Everyone Loses in the Conflict Over Ukraine

March 02, 2022

By Ralph Nader

Global Research,

OpEdNews.com 1 March 2022

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Today, the dangers of military escalation are beyond description.

What is now happening in Ukraine has serious geopolitical implications. It could lead us into a World War III scenario.

It is important that a peace process be initiated with a view to preventing escalation. 

Global Research condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A Bilateral Peace Agreement is required.

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When two scorpions are in a bottle, they both lose. This is the preventable danger that is growing daily with no end game in sight between the two nuclear superpowers led by dictator Vladimir Putin and de facto sole decider Joe Biden.

Putin’s first argument is Washington invented the model of aggressive, illegal invasions, and destruction of distant countries, that never threatened U.S. security.

Millions have died, been injured, and sickened in defenseless countries attacked by U.S. armed forces. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney killed over a million innocent Iraqis and devastated the country in so many ways that scholars called it a “sociocide.”

Putin’s second argument is that Russia is being threatened on its sensitive western border which had been invaded twice by Germany and caused the loss of 50 million Russian lives.

Soon after the Soviet Union collapsed the West’s military alliance against Russia began moving east. Under Bill Clinton, NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization) signed up Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic in 1999, leading to major arms sales by the U.S. giant munitions corporations.

More recently, Putin sees U.S. soldiers in these countries, ever closer U.S. missile launchers, U.S.-led joint naval exercises in the Baltic Sea, and intimations that Ukraine and Georgia could soon join NATO. Imagine if the Russians were to have such a military presence around the U.S. borders.

Even often hawkish New York Times columnists – Thomas Friedman and Bret Stephens – made this point this week about the brazen U.S. history of military hypocrisy while tearing into Putin. Stephens brought up the Monroe Doctrine over the entire Western Hemisphere in raising repeatedly the question, “Who are We?”

The chess game between Russia and the West has become more deadly with Putin’s military moves followed by immediate Western sanctions against some Russian banks and oligarchs close to Putin.

Travel bans and freezing the completion of the second major natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany are in place with promises of much more severe economic retaliation by Biden.

These sanctions can become a two-way street. Western Europe needs Russian oil and gas, Russian wheat, and essential Russian minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel.

Sanctions against Russia will soon boomerang in terms of higher oil and gas prices for Europeans and Americans, more inflation, worsening supply chains, and the dreaded “economic uncertainty” afflicting stock markets and consumer spending.

The corporate global economy gave us interdependence on other nations instead of domestic self-reliance under the framework of corporate-managed free trade agreements.

Repeating 1970s Strategy of Grand Chess-Master Brzezinski: Biden Appears to Have Induced Russian Invasion of Ukraine to Bankrupt Russia’s Economy and Advance Regime Change

So how many billions of dollars in costs and a weakened economy will Joe Biden tolerate as the price of anti-Putin sanctions that will blowback on the American people?

How much suffering will he tolerate being inflicted on the long-suffering Russian people? What will be the impact on the civilian population of more severe sanctions? And who is he to talk as if he doesn’t have to be authorized by Congress to go further into this state of belligerence, short of sending soldiers, which he said he would not do?

Is Congress to be left as a cheerleader, washing its hands of its constitutional oversight and foreign policy duties?

Also, watch Republicans and Democrats in Congress unify to whoop through more money for the bloated military budget as pointed out by military analyst, Michael Klare.

What energy will be left for Biden’s pending “Build Back Better” infrastructure, social safety net, and climate crisis legislation?

In recent weeks, the State Department said it recognizes Russia’s legitimate security concerns but not its expansionism. Well, what is wrong with a ceasefire followed by support for a treaty “guaranteeing neutrality for Ukraine similar to the enforced neutrality for Austria since the Cold War’s early years,” as Nation publisher and Russia specialist Katrina Vanden Heuvel urged. (See: Katrina vanden Heuvel’s Washington Post article and her recent Nation piece).

Putin, unable to get over the breakup of the Soviet Union probably has imperial ambitions to dominate in Russia’s backyard. Biden has inherited and accepted the U.S. Empire’s ambitions in many other nation’s backyards.

Events have polarized this conflict over Ukraine which is not a security interest for the U.S., into two dominant egos – Putin and Biden – neither of whom want to appear weak or to back down.

This is a dangerous recipe for an out-of-control escalation, much as it was in the lead-up to World War I. Neither the people nor the parliaments mattered then as seems to be the case today.

Putin isn’t likely to make a cost-benefit assessment of each day’s militarism. But Biden better do so. Otherwise, he will be managed by Putin’s daily moves, instead of insisting on serious negotiations.

The Minsk II Peace Accords of February 2015 brokered by Germany, France, and the United Nations, that Russia and Ukraine agreed to before falling apart due to disagreements over who should take the first steps still makes for a useful framework.

It is too late to revisit the accords to stop the invasion but it should be proposed to introduce a climate for waging peace.

Already, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has spoken about an increase in cyberattacks and ransomware demands in her state in recent weeks.

Has Biden put that rising certainty in his self-described decades-long foreign policy expertise?

Watch out for what you can’t stop, Joe.

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Copyright © Ralph Nader, OpEdNews.com, 2022

السيد نصرالله: السيد عباس الموسوي أفنى حياته وشبابه في سبيل نهج حزب الله

01/03/2022

أكّد الأمين العام لحزب الله سماحة السيد حسن نصر الله في كلمة له خلال رعايته مؤتمر  “سيدُ شهدائِنا فكرًا وسيرة” الذي يقام في بيروت إحياء لثلاثينية سيد شهداء المقاومة الإسلامية السيد عباس الموسوي أنّ “أعمال المؤتمر يمكن أن تشكل بداية حقيقية تحتاج إليها مسيرة المقاومة بعد مضي 40 عامًا على انطلاقتها”. 

ولفت سماحته الى أن الدراسات والمحاضرات والنقاشات ستتحوّل إلى وثائق وكتب تحتاج اليها مسيرة المقاومة، لافتًا الى أنّ من واجبنا توثيق تضحيات المجاهدين الجسام والحقيقة البهية للمسيرة المباركة وحفظها للأجيال المقبلة والآتية، مشددًا في هذا السياق على أنّ ما حصل في مرحلة السبعينيات والثمانينيات أصبح بمثابة أمور مسلمة ومقبولة وهي نهجنا الذي نتبعه ونمارسه في هذه الأيام.

كان يؤمن بالعمل الحركي والتنظيمي والحزبي

وفي معرض حديثه عن صفات السيد عباس، لفت سماحته الى أنّه كان للسيد الشهيد الإيمان الراسخ بفكرة حاجة الأمة إلى قائد فقيه عالم أو ما نسميه “ولاية الفقيه” وقد آمن بهذه الفكرة والتزم بها بدقة حتى آخر يوم في حياته، موضحًا أنّ السيد عباس كان يعتقد بأهمية قيام حوزات دينية محلية ما دفعه إلى تأسيس الحوزرة العلمية في بعلبك.

وأكّد السيد نصرالله أنّ السيد عباس كان يعتقد بأهمية دور المرأة في عملية التبليغ الدينية وأن هناك مساحة لا يمكن ملؤها إلا بالسيدات المبلغات، كما كان يعتقد بوجوب حركة علماء الدين نحو الناس في مقابل فكرة أخرى كانت سائدة حينها بأن عالم الدين يجلس في بيته وعلى الناس أن يأتوا اليه.

وشدّد السيد نصرالله على أنّ السيد عباس كان يؤمن بأهمية العمل الجماعي عمومًا وعلى المستوى العلمائي خصوصًا بالإضافة إلى العمل المؤسساتي المنظم، لافتًا الى أنّ السيد الشهيد كان من أشد الداعمين لتشكيل تجمع العلماء المسلمين من السنة والشيعة، كما كان يؤمن بالعمل الحركي والتنظيمي والحزبي، وفي الدائرة الشيعية كان السيد عباس الموسوي يعتقد بأهمية ووجوب الانفتاح والتعاون والتكامل حتى مع الاختلاف الذي كان قائمًا. 

عمل في الليل والنهار من أجل تحقيق الوحدة الإسلامية

ولفت السيد نصرالله الى أنّ القائد الموسوي كان من المؤسسين لتشكيل الإطار التنظيمي لحزب الله وتحمل فيه العديد من المسؤوليات، ولم يكن للسيد عباس سوى حزب الله وقد أفنى حياته وشبابه ووقته في سبيل هذا النهج. 

وأشار الأمين العام لحزب الله الى أن السيد عباس كان يؤمن بحق بالوحدة الإسلامية والتقريب والتعاون بين المسلمين، وقد عمل في الليل والنهار من أجل تحقيق هذه الوحدة.

وأوضح السيد نصرالله أنّ السيد الشهيد كان يؤمن بالناس ومحبتهم والتواضع لهم والتحبب لهم والثقة بهم والرهان عليهم وخدمتهم والحفاظ على كرامتهم وأمنهم، كما 
كان يؤيد المشاركة في الانتخابات البلدية والنيابية ووظائف الدولة والحكومة وكان يؤمن بأنه لا يمكن لأي بلد أن يستمر من دون دولة. 

كما كان السيد الموسوي يؤمن بوجوب إقامة مؤسسات في حزب الله الى جانب التنظيم الشعبي والمقاومة لأجل خدمة الناس وكان أول ما عمل لأجله وبذل جهدًا شخصيًا لتأسيسه مؤسسة جهاد البناء.

العطاء الكبير والجهاد العظيم أنجزه السيد عباس خلال عمر قصير

وأكّد سماحته على أنّ السيد عباس واكب الانتفاضة الأولى في الثمانينات كل ساعة وكل يوم باعتباره أحد القادة البارزين في حزب الله، وكان يعتقد بالموقف الحازم من “إسرائيل” وأنه يجب أن تزول من الوجود، كما كان يعتبر إيران حلم الأنبياء الذي تحقق من خلالها وهي الدولة المركزية، ولم يكن للنأي بالنفس والحياد مكان لدى السيد الشهيد وهذا غريب عن ثقافته الدينية، فهو حمل هم الأمة كله بمعزل عن الإمكانات وهذا أضعف الايمان. 

وأشار السيد نصر الله الى أنّ رؤية السيد الشهيد تجاه أميركا هي نفس رؤية الإمام الخميني التي تؤكد أنها الشيطان الأكبر.

ورأى سماحته أنّ الملفت أن هذا العطاء الكبير والجهاد العظيم أنجزه السيد عباس خلال عمر قصير قبل أن يختم له الله بالشهادة فكانت سنواته زاخرة بالعطاء والتعب والسفر الدائم فكان هذا العطاء مباركًا وما زال يثمر ويعطي ويلهم بسبب إخلاصه الشديد لله تعالى. 

ما يجري بين أوكرانيا وروسيا خطر جدًا بمعزل عن الموقف تجاه المعركة القائمة

ولفت السيد نصرالله الى أنّ بركات السيد عباس حاضرة حتى يومنا هذا ونحن نحتاج الى بصيرة سماحته خلال هذه المرحلة، مشددًا على أنّ ما يجري بين أوكرانيا وروسيا خطر جدًا بمعزل عن الموقف تجاه المعركة القائمة، وما يجري اليوم فيه الكثير من العبر والدروس التي يجب أن يبنى عليها في منطقتنا.

ورأى سماحته أن هناك ازدواجية معايير في التعاطي من قبل دول العالم، مشيرًا الى الكيفية التي تصرف بها العالم عندما غزت أميركا أفغانستان والكيفية التي يتصرف بها الآن مع دخول روسيا الى أوكرانيا وبدء معركة عملية عسكرية، ويضيف سماحته :”لأن أميركا قوية ومتجبرة يسكت العالم على ظلمها وآخرها قيام جو بايدن بسرقة أموال الشعب الأفغاني حيث أن البنك المركزي الأفغاني لديه في أميركا 7 مليارات دولار اذ اتخذ بايدن قرار بتقسيمها ووهب نصفها لضحايا 11 ايلول”. 

وتابع السيد نصرالله :” أميركا هي المسؤولة عما يجري في أوكرانيا الآن فهي التي حرضت ولم تساعد على إيجاد حل دبلوماسي ولم تفعل شيئًا لوقف الحرب بل دفعت باتجاهها وفي النهاية من سيدفع الثمن هو الشعب الروسي والأوكراني بينما أميركا ستكون هي الرابح في وقت تعرض فيه العالم كله للخطر”. 

وفي الختام، لفت سماحته الى أنّ” المأساة القائمة والأخطار التي يواجهها العالم تتحمل مسؤوليتها أميركا الشيطان الأكبر”. 

حزب الله: إذا استمرّت ضغوط واشنطن علينا سنبني بلدنا كما يجب أن تُبنى الأوطان

الاثنين 21 شباط 2021

البناء

أكد حزب الله، أنه “إذا استمرّت ضغوط واشنطن ولؤمها وحقدها علينا سنبني بلدنا كما يجب أن تُبنى الأوطان، لافتاً إلى أن “مسيّرة حسّان حملت للعدو رسالة بليغة جداً وقد قرأها جيداً» وشدّد على أن   «المقاومة تُعدّ وتستعدّ وتبذل وسعها لتوفّر الحماية لبلدنا ولسيادته ولشعبنا المستهدف».

وفي هذا الإطار، اعتبر رئيس المجلس التنفيذي لحزب الله السيد هاشم صفي الدين، خلال احتفال في بلدة زوطر الشرقية الجنوبيّة “أنّ مقاومتنا تمكّنت من أن تصمد وهي جاهزة لأن تبني مستقبلاً ولبنان جديداً، لأنها مقاومة شعبية وسياسية وجهادية وثقافية واجتماعية وقدّمت نماذج مهمّة ورائدة في كلّ المجالات».

وأضاف “يجب أن يعرف كل اللبنانيين ويجب أن يعرف الأميركيون وسيعرفون عاجلاً أم آجلاً، إذا استمرّت هذه الضغوطات واستمرّ هذا اللؤم وهذا الحقد على اللبنانيين في معيشتهم وفي مالهم، لن يكون أمامنا خيار إلاّ أن نعتمد على أنفسنا وأن نبني بلدنا كما يجب أن تُبنى الأوطان والبلدان، ونمتلك من العقول والإمكانات والقدرات التي تؤهّلنا مع كل المخلصين والشّرفاء لإعادة بناء لبنان الجديد القويّ المنيع المقاوم المحصّن المستقلّ، والذي يحفظ سيادته البحريّة والبرّيّة ونفطه وثرواته المائية ويحفظ حاضر ومستقبل هذا البلد للأجيال الآتية».

ورأى أنه “في حال أراد الأميركي أن يأخذنا للضغط الأقصى، يجب علينا أن نذهب إلى الخيار الأقصى في الاعتماد على أنفسنا لبناء وطننا وعندها نُكنّس الأميركي وأزلامه في لبنان». وقال “من هذه الضغوطات سنجترح معجزة بناء لبنان الجديد على أولويات جديدة وعلى ثقافة جامعة حقيقية لكلّ الطوائف والمذاهب والمناطق، بعيداً عن الزعماء والمتسلّطين والإقطاعيّين الذين تحكّموا بالبلد على مدى أكثر من سبعين أو ثمانين عاماً إلى يومنا هذا».

بدوره، شدّد رئيس كتلة الوفاء للمقاومة، النائب محمد رعد، خلال افتتاحه المركز الرئيسي لجمعية «وتعاونوا» في بلدة النميريّة الجنوبيّة، على «أن المقاومة تتصدّى للعدوان الصهيوني والتكفيري الغاشمين وهي تقوم بواجبها في هذا المجال، وتُعدّ وتستعدّ وتبذل كل الوسع من أجل أن توفّر الحماية لبلدنا ولسيادته ولشعبنا المستهدف وأن تُنشئ معادلات ردع تمنع العدو من التطاول على أمننا وسيادتنا».

ولفت إلى أن «مسيّرة حسّان، الشهيد القائد، ليست إلاّ واحدة من الأساليب والوسائل التي تبتدعها المقاومة من أجل توفير معادلة ردع تمنع العدو من أن يتعدّى وأن يتطاول وأن يمسّ أمن شعبنا ودولتنا ومجتمعنا المتعدّد الطوائف والمذاهب والاتجاهات».

وأضاف «بقدر ما نحن معنيون أن نحمي سيادة بلدنا ونمنع العدوان ونحفظ كرامة شعبنا واستقلال قرارنا، بقدر ما نحن معنيون بأن نُبلسم جراحات أهلنا، خصوصاً أن هذه الأزمة مفتعلة وممنهجة وموجهة منذ بدايتها وصولاً إلى حلقتها التي باشر المجتمع التحضير لها وهي حلقة الانتخابات، كل الهدف هو محاصرة المجتمع المقاوم وكسره ومنع هذا المجتمع أن يصدح برأيه».

وأشار إلى أن «كل ما يجري هو لحماية الأمن الإسرائيلي وتمهيد الطريق للتطبيع مع هذا العدو الذي لا يعرف للإنسان قيمة».

وأكد عضو المجلس المركزي في حزب الله الشيخ نبيل قاووق، خلال احتفال في بلدة عيتيت الجنوبيّة لمناسبة ذكرى الشهداء القادة وانتصار الثورة الإسلامية الإيرانية «أن المقاومة في العام 2022 في أقوى مراحلها التاريخية كمّاً ونوعاً، ولا يُمكن لأحد أن يهدّد وجودها لا بالحرب ولا بغير الحرب»، مشدّداً «على أن المعادلات قد تغيّرت في زمن انتصارات المقاومة، حيث أن المسيّرات الإسرائيلية كانت تخترق الأجواء اللبنانية، واليوم أصبحت المسيّرات اللبنانية تخترق أجواء الكيان الإسرائيلي».

وأشار إلى “أن الصهاينة اليوم غارقون في بحر الذعر لعدم قدرة جيشهم على حمايتهم»، مشدّداً على أن “لمسيّرة حسّان رسالة بليغة جداً جداً، وقد قرأها العدو جيداً، وهي أصابت القدرات العسكرية الإسرائيلية بصدمة ومهانة ومذلّة تاريخية».

Sitrep: Venezuela Elections – Landslide for United Socialist Party (PSUV)

November 22, 2021

Disciplined and well-organized elections held in Venezuela yesterday, lead to a clear win for the ruling party. President Nicolás Maduro called it a ‘Historic Victory of the Revolution’.

#Venezuela | Election day in Venezuela has unfolded peacefully under international supervision and with remarkable discipline, as the voting population complies with COVID-19 preventive measures. pic.twitter.com/9eJteRmI4T

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) November 21, 2021

Venezuela's ruling United Socialist Party (PSUV) won in a landslide in today's mega-elections, winning 20 of the 23 states.

The USA tried to crush the will of the Venezuelan people, suffocating them with a murderous blockade and brutal hybrid war. But Chavismo is alive and well! pic.twitter.com/WqXPPZPnsu

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) November 22, 2021

After competing in Venezuela's elections today and losing badly, it's likely the US-sponsored right-wing opposition will return to trying to delegitimize the elections, boycotting future ones, because they can't win them—while seeking more US interventionhttps://t.co/LKiDgchCEV

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) November 22, 2021

Beirut Shootings: How Western Media Manipulation Hides the Murky Hand of US Imperialism

Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on OCTOBER 22, 2021

Steve Sweeney

The attack bore all the hallmarks of a US-backed intervention, and it doesn’t take much digging to find the links between the murky hand of Washington and the dark forces behind the bloodshed on the streets and a cover-up by a compliant western media.

Last week’s killing of seven people in the Lebanese capital Beirut, widely believed to be carried out by a far-right Christian fascist militia, is a worrying sign that the US wants to provoke a new civil war to destabilize the country in a change in its Middle East strategy.

The attack bore all the hallmarks of a US-backed intervention, and it doesn’t take much digging to find the links between the murky hand of Washington and the dark forces behind the bloodshed on the streets and a cover-up by a compliant western media.

Supporters of the Shi’ite Amal and Hezbollah movements were fired upon as they made their way to the Palace of Justice for a peaceful demonstration against what they perceive as the politicization of a probe into last year’s devastating port explosion.

The judge heading up the investigations, Tarek Bitar, is being directed by the US Embassy they claim, accusing him of unfairly and disproportionately targeting their allies while ignoring those close to Washington.

They may have a point. But the debate over the fairness and transparency of the judicial report is a side issue to the events that took place in the Tayouneh district of Beirut last week.

A peaceful march that had been approved by the authorities was fired upon by snipers placed on buildings along its route. It was an ambush by US-backed fascists who are hell-bent on plunging Lebanon into chaos.

None of the seven people killed in the protest were armed. Among the dead was Meryem Farhat, a mother shot through the head as she was getting ready to collect her child from kindergarten. Delivery driver Ali Ibrahim was also killed by sniper fire.

Not that you would know any of this judging by how the incident was reported by the western press. Readers would be forgiven for thinking that it was a Hezbollah march that turned violent, with the movement seemingly responsible for the deaths of its own supporters.

Liberal British mouthpiece The Guardian explained to its readers: “The trigger for the clashes in neighborhoods near the justice courts, which left dozens more injured, was a protest by members of Amal and Hezbollah, two predominantly Shia political parties, against a judicial probe into the massive blast in the port last year.”

“…eyewitnesses said they heard at least two explosions near the site where a protest was supposed to be held by Iran-backed Shia militia Hezbollah against a judge who is investigating last year’s devastating blast at Beirut’s port. Thursday’s shootings mark the deadliest civil violence in Beirut since 2008,” reported the part Saudi-owned Independent.

It concluded in carefully chosen language: “The heavily armed Hezbollah has accused Mr. Bitar of conducting a politicized probe.”

The Independent failed to mention the Lebanese Forces at all. Instead, it opted to make vague references to ‘unidentified gunmen.’ The Guardian mentioned their name once, but only to say that Hezbollah ‘claimed’ to have been shot at by the Christian militia.

The rest of the article followed a similar pattern to that of The Independent, containing snippets such as ‘chants of “Shia, Shia, Shia’ were heard on the streets.

“Large numbers of men brandishing weapons took to the streets throughout the day, and gun trucks flying Hezbollah and Amal flags paraded through the Bekaa Valley in a show of strength not seen since Hezbollah overran west Beirut in May 2008…” it added, failing to mention that Bekaa is nowhere near the Lebanese capital. This was the crowning glory of The Guardian hatchet job, evoking images of violent Muslims seeking to overthrow Lebanon, no doubt to impose an Islamist caliphate.

France 24 went with: “Last week, Hezbollah led a protest to demand his dismissal. It sparked a gun battle in the heart of Beirut that left seven people dead and reignited fears of new sectarian violence.”

It continued with a paragraph about “hostage diplomacy and what it means for those imprisoned by Tehran” in an exceptionally tenuous attempt to link the shootings to Iran.

That they let the Lebanese Forces, a US-backed right-wing militia led by a war criminal, off the hook is no mere accident.

Nor is the reporting down to lazy journalism. This would be to deny the role of the media as a propaganda tool used and manipulated by western imperialism to manufacture a consensus among the public.

That is that Hezbollah and Amal are the bad guys and it is up to the west, always the good guys in any situation, to step in and save the people of Lebanon from their evil clutches.

The use of descriptions such as ‘Iran-backed Shia militia Hezbollah’ is a not particularly subtle, but deliberate attempt to paint the movement – which is a legitimate political force with representatives in the Lebanese parliament – as a foreign-controlled entity.

The irony of this is, that it is, in fact, the very group responsible for the attack that is in hock to external forces, namely the US, “Israel” and Saudi Arabia who see the Lebanese Forces as its proxy inside the country.

It is perhaps best known in the west for its role in the brutal massacre of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children on behalf of “Israel” at the Sabra and Chatila camps during the Lebanese civil war.

I visited the camps and met survivors of the three-day pogrom in Beirut earlier this year and they described how the Christian militia raped and executed more than three thousand defenseless people, as the camps were surrounded by Israeli soldiers.

The leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, has been convicted of war crimes, sentenced to life in prison for ordering four political assassinations, including that of former prime minister Rashid Karami in 1988.

For many, he will always be associated with the massacre of scores of people, including the bombing of Sayidat al-Najat church in Jounieh killing 10 people and wounding 54, with Christians also targeted by the bloodthirsty Geagea.

But he was released under an amnesty in 2005 following Lebanon’s so-called Cedar Revolution which took place after the assassination of prime minister Rafik Hariri, the perpetrators of which have never been brought to justice.

Geagea’s propulsion into the limelight once more comes with the US suffering a series of defeats across the Middle East, including its humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan and its failure to dislodge Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

His reelection in May has led many Arab and European nations to restore diplomatic relations with Damascus, with border crossings reopening along with the return of ambassadors and consulates as they recognize political reality.

But Assad could not have held on to power without the explicit support of the Syrian people. No leader could have withstood the pressure exerted on him without it.

Not only has he defeated Washington’s regime-change operations – he has come out the other side stronger, having faced down five US presidents; Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and now Joe Biden.

The US now appears to be strengthening its relations with Kurds in the north of the country once more where its soldiers are based as an occupying force. The Biden administration recently announced there would be no troop withdrawal, reassuring Kurdish officials after the debacle in Afghanistan.

Despite Assad’s plans for decentralization announced in April, the Kurdish administration there is pursuing a policy that seeks political recognition from the US. It is a move that has alienated many of its supporters and undermines its dismissal of claims it acts as a “proxy force” in the region.

Having lost the military and now the political war on Syria, it seems logical that the US would change its strategy to foment further instability in Lebanon, with a return to civil war only serving to benefit Washington and Tel Aviv as they hope for the sectarian division of the country.

The hands of the US were all over the Tayouneh attack, which came straight out of the Washington/CIA copybook, mirroring its interventions and use of proxy forces to oust governments or prop up its client states in Latin America and across the world.

Geagea’s militia – many of whom have been trained by “Israel” – would be an obvious choice for the US given his previous overtures to Washington, confirmed in a 2008 Wikileaks cable.

He claimed that the Lebanese Forces had as many as 10,000 well-trained soldiers, telling the US embassy: “We can fight against Hezbollah. We just need your support to get arms for these fighters.”

But, speaking in a public address on Monday, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah explained that the Shi’ite movement commands a 100,000 fighters-strong military structure, dwarfing that of the Lebanese Forces. The difference between the two, he pointed out, is that Hezbollah’s forces protect the Lebanese people.

It may be enough to concentrate the minds of the more pragmatic US officials, but the links between Washington and the Lebanese Forces run much deeper than that of Geagea who, despite his delusions of grandeur, remains a marginal figure and is unlikely to be trusted with a leading political role.

Walid Phares, a former leading light in the Lebanese Forces, now acts as a national security advisor and consultant on Middle Eastern politics in the US. Fleeing the country in 1990, he went on to advise the presidential election campaigns of Mitt Romney and then Donald Trump.

During the Lebanese Civil War, Phares told Christian militiamen that they were the vanguard of a war between the West and Islam. He justified the fight against Muslims by saying “we must have our own country, our own state, our own entity, and we have to be separate.”

Despite his peddling of far-right, Islamophobic conspiracy theories, he has rebranded himself as an academic and has testified to international bodies including the European Parliament and UN Security Council on international security matters and the Middle East.

He does not appear to have held any official government post, but his closeness to a former president and his movement in elite circles is clearly a cause for alarm.

The links do not end there. Soon after the shootings, journalist Hosein Mortada claimed to have identified one of the snipers as Shukri Abu Saab – who he said works as a security official at the US embassy.

Perhaps unsurprisingly there has been a blanket media silence over the revelations, while the embassy itself has not responded to the allegations, raising suspicions further.

US ambassador Dorothy Shea has long been accused of using the embassy as an outpost for the imperialist carve-up of Lebanon and opening the country up to the mercy of the World Bank and the IMF.

It may be passed off as a mere coincidence that under secretary of state Victoria Nuland was in the Lebanese capital at the time the ambush took place, pledging an additional $67 million to the country’s armed forces as she demanded economic reform and the need to hold elections as a prerequisite for continued US support.

It also may be a mere coincidence that the Lebanese army changed its narrative of events soon after the US cash boost to appear to blame Hezbollah for its own supporters being shot at. This is despite footage circulating that appears to show a Lebanese soldier shooting at protesters.

But the attempts to destabilize Lebanon came soon after the formation of a new government, ending 13-months of political deadlock, along with the US failure to disarm Hezbollah despite sanctions and other external pressure.

The US is also angered after Hezbollah smashed sanctions imposed by Washington on Iran and Syria, by importing oil to alleviate Lebanon’s fuel crisis. This slap in the face for imperialism was a humiliating defeat, breaking the siege of Lebanon with ease and at the same time rendering the restrictive measures meaningless.

It also exposed the declining power of the US on a global stage, with the dollar at risk of losing its position as the world currency and with it Washington’s ability to control global financial markets.

Solidarity among nations has proved vital in defeating the US, and it is solidarity among the Lebanese people that will help the country rise up once more and consign the likes of Geagea and the Lebanese Forces along with all those who seek to destroy Lebanon to the dustbin of history.

Iraq’s Agriculture Reaps the Despoiled Seeds of US Meddling

October 5, 2021

Source: Al Mayadeen

By Farah Hage-Hassan

The poisonous effects of American interference and failed policies are still affecting Iraq’s agricultural sector today. Here’s how.

Decades of US interference have plagued Iraq’s agricultural sector

“You lied!”

Those were the screams of former US Army veteran Mike Prysner echoing in the lecture hall during a speech by George W. Bush, and the lasting trauma still resonates in the ears of millions of Iraqis and Americans today, almost two decades later.

From a full-scale invasion under the pretext of overthrowing Saddam Hussein to the insurgence of ISIS, Iraq has been plagued with endless wars and destruction. This invasion and endless interventions aggravated the marginalization of sectors in Iraqi society and allowed the internal state of Iraq to crumble under sectarianism and violence.

The lasting effects of the US policies are especially present within the aftermath of the agricultural sector among others. Farmers across the country continue to be displaced and doubt remains overcast on Iraq’s environmental capabilities and the future of agricultural development.

American invasion 

One of the many false pretenses for the heavily documented war was the alleged harboring of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell infamously claimed that the US was aware of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and their role in terrorism. Powell’s bold statements and deceptive assertions regarding the evidence that was available have ultimately haunted the US for what has become known as the very public “campaign of lies” the US tricked global citizens into believing.  

For over 7 years, Iraq was invaded and bombed by the US and the coalition of the willing, not to mention their use of white phosphorous munitions. Although they claimed that white phosphorus was used whilst fully considering the incidental effects on civilians, the secondary effects on Iraq’s agriculture were most definitely not taken into account.

Deliberate destruction

The invasion and destruction that accompanied the war did not only permanently damage arable lands with mines and cluster ammunition, but the suspension of government agricultural institutions and irrigation projects also caused disastrous results to the population.

From 2002 to 2008, agriculture’s contribution to the country’s GDP has decreased from almost 9% to 3.6% due to challenges created by war, social instability, and institutional and economic concerns. 

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value-added, % of GDP (Source: World Bank)

In a final blow after causing significant damage to the agricultural sector, the US secured its monopoly over the Iraqi farming industry and the future of agriculture by issuing Order 81. The Order was described as an attempt to “rebuild” Iraq’s agriculture industry by the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, Paul Bremer.

What was Order 81?

After Coalition Provisional Authority Order 81 was implemented, farmers were forbidden from conserving, distributing, or propagating harvested seeds, resulting in a dependency on big businesses such as Monsanto, Cargill Inc., and Dow Chemical. As a consequence, Iraq has only been able to meet 4% of its seed demands since 2005. These distributors are known to patent their seeds and collect fees without considering if crops were proven to contain their proprietary genetic information.

Monsanto, an agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901, is notorious for its contribution to the neutron initiators inside the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, as well as for producing Agent Orange. The US military used Agent Orange in Vietnam during the infamous operation Ranch Hand, destroying crops and ultimately causing half a million Vietnamese children to be born with birth defects and millions of others left with cancer and other serious health conditions. 

Dying of thirst

Reconstruction efforts in Iraq also targeted the distribution of safe drinking water. 

Millions of dollars were lost in the attempt and efforts failed, with only one-third of the objectives reached in the context of providing safe drinking water. 

Iraq’s infrastructure was heavily bombed in the 1990s after the US-led coalition conducted massive airstrikes on the region during the gulf war. Water and sewerage treatment facilities were heavily damaged. As people suffered from a lack of access to clean water, diseases multiplied.

The US war has critically aggravated the water crisis. Water is scarcely passing through the Tigris and Euphrates as is, causing contaminated water to reach crops, and in turn poisoning much of the population. The UN Security Council described the effects of the war as returning Iraq to the “pre-industrial age”, and warned of the imminent catastrophe that would hit the Iraqi population. 

The Tigris River is bordered by Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. Along with the Euphrates, they create a river system that encircles Mesopotamia known as the Fertile Crescent. The Tigris is an important source of transportation and irrigation, with a history dating back to the earliest known civilizations.

Tigris River (Global Atlas)

Scorched earth

The catastrophic insurgence of ISIS ripped Iraq’s already suffering sectors into developmental and economic shreds. 

The US policies created a weak state that resulted in the marginalization of considerable sectors of Iraqi society. ISIS militants, armed partially with CIA-funded weapons, developed into one of the goriest terrorist organizations of our time. 

The world watched in horror as ISIS became globally renowned for unspeakable atrocities like beheadings, kidnapping of women and children, and numerous suicide bombings and terrorist attacks that not only affected the Middle East but many western countries, especially Europe. 

ISIS used the burning tactic to terrorize inhabitants, laid landmines, and destroyed agricultural equipment. IEDs were frequently utilized to fortify their defense. They attempted to meticulously carry out a form of ecocide, as their “scorched earth” tactics took hold. Oil wells were set on fire and thousands of civilians came close to suffocation and others suffered respiratory complications.

In a final effort to devastate their targets, they booby-trapped escape routes, barns, and pump stations. 

The presence of the terrorist group forced agricultural workers and farmers to evacuate their farmlands during the bloody conflicts. Numerous families retell their experiences of being forced to abandon their farming communities when ISIS militants surrounded the area in mid-2014. The same families who evacuated their homes reported returning to their homes post-ISIS and finding them heavily booby-trapped. Numerous families have lost children and relatives after bombs inexplicably detonated on their properties. 

A glimpse of hope

Away from the nightmares that haunt Iraq, as one of many initiatives, Iraq’s holy shrines have begun to establish massive farms for relying on agricultural production and providing national agricultural products that are distinguished by quality, as well as meat at subsidized prices.

Farms administrated by the Imam Hussein Holy Shrine (Website)

Agricultural cities are being established to provide the cultivation of wheat, barley, yellow corn, fodder, jet, and cattle, as well as raising sheep and cows.

Despite the seemingly irreversible effects of America’s assaults and intrusion on Iraq’s wellbeing have undoubtedly damaged the country, things can still be turned around. With Iraq’s Parliamentary elections looming, the crucial vote of the youth may have the power to carry Iraq out of decade-long darkness and into the light. 

Hezbollah MP: The Blatant American Interference in the Lebanese Affairs Has Reached Its Maximum

October 4, 2021

By Staff

Member of Hezbollah’s “Loyalty to the Resistance” Parliamentary Bloc Sayyed Ibrahim Al-Moussawi asserted that “The American administration is practicing a policy of dictation, where the blatant American interference in the Lebanese affairs has reached its maximum, as it is permeating all the levels, amid the silence of some parties about the American violations.” 

MP al-Moussawi condemned the “The US blatant breach to decimate Lebanon” in a radio interview, inviting the Lebanese foreign minister to take a stance that condemns this interference.

He also stressed that the bet in this context is on those who have wisdom and reckon the nature of the United States.

Regarding the cabinet affairs, Sayyed al-Moussawi said that “the cabinet should fully take its chances,” adding in the context of the ministerial committee that aims at negotiating with the International Monetary Fund: “Let’s give the cabinet a chance as long as we are part of it and we support it.”

Regarding the “Biqaa Nitrate”, MP al-Moussawi underscored that “there is a big conspiracy that is being gradually revealed,” stressing that “it’s the right of the victims’ families to learn the truth of the Beirut Port blast.”

On the other hand, Sayyed al-Moussawi stressed that “Hezbollah is going for the initiative of distributing the Iranian diesel oil”, considering that “the unity of the Lebanese people is being renewed today in this regard.” He added that “we are working on alleviating the suffering of people as much as possible, and we stress that we aren’t an alternative to the government.”

“Hezbollah is currently studying a plan regarding offering a special help regarding transportation to schools, notably official schools, through providing as much as possible diesel oil supply,” he added.

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• Sayyed Safieddine: Iran Fuel Imports Not Hezbollah’s Last Step
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• Interception of Israeli Drone over Lebanon is a Technological Achievement for Hezbollah: Zionist Circles

Sayyed Nasrallah: More Iranian Ships to Follow, Iranian Drilling Companies Ready to Extract Offshore Oil and Gas

August 20, 2021

Video

Zeinab Essa

Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered on Sunday a speech during the memorial ceremony of martyr Hajj Abbas Al-Yatama.

At the beginning of his speech, Sayyed Nasrallah offered condolences to the family of martyr Al-Yatama as well all his beloved people, congratulating them for the fact that this prominent leader has reached his goals. “I personally know martyr Al-Yatama, who belongs to the generation of Hezbollah’s establishment in 1982,” he said, noting that “When speaking about people like Hajj Abbas Al-Yatama, I like to recall the founding generation of the Islamic Resistance, they’re the people of 1982.”

On the characteristics of the martyr, His Eminence highlighted that “Martyr Abbas had a beautiful soul, like his beautiful appearance. He was brave and courageous.”

He recalled that Abu Maitham “joined this resistance at the age of 17, and soon his personal characteristics became evident in front of his brothers. Martyr Abbas started as a fighter, then a trainer and later assumed various leadership responsibilities. He was personally present in the field operations.”

According to the Resistance Leader, “Among the personal characteristics of the martyr Abbas were faith, etiquette, forbearance, patience and good behavior. He further possessed excellent leadership capabilities.”

“Martyr Abbas was one of the military leaders in the South. He is from Hermel and he was as a resistance’s military leader in the South,” he stated, pointing out that “Martyr Abbas, like his brothers, the rest of the martyrs are witnesses that the honorable people of this region embraced the resistance and sacrificed it with the best of their youth.”

In addition Sayyed Nasrallah unveiled that “Abu Maitham was among the military leaders who took part in the July war in South Lebanon, and he was the one who wrote the letter of the Mujahideen [for me] during the war, which conveys his loyalty to the resistance.”

Sayyed Nasrallah further revealed that “When the events in Syria began, martyr Abbas was one of the first leaders who joined the battle and was present in the most dangerous places. Abu Maitham has been to the most dangerous zones from Aleppo, to the besieged city and airport, as well as the road of Ethriya-Khanaser.”

“Martyr Al-Yatama was a field commander next to senior Syrian Army commanders, resistance leaders such as Haj Mustafa Badriddine, and Iranian Generals in Syria, atop of whom was martyr leader Hajj Qassem Soleimani,” His Eminence added.

Emphasizing that “The secret of the resistance’s strength is that it has never sought gains here or there,” Sayyed Nasrallah lamented the fact that “Since the establishment of the state, the Bekaa region has received nothing but deprivation and negligence, but return it has offered honesty, the best of its youth and pure blood.”

“These people spared nothing, neither in confronting the Zionist scheme nor the American project. The people of Baalbek-Hermel did not wait for anyone to defend their villages and all of Lebanon,” he said.

Moving to the political front, Hezbollah Secretary General explained that “The Americans do believe that we are people who seek the worldly life, as if by threatening us with this life they might be able to change our stance. They didn’t understand until now what does it mean to belong to the Islam pf Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] and the Karbala of Imam Hussein [AS].”

In parallel, His Eminence clarified that “The battle that is being waged in Lebanon against the resistance and the true national forces has been run by the American embassy since 2005. However, they have failed.”

On this level, he uncovered that “Tens of billions of dollars have been spent since 2005 in order to distort the image of the resistance, and they failed.”

“The US seeks to set Lebanon under its control so that it does not pose any threat to “Israel”,” Sayyed Nasrallah reminded, warning that “The US embassy in Lebanon is responsible for targeting the livelihood of the Lebanese people as it interferes in every single aspect.”

He also underscored that “The US and Saudi embassies have been working in the past years to ignite a civil war in Lebanon. The American embassy wants to make Lebanon move into chaos. It seeks to strike the Lebanese society and the Lebanese person with his dignity and family.”

Meanwhile, Sayyed Nasrallah reiterated that “After spending $30 billion for political parties that were not able to serve them, they turned to the civil society.”

Urging the Lebanese state to shoulder its responsibility in facing the current crisis, he viewed that “It is not Hezbollah that can open the country in front of Chinese and Russian companies for investment. This is the state’s duty. We urged them to buy from Iran by the Lebanese pound, and they replied that the Americans would put us on the sanctions list. We offered the state options and proposals for which it turned a deaf ear, and Lebanon continued in the path of declining.”

Amid this negligence, Sayyed Nasrallah clearly announced: “Our second ship will sail from Iran within days, and other ships will follow.”

He further stressed that “It is not a matter of one ship or two; this is a path which we will keep moving on as long as Lebanon needs it,” noting that “The goal is to help all the Lebanese people and ease their sufferings.”

However, His Eminence assured that “We-in Hezbollah- are neither a substitute for the state nor for importing companies or stations. We do not want to compete with anyone.”

“We will bring in fair amounts of oil derivatives to ease the pressure against companies, gas stations and the black market,” he said, noting that his party seeks “to break the greedy prices and ease the people’s sufferings.”

In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah went on to say: “We are not supposed to bring Lebanon’s full demand of gasoline and diesel but rather good quantities that alleviate pressure off the companies and the stations.”

Once again, he urged the government to alleviate the suffering of the people and assume its responsibilities.

In parallel, Sayyed Nasrallah denounced “Those monopolizing oil derivatives” calling for arresting and imprisoning them.

Regarding US ambassador Dorothy Shea’s initiative towards Lebanon, His Eminence welcomed the Egyptian gas, the Jordanian electricity project and anything that might help Lebanon.

However, His Eminence reminded that “If the US seeks to help Lebanon, it should lift its veto on providing support to Lebanon.”

To the Lebanese people, he elaborated that “What is important for the Lebanese to know is that the proposal of the American ambassador requires a period between 6 months and 1 year to be done. The US project needs negotiations with Syria and could not be performed in the dark night.”

“The US ambassador is talking illusions, but in case her project could be achieved we won’t be annoyed as this means breaking the siege on Lebanon and Syria.”

To the US administration and its ambassador in Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said: “If you want to help Lebanon, tell your administration to stop preventing other countries from helping Lebanon, and we wouldn’t want neither your initiative nor your money.”

On another level, Sayyed Nasrallah asked “Who will shoulder the responsibility for the Tuleil incident in Akkar, and where did the investigations reach?”

To the Lebanese government, Hezbollah Secretary General said: “If you accept, we have companies that are able to extract oil and gas and sell it. The companies that I mentioned are not afraid of the “Israeli” bombing, and they can extract gas and oil and sell it. If the companies fear “Israel” and the sanctions, we are willing to bring an Iranian drilling company to extract offshore oil and gas, and let “Israel” bomb it.”

“The Resistance after July 2006 war became stronger and after every battle it maintained its existence and ended stronger than before,” he said, concluding that “The enemy and the Americans, and their affiliates, will discover that their popular and political losses will be very huge.”

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Short news update from the Saker (UPDATED 2x)

July 07, 2021

Dear friend,

Today I am starting a new kind of post – a short news update.  This is not an open thread where everybody shares all the latest information during a crisis, nor is it a full analysis.  In this new category, I plan to include several small news which are relevant to what was discussed in the past or factoids/developments which might be discussed in a full analysis in the near future. I will include links to my sources only when I have them readily available, otherwise you will have to wait until my analyses to get the full sources.  Note that this new category will appear under the “Saker Analyses and Interviews” section to give it maximal visibility.  Finally, and just to make this clear, the regular rules of moderation will apply to this new section too.  I hope that you will find this feature useful (by all means, let me know). 

Cheers

The Saker

PS: please feel free to also contribute short news items in the “short news update” section!

---

• Amazing!  The US forces in Afghanistan left the (Soviet built) airbase in Bagram at night, not even informing their supposed Afghan “allies”.  The base was looted for several hours as the US Americans left A LOT of stuff, including guitars and plenty of weapons (all of which will now go on sale in the various public markets in Afghanistan.
• Comparing the Soviet and the US performance in Afghanistan is quite amazing.  To make a long story short, I find the performance of Uncle Shmuel’s forces absolutely appalling and laughable.  Killed lots of people, built nothing, never controlled much of the country, fled in the middle of the night and abandoned its allies.   They literally switched off the electricity in Bagram and then fled.  Absolutely typical “garden variety” for all US interventions.  The Soviets even left with all their dignity safe – but the wannabe world hegemon had to leave in shame, like he always does.
• The Taliban are now shooting Afghan collaborators in the streets, and floods of terrified refugees are now running for the border in the hope of escaping the Taliban’s wrath.
• Did you know that since the US invasion of Afghanistan the volume of heroin produced by this country increased FIFTEEN FOLD!
• Bottom line: the US+NATO+EU were defeated by the Taliban.  Totally and comprehensively.
• Today Russian Su-30SM has intercepted a US Poseidon aircraft over the Black Sea and forced it to turn away from the Russian border.
• Three more days left for Sea Breeze 2021.  Never say never, and we can’t be sure, but I don’t believe that NATO will try to breach the Russian maritime border again (these guys lost a long war to the Afghans, I don’t think they have the stomach for Russia!).

This is how the Soviet Forces left Afghanistan:

And this is how the “greatest military force in the Milky Way” left Afghanistan:

• There are several reports, so far unconfirmed, that US bases in Iraq and Syria have come under attack.  There has also been a huge explosion in the port of Dubai.
• UK Foreign Minister Raab just repeated in the British Parliament that the British Navy fully intends to repeat the actions of the HMS Defender.

Maduro: EU Demand to Delay Election in Venezuela ‘Impossible

Source

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has dismissed as “impossible” the EU’s suggestion to postpone the country’s December 6 election to meet the bloc’s conditions to dispatch an observer mission, blaming the idea on US pressure.

“It is impossible because there is a very clear constitutional mandate,” Maduro said Thursday in a nationally televised address. “We want to have a good relationship with the European Union, but Washington does not let them.”

Maduro has repeatedly maintained that the administration of hawkish US President Donald Trump is persistently plotting to topple his government in a coup to seize control of the oil-rich nation’s huge crude oil reserves.

Relations between Caracas and Washington have drastically deteriorated in recent years amid multiple efforts by the US government to impose sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company and other industries in its bid to destabilize the country.

Venezuela’s constitution requires a new poll every five years while US-backed opposition parties have vowed to boycott the election.

European and Latin American ministers in the International Contact Group (ICG) declared after their video conference on Thursday that conditions were not ripe to send observers to Venezuela’s parliamentary elections next December.

“ICG members concluded that conditions are not met, at the moment, for a transparent, inclusive, free and fair electoral process,” the group announced in a statement following the conference chaired by EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell.

The ICG groups European countries including Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Italy as well as a number of Latin American countries. Argentina is back in the group while Bolivia has left it.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza invited observers from the United Nations and the European Union, in letters addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Borrell early this month, to monitor the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country.

In the letters, Arreaza outlined “the broad electoral guarantees agreed for the upcoming parliamentary elections.”

Maduro pardoned over 100 legislators and associates of US-sponsored opposition figure Juan Guaido to promote national reconciliation ahead of the congressional elections in December.

Guaido pushed Venezuela into political turmoil by dismissing the results of the 2018 presidential election after Maduro won nearly 70 percent of the votes. The opposition figure declared himself “interim president” of Venezuela in January last year and later launched a US-backed abortive coup to oust Maduro’s elected government.

Source: Agecnies

Sitrep – Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua

February 19, 2020

Chris Faure for The Saker Blog

While the Mena is exploding in tensions, the Empire is hungry and is not leaving these countries in Latin America any breathing room. Although it can be argued that the circumstances are different in each, there are certain commonalities that can be pointed out.

Venezuela

The Trump administration warned early in February of “impactful” measures on the government of Venezuela

First was a blanket set of sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned airline CONVIASA. Why, you may ask? Well according to the administration, this airline is used to “shuttle corrupt officials.” We see the ‘rules based international order’ at work, as there is no evidence of corruption, but these days it seems as if one fights US sanctions, you must be corrupt. The rule of evidence for corruption now is resisting imperial sanctions. CONVIASA operates flight services to domestic destinations and throughout South America and the Caribbean.

The other notable event was that Guiadó went home to Venezuela on TAP, a Portugese airline, only to be ‘warmly welcomed’ by screaming Venezuelans beating him up. The Venezuelan Government suspended for 90 days the Portuguese airline, over what is formally declared as “some irregularities detected in Juan Guaido´s returning flight. The self-proclaimed ‘president’ returned to Venezuela after a tour of Europe and the United States on a TAP flight under a different identification, as Antonio Márquez, and his uncle was on the same flight, smuggling explosives.  Name change or no name change, he was still beaten up by Venezuelans.

Some good news is that the US Government’s case against the Venezuelan embassy protectors ended up in a hung jury, and the four protectors were not jailed. This was another failure in the open coup attempt on Venezuela.

The latest is that the US is placing more sanctions on Russia’s Rosneft Trading in relation to their quest for what they call “the opportunity for a transition of power” which the rest of us understand as color revolution and extraction of assets from a country working hard at their own sovereignty.

“Russia categorically repudiates unilateral restrictions, through which the US, which seeks global hegemony, is trying to make the whole world bend to its will. This has never influenced and will not influence Russia’s international policy, including its cooperation with the legitimate authorities of Venezuela, Syria, Iran and any other country,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Nicaragua

In Nica, as the locals call it, the startup to regime change has commenced. The Grayzone reports that the US embassy and European Union are meeting with right-wing Nicaraguan opposition leaders and pressuring them to unite against elected leftist President Daniel Ortega in the lead-up to the 2021 election. https://thegrayzone.com/2020/02/07/nicaragua-opposition-support-us-eu-coalition/

Sanctions are rolling in and this one is similar to what we saw in Brazil, and now in Bolivia, where the rightist evangelicals (usually Christian Zionist) are being used as the pressure point aiming to unseat the Sandinistas.

Nicaragua, according to the Empire under the guise of the Donald Trump administration has declared the small nation of Nicaragua to be a supposed “national security threat,” and has imposed several rounds of aggressive sanctions on the country, with the aim of destabilizing its economy.

Bolivia

After the contested election and a coup d’état that saw Evo Morales being expelled as President as well as having to flee from his beloved country, snap general elections will be held in Bolivia on May 3^rd, 2020.

The situation on the ground is still that of a coup d’état. The indigenous Bolivian population which Evo Morales brought into the light and gave opportunity to flourish economically, is under stress, pressure and still being murdered as we speak.

Few people know that as in Venezuela, we are dealing with another Western backed self-elected interim president in Bolivia – Jeanine Añez. On declaring herself interim president, she also undertook not to run for the position in forthcoming elections. That undertaking did not last long though and she is a candidate now.

As in Nicaragua, we are also dealing with rightist evangelicals being used for political power. “Evangelical preacher Chi Hyun Chung exposed this corruption after he placed third in the last election but didn’t make it onto the ballot. Chung reported that these groups were asking for payments of between one million and 1.5 million U.S. Dollars for the right to use their names. He called on electoral authorities to intervene to end the practice.”

But was this a Western backed coup and how do we know that it was? The easiest to see, is who the golpistas immediately made friends with.

Ollie Vargas states : “The Anez administration’s ties to the U.S. are openly admitted. Evident in the dramatic speed with which Morales’ progressive foreign policy was torn up. Full relations were re-established with the U.S. and Israel and USAID was brought in to ‘cooperate’ in the elections and other government functions. However, less known are Anez’s hiring choices. One of the first advisors to be brought in to her inner circle was Erick Foronda, who was chief advisor to the U.S. embassy in Bolivia for 25 years prior to taking on the role with Añez.

The cooperation continues as the electoral campaign gets underway. Following the footsteps of many Bolivian rightists, Añez is now contracting the services of CLS Strategies, a U.S. political consulting firm, to provide “strategic communications counsel” during the coming elections. CLS Strategies is the same firm used by the government in Honduras after that country’s coup against Manuel Zelaya.”

The Old Puppets Return: Meet Bolivia’s Corrupt Washington-Backed Candidates

The golpistas are doing their best to ban any candidate from MAS. The MAS radio channels are being banned and the people are being scattered violently wherever they gather. Evo Morales is still a candidate and has declared his candidacy from Argentina, where he has safe harbor. But he is not running for President. The presidential front runner for MAS (Evo’s party, the biggest voting block in Bolivia and generally known as The Movement toward Socialism) is Luis Arce. He has just had a conference with Evo Morales in Argentina, to plan the election. It is generally accepted that even since Morales left, MAS still has the majority and will win a fair election. This is clearly not the era of fair elections and the lastest news in, is that MAS is declaring an emergency as both Evo Morales as well as Luis Arce will be banned from running, under some invented pretext by the electoral commission.  The real issue is, despite the coup or golpe in Bolivia, despite the exit of Evo Morales, MAS is still winning.

The golpistas have serious western support, and MAS is not standing down from their Movement toward Socialism. The police forces are brutal toward the indigenous, one has no idea what the defense forces are really doing and the expectation is that we will have another coup type event arise as tempers are hot.

In the cities, it feels as if the right is winning, yet in the indigenous rural areas, MAS has a clear lead. This is where it stands now and one has to keep in mind that the rural areas are not being polled thoroughly.  The rural areas are all MAS supporters as it is these people that received an economic opportunity under Evo Morales:

Summary : Now that we have seen the similarities between a coup starting in Nicaragua, the longer lasting meddling in Venezuela, and the similarities in the playbook for Bolivia, we can only go back to Harold Pinter’s Nobel Acceptance Speech for Literature, 2005.

“It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest. The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It’s a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis.

I put to you that the United States is without doubt the greatest show on the road. Brutal, indifferent, scornful and ruthless it may be but it is also very clever. As a salesman it is out on its own and its most saleable commodity is self love. It’s a winner. Listen to all American presidents on television say the words, ‘the American people’, as in the sentence, ‘I say to the American people it is time to pray and to defend the rights of the American people and I ask the American people to trust their president in the action he is about to take on behalf of the American people.’ It’s a scintillating stratagem.”

“Language is actually employed to keep thought at bay. “

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2005/pinter/25621-harold-pinter-nobel-lecture-2005/

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And so die heroes

ST

In the bewilderment of what happened (the assassination of general Suleimani) it is easy to forget that this is not the first time neither will it be the last time that America gets rid of its enemies through assassination.

A quick glance at back, to the 1960’s will give a clear example of this, when the whole world shook with the assassination of Che Guevara. There were attempts to pass his assassination off as death due to fire exchange during battle.

Soon the information of how he died leaked out. Afraid of the spread of revolution that had started in Latin America- a revolution instigated by Guevara and Castro the USA decided that this revolution should be suffocated before it reached their backdoor.

It was the covert work of the CIA and their agents in Bolivia that led to the assassination of Che Guevara. De classified records show the high level of US interest in hunting down Che Guevara and his comrades. A Memorandum of understanding was signed between the American side and the Bolivian side in which it was agreed that Guevara and his group of fighters be kept under surveillance. When Guevara died the Americans viewed it as a victory. They had  managed to assassinate Guevara by proxy and had stifled his “hated revolution”.

In the official wake (1967) held for him in Cuba by President Castro he said that through they have killed Che but they can never kill his ideas “The artist may die – but what will surely never die is the art to which he dedicated his life, the art to which he dedicated his intelligence,”.

In an irony to top all ironies the man who volunteered to kill Guevara sergeant “Mario Teran” and who had to live in the dark the rest of his life in Bolivia penned a letter of gratitude to Castro which was later published by El Deber thanking Castro because Cuban doctors had operated on his eyes free of charge and thus proving that though he shot Guevara and ended his life the ideas of the revolution of equality and supporting the poor never died and in the end “Mario Teran” their killer and Guevara’s benefitted from the moral and ethical beliefs of Guevara and the revolution he believed in.

British politician George Gallaway says “one of the greatest mistakes the US state ever made was to create those pictures of Che’s corpse. Its Christ like poise in death ensured that has appeal would spread way beyond the turbulent university campus and into the hearts of the faithful, flocking to the worldly, fiery sermons of the liberation thoelogists.” The Economist magazine pointed out how Che’s post death photos resemble Andrea Mantegna’s “The Lamentation over the Dead Christ”.

 There is no country in the world today including the USA itself that doesn’t have Geuevara memorabilia-his starred hat, his face leaping out of tshirts or from schoolbags. By executing him without even a trial the US immortalized him and turned him into an icon. All his faults and failures forgotten he even found his way to myths and many people today pray to saint Ernesto.

In another Latin American country Chile – a man rose to power. Salvador Allende – another doctor, another icon representing democratic socialism. For Allende was voted for by the people of Chile despite extraneous American efforts to sabotage the vote. Allende was of the same school as Guevara. He believed in revolutionary ideas in nationalization policy and in putting the workers in charge of the economy. Thus he made a lot of enemies but none as deadly as American President Nixon in a meeting said that he aimed to make the “Chilean economy scream”.

In an interview with the Italian communist daily President Allende refers to the United States as a “real threat”. For Allende nationalized mines owned by the American companies, Araconda and Kennecot. The US even negatively affected the relations of Chile with other countries as other countries were afraid of American ire and stayed away from forming economic ties with Chile.

In the end Allende was disposed of in a US backed coup, led by Pinochet who would later be considered as one of the darkest and most brutal dictators in history. In an exhibition called “secrets of state: The Declassified History of the Chilean Dictatorship “one can hear a reenactment of the phone conversation that happened between American President Nixon and his legal advisor Kissinger confirmed their hand in the coup that removed and killed Allende”. On view are documents revealing secret exchange about how to prevent Chile’s congress from ratifying the Allende Victory in 1970, plans for convert operations to destabilize his government and reports about a Chilean military officer informing the United States government of the coming coup and requesting assistance”.

Allende was deposed off and America won the day leaving Chile under the throes of a dictator who should have had his figure in Mme. Tussaud’s Chamber of horrors.

Part II

Suleimani

A different era, a different time, but no change in tactics for the Americans .

In reality their arrogance has increased and what they think of as their God given right to eradicate all whom they deem “dangerous” has reached a point of lunacy.

In the case of Guevara and Allende though America was responsible for their demise, however they used a proxy.

However with General Suleimani, Trump proudly announced that he had given the orders to kill him as he was deemed a threat to America. Trump claimed that he had information that Suleimani was targeting four America embassies. An outright lie as even his senators didn’t believe him and “refused to give him the benefit of the doubt”.

On January 3^rd 2020 a US drone attack near Baghdad International Airport targeted and killed General Qasem Suleimani. It killed nine other people beside him.   

General Suleimani was commander of the Quds Force in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

 His death affected the region adversely. Anti American demonstrations broke out in Iran and Iraq. In Iraq parliament look a vote and agreed on the need for American troops to leave Iraqi soil once and for all. Unintentionally Trump managed to unite Iranians and Iraqis in their anger and distrust of America.

Suleimani was a well known face on battle fields forming military strategies and implementing them. He relentlessly fought Isis, groups affiliated to Isis and other terrorists. His hardwork and perseverance were major elements in defeating terrorist and in bringing security to areas that had suffered fear and atrocities.

His assassination dealt the axis of resistance a hard blow, undoubtedly, so unleashing a torrent of violent events that up to this moment has not stopped.

The question that should be asked is of what benefit is the assassination of Suleimani to the Americans? Was he a real threat to their national security?

The answer lies in the ideas that Suleimani embodied. He was a man who couldnot and would not stomach interference in his country from the USA and he did not mince his ideas about that. He was willing to fight to the very end to liberate the region from terrorism – which he did – he almost liberated the area from Isis and until the day he died he was fighting. It might be useful to recall the words of Castro upon the death of Guevara for they are applicable here too – words to the effect that you can kill the man but you can never kill what he stands for. On the contrary killing the man strengthens his ideals for it shows that he was willing to die for a worthwhile cause. Assassinating Suleimani is undoubtedly unlawful and a violation of international law and indeed who better than the Americans to do that.                    

 Editor in Chief

Reem Haddad

Bolivia: An Election in the Midst of an Ongoing Coup

By Prof. Vijay Prashad

Global Research, February 14, 2020

The Bullet

On May 3, 2020, the Bolivian people will go to the polls once more. They return there because President Evo Morales had been overthrown in a coup in November 2019. Morales had just won a presidential election in October for a term that would have begun in January 2020. Based on a preliminary investigation by the Organization of American States (OAS) that claimed that there was fraud in the election, Morales was prematurely removed from office; the term for his 2014 presidential election victory did not end until January. Yet, he was told by the military to leave office. An interim president – Jeanine Áñez – appointed herself. She said she was taking this office only on an interim basis and would not run for election when Bolivia held another election. She is a candidate for the May 3 election. (For more information on what is happening in Bolivia, see this overview from Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.)

Meanwhile, Morales has been in exile in Argentina. His party – the Movement for Socialism (MAS) – has candidates for the presidency and the vice presidency, but their party cadres and followers are facing a difficult time making their case to the people. Their radio stations have been blocked, their leaders arrested or exiled (or sitting in foreign embassies waiting for asylum), their cadre beaten up and intimidated.

The United Nations secretary-general’s personal envoy Jean Arnault released a statement on February 3 that expressed caution about the elections. The situation in Bolivia, Arnault said, is “characterized by an exacerbated polarization and mixed feelings of hope, but also of uncertainty, restlessness and resentment after the serious political and social crisis of last year.” This careful language of the UN needs to be looked at closely. When Arnault says there is “exacerbated polarization,” he means that the situation is extremely tense. When he asks that the interim government “outlaw hate speech and direct or indirect incitement to violence or discrimination,” he means that the government and its far-right followers need to be very careful about what they say and how much violence they use in this election.

On February 6, Morales spoke in Buenos Aires, where he urged an end to the violence so that the election could bring the fractured country together. He called for a national agreement between all sides to end the dangerous situation. In a pointed way, Morales called upon the government to respect diversity, noting that people wearing distinct clothes and wearing the signs of a certain political party were facing intimidation and violence. He meant the indigenous population of Bolivia, and the supporters of MAS; it is widely accepted that the violence has been coming from the far right’s paramilitary shock troops, and the intimidation has been coming from the government.

For instance, the Bolivian authorities have been routinely charging MAS leaders with sedition, terrorism, and incitement to violence. Morales faced these charges, along with dozens of important MAS leaders, most recently Gustavo Torrico who has been arrested. Matters are so bad that the UN’s special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Diego García-Sayán, took to Twitter to express his concern at the “use of judicial and fiscal institutions for the purpose of political persecution. The number of illegal detentions grows.” This has not stopped Áñez, who says she will move her government to investigate at least 592 people who held high office in Morales’ 14 years in government. This means that the entirety of the MAS leadership will likely face harassment between now and the May 3 election.

US Interference

In 2013, Morales expelled the US government agency USAID; he accused USAID of working to undermine his elected government. Before that, Morales, as is his constitutional right, informed Salvador Romero – the head of the election agency (TSE) – that when his term ended in 2008, he would not be retained. This is a normal practice.

Romero went to the US Embassy to complain. He met with US Ambassador Philip Goldberg to complain about this and urged the US to do something. It was clear that Romero and Goldberg knew each other well. When Romero left his post at the TSE, the US establishment took care of him. He went to work at the National Democratic Institute in Honduras. The National Democratic Institute, based in Washington, is loosely affiliated with the US Democratic Party, and is part of the universe that includes the National Endowment for Democracy. These are all US government-funded agencies that operate overseas to “oversee” what is known as “democracy promotion,” including elections.

Romero essentially worked for the US government in Honduras during the first election after the US-instigated coup of 2009. During this election in 2013, violence against the supporters of Xiomara Castro, the candidate of the left-wing Libre Party, was routine. The day before the election, for instance, two leaders of the National Center of Farmworkers (CNTC) – María Amparo Pineda Duarte and Julio Ramón Maradiaga – were killed as they returned home from a training for Libre election workers. This was the atmosphere of this very tight election, which returned to power the US-backed conservative candidate Juan Orlando Hernández of the National Party. Romero, at that time, was quite pleased with the results. He told the New York Times then that “despite ‘the general perception of fraud,’” the election was just fine.

Right after the coup in November, Áñez brought Romero back to La Paz as the head of the election court, the TSE. He has his old job back. This would have made Bruce Williamson, the US charge d’affaires to Bolivia, very happy. The US has its man at the helm of the May 3 election in Bolivia.

And then Trump said he is sending USAID to Bolivia to help prepare the ground for the election. On January 9, the USAID team arrived to “give technical aid to the electoral process in Bolivia.” Technical aid. The phrase should give a reasonable person pause.

Ten days later, Trump’s legal adviser Mauricio Claver-Carone arrived in La Paz and gave a series of interviews in which he accused Morales of terrorism and creating instability. This was a direct attack at MAS and interference with Bolivia’s electoral process.

If the US intervenes in Bolivia, that is just “democracy promotion.”

But even with the violence from the government and its fascistic paramilitaries, even with Romero at the helm of the TSE, even with USAID on the ground, and even with the shenanigans of Claver-Carone, MAS is fighting to win. The candidates for MAS are Luis Arce Catacora (president) and David Choquehuanca Céspedes (vice president). Catacora was the minister of economy and public finance under Morales and the architect of the administration’s economic success. Céspedes was the foreign minister in that government. He managed Bolivia’s policy of international sovereignty and is an important person to Bolivia’s indigenous and peasant movements. Early polls show that the MAS ticket is in first place.

*

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This article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor and journalist. He is author of Red Star Over the Third World(LeftWord, 2017) and the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books.

Featured image is from The BulletBolivia: The OAS and US Help Overthrow Another Latin American GovernmentThe original source of this article is The BulletCopyright © Prof. Vijay Prashad, The Bullet, 2020

ماذا يعني الإعلان الرسمي عن بدء معركة التحرير الكبرى؟

ابراهيم الأمين الإثنين 13 كانون الثاني 2020

ذات مرة، تحدث الأمين العام لحزب الله السيد حسن نصر الله عن الوضع في المنطقة، مشيراً بوضوح إلى أنه يتحدث باسم محور المقاومة. قال، على طريقته، إنه يعرف مواقف العواصم والقوى «واعتبروني ناطقاً» باسم هذا المحور. وحقيقة الأمر أن السيد نصر الله يعرف أن العالم كله، من دون استثناء، يتعامل مع ما يقوله على أنه تعبير عن الموقف المشترك لكل من في محور المقاومة. ولا يعود ذلك فقط إلى صدقيّته العالية لدى الجمهور وإلى أنه قائد واحدة من أقوى مجموعات المقاومة في العالم، بل لكونه أفضل من يعبّر عن عقل هذا المحور. فهو يعرف جيداً بلاد الشام. وتعرّف جيداً إلى عقل فلسطين، وفوق ذلك، يعرف جيداً العقل الإيراني. فكيف إذا أضفنا الى كل ما سبق، أن الرجل شريك أساسي في حلقة القرار الأولى على صعيد المحور. ومن دون أن يزعل أحد، ومن دون التواضع غير المناسب في هذه اللحظة، يعرف الجميع أن للسيد نصر الله موقعاً يوازي مواقع رؤساء دول وقادة في هذا الإقليم.

ذا التقديم ليس للمدح برجل يحتاج، في هذه الأيام، الى من يشور عليه لا الى من يُسمعه القصائد. وهدفه مساعدة مريدي محور المقاومة وأصدقائه وأعدائه على فهم طبيعة التحدي الذي نقبل عليه جميعاً. هو تقديم يهدف الى القول، صراحة، إن ما تحدّث عنه السيد نصر الله الأسبوع الماضي، وعاد وكرره أمس حيال التحدي الراهن، إنما يمثل الوجهة الفعلية لقيادة المحور وقواه. وهي وجهة دخلت حيّز التنفيذ العملاني في كل منطقتنا، وعنوانها الأوحد: كنس الاحتلال الأميركي!

طبعاً، لم يكن السيد نصر الله ليعرض برنامج العمل على هذا العنوان. ولا هو في وارد تقديم تقدير أولي أو متوسط للمرحلة المقبلة من العمل. كما أنه ليس ملزماً تقديم أي شروحات تفيد العدو الاميركي في هذه المعركة. لكن ما كان يجب أن يقوله يستهدف إبلاغ من يهمه الأمر، من أنصار المقاومة أو من أعداء أميركا، بأن الفرصة عادت لتكون كاملة لمن يريد الانخراط في معركة كنس الوجود الأميركي من بلادنا، ليس بوصفه احتلالاً عسكرياً فقط، بل لكونه يمثل عنوان القهر السياسي والاقتصادي والاجتماعي والثقافي والأمني والعسكري في بلادنا. وكون الولايات المتحدة تمثل، اليوم، مركز الشر في مواجهة طموحات شعوبنا نحو التحرر من التبعية وبناء مستقبلها كما تريده هي لا كما يراد له أن يكون. وبالتالي، فإن ما كان يفترض بالسيد قوله، كواحد من ممثلي القرار وكناطق باسم المحور ورفيق الشهداء من كبارهم الى صغارهم، هو الإعلان صراحة، ورفع الستارة، معلناً افتتاح مرحلة جديدة من المقاومة الشاملة ضد الوجود الأميركي في المنطقة. وهي مقاومة لا يمكن لحكومة أو حدود أو هوية كيانية الحدّ من قدراتها أو ضبطها. ولا يمكن لأي إنسان، بالمطلق، أن يقرر أنها مقبولة أو لا. ومن لا يريد مقاومة الاحتلال الأميركي، بحجة أنه غير قادر أو مستفيد أو غير متضرر، فهو، بالنسبة إلينا، شريك لهذا الاحتلال في سرقة ثرواتنا، وعميل مسهّل لبقاء الاحتلال.

يجب التعامل مع خطاب السيد نصر الله على أنه إشهار من جانب فريق المقاومة لبرنامج عمله في المرحلة المقبلة

الأهم في هذه النقطة هو البحث الذي سينطلق ــــ وقد انطلق منذ مدة غير قصيرة ــــ حول الأولويات، وخصوصاً عند المتفكّرين والمعتاشين على فتات ممثلي النهب العالمي، من «يسار جورج سوروس» الى «كتبة تميم آل ثاني»، وصولاً الى «مرتزقة آل سعود وآل نهيان». ويمثل هؤلاء جيشاً ممن قرروا، عن وعي أو عن هبل، الانضمام طوعاً الى جبهة لا مشترك بين كل العاملين فيها سوى العداء لمحور المقاومة، والتي لا يظهر الغرب الاستعماري وإسرائيل، ولا الجماعات التفكيرية، أي خشية منها ومن نشاطها على كل المستويات. فلا يلاحق عناصر هذا الجيش، ويسافرون الى كل العالم، وحساباتهم تتوسع وتتفرع في مصارف العالم، وهم ضيوف على موائد القتلة من أصحاب الياقات البِيض. وهؤلاء لن ينطقوا يوماً بعبارة أو كلمة تؤذي العدو الأميركي أو حلفاءه في المنطقة. حتى إسرائيل لم تعد تضعهم في برامج عملها. ولا تبذل استخباراتها أي جهد من باب الخشية منهم، بل هي لا تفكر حتى في تجنيدهم مخبرين طالما أنهم يفيدون أكثر في ما يقومون به.

كل هؤلاء، بدأوا وسيكثفون نشاطهم الفكري والسياسي والإعلامي والأكاديمي، في خدمة فكرة واحدة تقول: إن مصائب بلادنا ناجمة عن القوى البارزة عندنا. وإنّ تخلّفنا هو بسبب معارضتنا للغرب الاستعماري، وإن تراجع النموّ في اقتصادنا سببه عدم الالتحاق بالعالم الحر. وإن القمع سببه ثقافة الموت، والتخلّف الاجتماعي سببه العادات والثقافات البالية… هؤلاء يريدون إقناع الجمهور بكل ذلك، على طريقة حراكات العواصم العربية برعاية المنظمات غير الحكومية، والتي يصادف ــــ فقط يصادف ــــ أنها مموّلة من أشخاص وجهات ومراكز تعمل وتعيش تحت سلطة الغرب الاستعماري..

لكن العنوان الأخطر هو أن بعضهم، الذي لا يهمّ إن شتم أميركا ورئيسها طالما لا يفعل أكثر من ذلك، سيقولون إن الأولوية اليوم هي لتأمين الاستقرار، وإن ذلك يكون من خلال التصرف بواقعية والتعامل مع الوقائع العالمية، وإن الغرب مستعد لمساعدة شعوبنا في الارتقاء والازدهار إن أسقطنا من فكرنا وعقلنا فكرة التحرر الكامل، ليس من احتلاله العسكري فحسب، بل من التبعية الكاملة لمؤسساته الاقتصادية والثقافية والإعلامية وأدوات حياته اليومية.
ولأن المواجهة المفتوحة لا تحتمل الحلول الوسط، ولأن الحرب التي دخلناها لا رحمة فيها للعدو ولا لعملائه، ولأن العدو نفسه سيكشف يوماً بعد يوم عن أبشع صوره كوحش متكامل، فإن الأفضل للجميع أن لا يكذب بعضهم على بعض. وفي هذا السياق، يجب التعامل مع خطاب السيد نصر الله على أنه إشهار من جانب فريق المقاومة لبرنامج عمله في المرحلة المقبلة. وهو إشهار تقرر عن وعي وسابق تصور وتصميم، وسياقه عدم المناورة والكذب على الناس.. لذلك، يفترض بخصوم المقاومة، من الأغبياء أو من العملاء، التصرف على هذا الأساس… أما حكاية القرار المستقل والحدود الكيانية، فهي ألعاب تسلية تنفع لأطفال من «مدارس المراهقين للحراك الاجتماعي»…
مرة جديدة، إنها الحرب!

عامر فاخوري صندوق «الموساد» الأسود

https://program.almanar.com.lb/episode/81655

ديسمبر 27, 2019

شوقي عواضة

منذ اليوم الأول لتوقيف جزار الخيام العميل عامر فاخوري نشطت الحركة الديبلوماسية الأميركية للتدخل والحؤول دون توقيفه أو محاكمته منتهكة سيادة الوطن وقوانينه. ورغم عدم وجود أية اتفاقيات او بروتوكولات تسمح لأيّ محام أميركي بالدخول إلى المحاكم اللبنانية حصل فريق المحامين الأميركيين الموكل من السفارة في بيروت على إذن من نقيب المحامين السابق للدفاع عن العميل فاخوري دون تقديم أيّ مبرّرات قانونية تبرّر تدخل فريق الدفاع الأميركي في القضية. لم يأت هذا التدخل الأميركي السافر من فراغ بل إنه يحمل دلالات كثيرةً ويطرح تساؤلات كبيرةً. لربما يبرّر البعض هذا التدخل كون العميل فاخوري يحمل الجنسية الأميركية وبالتالي من «حق» حكومته الدفاع عنه وهو متاح ضمن القوانين المرعية الإجراء ومن خلال وكلاء لبنانيين وليسوا أميركيين.

وإذا سلمنا بعدم تفريط الحكومة الأميركية بمواطنيها وحرصها عليهم لماذا لم تبد الولايات المتحدة هذا الحرص على مواطنيها وعملائها السبعة عشر الذين اعتقلتهم الاستخبارات الإيرانية في شهر تموز الماضي أيّ قبل توقيف جزار الخيام بشهرين تقريباً. ولماذا لم تتجرّأ على إرسال فريق دفاع للدفاع عنهم رغم تصنيفهم كمصادر ممتازة في جهاز ال cia، ورغم ذلك لم نشهد تحركاً سريعاً للديبلوماسية الأميركية للإفراج عنهم كما حصل في لبنان بالرغم من أهميتهم بالنسبة إلى الاستخبارات الأميركية ورغم الحكم على بعضهم بالإعدام لم نلحظ سرعة التدخل الأميركي كما لحظناه في قضية العميل عامر فاخوري، وهذا إنْ دلّ على شيء فإنه يدلّ بوضوح على أنّ العميل عامر فاخوري بالنسبة إلى جهازي “الموساد” و”سي أي آي” هو الأهمّ بين جواسيس وضباط الاستخبارات الأميركية والإسرائيلية الموقوفين في طهران، بل هو جزء مهمّ وكبير من منظومة التجسّس الأميركية “الإسرائيلية، في لبنان والمنطقة، وهو يشكل كنز معلومات كبيراً في قبضة الأجهزة الأمنية اللبنانية، وإلا ما معنى منع استكمال التحقيق معه؟ وما هي دلالات عرقلة حضوره إلى المحاكم للشروع بمحاكمته؟ وما هو الثقل الذي يمثله كي يبادر وكيل وزارة الخارجية الأميركية للشؤون السياسية ديفيد هيل لطرح ملفه للمفاوضات وطرح عملية مبادلته بالمواطن اللبناني قاسم تاج الدين؟ ألا يشير الأداء الأميركي وتعاطيه في القضية إضافة إلى ما طرحناه من أسئلة إلى مدى أهمية العميل عامر فاخوري بالنسبة إلى الأميركيين والإسرائيليين؟

ثمة تفسير واحد لكلّ تلك التساؤلات يقول بأنّ العميل عامر فاخوري دخل إلى لبنان بمهمة أمنية واستخباراتية ومعه أمر عمليات لا سيما في ظلّ ما تشهده الساحة اللبنانية من سيناريوات أُحبِط بعضها، وتوحي بأنّ لهذا العميل ارتباطات ربما يكون على مستوى شبكات عملاء يتواصل معها وأسّس لها في المجتمع وعلى كافة المستويات لا سيما بعد ثبوت اتساع دائرة علاقاته السياسية وعملية تسهيل مروره. وما يؤكد ذلك هو الإصرار الأميركي الكبير على إخراجه بأيّ ثمن دون امتثاله للمحاكمة، وقد تبيّن أنّ العميل عامر فاخوري من أهمّ الجواسيس وفاق بأهميته الأمنية والاستخباراتية الجاسوس الأميركي شيوي وانغ، البالغ من العمر 38 عاماً، والذي كان معتقلاً لدى طهران منذ عام 2016. وأطلق سراحه في مقابل إفراج الولايات المتحدة عن العالم الإيراني مسعود سليماني منذ مدة وجيزة، إذ لا يمكن تفسير الإصرار الأميركي وخلفه “الإسرائيلي” على إطلاق سراح جزار الخيام إلا لأهميته الاستخباراتية وكونه صاحب إنجازات تجسّسية لصالح الكيان الصهيوني تتخطى جرائمه السابقة وما ارتكبه بحق الأسرى والمقاومين ويخفي الكثير من المهمات الجديدة والمزيد من المعلومات.

وإذا كانت الولايات المتحدة تبدي اهتماماً بالغاً بمواطنيها المدانين والموقوفين بتهم مختلفة لماذا لا تبدي الدولة اللبنانية اهتماماً بالشهداء والأسرى والجرحى المقاومين الذين كانوا ضحايا جزار الخيام والذين صنعوا مجد وعزة الوطن. وإذا كان لا بدّ من التفاوض بعد إدانة العميل فاخوري لماذا لا تحاول الدولة اللبنانية أن تجعل من هذه الفرصة انتصاراً تضيفه إلى انتصارات الوطن من خلال تحرير مواطنيها في السجون الفرنسية والأميركية والإماراتية وغيرها كالمناضل جورج عبد الله االمعتقل في السجون الفرنسية منذ العام 1984 بطلب أميركي “إسرائيلي”، إضافةً إلى الموقوفين في السجون الأميركية والإماراتية؟ثمة عين واحدة تنظر بها الدولة اللبنانية ترى فيها الجاسوس الأميركي نزار زكا الذي أفرجت عنه طهران العام الماضي بعد إدانته بالتجسّس لصالح الولايات المتحدة الأميركية مواطناً لبنانياً ولا ترى جورج عبد الله وغيره من المحتجزين المقاومين منذ سنوات طويلة في السجون مواطنين. فرفقاً بسيادة لبنان وبمن صنع مجده من الشهداء والجرحى والأسرى والمقاومين، وتقديراً لهم ولتضحياتهم قليلاً من العدل أيها السادة لأولئك الذين افتدوا الوطن وخطوا صفحات عزّه من أجل أن نكون أحراراً لا عبيداً.

فيديوات متعلقة

محاولة جديدة لتهريب العميل عامر فاخوري- حسان الرفاعي

سالم زهران يكشف بالتواريخ والتفاصيل القصة الكاملة للعميل الفاخوري والبرقية 303

اعتصام جنوب لبنان للمطالبة بإعدام العميل عامر الفاخوري

الاستماع إلى إفادات عدد من الأسرى المحررين في قضية العميل الفاخوري

جميل السيّد: العميل عامر الفاخوري لن يُرحّل!

مواضيع متعلقة

• هيل: نواف سلام والفاخوري والبلوك 9… والعقدة برّي
• العميل الفاخوري و«أمريكانه»: إلى استجواب جديد
• في ثقافة المقاومة… وقضية العملاء
• Government Bestows an Honor to the Butcher of Al Khiyam: Al-Akhbar الدولة تكرّم جزّار الخيام
• الإعدام للعملاء… ولكشف مَن يسوّق لهم

The Russia-Germany Pipeline Nord Stream 2: Washington to “Free” Europe from Freedom to Decide for Itself

By Tony Cartalucci

Global Research, December 23, 2019

Nord Stream 2 is a pipeline project extending from Russia to Germany that – when completed – will provide a secure means of exporting Russian natural gas to Western Europe – circumventing a  now volatile Ukraine all while tying Russia and Europe together further through mutually beneficial economic activity.

Of course, for special interests residing across the Atlantic in Washington and on Wall Street, Russia and Europe building closer ties through constructive economic activity undermines a long-standing strategy of coercing Europe via the constant threat of a supposedly hostile Kremlin Washington claims undermines a free and united Europe.

Ironically, in order to preserve Europe’s “freedom” the US has now resorted to punishing interests in Europe – and in Germany specifically – for freely choosing to do business with Russia. It not only fully illustrates the supreme hypocrisy that lies at the very root of Washington’s current foreign policy, but also threatens to undermine legitimate US business interests seeking – just as Russia does – to build constructive economic ties with companies and nations around the globe.

Sanctions Approved

The BBC in its article, “Nord Stream 2: Trump approves sanctions on Russia gas pipeline,” would report:

President Donald Trump has signed a law that will impose sanctions on any firm that helps Russia’s state-owned gas company, Gazprom, finish a pipeline into the European Union. 

The sanctions target firms building Nord Stream 2, an undersea pipeline that will allow Russia to increase gas exports to Germany. 

The US considers the project a security risk to Europe. 

Both Russia and the EU have strongly condemned the US sanctions.

It may or may not confound objective observers to see the US unilaterally leveling sanctions against foreign companies because of what Washington claims are security threats to the nations these companies reside in.

It is clearly the business of Germany and Germany alone to determine what may or may not be a security risk. The US deciding not only unilaterally that the Nord Stream 2 project is a security risk – but in contradiction to Berlin’s own assessments of these supposed risks – exposes what is a US foreign policy rooted in singular self-interests poorly hidden behind notions of global peace, stability, and progress.

Were Russia the “threat” that Washington claims it is, clearly Germany would not have invested the immense amount of time, energy, and resources required merely to approve of the Nord Stream 2 project – let alone all the time, energy, and resources required to build and operate it.

Stated Motives. Admitted “Hidden” Motives. Larger, Unspoken Motives 

The BBC article gives a glimpse of what is truly motivating Washington’s current posture regarding Nord Stream 2. In its article, it notes that:

Russian Gas to Germany: Will the U.S. Slap Sanctions on Nord Stream 2?

The Trump administration fears the pipeline will tighten Russia’s grip over Europe’s energy supply and reduce its own share of the lucrative European market for American liquefied natural gas.

And indeed, US energy interests do stand to lose against Russian natural gas – but only because US energy interests are unable to fairly compete against Russia’s ability to deliver cheaper energy through much more practical means.

There is also another motivation driving Washington’s current foreign policy – unmentioned by the BBC – but one that eclipses the interests of American big-energy – no matter how large these interests may be.

The alleged spectre of a malign Russia preying on Europe serves as – and has served for decades as the foundation of the US-led NATO alliance, the US military presence in Europe and the billions upon billions of dollars of weapon sales, contracts, and all the political influence that constitutes both.

Europe and Russia building a significant pipeline and cooperating over something as key to Europe’s economic security and survival as energy demand obviously and completely undermines NATO’s pretense to exist – and thus threatens the immense racket that constitutes NATO’s continued existence. This not only threatens Washington’s grip on Europe, but all the other wars NATO is used as a vehicle to carry both the American nation and its Western allies into across the globe.

The Western intervention in Serbia in the 1990s, the Afghan war stretching from 2001 to present day, and more recently the Western intervention in Libya beginning in 2011 are all examples of US belligerence made possible by NATO – and belligerence that would be exponentially more difficult to continue onward with if NATO was weakened or rendered entirely unnecessary and disbanded.

Not Serving European Interests, or even US Interests 

One must be careful when saying “the US is imposing sanctions on Germany.” The US is not. A small handful of special interests in Washington, directed by an even smaller handful of interests on Wall Street are imposing sanctions on Europe over the Nord Stream 2 project.

They are doing so clearly to the detriment of Russia. But also obviously to the detriment of Germany and the European companies involved in completing, operating, and receiving benefits from the pipeline when it opens.

They are also imposing sanctions on Europe to the detriment of the American people, American businesses at large, and the American nation itself both as it stands internationally today and to the detriment of how it will stand internationally in the future.

While the US arms and energy industries certainly stand to gain from a status quo in Europe which includes the perpetuation of the artificial wedge driven between Europe and Russia, it benefits nearly no one else.

And while these two industries do certainly employ a lot of Americans, they are unsustainable businesses demonstrably unable to compete fairly – and now – not even effectively able to cheat. The future is bleak for those employed or otherwise dependent on these two industries as they currently exist. Washington’s policies pushed forward on behalf of big-energy and arms manufacturers are pushed forward at the cost of nearly everyone else.

For a world eager to do business with the United States – a nation still populated by talented people capable of contributing to the global economy – policies like sanctions aimed at Germany and other nation’s involved with Nord Stream 2 give pause for thought and force potential business partners of the US to reevaluate future joint-ventures.

Thus, despite the short-term self-serving nature of US sanctions regarding Nord Stream 2, the sanctions only serve to accelerate America’s overall decline. A Washington fixated on such methods to “compete” with Russia and to maintain influence over Europe is not able to focus on or invest in truly needed strategies to improve genuine American competitiveness – competitiveness that serves as the only true and sustainable means of creating and maintaining influence globally.

For the American people and American business owners, divesting away from Washington’s current policies and finding ways to circumvent them just as the rest of the world is finding ways to circumvent US sanctions will hopefully help build bridges, or at least prepare the ground to do so – so when the current circle of special interests misleading the US into further decline fade away, something better can be put in their place.

Nord Stream 2 is just one sign of the shape of things to come. The US will only face more “Nord Stream 2’s” in the future not only in the form of Russian-European cooperation, but also in Asia centered around China and its own rise upon the international stage. Washington doubling down on a losing strategy will only accelerate America’s current woes – not fix them. Until Washington understands this, or until the American people find a way to work around Washington’s agenda – these woes will only multiply and to everyone’s detriment.

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Tony Cartalucci is a Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook” where this article was originally published. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from Stefan Sauer/dpa

The original source of this article is Global Research

Copyright © Tony Cartalucci, Global Research, 2019

هيل: نواف سلام والفاخوري والبلوك 9… والعقدة برّي

ديسمبر 17, 2019

ناصر قنديل

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مع وصول المبعوث الأميركي معاون وزير الخارجية والسفير السابق في بيروت ديفيد هيل يوم الجمعة، تسبقه ثلاثة طلبات أميركية معلنة أو موحىً بها؛ الطلب الأول المتصل بتسمية مرشح لرئاسة الحكومة، بدا بوضوح أنه ليس الرئيس سعد الحريري من كلام رئيس حزب القوات اللبنانية سمير جعجع الذي يبدو أنه يعبّر بدقة أكبر من الحريري عن التقاطع في الموقفين الأميركي والسعودي، وقول جعجع لافت «ليس هناك في الخارج من يقول لا يمكن للبلد أن يصطلح أمره من دون حكومة برئاسة الحريري كما أن ليس هناك من يقول العكس أيضاً». والكلام الإضافي لجعجع يأتي ترويجاً لاسم السفير السابق نواف سلام، الذي تبنّاه النائب ميشال معوض ومثله فعل حزب الكتائب، بعدما كان الرئيس سعد الحريري أول من طرحه في التداول وقام بسحبه سريعاً، ما يجعل التساؤل عن مصدر التسمية مشروعاً، خصوصاً أن سلام ليس اقتصادياً ولا خبيراً مالياً، وهو سياسي له مواقف تشكل سبباً للانقسام حولها. وكان واضحاً أن الرئيس سعد الحريري يسعى لتأجيل الاستشارات إلى الإثنين المقبل لأن زيارة ديفيد هيل ستتم يوم الجمعة، وتوجيهات هيل سبقته باعتماد اسم نواف سلام الخميس، وهو ما كان يأمل الحريري بتغييره عبر لقاء هيل قبل الاستشارات، ويسعى لذلك عبر الاتصالات المتاحة قبل الخميس، خصوصاً أن رئيس مجلس النواب نبيه بري كان أول من رفض التسمية عندما عرضها الحريري باعتبار التسمية بحثاً عن مشكلة وليست سعياً لحل.

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الطلب الثاني الذي يحمله هيل ويسبق وصوله يتعلق بمصير العميل “الإسرائيلي” عامر الفاخوري المعروف بجزار سجن الخيام، فعندما يغرّد النائب السابق وليد جنبلاط عن هندسة تتمّ لنزع الجنسية اللبنانية عن الفاخوري وتصويرها عقوبة على عمالته، بينما هي تمهيد لترحيله إلى أميركا التي يحمل جنسيتها، لا يمكن وصف الأمر بالتكهّن والتحليل. فجنبلاط يتحدث بمعلومات وليس بتكهنات، وإذا أضفنا لكلام حنبلاط المعلومات الأكيدة عن وجود خلية عمل في السفارة الأميركية تهتمّ وتتابع التفاصيل الشخصية والقانونية للفاخوري، وقامت بترتيب ملف طبي ملفّق عن إصابته بنوع من أمراض السرطان التي تستدعي علاجه في أميركا، والمعلومات التي يؤكد الأسرى المحررون تحققهم من صحتها عن إقامة الفاخوري بين فندق الحبتور ومستشفى أوتيل ديو، يجب التنبه لمهمة هيل بما يخصّ العميل الفاخوري، خصوصاً أن بعض ما تشيّعه أوساط قريبة من السفارة الأميركية يقول إن المشكلة تكمن في موقف رئيس مجلس النواب الرافض لكل تسوية لملف الفاخوري، وأنه بتخلي بري عن رفضه تهون المسألة، لأن رفض حزب الله وحده لا يكفي، علماً أن القضية ببعدها الوطني تستدعي موقفاً معلناً من كل القوى السياسية والمواقع الدستورية، فهي ليست قضية طائفية ولا قضية حزب أو تيار أو حركة.

–

القضية الثالثة التي يحملها هيل تتصل بالبلوك رقم 9 الذي يشكل قضية القضايا في ترسيم الحدود البحرية للبنان، والذي تقوم ورقة المبعوث الأميركي ديفيد ساترفيلد على مطالبة لبنان بالتخلّي عن أغلب حقوقه في البلوك 9 تلبية للمصالح الإسرائيلية. وقد دعا كل من الدبلوماسيين الأميركيين جيفري فيلتمان وديفيد شنكر بعد انطلاق الحراك الشعبي إلى ربط أي دعم لمساعي تقديم الدعم للبنان بوجود حكومة توقع على ورقة ساترفيلد. والمعلوم أن الرئيس سعد الحريري بعد لقائه بوزير الخارجية الأميركية مايك بومبيو قبل شهور عاد بطلب وضع يده على ملف التفاوض حول ترسيم الحدود البحرية، بدلاً من توليه من قبل الرئيس بري الذي يزعج بقاؤه ممسكاً بالملف، الحسابات الأميركية. وللتذكير فقط فإن الثروات التي يطلب من لبنان التخلي عنها تقدر بـ 74 مليار دولار بينما المبالغ التي يعد الأميركيون بتسهيل تدفقها على لبنان هي قروض بـ 4 مليارات دولار من البنك الدولي، ولأن الأميركيين قرّروا إيفاد هيل، فذلك يعني أنه بعد الزيارة سيكون تصعيد أميركي إذا لم يحصل هيل على ما جاء يطلبه. والتصعيد مالي وربما أمني عبر خطة الفوضى التي بدأت معالمها. – الاستنتاج الطبيعي هو أن الحملة المفتعلة والمبرمجة على الرئيس نبيه بري لادخل لها بنظرية “كلنيعنيكلن”، بل هي أمرعمليات أميركي تمهيداً لزيارة هيل، والرسالة وصلت، وسيسمع هيل مالايُرضيه، والعتب على الرئيس الحريري الذي يستعمل شارعه لإيصال رسائل الشتائم والكراهية بحق مَن وقف معه في كل المحن التي عاشها، رغم عدم مبادلته الحسنة بالحسنة، فعلى الأقل حجب الإساءة تلقى من شرفة داره.

لماذا يردّ الحريري في الشارع على بري؟

ـ مع فشل مشروع تسمية الرئيس سعد الحريري لتشكيل الحكومة الجديدة واضطراره لطلب تأجيل الإستشارات النيابية صدرت عنه وعن تياره وشارعه ردود أفعال مستغربة رغم أنّ المعلوم أنه تلقى الطعنة التي أسقطت حساباته بالتسمية من حليفه حزب القوات اللبنانية الذي سبق وأعطاه وعداً بالانضمام إلى التسمية.

ـ الحجر الأول وجهه الحريري في بيانه نحو التيار الوطني الخر بتبرير طلب التأجيل بداعي معلوملت وصلته عن نية التيار وضع أصواته في عهدة رئيس الجمهورية والتحذير من خرق دستوري ما اضطر رئاسة الجمهورية للردّ بقسوة عن رفض رئيس الجمهورية مراراً لوضع التسمية في عهدته واستغرابها الحديث عن حرب نوايا والانتهاء بالحديث عن خرق دستوري.

ـ من بعد الظهر وحتى الليل شهد شارع المستقبل قطع طرقات وهتافات استفزازية تستهدف رئيس مجلس النواب نبيه بري علماً أنّ الرئيس بري كان الوحيد من خارج تحالفات الحريري التقليدية سيقوم مع كتلته بتسمية الحريري رغم عدم الإتفاق معه على شكل الحكومة ومنذ الأزمة وهو يحرص على مداراة الحريري ومراعاته رغم كلّ الإساءات لتاريخ العلاقة التي حملها سلوك الحريري منذ الإستقالة، وفي لحظة طلب التأجيل للإستشارات لم يجد الحريري معيناً له إلا الرئيس بري الذي تدخل لدى رئيس الجمهورية طالباً أخذ رغبة الحريري بالإعتبار.

ـ القوات تطعن الحريري وشارعه يهتف ضدّ بري، فهل فقد الحريري شارعه وصار لسواه وصار هذا الشارع أو كتلة الشغب فيه ضمن معادلة أخرى يتمّ توظيفها لصناعة الفتنة باستفزاز الشارع المؤيد لبري وصولاً لمواجهات تشعل عدداً من مناطق العاصمة والمحافظات ولحساب من؟

ـ الجواب عند الرئيس الحريري ووزيرة الداخلية والمدير العام لقوى الأمن الداخلي بما تصوّره الكاميرات وما تنقله تقارير الأجهزة الأمنية فهل نسمع كلاماً مسؤولاً؟

التعليق السياسي

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مستحيلة… وتُسقط صاحبها
• بعبدا ترجئ الاستشارات للخميس لمرة أخيرة بطلب من الحريري… وتردّ عليه توضيحاً 

 

Sayyed Nasrallah: One Color Gov’t Rejected, US Taking Advantage of Protests

Source: Al-Manar

December 14, 2019

Sara Taha Moughnieh

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah tackled the latest internal developments in a speech he delivered Friday.

Dividing his speech into four parts, his eminence started with the US intervention in the Lebanese situation. Second, he covered the government formation file, third he talked about the security situation and finally he referred to the economic and social responsibility.

US Intervention

Sayyed Nasrallah indicated that the US interferes in every movement that takes place in the world in order to divert the public demands to serve their own interests not the people’s interests.

“The Americans take the side of protests worldwide and express their support for their demands but in reality all the aid they offer is that which serves the US interests. This was the US role in the Arab Spring, Latin America, and East Asia, and this the US approach in general,” he said.

His eminence referred to US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft’s statement saying: “Craft talked about ongoing protests in Lebanon, Yemen, and any place which Iran is present in, not any place which has corruption. She also considered that strikes will continue if pressure did not bring results. The Americans regard the protests as means to put pressure on Iran.”

“The Americans assumed that the Lebanese protests are against Hezbollah and Iran, knowing that they did not propose anything like that. Their slogans were economic and righteous ones while the Americans assumed since the first day that they were public protests against Hezbollah… and Arab and international media tried portray that,” he added, noting that “US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo called on the Lebanese to get rid of this obstacle called “Hezbollah” and the US is ready to help them with that.”

Sayyed Nasrallah asked: “Do the US and Israel want to help the Lebanese people or blackmail them? The US equation for the Lebanese is for the latter to abandon their strength element so that the US helps them… The US and Israel have failed for decades to solve the obstacle which the resistance formed, therefore they are trying to take advantage and blackmail the Lebanese to achieve that.”

In parallel, his eminence referred to “Israeli” statements which considered that this is a historic opportunity to weaken Hezbollah and to make an agreement with Lebanon on the oil and gas.

Sayyed Nasrallah assured that “Hezbollah is a great threat. A threat on US agendas and interests not on the Lebanese interests. In contrast, it is the defender of the Lebanese interests and dignity.”

His eminence further indicated that “the Israeli is building a wall on the border because the resistance left this issue to be dealt with by the Lebanese government. If the resistance spoke against that the Israeli would have thought a thousand times before taking this step. The same applies on the oil digging in the regional waters.”

Sayyed Nasrallah called on the Lebanese not to trust the US promises, noting: “look how the US left its allies in the middle of the crises and humiliated them. Look how the countries who submitted to the US role became regular countries after having had a great role in the world. They want us to abandon our power, independence, and sovereignty… but if the Lebanese cooperated, they are capable of getting out of this crisis.”

Fabrication of Iranian statement

Concerning the latest fabrication of a statement by an Iranian official in which he was quoted as saying that “Iran will respond to any attack on it, and the response will be from the Lebanese territories”, Sayyed Nasrallah assured that there are sides who seek to create tension and incite against Iran in order to put Hezbollah, the presidency and allies in a critical situation, and these sides fabricated this statement which is not true in any way.

His eminence said Hezbollah instantly contacted their Iranian allies to ask about the statement and the latter denied its existence to instantly issue a clarification after that.

In this context, Hezbollah SG indicated that “some think that if Iran was attacked it will refer to its allies to defend it, and let me correct this misconception and assure that Iran will defend itself by itself, it will not stay silent and will not accept to be defended by anyone… If its allies wanted to take action, that would be their own decision.”

Government formation

Sayyed Nasrallah indicated that “Hezbollah was against the government resignation in the first place because the formation of a new government would take time and the economic and financial situation does not bear vacuum. Some considered that the resignation of the PM was a victory but in contrast, it was time wasting and instead of responding to the demands and initiating with the reformations people had to focus on the government formation.”

“The best case scenario would have been for the government to stay and the protests to continue and in that case many achievements would have been made,” he added.

“We are now in front of several choices, the first is a one color government which could get the highest number of votes in the parliament, and our political opponents were pushing toward that, while in our political team some supported it and others didn’t. We, as Hezbollah and Amal movement refused this choice because it poses danger on the country, besides that it contradicts the constitution. Just like we refused a one color government in the past and called for a unity government, we refuse it now even as we have become the majority. The current crisis requires everyone’s cooperation. The second choice is a one color government formed by the opposing political team, and we refuse that because the country’s situation is unbearable. The third and fourth choices are partnership governments which protest delegates take part in, I don’t know how this can happen as the latter was incapable of choosing a leadership or form a delegation to visit the president. The third choice is a partnership government headed by Saad Hariri and the fourth choice is a partnership government headed by someone else. The third choice was not implemented because Hariri put unacceptable conditions so we moved to the fourth choice and accepted all the PM names that were proposed by Hariri but this did not succeed. The third and fourth choices are still on table, what’s important is to form a government that could make reformations and just as we refused a government that does not include the Future Movement, we will refuse a government that does not include the Free Patriotic Movement.”

Security Situation

Sayyed Nasrallah saluted people for their patience on the road cutting which aimed at causing riots and dragging them into clashes, adding: I call for further patience as we are getting closer to the solution.

His eminence assured that some media outlets’ claims that Hezbollah and Amal movement were attacking protesters are not true and great efforts were made to control the street and absorb the anger.

Economic situation and social responsibility

Sayyed Nasrallah called for social solidarity in order to overcome this tough situation. He called upon business owners not to take advantage of this crisis to raise prices of their products but instead lower the prices and get little gains until we get over this phase. No one should manipulate or take advantage of anything related to people, from bread, medicine, fuel, etc… these must not be used as pressure tools.

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Sayyed Nasrallah: The US is Exploiting Lebanon’s Protests, No for One-Sided Gov’t

Zeinab Essa  

Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered on Friday a speech in which he tackled the latest internal developments on the Lebanese level, particularly the formation of a new government.

Warning that Lebanon is passing through a sensitive moment regarding the formation of a new government, Sayyed Nasrallah clarified that “Whenever protests erupt in a certain country, we find the Americans quickly interfering and seeking to exploit these protests in a rude and clear way that serves their own interests and not those of the protesters.”

On this level, His Eminence explained that

“the Americans try to convince the world that they are orchestrating these protests, whether that is true or not. This is the case Latin America as well as in Hon Kong as well in the so-called Arab spring.”

He cited the US envoy to the UN, Kelly Craft who said that the demonstrations will continue in Lebanon and Yemen and wherever Iran is and not in any place where there is corruption. “The Americans view the demonstrations as tools to pressure Iran.”

“Since the first day, the Americans assumed that these demonstrations reflect the Lebanese revolution against Hezbollah and the resistance’s resistance, and some Arab and Gulf media helped them in this, knowing that no one raised this issue,”

Sayyed Nasrallah highlighted noting, that

“The Americans are either deceiving themselves or the world, or some Lebanese are sending wrong and misleading reports.”

Commenting on the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statements on Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah recalled that

“Pompeo’s statements regarding the demonstrations claimed that the stalemate in Lebanon was caused by Hezbollah, and thus he called them to get rid of it.”

Slamming Pompeo’s statements as reflection of the US silly approach, His Eminence underscored that

“Pompeo’s statements reflect his pressure on Lebanon to remove Hezbollah from the state, which is impossible due to its popular presence. The US evaluation of the Lebanese protests  is wrong.”

“The American exploitation to the Lebanese demonstrations is clear, parallel to the “Israeli” consideration that what is happening in Lebanon forms an opportunity for them,” he highlighted, pointing out that

“Pompeo, with his comments, considers himself to be the mouthpiece and expresser of the Lebanese people’s opinion!”

In response to Pompeo, the Resistance Leader stressed that

“Hezbollah poses the first threat to “Israel” in the face of its ambitions as well as a threat to the schemes of the American hegemony in Lebanon and the region. Hezbollah never formed a threat to the interests of the Lebanese people, but rather a defender to their interests.”

“Both the Americans and the “Israelis” are practicing the policy of blackmail,” His Eminence warned, cautioning that “the American equation that they want to impose on the Lebanese people is ‘give up what preserves your sovereignty so that we help you’.”

To the Lebanese, Sayyed Nasrallah raised the following question:

“Do not believe the American promises. Draw lessons from the countries that surrendered to the US conditions. Have they overcome their financial woes?”

He also urged the Lebanese to be aware of and not to be affected by the US deceptive calls and incites pushing towards sedition and chaos. “Everyone who has a problem and is protesting should not allow the Americans to take advantage of his movement.”

“From the beginning, we did not agree on the government’s resignation because the country cannot tolerate a vacuum,” His Eminence stated, noting that “the government’s resignation has made matters worse on various levels. “It also paralyzed state institutions that should have been implementing reforms.”

Regarding the recent fabrications, Sayyed Nasrallah revealed that

“Some Gulf countries are fabricating statements attributed to Iranian officials. The IRGC  general mentioned nothing about Lebanon in his statement. Some parties are fabricating statements attributed to Iranian officials in order to embarrass some Lebanese parties.”

“Iran itself will respond to those who attack it [whether the US or “Israel”] and it will not depend on its allies,” he added.

Back to the Lebanese internal scene, His Eminence declared: “Forming a government of one color requires courage, but the risks and ramifications have been studied. We in Hezbollah and the brothers in Amal Movement are against a one-color government. In parallel, Sayyed Nasrallah wondered:

“If a one-color government is formed in light of the existing situation, the situation will get worse and how can it deal with a crisis with this level of danger?”

He reminded that “The National Pact forbids the formation of a one-sided government.”

“The consultations are supposed to take place Monday and we hope a PM-designate will be named,” he went on to say, predicting that

“The formation of the government won’t be an easy process. After the designation of a PM, we will talk about the line-up and we would negotiate and cooperate with the PM-designate to form the government.”

According to Sayyed Nasrallah, “The solution to the current crisis is cooperation and concessions to save the country.”

He once again explained that

“Hezbollah had no objection on a government headed by PM Saad Hariri. However, he proposed inappropriate conditions. A reformist government does not necessarily mean a technocrat government.”

In addition, he announced that Hezbollah insists on the Free Patriotic Movement’s representation in the government as no party should be eliminated. “The parliamentary blocs have not yet agreed on a PM’s name and the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc is to unveil its position on Monday.”

On the same level, His Eminence urged “The caretaker government to shoulder its responsibilities regarding the economic situation.”

Calling on the Lebanese army and its leadership to accelerate the opening of any road that is being cut, Sayyed Nasrallah reiterated that

“blocking the roads during the protests put people at risk as some seek chaos and clashes.”

Once again, His Eminence called on supporters of Hezbollah and the Amal movement to control nerves, and be patient so not to be drawn to any tension. “On the security level, the Lebanese have so far acted with responsibly. We, God willing, are nearing the end.”

Regarding the social aspect of the economic crisis, Sayyed Nasrallah urged “People to come together socially and to show solidarity with each other.”

To whoever is taking advantage of the situation and raising profits, His Eminence said:

“Now the situation needs everyone’s solidarity. And if the country collapses, everyone will be severely affected. Everything that has to do with the lives of the people from bread to gasoline and medicine shouldn’t be manipulated.”

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الوقوع في الفِخّ

ديسمبر 7, 2019

د. عماد عكوش 

عندما بدأ الحراك في 17 تشرين الأول، تأمّلنا خيراً في تحقيق الإصلاح السياسي، والاقتصادي، وكان مفترضاً أن يلاقي الحراك السياسيين الذين يحملون لواء محاربة الفساد ليكونوا سنداً داعماً ضاغطاً لتحقيق هذه الإصلاحات، وكان يمكن ان يحدث هذا التعاون تغييراً جذرياً في السياسة والاقتصاد. ولا زلنا نأمل هذا التعاون علنا نستطيع ان نحدث تغييراً في الواقع الطائفي الحالي.

في بداية الحراك نزلت الناس وبشكل عفوي تطالب بمحاسبة الفاسدين وإعادة المال المنهوب، لكن هل يمكن تحقيق ذلك بالشعارات فقط أم نحن بحاجة الى من يقدّم قوانين في هذا المضمار، وبالتالي بحاجة الى نواب نظيفي الكفّ يقفون الى جانب هذا الحراك؟

لقد كانت هذه البداية مخيفة للولايات المتحدة الأميركية لكون معظم المتهمين بالفساد هم حلفاء لها، لذلك لجأت الى زرع مجموعات منظمة ضمن الحراك تنادي بشعار “كلن يعني كلن” حتى تضمن عدم قيادة هذا الحراك أو على الأقل دخول الحزب بكل ثقله في هذا الحراك.

نعم لقد استطاعت هذه المجموعة إخراج كل الأحزاب حتى مَن لا يوجد لديه أي ملف فساد، وبالتالي أخرجتها من إمكانية الاستفادة منها في عملية الإصلاح عبر رفع شعار “كلن يعني كلن”. وكانت هذه الشعارات مقصودة ومقصود من ورائها إخراج هذه الأحزاب، لأن دخول هذه الأحزاب ضمن المنظومة الحركية للثوار كان يمكن أن يضاعف من شعبية هذه الأحزاب؛ وبالتالي فإن المقصود من وراء خروج هذا الحراك عبر مجموعات منظمة بهذه الشعارات لن يحقق الهدف الأساسي منها وهو إضعاف قوى الإصلاح والسيادة.

كما وقعت أيضاً هذه الأحزاب الإصلاحية في الفخ الذي نصبه لها هذا الجزء من الحراك، بحيث أصبحت في الجانب الآخر من الضفة، وبدأت تدافع بها عن نفسها تجاه من يتهمها بالشراكة مع الفساد، وبالتالي أصبحت أسيرة هذا الدفاع، ولم تعد تتمكن من الوقوف الى جانب هذا الحراك أو الاستفادة منه لفرض محاربة الفساد ولفرض الإصلاح السياسي والاقتصادي في البلد.

كما فرضت في المقابل الولايات المتحدة على الأحزاب الحليفة أن تخرج من الحكومة فكانت استقالة الرئيس سعد الحريري واستقالة وزراء القوات والضغط لاستقالة وزراء الاشتراكي. كما فرضوا على هذه الأحزاب ان تدخل بطريقة او بأخرى في هذا الحراك مع القيام ببعض الخطوات الاستفزازية والتي طالت الحزب وبيئته حتى تستدرجه هو وبيئته الى الشارع، وبالتالي حصول صدام على الأرض يبرر تدخلاً أممياً أو دولياً.

لقد استطاع مَن رسم هذا الفخّ أن يوقع بين الناس العفوية التي نزلت الى الشارع بكل عفوية وبين الأحزاب الإصلاحية والتي تبنت قوانين إصلاحية كثيرة ولازلنا نأمل أن يتم، لكن بالتأكيد هذا الأمر أصبح صعباً جداً، لكن هل يمكن إنجاز توافق أو تسوية معينة بين هذا الحراك وهذه الأحزاب مع تشكيل الحكومة الجديدة، أم أن هذا التوافق غير مقبول لا اليوم ولا في الغد؟

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