained active in many pursuits. He’s also become a vocal and eloquent commentator on the state of affairs in Israel and its future direction.In our conversation, Halevy reflected on the US-Iran-Israel triangle conundrum, the gnarly question of Israeli-Hamas (non)contact, the political paralysis in the country and his vital contributions to Israel in his Mossad leadership roles.
“I’ve read the [John] Le Carre books and I’ve seen the James Bond movies and have enjoyed them,” said Halevy. “Since much of my life has been lived in the atmosphere which that art supposedly reflects, I can tell you that life is much stranger than fiction. And that the Mossad is much better than James Bond.”
The United States and Iran are dancing around the resumption of negotiations about a return to the 2015 nuclear deal. What should Israel be doing?
As we speak, there’s news that the US has made another overture toward Iran and the initial response has been cool.
I imagine that both sides will look at this issue seriously and ultimately there will be a resumption of a dialogue between the two, unless the Iranians are setting up for a confrontation. However, I think they probably do not seek that at the moment, as it’s also very dependent on the political conditions in Iran. There’s an upcoming election for the presidency, and there was the recent announcement of an understanding between Iran and China [a 25-year economic and security agreement]. So the Iranians are involved in multi-national and multi-faceted discussions and decision-making. It’s too early to say whether they are going to settle for the new proposal from the US or wait until after their presidential elections this summer.
Around all this, Israel should be very careful in how it conducts itself vis a vis the new administration in the United States. It’s very clear that the policies on many issues that involve Israel are different than that of its predecessor.
And the fact of the matter is that Israel’s relationship with the previous administration was very close, and this isn’t something that enamors the current leadership in Israel to the new leadership in the US.
Since this is an issue between the US and Iran, Israel would be well advised to watch the situation closely and to refrain from making a move like we did in the past, which was not successful. The lesson learned from what happened in 2015 [when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before Congress in a head-to-head confrontation with president Obama over Iran] should be studied before rushing in and trying to repeat a performance like that. Current Mossad chief Yossi Cohen believes Israel can prevent Iran from ever getting nuclear weapons with continuous cyber and covert operations like what occurred during the last year or so of his term. Do you agree with that?
There’s been an ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. Sometimes it bubbles up to the surface, but more often than not, it’s subterranean.
I think that the subterranean conflict will continue as long as there is nothing to replace it. In recent weeks, there’s a new aspect that’s come to public knowledge, which is the transport of oil in Iranian tankers to Syria.
If one should believe The Wall Street Journal, then one should assume that Israel has been very active in this field. And the Iranians have begun to react gingerly, against two Israeli ships.
Whether this will remain a viable policy is something that I cannot assess at the moment, but we need to take into account the announcement of the Iran-China agreement, which needs to be included in any future Israeli calculations.
What do you think Israel’s strategy should be regarding the Hamas threat in the South? Is it a matter of time before rockets fall again on Sderot and closer to Tel Aviv, and is there anything now that Israel can do to prevent it, diplomatically or on an intelligence level?
I’ve been on record, since immediately after I left the Mossad in 2002, in an interview with Haaretz, of supporting the idea of opening direct negotiations with Hamas. And I haven’t changed my views to this day.
I believe so because in principle, there is a benefit in having a dialogue – in order to influence, to better understand and to be better equipped with the necessary data required in order to confront them.
My view has been the minority view over the years, but several officials in the General Security Service (GSS) have adopted those views since then.
Hamas is still a big factor in the equation concerning the Palestinians, especially in the years since we carried out the withdrawal from Gaza [in 2005]. The word “withdrawal” is not very popular in certain quarters in Israel, but that is what we did. It was unconditional and was not the result of any negotiations with Hamas. We unilaterally left, and because of that, we had no reason to negotiate with them. On their end, they got something for nothing.
A former colleague – Jim Andelton, who as head of counterintelligence at the CIA was my counterpart when I was stationed in Washington – told me that American policy is you don’t get something for nothing. I think giving Hamas something for nothing produced a result that they didn’t have to pay for their de facto recognition as rulers of the Gaza Strip.
Israel, over the years, has refrained from confronting Hamas and trying to destroy it and remove it from the face of the Earth. Because, if we were to bring it to its knees, we would become responsible for another 2.5 million Palestinians. The issue with Hamas is – do we continue negotiating with them the way we do now, through third parties, or do we negotiate directly? If you have a third party, there is always a fee – political or security – that is extracted. You don’t get something for nothing.
Direct contact has never even been sought by Israel. Hamas is therefore free from the dilemma of what to do if they were approached and asked to have a direct liaison with Israel.
Hamas’s position is that they don’t recognize Israel’s right to exist. But in many discussions with third parties, they had stated they are willing to accept 1967 borders as a temporary Palestinian state. This means, practically speaking, they have accepted that the 1967 borders would also be the borders of Israel. That’s a euphemism that they adopted because it’s important for them politically.
By saying that Hamas is not acceptable as a partner to talk to, we are playing into their hands. They’re getting what they need without having to pay too much. However, I think such a practical approach to Hamas isn’t possible in the current ideological quandary Israel finds itself in.
The country was recently witness to an extraordinary public statement by Yossi Cohen saying that he wasn’t a supporter or detractor of the Likud or the prime minister. Do you think there’s been an attempt to politicize the Mossad?
The current prime minister has used the Mossad in ways that it has never been used before. It’s a question of how the prime minister conceives the Mossad.
In this respect, there’s been a deviation from the traditional approach of the political master maintaining a distance between himself and the Mossad. In that way, the Mossad is free to express opinions and give assessments, whether they are in line with the views of the PM or not.
The political use that has been made of the Mossad has not served Israel well over the past couple of years.
You wrote in your book [‘Man in the Shadows: Inside the Middle East Crisis with a Man who Led the Mossad’] that former Mossad director [1989-1996] Shabtai Shavit once told you that you would never become Mossad chief. Did he ever tell you later that he had been wrong to say that or acknowledge that you did a good job?
Once I became head of the Mossad, I never discussed that with him. I never aspired to be head of the Mossad. I was deputy head for five years and I left the agency, because my name had become public, therefore my freedom of action became constrained as a result.
I went into a different field and became Israel’s ambassador to the European Union.
What brought me back was the crisis in the Mossad, a severe crisis because of the Mashaal Affair. [On September 25, 1997, Mossad agents, under instruction from Prime Minister Netanyahu, unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal by poisoning him on a street in Amman, Jordan.]
It wasn’t just a crisis between Israel and Jordan, there was also a crisis inside the Mossad. This had been a failure, a botched assignment that had many ramifications inside the Mossad. It damaged the morale – for months on end after the event, the Israeli press attacked and maligned the agency. I was chosen to take over because, under the circumstances, the prime minister felt it was necessary to pick someone who would be universally acceptable to all the political leadership in Israel.
I had multiple crises to deal with when I became the head and I had no occasion to discuss with Shabtai Shavit why he thought this way or that way. It was no longer important. But I know that he supported my appointment under the circumstances that developed after the Mashaal affair and the resignation of [Mossad head] Danny Yatom.
Do you think that the Abraham Accords with the Gulf states have really changed the diplomatic landscape for Israel?
For reasons that are common knowledge, these accords have been portrayed in terms which are bordering on peace treaties.
They are not peace treaties. There was never a war between Israel and the Gulf states. I was in all the Gulf states, either in a senior position in the Mossad or as director of the Mossad, and was a figure in dealing with the developing relations with those countries. What ultimately took place was the normalization of relations that have existed over the years and have flourished.
What happened is an achievement in itself, but for reasons well known, the timing of the accords were related to domestic politics. I think it was Henry Kissinger who once said that Israel doesn’t have foreign affairs, only domestic affairs. He was probably right.
Israel has been through a year of pandemic, which we seem to have overcome. At the same time, we’ve been mired in four elections in two years. What’s your assessment of the country as we celebrate Independence Day?
I’m very deeply concerned about the state of affairs in Israel, not because of the fourth election or this or that result. There is a deep divide in Israel that is reflected by the political results of these elections. We have a hung parliament, and this is a failure – not of the people but of the leadership.
A failure of leadership is something Israel has suffered from ever since the murder of Yitzhak Rabin [in 1995].
What should have been sought is a coalition that gives the opportunity for a cross-party national government charged with bringing about a different domestic agenda. As we speak, we don’t know what will happen, but if the government continues to be a continuation of Likud supremacy or not, my guess is that the internal strife will continue and the damage will only become more serious. We need someone at the head of the government to bring about reconciliation on a national level. I’m very worried that if the current prime minister continues, he won’t bring national conciliation. He won’t bring about conciliation with the Arab population, but that is not the problem. He also won’t bring about conciliation with the Jewish majority.
I’m less concerned about whether we look weak to our enemies or how the world looks at us. I’m more concerned with how we look to each other. The current divide is a dangerous one. We have a ruler supreme and it’s dangerous. I think that a person who has been in office for several years should step down for the benefit of the country.
But this is not what we are going to see. If he steps down, it will be against his will. And if he carries on, he will probably magnify the aspects of being a supreme and sole ruler of the country. If you have a sole person who makes life-and-death decisions for citizens of the country, it presents a very dangerous situation.When you look back on the history of the country and the role you played in developing and safeguarding it, what are your strongest memories?
I’ve had several areas in which I was able to play a role. My part in achieving the peace treaty with Jordan is well known. Commanding the Ethiopian rescue from Sudan and other missions that are not very well known were also important moments to me.
I was the first person to have a meaningful relationship with the late ruler of Oman, whom I met in 1975. That’s an example of the kind of activity I was involved in over the years of which I’m proud. I have no reason to believe that I’m bereft of any shares in developing the State of Israel.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.

How Palestinian Leaders Treat Their Refugees
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/April 15/2021
These Palestinian officials, in other words, would rather see their people continue living in devastating poverty as refugees rather than improve their living conditions and search for new opportunities in Western countries. They want millions of Palestinians to remain stuck in refugee camps so that the Palestinian leadership can continue milking the world for money.
The assault on the woman triggered a wave of condemnations by Palestinian activists, who took to social media to express outrage over the Palestinian leadership's decision to use force against Palestinian refugees.
The Palestinians who protested outside the PA embassy in Beirut, however, seem somewhat dubious that this new American money will go into the right hands. The protesters have been in Lebanon for several years now and the Palestinian leadership has done precious little to assist them.
Judging from experience, it is safe to assume that the Palestinians in Lebanon would be lucky to see a single dollar of the Biden administration's new aid package. This is what happens when Western donors shower money on a corrupt and ruthless Palestinian leadership that sends its thugs to beat up starving refugees who are begging for help.
On March 31, militiamen from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction arrested three Palestinian activists in Lebanon's Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp who protested against the Palestinian leadership's failure to help the refugees from Syria. Pictured: Palestinians in Ain al-Hilweh protest on January 31, 2020.
The Palestinian leadership, which is about to receive tens of millions of dollars from the Biden administration, has once again proven that it does not tolerate any form of criticism, even if it comes from impoverished Palestinian who fled their homes in Syria.
This leadership has also shown how it cares nothing about the problems facing its people, especially those who were forced to flee their homes in Syria after the beginning of the civil war there in 2011.
The number of Palestinian refugees from Syria in Lebanon is estimated at 27,000, according to statistics from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). These refugees suffer from harsh living conditions as a result of the scarcity of relief aid and lack of stable financial resources.
About 87% of the Palestinian refugees displaced from Syria to Lebanon suffer from absolute poverty, according to UNRWA.
On April 12, members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction in Lebanon used force to disperse dozens of Palestinians who were demonstrating outside the PA embassy in Beirut.
The protest was organized by Palestinian refugees who fled from Syria to Lebanon in the past decade. The protesters came to the embassy to ask for help in solving their humanitarian and economic crises. They also demanded that the embassy issue them Palestinian passports or travel documents so that they could leave Lebanon to start a new life in other countries, including the European Union and Canada.
The message the protesters sought to relay to Abbas and the Palestinian leadership: If you do not want to give us financial aid, at least help us move to other countries where we might live in dignity and earn a decent living.
Embarrassed by the protest, the PA embassy summoned its security guards and scores of Fatah activists from different parts of Lebanon to disperse the refugees.
On March 31, Fatah militiamen in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon arrested three Palestinian activists who protested against the Palestinian leadership's failure to help the refugees from Syria.
Some Palestinians officials accused the protesters and activists of being part of a "suspicious project" to resettle Palestinians in the West.
These Palestinian officials, in other words, would rather see their people continue living in devastating poverty as refugees rather than improve their living conditions and search for new opportunities in Western countries. They want millions of Palestinians to remain stuck in refugee camps so that the Palestinian leadership can continue milking the world for money.
Videos posted on social media platforms showed the Fatah thugs and security guards pushing back and beating the protesters. One of the embassy guards was filmed slapping a Palestinian woman on the face.
The assault on the woman triggered a wave of condemnations by Palestinian activists, who took to social media to express outrage over the Palestinian leadership's decision to use force against Palestinian refugees.
Some of the activists created a hashtag on Twitter titled "May your hand be broken" -- a reference to the security officer who slapped the woman on the face.
"Give the Palestinian refugees a glimmer of hope, not a slap on the face," commented an account belonging to Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Lebanon.
"The assault on a Palestinian refugee in front of the Palestinian embassy is a stain on all [Palestinian] officials," wrote social media user Ahmed Abu Shaer.
Lebanese political analyst and Middle East expert Nidal Sabeh accused Mahmoud Abbas's "thugs" of beating the woman. "Doesn't this harebrained behavior require the intervention of the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and human rights organizations?" Sabeh asked on Twitter.
"The conditions of the displaced refugees from Syria are dire," complained Palestinian refugee Yousef Atallah. "The Palestinian embassy [in Beirut] is not fulfilling its duties toward the refugees."
On April 7, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the US was planning to restart economic, development, and humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. The assistance, he said, includes $75 million in economic and development assistance in the West Bank and Gaza, $10 million for peace-building programs and $150 million in humanitarian assistance for UNRWA.
The Palestinians who protested outside the PA embassy in Beirut, however, seem somewhat dubious that this new American money will go into the right hands. The protesters have been in Lebanon for several years now and the Palestinian leadership has done precious little to assist them.
Palestinian leaders are currently preoccupied with preparing for next month's parliamentary election. The plight of the displaced Palestinians in Lebanon is not on their busy agenda.
It is mortally embarrassing for Abbas, ahead of the election, to see Palestinians protesting against his failure to help them with their tragic conditions. Judging from experience, it is safe to assume that the Palestinians in Lebanon would be lucky to see a single dollar of the Biden administration's new aid package. This is what happens when Western donors shower money on a corrupt and ruthless Palestinian leadership that sends its thugs to beat up starving refugees who are begging for help.
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
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The Arrogance of Power
Nael Shama/Carnegie MEC/April 15/2021
Why was Bashar al-Assad so unprepared for the Syrian uprising, and has he learned anything since?
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appears to have triumphed. He remains in power, the Syrian conflict is nearly over, and efforts are underway in the Arab world to normalize relations with his regime. Yet, while the level of violence may have gone down after ten years of destruction, can one say that Assad has changed his method of ruling? Has Syria’s experience altered his views about the essence of politics?
To answer those questions, we must recall what happened at the beginning of the Arab uprisings. In early 2011, even after massive social mobilization had overthrown two longstanding strongmen in the span of a few weeks, Assad stated that those events had no relevance for Syria. He told the Wall Street Journal that “Syria was stable.” Referring to what had happened in Tunisia and Egypt, the president remarked that his country was “outside of this.”
A few weeks later, Assad was facing an uprising of his own, revealing how out of touch with reality he had been. A decade on, it is still legitimate to ask why the Syrian dictator overlooked the harbingers of his own vulnerability. Three mechanisms explain this disconnect.
The first was that the Assad family was myopic about the fact that excessive control reduced its exposure to the true workings of Syrian society, hindering its foresight. Politics is a dynamic process that involves expression, negotiation, and conflict. By 2011, the Assad regime had imposed a tight and elaborate system of control for over four decades, with tentacles throughout society. In having tightened its grip on power structures, security agencies, political parties, and public space, the regime had placed nearly all visible aspects of politics under its stringent authority.
The problem with this is that the Assads failed to realize that by placing politics in a straightjacket, they pushed it into murkier recesses, so that political opinion and contestation shifted from party politics, parliamentary debates, and media outlets into private conversations and subtle forms of dissent. Small facts speak to large issues—“winks to epistemology or sheep raids to revolution,” as the cultural anthropologist Clifford Geertz once wrote. Under the Assads, ellipses of speech, allegorical phrases, nods of desperation, exhalations of anger, or even silence, spoke volumes about what was rankling the population.
From his palace overlooking Damascus, Bashar al-Assad saw a different picture. Silence implied loyalty, self-censorship consent. The uprising in March 2011 showed how deeply he had misread reality.
A second mechanism also explained why Assad had failed to grasp the mood in his country. Not only had Syrians concealed their true preferences in response to political pressures, they also feigned many of their reactions and support for the regime. Economist Timur Kuran has called this “preference falsification.” Privately, this may mean faking a smile or compliment in a social gathering. Under authoritarian regimes, however, the practice is more consequential.
It is telling that for both those who supported the Assads and their critics, fear was the Syrian regime’s trademark. While critics called it a “republic of fear,” the regime was fond of upholding the notion of “the prestige of the state,” or haybat al-dawla, albeit blended with awe and dread. Between 1970 and 2011, the politics of terror had been institutionalized in Syria. As a consequence, people acquired a knack for survival. They would bend with the wind, withdraw into their shells, go into mental exile, or simulate devotion.
An astute poet from the early Islamic era, Abu al-Atahiya, stated it well: “If life narrows on you, silence is wider.” And so a spiral of silence pervaded Syria before 2011. Yet, silence is more often a mark of patience than a sign of fidelity. Nor, because it represents a burden for individuals, does it last eternally.
Rather than reading between the lines of silence, the Assad regime had been busy constructing a personality cult around its leader and craving eternal rule: “Assad forever,” or “Al-Assad ila al-abad,” was its favorite slogan. However, it took no great insight to see that sycophancy had bred arrogance.
Third, time widens the disparity between reality and fantasy. The Assad regime suffered from its longevity, so that time had effectively encaged it. Often, the longer an autocrat stays in power, the greater his propensity to rely on a small coterie of confidants who share his opinions and delusions. The leader’s inner sanctum limits his exposure, so that reality becomes “like a night in which all cows are black,” as the German philosopher Hegel put it.
By early 2011, the Assads, Hafez and Bashar, had spent 40 years in an ivory tower. A former advisor to Bashar observed that the president “lives in a cocoon.” In fact, Bashar was probably never fully aware of the inner workings of his own state organs, particularly the unbridled security agencies. Becoming a family heirloom had turned Syria into a compartmentalized dictatorship in which personal fiefdoms had proliferated and public institutions had been emptied of all relevance.
The Syrian uprising took the dictator by surprise, stripped him of his aura, and demonstrated that politics could not be eliminated or forever buried. If the regime repeats its mistakes after the uprising’s conclusion, then the dark events of the past decade will surely reappear again.
*Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

Biden’s bad deals
Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/April 15/2021
His diplomats, like Obama’s, give without getting
Because Barack Obama struck me as a clever fellow, I never understood why, when negotiating with despots, he failed to utilize the leverage available to him.
For instance, he might have said to Russian President Vladimir Putin: “I want to reset our relations, but many Americans haven’t forgotten the Cold War. So, I need you to make clear that Russia today isn’t just the U.S.S.R. 2.0.”
To Raul Castro he could have said: “It’s high time for us to open diplomatic relations but you know the Miami crowd! If you’ll just ease up on dissidents a little, we can meet and go to a baseball game together in Havana, and maybe I’ll even have my picture taken under a portrait of Che Guevara!”
To Iran’s rulers, he should have said: “Many members of Congress, even within my own party, won’t approve the deal you want me to sign off on. So, at a minimum, I need you to demonstrate – verifiably – that you’re permanently out of the nuclear weapons business and won’t threaten your neighbors anymore.”
Instead, of course, President Obama gave without getting, and then postured as though he’d achieved spectacular victories. President Biden is now doing likewise. A few examples follow.
In February, the Biden administration lifted the foreign terrorist designation on the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Since then, they’ve been launching missiles and armed drones at Saudi cities and oil facilities, and they’ve turned down proposals for cease-fires. Mission unaccomplished.
The UN Human Rights Council has become a club for chronic human rights abusers – China, Russia, and Cuba among them. The Trump administration withdrew from it. The Biden administration plans to return. What reforms have been undertaken in exchange for the U.S. again lending its legitimacy to the UNHRC? None.
Manipulated by China’s rulers, the World Health Organization failed to do its job adequately in response to the virus that emerged from Wuhan and has caused death and devastation globally. The Trump administration stopped funding the WHO and walked out the door. The Biden administration rejoined and turned the funding faucet back on. What changes were demanded in return for these benefits? Not one.
The Biden administration announced last week that it would provide at least $235 million in aid to the Palestinians, more than half to be distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency which Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the UN, recently called “among the most corrupt and counterproductive of all UN agencies.” She added: “President Trump was right to abandon it.”
Will anything be done to make UNRWA less corrupt and counterproductive? Secretary of State Antony Blinken would only say: “The United States is deeply committed to ensuring that our partnership with UNRWA promotes neutrality, accountability, and transparency.” Yeah, that ought to do the trick.
One more example. Iran’s rulers are weaker today than they were four years ago thanks to the economic pressure applied by the Trump administration after its withdrawal in 2018 from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
President Biden last week sent his negotiators to Vienna to offer the theocrats billions of dollars if they’ll agree to stop violating the JCPOA.
Keep in mind that the JCPOA was always a bargain for Iran’s rulers. It allows them to build an industrial-size nuclear program “for peaceful purposes,” while key nuclear restrictions sunset. Advanced centrifuges can be installed, and enrichment capability expanded over time with no prohibition on producing weapons-grade uranium after 2030. It places no restrictions on their continuing to develop ballistic missiles that can deliver nuclear weapons to targets anywhere on the planet. It doesn’t interfere with their support for terrorists in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, or Gaza, their holding of American and other hostages, and their human rights abuses domestically.
Why would the Biden administration – or any administration – not utilize all available leverage when negotiating with unfriendly and untrustworthy interlocutors? Three plausible – and not mutually exclusive – explanations occur to me.
The first: Mr. Biden actually believes Iran’s rulers can be appeased, that they will be satisfied to merely “share the neighborhood,” as Mr. Obama memorably put it.
The second: Because American diplomats are regarded as having failed if their talks break down, and having succeeded if they “get to yes,” they are inclined to see a bad deal as preferable to no deal – especially if the flaws in the deal can be papered over for a while.
Consider the 1994 Agreed Framework under which President Clinton gave North Korea massive aid in exchange for a pledge to end its nuclear weapons program. The regime pocketed the benefits while continuing its nuclear program covertly. Today, dictator Kim Jung-un possesses nuclear weapons and is developing missiles that can deliver them with accuracy.
At the time, however, President Clinton was able to declare that he’d found a diplomatic solution, and the diplomats involved could move up the ladder or take comfortable chairs at universities.
The third explanation: American politicians and diplomats too often convince themselves that even the most despotic regimes contain some not-so-bad guys – moderates who want to reach a compromise, a win-win outcome.
Can American politicians and diplomats really be so naïve? Yes, because sophistication is not the same as street-smarts.
Were you really surprised when John Kerry was outfoxed by Javad Zarif, Tehran’s silver-tongued foreign minister? Do you not get that Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, has much to gain if he does Beijing’s bidding – and much to fear if he does not? By contrast, President Biden presents no threat and offers not much opportunity.
The “international community” is diverse. And not in the rosy sense that Americans now use that term.
**Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a columnist for the Washington Times. Follow him on Twitter @CliffordDMay. FDD is a nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues.

Iran’s problems after the Natanz attack
Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weekly/April 15/2021
Regardless of the nature of the attack on Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility, Natanz, and the extent of the damage it caused, Iran has yet to answer the new – old question. Is it a normal country that cares about the welfare of its people, or not? Is the “Islamic Republic” governed by logic or by illusions?
The White House’s announcement that the United States has nothing to do with the attack on Natanz points to the Biden administration’s desire to strike a deal with Iran for a return to the agreement related to its nuclear file.Such a stance by the US administration reflects goodwill on its part, but it does not hide the inability to restrain Israel, which has its own agenda regarding the Iranian’s nuclear dossier. Iran may have to admit first that the world has changed. But this is rejected by the regime in place, until further notice, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of the Iranian people recognise this.That majority is tired of a system that has nothing to offer but misery and poverty.
Iran may also have to admit that the world is not ready to provide it with money in order to continue its expansionist project, which threatens the stability of the entire region. Above all, Iran cannot ignore the fact that the two countries on which it relies for its expansionist project, namely China and Russia, maintain more than good relations with Israel. Likewise, both China and Russia have interests in the entire region that go beyond Iran. They cannot ignore these interests stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Gulf, in addition to Europe, the United States itself and Africa. America remains the largest trading partner of China despite the competition between them, which has now intensified.The world of the year 2021 has nothing to do with the world of 2015 when the agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme was signed between the “Islamic Republic” on the one hand and the group of five plus one, meaning the five permanent members of the Security Council in addition to Germany, on the other hand.
Take Iraq, for example.
Iraq was at that point under the direct hegemony of Iran. A major change has occurred in recent years thanks to the Iraqi people’s realisaton that Iran’s hegemony is not a solution and it cannot indefinitely continue. Iran did not find anything to offer to any country it sought to dominate, be it Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, or Yemen. In short, the passage of time has revealed an Iran, mired in Syria where it does not dare respond to the successive Israeli strikes. As for Lebanon, all that Iran has succeeded in doing is bankrupting the country, displacing its people and utterly destroying its institutions. The Lebanese are suffering from hunger and poverty because of Iran, which insisted on installing Michel Aoun as president.
Then there is Yemen. It is difficult to find a single positive word to describe the Iranian influence, which has deepened the Yemeni tragedy at every level. Mention can also be made of the Iranian presence in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas, an Iranian ally. What did the Palestinians gain from Iran other than pushing them to commit suicide and turn Gaza into an open-air prison for two million Palestinians? The Iranian expansionist project has only served Israel, whose Iranian agenda is the one that clearly rules the day, despite the White House’s distancing itself from the attack on Natanz. It was noteworthy that the attack, which Western and Israeli sources described as a “cyber attack” with a possible role for the Israeli “Mossad”, took place at a time when US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was visiting Israel. This has led the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, to say in a statement that the incident in “Natanz” was the second since last July and was the result of a “terrorist” act. Salehi added that “Iran reserves its right to respond to the perpetrators of this act.”Before that, the spokesman for the Parliamentary Energy Committee, Malek Shariati Nayasser, referred to “sabotage or infiltration.”This is dangerous talk that needs clarification, given that it reveals the presence of Israeli cells inside Iran.
How can Iran respond?
There are two paths ahead. The first is to continue to utter inflated and meaningless words, as proven after the US assassination of the commander of the “Al-Quds” Corps, Qassem Soleimani, on January 3, 2020, and after the Israelis assassinated Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh near Tehran. The hot Iranian rhetoric about an “earthshaking response” to America and Israel coincides with the continued destruction in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. There is another path for Iran. This path is that of reconciliation with itself, based on logic and conviction that its expansionist project has no future.. A country that does not have a large productive economy cannot play roles that exceed its size. Following this path would mean accepting the fact that the American return to the agreement regarding the Iranian nuclear file cannot be separated from Iran’s behaviour in the region and from its ballistic missile programme.
In the end, what has changed in the region between 2015 and 2021 also includes Israel’s presence in the Gulf region first and its ability to maintain its own agenda regarding Iran, secondly. America is not in a hurry. America cannot enter a confrontation with Israel for the sake of Iran.
Moreover, the US under the Biden administration, has its own concern, which is the Chinese concern. There is no American foreign policy at the present time other than the policy of confronting China, with which Iran recently signed an unclear strategic agreement for the next quarter of a century. Is there anyone in Iran who has enough courage to deal with reality instead of continuing to escape from that reality to focus outside the borders of the “Islamic Republic”, ignoring where the real problem of Iran resides? Not sure. Iran’s real problems are domestic. Most certainly, nuclear weapons will not solve them, and neither will missiles nor the expansionist project of its sectarian militias.