LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 21/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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‘Manu’ or Emmanuel Macron?
Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/June 20/18
I have recently read a news report about French President Emmanuel Macron that fits in the category of “light” news. In brief, while President Emmanuel Macron was attending a ceremony North of France to commemorate General Charles de Gaulle’s call for popular resistance during World War II, a “boy” standing among the crowds behind a barrier addressed him while he was passing by them. The boy appeared on LCI television channel singing the socialist anthem before telling the president: “How’s it going, Manu?” The boy used a nickname to address him.
This angered the 40-year-old president who told the boy: “No, you can’t do that, no, no, no, no,” adding: “You’re here, at an official ceremony and you should behave.” Here is the difficult question. Who guarantees maintaining the values that regulate any human gathering – the values which humans have followed for centuries and which are the summary of ethics, developed over time to venerate the old. They embody having mercy on the young and respecting people? In other words, who is raising whom today? We are asking this question at a time when the youth, both girls and boys, are being fed hybrid opinion and chaotic and dangerous values
Hybrid opinion
We’re asking this question at a time when the youth, both girls and boys, are being fed hybrid opinion and chaotic and dangerous values. This is in addition to introducing them to political orientations, which unbridle their souls and charge them with courage but without relying on the awareness that protects them from the bumpy paths. The French boy who did not know and who did not even care to know how to properly address others, whether a president or whoever – and whose parents are perhaps like that as well – cannot be blamed. There is an entire system which contributed to this scene. The one who sent the boy to this place is the one to be blamed. There is this story I remember from our ancient history. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr was in Muawiyah Bin Abu Sufyan’s assembly after the latter was appointed king. Muawiyah was aware of Ibn Zubayr’s secret ambitions to attain power so he wanted to anger him.
While sitting at the council, a boy walked around and played with those present. When he arrived to Ibn al-Zubayr, he slapped him on his face like any annoying child would do. Ibn al-Zubayr, who is described as strong, strongly slapped the boy back so Muawiyah told him: “Abu Khubayb, he is just a boy!” Ibn Zubayr thus replied: “But whoever sent him is not a boy!”
Whoever sent the French boy to that scene and other similar millions of boys across the world is not a boy.

Why liberating the airport is critical for Hodeidah
Mohammed Al-Hammadi/Al Arabiya/June 20/18
Following their terrible defeat at the Hodeidah Airport on Tuesday and their expulsion, the Houthis directed their weapons and tanks toward residential neighborhoods in the area. They have begun to terrorize innocent civilians and nothing has deterred them from using them as human shields to prevent the Yemeni and the Arab coalition forces from attacking them. This Houthi behavior is nothing new as they have relied on subjugating people in Hodeidah via siege, starvation and exploitation of their humanitarian tragedy. However, the people of Hodeidah have proven their legendary steadfastness over the past three years.
The victory achieved by the al-Amalaqah Brigade (Giants’ Brigade) and the Yemeni forces, aided by the UAE armed forces within the Arab coalition, is a great victory that confirms that the coalition along with Yemen’s men are capable of triumphing and restoring lands and cities which the Houthi militias have seized with Tehran’s direct support. The soldiers who headed to liberate Hodeidah were full of confidence that they will win. Therefore they steadily advanced despite the terror strikes carried out by the Houthis in Hodeidah and the media war launched to distort the role of the Yemeni resistance, the joint Yemeni forces and the Arab Coalition. When Hodeidah and its port are liberated, Houthis will have to sit on the negotiation table and accept the political solution they have long rejected
First victory
The first victory was thus achieved and they restored the airport. The important phase of the Hodeidah battle, i.e. liberating the port which the Houthis use to receive weapons and loot resources to prolong the war, has now begun. The Houthi militias and their Iranian contractors are aware that the forces fighting to liberate Hodeidah have the capability to end the operation quickly. However, their priority to protect civilians and vital and public facilities makes them assess their moves well and avoid civilian casualties. There is no doubt that they are waiting for the date of the upcoming battle which to liberate the Hodeidah port.
When Hodeidah and its port are liberated, the Houthis will have to sit on the negotiations’ table and accept the political solution they have long rejected and acted arrogantly in compliance with Iran’s orders not to end the war and as they thought they’re the stronger party on the ground.
What will happen in the next few days will dismay Iran and the Houthis as the routes used to smuggle weapons to the latter will be cut. During a press conference, attended by local and international reporters in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, the UAE Armed Forces presented evidence that showcased advanced weapons that consist of rockets, drones, ballistic missiles and other weapons found in the Houthi militias’ possession in Yemen. These weapons give conclusive evidence of Iran’s involvement in the war in Yemen. Therefore, the international community must bear its responsibilities and apply international laws on this regime, which has been igniting the war in Yemen and nurturing it for years.

EU should think twice before choosing Iran over the US
على الإتحاد الأوروبي أن يفكروا ملياً قبل الوقوف مع إيران ضد أميركا
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/June 20/18/
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/65449/dr-majid-rafizadeh-eu-should-think-twice-before-choosing-iran-over-the-us-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%89-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%aa%d8%ad%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%a8%d9%8a-%d8%a3%d9%86/
The European Union continues to work on avenues that can preserve the multilateral Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement, which is known as the Iran nuclear deal. The major aim appears to be additional normalization of trade and economic relations between the EU and the Iranian regime.
Such a move is sending a strong message to the international community that the EU is taking the side of the Islamic Republic rather than that of the US. Washington pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, reimposed unilateral sanctions, and is warning Tehran that tougher sanctions are on the way. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pointed out that, if the Iranian regime does not alter its destructive behavior in the Middle East, it will be hit with “the strongest sanctions in history.”
The EU’s one-sided and concerted attempts to fulfill Tehran’s economic and political demands are unprecedented. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has set out additional conditions for Iran to stay in the deal. He said that “unless Europe guarantees Iran’s oil sales will not suffer, Tehran would resume enrichment activities that are currently prohibited.”
This is the first time since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979 that the EU is tilting significantly toward the mullahs rather than its old transatlantic partner, the US.
By conducting a thorough cost-benefits analysis, the European leaders ought to think twice before splitting with the US over the Iranian regime. Do the benefits of siding with Iran outweigh the costs? Is the EU-Iran relationship more important than the multifaceted EU-US ties?
This is the first time since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979 that the EU is tilting significantly toward the mullahs rather than its old transatlantic partner, the US. Due to the following reasons, such a striking move ought to be regarded as a political miscalculation by the EU.
First of all, this is exactly what the Iranian leaders desire to see: A clash between the EU and the US. The EU is falling into the divide and conquer political trap that the Iranian regime has been contemplating for a long time. In other words, in a calculated move, Tehran is tactically pitting the US against the EU.
Iran has also been empowered and emboldened by several factors, including the EU’s increasing trade and enhanced ties with Tehran; additional revenues from rising oil exports thanks to the nuclear deal and sanctions reliefs; and the disregard of the international community in holding the regime responsible and accountable for Tehran’s deployment of hard power and military adventurism in the region.
In addition, the EU is endangering its geopolitical ties with the US over the Iranian regime. For more than six decades, the transatlantic partnership between the US and Europe has been one of the most powerful alliances in the world. Together, they have played a dominant role in making vital global decisions, and determining which direction international politics should take.
When it comes to providing security, the EU is still dependent on the US. Washington has long been a reliable partner in preserving the EU’s national security, in addition to being a founding member and playing a leading role in NATO. The US has come to the EU’s aid in the face of many economic and political threats, including Soviet expansionism, under which Eastern Europe fell into the hands of communism; the fall of communism in Europe; and the collapse of the Soviet Union. In addition, after the Second World War, the Marshall Plan was essential to restoring economic and political health in Western Europe.
Furthermore, by tilting toward Iran over the US, the EU is shifting the global balance of power in favor of its old rival, Russia, which has historically attempted to divide Europe. The US, not Russia or China, is the only superpower with which the EU shares many common interests.
Even from a financial perspective, the EU’s trading partnership with the US is considered the bedrock of its economy. European goods and services trade with the US was worth more than one trillion dollars in 2017 — roughly $500 billion of imports and nearly $600 billion of exports. Such a trade imbalance creates a deficit for the US and favors Europe since the EU has long exported more goods and services to the US — sometime nearly twice as many exports compared to imports — than vice versa.
On the other hand, although in 2017 EU imports from Iran rose by 83.9 percent and exports increased by 31.5 percent, EU-Iran trade was totally insignificant compared to the EU-US relationship. EU-Iran trade totaled nearly $20 billion; the European goods and services trade with Tehran saw roughly $10 billion of imports, and more than $10 billion of exports. This shows that EU-US trade is approximately 50 times larger than EU-Iran trade.
Finally, terrorism has become a grave threat to the EU’s security, peace and stability. The EU needs the US to continue their alliance as both share common interests in combating radical and terrorist groups such as Daesh. On the other hand, Iran is the top state sponsor of terrorism.
As illustrated above, the costs of dealing with the Iranian regime considerably outweigh the benefits. The EU is making a critical political error if it chooses the Islamic Republic over its old transatlantic partner, the US. Geopolitically, strategically, militarily, and economically speaking, the EU-US relationship is significantly much greater than EU-Iran ties.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1324851

Gaza warfront cannot be detached from Israel’s Syrian arena
DEBKAfile/June 20/18
By playing down the Hamas assaults from the Gaza Strip, Israel’s leaders hope to gloss over the IDF’s mounting involvement in two if not three battlefronts. The IDF has therefore long been restrained from hitting back hard for Hamas’ flaming kites and balloons. On Tuesday night, June 19, the Israeli Air Force strafed 25 Hamas structures, sparking a 45-rocket barrage against the Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip. Following the same policy with regard to the Syrian front, Israel also held back from confirming the US disclosure that its warplanes early Monday, June 18, stopped the passage of Iraqi Shiite Kata’ib Hezbollah militia brigades into eastern Syria. DEBKAfile’s military sources name the chief of this militia as Qais al-Khazali, who serves under Iran’s Al Qods chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and is connected with the Lebanese Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah through the Iranian-Hizballah war room outside Damascus. This interaction came to light seven months ago, when Khazali was sighted touring the Lebanese-Israeli border in company of Nasrallah’s officers. His tour was planned to check the future positions of his Iraqi militiamen when they reached Lebanon from Iraq via Syria. At the time, the IDF, although registering the Iraqi militia chief’s presence on the border, decided not to target him then.
The urgent need to halt his militia’s passage into Syria on June 18 was not the only challenge facing the IDF. For nearly a week, the Syrian army and Hizballah have been massing a large force in southwestern Syria around Quneitra – opposite Israel’s Golan border – and Daraa – facing the Jordanian border. This buildup followed an announcement from Damascus of a forthcoming offensive to capture the two border regions from rebel hands. Until now, the Assad regime has not given the order to go forward, while waiting for Russian approval. However, when these troops do advance, neither Israel nor Jordan can afford to sit on their hands and allow two hostile armies to reach their borders. This predicament was at the heart of the conversation Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held with Jordan’s King Abdullah in Amman on Monday.
It is becoming increasingly evident that the Gaza and Syrian battlefronts are interactive. The argument that Hamas hopes by escalating the violence from Gaza to cash in economically to sustain its rule is old hat. It has been overtaken by events. The rockets, mortar shells, kites and balloons of recent days point at one objective: to pile on Israel an extra active war front and so force the IDF to divide its strength between the two arenas. Therefore, the challenge of a multiple-front war has become a reality for Israel’s armed forces. How this could have been prevented is no longer relevant. The IDF must now concentrate on grappling with the various fronts and organize its priorities in the best way possible. For now, the the aggression from Gaza continues to be relegated to a secondary challenge compared with Syria. And so, on Tuesday night, Israeli air strikes continued to bomb empty Hamas buildings after Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists had a chance to escape harm; while Hamas, for its part, is still confining its rocket and mortar volleys to nearby Shear Hanegev, Eshkol district and Hof Ashkelon councils, causing damage but no casualties. Those populations were advised the next day to send their children to school and keep to their usual routines. At the same time, Israel’s government and military leaders are under no illusions. An escalated level of military clashes in Syria will bring forth a heightened threat from the Gaza Strip. The rockets will be more precise and of longer range for reaching populations outside the immediate neighborhood, including the southern cities of Ashkelon, Ashdod and Beersheba or further north. Maybe it would be preferable for the IDF to prioritize the task of smashing Palestinian war capabilities in the Gaza Strip now before the Syrian front spirals into a major showdown.

U.S. ambassador asks Germany: Stop Iranian airline from use of airspace
Jerusalem Post/June 20/18
The envoy is working to stop EU bias against Israel and combat antisemitism.
The new US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, requested the German government to block Iran’s Mahan Air from flying within German airspace and deny it landing rights in the country because of the airline’s material support for terrorism.
In a meeting last week with a senior delegation from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Grenell said: “Here in Germany, I have asked the German government to support our efforts to stop an airline called Mahan Air from utilizing German airspace and airports. We know that Mahan Air has been used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] as a mode of transport for weapons, resources and fighters, so we’re asking our allies to help us put a stop to it.”
The Trump administration designated the IRGC a terrorist organization in October. Canada’s House of Commons called last week for the IRGC to be classified a terrorist entity. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration and the Bundestag have declined to take action against the IRGC.
“For 70 years, Israel has overcome every challenge it has faced,” Grenell said. “The miracle of Israel is an inspiration to the world. Jewish communities are defined not by their fears of the past, but by their hopes for the future.”
Grenell, who has also spearheaded efforts to stop the spread of antisemitism, is widely considered one of the most pro-Israel envoys in the US diplomatic corps. He has a long history of defending the security interests of the Jewish state.
In a June commentary in the New York Post, columnist Benny Avni wrote: “A Washington source tells me the US ambassador in Berlin, Richard Grenell, has advised the Germans against interfering in their neighbors’ deliberations over embassy location. Other US envoys should also advocate the move to Jerusalem.”
Avni noted that “Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila visited Israel’s capital recently and her government tentatively approved moving its embassy there. For that, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis called on Dancila to resign, accusing her of making ‘secret deals’ with the Jews.
“And Germany, once a top Israel booster, privately sided with Iohannis and against recognizing Israel’s capital. After Romania moves its embassy, Berlin fears, the Czechs, Bulgarians and others may also break ranks with the European Union.”
Grenell told the AIPAC delegation: “The alliance between America and Israel has never been stronger. Seventy years ago the United States became the first nation to recognize the State of Israel. Ever since, Jerusalem has been the seat of the modern Israeli government, including the parliament, the Supreme Court, the president, and the prime minister. The bipartisan 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act urging the move of the embassy to Jerusalem was reaffirmed by the US Senate unanimously in 2017.
“When President Trump fulfilled the long-standing US policy that our embassy would be moved to Jerusalem,” Grenell added, “he was recognizing the reality of Israel, and keeping his promise. Taking this long-overdue step of moving our embassy is not a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace deal. Rather, it is a necessary condition for it. Old challenges demand new approaches, and new ideas with new courage.”
Grenell said “the United States is fully committed to achieving a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and I know President Trump is personally focused on it.”
Grenell has laser-beam-like focus on combating the rise of modern antisemitism in Germany and across Europe. “The recently released International Religious Freedom Report highlights another growing concern we are working on: antisemitism,” he said. “Political leaders in Germany and other countries have reiterated their commitments to combating antisemitism, and we are committed to working with them to address these issues immediately. We must work together to fight for the universal human right of religious freedom.
“As a new friend of mine so aptly stated this week, ‘Antisemitism is not a Jewish problem – it’s a human problem,’” said Grenell.
He outlined the US policy toward Iran’s regime in his speech to the AIPAC delegation.
“We are also focused on the mounting menace posed by Iran. It has been laid bare for all to see. The Iranian drone that breached Israel’s borders in February was a brazen act of aggression. And as we all know, the regime in Iran continues to develop advanced ballistic missiles that can threaten Israeli soil and the lives of all her citizens. Last year alone, Iran spent more than $4 billion to achieve its ends. And at this very hour, it aids and abets terrorist groups that sit on Israel’s doorstep,” Grenell.
He added that “President Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, because its fatal flaws put the world at risk. Now we are pursuing the president’s Iran strategy by working with allies to counter the regime’s destabilizing activities in the region, block the financing of terror, and address Iran’s proliferation of weapons systems that threaten peace and stability. And we know that these concerns are broadly shared by our European friends.”