English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  September 3/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
Jesus said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather
Saint Luke 17/31-37: “On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back.Remember Lot’s wife. Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.’Then they asked him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 02-03/2021
Lebanon’s PM-designate Mikati says resigning is out of the question for now
US delegation to Lebanon pushes for government formation, transparent election
U.S. Senators Warn against Iranian Fuel Shipments to Lebanon
US senators slam Hezbollah’s intent to import fuel from Iran
Hezbollah totally bypassed state in importing fuel from Iran
Shia-Christian tensions reveal danger posed by Hezbollah weapons
New Government May be Formed This Week
Another Draft Cabinet Line-Up Emerges
Govt. Formation Chances are ‘Fifty-Fifty’
EU Socialist Democrat Group Delegation to Visit Beirut
Hizbullah Fuel Ship Enters Syria Waters
Hezbollah faces growing wrath of resentful Lebanese/Bassam Mroue/The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
Lebanon could see a new government within days as Mikati proposes draft/George Eid/Cyprus Mail/September 2, 20210
Iranian fuel ship enters Syrian waters to help Hezbollah - report/Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/September 02/202
A Message To My People In Occupied Lebanon/Camil J. Hayek/September 02/2021
Saudi Journalist: Hizbullah And Hamas Leaders Are Terrorists Who Should Be Prosecuted And Executed/MEMRI/September 2, 2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 02-03/2021
Israel conducts air strikes on targets in Syria through Lebanon's airspace
Al-Qaeda joined Taliban in Panjshir valley offensive: Sources
Taliban confirm Hibatullah Akhundzada will rule, president to run country under him
Women journalists are ‘disappearing’ from Kabul under Taliban rule: RSF
Doha shaping up as second capital of Afghanistan
UK Foreign Minister Heads to Asia for Afghanistan Talks
Iraq reintroduces compulsory military service in bid to end sectarian polorisation
UAE, Turkey intensify quest for new chapter in relations as leaders talk
Russia-brokered ceasefire takes hold in southern Syria
Cairo announces new round of ‘exploratory talks’ with Turkey
65 Dead In Renewed Fighting for Yemen's Marib
Israeli Foreign Minister Promises Closer Look at NSO
Merkel Prepares to Step Down With Legacy of Tackling Crises

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 02-03/2021
La fin de l’ère afghane et les nouvelles questions stratégiques/Charles Elias Chartouni/September 01/2021
Iranian Mullahs' Torture Epidemic: UN, EU, Biden Administration Continue Appeasing Anyhow/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/September 02/2021
Tunisians want to know where Kais Saied Is taking the country/Oussama Romdhani/The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
Siege of Deraa Shows Syria Regime’s Dependence on Russia and Iran/Neil Hauer/The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 02-03/2021
Lebanon’s PM-designate Mikati says resigning is out of the question for now
Rawad Taha, Al Arabiya English/02 September ,2021
Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said Thursday that resigning was still out of the question for now, against the backdrop of a stalled government formation process. “Since the first day of the designation, I said that I was coming on a rescue mission, and I am not here just to be designated or to abandon efforts,” Mikati told Al Arabiya English in an interview from Beirut. International calls have mounted for Lebanese leaders to form a new government. The crisis-hit nation has been without a fully functioning government since the Beirut port blast in August of last year. The small nation is in dire need of reform and a conditioned IMF program relief package.Over the past few months Lebanon has suffered of hourslong electricity cuts along with fuel and medicine shortages mainly caused by the depletion of country’s central bank reserves.
The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and leading international countries have said they will not provide assistance to the Lebanese state until reforms are implemented to combat rampant corruption and mismanagement of public funds. Mikati added that he had not set a deadline for government formation. “I always said that there was no constitutional deadline that defines the work of the designated prime minister, but, certainly, the deadline is not open indefinitely,” he said. The two-time former premier said that as long as he feels that he can proceed with the mission and has not reached a “dead end,” he would continue to seek to form a government. “Every decision I take will be based on an assessment of its repercussions on the general situation, and a resignation remains an option in light of the reality and its implications on the country. “If resigning was a good option for the country, I would not hesitate to do so. But, so far, this option is out of the question,” Mikati said. The formation of the government in Lebanon has been a complex process for decades due to the need to appease sectarian, domestic and regional factors. “From here, this process takes time, but what I can say is that the obstacles so far are normal.”Mikati and Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun, are constitutionally tasked with forming the government. And despite reports that there are tensions between the two, Mikati said the pair were determined to find a solution and agree on a new cabinet lineup. “I am aware of my responsibility in this matter and that forming a government is better than not,” Mikati added. Earlier in the day, Aoun’s office released a statement that appeared to be an implicit jab at Mikati. The statement touched on “the unwillingness to form a government, the failure to carry out reforms, the refusal to fight corruption, the damage to the state’s credibility, and the starvation and impoverishment of the Lebanese.”Political analysts and observers viewed this statement to be addressed to the Prime Minister-designate Mikati. Mikati commented on the statement saying that his team had received formal clarifications from the presidency that it was not intended for him but rather a response to all political parties. “Personally, I will not stop [working] due to bickering and differences because what concerns me is the formation of the government and narrowing the differences [between political sides]. In my statement this afternoon, before the Baabda statement, I said that I was proceeding with the formation process according to the principles I set from the first day and with openness to cooperation and consultation with the president. In return, I look forward to constructive cooperation away from the conditions and methods that have become norms [in recent years],” Mikati added.

US delegation to Lebanon pushes for government formation, transparent election
Rawad Taha, Al Arabiya English/03 September ,2021
The US delegation to Lebanon has passed a clear message to Lebanon’s political elite on the importance of forming a government and holding transparent and fair elections in the spring of 2022, US Senator Chris Murphy told Lebanon’s local TV channel LBCI during an interview. “It is a critical moment for Lebanon and Lebanon is a critical country for the US. I have thousands of American Lebanese families in my state which are worried about the freefall of the economy,” the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee panel dealing with the Middle East added.
The US senator said Lebanon is a miracle of a multi-religious democracy in the middle of a very tough part of the world and the US has lots of reasons, personal reasons, and political reasons, to be interested in Lebanon.
Government formation
Murphy said that in the short run the US has no choice but to trust that the existing political elite will be able to alleviate Lebanon out of its crisis. “For the Lebanese to be lifted off this crisis we need a government, the US needs a Prime Minister to be able to talk to and to negotiate. The delegation came here to express its desire and strong hope that political leadership here stop causing this crisis, instead be part of the solution, form a government, make the reforms necessary to save this country, if they do, the US senate, certainly the four of us, are ready to be more robust partners than we’ve had been over the past few years,” he added. The senator added that the government is going to be formed with many familiar names being part of it. “They have to start the reform process, ending subsidies, enacting capital controls, rooting out corruption,” he added. “Sometimes when we come here the Lebanese leaders tend to blame the problems of the country on other nations, the Lebanese elite claim they are puns in a broader political game of chess, that is not true, Lebanon can save itself, the leaders of this country can form a government and begin the process of reform,” Murphy added.
The US senator added that the US can help the political class, can bring the IMF to the table, can increase its aid. “We were here to deliver a tough message, if a government is not formed, if the reforms didn’t happen, it will be tougher to convince my taxpayers to keep sending money to a country that does not want to help itself,” Murphy added. Murphy added that the US got reassurances that a government is going to be formed. “The president told us that a government will be formed by the end of this week. We understand that all the parties will have to make some concessions to make that happen,” he added.
2022 Election
The US senator added that the delegation also came to Lebanon to send a clear message about the upcoming parliamentary election in 2022. “The voters of this country will have a chance a new leadership, new faces to government, but only if the election happens on time and it secure is safe, I hope that this is the moment when new leadership emerges, so that was our second primary message,” he told the local Lebanese TV channel. Murphy added that the delegation has discussed ways in which the interior ministry and justice ministry could take steps to make sure the upcoming election is free and secure.
“We will obviously be willing to offer monitors and any experts and technical assistance to make sure no one is intimidated to stay away from the polling stations. Who the country elects next spring is Lebanon’s debate, not ours, our only desire is that remains a democracy and the Lebanese get to decide who leads, we will provide any assistance necessary to get that to happen,” he added.
Aid to Lebanon and Sanctions
The US senator said that every political leader in Lebanon needs to know that using sanctions to loot corruption is bipartisan, “it’s a commitment of both Republican and Democrats.”Murphy added that aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will continue. “I am so impressed by the LAF, impressed by their professionalism, impressed by their behavior during the protest movement, that is something they were not trained for, I believe that US must continue to remain a robust partner to the LAF,” he added. Murphy added that the US needs to find a creative way to increase pay for the LAF troops. “It is not okay for that the Lebanese army forces are being paid less than Hezbollah fighters. We will continue to find ways to support them,” the US senator added.
Lebanon fuel and electricity crisis
Murphy said that the importation of Iranian oil could subject Lebanon to sanctions, adding that the final decision must be taken by the administration, but the risk certainly does exist. The senator added that the US is trying to find a long-term solution for the fuel crisis. “Some Iranian tankers is a chance for Iran to pull a photo opportunity, it is not a long-term solution for the Iranian economy either, I think people know that the US now is working on importing gas from Egypt, we are looking for long term solutions,” he added. In terms of short-term solutions to the fuel crisis, Murphy said that the first step is the formation of a government. “[A government] is needed to unlock international aid to Lebanon to resolve the fuel crisis, Hezbollah is interested in keeping this country in crisis, our interest is in the long-term health and stability of Lebanon, and this starts with a government. I believe the US will work with the IMF on a long-term relief package that would allow the fuel crisis to be addressed but that needs a government,” he added. Murphy commented on Hezbollah’s claim of having an embargo on Lebanon by the US and its allies saying that is “a fiction.”
“I don’t know what that is, that’s a lie that has been created by people who want to keep Lebanon in perpetual crisis, we are continuing to be the biggest supporter and cheerleader for this country,” he added.
Hezbollah and the US
The US senator said that he certainly does not see any talks in the future between the US and Hezbollah. “It is true that there are moments in US diplomatic history in which an enemy all of a sudden becomes a negotiating partner, there was a unique case in Afghanistan with thousands of US troops on the ground in Afghanistan and thus we had to talk to the Taliban, I don’t see those circumstances being present with respect to Hezbollah,” he added.
Nuclear dealUS senator Murphy said that he hopes that the US will re-enter a clear agreement with Iran. “Our belief has been that this region is safer if Iran has no pathway to nuclear weapons, that doesn’t mean that they will no longer be involved in all sorts of other nefarious activity in the region, much of it in Lebanon, but at least they don’t have a nuclear weapon as they are attempting to destabilize the region,” he added.
Murphy added that the new regime in Iran is not much different than the old regime, but it is more resistant to the nuclear agreement. “I think that ultimately the only solution for Iran when it comes to their economic crisis is to rejoin the deal, while I understand that Iranian president Raisi may not have it be at the top of his list, but ultimately I believe that Iran will have to come back to the table, re-enter the agreement, that will be good for Iran, that would be good for the US and its allies,” he added.

U.S. Senators Warn against Iranian Fuel Shipments to Lebanon
Associated Press/02 September ,2021
A delegation of four U.S. senators said Wednesday that America is looking to help Lebanon overcome fuel shortages that have paralyzed the country. But they warned the import of Iranian oil into the crisis-hit country could have "severely damaging consequences." The Democratic senators pushed for the immediate formation of a Lebanese government that can begin urgent reforms. They also vowed support for Lebanon's U.S.-backed army. The troops saw their salaries lose more than 90% of their value amid a crash in Lebanon's pound in the economic meltdown that began nearly two years ago.
"It is inexcusable that in the middle of this life-threatening crisis, the political leaders in Lebanon have refused to make the tough choices in order to form a government," Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters at the end of the two-day visit. He said Lebanon needs a government that can negotiate with the International Monetary Fund and start reforms to reduce corruption that is widespread in the Mediterranean nation. During a visit that included meetings with Lebanon's president, parliament speaker and prime minister-designate, the American lawmakers said they received promises that a new government will be formed before the end of the week.
The visit to Lebanon came two weeks after the leader of Hizbullah said that an Iranian fuel tanker has sailed toward Lebanon, and that others will follow to help ease the fuel shortages. The delivery, organized by Hizbullah, would violate U.S. sanctions imposed on Tehran after former President Donald Trump pulled America out of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in 2018. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut blasted Hizbullah as a "malignant cancerous terrorist organization" adding that they have heard "very troublingly about maligned Iranian influence particularly in providing fuel."
Blumenthal added that there is no reason for Lebanon to depend on Iran because there are plenty of "other sources of fuel without the potential severely damaging consequences of reliance on Iranian oil."
Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government since Aug. 10, 2020, when Prime Minister Hassan Diab's Cabinet resigned days after a massive blast at Beirut's port that killed at least 214 people, wounded about 6,000 and damaged entire neighborhoods.
Three politicians have been named to form a Cabinet since, but political bickering between rival groups have so far forced two of them to step down. Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati was named to the post in late July but has also been unsuccessful so far. Lebanon's economic crisis has been described by the World Bank as one of the most severe the world has witnessed since the 1850s. The local currency has crashed as the central bank's foreign reserves dried up, leading to crippling shortages of medicines, fuel and gas.
The U.S. has suggested that Washington would help Lebanon get electricity from Jordan and facilitate the flow of Egyptian gas through Jordan and Syria to northern Lebanon. Murphy said fuel transits through Syria are potentially subject to congressionally mandated sanctions but that they are working through "whether or not we can help facilitate that transit without applying U.S. sanctions." "My hope is that we could find a way to get this done that would not involve any U.S. sanctions," Murphy said, adding that this is only one of many ways "we are working hard to try to find a solution to the fuel crisis." Blumenthal said the senators are exploring very specific ways to bring the current pay of Lebanese troops to the level where they were before the crisis, "maybe even higher." He did not elaborate how but said they will discuss it back in the U.S. with the congressional armed services committee."The armed services in this country is the glue that holds the country together in many respects," Blumenthal said.

US senators slam Hezbollah’s intent to import fuel from Iran
The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
A delegation of four US senators said Wednesday that America is looking to help Lebanon overcome fuel shortages and reported that they have been told by Lebanese leaders that a new cabinet will be formed within days. But they warned the import of Iranian oil into the crisis-hit country could have “severely damaging consequences” without excluding sanctions. The Democratic senators pushed for the immediate formation of a Lebanese government that can begin urgent reforms. They also vowed support for Lebanon’s US-backed army. The troops saw their salaries lose more than 90% of their value amid a crash in Lebanon’s pound in the economic meltdown that began nearly two years ago. “It is inexcusable that in the middle of this life-threatening crisis, the political leaders in Lebanon have refused to make the tough choices in order to form a government,” Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters at the end of the two-day visit. He said Lebanon needs a government that can negotiate with the International Monetary Fund and start reforms to reduce corruption that is widespread in the small Mediterranean nation. During a visit that included meetings with Lebanon’s president, parliament speaker and prime minister-designate, the American lawmakers said they received promises that a new government will be formed before the end of the week. “We did hear good news today,” Senator Chris Murphy, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee panel dealing with the Middle East, told reporters, adding he expected a government would be formed by the time he returned home. The visit to Lebanon came two weeks after the leader of the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group said that an Iranian fuel tanker has sailed toward Lebanon and that others will follow to help ease the fuel shortages. The delivery, organised by Hezbollah, would violate US sanctions imposed on Tehran after former President Donald Trump pulled America out of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in 2018. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut blasted Hezbollah as a “malignant cancerous terrorist organisation” adding that they have heard “very troublingly about maligned Iranian influence particularly in providing fuel.”
Blumenthal added that there is no reason for Lebanon to depend on Iran because there are plenty of “other sources of fuel without the potential severely-damaging consequences of reliance on Iranian oil.”Lebanon has been without a fully-functioning government since August 10, 2020, when Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s cabinet resigned days after a massive blast at Beirut’s port that killed at least 214 people, wounded about 6,000 and devastated entire neighbourhoods. Three politicians have since been named successively to form a cabinet, but political bickering between rival groups has so far forced two of them to step down. Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati was named to the post in late July but has so far also been unsuccessful. Lebanon’s economic crisis has been described by the World Bank as one of the most severe the world has witnessed since the 1850s. The local currency has crashed as the central bank’s foreign reserves dried up, leading to crippling shortages of medicines, fuel and gas. The US has suggested that Washington would help Lebanon get electricity from Jordan and facilitate the flow of Egyptian gas through Jordan and Syria to northern Lebanon. Murphy said fuel transits through Syria are potentially subject to congressionally-mandated sanctions but that they are working through “whether or not we can help facilitate that transit without applying US sanctions.”“My hope is that we could find a way to get this done that would not involve any US sanctions,” Murphy said, adding that this is only one of many ways “we are working hard to try to find a solution to the fuel crisis.” Blumenthal said the senators are exploring very specific ways to bring the current pay of Lebanese troops to the level where they were before the crisis, “maybe even higher.” He did not elaborate how but said they will discuss it back in the US with the congressional armed services committee. “The armed services in this country is the glue that holds the country together in many respects,” Blumenthal said.

Hezbollah totally bypassed state in importing fuel from Iran
The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
The Lebanese government has received no request for fuel to be imported from Iran, the caretaker energy minister said on Wednesday, appearing to confirm that the Shia group Hezbollah has bypassed the state with a move to import Iranian fuel.
Hezbollah, a heavily-armed group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, announced last month that a shipment of Iranian fuel oil was on its way to help ease crippling shortages. The group is by far the most powerful faction in Lebanon, where it has been part of the ruling system for years. The fuel crisis, caused by a broader meltdown of Lebanon’s economy and a plunge in the value of its currency, has forced even essential services to shut down or scale back operations. Hezbollah’s opponents say the declaration, followed by announcements of two further Iranian fuel shipments for Lebanon, has further undermined the authority of the state and exposed Lebanon to the risk of US sanctions. A delegation of four US senators said Wednesday that America is looking to help Lebanon overcome fuel shortages that have paralysed the country. But they warned the import of Iranian oil into the crisis-hit country could have “severely damaging consequences.” Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut blasted Hezbollah as a “malignant cancerous terrorist organisation” adding that they have heard “very troublingly about maligned Iranian influence particularly in providing fuel.”
Blumenthal added that there is no reason for Lebanon to depend on Iran because there are plenty of “other sources of fuel without the potential severely damaging consequences of reliance on Iranian oil.”Asked about the Iranian shipment, the caretaker energy minister Raymond Ghajar told journalists on Wednesday “our role is restricted to import permits, we did not receive a request for permission.”
Asked if this meant the ship was coming without permits, Ghajar said, “No. We do not have information. Permission was not requested from us. This is all I am saying.”The first shipment has yet to arrive and Hezbollah has not announced details of where it will dock. Tanker Trackers, which monitors shipments and oil storage, said satellite imagery showed that the second and third tankers had yet to depart. “The first tanker should be in the southern section of the Red Sea by now,” it added. “Awaiting visual confirmation.”Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shia ally of Hezbollah and one of the most powerful figures in the state, said on Tuesday he welcomed any support, including from Iran, to help Lebanon through its crisis. Meanwhile, the ocean vessel tracking service, Tankertrackers.com, denied Thursday claims that a tanker carrying Iranian fuel for Lebanon had entered Syrian territorial waters despite Iranian claims to the contrary. Iran’s state agency Fars News had reported that the tanker would offload in Syria before transporting the fuel to Lebanon by land.
“The tanker that arrived a few days ago in Syria is carrying 730,000 barrels of Iranian crude oil. It is not gasoline. Deliveries of crude oil happen a few times a month for Syria’s needs and not that of Lebanon,” Tankertrackers.com tweeted.
The tracking agency is currently following three tankers that Nasrallah said were bound for the small Mediterranean country. “First tanker has not reached the Suez yet. Second tanker hasn’t left Iran yet but has left port. Third tanker is leaving Iran,” Tankertrackers.com tweeted, adding that it “normally takes 10-12 days to reach the Suez.” The ocean vessel tracking service said it would publicly announce the names of the three tankers “once or if they traverse the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean sea.”

Shia-Christian tensions reveal danger posed by Hezbollah weapons
The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
BEIRUT--Violence by members of the Shia Hezbollah group and elements of the Amal Movement in a Christian town in the Jezzine district of southern Lebanon revealed the frailty of the security situation in the country and the danger posed by Hezbollah’s weapons. Christian and Shia religious figures quickly responded to the incident, calling on the army to intervene in order to prevent further clashes between the Shia village of Ankoun and the Christian village of Maghdouche.The incident, which erupted following a dispute over scarce fuel supplies, ignited sectarian tensions between neighbouring Shia Muslim and Christian villages in southern Lebanon over the weekend, forcing the army to intervene, a security source said. Clashes mostly centred on the crippling petrol and diesel shortages that have become a daily occurrence in Lebanon, prompting growing concern about a descent into chaos after two years of financial meltdown. Around six people were wounded in a dispute involving Maghdouche and Ankoun, the source said. The incident spiralled when a Maghdouche resident filed a complaint to police after being injured during a dispute over fuel on Friday and police visited Ankoun to investigate. Villagers blocked roads and burnt trees and troops were deployed, the source said. The situation was calm on Monday.Lebanese political sources told The Arab Weekly that the incident showed that armed Shia elements want to deal with Christians in southern Lebanon, as they were dhimmis, i.e. non-Muslims living on a Muslim land. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that these Shia elements feel they are above the law and that Hezbollah is able to protect them from any prosecution.
The sense of impunity, the sources said, explains the attack by Shia armed elements on Christian religious symbols in Maghdouche. Among these symbols was a statue of Saint Charbel, a Maronite monk and priest from Lebanon who earnt a widespread reputation for holiness and has been canonised by the Catholic Church. Soon after the attack, a Shia citizen donated funds to restore the statue, in an attempt to ease tensions and send a message that Shia citizens have nothing to do with the violence of armed elements against the people of Maghdouche.
The Shia Amal movement, headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, condemned the violence, saying it had, “no relation in any way shape or form to what happened in Maghdouche”, denying accusations on social media of involvement.
The financial meltdown, which has seen the currency sink by more than 90% in two years and forced more than half of the population into poverty, entered a new phase this month as the fuel shortages brought much of Lebanon to a standstill.
The state’s most senior Sunni Muslim cleric, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, said on Friday Lebanon was heading towards complete collapse unless action was taken to remedy the crisis. The financial collapse has been compounded by political paralysis, the country being without a government since the last one resigned in the aftermath of last year’s Beirut port blast. Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati, the third to attempt to form a cabinet since the last one resigned, said on Friday there were grave hurdles complicating the process.
Observers told The Arab Weekly that the renewal and intensification of sectarian and regional tensions foretell Lebanon’s return to the climate of civil war and the militias’ control over the land. The observers also noted that the army’s role is still weak, which explains the unwillingness of the armed forces to clash with Hezbollah’s militiamen. Neither the army nor the Lebanese security forces have so far succeeded in imposing their authority in Lebanon because of weak capabilities and the lack of sufficient weapons, as well as the difficult financial conditions. The priority now, experts say, should be given to the improvement of the situation of the army and security forces before entering into any confrontation with trained and armed militias.

New Government May be Formed This Week
Naharnet/September 02/2021
Positivity continues to engulf the statements of the various parties that will take part in the new government, after General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim stepped into the negotiations between President Michel Aoun and PM-designate Najib Miqati, media reports said. “The obstacles of the interior and justice portfolios have been resolved and the problem is now limited to Miwati’s demand to get any of the economy, social affairs and energy portfolios,” senior political sources told al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published Thursday. “Miqati is saying that he wants one of these portfolios so that he takes part, through his representative, in the negotiations that will be held with the International Monetary Fund,” al-Akhbar added, noting that the PM-designate “prefers” the economy portfolio. And while Ibrahim will carry on with his mediation, it turned out that the agreement reached on the interior portfolio led to allotting it to Judge Bassam al-Mawlawi, the daily said. As for the justice portfolio, Aoun and Miqati agreed to allocate it to Judge Henri Khoury, after the nomination of Judge Rita Karam was dropped, as the two presidents agreed on ex-ambassador Abdallah Bou Habib for the foreign affairs portfolio, al-Akhbar added. “The positivity that is being promoted is not the result of exaggerations, but this does not mean that the formation course cannot be obstructed,” the senior political sources said. Sources from the Free Patriotic Movement meanwhile said that “the government’s formation would take place in the weekend or even before if PM-designate Miqati maintains his stance.”

Another Draft Cabinet Line-Up Emerges
Naharnet/September 02/2021
Another draft cabinet line-up has emerged over the past 24 hours. Below is the draft 24-seat line-up as published by Annahar newspaper:
- Prime Minister: Najib Miqati
- Deputy PM: Saade al-Shami (SSNP)
- Finance: Youssef Khalil (Amal)
- Public Works (Hizbullah)
- Culture: Mohammed Murtada (Hizbullah)
- Agriculture: Abbas al-Hajj Hassan (Amal)
- Foreign Affairs: Abdallah Bou Habib (President’s share)
- Defense: Maurice Slim (President’s share)
- Energy: Walid Fayyad (President’s share)
- Justice: Henri Khoury (President’s share)
- Social Affairs: Raffoul al-Bustani (President’s share)
- Economy: Greek Catholic candidate (President’s share)
- Industry: Tashnag Party candidate (President’s share)
- Youth & Sport: Druze candidate (President’s share)
- Displaced: Minorities candidate (Named by Aoun and Miqati)
- Tourism: Greek Catholic candidate (Named by Aoun and Miqati)
- Education: Abbas al-Halabi (PSP)
- Telecom: Johnny al-Korm (Marada)
- Information: Georges Kordahi (Marada)
- Interior: Bassam al-Mawlawi (Miqati & Hariri)
- Health: Firass Abiad (Miqati & Hariri)
- Environment: Nasser Yassine (Miqati & Hariri)
- Administrative Development: To be named by Miqati & Hariri

Govt. Formation Chances are ‘Fifty-Fifty’
Naharnet/September 02/2021
The government formation process is progressing “in a positive but cautious manner,” according to PM-designate Najib Miqati’s circles. “There is a fifty-fifty chance that the government will be formed,” the sources told the PSP’s al-Anbaa news portal, in remarks published Thursday. On a separate note, MP Walid al-Baarini, member of al-Mustaqbal bloc, was less optimistic about the government formation.
Al-Baarini blamed President Michel Aoun and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, saying that they are obstructing the formation "for reasons that have become clear to everyone." He also told al-Anbaa that "the same reasons” had prompted former PMs-designate Saad Hariri and Mustafa Adib to step down."

EU Socialist Democrat Group Delegation to Visit Beirut
Naharnet/September 02/2021
A delegation led by the Vice President of the Socialist and Democrat Group in the European Parliament, Pedro Marques, will come to Beirut on September 5-6, according to the Group’s spokesperson. The delegation will meet on its two days in Beirut with caretaker Prime minister Hassan Diab, Deputy Prime Minister Zeina Akar and Speaker Nabih Berri. The delegation will also meet with several NGOs and will visit the Port of Beirut and a Palestinian refugee camp.

Hizbullah Fuel Ship Enters Syria Waters
Naharnet/September 02/2021
An Iranian ship loaded with diesel for Lebanon has entered Syria's territorial waters, Iran's semi-official news agency Fars said Thursday. Two weeks ago Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that an Iranian fuel tanker had sailed toward Lebanon, and that others would follow to help ease the fuel shortages. "The issue of the Lebanon-bound Iranian fuel ship is a security matter,” Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said yesterday, Wednesday. He added that “Lebanon has turned from a state containing a terrorist organization into a state ruled by a terrorist organization,” referring to Hizbullah.The delivery, organized by Hizbullah, would violate U.S. sanctions imposed on Tehran after former President Donald Trump pulled America out of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in 2018.

Hezbollah faces growing wrath of resentful Lebanese
Bassam Mroue/The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
Driving back to base after firing rockets toward Israeli positions from a border area last month, a group of Hezbollah fighters was accosted by angry villagers who smashed their vehicles’ windshields and held them up briefly.
It was a rare incident of defiance that suggested many in Lebanon would not tolerate provocations by the powerful group that risk triggering a new war with Israel.
As Lebanon sinks deeper into poverty, many Lebanese are more openly criticising Iran-backed Hezbollah. They blame the group, along with the ruling class, for the devastating, multiple crises plaguing the country, including a dramatic currency crash and severe shortages in medicine and fuel.
“Hezbollah is facing its most consequential challenge in maintaining control over the Lebanese system and what is called the ‘protective environment of the resistance’ against Israel,” said Joe Macaron, a Washington-based Middle East analyst.
The incident along the border and other confrontations, including a deadly shooting at the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter and rare indirect criticism by the country’s top Christian religious leader, have left the group on the defensive.
The anger has spread in recent months, even in Hezbollah strongholds where many have protested electricity cuts and fuel shortages as well as the currency crash that has plunged more than half the country’s six million people into penury.
In its strongholds, predominantly inhabited by Shia Muslims, it is not uncommon now for people to speak out against the group. They note that Hezbollah is paying salaries in US dollars at a time when most Lebanese get paid in Lebanese currency, which has lost more than 90% of its value in nearly two years.
Protests and scuffles have broken out at petrol stations around Lebanon and in some Hezbollah strongholds. In rare shows of defiance, groups of protesters have also closed key roads in those areas south of Beirut and in southern Lebanon.
In recent speeches, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has appeared angry, blaming the shortages on what he describes as an undeclared Western siege. The chaos in Lebanon, he said, is being instigated from a “black room” inside the US embassy.
Critics say that rather than push for reform, Hezbollah has stood by its political allies who resist change. They say the group is increasingly pulling Lebanon into Iran’s orbit by doing its bidding and that US sanctions against Iran and Hezbollah have made things harder.
Where Hezbollah was once considered an almost sacred, untouchable force fighting for a noble cause, the fight against the Israeli enemy, it is now seen by many simply as part of the corrupt political clique responsible for the country’s epic meltdown. Still, when it comes to fighting Israel, the group enjoys unwavering backing within its base of support. Often criticised for operating as a state within a state, Hezbollah has tried to ease the effects of the crisis on its supporters in similar fashion.
While the government has been working for months to issue ration cards to poor families, Hezbollah has been well ahead. It has issued two such cards to poor families living in Hezbollah bastions, one called Sajjad after the name of a Shiite imam and a second called Nour, or “light”, for its fighters and employees of its institutions who number about 80,000. “We will serve you with our eyelashes,” is Hezbollah’s slogan to serve the extremely poor in its communities, a Lebanese term meaning they are ready to sacrifice anything to help others.
The tens of thousands carrying Sajjad cards can not only buy highly subsidised products from dozens of shops spread around Lebanon, mostly staples made in Lebanon, Iran and Syria, but can also get medical treatment and advice at 48 Hezbollah-run clinics and medical centres around Lebanon.
Nasrallah is also organising a sea corridor carrying oil from Iran to Lebanon to help alleviate the fuel shortages, with the first tanker believed to be on its way. The move has been praised by Hezbollah’s supporters and heavily criticised by its opponents, who say it risks bringing more sanctions on Lebanon.
In the border incident, villagers from the minority Druze sect intercepted Hezbollah fighters on their way back after firing rockets toward a disputed area held by Israel. The villagers briefly detained them and the mobile rocket launcher they used after accusing them of putting them at risk if Israel strikes back.
The fighters and the launcher were then handed over to Lebanese troops, who released them on the same day. Later, Hezbollah angered many Christians after supporters launched a social media campaign against the head of Lebanon’s Maronite Catholic church, the country’s largest, accusing him of treason after he criticised the group for firing the rockets on Israeli positions.
The widely-feared group has been hammered by accusations from its local opponents. They include silencing its critics, facilitating smuggling of fuel and other subsidised items to neighbouring Syria and alienating oil-rich Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, leading them to halt financial assistance because of Hezbollah’s dominance of Lebanon. The most serious charge has been a claim by domestic opponents that the group brought in the hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate that exploded at Beirut’s port last year, killing at least 214 people, wounding thousands and destroying parts of the capital. No direct connection to Hezbollah has emerged, but unsubstantiated theories that tie the group to the stockpile abound. One claim is that Hezbollah imported the chemicals on behalf of the Syrian government, which used them in barrel bombs against rebel-held areas during the neighbouring country’s ten-year conflict.
“Hezbollah’s agencies are active at the port and this is known to security agencies and all Lebanese. Why is Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah above questioning?” asked Samy Gemayel, head of the right-wing Christian Kataeb Party recently.
Hezbollah has repeatedly denied any link to the ammonium nitrate. But Nasrallah further angered families of the victims and other Lebanese recently by criticising the judge leading the investigation into the blast, suggesting he should be replaced. Nasrallah described Judge Tarek Bitar as “politicised” after he filed charges against some legislators and former cabinet ministers allied with Hezbollah.
“There is an attempt to satanise Hezbollah and tarnish its image,” said Lebanese university political science professor Sadek Naboulsi. The professor, who has ties to the group, accused foreign powers including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and the US of seeking to incite internal strife between Lebanon’s Shia and Sunni Muslim communities with the aim of weakening Hezbollah. He added that Hezbollah had overcome such pressures in the past and emerged more powerful.
A serious test for Hezbollah came in early August when a funeral of a militant came under fire by suspected Sunni gunmen on the southern entrance of Beirut. Three Hezbollah supporters were killed and 16 were wounded in the shooting in the town of Khaldeh. Hezbollah did not retaliate and instead called on Lebanese authorities to investigate the case. “An increasing number of Lebanese are realising that the concept of a Lebanese state cannot coexist with a powerful armed militia serving an outside power,” wrote Michael Young, editor of Diwan, the blog of the Carnegie Middle East Centre. Macaron said Hezbollah will not be the same after the crisis and will have to adapt to ensure political survival in the long term. “What they can do at this point is to limit losses as much as possible,” he said.

Lebanon could see a new government within days as Mikati proposes draft
George Eid CM Correspondent/Cyprus Mail/September 2, 20210
Lebanon stands a strong chance of welcoming a new government in the upcoming hours, after a year without one.
The proposed government would reduce in part the influence of the Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah, although that organisation would have five seats in the cabinet. It’s not clear whether this would be acceptable to the international donors who are holding back billions of dollars worth of aid for the country until a government they feel is trustworthy can take over. A draft of the proposed government has been leaked to the local Lebanese newspaper Annahar. This includes proposed choices for ministers by the Prime Minister-Designate Najib Mkati, the billionaire businessman turned politician.
“We are only a few steps away from a new government. There is only one last knot to undo” a source that wished to remain anonymous told Cyprus Mail. Mikati who is the third person picked to try to form a government in the past year, is set to meet the Lebanese president Michel Aoun in the upcoming hours. In their 14th meeting to discuss the formation of government, the two men are expected to release ‘the white smoke’ after finalising the details of the new government. “If the meeting does not happen today it is bound to happen this week. Many political parties have given the green light for the new government to be formed by the end of this week” the source told the Cyprus Mail. The draft published by the Lebanese daily exhibits a cabinet of 24 ministers in which the Hezbollah and its ally the “Amal” party are supposed to have 5 ministers. While the Lebanese president has 10 ministers, 4 ministers will be affiliated to the prime minister and the “future” movement ( the party of the last prime minister-designate Saad Hariri). The remaining ministers are divided into the progressive socialist party and “Al Marada”. The draft specifies that one of Mikati’s ministers will be in charge of the ministry of the interior which will in charge of organising the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country that are supposed to happen next spring.“There is a real chance that a new government will see the light …if nothing happens at the last minute,” says the source to CM. All of this comes hours after a US congressional delegation had visited Lebanon on Wednesday voicing hope that a government would be formed this week to start addressing the financial meltdown in Lebanon.

Iranian fuel ship enters Syrian waters to help Hezbollah - report
This will be a major gamechanger for Lebanon and Hezbollah, which aims to profit off the Iranian fuel that is being shipped.
Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/September 02/2021
An Iranian ship carrying fuel reportedly reached Syria’s territorial waters, according to Iranian media and media in Lebanon on Thursday. Al-Akhbar was the first to report the arrival. This will be a major gamechanger for Lebanon and Hezbollah, which aims to profit off the Iranian fuel that is being shipped. The fuel will supposedly be offloaded at a Syrian port and then transferred to Lebanon.
The organization Tanker Trackers disputed the information, noting that "first tanker has not reached the Suez yet. - Second tanker hasn't left Iran yet but has left port. - Third tanker is leaving Iran. It normally takes 10-12 days to reach the Suez. Normally." Tanker Trackers said a different tanker with 730,000 barrels of Iranian crude oil arrived several days ago.
While the Al-Akhbar report is relatively short on tanker details, Iran’s Tasnim news has more information. This shows how much of a point of pride this is for Iran. In July 2019, UK Royal Marines temporarily seized a large tanker named the Grace 1, which was on its way to Syria. Iran has also sent ships to Venezuela carrying gasoline. The US seized fuel from some of those ships in the summer of 2020. Tasnim notes the “imminent arrival of Iranian fuel shipments to Lebanon coincides with the US congressional statement that ‘the United States seeks to resolve the Lebanese fuel crisis and does not need to import Iranian fuel.’” A US delegation, including Senator Chris Murphy, was recently in Lebanon warning of the economic free-fall there. The US delegation left Beirut yesterday after meeting with Lebanese officials. It is supposed to come to Israel next.
Hezbollah has been at odds with the US and wants to use the fuel delivery to show it can run Lebanon’s economy. Hezbollah also wants closer ties with China via Iran. Hezbollah has, in the past, slammed US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea.
"As US officials, we are working hard to find ways to resolve the fuel crisis, and there is no incentive for Lebanon to rely on Iranian fuel or any other fuel being shipped from Syria," Murphy said in Beirut yesterday, according to reports. The same reports note Syria is under sanctions from the US.
“Informed sources report that due to technical reasons, Iraqi oil is expected to enter Lebanon with a delay, and also in the shadow of the ambiguity of the US decision to import gas from Egypt to Lebanon, the convoy of Iranian fuel ships, which is the first will enter Lebanon within a week. This is the only hope of the Lebanese people in the shadow of the suffocating US siege against Lebanon,” Iran’s Tasnim says. Tasnim is close to the Iran regime and the IRGC. Iran’s Fars News has the same report on the tanker.
Al-Akhbar notes that the “Iranian ship loaded with diesel, which Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced on the Ashura commemoration that it set off from Iran, and that its final cargo destination will be Lebanon, entered Syrian territorial waters yesterday.”The involvement of Hezbollah and Nasrallah shows that the Iranian-backed group wants credit for this shipment.
“According to sources following the case, the cargo of the ship will be transported by tankers from Syria to Lebanon, after unloading it at a Syrian port. According to the sources, part of the cargo of the ship will be donated by Hezbollah to government hospitals and care homes, with a private company announcing the sale mechanism for private institutions and electricity generators. According to the sources, two ships will arrive successively by the same mechanism, without revealing whether they are loaded with diesel, gasoline, or both, ‘with the possibility of a fourth ship departing from Iran.’”
What this tells us is that Hezbollah, which has already taken over Lebanese foreign policy and defense policy, is now taking over the energy policy of Lebanon. Soon, Hezbollah, which plays a role in banking, its own telephone networks, the port and airport, and has a role now in supermarkets, will now be importing gas and oil, essentially making Lebanon a province within the Hezbollah empire. In no other place in the world does an extraterritorial illegal armed militia run a country the way Hezbollah has a stranglehold over Lebanon.
Hezbollah has also blackmailed Lebanese politics to control the presidency, prevented the formation of a new government and appointment of a full-time prime minister, it has also sent fighters to Syria to threaten Israel, it has assassinated critics like Lokman Slim, and was likely behind illegal storage of ammonium nitrate at the Beirut port, which destroyed part of Beirut in an explosion last year, and Hezbollah murdered former prime minister Rafic Hariri. Now it is angling to be an oil baron as well.
The energy export goal of Iran, to provide shipments to Hezbollah to empower it is similar to how Iran illegally sends missiles and drones and other weapons to Hezbollah.
The tweets from Tanker Trackers, which appear to cast doubt on the reports in pro-Iran media, illustrate the murky world of oil and gas shipping, with ships that switch off their AIS transponders to hide. The question is why pro-Iran media would depict the arrival of a tanker with oil, which is a more regular shipment to Syria, as if it was gas destined for Lebanon. Is their goal to embarrass the recent US delegation, or to put some wind in the sales of Hezbollah. Dashed hopes for the fuel distribution, however, may backfire.

A Message To My People In Occupied Lebanon
Camil J. Hayek/September 02/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/101896/101896/
Dear Friends, Comrades & lovers of Lebanon . I am trying very hard to reconcile & understand the realities on the ground .
America The USA cannot be counted on & we were never able to count on America . Lebanon’s only importance is not the oil that we don’t have, & it is not the industrial base that we didn’t have .
The only significance Lebanon have is the fact that we are on the northern border of Israel .This northern front has to be controlled & secured regardless of the Christian population, Muslim populations or any other group within Lebanon. As long it is secured then that’s where Lebanon’s importance end .
Sadly that’s the case .
This thing that America loves the Christians & will not abandon them is a bunch of none sense . The USA cannot even secure its border, protect its own citizens in the USA like Chicago, Baltimore & Seattle to name a few, or protect its own citizens outside the USA . That USA finally showed its face with its screwed up politics on the national level & the international stage . It abandoned 20 year commitment & 4000 dead soldiers & 23000 wounded Veterans & allies Afghan, & even left Americans behind in that shameful exist out Afghanistan .
Communism failed in the Soviet Union & China . China is a communist country, but China is not communist when it comes to money , somehow we have a bunch of stupid idiots in many positions of power in the USA that want to tear this country down & experience communism & socialism even though such ideologies failed miserably elsewhere .
If the northern Israel border is secure, they don’t care who secures it, then the US & Israel are happy to make a deal even with Hezbollah, & too bad for that small screwed up fragmented minority called the Christians .
China & Russia will not allow for the forcible removal of Assad from Syria, to the extent that Syria is an official military base for Russia . If Russia & China are not for allowing Iran or Syria to break then Hezbollah will not break .
So we are left with the fond memories of our once decisive leader Bachir, but sadly he’s dead. Our Illusion that France will not abandon us, but it did & furthermore France has its own socio political challenges to deal never mind Lebanon .
So please stop those who visit the US embassy to consult or get paid , the US will not move a finger to protect the Christians in Lebanon or the Saudi embassy likewise .
Continuing to seek favour with the Americans will not work or be worthwhile .
We need to be pragmatic & very real with ourselves as Christians . We are alone & based on this fact we need to deal with that reality, & act to mitigate the dangers we face, & adapt to the realities that surrounds us .
I have been in the USA since 1973, & very much involved in social issues, & a member of the republican party . Zone chairman for Lions Clubs International for over 35 years, member in the nights of Columbus for over 27 years . A certified federal interpreter & a linguist with L3 corp. & a notary public for 30 years . I am not all that but I am also not an armature about the politics of America .
This is the time for us not to act foolishly & be very raw & real about our existence with no room for fabricated realities or the feeble assumptions about who’s our friend that will stand by us .
I took to time to write all of this because I care about my Lebanon & our Christian community . What I have shared with guys is necessary if we are true to ourselves & desire real answers .
God  bless You All .

Saudi Journalist: Hizbullah And Hamas Leaders Are Terrorists Who Should Be Prosecuted And Executed
MEMRI/September 2, 2021
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Palestine | Special Dispatch No. 9534
In a July 14, 2021 article in the Saudi daily Al-Watan, journalist Khalid Al-'Owijan slammed the organizations of the so-called "resistance axis," especially Hizbullah and Hamas. These organizations, he said, brandish the slogan of "liberating Jerusalem" and other empty slogans, but in practice they serve Iran and its agenda and only harm the Palestinian cause by detracting from its centrality in the Muslim world. He added that these terror organizations bring only catastrophes upon their countries, peoples and nation. In Lebanon, for example, Hizbullah caused a devastating war against Israel that cost thousands of lives, and in Palestine, Hamas adopted the method of suicide bombings, with utter contempt for human life, and entered a reckless and hopeless war against Israel.
'Owijan called to act without hesitation to prosecute and even execute the "terrorist" leaders of the resistance axis, such as Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas leader Isma'il Haniya and Houthi leader 'Abd Al-Malik Al-Houthi.
Khaled Al-Awijan (Source: Alwatan.com.sa)
The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1]
"The leaders of the gang that calls itself 'the coalition for the liberation of Jerusalem' do not belong in the glorious pages of history… [This gang] monopolized this slogan in order to strip the [Muslim] nation of its foremost cause, namely the Palestinian cause. It is difficult to accept the situation whereby [this gang] periodically provokes the immensely powerful Israel just in order to reinforce its fake slogan, which is espoused by sectarian political entities that enjoy the popular support of simple and ignorant people.
"For dozens of years, the resistance axis has taken part in many wars with the Israeli side and brought destruction upon countries like Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, as well as parts of Iraq… Hizbullah created an artificial crisis vis-à-vis the Israelis by abducting two Israeli soldiers, and [thus] caused the July 2006 war, which resulted in 1,000 Lebanese dead and in the destruction of infrastructures in some parts of Lebanon. This was an unjustified war that reflected the arrogance of the so-called 'resistance axis' and the terror that [Hizbullah leader] Hassan Nasrallah feeds on, and which he uses to position himself as a political leader who makes decisions not only in Lebanon. Things have come to the point where Nasrallah's influence and control extend to the Gaza Strip, which is outside the control of the official Palestinian authorities [i.e., the PA].
"The Hamas movement is no less terrorist than Hizbullah. It is a fundamentalist movement that emerged from the womb of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood, and which one day adopted the method of suicide bombings, ascribing not the slightest importance to human life. It is a movement that spews bombastic rhetoric about liberating its land from the occupier and which recently [in the May 2021 confrontation with Israel] acted recklessly, promoting its 'cardboard rockets' by means of a group of media outlets that feed on sectarian extremism, on sowing discord and on harming the pan-Arab fabric. Imported by Hamas from the Iranian republic, [these rockets] do not even meet the standards of a non-strategic war or conflict, or of a street [brawl] or [a quarrel] between children.
"The recent war, which [Hamas] called 'Operation Sword of Jerusalem,' demonstrates the bankruptcy of [this movement], which reinforces and markets the Iranian plan while disregarding the fact that [this plan] seeks to isolate the defeated Palestinian people from its Arab surroundings…
"What the leaders of these wretched, extremist and worthless factions have done requires reexamining their deep-seated inclinations, stopping all support for them, and, more importantly, advancing a plan to bring this gang to trial before the international courts, which are known for their fairness. For thousands of people have died due to their actions and their extremism, and there is historical evidence [to prove this]…
"Genuinely humane [values] dictate that the guillotine of history and the gibbet be the final destination of these leaders, who for years have been feeding on the blood of innocent and unarmed people, causing injuries and death and producing orphans, based on fake slogans aimed chiefly at winning them popularity and [the support of] the masses… and on false promises that they can never fulfill.
"Reality proves that… Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, [Hamas leaders] Isma'il Haniya and Khaled Mash'al in the hijacked Gaza Strip, the rat ['Abd Al-Malik] Al-Houthi hiding in the mountains of Yemen, and various criminals in Iraq are not far less evil than Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, who strove to harm the world and was killed by a unit of U.S. marines… [The same goes for] Saddam Hussein, who regarded himself as the leader of the nation and was [eventually] located in a hole in the ground; [Mu'ammar] Qadhafi, who called himself the African king of kings and was discovered in a sewage pipe, and [Yemeni president] 'Ali 'Abdallah Saleh, who met a humiliating end in in the car of a cargo train, after describing himself as one who dances on the heads of snakes. Despite all their power, authority, influence, oppression and cruelty, God doomed all these people to be humiliated for their evil deeds… [The others] will surely meet the same fate, even if it is delayed for a while.
"Therefore, all those who regard themselves as honorable must act without hesitation to bring [these] terrorists to justice… They must stick to the path of justice for the sake of the blood of the innocent and bring these terrorists to trial… [for] they are destined for the guillotine and the ash heaps of history."
[1] Alwatan.com.sa, July 14, 2021.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 02-03/2021
Israel conducts air strikes on targets in Syria through Lebanon's airspace
Rawad Taha, Al Arabiya English/ 03 September ,2021
Israel has conducted several airstrikes through Lebanon’s airspace on targets in Syria, according to local media in Lebanon.Syrian State Media said that Syrian air defenses have confronted targets in the sky of Damascus, launched from the airspace of Lebanon. A high-ranking security source told Russia’s Sputnik that the Syrian air defenses have confronted missiles launched by Israeli planes from the airspace of the Lebanese Republic, attempting to target the vicinity of the capital, Damascus, from the southwestern side. The source confirmed that the air defense missiles were able to confront most of the Israeli missiles before reaching their target. “The technical teams are assessing the damage caused by the Israeli aggression,” the source added.

Al-Qaeda joined Taliban in Panjshir valley offensive: Sources
Marco Ferrari, Al Arabiya English/02 September ,2021
Al-Qaeda joined the Taliban in the group’s offensive on the Panjshir valley on Thursday, Ahmad Massoud’s forces say, according to Al Arabiya sources. Both sides have suffered casualties during fighting in recent days as the hardline group that has seized most of the country attempts to take the last pocket of resistance to its rule.Militiamen and remnants of the previous Afghan government gathered in the Panjshir valley after the fall of Kabul on August 15. The mountainous region is home to Ahmad Massoud, son of commander Ahmad Shah Massoud – a significant figure in resisting the 1979-89 soviet occupation. Resistance forces have been hiding out in the valley that has been historically difficult to attack due largely to its geography. Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure of talks as the Taliban prepared to announce a government.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Thursday the group’s fighters had entered Panjshir and taken control of some territory. “We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed,” he said. “They suffered heavy losses.”However a spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, a grouping of resistance forces, said it had full control of all passes and entrances and had driven back efforts to take Shotul district at the entrance to the valley. “The enemy made multiple attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj, and failed each time,” he said, referring to a town in the neighboring Parwan province. The spokesman said NRFA forces had also killed large numbers of Taliban fighters on two fronts since clashes first broke out earlier in the week.With Reuters

Taliban confirm Hibatullah Akhundzada will rule, president to run country under him
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/September 02/2021
The Taliban confirmed on Wednesday that the group’s Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada will be the top authority in the country and a president or prime minister will run the country under his authority, according to Afghan news outlet ToloNews.
The group said the discussions on forming a new government have been finalized and they will soon make an announcement. “Consultations are almost finalized on the new government, and the necessary discussions have also been held about the cabinet. The Islamic government that we will announce will be a ... model for the people,” said Anamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission. He added: “There is no doubt about the presence of the Commander of the Faithful (Akhundzada) in the government. He will be the leader of the government and there should be no question on this.” The Taliban’s government model seems to follow that of Iran’s. While Iran has a president and a cabinet, the supreme leader is the religious authority who holds the highest office in the country with powers to dictate policy, overrule laws and override the president. He has the final say in all matters of state.
Afghan political analyst was quoted by ToloNews as saying: “The name of the new system should be neither republic nor emirate. It should be something like an Islamic government. Hibatullah should be at the top of the government, and he will not be the president. He will be the leader of Afghanistan. Below him there will be a prime minister or a president that will work under his oversight.”

Women journalists are ‘disappearing’ from Kabul under Taliban rule: RSF
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/September 02/2021
Women journalists are in the process of “disappearing” from Kabul after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a report. Fewer than 100 of Kabul’s 700 women journalists are still working, RSF said. According to the survey conducted by RSF and its partner organization the Center for the Protection of Afghan Women Journalists, out of the 510 women who used to work for eight of the biggest media outlets and press groups, only 76 are still currently working. “Taliban respect for the fundamental right of women, including women journalists, to work and to practice their profession is a key issue,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. After the Taliban took over control of Afghanistan on August 15, the group launched a charm offensive in order to rehabilitate their image, dubbed by the media as “Taliban 2.0.”The Taliban insisted they have changed from their 1996-2001 era, promising to not seek revenge on government employees and soldiers, to respect the rights of women and rule the country “benevolently” under Islamic Sharia law. However, Afghan female politicians and activists have said that they expect women to be treated as “lower class” citizens and some went as far as saying they were awaiting Taliban fighters to come and kill them. An Afghan female TV presenter named Shabnam Dawran shared her story on social media, saying the Taliban refused to let her work. Dawran, who worked for Afghanistan's state-owned Radio Television Mili, took to Twitter to share her story, saying: “When I heard that the new system's [Taliban] rules have changed. With the courage that I had in me I went to the office to start my work, [but] the current system's soldiers didn't give me permission to start my work.”She added: “They told me that the regime has changed. You are not allowed, go home. I am asking the world to help me because my life is in danger.”RSF said in its report: “Most women journalists have been forced to stop working in the provinces, where almost all privately-owned media outlets ceased operating as the Taliban forces advanced.” The NGO focused on the freedom of the press added that: “Executives and editors with privately-owned media outlets that have not already decided to stop operating confirm that, under pressure, they have advised their women journalist to stay at home.”

Doha shaping up as second capital of Afghanistan
The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
Qatar’s capital has become a lodestone for meetings and talks aimed at discussing the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover. The flurry of diplomatic activity in Doha, experts say, makes of the Qatari city a second capital of Afghanistan after Kabul. This assumption was recently supported by the transfer of the Afghan embassies of the United States and Britain to Doha, with the aim of opening channels of communication between the Taliban and diplomats from different countries. After the sudden fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Doha served as a major link between a number of Western countries and their nationals who were still trapped in the Afghan capital. Doha’s role, experts argue, contributed to the evacuation of thousands of foreigners and Afghans who were collaborating with Western countries. During a summit in Baghdad last week, source close to the French president said Emmanuel Macron held separate talks with Qatar’s emir on a possible role for Doha, which has good contacts with Taliban, having hosted peace talks, in organising further evacuations beyond an August 31 deadline set by Washington. The French leader told reporters that Paris was in talks with the Taliban through Qatar to “protect and repatriate” Afghans at risk. Evacuations are planned jointly with Qatar and may involve “airlift operations”, Macron said after the summit. He added that France, which ended its airlift from Afghanistan on August 27, had evacuated 2,834 people from there since August 17.
Qatar hosted negotiations between the Taliban and the United States in recent years and was a transit point for about 43,000 evacuees from Afghanistan. The Gulf country on Wednesday urged the Taliban to ensure “safe passage” for people still wanting to leave Afghanistan after the chaotic US-led evacuations came to an end. More than 123,000 foreign nationals and Afghans fled the country in a frenzied airlift operation that wound up on Tuesday. However, many more are still desperate to depart. “We stress on the Taliban the issue of freedom of movement and that there be safe passage for people to leave and enter if they so wish,” Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told a news conference after a meeting with his Dutch counterpart, Sigrid Kaag.
“We hope to see these commitments fulfilled in the near future when the airport begins operations again and that it happens smoothly, with no obstacles for anyone wanting to leave or come to Afghanistan.”For his part, Kaag said the Netherlands will move its Kabul diplomatic mission to Qatar, following similar relocations by the United States and Britain. “I’ve asked his Excellency very kindly agree to the relocation of the Netherlands embassy from Kabul to Doha,” Kaag told journalists. She also stressed “the importance of ensuring that Afghanistan no longer resumes becoming a base for terrorist organisations”. “I’ve also asked (the Qatari foreign minister) to employ his influence and context to really help all parties in Afghanistan, to reach an inclusive political agreement that ensures stability and future prosperity.”
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US has suspended its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan and will conduct its operations out of Qatar, adding Washington will press ahead with its “relentless” efforts to help people leave the country, even now its troops have pulled out.
In his remarks, after which he ignored shouted questions from reporters, Blinken said Washington would conduct its Afghanistan diplomacy including consular work and administering humanitarian assistance out of Qatari capital Doha, with a team headed by Ian McCary, the deputy chief of the US mission to Afghanistan. In a similar move, Japan’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that the country has set up a temporary office in Doha for dialogue with the Taliban. Japan, which has temporarily closed its embassy in Kabul, is now trying to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals who have remained in Afghanistan and help Afghans who had worked for the embassy and Japanese organisations leave the country safely.
Takashi Okada, Japanese Ambassador to Afghanistan, will head the Doha office, the ministry said. Qatari Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwah Al Khater has recently acknowledged the political gains scored by Qatar in the past few weeks but rejected the idea that Qatar’s efforts were purely strategic. “If anyone assumes that it’s only about political gains, believe me, there are ways to do PR that are way easier than risking our people there on the ground,” she told The Associated Press, in reference to risks surrounding Qatar’s mediating role in evacuating people from Afghanistan.
Experts believe that the Taliban’s new political rhetoric, based on opening up to the West, demonstrating a desire to cooperate with other Afghan factions and dispelling concerns about issues such as threats to women rights, is the product of a Qatari counselling push aimed at demonstrating Doha’s ability to influence the Taliban and maintain them under control.
During the Taliban’s rule between 1996 and 2001, the group imposed an ultra-strict interpretation of sharia law, preventing women from going to work and getting education. The dynamics are, however, shifting with the group currently adopting moderate positions and reaching out to rival countries such as India, in what experts describe as a new strategy drawn up by Qatar. Indian envoy to Qatar Deepak Mittal met on Tuesday a senior Taliban official in Doha in a first formal diplomatic contact, the Indian ministry of foreign affairs said. The meeting between the Indian ambassador and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of the Taliban’s Political Office in Doha, took place at the Indian Embassy at the request of the Taliban side, according to the ministry. Western countries are hoping that Qatar and Turkey will play an effective role in Afghanistan, allowing for evacuations to continue until mid-September.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday that the Taliban are in talks with Qatar and Turkey about the management of Kabul airport as it lacks air traffic control services now that the United States military has withdrawn from Afghanistan. The talks are aimed at securing the airport as soon as possible so that people who want to leave Afghanistan can do so using commercial flights, Le Drian added. In an interview with the Financial Times, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said his country, which has been the west’s main interlocutor with the Taliban, was urging Afghanistan’s new rulers to accept outside assistance to operate the airport. Sheikh Mohammed said there was “no way” for international airlines to fly to Kabul unless “a certain security standard is met”. Turkey has previously suggested it could help operate the airport and Sheikh Mohammed said the two states were coordinating their efforts. The role Qatar will play in Afghanistan remains to be seen but expert believe such a role will be quite significant. The head of the Taliban’s Political Office and the group’s deputy leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, had earlier returned to Afghanistan on a Qatari Air Force plane. Many of the Taliban’s members are still in Qatar, as are the members of the former Afghan government’s negotiating team who now face an uncertain future.

UK Foreign Minister Heads to Asia for Afghanistan Talks
Associated Press/September 02/2021
U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was heading to the region around Afghanistan on Wednesday in a push to rescue stranded British citizens and Afghan allies, amid strong criticism of the government's rushed and chaotic evacuation effort. Raab did not provide any details, citing security reasons, but he is expected to visit Pakistan for talks on establishing routes out of Afghanistan through third countries. A senior British official, Simon Gass, already travelled to Qatar to meet with Taliban representatives for talks about allowing people to leave Afghanistan. Britain says it evacuated more than 15,000 U.K. citizens and vulnerable Afghans from Kabul during a two-week August airlift that Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has called "Dunkirk by WhatsApp." But Wallace also said that as many as 1,100 Afghans who were entitled to come to the U.K. were left behind. Raab said those who weren't evacuated included guards from the now-abandoned British Embassy in Kabul. "We wanted to get some of those embassy guards through, but the buses arranged to collect them, to take them to the airport, were not given permission to enter," he told lawmakers on Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. Raab put the number of U.K. nationals still in Afghanistan in the "low- to mid-hundreds."The United States and other nations were caught off-guard by the Taliban's swift conquest of Afghanistan, having failed to predict how quickly the Western-backed Afghan government would collapse once NATO troops began to depart.
Opposition politicians excoriated Raab for failing to cut short a vacation in Greece as the Taliban advanced on Kabul. He returned to London only after the Afghan capital fell on Aug. 15. Raab said the intelligence had suggested the most likely scenario after Western troops withdrew was a "steady deterioration" and "it was unlikely Kabul would fall this year." "That's something that was widely shared, that view, among NATO allies," Raab said. He rejected a claim by Conservative lawmaker Tom Tugendhat that the Afghan collapse was "the single biggest foreign policy disaster the U.K. has faced since Suez." A failed 1956 attempt by Israel, Britain and France to seize the newly nationalized Suez Canal from Egypt is often seen as a symbol of post-imperial Britain's declining power. "I am afraid I struggle with the Suez analogy," Raab said. "But I understand what you are really searching for is to learn the lessons and even more generally find a path forward for Afghanistan."

Iraq reintroduces compulsory military service in bid to end sectarian polorisation
The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi approved Tuesday a draft law for compulsory military service, 18 years after its abolition, in a move that Iraqi experts described as aimed at encouraging young Iraqis to join the military and putting an end to sectarian polarisation caused by such powerful groups as the Hashed al-Shaabi militias (Popular Mobilisation Forces-PMF). Kadhimi’s office said the Council of Ministers approved, during its weekly meeting in Baghdad, “a draft law for service under the flag” and referred it to parliament. He wrote on his Twitter account, “Today (Tuesday) we have accomplished what we had pledged to our people and before history since we assumed our responsibility, by approving military service that will instil our children with national values ​.”He added, “We have put forward the Generation Fund project, which will protect them from complete dependence on oil and together we will head towards early elections in fulfilment of our promises.”Analysts say that the decision involves a belated attempt to rehabilitate the military institution abolished by the US in 2003. After the Americans reshaped it according to their desires, the army was humiliated by Nuri al-Maliki in 2014 when he pushed it to exit Mosul for the benefit of ISIS without a fight, abandoning modern weapons on the battlefield. Iraqi experts said the move was instrumental in legitimising the role of Shia militias under the banner of the PMF, which drew young people of compulsory service age.
The decision on conscription is seen as an important tool in state-building. But equally crucial will be putting it into practice, as it risks conflict with the interests of the sectarian militias which could stand in its way. Many laws that did not serve the interests of political parties, militias, clerics or the ruling political class have fallen by the wayside. Also, implementation would need a kind of discipline that has virtually disappeared from the life of Iraqis today. It is not known whether the government’s plan to reintroduce compulsory service will include incentives that encourage young people to join up.
It is also not known whether the project specifies precisely the duration and conditions of service in order to avoid re-enacting the legacy of open-ended military service, as happened in the seventies, eighties and nineties.The presence of a clear and binding law for all would block any effort by the PMF to present affiliation with its militias as an alternative to compulsory service. Independent politician and head of the Iraqi Association in the UK, Ibrahim Habib, said that restoring the compulsory service revives hope for building an Iraqi army that rises above sectarianism.
Habib told The Arab Weekly that the success of this step will mean that all manifestations of sectarianism and ethnic and factional affiliation and the bearing of arms outside the army, such as those practiced by the Hashed-affiliated militias, will cease to exist. The new service could open the way for all Iraqi youth to join a professional Iraqi army and steer away from armed militias that are created on a sectarian basis and grounded on hostility to other groups in society.
Iraqi journalist and political analyst Rasha al-Azzawi pointed out that regional instability and the growing presence of militias and armed groups affiliated with particular parties have generated a desire to consolidate the national bonds. She pointed out that despite the potential political risks involved in conscription, it is an effective means of enhancing loyalty and sense of duty to the country. Azzawi further told The Arab Weekly that the erosion of confidence in the Iraqi army, as a unified military force protecting the country, has manifested itself in the Sunni-majority areas that witnessed not only conflict with extremist groups but also heinous abuses committed by the so-called “liberating” militias. A possible exception was provided however by the Counter-Terrorism Service forces which won a level of appreciation among the locals. Azzawi concluded that the motive behind the compulsory conscription initiative should be to increase independent citizens’ participation in military activities and achieve related social and cultural goals, such as reviving the patriotic spirit and banishing sectarian and ethnic differences.

UAE, Turkey intensify quest for new chapter in relations as leaders talk
The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
ABU DHABI--Gulf analysts expect the phone call between Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to introduce complete calm between the UAE and Turkey at the bilateral level as well as on regional issues, especially since the call came in the wake of the Turkish president’s meeting with UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed and the subsequent expressions of optimism about the future of relations coming from officials of both countries. The analysts describe the telephone conversation between Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Erdogan as a culmination of the rapprochement between Turkey and the UAE and as a reflection of a changed Emirati and Gulf vision where de-escalation of regional differences paves the way for regional countries to devote their attention to the more strategic imperatives of national security and development..The analysts believe that improved political ties with Abu Dhabi may usher in new economic and trade prospects and provide Turkey by the same token with a new perspective on its relations with Arab Gulf countries. Economic gains reaped by Turkey from overtures to Gulf countries, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, will come as a stark contrast to the negative fallouts at home and abroad resulting from Erdogan’s current alliances in the region. Emirates News Agency (WAM) said that Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Erdogan discussed “bilateral relations and ways to enhance and develop them to serve the common interests of the two countries.”The two leaders also exchanged “views on a number of international and regional issues and files of common interest.”The call between Erdogan and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan was “very positive and friendly,” UAE presidential diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash tweeted Tuesday. He said it was part of a new stage where the UAE seeks to “build bridges, maximise common goals and work together with friends and brothers, to ensure future decades of regional stability and prosperity for all peoples and countries of the region.”Observers of Gulf affairs believe that the Emirati move comes in response to various Turkish initiatives, some public and others not disclosed, to bring about a thaw in Turkey’s frosty relations with the Gulf states. Ankara also wants to shield its economic and trade relations from the impact of political differences that led to its diplomatic isolation and the flight of Gulf and foreign investors from Turkey, driven away by Erdogan’s interference in the economy and his temperamental politics. The analysts expect the reconciliation momentum, illustrated by Turkish-Emirati and Emirati-Qatari meetings, to defuse confrontation on various regional contentious issues. This new momentum, they say, also meets the United States’ desire for better relations between its regional allies in order to prioritise tackling the Iranian challenge, with its nuclear and regional dimensions.
After talks held in Ankara on August 18 with Sheikh Tahnoun, Erdogan said, “We discussed what type of investment could be made in which areas”.
In a later statement, Erdogan said he hoped to hold talks with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi on establishing closer economic ties and that, “the United Arab Emirates will make serious investments in our country in a very short time.”
Erdogan’s statements at the time demonstrated Turkey’s satisfaction at overcoming the obstacles to a normal relationship with the UAE, in a way likely to reflect positively on the faltering Turkish economy.
Analysts describe the economic relations between the UAE and Turkey as “close and based on common interest, as the volume of trade exchange between the two countries exceeded $8 billion in 2020 and the UAE is Turkey’s second largest Arab trading partner, while the volume of investments between the two countries recently reached $5 billion.” Syed Basar Shueb, CEO of the Abu Dhabi-listed International Holding Company (IHC), set out a few days ago a clear Emirati intent to open a new chapter in relations with Turkey based on mutual understanding and interests.
“The company is looking for investment opportunities in Turkey in sectors including healthcare, industry and food processing,” said Shueb. Such statements appear to show the UAE has put aside its concerns over Turkey and is intent on steering clear of the tensions that had clouded relations in recent years, sparked by Turkish intervention in Libya and Ankara’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Russia-brokered ceasefire takes hold in southern Syria
The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
Russian military police on Wednesday began patrolling the last rebel bastion in Syria’s southwest under a deal that halted an Iranian-backed government offensive to retake the birthplace of the 2011 popular uprising, military and civilian sources said.
Russian generals brokered the deal late on Tuesday to avert bloody urban warfare after the heaviest bombardment by elite Fourth Division government forces of the rebel core of the city of Deraa in a two-month siege. Russian troops hoisted the Russian and Syrian flags inside the Deraa al Balaad district, where the first peaceful protests against Assad family rule in 2011 broke out before security forces cracked down and the unrest morphed into civil war.
Handing over weapons
Under the deal, local rebels began to hand over light weapons based on assurances that Russian military police would maintain patrols and checkpoints to bar Iranian-backed militias from entering, preventing feared reprisals, negotiators said.
President Bashar al-Assad’s army said the agreement finally restored state authority to an area where lawlessness had long prevailed. Some residents of the long-time rebel redoubt were jittery and upset about the new arrangement. “It is a sad day to see the flag of the Russian occupier and the criminal regime in the cradle of the revolution that has seen tens of thousands die for its cause,” Abdallah Aba Zaid, a Deraa resident whose wife and four children died in a Russian air strike on rebel-held Deraa province earlier in the war. In 2018 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army, aided by Russian air power and Iranian-backed militias, retook the south-western province of which Deraa is the capital and which borders Jordan and Israel’s Golan Heights. Under a Russian-orchestrated deal then, the Western-backed Deraa rebels handed over heavy weapons but were allowed to continue their own administration of Deraa al Balaad. Moscow also gave guarantees to Israel and the United States in 2018 that it would restrain Iran-backed militias from expanding their influence in the sensitive border region.
Concerns over militias
In talks that yielded this week’s deal, Deraa al Balaad officials told Russian officers that any entry of the militias that have been a feared ally of Assad during the war could lead to reprisals, from a wave of arrests to summary executions. “The Russian military must live up to their commitment to prevent Iran’s militias from sowing destruction here,” Abu Yusef Masalmeh, a Deraa al Balaad negotiator, said of the latest deal. The US State Department on Wednesday condemned what it called “the Assad regime’s ruthless assault on Deraa that has killed civilians and displaced thousands”.
Most of the 50,000 people who inhabited Deraa al Balaad fled after weeks of shelling during which the army prevented food, medical and fuel supplies from coming in but opened a corridor for civilians to leave, residents and local officials say. Assad turned the tables against rebel and Islamist groups arrayed against him in the war after Russia intervened on his side in 2015, and has since recaptured about 70% of the country.

Cairo announces new round of ‘exploratory talks’ with Turkey
The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
CAIRO--The Egyptian foreign ministry announced on Tuesday the launch of a new round of exploratory talks with Turkey in preparation for the normalisation of relations between the two countries. The ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that at the invitation of the Turkish foreign ministry, Deputy Foreign minister Ambassador Hamdi Sanad Loza will visit Ankara on September 7-8, to hold a second round of exploratory talks between the two countries, which are expected to address bilateral relations as well as a number of regional issues.The visit to Turkey comes four months after the launch of the first round of Egyptian-Turkish consultations, which was held last May. The talks were the first of their kind since 2013. In a earlier statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry said that the consultations would be “exploratory” and will aim to determine the necessary steps for the normalisation of relations between the two countries at the bilateral level and in the regional context. During the first round, discussions focused on resuming links and halting any hostile activities targeting Egypt and its leadership from Turkish territory, as well as stopping media campaigns using satellite TV platforms from Turkey and preventing the use Turkish of soil by anti-Egyptian extremist groups. Analysts believe talks ended after the first round because of differences over Libya and the east Mediterranean region, together with contentious issues dealing with Muslim Brotherhood elements based in Turkey. Turkey subsequently began to restrict the Brotherhood’s media and political activities on its soil. Last June, it demanded that media professionals affiliated with the group stop propaganda activities on social media and threatened to suspend their accounts permanently.Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Turkey’s decision to ban the Brotherhood’s media activities and stop their incitement was a “positive step”, consistent with the rules of international law and normal relations between countries based on non-interference in internal affairs.
He stressed that the normalisation of relations is tied not only to Brotherhood activities but also to Ankara’s stand on the Libyan crisis.
Last June, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped to “increase cooperation with Egypt and the Gulf states to the maximum extent,” adding that there were opportunities for cooperation with Egypt in a wide geographic area ranging from the eastern Mediterranean to Libya. Shoukry stressed that the Turkish initiatives led to boosting of communications to the political level. “There will be other exploratory rounds that will then lead to the normalisation of relations when we are reassured,” he said. This new round of Egyptian-Turkish talks comes in wake of the improvement of Turkish relations with some Gulf countries, most notably Saudi Arabia and the UAE. After the Gulf reconciliation momentum was set in motion by the Al-Ula summit, Turkey sought to build new relations with Saudi Arabia. Meetings were held between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. Indications of a breakthrough in relations between Ankara and Abu Dhabi have emerged in recent weeks, beginning with a visit to Turkey by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE national security adviser. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a telephone discussion with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week to discuss bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them.

65 Dead In Renewed Fighting for Yemen's Marib
Agence France Presse/September 02/2021
Sixty-five Huthi rebels and pro-government forces have been killed in renewed fighting for the strategic Yemeni city of Marib, a military official told AFP on Thursday. The clashes erupted when the Iran-backed rebels attacked pro-government positions south of the city, making progress despite losing dozens of fighters in coalition air strikes. "Twenty-two pro-government (forces) were killed and 50 others were wounded, while 43 Huthi rebels were also killed in the last 48 hours," a government military official said, in figures that were confirmed by other military and medical sources. The fighting comes after strikes on Yemen's largest airbase, in the country's south, killed at least 30 pro-government fighters on Sunday in the deadliest incident since December. Yemen's internationally recognized government -- backed by a Saudi-led military coalition -- and the Huthis have been locked in war since 2014, when the insurgents seized the capital Sanaa. In February, the Huthis escalated their efforts to seize Marib, the government's last northern stronghold in fighting that has killed hundreds on both sides. Control of the oil-rich region would strengthen the Huthis' bargaining position in peace talks.

Israeli Foreign Minister Promises Closer Look at NSO
Associated Press/September 02/2021
Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday played down criticism of the country's regulation of the cyberespionage firm NSO Group but vowed to step up efforts to ensure the company's controversial spyware doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Speaking to foreign journalists, Yair Lapid said the government has only limited control over how defense exports are used by customers. Yet he said that Israel is committed to enforcing and strengthening safeguards to prevent abuse of all types of weapons. "We are going to look at this again," Lapid said. "We're going to make sure, or try to make sure to the extent of what is doable and what is not, that nobody is misusing anything that we sell." NSO has come under widespread criticism over reports that its flagship spyware product, Pegasus, has been misused by governments to spy on dissidents, journalists, human rights workers and possibly even heads of state. Pegasus is able to stealthily infiltrate a target's mobile phone, giving users access to data, email, contacts and even their cameras and microphones. NSO has denied wrongdoing. It says it sells Pegasus only to governments and only for the purpose of catching criminals and terrorists. Israel's Defense Ministry regulates all arms exports, including cyber products. In late July, the ministry said it had sent a team to meet with NSO representatives after France said it was looking into suspicions that President Emmanuel Macron may have been targeted by Moroccan security agents using Pegasus spyware. Morocco has denied the allegations, and NSO has said Macron's phone was not targeted. Lapid, saying he was aware of the "rumors" about NSO, compared cyber exports to traditional arms sales. He said that despite the many safeguards in place, it is impossible to guarantee what a customer will do with the weapon. "Once you have sold the jet, the cannon, the gun or the missile, or Pegasus, it is in the hands of the government who bought it," Lapid said. "So we're trying our best to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. But no one has an ability to fully protect the other side after it was sold." But he said Israel was working to make sure that nobody is using Pegasus "against civilians or against dissidents."

Merkel Prepares to Step Down With Legacy of Tackling Crises
Associated Press/September 02/2021
Angela Merkel will leave office as one of modern Germany's longest-serving leaders and a global diplomatic heavyweight, with a legacy defined by her management of a succession of crises that shook a fragile Europe rather than any grand visions for her own country. In 16 years at the helm of Europe's biggest economy, Merkel did end military conscription, set Germany on course for a future without nuclear and fossil-fueled power, enable the legalization of same-sex marriage, introduce a national minimum wage and benefits encouraging fathers to look after young children, among other things. But a senior ally recently summed up what many view as her main service: as an anchor of stability in stormy times. He told Merkel: "You protected our country well." "All the major crossroads you had to navigate ... we never mapped out in any election program — they came overnight and you had to govern well," Bavarian governor Markus Soeder said. Merkel passed her first test in 2008, pledging at the height of the global financial crisis that Germans' savings were safe. Over the following years, she was a leading figure in the effort to save the euro currency from the debt crisis that engulfed several members, agreeing to bailouts but insisting on painful spending cuts.
In 2015, Merkel was the face of a welcoming approach to migrants as people fleeing conflicts in Syria and elsewhere trekked across the Balkans. She allowed in hundreds of thousands and insisted that "we will manage" the influx, but ran into resistance both at home and among European partners.
And in the twilight of her career — she announced in 2018 that she wouldn't seek a fifth term — she led a COVID-19 response that saw Germany fare better than some of its peers.
On the international stage, Merkel insisted on seeking compromises and pursuing a multilateral approach to the world's problems through years of turbulence that saw the U.S. drift apart from European allies under President Donald Trump and Britain leave the European Union.
"I think Ms. Merkel's most important legacy is simply that, in such a time of worldwide crises, she provided for stability," said Ralph Bollmann, a biographer of Merkel and a journalist with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper.
There was "a constant succession of crises that were really existential threats and raised questions over the world order we are used to, and her achievement is that she led Germany, Europe and perhaps to some extent the world fairly safely through that, for all that you can criticize details," Bollmann said.
Before winning the top job in 2005, he noted, Merkel campaigned as "a chancellor of change, who wanted to make Germany more modern," seeking deeper economic reforms and a more socially liberal approach than her center-right party had previously taken. But she ditched much of her economic agenda after almost blowing a huge poll lead by turning off voters with talk of far-reaching reforms, instead embracing what she called an approach of "many small steps." Along with a pragmatic willingness to jettison conservative orthodoxy such as conscription when opportune, it enabled her to dominate the center ground of German politics.Crises consumed so much energy that "not much time was left to deal with other issues," Bollmann said. There is plenty of unfinished business: Merkel has conceded that "the lack of digitization in our society" is a problem, ranging from notoriously patchy cell phone reception to many health offices using faxes to transmit data during the pandemic.
Merkel's political longevity is already historic. Among democratic Germany's post-World War II leaders, she lags only Helmut Kohl, who led the country to reunification during his 1982-98 tenure. She could overtake even him if she is still in office on Dec. 17. That's feasible if parties are slow to form a new government after the Sept. 26 election. Merkel, 67, insists that others must judge her record. Still, she highlighted a few achievements at a rare campaign appearance last month, starting with the reduction of the number of unemployed in Germany from over 5 million in 2005 to under 2.6 million now. Predecessor Gerhard Schroeder, whose welfare-state trims and economic reforms were beginning to kick in when he left office, arguably deserves part of the credit.
Merkel also inherited a plan to exit nuclear power from Schroeder, but abruptly accelerated it following the meltdowns at Japan's Fukushima plant in 2011. More recently, she set in motion Germany's exit from coal-fueled power.
The chancellor pointed to progress on renewable energy, saying its share of the German energy mix has risen from 10% to well over 40%. Merkel was often referred to as the "climate chancellor" in her early years, but also has drawn criticism for moving too slowly; her government this year moved forward the date for reducing German greenhouse gas emissions to "net zero" to 2045, after the country's top court ruled that previous plans place too much of the burden on young people.
Merkel praised her government's drive to improve Germany's public finances, which enabled it to stop running up new debt from 2014 until the coronavirus pandemic pushed it into huge rescue packages. Opponents argue that it skimped on necessary investments in infrastructure.
"I could talk about how we saved the euro," she said, adding that "our principle of combining the affected countries' own responsibility with solidarity was exactly the right method to give the euro a future." Merkel's austerity-heavy approach was resented deeply in parts of Europe and controversial among economists, but allowed her to overcome reluctance at home to bail out strugglers. Whatever the ultimate verdict, Merkel can celebrate a unique end to her tenure: she is set to become the first German chancellor to leave power when she chooses.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials published on September 02-03/2021
شارل الياس شرتوني: نهاية العهد الأفغاني وتساؤلات استراتيجية جديدة
La fin de l’ère afghane et les nouvelles questions stratégiques
Charles Elias Chartouni/September 01/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/101904/charles-elias-chartouni-la-fin-de-lere-afghane-et-les-nouvelles-questions-strategiques-%d8%b4%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%b4%d8%b1%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%86%d9%8a-%d9%86/
La fin de l’ère afghane marque, non seulement, la fin de l’épisode inauguré par les attaques terroristes du 9 septembre 2001, mais également des enjeux stratégiques qui lui étaient propres. Le retrait des États Unis n’est que l’épilogue d’un processus qui a été entamé en 2014 avec le désengagement progressif des troupes de la grande coalition qui a été formée au lendemain des attaques. Contrairement à la doxa qui veut avaliser l’idée d’une débâcle, on gagnerait à relativiser les bienfaits et les méfaits de cette intervention coûteuse et ses résultats multiples et incertains. Il faudrait, somme toute, reconnaître l’inévitabilité de ce retrait et son opportunité, alors qu’il n’y a pas de consensus sur ces substituts et qu’on est loin de contrôler les impondérables stratégiques qui vont lui succéder. Sinon, la fin de cet épisode a remis au devant de la scène les grands enjeux sécuritaires de l’OTAN et l’impérative nécessité d’en définir les nouvelles coordonnées, les apories de la modernité dans les pays d’islam et ses effets entropiques, la résurgence des scénarios de la guerre froide avec ses modulations contextuelles inédites, l’installation dans la durée de la terreur islamiste comme donne sécuritaire s’articulant sur de multiples axes aussi bien externe qu’interne, ainsi que l’enjeu des politiques de développement international et leurs liens avec la mise en œuvre des politiques extérieures. Nous faisons face à la remise en question des paradigmes et des politiques en cours et à la nécessité de retrouver des schémas et des scénarios alternatifs.
Le retour des talibans vingt ans, après leur défaite en 2001, nous renvoie aux limites de la politique du “Nation Building” prônée les néo-conservateurs américains, qui ont vu dans les attaques terroristes de 2001, les symptômes d’une modernité islamique faillie et son rôle dans la création du pathos nihiliste, alors que l’administration de George W. Bush s’en défendait en prenant ses distances vis à vis de la politique étrangère comme travail social (Condoleeza Rice). Le schéma de la reconstruction étatique à partir d’un centre fédérateur à Kaboul a été contre-productif, en donnant lieu à la formation d’une oligarchie qui émargeait à l’aide internationale, alors qu’elle construisait les réseaux souterrains d’une économie mafieuse mise en place de collusion avec les Talibans, les seigneurs de guerre Afghan, et les divers clans régionaux (le régime de Hamid Karzai). Cet État fut, en somme, une créature hybride structurée à l’intersection de l’État prédateur et de l’État relais dont se servaient les politiques de puissance régionales. L’administration, quoique compétente et bien intentionnée, d’Ashraf Ghani n’a pu que surfer sur des réalités bien installées et sur lesquelles elle n’avait pas de prise, qui rend compte de la débâcle abrupte du régime en place.
L’irrédentisme tribal, les politiques islamistes de satellisation ( Pakistan, Qatar, Arabie Saoudite, al Qaida et DAESH… ) et la prévalence de l’économie criminelle, ont fini par avoir raison des politiques réformistes mal avisées. D’aucuns prônaient le maintien d’une force internationale qui aiderait l’administration centrale à Kaboul et contrerait les mouvements terroristes, comme solution aux éventuelles vacances sécuritaires qui risqueraient d’émerger, sans pour autant relier cette politique à des réformes de gouvernance qui mettraient fin aux contradictions du simulacre stato-national en vigueur, ou s’appesantir sur sa viabilité. il est impératif de surveiller les orientations politiques des Talibans, maintenir les sanctions économiques et assortir toute coopération à une politique ferme de conditionnalité portant sur un programme de réformes (politiques publiques, droits humanitaires et droits des femmes, arrêt de toute coopération avec les terrorismes islamistes dont ils font partie, destruction des infrastructures de l’économie criminelle, comme préludes à toute aide en matière de développement), mettre en place une politique de désarmement ou de destruction systématique des arsenals légués à l’armée nationale défunte. Le contrôle de cette mouvance terroriste islamiste se heurte à des luttes d’influence internes, des irrédentismes idéologique et tribal, à l’incompétence totale des cadres dirigeants en matière de gouvernance, leur contrôle par les politiques de puissance islamiques, et les rapports symbiotiques qu’ils entretiennent avec les galaxies du terrorisme islamiste. La grande question demeure sur la viabilité de ce régime et l’éventualité d’une stabilisation géopolitique dans un terrain miné, qui ne fait que répercuter les impondérables d’une géopolitique en éclats, et les apories d’un monde qui vit sur les interstices d’une modernité entièrement faillie. La mise en place d’une plateforme opérationnelle en vue de surveiller les mouvements terroristes et préparer les interventions militaires intempestives, devrait faire partie intégrante du logiciel sécuritaire occidental.
La réforme de l’OTAN sur la base des reconfigurations stratégiques à l’œuvre depuis la fin de la guerre froide, devrait remettre en question le stade unipolaire et unilatéraliste au profit de la logique judicieuse des alliances de circonstance initiée par George Bush senior, redéfinir les marqueurs de souveraineté territoriale à l’ère de la mondialisation, les impératifs de stabilisation géopolitique et ses corrélations en matière de développement international, l’enjeu des migrations internationales sur la base de croisement des variables, politique, économique, sécuritaire et humanitaire en vue de mettre fin aux dynamiques induites par les géopolitiques de faillite, et la fin de l’exception islamique au profit des canons organisateurs de l’ordre politique en démocratie libérale. L’absence de coordination, lors du dernier retrait d’Afghanistan, devrait inviter à réflexion sur les scotomes idéologique, politique et opérationnel et l’absence de consensus, qui ont marqué cette phase de transition et empêché la mise en œuvre de politiques cohérentes. Le logiciel du désordre normalisé est peu prégnant et trop coûteux et ne peut, sous aucun rapport, avaliser des politiques intempestives induites par les faits accomplis et les travers idéologiques d’une post-modernité sans paradigmes et sans repères d’action. Le retrait d’Afghanistan est loin d’être la victoire des Talibans ou la défaite des américains, mais il marque la fin d’un ordre international sans arêtes et d’une politique sans grammaire, il faudrait remettre de l’ordre dans les schémas avant d’aborder les contradictions sans rebords d’un monde éclaté.

Iranian Mullahs' Torture Epidemic: UN, EU, Biden Administration Continue Appeasing Anyhow
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/September 02/2021
While the Biden administration and other members of the United Nations Security Council continue to push for the resuscitation of the disastrous nuclear deal -- granting Iran nuclear weapons and global legitimacy -- they have turned a blind eye to the mullahs' ever-increasing violations of human rights.
There are reports of slow public hangings-to-death on cranes, amputations of fingers by special guillotines, electric shocks, floggings and rape....
One can also regrettably assume that neither of these men, nor any of the multitudes of others treated in a similar way, was given a fair trial or anything close to a legal defense. According to the Center for Human Rights in Iran, "Three more human rights attorneys in Iran were handed unjust prison sentences in July 2021 amid an ongoing campaign to eliminate due process for activists and dissidents by intimidating the lawyers who defend them...."
The UN, instead of doing its job, appears to have granted the Iranian regime's leaders full impunity. For how long are the UN, the European Union and the Biden administration going to continue appeasing the mullahs of Iran instead of holding them accountable for their crimes against humanity?
There are reports from Iran of slow public hangings-to-death on cranes, amputations of fingers by special guillotines, electric shocks, and rape, in addition to various methods of torture such as flogging, amputation, beating detainees with cables, sticks, rubber hosepipes, knives, batons, punching and kicking and forcing political prisoners into stress positions for a long period of time, and depriving them of water, food and medical care. (Image source: iStock)
While the Biden administration and other members of the United Nations Security Council continue to push for the resuscitation of the disastrous nuclear deal -- granting Iran nuclear weapons and global legitimacy -- they have turned a blind eye to the mullahs' ever-increasing violations of human rights.
Recently, a hacking group calling itself Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice) leaked videos of Iran's prisons, some of which revealed abuse, including beatings and other unspeakable treatment of detainees carried out by the Iranian authorities at the notorious Evin Prison, where political prisoners are held. "We will continue to expose the oppression," that the Iranian government is "inflicting on people," the group said.
There are reports of slow public hangings-to-death on cranes, amputations of fingers by special guillotines, electric shocks, and rape, in addition to various methods of torture such as flogging, amputation, beating detainees with cables, sticks, rubber hosepipes, knives, batons, punching and kicking and forcing political prisoners into stress positions for a long period of time, and depriving them of water, food and medical care. Navid Afkari, the champion wrestler who was executed last year, wrote in a letter:
"For around 50 days I had to endure the most horrendous physical and psychological tortures. They would beat me with sticks and batons, hitting my arms, legs, abdomen, and back. They would place a plastic bag on my head and torture me until I suffocated to the very brink of death. They also poured alcohol into my nose."
In another instance, a man was tied to a tree in public and flogged 80 times for having drunk alcohol a decade earlier, when he was 14 or 15. An accused thief, who allegedly stole some livestock, saw his hand cut off.
One can also regrettably assume that neither of these men, nor any of the multitudes of others treated in a similar way, was given a fair trial or anything close to a legal defense. According to the Center for Human Rights in Iran:
"Three more human rights attorneys in Iran were handed unjust prison sentences in July 2021 amid an ongoing campaign to eliminate due process for activists and dissidents by intimidating the lawyers who defend them, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned... At least four defense lawyers were imprisoned in the country on trumped-up charges as of August 2021 (Nasrin Sotoudeh, Mohammad Najafi, Soheila Hejab, and Giti Pourfazel), and at least two additional lawyers (Farzaneh Zilabi and Mohammad Hadi Erfanian-Kaseb) were prosecuted on false charges in June 2021."
Amnesty International, which has analyzed 16 leaked video clips, stated:
"Leaked surveillance footage from Evin prison showing appalling abuse of prisoners serves as a chilling reminder of the impunity granted to prison officials in Iran who subject those in their custody to torture and other cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment".
It came as a surprise, after the videos were leaked, that the Iranian regime actually admitted to the abuse. The head of the regime's prisons, Mohammad Mehdi Hajmohammadi, acknowledged:
"Regarding the pictures from Evin prison, I accept responsibility for such unacceptable behavior and pledge to try to prevent any repeat of these bitter events and to deal seriously with the wrongdoers. I apologize to God Almighty, our dear leader [Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei], the nation, and honorable prison guards, whose efforts will not be ignored due to these mistakes."
It is important crucial to point out, however, that this is not an isolated case of extreme abuse the Iranian regime has been caught red handed in carrying out; this is in fact just small preview. The regime conducts systematic abuse and torture. Heba Morayef, Middle East and North Africa Regional Director at Amnesty International, pointed out:
"This disturbing footage offers a rare glimpse of the cruelty regularly meted out to prisoners in Iran. It is shocking to see what goes on inside the walls of Evin prison, but sadly the abuse depicted in these leaked video clips is just the tip of the iceberg of Iran's torture epidemic."
Children, women and men are routinely tortured during interrogations and behind bars, they are forced to confess, they are denied due process and access to lawyers, medical care, and family visits. According to Amnesty International:
"Away from public view, Iranian security officials routinely subject men, women and children behind bars to torture or other ill-treatment, particularly when undergoing interrogations in detention centres run by the ministry of intelligence, the Revolutionary Guards, and the investigation unit of Iran's police (Agahi)."
The Iranian regime, according to a recent Human Rights Watch report, has also long been one of the world's leading executioners,. In 2020 alone, Iran's regime executed more than 230 people -- including individuals who had committed their alleged crimes when they were children. To execute political prisoners, Iran's judiciary brings up vaguely defined charges, called "national security crimes," against the defendants. These "crimes" include moharebeh ("enmity against God"), ifsad fil arz ("sowing corruption on earth"), and baghi ("armed rebellion").
Both the number and the nature of the executions are alarming. From 2020 until March 2021, executions have involved juveniles, women and individuals from ethnic and religious minority groups. Although Iran ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Iranian regime has made no effort to alter the country's Penal Code, which also allows girls as young as nine to be executed.
The regime, presumably to impose fear among those who criticize and oppose the mullahs, has for decades resorted to punishments of torture and death. Torture is administered both physically and psychologically. According to Amnesty International:
"The organization's research found that victims were frequently hooded or blindfolded; punched, kicked and flogged; beaten with sticks, rubber hosepipes, knives, batons and cables; suspended or forced into holding painful stress positions for prolonged periods; deprived of sufficient food and potable water; placed in prolonged solitary confinement, sometimes for weeks or even months; and denied medical care for injuries sustained during the protests or as a result of torture."
The UN, instead of doing its job, appears to have granted the Iranian regime's leaders full impunity. For how long are the UN, the European Union and the Biden administration going to continue appeasing the mullahs of Iran instead of holding them accountable for their crimes against humanity?
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US foreign policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
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Tunisians want to know where Kais Saied Is taking the country
Oussama Romdhani/The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
More than a month after the Tunisian president, Kais Saied, invoked emergency powers to suspend parliament and dismiss the prime minister, the contours of his political style are beginning to emerge, but not his future plans.
Saied clearly prefers that political power be centralised. He has created all the conditions for that since he froze parliament “till further notice” and did not appoint a prime minister despite promising to name one within “days.”
In short, it does not appear that Saied intends to relinquish or delegate power anytime soon. But how he uses that power will depend on his yet-to-be-disclosed plans and how well he can continue to satisfy the various constituencies in Tunisia’s political circles and civil society.
For now, there is no viable alternative to the system he has put in place, nor a competing power to him. Saied has replaced cabinet members with aplomb. He has received officials and foreign dignitaries and engaged them without the intermediation of aides, leaving no doubt who is in charge. Videos of his speeches, which are posted on social media, have become the main source of daily news.
His current status is bolstered by three factors.
First, he is popular. Although some of his more recent decisions have sparked objections and criticism from a number of political parties and civil society groups, Saied enjoys broad public support. An opinion poll conducted in mid-August showed his favourability rating at more than 90 percent.
The changed landscape is seen as a relief from the days of parliamentary impasse and chronic bickering, a trademark of the now-eclipsed political order. Those who object to his indefinite extension of the “state of exception” and his de facto dissolution of the national assembly are, for now, in the minority.
Next, he enjoys support from the military. Saied could not have implemented the emergency measures without the unequivocal support of the armed forces, whose role was decisive in preventing any outbreak of violence. Since then, he has prioritised naming a senior presidential security corps officer as minister of interior. He has wasted no opportunity to highlight his trust in the military, whether in carrying out their regular duties or in managing the COVID-19 health crisis. He even appointed an army doctor as minister of health.
Lastly, he enjoys either support or forbearance by the international community.
The most conspicuous expressions of foreign support for Saied have come from Arab Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia. Relations with Turkey and, to a lesser extent, Qatar, foreign backers of the Islamist political party Ennahda, have been cool to frosty. Saied has not seemed to mind their lack of full support. This is a clear reflection of the regional polarisation over political Islam. In between the two camps, Algeria has established itself as the watchful “big sister.”
The West, for its part, is in a wait-and-see mode. The US and European states have weighed the popular backing for Saied and are wary of public sensitivity to any perception of Western interference in Tunisia’s domestic affairs. Thus, while Washington and European capitals have reiterated calls for a commitment to the democratic process, it is telling that a visiting senior US delegation in August signalled a desire to err on the side of prudence. Overall, Saied seems to have been granted time to flesh out his plans for the future of democracy, while dealing with the exigent demands of the country’s myriad crises.
Yet, a 90 percent favorability rating can be dragged down fast by gravity and forbearance can erode quickly, too.
There is, to be sure, already some frustration, even among Saied’s supporters, over a lack of clarity about his larger goals and for his marginalisation of many stakeholders, including friendly political parties and the powerful trade unions.
Frustratingly for his allies, Saied has refused to pin himself to any precise “roadmap,” vowing only that there will be no return to the status quo ante. He has said that his politics will follow “the will of the people.” But what that actually means remains to be seen. Perhaps this might take the form of a referendum on constitutional and electoral changes that would crystalise his preference for an executive president and “bottom-up” representation. But all this could take many more months to come to fruition, if at all. Meanwhile, uncertainty rules.
Tunisia definitely needs change. Despite all the promises made by successive governments in the last decade, there would only be a series of deepening social and economic crises. Consequently, Tunisians know exactly the type of political system they do not want. But they are waiting for Saied to suggest the shape of an alternative.
While Saied’s ad hoc decrees have been accepted by the population, it remains to be seen if these decrees can address the many daunting challenges the country faces. From a larger perspective, the public is eager to discover how his future initiatives can satisfy “the will of the people.”
The test of whether Saied can maintain his power base will hinge on the tangible changes he will introduce while preserving freedoms. He might come to discover that being in sole possession of all the levers makes him increasingly vulnerable to criticism. He might find that he has to make compromises and engage with political parties and civil society groups, which he has kept thus far at arm’s length.
But for now, his most urgent task is to dispel the mist around his decision-making, and show he can effectively steer the ship of state to safe harbour. The country is willing to wait for Saied to deliver. As all the governments since 2011 know, Tunisians want a positive turn to their fortunes.
Syndication Bureau/ www.syndicationbureau.com

Siege of Deraa Shows Syria Regime’s Dependence on Russia and Iran
Neil Hauer/The Arab Weekly/September 02/2021
The past two months in southern Syria have exposed yet again the weakness of Bashar Al-Assad’s tattered regime and how utterly reliant it remains on its Russian and Iranian partners to maintain a hold even on areas it ostensibly controls. The fall of Kabul has been a cautionary tale for Assad.
The city of Deraa, near the border with Jordan, was among areas that Russian-brokered deals with rebels brought under regime control in 2018. One of the original hotbeds of the 2011 Syrian revolution, it was in Deraa that mass protests against Assad’s rule first broke out and the region remained one of the most staunchly opposed to the government for the better part of a decade.
When local rebel factions reached a “reconciliation agreement” with Damascus in 2018, it was different from parallel deals in the rebel pockets of northern Homs and Eastern Ghouta. Rebels were allowed to retain light weapons and remain in the area, not forced to transit to Idlib as their comrades elsewhere. The result was a tense, yet largely stable, arrangement that saw local rebels continue to hold sway over their neighbourhoods as regime security forces controlled the entrances and supplies.
This setup managed to hold for the better part of three years, despite constant tensions and occasional exchanges of fire. Matters finally came to their likely inevitable head two months ago, however, when creeping incursions from regime militias sparked a rebel backlash and the imposition of a full-scale siege by the government in response.
After weeks of clashes and artillery bombardment amid a seemingly imminent major government offensive, Russian mediators stepped in to secure the exodus on August 25 of most remaining rebels to northern Syria. The resulting deal sees regime forces exercise near-total control over all of Deraa city for the first time in a decade.
Yet this outcome belies the military debacle that preceded it. From the time Damascus resolved to end the crisis via force in late July, its forces suffered one humiliation after another. The supposedly crack 4th armoured division, the regime’s praetorian unit headed by Assad’s brother Maher and responsible for besieging Deraa, fared little better than any other barely-trained militia in the regime’s employ.
Footage showed rebel fighters, despite possessing no heavy weapons and suffering years of isolation, capturing regime checkpoints and groups of soldiers in a throwback to the early 2010s. Government offensives failed to make inroads into rebel-held neighbourhoods and were repeatedly thrown back with ease. In the end, the only accomplishment government forces were capable of was bombing the city indiscriminately.
And so it fell to one of the regime’s allies to clean up its mess: in this case Russia, which implemented the 2018 ceasefire in the area and was marginally more trusted by locals than the Iranian militias that were the other option.
In one sense, this sequence demonstrated the leverage that Assad possesses over his foreign backers. The Syrian ruler was able to restart a frozen conflict area and force it irreversibly to a point of resolution, whether that be via diplomatic or purely military means. Moscow, not wanting the tenuous calm it imposed three years ago to fully unravel, was thus induced to step in and grant Damascus’s wish of imposing control by softer means.
It is the regime’s utter inability to achieve anything militarily before that, however, that is the other main takeaway of this saga. It is true that the groups entrenched in Deraa were not green upstarts. These were established factions hardened by years of combat. But the combat abilities of even the regime’s “elite” forces proved so miserable that it is hard to imagine any, even slightly, organised insurgency being ousted by them.
The only likely outcome of further fighting in this dense urban environment would have likely been an indefinite series of failed infantry assaults settling into an indiscriminate bombardment campaign, much the same as how regime forces failed for years to make any inroads into neighbourhoods like Jobar and Qaboun just a few kilometres from the centre of Damascus. No amount of Russian retraining efforts has been able to change this equation, evidently.
The events of this summer in Deraa, then, show that the Assad regime’s only method of maintaining control, brute force, is destined to fail the second its foreign backers draw down. The Syrian government has long since abandoned any pretence of rebuilding the country or making life livable for its remaining citizens, opting instead to siphon off what little money keeps flowing while governing exclusively by fear. That then puts essentially the entire burden for maintaining what amounts to security on its allies.
While Syria is far from being identical to Afghanistan under NATO protection, there are parallels in the Assad dependence on foreign forces. Whether Russia or Iran will ever willingly withdraw their forces is a question. But if they do, the fall of Assad’s Damascus could come at a pace to rival Kabul.
Neil Hauer is a security analyst based in Tbilisi, Georgia. His work focuses on, among other things, politics, minorities and violence in the Caucasus.
Syndication Bureau/ www.syndicationbureau.com